To Alfred Deakin¹    28 July 1886

Melbourne

28 July 1886.

The Hon. Alfred Deakin Esqr, M.L.A.,

Chief Secretary.

Sir

Seeing in the public press,² that the honor. Dr. Dobson intends to ask the honorable the Solicitor-General in Parliament, "when it is probable, that the Key to the Flora of the Colony of Victoria will be published" —, I have the honor to report, that the work is far progressed in manuscript, but that it will be still some months before it can be completed, if no delay arises in the Gov. Printing Office. This refers to part I of the Key,³ part II with the woodcuts (210 in number) having been issued in the earlier part of the year already.⁴ A Copy herewith. In order, that this may be fully understood, I may be allowed to explain, that the first part could no ⁵ go to press, before the woodcuts for the second part were done, as they will have to be quoted; so the second part received precedence. I beg further to remark, that the elaboration of such a Key, as demanded by Dr. Dobson, proved a far more difficult task, than I ever anticipated myself; for not only have 1852 species, 546 genera and 106 orders to be set out by a dichotomous method, therefore 2504 positive and 2504 negative entries to be made, (irrespective of the geographic and systematic arrangement, made already for the second part), but this has to be done with scrupulous exactitude for choosing the requisite characteristics, if such a key is to prove of real value, and to be reliable. In all Britain⁶ not such a Key exists, nor has any for very many years be⁷ brought out for any of the other European Countries if at all, though one for Tasmania was elaborated from works of Bentham, Hooker and myself.⁸ At best it is only a "Key" for access to larger works, such as the "Flora Australiensis," in which all the Victorian plants (except mosses, lichens, fungs and seaweeds) are fully described also, so that Victorian plants can be easily named from the seven volumes of that work (except some trifling later additions), though these volumes cannot be carried into the field on excursions readily. There was, however, a volume on native plants of Victoria elaborated by me some years ago⁹ (irrespective of two earlier quarto-volumes¹⁰) and published at the Gov. Printing Office. This handy book gives, of a large portion of our plants here, short characteristics, so that it can so far be readily used by botanic Excursionists; and I declared myself always ready to name such plants for any one which were not yet in the "native plants", til that work could be completed. The extra-obligations for the London-Exhibition ¹¹ encroached much on my time beyond the daily requirements for routine-work in the Department, especially as the urgent demands of the rural population had also to be met, by bringing out a new enlarged edition of the "select plants for industrial culture"¹²

I have the honor to be,

Sir, your obedient servant

Ferd. von Mueller. ¹³