The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-12-10
TITLES OUT OF TONE
incongruous Names an Observer
In a Museum Noted.
BIRDS OF ANOTHER COLOR.

Great Blue Heron Is Gray-FioWers
With Fantastic Designations.
THE purple sinch.' read the man,
as he stood before a glass case of
birds in a science museum. He squint-
ed at the bird and then remarked
scornfully. But the bird is not pur-
pie: ii is wine color" In the next case
he encountered the label Great Blue
Heron ut the feet of an extremely |
long legged creature who was not blue
at all but decided gray. The neigh
Dor of the blue heron was the green |
heron. ii bird almost brown, with the
tiniest flecks of green on it. Only by |
a big stretch Of the Imagination could |
it lie called green. A familiar looking |
water bird bore the name "black |
duck although it was brown with its |
wings tipped tawny shade. In |
whose names the visitor read with dis |
approval One was the snowflake"
a small bird of a decided brownish
hue Another was the purple grac-
kle' a brown bird with only the mer-
est suggestion of purple. And lastly
there was the "redstart," which was
not red. at all. but an undeniable
orange and black. When he read the
next label. Rose Breasted Grosbeck,"
and observed that only the throat OF
the bird was rose color. while its
breast was gray. the visitor hurried to
find the curator to tell him how wrong
~ and absurdly birds were named
The curator laughed. MY dear fell
low he protested. you have hap
pened on about the only birds in the
museum that are incorrectly named
AS matter of fact. the birds found in
this part of the country are very well
named indeed and you have picked
/ out only the exceptions. What could
( be better named than the scarlet tana-
ger. the bluebird. the catbird, the vel
low bird. the woodpecker. the phoebe.
4 the red winged blackbird. the bobo-
link. ETC.? If you'll examine the wild
flowers you'll find much more incon-
gruous names. For instance, there's
the oxeye daisy-and. by the way. the
oxeye daisy is the common white
petalled daisy with the yellow center.
and not the yellow daisy with the
brown center. as is generally supposed.
| Now. / cannot conceive how that little
flower appears like the eye Of an OK.
] The black eyed Susan. commonly
known as the yellow daisy. is better
named, but it is certainly extremely
fantastic 1t is a crying shame that
certain little sweet pale lavender
flower which grows profusely should
bear the hideous name of one Powered
cancer root because its root vaguely
resembles a cancer. But the name
sticks
"Then there is the lady's slipper. Can
you imagine lady's slipper fashioned
like that? 1t is pouchy and clumsy,
and its name is no compliment to the
fair sex. Another far fetched name is
Solomons seal. You know the flower
is a tiny greenish or creamy white af-
fair and is very unattractive In ap-
pearance. something like wintergreen
blossoms Well. it gets its name from
its root. which bears round scar left
by the broken off old stalk which Is
so unlike the impression of seal thai
it makes one wonder how any one
could possibly have seen the likeness
The false Solomons seal, by the way
| is disgracefully named. It is far pref
tier than the real Solomon's seal and
should have a pretty name of its own
NOW. the name dogtooth violet Is
another had one In the first place the
flower does not at all resemble tootl
of any sort. and in the second place i
is nothing ut all like Il violet. The
wild geranium is fragile flower. Law
ender in color. something on the hepat
lea type. only considerably larger, 81
Won can see how much likeness it ha:
to the sturdy garden geranium.
You've seen that crimson 6owe
which at distance looks like wilC
rose and whose leaves are much Xix
grape leaves and whose stems are yer,
sticky? Well. its name is purple flow
ering raspberry, while its color is al
unmistakable crimson.
"The blue vervain is tall weed. wit
tiny, homely flowers. which grows il
waste places beside the road. and
is purple. not blue. The iron wee
has a queer Latin name which mean
Mr. Vernon. belonging to New York
and is named after an early Englis
botanist of New York state.
"How do you suppose those pinl
fragrant blossoms along the road
which are near cousins to the garde
phlox got the name of bouncing Bets
1t seems incongruous and fippant fo
this delicately tinted flower. On tn
other hand. who do you suppose CAV
the name cowslips to the small flower
Of the meadow? 1T is certainly an al
propriate one. but wonder who col
ceived the pretty name."-New Yor
Tribune.