president's address. 687 



achieved at Vienna. The way is gradually being paved for the 

 establishment of a "Tribunal of Nomenclature," whose decisions 

 no botanists may afford to disregard. 



2.— 1737 AND 1753. 



Genera. — It is generally agreed that 1737 is the earliest date 

 for accepted generic names, that being the year of publication of 

 Linnaeus' 'Genera Plantarum.' Amongst many other authorita- 

 tive statements, see the Journal of Botany.* 



The Berlin Rule is, however, to date both species and genera, 

 from the year 1752, the date of publication of the 4th Ed. of 

 the ' Genera Plantarum.' " After A. de Candolle had proposed 

 to take the year 1737 as the starting point of the priority of 

 genera, many botanists had acknowledged it. But we think that 

 the turning-point from the ancient botany to our modern science 

 rests in the introduction of the binomial nomenclature. 

 Before 1752, the scientific position of Linnaeus is not superior 

 to Tournefort, Rivinus, and many other botanists who often had 

 described and segregated the genera more exactly than he did." 

 (Note to Berlin Rule 1). 



The following is a list of genera from Mueller's ' Census,' in 

 which the compiler quotes Linnaeus (1735) : — 



C eratophylluini. Nepenthes. 



Z ygophyllnm. Ixora. 



Andrachne Coffea. 



Cardiospermum. Strych7ios. 



Sagiyia. Agrostis. 



Tetragonia. 

 Species. — It is generally accepted that 1753 is the earliest date 

 for specific names, that being the year of publication of Linnaeus' 

 'Species Plantarum.' The Berlin Rule is in favour of this date 

 also. 



O. Kuntze proposed 173^ as the date for the earliest name, 

 that being the date of Linnaeus' ' Systema Naturae,' but B. 



* e.g. Journ. Bot. xxvi. 260. 



