
          recd July 1st

Dr. Torrey                 Philadelphia 18th June 1836

My good friend.  I have two letters of yours to answer,
& what think you, one of them is the lost one of last year, which has reached me
with my Cedar hills plants, via Kentucky.  You sent my plants & letters
to Dr. Short by mistake!  & I have now rec'd [received] them with those he sent this
Spring.  How careless & laughable!  but no harm done.  You must
have too much to think of to be always punctual & correct.  May it not
be so with your names given in a hurry!

As to the Epicholithus I thank you for your microscopical examination
this fact is a most important one in phyliological Botany.  it shows what
changes a Conferva may assume, & explains to me at least, the origins
of Lichens from Confervas.  Meantime I deem this plant a real New
Genus now forming out of Conferva muralis, exposed to new influences.  When
alive it is no more like Conferva than a moss.  It is nearer Rivularia  etc Nutall
which are also deemed akin to Conferva, articulated [illegible] having been seen in
them.  Thus reflect on this.

Meantime I received from Mr. Shaw in the beginning of this month
your letter of 13th may, with your fine parcel of Southern plants.  I
mpw a load of them, including those sent me by Dr. Short, mostly without
names like yours.  I will have trouble enough to study them well, as I
do not wish to destroy the specimens for this.  I really expected from you
better plants & names, yet am thankful for these, as there are several
duplicates, altho' not always of the rarest.  You state that they are all
from Georgia, pray what part?  Some labels say near Macon.  But you
must be mistaken, as I found some labels from North Carolina among
which Dionea x Galax, but specimens gone! which I wanted.

I have looked over the whole, and altho' satisfied with your arrangt [arrangement]
of reckoning them at abt [about] 600 Sp [species] at $18 for exchange in the total
let me tell you, you made a very close guess, since there [added:are] only 672 species
& 72 are useless, being 1) without flowers 2) without leaves, 3) damaged
4) or broken.  Meantime out of the 600 abt [about] 400 are northern plants
which I did not want!  of the 200 Southern, I had one half already
thus only 100 realy [really] very interesting to me, which however this will cost
me 18 cents apiece!  This you will allow is rather a [crossed out:illegible] [added:very dear] rate, and
I will much rather obtain real Southern plants named by you at $5 pr 100.
Waiting for those you  promis.  This has put me in mind of plants
sent formerly much better assorted & named, not damaged etc, which were
complained of.  What should I say then to these!
        