16/1/92
Earlier than this, dear Dr Dyer, I intended to write to you, but I had to go to the Hobart-Meeting of the Australian1 Assoc. for Advancement of Science,2 to instal Sir [R] Hamilton, the Governor of Tasmania, as President of the meeting of 1892, as Sir James Hector was ill and thus could not come. I am now leaving for Adelaide, to have a personal consultation with Sir Thomas Elder in reference to the completion of the fund for Baron Nordenskiolds contemplated south-polar Expedition, so that an other season may not be lost in purchasing and fitting a ship.3 In the meanwhile I cannot proceed with bot. work to any appreciable extent, but the new part of the “Papuan plants” is getting into type.4 I will send New Guinea Duplicates during 1892.
I have just received Dr O. Kuntze’s extraordinar work.5 He starts from a false point! Our system of plants with dual names started only 1753 not 1735 or 1737.6 A species is only validified generically when it received its own name Therefore no genera can be adopted, until species therein become correctly elaborated. But we ought never to set aside a genus when as the first7 specifically brought out.8
Please, remember me kindly to Sir Joseph, and let me remain regardfully your
Ferd von Mueller
In studying the Papuan Tiliaceae I find, that Elaeocarpus Ganitrus occurs there, also in New Caledonia and East Australia, E. grandis being merely a variety.
Elaeocarpus Ganitrus
Elaeocarpus grandis
Tiliaceae
i.e. Australasian.
M arrived in Launceston, Tasmania, by steamer on 5 January 1892 en route to Hobart (Launceston examiner, 6 January 1892, p. 3, col. e), and inspected the Tasmanian Exhibition in the Launceston exhibition building (Launceston examiner, 6 January 1892, p. 3 col. a). The meeting in Hobart began on 7 January and ended on 14 January, but M left Hobart for Melbourne via Launceston on 11 January (Mercury (Hobart), 12 January 1892, p. 4) and arrived in Melbourne on 12 January (Argus, 13 January 1892, p. 4).
M arrived in Adelaide by train on 19 January and departed for Melbourne the next day. (The Advertiser, 21 January 1892, p. 4 col. d).
M had commenced work on the 10th part of Papuan Plants and there is a galley-proof in the library of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne of pages that were never issued. Publication was initially prevented by other work at the Government Printing Office, and the plants on the sheets were described elsewhere, in B92.11.02 which includes an explanation of the delay, p. 111.
Kuntze (1891-8), parts 1 and 2 issued in 1891. See also M to B. D. Jackson, 25 December 1891 (in this edition as 91-12-25b).
By convention Linnaeus (1753) is taken as the basis for nomenclatural priority, not Linnaeus (1735) or (1737).
when as the first is interlined above thus deleted.
This paragraph is marked by a red pencil line in the margin.
Date stamped: Royal Gardens Kew 22. Feb. 92
Annotations in pencil by Thiselton-Dyer: And 23.2.92 (letter not found); in ink by J. G. Baker: JGB 22/2/92; in ink by W. Hemsley: WBH; in pencil by J. Hooker: JDH 24/2/92; in pencil by B. Jackson: BDJ; and in pencil below M’s valediction: verte.
Please cite as “FVM-92-01-16a,” 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