CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 103 



boil till all the froth, which will rise at first a great 

 height, be wholly fallen ; then take the soap out of the 

 ley with a scummer, and put it into a chest with a sheet 

 under. 



Take an ounce of indigo, beat it to powder, put it unto 

 a pottle of middle ley in a httle pan, and put unto it 

 some hot soap out of the copper, so as to make it pretty 

 thick. Let it boil ; and, being hot, pom* this into the 

 middle of the soap in the chest. Whilst it is hot, stir it 

 up and down with a stick very well, and it will make blue 

 veins in the soap. 



When it grows cold, they cut it into square cakes with 

 wires. 



Dr. Lister to Mr. Ray. 



Dear Sir, — I am very joyful at the news you give 

 me of yoiu" thoughts of pubhshing the Natural History 

 designed by Mr. Willughby. I am very sensible of the 

 great pains it will ask to perfect any one part of it. I 

 only beg of you that you will let one part see the light 

 before you undertake the next, and that they may not 

 stay one of another. My notes are very slender upon 

 the subject of birds. 



I have very little time to bestow upon natural history, 

 yet what pleasure I give myself is to divert myself that 

 way, I have been at Bugthorp since I last wrote to you, 

 to view the place of petrified shells. I shall not trouble 

 you at present with any of my observations made there, 

 save that I found some Star-stones branched, as I had 

 found formerly St. Cuthbert's Beads in Craven. 



This year has much changed my thoughts concerning 

 kermes. I have found them upon old ropes and deal 

 boards. I am pretty confident that it is an animal of the 

 multipede kind, which does fix itself in order to the laying 

 of its eggs ; and that the eggs are laid and fastened about 



