
          Dr. John Torrey
 U.S. Assay Office
 New York.


 Washington Augt [August] 4, 1855.


 My dear Sir,


 I received the drawings for the bot. [botany] report
 upon Capt. Beckwith's collection yesterday.
 I will urge Mr. Seaman to have the engraving for
 all the bot. [botany] reports done by Mr. Prestele and
 I hope the [offer?] of the latter may be such as to 
 enable Mr. Seaman to give it to him. The
 advertisements for bids appear [crossed out: s] in the 
 Intelligencer [the Daily National Intelligencer] of Wash [Washington]. I do not know what
 New York papers they appear in.


 I do not know how it is about the account for
 the drawings of Beckwith's botany [crossed out: report. I].
 Capt. Beckwith has not received it and they
 know nothing of it in the Secretary of War's Office.


 I do not recollect whether I wrote you that Mr. 
 McPherson [crossed out: has been] [added: was] absent for more than six
 weeks and has only resumed payments within
 the last ten days. Perhaps it would be better
        