330Q 12th St. S. E. 
Washington, D. C• 
March 19, 1954 
Dear Dr. Wetmore: 
Your letter of the 12th arrived today. Am glad to know 
that the collecting is going well. Getting 40 species of 
birds new to the Panamanian collection is very interesting. 
I would imagine that three quetzals on the skinning table 
in one day is about enough. The bell bird is certainly 
an interesting specimen. Is this the one with the white 
head and light brown body? Your specimens from Venezuela 
have not arrived yet. Freight is slow but they should 
be coming in soon. 
The weather had been mild and clear until about a week ago*- 
then it snowed again. However it did not stay on the ground. 
Yesterday the west wind felt like it might have passed over 
some snow around your ^hennandoah camp. Last week the palm 
trees in Pensacola, Fla. were covered with snow while on 
that same day it was warm here. 
The big and continuing news of political interest is the 
McCarthy feud with the Dept, of the Army. - The Washington 
Post bought the Times Herald Wed. and combined the two 
morning papers. About a thousand people lost their jobs. 
About two weeks ago the TJ. S. dropped an H-bomb in the Pacific 
for test purposes. They say it is about six hundred times 
as strong as the one dropped on Hiroshima. Atomic ash fell 
on a Japanese fishing boat and its crew ninety miles away. 
The crew is now hospitalized because of the ill effects. 
Mr. Oliver and family have just returned from a vacation 
in Key West. Old Sol apparently did him a great deal of good. 
Harding,our laborer, continues on the critical list at the 
hospital. Ho chance for recovery since he has leukemia. 
Barry, Miss Cochran's laborer, wenthome sick about three 
weeks ago and apparently will never return--acute diabetes. 
Did I tell you that Roxie had a baby boy about two months 
ago. ^uprises never end. 
Matt and Marion were out °unday. Both were fine. Dick and 
Mildred Stewart were over a couple of weeks ago and said 
your pictures were coming through 0. K. Velva is recovering 
nicely. Best regards from both of us to Mrs. wetmore and 
yourself. 
Watson J^rrygo 
