To Joseph Hooker   17 April 1896

17/4/96

When I wrote to you by last mail¹ hurried as usual, dear Sir Joseph, I alluded to the few phytographers (not phytologists in the general sense) who remained “superstites”² from the first half of the last century,³ two of 4 being cryptogamic specialist. If we include anatomists and physiologists, we have the french Nestor Chatin and perhaps some others, but I alluded only to such as did very extensive work in our favorite science. Among phytographers should however be included also after more than 50 years work Lange and Naudin, and perhaps one or two more.

At last after endless interruptions by the multifarious work devolving officially on me, the essay is almost ready by Prof Tate and myself on the about 750 vascular plants (of evasculares occur only Lichens in the desert) of the Eder⁴ Expedition.⁵ The mainshare of the elaboration fell on me, and as the collector passed only once over the ground trodden, and thus he had many of his plants only in flower or only in fruit. Actual novelties, as I had predicted, he found but remarkably few, though he had also a good eye for minute plants, in which Australia is proportionately richer than any other part of the great divisions of the globe. Mr Helms however brought much material to enlarge the geographic entries in my “Census” for the third edition. I have appended also many critical notes to many of the plants in the treatise.⁶

Always regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller