10 
BULLETIN OF WISCONSIN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, VOL. 2. NO. 1. 
visitors of the different species of Lonicera and Symphoricarpos, 
and on Trillium nivale, Erigenia hulhosa and Salix discolor. 
Ernett Bruncken has also reported on the forest conditions of the 
vicinity and has worked up our species of SaUx and Betula, while 
W. J. Bennetts has published a second supplement to W. M. 
Wheeler's ''Flora of Milwaukee County." 
In Ornithology we have published papers on our local Avi- 
fauna by John A. Brandon, P. H. Dernehl and W. J. Bennetts. 
A paper by Geo. A. West on the '^American Crocodile" was a 
valuable contribution to our knowledge of that little known 
animal. 
Still, an enormous amount of work remains to be done in de- 
veloping the knowledge of our local natural history. Wisconsin 
is almost an unworked field in this respect and less has been done 
in the way of exploring its flora and fauna than has been accom- 
plished in much younger states lying to the west of us. Even 
in regard to the district lying immediately around our city it may 
be said that definite and accurate knowledge is still wanting in 
almost every line of natural history. The following subjects only 
may be mentioned regarding each of which almost no v/ork has 
been done, — the mosses, lichens, fungi, fresh water algae, the 
fishes, batrachians, crustaceans, reptiles and molluscs, without en- 
tering at all the immense field of entomology. 
A recently published bibliograhpy of Indiana molluscs contains 
twelve pages and about icq titles. A Wisconsin list would prob- 
ably contain the titles of less than a dozen papers. 
There are two matters which affect us in accomplishing work 
of this kind and which should receive careful consideration by our 
society in the near future. There should in the first place be a 
closer working relationship between our society and the Mil- 
waukee Public Museum. 
In order to arrive at an accurate knowledge of any of our local 
species it is necessary that large numbers of specimens be collected 
and preserved for future comparison and study. As an example 
it is well known that our common garter snake, Etitaenia sirtaris, 
is exceedingly variable, so that eleven or more sub-species are dis- 
tinguished, and it is plainly only possible to arrive at the status of 
our own local species and varieties by the accumulation of a large 
collection of specimens. Some understanding and method of co- 
operation should clearly exist between our society and the Museum 
in matters of this kind. 
Another matter. When our society was first organized one of 
its leading objects was clearly stated to be the formation of an 
efficient reference library of natural history works. For the past 
40 years it has been receiving books and pamphlets of this char- 
