CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 109 



Hypericum, un Gramen, une Jacea, une Campanula, une 

 Lychnis, et autres plantes rares. Je souhaite avoir un 

 exemplaire de cet ouvrage, pour y expliquer, a 1'occasion 

 d'une autre impression, que ces plantes la sont les mesraes 

 avec celles, que M. Ray us et moy avons observees et des- 

 crites. Et je dois faire cela pour rendre justice a ce 

 sgavant voiageur, et pour empescher la multiplication des 

 especes, estant les mesmes plantes. J'apprens avec 

 plaisir, que le Solanum spinosum man/time tomentosum a 

 este apporte de la Virginie en Angleterre la premiere fois, 

 cela m'ayant este inconnu jusques icy. 



So far Signer Boccone. To which 1 shall add some- 

 thing tKaf may concern the Ornithology ; which is, that I 

 saw lately two or three sorts of East Indian birds, brought 

 thence with the last return ships, very fine creatures ; and 

 they were: 1. A curious speckled Indian hen. 2. Some 

 East Indian pigeons, delicately shaped. 3. Some very 

 small birds, with short scarlet beaks, and curiously 

 speckled feathers, &c. These, if we could learn their 

 names and something of their nature and qualities, were 

 very well worth, in my opinion, to be taken into your 

 book. I hear they are shortly to be brought from Wap- 

 ping (where I saw them in the company of my Lord 

 Brouncker) to Tower-hill ; and, if they be so, we may 

 then get a draught of them, if you think fit, for the en- 

 graver, especially if the person that brought them can give 

 us any tolerable description of them. 



I cannot conclude this without giving you notice, that 

 the Council of the Royal Society intends to engage those 

 of the Fellows of that body, that are able and willing, to 

 give them once a year, each of them, an experimental 

 entertainment at their ordinary meetings, that is, some 

 good discourse grounded on experiments made or to 

 be made ; that so their weekly meetings may be more 

 considerable and inviting than hitherto they have been, 

 and the work of the Society not lie altogether on the 

 shoulders of three or four of the Fellows. And this being 



