July 17 th, 1 9^3. 
My dear Mr, lankester: 
Once again I come to you with a press¬ 
ing need, 7anillai This is a genus that we know too little 
about* The specimens in herbaria are too often sterile. She 
fleshy flowers when dried become agglutinated in such a man¬ 
ner, that manipulation under the microscope is difficult in 
the extreme, Then from the economic side, everything with a 
large leaf is referred to Manilla Andr. The ideal 
specimen is one which is accompanied by flowers in alcohol, 
7. Pfavi&na Eeichb. f, ?. Ittieri Schltr. V. planifolia 
Andr. These species have been reported from Costa Rica. Bo 
you know whether any but the last sire used for economic pur¬ 
poses in Costa Rica* 
In drying flowers it is best to place 
a pad of cotton in such a way that it relieves the pressu e, 
and to hasten drying by suspending the specimens over the kit¬ 
chen stove. The flowers should, of course be dried apart from 
the foliage. This makes it possible to use small pieces of 
blotting paper that are easily handled when attempts to obtain 
the advantages of artificial heat are made. 
Just at present I am pushing forward 
with my enumeration of Philippine orchids for the Bureau of 
Science at Manila. This means close attention to bibliography 
and herbarium material. It also means a constant weighing of 
those characters which at one time or another have been regard¬ 
ed sufficient to distinguish distinct species. At the end of 
