
          Castine Oct 4th 1847

My dear Sir

Yours of the 27th ult. [ultimate] came to 
hands at this place, forwarded by my family.
This is the present place of my labors, having
been engaged dredging in the harbor, and [added: in] Belfast
bay, for 6 days.

For some reason or other I do not
seem to be successful, the plants do not
come up. If indeed, they adhere to the rocks,
as firmly as some species do on our shores, other
means than dredging will have to be resorted
to. I have, however, been quite successful
in collecting sponges and corallines, of the
former, at least 6 species, some of them 
equal in texture and firmness to the best 
of Turkey sponge, they want tenaciousness
to make them useful!

Now where am I going to get the
necessary information reflecting the name
of these objects! They hold a disputed ground
between animals and vegetables, but must,
I think, come under the latter.

I have not failed to collect the parasitic
worms and infusory animals infesting the
algae, and have preserved several species
in a solution of chloride soda & [bromine sublinate?]
for Bailey. I had almost tho't [thought] that I had made
        