To Joseph Hooker1    20 September 1867

Queenscliff2 20/9/67.

 

You are probably not aware, dear Dr Hooker, that your Tillaea purpur[a]scens3 has at the time of maturity a beautifully violet colored capsule. This is characteristic of this species, but I never noticed this character before, the valves being so small & the color being nearly lost by exsiccation. I do not remember anything like such a color to occur in any other capsular fruit, unless in Zygophyllum iodocarpum, in which however it is not normal.

I was not aware of the Rev. Mr Berkeley being surrounded by so large a family; but his eldest children must naturally have approached to that age, in which they can aid their illustrious parent and ease the cares of the autumn of his labourious life.4 It reflects all the more honor on the Rev. Gentleman, that under his ecclesiastic & domestic duties he was able to attain the position of leading Mycologist of the age. His enumeration of Austr. fungi will be quite a boon, as much as that of our fishes, which my venerable friend Agassiz is willing on my desire and with the aid of my contributions to his collections to prepare5 You must kindly let me know, whether the sending of our living plants under the care of a person on board of the clippers is worth the gratuity, as it is useless to pay the gratuity beforehand.6

Be so kind to let your Agent look after the large box of Epacrideae &c, which I have sent by the Great Britain, as no bill of loading was obtained, the case coming to you freightfree.7 Be also so good to send me always information of any box, that arrived. I am trembling when I contemplate the loss of any such sending. What a chasm it would make in my Museum, a chasm that never could be filled up. Mr Bentham will be rather surprised when he sees the extent of the Goodeniaceae & Epacrideae, which I sent & their magnificence

your regardful

Ferd Mueller

 

Epacrideae

Goodeniaceae

Tillaea purpurescens

Zygophyllum iodocarpum

1
MS annotation by Hooker: 'Ansd Nov 25/67'; letter not found.
2
Vic.
3
T. purpurata,? described by J. Hooker in 1847.
4
There were 8 children, ranging from 4 to 24, living in the household at the 1861 Census of England (TNA HO 107 / 1746/375, p.13); at least five other children have been identified from census returns.
5
Although fish were sent from 1862 until 1871, Agassiz did not publish upon them; see, for example, Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Ichthyology S-681, Raja, http://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/guid/MCZ:Fish:S-681 (accessed 17 December 2013).
6
M had earlier promised a gratuity to a crew member; see M to J. Hooker, 14 March 1867.
7
The shipment was made on 21 August 1867 (RB MSS M44, M notebook recording despatch of plants for Bentham for Flora australiensis. RBG Melbourne). This paragraph is marked in the margin with a X and the annotation: 'arrived'.

Please cite as “FVM-67-09-20,” 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 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/67-09-20