282 



THE AMEBIC AN NATURALIST 



[Vol. LIII 



TAXONOMY AND EVOLUTION 



The writer has great sympathy with much of what "X" has 

 to say on the above subject in a recent num'ber of the American 

 Naturalist (Vol. XLvni, 369-382). ^ Needless to say, however, 

 he can not agree with all. True there is much in systematic 

 zoology that is slipshod, but till statistics can be produced to 

 show that the percentage of slipshod Avork produced by sys- 

 tematic zoologists is higher than in other fields of zoology, the 

 writer of this article has a temporarv- residence in Missouri. 

 He is of the opinion, also, that as great a percentage of the work 

 of the systematic zoologist will s):and the test of time as the work 

 of the anatomist or any other worker in the field of zoology and 

 proposes to remain of that opinion until time, the great leveler, 

 proves to the contrary. 



Linnteus is apparently not the only genius that has left the 

 back door open and that has "been followed by a crowd of other 

 workers eager to attain to immortality," as witness the great 

 mass of half-digested literature on genetics, say, that has been 

 crowded into the past ten or a dozen years. It would be a sad 

 state of affairs indeed if systematics as a w'hole were not im- 

 proving. That there have been occasional backward steps there 

 is no doubt, but on the whole the progress has been forward. 

 I hardly believe tliat even the systematists are as big fools as 

 "X" pictures them to be, for I have yet to discover in my 

 rambles a systematist who believed that his work was final. 

 Heaven forbid. The czar in zoological nomenclature may arise 

 and issue his fiat, but there will he later czars who will do away 

 with them. For surely "X" would not have us believe that the 

 ihiv will ever dawn in this world when all things are settled. 

 My shorter catechism is somewhat awry, but surely such a happy 

 st it.^ reserved for t]ie Great Beyond. 



Wifhinif w i-li iiiLT to rnsparage the m'odem workers T wish to 

 sny tii;ir vnitif of ih'^ oMer workers did write "careful descrip- 

 tions. as witness the following case which has been called to my 



