August
12, 1978
Dear
Mr Plant,
No
need to apologize for Air Letter, I use them all the time for England.
On
August 2 I sent you a map of California sea mail. You can calculate from that
how long it takes. You will find Saratoga about 50 miles south of San
Francisco, but as this is not a contour map, it does not shows that there is a
range of mountains between Saratoga and the Pacific. So we have a warm summer
climate (dry) and our rainy season is not so bad, maybe 4 or 5 days in the
entire winter the water in the bird-bath will freeze over.
Checking
an Atlas I see Saratoga is approximately on the 37th degree
latitude and Maitland 32½. So you have it even wormier. Do you grow semi-tropicals
like avocados? They do well here in sheltered locations. People are always
starting them from pits, in the house,
but they seldom bear out of doors, or revert to the small Mexican original. I
am quite satisfied with my apricots, peaches, Japanese persimmons and almonds.
I have 2 large walnut trees but unless they are sprayed they get a pest called
husk-fly, which makes the nuts black.
Glad
you have found some US correspondents who can be helpful. But a government Special purpose grant sounds extraordinary time to
trace the origin of Pekin-Cochin bantams!
I
didn’t think they cared! But I have seen far stranger subjects presented for
Ph.D. degrees.
I
push along with my cane, and take pain pills when needed, do necessary house
& garden work, enjoy life too much to think of quitting!
Cordially,