Lowther Castle <1>
1st September
My Dear Henry
I hope you have received my Letter & rather wonder you have not answered it, as I hope you are now quite well enough to do so. Pray write me word exactly how you feel as if you do not feel well I shall make a point of meeting you in London at the conclusion of yr Holidays as I cannot be happy separated from you when you are not well. I have got a great many dried Specimens for you, & have seen a crocus gathered by Dr Clarke on the Plain of Marathon. Have you ever heard of a plant called the Sphagnum Palustrae which grows in different parts of England & serves to perk up others & keep them alive by the quantity of juice it contains? I dug up the Geranium Sylvaticum & the Geranium Lucidum but afterwards thought I would not send them to London, but dry some instead. You will find a full account of the Nature & properties of the Sphagnum Palustri [sic] in the History of the Society for the Encouraget of arts <2> within the last 3 yrs
Henry Talbot
1. Sept. 1814. <3>
Notes:
1. Lowther Castle, Cumbria. It was the family seat of the Earls of Lonsdale.
2. Citing the interest in packing materials for plants, and referring to an earlier volume, a series of letters on Sphagnum palustra was published in the Transactions of the Society, Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, v. 30, 1813, pp. 193-203.
3. Written in another hand at the back of address panel.