^°8q^^] Elmut, Canon XL, A. O. U. Code. 



297 



held as of minor importance and yield place to the two cardinal 

 principles of priority and fixity," or in other words that the ability 

 to spell properly or to write grammatically is of no consequence 

 beside a Utopian effort to maintain a stability that is not stable 

 and never can be under the teachings this article would inculcate. 

 The writer understands perfectly well that Canon XL, as well as 

 all the others in the Code, is not mandatory, the Committee would 

 not for a moment consider them as presented to ornithologists in 

 that spirit, but offered for their consideration as the best it was 

 able to do in its judgment under the circumstance. All philolog- 

 ical emendations are rejected, especial stress being placed on 

 the change of the initial letter of a name, as when the Greek 

 aspirate has been omitted, so that if it was English the Cockney 

 pronunciation of ' Enery ' instead of Henry would be preferred 

 if it only was first printed. And here perhaps it may be well to 

 say something about the law of propriety in reference to this 

 subject. It is very difficult to see in what way it could possibly 

 be affected. The misspelt word or ungrammatical phrase when 

 corrected would still be accredited to the original author. It is 

 yet his child, even if its clothes do fit it better and give it a more 

 respectable appearance, and no one else is likely to pose as its 

 father, even if he had a hand in tidying it up a bit. 



Now let us come to the conclusion of the whole matter : This 

 rule has been m print, it cannot be said in force, for nearly fifteen 

 years. Has it accomplished the result contemplated or desired ? 

 Is nomenclature by its assertions a greater fixity to-day than when 

 this rule was promulgated ? Do those who know better accept 

 bad spelling and employ ungrammatical phrases, because it 

 advises them so to do? We know they do not. Has it made 

 any converts among educated men, or has it been of any assist- 

 ance to those not educated save to encourage them to continue in 

 the valley and shadow of ignorance ? The doctrine it teaches is 

 unworthy this age and the source from which it had its being. It 

 has utterly failed to accomplish its purpose, and should be dropped 

 from the Code. It is satisfactory to know that one at least of the 

 Committee that assisted at the advent of its unlovely offspring, 

 born out of due season, did not at the time, although an accom- 

 plished accoucheur, regard with favor this result of combined 



