The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: Tuesday ¶ ¶ I have learnt, dear Mr Odgers, from the President of the Linnéan Society by this mail, that the 30 copies of the sixth volume of our work will be due in a few weeks ¶ Bentham (1863-78), v...

Document information

Physical location:

C73/15108, unit 674, VPRS 3991/P inward registered correspondence, VA 475 Chief Secretary's Department, Public Record Office, Victoria. 73.05.00

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to William Odgers, 1873-05. 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/1870-9/1873/73-05-00-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

Tuesday

I have learnt, dear Mr Odgers, from the President of the Linnéan Society by this mail, that the 30 copies of the sixth volume of our work will be due in a few weeks

Bentham (1863-78), vol. 6, but not published until 23 September 1873 (TL2); letter not found. G. Bentham to M, 24 September 1873, reported that the final pages had been printed and that 'bound copies ought to be ready by this time The publishers have the usual order to send off the 30 copies for your Government — I have not heard of their being actually sent yet, but if not they will be in a day or two'. W. Odgers to M, 27 January 1874 (in this edition as 74-01-27b), reported that they had been received and sent M a copy.

. I have no doubt, that they will come through Mr Michie's office to yours, as before. Be so friendly to inform me of the arrival when these copies come, as I would then submit a list of the public institutions in Victoria, where the work can best be used, also a list of the main amateur contributors of plants to my Museum for the volume, as in acknowledgement they ought to have a copy.

Will you also be so kind to arrange that the £100 recently voted go by this mail to Mr Michie for Mr Bentham, so that I may inform the latter so by outgoing mail

Always with respectful remembrance your

Ferd von Mueller.

MS annotations are all dated to May 1873, and the item is dated on that basis. On 16 May, the Secretary of Agriculture, A. Wallis, wrote in a memorandum: 'I have perused the within papers and can find nothing in them which binds the Government of Victoria to subsidise the publication in London of Mr Bentham and Dr Mueller's combined work on the Australian Flora'. The next day he wrote: 'The Honble The Minister of Lands & Agriculture has directed me to forward the within papers [not found] to the Under Treasurer, with a request that he will cause them to be placed in a copy of the estimates for 1873-4 and opposite the item "Publication of work on Australian Plants" in the estimates for the service of the Botanical Garden, and handed to him (Mr Casey) when the estimates come on for consideration by the Cabinet'. Further MS annotation on 22 May notes in an unknown hand: 'Returned to the Honorable the Minister of Lands & Agriculture. Mr Langton understands that the item referred to has been struck out of the Estimates'.

For the original estimates submitted by M, see M to J. Casey, 19 April 1873. These estimates were nullified when the decision was taken to remove the Gardens from M's control from 1 July 1873 (C. Hodgkinson to M, 31 May 1873). The sum for Bentham for Flora a ustraliensis was not included in the vote for the Government Botanist passed by Parliament on 11 June 1873, but was approved in the additional estimates, 29 October 1873 (Victoria, Votes and p roceedings of the Legislative Assembly session 1873, vol. 1, p. 229). M to G. Bentham, 1 December 1873 (in this edition as 73-12-01a), reported that the payment had been authorized.