The plants sent by you as occurring in the Ballarat lake are Myrio Phyllum Elatinoides1 —the one with much divided leaves; the Althenia Preeson,2 and the third, with hairlike leaves, which, in the absence of flowers or seeds cannot be named. All are evidently ground growing, and it is easily understood that it must be difficult to subdue them. When cut or pulled they would soon grow again from their perennial roots. It would be particularly difficult to uproot them completely. You doubtless employ some sort of cutting apparatus or dredge rake, or some other ingenious contrivance. If the plants could be fed down by some aquatic birds, living on vegetable food, sufficiently that would obviate other procedure more or less expensive and effectual. In a small lake near Richmond some few white swans cleansed it soon from all water weeds. Your lake is so large that it would need many of these animals for such a purpose; still as they are favorable, if not already in good number there, it might be worthy of consideration whether this method could be tried. Anyhow, up rooting is needed to effect a lasting clearance. Have you tried whether cattle will feed on these plants? If so, some help might be had from these animals for your purposes there by driving them into the shallows. I should like to see flowering and fruiting specimens of the plant with the hair-like leaves—thinnest of the three. —
Yours, &c.,
Baron von Mueller3
Althenia Preeson
Myrio Phyllum Elatinoides
Typesetter's error for Myriophyllum elatinoides?
Typesetter's error for Althenia preissii?
The report concluded: 'It was decided to thank Baron von Mueller for the trouble he had taken in the matter, and also to ask him as to which is the best time of the year for cutting the weeds' (letter not found). This news item is clearly the basis for the comment in Melbourne Punch, 7 December 1893, p. 3:
Baron Von Mueller is one of the very funniest old gentlemen in this colony. He does not make puns and tell comic stories, but his jokes are of the wildest and most downright description. The Ballarat Fish Protection Society recently wrote to the eminent botanist, informing him that Lake Wendouree was over-run with weeds, and asking if he could suggest a remedy. The Baron seems to have shaken his fat sides with laughter at the opportunity thus opened to him. He wrote back, informing the fishermen that the weeds were Myrio Phyllium Elatinoides and Athenia Preeson— a piece of intelligence that made the Ballarat rod and liners feel enormously wise; and added that they might be destroyed by obtaining some aquatic birds or—by keeping a cow or two!! The idea of keeping a small herd of dairy cattle upon Lake Wendouree is too delicious. We frankly admit that our united staff couldn't have devised a finer joke. Baron Von Mueller, after this, is fairly entitled to be dubbed the old lady of the lake (with apologies to Scott).
Letter not found. The text given here is from a report of the meeting of the Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Anglers' Club held on 29 November 1893 (Ballarat star, 30 November 1893, p. [2], col. g). The quotation is introduced by: 'The Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Anglers’ Club wrote to Baron Von Mueller a short time ago, asking his opinion as to the best means of eradicating the weeds at Lake Wendouree, and at the same time forwarded samples of the weeds for his inspection. The reply, as follows, was laid before last night’s meeting of the club:—'. The meeting that decided to send the letter to M was held on 15 November; see Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Angler's Club to M, 16 November 1893 (in this edition as 93-11-16a).
Please cite as “FVM-93-11-00c,” 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