To James Service   15 May 1883

Arnold Street.¹

15/5/83.

The honorable Jam. Service, M.L.A.,

Premier and Treasurer of Victoria.²

In reply to your note of this day,³ honored and dear Sir, I beg to say, that since the "fragmenta" were commenced to be issued, 25 years ago,⁴ a standing order of the hon. the Chief Secretary exists, under which 100 copies are granted to my official establishment for literary interchanges and encouragement of collectors as each successive volume appeared. Unfortunately the edition was limited by myself to 500 copies, because I thought, that this strictly professional work was or would be merely required for departmental purposes in Victoria and abroad. But since the last quarter of a century so many new scientific unions sprung up, that the demand increased, and on requisition, approved by the Minister of my establishment, from time to time more copies were got as occasion arose. Moreover the "fragmenta" were by motions in Parliament, quite irrespective of any action of mine, distributed several times, so far as the volumes were available, to the honorable members. The free libraries and Mechanics Institutes sent also to Government in a good many instances for the work, through one or the other of the Ministerial Departments. Hence the supply of the earlier volumes became long ago exhausted; the eleventh volume appeared in 1881, and I hope, that the 12th will be concluded in 1884 (deo volente⁵). The "systematic Census of Australian plants" was by order of the hon. J. M. Grant published in 1882⁶ at a private establishment without any extra-call on the finances of the country, out of the ordinary modest votes of my establishment; but I may passingly observe, that I find myself £60 short, as also heavy calls arose in 1882-1883 on my official fund through the international Amsterdam and horticultural Petersburg Exhibitions.⁷ I have not ventured, to ask the hon. Graham Berry, though he has always been very kind to me, to place this £60 on the additional or supplemental estimates, as the expenditure beyond the vote, was not previously authorized. Indeed I may be allowed to add, that never a year passed in the 31, during which I had the honor of being a professional head of a Victorian establishment, without the necessity arising of augmenting the votes by my slender private means, which indeed are now — late in life — all sunk in my researches! of course I might have limited my literary work more than I did, fully 20 volumes having appeared departmentally, irrespective of several others, which either appeared on the aid of other Governments by Victorian ministerial sanction and without monetary interest whatever to myself (Calcutta, Sydney,⁸), or which were printed on my private cost. A good many copies of volumes of my works were purchased on my private expense for not official occasional distribution at the Gov. Printing office, or second hand from Melbourne and other Booksellers. This applies also to the seven volumes of the "Flora Australiensis" published by Bentham and myself,⁹ to Miss Charsley's Atlas of Victorian flowers¹⁰ &c, none of these purchases having ever been charged to departmental funds, my establishment, widely ramified as it is over the whole world, being the smallest endowed of all in Victoria. To return however to the principle of distribution, concerning which you desire to be informed, this was in each case dependent on the nature of the particular volume. Thus Mr Berry has most liberally placed at my disposal 250 copies of the 1000 copies of the "systematic Census", that work being also of use to any one for mere reference, without study. In response to a request of the Chief Secretary I submitted a proposition, how a portion of the 750 copies should be disposed of through the Gov. Printing office, which is the only channel through which copies of my works are sold or otherwise sent out, except the number of copies above indicated as reserved at once for reciprocal obligations and other strictly official distributions of my establishment. I omitted to mention, that of the loose numbers which constitute each volume of the fragmenta gradually, 25 copies are extraprinted, when ever each number appears, and given to me by Mr Ferres for use in my office and for sending to the principal amateurs at the time contributing unpaid to our collections. Each volume of the fragmenta requiring and having required from 2 to 4 years for its elaboration, with one or two exceptions.

Let me remain honored and dear Sir, regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller.