130 SOUTH AGAIN : NEW ZEALAND AND THE CAPE 



of the root, or one seed ; or in default of them a piece of a 

 leaf ! 1 



But the disagreement of Captain and Governor had other 

 consequences at last, as told in a letter to Sir W. Hooker 

 (April 29, 1843) : 



The Governor of the Falklands was very kind indeed 

 to me and we were great chums ; but he and our Eoss 

 quarrelled most grievously, so that I was often unpleasantly 

 situated ; but told them both, that I had nothing to do with 

 their affairs. The worst of it was that Moody let us go to 

 sea for the South without fresh beef, so Smith and I went 

 and shot a bull calf and a horse, which were very good 

 eating ; we caught another horse, having run it down with 

 the dogs, quite a little thing, and tried to keep it as a pet 

 on board ; but the little thing, which was quite fond of me, 

 died before we got to the ice. However, keep all this to 

 yourself, for I am going to have nothing to do with their 

 rows. 



^ The wonderful Tussock grass, when at last raised, ' has thriven marvellously 

 both in the Orkneys and Hebrides, having seeded abundantly and sown itself 

 (1847),' but did not practically fulfil these glowing anticipations in the Northern 

 hemisphere. Moreover, the first sowings of seed sent home by the Expedition 

 baffled the botanists. This is the key to Hooker's belated satisfaction when 

 writing to Ross in November 1844 : 



' I am delighted to hear that some of the old Tussac vegetated, as everyone 

 has said that our Expedition seed all failed : it is quite a triumph to me, I assure 

 you, as now the Expedition was the first to introduce the grass. I have eleven 

 plants in my bedroom, growing very slowly, and there are a great many in 

 the Garden.' 



Even then it was not all plain sailing, as a subsequent note to Ross (Sept. 1, 

 1845) records : 



* Your excellent brother's plant of Tussac flowered with us, and turned 

 out the British Dactylis glomerata, to our shame and confusion at Kew, for Ave 

 were sufficiently positive of its being the right thing. The fact is that we have 

 only lately procured yoimg plants and raised seeds of the true Tussac, many 

 other things flowered before with various people but none the right. It grows 

 exceedingly slowly and is a rigid wiry grass in its young state and will not 

 (apparently) flower for a long time yet. Pray do not laugh immoderately at 

 us for all this bimgling, for all kinds of people, botanists, gardeners, and agri- 

 culturists have been deceived with what springs up in the pots. What we now 

 have young plants of and raised seeds of, is not like what I should have expected 

 Tussac to be, but as ten plants were watched sprouting from the seeds them- 

 selves and it totally differs from all other grasses, refembling the young plants 

 received from the Falklands, we are pretty sure it will become the true Tussac. 

 Enclosed are seeds which will surely germinate, but they must be watched, as 

 lots of other things spring up in the pots. I can give you a young plant if 

 you will tell me where to leave it in To\\ti.' 



