Letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] to John Forbes

Title

Letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] to John Forbes

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/3/5/13

Date

2 May 1822

Scope & content

Written from Horticultural Society, London

Since Forbes sailed from Spithead, Joseph Sabine has received his letters No 3-6; in response to letter No 3 from Spithead on 11 Feb 1822, the packet of pins for Sacramento [Leandro do Sacramento, Carmelite friar and botanist in Brazil] was returned to London, and has been sent again; in response to letter No 4 from Lisbon [Portugal] on 24 Feb 1822, he was glad to hear of Forbes' safe arrival and the kind reception by Mr Jeffery [John Jeffery, British consul in Lisbon, Portugal]; in response to letter No 5 from Lisbon on 4 Mar 1822, the journal and other things from Lisbon arrived safely and in good order; he is afraid they may not obtain much from Mr Brotero [Felix de Avelar Brotero, director of the Ajuda Botanical Gardens in Lisbon, Portugal], but will send him some plants; he has received a letter from Jeffery, written after Forbes sailed, and one from Mr Phillipps [Charles Phillips, British vice-consul in Portugal], accompanying the items Forbes left with him; Brotero had not received the packet Sabine had sent in November, but has now received the books; Forbes' bill of £15 from Lisbon has not yet reached Sabine, but will be paid when it arrives; he is satisfied with Forbes' journal from Lisbon and his performance overall; all the vines are alive, the seeds are sown and the plants are in the garden; the Tradescantia is 'new and acceptable' and the Orchis and some other plants were also new; in response to letter No 6 from Funchal [Madeira, Portugal] on 11 Mar 1822, they have not heard from Mr Veitch [Henry Veitch, British consul in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal]; they received a long letter from George Don [Horticultural Society plant collector, travelling in West Africa, South America and the West Indies in 1821-1823] from Madeira [Portugal], but have not heard from him since, although they heard Don's party reached the African coast safely; he is enclosing a letter from Forbes' father [John Forbes senior] and a letter returned from Portsmouth; everyone is well; Mr Lindley [John Lindley] has been appointed assistant secretary at the garden [Horticultural Society garden at Chiswick, London], and Mr Morgan [?William Morgan], the fruit & kitchen gardener; they are 'proceeding actively in the formation of the new garden' [at Chiswick] and have planted seven acres of orchards; Potts [John Potts, Horticultural Society plant collector, travelling in China, India and Malaysia in 1821-1822] has sent 'some good things' from China and there are good accounts of his proceedings; he asks Forbes to remember his advice about his health: 'that is the chief point to attend to, without which all your desires to do well will fail'; Birchall's book [William Burchell, 'Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa', 1822] has been published, 'but is a poor performance and contains nothing that will interest you as far as any spot you are likely to visit goes'; he has been told there are plenty of new Orchideae at the Cape [Cape of Good Hope, South Africa]; these will 'take up well in flower' and, packed in wet moss with enough air in the box, will travel well; Mr Brown [Robert Brown, botanist, who collected plants at the Cape of Good Hope in 1801] found many new specimens and Forbes should collect specimens of all that he finds; he is looking forward to Forbes' dispatches from Rio Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

For a copy of the letter, see RHS/Col/3/5/14

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)