230 CHAPTER 18. 
growth, and times of flowering, and fub- 
joins feledl obfervations, from the moft re- 
fpe£table authorities, relating to the quali- 
ties and various ufes of them. 
In the Hiftory of Trees,'* the no- 
bler and more capital parts of the vegetable 
kingdom, as being dignified by the variety 
of their ufes in human oeconomy, he has 
extended his refearches, and collefted, with 
much affiduity, a greater variety of intereft- 
ing particulars. Mr. Ray has purpofely 
avoided entering into nice and critical dif- 
quifitioos relating to the fpeciesj for, befides 
that this would have fwelled his work to 
an enormous bulk, it was become lefs ne- 
celTary, after the defcriptions given by "John 
Bauhine, Clusius, and others, fo much 
fuperior to thofe of their predecefTors ^ and 
the more curious and critical examiner might 
be referred to thefe authors, fpr ample fcope 
to his curiofity, 
Mr. Ray has defcribed, in thefe vo- 
lumes, about 6900 plants; including, how- 
ever, in this number, many which modern 
botanifts have fince confidered as varie- 
ties. 
The 
