26/10/85
This morning, dear Mr Ramsay, I received a letter from the Rev. J. Nicolai1 of Swan-River, the hon. secr. of the Science-Section of the West-Australian Commissioners for the Colonial Exhibition in London,2 desiring me to arrange, that a catalogue be compiled on the Fauna of W. Austr., similar to that of the Flora, for which I afforded the means. namely a list of the orders and genera, with an annotation of the approximate number of species under each genus. Could this be done in Sydney by December? if some little monetary subsidy was given.
The Vertebrata could likely be delt3 with easily enough; with the rest it would be more difficult. The hon. W. Macleay was so kind on my solicitation, to write an outline of the "Zoology of Australia" for Prof Kirchhoff's "Wissen von der Erde".4 This splendid Essay was printed by the R. S. of Tasm.5 So I feel reluctance to trouble the hon. Gentlemen so soon again. Will you kindly advise me in this matter? perhaps you will consult with Mr Macleay. I should like to have a few lines in answer from you for next mail.6
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
Please cite as “FVM-85-10-26,” 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 9 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/85-10-26