Letter 3262

William Wright, a surgeon and apothecary, is going to wait on Sloane. Mr Martyn informed Blair that Sloane would like to see the manuscripts. Blair had sent a natural history of salmon and other fish to Sloane in the hopes it might be read at the Royal Society. He asks for confirmation that the paper was received. Blair recently ‘dissected a monstrous Lamb’ and sent the account to Dr Douglas. If Sloane approves of the account Blair requests that it be added ‘as an appendix to the Discourses on the Generation of Animals’ or published elsewhere. Blair is collecting wormwood specimens to plant in his garden. He is going to compare the specimens and perhaps have some planted at Chelsea Physic Garden. Blair will continue sending Sloane natural historical information. Patrick Blair was a botanist and surgeon whose papers were published in the Transactions. In 1715 Blair joined the Jacobite rebellion as a battle surgeon but was captured and condemned to death. He was visited by Sloane in prison in the hopes the latter might secure a pardon. Sloane was successful and the pardon arrived shortly before Blair’s scheduled execution (Anita Guerrini, Blair, Patrick (c.16801728), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2568, accessed 31 May 2011]).