
          Phila [Philadelphia] July 25th 1837


 And [Answered] Aug. [August] 21


 Dr. Torrey, New York


 Dear Sir,


 I again take the liberty of submitting to your examination 
 a few plants of my last collectings. You will find among them
 a perfect sample of the veratrum which I sent you
 several years ago. This time many specimens were collected 
 by a black woman in the neighbourhood, to whom I pointed it
 out, with promise to give her one dollar, if she succeeded
 in bringing me several specimens in a perfect state of
 fluoresence. She has supplied all [the?] botantists & [garden?]
 with it. I have received a few plants from Louisiana
 about 200, of which I will send you duplicates in a few
 days. Some of them are interesting and many new spec. [species]
 The small Nicia you will find among the speciemens sent might
 be a n. s. [native species?] Dr Pickering who has been occupied for several
 days to search [crossed out: in] my herbarium [added: for] such plants as were not yet
 in the large collection of the Academy of Sciences and has taken
 from it 925 different species, thinks that among my american
 plants many may be found to be undescribed and wanting
 a scrupulous examination. They are at your service whenever
 you visit our city. I would be happy, could I have a monograph
 of the Northern oenotheras, aster, solidagos, & hypericum.


 Yours respectfully 


 E. [Elias] Durand
        