CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 165 



Mr. RAY to Dr. ROBINSON. 



SIR, A friend and neighbour, apothecary, whom I 

 employed yesterday, brought me the effect of his boiling 

 the juice of the greater maple. Having boiled as high 

 as an extract, he found a whitish body somewhat like 

 brown sugar, and tasting sweet, but withal of a woody 

 relish, immersed in a body of the colour and consistency 

 and taste, too, of molasses. Upon curing, I do not doubt 

 we shall have, after the molasses are separated, a perfect 

 sugar, but in very small quantity, not above an ounce 

 from a ggjlon of liquor. Possibly, nay likely, afterwards, 

 when the liquor begins to run thick near its ceasing, it 

 will yield a greater proportion of sugar. When he hath 

 cured it, I will give you a farther account of it. 

 Black Notley, April 1, 85. 



Mr. RAY to Dr. ROBINSON. 



SIR, Dr. Lister's opinion (from whom I had all I 

 know of the Rudde) and yours, who have thoroughly 

 examined and compared figures and descriptions, con- 

 curring, do fully satisfy and convince me that the Rudde 

 \Lcuciscus erythrophthalmus\ is the Rotcle of Baltner, 

 and not the Orphus or Nerfling. I also perceive, that 

 the fish described by us for the Orphus, is no other than 

 the Rudde or Rotcle, which I suppose was somewhere in 

 Germany brought us by the name of Nerfling, and under 

 that name described, which occasioned all this mistake 

 and confusion. If I had Mr. Willughby's notes, I doubt 

 not but I could find out a more exact description of the 

 Orphus than will be met with in authors ; for that fish, I 

 am sure, was more than once described by us. But it is 

 almost impossible to procure a sight of them, and there- 

 fore we must be content with such a description of the 



