CHAPTER XV 



NEW NAMES AND OLD 



THERE are sporadic appeals for the use of " old English " 

 names of plants. They come intermittently, but per- 

 sistently, like letters on behalf of philanthropic leagues 

 and societies. Sometimes they find their way into the 

 daily papers. 



We all love these old garden names, and perhaps those 

 of us who see the most clearly how impossible it is to 

 banish Latin names from our gardens love them most. 

 They fall musically on our ears, and they stir our emotions. 

 After a lapse of thirty years a gush of perfume from a 

 nosegay brought into a room enters our nostrils, and 

 without looking, without a conscious thought, but with 

 a sudden impulse of affectionate emotion, we cry " Lad's- 

 love." 



The old scent, the old name yes, even the spot where 

 the clump beloved in childhood grew are there, sharp 

 and fresh as in the old days. 



It is pleasant to savour the old flower smells, and to 

 use the old flower names. We have no intention of 

 employing any other except when we are obliged to do 

 so. We should never dream of applying Dianthus 

 barbatus to Sweet William, except in a botanical treatise. 

 We are content to know that London Pride is Saxifraga 

 umbrosa, but we are certainly not going to call it that. 

 Traveller's Joy, Forget-me-not and Sweet Sultan satisfy 

 all our everyday needs. 



196 



