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raphers of special groups, for their necessity will evidently vary in 
every group of plants. It would be a consummation devoutly to 
be wished if their use anywhere were restricted as much as possi- 
ble, for a too extended and minute subdivision is not only not de- 
‘manded by most groups of organic forms, but when introduced in 
excess tends more to confusion than otherwise and often obscures 
the real groupings of allied forms. 
So far as tniformity of termination is concerned it would seem 
that the termination-a/es could properly be adopted for orders and 
the termination-aceae for families where this would not interfere 
with long established names. In this connection uniformity would 
seem to be of more importance than priority, especially as the 
limitations of these larger groups have been so long a matter of 
uncertainty and variety of opinion. In the groups above orders, 
there would seem to be less necessity for uniformity of termination 
than in the orders and families themselves. 
In order to illustrate the matter of uniformity of terminology 
‘and as a contribution toward securing this uniformity, I present 
‘the following arrangement of the sub-kingdom known as Arche- 
goniata. It will be necessary as an introduction to state the limt- 
tation of that group as we understand it. In the present 
condition of our knowledge of plant forms, we can probably find 
no more satisfactory primary division of the plant world than the 
following, though of course we are still very far from a natural ar- 
rangement. It is practically the arrangement followed in the 
Engler-Prantl series* with minor modifications. 
Sub-kingdom MyCEtTozoa. 
Sub- kingdom THALLOPHYTA, 
Sub-kingdom ARCHEGONIATA. 
Sub-kingdom SPERMATOPHYTA. 
A few remarks may be to the point in explanation of this di- 
vision, which in its lower half is necessarily artificial and unsatis- 
factory. 
1. The slime moulds are evidently sufficiently distinct from 
other plants to warrant a separation in this way. That they have 
undoubted affinities with the animals no one can doubt, but it is 
equally clear that they have decided affinities with at least two 
* Die natirlichen Pflanzenfamilien, 2: 1, 1-2. 
