40 THE ORNITHOLOGICAL GUIDE. 



exercise Causality, instead of being blindly led 

 in the sheeptrack by Imitation. " In naming a 

 new genus or species, for the first time, it is of 

 course desirable to give it the most appropriate 

 appellation that can be found;" so far so good: but 

 if the nomenclator has failed in this, it is the busi- 

 ness — nay, the duty, of another to supply the 

 desideratum which, if successful, ought not again 

 to be altered. Willughby called the Pied Wag- 

 tail, M. alba ; Rennie finding this to be in contra- 

 diction with the appearance of the bird, changed 

 the name to M. lot or ; this however being applicable 

 equally to every species of Wagtail, I changed to 

 M. maculosa — which though certainly not perfect, 

 (there being other Wagtails to which it would apply,) 

 is yet perhaps as perfect a specific name as can be 

 found for this species. To change carelessly or 

 without sufficient reason cannot be too strongly 

 condemned, but a moderate and wholesome reform, 

 is what everything human must undergo. And to 

 insure the "universality," for which Mr. Strickland 

 wishes, it is of the utmost importance that the most 

 unobjectionable term be in every case "adopted, and 

 whoever alters that without a sufficient reason must 

 be set down as a retarder of the progress of science 

 equally with the anti-reformers. The comparison 

 between scientific nomenclature, and the names given 

 to human beings, is too ridiculous to merit exposure 

 — when it was brought forward there must have 

 been a sad lack of sound arguments to support the 



