39 



In referring to the notes the date is used the same as an ordinary 

 catalogue number by looking on top of the page for the year and then 

 down the column for the month and day, which will follow each other 

 in serial order the same as in a series of numbers, and will be found 

 as readily. Having found the date one will always find the exact 

 location and conditions of capture and any other notes thought worth 

 recording at the time. 



ADVANTAGES OF THIS SYSTEM. 



The main advantage of this system over the others is in the fact 

 that one can collect and record any number of specimens of a species, 

 or any number of species, without materially increasing the labor 

 bej'ond the mere labor of mounting and labeling anj^ specimen, while 

 in the other systems each individual specimen must have its acces- 

 sions-catalogue number written out and placed on it, a special entry 

 made in the accessions catalogue for everj^ species, with all of its 

 accompanying records, cross-references, etc., and consequentl}^ but 

 few specimens can be mounted in a given time. 



Another important factor of utility is in the fact that it is not at all 

 necessar}' to separate or mount up any of the specimens at the time of 

 capture. All that is necessary is to write up the record, place the 

 locality and date on the pacl^age containing the specimens, and it 

 serves the double purpose of an accessions number and the future 

 label. In practice we usuallj^ mount the specimens at the time of 

 making the record and then put them away to dry, labeling them up 

 at any convenient time thereafter. 



The greatest gain comes from the fact that there is nothing placed 

 on the insect that is not necessary to any well-mounted specimen, i. e., 

 a place and date label, and that nearly all of this label is or can be 

 printed, thus requiring a minimum of hand work. 



The fact that this system requires that every specimen be correctly 

 labeled with both place and date will commend it to many persons 

 who have received material for determination from half a dozen dif- 

 ferent experiment stations bearing nothing more distinctive than a 

 lead-pencil number. 



An animated discussion followed the reading of this paper. 



Mr. Felt suggested that numerals should not be used to represent 

 months. He thought that less confusion would come from the use of 

 such abreviations as Jr. for January and Mr. for March. His system 

 of note taking required cards, a field book, and an accessions book, 

 each being employed for special conditions and rarely duplicating. 

 He thought he could noc adopt Mr. Ball's system to advantage. 



Mr. Cockerell said that he used no numbers, and thought that cards 

 were more convenient than record books. In his experience insects 



