110 



4. A phrase consisting* of an adjective and a noun used as a mere 

 name should be generally written as one word. 



Examples: Bluebottle, clearwing, gray back, longsting, orangetip. 



Many insect names are formed in accordance with two or more 

 rules. Examples: Apple-tree tent-caterpillar (1, 3b), nine-spotted 

 ladybird (1, 3a), blood-sucking cone-nose (3b, 3a), case-making clothes- 

 moth (31), 2a), East-Indian meal-moth (1,2a), sooty corn-root web- 

 worm (1, 3b). 



As to whether a compound name should be written as one word or 

 with the hyphen, it is difficult to determine, as it is difficult to con- 

 struct delinite rules for governing such cases. Old and very familiar 

 names like ladybird,' cutworm, and bedbug are generally written as 

 single words, while newer words like cone-nose and kissing-bug are 

 hyphenized; but age and familiarity alone can not determine. Some 

 ver}^ old forms are still hyphenized and probably always will be, while 

 some newer forms are written as single words. Space will not allow 

 here a full discussion of this part of the subject. 



There is also a negative phase to this question; that is. When should 

 the parts of a name not be united? For present purposes it is suf- 

 ficient to give two general principles, quoted from the Standard 

 Dictionary : 



1. All words should be separate when used in regular grammatical 

 construction, unless they are jointly applied in some arbitrary way. 



2. No expression in the language should ever be changed from two 

 or more words into one (either hyphenized or solid) without change 

 of sense. 



From the preceding discussion two things ought to be apparent to 

 all: First. That the subject is worthy of further consideration; and, 

 second, that in the main the subject lends itself readily to definite and 

 fixed rules which are based upon established language principles. 

 Moreover, to ignore or violate these rules and principles is as great a 

 sin against good usage as to misspell in anj' other way, or to trample 

 upon the laws of grammar and rhetoric. 



One reason for the general lack of the application of principles to 

 the compounding of insect names is that the whole subject of the com- 

 pounding of English words was not reduced to a system till one or 

 two decades ago; and those who blindly follow the ancient lack of sys- 

 tem of Wel)ster's Dictionary, instead of the more definite system of 

 the Standard, Century, or Murray's New English Dictionary, are likely 

 still to be a law unto themselves, but a law founded upon no fixed prin- 

 ciples of the English language. 



The writer hopes further to elucidate the subject of vernacular 

 names by publishing an extensive list of the names of insects along 

 with a complete list of the vernacular names of mammals, birds, and 



