THE GARDEN PRIMER 



them; but there are very many things which we al- 

 ready know commonly under their true names. Why 

 not know all of them? By doing so you will find your- 

 self able to trace relationships among plants and plant 

 families which you have never dreamed of. 



There is, for example, the gigantic yet dehcately 

 lovely moonflower which blossoms only in the even- 

 ing, the ever alluring morning-glory which opens with 

 the sunrise, and the lacy foKaged cypress vine which 

 bears its tiny, starry flowers all day, the same as other 

 plants — all members of a family named Ipomoea, 

 and all sharing a pecuKar family idiosyncrasy in the 

 shape of a toughened seed which must be soaked or 

 filed before planting, in order to promote free germi- 

 nation. This is a very extensive family by the way, 

 comprising something over three hundred members 

 living in all parts of the world, each bearing a dis- 

 tinctly traceable resemblance to its kin. 



Perhaps it will help to a better understanding of 

 the matter if we compare the name of a plant to the 

 name of a person. For instance, a certain individual 

 is named ^' Brown," let us say; this is equivalent to a 

 certain plant being named phlox:^' it is the Generic, 

 or Family, name. But there are many persons named 

 Brown; which is he? He is John Brown perhaps, or 

 James Brown; this is the same as the Phlox being 

 phlox paniculafa or phlox Drummondii, the names 

 being transposed with plants, just as we find per- 

 sonal names in the directory. These names — pan- 

 iculata and Drum^nondii — are the Species names, 



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