Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent Street, London

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to the secretary of the Horticultural Society [Alexander Henderson], 21 Regent Street, London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/19

Date

24 May 1845

Scope & content

Written from Shanghai [China]

The letter includes an opened seal. Annotated on the reverse: 'Via Southampton'

Letter No 19

He acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 27 Nov 1844; he is sorry to hear 'such bad accounts' of the cases he sent by the Helen Stewart; when he took the cases on board in Shanghai [China], he saw those addressed to Sir George Larpent [British merchant], and thought the cases and the plants would have a good chance of surviving, but the plants sent to Sir George were strong and healthy shrubs ('although no value to the Society'), whereas many of his plants were weaker, and therefore less likely to survive the journey at such an unfavourable season; he is very satisfied with the results of the other shipments, which he received and would like to receive more similar lists, enabling him to plan his collections;he has been constantly travelling, since returning to the north at the end of March, and has formed a 'large and valuable collection' from the districts of Shanghai, Chusan [Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China] and Ningpo [Ningbo, Zhejiang], aided by his knowledge of when and where to visit; most of the plants are duplicates from last year, including azaleas, moutans [Paeonia suffruticosa] and roses 'which can only be determined when in bloom'; he will not yet remove other shrubs from the gardens; he has difficulties with packing plants after purchasing them due to the hot dry summers in the north, and therefore has to acquire three or four times as much as he wishes to have; he is about to travel to Fuchou-foo [Fuzhou, Fujian, China], and may not be able to write 'for some time'; he was considering visiting the straits on his return journey, but unless instructed otherwise, he thinks it better to travel directly to England, as he will be travelling with duplicates of the same plants which died on the Helen Stewart, and would not want to lose them; he is pleased to have finally succeeded ('after many failures') in ripening seeds of the Shantung cabbage, or san-tung pak-tsai [Brassica rapa], and encloses two packets of seeds [enclosures not present]; some years ago seeds of what was claimed to be Shantung cabbage were presented to the Society, but on growing them in the garden, were discovered to be the common cabbage growing in China, which is 'no value in England', whereas this plant is 'quite a different thing'; it is only cultivated in Shantung [Shandong, China] and sent down to southern China every autumn, and the Chinese say it will not succeed even on the latitude of Shanghai; he hopes it will succeed in England and prove 'a most excellent addition to our collection of vegetables'; he knows nothing more about its cultivation: 'I fancy, however, that its management will be extremely simple'; the seeds enclosed [enclosures not present] include Shantung cabbage ('2 packets'), Azalea ('sent before'), Glycine sinensis alba [Wisteria sinensis] ('I am most anxious about [these]'), Pittosporum, Eleagnus [Elaeagnus] and Daphne ('Chusan hills, sent before')

Fortune's expenses for 1 Mar-30 Apr 1845 include 'outfitting for the north, clothes, shoes, stationary' $30, 'max and min thermometer – my others being broken' $5, 'sundry medicines' $7.50, 'paid for flower pots, cutting and plants in Chusan' $2.50 and 'paid for 60 plants of the moutan [Paeonia suffruticosa] as they came into flower' $15.75 [here the list includes 26 more items], with the sum total of $392.4 [annotated '218,50 + 112.75 J.L. [John Lindley, assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]']. Includes a note: 'As last year, I am now drawing small sums from Messrs Dent & Co [merchants in China] agents having letters of credit from that house for this purpose. My accounts shall be settled when I return to Hong Kong and further letters of credit from the Society come to hand'

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)