FRANCIS WILLUGI1BY. 
103 
none that I know of hath performed any thing 
therein worthy of commendation;) he (Mr Wil- 
lughby) made the study thereof his province , 
applying himself with all diligence to the culti- 
vating and illustrating it ; which, that he might 
the more effectually do, he not only read what had 
been written by others, but did himself accurately 
describe all the animals he could find or procure 
either in England or beyond the seas, making a 
voyage to foreia countries chiefly for that pur- 
pose, to search out, view, and describe the several 
varieties of nature ; and though he was not long 
abroad, yet travelled he over a great part of 
France, Spain, Italy, and the Low Countries. 
“ In all which places he w T as so inquisitive and 
successful, that not many sorts of animals des- 
cribed by others escaped his diligence. For my 
part, I know no man who hath seen more species, 
been more exact in noting their differences, and 
inventing characteristic marks, whereby they may 
be certainly distinguished, or more curious in 
dissecting them, and observing the make and 
constitution of their parts, as well internal as 
external. The reason of this his diligence was, 
because he observed that some, of the descriptions 
of former writers of this kind, either by reason of 
their brevity, or because they contained only 
general notes, were very obscure, and gave 
occasion to many errors and mistakes, but chiefly 
unnecessary multiplications of species, the readers 
often mistaking several descriptions of the same 
animals, which they met with in divers authors, 
