Easter, 14/4/95.
Let me offer my best felicitation, dear Mr Deane, to your so well merited election as Chieftain of the L S. of NSW,1 an event of which I become only now aware. It does you infinite credit, that amidst the onerous and reponsible duties of your official position you still are able to participate in the researches for elucidating the Flora of your extensive country and fostering or conducting other science-work.
It may be, that I have disappointed some workers in N.S.W.; but my strictly offical local duties have been severer during the last few years in proportion to the distress in our colony. I may not have been able to do all, that I myself wished to do for correspondents beyond this colony, but the correspondence alone takes a large space of my time, about 6000 letters having to be answered annually and as professional nearly all with my own hands! I have named since more than 46 years plants for all the Aust colonies, though the aid thus afforded to young workers, who had thousands of named specimens for reference to work with has not been acknowledged purposely in a single instance
My own progressive time often came for a lengthened time to a stand still almost by the incessent calls on my time for examining plants, and my Department had in many instances nothing whatever to show for the sacrifice of time.
Not seldom the specimens submitted were so imperfect as to [be]2
misleading, I remember an instance, when at the first hurried glance a narrow state of a well known Erogrostis was taken by me for a Sporobolus. Hours and Hours have often been spent in the vain attempt of giving the name to plants, the specimens of which were got without the slightest care for perfection. You have been ever kind to me and ever loyal. If I at any time not answer letters, or do afford aid, all I can say is this, Those who maybe discontent with me should not forget, that they use daily the works, on which the sweat of my brow adheres through 50 years and more, that I hardly ever spend time in mere social recreation, that the day has only 24 hours, the week only 7 days, that I am entering now the eighth decade of my life, and would like during the little that can remain of my worldly career, to finish some of my own researches in the limited time, which can be made free from strict Office obligations
Always your
Ferd von Mueller
Private
In cases, when no answer to enquiries is received, my real friends should repeat their questions. I find it at time utterly impossible to overtake all the work expected from me beyond the colony, to which my time is expected to be given. In one of the colonies I have encountered even not only much ingratitude, but even injury to my scientific position. But let this be buried in silence.
I hope you will be able to induce your Officers in the far N.W. to collect. The oldest writing of Bulbophyllum was not Bolbophyllum.
Perhaps you will adopt the more legitimate spelling in the book3
Bolbophyllum
Bulbophyllum
Deane was elected President of the Linnean Society of New South Wales on 27 March 1895 (Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, vol. 20 (895-6), p. 161.
be omitted.
The MS is accompanied by a sheet of Linnean Society of NSW notepaper headed 'Bolbophyllum Baileyi', with a handwritten copy of the Latin text of M's description of 'Bolbophyllum Baileyi' as given in Fragmenta, vol. 9, p. 5 (B75.02.01), A separate sheet carries an English translation. M gave Bulbophyllum in his first Census (B84.03.06), p. 110, citing the original publication in Du Petit-Thouars (1822), placing Bolbophyllum in synonomy. When describing B. baileyi, M was apparently following Linnaeus (1825-8) [Sprengel's edition of Systema vegetabilium], vol. 3, p. 732, where Bolbophyllum is given as the genus and 'Thuars' as the author of the name. Fitzgerald (1875-94) includes the genus as Bolbophyllum when treating B. sherperdi (vol. 1, part 5, plate 10). After Fitzgerald's death, Deane completed the final part, published in 1894, which did not include B. baileyi although M had suggested that it and other species be included 'to keep them together with the 2 other Bulbophyllums' (M to H. Deane, 7 September 1893). M had offered to help Deane with further parts (M to H. Deane, 25 April 1895), but no more parts were issued although the postscript of this letter suggests that Deane had asked for advice; no later 'book' by Deane has been found.
Please cite as “FVM-95-04-14,” 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