The PREFACE.
and then the History of the Plants that grow there, in which I have followed mostly the Method of Mr. Ray in his History of Plants, joining his Genera or Tribes together by the Method of Rivinus, or Number of the Petala or Leaves of the Flowers; As thofe which are Monopetalous first, those Dipetalous next, then the Tripetalous, Tetrapetalous, Pentapetalous, Hexapetalous, and such as have no exact Numbers of Coloured Leaves in their Flowers. When this History was begun, and near finished, I wanted many considerable helps, the Method of the great Botanist Dr. Tournefort was not printed, much less the Book of new Kinds of West-India Plants, lately publish'd by Mons. Plumier, who, since my Return from the West-Indies, went into the Caribe-Islands, and there observ'd and design'd himself many of the Plants very accurately. He has engrav'd them himself, and printed a Book, which consists chiefly of Ferns; And has sav'd me a great deal of Trouble, finding his Figures so Good, that I did not judge it necessary the same Plants should be engraven again, but be only referr'd to, in my History.
In the Second are contained the Trees, the Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Testaceous and Crustaceous Animals, and Insects, &c.
It may be ask'd me to what Purposes serve such Accounts, I answer, that the Knowlege of Natural-History, being Observation of Matters of Fact, is more certain than most Others, and in my slender Opinion, less subject to Mistakes than Reasonings, Hypotheses, and Deductions are; And on this Occasion I have heard it reported of Gabriel Naude, That he used to say he Acquiesc'd in the Ecclesiastical History, Doubted the Civil, and Believ'd the Natural. These are things we are sure of, so far as our Senses are not fallible, and which, in probability, have been ever since the Creation, and will remain to the End of the World, in the same Condition we now find them: They afford great Matter of Admiring the Power, Wisdom and Providence of Almighty God, in Creating, and Preserving the things he has created. There appears so much Contrivance, in the variety of Beings, preserv'd from the beginning of the World, that the more any Man searches, the more he will admire; And conclude them, very ignorant in the History of Nature, who say, they were the Productions of Chance.
Another
