Thus, his typography of "Wis-tar-ta," exhibited not only the pronunciation, but the origin of the term, as in honor of Dr. Wistar. Of American writers, Mr. Hovey, in his Magazine of Horticulture, has, more than any other, carefully followed the praiseworthy example thus set by the great author whose voluminous productions have so enriched the horticultural literature of England. This system - with the occasional use of the type from different fonts, and the separation of the syllables of difficult words by hyphens - is so simple and efficacious, that its universal adoption would seem to be a sufficiently adequate remedy for any mispronunciation of whatever is Greek or Latin in the vocabulary of horticulture; since, in regard to the orthoepy of words of this class, all that is essential is the division of their syllables, the place of the accent, and - perhaps it is well to add - the sounding of a final, except in monosyllables, like ah slightly enunciated, i, e., as in Columbia, and other English proper names.

Beyond this, it is of comparatively trifling importance whether one gives to the vowels an Italian or an English sound; although the latter, where English is vernacular, is certainly the most convenient, and, for aught that can be proved to the contrary, may be, in all other respects, as good a substitute as any other for the true pronunciation now irrecoverably lost.

Terminating at this point, the path leading out of this literary labyrinth would be tolerably smooth and direct; and, with such guidance as is indicated above, no one need blunder far out of the way. But the pronunciation of the modern geographical and personal appellations, by which so many fruits and flowers are designated, is a difficulty of quite another sort from that hitherto under consideration. Of this heterogeneous multitude of names, the elegant pronunciation, pushed to its extreme limits, requires not merely a knowledge of the syllabic division and accentuation of words, but a familiar acquaintance with the orthoepical systems of some half a dozen living languages; since, of any word whatever, the ultimate standard orthoepy is admitted to be the general usage of the best educated society in the country where the language to which the word belongs is vernacular.

Of the foreign horticultural names obtruding their unwelcome presence every where from nursery catalogues up to encyclopedias, the greater part are French, many are Dutch, some are German, while a few others come mostly from the Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese. Now, though these six languages may not altogether contain scarcely a larger number of sounds unknown to the English tongue, and therefore unrepresentable by English letters, still the ready mastery of these few un-English sounds - however it may seem to inexperienced persons - is what very few adults ever acquire. Select from the best schools in the United States a hundred pupils most distinguished for their proficiency in modern languages, and not twenty-five out of the whole will be found to have approximated to any thing like the exact vernacular pronunciation of the French u, the German ch, or the Spanish j, not to mention some other foreign vocal articulations which offer less obstinate resistance to our English organs of speech.

Indeed, by a little enlargement of our present boundaries, it would not be difficult to cite quite a number of Polish and Bohemian names, in respect to which even a tolerable imitation of the true sounds would baffle the utmost writhings and distortings of any Anglo-Saxon mouth not habituated to these sounds from infancy. And, were the foregoing difficulties smoothed out of the way, there would still remain a fear of pedantry to deter many people from mixing the discordant accent of a foreign word with the familiar tones of an English sentence. Hence, what is the strictly correct pronunciation of these personal and geographical appellations - while popular education remains at its present level - does not seem likely to become at all prevalent among an English-speaking community. But, if the imitation of the vernacular sounds of a foreign word be difficult, the too near approach to the opposite extreme is something quite past all endurance; as may be easily made apparent by giving a full English pronunciation to each letter of the following names, taken promiscuously from a nursery catalogue: Fenouillet Gris, Glout Morceau, Gros Monstrucux, Napoleon d'Hivcr, Sieulle, Swaar, Quilletette, and the like.

Nor are these uncouth abominations, as thus Anglicized, merely hideous, but they sometimes assume a very ludicrous air also, as where Belle et Bonne is metamorphosed into Bellybone, Louise Reale into Lucy Rail, Duchesse d'Angou-leme into Dutch's Danglelimb, etc, etc. The truth is, these foreign isms in our English speech are - to use a gardener's phrase - in all stages of acclimation. We pronounce Bordeaux as in French, Lyons as in English, and Paris intermediately between the two languages, giving the vernacular sound to the first two letters and Englishing the remaining three. And, as if this irregularity were not sufficiently vexatious, the anomalous condition of these words is not restricted to their orthoepy merely, but their orthography also undergoes a change in some instances; as, for example, the above cited French Lyon, to which the English seem to have added an s, on purpose the more effectually to distort its vernacular pronunciation. Thus foreign words are accustomed to domesticate themselves among us, conforming more or less, and in every possible irregular manner, to the analogies of the English tongue.

It will not then need to be repeated, that the pronunciation of this entire class of geographical, personal, and commemorative names, is an extremely difficult branch of orthoepy. The true vernacular pronunciation, indeed, ought not to be required except from a few rarely met with linguists, whose elegant scholarship comprehends an easy command of every un-English sound known to the languages from which the names in question are derived. The best that can be expected of the generality of the people, is something intermediate, which, if less euphonious than the true pronunciation, is still not quite so horrid as that indicated by the natural English sounds of the letters. This compromise system of orthoepy - as it might be styled - is exhibited as well as it can be, perhaps, in the pronunciation of foreign names, as given in Lippin-cott's Universal Gazetteer and in the latest edition of Worcester's and of Webster's Dictionary. But, how shall even this low and unsatisfactory standard for pronouncing so many strange names be popularized? It is easy enough to suggest some of the means that might be employed.

Let some competent person publish a dictionary of these terms, which shall give not only their approximate orthoepy, on the above plan, but also their derivation, and perhaps a brief description of the plant, fruit, or flower designated by each. Unquestionably, such a volume would prove a welcome addition to every gentleman's library. The author of any new treatise on fruits or flowers might also insert such a vocabulary, in an abridged form, as an appendix to his work; as was done, to a very limited extent, in Downing's Fruits, etc., of America. The names already in use having been thus in some way disposed of, editors of horticultural magazines might easily continue the record, by giving, in the last number of each annual volume, the pronunciation of every new term of this class which has been introduced within the year; and this in addition to the representation of the orthoepy, in connection with the first mention, of any of these foreignisms from time to time making their appearance in our horticultural literature.

It would even be rendering a grateful service to many a reader, to extend this practice backward to a considerable number of these names, which are none the less unpronounceable because now in common use.

More might be said upon this driest of all themes, but it would seem almost abusive to tax the reader's patience farther; and especially since the subject would hardly claim a place at all in the pages of the Horticulturist, were it not during this dull season when frost and snow seem, in a measure, to exclude from discussion many topics more entertaining and useful. One other idea occurs, which, as a suggestion of charity and decent civility, ought not to be omitted here: it should be enacted as an irrevocable law in the republic of horticulture, that any mispronunciation whatever of any of the aforesaid names shall henceforth be unnoticed and ignored, in so far as not to be made a subject of ridicule; for surely the mortification attendant upon the delivery of one of these orthoepi cal abortions may kindly be spared the aggravation of having the misshapen bantling made a victim of heartless derision.

[The subject may to some be dry, but none the less important; for us it possesses a peculiar interest intrinsically, and we must express our admiration of the able yet lucid manner in which Mr. Jaques has treated it. Pure Greek and Latin forms should present comparatively few difficulties; but the others are an abomination. Mr. Jaques, however, has left little to be said on this point. We have no doubt that his suggestions, if carried out, would result in great benefit to the horticultural community. The subject has occupied our thoughts at times, and we shall not forget it - Ed].