Ferdinand von Mueller

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Letter not found. The text given here is from a letter from William Mitten to the Gardeners' chronicle, 30 January 1897, p. 82 (B97.01.01), headed 'Ferdinand von Mueller'. Since M mentions Mitten's visit to the Alps, his letter is to be dated to after July 1895 when Mitten and his son-in-law Alfred Russel Wallace were in Switzerland; see Wallace to his wife Annie Wallace née Mitten, 7 July 1895, Natural History Museum, WP1/4/10(2). The earliest likely date after M would have learned of Mitten's return is September 1895, but his letter could have been sent at any time up to October 1896. Mitten introduced the text as follows:

The news of the death of Sir Ferdinand Von Mueller came to me just as I was preparing to send him freshly-ripened seed of Elymus arenarius, which, after reading his success with Ammophila, I was about to ask him to try; having ascertained that the herbage of the Elymus is freely eaten, and, to all appearance, liked by the horse, it would have many advantages over the Ammophila in the production of food, as well as in its binding roots, and although the appearance and harshness of the foliage may seem unlikely, yet it is noted by Parnell that the Elymus contains more sugar than any other British grass, which may be a reason for the horse looking for more when it is offered to him. The last letter I received from Sir F. Von Mueller contains a hint of the probable occurrence on our coasts of an overlooked plant, and its entire contents are just in the style he usually employed: brimful of the enthusiasm which carried him through the work he accomplished, and built up his own monument. William Mitten. —

It was most kind of you, dear Mr. Mitten, to send me the large number of Mosses and their allies,

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Details of consignment not found.

by which the collection here in the two herbarium halls (containing nearly a million sheets) becomes so much enriched, and where, so far as human foresight goes, your authentic specimens will be utilised through centuries to come. The Rev. Mr. Powel's

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Thomas Powell?

collection has a special interest; he showed it me when he went to England very many years ago, the specimens then to be taken to you. As I have explored through the whole Austral Alps, I am much interested in what you say about your last alpine tour. As you doubtless are conversant also among British and other Phanerogams, may I direct your attention to the probability of

Kochia hirsuta

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occurring also on British shores intermingled with

Suaeda maritima

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. As the northern forms which I know from Schleswig, [they]

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Brackets here and below in source text.

are often almost glabrous, [and] are easily passed as S. maritima, but generally some hairlets [spots] can be observed in the axils of the leaves, and the upper part of the stem is not rarely turned spirally. Of course the embryo of the two plants is very distinct. Are you sure, that of the numerous mosses which you examined so kindly for us here, a sufficiency is left for your own herbarium? I will keep this,

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Punctuation as in source text.

sending for awhile together, so that any specimens particularly mentioned can still be shared by you. Have you kept a record of the localities? If so, such would be well worth publishing in one of the home periodicals, as our knowledge of the geographic distribution of Australian Evasculares is still very imperfect. Let me hope you are happy and well, and will long yet enjoy the triumph of being identified with the moss-flora of the whole world. —