^pimbeMgos?"}        International  Botanical  Congress.  421 
discussions  were  held  on  several  topics,  such  as  :  "  Methods  of  in- 
vestigating sugar-beet  seeds,"  "  Weighing  methods  in  determina- 
tions of  germinative  capacity,"  "  Organization  in  seed-control 
stations,"  "  Culture  and  study  of  barley,"  etc. 
The  actions  on  nomenclature  are  too  extensive  to  summarize,  and 
only  a  few  of  the  more  important  decisions  can  be  mentioned  here. 
The  word  laws  is  to  disappear,  rules  and  recommendations  taking  its 
place.  The  rules  for  nomenclature  of  "  cellular  cryptogams,"  i  e., 
the  Bryophyta  and  Thallophyta,  are  remanded  to  a  special  commis- 
sion of  specialists,  which  is  to  present  recommendations  to  the  Con- 
gress of  1910,  to  be  held  at  Brussels.  In  like  manner  a  report  on 
rules  for  the  nomenclature  of  fossil  plants  is  to  be  made  by  a  com- 
mission of  paleobotanists.  The  word  ordo  (order)  displaces  cohors, 
recommended  by  the  Commission  for  a  group  of  families ;  but  the 
American  proposition  to  substitute  phylum  for  divisio  was  lost.  The 
date  1753  Linn.  Sp.  Plant,  ed.  I.  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  150  to 
19.  A  vote  on  an  article  permitting  laxity  in  the  application  of  the 
rule  ol  priority  to  generic  names,  and  providing  for  a  list  of  genera 
to  be  maintained  en  tous  cas,  was  133  yeas,  36  nays.  Later,  Harms's 
list  of  such  genera  (400  and  over)  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  118  to 
37.  This  list  had  been  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of  Bonnet, 
Harms,  Britton,  Prain,  and  Briquet,  and  was  recommended  (by  a 
majority)  for  adoption.  Some  amusement  was  caused  by  the  pro- 
posal of  two  corrections  by  the  author  while  the  motion  to  adopt 
was  pending. 
The  proposition  to  except  some  old  family  names  for  the  rule 
requiring  such  names  to  be  derived  from  an  important  genus  was 
carried  by  only  10 1  to  62. 
The  voting  in  regard  to  publication  of  a  new  species  by  plates 
and  exsiccatae  was  confused,  and  the  article  was  referred  back  to 
the  Commission  for  editing.  It  is  intended  to  exclude  as  valid 
publication  in  future  plates  without  diagnoses,  and  past  plates  (with- 
out diagnoses)  which  contain  no  analytic  drawings.  Citation  in 
synonymy  and  accidental  mention  are  also  declared  invalid  as  publi- 
cations. It  was  agreed  (184  to  2)  to  adopt  the  compromise  reported 
by  a  conference  committee  requiring  the  name  of  a  section  or  species 
when  transferred  to  another  genus,  or  the  name  of  a  variety  when 
transferred  to  another  species,  to  be  preserved  or  re-established  ;  but 
when  the  rank  is  changed  the  preservation  of  the  name  is  optional, 
