ON THE USE OF FAUNAL LISTS. 279 



•one man can possibly gather, even in a lifetime, from his own obser- 

 vation, facts enough to fully and accurately map out the faunal areas 

 -of more than a few square miles. Obviously, then, if the work is 

 -ever to be done, it must be by hundreds, or thousands even, of 

 -observers uniting their efforts, i.e. each contributing his little mite of 

 ascertained fact, unmarred by generalisation, and put down in such a 

 way that it will always mai-k a step in advance and may ultimately 

 be used, without revision, as material for preparing the fullest and 

 'most accurate account ; and then, after a sufficiency is gathered, the 

 whole plan, with its many complex reasons, will unfold itself to our 

 -eyes like a magnificent pattern, so intricate that no one could have 

 imagined it, and so beautiful that its mere contemplation will be 

 found more elevating than many a noble work that is credited with 

 ■shaping the human mind in a right direction. 



And what is the object of expending so much effort on so small a 

 ■matter 1 Setting aside the incidental benefit accruing to agricultui-e 

 from a right understanding of the balance of nature, also the 

 fact that science in general, of which this is an important part, is a 

 material benefit to mankind, as well as the not very tangible, but not 

 the less incontrovertible fact, that a common purpose, answered by all 

 -such studies, is the cerebi-al development of the whole race through 

 action on a large number of its individuals ; and it is not unworthy 

 -of consideration, also, that the many who ai'e actually taking part in 

 the study are thereby provided with a delightful, healthy, and 

 •elevating occupation. 



Ajjart from all this, I say : We now come to the final and great 

 ■^end of the study itstlf. When by this means we have completely 

 worked out the geographical range of our fauna the reason for such 

 distribution will be clear. The effect of each slight change of sur 

 roundings will be manifest, and then not only will we be able to turn 

 to the best account the various domesticated animals and their 

 ^)roducts, but we will thereby arrive at a vastly more complete 

 knowledge of ourselves. Discomforts and diseases hitherto inex- 

 plicable will be dispelled in a shoit time, perhaps, finally, by some 

 master hand playing deftly on the constitution with a skilful combi- 

 ^lation of certain of these ascertained factors of environment. The 

 jn-oper authorities then will meet a plague like that of the mosquitoes 



