25. WILTON PLACE. S.W.
April 25/65
My dear Sir
I write a few lines to say that the Great Victoria is safely arrived and although your boxes are not yet at Kew not being yet cleared they will no doubt be there today or tomorrow for the agent had your order for their delivery before the vessel arrived — Clearing vessels however always takes some time in London.
I received yesterday yours of the 24th Feby1 In reply to what you say about including Euphorbiaceae in the 3d vol2 I believe I have already mentioned that according to our views if included in Polypetalae at all it ought to have been in the 1st as they cannot any how be considered as Calyciflorous in their affinities It is after much consideration that we determined on leaving them in their old place amongst Monochlamydeae as notwithstanding the presence of petals in some genera they are generally small and imperfect and their absence is the prevaililng feature of the Order3 besides that I should as a matter of convenience be sorry to work them up till after the publication of Mueller of Argau's work in the Podromus who has taken so much pains with them.4 As I feel bound to get at least 1400 species into the 3d vol to make up for the deficiency of the 2d I do not see how I can do it without going far into Compositae. I have I know a great deal of work before me and fear I shall not be able to begin printing till the close of the year but I shall do my best. You say I ought to extend my descriptions more for I have overlooked cardinal characters — if I have done so it is not from shortening descriptions but from not having drawn them up with sufficient care notwithstanding the pains I have taken. Descriptions of the length I give them ought to include everything essential — whether they do or not depends on the ability of the author — and you know as well as any one else how much easier it is to write a long description than a short one, but how much more practically useful to the botanist is a short than a long one.
You ask whether we quote in our Genera the plates of your Illustrations of Victoria Plants5 — We did quote them in the first part when we got them but the sheets and plates then came so irregularly and imperfectly that we had not the proper title till after our first part was out and now we have only loose plates contents and index without text or title page of what we do not understand whether it is the 2d vol of your Plants indigenous to Victoria or a separate work. I wish you would continue and complete your great work of the Victorian Flora — which is certainly your best and most useful way of correcting the errors of my Flora, besides that its completion would be the greatest credit to yourself.
You speak of the omission of Acacia astringens — If it is A. astringens A. Cunn in Don. Gen. Syst6 you will find it in the index and under A. penninervis p. 362 — astringens not adstringens7 is I believe the proper latin spelling and is A. Cunningham in G Don.
I am afraid it would be rather a difficult matter to interest the ladies of England in a search after Leichhardt — at least I should not well know how to set about it. They have had rather an overdose of the search after Franklin.8
During the last month I have again been several days kept away from work by family affairs. I have however nearly finished Melaleuca of which I think I shall be obliged to retain about 100 species although I reduce many of Schauer's and others. Schauer is I think in general accurate but I cannot agree with his multiplication of species and genera. Lepidagathis for instance (which is your Melaleuca hakeacea) he characterises by the calyx tube and inflorescence both of which appear to my eyes to be precisely as in several other Melaleucas Asteromyrtus includes about 3 tropical species with circumciss calyces but that does not appear to me to be of sufficient importance to found a genus being apparently unaccompanied by any other Callistemon as you say almost passes into Melaleuca still I think it may be maintained in accordance with the views of the most eminent botanists.
Ever yours sincerely
George Bentham
Acacia adstringens
Acacia astringens
Acacia penninervis
Asteromyrtus
Callistemon
Compositae
Euphorbiaceae
Lepidagathis
Melaleuca hakeacea
Monochlamydeae
Polypetalae
Please cite as “FVM-65-04-25a,” 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 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/65-04-25a