figured in the London Flor. and Bot. Magazines. 139 



adopted the method suggested by Mr. Loudon, and first brought 

 into practice by him, in his most valuable work, the Hortus Brit- 

 annicus. We have done so, because we wish our Magazine to be 

 as far perfect as is in our power to render it, and to keep pace with 

 the many improvements which are continually making in the sci- 

 ence of botany. We also think, that persons unacquainted with 

 botanical names, and who feel diffident in pronouncing them, will, 

 by the aid of the accentuations, have this difficulty, in some meas- 

 ure, removed ; and, as many plants, especially those which have, 

 of late years, been introduced, have no common or English names, 

 and must, from necessity, be called by their scientific ones, the impor- 

 tance of this method will be at once perceived. The taste for the 

 study of botany is increasing, and we wish to facilitate it as much as 

 possible. We extract from the Gardener's Magazine the improve- 

 ments which we have above referred to : — 



" We have accented all the scientific names, both of plants and 

 of classes and orders, natural or artificial." 



" In order, if possible, to affix something like meaning to the 

 scientific names, we have distinguished each as belonging to one of 

 the three following classes : 1st, those composed of Greek or Latin 

 words ; 2d, those named after men ; 3d, those adopted from the 

 botany of antiquity, or to be found in a classical dictionary, (say 

 Lempriere's) ; and, 4th, those adopted from the aboriginal names, 

 or doubtful. Names of the first class, whether generic or specific, 

 will be found in one kind of type, as Clerodendron and media ; 

 names of the second class, or in memory of men, will be found to 

 have the letters added to the name in a different type from those 

 composing the original word, as Banksio and Lambertmwa ; clas- 

 sical names are distinguished, by having the first letter in a different 

 type from the rest of the word, as Pinus and ^inifolia ; and abo- 

 riginal or doubtful names, generic or specific, are wholly in a differ- 

 ent type from that of the words which precede or follow them, as 

 Araucdria and AKoga. The advantage of this plan is, that all 

 those words not distinguished by some variation in the type, may 

 be found in a Greek or Latin dictionary, either single, as Hypoes- 

 tes, or in compounds, as rhodon, a rose, and dendron, a tree ; and 

 as to other words, if much is not gained by knowing that they are 

 classical, aboriginal, or commemorative, at least, mystery is remov- 

 ed, and a certain degree of interest communicated." 



When English names are given, it is frequently convenient to 

 add some " word or words descriptive of the plant ;" these addi- 

 tions are in a different type, as Salvia coccinea, scarlet-^ot:;ere(Z 

 Sage. By a continual use of these improvements, Latin names, 

 in frequent use in botany, become familiar, and their meaning bet- 

 ter understood. This latter improvement we have not yet general- 

 ly adopted ; but we intend to do so in our future numbers. 



