From Charles Stuart¹    6 September 1849

Woodhall nr Perth²

Septr 6th 1849.

Dear Sir,

I have been anxiously waiting for a letter from you in acknowledgement of two packages of specimens which I sent you & therefore fear that from the long time which has passed that you could not have received them, in order to make sure that they had left here safe (as I was not in Launceston at the time the vessells sailed) I went some time since to ascertain particulars respecting them & find that the first box left Launceston in the "Shamrock" & arrived at Port Adelaide on the 16th Aprill & was left at Messrs Bennetts there who are agents for most of the vessils from hence, — the second Box left in the Tamar on the 2nd of May but I cannot learn the date of her arrival in your Colony — if therefore you have not received them I should advise your application to Messrs Bennetts without delay as they may become damaged — I should indeed feel much disappointment should any accident happen so that after all my trouble, there were in the two boxes about 600 Gen. & sp. together with some musci &c in addition — in fact all my summers collecting — do write me word on receipt of this respecting them

I have to acknowledge the reciept of a letter from you dated April 15th/49,³ but at which time you of course could not know about them as the first lot arrived at P. Adelaide on the day after — I did not answer this letter as I felt sure that you had received my letters which I wrote with the same vessels the boxes went by — respecting Mr Giles I beg you will not give yourself any trouble respecting him in the settling of my account as it is evident that he wishes to impose on me, I would not give him a shilling more his object is to get my books which he thinks I will make a sacrifice for by paying him his unjust demand but let him keep them I am sorry to lose them but I will not be imposed upon by him, but his character is well known at Adelaide — he has treated me infamously, but I do not want any more to do with him, he had the empudence to write to me for about 20£ worth of Trees and plants a short time ago, without saying a word about my box which was an extent of impudence I was not prepared for even in him, I wrote to him & told him so — so that we will say no more about him, you say in your last letter that you intended to procure the herbarium at Mr Stephens I should be very glad of it, to see if I could get some of the seeds to grow & if after paying any expense you would forward it & the balance of the cash in your hands should be much obliged, unless indeed the specimens which I sent have not come to hand, in which case pray keep it as part payment of your favor to me when I left Adelaide which kindness believe me I do not forget altho our correspondence has been unfortunate & may give you reason to think that I have not acted honorable, but trust me I have used my best endeavours to be as good as my word & will continue to do so, I have got a lot of Musci Lichenes Fungi &c ready for you but really do not like to send them together with some seeds from S. Africa &c untill I hear from you — it is also my intention in the next month to take a journey to the Eastern part of V D Land where there are many plants not well known — I have to make much extra work in order to get time to go out as I have so much to attend to in my situation, there is a gentleman here (whose address is W. Archer Esqr, Cheshunt near Deloraine) V D Land — with whom you would be much pleased to correspond who has commenced the pursuit of Botany to who I made use of your name & gave him your address, & who said he should much like to correspond with you, which I think would be a mutual benifit, as he has the means to carry out his views he lives about 50 miles from me & has I expect written to you — I am sorry to hear by your last that your expedition to Rivoli bay was not very successful

I must beg you not to suppose that I am in any hurry for the names of plants in my collection take your own time & I shall feel gratified by the receipt of them when you are at leisure, — you may remember a plant which I found on the Murray Rivers growing sometimes in the water, which I then thought was an Aenothera, I have been since thinking it may be a Jussiaea, what think you? — I had commenced a new series of numbers with the last two lots of specimens sent in order to avoid confusion with those lost by the Henry & which I have for the most part now replaced in what I have by me in Cryptogamia I mentioned in my last a request of you to send me if you could procure it a few seeds of the Donia formosa 2 or 3 in a letter would come safely we had a plant here but lost it — I have lately received some seeds from Swan River W. Australia but without names I have sown them and many are coming up — they are mostly in the order & — hoping to hear from you on the first opportunity for which I wait with anxiety

I am dear Sir

Yours sincerely

Charles Stuart

Aenothera

Jussiaea

Donia formosa

Proteaceae

Isopogon

Banksia

Dryandra

Hakea