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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