Melbourne bot. Garden
30/3/65.
I was, dear Dr Doctor, delighted to hear from you directly by your kind note of 28. Febr.1 and am placed under obligation to you by your considerate & liberal contribution of dry plants to our state herbarium.2 These supplement well the series of plants I received from N.Z. through Dr Haast & Mr Travers & I have while examining Australian plants not rarely an opportunity of consulting these specimens of the flora of your islands.
It was quite as it should be, that you retained your plants for Dr Hooker solely for description. When Dr Haast before he entered in communication with Dr Hooker wished me to describe his novelties, I begged him to place his material rather at Dr Hookers disposal, the latter having established claims on the full elaboration of the N.Z. flora, altho' I was quite provided by Dr Haast with material for description & had ample means in my library & Museum to do justice to the task. This principle I shall always act on, though others have acted very differently towards me.
Now, pray, let me ask, what I can send you. Do you wish dry or living plants or barks or anything else?
My little book on the Chatham Islands3 makes no pretensions. Yet to you as an independent observer the book may be of utility to compare your own views with those of others on N.Z. plants. So you will no doubt be interested in solving questions such as the limitation of the species of Veronica, Epilobium &c, on which Dr Hooker & myself hold such different views, our only object being to elicit truth.
It is gratifying to me to perceive, that you cherish such sympathy for the Ladies movement on behalf of poor Leichhardt.4 I feel sure the Ladies will succeed in unveiling his fate & be thereby also instrumental in vastly extending our knowledge of Australian Geography. My humble appeal has been reprinted in extenso in six journals if not more,5 & hence the facts must be patent to most Colonists. If apathy and a want of highmindedness frustrate the sacred work, I at least have done my duty. But I trust it will not be so. The Queensland Press supports the movement most warmly. I should myself take the field for the search, did not the enormity of work devolving on me in my department tie me to the spot. I am glad to hear of the prospect of your working in Aukland,6 & trust we will maintain correspondence without much interruption. Can I send you any seeds? Should you come across any of the Pittospora in fruit, pray would you secure me kindly a good supply of seeds. We want these noble trees in masses for ornamenting our church & schoolgrounds, cemeteries & other reserves.
Command whenever I can be of use to you my services unhesitatingly.
yours with most friendly regards
Ferd Mueller.
Will you kindly place the Ladies letter in the hands of one of your fair friends.
Epilobium
Pittosporum
Veronica
Please cite as “FVM-65-03-30,” 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