102 
the Chelsea Garden in 1748. It appears in the first edition of the 
Gardener’s Dictionary of 1731 as Quercus (no. 5) calyce echinato, 
glande majore C. B. P., and is alleged to have been originally 
brought to England from Spain. This, of course, is a mere 
mistake of Miller’s. He was not infrequently mistaken as to the 
origin of seeds he received. He adds, “ this is preserved by such 
as are curious in the collecting the several kinds of trees,’’ words 
which seem to imply that he did not himself possess it at Chelsea 
at that date; therefore we cannot be sure that Aiton, Hort. Kew. 
in. p. 359 (1789), and Smith, Rees’ Cyclop. xxix. (1819), are 
correct in their statement that Miller had grown the Vallonea in 
1731, a statement which seems to rest on this passage in the 
dictionary. The identical words of the 1731 edition are repeated 
in all subsequent editions up to and including the sixth of 1752, 
which is the latest that Linnaeus could have seen before the 
Species Plantarum of 1753. 
Linnaeus probably adopted from Miller’s early editions the 
grave error as to the native country of Aegilops, which, in addi- 
tion to the “‘ foliis glabris,’”’ led to his false determination of the 
(fruitless) specimens in the herbarium, but it is strange that he 
should not have also followed Miller in the correction of the mis- 
editions of the Species Plantarum, for in the seventh edition of the 
ardener’s Dictionary (1759) all is changed. No. 5 of the earlier 
9 
Levant, from whence the Acorns are annually brought to Hurope, 
where they are used for dyeing; these are called Velani, and the 
tree Velanida by the Greeks. It is one of the fairest species of oaks 
in the World .... The Acorns have very large scaly Cups, 
which almost cover them; the Scales are ligneous and acute- . 
pointed, standing out a quarter of an inch; some of the Cups are 
as large as middling Apples. The leaves are stiff, of a pale green 
on the upper side, and on the under side a little downy.’’* No 
allusion to Spain; no apology for the previous mistake, possibly 
out of regard for Linnaeus, who had fallen into the same error. 
Q. faginea, writing 
ea ex deser. Willd. 
* It seems incredible that in the face of this descripti 1. Fr. i 
: Tiptio » Hi. Br. X11. 
p. 314, should have made such a serious mistake ante qnots : Go tapos Wak 
5 - Vil. no. 7, non. L.” as s onymous with Quercus lanuginosa Thuill 
which were not adopted by Miller before the Sth oy Fs 768. aE hee 
cannot have looked at the Dictionary which he professes to quote; nor is 
this the only instance of his misinterpretation of Miller : 
