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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LV 



Opinions 25 and 34 of the International Commission support 

 the wording of the foregoing recommendation which is referred 

 to in the opinions as an effective part of the code. 



Thus zoological codes in general support the so-called "one- 

 letter rule." The point in this connection that appeals to the 

 present writer with special force is that there would seem to be 

 no good defense for the practise of rejecting names differing 

 in terminations expressing gender and at the same time accept- 

 ing other names differing by no greater margin (often by only 

 one letter). 



Thus under A. 0. U. practise Otostomus, Otostoma and Oto 

 stomum are treated as identical, while Odostoma and Otostoma, 

 Tcterm and Icterias, Pica and Picus are considered distinct. The 

 fact that the latter words had different terminations, or different 

 meaninge in classical usage has nothing to do with the case. 

 Nomenclature is not the Latin language; it is a mass of in- 

 vented, adopted, derived and compounded words, some of which 

 are in Latin form, others not, but all of which, nevertheless, have 

 equal standing in the scientific world. Principle V of the A. 

 0. U. Code, itself, asserts that 



A name is only a name, having no meaning until invested with one 

 by being used as the handle of a fact ; and the meaning of a name so 

 used in zoological nomenclature, does not depend upon its signifieaiion 

 in any other connection. 



Literally construed this principle is fully in accord with the 

 definition of scientific names as arbitrary combinations of letters, 

 and it would seem unnecessary even to state with respect to 

 arbitrary combinations, that we can only regard each different 

 one (even if by only one letter) as a distinct name. It would 

 seem clear, therefore, that in scientific nomenclature names are 

 merely labels for conceptions ; that their use demands precision, 

 and with precision all names appreciably different can bo used 

 without confusion. 



Small (even one-letter) differences in scientific names aro by 

 no means confined to terminations; they occur in all points in 

 words. Consider : Neothripa, Neothrips; Felwea, Felicia, Dona- 

 tia, Donacia; Isotoma, Isosoma; Leptopora, Leptoprora; Mercera, 

 Merciera; Teliocrinus, Teleiocrinus; Sciurus, Seiurus; Sus, Mus. 

 Consider also such a series of names as M&mcerus, Monocereus, 



