April 4, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



333 



Smith's "Electroanalysis" will always remain 

 one of the American classics. 



Colin G. Fixk 



S. TONKEBS, N. Y. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

 GENERIC TYPES OF THE BO- 

 TANICAL SOCIETY OF 

 AMERICA 



At the recent meeting of the Botanical 

 Society of America at Baltimore the ap- 

 pended report was submitted. The proposed 

 regulations for fixing generic types were ac- 

 cepted with the suggestion that they be pub- 

 lished and distributed among botanists for 

 their consideration. These regulations, being 

 a part of a proposed Code of Nomenclature, 

 should await the formulation of the latter for 

 final adoption. The second part of the report, 

 dealing with the Permanent Committee on 

 Nomenclature, was adopted and the action 

 recommended was authorized. 



A. S. Hitchcock 



BuBiAU or Plant Indtjstey, 

 Washington, D. C. 



report of the committee on generic types 

 At its last meeting the society authorized 

 the president to appoint a committee of three 

 upon Generic Types. The members appointed 

 were N. L. Britton, A. S. Hitchcock (chair- 

 man) and B. L. Robinson. Dr. Robinson de- 

 clined to serve and it was found impracticable 

 ■to obtain a representative from the Gray 

 Herbarium. The remaining members, after 

 some preliminary work, felt that it would be 

 desirable to have the committee enlarged to 

 represent a wider field of American botany. 

 They therefore asked the incoming president. 

 Dr. Trelease, to appoint J. M. Greenman as 

 the third member of the coramittee and to 

 add two other members, Leroy Abrams and 

 Witmer Stone. The president felt that he 

 did not have authority to enlarge the com- 

 mittee but suggested that the committee ask 

 Messrs. Abrams and Stone to coojierate with 

 it. This was done and these two have served 

 on the committee as if they were members, 

 and the report herewith submitted has re- 

 ceived their approval. The committee, as now 



constituted, represents botanical institutions 

 at Washington, New York, St. Louis, Phila- 

 delphia, and on the Pacific Coast. 



The members of the committee were first 

 asked to indicate their attitude toward the 

 question of type species. Should the appli- 

 cation of generic names be determined by 

 type species; or should a generic name be ap- 

 plied to a generic concept independent of par- 

 ticular species? 



The prevailing opinion being in favor of 

 type species, there was sent to the members 

 of the committee, a circular outlining the 

 methods which might be used for selecting 

 type species. Wishing to obtain advice and 

 cooi)eration from competent botanists through- 

 out the country the circular was sent to about 

 fifty members of the Botanical Society. 



It was overwhelmingly established that the 

 botanists were in favor of the two funda- 

 mental principles: (1) The application of 

 generic names shall be determined by type 

 species; (2) The type species shall be the 

 species or one of the species included in the 

 genus when originally published (publication 

 of genera of seed plants dating from the issue 

 of Linnffius' "Species Plantarum " in 1753). 

 In addition the opinion was prevailingly in 

 favor of rules approaching tliose filially agreed 

 upon by the committee. 



Circular 5 contained a set of proposed regu- 

 lations for fixing generic types and a few 

 minor changes were made, resulting in th» 

 regulations as included in our report. 



The committee makes two recommenda- 

 tions, (1) the adoption of a set of regulations 

 for fixing generic types, and (2) the appoint- 

 ment of a permanent committee on nomen- 

 clature. 



REGUL.4TI0NS FOR FIXING GEXF.Rir TYPES. 

 INTRODUCTION 



Rules of nomenclature should commend 

 themselves as being reasonable and they 

 should be as definite in their application as 

 is consistent with reasonableness. In prepar- 

 ing the regulations the committee consulted 

 other codes of nomenclature, the most im- 

 portant of which are the following: 



