. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 19 THE ORNITHOLOGICAL JOURNALS OF THE TANAGER EXPEDITION Throughout his life Alexander Wetmore was a dedicated chronicler of his field activities. He jotted information first in pocket notebooks and later transcribed more detailed information into 5x8 inch looseleaf notebooks. In the field he maintained at least three sets of notes—his field journal, which was a record of daily activities, general natural history observations, and not a little about birds as well; a field catalog of specimens collected; and sp
. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 19 THE ORNITHOLOGICAL JOURNALS OF THE TANAGER EXPEDITION Throughout his life Alexander Wetmore was a dedicated chronicler of his field activities. He jotted information first in pocket notebooks and later transcribed more detailed information into 5x8 inch looseleaf notebooks. In the field he maintained at least three sets of notes—his field journal, which was a record of daily activities, general natural history observations, and not a little about birds as well; a field catalog of specimens collected; and species accounts in which each species of bird observed received a separate page until a page was filled and another started. He would eventually have his field journals and catalogs neatly bound. The entire massive set of documents is maintained in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Wetmore's handwriting is somewhat cramped and spare, without loops or adornment. To the uninitiated it can be difficult to decipher and is sometimes rather like what I would imagine it must be like to read Hebrew, in which there are no vowels. In Wetmore's case the vowels are present but often indistinguishable one from another save that "i"s are usually dotted (although not necessarily over the letter to which the dot properly belongs). Wetmore also had the convenient habit of underlining the letter "u" so it would not be mistaken for an "n", although this little dash often becomes rather confusingly incorporated into the line below. When one learns Wetmore's cadence, phraseology, and preferred vocabulary, one has few problems, and many otherwise totally indecipherable words are easily made out from their context. Occasionally, however, as when some foreign word is introduced, the spelling may be all but impossible to determine. Dickey's journal is a less formal, more personal document. Donald Ryder Dickey (31 March 188
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