Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London, and a list of Fortune's expenses addressed to the Horticultural Society of London

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London, and a list of Fortune's expenses addressed to the Horticultural Society of London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/21

Date

16 Aug 1845

Scope & content

Written from Shanghai [China]

Annotated on the reverse: 'Via Southampton'

Letter No 21

He is now more able to give information about the city and district of Soochow [Suzhou, Jiangsu, China] since his last letter; the flora, as expected, features a mixture of that found in the north and in the south, with the southern species favouring the valleys and low countries, and the northern species favouring the hills; he found 10 large and well-managed nurseries, but the plants are largely the same as those in the Fa-tee gardens near Canton [Guangzhou, Guangdong, China], apart from a few, which he purchased for the Society in duplicate, sending half of them to Hong Kong and taking the rest with him to the north; he found a large tea district in the hills and saw 'the natives engaged in gathering and preparing the leaves'; he did not see any new flora; he travelled towards the north from Soochow in a Chinese junk, leaving the Min River [Fujian, China] on 20 Jul; they were attacked about 60 miles from the mouth of the river by 'a fleet of piratical junks, and I certainly thought then that my travels were to be brought to a premature conclusion'; the 'cowardly crew' ran below the deck to avoid being shot and had to be brought back to steer the ship; he refused to give up on the ship, knowing he had no chance of escaping if caught: 'I therefore loaded my gun and pistols with large charges and hailed patiently until the nearest junk was within 30 yards of our stern [...] the pirates came on hooting and yelling in their usual savage manner, apparently quite sure of their prize. Their decks were crowded with them, and I now raised my gun and fired right amongst their heads, firing them one barrel in the fore part and the other in the after part of their junk. The effect was wonderful, and every man fell flat on his face on the deck as a thunderbolt had struck them. Doubtless I wounded a great number'; after another attempt, they 'considered it prudent not to attack us'; the following day a similar attack followed, but they managed to arrive safely in Chusan [Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China]; prior to leaving River Min, he was confined to bed for three weeks with fever, but is now recovering and able to look after his collections, which are 'scattered all over this part of the country', but mostly in good order and he hopes to be able to transmit them safely to England; as he said in a previous letter, he considers his collection too valuable to part from and prefers to transmit it himself: 'I do not think anything that I might find in the straits would repay the Society for the loss of one of my fine northern plants'; he will leave in a couple of days for Chusan to bring back his plants from there before travelling to Hong Kong with his full collection in October; he is anxious to hear whether his plants sent last winter from Hong Kong survived the journey; he acknowledges receipt of a letter of 6 Mar; he encloses packets of Shantung cabbage, 'scented oo-sung [Chinese stem lettuce]' and Scutellaria [enclosures not present]: 'the one marked thus X is a most beautiful plant found lately in a garden near Shanghae [Shanghai, China], the flowers, which are of the most lovely blue, expand in each summer and continue to be produced until autumn. If we succeed in raising it in England, it will be the finest introduction for the flower garden since the Verbena was introduced'

Fortune's expenses for Jun-Jul 1845 include 'hire of Chinese boat from Shanghae to Woosung [Wusong, Shanghai]' $1, 'paid for various plants for the Society' $6.50, 'wages of coolie [indentured worker] for the month' $10, 'expense of chairs, boat &c' $6.50 and 'personal expenses' $28.50 [here the list includes 14 more items], with total of $710.79

Extent

5 page letter (2 sheets)

Is part of

RHS archive: plant collector papers

Repository

Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library

Copyright

Royal Horticultural Society

Credit Line

RHS Lindley Collections

Usage terms

Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)