1921.] The Nomenclature of Ac.rici ltural Vi wis. 



167 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF AGRICUL- 

 TURAL PLANTS, 



W. H. Parker, M.C., M.A., 

 Director, National Institute of Agricultural Botany, 

 and H. Chambers, M.B.E., 

 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. 



To anyone who has the future prosperity of British Agricul- 

 ture at heart, one of the most hopeful signs of the times must 

 be the fact that the farming community, hitherto noted for its 

 extreme conservatism, is beginning, under the stress of 

 modern conditions, to discard the idea that the ways of its 

 fathers are invariably the best, and to demand that new 

 methods of cultivation, new fertilisers and new varieties of 

 plants shall be provided for its use. 



Valuable as will be the ultimate effect of this new spirit, 

 it has also its dangers, for what is " new " is not always an 

 improvement on the old, nor is what is termed an " improve- 

 ment " always what it purports to be. As in all matters, 

 so here, demand has stimulated supply, and never has there 

 been such a number of " new " and " improved " varieties of 

 our different agricultural plants put on to the market as has 

 been the case during the last few years, and every year that 

 number increases. 



This, in itself, is all to the good, for, as time goes on. it 

 becomes more and more evident that there is no one variety 

 of any agricultural plant which is ideal for all conditions of 

 soil and climate found even in a small country like the United 

 Kingdom. In fact there is room for any number of varieties 

 of any species; and any variety which can be shown to be 

 particularly adapted to any one district has, in fact, justified 

 its existence. It is certain, however, that among all the named 

 varieties now on the market, there are a large number which 

 could, and should, be eliminated as being either identical with 

 one another, or as being distinctly inferior, under any con- 

 ditions, to their brethren. 



Present Situation in the United Kingdom. — Though everyone 

 with any knowledge of the subject is convinced of this 

 superfluity, it is obviously difficult to produce any large amount 

 of evidence concerning the extent of the trouble, for no trials 

 in any country (except in the case of potatoes, fully dealt with 

 later) have ever been made on a sufficient scale to afford 



