Visiting English friends; desires to call on Smith.
Visiting English friends; desires to call on Smith.
Asked by [George] Hibbert and [Alexander] Macleay to nominate a candidate for superintendence of the Botanic Garden of Jamaica; nominates [James] MacFadyen [(1800-1850), physician and botanist]; his qualifications. Thanks for agreeable afternoon he and his family lately spent with Smith in Norwich.
Invites Smith to visit this month before going down to London together. Will subscribe to [Alexander] Macleay's portrait.
Proposes accompanying Smith to London via Bury for Horticultural Society and Linnean Club meetings, and if not suitable invites him to Bury in May. Notes that in [Thaddeus Mason] Harris' [(1768-1842), American clergyman] "Natural History of the Bible" Smith is quoted as naming the "lilies of the field" 'Amaryllis lutea'. Wonders if he can find 'Ophrys aranifera' for the lack of rain; has previously found it in flower the last day of March, and expects to hear the cuckoo in a week to ten days.