Melbourne bot Garden
26/3/72
You will be both surprised and displeased, dear Prof M'Owan, that I neglected you so long. The fact is, that my position was for a time interfered with as regard the horticultural administration, that Scarlet Pelargonium, Petunia & Verbena became the order of the day, that no end of my best plants were discarded & lost (including many S. African species) and that it became a hopeless task under such adversities to work for the increase of the cultural collections. Much (very much) of my time was lost in simply defending my Directorial position, my courage sank, my strenght faded, my health fluctuated. — Be it enough! Better days of a more enlightened administration are dawning now and so I resume correspondence.
Sir Henry Barkly's presence at Capetown ought to enable us to effect interchanges as well in bulbs & seeds as in Museum plants easier than before. I will send you plenty of dried plants, if you value them, and I like as many in return from your hand as you may deem me entitled to at any time. My S. Afr. coll. of Museum plants is large, yet I like to complete it still more.
Of S. African Buddleys2 only one (B. salvifolia) I have in cultivation. Could I get through your kindness well matured seeds of the others? I am particularly anxious for any specimens of Melanthaceae, flowers & fruit, in order that I may in connection with the Austr species remodel also from S. African ones the limits of the genera.
Your regardful
Baron Von Mueller
Do you take a share in continuing Harvey's & Sonder's work?3
I wished you could get 2 years leave to work with Dr Sonder in Hamburg.
Sonder is very anxious to be in communication with you always
Buddleia salvifolia
Melanthaceae
Pelargonium
Petunia
Verbena
Please cite as “FVM-72-03-26,” 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 23 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/72-03-26