edition" of Linnaeus, or the " 12th edition " of Linnseus, or at any point of time other than the actual ]:)eginning, and say "That is the starting point."
Regarding Captain White's tilt that he " cannot see for a moment how the list can stand when it is built up on such an unsafe basis as John Gould's nomenclature," it is difficult to understand the intended application of his remarks — whether in respect to the law of priority, or to the binomial phase. I think that it does not signify much which of the two is intended. John Gould's nomenclature has, except as to a few emendations, stood solidly for 50 years and upwards, and the basis is still so safe as to bear, if required, the superadded weight of trinomialism. In respect to Captain White's personal remarks on the element- ary knowledge of Australian ornithologists, 1 have only to say that, whilst freely admitting the force of such remarks as applied to myself, I at the same time strongly resent them so far as they affect the standing of such ornithologists as Colonel Legge and Messrs. A. J. Campbell, Robert Hall, Basset Hull, and John W. Mellor. The published works of the three first-named gentlemen are well known throughout the scientific world, and the special- izations in ornithology of the last-named two are widely known and appreciated. Verily, a prophet hath no honour in his own country. Captain White's concluding remarks, reading " There are many other weak points in the list which could be remedied, but the fotmdations will not warrant the repair," are too indefinite and obscure for reply. — Alex. Wm. Milligan.] THE ACANTHIZA OF FLINDERS ISLAND. To the Editors of " The Emu." Dear Sirs, — I wish to state, re contribution from Mr. F. M. Littler under "Stray Feathers" in the last issue of Tlie Emu (vol. xii., p. 278), that I am pleased to see his remarks about the Acanthizas. He is right. I saw the mistake myself, but too late to withdraw the note before publication. My explanation of the matter is this : I labelled my skins A . diemenensis, and wrote notes roughly for that bird. Later, I listened to other opinions (I am sorry to say), and changed the name to A. ewingi. I afterwards found my first judgment to be correct. The differ- ence between the two birds is very slight, but an ornithologist like Mr. Littler, who is so conversant with the birds of his island home, would detect them immediately. I am alone responsible for this error. — I am, &c., S. A. WHITE. Wetunga (S.A.), 9/6/13.
