190 CORRESPONDENCE. 
half a century, but an imposition : Linnmus of a view which he had not 
and perhaps would not have adopted. "To avoid such fatal — it has 
: osed to write ide une (ie) thali — Lin is 
not only *too lengthy and inconvenient be used with e ad rapidity, 
but too nri us and uncouth to be aad at re And dint: the Committee 
— 
apeigas " thalietroides (Linn.) (sp.),— 
6 
which is scarcely shorter, or even to leave out the (sp.). The.reader is thus to 
note that Linr iginall rii the specific name thalictroides, but not the 
generic. Who did, must be otherwise ined. A pretty long experience 
in the attempt to combine e appellation with description. Here the at- 
tempt is to connect it with the history of its origin, which, after all, can 
rightly told only in the synonymy. The natural remedy for the supposed evil 
which this mode of citation was to cure is, to consider (as is simply the fact) 
that the jaiii authority does not indicate the origin, but only the applica- 
tion at the time being, of the particular name, and so no one is thus ro of 
his due. The instructed naturalist very well knows the — of species, 
or where to look for it ; the tyro can learn 
**8 C. Specific names should — be written with a small initial letter, 
even dai derived from p n the ground that proper names 
written with a capital letter are liable Ý m pieta for generic. (But no 
fore be written all alike. The question isone of — taste, and usag?. 
As to the first, we do not think a strong case is made out. If mere uniformity 
be the leading consideration, it might be well to ilie the example of the 
American author who corrected Ranuneulus Flammula, Linn., and R. Cymba- 
laria, Pursh, into R. flammulus and R. eymbalarius ! As to taste and usage, 
we suppose there would be a vast preponderance against the innovation, so far 
respects personal names and those substantive names which Linnseus de- 
lighted to gather from the old herbalists, ete., and turn to specifie use, e. g- 
Ranunculus Flammula, R. Lingua, R. Thora, R. Ficaria, and the like. Ad- 
jective names of places and countries, Linnæus printed with a small initial; 
e.g. R. lapponicus, ete. De Candolle writes such names with a capital letter ; 
and this best accords with English analogy, but has not been universally 
i be 
cae e It is recommended that in subdividing an old genus in future, the 
names given to the subdivisions should agree in gender with that of the original 
group. The practical objection to this is, that old hould be revived for 
these genera or ad pi if there be any applicable ones, which is vu to 
the ease in botany." 
