110 ss BOTANICON sINICUM. 
In order to set down a complete and correct description of a 
plant it is desirable, but seldom practicable, to examine a con- 
siderable number of freshly gathered specimens. For this reason 
botanists in Europe always try to procure seeds of exotic plants 
for cultivation at home. But it is generally very difficult to get 
ripe seeds of rare wild growing plants, and the seeds are often 
spoiled before reaching their destination. Sometimes plants cul- 
tivated out of their native country show considerable aberrations 
from the ordinary wild type. Thus Planchon (D. C. Prod. 
XVII, p. 178) refuses to identify the Celtis sinensis Pers., intro- 
duced from China in the last century and cultivated since that 
time in South-Europe, with the Celtis sinensis collected by later 
authors in China. Compare also Prof. Decaisne’s interesting in- 
vestigations regarding the native country of the Sunflower and 
_ the Topinambour (Flore des Serres, XXIIJ.). 
As in most cases botanists, who have to describe foreign plants, 
cannot refer to living specimens, a critical responsibility rests 
with the collector who observes the plants in their wild state, and 
who is often therefore in a position to decide easily dubious bo- 
tanical questions by examining fresh specimens. In noting down 
the colours of the flowers and other organs, the odour, the general 
appearance and the stature of the plant, the conditions under 
which it grows, wild or cultivated, and in adding also in the 
memorandum, if possible, the native name,“ the collector will 
essentially complete the descriptive details of the botanist. But 
in the generality of cases the collectors of plants pay little atten- 
tion to these particulars; and then it is their fault and not that of 
_ the describer that the descriptions of foreign plants in systemati¢ 
works are generally so unsatisfactory, and that often those 
characteristics, by which an observer of the living plant is struck 
(44 Itisa good. practice with some botanists who describe new plants, to preserve in 
the new generic or specific names the indigenous popular appellations, where known. 
peep names “ plate introduced into our scientific botanical nomenclature, 
ay quote : Magnolia Yulan, Paonia Moutan, Diospyros Shitze, Nandina domestica, 
Nephelium Litchi and N. Longan (Lung yen). This rule should be more generally 
adopted. But unfortunately the fashion now-a-days cherished among botanists is to 
_ Hatsform names of savants or other persons (who frequently have had nothing to do 
_—_‘Mith the plant dedicated to them) into botanical names, which are often dissonant and 
difficult to pronounce, pee ART a A igs et 8 ay ete) 
