TALBOT7889

31 Burlington St ¹
23 May 1859

My dear Henry

Charlotte ² & Emma ³ tell me you are likely to be at Lacock – but that the wedding ⁴ is not to be there I dare say business or science will bring you to town – if you come up call here where we shall be the next two months I fear <–> Caroline ⁵ is in town but I have not seen her – I hope to do so before she returns to M^t Edg^{be 6}

I have been to Veitch’s ⁷ & Hendersons ⁸ – the weather is not fine enough for Kew or Chiswick. I am glad to see Ferns so much cultivated. You should get Arthur Henderson’s complete catalogue of his stock of ferns, very well got up & worth keeping. Also Smith of Kew’s little shilling Catalogue of Ferns, ⁹ a most useful manual & the best authority – Moore’s British Ferns ¹⁰ – & Index Filicum ¹¹ – 5 N^os out &, with all known synonyms – not got beyond Asplenium or thereabouts – are very good too – & I am taking Hooker’s Species Filicum ¹² as the last resort of the order.

The. Maskelyne ¹³ has been very ill but is better – Traherne ¹⁴ looks poorly. Write here

Y^r aff
W^m