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/7/1/1/43
Date - 17 Jun 1839
Scope & content - Written from Oaxaca [Mexico]
Letter No 31
He left for the south coast on 27 May; he left six boxes with his collections from the north coast, marked HS27-32, with Messrs R. Smith & Co [merchants in Mexico]; the boxes contain 83 species of plants, 'viz. 81 of epiphytes & 2 of Cerci [?Cercis]'; he expects the boxes to reach England soon; his trip to the south coast was successful, and he found about 60 species of Orchideae, making a total of 140 species; he will pack them in another six boxes; 'I defer giving the list of the stations until my researches in this neighbourhood are closed'; he intends to travel next to Chinantla [Mexico], and then to collect bulbs; these excursions will occupy the next two months, and 'you may easily imagine that I find it difficult to separate myself from this beautiful country', but he heard from Mr Skinner [George Ure Skinner, British merchant and naturalist in Guatemala] that 'other glorious fields await' in Guatemala: 'I also believe that it will be indifferent to the Society to receive good things whether they be from Mexico or Guatemala'; the collection of seeds is progressing slowly, as the best time for seeds and the herbarium is at the end of the rainy season, and it is the beginning of the season now; he was surprised to see in the letter dated 15 Mar that the collections from Tampico [Mexico] arrived in a good order, as he was worried that the Tillandsia would be 'completely rotten, and I only used it for want of other packing material'; it is important to know which packing materials are best for the plants to better plan the packing in the future, and he would like to know whether the Cypropediums in the clay balls survived; he promised some to Mr Jurgensen [Carl Jurgensen] of the Hacienda del Carmen near Oaxaca [Mexico], who has been very hospitable and provided much information; it has been difficult to receive news from his relatives, and he asked them to send their letters to the Society's office to be forwarded to him, and he asks the enclosure [enclosure not present] to be forwarded; Charles Jurgensen [Carl Jurgensen] of Hacienda del Carmen, Oaxaca, wishes to be supplied with a collection of vegetable seeds, cucumbers, melons, beetroot, cherry and plum, to be sent to the care of Mr G. Eckhardt [Gustavus Eckhardt] at Messrs Ebert & Schneider [William Ebert & Francis Schneider, merchants in Mexico] in Veracruz [Mexico] and Mr L'Enfer [unidentified] in Oaxaca
Hartweg's accounts for 17 May-16 Jun 1839 include 'hospital bill of former mozo [servant]' $18, '6 boxes, HS27 to 32' $8.4, 'matting [of the boxes]' $4.5, 'moss' $2.4 and 'freight of plants' $12.4. Written from Oaxaca [Mexico]
Letter No 31
He left for the south coast on 27 May; he left six boxes with his collections from the north coast, marked HS27-32, with Messrs R. Smith & Co [merchants in Mexico]; the boxes contain 83 species of plants, 'viz. 81 of epiphytes & 2 of Cerci [?Cercis]'; he expects the boxes to reach England soon; his trip to the south coast was successful, and he found about 60 species of Orchideae, making a total of 140 species; he will pack them in another six boxes; 'I defer giving the list of the stations until my researches in this neighbourhood are closed'; he intends to travel next to Chinantla [Mexico], and then to collect bulbs; these excursions will occupy the next two months, and 'you may easily imagine that I find it difficult to separate myself from this beautiful country', but he heard from Mr Skinner [George Ure Skinner, British merchant and naturalist in Guatemala] that 'other glorious fields await' in Guatemala: 'I also believe that it will be indifferent to the Society to receive good things whether they be from Mexico or Guatemala'; the collection of seeds is progressing slowly, as the best time for seeds and the herbarium is at the end of the rainy season, and it is the beginning of the season now; he was surprised to see in the letter dated 15 Mar that the collections from Tampico [Mexico] arrived in a good order, as he was worried that the Tillandsia would be 'completely rotten, and I only used it for want of other packing material'; it is important to know which packing materials are best for the plants to better plan the packing in the future, and he would like to know whether the Cypropediums in the clay balls survived; he promised some to Mr Jurgensen [Carl Jurgensen] of the Hacienda del Carmen near Oaxaca [Mexico], who has been very hospitable and provided much information; it has been difficult to receive news from his relatives, and he asked them to send their letters to the Society's office to be forwarded to him, and he asks the enclosure [enclosure not present] to be forwarded; Charles Jurgensen [Carl Jurgensen] of Hacienda del Carmen, Oaxaca, wishes to be supplied with a collection of vegetable seeds, cucumbers, melons, beetroot, cherry and plum, to be sent to the care of Mr G. Eckhardt [Gustavus Eckhardt] at Messrs Ebert & Schneider [William Ebert & Francis Schneider, merchants in Mexico] in Veracruz [Mexico] and Mr L'Enfer [unidentified] in Oaxaca
Hartweg's accounts for 17 May-16 Jun 1839 include 'hospital bill of former mozo [servant]' $18, '6 boxes, HS27 to 32' $8.4, 'matting [of the boxes]' $4.5, 'moss' $2.4 and 'freight of plants' $12.4
Level - Item
Extent - 3 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)