JDH last wrote to his father, William Jackson Hooker, from Bay of Islands. Expedition omitted Chatham Islands & has been in open sea for 135 days but now nears Berkeley Sound, Falkland Islands. Before reaching an ice barrier they went to a record latitude south. Discusses Sargasso weed, seaweed propagating in open sea, e.g. Macrostaysis pyrifera, & implications for plant distribution. JDH will write to Ward re. New Zealand moss. Heard from Sinclair about WJH's move to Brick Farm House, that RBG Kew is to be a public park & that Balfour got the [botany] chair at Glasgow University not Arnott. Recalls that the Hookers were shunned by most Glasgow academics but he has fond wishes for some of their true Glasgow friends. Is glad James Mitchell is working for Lord Eastnor. Discusses publication of ICONES [PLANTARUM], Gardner's return to England, MONOGRAPH OF SOUTHERN FRAGI & a new sp. found by Bidwell. Describes distribution of Ballia brunoni in Kerguelen's Land & Auckland Islands. Discusses mosses of Campbell Island: new Sclotheimias, Holomitrion perichaetiale, & an Andreaea whose unusual structure he describes. Mentions a NZ Polytricha like Dawsonia, Sprengel's Maschalocarpus ciliatus, a new Hookeria from Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] & endemic H. cristata. Pities Swainson going to NZ, explains the shortcomings of the colony & notes some disreputable emigrants: Baron Thierry, Mr Macdonnell & Mr Polack but praises the missionaries esp. Colenso. Letter continues dated 8 Apr [1842] with a description of East Falkland incl. birds: Cormorant, Cape Pigeon, Albatross & Cook's blue nosed petrel. Describes procuring skins of birds, but says he never lets ornithology overtake botany. Has some NZ shells for his sister, Maria Hooker. Hopes to go to Rio de Janeiro & collect Cryptogamia for Harvey. Reports landing at Port Louis, a mining town in a desolate landscape where the purser met with Governor Moody. Expects to be home 1843 after crossing D'Urville's Barrier in Weddell's track.

JDH writes to his father, William Jackson Hooker, to inform him of the expedition's movements & his own activities. He has previously sent WJH some drawings & a map showing the position of Mount Erebus. They did not stop at the Chathams so JDH could not send the live New Zealand tree ferns & pines, it being too costly for Captain Ross to pay freight via Sydney. JDH has collected many new moss & lichen species, but not many new plants. He has made extensive notes & drawings of the New Zealand flora & landscape. Mentions that the New Zealand Fagus is the same Birch found in the Straits of Magellan according to Vancouver's VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY TO THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN. Mentions a mistake in his notes re. the number of anthers in Oreobolus. In New Zealand JDH became good friends with Dr Sinclair via whom he sends a parasitic caterpillar fungus from Rev Taylor of Waimate. It was found near Yass on the Murrumbidgee River in New Holland [Australia] by John Allan who has also provided information, which JDH transcribes. JDH also recounts what he found out about the habits of Spheria robertsii, another fungus that uses Caterpillars as a host. The letter continues under date May 3 [1842] JDH having returned from a hunt. JDH is sending letters on the ship 'Arrow' via Rio de Janeiro to his family, Bentham, Dalton & the Bootts. He also intends to write to Ward & Brown. In the Falkland Islands he has collected: Balka Brunonii, new Cardamine, some Grasses, a Halorageous Kerguelen's Land plant, a Ranunculus. Andreae are common & other Mosses are in fruit. Discusses investigation of Tussac Grass [Poa flabellata], a remarkable species of Carex Governor Moody wants information about. A Mr Wright has been botanising in the Falklands & Wilmot has been relieved at the Cape. JDH sends best wishes to Captain Beaufort & the Sabines. The expedition is in need of supplies, JDH needs spectacles & packing paper & wants to hear about RBG Kew & [George] Gardner. Sends regards from McCormick.

JDH writes this letter to his father, William Jackson Hooker, to accompany some articles ordered by JDH, Mr Gull & Lieutenant Smith. Captain Holt of the brig 'Champion' was to get the items at Valparaiso & deliver them to JDH et al back at the Falkland Islands. In the event that is not possible JDH has asked that they be forwarded to WJH with the bill.

JDH replies to letters from his father, William Jackson Hooker. JDH arrived at the Bay of Islands, [New Zealand] 18 Aug. At Port Jackson got 200 species incl. new Sclotheimia. Area is well known but JDH has found ferns & mosses new to Cunningham's flora. Collected animals from 400 fathoms, but no marine vegetation. In flower are: Vitex littoralis, Fuchsia excorticans & orchids incl. Pterostylis Banksii. Found a few lichens, fungi & seaweed. Met missionary, Colenso, through Captain King, they will collect Crytogammia. Describes landscape. Habitat wrong for Andraea, has found Trichostomum peridiatale, Neckera setosa & a Fissidens, looks for Dawsonia & Polytichium dendroides. Colenso will send live specimens incl. Hookeriae rotulata, pennata, quadrifaria & Leptostonum macrocarpona. Thanks Robb & Mitchell for letters. Hopes Thomson succeeds at the Calcutta Museum. Has few opportunities to botanize, is studying crustacea as a temp. alternative. Captain Ross has an excellent collection of marine zoology. Hopes that the findings of the expedition will be of scientific value & public interest. Next they go to Chatham Island, Falklands & the Cape. Hopes his sisters are well. Has concerns re. his Van Diemen's Land flora. Discusses spelling of VDL & name change to Tasmania. Points out errors in ICONES [PLANTARUM] re. Ranunc[ulus] pimpinellifolius & others. Mentions JOURNAL [OF BOTANY], Gardner's return, future plans, Arnott, completion of the Arctic Botany & 'Beechey's'. Compares Fitch's work in the GERENA FILICUM to Bauer's. Wants news from Athenaeum, Glasgow Association, Link & Klotzsch. Mentions Lindley's activities, Bentham's collections & Bagan at [Glasgow] University. JDH is sending a map & drawing in confidence. He stores collections in rum & tobacco casks. Has 20 bird skins, shells & insects for Maria. Describes a ball on the ships Erebus & Terror on Derwent [River], attended by John Franklin. Notes the Antarctica expedition has received less fanfare than Arctic ones.

JDH writes to his father, WJH, re. Falklands plants. Lichens are abundant, algae huge, mosses only now fruiting. He has found the same species as Gaudichaud & D'Urville & kept notes on distribution. Discusses mosses on East Falkland, incl: Andreaea, Sphangnum & Trichostoma. 30 lichens found incl Usnea melaxantha which he compares to a Kerguelen sp.. Collected 50 sp. of seaweed incl Macrocystis & Laminariae. Disagrees with Harvey re. Sphacelaria callitricha. Confervoid plants cover the bays. Fungi are scarce but Lyall will send some in spring, incl. large Agarici. Lists ferns collected, incl. a tiny new Aspidium. Asks that a contribution be made to William Burnett on his behalf. The expedition will soon leave for Cape Horn & St Martin's Cove or other port in Tierra del Fuego, allowing JDH to complete his flora of the Antarctic regions. Discusses Fagus sp. found there by Foster & Mirbel. Mentions 3 plants from sub-Antarctic islands which represent new natural orders. Mentions Niger Expedition. Discusses books on cryptogamic plants. Wants Gardner to help arrange his mosses. McLeary will collect moss for JDH in New Holland [Australia]. Discusses Quinary & circular classifications for cryptogamic plants. Mentions the sale of Bauer's drawings & Fitch illustrating GENERA FILICUM. Fielding of Staddagy Lodge has left his collection to the Botanical Society London. Describes walking from Berkeley Sound to Uranie Bay. Plants seen incl Macrocystis & Sticta. Birds observed: steamer ducks sandpiper, kelp goose, Carcara Hawk, gulls, Teal, oyster catcher & Chionis. Describes the quartz hills & the lichens that grow on them, Uranie Bay, a seaweed possibly D'urvillea, the sand hills & the sp. that grow there. Describes a Usnea. Berkeley is wrong about Darwin finding fungi on timber in the Falklands. JDH is sending a parcel to WJH, as well as plants it incls a sketch by Davis, veneer from HMS 'Terror's' rudder, kaurigum, & Tussac grass seeds to share with Edmonstone in the Shetlands.

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JDH writes that he is sending this note to his father, William Jackson Hooker, with 'Erebus' Seaman Richard Baxter, who has been invalided home. He asks WJH to assist Baxter if he asks. Baxter has been particularly kind to JDH, helping him when he was wet or cold. Baxter has not been in the Navy long enough to claim any benefits. He is not a drunk, his disease is 'organic'. JDH describes Baxter's physical appearance to WJH in a postscript.

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JDH explains why he has not been able to see his father, Sir William Jackson Hooker. He had Captain [James Clark] Ross's permission to leave the ship for home as soon as they arrived at Deptford or Woolwich but Mr Bird, the Commander, refused JDH leave.

JDH writes to his Father from HMS 'Erebus'. He reports that the expedition reached 71 degrees South on Mar 5, further south than anyone except Weddell. JDH recounts the details of the cruise, recording the latititude & conditions on dates from 17 Dec [1842] to 29 Mar [1843]. The expedition sailed via Berkeley Sound, Cape Pembroke, Clarence Island & South Shetlands. Throughout the letter JDH describes sailing in pack ice, bergs & floes. Saw: white Chionis, Petrels, Finner whales, Macrocystis seaweed, confervoid remains, seals & penguins. Encountered land previously charted under different names by D'Urville & Weddel: Terre Louis Philippe, Terre Joinville & Hope Island near Point Francaise. JDH describes & illustrates a new Sargassum collected by HMS 'Terror'. Describes the appearacnce & geology of land & islands seen, especially one unamed 'conical' island where JDH collected specimens of the most southerly plants incl Ulva crispa & Desmarestia aculeata; the only Antarctic & Arctic plants, & an algae he will name after his godfather Dalton. Received gifts from Her Majesty Queen Victoria. On 5 Feb sailed further South than D'Urville, their course was similar to Bellinghausen's. He describes the extreme boredom, discomfort, anxiety & danger of Antarctic exploration. Only Captain Ross JDH & possibly McCormick care about the science of the expedition, for the men there is no entertainment. Continues to recount their travels south through Mar until they could go no further. Re-crossed the Anatarctic circle 11 Mar heading for Cape Circumcision, Bouvet Island but could not find it. Describes a Lamaria, possibly D'urvillea utilis, collected Latitude 43, & compares it with other algae: Himanthalia & Ecklonia. At the Cape they will anchor at Simon's Bay. JDH will collect Cryptogamia & phenogamiae there & visit Mr Jardine & Baron Ludwig in Cape Town. JDH discusses preapring his Campbell Island mosses for publication. Mentions classification of Southern Gymostoma. Discusses Endlicher & Leary's clasfication of Musci & refers to Fries, Brown & Berkeley. Discusses his work on lichens, Flora of Falklands & geographical distribution of Antarctic plants. Mentions the lack of young British botanists. Commments on Smith & WJH's work on ferns. JDH believes a Stegamia from Kerguelen Islands to be the most Antarctic fern. Discusses his hopes for Captain Vidal & Watson's work on plant distribution. JDH thinks the difference in Falkland & Fuegian flora can be explained by his climatic observations. Mentions Prince Albert's interest in the expedition. JDH has collected some rocks from icebergs for Lyell. En route to Rio [de Janeiro] he will return to the study of marine animals. Working with a microscope & the harsh conditions in the ice have taxed JDH's eyes. The men of the 'Terror' have bred a cat for JDH's sister Bessy. Mentions his dog Skye at home. JDH discusses his finances, WJH's new journal & plans for RBG Kew as a public institution vs private royal garden.

Asks WJH to thank his son [J. D. Hooker, away on Antarctic survey] for his note. Has also read a letter JDH wrote to Lyell. Hopes JDH will publish a journal. If he publishes an Antarctic flora, CD will place his collection of South American alpine plants at his disposal.

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JDH informs his Father, William Jackson Hooker, that he has just returned to HMS 'Erebus' after dining on the HMS 'Lilly'. The 'Erebus' is reportedly leaving for St Helena the following day but JDH is uncertain whether this will really be the case. JDH has received his father's letters from Jan 1843, they were brought by HMS 'Samarang' along with copies of the ATHENAEUM, ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, BRITISH FLORA, NATURALISTS ALMANAC, & LONDON BOTANICAL JOURNAL. JDH is sending letters to Frank, Giffy, Sinclair, J. Adamson, Gardner, Aunt May & Grandmother Turner, Westwood, R. Brown, Grandfather Turner & Mitchell, all under cover to WJH & transmitted through Captain Beaufort.

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JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, that he is sending him some bird skins, through Lieutenant Matson of HMS 'Waterwitch'. They were collected by Lieutenant Oakley of the HMS 'Erebus' & are to be shared between them. JDH has more private collections to send home by first opportunity. By the ship 'Queen' JDH sent letters to his mother & sisters via Captain Beaufort. He left letters for his father at Simons' Bay [Simon's Town, South Africa] to be delivered by the yacht 'Waterwitch'. WJH's St Helena Correspondent, Bennett, & his widowed mother have the best garden on the island. Captain [James Clark] Ross intends to suggest JDH for promotion, along with Lyall, he proposes that JDH continue in Naval service to serve only on scientific expeditions as a naturalist. JDH explained that he would prefer to get a job on land & expected to be employed by WJH [at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew] but would not turn down a certain promotion given that he has not yet got a definite alternative. He would not want to enter 'ordinary service' or to go on any Government Expedition lasting longer than a year. Ross also intends to apply for a grant to publish the natural history of the voyage & wants the Navy to give JDH half pay whilst he prepares the botany section. Explains some changes that mean JDH will not have to pass the navy boards to qualify for promotion because of his diploma from Edinburgh. If given the opportunity to go on a short Navy expedition as naturalist JDH would take it. JDH is sending WJH moss drawings through the Hydrographer. The 'Erebus' is preparing to do some very deep sea soundings. JDH asks WJH to send his apologies to William Burnett for not sending him any collections, JDH is only allowed to send specimens to official government depots but will give Burnett or Henslow a set after publication. The Ross Antarctic expedition goes next to Ascension then Rio de Janeiro to set up observatories & JDH expects to be home sometime in Sep.

JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, that he expects to be home soon after this letter arrives. Captain Ross is keen to leave Rio de Janeiro as soon as the Bowsprit is replaced & before despatched from Monte Video can order them to stay. JDH reflects on the expedition now it is nearly over. He is glad to have done it, though it was not what he expected, & he would have found it tedious if not for the study of botany to fill his hours with. Captain Ross has been kind to JDH & he is grateful but he does not love the man & thinks he should have shown kindness to other deserving parties. JDH briefly speculates on his future with the Naval Service, before receiving a Surgeon's Commission he would have to take further exams at Edinburgh [University]. He would rather remain in the service than be a burden on his family but thinks he will be able to pay his way by acting as an assistant to his father in his work at Kew. JDH collected 22 different species of fern at St Helena & 8 at Ascension with only 1 species common to both. Some of JDH's duplicate Auckland Island plant specimens have begun to moulder but the New Zealand ferns are resisting the damp. He discusses the morphology of a Diplazium fern species from St Helena. JDH wrote to Brown from the Cape of Good Hope. Under the heading 8pm JDH continues that e has received a letter from [George] Gardner with letters of introduction to people in Rio, but JDH will have little time to make use of the introductions. JDH regrets that he has been prevented from making his planned excursion to Tejuca in the Sierra dos Organõs to collect Cladonia perfilata. JDH is pleased WJH has got Gardner a position with Fielding. He wishes the prospects for Arnott were as good.

[Responding to WH's 1843-12-6], JH has written to [William H.] Harvey and, in support of Harvey, to William R. Hamilton at Trinity College, Dublin. Thanks for invitation to visit Kew Gardens.

Discusses his success in growing in England various flowers JH brought back from the Cape.

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