CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 361 



who, I perceive, is unwilling to let go his hold of my 

 Supplement, and tells me at last that he supposes it will 

 be convenient that I have the copy down again to review, 

 and augment what I can, and that he doubted not but that 

 they should do all things to my content ; that he could 

 not write more fully, because his partner was out of town. 

 I had written to him to send me his final answer whether 

 he would undertake the printing of my book this sum- 

 mer, and begin it May next, or no. If he answered 

 negatively, I would endeavour to procure it to be printed 

 by some other means ; and that if he did not return 

 answer to that letter in convenient time, I should interpret 

 his sil&Rce as a denial, and act accordingly. But con- 

 cerning my intercourse with him I have written more 

 fully to Dr. Robinson. I now desire you would please 

 to send down to me your Maryland plants, and the copy 

 of my Supplement, if it may stand with your convenience, 

 this week. 



By my being so affected and hurt by tl^e coldness of 

 the air, I guess the gentleman you mention was of the 

 same temper with myself. Cold was always my great 

 enemy, and very afflictive to me. When I was young I 

 was every winter much troubled with itching tumours on 

 my feet, whifeh in this country we call Uoudy fals, but 

 never exulcerated chilblains ; whether these ulcers I now 

 have are of the nature of chilblains or pernios I am not 

 fully resolved, because they spread and diffuse themselves 

 by little red flat tumours more after the manner of an 

 herpes. I have been of opinion, and am not yet quite 

 off it, that those little red flat tumours were nothing else 

 but the nests of insects making cuniculi under the scarf- 

 skin, and so spreading and diffusing themselves in the 

 skin ; these tumours answering to ant-hills in pasture, 

 the insects being gregarious. 



I shall be very willing and forward to serve the R. S. 

 in assisting the carrying on. of whatever methods they 

 shall pitch upon as most convenient for the vigorous 

 prosecution of the ends of their institution, but I do not 



