
          Dr. John Torrey                             Philadelphia 9th June 1819
New York

Dear friend

Your favor of 1st June was not rec'd [received] in time to be
sent by Dr. Mitchell, as I should have wished.  I now answer it in
haste because I am going tomorrow to Baltimore on my way to 
Pittsburg by the Cumberland Road.  Dr. Mitchell forgot to bring me
the books & plants thinking I was already gone.  I trust you will speedily
attend to forward them here to Mr. Collins as you promised.

I am not in time to send you the real Acnida cannabina with
smooth seeds, you may get it from any one, my A. salicifolia [Acnida salicifolia] has the
fruit very similar to A. rusocarpa,[Acnida rusocarpa] but the leaves different.  Is it a hybrid?

How can I help making use of our literary journals to publish
my discoveries?  Since the booksellers will not publish technical botanical
works, unless they are compilations!  I must then send to Europe
& so am I now doing, yet I shall publish much in the appendix to 
my travels, if I can squeeze it in, without injuring the printer!  It
is the duty of the compiler to lookout for materials anywhere.

Euphorbia hypericifolia, E. maculata, [Euphorbia maculata] E. polygonifolia, [Euphorbia polygonifolia] E. thymifolia [Euphorbia thymifolia]
E. supina, [Euphorbia supina] E vermiculata, [Euphorbia vermiculata] etc. are all distinct species, I
have seen them all in the Un. [United] States.

Elliot's work although highly valuable, will never be more so than
Linneus [sp.] & if he was Linneus was first & his Gratiola virginica
cannot & must not change name:  if it was Gr. odorata [Gratiola odorata] would have
been better than G. neglecta, [Gratiola neglecta] since it was not neglected by any body!

If my Eatonia, or the Aira obtusata alone as rec'd [received] a generic name
by Beauvais & if it is a good one, it must prevail, but pray what 
is that name?  you do not name it nor quote it in y. [your] Catalogue.

The number of styles, stigmas & stamina is in my opinion [crossed out:more] [added:as]
important among grapes than the number & shape of the glume!
whence I shall make N.G. [new genera] of all those species having a difference in
that respect else Oryza would be no genus.  It is on that [illegible] that 
I divide the g. Cyperus, Scherus, Seripus, Festuca, Carex etc. and
that the new Torreya is based is not also the seed different? the 
shape of the seed affords now excellent generic characters in grasses
        