The Scottish Naturalist. 105 



This bone of contention is of no recent date, for in 1842 an 

 attempt was made to meet the difficulties of the case by a code 

 of rules adopted by the British Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, but which, however, never received the 

 general assent of naturalists, and has long been out of print. 

 A revised code was adopted in 1865, but seems not to have 

 received a better reception than its predecessor.' 



At the last meeting of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, a committee was appointed by the 

 entomological section, " to report a series of rules for considera- 

 tion at the next meeting," and in reference to this matter, Mr. 

 W. H. Edwards contributes an interesting paper to the 

 " Canadian Entomologist" for February. 



After noticing what has been written on the subject, Mr. 

 Edwards submits a code of rules (extracted from the writings 

 of various entomologists of celebrity) for consideration by 

 entomologists. 



On the whole Mr. Edwards' suggested code (though meant 

 only for entomologists) seems calculated to meet the difficulties 

 of the case. 



It would be absurd, however, for entomologists to separate 

 themselves from other naturalists, and to have a code which 

 should apply only to one branch of natural science. I have 

 therefore made a few alterations in the code, and herewith sub- 

 mit it for consideration. 



THE LAWS OF THE SCIENTIFIC NOMENCLATURE OF 

 SPECIES AND GENERA. 



i. The names of species and genera must be Latin, or 

 Latinized to that extent that renders them capable of being 

 used in scientific Latin. (Sharp.) 



2. For a name to stand, it is necessary that there be an 

 intelligible description or a recognizable figure in the case of a 

 species, and a definition of the essential characters in the case 

 of a genus : in both cases, publication is necessary. (Thorell.) 



3. Names once given are not to be altered or set aside for 

 any defect or errors. (Sharp.) 



4. The name originally given by the describer of a species 



