140 Transactions of the Society. 



defects of both would mutually be supplied." And this was the 

 opinion of the men of that day, for in a notice of Grew's ' Anatomy 

 of Trunks ? in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 120, December 27, 

 1675, the writer says : " As there hath been a very happy concurrence 

 of these two eminently learned persons, Signor Malpighi and our 

 present author Dr. Grew, both Fellows of the Koyal Society, in 

 making and exhibiting their ingenious and accurate beginnings con- 

 cerning the anatomy of plants, and thereby giving a new country of 

 philosophy ; so they have both been very industrious in pursuing this 

 subject, in many things confirming one another's observations, and in 

 some few ones supplying one another's defects." It is abundantly 

 evident from the letters of Malpighi, Oldenburg, and Grew that the 

 most cordial relations existed between Malpighi and Grew. The 

 following letter preserved among the manuscripts of the Royal 

 Society, which has not been published, is an interesting confirmation 

 of this, as well as a specimen of the quaint courtesy of these olden 

 times. 



"London, 5th March, 1672-3. 



Most Illustrious Sir, 



Since you have given me manifold occasion for writing to you, 

 and the illustrious Mr. Oldenburg has shown me a way of sending a 

 letter, I could not (without sacrificing all good manners) any longer 

 restrain my pen. And, indeed, I did not consider it unsuitable that 

 you should learn from me as well as from others how worthy of praise 

 are your writings dedicated to our Koyal Society ; from me, I say, 

 who have myself benefited from them, and am truly proud so to have 

 benefited. Moreover, it is not at all fitting to recall the great 

 candour with which it pleased you to notice my work, without ex- 

 pressing the gratitude and honour that is in my mind. 



I find that all your observations fully agree with mine: some, 

 however, on the flower, the fruit, and the seed, it bas pleased you to 

 pass over. Of the wide tubes, which you call tracheae, I first learned 

 the spiral formation from your works, from which I seized the oppor- 

 tunity of adding also a few observations on the conformation of the 

 said tubes. 



The anatomical observations which I collected concerning roots in 

 the year just closed, together with the figures, some the natural size 

 of the roots, others microscopical, I shall shortly (by the advice of the 

 Eoyal Society) send to the printer. To these I have added the func- 

 tions of the parts, and in individual cases the methods of nutrition 

 and configuration ; the magnitude of the whole root, the causes of 

 the figures, movements, ages, contents, briefly elucidated. To which, 

 also, 1 determined to prefix the ' Idea of Phytological Science ' as it 

 was delineated in my mind ; and at the same time that they are 

 published, to submit them to your learned and kind perusal. 1 saw 

 also with the greatest pleasure yonr descriptions of the incubating 

 ovum, both former and recent ; the rest are all such accurate and 



