196 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



each diaphragm the hole by which they communicate 

 with one another, by a string or gut in the fish. This 

 was of a very hard stone and large size, weighing at least 

 twenty-eight pounds, though some part was broken off. 



Loudon, Feb. 4, 1687. 



Mr. Wailee to Mr. Ray. 



Sir, — Since one of the chief ends of an herbal is 

 thereby to attain a true knowledge of plants, I have ad- 

 ventured to propose my thoughts to you, how by a few 

 tables, with iconisms, one wholly ignorant in plants may 

 know how to find any unknown plant, together with the 

 help of your method and tables in your most exact and 

 elaborate ' Treatise of Plants,' lately published. My 

 thoughts in short are these : 



I would, according to your general table of herbs, 

 inserted at page 58, take the two first divisions, imperfect 

 and perfect ; giving the figure of any one imperfect plant, 

 as of a fungus or the like. Of a perfect one I would do 

 the same ; under the perfect another figure of the minute 

 seeded, viz. a capillary, with a larger seeded plant. This 

 should be my first table. In the second, coming to the 

 larger seeded, I would give the figure of a seed coming 

 out of the ground with two lobes or seed-leaves, beside 

 the plant-leaves (referring the Unifolia to another table, 

 as also all larger plants or trees) ; under this I would re- 

 present an imperfect or staminous flower, and against it 

 a perfect or leafy flower, both compound and simple ; 

 and so on throughout all the generic and specific divisions 

 in several tables, which I suppose need not be many, with 

 references to the books and chapters of your Treatise. 

 The use of them will be this : taking any unknown plant, 

 my first inquiry must be whether it has a seed or no ; if 

 a seed, whether small or large ? if large, whether bivalve 

 or not ? &c. By which method proceeding, I shall at 



