Melbourne, bot. Garden,
New years day 1865.
I beg to send, Dear Mr Hannaford, by the "City of Launceston" a small parcel of seeds
& the little volume on the Chatham-Islands.
The former number comparatively few, since only the commencement of our harvest has
passed; The small book may be worthy of your consideration as regards my views on
the stability of species and their true circumscription. Dr Hooker's handbook of the
New Zealand flora, of which the phanerogamic part is published since the appearance
of my work,
enumerates 17 Epilobia, whilst I acknowledge but one, and more than a dozend Veronicas
for what I call V. Forsteri. But this is not surprising, when we know that Dr Hooker
adheres to the transmutation doctrine and when this assiduous observer in the work
just mentioned gives it as his last opinion, that one and the same species may be
represented by two or more
permanently
distinct forms in one district. What is permanent is specific, what is a form is
not specific. Here lies our point of difference, which reflects itself throughout
this two works.
Perhaps you may like to give a short critic of my publication
as it may be of advantage to render generally known, that I reject the Darwinian
doctrine, this being the only occasion at which I have done so publicly. We may, any
of us, be suddenly called away from this world, and so it is well, that each observers
view on a question so grave should be deposited somewhere.
With my best wishes for a happy new year
I remain your attached
Ferd Mueller
Have you not
in Tasmania? It differs in very angular branches, green spherical berries and some
other characters from S. aviculare.
Mr Gunn edited some years ago a journal of science in Tasmania.
In this occur a few botanical notes which for the sake of completion of my bot. Library
I should much like to have. At any time you may happen to see our friend pray ask
him whether he has a
spare
copy left for me
