264 



THE MUSEUM. 



name of the locality or country where 

 it is found, or the name of the person 

 who has discovered or described it. 

 This may apply to either genus or 

 species name, only remembering that 

 the genus name ought to be a noun, 

 while the species name is more gener- 

 ally an adjective or often a noun used 

 adjectively and the same genus and 

 species name may not be repeated in 

 the same branch of science, but prop- 

 erly enough in a different branch. 

 Classification does not stop with giv- 

 ing each object a genus and species 

 name Genera have been grouped to- 

 gether into families, families into or- 

 ders, orders into classes, classes into 

 branches or sub-kingdoms, and ffnally 

 an undivided kingdom; and under 

 classes and orders are sometimes plac- 

 ed sub-classes and sub-orders. As we 

 ascend in species the peculiarities in 

 common keep dropping out, but those 

 that remain and hold good in common 

 for the larger groups are more con- 

 trasting. In other words the further 

 we proceed in gronping, the more uni- 

 formity in the individuals making up 

 the group; for it leaves the structural 

 parts and descends into characters 

 capable of change by accidental cir- 

 cumstances, until when such change 

 ceases to be capable of uniformity, in- 

 variable and permanent continuance 

 by propogation or pass the verge of 

 species into the realm of mere variety. 

 Naturalists do not agree entirely in 

 their systems of classification and per- 

 haps never will. But this fact ought 

 not to discourage us. Good and cor- 

 rect grammar in any language, is that 

 use of it, in accordance with its usage 

 by the best speakers and writers of 

 the language; and correct classification 

 is that set forth above according to 



the views of the best living naturalists. 

 There may be different objects in ar- 

 rangement. If we undertake to ar- 

 range a library we may do it in sev- 

 eral ways. We may arrange the vol- 

 umes on the shelves in respect to size 

 or style of binding or we may place 

 the volumes of history on one shelf, 

 biography on another, and poetry or 

 fiction on another. There may be 

 some old manuscript volumes with the 

 stain of years upon them that we re- 

 moved to a particular shelf. The 

 books might be arranged according to 

 the price paid for them or as to the 

 time at which they came into our po- 

 session. If two persons were to set 

 about the work and attempt to com- 

 bine and illustrate all these ideas in 

 the arrangement of the books it is not 

 likely they would entirely agree. Here 

 might be a volume in Hebrew poetry, 

 which one would thoroughly under- 

 stand but the other not as well, so 

 that he would hardly know whether 

 rightly to place it on the poetical or 

 historical or biographical shelf. 



It is felt specific differences are the 

 hardest to deal with. Species is the 

 giant that every day goes forth to defy 

 the scientific camp. What is a spec- 

 ies and how has it originated are ques- 

 tions that have yielded more scientific 

 literature and criticism in the past fifty 

 yeais than any other subject in sci- 

 ence; and yet these questions remain 

 undecided. It is not possible for any 

 species to consist of a single individual, 

 unless it is on the very verge of ex- 

 tinction. 



In the higher animals and plants 

 every individual implies the previous 

 existence of a pair of ancestors and 

 can be continued no further without at 

 least a pair of progeny. All individ- 



