330 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
ceedings of the Acad. You will of course give these with any amount 
of additional detail in your book. 
There is one objection to this arrangement, that these govern- 
ment collections will necessarily be sent out of the city. Still I pre- 
sume you will not want them a great while, and could probably have 
them back herein a month or two; could you not? 
In arranging some specimens, I have found a skeleton of Trionyx 
from Allegheny river, Pa. and one from Miss. which when alive were 
about a foot long in the shell. Would you like to see these? 
Let me know at once what you think of the plan above proposed. 
There are many new and curious things in it; Testudo from the Rio 
Grande, but very puzzling; others from the Gila, Arkansas, &c., &c. 
Emys of Rio Grande, Brazos, California, and other things too numer- 
ous to mention. 
Very truly and sincerely yours, 
S. F. Barrp. 
From Spencer F. Baird to Mrs. J. W. T. Gardiner, Fort Tejon, Cal. 
Feb. 16, 1856. 
My pear Sister ANNIE: 
There was never anything like the cold of the present season in 
Washington—excellent sleighing for six weeks at a time, thermometer 
down to ten and twelve degrees below zero for days, and all that. 
Yesterday they took a large passenger car to Alexandria on the ice! 
I am sorry to learn that Capt. Gardiner has had a recurrence of 
his rheumatism. I thought California was a panacea for such troubles. 
You have not given us his opinion of the baby, whether it differs 
from all babies that ever were before, or will be again. I suppose 
it is almost too soon to set him (the baby) at catching snakes for his 
uncle. 
Much obliged to Capt. Gardiner for his kind wishes in regard 
to getting some specimens from about Fort Tejon for me. There 
is no locality from which they would be more acceptable. We have 
a few things brought by Lt. Williamson from that vicinity, just 
enough for us to wish for more. Would not your surgeon do some- 
thing for us, as so many army surgeons have done before. What I 
