A LIST OF THE GENERA AND FAMILIES OF MAMMALS. 67 
transferred the allusion to the other extremity of the animal and 
destroyed the application of the name. 
Finally may be mentioned nonsense names, which comprise coined 
names and anagrams (see pp. 46-47), mere arbitrary combinations of 
letters which have no meaning and no application. Explanations, 
however, are necessary to call attention to the fact that the names have 
been coined, or, in the case of anagrams, to show from what names 
they have been formed. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 
One of the pleasantest features connected with the preparation of 
this index, and one which has done much to relieve the monotonous 
labor of compilation and checking references, has been the hearty and 
generous spirit of cooperation manifested by those to whom applica- 
tion for assistance has been made. Without such cooperation the work 
would have been far from complete; many names here included would 
have escaped notice; many that have been verified would have lacked 
that element of certainty, and material and information of various 
kinds that contribute to the value of the book would have been want- 
ing. I take pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness for such aid 
to the many individuals who have placed their time, services, and 
information at my disposal. 
To Dr. C. Hart Merriam, who originally projected the index, I am 
under especial obligations, not only for allowing me to work it out in 
my own way and to carry it far beyond the original limits, but also 
for furnishing every aid in the way of clerical help and particularly 
for personal suggestion and supervision. 
My thanks, as well as of all those who use the index, are due to Mr. 
F. H. Waterhouse, librarian of the Zoological Society of London, who 
was engaged on a similar work, and on learning of the present index 
promptly and very generously placed his manuscript at my disposal. 
His list not only added a number of names and earlier references, but 
it furnished an invaluable check on the accuracy of the whole work. 
Since the 3,000 or more names which we had in common have been 
thus verified by two independent workers, much more confidence can 
be placed in the references. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. P. L. 
Sclater, formerly secretary of the Zoological Society of London, who 
has shown great interest in the work and generously offered to have 
references to books inaccessible in this country verified in the library 
of the Zoological Society. To Dr. Theodore Gill I am under great obli- 
gations for several names new to the list, for frequent advice concern- 
ing questions of nomenclature, references to obscure or rare books, 
information respecting family names, and especially for constant 
assistance in determining the etymologies of names and in correcting 
the proof. 
