To William Hooker¹    14 June 1858

Melbourne, bot Garden 1858.

June 14th

My dear Sir William

It was my intention to have written to you a very long letter in answer to your very friendly communication dated April 11th,² but an unusually heavy pressure of business has prevented me from doing so by this mail. I feel thankful in the extreme for your promise of sending other consignments of plants to us in autumn, and will endeavour to reciprocate in a proper manner. Particularly for the purpose of obtaining a stock of plants, valuable at home, for exchange, I despatched Mr Dallachi from this establishment two months ago to the Grampians, and now he is just returned with a lot of living plants in an excellent state, including Howittia trilocularis, Stylidium soboliferum, Burtonia subalpina, Phebalium bilobum, Grevillea dimorpha, Gr. confertiflora,³ Prostanthera spinosa, Asterolasia phebalioides & other plants restricted mostly to that range, and of which I hope to establish a great many for Kew. I feel distressed that all the Fagi & most of the other plants died. My arrangements for filling Wardian Cases are much improved & as I have learnt by former failures, I may trust for better luck in my next consignments. I hope that Mr Duncans case came in good order.⁴

Mr Adamson will probably go to Sir Rich. Macdonell, who is anxious to respond to your recommendation. I had unfortunately no fund to employ him on this establishment, but was on the lookout for a place suitable for him.⁵

I fully concur with you, that I should not purchase plants on my own [risk], and have consequently written last mail, that as I require yet so many books, you would perhaps favor me with transferring the Saldo of my foreign draft to Mr Pamplin & I have added this time a draft for 40£ again for him, 20£ for a set of Linn. transactions, which Dr Hooker was kind enough to offer through Mr Kippist, for that price. My expenses are here so enormous, that I can safe but little, so that I do not feel myself in the position of becoming an ordinary member of the L.S.,⁶ unless such should render the society more inclined to publish a portion of my north Austr. plants, for as I cannot enjoy the lectures, neither the museum nor the library, I think it might be regarded as vanity on my side, to be created a member, altho no one can have greater admiration for the venerable Linneans than myself, and under all circumstances I shall feel happy to contribute always towards their library & museum.⁷ This month I forwarded some plants & pamphlets to them by the "Avon" under care of Dr Crozier the Surgeon-Superintendent of that vessel. — The same ship took to you a parcel with Wilsons Promontory sea weeds for friend Harvey, a small parcel of mosses which I brought lately from Mount Juliett,⁸ and the new vol. of our philos. transact. for yourself.⁹ I am compiling now a set of specimens for your herbarium also. — I received Prof Harveys admirable phycol. Austr. fasc. 1¹⁰ too late, to secure subscribers previous to the despatch of this mail, but I cannot [doubt]¹¹ that if the publisher forwarded a number of copies for sale to one of the Melbourne booksellers, that there would be no difficulty to dispose of them, besides that many here would be excited to collect.

I feel very deeply obliged for your undertaking the onerous task of disposing of my seeds sent by the Roxburgh Castle. — If Prof Asa Gray rightly gets the largest consignment shipped in March last per "Red jacket" arrived safely I can reckon also on a large supply from the United States, particularly seeds of their noble oaks & pines, which should always be packed in dry sand.

Is it not possible to get the remarkable Verbenaceous Genus Denisonia, published. I enclose a plate of Marianthus bignoniaceus figured for the Flora of this colony.¹²

It appears there is difficulty in publishing my Msc. on North Austr. plants. Now since the Government have consented to let me have the use of their press for the following numbers,¹³ I could publish in the Fragmenta all those plants, that are identified, no matter whether they are Australian or Cosmopolitan. For the old Indigoferas, Crotalarias &c &c of Linn are in many instances not yet properly described from living specimens up to the present day! _

It was with the deepest gratification to receive Mr Blacks notes.¹⁴ I am very very thankful for them & wished he could give me more, altho in many instances I can not agree with him, for some species look alike, until carefully analised. Mr Black referring to my printed diagnosis of Bauera sessiliflora will see how different it is from Bauera rubioides. I will send the living plant in my next case.

I have given more notes on Tasm. plants for Dr Hooker, some from Oldfield, who is just here [at present in my cottage]¹⁵

You do me the undeserved honor of speaking of my botanical energy. What shall I say? — I wished that at the end of my days I had done a tenth of the good for the science, you have done for it, my beloved and venerable friend. I can never without admiration look over the long array of your works in my own little library even, incomplete as it is, and you have given more yet than our lost friend Nees an example of a working botanical senex? How your unparalleled experience must have been brought to bear on the continuation of your species filicum.¹⁶

— I have just issued the second number of my fragmenta.¹⁷ I think at least every quarter one should come out, so that a small volume may be ready every second year, with a set of good descriptions, to which the index would give the key. The first number was printed on my own expense.¹⁸

Did the Azolla live through Mr Wilsons¹⁹ voyage? Otherwise I can send it again. —

I had a very kind & affectionate letter from the father of my poor friend Dr Elsey.²⁰ It is indeed a hard fate; to loose a son, a only son, and one upon all who knew him more intimately looked as a rising great man! and possessing an amiable character & true virtue.²¹ —

I have given a list of plants, which I think new, to Mr Kippist in case the L.S. should like to publish more of my North Australian rar[e]ties.²²

Every your

attached

Ferd. Mueller.

Many thanks for the comparison of the Eucalypti.²³

Asterolasia phebalioides

Azolla

Bauera rubioides

Bauera sessiliflora

Burtonia subalpina

Crotalaria

Denisonia

Eucalyptus

Grevillea confertiflora

Grevillea dimorpha

Howittia trilocularis

Indigofera

Marianthus bignoniaceus

Phebalium bilobum

Prostanthera spinosa

Stylidium soboliferum