•2\'2 The American Geologist. October, 1893 
the manuscript of his Flora of the Dakota group, his last large work, 
which has been edited since his death by Prof. Knowlton and pub- 
lished as Monograph XVII of the U. S. Geological Survey. This man- 
uscript contained besides the matter relating to the Dakota group, 
descriptions and figures of a considerable number of plants from other 
formations. These it was undesirable to include in the volume, as it 
was to be devoted exclusively to the Dakota, and I have thus far held 
the MS. and drawings awaiting an opportunity to work this material 
into a work now in preparation relating to the Upper Cretaceous, to 
which most of it belongs, and this will eventually be done and full 
credit given to Prof. Lesquereux. Winchellia is among these and is 
fully described. 
As I said at the outset, it is a difficult matter to advise, and I should 
be very glad to hear from you again on the subject. I assume that you 
have in your museum the original specimens upon which Prof. Les- 
quereux's descriptions and figures are based. I remain, 
Yours with respect, 
Lester F. Ward. 
After the publication of Winchellina it seemed, desirable 
that Lesquereux's genus should also be published, and as 
nearly as possible under the same auspices, in order that it 
might be evident that there was an effort on the part of all the 
parties concerned to avoid the imputation of synonymy in the 
employment of two generic names so similar. It would be, 
further, an act of justice to the memory of Lesquereux that 
his unpublished work should not be allowed to lose its value 
by longer delay — and especially so, since a third paleontolo- 
gist had by this time applied the same name to a genus of 
Silurian mollusks.* These facts and considerations being 
communicated to Prof. Ward, he very courteously replied as 
follows : 
Department of the Interior, 
United States Geological. Survey. 
Washington, D. C, May 18, 1893. 
Prof. N. H. Winchell, 
State Geologist of Minnesota, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
My Dear Sir: — Yours of the 10th has been several days under consid- 
eration, and I have been somewhat in doubt what course to pursue. I 
certainly neither desire nor merit any of the credit that may belong to 
the publication of Winchellia. On behalf of the U. S. Geological 
Survey, therefore, I take the responsibility of authorizing and request- 
ing you to publish the entire data relating to this plant in the state re- 
ports of Minnesota or elsewhere, as you see fit. With what I have 
^Subsequently cancelled before publication. 
