To Edward Wilson1    October 1859

[October] 18592

 

I will venture to solicit another kindness, namely to send us some seeds, of the "plane"3 packed in charcoal; I mean not the so-called British Plane, but the one which excited your admiration in France.4 If you could purchase us a case of trees of planes, which if [properly] packed, will now at the dormant season travel well in a closed box, I will at once refund most gratefully the outlay. My venerable friend, Sir W Hooker, has been solicited to send us the Nile Papyrus,5 which would greatly embellish our lagoon, but with the enormous work he has to attend to at his noble establishment, it is not surprising he should have forgotten his promises. Should you remind him?6 Or purchase the root for it?7 They might come in a Wardian case, & it would be a good opportunity to put into it also, large roots of the Acorus Calamus (or sweet flag)8 of the White & Yellow British water lilies &c9 which wd10 do well in our fish pond, & be at the same time a delightful reminiscence from Home ...11 Pine seeds & acorns12 of foreign13 & now in Britain fructiferating species will travel well in boxes packed with charcoal14

 

Acorus Calamus

Papyrus

 
1
Letter not found. Wilson quoted to Hooker extracts from a letter he (Wilson) had received from M.
2
The letter is dated as no later than October from the reference in Wilson's letter to having received it in the 'last mail' from Melbourne.
3
plane underlined in pencil , with anX marked above it.
4
Wilson added parenthetically: 'It is the tree usually planted in Paris, Marseilles &c & I think the oriental Plane'.
5
Pencilled X marked over papyrus.
6
Pencilled X marked after him.
7
See M to W. Hooker, 16 February 1860.
8
The parenthetical comment may have been Wilson's.­
9
Pencilled XX marked in margin adjacent to'Acorus ... yellow.'
10
The contraction of 'would' may have been Wilson's.
11
Between these quoted extracts, Wilson wrote 'In another letter he asks for large numbers of seeds of the Coniferae packed in charcoal.' (M’s letter not found.)
12
Pencilled X abovepine and aboveacorns.
13
foreign underlined in pencil .
14
Hooker may have complained to Wilson about the demands M made on Kew because Wilson wrote to Hooker, 30 November 1859: 'I would try to be angry with our friend Mueller, for being so exacting, if I did not know that it arose from the unrivalled zeal & single mindedness of the man, & that these qualities were exercised for a very interesting country in whose welfare I also take much [concern]. Still I am sure that he would be hurt at feeling that he was unduly troubling to you' (RBG Kew, Directors' letters, vol. 42, English letters L—Z, 1862-5, letter no. 554).

Please cite as “FVM-59-10-00d,” 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 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/59-10-00d