Book excerpt: Excerpt from Variations and Genetic Relationships of the Garter-Snakes Three steps are necessary to determine the genetic relationships and simplify Cope's elaborate arrangement of the group: (1) The value of the characters must be determined; (2) the geographic prob abilities must be utilized; (3) similarities and intergradations must be sought. 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.