
          Wms. Coll. Aug. 20th 1821.

Dear Sir,

It is long since I wrote you several letters [?]
together, & sometime since you wrote me that I should have
your opinion of those plants, I sent you last Autumn. I have
delayed to write you, expecting to hear from you about them _
but I began to suspect that you are waiting just to hear from
me.

On Botany, I have done but little - such has
been the state of our College. There is an attempt to [break?]
it down by a rival Institution to go into operation in
Sept. Our Prst. goes to be at the head of the new one - &
it has much effect on our students - has already reduced
our numbers, & is likely to do more. At the same time, we
have no Prst. yet, who will [?] & so the curr
ent floats us along at its will.  You see on the other
side what our Board say. The question is to be decided
by what the public say & do if the [?] of those.
who support Colleges is in favor of the new Institu
tion, then we shall go down. But I am not so frightened,
as to run just yet. And [here?] I have the [?].

We have found Moloxis ophioglossoides another Aster
& Solidago - [our/one?] [?], not noticed here before, I believe
a Cyanthus & [Merulius?], & so on. But little has been done
in Botany however. By the way, how do you know
Aster cordifolis & heterophyllus of Willd. to be the same?
I am inclined to think I [have/know?] both [those?] in Ph. - or else
the discription of A. corymbosus must be enlarged &
a var. given of it. Do you know that the [larch?] Magnolia
is found at the east of this state, in a swamp?
Flowers, yellow or yellowish, 9-petalled in my opinion,
very sweet-sented, leaves about 2 & 2 1/2 inches long &
1 1/2 wide, oval & oblong-oval, partially ob-ovate, pubescent
under side, thick, & coriaceous; is it [Miglau
ia?]? I should call it M. acuminata, but for the great
[?] you sent me. Eriophorum poly [crossed out] [inserted: stochium [stachion]?],
found the other day, & Aspidium spinulosum [?] [?]
[?] a new Galium, fruit smooth, four leaves always,
resembles G. trifidum in habit & appearance but has always
four leaves. A little yellow fungus comes up this year,
often some inches in diameter, yellow at first, purplish
brown afterwards, seems to be an [?] number of fibres, 
        