WCP3847

[1]¹

Broadstone, Wimborne

March 13th. 1907

Dear Mr. Hemsley²

Thanks for your letter.³ As if appears that your list of Spruce’s⁴ plants is only in numerical order, I have the same already in the notes. – your offer to let me have the names of any there unnamed I shall gladly accept if I decide to give any of the information to be delivered from these notes.

I thought I made it clear that my ideas was only to give lists of Spruce's ^own collection only [2] from certain localities which he himself thought to be especially new & interesting & where no other botanist had collected before him. I never had the least idea of including all species now known from those localities.

The fact is, that Spruce was one of my most highly valued friends, whose abilities & character I greatly admired and my wish is to do all I can to make known the work he did, & to do justice to his whole-hearted devotion to science [3] & especially to botany.

I therefore wish to give some facts as to the amount of work he did in a way that will be intelligible & interesting to all who have any general knowledge of love of plants, and of the inexhaustible variety of nature- especially in the Great Amazon valley. I should therefore wish if possible to compare the amount of work he did with that of other botanical collection making due allowance for his twofold difficulties (1) that of being obliged to collect large series of specimens ^{of each species}, in order to [4] pay his expenses- and (2) swing to his having had for by for the greater part of his journeys ^{no assistance} whatever in drying preserving & packing his collections.

I find from what you say that it will be very difficult to do this- but I must do the best I can under the circumstances.

Believe me | yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1. In Hemsley’s handwriting, “Ansd 15.iii.07.” The letter has not been found.

2. Hemsley, William Botting (1843-1924). British botanist; Keeper at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1899-1908.

3. The letter has not been found.

4. Spruce, Richard (1817-1893). British botanist, explorer and collector in the Amazon; lifelong friend of ARW.