
          grow here are all unknown to me. Thie results from partially
 exploring N. England N Jersey N.Y. Mississippi & Illinois without
 being confined to either region so long as to have examined [crossed out: its] [inserted: any but]
 interesting & easy plants. But I am promising when I get the flora [crossed out: to]
 that I will be more thorough with Compositae & other large
 families & large genera. Silphium laciniatum is abundant here.
 The plane of the leaf often varies many degrees from that of the
 meridian but its tendincy to coincidence with it can not be
 doubted. I waited to collect some seeds from this curious [?]
 [crossed out: before] to send to the Patent Office at the same time that I
 corrected the error which they put in circulation there. In my
 haste I then omitted it entirely. We have one or two other Silphiums
 but I do not know much about them nor whether
 they have polarity. The leaves of S. laciniatum both radial & cauline
 (not "young tufts" only) certainly have. In a prairie the plant appears
 much more abundant E & W of you than N. or S. Its polarity is
 of little use. It does not grow in forests. In the prairie more distant
 objects guide the traveler in the absence of heavenly bodies


 Since being out here I have preached but little. I would feel it a great
 privilege to live by the gospel that I might make every thing
 else subordinate to it but I never yet have received a
 dollar for preaching nor do I expect to while I am at the
 west. Consequently all I do in preparing for the task I feel to be
 a sort of volunteering contribution to the cause of Christ
 I made some attempts to obtain the charge of 4 congregations
 of slaves but after as I said my [crossed out: new] heterodoxy could not be.
 tolerated. One clergyman who treated me very kindly in other
 respects preferred to have his negroes sleep under a printed
 sermon prepared by Dr Pagson for a refined congregation
 in Portland rather than have a man talk to them who
 did not believe them liable to damnation for Adam's sin
 I have no small doubts of the utility of preaching to negroes
 withour first emancipating them, but if it could do good
 no employment on earth would have suited me better.


 I fear I never shall make a preacher. True my brethern here
 & their flocks have been pleased to compliment some of my
 performances very highly but in [crossed out: sense] fact I am not naturally
 eloquent & I do not often feel that I have done my subject justice.
 There is no demand for ministry in Illinois unless they
 bring the means of support with them. Even then were our
 country intersected with canals like Holland I would recommend 

        