of orchids was the finest in Costa Bica, but evidently he 
underestimates his own, which is vastly superior. Lankester 
is„ I believe, the only one of the Costa -^ican botanists 
about whom there is no scandal to relate—no, I should also 
except Alfaro and Torres. I liked him very much, and was 
sorry only that I could make so few excursions with him. 
As a matter of fact, most of my trips were arranged for me 
by Oton, and fester he had made the arrangements I could 
not well refuse to go. Indeed, I could certainly not have 
done so well by myself. As it was, Lankester would have 
made more trips with me if it had not been for the earth¬ 
quakes. He was not willing, naturally, to leave Mrs. Lan¬ 
kester alone at night, and for that reason long trips were 
impracticable. ^ , - 
I must confess that it was very difficult to under¬ 
stand some things about Lankester. People there in Costa 
Rica are divided in opinion as to the amount of his property. 
Some of his remarks would incline one to believe that he 
was practically bankrupt, but he is commonly considered 
a well-to-do man, and is regarded highly by the Costa Ri¬ 
cans. He intimated to me that he would be glad to make 
a few trips into parts of C 0 sta Rica where he had not been, 
in search of plants, if his expenses could be paid. Cer¬ 
tainly there is no one who knows the orchids so well or where 
to find them. I do not see how he ever gets his specimens 
dried. I have not seen his orchid specimens, but those of 
other groups are good enough. I should not want to make 
a collecting trip again without artificial heat for drying 
plants. It certainly worked well for me this year, and I 
should not have been able to get any such quantity of ma¬ 
terial without it* 
Anastasio Alfaro is a delightful man, and a very 
agreeable companion. He is interested In about all phases 
of Costa -rtican natural history. He does not pretend to 
have any knowledge of botany, but he knows the plants 
pretty well. He brought me, at one time and another, a 
fine lot of orchids, some of the best that I have, probably. 
How as to the further contents of the box that I am 
preparing to send. It will contain a collection of about 
300 orchids that I got from Alfredo Brenes^ust before 
leaving. The Sunday before I went with Oton to Heredia 
to see him—I had not been able to see him before, because, 
as I understood it, of his own peculiarities, but of this 
I am not now so certain. The day before I left San Jose 
I had to hire an automobile-—it was in the afternoon, ^a^ter 
all my baggage had been sent off—and go over to Herectia 
to get the specimens. I carried them as hand baggage down 
to Limon, and there put them in a trunk. 
(Before I forget it, I should state that the Oton 
Jimenez orchids are a gift from him to yourself). 
It is about Alberto Brenes that I should particularly 
like to talk to you. I could write a small volume about what 
little I have seen and heard of him, and probably shall 
before I finish this letter. He is a very peculiar and ec¬ 
centric man—botanists are not infrequently that way. He 
is sensitive to an unusual degree, and perhaps most of his 
