2 DIE PAPAGEIEN. 



self who never, probably, having- seen a single wild bird belong- 

 ing' to the genus, chooses on hypothetical, and, as a matter of 

 fact, utterly untenable grounds, to disregard, nay to pooh-pooh 

 contemptuously, the recorded experience of men like Jerdon and 

 Blyth, who for a long series of years observed the free living 

 birds, shot and dissected them, and knew to a certainty beyond 

 all possibility of question, the facts that they stated. 



We are all liable to error, but for a cabinet naturalist, on the 

 strength of half a dozen wrongly-sexed skins in some museum, 

 to take upon himself to contradict the definite statements of 

 trustworthy field naturalists like those above referred to, in 

 regard to matters of which he can personally know nothing, 

 appears to me to indicate a tone of thought incompatible 

 with the philosophical investigation of any branch of physical 

 science. 



Before, however, entering into any details, I wish first to re- 

 cord my humble protest against the presumptuous, and I regret 

 to say, systematic pedantry which characterizes a certain section 

 (chiefly Continental) of naturalists, and leads them to discard the 

 names given, too often by better men than themselves, and which 

 by all rules of priority are entitled to permanent acceptance, for 

 new-fangled appellations of their own, because, forsooth, their 

 vast classical attainments have enabled them to discover that 

 the original name is not a " classich gebildetes wort !" 



Dr. Finsch is a hardened offender in this respect, and cannot 

 possibly be recommended to mercy. 



Hodgson's name schisticeps, becomes Hodgsoni, " mihi " and 

 Jerdon's columboides, peristerodes " mihi," of Dr. Finsch. Colum- 

 boides we are told is a Latin word, with a Greek termination (a 

 wonderful discovery truly) a thing contrary to all the rules of 

 " word-building " and grammar. Very true, doubtless (most 

 school boys are aware of the fact), but a name whether of man, 

 or bird, is a name ; a thing not to be altogether governed by 

 rules, whether of " word -building or grammar." 



Let us treat our author as he treats other people's species. 

 " 'Finsch ! " contrary to all rules of orthography ! what is that 

 " s" doing there ? " Finch I" Dr. Frhigilla, Mihi ! Classich 

 gebildetes wort ! ! 



I asked an unsophisticated field naturalist here, what he 

 thought of these Continental naturalists, with their eternal new 

 names, and the everlasting " mihi" tagged on after them. 



" Well," he said " I guess the beggars can't discover any new 

 species of their own, so they have dodged up this classical jim, 

 to legalize their stealing other people's." 



