Transcribe Lucas, F. A. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1883-02-17)

                                                              Feb. 17/83

Dear Prof. Ward,

    As requested I answer yours of the

15th by return main. Do you know that the hardest task you have set me is those same short notes? Now at R. there was so much coming in that the short notes were easily obtainable. Now do you want anything pertaining to the U. S. N. M. or are there "no men but Romans" and no institution save Ward's N. S. E.? Lou did not reply to a suggestion of mine that I should follow the Am. Mus. article by others on Mus. Comp. Zool. and U. S. N. M. Perhaps however you may deem one such article in my graphic style enough for a long time and quite as much as the Bulletin can stand. Now we have just received a shark here the second of the species ever seen and the only one from this side of the Atlantic. Do you want that? Then there is much of interest about the Fishery Exhibit. But you see that at this distance from the Estab- lishment and the care taken to prevent my knowing what is going on there it is uphill to contribute </u any >notes. By the way some one stole my thunder about that Hog's (4 -legged) jaw for I had intended to describe and figure it with several other things in a few notes on </u dental > abnormalities. My only reason for delaying was the hope of getting more material. I have that, the M. C. Z. Woodchuck and the Gorilla with an incisor in place of a canine ( a most interesting fact) and would allude