70
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
casually mentioned. About one hundred and fifty of the
descriptions are still extant. Goodyer supplied descriptions of
plants to Johnson for his edition of Gerard—the so-called
"Gerard emaculatus": sixty of these were printed and indicated.
In his notes Goodyer mentions Coys about thirty times; Mr.
William Coys "often remembered"; "my good friend Mr. William
"Coys who yerlie doth carefullie sow the same [Convolvulus
"purpureus] and infinite other seeds of strange herbes"; Mr.
William Coys "a man very skillful in the knowledge of Simples,
"my singular good friend"; Mr. William Coys "who hath gotten
"plants thereof, and of infinite other strange herbes, and friendly
"gave me seeds hereof [Erodium gruinum], and of many other";
"that diligent preserver of simples Mr. William Coys often with
"very good cause remembered."
Of the Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Linaria cymbalaria) Goodyer
writes: "I never saw this growinge but in the garden of my
"faithfull good friend Mr. William Coys in Northokington in
"Essex, and in my garden at Droxford of seeds receaved from
"him in Anno 1618." The first mention of the plant in this
country is in Coys' Garden-List of 1617.
In referring to the Jerusalem Artichoke Goodyer writes5
"Where this plant groweth naturally, I know not, in Anno 1617 I
"received two small roots thereof from Master Franquevill of
"London, no bigger than hens egges; the one I planted, and the
"other I gave to a friend, mine brought mee a pecke of roots,
"wherewith I stored Hampshire." The friend was almost
certainly Coys, for in his list of plants he adds the note "you
"had lately planted it when I was at your house 25 Martii 1617."
Goodyer's storing of Hampshire with the Artichoke gives
added point to his description of what are called "The Vertues."
"These rootes are dressed divers waies; some boile them in water,
"and after stew them with sacke and butter, adding a little Ginger:
"others bake them in pies, putting Marrow, Dates, Ginger, Raisons
"of the Sun, Sacke, &c. Others some other way, as they are
"led by their skill in Cookerie. But in my judgement, which
"way soever they be drest and eaten they stirre and cause a
"filthie loathsome stinking winde within the bodie, thereby
"causing the belly to bee pained and tormented, and are a meat
5 Gerard emaculatus, p. 754.