Letter 0812

Preston sends Sloane a book in return for his many favours. He discusses botany, the translation of the Academie Royale’s works, the circulation of blood, and sends the powder of a highly flammable substance for Sloane to examine. He asks how to go about purchasing the drug cassumunar on behalf of his brother. 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]).