22/11/811
It is discouraging, dear Sir Joseph, that the sending of the Andersonias did not reach you as I hoped fit for cultural purposes.2 Two or three reasons militated against the success.
1) the advanced season; such plants should be lifted in autumn, and such was intended, but before I got the case, filled it with Pines, (for all of which I have no convenience now) and got it to K.G. Sound, it was July (I think) & at Albany also more delay arose, to procure the plants, than I anticipated3
2. the plants should be established, even if only by being kept a few months in an open Wards Case at Albany. I have brought Andersonia caerulea fresh from there myself and grew it easily afterwards in the Melb bot Garden, where it flowered freely among the Cape Ericas, sheltered against the Melbourne dry heat.
3. I had particularly asked, especially as freight was paid by me to Kew, that the case should be entrusted to someone of the Officers of the Steamer purposely, so that he might have lifted the lid, if the plants were too moist, or watered them if too dry. Unfortunately the lid was fixed down. But I suppose they got no attention whatever on the voyage, and had perhaps at times no light, and at other times the full force of the sun-heat on the glass even in the tropics!
In justice to myself I must say, since it might appear as if I knew nothing of horticulture even after all my success of former years in the Melb. bot Garden, that I did send seeds (fruits) of Epacrids year after year to Europe (also Kew) since 1853!, including on many occasions Andersonia-seeds, ordered from poor Maxwell purposely. But I do not find, that the seeds of the capsular Epacrids germinate so easily as those of Ericeae, though of course they do germinate, if fresh. As regards drupaceous Epacrids, the putamen must be opened if the puny seeds are to make in germination their way out of their hard shell. This I often noted on the seed papers of them. In nature bush-fires seem to liberate them; but like with Orchids out of thousands of fruits perhaps not one of drupaceous Epacrids will leave any offspring. So it is, that the most magnificent of all Eastern Epacrids (quite as splendid as Cosmelia) has never yet been cultivated in any garden except mine, namely Stenanthera conostephoides; the corolla has a fulgent transparency. I sent the nuts often to European Gardens, and several times fresh to Kew.4 If you would send me back the Ward's Case with a few hardy plants, which I could plant on the few square yards of ground before the door of the little Cottage, in which I do my Office work & studies, I will cause it to be filled again and be sent (with better luck I hope) to Kew.5
Mr Webb at K G Sound is a very worthy man but poor in the extreme; (I have given him now & then some help)6 he would be able to send you young Kingias, Baxterias, Calectasias (cultivated successfully by me), and above all that gorgeous plant Nuytsia, (which Fraser7 introduced into the Sydney bot Garden,) of which I often sent seeds, which never seem to have vegetated.8
If anything was wanting to demonstrate, as RBr already pointed out, the close affinity of Loranthaceae & Proteaceae it is this same Nuytsia, especially if we take its so called sepals as petals, articulated as they are at the base.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
9I have a chronologic list of the genera of all Australian plants under the press10 but shall not likely be able to send it before february It includes also the cryptogames, so the list will comprise nearly 2000 Genera. We all look forward with deep interest to your & Benthams finishing volume of the genera;11 had either of you not done anything else, it would raise a grand Monument for you at all times, as your genera must be for ever on the table of all Botanists! —
I have not yet got to the sorting of my duplicates for Kew &c, but the Exhibition12 has driven everything back, so much so that I have not even brought out a single part of the Eucalyptography13 in 1881.
Your position at the Brit Associat in the geographic Section was quite a proud one, & your essay or adress excellent.14
Last evening I attended as acting President (or Senior Vice Pres) a splendid Concert of the Liedertafel, at which our Conductors magnificent Cantata to Longfellows Orion was for the first time produced.15 On my request a special full copy of the Music will be made out for presentation to Mr Longfellow, of whose poetry I am a great admirer, and as Dr Asa Gray is a friend of his, I shall forward this music to Kew,16 so that he may present it to his illustrious countryman, this course taking away any air of intrusiveness.
I have been President for several years of the Liedertafel
Dr Rudall is president now [—] we gave him credentials to the British Medical Congress from the Med. Association here, of which I am an ordinary member17
I have instructed Mr Webb to send you a gin-case full of Andersonias packed horizontally only with their natural moisture between layers of Cladonia retipora (common at KGS), to nail down the lid18 and put the box in a cool place into the hold of the vessel as ordinary good. I believe, the plants would endure the 6 week imprisonment quite well, but it would then require great care to pot them & establish them in a cold frame. —
If any Ship, which brings frozen meat from Australia took a few plants,19 they would arrive probably well without trouble. I will see, what can be done in that way.
I have written to all my correspondents, who have Cycadeae within fair reach, on behalf of Mr Dyer,20 for his important work, & you may rest assured, that whatever is attainable for me shall pass on to him, but it is a matter of time & expense.
A little sea air would not hurt any Epacrid in an open Case, even under mere Calico, on the way to Europe21
Were you at the geographic Congress of Venice? I was invited specially but could not get away22
I shall of course be grateful for any spare specimens of RBr's plants, but also for any from India, which you may be able to spare.23
Very few Epacrids indeed have been raised in Europe anywhere.24
At best Andersonias raised from seeds would only flower after 2 years.25
The Stewart26 of the Steamer for a trifle wood27 look after an open Case28
Andersonia caerulea
Cladonia retipora
Cycadeae
Erica
Stenanthera conostephoides
Kingia
Baxteria
Calectasia
Loranthaceae
Nuytsia
Epacrideae
Annotated by J. Hooker And Jny 5/81 [sic]. See J. Hooker to M, 5 January 1882.
See J. Hooker to M, 25 September 1881, and M to J. Hooker, 12 July 1881(in this edition as 81-07-12a) and notes thereto.
W. Webb wrote to Hooker from Albany, WA, on 7 August 1881, announcing that specimens had been sent but later than M had requested as 'I did not receive the Case in time to fill and send it by that steamer'. He itemized the costs of freight, and offered to supply other items to Kew (RBG Kew, Kew Correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1871-81, f. 311).
The Kew Inwards Book contains many records of the form '18 packets of seeds', so it is not possible to identify how many times M sent Epacrid seeds, although there is an entry for 'Stenanthera conostephoides' seeds on 23 March 1872.
Vertical blue pencil line in the left hand margin from transparency to which I could plant.
I have … help interlined. The parentheses are an editorial addition.
Charles Fraser.
There are two specific entries for the arrival of Nuytsia seeds at Kew, in entries in the Kew Inwards Book (RBG Kew, Kewensia) for 19 September 1868 and 19 August 1878. Others may have been included in entries recorded simply as 'seeds'. See also W. Webb to J. Hooker, 8 July 1881 (RBG Kew, Kew Correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1871-81, f. 311).
The text that follows, as far as 'a matter of time & expense', appears on ff. 341-2, separately from the remainder of the document on ff. 339-40, and may have been sent as a separate letter. It is included here as it is more likely a long postscript to the present letter, datable to the same date by the reference to the Liedertafel concert, which was held on 21 November 1881 (Argus, 23 November 1881, p. 8). The sequence given here follows the archival arrangement, but it is possible that f. 342, commencing 'I have instructed Mr Webb', was the first postscript sheet.
B82.07.05.
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83).
International Exhibition, Melbourne, 1880-1.
B79.13.11 and related items. Decade 7, part of B80.13.14, had been issued in time for it to be reviewed in December 1880, while Decade 8, B82.13.17, was issued in time for it to be reviewed in April 1882.
J. Hooker (1882).
Julius Siede's cantata to Longfellow's 'Occultation of Orion' was never published. However, a full score and also a vocal score are preserved in the Liedertafel Collection, Grainger Museum, University of Melbourne.
In retirement, Asa Gray spent a year in Europe, 1880-1. See also M to A. Gray, 27 March 1882.
James Rudall represented the Victorian Branch of the British Medical Association during a tour of America and Europe in 1881.
only … lid is marked with a line in the margin.
If any … plants is marked with a line in the margin.
W. Thiselton-Dyer.
A little sea … to Europe written in right margin, f. 340 back.
Were you … away written in left margin f. 340 back.
I shall … spare written in left margin f. 340 front, at the point where the vertical blue pencil mark is present.
For duplicates from Robert Brown's collections, see J. Hooker to M, 10 June 1881. M had acknowledged Hooker's news about Robert Brown's specimens in M to J. Hooker, 29 July 1881; he acknowledged receipt of five cases of Brown's plants in M to J. Hooker, 22 May 1882 (in this edition as 82-05-22a) and M to J. Hooker, 29 May 1882.
Very few … anywhere written in right margin f 340 front.
At best … 2 years written in right margin f. 339 front.
steward?
would?
The Stewart ... case written in left margin f. 339 front.
Please cite as “FVM-81-11-22,” 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