LETTER TO JAMES M. McDONALD, Esq. 



The history of the preparation and publication of this monograph is short and simple. 

 Dr. Albert Kellogg had confided to Mr. W. G. W. Harford and to Dr. W. P. Gibbons of 

 Alameda all his papers on Botany. They were incomplete, and there was apparently no 

 hope of their being finished and published. Mr. Justin P. Moore and Mr. Harford asked 

 Professor Davidson whether it was not possible to procure publication of the drawings of 

 the Oaks of California b}- his appealing to Mr. James M. McDonald for the necessary 

 means, and to Professor Edward Lee Greene of the University of California for the descrip- 

 tions of the species. 



The following letter continues the narrative : 



ACADEMIC CLUB, 

 San Franclsco, California, August 15th, 1888. 



James M. McDonald, Esq., San Francisco, Cal.: 



Dear Sir You will remember that for some years before his death, our common 

 friend Dr. Albert Kellogg gave his whole time to making drawings of the Oaks, Pines and 

 other trees and plants of the Pacific Coast of the United States, and more particularly of 

 those indigenous to this State. Upon the completion of this self-imposed labor he pro- 

 posed to write descriptions of all the species and thereby fill a scientific and a practical 

 want. He did not live to see the consummation of this undertaking. 



You know how dearly he loved such work, and how thoroughly conscientious he was 

 in its execution. His well trained eye perceived the peculiar characteristics of each 

 species, and the delicate touch of his pen fixed the minutest details of every specimen upon 

 paper. His drawings have received the warm commendations of critical experts. 



It would be a great loss to the diffusion of scientific knowledge and to the practical 

 forestry of the Pacific Coast if Dr. Kellogg's labors should be lost. We have therefore 

 conferred with our good friend Professor Edward Lee Greene of the University of Cali- 

 fornia, and he has cheerfully promised to write a Monograph of the Oaks of this Coast, to 



