To William Thiselton-Dyer   10 August 1889

10/8/89.1

 

A few lines only, dear Mr Dyer, to say, that in your excellent bibliography you have underrated the heights of the Austral. Alps.2 I showed already 1855, that Sir P. Strzelecki was wrong in his widely published estimate of little over 6500' for Mt Kosciusko,3 his Siphon-barometer, (though specially carried by a man of a large party) having got out of order, or his observations (probably unchequed) being taken under exceptional atmospheric pressure. Unfortunately my own observations, made on Mt Hotham from when I discovered that mountain as a solitary traveller, were not calculated, and my bid4 of two thermometers (plunged into water boiled from snow) not being then at once compared, unsatisfactory data were published in Hook. journ. of 1856.5 I had however in my Report to the Gov. here already in 1855, before I started with Gregory for N. Austr., given distinctly the heights of Mt Hotham and Mt Kosciusko as somewhat over 7000' 6 and these observations were confirmed by the heavy survey party, which followed me many years afterwards, and who added Mt Bogong in the Vict. Alps also as over 7000'.7 In [Maun]der's treasury of Geography for 1856 (Hughes's Edition) 8 already my observations were given. If a miscalculation during my hurried triangulations had taken place in the then pathless Alps, it would be very pardonable, because the very portable aneroids were then (1854 & 1855) not yet obtainable in Australia, so soon after their first construction.9 I was glad that Dr Masters published my last communication on the Giant trees, because I never made myself responsible for any measurements of trees here, recorded as much over 400 feet, but they do very exceptionally run up to that.10 Will you kindly mention this to Dr Masters, when you meet him.

always

Regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller.

 

11 It would be worth while for some one during autumn-holidays to steam across to some place, where Chenolea hirsuta is known to exist, with a view of studying its occurrence, when doubtless this plant could be sought with success in Britain also.12

 

Chenolea hirsuta

1
Annotated by Thiseton-Dyer in red ink: And 24.9/87 (letter not found) and in lead pencil, Mr Hemsley; and in lead pencil: WBH.
2
Anonymous (1889), see p. 172 .
3
NSW, now officially spelled 'Kosciuszko'.
4
sic .
5
In B56.07.01, p. 208, M implied that the summit of Mt Hotham was between '5000-6000 feet' ; however elsewhere in Hooker's journal he mentions higher altitudes elsewhere in the Australian Alps. For example, in B56.03.02, p. 72, he refers to Gingidium glaciale occuring between '5-7000 feet'.
6
B55.11.01, p. 4. This information is repeated in Hooker's extracts, B56.08.01, p. 244.
7
See Home (2014) for a discussion of the names of alpine geographic features named by M.
8

Hughes’s edition is a marginal note with intended position indicated by an asterisk; the parentheses are an editorial addition . The relevant passage reads as follows (Hughes [1857], p. 822; Hughes's preface is dated October 1856):

'Mount Koskiusko …6500 feet … has been hitherto regarded as the culminating point of the range. There are, however, many other snow-capped summits with the same range and a late explorer (Dr Müller) thinks that some of them will be found to attain a still greeater altitude'.

9
Invented in 1844 by Lucien Vidi (Obituary, L'Année scientifique et industrielle , 1867, vol. 11, p. 485).
10
B89.07.05, a reprint of part of B89.05.01 .
11
The post-script is on a separate sheet, f. 287; it is associated with this letter since the date stamp of '23 Sep 89' is consistent with the date on which the letter was answered by Thiselton-Dyer (see note 1).
12
See M to J. Hooker, 25 April 1888, and M to W. Thiselton-Dyer, 23 May 1888.

Please cite as “FVM-89-08-10a,” 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 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/89-08-10a