JDH writes to [Charles] Darwin [CD], having read his letter & the one to Hodgson with interest. He expresses his sympathy for CD’s bereavement & H. Wedgewood’s pecuniary loss. JDH discusses CD’s health. The Rajah is being difficult but JDH refers all his grievances to [Archibald] Campbell at Darjeeling. He has reached the Tibetan borders north east of Darjeeling but his Lepchas are afraid. JDH discusses food & provisions; he is clear of the 'malarious' valleys. He wishes to compare the cis & trans slopes but cannot go into Tibet. He compares the landscape to Salvator Rosa’s paintings. The vegetation is rhododendron scrub with pines below. JDH describes exploring the Terai plains & discusses the geology & history of the Himalayas. JDH discusses the particulars & possible glacial formation of the Yangma Valley lake beds & terraces & includes small sketches. He refers to CD’s remarks on the granite construct of the Cordillera [Letter appears incomplete]
The Joseph Dalton Hooker Collection
The Joseph Dalton Hooker Correspondence Project at Kew is making available online the personal and scientific correspondence of the botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens’ Kew from 1865-1885. The project was conceived by staff of The University of Sussex and Kew's Library, Art and Archive department and began as a partnership between Kew and the University of Sussex's Centre for World Environmental History. It has been made possible by support from the Stevenson Family Charitable Trust. Letter summaries can be searched through Ɛpsilon, with links to images and transcriptions at the project site at Kew (https://www.kew.org/explore-our-collections/correspondence-collections/joseph-hooker-collections).