78 
THE FLORISTS JOURNAL. 
messenger. This commission consisted of Dr. Lindley, of the 
horticultural gardens, Mr. Paxton, of the Duke of Devonshire’s 
gardens at Chats worth, and Mr. Wilson ; the first and second of 
whom, at least, are a sort of rivals to the director at Kew. Dr. 
Lindley is, we believe, the real author of the report, which tells 
what are in the gardens, the condition of the several plants, the 
conduct of those who have the management; and offers certain pro¬ 
posals for what are said to be improvements. With the treatment 
of the plants themselves no fault is found, for they are said to 
be in excellent condition ; but want of room is complained of, 
which is obviously the fault of those who find the funds, and direct 
their outlay. Great objections are made to the naming of the 
plants ; not because any of them are misnamed, but because they 
have been chiefly named by Mr. Smith, who is only the foreman, 
and has a small salary, and consequently is not scientific enough, 
or possessed of a sufficient “means” for this (in the commissioners’ 
estimation) important part of botanical economy. Now, though 
the naming of plants were a matter of far more consequence than 
it is, we do not see how the smallness of a man’s salary should 
prevent him either from doing it properly, or from being possessed 
of science. We have often observed high salaries having a re¬ 
laxing effect on a man’s exertions, but never of small ones having 
the same. Great salaries, like great and ostentatious names, have 
a tendency to make the baser metals pass current as gold. Be¬ 
sides, the nomenclature of plants is a confusion worse than Babel, 
—a perfect abomination upon earth ; for nine-tenths of the names 
have not only no meaning, but they consist of the surnames of 
men of all nations, transformed into monkeys by sticking Greek 
and Latin terminations to their hinder ends. The Nominalists and 
the Realists once bred not only great anarchy in the metaphysical 
world, but were the cause of making warriors handle the physical 
tool in the battle field. We strongly suspect that there are 
nominalists and realists in botany ; and we are free to confess that 
we prefer a botanist who really understands their physiology, their 
habits, and modes of treatment, and their useful properties, to one 
"who spends all his life in calling them names. This part of the 
special pleading (pleading for some purpose into wdiich w r e have 
no right or wish to inquire) must, therefore, fall to the ground. 
It appears, indeed, that the reporters or reporter could find no 
fault whatever with Kew r Gardens, except the want of room in the 
