Value of 'naming'

[Richard Jensen]

Gee, I can't speak for the rest of the world (some 70 countries use
Daylight Savings Time - an oxymoron?), but many of us here in Indiana
resist such fads and believe that regular Eastern Standard Time (even
though we're in the midwest) is good enough for the whole year.

Standardizing common names is a far thornier problem and is fraught with
complications, many of which have been noted in earlier postings.  And,
given the scope of regional variation (which cuts across political
boundaries as if they don't exist), I'm not sure it would prove
meaningful.  A compendium of common names associated with each Latin
binomial would be most useful (such a compendium is in Gray's Manual),
but how to select *one* as the official common name is not obvious.

Richard J. Jensen      |   E-MAIL: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Dept. of Biology       |   TELEPHONE: 219-284-4674
Saint Mary's College   |   FAX: 219-284-4716
Notre Dame, IN  46556  |