ASA GRAY TO CHARLES DARWIN.
(338/1.

In reply to Darwin's letter given in "Life and Letters," II., page 88.) Cambridge, Mass., February 16th, 1857.
I meant to have replied to your interesting letter of January 1st long before this time, and also that of November 24th, which I doubt if I have ever acknowledged.

But after getting my school-book, Lessons in Botany, off my hands--it taking up time far beyond what its size would seem to warrant--I had to fall hard at work upon a collection of small size from Japan--mostly N.Japan, which I am only just done with.

As I expected, the number of species common to N.America is considerably increased in this collection, as also the number of closely representative species in the two, and a pretty considerable number of European species too.

I have packed off my MSS.