Ferdinand von Mueller

19/4/91

Yesterday, dear Mr Hemsley, your letter and card was sent on to me by Mr Herbert Hughes from Adelaide. I gave him at once all the information required,

1

See H. Hughes to M, 27 April 1891 (in this edition as 91-04-27a).

as I have followed this subject on caprification of the Fig up very closely, including from all the writings of King and Solms Laubach.

2

There is a copy of Solms-Laubach (1882) in the Library at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. M may also have seen Solms-Laubach (1885). George King published a number of papers on figs, included in his bibliography in the Kew Bulletin, 1909, 193–7. The Library of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne contains a number of offprints of his articles as well as the monograph, King (1888).

Here we have only female trees. The best Smyrna figs are apt to drop prematurely unless they are fertilized by the peculiar fig-fly; nor does the fig dry so well, nor has it the same substance, nor so good an aroma, nor does it keep properly. I have given Mr Hughes all the needful information how to get the Cynips

3

A genus of wasp, formerly including fig wasps.

(I speak in the former limitation of the genus) to his colony.