1895.] The Nomenclature Question. 263 
American botanists, and that its intent, as understood by 
many members of the Botanical Club of the American Asso- 
ciation and by some at least of the nomenclature committee, 
was not to establish the Rochester and Madison rules but to 
show their outcome and give a better basis for their discus- 
sion, I must express considerable surprise at the following sen- 
tence of Mr. Coville’s criticism of my review: ‘‘Now that they 
[the principles] have been adopted by overwhelming majorities 
in democratic botanical assemblages, we may ask whether Dr. 
Robinson’s protest is not out of place.” Certainly to object 
to the discussion of this subject and to rule out the expres- 
sion of any opinion at variance with the new rules is as un- 
scientific as it is undemocratic.—B. L. ROBINSON. 
Recommendations regarding the nomenclature of system- 
atic botany. 
[A circular with the above title has recently been issued by Dr. B. L. 
Robinson, curator of the Gray herbarium. We republish the recom- 
1. Ordinal names, having been established by long usage, 
should not be subjected to revision upon theoretical grounds, 
2. Long-established and generally known generic names 
. should be retained. The scope of this rule is left to 
the discretion of writers. 4 
3. In specific nomenclature the first correct combination is 
to be preferred. . . For these reasons it seems best to 
adopt the principle of priority under the genus. It is to be 
emphasized, however, that this ruling does not lessen the 
obligation of botanists of the present and future in making a 
transfer of a species from one genus to another to preserve 
scrupulously the specific name without alteration, except in 
the case of an existing homonym. 
4. The varietal name is to be regarded as inferior in rank 
to the specific. . . . No specific name should be altered, 
because of preexisting varietal names for the same plant. 
Nevertheless, it is recommended as a working rule that when- 
ever a variety is raised to specific or a species depressed to 
varietal rank the name should be preserved whenever possible. 
5. The principle of ‘‘once a synonym always a synonym, 
while recommended as an excellent working rule for present 
and future, may not justly be made retroactive. 
