vi PREFACE. 



and add i to Moor, so that in each case we would have the same specific 

 name moori, and so with White and Whity; but there are very strong 

 reasons against such action. In this work, the words of one syllable 

 ending in e have sometimes been written with an i added, and at other 

 times made to end in ii, according to the rules of the British Associa- 

 tion, as casei and casii. But the author is of the opinion that the single 

 letter i in these words is to be preferi'ed; thus casei, caseyi, whitei, 

 whityi, moori, moorei, hoyi, etc., for the following reason. The use of 

 such words is justified because the men have been in some way useful 

 to the science, and the preservation of their names is part of the history 

 of its growth, and can be defended with stronger reason than the use 

 of mythological names, even within the limits warranted by the rules of 

 the British Association, where a fanciful resemblance is made a test. A 

 man may devote ten, twenty, or thirty years of his life to the collection 

 of fossils, or he may devote as many years to the study and description 

 of them. In either case his services may constitute the entire history 

 of the fossils of a given locality, and in what way can the science be 

 better subserved than by perpetuating his name among the fossils he 

 discovered or defined? If the reason for the use of his name is a good 

 one, it is equally strong to use it so that it will not be misunderstood, and 

 can not be made to represent an individual of a different name. The fact 

 that the name does not readily assume a Latin form is of slight weight, 

 in the opinion of the author, compared with the preservation of the 

 history of the science in perpetuating the names of those who have 

 devoted themselves to discover and systematize it. 



At the request of the author, Prof. Claypole has written an essay 

 upon the rules of nomenclature, for this work, to which the reader is 

 referred for further light in the construction of words. 



