Sends several samples of ferrocyanide JH had requested.

JDH thanks his sister Elizabeth 'Bessy' Hooker for her letter & for one dictated by their dying sister Mary Harriet Hooker. It has been a long time since JDH has seen his family, he has taken to whistling tunes that remind him of them. For music the ship has an untalented fiddler & the purser plays a flute he claims was given to him by 'Peter Pindar' or Dr Wolcot. During the cruise south from Bay of Islands, [New Zealand] JDH has been making notes & learning German. The ships 'Erebus' & 'Terror' spent Christmas week tied to either side of a 2 acre piece of flat ice covered in snow, into which they carved out roads between the ships, racing grounds & a saloon with seats & dance floor. JDH describes how he & Davis sculpted ice statues of Hebe, the Sphynx, pillars & Etruscan vases. Describes their New Year's festivities on the same ice berg, incl, pig racing, raising as much noise as possible with bells, cannons, cow horns & cheering, & playing games such as 'Baste the Bear' & 'Bell the Ring'. Writes how they dined on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, New Year's day & Twelfth Night. Discusses the animals they had on board during the cruise: cat called Phantome, goats & a tame opossum. The expedition does not get much news from home & they eagerly watch for ships heading to harbour in the Falkland Islands. They know that the Ministry has changed & wonder how it will effect their mission & William Jackson Hooker as newly appointed Director of RBG Kew. Over the last year the expedition has been successful & JDH hopes the Royal Society is pleased. JDH has worn out the muffatees his sister knitted for him but does not think she will be able to send more before they reach the Cape of Good Hope. JDH hopes the expedition will now go South in Weddell's tracks & get further than the French did under Admiral D'Urville. Wilkes' American expedition has been 'extinguished', JDH would like to talk about this with Asa Gray who he nicknames 'Bowie Knife'.

JDH writes to his Aunt, Elizabeth Palgrave, whom he last addressed from the Bay of Islands, [New Zealand]. The expedition was unable to stop at Chatham Islands & has been waiting for a chance to communicate with home whilst anchored at Berkeley Sound, Falkland Islands. He describes the expedition's most recent cruise in the Antarctica region, they spent all 2 months in the pack ice making no land stops, but did manage to get beyond the 68 degree southern latitude despite bad weather. Discusses the history of colonisation in the Falkland Islands which have recently been claimed by the English from the South American Republic. Briefly describes the landscape, geology & botany of the Falkland Islands. The vegetation is mainly a Carex grass or sedge used for fodder, JDH speculates about what crops could be grown. The population is 60 people, sappers, miners & gauchos who herd cattle. The Governor is Lieutenant Moody, & JDH has been advising him on useful plants that could be grown to improve the colony, e.g. Triticum for thatching & Poa & Agrostides for sheep lawns. Animals include geese, rabbits, snipe & wild ducks all hunted for meat, JDH lists the kill from a successful hunting party he joined. The expedition will go ashore here not at Rio de Janiero for ship repairs. JDH spends his time collecting plants & skinning birds. He has a white Petrel for his cousins shot at 78 degrees southern latitude, he mentions how the petrel is caught & skinned. The expedition is anxious to know how their success has been received at home. JDH mentions three naval promotions, those of Francis Crozier, Edward Joseph Bird & Alexander Smith. Dayman left the ship for the Hobart Town Observatory under Sir John Franklin. JDH wonders about his father, William Jackson Hooker, now that the Ministry has changed, all he knows is that WJH is still on the Council of the Royal Society. Asks if the Thames floods reached the Hooker's new home at Brick Farm, which JDH heard about from Dr Sinclair.