ornithologist's text-book. 43 



ledge of the system he adopts, and his work is al- 

 together by far the most masterly we have seen, 

 on our native Ornithology. The plates of water 

 birds appeared at about the same time as the letter- 

 press of the second edition. 



This work is not without its faults. For in- 

 stance, we frequently find the same English generic 

 names used for species belonging, according to 

 the system he adopts, to entirely distinct genera: — 

 thus he has, the Snow Bunting ( ' Plectrophanes 

 nivalis), and the Yellow Bunting f Ember iza 

 citrinella) . Why not use Snowy Longspur for 

 the first of these ? Again, to every one of the 

 Strigidcd he applies the English generic name 

 Owl, while in Latin he divides it into no less than 

 seven genera ! We wish it, however, to be dis- 

 tinctly understood that we do not object to Selby's 

 dividing the family into seven genera — that being 

 in perfect accordance with Nature — but to his 

 inconsistency in using one generic appellation in 

 English where there should obviously be seven; 

 and Sirix, as the typical group of the family, can 

 alone be termed Owl. Observations such as these 

 may be, and have been, (see Analyst, No. 11) 

 deemed frivolous, and it may be objected that the 

 English names of birds belong to our mother- 

 tongue, and are in no way connected with the ob- 

 jects of science. But if, as we have elsewhere 

 proved (Analyst, No. 10), this carelessness with re- 

 gard to English names is calculated to confuse the 

 student, and greatly to increase the difficulties of 

 science, what then can we think of him who, blind 

 to the interests of philosophical science, and the 

 improvement and welfare of future generations, 

 obstinately refuses to admit the smallest change, 

 merely because that change, slight as it is, would 

 cost him some trouble ? Happily, however, for the 

 cause of science, its advancement does not, as for- 



