CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 383 



known in the world before, and how many He hid to this 

 day? Has not botany made more advances and is more 

 improved in our days, by the several learned men and 

 writers thereof, than for some ages past ; and I think we 

 owe no less obligation to the revivers and restorers of 

 method than to the first inventor. Anatomy is a science 

 which it is thought might have come to its height of 

 perfection long ago, by the many and frequent dissections 

 on human bodies of learned and curious men, and yet we 

 find several things have escaped even the knife of the 

 most curious dissectors for some ages past, and are only 

 discovered in our days. So it is as to botany. 



Now, sir, I shall subjoin a few of these observations 

 that I have had occasion to make ; and first I begin with 

 some of those in the former queries, where answers were 

 not so distinct or positive, or where I have since found 

 myself to have been in an error, 



Alsine scandens baccifera, C. B. P., Ciicubalum Plin. 

 Liigd., Tournefort \_Cucitbahis baccifer, Linn.], has a pen- 

 tapetalous flower, " flore caryophyllo petalis bifidis calice 

 pelviformi vel instar Lychnidis cujus pistillus mutatur in 

 baccam vel capsulam ovalem semina plurima reniformia 

 placentae adhserentia continentem." The reason it appears 

 to be capsular, because it is not juicy. Tom-nefort (Inst. 

 R. H.) places it " inter herbas flore Caryophyllio cujus 

 pistillum abit in fructum," after Lychnidis species, and 

 nearest to the Lini species : by reason of the flower and 

 calyx it is well enough placed, but by the fruit, it ought 

 rather to be placed amongst the bacciferous plants. 



Pimpinella Sanguisorha minor Icsvis, C. B. P. \JPote- 

 rium Sanyuisorba, Linn.], has a monopetalous flower, 

 divided into four segments, ad centrum usque, whose 

 calyx becomes a quadrangular capsule, in which are ordi- 

 narily contained two oval seeds or kernels, sharp at one 

 end. Tournefort, in his Elem. Bot., gave i\\&m flores pel- 

 viformes, but in his ' Inst. R. H.' places them " inter 

 herbas flore monopetalo rosato cujus calix abit in fruc- 



