1878.] 



AND H OR TICIL TURIST. 



119 



«-oat (vestment). And Imatophyllum means a 

 coatleaf. Loudon gives no derivation, and I 

 have no authority for this. But it is certainly 

 not a strained one. For, if you strip off one of 

 the outer leaves, and invert it, you will find 

 more than a fanciful resemblance to the typical 

 swallow-tail coat. Or if not found, in the 

 absence of older or better, the authority of Lou- 

 don. I suppose, is sufficient to determine Ima- 

 tophyllum to be the right name. 



[Botanists do not always tell the reasons for tne 

 names they give the plants. Therefore in matters 

 of orthography, unless they be clearly and mani- 

 festh' wrong, we take the names just as the 

 author of the botanical name gives it to us. In 

 this case Sprengel gives itHimantophyllum, and 

 this we suppose is the oldest orthography. As 

 in the case of Haplopappus, and other words; 

 when it got to London the H was dropped, and 

 then we read of it as Imantophyllum. Hooker 

 we believe to be the first to use it in this form, 

 dropping the n also, and making it Imato- 



phyllum. It is not clear to our mind whether 

 derivation is from imas^ a leather thong, per- 

 haps from the strap-shaped leather-like leaves, 

 or from imato^ a vestment, as our correspondent 

 suggests. 



At any rate,the name might as Avell be dropped 

 in general use, as we take Chvia nobilis, under 

 the rules, to be the correct name for it. — [Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Double Amaryllis. — J. D., Bridgeport, 

 Conn., writes : " I send you by post two fiowers 

 of a variety of Amaryllis, said to be found grow- 

 ing wild near St. Johns, Florida. "Will you 

 please let us know tlu'ough your Monthly what 

 you know of the variety, &c." 



[As far as we could judge from a flower it ap- 

 pears to be Amaryllis Johnsoni. It is not a 

 native of Florida ; if wild the original must be 

 an escape from some garden. It is very double, 

 beautiful, and ought to be a valuable florists' 

 flower. — Ed. G. M.] 



Literature, Travels I Personal Notes. 



. COMMUNICA TWNS. 



HISTORY OF THE WEEPING WILLOW. 



1!Y W. II. P. 



In your reply to " F," Boston, you say that 

 tradition says that all our Weeping Willows 

 come from a cutting of that one at Xapoleon's 

 grave, and you speak of Capt. Jacob Smith as 

 probably the ancestor of a former correspondent. 

 Now it is my custom on receiving your magazine 

 to commence reading it at once, and when I find 

 anj'thing likely to interest our domestic circle, 

 I read it aloud. When the above was thus read 

 a venerable lady of excellent memory, said : 

 '' I remember seeing a very large old Weep- 

 ing Willow, when I lived in Newport, R. I., 

 and it must have been as early as 1812, for 

 our family all left Newport before then, as Mr. 

 Madison's embargo and the war left little for 

 people to do in Newport. Napoleon died in 

 1821, nine years after, and not long enough ago to 

 make a search for ancestors very difficult." Thank 

 you very much for your European Notes ; how 

 they must awake long-slumbering echoes in 

 many wanderers from Albion ! Even I, Yan- 

 keefied beyond belief, and certain to pass with 

 your friend, the "guard," for an unmitigated 

 " furriner.'" was so far affected bv the little word 



" TJckfield," that iny eyes involuntarily closed ; 

 many, many years were retraced, and among 

 many recollections was one of a secluded pond, 

 with Willows on one side and Pine trees on the 

 other, the cones from the latter giving the boy of 

 six years practical illustrations of the laws of 

 "interference of vibration in elastic media," 

 which have made the study of acoustics and op- 

 tics pleasanter and easier. The Newport Wil- 

 low, above mentioned, was in Third street 

 on the 'Point," and there may be many who re- 

 member it as long ago as the time stated. Your 

 Boston friend "F." can make inquiries around 

 Long Wharf, and the boat builders, when he 

 visits Newport next summer . 



[We are much indebted to our corresponden- 

 for these notes. In our former remarks the ref- 

 erence was intended to be in regard to the intro- 

 duction of the Weeping Willow into New Eng- 

 land, rather than over the whole country. 

 Weeping Willows were not uncommon as side- 

 walk trees in Philadelphia, in 1803, and there 

 may be older dates elsewhere. — Ed. G. M.] 



PLANT PROTECTION. 



BY El'OENE <iLKX, ItOCIIKSTEI! . N'. V. 



In 1876, Congress enacted a law by which 

 it was made a penal offense, punishable 

 liy tine not exceeding SI ,000 or imprisonment 



