To William Hooker   24 November 1860

Melbourne botanic & zoologic Garden,

24. Nov 60

My dear Sir William.

It was with the utmost pleasure, that I received once more a letter from your hand,¹ accompanied by the continuation of that valued work the "species filicum".² Accept for your kind transmittance of the same my grateful acknowledgement. May you be spared us to continue long your inestimable labours & complete amongst others this valuable work. I regret only, that the scantiness of our fern flora prevents me of contributing additional material towards it. This morning I have forwarded pr. "Lincolnshire" in a permanently fixed aquarium some fresh water fish of this country for the information of some of the British Ichthyologists to the zoolog. Society, and I availed myself of the opportunity of placing into the water-basin plants of Azolla, Triglochin procerum and Damasonium ovalifolium RBr which are intended for your kind acceptance. A passenger of the same ship, a Mr Harrington, has been so friendly as to take a specimen of Randia Fitzalani to you; it originated by the Burdekin Expedition. The report on the plants collected in the tour will be sent to you by this or next mail.³ Enclosed a myr[cioid] plant (the first as far as I am aware) found in the eastern hemisphere.⁴ — I have lately added greatly to my library in having purchased all Wight works.⁵ Asa Grays explo. Exped.⁶ Gaudichauds Freycenets⁷ &c &c. Looking over the pages of Asa Grays illustrations I find that we have amongst the plants (hitherto indeterminable to me) a Byronia from Arnhem's Land, which is the first representant made known of the order Ilicineae in Australia.⁸

I have a vast amount of duplicates to send to Kew, but cannot find time to put them into order til the beginning of next year, as I am proceeding to the Alps before.

I rejoyce to hear of Dr Kirks ardent labours in South Africa, and trust that the amazing quantity of plants which he has gathered will be at once embodied in a "Zambia-flora" similar to the excellent Niger flora,⁹ which parades on my bookshelves prominently, amongst the long series of your works, which I am glad to say I possess complete & are the daily source of instruction to me.

I hope Dr Hooker will take care of his health in the Orient;¹⁰ it is not the best place to proceed to in certain seasons for sake of recreation to so labouriously working a savant as your son. However as a medical man he will guard himself I trust [doubly] and will again be able to add to our store of knowledge.

You will observe that we have at last ascertained the native habitat of Lactaria calocarpa Hasskarl.¹¹

I enclose a branchlets of a new Araucaria (A. Rulei F. M.) found by Mr Will. Duncan, botanical collector to J Rule Esq on an extinct volcano 5000' high in one of the small islands off New Caledonia.¹²

Ever with deep and grateful regards

yours

Ferd. Mueller

Araucaria Rulei

Azolla

Byronia

Damasonium ovalifolium

Ilicineae

Lactaria calocarpa

Randia Fitzalani

Triglochin procerum