Letter from C[harles] S[prague] Sargent to John Muir, 1898 Dec 27.

ARNOLD ARBORETUM, HARWARD UNIVERSITY,Jamaica plain, Mass, December 27, 1898.My dear Muir:Your letter which I got two or three days ago sounded a little sad I think. I am not surprised, however, that a man who would rush through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona without stopping even for a day to look at some of the most interesting trees in the world should be a little dejected. It is pretty evident that you cannot be trusted to travel alone and that in future I shall have to be your constant companion.I pass my time now thinking about [illegible] and hear of or see a new species nearly every day. It looks like a hopeless or at least an endless job; but what perhaps is more difficult is to get the flowers of that Birch-tree which grows at the head of the Lynn Canal. How is this to be managed?This week, I hope, the twelfth volume of The Silva will be on its way to you and will tell you what little I know about your favorite Spruces, Hemlocks, etc. This is the time, it seems to me, for you to get out that review of the book for Page while the memory of the eastern trees is fresh in your mind, for the review I think ought to be more of a talk about the trees of the country than about the book which attempts to describe them. Here is an opportunity to do a tip-02521 ARNOLD ASRBORETUMtop piece of work and at the same time help The Silva immensely, and the appearance of the twelfth volume is a good time for the publication of such a review of the general subject.With best wishes for the New Year for you and your family,Always faithfully yours,C.S.[illegible]John Muir, Esq.Martinez, Cal