Miscellaneous. 475 



Since our article appeared, we have received several letters, pro- 

 ving the adhesion of various persons to these principles, the general 

 adoption of which seems to them to be quite indispensable for put- 

 ting an end to this confusion ; which, as one of our [English] cor- 

 respondents writes, " is constantly increasing in the nomenclature of 

 species." 



The Academy of Sciences has also just sanctioned the opinion 

 which we have expressed on this subject, on the following occasion. 

 At the very time when we were opposing the course pursued by 

 Dr. Grateloup, the medical officers belonging to the sloops Astrolabe 

 and Zelee communicated to the Institute some short descriptions of 

 birds, insects, and moUusks, &c., collected by them during their ex- 

 pedition, thinking in this manner to entitle their labours to take 

 their date. This was proceeding exactly as Dr. Grateloup did, if 

 the descriptions communicated were not inserted textually in the 

 proceedings of the sittings of the Academy of Sciences. Such in- 

 sertion has not been ordered, nor anything further than a mere ac- 

 knowledgement of the sending the document, together with a 

 bare list of specific names ; this mode of giving publicity has then 

 been rejected by the Academy ; but it has done still more : a natu- 

 ralist living in Paris desired to inspect the descriptions thus depo- 

 sited in the archives of the Institute ; for this puqiose he addressed 

 a request to the Secretary, who did not think it right to entertain 

 it. The subject is thus mentioned in the Coinpte Rendu of the sit- 

 ting of the 27th of September 1841, p. 666. 



" M. AUibut asks permission to inspect the notices sent by 

 MM. Jaquinot, Hombron and le Guillon, concerning observations 

 in natural history made during the voyage of the Astrolabe and the 

 Zelee. 



" M. Allibut must apply to the authors to obtain an opportu- 

 nity of consulting their writings, or wait until these writings have 

 been made public by being printed." 



It is thus, in fact, decided by the Academy that the communica- 

 tions made by MM. Guillon, Jaquinot, and Hombron cannot con- 

 stitute a publication, and that their labours must remain unpublished, 

 in manuscript, until they shall have been made public by being printed. 

 Moreover, one of these medical officers. Dr. le Guillon, fully 

 understood how insignificant was the fact of the deposit which he 

 had made with the Institute, a deposit sanctioned by courtesy 

 merely ; for he hastened to get a considerable number of the de- 

 scriptions which he had sent to the Academy inserted in the ' Revue 

 de la Societe Cuvierienne,' of which he is a member ; and by this 

 real jjublication has established an authentic date for his labours : 

 the English do so in their "proceedings ;" so also did M. d'Oibigny 

 upon his American voyage. It is the course that MM. Jaquinot 

 and Hombron will also probably adopt ; the means of publication 

 will not be wanting at Paris ; and if it were necessary, the editor of 

 the last voyage of M. Dumont Durville would not refuse to devote 

 a hundred francs to the publication of a synopsis of whatever they 

 have brought which is new. 



