Page transcription
Nov 9 1952
Dr. F. C. Müller-Welchers,
Estacion Atlantida,
R. O. del Uruguay.
Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for your friendly letter of October 11th, and also for the collection of freshwater algae from Las Toscas, which arrived about a week ago. This is a very nice sample, and though it is not especially rich in desmids it contains a good assortment of them. In addition to the ubiquitous forms, I have already noted some rarities, a few of which I cannot immediately identify and which may prove to be new varieties. From the relative abundance of certain desmid genera and species, such as Cosmarium, Euastrum, Netrium, and Desmidium, and the scarcity of others like Staurastrum, Arthrodesmus and Xanthidium, I should judge that this collection came from a peat bog or Sphagnum bog, with acid water of a pH of about 6.5 to 7.0. The diatoms also, though I know little about them, seem to be quite similar to those that I see in soft-water collections from southern USA.
I am surprised to learn that Mr. Thomsen is 75 years old, and that he has not published his drawings of Uruguayan desmids. It seems a pity that such valuable material, representing a large amount of work, should go unpublished. If he does not intend to publish his results, perhaps he would be willing to turn over his drawings and notes to some specialist, like Prof. Gerald W. Prescott who is the best desmidologist in this country, or Dr. Rolf Grönblad of Finland, who is one of the best (perhaps the best) in Europe. A year or so ago I sent Grönblad more than 3000 of my desmid drawings, and over 500 of my collections, which he is going to work up. I am unable to do this properly myself, because I am an engineer, not a botanist. The collection and study of desmids has been my hobby for the last 15 years. The southern part of the USA has been so little explored by algologists that I have found a great many desmid species and varieties that I am quite unable to identify, both from lack of experience, and especially from lack of the world literature, which is unavailable in any of the libraries here. So that is the reason for my collaboration with Prescott and Grönblad.
Your method of bleaching with KMnO4 and M2SO4 is interesting and worth trying, though it seems a little drastic for desmids with their cellulose wall. Also your suggestion of pectin as a mountant is interesting, and this substance can be bought at any corner grocery store. I have also seen cherry gum recommended for the purpose of restricting the movements of protozoa, but this material cannot be bought so far as I know, and cherry trees do not grow here because of the hot climate.
With the same mail I am sending you a vial of Dupont's sodium CMC, also two vials of desmid collections from Florida, which Mr. Thomsen might like to look at, if he still uses the microscope. And if you happen to know some young man or woman, preferably with some knowledge of botany, who would like to make some extra money, I should be glad to pay $50.00 (U.S.) for say 25 collections of desmid material from good habitats similar to Las Toscas.
I used to subscribe to Mikrokosmos, but apparently they suspended publication during the war, and I have not received it since about 1941 or 42. Is it still published by Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung in Stuttgart?
With many thanks, I am,
Yours sincerely,
