142 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1337 



rapliy and with the kinds and relations of the 

 imderlying rocks. 



The principles of improvement in domestic 

 plants and animals are found in a diligent 

 study of the geological history of their re- 

 spective races and are fully illustrated in the 

 development of the present forms of life from 

 the ancient ones. These great changes in 

 form, stature and intelligence make some of 

 the useful stories in the earth's history as 

 they are revealed by the record that is written 

 in the rocks. By the study • of this history 

 man is encouraged in self improvement and 

 in the realization of his responsibility to the 

 world about him; he is inspired to higher 

 ideals in his relations with his fellow man 

 and in the field of intellectual achievement; 

 he is stimulated to a more intelligent imder- 

 standing of the powerful forces in nature and 

 of their influence on the origin and on the 

 destination of the human family. 



In view of the present awakening to the 

 needs of people in agTicultural vocations and 

 of the many relations of this science to rural 

 welfare, it seems reasonable to expect that the 

 study of agricultural geology in colleges and 

 elsewhere will be extended tmtil it is shared 

 by all who are preparing to do work in rural 

 improvement and that each will continue this 

 study long enough to be able to apply the sub- 

 ject with intelligence. 



John E. Smith 

 Department of Geology, 

 Iowa State College, 

 Ames, Iowa 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF FAMILIES 

 AND SUBFAMILIES IN ZOOLOGY 



Eecent years have seen gratifying progress 

 in the establishment of permanent rules of 

 zoological nomenclature. Through the Strick- 

 landian Code, the American Ornithologists' 

 Union Code (commonly known as the A. O. U. 

 Code), and, most recently, the International 

 Code, greater imiformity of usage has been 

 achieved than was ever before thought 



Family names,, however, are still in very 

 much the same state of nomenclatural chaos 



as were generic and specific names before the 

 adoption of the Stricklandian Code in 1842. 

 Zoological family and subfamily names 

 have come and continued in use by a sort 

 of auctorum plurimorum principle; and 

 though current usage is more or less satis- 

 factory so long as every one is agreed, any 

 serious difference immediately causes trouble. 

 Rules by which workers will agree to be 

 bound, therefore, become necessary; and this, 

 it were trite to say, is the reason for any code 

 of nomenclature. Certain authors, however, 

 have recently begun, for reasons other than 

 zoological, to change many family names 

 long in use, and it is, therefore, pertinent now 

 to inquire into the desirability of such 

 changes, and of the formulation of some prin- 

 ciples for guidance. Since family and sub- 

 family designations must depend on generic 

 names, they are more in need of definite rules 

 than are the names of still higher groups. 



Latreille, in his " Precis des Caracteres 

 Generique des Insectes," published in 1796, 

 was the real originator of the family concept 

 in zoology, but he first designated these 

 groups by number, though in a later work 

 adopted plural Latin names with differing 

 terminations. William Kirby, an English 

 naturalist, in a paper on a new order of 

 insects,^ was the first to advocate the adoption 

 of uniform patronymic endings in " idee." 

 The idea was soon afterwards adopted and 

 elaborated by W. E. Leach, and subsequently 

 by other authors, so that it was brought into 

 general use during the succeeding decade. In 

 1825, N. E. Vigors, in a paper on the classi- 

 fication of birds, provided an entire set of 

 family names with the ending idee. It is of 

 interest to note, in this connection, that Ger- 

 man authors were far behind the English in 

 adopting this improvement in terminology. 

 Subfamily names in "inm" did not come 

 into general use luitil about the year 1830. 

 The first definite formulation of the prin- 

 ciple of patronymic endings for family and 

 subfamily names was in the Stricklandian 

 1 Trans. Lirm. Soc. London, XI., 1813, p. 88, 

 footnote. 



