To William Hooker   9 May 1855

Melbourne, bot Gardens, 9. May 1855.

Sir William,

Having written to you three times¹ during the last two months, I am chiefly induced to address these lines to you, to introduce Mr Balfour Steward, a member of our philos. Society to you. Mr Steward favoured us with three papers on various branches of physical science and has proved by them to posess as much ability as zeal, to cultivate those fields of science connected with chemistry, mathematics or physic.² Should you be able Sir William, to render him any assistance by your great influence, I am sure you will do a good work — Mr S. has kindly undertaken to convey to you 1, a box with living Azolla rubra, which I am anxious to introduce into your establishment, more for giving physiologists at home an opportunity of examining the living plants, as for its showy qualities, which however are not to be despised where the plant exists in mass. I have no doubt that it will stand your winter with very little protection. 2, Mr Steward brings a box containing a set of Mr Wilhelmi's plants from the Port Lincoln districts, several new or rarer plants of my own, amongst which I beg to recommend the Umbelliferae to your particular consideration, farther all my fungi one of them luminous³ including my normal specimens from South Australia, which I beg you will have the kindness to forward to your friend Berkeley, farther a few duplicates for Mr Heward, further several hundred seeds for Kew gardens. It was not in my power to give at this occasion more alpine plants, as only the last part of them arrived from Gipps Land this week, so that I was unable to make a general selection. But in two or three month I am proceeding to the western desert and before my departure all shall be examined and plants and manuscripts transmitted. Meanwhile I send the diagnoses which are ready again and duplicates of the additional mosses of this year.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to inform you, that a few days ago Sir Charl. Hotham has sanctioned the expenditure the sum of 1000£ voted for my department.⁴ I am waiting from day to day to learn what division of this sum will be made and if this will provide for the sum for which you applied. If not I shall be happy to devote of my means as much as I can for the publication of the manuscript and its revision.⁵ I have weighed this matter on all sides and often think, that a division of the diagnoses of the new spec. with their ample descriptions might be made amongst several botanical editors, selecting Thalamiflorae for one, Calyciflorae for another journal and so on. I am quite certain that the kind Professor Fuernrohr would be very willing to receive part of it for the Ratisbon Flora; so also perhaps Seeman for Bonplandia, Kippist for the Linnean Society's transactions &c. But you, Sir William, will be the best judge in this matter, and I would not at all have manifested any desire to proceed soon with the publication, if not in my perhaps precarious position here such publication would give me more credit and a more certain support. As far as the general Flora of Victoria goes, for which I hope to collect in my next expedition the last materials, I think I should have it printed here in the gov. printing office; I intend to give new diagnoses of all the species in English, but would not wish to bring any part of it under the press until of your son's important Tasmanian Flora⁶ the first volume appears. Supported by his excellent writings and observations I think I can venture to follow, chiefly if I should continue to enjoy your kindness in pointing the graver errors out, which no doubt I shall too often commit.

But at the same time I am most anxious to collect the materials for the universal Australian Flora, and am delighted to tell you, that the amiable and learned Prof Harvey is not disinclined to engage in this work. If Dr Sonder or an other continental botanist will take a share of the labour I believe that something complete to the present time might be furnished.

Probably I shall send more alpine plants by Mr Archer.⁷ I beg to conclude these hasty lines in soliciting from your kindness to provide our establishment with any of the seeds of the plants enumerated in the following list, which I all in the course of time should like to introduce for the use of the colonists.⁸

I am, Sir William, your most devoted servant

Ferd. Mueller

Sir W. J Hooker K.H. &c &c. &c

Azolla rubra

Umbelliferae