.^ EDITORIAL 1^. 



A little thought on the matter ought to convince an3'body 

 that it is impossible to make a common name for a plant. A 

 species may have any number of vernacular names, that is, 

 names in tlie common tongue, but unless one of these comes 

 into common use it cannot properly be called a common name. 

 A good many plants have no common names and are not likely 

 to have any for they are so insignificant that the general pub- 

 lic has never heard of them. The name-tinker, however, is 

 never satisfied to let well enough alone and oblivious to the 

 fact tliat there is a reason for every common name, attempts 

 without reason to supply names for such plants as lack them. 

 It may be said without fear of contradiction, that common 

 names in general are an unmitigated nuisance. They are 

 never as accurate as the technical names and at times are 

 actually misleading. Because the technical names are unfa- 

 miliar, it has become a fad to regard tliem as difificult to pro- 

 nounce and hard to remember. Such technical names as 

 chrysanthemum, rhododendron, pentstemon, delphinium and 

 nicotiana in everyday use is sufficient evidence that there is 

 no inherent difficulty in using the more accurate terms. When 

 a plant has a real vernacular or common name, however, it 

 may be worth studying for it actually contains some element 

 of folk-lore, poetry, m^i:hologv, and the like, but the same 

 cannot be said of the "English" names which are usually mere 

 translations of the scientific names whose onlv point of inter- 

 est, is in showing how matter-of-fact the translators are. 



