NOMENCLATURE OF LEPIDOPTERA. 



183 



Sir George Hampson, who originated the correspondence, 

 propounded the following set of questions : — 



1. Whether the tenth or twelfth edition of Linnaeus shall be 



taken as the basis of zoological nomenclature ? 



2. Is it necessary to add any other pre-Linnasan authors' names 



to the list of those whose works were accepted by the Com- 

 mittee of the British Association ? 



3. Are the genera of Hiibner's Tentamen to be accepted or not ? 



If accepted, what date is to be assigned to them ? 



4. Are the genera of Hiibner's Zutrage to be accepted or not ? 



5. Are the genera of Hiibner's Verzeichniss to be accepted or not ? 



If accepted, what date is to be assigned to them ? 



6. Whether the terminations iidm, Una, or iadce, iancc are to be 



employed ? 



7. By what process is the type of a heterotypical genus to be 



ascertained ? 



a. What is the type of Phalcena, L. ? 



b. What is the type of Tortrix, L. ? 



c. What is the type of Tinea, L. ? 



d. What is the type of Alucita, L. ? 



Show how the result is arrived at in each instance, and dis- 

 cuss the value of the names Phalcena, L., and Tortrix, L., giving 

 the reasons for your conclusions, and stating on what published 

 or unpublished rules you rely. 



There are three other questions ; but, as these arise out of 

 those referred to above, there is no occasion to repeat them 

 here. 



There is no doubt that these enquiries are of considerable 

 importance, and there is equally no doubt that they, together 

 with the replies thereto, will have a world-wide circulation 

 through the medium in which they appear. It has occurred to 

 us, however, that the area of publicity might be extended by re- 

 printing in this Journal the opinions of some of the entomologists 

 consulted, particularly so far as concerns questions 1, 3, 4, and 5. 



1. Eeplies in favour of the Tenth Edition of Linn^us 



(date 1758). 



Lord Walsingham writes : — 



" The tenth edition, 1758, should be adopted. The British 

 Association Committee, in § 1, established the law of priority ; and in 

 § 2 they wrote : — 



' The binomial nomenclature having originated with Linnasus, the 

 law of priority in respect of that nomenclature is not to extend 

 to the writings of antecedent authors.' 



" Strickland's rules were drawn up in 1842, and adopted by the 

 British Association at Birmingham, 1865 (vide Sclater, pp. iii and 

 23). In the original draft no edition of Linnaeus was selected (Strick- 

 land having left a blank space for the insertion of the edition to be 



