3l6 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST. 



in writing down the words to be remembered, using the 

 eye, frequent looking, abundant and varied repetition, the 

 learning only the names of real things as they were required 

 and these things possessing a lively interest, concentrated 

 attention on one object at a time, and continually employing 

 the words in practical work. 



His use of classical terms, as might be expected, was 

 defective in pronunciation and quantity, and even in 

 spelling in his herbarium, which showed that he must often 

 have written them down from memory and not transcribed 

 them. In saying these words, he would often crush out a 

 syllable or two, and otherwise transform them ; but they 

 were nevertheless recognisable by one acquainted with 

 the science. He seldom travestied them as unlearned 

 gardeners and others often do, who call Rhododendrons, 

 for instance, " Roderick Randoms," or "Rosy Dandrums ; " 

 the Lysimachia, "Lizzie Mackie;" the Gloire de Dijon rose, 

 the "Glory to John; " and the like ! Some of his transforma- 

 tions were sufficiently funny and smile-provoking even after 

 familiar use, which only confirmed the original defects ; but 

 most of them were obvious transformations as, " Atropia 

 beldonia" for Atropa belladonna, " Peter is aquilinia" for 

 Pteris aquilina. 



The mirth the big names caused to his ignorant neigh- 

 bours did not arise in their case, of course, from the errors 

 he made, but simply from their uncouth foreign sound to 

 their unaccustomed ears, and from their humour being 

 tickled by dignifying the common weeds with such " crabbit," 

 " lang-nibbit " names. Those whose learning enabled them 

 to detect his false quantities and other mistakes in classical 

 words, were rarely likely to laugh or sneer at the unlettered 



