From Thomas Jefferson to Robert Bailey, 9 December 1802
To Robert Bailey
Washington Dec. 9. 1802.
Sir
A friend of mine in France has asked of me to procure the seeds and plants below mentioned. as this may not be out of your line, and the plants abound in this neighborhood, I will ask the favor of you to make the collection, and pack them well and properly for the sea, labelling each article so substantially as not to be erased. the sooner they are ready the better. should you not have the convenience of having the boxes made, and will send me a note of the sizes, they shall be made here. Accept my best wishes for yourself & family
Th: Jefferson
black walnuts. half a bushel
seeds of the Poplar (Liriodendron) half a bushel.
Cedar berries 1. ℔
acorns of every kind. half a bushel to be packed in dry bran.
Sassafras seed. 1. ℔
Swamp laurel. 1. ℔.
Dogwood ½ ℔
white ash seed ½ ℔1
Catalpa seed ½ ℔
wild roses of every kind. ½ bushel of seed.
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| 12 plants of sassafras. |  |
to be packed in moss, in a box |
| 12. do. of swamp laurel | ||
| 12 do. of Dogwood |
PrC (MoSHi: Jefferson Papers); at foot of text: “Mr. Bailey”; endorsed by TJ in ink on verso.
Madame de Tessé was the friend in France; see TJ to William Short, 2 Dec.; TJ to Madame de Tessé, 30 Jan. 1803; TJ to Bailey, 10, 19 Oct. 1803. For Bailey, who had a nursery in Washington and was formerly a gardener at Monticello, see Vol. 28:256–7 and Vol. 37:100.
1. Alongside this entry TJ wrote in ink “not here.”