Royal Gardens
Kew. Novr. 2. 1854.
My dear Sir Charles
I have to thank your Excellency for your kindness in writing to me just before you left England & in the midst of all the hurry & bustle of your departure.
Dr Mueller, respecting whom I took the liberty of writing to you,1 is, I am happy to say in frequent communication with me, & not by letter only but he sends numerous specimens of plants, many quite new ones, & of the whole he has drawn up, in Latin, most excellent & scientific characters & descriptions; & this extensive mst. may be considered the foundation of a complete "Flora of Victoria". So sensible are the Botanists here & myself of the value of these researches, that I have taken the great liberty of addressing to the Colonial Secretary at Melbourne a demi-official letter on this subject,2 hoping he may think it right to lay it before the Governor & Council.
It is true we do not expect your Excellency & the Members of the Council should be Botanists: but we hope we may be allowed to consider you patrons of Botany, especially when you have so very able a person as Dr Mueller who holds the appointment of Botanist to the Colony, & whose services must be in a measure lost, unless he is assisted in the publishing of the result of his researches.
I have just sent out to Dr Mueller a considerable present of Botanical Books. But he writes to me to order a further supply from a Bookseller. I do not think any Bookseller would send out books to a stranger to be paid for on their arrival there: - & indeed I am not without hope that the Colony will provide Books at the Botanic Garden, I presume, for the use of the Botanical & Horticultural staff.
I was delighted to read of the reception you experienced on your arrival & I will beg you to believe, my dear Sir Chas.
Your Excellency's faithful & obedt servt.
W. J. Hooker
Please cite as “FVM-M54-11-02a,” 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