From Ferdinand von Mueller to Frederick Barlee   15 Mar 1869

Melbourne bot. Garden

15/3/69.

I have an apt opportunity, dear Mr. Barlee, to send under the friendly care of the Commander of the ship "Mogul" a glass case with growing plants to your Government.

The case contains 25 well established plants, mostly two years old, all being young plants of different and prominently useful trees. They will doubtless all be new to your colony, unless perhaps a few, which I sent before and of these the duplicates cannot but be welcome. All should be planted out into spacious but sheltered permanent positions, all be surrounded with boughs for shade and all be regularly watered.

By a blow against the pot, when held in an inverted position, the ball of earth around the roots of each plant will slip out without breaking. Pray oblige my establishment by filling the case with a stratum of compact sods (fastened down) from your humid heath-ground, such sods to contain as many different kinds of your showy native plants, as can be obtained in this manner. A similar consignment will ere long be sent to King George's Sound.

I remain with deep regards

your

Ferd von Mueller

1,

Quercus

Suber,

Cork

Oak.
2,

"

Ilex,

Holly

"
3,

"

Castanea,

Chesnut

Oak.
4,

"

macrocarpa,

Large fruit

Oak.
5,

"

alba,

White Oak

of North Amer
6,

Juglans

cinerea,

Butternut.

7,

Carya

tomentosa,

Mockernut.

8,

"

oliviformis,

Pecan nut.

9

Araucaria

imbricata.

Chili Pine.

10

Pinus

Smithiana,

Himalaya.

11,

"

Pseudo Strobus,

California.

12,

"

Strobus,

Canada.

13,

"

excelsa,

Himalaya.

14,

"

longifolia

"

15,

"

Sinensis

china-fir.

16,

"

insignis

California

17,

"

Canariensis

Canary

Islands
18,

"

Douglasii,

California.

19,

"

rigida,

Pitch pine

of N. Amer.
20

Cupressus

excelsa,

California.

21

"

macrocarpa

"

22

"

Lawsoniana

"

23

Wellingtonia

gigantea

"

24 Pinus Deodara, Deodara variety of the Lebanon Cedar

25 Quercus Prinus, Swamp-Oak of North America.1

Araucaria imbricata

Carya oliviformis

Carya tomentosa

Cupressus excelsa

Cupressus Lawsoniana

Cupressus macrocarpa

Juglans cinerea

Pinus Canariensis

Pinus Deodara

Pinus Douglasii

Pinus excelsa

Pinus insignis California

Pinus longifolia

Pinus Pseudo Strobus

Pinus rigida Pitch pine of N. America

Pinus Sinensis

Pinus Smithiana

Pinus Strobus

Quercus alba

Quercus Castanea

Quercus Ilex

Quercus macrocarpa

Quercus Prinus

Quercus Suber

Wellingtonia gigantea

The list of plants is on a separate sheet and annotated, 'Case of plants from Dr Mueller', with a note from Barlee to the Caretaker of the Perth Public Garden, E. Barrett, dated 19 April 1869: 'The above plants are mostly two years old. | All require to be planted out into spacious but sheltered permanent positions, and all to be surrounded with boughs for shade and to be regularly watered. | By a blow against the pot, when held in an inverted position, the ball of earth around the roots of each plant, will slide out without breaking. | The case is to be returned to Dr Mueller, with a stratum of compact sods, (fastened down) from the humid heath ground round Perth, such sods to contain as many different kinds of the showy native plants, as can be obtained.'

MS in a clerk's hand and signed by M; it has been annotated 'Copy' and, by Barlee, 'Acknowledged and thanks expressed F.P.B. 21.4.69'.' Barlee's letter not found.

Please cite as “FVM-69-03-15,” 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 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/69-03-15