July 4, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



11 



of the same date as, or of a later date than, the 

 original publication, although such a proposal has 

 now been submitted as an amendment to the rules 

 and will be considered in time for the Tenth Con- 

 gress. In the meantime, the commission has in- 

 structed the secretary to report the following 

 resolutions to the congress: 



(54) Sesolved, That the commission, under 

 unanimous suspension of the by-laws if need be, 

 recommends to the congress the adoption of the 

 following resolution, namely: 



(55) Whereas the widespread custom of is- 

 suing reprints in advance of the appearance of the 

 original publication gives rise to much unneces- 

 sary confusion in nomenclature, be it 



(56) Besolved, That the Ninth International 

 Zoological Congress expresses its disapproval of 

 this custom and appeals to editors to discontinue 

 it, and further, be it 



(57) Besolved, That editors be requested to 

 give on each edition of all publications the exact 

 date (year, month, day) of issue of said edition. 



(58) Opinions. — At the Boston (1907) congress 

 the commission reported upon opinions 1 to 5 

 inclusive; at the Gratz (1910) congress it re- 

 ported upon opinions 6 to 28 inclusive; at the 

 present congress, it herewith reports the sum- 

 maries of opinions 29 to 56 inclusive. The full 

 opinions have been published by the Smithsonian 

 Institution, Washington, D. C, as Publications 

 Nos. 1938, 1989, 2013, 2060; No. 2169, containing 

 opinions 52 to 56 inclusive, is now in proof and 

 will soon be issued. Attention is invited to a 

 correction of opinion 31 published on page 89, 

 Publication No. 2060. 



The commission regrets to hear that some zool- 

 ogists claim to have been unable to find copies of 

 these opinions and desires to state that they are 

 sent to 1,100 libraries, to the members of the 

 International Congress and to a limited number of 

 specialists. Only the summaries are issued in the 

 proceedings of the congress. If any member of 

 the congress fails to receive the full opinions, he is 

 invited to notify the secretary of the commission. 



At its present session the commission has taken 

 a preliminary or a final vote upon several addi- 

 tional opinions and it now has under consideration 

 about 15 other cases that have been submitted to 

 it for study. 



[Here follow the summaries of opinions 29-56.] 



(59) The opinions have now been a policy for 

 six years. They have been received by various 

 zoologists in different ways. Some of our col- 

 leagues in the profession are urging us to continue 



this policy, on the ground that it is the logical 

 method of settling difficult questions. Others are 

 opposed to the policy and one man has even prac- 

 tically challenged our right to issue the series. 



(60) This commission is well aware of the fact 

 that in issuing 56 opinions we have not been able 

 to decide on both sides of every question and thus 

 to please every person. 



(61) It may not be out of place to remark that 

 these opinions have recently probably been the 

 greatest factor in pressing to the fore the law of 

 priority and in producing discontent. Formerly, 

 so long as two authors could not agree upon a 

 given point of nomenclature, each followed his 

 own interpretation. If one of these authors now 

 submits the ease to the commission, an opinion is 

 rendered which, of course, has not the force of 

 law, but which nevertheless is a strong moral sup- 

 port to one side of the controversy in question. 

 Experience has, however, shown that instances are 

 not lacking when the commission by giving its 

 opinion has drawn upon itself the fire which in 

 earlier days would have been directed to the indi- 

 vidual worker in whose favor the opinion happens 

 to be given. Ajid it has come about that the com- 

 mission has not been permitted to remain ignorant 

 of the fact that it has perhaps made fewer friends 

 than enemies in its endeavor to conform to the 

 wishes of our colleagues to settle cases for them. 



(62) The commission does not consider that in 

 rendering these opinions it is placing itself under 

 any obligations whatever to zoologists for the 

 privilege of doing so much work for other people, 

 and is perfectly willing to discontinue the series. 

 In continuing to give opinions, however, the com- 

 mission can not be expected to depart from the 

 code and to make exceptions in order to please 

 individual workers. If the congress is not satisfied 

 with the results, it will be an easy matter for the 

 congress to say so. 



(63) The commission as at present constituted 

 feels it proper, however, to remind zoologists that 

 in the performance of our duties we are not sup- 

 posed to take into consideration any personal 

 preferences or any local, factional or personal 

 quarrels — such as have actually been presented to 

 us as if they were valid nomenclatorial argument. 



(64) Increasing Interest in Nomenclature. — 

 Probably at no time in the history of zoology has 

 there been a more widespread interest in the sub- 

 ject of nomenclature than exists at present. This 

 interest is probably due to several factors, one of 

 which is the increased sense of necessity or at least 

 desirability for international uniformity in use of 



