[So much interested was the Baron Von Mueller in the subject [of disseminating Eucalypts] that well nigh on thirty years ago he sent a parcel of seeds to the Duke of Leinster with the suggestion that there was every possibility of the suitability of some varieties to the Irish climate.]1
The text continues: 'The seeds were handed to us to raise and experiment with, and, to the best of recollection, E. globulosus was the species chiefly dealt with as likely to be the kind to succeed, but our experience of it was not a happy one, as the trees attained no appreciable size ere succumbing…'.
Letter not found. For the text given here, see 'The Eucalyptus' in the 'Farm and Garden' section of Weekly Irish times, 5 October 1907, p. 19, edited by E. Knowdlin. M's letter is dated to 1877 as being 'nigh on thirty years ago'. It is the earliest likely date, as it was in that year that Knowdlin became Gardener to the Duke of Leinster at his seat, Carton House, County Kildare (Desmond (1994)).
Please cite as “FVM-77-00-00c,” 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