496 Gender and Accentuation 



Stewart, Esq., Cherryvale. Ranunculus, Mr. Lindsay, Belfast. Anemone, 

 Mr. J. Gamble. — Fruit. Cherries, Mr. J. Scott. Strawberries, Mr. C. 

 Cummins, gardener to the Marquess of Downshire. — Culinary Vegetables. 

 Cucumbers : 1. Mr. J. Scott, gardener to the Marquess of Donegall, Or- 

 meau ; 2. Mr. A. Anderson, gardener to Charles Brownlow, Esq., Lurgan. 

 Cauliflower, Edward Walkington, Esq. Potatoes, Mr. J. Walker, gardener 

 to N. Batt, Esq., Purdysburn. Mushrooms, Mr. J. Scott. Asparagus, Mr. 

 A. Dixon, gardener to W. Montgomery, Esq., Rosemount. Turnips, Mr. 

 A. Dixon. 



Some splendid specimens of plants were exhibited. Among the contri- 

 butors we may enumerate the Marchioness of Donegall, Lady Bateson, 

 Mrs. J. Stewart, &c. There were also some beautiful plants from Mr. 

 Brownlow's, at Lurgan ; and one fine specimen of the Indian rubber tree, 

 jFicus elastica, together with a geranium in bloom, upwards of 10 ft. high, 

 from Ormeau. We particularly noticed a basket of strawberries, sent by 

 Mr. Cummins, and two pines, which did him great credit. (Belfast Neivs- 

 Letter, June 8.) 



Flower-Gardening. — " Where the habitation itself is so wretched, the 

 ornament of a garden is not to be expected. No rose or woodbine climbs 

 round the door, with some warbling bird suspended near ; nor is there the 

 least plot appropriated to flowers. The houses of the more wealthy are 

 remarkably deficient in this respect, although they have a milder climate 

 than England, and might easily preserve the choicest plants. The lady 

 even does not indulge in a few pots of rarities at her window. The disin- 

 clination of farmers to become gardeners admits of explanation, — they are 

 gardeners on a larger scale ; but that persons otherwise occupied should 

 not be cultivators, is less easy of solution." — Bichend's Ireland and its Eco~, 

 nomy. London. 1830. Small 8vo. p. 34>. ; a very interesting work, written 

 by a man totally free from prejudice, and with the best possible feeling. It 

 seems to us that the next best thing for Ireland, after Catholic emancipa- 

 tion, would be, the withdrawing, as the livings fall in, of the national church 

 establishment. — Cond. 



Art. IV. Remarks on the Gender and Accentuation of Botanical 



Names. 



It is not without reason that some of our correspondents complain of 

 variations in the gender ascribed by different botanists to the same or 

 similarly derived generic names. Negligence on the part of the framers of 

 new terms, and the adopters of old, has introduced much confusion into 

 the literature of the science ; and though this matter may seem beyond 

 the province of a work devoted to practical gardening, nevertheless we will 

 throw out a few suggestions for its rectification, in the hope of attracting 

 attention to the subject from some of the lights of the botanical world. 



Gender. — Though many of the smaller plants depart from it, the general 

 rule is, that all are feminine : and it would have been well if the framers 

 of new names, had adhered to the general rule, instead of increasing the 

 number of exceptions. 



In names adopted from the writings of antiquity, one might suppose there 

 was but little room for error ; yet even here it has crept in : for instance, 

 Potamogeton, tTlex, and 2?uonymus. The remedy in this case is suffi- 

 ciently simple: the gender used by the ancients should be invariably 

 retained. 



In names composed of two or more Greek words, the gender should be 

 that of the terminating word, unless the Latinised termination renders it in- 

 compatible with Latin rules : for instance, Podocarpus should be masculine, 



