544 THE NAME MAMMAL AND THE IDEA EXPRESSED. 



good pi-ecedent.s for tlie English words ending in "-ology "" and conse- 

 quently we nia}^ use, as a suffix, -\6yia (but not simply Xoyin) in 

 explanation of the etymology. 



In view of all its faults, suggestions were made to correct the word 

 to "mammology '' if not '' mammalology." Others Avould compound 

 a name of two Greek constituents {O/jp, a wild beast, and Ao;/o?). 

 Therology was the result. Dr. John D. (lodman, in his American 

 Natural History (1824), entitled the first (and only published) part 

 ''Mastology," thus borrowing a word tirst used by Desmarest. The 

 writer of the long article on "Mammalia" for the Edinburgh Ency- 

 clopedia (1819) coined the word "mazology '' (/,«a'Cos-, a breast, and 

 Xoyog^ discourse). None of these words lias found general admis- 

 sion into the language. Notwithstanding the philological objections, 

 mammalogy -of late years has been generally accepted, and general 

 consensus establishes its right of being. 



On a ])revious page it has been affirmed that "animal is often used 

 in popular converse in the sense of mammal."" One of the many cases 

 that might be cited is furnished by a justly esteemed author in a 

 recent number (]\Iarch, 1904) of The Century Magazine. John Bur- 

 roughs, in an article "On humanizing the animals" (p. 779), has con- 

 trasted the word with birds. He says: ''There seems to be among 

 the birds something that is like what is called romantic love. The 

 choice of mate seems always to rest with the female, while among the 

 (inl)nals the female shows no preference at all.'" As the present 

 article is intended only to show the use of words no comments are 

 necessary, save to add that Mr. Burroughs excepts from his generali- 

 zation "certain l)irds of India and Australia." 



The word animal is made to do duty, in the same article, both as the 

 equivalent of the Latin "animalia" and "mammalia." In the larger 

 sense it is used (p. 773) apropos of "the wariness of wild creatures" 

 and "why tiocks of birds, droves of beasts, and schools of tish act 

 with a connnon impulse." To contrast with other classes, "beasts" is 

 then the word used in place of "mammals." How much better it 

 would ])e to use "mammals" in every case where such ar(> meant. 

 Ambiguity would be avoided; precision insured. There is need of 

 the word, and English-speaking peoples are as well entitled to its use 

 as all the other European nations are to employ analogous words. 



