
          have done as I did, & his description must
read as it does, but ought to be
brivionbus [strictionibus?], or
shorter & narrower. He says the
scale is obtuse, & so it is on the
specimen you sent slightly obtuse,
sometimes with projecting midrib,
or short mucronate. The specimens
from the Mex. B. Survey, agree
so well with [crossed out: illeg.] [added: Boott's] description, &
yet have a form so different from
the one you sent me, that I
fear Boott has somehow made
a mistake in the specimens. Yet,
I can not believe it. You will
see what I have done, when I
send the result of [added: the] examination,
Til then I forbare.

Thanks for the [?]; all
good, curious, & valuable to me.
What is this oil of osmium,
used to catch rats & mice, to
bait with? I have no means
of knowing, unless it is like
"Butter of antimony" in name.

        