1891.] Open Letters 



33 



lapse in the major premise is not altogether unapparent to those who 

 recall the fostering care of botanists — such as Darwin for example — 

 while putting the infant industry of the zoologists on its feet. Why, 

 even Huxley looks upon his long zoological training-course as a means 

 of fitting him for extended study of the Gentians. An additional 

 and quite unanswerable argument is brought forward, however, in the 

 Naturalist editorial. "On a broad etymological basis" the use of 

 the word by zoologists is wrong," observes the writer. And then he 

 straightway insists upon the right to use it. The peculiar appropriate- 

 ness of an incorrect word for a one-sided, incorrect science is felt by 

 us all. Indeed, as an additional evidence of true "biological" wrath 

 at the philological pharisees and purists, the "prominent zoologist" 

 proudly parades in his Gazette letter a Greek termination which we 

 sincerely hope is not to be found elsewhere. At least the dictionaries, 

 being written on the much despised "broad etymological basis" may 

 be relied upon to exclude it. 



Apparently the trouble with the prominent zoologist is this: In 

 college days he was probably brought under the influence of Dr. Mark 

 Hopkins, of venerated memory, and he has adopted one of the con- 

 testable dicta of his early philosophic mentor. It was a pleasing 

 idiosyncrasy of Dr. Hopkins to insist that a " profound abyss " yawned 

 between plants and animals. " Certainly," thinks the disciple. " 'Life' 

 characterises animals and, since there is the profound abyss I 

 learned about, plants must be in a condition of partial paralysis and 

 the biologist should shun them." This is what the editor of the 

 Naturalist means when he speaks of the "living side" of the plant- 

 world as if there was any side not alive. The same confused, altho 

 Hopkinsesque, notions of plants and animals so characteristic of half- 

 biologists, are shown again in the Naturalist editorial when it is 

 said — "fully one-half of the teachers of botany are unable to give any 

 of the living side of their subject. * * * The zoologist teaches all that 

 is taught of life." The intimation is plain that the "living side" 

 taught by the other half of the botanists is very different from the 

 "life" (or in the original Greek Bion) which zoologists wish to claim 

 as their peculiar province. A little less slavish knuckling down to 

 the Mark Hopkins school, a little more Greek and a good deal more 

 biology would make the "prominent zoologist" something of an 

 orthographic authority. — An Obscure and Ordinary Botanist. 



Labeling: specimens for the herbarium. 



The usefulness of the herbarium is largely determined by the 

 excellence of the labelling. Bearing this in mind, I cast about for a 

 method of labelling the specimens in my herbarium, and, finally after 

 having read of the methods used here and there and finding none that 

 suited me exactly, I thought of the following way which has proved 

 one of so great neatness, excellence, 'fulness and easeness as to lead 

 me to mention it for the instruction of others who desire to render 

 their collections more serviceable. In labelling my herbarium I used 

 the printed names and descriptions clipped directly from the revised 

 Manual. I labelled my shelves with the printed ordinal name, but 

 could not use the descriptions. The genus covers have the generic 



