55 2 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXXVII. 



tailed jack-rabbit, striped ground-squirrel, Dall mountain-sheep, 



These terms are less exact for English-speaking people than 

 the corresponding technical ones simply because of the confusion 

 that has always existed in writing them ; because of the many 

 names that have been applied to the same animal. The same 

 confusion would exist with reference to the technical names but 

 for the carefully prepared synonymies. I believe that I am the 

 first 1 who has thought it necessary to prepare a synonymy of 

 the vernacular names of animals. 



Some writers appear to have an antipathy for the much-abused 

 little character, known as a hyphen. This seems to be true also 

 of many printers and publishers. As one writer puts it, "A 

 hyphen affects some printers very much as a red rag does an 

 angry bull" ; hence they omit the greater number of hyphens in 

 a manuscript. Many writers on science relegate to the printer 

 or to their amanuensis such details of manuscript-revision and 

 proof-reading, owing to a lack of authorities on the subject. 



Dr. J. A. Allen says 2 : "If the use of the hyphen could be per- 

 manently regulated by the formation of a set of rules, how great 

 a boon would be conferred upon writers, and particularly upon 

 editors ! As, however, the use of the hyphen varies within wide 

 limits, in accordance with the radically different rules enforced 

 by editors and publishing houses, from its practical non-use to 



word, there is little hope of securing a uniform system of hyphen- 



ization in the construction of bird names In publications 



which allow the hyphen its time-honored function, great diversity 

 is met with in just the class of cases to which Dr. Doran has 



