THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 33 



{Viburnum ) . There seems to be some question, however, as 

 to how extensively thornapple or haw is used. Prof. J. C. 

 Nelson writes that in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky 

 he has never heard the term thornapple used. In other parts 

 of the country, thorn-apple is the name regularly used though 

 it is well understood that there are other plants that bear it, 

 the jimson weed {Datura), for instance. It would be inter- 

 esting to know to what extent haw, thornapple, and hawthorn 

 is used for the plants in question. 



Absurdities of NomencIvATurk. — The exaltation of 

 priority as a means of securing a stable nomenclature began 

 about twenty-five years ago and has raged with more of less 

 intensity ever since. The ornithologists are reported to have 

 made the most progress toward the end in view but, as is usual 

 when one becomes too deeply engrossed with a subject, they 

 have pushed some forms of nomenclature to a point where 

 they appear only ridiculous. Since there is some danger that 

 botany, if not intelligently directed, may fall into the same 

 errors, we may point out a few of the more conspicuous. To 

 one interested in sanity in nomenclature, the most nonsensical 

 custom is the doubling of the specific name in the case of the 

 original variety or species. The common meadow lark, for 

 instanse, in known as Sternella magna, magna which might be 

 translated, we suppose, as the great, big meadow lark, just as 

 Spij:ella pnsilla pusilla must mean the tiny, little field sparrow 

 and Astragalinus tristis tristis the sad, sad goldfinch. It was 

 once thought that botanical names might claim the prize for 

 nonsense with such absurdities as Sassafras sassafras sassafras 

 and Lahlab lablab lablab but these are quite overshadowed by 

 Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis cardinal. There is no use in 

 arguing against it ; the beauties of a binomial system of nomen- 

 clature are many, and the cardinalis combination is the gem of 

 the whole collection. 



