To George Knights 18 June 1855

My dear Sir,

You have a Museum notice, which did not appear last week - & I now forward the commencement of a Miscellaneous one, which will perhaps be more generally interesting than No. 34. It may be appended (if you see fit) to the tale of the one you have as we once before appended one after Species 105. I have as much or more than as much again to add to it - but I have not time to devote to copying out more than during 2 evenings in the week, & it is as well the notices should be not over long & appear week by week if convenient - but otherwise no matter. I am expecting my friends on Monday & with my second son we shall be a party of 4 on our Crag visiting excursions. I think our best plan will be to visit the Pleistocene beds about Colchester &c on the Tuesday & then on to Ipswich on Wednesday & so to Felixstowe - thence towards Woodbridge visiting junctions of Red & Coralline Crag. I shall be glad of any information you have procured as to localities worth visiting - as I have by no means arranged our plans & probably shall not definitively till Monday. Claydon has sent me a clumsily contrivance (instead of the sized wire I saw before) & has not said what will cost. I think the best way will be for me to get a piece of the wire, & ascertain what it is per yard when bought by a large piece. Then ask our village blacksmith to make one or two under my directions & as well as he can. If he succeeds all well. If not we must apply to Claydon or some wire worker. I am sure we can contrive a cheaper article than 3£ per 2 dozen. Quere whether single rings with a support to pass thro' 2 small staples would not do as well & be manageable for many purposes? [Diagrams on the right side of the page] What would such be per doz? I will try & find out. Baker has mislaid or quite forgotten the order for blocks. Will you be so good as to name the sizes & Nos. you want & he will prepare them. I hear my specimens have arrived quite safe at Paris, but that the heat has been so great the wax models have Melted! To what extent I don't know. You have not sent Darwin & I want to refer to him. I don't like to bother Dr Drummond who is so obliging about stands - but if you can excite any you [part of page missing] to strike off a number of circular disks I find they answer admirable to put under the clay (instead of pasteboard) on which we stick rock specimens. They may be rough & all the better if they have a hole in them. The sizes should be from 1/2 inch, 1, 2, 3, or any thing intermediate. They might be cut off rapidly from the Linen drapers cylinders for silk by a circular saw [Diagram on right side of the page]

Yrs very truly

J. S. Henslow