74 THE CONVEYANCE OF PLANTS 
rose to 100°, and in crossing the line, to 120°. 
In the month of November, eight months after 
their departure, they arrived in the British 
Channel, the thermometer being then as low as 
40°. These plants were placed upon deck, and 
were not once watered during the whole voyage, 
yet on their arrival at the docks they were 
in the most healthy and vigorous condition, and 
I shall not readily forget the delight expressed 
by Mr. G. Loddiges, who accompanied me on 
board, at the beautiful appearance of the fronds 
of Gleichenia microjphylla , a plant now for the 
first time seen alive in this country. Several 
plants of Callicoma serrata had sprung up from 
seed during the voyage, and were in a very 
healthy state. 
The next experiment was with coffee and other 
tropical plants, which were sent in safety to 
Ibrahim Pacha in 1834, and were followed by 
numberless other cases sent to all parts of the 
world by Messrs. Loddiges. His Grace the late 
Duke of Devonshire was one of the first to make 
use of the closed cases, by sending one of his 
gardeners with them to the East Indies, for the 
purpose of procuring some of its vegetable trea- 
sures for his magnificent conservatory at Chats- 
worth. The Amherstia nobilis, and numberless 
other rarities were the fruits of this expedition. 
