35 
But as we thus necessarily touch upon one of the prime 
features of life upon the globe, — its geographical distri- 
bution, — so we may make the lesson far more telling if we 
add to this assemblage just those animals (and no others) 
which in other faunas specially represent our indigenous 
animals. Thus, to instance one or two points, we would 
exhibit side by side with the Rocky Mountain goat the 
chamois, structurally allied, adapted for and dwelling in 
similar mountain regions, characteristic of the Old as our 
own is of the New World; beside the cougar, or Amer- 
ican panther, we would display the jaguar of South 
America ; beside the black, the brown bear ; while to 
correspond with the opossum, we would seek a rela- 
tive, not in the more nearly allied marsupials of South 
America, but in the distinctive home of marsupials, 
among the strange forms which occur in Australia. As 
it would not be necessary to seek this counterpart for 
each animal, but in many cases only one for an entire 
series, as with the mice, hares, foxes, and so on, it will 
be seen that the collection would not be ver}^ largely 
increased, while its increase would be strictly limited, and 
its educational value greatly enhanced. It might be de- 
sirable to extend the collection in one or two instances, 
but in these only, in the case of great groups, not repre- 
sented in our own fauna, such as the ornithorhynchus of 
New Holland, and one, possibly two (or even three), of the 
quadrumana. Under such restrictions, which seem to be 
absolutely required by the extent to which our grounds 
at this point are limited, there would be a coherency and 
meaning to the collection which it would be difficult to 
find duplicated elsewhere, and it would be a means of 
exhibiting the characteristic features of the New England 
fauna and its relationships not easily accomplished in any 
other way. 
