3 7o Afr. Ray to Mr. Willughby. 



At neq; quicquam de Flore Adonidis in arvis illis cre- 

 fcente, a ruftica turbaquam fcifcitabar,inaudirepotui : . 

 Inveni quidem Chamapityn & Perfoliatam copiose, & 

 prasterea novam Gerany Columbini foliis magis difledis 

 fpeciem, quara a fe in agris collc&am cum Oxonii ef- 

 fern mihi monftravit Jacobus Bobertus filius. 



ikff . Oldenburgh ^ Mr. Willughby, 



$ I London^ May 17 — 70. 



I Have received from Dr. Long an account of the 

 Spider and Toad-due /, which I am engaged by pro- 4 

 *xnfe to impart to you 3 which I fliall do in his own 

 Words, viz. 



1 refolded this Day (May 10.) to have taken one of 

 the 'Spectators of the Combat betwixt the T'oad and Spi- 

 der 5 fought at Hetcoine near Sittinghurft in Kent, 

 and to have made him go along with me to the place of 

 Battel ; and there ^ after a punctual examination of all 

 Circumflances , to have taken up a Spider of the fame 

 Kind or Specie s^ and the fame bignefs^ andfent two of 

 them inch fed in a pair of Wallnut-fhells , one for Mr. 

 Willughby, and the other for your felf: But fome Af- 

 fairs of the two Neighbour-parijhes*) and other indifpen- 

 fable Qccafions debarred me from the opportunity of gi- 

 ving you the fatisfaUion according to my defire^ till the 

 -next Carrier. And I find not by my Enquiry and Ob- 

 fervation y that the common black Field-fpiders (for fuch 

 ere thefe Aggrejors) are any of them as yet of fufficient 

 Bulk and Strength to encounter a great T*oad : For foe 

 mufibenear as big as the end of aMatirfhumb^andhave 

 not only her Body fully fraught with Poyfon y but the ex- 

 treme part thereof hoary ( white ) 5 whether with Age 

 §r Poyfon t the relators are not competent Judges ; but 



