AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST. 143 
supposed to be omniscient nor on editors who ''scrupuously follow 
their rules,’’ but the moral of the present discussion is that botani- 
cal congresses no matter how often they meet and how many rules 
they make, will never do what they set out to do; namely, ‘‘avoid 
disadvantageous changes in nomenclature.'' 
On the whole we are inclined to think, after carefully study- 
ing the history of these changes, that fewer would be made by 
going back to the only fundamental reasonable principle of nomen- 
clature, namely; absolute historical priority, not limited to 1753, but 
going back as far as we have any certain indisputable proof of the 
identity of plant names. The “starting point" 1753 in nomencla- 
ture, has been made to avoid confusion of names of genera, but re- 
sults so far have not been forthcoming and it is safe to say that no 
more radical changes of names could or would result if we disre- 
gard entirely the artificial and unreasonable ''starting point," 1753, 
as it is evident from such works as S. F. Gray's, 1821, E. L. 
Greene's, Flora Franciscana, and Bay Region Botany, or Bubani's 
Flora Pyrenaea, or Tidestrom's Elysium Marianum the principle of 
whose nomenclature goes back to even Theophrastus, Dionscorides, 
Galen, Pliny, Varro, Vergil, Dodonaeus, Lobelius and Brunf 
for valid names of genera. 
THE CODE OF THE NEAR FUTURE. 
We have some very strong reasons to believe that it will be only the 
matter of a few years when botanists will come to see the futility of the 
contradictory codes in question of nomenclature. The Vienna Code was 
not expected to itera everybody by its arbitrary decrees, well meant 
hough they be. rae n botanists i aires are not satisfied, and al- 
sed. Best of 
ready amendments have propo all we feel th t it is 
becoming more apparent daily 'that the are not only ng 
what the set out to do,—br t uniformity, hey are actually 
making confusion worse confounded." an botanists are ponder- 
hether 
changes of names necessary to be made to bring absolute lion prior- 
ity of names into effect, would be many more than the exceptions to 
