Melbourne
28 Dec. 1885.1
From “Nature”2 I learn, dear Sir Joseph, that Kew acquired the mainset of the Forster’s plants from Liverpool. Would you favor me with a small fragment of Myoporum pubescens & M. crassifolium for examination,3 as that would be important for my monography of the Myoporinae. If no part of these plants can be spared, would you let me know your opinion concerning them? “Botanices insula” means probably “Botany Bay”; in that case it must have come from Solander.4
Senecio angustifolius can now also perhaps be cleared up. Perhaps it is Erechtites5 quadridentata.6
Mr Dyer wrote to me about any future Professorship of Botany here.7 In my life-time probably none will be established “per se”, as the University has more pressing demands; thus perhaps a Professorship for Agriculture may become established, which would be more to the mind of the breadwinning colonists.8 and even if an endowment for it specially was made, I could as little accept it as you could spare time for lecturing at the London University. Simply, because I had no time for lecturing, I declined a position on the Melbourne University as far back as 1854.9 I am however a hon. Examiner of the Melb, Sydney and Adelaide University, looked just through 14 examination papers from Sydney. Will write you soon more fully on Livistonas of Australia.10
I am sending your son11 on his desire just a cither, so that he can keep up his musical enjoyments in the solitude. I am glad, that one of my friends helped him to his present position, which has become financially already much improved.
Next week we will have our annual meeting of the geographic Society here. It taxes me much with extra-work.
If you can send me the information on Myoporum soon, I shall feel much obliged.
Wishing you a happy newyear,
I remain
regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.12
Mr C. Moore is very jealous of Dr Woolls’s innocent little publication.13 Its issue was not instigated by me. But publications of one sort or the other will arise in these colonies now by amateurs and others. Woolls is much over 70; so this will probably be his “Swan-song”14
I was much pleased with the figure of Boronia heterophylla[.]15 Do you not find the flowers very fragrant?16
Boronia heterophylla
Livistona
Myoporinae
Myoporum pubescens
Myoporum crassifolium
Senecio angustifolius
Erechtites quadridentata
Annotated in purple pencil by W. Thiselton-Dyer: And 12.2.86 [letter not found].
Annotated in blue pencil, above Thiselton-Dyer's annotation, by J. Hooker: Prof O. [i.e. Daniel Oliver].
Small pencilled `x' above crassifolium and a pencilled annotation in the left margin, f. 163 front [in Daniel Oliver’s hand?]: only x in F's Herb. Vertical blue pencil line in left margin next toWould you favor ... examination.
See also M to W. Carruthers, 3 December 1885.
M. crassifolium is listed in Forster (1786a) as species 240, p. 44, where it is listed as from 'Botanices infula'.
'Botanices insula' is a small islet near New Caledonia. See Forster (1777), vol. 2, p. 439, entry for 30 September 1774:
Captain Cook gave this little islet the name of Botany Island, because it contained in so small a space a flora of nearly thirty species, among which we saw several new ones. Its situation is nearly 22° 28' S. and 167° 16' E.
Please cite as “FVM-85-12-28b,” 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 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/85-12-28b