GENERAL FEATURES 39 



peak may seem inhospitable to us, but it is not so to them, it is 

 home, and they love their alpine home just as dearly and as 

 consistently as the inhabitants of the fertile plains and of the 

 tropical riversides love theirs. 



§ 40. Capitalization of Names. 



"All proper naines should be capitalized." The author believes 

 in this rule of grammar, and in the propriety of a capital letter, in 

 all cases, whether the name be founded on a person's name or not. 

 All specific and varietal names in this book are, therefore, capital- 

 ized. 



§41. Generic Names Omitted. 



As in the matter of omitting authors' names, mentioned in a 

 following paragraph, so, too, largely, as to the mention of generic 

 names in the discussion of species, the genus name may well be 

 omitted for the sake of brevity, and to avoid repetition. It is al- 

 most unknown that the sarne specific name appears in more than 

 one genus, and, therefore, the mention of the specific name is suf- 

 ficient, without the continual repetition of the genus name. 



The species name is the foundation. Originally, the genus 

 name was based upon the venation of the wing, but even as to 

 that base no two modern writers agree, in all cases, so that the 

 genus name has not the value that it once had, but is become a 

 matter of doubt and comparative inconsequence. 



§42. Authors' Names Omitted. 



It is customary in scientific works, in discussing species, to care- 

 fully mention the author's name, thus : Agraulis VanUIcr, Linn., 

 as though more than one author had proposed that name for that 

 species and, therefore, mention of that particular author's name 

 must be made, for the proper identification of the species. This is 

 mostly unnecessary and superfluous. There are not half a dozen 

 instances in the whole list where a specific name requires the addi- 

 tion of the author's name for its identification. 



The study of the butterflies is the essential point, and it is en- 

 tirely of secondary importance who the author of any one species 

 may have been. Names are given primarily to distinguish and 

 identify different forms, and not for the identification of the au- 

 thor. In the Complete List I have given the authors' names, for 

 the use of those who care for them for further study, but else- 



