SCIENCE-GOSS//'. 



view in fig. I i> of the February article. The end 

 views of many species reproduce the vast variety 

 of triangular and sometimes quadrangular and 



polygonal outlines that arc met with in the diatom 

 genus Triceratiwn . In sonic the vertices of the 

 two triangles formed by the two segments are 

 superposed, in others they alternate with each 

 other, and in others again the angles terminate in 

 elongated processes, giving the desniids a star- 

 shaped appearance, with almost any number of 



rays from three upwards. In an old slide by 

 Joshua from Capel Curig, in which the cells have 

 lost all their chlorophyll, I wo specimens are eight- 

 rayed, while a third, evident!) of I he same species, 



has nine rays. 



In conclusion I have to thank .Mr. !•". Noad 

 Clarke for the excellent series of photographs with 

 which he has illustrated these notes. 



1'lax (Iicijh. Il/ini/iir, Xorth W'ttlrx. 

 .lull/ 1900. 



IRISH PLANT NAMES. 

 By John H. Barbour, M.B. 



TN response to various suggestions made to me 

 -*- after my article appeared on this subject in 

 Science-Gossip for last October, that I should en- 

 large upon it and give the meanings of the Irish 

 words, I now give further details. Before proceeding 

 systematically, it is necessary to^say something about 

 the article in order to avoid misunderstanding, 

 ami I think the best way to begin is, as " Inisfail " 

 suggested in his letter to this magazine last 

 November (vol. vi. p. 191), with a short list of the 

 trees after which the Gaelic alphabetical letters 

 are called, although I have introduced some of 

 them later, with a word of explanation on each. 



A is represented by Ailm, strictly the palm-tree, 

 Lat. (') palma, but some authorities suggest it is 

 more closely allied to the fir-tree, Lat. abies. The 

 elm is also Ailm, which possibly is a misapplica- 

 tion originally of the Latin. 



B is from Beit, the birch. Gr. barshon, but it is 

 also by some considered more closely related to 

 Heb. beth. 



C is Coll, the hazel. Lat. corylus. 



D is Duir, the oak. Lat. Deus. Heb. Derech. 



E is represented by JEJada, aspen-tree. Lat. 

 tremula. Greek, eta. Heb. heth. 



F is learn, the alder. Lat. alnus. Heb. vau. 



G is Ciort, the ivy. 



H is used only as a mere aspirate in Ir., not a 

 letter. It is JJat, the whitethorn. 



I, called Iodha, from Iodha, vulgo iubftar, yew- 

 tree. Lat. taxus, and is not dissimilar to Heb. jod, 

 and Gr. iota. 



L is Luis, \ ulgo carthan, the quicken-tree. Lat. 

 ornus. 



M is Muin, the vine. Lat. vitis, and like the 

 Heb. mem. 



N is from Xuin, the ash-tree. Lat. frazinus. 

 Heb. nun. 



(1) Heb., Hebrew; Gr., Greek; Lat., Latin; Eng., English; 

 li-., Irisli: W., Welsh; Tipp., Tipperary ; Linn., Linnaeus ; gen., 

 punitive: pirn-., plural: dim., diminutive ; syn., synonymous; 

 var., variety. A query means absolute doubt only. 



diphthong Oir, from Oir, the spindle-tree. 

 Yulgbfeorus. Lat. euonymus. 



P is not from any tree, but is known in Ir. as 

 Peat-bog. 



R represented by Bitis, old Ir. In vulgar Ir. 

 From, the elder. Lat. sambucus, and Gr. acte. 



S is Suil. Sail, willow. Lat. salix. 



T is Teine, from Ir. teine, furze. 



U is JJr, ubhur, iubar, yew. 



In the next place, it will be noticed that one Irish 

 name often refers to several kinds of plants, and 

 of course the reverse is common. This frequently 

 happens, and the following are a few instances of 

 generalised names, but some of them have also 

 been applied to distinct species at times. 



Seirg, any clover, trefoil. Cluain, a thistle or 

 spurge. Seisg, a sedge. Colubairt, cabbage. 

 Abal an apple-tree. Ditein is applied to any tare, 

 as well as specially to the corn marigold. f'oj>og, 

 any dock. Codlan a poppy. Mongeac mear is 

 both henbane and hemlock. Sailcuac, the violet 

 or pansy. Billeog, any water-lily. Cona, the 

 Scotch fir and cotton-grass. Why, I cannot say ; 

 in this lies one of the difficulties of such a paper 

 as this. A few Irish names of not indigenous 

 plants are also mentioned, as I met with them. 



1 might point out that in giving the English 

 names I have often used the most uncommon ones, 

 because some of these are heard only in Ireland, 

 and I might really designate them as Irish-English 

 names — -names which have been given by those 

 country folk who habitually speak English, of the 

 past and present, and I daresay it will be found 

 more interesting to others to know about them 

 than to see the usual English ones given; of the 

 latter I hope from time to time to publish supple- 

 mental lists as they come to hand. 



M\ endeavour has been to introduce as much 

 material into as small a space as possible, there- 

 fore in some cases l have had to resort to merely 

 giving the English, more or less literally, of the 

 Irish in brackets; bul in other oases I have ex- 



