From Morton Allport   18 October 1874

Hobart Town

18th Octr 1874

Baron Von Mueller

F.R.S.

Melbourne

Dear Sir,

As the best reply to your note I have packed up & forwarded per "Southern Cross" all the fossil plants from my own collection which may or may not prove interesting but which are quite at your service for as long a period as you wish —

Those from Gellston Bay (Tertiary [...]) are for the [most] part probably identical with existing species but [the] three or four [specimens] of seeds or seed[vessels] I cannot make out. These [...] are all associated with species of [...] [...] I believe to be now extinct. [Consociated] fragments of bone belonging to existing Dasyurus [...] were also [encountered] in one part of the Quarry —¹

The beautiful [ferns] from the Carboniferous strata at Spring Bay will perhaps interest you though they may be all well known species. If you can append the names when you return the specimens I shall be greatly indebted to you and you may rest assured that I will lose no opportunity of securing any further specimens that may fall in my way.

Amongst the fossils in the Roy. Soc. Museum there are a large number of tertiary specimens (casts of leaves seeds &c) which are Tasmanian but from what precise localities we do not know — would these be of service to you?

I was much charmed with the plates of the fossil seeds from your gold fields.² I have also to thank you for the pamphlet on Forest culture.³

Yours sincerely

Morton Allport