116 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 917 



to genetics, of course, nor even to biology. 

 The same reasons can be urged for oxygene 

 as for pangene. Scores of terms have been 

 based on the same root, ytv, but hitherto with 

 a short vowel, as in the Greek. Some philolo- 

 gists add a letter in forming such a word as 

 clone, where the original Greek vowel is long, 

 but this has nothing to do with Dr. Shull's 

 "general law of English philology" that 

 would lengthen short vowels to enable Greek 

 derivatives to be pronounced with a German 

 accent. In this case Johannsen's correct word 

 "gen" was displaced by a linguistic mon- 

 strosity, " gene," because the latter was sup- 

 posed to sound more like German, and be- 

 cause " the German word ' Pangen ' better ex- 

 presses the meaning involved than does the 

 English word ' pangen.' " The new final " e " 

 symbolizes the magically improved connota- 

 tion acquired by Darwin's word pangen in 

 passing from English into the hallowed pre- 

 cincts of the German language. It replaces 

 the italics, capitals and quotation marks 

 otherwise required to differentiate the more 

 expressive German "Pangen" from the ordi- 

 nary English "pangen." The mistake, as 

 now appears, was not a merely casual adop- 

 tion of the German plural " Gene " as an 

 English singular, but a deliberate substitution 

 of an erroneous new singular " gene," anoma- 

 lous alike in German, Greek or English. Dr. 

 ShuU does not state when, where or by whom 

 this change from " gen " into " gene " was de- 

 termined, but these details are of no impor- 

 tance now that the method has been explained. 

 It would have been easier to bestow " gene " 

 and "pangene" on the French, who use 

 " oxygene " and a whole class of similar terms, 

 but the German derivation is more ingenious. 

 Regarding the phenotypes, little need be 

 said. Dr. Shull reasserts the reality of 

 phenotjfpes, and even insists with italics that 

 " statistical investigation may discover, meas- 

 ure and describe phenotypes." But if it be 

 true that " phenotyi^es and genotypes exist 

 among Mendelian hybrids," or elsewhere in 

 nature, they must be the names of classes or 

 groups of animal or plant individuals distin- 



guished by the possession of certain characters 

 or gens. Such group names are usually con- 

 sidered as collectives, but Dr. Shull main- 

 tains that phenotypes " must always be ab- 

 stractions." Evidently the new science of 

 genetics is to have an original system of 

 metaphysics as well as of philology. 



O. F. Cook 

 Baed, California, 

 June 17, 1912 



PROPOSITIONS FOR CHANGES IN THE INTERNA- 

 TIONAL CODE OF ZOOLOGICAL NOJIENCLATURE 



Attention of zoologists is invited to the rule 

 that all propositions for changes to the Inter- 

 national Code must be in the hands of the 

 Commission at least one year before the meet- 

 ing of the International Congress. 



Formal notice of the exact date of meeting 

 has not yet reached me, but I hope to have my 

 first report to the Commission prepared for 

 mailing not later than September 1. About 

 that date I shall also send to Science and 

 to the Zoologisclier Anzeiger a complete list 

 of the propositions that have been sent to me. 



It is a great satisfaction to the Commission 

 to note the increased and more general inter- 

 est exhibited by zoologists in nomenclatorial 

 matters, and I take the liberty of repeating a 

 statement made on several former occasions, 

 namely, that the Commission welcomes most 

 heartily correspondence and suggestions from 

 all zoologists. 



C. W. Stiles, 

 Secretary, International Commission 

 on Zoological Nomenclature 



the PEI YANG UNIVERSITY 



To THE Editor of Science : A note by Con- 

 sul General S. S. Knabenshue, of Tientsin, 

 China, regarding vacancies in the stafii of the 

 Pei Tang University, of that city, published 

 in Daily Consular and Trade Reports of July 

 8, seems likely to deluge me with inquiries 

 and applications, and I would be glad if you 

 would aid me in forestalling them by publish- 

 ing this statement. There are no vacancies 

 in the staff of the Pei Tang University at 



