76 NATURAL SCIENCE. August, 



thought that such a plan is followed in an otherwise excellent 

 journal." 



Another letter we have received says : " Most of us must 

 earnestly desire that you will continue your crusade against the 

 ' preliminary notice.' No naturalist can wish to have to study the 

 same thing twice over, first in an incomplete and puzzling form, and 

 a year afterwards in an explanation long drawn out and devoid of 

 freshness." Our correspondent's meaning is well illustrated by some 

 remarks recently made by Professor G. Lindstrom in a very valuable 

 paper, " Beschreibung einiger obersilurischer Korallen aus der Insel 

 Gotland " {Bihang. K. Svensk. Vet.-Akad. HandL, Bd. xxi., Afd. 4, 

 No. 7). It appears that many years ago Dr. Lindstrom introduced 

 certain species of Upper Silurian Corals into zoological literature, 

 partly by their names alone, partly with short preliminary descriptions. 

 The consequence has been (and we do not think that the learned 

 author has any right to complain) that many of his names have 

 received at the hands of various authors a wider meaning than he 

 intended, and that many of them have, in fact, been diverted to forms 

 quite other than he originally meant. To the ordinary person it 

 must certainly appear that there would have been far less confusion 

 introduced into a difficult branch of science had Professor Lindstrom 

 never published these prehminary descriptions at all. 



Description of Species. 



In Memorias de la Societe " Antonio Alzate," vol. ix., p. 32, 

 Professor Herrera asks three questions, to which he desires full 

 replies. (i) What subjects of study do you know that are more 

 important for natural history than the simple description of new 

 species and sub-species ? (2) Synonymy becomes daily more con- 

 fused : do you know the cause? what is the remedy? (3) Do you 

 think it advisable that the authors' names should no longer be 

 attached to the names of species and sub-species, but rather the date 

 of publication of those names ? For example, instead of Taniias 

 striahis typicns, Merriam, one would write Tamias sttiatus iypicus 25,2,86. 



Our readers will have their own answers to these questions, but 

 perhaps we may be allowed to indicate what would be our own. 

 (i) Any subject of natural history study seems to us more calculated 

 to advance science than the mere description of species — species, if 

 they are to be described, should be compared one with another and 

 placed in their proper systematic position. It is only when this is 

 done that the study has any claim to be a branch of science. (2) The 

 causes of confusion in synonymy are two : first, the ignorance, real or 

 assumed, of other people's work that is still displayed by the majority 

 of name-givers; secondly, the incompetent descriptions, often without 

 illustrations, that continue to be published by many people who ought 

 to know better, especially in the form of " preliminary notices," so 



