From William Woolls1    7 March 1884

Richmond2

March 7 /84

My dear Baron,

You will see by the enclosed that the pugnacious Doctor3 is not satisfied yet. I never attacked him in any way but I will reply next week.4

The three enclosed plants came from Riverina — Dodonaea,5 & Micromyrtus.6 Can you kindly tell me whether the Composite is a Pterigeron?7

Yours very sincerely

W. Woolls

 

Dodonaea

Micromyrtus

Pterigeron

 
MS annotation by M: 'Answ. 12/3/84 FvM.' Letter not found.
NSW.
Dr. Andrew Ross. In a letter to the Editor, Sydney mail, 9 February 1884, pp. 259-60, Ross had taken exception to being omitted by M from the list in B83.12.02 of pioneers who used Eucalyptus for therapeutic purposes. M replied in a letter to the Editor dated 11 February and published on 16 February (in this edition as 84-02-11d). Almost certainly in response to the letters of Ross and M, the Sydney mail, 23 February 1884, p. 354, published an article stating that 'Dr Woolls informs us that the virtues of our gum leaves have not been so much overlooked as some persons imagine'. It went on to say 'Dr Woolls assures us that many years ago a medical man of reputation in Sydney submitted to him for examination, the leaves of E. rostrata, and it was stated at the time that they had been used by the blacks for healing wounds.' Ross (letter to the Editor, Sydney mail , 8 March 1884, p. 452) took offence at Woolls’s not naming him as the person who had reported the use of Eucalyptus in the case of the wound, and implied that Woolls was claiming that someone had publicized the therapeutic use of Eucalyptus earlier than he had. A clipping of Ross's letter was presumably enclosed in Woolls's letter to M.
Woolls replied ( Sydney mail , 15 March 1884, p. 499), beginning 'As I have never questioned Dr. Ross's claim to the discovery of therapeutic qualities in the leaves of the red gum (Eucalyptus rostrata), nor have any idea of "setting up a prior claim to his right"… it is quite unnecessary for me to defend myself in reference to the charge he makes against me.' His reply also emphasised the importance of M's long period of work on Eucalyptus .
Annotation by M: 'D. lobulata'.
Annotation by M: 'Baeckea crassif', i.e. Baeckea crassifolia.
Annotation by M: 'Aster exul'.

Please cite as “FVM-84-03-07a,” 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 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/84-03-07a