24 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. 



ing them out, come to an End of them. If then, 

 within the fmall Compafs of a Mile or two, 

 there are fo many Species to be found, furely 

 the moft modeft Conjecture cannot eftimate the 

 Number of all the Kinds of Fapilio\ native of 

 this Illand to fall (hort of 500, which is twice 

 fo many as I Igft Summer guefs'd them to be ; 

 wherefoBe, ufing the fame Argumentations, the 

 Numiber of all the Britifh hijedfs will amount to 

 aooo, and the total Sum of thofe of the whole 

 Earth will be 20000. The Number of Plants 

 contained in C. Bauhtn^ Penax is about 6000, 

 which are all that had been defcrib'd by the Au- 

 thors that wrote before him, or obferv'd by 

 himfelf ; in which Works, befides Miftakes and 

 Repetitions incident to the mofl wary and know- 

 ing Men in fuch a Work as that, there are a 

 great many,* I might fay fome Hundreds, put 

 down for different Species, which in my opini- 

 on are but accidental Varieties : Which I do not 

 fay to detrad: from the excellent Pains and Per- 

 formance of that Learned, Judicious and La- 

 borious Herbarift, or to defraud him of his de- 

 ferv'd Honour, but only to fhew that he was 

 too much fway'd by the Opinions then gene- 

 rally current among Herbarifts, that, different 

 Colour or Multiplicity of Leaves in the Flower, 

 and the like Accidents, were fufficient to con- 

 ftitute a fpecijfick Difference. But fuppofing 

 there had been 6000 then known and defcrib'd, 

 I cannot think but that there are in the World 

 more than triple that Number j there being in 

 the vaft Continent of America as great a Variety 



of 



