Creator
John Muir
Recipient
[Jeanne C.] Carr
Transcription
[4]
Cy[illegible] [illegibla]ulbipera grows in every arbor vitae made in company with the beautiful and frag[illegible] Linn[illegible] [illegible.] Bot[illegible] [illegible]oids is a common fern in many parts of Canada, Osmunda regalis is far less common here than in Wis. I found it in only two cocalities. 6, Claytom[illegible] only in one place near the Niagara Falls the delicale Adiant[illegible] trembles upon every hillside S[illegible]opteris Germanica grows to a great height in open places in arbor vitae, & black ash swamps Comptosorns rhi[illegible], and Seo[illegible] [illegible] [illegible], I found in but one place amid the wet limestone rocks of Owen - Sound. These are many species of Sedge common here which I do not remember having seen in Wis
433
[1]
"The Hollow" Jan 31 /66
Dear Mrs Carr, Your last, written in the delicious quiet of a Sabbath in the country, has been read and read a good many times, I was interested with the description you gave of your sermon. You speak of such services like one who appreciated and relished them. But although the page of nature is so [reflected?] with divine truth it is silent concerning the fall of man and the wonders of Redeeming Love might she not have been made to speak as clearly & dognently of these things as she now does of the character & Mrib[illegible] of God. It may be a bad symptom but I will confess that I take more intense delight from reading the power & goodness of God
[2]
from "the things which are made" than from the bible, the two books however harmonize beautifully, and contain enough of divine truth for the study of all eternity. It is so much easier for us to employ our faculties upon these beautiful tangible forms than to exercise a simple humble living faith such as you so well describe as enabling us to reach out joyfully into the future to expect what is promised as a thing of tomorrow. I wish Mrs Carr that I could see your mosses, & ferns, & [illegible] I am sure that you must be happier than anybody else you have so much less of winter than others, your parlor garden is verdant and in bloom all the year,
[3]
I took your hint & [illegible] ten or twelve species of moss all in fruit, also a club moss, a fern, and some li[illegible] and [illegible]hens. I have also a box of thyme. I would go a long way to see your herb [illegible], more especially your ferns & mosses, these two are by far the most interest- ing of all the [illegible] orders to me, the shaded hills & glens of Canada are richly ornamented with these lovely plants. Asp[illegible] [illegible] is common everywhere so also is A [illegible] A, [illegible] A, Co[illegible], & A. a[illegible]des, are also abundant in many places. I found specimens of most of the others A[illegible] bud those I have much [illegible] are more common. -
[first part of page cut off - bad photography]
[5]
[Calyhae?] borealis is a lovely plant found in a few places in dark hemlock woods. - but this is an endless [theme?] I may as well stop here --------------------------------------- I have been very busy of late making practical machinery. I like my work exceeding well but would prefer inventions which would require some artistic as well as mechanical skill. I invented and put in operation a few days ago an attachment for a self acting lathe which has increased its capacity at least one third, we are now using it to t[illegible] broom handles, and as these useful articles may now be made cheaper, and as cleanliness is one of the [cardinal?] virtues, I congratulate myself in having done something like a
[6]
true philanth[illegible] for the real good of mankind in general. What say you? I have also in- vented a machine for making rake teeth, and another for boring for them, & driving them, and still another for making the bows, still another used in making the handles, still another for bending them, so that rakes may now be made nearly as fast again. Farmers will be able to produce grain at a lower rate, the poor get more bread to eat. Here is more philan[illegible]- is it not? I sometimes feel as though I was losing time here, but I am at least re- ceiving my first lessons in pract- ical mechanics and as one of the firm here is a mill wright and as I am permitted to make
00365
[7]
as many machines a I please and to remodel those now in use, the school is a pretty good one I wish that Allie & [illegible] B'- could come to see me every day, there are no children in our family here & I miss them very much. they would like to see the machinery and I could turn them wooden balls and tops, rake bows before being bent would make excellent canes, and if they should ever need crutches broom handles, & rake handles would answer. I have not heard from [Henry?] for a long time, I suppose that this evening finds you in your pleasant library amid books, & plants; & butterflies are you really successful in keeping happy [sportive?] "winged blossoms" in such weather as this - One of the fiercest snowstorms is [illegible] now, the roaring wind
Location
"The Hollow" [Canada]
Date Original
1866 Jan 21
Source
Original letter dimensions: 18.0 x 23.0 cm
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to Jeanne C. Carr, 1866 Jan 21" (1866). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1182.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1182
Resource Identifier
muir01_0768-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 01, Image 0768
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyrighted
Copyright Statement
The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, click here to view the Holt-Atherton Special Collections policies.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Copyright Holder
Muir-Hanna Trust
Copyright Date
1984
Pages
4 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
