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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. io. 
franc and the lira, if not perhaps with that of the mark and the ruble, and 
let the taxonomist take warning not to destroy the usefulness of the species 
concept to biology in general by lowering the degree of visibility of the 
characteristics which delimit adjacent categories. For the minor groups 
which his more intensive studies may bring to light let him adopt a special 
terminology adequate to meet his needs in communicating with other 
taxonomic specialists, just as the geneticists have done. It is to be hoped, 
however, that the taxonomist will not find it necessary to propose such a 
profusion of names for these subspecific categories as have the geneticists. 
Witness: “elementary species,” “biotype,” “Jordanon,” “isoreagent,” 
“genospecies,” “microspecies,” “microgene,” etc. 
If all biological specialists, in whatever direction their specialties may 
lie, should adopt this method, species will continue to represent the rela¬ 
tively crude, relatively superficial triangulation of the entire field of biology 
by means solely of such instrumentation as is available, in common, to the 
devotees of every branch of the science, and the specific names will retain 
their high value as media of scientific exchange. 
Princeton University, 
Princeton, New Jersey 
