San Antonio, August 15, 1877 



Dr. George Engelmann - St. Louis 



I have received your esteemed letter of the first as also your "Notes of 

 Agave" and am very thankful to you and will endeaver to answer all of your 

 questions. Regarding the Agave, my gardner writes me that it comes from the 

 upper Rio Azul in New Mexico. I have given him your request, but doubt 

 however that he will turn to you directly, because he just does not like 

 to write. At any rate he will send me what you wish to have, if he can, and 

 I will send it to you. The plant which you designate as Abalonium probably 



is A. retusum, .D. I have always considered it as Mammillaria fissurata . 



I am glad that you were pleased to receive the M. macr. and micr. I probably 

 still have several Cacti which you would like to have and about which I could 

 make raany observations of the flowers and fruits or could send thera to you, 

 however since I have no publication regarding them, it is impossible for me 



to find their names. So I believe that 1 have the following: Cereus pau 



and an almost similar one only 6 black thorns instead of 3 without center- 

 Hexandrus , stramineus , Greggi , polycanthus , ennearanthus and 5-6 similar to 



these only different in thorns, Echino horizontali but 



also I believe 2 Var. Echino-Cereus vividif lores . Of Mammillaria the small, 

 charming Purillo vafc. Texana and radiosa Var. New Mexicana and several species 

 more of the small and various larger species occuring in the neighborhood, 

 is self-understood. I also have a few splendid specimens of E Wislicenus 

 and longihamatus , which bloom every year in July. In the next few days I 

 will send you of the Agave a maculosa with stem, seeds, for flowers it is 



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