THE TORREY CLUB CATALOGUE. 185 
fact regarding the origin of this Torrey Club Catalogue is, 
that the good work undertaken by it is not attempted by any 
one man single-handed. The book is the joint product (by 
no means the first product, however,) of a little but strong 
republie of aetive botanists; a republie such as Dr. Torrey 
alone of all American botanists had the happiness to organize 
in his life-time, and of leaving after him, to carry on his work, 
and bear his name, with ever new honors, down to other 
generations. 
This Preliminary Catalogue is an initial effort looking 
toward a complete descriptive flora of the region defined in 
the title; a working list, with blank pages for manuscript 
notes and additions, sent forth for the purpose of eliciting 
the fullest information concerning the plants of the district, 
in order that the flora, when done, may be as complete as 
possible. Occasion has also been taken, as was fittest in such 
a preliminary list, for applying the philosophical and ethical 
principles of biological nomenclature ; principles which have 
never heretofore been followed in any treatise, of wide 
scope, upon North American botany. American authors have 
hitherto, for the most part, followed the easy and popular 
way of retaining names of species as given in current books, 
or as approved within their own circles or cliques, without 
regard to higher principles. There are few among us pre- 
pared to appreciate the amount of library work which has 
been required for the verification of priority in the case of 
almost every one of the many hundred names employed in 
this catalogue; and the committee on nomenclature appear 
to have executed their task, upon the whole, most creditably. 
Only a single instance of manifest oversight occurs to me as 
I glance at the pages; that of Eryngium yucceefolium, 
Michx., antedated by E. aquaticum, Linn. 
But a considerable number of failures to attain exact 
priority, failures in a different way, I would notiee more par- 
ticularly ; and first, respecting a few generic names. — 
It will hardly be questioned that conformity to the original 
spelling of a name is best, especially when the proposed 
