CHAPTER II 



Codes of Nomenclature and Their Application in 

 Bacteriology 



If it be taken as a guiding principle that for each kind of organism 

 there should be one valid name, and that there should be some criterion 

 as to the correctness or validity of any name, it is evident that there 

 must be developed and recognized some code of rules or laws. Such 

 so-called "Codes of Nomenclature" have been developed both in Botany 

 and in Zoology by International Congresses called among other 

 things for this purpose. Inasmuch as the bacteria are plants, or 

 at least most closely allied to the plant kingdom, it would be 

 most natural to follow the botanical code. However, an element 

 of confusion in practice is introduced because bacteriologists 

 have shown a tendency in recent years to term themselves 

 microbiologists and their subject microbiology to make it evident 

 that their studies are not confined to the bacteria, or even to the 

 plant kingdom. This has been fostered by the discovery of many 

 diseases of man and animals caused by protozoa. In many cases these 

 can be best studied by the methods which have been developed in the 

 bacteriological laboratory. It has proved somewhat confusing to use 

 the botanical code for the plant forms and the zoological code for the 

 protozoa. 



A careful study of the botanical and zoological codes will show them 

 to be very similar in most essential characteristics. The botanical 

 code is less rigid, and probably has something more of ambiguity in 

 some of its statements than does the zoological. Logically it would 

 seem that we should follow the botanical code with the bacteria and the 

 zoological code with the protozoa. 



The questions at once arise : 



Are these codes really applicable to the nomenclature of micro- 

 organisms? Have they not been planned with higher groups of plants 

 and animals in mind? 



A careful study of the provisions of either code will show that there 

 is no inherent difficulty in application to the lower forms of life. In 

 the botanical code there are, perhaps, one or two rules which the bacte- 

 riologists might be reluctant to accept, particularly the rule that all 



109 



