122 Letters, Announcements, &^c. 



National Museum, Melbourne, 

 28th August, 1867. 



Sir, — In 'The Ibis ^ for April last (pp. 255, 256) you refer 

 to Mr. Ramsay and myself having given different names to one 

 Pardalotus : his description, you say, was read at the Meeting 

 of the Zoological Society of the 28th February, and mine pub- 

 lished in the March number of the ' Annals of Natural History/ 

 Permit me to inform you that the specimens described by Mr. 

 Ramsay were not sent to him until after I had published a de- 

 scription of the species in the ' Australasian ' newspaper of 

 Melbourne; and Mr. Ramsay told me he wrote to Dr. Sclater to 

 suppress his name and description. The specimens described by 

 Tue have been for some years in the Museum here as a new species. 

 I have the honour to be. Sir, 



Your most obedient servant, 



Frederick M'Coy. 



*^* We are somewhat surprised to find a naturalist of Pro- 

 fessor M'Coy's experience describing a new species in a newspaper. 

 A more pernicious practice could not be estabUshed, if others were 

 to follow his example. That there have been some cases of the 

 kind in various parts of the world we are well aware ; but we 

 never heard them spoken of except as unpardonable, and we 

 cannot imagine that, on reflection, our learned correspondent 

 would be inclined to regard his own as defensible. If Pardalotus 

 xanthopygus had been properly described in an Australian news- 

 paper, it was no longer a " new species,^^ and was, therefore, 

 improperly described as such in the ' Annals,^ where (3rd ser. 

 xix. p. 184) we find no mention made of any prior description. 

 Mr. Ramsay's withdrawal of his description we consider to be very 

 handsome ; for by the suppression of the name he gave to the 

 species, ornithologists are spared a useless synonym ; but we 

 must say that in the opinion of many good authorities Mr. Ram- 

 say's name would have been preferred had he allowed it to 

 stand. — Ed. 



H.M.S. 'Nassau,' Rio tie Janeiro. 

 September 1867. 

 Sir, — In a letter which I had the pleasure of receiving from 

 you nearly a year ago, when I announced to you my intention 



