To René Lenormand   26 September 1862

Melbourne

bot Garden

26/9/62

My dear Mr Lénormand.

I have been truely surprised by your bounty and liberality, when I opened the valuable case sent by you for my botanical museum. It is long since I received such a valuable addition to our collection & I value it the more, as our herbarium contained but little of plants from France & as the algological specimens are in many instances not even as species represented in our herbarium and determined by so celebrated an authority as yourself.

Accept than for this token of kindness my most cordial gratitude with the assurance, that in the fine building which I have for the conservation of specimens your plants will be kept for centuries. The formation of so vast a collection must have given you much work.

It is my intention to collect for you purposely for about a week along the shores of Western Port, which is the most prolific part of our coast for botanical specimens, and on the occasion all the specimens of more tender texture will at once be drawn on paper.

I am also engaged in forming duplicate collections of phanerogamic plants for distribution & will not fail to retain one for your collection.

With most grateful esteem,

I remain,

my very dear Sir,

most regardfully

yours

Ferd. Mueller