Botanic Garden
Melbourne, 6th January 1873
Sir
Referring to my letters of 11th and 23rd December last, in which I had the honor to point out the impossibility of carrying on the service of the Department with the utterly inadequate means available for the item of Stores &c, I have now the honor to solicit, that you will be pleased to grant the transfer of the sum of £120.- voted for a test plantation in the ranges, to the item for Stores. Since there are no funds available for fencing in any ground, for the erection of a superintendent's dwelling and other expenditure, necessarily connected with the inauguration of such a plantation, I beg respectfully to submit that this work may stand over till the new financial year, so that by the transfer of this sum I may be enabled to meet the unavoidable expenditure for forage for the carthorse, tools, coal for the hot houses, timber nails paint and oil for small repairs, paper &c for the museum and many other necessary articles too numerous too particularize.
If my request should be favorably considered I will at once forward requisitions specifying the articles most urgently needed.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your very obedient servant
Ferd von Mueller,
Direct. botan. Garden.
You will be aware that half the original vote for Stores &c was withdrawn from the Botanic Garden, in consequence of which I am left without means for the second half of the financial year.
The Honorable the Commissioner of Lands & Survey.1
Please cite as “FVM-73-01-06,” 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