From William Carruthers¹    1 March 1886

british museum (natural history),

cromwell road,

london: s.w.

1 March 1886

My dear von Mueller,

I should have before replied to your letter² as to Forbes' Plants.³

I am very glad to hear that you were able to secure so substantial a help for Forbes, and on that account, but yet more on account of the work you have already done on the Papuan Flora you have a right to claim an important part in the description of Mr Forbes' collections. There will be no difficulty in carrying out your proposals. The cellular plants we can deal with here. One of my colleagues — Mr Murray⁴ — is devoting himself to Fungi and Algae, and is able to work up whatever materials Mr Forbes may find in these Groups. I have lately had added to my staff a young man from Cambridge, Mr A. Gepp, who obtained a good position at the University, and who is devoting himself to Mosses & Liverworts. I shall try to work out the Ferns. In regard to the Phanerogams my colleague Mr Ridley⁵ would like to work out the Orchideae — and indeed he would not object to the monocotyledons as a whole. He has charge of that Group in the Herbarium.

Mr Fawcett⁶ took a great interest in Forbes's Ericaceae and would be glad if he could take charge of any further specimens, and has just communicated a paper to the Linnean Soc. on Balanophoreae & Rafflesiaceae, and these he would like to continue.

I fear you think I am going on rapidly to make of no effect what I allowed at the beginning, but my claims stop here.

In regard to the distribution. The whole collections will, I expect come here and be distributed by us into sets. I would take care that the second set should be sufficient for your purposes — and in any cases where uniques existed I would be prepared to send them on to you for description to be returned when you were done with them.

Of course if you would like to work up some of the monocotyledons we can easily arrange that.

In regard to Myoporums I am sorry to say we have no specimens from Forster, father or son⁷ — and only M. crassifolium is represented in the Herb. and that by specimens collected by Anderson⁸ at New Caledonia 1774 — the same voyage in which the Forsters were with Cooke — I enclose a leaf & two flowers from Andersons plant. I am sorry I cannot do more.

Would it be possible to secure a set of the plants of Everill's expedition up the Fly River?⁹ I would very much like to have a series for the Herbarium.

I trust these proposals will be approved by you, & am

very sincerely yours

W. Carruthers

Baron von Mueller

Balanophoreae

Ericaceae

Myoporum crassifolium

Orchideae

Rafflesiaceae