Publication InformationBurlington June 21 58

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Dear Baird

My nephew & niece are going into the woods, and I have told them that your automophonous powder (Persian powder do you call it?) might be good for musquitos and black flies. Edmonds tried to find it & could not. Will you send to Wyllys Lyman Esq. 57 Liberty Street, New York, the address of the seller there of, as ? They propose to start on the 1'- of July --

I have made a partial arrangement to lecture next winter in N.Y. on the English language, & need some of [---] Smithsonian

Will you send me by express those on the enclosed list.

Mrs Marsh has been gradually improving, for several months, though with occasional relapses. She has walked a quarter of a mile several times, & is able to write a little, as well as sew, though she does not yet attempt to read much. This is without remedy, a change of regimen. Well, it is a great thing, that after so many years of suffering, both Mary & my wife should be so far restored. I suppose you & I shall waltz with them some day, to the admiration of the beholders, & indeed I am tempted to go into the acrobatic line generally.

It was made known to me, by winks, some days since, that Gould was in trouble at Albany, & I perceive that the papers are noticing the

subject, but hear nothing of causes. Is it a movement for the benefit of Peters?

How do you get on with your cases, & the filling of them? Did Congress give you the appropriations?

Are Guyot's new tables published, & how can I get two copies for myself, & my brother?

Here be many questions, take your own time to answer them. I hope your summer tour will embrace Burlington. We had thought to go into the Adirondacks, but my N.Y. engagement will keep us at home, & you can't miss us at any time. I sincerely hope Gilliss will be able to carry out his Eclipse expedition.

Mrs Marsh joins me in love to Mary as well as yourself & Lucy, as well as

Truly yoursGeo P. Marsh

Prof. Baird

References in this letter:

George Franklin Edmunds (1828-1919) began his career practicing law in Burlington. He served in the Vermont State House of Representatives and in the State Senate. In 1866 he was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused by Solomon Foot's death and served for four terms. He resigned in 1891. Edmunds was married to Susan Edmunds, the daughter of Marsh's sister and Wyllys Lyman, his Burlington friend.

A Burlington lawyer, sometime law and business partner, and friend of Marsh, Wyllys Lyman (1797-1862) married Marsh's sister. Senator George Franklin Edmunds was his son-in-law.

Swiss-American, Arnold Henry Guyot (1807-1884), taught physical geography and geology at Princeton University. Under Smithsonian Institution auspices, he set up a system of weather observatories that utimately grew into the U. S. Weather Bureau. His barometric tables, published as A Collection of Meteorological Tables, with other tables useful in practical meteorology, published by the Smithsonian in 1852, were very influential. Guyot's contribution to physical geography, Earth and Man (Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1849) inspired Marsh, despite Marsh's disagreements with some of its premises.

James Melville Gilliss (1811-1865) was both a naval officer and astronomer. He was responsible for proposing and supervising the building of Naval Observatory in Washington, DC (1842-1844). In 1846 he was assigned to the U.S. Coast Survey and spent several years in Chile conducting astronomical observations. The Gilliss family, based in Washington, became close friends of the Marshes and the Bairds.