(Copy) *1
H. M. S. Erebus, Berkeley Sound, Falkland Isl[an]ds Nov. 26. 1842. (rec[eive]d march 6. 1842)
My dear Mr Ward,
Long ere this arrives you will have read 2 long & prosy epistles, sent to you about a month ago & written 3 months prior to the receipt of your most kind letter to which I can make, at this time, but a brief reply. Since addressing you last, we have been to Cape Horn, where I was astonished & delighted beyond measure, with the Cryptogamic treasures of the woods, rocks & snow clad peaks of that rugged clime. On our June return, only a fortnight back, your welcome letter was put into my hands together with the books on the growth of plants. You must not feel vexed with me for not having read the latter & I scorn to give you an opinion, deduced only from skimming the leaves, but my time has been wholly occupied in arranging my various collections, public & private & perusing the kind communications of correspondents at home.
What you tell me about the Niger expedition that they did not when in that most unhealthy region, push onwards, because "it was Sunday", quite astonished me: & I can hardly believe that such fanaticism could be displayed in the 19th century. I knew no officer connected with it but always looked upon the scheme as very hopeless. Poor fellows! It is impossible not to admire the bravery & contempt of danger which they showed. But did they suffer more in proportion than other expeditions? They were & perhaps deservedly, better known & so their unhappy fate has been more publicly deplored & commented upon; but their losses could not be severer, (if equally so.) than Park's'-or Tuckey's, or Captain --,

when surveying, or many of our W[est] Coast Cruizers: but I speak from memory alone. Lander buried his master; who, I think on a previous occasion had performed the same sad office to his servant. But these expeditions are all alike disastrous; & acclimated men alone should be permitted to embark in an enterprize, so well intentioned & yet of such a dashing nature as hardly any ardent young mind can resist, unless tempered with more than an ordinary share of sound sense. If I were near you I would recommend Dr. [William] Stanger to settle at V[an]. D[iemen's]. Land. New Zealand is a bad speculation: He & the other officers did do not seem to have lacked the comforts of this life, from your amusing accounts of their daily fare. I cannot agree with Dr. Stanger that his dietetics saved his life:--7 glasses of madera[sic.], 3 or 4 pints of pale ale & a pint of claret is no bad allowance certainly; but did none of all the rest take the same & still fall victims? Did no one follow their example? I do suspect that the Ale, Grouse & Claret had as much to do with their good health as our salt Junk, weavily biscuit & rum, -- or our Wednesday's dinner of 1/2 lb of fat preserved Mutton, -- hase[sic], in keeping us free from scurvy. Human nature is pretty nearly the same at the Tropics & Poles:--doubtless these gentlemen followed their own inclinations & were lucky in having the power of doing it so much to their taste. When we arrived here our bread was so full of green mould & live maggots, that is was with the greatest loathing we could eat it; & my stomach is pretty strong. The Commissariat at Hobarton had supplied us with old bread, brought out by a Convict Ship -- Prisoners' refuse! Our stay at Cape Horn for a month was very pleasant; though there was a great deal of snow & wind. The former often prevented

my muscologizing on the hills but seldom in the woods which really contain far more species than I could have believed. Leptostormum Menziesii is a drug in the market; so common that I hardly gathered enough of specimens: also the noble Polytrichum dendroides (very rare in fruit) & 2 or 3 other species. The Woods consist of the 2 Beeches, Pernettia, Wintera, Escallonia, Berberis, & a few others of smaller stature. Not having seen any vegetation, properly so called, for such a long period, I was charmed with everything & filled a fine case with the Trees, Shrubs & many alpine plants to send home, unfortunately, the season was too far advanced for the Trees, though they still look almost too well.
A few of the poor wretched Fuegians used to come down to our ship but they are so accurately described by Darwin, King & Fitzroy, that I have nothing to add about them. The Botanical features of this Island are as you know, totally at variance with those of Fuegia [Tierra del Fuego], though enjoying perhaps a very similar mean temperature: or if there be any difference, Is it is probably in favor of this place. And yet Fuegia is wooded, to a degree, unknown in Scotland. Even as far south as 56°, the timber, though small, is so dense & luxuriant that the country for a thousand ft upwards, is covered with a thick mass of foliage on all the sheltered shores. This difference depends on soil, -- the formation of the land, -- the diurnal variations of temperature & the hygrometric state of the atmosphere; -- all these in the Falklands, presenting a most remarkable contrast to what exists in Fuegia.
Here a bed of very stiff, hard & good clay is invariably found under the peat, never more than 3 or 4 f[ee]t down, & on it the peat rests. This clay overlays equally the Quartz rocks, & the sandstone & clayslate[.]

Then as to the formation of the lands it is all low & flat rising into a few long, undulating ranges of hills, enclosing broad valleys only on the Quartz districts. Shelter is no where to be found.
The Thermometer often rises during summer to a Temp[erature] of 60°--70°. --& at night falls to 32° or under:-- & from the atmosphere being often more[?] clear by night & dry, here, than in Fuegia, the Sun's rays beam more power & the effect of cold, produced by nocturnal radiation from the earth, is much increased.
The vapors of the Atlantic, brought by the W[estern]. winds are probably all deposited on the higher mountains of West Falkland; for here their dryness is wonderful such as I have witnessed no where else. Often during this month, 16--18 degrees, & several times 26°--28°, & one 32 degrees of difference, I have found to intervene between the temp[erature]. of air & that at which moisture w[oul]d be precipitated -- Add to this the evaporating effect influence of a smart wind, -- & you will at once perceive how distressing would be the effects, produced on a tenderleaved[sic] Tree. The water is always during the day colder than the atmosphere, -- & though on these occasions of extraordinary dryness, the hills inland are clear & beautifully defined, the horizon at sea to leeward is covered with a haze produced by the ocean cooling the temperature. Parallel walls are formed to favor the ripening of fruit in England:-- because, by cutting off from the face of the tree a considerable portion of the face of heaven they prevent the radiation of their heat during the night & similarly do the deep vallies[sic] of Fuegia afford an analogous shelter to the trees of that country. The vapors of the Atlantic are, at once, condensed on the mountains & hence the face of the sky was so constantly clouded at Cape Horn, that I never got more than 6° of difference between the Therm[ometer]. in a parabolic reflector, & the shaded one at night:-- & this only once or twice.

The valleys of Fuegia are exposed to all the moisture of deposited mist, melting snow, & mountain torrents. All the evaporation is effected, on the sheltered side, by the force of the sun's rays, never vertical, seldom (from the steepness of the hills) touching their northern slopes, -- & almost always seen through slight[?] mist. And as the least cloud prevents solar radiation, so so much of its effects is lost. The wind cannot enter these valleys, except in Williewaw squalls, accompanied (generally) with rain; & thus it cannot lend its a assistance in carrying off the vaporized moisture. These combined causes tend to clothe Fugia with wood, & to make its allies teem with Cryptogamia: & as the mean Thermal temperature is but little above the mean Brumal, an evergreen vegetation is to be looked for.
The Southern parts of New Zealand are very similarly situated, both with respect to climate & the consequent vegetation; but I think Fuegia is much richer in mosses than any other country I ever visited. These Antarctic climates have no analogy or parallel in the world: & thus every circumstance connected with their Botanical Geography is of deep interest to me.
Poor Mr Harvey's state, which you describe, is indeed afflicting: & could you but know how much I have counted upon & indulged in dreams, of seeing one known face at the Cape of Good Hope, in the course of this long voyage, you would appreciate my grievous disappointment:-- not to speak of the comprehensive grasp, which, with his kind assistance, I hoped to have extended over the Cryptogamia of the Hottentot's land!
I fear that my time will not allow me to address you at great length now:-- though doubtless this is quite long enough,-- & by not writing at all, I might enjoy the ambiguous praise of "Vir sapit qui pauca

loquitor."*2 I enclose a moss or two for your private microscope but must beg you to remember that our Captain is dreadfully jealous of any of our discoveries (tates[?] quales) gaining wind before our return: & I am rather sharply restricted to sending Botanical information & specimens solely to my Father & the Government Collections. For my own part, I would fain let all my friends share at once in my pleasures:--but this must not be.
You will present my kind compliments to Mrs. Ward & all your family, not forgetting your son, who will soon, I hope, relieve you from much of your arduous duties; thus giving you time to devote your attention to cryptogamic Botany, which is now crying out for votaries.
Remember me to all Botanists who may take an interest in me & particularly to Mr. Loddiges, whose attention to my sister & myself conjointly with your own, I have not forgotten.
Very truly yours| J. D. Hooker.
P.S. The specimens must go by another opportunity.
To N. B. Ward. Esq[ui]re.
Wellclose Square. London.