From Charles Fawcett   31 May 1878

Ballina.1 31 May. 78.

My dear Baron

This Evening I received your double communications of 19th & 20th Inst: and, as our local papers (2) are published on Friday and Saturday, your letter for publication cannot appear until the end of next week.2 There was no danger of my sending specimens to anyone but yourself, at least until after you had described it; if, even then. By this post I hope you will receive safely a packet with a good fresh specimen of your B. m.,3 some mosses, &c. You will easily recognize the mosses from the same tree as the orchid. The others came from an oak (swamp) and a Hybiscus.4 The roots of all those trees are splashed by salt water (on the banks of North Creek, Ballina. The tree, on which the B. m., is a nephelium, I presume; and, on a Cupania not far off, the B. m. appears again, but more sparingly. Nowhere else could I find it. Pray let me have the name of the fern or ferns accompanying. The short leaves & the long ones appear to differ & came from separate trees, oaks. I fancy you could get this Dendrobium to flower by laying the bark in a dish on wet sand. In any case, if the packet goes safe, you could describe it with the fruit and wait for the flower — as some of the fruit appears quite fresh — The tree leans over the water, and, while I was away lately, some Goth cut half of it off, from which I cut the present specimen. The ferns to which I refer are wrapped with the Bark — There are two other ferns, in paper, numbered. If the seed of the Didiscus is not sufficiently ripe let me know. I send also olax specimens — Would any one you know take the trouble of experimenting on our native tobacco Seed? If so, I could send some fresh seed — I dried a few leaves and the flavour reminded me of the Havanas of my early days — I don't smoke now — I shall send copies of the papers.5 With best wishes, I am, My dear Baron,

yours truly

Charles. H. Fawcett:

 

Baron Ferd von Mueller.

&c &c &c.

Melbourne.

 

P.S. The narrow leaved Melothria is never seen up the river —

 

Bulbophyllum minutissimum

Cupania

Dendrobium

Didiscus

Hybiscus

Melothria

Nephelium

Olax

1
NSW.
2
Letter of 19 May not found; See M to C Fawcett, 20 May 1878, the notes to which contain details of publication of that letter in the two local newspapers.
3
Bulbophyllum minutissimum; see M to C Fawcett, 20 May 1878.
4
Hibiscus?
5
A cutting from the Richmond River express and Tweed advertiser is with MEL 1540829.

Please cite as “FVM-78-05-31,” 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 25 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/78-05-31