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.

JDH sent the most important news, re. travelling in Sikkim, in a letter to Bessie [Elizabeth Hooker]. Flowering season in Darjeeling is advancing rapidly, recent additions to the collection incl. fine Cyrtandreae, a new Balanophora & many other tree specimens. JDH is behind with his drawing & has given up doing fungi. [Archibald] Campbell [AC] has sent him a new Caryota palm & a citrus with enormous pink fruit. Palms JDH has are: Calamus rotang, Phoenix sp. & 2 Arecinae. Roots of Orchids & Cyrtandreae sent to Calcutta [Kolkata]. [Hugh] Falconer has sent JDH books for free, including vols by De Candolle, Walpas, Kunth & Royle. JDH thinks all his Rhododendrons are new species, he advises that this should be clear on examination of the numbers of cells in the ovarium, the hairiness of the filaments & the shape of the calyx. [Brain Houghton] Hodgson [BHH] & JDH are both ashamed of Royle's book, the only good part is Hope's entomology section. JDH has captured an Indian Goliathidae, an opalinus like the one he drew from 'Mr Melly's cabinet' as a boy. JDH has made a small insect collection incl. some lovely beetles. Common insects incl.: Stag--beetles; Coccinella, most commonly Penetala; a Bostrychus that kills oaks, a metallic gold Caprida & noisy Cicadas. JDH sent collectors to the Terai but they became ill, he plans to replace them with Mechis who are a race used to living in malarial places. 10 collectors have been sent Tonglo for Rhododendron roots & are bringing things back in instalments, JDH also has collectors in Sikkim but they are too far away to bring things back in good condition & will not put plants in papers. He hopes AC will also send some collectors beyond the snow. JDH asks for stationery supplies to be sent whenever WJH is sending him an overland parcel. Under date Aug 10 [1848] JDH adds that he has sent men to the Terai & still awaits the return of his Nepal men, these matters are managed for him by BHH.

It rains everyday at Darjeeling & the Ganges has flooded. Plant are flourishing, especially Galium, Synaphalium, Hydrocotyle nepalensis, Cyrtandraceae spp, Torenia like Asiatica, Polygona, Balsams, Hypericum, Epilobium, Urticeae, Hydrangea, Adamia, Cyanea, Ophelia, Bignonia resembling B. picta. Prevailing trees are Laurineae, Chestnut, Oaks, Alder, Birch, Bucklandia, Magnolia, Cherry & Rosaceous trees. Climbers incl Araliaceae, Hydrangea, Vitis, Polygona & an Amaranthaceous thing. There are no grasses or Ranunculaceae & 1 Crucifera: Cardamine hirsuta, Umbeliferae incl a Hydrocotyle, Mimulus semperflorens & a liquorice scented Magnolia. Collectors from Tonglo have got Meconopsis nepalensis, Clematis acuminata, Thalictrum sp & Aconitum palmatum: the source of 'Bik' poison used in Sikkim. Has poison for the museum & is getting Lepcha hats & umbrella [illustrated]. Has 9 palms: Phoenix, Caryota & Calamus spp & museum specimens of all, also specimens of a Cycas & all 8 local bamboos & rices, but no Tabasheer. Discusses wild & cultivated bananas & enormous cucumbers. Local people eat most things: fern tops, Solanum leaves, vitis, Urticae, Bolete, Polypore, berries & a Cucurbitaceae with large fruit that he describes & illustrates. Discusses: orchids in the region, a Streptolirion sent to Calcutta [Kolkata], Araliaceae incl. Helwingia, alpine plants compared to Bhotan & Nepal, relative altitude where plants such as figs & Rhododendrons are found. JDH has collectors in Tibet, Sikkim & the Terai where there is jungle flora & Sylhet spp. Discusses [Archibald] Campbell & Lord Dalhousie. & arrangements for trip to Kinchin [Kanchenjunga]. Wants to research the geographical distribution of plants in high mountains, or go to upper Assam tea districts via Gowahatty or across the Cossya to Churrra & Munneypore. & find place in Assam to grow Gutta Percha. Next year JDH may return to Kinchin or go to Sudya & Dupha-Bom. Asst Surveyor General Captain Thuillier has lent instruments.