Pages 41-43 of John Damper Parks' journal and notes: 'Observations on plants taken to China in the HC Ship Lowther Castle'

Title

Pages 41-43 of John Damper Parks' journal and notes: 'Observations on plants taken to China in the HC Ship Lowther Castle'

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/4/1/7

Date

15 Apr 1823

Scope & content

Pages 41-43: 'Observations on plants taken to China in the HC Ship Lowther Castle'. Written on board HCS Lowther Castle, at Gravesend

This item is bound in the volume comprising journal and notes of John Damper Parks

List of the plants taken from England, including Passiflora racemosa, which 'became sickly' and died shortly after being put on board the ship ('which was no more than I expected, for to my knowledge after they was put into the cases at the Society Gardens, Turnham Green, one night when I was in London, they were left open, as I arrived in the morning at the gardens and found them frosted, and they had been previously in a warm house'); the nectarine 'broke very well', but suddenly all the shoots died, which may have been caused by a sail hung to dry nearby dropping salt water on the plant; the blackcurrant died within a month ('it never seemed to like the sea air I thought'); Fuchsia coccinea 'did so extremely well all the voyage, and arrived in good health [but] soon after became sick and died, after their fresh potting it from the wooden pot'; and two kinds of rhubarb died ('grew so very free at first, which was so much the worse as it was so very full of sap which caused it to rot so much the sooner') [here the list includes approximately 25 more plants]

Extent

3 pages

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)