MY LORD,—Having heard from my brother M. Anzolo, who had the happiness to stay with your Grace many days in those pleasant mountains of the Padovano, how much you delight in hearing of the nature of plants, especially of those which are not generally known, I wished, in order not to fail in my duty towards your Grace, to write you a description of one I remember among many others, which I saw in Tartary, during my stay at Tana. The Tartars have a plant in their country which they call Baltracan, the want of which would cause them great suffering, and prevent them from going from place to place, especially across those great deserts and solitudes, where they find nothing to eat except this plant, which supports them and gives them vigour. Accordingly, as soon as its stem has grown up, all the merchants and other people who wish to go long journeys, start in security, saying, “Let us go, for the Baltracan has grown.” And should one of their slaves escape when the Baltracan is grown, they abstain from following him, as they know that he can find support anywhere. And when they march with the _lordo_ they carry supplies of it on carts and on the croups of their horses and even on their shoulders, for their sustenance, nor do they mind the load, so pleasant is its perfume. When any of it was brought to Tana, we merchants immediately ate of it. Nor must I omit to mention, that when in Albania, where I had been sent as Proveditore, after my return to Venice, as I was riding towards Croatia with five hundred persons, I saw some of this Baltracan at the roadside, which I began eating; after which, the whole company wanted to taste it. When they had tasted it, it came so much into use, that everyone carried bundles of it; those who were not on horseback carrying it on their shoulders. This they did, not so much from necessity, as on account of its good flavour and smell, and the Albanians shouted out Baltracan, Baltracan. I subsequently saw some of this Baltracan at Terrarsa in the Padovana; and, in order that your Lordship may know it, when searching for it in those mountains, I will describe its form in a few words. It has a leaf like that of the rape, with a stem thicker than one’s finger, which, at seedtime attains a height of more than a braccio. The leaves spring from the stem at the distance of a quarter of a braccio from each other. Its seed is like that of fennel, but larger. It has a pungent but pleasant taste, and when it is in season, it is broken as far as the soft part. It has a smell of rather musty oranges, and from its nature requires nothing to flavour it, so that it can be eaten without salt. I consider that, at the proper time, it may be sown like other seeds, especially in temperate places and in good soil. Each stem has a root of its own, and is hollow in the interior. The bark of the stem is green inclined to yellow. But, I believe that those who would not know it by any other characteristic,