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THE KERN BULLETIN 



hearing and then rules, since known as the Vienna 

 Code were adopted section by section. At this meet- 

 ing advocates of the nomenclature favored by a few 

 New York botanists and their friends in the govern- 

 ment service were present and spoke at length in favor 

 of their schemes, but it was soon discovered that the 

 proposed ideas would not conduce to stability of names 

 or uniformity of ' nomenclature and when the vote 

 came the plans of these advocates were rejected. In 

 the adoption of the Vienna Code, botanists saw the be- 

 ginning of that uniformity in the names of plants so 

 long desired, and although some of its provisions were 

 not satisfactory, they accepted the Code and in the 

 five years that have elapsed they have seen no reason 

 the regret their action. Not so the American ob- 

 jectors: finding themselves outvoted at Vienna they 

 promulgated the "American Code" a sort of nomen- 

 clatural make-shift for our small part of this planet. 

 Of course no foreign scientist takes such a "code" 

 seriously but some of our native botanists with that 

 spirit of jingoism that makes us brag"garts at home 

 and blusterers abroad, have attempted to unite the 

 students of this country in a solid opposition to the 

 code followed by the botanists of other nations. As 

 a first step to this attainment, there has been an effort 

 made to secure control of the various botanical maga- 

 zines, since if it could be made to appear that every- 

 body was in favor of the "American Code," objection 

 could be more easily stifled. To these schemes The 

 Fern Bulletin has ever turned the cold shoulder, 

 though more than once solicited to join the movement. 

 Recently a few fern students by manipulating the 

 voting machinery of the American Fern Society have 

 succeeded in an apparent effort to secure the backing 

 of the Society for the "American Code." This is at 

 the root of the scheme to found an official organ. 



