Charles Bessey, Letters, 1880

T. F. Allen, M. D. 40 East 36th Street. New York, Apr 12 1881

Dear Sir

Hearing that "The Naturalist" is to send an expedition to S. Am. I write to ask you to help me to get some [charas?].

I will pay a good price for 100 specimens of each species or form found. It would be but little trouble and would help a little toward the expenses & help me a great deal.

[Yrs.?] T. F. Allen

Bessey 1881

1. C. intermedia [ABr?] incrustata

2 " Contraria " " " also some C. fragilis [ABr.?] " " C intermedia, forma longi— bractiata, diffusa.

3 C. gymnopus var. trichacantha [ABr.?] very rare I believe & beautifully in [print?] Do you know just where it was gathered? & could I get 100 speciments in any way next year in July??

4 [Nassella?] tenuissima [?]

[Yrs?] T. F. Allen

The New York Homeopathic Medical College Office of the Dean, 10 East 36th St., New York. May 18 1881

Dear Professor:

I received one very interesting chara from the Hot Springs, Dakota, and I find it to be a very unusual form of our most wide spread multiform and puzzling species, chara intermedia, A. Br. This form has [sic.] very long naked terminals to the leaves and in this respect, particularly drifters from almost every other form. I should have been very glad of a hundred specimens of it. Do not forget me when you are botanizing.

Yours very sincerely, T. F. Allen.

Madison, Wis. Feb. 4th 1881

Dear Professor: –

You see I came near writing to you some weeks ago. I read a paper before the joint convention of the Agricultural & Horticultural Societies which is now in session here, on Fungi. I treated the subject in a general manner, showing what they are, and their economic importance. This closed the pared of my paper that I read. I then explained the growth and reproduction of one example from each of the four primary groups, from charts that I prepared roughly with a crayon

on ordinary blank newspaper. For the protophyta I took Fig. 145 of your Botany: for the gygospores Fig. 160; for oospores Fig. 175, 177, [180?], and 71 from 176; for the carpospores Fig. 216, 217, and Fig. 71 from DeBary's [Mor. & Phys. des Pilge?], also III IV & V of Fig. 188 of your Botany. The paper was received with the greatest enthusiasm, and many questions were asked during its delivery, and it was followed by a discussion that lasted nearly an hour, and as it showed no signs of abating the Pres. of [the?] meeting then interrupted and called for the next paper. The whole time occupied was nearly two hours. They were profuse with their praises before I had finished my paper, and as soon as I sat down they gave me a very hearty [vote?] of thanks. At the [Page Break] [time?] [as?] afterward they said everything to show their appreciation. The paper belongs to the Agric. Soc., but the Hort. Soc. wish to also publish it, and although they wished to [make?] it complete finally concluded that the Agr. Soc. should publish it in full with the illustrations, and the Hort. Soc. should give an abstract of the first part and the particular descriptions be made even fuller than [?] the [?]. They offter to obtain engavings of the best characters for any original drawings I may wish to insert. But of course I have none to offer. I write you about this because it was so unexpected and so remarable. And also I wish to enquire where and at what probable cost the electrotypes of the cuts I have