— It is to be hoped that the alleged intention of the I V-t master- 

 General to unify the system of names of post-offices in the I'nited 

 States may be carried into effect. The poverty of inventive capacity of 

 our people in the matter of the giving of names is remarkable. Many 

 places in the Eastern States are named from localities in the < >ld World, 

 from which the early immigrants came. This is objectionable, but it 



motive for ransacking the ancient geographies and damping their con- 

 tents broadcast over the wilderness. But now we meet with duplica- 

 tion after duplication springing up in all the States, south and west of 

 the Alleghanies. The settlers and builders of new towns seem to imag- 



refiects on their intelligence and knowledge of geography ; so that 

 new Manchester, Birminghams, Troys. Homes, Athenses, Springfields, 

 etc., etc., are springing up with a rapidity that is confusing to the 

 mind and destructive to any correct knowledge of the whereabouts of 

 such places. A little reflection will convince any persons desirous of 

 naming a new town or post-office that one of the most efficient ways of 

 advertising a place is to give it a name unlike any other; and more- 

 over that by so doing much trouble in the matter of future mail deliv- 

 ery will be spared them. 



A majority of our naturalists who have namir 

 same deficiency. They frequently encourage foolish naming of locali- 

 ties by naming species after them. If such local names are changed 

 hereafter the scientific names founded on them will be left high and 

 dry. But the least excusable form of scientific name is that which 

 is taken from a locality whose name is already a duplicate of one in 

 the Old World. Who ever heard of Naples in New York ? Yet a 

 paleontologist has recently named an important fossil Clymenia neapol- 

 itana, which is found in the " Naples shale," in Western New York. 

 Another has with equal absurdity named a species from 

 Camarella bernensvs. A geologist names a glacial beach the Leipsic 





