Book Description

Excerpt from Bulletin United States National Museum, 1877 The general principle to be observed in making collections of natural history, especially in a country but little explored, is to gather all the species which may present themselves, subject to the convenience of the collector or practicability of transportation. The number of specimens of each species to be secured should, of course, include all the varieties of form or condition caused by the different features of age, sex, or season, and also show, within reasonable limits the range of individual variation. As the object of the Institution in making its collections is not merely to possess the different species, but to determine their geographical distribution and variation, their migrations, and other matters of scientific interest, it becomes important to have as full series as practicable from each locality. In commencing such collections, the commonest species should be secured first, as being most characteristic, and least likely to be found elsewhere, and even the commonest should be taken while they are to be had, since they may totally disappear when least expected. It is a fact well known in the history of museums, that the species which from their abundance would be first expected are the last to be received. In every little known region the species which are the commonest are rarest elsewhere, and many an unscientific collector in Texas, Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, Alaska, etc., has been surprised to find what he considered the least valuable species in his collection (owing to the ease with which they had been obtained in numbers) more prized by the naturalist than the rarities, which were in fact only well-known stragglers from more accessible localities. The first specimen procured, however imperfect, should be preserved, at least until a better can be obtained. Where a small proportion only of the specimens collected can be transported, such species should be selected as are least likely to be procured in other localities or on other occasions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.