CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS FAMILY. 128 



Are we to understand by this the spiders themselves, or gos- 

 samer ?, as the word admits of both senses. 



The same poet observes that cattle feed eagerly at the 

 approach of storms — a circumstance that was taken notice of 

 here the night the snow began. A naturalist acquainted with 

 the plants and animals of Greece would receive much pleasure 

 and information from perusing the whole poem. 



My uncle Thos. desired me last year to observe whether 

 the magnetic needle was affected during the appearance of 

 bright northern lights : there has been no opportunity of 

 remarking this, as during the whole winter there have been 

 very few of them, and those inconsiderable. He also wanted 

 to find an account of the ergot or horned rye, and the dis- 

 temper it occasioned : this I have met with in the 55th vol. 

 of the Phil. Trans, for the year 1765, no. 17, page 106 &c. 



If during your stay in town you should happen to meet any 

 of your botanical friends, I should be extremely obliged to 

 you if you would ask which are the male and female flowers 

 of mosses, and how they are distinguished, as I can discern no 

 tokens of sexuality in the antherce ; and also what the recep- 

 tacle is, and where situated. 



I wonder Linnaeus should not refer to Ray's ' Synopsis,' as 

 Morrison, whom he quotes, takes whole descriptions from it. 



With my sincerest respects to yourself, my uncle Thos.j 

 and uncle Benj.'s family, I conclude, Sir, 



Yours affectionately, 



SAMUEL BARKER. 



LETTER XX 



TO THOMAS BARKER. 



London, March 20, 1776. 



Dear Sir, 

 * * * * All our chalk barley was greatly damaged : we 

 have none good but from the sands, where their harvest was 

 earlier. The former sells for about 20.s, and the latter for 



