Ferdinand von Mueller

1

MS is accompanied with an envelope: ‘Miss Ann. Walker, Rhode's, Ryde near Sydney. GOVERNMENT BOTANIST, Melbourne, 3/6/1896’. It is stamped: CHIEF SECRETARY VICTORIA | FRANK STAMP'. The postal date stamp is illegible.

22/6/94.

Your new sending of painted fungs and partly corresponding specimens, dear Miss Walker, duely arrived through our Brighton friends

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Mrs T. A. and Miss Margaret Ward-Cole of Brighton, Vic; see M. Ward-Cole to M, 21 April 1893.

and I have looked with admiration at your colored drawings and got also the specimens. Three sets have been received of the paintings, two being duplicates, the third (a smaller one) being unique. The number of the dried fungs is only 15. I would like to learn, whether you wish me to send the specimens and a complete set of the drawings, now received, to Kew, as on a former occasion. The final naming would doubtless be done there by Mr Massee, who gives at Kew his time completely up to the study of fungs. But I am quite certain, that no publication of your paintings could be brought out, as chromo-lithography is very expensive and as the sale of such a publication would be very limited, and no publisher would undertake it, unless a large subsidy was coming forward. So no monetary profit could arise to you. But some few novelties might be brought out from your collection in the "Grevillea", an illustrated periodical chiefly devoted to fungs, issued monthly in London. It so happens, that this very week the names of your formerly sent fungs came through Dr Dyer from Kew;

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See M to W. Thiselton-Dyer, 22 June 1894 (in this edition as 94-06-22a).

specimens were also returned and three plates, on one of which a Cortinarius is named in honor of you

Cortinarius Walkeriae

Search for Cortinarius Walkeriae in

• This website
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Cooke (1893), p. 36, as C. walkeri .

What do you wish me to do with this just received return-sending? I should like to insert the specimens in the great Collections here, but after the severe retrenchments have no means of purchasing them. Perhaps you like to have the whole back.

Let me hope, that you are happy and well.

I have here still 12 more colored plates of fungs from you, left in 1893. So far as I remember there were no accompanying specimens, as the drawings were not numbered by you. I think they were to be retained, til corresponding specimens could be procured by you. Perhaps this is a duplicate set of drawings which you made after your return for me. My recollection on this subject is not clear.

I received also lately with the other fungs a small box with Fairies-Cups, also a white fung in a paper.

Could fishermen be induced to bring or send to you algs (seaweeds) and oceanic grasslike plants from the estuary of the Paramatta-River.

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NSW.

Let me encourage you, to secure any additional fungs you may come across, and to gather several specimens of each.