143 



trapa, Cyanus Cyanus, Mariana Mariana, RJiapontica RJiapontica, 

 and others of a similar character. But it must be a matter of 

 surprise that the recent literature of botany and zoology is so 

 slightly regarded (or so wholly inaccessible ?) at Philadelphia ; 

 it seems, however, as if even there they must have a copy of the 

 Century Dictionary, and if they consulted it might find the state- 

 ment that the common European lynx is Lynx Lynx ! 



There has been much discussion among both zoologists and 

 botanists about the desirability of using duplicate binomials, and 

 there are still many who object to scientific names which are as 

 meaningless as " cat cat " or " dog dog," but the use of such 

 appears to be extending in spite of objections, and they are no 

 more devoid of meaning than many other binomials in common use. 



While upon this subject, it may not be amiss to call the atten- 

 tion of botanical students to the fact that many duplicate bino- 

 mials were proposed by A. B. Lyons in 1900, in his little book 

 entitled " Plant names, scientific and popular " ; a work which 

 might readily be overlooked as a source of new combinations. 



John Hendley Barnhart. 



NEWS ITEMS 



John L. Sheldon, Ph.D. (University of Nebraska, 1903), has 

 been appointed professor of bacteriology in the West Virginia 

 University at Morgantown. 



Dr. and Mrs. N. L. Britton returned to New York on Septem- 

 ber 18 from Cuba, where they had spent three weeks in botanical 

 exploration. 



Mr. C. B. Robinson, B.A. (Dalhousie, 1891), of Pictou, Nova 

 Scotia, has been appointed a laboratory assistant at the New 

 York Botanical Garden. 



Mr. Edmund P. Sheldon, now of Portland, Oregon, is super- 

 intendent of the Oregon State forestry exhibit at the World's 

 Fair, St. Louis, 1904. 



Professor L. M. Underwood returned from Europe on Sep- 

 tember 7. While abroad he visited herbaria at Kew, Berlin, 

 Prague, Basel, Geneva, Paris, etc. 



