106 HEOEGE LAW.SON 



less term spedosa. The Sweet Scented "Water Lily, N. odorala, was to be called pudica, which, 

 in view of Salisbury's own expressed reason for choice of the generic term, also became 

 meaninoiess. The Blue N. cmrulea is called scutifolia. N. stellata is changed to slellam, as 

 if for no other reason than to give trouble to proof-readers, (just as he changed Walter's 

 N. sagittifolia to N. sagittcefollia, spelling the latter name with an initial capital). N. rubra, 

 essentially the Rod "Water Lily is changed to magnijicu, which, like spedosa, means 

 nothing, but, having lîcquired priority in print, will probably be retained. N. Lotus is 

 bereft of its classical name and becomes mystica or sacra. Under the circumstances, it is 

 not surprising that his contemporaries and successors did not adopt his proposed changes 

 with alacrity, so long as it was the custom to avoid wilful and needless alterations, 

 unless they were supported by some strcmger plea than that of so-called priority, namely, 

 that they had been proposed. That Salisbury knew he was acting in direct opposition 

 to the views and feelings of his contemporaries, we have direct proof, for the part of 

 the Annals immediately preceding the one in which his paper appeared, contains an 

 expression of the opinions of its editors, Mr. Konig and Dr. Sims, in a review of the 

 Flora Boreali-Americana of Michaux, in course of which it is remarked : " "We have more 

 serious objections to the frequent innoA'ation this author [Michaux] has taken the liberty 

 of making in botanical nomenclature ; this disposition, which unhappily is too prevalent 



amongst the botanists of the continent cannot be too warmly inveighed against 



Some changes of names cannot, of course, be avoided, as the species must take the 

 name of the genus to which it is found to belong ; but in such case the trivial name 



should be sacredly preserved These strictures are not intended to arraign 



the new genera that M. Michaux has thought proper to raise from species before known, 

 although this appears to have been sometimes done upon grounds too trivial to warrant 

 such a change, so much as to condemn the unecessary alteration of the sx^eciHc name, 

 and even frequently of that of the genus, without any good reason." 



The following are the changes contained in Salisbury's paper ; the initial capitals of 

 his specific names (another needless change which he seems to have attempted to intro- 

 duce) are not reproduced here : — 



1. Nymphœa alba r/(rtM^'erf <o Castalia speciosa. 



2. N. Lotus " C. mystica. 



3. N. odorata " C. pudica. 



4. N. stellata " C. stellaris. 



5. N. cterulea " C. scutifolia. 



6. N. Coteka " 0. edulis. 



7. N. pubescens " C. sacra. 



8. N. foliis amplioribus, etc., named t'. ampla. 



An additional species, said to have the odour almost of the tiiberose, was introduced 

 from China, in 1805. by the East India Company, in the ship " Winchelsea," Capt. 

 Campbell ; it was described by Salisbirry in the Paradisus as Castalia pi/gmœa, and in 

 Hortus Kewensis (following Salisbury's specific name only) as Nympluca ]jijgmœa. In 

 Ledebour's Flora Rossica, (I, p. 84), it is identified with Grmelin's N. alba minor, which 

 Willdenow, in Species Plantarum, II, p. 1153, had included (exc. syn. Morisoui) in his 

 N. odorata. Another eastern species, named by Roxburgh in manuscript N. rubra, was 



