Graham guardian., 1908-07-31
TREES AND THEIR NAMES
The Government Has Established a
Laboratory to Determine the Dit-
teTsnt Species

TUG lObBCoS Po''S~ S'
For many reasons this is most un.
fortunate. To scientists, the con-
fusion which results when people
mean different things by the same
word or use different words for the
same thing, is intolerable, and
therefore they use a carefully
guarded system of nomenclature.
The every day man is apt to be
impatient with what seems the pc
dantic fondness of the botanist for
jaw-breakiDg Latin names which
mean nothing TO the un.Iitiated,
when common usage supplies u
familiar name. But the trouble is
that on the familiar name there is
seldom any agreement. Hence
many misunderstanding, many
friendly disputes, and often fail
ures even OF those who know u
good deal about trees to Dustin.
guish correctly the different kinds
of trees aud woods.
School teachers arc paying more
and more attention to nature study
and in nature study work are pay
ing more and more attention TO
forest trees because of the general
interest in forestry. At best there
are difficulties enough in the way
for those who have not had special
training in forest botany, when it
comes to identifying specimens OF
leaves and twigs brought to them
by their pupils. Leaves, particu-
laily, often vary greatly not only
in different regions but also In the
same locality and even from diff
ferent parts of the same tree. The
lack OF agreement on the common
name adds another complication.
If it were possible to bring
everyone to accept one name Tor
each kind of tree there would be
a decided advantage not only
through making it easier to recog-
nize trees, but also through clear
ing up confusion as TO the woods
in common use. The makers of
popular tree books have tried to
promote uniformity, often by fol-
lowing the usage given preferences
by the United States Forest Ser
vice, which has made careful
study of popular usage to the end
that as much authority as possible
may be given TO the name most
widely and commonly used. But
unfortunately it is too much to ex-
pect that absolute uniior nifty can
ever be brought about.
The trouble is almost always
over what the botanist calls the
specific name. 1t is easy enough
to tell an oak from a maple, and
there ought not to be much uncer-
tainity--thougb there often is-as
to whether tree is pine or
spruce. But oak, maple,
pine, and spruce are generic names,
and each genus includes number
of species. Here begins con.
fusion which often approaches
chaos.
Not only do different localities
apply different names to the same
species and the same name to diff
ferent species; in the same locality
several different names may be
used for a single species, very
likely with false distinctions where
no botanical basis for distinction
exists. For instance, certain
oak often. called both black and
yellow oak, used to be split into
handmade lath in early days, and
hence got also the name of "lath
oak"; but since to make good lath
a straight-grained tree was needed,
some woodsmen think that black
oak, such as the lath-maker would
have selected by its looks, is a diff
ferent kind of tree from other
black oaks. Black oak is also
used as a sub-generic term for all
the many kinds of oak which, un-
like the white oaks, have leaves
with bristle-tipped lobes and take
two years to mature their acorns.
Indeed, the local names given
to the At different oaks which
form forest trees in the United
States are almost without limit.
The true white oak, however, the
noblest tree of the oak tribe. seems
to have no nickname except in
Arkansas, where it is occasionally
known as stave oak. But a good
many other kinds are also called
white oak.
What is called black locust in
Pennsylvania is yellow locust in
Massac husetts, white locust 10 New
York, red locust in one part Of
Tennessee and green in another.
In Maine 1T Is simply locust, in
Louisiana acacia, in Minnesota
honey locust, aud in Maryland
post locust. These many names
overlap and are not strictly sepa.
rated by State lines. On the other
hand, the true honey locust (which
belongs to an altogether distinct
genus from the black locust,) is
known also as black locust, sweet
locust, thorn locust, locust, three