148 THE JOURNAL OF INDIAN BOTANY. 



the absence of chromatophores and presence of pyrenoids and starch in the 

 former, which characters differentiate the genus CJiaraciiwi from Characiopsis. 



S. L. G. 



Biography. 



John Goodyear of Mapledurham by G. Claridge Druce, Sap pi. to 



the Botanical Exchange Club Report 1916. 



This booklet which has only just now come into my hands is an account, 

 compiled it is clear with great industry, of John Goodyear, a native of Hamp- 

 shire, who lived 1591 — 16fi4, and was one of Englands early Botanists. He 

 grew in his own garden many interesting plants, including at that time, the 

 very rare Jerusalem artichoke, the tubers of which however he evidently 

 found disappointedly indigestible; but moved later to Oxford, attracted no 

 doubt by the recently opened Garden of Physic. The record of his work lies 

 chiefly in references by Johnson in his second edition of Gerard's Herbal, but 

 also by John Parkinson in Paradisus Terrestris, William How in Phytologia 

 Britanica and Merrett in Pinax. Those who know and love their English 

 flora will find interesting details of the first mention of many species as 

 growing in Hampshire or even in England. To others perhaps the chief 

 interest will lie in the striking confirmation afforded of the difficulties the 

 earlier Botanists had in naming their finds, and of the tremendous service 

 rendered by Linnaeus in his establishment of a simple and workable system of 

 nomenclature. Some of the names call for no particular remark except as 

 being curiously lit aral translations into Latin of the common English ones, 

 e.g. Urameu Parnassi for the Grass of Parnassus (Fantasia sp.). But what 

 chiefly strikes one as illustrating the debt we owe to Linnaeus is the length 

 and clumsiness of many of the names, which were used prior to that botanists 

 day. Thus what Linnaeus afterwards called, and we now call, Galeopsis 

 tetrahit, was Cannabis spuria altera, flor. purp. (the purple flowered spurious 

 Hemp). Potamogetoit crispus L. was known as Tiiulus aquaticus minor quercus 

 floribus (the lesser waterweed, oak-flowered), and P. 'densus L. as Tribixlus 

 aquaticus minor muscalellac floribus (the lesser waterweed with flowers of the 

 Muscatell). No doubt " aquatic tribulation," if that is a nearer translation, 

 would fittingly describe this troublesome genus, but what a clumsy way of 

 distinguishing the species, compared with Linnaeus' binomial system. The 

 descriptions it may be said were always in English, only the names in Latin. 

 Goodyear's careful descriptions of the four different kinds of Elm (one of 

 which, not the Wych Elm, he called Witch Hasell) are quoted in full as 

 showing the character of his work, and a list is given of his MS. notes and of 

 the very fine collection of books which he presented to the Library of 

 Magdalen College, Oxford. 



P. F. F. 



Printed and Published for the Proprietor by W. L. KING at the Methodist 

 Publishing House, Mount Road, Madras. 



