| FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL 
| GROWERS OF THE GLADIOLUS, DAHLIA, IRIS, ETC. 
Entered as second-class matter March 31, 1914, at post office at 
1 Calcium, N.Y.. under act of March 3, 1879. 
[ PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE j 
j MONTH BY MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N. Y. j 
1 Subscription price : Three years, $2.00 ; One year, $1.00. 
“WHAT’S IN A NAME?” 
[Written expressly for The Flower Grower . ] 
What’s in a name ? That which we call a Rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet. 
Romeo and Juliet. 
What’s in a name ? More than many 
fully realize. I doubt if even Shakes- 
peare who wrote 
“Of all flowers 
Me thinks the Rose is best,” 
and who refers to this favorite flower 
in his plays over ninety times would 
have mentioned the Rose so many 
times had this flower been known by 
a name not so pleasing in sound or less 
adaptable to rhyme or meter. I believe 
that the fact that the word “Rose” is 
so easy to pronounce and rhyme has 
done much to make the name a house- 
hold word and has added something to 
the popularity of that beautiful flower. 
An easily remembered, euphonious 
name is surely a distinct advantage. 
Beautiful as are many of the varieties 
of Japanese Iris, the gardens of many 
flower lovers would certainly be with- 
out them if the owners were compelled 
to order their varieties verbally by 
their Japanese names. Suppose that 
you fancy the white flecked maroon 
colored varieties. Can you imagine 
being obliged to order them by the al- 
most unpronounceable names of Tai- 
heirakn Tsurugi-no, or Yezonishiti? Or 
should your taste incline toward the 
odd purplish blue shades, would you 
enjoy having to “mouth” such names 
as Fora-odori or Shiza-no-ura-nami ? 
That some dealers obligingly number 
as well as name their stock of Japanese 
varieties and urge customers to order 
by number does not indicate an ac- 
commodating disposition only, but 
also a keen eye to business. That a 
popular name has a great commercial 
value is recognized by manufacturers 
and men in all lines of business, and it 
is quite usual for them to pay enor- 
mous sums for “catchy” names that 
they copyright. The British govern- 
ment has recently prohibited manu- 
facturers and dealers from using in 
any of its colonies the word Anzac (a 
word coined from the initial letters of 
By Bertha Berbert-Hammond. 
IW' 
I : 
j ! 
, 
* 
v Vl 
Gladiolus — Madam Mounet Sully 
Originated by V. Lemoine & Son, Nancy, 
France. Large milk white blooms with an 
attractive dark orange-red blotch. Listed 
by Lemoine as very early. 
the Australian and New Zealand Army 
Corps that rendered such service dur- 
ing the war.) The trade use of the 
word had been quickly adopted by 
business concerns, but the idea of this 
word being commercialized seemed al- 
most sacrilegious. With a similar 
thought in mind our own government 
forbids the commercialization of the 
American flag. 
Though the name Gladiolus is agree- 
able to the ear, the fact that many 
flower growers found difficulty in pro- 
nouncing the name in both its singular 
and plural Latin forms, may have been 
one reason that the magnificent Gladi- 
olus was so long in coming into 
popular favor. Some over-zealous 
persons have probably unwittingly 
further handicapped varieties by giv- 
ing them cumbersome or manifestly 
inappropriate names. The privilege 
of naming a seedling of merit should 
be regarded not only an honor but a 
responsibility, for the name bestowed 
may help or hinder the demand for the 
variety. While the ability to “hit” 
upon a name that is appropriate, is a 
talent still to the hybridizer who has 
spent years of effort and close study in 
the production of a worth-while seed- 
ling, the distinctive characteristics 
must be so apparent that it should not 
be a very difficult task to bestow a 
pleasing name that will in a measure 
describe its most pronounced charac- 
teristics. Good examples of this are 
Lilyuihiie, which is in itself a descrip- 
tion, and Liebesfeuer (love’s fire) which 
suggests the beautiful fire red color 
possessed by this variety. War (red) ; 
Peace (white) ; Dawn (coral pink) ; 
Daybreak (light pink) Golden King (yel- 
low) Bine Jay (blue) and others are 
markedly fittingly named. Pink Per- 
fection seems a misnomer, as the 
crooked stems characteristic of this 
variety can scarcely be considered a 
perfection. 
The practice of naming varieties 
after persons, while not so commend- 
able, is pardonable. To have one’s 
name perpetuated through the medium 
