There has been such an overwhelming work in my department, dear Mr. Edgar, that my correspondence got into arrear; and now only at a late night-hour I will endeavour to answer your kind letter of the 30th of last month.1 The case with fossils from Mr. James Smith2 came safely, and I feel greatly obliged to that zealous observer of geology for this precious gift. He wishes me to send a return donation to your School of Arts collection, and I will gladly do so; but I have a few months ago despatched all my surplus fossils to one of the continental museums as additional material for a new palaentological work forthcoming there; so it may be some time before I have any extensive supply again available. Meanwhile I consider myself thus far in debt to your institution. I have also read with great interest the print on the geology of your district.3 I need not say that I will be very glad to remain in literary communication and correspondence with so excellent an observer as Mr. Smith. You have placed me under very great obligation by sending the seeds of your very umbrageous valley eucalypt. If you send a small piece of branchlet of the two eucalyptus in bad and fruit I will be able to pronounce positively about the two.4 Among floating aquatic weeds there, even the minute duckweeds must yet be of much rarity there. Please remember me kindly to Mrs. Thozet and her son. I am not at all clear about the pylomelium5 (wooden pear) of your district. From looking on the seed vessels merely, I should have taken it as eucalyptus raveretiana, not Emuorthera.6 The seeds of both kinds are, however, very valuable here, as yours is one of the nearest places to get them from. I think a copy of the "select plants" (last edition)7 is gone to you, if not I will send to town for one, and despatch it at once; my assistant, who will know, is not here in evening hours. By this post I send a few pub[l]ications,8 which will perhaps interest Mr. Potts,9 Mr. Smith, and yourself. Mr. Potts might manage to send a list of what his friend may have available of ornithological specimens towards the end of the year. I shall only then need them.10
Emuorthera
Eucalyptus raveretiana
Pylomelium
Letter not found.
Died 10 April 1891 ('Death of Mr. James SmIth', Morning bulletin (Rockhampton), 11 April, 1891, p. 6.
J. Smith made regular contributions on the geology of the Rockhampton district, published on either or both of the Capricornian and the Morning bulletin; it is not known which article or articles had been sent.
The following two sentences appear misplaced. The passage beginning 'From looking on the seed vessels … to get them from.' clearly refers to the identification of the Eucalyptus specimen sent to M. M often added postscripts to his letters in the margins, and it is likely that the comments about the 'wooden pear' and the mention of Mrs Thozet are postscripts inserted incorrectly when the letter was typeset.
Xylomelum, typesetter's error? X. salicinum, the species found in the area, is among those commonly known as 'woody pear' (AVH; APNI, each accessed 25 February 2026).
E. micrototheca, misread by the typesetter? There are three E. raveretiana 1886 specimens collected by Edgar at MEL, but none of E. microtheca (AVH, accessed 25 February 2026).
The most recent edition was B85.12.03.
Letter missing in source; publications not identified.
Probably George Potts, headmaster, father of William Henry Potts, a correspondent of M ('Death of Mr G. Potts', Capricornian (Rockhampton), 30 September 1911, p. 32).
It is not known for what institution M required bird specimens.
Letter not found. The text given here is from Capricornian (Rockhampton), 12 June 1886, p. 17, col. b (B86.06.06). It is introduced by 'the following letter from Baron Von Mueller to Mr. Edgar, Botanic Gardens, Rockhampton, will be read with considerable interest by local scientists:—'. The letter is dated to early June, on the assumption that it would have been passed to the weekly newspaper soon after it reached Edgar.
Please cite as “FVM-86-06-00d,” 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