
          College 28 June 1847


 Dear Sir


 I must not let this letter, from Halstead I suppose,
 go without adding a line  I am now enjoying a splendid
 "otium cum dig." having nothing to do but work for myself. It
 really is a relief to me to know that I have not to lecture tomorrow
 nor next day. I concentrated all my effort on those
 lectures but if it is ever to be done again it can be done much
 better & with less effort. One capital error was relying too 
 much on that general knowledge of plants which is common enough
 to country girls but here is as rare as nautical knowledge is
 to landsmen. However all passed off better than I ought to have
 hoped _ only I have such a faculty for hoping -


 I shall occupy myself for the present chiefly in my much neglected
 correspondence & in arranging my herbarium from which
 these lectures called me off when I had nearly completed the
 beginning of the task. I now am alarmed at looking at it.
 It never can go back into those boxes again. Indeed one is actually
 occupied now with various suppeditaments - blank papers - plants
 to be examined etc. & the other will soon only accommodate my
 duplicates - But for my "holders" or genus papers I never should  
 have again reduced my plants to order


 You know the builders are overhead. It is all racket & rubbish.
 Confusion reigns in the yards & mortar rains from above. I am
 sorry they do not raise the whole building a story while they are
 about it.


 I went on Sat P.M. to Weehawken & W. Hoboken with Mr Browne &
 filled my press for the second time these two months. I use
 3 or 4 times as much paper as last year & the effect on my
 specimens is very satisfactory


 I wish to ask you to correct one error which perhaps
 you can better do at Princeton than here. In the Annals of

        