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Dalton, Reverend James in correspondent 
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From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Reverend James Dalton
Date:
26 April 1842
Source of text:
JDH/1/2 f.95-96, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Summary:

JDH apologises for not writing to his Godfather, James Dalton, since leaving for Antarctica. Though he has never met Dalton JDH has fond memories of his house & church in Croft. JDH explains that he joined Captain Ross's expedition to be of service to England as well as to pursue botany & collect new species from obscure places. Describes his living situation on board ship. At sea he spends his time examining & drawing marine animals & dissecting mosses & plants. The microscope Dalton gifted to JDH is especially helpful with studying mosses, the order which Dalton also studies. The expedition has visited many islands: Madeira, Tenerife, The Cape Verde Islands, St Paul's Rock in the Atlantic, Trindade near Brazil & then St Helena before reaching the Cape of Good Hope. At each place they stopped briefly to take magnetic observations. They spent 3 months in Kerguelen's Land, previously described by Captain Cook, & set up an observatory there to take readings simultaneously with Europe, Asia & America. At sea they take meteorological readings & whenever possible use a tow net to collect sea life such as Mollusca. JDH observes that marine animals from the most southerly latitudes are similar to those from the Arctic whilst the botany of the two polar regions is very different. They spent a long time at Hobart, [New Zealand] where the Governor Sir John Franklin was very hospitable, & from there sailed into the ice. Describes the excitement of going to this unfamiliar, unexplored environment & getting so far south even though they eventually encountered a permanent ice barrier [Ross Ice Shelf]. They were also able to achieve their goal of laying down the position of the South Magnetic Pole. JDH spent some time with the Macleay family at Sydney. He discusses the natural history work of William Sharp Macleay. At the Bay of Islands JDH collected 70 species of Moss, incl: Hypnum Menziesii & Hookeria Cristata. Describes their second more arduous trip south through the ice.

Contributor:
Hooker Project