Draft or copy letter from the secretary [of the Horticultural Society] to C. Wood [Charles Wood, secretary to the Admiralty], Admiralty

Title

Draft or copy letter from the secretary [of the Horticultural Society] to C. Wood [Charles Wood, secretary to the Admiralty], Admiralty

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/2/56

Date

11 Jan 1839

Scope & content

Unsigned

Relating to the permission granted by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to receive packages of live plants and seeds on HM packets [ships] from Mexico, as detailed in the letter by Sir John Barrow [secretary of the Board of Admiralty] to Dr Lindley [John Lindley, assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] on 18 Aug 1836, and Wood's letter on 3 Jul 1838; he encloses copies of correspondence with their agents at Falmouth and Tampico [Mexico], and a copy of a letter from the vice-consul at Tampico [enclosures not present]; the reason is unclear as to why the boxes were not brought by HM packets Alert and Star; the boxes are the size of normal passengers' boxes; the boxes have now accumulated over the months, and there are now eight of them, but they are not heavy, and they are all closed wooden boxes without any inconvenient glass; their collector in Mexico [Theodor Hartweg] has heard that the commanders are 'plagued' by such boxes at every port and 'get nothing' for conveying them; they were told that a large shipment of cochineal [cochineal insects, used for producing carmine dye] prevented the commander of the Linnet from taking the boxes; 'after the great expense and risk incurred in collecting the plants and seeds in question in the mountains of Mexico', the Society was not seeking to save expense by availing themselves of the Admiralty's offer to convey them without charge, but hoping to obtain a 'speedy and safe conveyance for these valuable and most perishable articles'

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)