CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE. 9 



of much confusion in the minds of those who have heen accus- 

 tomed to associate a particular form with a particular name ; 

 and it is always easy to find a new generic name. Very many 

 specific names converted into generic ones are most obviously 

 quite inapplicable ; for example, those referring to colour, as 

 Rubecula, Ruticilla, Phcenicurus. Among the most absurd 

 names are those of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, men and 

 women of various ranks, trades, professions, and such like, 

 applied without change to genera : Of this kind are Zeus, 

 Venus, Orpheus, Tyrannus, Pastor, &c. In short, the general 

 principles of nomenclature as laid down by Linnaeus, AVill- 

 denow, and other botanists, although not ahvays acted upon 

 by them, ought to be adopted. Generic names in particular 

 ought to be of Greek or Latin origin, always with a Latin 

 termination ; and persons defective in taste and classical 

 knowledge ought to be interdicted the use of dictionaries, 

 because in framing names from Greek or Latin words, they 

 are ever prone to produce the most absurd compounds. They 

 should always refer to the schoolmaster. 



As to English names, very little needs be said, further than 

 that, were the genera positively fixed, which they cannot be 

 for many years, if ever, it might be well to give them ver- 

 nacular names, in which case each species ought in like man- 

 ner to have a distinctive epithet or substantive name. Thus, 

 we shall suppose a genus named Corvus, to consist of five 

 species named Corax, Corone, Comix, Frugilegus, Monedula. 

 The English generic name being Crow, we might name the 

 species Raven Crow, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Rook 

 Crow, Daw Crow. But in all cases single substantive specific 

 names would be the best : for example, the Raven, the Corby, 

 the Hoody, the Rook, the Daw. Some person proposes a 

 general meeting of British Ornithologists at London, York, or 

 Edinburgh, for the purpose of determining the English nomen- 

 clature of our native birds ; but such a meeting, were it to 

 take place, would disperse without accomplishing the object in 

 view, unless indeed its members were placed on the Bass Rock, 

 and interdicted fire and food until they had settled all their 

 differences, and sworn perpetual friendship. Even then, some 



