S55 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
January sixth, 1922. 
My dear Ur. Powell: 
The second package of specimens arrived 
this morning. I was simply delighted with the way in which 
they were preserved. If you continue your present methods 
we will have in this country a most useful and helpful col¬ 
lection of the orchids of Panama. 
This morning I went through your spec¬ 
imens that you sent to Eoife. The Director of Kew has sert 
to me the complete set with all your notes and Rolfe’s ob¬ 
servations. Apparently Bolfe did not do much for you, even 
with the common things that he should have been able to name 
at sight. This simply proves that the poor fellow, like the 
( X 
rest of us,, was siraply overwhilmed with work and so taken 
up with routine duties that he could not do for you what ho 
must have, deep down in 'Q.1& heart, wished to do with a burn¬ 
ing desire. I have checked up some of Schlechter’s determin¬ 
ations and I am sure that he will revise several of them be¬ 
fore he goes to press. You understand, of course, that it is 
, 
a 3 imple matter to name up speciraens tentatively if at some 
future time you have in mind a critical revision. This is done 
frequently, but leads, I think, to dissstifaotion in the end. 
I sincerely hop® that the Indian who knows 
wh®ee Selenipedium Chica grows will obtain specimens for you 
from which an example may be spared for me. This species is 
extraordinarily rare in herbaria and has not yet been satis¬ 
factorily described from good material. I am anxious to give 
an account of it in Dr. Standley 1 a Flora. This is one of th® 
orchids of which speciraens should be preserved in formalin 
