CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 139 



and should be glad to learn its place of growth, and 

 more of its history, from you. 



I am not sure that Mr. Newton was the first inventor 

 of that plant I put under his name. I rather suspect 

 Mr. Lawson might be. I mean no more by putting his 

 name to it than that it is published in his work under 

 that name, as I do by the names of other authors, v. g. 

 Abies Ger. PurJc. However, he was the first showed it 

 to me, and gave me as much as I have set down of the 

 history of it. Dr. Plueknet's observation of the vesicles 

 on the back side of the leaves deserves to be added to 

 its description. 



I am not positive in asserting the plant called Homio- 

 nitis tS^be only a variety of Phyttitis \Scolopendrium 

 vulyare, Linn.], and not a distinct species, but only put 

 it down as my suspicion. You that have seen it, and 

 know it better than I do, are better able to judge of that ; 

 but the HemionitiSy vera Dioscoridis of Lobel I assert to 

 be nothing but a small Pliyllitis growing in a shady 

 place. Your advice concerning inserting the varieties of 

 sundry species, especially such as are esteemed for their 

 beauty or variety, I approve, and shall observe. How- 

 beit, it is not my intention to supersede the use of any 

 approved botanic authors, but my reasons for attempting 

 this work were 1. To satisfy the importunity of some 

 friends who solicited me to undertake it. 2. To give 

 some light to young students in the reading and com- 

 paring other herbarists, by correcting mistakes, and illus- 

 trating what is obscure, and extricating what is perplex 

 and entangled, and in cutting off what is superfluous, or, 

 under different titles, repeated for distinct. 3. To alle- 

 viate the charge of such as are not able to purchase many 

 books ; to which end I endeavour an enumeration of all 

 the species already described and published. 4. To 

 facilitate the learning of plants, if need be, without a 

 guide or demonstrator, by so methodizing of them, and 

 giving such certain and obvious characteristic notes of 

 the genera, that it shall not be difficult for any man that 



