From R. K. Greville   9 September 1828

Edinburgh

9 September 1828

My dear friend,

I ought to have acknowledged your last communication long before this – but you must not imagine I undervalued it – your parcel contained indeed an ample supply of many rare plants and occasioned sundry uncivil ejections of less perfect specimens– Accept now my best thanks for the whole & also for your letter of the 18 th July. I am truly glad to find you proceeding in so spirited a manner. The naming of the species in the garden would require some courage but like a plunge with a cold bath is best done without much previous contemplation.

Since I returned from Devonshire I have had much to do – being wofully in arrears with my correspondence– I am now going to relax for 6 weeks – & then you may expect some of my Algae– by the way – my book is at a standstill, waiting for Agardh’s last vol. of his Sp. Algarum. The French too have just been at least doubling my labor – by cutting up Agardh & publishing a system of their own. M. Gaillon has written pretty largely on the Thalassophytes in the last vol. of the Dict. des Sciences Naturelles– I must now concoct a system for myself before I can put pen to paper & I like not the mare magnum that they have placed before me– Do you know that Hooker has got the 2 remaining vols. of Smith to finish? I confess I should have liked very well to have done them myself.– & more,– I think Hooker has too much in hand to get through with justice to his subjects.

Mougeot’s work costs me 15s/ per vol. that is exclusive of carriage & duty which you paid for the 4 vols you have. I therefore owe you 2s/–

My Fl. Crypt. was interrupted on account of my absence I found I could not go on with 500 miles between me & the engravers &c– the last nos. are all in the colourer’s hands & about finished– a supplementary no. will contain the synopsis & index which occupy nearly 100 pages & is just coming from the printer. All this I have had to do since I came. As it is sometimes allowable to put a part for the whole, I am inclined to call my next book Fucologica Britannica or a description of the Algae of Great Britain & Ireland &c &c – systematically arranged & described – &c

I hope your family is well. Mrs G. desires to be kindly remembered to you & Mrs Henslow.

Believe me |my dear Sir |yours very faithfully | R.K.Greville

Please cite as “HENSLOW-76,” in Ɛpsilon: The Correspondence of John Stevens Henslow accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/henslow/letters/letters_76