90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Gray became instructor in chemistry, mineralogy, and botany 

 in the autumn of 1831 at Bartlett's High School at Utica, pub- 

 lisliing his first paper, on new mineral localities, in 'Silliman's 

 Journal ' in 1833. The following year (1834) ho accepted the 

 post of assistant to Dr. Torrey in the chemical laboratory of the 

 Medical School of New York. The spring of 1835 saw his last 

 instruction at tlie Utica lligli School, and lie returned to New 

 York, althougli the Medical School was so poor that Dr. Torrey 

 was not able to continue him as assistant. He became Curatm* 

 and Librarian of the Lyceum of Natural History, and set to work 

 on his ' Elements of Botany,' which came out in 1836. This j'ear 

 he was offered the post of Botanist to the Wilkes's Exploring 

 Expedition, which he accepted ; but certain changes in its plan 

 caused him to withdraw, although he was destined to describe 

 a large portion of the botany of that voyage. The expedition 

 did not sail until August 1838 ; in the meantime Gray had been 

 busy with Torrey on a joint Elora ; and in October, two months 

 after Commander Wilkes had sailed, two parts of ' Torrey and 

 Gray ' were issued. In their preparation, a host of doubtful 

 points had been brought to light, so that a study of types in 

 various foreign herbaria was a necessity. In accepting the chair 

 of botany the previous summer in the newly founded University 

 of INlichigan, he liad stipulated for a twelvemonth abroad for 

 study ; this twelvemonth was accordingly spent in a European 

 trip. The chief European herbaria were visited, and all American 

 species carefully examined and noted for future use. In ' Silli- 

 man's Journal ' lor 1841 he gave an account of his scientific tour, 

 describing the herbaria he visited, including, of course, the Lin- 

 nean, with its past history. 



During this trip he made the personal acquaintance of the 

 foremost men in botanic science. At Glasgow he met Sir Wm. 

 Jackson Hooker and his distinguished son Sir Joseph, then a 

 medical student, seven years Gray's junior. At Edinburgh he 

 found Dr. Grevillc, tlie cryptogamist, and in London Dr. Francis 

 Boott, at that time Secretai'y to ti.e Linuean Society, who intro- 

 duced him to Kobert Brown, A. B. Lambert, the possessor of the 

 hue library and whose herbarium contained Pursh's types, the 

 veteran Archibald Menzies, who had sailed with Vancouver to tlie 

 North-west coast of America half a century before, George 

 Bentham, who has only recently passed away, Dr. Lindley, and 

 the famous draughtsman Francis Bauer. 



Paris, too, was a rich field for new acquaintances: P. B. 

 Webb, who had just begun to publish with Berthelot his great 

 work on the botany of the Canaries, Baron Delessert, the younger 

 Kichard, Mirbel, Spath, Decaisne, Aug. St.-Hilairc, Jacques Gay, 

 Gaudichaud, Buissier, and Adrien de Jussieu, the last of that illus- 

 trious line. ?<lontpellier was visited, to see Delile and Dunal ; 

 Vienna for Endliclier, who was hard at work upon his 'Genera 

 Plantarum :' and Munich, where Martins was living, and alsoZuc - 



