Letter from J. Reeves [John Reeves, naturalist, former East India Company tea inspector in China] to Dr Lindley [assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]

Information

Title: Letter from J. Reeves [John Reeves, naturalist, former East India Company tea inspector in China] to Dr Lindley [assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]

Scope & content: Written from Clapham [London]

Undated [c. Dec 1842] (dated 'Friday')

He will endeavour to be at Regent Street [London] tomorrow at 11am; he has an 'Adeys' sympiesometer [a lightweight barometer, invented by Alexander James Adie in 1818] of his original make, intended to be carried and slung from the shoulder, which is designed to also measure altitude: 'I have not used it lately (having others) and it will require re-filling [with almond oil and hydrogen gas]'; transporting peach or nectarine stones may be easier than whole plants; the Emu is in the West India Docks [Isle of Dogs, London] according to the newspapers; he no longer thinks it necessary for Fortune to stay in Canton [Guangzhou, Guangdong, China] for the full year, as he has access to Hong Kong and Macao [Macau], 'and therefore can be doing something in the meanwhile'; yesterday he sent the Chinese vocabulary [probably by the missionary Robert Morrison, 'A Dictionary of the Chinese Language', 1815-1823]: 'as it has the Chinese characters, it will be current through the country – the English sounds may not'

Usage terms: Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0). No cropping or text overlay.