(seq. 14)

Anemone virginiana has bloomed, so has Heritiera
gmelini. The beautifully red roots of the latter might
furnish a good dye. I omitted to mention in my
last that Planera gmelini was Anonymos 363 Walter.

I attempted hastily a fortnight since to sketch
to you an unknown plant, but I suspect I must have
puzzled you for my description is both inapplicable
and unintelligible. I wrote in the greatest haste. Instead
of an acinose fruit which belongs not to polyandrous
plants the seeds I have since discovered are enclosed each
in an inflated capsule which bursts with some noise on
pressure being made. The fissure is lateral. Capsules are
certainly monospermous, the seed globular, they are
collected into a capitulum as in most of the Ranunculaceae.
Another mistake I must correct, the flowers are borne in
panicles rather than corymbs. This plant I suppose
is the Cimicifuga palmata (Mich) & very probably the Actaea
pentagyna & dioica of Walter.

Have you ever seen a dwarf Ilex growing
in high pine woods seldom rising above 2 feet, with leaves
oval, acuminate, finely serrated, rather smooth above, but
quite villose underneath? The fruit is a red berry larger
than that borne by I. opaca. It blooms about the middle of
May. I am not positive in designating it an Ilex, but
it is certainly dioecia tetrandria & the berries [4 spermous?] —
In the medical department I hope I am making some
acquisitions. I have lately had some satisfactory proofs
of the virtues of Stillingia, Iris, & Eryngium in nephritic
& dropsical cases. Did I mention Vernonia angustifolia
to you?

Delphinium azureum began to bloom early in
June. I have preserved some good specimens. Trichodi -
-um decumbens was literally parched up even tho its
most favorite soils by the late heats & drought]. This is
not "sustinens astutem". The freshets have kept me out of
Santee swamp, now the waters are subsiding & at the
same time drawing my attention elsewhere. This has
been peculiarly unfortunate for I expect to have culled
something rare for you from these ample fields
domains
of Flora.

[Right-side page]

I am very happy to find your work is in such forward-
=ness. I don't presume to give my opinion as to the propo=
sed modes of publication, but could wish to see you come
entire from the press — You doubtless see the great neces-
sity of giving the generic characters fully & thus pre-
=venting the necessity of continual reference to the
Genera & species plantarum works not to be procured
at any rate, at least I have found them so. I think
a taste for Botany is widely diffusing it self through=
=out the U.S.A. & especially in the southern department.
I find many willing to take up the study but botanical
latin opposes too great a barrier. A work on the plan
of Curtis's Flora would be eagerly sought after by men
of leisure in this country — Dr. Barton did attempt such
a work some years ago & I saw a quarto vol unpubv
=lished in his hands, but it has been laid aside I believe.

I could wish to know the nature & extent of
[?] your entomological notices. I have made [?]
[?] [obs?]ervations only which may be useful to you [?]
[?] so detached that I am in some [mea[sure?] [?]
a loss how to detail them.

I am, Dear Sir,

Yours with great esteem

J Macbride