22 The Ottawa Naturalist. [May- 



more than single individuals or even pairs, nor is one only of 

 each stage sufficient. Any single individual may be and usuallv 

 is abnormal in some particular. It is only by a series of several 

 that the average can be established. Freaks, albinos, melanos 

 and other abnormal occurrences are of little general scientific 

 interest, the normal is a much more desirable subject of study. 



In gathering up information of specific occurrences the 

 local taxidermist is a man to cultivate, not only to secure speci- 

 mens but to learn and see what passes through his hands. It 

 is well also to keep in touch with the shooting and sporting 

 fraternity, for they often obtain material of great interest. 



The desirable form in which to keep such collections is 

 undoubtedly as dry skins and not stuffed and mounted speci- 

 mens. The taste for the latter is waning for one thing, and they 

 are otherwise too bulky to house and keep in any number. As 

 the object is the indefinite preservation, the skin is much to be 

 preferred, for the action of dust and light, to say nothing of 

 insect ravages upon mounted specimens, is highly destructive 

 and their life is limited. Besides this, a mounted specimen is 

 not available for the handling necessary for close examination. 

 One hesitates to maltreat a nicely mounted bird to get at hidden 

 characters, that are easily seen in properly made skins. 



A word here may be included as to the much vexed question 

 of subspecies and how far it is desirable to recognize and study 

 them. Originally, when the conception ruled that living forms 

 were the result of special creation, a species was considered a 

 fixed quantity, whose limits could be definitely placed. The 

 acceptance of the evolutionary theory of the growth of species 

 from others pre-existing necessitated a rearrangement of our 

 ideas and it was found that what were regarded as permanent 

 types were more or less unstable and that geographic variations 

 occurred, extremes of which when compared without considering 

 intermediate stages, exhibited differences of almost specific 

 value. i\s all stages of differentiation between these extremes 

 were to be found, it became e\'ident that they must be regarded 

 as evolutionary departures from the specific type and be, in fact, 

 "species in the making, "before the connecting sequence between 

 them and the parent stock has been disrupted or broken down 

 to form isolated species. 



Our modern system of nomenclature gives each species a 

 binomial name, one term representing the genus to which it 

 belongs and the other the species. As it seemed desirable to 

 apply definite cognomens to geographical variants from the 

 typical form in order to facilitate referring to them, "give them 

 a handle, " as it were, a third name was added, making our system 



