GENEALOGY. 



123 



now, during the time for thinking over it which illness left 

 me, has got itself arranged in my mind, within limits of pos- 

 sible execution. And this the rather, because I wish also to 

 state, somewhat more gravely than I have yet done, the 

 grounds on which I venture here to reject many of the re- 

 ceived names of plants ; and to substitute others for them, re- 

 lating to entirely different attributes from those on which 

 their present nomenclature is confusedly edified. 



I have already in some measure given the reasons for this 

 change ; * but I feel that, for the sake of those among my 

 scholars who have laboriously learned the accepted names, I 

 ought now also to explain its method more completely. 



2. I call the present system of nomenclature confusedly edi- 

 fied, because it introduces, without, apparently, any con- 

 sciousness of the inconsistency, and certainty with no apology 

 for it, names founded sometimes on the history of plants, 

 sometimes on their qualities, sometimes on their forms, some- 

 times on their products, and sometimes on their poetical as- 

 sociations. 



On their history as * Gentian ' from King Gentius, and 

 Funkia from Dr. Funk. 



On their qualities as 4 Scrophularia ' from its (quite uncer- 

 tified) use in scrofula. 



On their forms as the ' Caryophylls ' from having petals 

 like husks of nuts. 



On their products as 'Cocos nucifera' from its nuts. 



And on their poetical associations, as the Star of Bethle- 

 hem from its imagined resemblance to the light of that seen 

 by the Magi. 



3. Now, this variety of grounds for nomenclature might 

 patiently, and even with advantage, be permitted, provided 

 the grounds themselves were separately firm, and the inconsis- 

 tency of method advisedly allowed, and, in each case, justi- 

 fied. If the histories of King Gentius and Dr. Funk are 

 indeed important branches of human knowledge ; if the 

 Scrophulariacese do indeed cure King's Evil ; if pinks be 

 best described in their likeness to nuts ; and the Star of 



*See Introduction, pp. 9-12. 



