at first appear rugged and uncouth, soon become easy and familiar as house- 

 b Id words to the student who has his heart in the work. Of course, an 

 intimate or profound knowledge of the science of botany cannot be attained 

 without steady and diligent application, more than in the case of any other 

 scientific pursuit, but it has the advantage that the objects of research are 

 usually of themselves attractive and lovely, and it has always the charm of 

 freshness and novelty as each returning season brings old favourites to their 

 chosen haunts, or new discoveries are made in fresh rambles, or in sequestered 

 nooks of familiar walks. 



It has always been my endeavour in the previous articles in the Young 

 Naturalist to avoid as far as possible all technical terms or to explain them 

 in the context. But in commencing a new series in connection with the 

 supplement scheme of the Editor, it was deemed advisable to write an intro- 

 ductory paper, detailing some of the leading features of plant life, and 

 explaining once for all a few of the more commonly used terms of descriptive 

 and classificatory botany. One of the gravest objections to persons who 

 have not received what is known as a classical education, and mumbled the 

 dry bones of dead languages, is that the names of plants are all shrouded in 

 the Latin tongue. The reason is that Latin is the recognised language of 

 science, and forms a means of mutual intercourse amongst scientific professors, 

 whilst the same name being used in all languages, the exact plant can be 

 accurately determined in all countries. Just as an Englishman does not 

 change his name or lose his individuality when he travels on the Continent 

 or migrates to Australia or India. So the daisy is Bettis perennis, or the 

 Primrose Primula vulgaris wherever it is found, although the common or 

 vernacular name of daisy or primrose varies with the country or locality, as 

 the nickname or pet name of a person passes current only in his village or 

 family. Besides one does not require to learn a long string of jaw-breaking 

 names in order to recognise, understand and love the winsome daisy or 

 fragrant primrose, these are already enshrined in the heart and endeared to the 

 affections of every lover of nature, they are known and loved of all men. But 

 when one meets a flower which is quite new to him, it is just as easy to know 

 and remember it by its proper scientific name as by any other. In all such 

 cases familiarity is everything, no one thinks of objecting to Geranium or 

 Fuchsia because it is the scientific as well as the common name of these 

 favourite flowers. Nor does there seem any difficulty in pronouncing or 

 remembering even the longest name in the list of British flowers — Chrysan- 

 themum — for at Christmas-time it is on everybody's lips. Although, doubtless, 

 many of these names are to the learned barbarous, and to the illiterate 

 jargon, yet the majority of them are far from meaningless, and are indeed 



