Dr. Robinfbn to Mr. Ray. 161 



dry^ or grow hard, but always remains in an oily 

 Confidence. Upon thefe and other Reafons the Sor- 

 bonifts have rank'd the Macreufe in the Claflis of Fifhes. 

 For the reft, I refer you to my Paper from Paris^ 

 and impatiently wait for your Judgment, for which 

 I have a particular Efteem. 



Mr. Ray to Dr. Robinfon. 



I Received the Box with the Cafes of the Male and 

 Female Macreufe you were pleafed to procure and 

 fend me $ for which I hold my felf very much oblig'd 

 to you. 



I had no fooner open'd the Box, but inftantly I 

 found that the Macreufe was no Stranger to me, tho* 

 unknown by that Name. I was very much pleas'd 

 to be fo fuddenly rid of my long continued Scruples 

 about it $ and not a little furprized, when I found it to 

 be another kind of Bird than I imagined. A particular 

 Defcription of the Cock you may find in Mr. Wil- 

 lughhy's Ornithology r , p. 366. of the Englijh Edition, 

 among the Sea-Ducks, to which' Kind this Bird be- 

 longs, and not to the Divers, or Douckers, [Mergi 

 or Colymbf] as I falfly fancied to my felf. 



Mr. Graindorge's Defcription which you fent me a 

 Breviat of, I find, upon attent reading and comparing 

 it with the Cafe of the Bird, and mine own Defcripti- 

 on, to be very faithful, and fufficient to lead into the 

 Knowledge of it one that had not been prepoflefled 

 with a ftrong Opinion that it was of another Kind, 

 as I have already intimated my felf to have been* 

 Had there been but one Word added, that it was of 

 the Duck-kind, I Ihould then prefently have appre- 

 hended what Bird it was : And yet there was enough 



