29/8/95.
It was most kind of you, dear Madam, to send me the nice lot of seaweeds (Algs), for which I express my best thanks. May I hope, that you will continue to collect seaweeds, as they are particularly valuable from your locality, where the eastern and the western species largely meet, so that your collections would be particularly valuable, as there from the geographic limits of various species may become fixed. Besides some novelties would you with the help of Lady friends would persevere to collect Algs. Perhaps you have friends on other points of the coast, whom you could also induce to collect seaweeds. I will gladly send you and friends of yours also seeds of various highly useful plants some will be despatched by this weeks mail already. Others can follow, as they may ripen gradually.
Indeed I should like also to get dried pressed specimens of the land plants of your locality also, particularly also minute weeds and other very small plants, which come out during spring. Among them may be novelties. But at all events the new locality for rare plants would always be mentioned under your honored name. I can utilize fruiting sprigs as well as flowering from your vicinity and other places near you, but the locality should always be marked in each lot. You can send one pound weight of specimens by post for some few pences. That is the simplest, quickest and cheapest mode of sending The postage can be repayed by me. Would aboriginal youths bring you specimens from distances in baskets fresh? You might send them a little1
Very regardfully
your Ferd von Mueller.
Please cite as “FVM-95-08-29,” 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 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/95-08-29