Letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] to Mr David Douglas

Title

Letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] to Mr David Douglas

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/5/2/2/2

Date

20 Feb 1826

Scope & content

Written from the Horticultural Society, Regent Street, London

Annotated on the reverse: 'Rec [received] Fort Vancouver [Hudson Bay Company's fur trading post on the Columbia River, Vancouver, Washington, United States of America], Nov 20 1826'

He is sending a collection of letters from friends to await Douglas on his arrival at Red River [Manitoba, Canada] after crossing the continent; all is well; they have heard no news from Douglas since he left Rio [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil], apart from rumours that he had stopped at Juan Fernandez [Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile] on the way to Cape Horn [Chile]; he received the items from Rio in good condition, many of which were new 'and all excellent'; Douglas may decide himself his return route, but crossing the continent is slow and expensive, and he might not find things 'so comfortable' at New York [United States of America] as previously; Floy [Michael Floy, nurseryman in New York] has been corresponding with the Society, and would welcome him in New York, and his son is working at the Society's garden [the Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick, London]; it would take longer returning via New York than via York Factory [Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post, Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada] on the Hudson's Bay [Hudson's Bay Company] ships, which would get him to England by November; on arriving in England, Douglas should seal up all his journals and papers, but not send them by post or coach, instead he should keep them in his possession and send a letter to Sabine from his first arrival port; if Douglas receives this letter at Carlton House [Fort Carlton, Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post, North Saskatchewan River, Saskatchewan, Canada] on the Red River, he should look out for the Phlox hoodii, a small plant similar to Phlox subulata

Extent

2 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)