[[1]]
Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope
March 17th. 1840
My dear father [Sir William Jackson Hooker],
St Helena being the only Botanizing ground that I have visited since last
writing to you, I cannot expect that my present communications will be looked
upon as very interesting by you. My notes, such as they are, abstracted from
my journals, I send, wishing that they had been better. Limited as its flora is, it
is but ill investigated, more especially the Cryptogamic portion, which
occupied my attention much more than the Phanerogamic & among which
you must look for novelty if there be any in the collection, little scraps,
however poor, I have put in, as they may belong to easily identified species
hitherto found only in other latitudes. Mr. Harvey's letter of introduction th to
the Honourable Mr. Wilde (chief Justice of the island) was most useful to me,
as from him I obtained a good deal of the little information I collected, with
regard [to] the geographical distribution &c of the plants introduced into the
Colony. Mr. Help's & his wife were also particularly kind (he is the Military
Chaplain) making me consider their home my home, as far as I could. Young
Tennant who Mr. Helps sent out had also received much kindness from them,
& as you may suppose, I was very glad to hear so unexpectedly of my old
friend at Dr. Thomson's laboratory.
There is one plant of the Island that I particularly regretted not getting, &
which I was put upon a wrong scent to hunt for by a well meaning individual, it
was the Beatsonia (Frankeniaceae & the only other genus except the typical
one in the order). If my memory does not deceive me you have it not, and
further, the curious little Frankenia disticha n[ew] sp[ecies]. of V[an].
D[iemen's]. L[and] [Tasmania] is the only other plant of the order with a cleft
style, the generic character of Frankenia Beatsonia. Plants are only known on
the island by trivial names, most of them very inapplicable & sadly
confounded together.
Of the Arborescent Compositae of the island, three species are in the
collection, the only ones in flower at this season (some of the others I suspect
are mere varieties they are the genera Commidendrum, Melanodendron &
Lachanodes, vid D[e]. C[andolle]. I have no idea what the Mikania is nor could
I see any plant at all according to its description. The Trimeris (Lobeliaceae) is
also a good plant. Two Roellas & some of the Ferns too are I hope worthy [of]
your attention. In general my plants dry pretty well on board as I dry the
papers in the tropics by stringing them on a line, & hanging them outside in the
boats
[[2]] on one or two occasions however they suffered dreadfully, once when
after leaving the Cape de Verde we were three days battened down
amids[sic] the most astonishing & continued showers of rain, the heat &
moisture below were then unsupportable, nor could my plants be changed
during that time. My Madeira ones had a narrow escape, the Captain so
strongly recommended me to use the blotting paper, that I filled two reams,
when the heat of the climate caused them, though changed the day before, to
ferment, the papers rotting as well as their contents. The only other case was
the other day when boating off the S[outh] W[est] coast of Africa the
atmosphere was so damp that we every morning put on wet jackets, had not
my St. Helena plants been first dried I know not what I should have done, as it
was, their succulent nature predisposed them to attract damp. I am now fully
satisfied with Mr Brown's advice, that brown paper is the best in the Tropics. A
good leather portfolio with several quires of paper (such as Mr Arnott sent me)
is the next almost indispensable article to a Botanist; besides its other
advantages, it will hold with 3 quires of paper, nearly two vasculums full, as
the specimens do not suffer when placed between single sheets, if removed
again at night; at St Jago I could not have done without it, the dry Sidas &c
withering in my vasculum after being gathered a few hours, I always take the
vasculum besides for thick things succulents &c.
Since leaving St Helena, my time has been employed exactly as before[,] the
net is constantly over board, & generally catching enough to keep me 3/4 of
the day employed drawing, the dissection of the little marine animals generally
takes some time, as they are almost universally microscopic. Though I never
intend to make anything but Botany a study, I do not think I can do better than
do as I am doing, it gives me a facility in drawing which I feel came much
easier to me, it pleases the Captain beyond anything to see me at work &
further, it is a new field which none but an artist can prosecute at sea; the
extent of this branch of natural history is quite astonishing, the number of
species of little winged & footed floating shells provided with wings, sails,
bladders or swimmers appear marvelous. The causes of the
luminousness[sic] of the sea I refer entirely to animals (living) I never yet saw
the water flash without finding sufficient cause without electricity, phosphoric
water, dead animal matter, or anything further than living animals (generally
Entomostracous Crustacea if anybody asks you), the little shrimps are
particularly numerous especially two species of them, thousands of one kind
being caught in one night. Besides these the Pyrosoma some Sertularias &
other animals all help to illumine the sea. The library of natural history that you
fitted me out with is to me worth any money. Blainville's Actinologie &
Edward's Crustacea are particularly
[[3]] useful, as by them I can name many old species & detect the wonderful
new forms I meet with. My collection amounts to about 200 drawings done
from nature under the microscope. At evening is the time when the sea is
most productive or early in the morning & as I am learning to use my left eye
to the microscope, I do not find my eye sight affected even by candle light.
The Captain has a compound microscope case exactly like your large one,
which I use whenever I require it, indeed he has made everything in his cabin
my own. He has expressed himself much pleased with my Botanical
collections, from which I judge that he never saw a really good collection for I
can never look back upon a day in which I should not have done more than
has been done, though at the time I hardly will know how to carry what I had
got.
Till within a few days, no floating sea weeds have been seen, when they
suddenly appeared whilst cruising off St. Helen's Bay about 60 miles north of
the Cape, whilst we were boating to the Southward, they certainly (though
only of one kind) gave me a most exalted notion of a submarine forest, with its
accompaniements[sic] of a parasitic vegetation; with fish for birds, corals for
Lichens, & shells for insects. Whilst going 6 or 7 knots through the water, we,
stationed in the Quarter boats harpooned these weeds as we passed, & very
good fun for Botanizing it was, the largest brought on board had a short thick
branching root from which spring 6 great stems the largest 24 feet straight
erect smooth & rather club shaped being broadest above & fistulose, from the
summit of the stem a small flat palm branched off into many flat linear crenate
obtuse leaves, 6--8 feet long, it belongs to the Genus Laminaria the old stems
are brown, with flat white corals on them, & some parasitic sea weeds; the
matted roots contain numerous other sea weeds shells, crustacea, corals,
molluscs, actineae & red blooded worms. The leaves are infested with
Patella's Sertularias & Flustreae, from one specimen I took 4 sea weeds, &
upwards of 30 animals by carefully pulling the root to pieces. Nor were these
large sea weeds, many were seen twice as large if not larger. What
extraordinary power can have torn them up by the roots I cannot imagine, for,
from this length, they must grow far below low water mark. I[t] would have
amused you to have come into the cabin & seen the Captain & myself with
our sleeves tucked up picking sea weed roots, & depositing the treasures to
be drawn in salt water, in basins quietly popping the others into spirits. Some
of the sea weeds he lays out for himself often sitting at on[e] end of the table
laying them out with infinite pains, whilst I am drawing at the other end till 12 &
1 in the morning, at which time he is always very agreeable & my hours pass
quickly & pleasantly -- [Robert] Mc Cormick takes no interest in any thing but
bird shooting, & rock collecting, as of the
[[4]] former he has hitherto made no collection. I am nolens, volens*1 the
naturalist for which I enjoy no other advantage than the Captain's cabin & I
think myself amply repaid. // I have heard naturalists complain of the tedium of
a sea voyage such cannot be naturalists, or must be sea sick (which I have
never been for hour) I do not mean to say I would not be better employed &
happier perhaps studying Botany ashore, with more comforts around me, but I
assure you my weeks fly, though from my slow working I have not much to
show, & unaccountable as it may appear to you, when we draw near shore I
feel thrown out of my usual routine of employment. I must own however,
whenever my foot has touched terra firma, there is a sort of magic in the place
that makes me grievously loath to quit it again. There are also peculiar
emotions attending the seeing new countries for the first time, which are quite
indescribable I never felt as I did on drawing near Madeira & probably never
shall again. Every port that the ship approached called up new subjects of
enquiry & so it is with every new land or even every barren rock. It was the
same on approaching the Cape, & viewing Table Mountain, I could have, &
did, sit for hours wondering whether this knoll was covered with heaths or
Rutacea, whether this hill produced the Wardia, or that rock the Andraeae,
where was Ludwig's berg, Wynberg, the tree fern & all the spots which the
mind associates with our mutual pursuits our friends or our home. Selfish as I
doubtless am & proved myself to be at home, there is one idea the
prosecution of which I often dream of, & that is, to tell of all other persons, my
father, mother & brother of what I have seen; I never view a new scene but I
think what pleasure it will give me to view it o'er again with you all, to map to
you the places where my specimens were gathered & to paint to my mother &
to spin to William the yarns of incidents that befell my excursions, while
Grandpapa & my sisters will look upon me as "the monkey that has seen the
world". //
I am now beginning to consider what are to be the limits of my new Antarctic
Flora, if I confine it to 23° N[orth] of the S[outh] Pole it will consist of 1 species,
I suppose, & that the Protococcus nivalis, nor would this be a fair limit to poor
Flora, as she is guided by climate & not parallels which man has laid down &
called latitude. My idea is, to be guided very much by the temperature of the
islands & the nature of the plants they contain, it will be however difficult to
draw the line; the Straights of Magellan must I suppose come in with the
Falkland Islands whilst the Southern Island of New Zealand, Van Diemen's
Land & the Cape will be excluded. The mean annual temperature of the
Antarctic Ocean is said to be nearly that of the Arctic if this is the case there
must be some unknown reason for the comparative barrenness of the two
Islands of the two seas.
[[5]] Mc Cormick & I are exceedingly good friends, & no jealousy exists
between us regarding my taking most of his department, indeed he seems to
care too little about Natural History altogether to dream of any thing of the
kind; for my part I am rather glad to have an opportunity of doing more than is
expected from my department. From here, the expedition touches, first at the
Crozet & Prince Edwards Island & then forwards to Kerguelen's Land, where
the ship will remain for a month at the least, from Kerguelen's Land we shall
visit the Islands of St Paul & Amsterdam, & then steer for the southward, in
the direction of the new Islands (vide your chart) it is not the Captain's
intention to tempt the ice much at present; by the beginning or middle of
Autumn we expect to be at Van Diemen's Land, where we shall refit then
spend a few days at New Zealand, return to Van Diemen's Land & then leave
it to spend a winter in the Ice. This is all the news I can tell you of our projects,
we know not even this for certain, we know not even this for certain, we have
not landed at Tristan de Acunha [Tristan da Cunha] but I hope to do so upon
my return. We leave an artillery officer here, & we very much regret losing his
company, his father is Sir John Wilmot the member for Warwickshire, one of
the few really pious members of the house, the son is a great friend of mine
from having accompanied me in most of my excursions ashore, as well as
from many other circumstances, that have brought us together. If you have an
opportunity of showing any kindness to a brother of his, a medical student at
Edinburgh Augustus Wilmot by name, you would very much oblige me, he is a
bit of a Botanist and will receive the plants I have given to his brother. The
[HMS] Terror's Artillery Officer, Le Froy, Aunt Elizabeth's friend, is left at St
Helena he too was a nice fellow. We have not yet received letters from shore,
or rather from Cape Town, lest we do not before I send this, I must pray you
not to forget the Encyclopedia of Geography & if you could spare me any of
the following books you would confer a great boon on me, Linnaeus'
Amoenitates, Nees Phil[osophia] Botan[ica] (for the German); Forster's Flora,
Lamarck, Latreille & the vol[ume]s of Griffith's Curia containing Crustacea &
Annelides, these are books you do not use, &, I assure you, if you are willing
to spare these I will take the greatest care of them. My books are still as good
as new, having covered them & our berth being very clean also if you would
purchase for me the continuation of Endlicher after the tenth number, & of the
Annals after the July 1839 number -- Grant's Outlines of Comparative
Anatomy after the 4th No & Jones' Animal Kingdom after
[[6]] 5th No.. Any other books especially on Botany or Ornithology would be
duly prized. Now that I can pay the fees, may I ask whether I was ever made
a member of the Linn[aean] Soc[iety] & if not, should I not wait till I have done
something to deserve it. I leave the subject entirely in your hands.
My duplicates I shall not send from here as they will not add much to a parcel
which must go privately from Van Diemen's Land, I would have sent them to
Captain Beaufort, but Captain Ross says that the first set going to you may
cause him to think that the duplicates should go to the Admiralty since nothing
private in the way of notes or collections should be sent from the ship before
her return to any private persons. -- Mr Wilde at St Helena asked me how he
could procure from England roots or seeds of the following trees so I told him I
would mention it to you though from these having to go first to the Cape &
then to St Helena afterwards it will be a long passage. -- He has young trees
of the Araucaria which I hope is distinct from the Brazil Chilean one which he
would willingly send in exchange. -- The trees he wants are Chestnut, Beech,
Birch, Mountain ash, Sycamore, Lime, Lilac & Acacias. To anyone who would
send them out in a Ward's case it would answer very well as Wilde would
return it filled with the Ferns & arborescent compositae of the Island which
would only have to undergo a two or three months voyage. -- We have now
been here two days & though the post has come in, it has brought me no
letter from home, I need not say I am vexed. I send my little journal copied
from my more verbose one, hoping it may amuse if not instruct some at home.
I shall write to Campden [Camden] House*2, to both sisters, presuming that
they will not have left yet. From Van Diemen's Land I shall write only to the
little Mary there, as Bessy will by that time have left. If they have time to
answer me, any thing sent soon after the arrival of this, will reach me at
Hobart Town either on our first or second visit. We shall hardly be there under
6 months including New Zealand (to be added to the bye gone 6 since I have
heard anything of home). Best love to all.
Your most affectionate son | Jos[eph]. D. Hooker [signature]
Finished March 19th
ENDNOTES
1. Phrase, from Latin, meaning 'willing or unwilling'.
2. Camden House, a school run by a miss Teed and attended by Joseph
Hooker's sisters.
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