HOW TO USE THIS FIELD BOOK 



How may one study mammals and what is the best way to 

 use this field book? Assuming that the observer is within a 

 short distance of wild land or areas where dwellings are far 

 enough apart to permit wild creatures to live in the meadows, 

 brushy areas, or forests in between, the only requisites are 

 good eyes and ears and a fair amount of patience. Even about 

 our large cities there are many tracts of land where mammals 

 live in their wild and unmolested state, and practically every- 

 where away from the cities a fairly extensive mammal popula- 

 tion may be found if one knows how and where to seek it. 



The average person may not wish to capture or disturb the 

 mammals he is observing and in that event he must depend 

 upon what long range observation will give him. In the case 

 of some mammals, such as the Squirrels and most of the larger 

 mammals which he may be fortunate enough to see, there 

 should be little difficulty in identification. The markings, 

 size, and form of these mammals are so distinctive that usually 

 there will be little doubt as to which large, general group the 

 mammal belongs. That is to say, one will recognize that he is 

 looking at some species of Squirrel, Weasel, Rabbit, Fox, Deer, 

 et cetera, and the additional information to seek will be the 

 particular one of the group he has noted. Is it a Red Squirrel, 

 a Gray Squirrel, or a Fox Squirrel; a Varying Hare or a Cotton- 

 tail; a Red Fox or a Gray Fox? By consulting the field book 

 and looking over the particular genus involved, the identifi- 

 cation is carried out still farther, and by noting from the 

 geographical ranges just what form should be found in 

 the region in question, the student can then check over the 

 brief synopsis of that form to learn whether it describes 

 his mammal or not. If the description does not fit, then try 

 descriptions of the other forms whose geographical ranges 

 would be most likely to bring them into the territory. 



But for nocturnal mammals or those of secretive habits, it 

 will be necessary to use traps in order to gain first-hand 

 acquaintance. These traps may be of the type that takes 



