Ferdinand von Mueller

See also M to W. Odgers, 9 September 1869.

On 10 November 1868 W. S. Seton-Karr, Secretary to the Government of India, Simla wrote (letter no. 1974) to James McCulloch, Chief Secretary, Melbourne: 'It has been brought to the notice of the Viceroy and Governor General in Council that there are several localities in the provinces of Mysore and Coorg in Southern India, well adapted for the cultivation of the Eucalyptus and other useful timber trees which grow in Australia, and that the introduction of these trees might be very beneficial to the said provinces. Such being the case, His Excellency in Council is desirous of giving this experiment a fair trial, and he accordingly directs me to request that the Government of Melbourne will be so good as to favor this Government with a supply of seeds of five species of the Eucalyptus, viz: | E. Globulus — 30lbs weight | " Marginata — 30 do | " Sideroxylon — 20 do | " Globosa — 10 do | " Citridora — 10 do | I am further to request that the seeds may be carefully packed and sent through the Madras Government to the address of the Commissioner of Mysore, at Bangalore. | Any expense which may be incurred on this account will, of course, be defrayed by the Indian Government, at such place and in such manner as may be most convenient to the Government of Victoria; and any information which you could supply as to the planting of these seeds, would be very acceptable. It is intended to make the experiment of planting the seeds at an elevation of about 4000 feet, or more.' (R68/13237, unit 695, VPRS 3991, PROV). The Under Secretary, J. Moore, referred this letter to the Commissioner of Crown Lands on 28 December 1868, 'with a view to instructions being given to the Govt Botanist to procure a supply of the seeds required by the Indian Govt', and it was forwarded to M on 31 December.

On 25 May 1869 the Acting Secretary to Government, Fort Saint George, India wrote to the Chief Secretary of Victoria, J. McCulloch: 'I am directed by His Excellency the Governor in Council to draw your attention to Mr. Secretary Hudleston's letter, dated 7th January, 1868, No. 41, asking for a supply of seeds of the

Eucalyptus Globulus

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and Eucalyptus Marginata, and to request that, with the permission of His Excellency the Governor of Victoria, you will do this Government the favor to have this application complied with as early as practicable, if no difficulty exists.' (T69/5610, unit 695, VPRS 3991, PROV). On 9 July 1869, the Under Secretary, W. Odgers, referred this letter to the Commissioner of Lands 'for a report from the Director of the Botanic Gardens'; Odgers noted that the Indian application was received on 12 February 1868 and forwarded to the Lands Department the next day. On 15 July the Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands, C. Hodgkinson, replied: 'I beg respectfully to suggest that some action be taken relative to the minutes by Dr Von Mueller and myself dated 16th April and 6th April on attached con.; and with reference to which minutes, when submitted to him, the Honble The Commr of Lands & Survey arrived at no decision'. (Neither Hudleston’s letter nor the minutes to which Hodgkinson referred are in the file.) McCulloch approved Hodgkinson's suggestion on 18 July, minuting: 'There need be no difficulty in this matter. Let Dr Von Mueller effect the purchase of such seeds as can be procured in Melbourne upon the most favorable terms he can. The a/cs can be paid from the Treasurer's Advance Vote pending application to the Governments of India and Madras respectively — When the seeds are ready for shipment furnish me with the particulars and I will write to India'.

Account not found.

E. globosa is not in APNI or IPNI (accessed 29 June 2020), but is used in some non-taxonomic texts, e.g. Mejstřík & Cudlín (1983).

M's mistake, it should be W.

M was requested to order seeds of E. globulus and E. sideroxylon; see W. Odgers to M, 3 September 1869.