COPY
Melbourne
Dec. 13th 1887
In accordance with the request of the Honorable A Deakin I beg to send a supply of fresh and well matured seeds of "Eucalyptus citriodora", which kind is not easily obtained, as it occurs only at a few localities in New South Wales and Queensland. In Britain it needs glass protection.1
Yours etc
Ferd. von Mueller
Eucalyptus citriodora
See for a similar request, M to A. Callaway, 13 December 1887.
The correspondent is identified as Stephen Willliam Silver, farmer and Lord of the Manor (1891 UK Census; National Archives, London, RG 12/982, p. 9), on the basis of a letter from S. W. Silver of Letcombe Manor, Wantage, Berkshire, to [D.] Morris, dated in another hand 24 January 1888, and date stamped: 'Royal Gardens Kew 2[…] Jan 1888.':
I have just received from the Honorable A Deakin Melbourne a few seeds of the Eucalyptus citriodora which I understand from the enclosed remarks of Baron v. Mueller are very precious - It has occurred to me that you may be glad of a portion.
Silver's letter is annotated '40-1888', a reference to the entry in the Kew Inwards Book, 1888-92. The copy of M's letter is also date stamped 'Royal Gardens Kew 2[…] Jan 1888'. (The second numeral in the date has not been clearly rendered on either letter.)
Silver was evidently under the impression that M had written and sent the seeds on Deakin's behalf and not merely at his instigation. This impression would have been strengthened by M's having sent the material, as he always did in such cases, by Government mail, for this would have led to its being shown as having been sent from the Chief Secretary's Office.
Please cite as “FVM-87-12-13c,” 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