
                       West Chester, Penn   Dec. 17. 1842


 My dear Sir,


       I duly received your interesting
 favor of the 19th October, and intended answering it much
 sooner; but a bad habit of procrastination when there is no:
 thing to urge an immediate reply, has postponed my writing
 until now.  One of my sons, who belongs to the Navy, expects
 to set out on Monday morning next, to join his ship at Portsmouth,
 New Hampshire, to go on a cruise to the coast of Africa: and as he
 will pass through New York, & Boston, on his way, - I avail
 myself of the opportunity to write both to you and Dr. Gray.
 I did not know, until informed by your letter, that you
 had removed your residence to Princeton.  I have no doubt
 now the communication with New York is so convenient, that
 it will be found very agreeable to have at least a summer
 residence in so pleasant a village as Princeton, - while you
 can readily discharge all your professional duties in New York,
 as well as if you lived there all the year.


     I was quite disappointed in not receiving a visit from Dr.
 Gray, when he was on to see you, in October. He had made me
 a sort of promise to spend a day or two with me; and as
 I had just finished arranging our Herbarium according
 to the method of Endlicher's Genera Plantarum, I was in
 hopes of having his aid in determining the character of some
 of my dubious specimens.  But they will now have to wait
 for some future opportunity.  I have had great pleasure - as
 well as considerable labor in adjusting our Herbarium in
 accordance with Endlicher's Genera.  Although far from perfect,
 as such a stupendous work must necessarily be, when
 performed by one man - it will undoubtedly be a durable
 monument of his skill and industry.  So far as I can judge
 I think he has been , for the most part, happy in the group:
 ing of plants in Tribes & Sections, according to their natural affinities.
 As I can never expect to see another General Plantarum, I
 shall spend the remaining leisure of my days in the study
 of Endlicher's mehtod, - and in adapting our collection to his arrange:
 ment. We have now about seven thousand species in our Herbari:
 um ; and I have taken the trouble to put up man [illegible]
 as possible, on the labels accompanying the species. This task
 has occupied my time fully, during the last two summers.

        