| Ref No | GB-110/JES/COR/17/146 |
| Title | Sir James Edward Smith, Saxmundham, Suffolk, to William Roscoe, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, [Lancashire] |
| Description | Pestered with many letters, Roscoe's excepted. After returning to Norwich he will spend a fortnight finishing fourth volume of "English Flora", interrupted by Muscial Festival, and ending with a trip to Holkham where they expect to see Roscoe; he does not want to go later and encounter shooting parties and hopes to meet "a most amiable & accomplished young man of fortune, Mr Edw[ar]d Lombe, MP" [(1799-1852), landowner and philanthropist], who longs to know Roscoe.
Pleased Roscoe's ["Monandrian Plants"] has succeeded so well. Agrees with the character of 'Matonia' but discusses difficulty of establishing it over the 'Renealmia' established by Linnaeus, which he thought an 'Alpinia', and the new 'Renealmia' established by [Robert] Brown. Rejoices that in parting with 'Matonia' they can also legally get rid of 'Elettaria'; Decandolle, "with all his wrong-headed zeal", will not attempt to uphold this, though 'Elettaria' is an old name as he professes to keep all of Linnaeus' names, as 'Renealmia' is.
Thanks for Roscoe's sympathies. Suffering from rheumatism in his eyes, as last winter. Must soon continue work on "Flora Graeca". Never published a figure of 'Costus speciosus', though Jacquin has it in his "Icones [plantarum rariorum]", and he published the characters in "Linnean Transactions" vol 1[see RelatedMaterial below]. Roscoe's gardeners will make 'Costus speciosus' and 'Alpinia malaccensis' flower with great heat, drought, or starvation. |
| Date | 25 Aug 1827 |
| Level | Item |
| Extent | 4 pp |
| Language | English |
| Related Material | For Roscoe's letter of 12 August 1827, to which this is a reply, see JES/COR/17/145.
Smith, J E, Hooker, W J, and Berkeley, M, (1824-1828). "The English flora", London: Longman.
Roscoe, W, (1828). "Monandrian plants of the order Scitamineae, chiefly drawn from living specimens in the Botanic Garden At Liverpool ... With descriptions and observations." Liverpool: [printer:] G. Smith.
Sibthorp, J, (1806-1837). "Flora Graeca", London: Taylor.
Jacquin, N J v, (1781-1793). "Icones plantarum rariorum." Vindobona: Wappler.
Smith, J E, 'An Account of several Plants presented to the Linnean Society, at different Times, by Mr. John Fairbairn and Mr. Thomas Hoy, Fellows of the Linnean Society', "Transactions of the Linnean Society of London", 1791 1(1), pp.249-254. |
| PrevRefNo | 17.293 |
| Finding_Aids | Dawson, W R (1934). "Catalogue of the manuscripts in the Library of The Linnean Society - Part I. The Smith papers: The correspondence and miscellaneous papers of Sir James Edward Smith", London: Linnean Society. |
| Creator Name | Smith, Sir James Edward (1759-1828) |
| Access_Status | Open |