10 
WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
Notes on Common Names in Natural History. 
“Why don’t you give these animals common 
names V” is an often asked question, and one not 
always easy of answer, since many animals are 
afflicted with so many scientific appellations that 
the common name is quite as good as the other. 
However, many animals are so little known to 
most people as to have received no popular 
appellation, while the impossibility of using 
the same name in all languages is a drawback 
to the use of common names for any but 
familiar objects. Then, too, the same name 
is applied to different animals in different locali- 
ties, and the following examples may serve to 
illustrate a few of the variations in popular names 
and the errors arising from their use. When a 
stranger from the east — say the vicinity of Boston 
— is tempted by the sign “ Clam Cnowder” to 
enter a Hew York restaurant, the chances are ten 
to one that he is disappointed, and that instead 
of the “ Soft-shelled Clam” (My a esculenta) of 
which chowder is made north of Cape Cod, he is 
treated to a dish of the Quahog ( Venus mercenaria ) 
which is there much prized for bait for Cuuners 
owing to its toughness. A somewhat similar 
confusion exists in calling the fresh water Cray- 
fish a Crab, and in styling the western Mudfish 
(Amia calm) and the smaller sharks alike Dogfish. 
The Horn Bout of New England is the Butiiiead 
of New York, and the Pomotis auritus rejoices in 
several appellations, such as Roach, Bream, Sun- 
fish and Bumpkin Seed. The Raddle-fish {Poly- 
odon folium) of the Mississippi is called the 
Shovei-nosed Sturgeon, while the same name is 
applied to another species (Scap/iirhy nchus caia- 
p/iractus.) In Florida the Oswego Bass (Microp- 
terus pallklus) is popularly termed the Trout, and 
in some parts of Benusylvania it is no indication 
of good sport to be assured that Woodcock 
are plenty, for the bird meant is a Woodpecker 
(Campep/ulus pileatus). And speaking of Wood- 
peckers calls to mind the fact that probably no 
bird lias been more favored in the way of many 
names than has our Golden- winged Woodpecker 
(Oolaptes auratus.) 
Flicker, by the way, is a very good name, and 
well expresses the manner in wnicli the golden 
color of the wing alternately appears and disap- 
pears during flight. In northern New l"ork the 
Bike Bercli (Lucioperca americana) is termed 
Bike, and the Pike (Esox lucius) Bickerel, while 
in Canada the names are exactly reversed. Here 
our Canadian neighbors are clearly right, for our 
Pickerel is the identical fish known in England 
as the Pike.* 
♦Pickerel— diminutive of Pike — was probably be- 
stowed by the early settlers of New England on the 
Esox reticulatus, which does not reach tire size of E. 
lucius. 
The Quail of the north is the Partridge of the 
south, and the Partridge becomes Grouse. While 
the Chipmunk, Pouched Rat and Spermophile 
are all called Gophers at the west, in Florida a 
Gopher- is a species of tortoise (Testudo Carolina). 
The Menopoma and Menobranchus rejoice in 
the varied appellations of Hell- bender, Mud- 
puppy, Water-dog, Salamander and Alligator. 
Among the common names so far noticed, none 
have caused any serious trouble, but there are 
one or two that have given rise to quhe serious 
errors and disputes. Long ago Button described 
a monkey from the Malabar coast of India under 
the title of Wanderoo (Silenus veter). Later the 
Wauderoo was reported from Ceylon, and it was 
recorded that Silenus veter was an inhabitant of 
that island, a statement that long passed unchal- 
lenged. It is now definitely settled that the ani- 
mal in question is not a resident of Ceylon, and 
that the mistake arose from some traveler having 
reported that the Wauderoo was found there, the 
name being understood to refer to the Silenus 
alone, when it is simply a Cingalese name for 
any monkey belonging to the genus Sernno- 
pithecus. And yet in so recent and careful 
a work as Murray’s Distribution of Mammals, 
the species is assigned to Ceylon. The statement 
that the Dolphin changes color while dying has 
been made and contradicted time and again, and 
with equal truth on both sides, the parlies to the 
discussion rarely taking the trouble to ascertain 
just wflat animal the other side had in mind. 
Now, by Dolphin a great many mean a small 
Cetacean ( Delphinus ), and etymologically this is 
correct, but by all English-speaking sailors the 
word Dolphin is applied to a fLh (Goryphcena). 
The Delphinus is a sombre-hued animal, its pre- 
vailing color being black, and it does not in 
expiring change color in the least. The Cory- 
phteua, on the contrary, is most gorgeously 
colored, the body being a brilliant blue and the 
fins and tail a golden yellow. As the fish dies 
the blue tint gradually fades away — slight flushes 
of a deeper hue at times appearing— and gives 
place to dull lead color. Thus the tales of the 
change of color in the dying Dolphin instead of 
being fabulous are really based on truth, the 
trouble being that the parties to the dispute have 
been looking at the opposite sides of the shield. 
These instances are but a few among many, but 
they serve to show that there are after all some 
well grounded objections to the sole use of popu- 
lar names, although such usage has been ably 
championed by Prof. E. !5. Morse, and some 
author whose name we do not for the moment 
recall, has even been at the trouble of inventing 
a popular bi nomial nomenclature. F. A. L. 
A Level Head. 
During the Guiteau trial the irregularity of the 
exterior of the prisoner’s head was apparently 
regarded by some people as indicative of a corre- 
sponding irregularity in the workings of the 
brain within. Now the truth is, that skulls are 
rarely symmetrical, being usually more or less 
flattened on one side, to say nothing of the ever 
varying outline presented by skulls viewed in 
profile, and that, so far as can be ascertained, a 
regular skull is no sign of an evenly balanced 
mind. Were this the case Mr. Easy’s phrenolog- 
ical machine, whereby the bumps indicative of 
undesirable qualities were flattened while the 
others were raised, would be in great demand, 
and the shaping of a child’s character would 
be a matler of mechanics. But among the 
Flathead Indians and others who practice de- 
forming the shape of the skull, the functions 
of the brain are apparently not changed in 
the least, and the natives of the New Hebrides, 
whose skulls are especially noteworthy from the 
lowness of their foreheads, are called by George 
Foster “the most intelligent people we have ever 
met with in the South Seas.’’ The accompany- 
ing cut, drawn from a skull from Mallicola, New 
Hebrides, now in our possession, shows to what 
an extent this artificial malformation is carried. 
Cetaceans are very badly off as regards cranial 
symmetry, for one side — almost universally the 
right — is always larger than the other. Asym- 
metry is by no means confined to the cranium 
alone, but prevails to a greater or less extent 
throughout the entire frame. Shoemakers can 
testify as to the small number of people whose 
feet measure alike, and it is interesting to notice 
in skeletons— especially those of the large rumi- 
nats — how universally one side of the thorax is 
flatter than the other. In fact were we inclined 
to be just a little hypercritical we might say that 
bilateral symmetry did not exist, or that it is 
constantly* interfered with by the accidents of 
the individual’s growth. 
PLEASE LET US HAVE YOUR SUB- 
SCRIPTIONS PROMPTLY. 
BOOKS. 
Probably no section of the country has had its 
ornithology so carefully studied and so much 
written about as New England, and yet the book 
under consideration* forms a most valuable addi- 
tion to our literature on the subject, gathering 
into a small compass the results of many widely 
scattered observations. 
The first fifty pages are devoted to “ General 
Definitions,” treating of the structure and classi- 
fication of birds, “Preparation of Specimens 
for Study,” “The Subject of Faunal Areas,” 
aud the “ Literature of New England Ornithol- 
ogy,” all of which are alike important and inter- 
esting. 
With all due deference to Dr. Coues, it strikes 
us that he is inclined to draw the boundaries of 
Faunal areas much more sharply than they are 
found in nature, since there is sure to be more or 
less overlapping of species in any two adjacent 
divisions. But we are glad to see this su eject 
brought prominently forward, the more that this 
book will fall largely into the hands of our youn- 
ger ornithologists, aud turn their attention to it. 
The body of the work consists of brief descrip- 
tions of the birds, followed by more extended 
notices of their habits, the nesting, in particular, 
being described with much care aud detail. 
Whenever a bird has been but seldom observed 
in New England, the articles in which such 
occurrences have been noted are referred to in 
detail, a point of no small value. 
Although entitled New England Bird Life, so 
much is said of the habits of birds which are 
widely distributed, that the book commends 
itself to every ornithologist, especially to the 
younger ones, since they will learn from it what 
to look for and where to seek it. 
The illustrations taken from Dr. Coues’ pre- 
vious works are all good, and we trust that in 
the coming part treating of waders and swim- 
mers, a few found in Coues’ Key will be care- 
fully suppressed. Such are Nos. 176, 182, 190 
and 213. Especially 190. 
Mr. Stearns has done wisely in selecting Dr. 
Coues for his editor, and as Bart I is so good, we 
sincerely hope that there may be no delay in 
bringing out Bart II. 
If this little bookf does not tell us anything 
new on the subject of collecting insects, its in- 
structions have the merit of being brief, practi- 
cal and to the point. We could wish that the 
author had in places been a little more liberal 
with his directions, but the beginner will not be 
troubled with having to choose between two or 
three ways of doing the same thing, either of 
which is good enough, and as the methods given 
are usually the best, we commend this book to 
the novice in entomology. On p. 20 it speaks of 
“alcohol diluted with water,” but gives no hint as 
to the proportion of each. It strikes us as a little 
curious that no one has ever deemed it necessary 
to say anything on this point, and so far as we 
can recollect, the proportions are not given in 
any book. One part water and three of c5° alco- 
hol is about correct. On p. 31 we are directed 
to “ put a drop of chloroform, or whatever killer 
you have, on the insect’s head.” Now we must 
confess to a preference for putting the death- 
dealing liquor on the body, since insects breathe 
by means of spiracles opening on the side of the 
abdomen. The external appearance of a book 
has no particular relation to its contents, yet we 
have a predilection for pretty covers, and those 
of this little volume strike us as especially neat. 
In this respect it forms a pleasing contrast to the 
new, condensed edition of Wood’s Natural His- 
tory, which has a mixture of Barnum’s menagerie 
and the New York Aquarium poured out over it. 
* New England Bird Life, being- a manual of 
New England Ornithology, revised and edited from 
the manuscript of Winifred A. Stearns, member of 
the Nuttali Ornithological Club, etc., by Or. Elliott 
Coues, U. S. A., member of the Academy, etc. Part 
1 -Oscines. Boston : Lee & Shepard, publishers. New 
York: Charles T. Dillingham, 1881. 8vo., pp324; nu- 
merous woodcuts. 
+ “ Insects How to Catch and How to Prepare Them 
for the Cabinet,” comprising- a manual of instruction 
for the held naturalist, by Walter P. Manton. Illus- 
trated. Boston: Lee & Shepard, publishers. New 
Y ork : Charles T. Dillingham, 1881. 16mo. Cloth, 
32 pp. 
