— 91 — 



established by Hedwig in 1792 for D. rigidulus to which he later added D. 

 hoinoinallus ; the former is now referred to Barbula, the latter to Ditrichum. 



In 1807 Weber and Mohr added two species now referred to Swartzia^ 

 and a new species, the Dicranodotitium, above mentioned. Thus it will be 

 seen that the Didyniodon of Braithwaite does not contain a single species 

 originally included in it by the author. Such cases are not rare and if the 

 method of residues is still tolerated by the scientific world there is nothing to 

 prevent a perpetual migration of generic names after this manner just as 

 one sees fit to add and another to subtract. Under such circumstances it 

 seems a scientific farce to write as Braithwaite does Didyniodon {Yie&w.) for 

 a genus that does not include a single species included by its author. 



In the Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. 6, No. 4, Dr. L. M. 

 Underwood proposes a rule of procedure which he has carried out in the gen- 

 eric nomenclature of ferns, much to the upsetting of current generic names. 

 His method of procedure is to take the first species mentioned in the original 

 definition of a genus as the type unless the -author in some other manner 

 clearly indicates what his type species is. To apply the rule to the mosses 

 would be to make the plant now called Neckera complaiiata the type species 

 of Leskea and all our other Neckeras would become Leskeas. Also the 

 first species named by Dillenius under his genus Mnhim is M. androgy- 

 num, now known as Aulacom7iium. According to Dr. Underwood all the 

 Aulacomniums become Mniums. and a new name must be found for Mniums. 

 These two instances are only illustrations of the many that would be re- 

 quired by the application of this rule to the nomenclature of the mosses. 

 It seems as though this arbitrary selection of the first species as the gen- 

 eric type would be productive of much needless change, and it is by no 

 means certain that it would in many cases give any better representation 

 to the ideas of the author of a genus. But it does seem indisputable that 

 a genus accredited to a man should contain at least one species which he in- 

 cluded in it in his original definition. And the present condition of nomen- 

 clature makes it imperative upon every man describing new genera to 

 indicate clearly what he considers the- type species. 



In conclusion it may be said that many of the proposed changes are 

 absolutely necessary to do away with indefinite confusion and many of 

 the rules made by the reformers of nomenclature are wisely chosen, but 

 the avowed purpose of some of them to make the whole matter of botan- 

 ical nomenclature depend on a set of rules to be mechanically applied 

 with no reference to previous usages savors of the methods of the mid- 

 dle ages, and is evidently only another manifestation of the tendency of 

 the human mind to avoid personal reponsibility by reference to authority. 



A NOTE. 



A new station for Buxbawnia indicsiata Brid. has been added to the 

 list for New Hampshire, having been found by Mrs. B. Madeline Britton on 

 decayed logs at Surry, N. H., September 3d, igo2. 



