Mr. Ray to Sir Hans Sloane. 289 



whereof fome part appears out of the Stone, in the 

 form of fmall fpiral or twifted Capreoli ; and another 

 part is a thin Plate, having fuch a Superficies on each 

 fide, as if it hadreceiv'd an impreflion from a piece of 

 fine Cloth. Now feeing that Fojfils do naturally fhoot 

 into thefe Forms, may we not reafonably fufpect they 

 might alfo put on the fhapes of Leaves and Shells ? I 

 have likewife feveral times feen fomewhat like the 

 Form of a piece of fine Linen in Flint , which feems 

 to require no lefs Admiration than thefe Plants 5 tho' 

 we are the more affe&ed with them, becaufe we find 

 the fame natural things in the Bowels of the Earth as 

 we knew before in the Surface. However I am al- 

 moft fully convinced (and have been fo for feveral 

 Years,) that many of thofe Vertebra and Shells which 

 I have met with , are the Spoils of once living Ani- 

 mals j my chiefeffc reafon for which, is, becaufe many 

 of the Vertebra and other Bones are of a mere bony 

 Subftance > and feveral Shells which we meet with , 

 are fcarce diftinguifhable in confiftence from the fame 

 Species on the Sea Shores. 



Mr. Ray to Sir Hans Sloane. 



S I R, Black Notley, Aug. 1 f th — p<5. 



AS for the Method of Capillaries which I propofed 

 in my Letter to Rivinus^ I have not Skill enough 

 in that kind of Plants, as to make ufe of it,andfo muft 

 be conftrained to adhere to my old Method, a little 

 altered : For whereas I did fuppofe that no Capilla- 

 ries were properly Cauliferous\ but that their whole 

 Superficies idid confift of mere Leaves j I am now 

 convinced of the contrary, and therefore intend not 

 to meddle with it any more, but to divide thofe 

 Plants, whether Cautiferous or not Cauliferous^ accor*- 



P P ding 



