Letter from John Muir to Jeanne C. Carr, 1866 Jan 21

[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 Wis433[1] The Hollow Jan 31 /66Dear 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 make00365[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\u27- 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 win