236 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
euphony is the only safe guide. Names are means, not ends, and rules that 
lead to embarrassment defeat the objects for which a nomenclature is 
intended.” 
One of the great difficulties pointed out is that of determining whether 
certain names in the genitive should terminate in ‘i,” or ‘ii,’ but this 
depends upon the correct formation of the nominative, or, in other words, 
how certain modern names should be latinised. Some few are already in 
Latin form, and these should be dealt with as per Latin rule. For | 
example, Triana becomes Trianz in the genitive. In some other cases 
analagous examples can be found among Latin authors, and these should 
be dealt with accordingly. For example, the name of the Greek poet 
Homer is latinised as Homerus, which becomes Homeri in the genitive, 
and furnishes a model for such modern names as Hooker, Warner, 
Sander, &c. In some cases even Latin custom is not uniform, as Hermes, 
Herme, and Euclides, Euclidis, which are two words selected at random. 
Finally, for certain modern names no exact equivalent can be found, and 
one has to be guided by analogy. Notwithstanding these difficulties, 
however, the great majority of modern names can be latinised without 
much trouble when the necessity for it arises, as is the case when they are 
used commemoratively in scientific nomenclature. 
If it is not easy to formulate an exact rule to meet all cases, it is at 
least possible to lay down a few guiding principles, and the very fact that 
we have several times been asked to do this disproves a remark which has 
been made, that “ nobody in these enlightened days will pay any attention 
to rules of construction.” If any of the following suggestions are 
objectionable, or open to improvement, we hope they will be pointed out, 
but, if otherwise, we hope to see them generally adopted. 
All personal names used commemoratively which are already in Latin 
form should have the genitive formed regularly as in Latin; thus Triana 
becomes Trianz. In the case of Cattleya Trianez two objections have been 
urged against this. One is that Triana is masculine, the other that Trianzi 
is the original spelling. The first is invalid, because all masculine Latin — 
names which end in ‘‘a”’ take ‘‘z’’in the genitive; and the second might be 
used in defence of any grammatical blunder, or even of a mere printer’s 
error, and we should never stretch the law of priority so as to include such 
cases. 
All other names for which, in point of form, a Latin equivalent can be 
found, should be declined in accordance with precedent. Thus names end- 
ing in ‘‘er’’ would be declined like Homer, by the addition of “us” in the 
nominative, and ‘‘ i” in the genitive, thus Warner, Warnerus, Warneri. The 
majority of personal names are latinised by the addition of “ us,” but in 
some cases, for the sake of euphony, “ius” is added, the “‘i” forming 
