108 FIRST BOOK OF GRASSES 



Scribner, F. L., and Merrill, E. D. The Grasses of Alaska. 



Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13, pp. 47-92. 1910. 

 Shear, C. L. A Revision of the North American Species of 



Bromus Occurring North of Mexico. U. S. Dept. Agr. 



Div. Agrost. Bull. 23, 66 pp., with text figures. 1900. 

 Chase, Agnes. The North American Species of Brachiaria; The 



North American Species of Cenchrus. Contr, U. S. 



Nat. Herb. 22, pp. 33-77, with text figures. 1920. 

 The North American Species of Pennisetum. Contr. U. S,, 



Nat. Herb. 22, pp. 209-234, with text figures. 1921. 



BOTANICAL NAMES 



In the introduction, the reasons were given for 

 using Latin names of plants. It will have been 

 noticed that these names are made up of two words, 

 the generic name (a noun) and the specific (an 

 adjective or a noun in the possessive case or in apposi- 

 tion), and that the generic name is placed first, like 

 the surnames of persons in a directory. 



Both words of the name are generally supposed to 

 refer to some characteristic or property of the plant 

 to which it is applied, as Lepturus (slender tail) 

 cylindricus (cylindric) and Erianthus (woolly flower) 

 saccharoides (like Saccharum, that is, sugar-cane), 

 but often botanical names do not fit any better than 

 do names of persons — Paul (meaning small) Baker 

 may be a tall blacksmith, or Martha (meaning bitter) 

 Stern may be sweet and gentle. Many of the Lin- 

 nsean genera bear the ancient classic Greek or Latin 

 names, such as Quercus for the oak and Ulmus for 

 the elm. In many other cases Linnaeus used classic 



