The Introdudtion tu the Second Volume. 
XVI 
made me upon my ouard with them. Dr. Tournefort, a 
Perfon of the greateft Curiofity in Things of this Nature, 
fent over to me from Paris, Dr. Gundelfcbeimer, to view 
what I had brought from Sfamaica, This laft Gentleman 
afterwards travelled with him into Greece, with a Defign 
(being furnifh’d with all forts of Conveniencies and Ne- 
ceffaries at the Charge of the late French King) as_ Dr. 
Tournefort acquainted me, to difcover the Plants taken 
Notice of by Hippocrates, Diofcorides, and other Greek 
Phyfitians, whofe Defcriptions were very dark and fhort. 
He had formed many Years a Projet of going into the 
Countries where they lived, by that means to afcer- 
tain in fome degree what thefe Simples were. ‘This 
Gentleman, who was afterwards Phyfitian to the King 
of Pruffia, and is fince dead, carried back to Dr. Tour- 
nefort an Account of what I had brought from the Weft- 
Indies, and at the fame Time a prefent, 1 made him amongft 
other Things, of Sixty very extraordinary Ferns, of which 
I had~duplicates. This was the Occafion of Father Plus. 
mier’s being fent to the Wefl-Indies, as appears by the fol- 
lowing Pafflage in Labat: ‘* Un Medecin Anglois avoit 
“ publie un livre de plantes de L’Amerique, dans lequel 
“¢ il avoit fait graver plus de foixante efpeces de Fougeres. 
“ On crut quil eftoit de Phonneur de la Nation d’en de- 
“¢ couvrir davantage, & comme on ne connoiffoit perfonne 
‘¢ plus capable de foutenir le poids de cette grande affaire, 
“ gue ce Minime, on luy donna la Commiffion. Labat. 
“ T.IV. p. 24. in his Journal of the Year 1697. 
As to the Names and Method, notwithftanding they 
are every day changed without (I humbly conceive) fuff- 
cient Reafons by every Perfon who almoft treats of them, I 
have continued the fame formerly ufed. It doth feem to 
me to be a great ObftruGion to the Knowledge of na- 
tural Things, that every feveral Writer fhould affume to 
himfelf a liberty of treating very ill, and fometimes fcur- 
riloufly very great Men, fuch as Monfieur Tournefort and 
others, for not taking notice of fome flender minutiz, 
& | perhaps 
