Transcribe Silliman, Benjamin, Jr. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1862-03)

addition spoken of on p 2 (3)

       I notice from a slip from the ? paper

that you are to furnish a ? ? Cast to Tapec College for $8000 - That sum judiciously expended with your present knowledge ought to produce an excellent collection! Allow me to make you a suggestion? You have probably discovered long since that it is far easier to make a Geological Collection in a short time than a Cabt of Minerals of equal excellence in that department -In fact the latter cannot be ? ab ?. If I had to execute the ? with which you are charged ? try and buy some well aperted exciting Cabinet of minerals as A nucleus and then fill lt out in those places where it was weak adding here and there a few stunning things to give it character - For example Dr Smith of Phila has a very select and quite extensive collection - excellent in American Minerals and well ? - which he once offered for sale for one thousands Dollars. Brush thinks it is worth much more - & that is my opinion - also.

        I have offered my cabinet - (excluding meteorites) to Columbia 

College. At a nominal price of $3,500. It fills about 110 drawers 2 x 2 - and runs up I suppose to about 3000 specimens - The offer is still open - and if the Professer was a numerologist I am