doubt there will be plenty of fincas up in the mountains where 
it will be possible to find accomodations. I expect to be able 
to get a good lot of material, for no doubt it is there, 
and'I can easily get the specimens if I get to the places 
where the plants are. Mr. Maxon intimates that right in the 
neighborhood of Cartago is about as good a place for orchids 
as there is, for ke says they grow on every tree. 
The Department of Agriculture will pay my transportation 
to and from Panama — I expect to return there from Costa 
Rica. For traveling expenses to and from Costa Rica from 
Cristobal, and for expenses in Costa Rica for two months, 
including the hiring of a native assistant, I suppose about 
four hundred dollars will be necessary. A part of this I 
am glad to contribute personally, and for the rest I shall 
be glad to receive any contribution that you may care to 
make. You have certainly been very generous to us previ¬ 
ously, and your kindness is deeply appreciated. It is 
impossible for me to make any definite promises as to what 
I can secure, but it is certain that I shall make a very 
special effort to get all the orchids that I possibly can, 
and I shall try to visit the localities that are best suited 
for them, which, incidentally, are best for almost all other 
plants as well. In the case of living plants, I suppose it 
might not be a bad idea to do as Mr. Maxon did in Nicaragua, 
take them down to Mr. Powell for cultivation, in case he is 
willing to take care of them. 
I shall be very glad to hear from you as to what you 
may thSnk of the plans I have outlined. 
Sincerely yours, . 
Paul C. Standiey, j 
Associate Curator, / 
Division of Plants. 
I nave just received from Dr. Schallert, from whom we 
received the Nicaraguan plants, a long list of the Moravian 
missionaries on the north coast of Nicaragua. He suggests 
that we write to all of them, and I am going to do so at 
once.. He states that there are probably several of them 
who could be induced to collect plants. Most of the speci¬ 
mens, I believe, were collected by Rev. Fr. E. Schramm, 
c/o Mr. Wm. H. Seat, Cabo Gracias a Dios, Nicaragua. In the 
last report of the Berlin Garden, it seems to me that there was 
a statement that he had forwarded some specimens there. 
Perhaps you will write to him to see if he can not get some 
orchids. It is always more satisfactory to the collector to 
have some definite group to work upon, and almost everyone is 
interested in orchids./ 
