Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London and 'List of plants & seeds sent home in box per Col. Malcolm [George Alexander Malcolm, colonial secretary of Hong Kong]' by Robert Fortune

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent St, London and 'List of plants & seeds sent home in box per Col. Malcolm [George Alexander Malcolm, colonial secretary of Hong Kong]' by Robert Fortune

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/1

Date

30 Jul 1843

Scope & content

Written from Hong Kong, China

Postmarked ('[illegible]'). The letter includes an opened seal. Written on onion-skin paper. Annotated on the reverse: 'Via Falmouth'

Letter No 1

He landed at Macao [Macau] on 6 Jul after a journey of four months and six days from England; the ship stopped for water and other provisions in the small town of Anyer on the island of Java [Indonesia], where he was able to inspect the 'rich, tropical vegetation' for a few hours; he found a beautiful Dendrobium secundum growing on a tree by the sea, with deep purple flowers unlike those in England, and might therefore prove a valuable addition to their collections; the plants and seeds he was transporting arrived in excellent order, and were well received by both the 'Europeans and natives of the island of Hong Kong'; he kept a close eye during the sea voyage to ascertain the particular dangers and changes due to the different climates; he has written a full account in his journal for the Society, and may give more information later; he is not yet able to say whether he will be successful in China, but judging from what he has seen in Macao and Hong Kong, he expects to be able to find the most valuable things in the north for sending back to England; he intends to briefly visit Canton [Guangzhou, Guangdong, China] before proceeding northward for three or four months, and then return to Hong Kong for the winter; he hopes to see camellias and roses in full flower and select some 'worthy of being sent home'; he has delivered letters of introduction, and wishes to thank in particular Messrs Dent & Co [merchants in China], who have given him the use of their gardens both at Macao and Hong Kong; Colonel Malcolm [George Alexander Malcolm, colonial secretary of Hong Kong], for whom he had letters of introduction, promised to transport some of the plants, and he is sending some he has collected since his arrival, as well as the Dendrobium from Anyer; he is anxious to hear how the plants fare during the journey

Fortune's expenses for 27 Feb-30 Jul 1843 include 'board in Portsmouth', £1 12s 6d, 'expenses of loading plants and luggage at Hong Kong, and going several times to ship' $5, 'hiring a pony for 3 days for trekking' $3 and 'coolies [indentured workers] for carrying plants from ship' $0.50 and 'cash for Chinese children' $0.50 [here the list includes 16 more items], with $225 received from the treasurer

Enclosed is a list of plants in a box sent from Hong Kong with Colonel Malcolm [George Alexander Malcolm, colonial secretary of Hong Kong]. The list is numbered (1-12) and signed by R. Fortune. The list includes Dendrobium secundum ('with deep purple flowers, Anyer [Indonesia]'), Bletia ('yellow, mountains of Hong Kong'), Coelogyne ('mountain sides of Hong Kong'), an unnamed 'creeping shrub, Hong Kong' ('I have not seen the flowers') and an unnamed 'herbaceous plant with blue flowers' [here the list includes 7 more plants]

Extent

5 page letter (2 sheets)

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)