Fourteen days ago Johan Peter Falck received a letter in which seeds from Linnaeus were enclosed [this letter has not come down to us]. He is most grateful, but cannot understand the delay. Falck indicates that the letter might have been forgotten at Karl Friedrich Kruse’s or at one of the secretaries in the Collegium. It is hard to be in control when one lives at such a distance from the town.
Johannes Beckmann will go to Uppsala for the sake of natural history. He has promised to take some items for Linnaeus with him. Falck has not been able to get material of Johann Amman’s Armeniaca betulae folio in St Petersburg. However, Falck will send material of Amygdalus nana which he discovered a lot of in the Medical Garden. Falck only had two samples of Spirea sorbifolia, one in a pot and one planted in the garden. Only the one planted outdoor survived; it is flowering just now. He will send material later.
Falck unexpectedly found Acer tataricum in the garden though no one else had noticed it earlier. It might have been there for a very long time. Compared with the Swedish maple tree [Acer platanoides] Falck describes an avenue where all such trees died after an especially severe Russian winter while this A. tataricum survived. It is in fruit now and hopefully these will ripen in time.
A sample of Hyoscyamus physalodes will be enclosed with a rhizome with active eyes.
A dry specimen of rhubarb with leaf and flowers [for the herbarium] will be enclosed. It is an addition to the single leaf that Falck sent to Linnaeus last summer. Its leaves are similar to those of Rheum palmatum. The stem is very short, hardly longer than the leaves, smooth and not so furrowed as those of Rheum palmatum. The flowers are similar, but this one flowered about 14 days later. Stigma and anthers [with filaments] are purplish. The petals are whitish green whilst the other species has more reddish petals. Falck is, however, not quite sure since he couldn’t compare them side-by-side.
Falck, most humbly, thanks Linnaeus for his promises. The President of Collegium Medicum is most pleased with Linnaeus’s offer. The Collegium promptly ordered Falck to send whatever was available, now and in the future, of Russian plants. Falck assures that this will be of the greatest pleasure for him to fulfil.
Falck forwards his most humble greetings to Linnaeus’s wife [Sara Elisabet Linnaea], the young daughters [Elisabeth Christina Linnaea, Louisa Linnaea, Sara Christina Linnaea, Sophia Linnaea] and to Linnaeus.
P.S. 1 In the parcel there is enclosed a sample of Convolvulus persicus from Johann Jacob Lerche and a small packet with seeds from Pavel Grigorevich Demidov. Falck cannot tell how old these are, but the seeds from him are fresh. Since the spring this year they have only had bad weather. Up to this date there have only been 8 days with real summer. Flack’s health problems still prevail with rheumatism and melancholia, etc. The old orangery, with a look of a “Finnish Ria”, will be repaired. The President has assured Falck that a new orangery will be built of stone and ready next year – but Falck cannot believe it until he sees it.
P.S. 2 Nicolas-Gabriel Le Clerc’s] book [Medicus veri amator] will be enclosed as an example of an absurd Frenchman. At another time Falck will enclose a similar one from Abram Ens.