Melbourne, Collin Street, N 70 East
7. July 1853.
Sir
Upon the suggestion of his Excellency Governor La Trobe, I take the liberty of adressing this few lines to you with my greatest desire to establish henceforth a botanical correspondence and a mutual exchange of plants with a gentleman, who has so largely contributed towards the development of the Tasmanian Flora.
Having been engaged for nearly 6 years now more or less in the examination of Australian plants, I am happy to say, that I am enabled to offer named specimens of a large number of species foreighn to your shores for such as I not yet possess from V.DL.2
Should your time, Sir, and the [store] of your collections permit this, I would find you a list of those which I would be delighted to receive for the increase of the material for my "Flora Australiae universa." and would return you an equal number, which will prove, I believe, entirely new to your collection.
Could you spare me 2 specimens of each species, I would acquire then one for my private collections, giving such in return as I obtained before the office I am holding now was entrusted to me.
I have the honor, Sir, to subscribe myself your obed. and devoted servant
Dr Ferd. Mueller.
Ron. Gunn, Esq. J.P. &c
Please cite as “FVM-53-07-07,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 24 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/53-07-07