PINETUM DANICUM. 



457 



Subsequently (1839), Forbes, in the "Pinetum Woburnense,'* 

 published all three species, with illustrations, under the generic name 

 of Abies, and because he was the first to so publish the Amabilis Fir 

 he becomes the namer of that lovely species, while the enterprising, 

 toiling, learned Douglas unfortunately loses this added honour. 



It is unfortunate, and it seems unjust, that the discoverer of an 

 object in natural history — one who, like Douglas, has the energy and 

 daring to explore, the intelligence to comprehend when he has an 

 object in sight that is new to science, and, moreover, the ability to 

 describe and name it correctly, referring it to the proper genus in 

 vogue at the time of publishing — it seems unjust that such a namer 

 should subsequently lose the honours of discovery and of authorship, 

 because, forsooth, another view of the relative importance of groups 

 places the object in another category, and therefore another person, 

 to wit, the one who so places it, becomes the author of the species. 

 Such is the latest usage, however, based upon lately revived ancient 

 laws of nomenclature ; and, in the long run, it works less mischief 

 than would a reverse rule, whereby pseudo-scientists could air their 

 vanity by foisting upon us a host of unfounded terms at will. 



Time passed, and many botanists visited the North-west ; Jeffrey, 

 in 1856, again reporting the Amabilis Fir from the Fraser River region, 

 but others did not see it. For several years authors catalogued the 

 species, relying upon the statements of Douglas and Jeffrey ; but, at 

 length, faith in their statements died out, and botanists began ignoring 

 the species. 



In 1879, Dr. Engelmann, who was elaborating the Abietinese for 

 the "Botany of California," boldly declared that there must have been 

 some mixing of Douglas's and Jeffrey's specimens, and the "Lovely 

 Fir " was therefore a myth — a fictitious species. 



The next year, however (in 1880), the Doctor, accompanied by 

 Professor Sargent and Dr. Parry, made an extended exploration of the 

 forests of the great North-west, intent upon settling, once for all, 

 several doubtful subjects that had all along marred our descriptive 

 work, and they were very successful — after toiling as Douglas had 

 done, finding that in every case the original explorers had told but 

 the truth. 



On Silver Mountain, near Fort Hope, Fraser River, at an elevation 

 of 4,000 to 5,000 feet, they came in sight of a beautiful, unfamiliar 

 Fir, which they at once recognised as the long-lost "Amabilis'^ — the 

 same that Douglas had first made known fifty-five j'^ears previously. 



A few weeks afterwards Professor Sargent ascended the very 

 mountain where Douglas made his fifteen-hour climb, j ust south of 

 the cascades of the Columbia River, and there also was found the 

 Amabilis Fir in all its pristine beauty, and not far distant the Noble^ 

 Fir, as Douglas had portrayed it. 



In 1885, and again in 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon explored the 



