88 CORRESPONDENCK OF RAY. 



last month, the son of Mr. Wotton, minister of this parish, 

 who hath instructed this child within the last three quar- 

 ters of a year in the reading of the Latin, Greek, and 

 Hebrew languages, which he can read almost as well as 

 English ; and that tongue he could read at four years and 

 three months old as well as most lads twice his age. I 

 could send you many particulars about his rendering 

 chapters and psalms out of the three learned languages 

 into English, and his admirable memory, which it is 

 hoped will be attended mth as good a judgment and 

 understanding. His father, I believe, will signify here- 

 after the great proficiency of his child, so much admired 

 by every one tliat knows what he can already perform. 

 Sept. 18, 1671. 



Dr. LiSTEK to Mr. Ray. 



Dear Sir, — I confess to you that I am not at all satis- 

 fied with the accovmt of vegetable excrescences, because 

 I was not able to attain the end and give any clear light 

 to the question. Moreover, upon review, I see that the 

 last proposition is ill expressed; that the substance or 

 fibrous part of many vegetable excrescences not to be the 

 food of the worms to be found in them ; my meaning is, 

 that the worms in those vegetable excrescences which 

 produce ichneumones (to which kind of insect we would 

 limit this proposition and expunge all other instances). 

 These worms, I say, do not seem to devour the substance 

 or fibrous part of them, as other worms devom^ the kernels 

 of nuts, &c., but that, whatever their manner of feeding 

 is, and we doubt not but they are nourished in and from 

 them, the vegetable excrescences still mightily increase in 

 bulk and rise as the worms feed. 



It is observable, if Ave Avould endeavour a solution, 

 that some of the ichneumones delight to feed upon a 

 liquid matter, as the eggs of spiders, the juices (if not 



