To George Bentham   15 July 1872

Bot Garden 1[5] 7/72

 

By the Summersetshire,1 dear Mr Bentham, you will receive the first instalment of Monocotyledoneae. As this steamer leaves in a few weeks,2 you will get the plants as early (October) as if I sent them off to day by clipper. I am "struggling for existence" at this moment, my difficulties having come to a climax. Nothing less than my Directorship being at stake, you may imagine that I have at this moment neither time nor tranquillity of mind to work in my Museum. You have no idea what may happen to a man in Victoria even anno dei 1872. It was very brave of Dr Hooker to come to the rescue. What he wrote to Sir Henry Barkly about a landscape gardener (I use this illogic word with aversion) is just what a sterling man would write.3

I thank you much for giving me the information on Mr Berkeleys elaboration of my fungi4 and look with great interest forward to his learned remarks thereon. I have a Phallus with a large mantle in spirit, which I will describe myself5

Always with sincere reverence your

Ferd von Mueller

 

Monocotyledoneae

Phallus

 
1
Somersetshire?
2
The Somersetshire sailed on 23 August 1872 with a case containing 27 fascicles of plants for Bentham's use, as well as a parcel of Chatham Island algae for J. Agardh and some wood specimens for Kew (Notebook recording despatch of plants for Flora Australiensis, RB, MSS M44, Library, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne).
3
J. Hooker to H. Barkly, 8 April 1872: 'Poor Mueller is distracted between the pleasures of his new title and pains of his position. As far as what he calls persecution is concerned, he is no worse off than I am under Ayrton, in respect of whom I am at open rebellion, having refused obedience and informed Mr. Gladstone of it. ... But I bore you with this - to return to poor Mueller, who takes his sorrows to heart (wh. I do not), I am doing my best to support him, and have assured him that I shall decline the duty the Commissioners threatened to impose on me, of selecting a Superintendent for the Landscape and Gardening department of his Gardens; and shall further remonstrate against such an appointment being made against his wishes.' (RBG Kew, Archives, Letters from Joseph Hooker vol 1: ADA-BAR, ff. 189-191). For Hooker and Ayton, see MacLeod (1974).
4
G. Bentham to M, 8 May 1872.
5
The only Phallus known to have been described by M, P. vitellinus, was described in B70.12.03, p. 122. See also M to M. Berkeley, 14 July 1872 (in this edition as 72-07-14a), and M to E. Ramsay, 20 December 1872 .

Please cite as “FVM-72-07-15a,” 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 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/72-07-15a