BIRDS OF THE CAMBRIDGE REGION. 



75 



(from October 2, 18 18, to the spring of 1820), travelling it is said, "more than 

 five thousand miles, mainly over a country never visited before by scientific 

 explorers, and still in the undisputed possession of the wild Indian." ^ This 

 expedition was apparently only second in interest and importance to that which 

 he and John K. Townsend made across the continent with Captain Wyeth (of 

 Cambridge, Massachusetts) in 1834. After his return from Arkansas, Nuttall 

 spent upwards of two years more at Philadelphia. During this period (between 

 the years 1821 and 1823) he published a number of scientific papers, chief 

 among which were : ' Observations on the Geological Structure of the Valley 

 of the Mississippi ' ; 'A Description of some new species of Plants, recently 

 introduced into the gardens of Philadelphia, from the Arkansa territory ' ; 

 ' Descriptions of rare plants recently introduced into the gardens of Philadel- 

 phia ' ; ' A Catalogue of a collection of Plants made in East-Florida during the 

 months of October and November, 1821'; 'Observations on the Serpentine 

 rocks of Hoboken, in New-Jersey, and on the minerals which they contain ' ; 

 ' Observations and Geological Remarks on the Minerals of Patterson and the 

 valley of Sparta, in New-Jersey ' ; ' Observations on the genus Oryzopsis ' ; 

 'Remarks on the Species of Corallorhiza, indigenous to the United States.' 

 "At the end of 1822," according to Durand, "Mr. Nuttall was called to Cam- 

 bridge, to fill, in the Harvard University, the place of the late Mr. Peck. He 

 was not elected Professor of Natural History, but simply appointed Curator of 

 the Botanic Garden, the fund of the Massachusetts Professorship of Natural 

 History being insufificient for the support of a professor. Mr. Nuttall had con- 

 sequently but light duties of instruction assigned to him. He delivered only 

 occasional lectures on Botany to the students and residents of Cambridge ; his 

 time was almost exclusively devoted to the culture of rare plants and to his 

 favorite studies, mineralogy and ornithology included. While at Cambridge, 

 Mr. Nuttall led very much the same retired life that he had done in Philadel- 

 phia ; he made few acquaintances, and the late Mr. James Brown was, perhaps, 

 his only intimate friend. The house which he then occupied, and which is now 

 the present habitation of the Professor of Botany, retains yet traces of some 

 ingenious arrangements to favor his recluse habits." ^ 



"Towards the beginning of 1833, Mr. Nuttall returned to Philadelphia, 

 bringing with him a collection of plants gathered by Capt. Wyeth, during a 

 journey overland to the Pacific. Capt. Wyeth was soon to start on a second 

 expedition, and Nuttall had decided to accompany him ; but, not succeeding in 



' E. Durand, Biographical Notice of the late Thomas Nuttall, Proceedings of the American 

 Philosophical Society, VII, i860, 303. 

 ^ Ibid., 304. 



