To F. H. McKnight   11 May 1887

11/5/87.

 

When last week, dear Mr McKnight, your letter and specimens of fossils arrived,1 I was not quite well; and subsequently I have been so overwhelmed with official obligations in the Department, that I had to set aside less urgent work. Moreover I liked to view carefully the specimens sent me, before I wrote to you. It needs not my assurance, that I should be happy to examine any vegetable fossils obtained by you; — but it could not always be done at once; and for May & June every free hour in any day, and they are always labourious, is engaged for completing the "Key to system of Victorian plants",2 urged by the Field-Naturalists-Club and some others, interested in the native vegetation. It is however but right, that I should mention to you my reluctance to work on any vegetable fossils, unless they are in a fruiting state; the misinterpretation of leaves, wood and other remnants of plants has in many instances been so great, that I am deterred from working on fruitless material. Even one of the most illustrious of European Paleontologists, quite lately described the leaf of a Trapa (a water plant) as that of a Poplar! It will therefore be a question for your consideration, whether the specimens, you so attentively submitted to me, should go to Prof M'Coy, who is a specialist in Palaeontology. As regards your wish, to join the Linnean Society of London, it will afford me much pleasure to propose you. I believe the entrance-fee is now £3 - - and I believe the annual subscription of £4 ‑ became also raised; but I am not sure. Please send me a short memorandum of your position, engagements and also of the investigations, in which you have been occupied for science-purposes, as this needs to be recorded on the paper of your candidature.3

Regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller.

 

I presume you have the two decades of veg. fossils which I elaborated for the geolog. Department here,4 where alone they can be obtained.

 

Trapa

Letter not found.
B88.13.03.
There is no indication in M's correspondence that this happened.
B74.13.07, B83.13.04.

Please cite as “FVM-87-05-11b,” 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 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/87-05-11b