Ferdinand von Mueller

25/7/93.

Accept my best thanks, dear Sir James, for sending me the 25 vol. of the N.Z. Institute. A marvellous amount of science-work is going on under your aegis in your islands! But antarctic researches are still missing with all your geographic facilities. After the successes of last season under American latitudes in whaling and sealing, surely we ought the next season (1893-94) not pass without offering premiums for steamers starting from the Australasian colonies. Sir Joseph Hooker writes in his latter

1

letter?

askingly "What has become of your intended antarctic expedition". Doubtless an additional revenue would arise to NZ if Steam Whaling and Sealing be decided on from your islands Of course, the question will be brough

2

brought?

up by us again in the Adelaide-Meeting of the A.A. for A.S.,

3

The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science was to meet in Adelaide in September 1893.

but it will then be too late for active measures of 1893-94. I look forward with much pleasure to meet you in S.A. soon.

Whatever is done for Mr Kirks proposal as regards the N.Z. flora, Sir Joseph's counsels should be final. A supplement to his Flora

4

J. Hooker (1864-67), or perhaps J. Hooker (1853-55). Kirk (1899) appeared posthumously, without 'an introductory chapter on geographical distribution, on the wider questions of affinity, and on the historical aspect of Botany and botanical research in New Zealand as he intended to write' (p. iii). The planned volume of plates, to have included some from the unpublished engravings of James Cook's Endeavour voyage and some from J. Hooker (1844-47), J. Hooker (1853-1855) and J. Hooker (1860), seems never to have been published.

might perhaps appear preliminarily.