No. 440.] 



VERNACULAR NAMES. 



553 



Some have not taken the trouble to reduce their rules to tangible 

 form or to a system, and thereby get rid of their inconsistencies. 



Now, I believe that a system of rules may be formulated and 

 in accordance with the established principles of the English lan- 

 guage, by means of which we may be rid of the present chaos in 

 compounding the vernacular names of animals. 



The writer has previously attempted this for certain groups of 

 animals 1 and in this paper the discussion is extended so as to 

 include all classes of vertebrates and the insects. 



Before formulating a set of rules for compounding the vernac- 

 ular names of animals, it is necessary to give attention to a few 

 well-established general principles — principles which are recog- 

 nized by all the great masters of English, though expressed 

 concisely by few writers. In fact, the literature of the subject 

 is very meager, and only within the last twenty years has there 

 been any serious attempt to evolve a system of writing such 



The Standard Dictionary lays down three general principles 

 for compounding English words, 2 the second of which is as 

 follows: " Abnormal association of words generally indicates 

 unification in sense, and hence compounding in form." In 

 accordance with this principle I submit the following rules for 

 com] muiuling the vernacular names of animals. J Following each 

 rule are given numerous examples taken from the different 

 groups of animals to show the application of the rules. The 

 first rule is more general than the rest, and to some extent 

 includes the others. 

 Write in compound form, — 



1. Any pair of names or words in joint arbitrary use ; as, leaf- 

 roller, black-nosed dace, four-toed salamander, red-bellied 

 snake, blue-throated lizard, soft-shelled turtle, whippoorwill, 



