THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 131 



thereby acquired a sort of intellectual "right of easement." 

 Only a pedant would dream of trying to displace them on the 

 ground of their lack of logic, or make any other demand of 

 them than that they be as nearly universal as possible. If each 

 species has a name, and that name has been sanctioned by com- 

 mon agreement, it does not seriously matter how "logical" or 

 beautiful or appropriate it is — we can do business with almost 

 any kind of money provided it bears the stamp of a solvent 

 government. 



But in scientific matters it is hardly feasible to wait for 

 the slow process of growth to establish a code ; the element of 

 artificiality will enter to this extent, that an agreement must 

 be arrived at by common consent in a council of representa- 

 tive scientists. The Vienna Congress was a council of this 

 sort; the fact that the majority of its members were Germans 

 and Austrians was not the result of deliberate "packing," but 

 was the natural outcome of the council being held in the terri- 

 tory of these nationalities. Would not the nation on whose 

 door-step any such congress was held be able to "dominate" it 

 in the same way? If it had been held in America, zve would 

 have been able to control the majority of votes, and our ideas 

 would have prevailed ; but would we have regarded this as a 

 valid reason why the Germans should "bolt" the decrees of the 

 congress ? It has long been the accepted rule of parliamentary 

 government that the decision of the majority shall prevail; if 

 this majority happens by a geographical accident to belong to 

 a single unpopular nationality, is that sufficient reason for a 

 "bolt"? Dr. Britton has waxed eloquent over the mysterious 

 horrors of "internationalism." overlooking the fact that we 

 have recently had a rather convincing demonstration of the 

 results of unrestricted nationalism ; and yet his objection to the 

 \'ienna Code seems to be largely based on the fact that it was 



