2/6/96.
Recently, dear Mr Cheeseman, I sent you roots of the West African Wonder-Grass, Panicum spectabile, which I introduced into Australia and Polynesia, and which may not yet have reached Auckland, where in the almost frostless and always humid climate this grass should have a grand future! Tell me kindly, whether you had it already. With you it would be an uncomparable summer-grass. Of course, you can help it through the first cool season by putting during night frosts an inverted lidless box over it.
You promised me well matured fruits of Alectryon, perhaps they did not ripen this season.
Now I am troubling you about a set of Carmichaelias and the Notospartium. I find what I have here is almost entirely without ripe fruit Can you spare me specimens. Do you regard perhaps from fresh color of the flowers most of Sir Jos. Hooker's species1 well founded? I have had only the ordinary one, as first described, under cultivation.
Herewith as a private gift of mine the newest edition of the "Select Plants".2 This and other works of mine are not distributed to public institution through my branch of the service, unless in exceptional cases, but through the public Library here.
If you have at any time seeds of the rarer NZ. plants ripening, may I have some? What can I send you from here? Have you the "second Census of Australian Plants?"3 I could send it, if you let me know soon.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
Alectryon
Carmichaelia
Notospartium
Panicum spectabile
J. Hooker (1853-55), vol. 1, pp. 50-51, vol. 2, p. 327; J. Hooker (1864-7), pp. 48-50, 727.
B95.08.04. This copy, in private hands, is inscribed by M: 'To Th. Cheeseman Esqr. | FLS., FZS., Curator of the Museum and bot Garden of Auckland, for friendly remembrance, and occasional use from the writer of these pages. | June 1896.'
B89.12.03.
Please cite as “FVM-96-06-02a,” 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