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JDH has received letters from Sir William Thiselton-Dyer [WTTD] & Daniel Morris. JDH is still ill with bronchitis, it is recommended he travel to the seaside. JDH is glad that WTTD's party [for garden employees] was a success. JDH has seen the death notice of [Ernest Staint-Charles] Cosson, whom in 1886 promised to donate his herbarium to RBG Kew. JDH does not know of any accounts of Fredericksborg Gardens but suggests that [Anders Sandoe] Oersted could have written something & that WTTD could also check the library for publications by Danish botanists, as listed in old botanical directories, & consult Lange[?]. JDH compliments F. Oliver's report on 'Nowackia' but corrects that Averrhoa is not a Leguminosae & bemoans the poor systematic botany. JDH describes Nathaniel Ridley's habit of sending badly prepared scraps of specimens, illustrations & descriptions of orchids [from Singapore]. Ridley is not knowledgeable about orchids but often sends new species of them, bad as the specimens are. JDH notes that he is informing Morris that Fawcett[?] & the Cooper's hill men are to visit JDH.

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JDH writes that he is glad to hear of Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer's [WTTD's] appointment to the Dublin chair [of the Royal College of Science for Ireland, Dublin]. Has seen Dr [Edward Percival] Wright who is happy for WTTD to have access to, & make use of, the T[rinity] C[ollege] Herbarium. However, Wright wishes WTTD to wait a little before taking a more prominent position than himself so that 'matters will arrange themselves'. Wright is talking of getting leave for 2 years & going abroad, leaving WTTD in charge. JDH says that the vegetable products museum should be attached to the Botanic Garden, along with a Herbarium & Library, without which the garden will be useless. JDH cannot supply structural specimens of plants from the RBG Kew museum as all duplicates are sent to places which give things in return. Will be happy to give advice about Cape Flora & thinks it is a worthy endeavour to finish it. Notes that WTTD will probably not be ready to embark on the descriptive part of the flora, & therefore need the herbarium, before Wright leaves anyway.

JDH compliments Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer [WTTD] on his paper on 'Spontaneous Generation & Evolution' & hopes that it is a prelude to further research into the chemistry of vegetation as JDH believes there is no better man to do it. JDH is currently reading John Tyndall's paper 'On the Actions of Rays of High Refrangibility upon Gaseous Matter' in PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON & he is struck by Tyndall's remarks on the decomposition of carbonic acid, by solar rays, in the leaves of plants. JDH says that he had thought about this independently & believes it would make a good research subject. Has heard that Dr P[ercival] Wright it going to Algeria for the winter. JDH hopes that he has left the key to the [Trinity College] Herbarium for them.

JDH asks if William Thiselton-Dyer would be willing to contribute descriptions of orders, genera & species for a proposed flora of India & outlines the terms of employment.

JDH writes that he is pleased William Thiselton-Dyer is starting work on the Asclepiadoideae [for FLORA CAPENSIS]. The herbarium of Robert Wight will be at Thiselton-Dyer's disposal. William Henry Harvey is a model of how to approach complex systematic work. JDH approves of Thiselton-Dyer's plan to have an educational museum in the [botany] department [of Royal College of Science for Ireland]. Discusses sending Welwitschia specimens for the museum, 2 live specimens have already been sent from RBG Kew to Glasnevin [National Botanic Gardens, Ireland]. JDH will send Thiselton-Dyer Asclepiad flowers as they bloom at RBG Kew & a copy of Benjamin Delessert's ICONES SELECTAE PLANTARUM QUAS IN SYSTEMATE UNIVERSALI with figures by Joseph Decaisne. JDH adds he has not heard from India House about a flora of India, he is concerned about 'the neuralgia' & would like Salix specimens from Dr Moore for Kew's new 'Salicetum'.

JDH informs William Thiselton-Dyer that he has had a letter from Sir Henry Barkly [Governor of Cape Colony] urging the completion of FLORA CAPENSIS & suggesting that Peter MacOwan, an experienced Cape botanist, be sent to England for a year to accomplish this. JDH passes on MacOwan's feelings on the subject & asks for Thiselton-Dyer's opinion. He also asks if Thiselton-Dyer will be able to describe any families for a flora of India.

JDH writes to Thiselton-Dyer regarding Norman Lockyer & Alexander MacMillan, respectively editor & Scottish publisher of NATURE; to which JDH has lent his name. Lockyer has not sent JDH a copy of William Carruthers' letter, JDH considers Carruthers' intellect muddled by a 'fear of extinction'. JDH is going to the funeral of an old friend, Archibald Smith of Jordanhill, in Kensal Green the following day. JDH invites Thiselton-Dyer to dine with him & his cousin Francis 'Frank' Palgrave.

JDH asks William Thiselton-Dyer his opinion on the qualifications of Mr Archer to fill the chair of Botany at Dublin, vacated by Thiselton-Dyer. JDH has heard Archer is being prevented from applying in deference to Dr Percival Wright.

JDH asks William Thiselton-Dyer to consider a post as his private secretary. The letter lays out the main duties, hours and salary for the job.

JDH informs Thiselton-Dyer that his wife, Frances Hooker, is unwell & so JDH will not be coming to work [in the RBG Kew herbarium] for a few days. He asks Thiselton-Dyer to consult Mrs Hooker's letters to determine what needs doing, & to continue work on the FLORA INDICA. If he completes the Dipterocarpeae Thiselton-Dyer should put the Impatiens in order for description. JDH has written to Daniel Oliver [Keeper of the herbarium] to ask him to put miscellaneous dried collections in order by genera. JDH will need to come to work to do the BOTANICAL MAGAZINE, when will depend on his wife's health.

JDH asks Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer to take special note of how Wilson Saunders cultivates plants from the Cape [Cape Peninsula, South Africa] so they can emulate the techniques in the pits at RBG Kew. He also wants to know where Saunders got the Elleanthus chrysocomus & Cotyledon mamillaris which he gave RBG Kew. Mr Pritchard has informed JDH that [William] Carruthers will drop his claim [that the RBG Kew herbarium should be transferred to the British Museum of Natural History to form one national herbarium] if papers can be produced that prove the RBG Kew herbarium is government property. The C. S. [Civil Service?] Commission have informed JDH that Spink's exams put him at the bottom of a list of 5 candidates [for a gardener position at Kew]. [George] Nicholson, a candidate with no training or references had the highest scores & impressed [John] Smith with his capacity so JDH has agreed to hire him. Thanks to ' [Acton Smee] Ayrton's folly' Nicholson will be on twice the salary he would have accepted, £150 per annum rather than £75. In additional marginal notes JDH mentions a letter from Reynold, [George] Bentham & his Linnean Society 'matter', & asks Thiselton-Dyer to write a few pages on the distribution of [Nathaniel] Wallich's Dipterocarps.

JDH asks William Thiselton-Dyer to inform Mr New whether or not he will be able to read JDH's paper on Kilimanjaro plants at the Linnean Society. JDH is leaving Beitrich for Gerolstein, & will then cross the Eifel to Altenahr & return home via Bonn or Aix. Mention's Kendall's death. JDH's tour has so far covered Luxembourg, Treves [Trier] & Berncastle [Bernkastel]. The weather has been cold & he has observed that the vegetation is not as far advanced as at RBG Kew & fruit & nut crops have been killed.

JDH reports that he & [Thomas Henry] Huxley are enjoying their time in France. He asks Thiselton-Dyer how his class is going [Thiselton-Dyer took over Huxley's summer course in elementary biology in 1873 as Huxley was away for his health]. JDH & Huxley have been studying a volcanic phenomenon [volcanic plug] & subsequent glacial action. JDH finds the scenery beautiful. Although the flora is diverse he is not collecting plants. Asks Thiselton-Dyer to tell Daniel Oliver he prefers Le Puy to Nuremberg & to pass on any messages from Oliver or [John] Smith.