138 Correspondence. [.nd'o'ct. 



of the study of ornithology. I venture to think that the advantages 

 of the system could be achieved by the use of the prefix " sub " 

 or " pseudo " to the specific name of the dominant species, and, 

 if this usage were found practicable, obviously it would secure 

 the advantage of ready differentiation and avoid the disadvantage 

 of name triplication. 



Mr. Mathews quotes certain written statements of Mr. A. J. 

 North as supporting the adoption of trinomials. The reference 

 is an unhappy one if the quotation be critically examined. Mr. 

 North's statement, as quoted, is that " trinomial nomenclature 

 has not yet been adopted by Austrahan ornithologists, although 

 that does not protect Australian ornithological nomenclature from 

 the hair-splitting of the most ardent sub-species maker resident 

 elsewhere." The innuendo is manifestly clear ; but, whatever the 

 merits or demerits of either system may be, I, as a member of 

 the Check-list Committee, intend (quite regardless of my personal 

 leanings) to give loyal adherence to the system presently adopted 

 by the national authority on ornithology within the British 

 dominions — namely, the British Museum. In doing so I may be 

 charged (and perhaps with sufficient warrant) as being con- 

 servative or unprogressive, but that I must accept. It is more 

 essential, in my opinion, to have a uniformity of procedure, even if 

 we have not absolute unanimity of thought, as by the former 

 confusion will be avoided and consistency and certainty main- 

 tained. It cannot be but mischievous to any study to have divers 

 systems of nomenclature simultaneously co-existent in the one 

 dominion. 



In another realm of science there exists a well-known maxim, 

 omnis innovatio pliis novitate perturhat qiiam iitilitate prodest — 

 that " every innovation disturbs more by its novelty than benefits 

 by its utility " — and it is worth considering if it is not equally- 

 applicable to ornithological nomenclature. 



The non-acceptance of trinomials by Australian ornithologists 

 need not, I think, trouble Mr. Mathews in his new work, for it is 

 still open to him to set out out both, in the manner, I understand, 

 he has done in the first parts of his new work. — I am, &c., 



ALEX. WM. MILLIGAN. 



103 William-street. Melbourne. 6/9/11. 



DESCRIPTIONS AND DIMENSIONS OF EGGS. 



To the Editors of " The. Emu." 



Dear Sirs, — Ornithology, like all other biological sciences, is 

 advancing rapidly, and to keep abreast of the times its methods 

 require re-adjustment, more especially with regard to that 

 branch known as oology. 



To gain a comprehensive knowledge of oology in all its details 



