To Daniel Oliver¹    25 December 1863

Melbourne Botanic Gardens,

Christmas, 1863.

My Dear Professor Oliver,

I feel that I owe to you, as the Botanical Editor of "Natural History Review," my cordial acknowledgment for the graceful and generous manner in which you alluded to my co-operation with Mr. Bentham in his publishing the Australian flora.²

Not only are your kind sentiments gratifying to my feelings, but they may tend also to mitigate the disadvantage which has unavoidably arisen to myself by the publication of the work in London.

Speaking in frankness to you on this occasion, I see no reason to withold from you the fact that my relation to Benthams work has generally left here the impression on the public mind that I was unqualified to deal with such a task myself, and notwithstanding some favorable remarks by Mr. Bentham himself in the preface, others rather uncautiously written are rather strengthening the opinion.

You can, my dear sir, readily understand that as an officer of the Australian Government, under whose general range of duty, issue of a work on the plants of this great land naturally ought to come, it cannot be otherwise than painful to me, when I see, in reference to the publication, sneers passed on me, or unsatisfactory allusions made to it in the public press.

Though, when Mr. Bentham resolved to write the universal Australian Flora, I could at once see the disadvantages and losses which would arise out of any arrangement I could enter into, I sacrificed my private feelings for what I considered a service rendered to science, and in this regard you have done me the fullest justice.

Yet, though I shall always know (how)³ to distinguish between my private feelings and my public duties, it will ever remain a source of the deepest regret, that the brilliant talents of Mr. Bentham were not rather occupied in the elucidation of the botanical treasures of Tropical Africa or some other region botanically unknown, and for the investigation of which the Kew collection would have afforded more ample material than that such a talent should be wasted in the edition of an Australian Flora; I venture to say, almost wasted, because in the course of time I could not have failed to carry out the most of the same detailed work now emanating from Bentham.

Whilst I feel convinced that as Australian field work experience is required to recognise the limits of species, I fear also that very many of Mr. Bentham's newly established species will not stand the field test.

It is also right to be assumed that in our yet limited and struggling communities here, scarcely anyone's leisure allows him to enter closely into the study of natural history as a means of employing spare hours, and that therefore the issue of a work like the Australian Flora might have been very well deferred for some years.

You will see this verified in the return of the sale (?)⁴ in Australia of such a magnificent work as Professor Harvey's Phytologia, though that also refers to Australia exclusively and is a real ornament of botanical literature, moreover, the delay of the publication of an Australian Flora for a few years would have been highly advantageous as now already the material for the first volume has become largely supplimented,⁵ and until more is sent by my friends in North West Australia and by a special collector I have in the field of North East Australia one will have a very imperfect knowledge of what actually the flora of Australia produces.

My plan so long cherished, was this — to work up critically the plants of Victoria, and along with them, and as otherwise occasion might arise, also more or less the extra Victorian plants. This would have given me the material for final re arrangement in one universal work on the plants of Australia, and for its completion, I could at least have devoted 2 summers and one winter in Europe for the revision of collections.

Meanwhile, my material for critical comparison would have vastly increased. I have now, for instance, a set of Geetze's⁶ botanical relics, one of the largest sets of Preissian plants, also many of Siebers', and within the next week I shall possess, from another source, one of the largest of Drummond's collections. Cunninghams' and Browns'⁷ plants, although years ago more or less obscure to me, because they were so briefly described I can now generally interpret with comparative ease, since I have now most of the plants (in regions where they were collected) represented in my herbarium.

My library has, moreover, after a heavy personal outlay, extended so far that it means but little personal exertion to render it complete in the literature of Australian plants.

Of the present extent of our collections you are able to form an independent judgment. To me it appears that what I have collected, and caused to be collected, is more extensive than the contents of British collections of Australian plants, if what was furnished towards them by myself is excluded.

The effect of the existing arrangement has been greatly to disturb my plan of life, to bend much my spirit, to proceed on my path, and to render me much less buoyant to work as I otherwise might have done.

Having spent the best years of youthful vigour, enormous exertions, and almost a fortune on a plan which now, to a certain extent, had been frustrated, I hope you will make some allowance for the feelings I expressed to you, though what I said was not intended to wound the sentiments of anyone.

Your regardful,

FERD. MUELLER.⁸