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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. 966 



presented when the proper time should come. It 

 is this plan, in slightly modified form, that the 

 commission presents to the congress as basis for an 

 attempt to relieve zoologists, more especially teach- 

 ers, of at least some of the inconveniences of which 

 complaint is made. That this plan does not go far 

 enough to suit some members of this congress is 

 so self-evident that it need not even be admitted. 

 It is, however, the unanimous opinion of the com- 

 mission as assembled in Monaco, that this is the 

 most feasible method in view by which this work 

 may be inaugurated. Prior to giving the plan in 

 detail, it may be stated that the secretary of the 

 commission has asked a number of zoologists to 

 give a rough estimate as to the number of names 

 for which exceptions were desired and also the 

 number of names in the working vocabulary of 

 the average zoologist other than systematists. The 

 estimates in reply to the first question varied ex- 

 ceedingly, one man placing it as low as 20, others 

 as high as 600; the estimate in reply to the latter 

 question, as to vocabulary, usually varied from 

 300 to 600, although one man placed it at 1,000. 

 This highest estimate, namely, 1,000 names, is 

 taken as present numerical basis in the suggestion 

 here made, namely, the adoption of the following 

 resolution : 



(99) Whereas, It is claimed that during the 

 transitional period in nomenclature when the names 

 are being reduced to a consistent, uniform and 

 objective basis, hardships result to many zoologists, 

 especially to teachers, because of the changes in- 

 volved, therefore, be it 



(100) Resolved, That the Ninth International 

 Zoological Congress establish an "International 

 Committee on Transitional Names," as follows: 



1. No person is eligible to serve at the same 

 time as a member of the International Commission 

 of Zoological Nomenclature and on this new com- 

 mittee. 



2. Said committee is to be composed of 15 zoolo- 

 gists who shall have power to organize in such 

 manner as they may deem wise. 



3. Said committee is empowered to select 1,000 

 (and no mofe) zoological names, in such manner 

 and with such aid from other zoologists as the 

 committee may desire, and is instructed definitely 

 to define the meaning of the names selected. 



4. Said list of 1,000 names is to be known as 

 the ' ' Transitional List ' ' and it shall be considered 

 proper during the transitional stage of nomencla- 

 ture of any given group, for any author to use any 

 of said names, even though they be not in accord 

 with the law of priority. 



5. All authors making use of the Transitional 

 List are urgently requested to designate the name 

 by a dagger (t) or by such other sign as the 

 committee may select, in order to signify that they 

 are using the names in the sense of the list. 



6. As soon as both the International Commission 

 of Zoological Nomenclature and the International 

 Committee on Transitional List vote independently 

 by a two thirds majority that the time has come 

 ia the nomenclature of any group to drop any 

 given name or names from the Transitional List, 

 joint report to this effect is to be made to the 

 International Congress and the name or names in 

 question are then to be removed from the Transi- 

 tional List. 



(101) Besolved, That this action is not to be 

 interpreted as in any way restricting the applica- 

 tion of the law of priority or of any other pro- 

 vision in the rules of nomenclature. 



(102) Incidentally it may be stated that the 

 commission has for some time had under informal 

 discussion the advisability of a resolution by the 

 congress placing in the hands of the commission 

 the plenary power of suppressing entirely, in some 

 way, certain names which it is claimed are at 

 present applied in an erroneous sense and which 

 when transferred to the correct genus or species 

 under the law of priority are calculated to pro- 

 duce unusual confusion. As yet the views of the 

 commission are not formulated in a sufSciently 

 safeguarded manner to make it advisable to report 

 definitely on the subject at the present congress. 

 [See below. Supplementary Report.] 



(103) Although the resolution as reported places 

 in the hands of the proposed Committee on Transi- 

 tional List unrestricted power as to the selection 

 of the names, this point does not raise any mis- 

 givings in the mind of the commission. Further- 

 more, the resolution gives to the committee in 

 question unrestricted privilege of inviting coop- 

 eration and it safeguards the list by requiring a 

 two thirds majority in order to eliminate names 

 from the list. 



(104) In reference to the personnel of the new 

 committee, the commission presents the following 

 resolution : 



(105) Besolved, That, for purposes of organ- 

 izing, the initial members of the Committee on 

 Transitional List shaU be: Professor Brauer (sec- 

 retary of the Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft), 

 Dr. Mortensen (of Copenhagen) and Dr. Williston 

 (of the University of Chicago) ; and 



(106) Besolved, That these men be authorized 



