To William Hooker   24 March 1861

Melbourne bot & zool Garden,

24. March 61.

Dear Sir William,

I am just back from the alps, where I intended studying the autumnal state of some species. I went over the hitherto unexplored Haidinger Range,¹ fixed the position of 7 mountains from 5-6000' high, but was by wet & cold exposed to much misery in my attempt to reach the Barkly ranges, which I could have well done, had the weather continued fine. Indeed at one time I feared my little party might perish.²

I have your very kind letter by last mail; breathing new energies in me, by the generous & kind interest you evince in my works. — May god bless you for all your goodness! — As the winter is now approaching & as I am not likely to leave my home again for many months, I trust to be able to go through a good deel of botanical work in the course of 1861. My collections have amazingly increased. Indeed I believe you can scarcely imagine their extent & it is delightful, that I have at last a good building & [screens] as a safe repository for them. I am just unpacking vast treasures collected in W. Australia and Kangaroo Island. We have a collector in the Kennedy district,³ who is instructed to ascend the Mount Dryander, 5000' & other of the high tropical mountains on the NE coast. Why should he not find Begonia, Impatiens, Musa, Nepenthes, Rhododendron &c &c? I think if his collections arrive, I am in the position of labouring with an almost complete material as far as species are concerned; perhaps not in all instances being able to trace authenticity.

Now, my dear Sir William, will it lead not to endless repetition & endless confusion, if Mr Bentham & myself work up simultaneously the same flora? — You say, your great friend has the territory of British N. America open. Why then not divide the labour, and let me work out what I can, if Mr Bentham is inclined, to present the much more settled states of British N. America with a flora. Pray let him do it! Pray consider, that I have since 1847 devoted all of my spare means & all my spare times for the great object of elucidating the flora of Australia, that I have travelled under dangers & privations which but few can conceive not less than 21,000 miles by land for the sole object of botanic pursuit, thereby sacrificing my health to a great extent. Allow me now to reap the benefit of my work! It is not likely that my life will last many years longer. When I am gone a better man may [thru-]follow my vestiges. Had I ever thought that I should not be able to finish the flora of Australia myself, I would have rather gone to Borneo, to Natal or to any other part of the world, which would leave me in an unimpaired position to work out is Botany. I have now also secured for my private library almost all the important works which I require, my Indian works being most important for consultation.

Did I mention that I received recently, Ailanthus Malabarica from Rockhampton? — I have ascertained now beyond doubt that Emphysopus = Solenogyne belliodes Cass.⁴ I think Dr Hooker will find, that the genus is kept better separate than united with Lagenophora. The 15 No. of Fragmenta⁵ hereby. For the 16 I have very interesting material ready; the 18 will close the II. vol. I have now Leichhardts enormous private collection in my hands. It is a loan of the trustees of the Sydney Museum. I forwarded a plate of Nitraria Billardierii⁶ May I ask, is it your & Dr Hookers opinion, that it really differs from N. Schoeberi⁷ — I do not see how.

Ever with the sincerest attachment

yours

Ferd. Mueller

Pray give Dr Hooker my kindest regards and so the good Harvey.

Ailanthus Malabarica

Begonia

Emphysopus

Impatiens

Lagenophora

Musa

Nepenthes

Nitraria Billardierii

Nitraria Schoeberi

Rhododendron

Solenogyne belliodes