21/3/88.
How inexpressibly sad, dear Mr Crawford, the tragical fate of your poor brother.1 To see a young life pass away, when most of its hopes seemed yet before it, always is particularly mournful. On more than one occasion in my many years travels I narrowly escaped a fate, similar to that of your poor brother I am quite touched with your persevering kindness towards me, even in your mournful sadness. What splendid observations in entirely new regions you would carry on in Central Australia!
Pray do not go out purposely for anything, about which I might have written, as it would not be right to tax your time and your resources.
41 Mentha saturejoides RBrown
40 Eryngium!
Possibly a reduced form of E. rostratum (Cavanilles); but I never saw anything like it before. It wood2 need specimens in seeds, to determine the precise position of this plant in the bot system.
39 Agrostis
42 Eucalyptus obliqua (l'Heritière)
A new and far northern locality for this stringybark-tree. I shall record under your name the usefulness of the resin of Euc. maculata for varnish. I find it will in that form, when applied and dried resist water.3
Agrostis
Eryngium rostratum
Eucalyptus maculata
Eucalyptus obliqua
Mentha saturejoides
Richard Crawford fractured his skull when thrown from his horse (Armidale express and New England general advertiser, 2 March 1888, p. 4).
would?
B88.12.01, p. 154, Eucalyptus maculata, 'The kino of this species is quite resinous, so much so that articles varnished with it withstand the application of watery fluids (A. R. Crawford).'
The text ends, without valediction, at the bottom of the fourth and final page on the sheet. It is possible that the letter continued on another sheet, now lost.
Please cite as “FVM-88-03-21,” 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