A NEW FASHION IN WRITING PLANT NAMES. 139 
of a leaning to the new proposition, and so, unconsciously, 
somewhat misrepresented the case; for this practice of capi- 
talizing is not peculiar to American writings of recent date, 
nor, indeed, to American writings at all, as compared with 
those of other parts of the world botanical. A much fairer 
statement would have been made had he said, “ the system 
employed in a very great majority of botanical writings in 
all ages and all countries.” 
As for my own opinion about the proposal to dispense with 
initial capitals, I have to say that, while I am not of that con- 
servative temperament which adheres to any method simply 
and solely because it has been long in vogue and I am habit- 
uated to it, I am decidedly averse to change when there is no 
rational plea to be made in favor of it; and no one, as far as 
I am informed, has shown or attempted to show cause why 
we should now cease to write and print geographical and 
personal adjectives, personal genitives, etc., with the initial 
capital. If the majority of our botanists are ready to 
assume that nearly all our fathers of the last four centuries 
have been very bad grammarians, not knowing the right use 
of capital letters even, I should say, let them so pronounce, 
and proceed with their proofs. These being given, and the 
need of such a reform being demonstrated, I should accede 
to the new proposition most cordially and at once. But I 
hold in contempt all mere fashions, whether in science or in 
letters; and what virile mind does not? And the promoters 
of mere fashion here, have also a method of procedure to 
which Iam more than averse. Usually when there are no 
reasons to be given for an innovation, the innovator comes 
out with a useful book or monograph in which we see his 
new rule applied; thus he sets an example which a greater or 
less number of other people will be likely to follow simply 
because it is a new usage; so very ready are most people to 
think that whatever is new is better than the old. In about — 
this way have nearly all our American botanists, within three 
or four years past, come to practice the wholly illogical and 
indefensible usage of displacing oldest specific names in favor 
