To George Bentham   14 April 1880

14/4/80

 

This day brought me, dear Mr Bentham, a copy of the new part of the “opus magnum”,1 adressed in your handwriting. Accept my best thanks for this graceful gift. The mail closes tomorrow, so I have no leisure to look through the work, but it will be a treasure for all times.

It is quite marvellous to me, that your mental power is not flagging, & that your eyesight permits you to enter on such a gigantic task as the thousandfold dissection of Orchideae, needed for the “genera” May health & strenght be spared to you, to bring the great work with Sir Josephs aid to conclusion.

With regardful attachment your

Ferd. von Mueller.

 

Orchideae

1
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83), vol 3, part 1 was published on 7 February 1880 (TL2).

Please cite as “FVM-80-04-14,” 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 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/80-04-14