on the coining of new words
from Botanical Latin, by William T. Stearn, with reference to certain 18th-century descriptive botanists:
"Vaillant's other new terms have long been forgoten. Such apparent wastage of words occurs throughout the development of a terminology and is by no means regrettable: the greater the production of seeds by a plant, the stronger is the chance of a few seedlings reaching maturity."
(page 32)
Of course, there is the other reproductive strategy, which the French academicians use: few offspring, intensely nurtured. K strategy, versus R . . . I admit it, I always have to look up which letter goes where, since I don't know what the letters stand for. K is few offspring: I will say it stands for Kindergarten. R is many offspring, I will say it stands for Radiolarians.
"Vaillant's other new terms have long been forgoten. Such apparent wastage of words occurs throughout the development of a terminology and is by no means regrettable: the greater the production of seeds by a plant, the stronger is the chance of a few seedlings reaching maturity."
(page 32)
Of course, there is the other reproductive strategy, which the French academicians use: few offspring, intensely nurtured. K strategy, versus R . . . I admit it, I always have to look up which letter goes where, since I don't know what the letters stand for. K is few offspring: I will say it stands for Kindergarten. R is many offspring, I will say it stands for Radiolarians.