The Getting of the Plants

Monday, November 17th, 1823 – At Flushing and got part of the trees up. Could not get finished as Mr Prince has not all the plants which are ardently needed. Many times he expressed himself pleased with the Society and is to put up a collection of fruits, which will be an acquisition, especially as I have almost failed with Coxe.

So Prince is not quite making good on what Douglas expects, and Douglas is beginning to suspect that he never will.

From 18th to 22nd – Employed packing plants etc., Got part of the boxes on board.

Sunday November 23rd – Wrote to Joseph Sabine Esq., and finished putting up my dry plants. At church in the afternoon.

26th – Received the trees from Philadelphia and Burlington, got them from the wharf, ordered boxes for them, I now feel a little at ease.

Thursday 27th – Got remainder of trees etc. packed and taken down to the vessel, and box from Baltimore.

29th – Received boxes from Flushing and transmitted on board ship; packing and at Mr Hogg’s.

30th – Accompanied Mr Hogg to some of his friends in the country

Reading between the lines of his Journal, this is clearly a bit of an anxious time for Douglas. He will be judged by his employers on what he brings back and it's all coming together in the last few days. He needs to actually receive all the trees he has ordered from various sources, get them boxed up for the voyage home, get them to the wharf and supervise their loading. This will be hard work and require lots of coordination from him, overseeing people who probably don't attach the same importance to his trees as he does.

 

Meanwhile, with the other hand, he is doing the same with his more transportable dry material. It all feels a bit last-minute. He has another few days of packing and loading to get through, and one last confrontation with Mr Prince at Flushing. But he's nearly done.

Packing and more packing

November 15th, 1823
Douglas is now well and truly engaged in ‘packing up’
Packing at Mr Hogg’s

16th – Wrote to Joseph Sabine Esq., in the morning. Among specimens in the forenoon, Dinner at Dr Hosack’s. At Mr Hogg’s in the afternoon.

Packing up

12th [November, 1823] – Received a letter dated 5th October from Joseph Sabine Esq., [Secretary of the Horticultural Society] accompanied by additional lists; without delay wrote to Messrs Landreth and Smith; called on Mr Floy; Mr Hogg then went to Flushing [site of Mr Prince’s nursery] and returned in the evening. I must observe that Mr Prince Jun., did not receive us with kindness but the reverse. If I can but obtain all the plants for the Society, I shall leave him for some other person.

Thursday, November 13th, 1823 – Wrote to Mr Dick at Philadelphia a letter of thanks. Packed Mr Floy’s box and took up plants and packed Mr Wilson’s.
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Douglas is now really in the groove of packing all his material up for the voyage back to Britain. But he really does not hit it off with Mr Prince; there'll be another bust up before he leaves New York!

Horticultural Housekeeping

20th – Employed getting the package from the wharf to Mr Hogg’s, and unpacking the plants.

Tuesday 21st – In the morning went to Flushing [How did he do this? His main base seems to be on Manhattan Island; how does he travel across the East River to Flushing?] and made arrangements with Mr Prince as to taking up the trees; returned in the evening.

Wednesday, October 22nd – Employed all day at Mr Hogg’s, among the plants, securing &c. 

 

Thursday, October 23rd, 1823 – Today employed giving fresh paper to seeds and specimens. Wrote a letter to Joseph Sabine Esq. Called on Mr Thorburn for the purpose of getting ready his parcel.

Douglas is spending a lot of time getting his plant and seed collections in order for the voyage home, although in fact he won't leave for some time yet.  Nevertheless, this is good preparation and a sort of 'dry run' for the much bigger collections he will eventually ship back from the Pacific North West - he doesn't yet know that is where he will be going but he must have an inkling that the Horticultural Society will be planning to send him somewhere

To Niagara

Buffalo, Monday, September 29th, 1823 – In the morning I wrote to Jos. Sabine [Secretary of the Horticultural Society, and Douglas’s boss]. At 10 o’clock I set out in company with Mr Briscoe for Niagara. We went on the American side for two miles and crossed [the Niagara River] to the Canadian side. The weather was very cold and there was a snow shower which lasted for three-quarters of an hour.

We had a good deal of difficulty gaining the Canadian side; the wind blew from the west. Along the side of the River Niagara the soil in general is rich, of black and brown loam [Douglas rarely desists from assessing the fertility of a place in terms of its soil; his early training as a gardener shows through!]. We travelled slowly, stopping frequently...... [and] at 5 o’clock in the afternoon we reached the Falls.