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 Ross 
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 abundantl}^ 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, gro^^•ing very slowly, and there are a great many in 
the Garden.' 
Even then it was not all plain sailing, as a subsequent note to Eoss (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 young 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 bungling, 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 m hat 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, resembling 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 the^^ 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 Town.' 
