Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson] and list of Fortune's expenses addressed to the Horticultural Society of London

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson] and list of Fortune's expenses addressed to the Horticultural Society of London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/11

Date

15 Nov 1844

Scope & content

Written from Hong Kong

Letter No 11. The list of expenses is written on onion-skin paper

He returned to Hong Kong with a large collection of plants, which he will send as soon as he finds good ships; he left Ning Po [Ningbo, Zhejiang, China] for Shanghae [Shanghai, China] once the seeds he mentioned in his last letter ripened; he had marked collections of plants in the local nursery gardens during his previous visits, considering they would fare better in the Chinese gardens, rather than under the care of any of the English residents; he visited the moutan [Paeonia suffruticosa] district a few miles from Shanghae again and purchased a large collection of the plants, 'which, if the one-half turn out new, will amply repay the Society for the money spent upon them'; he purchased a large stock of the Shanghae peach trees: 'these I had great difficulty in procuring, as they were not to be had in the nurseries, and the persons on whose land they were planted were very unwilling to have them removed after they had the trouble of grafting them'; all these plants from different regions form a large collection 'of very great value'; he acknowledges receipt of letters dated 31 May, 20 Jun and 30 Jul, 'the contents of which have been very gratifying' [for the letters from the Horticultural Society to Robert Fortune, 31 May-30 Jul 1844, see RHS/Col/8/1/38, RHS/Col/8/1/39 and RHS/Col/8/1/40]; he was happy to hear that the Cornwall and the Emerald Isle arrived safely and the plants were largely in good order; it is very important that he receives a 'full garden report' on the condition of the plants: 'what I want is an exact copy of my own lists, marking against each number whether the plant is alive or dead, in good condition or bad condition. This would enable me at once to procure and send home again those which had failed, and discard others which I knew to be safe. With my present knowledge, or rather ignorance, of the condition of my collections, I am obliged to purchase and carry about with me many things which are probably safe in the garden of the Society'; Woosung [Wusong, Shanghai], mentioned in the letters, is at the mouth of the Shanghae River [Huangpu River, Shanghai] near Yang-tse-Keang [Yangtze River, China]: 'you will have seen by my letters before this that I have been there frequently'; the vegetable resembling a potato is the tuber of Arum esculentum [Colocasia esculenta]; there is no public garden in Hong Kong; the coniferous tree of which they want more information is a beautiful, straight variety resembling the Norfolk Island pine [Araucaria heterophylla] and has strong, durable wood, making it a valuable acquisition to the English pinetums; he has another large supply of the seeds and some young plants ready to be sent; he will take care in the future to take a separate bill of lading [shipment receipt] for 'any specimens of natural history, which I may send home on my own account', and he will attend to 'the other suggestions contained in your letters'; he is unwilling to send his journal at present, 'as it is constantly used for reference, but if you still think it right to be sent home, of course I must part with it'; he will not be able to leave China as soon as he thought; he came here to send his collections to England, as it is the best time of year for doing so; he will then attempt to travel to Fuchou-foo [Fuzhou, Fujian, China], but as there is no [British] trade there at present, he does not know how to get there, 'or, being there, how I shall get away'; his own preference would be to visit Fuchou-foo in January and February, and travel to the more northern provinces for April and May, spending June and July in Fokien [Fujian, China] before returning to Hong Kong in August or September 1845; he wants to go to the north in the spring to ensure he can send back duplicates of the plants which did not survive the earlier journey, and expects a 'full account' of that in the next letter; he will however await for further instructions regarding his plans and return journey via Manilla [Manila, Philippines] or other routes; he encloses 18 kinds of seeds [enclosures not present]; last year he had no opportunity of seeing the plants flowering, and although many of the seeds he sent turned out to be 'fine things', others were 'worthless', but this year he will send fewer seeds, but they are all selected from 'very ornamental plants' and should be well cared for; he visited 'his excellency' Mr Davis [John Francis Davis, British governor of Hong Kong], who promised his assistance

Fortune's expenses for 4 Sep-31 Oct 1844 include 'sundry expenses for boats, coolies [indentured workers] &c in Shanghai' $5, 'small boat hire in Chusan [Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China] for a week' $4, 'paid for plants in nursery gardens' $6, 'paid for a large collection of moutans' $15 and 'paid for common packing cases, soil &c for conveying plants to Hong Kong' $6 [here the list includes 25 more items]. Includes a note: 'I have never been charged any money for passage between Chusan and Woosung during the summer, but it will be necessary for me to make some present of stores &c, by and by, to the captains who have been so kind. R.F.'

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)