Melbourne bot. & zool Garden,
18 oct 58.
My dear Prof. Asa Gray
I beg to express my gratitude for your generosity of sending me so many valuable and
highly interesting publications, doubly esteemed as coming out of your hands. I trust
young Australia will imitate the noble zeal of your vigorous nation to promote with
the same freshness of life the prosecution of science. The "Red Jacket" has reached
a day or two ago this port again, but just as the mail is leaving I am unable to learn
more than that my box destined for you did not share the fate of some other part of
the Cargo, which was consumed by fire.
I shall lay regularly plants & pamphlets as well for yourself as for the Smithsonian
Institute and for your friend aside, and will send a consignment with every Boston
vessel returning to your shores direct.
Pray my dear Prof Asa Gray, do not distress you about a return so very soon, but when
even without extra-labour & quite conveniently to your self it can be done. Your U.S.
Lithographics
are magnificent. I wished we could equally well illustrate here. The seeds kindfully
sent this time arrived in excellent order and are in the forcing ground now.
I will gladly send such Australian
to you as I can hunt up. I enclose the male & female plant of Dr. Hookers
. Our mutual friend evidently is not aware of the plant being dioecious, altho' I
have when referring it in 1854 (phil. transact. vol 1 (1854-1855) p.45.
to Antennaria as Antenn. nubigena I gave that character. In Sir Will. Hookers reprint
the sectional Character, published by me is omitted. It is as follows:
Actina
: "Scales of involucre radiating. Heads of fertile plant with several rows of female
flowers in circumference and with hermaphrodite ones in the centre. Heads of the sterile
plants with only hermaphrodite flowers, a few rarely fertile. Pappus at the extremity
clavellate, with exception of that of the female flowers which is not thickened."
I think Raoulia is fully referable to Antennaria.
The mail just closing disables me, to write fully, this time, all my correspondence
being thrown on the last day in consequence of a large exhibition of the Hortic. Society
here yesterday.
With the sincerest wishes for your welfare
your very humble
Ferd. Mueller.
