24 MEMOIR OF RAY. 



a letter to his valued friend Mr Willughby : " You 

 remember that we lately, out of Gerard, Parkinson, 

 and Phytologia Britannica, made a collection of 

 rare plants, whose places are therein mentioned, 

 and ranked them under the several counties. My 

 intention now is to carry on and perfect that design ; 

 to which purpose I am now writing to all my friends 

 and acquaintance who are skilful in herbary, to re- 

 quest them this next summer, each to search dili- 

 gently his countrey for plants, and to send me a ca- 

 talogue of such as they find, together with the places 

 where they grow. In divers counties I have such 

 as are skilful and industrious. For Warwickshire 

 and Nottinghamshire I must beg your assistance, 

 which I hope and am confident you will be willing 

 to contribute. After that, partly by my own search, 

 partly by the mentioned assistance, I shall have got 

 as much information and knowledge of the plants of 

 each countrey as I can (which will require some 

 years), I do design to put forth a compleat P. B. 

 First I shall give the names of all plants which are or 

 shall then be found growing in England, in an alpha- 

 betical order ; together with their synonyma. I shall 

 also put a full Index Anfflicolatinus, after the man- 

 ner of that in the Cat. Cant. Then I shall put in 

 the counties, with the several rare plants in them 

 marshalled alphabetically," &c* For the accom- 

 plishment of this object, but little aid could be de- 



* Philosophical Letters, p. 356. 



