Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London
Information
Title - Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/7/1/1/33
Date - 20 Nov 1838
Scope & content - Written from Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]
Postmarked ('London 8 Feb 1839'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal
Letter No 24
He acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 14 Aug, which he received on 29 Oct, regarding the new orders by the British government about shipping his collections; Messrs R. Munoz & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Veracruz [Mexico] said that the commander of the Sheldrake would only take two of the four boxes; the fifth box marked No 16 is 'still on the road'; he has not heard anything from Tampico [Mexico], and has not written to McCalmont [McCalmont & Lyall & Co, merchants in Mexico]; he will send seeds on the first convoy leaving Mexico City [Mexico], although he thinks it is 'bad speculation to send small parcels, they being very apt of getting lost'; of two small boxes sent by Mr Ehrenberg [Carl August Ehrenberg, also known as Charles Ehrenberg, German botanist and merchant in Mexico] the previous year, one never arrived, and the other reached its destination empty; he has made enquiries about Radix mechoanica purgans [?Ipomoea purga], and discovered that it is not a Convolvulus, as Hernandez in his 'Thesaurus' [Francisco Hernandez de Toledo, 'Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus', 1628] says it is 'a dioecious, milky plant', which suggests it belongs to Cucurbitaceae or Apocynacea; he has written to Morelia [Mexico] about it, and he intends to go via tierra caliente [region with a tropical climate] to Morelia to search for it on his way to Angangueo [Mexico]; he has made several successful excursions to Ixmiquilpan [Mexico], Actopan [Mexico], Zacualtepan [Zacualplan, Mexico] and Meztitlan [Meztitlan, Mexico]; he found the small, 'pretty' Pinus llaveana [Pinus cembroides], two species of Vaccinium, a 'splendid' Caprifolium, 'the true Convolvulus jalapa [Ipomoea jalapa]' and a large-rooted Valeriana ('which crushed & mixed with pulque [alcoholic beverage made from fermented sap of Agave americana] is employed by the natives against fever, but I am not aware with what results') [here the list includes 11 more plants]; he was attacked ten days ago returning from an excursion at night: 'I was accosted by a person on horseback by 'quien vive', to which I made no reply, but took out my pistols, & told the mozo [servant] to do the same. The fellow in passing by scrutinized me, when about 20 yards behind us, he discharged his pistol [so] that the ball only passed a few inches over our heads'; he wishes to know whether a plant called azafranillo or safranillo [safflower] from the seeds from Veracruz [Mexico] has come up
Hartweg's accounts for 17 Oct-16 Nov 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18 and 'keeping of 3 beasts' $16.4 and 'shoeing' $1.4. Written from Real del Monte [Mineral del Monte, Mexico]
Postmarked ('London 8 Feb 1839'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal
Letter No 24
He acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 14 Aug, which he received on 29 Oct, regarding the new orders by the British government about shipping his collections; Messrs R. Munoz & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Veracruz [Mexico] said that the commander of the Sheldrake would only take two of the four boxes; the fifth box marked No 16 is 'still on the road'; he has not heard anything from Tampico [Mexico], and has not written to McCalmont [McCalmont & Lyall & Co, merchants in Mexico]; he will send seeds on the first convoy leaving Mexico City [Mexico], although he thinks it is 'bad speculation to send small parcels, they being very apt of getting lost'; of two small boxes sent by Mr Ehrenberg [Carl August Ehrenberg, also known as Charles Ehrenberg, German botanist and merchant in Mexico] the previous year, one never arrived, and the other reached its destination empty; he has made enquiries about Radix mechoanica purgans [?Ipomoea purga], and discovered that it is not a Convolvulus, as Hernandez in his 'Thesaurus' [Francisco Hernandez de Toledo, 'Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus', 1628] says it is 'a dioecious, milky plant', which suggests it belongs to Cucurbitaceae or Apocynacea; he has written to Morelia [Mexico] about it, and he intends to go via tierra caliente [region with a tropical climate] to Morelia to search for it on his way to Angangueo [Mexico]; he has made several successful excursions to Ixmiquilpan [Mexico], Actopan [Mexico], Zacualtepan [Zacualplan, Mexico] and Meztitlan [Meztitlan, Mexico]; he found the small, 'pretty' Pinus llaveana [Pinus cembroides], two species of Vaccinium, a 'splendid' Caprifolium, 'the true Convolvulus jalapa [Ipomoea jalapa]' and a large-rooted Valeriana ('which crushed & mixed with pulque [alcoholic beverage made from fermented sap of Agave americana] is employed by the natives against fever, but I am not aware with what results') [here the list includes 11 more plants]; he was attacked ten days ago returning from an excursion at night: 'I was accosted by a person on horseback by 'quien vive', to which I made no reply, but took out my pistols, & told the mozo [servant] to do the same. The fellow in passing by scrutinized me, when about 20 yards behind us, he discharged his pistol [so] that the ball only passed a few inches over our heads'; he wishes to know whether a plant called azafranillo or safranillo [safflower] from the seeds from Veracruz [Mexico] has come up
Hartweg's accounts for 17 Oct-16 Nov 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18 and 'keeping of 3 beasts' $16.4 and 'shoeing' $1.4
Level - Item
Extent - 4 page letter (1 sheet)
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)