1816.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



155 



glabris foliis ovatis utrinque acutes obtuse serratis 

 venesis basi subglandulosis floribus odoratis soli- 

 tariis." It stands in Mr. Matlack's (now Gun- 

 dacker's) garden at Lancaster. Mr. Matlack had 

 it by the name of South Sea Pk;m grafted. I 

 have no doubt it is a North American Plum, and 

 wish to hear more of its native place. Mr. W. 

 Hamilton thought he knew it. Will you favor 

 me with your opinion. At Baltimore they have 

 another wild Plum on market which was named 

 to me Mountain Plum, but the specimen sent to 

 me was not different from the P. Chicasaw Mx. 

 The P. acuminata and hyemale Mx. are still un- 

 certain to me. If I could get a sight of P. nigra 

 Bot. Mag. 1117, I would be much pleased. 



Of Mr. Bigelow I have heard nothing since, 

 nor of Mr. Green, nor of my Southern friends 

 Elliott and Baldwin. The mournful news of the 

 departure of Lyons, I have mentioned to Mr. 

 Elliott. 



If Mr. Correa returns by the way of Lancaster 

 I shall be extremely glad to see him, and if I 

 could then persuade him to take charge of my 

 Catalogue with a few specimens to Messrs. Per- 

 soon and Beauvois or a few seeds for Thouin I 

 would be much pleased. 



Forgive me that I trouble you so often with 

 my trifling letters and let me hear very often 

 that you are in good health. I remain with 

 great esteem. Sir, your sincere Friend 



Henry Muhlenberg. 



I enclose a specimen of P. cerasifera (Willd.) 

 from Gundacker's formerly Matlack's Garden. 



To Zaccheus Collins, Esq., Philadelphia. 



[The letters of those identified with the early 

 history of botany and horticulture in our coun- 

 try are extremely interesting. We find in the 

 above that there was as much trouble about the 

 native Plum among the early botanists, as 

 among the fruit growers of the present day. 

 John Lyon was an English nurseryman of much 

 intelligence, and greatly esteemed by the bota- 

 nists of Pennsylvania. In July, 1814, he left 

 Philadelphia on a long journey of exploration 

 for seeds and plants into Virginia and over the 

 mountains into Tennessee, thence into North 

 Carolina. The journey, which was performed 

 on horse-back, was very arduous. He was taken 

 iU in Tennessee, and died at Ashville, N. C, early 

 in September. The other names mentioned in 

 the letter are all well known in the history of 

 botanical science, and one of them (Dr. Bigelow) 

 Btill survives. — Ed.] 



" RiNCATON," Indiana. — We have before said in 

 these pages that there is no place of the above 

 name in Indiana. Those who address " James 

 Ford, Princeton, Ind.," any other way, throw 

 away both time, paper, printing, and "stamps," 

 besides annoying our good friend Ford, who must 

 hate to see advertising agents make dunces of 

 themselves. 



Common names of Plants. — If one is really 

 convinced that " language was given to man for . 

 the purpose of concealing his thoughts," he 

 would no doubt commence to exercise that 

 faculty on giving common names to plants. For 

 instance, a friend called our attention to the 

 "shrubby trefoil," lately (Ptelea trifoliata). He 

 was "corrected" and told it vi&s, not a trefoil, 

 but the " Hop tree." Our young friend was con- 

 fident he was right, — so we turned to the Botani- 

 cal authorities and under " trefoils " found noth- 

 ing but clovers, trifoliums — trefoils. He was 

 discomfited, and we pitied his annoyance, — but 

 shortly he pointed out the place right in that 

 book, where Ptelea was also a " trefoil." Now if 

 Ptelea is to be a "trefoil," and Trifolium a 

 " trefoil," we must submit to the popular dictum, 

 — but really we should prefer the hard names to 

 such a mixing, if the dear people will only let 

 us. 



To THE " manor born." — A correspondent 

 using Shakespeare's expression, "to the manner 

 born," was made by the proof-reader to say 

 " manor." The proof-reader has many authori- 

 ties for this, and is excusable. But we sympa- 

 thize with our correspondent, when we say 

 " poets are born not made " — we mean that they 

 are born in that manner,— and this is clearly 

 what Shakespeare meant. To the manner born, 

 —that is born in that manner — a manner natural 

 to one. 



Box IN Washington's Garden.— The box edg- 

 ings in the garden of Washington at Mount 

 Vernon are still in a healthy condition, though 

 over one hundred years old. They are well kept 

 and cared for. The estate was named Mount 

 Vernon by Washington, out of respect to Admi- 

 ral Vernon, a distinguished ofl&cer, who com- 

 manded the West India squadron of the English 

 fleet. 



Explorations in Japan. — The Flora of Japan 

 is so remarkably well adapted to the Atlantic 

 portion of the United States, that we feel a par- 

 ticular interest in a paper kindly communicated 

 to us by Mr. Louis Bohmer, an excellent gar- 



