Kew July 20/64.
My dear Mueller
The two fibres which you sent as used for brush making are
Black bast - Brown or Monkey bast = Attalea funifera
Mexican fibre = Agave mexicana Lam.1
I sent you a fortnight ago by a young friend2 who went in a sailing ship 2 plants of Papyrus, in different compartments of a box, one to be kept rather moister than the other. I hope that both will arrive in a living state. We are all well, my father leaves for Norfolk tomorrow, to take a short holiday. I have just returned from a visit to Harvey at Dublin & Wicklow where we went a short tour with Mrs Harvey & Mrs Hooker. The weather was delightful.
My father is still busy at his Ferns, he will see about returning yours. I shall also enquire about your Carices, Mrs Boott has made over all her husbands collections to us, but I did not observe your Carices amongst them,3 no more did Mr Oliver.4 We shall look again however.
Most sincerely yr
J D Hooker
Agave Mexicana
Attalea funifera
Carex
See M to J. Hooker, 24 May 1864 (in this edition as 64-05-24a).
See J. Hooker to M, 17 June 1864.
M sent specimens of Carex ‘intended … for the Kew Herbarium’ but which he wished Francis Boott to examine before incorporation; see M to W. Hooker, 26 May 1861. Two years later, M announced that another collection had been sent for examination and return; see M to W. Hooker, 29 April 1863 (in this edition as 63-04-29a). Just after this was forwarded to Boott from Kew, he fell dangerously ill; see W. Hooker to M, 26 July 1863. He died on 25 December 1863. M to G. Bentham, 12 December 1863, includes a request for the collection's return to Melbourne. The parcel was back in Melbourne by the following October; see M to J. Hooker, 25 October 1864 (in this edition as 64-10-25a).
Daniel Oliver.
Filed with the MS is a clipping from The Times, 9 August 1872, containing a report of a debate in the House of Commons the previous day over an acrimonious dispute between Joseph Hooker and the Commissioner of Works Acton Ayrton (on which see MacLeod (1974)).
Please cite as “FVM-64-07-20,” 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