430 ORCHIDS. 



slightly altered. Here and there, after the same manner, we 

 may shorten a Latin orchidaceous name, saying Dendrobe^ 

 Oncid, Cypripede, instead of Dendrobium^ Oncidiuin, and Cy- 

 pripediuiii) following, too, in that procedure, the plan recom- 

 mended by Mr. Bentham with regard to the names of certain 

 English wild flowers ; but there are many names which cannot 

 Ix so abbreviated without sacrifice of euphony, and these will 

 be adopted by all sensible people without a murmur, just as, 

 a little while ago, they accepted fuchsia and rhododendron, 

 and the hundreds of similar names which have virtually be- 

 come the English ones. A little time only is wanting, and 

 Calanthe will slide into every day speech, just as * polyanthus ' 

 has done ; that is to say, with every one who cares to know 

 what a Calanthe is, our own experience leading us to the be- 

 lief that those who object to * Latin ' names do not want to 

 learn the English ones either. 



" The above argument of course places the matter upon its 

 lowest platform. There is no need to point out anew that 

 without scientific names there could not possibly be any re- 

 ciprocal understanding, or any uniformity of action among 

 florists and botanists, especially those residing in different 

 countries, every geographical change implying a new set of 

 vernacular terms. 



" The exotic vernacular, were it adopted as a whole, would 

 scarcely be an improvement upon the Latin, if we may judge 

 from the Mexican names of two Orchids figured by Hernan- 

 dez, for instead of Stanhopea we should have to say Coatzonte 

 Coxochitl; and instead of L(zlia majalts, Chichilitic Tepe- 

 tlavhxochitl. 



" The bestowal of the names of the genera of Orchids we 

 owe to many different writers from Tournefort onwards. Or- 

 dinarily the genus has been defined by the contriver of the 

 name it bears, but to this there are exceptions. What share 

 the botanists who have dealt with Orchids have had in estab- 



