LABELLING AND MOUNTING SPECIMENS. 



47 



differ as to the initial of the specific, but with Americans the 

 weight of authority seems to be in favor of always beginning 

 the specific name with a small letter whether derived from a 

 proper name or not. It should not under any view begin 

 with a capital unless derived from a proper name. Following 

 the scientific name comes the "authority." Here again 

 opinions differ, some claiming that the name of the person 

 who first described the species should be given, no matter 

 whether it belong to the genus under which it originally was 

 described or not. Others claim that the name to be used is 



Cat 



Orig. 1557 



Nanemys guttata (Sch.) Ag. 



8PKCKLED TORTOISE. 



S. Kneeland. Cohasset, Mass. 



FIG. 17. 



that of the person who first used the generic and specific 

 name together. A third party adopt a compromise and give 

 both names together, that of the describer of the species in 

 parenthesis, followed by that of the one who first used the 

 generic and specific combination which is adopted. For in- 

 stance, Herbst, in i 796, described a hermit crab under the 

 name Cancer sclopetarius. In 1852, Dana characterized the 

 genus Clibanarius, and in 1859, Stimpson ascertained that 

 Herbst's species should be assigned to Dana's genus. Now 

 according to the first method the name would be written 

 Clibanarius sclopetarius Herbst ; according to the second 



