120 THE CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHWEINITZ AND TORREY 
Director in Chief of the New York Botanical Garden, Dr. E. J. 
Nolan, Secretary of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila- 
delphia, and Dr. George de Schweinitz of Philadelphia. The 
letters from Schweinitz form a part of the Torrey correspondence 
preserved in the library of the New York Botanical Garden. 
Twenty-three of the letters from Torrey are in that portion of 
Schweinitz’s correspondence which is the property of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia and the remainder belong to’ 
Dr. Schweinitz. While the correspondence has not been preserved 
entire, the number of missing letters is surprisingly small. 
In the work of editing, the writers have had the invaluable 
assistance of several of the members of the Torrey Botanical 
Club, particularly Drs. J. H. Barnhart, M. A. Howe, and A. W. 
Evans. The expense of printing has been borne by the Torrey 
Botanical Club as a tribute to the great botanist whose name 
it bears. The letters are published most appropriately one hun- 
dred years from the time the correspondence opened. 
THE CORRESPONDENCE 
The correspondence was begun by Torrey, a physician of 
twenty-three just beginning practise in New York City, asking 
assistance in the study of fungi of Schweinitz who, through the 
publication of a joint paper with Albertini (5),* had already es- 
tablished a reputation in the mycological field. The letter is 
addressed on the outside to The Revd. L. D. Schweinitz, Salem, 
North Carolina. 
TORREY TO SCHWEINITZ 
New York, Decr. 29th, 1819 
Honored Sir 
Having long desired the honor of your acquaintance & corre- 
spondence & having no other method of gaining it, I have taken 
the liberty of obtruding myself upon you without a formal in- 
troduction—thinking, that among thase of mutual inclinations & 
pursuits, much ceremony is neither needed or expected. I have 
* The list of the literature in the appendix was compiled by Miss Florence P. 
Smith of the Bureau of Plant Industry library. It is not a complete bibliography 
but is intended to serve for reference to the more important publications mentioned 
in the letters. 
Guy Taga SS 
