Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton
JHC362
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
JDH/2/16 f.10
Thiselton-Dyer, Sir William Turner
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
18-1-1873
© Descendants of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Letters to Thiselton-Dyer
The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
English
Original MS
4 page letter over 1 folio
 

JDH asks Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer to take special note of how Wilson Saunders cultivates plants from the Cape [Cape Peninsula, South Africa] so they can emulate the techniques in the pits at RBG Kew. He also wants to know where Saunders got the Elleanthus chrysocomus & Cotyledon mamillaris which he gave RBG Kew. Mr Pritchard has informed JDH that [William] Carruthers will drop his claim [that the RBG Kew herbarium should be transferred to the British Museum of Natural History to form one national herbarium] if papers can be produced that prove the RBG Kew herbarium is government property. The C. S. [Civil Service?] Commission have informed JDH that Spink's exams put him at the bottom of a list of 5 candidates [for a gardener position at Kew]. [George] Nicholson, a candidate with no training or references had the highest scores & impressed [John] Smith with his capacity so JDH has agreed to hire him. Thanks to ' [Acton Smee] Ayrton's folly' Nicholson will be on twice the salary he would have accepted, £150 per annum rather than £75. In additional marginal notes JDH mentions a letter from Reynold, [George] Bentham & his Linnean Society 'matter', & asks Thiselton-Dyer to write a few pages on the distribution of [Nathaniel] Wallich's Dipterocarps.

Transcript

to making Carruthers pay half the costs of proceedings hitherto taken! He is furious against.
I was today sent for to the C.S. [Civil Service?]Commission & informed that Spinks is at the bottom of the list -- of 5! They showed me his spelling which was atrocious, & his arithmetic was absolutely nil. Nicholson the young man who had no reference or training, but who Smith formed a very high opinion of for smartness & capacity, had twice the marks

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Saturday
Jan[?]. 18/[18]73
My dear sir,*1
When you go to Wilson Saunders, please take a good look at the method of his cultivating such Cape things as you saw at rest[?] in the back pit with me the other day-- also the state of his bulbs, both those that are kept dry & amaryllids that require moisture even when at Rest[?]

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also please ask him where he got Elleanthus (Evelyne) chrysocomus 2559 of his coll[ectio]n & Cotyledon mamillaris which I believe that he gave to us.
I met Mr. Pritchard at the station today, getting his boots blacked -- he told me that Mr Carruthers had consented to withdraw all claims if the Pat. Govt. would show him papers that demonstrated the collection being Gov[ernmen]t property. -- & that the documents were prepared, & they were only waiting counsels opinion, as

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to making Carruthers pay half the costs of proceedings hitherto taken! He is furious against.
I was today sent for to the C.S. [Civil Service?]Commission & informed that Spinks is at the bottom of the list -- of 5! They showed me his spelling which was atrocious, & his arithmetic was absolutely nil. Nicholson the young man who had no reference or training, but who Smith formed a very high opinion of for smartness & capacity, had twice the marks

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of any of the others: & as Smith would like to try him. I have agreed to take him. Please say nothing of it at this. It is evident that we should ourselves have rejected Spinks; had we been sole judges. & Nicholson is the very man we should have chosen for the place we originally intended of £100 per annum -- he would have been delighted with £75. I am very sure, & it is as much as he will deserve for 12 months -- as it is he begins with £150 -- thanks to Ayrton's folly
I am sincerely yours | Jos. D. Hooker [signature]
Thanks for Reynold's letter just arrived. *2
*3Bentham is much put out at his Linnean matter. Could you crack up a few pages on distrib[ution] of Wall[ich]'s Dipterocarps.

ENDNOTES


1. Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843--1928). Appointed Assistant Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew under Joseph Hooker in 1875. Succeeded Hooker as Director Nov 1885--1905. Earlier in his career he was a Professor at The Royal Agriculture College Cirencester, Royal College of Science for Ireland in Dublin and the Royal Horticultural Society. Notable published works include editions of the Flora Capensis and the Flora of Tropical Africa. He married Joseph Hooker’s daughter Harriet Anne Hooker in 1877.
2. This sentence is written vertically up the left margin of page 1.
3. The text that runs from here is written vertically up the left hand margin of page 3.

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