April 11, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



593 



the other, the associate, or corresponding mem- 

 bers. 



The dues may be so assessed as to assure the 

 quality of the publication, and the form of 

 association with local societies may be so 

 arranged that a slight addition to the local 

 dues will make the local member an associate 

 of the general society, and permit him to re- 

 ceive its publications at a reduced rate. 



If the monthly magazine be kept at the high 

 standard which we wish to see, it will be pos- 

 sible to have a salaried editor with training 

 such as to assure the success of the magazine, 

 and if the high standard be maintained, it will 

 not seriously interfere with the local journals. 

 There will be an audience for each quality. 



As to the title, perhaps it will be permis- 

 sible to make a different arrangement of the 

 words which are necessary to properly describe 

 the Society — for instance, the Geographical 

 Society of America. But whatever the title, 

 the idea is right, and the time is ripe, and if 

 Professors Russell and Davis will take the 

 lead, we shall yet have a general society in 

 working order in time to welcome the Inter- 

 national Congress in 1904. 



J. Paul Goode. 



University of Pennsylvania. 



THE WORD 'ecology/ 



To THE Editor op Science : It is a good ex- 

 ample of the well-known fact that the dic- 

 tionaries — even the best of them — do not 

 quite keep up with the progress of the lan- 

 guage, which Mr. Wliite has found in his 

 search for the word 'ecology' (SciencEj 

 March 28, p. 511). In its older form — cecol- 

 ogj' — this word occurs in the 'Century' and 

 'Standard' and no doubt in the other diction- 

 aries referred to. The word was formally 

 brought to the attention of American botan- 

 ists in the Madison Botanical Congress, held in 

 Madison, Wis., August 23 and 24, 1893, where 

 the anglicized spelling was recommended and 

 adopted. This action was in accordance with 

 the well-known usage which drops the o in 

 similar words, as in economy (instead of the 

 older ceconomy), ecumenical {oecumenical), 

 edema (mdema), etc. The word ecology has 

 been in quite general use in the botanical 



world for the past eight years, and in its older 

 form it has been known in certain German 

 biological works for at least a quarter of a 

 century. It appears indeed that Ernst Haeckel 

 first used the word, in his ' Generelle Mor- 

 phologic,' as long ago as 1866. 



Charles E. Bessey. 

 Lincoln Nebr., 

 March 31, 1902. 



It is stated by a correspondent in a recent 

 issue of Science that the word 'ecology' is not 

 in the dictionaries. The word 'oecology' will, 

 however, be found, so spelled in accordance 

 with its etymology. It is only after words 

 become universally known that these diph- 

 thongs are dropped, e. g., paleontology, but we 

 still have sesthetics, archseology, etc. I took 

 pains, however, to have 'ecology' put in the 

 Supplement to Webster ; with a cross reference 

 to 'oecology.' Lester F. Ward. 



To THE Editor of Science: In the issue of 

 Science for March 28, you ask for informa- 

 tion respecting the word ecology. Under the 

 guise of (Ecology, it is in quite common use 

 among biologists, and is in fact used by many 

 as a substitute for biology or rather a special 

 phase of it. Eor example, what is called by 

 many the biology of insects is called by others 

 the oecology or ecology. Ecology and 

 oecological can be found in any recent diction- 

 ary ; ecology and ecological are the same words 

 with the substitution of e for oe in accordance 

 with analogy exempliiied by economy, econom- 

 ical, etc., which were formerly spelled ceconomy, 

 CBConomieal, etc. The words in their new 

 guise will appear in the supplement to the 

 'Standard Dictionary.' Theo. Gill. 



Cosmos Club, 

 March 28, 1902. 



To THE Editor op Science : In reply to your 

 inquiry in Science of March 28 (page 511) 

 concerning the word ecology, it is to be said 

 that the word occurs in the 'Century Diction- 

 ary,' but spelled oecology. It was coined by 

 Haeckel in 1866 (in his 'Generelle Morpho- 

 logie der Organismen'), but has come into 

 general use only within the past few years. 

 In Germany it is still spelled Qjlkologie, but in 



