The American Naturalist. 



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beach. There should, of course, be no such names as Naples, Berne 

 or Leipsic in America ; but as they are there, it is a conspicuous gau- 

 cherie that scientists should seek to preserve them in nomenclature. 

 Science is cosmopolitan, and the law of priority should apply to local 

 names as well as to anything else. It is to be hoped that the time will 

 come when a rule will be added to those in our code, that no name 

 shall be given from a locality whose name had a previous existence in 

 some other part of the world. 



—We have received a circular from a distinguished member of 

 National Academy of Sciences which suggests that the number of 

 members of the Academy be reduced to seventy. The number of one 

 hundred does not seem to be excessive if we consider the probable 

 future of our country, but an increase in the number is clearly inad- 

 visable. The proposed reduction seems to us equally so. The change 

 most needed is one which shall designate classes of members and thus 

 keep deficiencies more clearly before the Academy. Four classes were 

 proposed several years ago, with the following proportions: Of the 

 100, 35 to represent inorganic science (Sec. A); 35 to represent 

 organic science (Sec. B) ; 15 to represent mental and mathematical 

 science (Sec. C) ; and 15 to represent applied science (Sec. D). 



