274: THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING. 
Pronouncing Dictionary—continued. 
connected with pronunciation, it does not pretend to be more than an attempt. Kindly 
criticisms and corrections are earnestly invited for the purpose of attaining to a more 
accurate standard of pronunciation in future editions of the “ Dictionary of Gardening.” 
At any rate, an honest endeavour has now been made to obtain, from first sources, 
authoritative decisions on the subject. 
For Accentuation and Quantity the works of Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny, 
have been re-read, so as to ascertain how far the present -pronunciation has been 
distorted and vulgarised from the original names so often first given by these authors. 
In the special pronunciation of Latin attention has been paid to all the latest English 
authorities, such as the Syllabus issued by Messrs. Palmer and Munro in 1872, and, 
since that date, the works of Mr. A. J. Ellis (the greatest English authority on 
phonetics), of Dr. Kennedy, and of Mr. Roby, and the “Summary of Latin Pronunciation 
in the Augustan Period” lately issued by the Cambridge Philological Society. Of course, 
all the minute details given by these authorities have not been entered into or repro- 
duced, nor have their points of variance been discussed; but an attempt has been made 
to draw from the consensus of leading scholars a broad general outline of the best 
information at present attainable on the vewata questio of Latin pronunciation. 
In addition to the words of classical derivation which have been dealt with there 
are a number of names which are either derived from various other foreign tongues 
(e.g., Arabic, Malay, the native languages of America, &c.), or are commemorative, 1.e., 
are derived from the names of eminent botanists, and others who have been intimately 
connected with botanical studies. To inquire afresh into the accurate pronunciation of 
all these names has not been found practicable for the present; and, accordingly, when 
it was impossible to obtain from printed authorities original information as to the 
foreign and commemorative names, those English botanists who have most fully entered 
into the subject have been carefully consulted. Among such botanists may be specially 
mentioned Withering in his “Systematic Arrangement,’ and Lindley in Loudon’s 
“ Hneyclopedia of Plants” and in Paxton’s “Botanical Dictionary.” In recent times, 
Mr. Randal H. Alcock in his “ Botanical Names,” Sir J. D. Hooker in the “ Student’s 
Flora,’ Mr. W. B. Hemsley in his “ Handbook of Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaceous 
Plants,’ and Mr. N. HK. Brown in the Index to “English Botany,’ have bestowed 
considerable attention on the subject; though they have not had occasion to advance 
far into this wide field. In this Pronouncing Dictionary names derived from extra- 
classical languages, or, as they are sometimes called, aboriginal names, are printed 
altogether in italics; commemorative words and those of geographical origin have in 
