BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [6] 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



1 wish to impress upon the collector that one well-labeled and well- 

 preser\ed specimen is worth more than ten mutilated or half decom- 

 posed specimens without labels. A man who is not willing to take 

 the trouble of properly labeling his specimens need not go to the 

 trouble of collecting them, for in our days specimens without data as 

 to the exact locality, at least, are not worth the alcohol they are kept in. 

 Follow, therefore, explicitly the directions relating to labeling given 

 further on. 



In any given locality trj' to collect specimens of all the species 

 occurring there, no matter whether they are common or not, and in- 

 variably preserve the first specimen of any species whether bad or 

 good. But do not be satisfied with one specimen of each kind ; if they 

 are not too large try to get at least six specimens, and, if any kind 

 shows great individual variation or you happen to know that it is a 

 rare species in collections, two dozen are not too many. 



As a general rule the largest and most conspicuous species are the 

 least interesting. Small and insignificant forms of secluded habits, 

 particularly those living in holes orburroWs in the ground, are most 

 likely to be novelties or great desiderata of our museum. 



If you can not, for one reason or another, preserve all the speci- 

 mens you are able to procure, make your selection of individuals in 

 the following way : Of the largest species select individuals of medium 

 and small size; of the smallest species take care to get most of the 

 largest specimens. Be sure that the individual variation exhibited 

 among the specimens caught is well represented in the series selected. 



WHEN AND WHERE TO COLLECT. 



While reptiles and batrachians may be found occasionally at any 

 season, spring is the time for systematic collecting, the beginning of 

 the collecting season depending of course upon the meteorologic con- 

 ditions. In a climate not too severe batrachians may be looked for 

 on the first mild days signaling the breaking up of winter, while the 

 reptiles, as a rule, require warmer weather to rouse them from their 

 hibernation. 



The differences between these two classes manifest themselves not 

 only in their structure, but quite as much in their habits, and their 

 collecting is therefore essentially different. The batrachians, gener- 

 ally, prefer dark and damp places, and the best time for collecting 

 them is, therefore, very early in the morning or late ev^enings. Many 

 of them will be found in dense woods or swamps, among decaying 

 leaves, in old stumps, under fallen logs or stones, and in wet moss, 

 while the purely aquatic species have to be looked for in springs, 

 ponds, rivers, or lakes. 



