To George Day¹    18 October 1878

Melbourne, 18/10/78

Mr. George P. Day

near Mossgiel

N. S. Wales

Dear Sir

I dictate this letter to you from my sick bed and my illness accounts also for the delay in writing to you. I was myself near your place a few weeks ago, when I went to the Lower Lachlan,² but was not aware then of your present abode. The plants sent by you³ were by some unfortunate accident lost after arrival here, except one No 2 which is my Prostanthera striatiflora. I shall be happy to name other plants for you, but small fragments are very misleading. Your best plan is to send them by parcel post, not sealed up, merely a cross-tie round the parcel and the sides kept open so that the postal authorities can get an insight what the parcel contains, such parcels should be marked "sample" or specimens of natural history only without letter; the post is very cheap.

I am under the impression that you wrote to me that you were coming down with your plants to Melbourne about Christmas; if so it will of course be unnecessary to send any more plants by post. You will get due credit in my works for any new or rare plant which you may have collected in a state fit for examination. The Acacias are now ripening their fruits, be sure to collect them with ripe fruits whenever you can, for hardly any of the numerous Acacias can be named from flowering specimens alone, and the same may be said of nearly all other kinds of plants. Among the minute water-weeds and minute swamp rushes you are likely to find more novelties than among the showy tribe of plants.

With kind regards

Ferd. von Mueller

Acacia

Prostanthera striatiflora