USES OF NOMENCLATURE. 59 



ample, the invaluable Monographia Apum Anglice of Mr. 

 Kirby, will readily agree with us, that the benefit arising 

 from the use of names, which in general carry some struc- 

 tural idea with them, is alone sufficient to overbalance the 

 difficulty of bearing in mind either the sectional marks of 

 distinction noticed above, or the names which were at times 

 employed in their stead. And, 3rdly, An immense saving 

 of time is obtained by the student in investigating the 

 species of his collection ; since, if two thousand five hun- 

 dred species of Carabi composed but one genus, as they 

 do according to Linnaeus, what person can be found with 

 either time or inclination to identify the species of even 

 a local collection. For general purposes, indeed, the em- 

 ployment of the old Linnsean names would, in many 

 cases, be sufficient; but for the ends of science, not only 

 the modern generic, but also sub-generic names must 

 be employed; and a plan has been suggested by Mr. Ro- 

 bert Brown, which has the advantage not only of not 

 materially disturbing the names already existing, but also 

 of insuring the co-operation of two classes of naturalists 

 at present opposed to each other namely, by introducing 

 the modern sub-generic name in brackets between the 

 old generic and specific name: thus we should call the 

 devil's coach-horse, Staphylinus (Goerius) olens. "This," 

 as Mr. Brown observes, in the Appendix to the Narrative of 

 Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, 

 " is analogous to the method followed by the Romans in 

 the construction of the names of persons, by which not only 

 the original family, but the particular branch of that family 

 to which the individual belonged, was expressed. Thus the 

 generic name corresponds with the nomen (Cornelius), the 

 name of the section with the cognomen (Scipio), and that of 

 the species with the prcenomen (Publius)." 



Naturalists are further agreed in retaining for the old gene- 



