4 PREFACE. 



States National Museum; to Mr. Henry H. Hindshaw, 

 Curator of the Museum of the University of Washing- 

 ton, who sent me a collection of species from western 

 Washington; to Mr. John Fannin, Curator of the Pro- 

 vincial Museum, Victoria, B. C., who lent me the collec- 

 tion belonging to his institution; to Prof. W. E. Ritter, 

 of the University of California, for a similar favor; to 

 Dr. G. Baur; to Mr. Harold Heath; to Dr. W. W. Tho- 

 burn; to Mr. Douglas Van Denburgh; to Mr. Edward 

 Hyatt; to Mr. J. M. Hyde; to Mr. J. 0. Snyder; to Dr. 

 G. Eisen; to many others; and most of all to Dr. Chas. 

 H. Gilbert, who forwarded to me the unequaled collec- 

 tion of Californian reptiles belonging to Leland Stanford 

 Junior University, and gathered for that institution by 

 his untiring zeal. 



THE AUTHOR. 

 San Francisco, April, 1897. 



