58 LAWS OF NOMENCLATURE. 



blamed on account of a species or a genus, his opinions . may- 

 be mentioned and appreciated either in the text of a de- 

 scription, or by means of a parenthesis in the synonymy ; but 

 the citation of a name after the name or names belonging 

 to a plant expresses in itself neither merit nor demerit. It 

 is the mere laying down of a fact, namely, that such an au- 

 thor was the first to give such a name to a genus, or was the 

 first to refer such a species to such a genus. In continua- 

 tion it may be mentioned that another author has made such 

 another combination of the specific and generic names. 

 Bach of them may be right or wrong ; the question is not 

 there. We want, before anythiug else) to know when a 

 name has been made, or when a combination of names has 

 been made, so as not to propose similar ones. Now to get 

 at the date we must know who the author is. The date 

 might have been given instead of the name, but this would 

 not be so explicit, as two persons might, in the same year, ac- 

 cidentally give the same name to two different genera or to 

 two different species. It is on this account that the custom 

 of quoting the name of the author rather than the date has 

 prevailed, this name being in itself no more than the ex- 

 pression of a fact. 



But, it will be said, there are oftentimes two facts to set 

 down; the species has been referred first to one genus, then 

 to another. In this case, we think it is clearer to tell the 

 things in succession : author A has made such a combination 

 of names; author B another. Generally speaking, to be 

 perfectly understood, each idea must be expressed in a dis- 

 tinct phrase or in a distinct member of a phrase. For two 

 things to be clearly expressed, they must be separated, 

 Linnaeus made a species called Cheiramthus tridis, out of 

 which Brown afterwards made Matthiola tristis. To express 

 this it is more intelligible to say, Cheiranthus tristis, L.,and 

 then, in the next line, or after a stop, Matthiola tristis, Br., 

 than to say, by way of condensation, Matthiola tristis (L., 

 sub Cheirantho). With this over- contracted style, 

 " Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio." 



In the example above, it has been wished to say all in few 



