262 THE CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHWEINITZ AND TORREY 
TORREY TO SCHWEINITZ 
; NEw York, Feby 3rd, 1832. 
My dear Sir, 
Although I am excessively occupied with my College duties, 
& my head is crammed with chemical ideas, I often turn with a 
longing eye to my Herbm. & wish that I might again range the 
fields & climb the mountains in pursuit of my favorite productions 
of Nature—Not that I do not love my present employments—I 
do love them, & eagerly engage in all the duties of the laboratory— 
but Flora had my affections before I was acquainted with any of 
her sisters, & the first love, you know is the strongest. ~ I begin 
however to see the end of my present course of lectures & after 
they are finished for the season, I hope to take up Botany in 
earnest. 
Your favor of November last with your remarks on Gates’s 
plants & a paper on naturalized plants [73] came to hand in due 
time.—The last was communicated to the Lyceum & referred to 
the Committee of publication. I have not time at present to 
reply to your obslervatio]ns on Gates’s collection—but in the 
Spring (D.V.) I wish to communicate with you on the subject. 
By Mr. Siedel I-sent you my copy of Hooker’s Fl. Bor-Amer. 
[34] except the plates of No. 1.—which I hope you recd. in safety.— 
I have now the 3rd. No. which is chiefly filled with the Legumi- 
nosae & it is at your. service if you wish the use of it for three or 
four weeks— 
Two or three days ago I was greatly delighted at receiving a 
box of books from Dr. Martius of Munich. Being occupied at 
the college, a friend transacted the Custom House business for 
me, & sent the box to my house—On opening it, it was found filled 
with parcels for yourself, the Lyceum & the Academy of Phila- 
delphia—with only three volumes (a very coarse mutilated Copy 
of Travels in Brazil) [83] for your humble servant! Even these 
three books I am unable to read, as they are printed in the German 
language—but we have an English Translation of the two first 
vols. in the Lyceum. I am glad that there is something for you— 
but I wish the Dr. had sent me something for the $18.02, which I 
paid for freight, duties & other expenses on his “sending.” How 
does it happen that transportation is so high in Germany? The 
