JDH writes from Lisbon regarding his journey, letter sent with one to Miss Henslow. Anticipates good passage as far as Sidon but plans after reaching Egypt are uncertain, he will stay close to G.G. [Governor General]. Discusses how grandfather has invested JDH's money & how to draw money from W. & T.[?] after arrival in Calcutta [Kolkata]. Letter arrived at Portsmouth containing letters of introduction for JDH in Calcutta. Suggests Miss Cracroft would be liked by his family & should visit Kew & wants to know what friends of hers he should visit in India. Mother to forward this information through Mrs Kendal. Reports on progress with V.D.L. [van Diemen's Land] plants to be sent home by Dr Salmon, not Miller, along with the with the Niger m/s [manuscript]. Provisionally calls the new V.D.L. cruciferous plant Bretonia. This & the Fagus called ‘gunnii’ from the m/s of Gunn’s trip should be checked by Pl[anchon?] to see if names are occupied & characters drawn up. Dr Richardson to be informed what ship the plants are sent on so he can send case of bottles by the same via steamer to Barnes. JDH to write again from Gibraltar with account of Lisbon.

JDH hopes to be at Aden tomorrow. On arrival at Alexandria 4 Dec Ld Dalhousie insisted he belong to his suite in future. Left Alexandria on Sunday for Cairo. Travelled with Captain Henderson & officers using Transit Offices steamer along the Makmoudea [Mahmoudieh] Canal, discusses the canals construction & death of many Egyptians. Describes landscape, mentions Tamarix, Dates, Acacias, Cyprus & Myrtle. Switched to a pleasure packet steamer placed at their disposal by Mehmet Ali [Muhammad Ali]. Describes luxurious fittings in the part for Lord & Lady Dalhousie. The rest of them: including the Prime minister of Egypt, messed on deck in little cabins with simple facilities. Describes the Nile as about as broad as the Thames at Kew, mentions reading Bruce's and Salt's travels in the past. River banks are cliffs of mud showing successive layers of deposited soil to which Egypt owes its scanty vegetation. Saw lonely Arabs, Dromedary, tents, & donkeys. Beyond river banks wide spread uninhabited sand deserts. Irrigation attempted here & there, houses rare & always built near trees. Numerous boats such as figured in Bruce's journey. Describes first glimpse of the Pyramids & Cairo. Few miles before the town are Mehmet Ali's country gardens and Palaces of Shoobra [Shubra]. Thinks the Leicester Square Panorama gives an admirable idea of Cairo's location. During Cairo stay visited Ali Pasha's Rhoda Gardens but on the whole disappointed & outlines the difficulties of an exotic garden in Egypt. Mr Traill received him very cordially & showed him the gardens which JDH briefly describes. Letter continues Aden 19 Dec. Describes Aden as wonderful, bleak & barren. Dr M[?] has gone to Bombay for good & is now at Scinde [Sindh]. The bulbs JDH would have are not above ground & everything but Capparis, & a few other things are burnt up. He has sent Lord Auckland's parcel of seed onto Bombay [Mumbai].

JDH describes his journey toward Ceylon [Sri Lanka] via Egypt, Suez, Red Sea & Aden. Writes of his time Cairo & the agriculture, vegetation & landscape of the region, the only trees are date palms, Acacia lebbek & Sycamore figs. Enumerates species seen on visit to Rhoda Gardens with Mr Traill, discusses problems of having this garden on an island in the Nile & recommends WJH read Traill's account in GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. Also writes observations of: visit to Fojal Forest with officers of the Sidon; the Pyramids; Cairo Pass tombs visited with the Governor General; fossil forest in the limestone desert; vegetation outside Cairo, mainly Capparideae, Zygophyylleae, Rutaceae & Hyoscyamus; dining with the with Consul General, a brother of Capt. Murray RN. Describes transit from Aleaxandria to Suez at the Pasha agents' expense. Ld & Lady D travelled by Barouche, vans transported Dr Bell, Jane, Courtenay, Capt. Henderson & various servants on roads the Arabs are bribed to maintain, Colocynth [Citrullus colocynthis] the only plant. Describes views of Red Sea & Sinai & the sterile landscape around Suez. At Suez met Col Heaney & son, Matilda Rigby & husband. Sailed down Red Sea in the 'Moozuffer' under Captain Ethersley. Sargassum prevalent at about latitude 20, describes islands passed. Boatswain killed. Saw conferovid plant described by Montagne in the ANNALES TRICHOSEMINA RYTHREENA. Passed Mocha & Strait of Babel Mandeb before arriving at Aden. Discusses wind phenomena & saltiness of Red Sea. Describes Aden volcano as resembling St Helena but even more barren than Green Mt in Ascension. Shore wooded with Acacias, Dates, and Mangroves. G.G. wants reports on tea districts of India. Assam did not enter into JDH's calculations. Also includes a printed black and white illustration entitled: ADEN "THE GIBRALTAR OF THE RED SEA".

JDH describes arrival at Point de Galle 31 Dec. Compares Cape Comorin, Cape of Good Hope & Cape Horn. Met by [George] Gardner [GG] with invitation from Lord Torrington to visit Candy [Kandy] but no time. Describes native peoples. Notes Thespesia populnea, Jack & Mango trees, & valuable timbers. Walked wooded lanes with GG, reminded of Amsterdam & Lyden. Showed GG home similar to Hartecamp, Linnaeus’ residence. Lists plant species in damp, very wet & dryer areas. Names fern species & common weeds, tropical roadside genera & palms. Discusses useful plants; Sonneratia acida wood for boxes, Terminalia catappa embryo eaten for dessert, Ficus demonum [F. daemonum] leaves to polish wood, & Artocarpus pubescens. Lists shrubs & small trees. Few parasites & epiphytes. Widespread Passiflora foetida introduced 1824, Bryophyllum & Allamanda cathartica. Discusses relationship between phosphorescent insects & humidity observed in Madras [Chennai], Calcutta [Kolkata], Behar, Birbhoom, Shahabad, Mizrapore & Darjeeling. Mosses fairly represented, algae very rare, lichens abundant. Bid farewell to Matilda. JDH uncertain he will visit Ceylon [Sri Lanka] again. Collected Trimeriza. Visited house with beautiful carved curiosities & jewels. Reminded of Professor Miller of Cambridge. Arrived Madras with GG, 5 Jan. Describes Lord Dalhousie’s military reception & vast number of natives in welcoming party. Met various knowledgeable people while staying with Lord Tweeddale. Walter Elliot directed him to Buddhist antiquities. Discusses winged lion familiar from Syrian marbles & sketches by Walter Forbes. [Brian Houghton] Hodgson says they are evidence of Asian origin of the Buddhist religion. In another letter JDH will show how the physical geography has indicated the positions of the tribes of people as well as plants, & has regulated their migration. Spent a long time with WE at botanic garden under care of Captain Worcester'. Describes garden.

JDH has corresponded with Robert Wight regarding the address of Mrs Wight, currently in Scotland. Baillieu or Arnott may have more information regarding Mrs W. JDH asks for some things he forgot to be sent out to him via the Cape, incl. Lindley's THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM, his testimonials, Humboldt's letter & a copy of the RBG Kew guide. He refers to the Ladakh mission in Tibet. JDH is struggling with names of common plants that are unfamiliar to him. He discusses the Agri-Horticultural garden in Madras [Chennai] and the man who runs it, an amateur gardener: Captain Worcester who will send RBG Kew roots of mango trees, Notheria, Orchideae & palms as he is doing for Loddiges. JDH considers Walter Elliott the best man in Madras, he is knowledgeable about mammals & birds.

JDH describes his arrival at Madras harbour with Lord Dalhousie [James Andrew Broun-Ramsay], his daughter [Lady Susan Georgiana Hay], [Colonel Francis William Henry] Fane, Courtenay & Bell. They were met by the Marquis of Tweedale [George Hay] of whom JDH expresses a very low opinion, & later given a grand oriental welcome including large crowds, a military reception & bands playing God Save the Queen. JDH describes Madras, government house & his stay there & his opinion of the people he stayed with & encountered, including: ladies Tweedale & Dalhousie; Lord Arthur Hay, a collecting naturalist; Lord Dance; Major Garsten, previously of Abercrombie Place & now resident at the Court of the Nabob of Arat; General Cubbon, political agent for Mysore; Cubbon's surgeon who knew about cotton growing in the hottest parts of India; Mr & Mrs Walter Elliott, collectors of antiquities; & the Wedderburn's, friends of Matilda Ripley[?]. JDH also describes the bungalow in the grounds of government house where he stayed & the sumptuous tents that the aide de camps live in. He mentions Admiral Highfield of the 'Vernon' and Sir Blackwood of the 'Fox'. The latter is going to survey the Teak forest of Moulmein [Mawlamyine, Burma] as the Teak on the Malabar coast has been exhausted. JDH mentions his preparations for onward travel: securing Giddy's collector and looking for servants to employ. JDH also describes some street performers & a levee presided over by Dalhousie. JDH spent most of his time at the Horticultural Society Garden. From Calcutta [Kolkata] JDH writes that he values Bessy's letters, is plagued by mosquitoes, met Robert Reddie & plans to go to Midnapore & Burdwan with Guney[?].

JDH gives his opinion of John McClelland [JMC], his efforts to prepare William Griffith's [WG] work for publication & the changes he is making to the East India Company Botanical Garden, Calcutta [Kolkata]. Mentions four monuments in the Garden: to General Kyd, to Roxburgh, to Jack & to Griffith & some of the most beautiful plants: palms, mahogany, Terminalis, Naucleas, DIllenias & Tectona grandis. Government are nervous about the management of the Garden as Nathaniel Wallich [NW] was not cooperative as Superintendant . JDH is hopeful for the Garden under Hugh Falconer. JDH is complementary about WG's drawings, which are being lithographed & comments on the extent & quality of his writings & maps. WG's published work will represent mosses & Hepaticae, grasses & Cyperaceae, other phaenogamae, & new or rare species, not ferns. WJH should have got WG's fern specimens from Bootan [Bhutan], Mishmee [Mishmi] & Ava[?]. JMC is also lithographing a Wallich catalogue. Gives his opinion of WG. JDH recounts a discussion with George Gardener about why WJH fell out with Fielding. Discusses: his supplies, including paper; the transportation of live plants to India for Sir L. Peel; & material for the Niger Flora. Mentions Mr Philips, Lord Auckland, Mr Colville, Mr Brown, Aunt Palgrave, Colonel Lawrence political resident at Lahore & Sir H. Willock. Discusses mosses returned by Wilson. Outlines his plan to travel with the geological surveyor Williams, previously companion to Henry Thomas De la Beche. The route will encompass Burdwan, Dermooda Valley, Soane river, Arungabad, Vindhya hills, Bijiggur & Chunar or Mirzapore. Describes how he will travel, the servants he will have & equipment they will carry. Mentions collecting around Calcutta & is surprised by the lack of mosses, Hepaticae, fungi & orchids. He hopes to get an Amherstia. JDH will go to Darjeeling in Mar. JDH conveys what he knows about members of the Ladakh expedition: Major Cunningham, Strachey & Thomas Thomson.

JDH was staying with Sir L. Peel then at Government House with Lady & Lord Dalhousie. JDH is now travelling with Mr Williams' camp & was supplied for the trip by Sir James Colvile; nephew of Lord Auckland. JDH travelled Dawk: by Palanquin, from Calcutta [Kolkata] via Hooghly & the McIntosh's house at Burdwan to the camp at Taldangah where he met Mr Theobold & F. Watkins. JDH describes the vegetation of elevated Bengal table land in dry season: Zizyphus, grasses, Saul & Lac tree, Bamboo: no ferns, Liliums, mosses, fungi. Describes Paras-Nath mountain [Shikharji], ascent on elephants, the mountain village: Moderbund [Madhuban] & its temples. Mustard, wheat, dole & pulse are cultivated there, also Banyan & tamarind trees & groves of Saul, Fig, leguminous trees, Peepul & mango. People of Paras-Nath mostly Hindu with some Mahomedans [Muslims]. JDH found Buddhist engravings & learned from Mr Haddon that Paras-Nath is place of pilgrimage. Witnessed a Poojah: a Hindu ceremony. Woods on the mountain were dense Shorea robusta with Bauhinia climbers & much bamboo, two ferns, Cheilanthes, Adiantum & Selaginela. JDH wonders at the lack of tropical vegetation. The vegetation at the top of the mountain incl. Clematis, Barberry, grass parasitic on trees & traces of herbaceous plants possibly Begonias. JDH will visit again in the wet season for Cryptogams. Animals incl. squirrels, few birds & butterflies. On the road to Benares JDH saw mineral springs & got Confervae there for Harvey. From Dunwar Pass travelled on alluvial plain & dry Soane River to Bidjegur & Mirzapore. Common plants: Fici, Acacias, Toddy Palm & local date. JDH witnessed a tropical aurora. Future plans incl. going to Catmandoo [Kathmandu] in Nepal or Cherra Poonjee [Cherrapunji] & Ava in the Cassya [Khasi] Hills. JDH mentions working on Griffith's papers, Gurney, Claude Hamilton, Finlay of Easter Hill, Robert Reddie, [Nathaniel] Wallich, Cantor, Colly Comar, the Asiatic Society, Miss Henlslow & Wheatstone.

JDH thanks WJH & mother for letters. Discusses sending live plants including from the Himalayas via Hugh Falconer [HF] at Calcutta [Kolkata] who would retain set of duplicates & forward the rest cost free to RBG Kew. Lists the advantages of this plan such as expense. Discusses character of & relationship with HF. They were great friends for two years & except for Lyell, Owen, Darwin & Forbes, JDH had no better friend. Letter continues 16 Feb, they depart up the Soane. The plate of Blume sent to HF was one of JDH’s incomplete copy of Bijdugur [Bidjegur or Bijagarh].

JDH is on the Ganges en route from Mirzapore to Bhagulpore & Darjeeling . He describes the climate & riverbank vegetation: grass, Dhal, Grain, Cicer arietinum lentil, Carthamus, Vetches, rice, Argemone mexicana, a Mudar possibly Calotropis sp., Ficus, Artocarpus, Leguminosae, Toddy Palm, a Phoenix, also animals. He describes his boat, Hindu crew & travelling set-up including sketch of boat. His servants are Clemanze & a Muslim called Thirkahl. He has a Pummalow [pomelo] in his provisions. At Ghazeepore JDH will meet Trench, see manufacture of rose water, & Bengal Army stud horses. At Dinapore he will see opium works & Dr. Irving. JDH explains the process of collecting & drying plants whilst with Williams, including drying paper used, the weather pattern & why it is the wrong season for collecting. Dryness in India means few Epiphytal Orchideae, ferns & Cryptogammia except Riccia. Other plants collected incl.: Vallisnera; Villarsiae; Potamogetons; one fungi, an Agaric; a Fissidens moss, few lichens & no Hepaticae. He describes an aboriginal bellows made of leaves procured for the Kew Museum, at fairs he buys boxes, beads & medicines. Roberts gave samples of cultivated grains. JDH critiques work done on the Calcutta [Kolkata] Botanic Gardens by William Griffith[WG] & Robert McLelland [McClelland] & outlines changes he advised Hugh Falconer make. He describes gale & dust storm of 18 Mar. Lord Dalhousie made Gurney Assistant Surgeon of the General Hospital. At request of Colville JDH wrote to Lord Auckland. He discusses Auckland's reputation. Describes a gun bought from Brown. Wight has promised to get wood & seeds for Kew. JDH wants permission from the Rajah to enter Sikkim. Discusses going to north of Bhutan to Tibet in the current climate of trade & war with China & the likely flora. The richest botanical areas in India are Sikkim, upper Assam, Sylhet & Mishmee & Cosiah [Khasi] hills. Discusses his Bengal collection. Mentions WG's publications & Harvey's microscope.

JDH summarises the collection he has sent home. Now in Rajmahal Hills amongst Ferns, Orchids & Hoyas. In winter he will return to Rajmahal & Parasnath for Cryptogamia & animals. He has boxes of Patna wood for the Kew museum & will get more items. JDH met Dr Gordon at Mirzapore, Fred Thomson at Benare & Wallace, Trench & others at Ghazeepore, where he saw rose garden & manufacture of rose water & Attar. At Dinapore [Danapur] missed Captain Hemchman but met Captain Doria. At Patna stayed with Irvine who went with WJH to Slaffa & collected Fucus balticus; visited the opium factory & got a set of their tools; met a son of Admiral Beaufort & through him heard of Mrs L.P. Wilson’s death. In India JDH is known from James Clark Ross's account of their voyage. Thanked Lord Dalhousie for appointing Gurney. At Morghyr he & Dr Hastings visited hot springs where they worship the Confervae, could not collect them as at Sarroukbund. At Bhungalpore [Bhagalpur] staying with Grant & Raikes, has met Clergyman Vaux & written account of Major Napleton's horticultural garden for JOURNAL OF BOTANY, the curator is named Ross. Mr Pontel cultivates flowers & has given JDH a bamboo & Bauhinia bark bow with reed arrows. JDH will return for mineral & fossil woods for Henry de la Beche. Will travel via Purnah & Titalyah. Enumerates his expenses. He has recommended the Governor protect timber trees like Walnut & Sal. Mentions poor state of materia medica & science in India. Writing from Colgong [Kahalgaon] 8 Apr adds he met Mr Alexander & is staying at an Indigo planter's house overlooking the Ganges & a landscape of Casuarina, mango groves, Tamarind milia, Ficus religiosa or 'Peepul', Borassus, Phoenix, sand flats & distant Himalayas. He anticipates luxuriant flora at Darjeeling. JDH prefers up-country India to Calcutta [Kolkata]. Mentions Thomas Thomson, Vicary, MacIvor in Madras [Chennai], Brewster's article in the N. BRITISH REVIEW, Lord Morpeth, Mr Phillippe, Lord Auckland, Lawrence Peel.

An account of the geology & vegetation in Indian Plains JDH traversed with Mr Williams' Geological Survey. Area covered was south of the Ganges along the Grand Trunk Road & Soane River encompassing Rotas Ghur & Bidjegur [Bijaigarh] hill forts, the Kymore [Kumaon] & Vindhya hills, Parasnath, Hooghly, Burdwan, Taldangah, Dunwar Pass, Bind Hills, Sultanganje & Calgong, Chunar Rock, table lands of Berbhoom [Birbhum] & Behar, Mirzapur & Bhangulpore [Bhagalpur]. Describes the topography of the landscape & common rocks incl: granite, Hornblende schist, sandstone, quartz, coal nurseries & limestone. He travelled through plains & wooded hills. Comments on extent of mountain ranges in India, one immense range comprising the Rajmahals & Sylhet hills, another the Kymaon [Kumaon] & Vindhya hills, which bounds the Soane & Nerbudda & stretches to the Arabian Sea. The positions of these ranges influence vegetation. The alluvium & kunker which covers everything, the uniform dry climate & flat land exposed to desert winds from Hindustan & solar radiation also determine vegetation. Vegetation lacks variety because of these factors, which override the influences of altitude & latitude; forms are found indicative of altitude in the Nilgherries [Nilgiris] & Ceylon. Flora is less luxuriant beyond the Ganges delta with fewer palms & grasses & more thorny shrubs. The richest areas: Parasnath & upper valleys of the Soane have only a few spp of tree, unadorned with moss or lichen. Bamboo & Ramin replace the Urticae & ferns of moister areas. Timber trees higher up are: Terminalias, Bassia & Diospyros. Lower down are mangos, Tamarind, Figs & Acacias. Soil sterility & aridity limit species of tree: Boswellia, Stercutis, Euphorbiae, & Cochlospermum gossypium will grow in rocky places, some flourish better than others but not depending on rock type. Moister climate nearer Bengal means more luxuriant flora marked by coconuts at Patna & reduction of Acacia arabica at mouth of the Soane.

JDH is sending WJH part of Niger Flora to be proofed by his mother, Jules Émile Planchon & George Bentham. Since last writing JDH has been over Darjeeling border into Sikkim, against orders of the Rajah, & to the border of Bootan [Bhutan]. He found: Cycas, India rubber tree, & Phoenix. As route descended, European genera such as: Oak, Maple, Birch, Alder Hydrangea, Violet, Hypericum & Rubiaceae became: Araliaceae, Alsophila, Urticae & scandent Leguminosa & at still lower altitude: Shorea robusta, Cedrela toona, Dalbergia sissoo, Alstonia, Pinus longifolia, Saccharum, Sterculia Fici, Rubiaceae, Gnetum etc which continue to the plains. JDH is drawing interesting plants, incl: Paris sp, Stauntonia, Convallaria, Chrysosplenium, Coptis, Sanicula, Magnolia & 3 Rhododendrons incl. a beautiful one with sweet scented white blooms. Palms are limited, Arums superb, one flowered in his tent & gave off significant stench & heat. Plans to go to Nepaul [Nepal] border & a hill only previously climbed by Captain Waugh of the Trigonometric Survey. Describes weather. Is sketching Himalayan landscape. Has found wild banana & orange. Is collecting woods & implements incl. cups made from knots of trees, a silver dagger from a Tibetan Lama, & a rosary made from amber, Cornelian, agate & vegetable beads. Not yet season for grains. Bamboo is staple product. Describes hard working Lepcha collectors & compares to lazy Bengalis. Discusses money affairs incl. salary & dealing with Barclay & with Findlay's house: McVicar Smith & Coy of Calcutta [Kolkata]. Will stay with Brian Houghton Hodgson; oriental scholar & zoologist. If allowed JDH will travel to Sikkim snows, if not to the Barrampoota [Brahmaputra], Assam & Sadiya & ascend Dapha Bum mountain. Will visit Jenkins at Gowahatty [Guwahati] & the Tea districts, Mopling fir forest, Cossya [Khasi] hills, Cherra Poonjee [Cherrapunjee] & Munneepore [Manipur] in Ava. Once back from Tongolo JDH will send live plants via Hugh Falconer at Calcutta.

JDH sends this letter accompanying some specimens [not present] for his father, William Jackson Hooker. He discusses his monograph of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] plants, it is a revision of WJH's papers in the BOTANICAL JOURNAL & CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE[?] & needs the addition of Malvaceous plants from ICONES PLANTARUM & Brown's genus Stenopetalum from De Candolle. It is to be printed in the ANNALS & Mr Taylor will send copies for Sir John Franklin, Captain [James Clark] Ross etc. JDH expects the expedition to leave VDL for the ice in Oct 1840. Discusses the need to revise his description for the ICONES PLANTARUM. JDH's collection may be extensive enough to warrant adding new VDL genera to future volumes of the FLORA BOREALI AMERICANA. JDH is now considered the naturalist to the expedition though his nominal rank is as a medical officer [assistant surgeon].

JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, of the progress of the expedition via Madeira & Tenerife. Describes brief trip ashore at Santa Cruz & character & vegetation of the different islands of Cape Verde: wooded St Antaois, salt plain Sal & volcanic St. Jago. Collected at Porto Praya on St Jago, has wanted to visit the island since reading Christian Smith's account & recommended Lippold go, suggests how other botanists should collect there from a base in St Domingo. Saw the rocks of St Paul from the ship & his ship mates brought him a specimen of seaweed. On the coast are birds such as boobies & noddies. A Grapsus crab that steals their eggs. Considered going across the Atlantic to Pernambuco, Brazil, where JDH could have seen Adamson, Gardner & Louder. Instead they travelled via Trinidad, JDH describes the appearance of the island & the sparse vegetation, all the trees appeared to have been destroyed by the introduction of goats, there was only grass, tufts of Cyperus & a tree fern. Describes the voyage to St Helena, which was slowed down by the inferior sister ship HMS 'Terror'. JDH spent the time working on his plants in Captain Ross' cabin, drawing sea animals; crustacea & mollusca brought up in the towing nets, & taking meteorological readings. At St Helena he gave Harvey's letter to Chief Justice Wilde who has a house on Diana's Peak, the only place Dicksonia arborea grows & he has a new Brazil Araucaria in his garden. Describes the island & vegetation: it is largely barren but there are Scotch firs, a cabbage tree, Furze, 2 Rubus[?], introduced blackberry, native raspberry, a Ruellia, barren mosses, a Scotheimia, ferns & a tree fern. JDH is disappointed with his plant collection but has done all he can, there are sets for WJH, the Admiralty, Ross & Wilmot. JDH is also keeping a journal & sketchbook. McCormick has made a geological collection for Dr Fritton. JDH is reluctant to send specimens to the Royal Society Commission on Botany. Discusses his future career as a botanist & the pros & cons of naval service for a naturalist. The thought that no other botanist will go where he has on the expedition is appealing. Also includes two enclosures: some lengthy descriptions of excursions to: the Curral in Madeira, Tenerife, Porto Praya, St Jago & St Domingo valley in the Cape Verde Islands & some journal extracts dating from Dec 1839 & Feb 1840.

Since he last wrote to his father, William Jackson Hooker, JDH has botanised at St Helena, most notable for cryptogams. JDH learnt about the island flora from Chief Justice Wilde & the Military Chaplain Mr Helps, who assisted Tournaut[?] of Dr Thomson's lab. JDH could not find Beatsonia or Mikania. He collected Commidendrum, Melanodendron & Lachanodes. Other noteworthy collections include Trimiris, Roellas & ferns. JDH dries his plant on HMS 'Erebus' by hanging them outside, some have suffered in extreme weather & the conditions of the tropics. His main collecting tools are a leather portfolio & vasculum. Using a microscope JDH draws marine animals, some of which are luminous; mostly Entomostraceous Crustacea, Pyrosoma & Sertulariae. Blainville's ACTINOLOGIE & Edwards' CRUSTACEA are his references for this work. Approaching the Cape of Good Hope JDH first saw floating seaweeds, a submarine forest with an ecosystem of fish, parasites, corals, shells, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, actinia [anemones] etc. He describes the main seaweed, a Laminaria. JDH & Captain Ross work on the marine specimens whilst McCormick is only interested in ornithology & geology so JDH is effectively the voyage naturalist. JDH describes the excitement of every new landfall. He discusses what he will include in his Antarctic Flora. Next the expedition goes to Crozet, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen's Land, Islands of St. Paul & Amsterdam, New Zealand, then the ice of Antarctica. The artillery officer, Wilmot, will be staying at the Cape. His brother Augustine Wilmot is a medical student at Edinburgh, his father MP for Warwickshire. The HMS 'Terror's' artillery officer, Mr LeFroy, stayed at St Helena. JDH asks for some natural history books & about joining the Linnean Society. He discusses sending specimens home, all should go to the Admiralty. Suggests WJH could exchange plants with Wilde. JDH has received no letters at Simons Bay, the Cape. He will write to his sisters at Camden House.

JDH explains to his father, William Jackson Hooker, how he forgot to pay for a gun procured in Glasgow. Assures WJH that his family are constantly in his thoughts & that he grieves the death of his brother William [Dawson Hooker]. Explains how he caught rheumatic fever in Madeira staying with Mr Muir. Everyone got prickly heat on entering the tropics but otherwise JDH has been healthy. JDH recounts the expedition's recent progress. He procured plants at Simon's Town, which they left on 6 Apr [1840] heading south via Marion Island & the Crozets. He describes the islands' appearance from the sea, they were unable to land due to stormy weather. Arrived Christmas Harbour, Kerguelen's Land, 12 May. Describes the appearance of these volcanic islands, which match Captain Cook's account, & notes how fierce the winter winds are. Describes his botanical excursions & findings whilst in Kerguelen's Land. McCormick made a geological collection of Quartz crystals, zeolites, coal & fossil wood. Lists the numbers of things he has found from various orders, fungi, musci, Rosaceae etc & particularly notes new genera of Cotrelleae & Umbelliferae. Briefly describes: features of a new Crucifera which they ate, new Ranunculus, Juncus & Amarantheae & a plant that flowers under the ice & belongs to no known natural order. JDH has made drawings of all the phanerogamic plants he found, based on dissections done under the microscope given to him by [James] Dalton. Describes preparing & storing the plants on board ship with Captain Ross. Took 3 weeks to sail 300 miles to Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], describes how the HMS 'Erebus' weathers storms well. Mentions collecting seaweeds, letters from [George] Bentham & Mr Almond & letters owed to Childres, Boott & Brown. [Ronald Campbell] Gunn has been appointed Governor Sir John Franklin's secretary. JDH hopes to go to Oyster Bay.

JDH writes to his father, William Jackson Hooker, whose last letter told of the death of JDH's brother William Dawson Hooker. JDH's messmate Yule is also bereaved, he describes a walk the two took amongst Eucalyptus trees. It is winter in Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] but JDH has collected a Splachnum & Mniarum forsteri. Describes his collecting habits on Kerguelen Island, where his focus was Cryptogams & seaweeds. JDH's collections now total 700 plants incl. 350 from Cape [of Good Hope]. Describes his & [Ronald] Gunn's time together in Tasmania & the climate & recent weather. Has ascended Mt Wellington & collected some new species. Plans excursions to New Norfolk, the lakes & Port Arthur with the Governor Sir John Franklin. Went to Richmond via Grasstree Hill & met [Thomas] Gregson & Major De Gillon. Declined a trip to Launceston & Oyster Bay proposed by Lady [Jane] Franklin, Kaye[?] went instead. Cryptogammia JDH has collected in Tasmania incl: Hookeria pennata, many lichens & Andraea. Has some seed vessels of Legumes for Bentham. Mentions Bentham's citation for Erica McKayi in De Candolle [PRODROMUS], Thomas Thomson collecting in Aden, Wallich's son at Hull, meeting Mr Gouldie & Dr Coverdale. JDH wants to look at mosses with local microscopist Valentine, makes some observations on calyptrae & setae in mosses, especially Orthotriceae. Discusses' Gunn's new Dawsonia, lack of payment to Gunn from [John Edward] Gray for animals & value of Gunn's correspondence & collections to contribute to ICONES [PLANTARUM]. Comments on WJH's publications incl. the new JOURNAL OF BOTANY. Lady Franklin has set up a Natural History Society & is planning a botanic garden at Kangaroo Bottom, Mt Wellington, JDH describes the site & wild vegetation. Notes the orchids he has found incl. Corysanthes fimbriata & the touch sensitive Pterostylides labellum. The Phanerogams JDH & Captain Ross collected in Kerguelen Island were mostly ruined in a gale, some incl. the cabbage are recovering.

JDH writes to give his father, William Jackson Hooker, an account of Kerguelen Island. First comments on places they passed on the voyage there. Agulhas bank; rich with marine animals, Macrocystis pyrifera & seas birds incl. Albatross & Cape Pigeon which provided fresh meat. Marion Island; noted for volcanic mountains, penguin colonies, white coral & diverse marine life. The Crozets; found far East of the mapped position. Possession Island; barren of all but grass & moss. May 6th reached Bligh's Cap. After days of delay due to bad weather landed at Christmas Harbour, Kerguelen Island, on 12th. Describes the harbour, terraced mountains, rocky landscape & persistently violent seas, with reference to account by Captain Cook. Describes the Kerguelen Island vegetation. First plants encountered are seaweed & lichens on the rocks, then a long grass Agrostis species, a Ranunculus & a Compositae abundant in bogs & covered with Callitriche & Portulaceaous plants. Gives detailed description of the Kerguelen cabbage incl. its taste & medicinal properties i.e. preventing scurvy & heart burn. Also describes an unmbelliferous plant that can cover many acres & is the only plant that does not seem to be endemic to Kerguelen. Also notes: Acaena, a Silene of elusive classification, a Poa grass, a marsh Aira & a Juncus that grows near lakes. Describes the characteristics & habitat of a plant that flowers under the frozen lakes, it may be of a new natural order though it has some features of Scrophulariaceae, Lentibulariaceae & Primulaceae. Makes some observations on the winter climate. Notes that there is 1 aquatic plant & 1 dry land plant, most vegetation grows in between in moist peaty areas. The mosses & Jungermannia were alpine & arctic forms. Describes the proliferation of lichens in different areas, though there are no large trees so no parasitical lichens. Describes prolific seaweeds esp. pyrifera & Laminaria radiata which protect limpet colonies. The only fungi is a Peziza.

JDH thanks his father, William Jackson Hooker, for the constructive criticism of his collections, the first he has made in a new country. The collections JDH is leaving for [Ronald Campbell] Gunn to send home are better. Since arriving in Hobart Town [Tasmania, Australia] JDH has only worked on botany, collecting the spring plants in locales advised by Gunn & shunning society with the exception of attending Government house when necessary & a ball given for the ships' officers. Explains why it is impossible for him to collect in the Western tier during the current season. Notes that flora in the centre of the island is less advanced; Acacia mollissima only just in bud in the interior. Describes a collecting excursion to Lake Echo, en route JDH stayed in a stock keeper's hut in Marlborough. Describes the interior of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] as a table land of marshes covered in dead Eucalyptus timber - all the trees were killed in the 1837 frost along with the undergrowth of Leptosperma, Bedfordia & Fagus cunninghamii. All nature suffered that year, hundreds of kangaroos died. The forest only survives on the highest hills, where JDH gathered the 'Cyder tree' Eucalyptus, but it was the wrong season to tap for its fluid. On return trip JDH travelled via Hamilton & the estate of the clergyman Mr Naylor at Cheny[?] on the River Derwent. By the river are: Phebalium retusum, Pleurandras, Eurybius & many flowering shrubs. The cataracts [gorge] is densely wooded & full of bush kangaroo & plants new to JDH: a beautiful Gleichenia, Sprengelia, some Eucalypti & Acacia. Briefly discusses novel species he has found amongst the gum trees & the Crucifera & Cryptandra of Van Diemen's Land. Mentions a feature of the labella of Pterostlides [Pterostyllis] orchids. Is still working on his sketches of Kerguelen's Land plants.