338 Lettei's, Announcements, ^c. 



then supplied two coUectious, to Mr. Ridgway and myself, 

 almost at the same moment, is unfortunate only as regards 

 the last coincidence, inasmuch as we have supplied several 

 birds each with a superfluous name. 



My reason for writing this letter is to ascertain which 

 name is applicable in future to these species. 



The facts are these : — My paper was published in your 

 pages on or about April 5 of the present year. 



Mr. Ridgway^s will form part of the third volume of the 

 Biological Society of Washington, 1884-85. Extra copies of 

 this paper were printed on " February 26, 1885,'^ and posted 

 by Mr. Ridgway to his friends on March 2nd. 



The date of its publication I am, as yet, unable to supply. 



Personally I am quite ready to accept Mr. Ridgway^s 

 names ; but I think no harm can be done by asking what is 

 the status of names issued in an " extra " in advance of the 

 actual publication of the periodical of which they are to form 

 a part. 



The date of printing is, of course, nothing, and it seems to 

 me that the distribution of printed copies by an author does 

 not technically differ from sending Avritten letters to the 

 same eff'ect to his various correspondents. 



Publication is something more than this. I believe that 

 our practice in England is not to issue " extras '^ to authors 

 until after the actual publication of the paper, and this seems 

 to me to be the right course. In America a different system 

 seems to prevail, and authors can have copies of their papers 

 often many months before their formal publication. In by 

 far the majority of cases no harm is done. Occasionally, as 

 in the present instance, a preliminary distribution clashes 

 with an actual publication. 



Yours &c., 



OSBERT SaLVIN. 



Anniversary of the British Ornithologists' Union. — The 

 Annual Meeting of the B. O. U. was held at 6 Tenterden 

 Street, on AVednesday, the 20th May, at 6 p.m., Mr. Sclatek 

 in the Chair. 



