364 The Botanical Gazette. [November ie: 
The word snake plays an interesting part, too, in our popular bo. 
tanical vocabulary. In general, “snake” indicates a plant supposed 
to be poisonous, or one which exerts a malign influence, yet some. 
times it is applied to a plant that is thought to act as an antidote to 
the venom of snakes, A botanist from St. Stephen, N. B., writes: 
_ “Almost any unfamiliar berry is or may be snake-berry, and all 
snake-berries are poisonous ; so a boy dares not eat a berry till some 
one tells him that it is good. Hence, though no two agree as touch- 
ing the identity of the snake-berry, the name is very common,” I 
find, too, curiously enough, that “snake” is sometimes used bya 
people no less widely removed from us than the Japanese to desig- 
nate fruit unfit to be eaten by man. For instance, a beautiful large 
red fruit much resembling the strawberry, but whose flavor is Per 
fectly insipid, is popularly called snake-berry, signifying that it is 
only fit food for snakes. Our popular name of Devil's apron for 
the familiar kelp, Laminaria longicruris, doubtless arises from the 
giant size of some of these plants, and I am told that in Japan this 
prefix sometimes designates an unusually large species. For IM 
Stance, a monstrous thistle is called devil-thistle. Also a large var 
ety of the particular rhomboidal-shaped Chinese nuts called hishi 
are popularly known in Japan as devil-hishi. However, with the 
As a rule, I have here entered only such popular names of . 
plants as are not recorded in the new edition of Grays ay 
Wood’s Botany contains some of those that I have enn 
Various parts of the country, but such as I have here retainet ae 
found in either of these floras are given for the sake of design pt 
special localities for such names, or because of some note | 
seemed worth appending. : e 
In those instances in which I have given as locality only the a 
of the State, it is either because the name is known to be in : give 
various parts of the State, or because my informant could pee sialy 
the county or town, Some names given are such as were 6 e not 
Current a good many years ago in the localities cited, oar Be 
been verified as still existent there. It would often have names; 
difficult to make inquiries about the present currency e we soe 
hence they have been allowed to stand as probably still in ust 
