nging to the same genus, a multiplication sign should
be placed between it and the generic name.

(_c_) The third part cultivar-name follows directly on the second part
name and is placed in single quotes, as for cultivar-names of
non-hybrids.

In many contexts it would not be necessary to write the second part name
at all, but if it is omitted, the cultivar-name, strictly speaking,
should be preceded by a multiplication sign, thus: _Camellia_ X
'Donation,' but it would be no great crime to omit it, except perhaps in
technical publications.

3. What Is the "Correct" Name for a Cultivar?

It is a painfully familiar fact that many cultivars are known by more
than one name, and that many cultivar-names have been applied to more
than one cultivar--although the position is not so bad as it is in the
case of botanical names! This multiplication of names is the inevitable
result of many people naming many plants over a period of many years. It
is a situation which we must accept and do our best to mitigate. The
Code has a number of necessarily rather complicated provisions aiming at
selecting the correct name for any cultivar. These provisions are
important mainly to the comparatively few horticulturists and botanists
who take on the unenviable job of sorting out the nomenclature of
cultivated plants, though the results of their labours affect us all.
The rules are set out fully in the Code, and here I will attempt only to
pick out one or two of the more important.

The Code lays down two basic principles; though, as we shall see, these
may be modified if undesirable name-changing can be avoided thereby.

(_a_) No name can be used if it does not conform to the various rules
laid down in the Code (including proper publication of the name, with a
description).

(_b_) If there are two or more names that conform with the Code, then
the _earliest_ name is the correct one; this is known technically as the
principle of priority.

Now, obviously, as happens with botanical names, the strict application
of priority might mean that a universally used name--say, Plum
'Victoria'--would have to be given up and replaced by a completely
unknown one. This is unthinkable, and, as in the Botanical Code, there
are clauses to prevent it happening. With cultivar-names, however, there
is a particular complication, which does not apply to botanical names.
The latter are all in Latin, whereas cultivar-names may be in many
languages. This m