
          And March 18th
St Louis Jan 19th 1848

My Dear Sir

yesterday I received your kind communication
of Jan 3rd. I am much obliged to you for the interest you
take in my pursuits as regards botany, and for your
efforts to obtain for me material, which would be valuable
to me. As regards Cacti, I have no doubt the largest
living collection of the northern form of Cacti, that exists anywhere,
and am doing all I can to complete it. From Geyers notices
in Hookers Journal I see, that some undescribed and to me
unknown species must exist on the upper Platte and Missouri.
I have got three forms from there last year. Mam. [?], Mam
simplex Nutt (non [Lin?]) and an Opuntia which I would take for
O. missouriensis if it had not small dry spiny fruits, nothing
like the "hen egg" size. I hope to see it in flower this
coming season. - A few days ago I had got amongst a few other
species from Prince Salm (in Germany) a O. missouriensis!
It has never flowered in Europe!  O. fragilis I have
not been able yet to obtain, but I shall get it probably from
the same source! Dr. Wislizenus has supplied me
with the largest variety, and also Mr. Lindheimer.

In my botanical appendix to Dr. W's report you will
find some investigation in the generic distribution of cactaceae.
I find remarkable characters in the seeds, which appear
to have been overlooked so far; they are distinguished
somewhat after the manner of the [?], with
accumbent or incumbent cotyledons (where the embryo
is curved, and they have an albumen much more generally
        