[[1]]
Madras Gov[ernmen]t. House
Jan[uar]y 8 1848
My dear Father
I have just received a letter from Wight *1 who seems to wonder that none of us have
seen Mrs W.[ight] I have answered that I found his[?] address by accident from
Baillieu shortly before starting & that Mrs W[ight] had gone to Scotland. I remember
giving the address at home & suppose Wight wrote about it too. Baillieu or Arnott *2
would know if you think proper to enquire again. I believe London is her residence.
W.[ight] does not think of returning immediately. I have seen a good deal of
Wallich's *3 friends the Russells, the lady draws very nicely & is very grateful to you.
I cannot think how I came to omit bringing copies of the Q [Kew] guide & instructions
with me, I put them out on purpose & can find them no where [sic]. Except some
copies of my testimonials & of Humboldt's *4 letter I have missed nothing I intended
to bring with me except Lindley's Veg[etable]. Kingd[om].*5 The passage round the
Cape is I grieve to hear a 5 months affair, so I would like these little things sent
overland, if by this means they will arrive 2 months before the others.
[[2]] Some of the Ladakh[sic] mission have I hear come back to winter. One, I don't
know which remains in Thibet [Tibet].
It is appalling work the getting up [of] the names of the multitude of common things
here, with which I am as yet unacquainted. There is a small Agri-Horti[cultural]
garden here at which I have picked up some information. The Hon[orar]y. Secretary
a Captain Worcester, R. S. *6 is a shrewd fellow but not a botanist -- he has taken up
the thing rather than let it starve: he is sending things to Loddiges *7 & will to you at
the same time but probably nothing of value until he gets Orchideae & palms from
the hills: he has good mango trees & Notheria of which he will send roots for Kew. I
have asked also for the marked varieties of mango & some spices which will also be
sent, a copy of Kew Guide &c sent to Loddiges for him would please him much. He
is going to superintend a collection of Madras *8 things for me. A Mr Walter Elliott *9 is
the best man here, he is very high in office & a good Mammalia & Bird man who
offers every assistance here. I will write more fully from sea.
your ever aff[ectionate] son Jos D Hooker [signature]
ENDNOTES
1. Robert Wight (1796-1872). Scottish Botanist and Surgeon who served in the East
India Company and studied the flora of India. Notably published Prodromus Florae
Peninsulae Indicae.
2. George Arnott Walker--Arnott (1799--1868). Scottish Botanist who collaborated
with Robert Wight on his Prodromus Florae Peninsulae Indicae.
3. Nathaniel Wallich (1786--1854). Surgeon and Botanist who served in the East
India Company and was involved in the early development of the Calcutta Botanical
Garden.
4. Alexander von Humboldt (1769--1859). Prussian geographer, naturalist and
explorer. Pioneer in the field of Biogeography.
5. Lindley, John (1846). The Vegetable Kingdom: Or, The Structure, Classification,
And Uses Of Plants, Illustrated Upon The Natural System.
6. The name Worcester is transcribed immediately above where it appears in the
letter.
7. The Loddiges family managed notable plant nurseries in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries and introduced many exotic plants to European gardens.
8. The current name for the city of Madras is Chennai.
9. Sir Walter Elliot (1803--887) was a Scottish civil servant in India. He was also an
eminent orientalist, linguist, naturalist and ethnologist.
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