The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: 7/3/84 ¶ ¶ You are always so magnanimous and kind, noble friend, and to invite me on a tour of the mountains in New Zealand, which I would very gladly undertake were the new Civil Service Commission ...

7/3/84

Sie sind immer so grossmüthig u. gütig, edler Freund, und laden mich zu einer Bergtour in N. S. ein, welche ich sehr gern unternehmen würde, wenn nicht gerade die neue Civil-Service-Commission im Begriff von Reconstruction des öffentlichen Dienstes wäre; dazu kommt noch, dass in Ihren geographischen Breite die Bergluft mir zu kalt wäre. Habe ich doch mich von der Küste in eine warme Waldniederung flüchten müssen, da die Meeresluft meinen Zustand verschlimmerte, wenn immer Südwind w[eht].

Wohl ist es mir bekannt, dass Brustkranke in die Alpen Europas reisen, u in der leichten reinen Luft bedeutende Kälte Grade vertragen, aber bei einem tiefen Bronchial Leiden ist die Hochluft tropischer Gegenden nöthig, z. B. in den Gebirgen Javas, in Caracas &c.

Beigefügt ein Auschnitt aus dem Melbourne "Leader". Die Besprechung ist von dem horticultur Sub Editor selbst, der ein alter ausgezeichneter engl. Gärtner ist. Nach der Nomenclatur, Autoritäts Citation u. s. w. ist es klar, dass der Superintendant des Christchurch Gartens den grössten Theil seiner Liste aus den "select plants" entnahm. In einer Gouvernements Publication hätte man namentlich erwartet, dass angegeben würde, welche Werke bei solchen Auszügen , die dies mal noch nicht mal mit genüg an der Sachkenntniss gemacht sind, benutzt werden. Das Rearrangement ist nach einem von mir selbst gegebenen Schlüssel.

Welche Ausgabe meiner Select plants benutzt wurde, weiss ich nicht, das Buch ist schon in sechs Auflagen in engl. Sprache erschienen, die letzte in Detroit. Dr Goeze zu Greifswald veranstaltet eine deutschen, Prof Naudin eine französische Übersetzung. Da also das Werk so weit bekannt geworden, wird jeder Sachkundige ersehen, woher hauptsächlich der dortige Garten Aufseher seinen Stoff entnahm. Es ist nicht mein Wunsch durch diese Bemerkungen dem Manne zu schaden, aber man wundert sich doch über diesen Mangel von Gerechtigkeits Gefühl. Das beste was er thun könnte, wäre eine kurze Notiz drucken zu lassen über die Bücher, die er benutzt, u eine solche Notiz jedem Druck Exemplare der Liste beizufügen. Emphehlen Sie mich Ihrer ausgezeichneten Gemahlin u behalten Sie in freundlicher Andenken.

Ihnen Sie Ehrenden

Ferd. von Mueller.

Ich habe mich hier auf dem Lande für Amts Arbeit eingerichtet einstweilen.

In dem jünger Dr Wittstein würde Neu Seeland eine grosse wissenschaftliche u ehrenhafte Kraft gewinnen.

Ich pflege horticultur Documente an den Leader zur Beurtheilung zu geben.

7/3/84

You are always so magnanimous and kind, noble friend, and to invite me on a tour of the mountains in New Zealand, which I would very gladly undertake were the new Civil Service Commission not just on the point of a reconstruction of the Public Service; in addition to this, the mountain air would be too cold for me in your geographical latitude. Have I not had to escape from the coast into a warm forest lowland, because the sea air aggravated my condition whenever a south wind blew?

It is well known to me that those with chest complaints travel in the alps of Europe and endure a considerable degree of cold in the light pure air, but in the case of a deep bronchial condition the high air of tropical regions is necessary e.g. in the mountains of Java, in Caracas &c.

Enclosed a cutting from the Melbourne Leader.

1

The Leader of 8 March 1884 carried on p. 15 a notice of J. Armstrong (1883), a list of plants deemed suitable for cultivation in New Zealand. Armstrong's publication was also reported in New Zealand journal of science, vol. 2 (1884), pp. 77-8, being described there as a work that 'cannot fail to be generally useful', even though labour costs in New Zealand would, it was said, render 'commercially impossible' the successful cultivation of a number of the species recommended.

The discussion is by the horticultural sub-editor himself, who is an excellent old English gardener.

2

William Elliott.

According to the nomenclature, citation authorities and so on, it is clear that the Superintendent of the Christchurch Gardens took the greatest part of his list from the Select plants. In a government publication one would have especially expected that it would be indicated what works were used in such extracts , which this time are not made with sufficient knowledge of the subject. The rearrangement is after a key even given by me.

3

M's complaint here echoes a comment in the Leader that M himself may have prompted when, as he implies in the postscript below, he gave the pamphlet to the newspaper: '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'.

The arrangement adopted by Armstrong for his list closely resembles that used by M in an index of 'Indicated Genera' included as an appendix in B81.01.04, pp. 365-72, with the species recommended being grouped according to their prospective use, as 'Alimentary Plants', 'Fibre Plants' and so on, the headings used generally (but not invariably) being those used by M. Moreover, most of the species listed appear in M's work. There can thus be little doubt that M's work served as a model and perhaps a source so far as Armstrong was concerned.

Armstrong's work was, however, very much more focused than M's, being solely concerned with plants judged suitable for New Zealand whereas M's work purported to list plants suitable for any 'extra-tropical' region. Armstrong's list was thus highly selective, embracing only a few of the groups laid out in M's index and with the groups that he did list including many fewer species. For example, his list of 'alimentary plants' included but 48 species from 31 genera, whereas under this heading M's index included 260 different genera! Given that M's work was so comprehensive and wide-ranging, most of the species listed by Armstrong had already been listed by M, yet not all had been. Armstrong's list thus reflects the extensive exercise of his own judgment, and wider reading than B81.01.04 alone.

Many of Armstrong's entries include comments specific to New Zealand that were evidently drawn from his own experience of growing the species in question, about where in the country a species might be expected to do well, about experimental plantings that he envisaged doing, or about species native to New Zealand that were of commercial value.

Armstrong's discussions of the species he listed were generally much briefer than M's, so that in many cases it is difficult to judge whether he was drawing on M or not. Here and there he included information clearly drawn from M, sometimes with acknowledgment, sometimes without; in other entries, he presented information clearly drawn from other sources.

Notwithstanding M's assertion that Armstrong's reliance on his work is shown by 'the nomenclature, citation authorities and so on', Armstrong did not slavishly follow M's views on nomenclature and species limits; for example, he listed as separate species of Oryza and of Vitis things that M had treated as varieties of other species.

I don't know what edition of my Select plants was used,

4

Armstrong dates his list to 30 December 1881; hence the most recent version that would have been available to him is B81.01.04.

the book is already published in six editions in the English language, the last in Detroit.

5

B84.13.22.

Dr Goeze of Greifswald did a German,

6

B83.13.06.

Professor Naudin a French translation.

7

No translation by Naudin before this letter was written has been found, nor any mention in M's surviving correspondence before March 1884 of its being undertaken. B87.14.06 is a distinct work, not a direct translation of an earlier English-language one. In the preface to it, Naudin cited B81.01.04 in a footnote where he wrote 'La première idée en est due à … le baron Ferdinand Von Müller, … l'auteur d'un livre déjà fort répandu dans le monde, qui compte plusieurs éditions, et dont celui-ci est en grande partie tiré' [The first idea is due to ... Baron Ferdinand Von Müller, ... the author of a book already widely distributed in the world, which has several editions, and from which this one is largely drawn].

Thus since the work has become so widely known, every informed person will see from whence the garden overseer there mainly took his material. It is not my wish to injure the man by these remarks, but one is certainly surprised about the lack of feelings of justice. The best that he could do would be to have a short notice printed about the books he used and include such a notice with each printed copy of the list. Commend me to your excellent wife and keep me in friendly memory.

Respectfully

Ferd. von Mueller.

I have temporarily set myself up in the country for official work.

New Zealand would gain a great scientific and honourable force in the young Dr Wittstein.

I am in the habit of giving horticultural documents to the Leader for assessment.

The correspondence of

Ferdinand von Mueller

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