THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA 7 



student and collector, stand foremost in the annals of the 

 zoology of this country. David's material was worked out, 

 as regards the mammals, by Milne-Edwards, the results 

 being published in a fine tome called "Becherches sur les 

 Mammi-feres," and, as regards the birds, by himself and 

 Oustalet in their "Les Oiseaux de la Chine." Swinhoe's 

 writings appeared for the most part in the Ibis, the organ 

 of the British Ornithologists' Uniou, sometimes in the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Since 

 their time very little sound work was done upon the 

 mammals till about the year 1907, when Mr. Malcolm P. 

 Anderson, working for the British Museum, came to China 

 and commenced a series of explorations, making magnificent 

 collections, which were worked out by Mr. Oldfield Thomas 

 of that institution, who published numerous papers in the 

 P.Z.S. and the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 

 The birds, on the other hand, have claimed many devoted 

 students, amongst the most famous of whom are C. B. Eickett, 

 J. D. de La Touche, and F. W. Styan. These ornithilogists 

 have contributed very considerably to our knowledge of the 

 birds of China, their published papers appearing usually 

 either in the Ibis or the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' 



Club. . ' 



A naturalist whose name must be mentioned was .fere 

 1' M. Heude, founder and first curator of the Zikawei 

 Museum of Natural History. He manged to get together 

 a very line collection of Chinese animals, and published 

 extensively upon the material that he gathered round him 

 in the museum. Unfortunately he entertained somewhat 

 peculiar views upon what constitutes a species, which led 

 j liln to describe an enormous number of new forms on 

 grounds that no modern naturalist can accept, thus trie 

 value of his writings was seriously impaired, though the tine 

 aeries of specimens in the museum remain a, monument to 

 hi, zeal as a curaotr and collector. His principal publication. 

 Iva. hi. "Memoires concemant l'Histoire Naturelle de 

 ['Empire Chinois," and he dealt mainly with mammals, 

 Ihn,, h birds, certain reptiles, and certain freshwater mol- 



lU8 ^Tr^^ vertebrates of China the 



mo «t impSt names are those of G, A - Boule^r and 

 C Tate Regan of the British Museum and L. Stejneger oi 

 L^ted Spates National Museum, whose writings upon 

 Kwater fish, amphibians, and rep^ «" %£ 

 Eound ottered through numerous scienti fio joumab. The 

 earlier workers upon the reptiles and batraenians were 



