188 Correspondence — F. A. Bather. 



Officers. — President: Henry Hicks, M.D., F.R.S. Vice- Presidents: Prof. 

 T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, LL.D., F.R.S. ; Prof. A. H. Green, M.A., F.R.S ; R. 

 Lydekker, Esq., B.A., F.R.S.; Lieut. -General C. A. McMauon. Secretaries: 

 J. E. Marr, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.; J. J. H. Teall, Esq., M.A., F.R.S. Foreign 

 Secretary: Sir John Evans, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. Treasurer: W, T. 

 Blanford, LL.D., F.R.S. 



CORBESPOlTIDElsrCE. 



MR. JUKES-BROWNE AND THE GENITIVE. 



Sir, — Mr. Jukes-Browne asks whether I " made a slip in the 

 construction of the name " Merocrinus Salopice. I answer, " No." 

 I deliberately preferred the name to several alternatives, on the 

 grounds of euphony and brevity. One alternative was ,( Merocrinus 

 scrobbesbyrigshirensis " : am I wrong in my preference ? Mr. Jukes- 

 Browne intimates that I am wrong ; and this forces me to traverse 

 all his assertions. 



It is needless to discuss whether salopiensis or salopicus be the 

 more correct adjectival form of Salopia : Mr. Jukes-Browne prefers 

 the latter ; the former is the one in universal use. I rejected both, 

 not from considerations of correctness or incorrectness, but because 

 I liked " Salopiee " better. Mr. Jukes-Browne politely but firmly 

 rebukes me. I apologise, indeed, for the unintentional insult to 

 one of his lady friends ; but to me, and to all good folk round the 

 "Wrekin, " Salopia " means primarily Shrewsbury ; and, by a well- 

 known figure of speech, we constantly extend the name to embrace 

 the whole " eomitatus salopiensis." Now Mr. Jukes-Browne may 

 dislike genitives as much as did Mistress Quickly, but that does 

 not make them improper. Was it a slip when Tacitus wrote of 

 " Germanics gentes" (Histor. Ill, xli), or " Moesice duces" (III, liii), 

 or "plana Umbrice" (III, xlii) ? If a man likes to talk about the 

 Merocrinus of Salop, rather than the Salopian Merocrinus, what 

 power in the world is to hinder him ? 



I fail to understand, I cannot conceive, on what grounds Mr. 

 Jukes-Browne lays down the law. Apart from the usage of classical 

 Latin writers there is nothing to guide one, except the rules and 

 recommendations formulated by various committees of zoologists. 

 In the first code, that of Strickland (which Mr. Jukes-Browne would 

 call the Stricklandian), nothing is said on this point, but genitive 

 forms are accepted as ordinary components of the appellations of 

 species. In the last code, that adopted by the International 

 Congresses of 1889 and 1892, I find these rules : — 



" 116. — Names of persons to whom the species is dedicated. 

 These names are always to be put in the genitive. This genitive 

 is always to be formed by the addition of a simple i to the exact 

 and complete name of the person to whom the dedication is made." 



" 19. — If the specific name demands the employment of a 

 geographical name, this should either be put in the genitive or 

 employed under its adjectival form, if it was known to the Romans, 

 or if it has been Latinized by mediaeval writers. Under its adjectival 





