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

Title

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

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/2/9

Date

10 Aug 1844

Scope & content

Written from Chusan [Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China]

Postmarked ('India', 'JM 10DE10 1844'). The letter includes an opened seal. Written on onion-skin paper. Annotated on the reverse: 'Via Southampton'

Letter No 9

He acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 26 Mar; he was 'much gratified' hearing the seeds sent by post on 14 Nov arrived safely, and that two of the finest germinated; one of the plants he sent, a Buddlea [Buddleja] has been flowering lately in the hedges on the hills and a 'charming little shrub, richly meriting the high character I gave it when I sent you the seeds last autumn'; he hopes the seeds of the Daphne and other living plants he sent arrived safely; he will send a portion of his 'best seeds' by the mail, as it appears to be the only safe way of ensuring they germinate when they arrive in England; he made another trip to the interior and visited 'one of the most celebrated cities in the north' and found some 'valuable' plants: 'it would have been impossible to accomplish this in the dress of an Englishman, and I therefore substituted for this the Chinese costume, and succeeded most completely. In fact here, if not for the treaty made by our own government, I should not have the slightest hesitation in travelling to Peken [Beijing, China] itself'; despite the Society's wishes, visiting Japan is 'at present, of course, impossible [the isolationist foreign policy of Japan restricted trade and barred foreign nationals from entering the country between 1633 and 1853]'; after doing everything he could do in Shanghae [Shanghai, China], he sailed for Chusan, where he arrived about a fortnight ago; he visited several of the nearby islands, including the 'celebrated' Poo-too-san [Putuo, Zhejiang, China]; he will go to Ning Po in a few days, where he will gather his collections together and travel to the south; he will visit Fuchow-foo [Fuzhou, Fujian, China], which has 'at last opened' [Fuzhou was one of the five ports opened to foreigners under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842]

Enclosed is a separate letter, dated 10 Aug 1844. The length of his journey for one year as specified in his contract has expired, and as he expects to stay in China for some time longer, he wrote a statement to be presented to the council; the council must be aware that, 'contrary to all our expectations, many parts of China are most unhealthy and fatal to Europeans'; due to the nature of his work, he is much more exposed to these dangers than most English residents in China; he has, apart from a few occasions, remained healthy, enabling him to 'make great exertions for the interests of the Horticultural Society' and send plants to England, which he expects to have been successful; the annual salary of £100 is not sufficient, 'not only on account of the exertions I am obliged to make, and the unhealthy nature of the climate, but also taking the general rate of wages in China into consideration. I hope therefore the council will consider the subject favourably, and allow me at least £150 per an [annum]'

Fortune's expenses for 1 Jun-31 Jul 1844 include '4 plant cases (glass included, 7 dollars each)' $28, 'Chinese dress for travelling in the interior' $12, 'wages of servant for 1 month' $10, 'a Chinese map of the Shanghae district' $4 and 'premium on 50 Carolus dollars [Spanish-American peso] for travelling in the interior' $3.25 [here the list includes 19 more items]

Extent

4 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)