1893.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 49 



EDITORIAL. 



Titles of Microscopical Publications. — We have been 

 planning a card-catalogue of books, pamphlets, etc., for use in 

 editorial work, and it has occurred to us that printed titles would 

 be much more convenient than written. And what is useful for 

 us might, perhaps, be also valuable for many of our readers. 

 Can these ideas be combined in a practical manner? 



As an illustration of our scheme we give on the last leaf of this 

 number some 15 to 25 titles, with a note descriptive of the use to 

 be made of them. There is no printing on the back of the leaf, 

 because it is to be cut up and pasted upon cards. By carrying 

 out this plan extensively, each person may become possessed not 

 only of a printed card-catalogue of his own microscopical litera- 

 ture, but of a bibliography of the whole subject. Each month 

 new items can be added thereto, and the matter thus kept up to 

 date. If a dozen or more microscopists will cooperate with us in 

 'the collection of titles, it is believed that a very valuable bibli- 

 ography may result. If many readers desire simply to paste up 

 the items on cards and assort them alphabetically for reference, 

 it will encourage the undertaking. Friends, do you want the 

 plan carried out? The sample page is printed and this explana- 

 tion made in order to elicit your views and wishes. If no one 

 cares for it, we will let it drop. If you like the plan, please say 

 so immediately. 



Spelling Specific Names. — It is our custom, following the 

 British Museum, the Zoological Society of London, American 

 Naturalist, the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, and some other very reputable publications, to print all 

 specific names with small letters, and never with a capital letter. 

 The excuse given for the orthography Americanutii is that the 

 word is derived from a proper name, but perhaps a majority of 

 scientists have come to a willingness already to write aj7ierican?im 

 and canade7isis. Many such persons, however, still cling to the 

 idea of using a capital at the beginning of all scientific names 

 which have been derived from names of men. Such a position 

 is illogical and a temporary makeshift. Eventually all words 

 derived from proper names will either be spelled with capitals or 

 will succumb to the method which we have adopted. 



Our strongest reason for spelling all specific names on the same 

 rule is that uniformity will enable those not familiar with names 

 of plants or animals to know at a glance whether the word is 

 generic (indicated by the capital letter) or specific (indicated by 

 a small letter). As there are more than five hundred thousand 

 such names in science, there is absolutely no scientist who can 

 always tell, outside his own specialty, whether a given word in- 

 dicates a generic or a specific name. It is not, then, for the 



