Mr. Oakes Ames-2. 
species promptly, although it is not so impor¬ 
tant in the case of other groups as in that of 
the orchids. It will he most fortunate if you 
are able to go to panama this winter, and I 
sincerely hope that you may find it practicable, 
for you would undoubtedly be able to obtain a 
larger amount of more useful material there than 
any one else. One who has the acquaintance of 
any special group of plants obviously can col¬ 
lect more intelligently than one who is un¬ 
familiar with them. 
So far I have not made any definite plans 
for going to Central America this coming year. 
Infoat I may do has to depend to a certain extent 
upon some of Mr. Maxon’s plans for collecting. 
However, it seems very probable that I shall be 
free to go to the region about November. I am 
favorably inclined toward the idea of going to 
Costa Rica, although for the purpose of the 
flora it is perhaps more important to get col¬ 
lections from Nicaragua and Honduras . At the 
same time it seems pretty certain that it will 
be possible to find more interesting plants in 
Costa Rica than in any other part of Central 
America, unless it be in some part of the 
mountains of Guatemala. 
I should be yery glad to obtain the ad¬ 
dress of Mr. Lanpptster. Some time ago there 
was published in London the description of a 
new species of V/ercklea , which he obtained in 
Costa Rica. Mr. Pittier and I described the 
genus as new several .years ago, and we are 
anxious to obtain material of the second spe¬ 
cies. I have been intending to A /|ry to get 
into communication with Mr. Lanppster, but I 
was underjthe impression that he was now in 
tropical Africa^where some one of that name is 
now collecting plants for the British Museum or 
for Kew—I do not remember which. Apparently I 
have confounded two persons of the same name. 
Very truly yours 
Paul C. Standley 
Assistant Curator, 
Division of Plants 
