388 



record sheet shall be clearly marked by a distinctive sign to indicate which 

 of the numerous sections of the list of names it is intended to accom- 

 pany, as otherwise hopeless confusion will almost certainly result. Par- 

 ticular care must also be taken in ruling and in perforating the paper 

 to ensure the proper 'register' of the different sheets when these are 

 bound together in a file. In order to minimise the risk of obliteration 

 of the records through accidental wetting while the sheets are in use in 

 the field, all entries are made with a good quality black-lead pencil, 

 while the list of names is written in waterproof indian ink: ordinary 

 writing ink should on no account be employed for record work. It is 

 also important that the paper utilised for the record sheets shall be of 

 good quality and of fairly stout texture. 



Any more extended notes, such as cannot be expressed by means 

 of symbols, which it may be desired to make regarding any particular 

 form, are entered separately: a series of classified ''Species Books" being 

 provided for the purpose. These "Species Books" are also prepared on 

 the loose-leaf system, and one or more sheets are reserved for each in- 

 dividual species or form. Also, at such intervals as may prove conve- 

 nient, the tabulated entries in the Record Books, together with any ac- 

 companying notes there maybe, are carefully gone through and analysed; 

 a short descriptive note regarding each species is then drawn up for in- 

 clusion in the "Species Book'', so that the latter comes to contain a 

 full account of all that is known respecting each individual local form. 

 Similarly, from time to time, notes regarding the fauna and flora as a 

 whole, and also the physical features of the various collecting grounds, 

 are compiled for entry in the "Grounds Book" from the data contained 

 n the printed collecting forms. 



It may perhaps be of interest to give a list of those symbols which 

 have proved most useful in actual work. In the first place, one or other 

 of the following three symbols is made the first entry of every record : — 

 + = that the form in question was present in the sample under analysis. 

 = that it was obviously absent from the sample , or that it was 

 specially looked for and not found. 

 — = that the particular form was not noted, but that as it was not 

 especially sought after its presence may have been overlooked. 

 It will be noted that the — sign can readily be converted into 

 the + if later on such alteration becomes necessary by the 

 discovery of actual specimens among any of the material re- 

 maining unworked. 

 The relative abundance of the different forms present in the sample 

 is next indicated by a numeral expressing the actual number of indivi- 

 duals observed, or by one of the following signs: — 



