Letter from George Forrest, The Consulate, Tengyueh, Yunnan, S.W. China to Isaac Bayley Balfour, 'Regius Keeper', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 30 December 1905.
In the absence of Mr Litton on business connected with the proposed railway extension from Bhamo to Teng Yueh [Tengchong], Forrest has been left to entertain any passing travellers. These include Mr [Aleister] Crowley of the Alpine Club, his wife and child, and a Frenchman on his way north to buy musk and furs for a Paris firm. Forrest reports that he and Litton had reached latitude 27’ 15” and a quarter degrees covering new ground on their recent trip north along the Salween valley. Forrest has collected about 300 specimens, some of them new species. Of seeds he has only about 100 species and not those he wished most to secure meaning he thinks he will have to return to Tsekou [Cigu] next season ‘as I cannot bear the thought of anyone else, especially a Frenchman securing specimens and seeds of the plants I saw.’ He thanks Balfour for Hooker’s Flora and for numbers of the Linnaean Journal and for all his kindness. Forrest asks again for advice on drying and packing orchids as he now has a large number of pseudo bulbs of what he takes to be a new species and does not know how to deal with them.
Plant referenced: Orchid
Letter is very slightly charred.
Letter from George Litton, Consulate, Tengyueh, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 13 December 1905.
It should be noted that the catalogue descriptions, summaries and letters contain sensitive subjects and Litton’s language, spellings and attitudes which may be deemed offensive now.
Litton writes to report that he and Forrest have just returned from exploration of the Upper Salween ‘a complete terra incognita; he is a bit done up with the somewhat severe fatigues of the journey and I have insisted on his taking a complete rest for some weeks…’ Owing to poor weather they had to keep mainly to lower levels, 4,000-5,000 feet but Forrest collected a good number of plants, though drying was almost impossible. ‘We found a most lovely mauve climbing gentian trailing over the hills in glorious clusters. Unluckily we were too early for seeds, but I have a wild man of those parts out to get them for me & Forrest…’ On Forrest’s wish to return to the Mekong divide and other plateaux at 10,000-13,000 feet near there, ‘In my opinion there is no reason why he should not try. The rebellion of the lamas has been most mercilessly drowned in blood by the Chinese and I do not think a single lama will show his shaven pate in those parts for some time to come. Ergo the country is likely to be more quiet now than it ever has been. But Chinese officials are obstructive and always like to keep foreigners out of a country if they can find any excuse to do so; while (between ourselves) many of H.M. officials are not very energetic about assisting travellers into the wilds. I would like to tell you that it would probably be of very great assistance to Forrest if you could write to the Foreign Office stating the interest which you as a man of science have in his work & asking that every support & assistance may be given to him by H.M. Consuls in carrying it out, now that you hear that the country has been pacified. But on no account mention my name in connection with what you say.’ Litton adds that he is trying to obtain some indemnity from the mandarins for Forrest’s losses and sufferings and that the French missionaries have returned to their missions on the Mekong.
Plant referenced: Gentian
The letter has been fire damaged with some loss, though not of text, and the pages are close to separating; handle with extreme care.
Report from Henry Hastings, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Regius Keeper, dated 13 November 1905.
Hastings, Balfour's Assistant, writes to provide a report from Mr. McBean regarding Forrest's charge of his careless packing of photographic material. McBean is adamant the material was packed carefully and that the box must have been opened by Customs Officials and that it must have been wholly immersed in water at some point. He admits with hindsight that a soldered tin-lined box would have been preferable and offers his apologies.
The report has been charred with some loss, though not of text.
Receipt from Dulau and Co., Foreign and English Booksellers, 37 Soho Square, London, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 24 October 1905.
Invoice for £12.6s for despatch of a seven volume set of Hooker’s Flora of British India that Balfour has ordered to be sent to George Forrest, c/o Thomas Cook & Sons, Rangoon, Burma.
The invoice is slightly scorched with some loss, though not of text.
Letter from Grace R. Forrest, 'Springbank', Lasswade, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 18 October 1905.
Grace writes to Balfour enclosing a letter she has received, presumably from her brother George Forrest who she states is in a weak state so may not have written to Balfour yet.
Letter has been scorched with some loss, though not of text.
Letter from Arthur Kilpin Bulley, 8A Rumford Place, Liverpool, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 16 October 1905.
Bulley writes to acknowledge receipt of Forrest’s Cyananthus photos and a brief letter from Forrest. ‘The first of his Gentians has just come into flower – not very showy – small purple fl[ower]s. It is 59 in the first consignment. You don’t appear to have any record of it under this number.’ Bulley invites Balfour to come and look over Forrest’s seedlings on his journey south.
Plants referenced: Cyananthus; Gentian
Letter has been fire damaged with some loss of text; handle with care.
Letter from George Forrest, The Consulate, Tengyueh, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, 'Regius Keeper', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 10 October 1905.
Forrest writes to inform Balfour that he will leave the next day for a journey up the Salween-Irrawaddy divide and will be out of communication for 6-8 weeks. He has engaged a collector with whom he has left some specimens as they are not yet dry. Forrest encloses ‘the scraps of plants I secured during my flight from Tsekou' and thanks Balfour for his gift of photo plates, paper and material but regrets that the plates and paper have been spoiled owing to the fault of the packer, Mr McBean; 'They were most carelessly packed. Firstly they were packed in a box loosely with seams all open. Then the plates and paper were merely placed in open tobacco tins and to crown all, four pounds of ordinary salt was placed on top. The box was simply dripping inside when it reached me.'
Forrest is sending seeds of meconopsis, corydalis and ?liquine; gives brief descriptions.
Plants referenced: Corydalis; Liquine?; Meconopsis
Letter has been damaged by fire with some loss of text; handle with care.
Letter from J.W. Besant of The Co-Operative Bees Ltd. Nurseries, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 04 October 1905.
Besant thanks Balfour for his reply to his enquiries about the Chinese plants and points out an error in description of the variety of Cyananthus. Besant gives the names he has received from Kew for the Cyananthus incanus leiocalyx (B.20), Oxyria digyna var. elatior (M.113), Lysimachia dubia (B.31) and Datura stramonium (B.120).
Plants referenced: Cyananthus; Oxyria; Lysimachia; Datura
Letter has been scorched with some loss though not of text.
Copy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to Messrs the Co-Operative Bees, Ltd., Ness, Neston, Cheshire, dated 03 October 1905.
Balfour writes with identifications of five plants sent by George Forrest: M.18 – Malva verticillata, Linn; M.113 – Oxyria Digyna, Hill; F.B.20 Cyananthus; F.B.120 Datura stramonium, Linn; F.B.31 Lysimachia; Balfour believes the cyananthus deserves a special name but hopes to settle its identification during a visit to Paris in December.
Plants referenced:
- M.18 – Malva verticillata, Linn;
- M.113 – Oxyria Digyna, Hill;
- F.B.20 Cyananthus;
- F.B.120 - Datura stramonium, Linn;
- F.B.31 Lysimachia
The letter is slightly charred.
Sans titreCopy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to Arthur Kilpin Bulley Esq., 8A Rumford Place, Liverpool, dated 04 October 1905.
Balfour writes to acknowledge Bulley's previous letter and to discuss his identification of the Cyananthus sent by Forrest; Balfour's opinion is that revision of the nomenclature will ultimately be necessary.
Plant referenced: Cyananthus
Letter is slightly charred.