4 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



greater importance to tabulate the principal additions made 

 to zoological science by such collections. Our ' Zoological 

 Eecord ' amply narrates the number of new species and forms 

 added to the nomenclature, in fact, constitutes a Zoological 

 Directory ; we hope to receive some information as to how these 

 accumulations have enlarged the bounds of zoological conclusions. 

 It is well to remember in what Museum a fauna, or section of a 

 fauna, is best represented. Again, well-known private collections 

 are constantly, through death or other circumstances, either 

 sold in their entirety or disposed of in parts by the auctioneer or 

 natural-history agent ; notes as to such removals will be always 

 welcome. These are particularly valuable with regard to British 

 collections. We often hear of the little done in Zoology by the 

 "mere collector," and yet his collection, which in the hands of 

 other naturalists could be made to tell its story, is allowed to be 

 distributed — often virtually destroyed — without a record of its 

 destination being published. No doubt the highest form of 

 patriotism would be shown in bequeathing all such collections 

 to the national or local museum ; but human circumstances only 

 too frequently make such a course impossible ; or, again, a day 

 may arrive when State or local funds are available to purchase 

 them ; but in the mean time it is at least advisable to chronicle 

 the dispersal and migration of what has been achieved with so 

 much labour, and may never in entirety be amassed again. The 

 " mere collector" is not at all unimportant if his material subse- 

 quently reaches right hands. The ordinary subscriber to Mudie's 

 is not necessarily a literary man, nor is the average collector 

 always what we understand as a naturalist ; but one has as much 

 right to be encouraged as the other if we look to ideal poten- 

 tialities and not to present fame or notoriety. Even the heads 

 of the Church must have a congregation. 



Finally, the present Editor solicits the special assistance of 

 our British naturalists, and trusts that the pages of ' The 

 Zoologist ' may still be filled with facts and conclusions, whilst 

 controversy and hyper-criticism may be thus crowded out. 



January, 1897. 



