No. 488] 



NOTES AND LITERATURE 



525 



of natural science and its conflict with the "old geocentric and anthro- 



pocentric philosophy which seduced and satisfied our ancestors 



Science has descended upon this philosophy like a tempest and nothing 

 is left. The earth is not the center of creation. Man is not an excep- 

 tion in the universe. The adaptation between living things and their 

 environment is explained by evolutionar}^ principles without supposing 

 an intelligent creator." In the preface, philosophy is said to be a 

 matter of temperament. "For some, naturalism is the final word of 

 true metaphysics; for others, it is devoid of all truth." In this way, 

 perhaps, the author acknowledges, that there are many who see in 

 evolutionary principles the manifestation of an intelligent creator; 

 and who find in man, though one animal among many, much that is 

 exceptional. It is stated by Professor Cresson that naturalistic 

 philosophy is not science, though suggested by it. The determination 

 of the conditions of life, as described by Verworn, is science itself. 



F. T. L. 



The Capitalization of Specific Names.— It is agreed that the name 

 of a genus shall always begin with a capital letter and that the specific 

 name shall usually begin with a small letter. Zoologists are inclined 

 to begin specific names invariably with small letters, but botanists 

 employ capitals for a varietv of purposes as shown in the following 

 examples: 



Zoological Names. Botanical Xinncs. 



a. Slita cauadrn.v\s^ ,hn,rus Cnmulmsh 



c. a a Jo pacha iliri folia Li/thrnm II n^sopijolia 



d. Hn-nomis isabcUac Rosa Beatricis 

 Wliat(>vcr ivasons exist for beginning these botanical names with 



capitals ii[)])ly with equal force to the zoological names; and the advan- 

 tages of the invariable rule for lower case letters are no greater in zool- 

 ogy than in botany. ^Moreover, as expressed l)y the \'ierma Congress 

 of botanists,— ^' The i^rinciples and forms of n()nionclature should 



order to determine u])()n a niiifonu i.raciirc tur tlic Natnntlisi (in 



