Zoological Nomenclature. 107 
. Mames closely ely “igen a names already used.—By Rule 10 as was 
laid down that roduced which is identical with one pre- 
the ncl s rn co wri 
mgd approaches in form, withou + ahealy coinciding “0 with the earlier. 
not, however, think it advisable to make this law imperative, first, because 
of the — extent of our nomenclature, which renders it highly di ficult to 
find a name which shall ca bear more or less resemblance in sound ome 
other ; site econdly, because of the impossibility of re Bat limit to the 
So of approximation bes ond which such a Jaw should cease n pie rate 
We ontent ourselves, t eheresfoxe with putting forth this oposite merely as 
recomm oa tion to naturalists, in selecting generic names, to avoid such as 
5 Si6 homely approximate ee words already adopted. So with respect to species, 
the judicious maria st will aim at variety of designation, and will not, for 
example, call a species virens or virescens in a genus which already coment 
a viridis. 
o. Corrupted words.—In the rect of compound Latin words, there 
are certain peace tules which een known and acted on for two 
thousand years, and which a ainralist: is bou - che acquaint himself with 
before he tries his skill in coining zoélogical t One of the’ chief = 
these rules is, that in shonin ding words all “diced or essential parts 
the constituent mega ust wen = ined, and no change made seth ne 
the variable termination zie several generic = have been lately in 
pee ed which run counter to this rile, & nd form most neigini? ‘clieets to “al 
with the of the Latin language. A name made up 
ar the first half rp one word and the last half of another, is as deformed 
maid ora Cen would be in zoé : 
Lorigilla (Loria and Fringilla), &c. In_ other udin tr 
ment of both the simple words is retained in the compound, a fault | is is still 
: peng: by cutting off too much of the eta sa) vital portions, as is 
 thec n Bucorvus (from Bade and Corvus), Ninor (Nisus and .Noc- 
tua a 
p. Nonsense —Some authors Bent found difficulty in selecting 
generic names which have not gree ore, have adopted the plan of 
coining words at random, without eis derivation» or mean iiiteved: “The 
following are examples: Viralva, , Assimin , Spisula. 
To the same class we may a cago of other pehuiie'n as Dacelo 
and ini bata of arin Zaporma of Porzana, &e. Su ch vecbadt viting as this 
is in very bad tas ® e, and is eapecially palcubted to bring the seience into 
: Bontemps. It fin as o precedent in the Augustan age of Latin; but can be 
ot eous eiiberabolk always to derive them from some other source, 
. Sewever — os or obscure. And it is peculiarly annoying to the etymolo- 
gist, w 1 
aking ti in vain eet the vast storehouses of human lan- 
guage for die’ parentage of such words, discovers at last that he has been pur- 
suing an ignis 
q. Nam e previously seamen d by the operation of § 6.—Some authors con- 
sider cheb’ whe en a name has been reduced to a synonym by the operations of 
the laws of priority, ey 6 are then at liberty to apply = at pleasure to = 
w group which may be in want of a name. big nsider, however, that 
when a word has once been proposed ina give e, and ‘has afte 
os into a synonym, it is far better to ey it ites for =o than to run the 
tisk of making confusion by re-issuing it with a new meaning attached.* 
_ * Tt cannot always be certainly known whether a name has really become a 
enone synonym, for the limits of genera are continually being changed, 
‘Therefore names once used can seldom be again mere with safety.—v. 
