AVOID IMPROPER NAMES. Ill 



example for the pomological world. When we reflect on the 

 long, senseless and sometimes vulgar and ridiculous names by 

 which so many of our most beautiful fruits are known, our in- 

 dignation is so aroused that we desire to blot them from our 

 memory forever. Some have thought this spirit might be too 

 aggressive. All reforms are more or less so; but when we think 

 of the irrelevant and inappropriate names by which many of our 

 fruits are known, we feel the importance of keeping up our war- 

 fare until the victory is won, and all our catalogues are purged 

 of these improprieties. As I before felt, I still feel it my duty, 

 as president of the American Pomological society, to urge a 

 reform in the names of fruits, avoiding all long, superfluous, 

 inappropriate, indelicate, ostentatious, or unmeaning titles, and 

 if we cannot change objectionable names already applied, at least 

 to avoid them in the future. Hundreds of fruits once known in 

 our catalogues have become obsolete for want of good properties, 

 and so it will be in the future, and we shall retain only those 

 which, by their excellent quality and adaptation to our situation 

 and wants are worthy of extensive cultivation. Like the Bald- 

 win apple, the Bartlett pear, the Concord grape and other 

 renowned fruits, let such varieties be dedicated to perpetual 

 remembrance by appropriate names, and thus let us hand down 

 to future generations a system of nomenclature pure and plain 

 in its diction, pertinent and proper in its application, and which 

 shall be an example, not only for fruits, but for other products 

 of the earth. 



Let us have no more names of generals, colonels, captains, 

 presidents, governors, monarchs, kings or princes, mammoths or 

 Tom Thumbs, or such titles as Nonesuch, Seek-no-further, 

 Ne-plus-ultra, Hog-pen, Sheep-nose, Big Bob, Ironclad, Legal 

 Tender, Sucker State, or Sturnp-the-World. These were sug- 

 gestions made in my last address, to which I still adhere and 

 from which I have nothing to take back. The terms Pearmain, 

 Pippin, Beurre, Doyenne, Bon Chretien, etc., applied to apples 

 and pears, once described classes of fruit which are now so con- 

 fused and blended that the names have lost their significance. 

 The cases are very few where a single word will not form 

 a better name for a fruit than two or more. These reforms 

 have been adopted in the catalogue of the American Pomological 

 society, and other prominent horticultural and pomological 

 societies have voted to adopt the improved nomenclature, and I 

 desire to ask the co-operation of all pomological and horticultural 

 societies in this and other countries in carrying out this important 

 reform. It has been suggested that the work might be carried 

 farther than has been done in the catalogue of the Pomological 

 society, as, for instance, by substituting Lucrative for Belle 

 Lucrative, and Nelis for Winter Nelis. Pomologists may differ 

 as to how far the reform should be carried, but by comparison of 

 views they will come to a final agreement. 



