6 
may be mounted for exhibition at any later time. Specimens may be sent 
to the Director, National Museum of Canada, Natural History Branch, 
Ottawa, who will have them identified and returned if desired. 
Specimens are desired from all localities. The only absolute proofs for 
range of species are specimens actually taken and identified. Collections 
have been made in many parts of Nova Scotia including Cape Breton 
Island, northeastern New Brunswick, Gaspe peninsula, the north shore of 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and southern parts of Quebec, parts of Ontario, 
southwestern and northwestern Manitoba and the Churchill region on 
Hudson Bay, the prairie region of Saskatchewan, southern, central, south- 
western, and northeastern Alberta, southern British Columbia and con- 
siderable areas on the coast and in the interior of the same province, south- 
western and southeastern corners and Arctic coast of Yukon territory, the 
coastal region of the Northwest Territories, and some of the islands of the 
Arctic archipelago. These collections are, of course, not complete for any 
locality, they merely represent little oases of investigation, and work in 
nearby areas might bring remarkable additions to our fauna. 
The areas that have received less attention are central, southern, and 
western New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, New Quebec (Ungava 
Peninsula), parts of northern and western Ontario, southeastern and eastern 
Manitoba, northern half of Saskatchewan, northwestern Alberta, north- 
eastern British Columbia, certain areas on the Pacific coast and islands and 
in central British Columbia, the interior of much of Vancouver Island, 
central Yukon territory, and large areas in the interior of the Northwest 
Territories (districts of Mackenzie and Keewatin). Within these areas 
at the present time may be found wide tracts of zoological terra incognita 
where the collector may work to his heart’s content and be sure of adding 
interesting and valuable data on geographical distribution of species, life 
histories in a “state of nature,” and the status and economic uses of the 
wild life. 
In addition to specimens of every species obtainable, notes on abund- 
ance of the species in each locality are important, as well as information on 
the spread of a species into a new range or habitat. Records from 
localities that have been little studied are invaluable and before beginning 
active field work it is always helpful to read all the literature available on 
the fauna of a district. Records from the same place at intervals of time 
are useful to show changes in the species and in their relative abundance. 
Much valuable information may be obtained from old hunters, trappers, 
farmers, and market hunters; and such data from reliable “old-timers” is 
very important historically and if not jotted down will soon be lost. 
The most common and characteristic species of a region are generally 
the most important, as they give the character of the local fauna, life zones, 
or association areas. Do not neglect the common species. Some collectors 
are prone to overlook them in the hunt for rarities. Some species are rare 
everywhere, but frequently a species which is rare in one place is common 
in another. The larger carnivorous species are naturally fewer than the 
animals that they prey upon. 
A representative collection from each region is desirable as this is the 
only means by which it can be told where one form, subspecies, or geo- 
graphical race blends into another. A beginner should, therefore, endeavour 
to collect specimens of everything that comes under his notice in his 
