Details - Henry Perrine and John Torrey correspondence, 1832-1838

Henry Perrine and John Torrey correspondence, 1832-1838

Title

Henry Perrine and John Torrey correspondence, 1832-1838

Related Titles

Related/Analytical: New York Botanical Garden Archives

Series: John Torrey papers, series 1, correspondence

By

Perrine, Henry, 1797-1840

Type

Collection

Material

Archival material

Publication info

Notes

Correspondence from Henry Perrine to John Torrey, dated 1832-1838. In letters written from New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Campeche, Mexico-- where he served as United States Consul-- Perrine mainly addresses his two primary concerns: the commercial use of the plants he has collected in Mexico, particularly Agave sisalana (the third letter is a fragment of the plant's description); and his many perceived personal grievances. These range from lack of pay and the cost of living in Washington D.C. ("An average of 4 to 5 dollars a day is the least amount which one is forced to spend in Washington") to the alleged theft by nurseryman William Prince of a shipment of plants and seeds meant for Torrey ("So much for the trickery of Mr. Prince..."). Perrine spends a good deal of time lobbying Congress to promote the use of plant-derived fibers, at one point asking for Torrey's support for a Senate bill, and nurtures a dream of turning the fields of the American South into "vegetable mines of vegetable wealth." Obsolete plant names mentioned include Agave virginica, Musa abaca, Yucca angustifolia, and Yucca recurvifolia.

In English.