Copy *1
H[.]M[.]S. Erebus *2, Berkeley Sound Falklands June 13 1842
To N.B. Ward Esquire.
My dear Sir,
Before leaving New Zealand, in Nov[ember] 1841, I wrote you a letter which I cannot doubt has been long ago received if not answered by you: but as no despatches[sic] have reached us since our arrival here, we are of course all in ignorance of home & what may have happened there. We had hoped, before going to the extreme South, to have put into the Chatham Isl[an]ds whence it was my intention to have sent you a specimen of the Hypnum Menziesii. My father can inform you of the causes which prevented our so much as making that interesting groupe[sic]; to my great regret: so that I need not to trouble you with a detail of them now.
Our Southern cruizes are, naturally, very unproductive for a Botanist; & however much I may cherish the few isolated facts, bearing on the Vegetable Kingdom, because they are gained at so great an expense, I can hardly hope that others will attach an equal value to them. The immense abundance of Animal Life, in the high Southern Latitudes, whether at the surface or the bottom of the sea, existing at a summer temperature of 28°--32°, would almost warrant the conclusion that some concomitant plants, of however low a type, must also be found; if not to feed, at least to afford shelter, for the members of its sister Kingdom. This reasoning, however, does not hold good; for I have been unable, with the constant use of the towing net, in all practicable weather, & a minute examination of the dredge, to discover more than one seaplant[sic] within the Antarctic circle

and it belongs to the very dubious Genus Diatoma. It is true, that I have traced vegetation farther South than Deception Island, hitherto “the Ultima Thule” *3 of Vegetable life; & as the subject seems to me interesting, you may be glad to hear of it. The Sargassum natans is the only gregarious marine plant, inhabiting the sea independent of the land, whose existence I am aware of from books. Two other kinds, though occurring in much more scattered patches, perhaps cover a greater surface of the Ocean than the Sargasso weed: these are the Macrocystis pyrifera & a species of Laminaria: the former being most abundant at sea & generally considered a good sign of the Navigators’ approaching land. In all Latitudes that we have traversed, from 35° to the immediate neighborhood of Ice, we have met with it, & many hundred miles from any shore; in patches so large & so green, that I could not believe, either that it had been lately torn from its natural habitat, or that it was only undergoing a slow death & a sure one. On several occasions, therefore, specimens were picked up, generally with great difficulty (in these blowing latitudes), when on examination they were found to be not only growing with their wonted vigour but increasing; the end of the branches being furnished with the broad young green leaves, in all the stages of growth, separating after the manner so correctly described in Harvey's Cape Flora. That in many instances, we were at an enormous distance from any land, was evident from the tracks of former voyages & our own; & nor does the plant appear close to the Ice; or, still less, in the ocean to the Southward of the Packs. I have kept a list of the ship's position at the times when this weed has been seen; & it is highly curious to remark how uniformly its existence seems to cease when the

temperature of the water falls below 32° or 33°, in whatever longitude that may be. 63 degrees and a half is the highest South latitude in which we saw it. The currents that
transport these plants are very slow indeed, probably wind currents, which with the send of the sea must have wafted the parent stock from the Southern parts of New Zealand & its islands the whole way to the Horn. Its propagation in the sea is probably exceedingly low & effected caused, I suspect, by the agency of marine animals which swarm about the patches. No roots have been traced under these circumstances; nor do they seem
essential to its life & increase. After separating out a single plant, perhaps 30 fathoms long, one end is invariably found green, while the other is gradually more & more encrusted with Flustra, Serpula & Bicellaria, Sponges &c, until it terminates abruptly; the cellular
substance of the stem being quite exposed, not covered with any more condensed parenchyme, but apparently bitten off; and there are often along the stem pieces taken out, I suppose by some Molluscous animal. The Laminaria is not so common on the "high seas", & when it does occur, generally runs out into long branches.
The Diatoma is a much more complex extraordinary phenomenon; and though, with Capt[ain] Ross' *4 assistance, I have thoroughly sifted & examined the subject in all its
bearings, & have procured this production under the most extraordinary & various
circumstances, in the Sea, on the Ice, in the stomachs of marine animals, & at a depth of 200 fathoms in the 79th Degree of S[outh] Latitude, I am still very much at a loss whether to assign it a place in the Animal or Vegetable Kingdom. That it is identical with the
confervoid ? remains, in the fossil powders of N[orth] America, I can shew [show]; having specimens of the latter on board. It also agrees with the descriptions of that
substance found in Ireland, England & Germany; but it is beyond my powers to account for its occurrence in broad green slimy masses, only to

be detected by subjecting the residue of filtered water to a microscope of 200 powers, again covering the young freezing sea with a brown film, which obscures the water as Limna does a duck pond, -- & lastly, coloring thousands of square acres of young Pack Ice, far as the eye can reach.
During our last Voyage, we had the luck of being for 47 days in the Pack Ice; which gave me a famous opportunity of examining my New Zealand Mosses, not only for the sake of description, but for physiological purposes. The result of these hours proved highly
interesting to me; for I traced the development of the Theca, in the most satisfactory manner, from a single cell enclosed in the pistil, & fully investigated the nature of the columella columellar & opercular membranes: -- being, the whole while, in gross ignorance of Valentine's paper & prior discoveries: & his paper being all the time on board, amongst a few vol[ume]s of the Linnean Transactions in Capt[ain] Ross' *5 library, but so stowed away that it was a new book tome when I dug it out, soon after our arrival here! It must be owned that I felt rather vexed when first reading Valentine's essay a few days ago. On proceeding with it, however, my disappointment turned to delight, on finding that his results generally corresponded with my own; & it was still more gratifying to observe, not only that the train of reasoning we had pursued was the same, but that he filled up some blanks which I had left, -- & vice versa.
My little note books are now all lying alongside of me & perhaps you will allow me to make a running comment upon his researches, adding what may be new & cautioning you what may be wrong. My investigations being carried on at the Antipodes of position, vegetation & (I may also say) circumstances of comfort & convenience, you will be good enough to judge of my errors with leniency, for many a good capsule have I lost by the Ship's bumping against the Ice.

The conical termination of the seta downwards I first saw in a small Orthotrichum from Kerguelen's Land & afterwards in many Mosses; very distinctly in Dawsonia & others of the Polytrichoid family. After carefully dissecting many capsules pistils of a new & very handsome species of Sclotheimia from Campbell's Island, to find which of all the mass would produce a theca, or rather, which would metamorphose itself into one, I ascertained (as did Valentine), that the favored one always contained a cavity in its axis, in which was a free cylindrical body, conical at both ends, which immediately explained the first phenomenon of the base of the base of the seta having no organic connexion[sic] with the stem of the Moss. In pursuing the subject through its several stages I was led to suspect that this cavity communicated with the funnel--shaped apex of the pistil, though the canal was never evident to me: & my opinion was strengthened by observing the contraction below the apex & its future unchanging state; up to the time when the calyptra falls away from the ripe theca. I never saw the single cell, however far less the molecular motion of its contained chromule; having neither instruments to dissect such minute organs, nor a microscope which would distinguish them. The existence, however of the canal & the fact of its closing up afterwards, argues something for the sexes of mosses, when the cell many bear so close an affinity, or rather analogy, to the naked ovule of a coniferous plant. In the further development of the process, there are 3 simultaneous operations to watch, after the closing of the canal, -- the lengthening of the seta, the growth of the bulb, & the phases of the calyptra. The Bulb or base of the Pistil increases by the development of cellular tissue, both in its substance & in that of the summit of the stem, so that the abortive pistils from occupying a tolerably plane surface, surrounded by young leaves, finally surround the bulb, which is fully formed & capable of supporting the seta. The Calyptra *6, at its first stage, presents different appearances in different Mosses; it evidently consists of a leaf, 2 opposite ones, or a whorl; of a single leaf I suspect, in Polytrichum; of 2 opposite ones in Tortula (according to

Valentine & certainly of a whorl, of 4 or more, in various Orthoticha; and it may further be the case, that, in the first instance, the variation is convolute, -- in the second imbricate, & in the last it certainly is valvate. Should this prove true, it may constitute prove a valuable aid to the distributing of families of Mosses naturally. The vaginula is the next object. I
always considered it to be the scariose [scarious] remains of the base of the calyptra; though in some cases, the remarkable differences between the textures of the two organs have often led me to suspect that this is not always its origin. A priori, it seems unnatural to suppose that such an organ should have various origins in various mosses: & yet it looks as equally unlikely that it should be a gummy secretion, deposited for the mechanical purpose of supporting the seta; altogether a very clumsy contrivance of Dame Nature's, & one which seems quite inadequate for the supposed object. I have overhauled all my notes, to see if I ever noticed such a secretion, but in vain: on the contrary, the vaginula appears to undergo very little change (if any), from the time the Calyptra separates until the Capsule ripens. Again, in examining a young Polytrichum, you will find that the upper portion of the bulb gradually becomes scariose & terminates in a long membranous jagged vaginula, split halfway down & corresponding, in color & texture, with the calyptra. This, however, is all negative evidence; for I cannot account for the vaginula in some coriaceous -- Calyptroid mosses; yet I will never believe it be the remains of a gummy secretion until I see it -- or till Brown says so.
The future increase of the seta upwards, & the formation of the theca, demand no notice until the different membranes of the latter are developed. With regard to the Columella & columellar membrane & the cell membrane, their existence is very evident & quite correctly described by Valentine, & the same may be said of the opercular membrane; but I don't

agree with him, in several points, regarding their relation one to another, or the
development of the sporules. The columellar membrane is the "seminal sac" of older
authors; which, when not in juxtaposition with the inner wall of the theca, has often been called by Muscologists the columella: -- the true columella, which it always contains, more or less developed, being overlooked. As Valentine correctly observes, the columella & its membrane form a distinct body in the axis of the young theca connected by delicate fibres with a delicate lining of the theca (his thecal membrane). It does not seem to have struck him, that the columella & its membrane are one & the same organ; that both, together, constitute the old seminal sac of anthers, -- which is a shut sac with the base drawn up through the centre, to the top, (forming a vegetable intus susceptis), it is retained in its place by a spongy peduncle, rising from the base of the theca, which is very large in some apophysate Splachna (Note there are 2 kinds of apophysis, one hollow & the other full of the spongy base of this peduncle). The columella itself is hollow, & the space traversed by filaments which, arising from the spongy peduncle, anastomose in the hollow & attach themselves to its inner walls: -- besides, these filaments, are similar in all respects to those which originate in the thecal membrane & cross from it, to the thecal columellar membrane. Hence there are 3 forms of cellular tissue in the theca each in its own place, 1st the dense cellular substance of the theca; -- 2nd the spongy matter of the peduncle of the seminal sac which, ascending, lines the theca, forming the thecal membrane & thence sends filaments to the outside of the seminal sac & again sending filaments up the hollow of the columella, communicating with the inside of the seminal sac – 3rd the seminal sac itself, a very distinct tissue, from whose inner surface the sporules are formed.
I believe that the tissue sporules are developed equally from the inside of the columellar membrane & from outside of the columella,

to use Valentine's phraseology, or, as I should express it "from both the descending & ascending inner surface of the seminal sac". I think so, because the tissues are the same under the microscope, both before the sporules are separated & after it, & because of the curious connexion which exists between the whole outer surface of the seminal sac with the thecal membrane, by means of the filaments; which, branching from that membrane, communicate with the erect & incrusted surface of the seminal sac. If these filaments be now examined, they are found to consist of cylindrical anastomosing jointed transparent threads filled here & there with chromule, distinctly ramifying from thecal membranae, which is of similar structure condensed; but if you examine an old capsule, both the
filaments & the thecal membrane will be found empty of chromule, -- does it not follow then that they are immediately concerned in the formation of the sporules? If not why do they contain chromule before the sporules are ripe? Where does the chromule go? and why do these filaments immediately communicate with all the outer surface of the very tissue out of which the sporules are elaborated? -- Again, I see no relation of affinity between these & Anthers, the analogy is plain enough. As to the quadrangular columella of Polytrichum, it is a beautiful contrivance to give more surface to make sporules with, just as buttresses are replaced along the inner walls of libraries, projecting into the apartment, to afford greater space for books.
The next subject to which I would call your attention is the teeth. The interior peristome is accurately described, as being formed of the columellar membrane, which is particularly evident in a new species of Entosthodon I possess from the Bay of Islands: its connexion, however with the mouth of the theca is curious & more or less intimate in various mosses. Sometimes, the conniving teeth close the mouth of the sac, as in Schistostega (?) & Syrrhopodon; at others, where the teeth are not

closely set, the summit of the columella presents a drumhead, touching the base of the teeth all round as in Entosthodon & in Funaria: where there is no inner peristome, the drumhead adheres to the inner stoma of the sac until the sporules are ripe. In Zygoson, the inner teeth lie upon a spongy cone, which fits on to the top of the drumhead, & is the opercular membrane. In some Sclotheimia this spongy cone is considered as a form of inner peristome. In Polytrichum the drumhead is the opercular membrane. In short, the variations in the disposition of the inner peristome, drumhead & opercular membrane are so striking & unintelligible, at first sight, that muscology is full of errors arising from the misapplication of terms & from ignorance as to the development of these organs & of the distinct [1 word illeg.] offices they perform. And yet nothing can be more interesting than to watch their operations & to see how the functions of each are admirably adapted to the wants of the Moss: -- to place a ripe moist capsule under the microscope, & as it dries, to view the external peristome expanding the mouth of the theca & the internal one that of sac -- or if there be no internal, to watch the columella shortening & removing the
drumhead out of the way.
With regard to the opercular membrane; its origin & insertion are so difficult to trace that I have, as yet, arrived at no broad truths with respect to it. It often has organic connexion with the summit of the operculum, after the dehiscence of the latter, & also with the summit of the seminal sac, when the Theca is still very young.
I do not at all understand Valentine's description of the origins of the Peristone. At p[age] 470 line 18, he describes the outer peristome, as being formed of the inner layers of the operculum; & again (p[age] 471, line 3) he says "it is attached to the inner lining of the theca or thecal membrane, with which it is continuous at the base". Again, speaking of the inner peristome, (at p[age] 470, line 25,) it is formed out of the opercular membrane; but (p[age] 471, line 19) it is said to be continuous with the columellar membrane

Now it is my opinion that the inner peristome arises from & belongs to the columellar membrane, & is not necessarily at all connected with the opercular membrane. Of this, however, I cannot make myself sure, my argument being derived from the examination of a single & minute Moss, the Zygodon obtusifolium (?) of New Zealand in which I saw the 8 teeth of the inner peristome lying upon a spongy cone which fitted on to the top of the
columella & which I take to be the remains of the opercular membrane & is then analogous to the drumhead of Polytrichum, which also lies across the top of the columella. Upon this cone, the genus Codonoblepharum is founded; but I do not think it can hold; for I have
always experienced great difficulty in discerning it; & it probably exists also in the Zygodon conoideum. Here I may add an extract from my notes, descriptive of the cone-shaped membrane, usually considered analogous to an inner peristome, in a Sclotheimia, from Campbell's Island.
" *7In the young capsule, the inner membrane surrounding the columella & containing the spores (columellar membrane Valent[ine]), rises up on the inner surface of the theca, adheres round the inside of the stoma *8 & there meeting the summit of the columella, both, ascending together, form a truncated solid spongy cone, obscurely marked with
longitudinal lines. Why is this cone truncated? I cannot say, except that it may have had
organic connexion with the summit of the operculum & been broken off. The outer teeth arch over this spongy cone. As the theca ripens, the columella becomes detached from the base of the cone, as from the base of the drumhead in Polytricha; this cone then continues to adhere slightly all round to the stoma, but is easily separable; as it is, it often separates with the operculum, or falls away soon after the dehiscence of the theca". Hence, I infer that this spongy cone is entirely unconnected with the peristome; for in Zygodon it is
superadded to an inner peristome. Lastly, this spongy cone is neither peculiar to Ortholischoid Musci; nor is its existence rare. It may be found in many (most?)

single peristomed Mosses if examined young & is sometimes persistent, as in those species where the operculum remains attached to the columella; but even in these, if early examined before the cellular tissues become opaque, a very marked horizontal line, at the summit of the columella, is seen to divide the papery tissue of the latter from the spongy one of the cone; in no case more remarkable than in a beautiful new Phyllogonium, which inhabits the trunks of trees about the Bay of Islands.
Valentine assigns the origin of the outer peristome to the thecal membrane. When I found this thecal membrane for the first time, I too did not doubt but that it would prove to be the tissue from which the outer teeth were to be formed: -- & accordingly, with a mind
prepossessed in favor of a hazarded theory, I tried to prove it true. Conscience then compelled me to own that it was destitute of foundation; & having like most conceited people, far more inclination to contradict other than myself, I must also add that I think Valentine has been mistaken also. I have examined moss after moss; but in no instance do I perceive the lining membrane of the theca to be produced into teeth. Further, all that I saw, tended to show that the outer teeth do not necessarily originate from the inner most layer of cells; nor are they always composed of one row of cells on the contrary, I suspect many teeth are formed of 2 layers of stout cells & that though the substance of the theca is formed of 3 layers of cells in general & a thecal membrane; still, in some cases the stoma is strengthened by 2 more layers, making 5 in all. You must have remarked the
extraordinarily horny consistence of the teeth of a Polytrichina? yet I find among my notes of that genus -- *9 "the inner surface of the theca is lined with an exquisitely delicate,
transparent hyaline coat; composed of beautiful hexagonal cells, which give off jointed filaments to the seminal sacs filled with minute yellow granules".

This description answers for all the thecal membranes I have examined, & shows a totally different tissue from that of the teeth of the external persitome. It was this failure in proving my theory that led me to look for a function to suit the thecal membrane; for which purpose, after vainly attempting to trace it past the stoma, upwards, I followed it down to the spongy peduncle of the sac & up to the inside of the columella; -- when it occurred to me that it was connected with the formation of sporules.
If you are not already sick of this long screed (Scotch) *10. I will finish the theca story by
giving you my ideas on the nature of the annulus & the dehiscence of the operculum. It must be known to all who are conversant with Mosses, that, although the annulus
immediately surrounds the peristome, still it bears no relation to the latter organ, in form or texture, -- still less in the number of its teeth or divisions: -- nor am I aware that any
explanation of its origin exists. To me it appears that the Annulus is the natural &
necessary consequence of the removal of the speculum. In examining the young theca, the line of separation will be seen to cross 2 cells, & cut a third through the middle; which 3[r]d, is the middle centre one of the 3. When the capsule is ripe, the separation usually commences by this 3[r]d series of cells slightly lengthening; & when the operculum is gone, the upper halves of this middle row stick up like a ridge; the outer row contracts & exposes it more in the form of an annulus: -- further, if the operculum be now examined, a
corresponding canal will be found, between its inner & outer rows of cells, in which the
upper halves of the cells of the annulus were lodged.
Concerning the "much vexed" subject of the sexes of mosses, I shall not enter upon it: simply because I have nothing to say. If they exist at all, it must be in the anthers & pistils; organs to be found in every genus, from Andreae to Hypnum, & of varied forms, through constant

in the texture of their sac & the nature of their contents. Many experiments ought to be tried by fireside Botanists, with the larger species to ascertain whether the anthers & their contents will germinate; whether pistils will prove abortive, if removed from the
neighborhood of anthers; -- & whether, by impregnating several, or a whole crop of pistils, more seta will be produced than the moss usually bears. Our ignorance of any approach to hybridity among plants so blended in their habitat, is a negative evidence against the sexes. And again, the vegetating of any few cells taken from any part of a moss forms no argument against sexes also existing. I cannot conceive that bodies so constant & regular as Anthers -- & the tissue of whose coats is so unlike most other parts of the Moss, are formed for nothing; or that they are mere modifications of other organs. It has always struck me that a remarkable similarity exists, between anthers & young seminal sacs;
before the sporules are formed: -- both tissues are rather membranous than cellular, & both their contents pulpy--green masses.
The last subject to which I would call your attention, is the Natural Arrangement of the Mosses; for it is the point towards which at present, all our investigations should aim. There are laws, which determine their habits, habitats & geographical Distribution: but so limited is our knowledge of the species actually in existence, that we cannot even summon these important adjuncts to our aid. And noted Botanists, like Brown, will again go forth, who confine themselves in collecting to no particular branch of Botany, we shall never ascertain the proportion which Mosses bear to the other vegetation of the countries they predominate in: still less shall we know what genus in the South represent those of our own country.
June 21st I have just been examining two Mosses: a rupincolous tufted Orthotrichum, like displanum. In this, the calyptra is very

fully developed, before the base of it becomes detached from the bulb & very large. I opened it easily & commenced detaching the calyptra (from the inner surface), when it left a most distinct vaginula, formed of a layer of its inner cells. The more I tried, the more
convincing was the proof that the dehiscence us obliquely upwards & inwards, thus leaving a vaginula. The young calyptra was most distinctly composed of 8 leaves each & with a valvate vernation.
The 2nd Moss was a Sphagnum in which I can see very clearly what is meant by the spinal vessels of the cellular tissue; but cannot agree with any views which sanction such a name. [Two sketches appear here] *11 To me it appears that the cells are divided by horizontal, or, more seldom, by oblique septa, into partitions. If you examine one of the perichetial leaves which are exceedingly thin & membranous, with a low flower[?], it seems composed of lozenge-shaped cells. Apply a rather higher lens, & each cell is seen to be crossed by 2 or more oblique parallel lines, which are of precisely the same apparent substance & texture as the walls themselves of the cells [A sketch appears in the middle of the sentence, it occupies the next three lines] but rather more slender[.] Now, if we suppose these cells to be inflated; -- or in other words, that the perichetial leaf be rendered as thick as a cauline one, it will follow that we shall see two of the minor lines for everyone that was seen before: one being the junction of the same septum to the opposite wall of the cell: -- hence the flat compressed cell of the perichetial leaf resembles this [a sketch appears here]; but the inflated one of the cauline leaf this [a sketch appears here]; or if the septa are oblique [a sketch appears here]. Now will you be kind enough to examine the leaf of a Sphagnum & tell me if the oblique lines are not rare & if ever you see the lines, forming a true spire in the cell. In some young leaves, the very walls of the cells containing cavities or cells look beaded [a sketch appears here].

July 21st I have been carrying out the above subjects, particularly with reference to the thecal membranes; & I now suspect that the spongy cone of orthotrichum is similar to the peduncle of the seminal sac. I have examined a ripe Voitia with very great care & find from a beautiful dissection, performed with extreme trouble, that the inner membrane of the theca (thecal membrane, Val[entine]) forms the peduncle of the sac, the lining of the theca, & lastly, descending from the apex of the theca constitutes the long bristle--shaped cone, described by Brown (Parry's Voyage), & by means of a fine network of beaded cells, similar to those ramifying from the theca to the sac, it communicates, again, with the peduncle of the sac. It thus passes right through the columella; whose membranae I distinctly perceive to be continuous with that of the sac, both above & below.
The sac, there is a lengthened hollow annulus, containing sporules. Also, the drumhead of Polytricha is a part if the membrane of the sac detached & not al analogous to the spongy cone of other Mosses. The spongy cone of other mosses is analogous to the bristle-shaped cone of Voitia. In all operculate mosses, with which I am acquainted, except Polytricha & some Gymnostoma, the seminal sac terminates abruptly at the stoma, or is prolonged into an inner peristome. [Sketches of Voitia, Polytrichum, and Bryum appear here] *12.

Kind respects to all your family from yours with much steem & regard | Jos. D. Hooker.
P.S. So our old friend Menzies' death is announced at last! I wonder whether he has
survived his contemporary my grandfather, or not.