115 



botanists upon the Vienna Congress, and standing out for priority, 

 Mr. Druce's results come very close to those reached by adhering 

 to the theory of types, to which theory we again invite attention, 

 believing that a position must be reached in which genera will 

 stand or fall with their type species. If no type was assigned by 

 the author of the genus, one must be assigned by some combi- 

 nation of considerations. For North American genera, types are 

 rapidly being established by one author or another, and it is to 

 be hoped that European genera will also become fixed by this 

 method. Descriptions of genera without any species assigned 

 them will not stand against genera with designated types. 



A system which retains Posoqiieria Aublet, 1775, but rejects 

 Icacorea Aublet, 1775, both published as monotypic in the same 

 work, and which retains Piscidia L., 1759, while rejecting IcJi- 

 thyonietJiia P. Browne, 1756, both based on the same type, is 

 bound by its very absurdity to fail. We think that the Berlin 

 botanists, by proposing this highly arbitrary means of attempting 

 to steady the use of generic names, failed to take advantage of a 

 great opportunity, which they were not ingenious enough to see. 



The manner in which Mr. Druce has performed the present 

 piece of work is highly creditable. By a carefully elaborated 

 system of symbols and typography, his list tells us whether a 

 given plant is native or doubtfully so, whether of fugitive or occa- 

 sional occurrence, or established, if it has become extinct, if 

 found only in the country cited, and other facts regarding distri- 

 bution, if a probable hybrid, and if so, which is its dominant 

 parent. The author states that during thirty years' collecting, 

 he has seen all but fifty of the plants listed growing in situ. 

 Synonyms are given only when this is necessary for some special 

 reason. Specific names are capitalized when of previous generic 

 significance, when personal or when terminating in oides, " this 

 being evidently the intention of Linnaeus." The ending aceae is 

 retained for family names. Since the list is to be used largely as 

 a check-list, for exchange purposes, all specific names are con- 

 secutively numbered. The parenthetical citation of authors is 

 employed in cases of generic and varietal, but not for specific 

 names. 



