The panama Canal 
Canal Zone 
Health Department 
IN REPLY REFER TO FILE 
Balbea, anal Zorn*. 
'y 
May 10, 1922. 
My dear Br Ames: 
1 have yeur esteemed letter ef Apl 30th, acknewledging receipt ef 
Gengera sheet^; and f wher#in yeu request inferaatien as t# the technique ef my methed 
ef identificatien ef plants in my garden. It is practically as fellewa*- 
When a plant is received frem trie weeds it is trimmed, cleaned and basketed, label 
tag is attached with nething en it except lecality frem v/hich precured. ( He patter 
hew well % may think 1 knew a plant. I never number er name it until it flewers ) . 
When it flewers,I cempare flewer with ethers ef same species already determined, and 
if it is the same 1 give it the number and name apprepriate. If it develepes te 
' itu. 
be a new ene er I think se, I give it m censecutive number, make a specimen and 
send it en te Or Schlechter. As seen as his determinatien is received,I then put 
en the tag ; the name as given by him. This is typical ef all. 
Hew as te the Gengeras- thes e plants are very similar, in fact te the casual 
ebserver they are the same; and even te me, as clese an ebserver as I am,I camnet 
tell them witheut censulting the tags,with certainty. 
As te the fear I had ©f 
say Jamaican gardner mixing tHnacx the labels. All ef my Gengeras are in small 
baskets, these baskets decay every se eften and have te D© renewed. I empley 
this man te oeme t© my place tv/e days per week ( I casnet afferd t# have him 
centinueusly) te clean up the garden, trim dead leaves and te rebasket such as 
need it. I have seme 25-30 Gengera plants and last year needed this rebasket. 
I teld him te de it. My idea was,that when he finished up He 93 he ferget t© 
transfer the label tag, humg up the basket and en returning te the werk bench he 
feund the label, and placed it upea ene ef the unnamed enes in errer. I 
was 
