INTRODUCTION. C1X 



pendent cognates to ours, or borrowed 

 from them ? 



Grassmann(p. 133) considers the German 

 s lftuc$ert for Artemisia vulgaris, to be bor- 

 rowed from the English mugwort, but he 

 does not intimate to what historical epoch 

 he would refer the transaction. 



In conclusion, I would observe that 

 there is an interesting practical question 

 arising out of this study of vernacular 

 plant-names. It is this : Are not these 

 names deserving of a systematic arrange- 

 ment? Do they not offer the materials 

 for an English botany, a system in which 

 the names should be English instead of 

 Latin and Greek ? And would not a book 

 of English botany with English names do 

 much to promote the general study of this 

 delightful science, and afford to many who 

 could not otherwise find it, an entrance and 

 introduction to scientific ideas? For 

 Botany has this great practical advantage 

 over all other sciences as a means of uni- 

 versal culture, that the materials of it are 

 the most generally accessible of any scien- 

 tific materials in the world. Within the 



