1SS4.] CoUES on OrnithopJiiloh><ric(ilities. C7 



Latin Dictionary,' adducing about tiiirtj cases in support of our position 

 wliicli he attaclvs so vigorously. We are delighted to find there are so 

 nian_\- cases of the kind; we had no idea there were so man\' in "genuine 

 Latin," though wc could show up many hundreds in fair to middling bird- 

 Latin. We are inclined to plume ourselves on oiu- sagaicty, though it 

 may be simply "'through the influence of Greek literature" upon our minds 

 that "the o crept into this small corner of" our work. We will hereafter 

 write atrocristatus with entire confidence, and cite our critic, if need be, 

 in support of our views; even though, as he appears to be in dead earnest 

 and very serious about it, it is a good deal of Don Qiiixote and the wind- 

 mill over again. Let us in om- turn say a word to our critic on the general 

 subject of connecting letters in Grteco-Latin, for his own information. It 

 is this : that there is no vowel, and possibly no consonant, in the whole 

 alphabet that may not serve that purpose. Once more : if we were not in 

 the best possible humor, we might be inclined to say something sharp on 

 being referred to our Latin grammar to learn that Roby says that one of 

 the "distinctive features of two words being compounded is the possession 

 of but one set of inflections"; and that, as Professor Merriam kindly in-- 

 forms us, "of course at the end of the word, not at the point of junction." 

 We begin to think that our "initial training" was all wrong, after all; for 

 it seems to us we do remember something about our early struggles with 

 respublica, jusjurandum, paterfamilias. Can Professor ISIerriam be 

 ignorant of the fact that the genitive case of I'espiiblica is reipiiblicce: that 

 it is a compound word; that it has two sets of inflections; that one of 

 these is at the point of junction.'' 



Let us try another "summer-day sauntering" with our sestivous critic; if 

 he finds us as amusing as we do him we shall both be amused. Let us saun- 

 ter on to contractions in general, and contractions of oou in particular. The 

 hitch with the Professor appears to be that he misunderstands our use 

 of the word "full form," by which we simply mean all the letters which 

 enter into the composition of a compounded word. Does he suppose us 

 to mean that leucoourus can have any existence.'' We simply say what 

 is perfectly correct, viz., that the composition is leuco -\- otira; when in 

 leucoura, as often written, we preserve one o, and translaterate ov by u; 

 and in leucura. as often written, we elide the other o; leaving a remark- 

 ably long" u to do duty for oou. So with megalonyx; where we instinctive- 

 ly lengthened the penult — though we confess, upon not so good a principle 

 or precedent as the Professor furnishes to support us. 



We can note but a few more points, by which we mean to show how 

 light is the real weight of what looks at first blush to be ver}' heavy 

 criticism. Take Molothrus. The upshot of that matter is, that Swainson's 

 word "should stand as he gave it," which is exactly how we left it stand- 

 ing. Sferinophila we said to be contracted from Spcnnatophila; so it 

 is; and the fact that there are in the Lexicon "more than twice as many" 

 similar contractions has no bearing upon the case in any way. Take 

 t/iyroides: respecting which it would be easy to retort upon the Professor, 

 that he w'ould have been right had his first step been correct. Take 



