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.

Likes what WH has outlined on botany for JH's Admiralty Manual. Suggests some additions.

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].

Extent of WH's manuscript for JH's Admiralty Manual is fine. Please send it as soon as possible.

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.

ARW will leave London for Liverpool, then will set sail for Para, northern Brazil. Seeks official letter from Hooker’s Kew museum authorizing him and Bates to collect specimens for them.

Thanks Hooker for letter of recommendation, which has helped them obtain passports. Will try to collect “interesting specimens for the Kew museum.”

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 recounts his excursion to Tonglo Mountain, the plants observed & the collections made. Explains that cold, wet weather made many of his servants sick & unable to work. The most hard working were his Christian servant Clemanze & the Lepchas. Describes habits of Lepchas. Tonglo is 1000ft higher than JDH has been before, this was reflected in vegetation: Iris, Unciniae, 2 Arums, 2 dwarf Panax, Anagallis, Rannunculus, Aconite, Rhubarb, Thalictrum, Convallaria, above them the dwarf Bamboo forming a little jungle, Rosa, Lonicera, Holboellea, Vacciniae, Arbutus, Currant, Rubus, Daphne & Balanophora. Describes 3 new Rhododendrons & promises drawings & plants sent via Calcutta [Kolkata]. He is very keen to get them to Kew. Also collected: a Yew, scarlet Crategus, Rosa, Pyrus, Prunus, Pyrus, 3 Berberis, Wallich's Kadsura grandiflora & an epiphytic orchid. Describes new purple Magnolia. There was no grass & few ferns, lichens & mosses: Cryptogams poor in general. Got no seeds but will return. Has temperature readings for Lindley. Describes sojourn in Lama village, he stayed in the temple & observed the priests' rituals, then ate fermented barley from a woven bamboo bowl. Mentions types of bamboo grown & many useful items made from it, which he is getting for the Kew museum. Also has samples of cloth dyed with Mungeet, indigo & Elaeocarpus. Collectors have returned from Nepal, beyond the snows, where the flora is very different despite the proximity. Most of their collection is rotten, a Frittilaria & a Primrose may survive. JDH will send more collectors, relationships with China & border powers mean he may not be able to go himself despite the efforts of his political friends: Colville, Dalhousie, Elliott & Falconer. Has Carices for Boott & fungi to draw for Berkeley. Mentions: progress on the NIGER FLORA, Rose of Jericho, news of Tussack grass, observations for Humboldt, constant rain, general features of Himalayan botany & adds the letter shld be sent to Darwin at Down.

WH's manuscript on botany for JH's Admiralty Manual has arrived and deserves praise. JH awaits three final manuscripts.

JDH reports progress on NIGER FLORA. He thinks Napoleona is close to Gustavia, it resembles an Indian Lecythis. [Nathaniel] Wallich sends JDH news. Ava trip postponed in favour of Darjeeling. Spring flora incl.: Convallariae, Apris, viola, Oak, Chestnut, Magnoliae, Arums, Fragaria, Rhododendrons, Prunus, Pyrus & Rosa with Clematis, Gentiana, Umbelliferae, Begonias, Saniculas & autumn vegetation to follow. Insects incl. Cocinillae & Grylli. Political relations with Bootan [Bhutan] & China mean JDH probably cannot go to Thibet [Tibet] via Kumaon or any other route. At Darjeeling it is not possible to see the different flora of the low valleys during the rains. Sir F. Currie sanctioned [Thomas] Thomson's [TT] continued work. JDH hopes TT measured the height of Gilgit. JDH is collecting for the museum & Jenkins at Goalpara has some things. Discusses the palm-like plants at Darjeeling, the rattan is used to make bridges & wild Musa leaves to carry things. Explains what collections, incl. from Borneo, he has promised to share with the Calcutta Garden. [Hugh] Falconer's [HF] health is improving, he will forward JDH's Bhangulpore [Bhagalpur] plants to Kew along with first shipment of roots incl. Balsams & Gesnerioids. JDH now likes HF but still has a low opinion of Royle. The collectors JDH sent to Tonglo were stopped at the border, they should be allowed to cross but Campbell the political resident does not enforce such rights. Further discusses British relations with the Rajah of Sikkim, position of Lord Dalhousie & permission to visit the snows. Mentions native people of Sikkim: Tartars, Lepchas, Tibetans, Murinis, Limbos & Bhutanese. JDH travelled to Darjeeling via Benares from hence he will go to Assam via Gowahatty & visit Sadiya in the Mishmee [Mishmi] Hills, the tea plantations & Ava. Would like to go to Tibetan passes. Comments that Madden is a good botanist. JDH is doing sketches & writing up his journal & geographical & botanical observations of the Himalayas.

Via Calcutta [Kolkata] JDH has sent: end of NIGER FLORA, sketches, incl. many Rhododendrons, list of roots sent to RBG Kew & sample of Lepcha Boehemeria cloth. Discusses navy half pay & difficulty getting items of economic botany for the museum, he has cotton cloth & baskets & awaits bows, arrows & quiver. Mentions specimen of only large spadixed palm. Has completed [River] Soane journal & discusses publication of it by WJH & The Asiatic Society, a copy shld be sent to Robert Chambers' Journal to promote the expedition. Advises that roots sent to Sir L. Peel by Smith shld be packed better, likewise bottles sent to JDH. JDH will send home extensive collection of dried herbarium specimens on leaving Darjeeling for Mr Jenkins' in Assam, after the rains. Mentions expenses & living with [Brian Houghton] Hodgson [BHH], whose only neighbours are: Dr & Mrs Archibald Campbell [AC] & the Muller brothers, one of whom works at the Patna opium factory, the other at Calcutta mint. JDH still hopes to go North & visit the snows: border issues with Sikkim& China are complex & he is being assisted by AC, Lord Dalhousie & Colonial Office. JDH wants new species named after Mrs Campbell & Lady Dalhousie, WJH may re-name the rest. Has drawn Phaenogams &, for Berkeley, fungi. Found new Balanophoras sp. & prepared dissections for THE LINNEAN SOCIETY TRANSCATIONS. Promises descriptions of Magnolias. Mentions: assistance provided by Gurney, HF lecturing, writing to Stocks, BHH's sister Miss Colville to visit RBG Kew with Miss Edens, defending [Nathaniel Wallich], Madden's TENTAMEN FLORAE NEPALENSIS, Col. Lawrence , Griffith's synonymising, falling out with Brown over Rafflesia & fossil cones, a phosphorescent fungus resembling Belcher's Borneo one. Heard of Col. Waugh, Surveyor General, measuring Kanchenjunga as the highest mountain in the world. JDH has a view of it, one of the true Himalayas of the Chamalari rising from the plain of Tibet. Possible that Dawalgiri in Nepal maybe taller.

Comments on WJH's accident & subsequent treatment, mentioning use of ether. Has forwarded [Hugh] Falconer [HF] a lot of mss material. JDH has procured a bamboo bow, poisoned arrows & poison root from Bhotan [Bhutan]. HF sending JDH books. The rich flora of Darjeeling yielding new things: JDH draws the most important incl Orchideae. Crawfordia & other things will be in seed soon but it is hard to dry seeds & specimens. Describes drying specimens in front of fire & shortage of paper. Has sent collectors to Neapul [Nepal]. Discusses common local Streptolirion as featured in the LINNEAN SOCIETY TRANSCATIONS by Edgeworth. Comments on prospect of moving the British Museum Herbarium to RBG Kew, Brown will object. JDH is invited to stay with Jenkins [J] en route to Assam. J is collecting drugs & medicines for JDH. JDH intends to trek to snow when conditions improve in Oct. Mentions poverty of natives in Darjeeling. Has collected some insects. Of trees has collected: 1 pine, 1 yew, Abies webbiana & a Juniper & hopes to get [William] Griffith's larch. Cannot send plants in his letters: they would be ruined by damp in the post to Calcutta [Kolkata]. BHH is ill & made worse by news from Gray that a valuable collection of Tibet animals was ruined. JDH has sent collectors to the interior & pays them liberally. Discusses origins & character of the Sikkim aborigines -- the Lepchas, & the Booteas from the neighbouring country. Mentions that Sikkim Rajah is actually a Tibetan. Mentions death of Lord Burghesh, Fane's brother & Fane's character. JDH is pleased his parents are keeping Francis happy. Sends regards to Harvey, Betham, Citoyen & [Walter Hood] Fitch. Asks for stationary to be sent by overland post with the LONDON JOURNAL OF BOTANY from Reeves. Letter illustrated with sketches showing the vegetation that appears at different elevations, maps showing Punkabarrie, Kursiong, Pacheem, Darjeeling & peaks of Tonglo & Sinchal, a sketch labelled Quercus & one of JDH's Ganges boat.

JDH reports he has written to Humboldt, [Henry] de la Beche, Lord Morpeth & will write Mr Phillipp next. A gale has blown down flowers & fruits of many timber plants JDH could not previously get specimens from. His collection included: epiphyte Vaccinia, Mistletoe, ferns, branch of a new Oak sp, Loranthi & Viscaceae, 8 oaks & Edgeworth's Streptolirion. Will send batch of Orchideae to Calcutta [Kolkata], mostly Dendrobia & Coelogyne. Other things coming into fruit at Darjeeling: Rubiaceae, stinging nettles & other Urticeae. Forest species incl: Arum, Balsam, Streptolirion, Polygona, a small bamboo, large tasty figs, Laurinea, Cyrtandreae, Begonias & Magnolias. Madden has suggested he will give WJH the pick of his collections. Winterbottom has joined Strachey's brother surveying Kumaon. JDH plans to go to the snow [in Sikkim] even without permission, though the Lepchas are fearful of showing him the way without government sanction & [Archibald] Campbell is not pushing hard enough to get this. Rubiaceae & Myrtaceae & Leguminosae are rare in Darjeeling & there are no Acanthaceae, which abound 3000 ft lower. Araliaceae, Rosaceae, Aroideae, Verbenaceae & Laurinceae are common. Timber trees are remarkable, few have good wood, Walnut is one of the best. Compares fruit of the Darjeeling Walnut to the Bhutan kind. Mentions wild & cultivated plantain & wild mango. He has sent seeds of the ground Raspberry; a Rubus he advises be sown in a cool place & grown with Vaccinium. Oxycoccos & Tussack. Writes he is enclosing fragments of tree fern [not present] that resembles Alsophila gigantea.