From N. J. Winch   30 December 1825

My dear Sir,

Allow me to return you my best thanks for a valuable packet of plants, which was brought me by M ^r Ja ^s: Lork a week or two since and are now arranged in my herbarium, after having been washed with a solution corrosive sublimate in spirits of wine, a precaution, I hope you take, to preserve rare specimens from destructive insects— I am very sorry Eriophorum pubescens is exterminated in your neighbourhood for I must own I do not understand the plant or have mistaken it for another cotton grass. The Rev ^d M ^r Holmes, who I had the pleasure of seeing here in the summer, mentioned, having found E. pubescens near Carlisle and afterwards sent me specimens, but his plant was what I had always considered E. polystachion, so frequent in the North of England—of that species, from a South country locality I possess no specimen and must own myself puzzled between them for if M ^r H— be correct, as I conclude he must be, E: pubescens is common with us and E: polystachion confined to the South of England— are both species in your Herbarium? and can you resolve these doubts? With regards to Galium Witheringii, all I can say is, that it agrees exactly with a sp ⁿ so named by the Bishop of Carlisle and of course is Smiths species (see Eng: Bot:) whether a good one or no, I will not pretend to determine, not being in seed when gathered it adds in some degree to the difficulty.— the situation in which it grew was by no means marshy and its general habit is unlike that of palustre— You shall have another sp ⁿ together with Melica nutans, but our Juncus acutus is only a var: of J. maritimus— Pray send me a list of your Desiderata and I will do all in my power to shorten the catalogue[.] When the 1 ^st Ed. of my pamphlet on the Geog: of Plants was published M ^r Hogg had not discovered Bupleurum rotundifolium in the County of Durham, but in the edition now sent you will find it mentioned— as well as some valuable information contained in notes, for which I am also indebted to your friend.— Are you certain that Lonicera Caprifolium is indigenous at Hinton? Or was it not planted there by the late M ^r Rehlan? Can you spare me sp ^ms of Malaxis Loeselii? Do you collect exotic species and rare garden plants? If so I will add a few from Lapland to the next British ones. There must certainly must be many curious and obscure exotics in your botanic garden— Pray let me hear from you by post for I never grudge paying for scientific letters—

Adieu my dear Sir and | believe me truly yours | Nat: Jn ^s: Winch