Parsons : Hints on Natural Histoey Collecting. 71 



botanist who has collected roses or brambles, or the conchologist who 

 has tried to name a Pisidium or a Littorina^ will be far better able to 

 form a sound opinion than those who are acquainted merely with a 

 limited number of well-characterised kinds. In naming specimens 

 belonging to variable groups such as those I have named above, it is 

 of great value to have for reference a permanent collection of 

 authentically named specimens. The species of such groups are very 

 hard to define in words, indeed the so-called species are only strongly 

 marked types between which there is a perfect series of intermediate 

 forms, although most of the individuals approach more or less closely 

 to one or other type. The humblest collector may, if he sets to work 

 in the right way, do real work for the advancement of science by 

 accumulating materials and observations for abler hands to make use 

 of. The part of the labourer who carries the bricks for the erection 

 of a house, is a humbler one than that of the mason who builds 

 them up, still more so than that of the architect who combines 

 the several parts of the edifice into one harmonious whole, but it is 

 none the less necessary. To know what species compose the total 

 assemblage of plants and animals — the " flora" and " fauna," as they 

 are termed — of a region, is of much value, as we may not only learn 

 from it the laws which govern the distribution of species, but may 

 often draw very interesting deductions as to the past history of our 

 globe. Thus, from the close resemblance between the flora and fauna 

 of England and of the adjacent parts of the continent we may 

 confidently infer that it is only lately, geologically speaking, that our 

 island has become detached. This knowledge of the flora and 

 fauna of a district can only be obtained by assiduous collecting, 

 and if the district be a large one, only by the co-operation of many 

 workers. 



In geology, a complete knowledge of the fossil flora and fauna of a 

 particular bed is of still greater importance, since it may be the only 

 means by which the relative age of that bed can be determined. The 

 compilation of lists of the animals, plants, and fossils of a given neigh- 

 bourhood, is a work which can be done far better by local observers 

 than by any one else, since they are not only more intimately 

 acquainted with every part of the district than an outsider can be, 

 but are on the spot all the year round. Species which appear early 

 in the season would, in all probability escape the notice of a visitor in 

 August. With fossils, too, the local man has by far the best chance ; 

 he can choose for his visit to the spoil heap, quarry, or clay-pit, just 

 the right time when a large quantity of material has been got out and 



