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93.11.00c

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Ferdinand von Mueller to the Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Angler's Club, 1893-11 [93.11.00c]. 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/1890-6/1893/93-11-00c-final.odt>, accessed June 9, 2026

1
Letter not found. The text given here is from a report of the meeting of the Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Anglers' Club held on 29 November 1893 (Ballarat star, 30 November 1893, p. [2], col. g). The quotation is introduced by: 'The Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Anglers’ Club wrote to Baron Von Mueller a s hort time ago, asking his opinion as to the be s t means of eradicating the weeds at Lake Wendouree, and at the same time forwarded samples of the weeds for his inspection. The reply, a s follows, was laid before last night’s meeting of the club:—' . The meeting that decided to send the letter to M was held on 15 November ; see Ballarat Fish Protection Society and Angler's Club to M, 16 November 1893 (in this edition as 93-11-16a).
The plants sent by you as occurring in the Ballarat lake are Myrio P h yllum Elatinoide s
2
Typesetter's error for Myriophyllum elatinoides?
—the one with much divided leaves; the Althenia Preeson,
3
Typesetter's error for Althenia preissii?
and t he third, with hairlike leaves, which, in the absence of flowers or seeds cannot be named. All are evidently ground growing, and it is easily understood that it must be difficult to subdue them. When c ut or pulled they would soon grow again from their perennial roots. It would be particularly difficult to uproot them completely. You doubtless employ some sort of cutting apparatus or dredge rake, or some other ingenious contrivance. If the plants could be fed do wn by some aquatic birds, living on vegetable food, sufficiently that would obv iate other procedure more or les s expensive and effectual. In a small lake near Richmond some few white swans cleansed it soon from all w ater weeds. Your lake i s so larg e that it would need many of the s e animals for such a purpose; still as they are favorable , if not already in good number there, it might be worthy of consideration whether this method could be tried. Anyhow, up rooting is needed to effect a lasting clearance. Have you tried whether c attle will feed on thes e plants? If so, some help might be had from these animals for your purposes there by driving them into the shallows. I should like to see flowering and fruiting specimens of the plant with the hair-like leaves—thinnest of the three. —
Yours, &c.,
Baron von Mueller
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The report concluded: 'It was decided to thank Baron v on Mueller for the trouble h e ha d taken in the matter, and also to ask him as to which is the best time of the year for cutting the weeds ' (letter not found). This news item is clearly the basis for the comment in Melbourne Punch , 7 December 1893, p . 3:
Baron Von Mueller is one of the very funniest o ld gentlemen in this colony. He does not m a ke puns and tell comic stories, b ut hi s jokes are of t he wildest and most downright description. The Ball arat Fish Protection Society recently wrote to the eminent botanist, informing him that Lake Wendour e e was over-run with weeds, and asking i f he could suggest a remedy. The Baron seems to have shaken his f at sides with laughter at th e oppor tunity thus opened to him. H e wrote back, informing the fishermen that the weeds were Myrio Phyllium Elatinoides and Athenia Preeson — a piece of intelligence that made th e Ballarat rod and liners feel enormously wise; and added that t hey might be destroyed by obtaining some aquatic birds or—by keeping a cow or two!! The idea of keeping a small herd of dairy cattle upon Lake Wendouree is too delicious. We frankly admit that our united staff couldn't have devised a f iner joke. Baron Von Mueller, after this, is fairly entitled to b e dubbed the old lady of the lake (with apologi es to Scott).
Althenia Preeson
Myrio P h yllum Elatinoide s