CORRESPONDENCE. 



Emendations of Nomenclature. 

 In your last number (vol. iii., p. 328) you are severe on those who emend generic 

 or specific names to make them agree with well-known rules of composition and 

 orthography. Certainly anyone would agree with you that " the practice of emending 

 names the etymology of which is not clear to the emendator's mind is a reprehensible 

 one" ; but when the etymology is clear, not only to the mind of the emendator, but to 

 all those who have considered the origin of the term, and even to the author himself, 

 is one then to be blamed for spelling a word in such a way that it shall convey to others 

 the original intention of the author ? Is an author's ignorance or carelessness to be 

 eternally perpetuated to his own disgrace and to the perplexity of those who vainly 

 try to discover the meaning of his names? Or is scientific nomenclature on a par 

 with nonsense rhymes and the game of Russian scandal, where the essence of the 

 joke depends on its absurdity ? Of course, it is not often that a scientist is so un- 

 learned in everything save his own subject as to describe a fossil as made of ivory 

 (ebonus), when he means to convey the really useful information that it occurs near 

 York ( eboraccnsis ) ; but it is unfortunately more often the case that scientists, like 

 other people of humbler pretensions, do drop their " h " s. But since we do not all 

 talk about Mrs. Enry Awkins, is there any reason why we should all talk about 

 Ekocliaris when we mean Heleocharis ? Certainly your remarks are hardly consistent 

 with the British Association rules of Zoological Nomenclature, of which number 14 

 is, " In writing zoological names the rules of Latin orthography must be adhered to." 

 The eminent compilers of that code also say, " In the construction of compound 

 Latin words, there are certain grammatical rules which have been known and acted 

 on for two thousand years, and which a naturalist is bound to acquaint himself with 

 before he tries his skill in coining zoological terms." True that, in the particular 

 instance, you are dealing with Botanical names ; but the rules of common-sense 

 should apply equally to both Zoology and Botany. There is nothing that sets the 

 scholar against the natural sciences more than this apparent ignorance of rules 

 known even to me, your old friend, 



Macaulay's Schoolboy. 



[Our youthful friend forgets that scientific nomenclature is for the use of 

 scientific men, not for those students of Latin and Greek to whom he arrogates the 

 title " scholar." In the opinion of those who deal much with names, universality 

 is at least as important a factor of intelligibility as etymological correctness. — Ed.] 



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