Carl Purpus, Plant
Collector in Western America 
C. A. Purpus Translated from German by Barbara Ertter
| Carl Purpus, Plant
Collector in Western America | Report on My Journey to the La Sal Mountains (Continued) |
| | C. A. Purpus Translated from German by Barbara Ertter |
 
|
Bericht uber meine Tour in die La Sol-Mountains C. A. Purpus, San Diego, Kalifornien Mitteilungen der Deutchen Dendrologischen Gesellschaft. 8: 142-146.
|
POSTSCRIPT: |
|
In order that our readers can gain an understanding of the perils that a collector in the rugged high
mountains must cope with, a report just received from Mr. Purpus follows:
|
| Other Articles: On the Trail…: 0570
"We were making excellent progress when there arose a terrible storm such as I had never before
experienced in the mountains. It snowed five days and five nights straight, so horribly that I fully
expected that we would get snowed in. We were camped at about 9000 feet elevation. When it was
over, the snow lay three to four feet deep and restricted all activity in the area. Some of our cones
lay around the cabin and were quickly brought to safety. The remainder were in other places where
we had been collecting, including Picea pungens argentea and P. engelmanni glauca pendula. Jaeger shoveled the former out of the snow yesterday, and the latter the day before. The cones of Pseudotsuga douglasii glauca were left buried and abandoned under the snow, as nothing could be done. We had to drag the cones and our entire collection on our backs for two miles through three to four feet of snow. It was horrible! It is terribly cold here; in the middle of October the
temperature was -16 deg. R. at 9000 feet."
|
| Other Articles: On the Trail…: 0580
Our reader can tell from this that collecting in such a region is not to be taken lightly. By luck,
Mr. Purpus saved great quantities of valuable seeds, but his profits were barely enough to cover his
considerable travel expenses. Only a person with the tremendous enthusiasm and devotion of Purpus
would be able to travel in these inhospitable regions, constantly risking health and life itself, to bring
such beautiful botanical treasures back to his native country. For this, we will be indebted to Mr.
Purpus for years to come.
|
| We are obligated to
remember this, and to express here the gratitude of the dendrologists to this
conscientious man. Such a scrupulous collector, who brings us seeds from the harsh climes suitable
to our needs, is not often found. No one should question that such valuable seeds come with a high
pricetag. The connoisseur gladly pays the higher price, knowing well that the seeds are worth a
thousand times more. Such items are not to be compared with a hodge-podge thrown together from
all over the place, that, when planted for silviculture, do not characteristically turn out well, because
they do not come with a guarentee of their suitability.
|
| Not only should it be
acknowledged that Mr. Purpus's pursuits are honest, but they should also
be encouraged by our purchases of his valuable seeds.1 One may thereby be certain of the best horticultural results!
|
| | 1 The distribution of seeds is handled by the H. Henkel firm in Darmstadt, appointed purveyor to His Royal Majesty. |
[Previous Page] | |
| [Published Biographies] [Travelogues and Articles] [Letters] [Plant Lists and Bibliography] [Site Administration] | | Date and time this article was prepared: 6/7/2002 7:32:24 PM |