270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



however briefly and incidentally, some just idea of what manner of man 

 he was. That he was earnest, indefatigable, and able, it is needless to 

 say. His gifts as a teacher were largely proved and are widely known 

 through a long generation of pupils. As an investigator, he was 

 characterized by a scrupulous accuracy and a remarkable fertility of 

 mind, especially as shown in devising ways and means of research, and 

 perhaps by some excess of caution. 



Other biographers will doubtless dwell upon the more personal 

 aspects and characteristics of our distinguished and lamented associate. 

 To them, indeed, may fittingly be left the fall delineation and illustra- 

 tion of the traits of a singularly transparent, genial, delicate and con- 

 scientious, unselfish character, which beautified and fructified a most 

 industrious and useful life, and won the affection of all who knew him. 

 For one thing, they cannot fail to notice his thorough love of truth for 

 its own sake, and his entire confidence that the legitimate results of 

 scientific inquiry would never be inimical to the Christian religion, 

 which he held with an untroubled faith, and illustrated, most naturally 

 and unpretendingly, in all his life and conversation. In this, as well 

 as in the simplicity of his character, he much resembled Faraday. 



Dr. Torrey was an honorary or corresponding member of a goodly 

 number of the scientific societies of Europe, and was naturally con- 

 nected with- all prominent institutions of the kind in this country. He 

 was chosen into the American Academy in the year 1841. He was 

 one of the corporate members of the National Academy at Washington. 

 He presided in his turn over the American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science ; and he was twice, for considerable periods, President 

 of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, which was in those days 

 one of the foremost of our scientific societies. It has been said of him 

 that the sole distinction on which he prided himself was his membership 

 in the order of the Cincinnati, the only honor in this country which 

 comes by inheritance. 



As to the customary testimonial which the botanist receives from his 

 fellows, it is fortunate that the first attempts were nugatory. Almost in 

 his youth a genus was dedicated to him by his correspondent, Sprengel : 

 this proved to be a Clerodendron, misunderstood. A second, proposed 

 by Rafinesque, was founded on an artificial dismemberment of Cijperus. 

 The ground was clear, therefore, when, thirty or forty years ago, a new 

 and remarkable evergreen tree was discovered in our own Southern 

 States, which it was at once determined should bear Dr. Torrey's name. 

 More recently a congener was found in the noble forests of California. 

 Another species had already been recognized in Japan, and lately a 



