
          Ansd May 28th 1839               Philada [Philadelphia] 1st febry [February] 1839

My good old friend.  How is it that you did not answer
my last letter of last fall.  perhaps y [your] lectures take up all y [your] time & 
then you do not go on with yr [your] flora.  I was told by Durand that you
had not even issued yet yr [your] 2d Nr.  I wanted to buy the two together &
still better with the 3d forming a volume.  I found that you sent him
many copies for sale & a free copy.  while you did not do the same
to me, your oldest friend & who has sent you his works without exactg [exacting]
paymt [payment] before hand.  This was hardly fair.  While I would have
been a subscr. [subscriber] for 5 copies, or at least as many copies as you took of
my works, and could have sold you many others.  Can it be that 
you also feel jealous of my labors. I can hardly believe it.  We do not
interfere in the least, but each is striving to excel in his line & accordy [accordingly]
rather than any thing else.  It is so at least on my part.

It is to be regretted that you did not begin your Series by the inverse
or the cryptogams.  Where you had as in the grasses next so much to
do & do well, while by yr [your] plan they will be the last & perhaps never
come out complete.  In the trees & shrubs as in many high orders
you are not so perfect as you want to be there & then you would have
no rivals if you dislike tham.  As it is we shall often clash or differ
on trees, shrubs, plants, monocot [monocotyles] etc, & time shall decide who was
the most sagacious of us.

Meantime I go on in my weary but pleasing labors.  as I told
you my 4th part or Volume of New flora was completed so as to give
you time to go on with your flora.  I also completed my Flora telluriana
into Vol. or 1225 articles.  But immedy [immediately] after begun & have concluded
last Decr. [December] my Synopsis of N.G. & Sp of Trees & Shrubs of N. Amer
& elsewhere.  One Volume, 1200 articles price $5.  I have as many
as 28 New Amer [American] Oaks, 10 Myricas, 30 Fraxinus, a host of N. Genera
Revisals of 100 General, Salix, Mimosa, Cassia, Bignonia, Rhamnus,
Ilex, Pinus, Cerdia, Ficus, Croton, etc.  All good, well names & similar.

I have printed last month my monograph & manual of the
Mulberry trees.  25 Sp & 3 var.  several new American Sp. well
fixed.  this si to be a popular work like my Vines.  price 50 cts, but 20
copies for $5.  I now shall go on with my Erikun [crossed out:of] [added:or a ] labor on Heaths
Andromedas, Vacciniums, Diolmas etc, then my Dendrikun on figs.

It is desirable that we should come to a friendly understg [understanding] on the exchange
or sales of our works.  Mine in a set shall soon amount to $40, but I

        