CHAP. II. BRITISH ISLANDS. 121 
make further additions to their botanical collections; and, in the 
execution of these commands, he gave such satisfaction, that he 
was honoured, by special appointment, with the title of Botanical 
Collector to their Imperial Majesties the Emperor Paul and the 
Empress Marie, under the sign manual of each, dated Paulow- 
skoe, August, 1798; and in furtherance of this commission he 
again, with his son John, in 1799, 1800, and 1801, visited the 
southern states of North America, the Isle of Cuba, the Ba- 
hamas, &c. In their passage to the Havannah, from the United 
States, they were shipwrecked, and saved themselves, with great 
difficulty, in the Cayos, a small island at the entrance of the 
Old Channel. In Cuba they had the good fortune to meet 
with the celebrated travellers Baron von Humboldt and Aimé 
Bonpland, and from these generous men of science they re- 
ceived every assistance and kind recommendations to the 
authorities at the Havannah. After an absence of more than 
two years, Mr. Fraser returned to England with many new and 
valuable discoveries. (In 1800, the Hortus Kewensis records 
the introduction of thirteen new plants by the Frasers, and in 
1801 two more, Andromeda cassinifolia and Magnolia cordata.) 
He again went to Russia, but, in consequence of the sudden 
termination of the life of the Emperor Paul, he was unsuc- 
cessful, as his services were neither acknowledged nor requited 
_by the Emperor Alexander. He made two visits afterwards to 
the capital of Russia, and to Moscow, in a fruitless attempt 
to obtain a just remuneration for his arduous and perilous em- 
ployment. 
In the vicinity of Matanzas, in Cuba, they discovered a beau- 
tiful species of palm, with silvered leaves (Corypha miraguima 
Humb. et Bon., Nov. Gen. 1. p. 290.), the leaves of which pro- 
duce a most beautiful and durable material for the manufacture 
of ladies’ hats and bonnets. These were woven by the hand, all 
in one piece, without sewing, in a new and peculiar manner: a 
patent was taken out for making them, and the manufacture was 
patronised by Her Majesty the late Queen Charlotte, and con- 
ducted under the management of his sister, Mrs.Christiana Fraser, 
through whose great perseverance in teaching many young per- 
sons the secret of the work, employment was afforded to a 
number of hands. Subsequently the manufactory proved un- 
successful, from want of capital, more than any other cause. 
In 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, Mr. Fraser made his last ex- 
cursions to North America, in company with his eldest son. 
(The Hortus Kewensis records nine new plants introduced by 
them in 1809.) After this, he remained at his nursery in 
Sloane Square, carrying on the business there, in which, how- 
~ ever, he was not successful. Here frequent disappointments, 
ill-treatment, and other circumstances, all tended to break down 
K 2 
