From David Thomas Ansted 19 December 1839

My dear Sir

Prof Sedgwick has left me a large set of coal plants to pack up & send to you & being determined that you shall not give him the trouble of looking over his fossils again he has selected almost all those with any character at all that he could find. They amount to nearly 120 specimens & among them there are so many of great size & weight that the packing case in which I am going to put them will be of enormous dimensions in every way. I think it better that you should know this before I send according to your direction fearing lest your farmer parishioner should tremble for his horse in bringing so vast a treasure.

I thought it also better to write to you first because as the Library books are [illeg.] on Tuesday I can if you wish it also send any works of reference such as Schlotheim [illeg.] &c that you like to consult. There will be quite time to put them in before sending off the box on Tuesday morning by the Bury carrier.

I shall send a Catalogue of the localities in the box which you can - if you will - make use of by filling in the names there when you have determined them save yourself further trouble. I hope the whole will travel safely but as many of the plants are delicate & brittle there must be a good deal of danger, of course you will unpack carefully. I should mention that (158) is not the specimen that was have to been sent but only a few fragments of it as I found it so brittle that I did not dare to pack it up. Your Calamites I hardly know what to do with as the box would not go into our packing case. Babington told me that it was not put together properly so I did not mind disturbing the arrangement of the pieces. All the plants we have now left are a set of those from the Oolites - chiefly from Scarborough & some from the Lower Keuper. These you can either have sent on or wait till you come back to Cambridge to look at them. If I do not hear from you I shall send off the box on Tuesday according to the direction you left. Sedgwick is now in Town & will spend next week with his sister in Nottingham.

I remain

Dear Sir

Yours very truly

D. T. Ansted