To William Thiselton-Dyer    4 May 1889

4/5/89.1

 

Last evening, dear Mr Dyer, came your kind letter of the 18th March,2 also the names of those few N Guinea ferns, as yet obtained from Dr MacGregor.3 I wrote again this morning to him,4 and sent already months ago iron-drums with properly fitted lids and filled with Alcohol, so that also succulent fruits can be secured; I also sent numerous large envelopes on successive occasions, such as open on the narrow side, so that bot. specimens of all sorts can quickly be trusted5 into them. Thus I hope, to get many additional collections, from which Kew will also be supplied, especially as I offered to give some payment to those, who gather the specimens. We intend in our geographic branch to spend this season £500 in New Guinea for highlands Exploration, so that also thus botanic material will be got collaterally.6

One like myself, with such dept7 of sentiment, is appreciating as much, as any mortal could, the grandest of all science honors which Britain can bestow, and my debt of gratitude to you, who mainly brought this about, will soon, I trust, assume a tangible form. If anything can add to the honor, thus bestowed, it is the generous wording of your present letter. I am still musing, how I can show myself grateful to Admiral Richards, he — so long a renowned naval explorer and hydrographer of Britain!8

The Presidency of the Austral Assoc for the advancement of science commences to tax largely my attention. We hope, to take many hundreds of the members to the Alps, as this season the railway will approach the base of Mt Hotham, ascended and named first by me 1854,9 prior to my going with Gregory to Arnhem's land.10

An impression of "Key" 111 will have reached you as a private sending of mine soon after you wrote. It was hoped, that you would have got your official copy before that, so the shortcoming was unintentional.12 For official distribution I obtain none, but as I feel justified, to use the official envelope even for private gifts of my works for public institutions, you may have thought, the sending came as departmental, while by these means I merely wish to save at least the expenditure of postage.

Ever regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller.

 

I have here always been unsuccessful with the culture of Kingia but will set again plants for you.13

I am afraid that I missed sending publications lately to Mr Clarke.14 I will make amends for this unintentional shortcoming.15

 

16 Key to System of Victorian Plants sent to Sir Jos. Hooker 15th Novbr 1888, (first complete copy). Private sending17

an other copy was forwarded through the Melbourne Public Library Public Sending18

A private19 copy was also sent to Mr Dyer on 7th Febr.

Slips of the Key were also sent to Sir J Hooker, as gradually the printing proceeded20

 

Kingia

1
Date stamped: Royal Gardens Kew 17. Jun. Annotated by Thiselton-Dyer: And 17.6.89 (letter not found).
2
Letter not found.
3
See M to W. Carruthers, 31 January 1889 (in this edition as 89-01-31c). The letter covering the set sent to Kew has not been found.
4
Letter not found.
5
thrust?
6
See M. to W. Macgregor, June 1889 (in this edition as 89-06-00).
7
depth?
8
M had been awarded one of the Royal Medals of the Royal Society in November 1888. Admiral Sir George Richards was Vice President of the Royal Society at the time of M's award. See note 2 to M to W. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 November 1888.
9
Now known as Mt Feathertop; see M to J. Stirling, 18 October 188, and Home (2014), p. 7. The excursion went to the railhead at Bright and then by coach to the mountains, where most of the party camped overnight at Diamantina Springs before climbing to the top of the range in the morning to see the sunrise ('The excursionist', Australasian , 25 January 1890, p. 200).
10
North Australian Exploring Expedition, 1855-6.
11
B88.11.02.
12
See below.
13
In margin of last page of letter.
14
Probably Charles Baron Clarke, who was working at Kew from 1887.
15
In central margin of f. 276 front.
16
The following text is on a separate sheet filed as f. 277. It is placed here, as an enclosure to the letter, on the basis of its contents and the date stamp showing that it was received on the same day as the main letter. Except as noted below, it is written in an unknown hand.
17
Private sending added by M In the adjacent margin .
18
Public Sending added by M In the adjacent margin.
19
private interlined by M.
20
Sentence added by M.

Please cite as “FVM-89-05-04,” 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 16 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/89-05-04