8 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
VoL. I. 
followed — of separately designating the different living 
objects — plant or animal — that it comprises. In this, two 
terms are used, one implying genus, and the other species, 
and both essential. 
But what is a genus, what a species ? In taking a 
comprehensive view of a number of representatives of the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms, we soon discover that there 
are individuals tliat resemble each other sufficientljj* to make 
us conclude that they are all, or rather have been all, 
immediately descended from a common parent ; the faculty 
of interbreeding indefinitely or not, affording the test of the 
accuracy of our judgment. These individuals considered 
in the aggregate, we apply the term sj>ecie.s to, and dis- 
tinguish in eacli case by a term — the specific term. 
In the same way a number of species that resemble 
in each case one another more than they do any other 
species, we collectively style a genus, and distinguish it 
also by a term — the generic term. 
As thus the species is formed by the union of like 
individuals, so the genus is formed of the union of like species. 
The latter category is often a very arbitrary one, its definition 
being based on the whim of its propounder ; but often- 
times it is such as a child may recognise. 
The system of nomenclature, above referred to as that 
of Linnaeus, involved the bestowal on every animated 
object of a designation then, consisting of two terms, one 
adjectival or qualitative denotive of the species, and one 
substantive implying the genus. Thus sida retusa, sida 
genus and retusa species. And that this kind of nomen- 
clature might be used and understood by all naturalists, 
of whatever nationality they might be, it was necessary 
that they should be in a language understood by all. As 
Latin was the idiom in which most scientific books were 
written, at the time that this nomenclature was established, 
that language was chosen as the universal language of 
science in this respect ; words derived from the other dead 
languages being latinised when had recourse to. Thus both 
generic and specific terms chosen as tlxe titles for animals 
and plants were either Latin or partook of its form — the 
adjectival or sjxecific following the generic or substantive, 
in accordance vfitli the structure of tliis language, and 
which requires a diflerent order from that found in our own 
vernacular : tlius sida retusa is used, and not retusa sida. 
In the bestowal of names for living objects, many 
writers, however, had conformed in certain instances to this 
principle for their constitution, using thus two terms only, 
and tliis they did, long prior to the tiir.e of Linnseus. 
As instances of this may be mentioned : (1) The 
procedure, followed by the well known naturalist, L. 
Fuchsias (or Fuchs) — w'hose name is commemorated in 
