190 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



another account. The French ambassador to the kmg of 

 Siam, carrymg a Jesuit with him, he made several obser- 

 vations, and found that that kingdom was misplaced in 

 longitude, to the east, about 22 degrees ; but Mr. Hally 

 says that he long ago found that out, and gave an account 

 of it in the ' Transactions.' But I am mistaken if there 

 were not something rectified about that a great while 

 ago by some learned men. I suppose you have had an 

 account of Dr. Magnol's new appendix ; it is but small 

 and less worth than I thought, for when I was there he 

 designed to simple the Pyrenees and Hortus Dei, or 

 mountains of Auvergne, where are many curiosities. We 

 are now mighty solicitous about the Jesuit's-bark, or 

 Cortex peruviamis, it being so good a drug, that they 

 begin to adulterate it with black cherry and other barks 

 dipped in a tinctm'c of aloes, to make it bitter ; but the 

 bitterness of the adulterated bark appears upon its first 

 touch with the tongue, whereas the other is a pretty 

 while in the mouth before it be tasted. T am, &c. 



Loudon, Jan. 29, 1786. 



Mr. E.AY to Dr. Hans Sloane. 



Sir, — I received yours of August 1 0th, and on Satur- 

 day last the specimens of plants by you discovered, with 

 ' Antius de Pice conticienda' and ' Zaluzonius Methodus 

 Herbaria,' which I have not as yet had time to turn over. 



As to the plants, the Fucus is no other than that de- 

 scribed and figured in J. Bauhine's history by the name 

 of Al(/a mari7ia j^latyceros porosa \Flu8trafoliacea, Linn., 

 not a plant but a zoophyte], and is frequently found cast 

 up on our shores ; I take it to be that they call silhen 

 wrack in ' Phytologia Britannica.' I have entered it 

 under J. Bauhin's name, and borrowed his description. 



The Kali geniculatum [SaUcornia fruticosa of Smith], 

 I agree with you and Mr. Wattes to be different from 

 that of the Mediterranean shores, and a new species, as 



