158 CH. WARDELL STILES, 



it, relative to anatomical raatters, has already been accepted by some 

 authors as authoritative support for bis nomenclatural views, tbus 

 giving tbe latter an artificial value (Looss himself admitting that he 

 is not a noraenclaturalist). Furthermore, certain views recently ex- 

 pressed i) by Braun and by LtJHE are also open to discussion. 



1. Heliniiithology is a speciality in zoology, hence ^ubject 

 to general zoologieal rules. 



We should Start out with the conviction that helminthologists are 

 zoologists; we are specialists in a small field of zoology; we there- 

 fore are bound professionally to make the nomenclature of our speci- 

 ality conform to principles which are identical with those adopted by 

 zoologists at large, and we should not support or adopt any practice 

 which is antogonistic to the stability of the nomenclature used by 

 our colleagues in other departments of zoology. We are only one 

 organ of a large body, and no precedent can be adopted which is 

 calculated to render that organ a teratological specimen when compared 

 with the entire body. We should not place ourselves in the position 

 of a tail attempting to wag the dog. 



On the other band, we have a right to maintain that our speci- 

 ality shall have the same consideration in the framing of principles 

 and practices which other zoologieal specialities eujoy. We may even 

 advance the claim that our field of work is more intimately connected 

 than almost any other speciality in System atic zoology with the nomen- 

 clature of physicians and veterinarians ; hence that it is well for us 

 to be more or less conservative in nomenclatural propositions, since 

 a change of generic and specific names in our groups is frequently 

 calculated to result in a change of names in medical textbooks, and 

 in official regulations in meat inspection. And while all due weight 

 is given to this intimate relation between parasitology and medicine, let 

 US not forget that we owe a duty not only to the present generation 

 but to future generations as well. 



W^e should impress the fact upon our raemories that zoologists 

 have only commenced with the naming of animals. Millions of 

 species still remain unnamed and undescribed. The numerous scientific 



1) Almost constant absence from my laboratory since Mai'ch, 1898, 

 has made it impossible for me to follow all of the recent helmintho- 

 logical writings. Nomenclatural papers by other authors therefore may 

 have escaped my attention. 



