58 CODE OF NOMENCLATURE. 



CANON LIT. The name of the authority, unless short, is to 

 be abbreviated, and the abbreviation is to be made in accord- 

 ance with commonly recognized rules, and irregularly formed 

 and non-distinctive abbreviations are to be avoided. 



REMARKS. In the case of a few well-known names usage may be con- 

 sidered to have established certain deviations from strict rule in the matter 

 of abbreviation of authors' names, as the use of L. for Linnaeus, DC. for 

 De Candolle, Bd. for Baird, Scl. for Sclater, etc. In general, names of one 

 syllable are short enough not to jequire abbreviation ; when, however, it 

 seems preferable to shorten them the first consonants are retained (as Br. 

 for Brown), or the first consonant and the last, or last two when the name 

 ends with a consonant or consonants (as Bd. for Baird, Gld. for Gould, Cs. 

 for Coues, etc.). For names of more than one syllable, the first syllable and 

 the first letter or letters of the second syllable should be retained (as Aud. 

 for Audubon, Bon. for Bonaparte, Gorm. for Gorman ; not Grin., which 

 might stand for either Gorman, Garman, or Germar). To avoid confound- 

 ing two names which begin with similar syllables, two syllables may be 

 given, with one or two consonants of the third (as Bertol. for Bertolini, to 

 distinguish it from Bertero), or the first syllable with the addition of a char- 

 acteristic final consonant of the name (as Michx. for Michaux, as opposed 

 to Micheli ; or Lamx. for Lamouroux, as distinguished from Lamarck). 



If several prominent authors in the same department of Zoology have the 

 same name, they may be distinguished, if thought necessary, by prefixing 

 their respective initials, or an abbreviation of the Christian name to the 

 usual abbreviation ; or if father and son, by affixing//, or/, to the name of 

 the younger. 



In short, the points to be aimed at in abbreviating names of authorities 

 are uniformity and distinctiveness. As Mr. Dall (whom in this matter 

 we have closely followed) remarks, in some late works, only those familiar 

 with the literature of the subject "can divine whether Bth. is the equivalent 

 of Bentham, Beuth, or Booth, Sz. for Schultz. Steetz, or Szowitz ; or what 

 is the equivalent of Htsch., Hk., H. Bn., Bn., Bit,, Lm., Reich., or Spng? 



C. Recommendations for Zoological Nomenclature in 



the Future. 



12. Of the Construction and Selection of Names. 



RECOMMENDATION I. As already provided under Canon II., 

 the rules of Latin orthography are to be adhered to in the con- 

 struction of scientific names. 



