The HMS 'Erebus' has just returned from a 136 day cruise south on which they reached a more southerly latitude than the French or American expeditions. This is the first opportunity JDH has had to reply to his mother, Maria Hooker's, letter. He describes being confined to ship & how the vessels bear up in rough conditions in the Southern Ocean. JDH hopes his family is now settled in their new home at Kew 'Brick Farm House'. Comments that it has been so long since he saw a woman that they have become mythical creatures to him. Writes of his feelings at the illness of his sisters Elizabeth & Mary & the likelihood that Mary will die while he is at sea. The expedition will go south once again via St Martins cove near Cape Horn, following [James] Weddell's route, they hope to get further south than [Jules] D'Urville. The 'Erebus' will have to go to Rio de Janeiro for repairs. They will spend some months at the Falkland Islands & JDH will study the mosses, lichens & seaweed as recommended by [William Henry] Harvey. Discusses the prospect of becoming a member of the Athenaeum Club & Linnean Society. Despite the cold conditions JDH reports his health has been perfect. He was sometimes hungry during the voyage south as food supplies had to be carefully managed to make them last their time in the ice. Some bad tinned food was sold to them, they had livestock on board to slaughter for fresh meat & overall provisions were better than on their previous trip southward. They named one of the pigs Miss Franklin, which they considered an honour & compliment to the lady. JDH owes letters to various family members & scientific correspondents, whom he lists. Discusses some 'jewels' sent to for him through [Ronald] Gunn. Mentions Archibald Smith & 'little Minah' of the Smith family, his Scottish friends. JDH would rather send home his surplus pay than waste it in expensive ports. They have few newspapers but JDH has seen his father listed as on the council of the Royal Society.
The Joseph Dalton Hooker Collection
The Joseph Dalton Hooker Correspondence Project at Kew is making available online the personal and scientific correspondence of the botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens’ Kew from 1865-1885. The project was conceived by staff of The University of Sussex and Kew's Library, Art and Archive department and began as a partnership between Kew and the University of Sussex's Centre for World Environmental History. It has been made possible by support from the Stevenson Family Charitable Trust. Letter summaries can be searched through Ɛpsilon, with links to images and transcriptions at the project site at Kew (https://www.kew.org/explore-our-collections/correspondence-collections/joseph-hooker-collections).