Monday, August 11th, 1823 - Early this morning I went to the vegetable market, the Fulton. It had a beautiful appearance, beet of superior variety and fine carrots, raised in this country; I observed a very great deficiency of cauliflower, indeed they were miserably poor; onions were fine, mostly red; immense supply of melons and cucumbers – the latter of which, however, not as fine as may be expected and appeared for the most part to be the same as the short prickly ones cultivated in England [ie. the outdoor ‘gherkin’ type of cucumbers] – the melons were fine.
An abundant supply of early apples, pears, peaches - the two former were fine but the peaches looked rather bad, being ripened immaturely and the trees being sickly. Immense varieties of squashes or gourds, plums, early damsons, a great supply of pineapples from the West Indies, and cocoanuts [sic]. I observed a fine head of Musa sapientum [a now-outdated name for bananas] which weighed 40lb.
At 8'clock this morning [ie. after his must-have-been-very-early visit to the market!] we set off for Flushing and visited the establishment of Mr Prince. I found him a man of but moderate liberality.....Indeed on the whole I must confess to be somewhat disappointed, for his extensive catalogue and some talk had heightened my idea of it; but most of his ground is covered over with weeds.
Douglas' early training as a gardener in the grounds of Scone Palace is coming to the fore here. He was always interested in local produce and always quick to check it out and assess the quality. The Fulton Fish Market opened in 1822, so was quite new at the time, near the Brooklyn Bridge on South Street between Beekman and Fulton Streets. The market primarily functioned in two open air sheds, known as the Tin Building and the New Market Building. For most of its life it was the premier fish market in NYC. Perhaps the fish and vegetable sections were separate and Douglas has simply not visited or commented on the fish!
And what of Mr Prince, with whom Douglas seems distinctly unenamoured. Again courtesy of the Journal of the New York Botanical garden (Vol 43, No 515, November 1942) and also from Wikipedia, we learn that he was the grandson of horticulturist William Prince (c.1725-1802). Mr Prince (Senior, the grandfather - it's very confusing when they're all called William and all in the same business!) interest in horticulture was commercial: he devoted his attention to servicing a growing market for plants rather than to scientific research of interest to botanists.
In 1793 the younger William Prince, bought 80 acres (32 ha) of land and extended the nurseries of his father in Flushing. He brought many varieties of fruits into the United States, sent many trees and plants to Europe, and systematized the nomenclature of the best-known fruits, such as the Bartlett pear and the Isabella grape. He introduced the Isabella grape to United States viticulture, for which it was long one of the mainstays. The London Horticultural Society [Douglas's employer] named the “William Prince” apple in his honour. He was a member of the horticultural societies of London and Paris, of the Imperial Society of Georgofili of Florence, and of the principal societies in the U.S. The meeting of horticulturists in 1823, at which De Witt Clinton delivered an address, was held at his residence. A botanist of wide experience, he had worked in the field with Professor Torrey of Columbia [University] and Professor Nuttall of Harvard.
In 1793 the younger William Prince, bought 80 acres (32 ha) of land and extended the nurseries of his father in Flushing. He brought many varieties of fruits into the United States, sent many trees and plants to Europe, and systematized the nomenclature of the best-known fruits, such as the Bartlett pear and the Isabella grape. He introduced the Isabella grape to United States viticulture, for which it was long one of the mainstays. The London Horticultural Society [Douglas's employer] named the “William Prince” apple in his honour. He was a member of the horticultural societies of London and Paris, of the Imperial Society of Georgofili of Florence, and of the principal societies in the U.S. The meeting of horticulturists in 1823, at which De Witt Clinton delivered an address, was held at his residence. A botanist of wide experience, he had worked in the field with Professor Torrey of Columbia [University] and Professor Nuttall of Harvard.
His son, William Robert Prince 1795-1869 (grandson of the founder of the famly nurseries), continued the business established by his father - the Linnaean Nurseries - but financial troubles intervened. It is unclear which of these two Mr Prince's Douglas met [William Robert Prince is almost the same age as Douglas but his father would carry more gravitas and authority] but what is clear is that:
- they were both seriously big cheeses in horticulture in NYC, and
- Douglas wasn't much impressed.
He had another falling out with them later on this trip.
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