Ferdinand von Mueller

6/6/81.

The fungs have safely arrived, dear Mr Wilcox, and contain a few novelties and several rarities, for which you shall have full credit Pray give Capt Creer my thanks also, when you see that Gentleman. Unfortunately in packing up the spare specimens for a friend in Europe, & sending them off by this mail, the little glass with the almost microscopic Helix

1

Although there was a plant genus Helix (now Hedera), it has not been recorded in the literature on Australian plants (IPNI, APNI, each accessed 4 July 2023); the context suggests a small snail. The 'friend in Europe' has not been identified.

was sent off also. However the Gentleman, to whom you refer, would not likely have described it; perhaps you will find more specimen

My Assistant will have forwarded you the order for £10, for which we want a receipt for fungs & Algs as early as possible, so as to pass it against this finance year's account (end of June) The little fungus with seedlike sporangia in a sort of cup, is Crucibulum vulgare. We have it from several places in Australia. Kindly keep no more wood on future specimens of fungs as is absolutely necessary, so as to reduce the bulk of the sending.

Algae need only be dried without washing, without pressure and without paper on shelves if you have no time or facilities to float them out; but the gelatinous & subtle sorts should be floated out on writing paper under fresh water in a basin, and then dried on blotting paper.