CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 357 



on her whole left side from head to foot, whom an em- 

 piric undertaking to cure spent eight boccale of aqua vitas 

 and twelve pounds of camphire upon her in six weeks, 

 anointing every morning and evening the whole part 

 affected without any benefit at all. The woman, mean- 

 time, was with child, and, without suffering any incon- 

 venience, at her due time brought forth a son, otherwise 

 perfect, save that all his bones were so soft and tender 

 that he could not bear himself up on his feet, the bones 

 of his legs, as also his arms and hands, being so tender 

 that they seemed flexible tendons ; and in this case he 

 lived eighteen months. This effect he, and not without 

 reason, attributes to the camphire. 



I have often wondered how outlandish authors should 

 so grossly mistake in the orthography of English words 

 we find in their writings, but by an observation in this 

 book concerning the Serpentaria virginiana (the name 

 and a tolerable description thereof Signor Boccone had 

 from one Edward Painthen), I perceive how it might 

 come to pass, viz. they received these words from some 

 illiterate Englishmen, and put them down according to 

 the pronunciation, spelling them as words of such sound 

 and pronunciation in their own language are spelled. 

 So, doubtless, Edward Painthen pronouncing the word 

 snake-root as the Italians do, snecrut (we often pronounc- 

 ing a as they do e, and they having no double o), Signor 

 Boccone writes it snecrut. But because he desires fur- 

 ther satisfaction concerning this Serpentaria virgin., or 

 snake-root, I shall give him and others that concur with 

 him in that desire a full and exact description of the 

 whole plant, drawn up and sent me by a person that 

 knew it very well, and was as well able to describe it, 

 the learned and most skillful herbarist, Mr. John Banister, 

 whose unhappy and untimely death cannot sufficiently be 

 deplored. 



The Pistolochia, or Serpentaria virginiana* hath a 



* Linnaeus refers the Serpentaria virginiana of Boecone to his owu 

 Satureja virginiana, and that of Ray to his Aristolochia Serpentaria. 



