Creator
John Muir
Recipient
Asa K. McIlhaney
Transcription
Exact Copy
Martinez, Cal. Jan. 10, 1913.
Mr. Asa K. McIlhaney,
Bath, Penn.
Dear Sir;
I thank you for your fine letter, but in reply I can't tell which of all God's trees I like best though I should write a big book trying to. Sightseers often ask me which is best, the Grand Canon of Arizona or Yosemite. I always reply that I know a show better than either of them--both of them.
Anglo-Saxon folk have inherited love for oaks & heathers. Of all I know of the world's 250 oaks perhaps I like best the macrocarpa chrysolepis, lobata, Virginiana, agrifolia, and Michauxii.
Of the little heather folk my favorite is Cassiope. Of the trees of the family the Menzies arbutus, one of the world's great trees.
The Hickory is a favorite genus. I like them all, the pecan, the best.
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2
of flower trees magnolia & Liriodendron and the wonderful baobab. Of conifers Sequoia gigantea the noblest of the whole noble race, and sugar pine king of pines, & silver firs especially magnifica. The grand larch forests of the upper Missouri & of Manchuria and the glorious deodars of the Himalaya, Araucarias of Brazil & Chile & Australia. The wonderful Eucalyptus, 200 species, the New Zealand Metrosidoros & Agathis. The magnificent eriodendron of the Amazon & the palm and treefern & treegrass forests _ & in our own country the delightful Linden & oxydendron & maples & so on without end. I may as well stop here as anywhere.
Wishing you a happy New Year and good times in God's woods.
Faithfully yours
John Muir.
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Location
Martinez, Calif.
Date Original
1913 Jan 10
Source
Original letter dimensions: 26.5 x 20.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to Asa K. McIlhaney, 1913 Jan 10." (1913). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 3885.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/3885
Resource Identifier
muir21_0041-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 21, Image 0041
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyrighted
Copyright Statement
The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Copyright Holder
Muir-Hanna Trust
Copyright Date
1984
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
