ON NYMPH^ACB.E. 99 



proposing to replace Salisbury's uame Castalia by Nymphœa, and to give to the yellow 

 Water Lilies the name Blephara : the Bishop did not approve of this last uame, and recom- 

 mended Nvphar or Madonia for the yellow kinds. Prof. Greeue, not having Salisbury's 

 original paper in the Annals to refer to, nor apparently any publication relating to the 

 treatment of the question by Salisbury's contemporaries, except the published corres- 

 pondence of Smith, was unfortunately led into the mistake of supposing that " the action 

 of Smith was a deliberate attemi^t to srippress — relegate to oblivion, if he might — Salis- 

 bury's monograph as a whole, and to banish his name, in so far as might be possible, 

 from all connection with the nomenclature of these plants." Such a charge, if sustain- 

 ed, would form an indelible stain upon the history of botany in England, for to no bot- 

 anist is England more indebted than to Smith, who devoted his life, energy and fortune 

 to the advancement of English botany, at an opportune time when such devotion and 

 services could not fail to yield conspicuous results. Botanical science then made rapid 

 progress, a taste for it was widely spread throughout Grreat Britain, and preparation 

 made for the still more advanced and extended work of the Hookers. I am sure that 

 ]<mglish botanists entertain grateful feelings towards the memory of Sir James Edward 

 Smith, who was, in his time, the leader in English botany, author of the best works 

 (with exception, possibly, of that of Withering), that had appeared descriptive of English 

 plants, and he moreover conferred lasting benefits upon science by purchase of the 

 Linnœan Herbarium and establishment of the Linngeau Society. 



Mr. James Britten, F.L.S., took up Prof. Grreene's suggestions, in the Journal of 

 Botany, British and Foreign, for January, 1888, (of which he is editor), and was enabled, 

 by judicious use of the abundant literary material under his hand, to supply the refer- 

 ences recjuisite for completion of the ^iroofs of priority, and to place the whole subject in 

 a clear and concise form before English botanists. He did not, however, explain fully 

 the facts bearing upon the charge made, evidently under misconception, by Prof. Grreene 

 against Sir James Smith. He also alluded to Prof. Greene's statements, probably in haste 

 of writing, as the " latest discovery " in regard to priority of nomenclatiire, forgetful 

 of the fact that there is no trace in our botanical literature of any one having ever 

 doubted that Salisbury's generic names were prior, in point of time, to those of Smith, 

 which have been generally followed. The repeated expression " latest discovery," com- 

 ing from a botanist with such ample facilities of reference as an officer of the British 

 Museum, would naturally favor the assumption implied in Prof. Greene's communica- 

 tions that Salisbury's memoir had lain a dead letter, unknown or uncared for by his 

 contemporaries and successors, and had been specially "suppressed," "relegated to 

 oblivion " by Smith. These charges against the botanists of England in general, and 

 Sir James Smith in particular, are apparently further fortified by a quotation from 

 M. Planchon's paper in Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Botanique, ser. 3, XIX, p. 59, 

 characterising Smith's action as unjust, and probably prompted by a spirit of antagonism.' 

 All these writers have overlooked the facts, abundantly recorded, and of which proofs 

 are ofi'ered in this paper : (1) that the separation of the two generic groups, Castalia and 



' " On doit blâmer Smith d'avoir, probableniont jiar esprit d'antagoni.sme contra l'ingénieux Salisbury, boule- 

 versé à plaisir la nomenclature proposée par ce dernier botaniste. Il est trop tard sans doute, pour revenir sur 

 cette injustice qui fut en même tempt une maladresse: les termes resteront comme ils sont, à cause qui l'usage 

 les a consacrés, mais on saura du moins de quel côté se trouvaient le droit et la raison." Planchon. 



