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JDH describes his passage on board a steamer ship. He complains about the drink especially the brandy & will try the wine as he does not think it will effect his ears. He sends his love to family members, Reginald Hawthorn Hooker, Grace Ellen Hooker & Mrs Symonds. Sends his apologies for not writing to his mother from Liverpool but he was shopping with the Stracheys until the last minute. West winds are making the passage slow.

JDH writes to his wife Lady Hyacinth Hooker about his unpleasant voyage on board the 'Parthia' [to Boston, USA]. It is a screw ship rather than a paddle wheel steamer & the strange motion makes many of the passengers sea sick. Other passengers include: an Irish relation of Mrs [Jane Loring] Gray; a relative of Motley's daughter who married Sir William Harcourt MP the brother of Harcourt of Nuneham; the Strachey's [Sir Richard & Lady Jane Maria]. JDH has spent a lot of time reading in his cabin, he has read: [Baron Thomas Babington] Macaulay, [John] Evelyn's diary, Keye's lives of Eminent Indians, some of [Henry Wadsworth] Longfellow's Poems & one volume of [Charles] Lyell's 1st journey in America. Describes the ship's captain as 'a bright intelligent Scotsman' who engaged in debate about the effects of emotion & principles. The ship doctor is an Irish Army surgeon who served in India & is a good storyteller. The long journey & poor travelling conditions have put JDH off another trip across the Atlantic to America unless Hyacinth persuades him. The letter continues after JDH's arrival at Boston Harbour. Motley & [Charles Sprague] Sargent will come to meet JDH & party on a Government steamer & escort them through customs. In a post script JDH adds that he has been made welcome in Cambridge, Massachusetts & will start soon for Colorado. Requests that [John] Smith & [Sir William Turner] Thiselton-Dyer send a corrected copy of the fern list to Professor Sargent.

JDH writes to his wife Hyacinth from Boston, where he is staying with the Sargents. Sargent is in charge of the Harvard Botanic Garden & Arnold Arboretum. JDH is often with the Strachey's. JDH describes Boston: including the hot weather, wide streets, large wooden houses in the suburbs, the cleanliness of the city & good public transport. He lists some of the many kinds of trees in Boston: Hickory, American Ash, Elms, Maples, Oaks, Horse Chestnuts, Limes & Poplars. He comments that the working class people have a good standard of living & are generally well mannered & educated. Comments on the high price of food, except fruit, particularly mentions bananas imported in quantity from the West Indies, they do not taste as good as Kew's bananas. Comments on the 'nasal twang' in the Boston accent. Massachusetts has been settled since 1620, JDH thinks it is likely the nicest part of the United States of America. He describes the University, public park, abundance of flags & monuments. Describes a visit to Belvedere on the coast, common plants included: Cypripedia, Vaccinia, Pyrolas & Orchis, roses, brambles & raspberries. Trees are a mix of pines, Hemlock, Juniper, Spruces & deciduous trees & there are many ferns & mosses. Went to Read Hawthorn's house in Salem to see a museum & natural history institute endowed by Peabody. Describes the zoology summer school held there & a similar botany school at Harvard where the teaching is practical as well as lectures. Describes Sargent's dairy, especially the method of controlling temperature. Describes Forest Hills cemetery & the way U.S.A. cemeteries are run. Visited Mr Hunnewell at his property in Wellesley, describes the garden. It is opposite a property given to the state by Mr Durant for a college to educate women as teachers, also described. Strachey received a telegram from Lord Salisbury re. trouble in India. The party next go to Newport, New York, Cincinnati & the state capital of Colorado south of Colorado Springs.

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JDH informs his wife, Lady Hyacinth Hooker, of his latest travels around the United States of America. He & his party camped at La Veta Pass in the Rocky Mountains to explore the forest for plants. The travelling party consists of: Dr Asa Gray, Lady Jane Loring Gray, General Richard Strachey, Lady Jane Maria Strachey, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden & Dr Robert Henry Lambourne. From La Veta they travelled by rail & wagon to Fort Garland, a remote military garrison, & then ascended Sierra Blanca; the highest mountain in the Rockies at 14,500 feet. He describes the ascent: hard work cutting their way through Aspen & Pine forest & sleeping out in the cold. They then travelled by train past Pueblo to Colorado Springs & by coach to Manitou [Springs] at the foot of the mountains close to Pikes Peak. It is a popular resort for invalids & here JDH met Dr [Samuel Edwin?] Solly an acquaintance from London. Next they will go to George Town [Georgetown] & ascend Gray's Peak, then to Cheyenne on the California rail line. JDH longs for news from home, any letters sent have gone astray. He wishes Hyacinth were with him but the travelling is expensive and uncomfortable for ladies. The conditions are tiring but JDH is learning 'an enormous deal'.

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Whilst staying in Salt Lake City JDH & Asa Gray made a botanical excursion to the Wahsatch [Wasatch] mountains & saw the 'Emma Mine'. Comments on the significance of the mountain flora to understanding plant distribution; they found plants that connect the Flora of Colorado & Utah with that of California. Went from Salt Lake City to Ogden where the Stracheys left for England. Stracheys were to return by train via Cheyennes, Omaha, Chicago, Niagara & then on the Hudson to New York & ship to England. JDH went on through the salt desert region to Reno & Carson City, the region is hot & treeless but irrigation allows cultivation of crops. JDH, Gray & Hayden visited Virginia City in mountains full of gold & silver mines, around which towns grow up, as in a gold rush. Lists some of the richest mines' yields. Briefly discusses the mining processes & machinery used for processing quartz & ores, also the conditions the miners work in underground. Gold & silver are the currency of the towns. Many thousands of people have been ruined trying to make a fortune from mining a lode which turned out to be small & the mountains are full of prospectors. Next JDH & party go to Silver City, across the mountains to Yosemite, Calaveras Groves & on to San Francisco The last of JDH's work in the United States of America will be in the forests of the Pacific coast. He has collected plants across the continent from East to West representing an excellent achievement in geographical botany. It has been tiring work & JDH longs to be home with Hyacinth Hooker, his wife.

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