
          he depends on you Prof. [Professor] Baird and
 myself "to make our results worthy
 of so great expense." "Mr. Blake
 will also endeavor to do something for
 the Geology of the route." Have you 
 received an answer from Lieut [Lieutenant] Whipple
 with respect to the proposition to publish
 [crossed out: a] short diagnostic characters of the
 new species & genera before the full report
 is made out? If you have,
 let me know his views respecting it.
 I remember well the Cornus I collected
 at Grass Valley. It looked so different
 from any I had heretofore seen that
 I supposed it might possibly be another
 genus of the Family. It is
 rather a small slender tree or shrub
 about 10-12 maybe 15 feet hight
 with a thin fexile [flexile] top probably owing
 to its shady place of growing.
 I only saw it at Grass Vally [Valley] which is
 near the Sierra Nevada mts. [mountains].
 I wrote you some time this spring all
 I know about the 3 distinct species of
 of Dasylirion that I have seen & collected.
        