Ferdinand von Mueller

1

The folios are numbered in reverse in the volume, the first folio of the letter being numbered 28 and the second and last 27, but '27' is in error for '29', there being two folios numbered '27' in the volume.

17/4/96

When I wrote to you by last mail

2

M to J. Hooker, 5 April 1896.

hurried as usual, dear Sir Joseph, I alluded to the few phytographers (not phytologists in the general sense) who remained "superstites"

3

survivors.

from the first half of the last century,

4

Mistake for 'this century'?

two of 4 being cryptogamic specialist. If we include anatomists and physiologists, we have the french Nestor Chatin and perhaps some others, but I alluded only to such as did very extensive work in our favorite science. Among phytographers should however be included also after more than 50 years work Lange and Naudin, and perhaps one or two more.

At last after endless interruptions by the multifarious work devolving officially on me, the essay is almost ready by Prof Tate and myself on the about 750 vascular plants (of evasculares occur only Lichens in the desert) of the Eder

5

i.e. Elder.

Expedition.

6

B96.14.02.

The mainshare of the elaboration fell on me, and as the collector passed only once over the ground trodden, and thus he had many of his plants only in flower or only in fruit. Actual novelties, as I had predicted, he found but remarkably few, though he had also a good eye for minute plants, in which Australia is proportionately richer than any other part of the great divisions of the globe. Mr Helms however brought much material to enlarge the geographic entries in my "Census" for the third edition. I have appended also many critical notes to many of the plants in the treatise.

7

The third edition of the 'Census' was not published (second edition: B89.13.12).