Thomas Russell Ingalls And John Torrey Correspondence

Correspondence from Thomas Russell Ingalls to John Torrey, dated 1834. Ingalls tells Torrey in his first letter, "Cut off as I am from society of kindred pursuits a letter from a Botanist is to me like a fountain of water in a parched land." He goes on to say that he has just been appointed professor of chemistry at the local medical college and asks Torrey to help him obtain the necessary equipment for his classes in New York, as such equipment is not available in New Orleans. In turn he furnishes Torrey with plant, mineral, and shell specimens, and described collecting trips to wetlands in Louisiana. Ingalls' third letter, postmarked November 13, includes a two-page wish list of chemical apparatus. His fourth letter includes another, shorter wish-list of books and supplies. Obsolete and unresolved plant and animal names cited include Andropogon nutans, Cyprea fuscodentata, Nelumbium codophyllum, and Uniola pubescens.