To William Whewell   7 April 1857

My dear Whewell,

Ray Society's Publications for–

1, 42 — Progress of Phys. Bot

5 — Reports on Bot. Geog.

6 — Geography of plants

9 — Reports by Link & Grisebach

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I have been thinking of your wishes, & it seems to me the above may be of some use to you– I found when I proceeded to examine the Gardeners Chronicle that the Index for 1856 had not yet been published– As I had prepared my own copy for binding I had thrown away the references to Articles on the covers of the separates N ^os. – I there fore have not been able to fulfill my promise of hunting up Hooker's scattered articles on De Candolle's Geographie– but probably the Index will soon be out now & then there will be no difficulty– I am so occupied from Morn till Night that I cannot quite spare the time for the hunt without some such clue– I wrote to Hooker, who is so infinitely more au fait at Botanical Progress than myself, & he tells me he has written to you to say he will, as soon as he possibly can, devote the time necessary to meet your wishes– You will thus have infinitely better authority than I am for amendment & additions. If you will let me see the proof sheets I may possibly correct a few technicalities or misprints, but I feel sure that D ^r Hooker will leave nothing to be desired in the way of information– I dare say you know his preface to the New Zealand Flora– Berkeley has just brought out an Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany– & you can consult his preface with advantage– More advance has been made of late years in this part of the subject than in any other– This has been owing to the vast improvements of late in Microscopes, toys in the hands of so many – mighty engines in the Service of progress with the few– I find our botanical nomenclature sadly grates upon the ears of some of our Cambridge friends – in the notice of what we require at the next Nat Sc. Tripos– I tell the V. C. the Classics of the Universities are to blame in \having/ allowed the Nat. Sc. to progress without their aid– No doubt a Scientific Idea can be conveyed by a barbarity as well as by a humanity– but the latter is to be preferred if we can have it – as much as good manners are preferable to vulgarity–

Ever y ^rs sincerely | J S Henslow

P. S. Mrs H. bids me add her kind regards– I will try & find you more matter before I come up on the 27 ^th –