TALBOT288

Melbury ¹
April 14

Dear Henry

Pray give me a little account of your tour your two letters followed each other so closely that they did not give me much variety –

Several of my Italian importations are flowering here very well now – viz Ornithogalum exscapum – O. pyramidale not yet out but looks very different from Narbonense – Tulipa Raddi in great beauty quite as fine as at Florence – T. præcox from Naples seems only a dwarf variety – Oculus Solis – & all the others in bud or very forward – I will send you petals of each – fresh – Narcissus odorus & incomparabilis single very pretty – The brilliancy of Pseudo Narcissus in some fields here where it is as thick as if sown strikes me as equal to any shew of wild flowers I know The Neapolitan Crocus pusillus flowered very well the Florentines all failed – one from John ² seems a delicate variety of that of Castelamare– ³ Primula Palinuri beautiful – ditto P. nivalis & marginata we have a tall var. of nivalis among some auriculas from Holland some call it a var of villosa – Erica arborea is in fine flower at Abbotsbury ⁴ I wonder it is not more cultivated – it has a Cape look – O. arabicum ⁵ stood the winter well

Y^r Aff^te
W F S

W. H. Talbot Esq^e