402 CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA. 



1875. al Canon 243, de su Filosoffa Botanica en que dice, Nomen 

 genericum digniim alio, licet aptiore, permutare non licet. u 

 " " Though the canons of Linnaeus may no longer command 

 the implicit obedience that they were once thought to deserve, 

 it cannot be denied that there is a general reluctance among 

 botanists to alter the Linnean names, and this is particularly 

 the case in the present instance, where the alteration advocated 

 would require to be followed in innumerable writings on 

 pharmacy and chemistry. 'In our science,' wrote Dr. J. E. 

 Smith, in 1807 (Introduction to Botany), ' the names established 

 throughout the works of Linnaeus are become current coin, nor 

 can they be altered without great inconvenience. Perhaps, if 

 he had foreseen the future authority and popularity of his 

 writings, he might himself have improved upon many which 

 he adopted out of deference to his predecessors, and it is in 

 some cases to be regretted that he has not sufficiently done so.' " 



1 " It seems that Linnaeus ought to have indicated the title of the Counts 

 of Chinchon, by giving to his genus the name Chinchona, and not Cinchona, 

 which latter, however, I adopt, in accordance with Canon 243 of the Philoso- 

 phia Botanica, which says, Nomen genericum, etc." 



