To Joseph Hooker   23 July 1881

23/7/81

 

Since writing to you, dear Sir Joseph,1 it has been finally decided to solicit your acting for the three colonies at the Bordeaux-Congress.2 I forgot in my last letter to mention a curious assertion in a german journal, that the application of a very small quantity of Mercury to the base of the stem of Vines by means of a small bored hole would kill the phylloxera on the root, without destroying the vitality of the Vine. Whether this is a myth, or really a remedy, remains to be ascertained. I will try here the physiologic effect on some vines in a private garden. I can hardly think, that the Quicksilver would reach the extreme tender roots, which are mainly affected by the Phylloxera. Still there may be some “rationale” in this, and if so, the remedy would be comparatively cheap and of easy application.3

Regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller.4

1
M to J. Hooker, 22 July 1881.
2

The congress was planned for 29 August to 4 September 1881. On 23 July 1881 Sir Henry Parkes, Colonial Secretary of NSW, telegraphed J. Hooker on behalf of the NSW and SA Governments asking him to represent them at the Congress (f. 15). Sir Saul Samuel, NSW Agent-General,asked Hooker to suggest a suitable alternative if he was unable to go himself (f. 18). On 27 July 1881 Hooker suggested a courtesy conference on the matter with agents-general of SA and Vic. Hooker was unable to travel to Bordeaux as he had already agreed to preside at a section of the overlapping BAAS conference, and suggested W. Thiselton-Dyer, who was formally invited by the Agents-General and agreed to represent the three colonies (ff. 23-24). On 12 August notice was received of a postponement of the congress until 10 October, but Thiselton-Dyer’s appointment stood (f. 48).

A report was prepared (Thiselton-Dyer 1882), which included a comment that Dr Trimen concluded that the evidence for a Phylloxera infestation in Australia was not conclusive and recommended that specimens of vine roots supposed to be infected should be sent in alcohol to Kew. The report was reprinted in Victoria ‘for distribution among the vignerons’ (Argus, 6 January 1883, p. 5, col. b.).

3
M’s source for the suggestion of using mercury to combat Phylloxera has not been identified.
4

The file contains an unsourced news cutting that has been identified as coming from the Argus, 23 July 1881, p. 9, col. c:

The Victorian Government recently proposed to the Governments of New South Wales and South Australia that the three colonies should send a joint representative to the approaching Phylloxera Vastatrix Congress to be held at Bordeaux. New South Wales and South Australia, however, united in suggesting that Sir Joseph Hooker be asked to select a suitable scientific man in England to represent the colonies, and the Victorian Government has agreed to this suggestion. Amongst the papers to be sent to congress from this colony are a report by Baron von Mueller on the vine disease in Victoria, and the report of the select committee on the subject, of which Mr. L. L. Smith was chairman.

M was asked by the Victorian Government for a report (T. Wilson to M, 13 September 1881). His report (M to T. Wilson, 16 July 1881) was registered as received but has not been found. The register indicates that the file was sent to the Department of Agriculture.

Please cite as “FVM-81-07-23,” 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 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/81-07-23