Harry James Veitch ( 1840 - 1924 )

It is almost impossible to speak of Harry J. Veitch without also referring to gardening and horticulture in general . For many years he was regarded as the most outstanding figure in contemporary horticulture, and during the last fifty years of his life no one exercised so great an influence on all things pertaining to gardening.

Harry James Veitch was the second of James Veitch's three sons and was born on 24 June 1840, at Exeter , England. Like many notable horticulturists , he was of Scottish descent , his great -grandfather having crossed into England toward the close of the eighteenth century to take up the offices of steward and bailiff to Sir Thomas Acland at Killerton , Devon. Young Harry was educated at the Exeter Grammer School and at Altona ,near Hamburg ,Germany. Afterward he attended the course of botanical lectures given by Dr. John Lindley at the University College London, by which he gained insight into the management of the seed business. Shortly thereafter he joined the staff of the famous French nursery firm, Vilmorin -Andrieux & Co., Paris ,where he managed the seed department .

At the age of eighteen Harry Veitch returned to England to help his father in the management of the Chelsea nurseries ,acquired five years previously from Messrs.Knight and Perry . His industry and business sense rapidly became apparent , and the firm of Messrs.James Veitch & Sons soon enjoyed the reputation of being the foremost nursery business in the world . Harry's influence in the business extended over almost the whole of his long and useful life.

When it was decided that the Great Inernational Horticultural Exhibition of 1866 should be held in London ,Veitch entered into the work with zest , becoming a member of the executive committee and of many of the subcommittees . With proceeds from the exihibition ,the Lindley Library was purchased and vested in the Royal Horticultural Society . Veitch was intimately associated with this organzation for many years and he , with others ,was said to have laid the foundation for its popularity thereafter.

The Veitches sent numerous plant collectors to the various parts of the world and rendered a great service to botany and horticulture by their introductions of new species and hybrids .Sir Harry was particularly honored by the beautiful Masdevallia harryana and Masdevallia veitchiana ,which were discovered by Veitchian collectors and named in his honor. Among their collectors were William and Thomas Lobb, Richard Pearce, John Gould Veitch,J. Henry Chesterton ,Gustave Wallis ,Guillerno Kalbreyer, Federick W. Burbidge, Charles Curtis , and David Burke . In addition to developing many fine hybrids of Begonia ,Streptocarpus , Hippeastrum ,Nepenthes ,and other genera , they had the distinction of raising the first hybrid orchid, Calanthe Dominii , hybridized and grown by their foreman ,John Dominy.

Harry Veitch was a constant visitor at the continental horticultural gatherings for thirty or fort years. As early as 1869 he was among those present at the first international exhibition in Russia , which was held at St. Petersbugh .Among these of his party also receiving cordial welcome from the czar were Sir Joseph Hooker ,Dr. Robert Hogg, Dr. Moore of Glasnevin ,and Mr. Robert Warner.

Because of the death of his father in 1869 and of his elder brother John in 1890,Harry Veitch became head of the firm. His responsibility, energy , enthusiasm ,and keeness in business surprised evev those who knew him best. The full responsibility of the extensive firm was taken well in stride: the nurseries at Coombe Wood-trees , shubs , and herbaceous plants ; Feltham -garden plants, florists' flowers ,and seed production; and Largely -tree and bush fruits and ,later, orchids. With the reins in his hands , the firm entered into the most prosperous period of its history .

Various publications were issued by Messrs. Veitch while Harry Veitch was head of the firm . A Manual of the Coniferae was published in 1888, with a second printing in 1900, and ten parts of the two volume Maual of Orchidaceous Plants Cultivated Under Glass in Great Britain were published between 1887 and 1894. A large number of Harry Veitch's own publications appeared in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. These included Orchids Past and Present (1881),Coniferae of Japan (1892),and Deciduous Trees and Shrubs of Japan (1894). He also shared in the production of the history of the house of Veitch , entitled Hortus Veitchii (1906).

For nearly twenty-five years Harry Veitch was chairman of the Gardener's Royal Benevolent Institution ,ably conducting its affairs and contributing generously to its funds .He also supported the Royal Gardener's Orphan Fund and the United Horticultural Benefit Club for many years and additionally served as a member of the Board of Directors of the British Orphan Schools and on the committee of St. Anne's and of the City of London Missions. To all these organizations he gave his patronage freely and his financial assistance liberally.

The Second Great International Horticultural Exhibition was held in 1912,and Veitch again took a leading part. For his services in that regard, king George conferred the honor of knighthood upon him. He also received the Order of the Crown from the Belgian King , the French Legion of Honour, the French Isidore St. Hilaire Medal ,and the United States' George R.White Gold Medal for eminent services to horticulture. Apart from knighthood ,probably the greatest honor accorded Sir Harry Veitch was the award of the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1906, given by the Royal Horticultural Society ,with which he had long been associated and of whose Orchid Committee he was chairman for many years. Even at the age of seventy-eight he undertook the onerous office of treasurer of the society .

Sir Harry Veitch retired from business in 1914. With his brothers John and Arthur both deceased , there was no successor in the family, and rather than risk losing the recognized reputaion which the firm had acquired ,he disposed of the nursery and sold the land for redevelopment .

Lady Veitch died in 1921,and soon afterward Sir Harry left off his horticultural activities and lived in complete retirement at his home in Kensington and East Burnham Park, Slough ,Buckinghamshire, on 6 July 1924, at the advanced age of eighty-four.

References

Curtis' Botanical Magazine . 1931.Dedications and Portraits 1827-1927.Nelmes ,Earnest ,and Cuthbertson, Wm., comps. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd.

Gardener's Chronicle. 1924. Harry J.Veitch ,V.M.H. Vol. 76,no. 1, 1959.

Orchid Review,The . 1912.Mr. Harry J. Veitch ,F.L.S. , V.M.H. Vol. 20,no. 230.

Orchid Review,The . 1924.Notes .Vol. 32,no. 374.

Van Steenis,C.G.G.J. 1950. Cyclopaedia of Collectors .Flora Malesiana .Vol. 1, ser.1.

Veitch ,James H. 1906. Hortus Veitchii, Chelsea,London: James Veitch & Sons Ltd.