Alerander Winchell. 79 
‘telegraph had just been put in operation between Baltimore and 
Washington he set himself to the task of producing, with his own 
hands, a working instrument, and though nothing beyond the 
fundamental principles had been made known to him, he sue- 
ceeded perfectly. At a public exhibition and lecture he em- 
ployed an alphabet of his own invention for transmitting intelli- 
-gence to the farther corner of the hall. By popular request this 
lecture was repeated. Here also he gave a series of popular lec- 
‘tures on astronomy, During this year he devoted considerable 
attention to the study of Hebrew, under the instruction of prin- 
cipal Rev. 8. M. Vail. The grammar used was that of Seixas; 
and as no copies were found in the market, he did not hesitate to 
make a manuscript copy for himself. Years afterward, his 
honored instructor, remembering the incident, presented him a 
printed copy. 
1846-49. He now began to feel that the field of mathematics 
was less spacious and inviting to enterprise than that of modern 
science, and, declining the tutorship in mathematics tendered him 
by president Smith of Wesleyan University, and the offer of con- 
tinued position at Pennington Seminary, he returned to the Semi- 
nary which had prepared him for college, where he accepted the 
‘chair of natural science. Here he gave his first public geological 
lectures. During 1849 he made a thorough exploration of the 
flora of the vicinity. With the small reflector of the institution 
he made some observations on solar spots, which were published 
in the New York Z7ribune for November 5, 1849. He began here 
also a series of meteorological observations which were reported 
to the New York regents, and published in the report for 1850. 
These and later observations are incorporated in the quarto vol- 
ume on New York meteorology by Dr. Hough. He was married De- 
cember 5, 1849, to Miss Julia F. Lines, of Utica, N. Y., who was 
the teacher of instrumental music at the Seminary. 
1850. In 1850 he transmitted to the New York Board of Re- 
gents his first contribution to science, being a Catalogue of plants 
found growing without cultivation in the vicinity of Amenia Sem- 
inary.* In July, 1850, he received from his alma mater the de- 
gree of muster of arts, delivering on the occasion, by appoint- 
ment, an oration on Work. 
Having accepted the charge of an academy at Newbern, Greene 
*Regent’s Report. 1851, p. 256. 
