Annals of Plants. 



most important word in each customary appellation. 3. There 

 has been no attempt in the names to give credit or honor to 

 any person ; the purpose of the name is to designate the 

 plant, and all other considerations are extraneous. If the 

 originator or introducer desires to associate his name with his 

 product, the proper way is to give the plant simply his name, 

 omitting the burden of adjectives. 4. In proper names the 

 possessive case has been omitted, and the name, if allowed to 

 remain, stands in apposition, or as an adjective. The only de- 

 parture from this rule is in the case of new strains of old 

 varieties (see Rule 3 in Code). Thus, in peas, Laxton' s Pro- 

 lific becomes Laxton Prolific. Here the personal name would 

 have been dropped altogether only that the term prolific is so 

 much used and abused that it means nothing by itself ; and to 

 have used the personal name alone would have added con- 

 fusion, because there are several other Laxton peas. 5. The 

 word seedling, which is meaningless in this connection, is 

 always dropped, and the personal name attached to it becomes 

 the name of the variety. 6. In a few old varieties which are 

 now little grown it has not seemed worth while to attempt to 

 revise the name. An example may be found in President Gar- 

 field tomato, which, it is to be hoped, will be forgotten before 

 any new name could have been learned. 7. All descriptive 

 adjectives have been omitted whenever the change would not 

 be likely to lead to confusion. In some cases, however, three 

 of these adjectives must be retained m order to distinguish 

 the variety; as, Dwarf Round Purple and Large Round Purple 

 egg-plants. Dzvarf and Large are necessary to distinguish the 

 varieties from each other, Round is necessary to distinguish 

 both from the Long Purple, and Purple distinguishes them 

 from the Long White. 8. In phrases which could not be 

 shortened to a word the connective is usually dropped, or in 

 rare cases the phrase is transposed : First in the Market has 

 been made First Market, and Champion of America becomes 

 American Champion. 



The committee is aware that its labor is largely self-imposed, 

 and that it is in no manner dictatory ; but if it shall succeed 

 in inspiring "brevity, accuracy, and good taste in the naming 

 of vegetables ' ' in the future, it will have done enough. 



L. H. Bailey, 

 E. S. Goff, 

 W. J. Green. 



