74 



Recent Literature. [January 



to the Societe" Zoologique de France, in 1881, he very justly ascribing to 

 Tournefort "la gloire d'avoir fonde la nomenclature binaire," which for so 

 many years has been wrongfully assigned to Linnaeus, the latter merely 

 formulating the rules in a more precise and general manner than had been 

 done by any of his predecessors. While he, in his rules, insisted upon 

 the strict observance of the rule of propriety, he, "sans autre motif que de 

 satisfaire a sa vanite" rejected genera and species firmly established by 

 his predecessors, who were often far better zoologists 'than was Linnaeus. 



Dr. Blanchard regretfully considers the use of trinomials, and even 

 quadrinomials, admissible (see pp. 94-96, and 150) in special cases,* as 

 in descriptive works where it is necessary to distinguish diverse forms 

 belonging to the same species. Indeed, he believes the adoption of the 

 system inevitable, its use is already so extended. 



In respect to the emendation of names, Dr. Blanchard's ruling is radi- 

 cally opposed to that favored by the A. O. U. 'Code.' He says : "Article 

 XIV. Tout barbarisme, tout mot forme en violation des regies de l'ortho- 

 graphe, de la grammaire et de la composition devra ete rectifie" (p. 147). 

 Again he says (p. 157), all such words should be rejected ("rejete"). Dr. 

 Blanchard and our 'Code,' which says the "original orthography of a 

 name is to be rigidly preserved, unless a typographical error is evident,'' 

 thus represent the two extremes of this question. We still believe the 

 ruling of the A. O. U. Committee on this point is sound in principle, but 

 yet susceptible of a slight modification in the interest of uniformity in 

 respect to genitive terminations, and in the transliteration of Greek 

 vowels. — J. A. A. 



Ridgway's Ornithology of Illinois. f —From Prof. Forbes' 'General 

 Introduction' we quote : "This volume is the first to appear of a series on 

 the zoology and cryptogramic botany of the State of Illinois, authorized 

 and provided for by the Thirty-fourth General Assembly. J 



"The series is intended to summarize the facts relating to the natural his- 

 tory of Illinois which have been accumulated by general investigations 

 made in the districts of which the State forms a part, by the studies of local 

 naturalists, and by the operations of the State Laboratory of Natural His- 

 tory .... In the preparation of the volumes of the report it will be our main 

 final object to furnish the materials for a full and accurate picture of the 

 native plant and animal life of Illinois as it actually exists in our fields, 

 woods, and waters, and to bring most prominently into view those parts 



of the subject which have a peculiar educational or economic value 



"The volume here presented is due to the generous and disinterested 



* "Dans les cas speciaux ou il est utile de distinguer des varietes, l'adjonction d'un 

 troisieme nom a ceux du genre et de l'espece estpermise " (p. 150). 



t Natural History Survey of Illinois, | State Laboratory of Natural History, | S. A- 

 Forbes, Director. | — | The | Ornithology | of Illinois. | — | Part I, Descriptive Cata- 

 logue, I By Robert Ridgway. | Part II, Economic Ornithology, | By S. A. Forbes. | 



1 Volume I. I — Published by Authority of the State Legislature. | — | Springfield, 



111.: I H. W. Rokker, Printer and Binder, | 1889, Roy. 8vo. pp. i-viii, 1-520, colored 

 frontispiece, plates, i-xxxii. 



t "Laws of the State of Illinois, 1885, p. 23, sec. 3." 



