
          Cambridge, Wednesday morning, 23d April.


 My Dear Friend,


 The parcel of bot. [botanical] Illustrations, and your 
 favor of the 15-21st inst [instant] reached me yesterday, to which I 
 will be reply at once, tho' with much haste,  as my hands are 
 exceedingly full with various duties, and I have to make arrangement
 for the reception of 6 cases of live plants from Loddiges, which I expect 
 at the Garden in a few hours. 


 First let me say that I sent on Monday (as I wrote Mrs. 
 Torrey I would) a box of live plants (herbs) to W. & P. [Wiley & Putnam] for you, nearly 
 all were named, the unnamed ones you will know at once. Give 
 the Campanulla Carpathica [Campanula Carpatica] a good chance, and you will find it 
 a perfect gem late in summer. Pray enrich your borders if you 
 expect them to grow, and do not let the hot sun reflected from the 
 walls of the house burn them up. 


 I sent an accompanying parcel to W. & P. [Wiley & Putnam] containing the drawing of
 Illicium. It will be useless now. but I am not disappointed at 
 the result of Becks failure to go on. You see it was important to know.
 I fear Sprague may be unwell. as he does not come up. nor write.
 Sprague will draw quite equal to Prestele. I greatly 
 wished (and wish) that you would look to Sprague for drawing,
 (leaving Prestele to cut on stone) as Sprague may be on hand at
 our command, being a bachelor he can be passed back and forth between 
 us, or I could superintend the making of dissection here for you,
 which Prestele could not do for himself and he cannot come to you or 
 me. With the assistance of such work as you wish done, I
 could engage Sprague and keep him going. I may be 
 obliged to do it at considerable pecuniary sacrifice to myself. 


 You will have received a late letter from me, on Monday.
 I have now a letter from Bentham, a brief note. Scrophul. [Scrophulariaceae] delayed
 much by Voy. [Voyage of the] Sulphur &c., more than 1800 sp. [specimens] of Scrophulariaceae!  now
 at Castilleja, means by Steamer of May to send back your specimens, 
 those received from Fremont Coll. [Collection], and the mss. [manuscript] of all that pat [part] of Prodromus,
 which relates to N. Amer. plants, copied out. He says the new vols. [volumes] of 
 DC. prodr. [De Candolle's Prodromus] are very good except Convolvulaceae!


 From [Jean-Étienne] Duby I have received, through an unknown hand his 
 Memoire sur la fam. [famille] des Primulacées. I suppose he has sent it to you 
 as well.
        