394 



NATURAL SCIENCE. December. 



Botany for School Children. 



How TO Study Wild Flowers. By the Rev. George Henslow, M.A., F.L.S. 

 8vo. Pp. 224, with 57 illustrations. Religious Tract Society, 1896. Price 2s.6d. 



" The object of this book is to enable students to rapidly acquire 

 an accurate knowledge of typical British wild flowers." " If teachers 

 would place this book in the hands of their pupils, make them dissect 

 and examine the flowers with its aid, and above all things insist upon 

 accuracy, the great use of botany in schools, viz., the training the young 

 minds in systematic observation and accurate habits, will be secured." The 

 sentences we quote occur in that portion of Mr. Henslow's preface 

 which is addressed to the teacher. And under certain conditions his 

 book fulfils all that he claims for it. The conditions are an elementary 

 knowledge of the general structure of seed-plants, and a teacher who 

 has learnt some of his botany out in the fields and woods. From 

 p. 49 onward the book is really a small British flora. Descriptions 

 are given of the more commonly occurring genera or species, and the 

 illustrations, the majority of which are good, will be a valuable help 

 to the student. The addition of remarks on points of biological 

 interest, serves somewhat to remedy the dryness incident to a mere 

 systematic account. The thirty-six pages of introduction comprise a 

 brief review of floral morphology, but must not by any means be 

 regarded as an efficient introduction to the study of flowers. It will 

 help the student to unravel the intricacies of the artificial key to the 

 orders and genera (pp. 42-48), but if he is wise he will let this alone 

 and trust to a teacher or friend until he is able roughly to allocate to 

 their orders the more commonly occurring plants. The book is of a 

 handy size and nicely got up, and looks very attractive in its neat red 

 binding. 



Nomenclature in Entomology, and in Zoology. 



Rules for Regulating Nomenclature, with a view to secure a strict application 

 of the Law of Priority in Entomological work. Compiled by Lord Walsingham 

 and John Hartley Durrant. Svo 18 pp. London: Longmans, Green. November 

 2, 1896. Price 6d. 



Lord Walsingham and Mr. Durrant have compiled a list of the 

 Rules which regulate work done in entomology at Merton Hall. 

 They have called them the " Merton Code." No one can offer the 

 least objection to these gentlemen conducting their researches in an 

 extraordinary manner, but we do not suppose other entomologists will 

 accept the result. 



The note to Rule 12 encourages the priority-maniac to flood us 

 with hektographic copies of his new names, provided he fulfils certain 

 conditions as to sale by publisher. 



Rule 20 provides that " a name homophonous {i.e. differently 

 written, but indistinguishable in sound) with a valid name is invalid," 

 etc., "5.^.: Ucetia, Wkr. would invalidate Eusesia," a proposition 

 arguing a peculiar standard of pronunciation among entomologists, 

 and apart from that scarcely short of the ridiculous. 



But Rule 21 goes even beyond this, in stating that " a name so 

 similar to a valid one as to be almost homophonous or almost 

 homonymous is invalid," etc. 



Rule 25 states that " a name which is offensive (whether politi- 

 cally, morally, or by its irreverence) is invalid, and should be 

 expunged from zoological nomenclature." Philosophia stemma non 

 inspicit, and Meretrix, Priapus, Orchis do not suggest indelicacy to 



