JET. 63.] TO JAMES D. DANA. 521 



put our questions variously according to the leadings 

 of the case at the time. But this is all commonplace 

 and trite. 



It is curious to see that Owen, in his Aye-aye paper, 

 has come to adopt Heer's 1 views essentially, of course 

 without the slightest allusion to Heer. 



Our civil war goes on slowly, but very surely, to- 

 ward the destruction of negro slavery ; and with all 

 its great cost, we may hope for future benefit in pro- 

 portion. By the time we have nearly ended our war, 

 it may be that Europe will have its turn again. I 

 hope not. A. GRAY. 



TO JAMES D. DANA. 



CAMBRIDGE, January 20, [1864]. 



MY DEAR DANA, Perhaps you may not know, 

 and I hope you may be as pleased as I was to know, 

 that your article of last summer on Geological Periods 

 is reprinted in full in the " Reader " (of London), 

 with an appreciative prefix. 



Cephalization goes on bravely in your very taking 

 article which you have just sent me. I am much 

 struck with it. 



In one thing you zoologists miss it, I think, in 

 following French customs in dropping the Latin, the 

 vernacular of science, in names. I wish you would 

 write Aphaniptera, etc., which is just as much Eng- 

 lish after all as Aphanipters, and good for all Ian- 



Have Englishified contractions for all such names 

 if you will ; it is well. But in proposing and formally 



1 Oswald Heer, 1809-1883 ; born in canton St. Gall, Switzerland ; 

 professor of botany at Zurich. ' ' The most distinguished paleouto- 

 logical botanist of our time " [A. Q.]. 



