Ferdinand von Mueller

Christmas 1882.

You will be surprised, dear Mr Stirling, that you did not hear from me earlier, especially as your kind Lady and yourself invited me to your hospitable home, for which friendliness I beg to express my best thanks. I should rejoyce in a wandering once more through the Australian alps after nearly 30 years, but it will be impossible for me to get away this season from here, because my Departmental work got into arrear, while I made great and successful efforts to push my statistic of Austr. plants through the press in 1882 according to private contract.

1

B83.03.04; M had gained approval for this work to be done by a private printer on behalf of the Government (see M to J. Grant, 29 October 1881).

You will receive a bound copy in a few weeks. I have seldom been away from the writing table before midnight since a long time, and yet correspondence and other obligations had to be deferred. I shall have the whole vasculares printed before new year, indeed down to ferns (inclusive) all is in type. Professor Tate invited me also to a joint trip to Kangaroo Island,

2

SA; see M to R. Tate, 16 December 1882.

to which place as new for plants I directed his attention, but I had to deprive myself also of that pleasure. Your best chances for novelty in the Alps will be among the Evasculares.

I feel beholden to you for the just and generous manner, in which you advocate my claims on the Geography of the alps, and I feel all the more pleased, as thus justice will also be done to those whom I intended by dedications to honor .

3

See also M to J. Stirling, 2 November 1882.

Best felicitation to the new year.