WM, H. CROCKER. 
President Board of Trasteea 
SUSIE M. PEERS. 
Secretary Board of Trustees 
California Academy of Sciences 
F. M. MAC FARLAND, 
President of the Academy and Acting 
Director of the Museum and of the 
Steinhart Aquarium* 
GOLDEN GATE PARK 
San Francisco, California 
TEIiEPHONE BAYVIEW 5100 Uovember 5,1936 
Mr. Waldo L. Schmitt, 
Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D.C. 
Dear Mr. Schmitt: 
Yours of OctoDer 31 at hand. Glad to get 
the items you checked up on explained. I am still surprised 
that ^ fresh water tortoise” is given for Galapago and that 
Darwin had not heard of Porter’s activities seeing ha was 
so vitally interested in the Galapagos. However, news no 
doubt traveled slowly in those days and Porter’s account 
of his voyage might not have reached England by that time. 
I can’t imagine why the National Geographic should have 
turned down your article. Of course, I am not enthused over 
the articles in the detective magazines and think a oetter 
class magazine should oe approached. However, I thought, 
seeing the TTational Geographic was after excellent pictures 
that the assortment availaole from Hancock should put most 
anything over. My point was to stress on the photographs, 
which to my mind are far more interesting and educational 
than many I have seen in the Geographic. 
My Galapagos article shou4.d Cie out very shortly if I was 
not too late in getting the last oatch of pictures in. The 
editor of Natural History said he wanted to put the article 
in the coming number and wanted the remaining pictures as 
soon as possible. I shipped them yesterday by special 
delivery and air mail. I had forwarded one shipment, but I 
wanted to get a good land iguana and a good sea iguana 
picture as the ones I sent were nothing to boast of. I got 
two excellent ones together with one ortwo other things I 
asked for, so I hope the article will get out this year. 
Included in the article are a couple or three prints of 
scenes on the way down to the Galapagos. When on the'’Oaxaca'’ 
Stone took a fine picture of the big cave on the largest of 
Las Tres Marietas and this was such a fine picture I thought 
it would go well. Also included a picture of a rooster fish 
just as it was being gaffed. This is an excellent picture 
too and gives life to the article. For an histori^ touch 
there is a picture of an inscription on one of the rocks at 
Cocos Island. It was such an excellent print sure it will 
