Mr. Lhwyd to Mr. Ray* 23$ 



Colour from the Sand Shells. Whether they were 

 ever the Tegument a of Animals, or are only primary 

 Productions of Nature in Imitation of them, I ani 

 conftrain'd to leave in Medio, and to confefs I find in 

 my felf no fufficient Ability or Confidence to main- 

 tain either Opinion, tho' I incline much to the lat- 

 ter. However it be, it feems an extraordinary de- 

 lightful Subjeft, and worthy the Enquiry of the 

 moft judicious Philofophers. On the one hand it 

 feems ftrange if thefe things are not Shells petrified, 

 whence it proceeds that we find fuch great Variety of 

 them, fo very like Shells in Shape and Magnitude, 

 and fome of them in Colour, Weight and Confiftence > 

 and not only Refemblances of Sea Shells fhould be 

 found, but alfo of the Bones and Teeth of divers Sea- 

 Fijh, and that we only find the Refemblances of fuch 

 Bodies as are in their own Nature of a Stone-like 

 Subftance. \ On the other hand it feems as remarkable, 

 that we feldom or never find any Refemblance of 

 Horns, Teeth, or Bones of Land Animals, or of Birds , 

 which might be apt to petrify, if we refpeft their 

 Confiftence > infomuch that I fufpect few form'd 

 Stones are found, (at leaftwife in England) except in 

 fome extraordinary petrifying Earth, but what a skil- 

 .ful Naturalift may (and that perhaps defervedly) affi- 

 milate to fome marine Bodies ; but yet when we con- 

 fer them with thofe Bodies they feem moft to refera- 

 ble, they appear generally but as Mock-Shells and 

 Counterfeit-Teeth, differing from them little lefsthan 

 the Works of Art do from thofe of Nature, which 

 we endeavour to imitate 5 as if the Earth in thefe Pro- 

 ductions (to fpeak vulgarly) fhould only ape the Sea. 

 j To find out the Truth of this Queftion, nothing 

 \ would conduce more than a very copious Colle£lion 

 j of Shells, of the Skeletons of Fijh, of Corals, Port, 

 &c. and of thefe fuppofed Petrifications. 



The Figures of Plants in the Cole-Jlat I have for- 

 merly raention'd to you, is clearly a different thing 



from 



