126 



The first action of the organized body was to exclude cryptogams, 

 mosses and liverworts from present consideration and place these 

 groups in the hands of a special committee for a future report. A com- 

 mittee was also appointed to consider the nomenclature of fossil plants. 

 In the main the rules of 18GT Avere approved, and the working of the 

 law of priority strengthened. What to Americans seem lilvc undue con- 

 cessions to the old order of things were the decisions to exempt from 

 the rule some 400 generic names now in use, and to disqualify specific 

 names which duplicate the generic name, as Linaria Linaria, etc. It 

 was voted by a moderate majority that beginning with 1908 descriptions 

 must be in Latin to constitute publication, except in works whose publi- 

 cation was begun before that date and not fully completed. It is believed 

 by American botanists that the greatest shortcoming of the congress was 

 the failure to recognize the value of generic types, which constitute an 

 advance in systematic methods that is certain to find favor as soon 

 as well understood. 



The proceedings of the congress will appear in due course of time iu 

 two printed volumes, the first containing the decisions regarding nomen- 

 clature, and the second the scientific papers read. 



If one were to name the most important achievement of this con- 

 gress, it would undoubtedly be the promotion of fraternity among active 

 botanists in such a manner as to lead to effective organization. Over 

 GOO members of the congress were registered, of which fully two-thirds 

 may be denominated professional botanists, and half of these were men 

 whose names are known to everyone familiar with current botanical 

 literature. It was a more truly representative gathering than ever before 

 discussed botanical problems of world-Avide interest. Those in attendance 

 considered the meeting highly successful, and this spirit of good-will 

 toward the movement for a permanent authoritative organization is one 

 of the bright auguries for the advancement of botanical science in many 

 ways. The next meeting of the congress will be at Brussels in 1910, and 

 the meeting foUoAving that may confidently be expected to be held in 

 America. 



