96 NAMES OF PLANTS. 



pronounced hard : thus Schoenus is to be pronounced as if it 

 were Skenus. 



" 7. That c and g before e and i, and before ce and oe, are 

 to be pronounced soft, but before the other diphthongs 

 hard." 



I take this exception to the last canon, that in Greek 

 words the g is always hard, as Geum, Potamogeton; not 

 pronounced Jeum, Potamojeton. 



A very slight attention to the marks and directions to be 

 found in many botany books would lead anyone to a correct 

 pronunciation of scientific names, yet it is not at all 

 uncommon to hear good botanists pronouncing them 

 incorrectly. 



In the following list the generic names are arranged 

 alphabetically, and old substantive names, now used to 

 indicate particular species, are placed in an inner margin 

 after the genus to which they are attached. The authorities 

 for the names are given, so far as they have been noticed, in 

 the former part of the book, but the others are omitted. 

 The names of the authorities, since Linneus, are to be 

 found in most Floras ; and unless I gave an account of them 

 they would be of no interest here. There are about fifty of 

 these authorities who are namers of plants, which are 

 included in the British Flora, that I have omitted, some of 

 whom are still living. This, however, does not give a full 

 idea of the extent to which an account of these authorities 

 would stretch my proposed limits. I will give an illustration. 

 If we turn to Epipogium in * English Botany,' or other 

 standard works, we find that the authority for the name is 

 Gmelin. Now there were at least four Gmelins living 

 about the same time. They died respectively — 1755, 17G8, 

 1774, and 180d. They were all of Tubingen, all travellers, 

 all botanists, all authors; and it would be necessary in 



