I am requested [b]y¹ two of my friends to write to you in their behalf for some of your Tunis Sheep which, Livingston & Humphreys, to the contrary notwithstanding, they prefer to Merinos. There are many Sheep of the Tunis breed in our State equal to yours perhaps in Size, & for aught I know, in flavor; but my friends say that yours excel them decidedly in the fineness & weight of the fleece. One of these gentlemen wishes to obtain two rams & one Ewe about 12 months old—the other, one ram & one Ewe. Will you have the goodness to inform me as soon as it may be convenient whether you can accomodate them with this number & what will be the price? After hearing from you and recieving their orders, I will request a friend of mine in Phila. to pay the mony & attend to the Shipping of the Sheep.

The farms of Virga from one Corner to the other of the State exhibit a scene of universal desolation. The wheat destroyed by the fly, & in some places even the Barley & Rye share the same fate, which I understand was never before heard of. The Corn as soon as it appears above the ground is cut off by the worm, even in fields which wer[e] well ploughed & prepared for the purpose last autumn. We are flying to potatoes & peas to provide a substitute for Corn, but the scarcity of both of these articles & the high price of the latter (from $12 to 15 a bushel) will scarcely enable us to avoid the threatened evil.

It is not broomstraw which annoys us much at this time, but a much worse enemy the Sorrel, which now covers all our grain fields & even the meadows. What can have occasioned this? Surely not the Spots in the sun, to which many people attribute all our evils. Believe me my dear Sir very respectfully & affectionately yrs