
          work, who can nothing about Botany.

I regret that I forgot to
put in the box specns.[specimens] of [crossed out: Ligust?] Archangelica peregrinia. I will send them
the next time. I have plenty of ripe fruit. I have also forgot
to send you [added: mature] [crossed out: the fruit] specimen of the Salt Pond [Gleacharis?] which I coll.[collected]
many years ago at Martha's Vineyard & Plum Island Mass. the
same as the immature Plymouth specns.[specimens.] I shall probably
send again in a short time.

I send you some scraps from
the remains of Dr. Cutler's herbarium, which were
given me by his grandson [crossed out: ?] M. Cutler Torrey,
a portrait painter, [crossed out: &lately] a lamented friend of mine
now deceased. The doctor's specns.[specimens] are in tolerable
condition, & contain some species very lately described,
but nothing new. He made the first ascent 
to the White Mts. with Prof. Peck, & his
herbarium if complete, might through[throw] some
light upon Pursh's plants. The Doctor's Flora
in the Amer.[American] Acad.[Academy] Memoirs was am I [I am] pretty certain
the first Linnaean work a [of] Botany in America.
It contains many mistakes, & is rather meagre, as
was the Syst. [Systema] Naturae of Linn. [Linnaeus], the only thing he had to
defer [crossed out: ?] on. [crossed out: &] [added: It has some matters still interesting. The Doctor
first wrote on the Lobelia &c.[etc.] & was examined as
a witness [crossed out: in Dr.] on the indictment of the celebrated
Lobelia & [?] Doctor, Thompson [Thomson], author of the
"Thomsonian System."  Thompson was indicted for murder before
the Supreme Court of Mass. in 1806, I believe. I [crossed out: saw] visited
Dr. Cutler once, about 1818 or 19, a few years before his death,
& bought his copy of [crossed out: ?] the Elan Michaux's Oaks.
Dr Cutler was not inclined to agree with me that Pyrola chlorantha
& elliptica were good species, & thought young botanists were too apt 
to make new species. In our time, old botanists are as great
sinners in this way as any. I have taken the liberty to take from your
herb.[herbarium] a [berry?] of Arb. alpina & one or two other scraps of that kind. Long
as I have had it, I have not studied it [added: at] all. You have 4 fair flowering

        