9$ The Scottish Naturalist. 



Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society. 



Alloa Society of Natural Science and Archaeology. 



Kirkcaldy Naturalists' Society. 



Largo Field Naturalists' Society. 



Perthshire Society of Natural Science. 



Dundee Naturalists' Society. 



Arbroath Horticultural and Natural History Association. 



Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society. 



Aberdeen Natural History Society. 



Royal Northern Agricultural Society. 



Philosophical Society. 

 Alford Field Club. 

 Huntly Field Club. 

 Keith Field Club. 

 Banffshire Field Club. 

 Elgin Literary and Scientific Association. 

 Inverness Scientific Society and Field Club. 

 Ross-shire Philosophical Society. 

 Caithness Field Club. 



Kirkcudbrightshire Field Naturalists' Club. 

 Dumfries-shire and Galloway Scientific, Natural History, and 



Antiquarian Society. 

 Glasgow Geological Society. 



Natural History Society. 



Philosophical Society. 



THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION. 



By REV. WILLIAM L. DAVIDSON. 



I. DEFINITION. 



DEFINITION, in its application to the Biological Sciences, 

 may be taken in any one of the three quite different 

 significations. It may mean the explanation of the technical 

 terms employed in the particular science or department under 

 consideration ; or it may mean the exposition of the keystone of 

 the natural classification, the Graded System ; or it may mean 

 adducing the various characters that go to mark off the several 

 groups at the different stages in the classifying scheme. The first 

 of these is, strictly speaking, Terminology ; the second is techni- 

 cally known as Nomenclature. It is the third alone that we here 



