PREFACE. xvii 



by interfering with tliem; such as Penaea, Hugonia, Parkia, 

 Mimosa, Arbutus, &c. And, finally, there is a large class of 

 scientific words which are best Englished by an alteration of their 

 foreign terminations ; for example, Melanthium may be changed 

 to Melanth; Desmanthus to Desmanth; Lecythis to Lecyth; My- 

 rospermum to Myrosperm; and such an alteration would at once 

 possess the great advantage of rendering English plural termina- 

 tions possible. Melanthiums, Desmanthuses, Lecythises, &c., sound 

 offensively to classical ears; Melanthia, Desmanthi, Lecythides, 

 are, if not pedantic, at least beyond the skill of uneducated readers; 

 but Desmanths, Melanths, and Lecyths, are formed by the ordinary 

 English plural termination without difficulty. 



It is, however, to be feared that a long time will elapse before these 

 views are carried out in such a manner as to insure their adoption. 

 But in the meanwhile a commencement of the plan is practicable, 

 and the Author hopes it will meet with support. The names by 

 which the great groups of plants are known are few in number, and 

 very often in use. There is certainly no reason why we should not at 

 once English them; the practice, indeed, is already adopted to some 

 extent by the substitution of the words Monocotyledons, Dicotyle- 

 dons, Exogens, Endogens, Crj^ptogams, Phsenogams, &c., for Mo- 

 nocotyledones, Dicotyledones, Exogense, Endogense, Crj^togamse, 

 Phsenogamse, &c. It is even carried further by speaking of Ro- 

 saceous plants instead of Rosacese, Orchidaceous or Orchideous 

 plants instead of Orchidaceae, or Orchidese, &c. But these amended 

 names are still too long, and too un-English in sound to be in 

 favour with the world which lies without the narrow circle of mere 

 systematists; and no valid reason seems to exist for not immediately 

 reforming that part of the nomenclature of Botany. The attempt 

 has been abeady made in the Author's School Botany, where it 

 will be found that by availing himself of well-known English 

 names, or of the English word " wort,'' or by merely remodelling 

 the tenninations, a uniform English nomenclature has been secured 

 for aU the common European Natural Orders of plants. Thus for 

 Nymphseacese, Ranunculacese, Tamaricacese, Zygophyllaceae, Ela- 

 tinacese, are substituted Water-Lilies, Crowfoots, Tamarisks, Bean- 

 Capers, and Water- Peppers; for Malvacese, Aurantiacese, Gentian- 

 acese, Primulaceae, Urticaceae, Euphorbiaceae, are employed Mallow- 

 worts, Citronworts, Gentianworts, Primworts, Nettleworts, Spurge- 

 worts; and the terms Orchids, Hippurids, Amaryllids, Irids, Ty- 

 phads, Arads, Cucurbits, are taken as English equivalents for Orchi- 



