Ferdinand von Mueller

1

M's letter not found. The text given here is from 'Correspondence', M o unt Alexander mail, 11 August 1891, p. 3. The letter is dated to March 1891 as the latest it could have been written 'last summer'.

[ Sir, — I wa s pleased to see in Saturday's Mail a paragraph on "A Substitute for Potato," namely stachys tubifera. It may be interesting to the public of the dist r ict to know that we have a few plants in our local Gardens. Last sum mer Baron von Mueller, F.R.S., &c., &c., was so kind as to send us a few small tubers through the post, and I planted them at once in a kerosene tin, and when large enough I planted them in the open ground, where they have stood the winter's frost without any prot e ction. We have about 10 plants in the little plot of ground at th e Curator's house, trusti n g we will succeed i n g e tti n g a few matured tubers for distribution .]