Document information

Physical location:

Brevs. nr. 97, Universitetsbiblioteket, Oslo. 94.09.17a

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Nordal Wille, 1894-09-17 [94.09.17a]. 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/94-09-17a>, accessed September 11, 2025

17/9/94
Würden Sie die Güte haben, hochgeehrter Herr Director, mir mitzutheilen, welche von den grossen Algen dort im Spätwinter gekocht für Stallfütterung verwandt werden, wenn es an Heu gebricht. Es sind wohl Laminarien, vielleicht auch
Fucus

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-Arten.
Welche Beere ist es, welche auch in Spittzbergen vorkomt und für Fruchtgelee oder sonst zum Einmachen verwendet wird.
Da Sie gewiss mein Werk “Select Plants for industrial Culture” haben, möchte ich Sie bitten, ob Sie beim Gebrauch dieses Buches gefunden haben, dass wichtige Notizen in Bezug auf Scandinavische Pflanzen ausgelassen sind. Solche würden unter Ihrem geehrten Namen in die 9te Ausgabe (von denen in die Englischen Sprache) aufgenommen werden. Der Druck soll im Januar 1895 beginnen. Ich habe allerdings schon Notizen aus verschiedenen Werken auch für Ihr Land, aus manchen Journalen (Journal of the Soc. of Arts &c) so über die extensive preparation and exportation von Papier-Pulp von
Pinus picea

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und P. silvestris jetzt von [Hadeland].
Kann ich irgend einer Ihrer Wissenschafts Anstalten dort nützlich sein? In dem Falle gebieten Sie und Ihre gelehrten Freunde unzögernd über meine Dienste.
Sie ehrend, der Ihre,
Ferd. von Mueller.
Hoffentlich bestätigen sich die Befürchtungen nicht über die Untergang der Nansen-Expedition.
17/9/94
Would you have the kindness, highly esteemed Director, to inform me which of the large algae there are used in late winter boiled for stock feed, when hay is lacking? They are probably laminariae, perhaps also
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species.
What berry is it that also occurs in Spitzbergen and is used for jam or otherwise for preserving?
Since you undoubtedly have my work Select plants for industrial Culture, I would like to ask you whether you have found in using this book that important notes in reference to Scandinavian plants are left out. Such would be included under your esteemed name in the 9th edition (of those in the English language).
1
M usually counted the versions in German (B83.13.06) and French (B87.14.06) to arrive at this number of editions. To arrive at this number printed in English he must have counted B76.12.04 and the volume containing reprints of an earlier series in California by Cooper (B76.13.15, B76.13.16, B76.13.17, B76.13.18). The first version with the title Select extra-tropical plants… was the Calcutta edition, B80.13.07.
The printing is to begin in January 1895.
2
B95.08.04.
I certainly already have notes from various works even for your country from several journals (Journal of the Society of Arts &c), also on the extensive preparation and export of paper pulp of
Pinus picea

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and P. silvestris now from [Hadeland].
3
No citation to information from Wille has been found in the volume, which mentions the use of these species for paper pulp but not the location of any mills.
Can I be useful to any of your scientific institutes there? In that case you and your scholarly friends have command over my services unhesitatingly.
Respectfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
Hopefully the fears about the loss of the Nansen Expedition are not confirmed.
4
Earlier in 1894 there had been press speculation that the Fram , which Nansen had planned to allow to be frozen into Arctic ice and then to drift with the floes to the North Pole, had sunk (e.g. Advertiser (Adelaide), 1 January 1894, p. 3). The vessel did not sink or drift over the North Pole; see Nansen (1897).