MR. HARTWEG'S JOURNAL OF A MISSION TO CALIFORNIA. 121 



After coming through the " variables,' 5 we got what are 

 called the north-east trade winds, and steered for the Western 

 Islands. As the weather was now bad, and the vessel "close 

 hauled," that is, sailing very near the wind, we often had a con- 

 siderable quantity of spray coming over the deck. Before 

 coming into this weather I took care to have the cases again 

 perfectly closed ; the end slides now had often to remain closely 

 shut down, not only on account of the spray, but also on account 

 of the saltness of the air, which would, doubtless, have been 

 very deleterious. After having three or four weeks of this 

 weather, we got at last into smooth water in the English channel, 

 where, as the weather was fine, I again opened the cases and 

 found them* in excellent order. No detention taking place at 

 the Docks, the cases were immediately conveyed to the garden 

 of the Society at Chiswick. The following numbers will show 

 the results of this shipment : — 



Number of Plants put into the cases in China . . 250 

 „ reported in good condition when landed . 215 



„ which died during the voyage .... 35 



In a communication from Mr. Livingstone of Macao, read to 

 the Society in 1819, and published in the 3rd Vol. of Trans- 

 actions, it is stated that, at that time only one plant in a 

 thousand survives the voyage from China to England, and sup- 

 posing on an average that plants purchased in Canton, including 

 their chests and other necessary charges, cost 6s. 8d. each, 

 consequently each surviving plant must have been introduced at 

 the enormous expense of upwards of 300/. ; the results which I 

 have given above will show, however, that we have made some 

 improvements in the introduction of Chinese plants since the days 

 of Mr. Livingstone. 



XIV. — Journal of a Mission to California in search of Plants. 

 By Mr. Theodore Hartweg, in the service of the Horticul- 

 tural Society. Part II. Continued from Vol. L, p. 185. 

 (Received Nov. 4, 1846.) 



On the 23rd of February I returned from an excursion to the 

 Rio Grande de Santiago, the largest stream in Central Mexico, 

 taking its rise from the swampy plains between Lerma and 

 Toluca, near the city of Mexico, and traversing a space of more 

 than 600 miles in a north-westerly direction. During the late 

 rains the water rose fourteen feet above its ordinary level, de- 

 stroying the early crops of Indian corn, and carrying everything 

 before it that impeded its course. 



