The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: The chemical process resulting from the application of gypsum to brackish soils will ameliorate such lands very much for many kinds of cultures. You have extensive gypsum layers in many parts of the M...

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93.12.16

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Ferdinand von Mueller to the Mildura Cultivator, 1893-12-16. 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/1890-6/1893/93-12-16-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Local news', Mildura cultivator, 23 December 1893, p. 7 (B93.12.04). It is introduced by

In our issue of the 16th last, [p. 6] we recommended those who were troubled with salty soil to experiment with gypsum, as it had been successfully tried on alkali patches elsewhere. Curiously enough, on the same date Baron von Müller addressed a letter to us making the same suggestion. The following is an extract from his letter :-

The chemical process resulting from the application of gypsum to brackish soils will ameliorate such lands very much for many kinds of cultures. You have extensive gypsum layers in many parts of the Murray region, so that the material for such tests should be close at hand. Anyhow, gypsum dressings assist in fertilising the soil, so that the efforts and expenditure involved even in any extensive experiments could not be resultless.