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handy - or a steam shovel - the difficulty would be in carrying it along.  I did some strenuous digging in the "pontenal" at Porto Esperança. ¶ I'd rather not have that "Outline sketch of [[strikethrough]] Matto [[/strikethrough]] [[insertion]] Minas [[/insertion]] Geraes" sent to Local Notes.  It isn't by a "professional" poet, True would not want to use it anyway.  The Smithsonian and all its works (except Dr. Abbot) are so solemn.  Isn't Ellingston a pinhead!  So afraid of simple [[underlined]] truth [[/underlined]], always thinking of [[underlined] appearances [[/underlined]] instead of [[underlined]] reality [[/underlined]].  If an astronomer [[underlined]] can [[/underlined]] interpret botany to the general public better than the botanists that tried, it is an interesting fact and nothing for the Smithsonian to be ashamed of.

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Did Mr. Maxon ever write - finish, I mean, anything?  He labored enough to write a cyclopedia, from what he said from time to time about working on it.  I gave a talk to the American school - botany in relation to man, I suppose it might have been called.  I wrote it out to get it in order in my mind, but didn't read.  Took half an hour.  Miss Kolb said that night the teachers were discussing it and remarked "It made us think of so many things we never thought of before," so I felt relieved - it must have been dry for the children, poor things.
     I had agreed to be associate editor for Bot. Soc.  Even when

Transcription Notes:
Minas Geraes = Minas Gerais