Joseph Barratt
Published: 1827
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Correspondence from Joseph Barratt to John Torrey, dated 1827-1846. Barratt's long letters-- frequently written over several days, often with page-length postscripts-- touch on a multitude of topics. His and Torrey's botanical activities are the most frequent focus, but Barratt also discusses chemistry, mineralogy, and theological issues. He discourses on the books he is reading or wishes to read; his health; his work on his herbarium and on "the Willows"; and the latest gossip about their mutual acquaintances (Thomas Nuttall, for example "is enveloped completely in feathers and neglects Botany now"). He offers frequent warm wishes toward Torrey's wife and their daughters, "the Misses Torrey." In his capacity as local physician he calls on Torrey to help him acquire a quantity of smallpox vaccine during a local outbreak; he reciprocates by visiting local paper mills to price out and place an order for herbarium paper for Torrey's Lyceum. Barratt also describes his numerous plant finds in detail, many from Selden's Cove near his home in Middletown, Connecticut. Obsolete and unresolved plant names mentioned include Arum dracontium, Carex ampullacea, Cimicifuga, Draba hispidula, Frasera verticellata, Geum strictum, Hydroglossum, Liatris squamosa, Monotropa languinosa, Monotropa procera, Nelumbium, Pinus canadensis, Poa aquatica, Populus angulata, Quercus tinctoria, Salix fragilis, Salix muehlenbergiana, Salix tristis, Tussilago palmata, Vilfa longifolia, Villarsia lacunosa, and Viola clandestina.