bXplanatoey. 3 



sponsible, were adopted in Prof. Baird's great work;* for, 

 sanctioned by the usage of such eminent authority, they have 

 passed curnent, and are too closely ingrained in our nomen- 

 clature to be soon eradicated. The writer feels at liberty 

 to speak plainly, for his own skirts are not clear. Secondly, 

 not a few species, new to North America, or to science, or 

 both, have of late years been ascertained to inhabit this country. 

 The third and principal variance between the present Check 

 List and its predecessor results from a large reduction of the 

 number of admitted species. Part of them are excluded sim- 

 ply because extralimital ; but most because they are considered 

 untenable as species. In the present state of our knowledge, 

 and under a system of nomenclature that is proven inadequate 

 and may before long become obsolete, recognition of numerous 

 "Varieties" — resultant modifications of species by physical 

 conditions of environment — is imperative ; and what are these 

 varieties but the rills that flow into and help to swell the mighty 

 stream of descent with modification ? 



The Instructions for Collecting and Taxidermy, herewith 

 offered, are drawn almost entirely from the writer's experience, 

 acquired during several years he has spent, with little interrup- 

 tion, in the study of our birds. He has collected over a wide 

 area from Labrador to California, in northwestern territories, 

 and in several southern states ; enjoying opportunities for 

 field investigations that no one with the least taste or aptitude 

 for the j)ursuit could fail to profit by. In the matter of col- 

 lecting, therefore, he may reasonably venture to speak with' 

 confidence. Since, furthermore, a taxidermal process that has 

 been repeated several thousand times with fair results is by 

 this simple circumstance proveii satisfactory, he feels no diffl- 



*" Birds of North America" by Baird, Cassin and Lawrence. 



