Part 6 — CHAPTER XLVI.

THE BEST BOOKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE TAXIDERMIST AND COLLECTOR.

It is manifestly impossible even to name under this head a tenth part of the excellent books which might well be given place. It is also inexpedient to include in a list, that must of necessity be brief, the names of special works relating to the fauna of other countries than North America. Having been from first to last a diligent user of books in the course of my work, and ever on the alert for something new in printed word or picture that would be of practical use, I will give here the titles of the books that have proven of the greatest practical value to me. I must also in this connection strongly urge the young taxidermist and collector to supply himself with as many of these standard works as he can possibly procure. If diligently studied they are bound to save him from many an error, and richly repay their cost.

General Zoology and Classification.

"Steele's Popular Zoology." By Professor J.W.P. Jenks. American Book Company, New York. $1.00.

A model manual; of great value to the student because of its clearness, conciseness, and wealth of information. Copiously and elegantly illustrated.

"Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London;" also "Transactions."

Contains a great number of fine animal plates of much value to professional taxidermists. The series is extensive and very costly, and is therefore usually inaccessible except when it can be reached in some scientific library.

On Mammals.

"Illustrated Natural History: Mammals." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition if possible.

This book has been of more help to me than any other I have ever found.

"Quadrupeds of North America." Audubon and Bachman.

Out of print and difficult to obtain, but very valuable.

"The Mammalia, in Word and Picture." By Carl Vogt and F. Specht. Translated from the German by Geo. G. Chisholm. D. Appleton & Co., 1-5 Bond Street, New York, 1890. Super royal 4to. $12.00.

This great work contains the finest illustrations of mammals, both singly and in groups, ever published in any country. The groups represented are wonderfully fine and life-like, and must be seen to be appreciated. No mammal taxidermist can afford to be without this work.

On Birds.

"The American Ornithologist's Union Code of Nomenclature, and Check-List of North American Birds." L.S. Foster, 35 Pine Street, New York City. $3.00.

Indispensable to the American collector, because it is the highest authority on the classification and nomenclature of North American birds. Thanks to this work, it is no longer necessary to take a daily paper in order to keep posted on the latest changes in bird nomenclature. The names adopted by Baird (1858), Coues (1873), Ridgway (1880), and Coues (1882) are all given. No illustrations.

"Key to North American Birds." By Dr. Elliott Coues. Estes & Lauriat, Boston. $7.50.

This great work—indispensable to every ornithologist—consists of a masterly treatise on systematic ornithology and the anatomy of birds, a key by which even the tyro can learn to analyze any American bird and identify it, and also a valuable treatise on "Field Ornithology," or bird-collecting.

"Nomenclature of North American Birds." Robert Ridgway. Sold by F.B. Webster, 409 Washington Street, Boston. $7.50.

Especially designed for use in the determination of species.

"Illustrated Natural History: Birds." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition.

To a bird taxidermist this is the most valuable book ever published in a single volume, because of its wealth of excellent illustrations. Of special value in mounting strange foreign birds. Beware of the later editions.

"Studer's Birds of North America." Illustrated by Theodore Jasper. Large royal quarto. Jacob H. Studer, New York. $25.00.

Contains 119 plates, and a colored figure of every species of North American bird known at the date of its publication. A notable work. The illustrations are of great value to young taxidermists as models by which to mount birds.

"Birds of North America." J.J. Audubon.

This superb work is out of print; rare and costly. The octavo edition is to be found in most large libraries, however, and every bird taxidermist should at least know where the copy nearest to him is to be found, and how to gain access to it in time of need.

"Oology of New England." E.A. Capen. Sold by Frank B. Webster, 409 Washington Street, Boston. $8.75.

This is the finest illustrated work on birds' eggs ever published in this country.

On Reptiles.

"Illustrated Natural History: Reptiles." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861.

Uniform with volumes on Mammals and Birds.

On Fishes.

"American Fishes." G. Brown Goode. Standard Book Co., New York, 1888. $5.00.

An elegant work, of convenient size. Comprehensive and eminently useful. Fully illustrated. No collector or student of American fishes can afford to be without it.

"The Fishery Industries of the United States." Section I. By G. Brown Goode and Associates. 2 vols. Complete and exhaustive, both in text and plates, and very valuable. Government publication. Sold at cost by the U.S. Fish Commission, Washington.

"Introduction to the Study of Fishes." Albert Gunther. A. & C. Black, Edinburgh.

On Insects.

See the end of Chapter XLIV.

On Invertebrates.

"The Ocean World." Louis Figuier. Cassell & Co., New York. $2.50.

"Recent and Fossil Shells." S.P. Woodward, London. John Weale, 1856. (Apply to Bernard Quaritch, London.)

A very handy and useful manual for the field. Many illustrations. Price about $1.50.

"Structural and Systematic Conchology." Geo. W. Tryon. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. $12.00.

A great work; complete, exhaustive, and richly illustrated.

For Suggestions of Groups of Animals.

"Homes Without Hands." Rev. J.G. Wood. Longmans, Green & Co., London. Price about $3.00.

"Mammalia in Word and Picture." Specht and Vogt, already described.

Miscellaneous.

"The Sportsman's Library," as advertised by the Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 318 Broadway, New York, contains an attractive and valuable selection of books on subjects of special interest to the sportsman, naturalist, and traveller. It includes books by specialists on such subjects as "Camping and Trapping," "Hunting and Shooting," "Angling," "Boating and Yachting," "Guide-Books and Maps," "Horse," "Kennel," "Natural History," and miscellaneous works. The list, as a whole, is an excellent one to select from.

Of course no one with a spark of interest in hunting and the natural history of the higher vertebrates will be without Forest and Stream—a whole sportsman's and naturalist's library in itself,—or The Field, or Sports Afield. No young ornithologist can get along without his best friend, the Ornithologist and Oologist, and it would indeed be rank heresy for the professional bird-man to ignore the stately and infallible Auk.