DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



By Leonhard Stejneger, 



Cu7-ator of the Dcpart?nent of Reptiles and Batrachians. 



mTRODTTOTORY NOTE. 



The following directions are prepared for the use of collectors who, 

 without being herpetological experts, desire to procure for the Museum 

 specimens of the reptiles and batrachians which they may be able to 

 gather in the neighborhood of their residence or while traveling. 

 Persons who devote themselves to collecting these animals exclusively 

 are but rarely met with, but there are numerous collectors of other 

 objects of natural history who would be willing to preserve the reptiles 

 and batrachians, if they only knew how to do it in the easiest and most 

 satisfactory way. Such persons have usually very limited space and 

 time to devote to this branch of zoology, a circumstance which has 

 been taken into consideration in preparing these directions. 

 '' The herpetological specialist will know how to collect better than 1 

 can tell him, aud the scientific explorer who goes into distant lands far 

 from communication with the civilized world, with a large outfit and 

 for a protracted period, will need special instructions and extensive 

 apparatus (soldering outfit, distilling apparatus, etc.), which can be 

 more advantageously prepared in each individual case. 



APPARATUS. 



The following articles are more or less necessary for successfully col- 

 lecting reptiles and batrachians, though many of them are not exclu- 

 sively used for this purpose. By Checking oft" on this list before start- 

 ing the collector may at once know whether he has supplied himself 

 with the essential means of collecting. 



1. Gun with auxiliary barrel, or collecting pistol (see Directions for 

 Collecting Birds, pp. 7-9). 



2. Dip net. 



3. Fishhooks and tackle. 



4. A pair of stout leather gloves. 



5. Bags of cotton cloth, or cheese cloth (see page 9). 



6. Fishing basket, or botanical collecting box of tin, 

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