ELIZABETHAN GARDEN LITERATURE. 175 



(Buckthorn) twenty feet high, and near a foot in diameter." 

 Watson also mentions a deciduous cypress, " Cupressus ameri- 

 canus acacia foliis deciduis " (Taxodium distichum), a tree which the 

 Tradescants introduced. The tulip-tree was also one of their 

 importations. Evelyn thus refers to it : " Poplar of Virginia I 

 conceive it was first brought over by John Tradescant, under the 

 name of tulip-tree (from the likeness of its flowers), but is not, 

 that I find, taken much notice of in any of our Herbals. I wish 

 we had more of them, but they are difficult to elevate at first."* 

 Some other plants brought over by them have more fortunately 

 preserved their memory. Tradescant's Daffodil, called, " the 

 great rose daffodil," in Parkinson, is Plenissimus, still described 

 as "the largest and richest yellow of all double daffodils. "t 

 Tradescant's Aster still bears their name, and the Tradescantias, 

 or spiderworts, are a well-known genus. During his travels, 

 Tradescant made purchases for his patron, the first Earl of 

 Salisbury, and some of his original bills are preserved at 

 Hatfield. Many of the items are of interest, showing not only 

 the prices paid for known plants, but also for some new ones, 

 which he was the first to introduce. 



The following are extracts from this interesting series J : 



"3 January, 1611 John Tradescant his bill for Routes flowers, seedes, 

 trees and plants by him bought for my Lo : in Holland Bought at Leyden in 

 Holland For roots of flowers of Roasses and shrubs of strang and rare, 3. 

 . . . Also bought at Harlem in Holland of Cornellis Helin of the Rathe ripe cherry 

 trees 32 at 45. the peece, 6. 8s. for flowers called anemones, 55. for 16 

 Province Roses, 8s. for two mulbery trees 6s. for the great red currants 6 

 plants is. for two arbor vita trees is. fortye frittelarias at 3 pence the peece 

 IDS. 5 January 1611 bought at Brussells and in Holland'. . . . for the rathe 

 ripe portingall quince on[e] tree, 6s. for the lion's quince tree 35. for two 

 great medlar trees of Naples 55. for tulipes roots at Harlem at ten shillings the 

 hundred 800, 4. for on dussin of great blacke curants is. on excedyng great 

 cherye called the boores cherye 125. on Aprycoke tree called the whit 

 aprycoke 6s. also bought of the archedukes gardener called peere vyens 10 

 sorts 2os. on chery tree called the Archedukes cherye 12s. Also bought of 



* One of the oldest tulip-trees is at Waltham, in Essex. " The largest and 

 biggest that ever was seen, there being but one other, in Great Britain, and that 

 at Lord Peterborough's." History of Waltham, Farmer, 1735. 



f Barr's English Daffodil Catalogue, 1893. 



| From the original MS. at Hatfield, by the kind permission of the 

 Marquess of Salisbury. 



