April 8, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



577 



work on a sound systematic basis that few ex- 

 haustive studies of the mammals of limited 

 areas have been made. The ' lay ornithol- 

 ogist ' thrives throughout the United States. 

 By his enthusiastic local work he has contrib- 

 uted largely to the present high state of knowl- 

 edge of the birds of the whole country. Interest 

 in mammals, however, has been lamentably 

 slight, except among professional workers con- 

 nected with museums. Mr. Ehoads's work 

 on the mammals of Pennsylvania and New 

 Jersey is a valuable object lesson for those 

 who refrain from attempting local studies of 

 mammals on the supposition that there are 

 no opportunities for non-professional workers. 

 The book, however, is not primarily non-pro- 

 fessional, nor can Mr. Ehoads be called a ' lay- 

 man,' but the amount of interesting and valu- 

 able data he has gathered in a comparatively 

 limited region is very suggestive of what might 

 be accomplished by local students elsewhere. 



The book takes the form of a list, with each 

 species fully treated under several subtitles, 

 such as faunal distribution, distribution in 

 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, records, habits 

 and economic status, and description of 

 species. In addition to the recent species and 

 subspecies, which number 96, a list of 95 

 which occur in the fossil state is given, and 

 also a brief hypothetical list. Introduced 

 exotics are likewise enumerated. The large 

 list of recent forms, which in many cases in- 

 cludes two or more related subspecies, is 

 swelled by 18 species of whales and dolphins 

 found ofi the coast of New Jersey. 



Besides being an accurate list of all the 

 mammals known to occur within the boun- 

 daries of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the 

 work is of importance and. interest in its bear- 

 ing upon the history and habits of many well- 

 known mammals. The accounts of species 

 now extinct in the two states, such as the 

 wapiti, the bison and the beaver, are of especial 

 interest. The notes on habits are entertaining- 

 ly written and will be found interesting alike 

 to the ordinary reader and to the professional 

 naturalist. The author's own observations, 

 which are stated to have covered a period of 

 eleven years in the region, are freely given, but 

 considerable quoted matter is also included. 



This is taken largely from correspondence 

 with old residents of various parts of the 

 region. The reliability of such sources is of 

 course doubtful, but the notes are evidently 

 given for what they are worth. In one case, 

 after a quotation of several pages, the fact is 

 brought out that the narrator ' was in the 

 habit of making a good story of his exploits.' 

 Nevertheless, such information is valuable, and 

 this method almost the only one for obtaining 

 an idea of conditions no longer existing. As 

 far as possible, primitive conditions have been 

 contrasted with those of the present, with 

 particular reference to the influences of set- 

 tlement and deforestation upon the existence 

 and distribution of the native mammals. 

 When these processes have progressed still 

 further, the value of this work in carefully 

 setting forth present conditions will doubt- 

 less be appreciated by future students. Dis- 

 tribution is usually stated in terms of life 

 zones. A religious correspondence of the 

 ranges of the mammals with the zones is im- 

 plied throughout. Indeed, some subspecies are 

 included solely because the zone they are sup- 

 posed to inhabit is known to extend within the 

 boundaries of the region. The extent to 

 which such distributions are theoretical is not 

 emphasized. In this connection there appears 

 to have been an opportunity for a suggestive 

 outline of desirable confirmatory work for the 

 future. 



The nomenclature and technical treatment 

 throughout are according to the most recent 

 knowledge and standards. In several in- 

 stances names in common use by others are 

 slightly changed, but it is to the author's 

 credit that the reasons for so doing are always 

 stated, even if they merely amount to per- 

 sonal opinion. In one case, to which my atten- 

 tion has been called, a name has been wrongly 

 applied, that of a domestic animal, the so- 

 called Belgian hare, which should be desig- 

 nated as Lepus cuniculus, not Lepus europwus. 

 Questions of doubtful relationships are dis- 

 cussed in some cases, and in this connection 

 occasional disparaging allusions to ' the hair 

 splitters ' occur, as if to lead the unsuspecting 

 reader to the belief that the author abhors 

 such. 



