62 BIOLO&ICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



ural history. One of his letters was published in the Philosophical 

 Transactions,* and his notes on the "hum-bird" are sometimes 

 referred to. 



Bullivant was not a naturalist ; he is less worthy of our con 

 sideration than Harriott, although a century later. A fit com 

 panion for Bullivant was John Josselyn. 



Josselyn's famous work entitled " New England's Rarities Dis 

 covered in Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, and Plants of that 

 Country," was printed in London in 1672; his "Account 

 of two voyages to New England " in 1675, (" Second Addition"). 

 No writer of his period is more frequently quoted than Josselyn, 

 whose quaint language and picturesque style are very attractive. 

 Although no more in sympathy with his Puritan- associations than 

 the author of " New England's Prospect," he was evidently more 

 justly entitled to subscribe himself as " Gentleman," and his books 

 are not disfigured by personalities and political aspersions. 



Josselyn does not seem to me to be the peer, as a naturalist, of 

 many of those. who preceded him. He was a bright, though su 

 perficial man, and a ready compiler. He evidently had some 

 botanical work in his possession, possibly as Tuckerman has sug 

 gested, a recently published edition of Gerard's " Herbal," and 

 this he used with such skill as to give him a certain standing in 

 botanical literature. In his zoological chapters I find little which 

 had not been recorded before, while the author's fondness for 

 startling anecdotes greatly mars the semblance of accuracy in his 

 work. His catalogue of fishes is a strange olla-podrida of names 

 and scraps of information, compiled, collected and invented. 

 His method of arrangement is not more scientific than his spirit, 

 and.it is questionable whether he is entitled to a place among 

 naturalists. 



Here is an example of his style : 



" The Basse," writes he, " is a salt-water fish too ; one writes 

 *Phil, Trans., xx, p. 168. 



