Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London
Information
Title - Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/7/1/1/35
Date - 20 Dec 1838
Scope & content - Written from Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]
Postmarked ('Franqueado, Mexico 31 Dicre 1838', 'London 16 Feb[?] 1839'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal
Letter No 25
He is unlikely to be able to send seeds as requested for some time, as the 'hostilities' with the French have begun [the so-called Pastry War, also known as the First French intervention in Mexico or the First Franco-Mexican War, lasted from Nov 1838 to Mar 1839]; the castle of San Juan de Ulua [Mexico] and Veracruz [Mexico] have been occupied, all the inhabitants have left Veracruz, and Tampico [Mexico] is 'in disorder'; he has been unable to find out what has happened to the boxes in the ports: 'it seems as if everything is conspiring that my collections, got together with great labour and expense, should never prosper'; he made a 'long and interesting' excursion to the Cardonal [Mexico] and Zimapan [Mexico] via a ravine ('barranca seca') to Jacala [Mexico], returning by another ravine to the 'smelting works' of Encarnacion [Encarnacion, Mexico]; he found a 'tolerable quantity' of seeds of two new species of Garrya ('macrophylla mihi [?Garrya laurifolia subsp. macrophylla]); he saw plenty of Pinus llaveana [Pinus cembroides] in Zimapan, but was only able to find a few cones: 'I therefore bought some old seed, which is an article of commerce, and according to an experiment made, I found that there is only a loss of 20 per cent, a mere trifle'; he does not wish to leave for another month or two, as there is still much to do, and he hopes the differences between France and Mexico will be settled; he is collecting cacti, and visited the place where an 'extraordinary' collection he saw at the Society's garden show in 1837 by Mr Deschamps [Louis Auguste Deschamps, French botanist] was said to have been collected, near Tlalpujahua [Mexico], but did not find any plants; he visited Puente de Dios [Mexico], or Cueva de Dantoe ('often mentioned in Kunth [Carl Sigismund Kunth, German botanist, who visited Central America in 1829-1832]'), and found some 'very pretty things', including a new Spiraea, Lindleya mespiloides [?Lindleyella schiedeana], and an officinal plant called 'yerba de San Pedro', which may be a new species of Bouvardia
Hartweg's accounts for 16 Nov-16 Dec 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18, 'keeping of 3 beasts' $16.3 and 'shoeing' $1.4, and 'received in cash' $100 from Charles Ehrenberg [Carl August Ehrenberg, German botanist and merchant in Mexico] in Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]. Written from Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]
Postmarked ('Franqueado, Mexico 31 Dicre 1838', 'London 16 Feb[?] 1839'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal
Letter No 25
He is unlikely to be able to send seeds as requested for some time, as the 'hostilities' with the French have begun [the so-called Pastry War, also known as the First French intervention in Mexico or the First Franco-Mexican War, lasted from Nov 1838 to Mar 1839]; the castle of San Juan de Ulua [Mexico] and Veracruz [Mexico] have been occupied, all the inhabitants have left Veracruz, and Tampico [Mexico] is 'in disorder'; he has been unable to find out what has happened to the boxes in the ports: 'it seems as if everything is conspiring that my collections, got together with great labour and expense, should never prosper'; he made a 'long and interesting' excursion to the Cardonal [Mexico] and Zimapan [Mexico] via a ravine ('barranca seca') to Jacala [Mexico], returning by another ravine to the 'smelting works' of Encarnacion [Encarnacion, Mexico]; he found a 'tolerable quantity' of seeds of two new species of Garrya ('macrophylla mihi [?Garrya laurifolia subsp. macrophylla]); he saw plenty of Pinus llaveana [Pinus cembroides] in Zimapan, but was only able to find a few cones: 'I therefore bought some old seed, which is an article of commerce, and according to an experiment made, I found that there is only a loss of 20 per cent, a mere trifle'; he does not wish to leave for another month or two, as there is still much to do, and he hopes the differences between France and Mexico will be settled; he is collecting cacti, and visited the place where an 'extraordinary' collection he saw at the Society's garden show in 1837 by Mr Deschamps [Louis Auguste Deschamps, French botanist] was said to have been collected, near Tlalpujahua [Mexico], but did not find any plants; he visited Puente de Dios [Mexico], or Cueva de Dantoe ('often mentioned in Kunth [Carl Sigismund Kunth, German botanist, who visited Central America in 1829-1832]'), and found some 'very pretty things', including a new Spiraea, Lindleya mespiloides [?Lindleyella schiedeana], and an officinal plant called 'yerba de San Pedro', which may be a new species of Bouvardia
Hartweg's accounts for 16 Nov-16 Dec 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18, 'keeping of 3 beasts' $16.3 and 'shoeing' $1.4, and 'received in cash' $100 from Charles Ehrenberg [Carl August Ehrenberg, German botanist and merchant in Mexico] in Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]
Level - Item
Extent - 4 page letter (1 sheet)
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)