376 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



The activities of the Museum staff have been largely 

 devoted to the direction of collecting expeditions. In 1907 

 and 1908 Miss Alexander personally conducted expeditions to 

 Alaska. The results of the expedition of 1907 have recently 

 been published in the series of University of California 

 Publications in Zoology. During the summers of 1908 and 

 1909 five collectors were at work in different fields under 

 the direction of Mr. Grinnell. 



The museum aims at becoming the ceutre for the systematic 

 study of the birds, mammals, and reptiles of the Pacific 

 Coast. The Collections of the Biological Survey in Washing- 

 ton are vastly larger, even with regard to Pacific Coast forms, 

 but of course are not available for study in this part of the 

 country. 



The staff of the museum consists of Mr. Joseph Grinnell, 

 formerly of the Throop Polytechnic Institute of Pasadena, 

 Director; Mr. Harry S. Swarth, curator of birds; and 

 Mr. W. P. Taylor, assistant curator of mammals. Mr. 

 Edmund Heller, appointed curator of mammals, is at present 

 on an indefinite leave of absence, with the Smithsonian 

 Institution's expedition to Africa under Colonel Roosevelt. 



I am, Sirs, yours &c, 



Berkeley, California, Joseph Grinnell. 



December 17th, 1909. 



Sirs, — I wish to congratulate you on Dr. Sclater's article 

 {' Ibis,' 1909, p. 347) on the practice of attaching " authori- 

 ties " to the scientific names of animals. This practice has 

 for many years seemed to me an absurd contradiction to the 

 principle of Binomial Nomenclature. If it be once admitted 

 as necessary there can be no reason for changing a specific 

 name when it has been already used for another species of the 

 same genus. If it be once granted that a species should be 

 called " rufus Smith " and not simply " rufus" there can be 

 no reason for changing a specific name when it has already 

 been used for another species of the same genus. The 

 different " authority " would be sufficient to distinguish them. 



