Rules for Rendering the Nomenclature of Zoology Uniform. 357 



these errors, would, as an act of courtesy, point them out to the author 

 himself, if living, and leave it to him to correct his own inadvertencies. 

 This occasional hardship appears to us to be a less evil than to permit 

 the practice of giving the same generic name ad libitum to a multipli- 

 city of genera. We submit, therefore, that 



§ 10. A name should be changed which has before been proposed 

 for some other genus in zoology or botany, or for some other species 

 in the same genus, when still retained for such genus or species. 



A name whose meaning is glaringly false nmy be changed. — Our next 

 proposition has no other claim for adoption than that of being 

 a concession to human infirmity. If such proper names of places 

 as Covent Garden, Lincoln's Inn Fields, New Castle, Bridgewater, &c., 

 no longer suggest the idea of gardens, fields, castles, or bridges, but 

 refer the mind with the quickness of thought to the particular localities 

 which they respectively designate, there seems no reason why the 

 proper names used in natural history should not equally perform the of- 

 fice of correct indication, even when their etymological meaning may be 

 wholly inapplicable to the object which they typify. But we must remem- 

 ber that the language of science has but a limited currency, and hence 

 the words which compose it do not circulate with the same freedom and 

 rapidity as those which belong to every-day life. The attention is con- 

 sequently liable in scientific studies to be diyerted from the contempla- 

 tion of the thing signified to the etymological meaning of the sign, and 

 hence it is necessary to provide that the latter shall not be such as to pro- 

 pagate actual error. Instances of this kind are indeed very rare, and in 

 some cases, such as that of Momdon, Gaprimulgus, Paradisea apoda and 

 Monocidus, they have acquired sufficient currency no longer to cause 

 error, and are therefore retained without change. But when we find 

 a Batrachian reptile named in violation of its true affinities, Mastodon- 

 'saurus, a Mexican species termed (through erroneous information of its 

 habitat) Picm cafer, or an olive colored one 3fuscicapa atra, or when a 

 name is derived from an accidental monstrosity, as in Picus semirostrls 

 of LinniBUs and Helix diyuncta of Turton, we feel justified in cancel- 

 ing these names, and adopting that synonym which stands next m 

 point of date. At the same time we think it right to remark that this 

 privilege is very liable to abuse, and ought therefore to be applied only 

 to extreme cases and with great caution. With these limitations we 

 may concede that 



§ 11. A name may be changed when it implies a false proposition, 

 which is likely to propagate important errors. 



Names not clearly defined may be clumged. — Unless a species or group 

 is intelligibly defined when the name is given, it can not be recognized 



