HAMILTON: MAMMALOGY IN NORTH AMERICA 663 



fossil mammals that have been described almost equals that of living forms. It 

 is presumed that when all the races are described, more than 20,000 will have been 

 recorded from the entire world. 



Few reference works were available to the early American biologists who had 

 an interest in mammals. Richard Harlan, a close friend and supporter of 

 Audubon, in 1825, published the first installment of his Fauna Americana, which 

 treated mammals exclusively. While it was principally a compilation, based in 

 large measure on Desmarest's Mammalogie, it served a useful purpose for the 

 time. The following year John B. Godman's North American Natural History, or 

 Mastology, lent further impetus to the study of mammals. There is much on the 

 habits of the commoner species in tliis report. The first part of DeKay's Zoology 

 of New York, dealing with the mammals, was published in 1842. This work in- 

 cludes considerable discussion of extra-limital species, and is a useful historical 

 account. 



For the first substantial report on the mammals of North America, we are 

 indebted to Audubon and Bachman. The Vivi2)arous Quadrupeds of NoHh Amer- 

 ica appeared from 1846 to 1854. The plates, with a few exceptions, had been 

 previously published in large oblong folio, without text, commencing as far back 

 as 1840. The three volumes included 197 species, exclusive of varieties, of which 

 about 160 were figured. 



John Bachman has seldom been properly credited for his great contribution 

 to American mammalogy. A lifetime spent in the ministry, he yet found time to 

 make lasting contributions to science. His friendship with Audubon dated from 

 1831 until the latter's death twenty years later. Dr. Bachman was a learned 

 zoologist of his day. In 1839, Audubon and he began work on the great Quadru- 

 peds. Audubon was never to see the completed work, dying in 1851 when the 

 first volume had been completed. His sons, John and Victor, were to color the 

 plates and arrange for the editing and sales, but the greatest share would fall to 

 Bachman, who was to make the dissections, write the systematic accounts and 

 contribute largely to the text, through his vast knowledge of the life histories of 

 the commoner species. Bachman had a restraining influence on his friend, cau- 

 tioning Audubon repeatedly to exercise care in his spontaneity. In 1840, Bach- 

 man addressed his friend Audubon thus : 



When we meet, we shall talk about the partnership in the quadrupeds. I am willing 

 to have my name stand with yours, if it will help the sale of the book. The expenses and 

 the profits shall be yours or the boys. I am anxious to do something for the benefit of 

 John and Victor, in addition to the treasures I have given them [Bachman was the father- 

 in-law of Audubon's sons]. . . . Don't flatter yourself that the quadrupeds will be child's 

 play. I have studied them all my life. We have much, both in Europe and America, to 

 learn on this subject. The skulls and the teeth must be studied, and the color is as variable 

 as the wind; down, down in the earth they grovel, while we, in digging and studying, 

 may grow old and cross. Our work must be thorough. I would as soon stick my name to 

 a forged Bank Note as to a mess of Sloupviaigre. 



Present-day students of mammalian life histories critically examine, or should 

 do so, the pages of the Quadrupeds before commencing a serious study of any 

 species. The difficulties of vertebrate research in the early nineteenth century, par- 

 ticularly the review of literature and access to museum specimens, are set forth 

 in the introduction of the Quadrupeds. The young field naturalist will profit 

 from reading this account. 



