The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: 29/1/70. ¶ ¶ Since I last wrote to you, dear Dr Hooker, I had the advantage of receiving your kind sending of Water plants &c pr "George Thompson". ¶ All ¶ the Nepenthes & Sarracenias died! Can not...

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RBG Kew, Kew correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1858-70, f. 419. 70.01.29

Plant names

Adanasonia
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Bouchardetia
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Butomus
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Caltha
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Liliaceae
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Lychnis flos cuculi
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Melanthaceae
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Menyanthes
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Nepenthes distillatoria
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Pagetia
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Rheum palmatum
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Sagittaria
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Sarracenia
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Todea
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Vaccinium Myrtillus
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Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Joseph Hooker, 1870-01-29. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id/70-01-29>, accessed September 11, 2025

MS annotation: 'Answed [May] 16'. The reference may be to J. Hooker to M, 14 May 1870, of which only a very brief summary by Charles Daley now exists.

29/1/70.

Since I last wrote to you, dear Dr Hooker, I had the advantage of receiving your kind sending of Water plants &c pr "George Thompson". All the Nepenthes & s died! Can not these things be raised from seeds? I raised the from seeds, but then these plants even in free nature do perhaps not readily ripen seeds & certainly never in greenhouses. On the contrary you were most successful in presenting Australia with several new English Water & swamp plants. The strong plants of & travelled admirably, but was dead. So perhaps you will kindly try another of this & then also [,] of I suppose we might get seeds in the autumn.

Lychnis and are each marked with a cross in the margin.

I will get you some more large s out of the ranges at the end of the summer, when the vallies are traversable. You can then present them to those of your friends, with whom you interchange & thus I suppose I can for the present best serve you.

Hooker had apparently offered to try to get a for John Booth, nurseryman of Flottbeck, who wrote, 'That you will be so kind in giving me in exchange such wonders as barbara will only encourage me … [to] deal most liberally with you' (J. Booth to J. Hooker, 19 February 1870; RBG Kew, Directors' Correspondence, vol 139, f. 47).

dug out with a ball travels well. I had it once from Dr Sonder, but lost it. If I can ever get it again, I will take it to a cold forest valley among the fern trees, to let it naturalize itself there, like the great American Blackberry, which I disemminated on my track, when I ascended (as the first human being) Mt Baw Baw & discovered the sources of the Yarra. They are now in full bearing.

s of large size undoubtedly exist in S. Africa, but it is necessary to go for them into the deepest darkest & coolest recesses of the ranges. Elsewhere here also they are small like at the Tablemount.

I have lately worked on & other & hope to send you the printed notes by this mail.

B70-01-01; are discussed pp 64-80, with the (Melanthiaceae) on pp 76-7.

Embryo & aestivation had not yet been sufficiently observed.

Is obtainable at Kew. I lost my plant in the great drought. Perhaps you have seeds.

Baillons genus ( )

Bouchardatia? Adansonia? (The latter is the name of the journal within which Baillon erected the genus).

seems referable as a second species to my . —

The Kew photograms are superb! Many thanks! also for those from Mr King.

See J. Hooker to M, 10 September and 24 November 1869.

I will send others. I employ now as a commencement iron edgings in the garden to save labor.

Always your

Ferd von Mueller

The postscript paragraphs are written in the margins of the letter.

Please put into one of the cases a sample of the roof glass of your conservatories

Please … conservatories. is marked with a cross in the margin.

I wonder whether an estimate of the age of the large s can be formed. I believe them several centuries old, but still I may be wrong.

One ought to weigh or measure one every ten years and see what excess to size or the weight was gained.