X PREFACE 



tongue. To meet this need, Chapter III gives a sketch of the 

 mammalian skeleton and dentition, which the reader may use as 

 the schoolboy uses a vocabulary to translate his Latin exercise, 

 referring to it from time to time, as may be necessary to make 

 clear the descriptions of the various mammalian groups. Techni- 

 cal terms have been avoided as far as possible, but, unfortunately, 

 it is not practicable to dispense with them altogether. The 

 appended glossary will, it is hoped, minimize the inconvenience. 



No one who has not examined it, can form any conception of 

 the enormous mass and variety of material, illustrating the history 

 of American mammals, which has already been gathered into the 

 various museums. A full account of this material would require 

 many volumes, and one of the chief problems in the preparation 

 of this book has been that of making a proper selection of the 

 most instructive and illuminating portions of the long and com- 

 plicated story. Indeed, so rapid is the uninterrupted course of 

 discovery, that parts of the text became antiquated while in the 

 press and had to be rewritten. As first prepared, the work 

 proved to be far too long and it was necessary to excise several 

 chapters, for it seemed better to cover less ground than to make 

 the entire history hurried and superficial. The plan of treatment 

 adopted involves a considerable amount of repetition, but this is 

 perhaps not a disadvantage, since the same facts are considered 

 from different points of view. 



The facts which are here brought together have been ascer- 

 tained by many workers, and I have borrowed with the greatest 

 freedom from my fellow labourers in the field of palaeontology. 

 As every compiler of a manual finds, it is not feasible to attribute 

 the proper credit to each discoverer. Huxley has so well explained 

 the situation in the preface to his " Anatomy of Vertebrated Ani- 

 mals," that I may be permitted to borrow his words : " I have 

 intentionally refrained from burdening the text with references ; 

 and, therefore, the reader, while he is justly entitled to hold me 

 responsible for any errors he may detect, will do well to give me 

 no credit for what may seem original, unless his knowledge is 

 sufficient to render him a competent judge on that head." 



