Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton
JHC367
The Orengo Palace, Mentone, Italy
JDH/2/16 f.15
Thiselton-Dyer, Sir William Turner
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
8-5-1874
© Descendants of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Letters to Thiselton-Dyer
The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
English
Original MS
6 page letter over 2 folios
 

[Letter in French, transcript available in French and English]. JDH writes to Sir William Thiselton-Dyer in order to practice the French he is learning. He writes that he & his party have travelled from Nimes to Arles, where he saw the Roman ruins, & from Arles to Cannes during which journey he admired the countryside & particularly the Pinus pinea groups by the sea. He compares Cannes itself to Torquay but less green. They then stayed with Mr Altmann at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes where they also met with Mr Thuret & Dr Bornet. JDH describes & praises Thuret's garden, which is full of plants from all over the world which thrive despite the extreme seasonal temperatures caused by the Mistral winds. JDH personally prefers the climate & greener vegetation of Madeira & Portugal to that in France. The cold weather in Antibes aggravated JDH's rheumatism, the season there is nearly over. He also met a Colonel Roper in Antibes who was there with his wife for her health. Colonel Roper was very well read in natural history, his wife went every night with a princess to a casino in Monaco at returned by train at midnight. JDH discusses Bornet's work on seaweeds which grow within the tissues of lichen & gives his own opinions, particularly on the 'gonidie'. He also mentions the possibility of lichens & algae with parasitic relationships, or whether it is more a case of their primordial condition. JDH continues the letter in English under the address Pegli, near Genoa. He writes that they will go next to Sestri, Spezzia & Florence & notes that [George] Bentham has had diarrhoea & JDH's own cough lingers.

Transcript

Transcriptions of this letter, below, have been provided in both the original language of authorship, French, and as an English transcription.
Palazzo Orengo Mentone*1
May 8/[18]74

Mon cher 'corpus vile*2
Encore je commence [à] vous martyriser de mes écritures françaises, Je crains vous géner, mais je n’aime pas des leçons sans un bout quelconque. De Nîmes nous avons voyagés à Arles où les ruines Romaines ne sont pas si magnifiques ni si bien conservées qu’à Nîmes, mais la ville est beaucoup moins civilisée, Il ’y a pas ni des boulevards modernes ni des maisons parisiennes; tout est vieux, même antique et la[sic] Rhône près de la ville est vraiment majestueuse. Entre Arles et Cannes (où nous avons passé la nuit) le pays est fort beau, et j’ai été enchanté avec le pinus pinea, qui forme des groups extrêment pittoresque au bord de la mer.
A Cannes j'ai reçue vos lettres et ceux de M. Smith*3 – c’est un très jolie [1 word deleted, illeg.] endroit qui resemble un peu a Torquay, mais les maison particulières

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Transcriptions of this letter, below, have been provided in both the original language of authorship, French, and as an English transcription.
Palazzo Orengo Mentone*1
May 8/[18]74

Mon cher 'corpus vile*2
Encore je commence [à] vous martyriser de mes écritures françaises, Je crains vous géner, mais je n’aime pas des leçons sans un bout quelconque. De Nîmes nous avons voyagés à Arles où les ruines Romaines ne sont pas si magnifiques ni si bien conservées qu’à Nîmes, mais la ville est beaucoup moins civilisée, Il ’y a pas ni des boulevards modernes ni des maisons parisiennes; tout est vieux, même antique et la[sic] Rhône près de la ville est vraiment majestueuse. Entre Arles et Cannes (où nous avons passé la nuit) le pays est fort beau, et j’ai été enchanté avec le pinus pinea, qui forme des groups extrêment pittoresque au bord de la mer.
A Cannes j'ai reçue vos lettres et ceux de M. Smith*3 – c’est un très jolie [1 word deleted, illeg.] endroit qui resemble un peu a Torquay, mais les maison particulières

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sont beaucoup plus grandes et la végétation, tandis qu'elle est forte riche, n'est pas si verte a cause des quantités d'oliviers et des chênes vertes. A Cannes j'ai reçue des lettres de M.Allman*4 d'Antibes nous conseillant de venir tout de suite à l'Hôtel du Cap a l'extremité de la Péninsule d'Antibes et tout près de Jardin de M. Thuret*5, mais il etait trop tard [d'] y aller immediatement, et nous avons resté le soir a Cannes.
Le lendemain nous voilà à Antibes. M. Allman nous a attendu dans le chemin de la gare à l'Hôtel pour nous amener à M. Thuret qui nous a donné [1 word deleted, illeg.] un accueil cordial, aussi qu' a fait son ami Dr Bornet*6 qui avec sa femme demeure pendant l'hiver chez M. Thuret à Antibes. Quant à son Jardin, il est impossible vous donner une idée de la beauté et grandeur d'une masse des plantes d'Afrique boréal et austral, d'Australie et de Brésil extratropical[?] qui'y végètent avec une vigueur et beauté qui m'a etonné . Néanmoins

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après mes souveirs je préfer le climat et le végétation de Madère et de Portugal où il ya plus d'humidité et par consequence plus de verdure pendant l'été et l'automne, et où on manqué le' affreux vent de Nordest Ouest, qu on appelle 'Le Mistral' et qui glace les plantes pendant l'hiver et les brûle pendant l'été. La sècheresse de l'été est aussi tellement forte que beaucoup des plantes perdent leurs feuilles, et même perissent de la chaleur et de la soif.
Le temps ne me convient pas du tout, Il y a etait toujours un vent d'est frileux ou même assez froid. Le dimanche je ne peux pas m' échauffer et j'ai souffert beaucoup de rheumatisime; pendant tout la journée je me suis assis dans une fauteuil envelopé dans mon gros paletot et avec les châles sur mes genoux. A l'hôtel il y a très peu de monde. La saison est fini et on va fermer la maison. Nous avons rencontré un Colonel Roper de plus haute intelligence qui a voyager beaucoup en Angleterre et qui a lu (ce Roper) toutes les ouvrages de Carlyle, J.S. Mill et Spencer, Lyell, et Darwin. Il était en voyage pour la santé de sa femme qui s'est allée chaque soir avec une Princesse Russe[?] au[sic] salle de jeux à Monaco se rendant à

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l'Hôtel à minuit (par le chemin de fer) Le colonel n'approuve pas du tout, mais l'argent de leurs femmes appartient à elles-memes et leurs maris ne peuvents pas les empêcher de jouer. M. Bornet m'a montré beaucoup de preparations des coupes de Lichens montrant le disposition des soidisantes algues dans les tissues des lichens mêmes – et il m'a donné quelques unes. Quant a la nature vraie des gonidie*7 je ne dis rien, mais c'est évident que beacoup de ces soidisants algues [1 word deleted, illeg.] croissent dans l'interieur des plusières espèces des Lichens dans une des relations intimes avec le Hypha et pas seulement dans la 'stratum gonidiali' mais dans les podetia*8 et meme dans les apothecia*9. Il y a plusieures années depuis j'ai fait mes petites études sur ces algues filamentaire et plutôt dans leurs aspects systematiques que dans celui de leur développement, mais je retiens assez de connaisances pour ne me méfier de quelques genres assez communes et bien distinctes, par exemple Nostoc, Scytonmea, Chroolepus, Coleochate lesquelles j'ai vues après les [word illegible] tranches minces faites par M. Bornet bien developpés dans l'interieur des espèces differents des lichens , et après les apparences bien claires, developpées des Gonidie de

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ce fameux 'stratum gonidiali.' [word illegible] M. Bornet m'a montré et m'a detaillé beaucoup des choses que je ne comprend pas du tout, et à propos [2 words illegible] de quelles je trouve que ces replications sont très obscures, si non mal comprises. Après tout, il est peut-être une question d'identité de quelques algues avecdes les conditions primordiales des Lichens plutôt que de la[sic] parisitisme de lichens sur les algues, ou vice verse et quant à la[sic] parasitism des algues sur les fungi[?] M. Bornet n’a pas dit un seul mot*10.
Pegli près de Genoa [the continuation of this letter in English is given at the end of the translation below]

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The Orengo Palace Mentone*1
May 8/74
My dear "corpus vile"*2
Once again I set out to persecute you with my French. I'm sorry to bother you, but I dislike taking lessons without some aim in view. From Nimes we travelled to Arles where the Roman ruins are not as grand or as well preserved as at Nimes, though the town is much more civilised. There are no modern boulevards or Parisian style houses. Everything is old, ancient even and the Rhone near the town is truly impressive. Between Arles and Cannes (where we spent the night) the countryside is very beautiful and I was delighted by the Pinus pinea which forms very picturesque groups by the sea.
At Cannes I had your letters and those of Mr Smith*3 -- it is a very pretty place, rather like Torquay, though the private houses

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are much larger and the vegetation though abundant is not so green because of the large numbers of olive trees and holm oaks. At Cannes I received letters from Mr Allman*4 in Antibes advising us to come straight away to the Hotel du Cap at the extremity of the Antibes peninsula and close to Mr Thuret's*5 garden, but it was too late to leave at once, so we spent the night in Cannes.
The next day finds us in Antibes. Mr Allman waited for us in the street by the hotel to take us to Mr Thuret who welcomed us warmly as did his friend Dr Bornet*6 who together with his wife spends the winter with Mr Thuret at Antibes. As to his garden, it is almost impossible to give you an idea of the beauty and grandeur of a the massed plants of North and West Africa, Australia and extra-tropical Brazil which grow there with a vigour and beauty that astounds me. None the less

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if my memory serves I prefer the climate and vegetation of Madeira and Portugal where there is greater humidity so that it is greener in Summer and Autumn and where you do not find the terrible North-west wind, called the Mistral which freezes the plants in winter and burns them in summer. The summer drought is so extreme that many plants lose their leaves and even die of heat and lack of water.
The weather doesn't suit me at all. There was always an east wind, chilly or even rather cold. On Sunday I couldn't get warm and I suffered badly from rheumatism; I sat the whole day in an armchair, wrapped in my big overcoat and with shawls over my knees. There are very few people at the hotel. The season is over and soon the place will be shut down. We met a Colonel Roper, a very intelligent man, who has travelled very widely in England and who (this Roper) has read the entire works of Carlyle, J.S. Mill and Spencer, Lyell and Darwin. He was travelling for the health of his wife who went every evening with a Russian[?] princess to a casino in Monaco returning to

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the Hotel at mid-night (by rail). The Colonel does not approve, but their women have their own money and the husbands cannot prevent them from gambling. Mr Bornet has shown me many slides of lichens showing the difference between the so called seaweeds in the tissues of the lichens themselves -- and he has given me some. As to the true nature of the gonidie*7 I say nothing, but it is quite obvious that many of the so-called seaweeds grow in the interior of several species of lichens with intimate relations with the hyphae and not only in the 'stratum gonidiali' but in the podetia*8 and even in the apothecia*9 it is several years since I made my little studies on the filamentary seaweeds and rather more of their systematic aspects than of their development, but I retain enough knowledge to be sure of some of the common and clearly defined genera, for example Nostoc, Scytonmea, Chroolepus, Coleochate, that I have seen from the thin sections made by Mr Bornet well developed in the interior of various species of lichen, and to judge by very distinct appearances developing from the gonidie of

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the famous ‘stratum gonidiali’. [1 word illegible] Mr Bornet showed me and explained at length many things that I do not understand and in relation to which I find these replications are rather obscure if not poorly understood. After all perhaps it is a question of the identity of certain algae in the primordial condition of lichens rather than of lichens as parasites on algae or vice versa and as to algae as parasites on fungi Mr Bornet has not a word to say.
Pegli, Near Genoa*10. We arrived here last night saw Genoa the truly "magnificent" today and leave tomorrow for Sestri and next day for Spezzia hoping to arrive at Florence on Monday night. -- Bentham has had an attack of diarrhoea. I am better but cough very troublesome. Weather cold. Hard rain today.
Ever yours | J.D.Hooker.[signature]

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Professor Dyer

ENDNOTES


1. Mentone. This is the Italian spelling of Menton, a commune in the Alpes Maritimes, which after a history under various jurisdictions was annexed to France with the County of Nice in 1861. Palazzo Orengo is in fact in Italy closer to the town of Ventimiglia. The property is the site of the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, purchased by Sir Thomas Hanbury in 1867 and transformed into a botanic garden over the subsequent years with the assistance of his pharmacologist brother Daniel Hanbury, and the botanist and landscape designer Ludwig Winter.
2. Corpus vile, meaning a 'worthless body': a person or thing fit only to be the subject of experiment.
3. John Smith (1798--1888). Born in Scotland where he began work as a gardener. In 1822 he moved to Kew, working first as a stoker of hothouse stoves then moving on to work as a curator from 1842--1864 and to establish a reputation as an expert on ferns.
4. George James Allman (1812--1898) born in Ireland he was Professor of Botany at Dublin 1844-54, then moved to Scotland where he was Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh 1854-1870. He later moved to Dorset for health reasons, but was President of the Linnean Society from 1874-to 1883. He was noted for his contributions to marine zoology.
5. Gustave-Adolph Thuret (1817--1875). Studied law, but after a brief diplomatic career turned to the study of botany. He was influenced by Decaisne and is noted for his work on seaweeds. In 1857 he settled in Antibes and created a botanic garden: le Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret.
6. Jean-Baptiste Edouard Bornet (1828--1911). Worked on lichens and described the reproductive process of red algae. He was close to Gustave Thuret and prepared Thuret’s Notes algologique (1876--1880) and Etudes phytologiques (1878) for posthumous publication. Bornet became a member the Academie des Sciences in 1886 He was President of the Societe botanique de France in 1882, received the Linnean medal in 1891 and became a foreign member of the Royal Society in 1910.
7. Gonidi : from a Greek word meaning a cell the term gonidium (gonidia) was used in botany to describe non-motile, asexual spores in algae.
8. Podetia : the term mis now used to indicate the spikes or cups that make up the secondary thallus of a cladonia or other complex lichen.
9. Apothecia : this term is now used for the spore producing, fruiting bodies of the fungal partner of a lichen.
10. From this point the letter is written in English.

Please note that work on this transcript is ongoing. Users are advised to study electronic image(s) of this document where possible.

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