342 A DECADE OF WORK AT HOME. [1846, 



Then came your letter of July 3d. All right. I 

 immediately wrote to Marcy, the Secretary of War, 

 and to Colonel Abert, the head of the Topographical 

 Engineer Corps ; asked for protection and transpor- 

 tation ; told the secretary to send anything he might 

 be disposed to do to you at St. Louis. I then inclosed 

 your letter to Mr. Lowell, and have just received it 

 back again, with his letter, which I inclose to you ! 

 Is it not handsome? . . . Now Fendler has money 

 enough to begin with. As soon as he is in the field, 

 and shown by his first collections that he is deserving, 

 I can get as much more money advanced for him, 

 from other parties. If he only makes as good and 

 handsome specimens as Lindheimer, all will be well. 

 His collections should commence when he crosses the 

 Arkansas ; his first envoi should be the plants between 

 that and Santa Fe, and be sent this fall, with seeds, 

 cacti, and bulbs, the former of every kind he can get. 

 These must be confined to yourself, Mr. Lowell, and 

 me, till we see what we get by raising them. Other 

 live plants he had better not attempt now. 



His next collection must be at and around Santa 

 Fe. But instruct him to get into high mountains, or 

 as high as he can find, whenever he can. The moun- 

 tains to the north of Santa Fe often rise to the snow- 

 line, and are perfectly full of new things. But you 

 can best judge what instructions to give him. We 

 can sell just as many sets of plants as he will make 

 good specimens of. But forty sets is about as many 

 as he ought to make. . . . 



It is said that a corps of troops is to be sent up 

 through Texas towards New Spain. Lindheimer 

 ought to go along, and so get high up into the country, 

 where so much is new, and the plants have really " no 

 Latin names." 



