JDH has already written to his brother William Henslow Hooker & sister Bessy [Elizabeth Hooker] and now writes to his father, William Jackson Hooker. He explains that the expedition will not sail as soon as expected but JDH is unlikely to be allowed leave, by Captain [James Clark] Ross. The result is JDH will not be able to come home to Glasgow in the interim, certainly not until the surgeon, McCormick has returned to the ship. JDH & a Mr Ward are going on an excursion to Cobham. The Botanical commission of the R.S. [Royal Society] did not have the civility to say bon voyage to JDH. Mentions sending seeds to the East India Company. Mentions his father's communications with Talbot, Arnott & Champion & other botanists. Comments that Cape Palmas & Fernando Po are 'glorious stations', he regrets that the expedition will not stop at the Cape de Vers [Cape Verde islands]. Asks if WJH knows of a cruciferous Kerguelens Land plant, which he has heard from Brown appears in Anderson's journal. Asks if his sister Maria would copy out a list of Antarctica & Enderby Land plants for Ross. Asks about the Murrays' being in London. Commiserates with Dr [Harry] Rainey who he considers an excellent lecturer, only equalled at [Glasgow] college by WJH & McKenzie.

JDH explains to his father, William Jackson Hooker, that Captain [James Clark] Ross has been unable to confirm if JDH can take leave, he is reluctant to grant it as the surgeon & captain of the HMS 'Terror' are both away at present. Ross is angry that the ships 'Erebus' & 'Terror' are not yet in a condition to sail. McCormick has discovered that there is little support for the natural history element of the expedition from government or from Sir William Parker [of the Admiralty], which has also upset Ross. McCormick is still committed to pursuing natural history & encourages JDH in the same. JDH has been organising medical supplies & tending to some of the men from the 'Terror' who are generally less healthy. Discusses the expense of equipping the mess for a four year voyage. He enumerates his own expenses since leaving Glasgow, including purchase of instruments from Weiss, & what his pay is compared to his shipmates'. He would like to lend some money to Dayman to help him pay his debts, otherwise the practice is to deduct the amount of any outstanding debt from his pay when the ship is paid off. They will be paid on reaching the Nore. Mrs Richardson has introduced JDH to people in Chatham incl. the Davies. He has not met Mrs Wavell, as Mrs Kay suggested, as she is in Hastings. Thanks Mrs Kendall for her interest, her brother is a great favourite. Dr Smith is ill, when JDH visited him Smith lent him [Charles] Darwin's journal which JDH thinks highly of & would like to buy. JDH has also read up on the voyages of Captain [James] Cook, [George] Anson & [John] Byron. JDH is anxious about a letter of advice he gave to William [his brother William Dawson Hooker].

JDH did not write to his father, William Jackson Hooker, sooner as he was waiting until the last day before the expedition departed. The HMS 'Erebus' was waiting at Billingham with the HMS 'Terror', from there the steamer 'Hecate' took them to the 'Downs' & they sailed on to the Manse, below the Thames Nore. JDH briefly describes his cabin. Has received 'handbox' & contents incl. letters of introduction from WJH. Describes a farewell visit with his sisters Bessy [Elizabeth Hooker] & Mary Harriet Hooker at Kensington. Gurney was out of town but JDH has had a nice letter from him offering assistance. Has also received a letter from [Charles] Lyell with a profile bust of himself by Edouard[?] along with letters of introduction from Sir William Symonds introducing JDH to his sons in Sydney & New Zealand. [William Henry?] Harvey has written to JDH about botanising in the Cape, telling him where to find Wardia, Andraea & Hookeria & providing letters of introduction to the Governor of St Helena & a Mr Wilde who is a naturalist there. Mentions receipt of Natural History stores from the Admiralty. Dr Beverley, surgeon to Captain [William] Parry on two expeditions has visited the 'Erebus'. Captain Ross' mother & sister are now to leave the ship. JDH intends to write to Mr Children, Mr Ward, his Grandfather, Dr Boott & Mrs Richardson. Letters may find JDH at their next stops, which will be Madeira then St Helena. They are now in the Margate roads awaiting a new anchor from Deal [in Kent].

JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, that after 5 days delay at Margate they have set sail for the Downs where they will stop only to land their Thames pilot. JDH sent his last letter with Mr Sibbald who was sent out for a new anchor. After leaving Gillingham they had to wait for the winds to change. At Margate many 'vulgar & uneducated' visitors came on board HMS 'Erebus' & made a nuisance of themselves.

JDH informs his Father, William Jackson Hooker, of their safe arrival at Funchal, Madeira. Briefly recounts the voyage past the Lizard & Torbay & losing sight of HMS 'Terror' in a gale. They made good time despite sounding every day to take the temperature of the deep sea water. JDH has not been sea sick but he & the crew find that the positioning of the cabins 'athwartships' exaggerates the rolling sensation disagreeably. JDH has found no 'animalculae', meaning protozoa, in the water & does not expect to until they reach the tropics. JDH keeps a regular journal recording anything of note as well as his natural history diary for the Admiralty. He will send any specimens he makes for his personal collections to his Father. Captain [James Clark] Ross will deal with specimens for the Admiralty incl. both plant collections made by JDH & animals ones made by McCormick. JDH is keen to avoid any confusion over who owns which specimens. JDH is only allowed to go onshore to collect if one other medical officers remains with the ships. Whilst at Madeira JDH intends to visit Mr Muir & Mr [Richard Thomas] Lowe. Describes his impressions of the island of Madeira as seen from the sea, mentioning the volcanic rock, the vineyards, pine capped hills & village of Santa Cruz. He is disappointed to find the island less wooded than he expected but describes it as beautiful at night with a perfect climate & clear blue seas. Adds a note dated 22 Oct [1839] stating he has met with Muir, Lowe, Mr Reilly, Dr Renton & Dr Lippold & will go on an excursion with the latter to the hills.

Captain Crozier of the HMS 'Terror' has just informed JDH that they must sail as the weather is making it dangerous to remain anchored [in the Funchal Roads, Madeira] so JDH has little time to spend on this letter to his Father, William Jackson Hooker. Recounts his time spent in Madeira; botanised for a few days but was then bedridden by rheumatism. After recovering enough, spent some time with Mr Muir & Dr Lippard who brought him fruit. In his limited collecting time JDH only gathered plants he thought were uncommon, it was not the best season to get specimens. The expedition may go to Port Praya [Praia] in the Cape Verde Islands, they will certainly go to St Helena & St Paul's Rock on their way to the equator. JDH & Mr McCormick [surgeon on the HMS 'Erebus'] get on well. JDH has sent flowers from the convent for his Mother & sisters, including myrtle wreaths, they are sent home by Mr Muir via Mr Pamplin. Mentions that he met Mr Johnstone & a lady who were friends of his Grandfather & Mr Baker from Norwich. Notes that the date on his previous letter may be wrong. Mr Hally[?] is in Madeira & is dying. Dr Renton[?] & Mrs Montgomery Hamilton née Wallace have been attentive to JDH. Letter also contains a note from Mr Muir dated 16 Nov 1839, presumably added when he was given the letter to forward. Muir writes that the 'Erebus' & 'Terror' sailed on the 31 Oct [1839], before which he & his family enjoyed JDH's company. Mr Smith of Jordan Hill has since arrived in Madeira with his invalid daughter.

As it is Christmas day JDH wanted to write to his sisters, Elizabeth 'Bessy' & Mary Harriet Hooker. Recounts the progress of the expedition over the last 3 months. Describes stops at Madeira's Cape Braza & Bay of Funchal & his visits to Mr Muir's house. Plants in the island's gardens incl: Vines, Daturas, Fuchsias, Chinarose, Hibiscus & Heliotrope, many fruits, & on the cliffs chestnut trees. JDH describes a type of small guitar made by the Madeira natives. JDH got rheumatism on a trip to the mountains & Captain [James Clark] Ross tried to keep him on the ship but JDH went ashore to visit Mrs Montgomery Hampton, now married to a Dr Renton, & other acquaintances incl. Mr Halley & a brother of Miss Shortridge. He describes their visit to the Funchal nunneries, Santa Clara & the convent of the Incarnation, where he bought artificial flowers made of duck feathers. Next they went to Tenerife, JDH describes a visit to the Spanish town of Santa Cruz where Lord Nelson lost his arm. At the Cape Verde Islands the 'Erebus' anchored at Porto Praia a Portuguese town on the island of St Jago [Santiago], a very desolate place except for coconut trees & some oases of fruit trees. JDH collected plant specimens in the heat with the help of resident freed black slaves. JDH describes a trip through the mountainous interior of St Jago to St Domingo, during which he saw baobab trees, a beautiful kingfisher, Gallina or Guineafowl, Acacias, Castor Oil Trees, hawks, wild monkeys & tiger cats. At St Domingo sugar cane, maize, oranges, Cassava & other tropical vegetables are cultivated. They are now sailing towards St Helena via the ocean near Pernambuco, Brazil because of the trade winds. En route they have seen St Paul's Rocks & Trindada [Trindade & Martim Vaz] only notable for the birdlife: terns & boobies etc. After St Helena they will visit Tristan d'Acunha, Cape Horn, Kerguelen's Land, Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], New Zealand & Antarctica. JDH spends the voyage drawing sea animals.

JDH sends this letter accompanying some specimens [not present] for his father, William Jackson Hooker. He discusses his monograph of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] plants, it is a revision of WJH's papers in the BOTANICAL JOURNAL & CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE[?] & needs the addition of Malvaceous plants from ICONES PLANTARUM & Brown's genus Stenopetalum from De Candolle. It is to be printed in the ANNALS & Mr Taylor will send copies for Sir John Franklin, Captain [James Clark] Ross etc. JDH expects the expedition to leave VDL for the ice in Oct 1840. Discusses the need to revise his description for the ICONES PLANTARUM. JDH's collection may be extensive enough to warrant adding new VDL genera to future volumes of the FLORA BOREALI AMERICANA. JDH is now considered the naturalist to the expedition though his nominal rank is as a medical officer [assistant surgeon].

JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, of the progress of the expedition via Madeira & Tenerife. Describes brief trip ashore at Santa Cruz & character & vegetation of the different islands of Cape Verde: wooded St Antaois, salt plain Sal & volcanic St. Jago. Collected at Porto Praya on St Jago, has wanted to visit the island since reading Christian Smith's account & recommended Lippold go, suggests how other botanists should collect there from a base in St Domingo. Saw the rocks of St Paul from the ship & his ship mates brought him a specimen of seaweed. On the coast are birds such as boobies & noddies. A Grapsus crab that steals their eggs. Considered going across the Atlantic to Pernambuco, Brazil, where JDH could have seen Adamson, Gardner & Louder. Instead they travelled via Trinidad, JDH describes the appearance of the island & the sparse vegetation, all the trees appeared to have been destroyed by the introduction of goats, there was only grass, tufts of Cyperus & a tree fern. Describes the voyage to St Helena, which was slowed down by the inferior sister ship HMS 'Terror'. JDH spent the time working on his plants in Captain Ross' cabin, drawing sea animals; crustacea & mollusca brought up in the towing nets, & taking meteorological readings. At St Helena he gave Harvey's letter to Chief Justice Wilde who has a house on Diana's Peak, the only place Dicksonia arborea grows & he has a new Brazil Araucaria in his garden. Describes the island & vegetation: it is largely barren but there are Scotch firs, a cabbage tree, Furze, 2 Rubus[?], introduced blackberry, native raspberry, a Ruellia, barren mosses, a Scotheimia, ferns & a tree fern. JDH is disappointed with his plant collection but has done all he can, there are sets for WJH, the Admiralty, Ross & Wilmot. JDH is also keeping a journal & sketchbook. McCormick has made a geological collection for Dr Fritton. JDH is reluctant to send specimens to the Royal Society Commission on Botany. Discusses his future career as a botanist & the pros & cons of naval service for a naturalist. The thought that no other botanist will go where he has on the expedition is appealing. Also includes two enclosures: some lengthy descriptions of excursions to: the Curral in Madeira, Tenerife, Porto Praya, St Jago & St Domingo valley in the Cape Verde Islands & some journal extracts dating from Dec 1839 & Feb 1840.

Since he last wrote to his father, William Jackson Hooker, JDH has botanised at St Helena, most notable for cryptogams. JDH learnt about the island flora from Chief Justice Wilde & the Military Chaplain Mr Helps, who assisted Tournaut[?] of Dr Thomson's lab. JDH could not find Beatsonia or Mikania. He collected Commidendrum, Melanodendron & Lachanodes. Other noteworthy collections include Trimiris, Roellas & ferns. JDH dries his plant on HMS 'Erebus' by hanging them outside, some have suffered in extreme weather & the conditions of the tropics. His main collecting tools are a leather portfolio & vasculum. Using a microscope JDH draws marine animals, some of which are luminous; mostly Entomostraceous Crustacea, Pyrosoma & Sertulariae. Blainville's ACTINOLOGIE & Edwards' CRUSTACEA are his references for this work. Approaching the Cape of Good Hope JDH first saw floating seaweeds, a submarine forest with an ecosystem of fish, parasites, corals, shells, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, actinia [anemones] etc. He describes the main seaweed, a Laminaria. JDH & Captain Ross work on the marine specimens whilst McCormick is only interested in ornithology & geology so JDH is effectively the voyage naturalist. JDH describes the excitement of every new landfall. He discusses what he will include in his Antarctic Flora. Next the expedition goes to Crozet, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen's Land, Islands of St. Paul & Amsterdam, New Zealand, then the ice of Antarctica. The artillery officer, Wilmot, will be staying at the Cape. His brother Augustine Wilmot is a medical student at Edinburgh, his father MP for Warwickshire. The HMS 'Terror's' artillery officer, Mr LeFroy, stayed at St Helena. JDH asks for some natural history books & about joining the Linnean Society. He discusses sending specimens home, all should go to the Admiralty. Suggests WJH could exchange plants with Wilde. JDH has received no letters at Simons Bay, the Cape. He will write to his sisters at Camden House.

JDH apologises for not writing to his grandfather, Joseph Hooker senior, from St Helena. He describes the hierarchy & his daily routine on the ship [HMS 'Erebus']. After breakfast he tends to the sick then takes meteorological observation for the Captain [James Clark Ross] & studies German. After the midday meal he checks the towing nets & after dinner draws & describes specimens & writes his journal & notes. JDH takes the dew point every day. At sea they communicate with sister ship HMS 'Terror' once a month in person & the ships exchange information on their position regularly by signal. A recent dredging near the shore gathered 30 different species of marine animals: corals, shrimp, crab, worms & sponges but no sea weed or submarine vegetation. The Captain sounds every day with a whale line & takes readings from the water at different depths using various instruments incl. a Massey's log. The deepest they have reached is 2477 fathoms & often the sea is too deep to reach the bottom. Sounding at 500 fathoms requires all the men to haul the line back in, a fiddler plays for encouragement - often Rob Roy. JDH tells his grandfather of the hospitality of the Muir family & an invitation from Andrew Johnson to his house, the 'Palle', near Funchal, Madeira. Discusses the diminishing provisions on the long cruise between St Helena & the Cape de Verde & the rations allowed to each man incl. a 'gill of grog' & lemon juice to prevent scurvy. The captain arranged a Christmas dinner & New Year's party. On Sundays there is a church service on the lower deck. The artillery officer, Wilmot, left to take charge of the Cape Observatory & some passengers have also disembarked leaving more room for the naturalists to work. JDH describes how he maintains & stores his plant specimen collection. JDH heard about the deaths of Allan Cunningham & Duke of Bedford from Mr Bowie of the Ludwigsburgh Garden. JDH asks for books in German to be sent to him at Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania].

No summary available.

JDH informs his mother, Lady Maria Hooker, that on his return from Cape Town he received a letter from his father, William Jackson Hooker, addressed to him at Madeira, 5 Oct 1840. Discusses the news that his brother William [Dawson Hooker] has gone to Jamaica for his health leaving his pregnant wife Isabella at home. If necessary JDH says he will raise the child with his sister Maria as their housekeeper. JDH has visited Baron Ludwig, known as Baron Snuffy, who gave him William Henry Harvey's GENERA OF SOUTH AFRICAN PLANTS: CAPE TOWN & a picture of the Ludswigburg Gardens. JDH has an account of the Constantia wines & Vineyard. The Cape botanist [Christian Freidrich] Ecklon has gone mad. The 'Erebus' now sails for Possession Island, one of the Crozets where there is a seal fishery. JDH will send his next collection from Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], including algae from the southern regions. He also has duplicates to send of his current collection, including minerals & a replacement for the St Helena Commidendrum that had the stem eaten by a cockroach. The damp on the ship has made it hard to preserve the specimens. JDH also has pine cones, sketches & other small things to send home. Mentions expenses for drawing paper & washing. Thinks that Captain Beaufort has not transmitted WJH's letter to JDH reliably. JDH has written to his sisters Maria & Bessie [Elizabeth] at Kensington. Asks that his father remember him to Mr Arnott, Dr Graham, Mr Childra & Mr Murray. JDH will send his father an account of Ludwigsburg Garden soon & will write to Adamson, Mitchell & [Charles] Lyell from Van Diemen's Land. JDH sends his plants home to the Admiralty by 'Lord Lynedoch transport' with a letter from Captain [James Clark] Ross requesting they be forwarded to Glasgow.

JDH explains to his father, William Jackson Hooker, how he forgot to pay for a gun procured in Glasgow. Assures WJH that his family are constantly in his thoughts & that he grieves the death of his brother William [Dawson Hooker]. Explains how he caught rheumatic fever in Madeira staying with Mr Muir. Everyone got prickly heat on entering the tropics but otherwise JDH has been healthy. JDH recounts the expedition's recent progress. He procured plants at Simon's Town, which they left on 6 Apr [1840] heading south via Marion Island & the Crozets. He describes the islands' appearance from the sea, they were unable to land due to stormy weather. Arrived Christmas Harbour, Kerguelen's Land, 12 May. Describes the appearance of these volcanic islands, which match Captain Cook's account, & notes how fierce the winter winds are. Describes his botanical excursions & findings whilst in Kerguelen's Land. McCormick made a geological collection of Quartz crystals, zeolites, coal & fossil wood. Lists the numbers of things he has found from various orders, fungi, musci, Rosaceae etc & particularly notes new genera of Cotrelleae & Umbelliferae. Briefly describes: features of a new Crucifera which they ate, new Ranunculus, Juncus & Amarantheae & a plant that flowers under the ice & belongs to no known natural order. JDH has made drawings of all the phanerogamic plants he found, based on dissections done under the microscope given to him by [James] Dalton. Describes preparing & storing the plants on board ship with Captain Ross. Took 3 weeks to sail 300 miles to Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], describes how the HMS 'Erebus' weathers storms well. Mentions collecting seaweeds, letters from [George] Bentham & Mr Almond & letters owed to Childres, Boott & Brown. [Ronald Campbell] Gunn has been appointed Governor Sir John Franklin's secretary. JDH hopes to go to Oyster Bay.

JDH assures his sister, Maria Hooker, that she & their family are often in his thoughts during his time away from civilisation, enduring difficult conditions & ship's rations. Having been months at sea with no word from home JDH describes the joy he felt when they sailed up the Derwent River to land at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], in the shadow of Mount Table or Wellington. The letters he received in Hobart brought JDH the news that his brother, William Dawson Hooker, was dead. He describes how he mourned as others celebrated their landfall. He had thought that Jamaica would improve his brother's pulmonary complaint. He is reassured that their parents have Maria with them in Glasgow to rely on in their grief. All JDH's shipmates, especially Mr McCormick are being very kind to him. Soon JDH will have work & duties to distract him from his sorrow, he will study the cryptogamic plants of Tasmania. JDH has had a visit from Dr Johnstone & will call on Jorgen Jorgensen, though he is a drunkard. Explains why he approves of his father, William Jackson Hooker's plan to leave Glasgow. Though he does not particularly like Glasgow it does have childhood memories for him & as long as his family are at Invereck he will long to be home there with them. He has sketches of Invereck on his cabin wall & everything he sees reminds him of Scotland & home, the cornfields & woods of Tasmania remind him of highland scenes at Loch Eck, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs. Sends his love to all his family.

JDH writes to his father, William Jackson Hooker, whose last letter told of the death of JDH's brother William Dawson Hooker. JDH's messmate Yule is also bereaved, he describes a walk the two took amongst Eucalyptus trees. It is winter in Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] but JDH has collected a Splachnum & Mniarum forsteri. Describes his collecting habits on Kerguelen Island, where his focus was Cryptogams & seaweeds. JDH's collections now total 700 plants incl. 350 from Cape [of Good Hope]. Describes his & [Ronald] Gunn's time together in Tasmania & the climate & recent weather. Has ascended Mt Wellington & collected some new species. Plans excursions to New Norfolk, the lakes & Port Arthur with the Governor Sir John Franklin. Went to Richmond via Grasstree Hill & met [Thomas] Gregson & Major De Gillon. Declined a trip to Launceston & Oyster Bay proposed by Lady [Jane] Franklin, Kaye[?] went instead. Cryptogammia JDH has collected in Tasmania incl: Hookeria pennata, many lichens & Andraea. Has some seed vessels of Legumes for Bentham. Mentions Bentham's citation for Erica McKayi in De Candolle [PRODROMUS], Thomas Thomson collecting in Aden, Wallich's son at Hull, meeting Mr Gouldie & Dr Coverdale. JDH wants to look at mosses with local microscopist Valentine, makes some observations on calyptrae & setae in mosses, especially Orthotriceae. Discusses' Gunn's new Dawsonia, lack of payment to Gunn from [John Edward] Gray for animals & value of Gunn's correspondence & collections to contribute to ICONES [PLANTARUM]. Comments on WJH's publications incl. the new JOURNAL OF BOTANY. Lady Franklin has set up a Natural History Society & is planning a botanic garden at Kangaroo Bottom, Mt Wellington, JDH describes the site & wild vegetation. Notes the orchids he has found incl. Corysanthes fimbriata & the touch sensitive Pterostylides labellum. The Phanerogams JDH & Captain Ross collected in Kerguelen Island were mostly ruined in a gale, some incl. the cabbage are recovering.

JDH writes to give his father, William Jackson Hooker, an account of Kerguelen Island. First comments on places they passed on the voyage there. Agulhas bank; rich with marine animals, Macrocystis pyrifera & seas birds incl. Albatross & Cape Pigeon which provided fresh meat. Marion Island; noted for volcanic mountains, penguin colonies, white coral & diverse marine life. The Crozets; found far East of the mapped position. Possession Island; barren of all but grass & moss. May 6th reached Bligh's Cap. After days of delay due to bad weather landed at Christmas Harbour, Kerguelen Island, on 12th. Describes the harbour, terraced mountains, rocky landscape & persistently violent seas, with reference to account by Captain Cook. Describes the Kerguelen Island vegetation. First plants encountered are seaweed & lichens on the rocks, then a long grass Agrostis species, a Ranunculus & a Compositae abundant in bogs & covered with Callitriche & Portulaceaous plants. Gives detailed description of the Kerguelen cabbage incl. its taste & medicinal properties i.e. preventing scurvy & heart burn. Also describes an unmbelliferous plant that can cover many acres & is the only plant that does not seem to be endemic to Kerguelen. Also notes: Acaena, a Silene of elusive classification, a Poa grass, a marsh Aira & a Juncus that grows near lakes. Describes the characteristics & habitat of a plant that flowers under the frozen lakes, it may be of a new natural order though it has some features of Scrophulariaceae, Lentibulariaceae & Primulaceae. Makes some observations on the winter climate. Notes that there is 1 aquatic plant & 1 dry land plant, most vegetation grows in between in moist peaty areas. The mosses & Jungermannia were alpine & arctic forms. Describes the proliferation of lichens in different areas, though there are no large trees so no parasitical lichens. Describes prolific seaweeds esp. pyrifera & Laminaria radiata which protect limpet colonies. The only fungi is a Peziza.

JDH thanks his father, William Jackson Hooker, for the constructive criticism of his collections, the first he has made in a new country. The collections JDH is leaving for [Ronald Campbell] Gunn to send home are better. Since arriving in Hobart Town [Tasmania, Australia] JDH has only worked on botany, collecting the spring plants in locales advised by Gunn & shunning society with the exception of attending Government house when necessary & a ball given for the ships' officers. Explains why it is impossible for him to collect in the Western tier during the current season. Notes that flora in the centre of the island is less advanced; Acacia mollissima only just in bud in the interior. Describes a collecting excursion to Lake Echo, en route JDH stayed in a stock keeper's hut in Marlborough. Describes the interior of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] as a table land of marshes covered in dead Eucalyptus timber - all the trees were killed in the 1837 frost along with the undergrowth of Leptosperma, Bedfordia & Fagus cunninghamii. All nature suffered that year, hundreds of kangaroos died. The forest only survives on the highest hills, where JDH gathered the 'Cyder tree' Eucalyptus, but it was the wrong season to tap for its fluid. On return trip JDH travelled via Hamilton & the estate of the clergyman Mr Naylor at Cheny[?] on the River Derwent. By the river are: Phebalium retusum, Pleurandras, Eurybius & many flowering shrubs. The cataracts [gorge] is densely wooded & full of bush kangaroo & plants new to JDH: a beautiful Gleichenia, Sprengelia, some Eucalypti & Acacia. Briefly discusses novel species he has found amongst the gum trees & the Crucifera & Cryptandra of Van Diemen's Land. Mentions a feature of the labella of Pterostlides [Pterostyllis] orchids. Is still working on his sketches of Kerguelen's Land plants.

JDH thanks his sister [Maria Hooker?] for writing to him, he mentions her dog Skye & trip to Ireland. Is pleased that their grandfather still lives & Bessy's [Elizabeth Hooker's] health is restored. Writes that he misses music. The HMS 'Erebus' is preparing to leave Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania]. Lists the food they are buying for provisions, complains at the high price of food due to the stockpiling of local corn which means flour for bread is imported from America. JDH has met with Miss Williamson, governess to Lady Franklin's daughter. Mentions the news that the missionaries from the ship 'Camden' have been murdered. JDH has been collecting shells for his sister & [Ronald Campbell] Gunn will also send her a collection in exchange for minerals. JDH advises his sister to always label her shells carefully & recommends the following books: Wood's INDEX TESTACEOLOGICUS & a manual by Sowerby. JDH has seen Dr Johnstone at Hobart Town, he will soon sail home on the ship 'Emu'. Tells his sister about Mr Gregson, a Tasmanian related to the Selbys of Selby Hall, who is going to London University & whom JDH has given a letter of introduction to their father, Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Gregson family live near where Browne did after leaving Flinder's ship & JDH often botanised there. Under date Nov 9 [1840] JDH writes the 'Erebus' is ready to sail. One of his messmates, Dagman, will stay at Hobart to man the observatory along with Lieutenant Hay & Scott from the HMS 'Terror'. The ship's provisions include 6 pigs. JDH is studying German. Some men have deserted, the remaining crew are all healthy. The duration of their journey southward will depend on the conditions, JDH hopes they will spend a winter in the ice. The expedition goes first to Campbell's Island then to the land the French discovered & after that into the unknown. As the seasons are all reversed for JDH he has trouble remembering whether his family will be at Invereck, Kilmun, Glasgow or London.

JDH informs his father, William Jackson Hooker, that the expedition is leaving Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania]. Discusses his collections going to Brown. JDH has more specimens from Kerguelen Island & Tasmania, some will go to WJH privately through [Ronald] Gunn, with whom he has shared collections. JDH hopes that Thomas Spring Rice, Baron Monteagle, gets WJH the Directorship of RBG Kew. Thanks WJH for sending news of his friends & discusses Fitch, Gardner, Harvey & Arnott. Mentions mosquitoes. Cummings made better St Helena collections than JDH. Discusses his family's health. Has written to Brown, who once lived at Risdon, where JDH found new Eucalyptus, Cryptandra & Cruciferous plants. Wants WJH to ask Brown about the Xanthorrhoea covered 'grass tree hill'. Describes Thomas Gregson & his son John Gregson. Discusses Sir John & Lady Franklin whom he accompanied to Port Arthur, where he collected specimens incl. Anopterus glandulosus on a Sunday. Captain Ross strictly enforces the Sabbath. JDH shares specimens with Captain Crozier & Miss Cracroft. JDH has also collected fossil woods & made sketches. Discusses his botanical books. Describes Jorgen Jorgensen's state as a drunkard. Discusses Lady Franklin's terms for employing a gardener. The expedition will now go to Campbell's Island, where JDH hopes to collect seaweed, then south to follow the coast of Antarctica. Whilst at sea JDH will draw specimens preserved in spirit. JDH thinks he has got better at collecting, though it has been a bad season for plants in Tasmania. Recounts Captain Biscoe's account of Campbell Island. Describes the difficulty of transporting plants in Wardian Cases incl. the Kerguelen Cabbage which Captain Forman of the 51st Regiment at Hobarton is also growing from seed. Fruits & livestock will be taken to Campbell's Island. Mentions the attribution of Wardia. JDH hopes Thomas Thomson will collect in China or Persia. Discusses his finances & recommends investing money in Tasmania.