22/6/861
A late evening hour is devoted to you, dear Mr Dyer, to reply early to your kind letter of yesterday2 arrival, so that I may be sure, not to be behind on the mail day, when the work is always particularly overwhelming.
In first place let me record my delight, that my former sending of fern-stems proved so opportune for decorating the Victorian Court, as done by you so obligingly and so circumspectly. The Giant Todea of mine, forwarded with the Commissioners goods, ought to thrive its fronds quickly, so as to be at once available for the purpose, it was sent for.
Had I known that Kew was not well provided with Alsophila australis, I could have sent most easily stems of it, as in many of the Ranges of Victoria, particularly in the basaltic formation it is more frequent than Dicksonia antarctica, occupying the slopes, not the margin of rivulets, as the Dicksonia does; - but the Alsophila is far less a good traveller over long distances, nor does its stem serve so well for epiphytes; hence it is not much sent out from here, unless on special demand.
As regards the fern-question, let me assure you and Mr Baker, that also in this respect I shall be as loyal to Kew as in other considerations; but exceptional cases will occur sometimes, one such being Prof. Lüerssens wish to receive for his monography of pacific ferns3 whatever I could send in return for a very large collection of Mrs Dietrich’s4 Queensland plants; Now, it was to a Central Institution for Researches on Australian plants of very great importance, to have one of the main-sets of Mrs D.’s plants, as Monographers are sure on many occasions to quote the numbers, altho’ very few novelties were in the huge lot.5
Most Cyperaceae came not to me but went to Bökeler, the Orchids to Reichenbach and Lüersen6 (of course) kept the ferns. I had therefore to make a special effort for returning a “quid pro quo” to Prof Lüerssen, and as he most particularly desired also New Guinea ferns, I gave him also what I could spare. Still, I saw little novelty among them, just as among D'Albertis, which I worked myself out for the “Papuan plants” in 1876.7 Kew will have Beccaris ferns.
Prof Oliver’s suggestion is a good one, to send whatever I have of N. Guin. fern on loan to Kew; I will gladly do so; and Mr Baker can then retain, whatever he needs for the Kew collections, dividing the unica.8 Prof Lüerssen makes such slow progress with the Papuan ferns, though hardly any novelty seems among them, that I latterly named most of the ferns myself.9 New Guinea is so interjacent to Australia and the Sunda-Islands, that not such a very large access from there can be expected in ferns, unless the highest reigning,10 as from an isolated place as Madagascar. Please, tell the excellent Mr Baker particularly, that nothing will give me greater pleasure, than to serve him in his fernstudies, as he is likely also to add in the next edition the Lycopodiaceae and Rhizospermeae; irrespective of this, he has acted on several occasions most generously to my Department, and that I will always bear in grateful remembrance. But there seems no great hurry, to send the N.G. ferns on loan, as the new edition11 of the synopsis12 seems not yet forthcoming; and I am at this moment so beset with various work, that I should like to take nothing in hand that is not absolutely necessary at once. Mr Forbes has sent no ferns, as by prearrangement they are allotted to Mr Carruthers.
I have never seen yet a specimen of Hemitelia Godefroyi13 nor of Asplenium Dietrichianum.
I have not seen your brother in law14 lately, nor had I any letters from him recently; the very fact of he not having any cause to write, I take as a testimony (nevatively15), that he is all right.
As yet little of actual novelty has turned up from New Guinea, except among Mr Forbes & the Rev Mr Chalmers last plants. I will see Kew provided as far as I can, with any thing of particular interest. Mere new locality (as Papuan) for well known species, will not be of importance. Unfortunately the supply of plants from New guinea on account of the difficulty of transit in such a country is always small, and as regards Mr Forbes only set for Australia, it has to be divided between the institutions of the three colonies who supported his enterprise in 1885 & 1886.16
In adopting the book-form for small wood-specimens as the most elegant and handy, I was always particular to keep the portion, imitating the leaf-portion, quite unvarnished; thus the texture of the wood can be splendidly seen both longitudinally and transversely.
Of course a timber-collection and a wood collection have two different objects; and if a timber collection mainly of interest for builders is to be made, such as Mr Newbery had made through Mr Barnard (a nephew of Sir James Smith) a very large expenditure is incurred, and very large space is needed for accommodation. A small piece of wood varnished on one side is not a pretty object, and shows no more the structure of the wood as my book-fashion does. You must have failed to notice, that a portion of each wood-book in the Vict. Court remained quite without varnish.17
I hope the Xanthorrhoea and Zamia from WA. are thriving, got by Commissioners there on my suggestion.18
The Adelaide-Exhibition19 is likely to be again a severe tax, both on my time and the slender resources of my Department; still, as these Exhibitions diffuse so much practical knowledge, we must all do the best, we can, for them.
With the wish to be kindly remembered to Sir Joseph and with best expressions of regard to yourself
Ferd. von Mueller
Kindly write, when I am to send off the ferns on loan.20 I hope also soon to resume the selecting of Australian Novelties for Kew; but really the local demands on my Department in such a varied way press heavily upon me in this pushing colony.21
Luerssen as yet described not one new fern from N. Guinea.22
Alsophila australis
Asplenium Dietrichianum
Cyperaceae
Dicksonia antarctica
Hemitelia Godefroyi
Lycopodiaceae
Rhizospermeae
Todea
Xanthorrhoea
Zamia
Annotated below the first post-script paragraph:
In an unknown hand: Proniflora
In J. G. Baker’s hand: Species sent are Selaginella proniflora Baker [proniflora underlined in red pencil and the word printed clearly above it] & Trichomanes n sp near vitiense & muscoides, I have just been helping Beccari with a list of the ferns of New Guinea (published Malesia vol. III p. 30 to 55 & have described from material which he sent a new genus & several new species. I should be glad any time when convenient to borrow baron Von Muellers Guinea [sic] collection. | JGB.
Please cite as “FVM-86-06-22,” 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 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/86-06-22