Private
11/7/85.
This morning, dear Professor Lange, I packed up for you the 5th & 10th vol. of the "fragmenta" out of my private library, as the 5th is no longer available from Government direct. In reference to your desiring, to obtain the complete Eucalyptography, allow me to suggest to you
1, to ask the honorable James Service, Premier for a complete copy, as it would appear strange that you received some only; the fact is, I had never enough exemplaria to provide all my Correspondents. Your present decades you could then utilize in interchanges elsewhere Be particular to adress the Premier exactly as I underlined it, and if you could send to the honorable James Service some few publications by post at the same time for the Melbourne public Library, it would be good. I return your letter, as it will be necessary, to write to him direct, not through me.
Please do not mention in your letter about the Todea, as it will be a private Gift of mine; if I was to send it through the Department, it would involve the necessity of your making a return-sending and necessitate also various official correspondence. All the Governments Departments here are much restricted in their actions.
Could you kindly extract out of Prof. Örsted's memoire1 any technologic notes on Oaks and Pines of Mexico for the new edition of my select plants? Surely he made some allusion to the particular species which yield the best timber and most powerful tan-bark. Perhaps you could oblige me yourself from your rich experience by notes on the value of such Scandinavian and Spanish trees, fodderherbs, pasture-grasses &c, as are not yet mentioned in the "select plants".
A new edition appeared last year in Detroit, Michigan, at Mr G. Davis's Establishment for N. America.2 It is much enlarged; and perhaps the Librarian of your Agricultural Academy will send for it. It is not expensive; I have no copies to give away, and have no monetary interest in the sale and the issue of the work. The next Edition is to appear soon in Victoria,3 and I add to it, — whenever I can, but adress myself only to breadwinning people in extratropical countries. About the respective value of arctic grasses and pasture herbs I know very little; yet notes on them would be of importance for our Australian Alps and other alpine countries, altho' we have not the long arctic summers.
Can I do anything for your Academy? Do you like me to send more Australian plants to your Herbarium in interchange? I am afraid I am in your debt yet for so many beautiful spanish specimens, highly important in connection with your & Willkomm's splendid "Flora Hispanica".4
The successive "Exhibitions" in various parts of the world gave much extrawork for years; and in this pushing young country so much else is to be done also in my department, that little time is left to effect herbarium-interchanges. When you see Prof. Japetus Steenstrup, Pray give this celebrated Savant my homage.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
I met Prof Steenstrup in Kiel 1846!
What do you think of my simplification of D.C.5 syst., as given in the "systematic Census of Australian plants6
I have neither Liebmanns nor Örsteds papers on Mexican plants7
Please cite as “FVM-85-07-11,” 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 25 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/85-07-11