Description

Barber has received Hooker's letter of 5 Feb. He takes the opportunity of one of their agents going home to send the box of Krisses and collection of botanical specimens to Mrs Barber, who will forward the latter to RBG Kew [see also letter folio 5]. An inventory accompanies the specimens, which number over 400. He informs Hooker how much it cost to send the box via Egypt, through agents in Singapore. As he has eight 'young folks' to provide for, he wonders if Hooker might send Mrs Barber a P.O.[Post Office] order. He also sends, to the Secretary of the Admiralty, a box containing numerous small packages of mosses and the remnants of Mr [James] Motley's collection. Lieutenant Governor Scott has given Barber some seeds from Morocco, alluded to in Hooker's letter; he will let Hooker know if they succeed. Barber is presently busy erecting a steam engine for working coal, a saw mill, new railway and a jetty. He has no time at present to collect specimens, and is not a botanist, but Hooker's printed instructions can easily be understood by a non-professional man. They are opening a colliery on the main land of Borneo and he may have an opportunity to obtain specimens of Gutta percha trees et cetera. Barber is fond of gardening and, if time allowed, would become a planter in Borneo. He thinks cultivation of the vegetable Tallow tree would pay well. Bees wax is abundant in Borneo and fetches as high a price as in England. It is taken principally to China. He regrets that the British Government did not keep Brune [Brunei] after they had taken it: it is a 'fine country' and, as it had been cleared by the Chinese, the cost of clearing would be trifling. Barber intends to take some exploratory trips to the mountains of Borneo and has no doubt that he shall find some valuable deposits of minerals. He finds it disheartening to see such a fine country in the hands of such 'miserable wretches' as the Malays of Brunei. He is importing Chinese labour and finds it 'answers well'. Page 1 of 2.

Description

Barber has received Hooker's letter of 5 Feb. He takes the opportunity of one of their agents going home to send the box of Krisses and collection of botanical specimens to Mrs Barber, who will forward the latter to RBG Kew [see also letter folio 5]. An inventory accompanies the specimens, which number over 400. He informs Hooker how much it cost to send the box via Egypt, through agents in Singapore. As he has eight 'young folks' to provide for, he wonders if Hooker might send Mrs Barber a P.O.[Post Office] order. He also sends, to the Secretary of the Admiralty, a box containing numerous small packages of mosses and the remnants of Mr [James] Motley's collection. Lieutenant Governor Scott has given Barber some seeds from Morocco, alluded to in Hooker's letter; he will let Hooker know if they succeed. Barber is presently busy erecting a steam engine for working coal, a saw mill, new railway and a jetty. He has no time at present to collect specimens, and is not a botanist, but Hooker's printed instructions can easily be understood by a non-professional man. They are opening a colliery on the main land of Borneo and he may have an opportunity to obtain specimens of Gutta percha trees et cetera. Barber is fond of gardening and, if time allowed, would become a planter in Borneo. He thinks cultivation of the vegetable Tallow tree would pay well. Bees wax is abundant in Borneo and fetches as high a price as in England. It is taken principally to China. He regrets that the British Government did not keep Brune [Brunei] after they had taken it: it is a 'fine country' and, as it had been cleared by the Chinese, the cost of clearing would be trifling. Barber intends to take some exploratory trips to the mountains of Borneo and has no doubt that he shall find some valuable deposits of minerals. He finds it disheartening to see such a fine country in the hands of such 'miserable wretches' as the Malays of Brunei. He is importing Chinese labour and finds it 'answers well'. Page 1 of 2.

Description

Barber has received Hooker's letter of 5 Feb. He takes the opportunity of one of their agents going home to send the box of Krisses and collection of botanical specimens to Mrs Barber, who will forward the latter to RBG Kew [see also letter folio 5]. An inventory accompanies the specimens, which number over 400. He informs Hooker how much it cost to send the box via Egypt, through agents in Singapore. As he has eight 'young folks' to provide for, he wonders if Hooker might send Mrs Barber a P.O.[Post Office] order. He also sends, to the Secretary of the Admiralty, a box containing numerous small packages of mosses and the remnants of Mr [James] Motley's collection. Lieutenant Governor Scott has given Barber some seeds from Morocco, alluded to in Hooker's letter; he will let Hooker know if they succeed. Barber is presently busy erecting a steam engine for working coal, a saw mill, new railway and a jetty. He has no time at present to collect specimens, and is not a botanist, but Hooker's printed instructions can easily be understood by a non-professional man. They are opening a colliery on the main land of Borneo and he may have an opportunity to obtain specimens of Gutta percha trees et cetera. Barber is fond of gardening and, if time allowed, would become a planter in Borneo. He thinks cultivation of the vegetable Tallow tree would pay well. Bees wax is abundant in Borneo and fetches as high a price as in England. It is taken principally to China. He regrets that the British Government did not keep Brune [Brunei] after they had taken it: it is a 'fine country' and, as it had been cleared by the Chinese, the cost of clearing would be trifling. Barber intends to take some exploratory trips to the mountains of Borneo and has no doubt that he shall find some valuable deposits of minerals. He finds it disheartening to see such a fine country in the hands of such 'miserable wretches' as the Malays of Brunei. He is importing Chinese labour and finds it 'answers well'. Page 1 of 2.