355 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Hass 
December 3 f 1 523. 
My dear Lankester: 
Your letter dated on the 3d. and 15th, llovember, 
and your postcard of the 1 8 th, arrived this forenoon, addind c heer 
to a clear December day. It is delightful to receive letters when 
the conditions under which they are read, stimulate enthusiasri®§and 
good fellowship. 
You ask several questions which I might as well 
answer at once. Your 461 is Pleurothallis ruscifolia E. Br. Change 
this to 461 a. Ehen 461 will be clear for Epi&endrum vagans of Sched 
Orch. 6 ( 1923 ) 76 . You made use of this number twice. Ho doubt about 
that, because I am a queer old dog, and I preserve the data-slips 
that you take so much pains to write out for me. Although I copy . 
the sum and substance of them on the regular labels, I must keep 
them because they represent a human touch that gratifies me* In 
my letter dated Hovember 16 th, I gave you the name of your 506 as 
Eriopsie Fercklei Schltr. Your 483 is an orchid, after all. But 
the flowers are immature. It would seem to be a close ally of 
Lankesterelln, I hope you will find this again in a more advanced 
condition of growth. 
Additional bottles went to you over a week ago. 
But please supplement the flowers in alcohol with dried specimens. 
2 he herbarium, after all* is permanent and its records are sacred, 
while the specimens sent in alcohol sometimes perish through ne¬ 
glect or get lost. I wish you could dry specimens without too much 
trouble. It seems a pity to iron them. If you find a hot place in 
which to deposit your press, the specimens dry pretty well if you 
change the driers a few times*,At this stage of the undertaking, 
quantity rather than quality is important. 
