been working evenings, sometimes till midnight. I re- 
monstrated vigorously and told him he must not do so, 
but he only said Professor Ames wanted the models and 
tho’t him very slow — that it was impossible tor him to 
do such work any faster, that no man could. It had evi- 
dently worried him much; and [I had to work hard to 
reassure him that you would not feel so if you knew him 
and could see him work, that [ would explain to you 
and that he absolutely must stop evening work and get 
the necessary air and relaxation to keep himself in good 
condition. 
He only regrets that all the groups of fungi, ete., are 
not complete, but he has had to do them as he could and 
when he could get the specimens, depending more or 
less on seasons, weather, etc. He hopes to send off some 
twenty-five models, sprays or plants with their sections, 
etc., by the middle of the month — I think it will be 
nearer the end, but perhaps not. I believe this includes 
all the pears, except the blossoms, and strawberries : 
whether more I do not know. Apples, plums, apricots 
peaches, cherries, are for the most part finished and ready 
for the sprays, with the leaves ready to paint, and the 
exquisite fruit blossoms ready for the branches. He thinks 
the rest can be shipped in the spring, some thirty more. 
The fruits are not so beautiful to look at as the flowers 
are, but they are marvellous, and how one man can sit 
hour after hour, putting in the gossamer veinlets, or all 
the’myriad little dots and irregular brown patches, passes 
my understanding; you would say that years could not 
do it, or a lifetime. If he hurried or worked quickly. he 
would be insane. 
I sat and watched his movements as he worked. The 
table is covered not only with implements but with trays 
of leaves, formed but not colored, bottles in which he 
‘an stand the glass stems with leaves while drying or 
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