Case of the Houttuynia the Editor of the "Nonmi-Cuma Day News"
Sin—In "A Country Diary," dated May 21, but appearing in your issue of May 23, the author, in referring to a delightful white wild flower he secured in the country that morning, Father boggled at its selentifie name, Houttuynia cordate Thunb, and decid ced to give it the name "white-bract," for reasons stated. While T am quila Jaware that such a name as Houttuynta at first sight seems a bit of a leaser, must"be admitted thay it is no worse than Poinsettia, Bougainvillia, Gar-donia, "Biguonia, "Dahlia, Forsythia fand many others, which have become: the common or popular. names of-various cultivated plants in our gardens and greenhouses. All of these fare named after well-known botanists or the original discoverers of the plants, The same is the case with the [genus Houlluynia, and it seems a pity, when a plant or group of plants. has thus been named " to perpetuate the name of some scientitle worker, thay some other popular name should bbe substituted, especially when there plenty of precedent for not doing so. Z¢ the general public can accept and use such names as mentioned above, there would seem to be no reason why the name Houttuynia should not also be didopted for general use.
Autuun vt C, Sowenny.
[Shanghai, May 24.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.