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JDH writes from Lisbon regarding his journey, letter sent with one to Miss Henslow. Anticipates good passage as far as Sidon but plans after reaching Egypt are uncertain, he will stay close to G.G. [Governor General]. Discusses how grandfather has invested JDH's money & how to draw money from W. & T.[?] after arrival in Calcutta [Kolkata]. Letter arrived at Portsmouth containing letters of introduction for JDH in Calcutta. Suggests Miss Cracroft would be liked by his family & should visit Kew & wants to know what friends of hers he should visit in India. Mother to forward this information through Mrs Kendal. Reports on progress with V.D.L. [van Diemen's Land] plants to be sent home by Dr Salmon, not Miller, along with the with the Niger m/s [manuscript]. Provisionally calls the new V.D.L. cruciferous plant Bretonia. This & the Fagus called ‘gunnii’ from the m/s of Gunn’s trip should be checked by Pl[anchon?] to see if names are occupied & characters drawn up. Dr Richardson to be informed what ship the plants are sent on so he can send case of bottles by the same via steamer to Barnes. JDH to write again from Gibraltar with account of Lisbon.

JDH hopes to be at Aden tomorrow. On arrival at Alexandria 4 Dec Ld Dalhousie insisted he belong to his suite in future. Left Alexandria on Sunday for Cairo. Travelled with Captain Henderson & officers using Transit Offices steamer along the Makmoudea [Mahmoudieh] Canal, discusses the canals construction & death of many Egyptians. Describes landscape, mentions Tamarix, Dates, Acacias, Cyprus & Myrtle. Switched to a pleasure packet steamer placed at their disposal by Mehmet Ali [Muhammad Ali]. Describes luxurious fittings in the part for Lord & Lady Dalhousie. The rest of them: including the Prime minister of Egypt, messed on deck in little cabins with simple facilities. Describes the Nile as about as broad as the Thames at Kew, mentions reading Bruce's and Salt's travels in the past. River banks are cliffs of mud showing successive layers of deposited soil to which Egypt owes its scanty vegetation. Saw lonely Arabs, Dromedary, tents, & donkeys. Beyond river banks wide spread uninhabited sand deserts. Irrigation attempted here & there, houses rare & always built near trees. Numerous boats such as figured in Bruce's journey. Describes first glimpse of the Pyramids & Cairo. Few miles before the town are Mehmet Ali's country gardens and Palaces of Shoobra [Shubra]. Thinks the Leicester Square Panorama gives an admirable idea of Cairo's location. During Cairo stay visited Ali Pasha's Rhoda Gardens but on the whole disappointed & outlines the difficulties of an exotic garden in Egypt. Mr Traill received him very cordially & showed him the gardens which JDH briefly describes. Letter continues Aden 19 Dec. Describes Aden as wonderful, bleak & barren. Dr M[?] has gone to Bombay for good & is now at Scinde [Sindh]. The bulbs JDH would have are not above ground & everything but Capparis, & a few other things are burnt up. He has sent Lord Auckland's parcel of seed onto Bombay [Mumbai].

JDH has been delighted with his trip hitherto. Describes visiting Cairo & wishes his cousin could see the pyramids as he did. Discusses belt of productive soil along the Nile & its small rate of soil deposition. Discusses location of the pyramids & the island on which the Nilometer is situated, & its influence on the corn market. Crossed the Nile on a boat similar to that figured in Bruce’s TRAVELS. Describes two sketches made during the crossing.. On both banks saw Egyptians, Ethiopians, Nubians, Abyssinians, Turks & a few Copts. Reached Ghizeh [Giza] & struck inland, carried by Arabs when it became very muddy. Arabs were scattering vegetable seeds. Reached the pyramids, thinks the Sphinx 'stupendous'. Bases of pyramids covered deeply with rubbish. Only had time to go over the Pyramid of Cheops properly. Describes the magnificent view from the summit. Made a few sketches of the grandest but certainly least attractive scene he has ever viewed. Collected lichens from pyramid summit. Went into pyramid interior & recalled every passage & chamber from childhood interest. Finds one grievous disappointment with the pyramids; their futility as simply mausolea. As a child he regarded them as being constructed for three purposes: as astronomical buildings; as places of worship; & as edifices to the genius of the Nile. He was glad to see Matilda Rigby so soon after she had dined with Lady Palgrave.

JDH describes his journey toward Ceylon [Sri Lanka] via Egypt, Suez, Red Sea & Aden. Writes of his time Cairo & the agriculture, vegetation & landscape of the region, the only trees are date palms, Acacia lebbek & Sycamore figs. Enumerates species seen on visit to Rhoda Gardens with Mr Traill, discusses problems of having this garden on an island in the Nile & recommends WJH read Traill's account in GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. Also writes observations of: visit to Fojal Forest with officers of the Sidon; the Pyramids; Cairo Pass tombs visited with the Governor General; fossil forest in the limestone desert; vegetation outside Cairo, mainly Capparideae, Zygophyylleae, Rutaceae & Hyoscyamus; dining with the with Consul General, a brother of Capt. Murray RN. Describes transit from Aleaxandria to Suez at the Pasha agents' expense. Ld & Lady D travelled by Barouche, vans transported Dr Bell, Jane, Courtenay, Capt. Henderson & various servants on roads the Arabs are bribed to maintain, Colocynth [Citrullus colocynthis] the only plant. Describes views of Red Sea & Sinai & the sterile landscape around Suez. At Suez met Col Heaney & son, Matilda Rigby & husband. Sailed down Red Sea in the 'Moozuffer' under Captain Ethersley. Sargassum prevalent at about latitude 20, describes islands passed. Boatswain killed. Saw conferovid plant described by Montagne in the ANNALES TRICHOSEMINA RYTHREENA. Passed Mocha & Strait of Babel Mandeb before arriving at Aden. Discusses wind phenomena & saltiness of Red Sea. Describes Aden volcano as resembling St Helena but even more barren than Green Mt in Ascension. Shore wooded with Acacias, Dates, and Mangroves. G.G. wants reports on tea districts of India. Assam did not enter into JDH's calculations. Also includes a printed black and white illustration entitled: ADEN "THE GIBRALTAR OF THE RED SEA".

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.

Rough sketch map drawn in pencil and ink. Page is titled 'Ideal charts of position of Mts' [Mountains]. It shows the relative positions of Thibet [Tibet], Nepaul [Nepal], Sikkim, Bootan [Bhutan] & Darjeeling with the position of Kinchinjunga [Kanchenjunga] marked & labelled as 28178 feet in elevation, Chomalari [Chomolahari] is labelled as 24000 feet & nearby the town Phari [Pagri] is also marked. Chola Mt, Singalelah [Singalilia], Great Rungeet River, Sinchal [Senchal], Darjeeling, Teesta River, Junnoo [Jannu] & Kursiong[?] are also plotted on the map.

Coloured illustrations of Hodgsonia niterodita with brief description of the species' characteristics. The Lepcha name is given as Kat'hion pot & the Bhotea name as Tasy. The Kernels are eaten raw but JDH does not like the taste. H. niterodita grows in the inner & outer ranges of the Sikkim Himalayas from 300 feet at the foot of the hills to 5000 feet. It is a climber which grows over tree branches creating screens of green foliage. It flowers in May & June. The stems are no thicker than a finger a bleed when cut, the juice is tasteless.

JDH describes arrival at Aden, its landscape, history, population & compares it to Gibraltar. They stayed at the west end of the Peninsular where Captain Haines, Indian Navy resides. Saw Somalis employed by Hindus & Arabs as servants, who would dive for 6d pieces much to Lady Dalhousie’s amusement. In the afternoon the 'Precursor' arrived & JDH met Mr & Mrs Smith. Describes striking coastal scenery with little vegetation excepting Capparis, Acacia & Euphorbias. Describes Sunday visit to the cantonment with Haines & Courtenay, travelling by French Barouche & Arab horses. Surveyed fortifications & saw forts, guns, black Sepoy soldiers, vultures & ruined Turkish castles. JDH ascended to a signal station & notes aqueduct leading to the peninsular. At Captain Haines’ residence met by Assistant Political Agent, Lieutenant Cruttenden, contributor to the GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL, & Civil Surgeon, Dr Vaughan. Visited the church with wholly military congregation. Also went to the highest part of the island: Shamsun, JDH describes landscape & sprinkled vegetation of about 40 species. Road to ridge very well built & though to have been constructed by captive Jews under Solyman [Suleiman] the magnificent. Towards top of ridge found two plants lately figured by Lindley in the BOTANICAL REGISTER. Discusses vegetation & view. Saw that the 'Precursor' had grounded. Signal station at top of ridge, barren of everything except lichens. Monday collected early morning in a cooler valley & visited the beach. Lists plants, saw fox but no apes. Returned to Captain Haines' & prepared to start for Ceylon where they arrived 31 Dec. On arrival met Gardner who had been awaiting their arrival at Colombo. Matilda Rigby had arrived in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] the previous day. Letter concludes on 6 Jan from Government House where JDH is with G.G. [Governor General?] & from where they sail to Calcutta [Kolkata] on Saturday.

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[?].

Since JDHs last letter from Aden they have been on the Indian Ocean, the most uninteresting sea he has crossed. Sighted Cape Comorin last Thursday & landed at Point de Galle on Friday, a few hours after the 'Precursor'. Thought of FH & English friends on Christmas day. Describes the 'Moozuffer' as more like a yacht than a man of war. Lord & Lady Dalhousie are in the Captain’s cabin whilst he, Fane, Courtenay & Dr Bell are in the ships dirty armoury next to the engine. Indian Navy officers do not like ships being used as passage boats. JDH met a godson of FH’s father, Lieutenant Jermyn. At Ceylon [Sri Lanka] JDH again saw Matilda Rigby who left Colombo where James Smith’s house & property is. JDH finds Lord & Lady D extremely agreeable but indifferent to science. Notes the cuisine as odious. Lady D’s health is better & soon after arriving her father, Lord Tweeddale, Governor of Madras [Chennai], came on board in a grand party. JDH will leave Madras on Friday morning & go to Calcutta [Kolkata]. He has not made many sketches since leaving Cairo, he was too busy botanising in Aden. Nearly all his collections have been destroyed from salt water on board ship. His spare papers were also destroyed so he could not collect at Point de Galle. Intends spending a week with George Gardner [GG] at Candy [Kandy], Ceylon on his way to Borneo. Describes curious boats in Madras. Describes the beauty of Point de Galle & the Cinghalese [Singhalese] people with tortoise shell combs & coca-nut oil in their hair. Notes Areca, Betel-nut palms, bread-fruit, plantain, banana, pineapple, mosquitoes, sand flies & leeches. At Point de Galle party divided into three. JDH went on several walks with GG, his father’s protégé. JDH was glad to introduce GG to Lord D who received him kindly. JDH will write shortly from Calcutta.

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.