To John Foster   18 April 1854

Botanic Gardens, Melbourne,

18. April 1854.

Sir

I have the honor to inform you for communication to his Excellency the Governor, that I returned this day from my botanical expedition, in which I have been engaged for nearly six months, traversing during this period the distance of 2550 miles.

According to my last report, dated Avon river, March 13th,1 I intended to adscend Mount Wellington, a task which I was however unable to fulfil this season, as the early and almost continual rain in Gipps land during the last month compelled me to retreat from the higher mountains.

I undertook since a journey to the Buchan river, a tributary of the Snowy river and the continuation of the Native Dog creek, visiting there the craters and caves, which yielded some novelties to my collections

After a few short excursions along the Mitchell-, Avon- and Thompson-river I proceeded to the ferrntree gullies near the Moe swamp —, so interesting for their richdom in mosses.

The additional species amount to nearly 50, chiefly cryptogamic, as the following series proves of their genera: Villarsia, Pteris, Encalypta, Eucalyptus, Corraea, Acacia, Hypnum, Myoporum, Grimmia, Bryum, Barbula, Dicranum, Psoralea, Geaster, Blandfordia, Pterostylis, Neckera, Jungermannia, Lepidosperma, Agaricus, Parmelia.

These added to my former collections give a total amount of 1700 species for my Victoria Flora, and it appears to me very improbable, that now more than 300 species should be left undiscovered within the boundaries of this colony, and it will be hardly possible to disclose this scattered remaining part of the vegetation in an other expedition as extensive as the last.

I beg now to solicit his Excellency's sanction of three coast journeys during this winter, vize to Point Nepean, to Cape Ottway and to Portland bay, so that I might become more closely acquainted with the algae of our shores, — in order to cooperate with the honorable Professor William Harvey, who, under the auspicies of the Dublin university, is now examining the phycological productions of the Australian seas.

A full general report of the results of my last journey will be laid before the Government at the close of the winter.

I have the honor, to be

Sir,

your most obedient and humble servant

Ferd. Mueller.

 

The honorable the Colonial Secretary.

 
 

Acacia

Agaricus

Barbula

Blandfordia

Bryum

Corraea

Dicranum

Encalypta

Eucalyptus

Geaster

Grimmia

Hypnum

Jungermannia

Lepidosperma

Myoporum

Neckera

Parmelia.

Psoralea

Pteris

Pterostylis

Villarsia

 
M to J. Foster, 13 March 1854.

Please cite as “FVM-54-04-18,” 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 28 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/54-04-18