John Torrey letters, 1831-1873. Asa Gray correspondence files of the Gray Herbarium, 1820-1904. gra00078. Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University.

Dr. A. Gray Bridgewater Oneida Co. N. York

Favr. of Mr. Clarke

New York, Oct. 6th 1831.

Dear Sir

Your parcel & letter were left at my home by Mr. Brown during my absence & last Saturday a gentleman called & stated that there {would} be an opportunity of sending to Bridgewater that day. I ac= =cordingly closed a package for you without delay & took to Mr B.'s office but the person whom I saw there knew nothing of any one leaving town to-day for your part of the country — the bundle was left not withstanding & will be ready for the next chance that offers.

The specimens wh. {which} you sent me were very acceptable. I have examined them pretty carefully & the results you will find in the inclosed sheet. Of some I should be glad of a further supply, as you will find by my list. Any number of these & of such as I formerly requested would be thankfully received & a return made in such duplicates as I have on hand.

I have put up for you some native plants — chiefly from N. Jersey. I regret that the number is not greater, but want of time prevented me from selecting more — You will also find in the parcel, some exotic grasses & Cyperaceae. They are sent (for the most part) with the orginal labels — on which I have written the donors names — a list of {which} you will find on the other side. —

I am glad that the microscope pleases you & I hope it will enable you to make a great number of useful discoveries. Little can be done in philosophical botany without such an instrument for the knowledge that is required by a mere superficial examin. {examination} is scarcely worth possessing.

The Mosses which you sent me have been laid aside for a future study — but I would mention that such as you have labelled, are generally named correctly.

The Monograph of Carices published in 2nd vol. of the Annals Lyc. {Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York} was also printed separately & I will make inquiry for a copy if one can be found. The separate ed. was very [?]

Respecting works on Entomology I can give you but little in= =formation of value. We have as yet very few on American insects alone. You probably are acquainted with {Thomas} Say's paper in the {Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia} & in some of the New Harmony periodicals. Also the 4 or 5 vols. or [more?] of his Amer. Entomology. LeConte & some French Entomologists are publishing an account of N. Am. Lepidopterae of wh. {which} the 7th no. (I think) has just been recd. It contains several coloured plates in each no.

Martius {Carl Friedrich Philipp von} Prof. at Munich — wrote on Palms. & Traveller in Brazil Agardh {Carl Adolph} Prof of Botany at Lund, Sweden Steudel {Ernst Gottlieb von} " " " Stutgart. Author of {Nomenclator botanicus} Soleirol {Joseph Francois} French botanist at Metz, France. All marked "{Corsica}" are from him. Stewart {?} Late of Edinburgh. — accurate botanist Trinius {Carl Bernhard} Prof. bot. & Sect. Roy. acad. So. St. Petersburgh. Author of works on grasses. Shepherd {John} Curator of Bot. Gard. Liverpool Haworth {Adrian Hardy} of London — Author of works on Succulent plants — Jacquemont {Victor} of Paris — accurate botanist & traveller — Turczaninow {Nicolai Stepanowitsch} of St. Petersburgh — Greville {Robert Kaye} of Edinburgh — author of Fl. Edin. Crypt. bot. Algae britan. &c. Treviranus {Ludolph Christian} Prof Bot. Breslau, Silesia Lindley {John} — — Mus. Lond. Author of many botan! works Seringe {Nicolas Charles} of Geneva, assistant of DeCandolle & redacteur of many parts of his works Lehmann {Johann Georg Christian} Prof Bot. Hamburgh. Author of many bot! works.

The above is a list of botanists who have contributed to the collection of grasses &c. just prepared for you.

I regret that you closed your botanical labors for the season before collecting the Asters & Solidagos. If you have any rare or doubtful species of these genera I should be very glad to examine them.

I am Dear Sir Yours truly J. Torrey

Dr. Gray

28 Dr. Asa Gray Bridgewater Oneida Co. N. York.

[faded postmark] [illegible] NEW YORK OCT 31

New York, Sept. 14th. 1832.

Dear Sir,

Your letter containing an enclosure of some money came safely to hand. You need not have concerned yourself about such a trifle, as I supposed it had slipped your memory.

Yesterday I went to the Neversink Hills with my friend Mr. {James Graham} Cooper. We were disappointed, after reaching there, to find that the steamer boat would return in two hours & a half, so that we had but little time to explore. If the whole range of hills were examined I doubt not but some interesting things might be discovered. The plants which I found (not in the collection made in our exped. the week preceeding) were only the following. Ilex aquifolium — large trees & in great plenty — a beautiful evergreen from which the new principle Ilicine may be obtained in any desirable quantity. Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Gnaphalium germanicum (the first time I ever saw native specimens) Poa quinquefida Ph. {Pursh} Baccharis halimifolia & Cakile maritima ___ It never answers to be hurried on a botanical excursion. A few hours in a new locality will seldom reward one for the trouble & expense of reaching it. A whole month might be spent in examining the pine region of N. Jersey without exhausting it.