184 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 
of Moscow, appears to have deserted ornithology altogether, 
and to be immersed in literary pursuits. The splendid col- 
lection of birds and eggs which he made in the Ural, and 
presented to the Museum of Moscow, lies neglected and in 
disorder, packed away indiscriminately in boxes, cupboards, 
and drawers ; and many of them are without even a sheet of 
paper to keep out the dust, or to protect them from moths. I 
tried unsuccessfully to purchase this unique collection, to save 
it from destruction. In St. Petersburg, Von Schrenk has, for 
the time being, forsaken ornithology for the more popular 
charms of ethnography. The ornithological curator at the 
museum, Russow, is an enthusiastic field-ornithologist, and 
is rapidly bringing the chaos of birds in that establishment 
into excellent order, and will doubtless do good work in the 
future. St. Petersburg has also an excellent amateur orni- 
thologist in Bogdanoff. At Dorpatt, Von Middendorff has 
retired, both from the University and from ornithology, to his 
ancestral estates, and is writing learned treatises on the 
breeding of horses and cattle. Prjevalsky is an excellent 
collector, but makes no pretensions to a scientific study of 
ornithology ; and Severtzoff, though he has, as we all know, 
done good work, has followed too closely the steps of the 
elder Brehm to satisfy the requirements of modern scientific 
ornithologists, who aim at hitting the happy medium between 
“Jumpers” and “splitters,” but are nevertheless ofttimes 
sorely puzzled to know on which side of an incipient species 
to draw the line. 
[12] 
