The Chairman of the Committee on Publication stated that John B. Moore, who had been announced to speak on the "Growth of Plants" on the next Saturday, would be unable to do so, and that an opportunity would be afforded to discuss such subjects as might be brought up at that time.

BUSINESS MEETING.

SATURDAY, April 3, 1886.

A duly notified stated meeting of the Society was holden at 11 o'clock, the President, HENRY P. WALCOTT, in the chair.

Edward L. Beard said that the Rose and Strawberry Show would be the next great exhibition of the Society, and spoke of the Challenge and other Vases, which had been offered as Special Prizes for Roses at previous exhibitions, and had excited greater interest than the Society's prizes. The money for these prizes had been raised by private subscription, but he thought the time. had come when the Society could afford to pay them from its own funds. The results of the Spring Exhibition were most flattering, and, as he did not wish the Society to take a retrograde step, he moved that the Executive Committee consider the expediency of making an appropriation for Special Prizes for Roses at the Rose Show in June, on the basis of the list of Special Subscription Prizes offered last year. The motion was carried.

The following named persons, having been recommended by the Executive Committee, were on ballot duly elected members of the Society:

CLEMENT M. HAMMOND, of Hyde Park.

CHARLES G. WOOD, of Boston.

DR. HOSEA M. QUIMBY, of Worcester.

Adjourned to Saturday, April 10.

MEETING FOR DISCUSSION.

THE NOMENCLATURE OF FRUITS.

Hon. Marshall P. Wilder said that the object of the reform in the names of fruits, which the American Pomological Society is en

deavoring to effect, is the suppression from the catalogues throughout our country of all long, improper, indelicate, irrelevant, ostentatious, and superfluous titles, and to prevent any such appellations being hereafter applied to some of the most beautiful objects which the earth has ever brought forth.

They desire to suppress all royal titles such as Emperor, King, or Prince; all political titles such as President, or Governor; all military titles such as General, Colonel, or Captain; all indelicate names like Hog-pen, Sheep-nose, or Big Bob; all ostentatious names such as Excelsior, Ne Plus Ultra, and Stump the World ; and all long names, of which Doyenne Gris d'Hiver Nouveau and Vingt-cinquième Anniversaire de Leopold I. are instances. They desire also to strike off the hundreds of Beurres and Doyennes from the names of our pears, where it is possible to do so, and hereafter to write simply Anjou, Diel, and Boussock in place of Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Diel, and Doyenne Boussock. There are however some instances, such as the old Beurre Gris, Doyenne Blanc, and Doyenne Gris, where the Beurre and Doyenne must be retained, because the varieties bearing them are the original types of certain classes. Fortunately very few of the many pears originated in this country have the term Beurre prefixed-he did not think of more than one; and did not recollect that Doyenne has ever been applied to an American fruit. The term Beurre (butter) was originally applied to a pear of buttery texture, to distinguish it from one with breaking flesh; but as all the latter class have now gone out of cultivation (except a few varieties used only for cooking) it has lost its significance, and the sooner it is dropped the better. Doyenne, Bon Chretien, and Calebasse were names designating classes of pears, with reference to form as the chief distinguishing mark; but these have never been adopted in naming our American pears. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society about forty years ago established a classification of the forms of pears, of which the circle was the basis, and from this were deduced, as modifications, the compound forms-ovate, obovate, pyriform-obtuse, acute, and ovate pyriform, etc. This classification has been adopted by Downing, Thomas, Barry, and other leading authors in their works on fruits; indeed, no one who pretends to be a pomologist will undertake to describe pears without reference to this classification.

It is desirable that names of fruits should consist of one word

only, having a meaning somewhat appropriate to the variety; but sometimes we meet with obstacles to the application of this principle, as in the case of the Clapp's Favorite pear, there being also a Frederick Clapp and a Lemuel Clapp. So, also, we cannot omit the word Winter from Winter Nelis, because there is an Autumn Nelis and a Barbe Nelis; and other instances might be given. Among apples we have several Spitzenbergs, Russets, etc., words which should be dispensed with as far as possible, but we cannot always drop them. Again, the terms "Beauty" and "Choice," as well as "Favorite," not being distinctive appellations, are in most instances better dispensed with. There are many other terms which are senseless and useless, such as Seedling and Pippin (the latter of the same signification as the former, but applied only to apples); for all varieties of fruits are originally seedlings. Those renowned fruits-the Baldwin apple, the Bartlett pear, and the Concord grape-afford examples of short, appropriate, sensible, and easily remembered names, and it is to be hoped that in the future many such varieties may be added to those we already possess, and be dedicated to perpetual remembrance by equally appropriate names. In a word, we desire to establish a system of nomenclature which shall be pure and plain in its diction, pertinent and proper in its application, and which shall be an example, not only to our own, but to other countries.

H. Weld Fuller said that all would approve the remarks of ExPresident Wilder in regard to improper or irrelevant names. It is desirable that all names of fruits should have reference to locality, quality, or other characteristics.

O. B. Hadwen said that those who originate new fruits worthy of cultivation, instead of giving them local names, should bring them before a horticultural society and have names bestowed by a competent committee, and then they would go out with proper authority. An excellent apple which originated in Worcester County was called the Hog-pen, because the original tree sprang up near a hog-pen; and this is the way such names creep in; but in this case the name was changed by the Worcester County Horticultural Society to Holden Pippin, which all must admit to be a great improvement. The subject is a very important one, and not only apples and pears, but all fruits, large and small, and also ornamental trees, plants, and flowers should be named by horticultural societies after careful consideration.

Colonel Henry W. Wilson spoke of the difficulty experienced by those unacquainted with the French language, in pronouncing the many French names of pears and other fruits, such as Glout Morceau, Duchesse d'Angouleme, and Louise Bonne of Jersey; and the last two are also objectionable on account of their length. When the Clapp's Favorite pear was introduced it was proposed to name it the Wilder. Such names as Stump-the-World are not a credit to those engaged in the cultivation of fruit, and intelligent persons when they hear them ask why they are used.

Mr. Wilder said, in reference to the Clapp's Favorite pear, that when it was introduced the Massachusetts Agricultural Club desired to possess the control of the variety, and give to it his name; but Thaddeus Clapp, who originated it, preferred to have it dedicated to the family name, and a figure of the pear is carved on his monument in Forest Hills Cemetery.

E. W. Wood, Chairman of the Fruit Committee, said that the Committee were very glad to adopt the change in the nomenclature of fruits on account of the saving of labor to them by the shortening of names. Last autumn he visited the fair of the Housatonic Valley Agricultural Society, where there was the best exhibition of apples he saw during the whole season, but many of the apples, and a majority of the pears, were wrongly named. There was no requirement that a dish of fruit must be rightly named to receive a premium. The case was the same at Natick, but at this year's exhibition there it will be required that all fruits shall be correctly named, or they cannot receive prizes. Persons who visit the exhibitions of our Society are becoming more familiar with the names of fruits. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but the speaker did not see how fruits could be intelligently cultivated under wrong names. The multiplicity of names by which our fruits are known is sometimes perplexing; the Baldwin apple has seven synonymes, and Downing describes one variety which has no less than forty. In reading the reports of the exhibitions of fruits, sometimes, owing to the multitude of synonymes, we do not know what we are reading about; and therefore we want uniformity in names. There are seventy varieties of plums, of which the word "Gage" forms part of the name; the originator of each hoped to get glory by using the name of Gage. Sometimes there may be a necessity for more than one word in a name. The speaker approved Mr. Hadwen's suggestion

that new productions should be named by horticultural societies; people claim the same right to name a fruit as to name a child, but if the suggestion could be adopted it would be of great benefit. The reform in nomenclature originated in the right place, the National Society, which will continue to revise the names of fruits. Mr. Wilder said that the American Ponological Society claims and exercises the right to change improper names.

Rev. A. B. Muzzey said that from his long connection with our Society, which probably began earlier than that of any other person in the room except Mr. Wilder, he felt the deepest interest in it. Fifty years ago he began to cultivate fruit, and attached what many persons thought unnecessary importance to the correctness of the names. Cultivators should consult and compare their fruits, so as to be sure of their correct names. We might begin now and here, by the appointment of a committee on this subject. Mr. Muzzey spoke of the influence of the ladies in the completion of Bunker Hill Monument, which had remained a long time unfinished, and a source of mortification, until the ladies took hold of the work in a manner that led Judge Story to say, "The monument is built!" So here, in its lady members, this Society has the strongest part of humanity, and the time will come when the ladies will not feel so diffident in speaking as they do now.

Edward L. Beard thought it would be well for the Society to consider the best method of extending the interest in horticulture beyond the sphere in which its influence has thus far been exercised, and to points where there is at present much ignorance of horticulture and a great deficiency of horticultural taste. It would be exceedingly desirable to organize some broader system of encouraging, through local societies, a general improvement of all the productions of the soil. By this means we might get results which would be a great blessing to dwellers in our smaller towns. The question is how best to encourage the enterprise of local horticultural societies. The horticultural societies in Worcester, Springfield, Newton, and other places have effected much good, and similar societies should be formed wherever possible. The people who come to our exhibitions see what are the best fruits and flowers, and admire them, but only a few have knowledge of how they are produced; and we are bound, as the leading horticultural society of the country, to supply the