Transcription:
ARNOLD ARBORETUM. 2 been able to. On top of the ankle came the partial burning of my house. This occurred in the evening
ten days, ago. All the new part is gone and the rest is badly injured by smoke and fire; the contents, however, are fortunately
all safe and practically uninjured, so by spring I hope we shall me as good as new. All this is very interrupting but not
so much so as the ankle which keeps me from anything like serious or steady work and is going to make a sad delay, I fear,
in the completion of The Silva. But I have written enough about my own troubles. I have today a very interesting letter from
Carl Purdy who speaks enthusiastically of the region between Snow Mountain in Lake County and the Siskiyous as a region for
exploration, with many high peaks absolutely virgin land to botanists. It would take, he says not less than two months to
make such a trip but a botanists would be well repaid. What a pity we did not do this last autumn. Some one ought to go along
this range and see what is growing there. Why not interest some of your young men in this part of the state---some one who
if he could not collect could at least make intelligent notes on the distribution of the trees, etc. I hope that you and
your children are going to have a Merry Christmas tomorrow and that the New Year will bring you nothing but health, happiness
and contentment. Always faithfully yours, illegible 02195