78 



Annals of Horticultitre. 



ment Stations of the National Department of Agriculture, 

 and be issued by that office as occasional bulletins. This 

 action, by combining many reports, will add value to the 

 work of the stations, while it does not prevent the officer 

 from publishing his independent results. It was decided, 

 also, that uniformity in names of varieties should be secured, 

 and inasmuch as no organization had undertaken reform in 

 the nomenclature of kitchen garden vegetables, a committee 

 was appointed to consider the matter. The American Pomo- 

 logical Society has prosecuted a vigorous reform in the no- 

 menclature of fruits, and the Society of American Florists has 

 resolved to make the endeavor to control the names of florists' 

 plants. It now remains for some organization to extend the 

 agitation to ornamental trees and shrubs. The committee ap- 

 pointed by the station horticulturists assert that 



"Brevity, accuracy and good taste in the naming of vegetables are per- 

 fectly compatible with the purposes of trade, and it therefore solicits co-oper- 

 ation in this work, not only from all writers upon horticultural topics but 

 also from all dealers in garden seeds and supplies. A name is bestowed 

 upon any plant solely for the purpose of designating it ; it is not the pro- 

 vince of a name to describe the plant. All description is properly a part 

 of the text. This description should present a characterization of the 

 variety, rather than a mere list of adjectives intended to catch the eye. 

 The committee desire to suggest that a variety never be described under a 

 name which is accepted as a synonym ; if the synonym is used as a leader, 

 it should stand only for the purpose of making a reference to the proper 

 name ; as, Ivory Ball — see White Apple." 



The following rules were formulated, and the Office of Ex- 

 periment Stations has distributed them to the seedmen and the 

 press of the country : 



1. The name of a variety should consist of a single word, or at most, of 

 two words A phrase, descriptive or otherwise, is never allowable; as, 

 Pride of Italy, King of Mammoths, Earliest of All. 



2. The name should not be superlative or bombastic. In particular, all 

 such epithets as New, Large, Giant, Fine, Selected, Improved and the like 

 should be omitted. If the grower or dealer has a superior stock of a 

 variety, the fact should be stated in the description immediately after the 

 name, rather than as a part of the name itself ; as, " Trophy, selected stock. " 



3. If a grower or dealer has procured a new select strain of a well known 

 variety, it shall be legitimate for him to use his own name in connection 

 with the established name of the variety ; as, Smith's Winnigstadt, Jones's 

 Cardinal. 



4. When personal names are given to varieties, titles should be omitted ; 



as, Major, General, Queen. 



