GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALASIA,
VICTORIAN BRANCH
East St Kilda1
11 May 1885
My dear Baron
Immediately that your request reached me respecting Mr Vail's invention of a Boat and Waggon combined for Exploration purposes in any country, I called on Mr Vail2 to inspect whatever he had to submit —
As it consisted of only his own rough draft of plans it would be scarcely fair to pronounce an opinion of what a fully developed machine might prove to be still I fear there is little in it to recommend it for practicability —
The main feature on which Mr Vail seemed to base its success was a single wheel to be used as a driving wheel for the Paddles — the boat or Vehicle being composed of Basket work and cork was the best part of it but as a locomotive by manual labor I fear the advantages would be Nil —
Hoping you may soon be convalescent3
Believe me
my dear Baron
faithfully yours
Crawford Pasco
Melbourne.
W. K. Vail?
M had been complaining of poor health during the early part of 1885 (see, for example, M to E. Ramsay, 9 March 1885) and he referred to his persistent cough as limiting his activities when declining, in M to F. Barnard, 10 April 1885, the invitation to be nominated as President of the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria. Nothing further is known, however, about the illness to which Pasco here alludes.
Please cite as “FVM-85-05-11,” 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