Letter 1182

Geoffroy consulted Bourdelot to answer Sloane’s questions. He believes Sloane’s catalogue should be annotated and bound with a copy of Vanderlinden’s Scriptis Medicis. Geoffroy will ask Dr Lefevre to do this for him. He was surprised by Halley’s meteorological reportage from the south. MM. Cassini, mathematicians Jean-Dominique Cassini and his son Jaccques Cassini, have left to measure the meridian from Paris to the Pyrenees. They send their best wishes. The shells that Sloane sent from England are surprising. This and other evidence suggest the earth was once covered in water. Geoffroy contemplates what would be covered should water levels rise again. He is preparing to leave for Italy with the Abbe de Louvois. He offers his services to Sloane and the Royal Society. Geoffroy promises to inform Sloane of any interesting observations. They have recently heard from Tournefort, who has sent drawings and descriptions of plants which Geoffroy will try to send before leaving. Etienne Francois Geoffroy (1672-1731) was an apothecary and physician who studied at Montpellier, like Sloane, and worked at the Jardin du Roi and College Royal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etienne_Francois_Geoffroy).