CORKESPONDENCE OF RAY. 381 



Paris of his [Tournefort's] publishing the Latin edition 

 with all expedition, made me something remiss ; for I 

 knew he would save us that trouble ; therefore I hope 

 you will excuse my silence, and I shall recompense it by 

 transmitting to you from time to time such observations 

 as I had occasion to make. I do not propose any order 

 or method in doing it, but give them you, such as they 

 are, as they come to hand. I confess Tournefort in his 

 Elem. Bot. hath treated both you and my countryman, 

 Morison, very indiscreetly, for which I did reprove him 

 while at Paris, and desired him to correct that as well as 

 other things in the Latin edition, which he promised to 

 do; and, accordingly, I find all along in his characters 

 he has omitted what he said in the other edition against 

 you. Li this Latin edition he gives a very good account 

 of the rise and progress of botany, and of the several 

 writers thereof, from Hippocrates' time to our days, 

 among whom Gesner, Csesalpiuus, and Pabius Columna 

 were the first who laid down any solid and rational prin- 

 ciples of method, and for constituting the genders of plants; 

 and as Tournefort says very well (Listit. Rei Herbariae) : 

 " Eaque in tenebris adhuc jaceret nisi Robertus Morisonus 

 Scotus eam quasi ab herbariis ab alienatum renovasset 

 instam^asset et primus ad usus quotidianos adjunxisset." 

 After him you have been the great restorer of method 

 and ornament of botany by your several learned writings. 

 Dr. Herman, whose memory is to be lamented, was a 

 great promoter and follower of the same method, and 

 designed to publish a short compend of it for the use of 

 his scholars, if an untimely death had not prevented him, 

 as may be seen in the ' Flora Batava non edita.' Rivinus 

 has a singular method, and establishes the character from 

 the number of petala in a fiower. Last of all, is Tom-ne- 

 fort, who finding so many learned men had writ before 

 him, and that he could not propose to make great ad- 

 vances in following the same method, therefore, to gain 

 a name to himself, bethought on this new method, of 



