Kew
March 9th/[18]62
My dear Munro*1
It is long since I have heard from you, & the return of Moores Diary brought you to my thoughts the other day; as did a report some months ago that this Yankee affair had led to your removal to Canada. How are you getting on in the remote Bermoothes[?], & how Mrs Munro & the children. We are all flourishing -- my Father has been remarkably well this winter, but the spring winds that cut him up are not yet set in -- my mother creeps about on 2 sticks. my wife is well & children ditto

Bentham & I are printing the first part of Genera Plantarum, the most terrible job I ever put my brain to -- we have completed to [1 word illeg.] & are now printing Alsineae[?], when I tell you that each proof sheet occupies each of us 6 hours, you may guess how many blunders creep in, & how many things want verifying -- Every genus has been wholly worked up by ourselves. -- nothing proveable is taken for granted. We shall I suppose have to print " for the authors" -- & the work will cost about 15/ a part of which there will be 5 or 6. -- Some of the orders, Crucifera[?], Terebinth[?] [1 word illeg.] & Rotales[?] have each taken many months. We hope to get on better now. Thomas is home & in

very poor health, he talks of going out again in September. Strachey is gone out to be Exect[?] Engineer at Calcutta -- [1 word illeg.] has taken a nice house on Kensington road just past Knightsbridge. Bentham has taken a tiny house in Wilton place. Edgeworth lives at Annerley[?] near Crystal Palace. I saw old Wight[?] the other day all well & idle at [1 word illeg.].
The Linnean progresses, I fear you have forgotten your papers on the [1 word illeg.], about which Hanbury[?] is enquiring; also about what of some Grasses which I have of yours to be drawn by Fitch for you. for Linn Trans.?
My wife has often asked me to remind you to return the first part of H. Spencer's "First Principles" which you forgot to do before you

left -- we cannot get it separate from the remainder (which we have) I suppose it can come by post, if you can lay your hands on it. my wife has not read it & wants to.
Oliver is very hard at work on Loranthaceae[?] & various other matters especially on Tertiary Botany of [1 word illeg.], on which he delivered a very interesting lecture at R[oya]l. Institution last Friday Evening. Harvey is well in Dublin. Lindley is preoccupied with Grt[?] Exhibition, Falconer is [1 word crossed out, illeg.] "semper idem" & has taken a large house in Park crescent with his sister in & niece (or 2 nieces) at top of Portland Place. The Gardens flourish & I think improve in details; the Cinchona[?] experiment has been a great success. -- With united sincere[?] regards to Mrs Munro & yourself
Most tr[ul]y y[our]s | JD Hooker [signature]