Document information

Physical location:

Colonial Secretary's Office - letters received, Acc. 36, vol. 635, f. 27, State Records Office of Western Australia, Perth. 69.03.15

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Frederick Barlee, 1869-03-15. 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//letters/1860-9/1869/69-03-15-final.odt>, accessed June 4, 2026

1
MS in a clerk's hand and signed by M; it has been annotated 'Copy' and, by Barlee, 'Acknowledged and thanks expressed F.P.B. 21.4.69'.' Barlee's letter not found.
Melbourne bot. Garden
15/3/69.
I have an apt opportunity, dear Mr. Barlee, to send under the friendly care of the Commander of the ship "Mogul" a glass case with growing plants to your Government.
The case contains 25 well established plants, mostly two years old, all being young plants of different and prominently useful trees. They will doubtless all be new to your colony, unless perhaps a few, which I sent before and of these the duplicates cannot but be welcome. All should be planted out into spacious but sheltered permanent positions, all be surrounded with boughs for shade and all be regularly watered.
By a blow against the pot, when held in an inverted position, the ball of earth around the roots of each plant will slip out without breaking. Pray oblige my establishment by filling the case with a stratum of compact sods (fastened down) from your humid heath-ground, such sods to contain as many different kinds of your showy native plants, as can be obtained in this manner. A similar consignment will ere long be sent to King George's Sound.
I remain with deep regards
your
Ferd von Mueller
1,
Quercus
Suber,
Cork
Oak.
2,
"
Ilex,
Holly
"
3,
"
Castanea,
Chesnut
Oak.
4,
"
macrocarpa,
Large fruit
Oak.
5,
"
alba,
White Oak
of North Amer
6,
Juglans
cinerea,
Butternut.
7,
Carya
tomentosa,
Mockernut.
8,
"
oliviformis,
Pecan nut.
9
Araucaria
imbricata.
Chili Pine.
10
Pinus
Smithiana,
Himalaya.
11,
"
Pseudo Strobus,
California.
12,
"
Strobus,
Canada.
13,
"
excelsa,
Himalaya.
14,
"
longifolia
"
15,
"
Sinensis
china-fir.
16,
"
insignis
California
17,
"
Canariensis
Canary
Islands
18,
"
Douglasii,
California.
19,
"
rigida,
Pitch pine
of N. Amer.
20
Cupressus
excelsa,
California.
21
"
macrocarpa
"
22
"
Lawsoniana
"
23
Wellingtonia
gigantea
"
24
Pinus Deodara

Search for Pinus Deodara in

, Deodara variety of the Lebanon Cedar
25
Quercus Prinus

Search for Quercus Prinus in

, Swamp-Oak of North America.
2
The list of plants is on a separate sheet and annotated, 'Case of plants from Dr Mueller', with a note from Barlee to the Caretaker of the Perth Public Garden, E. Barrett, dated 19 April 1869: 'The above plants are mostly two years old. | All require to be planted out into spacious but sheltered permanent positions, and all to be surrounded with boughs for shade and to be regularly watered. | By a blow against the pot, when held in an inverted position, the ball of earth around the roots of each plant, will slide out without breaking. | The case is to be returned to Dr Mueller, with a stratum of compact sods, (fastened down) from the humid heath ground round Perth, such sods to contain as many different kinds of the showy native plants, as can be obtained.'