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/7/1/1/85

Date

25 Nov 1842

Scope & content

Written from Popayan [Popayan, Colombia]

Letter No 68. Annotated in pencil in a different hand 'Read to Council Mch 29 1843'

He made the two excursions he mentioned in his last letter, but did not find much, apart from two 'very pretty' species of Fuchsia, which he had been searching for; there was heavy rain during his excursion to the western cordillera [mountains], and the path to the 'inhospitable virgin woods, of which the tiger is the indisputable sovereign' was impossible to walk on: 'one has to make use of both hands and feet'; he found four species of palms, including one called chontaduro [peach-palm], with a slender, prickly stem 40-60 feet high and a raceme 18 inches long with about 150-200 nuts; the thick rind surrounding the nuts is boiled and eaten, and tastes like Spanish chestnut; the rind can also be boiled and the resulting oil used for cooking; he found a woody, climbing Begonia 20-30 feet high, a fine, scarlet Gesnera 'with a root of a middle-sized potato', and a 'very pretty', small convolvulaceous plant with linear leaves, pink flowers and a tuberous root; he will pack up his collections and buy mules for carrying his luggage before travelling to Bogota [Bogota, Colombia], where he will arrive at the end of the year; he has not heard anything from the Society 'for some time', and the last numbers of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' were dated 11 Jun; he thinks the delay may be due to the yellow fever 'raging' in Guayaquil [Ecuador] and along the coast

Hartweg's accounts for 13 Oct-13 Nov 1842 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $3.2 and 'keeping of three mules' $2.4 and 'a guide' $2.2. Written from Popayan [Popayan, Colombia]

Letter No 68. Annotated in pencil in a different hand 'Read to Council Mch 29 1843'

He made the two excursions he mentioned in his last letter, but did not find much, apart from two 'very pretty' species of Fuchsia, which he had been searching for; there was heavy rain during his excursion to the western cordillera [mountains], and the path to the 'inhospitable virgin woods, of which the tiger is the indisputable sovereign' was impossible to walk on: 'one has to make use of both hands and feet'; he found four species of palms, including one called chontaduro [peach-palm], with a slender, prickly stem 40-60 feet high and a raceme 18 inches long with about 150-200 nuts; the thick rind surrounding the nuts is boiled and eaten, and tastes like Spanish chestnut; the rind can also be boiled and the resulting oil used for cooking; he found a woody, climbing Begonia 20-30 feet high, a fine, scarlet Gesnera 'with a root of a middle-sized potato', and a 'very pretty', small convolvulaceous plant with linear leaves, pink flowers and a tuberous root; he will pack up his collections and buy mules for carrying his luggage before travelling to Bogota [Bogota, Colombia], where he will arrive at the end of the year; he has not heard anything from the Society 'for some time', and the last numbers of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' were dated 11 Jun; he thinks the delay may be due to the yellow fever 'raging' in Guayaquil [Ecuador] and along the coast

Hartweg's accounts for 13 Oct-13 Nov 1842 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $3.2 and 'keeping of three mules' $2.4 and 'a guide' $2.2

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)