842 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXXVIII. 



Gallus 



Charadrius Dendrortyx 

 Syrrhaptes 



TiNAMUS 



Apteryx 



Casuarius 



Mammalia 



It is very evident that such a method of grouping could never 

 be adopted, for to treat in general all the genera in any such a 

 manner would certainly fill the subject with confusion, and the 

 same would apply to the families being dealt with and printed 

 according to any such an arrangement. It answers fairly well 

 in the case of exhibiting the relationships of a single genus or 

 other group, and for this purpose it has been adopted by some. 

 A modification of this scheme consists in joining the names by 

 straiglit lines in order to render the kinships more evident. This 

 doubtless led to the use of the phylogenetic tree, a plan which 

 will be more fully described farther on. In the matter of the 

 linear method, with various modifications it has been employed 

 by not a few avian taxonomers. Sharpe arranged Huxley's 

 ( 1 867) classification of Birds in this way in his now famous 

 paper entitled, "A Review of Recent Attempts to Classify 

 I'-nds " (1S91, p. 4) ; Garrod resorted to it, and so did Sclater. 

 Alt red Xcwton did to a limited extent, while Reichenow, 

 Mcjnc-cr. and Fiirbringer have presented complete schemes of 

 avian classification in this manner, — Reichenow and Fiirbringer 

 cinpioyin- the phylogenetic tree in connection with it. To some 

 extent Seehohm also used the linear method, and Sharpe illus- 

 ttatin<; the latter employed a "diagrammatic map " giving the 

 .^cebohniian "Orders" in small circles, these circles bearing cer- 

 tain relations to each other, which relations were supposed to 

 • i'l esent in a way, and convey to the mind, the relations the 

 'psot birds themselves bore to each other. Finally these 

 ' IS were surrounded by broken lines in such a manner as to 

 ■v the kinships and connections of the subclasses found in 

 '-hm's scheme (^r. aV., pp. 44-48). Sharpe also in his 



isevicw '• gives us an admirable example of the linear scheme 



Ocydromus 

 Hemipodius 



Rhea 



Reptilia 



