CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 123 



such descriptions, unless illustrated by figures. Mr. 

 Willughby himself hath left a myotome of a swan, and 

 some other birds, which I thought not fit to cumber the 

 book with. 



Sutton Cofield, April 4, —76. 



Mr. Ray to Dr. Lister. 



Dear Sir, — I have been lately solicited to reprint my 

 Catalogue of Enghsh Plants, partly by the bookseller, 

 and partly by an unknown person, who sent me a letter 

 without a name subscribed, and withal pressed me much 

 to add to each plant the French name; whereupon I 

 thought to have intreated you to undertake that trouble, 

 as you are a master of the French tongue, myself being 

 but a smatterer in that language, and wanting the con- 

 veniency of books to assist me in such an undertaking ; 

 but, upon serious consideration, concluding that those 

 names would not render the book really much more 

 useful, only, if well done, might add a little to the 

 author's reputation (to the vanity of any affectation 

 whereof I desire to be wholly mortified), I resolved not 

 to add them, and have sent the copy up to London as 

 it is. If you have observed any errors or mistakes 

 therein, or have any new plants or observations to add, 

 be pleased to send them ; and though the book be already 

 gone out of my hands, I shall take care to get them in- 

 serted in their proper places. Since my last, I com- 

 pared what the ' Gentleman's Recreation ' hath con- 

 cerning hawking with Turbervile's Collections, and find 

 every syllable transcribed thence. The hke, I dare say, 

 he hath done about hunting, for there is of Turbervile's 

 a large treatise of hunting ; and for fishing, doubtless, he 

 hath done the hke. I had not blamed him had he ac- 

 knowledged his authors, and confessed to the world that 



