CHAPTEE HE. 

 HOW TO SELECT AND STUDY FKESH SPECIMENS. 



SELECTION OF SPECIMENS. This is the golden rule in collect- 

 ing 1 : Preserve the first specimen you collect of every species you en- 

 counter, lest you never get another. When you have obtained 

 too many of a kind, it is an easy matter to throw some away. 

 At all hazards, try to obtain one really fine adult male and 

 female of each species, to serve as standards of comparison in 

 your subsequent studies. Remember that immature, undersized 

 specimens are not typical representatives of a species, nor do 

 they add glory to a collection. At the same time, quite young 

 specimens, say one-fifth to one-tenth adult size, are always very 

 interesting, and should be collected and preserved whenever 

 possible. Collect your mammals and birds during- the season 

 when their pelage and plumage are at their finest. Especially 

 should every specimen that you propose to mount be strictly 

 first-class. Life is short and species many, and when you do go 

 through with the task of mounting a specimen, it should be so 

 fine in every way that you will never need to replace it for the 

 reason that it is too poor to keep. Of rare species, the rule is 

 to preserve every specimen taken, and, I may add, make as 

 many different kinds of preparations of a rare species as you 

 know how to prepare. For example, of the guacharo bird, or 

 cave-bird of Trinidad (Steatornis caripensis), my friend Jackson 

 and I prepared skins, skeletons, and alcoholic specimens, and 

 took a full assortment of nests and eggs. 



MEASUREMENTS. It is of great importance to acquire a fixed 

 habit of carefully measuring every specimen you prepare, unless 

 you are already in possession of an abundance of measured 

 specimens of the same kind. After getting into the habit of 

 measuring, it takes only a very few minutes to do the work, and 



