Correspondence. 273 



genera of Linnaeus, I left them that name for your more clear compre- 

 hension of my meaning. To be consistent, however, with myself in the 

 above mentioned Table, (page 9 of the Illustrations,) the following ought 

 to be the gradation of groups : — 

 Regnum. — Animalia. 



Subregnum. — Vertebrata. 

 Classis. — Pisces. 

 Ordo. — Ostinopterygii. 

 Tribus . — Clupeina. 

 Stirpes. — Cyprininse, above called " Cyprinidse." 



j" Cyprinidse, above called " Poeonominae, or the 

 Family j genug Cyprinus ..> 



Genus. — Cyprinus. 

 Subgenus. — Tinea. 

 Section. 

 and so on to the species. 



Your Table therefore given, p. 261 of your Monograph, is more in 

 harmony (except indeed the names, which are things of artifice, and 

 have nothing to do with nature) with my Table given in the Illustra- 

 tions, than is the foregoing letter ; and I wish you to understand that 

 were I to publish on Fish, I would make it clearly understood, that I 

 view Linnaeus' genera to be groups of the rank of families, so that the 

 groups above called Perca, Scomber, &c. ought to be called Percidae, 

 Scombridae, &c. 



I have now written enough to shew you how I imagine Fishes may 

 be distributed into something like a natural arrangement. My views 

 must of course be subject to a multitude of corrections ; but I think 

 they are more connected, that is, they shew more unity than any Ich- 

 thyological synopsis which I have yet seen. I have worked out the 

 Plagiostomi with particular care, as my friendship with Dr. Smith made 

 me pay great attention to his unrivalled collection of Sharks and Skates. 

 If you would wish to see the conclusions to which I have arrived 

 with respect to the Plagiostomi, I shall be happy to send you a sketch 

 in some future letter. In the mean time, you may make what use you 

 please of what I have written in this letter, provided it be clearly un- 

 derstood, that I am asking naturalists whether such be not the facts of 

 the case, instead of dogmatically insisting upon it that they are. I 

 have no idea of publishing on Fishes, at least for the present. 



By the way, I observe that my old friend Colonel Sykes has been 

 describing a number of Indian Cyprinidae in the Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society. Of course there must be " double emplois," which I 



