I'O.MOLOCilC'AL DIVISION U. 8. DEl'T. OF AOKICULTUKE. 17 



The proper nainiui>' of fruits is a matter wliich deinaiuls our 

 most strenuous ami intelliiieut efforts. Confusion abounds in the 

 field of praclieal poui()l(»<2,y, and if i)roper skill and authority cau 

 be brought to bear in an opposite direction, who will not be glad? 

 Your venerated Wilder, whom we all love to honor, did all he 

 could to simi)lify names and eliminate synonymes from the nomen- 

 clature of fruits. The reform which the American Pomological 

 Society has commenced is an outgrowth of his views, and is well 

 worth}' of extensive application. I have delivered before the 

 American Nurserymen's Association a strong appeal to have that 

 body take some action which shall lead unrser^anen to adopt in 

 their catalogues the approved names, and thus carry into effect 

 that which the American Pomological Society has so ably begun. 

 In fact, if the uurserj'men do not do it no one cau. Thej^ are the 

 teachers of the public in this regard. 



The Nurserymen's Association in their meeting in Chicago, in 

 June, 1889, accepted the truth of the charge that nurserymen 

 often misinform the public as to the true names of fruits (and the 

 same is perhaps true of flowers) ; but they thought the task of 

 reform too great and no plan was adopted. Of course, whatever 

 is done must be largely or entirely advisory and not dictatorial, 

 and for the purpose of carrying the rules and corrections of the 

 American Pomological Society into practical application I have 

 promised to arrange to have every fruit catalogue corrected in my 

 office, so as to accord with the above idea, and return it to the 

 nurseryman for his approval and final adoption. Thus would 

 progress be made and simplicity and uniformity rule where chaos 

 now is. It would, however, remain to be seen whether the 

 nurserjnneu would accept the corrections as authoritative. If any 

 one can suggest a better plan I shall most gladly use my best 

 efforts to advance it. 



One of the most arduous tasks which I have to perform in the 

 course of my official duties is the naming of varieties which are 

 sent in for identification from all parts of the country. Within 

 the past year more than ten thousand such specimens have been 

 received and passed upon and I am happy to say that in nearly all 

 cases it has been possible to make satisfactory answers. How 

 much of such work has been done by Downing, Warder, and 

 many others at their own cost of time ; and often of express bills, 

 small individually, but large in the aggregate, to say nothing of 

 2 



