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JDH informs his father, Sir William Jackson Hooker, that he has been looking through specimens at the Leyden [Leiden] herbarium with Carl Ludwig Blume. He is impressed by the number of things from Borneo, Java, Sumatra & Japan & wishes Blume would share duplicate specimens more readily. He suggests that they might exchange specimens if more willingly if places ever actually sent them things for their museum. JDH particularly notes how impressive Korthal's Nepenthes are. Blume & Sibeold have established a garden for things from Japan & Dutch colonies. Blume has promised JDH a specimen of a Sumatran Rafflesia & his described ferns & mosses. JDH describes his impressions of Blume & his wife. Explains that the Leiden herbarium did give India & Madagascar specimens to [Joseph] Decaisne in Paris in return for him doing dissections for RUMPHIA. JDH is disappointed that Blume has published nothing since BIJDRAGEN TOT DE FLORA VAN NEDERLANDSCH INDIË. Siebold only looks after the living plants. Miguel is developing connections with Japan & may in time be able to send specimens to RBG Kew but it will be a long time before his collections match those at Leiden. JDH suggests they send Blume named Java things to try & get Japanese specimens in return. There are two moss men at the Leiden herbarium: Dr Dozy & Dr Molkenboer who send duplicate material to Paris, the latter apparently wrote to WJH but got no reply. JDH thinks Miguel is a very promising botanist & RBG Kew should buy his work on Cycadeae. Miguel is working on peppers, figs & Suriname & Java plants. Many people ask JDH about Charles Darwin because of his book [about the voyage of HMS Beagle]. They also ask after [Robert] Brown. JDH informs WJH of his plans to travel to England from Brill or Hellevoetsluis via Rotterdam. He mentions the British Flora for Edinburgh students, he is glad in Scotland he will not have to lecture in Latin as they do in Leiden. He discusses the merits of Heward's plan for a plant & book agency.

JDH gives his opinion of the botanic garden in Brussels; he was impressed by the palm collection incl. Elate sylvestris & Caryota urens. The garden secretary Mr Drapier is unpopular. Mentions some other botanists of Brussels: Lucien; Dumortier; Galiotti, whose nursery he visited; Quetelet, who he met at the Brussels Academy. JDH admired the picture gallery in Brussels, especially the Rubens, & the Church of St Gudula. In Ghent he saw further fine paintings & churches. He also wen to Van Houtens nursery with [Joseph] Decaisne's brother, a regimental surgeon. Van Houten has impressive collections of camellias & palms. His collectors in Guiana, Brazil & West Africa were not productive. He is willing to exchange plants with William Jackson Hooker, for things from Antipodes & Jamaica plants such as [Ronald Campbell] Gunn's seeds. All 3 Decaisne brothers, botanist, painter & surgeon, have received the Legion of Honour. At Antwerp saw the cathedral, exposition of plants & botanic garden. Went on to Breda on the 'Diligence' then to Rotterdam & Leiden. At Leiden he has met with [Caspar Georg Carl] Reinwardt & seen the botanic garden, with excellent succulents & Japan duplicates to be sent to RBG Kew. JDH recommends further plant exchanges with the Dutch botanists as they have good connections with the Japan & Java. [Carl Ludwig von] Blume has shown JDH [the Rijkshrbarium] collection of Japan things; which he has at the expense of Siebold & is willing to share with JDH, incl specimen of Staffleria patina. JDH may extend his trip to see HORTUS CLIFFORTIANUS in Harlem & Linnaeus' Lapland dress in Amsterdam. JDH notes how spectacular Blume's collection of Orchideae, drawings & birds is. Visiting Leiden & the Jardin de Plantes, Paris have been epochs in JDH's life. Mentions the high opinion of WJH & his publications in Europe. Discusses his plans for taking over Robert Graham's lectures [at Edinburgh]. Muscologists in Leiden want [George] Gardner's Brazilian mosses.

JDH informs his father Sir William Jackson Hooker of the difficulties he is having getting a passage to London. The steamer boats go from Helvetsluys which is some distance away & to travel there with all his luggage would be expensive so JDH has decided not to take that route. This means he will be unable to visit WJH at [Robert] Brown's. Instead JDH will return to Antwerp, crossing the Maas, Moordike [Moerdijk?] & Scheldt. From Antwerp he should be able to get passage to London on Sunday, but if the river Schledt is frozen there he will have to go on to Ostend. Dr Miguel sends his regards to Brown & to WJH.

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JDH comments that he has received some corrections from [Miles Joseph] Berkeley but does not think that the number of errors justify the printing of a new page. Berkeley's manuscript was illegible, JDH had to make a new copy & look up species names in [Elias Magnus] Fries. Berkeley's corrections are generally not good, those he did for THE LONDON JOURNAL OF BOTANY contained many errors. Mentions that a paper Berkeley produced with Montague contained 70 mistakes. JDH finds it curious that [William] Wilson & [Thomas] Taylor were pleased with the work when JDH added a great deal to both of their contributions, at least Berkeley's work is his own. JDH is pleased that his father has 'weathered upon' [Lovell] Reeve, the publisher, & that the [BOTANICAL REGISTER] is coming to an end. JDH is trying to write an introduction to FLORA ANTARCTICA but he is very caught up with lectures. Discusses the series of lectures he is giving at Edinburgh [University], he does not use the useless material he is given but speaks freely rather than reading & it engages his students. He has or will cover the subjects of plant physiology, nutrition, circulation, life, irritability, respiration the Linnean system & the origin & distribution of species; he finds the last a particularly challenging subject. [Gilbert] McNab arrives in London soon. Asks that Bessy [Elizabeth Hooker] give [Joseph] Dayman their copy of FOLIA SYBILLINA. JDH has heard from Dawson [Dawson William Turner?], who is going to Yarmouth. JDH has left letters for a Mrs Sprot & Admiral Tait. JDH mentions other people that he still has to call upon in Edinburgh including the Gibsons, Craigs, Mackes, McKenzies, Kays & Fullertons. Comments that Dr [Robert] Graham is still ill.

JDH writes that George Arnott Walker-Arnott returned him a letter from Dr [John] Scouler saying that it suits his [Arnott's] ideas but JDH is not sure what he means by this. JDH encloses a number of letters [not present]: one for [Thomas] Twining in Twickenham regarding a recommendation for Gilbert McNab who is going out to India to work for the Assam Tea Company, & other letters from [John] Gunn, Scouler & Sinclair. States that he has written again to [Carl Ludwig von] Blume as he may not have understood the last letter. He dined with E. Henderson who asked him to meet a Baillie body & Principal [John] Lee, who is more favourable to JDH than Principal [Duncan] Macfarlane. Lee told Henderson that the body was afraid of JDH's wisdom. Asks his father if there are any changes to the distribution list for FLORA ANTARCTICA as it is time to start sending out copies. No further news apart from a visit to the Garden by Prince Henry of Holland. Thanks his father for the name of Fevillia which he would not have guessed otherwise. Notes that [Robert] Graham is still ill & speaks very little. Page 2 of the letter consists of a pre-printed form divided into 18 boxes which each contain at the bottom 'Antart[arctic] Exp[edition] 1839 -- 1843. J.D.H.' & above which are printed the names of Sub-Antarctic islands and other places visited i.e. Campbell Island, Lord Auckland's Islands, Falkland Islands, Kerguelen's Land, Hermite Island, Cape Horn, New Zealand & Tasmania. These are assumed to be samples of plant specimen labels with a space to write in an ID number and species name above the location they were collected. JDH has written across this form that the samples show credit to Arnott's taste who arranged them on JDH's behalf at [William] Wilson's suggestion. To print 800 would cost 18 shillings incl paper.

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JDH informs his father, Sir William Jackson Hooker, about developments in his candidature for the Chair of Botany at Edinburgh University, usually held by one person unifying the posts of College Professor, Regius Professor, & Curator of the Botanic Garden. He reports that [John Hutton] Balfour had previously refused to take the post of Chair without the garden curatorship leaving only JDH & Leller[?] as candidates. JDH is Crown nominated & has the support of the University Provost but needs approval from the Town Council. The Natural History Chair also needs dual approval, the Provost plans to petition Sir James Graham [Home Secretary] to relinquish all Government, or 'Crown', control over 1 chair in return for total control of the other, plus his guaranteed support for JDH's candidature. JDH does not think this will be well received as the government has put a lot of money into the college & botanic garden. JDH adds that Balfour has since revoked his conditional refusal of the post of Chair of Botany without the garden curatorship, & the Town Council is inclined to appoint him if only to demonstrate their influence to government. They also want someone with lecturing, not just botanical, credentials. JDH is dismissive of their opposition, if he got the posts of Regius Professor & Garden Curator the faculty would have to accept him. Only the College Professorship is in the gift of the Town Council, it would be the post devalued & JDH would be happy to free of it & the Council's oversight in exchange for the reduced salary. He concludes that it has all become a matter of politics. One Councillor suggested that JDH take Balfour's current position at Glasgow claiming it was of equal value, JDH disabused him. JDH mentions some people he has seen, or expects to soon, in Edinburgh: Nicoll, the Gibson Craigs, Deucher[?], Muir, Henderson & Smith, the Sands & Lord Falnor[?]. He also has invitations to Kilmun, Riccarton, the Smiths at Coulston, E. Hendersons & the Gardens.