8 IXTRODUCTIOX 



ton should never be written Duke of Wellington. There is 

 a peony originated by Guerin in France and named in French 

 Reine (which means Queen) Victoria. There is also another 

 and very different peony originated by Kelway in England and 

 named in English Queen Victoria. It will thus be seen that a 

 translation of these names would lead to utter and continued 

 confusion. A rigid adherence to this rule in the case of the 

 Japanese and Chinese" names would seem to entail a hardship 

 on Europeans and Americans. Therefore for the sake of 

 accuracy of record, these names are entered in this check-list in 

 the original, while the final disposition of such names is a mat- 

 ter for the future deliberation of the Committee on Nomencla- 

 ture. 



Another and very important source of error is the distribu- 

 tion of roots bearing carelessly written and illegible labels. The 

 various shipments to the Cornell Station established this fact 

 beyond dispute. Many of the lots bore labels which took hours 

 of vexing and discouraging work to decipher, and many could 

 not be read with certainty. Other lots, however, bore neatly 

 printed labels which did' not leave a shadow of doubt as to 

 their wording. We wish to strongly urge the use of printed or 

 at least legibly written labels, for we are convinced that a large 

 amount of confusion may be avoided by due care in this 

 particular. 



Another source of confusion is the common method of at- 

 taching the labels. Nearly every box of roots we received con- 

 tained loose labels in the bottom, and our collection of unnamed 

 plants is therefore needlessly large. Tt is the common custom to 

 cut off the old stalks about three inches above the crown, and to 

 these smooth and slippery ends the labels are often loosely 

 wired in such a careless manner that there is nothing to prevent 

 their slipping off. In some cases the label is wired to a 

 branch of the root. The roots, however, are very brittle and. 

 the branch bearing the label is often broken off. 



The best and most satisfactory way to label large peony 

 roots is to use a label with a hole near one end. A stout cord 



