40 NATURAL HISTORY. 



became the closest of intimates, and that both threw 

 themselves with the utmost ardour into the study of 

 nature. Ray had largely devoted himself to botany, 

 whereas the bent of Willughby's mind was rather to 

 zoology; though the former also extensively investigated 

 animals, and the latter worked at times with plants. 

 Hence, when Ray, being forced, as already narrated, to 

 abandon his life at Cambridge, determined to travel 

 abroad, Willughby agreed to join him ; they having formed 

 the design of preparing together a kind of general account 

 of the animal and vegetable kingdom. Ray's own 

 version of this design, and of the part which it was 

 intended that he and Willughby should respectively take 

 in its execution, has been preserved to us by Dr Derham, 

 who writes as follows upon this point : 



* These two gentlemen, rinding the " History of Nature " 

 very imperfect, had agreed between themselves, before 

 their travels beyond sea, to reduce the several tribes 

 of things to a method ; and to give accurate descrip- 

 tions of the several species, from a strict view of them. 

 And forasmuch as Mr Willughby's genius lay chiefly 

 to animals, therefore he undertook the birds, beasts, 

 fishes, and insects, as Mr Ray did the vegetables. 

 And how each of these two great men discharged his 

 province, the world hath seen in their works; which 

 show that Mr Ray lived to bring his part to great 

 perfection ; and that Mr Willughby carried his as far 

 as the utmost application and diligence of a short life 

 could enable him.' 



The joint tour, for which the above great design 

 served as an object, lasted, as has been previously seen, 



