355 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
January 5th, 1923. 
My dear Mr. Powell: 
Your letter of the 22d. December, 1922. has 
just come. I have already replied to your letter of the 25th. 
I wrote to you on December 31st, relative to Bidema. This 
is a segregate from Epi den drum. I am not prepared to accept it 
at present, .lien I can see my way clear to a rational breaking 
up of Epidendrum I may change my mind. I say this after having 
worked hard for over a year to find reliable characters for seg¬ 
regation. 1 really think Epidendrum is too large for comfort, but 
I do not approve of the proorustean method that some systematists 
adopt. If a genus exceeds the limits they impose, they reduce it; 
they allow other genera to grow until their fancy impels them to 
split them up. 
Osmo glossum Sohltr . This genus was given as a subgenus under 
Odontoglossum in OECHIS 10(1916)164 and included two species: Odont - 
oglossum pulchellum Batem. and C). Eger ton ! lindl. It seems to me 
that Sohlechter has a% certain amount of justification for taking 
Odon to glossum pulchellum and its allies out of Odontoglossum, but 
I have not followed the matter to satisfactory conolusions. I find 
that Sohlechter leans toward small genera, but that in making them 
he d&es not always go ddep into surrounding affinities. Osmoglossum 
ac uminatum has not yet been published. I think these remarks answer 
your question. 
Sehadulae Orchidianae no. 2. is expected from the printer to¬ 
morrow. You will be pleased to get this number as it has many new 
species from Central America in it. 
Yours faithfully. 
OVER 
