184 CH. WARDELL STILES, 



sacrificed to the former. Looss' (1899) title ^) may be objected to by 

 some parties as being too loDg, but the objection can not hold as 

 justified, for the title is descriptive. Although there are seventeen 

 words in this title, a critical study will show that not one superfluous 

 Word is used. Not only helminthologists, but zoologists in general and 

 even the laity will iramediately comprehend it. It is a model which all 

 authors would do well to follow. Titles of this natura are to be found. 

 particularly in the Proc. U. S. National Museum. 



Compare, now, Looss' title with the foUowing title of an article 

 by Braun (1899): "Ueber Clinostomum Leidy". This latter conveys 

 a certain amount of Information to helminthologists (although a more 

 explicit one would have been better even for us); but it is relatively 

 unintelligible to the general zoologist, and necessitates his finding out 

 whether Clinostomum Leidy is a fish or a worm. "A short systematic 

 revision of the trematode genus Clinostomum, with proposition of three 

 new genera" would have given a rauch more exact idea of what we 

 find in Braun's valuable paper. 



All of US have sinned more or less in selecting the titles for our 

 articles, but it is not too late to reform. 



2) Methods of writing an author's name. It may seem 

 an insignificant matter whether an author writes his name in füll or 

 in an unduly abbreviated form, yet from a bibliographic Standpoint 

 this is important. In order to arrange articles and books properly in 

 a catalogue or library, it is essential that the works of one writer 

 should not be placed under the name of another man. Still it not 

 infrequently happens that confusion results because of the methods 

 adopted by authors, hence it is not unreasonable to advance the point 

 that more care in this regard will aid in preventing confusion. 



The most objectionable custom, in this regard, known to me is 

 followed by certain German authors who give simply their faraily 

 name and residence. Thus, one finds articles in some Journals written 

 by "ScHMiDT-Berlin" or "ScHULZE-Wien". Now let us suppose that 

 these men change their residence and become "ScHMiDT-Leipzig" and 

 "ScHULZE-Hamburg". The confusion to the bibliographers is by no 

 means insignificant. 



1) Weitere Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Trematodenfauna Aegyptens, 

 zugleich Versuch einer natürlichen Gliederung des Genus Distomum 

 Retzius. 



