152 RAY. 



and left in a very imperfect state, so that the 

 trouble of revising and digesting was of no light 

 kind. Without at all detracting from the merits 

 of the author, whose labours, according to Dr Der- 

 ham, were such, " that he allowed himself little 

 or no time for those recreations and diversions 

 which men of his estate and degree are apt to 

 spend too much of their time in, but prosecuted 

 his design with as great application, as if he had 

 been to get his bread thereby," it may fairly be pre- 

 sumed, and indeed has been generally admitted, 

 that the greater part of his works belong in fact to 

 Mr Ray, who, however, claimed no merit in the 

 performance. The book was published in 1676, in 

 Latin, with engravings, which, in the titlepage, are 

 designated as icones elegaiitissimi et vivarum avium 

 simillimi, although few who inspect them will be 

 disposed to concur in the opinion now stated. It 

 was afterwards translated into English by his af- 

 fectionate editor, and put forth with large additions 

 in the year 1678. Derham apologizes for the inferior 

 execution of the plates, which were done at the 

 charge of the author's widow. " Considering," says 

 the Doctor, " how well the engravers were paid for 

 their labour, it is great pity they had not had some 

 able person in London to have supervised them, 

 that they might have given better likenesses to the 

 birds than what most of them have. But this is 

 what Mr Ray could only complain of, but not help, 

 by reason of his being in Warwickshire, at a dis- 

 tance from London, where every thing was trans- 

 acted by letters, — a method which could never af- 

 ford sufficient directions in a matter of that nature." 

 The descriptions, however, are in general excellent^ 



