Sa NATURE STUDY REVIEW [10:2— Feb., 1914 



death, thrown it into the ash can, and the men had emptied the 

 latter that morning. Upon investigation I found that the speci- 

 men was an amblystoma of the greatest rarity in this section, and 

 one which I had never personally collected. In other words, it 

 was the Large Spotted Salamander (A. punctaium, (L) Baird), a 

 species becoming more or less rare everywhere. In fact, I do not 

 believe I have ever seen a living one. It is an elegant representa- 

 tive of the genus, being of a rich, black color when adult, with a 

 series of round, yellow spots of a brilliant, intense shade on each 

 side of the back. 



Now here was a specimen of a comparatively rare form in this 

 section of the country, of which in so far as I am aware, we have 

 no photographs from life. We know but little of its habits and 

 structures, except what has been learned, in a general way, from 

 a study of its allies. Finally, it is not well represented in museimi 

 collections. Yet this student allowed this opportunity to go by, 

 when he could have made a positive contribution to out knowledge 

 on all of the aforesaid points. 



It is not difficiilt to make life-sized photographs of such ani- 

 mals, nor to color the prints true to nature afterwards. My 

 method of doing this has been described in many publications 

 which may be found in any general library in this country. Fol- 

 lowing this procedure, the specimen should be measured, weighed, 

 and studied in other particulars, such as making a record of its 

 external characters, as well as those of the buccal cavity and 

 other apertures. Then it shotdd be consigned to some preserv^a- 

 tive fluid of the proper kind, which will either preserve the speci- 

 men for all time, or until it is to be used for the purpose of making 

 a complete scientific study of its morphology. 



My present collection contains several hundred negatives of 

 the class referred to above, and prints from nearly every one of 

 them have, up to date, either been published or otherwise made 

 scientific use of in the way of furthering biological science. If 

 possible, I never allow any animal — invertebrates, fish, reptile, 

 bird or mammal — to come into my hands without photographing 

 it (natural size, if my cameras admit of it), and making such notes 

 upon it as have been suggested in the foregoing paragraphs. 



Here is another interesting case in my experience which well 

 illustrates the advantage of making use of all the material which 

 may come into one's hands. One day I received — only a month 



