Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne botan. Garden,

25/9/66

Sir

In supplementing my letter of this day, in regard to the estimates of 1867,

1

M to J. McCulloch, 25 September 1866 (in this edition as 66-09-25b).

I have the honor to draw your attention once more to the desirability, that the large collection of dry Museum plants accumulated during the last 36 years by Dr Sonder of Hamburg, still available by purchase, may be secured for the Museum of the botanic Garden. Its acquisition would complete our own extensive collections so enormously, as to render this establishment so far one of the foremost on the globe and by this measure the local facilities for phytological work would be vastly increased for all times The price fixed by the distinguished and now aged owner of the collection is £1200.- .-, an amount far under the actual value of these plants. I may mention, that successive Governments were willing at some period, not distant, to provide for the acquisition of these plants and that once the sum actually was printed on the estimates, but not recorded again after a renewal of the estimates.

2

See M to J. McCulloch, 21 August 1864, and notes thereto.

The Hon Geo Verdon and the Hon. John O'Shanassy kindly intend to inspect the collections and give their independent opinion on the value.

3

Both men were in Europe . O'Shanassy left Melbourne in May 1866 after standing down as an MLA (ADB) ; later in the month , Verdon went to London to seek assistance in providing for colonial defence and pursued a loan (ADB). No evidence that either inspected Sonder's herbarium in Hamburg has been found , although each had a letter of introduction from M to Alexander Braun in Berlin (M to A . Braun, 26 May 1866 (in this edition as 66-05-26c).

The honorable the Chief Secretary