To George Bentham   14 June 1867

14/6/67

 

I was glad to perceive, dear Mr Bentham, that the extrawork, which the transfer of my department from one Minister to an other entailed on me,1 has not also delayed your writings. I think now however soon to proceed with more steadiness. But really the unforeseen difficulties & extratoils in the department for the last two years have been very great. I look forward with pleasure to the completion of the 2 vols of the generaby you & Dr Hooker,2 especially as it at once bring all the available addenda. I trust the leading Botanists have all sent notes.3 It would however be a thousand pity, if you, "at the exclusion of everything else" would continue the writings on the Australian Flora,4 for there is no concealing of the fact, that works such as the genera, which require your unrivalled knowledge of the plants from all parts of the Globe, are of infinitely more importance from you for the benefit of the whole world, than the elaboration of the vegetation of Australia. So I trust you will let the two works go on hand in hand.

As yet the copies of volume 3 have not reached us.5 Asa Gray writes most favorably on it.6

The Goodeniaceae &c will have reached you I mean the second (i.e. the larger lot.)7 It will require a great deal of examination & reflection yet, to form good limits for the genera of drupaceous Epacrideae.

Your regardful

Ferd Mueller

 

I have just received the flowers of Callicoma Stutzeri. I think it will turn out a Pancheria. I have once more received specimens of Cuttsia. It has a dry dehiscent capsule & nothing to do with Abrophyllum

 

Abrophyllum

Callicoma Stutzeri

Cuttsia

Epacrideae

Goodeniaceae

Pancheria

 
1
See M to J. Grant, 6 April 1867, and M to J. Hooker, 27 May 1867.
2
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83) when completed comprised three volumes.
3
See M to A. Gray, 8 June 1867. Gray did comment on Genera plantarumin his letters to J. Hooker and to Bentham but usually only briefly and in passing, although sometimes full characters were given (see, for example, A. Gray to J. Hooker, 2 December 1862, Asa Gray Letters, RBG Kew, Archives, Folder AG 293-307 [April 1862-0CT 13 1862], f. 311).
4
Bentham (1863-78).
5
Bentham (1863-78), vol. 3, was issued in January 1867.
6
American Journal of Science and Arts, 2nd series, vol. 43, p. 410.
7
The first group of Goodeniaceae were included in M’s shipment of 25 January 1867, the second, larger group in the shipment of 1 April 1867(RB MSS M44, M notebook recording despatch of plants for Bentham for Flora australiensis. RBG Melbourne).

Please cite as “FVM-67-06-14,” 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 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/67-06-14