PLAIN ENGLISH.

Waikato Times, Volume 101, Issue 16947, 9 November 1926, Page 2

PLAIN ENGLISH.

SCORNED BY BOTANISTS Botanical prigs, who spoil the joy of flower gardens by insisting upon crazy and unpronounceable names for the blooms, come under the lash of Mr Ernest Law, the historian of Hampton Court. In his latest work, "Hampton Court Garden, Old and New," Mr Law deals in his own interesting way with the historical, descriptive and horticultural aspects of the grounds of Wolsey's palace. He tells the visitor how to find the position of any of the borders and he gives the plain English names of the flowers first. Mr Laws says he does this "in preference to the foreign botanical names —too often horrible, modern, made-up, mongrel Graeco-Lalin words —their old English names on ' the contrary, having been in use for many hundreds of years, and being often associated with sonic of the most beautiful passages in English poetry." Why must that delightful old English herb, rue, hang its head under the dread appellation, Boenninghauscnia? "And they present us," goes on Air Law, indignantly, "with such words —if words we can call them —and ask us to use, pronounce and spell them as: Zauschncria, Prunus Nicdwctzkyana, Pulverulanta, Bractcata and Unguicularis. "It gives some of our botanical prigs —who have no real love for flowers, their simple beauty, tlieia exquisite form and colour their delicious fragrance, but reserve all their enthusiasms for the dissection and naming of them —the opportunity they are on the look out for of crowing over us ordinary lovers of flowers." Meaningless Namos.

"How'one hales these horrid, absurd, uncouth Latin names, which convey nothing to mosc people, and which few can pronounce, but which these highbrow botanists are trying to force on simple-speaking gardeners and lovers of gardening! Mr Laws, in his wrath, demands to know why lavender cotton must be known as Santoliua chamocevparissus, why larksupr must be Delphinium and mignonette Reseda odorata; and should it be pronounced Reseda odorayta, or Rcseeda odorayta, or Resayda odorayta or Rcsycla odorahta? Does anyone really know? Most lovers of llowors will feel indebted to Mr Law for ins few kind words of remonstrance to the botanical "Bolshies."