Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London and 'List of plants &c sent to England per Cornwall Jan 30th 1844' by Robert Fortune

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London and 'List of plants &c sent to England per Cornwall Jan 30th 1844' by Robert Fortune

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/4

Date

31 Jan 1844

Scope & content

Written from Hong Kong

Postmarked ('India', '2A3 MY11 1844'). The letter includes an opened seal. Written on onion-skin paper. Annotated on the reverse: 'Via Southampton'

Letter No 4

Since his last letter, he has visited Woosang [Wusong, Shanghai, China], Shanghae [Shanghai, China] and the surrounding areas; he returned to Chusan [Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China] after a month and sailed for Ning Po foo [Ningbo, Zhejiang]; he travelled inland and visited 'the gardens of the Mandarins' and was received with 'the greatest civility from the inhabitants'; he found several nursery gardens and bought some 'valuable' plants for the Society; he sent a nursery gardener in Shanghae to the 'celebrated city' of Souchow-foo [Suzhou, Jiangsu, China] to find a moutan [Paeonia suffruticosa], of which he commissioned a drawing in Chusan by a Chinese artist; if the plants are anything like they are described, they will be 'most valuable things, but I have no great faith in the veracity of the Chinese and I almost fear I shall be disappointed'; he brought the plants to Hong Kong and hopes they will flower soon and he will be able to tell what they are; he is sending some glazed cases ('filled with valuable plants') by the Cornwall, a bag of seed with 71 varieties, two boxes of specimens and 'some other things'; Lord Saltoun [Alexander George Fraser, British army general and politician, who fought in the First Opium War in China], to whom he had letters of introduction from Lord Stanley [Edward Smith-Stanley, earl of Derby, British secretary of state for war and the colonies] and Mr Barnard [Edward Barnard, vice-president of the Horticultural Society of London] promised to deliver a packet of seeds, which might arrive sooner than those sent by the Cornwall; the seeds are primarily duplicates and all numbered; he will be able to send more information regarding them during the summer

Fortune's expenses for 11 Nov 1843-31 Jan 1844 include 'paid to Chinese artist for drawings of flowers' $4, 'purchase of various plants' $5, 'boat and coolie [indentured worker] hire, presents to Chinese &c' $6.50, 'passage from Chusan to Hong Kong' $100, 'expenses of boxes, packing, shipping plants, coolie hire &c' $2 [here the list includes 33 more items], with the total $592.50. Includes a note regarding his busyness since his return that he has been unable to go to Macao [Macau] to settle his account with Messrs Dent & Co [merchants in China], but will do so before his next letter

Enclosed is a list of the contents of 12 boxes (nine glass cases and three other boxes) sent to the Horticultural Society from Hong Kong on the Cornwall, dated 27 Jan 1844. The list is numbered (specimens 1-51, boxes 1-12) and includes fingered citron ('2 plants, Canton [Guangzhou, Guangdong, China]. I have seen the fruit on all of them'), bamboo ('yellow, Canton'), peach tree ('Amoy [Xiamen, Fujian, China]'), 'box of seed containing 71 sorts' and 'box of dried specimens (about 116 sets [of] 30 each), also 1 box of shells addressed to Mrs Lindley [Sarah Freestone Lindley, wife of John Lindley] and 1 box of colours addressed to Miss Drake [Sarah Anne Drake, botanical artist, who made various illustrations for the Horticultural Society, and lived for a time with the Lindley family]' [here the list includes 49 more items]

Extent

6 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)