To William Thiselton-Dyer   30 April 1896

30/4/96.1

 

According to the wish, expressed in your last letter, dear Dr Dyer, I have obtained from Mess Blogg some samples of their Australian-Acacia-Scent, and they present it to the Kew Museum in an elegant form.2 They have obtained Lord Brassey's3 patronage for their perfumes on my own initiatory steps, as these Gentlemen have invented processes of their own for their large factory and elaborate machinery.

Hitherto this firm has only produced the perfume of Acacia mollissima which is therefore that, which you have to catalogue.4 I suggested also to them to try the powerfully scented and copiously flowering A. pycnantha.

As through me the Balcan5 Oil Rose, Rosa (Gallica) Damascena var trigintipetala became introduced into Australia, Mess Blogg will also commence to distill the “Attar” here.

Always regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller

 

Acacia mollissima

Acacia pycnantha

Rosa damascena var. trigintipetala

 
1

Date stamped: Royal Gardens Kew 8 JUN 96: annotated in black ink by [?J. Hillier]: Thanks herewith to Messrs Blogg per Sir F. von Mueller 70/1896 18.6.96 JM[H], and in black ink by [?W. Hemsley]: Ansd 27.6.96 (letter not found).

See annotation (note 3) on M to W. Thisleton Dyer, 11 January 1896.

2
Once received at Kew, the samples were referred to the London perfumers Piesse & Lubin, who reported back on 23 June 1896; see C. Pleisse to J. Jackson, 23 June 1896 (in this edition as M96-06-23). A copy of Piesse’s report was sent to M on 27 June but has not been found.
3
Governor of Vic., 1895-9.
4
The sample remains in the Economic Botany collection at Kew, under Acacia decurrens var mollis, catalogue number 58564, entry book number 70.1896.
5
Balkan?

Please cite as “FVM-96-04-30,” 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/96-04-30