Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Title

Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/1/77

Date

25 Mar 1842

Scope & content

Written from Quito [Ecuador]

Letter No 60

He left Riobamba [Ecuador] on 17 Mar, and his five-day journey to Quito was 'very uninteresting', over sand plains, 'or rather volcanic ashes'; he found a yellow Brugmansia bicolor [Brugmansia sanguinea], in a village, and another white species with tomentose leaves, smaller flowers than a Brugmansia suaveolens and an oval seedpod; the seedpod of the 'true' Brugmansia suaveolens growing in the ravines is over a foot long; he was hoping to gain more information from Professor Jameson [William Jameson, botanist and naturalist in Ecuador], but he is still in Guayaquil [Ecuador]; he had a letter of introduction to Don Faustino Cuervo, the 'charge d'affaires for New Granada [the Republic of New Granada, 1831-1858, later named Colombia]'; Cuervo said that the road to Pasto [Colombia] is quiet, and promised letters of introduction for Pasto, Popayan [Popayan, Colombia] and Bogota [Colombia] and to the local authorities in the villages Hartweg will pass through to ask them to provide him an escort, enabling him to take the direct route; Mr Turner [William Turner, British minister at New Granada], the 'English minister for Bogota' will not be 'coming out again', and Cuervo did not know who would take his post; he has carried his collections from Riobamba with him and will send them after the rainy season is over with his new collections, as it is difficult to send anything during the winter; he will not be able to send anything after Quito until Bogota: 'as for sending anything across the Andes, it is out of the question'

Hartweg's accounts for 13 Feb-13 Mar 1842 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $5, 'keeping of three mules' $5.2 and 'guides' $0.3

Level

Item

Extent

3 page letter (1 sheet)

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)