oF ASPIDIEAE 123 
or pass into synonymy according as views of generic limitations be- 
come closer or more elastic. The consideration of the present 
tangle is respectfully commended to those who are following the 
ignis fatuus of determining generic types by the subsequent history 
of the genus—a principle only slightly removed from the “ method 
of residues’ which in its original form now seems to be wholly 
abandoned by even its former strenuous advocates. For early 
genera only the historic type on which a genus was originally 
founded can stand before the acceptance of the first named species 
under the genus as its nomenclatorial type. This applies to all 
genera but principally concerns genera founded while botany 
was in a formative period when generic limits were not clearly 
drawn. Where a type species was named, that of course must take 
precedence over everything. Monotypic genera cannot come into 
question as their sole species must be the type on which they 
were founded. 
Attention is called to the Aspidieae at this time, since we have 
recently had presented to us a rearrangement * of our native 
Species under generic names, two of which are utterly untenable 
on any system of nomenclature yet followed, except that of per- 
sonal preference. And, what is still more remarkable, this propo- 
sition comes from one who in the past has most loudly proclaimed 
against change of any sort and yet would now attempt to introduce 
among our fern names one that has never before been used in 
America, and one which is without question the worst selection 
that could possibly have been made. It is impossible in the light: 
of all the evidence at hand to interpret this new departure in any 
other way than as a deliberate result of prejudice and an unwilling- 
ness to adopt a course of action simply because it accords with the 
Principles of the Rochester system. Nothing short of this could 
explain the willingness to do a wrong thing, when the right one 
would have been not only the only correct course, but a perfectly 
natural course to pursue. To see that such is the case we have 
only to lay bare the facts underlying the history of the group. 
The species of the present tribe Aspidieae so far as known to 
Linnaeus were included with his genus Polypodium. Ten years 
after the publication of Species Plantarum, Adanson published the 
* Rhodora, 4: 7-1 3... Ja. 3902. 
