Botanic Garden
Melbourne, 9th June 1873
Sir
I have the honor to solicit that you will be pleased to sanction that the sum of £60.- (sixty pounds) out of the vote of £80.- for the purchase of Books and Instruments — £20.- having been transferred — may be transmitted to the Agent General in London by the English mail which is to leave next week, and that you will approve of the purchase of the following books for the library of my department.1
Curtis's Botanical Magazine Volumes 26. 33. 35. 38. 48. 50. 64. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77.2
Edwards's Botanical Register Volumes 10. 12. 16. 22. 23. 24.
in order to complete the series at present in the library;3
further Bruch Schimper & Gumbel Bryologia Europaea4
Corda, Icones Fungorum5
Jacquin, Eclogae Graminum-Rariorum6
Roscoe, Scitamineae7
Trinius, Species Graminum8
I would respectfully recommend, that the charges for exchange on London, which will probably amount to about ¾ percent, be at once deducted. The purchase of the books indicated will probably absorb the whole sum available; if it should exceed it, I would suggest that it be left to the discretion of the Agent General to reduce the order, so as to bring it within the means placed at his disposal.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient servant
Ferd. von Mueller, C.M.G.,
Direct. botan. Garden.
This is the first time since 1866 that purchases of books have been made by the Government for my Department, either here or elsewhere.
The Honorable the Minister of the Lands Department
On 11 June 1873 the Secretary of Agriculture, A. Wallis, minuted: 'I presume there can be no objection to the sanction of the Govt Botanist's request'. Clement Hodgkinson added on the same day: 'I am aware of no objection'. However, on 13 June 1873, Casey minuted: 'As the mngmt of the Garden will not be under the Govt Botanist after 1st July 1873 these are not necessary'. There is a note in a different hand, also dated 13 June, 'Letter accordingly'; letter not found. Of the five non-journal titles listed by M, the library at MEL holds in the original edition only the work by Corda; there is no record of when this was acquired, but it was presumably not at this time. The library also holds a 1970 facsimile edition of the work by Trinius, and complete runs of the two journals named by M.
The first six wanted volumes are from Sims (1801-26), the remainder from W. Hooker (1827-64).
The first two volumes are from S. Edwards (1815-47), the remainder from Lindley (1829-1847).
Bruch, Schimper & Gümbel (1836-55).
Corda (1837-54).
J. Jacquin (1813-44).
Roscoe (1828).
Trinius (1828-36).
MS written by Georg Luehmann and signed by M.
Please cite as “FVM-73-06-09,” 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