432 Notes and News. [july 



The specialist working over a group of birds constantly for weeks at a 

 time, unconsciously magnifies the differences whicli he finds between birds 

 from areas, which he has reason to think, ought to yield separable geo- 

 graphic races. The Committee usually is able to recognize the differences 

 that he points out, and the rejection of proposed races does not indicate 

 that the author is wrong, but simply that in the opinion of the Committee 

 the differences he has found are too slight and too inconstant to be of any 

 practical utility. The Union believes that for practical purposes the judg- 

 ment of seven men is better than that of one, and desires the opinion of a 

 committee on all cases of proposed new forms, and the Check-List and its 

 supplements constitute the Committee's opinions and nothing more. 



In the same way questions of change of names are also passed upon, 

 although in such cases the Committee is bound by the Code of Nomencla- 

 ture in reaching its decisions. 



In the latest supplement it will be noticed that only cases of proposed new 

 species or subspecies are considered. Cases of nomenclature are left in 

 abeyance for the present. 



The object of this action is to maintain the stability of the names in this 

 edition of the Check-List for as long a time as possible. When the List 

 was issued every effort was made to sift all questions of nomenclature 

 to the bottom, and while this was successful in the main, there are certain 

 changes that will still have to be made. These are not numerous, and it 

 seems that nothing is to be gained by hasty action in the matter, so for the 

 present no changes will be made in the List on purely nomenclatural 

 grounds. 



This brings us to another matter that is exciting certain zoologists 

 in various parts of the world at the present time, namely the advocacy 

 of a list of nomina conservanda which shall be maintained regardless of the 

 existence of earlier names for the same species or genera, because these 

 names which have no status under the law of priority have in past years 

 gained a more or less general acceptance. None of the advocates of this 

 plan seem to have any definite idea of how it should be put in practice — 

 at least we have seen none expressed, and they certainty have very differ- 

 ent ideas as to just what thej' desire. ^Nomina conservanda^ seems to be 

 a sort of convenient battle cry under which all who find some old and 

 familiar name in danger of displacement, may rally. A certain number, 

 at least, of those who are in favor of departing from the strict rule of 

 priority, have apparently not looked into the matter sufficiently to discover 

 that only a small portion of the changes in zoological names are really 

 due to priority. As an illustration of the hasty assertions that are too 

 often indulged in by such writers, we may quote from a letter of Mr. C. S. 

 Brimley in the June number of 'Entomological News, ' in answer to a call 

 for an expression of opinion among American entomologists for or against 

 the strict enforcement of the law of priority. He says "I am against the 

 strict Application of the rule of priority, because there seems to be no end 

 to the changes arising under it. Take the birds of North America, some 



