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other barbaric tongues. Why should we not follow the same cus- 

 tom in botanical names? Ledebour wrote Claytonia Chamissoi ; 

 but Eschscholtz had before him in manuscript, C. Cliamissonis. 

 Many of the later botanists have used the proper form. We 

 have, therefore, Aquilegia Ottonis, Cy perns Ottonis, Lupinus 

 Cliamissonis, Viburnum Demetrionis, Sullivantia Ohionis. These 

 forms are much more common and of course far better than such 

 as Astragalus Serenoi. 



But if names ending in -o should follow the third declension, 

 then should also those ending in -on. Here, however, botanists 

 have seldom tried to follow Latin customs. We find both Brittoni, 

 Eatoni, etc., and Brittonii, Eatonii ; but not Brittonis, Ealonis, etc., 

 which would be better. Besides myself, who have used Wootonis 

 and Congdonis as specific names, I think no American botanist 

 has used a genitive in -onis, in naming a plant in honor of a per- 

 son whose name ends in -on. I know of one case in which such 

 a genitive was used, but the plant was not named after a person. 

 I refer to Astragalus Zionis Jones. 



A German may claim that Anton has the Latin form Antonius, 

 which follows the second declension with -it in the genitive ; but 

 we must remember that Anton is a German and Scandinavian 

 form and that the name is written in French Antoine and in 

 English Anthony, while most of the names ending in -on are 

 French or English, and in the latter case derived from the Nor- 

 man-French or formed under its influence. The majority of 

 modern French words ending in -on came from Latin words end- 

 ing in -o or -on, both with -onis in the genitive. I think, there- 

 fore, that all names ending in -on, at least those belonging to any 

 of the Romance languages or derived from them, should follow 

 the third declension. 



The extension of this rule to names ending in -son, as Anderson, 

 Nelson, etc., is perhaps of doubtful propriety. These are all of 

 Scandinavian origin and have a peculiar history. In Sweden 

 they have never, until in later years, been regarded or treated as 

 family names. Peterson meant Peter's son and nothing more. 

 If Peter Anderson had a son by the name of John, he would be 

 known not as John Anderson, but as John Peterson ; and John's 

 son Nels would be Nels Johnson. From the middle ages to the 



