James Herbert Veitch F.L.S., F.R.H.S. (1 May 1868 – 13 November 1907), was a member of the Veitch

Veitch Nurseries

The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into two separate businesses - based at Chelsea and...

 family who were distinguished horticulturists and nursery-men for over a century.

Early days

James was born at Chelsea, London

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

, the elder son of John Gould Veitch

John Gould Veitch

John Gould Veitch was a horticulturist and traveller, one of the first Victorian plant hunters to visit Japan. A great-grandson of John Veitch, the founder of the Veitch horticulture dynasty, he also visited the Philippines, Australia, Fiji, and other Polynesian islands.He brought back a number of...

 (1839–1870) and his wife Jane Hodge. His father died of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 shortly after he was born and the family nursery based in Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

 was afterwards managed by his uncle, Harry

Harry Veitch

Sir Harry James Veitch was an eminent English horticulturist in the nineteenth century, who was the head of the family nursery business, James Veitch & Sons, based in Chelsea, London...

.

He was educated at Crawford College, Maidenhead

Maidenhead

Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...

, and in technical subjects in Germany and France, beginning work at the Chelsea, London

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

 branch of the family nursery in 1885. He was elected fellow of the Linnean Society in 1889 and was also a fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society

Royal Horticultural Society

The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...

.

Plant collecting

In October 1891 he embarked on a tour of inspection of the great Botanic and Public Gardens maintained by governments in various centres as well as visiting many private horticultural establishments, to endeavour whether the Veitch gardens might be enriched by further additions. He set off by way of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 to Ceylon

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, thence overland from Tuticorin to Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

. He continued to Calcutta and on to the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...

. In Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 he visited the Botanic Gardens

Penang Botanic Gardens

The Penang Botanic Gardens, also known as the "Waterfall Gardens" because of the cascading waterfall nearby, is a public park situated on Jalan Air Terjun in George Town on Penang Island, Malaysia...

, whose curator Charles Curtis

Charles Curtis (botanist)

Charles Curtis was an English botanist who was sent by James Veitch & Sons to search for new plant species in Madagascar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and the Moluccas, before settling in Penang, where he became the first superintendent of the Penang Botanic Gardens.-Early days:Curtis was born in...

 was formerly employed by James Veitch & Sons as a plant collector, before moving on to Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 where he visited the Botanic Gardens

Singapore Botanic Gardens

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 74-hectare botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m...

. He then visited Johore, before returning to Singapore in February 1892, when he climbed Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah is an area in Singapore and a hill in that area. Bukit Timah is located near the centre of the Singapore main island. The hill stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres and is the highest point in the city-state of Singapore...

 (the highest point on the island) with Walter Fox, curator of the Gardens.

He then travelled to Buitenzorg, West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

 where he visited the Botanical Gardens

Bogor Botanical Gardens

The Bogor Botanical Gardens are located 60 km south of the capital of Jakarta in Bogor, Indonesia. The botanical gardens are situated in the city center of Bogor and adjoin the Istana Bogor...

. He also explored the crater of Kawah Papandajan (volcano), and visited Lake Bagendit near Garoet

Garut

Garut is a town in the West Java province of Indonesia and is the capital of the Garut Regency. It is located about 75 km to the southeast of the major city of Bandung.-History:...

.

His travels then took him to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, where he met Charles Sprague Sargent

Charles Sprague Sargent

Charles Sprague Sargent was an American botanist. He was the first director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts and the standard botanical author abbreviation Sarg. is applied to plants he described.-Biography:Sargent was the second son of Henrietta and...

 of the Arnold Arboretum, and they undertook a joint plant collecting expedition including ascending Mount Hakkoda together. After visiting Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, he reached Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in 1893. However he found Australia disappointing and wrote that it was easier to collect seed in Japan where there was cheap labour; in Australia "no one will help". He complained that the seeds of many plants "were so tiny he did not know if he was collecting seed or dust". He sent to Kew a collection of dried specimens of 250 species from Western Australia. Later he visited the North Island of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, before returning to England in July 1893.

Among the results of his journey was the introduction of the large winter-cherry, Physalis alkekengi franchetii

Physalis alkekengi

Physalis alkekengi , is a relative of P. peruviana , easily identifiable by the larger, bright orange to red papery covering over its fruit, which resemble Chinese lanterns. It is native from southern Europe east across southern Asia to Japan...

. He also re-introduced Rhododendron schlippenbachii

Rhododendron schlippenbachii

Rhododendron schlippenbachii is a species of Rhododendron native to the Korean Peninsula and adjacent regions of Manchuria , Japan, and the Russian Far East...

and Vitis coignetiae

Vitis coignetiae

Vitis coignetiae is a plant belonging to the genus Vitis that is native to the temperate climes of asia, where it can be found in Russian Federation ; Korea; and Japan...

.

A series of letters on the gardens visited during the journey was printed in the "Gardener’s Chronicle" (March 1892 – Dec 1894), and privately printed collectively as "A Traveller’s Notes" in 1896.

Veitch Nurseries

In 1898 the firm of James Veitch & Sons was formed into a limited company, of which Veitch became managing director. One of the first steps taken by the company, in accordance with the firm’s earlier practice, was to send out Ernest Henry Wilson

Ernest Henry Wilson

Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson , better known as E. H. Wilson, was a notable English plant collector who introduced a large range of about 2000 of Asian plant species to the West; some sixty bear his name.-Career:...

 to China and Tibet to collect plants.

The business proved too much for James, and he suffered a nervous breakdown

Nervous breakdown

Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...

. He became withdrawn and eccentric, offended customers, and business began to decline. After his death at only 39 years of age, his brother John

John Veitch (footballer)

John Gould Veitch was an English amateur footballer, who played for the Corinthian club in the 1890s. He made one appearance for England playing at inside left in 1894, in which he scored a hat trick.-Family and education:...

 succeeded to the Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

 business. He also did not have the ability to run the business successfully, and his uncle Sir Harry Veitch

Harry Veitch

Sir Harry James Veitch was an eminent English horticulturist in the nineteenth century, who was the head of the family nursery business, James Veitch & Sons, based in Chelsea, London...

 returned to take over control and put the business back on track. Following John's death in October 1914 at the age of 45, Sir Harry (who was knighted in 1912) closed the business.

James died of paralysis

Paralysis

Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...

 at Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 on 13 November 1907, and was buried there. He had been married in 1898 to Lucy Elizabeth Wood, who survived him without issue.

Hortus Veitchii

In 1906 Veitch, assisted by various members of his family, prepared for private distribution, under the title of Hortus Veitchii, a sumptuous history of the firm and its collectors, illustrated with portraits. The botanical nomenclature was revised by George Nicholson, curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

.

This book was a study of the history of the botanical plant collecting explorers and hybridists, working for the nurseries of Robert Veitch and Son, Exeter and James Veitch and Sons, Chelsea during the period of 1840–1906. The book detailed the 1500 plants the business had introduced and their origins and the lengths its collectors went to secure them (the Veitch nurseries were the first to employ professional plant-hunters

Plant collecting

Plant collecting involves procuring live or dried plant specimens, for the purposes of research, cultivation or as a hobby.-Collection of live specimens:...

). The limited edition volumes were not for general consumption but gifts to libraries, universities, botanists and prestigious customers. Copies of the 1906 edition are now extremely rare and achieve prices of up to £1000.

In 2006, Exeter horticulturist Caradoc Doy, an authority on the Veitch Nursery, re-published a facsimile of this seminal work to mark its centenary. Doy went to great lengths to ensure the authenticity of the book. He meticulously sourced a thick, slightly yellowy paper to mirror the Victorian original and even had a special brass stamping plate made to replicate the cover embossing.

Hortus Veitchii is an essential reference for plants introduced during the Victorian era, listing many which are still available from nurseries today and therefore helping gardeners to accurately replicate historic gardens within that period. This is also important for those wishing to preserve rare plants introduced to Britain at that time, as well as being a fascinating historical account of Victorian plant collecting.

External links

• Versions of "Hortus Veitchii" on-line at American Libraries website
• Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Sidney Lee. Second Supplement. Volume 3. (Published by Adamant Media Corporation) ISBN 0543881083 Page 555
• Publications by James Herbert Veitch on www.amazon.co.uk
• Details of re-publication of "Hortus Veitchii"
• The Production of Hortus Veitchii