658 



HORTICULTURE 



May 16, 1908 



Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists 



THE QUESTION OF PLANT REGISTRATION. 



So much matter has been published 

 of late upon this subjecl, so niucli 

 shaip criticism made, and so many 

 have evidently failed to appreciate the 

 purpose of plant registration that it 

 seems desirable that the position of the 

 Society upon this point, as understood 

 by its officers, should be made plain. 

 Many of the recent writers seem to 

 contuse the registration of a name 

 with a certificate of merit. The 

 writer's idea of the matter is that I ho 

 set of registry has to do mainly with 

 the ownership of the name, and in this 

 connection the value of the plant is 

 of no importance. 



The registry of a name is an an- 

 nouncement to the public that a certain 

 person has selected that name for a 

 variety of some class of plants, and 

 equilably vests the ownership of that 

 name in the person registering it, al- 

 ways provided that some other person 

 has not previously selected the same 

 name for a variety of plant of the 

 same class. The value of the plant to 

 which he proposes to apply the name 

 does not enter into the proposition at 

 all. The publication of an application 

 for registry is notice to the public ac 

 large, and the main purpose of making 

 such publication is to cause any one 

 having knowledge that the same name 

 had previously been used for a variety 

 of the same class of plants, to make 

 that fact known. 



The duplication of names, the writer 

 ventures to assert, has been in nineiy- 

 nine cases out of one hundred, a mat- 

 ter of oversight or error and not an 

 intentional deception, and while there 

 have been many cases, since the So- 

 ciety iirst started to register varieties, 

 in which application has been made to 

 register a name previously used for 

 another plant of the same class, the 

 writer does not believe that there has 

 been a single instance in which, when 

 the facts were brought out by the pub- 

 lication of the application, the dupli- 

 cate name has not been promptly with- 

 drawn and never subsequently made 

 use of by the originator in any way. 

 Everyone will recall numerous in- 

 stances of this kind during the past 

 few years. 



We are not, of course, at this time 

 discussing plant names from the point 

 of euphony or utility. Setting this 

 Question aside, the only matters in 

 which the horticulturist is interested 

 regarding the name of a plant is first, 

 that it shall not be a name which has 

 previously been applied to another 

 variety of the same class; second, that 

 is shall not be a new name applied to 

 a plant which has previously been 

 given another name. The present sys- 

 tem of re.gistry which should comprise 

 a scrutiny of names previously regis- 

 tered by this Society and a publicatiosi 

 in all the trade papers, followed by a 

 publication in the annual leport of the 

 Society, would seem to be about as 

 far as it is feasible to go in guarding 

 against the first error and has, the 

 writer believes, proved very efficacious 

 so far. 



When the time comes that the So- 

 ciety has ample funds at hand, has 



growing groiuuls to Muiipleineut them, 

 greenhouses of sufficient extent and 

 has in its employ aud under its 

 control a corps of expert growers aud 

 plautsmen and a large collection of 

 growing specimens, as well as a com- 

 plete herbarium, it will then be in 

 ])Osition to investigate matters pertain- 

 ing to the identity of plants with a 

 leasonable possibility or certainty in 

 the results; but to undertake such in- 

 vestigations, attempt to do such work 

 and assume to pronounce authorita- 

 tively upon such subjects now, it will 

 inevitably be led into error, its work 

 will be discredited and more harm will 

 be done in the long run than any pos- 

 sible good which may be accomplished. 

 The publications of these applica- 

 tions for registry has brought cases of 

 leuaming to light in the past and will 

 do so in the future. It is, of course, 

 desirable and is the intent of the So- 

 ciety to require full information as to 

 the origin of plants for which registry 

 application is made, and to require a 

 reasonable description of the same so 

 there are not likely to be many cases 

 hi which a second use of the same 

 name will escape the sharp eyes of the 

 many shrewd plantsmen who read the 

 trade papers. 



While registry is made after waiting 

 a reasonable interval subsequent to 

 publication, yet there is nothing to 

 IJi event complaints being filed at a 

 later date, and while the writer is in- 

 clined to think that a registry once 

 made and entered must stand unless 

 properly withdrawn, yet in case of a 

 proved error in which the person 

 making the registiy refuses to with- 

 draw it, it would be the duty of the 

 secretary to make public in the press 

 and to print in the annual volume in 

 connection with the registry, a full 

 statement of the facts. 



It is accepted in all matters of plant 

 naming that priority of publication 

 establishes the name. Registry by the 

 S. A. F. fixes and records the date at 

 which such name is selected, provides 

 a way to authoritatively settle disputes 

 in subsequent years, and gives notice 

 to all persons subsequently desiring 

 to name plants of the same class, that 

 the name in question has been used 

 and is to be avoided. 



The foregoing sets forth so far as 

 the writer understands if, the present 

 intent of plant registry by this Society 

 Further than this under present con- 

 ditions, it does not seem either feasi- 

 ble or desirable to go. The submission 

 of all applications for registry to the 

 nomenclature committee has been sug- 

 gested. It might be weil to state that 

 the Society at the present time has no 

 nomenclature committee, and it would 

 ceem a matter of great difficulty to 

 get a committee of this kind, which 

 would have to consist of men of great 

 Knowledge and be provided with faci- 

 lities for growing, comparing and 

 testing varieties. It would seem, I re- 

 peat, a nKltt^r of great difficulty to get 

 such a committee, who would under- 

 take and carry out the vast amount 

 of work which it has been suggested 

 should be loaded upon their shoulders, 

 as they could be given no adequate 

 compensation for their services. 



Another question would be the long 

 delay which would occur before any 

 lilant could be registered, and also the 

 hostility of the Introducers which 

 would surely follow any attempt to 

 jjut burdensome restrictions upon 

 them. 



It should be made easy to register 

 plant names instead of difficult. 



W. N. RUDD, Sec. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTU- 

 RAL SOCIETY. 



The May Exhibition. 



At the May Exhibition which was 

 held at Horticultural Hall, Boston, on 

 Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, 

 calceolarias and pelargoniums held the 

 foreground and the narcissi and late 

 flowering tulips made up a large pro- 

 portion of the display. The calceo- 

 larias shown by James Crosbie weie 

 very handsome plants, low, compact 

 and" shapely and well furnished with 

 large flowers of choice strain. The 

 pelargoniums came from AVilliam 

 Whitman and were excellent examples 

 of the cultural skill of Martin Sulli- 

 van, gardener. From the latter also 

 came pans cf tall, stately, late-flower- 

 ing tulips as well as an extensive 

 group of cut tulips and narcissi. 



Among the most notable exhibits 

 was a display of the well-known hardy 

 garden phlox Miss Lingard. We have 

 never seen this brought forward 

 under glass before and must say it 

 was surpri=in;j;ly handsome, the flow- 

 er panicles being about fifteen inches 

 long ou two to three-foot stems. They 

 v.'ei-e shown by W. N. Craig, who also 

 staged a large variety of tulips and 

 narcissi. A fine show of Spanish 

 irises in a number of vases of dis- 

 tinct varieties from Mrs. F. Ayer at- 

 tracted a great deal of attention. A 

 first-class certificate of merit was 

 awarded to J. T. Butterworth for a 

 shapely heavily-flowered specimen 

 Cattleya Mossiae, shown under the 

 varietal name of Mrs. Butterwortn. 

 \ display of about six hundred tulips 

 in fifty named varieties, from R. & J. 

 Faiquhar & Co.. was awarded honor- 

 able mention. Harvard Botanic Gar- 

 den, by Robert Cameron, filled a long 

 table witii a brilliant showing of 

 spring flowering bulbs and other gar- 

 den bloom and W. S. Spaulding, gar- 

 dener F. R. Cole, contributed a fine 

 general display of greenhouse bloom. 

 J. R. Leeson iiad a group of orchids, 

 Mrs. A. N. Blake aud Mrs. E. M. Gill, 

 pansies; W. \\'. Rawson & Co., tulips 

 and daffodils; Miss Ellen A. Mans- 

 field antinhinums, and there was an 

 aiipetizing lay-out of early vegetables 

 from several exhibitors. 



A reader expresses regret that the 

 practice adopted a year ago of opening 

 the library at Horticultural Hall, Bos- 

 ton, every Sunday, has been discontin- 

 ued. On inquiry we learn that the 

 reason for closing was the lack of 

 visitots. If half a dozen even should 

 mal e r-equest and agi-ee to avail them- 

 selves of this opportunity for horti- 

 cultural reading the librarian would 

 be pleased to comply. 



