To Eduard Fenzl1    5 April 1855

Bot. Garten, Melbourne,

am 5 April 1855.

Sehr geehrter Herr Professor!

Zu meiner grössten Freude erfuhr ich von Hr Dr. Sonder vor einiger Zeit, dass Sie einen Theil Ihrer so kostbaren Zeit der Bearbeitung meiner Salsolaceae und Rhamnaceae widmen wollten. Ihre allbekannte Genauigkeit im Untersuchen u Beschreiben von Pflanzen verbürgt es, dass Ihre Behandlung dieser Familien, zu denen Sie schon so gediegene Beiträge lieferten, eine Zierde für die diesjährige Linnaea sein werden. Meine amtliche Stellung hier, in der es ein Theil meiner Pflicht ist, eine populäre Flora des Landes zu schreiben, macht es nothwending rasch in Allem zu Werke zu gehen, u deshalb kann es ja nur die grösste Erleichterung für mich sein, so schwierige Pflanzengruppen Ihrer Sorgfalt für die Bearbeitung übergeben zu sehen. Vielleicht bin ich unbescheiden, wenn ich es wage Sie zu bitten, die Untersuchung2 wo möglich so zu beschleunigen, dass es mir möglich werde, die Resultate in meiner Flora, deren Druck hier im nächsten Jahr beginnen wird, niederzulegen. Manche Familien sind für dies Werk bereits vollständig bearbeitet, indes ist es sehr zeitraubend von den ältern Arten neue, dem jetzigen Stand der Wissenschaft angemessene Diagnosen zu liefern. Für die Güte, welche Sie mir durch Ihre Bearbeitung meiner Pflanzen erweisen, werde ich immer im höchsten Grade dankbar sein, u ich bitte Sie, wenn ich in irgend einer Weise Ihnen nützen kann, mir Ihre Wünsche bekannt zu machen. Genehmigen Sie die Versicherung meiner Verehrung Ihrer grossen Verdienste.

Ihr Dr Ferd. Mueller.

 
 
 

Botanic Garden, Melbourne,

5 April 1855.

Esteemed Professor,

To my greatest delight I heard from Dr Sonder some time ago, that you wanted to dedicate a part of your so precious time to work on my Salsolaceae and Rhamnaceae.3 Your well-known precision in the examination and description of plants guarantees, that your treatment of these families, to which you have previously furnished such solid contributions,4 will be an ornament of this year's Linnaea.

My official position here, part of the duties of which is to write a popular Flora of this land, makes it necessary to set to work quickly in everything, and therefore it can be but the greatest relief to me, to see such difficult groups of plants entrusted to your care for their treatment. Perhaps I am immodest, when I dare to ask you if possible so to speed up the examinations, so that it will be possible for me to include the results in my Flora, the printing of which is to commence next year.5 The treatment of many families has already been completed for the work, it is, however, very time-consuming to furnish new diagnoses in accordance with the current state of science for the older species. I shall always be grateful for the kindness you have shown me by your work on my plants, and I beg you to make your wishes known to me, if I can in any way be of use to you.

Permit me to assure you of my respect for your great merits.

Your

Dr Ferd. Mueller.

 

Rhamnaceae

Salsolaceae

1
MS address: 'Herrn Professor Dr. E. Fenzl | Wien | Dr. Sonder'.
2
Familie deleted before Untersuchung.
3
Fenzl did not do any of the treatments of M's plants in the 'Plantae Muellerianae' (ed. Sonder) in Linnaea.
4
e.g. Fenzl published the Rhamneae in Endlicher (1837), pp. 20-7.
5

The plan for this Flora was referred to in a letter from J. Moore to W. Hooker on 24 January 1855: 'I have the honor to acknowledge the rect of your letter of the 2d Novr last on the subject of the Vegetable productions of this Colony, and suggesting that as the Government Botanist here (Dr Mueller) has before him the materials of an excellent and useful "Flora of the Colony of Victoria" the publication of such a work would be desirable, and that a grant of £300 from the Government would supply the outlay necessary for the same.

In reply I am desired by the Lieut Govr Sir Charles Hotham to inform you, that at the present moment it is impossible to accede to your suggestion — but should the next financial year find the Colony in a better state, His Exy will be happy to entertain your desire.' (No 167, unit 2, pp. 33-4, VPRS 2814, PROV). In the financial collapse in Victoria in April/May 1855 M was able to retain his position, but no additional funds were available. See M to W. Hooker, 5 April 1855.

Please cite as “FVM-55-04-05a,” 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 19 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/55-04-05a