42 



LACHNANTHES TINCTORIA. WOOL-FLOWER. 



As the name Hei'-itiera in connection with this plant, though 

 no longer used, will often be met with by those studying the 

 history of American Botany in the early part of this century, 

 it may be remarked that L'Heritier was conspicuous for his 

 opposition to the use of colored plates in botanical works. He 

 thought they never could be made sufficiently correct to answer 

 any good purpose, and we are tempted to reproduce his opinion 

 here, as showing by our "Flowers and Ferns of the United States" 

 how wonderful has been the progress of art, which not only 

 makes colored plates sufficiendy and wholly accurate, but makes 

 it so by machinery ! Only a very few copies of L'Heritier's draw- 

 ings were colored ; and these, as he tells us, only at the especial 

 request of a few friends. L'Heritier was born in Paris in 1746, 

 of wealthy parents, and early in life had the charge of the forests 

 in the department of the Seine. He was one of those rare men 

 who find something to study in everything that comes before 

 them ; and thus in the performance of his duty as a forester, he 

 was attracted to the wild flowers, and from this rose to be an 

 eminent botanist. He took an active part in bringing on the 

 downfall of monarchial institutions, and which finally resulted in 

 the French revolution. He died in August, 1800, having been 

 murdered on his own grounds, it was believed by a worthless 

 debauchee in the shape of his own son. One biography of him 

 says, "a vicdm to science," though exacdy how science thus 

 stimulated his murder does not appear. Elliott's name LacJi- 

 nanthcs seems to be derived from two Greek words — lachnc, wool, 

 and ani/ios, flower, from the striking character of the flowers ; and, 

 as the plant has not received any disdnctive popular name, we 

 have proposed "Wool-flower" to supply the deficiency. It is 

 often spoken of as the " Blood-wort," "Blood-root," and " Red- 

 root;" but as these names are used indiscriminately for other and 

 very different plants, it is hardly worth an effort to retain them 

 especially for this. All these names, as also the specific name 

 tinctoria, come from its reddish root, which seems to have been 

 in some repute in the past as a dye. Redoute, a French writer 



