Buenos Aires, Agosto 17 de 1871.
Muy señor mio:
A su debido tiempa fuí favorecido con sus apreciables cartas de 1.° de Enero y 10 de Febrero del corriente año. La primera acusando recibo de las semillas que esta Sociedad le mandó el año pasado, y la segunda avisando el envío á Lóndres para esta corporacion, de una coleccion de producciones vegetales ese país.
Despues de estas cartas he recibido aviso del señor D. Jorge Verdon, de haber embarcado dicho cajon con destino á esta Sociedad en el buque "Elisa" que todavía no ha llegado; y hoy le escribo diciéndole que en retribucion, esta Sociedad le manda otro cajon con semillas indígenas de esta República para que se sirva dirijirlo á vd.
Esta cajon va primeramente á nuestro Cónsul en Liverpool, D. Guillermo R. Gilmour para que lo mande al señor Verdon, y le hemos encargado que procure no sea abierto en la aduana á fin de que no sufran deterioro las semillas.
Va incluso1 el detalle de las semillas que le mandamos, y deseamos que sean de su agrado y de provecho para el pais.
La lista de las que esperamos de vd. por el buque "Elias"2 nos inspiran mucho interés y sentimos no tener á mano algunas obras de vd. como "The Australian Vegetation" para poderlas apreciar debidamente, pero hoy mismo la pedimos á Inglaterra.
Suponiendo que vd. publica algunos estudios, boletin ó memoria sobre la vegetacion y agricultura de ese pais, mucho le estimaríamos nos lo hiciera conocer.
Me resta, señor, manifestar á vd. el alto aprecio con que le saluda la Sociedad Rural, que tengo el honor de presidir, y su muy atento S. S. Q. B. S. M.
EDUARDO OLIVERA,
Presidente.
Jaime Arrufo.
Secretairio.
P. D. — En el acto de recibir su última me dirijí al señor Presidente de la República, indagando sobre la carta y el cajon de semillas que vd. dice le mandó; pero desgraciadeamente no la recibió y el cajon debe haberse perdido con ella, puesto que en vano le hemos buscado en toda la Aduana.
OLIVERA.
Buenos Aires, 17 August 1871.
Dear Sir:3
In due course I was favored with your estimable letters of January 1st and February 10th of this year. The first one acknowledging receipt of the seeds that this Society sent you last year, and the second advising of the shipment to London for this corporation of a collection of vegetable productions [of] your country.
After these letters I received advice from Mr George Verdon,4 of having shipped said box to this Society on the ship "Elisa", that has not yet arrived. Today I write to you saying that in return, this Society sends him another box with indigenous seeds of this Republic so that he may direct it to you.5
This box goes first to our Consul in Liverpool, William R. Gilmour, to send it to Mr Verdon, and we have instructed him to try to prevent opening in the customs so that the seeds do not suffer deterioration.
The detail of the seeds that we are sending you is included, and we hope that they are to your liking and of benefit for the country.
The list of what we expect from you per "Elias" has inspired much interest, and we regret not having some of your works at hand such as "The Australian Vegetation"6 to be able to appreciate them properly, but today we asked for it from England.
Assuming you publish some studies, bulletins or notes on the vegetation and agriculture of your country, we should much appreciate knowing of it.
It remains to me, sir, to manifest to you the high appreciation with which the Rural Society, over which I have the honor to preside, being your very attentive S. S. Q. B. S. M.7
EDUARDO OLIVERA,
President.
Jaime Arrufo.
Secretary.
Immediately on receiving your last I addressed the President of the Republic, inquiring about the letter and the box of seeds that you say you sent him; but unfortunately he did not receive it and the box must have been lost with it, since we have looked for it in vain in all the Customs.8
incluido?
Text footnote: 'Véase página 196 de los "Anales" del corriente año' [See page 196 of the Anales for this year], i.e. M to the Sociedad Rural Argentina, 1 January 1871.
The phrasing of Olivera's letter is somewhat unusual. The text appears to be a poor translation of a letter written in English. The translation given here is therefore a slightly free translation to convey the probable sense of the letter sent to M.
Victoria’s Agent-General in London.
In the Anales a letter to Verdon precedes the letter to M. The letter acknowledges the receipt of Verdon's letter of 16 June 1871 advising of the despatch of M's seeds per Elisa. Olivera notifies Verdon that another box of seeds intended for M has been sent to the Argentine Consul in Liverpool, William Gilmour, together with the letter to M, and asks Verdon to arrange for them to be sent to M.
Presumably B67.13.03 or one of the other versions of this article.
A conventional valedictory phrase, 'seguro servidor que besa sus manos' [reliable servant who kisses your hand].
No letter mentioning the President of the Republic has been found.
Letter not found. For the text given here, see 'Semillas para Australia' [Seeds for Australia], Anales de la Sociedad Rural Argentina, 1871, vol. 5, pp. 242-3.
Please cite as “FVM-71-08-17c,” 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