534 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



No. XXX.— SCIENTIFIC NOMENCLATURE. 



I am glad to reply to Mr. Venning's note. There can be no doubt that 

 the botanical genus Melastoma is feminine, but the snake genera Lyco&on 

 and Oliyodon are quite properly treated as masculine ; the vowel in the 

 last syllable is the Greek Omega, and the names (though ionic dialectical 

 forms rather than Attic Greek) are quite correctly formed adjectives, 

 masculine or feminine at choice. 



As to the Latinising of proper names, I think the position is as follows. 

 The termination of a family name in Rome was — ius, because the name 

 was an adjective ; Csesar's family name was Julius, because he belonged 

 to the Gens Julia, the Julian family. A personal name, however, would 

 be treated as a substantive, and made Latin by the simplest practicable 

 alteration, such as the addition of — us, if no acknowledged Latin form 

 already exists. Hence the family names Brown and Smith should be 

 Broionius and Smithius ; but (and from the point of view of scientific species- 

 names this is the important fact) the genitives of names ending in — ius 

 should properly be written to end in — i only, not in — ii ; thus the genitive 

 of Cuius is Cai, of Smithius Smithi and as this is the case usually in 

 question, the matter seems to be resolved thereby. 



EDWARD MEYRICK. 

 Maelborouqh, Wilts., 22nd July 1910. 



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