22 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



for Narcissus triandrus albus, but it has not come 

 into general use, although some writers have per- 

 severed with it. No doubt it is too sentimental. 

 Then there is Foam Flower for Tiarella cordifolia, an- 

 other pretty name and quite appropriate, but again, 

 perhaps, rather too sentimental. At any rate, it has 

 not taken root. On the other hand, Rockspray for 

 Cotoneaster is a name so descriptive and so well sound- 

 ing that every one ought to use it; yet it is not used. 

 Other descriptive or half-descriptive names fail from 

 being too cumbrous. Thus we cannot expect that the 

 name "twin-leaved lily of the valley" will stick to 

 Maianthemum bifolium, even though the alternative 

 is no less cumbrous. But it is no use being discouraged 

 by the failure either of good names or of names less 

 good. Only persistency in the use of them will give 

 them a chance, and only by such persistency can it be 

 proved whether or not they deserve to survive. Even 

 a name too sentimental is better than a mere botan- 

 ical term; and, if there is a general tendency to use 

 English names, invention may be quickened, and in 

 some cases alternative names may have to struggle 

 for the mastery. In such a case we should have some 

 approach to natural selection, the best possible means 

 of obtaining good names. 



In many cases, however, what is required is not 

 invention, but merely revival, and this ought to be 

 far easier; for there are many old names now fallen 

 out of use that ought to take the fancy of any one 

 who hears them, as, for instance, Virgin's Bower and 



