46 PLANT NAMES 



of escalogne, which came from the Latin ascalonia, 

 which came through the Greek from Askelon, a city 

 of the PhiHstines, of which we read in the books of 

 Judges and Samuel. 



What is the origin of the name Spruce Fir ? 

 This word is the same as spruce, meaning neat, 

 trim. It was an old form of Prussia. Hall's 

 " Chronicle " tells us that a particular kind of fashion- 

 able dress was that in which men " were appareyled 

 after the manner of Prussia or Spruce." Thus, 

 Spruce Fir means Prussian Fir. Prusse, formerly 

 Pruce, is the French for Prussia, and the s seems to 

 have been prefixed for emphasis, just as " plash " 

 became " splash," and perhaps " lash " " slash." 

 Citrus is from Citron, a town in Palestine. 



There are, however, pitfalls which we must avoid. 

 The Guelder Rose, Viburnum opulus, is not called, 

 as one might suppose, from the province of Gelder- 

 land, but was originally the Elder Rose. The 

 Viburnums are akin to the Elders, and the g 

 was prefixed by a pure error. The Jerusalem 

 Artichoke, Helianthus tuber osus, is, of course, no more 

 an Artichoke [Cynara) than the Guelder Rose is a 

 Rose. But neither has it anything to do with Jeru- 

 salem. It is a Sunflower, girasole, and popular 

 ignorance transformed this word into Jerusalem, 

 just as British sailors turned Bellerophon into Billy 

 Ruffian. On the other hand, it is Hkely that 

 Spinach comes, not from spina, a thorn, because its 

 fruit is prickly, but from Hispania, Spain, since the 

 Arabs call it Hispanach. Tobacco may perhaps be 



