Letter 0567

Preston sends a box of specimens he has collected. He hopes to collect more, including St. Katharine’s Wort, as it is a great cure of aches and pains. He thanks Sloane for sending the Philosophical Transactions and related news. Preston apologizes for breaks in his correspondence. It is the fault of the postmaster and he is trying to find more reliable means of communication. Preston is sorry to hear of the death of Dr Bernard and has been told his library is to be sold at auction once the catalogues are printed. Preston asks Sloane, Dr Sherard, Mr Doody, ‘& any other of your correspondents to send a few seeds for their garden at Edinburgh.’ 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 18 June 2013]).