RECORDS OF AUSTRALIAN BOTANISTS. 87 
else but references to plants (his movements are also inter- 
esting for biographical purposes), and to botanical and 
horticultural, chiefly hybridising, work. He was a born 
horticulturist, as well as botanist. It has been already 
shown how high an opinion Hooker held of him, and these 
extracts (hitherto unpublished), are valuable as throwing 
light upon one of the most eminent of my predecessors, 
concerning whom few details have been published, and one 
who would have been one of the foremost of Australian 
botanists had his life been spared.’ 
January, 16, 1841.—‘“* Was at Moreton Bay when your letter 
arrived. Shall sail for England on Ist February, certain, so they 
say. Did you not promise me a letter to Sir W. Hooker 
I did not find many new things at Moreton Bay. A beautiful 
blue Nymphza was the most unexpected—it is common on the 
Clarence, but is very rare on the Brisbane. (See p.92.) A 
new fruit from Wide Bay, 150 miles north of Moreton Bay. It 
is a Capparis, with a fruit as large as a large peach, and said to 
be very good. I will leave word with Robertson (Sydney Botanic 
Gardens) to give you one. A small fig, quite as good as the 
garden fig, and an abundant bearer. Fruit round, size of a cherry. 
Robertson will have plants. On the top of the Great Glass House, 
or Beawah, [ found a Dendrobium about twice as large as D. 
Kingianum from the Buckun (the Gloucester Buckets, J.H.M.), 
but otherwise exactly like it; flower not seen. I fell in witha 
person who had been exploring down the Condamine, and who 
says he thinks that the Condamine is the same as the Boyne. He 
is a very intelligent person; you may know him, Mr. Stuart 
Russell. The Bunya Bunya (in his writing it looks like Bunza 
Tanza, J.H.M.) is a very curious looking tree, the bark smooth 
and black, the branches very numerous at the whorls, but only 
remaining very near the top of the tree, instead of there being 
only about 5 or 6 branches at one whorl, as in A. excelsa,; there 
+ Justice has never been done to Bidwill’s undoubtedly great attain- 
ments. A portrait of him does not appear to exist. 
