From Dawson Turner to Ellen Hutchins   9 Jan 1808

Madam the letter which I had the honour of receiving from you a fortnight ago gave me very great pleasure, & I beg of you to accept my thanks for the interesting information it contained, & to be convinced that your correspondence is at all times gratifying to me. I only regret the distance between us which makes the convenience of any small parcels a matter of so much difficulty & trouble. A few years ago I used to be able to get anything franked by means of General Vallancey, but I have now lost all knowledge of the Secretaries at the Castle, & I regret it the more, as, were I acquainted with them, the intercourse between us would be at all times ready & secure. Before this letter reaches you I am in hopes that you will have received a little packet which my friend, Captain Mangin undertook to forward to you. It contained only two or three Fuci, & a few Sertulariae, which, as you mention that you have not long attended to the Genus & are not in reach of assistance, I thought you might like to have named, as, though common, they may serve for stepping stones upon which you may advance in your knowledge of the tribe. These things were contained in a copy of my Muscologia Hibernica, of which I beg you will do me the favour to accept. Though written in Latin you may still find it of some use, even if you do not read this language, which, as far as Botany is concerned, is not difficult, & as it is designed to illustrate some of the plants of your own country, & is no longer to be purchased, I had a particular pleasure in sending it to a lady to whom the Botany of Ireland is likely to be so much indebted. My particular friend, Mr Hooker, who is at this moment sitting by me & working at a monograph of the genus, Jungermannia, has desired me to interest myself with you to send me for him specimens of julacea, quinquedentata, & curvifolia, if you find them in your neighbourhood, & particularly if you find them with fruit. He is about to give figures of all the known species of this elegant tribe, & you may judge how well he will do them, if you have seen any of the Nos already published of my Historia Fucorum for which he has done nearly the whole of the drawings. I wish I could recommend to you any English work upon the Lichens: Withering’s is as bad as bad can be; & I am sorry to say that of this beautiful, &, to me, most interesting tribe no good account is yet published. As far as I can assist you by sending you specimens & naming what you may find I will do it with the greatest pleasure. Had I time, there is nothing I should like better than to write a Lichenographia Britannica upon the plan of my Synopsis of Fuci, but I am too deeply involved in business to dare to think seriously of such an undertaking at present. The parcel of sea plants that you have been so kind as to send me by Mr Mackay has not yet found its way to Yarmouth, nor have I once heard from him since my return from Scotland. I doubt that in my last letter I did not explain myself sufficiently clearly about the Fucus respecting which I wished for information to enable me to publish it. Your answer alludes to a plant like Hypoglossum, of which I believe I have hitherto seen but one very imperfect specimen, indeed too imperfect to say anything of. — That about which I meant to inquire, was sent me by Mr Mackay from you some time ago marked No 5; it resembles in its dried state F membranaceus more than any other species, but is a most curious plant, being contracted, as it proliferates, near the apices, where the midrib seems to terminate. If you understand what I allude to, & can furnish me with any particulars of its appearance when recent I shall be much obliged to you. I shall avail myself of the liberty you allow me to mention you as the person who found it, & shall also quote you for the different plants in Dr Scott’s collection which come from Bantry Bay.

The Ulva which you sent me was described & figured by me many years ago under the name of U multifida —your specimen has no No to it, but you have remarked upon it that it was very brittle & crackling when fresh. It has been only once or twice found here, & I believe never anywhere else, excepting a single specimen in Devonshire by Mrs Griffiths: if, therefore, you should meet with it in plenty I should be thankful for a few specimens: I will also beg one or two of F Wigghi which has not been seen here for several years, & of Palmetta when you get it in abundance. If you know the fructification of this latter I should be much obliged to you to send it in a letter, for I mean to publish it in a very early No. — Pray tell me of what colour F ligulatus is when growing & if you have ever seen any fruit. The list of flowering plants contained in your letter is indeed an admirable one, & such as very few Botanists can boast. I will next summer beg the varieties of Anthyllis vulneraria, Saxafraga Geum, the variety of Blechnum Spicant, Euphorbia hyberna & Arbutus unedo — these two last you say are very common, & therefore, if it be not too much to ask, I would beg of you a good stock of both, that I may not only supply myself, but be through your kindness liberal to my brother botanists of this country. The other plants you mention are very rare, but I have opportunities of getting them from Devonshire & Sussex without troubling you. I shall be very happy to hear from you when you have leisure & beg you to accept the assurance of the

respect & esteem with which I am Madam Your much obliged servant

Yarmouth 9^th January 1808 Dawson Turner

I had almost forgotten to mention that the Conferva contained in your letter is one which I have had for some time under the Manuscript name of C cryptarum, but I believe it is not yet described. The Jungermannia Mr Hooker & I found abundantly in Scotland, & suppose to be the real cocheariformis: perhaps you will have the goodness to send what you have called by that name.