From Ferdinand von Mueller to William Hooker   9 Jan 1858

Bot. Garden, Melbourne. 9. Jan. 1858.

My dear Sir William

Another joyful day, joyful through the arrival of your & Dr Hooker's letters.¹ It is a great relief to my mind, that my humble exertions in North Australia have been regarded by you with satisfaction. The "Emu" got on a reef in the Red-sea, and caused the non-arrival of the mail of October until this day. But all is right now, and I am once more full in hope & courage to proceed with my work. — It may seem to you, my dear Sir William, as if I had little done lately, being also this month prevented from sending many [...]² notes on the Expedition plants. However the duties on this garden have lately been very heavy. For not only devolved on me the obligation to examine the plants of the garden as they gradually sent forth their blossoms in the season, in order to correct the wild nomencalture of the established plants, a process not so easy with limited books and hardly a sufficiency of room for unpacking any thing of my in Europe completed herbarium of cultivated plants.³ But also the general superintendence of the work, which at one time last year gave employment to nearly 50 men, and all the improvements (I hope I may call them so) rapidly going on, together with a correspondence of at least 2000 letters annually, ennarrows much my time for literary labours. A large Aviary for domesticating and multiplying foreign song-birds, music pavillion for the military band, bridge over the Yarra river, new hot-house, store and forming a zoological garden in connection with the botanical one require my attention. I did however not loose the season entirely for collecting, and examined the other far-southern extremity of this continent, i.e the country at and near Cape Otway.⁴ It is strange, considering the proximity of that part of the coast to V.D.L.,⁵ that Hedycarya altho' absent from Tasmania should be there so exceedingly frequent, accompanied by Corraea ferruginea & Phebalium Billardierii, both growing to the hight of at least 30'! In the upper branches of Coprosma microphylla & Eurybia argophylla I detected the first epiphytical orchid of the South coast, even in Gipps Land no spec. having been found. It is a really beautiful child of flora, a Sarco-chilus in my humble opinion altho a Gunnia according to Prof. Lindleys circumscription of that genus and probably the identical tasmanian species, which for want of the bot. reg. I cannot yet prove. I enclose for the Professors inspection a specimen. The trip, brief as it has been (9 days, in which I travelled 350 miles partially over a country, equal as regards roads to what I imagine the british mountain forests were before the arrival of the Romans & Saxons in your island) did not remain unrewarded in bot. novelties, a magnificent tall species of Prostanthera, with the leaves almost of Melissa, which may suggest the specific appellation,⁶ a new Dianella with very broad & long leaves are amongst them, provided that Dr Hookers Tasmanian Flora has not meanwhile revealed them. Fagus Cunninghami has also been noticed as far West as Cape Otway, as likewise Pimelea axiflora, Notelaea ligustrina, Bedfordia salicina, Uncinia, several Tasmanian ferns, Gastrodia sesamoides and some other plants, characteristic of the humid mountain-forest, not to be found westward of this position. As it is my intention to examine the subalpine country at the sources of the Yarra & the Latrobe-River botanically at the end of this or the beginning of next month, I should think it desirable, that Dr Hooker would delay for a few mo[nths]⁷ his promised introductory essay on the Tasmanian plants, until I can put him in possession of the results of the proposed journey, which in all likelihood will deprive several plants yet of their suppos[ed] Tasmanian Isolation. Let me, dear Sir William, not pray in vain for a proof-sheet of the Tasmanian remaining fascicles of phanerogamae, of which I have I-III, as it will be in Dr Hookers interest to receive some little additional information I may be able to give yet.

This time I offer supplementary a new Eriostemon:

Eriostemon (Phebalium) Oldfieldii⁸

erectus, ramis tenuiter pubescentibus, foliis confertis cuneato-oblongis planis vix margine recurvis obtusis v. retusis brevissime petiolatis antice imperfecte crenulatis v. integerrimis utrinque glabris nitentibus, pedicellis axi[l]laribus⁹ et terminalibus solitari[is] in calycem deltoideo-dentatum sensim incrassatis folio multo brevioribus, carpidiis rotundo-ovatis breviter rostratis, seminibus laevibus fusco-nigris ovato-reniformibus nitentibus strophiolo [ter] longioribus

Ad basin & latera montis Laperouse Tasmaniae. Stuart & Oldfield.

Frutex balsamico-odorus 3-4'. Frolia 5-10''' longa, 1½-2''' lata, margine rubella.

Pedunculi addito calyce 1-2''' longi. Carpidia vix 1½'' metientia.

Ab Eriost. podocarpoide¹⁰ (Phebalio podocarpoide¹¹ Ferd. Mueller in transact. Victorian Institute I p. 31),¹² cui proximus, calycis alia dentatione et foliis subtus haud argenteis diversus.

Through his Excellency's our kind Governor's scientific interest I shall probably be enabled to examine more closely the south-Eastern frontiers of this colony and to trace the southern limits of many plants of the Australian East coast. I came in 1854 to Cape Howe, whence I shall probably find a passage when the lighthouse is built, with in 30 miles, but could get no further through the jungle morasses single handed at that time 70 miles from any station, and my horses left behind to the mercy of the then hostile natives. The new trip will probably be performed in March and I do not expect to obtain any important additional plants to the Victoria[n] Flora afterwards, unless out of the Mallee Scrub on the murray

I should have been extremely obliged, if the Rev. Mr Berkeley had shown me the favor of examining my fungi, which to him could not have involved very much labour, for I was so anxious to insert the index of them in my fourth report[.]¹³ I wrote to him on this point but did not obtain any answer¹⁴ — My long list of plants desirable for this establishment no doubt arrived. Mr Duncan, your careful cultivator of the Victoria-Waterlily is, I learn, expected back again at Kew. It has given me much pleasure to employ him for the short space of his stay here, particularly as you desired it. Had I been 3 or 4 years ago in the independent position I enjoy now, his and Andersons services would have been gladly secured to the advantage of this establishment.¹⁵

The discontinuation of your journal will be a severe loss to syst. Botany, and I can even with your other publications, hardly see, how you will be able to continue your great services to our science without readopting similar means.¹⁶ May it be so, and may it receive a more cordial support. I have just 6 months ago arranged with my Melbourne bookseller to get the fascicles in Newspaper form across Suez. —

I had with this mail very kind lines from Alph. de Candolle.¹⁷ To Dr Hookers letter I reply directly.¹⁸

Duncan will bring you an other consignment of miscellaneous Australian plants & seeds, and some Wardian Cases. I hope that my former two safely arrived.

We are hopefully looking forward to your supplies of Oaks, pines &c We require the fine shady evergreen trees particularly such suitable for avenues.

I had by Mr Wilhelmi some manuscripts copied, which I enclose. — The Victorian Instit. transactions are not yet out but I send meanwhile reprints of my own articles.¹⁹

When gone through the Summer labour I shall handle the glumaceae. They have been always favourite plants with me as a half-scandinavian, and I think the North Australian forms, principly the inland ones will be interesting. St[eudel]s work puts me fairly in possession of what is known about them.²⁰

Through Dr Sonders kind exertions I have enlarged my library lately very much. Glancing over the Atakta²¹ I see that my Lithomyrtus is the [genus] Fenzlia, which was well know to me by name, but which I never could have found out by soley studying Endlichers genera.²² How it ever could have been regarded by that great master as [me]lastomaceous remains to me enigmatical. The Atakta prove to me that the Lippaya telephioides was referred by me to Rubiaceae I do not see any reason to alter my opinion, which was formed independent of Dr Lindleys, who even unites that genus with Dentella.²³ Could I get a secondhand copy of bot. mag. & bot. Regist.,²⁴ even if a little incomplete, I should be delighted, and the little fund is quite at your disposal for such a purpose if you would be so friendly to condescend ordering it²⁵

Believe me, dear Sir William,

to be your ever truely attached serv[ant]

Ferd. Mueller.

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

If the Home Government orders the bot. report to be published I should be thankful for some copies for distribution.²⁶

Your own new filices exoticae²⁷ & Dr Griesebachs West Indian Flora²⁸ I have ordered for the publ. library.

Bedfordia salicina

Coprosma microphylla

Corraea ferruginea

Dentella

Dianella

Eriostemon Oldfieldii

Eriostemon podocarpoide

Eurybia argophylla

Fagus Cunninghami

Fenzlia

Gastrodia sesamoides

Glumaceae

Gunnia

Hedycarya

Lippaya telephioides

Lithomyrtus

Melissa

Notelaea ligustrina

Phebalio podocarpoide

Phebalium

Phebalium Billardierii

Pimelea axiflora

Prostanthera

Sarco-chilus

Uncinia