NOMENCLATURE OF LEl'IDOPTERA. 339 



157. KiRBY (W. R). 



" In the case of a clear consensus of opinion, I should be willing 

 to abide by it, at least in my official work, or in any work under- 

 taken conjointly with others." 



158. FernalI) (C. H.). 



" I very much desire uniformity and fixity in nomenclature, 

 and would yield very much for the sake of securing this end." 



159. Smith (J. B.). 



" I would be willing, in the interests of a stable nomenclature, to 

 agree to almost anything that secured general assent, provided, of 

 course, it did not " [run] " counter to the canons accepted by 

 Zoologists in general. To be more specific, I am willing to abide 

 by the decision of a majority on questions 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. No. 2 

 goes with No. i, which is settled in the United States in favor of 

 the 1 0th edition. No. 6 must also be settled by the usage of 

 Zoologists." 



160. Snellen (P. C. T.). 15 y^;/. 1897. 



" Je crois qu'il serait bon de publier les points sur lesquels on 

 serait parvenu a se mettre d'accord et de laisser la decision aux 

 ■entomologistes." 



161. Staudinger (O.). 5 March 1897. 



" Ich bin ein alter Mann und habe, im besten Falle, nur noch 

 kurze Zeit zu leben ; ob ich daher einen Majoritatsbeschluss iiber 

 die aufgestellten Fragen annehme oder nicht, scheint mir noch weit 

 unwichtiger zu sein, als nach dem Type einer (heterotypical) Gatt- 

 ung zu forschen." 



162. AURIVILLIUS (C). 



" I think it impossible to reject the lOth edition of Syst. Nat. or 

 to accept generic names not accompanied by a description. Such 

 names are, as far as I know, universally rejected in other classes of 

 insects (e.g. Dejean's names of Coleoptera) and in other classes of 

 animals. As to the other questions, I am willing to yield to the 

 opinions of the majority of lepidopterists." 



163. Grote (A. R.). 25 May 1897. 



" Nomenclature is a matter of letters, and its value depends upon 

 its identification with the object. As between conflicting names 

 the Rule of Priority is the sole absolute guide. But as our concep- 

 tions of the object and its relations to other similar objects vary, 

 these subjective opinions will prevent an absolute fixity in nomen- 

 clature. What seems possible of attainment, however, is the 



