PROFESSOR JOHN TORREY, M.D., LL.D. 633 



geons in New York about the year 1820. He never liked the practice 

 of medicine, and did not try very earnestly to become established in 

 it, and we find him, in 1824, entering upon the duties of Professor of 

 Chemistry at the United States Military Academy at West Point. 

 We may here remark that Dr. Torrey's scientific life was twofold. 

 While he is, perhaps, best known to the world as a botanist, it was as a 

 chemist that he found his remunerative occupation. From the time of 

 his acceptance of the chair at West Point, np to the day of his death, 

 he was engaged either in teaching chemistry or in some position to 

 which his profound chemical knowledge adapted him. In 1827 he 

 was called to the chair of Chemistry in the College of Physicians and 

 Surgeons, which he occupied until 1854, and during a portion of this 

 time he was also Professor of Chemistry at Princeton, where he was 

 associated with Prof. Henry. 



In 1854 the United States Assay-Office was established in New 

 York, and Prof. Torrey was appointed assayer, a position of great re- 

 sponsibility, which he held at the time of his death. He was also con- 

 sulting chemist to the Manhattan Gas Company, and was often engaged 

 as adviser to establishments where chemical knowledge was required. 

 In early life Prof. Torrey was an enthusiastic mineralogist, and the 

 first and following volumes of Sillimarts Journal contain important 

 contributions made by him to this science. Before he had received 

 his medical degree, Dr. Torrey became one of the founders of the 

 New York Lyceum of Natural History, and was one of the eleven 

 corporators named in the charter of that institution. Early in the 

 history of the Lyceum he was elected president, an office which he 

 filled for several years. In the first number of the Annals we find a 

 botanical paper from him, and the earlier volumes of this publication 

 are enriched by some of his most important contributions to science. 



The botanical career of Prof. Torrey commenced while he was yet 

 a student of medicine. His first botanical publication was " A Cata- 

 logue of Plants growing spontaneously within Thirty Miles of the 

 City of New York." This was presented to the Lyceum in 1817, but 

 was not published until 1819. This work, which consists of 100 pages, 

 is now exceedingly rare, and chance copies offered at sales of libraries 

 bring fabulous prices. We find quoted in this catalogue the names of 

 those who were distinguished botanists half a century ago, the author 

 acknowledging aid from Mitchell, Nuttall, Kafinesque, Eaton, Eddy, 

 Le Conte, Cooper, and others. When we consider the youth of the 

 author, barely twenty-one, we must regard this catalogue as a remark- 

 able performance. Only those who have undertaken similar works can 

 appreciate the amount of labor necessary to its production, and bota- 

 nists who go over the same ground at the present day wonder at the 

 completeness of this catalogue. It gives us some idea of the astonish- 

 ing growth of the city to read in this catalogue some of the author's 

 favorite localities, such as " Love Lane," " Bogs near Greenwich," and 



