Document information
Physical location:
MU 94, box 6 (5596/82), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Archives, Wellington. 82.05.24Preferred Citation:
Ferdinand von Mueller to James Hector, 1882-05-24. 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/82-05-24>, accessed September 11, 2025
1
MS annotation: 'For Dr v. Haast'.
Will you do me the favor, dear Dr Hector, to support the Candidature of the Rev. Jul.
Ten. Woods at the R. S.
of England by your signature, and kindly send on the paper to Dr von Haast?
2
Royal Society.
3
Hector and Haast both signed Tenison Woods's nomination certificate, as did M, Robert Ellery, Frederick McCoy, Sir Henry Barkly
and two British-based palaeontologists, Thomas Davidson and Henry Woodward. Woods
was a candidate in 1883, 1884 and 1886-8, but was never elected. See also B. Scortechini
to M, 8 December 1881; M to J. Hooker, 24 July 1882; J. Hooker to M, 7 April 1885; and the nomination details (in this edition as 82-00-00c).
It is very kind of you to say, that you will interest yourself about a reissue of
my volume on "select plants" in N.Z., where such a work ought to be of great value
to new settlers & other colonist.
The publication ought not to interfere with any others there, that may be contemplated,
as my work is one of wide general scope and cosmopolitan tendencies
4
Letter not found. See M to J. Hector, 15 February 1882 (in this edition as 82-02-15b). Despite M's persistent prodding, no NZ edition of his
Select extra-tropical plants
was ever published. At some point, however, prospects looked sufficiently encouraging that M prepared
extensive 'supplemental notes' appropriate for a NZ edition; there is a clean copy
of these at Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington repository, Box 454, Record number 1881/1421.
In 1883 John Armstrong, head gardener for the Christchurch Park and Domains Board, published
an 8-page list (J. Armstrong (1883)) that was reviewed by the Melbourne
Leader
(8 March 1884, p. 13). The reviewer commented: 'The selection appears to be on the whole good, corresponding closely with the Select
Plants of Baron Von Mueller, from which the lists appear to have been compiled, and,
if so, without acknowledgment. … Though the list will doubtless be useful in New Zealand, it might have been more
dignified on the part of the Government, and would certainly have been of more value
to the colony to have imitated those of Victoria, New South Wales, India and U.S.
America in reprinting Baron Von Mueller's work on Select Plants.' See also M to J. von Haast, 7 March 1884.
Regardfully your
Ferd von Mueller
I believe you & Haast are the only FRS in NZ. Is it so?
5
There were three Fellows of the Royal Society based in New Zealand at the time, the
third being the ornithologist William Buller, elected in 1879.