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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 382. 



species, was an important step in advance 

 of general literary chaos, though still far 

 from logical accord with the principles of 

 evolution and synthetic classification. 

 From the practical standpoint also it is 

 seriously objectionable as being but a par- 

 tial measure which perpetuates and legal- 

 izes, even if in somewhat limited form, the 

 very confusion it was desired to end. 



Under the Benthamian method or ' Kew 

 Rule ' a plant might have a different spe- 

 cific name in each of the several genera to 

 which different systematists might refer it, 

 and under the so-called ' method of elimi- 

 nation ' a generic name may be applied to 

 several entirely different groups of spe- 

 cies, as a result of varying theories of 

 classification. But however inadequate for 

 bringing about uniformity and stability of 

 nomenclatorial practice, these propositions 

 are of interest as admissions of the desira- 

 bility of a formulated procedure instead 

 of unguided personal caprice. 



It may be charged equally against these 

 methods, as well as against the method of 

 types, that the authors of the older genera 

 did not expect their writings to be inter- 

 preted by such criteria, since all three 

 propositions have resulted from the recog- 

 nition of the fact that the tasks of system- 

 atic biology are very different from tlie 

 anticipations of the eighteenth century 

 naturalists. With the prospect of a few 

 thousand genera to be dealt with, the mat- 

 ter of a few synonyms for each was not 

 important, and each naturalist might hope 

 for the general acceptance of his improved 

 names and descriptions. But with 

 strengthening indications that a million 

 genera or more will be needed to present 

 the complexities of organic nature, senti- 

 ments of literary liberty may well give 

 way to measures promising the practical 

 advantages of uniformity and stability. 



Moreover, where carelessness and caprice 

 have been the rule the application of any 



system must be expected to result in many 

 changes from current usage. And if the 

 followers of the system of elimination have 

 not hesitated to set aside many names in 

 universal use for others discovered only by 

 antiquarian research and supported only 

 by individual theories of historical and 

 literary interpretations, how much less 

 should they object to changes made in ac- 

 cordance with the requirements of a meth- 

 od which can end, instead of merely dimin- 

 ishing, the instability admitted by all to 

 be a most serious hindrance to the prog- 

 ress of systematic biology?* 



* While this paper has been waiting for the 

 press the type question has broken out among 

 the spiders, a group rendered nomenclatorially 

 difficult because many of the older generic names 

 were proposed in connection witli numerous spe- 

 cies. Mr. F. Piekard Cambridge concludes {Annals 

 Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), VIII., p. 403, Nov., 1901), 

 after a spirited discussion with the German arach- 

 nologist, Professor Dahl, that definite types are a 

 necessity in generic nomenclature, and that the 

 method of elimination will not yield stability 

 either in theory or in practice. 



"Now elimination pure and simple in its 

 practical application almost invariably lands us 

 in an absurdity. In this way, the species which 

 the authors withdraw are usually those that are 

 best known, with characters salient and well de- 

 scribed, leaving in those less well known, with this 

 result, that the last species left in is one which 

 is not known, is badly described, and never likely 

 to be identified with any certainty ; and this miser- 

 able phantom is left us as the type of the genus." 



As a means by which this objection may be 

 partially avoided it is proposed that when a 

 generic name has had a specific type assigned for 

 it the question should not be reopened, but it be- 

 comes at once apparent that the determination 

 of the fact of such assignment would itself be a 

 question on which differences of opinion might be 

 entertained, so that Mr. Cambridge is brought to 

 the further suggestion that such a designation be 

 accepted only when the word typ, typus or type 

 is used, and would rule out exemplum, exemple 

 and example, also, presumably, original, original 

 species, chef de file and other linguistic and verbal 

 differences of expression of the same idea. On the 

 other hand, no notice is taken of the complica- 

 tions possible through the fact that the word type 



