USE OF KNOWING PLANT NAMES 277 



Plant -names are thrown into the forms of the Latin 

 hmguage. When plants first were studied seriously, 

 knowledge was preserved in Latin, and Latin names were 

 used for plants. The Latin form is now a part of the 

 technical system of plant and animal nomenclature, and is 

 accepted in all countries; and the Latin language is as 

 good as any other. As in the Latin language, all plant- 

 names have gender, and the termination of the word is 

 usually different in each gender. The species -name must 

 agree with the genus -name in gender. Acer is neuter: so 

 is A. ruhrum and A. nigrum. Quercus and Sa^bucus are 

 feminine: so are Q. nigra and 8. nigra. Masculine, femi- 

 nine, and neuter endings are seen in Buhus sativus, Pasti- 

 naca sativa, Pisum sativum. "Sativus" means cultivated. 



The name of a species not only identifies the species, but 

 classifies it. Thus, if a plant is named in the genus Acer, 

 it belongs to the maples ; if it is named in Fragaria, it 

 belongs to the strawberries; if it is named in Pyrus, it is 

 allied to apples and pears; if it is HeliantJius, it is one of 

 the sunflowers. 



USE OF KNOWING PLANT- NAMES.— The name is an 

 introduction to the plant, as it is to a person. It is an 

 index to its history and literature. It enables us to think 

 and to speak about the plant with directness and pre- 

 cision. It brings us nearer to the plant and increases our 

 interest in it. 



The name is a means, not an end. Merely to know the 

 name is of little use or satisfaction. Knowing the name 

 should be only one step in knowing the plant. Of late 

 years, the determining of the names of plants has been 

 discouraged as a school -exercise. This is because all in- 

 quiry stopped when the name was secured. A name was a 

 stone wall when it should have been a gate. 



HOW TO FIND OUT THE NAMES OF PLANTS.— There can 



be no short -cut to the names of plants, for names cannot 



