To Joseph Hooker¹    27 May 1867

State Garden, Melbourne²

27/5/67.

The recent transfer, dear Dr Hooker, of my Department from the Chief Minister to the Minister of Lands³ has involved me in so many additional troubles & has caused so many disturbances & inconveniences, that really I cannot do much for Kew at this moment, nor have I been able to send off the Dampieras & a supplemental fascicle of Goodeniaceae. This shall however be done as soon as possible.⁴ This is the great month also for distribution of plants to Cemeteries, School & Church reserves, so I have not much leisure. Of the gigantic extent to which these unique operations are here carried out I may mention, that I have alone about 40,000 Pinus pinea ready to be given away!, all twice transplanted.

Will you kindly tell Mr Bentham, that I will endeavour to send the £100 for vol. IV by the next mail. The Epacrideae will go along with Dampiera &c. Indeed they are nearly ready, including Drummonds species. I have sent a few seeds by the Colonial Office.

Your regardful

Ferd Mueller

I am very grateful for the second vol of the flora of NZ.⁵ You are wonderfully productive in literary work

You will have observed that Dr Buchenau has established the priority of the Triglochin striata R & P⁶ over T. triandra, also that he regards (and rightly so) T. nana⁷ a good species. Why is in English Archipelagus called Archipelago? How is Mr Oldfield. I long since intended writing to him but could not find leisure

Capt Smith, R.N., your voyage-companion, bids me to send you his best regards.⁸ He has just a graceful charming daughter bursting into bloom. I have examined numerous seeds of Callitris (Frenela) They vary as you stated with 2 or 3 cotyledons in most if not all species.⁹

Callitris

Dampiera

Epacrideae

Frenela

Goodeniaceae

Pinus pinea

Triglochin nana

Triglochin striata

Triglochin triandra