JDH writes to Mary Boott to thank her for her interest in him & for Dr [Francis] Boott's care of JDH's ill sister Mary [Mary Harriet Hooker]. JDH fears the returns in botany may not equal the sacrifice he has made to go on Ross's Antarctic expedition. However JDH had a good voyage, describes his satisfaction with his living quarters & mess mates on the 'Erebus'. The expedition is in the Falkland Islands waiting for news from England. Observes that the Falklands have been an object of dispute since their discovery but hardly seem worth quarrelling over. The British Government has sent Lieutenant Moodie [Richard Moody] to write a report on the colony with a view to settling it. JDH notes that there is good grass for grazing & Moody is keen to introduce this Falkland grass [Poa flabellata 'Tussac grass'] to Ireland & the Hebrides. Wild Fowl are abundant & good to eat. Mentions their first cruise to 'the ice' & compares it to the second when, despite worse weather & ice, they reached an even more southerly latitude before reaching 'the barrier' [Ross Ice Shelf] which JDH predicts will never be surmounted. Describes the scene when entering 'the ice', how the temperature drops & an ice berg look out is posted, at what latitude the first bergs are seen, also describes the harsh weather. Describes the white petrel which is only found in the pack ice. Recounts being stuck in the pack ice, including over Christmas, & how they found their way out. Reached the 'ice barrier' on 23 Feb 1842 at 78 degrees south latitude & saw 'pancake ice'. Describes beauty, majesty & vastness of the ice barrier & how pieces break off to become ice bergs. Next year they plan to go South again on the same route as Weddell & validate, despite D'Urville's protests, that Weddell could have gone as far south as he claimed. They will then return to England via the Cape. JDH tells Dr Boott he has 4 Carex species from the Falklands as well as new species from New Zealand.

JDH apologises for not writing to his Godfather, James Dalton, since leaving for Antarctica. Though he has never met Dalton JDH has fond memories of his house & church in Croft. JDH explains that he joined Captain Ross's expedition to be of service to England as well as to pursue botany & collect new species from obscure places. Describes his living situation on board ship. At sea he spends his time examining & drawing marine animals & dissecting mosses & plants. The microscope Dalton gifted to JDH is especially helpful with studying mosses, the order which Dalton also studies. The expedition has visited many islands: Madeira, Tenerife, The Cape Verde Islands, St Paul's Rock in the Atlantic, Trindade near Brazil & then St Helena before reaching the Cape of Good Hope. At each place they stopped briefly to take magnetic observations. They spent 3 months in Kerguelen's Land, previously described by Captain Cook, & set up an observatory there to take readings simultaneously with Europe, Asia & America. At sea they take meteorological readings & whenever possible use a tow net to collect sea life such as Mollusca. JDH observes that marine animals from the most southerly latitudes are similar to those from the Arctic whilst the botany of the two polar regions is very different. They spent a long time at Hobart, [New Zealand] where the Governor Sir John Franklin was very hospitable, & from there sailed into the ice. Describes the excitement of going to this unfamiliar, unexplored environment & getting so far south even though they eventually encountered a permanent ice barrier [Ross Ice Shelf]. They were also able to achieve their goal of laying down the position of the South Magnetic Pole. JDH spent some time with the Macleay family at Sydney. He discusses the natural history work of William Sharp Macleay. At the Bay of Islands JDH collected 70 species of Moss, incl: Hypnum Menziesii & Hookeria Cristata. Describes their second more arduous trip south through the ice.