The  Origin  of  some  Old  Agricultural  Words.  50 
By  adopting  some  such  authority  as  this,  and  by  carefully 
refraining  from  the  use  of  any  other,  it  ought  to  be  possible  to 
compile  a list  that  shall  be  perfectly  definite.  Moreover,  two 
names  for  the  same  thing  should  be  discouraged.  If,  for 
M.  saliva,  the  name  of  “ lucerne  ” is  acceptable,  then  “ purple 
medick  ” must  be  dropped  ; or  vice  versa.  In  the  case  of  M. 
lupulina , we  should  perhaps  adopt  “black  medick”;  and  the 
useless  name  “nonesuch”  should  be  abandoned.  Perhaps  it 
might  be  used  for  something  else  ; unless,  indeed,  we  adopt 
“ black  nonesuch  ” instead  of  “ black  medick,”  as  is  actually 
done  in  Norfolk.  But  surely  a good  botanist,  with  the  help 
of  a good  botanical  list,  ought  to  be  able  to  construct  a new  list 
which  shall  be  universally  accepted. 
In  any  case,  we  can  see  clearly  that,  in  the  particular  case 
of  plant-names,  our  dialect  names  are  usually  worse  than  use- 
less. It  does  not  at  all  follow  that  they  are  either  confused  or 
useless  in  all  other  cases.  Many  of  them  are,  I believe,  worthy 
of  much  consideration. 
In  some  cases  Sowerby  fails  us.  He  explains  Ulex  by 
furze,  gorse,  or  whin.  For  all  three  names  are,  in  fact, 
equally  good.  Speaking  broadly,  and  without  being  too 
precise,  furze  is  the  Southern,  gorse  is  the  Midland,  and 
whin  is  the  Northumbrian  name  for  the  same  thing.  Which- 
ever term  we  were  to  adopt,  it  will  be  unacceptable  to  other 
dialects,  in  the  proportion  (roughly)  of  two  as  against  one.  In 
such  a case,  let  the  student  enlarge  his  mind  by  admitting  the 
facts.  All  three  names  are  of  vast  and  unknown  antiquity  ; 
furze  and  gorse  being  native  words,  while  whin  is  Norse. 
In  some  cases,  etymology  and  linguistic  knowledge  may 
help  us  somewhat.  The  forms  “ couch  grass  ” and  “ quitch- 
grass  ” are  both  legitimate  derivatives  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
civic  (also  cue),  meaning  “ quick  ” or  “ living  ” ; the  grass 
being  so  named  from  the  difficulty  of  killing  it.  But  all  the 
inferior  by-forms,  such  as  twitch,  switch,  skutch,  and  the  like, 
should  be  suppressed.  The  form  “ couch-grass  ” seems  to  be, 
on  the  whole,  the  better  known  ; and  I would  gladly  accept 
Sowerby’s  explanations  of  Triticum  repens  by  “ couch-grass,” 
and  of  Agrostis  vulgaris  by  “ fine  bent-grass.”  Bent  is  a 
shortened  form  of  the  older  hennet,  which  is  scarcely  needed  ; 
both  forms  were  originally  used  of  any  coarse  grass,  and  even 
with  the  sense  of  rush. 
With  respect  to  the  word  bear  or  here,  used  in  the  North  of 
England  and  Scotland  with  reference  to  barley  that  contains 
four  (or  six)  rows  of  grain  in  the  ear,  it  is  the  usual  old 
Northern  English  name,  used  by  Burns  in  his  poem  entitled 
“ Scotch  Drink  ” : — 
" I sing  the  juice  Scotch  bear  can  mak  us.” 
