Oe a ee ee 
mT. 25.) AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 21 
summer of 1836 I was appointed botanist to a great 
South Pacific exploring expedition, which met with 
all manner of delays in fitting out, changes in com- 
manders, etc., until finally, in the spring of 1888, 
Lieutenant Wilkes was appointed to the command, 
the number and size of the vessels cut down, and the 
scientific corps more or less diminished. The assis- 
tant botanist, William Rich, an appointment of the 
Secretary of the Navy, was to be left out. I resigned 
in his favor, having been about that time appointed 
professor of natural history in the newly chartered 
University of Michigan. As I had thus far done 
fully half the work, Dr. Torrey invited me to be joint 
author in “ Flora of North America.” The first part 
was printed and issued in July, the second in October, 
1838, at our joint expense, my share being contributed 
from the pay I had been receiving while waiting 
orders as botanist of the exploring expedition. 
By this time we had come to see that we did not 
know enough of the original sources to work up the 
North American flora properly, and as Dr. Torrey 
could not get away from home, I was determined 
to get abroad and consult some of the principal 
herbaria. On being appointed professor in the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, which had as yet no buildings, I 
made it understood that I must have a year abroad. 
The trustees of the university in this view gave me, 
in the autumn of 1838, a year’s leave of absence, a 
salary for that year of fifteen hundred dollars, and put 
into my hands five thousand dollars with which to lay a 
foundation for their general library. I sailed early in 
November, 1838, in the packet-ship Philadelphia, for 
Liverpool; went direct from Liverpool to Glasgow ; 
was guest of Dr. William J. Hooker till Christmas — 
