NOTE TO SECOND EDITION 



It was my father's intention to have brought out the second 

 edition of this Catalogue himself, and the book in its present 

 form has been largely compiled from material collected by 

 him. In the many alterations now introduced, his views 

 have been for the most part embodied. 



I had the privilege of being associated with him both in the 

 preparation of the first edition and in the work undertaken 

 in anticipation of the second. In bringing this edition to 

 completion since his death in 1908, I have endeavoured to 

 follow the conclusions arrived at in discussing with him the 

 different points as they arose. 



In the first edition of the present work the custom was 

 followed, by which the first authentic specific name 

 published under the genus in which the species now 

 stands takes precedence of all others. When the Rules of 

 Nomenclature were revised in 1905, it was agreed to follow 

 in this respect the " Laws of Botanical Nomenclature," drawn 

 up by Alphonse de Candoile in 1867, namely, to adopt the 

 earliest specific name under whatever genus it may have4>een 

 published ; and at the recent International Botanical Congress 

 at Brussels (1910) it was decided that the starting point 

 for these names, as well as for those of the genera of 

 Mycetozoa, should be the " Species Plantarum " of Linnaeus, 

 published in 1753. This principle was observed by Prof. 

 T. H. Macbride in the compilation of his " Slime-Moulds 

 of North America," and the results of his researches, and 

 moreover, his friendly correspondence, have been of much 

 assistance to me in making the numerous changes in familiar 

 names in the present edition of the British Museum Catalogue 

 necessitated by the adoption of a new rule of nomenclature. 

 I have traced the history of the species in the library of the 

 Department of Botany at the Museum, a task which in the 

 former edition was kindly undertaken by Mr. Carruthers, who 

 was then at the head of the Department. I cannot be too 

 grateful to Dr. Rendle and the present staff of the department 

 for their unfailing kindness and courtesy in facilitating the 

 labour involved in this part of the work. 



