Editor’s Note pg 244Editor’s Note2733To Sir Samuel Bentham20 December 1820 (Aet 72)

Q.S.P. 20 Decr 1820.

This evening is to go off a trusty person who will visit you at Montpellier some time probably between the 5th or 6th and 8th or 9th of the next month, with a long letter and a quantity of rattletraps.² Amongst them are some cuttings of the Tokay vine, in a tin case, hermetically sealed, with or without a rooted plant and other cuttings; also a similarly sealed packet of seeds: when received, I hope Lady B. will favour me with a list of the contents.

By that conveyance you will I believe receive some strawberry plants from Lee's and the small quantities of garden seeds desired by you: together with all the information desired about trees, plants and agricultural and other machines: besides other things too numerous to enumerate

When your furniture etc are sent, along with them will be from Q.S.P. seeds of the Plane tree near the barracks,³ in greater quantity than if half of them are in a growing state you will care to sow: Item an immense quantity of Bladder Senna from Q.S.P. As it grows fast I see not why it should not serve for firing: perhaps the young twigs for food for cattle. Lawrence will go halves with you.

Sweet briar hips are promised in large quantity. Item from Dr Rigbys seeds of any trees on his estate at Framingham⁴ that remain on the trees: which it is apprehended will not be many. By this conveyance go the remainder of Lady Bs inutilities.

But the particular purpose for which this advice in addition to those others is necessary is this. When I asked for a few chrysanthemum Indicum cuttings, and perhaps a few others from B.s⁵ friend Lodiger, I expected to have had such a package as you will receive from Aitons: say 1½ foot by 6 inches and 6 inches. But with the idea of the man[?] who asked for it, added to that of the name for whom it was asked, such was the zeal of honest old Lodiger (above 80) he thought he pg 245could not send enough—all gratuitous: Instead of that moderate sized box, he accordingly sent to Bs one of the size of a 'Coffin' says B. at his weekly dinner with me (yesterday). My Dic proposed that the Coffin should be opened and a moderate quantity selected, such as it might be possible for Mr M. to take, obliged as he is to go by a Mail Coach on the first instance. Aye but says I then the other would probably perish. Well, says he, then for their salvation we will take another course if you approve of it. I have a correspondent at Havre: Havre it would reach in a few days: from thence it might go to Montpellier, by roulage. But in this case, the expence would be from 15 to 20 francs. (I forget whether for the roulage alone, or whether this was the whole of the expence.) Be this as it may, I am sure you would [not] grudge the expence of so considerable a cargo, with benevolent zeal for the principle by which the solution was directed. What means have you as yet for keeping them alive? Here will be work for M. Berard.

Watering Engines

In my last I expressed my surprize at seeing in the Catalogue of the great Agricultural and other Machine Repository a price as high as 11 Guineas, 6 being the lowest.⁶ Lawrence asked to see one; but they had none. Perhaps they were upon the principle of the Fire-Engines. The following is the result of an enquiry I made yesterday at Fireman Lloyd's opposite St Clements:⁷ 'Small Squirt Engine' (painted Green) 10: 6: this I saw: the stream is of course interrupted: the water is in a separate vessel in which you plunge it. The other I did not see: they had none at that time. Water it holds about 10 gallons: the stream is a perpetual one: price 3½ guineas.

Q.S.P. Wedny 20 Decr 1820.

I sent off a letter yesterday to Mr Owen at Lanark desiring him to remitt to me on the 1st of next month the £1,000 which I am on that day entitled to draw out of the Lanark concern: the instant the Bill comes to me I shall transmitt it to Martin's with directions to employ it in answering your draughts. As to the £2,500 two thousand five hundred pound, whenever you are disposed to join with me in borrowing it of Martin's on our joint bond to employ it in Restinclieres, let me know and I will do what is needful towards it.

I have written to this same effect in an enormous long letter to be pg 246sent off by this nights Coach by a trusty hand which will deliver it to you at Montpellier.⁸ In the other leaf, I unwillingly trusted to that opportunity for conveying information to you of what is above. I ought to have written by post the instant I received your letter on the subject. My long letter as above contains on this subject nothing more than what is here.