From George Francis to William Hooker¹    26 May 1855

Old Botanic Garden,

Adelaide,

South Australia

May 26th, 1855.²

Sir,

Some twenty years ago I was honored with several letters from you relative to British Botany, and also some contributions of Mosses from your son. If you remember my name at all it will be only that I was at that time publishing my Analysis of British Ferns,³ which you kindly permitted me to dedicate to yourself, an honor I was justly proud of — My Grammar of Botany and Little English Flora⁴ succeeded During the many years that succeeded I have passed a life full of vicissitudes, through all of which I have retained a love of Botany, though greatly curbed by absorbing occupations—often ill health, family misfortunes, and the care of a large family. Now I am resident at this City of the Antipodes, endeavouring to establish a nursery amid the disadvantages of a 2 years drought (during all of which time the earth has never been wet a foot deep) and famine prices of provisions (10d for 2 lbs of bread and lately 5d for a lb of potatoes)—occasionally amusing myself with a ramble over hills and scrub botanizing — But the flowers remain many of them strangers and small, stiff and sombre strangers they must remain, for we have no book on our general Flora, except the very imperfect one of the Prodromus of Brown,⁵ at least I know of none other.

Now, Sir, the object of my troubling you, is to suggest that you yourself, if possible, if not your son or Mr Gray, would assist the colonists here and elsewhere in our botanical pursuits, by preparing a work in English upon the plan of your valuable British Flora —(Phanerogamia).⁶ It might be confined to the Australian Colonies. To be called the Australia Flora—published at £1.11.6 — or it might be extended to all the Colonies, and called The Botany of the British Colonies, Vol 1, Australia, Vol 2 Canada, Vol 3 India, Vol 4 Cape of G. Hope—& others if necessary. Such a series would be most valuable, and as far as our colonies are concerned it would pay well. Sir W. Denison, Governor General at Sydney, is a great patron of the Natural Sciences—My little experience of localities &c. is quite at your service, and one of our best Botanists, Dr Müller, lately Colonial Botanist at Victoria, is enthusiastic, kind and gentlemanly, & from my long acquaintance with him I am sure he would be proud to assist, & I to forward any letter to him, though as he is about to move I cannot give his address.⁷

I date this from The Old Botanic Garden, here, as my place is called, because it was once laid out for that purpose, but soon abandoned as such—I hope and believe that we shall soon have established here a really good botanic Garden in a well chosen beautiful spot—but having now a sort of interregnum between the departure of one Governor and the arrival of another, I am in some doubts how he may view the expenditure, necessary at a time when the Colonial revenue is decreasing—although £3000 for the 1st yrs expenditure has been voted and a governmental committee appointed—If it goes on I hope and trust to be appointed the Superintendent and for which I have a great claim, for it will have been entirely from my urging the government here for these 5 years-past, and from my furnishing all their plans and estimates, that it will have been commenced at all—It may hereafter perhaps be my duty to write to you upon this matter & beg contributions—

I have the honor to be Sir

Your Obedient Servant,

George Francis.

Sir Wm J Hooker

&c &c &c

P.S. Some British plants are certainly natives here, as Poa annua-Polygonum aviculare — Sonchus oleraceus — Herniaria glabra, Malva sylvestris, and 2 or 3 Chenopodiums — others now common but introduced, as Eschscholtzia californica, Medicago lupulina — Melilotus leucantha — Calandrinia grandiflora — Oxalis cernua — Papaver rhoeas — And our native Flora, are almost all graminaceae, compositae, or papilionacea. Chara hispida is common in our abominable River Torrens—and also a Vallisneria — all other rivers besides that and the Murray are dry 6 months in the year.⁸

Calandrinia grandiflora

Chara hispida

Chenopodium

Compositae

Eschscholtzia californica

Graminaceae

Herniaria glabra

Malva sylvestris

Medicago lupulina

Melilotus leucantha

Oxalis cernua

Papaver rhoeas

Papilionacea

Poa annua

Polygonum aviculare

Sonchus oleraceus