Letter from John Forbes to Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Society, Regent Street, London

Title

Letter from John Forbes to Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Society, Regent Street, London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/3/5/25

Date

12 Sep 1822

Scope & content

Written from Simon's Town [Cape of Good Hope, South Africa]

Postmarked ('India letter Portsmouth'). An opened seal is attached to the letter

The letter is marked 'private'. Annotated at the top of page: 'Joseph Sabine received Nov 20 1822'

He apologises for 'troubling' Sabine with a private letter, but he wishes to explain why he has drawn so much money: 'you can not be more astonished than I am that I have stood in need of so much'; everything is very expensive, including travelling, accommodation and the boxes he has had made; he always consults Captain Owen [William FitzWilliam Owen, captain of HMS Leven] about any expenses; he is aware that he has drawn more money than allowed in his instructions, but he will now not need more for a long time; his personal expenditure on clothing and shoes is considerable, and these items are liable to damage when travelling in boats and staying in tents; he does not think he can ask for reimbursement for those items; he has stayed healthy; he enjoys his work and likes Owen more and more; he will take loquats and other plants to Delagoa Bay [Maputo Bay, Mozambique]; the schooner has been repaired, and the squadron now consists of three vessels; he has not seen Mr Bowey [James Bowie, botanist sent to South Africa from Royal Gardens, Kew] and has been told he has been 'called home'; he saw Bowie's large collection of plants, which included several new plants; he hopes to find 'much finer things' around Delagoa Bay in less than a month's time; he has worked so much with his specimens that he has had to 'get some assistance in writing up the copy of my journal'; if he has time, he will make copies of 'the ship's tract & views of the different headlands'; if Sabine thinks them worth publishing in the Transactions ['Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London'], Owen says they may be inserted there, 'but not in any other form without his permission'; Sabine will be able to procure seeds from the specimens, especially the ferns; Villet [Charles Mathurin Villet, naturalist and zoological merchant in South Africa] had not yet sent the bulbs and seeds, but will send them soon

Extent

3 page letter (1 sheet)

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)