From Dawson Turner to Ellen Hutchins   23 Jan 1810

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I have not at all referred in this letter to your last, nor even mentioned the singularly curious little Conferva it contained. As our parcels must be large gather lichens by wholesale.— I wish you would tell me what I could send you that would be acceptable.

I was reading the other day, my dear Madam, in a review, of some nobleman, I forget who, patron of the famous Dr Moore, the author of Zeluco etc, who used to say, “I never see Moore but when he has something to ask of me.” Happily for me, you cannot say exactly the same thing of me; but, at the same time, common justice requires me to add, that, if ever I write to you without having something to ask for, the merit is not mine but yours; for assuredly I never write but that I have something to thank you for, & it is only your sending more than I desire or expect that prevents my being as notorious a beggar as Dr Moore. I have now to thank you for two letters & for a parcel, &, had I as much time & room as I have inclination for writing, I could probably amuse you by an account of my engagements & feelings at the moment the first of your letters arrived, & I am sure I could please you by the information that it effectually got the better of one of “the miseries of human life” that I was then smarting under. To take things as well in order as I can, let me tell you of the two Jungermanniae contained in your first letter. No 27 is Jung. byssacca of Roth, a plant we find here, but only barren, & therefore Mr Hooker would be obliged to you for more of it: “No 28, from Mr Mackay”, is Jung. barbata of Schmidel, a more common species. The Rivulariae I leave in your hands: you, & only you, must teach us to form our opinions of them, for nobody else has equal opportunities or equal industry & ability. I never saw a marine one in fruit fresh; but, judging from habitat, I was always inclined to think that these & Conferva gelatinous must form the same genus, & that Riv. Angulosa & the other fresh water species must go to them. There is a species very common here, Riv. endivifolia which I can send you, if it do not grow with you, & it recovers better than almost any other. Are the filaments in Riv. angulosa really connected like those of Conf. distorta; I should think they scarcely can be so, & certainly I never saw them so. — The 9 drawings of Confervae please me exceedingly: they appear to me to be all unquestionably new, unless the one on Elms No 62 may possibly belong to C.velutina. I have examined them with the specimens as attentively as I can: at present Mr Hooker has them for the same purpose at Haleworth, & when he has done with them they shall travel into Sussex to be compared by Mr Borrer. Dillwyn is so far off & so much engaged with other matters that I shall not send them to him: besides which, my confidence is stronger in the others. I ought to say that I fear No 56 may possibly belong to the animal kingdom like No.s 31 & 47. I shall with great pleasure follow your wishes in describing them for the Linn. Trans. But I should have much greater pleasure in sending them to the Society with descriptions by yourself, & I need not say that if you would write a short account of each I will add whatever appears to me necessary. Dr Smith, with whom I spent a day last week, desired me to add that the Linnean Society would feel themselves particularly gratified at the communication being made by yourself. I shall in a few days have occasion to write to the Bishop of Carlisle & I will take that opportunity of franking to you a specimen of the Conferva named after me by Dillwyn, & of Utricularia vulgaris, which you will see to be as different as possible from your plant, the true U. intermedia.

This you must find in flower next year. Its two important characters are that the Utriculi grow distinct from the leaves instead of being mixed with them, & that the plant originates from a bulb, which your specimens do not show. If it be common with you & you can gather me a dozen specimens, even barren, I shall be thankful for them. I have so filled my paper that it is impossible to add my remarks upon the plants of your last parcel, as I had meant to do. These, therefore, must travel with the Utricularia. I cannot enough thank you for your readiness in complying with my wishes about the drawing of F.aculeatus. I wish to have it of the size of my Fuci, & as much as possible of the common appearance of the plant, with a small piece fringed, & some of this magnified: adding also any other peculiarities you may think worth notice. As soon as it is done, pray send it like a letter to Captain Mangin, who to my infinite vexation has just written to me word that Mr Taylor has objected to frank any more parcels for you & me, tho’ he will still send our letters (or rather small parcels like letters) under his privilege. Letters I always like best to receive direct by post, but we must use him to convey small specimens or single drawings, & there is, I understand, an office in Dublin that will take our larger parcels & forward them immediately. You must only make your parcels to me bigger & I shall be the more glad of them; but I shall be truly sorry if this plan subjects you to expense; for, as the advantage is all mine, so ought the expense to be too, & I thank God it is not the least object to me. Perhaps you will let some Dublin friend ask where this office is, & how I can by means of it send any thing to you, which I should be very glad to do. You may have my drawings & my books & use as your own my library, which is not contemptible. Have you yet got Dante? Farewell my dear Madam ever yours DT

Yarmouth 23 January 1810.