botanical 
EDITORS : 
JOHN M. COULTER, 
WABASH COLLEGE, CRAWF0RD8VILLE, IND. 
CHARLES R. BARNES, 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON, WI8. 
J. C. ARTHUR, 
PUROUE UNIVERSITY, LAFAYETTE, IND, 
June 11.1890. 
My dear Dr. Watson: -- 
I have delayed answering your inquiries in regard to the 
Manual in order that I might consider the matter, and hAve been further 
delayed by press of other things. 
I think I may say that I know the good qualities and the defects 
of the Manual thoroughly. I have scrutinised every description and 
eveiy note in the book in the course of daily use for five years and 
particularly in the preparation of the keys which I sent you. The 
more I use it th£ more I am irritated by its defects. I use the v/ord 
“irritated" because so many of its defects could have been avoided by 
the exercise of ordinary clerical care on the part of the authors. Of 
course I know what a struggle it was to get th£ book put. out at all, 
and how often it seemed to be completely blocked; but the “extenuatirg 
circurastances do not change the unfortunate facts. I cannot talte the 
time to enumerate all or a tenth part of these defects. They make 
themselves evident on the first use of the book in the contradictions 
between the generic and specific characters in many places. I have 
already had a good many letters from amateurs of mosses brought out 
by the first key that I published and by this last one. I have never 
heard ^ favorable opinion of book expressed hy aa-- qnu who has 
^sed it. The other defects are more radical. Take an instance o£ one 
