546 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 640 



Of course you may have some ulterior pur- 

 pose for publishing such a falsehood respect- 

 ing this organization, hut I give you the op- 

 portunity to make a correction, assuring you 

 at the same time that I should have more 

 respect for you and your paper if before pub- 

 lishing a falsehood of this sort you would 

 make some effort to ascertain the triith. 

 Sincerely yours, 



Melville E. Stone, 

 General Manager 



We regret having published a communica- 

 tion attributing to the Associated Press the 

 story concerning Marchette's comet. We are 

 glad, however, to find that the Associated 

 Press guards so carefully its repi'tation for 

 accuracy in its scientific news. — Editor. 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



THE FIRST SPECIES RULE FOR DETERMINING TYPES 



OF GENERA HOW IT WORKS IN 



ORNITHOLOGY 



As a further contribution to the discussion 

 of methods of fixing types of genera in 

 zoology, an exposition of how the first species 

 rule works when applied in ornithology may 

 be of interest to other zoologists. 



It is evident to every one familiar with the 

 intricacies of nomenclature that the uniform 

 enforcement of this mle would result in 

 eliminating many generic names that have 

 become, through a long period of nearly uni- 

 versal and unquestioned use, almost house- 

 hold words in the current literature of zoology, 

 or in their transference to wholly new and 

 more or less repellant associations. So fre- 

 quently would this happen in the case of 

 Linnsean genera that the promoters of the first 

 species rule are obliged to make, as one of 

 their first conditions for its adoption, an 

 exemption clause for Linnsean genera. It can 

 readily be seen that such an exemption clause 

 would work charmingly in the case of North 

 American birds, and many American ornith^ 

 ologists may be persuaded to swallow the 

 sugar-coated pill thus so thoughtfully pre- 

 pared for them; but it is hardly probable that 

 such action would be followed by ornitholo- 

 gists at large, and quite improbable that it 



would meet with approval in other depart- 

 ments of zoology. But no way has been sug- 

 gested for saving many other genera, equally 

 as well established and as universally current. 



As an illustration of how the first speciea 

 rule would work when applied without re- 

 striction, a few Linnsean genera may be cited. 

 Of the seventy-five valid Linnsean bird genera, 

 fourteen are fortunately monotypic, and the 

 type of some thirty-four others is by common 

 consent (in nearly all cases by elimination) 

 the first species. This leaves about one third 

 of the total number with the currently ac- 

 cepted type some other than the first, ranging 

 from the second to the thirty-fourth. To take 

 the first species in these cases would create 

 nomenelatural chaos. For example, the typo 

 of the genus Fringilla would be Dolichonyx 

 oryzivorus, the bobolink, a bird of a different 

 family, thus transferring the family name 

 Fringillidse from the finches to a wholly dif- 

 ferent group, rendering a new name necessary 

 for the finch family; the type of the genus 

 Psittacus would be Ara macao, a large long- 

 tailed American species instead of the familiar 

 gray parrot of Africa, and involving also the 

 transference of the family name as well; the 

 type of Anas would be Cygnus cygnus, a swan 

 instead of a duck; the type of Scolopax would 

 be an ibis instead of a snipe; and so on 

 through the list. The same confusion would 

 result in the case of mammals, fishes and 

 reptiles, and doubtless in other classes. As, 

 however, Linnsean genera are tabooed in this 

 connection, non-Linnsean genera will be con- 

 sidered later on in this communication. 



In Mr. Stone's second paper on this subject' 

 he states that in my reply^ to his former 

 article' I relied ' mainly upon general state- 



' ' The First Species Rule versus Elimination,' 

 Science, N. S., Vol. XXV., No. 630, pp. 147-151, 

 January 25, 1907. 



' " The ' Elimination ' and ' First Species ' Meth- 

 ods of Fixing the Types of Genera," Science, 

 N. S., Vol. XXIV., No. 624, pp. 773-779, December 

 14, 1906. 



' " The Relative Merits of the ' Elimination ' and 

 ' First Species ' Method in Fixing Types of Genera 

 — with Special Reference to Ornithology," Sci- 

 ence, N. S., Vol. XXIV., No. 618, pp. 560-565, 

 November 2, 1906. 



