632 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



was restored to some extent, notwithstanding the entire ablation of 

 the chief organ which gave it articulate utterance." 



" The singular fact," remarks Jussieu, " of a mouth which could 

 speak though it contained no tongue, ought to convince us that the 

 presence of a tongue is not absolutely essential to speech, since there 

 are other organs in the mouth which contribute to produce articulate 

 sounds, and which can supply the lack of it. The uvula, the nares, 

 the palate, the teeth, and the lips, are all so much concerned in 

 speech, that whole nations are distinguished by the manner in which 

 they make more or less use of one or other of these parts." 



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THE LATE PKOFESSOR JOHN TORKEY, M. D., LL. P. 



WHEN we proposed to present the portrait of Prof. Torrey in our 

 gallery of eminent scientists, we little thought we should be 

 called to speak of him, in our sketch of his labors, as of the past. For 

 several years his health had been so delicate as to cause anxiety to his 

 family and friends, and he each succeeding winter seemed to be more 

 susceptible to atmospheric changes. Late last winter he had a 

 severe attack of pneumonia, which left him so weak that he was unable 

 to rally, and his death, which was in a measure sudden, occurred on 

 March 10th. 



Dr. John Torrey was born in 1796, and was consequently, at the 

 time of bis death, in his seventy-seventh year. He was a native of 

 the city of New York, having been born, if we mistake not, in John 

 Street. We recollect hearing him say that, when a boy of some twelve 

 years of age, he was sent of an errand as far as Canal Street, and that he 

 considered it a great hardship to be obliged to go so far into the country 

 after dark. He had in youth a strong liking for machinery, and at one 

 time had the intention of becoming a machinist, but chemistry offered 

 still greater attractions, and he finally concluded to study medicine. 

 His mechanical talent was in after-years of great service to Dr. Torrey, 

 as it enabled him to devise and construct various ingenious forms of ap- 

 paratus for the illustration of his lectures. While quite a young man 

 he entered the office of Dr. Post, then one of the leading physicians of 

 the city. At that day physicians dispensed their own medicines, and 

 it was the duty of the office-students to prepare the various powders, 

 tinctures, etc., and put up the prescriptions for the patients. The 

 writer has frequently heard Prof. Torrey refer to the great value this 

 experience was to him in after-life, as it gave him an early training in 

 chemical manipulation such as the medical students of the present day 

 rarely acquire. 



Dr. Torrey took his degree at the College of Physicians and Sur- 



