back to primary sources but instead copying and then embellishing the unreferenced work of others. See "Withering and The Foxglove; the making of a myth" by D.M. Krikler (British Heart Journal, 1985, 54: 256–257). In Withering's Account of the Foxglove printed in 1785 Withering mentions seven different occasions when foxglove was brought to his attention. Recognising that foxglove was the active ingredient in a family recipe (that was long kept secret by an old woman in Shropshire) would not have been difficult with his expert botanical knowledge. Withering had first published his Botanical Arrangement in 1776 and in it suggested foxglove deserved looking at in more detail. Erasmus Darwin tried to take the credit for foxglove and failed. Erasmus Darwin then attempted to try and discredit Withering behind the scenes with the unwitting help of his son Robert having earlier used the thesis of his dead son Charles to try and establish priority. Charles Darwin in fact had been friendly with Withering (as had Robert) and had talked in Edinburgh University about Withering's experiments with foxglove. Erasmus Darwin was probably jealous that Withering had become the most famous and sought-after doctor outside London and that Withering's English Botanical Arrangement became the standard reference source and far exceeded the botanical publications of Erasmus (all published semi-anonymously) in popularity. Withering's Botanical Arrangement, although now almost forgotten, became the standard reference for English Botany for almost the next 100 years. Chemistry and geology Withering was an enthusiastic chemist and geologist. He conducted a series of experiments on Terra Ponderosa, a heavy ore from Cumberland, England. He deduced that it contained a hitherto undescribed element which he was unable to characterise. It was later shown to be barium carbonate and in 1789 the German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner named the mineral Witherite in his honour. The Matthew Boulton mineral collection of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery may contain one of the earliest known specimens of witherite. A label in Boulton's handwriting records; "No.2 Terra Ponderosa Aerata, given me by Dr. Withering" Withering also undertook analyses of the mineral content of a number of spa waters in England and abroad, notably at the medicinal spa at Caldas da Rainha in Portugal. This latter undertaking occurred during the winter of 1793–4, and he was subsequently elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Portugal. Memorials He was buried on 10 October 1799 in