l82 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, '13 



name Trogosita falls as a synonym. Secondly Pallas by a printer's 

 error was made to say "Tenebr aides." Thirdly J. O. Westwood 

 (1840?) separated virescens as a new genus under name Temno- 

 chila. Under the law, what is the name of this family? The pri- 

 ority name is Trogositidae, based on a type name now non-existent. 

 European writers have adopted Temnochilidae. On family names the 

 law of 1832 is silent. Meanwhile, the genus Ostoma Laich (1783) 

 was based on Peltis (Illiger circa, 1805) ferruginea Linne. 



Should the misprint "Tenebroides," an obvious error, stand? Should 

 the family be "Trogositidae," "Temnochilidae" or "Ostomidae"? Does 

 the law of 1832 refer to families? 



Linne suffered from a printer's error, "Dyticidae" (Greek dyticus 

 =a diver). All subsequent authors are printing Dytiscus, an obvious 

 error, until corrected by Encyclopedia Britannica, nth edition (v, 

 article Coleoptera). 



The coleopterous genus, Cnemidotus, Illiger, 1802, was based on 

 a Haliplns. Erichson redescribed the genus, using the same name, 

 based on caesus, Duft., 1832. The type of the genus still stands. The 

 law of priority, specifying that a synonym may not again be used, 

 was adopted subsequently to Erichson's description. Ex post facto 

 legislation is hardly acceptable. It is proper, then, that Regimbart 

 in 1878, should put Cnemidotus back into synonomy in favor of his 

 own parallel creation, Peltodytcs? 



Does not your census show that strictly taxonomic students are 

 in favor of strict priority by about 3 to i ? The majority on the 

 other side was made by amateurs, 10 to i, and economic students 

 4 to i. 



Again, -is not real opinion 5 to I in favor of strict priority, at least, 

 in case of species? 



I think it is generally conceded that no definition of "genus" has 

 been written which is acceptable widely anywhere. Certainly, when 

 Hiibner wrote on Lepidoptera, he had no idea of a genus which 

 coincides with any other opinion. Moreover, has anyone (in 

 Coleoptera, at least) acceptably defined a family, except Leconte? 



The nomenclature problem is the most important matter to come 

 before a world's congress. 



Sincerely, 



R. P. Dow. 



Recollections of A. R. Grote, by John G. Milburn. 

 [I have in my library the first two volumes of the Proceedings of 

 the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences bound, and on the title page 

 the inscription, "E. C. Sprague, Esq., with Compliments of Augustus 

 R. Grote and John George Milburn." In each volume is the book-plate 

 of E. C. Sprague. Last September, in looking over a number of the 



