24/12/79
It is very kind of you, dear Professor Beccari, to despatch to me a large case of plants, gathered by you in Sumatra, with the permission to describe any new among them.
I can of course see the force of the argument, adduced by you, that the permanent property of the bot. Museum of Florence may become endangered by a loan of it to the antipodes, though about 70,000 specimens of my normal Collection have passed from Melbourne to Kew and back again without any loss from 1862 to 1878. Still, it must be admitted, that there is always some danger in transoceanic sendings, and I expected only from you a series of duplicates.
You will receive vol VIII & IX of the fragmenta by this post. You allude to some Eucalyptus-leaves [as] forwarded for naming, but none accompanied your letter.
Your glorious work1 will doubtless pass rapidly on & I wish you for it the best success.
Do you expect me to return all the Sumatra plants? Are they spare specimens or a typical collection. For any retained here I will furnish a return in Australian plants.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.
Please cite as “FVM-79-12-24b,” 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 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/79-12-24b