GENDER OF NAMES OF VARIETIES. 259 



have to attend to. Another is, that our sense of good form 

 revolts at beginning sentences and paragraps without capitals. 

 In our books, varieties usually stand in independent para- 

 graphs. Even in Latin we do not like to begin a para- 

 graph — 



" a indivisum foliis omnibus integerrimis serratisve, non 

 aut vix basi auriculatis." 



In English we can still less abide it. So we prefix " Var.," 

 and either number our varieties with Greek letters or, prefer- 

 entially, leave them out. 



But, we did not suppose that by the employment of the 

 word " var. " we had interfered with the relation of the name 

 of the variety to that of its genus. Var. indivisum, in this 

 case, we should construe the phrase : " Varietas cujus nomen 

 est indivisum. 'Var. indivisum^ stands on the same ground 

 as ' species amphibium.' ' The latter rank we rarely need to 

 express, because we always prefix the generic name or its in- 

 itial. The former may often come in a shape which renders 

 the designating prefix " var. " necessary, or at least most con- 

 venient. 



We may indeed, quite correctly write, var. albiflora, a white 

 flowered variety, var. longifolia, a long-leaved variety ; but 

 that is not according to the Linnean pattern nor to the regu- 

 lar practice, nor to the strict analogy of the varietal name 

 with the specific. 



Moreover, if the gender of the word which designates *the 

 grade of the name is to govern the gender of the name, at 

 least when expressed, as by var., then all subspecies must be 

 made feminine. Now this term subspecies is coming largely 

 into use. And it has to be expressed in every case, in this 

 wise : Ranunculus aquatilis, L. Subsp. heterophyllus. Subsp. 

 hederaceus, etc. 



If the proposition which we deprecate is adopted, these 

 names would have to be written heterophylla and hederacea 

 by an author who ranked them as subspecies but heterophyl- 

 lus and hederaceus by one who took them as varieties and 

 simply numbered them by Greek letters. Obviously the 

 propositions in the " Gardener's Chronicle " has not been 

 thoroughly worked out. 



