214 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE. 



from its appearance in the spring being supposed 

 to indicate the proper time for felling the oak trees 



cally useful to the collector in his enquiries amongst the 

 natives. But as a general rule, I am strongly of opinion 

 that these provincial names ought to be discarded from all 

 works on Natural History. Most of them are quite inap- 

 propriate, others devoid of point or meaning, and while in 

 one order of birds the same silly nickname is frequently ap- 

 plied indiscriminately to every individual in a family, in 

 another we find a single species honoured with as many 

 titles as a German Prince, the signification of which 

 when indeed they signify anything is frequently derived 

 from some imaginary attribute or peculiarity. 



The object of our researches, and of all communications 

 on this and kindred subjects, ought to be to discover truth, 

 not to propagate error ; to diffuse science, not to dissemi- 

 nate barbarism ; and so far from encouraging the country 

 people in retaining their incomprehensible misnomers, we 

 should take every opportunity of setting them right, point- 

 ing out the salient differences of species, and fixing the 

 proper English names in their minds. We might often 

 derive much useful and valuable information from such 

 people as fishermen, shepherds, woodmen, and game- 

 keepers, which will be either lost to us, or rendered worse 

 than useless, if we are constantly in danger of being misled 

 by gross confusion of names ; and this confusion would be 

 even worse confounded, if the usual designations, accepted 

 and established by competent authority, should be mis- 

 applied to other species than those to which such authority 

 has assigned them. 



