56 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Canons. — 1. The name originally given by the founder of a group 

 should be permanently retained, to the exclusion of all subsequent syn- 

 onyms. 



This rule, recognizing the law of priority, which lies at -the foundation 

 of all systematic nomenclature, is the same as the first and prime rule of 

 the code accepted by the British Association, with the exception of certain 

 references made exclusively to species ; and, since this canon meets 

 universal acceptance, there is no need of discussing it, aside from the 

 following limitations. 



i. This law of priority should not extend to works published before 



1758. 



The same reasons for such a limitation do not exist in the present 



instance as in the case of specific nomenclature ; but similar objections 

 can be made to an earlier limitation. Only three reasonable courses are 

 open to the naturalist : to accept (a) no limitation whatever, in which case 

 " our zoological studies would be frittered away amid the refinements of 

 classical learning ; " (b) the limitation here formulated, in which case all 

 our systematic nomenclature takes its common origin in the tenth edition 

 of Linne's Systema Naturae ; * or (c) to apply the laws of nomenclature to 

 each kind of group (sub-family, family, class, etc.), from the time when 

 such group was first brought into use — which would engender such con- 

 fusion as speedily to bring all nomenclature into deserved disrepute. 



2. Plural or collective substantives (or adjectives used as substantives) 

 are alone admissible. 



As the higher groups are all collective — in idea, if not in fact — it is 

 essential that the names applied to them should be at least capable of a. 

 collective sense ; and names which are not so formed should be dropped. 

 The retrospective action of such a law would be very slight. 



3. A name which has been previously proposed for some genus or 

 higher group in zoology should be expunged. 



This accords too well with accepted rules to require any discussion. 



4. When two authors define and name (differently) the same group,, 

 both making it of the same or very nearly the same extent, the later name 

 (or if synchronous, the least known name) should be cancelled, and never 

 again brought into use. 



The English — the strongest upholders of the plan of dating from the twelfth, 

 edition of the Systema Naturre — are now, hy degrees, accepting the earlier date of 

 1758 as the starting point for zoological nomenclature, and we may assume that, in 

 this viuw, the whole scientific world will sooner or later concur. 



