524 
IN LIGHTER VEIN. 
NOTES BY A PSEUDO COLLECTOR. 
I 
Finding that very few persons seem to have any idea as to what a Mammal 
Collector’s work is like, or how he “ muddles through it, ” and hoping that some 
of the material contained in these notes may prove of use to other Collectors, I 
have presumed to offer them for publication. I shall start by trying to give my 
readers a general idea of what is as likely to happen as not to any Collecter 
arriving at the area in which he is to work, and not an inhabitant of which he 
can even claim the slightest acquaintance with. I may mention that ‘‘ Truth 
being stranger than Fiction ” I trust that nothing I say will be taken as evidence 
against me. 
QOn-the, ..iphaofee’ ssi I received instructions to proceed to X and report on 
my arrival to Z, who had kindly offered to help any Collector working in this 
area. I arrived in due course and, as instructed, made straight for Z’s Bungalow 
and found him at home. After enquiring after my health and the kind of jour- 
ney I had had, he remarked, ‘‘ But, Good Lord, I never dreamt they’d send 
you here at this time of the year, you'll not be able to do a thing before—even 
the Natives don’t go into the Jungle now.” That was rather depressing, so to 
change the subject, I asked him if he had seen the last ‘‘ Journal ’’, to which he 
replied, ‘‘ Oh, dear, no, I am not a Member, in fact I take no interest at all in 
Natural History, but a cousin of mine married a chap who was a great man on 
that sort of thing, (I love that expression), went in for examining the blood of 
all these brutes, don’t you know, bats, rats, owls, monkeys, eagles, etc., he was 
a what-you-may-call-’em (I had already thought so) now what is the word ? You 
must know, a Hem, Hem, Hemma, what is that word ?? The only one starting 
with Hemma that I could think of did not seem to end properly, so I kept silent 
and tried to look as though wrapped in thought. ‘‘ Ah, well, never mind ” 
said he, “I'll remember it in the morning, it’s funny sometimes how one 
forgets a simple word,” and he looked very cock-sure about it. ‘‘ Now let me 
see what I can do for you, I expect you’re brought your kit along with you 
for camping, such as tents, crockery, cutlery, glass, cooking utensils, camp fur- 
niture, tables, chairs, beds, mattress, pillow, bath, wash-basin and other odds 
and ends.” I only seemed to have the odds and ends but looked cheerful and 
said “Rather”. I asked him if he could put me on to a decent interpreter and 
I was told it could be arranged, so left him promising to let him know of any 
wants I discovered. Before describing the interpreter incident, I will try and 
describe the attitudes and ideas of the Europeans of the District. Before going 
any further I must say that everyone of them did all in their power to make 
me feel at home and to give me a good time and I shall always remember their 
great kindness. 
After a few days residence in X, Z asked me to go along to the Club with him 
and meet some of the Members, and I duly accepted his invitation. I found after 
being introduced that my fame had gone before me, as one Jady said as soon as 
my host had mentioned my name ‘“‘Oh you are the gentleman who has come to 
collect squirrels, aren’t you?” A Planter to whom I was introduced said 
“* You are the Rat-catcher, aren’t you ?’ and there were other similar remarks 
made. The people seemed to take it for granted that I must be a very up-to- 
date naturalist, in fact, judging by some of the questions I had asked me, some 
seemed to imagine me an embryo Darwin. The questions ranged from the 
difference between the leopard and panther to whether a flea was an Aptera or 
Rhynchota. I, in turn, referred the enquirers to the B. N. H.S., Blanford, 
Sterndale, Darwin, Heckel and numerous other works real and imaginary. 
The information I gathered was equally varied: I was told by some of a 
