306 PITTONIA. 
of the enemy. During this career as officer, he was charged 
with the surveys of Savannah River and the harbors of New 
York and Portsmouth." 
Ata very early period, perhaps in the first decade of the 
century, he and his brother Lewis were leading characters in 
a small circle of young gentlemen of literary or scientific 
turn, who met statedly at different places for social and 
scientifie converse. Very possibly it was this informal associ- 
ation of young men which led to the organization subse- 
quently of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, to the 
earliest volume of whose Annals the chief subject of these 
Reminiscences was an important contributor. Another mem- 
ber of this young gentlemen's circle was Washington Irving, 
from whom I had, many years afterwards, the following 
incident: A certain newly introduced associate one evening 
brought with him what seemed to him a curious piece of rock, 
and asked Irving if he knew what it was. He was at once 
referred to Mr. John Le Conte as being the geologist of the 
association; and he, taking the specimen in hand, at once 
disappointedly tossed it aside upon a table, remarking almost 
brusquely. “Nothing but a bit of old red sandstone Ms bis 
words and manner raising a laugh, and fixing upon him 
forever after with the members of the friendly and familiar 
circle, the soubriquet (each member had his soubriquet) of 
“Old Red Sandstone." 
Athough it had been the botanical enthusiasm of the young 
Le Contes which had imparted its fire to the boy John Torrey 
by the time the latter was ten years old, and, although the two 
former were well known botanists before the eldest was more 
than twenty years of age, the first botanical paper published 
by John Le Conte appeared in 1811, under the patronage of 
the celebrated Dr. David Hosack. It was a Catalogue of the 
Plants of the Island of New York, the Title and Preface, as 
well as the list itself, in Latin. After this there followed, 
in due succession, a long list of original papers upon natural 
history subjects, zoology rather taking precedence over botany; 
