TALBOT1261

Florence

April 6

Dear Henry

I am quite sorry I have to send off a Courier without a packet for you – but I have had hardly time to collect anything – & the season seems backwarder here than anywhere owing to the sterility of the soil. I find the Ashburnhams are a botanising family I am going out with Ly. A. today who has tempted me by a report of yellow tulips when in comes this Courier who will be gone before I can send a specimen of anything – there are a good many purple Coronarias here, no red. no hortensis. Double Daffodils wild in many places no single. I found one furzebush with red standards like a var. of Coronilla Emerus. There is a Sedum very like our rupestre but not it, I take it to be that which has been lately distinguished from Rupestre by Sowerby ¹ under the name of Fraseri or that sort of name. There is a narrow leaved Hypericum on the walls not Coris I think – the Cascine is full of worthless primroses & good for nothing violets – not an Allium to be seen – Tuscany is certainly inferior to Nice or Naples. I hope to botanise in the course of a fortnight in the Maremma –

In an old letter of yours you mention Astrag. ² pentaglollis – have you seeds of it – pray tell me what seeds to look out for as I have Spring & Summer & Autumn before me. Pray look in on Abbotsbury ³ in the course of the Summer & name some of the plants. I am cultivating (there) all manner of Muscari – some of the garden sorts are I think oriental – I found the true starch flavor at Nice.

I have not seen Raddi ⁴ – he has sent me a letter for Brazil but none for you –

Yr aff

W T H F S

I hope you will see Buckland ⁵ while you are in England & Scrope ⁶ –I enclose the Sedum – it will grow

Henry F. Talbot Esq^r
31 Sackville Street