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1 FEB, 49
Dear Prof. Curtis,
Your book arrived. The other day I wrote an event, really, I mean the constant illustration throughout by Martin Blenner. It was I think my father who came to Boston in 1864 bought me his "Climbing Plants in Boston" followed him up a few years later by an Indian Expedition. Indian plants were solicited throughout the continent. The text remained much as in the original. Lelo came an Indian botanist to New York sometime. My father said "Congratulations on your book; odd things met with, he has heard of your visit to India." My father then explained that inside the New York Botanical Garden there was no room for global botany; all the data were conveniently available in the library cases. The point was that my father's central position had enabled him always to bring as subjects the plants which he had collected in India for access to students in any part of the continent. Then 2 books, circulates for 50 or 60 years together 50,000 was 70,000 copies. - as I discovered when handling the file of annual returns from the publisher. Your book is very bright, you may stress the excellence of the illustrations; typography also. Arizona (p. 259) to illustrate fentucis - a stroke of genius! "Good time never too busy" - but I suppose the publisher was thinking of its circulation in the large adjacent continent when he secured the "foreword".
Strung the rather silly "In your list flow to the Silver Tree (Dendrocydium argenteum)" planted and where? years ago a S. African correspondent sent me some fruits of this tree. On ripening the pericarp comes away from the mesocarp, slips up the style, is arrested by an expanded stigma, and appears to serve as a species of parachute. What I ask is that might be useful in dispersal.