Letter 0881

Preston thanks Sloane for the Philosophical Transactions. He discusses the properties of various plants and roots. He comments on Dr Drake’s work on the circulation of the blood and discusses the growing of tea. He compliments Ray’s ‘Methodus Emendata’ and describes the physical characteristics of plant specimens. He informs Sloane that his brother has gone to London and will likely wait on him. Preston was a physician and botanist who established a lengthy correspondence with Sloane, exchanging plants, seeds, books and information. His main interest was in botany, and was well-known by his contemporaries for his botanical knowledge (Anita Guerrini, Preston, Charles (16601711), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47084, accessed 1 June 2011]).