Document information

Physical location:

RBG Kew, Kew correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1871-81, ff. 150-1. 74.09.04

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to George Bentham, 1874-09-04. 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/1870-9/1874/74-09-04-final.odt>, accessed June 4, 2026

Melbourne
4/9/74.
The case per "Agamemnon" has gone to you, dear Mr Bentham, this week. Let me trust, that it will as safely reach you and as unimpaired be returned on the back passage, as the many other cases before. It completes the sendings up to
Cyperaceae

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&
Gramineae

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, beyond such supplements as may arrive before the printing of the new volume is completed.
I regretted to observe in Dr Hookers new Kew report
1
J. Hooker (1874), p. 9. Under the heading 'BOTANICAL WORKS published, or preparing for publication at the Herbarium', Hooker wrote: '"Flora of Australia," Vol. VII., by G. Bentham and Baron Von Mueller. (Another volume will complete this work.)'. M correctly interpreted this statement as implying that volume VII would be the last.
the remark, that the 7th vol. would close the work; so it may be for Europe and your noble action; but as the first volume is already a dozen years old and others are also published years ago necessarily large supplements to the work must appear, though perhaps under a changed title, yet a continuation of the work. Dr Hooker did perhaps not think, that even so small a remark might hurt me in the progress of my labor, while everything should be done by colleagues or former colleagues to give me their moral support, for building up again my position. You yourself desired me to supplement the work. So I shall endeavour to do here ; I have in the fragmenta about 300 species already as supplemental; & about 200 more, I have in my collections not yet carefully worked out, as they require connected research, which I can best effect, when giving the new localities of the species already recorded
Be so kind to arrange, that the cases are returned free of expense[s], as the whole working vote of my Department is £300, out of which I have even to pay the Office rent in this expensive country. I had to disburse out of my ruined private means £500 during the last 12 months to defray the current expenses for the small fraction of the Department, which I was still able to upheld Had it not been for this ruin, of which no one in England seems to take the slightest notice, I would have responded to the invitation of Parlatore and that would have given me the joyful opportunity of meeting you & Dr Hooker and other scientific friends, with whom I have been so long connected.
2
M had been invited to act as a juror at the International Horticultural Exhibition, Florence, May 1874. See M to J. Francis, 12 February 1874.
Regardfully your
Ferd von Mueller.
I think you might quote in justice to my great toil the fragmenta for restiaceae, liliaceae, gramineae &c, especially as identifications here with limited material (and no assistance) are far more tiresome then
3
than?
at Kew. The whole quotations whenever I made remarks on a species (though brief yet new) would not add above 2 or 3 pages to the volume.
4
In volume 7, Bentham followed his usual practice of citing M's Fragmenta entries, as he had done previously, including the new species described by M before the specimens were sent to Kew (see Lucas 2003). M's major analysis of
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was published in B73.08.01, pp. 64-102; of
Liliaceae

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in B70.01.01, pp. 64-80 and B70.04.01, pp. 86-9; of
Gramineae

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in B73.11.03, pp. 103-24, and B73.12.01, pp. 125-40, with a significant addition, mostly on Panicum , in B74.07.01, pp. 189-202.
I have now a good opportunity to see how my former Directorial colleagues act, while I am in ruin; some of them totally disregard my position now and keep up their communications independent of my Gov Botanists Office.