704 PRESIDENT S ADDRESS. 



Anothei' instance is : — 



Bentham (' Flora Australiensis') writes Brasenia jyeltata, Pursh. 



In ' Nat. Pfl. Fam.' the name is given as Brasenia 2)uiyurea, 

 (Michx.), Casp., following Hydropeltis pur2mrea, Michx. (1S03), 

 the first used specific name. [Mueller, ' Census,' writes Cabomha 

 peltata, F.V.M., but the 'Nat. Pfl. Fam.' shows that Cahomha and 

 Brasenia are distinct genera.] 



What has been styled the " Kew Rule" is that of consider- 

 ino- as the right name of the plant that by which it was first 

 called in the genus wherein it is placed. The Berlin Rule recog- 

 nises the first specific name given, w^hether the genus is maintained 

 or not. The use of the Berlin Rule (which is popular in America) 

 has in practice necessitated the use of two authors' names, viz., 

 the author who gave the first specific name; this is written first, 

 and is in brackets; then comes the author of the name which is 

 accepted. 



I do trust our European and American brethren will soon come 

 to an agreement both as to the adoption of the Kew or Berlin 

 Rule, and also as to the use (personally I would like to see the 

 bracket-name abolished as cumbersome) of the double-name or the 

 reverse. VVe do not wish to institute a third or Australian 

 practice, and recognise that in these matters there are larger 

 interests at stake and more botanists affected than with us. 



7. On the Writing of Specific Names. 



Mr. Daydon Jackson's paper* gives, inter alia, Linnaeus' 

 practice in regard to the use of capitals for specific names. He 

 quotes five examples, and Mr. Jackson's words are in inverted 

 commas. 



{a). " An old generic name, e.g., 



Crassula Cotyledon^ Haw.," itc. 



This is a usage which many botanists adhere to with some 

 tenacity, and was in recent years included in the Berlin Rules. 



* * On some recent tendencies in Botanical Nomenclature.' Journ. Bot. 

 xix. 75. 



