To William Whewell   16 March 1860

My dear Whewell,

Mr E's M.S. requires a little closer attention than I have yet had time to bestow upon it – but I don't hesitate saying I consider it well worth publishing among miscellaneous materials, as you suggest– There is a figure needed for the few fish pages, which I have supplied at the back of a piece of paper containing 2 or 3 figures which do not apply to the assumptions he has made.– It is long since I looked at the original speculations of Mess ^rs Braun & C ^o. I have a diagram introduced last year at In my lectures, to show how readily the fundamental spiral may be detected, by noting the intersection of 2 secondary spirals coiled in opposite directions– But the speculations of M ^r E., in this mode of resolving the fundamental spiral, & his ingenious conjectures & suggestions, so far as I have hitherto been able to look into them, are new to me; & (unless I have quite forgotten) proceed in quite a different tack from those of Mess B. The view taken by such a mind as M ^r E's must be interesting, even if he have stated nothing absolutely new, & I would recommend his M.S. to be printed verbatim.

We expect the Barnard's here next week, & I can return the M.S. when they return to C., or bring it myself when I come up; unless you wish to have it earlier, & I am asked to forward it immediately, I should like to consider more of it; but I write at once, as I thought you w ^d be expecting to hear–

Best respects to Lady Afflick & believe me | very truly yrs | J S Henslow