50 MEMOIR OF RAY. 



he received considerable assistance from many of 

 his scientific friends, especially Mr Skippon, Sir Hans 

 Sloane, Dr Tancred Robinson, and Mr Dale ; but it 

 demanded on his part the most persevering and in- 

 defatigable industry. It is truly characterized by 

 Linnaeus as opus immensi laboris. It embodies all 

 that is valuable in preceding writers, and forms a 

 complete epitome of the botanical lore of the age. 

 It likewise gives the substance of many works, such 

 as the Hortus Malabaricus, which are inaccessible, 

 from their rarity, to the generality of readers. To its 

 value as a compilation are added all the practical 

 knowledge, original observation, and critical discern- 

 ment of its author. The descriptions are frequently of 

 great length, and in general remarkably accurate. To 

 these are added the place of growth, time of flowering, 

 qualities, and uses. Under the latter head the author 

 has collected much curious and interesting informa- 

 tion. The usefulness of this elaborate work is, how- 

 ever, greatly impaired by the difficulty in identifying 

 the species, from the vagueness of the generic and 

 specific characters. This inconvenience would have 

 been in a great measure obviated by the proposal 

 made to Ray by the Bishop of London, to have en- 

 graved figures of the whole ; but the difficulty of 

 accomplishing this was found to be so great, that the 

 design was ultimately abandoned.* 



Two editions of the catalogue of English plants 



* Philosophical Letters, p. 319-320. 



