11/7/79
It affords me much pleasure, dear Professor Tate, to name the three plants, which you submitted to me, and I beg of you to avail yourself unhesitatingly of my aid whenever the occasion may arise. In all probability you have ascertained new localities on the Bight1 for rare plants during your excursions there.
I like to ask you whether there would be any great difficulty to send me from the botanic Garden of Adelaide a set of the third series of Schultz's plants from the northern territory,2 of which specimens I only have seen the second and first series. Even if of the many sets collected only one remained in Adelaide, there ought to be no great difficulty to pick out the numbers of the 3th series, so that I may have of them the loan for a short time, and utilize them for the continuation of the flora Australiensis,3 to which I have added now about 700 species and many new localities and descriptive notes. The specimens would be soon returned. I hope you will find much aid from the numerous named plants of South Australia, now in Adelaide, which passed through my hands, to obtain an easy insight into your vegetation & to facilitate recognition of the species by reference to the already named collections.
Your travels undoubtedly will give us important new geologic data also, as you can bring such extensive knowledge and experience to bear on this branch of science also.
Let me remain, honoured Sir, regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.
Great Australian Bight.
M is referring to the third consignment of plants that Frederick Schultze sent from Darwin to Adelaide, 28 September 1869 (Wallis 2020), p. 44). M had requested a set at the time; see M to R. Schomburgk, 15 November 1869, and M to G. Goyder, 15 November 1869 (in this edition as 69-11-15a). Schomburgk did not include him in the distribution of full sets. This letter suggests that M did not receive specimens from the fourth set, dispatched from Darwin on 31 January 1870, nor the final set sent on 2 July 1870 (Wallis (2002), pp. 51, 53).
No such supplementary volume of Flora australiensis was published.
Please cite as “FVM-79-07-11,” 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