308 



REPORT ON THE 



Latin names should not be used for so-called garden forms. He 

 took it that a name was of use in order to denote certain 

 distinctive characteristics. Where those characteristics were 

 sufficiently distinctive, they constituted a species ; where they 

 were somewhat less distinctive, they constituted a sub-species ; 

 when they were less still, they constituted a variety ; and in 

 each of these cases the botanist desired to give a name. But 

 when the differences became still less, the botanist said life was 

 not long enough to take note of them, and passed them on one 

 side. For all such differences as deserved the attention of 

 botanists, he thought Latin names should be retained ; but 

 there were no two plants which, take them all in all, were 

 actually alike, and for garden purposes they were obliged to 

 appreciate differences less in degree than those which deserved 

 the attention of botanists ; and there came the difficulty. With 

 regard to plants exhibiting these smaller differences, he agreed 

 — and he thought they were nearly all agreed now — that 

 trivial names, or at all events names not Latin, should be used 

 for them, so that whenever a Latin name was used they would 

 know that it denoted differences of a certain magnitude ; and 

 when it was not used they would know that those differences were 

 of a magnitude which the botanist said he could not take 

 cognizance of. But he could not go so far as Mr. Hibberd, and 

 say that they should repudiate altogether the task of supervising 

 these trivial names, which were not Latin ; he could not do so, 

 because some of them might be of very considerable importance. 

 For, although Mr. Hibberd might be quite right in saying that 

 Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones looked out for a spot on the petal of a 

 plant, and then put the plant into the market, and when he had 

 got rid of his stock, cared no more about it, it might be that 

 Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones, in his effort to do himself good, had 

 produced a thing which remained a joy for ever to succeeding 

 generations. It would be a great pity if that plant had not 

 hereafter a proper name. The name should, if possible, tell 

 them something about it ; and he did not think it was outside 

 the powers of gardeners, by adequate care, to select names 

 which would, at all events, tell the world something about 

 the plant, and suggest the direction in which they were to 

 look for its affinities and relations. However, that was a matter 

 of detail. He only wished to make two other suggestions, 



