lOI; Retrospective Criticism. 



ought, liowQver, to add, that my apothecary's'apprentice insists that pomiim, 

 being Latin for an apple, the editor of this work meant by " pomology," the 

 science of apple trees. Now, he might as well contend that it means a log 

 of apple tree; it would not be more barbarous to tinker an English and a 

 Latin word into one name, than it would be to try to solder Latin and 

 Greek together ; and, though there was one Knoop, a German, about the 

 middle of the last century, who made a book about fruit trees, and called it 

 Pomologj/, yet that affords no reason to believe that any Englishman, espe- 

 cially a scholar, would do the same ; for it is well known, that 



" The Germans in Greek 

 Are greatly to seek : 

 All ? All but one Herman, 

 And he is a ' German.' " 



And, least of all, would any gentleman who has the command of such fine 

 engravings, and fine colouring, and fine letter-press, antl fine paper, as 

 decorate the Pomological Magazine, have committed. snc\i a solecism. I am 

 therefore confident that the apothecary's apprentice is wrong. While we 

 were debating the matter, in came the apothecary himself, an old Scotsman, 

 who, after having heard our dispute, rapped his mull, and having taken a 

 pinch from it, shrugged his shoulders, and pronounced us both wrong ; 

 " for," says he, " the word denotes the science of nicely fitting these wooden 

 " covers," showing us his mull: " the word is derived from 7roj/^a {poma), 

 operculum, a cover, and Xoyoc {logos), the reason or method ; and the trea- 

 tise on the fruits is only illustrative of, and introductory to, a treatise on 

 the woods of the same trees that are proper for making mulls. And ye will 

 soon find, in the Magazine, a dissertation on the qualities of the timber of the 

 different fruit trees for the turner's use; but not a word of the manner of mak- 

 ing cider or wines." I am, therefore, completely at a loss what the title of the 

 work means ; but, as you live in London, perhaps you may know the editor, 

 and, if you have an opportunity, may ask him whether any instructions for 

 brewing from English fruits are soon to come out, or whether he really 

 thinks that, because a hybrid Amaryllis is a beautiful object, a cross between 

 a Greek and a Latin root will improve our language. Let him try a cross 

 between a Swedish turnip and a rape, and see whether it is an improvement. 

 An old poet has given us a gardener's illustration in support of my 

 doctrine : — 



" Non est quod multa loquamur : 



Nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in nuce, duri." * 



I, am. Sir, your humble servant, — Verjuice. 

 Derivation of the Word Monilifera. — Sir, Mr. Eraser, or his commentator 

 (Vol. IV. p. 217.), is inaccurate in supposing that Populus monilifera means 

 " literally, one-bearing," although the " shoots " may be " twigless ;" the 

 word "monilifera" means necklace-bearing, or "bracelet-bearing;" so 

 called from its beautiful, long, linear, crimson catkins, which appear 

 suitable to form bracelets or necklaces. I believe the application was 

 given by Linnaeus, who was too correct a scholar, and had too good a 

 taste, to botch up a word half Greek and half Latin, like a cauliflower 

 bastardised by a savoy, as some gardeners and botanists nowadays do. 

 But both the component parts of this name, fero, to bear, and vionile, a 

 bracelet or necklace, or similar ornament for the person (on the etymology 



* " No necessity for many words : ' There is nothing hard inside of an 

 olive, nor outside of a nut.' " A proverb against those who rteny what is 

 manifestly true, or assert what is manifestly false. 



