62 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



divisions in one well-defined species; and the 

 advocate of a less number of species, each being 

 marked by unmistakable characteristics, sneers 

 at the "splitter,'' who would multiply species by 

 all sorts of trivial distinctions. In this situation 

 the layman is pretty sure to be found on the side 

 of the "lumper." 



The scientific name given the moose by Lin- 

 naeus was Cervus alces, and this designation was 

 used by Buffon and Cuvier. Later zoologists, 

 subdividing the genus Cervus^ have given the 

 name Alces to a new genus, the American repre- 

 sentatives of which are Alces americanus and 

 Alces gigas. The Old-World representative of 

 this genus is called by European writers Alces 

 machlisy Alces palmatus, or Alee alces. Mean- 

 while, the Cervus alces of the earlier writers still 

 appears in many general works, including later 

 pages of this book. To the unscientific sportsman 

 these questions of nomenclature are naturally of 

 little interest. 



