234 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



In November 1759 Linnaeus writes to Ellis, c Our 

 queen has commanded her collection of insects to be 

 drawn in their natural colours. Nothing can be more 

 beautiful than what are already done.' There follows 

 a lament over their failures with the tea-seeds. In 

 1760 Linnaeus thanks Ellis for his kindness to So- 

 lander. 



Linnceus to Ellis. 



Sept. 1761. 



c One of our ship-captains' [Eckeberg ?] c actually 

 brought a tea-tree alive as far as the Cattegat, but in 

 a single night the mice stripped off the bark entirely 

 and the tree perished.' 



About this time the persevering and enthusiastic 

 merchant captain, Eckeberg, brought the tea-plant 

 alive to Sweden. Stoever is wrong in dating this 

 event October 3, 1763, as we see by the date of Ellis's 

 next letter. Linnaeus's letter is lost, but in his reply 

 Ellis takes Linnaeus down a peg for fancying he was 

 the first to introduce tea aliye into Europe. 



May 17G2. 



c You delight me in telling me of your success in 

 getting a living and thriving plant of the tea-tree from 



prophetic, from the interruption caused by other avocations, the 

 dissipation of London society, to which so agreeable a companion 

 was alwaj^s acceptable, and the indolence induced by a sedentary 

 and luxurious life, suddenly terminated by apoplexy at the age of 

 forty-six. ... It was Solander who reduced our garden plants to 

 order. His instructions made everybody correct and systematic, 

 and introduced Linnasan learning and precision in spite of opposi- 

 tion.' SMITH. 



