M's reference to his absence suggests that this letter was written in January 1878, not 1877, since M was away, in WA, from October until December 1877, while his correspondence for late 1876 does not give any indication of his being out of Melbourne. The letter's being written in January 1878 also fits better with the subject-matter of M to J. Hector, 28 July 1877, if this is the letter to which M refers (see n. 2).
M to J. Hector, 28 July 1877 (in this edition as 77-07-28a), in which M thanked Hector for other publications?
MS address in M's hand: 'O.H.M.S. | Dr. Hector, FRS., CMG., | Director of the geologic Survey | Wellington | New Zealand'.
Please cite as “FVM-78-01-08b,” 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