Morong, Thomas. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1879-01-24)

Transcription

nwh {page 1} Ashland. Mass. 24 Jan 4 1879 Hand change ans'd " letter recd: forwarded as soon as possible" M. B. B. Prof H. A. Ward May 2

       Dear Sir
              About a month

since, I think, my friend, Pres. E. P. Ten= ney, of Colorado College, wrote to you, at my request, to make some inquiries about connecting a regular botanical agency with your "Natural Science Establishment" at Rochester. I believe he only suc= ceeded in giving you the impression that a fiend of his wished to dis= pose of some plants. But my object then, as it is now, was to ascertain whether you would not like to con= nect a competent botanist with your work & establish a regular botanical depot for the sale & exchange of plants in all parts of our country and Europe. I had often thought, if a good opportunity offered, that I should like to establish such a depot myself, & when I received your circulars &

[page 2] found that yours was a trustworthy institution, it seemed to me that the plan would harmonize perfectly with your enterprise. My idea was still further confirmed by Dr Evay of Cambridge Mass. Noticing a package of your plants one day, that had been sent to the Herbarium for identification, he observed to me that if you would engage a thoroughly competent botanist to take charge of such a department in your establishment & devote his whole time to it, you would probably succeed not only in making a profitable thing out of it, but also do something to promote botanical science.

       Now if this idea strikes you fa=

vorably, & we could make an ar= rangement mutually satisfactory, I am strongly inclined to engage in such an undertaking myself. As I am a stranger to you, a word of self introduction will not be out of place,

[page 3] ~~I am~~ ? you, if you choose to inquire about my qualifications, to re= fer to Dr Asa Gray, Cambridge, Mass. or Pres. E. P. Tenney, or others whom I mention below. - I am a Congregation= al clergyman, in good standing, settled at present over a Cong. church in this town: - A graduate of Amherst College. For the last 15 years I have, out of pure love for the science, paid great attention to botanical studies, investi= gating, collecting, teaching & publishing articles in the subject in various magazines, some of which I could send you, if desired. My private

herbarium contains upwards of 4000

sp. of American plants, all carefully & accurately named. I have, besides, some 1200 sp. in duplicate for sale or exchange most of them collected & carefully preserved by myself, & I know to be first rate Herb. specimens. I am in constant cor= respondence & exchange with most of

[page 4] the active botanists in the country - have had solicitations from European botanists - & have the means of access to curators of the large botanical gardens and museums in England & Germany. You will see, then,that if you feel like setting up such an establishment, I am in a condition to carry out the plan.. - If the plan meets your wishes, I will write more at length.

       I have also a cabinet of some

800 or 1000 sp. (all named) of American & foreign shells which I would sell at reasonable rates, or throw into the collection were I to come in with you.

       If you choose you may confer

about me with Prof. Wm. S. Clark, Agricul= tural College, Amherst, Mass. - or Pres. Seryle of Amherst College - or my friend & fellow collector, Prof. J. W. Chickering, Prof. of Nat. Hist. Deaf Mute College, Wash= ington, D. C. - or with one of your own name, somewhat known as a botanist Lester L. Ward, Esq. 1464 Rhode Island Avenue, Washington, D. C. Very truly yours Thomas Morong Hand change Morong Jan. '79 Address Rev. Thos. Morong. Ashland, Mass.

Other date (replied to, etc.)

1879-05-02

Place sent from

Ashland, Massachusetts, United States of America

Place sent to

Rochester, New York, United States of America

Item images

Tags

nwh

Collection

AW23 Ward (Henry Augustus) Papers (Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester)

Citation

Morong, Thomas, 1827-1894, "Morong, Thomas. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1879-01-24).", AW23 Ward (Henry Augustus) Papers (Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester), Ward Project, accessed November 21st, 2024, https://wardproject.org/items/show/15030

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