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A39 Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Vic. Branch) papers, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 86.03.01Preferred Citation:
William Carruthers to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1886-03-01. 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/86-03-01>, accessed April 20, 2025
1
MS annotation by M: 'Answ 19/4/86, FvM'. Letter not found.
cromwell road,
london: s.w.
1 March 1886
My dear von Mueller,
I should have before replied to your letter
as to Forbes' Plants.
2
3
Henry Ogg Forbes.
I am very glad to hear that you were able to secure so substantial a help for Forbes,
and on that account, but yet more on account of the work you have already done on
the Papuan Flora you have a right to claim an important part in the description of
Mr Forbes' collections. There will be no difficulty in carrying out your proposals.
The cellular plants we can deal with here. One of my colleagues — Mr Murray
— is devoting himself to Fungi and Algae, and is able to work up whatever materials
Mr Forbes may find in these Groups. I have lately had added to my staff a young man
from Cambridge, Mr A. Gepp, who obtained a good position at the University, and who
is devoting himself to Mosses & Liverworts. I shall try to work out the Ferns. In
regard to the Phanerogams my colleague Mr Ridley
would like to work out the Orchideae — and indeed he would not object to the monocotyledons
as a whole. He has charge of that Group in the Herbarium.
4
George Murray.
5
Henry Nicholas Ridley.
Mr Fawcett
took a great interest in Forbes's Ericaceae and would be glad if he could take charge
of any further specimens, and has just communicated a paper to the Linnean Soc. on
Balanophoreae
&
Rafflesiaceae
, and these he would like to continue.
6
William Fawcett; see
Proceedings
of Linnean Society, London, 18 March 1886; Fawcett (1886).
I fear you think I am going on rapidly to make of no effect what I allowed at the
beginning, but my claims stop here.
In regard to the distribution. The whole collections will, I expect come here and
be distributed by us into sets. I would take care that the second set should be sufficient
for your purposes — and in any cases where uniques existed I would be prepared to
send them on to you for description to be returned when you were done with them.
Of course if you would like to work up some of the monocotyledons we can easily arrange
that.
In regard to Myoporums I am sorry to say we have no specimens from Forster, father
or son
— and only
M. crassifolium
is represented in the Herb. and that by specimens collected by Anderson
at New Caledonia 1774 — the same voyage in which the Forsters were with Cooke
— I enclose a leaf & two flowers from Andersons plant. I am sorry I cannot do more.
7
See M to W. Carruthers, 3 December 1885, in this edition as 85-12-03a.
8
William Anderson.
9
Error for James Cook.
Would it be possible to secure a set of the plants of Everill's expedition up the
Fly River?
I would very much like to have a series for the Herbarium.
10
The Geographical Society of Australasia's expedition to New Guinea under Henry Charles
Everill, 1885.
I trust these proposals will be approved by you, & am
very sincerely yours
W. Carruthers
Baron von Mueller
Balanophoreae
Ericaceae
Myoporum crassifolium
Orchideae
Rafflesiaceae