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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
BOARD OF REGENTS OF

THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION

SHOWING THE

OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND
CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30

L949

’ (Publication 3996)

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON 1950

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D. C. Price $2.75 (Buckram)

a oT Bk Ook AR ASNGS Vin Ag,

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, December 9, 1949.

To the Congress of the United States:

In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents,
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi-
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ended
June 30, 1949. I have the honor to be,

Respectfully,
A. Wrermore, Secretary.

BI

SEP ~ 11950
a Sehee Lienntl

CONTENTS

Page

Mii GeO bro LC ras tym nent Wings 4 Slvr els SE Aer hl en Sl cA ofS v

Generalstatement see = eeunke so Se eet Bo 3 Be ee Lt) 1
Presentation of the Wright Brothers’ Aeroplane of 1903 to the United

Statese Nationale Muse wit 2) 52 toe 2 oe eae eee ee ee Be ee 3

The establishment. ____..__-- ie kD Bay aioe ahd Leer ee aie alee ae SS a ao 5

Fiber BOasrdkotpecentcaa== pe tnt a5 as aie eee Bee a ee ey eee eee 6

PSSITY ATR COS eee ss AS Lh ay SR A 6 teen eoiiens = n a s ne e U

IND PLOPMAt ONS = aes execs Soe Pee ae ee eee ee 7

WASILODS tet eps. aps BL win a hal ue Peres SH hen Re nt UO ET OE BA 8

Sixteenth James Arthur annual lecture on the sun___.___.___________-- 8

Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution_______ 9

Publications. = 222s 252s=22< fel 8a README eo AOE TY Li elt OL ICRRMS Shee Oe | SLES 14

ALS Altay see ol lan rs ein 1s Rs apres a ae OE aks 2 DAA septs SRE Lhd 15

Appendix 1. Report on the United States National Museum____________ 16

2. Report on the National Gallery of Arti! (22 20) 2S 2 25

3. Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts___________- 41

4 Reportontthesreem Gallery of Artes = sees ee ee eee 47

5. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology____________- 55

6. Report on the International Exchange Service___________-_- 89

7. Report on the National Zoological Park_-_-______-______-- 97

8. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory ---____________-- 109

9: Report on-the National Air Museumis22-2 2222-25252 -_ === 114

10. Report on the Canal Zone Biological Area__--____________- 126

ileReport, onyiheslibrarys=22 == 720 shoe ea eee eae 132

25 Repongion pPublcabiong==2 263.993 2225s. - ose ode eee 136

Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents________-____- 143

GENERAL APPENDIX

hestormavionsolestarsbyaliyInanyoDILZCl dae ae eee 153

Aloe Cream OI ToS Capel, loyy ANoveriao leRVE ee eee enneeeoe 161
The 200-inch Hale telescope and some problems it may solve, by Edwin

Pole eas ee eee eye oe ee ee ee eye Ae ake 3 175

The determination of precise time, by Sir Harold Spencer Jones________- 189

The elementary particles of physics, by Carl D. Anderson_____-_____--- 203

Recent advances in virus research, by Wendell M. Stanley___-__-___--_-- 213

Ground-water investigations in the United States, by A. N. Sayre____--- 219

Modern soil science, by Charles E. Kellogg_.____._._-...---------------- 227

Aime in-ovolution bys EeZeUnere cejsee= oss se- Sao ao cal ee cess 247

More about animal behavior, by Ernest P. Walker___-__________------- 261

IV CONTENTS

Page

The breeding habits of the weaverbirds: a study in the biology of behavior
patterns, by dlerbert Priedmann--..= 222252522 -s2 oo See eee ee 293
New Zealand, a botanist’s paradise, by Egbert H. Walker______________ 317
The archeological importance of Guatemala, by A. V. Kidder__________- 349

Excavations at the prehistoric rock-shelter of La Colombiére, by Hallam
MGSO WIS Bisa 5, olan eo Ds ee ee ee ee pee 359

Ronne Antarctic research expedition, 1946-1948, by Commander Finn
Ronne aU Ore Neg hes. oe a te 2 Se ee ee ee ee pe ee 369
whe staterot science, by Karl. ©, Compton=c- 22- = ee eee 395

LIST OF PLATES

Secretary 6. report: Lu atOs two: ess sk ee 2s Se a eee ee 54
ihe formation of stars (Spitzer blates) jae 2) fe see ee ee one ee 160
Whe origin of theyearth.@Page):, Plates Iai! ss. 2ei eee Se 166
The 200-inch Hale telescope (Hubble): Plates 1-10________________-_-- 182
Modern soil science (Kellogg): Plates 1,2. 225-5. 8 ee 246
Animal behavior (Ernest Walker): Plates 1-16._..._..........._.._--- 278
The breeding habits of the weaverbirds (Friedmann): Plates 1-8_______- 310
New Zealand, a botanist’s paradise (Egbert Walker): Plates 1-10______- 326
The archeological importance of Guatemala (Kidder): Plates 1-6__-_____- 358
Excavations at La Colombiére (Movius): Plates 1-7_____.._--_________- 366

Ronne Antarctic research expedition (Ronne): Plates 1-8_----_____--_--- 374

THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
June 30, 1949

Presiding Officer ex officto— Harry S. Truman, President of the United States.

Chancellor.—Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States.
Members of the Institution:
Harry 8S. Truman, President of the United States.
ALBEN W. BaRKLEY, Vice President of the United States.
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States.
Grorecs C. MARSHALL, Secretary of State.
Joun W. Snyper, Secretary of the Treasury.
Louis JoHNSON, Secretary of Defense.
Tom C. Cuarx, Attorney General.
JessE M. Donatpson, Postmaster General.
Jutius A. Krua, Secretary of the Interior.
CHARLES F, BRANNON, Secretary of Agriculture.
CHARLES SAWYER, Secretary of Commerce.
Maurice Tosin, Secretary of Labor.
Regents of the Institution:
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor.
ALBEN W. BARKLEY, Vice President of the United States.
Cuinton P. ANDERSON, Member of the Senate.
LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Member of the Senate.
Wat7TEerR F. Grorce, Member of the Senate.
CLARENCE Cannon, Member of the House of Representatives.
E. E. Cox, Member of the House of Representatives.
Joun M. Vorys, Member of the House of Representatives.
Harvey N. Davis, citizen of New Jersey.
Arraur H. Compton, citizen of Missouri.
VANNEVAR Busu, citizen of Washington, D. C.
Rosert V. Fueming, citizen of Washington, D. C.
JEROME C. HuNSsAKER, citizen of Massachusetts.
Executive Commitiee—Ropert V. FLEMING, chairman, VANNEVAR
CLARENCE CANNON.
Secretary — ALEXANDER WETMORE,
Assistant Secretary. JOHN E. Grar.
Assistant Secretary.—J. L. Keppy.
Administrative assistant to the Secretary.—LouisE M, PEARSON.
Treasurer.—J. D. Howarp.
Chief, editorial division. WeEBsTER P. TRUE.
Librarian.—Leiua F, Cuarx.
Administrative accountant.—TuHomas F, Cuark.
Superintendent of buildings and labor.—L. L. OLIVER.
Personnel officer —B. T. CARWITHEN.
Chief, division of publications.—L. E. COMMERFORD.
Property, supply, and purchasing officer—ANTHONY W, WILDING.
Photographer.—F. B. Kustner.

Busi,

VI ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Director.—A. REMINGTON KELLOGG.

Chief, office of correspondence and records—HrLeNA M. WEIss.
Editor.—Pauu H. OEHSER.

Assistant librarian.— ELIsABETH H. Gazin.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY:
Frank M. Setzler, head curator; A. J. Andrews, chief preparator.

Collaborator in anthropology: W. W. Taylor, Jr.

Division of Archeology: Neil M. Judd, curator; Waldo R. Wedel, associate
curator; M. C. Blaker, scientific aid; J. Townsend Russell, honorary
assistant curator of Old World archeology.

Division of Ethnology: H. W. Krieger, curator; J. C. Ewers, associate curator;
C. M. Watkins, associate curator; R. A. Elder, Jr., assistant curator.

Division of Physical Anthropology: T. Dale Stewart, curator; M. T. Newman,
associate curator.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY:
Waldo L. Schmitt, head curator; W. L. Brown, chief taxidermist; Aime
M. Awl, scientific illustrator.

Associates in Zoology; T. 8S. Palmer, W. B. Marshall, A. G. Béving, C. R.
Shoemaker, W. K. Fisher.

Collaborator in Zoology: R. 8. Clark.

Collaborator in Biology: D. C. Graham.

Division of Mammals: D. H. Johnson, associate curator; H. W. Setzer, asso-
ciate curator; N. M. Miller, museum aid; A. Brazier Howell, collaborator;
Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., associate.

Division of Birds: Herbert Friedmann, curator; H. G. Deignan, associate
curator; Alexander Wetmore, custodian of alcoholic and skeleton collec-
tions; Arthur C. Bent, collaborator.

Division of Reptiles and Amphibians: Doris M. Cochran, associate curator.

Division of Fishes: Leonard P. Schultz, curator; E. A. Lachner, associate
curator; L. P. Woods, associate curator; D. 8. Erdman, scientific aid; W.
T. Leapley, museum aid.

Division of Insects: L. O. Howard, honorary curator; Edward A. Chapin,
curator; R. E. Blackwelder, associate curator; W. D. Field, associate
curator; O. L. Cartwright, associate curator; Grace E. Glance, associate
curator; W. L. Jellison, collaborator.

Section of Hymenoptera: S. A. Rohwer, custodian; W. M. Mann, assist-
ant custodian; Robert A. Cushman, assistant custodian.

Section of Diptera: Charles T. Greene, assistant custodian.

Section of Coleoptera: L. L. Buchanan, specialist for Casey collection.

Section of Lepidoptera: J. 'T. Barnes, collaborator.

Division of Marine Invertebrates: F. A. Chace, Jr., curator; P. L. Illg, asso-
ciate curator; Frederick M. Bayer, assistant curator; L. W. Peterson,
G. S. Cain, museum aids; Mrs. Harriet Richardson Searle, collaborator;
Max M. Ellis, collaborator; J. Percy Moore, collaborator; Mrs. M. 8.
Wilson, collaborator in copepod Crustacea.

Division of Mollusks: Harald A. Rehder, curator; Joseph P. E. Morrison,
associate curator; R. Tucker Abbott, assistant curator; W. J. Byas, museum
aid; P. Bartsch, associate.

Section of Helminthological Collections: Benjamin Schwartz, collabo-
rator,

Division of Echinoderms: Austin H. Clark, curator.

SECRETARY’S REPORT VII

DEPARTMENT OF Borany (Nationant HERBARIUM):
EK. P. Killip, head curator; Henri Pittier, associate in botany.

Division of Phanerogams: A. C. Smith, curator; E. C. Leonard, associate
curator; E. H. Walker, associate curator; Lyman B. Smith, associate
curator; V. E. Rudd, assistant curator.

Division of Ferns: C. V. Morton, curator.

Division of Grasses: Jason R. Swallen, curator; Agnes Chase, research asso-
ciate; F. A. McClure, research associate.

Division of Cryptogams: E. P. Killip, acting curator; Paul S. Conger, asso-
ciate curator; G. A. Llano, associate curator; John A. Stevenson, custodian
of C. G. Lloyd mycological collections; W. T. Swingle, custodian of Higher
Algae; David Fairchild, custodian of Lower Fungi.

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY:
W. F. Foshag, head curator; J. H. Benn, exhibits preparator; Jessie G.
Beach, aid.

Division of Mineralogy and Petrology: W. F. Foshag, acting curator; E. P.
Henderson, associate curator; G. S. Switzer, associate curator; F. E.
Holden, exhibits preparator; Frank L. Hess, custodian of rare metals and
rare earths.

Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany: Gustav A. Cooper,
curator; A. R. Loeblich, Jr., associate curator; David Nicol, associate
curator; W. T. Allen, L. Pendleton, museum aids; J. Brookes Knight,
research associate in Paleontology.

Section of Invertebrate Paleontology: T. W. Stanton, custodian of
Mesozoic collection; J. B. Reeside, Jr., custodian of Mesozoic collection.

Division of Vertebrate Paleontology: C. L. Gazin, curator; D. H. Dunkle, asso-
ciate curator; Norman H. Boss, chief exhibits preparator; W. D. Crockett,
scientific illustrator; A. C. Murray, F. L. Pearce, preparators.

Associates in Mineralogy: W. T. Schaller, S. H. Perry, J. P. Marble.

Associates in Paleontology: T. W. Vaughan, R. S. Bassler.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES:
Frank A. Taylor, head curator.

Division of Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, acting curator.

Section of Civil and Mechanical Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, in charge.
Section of Marine Transportation: Frank A. Taylor, in charge.

Section of Electricity: K. M. Perry, associate curator.

Section of Physical Sciencesand Measurement: Frank A. Taylor, in charge.
Section of Land Transportation: S. H. Oliver, associate curator.

Division of Crafts and Industries: W. N. Watkins, curator; F. C. Reed,
associate curator; E. A. Avery, museum aid; F. L. Lewton, research
associate.

Section of Textiles: G. L. Rogers, assistant curator.

Section of Wood Technology: William N. Watkins, in charge.
Section of Manufactures: F. C. Reed, in charge.

Section of Agricultural Industries: F. C. Reed, in charge.

Division of Medicine and Public Health: G. S. Thomas, associate curator.

Division of Graphic Arts: J. Kainen, curator; E. J. Fite, museum aid.

Section of Photography: A. J. Wedderburn, Jr., associate curator.
DEPARTMENT OF History:
Charles Carey, acting head curator; T. T. Belote, Museum historian.

Divisions of Military History and Naval History: M. L. Peterson, associate
curator; J. R. Sirlouis, assistant curator.

Division of Civil History: M. W. Brown, assistant curator.

Division of Numismatics: 8S. M. Mosher, associate curator.

Division of Philately: C. L. Manning, assistant curator.

VIII ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Trustees:
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman.
Grorcse C. MarsHatt, Secretary of State.
Joun W. Snyper, Secretary of the Treasury.
ALEXANDER WETMORE, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
SaMvuEL H. Kress.
FERDINAND LAMMOT BELIN.
DuNCAN PHILLIPS.
CHESTER DALE.
Paut MELLon.
President.—SAMUEL H. Kress.
Vice President—FERDINAND LAMMOT BELIN.
Secretary-Treasurer.—HUNTINGTON CAIRNS.
Director.—Davip E. FINLEY.
Administrator.—Harry A. McBrive.
General Counsel. HUNTINGTON CAIRNS.
Chief Curator—JoHN WALKER.
Assistant Director.—MacGILL JAMES.

NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS

Director.—Tuomas M. Braces.
Curator of ceramics.—P. V. GARDNER.
Exhibits preparator.—G. J. Martin.
Assistant librarian.— ANNA M. LINK.

FREER GALLERY OF ART

Director.—A. G. WENLEY.

Assistant Director.—JoHN A. PoPpE.

Associate in Near Eastern art.—RicHARD ETTINGHAUSEN.
Associate in Far Eastern art.—W. R. B. AcKER.

Research associate—Gracr DUNHAM GUEST.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Director.—MatTTHEWw W. STIRLING.

Associate Director —F RANK H. H. Roserts, Jr.

Senior ethnologists—H. B. Couuins, Jr., Joan P. Harrineton, W. N. FENTON.
Senior anthropologists —G. R. Wituny, P. Drucker.

Collaborators —FRANcES Densmore, JoHn R. Swanton, A. J. WaRina, Jr.
Editor—M. HELEN PALMER.

Assistant librarian.—Miriam B. KetcHum.

Scientific illustrators —Epwin G. Cassnpy, E. G. SCHUMACHER.

Archives assistant.—M. W. Tucker.

INsTITU1E OF SocraL ANTHROPOLOGY.—G. M. Fostrmr, Jr., Director.

River Basin SurvEyS.—F RANK H. H. Rosmrts, Jr., Director.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
Chief.—D. G. WILLIAMs.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Ix

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

Director.—Wiiu1aAM M. Mann.
Assistant Director.—Ernest P. WALKER.
Head Keeper.—F Rank O. Lowe.

ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY

Director.—Loyat B. ALDRICH.
Assistant librarian.— Marjorie KuNzE.
Division oF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH:
Chief.—Wi.ii1amM H. Hoover.
Instrument makers.—ANDREW KRAMER, D. G. Tatsert, J. H. Harrison,
Research associate-—CHARLES G, ABBOT.
DIvIsION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS: ~
Chief —R. B. WirHrow.
Plant physiologist (physicochemical). —LrONARD PRICE.
Biological aid (botany).—Y. B. Ensrap.

NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM

Advisory Board:

ALEXANDER WETMORE, Chairman.

Mas. Gen. GRANDISON GARDNER, U.S. Air Force.

Rear Ap. A. M. Prinz, U. S. Navy.

Grover LOENING.

WixuiaM B. Srovut.
Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Musewm.—Caru W. Mirman,
Curator.—P. E. GARBER.
Associate curators.—S. L. Brrers, R. C. Srrospet, W. M. Mates.
Exhibits preparator.—S. L. Porter.

CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA

Resident Manager.—Jamus ZETEK.

ty o Lien 7
ow

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITH-
SONIAN INSTITUTION

ALEXANDER WETMORE
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1949

To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith my report show-
ing the activities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution and
its bureaus during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949.

GENERAL STATEMENT

The Institution continued vigorously to pursue its program of
activities in ‘‘the increase and diffusion of knowledge” as stipulated
by its founder, James Smithson. The increase of knowledge is fos-
tered by original scientific researches and explorations in the fields
of anthropology, biology, geology, and astrophysics; the diffusion of
knowledge, by publications in a number of series that are distributed
free to libraries and educational institutions throughout the world,
by extensive museum and art gallery exhibits, by the International
Exchange Service for the world-wide interchange of scientific and
governmental publications, and by a large correspondence, both
national and international.

I present first certain general features of the year’s activities,
together with a summary of the work of the several bureaus of the
Institution, to afford a concise picture of the events of the year.
Next follow appendixes containing more detailed reports on each
bureau, and finally there appears the financial statement of the Execu-
tive Committee of the Board of Regents. The appendixes contain
reports on the United States National Museum, the National Gallery
of Art, the National Collection of Fine Arts, the Freer Gallery of
Art, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the International Exchange
Service, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical Observatory,
the National Air Museum, the Canai Zone Biological Area, the Smith-
sonian library, and the publications of the Institution.

1

2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

When the Smithsonian Institution began its operations more than
one hundred years ago, it carried on its research programs largely by
subsidizing the work of scientists not on its own staff, and by publish-
ing the results of their work. As these pioneer researches expanded
in scope and became somewhat stabilized, bureaus gradually grew up
around the Institution, each with its own staff specializing in the
work of that particular field. The value of the various activities
gradually became known to the Nation, and eventually one by one
they were recognized as public necessities by the Congress. Most of
them are now supported largely by Government funds although re-
maining under Smithsonian direction. At present, nearly all the
research and exploration of the Institution is done through these
bureaus, notably the United States National Museum, the Bureau
of American Ethnology, and the Astrophysical Observatory.

As stated in last year’s report, the Institution has for many years
operated under the handicap of shortages of personnel and of ade-
quate housing space. I reported that the Smithsonian Institution
has today the same amount of space that it had in 1911 in which to
accommodate four times as many visitors and four times as many
museum specimens. Much the same condition still prevails. Some
slight gain was apparent in personnel in a few of the scientific divi-
sions, but not sufficient for the prompt execution of essential cura-
torial work and adequate research on the National collections. The
crowded condition, particularly in the buildings of the National
Museum, remained unalleviated. In the report of the Director of
the Museum it will be noted that there is a considerable decrease in
number of specimens accessioned during the year, a decrease which,
he says, “may be attributed in part to the inadequacy of available
storage facilities for the preservation of such materials.”’ More ade-
quate building space is one of our major needs.

Though hampered by space conditions it should be brought to
attention that the Smithsonian Institution continues to grow and to
expand its usefulness year by year. In the 5 years during which I
have served as Secretary, three additional activities have been added
to its responsibilities—the Canal Zone Biological Area, the National
Air Museum, and the River Basin Surveys, the latter a unit of the
Bureau of American Ethnology. The work of these new activities
has notably augmented Smithsonian efforts toward the increase and
diffusion of knowledge in widely diversified fields, as will be seen in
reading the detailed reports appended hereto. The purpose in calling
attention to deficiencies is to emphasize the obvious fact that a growing

SECRETARY’S REPORT 3

institution such as the Smithsonian, of so vital interest and importance
to the American people, must receive increased financial support if
it is to continue to meet its full obligations and to further the high
ideals of its founder, James Smithson, who left his entire fortune in
trust to the United States of America for the benefit of all mankind;

PRESENTATION OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ AEROPLANE OF 1903
TO THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

On December 17, 1948, the forty-fifth anniversary of the first flight
by Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, N. C., the original
aeroplane that made that historic flight became the property of the
American people. At a formal ceremony in the Museum attended
by many high civil and military officials the plane was presented to
the United States National Museum by Milton Wright on behalf of
the estate of Orville Wright.

The story of the plane goes back to December 17, 1903, when the
Wright Brothers were ready after several years of research and
experiment to test out their gasoline-engine-powered biplane at
Kitty Hawk on the coast of North Carolina. With Orville at the
controls, the machine was released, and after a 40-foot run on the
launching track, it lifted into the air in full flight. In Orville Wright’s
own words:

“The flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first
in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had
raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed
forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point
as high as that from which it started.”

Three more flights were made the same day, but after the last
flight a strong gust of wind turned the plane over, damaging it so
badly that no more trials were made that year. The damaged
machine and engine were sent back to the Wrights’ workshop in
Dayton, and 13 years later were restored, using all the original parts
available. The aeroplane was displayed at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and later at several aeronautical exhibitions.
In 1928 Orville Wright had it sent as a loan to the Science Museum
at South Kensington, London, England, where it remained on exhibi-
tion until World War II. Owing to the danger of damage by bomb-
ing, the plane was removed to a safe place for the duration of the war,

When Orville Wright died on January 30, 1948, it was learned
from papers in his files that he wished the Kitty Hawk aeroplane to
be returned to the United States and placed in the National Museum.
The executors of his estate conferred with officials of the Science

4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Museum and of the Smithsonian Institution, and with the generous
cooperation of the British Government the actual transfer of the
plane took place in November 1948. It was brought across the
Atlantic to Halifax on the Mauretania, from there to Bayonne,
N.J., on the Navy carrier Palau, and to Washington by Navy truck.

At the formal presentation on December 17, 1948, the ceremonies
were opened by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. After
the invocation by Maj. Gen. Luther D. Miller, Chief of Chaplains,
Department of the Army, and greetings by the Presiding Officer,
Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, a message from the President of the United States was read by
Col. Robert B. Landry, Air Force Aide to the President. His Britan-
nic Majesty’s Ambassador, Sir Oliver Franks, K. C. B., C. B. E.,
then spoke on “Britain and the Wright Brothers,” after which the
presentation of the aeroplane was made by Milton Wright, of Dayton,
Ohio, on behalf of the estate of Orville Wright. Mr. Wright told of
his boyhood recollections of his uncles’ bicycle shop where the Kitty
Hawk plane was fabricated, and concluded thus:

“The aeroplane means many things to many people. To some it
may be a vehicle for romantic adventure or simply quick transporta-
tion. To others it may be a military weapon or a means of relieving
suffering. To me it represents the fabric, the glue, the spruce, the
sheet metal, and the wire which, put together under commonplace
circumstances but with knowledge and skill, gave substance to
dreams and fulfillment to hopes.”

The aeroplane was accepted on behalf of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion by Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor of the Institution,
and the address of acceptance was given by Vice President-Elect
Alben W. Barkley, a regent of the Institution. In the course of his
address Mr. Barkley expressed one thought that doubtless was in the
minds of all participants in the ceremony:

“Tt is a matter of deep regret to all of us that Orville Wright could
not have been here today to see this wide public recognition of achieve-
ment, and receive in person the fitting acclaim to his brother, to
himself, and to their Kitty Hawk plane. We are grateful to all of
those who have made it possible to bring the plane back to its native
soil, and especially to the heirs of the estate of Orville Wright, for
depositing the Kitty Hawk machine here where all America will have
an opportunity to see it, and where all may do it fitting honor.”

The Kitty Hawk aeroplane now hangs suspended from the ceiling
of the north hall of the National Museum’s Aris and Industries
Building, where the presentation ceremony was held. Directly back
of the main entrance, the plane is the first object to meet the eyes of

SECRETARY’S REPORT 5

the thousands of visitors who throng the Museum daily. As thus
displayed it bears the following label:

The Original
WRIGHT BROTHERS’ AEROPLANE

The world’s first
power-driven heavier-than-air machine in which man
made free, controlled, and sustained flight

Invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright
Flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 17, 1903

By original scientific research the Wright Brothers
discovered the principles of human flight

As inventors, builders, and flyers
they further developed the aeroplane, taught man to fly
and opened the era of aviation

Deposited by the Estate of Orville Wright
°

“The first flight lasted only twelve seconds, a flight very modest compared
with that of birds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in
which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air
in free flight, had sailed forward on a level course without reduction of speed, and
had finally landed without being wrecked. The second and third flights were a
little longer, and the fourth lasted 59 seconds covering a distance of 852 feet over
the ground against a 20 mile wind.’”—W1.LzBur and OrvILLE WriGcaHt.

(From Century Magazine, vol. 76, September 1908, p. 649.)

This is not the final resting place of the plane, however—it is
destined eventually to occupy the place of honer in the National Air
Museum, the most recent bureau of the Smithsonian Institution.
Preliminary plans for the Air Museum envision a special centrally
located exhibit area for the Wright aeroplane of 1903, to serve as a
memorial to the birth of aviation.

THE ESTABLISHMENT

The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of Congress in
1846, according to the terms of the will of James Smithson, of England,
who in 1826 bequeathed his property to the United States of America
“to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.’ In receiving the property and accepting the trust,
Congress determined that the Federal Government was without
authority to administer the trust directly, and, therefore, constituted
an ‘establishment’? whose statutory members are “the President,
the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of the executive
departments.”

6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

THE BOARD OF REGENTS

The following changes occurred during the year in the personnel of
the Board of Regents:

On January 20, 1949, Vice President Alben W. Barkley (formerly a
regent by appointment from the Senate) became ‘ex officio a member
of the Board.

On February 14, 1949, the following regents were appointed from
the House of Representatives: Clarence Cannon of Missouri; John M.
Vorys of Ohio; and E. E. Cox of Georgia to succeed Samuel K.
McConnell of Pennsylvania.

On March 8, 1949, Senators Leverett Saltonstall and Clinton P.
Anderson were appointed to succeed Vice President Alben W. Barkley
who became an ex officio member of the Board, and Senator Wallace
H. White of Maine, retired.

On March 10, 1949, Dr. Jerome C. Hunsaker was appointed a citizen
regent from Massachusetts for the statutory term of 6 years, to succeed
Frederic C. Walcott, retired.

The roll of regents at the close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1949,
was as follows:

Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor; Vice President Alben W.
Barkley; members from the Senate: Walter F. George, Clinton P.
Anderson, Leverett Saltonstall; members from the House of Repre-
sentatives: Clarence Cannon, John M. Vorys, E. E. Cox; citizen mem-
bers: Harvey N. Davis, Arthur H. Compton, Vannevar Bush, Robert
V. Fleming, and Jerome C. Hunsaker.

Proceedings.—The Board of Regents held its annual meeting on
January 14,1949. Present: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor;
Representative Clarence Cannon, Representative John M. Vorys,
Dr. Arthur H. Compton, Dr. Harvey N. Davis, Dr. Robert V. Flem-
ing, Secretary Alexander Wetmore, and Assistant Secretary John E.
Graf.

The Secretary presented his annual report covering the activities
of the Institution and its bureaus, including the financial report of the
Executive Committee, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1948, which
was accepted by the Board. The usual resolution authorizing the
expenditure by the Secretary of the income of the Institution for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1950, was adopted by the Board.

It was announced that in support of the work of the Astrophysical
Observatory John A. Roebling had made a further generous gift
which is of major importance in carrying on these scientific investi-
gations.

The annual report of the Smithonsian Art Commission was pre-
sented by the Secretary and accepted by the Board. A resolution was
adopted to reelect the following members for 4-year terms: Archibald

SECRETARY’S REPORT he

G. Wenley, David E. Finley, Eugene E. Speicher, Paul Manship.
The following officers were reelected for the ensuing year: Chairman,
Paul Manship; vice chairman, Robert Woods Bliss; secretary,
Alexander Wetmore.

The Board was advised that in an attempt to recover the Gellatly
art collection from the Secretary in his status of a private individual,
though acting as custodian under the Smithsonian Institution, Mrs.
Charlayne Gellatly’s attorneys had filed action in the District Court
of the United States for the District of Columbia on June 18, 1947.
Under date of June 17, 1948, Judge J. McGuire rendered a decision
that, in the opinion of the Court, there was no merit in Mrs. Gellatly’s
claims, since it was found that there was a valid gift to the United
States by the deceased, John Gellatly, before his death and before his
marriage. On July 19, 1948, the attorney for Mrs. Gellatly filed notice
of appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia. Marvin C. Taylor, special attorney, Department of
Justice, represented the Institution.

On the evening of March 1, 1949, an informal meeting of the Board
was held at dinner in the Main Hall of the Smithsonian Building, with
the Chancellor, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, presiding. At this
meeting heads of the various activities under the Institution pre-
sented statements relative to their work. These statements, with the
ensuing discussion, provided a general view of the existing operations
of the Smithsonian, particularly in the research field.

FINANCES

A statement on finances, dealing particularly with Smithsonian
private funds, will be found in the report of the Executive Committee
of the Board of Regents, page 143.

APPROPRIATIONS

Funds appropriated to the Institution for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1949, totaled $2,259,000, allotted as follows:

@eneraleadministra tions sae see ee ee ee ee $46, 794
INationale@iuse ini fae ee ae eee ee ee eg 712, 560
Buresawvof American hthuolopy ss 222 22225 2 eee ee 71, 996
AstrophysicalObsernvatorye. sesso etek ot sete - caer 101, 590
INationalaCollectionsoteliner Arts == eee ee ee ee eee 32, 543
International Exchange Service=* 22 v. oul sas See be ee ole 68, 938
Maintenance and-OperaviOn. 2.052) nee eee eo eo 764, 626
Dervicerdivisions=seses see ee ee ee ee 274, 448
INationaleAirsMiniscn mee ee ei ee ee ee ee eee 180, 285
CanalkZoneybiolocicalwArca to 3 ins so = ee oe ee eee 4, 760
Wnallottedses: -tee See Seek! Wha BEM NE esa A ee ae a Oe 460

DLT C come 2 a ce ld Se pA ee rt eA Ne PE TR ea 2, 259, 000

866591—50——-2

8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

In addition $1,073,500 was appropriated to the National Gallery of
Art, a bureau of the Institution but administered by a separate board
of trustees; and $528,848 was provided in the District of Columbia
appropriation act for the operation of the National Zoological Park.

Besides these direct appropriations, the Institution received funds
by transfer from other Federal agencies, as follows:

From the State Department, from the appropriation Cooperation
with the American Republics, 1949, a total of $97,900 for the operation
of the Institute of Social Anthropology, including the issuance of
publications resulting from its work.

From the National Park Service, Interior Department, $118,500
for archeological projects in connection with River Basin Surveys.

VISITORS

The number of visitors to the Smithsonian buildings for the year
was 2,606,104, an all-time record of attendance. This was an increase
of 212,605 over the previous year’s attendance. April 1949 was the
month of largest attendance with 371,871 visitors; August 1948, the
second largest with 313,364. Records for the five buildings show the
following number of visitors: Smithsonian, 494,880; Arts and In-
dustries, 1,148,303; Natural History, 689,233; Aircraft, 198,648;
Freer, 75,040.

A summary of attendance records is given in table 1:

TABLE 1.—Visttors to the Smithsonian buildings during the year ended June 80, 1949

Smith- Arts and Natural Adrorate Freer
Year and month sonian Industries | History Buildin Gallery Total
Building | Building | Building 8 of Art
1948
Duly a he oS ee eee 61, 529 128, 635 74, 243 24, 557 9, 510 298, 474
USUE ADC) a Say ee pe ee 65, 412 136, 704 75, 026 26, 672 9, 550 313, 364
September.a22 08-35 22 ee 45, 178 90, 321 61, 839 18, 460 7, 269 218, 067
Octobere-2)- 228s: fe Fast es 34, 460 66, 329 47, 962 13, 670 5, 460 167, 881
INovemberis= 2221 -iee ee 27, 380 50, 700 39, 829 11, 833 4,415 134, 157
December- 22s 222-22 22222-522 18, 242 42, 191 23, 419 8, 512 3, 153 95, 517
1949
JANUAIY See ee ee 26, 748 59, 837 37, 212 11, 085 4,124 139, 006
Mebruary 2 Seer aes See 22, 949 54, 470 35, 220 10, 842 4, 032 127, 513
Miarchste S220 eee ee 25, 650 66, 814 41, 452 12, 499 5, 092 151, 507
April see 32 ee eee 64, 804 177, 144 97,135 23, 532 9, 256 371, 871
VT yates oe Bate Mee non SOee ee 47, 718 142, 007 88, 029 19, 653 6, 172 303, 579
Jules. 5252222 s ses ean es 54, 810 133, 151 77, 867 17, 333 7, 007 290, 168
Total: === 442-5 3ee 494, 880 1, 148, 303 1689, 233 198, 648 75, 040 2, 606, 104

' Not including 31,249 persons attending meetings after 4:30 p. m.
SIXTEENTH JAMES ARTHUR ANNUAL LECTURE ON THE SUN

In 1931 the Institution received a bequest from James Arthur, of
New York, a part of the income from which was to be used for an
annual lecture on some aspect of the study of the sun.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 9

The sixteenth Arthur lecture was given in the auditorium of the
National Museum on April 14, 1949, by Sir Harold Spencer Jones,
Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, the arrangements being made
through Dr. S. A. Mitchell, of the Leander McCormick Observ-
atory, University of Virginia. The title of Sir Harold’s lecture was,
“The Determination of Precise Time,” a subject on which he is a
world authority. His lecture will be published in full in the Annual
Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for 1949.

SUMMARY OF THE YEAR’S?ACTIVITIES OF THE BRANCHES OF
THE INSTITUTION

National Museum.—Approximately 446,000 specimens were added
to the collections, for the most part as gifts or as transfers from Gov-
ernment agencies, bringing the total number of catalog entries to
31,679,046. Outstanding accessions for the year included: In an-
thropology, an important collection of 51 artifacts representing the
work of American Indians, Eskimo of Alaska, and natives of Pacific
islands, given by Georgetown University; 17 gold-embossed silver
vessels given by the Government of Tibet to President Truman and
in turn presented by him to the Smithsonian Institution; and valu-
able skeletal remains recovered in northern Australia by Frank M.
Setzler, a member of the Commonwealth of Australia-National Geo-
graphic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to Arnhem
Land; in zoology, maramal specimens from many distant parts of the
world including Northern Territory of Australia, Nepal, Malay Pen-
insula, Korea, Okinawa, Philippine Islands, and New Guinea, 778
birds from Arnhem Land, Australia, and 1,164 from India and Nepal,
14,000 fishes from the Solomon Islands and the East Indies, and
5,000 from the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea; in botany, 2,382 plants
of Fiji, 5,854 plants of Colombia, and 2,157 plants of China; in geology,
20 kinds of minerals hitherto unrepresented in the National collec-
tions, a 42-carat brazilianite gemstone, the largest ever found in
Brazil, an 8,750-gram stony meteorite that fell at Girgenti, Italy, and
many thousands of fossil specimens collected by staff members in
various parts of the United States; in engineering and industries,
the original Wright Brothers’ aeroplane of 1903, a collection of elec-
trical measuring instruments, early lamps, and electronic tubes, some
of them made in the 1880’s, and an exhibit showing the development
of electric hearing aids; in history, a group of relics bequeathed by
Gen. John J. Pershing, including uniforms, flags, and medals, a note-
worthy collection of European gold and silver coins from the four-
teenth to the twentieth century presented by Paul A. Straub, of
New York City, and a complete set of Allied military currency pre-
sented by the Department of the Army.

10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Field work was conducted in Arnhem Land in northern Australia,
India and Nepal, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, New Zealand,
the Canadian Arctic, nine different countries in South and Central
America, and many parts of the United States. The Museum pub-
lished its Annual Report, 3 Bulletins, 25 Proceedings papers, and 2
papers in the Contributions from the United States National Herbar-
ium. The division of history was elevated to the status of a full
department of the Museum, with five divisions—military history,
naval history, civil history, numismatics, and philately.

National Gallery of Art——During the year there were 1,529,568
visitors to the Gallery, an average daily attendance of 4,225. Acces-
sions as gifts, loans, or deposits numbered 1,174, including 10 paint-
ings and 50 prints and drawings from the estate of the late R. Horace
Gallatin, and 891 prints and drawings from Lessing J. Rosenwald.
Eleven special exhibitions were held at the Gallery, and two traveling
exhibitions were circulated to art galleries, museums, and other organ-
izations throughout the country. In response to inquiries received
by the Gallery, nearly 1,000 research problems requiring reports were
investigated, and advice was given regarding 233 works of art brought
to the Gallery for opinion. Numerous books and articles on art sub-
jects were published by staff members. New publications continued
to be added to the literature available at the Gallery for purchase by
the public. Some 15,000 persons attended the special tours of the
Gallery, 20,000 the “Picture of the Week” talks, and 18,000 the lec-
tures in the auditorium. The Gallery’s collections of art works has
grown so fast that all available exhibition space was in use during
the year. To provide for expansion, contracts have been let for the
completion of 12 more galleries in unfinished areas of the Gallery
building. ‘Some 50,000 persons attended the 46 Sunday evening
concerts given in the Gallery’s East Garden Court.

National Collection of Fine Arts.—At the annual meeting of the
Smithsonian Art Commission of December 7, 1948, a number of
paintings were accepted for the National Collection. The Commis-
sion passed a resolution calling attention to the inadequacy of the
present art exhibition facilities in the National Museum and recom-
mending that the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution take action
to provide proper space for the preservation and exhibition to the
public of the National Collection of Fine Arts. Two miniatures were
acquired through the Catherine Walden Myer fund. Under the
provisions of the Ranger bequest, seven paintings temporarily as-
signed to various art institutions were recalled for final consideration
by the Smithsonian Art Commission. Two of these paintings were
accepted for the National Collection, and the others were returned
to the institutions to which they were originally assigned. A large

SECRETARY'S REPORT 11

amount of information on art subjects was furnished to visitors in
person, as well as by mail and phone. Members of the staff lectured
on art topics to several organizations, and six special art exhibitions
were held during the year, for most of which catalogs were furnished
by the organizations sponsoring the exhibitions.

Freer Gallery of Art.—Additions to the collections included Chinese
bronze, jade, lacquer, marble, and painting; Syrian glass; Syrian or
Egyptian gold; Arabic manuscript; Persian manuscript, painting, and
stone sculpture; Indian painting; and Turkish painting. The work
of the professional staff was devoted to the study of new accessions
and to research within the collection of Chinese, Japanese, Iranian,
Arabic, and Indian materials. Reports were made upon 2,563 objects
and 372 photographs of objects submitted to the Gallery for examina-
tion, and 369 Oriental language inscriptions were translated. The
repair and restoration of the walls of Whistler’s Peacock Room were
completed early in the year, and work was begun on the ceiling.
Visitors to the Gallery numbered 74,846 for the year, and 1,724 came
to the Gallery offices for special purposes. Sixteen groups were given
instruction in the exhibition galleries by staff members, and 13 lec-
tures were given in art galleries and museums, before clubs, and to
various associations.

Bureau of American Ethnology.—Dr. M. W. Stirling, Director of
the Bureau, devoted 4 months to a continuation of his archeological
work in Panamé in cooperation with the National Geographic Society.
Heretofore undescribed ceramic cultures were found at Utivé and
Barriles, and much new information was obtained on the classic
Chiriqui and Veraguas cultures. Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr.,
contmued to direct from Washington the very extensive operations
of the River Basin Surveys, a unit of the Bureau created to rescue
important archeological sites threatened by the construction of dams
and the creation of river basin reservoirs. ‘The work was done in
cooperation with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, the Army Corps of Engineers, and local organizations. Surveys
of threatened sites covered 69 reservoir areas in 21 States. Since
the program started, 2,107 archeological sites have been located and
recorded, and of these, 456 have been recommended for excavation
or testing before they are destroyed by construction work. Dr.
John P. Harrington continued his revision of the Maya grammar.
Toward the end of the year he went to Old Town, Maine, to pursue
ethnological and linguistic studies on the Abnaki Indians. Dr. Henry
B. Collins, Jr., conducted archeological excavations at Frobisher Bay
on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Ruins were found of old
Eskimo semisubterranean houses made of stones, whale bones, and
turf, the evidence showing that the site has been occupied succes-

12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

sively by Eskimos of both the prehistoric Dorset and Thule cultures.
Dr. William N. Fenton continued his field work and library research
on the Iroquois Jndians, obtaining the life history of an aged Seneca
and recording Seneca rituals, prayers, and legends. Dr. Gordon R.
Willey devoted the year to studying and writing up the results of
previous field work. His monographic work, “Archeology of the
Florida Gulf Coast,”’ was completed and at the close of the year was
in process of being published by the Smithsonian Institution.

The Institute of Social Anthropology, an autonomous unit of the
Bureau, is financed by State Department funds to carry out coopera-
tive training in anthropological teaching and research with the other
American republics. Institute staff members, under the directorship
of Dr. George M. Foster, Jr., continued to give courses in anthropology
and to conduct cooperative research and field work in Brazil, Colom-
bia, México, and Pert.

The Bureau published its Annual Report and two Publications of
the Institute of Social Anthropology. The last two volumes of the
Handbook of South American Indians, volumes 5 and 6, were in
press at the close of the year.

International Hachanges.—The Smithsonian International Exchange
Service is the official United States agency for the interchange of gov-
ernmental and scientific publications between this country and the
other nations of the earth. ‘The Exchange Service handled during the
year a total of 840,125 packages of publications, weighing 796,700
pounds. These figures represent an increase over the previous year
of 80,006 packages, but a decrease of 15,489 pounds in weight, indicat-
ing by the lighter weight per package that most institut'ons have about
completed shipment of material held up during the war. Shipments
are now made to all countries except Rumania, and efforts to resume
exchanges with that country are being continued. The number of
sets of United States official publications sent abroad in exchange for
similar publications of other countries is now 96—58 full and 38
partial sets. There are also sent abroad through the Exchange
Service 81 copies of the Federal Register and 75 copies of the Con-
gressional Record.

National Zoological Park.—The collection was improved during the
year by the addition of a number of rare animals. At the close of the
fiscal year there were 3,724 specimens in the collection, an increase
of 927 over the previous year. These represented 755 different species,
an increase of 65. Among the rare or unusual animals received by
gift, exchange, or purchase were the rare Meller’s chameleon, a
spectacled bear, a pair of pigmy marmosets—smallest of all monkeys,
an African two-horned rhinoceros, a pair of wombats, a pigmy ant-
eater, orang-utans, and chimpanzees. The total number of creatures

SECRETARY'S REPORT 1433

born or hatched at the Zoo was 157—56 mammals, 62 birds, and 39
reptiles. Personne! recruitment and training for the organization
progressed satisfactorily, and the most needed repairs and minor im-
provements to buildings and grounds were carried out. The year’s
total of visitors to the Zoo was the largest ever recorded—3,346,050,
an increase of more than 300,000 over the previous year. Groups
from schools, some as far away as Maine, Florida, Texas, and Cali-
fornia, numbered 1,844, aggregating 93,632 individuals.
Astrophysical Observatory —Year-long tests at the three most
promising sites for a new high-altitude solar observing station indicate
that the best skies prevail at the Clark Mountain, Calif., site, the
second-best site being Pohakuola, Hawaii. Estimates of the cost of
establishing a field station on Clark Mountain, however, proved to be
in excess of available funds, forcing postponement of building opera-
tions. Data and tables were prepared which simplify computations
at the field observing stations by eliminating the tedious curve-plotting
process heretofore used in obtaining the air mass. Daily observations
of the solar constant of radiation were continued at the Montezuma,
Chile, and Table Mountain, Calif., stations. Intercomparisons
between the substandard silver-disk pyrheliometer S. I. No. 5 and the
instruments in use at Miami, Montezuma, and Table Mountain show
no material changes in constants, confirming the adopted scale of
pyrheliometry. Special radiation measurements started in 1945 at
Camp Lee, Va., under contract with the Office of the Quartermaster
General, were continued there, half of the year by the Observatory
and half by the Quartermaster Board; similar measurements were also
made at Miami, Fla., and at Montezuma, Chile. The work of the
Division of Radiation and Organisms has been concerned chiefly with
reorganizing and reequipping the laboratories. Besides new office
space which has been established, five rooms are being converted into
constant-condition rooms for biological experimentation, and four
chemistry laboratories will be available. In addition, a photographic
laboratory, an X-ray room, a cytology laboratory, an electronics
laboratory, and two general laboratories are being arranged.
National Air Museum.—The Air Museum was given the responsi-
bility of receiving, bringing to Washington, and preparing for exhibi-
tion the original Wright Brothers aeroplane of 1903, presented to the
National Museum in December 1948. A storage depot to be used by
the Air Museum until it has a building of its own was acquired in
November 1948 in the former Douglas Aircraft plant at Park Ridge,
Ill. There a field organization was installed, and the Air Museum
assumed custody of the storage facility itself and the large collection
of planes and other aeronautical material stored there by the U. S.
Air Force for the Museum. The Advisory Board held three meetings

14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

during the year which were devoted mainly to advancing the acquisi-
tion of a building site and a suitable museum building in the Wash-
ington area. The Museum expects during the coming year to sub-
mit to Congress a report regarding sites and a building, the prelim-
inary study of which has been prepared in cooperation with the Public
Buildings Administration. Among outstanding accessions of the
year were the Swoose, the historic B~17—D bomber that served through-
out World War II from Bataan to the defeat of Japan, presented by
the city of Los Angeles; Maj. Alford Williams’ renowned Gulfhawk-2
presented by the Gulf Oil Co.; a Japanese Baka Bomb, or “suicide
plane,” transferred by the Department of the Navy; and 10 scale
models of recent types of Naval aircraft received from the manufac-
turers who produced the original planes. New accessions totaled
122 objects from 40 different sources.

Canal Zone Biological Area.—A new building for woodworking and
carpenter shops and for living quarters for the warden-caretaker was
completed during the year, the old quarters being converted into a
two-room laboratory unit. Work on the new 14,000-gallon water
tank was halted by heavy rains but can be completed with 2 or 3
weeks of dry weather. The most urgent needs are the fireproofing of
existing buildings and the construction of a new six-room laboratory
and storage building. Twenty-nine scientists representing many
different organizations worked at the laboratory during the year, and
their contributions have added materially to our knowledge of tropical
life. Among the interesting researches were the work of Drs. Scho-
lander and Walters of the Arctic Research Laboratory at Point Barrow,
Alaska, on the metabolic reactions to temperature in various animals
and plants in order to obtain a tropical counterpart for similar work
on Arctic forms in Alaska; the studies of Drs. Clark and Soper of the
Research Laboratory of Eastman Kodak on the effects of tropical
conditions on photographic equipment and materials, including color
film; and the Resident Manager’s own special studies, particularly the
long-term termite-resistance tests.

PUBLICATIONS

In carrying out the diffusion of knowledge, the Institution issues
eight regular series of publications and six others that appear less fre-
quently. All these series, embodying the results of Smithsonian
researches, are distributed free to more than a thousand libraries,
both here and abroad, as well as to a large list of educational and
scientific organizations. The findings of Smithsonian scientists,
chiefly in the fields of anthropology, biology, geology, and astrophysics,
are therefore made readily available to all through this wide free
distribution.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 15

A total of 71 separate volumes and pamphlets were issued during the
past year. Among the outstanding publications to appear were Dr.
Henry Field’s compilation in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec-
tions entitled ‘Contributions to the Anthropology of the Soviet
Union,”’ which presents, for the first time in English, accounts of
recent findings in this little-known area; a revised edition of the popu-
lar handbook of the National Aircraft Collection, which is in effect a
brief history of aeronautics from the mythical flying horses of antiquity
to the supersonic jet planes of today; two more volumes in the famous
series of Life Histories of North American Birds, prepared by A. C.
Bent, bringing to 17 the number so far issued in the series; and a
paper by Jason R. Swallen on new grasses from several countries of
South and Central America, in the Contributions from the United
States National Herbarium.

The total number of copies of publications in all series distributed
during the year was 267,491. A complete list of the year’s publica-
tions will be found in the report of the Chief of the Editorial Division,
Appendix 12.

LIBRARY

Of the 57,671 publications received by the Smithsonian library
during the year, 7,287 came as gifts from many different donors.
Another 17,713 were periodicals mostly received in exchange for
Smithsonian publications from research institutions and other scien-
tific and educational organizations throughout the world. Containing
the record of progress in science and technology, these periodicals are
indispensable in the prosecution of the Institution’s own work.

Increasingly heavy demands upon reading and reference services
of the library were noted during the year, the interlibrary loans total-
ing 2,619 publications to 89 different libraries. The new position of
assistant librarian in charge of the Astrophysical Observatory library
was filled by the promotion of an acquisitions assistant.

New exchanges arranged during the year numbered 338; 6,884
volumes and pamphlets were cataloged, and 31,184 cards were added
to catalogs and shelflists; 1,060 volumes were sent to the bindery,
and 1,026 were repaired in the Museum.

At the close of the year, the library’s holdings totaled 921,206
volumes, more than half of which are housed in the Library of Congress
as the Smithsonian Deposit.

Respectfully submitted.

ALEXANDER WETMORE, Secretary.

APPENDIX 1
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the condi-
tion and operations of the United States National Museum for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1949.

COLLECTIONS

Approximately 446,000 specimens (88,000 less than last year)
were incorporated into the National collections during the year and
were distributed among the six departments as follows: Anthropology,
4,099; zoology, 279,621; botany, 38,708; geology, 109,499; engineering
and industries, 2,610; and history, 11,104. The decrease in the number
of specimens accepted for the Museum’s collections may be attributed
in part to the inadequacy of available storage facilities for the preser-
vation of such materials; consequently, a finer screening of collections
from prospective donors is now mandatory. Most of the accessions
were acquired as gifts from individuals or as transfers from Govern-
ment departments and agencies. The complete report on the Museum,
published as a separate document, includes a detailed list of the year’s
acquisitions, of which the more important are summarized below.
Catalog entries in all departments now total 31,679,046.!

Anthropology.—The most noteworthy additions to the archeological
collections were as follows: A black-figured Attic lecythus of the fifth
century, B. C., presented to President Harry S. Truman as a token of
gratitude from the people of Greece and lent by the President; 11
gold-plated ornaments from Veraguas, Panam4, and 2 gold fishhooks
from Colombia, a gift from Karl P. Curtis; and 47 prehistoric earthen-
ware vessels from the Valley of Nasca, Peri, presented to the late
Gen. John J. Pershing by former Peruvian President Augusto B.
Leguia and donated by General John J. Pershing.

Handicrafts and material culture of many of the world’s peoples
were represented in the additions to the ethnological collections. An
unusually important collection of 51 specimens representing the work
of American tribes of the Great Plains and the Great Lakes, of Arizona
and New Mexico, as well as of the Eskimo of Alaska, of the Igorot of
the Philippine Islands, and of the Marquesans and Maori of the

1 The revised tabulation of the National collection of insects during the past year, in addition to the
normal increment, has increased last year’s total by more than 4,400,000 specimens.

16

SECRETARY'S REPORT 17

Southeast Pacific, assembled over a period of more than a century,
was presented by Georgetown University. President Harry 8S. Tru-
man presented to the Smithsonian Institution 17 gold-embossed silver
vessels received at the White House as a gift from the Government
of Tibet in appreciation of an American gift of wireless receiving and
transmitting sets made during World War II. Included are two
butter lamps and stands, four teacup stands and covers, two bowls
for grain offerings, one teapot, and two beer mugs, all decorated in
gold-embossed designs derived from Chinese-Tibetan folklore and
Buddhist religious art. A collection of 287 folk, costume, and his-
torical portrait dolls, representing the native dress of peoples of many
lands, was received as a bequest from the late Mrs. Frank Brett Noyes.
The Don Diego Columbus mahogany table, traditionally known as
the writing desk of Diego Columbus, was conditionally bequeathed
by Mrs. Edith Keyes Benton. This table had been preserved for
centuries in the cathedral of Santo Domingo City and was presented
by Archbishop Nouel to Commander Frederick L. Benton, U.S.N., in
recognition of his work in Santo Domingo during the influenza epidemic
of 1918. One of the rarest of musical instruments, a musical gong,
kyung, carved from white marble, was presented by Ju Whan Lee,
director of the Korean Court Music Conservatory at Seoul, Korea.

The largest accession received by the division of physical anthro-
pology consisted of the skeletal remains recovered in northern Australia
by Frank M. Setzler, a member of the Commonwealth of Australia-
National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to
Arnhem Land. Australian skeletal material available for study in
the United States is rather limited. Four casts of African fossil
primates, which illustrate certain characteristics of antecedent special-
ization, were also acquired during the year.

Zoology.—The collections made by the Museum staff detailed to the
Arnhem Land field expedition, under the joint sponsorship of the
Commonwealth of Australia, National Geographic Society, and the
Smithsonian Institution, have added many previously unrepresented
forms of animal life to the National collections. These collections
included not only vertebrates but invertebrates as well.

Accessions that enhanced the usefulness of the mammalian collec-
tion came from the Northern Territory of Australia, Nepal, Malay
Peninsula, Korea, Okinawa, Philippine Islands, New Guinea, and New
Hampshire. Field work financed wholly or in part by the W. L.
Abbott fund resulted in the addition of birds not hitherto represented
in the National collection. Included among these accessions were
2,815 skins and 388 eggs of Colombian birds; 900 skins, 24 skeletons, and
2 sets of eggs of Panamanian birds; 778 bird skins, many of which were
not represented in the collection, as well as 51 skeletons and 2 eggs

18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

from Arnhem Land, Australia; and 1,164 bird skins procured by the
joint National Geographic Society-Yale University-Smithsonian
Institution Expedition to India and Nepal. Other accessions com-
prised 611 bird skins from Nyasaland: 177 birds and 1 egg from
northeastern Venezuela: 171 bird skins from Pacific War areas; and
125 bird skins from Korea.

Snakes, lizards, and frogs from Arnhem Land, amphibians from
Perit, reptiles and amphibians from Honduras, and a general collection
from Virginia and North Carolina constituted the most important
additions to the herpetological collection.

The most noteworthy accessions received by the division of fishes
were nearly 14,000 specimens from the Solomon Islands and the East
Indies, which were presented by Dr. Wilbert M. Chapman; 14,300
from Arnhem Land; and approximately 5,000 from the Persian Gulf
and the Red Sea, resulting from a survey sponsored by the Arabian-
American Oil Co. Other important collections of fishes came from
Puerto Rico, Panam4, British Columbia, and Florida.

Approximately 25,000 miscellaneous insects from South Pacific
Islands came to the Museum by transfer from the U. S. Commercial
Co. Among other large lots were approximately 12,000 flies; 3,500
chalcidoid wasps; 500 beetles; and some 53,000 insects transferred
from the United States Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine.

During the year considerable significant material was added to the
marine invertebrate collection, of which the most important accessions
were 11,765 miscellaneous invertebrates from the Department of
Zoology, University of California; 70 lots of paratypes, hypotypes,
and topotypes of hydroids from the Allan Hancock Foundation,
University of Southern California; 760 marine invertebrates from
California and Mexice; 709 specimens from Bahama Islands; 1,781
from Pacific Islands and California; 452 from the Persian Gulf and
the Red Sea; and 859 from Arnhem Land. By transfer from the
Office of Naval Research, the Museum acquired 3,668 invertebrates
from Point Barrow, Alaska. The United States Geological Survey
transferred 568 specimens from the Marianas Islands.

A rare deep-water Pleurotomaria, dredged at a depth of 160 fathoms
off Natal, South Africa, and presented by Dr. Cecil von Bonde, con-
stituted the most notable accession received by the division of
mollusks. From other sources the division received 250 Peruvian
terrestrial and fresh-water mollusks and 540 marine mollusks from
Canton Island, and 150 Japanese land mollusks. Exchanges brought
to the Museum approximately 1,080 shells from Spain and lesser
numbers from South Africa, Italy, and Cuba. By transfer the Museum
received about 1,200 mollusks obtained in the Caroline Islands from
the United States Geological Survey; approximately 30,600 specimens

SECRETARY’S REPORT 19

from the Naval Medical Research Institute; and 600 marine and land
shells of the Solomon Islands from the Naval Medical School. Mem-
bers of the staff obtained about 1,200 mollusks in Arnhem Land and
some 1,500 in the region of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

Botany.—As exchanges, the National Herbarium received 2,382
plants, comprising a collection made in Fiji by Dr. A. C. Smith, from
the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University; 5,854 plants of Colom-
bia from the Facultad de Agronomfa, Universidad Nacional, Medellin;
and 2,157 Chinese plants from the National Szechwan University.
The Division of Rubber Plant Investigations, United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, transferred 865 plants from eastern Colombia.
The Oficina de Estudios Especiales, Mexico City, presented 394
Mexican grasses. <A noteworthy gift of 295 ferns of Micronesia came
to the Herbarium from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, and
Dr. Guanar Degelius, University of Uppsala, presented 602 lichens
from various localities.

Geology.—Gifts and exchanges contributed to the growth of the
mineral collections. More than 20 kinds of minerals hitherto unrepre-
sented in the collections were received. Forty exceptionally good
examples of rare secondary uranium minerals from Katanga, Belgian
Congo, as well as other unusual minerals were added to the Roebling
collection. A fine collection of rare copper sulfates from Chuquicam-
ata, Chile, was presented by the Chile Exploration Co. Included
among the additions to the Canfield collection were a gem-quality
golden beryl crystal weighing over 1,800 grams from Brazil and an
unusually large zircon crystal from Australia. The Chamberlain
bequest provided funds for the purchase of a 42-carat brazilianite
gemstone, the largest as yet found in Brazil. An 8,750-gram stony
meteorite, which fell at Girgenti, Italy, was received as a gift from Dr.
Stuart H. Perry, and other meteorites were acquired either as gifts or
in exchange.

Several large collections of invertebrate fossils were presented to the
Museum, three of the larger lots being 7,500 Middle Ordovician fossils,
mostly bryozoans, from O. C. Cole, Kenyon, Minn.; 2,150 Pennsyl-
vanian fossils from Robert Stark, Grapevine, Tex.; and 10,000 fossil
mollusks from A. L. Bowsher. Types and paratypes of Upper
Cretaceous trilobites, Tertiary mollusks, Pennsylvanian goniatites,
Ordovician invertebrates, and Cretaceous Foraminifera were included
in other accessions. Through funds provided by the Walcott bequest,
the Museum acquired 40,000 invertebrate fossils from the Devonian,
Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian deposits in west Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona collected by Associate Curator A. L. Bowsher
and William Allen; 25,000 Paleozoic fossils from Texas and Oklahoma
collected by Curator G. A. Cooper and Associate Curator A. R.

20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Loeblich; 2,500 Middle Ordovician fossils collected by Dr. Cooper in
Tennessee and Virginia; and 2,000 Permian and Jurassic ammonites
and brachiopods from Sicily. As usual the year’s accessions included
a number of transfers from the United States Geological Survey.

A nearly complete skeleton of the Triassic phytosaur Machaero-
prosopus gregori, from the Chinle formation near St. Johns, Ariz.,
excavated and transferred to the Museum by the United States Geo-
logical Survey, constitutes the outstanding acquisition of the year in
vertebrate paleontology. Through the Walcott funds there were
received articulated skeletal remains of the condylarth Meniscotherium
robustum and the complete skeleton of a large ichthyodectid fish.
Outstanding gifts include specimens of the Devonian arthrodiran fish
Hudinichthys terrilli, a partial skeleton of the Pleistocene jaguar Pan-
thera augusta, an incomplete skull of the Pleistocene walrus Odobenus
virginanus, and a portion of the skull of a Miocene tapir. The
Smithsonian River Basin Surveys transferred mammalian fossils from
Kocene and Oligocene deposits of Wyoming and Montana.

Engineering and industries—The presentation of the historic
aeroplane invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright and flown
by them at Kitty Hawk, N. C., on December 17, 1903, was witnessed
by 1,000 or more distinguished guests at the formal ceremony held
in the north entrance hall of the Arts and Industries Building of the
United States National Museum on December 17, 1948. The presen-
tation was made by Milton Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, on behalf of the
estate of Orville Wright. The Chancellor of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, accepted the Wright Brothers’
aeroplane on behalf of the Nation, and the formal acceptance address
was delivered by Vice President-Elect Alben W. Barkley.

A collection of electrical measuring instruments, early lamps, and
electronic tubes, some of which were constructed in the 1880 decade,
was presented by the Weston Electrical Instrument Corp. The
Museum is indebted to the United States Signal Corps Laboratories
for an exhibit illustrating radar and microwave radio-relay communi-
cation. From the Cork Institute of America the section of wood
technology received 100 samples and 9 photographs which illustrate
the production and utilization of cork bark. Etchings and serigraphs
by Forain, Margo, Velonis, Detwiller, and Kainen were added to the
graphic arts collection through the Dahlgreen fund. A Marcy
Sciopticon Magic Lantern, a kerosene-lamp projector, patented
1868-69, was the most interesting accession in the photographic
section. The division of medicine and public health received from
Telex, Inc., a number of devices that show the development of electric
hearing aids.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Zl

History.—Several unusual items were added during the past year
to the National collection of American antiques and personal relics,
and of these the spirit set and silverware owned by the Maryland
surveyor Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) are the oldest. A marble slab
from the Temple of Wingless Victory on the Athens Acropolis, pre-
sented to President Truman by a Greek delegation on March 28, 1949,
as a token of gratitude from the people of Greece, was lent by the
President. The most interesting additions to the costumes collection
were a parasol made of pheasant feathers and an old bonnet of the
type known as ‘“‘calash.”’ The outstanding accessions to the military
collection were the relics bequeathed by Gen. John J. Pershing,
comprising personal uniforms, presentation flags, medals, decorations,
and other mementos of his military service. Forty-four portraits of
World War II heroes painted by Joseph Cummings Chase were
presented to the Museum by the artist.

The collection of gold and silver coins, chiefly European issues
dating from the fourteenth to the twentieth century, which was re-
ceived as a gift from Paul A. Straub, of New York City, constitutes
the most noteworthy accession acquired by the division of numismatics
in recent years. A complete set, in duplicate, of Allied military
currency was presented by the Department of the Army.

EXPLORATION AND FIELD WORK

Staff specialists in the departments of anthropology, zoology,
botany, and geology were engaged during the year in field work in
South, Central, and North America, New Zealand, and Australia.

The four staff members—Frank M. Setzler, head curator of anthro-
pology; Dr. David H. Johnson, associate curator of mammals;
Herbert G. Deignan, associate curator of birds; and Dr. Robert R.
Miller, associate curator of fishes—who participated in the technical
work of the Commonwealth of Australia-National Geographic
Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to Arnhem Land under
‘ the leadership of Charles P. Mountford, returned to Washington,
D. C., late in 1948 following completion of the field work. The base
camp of the expedition, which had been established April 4, 1948, on
Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, was moved during July
1948 to Yirrkala on the beach of Arafura Sea near the northeastern
corner of Arnhem Land. A third camp was established September
21, 1948, at Oenpelli on East Alligator River near the foot of the high
Arnhem Land escarpment. The entire party returned to Darwin in
November to pack the collections and field equipment for shipment
to the participating institutions.

IY ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

During the first 3 months of 1949, Dr. T. Dale Stewart, curator of
physical anthropology, was engaged in taking anthropometric meas-
urements of some 200 Mayan-speaking Indians in the highlands of
Guatemala. Most of this field study was carried on at Soloma in the
Department of Huehuetenango, and at Santa Clara la Laguna in the
Department of Solol4. A secondary project was the examination of
skeletal remains at archeological sites in the highlands.

As in the previous year, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, associate curator of
archeology, was detailed to the River Basin Surveys under the
Bureau of American Ethnology to supervise field and laboratory
operations in the Missouri Valley.

The National Geographic Society-Yale University-Smithsonian
Institution Expedition to India and Nepal, which was directed by
S. Dillon Ripley, brought back important collections of birds and
mammals from the Karnali Valley in western Nepal and the Kosi
Valley in eastern Nepal—regions rarely visited by naturalists.

For 5 months during the middle of 1948, Donald 8. Erdman, divi-
sion of fishes, participated in a fishery survey in the Persian Gulf and
Red Sea under the auspices of the Arabian-American Oil Co.

At the invitation of the Plywoods-Plastics Corp., Dr. Henry W.
Setzer, associate curator, division of mammals, worked in Costa Rica
and obtained specimens of mammals and birds in the valleys of the
Rio Estrella and the Rio Turrialba.

Dr. A. Wetmore and W. M. Perrygo conducted ornithological field
work in the eastern section of the Province of Panam4, Republic of
Panama, a region they had not explored on previous trips. The field
work of M. A. Carriker, Jr., in the Rfo Sint region of northwestern
Colombia, resulted in the preparation of one of the most complete
collections of birds thus far obtained in the area adjacent to Panama.
Charles O. Handley, Jr., temporarily employed as assistant curator of
birds, departed from Washington in March 1949 under a cooperative
arrangement with the Weather Bureau to study the birds and mam-
mals in one area of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Botanical field projects participated in by the staff included the
following: After adjournment of the Second South American Botan-
ical Congress held at Tucum4n, Argentina, E. P. Killip, head curator
of botany, and Dr. Lyman B. Smith, associate curator of phanero-
gams, made collections in northwestern Argentina; large numbers of
plants were assembled by Mr. Killip in the Santiago-Valparaiso
region of Chile, and other specimens were subsequently obtained at
Cali, Medellin, and Bogota, Colombia; Dr. Smith collected plants in
the vicinity of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following the adjournment of the Seventh Pacific Science Congress
held between February 2 and 22, 1949, Dr. E. H. Walker, associate

SECRETARY’S REPORT 23

curator of phanerogams, remained in New Zealand for about 6 weeks
at the invitation of the University of New Zealand to carry on botan-
ical field work on the two main islands and on Stewart Island. Jason
R. Swallen, curator of grasses, at the request of Dr. C. L. Lundell,
director of the Texas Research Foundation, made a survey of the
grasses of the Kingsville region, Texas. George A. Llano, associate
curator of cryptogams, is making a special study of the ecology of the
lichens of the Arctic slopes of the Brooks Mountains in northern
Alaska under a project sponsored by the Arctic Institute of North
America. Paul S. Conger, associate curator of diatoms, devoted 2
months during the summer of 1948 to an investigation of the ecology
of diatoms at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons Island,
Md. Research Associate F. A. McClure continued his field studies of
American bamboos in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Puerto
Rico, Jamaica, and Trinidad.

A wide variety of paleontological field work financed by the Walcott
bequest enabled the staff to obtain new materials for the collections.
Included among these additions are fossil fishes from the Green River
Eocene beds in northeastern Utah and the Pierre Cretaceous deposits
in eastern Wyoming excavated by Dr. D. H. Dunkle and A. C.
Murray; Eocene mammalian fossils from the Bridger Basin in western
Wyoming collected by Dr. C. L. Gazin; Paleocene mammalian fossils
found by Dr. C. L. Gazin and F. L. Pearce in the San Juan Basin of
northwestern Utah; Permian and Mississippian invertebrate fossils
obtained by Dr. G. A. Cooper and Dr. A. R. Loeblich, Jr., in Texas
and Oklahoma; Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian fossils
from New Mexico and Texas collected by A. L. Bowsher and
William Allen; and Jurassic microfossils from Montana, Wyoming,
and South Dakota obtained by Dr. A. R. Loeblich, Jr., and Dr. Ralph
W. Imlay.

PUBLICATIONS

Thirty-one Museum publications were issued during the year: 1
Annual Report, 3 in the Bulletin series, 25 in the Proceedings, and 2
numbers of the Contributions from the United States National Her-
barium. A list of these is given in the complete report on Smithsonian
publications, appendix 12. Especially noteworthy are two numbers
of A. C. Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds: one on the
nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies, the other on the thrushes,
kinglets, and their allies—completing 17 volumes in this popular
series. The eighteenth is now in press.

The distribution of volumes and separates to libraries and other
institutions and to individuals aggregated 66,459 copies.

866591—50-—3

24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION

One important change in the organization of the United States
National Museum was effected during the year. On August 16, 1948,
the division of history was raised to the status of a department.
Charles Carey, who received his first appointment to the Museum
staff on November 2, 1920, was named acting head curator of the
department of history. The functions of this department were allo-
cated to five divisions—military history, naval history, civil history,
numismatics, and philately.

Respectfully submitted.

REMINGTON Ketioaa, Director.

Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 2

REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Str: I have the honor to submit, on behalf of the Board of Trustees,
the twelfth annual report of the National Gallery of Art, for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1949. ‘This report is made pursuant to the pro-
visions of section 5 (d) of Public Resolution No. 14, Seventy-fifth
Congress, first session, approved March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51).

ORGANIZATION

The statutory members of the Board of Trustees of the National
Gallery of Art are the Chief Justice of the United States, the Secre-
tary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, ex officio. The five general trustees continu-
ing in office during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949, were Samuel H.
Kress, Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Duncan Phillips, Chester Dale, and
Paul Mellon. The Board of Trustees held its annual meeting on
May 3, 1949. Samuel H. Kress was reelected President and Ferdi-
nand Lammot Belin Vice President, to serve for the ensuing year.
Donald D. Shepard continued to serve during the year as Advisor to
the Board.

All the executive officers of the Gallery continued in office during
the year:

Huntington Cairns, Secretary-Treasurer.
David E. Finley, Director.

Harry A. McBride, Administrator.
Huntington Cairns, General Counsel.
John Walker, Chief Curator.

Macgill James, Assistant Director.

The three standing committees of the Board, as constituted at the
annual meeting May 3, 1949, were as follows:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chief Justice of the United States, ex officio, Fred M. Vinson, Chairman.
Samuel H. Kress, Vice Chairman.
Ferdinand Lammot Belin.
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Alexander Wetmore.
Paul Mellon.
25

26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Finance CoMMITTEE

Secretary of the Treasury, ex officio, John W. Snyder, Chairman.
Samuel H. Kress, Vice Chairman.
Ferdinand Lammot Belin.
Chester Dale.
Paul Mellon.
AcQUISITIONS COMMITTEE

Samuel H. Kress, Chairman.

Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Vice Chairman.
Duncan Phillips.

Chester Dale.

David E. Finley, ex officio.

On June 30, 1949, the Government employees on the staff of the
National Gallery of Art totaled 309, as compared with 312 employees
as of June 30, 1948. The United States Civil Service regulations
govern the appointment of employees paid from appropriated public
funds.

Throughout the year a high standard of operation has been main-
tained by all departments of the Gallery in the protection of the
Gallery’s collections of works of art and the maintenance of the
Gallery building and grounds.

APPROPRIATIONS

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949, the Congress of the United
States appropriated for the National Gallery of Art the sum of
$1,073,500 to be used for salaries and expenses in the operation and
upkeep of the Gallery, the protection and care of works of art, and
administrative and other expenses. This amount includes the regu-
lar appropriation of $966,000, and a supplemental appropriation of
$107,500. The supplemental appropriation was made to provide
$4,600 to meet in part an increase in the rates for electric current,
which could not be foreseen by the Gallery and estimated for at the
time the 1949 budget was submitted to the Congress; and the bal-
ance of $102,900 was necessary to meet the pay increases, effective
July 11, 1948, amounting to $330 per annum to each employee as
authorized by Public Law 900, Eightieth Congress.

From these appropriations the following expenditures and encum-
brances were incurred:

IRETSOMS SOR 1COS ure cee a eae ere ee ee ee a er eee $940, 100. 00
Printingvand: pinging see ae a ee ee ee ee eee 6, 626. 95
Supplies equipment et Cae eee ar 126, 739. 30
Unobligated balances. = secsc eta eee ee ee ee 33. 75

otal 22= Eh dS es I SS ee i es a A Sn 1, 073, 500. 00

SECRETARY’S REPORT 27.

ATTENDANCE

During the fiscal year 1949 there were 1,529,568 visitors to the
Gallery, an average daily attendance of about 4,225.

From March 17, 1941, the day on which the National Gallery of
Art was first opened to the public, to June 30, 1949, there have been
15,070,976 visitors to the Gallery.

ACCESSIONS

There were 1,174 accessions by the National Gallery of Art, as
gifts, loans, or deposits, during the fiscal year. Most of the paintings
and a number of the prints were placed on exhibition.

PAINTINGS

During the fiscal year the Board of Trustees of the National Gal-
lery of Art received 10 paintings from the Estate of the late R.
Horace Gallatin. The paintings are as follows:

Artist Title
Jean-Charlesv@azin3 t=. 822554 = se The Windmill.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot___..__..__----_- River View.
Charles-Francois Daubigny—=-= 2-22-27 ~-__— Landscape with Figures.
Diazidenltuensas ere a eee mre ayer an eee ee Forest Scene.
Julessupresa es NTR Set OPE Oh ee The Old Oak.
Brancesco;Guardl 2555.2) 352 82 cess. 2k The Rialto Bridge, Venice.
ienri-Joseph) Hanpioniesa. =. 2a) eee ae Landscape.
Schooliof Claude Vorrain=-_2--..+.2-..-.2- Harbor at Sunset.
Jean-lrancois, Villet ss 2228 nee The Bather.
neodore HOUsseal> = nc ne ae ne Landscape with Boatman.

A painting by Murillo, “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” given
by the Avalon Foundation, was accepted by the Board of Trustees
on December 10, 1948. At the same time the Board accepted the
portrait of Daniel Boardman, by Ralph Earl, from Mrs. W. Murray
Crane; “Interior of a Church,” by Pieter Neeffs, from Senator Theo-
dore Francis Green of Rhode Island; and two paintings, ‘‘Repose,”’
by John Singer Sargent, and “Head of a Girl,” by James Abbott
McNeill Whistler, from Curt H. Reisinger. On December 22, 1948,
the Board of Trustees accepted from Dr. G. H. A. Clowes a painting,
“Allegory,” Venetian School about 1500, and from Vladimir Horo-
witz a painting, ““Head of a Young Girl,” by Renoir. The Board
of Trustees accepted from Miss Georgia O’Keeffe on March 8, 1949,
a gift of the following three paintings:

Artist Title
Marsden Hartley...) =) 322 al 2 es Se Landscape No. 5.
Ar Chun GAM ONG 55-285 ee Sane Seeue ess Moth Dance.

Georgia. Osieetiens. rere oe Ae ee To be selected later.

28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

During the fiscal year, the portrait of Captain Patrick Miller by
Raeburn, previously on loan, was given to the Gallery by Mrs.
Dwight Davis.

SCULPTURE

On December 10, 1948, the Board of Trustees accepted from
Stanley Mortimer, Jr., a ‘“‘Portrait Bust of a Member of the Order of
San Iago” attributed to Leone Leoni, which had previously been on
loan to the Gallery. At the same time the Board accepted from
Miss Mildred Howells a portrait medallion of her father, William
Dean Howells, and herself, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to be held
for a National Portrait Gallery.

PRINTS AND DRAWINGS

A gift from Lessing J. Rosenwald of 309 additional prints and
drawings was accepted on December 10, 1948, to be added to the
Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection. At the same time, two volumes of
“The Georgics’”’ of Virgil with 119 illustrations by Andre Dunoyer de
Segonzac were accepted as a gift from the artist. This gift was
inspired by an earlier gift to the Gallery of a collection of Segonzac’s
prints and drawings made in memory of the late Frank Crowninshield.
The Board of Trustees, during the fiscal year, received 50 prints and
drawings from the collection of the late R. Horace Gallatin. On
March 8, 1949, the Board accepted from Miss Georgia O’ Keeffe three
water colors by John Marin entitled “Movement, Boat and Sea,
Deer Isle, Maine,’ “White Mountain Country, Summer,” and
“Storm over Taos, New Mexico.”’ The Board of Trustees accepted
from Mr. Rosenwald on May 3, 1949, 582 additional prints and draw-
ings. Received during the fiscal year from George Matthew Adams
were 20 etchings by Alphonse Legros.

PHOTOGRAPHS

The Board of Trustees on March 8, 1949, accepted from Miss
Georgia O’Keeffe a key set of photographs, consisting of about 1,500
prints, by Alfred Stieglitz.

EXCHANGE OF WORKS OF ART

During the fiscal year 1949 the Board accepted the offer of Chester
Dale to exchange the portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Sully,
which was being held for the National Portrait Gallery, for the por-
trait of the Sicard David Children by Sully, which was then on loan
to the Gallery. The Board also accepted the offer of Lessing J.
Rosenwald to exchange the prints ‘Sacrifice to Priapus,”’ by Jacopo
de Barbari, ‘Conversion of St. Paul,’’ by Lucas van Leyden, and

SECRETARY’S REPORT 29

“Solomon Worshipping Idols,’ by the Master M. Z., for superior
impressions of like prints now included in the Rosenwald Collection
at the National Gallery of Art.

WORKS OF ART ON LOAN

During the fiscal year 1949 the following works of art were received
on loan by the National Gallery of Art:

From Artist
Chester Dale, New York, N. Y.:
1 BCR (0) oes ae de Ag ee ire oN ee Pee Domergue.
Mrs bhilipyliydics 8-2 ss 2 seo seee eee S Zuloaga.
SanvSepulvedaase= = sss te ee eee Zuloaga.
iarRubiaydelAbanicoss222-- 2-2 sse— ee osa2 Zuloaga.

Mrs. Brooks Goddard, Paris, France (via the
National Collection of Fine Arts):

Mrursical eins pina tio epee eae rere Romaine Brooks Goddard.
PEHewBaleory 55 22 5 UM A sere es Se eg Romaine Brooks Goddard.
Sketcne fete ee ssf oe ee ey, Bele eee Romaine Brooks Goddard.
SelfsPortral tees eee ee eee ee eee Romaine Brooks Goddard.

Alfred Stieglitz Collection:
(Miss Georgia O’ Keeffe, New York, N.

Y.)

Chimneys and Water Tower-------------- Demuth.

AGCowssiskulliwithpRediers= eee O’ Keeffe.

Ihinerand=Curviess=s28s8s cose ee eee eee O’ Keeffe.
Chauncey Stillman, New York, N. Y.:

AVHalberdier 24 tee ee ss ee ae asl Pontormo.
George Matthew Adams, New York, N. Y.:

Sretchings an 2 ole as sue ee ee awe Alphonse Legros.

C. S. Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal:
28 pieces of Egyptian sculpture.
3 pieces of eighteenth-century French fur-
niture.
1 fourteenth-century Arabian bottle.
1 sixteenth-century Persian rug.
7 eighteenth-century French books.
The Italian Government:
AVmarblerscatueOi Davide sane sees ae ee Michelangelo.
Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C.:
32 objects of Pre-Columbian art.

LOANED WORKS OF ART RETURNED

The following works of art on loan were returned during the fiscal
year 1949:

To Artist
Chester Dale, New York, N. Y.:
OnitherBeachee a ane ee eee eae ees Winslow Homer.
Mme. Charlotte Fuerstenberg, at New York,

INceyY -:
Sea abr Pstaquers. sess o2— oneness Cezanne.

30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Anonymous loan:
Paradise, Valleyi43t 2-442 42-63-20 ee en John La Farge.
Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C.:
16 objects of Pre-Columbian art.
Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cam-
bridge, Mass.:
70 objects of Pre-Columbian art.

WORKS OF ART LOANED

During the fiscal year 1949, the Gallery loaned the following works
of art for exhibition purposes:

To Artist
Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, N. Y.:
Joseph; Widener. -.-.---2 See +s. sseesS Augustus John.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL:
Alexander: Hannltonassse oo eo Trumbull.
William) Dhormtone -enAs) 22-2 ee ee Stuart.
Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio:
iAbrahsimeltineoinivres 62 2S. sano ee Healy.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.:
‘The White Girl. 2-2 sa.=0* = ess eee Whistler.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Tex.:
George Washington (Vaughan-Sinclair) ----- Stuart.
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio:
ackawanna Valleys sof ses- 22. 2 eee Inness.
Fort Worth Art Association, Forth Worth, Tex.:
Breezing Wp. eee aA a ee Winslow Homer.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y.:
Captain Charles Stewart. -.--.-.--------- Sully.
Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, N. C.:
Tomas *Vawsone 26 sa 2se ese = = ee Mather Brown.
Henry, Laurense... 2 = 23st atest est Copley.
Andre wa acCkSON= =a = esac arene eee eee Earl.
WiilltaminatVloores ae ene ee = = ae Feke.
General) William: Moultries === 22-- — = === Charles Willson Peale.
JohnmiC: Calhoune ses. 226-2. ae Rembrandt Peale.
JOUnNeBaptista Ashe nas sas ee ee eee Stuart.
Matilda Caroline; @ruger. = .=..-----=-—-=- Stuart.
Hrancis, Hopkinson... 25 S22_2- = 22 ee Sully.
Annebiddle Hopkinson] —5-—. 222-4... 2 355-2 Sully.
JosiasrAllston ease oe ae eee eee Theus.
Walliam Rogerst=.4 ies ease es ee eee Trumbull.
Portraits, Inc., New York, N. Y.:
Mrs#Chester Dale: si) 210 0 sees fat or Bellows.
Mr Chester Dale. 25. == 252-2. GASES Bellows.

Scott and Fowles, New York, N. Y.:
Joseph Widener... 2.522.225. 5.css5558 Augustus John.

SECRETARY'S REPORT oil

EXHIBITIONS

During the fiscal year 1949 the following exhibitions were held at
the National Gallery of Art:

American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art. Exhi-
bition of American paintings, featuring a group of portraits from Pocahontas to
General Eisenhower. Continued from previous fiscal year, through July 11, 1948.

American Folk Art. Exhibition consisting of 104 water-color renderings from
the Index of American Design. July 18 to September 7, 1948.

American Graphic Art from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day.
Selection from the collections of the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, and the National Gallery of Art. September 19 to November 14, 1948.

Paris the Favorable Climate. Exhibition of prints and drawings by Bonnard,
Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac, and Matisse, arranged in
memory of Frank Crowninshield. November 21, 1948, to January 11, 1949.

Michelangelo’s ‘‘David.’’ Lent to the National Gallery of Art by the Italian
Government. January 24 to June 28, 1949.

Gulbenkian Collection of Egyptian Sculpture. Lent for an indefinite period to
the National Gallery of Art by C. 8. Gulbenkian. Opened January 30, 1949.

Studies of Medieval Cathedrals. Exhibition of photographic studies lent to
the National Gallery of Art by Clarence Ward, head of the Department of Fine
Arts, Oberlin College. January 30 to February 13, 1949.

Gulbenkian Collection of Eighteenth Century French Objects. Additions to
earlier loan by C. S. Gulbenkian, on exhibition at the National Gallery of Art
for an indefinite period. Opened February 20, 1949.

American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art. Feb-
ruary 20 to April 10, 1949.

Early Italian Engraving. Exhibition of early Halian engravings, lent to the
National Gallery of Art by various museums and anonymous lenders. April 17
to June 19, 1949.

R. Horace Gallatin Collection. Exhibition of prints bequeathed to the National
Gallery of Art by Mr. Gallatin. Opened June 26, 1949.

The following exhibitions were displayed in the cafeteria corridor
of the National Gallery of Art during the fiscal year 1949:

Whistler Prints. Rosenwald Collection; one gift of Myron A. Hofer. Con-
tinued from previous fiscal year through July 18, 1948.

Audubon Prints. Mrs. Walter B. James Collection. July 20 to December 12,
1948.

Index of American Design. Water-color renderings of early American toys.
December 13, 1948, to February 15, 1949.

Index of American Design. Water-color renderings of early American furniture
and textiles. February 16 to March 28, 1949.

Legros Prints. George Matthew Adams Collection. March 29 to May 15,
1949.

Seymour Haden Prints. Rosenwald Collection and gift of Miss Elisabeth
Achelis. May 16 to June 12, 1949.

Ostade Prints. Rosenwald Collection and gift of Mrs. Addie Burr Clark.
Opened June 13, 1949.

a2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949
TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

Rosenwald Collection.—Special exhibitions of prints from the Rosen-
wald Collection were circulated to the following places during the
fiscal year 1949:

Kenneth Taylor Galleries, Nantucket, Mass.:
26 French prints.
July 26 to August 23, 1948.
Watkins Gallery, American University, Washington, D. C.:
26 French prints.
October 13 to 30, 1948.
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.:
20 Blake prints.
October 1948.
Wyncote Woman’s Club, Wyncote, Pa.:
11 prints.
October 17 to 23, 1948.
Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J.:
9 Italian prints.
October 1948.
Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.:
1 Rembrandt drawing.
November 1948.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N. Y.:
1 Munch print.
November 1948 to January 1949.
Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Md.:
6 Gavarni drawings.
January 22 to March 6, 1949.
Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Md.:
5 miniatures.
January 27 to March 138, 1949.
City Art Museum, St. Louis, Mo.:
17 prints.
March 1949.
Institute of Contemporary Arts, Washington, D. C.:
11 Klee prints.
March 21 to April 22, 1949.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.:
3 Lehmbruck prints.
May 1949.
Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Canada:
67 prints.
May 1949.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

33

Index of American Design.—During the fiscal year 1949 exhibitions
from this collection were shown at the following places:

Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Western Reserve Historical Society,
Cleveland, Ohio.

Shaker Village Work Camp, Pittsfield,
Mass.

New York State Historical Association,
Cooperstown, N. Y.
Damariscotta Information Bureau,
Damariscotta, Maine.
University of ‘Tennessee,
Tenn.

Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine,
Wis.

City Art Museum, St. Louis, Mo.

William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kan-
sas City, Mo.

Munson- Williams-Proctor Institute,
Utica, N. Y.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio.

Mint Museum, Charlotte, N. C.

Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Ala.

Knoxville,

Schenectady Museum, Schenectady,
Na ¥2
University of Oklahoma, Norman,
Okla.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Mich.

North Carolina College, Durham, N. C.

Art Institute, Zanesville, Ohio.

Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga.

Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester,
N. H.

Stephens College, Columbia, Mo.

Brown University, Providence, R. I.

Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley,
Ga.

Washington College, Chestertown, Md.

Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pa.

Art Gallery, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Tallahassee, Fla.

Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, Maine.

Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Ala.

Young Playways, Inc., Washington,
Dr CE:

Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Prairie View University, Prairie View,
Tex.

University of North Dakota, Grand
Forks, N. Dak.

American University, Washington, D. C.

Rockford Art Association, Rockford, II.

Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Va.

Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and
Normal College, Pine Bluff, Ark.

Alfred University, Alfred, N. Y.

Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.

St. Paul Public Library, St. Paul, Minn.

Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga.

Arnot Art Gallery, Elmira, N. Y.

Kenneth Taylor Galleries, Nantucket,
Mass.

CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES

The Curatorial Department accessioned 1,118 new gifts to the
Gallery during the fiscal year. Advice was given in the case of 233
works of art brought to the Gallery for opinion, and 58 visits were
made by members of the staff in connection with proffered works of art.
Almost 1,000 research problems requiring reports were investigated
in response to inquiries received by the Gallery. During the year,
16 individual lectures were given by members of the curatorial staff,
both at the Gallery and elsewhere. In addition Miss Elizabeth
Mongan gave a seminar at Alverthorpe, Jenkintown, Pa., for Swarth-

34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

more College honor students; Charles Seymour, Jr., gave a course
at Johns Hopkins University on Renaissance Art; and Charles M.
Richards gave a survey course on art history under the auspices of
the Department of Agriculture. Miss Mongan also made the
arrangements for Arthur M. Hind’s American lecture tour, in connec-
tion with the publication of Part II of his ‘‘Harly Italian Engraving,”
under Gallery auspices. Mr. Seymour served on three and Miss
Mongan on two art juries.

Special installations were prepared for: the Michelangelo “David”
lent to the National Gallery of Art through the courtesy of the
Italian Government; 28 pieces of Egyptian sculpture lent to the
Gallery by C. S. Gulbenkian placed on exhibition in January 1949;
and eighteenth-century furniture and books also lent by Mr. Gulben-
kian. The cataloging and filing of photographs in the George Martin
Richter Archive continued to make progress, with the gradual
enlargement of the collection.

Further activities of the department are indicated under the
heading of “‘ Publications.”

RESTORATION AND REPAIR OF WORKS OF ART

Necessary restoration and repair of works of art in the Gallery’s
collections were made by Stephen S. Pichetto, Consultant Restorer
to the Gallery, until his death in January 1949. No successor to
Mr. Pichetto has as yet been appointed, but necessary minor repairs
on the works of art have been continued under the care of Mr.
Pichetto’s residual staff. All work was completed in the Restorer’s
studio in the Gallery, with the exception of the restoration of two
paintings, work on which is being completed in the New York studio
of S. S. Pichetto, Inc.

PUBLICATIONS

During the year Mr. Cairns published two books, ‘‘The Limits
of Art,’’? Pantheon Books, Inc., and ‘‘Legal Philosophy from Plato
to Hegel,” Johns Hopkins Press. He also edited a volume entitled
“Lectures in Criticism,’”’ Pantheon Books, Inc., and contributed an
introduction to “Epicurus, My Master,’’ by Max Radin, University
of North Carolina Press. He also contributed articles and reviews
to the Columbia Law Review, Human Events, Saturday Review
of Literature, New York Herald Tribune, Baltimore Evening Sun,
Law and Contemporary Problems, The Scientific Monthly, and to
the volume El Actual Pensamiento Juridico de los Estados Unidos,
Buenos Aires.

A series of 12 articles on masterpieces in the Gallery, prefaced
by one entitled ‘‘New Friends for Old Masters,” is being published
by John Walker in the Ladies Home Journal. An article by Mr.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 35

Walker, “The Art of Duplicating Great Art,” appeared in Vogue
on August 15, 1948, and another, ‘‘American Masters in the National
Gallery,” in the National Geographic Magazine in September 1948.
Mr. Walker also contributed two book reviews, the first reviewing
Bernard Berenson’s ‘‘ Aesthetics and History in the Visual Arts”
to the October 1948 Gazette des Beaux-Arts, and the second, entitled
‘The Philosophy of a Connoisseur,’ a review of Mr. Berenson’s
‘Sketch for a Self-Portrait,’ to the New York Times for April 24,
1949. Charles Seymour, Jr., published two articles, ““Note on the
Relationship between an Illustration by Travies de Villers and
Daumier’s ‘Le Fardeau’,” in the Journal of the Walters Gallery for
1948, and in the Summer Bulletin of the Columbus Gallery of Fine
Arts the text of the address given by him for the inauguration of a group
of sculpture by Georg Ehrlich in the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts.
Printing of ‘‘Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery
of Art,’ a volume prepared by Mr. Seymour, was begun during the
summer of 1949. Mrs. Fern R. Shapley has written two book reviews,
a review of Bernard Berenson’s ‘‘ Aesthetics and History’ which is
to be published in the next number of the College Art Journal, and
one on Evelyn Sandberg-Vavala’s ‘‘ Uffizi Studies” published in the
January 1949 Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Miss Elizabeth Mongan
contributed six articles for the volume honoring Paul Sachs; an article
for the Color Print Society on ‘Rockport,’ a colored lithograph
by Stella Drabkin; descriptions of 27 illuminated miniatures to Pro-
fessor Faye for the second edition of Seymour de Ricci’s “Census
of Manuscripts in America.”’ An article on Rowlandson by David
Keppel was published in the winter, 1949, number of The Art Quarterly.
An article by James W. Lane entitled ‘Religious Art Exhibit’
appeared in the Interracial Review, and one on ‘‘Contemporary
Religious Sculpture Exhibition” in the Catholic University Bulletin;
he contributed two book reviews on ‘‘Van Eyck’s the Holy Lamb,”
by Leo Van Puyvelde, and ‘‘Robert Louis Stevenson,’”’ by David
Daiches, to the Catholic World, and one on “American Landscape
Painting,” by Wolfgang Born, to the Magazine of Art. Charles M.
Richards wrote a report on a code for intermuseum loans for the
American Association of Museums.

An illustrated catalog of the Gulbenkian Egyptian sculpture was
issued for the opening of the exhibition, and Mr. Seymour prepared
a pamphlet on the Michelangelo ‘‘ David,” which was placed on sale
during its exhibition. The book of illustrations of the Mellon Collec-
tion went to press in the late spring of 1949; work on the new National
Gallery of Art catalog is at an advanced stage.

The Publications Fund during the past fiscal year has continued to
add new subjects to the supply of inexpensive color reproductions

36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

offered to the public, including 11’’ x 14’’ color prints and color
post cards. Five large collotype reproductions supplemented the
already long list of subjects available. A silk-screen print of an
anonymous fifteenth-century colored woodcut from the Rosenwald
Collection was also published.

The Gallery is continuing to meet the demand for illustrated
catalogs of its various collections. The Mellon catalog is in process
of publication, a third printing of the Kress catalog ordered, and a
fifth edition of the Chester Dale catalog was published during the year.

Two new publications were issued this year: an ‘Arts and Crafts
Bibliography,” by Erwin O. Christensen, and a catalog of the ‘‘Egyp-
tian Sculpture from the Gulbenkian Collection.” A group of engraved
Christmas cards was added to the usual series of color and Rosenwald
subjects.

Final negotiations have been made for the printing in gravure of
the book, ‘‘Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of
Art,” and it will be available by October 1949; the publisher now
has the final manuscript for ‘‘ Made in America,”’ by Mr. Christensen;
the Gallery received a stock of ‘Popular Art in the United States,”’
also by Mr. Christensen, which will go on sale on July 4, 1949; and
“Pictures from America,”’ by John Walker, will shortly be published.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

During the year approximately 15,000 persons attended the Gen-
eral, Congressional, and Special Topic Tours, while over 20,000
attended the Picture of the Week. More than 18,000 came to hear
the lectures and other programs in the auditorium. At least two-
thirds of this lecture audience were regular attendants at these
Sunday afternoon lectures. Many of them brought out-of-town
visitors, and stated that this lecture series was becoming one of the
Capital’s chief Sunday attractions. The motion picture, ‘The
National Gallery of Art,” continues to be popular with clubs, educa-
tional organizations, and similar groups. During the past 12 months,
19 persons borrowed this film.

The publication of the monthly Calendar of Events, announcing
Gallery activities, including notices of exhibitions, lectures, Gallery
talks, tours, and concerts was continued during the year by the
Educational Department. About 3,900 of the Calendar of Events
are mailed each month.

LIBRARY

A total of 283 books, 221 pamphlets, and 31 periodicals were given
to the Gallery; 494 books, 18 pamphlets, and 282 periodicals were
purchased, and 40 subscriptions to periodicals were purchased.
Exchanges with other institutions included 47 books, 114 pamphlets,

SECRETARY'S REPORT 37

13 periodicals, and 420 bulletins. Of the 1,762 books borrowed and
returned during the year, the Library of Congress lent 1,676 books to
the Gallery on the usual interlibrary loan basis, and the remaining
86 books were borrowed from 25 public and university libraries.

INDEX OF AMERICAN DESIGN

During the year the Index of American Design continued to expand
as the result of gifts and exchanges. Three hundred and thirty-six
persons studied Index material at the Gallery; of this number, 301
were new users and 25 revisited the collection for study purposes.
The use of photographs of Index drawings was increased by about
40 percent, with 1,796 photographs being sent out on loan, exchange,
or purchase. Fifty exhibitions of original water-color renderings
were circulated in 25 States.

PRESIDENT TRUMAN’S INAUGURAL RECEPTION

On January 20, 1949, the President’s Inaugural Reception was
held in the National Gallery of Art. The Seventh Street ground
floor and main floor lobbies were especially furnished and decorated
for the occasion; the rotunda and the two garden courts were appro-
priately decorated with flowers; under arrangements made by the
White House staff, a platform was built in the West Sculpture Hall
where the President addressed the guests who could not be received
personally in the West Garden Court. Three sections of the Marine
Band Orchestra played during the reception. The total number of
guests was approximately 8,000.

CUSTODY OF GERMAN PAINTINGS

On April 6, 1949, the Gallery accepted custody of the 97 paintings
from Berlin museums which had been on an exhibition tour of the
United States, part of the group of 202 German paintings stored in
the Gallery building by the Department of the Army from December
1945 to March 1948. After the last exhibition of this collection of
paintings in Toledo, Ohio, the collection was brought to Washington
and stored in the Gallery for about 2 weeks pending final shipping
arrangements. On April 20, 1949, the collection was delivered to
the Army for return to the American Zone in Germany.

The exhibition of the Berlin paintings in 13 museums throughout
the United States resulted in the collection of $303,605.35 through ad-
mission fees and voluntary contributions for the relief of German
children in the American Zone in Germany. ‘These funds were de-
posited with the Gallery and were later disbursed in accordance with
instructions received from the Department of the Army. During the
tour 1,307,001 persons viewed the paintings, in addition to 964,970

38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

who saw them during the time the paintings were on exhibition at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington.

CUSTODY OF GERMAN SILVER

On January 7, 1949, the Gallery returned to the Department of the
Army for transport to Germany the 44 sealed cases containing silver-
ware and glassware and belonging to the Hohenzollern family. The
cases had been stored in the Gallery since April 11, 1947.

CUSTODY OF WHITE HOUSE FURNITURE

On November 24, 1948, the Gallery accepted custody of certain
items of paintings, sculpture, and furniture belonging to the White
House for storage in the building until the repairs to the White House
are completed.

Shipments of these items started on December 3, 1948, and con-
tinued for several days thereafter. At the present time there are 76
works of art—paintings and sculpture—stored in the Gallery’s storage
rooms and 25 vanloads of furniture stored in the packing space on the
main floor.

The necessary arrangements for fire prevention, inspection, and
fumigation have been established and are being carried out.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

During the past fiscal year, the Committee on the Building approved
the construction in the southwest moat of a small workroom for the
use of the gardening staff in maintaining and growing certain plants
for the garden courts and landscaping. Later, when funds become
available, it is planned to construct two small greenhouses adjacent
to this workroom.

The growth of the Gallery’s collections of works of art has been so
rapid that all available exhibition space is now being utilized. As a
matter of fact there are already several paintings which cannot be ex-
hibited because there is no space in the present galleries. For this
reason the Committee on the Building recommended that, to take care
of the most urgent needs, the unfinished spaces 61-66 and 68-70, on
the main floor, be completed as soon as funds are available. These
galleries will be used for new acquisitions of paintings in the American
and British schools and will also make possible some rearrangement in
galleries already finished so as to make available additional space
therein.

The Committee on the Building also recommended that the so-called
copyists’ room be finished to furnish office space for the Educational
Department, which is now operating in rather cramped quarters.

Funds have been generously made available from private sources to
complete this work, and contracts have been entered into with Eggers

SECRETARY'S REPORT 39

and Higgins, Architects, and Vermilya-Brown Company, General
Contractors, for the completion of 12 galleries in these unfinished
areas. The floor plan has been approved, and bids are now being taken
from subcontractors. It is anticipated that actual construction will
begin in August 1949 and that the work will be completed by May 1950.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING

The usual routine work in connection with the care and maintenance
of the building andits mechanical equipment was carried on throughout
the year.

The three older refrigeration compressors were completely dis-
mantled and overhauled, including the purge compressors. Three
chilled-water pumps, including the electric motors, were completely
overhauled and realigned by the mechanical staff. Twelve supply
fans were cleaned and repainted to protect them against corrosion,
The structural steel base for the large 400-horsepower motor driving
No. 2 Worthington refrigeration machine was strengthened in order
that this large motor would remain in alignment. ‘To correct serious
leaks in two of these machines, the technical staff successfully made
and installed the necessary parts.

The cornice metal lining at the top of the exterior wall of the
building developed leaks, and approximately 50 percent of the joints
in the metal lining were cleaned and soldered.

In connection with the Inaugural Reception, the technical staff
installed floodlights on three sides of the building, assisted the person-
nel of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the installation of a loud-speaker
system on the main floor, and installed extra electric lines and water
lines for the use of the caterer. The maintenance staff erected exten-
sive checking facilities for the proper care of wraps.

Twelve new display cases were constructed by the staff for the
Gulbenkian Exhibition.

Care and improvement of the Gallery grounds and other miscella-
neous work progressed satisfactorily. Potted plants, totaling 2,366,
which were used for decoration in the two garden courts, were grown in
the southwest moat. In addition, over 350 large pots of chrysanthe-
mums were also grown in this moat area, and these plants provided
the decoration for the two garden courts during the months of October
and November.

COMMITTEE OF EXPERT EXAMINERS

During the year the United States Civil Service Commission’s
Committee of Expert Examiners, composed of staff members of the
Gallery, aided in the drafting of standards for Civil Service positions in
which a knowledge of the history of art is a basic requirement. The

866591—50-——4

40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Committee also performed preliminary work in the preparation
of the examination announcement for art positions which was dis-
tributed by the Civil Service Commission with a closing date of
April 19, 1949. From this examination registers of eligibles will be
established for appointment to art positions in the Gallery and
elsewhere in the Government. This will give the present incumbents,
most of whom are serving indefinite war-time appointments, an
opportunity to attain permanent status, and will also make available
a greater number of qualified candidates.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Forty-six Sunday evening concerts were given during the fiscal
year, all concerts being held in the East Garden Court. A Mozart
Festival of six concerts was given in the autumn with the highest
attendance rate for the season. The five Sunday evenings in May
were devoted to the Gallery’s annual American Music Festival. An
estimated 50,000 persons attended these concerts.

During the year the photographic laboratory of the Gallery made
17,709 prints, 1,342 black-and-white slides, 1,005 color slides, 3,873
negatives, in addition to infrared photographs, ultraviolet photographs,
X-rays, and color separation negatives.

A total of 3,500 copies of press releases, 128 special permits to copy
paintings in the National Gallery of Art, and 117 special permits to
photograph in the Gallery were issued during the year.

OTHER GIFTS

Gifts of books on art and related material were made to the Gallery
library during the year by Paul Mellon and others. Gifts of money
during the fiscal year 1949 were made by the Avalon Foundation and
The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, and a cash
bequest was received from the Estate of the late William Nelson
Cromwell.

AUDIT OF PRIVATE FUNDS OF THE GALLERY

An audit of the private funds of the Gallery has been made for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1949, by Price Waterhouse & Co., public
accountants, and the certificate of that company on its examination
of the accounting records maintained for such funds will be forwarded
to the Gallery.

Respectfully submitted.

Huntineton Cairns, Secretary.

THe SECRETARY,

Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 3
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1949.

THE SMITHSONIAN ART COMMISSION

The twenty-sixth annual meeting of the Smithsonian Art Commis-
sion was held in the Regents’ Room of the Smithsonian Building, on
Tuesday, December 7, 1948.

The members present were: Paul Manship, chairman; Alexander
Wetmore, secretary (member, ex officio); George Hewitt Myers;
George H. Edgell; Lloyd Goodrich; John Taylor Arms; Archibald G.
Wenley, Gifford Beal, and Robert Woods Bliss. Thomas M. Beggs,
Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts, and John E. Graf,
Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, were also present.

The Commission recommended the reelection of Archibald G. Wen-
ley, David E. Finley, Eugene E. Speicher, and Paul Manship for the
usual 4-year period.

The following officers were reelected for the ensuing year: Paul Man-
ship, chairman; Robert Woods Bliss, vice chairman; and Dr. Alexander
Wetmore, secretary.

The following were reelected members of the executive committee
for the ensuing year: David E. Finley, chairman, Robert Woods Bliss,
and Gilmore D. Clarke. Paul Manship, as chairman of the Commis-
sion, and Dr. Alexander Wetmore, as secretary of the Commission, are
ex officio members of the executive committee.

The Secretary summarized the status of exhibition and storage of
the art objects of the National Collection of Fine Arts which at present
are housed in space intended for the natural history collections in the
Natural History Building. <A separate building for the art collections
is included in the Smithsonian building program, but funds for the
development of plans have not been made available.

The following resolution, offered by Mr. Goodrich, was passed unan-
imously:

Resolved, That whereas the art collections in the custody of the National Collec-

tion of Fine Arts are exhibited in an entirely inadequate manner, the Smithsonian
Art Commission recommends that the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

41

4? ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

take all action necessary to provide space and facilities necessary to the preserva-
tion and proper exhibition of these art collections to the public.

The formal meeting was adjourned at 11:45 at which time the mem-
bers assembled in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building to pass
on the works of art which had been offered during the year. The fol-
lowing action was taken:

Accepted for the National Collection of Fine Arts

Miniature, water color on ivory, Robert Broome, by an unknown artist, and a
shell cameo. Gifts of Miss Helen Munroe.

Painting, Tiger and Cub, ink and water color on paper, and scroll, ink on paper,
by Mr. Whang, Jang Har. Gifts of the artist as a token of friendship and gratitude
to the American people from the people of Korea through the Korean Commission
in Washington.

Miniature, water color on ivory, My Uncle Charles, by Albert Colfs. Gift of
the artist.

Oil, Portrait Group (Benjamin West, Frank W. and Henry T. C. Wilkin), by
Frank W. Wilkin (1791-1842). Gift of Mrs. Mabel Wiles.

Oil, Thomas Moran, by Howard Russell Butler, N. A. (1856-1934). Bequest
of Miss Ruth Moran. A signed palette and brushes used by Thomas Moran, and
a photogravure of the artist, were included in the bequest.

Oil, A Reading, by Thomas W. Dewing, N. A. (1851-1938). Henry Ward
Ranger bequest.

Oil, Margery and Little Edmund, by Edmund C. Tarbell, N. A. (1862-1938).
Henry Ward Ranger bequest.

Accepted for the National Portrait Gallery

Oil, George Washington Carver, by Betsy Graves Reyneau. Gift of the George
Washington Carver Memorial Committee.

Accepted for the Smithsonian Institution

Water color on silk, Tiger, by Ih Dang (Mr. Kim, Eun Ho). Gift of the artist
through John R. Hodge, Lieutenant General, Un ited States Army.

Oils, 44 portraits of World War II heroes, by Joseph Cummings Chase. Gift
of the artist. Assigned to the Department of History February 17, 1949.

DEPOSITS

Oil, Portrait of Spencer Fullerton Baird, the second Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, by Henry Ulke (1821-1910). Purchased by the Smithsonian
Institution and deposited August 6, 1948.

Bronze, African Elephant Scenting Danger, by Eli Harvey. Accepted as a
gift of the sculptor and deposited by the Smithsonian Institution December 9,
1948.

THE CATHERINE WALDEN MYER FUND

Two miniatures, water color on ivory, were acquired from the fund
established through the bequest of the late Catherine Walden Myer,
as follows:

68. Henry A. Coit, by John Wood Dodge (1807-1893); from Edmund Bury,
Philadelphia, Pa.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 43

69. Ebenezer Martin of Martin’s Ferry, Ohio, attributed to Henry Inman
(1801-1846) ; from Miss Alice L. Wood, Blowing Rock, N. C.

LOANS ACCEPTED

Three Nymphenburg figurines were lent by Miss Cornelia Morrison,
Newton, N. C., on February 7, 1949.

One miniature, water color on ivory, Portrait of Elsie Clough
Street, by Gerald S. Haywood, was lent by Mrs. James Walter
Rickey on February 15, 1949.

One oil painting, Portrait of Sr. Benito Juarez, by Tom Lea, was
lent by the State Department on February 18, 1949.

Two oil paintings, Portrait of the Hon. Grizel Ross, by William
Hogarth, and Portrait of Gen. Sir Charles Ross, by George Romney,
and one miniature, water color on ivory, Portrait of the 8th Baronet
Sir Charles Ross, by E. C. Thomson, were lent by Lady Ross of
Balnagown Castle, Ross-shire, Scotland, on April 4, 1949.

WITHDRAWALS BY OWNERS

A bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
lent by Mrs. Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1912, was withdrawn August
24, 1948, at the request of Homer Saint-Gaudens.

Two oil paintings, Shoshone Falls, Idaho, and Spectres of the
North, by Thomas Moran, lent by Miss Ruth B. Moran in 1923, were
withdrawn October 6, 1948, by the executor of Miss Moran’s estate.

An oil painting, The Nativity, by an unknown artist, lent by St.
Paul’s Church in 1945, was withdrawn February 9, 1949, by the owner.

Nine miniatures painted by Mrs. E. D. Sparrow when she was
Mary Hall, lent by the artist in 1929, were withdrawn April 25, 1949.

LOANS TO OTHER MUSEUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS

The original design for the painting in the Capito] Building, West-
ward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, by Emanuel Leutze, was
lent to the Akron Art Institute August 17, 1948, to be included in the
Freedom Train Exhibition at Akron, Ohio. (Returned October §,
1948.)

An oil painting, Portrait of Admiral William Snowden Sims, by
Irving Wiles, was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an
exhibition held in conjunction with the United States Navy, entitled
“Your Navy, Its Contribution to America from Colonial Days to
World Leadership,” held from October 25 through December 5, 1948.
(Returned January 13, 1949.)

An oil painting, Sunset, Navarro Ridge, California Coast, by Ralph
Blakelock, was lent to The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N. Y., for an
exhibition “The Coast and the Sea, A Survey of American Marine

44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Painting,” held from November 19, 1948, to January 16, 1949.
(Returned February 3, 1949.)

Two oil paintings, Portrait of George Washington, attributed to
William Winstanley, after Gilbert Stuart, and The Signing of the
Treaty of Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814, by Sir Amédée Forestier,
were lent March 22, 1949, to the Department of State to be hung in
the office of the Secretary of State.

An oil painting, Portrait of Andrew Jackson, by Rembrandt Peale,
was lent to the Committee on Un-American Activities March 25,
1949, to be hung in its committee room for an indefinite period.

THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND

Since it is a provision of the Ranger bequest that the paintings pur-
chased by the Council of the National Academy of Design from the
fund provided by the Henry Ward Ranger bequest, and assigned to
American art institutions, may be claimed by the National Collection
of Fine Arts during the 5-year period beginning 10 years after the
death of the artist represented, seven paintings were recalled for action
of the Smithsonian Art Commission at its meeting December 7, 1948.

Two paintings, listed earlier in this report, were accepted by the
Commission to become permanent accessions.

The following five paintings were returned to the institutions to
which they were originally assigned, or reassigned, by the National
Academy of Design as indicated.

No. 3. Grey Day, by W. Granville-Smith, N. A. (1870-1938), assigned to the
National Gallery of Art (now National Collection of Fine Arts).

No. 48. The Prodigal Son, by Horatio N. Walker, N. A. (1858-1938), assigned
to the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Delaware Park, Buffalo,
IN Ys

No. 56. Southaven Mill, by W. Granville-Smith, N. A., assigned to the Toledo
Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio.

No. 63. Cypripedia, by Sergeant Kendall, N. A. (1869-1938), assigned to the
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, Calif.

No. 90. Summer, by W. L. Lathrop, N. A. (1859-1938), reassigned by the
National Academy of Design to the Mary Washington College, University of
Virginia, Fredericksburg, Va.

The following paintings, purchased by the Council of the National
Academy of Design in 1948, were assigned as follows:

No. 120. Sunlight on the Waterfront, by Ferdinand E. Warren, N. A.
(1899- ), to the Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, N. H., May 13, 1949.

No. 121. Village Green, by John Pike, N. A. (1911- ), to the Washington
State Historical Society, Tacoma, Wash., March 15, 1949.

No. 124. Lobstermen, by Andrew Winter, N. A. (1893- ), to the Mint
Museum of Art, Inc., Charlotte, N. C., June 1, 1949.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 45

THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS REFERENCE LIBRARY

A total of 347 publications (219 volumes and 128 pamphlets) were
accessioned, bringing the total National Collection of Fine Arts library
accessions to 11,364.

The most noteworthy gift this year was that of the Ferdinand Perret
Research Library of the Arts and their Affiliated Sciences, from Fer-
dinand Perret of Los Angeles, Calif. This library, a series of uniform
portfolios, containing mounted reproductions of paintings and art
objects, represents many years of work on the part of Mr. Perret.
The volumes on painters and sculptors are arranged by schools and
alphabetically according to the names of the artists.

PRESERVATION

In addition to much necessary repair and renovation to the per-
manent collections, portraits were cleaned, restored, and revarnished
for the following departments: State Department—Secretaries of
State John Hay and Elihu Root, by unknown artists. Marine Corps,
Department of the Navy—Generals Franklin Wharton and George
Barnett, by L. H. Gebhard; George Elliott, by Richard N. Brooke;
John A. Lejeune, by S. B. Baker; Archibald Henderson, by R. Le
Grande Johnston, and John H. Russell, by Bjorn Egeli. United States
Air Force—a minor correction was made to the uniform in the por-
trait of Brig. Gen. R. E. Ramey.

The portrait of Alvin C. York, by Joseph Cummings Chase, was
cleaned for the Department of History, United States National
Museum.

INFORMATION SERVICE

The requests for information of 1,422 visitors received special atten-
tion, as did many similar requests by mail and phone; 332 art works
were submitted for identification.

The Director and Mr. Gardner, curator of ceramics, gave lectures
on art topics during the year to a number of groups, including the
District of Columbia Chapter of the American Association of Uni-
versity Women, the art section of the Twentieth Century Club, a
group of art students from the Washington Missionary College,
Takoma Park, Md., the American Association of Music and Fine
Arts, and the District Chapter of the National League of American
Pen Women. They also served as judges or as members of juries of
selection and award for a number of exhibitions held in Washington.

Permission was given to four persons to copy art works in the
collection.

46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS

In addition to the regularly scheduled temporary exhibitions listed
below, the Community Chests of America and the Louisiana State
Society of Washington held special showings of paintings of timely
interest in the lobby of the Natural History Building for short periods.
The Federal Security Agency was assisted in a Memorial Day exhibi-
tion of paintings by Leslie E. Lane under the sponsorship of the
American Legion.

August 7 through 29, 1948.—Exhibition of 94 portraits of Soldiers
of Two World Wars, by Joseph Cummings Chase.

November 7 through 28, 1948.—The Eleventh Metropolitan State
Art Contest, held under the auspices of the District of Columbia
Chapter, American Artist’s Professional League assisted by the Entre
Nous Club, consisting of 327 specimens of paintings, sculpture, prints,
ceramics, and metalcraft. A catalog was privately printed.

January 12 through 30, 1949.—Exhibition of Polish Manual Arts,
held under the patronage of His Excellency Jozef Winiewicz, Ambas-
sador of Poland to the United States, and the auspices of The Ameri-
can Federation of Arts, consisting of 131 pieces of tapestries, paintings
on glass, and folk sculpture. A catalog was privately printed.

February 6 through 27, 1949.—The Sixteenth Annual Exhibition of
The Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington,
D. C., consisting of 155 examples. A catalog was privately printed.

April 7 through 27, 1949.—The Twenty-fifth Annual Hoosier Salon
held under the sponsorship of the Indiana State Society of Washing-
ton, consisting of 196 paintings, prints, and sculpture. <A catalog was
privately printed.

May 8 through 80, 1949.—The Fifty-third Annual Exhibition of the
Washington Water Color Club, consisting of 135 paintings and prints.
A catalog was privately printed.

Respectfully submitted.

Tuomas M. Braas, Director.

Dr. A. WeTmore®,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 4
REPORT ON THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

Sir: I have the honor to submit the twenty-ninth annual report
on the Freer Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 1949.

THE COLLECTIONS
Additions to the collections by purchase were as follows:

BRONZE

48.24, Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A quadruped; linear
designs in countersunk relief; smooth gray-green patina with encrusta-
tions of green; cracked in places, forelegs repaired. 0.118 x 0.204.

48.25. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A garment hook inlaid
with silver and gold. 0.227 x 0.025.

48.26. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A garment hook inlaid
with turquoise and gold; underside plated with silver. 0.212 x 0.017.

49.4. Chinese, Northern Wei dynasty (A. D. 386-535). <A figure standing on a
lotus pedestal in a six-lobed dish; silvery-gray patina encrusted with
malachite, azurite, and dirt adhesions; dish supported on three lugs.
0.243 x 0.215.

49.5. Chinese, Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B. C., late). A covered ceremonial
vessel of the type hu decorated with casting in relief; smooth gray-
green patina. (Illustrated.) 0.176 x 0.115.

49.6. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A garment hook with
interlaced dragon design inlaid in gold on background of silver dots.
0.123 x 0.060.

GLASS

48.14. Syrian (late 13th century). A beaker with fluted body and flaring lip;
honey-colored glass decorated with colored enamels and gold. 0.295 x
0.172.
GOLD

48.25. Syrian or Egyptian (10th—-11th century). <A hinged armlet of hollow gold
decorated with fine filigree work, kiafic inscriptions, and settings for five
stones (now missing). Width: 0.129,

JADE

48.12. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A flat ring of the type
ytian carved with small whorl marks in low relief; pale greenish-gray
nephrite, partly deteriorated. Diameter: 0.123.

48.18. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A garment hook deco-
rated with incised linear patterns and carving in low relief; hook in form
of animal head repaired; pale nephrite almost all deteriorated to cream

color. 0.131 x 0.008.
47

48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

LACQUER

49.1. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). A shallow, oval ceremonial
cup on a stand, wood covered with black lacquer with red designs out-
side; black on red inside. 0.235 x 0.179.

MANUSCRIPT

48.9. Arabic, Egypt (14th-15th century). A leaf from a Koran; recto: illumi-
nated with gold on blue and gold grounds, three white kijic inscriptions;
verso: text in black naskhi in a decorative border. 0.332 x 0.245.

49.2. Persian (16th century). A text of the Gulistan by Sa‘di written by
Rajab b. Khair al-din . . . 153 folios, illuminated sarlawh, two
Turkish miniatures; text in black nasta‘liqg with captions in blue, red,
and gold; contemporary binding, new back and edges. 0.191 x 0.118.

49.3. Persian (15th century). A text of Mihr and Mushtari by ‘Assar written
by Shaikh Murshid al-Katib in Shiréz, A. H. 882 (A. D. 1477); 223
folios, illuminated ‘unvan, three miniatures; text in black nasta‘liq,
chapter headings in gold on decorated ground; contemporary binding.
0.201 x 0.122.

MARBLE

48.23. Chinese, Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B. C., late). An ornamental carving
in high and low relief; slightly decomposed. 0.085 x 0.050.

PAINTING

48.8. Indian, Akbar period (1556-1605), Mughal. Noah’s Ark; painted in
colors and gold. 0.281 x 0.156. cae

48.10. Chinese, Sung dynasty (960-1279, early). Portrait of Wang Huan;
ink and color on silk; one inscription and two seals on painting. 0.393
x 0.317.

48.11. Chinese, Sung dynasty (960-1279, early). Portrait of Féng P‘ing; ink
and color on silk; one inscription and three seals on painting. (Illus-
trated.) 0.399 x 0.327.

48.15. Persian, I]-Khan period (14th century). Mongol. ‘“‘Gushtasp killing
the Dragon’; painted in colors and gold on paper; proto-nasta‘liq
script, black for text and black and red for captions, fills upper three-
quarters of page. 0.368 x 0.300.

48.17. Turkish (mid-16th century). Chinoiserie: a lion, a ch‘t-lin and a dragon
amid floral sprays; ink, gold and slight color on paper. 0.175 x 0.285.

48.18. Persian, Timurid period (first half, 15th century), Shiraz school. Timur’s
entry into Samarquand; leaf from a Zafar-ndéma painted in colors and
gold; text in black naskhi, title in red. 0.259 x 0.132.

48.19A. Indian (early 17th century) Mughal, school of Jahangir. A vulture,
by Mansir, in colors on paper on the recto of a leaf from an imperial
album; verses and signature in nasta‘liqg amid floral rinceaux, wide
border of gold foliage. (Illustrated.) 0.163 x 0.102.

48.19B. Indian (early 17th century) Mughal, school of Jahangir. Jahangir
standing on a globe shoots an arrow at the impaled head of his enemy
Malik ‘Anbar, by Abu’l-Hasan (Nadir al-zaman); verso of the above
leaf from an imperial album; gold and colors on paper, nasta‘ltq script.
0.380 x 0.260.

48.20. Indian (early 17th century) Mughal, school of Jahangir. Portrait of
I‘timad al-dawla by Balchand; ink and colors on paper; borders with

SECRETARY'S REPORT 49

verses in black nasta‘liqg and gold and polychrome floral designs; verso:
poems and floral decoration. 0.381 x 0.259.

48.21. Indian (early 17th century), Mughal, school of Jahangir. A bee-eater,
by Farrukh Beg, painted in colors on the verso of a leaf from an im-
perial album; verses in nasta‘lig and decorative borders. On the recto
of this leaf, a painting of the same period and school shows a bowman,
musician, and dervish, by Bichitr, in gold and colors, also with verses
in nasta‘liq and decorative borders. 0.384 x 0.263.

48.22. Chinese, Ming dynasty (14th century). Landscape in the style of Wang
Méng (d. 1385); ink on gray paper; two inscriptions and eight seals on
painting. 0.855 x 0.397.

48.28. Indian (early 17th century), Mughal, school of Jahangir. Portrait of
Jahangir, by Abi’l-Hasan (Nadir al-zaman); in colors and gold on
paper; signature and three inscriptions. 0.388 x 0.257.

STONE SCULPTURE

48.16. Persian (dated A. H. 549, A. D. 1154-1155). A building inscription by
Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ahmad (Asid or Usaid), carved in a slab of
alabasterlike stone in the form of a mihrab; covered with kufi and
naskhi inscriptions. (Illustrated.) 0.925 x 0.676.

The work of the staff members has been devoted to the study of
new accessions, of objects submitted for purchase, and to general re-
search within the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Arabic,
and Indian materials. Reports, oral or written, were made upon
2,563 objects and 372 photographs of objects submitted for examina-
tion; and 369 Oriental language inscriptions were translated. Docent
service and other lectures given by staff members are listed below.

REPAIRS TO THE COLLECTIONS

A total of 27 objects were cleaned, resurfaced, remounted, or re-
paired as follows:

American paintings cleaned and resurfaced-_------------------------- 14
Chinese: paintings remounted’=_ 4.2223: se aetna. Sot ee aes Se 3
@hinesewpocteryarepalred:)= 93.28 ch ee ke oe oe ae ca eae 2
Japanese: paintings remounteds 2-22.22 cee 2 = 2 a8 eee eee ee 7

—

Japanesewpoutery Tepaired ease. 225 oe a ee ee ee eee eee hee

The repair and restoration of the walls of the Peacock Room by
James McNeill Whistler, mentioned in last year’s report, were com-
pleted on September 27 and the room was reopened to the public on
October 4. It was closed again the first of the year and on January
7, 1949, the work of repairing and restoring the ceiling was begun.
This involves taking down the ceiling, lining each panel with canvas,
treating it with moisture-proof wax, and mounting it on a heavy ply-
wood backing. The painting on the wood is then cleaned with the
utmost care, later repaint is removed, gilding and paint are renewed
in areas from which they were gone altogether and the whole thing is
resurfaced. The work is still in progress on a part-time basis by John

50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949
A. and Richard M. Finlayson of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
and the structural work is being done by the Gallery cabinet shop.

CHANGES IN EXHIBITIONS

Changes in exhibitions totaled 53, as follows:

American paintings ois). ies ih eee SE ers ee eee 25
Peacock Room (Gemporarilyclosed) 2224 ee ee cee Bee 1
Chinese: eilpronzes2 24 iis 2 Sebi Soe PSR Pe ene. 2 2
@hinesenpaintin pssst so eS OM eee) Se Pe a ek hed Dae oS 4
Chinese pottery22 55+ 2 sacs Semen ee en 5
Japanese pammbings: 20 :Gou08 ) eit OU is Sa) RE 16

This unusually small number of exhibition changes is accounted
for by the lack of a painter in the Gallery.

LIBRARY

During the year the following work was accomplished in the
library:

Accessions, including books, pamphlets, charts, rubbings, and study
photographs, 753; cataloging of all kinds, including cards typed and
filed, 4,448; binding, repairing, and mounting, 693.

An inventory of the library holdings was completed, and statistics
now show the number of books, pamphlets, and other items, rather
than the number of titles. The periodicals, including museum publi-
cations, were inventoried, revised, and alphabetically shelved in the
periodical room.

PUBLICATIONS

The following new edition of a former title was published: Annotated
Outline of the History of Japanese Art, new issue, March 1949.

Occasional Papers, vol. 1, No. 2: Paintings, Pastels, Drawings,
Prints, and Copper Plates by and Attributed to American and Euro-
pean Artists, together with a List of Original Whistleriana, in the
Freer Gallery of Art, by Burns A. Stubbs, was published in August
1948.

REPRODUCTIONS

During the year the photographic laboratory made 4,332 prints,
713 glass negatives, 607 black-and-white slides and 269 color slides.

ATTENDANCE

The Gallery was open to the public from 9:00 to 4:30 every day
except Christmas Day. The total number of visitors to come in the
main entrance was 74,846. The weekday total was 59,595, and 15,096
visitors came on Sundays. The averages were: Weekdays, 198; Sun-
days, 290. The highest monthly attendance was in August with
8,300 and the lowest was in December with 2,622.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 51

There were 1,724 visitors to the main office during the year; the
purpose of their visits was as follows:

Hon Peneraiginformationcassst ee tae ee i ae eee ed oye i 787
Mo/SeemcatminemMbershawss sie use He a ee 91
Losreadhnetheslilbrary. ws _ 3% ee eee en 8 see ee PAG
To make sketches and tracings from library books____-_-__._______ 9
Tojfseevburlcings andiinstallations#es. 22 Ss = ee eee ee ee 24
To make photographs in court and sketches in exhibition galleries___ 74
To examine, borrow, or purchase photographs and slides____________ 333
MOSUL TAG LO WC CUS MO Rae Neen TNT TT oa UO Te a eee 378
FLOISeC TO DIECUSHIN SLOTALC = ees eens ese see eee ee clei PB

Wiasliim'gt oma iiss sence bee or ye oe ere 29

Far Eastern paintings and textiles______.___________-_ 48

Near Eastern paintings and manuscripts_.___________ 21

Mibetanypainbin pss s fo fk ey ee oe 3

AMMEN CAnspaintMO Skye aetpae eee re ee Lee 20

Wihistleriprintsi ss see oie ee bua 1

Oriental pottery, jade, bronze, lacquer, and bamboo___ 96

Allisculptureve Sass aek re Meee es Pees 8

Symanveandvotheriglasss 0 a8 oe Lees eels ii

SPECIAL VISITORS

Two scholars made extended study visits to the Gallery during
the year, as follows:

Nov. 22, 1948—Jan. 26, 1949._ Mr. Shih-hsiang Wang, Curator of Paintings in
the Palace Museum in Peiping, studied the
construction and operation of the building as
a whole and made a detailed study of the
collection of Chinese paintings.

Feb. 7—Mar. 4, 1949_.____--- Mr. Won-yong Kim, of the National Museum
of Korea, studied the Gallery and the Far
Eastern collections.

DOCENT SERVICE AND OTHER STAFF ACTIVITIES

By request 16 groups met in the exhibition galleries for instruction
by staff members. Total attendance was 358.

On invitation the following lectures were given outside the Gallery
by staff members:

1948

OcbAZO) de pe Sig td oe ere ten eee: Mr. Pope lectured at the Denver Art
Museum, Denver, Colo., on (1) ‘“Pre-
historic Pottery and Unglazed Wares of
Shang, Chou and Han.’ (Illustrated.)
Attendance, 150.

Octe2ilas 2 Oe Re fue Bal ee Se Mr. Pope lectured at Denver Art Museum,
Denver, Colo., on (2) “Beginnings of
Glaze and of Porcelain and their Develop-
ment through the Ming Dynasty.” (Illus-
trated.) Attendance, 150.

52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

OEE 22 Sewer ht oe ean Mr. Pope lectured at Denver Art Museum,
Denver, Colo., on (3) ‘‘The Development
of European Interest in Chinese Porcelain
and the Final Refinements of Manu-
facture at Ching-té Chén in the Ch‘ing
Dynasty.” (Illustrated.) Attendance,
150.

Oct DILLER BOM eee SE Mr. Pope lectured at Nelson Gallery of
Art, Kansas City, Mo., on No. 3 (See
Oct. 22 above). (Illustrated.) Attend-
ance, 110.

Octa2Si 22 era Dr. Ettinghausen lectured before the Alex-
andria Woman’s Club, Alexandria, Va.,
on ‘Culture of the Near East.” (Illus-
trated.) Attendance, 80.

Oct G0 to2 2 Se ae ee Mr. Pope lectured at City Art Museum, St.
Louis, Mo., on No. 3 (see Oct. 22 above).
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 175.

INO ae a = Oe Ee sys eye eh Mr. Pope lectured at Kellogg Auditorium,
Ann Arbor, Mich., on No. 3 (see Oct. 22
above). (Illustrated.) Attendance, 175.

INOW Oe See aa en eee eae aes Mr. Pope lectured at Bradford Junior
College, Bradford, Mass., on ‘‘Introduc-
tion of Chinese Ceramics to Europe’’ to
members of the faculty. (lllustrated.)
Attendance, 25.

Jan AOL see. 68. ih oe EE fie te Dr. Ettinghausen lectured at Arts Club of
Washington, Washington, D. C., on
“Biblical Subjects Seen through Persian
Eyes.’”’ (Illustrated.) Attendance, 80.

ae Stee eet: Ee See a Dr. Ettinghausen lectured at the Annual
Meeting of the College Art Association,
Oriental Section, in Baltimore, Md., on
‘“‘A Near Eastern Motif in Far Eastern
Garb.”’ (Illustrated.) Attendance, 60.

Bebiel 2h ose. soe. oe nee eee ee Mr. Acker lectured at the Zen Institute of
America, 124 East 65th Street, New York,
N. Y., on ‘The Horyiji Wall Paintings
Recently Destroyed by Fire.’ (Illus-
trated by slides belonging to the Institute.)
Attendance, 30.

eb mide ee A. ee eee Dr. Ettinghausen lectured at the Oriental
Club of Princeton University, Princeton,
N. J., on “Symbols and Religious Themes
in Moslem Art.’ (Illustrated.) Attend-
ance, 75.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 53

DEMOS. 0 eo wa hee a eee Mr. Pope lectured at the Annual Meeting of
the Far Eastern Association (Section on
China: Art and Archaeology) on ‘‘Tech-
nical Notes on Shang White Pottery.”
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 40.

Members of the staff traveled outside of Washington for professional
purposes as follows:

1948

RYO oy Dr. Ettinghausen in Cincinnati, examined objects at
Cincinnati Art Museum.

AIG 25-302 Se eens Mr. Stubbs in Chicago, attended convention of the Pho-
tographers Association of America.

1949

Jan 19-23) 5.22 2068 Mr. Pope in New York, examined objects belonging to
museums and dealers.

KETENE Mr. Wenley, Mr. Pope, Dr. Ettinghausen, and Mr. Acker
in Baltimore, attended the Oriental Section of the
Annual Meeting of the College Art Association. Mr.
Pope served as chairman of this section and Dr. Etting-
hausen was among those reading papers.

AE Waly PRS Smee sets nee ae to Mr. Pope and Dr. Ettinghausen in Baltimore for second
day of above meeting.

Feb. 138-18____-_._.. Mr. Wenley in New York, examined objects belonging to
museums and dealers.

Feb 15-195 22-2 5-52 Dr. Ettinghausen in New York, examined objects belong-
ing to museums and dealers.

Mar: 31—Apr: 1_.=-.. Mr. Wenley in Ann Arbor, conferred with officials of the
University of Michigan in regard to cooperation with
the University in its Criental program.

ADT bon soe oss 5 Mr. Pope in New Haven, attended the joint Annual
Meeting of the American Oriental Society and the Far
Eastern Association; read a paper at one session of the
FEA meeting. In Meriden, Conn., visited the Meriden
Gravure Company to observe methods of collotype and
offset printing. In New York, examined objects
belonging to dealers.

May 20—21_.--..... Mr. Pope in New York, attended preliminary dinner and
organization meetings of the Far Eastern Ceramic
Group and was elected first president of the Group.
Examined objects belonging to museums, private
collectors, and dealers.

UTC ZOE Se Dr. Ettinghausen in Ann Arbor, Mich., began teaching in
University of Michigan summer session; one course on
“Persian Art,’’ one course on “Persian Painting.”

54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

HONORARY DUTIES

During the year, members of the staff undertook honorary duties
outside the Institution as follows:

Mr. Wenley: Appointed to the committee of expert examiners for the Smithsonian
Institution by the Civil Service Commission.
Appointed to serve on the nominating committee of the Far Eastern
Association.
Appointed as Honorary Curator of Oriental Art, Department of
Fine Arts, University of Michigan.
Appointed to serve as a member of the visiting committee of
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Mr. Pope: Elected President of the Far Eastern Ceramic Group.

Respectfully submitted.
A. G. Wrentey, Director.
Dr. A. Wrermors,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

PEATE

Secretary’s Report, 1949—Appendix 4

48.194

Dia

16

48

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

Secretary's Report, 1949.—Appendix 4 PLATE 2

48.11

49.5

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

APPENDIX 5
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Str: I have the honor to submit the following Report on the field
researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of American
Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949, conducted in
accordance with the Act of Congress of June 27, 1944, which provides
“* %* * for continuing ethnological researches among the Ameri-
can Indians and the natives of Hawaii and the excavation and pres-
ervation of archeologic remains. * * *”

SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES

At the end of December Dr. M. W. Stirling, Director of the Bureau,
left to continue the cooperative program of archeological work in
Panamé of the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian
Institution. Excavations were conducted at Utivé in the province of
Panam4, at Barriles and Palo Santo in the province of Chiriqui, and
at three sites midway between Santiago and Soné in the province of
Veraguas. At Utivé and Barriles heretofore undescribed ceramic
cultures were encountered, while at the other sites much new informa-
tion was obtained on the classic Chiriqui and Veraguas cultures. The
expedition received splendid cooperation from Maj. Gen. Willis Hale,
commanding general of the air forces of the Caribbean area, who, in
addition to other assistance, allowed the use of two helicopters for
reconnaissance work in the Utivé-Chepo area. Dr. Stirling returned
to Washington with the Panamanian collections in the middle of
May.

Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Associate Director of the Bureau
and Director of the River Basin Surveys, devoted the greater part of
his time during the fiscal year to the direction and administration of
the River Basin Surveys. On November 4 and 5, Dr. Roberts
attended the meetings of the American Philosophical Society at
Philadelphia where he presented a paper on the River Basin Surveys
program. From November 22 to 30, Dr. Roberts was at Lincoln,
Nebr., inspecting the field headquarters for the Missouri Basin project.
While at Lincoln he also took part in the Sixth Conference for Plains
Archeology and presided over one of the symposia. During the year
he also served as a member of the executive committee for the Divi-

866591—50-—_5 55

56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

sion of Anthropology and Psychology, National Research Council.
Dr. Roberts’ report of the work of the River Basin Surveys during
the fiscal year appears in another section of this report.

Dr. John P. Harrington, ethnologist, continued the revision of his
grammar of the Maya language. Study of sources and the vast
literature on the subject shows that there were 10 linguistic stocks in
southern México and Central America that had Maya-style hiero-
glyphic writing. The work also included revision of a previous paper
on Maya hieroglyphs.

A study incident to this Maya work was the determination of the
origin of the word “Maya.” This word appears first in the letter written
by Bartholomew Columbus in 1506 telling of the fourth voyage of
Columbus. The letter employs the spelling “Mayam” which is
clearly derived from the native Maya name for Yucatdén, Mayab.

During the winter a paper was prepared on the names “Tiwa”’ and
“Tewa,” designations of two languages in New Mexico. Early in the
spring Dr. Harrington prepared a series of six maps of America show-
ing the meanings of State, province, and country names.

On April 14 Dr. Harrington left Washington for Old Town, Maine,
to pursue ethnological and linguistic studies on the Abnaki Indians.
He was engaged in this project at the end of the fiscal year.

Dr. Henry B. Collins left Washington in June for the Arctic, having
been invited by the Canadian Government to conduct archeological
excavations with the assistance of Colin Thacker of the National
Museum of Canada at Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island, where Charles
Francis Hall in 1868 had reported ancient Eskimo house ruins and
where a large group of Eskimo now live. The Eskimo ruins were
found—buried remains of semisubterranean houses made of stones,
whale bones, and turf. Excavation showed that the site had been
occupied successively by Eskimo of both the prehistoric Dorset and
Thule cultures. Comparison with other prehistoric Eskimo sites
indicated that the Dorset phase represented is one of the earliest of
that culture known. The Thule phase, which followed the Dorset, is
likewise early, showing close affinities with northern Alaska, its place
of origin. In addition to the archeological work, measurements were
obtained and photographs taken of 80 adult Eskimo—40 males and
40 females—at Frobisher Bay. This was the first anthropometric
study to be made of the present-day Baffin Island Eskimo.

In Washington Dr. Collins continued as anthropological adviser for
the Encyclopaedia Arctica, which Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson is pre-
paring for the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Collins’ term of office as
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Arctic Institute of North
America terminated at the end of the calendar year 1948, but he con-
tinued as chairman of the directing committee for the Institute’s

SECRETARY’S REPORT 57

Bibliography of Arctic Literature and Roster of Arctic Specialists.
In continuation of the archeological program begun in 1948 Dr.
Collins left Washington in May to conduct excavations at Resolute
Bay, Cornwallis Island, N. W. T., under the joint auspices of the
Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of Canada.

From July 1 to September 10 Dr. Fenton was engaged in field work
among the Seneca Indians of western New York on a grant from the
Viking Fund of New York City. Working at Quaker Bridge on AI-
legany Indian Reservation, he obtained a life history of an aged Seneca
named Chauncey Johnny John with whom Dr. Fenton has worked
since 1933. Especially fine materials were collected on social organi-
zation, kinship, and age grades. ‘Twelve reels of recordings were
made which included the entire ritual of the Seneca Dark Dance, the
opening address and several long prayers belonging to the Green Corn
Festival, the entire Women’s Rite of Thanksgiving to the cultivated
crops, and an origin legend for the False-face Society in Seneca and
in English.

The Fourth Conference on Iroquois Research, under the direction
of Dr. Fenton, met at Red House, N. Y., October 8-10, to review out-
standing accomplishments in Iroquoian studies in the fields of lin-
guistics, ethnology, and archeology. The Proceedings of the Con-
ference, edited by Dr. Fenton, were issued in mimeograph form by the
Smithsonian Institution.

The project of collecting materials for a political history of the Six
Nations was reported in a general paper to the American Philosophical
Society on November 4. The same research led to examining the
Kirkland Papers in Hamilton College Library, and on December 1
Dr. Fenton addressed the College on its founder: ‘Samuel Kirkland:
Observer, Negotiator, and Educator.” <A lecture was given to the
Anthropology Club of Syracuse University, and manuscripts were
examined in local libraries. Work continued in the manuscript col-
lections of the New York Historical Society and at the New York
Public Library. The Massachusetts Archives in the State House,
the Essex Institute in Salem, and the Peabody Museum of Salem were
visited in January. ‘Three reels of the Pickering Papers were com-
pleted and filed. Arrangements were made with Dr. C. M. Barbeau
of the National Museum of Canada for obtaining microfilm of docu-
ments in Canadian libraries for the American Philosophical Society
Library.

During the year Dr. Fenton served as a member of the Language
Panel of the United States National Commission for UNESCO; he
represented the Smithsonian at meetings of the Policy Board of the
United States National Indian Institute, and in subsequent conferences
at the State Department toward a Second Inter-American Confer-

58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

ence on Indian Life, for which he prepared a paper. He served as
President of the Anthropological Society of Washington.

Dr. Fenton published several papers on anthropological subjects in
various journals during the year.

The research activities of Dr. Gordon R. Willey, anthropologist,
during the year were confined principally to study of data and mate-
rials previously obtained in the field. They included the final prepa-
ration of a monograph, “Archeology of the Florida Gulf Coast,” a
culmination of studies begun by the Bureau of American Ethnology
as early as 1923, with Dr. Willey engaged on the project since 1940.
The war and other duties interrupted the completion of the manuscript,
but it is now in process of publication by the Smithsonian. Hight
other manuscripts by Dr. Willey are in press or awaiting publication,
and four additional manuscripts are in preparation: ‘‘Ancon-Supe:
Formative Period Sites of Central Pert’ (with J. M. Corbett and
L. M. O’Neale); “Huari, an Important Site in the Central Peruvian
Highlands” (with D. Collier and J. H. Rowe); “Prehistoric Settle-
ment Patterns in the Virt Valley, Pert,” and ‘‘Archaeological Explora-
tions in the Parita Zone, Panama.”

Dr. Willey served in a consultative capacity for the period of final
editing of volumes 5 and 6 of the Handbook of South American Indi-
ans (Bureau Bulletin 143) and also assisted with certain administrative
matters concerned with the Smithsonian River Basin Surveys.

Dr. Willey participated in a series of round-table discussions under
the leadership of Dr. A. L. Kroeber during the months October
through February. These meetings, held at Columbia University,
New York, were concerned with general discussions of anthropological
method and theory. Throughout the year he served as assistant
editor for the Handbook of Latin American Studies of the Library of
Congress Hispanic Foundation. He also served as assistant editor of
the journal American Antiquity, with reference to the South American
area.

From March through May Dr. Willey served as Smithsonian repre-
sentative at several committee meetings of the State Department
Committee for Scientific and Cultural Cooperation, and at an open
meeting of the Caribbean Commission.

SPECIAL RESEARCHES

Miss Frances Densmore, collaborator of the Bureau, submitted to
the Bureau a manuscript entitled ‘(Musical Customs of the Indians of
the Parana Delta and La Plata Littoral and the Gran Chaco.”

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

The Institute of Social Anthropology was created in 1943 as an
autonomous unit of the Bureau of American Ethnology to carry out

SECRETARY'S REPORT 59

cooperative training in anthropological teaching and research with
the other American republics. During the past year it was financed
by transfers from the Department of State totaling $97,900 from the
appropriation “Cooperation with the American Republics, 1949.”
Long-range planning for the Institute became increasingly difficult
during the year because of threatened budget reductions for the fiscal
year of 1950. Otherwise, the Institute continued to function much
as in previous years, and good work was done by all staff members.
Principal activities were as follow:

Washington office—Dr. George M. Foster, Director of the Institute
of Social Anthropology, made a 3-weeks trip to Spain in November
1948 to investigate the possibility of ethnographical field work in that
country, with a view to throwing additional light on the development
of the contemporary cultures of Hispanic America. In March 1949
Dr. Foster made a second trip to Spain, serving as Smithsonian
Institution delegate at the centennial celebration of the Royal
Academy of Natural, Exact, and Physical Sciences of Madrid. Dr.
Gordon R. Willey assumed direction of the Institute of Social Anthro-
pology during Dr. Foster’s absence.

Upon the recommendation of the Director a grant-in-aid was ex-
tended by the Department of State to bring Dr. Luis Duque Gémez,
Director of the Instituto Etnolégico y Servicio de Arqueologia of
Bogoté, Colombia, to the United States for a 3-months period, Oc-
tober 1948 to January 1949. An itinerary was arranged by Dr.
Foster whereby Dr. Duque was able to visit the larger universities and
anthropological centers in the United States both in the East and in
the West. Also upon the recommendation of the Director, a like
invitation was extended to Dr. José Cruxent, Director of the Museo de
Ciencias Naturales in Caracas, Venezuela. Dr. Cruxent is expected
to arrive in the United States in August 1949.

Brazil.—Drs. Donald Pierson, sociologist, and Kalervo Oberg, social
anthropologist, continued to give courses at the Escola Livre de
Sociologia e Politica in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Pierson, assisted by
students from the school, completed field work in the caboclo com-
munity of “A Vila” near Séo Paulo, and completed a manuscript
describing this work. Dr. Pierson also served as official observer of
the United States Government at the UNESCO Conference held in
Montevideo, Uruguay, September 6-10, 1948, to consider ways and
means of stimulating the development of science in Latin America.
He was brought to the United States at the end of June 1949, for con-
sultation on future plans for work in Brazil. Dr. Oberg spent July
and part of August 1948 in field work among the Indians of the
headwaters of the Xingi River. In June 1949 he left on a 3-months
trip to the Paressi and Nambiquara groups, northwest of Cuiabé in

60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Mato Grosso. On both of these trips he was accompanied by students
from the Escola Livre.

Colombia.—Dr. John H. Rowe returned to the United States from
Popay4n, Colombia, in September to accept a permanent position at
the University of California. Dr. Raymond E. Crist, professor of
geography at the University of Maryland, was employed in February
1949 on a temporary basis to replace Dr. Rowe. In the short time
Dr. Crist has been in Popay4n he has given courses and lectures in the
Universidad del Cauca, dealing with Iberian culture and its dissemina-
tion in the New World, and with geographic methods and theories.
He has made several short field trips to small communities near
Popaydn, and has been host to the American Ambassador, Willard L.
Beaulac, who, with his private party, flew from Bogota for the express
purpose of becoming acquainted with the work of the Institute in
Popayan.

Mézico.—Dr. Isabel Kelly, social anthropologist, continued to repre-
sent the Institute at the Escuela Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico
City, giving anthropology courses and guiding independent research
of students. A part of the spring of 1949 again was spent in the
Totonac area, where final field notes on this group were taken, prepara-
tory to writing a monograph describing the results of three seasons of
work. Dr. Stanley Newman, linguist, resigned from the Institute
in February 1949, to accept a position at the University of New
Mexico. Up to this time be continued his teaching schedule at the
Escuela. His research included investigations of the Otomi and
Nahuatl Indian languages, and participation in the literacy campaign
of the Mexican Government. A significant paper on the Otomi
language was completed, and a major monograph on Nahuatl was
undertaken.

Pert.—Dr. Allan Holmberg resigned from the Institute in August
1948 to accept a permanent position at Cornell University. He was
immediately replaced by Dr. George Kubler, of Yale University, who
arrived in Lima early in September. Dr. Kubler continued teaching
projects in the Instituto de Estudios Etnolégicos, and also gave a
course in the University of San Marcos. He devoted much atten-
tion to the social history of the colonial period in Pert, with particular
emphasis on demography, and shifts in populations during this period.
This work will to a considerable extent close the gap between the
data of archeological studies in the Virti Valley in north Pert, made
by Smithsonian and other scientists, and the contemporary studies
made by Dr. Holmberg and teachers and students of the Instituto
de Estudios Etnolégicos, thus completing one of the longest sequences
of culture history known from any part of the world. Dr. Kubler
made a brief trip in March 1949 to Bogota and Popay4n, to investigate

SECRETARY’S REPORT 61

documents in the Colombian capital dealing with demographic move-
ments on the west coast of South America in colonial times, and to
consult with Dr. Crist on Institute of Social Anthropology matters.
In June 1949 he served as Adviser to the American Delegation at the
Third Annual Interamerican Indian Congress, held in Cuzco.

Publications.—Institute of Social Anthropology Publications Nos.
8 and 9 appeared during the year and Nos. 10, 11, and 12 were in
press. These are listed with the publications of the Bureau of Ameri-
can Ethnology.

RIVER BASIN SURVEYS

The River Basin Surveys, organized in 1946 as a unit of the Bureau
of American Ethnology to carry into effect a memorandum of under-
standing between the Smithsonian Institution and the National
Park Service providing for the salvage of archeological and paleon-
tological materials that will be lost as a result of the nation-wide
program for flood control, irrigation, hydroelectric, and navigation
projects sponsored by the Federal Government, continued its opera-
tions during the year. As in the past, the investigations were con-
ducted in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Bureau
of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, the Corps of
Engineers, Department of the Army, and a number of nongovern-
mental local institutions. The work was financed by the transfer of
$145,400 ($20,000 of which was appropriated in the 2d Deficiency
Act and did not become available for actual use until the beginning
of fiscal 1950) to the Smithsonian Institution by the National Park
Service. The money comprising these funds was derived in part
from the Bureau of Reclamation and in part from the National Park
Service.

Activities in the field consisted mainly of reconnaissance or surveys
for the purpose of locating sites that will be involved in construction
work or are so situated that eventually they will be inundated. There
was a limited testing of sites to determine their nature and extent,
where such was deemed essential, and at seven locations extended
excavation or intensive testing was carried on. The surveys covered
67 reservoir areas scattered throughout 8 river basins and 14 States.
At the end of the year the total of the reservoir areas surveyed or
where some digging has been done since the start of the program in
July 1946 had reached 154 located in 21 States. During the course
of the work 2,107 archeological sites have been recorded, and of that
number 456 have been recommended for excavation or further testing.
Thus far preliminary appraisal reports have been finished for all the
reservoirs, and 97 have been mimeographed for distribution to the
cooperating agencies. Where several reservoirs form a unit in a single

62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

drainage subbasin the information on all is included in a single report,
so that the 97 mimeographed pamphlets contain information on some
130 of the reservoir projects. In addition to the archeological papers,
one comprehensive report on the paleontological problems in the
Missouri Basin was also issued. More detailed technical reports
completed for a number of projects have appeared in scientific journals
or are awaiting publication.

The distribution by States of all the reservoirs investigated, as of
the close of the fiscal year, is as follows: California, 16; Colorado, 23;
Georgia, 2; Idaho, 9; Llinois, 2; Iowa, 3; Kansas, 6; Minnesota, 1;
Montana, 5; Nebraska, 16; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 13;
Oklahoma, 5; Oregon, 12; South Dakota, 9; Tennessee, 1; Texas,
10; Virginia, 1; Washington, 9; West Virginia, 2; Wyoming, 8. Exca-
vations completed during the year were: Colorado, 1; Nebraska, 1;
North Dakota, 1; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; Washington, 1. In a
number of cases the digging was started in the previous fiscal year
and continued over into fiscal 1949. Other States where excavations
were made in prior years are: Kansas, 1; New Mexico, 1; Texas, 1;
and Wyoming, 1.

As has been the case since the start of the River Basin Surveys
program, staff men in the field received full cooperation from repre-
sentatives of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation,
the Corps of Engineers, and various State agencies. ‘Temporary
office and laboratory space was provided at some of the projects,
transportation and guides were furnished at others, and in several
instances labor and mechanical equipment made available by the
construction agency materially increased excavation operations.
Had it not been for this assistance it would not have been possible to
accomplish all that was done during the year. The National Park
Service was primarily responsible for obtaining the funds which sup-
ported the program and continued to serve as the liaison between the
Smithsonian Institution and the other governmental agencies, both
in Washington and through its several regional offices. The untiring
efforts of Park Service personnel played a large part in furthering the
progress of the program as a whole.

The main office in Washington had general direction and super-
vision over the work in Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, North Dakota
(in the drainage of the Red River of the North), Iowa, Illinois, Colo-
rado (outside of the Missouri Basin), and California. In the Missouri
Basin, direction of the program was from a field headquarters at Lin-
coln, Nebr., where all the materials collected by the survey and exca-
vation parties were also processed. Activities in the Columbia Basin
were supervised from a field office located at Eugene, Oreg.

Washington office——Throughout the fiscal year the main head-

SECRETARY’S REPORT 63

quarters of the River Basin Surveys continued under the direction of
Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. Carl F. Miller, Joseph R. Caldwell,
and Ralph S. Solecki, archeologists, were based on that office, although
Caldwell and Solecki did not work full time for the Surveys.

Richard P. Wheeler was appointed archeologist on the staff on
August 27, and from that date until May 16 functioned under the
direction of the Washington office, although all his work was done in
the field. On May 16 he was transferred to the Missouri Basin
and from then until the close of the year was based on the Lincoln
headquarters.

Mr. Miller spent most of the year in the office preparing reports
based upon material gathered in the field during the previous year,
and assisting the Director in reviewing the literature pertaining to
archeological manifestations occurring in areas where additional reser-
voir projects are proposed. His ‘‘Appraisal of the Archeological
Resources of the Clark Hill Reservoir Area, South Carolina and Geor-
gia’? was completed and mimeographed for distribution in December.
Another article, ‘‘Early Cultural Manifestations Exposed by the
Archeological Survey of the Buggs Island Reservoir in Southern
Virginia and Northern North Carolina,” was published in the Journal
of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 38, No. 2, December
1948. A paper based on information obtained during the survey of
the Clark Hill Reservoir, ‘The Lake Spring Site, Columbia County,
Georgia,” was to appear in American Antiquity, vol. 15, No. 1, July
1949. Several others have been accepted for publication elsewhere.
Mr. Miller made two trips to Clarksville, Va., in the late winter and
early spring, the first for the purpose of investigating unauthorized
pot-hunting activities in the Buggs Island Reservoir area, and the
second to speak before the Archeological Society of Virginia on the
problems of the Buggs Island archeological program. He also went
to Richmond, Va., where he spent 2 days at the Valentine Museum
examining manuscripts and other documentary materials pertaining
to early explorations and surveys in Virginia, northern North Carolina,
and eastern West Virginia in an effort to obtain further data bearing
on the aboriginal history of the Buggs Island area.

In July and early August Mr. Caldwell collaborated with Mr. Miller
in working over the materials collected during the Clark Hill Reservoir
survey. During that period he prepared a paper, “The Rembert
Mounds, Elbert County, Georgia,’”’ based on new information obtained
at Clark Hill. Another article, ‘‘Palachacolas Town, Hampton
County, South Carolina,” was printed in the Journal of the Washington
Academy of Sciences, vol. 38, No. 10, October 15, 1948. On August
19 Mr. Caldwell joined Dr. Robert E. Bell, of the University of Okla-
homa, at Wagoner, Okla., and began the excavation of a large mound

64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

at the Norman Site in the Fort Gibson Reservoir basin. That work
continued until September 22. Mr. Caldwell returned to Washington
on September 25 and on October 3 was granted leave of absence to
join an expedition of the Universities of Chicago and Pennsylvania in
Iraq and Iran. He returned to duty on the staff of the River Basin
Surveys June 26, 1949, and began work on materials from the Alla-
toona Reservoir basin in Georgia.

Ralph S. Solecki devoted the summer and fall months to the prepara-
tion of reports on his work at the Bluestone and West Fork projects in
West Virginia. The Bluestone paper was mimeographed and dis-
tributed in December and that for the West Fork in March. Mr.
Solecki also prepared a detailed article, “‘An Archeological Survey of
Two River Basins in West Virginia,’ which was published in West
Virginia History, vol. 10, Nos. 3 and 4. In December he was tempo-
rarily transferred to the regular staff of the Bureau of American
Ethnology and was sent to Natrium, W. Va., to excavate a mound on
the property of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. The latter organiza-
tion planned to level the mound to make room for new buildings and
in order that nothing of value might be destroyed made arrangements
with the Bureau to have it done properly, providing the necessary
labor for the project. Mr. Solecki returned to the River Basin Sur-
veys on January 12. In following months he continued to work on
the material from West Virginia and on May 8 was transferred to the
Smithsonian Institution staff so that he could accompany a party of
the United States Geological Survey to Alaska for an archeological
reconnaissance along the upper Kukpowruk and Kokolik Rivers in
northern Alaska. At the close of the fiscal year he reported having
located some 59 late Eskimo sites.

California.—Investigations in California were not as extensive as 10
previous years and were limited to three reservoir projects. In
October David A. Frederickson and Albert Mohr, field assistants of
the River Basin Surveys, working under the general supervision of
Francis A. Riddell, assistant archeologist of the California Archeologi-
cal Survey, University of California, and in cooperation with the latter
organization, examined the areas to be flooded by the Black Butte,
Farmington, and New Melones Reservoirs, all Corps of Engineers
projects.

The Black Butte Dam is to be built in Stony Creek, and the basin
it will flood lies in Glenn and Tehama Counties, a region formerly
occupied by the Wintun. The survey located 26 sites in the area and
it is believed that excavations in a number of them would provide a
reasonably accurate and balanced picture of the material culture of the
Indians who lived there.

The Farmington Dam is planned for Littlejohn Creek, and the

SECRETARY’S REPORT 65

reservoir formed by it will inundate areas in both San Joaquin and
Stanislaus Counties. It would seem that in aboriginal times that
section was more suitable for occupation than it has been in recent
years because 24 sites were found there. Most of them are of the
surface variety, indicating seasonal occupation, but some have cultural
deposits with artifacts, bone, and shell occurring in some abundance.
All the artifacts are alike, both in types and material, and are of
particular interest because they consist in the main of crude core tools,
cores, and flake tools, with only a few blade fragments and no arrow-
heads. The material from which they were made occurs in the local
stream beds in the form of cobbles. Excavations in a number of the
sites are recommended for the purpose of obtaining information both
as to their probable position in the chronological sequence of the area
and as to their relationships.

The New Melones Reservoir will fill a deep and narrow valley
formed by the Stanislaus River in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties.
The area is one in which there was considerable mining activity at
one time, and there is an existing reservoir which has modified the
surface of the ground to some degree. Consequently only four sites
were noted, despite the fact that the Northern Miwok once inhabited
the region, and no further archeological activities were recommended.

Colorado.—Because of the physiographic character of the area in-
cluded within the political boundaries of Colorado the numerous
projects there occur within the limits of several drainage systems.
Consequently some of the archeological investigations have been
conducted as a part of the Missouri Basin program, while others
have been carried on as separate units of the Surveys as a whole.
Only the latter are discussed in this section of the report.

At the start of the fiscal year Donald Eastman and Gary L. Yundt,
field assistants, were continuing reconnaissance of the area involved
in the Taylor Lake Enlargement of the Gunnison-Arkansas project.
They completed this work on July 7, after having located only two
sites that will be covered by the waters of the larger lake resulting
from the construction of a new dam. The sites apparently were
former camps and only surface material was present. The latter,
however, is crude in character and suggests a much earlier cultural
horizon than that of the late nomads. Neither of the sites showed
sufficient depth to warrant excavation, and no further work is recom-
mended for that project. From Taylor Lake, Eastman and Yundt
proceeded to the Cimarron Damsite located on the Gunnison River
just below the confluence of the latter and the Cimarron. The area
to be flooded by this project had previously been surveyed in part
by the Chipeta Chapter of the Colorado Archeological Society,
Montrose, which made it possible for the Survey men to complete

66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

their work by July 17. All the sites located, eight in number, indi-
cate that they were camping places, and the surface materials col-
lected from them are typical of the late nomadic Indians of the
region. Similar sites are abundant outside of the basin of the pro-
posed reservoir, hence no further investigations are needed there.
Eastman and Yundt returned to Gunnison, Colo., from the Cimarron
project and, having completed their reports, resigned from the River
Basin Surveys on July 23. During the course of their investigations
they worked under the genera! direction and supervision of Dr. C. T.
Hurst of Western State College, Gunnison, who had cooperated with
the River Basin Surveys on a number of previous surveys.

Arnold M. Withers, archeologist, completed reconnaissance of nine
proposed reservoir areas in the Blue-South Platte project, which he
had started toward the end of the previous year, and examined six of
those in the Gunnison-Arkansas project east of the Rocky Mountains.
All the proposed reservoirs of the Blue-South Platte project, Two
Forks, Shawnee, Blue, Snake, Tenmile, Ruedi, Pando, Piney, and
Empire, are located in the high mountain valleys of the Colorado
Rockies at altitudes ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level.
They will be situated in Douglas, Park, Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, and
Clear Creek Counties. Only six definite archeological sites were
found in the nine reservoir areas, although further surveys are recom-
mended for the Snake and the upper part of the Two Forks, and they
appear to have been temporary camps occupied by a people engaged
in hunting and gathering wild food products. At none of them are
the deposits of sufficient depth to warrant excavation. The materials
collected from the surface suggest that the sites are prehistoric, al-
though they have no great age, and that they probably are attributable
to Ute Indians.

The six proposed reservoirs of the Gunnison-Arkansas project, the
Graneros, Cedarwood, Ben Butler, Pueblo, Higbee or Purgatoire, and
Horse Creek, are in the broken country of the High Plains along the
Arkansas or its tributaries in Pueblo, Huerfano, Otero, and Bent
Counties, Colo. The rapid survey of the area by Withers produced
a total of only 13 sites for the project. They consist of rock shelters
and open camps. At a number of the latter, tipi rings were noted.
Although the small number of sites indicates that the area was sparsely
populated, the character of the materials collected from them suggests
that a long period of time is represented. Testing is recommended
for some of the rock shelters and two of the stone-circle sites, but none
appears to be worthy of complete excavation. A more intensive in-
vestigation of the Pueblo and Purgatoire reservoir basins is indicated
if the projects are authorized and construction work is started.
Withers completed his work and left the Surveys on August 14.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 67

During the investigations he was provided with a base of operations
by the University of Denver.

Preliminary reconnaissance of the eight reservoirs included in the
Colorado-Big Thompson project by the University of Colorado was
completed in the autumn of 1947. In accordance with recommenda-
tions made at that time, the River Basin Surveys arranged for a more
intensive survey and the testing of some sites in the Granby Reservoir
on the Colorado River in Grand County. ‘That work was carried out
during August and September by Robert F. Burgh, field assistant,
who was on leave of absence from the University of Colorado Museum,
aided by William Woodard and Byron W. Houseknecht, student
assistants. Only four sites were located in the area to be flooded, and
two of those showed only surface traces of stone chips and a few im-
plements. Another consisted of stone circles, presumably tipi rings,
but yielded no artifacts. The fourth was a camp site located on the
west side of the basin on a terrace adjacent to Stillwater Creek.
Trenching of the site produced a variety of cultural remains consisting
of hearths, potsherds, stone projectile points, stone scrapers, manos,
metate fragments, and animal bones. No traces of house remains
were found, and the occurrence of fireplaces at varying depths below
the surface suggests that there were repeated but casual occupations
of the terrace during successive seasons without any permanent habi-
tation. Potsherds from the site were of two kinds, cord-marked and
corrugated. The cord-marked is from a cooking ware of Woodland
type, while the corrugated undoubtedly came from the Northern
Periphery of the Southwest. The pottery indicates that the site
probably dates between A. D. 900 and 1300. The bulk of the material
obtained there shows that the affiliations were clearly with the pre-
historic Plains cultures, particularly those responsible for the camp
sites along the foothills in northeastern Colorado.

Conclusions, based on the results of the work in that area, are that
no further investigations are warranted in the Colorado-Big Thomp-
son project unless construction operations accidentally uncover un-
suspected remains. West of the Continental Divide there are no
sites as good as the one examined in the Granby Reservoir, while east
of it there are numerous examples outside the reservoir basins which
not only appear to have the same cultural identity as those within
them but to offer greater promise.

Columbia Basin.—Work in the Columbia Basin was based on the
field headquarters at Eugene, Oreg., where office and laboratory space
was provided by the University of Oregon. Dr. Philip Drucker, on
detail from the Bureau of American Ethnology, continued to direct
the program until October 1 when he returned to Washington and his
regular duties prior to being granted military leave beginning October

68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

22. After Dr. Drucker’s departure from Eugene, Homer Douglas
Osborne, archeologist, was appointed acting field director and placed
in charge of the office there. He continued in that capacity through-
out the remainder of the year.

From July to early September, two parties consisting of two men
each, were engaged in the investigation of reservoir areas in the
Columbia Basin. During that time they explored 15 reservoir basins,
6 of which are Corps of Engineers projects, and 9 of which are projects
of the Bureau of Reclamation. The Corps of Engineers projects in-
clude the 4 navigational reservoirs on the lower Snake River in Wash-
ington, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower
Granite. In addition Lucky Peak Reservoir basin in Idaho was
examined, and the results of the survey of Chief Joseph (Foster Creek)
Reservoir in east-central Washington initiated some years ago by the
University of Washington were checked and the survey was com-
pleted. The work done in Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs involved
the examination of sites in the Deschutes project, Benham Falls and
Prineville Reservoirs, and checks of the proposed enlargement of
Wickiup and Crane Prairie Reservoirs. In addition a series of small
reservoirs in eastern Oregon and central Idaho were surveyed. They
were: Mason, Ryan Creek, and Bully Creek in northeastern Oregon;
and Lost Valley Enlargement and Horse Flat Reservoirs in Idaho.
Within the boundaries of those 15 reservoir basins a total of 128
archeological sites were found and recorded.

Excavation projects were carried out in the McNary Reservoir
area, Oregon-Washington, and in the O’Sullivan (Potholes) Reservoir,
Washington. The work at McNary was a cooperative undertaking
between the River Basin Surveys and the University of Oregon, while
that at O’Sullivan was a joint venture between the Surveys and the
University of Washington.

Investigations at McNary were carried on from August 5 to Sep-
tember 11 under the direction of Homer Douglas Osborne. The
digging was done by students from various west coast universities.
Extensive tests were made in two sites on Berrian Island, Wash.,
which had been designated as a source of aggregate for dam construc-
tion, and at an important one on the Oregon side of the river. In
addition to previously unknown information about local Indian vil-
lage and house patterns, the excavations produced 48 burials and
1,870 artifacts. The skeletal material provides one of the largest
series thus far available for study and should throw considerable light
on the physical characteristics and relationships of the people. The
artifacts will give a good cross section of the material culture prevail-
ing at the time of first contact with European influence.

The O’Sullivan project was well under way at the start of the fiscal

SECRETARY’S REPORT 69

year and continued until August 19. Richard D. Daugherty, arche-
ologist, was in charge of the party, which consisted of students from
the University of Washington. The scene of operations was a village
site located on the shores of Moses Lake, an area which will be in-
undated when the dam is completed. Three house-pit depressions and
the terrain immediately surrounding them were carefully examined.
Good data were obtained on the form and construction of the houses,
and the series of artifacts recovered during the digging will aid in
determining the cultural status of the people. The absence of all
European objects indicates that the site antedates the period of
exploration and early trading posts. The results at O’Sullivan, in
general, indicate that more intensive work should be done there.

Special mention should be made of the excellent cooperation on the
part of other governmental agencies. The National Park Service,
through the Region Four office at San Francisco and the Columbia
Basin Recreational Survey office at Portland furnished the Eugene
office with current information on reservoir priorities, construction
schedules, and field maps. The Bureau of Reclamation, through the
Region One office in Boise, Idaho, not only supplied maps of reservoir
areas and information on their projects, but greatly facilitated the
archeological investigations by placing vehicles at the disposal of the
survey parties. The Corps of Engineers, through the office of the
Division Engineer, and also the Portland and Seattle District offices,
provided maps and other essential information. In addition the
Portland District office made a vehicle available for use at the McNary
project, furnished a temporary headquarters, and provided assistance
in the mapping of sites.

Throughout the period of active work Dr. Drucker made numerous
trips from the Eugene office to the various parties and the excavation
projects. He also met with Dr. Robert F. Heizer, Director, California
Archeological Surveys, and assisted in perfecting plans for the coopera-
tive work to be carried on by that organization. After completing
arrangements for maintaining the Eugene office during the winter
months, he returned to Washington on October 1.

At the start of the year George L. Coale, archeologist, and Francis A.
Riddell, Harry S. Riddell, Jr., and Homer Douglas Osborne, field
assistants, were engaged in the survey of the Benham Falls, Prineville,
Wickiup, and Crane Prairie Reservoirs. That work was completed
on July 11, and Coale and Osborne returned to Eugene to assist
Dr. Drucker in making preparations for the excavations at the McNary
Reservoir. The two Riddells proceeded to northeastern Oregon
where they made a reconnaissance of the Mason Creek and Ryan
Creek Reservoirs. The surveys there being finished on July 16, they
moved to Chief Joseph (Foster Creek) where on July 26 they completed

70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

the investigations previously started by the University of Washington.
Francis A. Riddell resigned from the Surveys on July 30. George L.
Coale met Harry S. Riddell, Jr., at Pasco, Wash., on the 27th, and
the two proceeded from there to Ice Harbor and Lower Monumental
Reservoirs. After their reconnaissance of those two projects they
went on to the Lucky Peak, Lost Valley, and Horse Creek Reservoirs
in Idaho, and the Bully Creek Reservoir in Oregon. William W. Burd,
who was appointed a field assistant on August 16, and Joel L. Shiner,
who was promoted from the crew at McNary to field assistant, spent
the period from August 18 to 30 examining the Little Goose and Lower
Monumental Reservoirs for archeological remains. Burd returned to
Eugene and resigned on August 31, while Shiner rejoined the party
at the McNary excavations and continued with it until September 9
when he resigned. After completing the field work at Moses Lake,
Richard D. Daugherty proceeded to Seattle, Wash., where he processed
and studied the materials obtained from the excavations and prepared
a report on the results of the investigations. His appointment as
archeologist terminated on September 16.

As previously mentioned, Osborne spent the first few weeks of the
year on survey duties and was then recalled to Eugene to aid in prepa-
rations for the McNary project. He went with the party to that
reservoir on August 5 and on August 16 was promoted toarc he ologist
and placed in charge of the excavations. Upon his return to Eugene
in September he was made Acting Field Director, and continued to
function in that capacity throughout the remainder of the year.
During the fall and winter months he wrote the preliminary appraisal
reports for the 15 reservoirs surveyed during the summer, prepared
& summary report and a longer, more detailed manuscript on the
MeNary excavations, and made compilations of data on historical
references, ethnological descriptions, and trade goods to be used as
ready sources for information on the Columbia Basin. During Febru-
ary he made a survey of the Big Cliff Reservoir and checked the
various bank-control projects of the Corps of Engineers along the
Willamette River and its tributaries. On May 26 and 27 he partici-
pated in a conference at Pendleton, Oreg., where representatives of
the Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, and the Bureau
of Indian Affairs discussed the problem of the removal of Indian
burials from areas that are to be flooded. Throughout the winter
months Osborne was assisted in the laboratory by Lloyd Collins and
Hiroto Zakoji, students of the University of Oregon.

Lilinois.—Archeological studies in Illinois consisted of the examina-
tion of the records of previous surveys in the Illinois River Basin and
the investigation of two reservoir areas where dams were under
construction.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 71

During February Richard P. Wheeler conferred with the District
Engineer at Chicago about the flood-control program for the Illinois
River Basin, discussed archeological problems involved with Dr. John
C. McGregor, associate professor of anthropology at the University of
Illinois, and with Dr. Kenneth G. Orr, assistant professor of anthro-
pology at the University of Chicago. March 10 to 18, Wheeler
checked the survey files of the Department of Anthropology and
worked in the Harper Library, at the University of Chicago. Leaving
Chicago he proceeded to Springfield, Ill., where he conferred with
Dr. Thorne Deuel, Director of the Illinois State Museum. From
March 21 to 25 he made a reconnaissance of the Fondulac and Farm-
dale Reservoir basins, the dams then being built, on Farm Creek, in
Tazewell County, Ill. No archeological sites were found in those
areas, and no further work was recommended.

In April Wheeler prepared a preliminary report, ‘Archeological
Resources of the Proposed or Considered Reservoirs in the Illinois
River Basin, Central and Northern Illinois,’”’ which embodied a
synopsis of present knowledge of the archeology of this region and
provided a list of known sites (based on the site list prepared for the
River Basin Surveys in September 1947 by Dr. J. C. McGregor) in
10 of the 15 proposed reservoirs in the Illinois River Basin for which
maps are available.

On May 16 Wheeler was transferred to the Missouri Basin, and his
activities from then until the end of the year are included in that
portion of the report.

Iowa.—Work in Iowa was confined for the most part to surveys of
two reservoir basins and the area immediately adjacent to the dam
site of a third where preliminary construction activities were already
under way.

Richard P. Wheeler spent the period December 6 to 10 at the Red
Rock Reservoir project, on the Des Moines River, and December 13
to 15 at the Rathbun Reservoir on the Chariton River. During the
progress of the work he consulted with Dr. Charles R. Keyes, Director
of the Archeological Survey of Iowa, about the character and extent
of the archeological remains in the two areas. In his reports prepared
at the conclusion of his field investigations, Wheeler records 15 mound
and occupation sites in the Red Rock basin, 4 of which will be involved
in the dam construction, and 6 in the Rathbun area. More intensive
studies under more favorable field conditions were recommended for
both reservoirs.

Between January 24 and February 3, Wheeler made a preliminary
reconnaissance of the Coralville Reservoir, on the Iowa River, in
Johnson and Jowa Counties, Iowa. Eight mound sites and one
occupation site were located. Ten other sites, recorded prior to the

866591—50-—6

a ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

survey, could not be found because of the deep snow cover. Further
work will be necessary before recommendations can be made for the
salvage of archeological remains in that reservoir area.

Missouri Basin.—The Missouri Basin project, as in previous years,
continued under the general direction of Dr. Waldo R. Wedel and
was based on the field headquarters at Lincoln, Nebr. During the
fiscal year 12 new reservoir basins were surveyed for archeological
remains; two areas only briefly examined in former seasons were revis-
ited and subjected to intensive reconnaissance; while comprehensive
excavations were carried on at one location. In addition to those activ-
ities and certain paleontological investigations, laboratory and office
work were carried on throughout the year.

As the fiscal year opened, three archeological units and one paleonto-
logical unit were engaged in field work. The largest project was the
excavation program at Medicine Creek, Nebr., under the field direction
of M. F. Kivett, archeologist, with George Metcalf as assistant. The
work was made possible through an agreement with the Bureau of
Reclamation under which the Bureau provided labor and power equip-
ment while the River Basin Surveys provided the technical supervision
and maintained the scientific records. This project terminated on
August 20, having produced a large body of data and artifacts for
several inadequately known prehistoric culture horizons. Aside from
the scientific returns of the operation, it is important to note that the
applicability of power machinery to the excavation of aboriginal village
sites under careful technical supervision was amply demonstrated.
The findings add much new information to that previously obtained
elsewhere in the Central Plains through the small-scale sampling of
many sites.

A second unit under J. T. Hughes, archeologist, with J. M. Shippee
as assistant, was at work in Angostura Reservoir, South Dakota. In-
tensive survey there added numerous sites to those recorded during
preliminary reconnaissance in 1946; and also disclosed the presence of at
least one site that may have an antiquity of several thousand years.
Because of the extreme scarcity of data from this early period, and the
usual difficulty of working such sites, it is imperative that further
excavation be carried on there. From September 15 to 30 Hughes
and Shippee carried on preliminary reconnaissance at the Edgemont
and Keyhole Projects in Wyoming, and at the Pactola and Johnson
Siding Reservoir basins in South Dakota. At Edgemont 28 sites were
recorded, while 29 were noted at Keyhole. Only one was noted at
Pactola and none at Johnson Siding.

A third unit under Paul L. Cooper carried on excavations at the
Heart Butte Reservoir basin, North Dakota, through the month of
July, and then transferred its activities to the proposed lower Oahe

SECRETARY’S REPORT 73

Reservoir project on the Missouri River a few miles above Pierre,
S. Dak. On the basis of findings by that unit, it appears unlikely
that remains of any great importance to archeology will be lost at
Heart Butte. At Oahe, 61 sites were recorded between Pierre and
the Cheyenne River, a distance of about 40 miles. They include some
of the largest, best preserved, and most impressive Indian village re-
mains in the Missouri Basin. Most of them are virtually untouched
by trained archeologists and, with one or two possible exceptions, none
has been adequately tested by excavation. Five of the sites will be
affected almost as soon as construction work begins on the dam site,
the access roads, and the railroad classification yards. Hence,
salvage operations will be necessary at an early date. Because of the
abundance and variety of remains, comprehensive excavation has
been recommended to begin soon and to be carried forward vigorously
so that a representative sample of the materials to be affected by Oahe
Reservoir may be saved.

From November 9 to 24 Cooper and Shippee excavated a burial
mound in the spillway area of Fort Randall Dam, South Dakota. The
Corps of Engineers provided a bulldozer and operator as needed, and
assisted in numerous other ways. Without that cooperation, the
work there would not have been possible. The findings, although not
spectacular, are important because burial mounds are extremely rare
on that portion of the Missouri, and their temporal and cultural
relationships to other archeological complexes of the region can be
determined, if at all, only through controlled excavations by trained
investigators.

A paleontological unit under Dr. T. E. White was in the field from
July 1 to October 1. It worked at the Boysen Reservoir, Wyoming;
in the Canyon Ferry Reservoir area on the Missouri River north of
Townsend, Mont.; at the Angostura Reservoir, South Dakota; and at
the Cedar Bluff Reservoir on the Smoky Hill River in Kansas.

Limited field work was resumed in the spring. Richard P. Wheeler,
archeologist, left Lincoln on May 27 for preliminary reconnaissance
at several hitherto unvisited reservoir projects and for further survey
of others previously examined in preliminary fashion. Projects
visited by Wheeler prior to June 30 include Rocky Ford, Philip, Bixby,
and Shadehill, in South Dakota; Cannonball and Dickinson, in North
Dakota; Moorhead, in Wyoming-Montana, and Onion Flat in
Wyoming.

Among the particularly gratifying features of the year’s field work
were the results achieved through use of power machinery and the
direct cooperation extended by the Bureau of Reclamation at Medicine
Creek and by the Corps of Engineers at Fort Randall Reservoir.
Such cooperative work, in terms of research accomplished, is the most

74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

economical way of salvaging archeological remains on the scale needed.
Application of the same procedures, including mechanized earth-
moving operations, to other projects seems to be the only way of
obtaining irreplaceable scientific data in the little time left for its
recovery.

In the laboratory 39 maps were drawn. Many of them were field
maps, others were site and reservoir maps for use with published re-
ports. Throughout the winter specimens were selected aad photo-
graphed as analysis for technical reports proceeded. Including field
photographs, a total of 918 negatives and 374 color transparencies
were processed; 61 lantern slides were added to the slide series; 918
prints were made, cataloged, and filed; 1,008 prints were made for
report illustrations and reference purposes; and 350 enlargements
were made for publicity and reference use.

All specimens collected during the field season, a total of 45,233,
were cleaned, numbered, cataloged, and stored. The majority of
them came from Medicine Creek, Angostura, and Oahe Reservoirs.
Samples of bone, shell, and vegetal specimens from various sites were
packed and sent to specialists elsewhere for identification. In addi-
tion, soil samples from some of the sites were sent out for analysis, and
wood and charcoal specimens were sent away for tree-ring studies.

The skeleton of an adolescent covered with thousands of shell beads,
sent to Lincoln in a plaster case from the Harlan County Reservoir,
Nebraska, in 1946, was mounted permanently for exhibit purposes.
Pottery restoration, principally of Medicine Creek material, continued
throughout the spring months, 17 earthenware vessels having been
restored by June 30.

Information concerning over 129 sites was added to the site file,
and 45 maps were indexed and added to the map reference file.

On July 1, J. Joseph Bauxar, archeologist, was stationed at the
Lincoln, Nebr., headquarters, continuing the ethnohistorical research
project he had started the preceeding year. The material collected
consisted of such information as is pertinent to the archeologists’
problem of determining the ethnic affiliations of the archeological
complexes in the Missouri River Basin. Some 30 tribes and subtribes
are represented in the Tribal Culture File. On January 9, 1949, Mr.
Bauxar was transferred to the Oklahoma project of the River Basin
Surveys and proceeded to Norman for the purpose of analyzing
materials from the Norman site in the Fort Gibson Reservoir.

Wesley L. Bliss, archeologist, devoted the time from July 1 until
January 8 in the preparation of a general article ‘‘Birdshead Cave,
a Stratified Site in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming,” and a technical
report on the same project. In late August he visited the sites in the
Medicine Creek area being excavated by the State Museum of the

SECRETARY’S REPORT 75

University of Nebraska and in October accompanied a group from that
institution on a trip to Signal Butte in western Nebraska for the
purpose of reexamining the early sites at that location. On the basis
of information obtained during the course of his work, he prepared
a paper ‘Early and Late Lithic Horizons in the Plains” which was
presented before the Sixth Conference for Plains Archeology at Lincoln
in November. Mr. Bliss left the River Basin Surveys staff on
January 8.

In addition to the field work previously mentioned, Paul L. Cooper
in September accompanied Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, Dr. Gordon Baldwin
of the National Park Service, and Dr. J. O. Brew and Frederick
Johnson of the Committee for the Recovery of Archeological Remains,
on an inspection trip to Missouri Basin archeological sites in Wyoming,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Throughout
the remainder of the year his activities were centered in the laboratory
at Lincoln. Until March 24 he was in charge of the Lincoln head-
quarters during such times as Dr. Wedel was in Washington, but from
that date until June 30 devoted most of his attention to analyzing
the data and specimens obtained during the field season and in the
preparation of reports. He wrote a summary of the work done at two
reservoirs in South Dakota, “Recent Investigations in Fort Randall
and Oahe Reservoirs, South Dakota,” which was published in Amer-
ican Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April 1949.

Robert B. Cumming, Jr., archeologist, continued to plan and super-
vise the laboratory procedures, as mentioned in an earlier paragraph,
and from March 24 until June 30 was in charge of the Lincoln office
when Dr. Wedel was not present at the laboratory.

Following the summer field work Jack T. Hughes, archeologist,
spent the remainder of the year in the laboratory studying the data
and materials collected from the various reservoirs he had examined
and writing reports on the results of his work. He prepared a
memorandum on Cheyenne Basin archeology for the National Park
Service and completed an article, “Investigations in Western South
Dakota and Northeastern Wyoming,” which was published in
American Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April 1949. He collaborated
with Dr. Theodore E. White in writing a manuscript “The Long Site,
an Ancient Camp in Southwestern South Dakota.” The latter is a
preliminary account of the archeology and physiography of one of the
most significant sites yet found in the Angostura Reservoir basin.
Hughes also prepared a paper, “Archeology and Environment in the
Western Great Plains,” which he presented at the Sixth Conference
for Plains Archeology held in Lincoln in November. In addition he
wrote a paper, “An Experiment in Relative Dating of Archeological
Remains by Stream Terraces,’’ which he read before the Anthropology

76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Section of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences in May. He wrote a
memorandum on geological deposits and archeological remains in the
Tiber Reservoir basin, on the Marias River in northern Montana, for
the United States Geological Survey, and “A Note on Fireplaces’”’ for
the Plains Archeological Conference Newsletter. Earlier in the year
be had prepared an article, “Naming Projectile Point Types,” for
the same journal. At the close of the year he was occupied with a
report on the Nebraska State Historical Society’s investigations at
the Barn Butte site in western Nebraska and was continuing his work
on the development of a correlation table dealing with early remains
in the western United States.

Upon the completion of the excavation project at the Medicine
Creek Reservoir, Marvin F. Kivett, archeologist, returned to Lincoln
on September 1 and began the preparation of a brief preliminary
report for the use of H. E. Robinson, District Manager of the
Bureau of Reclamation. Included in it was a tabulation of work
completed at various sites in the Medicine Creek Reservoir basin.
After that manuscript was finished Kivett wrote a summary account,
“Archeological Investigations in Medicine Creek Reservoir, Nebras-
ka,’”’ which was printed in American Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April
1949. He then turned his attention to completing a laboratory
analysis of the more than 30,000 specimens collected at Medicine
Creek and to a study of comparable materials gathered in the same
area by parties from the Nebraska State Historical Society and placed
at his disposal, with the accompanying data, for inclusion in the final
technical report. In addition, Mr. Kivett wrote a technical paper on
the prehistoric ossuary which he excavated at the Harlan County
Reservoir in the fall of 1946, and another ‘‘Archeology and Climatic
Implications in the Central Plains,’ which was presented before the
Sixth Conference for Plains Archeology. Two brief articles, one con-
cerning the use of power equipment in archeological work and the
other dealing with pottery nomenclature, were printed in the Plains
Archeological Conference Newsletter.

One trip of 4 days was made by Kivett to the Medicine Creek
project during October for the purpose of marking trees from which
sections for dendrochronological studies were to be cut under the
supervision of the Bureau of Reclamation. In May he made a 1-day
trip to the Harlan County and Medicine Creek Reservoirs to point
out to members of the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Committee
archeological work completed and that contemplated for those
reservoirs. Mr. Kivett resigned from the River Basin Surveys on
May 31 to accept an appointment as Assistant Director of the Museum
of the Nebraska State Historical Society.

George Metcalf, field and laboratory assistant, participated in the

SECRETARY’S REPORT Wd

excavations at Medicine Creek and, after his return to the Lincoln
headquarters on August 24, assisted in the cleaning and cataloging of
the last consignment of specimens from the project. From September
12 until October 20 he supervised and aided in the processing of some
7,000 specimens recovered from Medicine Creek sites by the Nebraska
State Historical Society. As a part of that task all suitable shell,
bone, and vegetal material was listed and prepared for submission to
specialists for identification. Throughout the winter and spring
months he worked with Mr. Kivett in the analysis of the Medicine
Creek materials and wrote sections on worked bone, shell, and pottery
for inclusion in the final technical report. He also assisted in the
selection of specimens and the arrangement of photographic plates
for the final report. At the end of the fiscal year he was engaged in
making an analysis of the house remains in the Medicine Creek area.

J. M. Shippee, field and laboratory assistant, returned to Lincoln
with the Hughes party on October 1 and from then until November 8
supervised the dismantling of the laboratory and its reinstallation in
new quarters. Mr. Shippee then accompanied Mr. Cooper to the
Fort Randall Reservoir, where he assisted in the excavation of a burial
mound located on the site of the dam spillway. He returned to
Lincoln in late November and spent the remainder of the year in the
restoration of pottery and other specimens and in the cleaning and
mounting, for exhibition purposes, of a juvenile skeleton which had
been removed intact from an ossuary at the Harlan County Reservoir.
He prepared a paper, ‘‘SSome Problems of the Nebo Hill Complex,”
which was read before the Anthropological Section of the Nebraska
Academy of Sciences on May 7. At the close of the year he was
preparing and assembling equipment for the various parties starting
for the field.

Richard P. Wheeler, archeologist, was transferred to the Missouri
Basin in May and on May 27 left Lincoln to make a series of prelim-
inary surveys at reservoir projects in South Dakota, North Dakota,
Montana, and Wyoming. By the end of the year he had visited eight
reservoir areas. On June 30 he was at Fort Washakie, Wyo., where
he obtained permission from the Business Council of the Shoshones
and Arapahos to make preliminary surveys of the proposed Soral
Creek and Raft Lake reservoir basins, which are located in the Wind
River Indian Reservation, immediately after the start of the new year.

Dr. Theodore E. White, paleontologist, confined his activities, with
one minor exception, to work on the Missouri Basin problems through-
out the fiscal year.

From July 1 to 12 the lower Eocene deposits in the Boysen Reservoir
area on the Big Horn River north of Shoshoni, Fremont County,
Wyo., were prospected for fossils. Five fossiliferous “‘pockets,’’ which

78 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

will be inundated when the reservoir is flooded, were found. The
results of the work there confirmed the conclusions of the members of
the United States Geological Survey who had mapped the structure
and stratigraphy of that area.

From July 14 to August 19 the Oligocene and Miocene deposits in
the Canyon Ferry Reservoir area on the Missouri River north of
Townsend, Broadwater County, Mont., were prospected for fossils.
Material was obtained from three localities in the Oligocene and two
in the Miocene. All those localities will be inundated.

After the close of the work at Canyon Ferry, White’s party pro-
ceeded to the Angostura Reservoir on the Cheyenne River in Fall
River County, S. Dak., to make a physiographic study of the area in
connection with an early-man site. The period from August 21 to
September 3 was spent in collecting data for that study. The party
returned to Lincoln, Nebr., on September 4 in order to prepare a
preliminary report on the results of the physiographic study.

From September 23 to October 1 the Upper Cretaceous Carlile
Shale in Cedar Bluff Reservoir on the Smoky Hill River south of
Wakeeney, Trego County, Kans., was prospected for vertebrate fossils.
Although a number of specimens were found, they were so badly
disintegrated by the crystallization of gypsum and the weathering of
marcasite that they were not worth collecting.

About 70 specimens, representing 20 genera, were obtained in the
Boysen Reservoir area. Although the specimens were for the most
part rather fragmentary, they were sufficiently well preserved to estab-
lish the age of those beds as belonging to the Lost Cabin faunal zone
of the lower Eocene, a fact that had not previously been demonstrated.
In the material obtained is the most nearly complete skull yet found of
the primitive insectivore, Didelphodus. Although badly crushed and
not impressive to look at, it adds a number of previously unknown
details to the knowledge of the cranial morphology of that form.
Also the skull and jaws of Didymictis, a primitive carnivore a little
larger than a fox, was obtained in that area. Heretofore the form was
known only from upper and lower dentitions.

Nearly 125 specimens, principally insectivores, rodents, and small
artiodactyls, were obtained in the Canyon Ferry Reservoir area.
Most of the specimens were found in the Oligocene deposits which
previously were very poorly known. ‘The material obtained demon-
strated that deposits of both lower and middle Oligocene age were
present in that area. One of the Oligocene insectivores belongs to a
problematical family previously unknown in deposits later than the
upper Eocene. Also, it is the best-preserved specimen yet found and
adds many details of the skull and dentition to the knowledge of that
group. The small Oligocene mammals of that area, when compared

SECRETARY’S REPORT 79

to those of the same age on the Plains, illustrate the principles of
geographical variation quite as well as the living species.

White’s laboratory activities for the year fall into two periods. The
first, from October 4 to November 5, was spent at the field office at
Lincoln, Nebr., preparing supplementary reports on the reservoirs
visited and in identifying the osteological material obtained in archeo-
logical excavations. Also, during that period the first draft of the
technical report on the physiographic studies in the Angostura area
was prepared. The remaining time was spent in the division of
vertebrate paleontology at the United States National Museum. In
addition to the preparation of technical reports on the paleontological
material obtained in the reservoir areas, six boxes of osteological
material from the Missouri and Columbia Basins were identified.

White completed two technical reports representing the results of
field and laboratory activities. They are: “Preliminary Analysis of
the Vertebrate Fossil Fauna of the Boysen Reservoir Area,’ and
“Endocrine Glands and Evolution No. 2: The Appearance of Large
Amounts of Cement on the Teeth of Horses.” Both were submitted
for publication. At the close of the year he had virtually finished
two other papers: ‘‘A Preliminary Appraisal of the Physiographic
History of Horsehead Creek in the Vicinity of 39FA65” (with Jack T.
Hughes), and “Analysis of the Vertebrate Fossil Fauna of the
Canyon Ferry Reservoir Area.”

Throughout the field season White enjoyed congenial relationships
with members of other Government agencies and with members of
educational institutions. Among those from whom material assistance
was received are: Harry A. Tourtelot of the United States Geological
Survey, J. LeRoy Kay of the Carnegie Museum, Mr. McQuiren,
geologist for the Bureau of Reclamation at the Boysen project, and
Roy Austin, Superintendent of Public Schools at Townsend, Mont.
Also the work was materially expedited by the many forest rangers
who placed the facilities of their stations at the convenience of the
party.

As in previous years, a number of student assistants were employed
as members of the various field parties. Robert L. Hall and Warren
L. Wittry were with the Cooper party from July 1 to September 4
and August 14, respectively. Gordon F. McKenzie joined the same
party on August 1 and remained with it until September 4. John C.
Donohoe was with the White party July 1 to 31, while Ernest L.
Lundelius, Jr., accompanied it from July 1 to September 4. Dorothy
I. Fraser was with the Cooper party during the month of August in
the capacity of a special consultant. Neil J. Isto joined the Wheeler
party on June 2 and was in the field at the close of the year.

Oklahoma.—Work in Oklahoma consisted of both surveys and

80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

excavation. At the beginning of the year David J. Wenner, Jr.,
field assistant, was making a reconnaissance of the area to be flooded
by the Tenkiller Ferry Reservoir on the Illinois River in the eastern
part of the State. That work was completed on July 27 and the
party moved to the Canadian Reservoir project on the Canadian
River. Reconnaissance of that area was finished on August 17,
when attention was turned to the adjacent Onapa project on the
North Canadian. The survey there was completed on September 8.
Within the 3 basins, 104 sites were found, 38 in Tenkiller Ferry, 41
in the Canadian, and 25 in Onapa. The work in Tenkiller Ferry
demonstrated that what were presumed to be mounds, actually are
natural knolls on flood plains and terraces, and all the sites present
are village or camp remains. Those in the other two areas are also
mainly village sites representing both historic and prehistoric cultures.
In passing it should be stated that the Canadian and Onapa are
two of three smaller alternate projects proposed to take the place of
the larger Eufaula Reservoir. The third in the group, the Gaines,
still remains to be surveyed. Should the single Eufaula project
eventually be carried through instead of the three smaller ones, very
little additional field work will be required to determine the archeologi-
cal manifestations involved. It is known that there are a number of
mounds that lie outside the boundaries of the smaller reservoirs but
which would fall within the maximum pool of the Eufaula. Mr.
Wenner was aided in his work by William Mayer-Oakes and Robert
Shalkop, student assistants.

The excavations were at the Norman site in the Fort Gibson
Reservoir basin on the Grand (Neosho) River near Wagoner. Earlier
work by the University of Oklahoma had shown that the extensive
village and mound group located there belonged to a Spiro-type
culture and raised the possibility that the flooding of the largest
double mound, which had never been excavated, would represent the
loss of as important information and material as had the destruction
of the famous Spiro mounds in the adjacent county. When Dr.
Robert E. Bell of the Department of Anthropology of the University
of Oklahoma reached the site in July he found that nearly all the
village area and all mounds, with the exception of the largest double
unit, had been removed by the bulldozers of the construction con-
tractor. Even the large double unit had been damaged. The
western periphery had been cut away and the smaller mound had
been cut down several feet. With the assistance of the Engineers
Dr. Bell was able to stop the operations so that archeological work
could be done. During July and the first 2 weeks in August the
University of Oklahoma field session under Bell excavated portions
of several house sites still surviving south of the larger mound. On

SECRETARY'S REPORT Sl

August 17, under the sponsorship of the River Basin Surveys, he
began excavation of the large double mound by cutting a trench
across the saddle between the two parts of the unit. The southern
face of the trench was then carried forward toward the larger mound.
Joseph R. Caldwell joined Bell on August 19 and they decided that
neither the available time nor funds would permit the customary
method of cutting forward with a continuous vertical face. Accord-
ingly, a 10-foot trench was driven through the north-south axis of
the mound to reach its base and to obtain a complete profile. The
work continued until September 22. Surprisingly, the mound
yielded very few specimens. Potsherds and artifacts were scarce
throughout its various levels. It was learned, however, that its
main portion was composed of six superimposed platforms which
probably had been the placements for public buildings, although no
complete post-hole patterns were discovered. The summit of the
fifth stage above the base had been divided into two nearly equal
areas by a single row of posts, and the entire level gave evidence of a
severe conflagration in prehistoric times. Four human burials were
found in the top level, but they were in such an advanced stage of
decomposition that little remained to indicate their character. A
number of glass beads in the same level suggests a historic contact in
the final days of occupation. The results of the digging indicated
that no additional work was required at the Norman site. During
the course of the investigations there, however, another site was
located which appears to be an important one, and it was recommended
that further efforts in the Fort Gibson area be concentrated there.
Red River of the North Basin.—Between August 27 and October
29, 1948, Richard P. Wheeler, archeologist, investigated four Corps
of Engineers reservoir areas in the Red River of the North Drainage
Basin: the Homme Reservoir, under construction on the South Branch
of the Park River, the proposed Pembina River and Tongue River
Reservoirs, in northeastern North Dakota; and the proposed Orwell
Reservoir, on the Ottertail River, in west-central Minnesota. In
reports on those surveys, prepared at the Lincoln office of the River
Basin Surveys between November 5 and 19 and issued at Washington,
D. C., in December 1948, Wheeler noted the occurrence of sites in the
vicinity of the Homme and Orwell Reservoirs but recorded the dis-
covery of only one archeological site in the reservoir areas proper,
an occupation site in the Pembina River Reservoir. The finding of
bison bones in all four of the reservoir areas indicates that the river
valleys were formerly the habitat of bison and perhaps of other large
game and were possibly visited by hunting bands in prehistoric and
historic times. It was recommended that rechecks be made at the
Homme Reservoir, following the clearing of timber and underbrush,

$2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

and at the Pembina River and Orwell Reservoirs, at the time of the
construction of the dams, in order to make sure that no archeological
remains were overlooked.

Texas.—The River Basin Surveys continued to operate throughout
the year from the base and headquarters supplied by the Department
of Anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, Tex. Sur-
veys were begun and carried to completion in five Corps of Engineers
reservoirs.

Robert L. Stephenson, archeologist, left Austin at the beginning of
the fiscal year and went to Fort Worth where he conferred with the
Engineer in Charge, Fort Worth Suboflice, Corps of Engineers,
preparatory to starting surveys of four reservoir basins on the upper
branches of the Trinity River.

During July he completed investigations at the Benbrook Reservoir
on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River in Tarrant County and at the
Grapevine Reservoir on Denton Creek in Tarrant and Denton Coun-
ties. No sites were found in the Benbrook basin and only 10, none
of which require further investigation, were noted at Grapevine. In
addition he made a 2-day reconnaissance in the areas of the Lavon
Reservoir on the East Fork of the Trinity River and Garza-Little
Elm Reservoir on the Elm Fork of the same stream. On the latter
trip R. K. Harris, Rex Housewright, and Lester Wilson, of the Dallas
Archeological Society, took him to sites that they had previously
located in the two areas.

On August 1, Mr. Stephenson accompanied Drs. Gustav A. Cooper
and A. R. Loeblich, Jr., of the United States National Museum, and
Robert Stark of Grapevine, Tex., to the vicinity of Bridgeport,
Wise County, to collect invertebrate fossils. He also visited the
Whitney Reservoir on the Brazos River, Hill County, and collected
mollusks, needed to check previous identifications, from several archeo-
logical sites. From there he went to the Texarkana Reservoir on the
Sulphur River, Bowie County, for the purpose of gathering informa-
tion regarding the dates of construction and of determining the neces-
sary time and extent of a survey for that basin. During the month
he also completed an intensive survey of the Garza—Little Elm basin
where he noted 27 sites, 7 of which were recommended for further
examination, and started investigations at the Lavon project. The
latter continued until September 17 and during the progress of the
work he made test excavations at two sites. The survey located 25
sites, of which 8 have been recommended for more intensive investiga-
tions. Both in the excavations and the survey he was greatly assisted
by the members of the Dallas Archeological Society and on September
10 spoke before a meeting of that organization. On September 18 he
started a survey of the San Angelo Reservoir area on the North Concho

SECRETARY’S REPORT 83

River in Tom Greene County, which was finished on October 10.
Only 13 small sites were located there, and as similar material is avail-
able elsewhere no further work was recommended for the basin.

Except for several short trips, Mr. Stephenson spent the remainder
of the fiscal year at the headquarters in Austin analyzing the material
collected and preparing reports on the summer’s surveys. He went to
Lincoln, Nebr., in November for the purpose of studying the field
and laboratory methods being used by the Missouri Basin group and
while there attended sessions of the Sixth Conference for Plains
Archeology and was appointed to the Committee on Archeological
Nomenclature. From January 2 to 7, he revisited the upper Trinity
River area to investigate reports of additional material having been
found there. Papers prepared by Stephenson during the months in
the laboratory are: ‘Archeological Survey of McGee Bend Reservoir,”
which was published in volume 19 of the Bulletin of the Texas Archeo-
logical and Paleontological Society; ‘““Archeological Survey of the
Lavon and Garza—Little Elm Reservoirs,’ to be published in volume
20 of the same journal; ‘‘A Note on Some Large Pits in Certain Sites
near Dallas, Texas,” printed in American Antiquity, vol. 15, No. 1;
a revision of his earlier report on the Whitney Reservoir which was
mimeographed and distributed by the Washington office in April;
and preliminary appraisals on the Benbrook, Grapevine, Garza—Little
Elm, and San Angelo surveys. He also wrote a summary statement
covering the results of the River Basin Surveys from their inception
in 1947 to June 30, 1949, and prepared a summary and table of the
culture sequences and their relationships in the Texas area as they
had been worked out up to that date.

Results of the year’s investigations established a number of facts.
In the survey of the Garza-Little Elm basin it was found that the
remains include key sites for the determination of the cultural
sequences in the area east of that known to have been inhabited by
groups classified as the Henrietta Focus and west of the known
Caddoan area. Similar sites have not been observed elsewhere. Very
little is known of the cultural sequences involved in the area drained
by the three forks of the Trinity River. The eight sites in the Lavon
basin recommended for more intensive examination are believed to
hold the answer to the problem of developments in the western border
of the Caddo area. At least one new culture remains to be defined
and described from the excavation of those sites. Furthermore, the
material from them should shed much light on the interrelation
between the cultures represented there and those to the east and west.

Cooperating institutions—Numerous State and local institutions
cooperated with the River Basin Surveys throughout the year and
made a definite contribution to the progress of the program. The

84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Universities of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas provided
space for field offices and laboratories for regular units of the Surveys,
while the Universities of Denver, Colorado, and California, and
Western State College of Colorado supplied temporary bases of
operations for specific projects. The Universities of California,
Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington joined forces with the Surveys
for some reconnaissance work and for the excavations at the Fort
Gibson, McNary, and O’Sullivan Reservoirs. In a number of cases
responsibility for units in the survey and excavation program was
assumed by State and local institutions.

The Museum of Northern Arizona and the University of Arizona
did some preliminary survey work, while the San Diego Museum of
Man conducted surveys and did some digging in the area of the Davis
Dam on the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada. The Uni-
versity of Arkansas engaged in both reconnaissance and excavations
in the area of Bull Shoals Reservoir in that State. The California
Archeological Survey of the University of California conducted ex-
cavations at the Pine Flat and Isabella Reservoirs, while the Archeo-
logical Surveys Association of Southern California carried on recon-
naissance work in that part of the State. The Florida Park Service
surveyed the section in northern Florida that will be affected by the
Jim Woodruff Dam on the Apalachicola River near Chattahooche and
did some digging in a number of sites. The University of Georgia
continued its surveys along the Chattahooche and Flint Rivers and
conducted excavations at one site in the Allatoona Reservoir on the
Etowah River. Jn Illinois the University of Lllinois, the University
of Chicago, and the Illinois State Museum furnished information
about the extent and character of sites in the basins of 15 reservoir
projects proposed for the Illinois River drainage. The Indiana His-
torical Bureau carried on surveys and did some excavating not only
at proposed Federal projects, but at those under State construction
as well.

The Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas made
excavations at Kanopolis Reservoir in July and August of 1948 in sites
where the rising waters of the reservoir were already encroaching upon
the remains. The results of that work were reported on by Dr.
Carlyle S. Smith in an article, “Archeological Investigations in Ells-
worth and Rice Counties, Kansas,’ which appeared in American
Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April 1949. In June of 1949 the same
institution was beginning investigations at the Glen Elder Reservoir
with other work planned for the Woodston, Webster, and Cedar Bluff
projects in the same region of the Solomon River drainage. In Ken-
tucky the University continued its program of excavations at the
Wolf Creek Reservoir on the Cumberland River and at the Dewey

SECRETARY’S REPORT 8&5

Reservoir on Johns Creek. The University of Missouri and the
Missouri Archeological Society again cooperated in making surveys
in a number of reservoirs and in excavating sites in the Missouri por-
tion of the Bull Shoals Reservoir and in the Clearwater and Pomme
de Terre basins on the Black and Pomme de Terre Rivers, respec-
tively. At the end of the year Montana State University was
starting field work at the Canyon Ferry Reservoir on the Missouri
River near Townsend, Mont.

The Laboratory of Anthropology of the University of Nebraska
was excavating in sites at the Harlan County Reservoir on the Re-
publican River in the southern part of the State at the start of the
fiscal year and had returned to the same locality for further activities
in June 1949. The work done during the summer of 1948 was de-
scribed by Dr. John L. Champe, in a report, ‘“‘White Cat Village,”
published in American Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April 1949. The
Nebraska State Historical Society excavated a number of sites in the
Medicine Creek Reservoir area in the early months of the year and
in June had a party digging in the Mullen Reservoir area on the
Middle Loup River in the north-central part of the State. The Uni-
versity of Nebraska State Museum continued its paleontological and
archeological investigations in the Harlan County and Medicine
Creek Reservoir areas. One site in the Medicine Creek basin that
proved of particular interest because of its implications of consider-
able antiquity was described in an article, “The Frontier Culture
Complex, a Preliminary Report on a Prehistoric Hunter’s Camp in
Southwestern Nebraska,” written by Preston Holder and Joyce Wike
and printed in American Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 4, April 1949.

The University of North Dakota and the North Dakota Historical
Society cooperated in excavations at the Baldhill Reservoir in the
eastern part of the State in the summer of 1948, and toward the close
of the fiscal year were preparing for intensive survey work in the
Garrison Reservoir on the Missouri River near Sanish, N. Dak. The
results of the previous summer’s work were discussed by Dr. Gordon
W. Hewes in “Burial Mounds in the Baldhill Area, North Dakota,”
which appeared in the April 1949 issue of American Antiquity, vol.
14, No. 4. The Ohio State Museum did some survey and excavation
work. The University of Oklahoma, as previously mentioned, did
some digging at the Fort Gibson Reservoir and made independent
surveys in other areas. The University of Utah assumed responsi-
bility for surveys at a number of projects in the southwestern corner
of that State but at the close of the year had not yet started field
work. In Wisconsin, Beloit College made surveys and did some
digging in the Black River project.

86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The various cooperating organizations send progress and completed
reports to the River Basin Surveys so that the results of their work
may be coordinated with those for the over-all program. In this way
the information obtained by them becomes a part of the general
record of the River Basin Surveys.

EDITORIAL WORK AND PUBLICATIONS

There were issued one Annual Report and two Publications of the
Institute of Social Anthropology as listed below:

Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1947-1948.

32 pp.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 8. Sierra Popoluca speech, by
Mary L. Foster and George M. Foster. 45 pp.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 9. The Terena and the Caduveo
of southern Mato Grosso, Brazil, by Kalervo Oberg. 72 pp., 24 pls., 4 maps,
2 charts.

The following publications were in press at the close of the fiscal
year:

Bulletin 143. Handbook of South American Indians. Julian H. Steward
editor. Volume 5, The comparative ethnology of South American Indians.
Volume 6, Physical anthropology, linguistics, and cultural geography of South
American Indians.

Miscellaneous publications. List of publications of the Bureau of American
Ethnology, with index to authors and titles. Revised to July 30, 1949.

Bulletin 144. The Northern and Central Nootkan tribes, by Philip Drucker.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 10. Nomads of the long bow: The
Siriono of eastern Brazil, by Allan R. Holmberg.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 11. Quiroga: A Mexican Municipio,
by Donald D. Brand.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 12. Cruz das Almas: A Brazilian
village, by Donald Pierson.

Publications distributed totaled 19,660, as compared with 25,037 for
the fiscal year 1948.

LIBRARY

Accessions in the library totaled 112 volumes, bringing the total
accession record as of June 30, 1949, to 34,719.

ILLUSTRATIONS

During the entire year the work of restoration on the valuable
collection of old Indian photographs was continued. Approximately
150 restorations were completed.

The remainder of the time of the illustrator and of his assistant
was spent on the regular work of preparation of illustrations and maps
for Bureau publications.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 87

ARCHIVES

Research workers and students continued to use the manuscript
material and the archives both through personal visits for consulta-
tion and by correspondence. A number of manuscripts on the various
Iroquoian tribes were loaned to the Library of the American Philo-
sophical Society, Philadelphia, for use of students and research workers
in that field. The major task of carding the more important Indian
vocabularies has been begun with Indian and English divisions for
each. These vocabularies are being arranged so that they can be
expanded as new material arrives. Many of the Iroquoian vocabu-
laries collected by James Mooney, Erminnie Smith, and J. N. B.
Hewitt, as well as a Natchez vocabulary collected by A. S. Gatchet,
have been carded.

Some 5,000 prints and negatives, including both black and white
and color, have been made during the year for various purposes.
Considerable use was made during the fiscal year of the photographic
collections as illustrations for both scientific and commercial pur-
poses. The Walt Disney Studio and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have
consulted the photographic files for authentic material in making
motion pictures dealing with Indian subjects.

COLLECTIONS

ee Se 1 lot of fossils collected by Dr. Theodore E. White, Ernest L. Lundelius,
and John C. Donohce, from 6 locations in the Boysen Reservoir area,
Wyoming. River Basin Surveys.

bea 1 lot of fossils collected by Theodore E. White, Ernest L. Lundelius,
and John C. Donohoe, from 5 localities within the Canyon Ferry
Reservoir area, near Helena, Mont. River Basin Surveys.

181, 218 1 lot of earthenware vessels and other artifacts collected by Dr. Gordon
R. Willey in Virti Valley, Department of La Libertad, Pert.

182,450 24 hand-made silver brooches from the Grand River Indians at Cale-
donia, Ontario, Canada. Bought by the Bureau from Ephraim
Schuyler, Oneida, Wis.

182,928 1 tobacco pouch and pipe of White Calf, a former chief of the Blackfoot
Indians. Bequeathed by Florence Merriam Bailey to the Bureau.

182,986 1 lot of potsherds collected from Pissaisec, an Algonquian village, near
Leedstown, Va., by the late David I. Bushnell, Jr.

179, 533 1 lot of archeological material collected at the Hodges site on Plaza
Larga Creek, Quay County, N. Mex., in August 1947 by Herbert W.
Dicks as a project of the River Basin Surveys.

179,773 Indian skeleton from Lake Spring site, Savannah River, Georgia.
River Basin Surveys.

180,455 1 lot of stone artifacts and rejectage collected by Sheldon Judson at
various sites in Clay County, N. Mex.

866591—50-——-7

88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Bee se 1 lot of stone artifacts and potsherds collected by Drs. M. W. Stirling
and Gordon R. Willey from a prehistoric shell mound near Monagrillo,
Herrera Province, Republic of Panam4, during the 1948 Smithsonian
Institution-National Geographic Society Expedition to Panama.

MISCELLANEOUS

During the year Miss Frances Densmore, Dr. John R. Swanton,
and Dr. Antonio J. Waring, Jr., continued as collaborators of the
Bureau of American Ethnology.

During the course of the year information was furnished by mem-
bers of the Bureau staff in reply to numerous inquiries concerning the
American Indians of both continents, past and present. Various
specimens sent to the Bureau were identified and data on them fur-
nished for their owners.

Respectfully submitted.

M. W. Stiruine, Director.

Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 6
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activ-
ities of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1949.

The Smithsonian Institution is the official United States agency for
the exchange with other nations of governmental, scientific, and lit-
erary publications. The International Exchange Service, initiated
by the Smithsonian Institution in the early years of its existence for
the interchange of scientific publications between learned societies
and individuals in the United States and those of foreign countries,
serves as a means of developing and executing in part the broad and
comprehensive object, “the diffusion of knowledge.” It was later
designated by the United States Government as the agency for the
transmission of official documents to selected depositories throughout
the world, and it continues to execute the exchanges pursuant to
conventions, treaties, and other international agreements.

The number of packages received for transmission during the year
was 840,125, an increase over the previous year of 80,006. The weight
of these packages was 796,700 pounds, a decrease of 15,489 pounds.
The average weight of the individual package is approximately 15
ounces, as compared with the average of the previous year of 1 pound,
1 ounce—an indication that the various institutions have almost
completed shipment of the material that was held during the war.
The material received from both foreign and domestic sources for
shipment is classified as shown in the following table:

Classification Packages Weight

Number Number Pounds Pounds
United States parliamentary documents sent abroad _-_- 3955696522 sees 16956445)| = sore es Ee
Eoblicotious received in return for parliamentary docu-

United skates departmental documents sent abroad ___-_ 1945 080i | Paes oe 185)669))|2=-==- ee
Publications received in return for departmental docu-

INEM Sse es ee Taf ee Ee RC Sees [Ree OL See NEES 4.1847 | eee eS 12, 037
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent

BDrOn Gd ee ee eee ne eee 20638874) ano 346) '632")| Sse S sla ee
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications re-

eeived from abroad for distribution in the United

States ae saree eee ee ee ee SE Mi eee 28; 659i |k--2 5 eee 65, 695

Total esses So ae Sr ae 796, 663 43, 462 701, 845 94, 855
Granditotal eens sews n oe ea eer ee eee! 840, 125 796, 700

89

90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The packages are forwarded either by mail direct to the addresses
or by freight to the exchange bureaus of foreign countries. The
number of boxes shipped to the foreign exchange bureaus was 3,296,
an increase of 189 over the previous year. Of the boxes shipped 650
were for depositories of full sets of United States Government docu-
ments furnished in exchange for the official publications of foreign
governments for deposit in the Library of Congress. The number of
packages forwarded by mail was 155,402.

In spite of the fact that considerable savings in transportation
continued to be effected by exporting from Baltimore rather than
New York, and in spite of the advantage gained through special
arrangements for shipments to Germany, the allotment for trans-
portation was practically exhausted by the end of May 1949. There-
fore, it was necessary to curtail shipments sharply during the last
month of the fiscal year, and this resulted in a backlog of approxi-
mately 146,000 pounds.

Consignments are now forwarded to all countries except Rumania,
and efforts are continued to effect exchanges with that country.

FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS

The number of sets of United States official publications received
by the Exchange Service to be sent abroad in return for the official
publications sent by foreign governments for deposit in the Library
of Congress is 96 (58 full and 38 partial sets). ‘The Government Book
Depot, Rangoon, has been added to the list of full depositories.

DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS

Ararntina: Direccién de Investigaciones, Archivo, Biblioteca y Legislacién Ex-
tranjero, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriories y Culto, Buenos Aires.
AustTRALIA: Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra.

New Souts Watss: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane.

Souts Ausrrauia: Public Library of South Australia, Adelaide.

TasMANIA: Parliamentary Library, Hobart.

Vicroria: Publie Library of Victoria, Melbourne.

WEsTERN AvstTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth.
Austria: Administrative Library, Federal Chancellery, Vienna.!
Beuaium: Ribliothéque Royale, Bruxelles.

Brazit: Instituto Nacional do Livro, Rio de Janeiro.
Buiearia: Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute, Sofia.
Burma: Gevernment Book Depot, Rangoon?
Canapva: Library of Parliament, Ottawa.

Manrrosa: Provincial Library, Winnipeg.

Onrazio: Legislative Library. Toronto.

Quersec: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec.

1 Changed from National Library of Austria.
3 Added during year.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 9]

Curun: Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago.
Cuina: Ministry of Education, National Library, Nanking, China.?
Pripine: National Library of Peiping.
CoxtompiaA: Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota.
Costa Rica: Oficina de Depésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San José.
Cusa: Ministerio de Estado, Canje Internacional, Habana.
CzEcHOSLOVAKIA: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague.
DenmARK: Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen.
Ea@yvpt: Bureau des Publications, Ministére des Finances, Cairo.
FINLAND: Parliamentary Library, Helsinki.
Francw: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris.
GERMANY: Offentliche Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek, Berlin.
American Institut, Berlin. 4
GrwaT Britain:
Encuanb: British Museum, London.
Lonpon: London Schoo: of Economics and Political Science. (Depository
of the London County Council.)
Honaary: Library of Parliament, Budapest.
Inpra: Nationa] Library, Calcutta.
IRELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin.
Iraty: Ministerio deila Publica Istruxione, Rome.
Japan: National Diet Library, Tokyo.§
Mexico: Secretarfa de Relaciones Exteriores, Departamento de Informacién para
el Extranjero, Mexico, D. F.
NETHERLANDS: Royal Library, The Hague.
New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington.
NORTHERN IRELAND: H. M. Stationery Office, Belfast.
Norway: Utenriksdepartmentets Bibliothek, Oslo.®
Peru: Seccié6n de Propaganda y Publicaciones, Ministerio de Relaciones Ex-
teriores, Lima.
PHILIPPINES: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila.”
Pouanp: Bibliothéque Nationale, Warsaw.
PortuGau: Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.
Rumania: Academia Rom4én&, Bucharest.
Spain: Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Avenida Calvo Sotelo 20, Madrid.
SwepDeENn: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm.
SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque Centrale Fédérale, Berne.
Turkey: Department of Printing and Engraving, Ministry of Education, Istanbul.
Union oF SoutH Arrica: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal.
Union oF Soviet Socrauist Repusuics: All-Union Lenin Library, Moscow 115.
Uxraine: Ukranian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries,
Kiev.’
Unitep Nations: Library of the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.
Urvevay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo.
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas.
YucGostavia: Ministére de l’Education, Belgrade.

3 Suspended.

4 Held for disposition by Library of Congress.
5 Changed from National Library of Japan.

$6 Changed from Universitets-Bibliothek.

7 Changed from National Library.

8 Buspended.

92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS

AFGHANISTAN: Library of the Afghan Academy, Kabul.
Botivia: Biblioteca del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, La Paz.
BRAZIL:

Minas Gerrasts: Directoria Geral de Estatistica em Minas, Bello Horizonte.
British Guiana: Government Secretary’s Office, Georgetown, Demerara.
CANADA:

ALBERTA: Provincial Library, Edmonton.

BritisH CotumsBia: Provincial Library, Victoria.

New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton.

Nova Scotia: Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, Halifax.

SASKATCHEWAN: Legislative Library, Regina.

Cryton: Department of Information, Government of Ceylon, Colombo.®
Dominican Repusuic: Biblioteca de la Universidad de Santo Domingo, Cuidad
Trujillo.
Ecvuapor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito.
GREECE: National Library, Athens.
GuaTEMALA: Biblioteca Nacional, Guatemala.
Haiti: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince.
HONDURAS:
Biblioteca y Archivo Nacionales, Tegucigalpa.
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Tegucigalpa.
IcrLtanp: National Library, Reykjavik.
INDIA:

Braark AND Orissa: Revenue Department, Patna.

Bompay: Undersecretary to the Government of Bombay, General Depart-

ment, Bombay.

UniTED Provinces or AGRA AND OupH: University of Allahabad, Allahabad.

West Benaat: Library, West Bengal Legislature, Assembly House, Calcutta.
Iran: Imperial Ministry of Education, Tehran.
Iraq: Public Library, Baghdad.
Jamaica: Colonial Secretary, Kingston.
LiBeRIA: Department of State, Monrovia.
Mataya: Federal Secretariat, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.”
Matta: Minister for the Treasury, Valleta.
NEWFOUNDLAND: Department of Home Affairs, St. John’s.
Nicaracua: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Managua.
PakisTaN: Chief Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Lahore.
PaNnaMA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama.
Paraauay: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Seccién Biblioteca, Asuncién.
SALVADOR:

Biblioteca Nacional, San Salvador.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador.
Stam: National Library, Bangkok.
Sincarore: Chief Secretary, Government Offices, Singapore.
Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy.

* Changed from Chief Secretary’s Office, Record Department of the Library.
10 Added during year.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 93

INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL

There are now being sent abroad 81 copies of the Federal Register
and 75 copies of the Congressional Record. This is an increase of 8
copies of the Federal Register and 9 of the Congressional Record over
the preceding year. The countries to which these journals are
being forwarded are given in the following list:

DEPOSITORIES OF CONGRESSIONAL RECORD AND FEDERAL REGISTER

ARGENTINA:
Biblioteca del Congreso Naciona!, Buenos Aires.
Biblioteca del Poder Judicial, Mendoza."
CA4mara de Diputados, Oficina de Informacion Parliamentaria, Buenos Aires.
Beletin Oficial de la Reptiblica Argentina, Ministerio de Justica e Instruccién
Publica, Buenos Aires.
AUSTRALIA:
Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra.
New Sovutrx Watss: Library of Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney.
QUEENSLAND: Chief Secretary’s Office, Brisbane.
WESTERN AvsTRALIA: Library of Parliament of Western Australia.
BRAZIL:
Biblioteca da Camera dos Deputados, Rio de Janeiro.”
Imprensa Nacional, Rio de Janeiro."
Amazonas: Archivo, Biblioteca e Imprensa Publica, Mandos.
Banta: Governador do Estado da Bahia, S40 Salvador.
Espirito Santo: Presidencia do Estado do Espirito Santo, Victoria.
Rio CraNDE po Sut: [mprensa Oficial do Estado, Porto Alegre.
SrraIPe: Biblioteca Publica do Estado de Sergipe, Aracaju.
Sao Pavto: Imprensa Cficial do Estado, Sio Paulo.
British Honvuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize.
CANADA:
Library of Parliament, Ottawa.
Clerk of the Senate, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa.
Cusa:
Biblioteca del Capitolio, Habana.
Biblioteca Publica Panamericana, Habana."
House of Representatives, Habana."
Eeyrpt: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egyptian Government, Cairo.¥
Ex Satvapor: Library, National Assembly, San Salvador.
FRANCE:
Bibliothéque Assemblée Nationale, Paris.
Bibliothéque, Conséil de la Republique.
Publiques de I’Institute de Droit Compare, Université de Paris, Paris."!
Service de la Documentation Etrangére, Assemblée Nationale, Paris.!3 '4

11 Federal Register only.

12 Changed from Biblioteca do Congresso Nacional.

138 Congressional Record only.

4 Added during year.

18 Changed from Bibliothéque, Chambre des Députés.

94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Germany: Der Bayrische Landtag, Munich." 17
Great Britain:
House of Commons Library, London.' 17
Printed Library of the Foreign Office, London.
Greece: Library, Greek Parliament, Athens.
GvatemaLa: Biblioteca de ia Asamblea Legis!ativa, Guatemala.
Haitr: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince.
Honpvras: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Tegucigalpa.
INDIA:
Civil Secretariat Library, Lucknow, United Previnces.18
Legislative Assembly Library, Lucknow, United Provinces.
Legislative Department, Simla.
Inponesia: Provisional Parliament of East-Indonesia, Macassar, Celebes.!”
IRELAND: Dail Eireann, Dublin.
ITaty:
Biblioteca Camera dei Deputati, Rome.!?
Biblioteca del Senato della Republica, Rome.!”
European Office, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome.!7 18
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, Rome."
MExIco:
Direccién General de Informacién, Secretarfa de Gobernacién, Mexico, D. F.
Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, Mexico, D. F.
AGUASCALIENTES: Gobernador del Estado de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes.
Camprcue: Gobernador del Estado de Campeche, Campeche.
Curapas: Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez.
CuiHuAHvA: Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua.
CoaunuiLa: Periddico Oficial del Estado de Coahuila, Palacio de Gobierno,
Saltillo.
Courma: Gobernador del Estado de Colima, Colima.
DuranGo: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Durango, Durango.
GuanasuatTo: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado, Guanajuato.
GueERRERO: Gobernador del Estado de Guerrero, Chilpancingo.
Jautisco: Biblioteca del Estado, Guadalajara.
Lower Cauirornia: Gobernador del Distrito Norte, Mexicali.
Mfxtico: Gaceta del Gobierno, Toluca.
MicnHoacdn: Secretarfa General de Gobierno del Estado de Michoacan,
Morelia.
MoreEtos: Palacio de Gobierno, Cuernavaca.
Nayarit: Gobernador de Nayarit, Tepic.
Nuevo Lr6én: Biblioteca del Estado, Monterrey.
Oaxaca: Peridédico Oficial, Palacia de Gobierno, Oaxaca.
Pursua: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Puebla.
Quer&raro: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Seccién de Archivo, Querétaro.
Sawn Luis Porosf: Congreso del Estado, San Luis Potosi.
Stnatoa: Gobernador del Estado, de Sinaloa, Culiacdn.
Sonora: Gobernador del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo.
Taspasco: Secretaria de Gobierno, Sessi6n 3a, Ramo de Prensa, Villahermosa.

16 Congressional Record only.
17 Added during year.
18 Federal Register only.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 95

Mexico—Continued
Tamavu.ipras: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Victoria.
Tuaxcaua: Secretaria de Gobierno del Estado, Tlaxcala.
Veracruz: Gobernador del Estado de Veracruz, Departmento de Gober-
nacién y Justicia, Jalapa.
Yucatdn: Gobernador del Estado de Yucatdén, Mérida.
NeTHerLanps: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.!9 20
New ZEeaLanb: General Assembly Library, Wellington.
Norway: Library of the Norwegian Parliament, Oslo.!
Peru: Cdémara de Diputados, Lima.
Pouanpb: Ministry of Justice, Warsaw.”
Spain: Diputacion de Navarra, San Sebastian.
Switzeruanp: Bibliothéque, Bureau International du Travail, Geneva.”
Library, United Nations, Geneva.”
Union oF Sour AFRICA:
Carr or Goop Horr: Library of Parliament, Cape Town.
TRANSVAAL: State Library, Pretoria.
Uruguay: Diario Oficial, Calle Florida 1178, Montevideo.
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca del Congreso, Caracas.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE AGENCIES

Exchanges are sent to all countries except Rumania. The countries
listed are those to which shipments are forwarded by freight. To
other countries not appearing on the list, packages are forwarded by
mail.

LIST OF AGENCIES

Austria: Austrian National Library, Vienna.

Be.arum: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique,
Bruxelles.

Cuina: Bureau of International Exchange, National Central Library, Nanking.

Czecuostovakia: Bureau des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de |’ Assem-
blée Nationale, Prague 1-100.

Denmark: Institut des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale, Copen-
hagen K.

Eaypr: Government Press, Publications Office, Bulaq, Cairo.

FINLAND: Delegation of the Scientific Societies of Finland, Kasirngatan 24,
Helsinki.

France: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale, 58 Rue
de Richelieu, Paris.

Germany: Offentliche Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek, Berlin.?!

German Central Committee for Distribution of Cultural Materials,
Stuttgart.2! 23

Great BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Wheldon & Wesley, 83/84 Berwick Street, London,
Wel.

Huneary: Hungarian Libraries Board, Ferenciektere 5, Budapest, IV.

Inpr1a: Superintendent of Government Printing and Stationery, Bombay.

Iraty: Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Ministero della Publica Istruxione,
Rome.

10 Added during year.

2% Federal Register only.

Distribution under supervision of Department of the Army.
22 For all sectors of Berlin and Russian Zone.

3% For American, British, and French Zones.

96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

JAPAN: International Exchange Service, National Library of Japan, Uyeno Park,
Tokyo.*

NETHERLANDS: International Exchange Bureau of the Netherlands, Royal
Library, The Hague.

New Soutnu Watss: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington.

Norway: Service Norvégien des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de
Université Royale, Oslo.

PALESTINE: Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem.*4

PuHiuiepInes: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila.

Potanp: Service Polonais des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale,
Warsaw.

PortuGaL: Seccéo de Trocas Internacionais, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.

QUEENSLAND: Bureau of Exchanges of International Publications, Chief Secre-
tary’s Office, Brisbane.

Rumania: Ministére de la Propagande_ Nationale, Service des Echanges Inter-
nationaux, Bucharest.’

Sourm AustRrALia: South Australian Government Exchanges Bureau, Govern-
ment Printing and Stationery Office, Adelaide.

Spain: Junta de Intercambio y Adquisicién de Libros y Revistas para Biblote-
cas Publicas, Ministerio de Educacién Nacional, Avenida Calvo Sotelo 20,
Madrid.

SwepEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm.

SwitzERLAND: Service Suisse des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Centrale
Fédérale, Palais Fédérale, Berne.

TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart.

TurKEY: Ministry of Education, Department of Printing and Engraving,
Istanbul.

Union or Soutu Arrica;: Government Printing and Stationery Office, Cape Town,
Cape of Good Hope.

Union or Soviet Socratist Repusuics: International Book Exchange Depart-
ment, Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Moscow, 56.

Vicroria: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth.

Yucosuavia: Section des Echanges Internationaux, Ministére des Affaires
Etrangéres, Belgrade.

Respectfully submitted.
D. G. WituiaMs, Chief.
Dr. A. WETMORE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

% Distribution under supervision of Department of the Army.
38 Shipments suspended.

APPENDIX 7
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1949.

The improved economic conditions were reflected in satisfactory
developments at the Zoo during the year. The animal collection was
gradually improved by obtaining rare or otherwise desirable animals
to fill available cages, and personnel recruitment and training pro-
gressed satisfactorily, although it was not possible to fill all vacancies.
With increased man power and more materials available, progress
was made in taking care of the most needed repairs, and minor im-
provements were completed.

As of June 30, 1949, there were 3,724 specimens in the collection, an
increase of 927 over the previous year. These represented 755 species,
an increase of 65. Not only was the collection increased in size, but
the quality was improved by the addition of animals that are not well
known, thereby adding to its educational value.

The National Zoological Park renders a variety of services to the
American public. Besides the animal exhibits and the providing of an
attractive recreation area, valuable opportunities are offered for
students of biology, particularly vertebrate zoology, as well as for
artists, photographers, writers, and research workers—utilizing
methods of research that do not endanger the welfare of the animals
or of the public. Other direct services are answering in person, by
phone, mail, and telegraph, questions regarding animals, their care
and transportation; the furnishing of information to other zoos and
private and public agencies regarding structures for keeping and
housing animals; and cooperation with other agencies of the Federal,
State, and municipal governments in research work.

THE EXHIBITS

Animals for the collection are acquired by gift, deposit, purchase,
exchange, births and hatchings, and are removed by return of speci-
mens on deposit, exchange, or death. Although depositors are at
liberty to remove the specimens that they place in the Zoo, many
leave the specimens for the rest of their lives.

97

98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

As in any colony of living things, there is a steady turn-over, so
that the exhibits are constantly changing. Thus, the inventory list
of specimens in the collection on June 30 of each year does not show all
the kinds of animals that were exhibited during the year; sometimes
creatures of outstanding interest at the time they were shown are no
longer in the collection at the time the list is prepared.

ACCESSIONS

A great many interesting shipments have been received from abroad.
The Navy Medical Research Unit No. 3 sent through Lt. Robert E.
Kuntz a large collection of Egyptian reptiles, including a number of
species that the Zoo has never had before. The Institute of Scientific
Research, Madagascar, sent by air a group of leopard chameleons,
some Zonosaurus lizards, and two Dumeril’s boas. The San Diego
Zoological Society presented a beautiful specimen of the spectacled
bear. The Army Medical Research Center Laboratory in Malaya
sent through Maj. Robert Traub an interesting collection, including
two striking bamboo rats and eight different species of tree rats, none
of which had been exhibited heretofore. From the Zoological Society
of London was received an extensive shipment, including 4 Chinese
water deer, a kusimanse, some rare birds, and 2 of the rare Meller’s
chameleons.

Dr. Guillermo Mann of the University of Santiago, Santiago, Chile,
sent specimens of Gay’s frog and the unusual Bibron’s ‘‘toad”’ frog,
as well as three abrocomas, a rodent seldom seen in captivity. Pat
Putnam sent from the Belgian Congo chameleons and francolins.
Capt. John Miller of Panagra Airlines, Pert, shipped to the Zoo its
first pair of the rare pigmy marmosets, smallest of all the monkeys.

Among the outstanding receipts through purchases or exchanges
were an African two-horned rhinoceros, a pair of wombats, a king
cormorant, a trio of kelp geese, orang-utans and chimpanzees. The
latter are to replace the stock that some years ago was destroyed by
an epidemic.

William T. Miller, after resigning from the Army, spent some time
in Panamé and sent several shipments including a pigmy anteater
and a great rufous motmot. Dr. A. Reventlow of the Zoological
Garden at Copenhagen, Denmark, presented to the Zoo its first pair
of whooper swans. From the Zoo in Rotterdam, Holland, were
received a king cobra and some ruffs. In an air shipment from
Australia came reptiles of more than a dozen species, including the
carpet python, diamond python, and a number of rare lizards and
turtles.

: SECRETARY’S REPORT 99

DEPOSITORS AND DONORS AND THEIR GIFTS

(Deposits are marked*)

Aiken, Jesse E., Chevy Chase, Md., opossum (young in pouch).

Allen, Miss Joyce, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk.

Animal Rescue League, Washington, D. C., muskrat.

Army Medical Research, Washington, D. C., slow loris,

Arutsaw, Pvt. V. C., and Harp, Pvt. W. W., Washington, D. C., woodchuck

Ayars, James W., Silver Spring, Md., parrot.

Balster, Joseph, Washington, D. C., festive parrot.

Barbour, Charles, Sunnybrook, Md., fence lizard.

Barker, J. M., Moyock, N. C., timber rattlesnake.

Beck, L. V., Bethesda, Md., 2 zebra finches.

Bernstein, Edward, Washington, D. C., white-throated capuchin.*

Bittenbender, J. C., Arlington, Va., flying squirrel.

Bitting, Maurice, Cheverly, Md., raccoon.

Boswell, Mrs. May, Washington, D. C., green heron.

Bowen, Mrs. Raymond J., Washington, D. C., mouse.

Bratter, Miss J., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Brodess, Miss D., Washington, D. C., ring-necked dove.

Brommer, K. M., Minneapolis, Minn., ferret.

Burford, Captain, Falls Church, Va., opossum.

Burke, Mrs. J. O., Washington, D. C., domestic white rabbit.

Butler, H. M., Washington, D. C., alligator.

Carrick, W. E., Capitol Heights, Md., skunk.

Carroll, Robert, Arlington, Va., black widow spider.

Carter, H. E., Alexandria, Va., ruby-throated humming bird.

Catskill Game Farm, Inc., Catskill, N. Y., pigtail macaque monkey.

Celia, Dominick, Bethesda, Md., sparrow hawk.

Chamberlin, Donald, Kenwood, Md., sparrow hawk* and screech owl.*

Claxen, Charles W., Chevy Chase, Md., 7 golden hamsters.

Clift, Miss Annie M., Bethesda, Md., Pekin duck.

Collins, John F., Washington, D. C., 4 Pekin ducks.

Colvin, Master E., Washington, D. C., red fox.

Cook, Harry, Washington, D. C., alligator.

Cool, Leon D., and Gascoyne, Rodney, Washington, D. C., whistling swan.*

Coolidge, Belle, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Cooper, John, Washington, D. C., 2 raccoons.

Coppel, Miss Marcia, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Corrigan, Miss Myrtle, Washington, D. C., painted bunting.

Corver, H. O., Washington, D. C., opossum.

Cunningham, J. Francis, Arlington, Va., 2 flying squirrels.

Dale, Mr. and Mrs. Martin B., Arlington, Va., 3 grass parakeets (albino).

Davis, L. W., Arlington, Va., 2 eastern skunks.

Davis, Malcolm, Washington, D. C., American crow and 2 black vultures.

Davis, Thomas M., Philadelphia, Pa., 3 Ameiva lizards, 8 blue honeycreepers,
18 yellow atelopus.

Decatur, Miss Edna, Washington, D. C., brown thrasher.

Dent, W. W., Washington, D. C., ground hog.

Denton, J. O., Alexandria, Va., skunk.

Messrs. DePrato, Fiedler, and Davis, Washington, D. C., snapping turtle.

Detmer, J., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Donovan, Daniel J., Washington, D. C., yellow-naped parrot.

Douglas, F., Washington, D. C., raccoon.

Douglas, Floyd G., (address unknown), American badger.

Dour, John, Abington, Va., hog-nosed snake.

DuBuy, Dr. H. G., Berwyn, Md., common goat.

Dudley, Dr. A., Bethesda, Md., 5 opossums.

Duetermann, Capt. W. V., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Dumming, Bill, Chevy Chase, Md., snapping turtle.

Eleazec, J. M., Clemson, 8. C., black vulture.

Ellwanger, Mrs. Chas., Vienna, Va., screech owl.

Ennes, Richard, Washington, D. C., 2 great horned owls.*

Esfandiary, Mr., Washington, D. C., 6 white mice.

Evans, Jim, (address unknown), hog-nosed snake and mole snake.

Finely, Dr. H. E., Washington, D. C., bullfrog.

Finnegan, Hugh L., Silver Spring, Md., 11 opossums.

Flick, Carlton R., Mt. Rainier, Md., 5 opossums.

Ford, Clifford, Shady Side, Md., spider monkey.

Franciscan Monastery, Washington, D. C., bleeding-heart dove.

Freret, Mrs. J. P., Alexandria, Va., flying squirrel.

Friday, David L., Bethesda, Md., eastern gray squirrel.

Gatti, Mrs. S. A., Washington, D. C., 2 grass parakeets, 2 Java sparrows, 9
canaries.

Gilbert, Paul, Washington, D. C., double yellow-headed parrot.

Golden, Helen, Sarasota, Fla., Indian rock python.*

Goldwyn, Ronald J., Alexandria, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Griffin, D. A., Washington, D. C., barn owl.

Guy, R. L., Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Haas, Mrs. F., Washington, D. C., canary.

Hager, Lester H., Arlington, Va., Florida gallinule.

Haggerty, Miss Irene, Washington D. C., eastern robin.

Handley, Charles, Washington, D. C., 2 gray foxes.

Harriman, D., Washington, D. C., domestic rabbit.

Harris, Van T., Ann Arbor, Mich., least weasel.

Harwall, Master Michael, Arlington, Va., barred owl.

Henderson, Genevieve, Chevy Chase, Md., horned lizard.

Henshaw, Bill, Washington, D. C., alligator.

Heslep, C., Silver Spring, Md., eastern robin.

Hickman, Jean H., Washington, D. C., 4 eastern gray squirrels.

Hoffman, Dr. Paul, Washington D. C., 2 opossums.

Hogan, Mrs. Henry, Washington, D. C., eastern robin.

Holmes, Mrs. G., Washington, D. C., northern raven.

Householder, Vic. H., Phoenix, Ariz., 4 western green toads, collared peccary.

Howard, Dr. Walter E., O’Neals, Calif., 4 digger-pine pocket mice, 2 San Joaquin
pocket mice, 7 California harvest mice, 16 Gambel white-footed mice, 12
California meadow mice.

Ingham, Rex, Ruffin, N. C., yellow-naped parrot,* red-blue-and-yellow macaw, *
yellow-and-blue macaw,* Mexican green macaw.*

Ingles, Lloyd G., Fresno State College, Fresno, Calif., mountain beaver, golden-
mantle ground squirrel, San Joaquin kangaroo rat, 3 lodgepole-pine chipmunks,
California white-footed mouse, San Joaquin antelope ground squirrel, Heerman
kangaroo rat, California pocket mouse, Tejon pocket mouse, Merriam’s kan-
garoo rat, 3 small-faced kangaroo rats, southwestern white-footed mouse, 4
pack rats (mother and 3 babies).

SECRETARY’S REPORT 101

Institut de Recherche Scientifique, Madagascar, 7 leopard chameleons, 2 Du-
meril’s boas, 3 lizards.

Jackson, William, Washington, D. C., barn owl.

James, Clayton, Landover, Md., purple gallinule, 10 West Indian mourning
doves,* button quail,* spotted salamander.

James, Cloyd, Purcellville, Va., 2 barn owls.

Jenkins, R. S., Buenavista, Va., gray fox, skunk, Geoffroy’s marmoset.

Johnson, Duane, W., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Johnson, F. R., Eustis, Fla., coral snake, eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake.

Johnson, L., Washington, D. C., rhino beetle.

Jones, J. M., Silver Spring, Md., 45 white mice.

Keegan, Capt. Hugh L., Manila, P. I., monitor, reticulated python, 3 river
snakes, 2 akamatahs, 4 Habu vipers.

King, Charles E., Washington Grove, Md., barn owl.

Komsa, John, Washington, D. C., raccoon.

Koon, E. S., Asheville, N. C., alligator.

Krouse, Mrs. A. F., Washington, D. C., eastern robin.

Kuntz, Lt. R. E., Cairo, Egypt, 4 Roger’s whipsnakes, 7 sand vipers, 11 Egyp-
tian colubers, 4 dassas, javeline boa, 2 desert warals, Egyptian leaf-nosed snake,
“Fish of the Sand,’ 3 dabbs (or dhabs), mucronate sand lizard, 3 ‘Father of
Eyes” (cat-eyed snakes), 3 horned vipers, 3 gharibas, 4 aeckams, 5 Egyptian
cobras, 3 pale agamas, chameleon, gecko or white “bors,” 4 Egyptian
spiny mice, 6 pyramid gerbills, 7 Egyptian sand lizards, Egyptian snails, 16
Egyptian skinks, ‘Father of Stripes.”

LaGarde, B. L., Frederick, Md., 2 garter snakes, copperhead snake.

Lane, Dick and Elaine, Washington, D. C., domestic rabbit.

Lee, Emmett L., Alexandria, Va., 2 barred owls.

Leonard, Diane Ruth, Washington, D. C., hog-nosed snake.

Linkins, Mrs. C. 8., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Lionheart, Mrs. Louis, Washington, D. C., eastern gray squirrel.

Lipscomb, Mrs. Thomas, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Lohren, Harold, black muskrat.

Low, S. H., Gaithersburg, Md., alligator.

Lueas, C. S., East Riverdale, Md., Pekin duck.

Lyons, James N., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

MacCracken, E., Washington, D. C., red fox.

Mann. Dr. Guillermo, Santiago, Chile, 3 abrocomas, 3 Gay’s frogs, 53 Bibron’s
“toad” frogs.

Marshall, Master Fred, Washington, D. C., snapping turtle.

Marshall, L. M., Washington, D. C., woodchuck or ground hog.

McBride, Gordon W., Chevy Chase, Md., domestic rabbit.*

McDermott, Mrs. Jack C., Washington, D. C., yellow-headed parrot.*

McDonald, Master Earling, Takoma Park, Md., raccoon.

Meems Bros. & Ward, Oceanside, L. I., cheetah.*

Meininger, J. L., Chevy Chase, Md., Pekin duck.

Meininger, Paul, Bethesda, Md., 2 Pekin ducks.

Miller, Capt. John, Lima, Peru, 2 Pygmy marmosets.

Mills, John, Washington, D. C., 10 common newts.

Mills, L. W., Chevy Chase, Md., opossum.

Moats, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin R., Hillside, Md., 4 pileated woodpeckers.

Moebs, Noel, Chevy Chase, Md., barred owl.

Monahan, Edward P., Trinidad, B. W. I., boa constrictor.

Moulton, Gladys, Washington, D. C., Cumberland terrapin.*

102 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

National Capitol Park Service, Washington, D. C., copperhead snake, pilot snake.

Naval Research Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., Javan macaque,* 16 East
African elephant shrews.*

Nicoson, Keith S., Arlington, Va., skunk.

O’Donnell’s Grill, Washington, D. C., alligator.

O’Neill, C. A., Washington, D. C., cockatiel.

O’ Neill, Chas. F., Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.

Ord, Edward, Washington, D. C., 2 angel fish.

Ormsby, A. I., Sydney, Australia, 6 black snakes, 6 black-bellied snakes,

Parker, McRea, Leesburg, Va., pilot snake.

Parko, Kendrick, Arlington, Va., timber rattlesnake.

Parsons, Master Tom, Washington, D. C., snapping turtle.

Paugh, Mrs. B., Bristol, Va., opossum.

Peterson, E. G., Arlington, Va., American common crow.

Philadelphia Zoological Society, Philadelphia, Pa., ocellated turkey,* mallard
duck (gift).

Phillips, Chester, and McComb, Robert, Washington, D. C., barred owl.

Preston, J. E., Washington, D. C., lesser white-nosed guenon.*

Putnam, Pat, Belgian Congo, chameleons and francolins.

Randel, Capt. Hugh W., Canal Zone, 3 Galdpagos iguanas, Galdpagos tortoise.

Reed, R. W., Washington, D. C., cardinal.

Reegan, T. V., Washington, D. C., eastern gray squirrel.*

Rivere, Dr. Luis Howell, Havana, Cuba, hutia.

Robey, J. C., Washington, D. C., golden hamster.

Robinson, George A., McPherson, Kans., coyote.

Rosenberg, Louis, Washington, D. C., Virginia rail.

Rottmund, F. G., Silver Spring, Md., pied-billed grebe.

Rusch, James L., Washington, D. C., rhesus monkey.*

Ryder, Mrs. Stephen, Silver Spring, Md., 3 Pekin ducks.

San Diego Zoological Society, San Diego, Calif., spectacled bear.

Santos, Mrs. J., Washington, D. C., skunk.

Schneider, Mrs. T. F., Dragoon, Ariz., gila monster.

Sharpe, C. J., Takoma Park, Md., Pekin duck.

Shaw, Harry L., Baltimore, Md., Hamadryas baboon.*

Sherwood, Harry, Washington, D. C., domestic rabbit.

Sloan, J. L., Salt Lake City, Utah, 2 ring-billed gulls, 2 badgers.

Smith, Master Dorsey, Clifton, Va., skunk.

Snyder, E. T., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Snyder, Dr. T. E., Beltsville, Md., snapping turtle.

Souder, Harry N., Washington, D. C., brown capuchin.

Spliden, Ronald, Landover, Md., pied-billed grebe.

Springer, Paul, Laurel, Md., gray-cheeked thrush.

Stanley, Misses Jeanne and Mary Ann, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.

Steelman, §/Sgt. Carl T., Bolling Field, D. C., woodchuck or ground hog.

Steger, Mrs. Mary E., Falls Church, Va., 2 grass parakeets.

Stevenson, Mrs. Elva Myers, Washington, D. C., rhesus monkey.*

Stinnett, Bob, Cameron, Mont., cinnamon bear.

Stogdhill, Howard, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Stomn, Mrs., Arlington, Va., American crow.*

SECRETARY’S REPORT 103

Strates, J. E., Shows, Inc., Alexandria, Va., lion.

Sturgell, David A., Berwyn, Md., skunk.

Sunday, Richard, Arlington, Va., eastern chipmunk.

Surles, George L., Washington, D. C., Philippine macaque.

Swope, Miss Alice C., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Tolman, Ruel P., Washington, D. C., flying squirrel.

Townsend, Mrs. Thomas, Washington, D. C., 2 domestic rabbits.

Traub, Maj. Robert, Army Medical Center, Malaya, 2 bamboo rats, 2 slow loris,
Malayan cat, 2 Callosciurus nigroviridis, 2 gray tree rats, 2 large spiny-backed
tree rats, 2 Edward’s tree rats, 2 Muller’s tree rats, 2 rajah tree rats, 2 pencil-
tailed tree rats, Bower’s tree rat, Whitehead’s tree rat.

Treffich’s Bird and Animal Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., 3 great gray kangaroos.*

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent, Md. (through Arnold Nelson), 4
bobwhites, 9 opossums.

U. 8S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. (through Leon Cool, Jr.),
2 whistling swans, whistling swan.*

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Willows, Calif. (through Vernon Ekedahl),
10 cackling geese.

U. S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md., Poland-China hog.

U. 8. Public Health Service, Bethesda, Md. (through Dr. H. W. Stunkard),
golden baboon.

Vevers, Mr. and Mrs. G., London, England, 2 dormice.

Wagner, Mrs. Henry S., Front Royal, Va., 22 canaries.

West, Master David, and Manfuso, Master Bob, Chevy Chase, Md., opossum.

White, Miss Becky, Washington, D. C., opossum.

White, Miss Inez, Washington, D. C., Muscovy duck.

Whitehead, Mrs. Virginia, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.

Widham, Mrs. Spencer, Silver Spring, Md., ring-necked pheasant.

Williamson, A. A., Washington, D. C., 6 white cloud mountain fish, 6 zebra
fish, 6 head-and-tail-light fish, rio tetra, 2 black tetra, South American catfish,

Williamson, F. 8. L., San Diego, Calif., California king snake, 2 glossy snakes,
5 red rattlers, 2 rosy boas, 3 gopher snakes, 2 alligator lizards, Pacific rattler.
striped racer.

Wilson, Mrs. Arnold, Washington, D. C., 2 grass parakeets.

Woolls, Wm. P., Alexandria, Va., Pekin duck.

Wright, Jack, and Davis, Harvey, Arlington, Va., red-bellied terrapin.

Young, C. N., Silver Spring, Md., raccoon.

Ziese, A., Washington, D. C., domestic rabbit.

Zoological Society of London, London, England, 4 Chinese water deer, 1 kusi-
manse, 2 dormice, 6 jackdaws, 2 European jays, 2 purple touracous, 1 plover,
and 2 Meller’s chameleons.

BIRTHS AND HATCHINGS

MAMMALS

Scientific name Common name Number
AGT MNOU OGUSILCTYT a ee ee Aqudad- = 2.55.2 4
AOluUsTAUITG Glue =a eee ee Se ee eee Owl or night monkey _-_--_-- 1
Atgles) geai}i,oyt Velen osuseeiae eee oe Spider monkey-=- soe oe 1
ADD GLIS Ss yee et Baise Sk Ais deers fi Roe eae ahs 2
S100SOGUnUS aes. ee eee eee Gaps cee: Rees 2 ays ae 1
PS OSG CUT AS: Bees at ne tte a 2 yt English Park cattle__.__._- 1
NES OBERT US ee I Nae yn aay a West Highland cattle. ____- 1

866591—_50——8

104 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Scientific name Common name

Bubalusibubalss 26 ee ke eee Water buffaloss: slesue stb
Camelusibactrianis:2 22222 22S eee ae Bactrian camel_J. .s22c2L2.
Capromysimiloridess t=. Sea ee ES = Hutiass2 sae e_ ck pain
Cenhalophus nigrijrons. 22 ee es eee Black-fronted duiker_______
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus___---------- Greenguenonse 2). 2 3922 _
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus X C. a. Hybrid green guenon X ver-
PU DETUERT US ae a ee oe ae ee ee Vieuellenons= === aaa = === ae
Chinchillaichinchilias 20s a ss eee Chinchillays23_202 22s se
Choeronsis liberienstsaeso.c a8— = Se aoe Pigmy hippopotamus_ -_-~-__-_
Cyclonestdtdactyluse voc. te eee See Pigmy or silky anteater__-__
DOTA amaeeee eee Sete [Ons ae Eee Brown fallow deer__.------
Danatdama aoe aL eae White fallow deer__-__-_--
Felis concolor X F. ce. patagonica__.------- Hybrid North American X
South American puma.--

Reliaitrgrtguers= a0 ers Seales ote Se Tiger (Bengal): 22ers =nits
Girafatcamelopardaliesiseie Sas ee Nubian giraffe. _......._--
Hippopotamus amphibius_......----------- Hippopotamus. cee =a
PIVdrOpales wnermisce. = =e ee Doe Chinese water deer______-_-_
AMONQIAIIR QUANTICO ee see ee ae ee Guanaconeee. ee ee
Omarpacoss Stase = ae ae x Se ee eee Alpaca. dss2<22- eeeeee
Bemunynacncno:: 5 -— 5 Le ees ee Acoumba Jemur_____---_--
Odocoileus.cirgintanise — 0234 Virpiniaidéer semis tt 2th =
Oncielisigcol rout. ee oe ae Se eee Geoffroy’s cat: 25242224!
Quistetronied Ske 2. se Se ea Mouflonae2s2e2 2s eee
PRIGCOMYS CUMINGH. sc anon cee eee Slender-tailed cloud rat_--_-
atiusicanus. ot) eee le ote (Treeiratt _siabet i. saht . fee
DUNCERUSER erase ae ee a SNS Africans bufialosssce. 2624 =
Thalarctos maritimus X Ursus middendorfi._. Hybrid bear__..._-.-_----

BIRDS
VAGTAOCRENSS OCOUGIR =a cae ee ee Ocellated turkey__._.___--
VANES DLOAYTRYNCROSS == 2 = eae ee Mallard duek: <2. 22-2
ESTO TUGN COG OCLEIUS US ee eee eee @anada goose... ooo e ee
(CHORE OTA MET SB ABS Boe oo eSedeseeeeoss NMUSCOV,y, UCKe == 2 ee ae
MULT CO EINENLCO NG = pcte ee ee American Coot. 32 ---2.2225
GOULMSTQCILUS © apne ee ae ee eee ee Red junglefowls. -. so)
Gennacus leucomelanus 2 ose ee Nepal pheasant____.-_.-_-
Larus novaehollandiae.......-..-.--------- Silveneull: 2s eee see
TAGUO CHUSLQUUG 2 ee ae oe ee ee Pestowleccct cee se ee
PACNIODUNEG COSLONOLIS = oe ee Zebra finche: =o 2ese ae
REPTILES

Crotalusiadamanteus. <2. 2a. Bes ee Eastern diamond-backed rat-
tlesnakes*seheere 2k

TEMiceates (CCRCNi tS = Se ee Rainbow boas =. 82e42s4an
INGE 58 P92 RY ee at eet ate Bah rs Water'snakes:.--- <-s2ee
rele (ud MtgrOLULea- 2; eee tte pee ey Black-barred skink________

Taliquavscencotdes=5 3) Ae ee Blue-tongued skink________

Number

tt OD et et

oN he

RO OO ND OO OO et lt Ot =

SECRETARY'S REPORT 105

FEEDING THE ANIMALS

To feed such a collection of animals with their varied requirements
presents a considerable problem. At the beginning of the war, prices
for many of the green types of food had gone so high that the use of
such material was almost prohibitive, although it is essential for the
well-being of many of the animals. Therefore the Zoo inaugurated a
system of obtaining from nearby grocery stores the outer leaves of
lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, and other material that would normally
go into the refuse. This material is picked up daily and is sorted to
make certain that it is in suitable condition. The animals have
thrived, the cost for such green food has been held to a minimum, and
it was thus possible to keep out of competition for human food when
such material was scarce. The arrangement has been so satisfactory
that it is being continued.

During the war the United States Marshal’s office made arrange-
ments to turn over to the Zoo food that had been condemned in the
courts as unsuitable for human consumption. That office has con-
tinued to send considerable quantities and many different kinds of
such food. The Zoo also frequently receives offers from private
individuals or business houses of food that they wish to dispose of
without having to go through the court procedure of condemnation.
Thus diversified food was received for the animals, which greatly
aided in keeping down the cost of feeding.

MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS

In the lion house many of the old cages were extensively repaired,
and a portion of the steam conduit under the building was repaired
and improved. Concrete floors were laid in the outside cages at the
monkey house, and 6-inch concrete slabs were laid between the
sidewalk and the cages around the stone cat houses. A sidewalk was
built from the small-mammal house to the walk between the reptile
house and the antelope building.

By clearing and surfacing additional land, the capacity of the bus-
parking area was increased from 20 to 40 busses. ‘The capacity of the
automobile-parking area also was increased from 650 to 750 auto-
mobiles.

For the third successive year the fight by chemical means against
poison ivy continued, and very little of this plant pest remains in
areas commonly frequented by the public. Increased efforts have
been directed toward improving the appearance of the grounds,
caring for the lawns, planting trees and shrubs, and carrying on other
gardening work. As a whole, satisfactory progress has been made in
returning to normal maintenance.

106 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

VISITORS

The total attendance was 3,346,050, an increase of 305,510 over the
previous year. ‘This was the largest attendance in the history of the
Zoo and is probably due in part to the continued high employment in
the Washington area, increase in travel accompanying the general
economic prosperity, and the frequency with which we were able to
announce the addition of interesting specimens to the collection.
The variation in attendance on the different days of the week which
was so extreme before the war has been much less noticeable since the
war. Formerly early days of the week had relatively low attendance,
with an increasing number of visitors the latter portion of the week
and with very large crowds on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
There is also a considerable increase in attendance in the earlier hours
of the day.

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF VISITORS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1949

Jy ACIGAS shires ee FE A A404 OOO ih ebruary 5220. Bee eee 167, 700
Auguste 2 Ste Shee Sane 468 000i); March Sheers ee 245, 300
Nentembero2-8 22M oss 2 3e0 CODA pri eee otek 2 eee SS 375, 500
Ontobers cee = ss BE x MESO TOO MV Syy = ine hen) ae eee are 410, 500
INovenberi-= =. 2. -- =" one 169400 | Junet—-s2eabe. esos eee 299, 300
Decembersoe= 2. Sse 222 49, 450 a
Januanys (1949) 22- Seeeeee 167, 000 otal Stee. Saree 3, 346, 050

Groups came to the Zoo from schools in 25 States, some as far away
as Maine, Florida, Texas, and California. One group of 33 persons
came from Havana, Cuba.

NUMBER OF GROUPS FROM SCHOOLS

Number | Number Number | Number
of groups] in groups of groups |in groups
Wabamae so 36. 22 Ses 7 1974 |e Vlississipplees === aan eee 2 35
@aliforniay Se 32a aes 1 15S) | New, Jerseya sea nee eee 23 1,374
Connecticn ss 8 497,)|| (New. VOrk= 28S ee 95 5, 582
Delawarevoss pitas Doerr 7 385) ||| North Caroling 2 ae 154 5, 320
District of Columbia_------_- 132 7, 822 Nigga es ee oe 47 1, 647
lorida -i25 eee hh eee 6 672 || Pennsylvania--=_ 2552. -=2 22S 245 12, 261
Georgige eee A eee el 48 1,819 |} South Carolina__...-....--..- 39 1,119
Hlinoisk Sake See ee Peete 1 2) |\eMennessee-tessa~caaenens cess 33 1, 453
Mr Gass sage he tae el 12 45 oVirginig=s =-- 02s] soos soe 362 19, 312
Kentucky ates Sak Sas 2 9 201) |||) West, Virginia s.22525 eee 50 2, 425
Misine sets ees aos eee 12 775
Weryland ee aa 525 28, 859 MNotali(States)o=---===— 1, 843 93, 599
Massachusetts..-_....-.-_-._- 374 ||| Havana; Cubaso2cns 22s es 1 33
ichigan’=-22aas ee 16 674
Minn esotatecsse tse nee 2 76 U Ney 27) (ee eases 1, 844 93, 632

About 2 p. m. each day the cars then parked in the Zoo are counted
by the Zoo police and listed according to the State, Territory, or
country from which they came. This is, of course, not a census of
the cars eoming to the Zoo, but is valuable in showing the percentage

SECRETARY'S REPORT 107

of attendance, by States, of people in private automobiles. The
tabulation for the fiscal year 1949 is as follows:

Percent Percent
Washington; D: Cis. 2o2./2 sce 2650) |Ohioz wee eed mage Bo RY tod
Manylandoas se 2s 322. see Ne 26:45) W eat) Virginia s2o 7 23 ak 1.4
Winging = sates se eee te 20. bi) New Jerseyaneun anes aa 1,3
Pennsylvaniss 3 2322525 =. =—. 4. 4} Massachusetts.........-.....< .9
ING Wa Ot Keon eco ee ee er nO) PERSOVIC Be ee ee iets eee, en ee 9
INorthi@aroung. —- —- =. >5----2 2: Qi Caulormige -2cecceson sae 5.8 8

The cars that made up the remaining 10.30 percent came from
every one of the remaining States, as well as from Alaska, Bahamas,
Canada, Canal Zone, Chile, Cuba, Guam, Hawaii, Honduras, Italy,
Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Newfoundland, Poland, Puerto Rico,
Sweden, Trieste, Trinidad, and Virgin Islands.

It is well known that District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia
cars bring to the Zoo many people from other parts of the United
States and of the world, but no figures are available on which to base
percentages.

FINANCES

The regular appropriation provided in the District of Columbia
appropriation act was $492,600, and there was a supplemental appro-
priation in the second deficiency bill of $36,248 to provide for the
increased salaries of $330 per annum authorized by Congress. Of
the total of $528,848 which was available, about $11,474 will remain
unexpended, subject to minor changes in final bills. This saving
was mainly from salaries because of the impossibility of filling posi-
tions promptly.

The stone restaurant building, which was constructed in the park
in 1940 under an allotment of $90,000, is under a 3-year lease obtained
by competitive bidding at $10,212 per annum. This money is de-
posited in the general fund of the United States Treasury. The
concessionaire serves meals and light refreshments, and sells novelties.

NEEDS OF THE ZOO

The chief need of the Zoo is for the replacement of antiquated
structures that have long since ceased to be suitable for the purpose.
The more urgently needed buildings are: (1) A new administration
building to replace the 144-year-old historic landmark now in use for
an office building for the Zoo, but which is neither suitably located nor
well adapted for the purpose. This building is in an excellent loca-
tion for a public recreational structure, and could probably be rehabili-
tated and used for recreational purposes, perhaps as a children’s

108 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

museum, and thus maintained as a historic building. The new
office building should be better located both from the standpoint of
accessibility to the public and convenience for the administration of
the Zoo. (2) A new building to house antelopes and other medium-
size hoofed animals that require a heated building.

STATUS OF THE COLLECTION

Class Species individ Class Species jadivid:
Mammialse2-= 2) <2 os2s5 22252 235 786; || M@rustaceanstass saan 1 2
Birds 32. 2 ee ea ee a 346 1,911 |} Arachnids____ 2 3
Reptiles sae eee ae ees 121 509 || Insects_._--.. 1 100
Amphibians = sees a ree 22 1644S lollusks 22 seen eee eee 3 23
Bishee | Sede): A. aeRO 24 226
Total. 53. #2225 335_-5-23 755 3, 724
SUMMARY

Animals Onenan a dlily ly, M948. a. ole SR oe ee ee 2, 797
‘Accessionsduringythe yearn. 22555220 seo] es ee eee ee Tao
Total number of animals in collection during the year___._______-_ 4, 548

Removals for various reasons such as death, exchanges, return of animals
onydeposit: vetese StL as. See se eee pee to ice rrn crate ih Tage Oe 824
Im-collection on June.o0; 9408 2. 0. ae es eee ee eee 3, 724

Respectfully submitted.
W. M. Mann, Director.
Dr. A. WrTmore,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 8
REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the Astrophysical Observatory for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1949:

The Observatory includes two research divisions: (1) the Division
of Astrophysical Research, concerned chiefly with solar radiation
problems, and (2) the Division of Radiation and Organisms, con-
cerned with the biological effects of radiation.

During the year a new room adjoining the Director’s office was
built for the administrative assistant and for the files of the Obeerva-
tory. The resulting consolidation of needed information nsar at
hand has materially improved the efficiency of operation.

Considerable progress can be reported concerning the new revised
editions of the Smithsonian Meteorological Tables and the Smith-
sonian Physical Tables, mentioned in last year’s report. R. J. List,
editor of the Meteorological Tables revision, had practically completed
his manuscript at the end of the fiscal year. The difficult task of
revising the Physical Tables, the last revision of which had been issued
in 1934, was begun in September 1948 under the direction of Dr.
W.E. Forsythe. An office in Cleveland, Ohio, and an assistant were
furnished to Dr. Forsythe. At the close of the fiscal year he reports
that approximately one-half of the tables for the new edition have
been completed.

(1) DIVISION OF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH

Previous to 1946 the Observatory had for many years maintained
three high-altitude field stations for solar-constant observations. In
1946 the Tyrone station, which for 7 years had been operated on
Burro Mountain (altitude 8,000 ft.) in southwestern New Mexico,
was abandoned because skies there had progressively deteriorated,
mainly the result of increasing mining and smelting operations in that
general region. As a temporary measure, to aid in certain studies
referred to below under contract with the Quartermaster Corps, the
Tyrone station equipment was transferred to and installed at Miami,
Fla. Since then much effort has been spent to find the most suitable
location for a third high-altitude field station to replace the aban-
doned Tyrone site. In last year’s report we mentioned that after

109

110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

careful investigation three promising sites had been chosen for further
study and that in May 1948 a recording Eppley pyrheliometer was
installed at each of these sites, namely, (1) Torreén, Coahuila, Méx-
ico; (2) Mountain Pass, near Clark Mountain, California; and (3)
Pohakuola, Hawaii. The three pyrheliometers were operated for a
period of 1 year, ending June 1949. The resulting records indicate
the uniformity and the quality of the sky for each day during the
period. It is clear from the records that the best skies prevailed
at the Clark Mountain location. The second-best site was Poha-
kuola. This spot, 6,500 feet above sea level on the Island of Hawaii,
yielded some records of unusually clear and uniform skies, but such
skies were not the rule. At Clark Mountain, during the period
June 8 to March 31, there were 171 days with skies sufficiently good
for satisfactory observations, while at Table Mountain, Calif., during
the same period actual observations were made on 135 days. From
studies of these records and other sources, it appears that the Clark
Mountain region is in general considerably drier and more free of
haze and clouds than any other high-altitude location at present
known in the northern hemisphere.

In view of this, estimates were obtained of the cost of establishing
a field station at an altitude of 6,500 feet on the south slope of Clark
Mountain. Owing to the prevailing high prices for building materials
and labor, the estimates proved to be in excess of available funds.
It is hoped that sufficient funds may become available, but pending
this the Observatory plans immediately to enlarge its facilities at
Table Mountain sufficiently so that it will be possible to proceed
without delay with the special experimental problems mentioned in
last year’s report.

Work at Washington.—W. H. Hoover, Chief of the Division, in
addition to supervision of the work in progress, prepared data and
tables which will help to simplify the computations in the field. In
the past, to obtain the air mass (or length of path of the solar beam
in the atmosphere) it has been necessary to plot carefully a series
of theodolite readings against time, to read off desired altitude values,
and finally to enter an air-mass-altitude table. With the aid of
Hoover’s data, the observer, by reading the theodolite at specified
intervals, may enter the tables directly to determine the air mass.
This eliminates the tedious curve-plotting process.

A new instrument, designed by Dr. John W. Evans, of the High
Altitude Observatory of Harvard University, and described by him
in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, December 1948, was
kindly lent to the Astrophysical Observatory by Dr. Menzel of Har-
vard University to test and to determine its adaptability to Smith-
sonian work. The instrument is a photometer especially designed

SECRETARY'S REPORT 111

for determining the brightness of the sky immediately surrounding
the sun. Excellent results have been obtained with it at the Harvard
Station at Climax, Colo. It is of considerable interest to compare its
readings with simultaneous readings of the Smithsonian pyranometer
which also measures the brightness of the sky in a zone around the
sun. In preparation for comparison tests a rigid mounting has been
prepared for the instrument with slow-motion adjustment in altitude
and azimuth.

During the fiscal year, two silver-disk pyrheliometers, Nos. 80 and
81, were built, calibrated and sold at cost, one to the Hebrew Institute
of Technology, Haifa, Palestine, and the other to the Dublin Institute
for Advanced Learning. Inadditiontwomodified Angstrom pyrheliom-
eters and one special instrument for the spectroscopic determination
of atmospheric water vapor have been prepared for the Belgium
Meteorological Institute. These were nearly completed at the end
of the year.

Dr. C. G. Abbot, research associate of the Observatory, continued
his studies of the dependence of weather upon solar changes. This
work has been published in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections,
vol. 111, Nos. 5,6, and 7. Dr. Arctowski’s studies of solar and terres-
trial atmospheres were retarded by illness, but his work was resumed
before the close of the year.

Work win the field——Daily observations of the solar constant were
in progress throughout the year, as far as skies permitted, both at
Montezuma, Chile, and at Table Mountain, Calif. The skies during
the year were apparently normal at Table Mountain, but at Monte-
zuma, the observers noted an unusual number of days with light cirrus
clouds.

Early in the year Mr. Hoover carried the Observatory’s substandard
silver-disk pyrheliometer S. I. No. 5 to Miami for direct comparisons
with the pyrheliometers at that station. In February 1949, in the
course of changing the personnel at Montezuma, Chile, substandard
S. I. No. 5 was carried to Montezuma by the new Montezuma ob-
server, and brought back in April by the retiring observer, after inter-
comparisons had been made in Chile. The previous year S. I. No. 5
had been carried to Table Mountain by the director for similar inter-
comparisons. Thus there are now very recent direct comparisons
between all field pyrheliometers and substandard S. I. No. 5, which
in turn was carefully compared in 1947 with the absolute water-flow
standard. These many intercomparisons show no material changes
in constants. They satisfactorily confirm the adopted scale of pyr-
heliometry. A revision of Dr. Abbot’s paper of 1922 on “The Silver-
disk Pyrheliometer”’ is in preparation, summarizing the constants of
all silver-disk pyrheliometers, and describing certain changes which

112 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

have been adopted in recent years, both in the instrument itself and
in the method of use.

In June 1945 special radiation measurements were started at Camp
Lee, Va., under contract with the Office of the Quartermaster General,
in connection with their long-range study of the causes for the deteri-
oration of tents and tent materials. This contract has been renewed
each year since then, and the work has now extended to include similar
radiation measurements at Miami, Fla., a wet, sea-level station, and
at Montezuma, Chile, a dry, high-altitude station. The Observatory
completed the Camp Lee measurements January 1, 1948, and since
then they have been continued by the Quartermaster Board at Camp
Lee, with the Observatory acting in an advisory capacity, and giving
assistance when difficulties arise. The measurements at Miami,
begun in December 1947, have continued throughout the present
fiscal year. Similar radiation measurements and textile exposures
were begun at Montezuma, Chile, in December 1948, and will continue
approximately 2 years. Five reports to the Office of the’ Quarter-
master General were made during the year summarizing,the data
obtained at Miami and at Montezuma.

In January 1949, the Director visited the Miami field station, to
inspect the work in progress. While there he obtained special bolo-
graphs showing the absorption effects of known quantities of water
vapor in the atmosphere. Measurements of these bolographs con-
firmed the correctness of precipitable water curves which Mr. Fowle
had determined in earlier work at Washington and which have since
been used many times in our solar-constant program. This work is
discussed in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 111, No. 12,
soon to be issued.

(2) DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS
(Report prepared by Dr. R. B. Withrow)

The work of the Division for the past year has been concerned
chiefly with reorganizing and reequipping the laboratories. New
office space has been established in conjunction with the basement
laboratories. These offices have been furnished with desks and cases
and will accommodate a maximum of nine individuals.

Most of the laboratories have been repainted and are being re-
equipped with modern lighting facilities. The laboratory furniture
has been reconditioned and new metal furniture ordered to supplement
that already available.

Five rooms are being converted into constant-condition rooms for
biological experimentation with equipment for controlling the tem-
perature, humidity, radiation, and nutritional environment.

SECRETARY'S REPORT is

Four chemistry laboratories will be available, including a general
laboratory, a balance room, a dark room held at room temperature
for pigment analyses, and an insulated and air-conditioned dark room
controlled at 0° C. or above for protein and enzyme analyses.

In addition, a photographic laboratory, a room for X-ray facilities,
a cytology laboratory, an electronics laboratory, and two general
laboratories are being set up, all of which are being designed with
new plumbing to supply gas, compressed air, and water, and with
new electrical power outlets.

The Research Corporation has very generously made a grant to the
Division for reequipping the laboratories with modern experimental
facilities and for work on the mechanism of visible radiation on growth
processes in plants, The Division also has been assigned a contract
by the Chemical Corps, Department of the Army, providing funds for
personnel and equipment for research on the effect of growth regula-
tors on metabolic activities of plant tissues.

Respectfully submitted.

L. B. Aupricn, Director.

Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 9
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the National Air Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30,

1949.
INTRODUCTION

This year, the first full year of the National Air Museum as a
bureau of the Smithsonian Institution, was one of many activities.
In addition to normal museum operations, the bureau was concerned
especially with the return from England of the Wright Brothers’
renowned aeroplane, the Kitty Hawk; with the acquisition and man-
agement of a field storage facility; with the accession of the U.S. Air
Force aircraft collection; and with the basic study and planning for
a site and building for the aeronautical collections.

Karly in 1948 the Institution was informed that the late Dr. Orville
Wright had expressed the desire to present the Kitty Kawk to the
United States National Museum and that the executors of Dr. Wright’s
estate would institute the necessary legal action to bring this about.
Prior to the receipt of this news the Smithsonian had effected the
administrative transfer of all aeronautical museum activities and ex-
perienced personnel from the National Museum to the newly estab-
lished National Air Museum. Therefore, in order to have the expert
assistance of the Air Museum staff, the Secretary, through the
Director of the National Museum, delegated to the National Air
Museum the responsibility for the reception, exhibition, and preserva-
tion of the Wright plane. The details are indicated under Curatorial
Activities presented later in this report.

Negotiations begun last year with the U.S. Air Force to acquire a
storage depot for the Air Museum were successfully consummated on
November 1, 1948. On that date the bureau was granted occupancy
of 267,475 square feet of floor space within building T-6 of the former
Douglas Aircraft plant at Chicago Orchard Airport, Park Ridge, IIL.,
and installed a field organization to operate the facility. On the same
date the Museum assumed tentative custody (pending inventory) of
the large aircraft collection stored in this building by the Air Force
and on May 1, 1949, upon completion of the inventory, assumed full
responsibility for its preservation.

114

SECRETARY'S REPORT 115

Along with these several extra activities the bureau continued, with
the Office of Design and Construction of the Public Buildings Ad-
ministration, the further study of sites and a building for the Museum.
This was done in accordance with the recommendation of the Advisory
Board. The result of the study is recorded later in this report.

No changes were made during the year in the departmental organi-
zation of the bureau except the occasional employment of temporary
clerical help. This was especially necessary in connection with the
reception and exhibition of the Wright Brothers’ aeroplane. The
bureau found it difficult, on the other hand, to fill several positions
available at its field storage facility because of the higher wage scale
prevailing in the Chicago area for comparable work. As a result,
the work program planned for this field organization was not fully
carried out. In all other respects the bureau completed the year in

good condition.
ADVISORY BOARD

In April of this year the Board experienced a change in membership
as a result of the retirement of its U. S. Air Force representative,
Maj. Gen. E. M. Powers. General Powers had served on the Board
since its inception late in 1946, having been designated to the office
by General Spaatz. His wise counsel during the formative days of
the establishment of the National Air Museum was most helpful. To
succeed him on the Board, Gen. H. H. Vandenberg, Chief of Staff,
Department of the Air Force, designated Maj. Gen. Grandison
Gardner who met with the Board for the first time at its sixth meeting
in June 1949.

During the year three meetings of the Advisory Board were held
in Washington, on August 26, 1948, December 20, 1948, and June 29,
1949. Deliberations in these meetings were directed principally to-
ward the advancement of the Air Museum’s major projects, namely,
the acquisition of a building site and a suitable museum building in
the Washington area.

As directed by the Board at its August 1948 meeting, the study of
a suitable museum building was continued this year in cooperation
with the Public Buildings Administration.

STORAGE OF MUSEUM MATERIAL

In accordance with a resolution adopted by the Advisory Board
last year, the bureau completed negotiations on November 1, 1948,
to take over the storage operations of that portion of one of the former
Douglas Aircraft buildings (T-6) at the Chicago Orchard Airport,
Park Ridge, Ill., containing the collection of aeronautical museum
material stored there by the United States Air Force for the National

116 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Air Museum. Some additional floor space within this building, ad-
jacent to that containing the Air Force collection, together with two
two-floor structures erected therein and suitable for office use, was
acquired at the same time.

Immediately following this transaction the bureau installed a field
organization to operate the facility, consisting of an associate curator
in charge, an aircraft technician, and a guard force to patrol the area
24 hoursa day. Until February 1, 1949, the military personnel of the
Air Materiel Command of the U. 8S. Air Force, which had been
detailed to care for the Air Force collection, remained on duty to assist
the bureau’s organization in readying itself to assume its responsibil-
ities. With this accomplished, three programs of work were initiated:
(1) The rearrangement by classes of the aeronautical materials packed
in boxes and crates; (2) the cleaning and sealing of all openings of
assembled aircraft and rust-proofing of component parts; and (3)
the inspection and inventory of all items composing the collection
preparatory to its transfer from the Air Force to the Air Museum.

On May 1, 1949, the inventory was completed and the transfer was
effected of 1,366 aeronautical objects including 97 aircraft to the Air
Museum. The preservation work was in progress at the end of the
year.

While these activities were in progress the bureau took steps to
provide the maximum protection of the materials in storage. In
addition to the acquisition of hand fire extinguishers installed in fixed
positions over the area and of larger extinguishers mounted on hand
trucks, an intercommunicating system was selected and a contract
let for its installation at 12 stations distributed strategically over the
Museum’s storage area. This will enable a guard on patrol to com-
municate quickly with the administration office in any emergency.
The bureau also designed and contracted for the construction and
erection of a high wire fence to enclose the major part of the area.
These projects were in progress at the end of the year.

PLANNING
MUSEUM SITE AND BUILDING

During the year the bureau continued the investigation of sites and
a building for the Air Museum. For this purpose it had the valuable
cooperation of the Federal Works Agency, Public Buildings Adminis-
tration, Office of Design and Construction, through an arrangement
involving the transfer of funds.

Planning and designing a museum building for aircraft and aviation
collections involves factors not usually encountered in museum struc-
tures. For example, although the history of practical aviation spans
a comparatively short period of years, the steps in its development

SECRETARY'S REPORT 117

are many. Therefore, there must be imposed limitations of selection
of materials of both historical and technological significance not only
to avoid incomprehensive public displays but also impractical housing
requirements. The aeronautical collections will include material
both of small and uncommonly great dimensions and weight. Ex-
perience indicates that approximately 30 percent of the total available
floor area of a technical museum structure is required for its mainte-
nance and operations services and that for the safety of the visiting
public ample passageways must be established in all exhibition areas.
It can be readily understood that these requirements necessitate a
compromise between the ideal and a realistic aviation museum buiding.
Both the Advisory Board and the bureau’s staff gave careful atten-
tion during the year to factors such as these which brought about a
number of changes in the plans originally developed last year.

CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES

The curator, Paul E. Garber, reports on the year’s work as follows:

At the beginning of the fiscal year the staff was moved into new and
improved quarters which provided more facilities for the expanding
personnel. Office and shop equipment were acquired, an efficient
procedure for handling correspondence was adopted, and added space
was allocated to the library, the reference files, and the photographic
files. The constant efforts of the staff in the maintenance of the
exhibits are reflected in the improvement of individual displays, but
the extreme overcrowding in the present Aircraft Building and the
Aeronautical Hall assigned to the bureau in the Arts and Industries
Building has approached the danger point to both visitors and speci-
mens. Asaresult, the addition of large exhibits has been brought to a
standstill. Happily, the facility at Park Ridge, Ill., provides for the
storage of material which might otherwise be lost to the Museum.
Only by the acquisition of a permanent building for the Museum in
the Washington area can this situation be corrected.

EXHIBITION

The outstanding accomplishment of the year was the receipt of the
Wright Brothers’ aeroplane of 1903 and its exhibition and preparation
for the presentation ceremony on December 17, 1948, the forty-fifth
anniversary of its historic flight. The curator was assigned the
pleasant duty of representing the Smithsonian in meeting Dr. Herman
Shaw, Director of the Science Museum, London, and of accepting
from him at Halifax, Nova Scotia, custody of the aeroplane, This
was effected on November 12, and following the transfer of the aero-
plane from the S. S. Mauretania to the Navy Carrier U.S. S. Palau,
the curator accompanied the plane to Bayonne, N. J., saw to its re-
loading on a Navy truck and accompanied the truck convoy to the

118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

National Museum. There the Spirit of St. Louis had been moved so
that the two noted aircraft could share the same North Hall of the
Arts and Industries Building and, with the assistance of photographs
and drawings provided by M. J. B. Davy of the Science Museum, the
Kitty Hawk was assembled. Some details of the engine and trans-
mission were installed from sketches and photographs furnished by
Charles Taylor, the mechanic who assisted the Wrights in the original
construction of the plane and engine. The aeroplane was suspended
in the front of the hall with cables and splices donated by the Jacoel
Equipment Co. At the ceremony of presentation, the “Karly Birds,”
the association of pioneer pilots, many of whom had been trained by
the Wrights, were among the honored guests. A number of them have
since augmented the Kitty Hawk exhibit by donations of their own
records and relics. Acknowledgments are also made to the Air Force
Technical Museum and to S. Dunham, Dayton, Ohio, for photographs
and drawings for addition to the Museum’s reference and exhibition
material on the Wrights. At the close of the fiscal year progress is
being made on an auxiliary exhibition case to be placed under the
Kitty Hawk in which the story of the Wright Brothers will be told in
detail.

As the National Air Museum progresses, its purposes and services
have become better known, and very helpful cooperation has been
received in the matter of accessions. The following examples are
outstanding. The presentation of Alford Williams’ renowned Gulf-
hawk-2 October 11, followed an impressive flight-demonstration of the
remarkable aerobatic combination of pilot and plane. The Gulf Oil
Company formally presented the airplane at the National Airport and
soon after, Major Williams’ technician, Frank Tye, who had main-
tained the plane in splendid condition throughout its 12 years of stren-
uous flying, assembled it in the Aeronautical Hall. The Department
of the Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics, repaired and transferred a Jap-
anese Baka Bomb to the Museum and provided, as auxiliary material,
examples of both jet and rocket engines used in these ‘‘suicide planes.”
The collection of scale models which reviews the evolution of aircraft
used in Naval service was improved by 10 recent types received from
manufacturers who produced the original planes for the Navy. The
Department of the Navy assisted also in the special anniversary cele-
bration held in the Aircraft Building to commemorate the thirtieth
anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic aircraft flight made by the
NC-4. An illustrated description of this Curtiss-built flying boat,
the hull of which is in the Museum, was prepared by the staff and
printed by courtesy of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Speakers
included Vice Adm. John D. Price, U. S. N., and Capt. Holden C.
Richardson, U.S. N., Ret.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 119

The first Roadable Autogyro, transferred from the Civil Aeronautics
Administration, was reconditioned by them for museum purposes.
In the previous report, the services of the Air Force were acknowledged
in moving the Army Curtiss Racer from the Aircraft Building to the
Aeronautical Hall—a move made necessary by restricted space. This
year, the plane was equipped with the original floats with which Lt.
(now General) James Doolittle won the Schneider Trophy Race in
1925. The bracing wires for this restoration were kindly provided
by the MacWhyte Company, Kenosha, Wis. Valuable assistance
was received this year from the Air Force in unloading and mounting
four large engines donated by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation,
in covering with Plexiglas the sides of the DeHavilland—4 and Gen.
William Mitchell’s Spad—16, and in replacing the windows in the first
nonstop transcontinental airplane, the 7-2.

The exhibit which illustrates the accomplishments of John Joseph
Montgomery of California, a renowned pioneer of gliding whose first
glides were made in 18838, received additions through the cooperation
of the Montgomery family, the San Diego Junior Chamber of Com-
merce, and the biographer, Winsor Josselyn. ‘Through the generosity
of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, the wheels on the Voisin
bomber of World War I were equipped with tires. In the auxiliary
exhibit which accompanies the Flagplane of the First World Flight,
the group of portrait sculptures were renovated by its sculptor, Joseph
A. Atchison, and the stereopticon story of this flight was reactivated.
A special exhibition of model aircraft as flown by hobby enthusiasts
was prepared in August 1948 during the period of the national show
and contest. Improvements were made in the display of Col. Charles
Lindbergh’s accessories and flight clothing. Extensive cleaning,
rearranging, labeling, and repairing have brought the exhibits to a
condition believed to be as presentable as the crowded conditions and
work program permit.

Special exhibitions arranged by the staff and involving the use of
Museum material away from the bureau included a group of cases
set up by Bolling Field for the Air Force anniversary on September 18,
containing engines, models, and relics of the military air arm; and the
loan of the original Liberty engine and models of historic Air Force
planes for the technical exhibit and air show held at Andrews Field,
Maryland, February 15.

STORAGE

Among the numerous aircraft installed this year in the Museum’s
storage facility at Park Ridge, IIl., was the Swoose, flown there under
its own power. This historic B-17—D bomber had served throughout
World War II from Bataan to the defeat of Japan. Completing its
military career as the command plane of Gen. George H. Brett, the

866591—50 9

120 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Swoose was acquired by the city of Los Angeles as a war memorial.
In 1948 the city, through Mayor Fletcher Bowron, presented the plane
to the National Air Museum, and with the cooperation of Grover
Loening and Maj. Gen. E. M. Powers of the Advisory Board, arrange-
ments were made for the reconditioning of the plane by the Air Force.
In due time this was accomplished under the direction of the Swoose’s
wartime flight engineer, Captain Boone, and in April 1949, with its
wartime pilot, Col. Frank Kurtz, at the controls, the plane was flown
to the Chicago Orchard Airport and delivered there to the Museum’s
storage facility. The Air Force cooperated not only in this spectacular
delivery but also in the tremendous project of transferring its huge
collection of trophy aircraft and accessories to Museum custody.
The screening, cataloging, and arrangement of this stored collection
at Park Ridge was under way as the year closed.

The historic and trophy aircraft and engines which are being
assembled for the Museum by the Department of the Navy are
stored at Norfolk, Va. During the year the curator inspected this
facility, checking the condition of the NC—4’s wings and other parts,
the Japanese ‘‘Emily,’”’ the German Dornier 335 which had recently
been moved there, and the service types which are in ‘‘canned”’ con-
tainers. All were in good condition.

Acknowledgments are made to Eastern Air Lines for earmarking
one of its first DC-3’s for the collection, to the Civil Aeronautics
Administration for reserving its famous Boeing 247—D for the Mu-
seum, and to the Martin Aircraft Company for the gift of a half-scale
flight prototype of the PBM ‘“Mariner.”” These will be stored tem-
porarily by the donors.

INFORMATIONAL SERVICES

Interest in the Museum is widespread, and its services to the
industry, Government departments, students, research workers, his-
torians, authors, craftsmen, and the air fraternity in general are daily
becoming more in demand as reflected in the numbers of inquiries
and requests received by letter, personal visit, and telephone. Radio
programs in which the Museum participated included, Information
Please, We The People, and the Air Force Hour. The curator told
the story of the Swoose over the radio both in Los Angeles and Omaha,
and television programs illustrated the Kitty Hawk, Gulfhawk-2, the
NC-4, and the Museum’s model collection.

The Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy, borrowed a
number of the Museum’s scale models to be used as patterns for re-
search problems; the Interior Department was assisted with aero-
nautical details in some of its museum dioramas; the Public Schools
of the District of Columbia received help in conducting their aero-

SECRETARY’S REPORT 121

nautical courses; and Pan American Airways was loaned photographs
of Santos-Dumont’s airships for use in its publicity displays on Brazil.
The historic sections of the Aircraft Year Book were compiled with
help of the Museum staff; Bettman Archive received identification on
a group of unlabeled photographs of airplanes; the Prewitt Aircraft
Company used the Museum’s reference files during their search for
details of rotary aircraft; and the United States Chamber of Com-
merce and the Vallejo, Calif., museum, received assistance in display-
ing exhibits.

Another edition of the Handbook of the National Aircraft Collection
was issued, embodying changes which bring it up to date. This is
the eighth printing of 10,000 since the first issue in 1928. During the
year the curator lectured on technical and historical aspects of flight
and the progress of the National Air Museum to the Aero Club of
Washington, the Air Transport Association, the “99ers” association
of women flyers, the Washington Association of Building Superin-
tendents, the Civitan Club, several local fraternal and church groups,
and served as judge of scale-model craftsmanship at the National
Capital Air Show, and at a kite contest held by local units of the
Boy Scouts.

In conducting its informational services the staff acknowledges the
help given by members of the “Early Birds,” collectors of aeronautical
photographs and clipping scrapbooks, pilots, manufacturers, airmen,
and many others who donated reference material to the Museum’s data
files and library. These helpful source data are assembled and readily
available for serious study.

SURVEY

The survey over the Nation of aeronautical materials of technical
and historical significance was continued during the year. Much of
the work was conducted by staff correspondence. Frequently, how-
ever, it became necessary to undertake direct investigation and study
of suggested material and consultations with those acquainted with
the material. It was in this connection, primarily, that the following
visits away from Washington were made by the staff:

Middletown, Pa., Olmsted Air Force Base, July 23, by associate curator Robert
C. Strobell, to examine a group of Japanese trophy airplanes which had been
evaluated and tested.

Buffalo, N. Y., Airport, August 31, by associate curator Stephen L. Beers, to in-
spect two Curtiss engines used in early Naval aircraft and two French engines
of World War I.

Roosevelt Field, Long Island, N. Y., and East Orange, N. J., October 11-16, by
the curator, to examine a group of historic American, English, and French
airplanes and to determine the availability of a Benoist airplane of 1912.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, November 9-22, by the curater, to obtain the Wright
Brothers’ aeroplane of 1903.

122 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Los Angeles, Calif., Inglewood Field, and March Field, January 19-29, by the
curator, to receive, recondition, and test hop the Boeing B-17~D bomber
Swoose.

Aberdeen and Baltimore, Md., March 15, by Mr. Beers, to inspect aircraft and
obtain a scale model of the Martin bomber, type MB-1 of 1918.

Jackson Center, Ohio, May 28, by Mr. Strobell, to arrange receipt and shipment
of Benoist airplane.

Langley Field, Va., May 23-25, by the curator and Mr. Beers, to attend the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics conference and inspect
material of museum significance.

Miami, Fla., June 15-18, by Mr. Beers, to attend Eastern Airlines conference and
inspect equipment and aircraft made available to the Museum.

Numerous trips were made by staff members between the base and
field units in connection with management of the storage area and
procurement and placement of accessions.

ACCESSIONS

New accessions totaled 122 objects from 40 sources. The majority
of these were solicited by the Museum and involved considerable prior
research by the staff to determine the significance and need of each
object in the over-all picture of the history and development of aero-
nautics. In addition, each accession required staff attention in a
variable amount in arranging for the procurement and shipment of the
object and in incorporating it into the aeronautical collection.

Except where otherwise indicated the accessions received this year
and listed below were entered in the Museum’s records as gifts or
transfers:

NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM ACCESSIONS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED
JUNE 80, 1949

ABEL, A. H. (See under Port of Oakland, Board of Port Commissioners.)

ABRAMS, TALBERT (See under Abrams Instrument Corp.).

ABRAMS INstRUMENT Corp., Lansing, Mich: (Through Talbert Abrams) The
Explorer, single pusher monoplane with empennage extended on twin booms;
believed to be the first American aircraft designed primarily for aerial mapping
and survey work (N. A. M. 629, loan).

AERONCA ArrcRAFT Corp., Middletown, Ohio: (Through John A. Lawler) First
production Aeronca sport plane, 1929 (N. A. M. 647, loan).

Arropropucts Division, GeNERAL Motors Corp., Dayton, Ohio: (Through
W. F. Stover) Four Aeromatic propeller assembly displays illustrating types,
mechanisms, and production steps (N. A. M. 651).

ALIHAN, Dr. Mixa (See under Kollsman Instrument Division, Square D Co.).

ALLEN, Witu1aM B., Jr. (See under U. 8S. Post Office Department.)

Bastow, J. G., Oakland, Calif.: American flag insignia of the First Aero Squadron,
World War I, cut from the fuselage fabric of a Salmson airplane (N. A. M. 625).

Brcx, Toomas H. (See under Crowell-Collier Publishing Co.)

BisicuKkow, WIiLu1AM. (See under Comet Model Airplane and Supply Co.)

SECRETARY’S REPORT 123

Bravpiey, R. F., San Francisco, Calif.: A framed black-and-white photograph of
an early air meet and a souvenir log book of the first round-trip, trans-Pacific
Pan American Airways passenger flight, 1936 (N. A. M. 636).

BriskIN, Irvine. (See under Columbia Pictures Corp.)

Brooxityn Pouyrecunic Instirure, Brooklyn, N. Y.: (Through Dr. D. G.
Lockward) A 160-hp. Curtiss V-X aircraft engine used to power a Curtiss R-2
Army reconnaissance plane cf 1916 (N. A. M. 631).

CuHauuinor, G. R. (See under Kansas City, Mo., Chamber of Commerce.)

CuHancr Voucur Arrcrart, Div. or Unirep Arrcrart Corp., Stratford, Conn.:
(Through John J. Hospers) Two 1:16-scale airplane models, U. S. Navy,
World War II: F4U-—4 and OS2U-1 (N. A. M. 630).

Con, Don, Williamsville, N. Y.: Two aircraft engines, rotary, French, World
War I: a Clerget 9B and a Gnome ‘‘Monosoupape”’ (N. A. M. 655).

Conus, C. 8. (See under Pan American-Grace Airways, Inc.)

CoutumBiA Pictures Corp., Hollywood, Calif.: (Through Irving Briskin) Two
scale medels of Prof. John J. Montgomery’s gliders reproduced for the motion
picture “Gallant Journey.’”’ These show the Santa Clara of 1905 and the
Evergreen of 1911 (N. A. M. 626).

Comer Moprt AIRPLANE AND SuppLty Co., Chicago, Ill.: (Through William
Bibichkow) Wind tunnel stated by donor to be the first practical mass-produced
type; for personal and classroom use; throat 14” x 22”; embodies the principles
of full-scale designs; accessories are included (N. A. M. 643).

CROWELL-COLLIER PuBLIsHING Co., New York, N. Y.: (Through Thomas H.
Beck) Original water-color painting by Melbourne Brindle depicting the first
flight of the Wright Brothers’ aeroplane at Kitty Hawk, N. C., December 17,
1903 (N. A. M. 654).

DeHart, Dana C., San Francisco, Calif.: A major portion of a cabane strut from
the Curtiss ‘‘R’’ which was one of the first two planes to carry scheduled air
mail from New York to Chicago via Cleveland, September 5 to 17, 1918
(N. A. M. 628).

Dintz, Goutp (deceased), Omaha, Nebr.: Two wooden propellers: a ‘‘Paragon’”’
1911, used on the Army’s first airship, and a “Flottorp” of early 1920 type
inscribed with famous autographs (N. A. M. 644).

DoouiTtLE, Gun. J. H., New York, N. Y.: A jagged fragment, found in China,
from the right-engine nacelle of a North American B-25 “Mitchell”? bomber
which took part in the Tokyo raid of April 18, 1942 (N. A. M. 604).

Dovua.as Arrcrart Co., Inc., Santa Monica, Calif.: A 1:16-size scale model of
the Douglas SBD Navy carrier-based dive bomber which saw extensive service
in World War II (N. A. M. 620).

Frank, JouHNn P. (See under North Carolina Granite Corp.)

Frrprericx, D. 8. (See under Rohm and Haas Co.)

Friss, LEonarpD, London, England: A large display poster printed from the
original painted by the donor, advertising the International Aviation Tourna-
ment held at Belmont Park, L. J., October 22 to 30, 1910 (N. A. M. 648).

Gitcnrist, Mrs. Guy, Dutch Flat, Calif.: The starter’s flag used in the Oakland-
Honolulu Dole Race, 1927. Given in memory of her brother, Maj. Edward
Howard (N. A. M. 653).

Goopwin, Cuiaire V. (See under Port of Oakland, Board of Port Commissioners.)

Grumman, L. R. (See under Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co.)

GRUMMAN AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING Co., Bethpage, L. I., N. Y.: (Through L. R.
Grumman) Four 1:16-size scale models of Grumman aircraft, U. S. Navy,
World War II: an F3F biplane fighter, an F4F ‘‘Wildcat,” a TBM ‘Avenger’
torpedo bomber, and an F7F “Tigercat” (N. A. M. 634).

124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Gur Orn Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.: The Gulfhawk—2 airplane which was flown by
Maj. Alford Williams for 12 years. It illustrates the last of the Navy’s biplane
fighters, an F8F (N. A. M. 652).

HEFFERNAN, Carr. J. B. (See under National Military Establishment, Depart-
ment of the Navy.)

Hosprrs, Joun J. (See under Chance Vought Aircraft, Div. of United Aircraft
Corp.)

Hussewi, Cuarues H., Cleveland, Ohio: Twelve color prints of current-design
private aircraft as painted by the donor for the 1949 calendar of Thompson
Products, Inc. (N. A. M. 642).

Kansas Crry, Mo., CaHamBer or Commerce: (Through G. R. Challinor) A
pressed-coal briquette, carried on Berlin Airlift, 1949; part of the one-millionth
ton. It was mined in the Ruhr; flown from Frankfurt to Berlin and thence to
Kansas City, Mo., as a feature of a ceremony acclaiming the Airlift (N. A. M.
645).

Kartveut, A. (See under Republic Aviation Corp.)

KoLusMAN INSTRUMENT Diviston, SeuarE D Co., Elmhurst, N. Y.: (Through
Dr. Milla Alihan) A machmeter; an instrument used to record speed in Mach
Number, which expresses the speed of the aircraft in relation to the speed of
sound (N. A. M. 649).

LAWLER, JOHN A. (See under Aeronca Aircraft Corp.)

LocxwarpD, Dr. D. G. (See under Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.)

Menruor, Kenneto ©. (See under Wright Aeronautical Corp.)

NatrionaL Miiitary EsTaABLISHMENT:

Department of the Air Force. From Air Force Technical Museum, Wright-
Patterson A. F. Base, Dayton, Ohio: Five 1: 72-size, black plastic World War
II aircraft recognition models: a C—47 two-engine transport, a PB2Y four-
engine fiying boat, a PBM-8 two-engine flying boat, an SB2U single-engine
Navy dive bomber, and a TBD single-engine torpedo bomber (N. A. M. 638).

Department of the Navy, Washington, D. C. From Office of the Deputy Chief
of Naval Operations (Air): (Through Vice Adm. John D. Price) A plaque,
replica of one installed at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1946, commemorating the first
trans-Atlantic flight by the NC-4, May 1919 (N. A. M. 646). From Office
of Public Information, Bureau of Aeronautics: A Navy summer-weight flying
suit and helmet, World War II type, worn by Col. Marion E. Carl, U.S. M. C.,
when he flew the Douglas D-558 Skystreak to a world’s speed record of
650 m. p. h. on August 25, 1947 (N. A. M. 637). From Office of Public Rela-
tions: (Through Capt. J. B. Heffernan, U. S. N., Ret., Curator for Navy
Department) Scale models of three planes used by the Navy in World War II:
XPB2Y experimental version of Consolidated ‘‘Coronado”’ used for bombing
and transport; XPBM experimental version of Martin ‘“‘Mariner’” used for
patrol-bombing and antisubmarine service; and TBD Douglas ‘Devastator’
carrier-based torpedo plane (N. A. M. 635, loan).

Nevin, Rosert §., Baltimore, Md.: A 1:24-size scale model of the Martin MB-1
twin-engined Army bomber of 1918, made by lender (N. A. M. 621, loan).

NortH CaroLInaA GRANITE Corp., Mount Airy, N. C.: (Through John P.
Frank) Architects’ model of the Wright Brothers Memorial on the summit of
Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, N. C. (N. A. M. 6388).

Pan AMERICAN-GRACE ArRways, INc., New York, N. Y.: (Through C. §. Collins)
The Fairchild FC—2 five-passenger cabin monoplane with which the scheduled
commercial operations of Panagra System in South America were inaugurated
September 1928 (N. A. M. 650).

SECRETARY’S REPORT 125

Perry, Kenneta M., Washington, D. C.: A German Air Force garrison cap of
the World War II period (N. A. M. 622).

Port OF OAKLAND, Boarp or Porr ComMISSIONERS, Oakland, Calif.: (Through
A. H. Abel) The “‘Diamond”’ airplane, identified by donors as the first airplane
constructed in California (1910), and the Kemp engine used to power it; a
“Wiseman-Cooke” airplane constructed by Fred Wiseman and flown by him in
what was probably the first cross-country air-mail flight in America, Petaluma
to Santa Rosa, Calif., February 17, 1911. This plane was also flown by Weldon
Cooke (N. A. M. 639). (Through Claire VY. Goodwin) A pilots’ control wheel
from the cockpit of Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith’s Southern Cross airplane, first
to fly from the United States to Australia, May 31—June 9, 1928; and a facsimile
of the log kept by the copilot, Charles Ulm, on that flight (N. A. M. 640).

Pricn, Vich Apm. Joun D. (See under National Military Establishment, De-
partment of the Navy.)

Rerusiic Aviation Corp., Farmingdale, L. I., N. Y.: (Through A. Kartveli)
three 1:16 scale models: Republic P—47—-N ‘“‘Thunderbolt”’ Air Force single-seat
fighter, Republic F-—84 “Thunderjet’”’ Air Force single-seat fighter, Republic
RC-3 “Seabee’’ all-metal, four-place amphibian personal plane; and a 1:48
scale model: Republic XF-12 “Rainbow” Air Force four-engine, long-range,
high-altitude photo-reconnaissance plane (N. A. M. 641).

Roum anD Haas Co., Philadelphia, Pa.: (Through D. §. Frederick) Four ex-
amples of Plexiglas forms used in construction of aircraft: a P—47 bubble canopy,
an astradome, a Crocker-Wheeler nose section for B—26 aircraft, and a Sikorsky
Helicopter nose (N. A. M. 627).

Spratt, GeorGE, Deep River, Conn.: A Curtiss V—8 air-cooled aircraft engine
of about 1907, used by the donor’s father in experiments with movable-wing
aircraft (N. A. M. 624).

Stover, W. F. (See under Aeroproducts Division, General Motors Corp.)

U.S. Post Orrick DepartTMENT, Washington, D.C.: (Through William B. Allen,
Jr.) The pouch used to carry air mail on a flight commemorating the thirtieth
anniversary of air mail; a flight was made between New York and Washington,
D. C., in an Air Force P-80 jet aircraft (N. A. M. 619).

Viuas, Jack, Chicago, Ill.: Hull of the Curtiss Flying Boat in which the donor
made the first flight across Lake Michigan on July 1, 1913 (N. A. M. 632).
Waker, Mas. Tuomas L., Glen Echo, Md.: Japanese equipment, World War
II: an Hitachi aircraft engine from a ‘‘Cypress” biplane primary trainer, a
cutaway supercharger and fuel metering device produced by Mitsubishi, and
a group of five instruments also manufactured by Mitsubishi (N. A. M. 600).

Weems, Capt. P. V. H., Annapolis, Md.: A collection of plotters illustrating
many forms used to solve navigation problems involving position, direction,
and distance (N. A. M. 656).

Wricut, Orvititr, Estate or, Dayton, Ohio: The original Wright Brothers’
aeroplane of 1903 (in custody for the U. S. National Museum) (U. 8S. N. M.
181390).

Wricut AmronauticaL Corp., Wood-Ridge, N. J.: (Through Kenneth C.
Mebrhof) Four radial aircraft engines: Curtiss ‘‘Challenger,”’ Wright ‘‘Cyclone’”’
18BA, Wright “Cyclone” 14A, and Wright “‘Cyclone”’ 9GB (N. A. M. 623).
Respectfully submitted. Cart W. Mirman,

Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum.

Dr. A. WeTmorg,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 10
REPORT ON THE CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA

Sir: It gives me pleasure to present herewith the annual report of
the Canal Zone Biological Area for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949.

IMPROVEMENTS MADE

A new building, halfway up to the laboratory level and near the
generators, was completed. The ground floor will be used largely
for the woodworking machinery and carpenter shop, the upper part
as living quarters for the warden-caretaker. ‘The old cottage just
below the large laboratory building, formerly occupied by the warden-
caretaker, has been converted into a very desirable two-room lab-
oratory unit. The forest is close by, making the building exception-
ally suitable for observation and study of mammals and other forms.

Work on the 14,000-gallon concrete gravity-flow water tank was
halted by heavy rains which made it impossible to use the truck and
large concrete mixer. However, the excavation is made and the
gravel and reinforcement iron are at the site; 2 or 3 weeks of dry
weather will permit completion of the tank.

During the year, from allocated funds, the launch Snook was
purchased from The Panama Canal. This is a very sturdy, well-
built boat 40 feet long, with an 11-foot beam—large enough to ac-
commodate 40 passengers. It is in very good condition and will
serve even for towing.

New generators were installed during the year, providing a depend-
able source of electricity for continuous use.

Eight steel herbarium cases, needed for many years, have been
received and the herbarium specimens transferred to them. These
specimens are now in excellent condition. Eight steel storage cabinets
were also received, providing dustproof storage for much of the
laboratory equipment.

SCIENTISTS AND THEIR STUDIES

Twenty-nine scientists came to the laboratory during the year.
Although many of them stayed only a short time, their acquaintance
with the island and its facilities will no doubt bring others to the
laboratory in the near future. The contribution of these scientists
has added materially to our knowledge of life under tropical conditions.

126

SECRETARY’S REPORT 127

Dr. Franz Schrader and Dr. Sally Hughes Schrader returned to
continue their cytological studies.

Dr. Frank A. Hartman and Robert Albertin, of the Department
of Physiology of the Ohio State University, spent some time on the
island, and used the laboratory as their base for excursions up the
Chagres River Basin and into the Volcan region of Chiriqui Province.
They studied in great detail the anatomy of the adrenals in sloths
and the coati-mundi while on the island. The adrenals of more
than 600 vertebrates were collected during expeditions in the Republic
of Panama. Field studies were made of selected cases, and the rest
of the material was taken to the island for further treatment in prep-
aration for cytological examination later at their University labora-
tory. The skins of the birds obtained by them were donated to the
United States National Museum. The hearts of a number of the
vertebrates were sent to Dr. Struthers, of the University of Syracuse,
for anatomical study of the coronaries and other blood vessels.

Dr. Hartman plans to return for a much more extensive survey,
especially in relation to the effects of the male hormone, particularly
in the sloth. The use of the island as a base for excursions to other
nearby regions emphasizes one of the unique features of the Canal
Zone Biological Area.

Dr. Per F. Scholander and Dr. Vladimir Walters, of the Arctic
Research Laboratory at Point Barrow, Alaska, spent considerable
time on the island studying the metabolic reactions to temperature
in various animals and plants in order to obtain a tropical counterpart
for the work done on Arctic forms in Alaska. A deep-freeze was
used in some of their work, and the analysis of the tropical mammals
and birds in cold gave just the information needed to interpret
properly the findings in the Arctic. The work on the island with
the deep-freeze proved of basic importance for formulating a theory
on the relation between insulation and metabolism.

R. Joseph Kowal, in charge of the laboratory of the Bureau of
Entomology and Plant Quarantine at Gulfport, Miss., returned in
order to reexamine and evaluate the special series of termite-resistance
tests initiated by him 5 years ago, including the very valuable series
of soil poisons. He was assisted by Russell EK. Fontaine, in charge
of the insect- and pest-control work of the United States Army in
the Caribbean area.

Dr. Walter Clark, in charge of the Research Laboratory of Eastman
Kodak, who had come to inaugurate the large air-conditioned labora-
tory in the outskirts of Panama City, accompanied by Dr. Cleve C.
Soper, in charge of Eastman Kodak’s tropical research work here,
spent several weeks on the island in connection with their corrosion
and deterioration studies. Asin past years, Dr. Clark took thousands

128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

of feet of splendid motion pictures of the animal life. The work of
the Eastman Kodak Company on the island, and in Panama City,
is yielding most valuable data on corrosion and deterioration, as
well as a better understanding of the influence of the Tropics on
color film.

EK. P. Killip, head curator of the department of botany, United
States National Museum, spent a short time on the island, collecting
material for the herbarium. He went over most of the laboratory’s
herbarium specimens and later will send such additional sheets as
may be needed to augment or supplement the collection.

Dr. Charles C. Adams, pioneer ecologist of the Americas, was
another visitor who came to the Tropics for first-hand knowledge.
He stressed the value of the island for ecologists, both plant and
animal, in providing an intimate acquaintance with jungle life.

Dr. and Mrs. H. N. Moldenke, of the New York Botanical Garden,
visited the island after their return from the Second Pan American
Botanical Congress held in Tucum4n, Argentina. Dr. Moldenke’s
chief interest was the Verbenaceae, and he very kindly rechecked the
laboratory’s material in this family.

Dr. Marshall Stone, of the University of Chicago, again revisited
the island for a short time.

Phil W. Longenecker, student at Colorado College, spent the month
of July on the island. He made a list of 98 species of birds that he
positively identified, with copious notes on their habits. His
studies also included observations on a number of the mammals.
In his report he states that he did not find it necessary to go far into
the forest, as there was so much to see within a mile of the laboratory.

Dr. Eugene Eisenmann, of New York City, visited the island again
this year to continue his ornithological studies. Dr. Eisenmann is
an authority on the birds of this region. He will prepare a list,
brought up to date, of the birds observed on the island.

Oliver E. Mosser, of Smithtown Branch, N. Y., came for a few
days, specifically to make certain important observations of army
ants for Dr. Schneirla. In addition he studied birds and mammals.

Frank W. Hunnewell and his sister Louise revisited the island and
stayed several weeks, following up his botanical studies. They
showed the same deep interest in the island that they had displayed
ever since Dr. Barbo:ir was actively connected with its direction.

lt is a pleasure to record again a short visit by Dr. and Mrs.
Matthew W. Stirling and Richard Stewart, who were in Panama on
archeological reconnaissance on behalf of the National Geographic
Society and the Smithsonian Institution. Motion pictures were
taken by Mr. Stewart to complete the reel covering the island.

Dr. Wetmore, Secretary of the Smithsonian, revisited the island,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 129

at which time conferences were held with the writer on island matters,
plans for the future, improvements that would be desirable. W. M.
Perrygo, of the National Museum, accompanied him as assistant.

John E. Graf, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
spent 2 weeks on the island in June and July, examining the laboratory
facilities and discussing its operations.

A. C. Langlois, of the Bahamas, whose deep interest in palms and
horticulture in general are well known, was a welcome visitor for a
few days, during which brief time he was able to observe the palms as
they grow in their natural habitat.

W. E. Lundy, secretary-treasurer of The Panama Canal Natural
History Society, a keen student of nature, spent a week on the island,
and as on earlier visits prepared a detailed report of the mammals,
birds, reptiles, and other forms that he saw. These yearly lists from
Mr. Lundy form a very valuable record.

Miss KE. Thomas and Miss Marie Weir, local naturalists of note,
again revisited the island for a few profitable days.

The writer continued his special research problems, particularly
the long-term termite-resistance tests, and fruit-fly populations. The
large Berlese funnel has been kept in operation, and it is of interest
to note the great number of species of mites, pseudoscorpions, and
ants, particularly some of the very rare genera, that have been
collected in this manner.

An interesting development from work done at Barro Colorado
Island that should be mentioned here, since it has not previously
been noted, is the availability of a phonograph record of jungle sounds
by day and by night, familiar and friendly to those who know them,
mysterious and sometimes fearful to the uninitiated. The work is
that of Dr. Arthur A. Allen and Dr. Paul Kellogg of Cornell University
who, during the war, made a long series of recordings in the jungle
for training use with American troops assigned to outpost duty. A
considerable part of the work was done on Barro Colorado Island,
though it is only recently that the material has been released and
prepared in form available to the public. The voices of howler
monkeys, birds, and amphibians, reproduced faithfully by painstaking
techniques, carry fully the ordinary sounds heard during the 24 hours
about the Island.

MORE URGENT NEEDS

One of the most urgent needs is the fireproofing of certain structures
by the use of concrete posts and concrete blocks, which could be
accomplished gradually. These buildings are the Barbour and Chap-
man houses, the kitchen and its adjacent storerooms, and the main
laboratory building.

130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Even more urgent is a new laboratory and storage building, which
will require a small addition to the clearing back of our present
laboratory site. This structure should be built with concrete posts
and sills, and concrete-block sides, and should have at least six rooms.
Provision should be made for the periodical use of heat in order to
reduce the growth of molds. ‘This building would provide separate
rooms for the library, for scientific records, for storage of cameras
and other delicate apparatus, for the herbarium, for laboratory glass-
ware, and for chemicals. The entire building should be well ventilated,
but in addition glass windows should be provided so that when
necessary these can be tightly closed and heat used. High humidity,
the subsequent rapid growth of fungus, and the need of protection
from termites are problems of the first order in the Tropics.

Other urgent needs are steel storage cabinets, metal bookcases
with closing glass fronts, metal card-index cabinets for the species
index and the library index, and sectional steel letter files.

TaBLe 1.—Annual rainfall, Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone

Total Stalion Total Station

Year inches average Year inches average
192522223 eee (042g ie Sea se 119 footer 124. 13 110. 12
192622. ees ree! 118. 22 PUSH GW OSSs ts: Sa See = 117. 09 110. 62
Cys eee 116. 36 ANA 68: OS Oh Se 115. 47 110. 94
LO2Sase 2 ee ee 101. 52 Ps So O40 Ss ae ee ee 86. 51 109. 43
D2 Qe ts 2 eel 87. 84 HOGT DG OL2S aes ae eee 91. 82 108. 41
NOS ORS s eee ee 76. 57 1 ACO 1 ty 2 a SO 108. 55
LOSI OS ea eee 1238. 30 04769) 1943222. See 120. 29 109. 20
LOS2 etres chon ees 113. 52 LOSS 7 GN NOLES 22 ogee Ss 111. 96 109. 30
NOG Sees oe er LOTS LOS O21 O45 2> 22 se Se ae Se 120. 42 109. 84.
LOS 4S eee ee 122. 42 1OGO4 N94 Ge ee oe eee 87. 38 108. 81
19S es Seu eet ee 148. 42 1UNOVS DOA ee ree bee ae 71. 92 107. 49
LOSG 4252 2 pee 93. 88 LOS: 98iO4S =e a ee 83. 16 106. 43

TABLE 2.—Comparison of 1947 and 1948 rainfall, Barro Colorado Island, Canal
Zone (inches)

Total Accumu-
Station | Years of | Excessor | lated ex-

Month average | record j|deficiency| cess or de-

ficiency

DANUSLY See ee ee ee 1,84 2M ee ne eee | ae eee
Webruarys ee See as fea ee 1, 22 23 —1.03 —1.03
Marchese: 5 eae ener eney, Sa mye ee 1.36 23 —1.19 —2, 22
Aprile sche 2 RS oe ee aes ea ee 2.81 24 +0. 11 —2.11
ia y eee ee ae ee eae a eee em ee 10. 85 24 —0.05 —2.16
JN eee es ee ee 11.10 24 —4, 78 —6. 94
BIL (eee ge ee pe ee ee ee ee 11. 61 24 —0.16 —7.10
IANIQUB tH eae ee ee ee ee 12. 44 24 —1.98 —9.08
September. a a eee 10. 27 24 —3.5 —12. 63
Ostober2223 so ae eae eee 13. 07 24 —2. 33 —14. 96
November! 25-220 ose oe ie ot eee eS 18. 84 24 +1. 49 —13. 47
December ss sess aes ee ee 11.02 24 —9. 80 —23. 27
TVCAt! See Si aeen oe ee ee 1OG2437 baw =. 855 2 eee —23. 27

(Dye aee as =e ae re ee TQRIESE ES S| ees —5. 36
NG) eee ee See Se ee ee ee 99520-22282. 25.255. 35-3 —17. 91

SECRETARY’S REPORT aul

FISCAL REPORT

During the fiscal year 1949, $12,256.05 in trust funds was available.
Of this amount $11,118.90 was spent, leaving on hand only $1,137.15
with which to face the new fiscal year. In addition to this, $1,122.30
is still on deposit, representing local collections.

During the year only $1,243.00 was collected as fees from scientists,
as compared to $1,907.75 last year. This decline is very largely due
to the high cost of transportation to the Isthmus, which keeps many
from coming. Despite the higher cost of food and other items, the
laboratory has not increased its per diem charge to scientists. Those
from institutions that sustain table subscriptions still receive a discount
of 25 percent.

The following institutions continued their support to the laboratory
through the payment of table subscriptions:

Smithsonianvinstitution ss.) boii a ye Ache alps 1 Sc lt Aa $500. 00
American’ Museum of Natural History =: 5.2222. +225L4-22221- 300. 00
Bastmany Wodak: Companys 2. teed 22 Se Peet ee yO 1, 000. 00
News VOrk ZOOlOpICAl NOCIGLY. = 2022 Ne eee ee 300. 00
University oe Cnicagos-22 2-6 iss. 54 52s steno Neat eke ae 300. 00
OhioistaterUniversivy® -s-2- 3 {ee rer ees Lee ee eee 300. 00

The Forest Products Laboratory, United States Department of
Agriculture, contributed $25.00 a month as service fees for facilities
furnished.

It is most gratifying to record donations from Dr. Eugene Eisen-
mann, Dr. Oliver P. Pearson, Mrs. Dorothy Edgerton, Miss Louise
Hunnewell, Mr. Frank W. Hunnewell, and the Botanical Society of
Washington.

The sum of $5,000 was made available by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion from appropriated funds, and of this amount $4,997.53 was used
for permanent improvements. The Institution also contributed $3,000
from its private funds, in addition to its table fees.

Respectfully submitted.

JAMES ZeTEK, Resident Manager.

Dr. ALEXANDER WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 11
REPORT ON THE LIBRARY

Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities
of the Smithsonian library for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949:

All the continents and most of the countries of the world were
represented among the 57,671 publications received by the library
during the year. These books, pamphlets, and serials were pre-
dominantly scientific and technical in character and touched all the
special and related fields of interests of the Smithsonian Institution
and its branches. The International Exchange Service transmitted
5,082 of them, and the rest came by mail or by other means of delivery.

Acquisitions by purchase included 1,792 volumes, three collections
of pamphlets on special subjects, and subscriptions for 279 periodicals.

Gifts of 7,287 publications came from many different donors.
The library owes a lasting debt of gratitude to these friends of the
Institution, at home and abroad, for their generous contributions
of books and papers, many of which the library would not otherwise
have been able to acquire. Not yet statistically recorded in the
library is the important gift of the large Ferdinand Perret Research
Library of the Arts and their Affiliated Sciences, presented by Mr.
Perret to the National Collection of Fine Arts.

The library’s principal strength and the backbone of its usefulness
lies in the large collections of publications, chiefly serials, issued by
the research institutions, scientific societies, universities, academies,
museums, and observatories all over the world, which the Smith-
sonian Institution receives in exchange for its own publications.
These are the primary sources of the records of progress in science
and technology, in the arts and industries. Ready access to them is
indispensable to the work of the Institution. The larger number
of the 17,713 periodical entries recorded during the year were these
exchange publications, and many monographic works received in
exchange were separately cataloged. There were 338 new exchanges
arranged, and 7,008 volumes and parts needed to fill gaps in serial
sets, or for special purposes, were obtained in response to 726 special
requests made to the issuing agencies.

132

SECRETARY’S REPORT se

A grand total of 17,771 publications were sent to the Library of
Congress. Of these, 1,978 volumes and 4,582 periodical parts were
recorded as permanent additions to the great Smithsonian Deposit
there. The others were foreign and domestic dissertations, docu-
ments, and miscellaneous publications of little immediate importance
to the work of the Institution.

The Army Medical Library selected for transfer 859 publications
no longer needed here in the sectional library of the division of
medicine. Also sent to the Army Medical Library were 1,068
currently received medical dissertations and 1,927 other publications
on medical subjects. <A total of 1,532 publications were distributed,
according to subject, among other libraries of the Government.

The cataloging of currently received publications was kept up
without serious time lags and with no additions to the large ‘‘back-
log” of many years standing. Records of 6,884 volumes were added
to catalogs and shelflists, and 31,184 cards were filed. Work on the
correlation of the central periodical entry records with those of the
central catalog was begun, and 389 entries were checked, corrected,
and unified. This is important work which will have far-reaching
results in shortening the time of record keeping and in giving prompter
service to readers.

Funds allotted for binding permitted 1,060 volumes to be prepared
and sent to the Government Printing Office, but again were not
sufficient to keep up with the number of volumes of serial publications
completed during the year, so the “backlog” of binding continued to
grow. A total of 1,026 books and pamphlets were repaired in the
Museum library, but there is always much more of such work to be
done than one assistant can handle, and here too there is regrettable
arrearage.

Increasingly heavy demands upon reading and reference services
of the library, especially from outside the Institution, were noticed
throughout all the branches. Every year many visiting scientists
and other scholars not only from our own but from other countries of
the world make more or less extensive use of the library’s resources,
while letters and telephone requests for information pour in daily.
Interlibrary loans of 2,619 publications to 89 different libraries were
made, an increase of 732 over last year. The principal borrowers
were other scientific libraries of the Government in Washington, and
research institutions, museums, and universities elsewhere.

Three positions were vacant during the entire year, and the
Museum library had no messenger after the end of January. The

134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

redistribution of work assignments necessary to meet the emergencies
of the situation could only be made at the expense of neglecting or
postponing all but the most immediately demanding of the library’s
responsibilities. While every effort was made to see that services to
the scientific staff suffered as little as possible, some irritating delays
and inconveniences were unavoidable, most noticeably from the
lack of adequate messenger service.

There was a heartening improvement in one branch of the service,
made possible by the promotion of an acquisitions assistant to fill the
much needed new position of assistant librarian in charge of the
Astrophysical Observatory library. The position from which the
promotion was made, however, is one of those still unfilled.

Even more serious than the vacancy of library positions is the
housing of the library. For many years the shelves have been so
badly overcrowded that the shelving of each year’s acquisitions has
been a matter of makeshift contrivance. ‘To relieve the congestion
double shelving—that is, two rows of books shelved one behind the
other on a single shelf—has become a common practice, especially in
the Natural History building. Whole sections of books in relatively
less frequent use have had to be shifted to inconvenient locations in
the attic stacks of the Arts and Industries building where dust and
dryness are particularly bad. The generally poor arrangements of
the library’s quarters in all the buildings, too, and the lack of any
well-equipped space for a centralized collection of the indispensable
reference books needed in common by all the bureaus of the Institution
are handicaps to the kind of library service that should be expected
in the Smithsonian Institution. Until some practical means can be
found to remedy these and many related bad housing conditions,
progressive deterioration of books and library service alike is
inevitable.

SUMMARIZED STATISTICS

Accessions
Total

recorded

Volumes volumes

une 30,

1949

Astrophysical Observatory (including Radiation and Organisms) -_-____-_--_- 486 13, 073
Bureau offAmerican Ethnologys-22 oe ee Se eee 112 34, 719
National MATT M Gsemni 8s es SRS er a ee ee te ee eee 23 40
INationalCollectioniotibinerArtst 22st ee eee ee oe ee eee 347 11, 791
Nation alii semrid- 220 82S i ee ee SES Se ee ee ee ee me 2, 775 243, 666
National ZoologicalPark= “2020 450. Rie eee eee 13 4, 193
Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress____..._-..----.------------- 1, 978 580, 651

Smithsonian’ O fiice 2504. eg Pare a ee a ee a 466 33, 073

SECRETARY’S REPORT 135

Neither incomplete volumes of periodicals nor separates and
reprints from periodicals are included in these figures.

Exchanges

IN@wiexchanvesrarrant cies so5 22 sep oe ee eee ee esas 338
104 of these were assigned to the Smithsonian Deposit in the Library of
Congress.
Specially requested publications received _.--........-....--.-------- 7, 008
923 of these were obtained to fil! gaps in the Smithsonian Deposit seta.

Cataloging
Volumestand pampnhictsicataloged {=< 22-525 Se. ee 6, 884
Cardsiaddeditorcatalogs;andishelilistsas sme ee oe 31, 184
Periodicals
Periogicaltpartsventered smoot.) Je ele ee i eee se Se 17, 713

Of these, 4,582 were sent to the Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of
Congress.
Circulation

MOansror books and: periodicals. 5-42.22 toe eee ee nk oe oo = ae 11, 689
This figure does not include the intramural circulation of books and periodi-
cals filed in 31 sectional libraries, of which no count is kept.

Binding

Wolumesisentitenne: bindery 2: sa eee a ee Se ee 1, 060
Volumes repaired in the Museum__.-_........------.-- ae as merase ae 1, 026

Respectfully submitted.
Le1ua F, Cuarxk, Librarian.
Dr. A. WETMORE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

866591—50——10

APPENDIX 12
REPORT ON PUBLICATIONS

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publica-
tions of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches during the year
ended June 30, 1949.

The Institution published during the year 14 papers and title pages
and tables of contents for 2 volumes in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous
Collections, 1 Annual Report of the Board of Regents and pamphlet
copies of 18 articles in the Report appendix, 1 Annual Report of the
Secretary, and a new edition of 1 special publication, and a reprint of
another.

The United States National Museum issued 1 Annual Report, 25
Proceedings papers, 3 Bulletins, and 2 papers in the Bulletin series,
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium.

The Bureau of American Ethnology issued 1 Annual Report and 2
Publications of the Institute of Social Anthropology.

The Freer Gallery of Art issued 1 publication in its Occasional
Papers series.

Of the publications there were distributed 267,491 copies, which
included 15 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Contributions to
Knowledge, 27,438 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Miscel-
laneous Collections, 26,302 volumes and separates of Smithsonian
Annual Reports, 3,696 War Background Studies, 6,361 Smithsonian
special publications, 38 reports of the Harriman Alaska Expedition,
66,459 volumes and separates of National Museum publications,
12,787 publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 6,873
Publications of the Institute of Social Anthropology, 10 catalogs of
the National Collection of Fine Arts, 603 volumes and pamphlets of
the Freer Gallery of Art, 38 Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory,
1,389 Reports of the American Historical Association, and 5,014 mis-
cellaneous publications not printed by the Smithsonian Institution
(mostly Survival Manuals.)

In addition, 87,715 Guide Books, 22,573 natural history and art post
cards, 162 sets of North American Wild Flowers, and 18 Pitcher Plants
volumes were distributed.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

In this series there were issued title page and table of contents of
volume 107, 7 papers and title page and table of contents of volume
110, and 7 papers in volume 111, as follows:

136

SECRETARY'S REPORT Liat

VOLUME 107

Title page and table of contents. (Publ. 3949.) Sept. 3, 1948.

VOLUME 110

No. 7. Gustavus Sohon’s portraits of Flathead and Pend d’Oreille Indians,
1854, by John C. Ewers. 68 pp., 22 pls. (Publ. 3941.) Nov. 26, 1948.

No. 8. The behavior of barometric pressure during and after solar particle
invasions and solar ultraviolet invasions, by B. Duell and G. Duell. 34 pp., 21
figs. (Publ. 3942.) Aug. 5, 1948.

No. 9. A new genus and five new species of American fishes, by Samuel F.
Hildebrand. 15 pp., 6 figs. (Publ. 39438.) July 28, 1948.

No. 10. The feeding organs of Arachnida, including mites and ticks, by R. E.
Snodgrass. 93 pp., 29 figs. (Publ. 3944.) Aug. 18, 1948.

No. 11. The Smithsonian standard pyrheliometry, by C. G. Abbot. 4 pp.
(Publ. 3945.) Aug. 5, 1948.

No. 12. The Drum Mountains, Utah, meteorite, by E, P. Henderson and S.
H. Perry. 7 pp.,5 pls. (Publ. 3946.) Sept. 3, 1948.

No. 13. Contributions to the anthropology of the Soviet Union, by Henry Field.
244 pp., 5 pls. (Publ. 3947.) Dec. 22, 1948.

Title page and table of contents. (Publ. 3984.) May 12, 1949.

VOLUME 111

No. 1. Mirandolle’s forest faleon, by Herbert Friedmann. 4 pp., 2 pls. (Publ.
3948.) Sept. 22, 1948.

No. 2. Prehistory and the Missouri Valley development program. Summary
report on the Missouri River Basin Archeologica! Survey in 1947, by Waldo R.
Wedel. 52 po., 8 pls. (Publ. 3950.) Nov. 23, 1948.

No. 8. Further new Cambrian belleroptont gastropods, by J. Brockes Knight.
6 pp., 1 pl. (Pub). 3951.) Dec. 24, 1918.

No. 4. Type material of the species of clerid beeties described by Charles
Schaeffer, by Edward A. Chapin. 12 pp. (Publ. 8977.) Apr. 5, 1949.

No. 5. 1948-1948 report on the 27.0074-day cycle in Washington precipitation,
by C. G. Abbot. 2 pp. (Publ. 3980.) Mar. 8, 1949.

No. 6. A prediction of Washington temperature 1948 (made January 1948),
by C.G. Abbot. 6 pp.,1 fig. (Publ. 3982.) Mar. 8, 1949.

No. 7. Montezuma solar-constant values and their periodic variations, by
C. G, Abbot. 13 pp., 3 figs. (Publ. 3981.) Apr. 19, 1949.

SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORT

Report for 1947.—The complete volume of the Annual Report of the
Board of Regents for 1947 was received from the Public Printer
December 15, 1948:

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution showing

the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year ended
June 30, 1947. ix+47i pp., 65 pls., 67 figs. (Publ. 3921.)

138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The general appendix contained the following papers (Publs. 3922-
3939):

Large sunspots, by Seth B. Nicholson.

Atomic energy, by A. E. Johns.

Telegraphy—pony express to beam radio, by George C. Hillis.

Plutonium and otber transuranium clements, by Glenn T. Seaborg.

The use of isotopes as tracers, by A. H. W. Aten, Jr., and F. A. Heyn.

Silicones—a new Continent in the world of chemistry, by S. L. Bass.

New products of the petroleum industry, by Hugh W. Field.

The tsunami of April 1, 1946, in the Hawaiian Islands, by G. A. Macdonald,
F. P. Shepard, and E. C. Cox.

Drowned ancient islands of the Pacific basin, by H. H. Hess.

The biology of Bikini Atoll, with special reference to the fishes, by Leonard P.
Schultz.

‘The senses of bats, by Brian Vesey-FitzGerald

Mollusks and medicine in World War II, by R. Tucker Abbott.

Some remarks on the influence of insects on human welfare, by Carl D. Duncan.

Mosquito contro! tests from the Arctic to the Tropics, by H. H. Stage.

The primary centers of civilization, by John R. Swanton.

The Ryukyu people: A cultural appraisal, by Marshall T. Newman and Ransom
L. Eng.

Puzzle in Panama, by Waldo G. Bowman.

Comparison of propeller and reaction-propelled airplane performances, by Benson
Hamlin and F. Spenceley.

Report for 1948.—The Report of the Secretary, which included the
financial report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents,
and which will form part of the Annual Report of the Board of Regents
to Congress, was issued January 13, 1949:

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report of
the executive committee of the Board of Regents for the year ended June 30, 1948.
ix+158 pp., 4 pls., 1 chart. (Publ. 3952.) 1948.

The Report volume for 1948, containing the general appendix, was
in press at the close of the year.

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS

National Aircraft Collection, by Paul Edward Garber. Eighth edition. 44
pp., illus. (Publ. 3979.) May 2, 1949.

The following special publication was reprinted:

Brief Guide to the Smithsonian Institution. Seventh edition. 80 pp., illus.
Dec. 13, 1948.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

The editorial work of the National Museum has continued during
the year under the immediate direction of the editor, Paul H. Oehser.
There were issued 1 Annual Report, 25 Proceedings papers, 3 Bulletins,

SECRETARY'S REPORT 139

and 2 separate papers in the Bulletin series, Contributions from the
United States National Museum.

REPORT

Report on the progress and condition of the United States National Museum
for the year ended June 30, 1948. iii+127 pp. Jan. 25, 1949.

PROCEEDINGS: VOLUME 98

No. 3222. A potential snail host of Oriental schistosomiasis in North America
(Pomatiopsis lapidaria), by R. Tucker Abbott. Pp. 57-68, pls. 3, 4, figs. 10, 11.
July 2, 1948.

No. 3224. The serphoid Hymenoptera of the family Roproniidae, by Henry
Townes. Pp. 85-89, fig. 12. July 8, 1948.

No. 3225. Parasitic wasps of the genus Trimorus in North America, by Robert
M. Fouts. Pp. 91-148, figs. 13-15. Aug. 19, 1948.

No. 3226. New pemphilidine wasps from southern Nigeria, by V. 8. L. Pate.
Pp. 149-162, fig. 16. Oct. 19, 1948.

No. 3227. The butterflies of the Admiralty Islands, by Warren Herbert Wag-
ner, Jr., and David F. Grether. Pp. 163-186, pls. 11-13. Dec. 7, 1948.

No. 3228. Flies of the family Stratiomyidae of the Solomon Islands, by Mau-
rice T, James. Pp. 187-213. Nov. 9, 1948.

No. 3229. Cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus in the West Indies, with
description of a new subspecies from Cuba, by Luis René Rivas. Pp. 215-222,
pl. 14. Oct. 19, 1948.

No. 3230. A new crayfish of the genus Cambarus from Texas, with notes on
the distribution of Cambarus fodiens (Cottle), by Horton H, Hobbs, Jr. Pp.
223-231, fig. 17. Nov. 16, 1948.

No. 3231. Report on the Pycnogonida collected by the Albatross in Japanese
waters in 1900 and 1906, by Joel W. Hedgpeth. Pp. 233-821, figs. 18-51. Mar.
14, 1949.

No. 3232. Mammals of northern Colombia. Preliminary report No. 4:
Monkeys (Primates), with taxonomic revisions of some forms, by Philip Hersh-
kovitz. Pp. 323-427, pls. 15-17, figs. 52-59. May 10, 1949.

No. 3233. Bees from Central America, principally Honduras, by T. D. A.
Cockerell. Pp. 429-490. May 25, 1949.

No. 3234. A generic revision of the treehoppers of the tribe Ceresini in America
north of Mexico, based on a study of the male genitalia, by John S. Caldwell.
Pp. 491-521, pls. 18-23. May 10, 1949.

VOLUME 99

No. 3235. A further contribution to the ichthyology of Venezuela, by Leonard
P. Schultz. Pp. 1-211, pls. 1-3, figs. 1-20. May 10, 1949.

No. 3236. The weevils of the genus Tachygonus in the United States National
Museum, with descriptions of new species, by Oscar Monte. Pp. 213-227, figs.
21-32. May 25, 1949.

No. 3237. The species of ichneumon-flies of the genus Cardiochiles occurring
in America north of Mexico, by Ying-Tou Mao. Pp. 229-266, pls. 4-5. Mar.
21, 1949.

140 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

No. 3238. A revision of the mites of the family Cheyletidae in the United
States National Museum, by Edward W. Baker. Pp. 267-820, pls. 6-17. Apr.
14, 1949.

No. 3239. A new species of copepod of the genus Corycaeus from the North
American coast, by Mildred Stratton Wilson. Pp. 321-326, pl. 18. June 10,
1949.

No. 3240. New buprestid beetles from Mexico, Central and South America,
and the West Indies, by W. 8. Fisher. Pp. 327-351. Apr. 26, 1949.

No. 3241. The Pima County (Arizona) meteorite, by E. P. Henderson and
Stuart H. Perry. Pp. 353-355, pls. 19, 20. Apr. 27, 1949.

No. 3242. The Linwood (Nebraska) meteorite, by E. P. Henderson and Stuart
H. Perry. Pp. 357-860, pls. 21-24. Apr. 27, 1949.

No. 3243. The Nearctic species of the family Stephanidae (Hymenoptera),
by Henry Townes. Pp. 361-370, pl. 25. June 10, 1949.

No. 8244. Nine new xystodesmid millipeds from Virginia and West Virginia,
with records of established species, by Richard L. Hoffman. Pp. 371-389, pls.
26, 27. June 14, 1949.

No. 3245. A review of the copepod genus Paranthessius Claus, by Paul L.
Iilg. Pp. 391-428, figs. 38-37. May 10, 1949.

No. 3246. Mammals of northern Colombia, Preliminary report No. 5: Bats
(Chiroptera), by Philip Hershkovitz. Pp. 429-454, fig. 38. May 10, 1949.

No. 3247. New species and records of staphylinid beetles from Formosa,
Japan, and South China, by Maleolm Cameron. Pp. 455-477. June 14, 1949.

BULLETINS

No. 100, vol. 14, pt.8. Report on the Echinoidea collected by the United States
Fisheries steamer Albatross during the Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910. Part 3:
The Echinoneidae, Echinolampadidae, Clypeastridae, Arachnoididae, Laganidae,
Fibulariidae, Urechinidae, Echinocorythidae, Palacostomatidae, Micrasteridae,
Palaecopneustidae, Hemiasteridae, and Spatangidae, by Theodor Mortensen.
Pp. i-iii, 98-140. Oct. 29, 1949.

No. 195. Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and
their allies. Order Passeriformes, by Arthur Cleveland Bent. Pp. i-xi, 1-475,
90 pls. July 7, 1948.

No. 196. Life histories of North American thrushes, kinglets, and their allies.
Order Passeriformes, by Arthur Cleveland Bent. Pp. i-viii, 1-454, 51 pls. June
28, 1949,

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL HERBARIUM
VOLUME 29

Part 5. A revision of Macrocarpaea, a Neotropical genus of shrubby gentians,
by Joseph Ewan. Pp. i-vii, 209-249, pls. 1-5. Aug. 23, 1948.

Part 6. New grasses from Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia,
and Brazil, by Jason R. Swallen. Pp. i-iii, 251-276. Feb. 18, 1949.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

The editorial work of the Bureau continued under the immediate
direction of the editor, M. Helen Palmer. During the year the follow-
ing publications were issued:

SECRETARY'S REPORT 141

REPORT

Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1947-1948.
32 pp.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

No. 8. Sierra Popoluca speech, by Mary L. Foster and George M. Foster.

45 pp.
No. 9. The Terena and the Caduveo of southern Mato Grosso, Brazil, by
Kalervo Oberg. 72 pp., 24 pls., 4 maps, 2 charts.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART
OCCASIONAL PAPERS: VOLUME 1

No. 2. Paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and copper plates by and attributed
to American and European artists, together with a list of original Whistleriana,
in the Freer Galley of Art, by Burns A. Stubbs. 152 pp., 20 pls. (Publ. 3905.)
Aug. 6, 1948.

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

The annual reports of the American Historical Association are trans-
mitted by the Association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and are communicated by him to Congress, as provided by the act
of incorporation of the Association. The following report volumes
were issued this year:

Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1943. Vol. 2, Writings

on American History, 1939 and 1940.

Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1945:
Vol. 2, Spain in the Mississippi Valley, 1765-1794. Pt. 1, The Revolu-
tionary period, 1765-1781.
Vol. 3, Spain in the Mississippi Valley, 1765-1794. Pt. 2, Postwar decade,
1782-1791.
Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1947. Vol. 1, Pro-
ceedings.

The following were in press at the close of the fiscal year; Annual
Report of the American Historical Association for 1945. Vol. 4,
Spain in the Mississippi Valley, 1765-1794. Pt. 3, Problems of frontier
defense, 1792-1794; Annual Report of the American Historical Associa-
tion for 1948. Vol. 1, Proceedings.

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The manuscript of the Fifty-first Annual Report of the National
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, was transmitted to
Congress, in accordance with law, February 9, 1949.

142 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

APPROPRIATION FOR PRINTING AND BINDING

The congressional appropriation for printing and binding for the past
year was entirely obligated at the close of the year. The appropria-
tion for the coming fiscal year ending June 30, 1950, totals $103,000,
allotted as follows:

General administration (Annual Report of the Board of Regents;

Annual: Reportiofethe Secretary) S2_ 255- 222-2222 a ee = $18, 500
Nationale iuse tire: rae ae he Nat) ee 36, 200
Bureau of:American Ethnology 2.22 5922225825 eee). ee 21, 500
National eAireMiuse wine sey ee DB ie ey 3, 000
Service division (Annual Report of the American Historical Associa-

‘tion; blank forms; binding; Museum print shop) - - ------------ 23, 800

103, 000

Respectfully submitted.
W. P. True, Chief, Editorial Division.
Dr. A. WETMORE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF
THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSON-
IAN INSTITUTION

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1949

To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report
in relation to the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, together
with a statement of the appropriations by Congress for the Govern-
ment bureaus in the administrative charge of the Institution.

SMITHSONIAN ENDOWMENT FUND

The original bequest of James Smithson was £104,960 8s 6d—
$508,318.46. Refunds of money expended in prosecution of the
claim, freights, insurance, etc., together with payment into the fund
of the sum of £5,015, which had been withheld during the lifetime of
Madame de la Batut, brought the fund to the amount of $550,000.

Since the original bequest, the Institution has received gifts from
various sources, the income from which may be used for the general
work of the Institution. These, including the original bequest, plus
savings, are listed below, together with the income for the present
year.

ENDOWMENT FUNDS

(Income for unrestricted use of the Institution)

Partly deposited in United States Treasury at 6 percent and partly invested in
stocks, bonds, etc.

Income pres-
Investment ent year
Parent fund (original Smithson bequest, plus accumulated savings) --_-- $728, 878. 50 $43, 710. 56
Subsequent bequests, gifts, ete., partly deposited in the U. S. Treasury
and partly invested in the consolidated fund:
Avery, Robert S., and Lydia, bequest fund____.-----.--..--__------- 54, 072. 23 2, 527. 92
Endowmentitnd se ee ee eee eee 337, 608. 80 14, 220. 74
Habel Dress bequest tun Gases ae tee ee ee eee 500. 00 30. 00
Hachenberg, George P. and Caroline, bequest fund_-_--.--_---------- 4, 080. 11 171. 87
Hamilton I AINES A DOG UCL tne eee ee 2, 909. 54 167. 26
Henry. 1 Carolina sboqiestiun deme ne neon noe eee eee ene e meee 1, 226. 97 51.70
HodgkinssDhomas|Gs (general) gitteeee ne een enn en een ee cones 146, 418. 02 8, 241. 27
Porter so enryskirke memorial (und) sesso ee en ee ee 290, 547. 80 12, 238, 39
Rhees William’ Jones) bequest fund. _- = 2 seer 1, 069. 95 55. 65
Sanford) GeorgeiH.. memorial fund 222s soso) no ee ee 2,003. 12 104. 04
Witherspoon® Thomas Av imoemorialifund)-s) eee eens ee eee 130, 922. 14 5, 514. 70
Special fund, stock in reorganized closed banks-__--_--_--------------- 2, 280. 00 160. 00
ea ——————————_—_——_

RO ta] Se ea ene ee ean ee eee ee te See ee 973, 638. 68 43, 483. 54
Grand’totale ss. eae he oe as Se 8 ee ees eee ee 1, 702, 517. 18 87, 194. 10

143

144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The Institution holds also a number of endowment gifts, the income
of each being restricted to specific use. These, plus accretions to date,
are listed below, together with income for the present year.

Abbott, William L., fund, for investigations in biology._-____._____-________
Arthur, James, fund, for investigations and study of the sun and lecture on
SANG 5 ee ee SE ere eas Seats een st nee eee wenn Piet see ee
Bacon, Virginia Purdy, fund, for traveling scholarship to investigate fauna of
countriesiotherjthan thesWnited |S tates=.e= ee ee
Baird, Lucy H., fund, for creating a memorial to Secretary Baird______-__-_-
Barstow, Frederick D., fund, for purchase of animals for Zoological Park____
sen Collection fund, for increase and care of the Canfield collection of
MinerAles ss eee wean Ee ae st op eae SE ee eas os Se ee ae
Casey, Thomas L., fund, for maintenance of the Casey collection, and promo-
tion of researches relating to Coleoptera_...__--.__.--_.--.-.-..-__-__----.-
Chamberlain, Francis Lea, fund, for increase and promotion of Isaac Lea col-
lectionlotigemsiand smo linSkee-sesem en eee ene ace
Eickemeyer, Florence Brevoort, fund, for preservation and exhibition of the
photographie collection of Rudolph Eickemeyer, Jr_____-_____-----_--____-
Hillyer, Virgil, fund, for increase and care of Virgil Hillyer collection of light-
ingioblects:— -—-- ===. eee era: Wikin Si Bese e ees ey: See eee esse rgtcs 8
Ee CHOUEES Dr. Albert S., library fund, for care of Hitchcock Agrostological
DY 0) go ea ens pee Sea ae es 2 Sa Se en OT ed oer oe Soe
Hodgkins fund, specific, for increase and diffusion of more exact knowledge in
regard to nature and properties of atmospheric air__________._____-__________
Hrdlitka, AleS and Marie, fund, to further researches in physical anthro-
pology and publication in connection therewith______.______________-_____-
Hughes, Bruce, fund, to found Hughes alcove___________--__________-_______
Long, Annette and Edith C., fund, for upkeep and preservation of Long col-
lection ofjenibroiderieslacessete2. 2 Sete ee ee
Maxwell, Mary E., fund, for care, etc., of Maxwell collection________________
Myer, Catherine Walden, fund, for purchases of first-class works of art for the
use and benefit of the National Collection of Fine Arts____________________

Rouins, Miriam and William, fund, for investigations in physics and chemis-
ry

Investment | come pres-

$102, 949. 49
40, 573. 48
50, 827. 58
24, 426. 07

1, 014. 26
38, 801. 89
9, 305. 19
28, 569. 00
514. 66

6, 667. 55
1, 600. 81
100, 000. 00

18, 657. 75
19, 418. 98

550. 87
10, 001. 67

19, 230. 71
10, 143. 51
7, 519. 99
114, 451. 10
10, 790. 25
30, 263. 63
122, 439. 01
95, 262. 90
34, 364. 54
18, 192. 99
381, 676. 84

46, 599. 76
962. 30

1, 345, 776. 78

ent year

$4, 276. 13
1, 709. 05
2, 140. 95
1, 028. 88

42. 73

1, 634, 41
391. 95
1, 203 39
21. 68
280. 85
67. 44

6, 000. 00

785. 91
817. 96

23. 20
421. 29

810. 04
427. 27
316. 76

5, 478. 83
454. 51

1, 506. 88
5, 157. 39
4, 008. 69
1, 447. 51
766. 33
18, 717. 37

3, 716. 66
40. 53

63, 694. 59

SECRETARY’S REPORT 145

FREER GALLERY OF ART FUND

Early in 1906, by deed of gift, Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, gave to
the Institution his collection of Chinese and other Oriental objects of
art, as well as paintings, etchings, and other works of art by Whistler,
Thayer, Dewing, and other artists. Later he also gave funds for the
construction of a building to house the collection, and finally in his
will, probated November 6, 1919, he provided stock and securities to
the estimated value of $1,958,591.42, as an endowment fund for the
operation of the Gallery.

The above fund of Mr. Freer was almost entirely represented by
20,465 shares of stock in Parke, Davis & Co. As this stock advanced
in value, much of it was sold and the proceeds reinvested so that the
fund now amounts to $6,092,775.69 in a selected list of securities
classified later.

SUMMARY OF ENDOWMENTS

Invested endowment for general purposes_._______-_-____--____ $1, 702, 517. 18
Invested endowment for specific purposes other than Freer En-

GOWAN nt See BE SC ne a ee DOA OT Oe 1, 345, 776. 78

Total invested endowment other than Freer endowment__ 3, 048, 293. 96

Freer invested endowment for specific purposes__.____________- 6, 092, 775. 69

Total invested endowment for all purposes_____________-_ 9, 141, 069. 65

CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS

Deposited in the U.S. Treasury at 6 percent per annum, as auth-

orized in the U. 8. Revised Statutes, sec. 5591____._________-_ $1, 000, 000. 00
Investments other than Freer endowment (cost or market value

at date acquired):

Bonds -eseee beet te atest Pe eA ee Seed $688, 834. 86
StOCKS es pa ent ee a ee 1, 245, 283. 78
Real estate and first-mortgage notes_______- 62, 790. 83
Uninvestedicapitals2- 22. abet et 56, 384. 49
—__—_—_—_—— 2, 048, 293. 96
Total investments other than Freer endowment-_--___-__- 3, 048, 293. 96
Investment of Freer endowment (cost or market value at date
acquired):
IBON GS Res ee 2 cee i 2k py Saree Aedes $2, 925, 452. 84
S COCKS Bement ys Be yk cee ee G3, iets}, Bxkstile a7
Uninvested capitale-2-= 25-0 =s525-5525"> 33, 441. 68

——————— 6, 092, 775. 69

otalsinvestInentsts 42 s—= ese aaeeee 2 ae eee 9, 141, 069. 65

146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

CASH BALANCES, RECEIPTS, AND DISBURSEMENTS DURING FISCAL

YEAR 19491
Cash balance/onphand! June’ 30) 194823225) 3 es See $563, 847. 37
Receipts other than Freer endowment:
Income frompnvestMmentsas sae aes ee eee $156, 219. 10
Giftsyandtcontnbutions#s= 452s ose eee 48, 143. 71
Salesvor pubheatians= 2! ooe = (eee) es ewe ewes 33, 281. 09
IMS Cel Ane OUS) eRe ER Pe eek Cis | 11, 566. 10
Total receipts other than Freer endowment-_-__-___------- 249, 210. 00
Receipts from Freer endowment:
Income fromanvestments== = 25a ae ee $282, 265. 48
Total receipts from Freer endowment-_-_-_-_-__--_--------- 282, 265. 48
TE GER eh es oe ee (Ee hie) Brie SR oa Oe 1, 095, 322. 85
Disbursements other than Freer endowment:
AGministrations= 22 22 oe e eee eo eae ees $43, 422. 75
PST ORGLORIS eee ee I a erent Ee 45, 618. 12
Bio) 75 2 PRE eS Se. dee ee Se ee ees 3, 977. 10
Buildings—care, repairs, alterations__._______- 136. 00
@ustodiantieesNetos: Gees 2 28 ee 3, 293. 15
Miscellaneous 4222s. ano ees eta Sas 3, S22. 07
Mesearchesse. 22. Soe Une eee ae eee 127, 412. 84
Smithsonian Retirement System_____________- 3, 608. 28
Purchases of securities (net) _.__..-.-__-_____- 4, 508. 63
Total disbursements other than Freer endowment_-_-_-_-_-__- 235, 799. 64
Disbursements from Freer endowment:
Salaries = 2 Areeet ee es eee ee $83, 480. 37
iRurchasestoncollectionsss.2 = — eee 125, 050. 00
Custodian fees etohaisa 2 2-2 eee 10, 858. 00
Miscellaneoud@oe ss soe ee cee oe a nee eee 26, 594. 80
Purchases of securities (net) __._._.._..________- 80, 631. 18
Total disbursements from Freer endowment__....__.-_--- 326, 614. 35
Investment of current funds in U. 8. Bonds________-__-__-.___- 2, 578. 13
fhotaldisbursements= = So o= 3226-2 sea ee eee 564, 992. 12
Cashibalante June30, 1049incteeabso cuss. sees ee eee 530, 330. 73
TOtalG: Ses oa55 he eee ee EE Fa en ee 1, 095, 322. 85

1 This statement does not include Government appropriations under the administrative charge of the
Institution.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

ASSETS
Cash:
United States Treasury cur-
Tent Account ae = see ae $360, 201. 95
In banks and on hand_----- 170, 128. 78
530, 330. 73
Less uninvested endowment
fundshe 2s ea we eee 89, 826. 17
ED OE CE
Travel and other advances___-_----------- 11, 585. 42
Cash invested (U.S. Treasury notes) ------ 502, 815. 37
Investments—at book value:
Endowment funds:
Freer Gallery of Art:
Stocks and bonds__ $6, 059, 334. 01
Uninvested capital_ 33, 441. 68
——_—_—__————_ 6, 092, 775. 69
Investments at book value other than Freer:
Stocks and bonds_-__--- $1, 929, 118. 64
Real estate and mort-
gage notes=—— 2 62, 790. 83
Uninvested capital____-_ 56, 384 49

Special deposit in U. S.
Treasury. Interest at
6G; percent==ss====—"— 1, 000, 000. 00
—— 3, 048, 293. 96

147

$954, 905. 35

9, 141, 069. 65

10, 095, 975. 00

UNEXPENDED FUNDS AND ENDOWMENTS

Unexpended funds:
Income from Freer Gallery of Art endowment-_------------
Income from other endowments:
Restricted == sees oa es ae ee $187, 425. 28
Goneral os besa ts ee Ok ao ee ee 85, 599. 74

Giltstindvpranite: 2. 5eie Sees io es ls ee

Endowment funds:

RreersGallery Of Att. o22s-. 2526s ee aon $6, 092, 775. 69
Other:

Restrictedes sss) ee —— $1, 345, 776. 78

General 2 oe eek ee 1, 702, 517. 18

3, 048, 293. 96

393, 411. 62

273, 025. 02
288, 468. 71

954, 905. 35

9, 141, 069. 65

10, 095, 975. 00

148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The practice of maintaining savings accounts in several of the
Washington banks and trust companies has been continued during
the past year, and interest on these deposits amounted to $824.74.

In many instances, deposits are made in banks for convenience in
collection of checks, etc., and later such funds are withdrawn and
deposited in the United States Treasury.

Disbursement of funds is made by check signed by the Secretary
of the Institution and drawn on the United States Treasury.

The foregoing report relates only to the private funds of the
Institution.

The Institution gratefully acknowledges gifts from the following:
American Philosophical Society, for Iroquois research.

W. W. Corcoran, for B. F. Starr.

Eickemeyer Estate, for preservation, etc., of Rudolph Eickemeyer photographic
collection.

KE. P. Killip, for use of Department of Botany.

National Academy of Sciences, for study of flora of Okinawa.

National Geographic Society, expedition to western Panamé,

Research Corporation.

John A. Roebling, additional contribution for researches in radiation.

The following appropriations were made by Congress for the
Government bureaus under the administrative charge of the Smith-
sonian Institution for the fiscal year 1949:

Salariesiandvexpensessueseree i se eee oe Sao ae eee eee eae $2, 259, 000. 00
INStIOnalY SOOO sICO Ean K Shae sie eee SE Fs See 528, 848. 00

In addition, funds were transferred from other Departments of the
Government for expenditure under direction of the Smithsonian
Institution as follows:

Cooperation with the American Republics (transfer from the State
Weparvment). 28 es eee ewe nee eee ee meee eee ee eee $97, 960. 00
Working Fund, transferred from the National Park Service,
Interior Department, for archeological investigations in River
Basins throughout the United States_.._.........--.-.------- $118, 500. 00

The Institution also administers a trust fund for partial support
of the Canal Zone Biological Area, located on Barro Colorado Island
in the Canal Zone.

The report of the audit of the Smithsonian private funds follows:

SEPTEMBER 14, 1949.
To THE Boarp or REGENTs,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington 25, D. C.

We have examined the accounts of the Smithsonian Institution relative to its
private endowment funds and gifts (but excluding the National Gallery of Art
and other departments, bureaus, or operations administered by the Institution
under Federal appropriations) for the year ended June 30, 1949. Our examina-
tion was made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and

SECRETARY’S REPORT 149

accordingly included such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.

The Institution maintains its accounts on a cash basis and does not accrue
income and expenses. Land, buildings, furniture, equipment, works of art,
living and other specimens and certain sundry property are not included in the
accounts of the Institution.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly the
position of the private funds and the cash and investments thereof of the Smith-
sonian Institution at June 30, 1949 (excluding the National Gallery of Art and
other departments, bureaus or operations administered by the Institution under
Federal appropriations) and the cash receipts and disbursements for the year
then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied
on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year.

Prat, Marwick, MircHe.y & Co.

Respectfully submitted.
Rozert V. FLEMING,
VANNEVAR Bus,
CLARENCE CANNON,
Executive Commiitee.

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GENERAL APPENDIX

TO THE

SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1949

866591—50——_11

ADVERTISEMENT

The object of the GenerAL Apprnpix to the Annual Report of the
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific dis-
covery in particular directions; reports of investigations made by
collaborators of the Institution; and memoirs of a general character
or on special topics that are of interest or value to the numerous
correspondents of the Institution.

It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution from a very early date to enrich the annual
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations
of the Institution; and, during the greater part of its history, this
purpose has been carried out largely by the publication of such papers
as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific progress.

In 1880, induced in part by the discontinuance of an annual sum-
mary of progress which for 30 years previously had been issued by
well-known private publishing firms, the Secretary had a series of
abstracts prepared by competent collaborators, showing concisely the
prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geology,
meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and
anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not altogether
satisfactorily, down to an dincluding the year 1888.

In the report of 1889, a return was made to the earlier method of
presenting a miscellaneous selection of papers (some of them original)
embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and discus-
sion. This method has been continued in the present report for 1949.

152

THE FORMATION OF STARS!

By Lyman Spirzer, Jr.
Princeton University Observatory

[With 2 plates}

If research in astronomy had stopped in 1913, our knowledge of
stellar evolution today would be in a satisfactory state. At that time
astronomers had a plausible theory of a star’s life cycle. Einstein’s
theory of relativity, advanced only a few years before, showed that
mass and energy were interchangeable. It was therefore natural for
astronomers to assume that stars were formed as large massive bodies
which through successive century after century continued to radiate
away matter. Ultimately most of the matter in a star, according to
this picture, would be radiated away as light and heat. In this way
all the stars, despite their large differences in mass, formed part of
the same evolutionary sequence.

Unfortunately, this simple, sweeping, and satisfying picture became
discredited by additional information, both astronomical and physi-
cal. On the astronomical side, evidence began to accumulate that
the universe has not lasted long enough for most stars to radiate
away much of their matter. The expansion of the universe, the
presence of uranium on the earth, the existence of certain relatively
transitory clusters of stars, all indicate that something happened
about 3 billion years ago. If the universe was not created then, it
was certainly very extensively reorganized; some sort of cosmic ex-
plosion apparently took place at that time. Since the sun, a fairly
typical star, would require many hundreds of billions of years to
radiate an appreciable fraction of its mass, its total mass has ob-
viously not changed appreciably within this last few billion years.

On the physical side, nuclear physicists have learned a great deal
about the specific processes by which matter can be converted into
energy. The only known process of importance which can liberate
energy inside a star is the combination of four hydrogen atoms to
form a helium atom. Calculations carried out by the nuclear phys-
icist, Prof. Hans Bethe, show that in the stars this process occurs
through the catalytic action of carbon and nitrogen nuclei. Since

1 Reprinted by permission from Physics Today, vol. 1, No. 5, September 1948.
153

154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

four hydrogen atoms weigh 0.7 percent more than one helium atom,
the additional mass is released as energy and can be radiated by the
star. Even if a star is originally all hydrogen, the total mass radiated
can evidently not exceed a very small fraction of the mass of the star.

As a result of these findings we now know that the universe has
apparently not lasted long enough in its present form for stars to
radiate much of their mass, and in any case there seems to be no
physical process by which a star could radiate away most of its mat-
ter even if there were time enough. We are forced to conclude that
the present variety of stars in the sky is the result of the original
method of star formation rather than of any evolutionary process.
And the formation of stars in general is still a closed book, since the
explosion of the universe a few billion years ago has so far defied
any attempts at detailed analysis. It is even possible that the basic
laws of nature may have been quite different at that time. Thus
our research in the direction of general stellar evolution reminds one
of Browning’s philosopher, who had

. written three books on the soul,

Proving absurd all written hitherto
And putting us to ignorance again.

SUPERGIANT STARS

While the origin of the universe is still beyond our understanding,
some progress has been made in explaining the origin of a certain class
of stars, which may have been created relatively recently. A super-
giant star is one which radiates light and heat some ten thousand
times as strongly as ourown sun. There are not many of these stars,
but in a galaxy of many billions of lesser stars they stand out in the
same way that a searchlight stands out from a swarm of fireflies.
These stars are burning their candle at both ends and they cannot
last very long, astronomically speaking. Within a mere hundred
million years, such a star must burn all its hydrogen into helium.
There is no known way in which a star can remain dark for a long
period of time and then suddenly start shining. We conclude that
these supergiant stars have formed within the last hundred million
years—less than a tenth of the age of the universe.

Of course, it is possible that nuclear physicists have overlooked
some important process by which a star can radiate a much larger
fraction of its mass than the hydrogen-into-helium process liberates.
This does not seem very likely, since the energies with which the atoms
hit each otherinsidea star average only a few thousand electron volts—
a small fraction of the energies developed in such atom-busting devices
as the cyclotron and synchrotron—and since the nuclear reactions
produced at low energies have been fairly well explored in the lab-
oratory.

FORMATION OF STARS—SPITZER 155

If it is assumed that these stars have in fact been formed within
the last hundred million years, the mechanism for this formation is a
problem which astronomers may hope to investigate with some hope
of success. Within this interval, conditions in the universe have
apparently not changed very much and an examination of the universe
about us may actually indicate how supergiant stars have formed in
the past, and may even be forming at the present time.

CLOUDS—THE CLUE

The clouds of matter which float about between the stars are an
obvious source of material for star formation. Recent investigations
show that these clouds are in fact so closely associated with supergiant
stars that a physical connection between them seems very likely.

In brief, the observations indicate that supergiant stars are found
only in those aggregations of stars where interstellar clouds of matter
are also present. More specifically, observations of stellar galaxies,
each one a million or so light-years away and each, like our own
galaxy, containing many billions of stars, show that supergiant stars
are found only in spiral galaxies. These spiral systems, like the
huge galaxy in which our sun is located, are flattened, disk-shaped
systems some hundred thousand light-years in diameter, each one
rotating about an axis perpendicular to the plane of its disk. A
typical spiral galaxy is shown in plate 1, figure 2. The characteristic
feature of these systems, after which they are named, is the presence
of a pair of arms which apparently come out of the central nucleus and
wind around the system.

In the elliptical galaxies—which are not rotating so rapidly, are
not so flattened, and show no spiral structure—no supergiant stars
are found. In fact, long-exposure plates at the Mount Wilson Ob-
servatory have shown that the stars in these systems have a sharp
upper limit on their brightness; no star greater than the critical bright-
ness can be found, while below this critical brightness myriads of
stars appear on the photographic plate. This result is in marked
contrast to the observed brightness of the stars in spiral galaxies,
where there are always one or two brightest supergiant stars, a number
of less bright supergiants, and a gradually increasing number of
fainter and fainter stars. This sharp upper limit on the brightness
of stars in elliptical galaxies is just what one would expect if no new
stars had been formed since the beginning of the universe, and if
the brightest ones had burned up all their fuel and gone out.

Detailed examination of galaxies also indicates that clouds of matter
between the stars are found only in spiral systems. In elliptical
galaxies the vast stretches between the stars are very nearly empty,
but in flattened spiral galaxies like our own there is about as much

156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

matter between the stars as there is inside the stars. This association
between obscuring clouds and supergiant stars is strengthened by the
fact that in the closest galaxy, the great nebula in Andromeda, super-
giant stars are observed to occur in exactly those regions where the
obscuring clouds are most prominent. Thus the observational evi-
dence indicating a physical connection between clouds and super-
giant stars is very strong.

Before we can accept the hypothesis that supergiant stars have in
fact formed from these clouds we must investigate whether or not
there is some process which could cause interstellar matter to condense
into stars. In this way we are led to consider the physical nature of
the stuff between the stars, and the forces which operate onit. Thirty-
five years ago the very existence of interstellar matter was not fully
realized but recently extensive information on this topic has been

obtained.
ATOMS IN SPACE

The dominant constituents of interstellar matter are believed to be
individual atoms. These atoms absorb or emit light of particular
wave lengths, which can be measured accurately by use of the spectro-
scope. In some regions, where the gas is at a high temperature,
bright emission lines of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are observed.
Measurements of the intensities of these lines show that the density
of the interstellar gas is about one hydrogen atom in each cubic
centimeter, with other elements present as slight impurities. The
interstellar medium is a much better vacuum than is ever obtained in
a terrestrial laboratory. If a fly were to breathe a single breath
into a vacuum chamber as big as the Empire State Building, the re-
sulting density of the air would still be much greater than the density
of the interstellar gas.

In other regions of space the interstellar gas is cool, and no emission
lines are produced. Instead, the atoms absorb the light from distant
stars, producing absorption lines at particular wave lengths. The
absorption lines of the abundant gases, hydrogen, helium, nitrogen,
oxygen, etc., when these are cool, lie far out in the ultraviolet, where
they cannot be detected. Interstellar absorption lines of sodium,
calcium, titanium, and iron lie within the observable spectrum and
have been observed in the spectra of bright stars a few thousand
light-years away. These lines are very sharp, and can usually be
distinguished from the lines produced by the atoms in a stellar at-
mosphere, where the high temperature and pressure give wide lines.

Recent work has been concerned with the detailed distribution of
interstellar gas. Measurement of the strongest absorption lines, with
the most powerful spectrographs available at the 100-inch telescope of

FORMATION OF STARS—SPITZER 157

the Mount Wilson Observatory, shows that a single line is frequently
made up of several components. Each separate component is pro-
duced by absorption in a single cloud of gas, the different components
being separated in wave length by the difference in Doppler effect
produced by the different cloud velocities. These clouds, each one
about 20 light-years across, are moving through space at speeds of
some 10 or 20 miles a second. A more detailed understanding of the
nature of these clouds is desirable before one can discuss in detail how
interstellar matter can form new stars. Further work along these
lines is now in progress.

SOLID PARTICLES

In addition to the separate atoms drifting about in space, small
solid particles, or grains, are also present. Each grain is about one
hundred-thousandth of an inch in diameter; 10,000 placed end to
end would make a line about as long as a period on this page. Since
the size of these grains is just about equal to the wave length of visible
light, these particles are of the size which is most effective in absorbing
and scattering light waves. These particles are responsible for the
general obscuration produced by the clouds shown in plate 2. Par-
ticles of smaller size are presumably also present, but these do not
produce such a noticeable effect, and can therefore not be detected.

The properties of these particles have been determined from accu-
rate measurements of the obscuration which they produce in light of
different wave lengths. This obscuration is greater for blue light
than for red light, which proves that the particles cannot be much
larger in size than the wave length of light. On the other hand, the
obscuration varies inversely only as the first power of the wave length,
instead of as the fourth power which is observed for scattering by the
molecules of the atmosphere. From this one can conclude that the
grains are not very much smaller in size than the wave length of light.
In this way a particle size of about the wave length of light has been
determined. From the fact that the grains seem to scatter more
than they absorb it seems likely that they are dielectric rather than
metallic in composition. If, as seems likely, these grains were pro-
duced by the sticking together of individual atoms, the enormous
abundance of hydrogen relative to other elements would be expected
to produce solid hydrogen compounds, in particular, ordinary ice.
However, impurities of all other elements would also be present.

Studies of the distribution of these grains have indicated that the
clouds in which these grains are concentrated are apparently identical
with the gaseous clouds already described. Thus whatever pushes
atoms into clouds also pushes the grains together.

158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

FORCES IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE

To discuss in detail how stuff in space can condense to form new
stars we must determine the physical conditions of matter in space.
In particular, we must combine the observational evidence described
above with our knowledge of basic physical principles to investigate
the different forces that are at work on the different particles. Only
in this way can we predict how the interstellar medium will behave
under various widely different conditions.

In the immense vacuum between the stars, an interstellar particle
spends most of its time moving in a straight line without interruption.
Occasionally, one of two things may happen to it: an encounter with
another interstellar particle, or an encounter with a light wave, or
photon. The information which physicists have obtained on such
processes is not so complete as astronomers would like, but is sufficient
for an approximate evaluation of the effects which these various col-
lisions will produce.

The collisions of the interstellar atoms and grains with each other
help determine the temperature of matter in space. In most cases,
the collisions are elastic and the kinetic energy of the different par-
ticles is exchanged back and forth; as a result, the distribution of
velocities corresponds to that in thermal equilibrium at some particular
temperature. Photoemission of energetic electrons from hydrogen
atoms and grains, on absorption of photons, tends to keep the tem-
perature high, but inelastic collisions between atoms and grains tend
to give a low temperature. Near a very hot and very bright star the
gas will be heated up to about 10,000° K., but in other regions a tem-
perature of about 100° K. seems likely. This difference of tempera-
ture between different regions is believed to produce cosmic currents,
or winds, in the same way as the winds on earth are produced.

In some cases the interstellar particles stick to each other on col-
lision. ‘Thus atoms stick together to form molecules, molecules stick
together to form larger molecules, and grains grow by slow accretion.
This process was analyzed during the war by a number of Dutch as-
tronomers, who were able to show that the interstellar grains have
probably been formed by this evolutionary process within the last
few billion years. More accurate physical information on collisions
between particles at low energies is required to make this theory
more quantitative.

Collisions between grains and photons are important in star build-
ing. It is well known that light exerts pressure. Since starlight ina
galaxy comes from all directions in the galactic plane, a single grain
will be knocked this way or that by photon collisions, without any net
motion resulting. However, when several grains are present, the
shadow of each ove on the other unbalances the radiative force, and

FORMATION OF STARS—SPITZER 159

photons striking from the opposite sides push the grains toward each
other. As a result, there is an effective force of attraction between
grains which is several thousand times as great as the gravitational
force between them.

STAR FORMATION

The farther we go away from observational data the more uncertain
our theories become. The mechanism of star formation, which is the
ultimate objective of much of the work described above, is still in a
rather speculative state. However, putting all the above information
together does provide a reasonable preliminary picture for the process
by which stars can be formed from interstellar matter.

The process may be assumed to start with an interstellar gas,
formed at the same time as the rest of the universe. The first step
in the process is then the slow condensation of interstellar particles
from the gas. After these particles have reached a certain size, the
radiative attraction between them forces them together and they drift
toward each other, forming an obscuring cloud in a time of about 10
million years. In a cloud, where the density of grains is high, the
temperature tends to be low. In the surrounding region the high
temperature produces high pressure, and the low-temperature, low-
pressure cloud therefore becomes compressed. In this way the density
of gas within a cloud will be increased, corresponding to the observed
result that a cloud of grains is also a cloud of gas.

Currents produced by differences of temperature and also by the
general rotation of the galaxy will tend to tear some of these clouds to
pieces. On the other hand, the forces of condensation will pull them
together and some clouds may be expected to go on contracting. The
radiative force becomes ineffective when the clouds become so opaque
that light does not penetrate into them very far. At this point
gravitation takes over and tends to produce a further contraction.
In this stage a cloud has a diameter of a light-year or less. Small
opaque clouds of this type, called globules, have been known for some
time, and are shown in plate 1, figure 1.

One of the chief problems concerns the angular momentum of this
prestellar globule, or protostar. According to Newton’s laws of
motion, the angular momentum, which is proportional to the product
of the radius and the rotational velocity, remains constant; as the
radius decreases the rotational speed increases. Since the radius of a
typical cloud is some 10 million times the radius of a supergiant star,
this increase in rotational speed can be quite impressive. Unless
some way can be found to dispose of the angular momentum, a proto-
star would hurl itself to pieces by centrifugal force. The possibility
that turbulent motions in the gas may carry the angular momentum

160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

away has been explored by several German astronomers. However,
the turbulent velocities involved would exceed the velocity of sound
in the interstellar gas, and physical information about this type of
turbulence is virtually nonexistent. In this country the possibility
has been advanced that a galactic magnetic field might produce
electrical eddy currents in a rotating protostar, which would then
damp out the angular momentum.

An interesting variant of this star-building picture has been pro-
posed by Dr. Fred Whipple, one of the astronomers who has con-
tributed most to this theory of star building. He suggests that a
condensing cloud may have produced our solar system. In view of
the widespread general interest in the formation of the solar system,
such a bold extrapolation of these theoretical concepts back to con-
ditions several billion years ago is naturally of much significance.

It is evident that the picture of star formation which has been
described here is still in a formative stage. The work in progress is
being carried out cooperatively by a number of astronomers all over
the world. Perhaps when the 200-inch telescope probes further into
the secrets of space, and when further progress in experimental and
theoretical physics increases our understanding of the processes at
work between the stars, we may then outline with more assurance the
detailed steps by which supergiant stars may be forming almost
before our very eyes.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Spitzer PLATE 1

1. THE COMPACT OPAQUE GLOBULE MAY BE A PROTOSTAR, CONTRACTING TO
FORM A NEW STAR

2. A TYPICAL SPIRAL GALAXY

Both supergiant stars and interstellar clouds of obscuring matter are found only
in these huge, flattened, rotating systems. (Yerkes Observatory photo-
graph.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Spitzer PLATE 2

OBSCURING CLOUDS IN THE MILKY WAY ARE MANY LIGHT YEARS ACROSS, AND
ARE COMPOSED OF ATOMS AND TINY SOLID PARTICLES

(Yerkes Observatory photograph.)

THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH!

By THornton Pace
Yerkes Observatory

[With 11 plates]

With all the spectacular success of recent scientific research, it is
perhaps refreshing to examine a field so characterized by failure as this
one. Although many speculations have been described as ‘‘theories,”’
there exists today no real theory of the origin of the earth in the sense
of a complete logical structure linking together the vast quantity of
pertinent observations collected during the last century.

The most obvious approach to the problem is to study the visible
surface of the earth for clues to its origin. This has been done in
detail by geologists, geodesists, geophysicists, and geochemists, but it
is perhaps not surprising that what they find has more to do with the
earth than with its origin. It has been the astronomer, studying the
relation of the earth to its surroundings, and the physicist, studying
the behavior of matter, who have made the greatest progress in the
study of the earth’s origin.

Early speculation on the subject was simple and direct because there
were fewer observations to explain. The assumption of a divine crea-
tion of things as they are was generally accepted until the end of the
sixteenth century. Then the revolution in scientific thinking, started
by Galileo, turned men from assumptions of a catastrophic origin to a
belief in natural development, understandable in terms of what can
be seen and measured today. As the astronomical picture became
clearer, it appeared that the earth is a relatively small, nearly spherical
body moving around the sun together with the other planets, all under
the influence of the sun’s gravitational attraction. It was soon
recognized as scarcely due to chance that all the known planets and
their satellites are moving and rotating in the same direction, their
orbits nearly circular, and in nearly the same plane. Therefore, in
1755, the great German philosopher-scientist, Immanuel Kant, specu-
lated that the planets and the sun were formed from a single large
rotating gaseous cloud, or nebula, which had condensed into smaller
rotating parts, these further condensing into rotating planets with

1 Reprinted by permission from Physics Today, vol I, No. 6, October 1948.
161

162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

their satellites, all moving in the same direction round the nucleus of
the nebula which became thesun. Kant’s hypothesis explained nearly
all of the available observational data within the framework of physics
as it was developed at the time.

Later on, about 1800, the French mathematician, Laplace, inde-
pendently proposed a modified form of the Kant hypothesis which,
even though it was not given much weight by its author, soon became
widely accepted as the concept upon which much of geology was
founded. Laplace went further than Kant in explaining how the
primordial nebula condensed into planets. He assumed that in the
beginning the nebula was hot and spinning slowly, that the gas con-
tracted as it cooled and therefore increased its spin in accordance with
the law of conservation of angularmomentum. As the spin increased,
he reasoned, rings of gas would be thrown off by centrifugal action and
each ring would condense into a planet. It is now recognized that no
such condensation of hot gas at the rim of a spinning nebula would take
place, but Laplace’s speculation was important in that he introduced
two new factors: the idea that the earth condensed from hot gases, and
the consideration of angular momentum in the solar system.

Not until 1895 was the Laplace hypothesis seriously challenged.
By that date geology had come into its own as a science, and T.C.
Chamberlin, an American geologist, considered the geological evi-
dence incompatible with the concept of a hot gaseous sphere cooling to
become the present earth. Instead, he proposed the planetesimal
hypothesis, in which the earth and other planets were built by accretion
of cold particles (the planetesimals) which were moving around the
sun under its gravitational attraction. Together with an astronomer,
F. R. Moulton, he suggested that such planetesimals might have
resulted from a near-collision between another star and oursun. The
planetesimal hypothesis introduced two new concepts: that the earth
was built by accretion of cold solid material, and that another star
was involved in forming the solar system. The near-collision pre-
sumably being a rare event, this represented a return, in part, to the
old concept of a catastrophic origin.

During the last 50 years, most of the thinking on this problem has
been divided between the two widely divergent hypotheses of Laplace
and Chamberlin. Did the earth start hotter or colder than at present?
Has it condensed and contracted, or grown by accretion? Was its
origin a commonplace occurrence in a nebula (many of which can be
seen in the sky), or due to a highly unusual near-collision between
stars? Whatever drawbacks these incomplete speculations may have
had, they have provided definite concepts on the basis of which further
research has been and yet remains to be done.

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—PAGE 163

THE RECORD IN THE ROCKS

In geology it is assumed that we can explain past developments on
the basis of processes taking place today, and this assumption has been
remarkably successful in tracing geological history to form a consistent
pattern. The surface features of the earth can be explained as the
expected result of erosion, of glacier action, of volcanism, and of move-
ments of the crust itself, all of which are observed in action now. This
reasoning might be expected to lead, step by step, to the origin of the
earth.

The sequence of events in earth history is best summarized by the
geologic column, a schematic pue of all the rock strata which have been
classified, in the order of their formation. After fitting together rocks
from all over the world, there are left only four major gaps in the
record, when erosion in practically all parts of the earth now above
sea level must have eliminated the rock deposits of millions of years.
With these four exceptions, the geologic column, fitted together from
the results of a century of world-wide geologic prospecting, gives al-
most as complete and consistent a picture of earth history as if the
entries had been meade in a diary. It lacks only the number of years
intervening between the various geologic eras.

The dates were supplied when the absolute ages of rocks were esti-
mated from their radioactivity, first in 1905 by Boltwood, an American
physicist. He measured the relative amounts of lead and helium in
uranium deposits. The uranium ore crystallized when the molten
magma solidified, and the radioactive uranium has since been dis-
integrating at a constant but very slow rate to form lead and helium
which, in favorable cases, have both remained sealed in the igneous
rock with the uranium. The process of radioactive decay has been
thoroughly studied in the laboratory by many physicists, including the
Curies and Rutherford (who suggested Boltwood’s research), and the
rate of disintegration accurately measured.

Dating various igneous rocks in the geologic column showed first
how very long was the record; the oldest igneous rocks yet dated
crystallized about 3 billion years ago. Moreover, there are even older
sedimentary rocks through which the molten magma had pushed to
form these oldest known igneous rocks; hence the earth must have had
surface conditions about 3 billion years ago not radically different
from those today. There must have been water and an atmosphere
operating to erode rocks and form sand and mud beds. Fossils in
somewhat younger rocks indicate that early forms of life existed at
least 1 billion years ago when conditions must have been very like
» those today.

164 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

But the geologic column fails to yield the one feature which might
provide conclusive evidence on the earth’s origin. No rocks yet
examined have the appearance of an original crust; they are all either
old sediments or solidified magma which pushed up through sediments.

TEMPERATURE AS A CLUE

Trying another tack, we might expect that the earth’s thermal
history could be traced back to determine its temperature at birth.
In deep mines and wells the temperature increases 1° C. for each 125
feet below the surface. Knowing how rocks conduct heat, we find
that 10 million million calories of heat are flowing out from the earth’s
interior each second. If the earth were solid granite, all 7,000 billion

CRUST (30 miles thick) DENSITY 3

720-mile layer DENSITY 4

1050-mile layer DENSITY 5 to 6

CENTRAL CORE DENSITY 10 to 13

Figure 1.—Density stratification in the earth. Seismologists, using earthquake
waves as a sounding device, have discovered these layers within the earth.
They may indicate that the earth was once molten; or they may result from
chemical compaction and plastic flow within the earth.

billion tons of it, this escaping heat, would cool it about 1° C. in 3
million years. From this measured rate of cooling is it possible to
determine whether the earth was originally molten?

One must be careful in such estimates; not all of this heat comes
from cooling the earth, since the radioactive disintegration so useful
in determining the age of rocks is also releasing energy. In fact if
the measured radioactivity is constant with depth, the outer crust of
the earth only 12 miles thick would provide all the 10 million million
calories leaving the earth’s interior. If the radioactive material goes
deeper than 12 miles, the earth must, willy-nilly, be heating up!
So the heat now leaving the earth does not give a clue to its original
temperature, although it does point to another approach. Since it is
improbable that the earth is heating up rapidly, the radioactive
material probably is not distributed uniformly throughout the earth
but is concentrated in surface layers.

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—PAGE 165

Such a stratification within the earth might have a bearing on the
original conditions. For instance, if the earth were once molten, we
might expect heavier materials to sink to the center and lighter ones
to come to the surface. A variety of measurements do prove that
the earth is much more dense at the core than at the surface, and this
central condensation was long used to support the concept of an
originally molten globe. In fact, the central core itself was generally
believed still to be molten. But a few years ago, observations of
faint earthquake waves which could only have passed through the
core if it were solid, disputed the point.

It is now generally accepted that the earth’s interior is stratified in
three distinct layers on a central core which is four times as dense as
the surface rocks, and although probably as solid throughout as
surface rocks, it yields to plastic flow over long intervals of time.
(The molten lava of volcanoes is only in local pools liquefied by a
temporary release of pressure.) Recent work by geochemists shows
that at least some of the stratification is due to chemical compaction,
the tremendous pressures favoring the formation of heavier chemical
compounds in the interior. There is no satisfactory explanation of
the dense core, which must be a material radically different from
surface rock. But its existence can no longer be used with certainty
to argue that the earth was once molten.

CHEMICAL CLUES

Geochemical studies give a somewhat better clue to the earth’s
temperature at birth. Harrison Brown at Chicago has recently shown
that all the elements which exist mainly in gaseous form—hydrogen,
helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon—occur in the earth, its seas and
atmosphere, to a very much smaller extent than expected from studies
of the abundances of elements, both from theory and from observations
of the sun and stars.

The low abundance of hydrogen and helium is easy to understand:
at temperatures of 500 to 600 degrees Centigrade they would escape
from the gravitational attraction of the earth in a few hundred million
years because of the high velocities and small masses of their molecules.
But the heavier atoms, krypton and xenon, could have escaped in
quantity only if the material of the earth were at one time in much
smaller pieces, with correspondingly smaller gravitational attraction,
or if the earth had for some time a temperature of 10,000 to 30,000° C.
Now this is hotter than most stars, and quite impossible for the earth
to maintain, so we deduce that early in its history the material of the
earth was in separate, small pieces. Since oxygen, nitrogen, and
water-vapor molecules are all lighter than krypton (and would there-
fore escape if krypton did), it appears that the earth’s atmosphere and

166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

oceans must have been formed from the decomposition of heavier
compounds after the earth achieved its present size.

To summarize the best geological evidence: the earth is at least 3
billion years old and its surface conditions of temperature and atmos-
phere have not changed materially in 1 billion years and not radically
in 3 billion years. Its stratified layers from density about 3 at the
surface to density about 13 at the center could result from plastic
flow and chemical compaction whether or not the earth were originally
molten. Finally, the earth lost most of its gases early in life, probably
because it was at one time in pieces of too small mass to hold on to
light gas molecules.

SHOOTING STARS

An important bridge between geology and astronomy is provided
by the meteors. Millions of these small chunks of rock and iron
collide with the earth each day, most of them burning up high in the
atmosphere. Some of the larger, slower-moving ones reach the
ground; there the few collected are the only material from outside the
earth available for detailed study. Are they a few remaining planetes-
imals—or are they visitors from outside the solar system?

Measures of meteor speeds by Whipple at Harvard have established
that they are at least members of the solar system. If they came from
outside they would be moving much faster than observed. Radio-
activity measurements (as in dating rocks, but corrected for the effects
of cosmic rays which form extra helium) show that the meteors are
between 2 and 3 billion years old, in startling agreement with the
earth’s age. Their high iron and nickel content has supported the
assumption that the earth’s core is nickel-iron (so that earth and
meteors would have the same over-all composition).

Furthermore, Harrison Brown’s recent studies of the chemical
compounds present in meterorites show that they were probably at
one time under the high pressures and temperatures of a planet’s
interior. It would seem that, far from being planetesimals, the
meteors are the remains of a fair-sized planet which was formed at
the same time as the earth, and which broke up in some large-scale
interplanetary collision at a later date.

THE GAMUT OF SPECULATION

The astronomer, in his approach to the problem of the earth’s
origin, started by recognizing a certain order and regularity among
the planets, their satellites, and the smaller asteroids, all moving about
the sun. The emphasis is shifted from the origin of the earth, as one
of the planets, to the origin of the solar system asa whole. The latest
trend goes even further in linking the origin of the solar system with

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WEIZSACKER—1945

Vortices formed in the equatorial plane of a nebula of gas and dust rotating about
the sun, according to Weizsicker. Accretion is expected to take place along
the heavy concentric circles to form planets and satellite systems with direct
rotation and revolution.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Page PLATE 11

MESSIER 81

A great spiral nebula in the constellation Ursa Major, about 2 million light-years
away and 200 million times as bright (intrinsically) as the sun.

ORIGIN OF THE EFARTH—PAGE 167

the early history or origin of our galaxy
of stars and even of the whole universe.

The solar system regularities noted by
Kant clearly indicate that the planets
had a common origin; ever since Kant’s
time it has been the fond hope of cos-
mogonists to establish the exact nature
of that origin from further studies of the
over-all pattern of the solarsystem. The
first clue of this sort to be noted was
the spacing of the planets; they are not
at irregular distances from the sun, but
spaced approximately in geometric pro-
gression—that is, the distances can be
calculated roughly from a formula called
Bode’s law after its discoverer. Since
the planets continue to move in the same
orbits year after year, this spacing must
have been established during their for-
mation.

A second possible clue to the origin lies
in the progression of planet sizes—from
the smallest, Mercury, which is nearest
the sun, increasing through Venus, Earth,
and Mars to Jupiter, the largest, then
decreasing through Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune to Pluto, a small planet, and
most distant from the sun.

Further clues will be noted as we fol-
low, now, the twentieth-century history
of speculation on the birth of the solar
system, from Chamberlin to Weizsicker
and Whipple. Each of these theore-
ticians has started either from the Kant
nebular hypothesis, or from the Chamber-
lin two-star hypothesis, and tried to
show by more or less exact reasoning that
the presently observed solar system
would have resulted naturally. Cham-
berlin and Moulton in 1900 guessed that
the close approach of another star to our
sun would raise great eruptions on the
sun, that hot solar material would con-

866591—50 —12

EDGE OF THE. SUN
o MERCURY

O VENUS

O EARTH

'O MARS

ASTEROIDS

JUPITER

NEPTUNE

ae
2

© PLutro

Figure 2.—Scale of planet
sizes.

168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

dense into small planetesimals moving around the sun and that
these planetesimals would later stick together to form the planets
by accretion.

In 1917 the English astronomers Jeans and Jeffreys made more
exact calculations and concluded that the eruptions would not have
taken place; rather, the intruding star would have to sidewipe the
sun, peeling off a long filament of solar material which would then
condense into the planets. They pointed out that this filament would
be thicker in the middle than at the ends, thereby accounting for the
progression of planetary sizes.

The Jeans-Jeffreys hypothesis seemed satisfactory until 1930, when
Nolke in Germany and Russell at Princeton pointed out another clue:
the angular momentum of the planets. Just as a spinning top would
keep on spinning forever if there were no friction, so the planets must
have maintained constant angular momentum in their orbits around
the sun, since nothing analogous to friction is known in the solar
system. If the planets were formed from material pulled out of the
sun, this law of conservation of angular momentum requires that the
original planetary material must have started moving around the
sun with the same angular momentum the planets have today.
Russell showed mathematically that a grazing collision with another
star could not start the filament of planetary material off with any-
where near enough angular momentum.

In an effort to patch things up, one of Russell’s students, Lyttleton,
analyzed mathematically the case of a collision between three stars,
and found that it was just possible to produce a filament of material
moving with sufficient angular momentum about one of them. An
English astronomer, Hoyle, showed it was also possible if one of two
close stars blew up, as a somewhat asymmetrical nova, propelling
itself away and leaving some planetary material moving around the
other star.

But these mathematical exercises and the whole sequence of specula-
tions based on the two-star hypothesis were brought sharply to a close
in 1939 when Spitzer, another of Russell’s students, calculated that
the material pulled out of the sun, or any other star, could not con-
dense into planets or planetesimals anyway—it would expand with
explosive violence to form a tenuous gaseous nebula!

BACK TO THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS

Long before Spitzer had showed that the two-star hypothesis would
lead to a nebula, other scientists had been working away on the
nebular hypothesis, trying to find some means by which material
near the sun would form a group of planets all moving in the same
direction in nearly circular orbits and in nearly the same plane. In

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—PAGE 169

1914:a Norwegian physicist, Birkeland, calculated that electrically
charged particles shot out of the sun would spiral out in the sun’s
magnetic field to definite circular orbits at distances depending on
the ratio between the electric charge and the mass of the particles.
This promising lead was followed further in 1930 by a Dutch mete-
orologist, Berlage, who assumed the particles were charged atoms.
More recently, in 1942, the Swedish physicist, Alfvén, was able to
predict by similar reasoning that rings of gas with sufficient angular
momentum would be formed around the sun as the sun moved through
a nebula, but both he and Berlage have avoided the embarrassing
problem of how this gas could condense to form planets.

Lastly in the sequence of nebular speculations, a German physicist,
Weizsicker, has recently investigated in detail the motion of a large
cloud of dust and gas in rotation about a massive central body like
the sun. From this return to the ungarnished Kant hypothesis he
was able to show that, while most of the gas would escape into outer
space, the planets could be formed by the accretion of the dust par-
ticles over a period of a hundred million years—a short time compared
to the age of the earth. The spacing of the planetary orbits Weiz-
siicker explains in this manner: The inner parts of the rotating nebula
would be pulled around more rapidly by the sun’s gravitational
attraction than the outer parts. Like stirring a bowl of soup near
the center, this would set up eddies, and at the boundaries of the
eddies the dust would coagulate most rapidly. These boundaries,
Weizsicker calculated, would be spaced approximately in a geometric
progression from the sun just as the planets are observed to be.

The Weizsicker hypothesis accounts for more of the observational
data than any of the previous speculations, but because it is so recent
a number of its consequences have not been explored and some of
the estimates may need revision.

One of the interesting consequences is that the formation of planets
should be an extremely common occurrence. Possibly in the process
of formation of every star the conditions would be correct to form
planets. Thus we might expect billions, if not hundreds of billions
of planets in our galaxy, the strong likelihood that life has developed
on a million or more of these, the high probability that there are other
civilizations of mankind, and even the possibility that men on other
planets are writing articles on the origins of their solar systems!

THE ORIGIN OF STARS

But where did the original gas and dust come from? How was it
started in rotation? One reason the Weizsiicker hypothesis has
received so much attention is that a separate line of research on the
origin of the stars has provided answers to these questions. The
argument hinges on the energy necessary to keep the stars shining.

170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The closest star—our sun—is radiating energy at such a stupendous
rate that no ordinary energy generator could keep it going for the 3
billion years we know it has been shining on the earth. However, it
is now known that atomic energy provides the sun’s light and heat
by a process in which four atoms of hydrogen are converted into one
atom of helium and the excess mass changed into radiant energy. The
details of this process, which can only proceed at the high temperature
and pressure of a star’s interior, were established by Hans Bethe at
Cornell in 1938. But there are many hot stars thousands of times
brighter than the sun (if viewed from the same distance), and a
simple calculation shows that they would use up all their atomic
energy in a mere 10 million years. Where did these hot bright stars
come from if they can last only one three-hundredth as long as the
earth has been in existence?

A possible answer was provided only last year (1947) by Lyman
Spitzer at Yale, and Bart Bok at Harvard. Spitzer showed theoreti-
cally that diffuse gas and dust which is observed between the stars
could, under some circumstances, be compressed by the pressure of
radiation from all the other stars, to condense into a new star. Bok
observed in the Milky Way certain small dark knots of such inter-
stellar material, which may well be stars in the process of formation.
Here is the process of growth by accretion on a much larger scale.
This theory is well enough established that Whipple at Harvard has
recently proposed that the planets coagulated in the manner postu-
lated by Kant and by Weizsicker during the formation of the sun

itself.
GALAXIES

As we are pushed farther and farther in explaining the origin of our
planet, new sources of evidence come into the problem. The next
evidence comes from a study of the large groups of stars called galaxies.

Passing from the solar system to the stars is no larger a jump—and
no smaller—than from the earth to the solar system. Our galaxy
includes all the visible stars and is a correspondingly large system,
outside of which the telescope shows many other galaxies. These are
believed to be very like our own galaxy—a disk-shaped conglomera-
tion with a mass, determined from its rotation, of about 200 billion
star masses. There are about 100 billion stars in a galaxy, the rest
of the material being spread between the stars in the form of gas and
dust.

The outside galaxies, often called “spiral nebulae,” are being
studied by Hubble at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California,
and by other astronomers with large telescopes. As Hubble looks
farther and farther out into space (by taking longer photographic
exposures with larger and larger telescopes), he finds more and more

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—PAGE 171

spiral nebulae, apparently without limit. In 1925 Hubble and Huma-
son found from the redness of their light that the more distant spirals
are receding from us more rapidly than the closer ones, and that the
speed of their retreat is in direct proportion to their distance from us.
At first sight this appears to leave our galaxy (with our sun and earth)
in a central and somewhat unpopular position, with the rest of the
universe running away. But a little thought shows that our view of
the universe is the same as the view from any one of the other galaxies;
each would see the rest receding from him with velocities proportional
to their distances from him.

x Y z Us A 8B c D
haat I go o> o> oo eae
x z U: 8 ¢c o
ee) mee: <—- er Pi) e > —

Ficure 3.—Upper, our view of some spiral nebulae. The arrows indicate veloc-
ities. Note that spiral B, which is twice as far from us as spiral A, is receding
twice as fast. OC, three times as far, is receding three times as fast, and so on.
Lower, the view of an observer on spiral B, considering himself to be at rest.
It is the principle of relativity that he has just as much right as we do to con-
sider himself at rest. He gets the same view as we do; all the spirals are
receding from B with velocity proportional] to distance.

Tracing the motions back in time (there is no evidence that the
spirals are accelerating or decelerating) shows that all the spiral
nebulae would have been near our galaxy between 2 and 3 billion
years ago. The coincidence of this with the age of the earth and the
age of the meteorites is too marked to need further comment—the
whole universe seems to have started with a bang about 3 billion years
ago!

‘ THE BEGINNING OF TIME

This curious evidence that the spiral nebulae were all close to—if
not entangled with—our galaxy 8 billion years ago, means that the
formation of the solar system at that time probably took place under
conditions somewhat different from those of today. To be sure of the
reasoning, we must examine the conditions of 3 billion years ago more
carefully; it was this reexamination which led, in 1945, to the most
bizarre suggestion of all in this field already rich in speculation. It
was put forward by the English biologist, J. B. S. Haldane, and is
based on a new theory—or philosophy—of relativity proposed in 1932
by the English mathematician, E. A. Milne. First we shall speak of
Milne and his brand of relativity.

To make the reasoning clear we must start with Einstein’s earlier
relativity theory which links space and time in such a way that if
one observer is moving at constant velocity past another his
measurements of distances and time intervals will differ from those

172 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

of the first observer, although the relation of time and distance is
such that they both observe the same laws of physics. LHinstein
formulated his relativity on the philosophy that it is simply impos-
sible to tell which observer is ‘‘at rest.’”? Complicated as it sounds,
this scheme has been developed to form a logically complete theory
in terms of mathematical transformations. Milne extended the
established principles of relativity in his “cosmological principle,”’
which is, in effect, an assumption that the view of the whole universe
from one spiral nebula must be the same as the view from any other.
Moreover, he has redefined distance measurements in terms of the
travel time of light signals, as in radar ranging, thus reducing both
time and distance measurements to readings of clocks, in principle.

¢ e e ‘ ¢ . ’ ¢ eo e ¢ e oe

° e e e e o e ¢ 7 e a e e

e o . . ¢ e e a e ¢ eo ¢ e

e ‘ ¢ ¢ o ° e ’ ° eo eo e ¢
Us

o e e ° 2 , e ¢ ‘ eo 6 oe eo

Figure 4.—Milne’s picture of the universe. If all measurements are made in
atomic time, on Milne’s theory, the universe started expanding from a point
3 billion atomic years ago. As we see it now the spiral nebulae shown in the
left diagram are all moving away from us and (if we could see far enough)
would be much more numerous near the “edge.”” At this edge the velocity of
recession is equal to the velocity of light, so we can never hope to see the edge
itself. On the other hand, if clock time is used for all our measurements, the
universe is static and the spiral nebulae, as shown on the right above, are
uniformly distributed on to infinity. The more distant nebulae are redder be-
cause we see them as they were many years ago with “‘slow” atoms. The
“edge’’ of this picture comes when this reddening gets so extreme that galaxies
are no longer visible.

Milne then raises the disturbing question: How are we sure that
our clocks are reading constant intervals of time? In fact, the slow-
ing down of the earth’s rotation (which is normally our ‘master
clock’’) has been measured as one-thousandth of a second per century
by comparison with the planets, and we have no philosophically
sound assurance that the planets keep “‘perfect time.”

The cosmological principle leads mathematically to two kinds of
time, one of which is speeding up relative to the other. Milne has
shown that pendulum clocks, the earth, and the planets keep ‘‘dy-

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—PAGE tzZ3

namic’”’ or clock time, while vibrating atoms and radioactive decay
have constant period only in “kinematic”’ or atomic time. There is
no philosophical reason for choosing one kind as the “correct” time;
if we used a pendulum clock to time atoms we would find, after a very
long interval, that the atoms are gradually speeding up in their
vibration, if we used an atomic clock we would similarly find that the
planets are slowing down in their orbits.

If this is correct—and no one has yet proved it otherwise—the
age of the earth is 3 billion atomic years as determined from radioactive
decay, but it is many more clock years, since in the past the clock
year was shorter than the atomic year. (They are equal at present—
by definition.)

The coincidence between the age of the earth and the time of reces-
sion of the spiral nebulae Milne explains as a result of the difference
in these two kinds of time. Since the light we observe from a spiral
100 million light-years away left there 100 million years ago, we are
seeing the atoms there ticking off the units of atomic time in use 100
million years ago. Compared to our present atoms, these early
atoms ran slow; as a result, the light they emitted is redder than the
light emitted now by similar atoms on the earth.

From this effect and his cosmological principle, Milne calculates
that in the past infinite number of clock years there were 3 billion
atomic years. The origin of the earth, and the time when all the
spirals were close to our galaxy, both of them 3 billion atomic years
ago, therefore occurred at the beginning of time (since one could hardly
expect more than infinite time on the clock scale).

Now for Haldane’s suggestion, which he calls ‘A Quantum Theory
of the Origin of the Solar System.” It is based, as its name implies,
on the well-established quantum theory of radiation, and on a mathe-
matical result of Milne’s theory: that the universe, as measured in
atomic time, has expanded with the velocity of light, starting from a
point of zero radius 3 billion atomic years ago.

Since the universe started from zero radius, Haldane was able to
pick an early enough instant, just a fraction of a second after the start
of atomic time, when the whole universe was but a fraction of an inch
in diameter—much smaller than the wave length of visible light—
smaller, by far, than the wave length of X-rays or gamma rays.
(These fractions are too small to write out easily; the first requires
72 zeros after the decimal point, the second, 62!) ‘The wave lengths
of radiation in existence in this small universe could scarcely have
been bigger than the universe itself, Haldane reasoned, therefore the
only radiation in existence was of these incredibly short wave lengths.
But the basic principle of the quantum theory is that radiant energy
comes only in packets, or ‘quanta,’ inversely proportional to the
wave length in size. So, at this early instant all radiation was in

174 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

giant quanta of very small waves. And the energy of one of these
giant quanta can easily be calculated as sufficient to knock one or
more planets out of the sun. The even smaller waves at a somewhat
earlier instant would have been in quanta with sufficient energy to
tear apart stars, and even earlier, to tear apart the galaxies from some
primordial globe of matter.

The details of this remarkable suggestion have been carried no
farther, but Haldane’s investigation points up one important general
fact: whether or not Milne’s new relativity is accepted, conditions
at the time of the origin of the solar system were probably consider-
ably different from those today. If Milne’s cosmology is accepted,
the relationship between radiation and matter was most radically
different. It may seem that this iast and most fantastic speculation—
which can neither be completely explained nor fully evaluated here—
contradicts our former conclusion that the solar system was formed
from a rotating nebula of gas and dust. However, the condensation
of the planets and the distribution of angular momentum (which
have been so difficult to explain in all previous theories) may follow
from further mathematical investigation of the first second of atomic
time. In fact, if the details can be worked out rigorously, Haldane’s
suggestion may lead to confirmation of Milne’s cosmology, which is
as yet lacking.

In an echo of the introductory remarks it scarcely needs to be
emphasized that we have no complete theory of the origin of the
earth. The reader may be impressed with the diverse investigations
involved and with the promise of the latest speculations; or he may
notice the infinite regression implicit in any question of origins: if
the planets were formed from dust or planetesimals, whence came the
dust or planetesimals? if the dust and planetesimals came from a
primordial nebula, whence came the primordial nebula? if the primor-
dial nebula was formed by the absorption of a giant quantum by a
fragment of matter, whence came the original matter and radiation
in the universe? and so on, ad infinitum (clock time).

THE 200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE AND SOME
PROBLEMS IT MAY SOLVE!

By Epwin Hussite
Mount Wilson Observatory

[With 10 plates]

In 1609 Galileo turned his telescopes toward the sky. His favor-
ite—it was the fifth, finished within 6 months of the first trial—was
about 5 feet long and had a lens about 2 inches in diameter. It
magnified nearly 30 times and its light-gathering power was equal to
about 80 human eyes. He called it ‘Old Discoverer,” and with it he
saw mountains on the moon, phases of Venus, four moons of Jupiter,
and stars innumerable beyond the limit of the unaided eye.

It was then that the explorations of space began—the explorations
that have swept outward in wave after wave as telescopes developed,
until in our time we study a region of space so vast that it may be a
fair sample of the universe itself. Today there is nearing completion
a new telescope, far more powerful than any previously made, and it
is proper to consider its significance both as an engineering achieve-
ment, and as an instrument for further explorations. With this end
in view, I propose to discuss briefly the development of telescopes in
general, the 200-inch in particular, and some of the problems it may
help us to solve.

Galileo’s optic tubes with single-lens objectives grew rapidly into
telescopes from 20 to 25 feet long with lenses 2 to 3 inches in diameter.
There the development stopped, for practical purposes, because of
the engineering difficulties with still longer tubes.

The longer focal lengths were considered desirable in order to over-
come color difficulties. With a single lens, each different color was
brought to a focus at a different distance from the lens. Hence the
image, when focused for any particular color, was blurred by the out-
of-focus images in other colors. The long telescopes represented an
attempt to spread out the images of different colors over so long a
distance that one color could be focused with minimum interference

1 Alexander F. Morrison lecture, delivered in Pasadena, Calif., April 8, 1947. Reprinted by permission,

with slight alterations, from Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 59, No. 349, August
1947.

175

176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

from the others. Telescopes 100, 150, and even 200 feet long were
actually constructed, with lenses from 3 to 6 inches in diameter.
These monstrous instruments, however, were too unwieldy for use,
and the real work during the first century and a half after Galileo’s
time was done with the smaller telescopes.

Finally, in the middle of the eighteenth century, the color problem
was solved by replacing the single-lens objective with a compound
objective, each of whose separate components, made of different kinds
of glass, canceled out most of the color effects of the other. These
color-free (achromatic) lenses gave much better images and permitted
the use of relatively short tubes for a lens of a given diameter. Tele-
scopes immediately entered a new period of growth which culminated
in the 40-inch lens, with a focal length of 63 feet, at the Yerkes
Observatory in Wisconsin. The 40-inch was finished in 1892, and
since that time developments have concerned lenses for special pur-
poses rather than for greater light-gathering power. For technical
reasons, it seems unlikely that larger lenses will be made in the
foreseeable future.

This greatest of all lenses had been ordered originally by a group of
enthusiasts here in southern California in connection with a plan for
a ‘University System.” The project did not fully materialize, and
the unfinished telescope was bought and completed by the University
of Chicago.

The very large telescopes of recent times, in which light-gathering
power is the most important consideration, are all reflectors, not
refractors. The light is funneled to a focus, not by refraction through
a convex lens but by reflection from a concave mirror. ‘These tele-
scopes are free from color effects because all colors are reflected in
the same way.

The first reflector was made by Isaac Newton in 1672, in a deliberate
effort to avoid the color troubles of single-lens refractors. His first
model had a burnished metal mirror, about an inch in diameter,
figured to a concave spherical surface, and mounted at the bottom
of a tube about 6 inches long. The image, which would lie in the
middle of the upper end of the tube, was thrown to the side by a small
plane mirror set at 45° to the axis, just below the focus. Newton
presented the toy to the Royal Society, where it may still be seen,
sitting on a volume of his famous Principia.

Although Newton’s reflector avoided the color problem, it suffered
another defect, known as spherical aberration, arising from the
spherical surface of the main mirror. It was not until 50 years later
when Hadley, in 1722, found a method of parabolizing concave mirrors,
that the development of reflectors finally got under way. About 90
years ago metal mirrors were replaced by glass, silvered on the front
surfaces. In our time aluminum has been substituted for silver,

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE ZAC

low-expansion glasses have been developed, methods of parabolizing
have been perfected, and engineering problems of constructing
telescopes have been solved as they arose.

The 40-inch refractor was installed at Yerkes under the direction
of George E. Hale. He clearly saw that, regardless of the success
of this telescope, the quest for still greater light-gathering power
depended upon mirrors rather than lenses. Refractors were pref-
erable for certain types of work (including, for instance, visual
resolution of double stars, precise measurement of position, wide-
angle photography, ectc.), but for light-gathering power, with all that
it implies, the future lay with the reflector. Because the reflections
are from the front surfaces, transparency and absolute homogeneity
of the glass are not demanded; the mirror may be supported from the
back and sides, instead of from the rims alone as in the case of lenses,
and, of course, there are no color effects.

Hale took the lead in America in encouraging the development of
large reflectors. A 24-inch of unusual perfection was made by G. W.
Ritchey and installed at Yerkes. It proved so successful that plans
for a 60-inch were immediately set in motion. When Hale left
Yerkes to establish the Mount Wilson Observatory, he was able to
transfer Ritchey and the unfinished 60-inch mirror to Pasadena, where
the telescope was completed in 1908. The work of the 60-inch on
Mount Wilson so fully justified the faith in larger reflectors that plans
for a new one were immediately made, this time for a 100-inch mirror.
This reflector, completed during the first World War, marked an
important epoch in the history of astronomy. It is still the greatest
telescope in operation. Four large reflectors with mirrors from 60
to 84 inches have since been completed (two in Canada and two in the
United States), and others, including a 120-inch for Lick Observatory,
are in process of planning or construction.

The 100-inch opened up new fields of investigation of the very first
importance, and furnished glimpses of even richer fields beyond. If
more light-gathering power were available, these more distant fields
could be explored. In the face of this challenge the possibility of
larger telescopes was the favorite topic of conversation among astron-
omers at Mount Wilson, and presumably at other places as well.
We talked of 200 inches, or 300, and even dreamed of still more light.
One of the group, F. G. Pease, drew tentative designs for a 300-inch,
and demonstrated that the engineering features were not impossible.

Again Hale took the lead. Through his efforts funds were secured
in 1928 in the form of a gift from the International Education Board
to the California Institute of Technology for the establishment of an
astronomical observatory and laboratory. An Observatory Council,
with Hale as chairman, and with the greatest experts in the country
as advisers, administered the details of the project. When Hale

178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

dropped out, Max Mason took over the chairmanship. It was decided
that a 200-inch reflector was as bold a step beyond the 100-inch as
could be justified in view of the unknown problems, both optical and
engineering, that might be encountered. Laboratories and shops
were erected on the California Institute campus, a site for the ob
servatory was found on Mount Palomar, a disk of pyrex glass was
achieved by the Corning Glass Company, and the project proceeded
steadily until it was interrupted by the war. Work was resumed soon
after VJ-day, and the telescope has since been completed.

The proper fields for the 200-inch are determined primarily by its
immense light-gathering power. Because adequate consideration of
all the possible applications would require more time than is now
available, I propose to limit the following discussion to three typical
problems. These problems are, first, the existence of canals on Mars;
second, the relative abundance of the chemical elements in stars; and,
third, the large-scale structure of the universe. Each problem
represents a particular aspect of light-gathering power, namely,
resolution, dispersion, and depth penetration.

As a brief introduction, let me comment on the telescope itself.
The mirror intercepts a beam of light 200 inches or 17% feet in
diameter—in other words, it gathers as much light as a million human
eyes, or four 100-inch reflectors. It funnels this light to an image at
the primary focus, 55% feet in front of the mirror. There an image
of the sky is formed such as you may see on the ground glass of a
camera. This image may be examined visually with a microscope,
recorded on a photographic plate, analyzed with a spectrograph, or
studied by other techniques. Actually, most of the work will consist
of direct photography or spectrum analysis. By using long time
exposures, it is possible to photograph stars or nebulae several times
fainter than can be seen in the eyepiece. For this reason, the 200-
inch is best described as a huge camera.

Now let us consider some typical problems for the 200-inch. I shall
start with a problem concerning a member of the solar system. The
telescope will not be turned on the sun because of temperature effects—
in some ways it would act as a burning glass. Nor does it offer any
unique advantages for the study of the moon. In that field it will
serve merely to improve data of a kind that can be got nearly as well
with several other telescopes. In the field of planetary photography,
however, the opportunities are unique because, for the first time, it
may be possible to photograph all that the eye can see with a telescope
of moderate size. An immediate application is to the highly contro-
versial question of canals on Mars.

The canals are described as very fine, dark lines running along great
circles, sometimes doubled, and often converging or crossing at spots
called “‘oases.”’ Such fine, hairlike patterns, superposed on the back-

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE 179

eround of large, well-known markings, have been recorded by various
trained visual observers, using telescopes of all sizes from 6 inches up-
ward, during the whole of the past 70 years since Schiaparelli first
reported them. ‘The canal systems, if real, would almost necessarily
imply the existence now or in the past of intelligent beings on Mars.

But other trained observers, again using telescopes of all sizes,
report no trace of canals. KE. E. Barnard, perhaps the greatest of the
American visual observers, studied the planet over many years with
the then largest telescopes in the world, including the 36-inch refractor
at Lick, the 40-inch at Yerkes, and the 60-inch reflector at Mount
Wilson, and, although he saw an immense amount of detail, he found
no canals.

The two groups of observers flatly contradict each other, and since
the observations are personal impressions neither group can demon-
strate the validity of its assertions. Evidently the controversy must
be resolved by photography. Once photographs are available on which
the canals should appear if they are real features of the planet, the
question will be settled beyond reasonable doubt. The test has not
been possible as yet because existing equipment, although closely ap-
proaching the required standards, does not fulfill them. The 200-
inch, however, should meet all the necessary conditions and settle the
question.

The problem is as follows: Mars is a small object. The image at
the primary focus of the 100-inch is less than 5 inch at the most
favorable oppositions, and less than % inch at the long Cassegrain
focus. In order to get an image large enough to serve as a critical
test of fine markings (i. e., to make the resolution of the photographic
plate comparable with the optical resolution of the telescope) it is
necessary to use an enlarging lens. Thus the total light collected by
the telescope is spread over a much larger, and correspondingly fainter,
image. Furthermore, because of the atmosphere on Mars, it is neces-
sary to photograph the surface markings through deep orange or red
filters, still further reducing the effective brightness of the image.
The reduction is so great that photographs with existing telescopes
require time exposures instead of snapshots. The exposures may be
only a second (or even a fraction of a second, with the 100-inch) but
they are long enough to permit the dancing or shimmering of the
image to smear out the finest detail.

You doubtless realize that a telescope magnifies the twinkling of
stars along with everything else. Critical observations are restricted
to periods of maximum steadiness (good seeing, as it is called), and
even then, the shimmer is appreciable under high magnification. The
eye can “hold”? an image under these conditions, but photography
with time exposures is helpless. The shimmer smears out the fine
details. It is for this reason that, in the case of fine markings such

180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

as the canals on Mars are said to be, the eye can see more than the
photographic plate can record.

However, the 200-inch will collect so much light that, for the first
time, it will be possible to photograph enlarged images through filters
with snapshots. These exposures will be short enough to catch a
dancing image at the end of a flicker—when it is momentarily at rest
as it reverses direction. If many exposures are snapped on a movie
film, a certain percentage of them may be expected to record what the
eye can see (at least with telescopes of moderate sizes).

There is much more to the story, but it is too technical for the
present discussion. But it can be said with some confidence that the
200-inch may settle the long-standing controversy concerning the
canals on Mars.

The second problem I have selected for discussion involves spectrum
analysis. You know, of course, that light reaches us as a jumble of
waves of all different wave lengths, each representing a different color.
It is possible, with prisms or gratings, to spread the colors out into
an ordered sequence or spectrum, running from the long waves of thered
to the short waves of the violet, and beyond in either direction. Such
spectra of stars and nebulae show phenomena of profound significance
at certain particular wave lengths. Spectrum analysis involves the
isolation and study of these particular regions.

Your radio offers an analogy. With the tuning dial you run along
the spectrum of radio waves and isolate a particular wave length in
order to hear a particular station which is broadcasting on that wave
length.

If there were no tuning device, and you heard all programs at once
with a nonselective receiver, the result would be bedlam. The step
from such a nightmare to the clear reception of messages from indi-
vidual stations suggests the nature of the step in astronomy from the
study of integrated light to spectrum analysis.

Light from stars and nebulae originates in atoms. There are as
many kinds of atoms as there are chemical elements, and the atoms
may have various stable states. Each stable state of each kind of
atom represents a set of broadcasting stations, sending messages
concerning the nature of the atoms and the physical conditions under
which they exist. By tuning in and reading these messages, it is pos-
sible to identify chemical elements, to determine temperatures, pres-
sures, and other physical attributes, and even to measure motion in
the line of sight (radial velocity).

But in order to read the messages clearly it is necessary to achieve
precise tuning—that is, to spread out the spectrum on the maximum
possible scale. It is here that the great light-gathering power of the
200-inch offers new possibilities.

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE 181

The length over which a spectrum can be spread, and still remain
bright enough to be photographed, depends upon the brightness of
the object. The sun has been spread out over a spectrum about 50
feet long from red to violet; the brightest stars, over about 3 feet,
and the faintest naked-eye stars over about 1 foot. The shortest
spectra giving useful information are about one-tenth of an inch long,
and have been obtained from stars and nebulae about a hundred
thousand times fainter than the faintest naked-eye stars. With the
200-inch, all the stellar and nebular spectra can be lengthened about
four times, and consequently the analysis can be carried out much
more precisely than was hitherto possible.

One new field, now faintly glimpsed, can be explored rather fully.
The important data are the relative abundances of the different chem-
ical elements in different kinds of stars. These data are derived from
the comparative study of the different stations (or lines) due to differ-
ent chemical elements in a spectrum, and require the longest practical
spectra (the highest possible dispersion) for adequate analysis.

There is reason to believe that more than 99 percent of the atoms
in the universe are hydrogen. Even by weight, hydrogen, with the
simplest and lightest of all atoms, probably contributes a large frac-
tion of the total matter in the universe. There are insistent sugges-
tions that the relative abundance of hydrogen varies considerably
from star to star. There is also some reason to suppose that the rela-
tive abundance of other elements does not vary widely in the stars,
although the physical conditions of the stars do vary widely (from
giants to dwarfs, from hot blue stars to cool red stars). The supposi-
tion rests mainly on negative evidence and requires further study
with powerful instruments.

It is believed that the 200-inch alone can adequately explore this
field, now dimly outlined with existing telescopes. What is now sug-
gested by analysis of three or four of the very brightest stars can be
critically tested in these objects, and the study can be extended in a
comparable way over a large sample collection of stars in general.
We cannot predict the final results of the exploration. They may
represent the next major chapter in the development of our knowledge
of the universe, or they may prove to be relatively trivial. But the
unexplored field looms as a challenge, and the challenge will be met.

The data are immensely important because they bear directly on
two very fundamental problems, namely, the source of stellar energy
and the origin of chemical elements.

Geologists, studying the history of the earth’s surface, assure us
that the sun has been pouring out energy at a fairly constant rate
over the last several hundred million years at least. Possible sources
for the unfailing supply were not only unknown but were unimagined,

182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

until the modern science of nuclear physics was developed. Now ex-
planations may be sought over a wide range of nuclear reactions giv-
ing various lifetimes to stars up to the limit set by Einstein’s famous
formula,

energy =mass X (velocity of light)?

For instance, if the whole of the sun’s mass were transformed directly
into energy, the sun could radiate at the present rate for a million
million years. But, if nuclear reactions supplied the energy, the
possible lifetime (with the present rate of radiation) would be reduced
according to the particular reaction involved.

The nuclear reactions, in general, produce the transmutation of
elements—the old dream of the alchemists. The most plausible of
the current theories concerning the source of the sun’s energy, pro-
posed by H. Bethe, is based on the carbon cycle in which, because of
the presence of carbon at temperatures found in the sun, hydrogen
nuclei may combine to form helium, releasing energy in the process.
One test of the theory is furnished by a comparison of the relative
abundance of the different isotopes of carbon actually observed in the
sun with the relative abundances involved in the carbon cycle.

In a vaguely analogous way, it is possible to speculate on the build-
ing up of all elements from the primitive hydrogen atoms, and these
speculations may be guided by the observed relative abundances of
elements in stars of widely different physical characteristics.

Thus the data on abundances, derived from large-scale spectra,
bear directly on all theories concerning the source of stellar energy,
the origin of chemical elements, the past history of the universe, and
its future evolution.

The third unique field of investigation for the 200-inch is cos-
mology—the structure and behavior of the universe as a whole. As-
tronomers hope that the observable region of space—the region that
can be observed with telescopes—is a fair sample of the universe, and
they attempt to infer the nature of the universe from the observed
characteristics of the sample. The 200-inch, because of its great
light-gathering power, should penetrate into space about twice as far
as the 100-inch, and consequently will permit us to explore a volume
of space about eight times that now available. The probability that
the observable region may be a fair sample of the universe will thus
be greatly increased.

It was the 100-inch that opened this new field and prepared the
way for the new telescope. The picture developed rather suddenly
during the 1920’s. The sun with its family of planets seems isolated
and lonely in space, but we know that it is merely one of the stars—
one of several thousand million stars which, together, form the stellar
system. This system is a swarm of stars which drifts through space

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PLATE 1

DOME OF THE 200-INCH TELESCOPE ON PALOMAR MOUNTAIN

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PEATE 2

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE

Meeting of the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific on July 1, 1948.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PLATE 3

MARS

Upper: Photograph with 100-inch reflector, September 2, 1924.
Lower: Drawing by Pettit with 20-inch reflector, July 12, 1939. These typical
pictures illustrate the fact that as vet photography does not furnish an objective
test of the existence of “canals” on Mars.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble

EXTRAGALACTIC NEBULAE

These nebulae are examples of the stellar systems which serve as landmarks in
the exploration of the universe. The group above (NGC 3185, 3187, 3190,
3193) is at a distance of about 8 million light-years and appears to be receding
from us at the rate of about 850 miles per second.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PLATE 5

NGC 2261

The first photograph made with the 200-inch Hale telescope.

ZG VWaHYV GSLOATAS NI NOIS3Y

9 ALVI1d 2[999H— 6r6| ‘340dey UeluOsy{IUIG

Smithsonian Rerort, | PLATE 7

MESSIER 87 (NGC 4486)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PLATE 8

NGC 5204

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PLATE 9

NGC 3359

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Hubble PEATE 0

MESSIER 3 (NGC 5272)

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE 183

as a swarm of bees drifts through the air. From our position some-
where within the system, we look out through the swarm of stars,
past the boundaries, into the universe beyond.

Those outer regions are empty for the most part—vast stretches
of empty space. But here and there, scattered at immense intervals,
we find other stellar systems comparable with our own. They are so
remote that individual stars can be seen only in a few of the nearest
systems. In general they appear as faint patches of light, resembling
tiny clouds, and have long been called by the Latin word for clouds—
that is, ‘‘nebulae.”’

We now know that these nebulae are huge stellar systems averaging
about a hundred million times as bright as the sun. They are the
true inhabitants of space—vast beacons that serve as landmarks for
the exploration of the universe. We see a few that appear large and
bright. These are the nearer nebulae. Then we find them smaller
and fainter in constantly increasing numbers, and we know we are
reaching out into space farther and ever farther, until, with the faintest
nebulae that can be detected with the largest telescope, we have
reached the frontiers of the observable region.

This region has been explored with the 100-inch out to distances so
remote that light, speeding at 186,000 miles per second, requires 500
million years to make the journey. Thus the observable region at
present is a sphere, centered on the observer, with a radius of about
500 million light-years. Throughout this sphere about a hundred
million nebulae are scattered, each a stellar system comparable to
our own system of the Milky Way.

The study of this observable region as a sample of the universe has
led to the recognition of two large-scale features. The first feature
is homogeneity. The nebulae are scattered singly, in groups, and
even in great clusters, but when very large volumes of space are com-
pared, their contents are found to be quite similar. On the grand
scale, the observable region appears to be very much the same, in all
directions and at all distances.

The second characteristic is the fact that light waves from distant
nebulae seem to grow longer in proportion to the distance they have
traveled. It is as though the stations on your radio dial were all
shifted toward the longer wave lengths in proportion to the distances
of the stations. In the nebular spectra the stations (or lines) are
shifted toward the red, and these red-shifts vary directly with dis-
tance—an approximately linear relation.

The red-shifts are most easily interpreted as evidence of motion in
the line of sight away from the earth—as evidence that the nebulae
in all directions are rushing away from us, and that the farther away
they are, the faster they are receding. This interpretation lends itself
directly to theories of an expanding universe. The interpretation is

866591—50——13

184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

not universally accepted, but even the most cautious of us admit that
red-shifts are evidence either of an expanding universe or of some
hitherto unknown principle of nature.

The two observed characteristics of the observable region, namely,
the approximately uniform distribution and the approximately linear
law of red-shifts, must be satisfied by any theory of the universe.
They are the only observational results on the grand scale that can
be used as tests. They serve to eliminate many theories formerly
developed on insufficient data, but several modern theories survive
the tests. These latter theories all permit the observed features in
a limited region near the observer but they predict that departures
from the simple approximate laws of distribution and of red-shifts
will be found when the measures are extended to greater distances.
These departures differ from theory to theory, and, if the measures
can be extended to the necessary distance, will distinguish the correct
theory from the false.

Thus the most important observational problems in cosmology may
be described as the small, second-order effects of great distances.
The nebulae appear to be distributed in a roughly uniform manner
and the red-shifts appear to be roughly proportional to distance, out
to the limits of the 100-inch. The next step is to determine these
features more precisely over the limited range of the 100-inch and
approximately out to far greater distances.

Attempts have been made to attain the necessary precision with
the 100-inch, and the results appear to be significant. If they are
valid, it seems likely that red-shifts may not be due to an expanding
universe, and much of the current speculation on the structure of the
universe may require re-examination. The significant data, however,
were necessarily obtained at the very limit of a single instrument,
and there were no possible means of checking the results by inde-
pendent evidence. Therefore the results must be accepted for the
present as suggestive rather than definitive.

The problem is essentially one for the 200-inch. This new telescope
will penetrate into space out to a thousand million light-years, and
the second-order effects of great distance will be so conspicuous that
they cannot be missed.

As a particular and final example, let me mention the effects of
increasing red-shifts on apparent brightness. It is well known that
a rapidly receding light appears fainter than a similar, but stationary,
light at the same momentary distance. The reason is that the stream
of light-quanta from the moving light is thinned out by the recession
so that fewer quanta per second reach the observer. Since brightness
is measured by the rate of arrival of quanta, the receding light appears
abnormally faint.

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE 185

Actually the dimming factor (the reduction of apparent brightness)
is a simple fraction represented by velocity of recession divided by
the velocity of light. Recession at one one-hundredth the velocity
of light reduces the apparent brightness by 1 percent; at one-tenth
the velocity of light, by 10 percent, and so on. Thus the effects of
recession would be negligible until velocities of several hundred miles
per second were reached. The effects would be appreciable at a
few thousand miles per second, and conspicuous at several tens of
thousands of miles per second.

If red-shifts are evidence of actual recession, the dimming factors
should become appreciable near the limits of measurement with the
100-inch and should be conspicuous near the limit of the 200-inch.
At the very limits of direct photographs with the 200-inch, the factor
should approach the order of 40 to 50 percent, and should be unmis-
takable.

We may predict with confidence that the 200-inch will tell us
whether the red-shifts must be accepted as evidence of a rapidly
expanding universe, or attributed to some new principle of nature.
Whatever the answer may be, the result will be welcomed as another
major contribution to the exploration of the universe.

I have mentioned the three specific problems of canals on Mars,
relative abundance of chemical elements in stars, and the nature of
the red-shift, because they illustrate the unique powers of the 200-
inch telescope in three aspects, namely, resolution, dispersion, and
space penetration.

Because these problems are of first importance, and can be solved,
they, together with others of a similar kind, will be included in the
initial research programs. The solutions of these problems alone
will fully justify the construction of the telescope.

But such a program is merely a logical beginning—the first carefully
considered stage in the exploration of vast unknown regions of the
universe. As the darkness is pushed back, greater problems will
doubtless emerge which we cannot now foresee.

FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THE 200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE?

The first photographs with the 200-inch Hale reflector on Palomar,
made under normal observing conditions, confirm the most optimistic
predictions of its designers. Such a statement, as usual, requires some
explanation. The photographs were made as routine tests to record
progress in the tedious program of adjustments. Seeing was never
better than “‘average,”’ the aluminum coat was dusty and grimy, and
the mirror showed a turned-up edge. These handicaps, of course,

2 A later article by Dr. Hubble from the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 61,
No. 360, June 1949,

186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

will be eliminated or avoided in time, but during the tests they caused
some loss of light and appreciable loss of definition. Nevertheless,
the test plates record stars and nebulae fully 1.5 magnitudes fainter
than the extreme limit of the 100-inch reflector on Mount Wilson.
The faintest star images, on the better plates, were, however, a little
more than 1 inch in diameter, and, at the threshold, it was sometimes
difficult to distinguish with certainty between stars and nebulae.

Thus the 200-inch has registered already the full gain in light-
gathering power corresponding to the size of the main mirror. The
slight additional gain that may be expected with a clean, sensibly
perfect mirror surface will be accounted for by the absence of a
Newtonian flat and by the very transparent sky over Palomar.

The greatest improvement in the future will be in definition, as
indicated by the size of faint star images. Definition is very sensitive
to the seeing, and, while the test plates approached the definition
to be expected under average conditions, they indicated that the
mirror is not yet in shape to operate at maximum efficiency on the
rare nights of fine seeing. The trouble arises from the turned-up
edge and can be eliminated by the retouching now in progress. The
improved definition will be significant, particularly for distinguishing
nebulae from stars at the threshold of long exposures. In the higher
latitudes, the telescope records many more nebulae than stars.

The turned-up edge was well known from Hartman tests, and its
effects could be predicted with some confidence. The photographs
were made primarily to confirm and record these effects. However,
the first plates were so impressive that a set of full exposures was
made to serve as a record of performance before the mirror was
removed for retouching. About 60 photographs were assembled over
the 3 months from January 26 to April 28, as opportunities arose
during the normal program of adjustments. Of this number, perhaps
half a dozen represent full exposures under average seeing conditions,
and a like number show good performance with reduced apertures or
with a Ross correcting lens for enlarging the usable field. Selections
from the files are illustrated in plates 5 to 10, and comments on them
are given below. The full aperture (200-inch) and Eastman 103a—O
emulsions were used in all exposures except those to which special
references are made in the comments. The scale of the original
negatives is about 1 mm=12’’.

Plate 5, NGC2261; R.A.=6"36"6, Decl. =+8°47’ (1950); Jan. 26,
1949; 15 min. exposure, poor seeing; enlarged 34x.

This plate shows the first of the photographs with the Hale tele-
scope. It is recorded as PH—-1-H (i. e., Palomar, Hale, No. 1, followed
by the initial of the observer). It was made under poor conditions
as a preliminary test of the mechanical operations and procedures
involved in direct photography at the prime focus. The trial was

200-INCH HALE TELESCOPE—HUBBLE 187

successful, except for the large size of the star images produced by
the poor seeing. The exposure was made on January 26, 1949, about
10 p. m., after waiting more than a week for a break in the weather.

The object, NGC2261, is a well-known, variable galactic nebula—a,
comet-shaped mass with the variable star, R Monocerotis, at the apex.

Plate 6, S.A. 57; R.A.=13"6"3, Decl.=-+29°37’ (1950); Jan. 27,
1949; 60 min. exposure, seeing average; enlarged 7% ; center is 2/5 N.
and 3/4 W. of BD+30°2371. This selected area contains one of the
most reliable magnitude sequences available for faint stars extending
to the 21st magnitude. Exposures of 1 minute registered stars to
about 19.7, and of 3 minutes, to about 20.7. Exposures of 5 or 6
minutes reached the extreme limits of the 100-inch, beyond the end
of the sequence. From these data it is estimated that the 60-minute
exposures permitted by the dark sky above Palomar reached at least
1.5 magnitude beyond the 100-inch.

The threshold of the plate is dominated by nebulae rather than by
stars, and this fact emphasizes the tremendous range of the telescope.
Some of the faintest nebulae recorded are presumably at about twice
the distance reached with the 100-inch or, in round numbers, at about
1,000 million light-years. This figure, of course, refers to average
nebulae. Individual images on the photograph may represent dwarf
nebulae at lesser distances or giant nebulae, even more remote.

Plate 7, Messier 87 (NGC4486); R.A.=12°2873, Decl.=-+12°42’
(1950); Apr. 27, 1949; exposure 45 min., seeing average; enlarged 8X.

The object is one of the brightest members of the Virgo cluster of
nebulae, whose distance is of the order of 7.5 million light-years. It
is classified as a peculiar elliptical nebula (KOp). The photograph
shows the nebula, presumably a globular mass of type II stars (1. e.,
stars similar to those in globular star clusters), surrounded by an
extensive, tenuous atmosphere of supergiant stars. ‘This phenomenon
was suggested by the best photographs made with the 100-inch on
Mount Wilson, but is conspicuous on the 200-inch plate.

Plate 8, NGC5204; R.A.=13"28"0, Decl.=+ 58°38’ (1950); Jan.
31, 1949; exposure 30 min., seeing average; enlarged 4X.

The object is a dwarf, late-type spiral in Ursa Major, at an esti-
mated distance of less than 3 million light-years. The plate is in-
cluded to show the ability of the telescope to resolve the neighboring
stellar systems so that the brighter stars can be studied individually.

Photographs of several of the larger spirals, such as M 81, NGC2403,
etc., have been made, but the coma-free field of the telescope at full
aperture is so small (about 5 minutes of are in diameter) that the
plates are not suitable for reproduction on a scale sufficient to show
the resolution to advantage.

Plate 9, NGC3359; R.A.=10"43"4, Decl.=+63°20’ (1950); Apr.
27, 1949; exposure 45 min., seeing average; enlarged 3X.

188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

This late-type barrel spiral is an isolated stellar system or, possibly,
an outrider of the Ursa Major cloud of bright nebulae, and its distance
is of the order of 5 million light-years. The plate is included to illus-
trate the resolution of fairly distant nebulae, and the opportunities
now available for the study of the very brightest stars in stellar
systems.

Plate 10, Messier 3 (NGC5272); R.A.=13539"5, Decl.=+28°38’
(1950); Apr. 21, 1949; exposure 3 min., made with an aperture of 160
inches, and a Ross correcting lens; seeing average; enlarged 8X.

This plate, of a well-known globular star cluster, is included to
illustrate the use of a Ross correcting lens, placed a few inches in
front of the plate, to enlarge the coma-free field of the telescope.
The lens performed well with the 160-inch aperture but, with the
full 200-inch, it exaggerated the effects of the turned-up edge of the
main mirror. The provisional mounting of the lens did not permit
the use of a guiding eyepiece, so the plate shows the successful per-
formance of the tracking mechanism of the telescope during an
unguided exposure of 3 minutes. The usable field with this correcting
lens is more than 15 minutes of are in diameter.

THE DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME!

By Str Haroup SPENCER JONES
Astronomer Royal of Great Britain

Of the three fundamental physical units, there is an essential
distinction between the unit of time and the units of mass and length.
The units of mass and length are represented by material standards
to which any mass or length can be related, either directly or indirectly.
But the unit of time cannot be represented by any material standard.
For practical purposes time can be thought of in the Newtonian sense
as something which flows uniformly. The passage of time can be
marked by a clock, and any simple natural phenomenon which obeys
one definite law without perturbation might be used to mark off equal
intervals of time and therefore to serve as a clock. The rotation of
the earth provides us with a natural clock. We shall see later that it
is not a perfect clock, but that it is sufficiently uniform for almost all
practical purposes; it has, moreover, the great advantage of never
stopping.

We can therefore define the unit of time as the period of rotation
of the earth. Some reference object must be selected against which
to measure the rotation. For the purposes of everyday life, time
must be related to the sun, whose rising and setting gives the alterna-
tion of daytime and nighttime. The day defined by the rotation of
the earth with respect to the sun is called the true solar day; it is the
interval between two consecutive transits of the sun across the
meridian of any place. With this unit, true solar time is obtained
by dividing the true solar day into 24 hours and calling the instant of
meridian passage of the sun 12 hours. The time given by a sundial
is true solar time. For practical purposes, however, true solar time
is not convenient; because the motion of the sun across the heavens
is not uniform, the length of the solar day varies in length throughout
the year. For civil purposes, therefore, a mean solar day is used,
whose length is equal to the average length of the true solar days
throughout the year. The time based on the mean solar day as unit
is called mean solar time. The relationship between mean solar time
and true solar time at some particular instant is defined by means of

1 Sixteenth Arthur lecture, given under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution April 14, 1949,

189

190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

a convention, into the details of which I need not enter. The extreme
differences between mean and true solar times range from 16 minutes
about November 3, when true noon precedes mean moon, to 14%
minutes about February 12, when true noon follows mean moon.

Astronomers, however, find it more convenient to determine time
by the observation of the stars. There are many stars but only one
sun and, moreover, the time of transit of a star can be determined more
accurately than the time of transit of the sun. The sidereal day is
defined by the rotation of the earth relative to the stars. It is about
4 minutes shorter than the solar day. If we imagine the sun and a
star to be on the meridian of some particular place at the same instant,
then after the lapse of one sidereal day the star will again be on the
meridian; but, because of the orbital motion of the earth round the
sun, the earth will have to turn a little more in order to bring the sun
onto the meridian. In the course of a year the earth completes its
orbit around the sun and there must consequently be exactly one more
sidereal day in the year than mean solar days.

If the relative positions of a number of stars in the equatorial region
of the sky have been accurately determined, we can think of them as
equivalent to the graduations on the face of a clock. As the earth
rotates, a telescope, fixed so as to be able to move only in the meridian,
will sweep across these stars in turn, each at a definite specific instant
of sidereal time. By observing the transit of stars whose positions
are known, the sidereal times at the instants of meridian transit are
therefore determined. The beginning of the sidereal day or, in other
words, Oh. of sidereal time, is defined by the transit of the point in
the sky at which the ecliptic crosses the equator from south to north;
this point is called the vernal equinox or the First Point of Aries.

By defining the commencement of the sidereal day in this manner,
we are provided with a means for converting from sidereal time to
mean solar time, which is required for the purposes of everyday life.
But it has one inconvenience. The First Point of Aries is not fixed
relative to the stars. It has a slow retrograde motion, due to the
precessional motion of the earth’s axis, and superposed on this uniform
motion is a slow to-and-fro drift, caused by the nutational or nodding
motion of the axis. The nutation depends upon the relative positions
and distances of the sun and moon from the earth. The principal
term in the nutation has a period of about 18 years and a semi-
amplitude of about 1 second of time. There is also a 6-monthly term
amounting to 0.08 second and a number of short-period terms
amounting to 0.020 second, of which the principal term has a period
of 2 weeks. The precision of modern clocks is such that these small
terms cannot be neglected. The true sidereal day, measured relative
to the true position of the First Point of Aries, is therefore not abso-
lutely uniform in length, and it is necessary to introduce the con-

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—-SPENCER JONES 191

ception of mean sidereal time, measured relative to the mean position
of the First Point of Aries. Actual observation of the stars provides
the astronomer with true sidereal time, which he then has to correct
for the nutation to obtain mean or uniform sidereal time.

The determinations of time by astronomical observations are used
to control the performance of a standard clock, determining its error
at a specific instant and the rate of increase or decrease of that error,
the clock then being used to obtain the time at other instants. This
usually involves extrapolation to some time subsequent to the latest
observation. For such extrapolation to be accurate, the time de-
terminations must not be affected by serious errors and the standard
clock must be of high precision. The determination of precise time
therefore involves two problems, the determination with high ac-
curacy of the time at specific instants and the development of time-
keepers of very high precision.

The sidereal time of the transit of a star across the meridian is
equal to the right ascension of the star. Sidereal time can therefore
be determined by observing the times of meridian transit of stars of
known right ascension. The conventional method of making the
observations has been to use a transit instrument. This consists of a
telescope, mounted on an axis at each end of which is a cylindrical
pivot. The pivots rest in fixed bearings, adjusted so that the common
axis of the pivots is as nearly as possible horizontal and pointing in an
east-west direction. If the axis of the pivots were exactly horizontal
and in the east-west direction and if the optical and mechanical axes
of the telescope coincided, the axis of the telescope would be in the
meridian plane, whatever direction the telescope was pointing to.
This ideal condition is never achieved and there are always small
errors of level, of azimuth, and of collimation. These adjustments
are liable to continual change; there are slow seasonal changes, as-
sociated with changes of temperature and possibly also with sub-
surface moisture; there are also more rapid changes, which are cor-
related with changes of circumambient temperature and with the
direction of the wind. To control these changes frequent observa-
tions of level, of azimuth, and of collimation are essential, which take
up a disproportionate amount of the observing time. The error of
collimation can, however, be eliminated if the telescope is reversed
in its bearings in the middle of each transit, half the transit being
observed before reversal and the other half after reversal. It is not
possible to reverse large transit instruments sufficiently quickly and
it has accordingly become customary to use small transit instruments,
which can be rapidly reversed, for the determination of time; as it
is the brighter stars which are observed, a large aperture is not needed.

There are other factors which have also to be taken into considera-
tion. The pivots will never be absolutely cylindrical; their figures

192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

have to be determined with great accuracy and appropriate corrections
made to the observations. Flexure of the axis can cause troublesome
systematic errors. If the horizontal axis is not equally stiff in all
directions, its flexure will vary according to the direction in which the
telescope is pointed. If the two halves are not equally stiff, the
telescope will be twisted from the meridian by a variable amount.
Personal equations between different observers are somewhat trouble-
some, though they do not exceed a few hundredths of a second when
the so-called impersonal micrometer is used. Before its introduction,
the method of observing was for the observer to press a hand-tapper
at the instant the star crossed each of a number of vertical spider
wires in the focal plane of the telescope; by so doing, he closed an
electric circuit which sent a current to a recording chronograph, which
recorded not only the signals from the telescope but also time signals,
every second or alternate seconds, from the clock. The instants
of the star crossing the wires could then be read off at leisure after the
observations had been completed. With this method of observing,
the times determined by different observers could differ by as much as
halfasecond. The reason is easy to see; one observer might wait until
he saw the star actually bisected by the wire before he pressed the
tapper, with the result that, because of the time required for the mes-
sage to travel from his brain to his eye and to be converted into
muscular action, his signal would inevitably be late; another observer
would, as it were, shoot the flying bird, gauging the rate of motion of
the star so that his tap is made as nearly as possible at the instant at
which the star is actually bisected. The personal equations can be
determined by what are called personal equation machines; the
transit of an artificial star is observed, the times at which the star is at
certain positions during the transit beng compared with the observed
times. Although an observer will unconsciously form a fixed habit
in observing so that his personal equation remains substantially
constant, small variations, depending upon the physical condition of
the observer, do occur.

The method of observing now almost universally employed is to
have a single movable wire in the micrometer eyepiece instead of
a number of fixed wires. The wire can be traveled along by the
observer, who adjusts its speed so as to keep the star continually
bisected by the wire. As the wire moves along, contacts are auto-
matically made in certain positions, sending signals which are re-
corded on the chronograph. In order to relieve the observer of some
of the strain of maintaining a uniform motion of the wire, it is now
common to drive the wire mechanically at the speed appropriate to the
motion of the star, using an electric motor with some form of con-
tinuously variable gearing. With this method of observing, the
personal equations of different observers are very small, usually not

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—SPENCER JONES 193

more than two or three hundredths of a second; it is for this reason
that this form of micrometer is called the “impersonal”? micrometer.
Small though these residual personal equations are, they remain
remarkably constant and can be determined by personal equation
machines. They seem to arise from two causes: there is “bisection
error,” an observer systematically bisecting an image to the right or
to the left of its center; this error changes sign at the zenith with
instruments in which the observer changes the direction in which he
faces, according to whether he is observing a north or a south star;
there is also “‘following error,” an observer systematically setting the
wire in front of or behind the center of a moving image. This error
does not change sign at the zenith.

If the pivots are not exactly cylindrical, the telescope will be
twisted out of the meridian by an amount varying with its position.
The figures of the pivots must therefore be determined with great
accuracy and appropriate corrections applied to the observed times of
transit. The figures of the pivots must be determined at intervals,
as they may change slowly in the course of use through wear. Other
variable errors can be introduced through slight mechanical imperfec-
tions in the telescope; if there is the slightest play in the eyepiece
micrometer or in the objective, errors will be introduced which will
vary with the position of the telescope.

When all the possible sources of error which can affect observations
with a transit instrument are borne in mind, it is rather surprising
that the observations are as accurate as they are. The probable error
of a single time determination is usually about two-hundredths of a
second. This was quite accurate enough before the era of clocks of
high precision and before there were any practical requirements for
very precise time. The scatter of the observations is, however, incon-
veniently large for the adequate control of the performance of the
modern quartz-crystal clock. For these reasons the conventional
transit instrument is likely to be gradually replaced for the purpose
of time determination by some other type of instrument. Several
modifications of the transit instrument have been considered which
eliminate or minimize some of its disadvantages. The most accurate
results are given, however, by an entirely different instrument known
as the photographic zenith tube. It consists of a fixed vertical telescope
pointing to the zenith, which has a mercury horizon at the bottom of
its tube, whose purpose is to reflect the light from a star to a focus in
the plane of the second principal point of the objective. The funda-
mental principle of the instrument was due to Sir George Airy, who
first used it for the reflex zenith tube at Greenwich: when the light is
brought to a focus accurately in the plane of the second principal
point of the objective, the results are unaffected by tilt of the telescope.
The troublesome error of level is therefore immaterial, while any error

194. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

of azimuth does not affect observations made in the zenith. The
telescope is constructed so that the objective and the plate holder can
be rotated through 180°, the observations being made photographically
in order to eliminate personal equations and to give greater accuracy.
Suppose two exposures are given on a star at times which are sym-
metrical about the time of meridian transit, the objective and the
photographic plate being rotated through 180° between them. The
two images will lie on a line exactly parallel to the meridian. If,
however, the two times of exposure are not exactly symmetrical, the
images will be slightly staggered; by measuring the staggering and
knowing the clock times of the two exposures, the clock time of
meridian transit can be inferred.

In practice an exposure of finite length is required to give a
measurable image on the plate. During this exposure the plate holder
is traveled along at the speed appropriate to the motion of the star,
signals being sent to the chronograph at certain definite positions of
the plate holder. After reversal the plate carriage retraces its path,
and signals are sent during the course of the second exposure at the
same positions.

With this design of instrument, collimation error does not enter,
there are no pivot errors to be considered, and the various sources of
error inherent in a movable instrument are avoided. At the Naval
Observatory, Washington, a photographic zenith tube, designed and
used by F. E. Ross originally for the determination of the variations
of latitude, has been used for some years for the determination of time.
An instrument on the same general principle, but differing materially
in details of design, is in an advanced stage of construction for the
Royal Greenwich Observatory. The errors of time determination
should not exceed 2 or 3 milliseconds, which will permit a tight control
of the performance of the observatory clocks.

For the purpose of time determination it is necessary to assume
positions for the stars which are observed. These positions will have
random errors, whose effects can be reduced by observing sufficient
stars. But they may also be affected by systematic errors; if, for
instance, the errors vary with right ascension they will introduce a
spurious systematic variation in the derived clock error through the
year. For the purpose of time determinations and in order that the
times determined at different observatories can be directly compared,
there is an international agreement to use the positions of the stars
given in the fundamental star catalog known as the FK3. These
are bright stars, whereas with the photographic zenith tube, inasmuch
as observations are restricted to a narrow belt at the zenith, it is
necessary to use fainter stars. Their positions must therefore be
determined by transit circle observations and tied on to the FK3
system, The photographic observations will in course of time provide

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—SPENCER JONES 195

some measure of control over the periodic errors in right ascension of
the FK3 system itself.

Until about 25 years ago, pendulum clocks of the regulator type
were used as the standard clocks in observatories. A considerable
improvement in precision was brought about by the invention of the
free-pendulum clock. In an ordinary pendulum clock the timekeeping
is impaired by the variable friction involved in driving a train of
wheels to move the hands and record the actual time on a dial. An
appreciably higher accuracy is to be expected if the pendulum is
allowed to swing freely, except when it receives periodically impulses
to maintain its swing, and is thereby relieved from all extraneous
work. To achieve this had been the aim of horologists for many
years, but although many attempts were made it was not really
successfully accomplished until the invention by W. H. Shortt of his
free-pendulum clock. The master pendulum is enclosed in an airtight
case, in which the air pressure is reduced to about 1 inch of mercury
and which is maintained at constant temperature and swings freely,
except for small impulses, given at half-minute intervals, to main-
tain the amplitude at a nearly constant value. The slave clock
is a normal synchronome electric clock, which is adjusted when swing-
ing as an independent clock to lose about 6 seconds a day. The
synchronizing action required from the master free pendulum is there-
fore a one-way action—always an accelerating action. The slave
pendulum itself releases electrically the impulsing lever of the free
pendulum, which falls when the free pendulum is at the midpoint of
its swing. The impulse arm falls on the top of a small pivoted wheel,
mounted on the free pendulum; this being a dead point, and the
impulse not commencing to be given until the pendulum swings
outward from the central position, the amount of the impulse does
not depend upon any slight variation in the synchronization between
the two pendulums which may occur.

The synchronization of the slave pendulum is effected by means of a
light flexible spring carried on it. The impulse arm of the free
pendulum, after it has fallen clear of the pendulum, actuates a device
which closes an electric circuit and sends a current through a small
electromagnet adjacent to the slave pendulum. If the slave clock has
dropped sufficiently behind the master, the armature of this electro-
magnet will, when the electromagnet is excited, engage the bent end of
the light spring on the slave pendulum. The end of the spring is then
held fixed and, as the pendulum swings, the spring is flexed and the
pendulum is accelerated; if, on the other hand, the slave pendulum is
closely in phase with the master, the end of the spring passes under
the armature before the electromagnet is excited, and nothing happens.
The length and strength of the spring are so adjusted that when the
synchronizing action occurs the slave pendulum is accelerated by

196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

%4o second. As the natural losing rate of the slave clock, 6 seconds
a day, is equivalent to go second per minute, the synchronizer, which
is actuated each half minute, should hit and miss alternately. For
this reason it is called the ‘‘hit-and-miss” synchronizer.

The first experimental Shortt free-pendulum clock was installed at
the Edinburgh Observatory in 1921. It at once proved to be such an
improvement upon previous pendulum clocks that two were installed
at the Greenwich Observatory in 1923 and others in subsequent years.
It was the excellent performance given by these clocks that made it
necessary for astronomers for the first time to introduce the conception
of mean sidereal time. Previously true sidereal time had been uni-
versally used, as clocks were not good enough to be able to show up the
small effects due to the short-period terms in nutation. The free-
pendulum type of clock is capable of an accuracy of about one-
hundredth of a second a day. Detailed investigation of their
performance has shown, however, that such clocks are liable to
frequent small erratic changes of rate, of the order of about 3 milli-
seconds a day. Small though such changes are, they cause, by
integration, an irregular wandering of the clock. For sending out
time signals, it is always necessary to extrapolate beyond the latest
time determination; these erratic changes of rate restrict the accuracy
with which the error of the clock can be extrapolated. It can, on
occasion, happen that 2 weeks or more may elapse without any check
on the performance of the clock being possible and the transmitted
time signals may consequently be appreciably in error. Moreover,
because of the errors of observation, there is a natural scatter in the
derived errors of the clock. In interpolating between the observed
errors there is no means of distinguishing between scatter due to errors
of observation and scatter due to the irregular wandering of the clock.
It is possible, of course, to attempt to reduce the effects of the
wandering by using the mean of several clocks. Nevertheless, very
high accuracy cannot be obtained, because residual effects due to the
irregularities are always present.

A new standard of accuracy has been provided in recent years by
the use of an oscillating quartz crystal, developed originally to serve
as a precision standard of frequency. The quartz clock is based upon
the piezoelectric property of quartz. If a plate of quartz is com-
pressed, the two opposite faces become electrically charged, one
positively and the other negatively. Conversely, if two opposite
faces are given positive and negative charges respectively, the piece
of quartz experiences a mechanical contraction or expansion. By
rapidly alternating the electric charges, the quartz can be maintained
in mechanical vibration. In the quartz clock an oscillating electrical
circuit is used, the dimensions of the crystal being adjusted so that its

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—SPENCER JONES 197

natural resonance frequency is equal to the frequency of the oscillating
circuit. Under these conditions a strong vibration is set up and the
quartz crystal takes control and locks the frequency of the oscillating
electrical circuit to its own resonance frequency. Quartz is a very
stable substance and, provided it is maintained at a very uniform
temperature and the drive circuit is properly designed, the frequency
remains constant to a high degree of accuracy. It is usual for the
crystal to be cut to give a frequency of 100,000 cycles a mean time
second, the dimensions of the quartz then being conveniently small.
This frequency is divided down in steps electronically, either by the
use of multivibrators or by frequency subdivision until an output
with a frequency of 1,000 cycles a second is obtained. The output
of this frequency is used to drive a phonic motor, from which time
signals can be obtained at any desired intervals.

Such clocks have many advantages over pendulum clocks. They
have proved to have very high short-period stability. Their erratic
changes of rate are less than half a millisecond a day, and the clocks
themselves can be relied upon to about 1 millisecond a day. For
extrapolating between scattered time determinations they are there-
fore much superior to pendulum clocks. They have, moreover, the
advantage of the great flexibility inherent in dealing with 100,000
vibrations a second instead of only a single one. Electronic methods
can be used for quickly and accurately determining the relative errors
and rates of the clocks. For such purposes at Greenwich, decimal
counter chronometers are used. This device consists of a scale-of-ten
counter, and is actuated by the 100,000-cycle output per second from
one of the quartz crystals. When it is switched on, it will start
counting these vibrations, recording the count on five decade dials,
reading, respectively, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, ten-
thousandths, and hundred-thousandths of a second. To compare
two quartz clocks, a seconds signal from the phonic motor driven by
the one clock is used to start the count and a signal from the second
clock to stop it. The time difference between the two clocks, accurate
to a hundred-thousandth of a second, is thus obtained in a fraction of a
second. As a check, the second clock can be used to start the count
and the first clock to stop it. The difference in frequency of the two
clocks is obtained by feeding the 100,000 ¢. p. s. outputs from the two
clocks into a comparator, so that they beat against one another, and
timing the beats. It is possible to obtain an accuracy of one part in
10”° in the measurement of the frequency difference.

At Greenwich, the clocks are used in groups of three, one phonic
motor being provided for each group of three clocks. One of the
clocks is selected to drive the phonic motor, but regular comparisons
are made between each pair of clocks in the group. Automatic beat

198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

counters record the integrated time difference between each pair,
A-B, B-C, C-A, the third comparison providing a check on the
other two.

A further convenience of the quartz clocks is that it is not necessary
to maintain separate mean-time and sidereal-time clocks as it is
with pendulum clocks. By means of suitable gearing, it is possible
to take sidereal seconds direct from the phonic motor which gives
also mean time seconds. The ratio of the mean time second to the
sidereal time second is 1.002 737 909 293. This ratio can be closely
represented by a gearing of 119/114 multipled by 317/330, which is
only 4 parts in 10° small. These sidereal second signals are used for
recording on the chronograph during the time determinations. When
the rate of the clock relative to these signals has been derived it is a
simple matter to infer its rate relative to true mean time seconds.
The small error in the conversion from mean time to sidereal time is,
of course, eliminated.

For short-period prediction quartz clocks leave little to be desired.
They have not as yet, however, reached the stage at which long-period
prediction has the accuracy that is desirable. The difficulty arises
from a slow drift in frequency to which they are all liable. The crystal,
after cutting, appears to go through a slow ageing process; the drift
in frequency is rather rapid at first, but progressively diminishes
though it sems never to cease altogether. Iffor any reason the crystal
should stop, through a tube or resistor giving out, it will not, when
restarted, follow along its previous ageing curve; a new ageing cycle
sets in. Any small disturbance, such as a slight temperature change,
can alter the frequency drift somewhat. The effect of the frequency
drift on the error of the clock increases with the square of the time
so that, even though the drift may be quite small, its effects will
become important with lapse of time. With the present scatter in
the actual time determinations, several months’ observations are
needed to give a sufficiently accurate derivation of the frequency
drift, but there is always the uncertainty whether during this period
some small disturbance may not have caused the rate of drift to change
slightly.

Moreover there are extraneous effects which can complicate the
determination. During a period of several months, there will be a
wide range in the right ascensions of the stars which are used for the
time determinations. If there are periodic errors in the fundamental
system of star places, a spurious factor will have entered into the
determination of the frequency drift. The motions of the earth’s
poles cause further complications. The poles have an irregular mo-
tion, which is roughly circular, but with a variable radius. The
extreme departures of the true poles from their mean positions are
about 30 feet. ‘The movement of the pole along the meridian causes

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—SPENCER JONES 199

a variation in latitude, which can be observed with a zenith tele-
scope. The movement in the perpendicular direction causes a dis-
placement of the meridian. The motion of the pole has two main
components, with periods of a year and of about 14 months respec-
tively. As a consequence of this motion, it would be found that if we
had a perfect clock, with no rate at all, and observations which were
entirely free from error, the clock would appear to have a slightly
variable rate. This apparent variation of rate will affect the deter-
mination of the frequency drift and give a spurious value.

It is not possible at an observatory to measure the component of
the polar motion at right angles to the meridian. At Greenwich
an approximate compensation for the motion is made through the
cooperation of the Naval Observatory, Washington, which sends
regularly to Greenwich the observed movement of the pole along the
meridian of Washington. If Washington were 90° in longitude west
of Greenwich, the displacement along the meridian of Washington
would also be the displacement at right angles to the meridian of
Greenwich. But the longitude of Washington is only 77° west of
Greenwich. However, the use of the Washington latitude-variation
data does enable the greater part of the polar-motion effect to be elim-
inated from the Greenwich clock curves and it has been noticeable
that the inferred performance of the clocks has thereby been improved.

The development of an atomic or molecular clock, in which the
frequency of some selected atomic or molecular vibration will be
subdivided to give a frequency closely equal to that of an oscillating
quartz crystal and used to lock the vibrations of the crystal, is
already foreshadowed by the work in progress at the National Bureau
of Standards, Washington, in the development of an ammonia clock,
in which the frequency of one particular mode of vibration of the
ammonia molecule is used as the control. This work is as yet in its
early stages and has not gone beyond the point of showing that the
control of a quartz crystal in the way suggested is practicable. When
the clock has been developed to the stage at which the accurate con-
trol of a precision quartz clock becomes possible, the crystal will be
prevented from drifting in frequency. ‘The clock error curve over a
long period of time should then be represented by a straight line.
Departures from a straight line could be attributed to periodic errors
in the star places, to the polar motion, or to irregularities in the
rate of rotation of the earth itself. Much more accurate long-term
prediction would become possible, with a considerable gain in the
accuracy of timekeeping.

It has been well established that the length of the day is subject
to small fluctuations. It has long been known that there are discord-
ances between the observed and the tabular positions of the moon
which are not attributable to imperfections in the theory of the

866591—50-——14

200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

motion of the moon. In the development of the theory, the gravita-
tional effects which have been neglected are far too small to amount
to anything like the discordances which are observed. In more
recent years it has been proved that there are similar fluctuations in
the motions of Mercury, Venus, and the sun; but for these bodies
the effects are much smaller than for the moon because their mean
motions are much less rapid. It was the comparative smallness of
the effects for these bodies which made their detection difficult. So
there are, in effect, four clocks which agree together and one clock,
our earth, which differs from the other four. The natural conclusion
is that it is the earth which is at fault and that the length of the day,
which has been adopted as the unit of time and assumed to be invar-
iable, is actually subject to small variations.

The changes in the length of the day are found, from the analysis
of the observational data, to be of two different kinds. There is a
slow progressive increase in length, of the order of 1 millisecond in
the length of the day in the course of a century. This progressive
increase is caused by tidal friction, more particularly in the shallow
sea; it acts as a brake on the earth. Though so small in amount, the
effect on the mean longitudes of the moon and the planets increases
with the square of the time and is large enough to make the position
of the moon 20 centuries ago, if computed from its present motion in
longitude, very considerably in error. The effect was actually first
detected in 1679 by Hailey from the early observations of eclipses.
Superposed on the progressive increase of length there are also irregular
changes, the day sometimes increasing in length and sometimes de-
creasing; these changes cannot be attributed to tidal friction, because
frictional effects can cause only a slowing down and never a speeding
up in the earth’s rotation. These changes are due to changes in the
earth’s moment of inertia and could be accounted for quantitatively
if the earth expanded or contracted slightly by 4 or 5 inches.

There is one essential difference between the two phenomena.
A change in the moment of inertia of the earth is something that con-
cerns the earth alone. The apparent displacements of all the other
bodies are strictly proportional to their mean motions. But tidal
friction is something that concerns the earth and the moon jointly;
the total angular momentum of the earth-moon system is conserved,
but there is interaction between the earth and the moon. The appar-
ent displacements of Mercury, Venus, and the sun will again be
proportional to their mean motions but the same will not hold for
the moon; its displacement will not have the same ratio to its mean
motion. It is this difference in the case of the moon which makes it
possible to separate the two effects of tidal friction and of change
of the moment of inertia of the earth.

DETERMINATION OF PRECISE TIME—SPENCER JONES 2(1

Though the changes in the length of the day have been fully estab-
lished by these observations, the data are not sufficiently accurate to
decide whether the changes occur suddenly or whether they are spread
over a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or even over a year or two.
If they occur rather suddenly, they could be detected with ease by
quartz clocks in their present stage of development; if spread over a
few months, the larger changes could be detected, but changes of
smaller amount would be likely to escape detection. Since a few
years ago, when quartz clocks were adopted at Greenwich as the
basis for the time service, a close watch has been kept for any evidence
of a change in the earth’s rotation. Once or twice small changes
have been suspected but there has always been some factor which
has made a definite conclusion impossible—perhaps one of the clocks
has changed its rate or has stopped at the crucial time, or there has
been some uncertainty in the determination of frequency drift. The
evidence provided by the observations of occultations of stars by
the moon is that there has been no major change in the earth’s rate
of rotation since about 1918. There may possibly have been small
changes, but no definite conclusions are as yet possible.

It is not inconceivable that there may be small annual variations
in the rate of rotation of the earth. There are seasonal displacements
of matter over the earth’s surface; there is, for instance, a high-pressure
region over Siberia at one season of the year and a low-pressure region
at another season, entailing the displacement of large atmospheric
masses, with corresponding change in the moment of inertia. Such
effects would be tangled up with effects due to periodic errors in star
places and with the effects of the polar motion. Much more is likely
to be learned about these matters when the atomic clock has reached
a further stage of development, so that the frequency drift of the
quartz crystal can be eliminated. Observations with photographic
zenith telescopes should gradually smooth out any residual periodic
errors in star places, while the information they provide about the
variation of latitude will furnish basic data which can be used subse-
quently to separate polar motion effects from small variations in the
earth’s rotation. It may prove, however, that the earth itself is
rather like a pendulum clock in its behavior and that its rate of rota-
tion is liable to frequent and small irregular changes, so that we can
at present merely observe their integrated effect.

The question may arise in the near future how the unit of time
should be defined. Clocks are now at a stage when their stability
for short periods is of a higher accuracy than the earth’s rotation
itself. The earth, however, has the advantage over any clock that
it has no liability to a stoppage. It may be possible to develop
atomic clocks to a stage at which they can be run for several years

202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

without stopping and to maintain accurate time; with a battery of
such clocks, all controlled by the same atomic vibration, it would be
possible to bridge over the stoppage of any single clock and thereby
to maintain an accurate standard of time more or less indefinitely.
There will be definite objections to using as the fundamental unit of
time a unit that is known to be variable. A new unit should be
absolutely invariable. A clock based fundamentally upon a length
which is controlled by an atomic wave length, and upon the velocity
of light, for instance, seems theoretically ideal.

Note ‘ADDED IN PROOF.—Since the lecture was delivered, investi-
gations at the Greenwich Observatory have established the existence
of a fairly regular annual variation in the rate of rotation of the
earth. Relative to uniform time the earth gets behind by about 60
milliseconds in May-June and ahead by a similar amount in Novem-
ber. The corresponding variations in the length of the day amount
to somewhat more than 1 millisecond a day on either side of the
mean value. H.S. J.

THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES OF PHYSICS!

By Cart D. ANDERSON
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

The idea of elementary particles of matter, of small, discrete, in-
divisible particles out of which all matter in the universe is consti-
tuted, is as old as recorded history. The Greeks in their philosophical
speculations discussed at length the question of the ultimate nature of
matter. They realized that there were only two possible choices open
to them; either matter must be thought capable of being divided into
smaller and smaller units without end, or else it must consist of small
units which are themselves wholly indivisible. Many of the Greek
philosophers experienced a philosophical difficulty in trying to conceive
of infinite divisibility, whereas others found it equally difficult to think
of a particle as being truly indivisible. The difficulty is closely akin to
that which one experiences when contemplating the limits of the uni-
verse, and trying to decide in his own mind whether it pleases him
more to think of the universe as unbounded and extending to infinity,
or to imagine a finite universe with definite bounds beyond which there
is nothing, not even space. The idea of the existence of indivisible ma-
terial particles, however, seems to have had more appeal to the Greeks,
and the atomic hypothesis was expounded and developed in the fifth
century B. C., chiefly by Thales, Leucippus, and his distinguished
pupil, Democritus, until in many respects it resembled the views which
are held today.

The views of Democritus were prominent for 500 years but began
to wane after the beginning of the Christian Era and by about A.D.
200 had almost wholly disappeared from European philosophical
thought. The idea of material atoms did not really appear again in
Europe until about the middle of the seventeenth century, a time
marking the beginning of the great era of scientific experimentation
which has continued with an ever increasing tempo up to the present.

During this period, through scientific research based on experimen-
tation, the atomic theory of matter slowly developed. Highlights in

1 Based on material presented in the Sigma Xi Annual Address, A. A. A. S. Centennial, Washington,

September 1948. Reprinted from American Scientist, vol. 17, No. 2, April 1949, by permission from The
Society of the Sigma Xi.

203

204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

this development were the Laws of Chemical Proportion as discovered
and enunciated by Dalton near the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury, and later the successes of the Kinetic Theory of Gases. By the
beginning of the twentieth century, the concept of the chemical atom
had received general acceptance as a theory based on scientific experi-
mentation. The idea of atoms had thus been removed from the realm
of philosophical speculation and had become a proved scientific fact.
According to this picture all matter depending upon its nature consists
of a mixture of varying numbers of the ninety-odd different chemical
atoms. The size and the mass and other properties of most of the
chemical atoms had been determined although not with great preci-
sion.
DISCOVERY OF FIRST ELEMENTARY PARTICLES

During the time when the chemical atom was being firmly estab-
lished as a scientific fact, other scientific investigations were succeed-
ing in proving the existence of at least one particle of matter which
was more elementary in character than the chemical atoms. In the
decade from 1890 to 1900 the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity,
and studies of the phenomena associated with the discharge of elec-
tricity through gases, soon proved the existence of the electron and
showed that the atoms of chemistry must all be considered as complex
structures, structures which are themselves built up of particles of a
more elementary character.

The electron was distinguished from the other particles previously
studied by physicists and chemists in one very important respect. It
was established as a unique particle in the sense that all electrons
were found to be identical with one another, no matter from what form
of matter they were derived. For the first time then the presence of
a particle truly elementary in character was revealed to science. It
was found always to carry a negative electric charge and to have a
mass about 2,000 times less than the hydrogen atom, the simplest
and least massive of all the chemical atoms. The electron immedi-
ately took its place as one of the elementary particles common to all
forms of matter.

The following 30 years, from 1900 to 1930, were extremely fruitful
in furthering our knowledge of the properties of the chemical atoms.
The work of Moseley showed that chemical atoms were members of
a family, all of them being related to one another in a perfectly definite
and simple way. In 1911 the experimental genius of Rutherford in
Cambridge, England, proved the existence of the atomic nucleus, and
in 1919 he succeeded for the first time in producing an atom of oxygen
from the disruption of the nucleus of an atom of nitrogen. Thus in
1919 the will of man for the first time was able to cause the disinte-
gration of an ordinarily stable element, with the accompanying release

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES OF PHYSICS—ANDERSON 205

of nuclear energy. These and other investigations all combined to
prove that the proton, the nucleus of the simplest of all the chemical
atoms, hydrogen, is a constituent of all other chemical atoms, and
hence is in fact one of the elementary particles of matter.

In 1930, then, the physicist had at his disposal two elementary ma-
terial particles, the electron and the protron, in terms of which to try
to understand the structure of all matter. In this undertaking the
physicist realized many great successes, but in many instances his
efforts resulted in sharp failures. Apparently the world was not to
be understood in terms as simple as these.

In general the physicist was successful in understanding those phe-
nomena which we may classify, for want of a better term, as extra-
nuclear phenomena, and he was unsuccessful in understanding those
phenomena which we may classify as nuclear phenomena. By extra-
nuclear phenomena we mean those processes in which the electrons
which form the outer shells of the atom are the active participating
agents; in this type of phenomena the central core of the atom, or the
nucleus, is present but remains undisturbed and does not participate
actively. Nuclear phenomena, on the other hand, are those in which
the nucleus is the active participant.

Extranuclear phenomena and nuclear phenomena have a great
many distinguishing characteristics. One of the most interesting and
important of these distinguishing characteristics is concerned with the
level of energies involved. Extranuclear phenomena involve very low
energies as compared with nuclear phenomena. The physicist uses the
term electron volt as a measure of energy. The energies of extranuclear
phenomena are found usually to range from a fraction of one electron
volt to several electron volts, whereas nuclear phenomena are found
usually to correspond to several millions of electron volts.

In our environment almost every phenomenon in nature represents
an extranuclear phenomenon: for example, the burning of coal, the
growth of plants, the generation of electric power by conventional
means, the fermentation of wine, the explosion of dynamite, and others
in uncountable numbers. Nuclear phenomena are not so common-
place, but a few examples may be mentioned: for example, the gen-
eration of the sun’s heat, the decay of radium, the manufacture of plu-
tonium, the absorption of cosmic rays in the earth’s atmosphere, the
explosion of an atom bomb.

The concept of energy has been introduced here because of the great
importance that this concept has in the discussion of any physical phe-
nomenon. I have stated that extranuclear phenomena represent low-
energy phenomena and nuclear phenomena represent high-energy
phenomena. To be more accurate I should have said that in extra-
nuclear phenomena we find low concentrations of energy; that is, the
energy changes that one associates with a single elementary particle

206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

are low in extranuclear phenomena and high in the case of nuclear
phenomena. Moreover, physicists for the past several years have been
studying certain phenomena which represent energy concentrations
many thousands of times greater than those represented even by
nuclear phenomena. This range of energies has been called the range
of ludicrously high energies. So far the only opportunity the physicist
has had to study phenomena in the range of ludicrously high energies
is in connection with observations associated with cosmic rays, and we
shall see in a moment that important knowledge of the elementary
particles of matter has come from studies of phenomena in the range
of ludicrously high energies.

As stated previously, by 1930 two elementary particles of matter
were known to the physicist, the electron which always occurred with
a negative electric charge and the proton which always occurred with
a positive charge. When considered in a manner consistent with the
theoretical concepts as they had been developed up to that time in
terms of the quantum mechanics, the negative electron and the positive
proton served quite successfully as building blocks in terms of which
to understand the structure of atoms so far as the extranuclear phe-
nomena were concerned. But when attempts were made to picture the
structure of the nuclei of the various chemical atoms, or to understand
nuclear phenomena, the attempts usually ended in failure.

Then suddenly in 1932 two new elementary particles were dis-
covered: the neutron and the positive electron, or positron. The known
elementary particles were therefore doubled in number, increasing from
two to four, and providing the physicist with more material with which
to work.

The discovery of the neutron, which came as a result of experiments
performed in Germany, in France, and in England, was immediately
welcomed, for now neutrons together with protons could serve as the
building stones for the various types of atomic nuclei. One very grave
and fundamental problem which formerly had been present was now
removed immediately, for it was no longer necessary to assume the
existence of electrons inside the nucleus, a concept which always had
been accompanied by serious theoretical difficulties.

The discovery of the positive electron, or positron, came during a
series of experiments being performed for the purpose of measuring
the energies of the particles produced by cosmic rays. The discovery
of the positron was an unexpected discovery. This statement is true
even though, about 2 years before, a British physicist, Dirac, had an-
nounced a new theory which actually predicted the existence of posi-
trons. This new feature of physical theory was not welcomed by
physicists, however; it was on the contrary considered to be an un-
fortunate defect in the theory, and many attempts, by Dirac himself

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES OF PHYSICS—ANDERSON 207

and others, were made to remove it, although all were unsuccessful.
If even one physicist in the world had taken the theory of Dirac
seriously, he would have had an admirable guide leading directly to
the discovery of the positron. Had this happened, the positron
would almost certainly have been discovered by 1930 rather than in
1932. However, after the positron was shown actually to exist, then
it was a very short time indeed until many of its properties were
understood in terms of the Dirac theory.

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND RADIATION

The discovery of the positron represented the first instance in which
it was recognized that an elementary particle of matter may have only
a transitory existence. In ordinary matter, for example, the average
life span of a positron is only a few billionths of a second, for when
a positron and a negative electron come close to one another they
mutually annihilate one another—the two particles disappear and in
their place one finds only radiation. The whole of the material sub-
stance constituting the particles is spontaneously transformed into
radiant energy. Measurements show that this process is quantita-
tively in accord with the now famous Einstein equation H=mc?, which
relates mass and energy. ‘The process which is the inverse of the
annihilation of material particles also occurs, namely, the production
of particles out of radiation. If radiation of sufficiently high energy
is passed through matter, electrons and positrons are generated. In
this process the material substance of the two particles is actually
created out of the energy represented by the radiation, and again in
conformity with the Einstein equation H=me’.

In the light of these happenings one must change basically his con-
cept of the elementary particles of matter; these particles are no longer
to be thought of as permanent objects which always preserve their
identity, and which serve only as building blocks of matter by joining
together in groups to form the more complex chemical atoms. One
must recognize instead the possibility of the creation of material
particles out of radiation, and the annihilation of material particles
through the production of radiation. Such a possibility as this, of
course, was completely inconceivable to the Greeks in their long
philosophical discussion on the indivisibility of matter versus the
divisibility of matter.

A further step toward a realization of the great complexity inherent
in the relationships among the elementary particles of matter came in
1935 with the discovery of the positive and negative mesotrons, or
positive and negative mesons as they are now often called. This dis-
covery was also made in investigations of the high-energy phenomena
occurring when cosmic rays are absorbed in their passage through
matter.

208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The mesotron is a particle some 200 times as massive as an electron,
and therefore about one-tenth as massive as either a proton or neutron.
It occurs with both positive and negative electric charge. The dis-
covery of the mesotron did not come quickly and accidentally as was
the case with the positron and the neutron. It came only after the
completion of a sustained series of observations, covering a period of
4 years, which were designed to remove certain inconsistencies always
present when we attempted to understand certain ‘cosmic-ray phe-
nomena in terms of the elementary particles then known. These
inconsistencies were removed in terms of the existence of the mesotron,
whose discovery was publicly announced in 1936.

Unlike the neutron, the mesotron was not a particle to be imme-
diately welcomed by the physicist. The physicist makes his advances
by simplifying his understanding of nature; hence, a physical world
which could be explained in terms of only one or two distinct elemen-
tary particles would be most to his liking. The discovery of the
mesotron did not introduce a simplification; rather it complicated the
situation for it increased the number of material elementary particles
from four to six. Apparently the Creator does not favor a world of
too great simplicity.

Before the discovery of the mesotron a Japanese physicist, Yukawa,
had postulated on theoretical grounds the possible existence of parti-
cles of a mass intermediate between a proton and an electron. His
theory, however, was not generally known to physicists at that time,
and did not have any part at all in the discovery of the mesotron.
Had this theory been generally known it is still doubtful if it would
have affected the course of cosmic-ray research, since, unlike the
Dirac theory of the positron, it would not have served as so useful a
guide in pointing out the most fruitful directions for the research to
follow.

Like the positron the mesotron has a very short life expectancy.
In free space, both positive and negative mesotrons have a normal life
span of just over two-millionths of a second, after which time they
spontaneously disintegrate. Very recent observations have shown
that in all probability the spontaneous disintegration of a mesotron
results in the simultaneous production of an electron and two neutrinos.
Neutrinos are the interesting elementary particles which had pre-
viously been invented in order to balance energy and momentum in
the process in which an electron is produced when a radioactive nucleus
decays. A similar situation exists in the case of the decay of a
mesotron except that here, because the mesotron disappears entirely,
it is necessary to postulate the emission of two neutrinos in order to
balance energy and momentum.

In free space mesotrons spontaneously decay after about two-
millionths of a second. In the presence of matter, a mesotron of

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES OF PHYSICS—ANDERSON 209

negative charge may terminate its existence in an even shorter time.
It does this by entering an atomic nucleus or, in the language of the
physicist, by undergoing nuclear capture.

The mesotrons observed in cosmic rays are produced by the very
high energy particles of the primary cosmic-ray beam as it comes into
the earth from outer space and plunges through the earth’s atmos-
phere. In a manner somewhat analogous to the creation of positrons
and electrons, the mesotrons are born out of the tremendous energies
carried by the primary cosmic-ray beam.

There are many interesting phenomena involved in the birth and
death of mesotrons and in the violent nuclear processes which accom-
pany these phenomena, but it will not be possible to discuss them here.
However, I should like to mention in this connection two important
advances which have been made within the last 2 years.

RECENT ADVANCES IN NUCLEAR RESEARCH

One of these is the work under way in Bristol, England, by Powell
and his coworkers, which has consisted of a detailed analysis of the
tracks produced by mesotrons in the emulsions of photographic plates.
These investigators have discovered a mesotron of a new type which is
heavier than the ordinary mesotron. It is about 285 times as massive
as an electron, whereas the ordinary mesotron is about 215 times as
heavy. The heavy mesotron has only a very short life; it lives only
about one one-hundredth as long as the light mesotron, after which
time it disintegrates and produces a light-weight mesotron and another
particle which is probably a neutrino. The negatively charged heavy-
weight mesotron may also directly enter an atomic nucleus and give
rise to a violent nuclear disruption.

Although both the newly discovered heavy mesotrons and the light
mesotrons discovered in 1936 have some properties in common—e. g.,
both types of particles occur with positive and negative charges, both
have short lives, and both are found in cosmic rays—nevertheless in
some very fundamental respects they are entirely different types of
elementary particles. The heavy mesotron interacts very strongly
with atomic nuclei, but the light mesotron interacts only very weakly
with atomic nuclei. Another difference lies in the respective values of
that important property known as the spin or angular momentum;
recent researches indicate that the heavy mesotron has an integral
spin, whereas the light mesotron has a half-integral spin.

In all probability it is the heavy mesotron and not the light mesotron
which is to be identified with the particle first postulated on theoretical
grounds by Yukawa in 1934. The theory of Yukawa even in its pres-
ent state today is very primitive. However, this theory still provides
the best basic concept in terms of which to understand processes in-
volving mesotrons, and after further development in the future the

210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Yukawa theory may possibly provide an understanding in terms of
mesotron exchange forces of that all-important problem as to the
nature of the forces acting between the particles inside a nucleus. So
far no satisfactory theory has been developed in terms of which to
understand many of even the simplest phenomena involving the
nucleus. To acquire a quantitative understanding of the interactions
of the elementary particles of matter and of the fundamental nuclear
processes is one of the great tasks of theoretical physics today.

To complete our list of elementary particles we should also include
the photon. This particle, together with the neutrino as noted above,
is, however, in a somewhat different category from the other types
of particles. The photon is not a material particle, in the sense that
it cannot be identified with any particle which can exist at rest and
have associated with it a finite amount of ponderable material sub-
stance. Photons are to be identified only with radiation or radiant
energy. ‘The neutrino must also be placed in a special category, since
it cannot have associated with it an appreciable amount of ponderable
material substance if any at all, and since it has never been directly
observed.

Tn all, then, the physicist at the present time recognizes at least 10
distinct elementary particles of matter. Whether this list is complete
or not no one can say with certainty. The indications are that the
list is not complete, for evidence seems to be rapidly accumulating for
the existence of at least one additional elementary particle. This
particle is found in cosmic rays and appears to have a mass some 1,000
times the mass of the electron. But what its properties are and how
it is related to the light and heavy mesotrons and to the other elemen-
tary particles of matter is a subject which must await the results of
further observations.

The thought of probable further additions to the list of elementary
particles of matter suggests a question which is quite apart from
physics and has to do simply with the naming of new particles. We
have here actually an interesting example of the great difficulties that
physicists sometimes have merely in assigning labels or names to the
various concepts which their experience or their theories have brought
forth. It is usually necessary to choose some sort of name for these
concepts, whether they be elementary particles of matter or something
else, at a time before all the facts regarding them are known. In 1937
the term mesotron was suggested to designate the new particle of
intermediate mass discovered in the cosmic rays in 1936. Since then
this term has often been contracted to meson and has been so em-
ployed. Since the discovery of the new particle whose mass is greater
than the mass of the original cosmic-ray mesotron, the term mesotron
or meson has been employed to designate both types of particles and
the Greek-letter prefixes 7 and yp used to differentiate between them.

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES OF PHYSICS—ANDERSON 911

Thus the term r-mesotron or r-meson designates the heavier particle
and y-mesotron or p-meson designates the lighter particle. This
nomenclature seemed satisfactory for a time until continued experi-
mentation began to show more and more clearly the important basic
differences between the two types of particles. It is beginning to be
quite apparent now that the properties of these two types of particles
are such that they will not naturally fall into the same classification.
Thus the use of a common generic term, such as mesotron or meson,
to designate both these types of particles may in the future prove to
be quite inconvenient and illogical. Just what should be done with
respect to nomenclature at this time is not clear, but it is a matter
which should receive very serious consideration, especially in view
of the apparent entry of still another new elementary particle into
the fold.

Another important advance that I want to mention is the recent
success in producing mesotrons in the large cyclotron on the University
of California campus at Berkeley. This represents the first time that
it has been possible by artificial or laboratory methods to imbue a
single particle of matter with an energy sufficiently high to make pos-
sible the creation of mesotrons. This they have succeeded in doing
in Berkeley with their beam of a-particles, or helium nuclei, which
have been accelerated to an energy of 400 million electron volts.
They observed the production of both the heavy and light mesotrons,
and all indications are that the mesotrons thus produced are identical
with those previously observed among the particles produced by
the cosmic rays.

Now in the design stage are other particle-accelerating machines
which will yield particle energies several times the 400 million electron
volts so far achieved in the Berkeley cyclotron. When these machines
are in operation, working at energies up to 6 or 7 billion electron volts,
we can expect to learn much more about mesotrons and the other ele-
mentary particles of matter. Moreover, we must expect that a con-
tinuation of research in cosmic rays will also extend our knowledge
in this field, since in the cosmic rays particles are available for study
whose energies are even 10 to 100,000 times greater than those to be
expected from any of the accelerators that are being planned.

In conclusion I should like to indicate the possible significance of
these new discoveries to science and to the world at large.

In this discussion I have classified physical phenomena, according
to the energy associated with them, into three categories: (1) low-
energy or extranuclear phenomena, (2) high-energy or nuclear phe-
nomena, and (3) extremely high-energy or what we might call, for
want of a better name, elementary-particle phenomena. Knowledge
of the first of these, low-energy or extranuclear phenomena, has already
profoundly affected the life of nearly every human being on earth.

2A ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The industrial revolution, our mechanized civilization, the shrink-
ing of the world through advances in communication and transporta-
tion have all come as a direct application of our knowledge of low-
energy or extranuclear phenomena. Indirectly it has been responsible
for the political and economic organization of the whole earth. Our
present age might well be classified as an extranuclear age.

Since the explosion of the atomic bomb, and the achievement of the
release of nuclear energy on a large scale, it seems rather clear that
we are now entering a new period in which nuclear phenomena are
destined to have an important part in shaping the world, at least
politically if not economically, in the very near future. Just how
great will be the influence on the world of our knowledge of nuclear
phenomena no one can say.

It is only 50 years since our direct knowledge of the electron was
not much more than a faint green glow in a glass tube—and now no
one would deny that our knowledge of the properties of the electron
has had an effect of profound importance in shaping our civilization.
It is also only about 50 years since the world’s knowledge of nuclear
phenomena consisted of nothing more than the thoughts passing
through the mind of Becquerel as he pondered a darkened area on a
photographic plate. At present our knowledge of all these fields is
incomplete, but particularly is this true of nuclear phenomena, and
most particularly true of high-energy phenomena or the phenomena
of the elementary particles.

So far, the world’s knowledge of the phenomena of high energies
or the interactions between the elementary particles is represented by
nothing more than a few printed pages in the scientific journals, by
discussions among physicists, or perhaps by an occasional lecture.
But we can look forward with anticipation and even excitement to
the new discoveries which are surely to come as studies are carried
forward of elementary particles and very high-energy processes. New
phenomena of great beauty, extreme complexity, and novelty are
certain to be revealed and finally to be understood. Whether our
knowledge of these new phenomena will then exert a great or a small
influence on the world as a whole no one can say. I believe it would
be most unwise, however, in the light of the history of scientific
development, to expect this influence to be small.

RECENT ADVANCES IN VIRUS RESEARCH !

By WENDELL M. STANLEY
Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Virus Laboratory
University of California

Viruses are small infectious agents that can cause disease in man,
other animals, plants and bacteria. They range in size from about
10 my, a size slightly smaller than that of certain protein molecules, in
an almost continuous spectrum of sizes up to about 300 muy, a size
slightly larger than that of certain accepted living organisms. A given
virus can multiply and cause disease only when within the cells of
certain specific living organisms. No virus has been found to repro-
duce in the absence of living cells. During multiplication viruses
occasionally change or mutate to form a new strain which in turn
causes a new disease. Viruses were not discovered until 1892 when
Iwanowski demonstrated that the causative agent of the mosaic disease
of tobacco would pass through a filter that retained all known living
organisms. Six years later Beijerinck proved that this agent was
not an ordinary living organism and recognized it as a new type of
infectious disease-producing agent—namely, a virus. The same
year Loeffler and Frosch demonstrated that foot-and-mouth disease
of cattle was caused by a virus. The discovery of the first virus
disease of man, that of yellow fever, was made in 1901 by Reed and
coworkers.

Since the original discovery of the infectious, disease-producing
agent known as tobacco mosaic virus, well over 300 different viruses
capable of causing disease in man, animals, and plants have been
discovered. Among the virus-induced diseases of man are smallpox,
yellow fever, dengue fever, poliomyelitis, certain types of encephalitis,
measles, mumps, influenza, virus pneumonia, and the common cold.
Virus diseases of animals include hog cholera, cattle plague, foot-and-
mouth disease of cattle, swamp fever of horses, equine encephalitis,
rabies, fowl pox, Newcastle disease of chickens, fowl paralysis, and
certain benign as well as malignant tumors of rabbits and mice. Plant
virus diseases include tobacco mosaic, peach yellows, aster yellows,

1 Talk presented at the Medal Day Meeting at The Franklin Institute, October 20, 1948. Reprinted
by permission from Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 246, No. 6, December 1948.

213

214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

potato yellow dwarf, alfalfa mosaic, curly top of sugar beets, tomato
spotted wilt, tomato bushy stunt, corn mosaic, cucumber mosaic, and
sugarcane yellow stripe. Bacteriophages, which are agents capable
of causing the lysis of bacteria, are now regarded as viruses.

The viruses have been separated as a special group of infectious,
disease-producing agents by means of several general properties, no
one of which is, however, exclusively characteristic of viruses. Never-
theless, no great amount of difficulty has been encountered in the
segregation of the virus group. Viruses are characterized by their
small size, by their ability to reproduce or multiply when within the
living cells of a given host, by their ability to change or mutate during
multiplication, and by their inability to reproduce or grow on artificial
media or in the absence of specific living cells. The sole means of
recognizing the existence of a virus is provided by the multiplication
of the virus which is, of course, usually accompanied by manifesta-
tions of disease. Viruses spread from diseased to normal susceptible
hosts by different methods. Some are transferred by direct contact,
as when a diseased leaf is caused to rub against a healthy leaf by a
gust of wind, or when a normal person or animal comes into direct
contact with a diseased person or animal. Such viruses can usually
be spread by indirect contact through the medium of nonspecific
animate or inanimate objects. Some viruses cannot be transferred
by direct contact, but require an intermediate host such as a mosquito,
louse, or leafhopper. Im some cases a highly specific intermediate
host is necessary, and a more or less definite period of incubation
within this host may be required before the virus can be transmitted.

Because properties such as reproduction and mutation have long
been considered characteristic of living entities, viruses were, for
many years, regarded as living organisms somewhat smaller than
ordinary bacteria. However, the isolation in 1935 of tobacco mosaic
virus in the form of a crystalline nucleoprotein of unusually high
molecular weight and the subsequent isolation of still other viruses
in the form of high molecular weight nucleoproteins, some of which
were also crystallizable, cast doubt upon the validity of classifying all
viruses as organisms. With the exception of virus activity, the
properties of some of the smaller viruses are quite similar to the
properties of ordinary protein molecules, whereas at the other extreme
with respect to size, the properties of the viruses are more nearly like
those of accepted living organisms. The viruses, therefore, serve as a
bridge between the molecules of the chemist and the organisms of
the bacteriologist, and provide us with new reasons for considering
that life, as we know it, owes its existence to structure, to a specific
state of matter, and that the vital phenomenon does not occur spon-
taneously, but is possessed in varying degrees by all matter. It is

ADVANCES IN VIRUS RESEARCH—STANLEY 915

obvious that a sharp line dividing living from nonliving things can-
not be drawn and this fact serves to add fuel for discussion of the
age-old question “What is life?”

Attempts to learn something about the nature of viruses through
studies on their general properties began with Beijerinck’s work in
1898 and were continued in different laboratories for over 30 years
without too much success. Although Beijerinck and Allard made
important contributions, perhaps the most significant work was that
of Vinson and Petre during the years from 1927 to 1931 when they
showed that tobacco mosaic virus could be subjected to several kinds
of chemical manipulations without loss of virus activity. Never-
theless, in 1932 the true nature of viruses was a complete mystery. It
was not known whether they were inorganic, carbohydrate, hydro-
carbon, lipid, protein, or organismal in nature. It became necessary,
therefore, to conduct experiments which would yield information of
a definite nature. Tobacco mosaic virus was selected for these initial
experiments because it appeared to provide several unusual ad-
vantages. Large amounts of highly infectious starting material
were readily available and the virus was known to be unusually
stable. Furthermore, it was possible to titrate or measure the amount
of this virus in a preparation with ease and rapidity and with great
accuracy. During the course of a wide variety of early exploratory
experiments, it was found that the enzyme pepsin inactivated tobacco
mosaic virus only under conditions under which pepsin is active as a
proteolytic agent. It was concluded that tobacco mosaic virus was
a protein or very closely associated with a protein which could be
hydrolyzed by pepsin. With this as a lead, efforts were made to
concentrate and purify tobacco mosaic virus by means of the methods
previously employed in work with proteins. Soon, by means of a
combination of procedures involving salting-out, isoelectric precipita-
tion and adsorption on and elution from an inert material, a crystal-
line material was obtained which possessed the properties of tobacco
mosaic virus. This crystalline material was found to be a nucleo-
protein with rod-shaped molecules or particles about 280 by 15my in size
and with a molecular weight of about 40,000,000. Early skepticism
that a virus could exist in the form of a crystallizable nucleoprotein
has largely disappeared, chiefly because the results of a vast amount
of experimental work have indicated that the virus activity is a
specific property of the rod-shaped nucleoprotein.

Tobacco mosaic virus exists in the form of many strains which
appear to have arisen by a process similar to that of mutation in
higher organisms. Several of these strains have been obtained in
purified form by means of differential centrifugation. Purified prep-
arations obtained from plants diseased with different strains of

866591—50-——15

216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

tobacco mosaic virus were found to possess properties quite similar to,
yet in every case distinctive from, those of purified preparations of the
ordinary strain. Spectacular progress has been made in the establish-
ment of the nature of the chemical changes which accompany the
mutation of tobacco mosaic virus. The amino acid composition of
purified preparations of eight strains of tobacco mosaic virus and of
two types of influenza virus has been determined. The results ob-
tained with the strains of tobacco mosaic virus indicate that the
mutation of a virus can be accompanied by the elimination of one or
more amino acids from the virus structure, by the introduction of one
or more new amino acids into the virus structure, or by a change in the
concentration of one or more amino acids present in the virus structure.
This work has great significance for it has provided the first informa-
tion regarding the nature of the structural changes which accompany
mutation. Extension of this work may reveal the exact nature of the
chemical differences between virulent and avirulent virus strains, and
provide important information regarding the mutation process in
higher organisms.

Attempts have been made to change the structure of tobacco mosaic
virus by means of known chemical reactions in vitro in an effort to se-
cure chemically modified active virus. Although several types of chem-
ical derivatives of this virus were produced and were found to possess
full virus activity, the inoculation of such virus derivatives to normal
Turkish tobacco plants always resulted in the production of ordinary
tobacco mosaic virus. ‘The results indicated that the chemical deriva-
tives were converted to ordinary virus following their introduction into
the cells of the plant, or, more probably, that the infecting molecules
may not necessarily function as exact patterns for reproduction. De-
spite these results it still appears that it may be possible to make
changes in vitro similar to those which occur in nature, and thus secure
a heritable chemical modification. Obviously this is a field in which
important new results can be anticipated.

Following the isolation of tobacco mosaic virus in the form of a
crystalline nucleoprotein having individual molecules or particles about
15 by 280 my in size, studies were undertaken in several laboratories to
determine if other viruses could be obtained in purified form, mainly by
techniques involving high-speed centrifugation. Some of these puri-
fied viruses are crystallizable nucleoproteins having either rodlike or
spherical particles. Some are nucleoproteins which have, as yet, not
been crystallized. Others are large particles consisting of nucleo-
protein, lipid, and carbohydrate, and possessing, in some cases, a
degree of morphological differentiation which resembles that of organ-
isms. Still other viruses have, as yet, defied isolation and purification,
possibly, in some cases, because of extreme instability. The viruses

ADVANCES IN VIRUS RESEARCH—STANLEY Pail

which have been purified possess varied shapes and form an almost
continuous spectrum of sizes. The smaller rod or spherically shaped
viruses appear to be simple nucleoproteins, some of which can be
obtained in crystalline form. These appear to have chemical and
physical properties which, neglecting virus activity, would tend to
place them in the molecular world. The larger viruses have a com-
position and properties which are characteristic, not of molecules, but
of organisms. The viruses have certainly provided a link between the
molecules of the chemist and the organisms of the biologist. Yet
there is no place at which a line can be drawn dividing the molecules
from the organisms.

The viruses appear to form a continuous series with respect to
structure, ranging from the smaller viruses, which are simple nucleo-
proteins with many properties similar to those of ordinary molecules,
on through viruses with a gradually increasing complexity of structure,
to the larger viruses, which, with respect to structure and properties,
are similar in many respects to organisms. However, it must be re-
membered that the properties of only a relatively few purified viruses
have been determined. In view of the possibility that these represent
the more stable and more easily purified viruses, one cannot be certain
that a true picture of the chemical and physical properties of viruses as
a whole has been obtained as yet. Information regarding the mode of
reproduction of viruses is needed most urgently. At present it is not
known whether viruses reproduce by fission or by means of some new
process. The solution of this puzzle would certainly represent a most
important and significant advance, for the basic reactions character-
istic of virus reproduction may well represent the fundamental process
which characterizes all living things.

GROUND-WATER INVESTIGATIONS IN THE
UNITED STATES!

By A. N. Sayre
Geologist in Charge, Ground Water Branch
Water Resources Division, U. S. Geological Survey

Before discussing ground-water investigations in the United States
I should like to outline briefly the broad problems of water supply,
water control, and conservation, in the solution of which ground-
water investigations play an important part.

For mere existence, a man requires only about 2 quarts of water
per day. However, even in simple pastoral or agricultural settings,
the biological necessity represents only a part of the total needs for
water, and in our own complex industrial and agricultural economy
great quantities of water are needed for a multitude of purposes.
Water is needed for sanitation, for washing clothes, for facilitating
sewage disposal, for scrubbing floors, and for processing foods. It is
needed for fire protection, for generating power, and for industrial
processes, for irrigation, for air conditioning, and even for producing
atomic energy. The task of providing water at the right time and
place is a serious problem which fully occupies the attention of
thousands of engineers and chemists and a smaller number of geolo-
gists. Intimately associated with the water-supply problem is the
problem of controlling floods to minimize the erosion of our soils and to
conserve floodwater for beneficial uses. For obvious reasons, many
of our agricultural, industrial, and urban developments have taken
place along waterways where they are vulnerable to the ravages
of floods which appear to become more costly almost year by year.
There is good reason to believe that the demand for water supply will
continue to increase and that the demand for control and conservation
of floodwaters will also increase. Projects for accomplishing these
ends will become more expensive and their planning and design will
require greater knowledge of our water resources and of the basic
geologic and hydrologic factors affecting them.

1 Presented at the joint meeting of the Society of Economic Geologists and Geological Society of America,

Ottawa, Canada, December 1947. Reprinted by permission from Economic Geology, vol. 43, No.7, Novem-
ber 1948.

219

220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Especially during the past century, the use of water has increased
at an amazing rate. In 1850 only 83 cities in the United States had
public water supplies, and only a small proportion of the homes in
these cities had water piped directly from the city mains. By 1939
there were 12,760 ? municipal waterworks and thousands of industries
had private supplies from wells or surface-water sources. As the
number of waterworks increased, the uses of water and the per-
capita consumption also increased. The quantities of water used
for a few purposes are given below. Flush toilets, bathing and
laundry, street cleaning, and fire protection require an average of
about 40 to 75 gallons per day per capita.* Processing a ton of steel
in highly finished form requires about 65,000 gallons* of water;
making a gallon of gasoline takes 7 to 10 gallons® of water. Vast
quantities of water are used for air conditioning and for making paper,
explosives, coke, textiles, and a host of other products. Thus, a large
city, such as Chicago, with numerous industries may have a per-capita
water consumption as high as 250 to 300 gallons per day.

Only a few thousand acres in the West was irrigated in 1850, but
21 million acres ® was irrigated in 1939, and many additional irrigation
projects are under construction. An acre of cotton uses about 2.57
acre-feet, or 800,000 gallons, of water during the growing season; an
acre of alfalfa requires about 4 acre-feet of water; irrigation of truck
gardens, fruits, sugarcane, rice, and other crops also requires large
amounts of water. In eastern United States, supplemental irrigation
is increasing because the application of a relatively small amount of
water when it is needed by crops may double or triple the yield of
the land.

The greatly increased use of water has, in many places, almost fully
utilized the readily available water supplies, drawn ground-water
levels dangerously low, caused sea water to enter streams and ground-
water reservoirs in coastal areas, and permitted oil-well brines or
factory wastes to pollute many of our ground-water reservoirs and
streams. Thus, the development of additional water supplies for
new projects or industries has become increasingly difficult and costly.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to infer that our water supplies
are approaching exhaustion. Actually, much can be done to conserve
and thereby increase the total amount of water available for beneficial
use. For example, in many places spacing pumped wells over wider

2 Engineering News-Record, vol. 123, p. 414, 1939.

3 Turneaure, F. E., and Russell, H. L., Public water supplies, 4th ed., p. 19. John Wiley & Sons, New
York, 1940.

«Lloyd, Kenneth M., Industry and water supply in Ohio. Ohio State Univ. Exper. Stat. News, p. 31,
April 1946.

‘ Jordan, Harry E., Industrial requirements of water. Amer. Water Works Assoc. Journ., vol. 38, pp.
65-68, 1946.

6 Census Bureau.
’ National Resources Committee, Regional Planning, pt. 6, p. 91, 1938.

GROUND-WATER INVESTIGATIONS—-SAYRE 221

areas would prevent excessive lowering of the ground-water levels.
Artificial recharge of ground-water reservoirs by spreading flood-
waters and by other means has been successful in several areas.
Abatement of pollution in streams and ground-water reservoirs,
retention of floodwaters in reservoirs for later use, control of reservoir
stages by forecasting normal and flood flows of streams, control of
silt and sedimentation, and other measures are being carried out to
increase the supply available for perennial beneficial use. The
continued growth and prosperity of the Nation will depend to a large
degree upon the success with which these problems are attacked and
solved.

Unlike most mineral resources, water is not exhaustible, in the strict
sense, because it is replenished from time to time by precipitation. A
surface reservoir may be dangerously low and be refilled in the nick
of time by heavy rains. Heavy pumping may cause ground-water
levels to decline progressively until pumping is no longer economically
feasible, but when pumping is temporarily or permanently reduced
the water levels usually recover. Likewise, a period of heavy rainfall
following a drought period may induce recharge sufficient to restore
water levels essentially to predrought levels.

Only a part of the water taken from streams or pumped from wells
is actually consumed. In many manufacturing processes water is
merely a washing agent and is essentially unreduced in volume by
its use. Water used in boilers or in quenching hot metal is partly
evaporated, but the remainder is discharged or re-used. Water used
in irrigation is partly evaporated and partly transpired by plants, but
there is always an excess which is discharged and which carries away
undesirable salts. The excess water from all these uses returns to
the stream or to the ground altered by the concentration of minerals
contained in it, or by the addition of dissolved constituents, or of
color, or sediment, or simply by the addition of heat. It may be
re-used for the same or other purposes with or without the addition
of new water. For example, the water of the Pecos River, in Texas
and New Mexico, is used and re-used for irrigation and domestic
supply seven or eight times between its source and Girvin, Tex. Al-
though water is added from tributary areas along its course, each
time the water from the river is used the mineral concentration
increases, and a few miles above Girvin it is so highly mineralized
that even the most resistant crops are unable to survive its application.
Even so, it may still have potential use, because water also possesses
the energy of position and in its journey from the mountains to the
sea it may be used many times over for generating hydroelectric
power.

Another characteristic peculiar to water results largely from the
vagaries of precipitation. Many places are faced successively with

Dae, ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

water shortages and destructive floods. Although enormous sums
have been spent on flood control, complete protection from floods is
difficult and often prohibitively costly, and in only a few places has
it been accomplished.

Whatever conclusions are reached with regard to the economics of
flood control by storage reservoirs, from the standpoint of conservation
of water supply it is advantageous to salvage as much of the floodwater
as possible. In certain areas where water supply is now inadequate,
as it is in many places west of the 100th meridian, much of the water
from precipitation escapes to the sea during floods. In Los Angeles
County, Calif., much of the floodwater is retained in surface reservoirs
from which it is later discharged into specially prepared recharge
basins and seeps into the underground aquifers. Some of the flood-
water is caught in seepage reservoirs designed to promote infiltration
into the ground-water basins, and some of it escapes to the sea, but
essentially all the floodwater in the Los Angeles area will be put to
beneficial use when the projects now under consideration are com-
pleted. Plans for similar flood control in other parts of the country
are in various stages of execution.

Ground water and surface water are so intimately related that for
proper solution of the over-all problems of water supply, control, and
conservation it is now necessary to have all the facts regarding both.
Precipitation, which is the source of both, is partly lost, largely through
evaporation. Especially during the growing season, a large part
enters the ground and is transpired by plants. The remainder per-
colates downward below the plant roots to become ground water, or
runs off directly as surface flow. The ground water, returning to the
surface as seeps or springs, provides the base flow of the streams which
prevails through periods of low precipitation, On the other hand,
especially in the West, many streams lose water by seepage in certain
stretches and thus recharge the ground-water reservoirs.

Many of the basic ground-water investigations in the United States
are carried on cooperatively by the United States Geological Survey
and State or local agencies, including State geological surveys, State
engineers, counties, and municipalities. In Illinois ground-water
investigations are made by the State Geological Survey and the State
Water Survey; and in Missouri investigations are made by the State
Geological Survey. In California a large staff of engineers in the
State Division of Water Resources for many years has been investi-
gating overdraft of ground-water supplies. Recently arrangements
were made whereby the United States Geological Survey, in addition
to its investigations in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara
Counties, will assist the Division of Water Resources in the geological
phases of a State-wide inventory of the water resources of California.

GROUND-WATER INVESTIGATIONS—SAYRE 223

Various other Federal and State agencies are obtaining some data on
ground water in connection with special phases of their work.

The ground-water investigations of the United States Geological
Survey began more than 50 years ago. At that time ground-water
supplies were little developed. Consequently, most of the early field
investigations were of the exploratory type. Laboratory and field
studies by King, Slichter, and later by Meinzer outlined the broad
principles of ground-water occurrence and movement. However,
before the deep-well turbine pump was developed in the early part of
this century, use of ground water in large quantities was limited to
areas of springs or artesian flow, or to areas where the water level was
within reach of suction pumps. After the turbine pump was intro-
duced, it became possible to pump economically even where water
levels are deep; power costs also decreased, and well drilling and finish-
ing methods were improved to increase the efficiency of wells. Because
of these advances, ground water came to be used in ever-increasing
quantities, first in areas where surface water was not readily available,
and later in areas where ground-water supplies were more economical
because they obviated the long pipe lines, collection works, and costly
treating plants needed for surface-water supplies. ‘The first great
expansion of ground-water supplies was made largely without technical
guidance. Because of their immense storage capacity, the ground-
water reservoirs were regarded as inexhaustible, and in many places
development was well advanced before progressively declining water
levels brought about the realization that ground-water reservoirs may
be depleted. As a result, demands for detailed ground-water studies
steadily increased. These studies are thorough, systematic investiga-
tions which include areal geologic mapping; subsurface studies occa-
sionally augmented by geophysical surveys and test drilling to deter-
mine the structure, thickness, and the sequence of water-bearing and
non-water-bearing beds; collecting data on fluctuations of water levels
in relation to precipitation and to pumpage; determining the recharge
and perennial yield; inventories of ground-water withdrawal; test
pumping to determine coefficients of permeability, transmissibility,
and storage; determining the quality and temperature relationships,
and the relations between surface and ground water. The work does
not include supervision, construction, or control of water supplies.

The United States Geological Survey is now making cooperative
ground-water investigations in 42 States and in Alaska, Hawaii, the
Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In general, the State or local
authorities are most familiar with the needs in their States, and they
are largely responsible for designating the areas in which investigations
are to be made. Most of the ground-water staff of the United States
Geological Survey now have headquarters in field offices, of which
there are about 40.

B24. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

In addition to the cooperative investigations with States and local
agencies, certain investigations primarily of Federal interest are being
carried out with use of Federal funds only. For example, an extensive
program of ground-water investigations is being conducted in the
Missouri River Basin to provide basic information needed for planning
and constructing the various water projects that are authorized or
planned. This information will include determination of existing
ground-water conditions and probable effect of irrigation on ground-
water levels, especially with reference to waterlogging and drainage,
canal locations with reference to seepage, areas where irrigation with
ground water is feasible, the location of potential sources for farmstead
and municipal water supplies, and so on. Other investigations, such
as that recently started in the Central Valley of California, will provide
basic information needed in the project to use excess floodwaters for
recharging the heavily pumped ground-water reservoirs in the San
Joaquin portion of the valley. Several projects also are under way
in connection with defense plans.

A large program of measurement of ground-water levels in observa-
tion wells has long been an integral part of the cooperative program.
Recently a small Federal fund was provided for extending this pro-
eram, analyzing the data, and determining the current status of our
ground-water supplies on a Nation-wide scale. The program includes
the investigation of the possibilities of forecasting low-stage stream
flows from fluctuations of ground-water levels, enabling more efficient
control of reservoir and river stages in the operation of hydroelectric
plants and permitting considerable economies in the generation of
power. Conversely, base flow is an index of ground-water storage.
As the ability of the ground-water reservoirs to absorb water ma-
terially affects the runoff to be expected from rainfall, the analysis
of data on ground-water levels should aid in flood forecasting.

In addition to and as part of the above program, several research
projects are under way, including the study of movement of water
through soils and water-bearing materials; infiltration from streams
and its effect on the temperature and quality of the ground water;
the occurrence of ground water in fractures and solutional openings
in impermeable rocks, such as limestone, tightly cemented sandstone,
granite, etc., and the improvement of our techniques for locating
producing wells in such rocks; earth subsidence resulting from the
withdrawal of ground water, and related problems connected with
elasticity and compressibility of artesian aquifers; methods of analyz-
ing results of pumping tests to determine coefficients of transmis-
sibility and storage; and a number of other projects.

With respect to the probable future of ground-water investigations,
it should be pointed out that ground-water development was expand-

GROUND-WATER INVESTIGATIONS—SAYRE 225

ing rapidly in the middle thirties. In 1935 the total use of ground
water in the United States amounted to about 10 billion gallons a day.
The development was greatly accelerated by the needs of the war,
so that by 1945 the total pumpage had nearly doubled.2 Although
the war ended more than 2 years ago there has been no sign of a
decrease in the use of ground water. In fact, both surface water and
ground water are now being used in greater quantities than ever
before. As the use of water approaches ever more closely the limits
of the available supply, it is believed that water-resources investiga-
tions will be needed with ever-increasing urgency because water
constitutes the prime factor in the continued development of the
Nation’s industrial and agricultural economy.

§ Guyton, W. F., Industrial use of ground water in the United States. Abstract, Journ. Washington
Acad. Sci., vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 105-106, Mar. 15, 1949. (To be published in Proc. Geol. Soc. Amer.)

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MODERN SOIL SCIENCE!

By Cuaruses E. Keiioaa
U. S. Department of Agriculture

[With 2 plates]

Most people probably think of soil as the loose surface material
plowed in the field or spaded in the garden. At some time we have
taken up a handful and let it run through our fingers, or squeezed it
into a soft ball. We have seen sand grains, roots, and worms in it.
Sometimes soil is hard, almost like rock; sometimes it is coarse and
loose, like cinders and ashes; where most preductive, soil is soft and
mellow.

We cannot see or feel the chemical composition of the soil, but
obviously it must contain a wide variety of elements and compounds.
Some plants grow on every kind of soil, and we know that even the
simplest plants require several nutrient materials besides the carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen they get from the air and water.

Starting with this simple concept, the making of chemical analyses of
soils to increase our knowledge is a natural step, and indeed even the
early chemists did this. By analyzing the soils and the plants growing
on them it seemed logical to work out a balance sheet of plant nutrients.
If the nutrients in a soil and the amounts required by plants are known,
it seems reasonable to predict how many crops could be grown before
the soil would be exhausted, what crops would be best, and what
fertilizers would be necessary.

There were many difficulties with this simple concept of a balance
sheet. Despite support from the great Justus von Liebig with his
towering reputation, this theory failed rather badly on the practical
side, and even worse on the scientific side. The fertilizer industry that
grew up under the shadow of Liebig did develop useful fertilizers, and
these increased yields, but the fertilizers were often inefficient and
always unceriain.

It really is too bad that the balance-sheet theory was so inadequate,
since it was refreshingly simple. But the soil is anything but simple.
First of all, actual soil in the woods or garden is partly alive. It is
quite unlike the dead samples of soil stored in the glass jars of chemical
laboratories. A soil consists of thousands of compounds, organic and

1 Based upon material presented in Sigma Xi National Lectureships. Reprinted by permission from
American Scientist, vol. 36, No. 4, autumn issue, 1948, and Science in Progress, Series VI, Yale Univ. Press.

227

228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

inorganic. Some of these compounds are highly active even when
present in tiny amounts, whereas others, like quartz, are relatively
inactive even though their bulk is large. The total chemical analysis
conceals these important variations. One must turn to the X-ray, the
petrographic microscope, the electron microscope, the spectrograph,
and similar devices to discover the relevant materials. The soil is
much more than the surface film stirred in tillage; it is the group of
layers that make up the whole volume of the landscape, extending
down as deeply as the living organisms themselves. In fact, soil is
the essential link between the lifeless mineral body of the earth and
the biological kingdom, including man himself.

THE SOIL PROFILE

If, instead of looking only at the soil in our garden, we look at many
gardens, all sorts of differences among these soils are evident. Then
if the soils across a continent are examined a close relationship among
vegetation, climate, and soil becomes apparent. Subhumid grasslands
and black soils go together; cool, moist climates and evergreen forests
with light-colored soils; tropical rain forests with red soils, and so on.

Soils consist of several distinct sheets, one on top of the other. In
an excavation or a cut these sheets appear as layers, or soil horizons.
Of course, some layers in the soil are inherited from layers in the
original rocks. But regardless of the original rocks, we shall find
true soil horizons, resulting from the peculiar environmental conditions
of the place. Taken together, from the surface down into the weath-
ered rock beneath, a collection of horizons is called a soil profile.
The soil profiles in different kinds of landscapes are strikingly different
from one another, yet they are alike in the same kind of landscape
wherever that landscape is found.

This recognition, about 1870, of a unique soil profile for each kind of
landscape was the greatest single advance ever made in fundamental
soil science, analogous to the development of anatomy in medicine.
One does not need to depend upon inference from the geological
nature of the rock, or from climate, or from other environmental
factors, considered singly or collectively; the soil scientist can go
directly to the soil itself. J hasten to add that rather than making the
other sciences useless in soil study, this step in fact made them more
valuable. Through soil morphology, soil scientists found a basis
on which to classify the results of observations, of experiments, and of
practical experience.

THE MATERIAL OF SOIL SCIENCE

The material of soil science covers the land area of the world.
Thousands of kinds of soils exist. Due to the complex nature of its

229

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—-KELLOGG

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230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

materials, soil science is not easily classified as a science in the tradi-
tional patterns. Often it is included with the physical sciences, like
chemistry and physics. Yet it is also grouped as correctly with the
biological sciences, along with plant physiology and bacteriology.
Then again, soil science is appropriately grouped with geology and
geography as an earth science. Actually soil science uses the prin-
ciples and methods of all three of these groups, and a soil scientist
who uses the principles of only one or two of the groups, to the exclu-
sion of the others, can only have small principles that have little
prediction value and soon bog down in contradiction. In addition
to those already mentioned, there are important principles and
methods peculiar to soil science itself that do not belong to any other
science. In application, the principles of soil science must be inti-
mately related to those of the social sciences.

It needs to be emphasized that the experimental method and the
method of scientific correlation are essential in both fundamental
soil science and in the application of its principles to practical prob-
lems in farming, gardening, and forestry.

Soils must be studied in relation to one another and to the whole
environment, both natural and cultural, to understand their forma-
tion and the influence of the individual factors of climate, vegetation,
parent rock, relief, and time. How any one of these factors operates
depends upon the others. The significance of any one soil charac-
teristic depends upon the others. Any soil is a combination of
characteristics, produced by a combination of factors, each of which
influences the functioning of the others.

Experiments are needed, both natural and artificial, to learn how
individual soils behave and how they respond to treatment. These
must be specifically related to individual kinds of soil, however, if the
results are to be used in developing principles or as the bases for
practical predictions. Thus the experimental methods and the
methods of scientific correlation are intimately interwoven in produc-
tive research in soil science.

SOIL AND LANDSCAPE

Let us look briefly at the implications of this concept of soils. They
are natural bodies, each with its own unique morphology; they are
dynamic bodies, developing with the natural landscape itself; they ac-
curately reflect, at any moment, the combined or synthetic influence of
the living matter and climate, acting upon the parent rock through
processes conditioned by relief, over a period of time; they are dis-
tributed over the earth according to orderly discoverable and definable
geographic principles.

The geological process of mountain building, rock formation, and
landscape evolution from which the parent materials of soils originate,

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 25K

are still going on along with soil formation. The natural erosion of the
uplands gradually removes a little of the surface bit by bit while the
soil film settles down, and fresh minerals are added to the soil from
beneath. With the warping of the landscape these processes are
accelerated or retarded.

At several of the Soil Conservation Experiment Stations of the
United States Department of Agriculture, rates of erosion were deter-
mined under permanent vegetation (15).2 Under the natural forest

Exchangeable Cations (M.E,/100gms.) Exchangeable Cations (M.E./100gms.)

pH 10 20 30 40 pH

5.1

4.8

49
4.4

Si

6.2

$.6

B. From granite

a ed,

Percentage of Clay

A. From diabase

Fiaurs 2.—A comparison of the clay content and exchangeable bases from two
soils developed in similar environments, except for the difference in parent
rock. The fundamentally important differences in clay content and in ex-
changeable bases are obvious between the soils and among horizons within
each soil (9).

cover of the Cecil soil of the Piedmont, erosion proceeds at a rate of
about 1 foot in 10,000 years. This value was determined on a 10-
percent slope. Yet on a 14-percent slope of the Muskingum silt loam
of Ohio, considerably over 200,000 years would be required to remove
1 foot by erosion under the forest cover.

Under a well-established grass cover, normal erosion proceeds
slowly on the dark-colored soils developed under tall prairie grasses.
On the Marshall silt loam near the Nebraska-Iowa line, with 9-per-
cent slope, nearly 14,000 years would be required to remove 1 foot
under bluegrass. On a black soil of east Texas, Austin clay with a
slope of 4 percent, the figure is nearly 900,000 years.

3Numbers in parentheses refer to literature cited at the end of this article.
866591—50-——_16

Zaz ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

These values probably do not represent the real extremes, but rather
relate to normal erosion. Some soils erode much more rapidly under
clean cultivation with bad effects upon soil productivity. Through
proper cropping systems and soil management practices, erosion of
soil under use should be kept somewhere near the normal rate.

Organic Organic
Motter(Z) pH SOW ue e100 0) 50 100. ~— PH Matter()
eth lie 3 posse TMT | Depth Pe l ae 55 6.2
Serere, iO ¥ 1
oso SEMIN ETM ss

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PGR CERI Rt iat is)

A. Miami Stit Loam-
Undulating to Rolling

B. Bethel Silt Loam- Flat

Ficur& 3.—A comparison of the mechanical composition of two soils developed
from similar parent materials and in similar environments, except for relief.
On soils of undulating to gently rolling relief there is continually a small
amount of erosion in the natural landscape. As the surface is thus slowly
eroded, each soil horizon works down into the one beneath. Over a period of
several thousand years the whole soil profile, while remaining at the same
length, may sink into the landscape a foot or more. Thus the soil is kept
constantly renewed with new minerals. This is illustrated by the Miami silt
loam at the left. The soil at the right is developed from similar material on
flat upland where there is little or no erosion in the natural landscape. The
leached material accumulates at the surface, and clay formation and the accu-
mulation of clay are accentuated in the middle portion of the profile, with the
development of a claypan. Whereas the Miami silt loam is a well-drained soil,
pervious to roots and water, the Bethel is an imperfectly drained soil. During
wet periods excess water is held up by the claypan which is also impenetrahle
to mast roots. Kinds of crops and soil-management practices for optimum
production are quite different indeed, even though the soils lie side by side on
the same farm (2).

Percolating water gradually dissolves the minerals in the soil and the
rock beneath. Clarke has said that this process alone reduces the
surface of the United States on an average of about a foot in 30,000
years (6). From a study of streams, Dale and Stabler (7) estimated

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 233

several years ago that the average rate of denudation for the United
States as a whole was about 1 foot in 8,760 years, with suspended
matter accounting for about 65 percent and dissolved matter 35 per-
cent. Solution progresses much more rapidly than this in areas of
soft limestone and high rainfall, and, of course, the process is almost
infinitely slow on the hard rocks of steep slopes.

Other landscapes receive part of the erosion products and part of
the solution products from the upland. It is probable that a third of
the population of the world get their major food supply from alluvial
souls recently rejuvenated by additions of fresh rock minerals to their
surface. The Nile is a famous example. In flood stage the water of
the Nile contains over 1,000 parts per million of suspended matter
relatively rich in phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and other plant
nutrients. Part of this covers the soil in the flood plain and part of it
moves out into the sea. Barrell (1) estimated that the Nile Delta
alone contains the equivalent of nearly 12,000 cubic miles of rock, to
say nothing of the soluble material contributed to the sea water.
According to Barrell’s figures the rock material in the delta of the
Niger River is equivalent to a wedge-shaped mountain range some
18 miles wide at the base, 3 miles high at the top, and 1,000 miles long.

This gives some idea of the enormous movement of surface soil
material as a natural process. In addition, in the Tropics especially,
volcanoes often shower the landscape with fresh rock or ash. <A layer
of ash only an inch thick amounts to 200 to 300 tons per acre of fresh
fine rock material. Usually such ash contains significant amounts of
calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and other elements essen-
tial to plant and animal growth. Even nitrogen is sometimes present
in important amounts. An acre-inch of the ash from Paricutin, the
new volcano in Mexico, contains the equivalent of over 20 tons of
ground limestone. Sometimes productive soils are covered with a
rather sterile ash, but more often old leached soils are rejuvenated. In
the humid Tropics productive soils are generally those that are young,
recently developed from volcanic lava, or soils that are kept reju-
venated by the relatively rapid addition of fresh minerals from beneath
as the surface erodes away, or by additions of alluvium or volcanic
ash to the surface.

The most nearly dead soils are those on flat landscapes of high rain-
fall that are not rejuvenated by erosion, by new minerals entering the
soil from beneath following natural erosion, or by sediments from
above. These dead areas must await a new cycle of uplift and erosion
before they become productive naturally.

THE MINERAL-ORGANIC CYCLE

We are interested in soil chiefly because it supports green plants, and
from green plants all other plants and animals, including man himself,

234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

get their food supply, either directly or from other plants and animals
that live on the green plants. Of equal importance to this basic fact is
the one that plants, and all the other living matter associated with
plants, are chiefly responsible for the kind of soil developed. It can be
stated that there is no life without soil, and no soil without life. Life
and soil seem to have evolved together in a mineral-organic cycle, or
rather in many cycles, because there are many kinds of plant associa-
tions, many kinds of landscapes, and many kinds of soils.

After the earth cooled into a solid surface, and before vegetation
covered the land, it probably looked something like an extreme desert
region looks today, with jagged hills, sharp angles, and deep, irregular
stream courses. With the coming of vegetation, soils began to form.
Landscapes became more stable; jagged peaks softened into round hills
with gentle slopes. Vegetation not only changes the rock material, but
holds it in place, allowing it to slip away only gradually and harm-
lessly.

The plants select the essential elements from the mass of rock ma-~
terial into which they extend their roots. The great bulk of most soils
consists of various combinations of silicon, aluminum, and oxygen
along with significant, but often tiny, amounts of the other 92 elements.
Plants take in phosphorus, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper,
and other elements which they require, and build them into character-
istic fruits and leaves, bark and wood. As the leaves and fruits and
other parts fall, and as plants die, this organic matter becomes in turn
the food of bacteria and other decay organisms. With their help, the
chemical decomposition releases the nutrients to the soil for other
plants.

Estimates have been made of the annual production of organic mat-
ter in the natural landscape (10); unfortunately few data exist for the
roots. For tall-grass prairie the figures for annual production are from
around 1 ton to over 2 tons per acre. In temperate forests, values
of around 3 tons per acre have been reported, with about one-half
wood and one-half needles or leaves. Figures for tropical vegetation
are much harder to determine, but estimates run up to 90 tons per acre
per year. Of course, one year is but a moment in the life of a soil. But
in 1,000 years a truly enormous influence is exerted on the soil by this
root-sorting and the biological and chemical reactions associated with
the production and decomposition of such vast quantities of plant ma-
terial—quantities ranging from perhaps a low of 100 tons per acre
through a medium of 3,000 tons, to nearly 90,000 tons, depending upon
the kind of landscape.

To have some notion of the magnitude of this organic-mineral cycle
in terms of a few specific elements, we might look at data for the annual
leaf fall in ordinary hardwood and evergreen forests in northern
United States (4, 5).

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 235

Pounds per acre

Element Hardwood Evergreen
Calcium es eee 2 ere ee ee ee ee ee 2653.6 26. 5
INitrogene eset Seenye). epi 2 LU OE eels Se S16H6 23. 6
Potassium 2 eee Serre rise scree Beats 2 a a 1S 6. 5
Magnesium. ---_--_- Se ee ee as Moy seeps 9. 2 4.5
PhOsphOnuseee sesamiae Alc sae Bees 3.3 1.8

These figures are broad averages and conceal significant differences
among the specific organic-mineral cycles of individual soil types. Then
too, the cycle varies in speed. In tropical areas it is very rapid: A small
amount of a plant nutrient goes a long way since it is used over and
over again in its rapid cycle from the soil to a plant, to the soil, and
back to another plant again.

Thus it is clear that there is a continual cycle of nutrients out of the
soil into the plants and back into the soil again. We are concerned
both with the amounts involved and also with the conditions that affect
them. In fact, the amounts by themselves can be misleading. Take
calcium, for example: In the arid to subhumid regions the rainfall is
insufficient to remove the calcium and it accumulates in a special
horizon called the ‘lime zone’ in the lower part of the soil profile.
Calcium would not need to be added to this type of soil even after thou-
sands of harvested crops. Yetin humid forested regions the leaching of
calcium completely out of the soil is so great, in relationship to that
brought up by the plants, that it must be returned to the soil in
agricultural practice, either through the addition of organic matter
or mineral amendments.

In the famous Kentucky bluegrass region the underlying rock is
very rich in phosphorus. The soil contains supplies for thousands
of crops. Yet in most parts of the world this critical element must be
added by the farmer to supplement the natural mineral-organic cycle.

The kind of vegetation in the natural landscape has much to do with
these vitally important cycles of elements. On the whole, trees do not
require large amounts of phosphorus, and they do not preserve it in the
soil to the extent that the grasses do. Thus when the vegetation is
removed and replaced by the plant crops the soil is often found to be
deficient in one or more of the plant nutrients. What man is doing is
establishing a new landscape, an unnatural one, if you please. He must
discover the appropriate mineral-organic cycle through trial and re-
search, and then introduce practices to compensate for the change.
This gets at the heart of the fundamental problem to which soil science
addresses itself in its practical application to agriculture.

Soil fertilization, for example, is not simply a matter of replacing the
nutrients removed by harvested crops. Some soils may be able to
supply all or certain nutrients indefinitely; others may need heavy
fertilization, far beyond what the plants take out, for long initial
periods. Nor are we concerned simply with the effects on just one

236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

crop or of the crops that can be grown on the soil anyway. Rather
we must think of the various combinations of crops and practices,
and their immediate and longtime influence upon the soil and upon
one another, to the end that a combination will be developed which
will maximize the ratio of production to labor and materials on a
permanent basis.

LITTLE PLACES AND BIG PLACES

It is obvious that some sort of soil classification is essential, since
the world has a great many thousands of kinds of landscapes, kinds of
soil profiles, and kinds of mineral-organic cycles. Of course, one cannot
deal with all these soils at one time, nor do they present equal con-
trasts. Actually, there are few sharp lines between soil types; rather the
soil of the world is a continuum that may be divided into reasonably
homogeneous units according to the state of our knowledge and the
demands for accuracy and scientific prediction. The soil is a natural
product, and no two soil profiles are identical any more than two oak
trees or two college professors are. Soil types are man-made creations.
In one soil type are included all the soils that appear to have the same
kind of profile, even though they are not alike in every single respect.

This is not the place to go into the age-old problem of classification.
All the natural sciences have the same problem. A classification is good
to the extent that it serves the purpose of remembering characteristics,
seeing relationships, and developing principles. A classification is bad
to the extent that scientists become slaves to it, and twist their data
and ideas to fit the classification. It improves as our knowledge
grows. Some wonder when soil classification will “settle down’—
when names and definitions will no longer be changed. This will
happen when soil science has ceased to discover anything new—in
other words, when it dies.

Let us now consider the significance of the lower groups, or local soil
types, in contrast to the great soil groups, or continental soil types.
The differences that are apparent between our garden and our neigh-
bor’s, or between one plot of crops or trees and the adjoining one, are
differences related to the local conditions of rocks, relief, and age.
The soil of one garden is derived from sandstone and another from
granite; one garden is hilly and one is flat; one is on an old slope and
one is on a young stream terrace. Associated with these differences
are characteristics of great practical and scientific interest. Soils too
sandy for gardens are often found mixed in an intricate pattern with
soils that are too heavy in clay; soils too steep for cultivation with
soils that are flat and wet. If these soils are studied carefully, one
can determine how they differ from one another and what direct rela-
tionships exist between the soil characteristics and the factors of the
environment. Nevertheless, serious errors may be made as to the

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ZONAL

Great groups of soils with well-developed soil charactenstics,
reflecting the dominating influence of climate and vegetation .
(As shown on the map, many small areas of intrazoral and azonal

soils are included.)
PODZOL SOILS
WY Light-colored leached soils of cool, humid
\ \\ forested regions.

BROWN PODZOLIC SOILS
YY Brown leached soils of cool-temperate, humid
Y4) torested regions.

GRAY-BROWN PODZOLIC SOILS
Grayish-brown leached soils of temperate,
umid forested regions.

REO AND YELLOW PODZOLIC SOILS
Red or yellow leached soils of warm-temperate,
humid forested regions.

PRAIRIE SOILS

Very dark brown soils of cool and temperate,
relatively humid grasslands.

een Dark reddish-brown soils of warm-temperate,
CLES ges elatively humid grasslands.

Dark-brown fo nearly black soils of cool’ and
emperate, subhumid grasslands.

CHESTNUT SOILS
NY Dark-brown soils of cool and temperate,
WN subhumid to semiarid grasslands.

REDDISH CHESTNUT SOILS

SN Dark reddish-brown soils of warm- temperate,
WS semiarid regions ‘under mixed shrub and grass
S vegetation.

BROWN SOILS
rown soils of cool and temperate, semiarid grass-

REDDISH BROWN SOILS

emiarid to arid regions, under mixed shrub and

NONCALCIC BROWN SOILS

pre Brown or light reddish-brown soils of warm
temperate, wet-dry, semiarid regions, under
woreeren mixed forest, shrub, and grass vegetation

SIEROZEM OR GRAY DESERT SOILS

Gray soils of cool to temperate, arid regions,
under shrub and grass vegetation.

OESERT SOILS
Light reddish-brown soils of warm - temperate
to hot, arid regions, under shrub vegetation.

GENERAL PATTERN OF GREAT SOIL GROUPS

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INTRAZONAL

Great groups of soils with more or less well-developed soil characteristics
reflecting the dominating influence of some local factor of relief, parent
material, or age over the normal effect of climate and vegetation. (Many
areas of these sails are included with zonal groups on the map)

PLANOSOLS

RENOZINA SOILS

ark grayish-brown to black soils developed from soft limy
aterials in cool to warm, humid fo subhumid regions, mostly
under grass vegetation.

SOLONCHAK (1) AND SOLONETZ (2) SOILS

1) Light-colored soils with high concentration of soluble
Salts, in subhumid to arid regions, under salt-loving plants,
(2) Dark -colored soils with hard prismatic subsoils, usually

strongly alkaline, in subhumid or semiarid regions under
grass or shrub vegetation.

WIESENBODEN (1), GROUND WATER PODZOL (2),
HALF-BOG SOILS (3)

Y Dark~brown to black soils developed with poor drainage
inder grasses in humid and subhumid regions.

(2) Gray sandy soils with brown cemented sandy subsoils
developed under forests from nearly level imperfectly
drained sand in humid regions.

(3) Poorly drained, shallow, dark peaty or mucky soils underlain
by gray mineral soil, in humid regions, under swamp-forests.

BOG SOILS

Poorly drained dark peat or muck soils underlain by peat,
mostly in humid regions, under swamp or marsh types of
vegetation.

Ficurp 4.—Soil map of the United States.

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The areas of each great soil group shown
on the map include areas of other groups too
small to be shown separately Especially are
there small areas of the azonal and intrazonal
§roups included in the areas of zonal groups

AZONAL

Soils without well-developed soi! characteristics. (Many areas
of these soils are included with other groups on the map.)

LITHOSOLS AND SHALLOW SOILS

oe ll

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a Shallow soils consisting largely of an imperfectly
weathered mass of rock fragments, largely but

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Resear.

RON BF

SANDS (ORY)
Very sandy soils.

ALLUVIAL SOILS
Soils developing from recently deposited alluvium
that have hadlittle or no modification by pro =
cesses of soil formation.

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866591—50 (Face page 236)

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44

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG De Th

causes of soil characteristics, because of failure to see the common
characteristics of unlike soils found in the same ecological region.

In a broader study one might reach altogether different conclusions.
Suppose, for example, that one studies in detail the upland soils on
smooth slopes from limestone and sandstone in West Virginia in con-
trast to those on smooth slopes from limestone and sandstone in
western North Dakota and in southern Arizona. Here again, striking
differences are apparent, but the most important of these relate to
differences in climate and vegetation; geology would seem relatively
unimportant.

Thus by grouping the local soil types into higher categories, the
broad soil groups that dominate the landscapes of great regions are
compiled. When one considers individual practices in the garden, on
the farm, or in the forest, it is the local landscape and the local soil
types that are important. When one considers the great movements
of population, the potentialities of nations, and the historical trends
of peoples, the significant factors are the great soil groups. Thus
the gardener sees soil characteristics with a different emphasis than
does the geographer, but soil science has much to contribute to both.

PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES ON THE SOIL

The soil supports plants, animals, and man himself. Primitive man
must have been as much the helpless product of his environment as
were the wild animals. He lived close to the soil and was a food
gatherer. He took the plants and animals, including fish, that were
available in his own landscape. Most of these were eaten with little
change by cooking, storage, or refining. No doubt it was a risky busi-
ness. Families might fail to get food because of drought, deep snows,
wars, or other calamities, and starve. However, when things went
well, although they might live on a few foods for a time, during the
year there was usually a variety. Then too, primitive man ate vigor-
ously. He ate whole foods—skins, hulls, seeds, and other parts that
are now thrown away. It is only recently that modern man has
attempted to create a balanced diet. Early man received or failed to
receive his proteins, minerals, and vitamins, unconsciously. Of course,
no scientist was available to study our savage ancestors at the time,
but many studies have been made of relatively primitive peoples and
of the physical degeneration caused by the substitution for native
whole foods, like cereal grains, milk, cheese, fruits, and meat, of refined
sugar, white flour, and similar products of more ‘‘advanced”’ societies
(12). Thus native peoples may become degenerated, or even extinct,
after contact with Western Europeans. ‘There are reasons to suggest
that people, like plants and animals, over a long period come to an
adjustment with their food supply (11).

938 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Marett held that people having food deficient in some essential ele-
ment, say calcium, phosphorus, or iodine, gradually develop the ability
to conserve this element. That is, in the evolutionary process the
ability to get along satisfactorily with only a little of some element
would have survival value. Such people would be most likely to have
children able to thrive and grow strong. But in the process, size,
skin color, and other features, even the psychological characteristics
and social traits, are altered. Marett believed that differences in food
composition, most of which were closely related to the local environ-
ment before the modern period, had a great deal to do with the origin
of races, with the physical and social differences among the different
peoples of the earth.

Marett argued, for example, that in regions with acid soils deficient
in calcium, people of small size would be favored. The physiological
strain of lactation upon females would be much greater in humid
regions where soils are generally leached and acid and the foods de-
ficient in calcium and phosphorus, than in arid regions where soils
usually contain abundant lime (calcium). Thus on acid soils where
food is deficient in calcium the bodily strain would lead to adjustments
for economizing lime through decreased size, especially of bones. He
suggested that the operation of these forces may have been important
in the development of fine bones among modern people as contrasted
to our more coarse-boned ancestors. Such changes are very gradual,
and are not marked until after long-living in a particular landscape.

MAN AS A CULTIVATOR

As civilization developed, man became a cultivator. He began to
direct the course of nature toward his own ends, and ceased to be
simply a food gatherer dependent only upon the natural bounty of
the landscape. He ceased to be primarily a thief, and became a
grower, 2 homemaker, a planner, and a conservationist in the only
sense the term has any social meaning. As he gained in experience
he learned to satisfy himself more easily; in fact, some people in the
society could cease to be food gatherers. Social structures rose with
the evolution of trades and professions. As the efficiency of food
production increased, more and more people could be released from
food gathering to develop the arts and sciences, to make the other
things man needed for his health and comfort, and, unfortunately,
to make war.

From the dawn of history to the rise of modern science the accumu-
lation of learning about agriculture was a terribly slow process.
Experience, which was passed down from father to son over the genera-
tions, was the only guide. Only a few departures were made, because
there was no substitute for such experience. Further, there was little

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 239

realization that experience on one soil, in one landscape, could not be
relied upon where another soil was involved. Migrations were often
disastrous for this reason. Then, too, world history records changes
in the landscape under the very feet of the farmer, like the slow spread
of the Sahara Desert as it gradually expands to its former position,
following the moist period of glacial times (8).

Unfortunately, the early scientists of Greece and Rome reached
little into the problems of agriculture. With a few conspicuous excep-
tions, the philosophers of that day accepted farming as the job of
slaves, beneath the dignity of trained scholarship.

THE GREAT DISCOVERIES

The tempo of man’s struggle with his environment completely
changed with two great forces: the rise of modern science and the great
discoveries. The most important fact of Western culture was the
opening of new land in the world. The forces leading to the pessi-
mism of Malthus were already destroyed before his famous essay on
population had been printed. Science began to increase productive
efficiency. Western Europeans found new homes in the landscapes
of the Americas.

Europe had been bound by an aristocracy based upon land. Al-
though many came to the new world to seek gold and adventure,
most people came to find land and to build homes on the only security
they knew. Gradually the east coasts of the new world filled up. In
the beginning people were confined to land near the sea and to navi-
gable waters, as they had been in the centuries before. But modern
science came to the aid of discovery. The European colonists pushed
into the interior, especially in North America. Railroads had made
possible the exploitation of interiors of continents, of the great areas
of black soils. Except for a few isolated spots, these soils were scarcely
used by civilized folks at the time of the Treaty of Westphalia when
modern nationalism had its birth. During the nineteenth century
the black soils (Chernozem and Prairie soils) and the brown soils
(Chestnut and Brown soils) in North America were occupied. The
frustrated, the persecuted, the seekers of new opportunity had a place
to go, and it was a good place with good soil. For over 200 years a
man and woman could carve themselves out a farm home on the colo-
nial frontier, in the Ohio Valley, on the great prairies of Illinois and
Iowa, and finally on the Great Plains to the west. Grassland needed
only cultivation, once transportation was established.

In addition to the fine soils, there were other free resources, the
forests and minerals. There was land in North America, Central
America, South America, New Zealand, and Australia. Following
the great discoveries Europeans found opportunities throughout the

240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

world. This progress is credited by many people to western civiliza-
tion, but it would have been a poor civilization indeed that could not
have succeeded with these riches. With such abundant resources for
its citizens, it is hard to imagine how any American government could
possibly have failed.

At the present time, however, people must make a go of things where
they are, or else move into areas where a great deal of careful planning
is necessary for successful agriculture or industry. There is no more

Chemical Composition (%) Chemical Composition (%)
CaO MgO oO 50 100 100 CaO MgO

0 50
Ol 02 Rosie _| Depth RQIYGY By 04 2.0
O

te NW ae

RA XO QOS oo .0
OS 15.4

0.03 35.5

—AAACDSL
Xe oe

O25 0:
B. Conomingo Silt Loam

of Maryland

0.2 Tr 100

a ET AP TE I TF LAD LT LD A

7 Eee ==
FIO OKD KOO COCO O Oe,
RK KRG ROKER KK OL
i Nes SKS SERRE SPRERS
‘ “ Nas OPS
RRR SRKRKKS OKI K RK KR K
POS Nee
ROKK LKR KR SKLAR
eataces xO eatetstctes ate <q Neeetatates
KOO 2 2, OOOOD OO
KO sees SL RRR
eee oat 588 “2 eeecnaeeneeneee S55 Sods % Se
8 NNO ONO OOOO OOOO OI OOOO ONO se
= <<
n
a B
{ =

04 60

A. Nipe Clay of Puerto Rico

Figure 5.—A comparison of some of the chemical properties of two soils de-
veloped from similar serpentine rocks, one in tropical Puerto Rico, and one in
temperate Maryland. Under temperate conditions the silica has been pre-
served, whereas it has nearly all been removed under tropical conditions.
Further, under tropical conditions there has been an enormous increase in the
amount of iron, and the tropical soil has been affected by weathering and soil-
forming processes to a much greater depth. Of course, along with these obvi-
ous chemical changes are a great many other changes reflected in the miner-
alogical composition and physical properties of the two soils. Both of them
are relatively unproductive naturally and require quite different methods for
their improvement (14, 15).

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 241

fertile soil in the world waiting only for the plow. But there is a great
deal of unused land in the world that can be made productive through
the application of modern science, land that is made up of thousands
of unique types of soil.

MODERN SCIENCE

The great discoveries themselves owe much to modern science. An
insignificant part of the bread grains of the world were grown on the
black Chernozem soils of the subhumid grasslands when the Treaty of
Westphalia was signed. Now these same black soils are contributing
more than one-half the supply of bread grains to the world. Within
some 250 years man has occupied these soils. At first he applied the
old methods and the old traditions, with poor results. Then from
modern science he received railroads, proper machinery, and power.
Whereas 100 years ago most cities of importance in the world were
located on Gray-Brown Podzolic soils, like those of the Ohio Valley
and northwestern Europe, now there are great cities on the black soils
and on the brown soils like them. In fact, the great modern army
that stopped the Germans at Stalingrad was raised on these soils.

Our early application of science to make a better adjustment
between man and his environment was uneven. ‘The various sciences
have developed unevenly, and they are applied unevenly in different
parts of the world. Early attempts to build the Panama Canal
showed the failure of engineering without medicine, and there are
similar failures of engineering and medicine without improved hus-
bandry. Soil depletion due to erosion in parts of Africa has followed
attempts to buy the wares of the peddler before husbandry had im-
proved the efficiency of agriculture. In fact, soil depletion through
accelerated erosion, exhaustion of plant nutrients, accumulation of
excess salts, and loss of mellow structure follow the decline of the
people. The great opportunities for future development depend not
on science alone but on a symmetrical science.

Of course, some object to machines and the planning inevitable to
the use of science. They talk about going back to nature. But
obviously this would not be possible unless we were willing to do
away with a large part of our population and with all our modern
gadgets. Scientists, and agricultural scientists in particular, were
blamed by some for the last great depression. It was said that if
scientists had not developed all these new methods surpluses and low
prices«would not have existed. Of course, this appears ridiculous to
a scientist, since millions of people are in need of essential food and
clothing for health. To the scientist surpluses are market phenomena
within man’s control and due to imperfections that are subject to
control. The good life requires abundance, and abundance depends
upon the efficient use of all our knowledge.

242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Returning to the relationship between man and the soil, or land-
scape, where he finds himself: the optimum or ideal adjustment can
be approached by changing the environment, changing the soil, or
by man adapting himself to the environment. Actually, of course,
man does some of both, and science helps both processes. From our
understanding of the soil and the environment we learn how to change
it, and how to adapt ourselves to it.

The soil is not easily changed, however, for in spite of all we learn
to do through husbandry there still remains a closer relationship
between the quality of foods and the natural soil type than there is
between their quality and modern agricultural practices. Of course,
irrigation of the desert or drainage of swamp land by means of large-
scale engineering devices brings an immediate change. But most
changes come slowly and often indirectly. A little change in the
soil can set into motion a whole series of fundamental changes.

For example, most of the soils developed in humid forested land-
scapes are acid. Although they are productive for a time, these soils
produce only a few of the plants man needs. By adding some lime,
often some phosphate, and sometimes some other materials in rela-
tively small amounts, the farmer can widen his choice of crops. He
can grow the deep-rooted legumes where he could not before. These
crops, in turn, have a pronounced influence on the soil and upon the
crops that follow them. Similarly, the farmer in the humid region
can develop a soil approaching the notoriously productive Chernozem
of the subhumid grasslands by making up through fertilization for
the extra leaching in the humid climate. Although fertilizer has not
been found to have a dependable influence on the quality of food
crops, through fertilization the farmer can so expand his range of
crops that he can select those most nutritious for animal feed and
human food.

Every natural soil has certain limits to its potentialities. Through
modern science these limits may be expanded in terms of kinds of
crops and yields. No very close relationship exists between the natural
fertility of soils and their actual productivity in society. The important
factor is their response to management. Some of the most productive
soils in the United States are in the southeastern region, soils that are
notoriously infertile when first cultivated as compared to the black
soils of the Middle West.

NEED FOR SYMMETRY

Man’s adjustment to the natural soil is not merely a matter of doing
afew things. Itis the process of substituting a new environment, with
all its varied effects on living matter and the dynamic processes within
the soil, for the old one. With the smooth-lying soils of the Iowa
prairies the farmer gets nearly maximum yields from his first cultiva-

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 243

tion; in fact, there is no practical way now known to maintain the
nutrient supply and productivity of these soils as high as they were
under continuous grass and still use them for crops under anything
like present economic conditions. However, these soils can be main-
tained in cultivation at a slightly lower level of productivity under
practices that maintain the nutrient supply and organic matter and
control the water supply to avoid excess run-off and erosion. This is
to be expected, since these soils were developed under grasslike plants,
similar to the crops the farmer wants to grow.

Exchange Capacity (M.E,/100gms.)
, 40 60 80 100 120 140 pH

s 46
- SS 48
49

Depth

DAN AEe MpEtD ORC Beet aD eNO TN CHOOT, RETIN Es teats dh atn iso
A. Under Spruce
Exchange Capacity (M. &./100 ms.)

20 4 60 80 100 120 pH
fe) OE Oi IL AU TN SS)

5.0
n
2 §.1
£
= ie
Ss Ba Exchangeable Bases
« 20 5.2
= : Exchangeable Hydrogen
fa :
30
Q 5.3

“B. Under Hardwood

Figure 6.—These graphs iliustrate a comparison of total exchangeable bases
and exchangeable nitrogen in two soils developed under similar environmental
conditions, except for the vegetation. Because the spruce needles and twigs
decompose slowly there is a considerable accumulation before decomposition
is equal to the annual drop from the forest. Since the hardwoods drop nearly
twice as much calcium and other bases each year, soils developed under hard-
woods have a relatively higher amount of exchangeable bases. The upper
chart indicates clearly the horizon of extreme leaching lying almost directly
under the organic mat of a Podzol (8).

244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The situation is different when the forest is removed from a leached
soil in the humid region. The organic matter and nutrients must be
built up far above the levels present in the natural soils, and the bal-
ance is delicate, both the natural balance and the one created by man.
Too much lime added, and other nutrients become unavailable. Too
much nitrogen added, and plants are weak, poor in quality, and easy
prey to diseases. Water control without proper fertility may be
impractical and wasteful. Rarely can the maximum economic pro-
duction from soils in humid forested regions be realized by application
of just one or two scientific practices.

CONCLUSIONS

In the past, the environment determined man’s development and set
definite limits on his activities. His music and architecture, his
economic and political institutions, in fact, his whole social being
was strongly influenced by the potentialities of the soil. As modern
soil science develops further, the environment will determine less
what man is and more what he does. Scientists will learn more
precisely how to carry specific management practices from one soil to
another, in order to achieve good productivity.

As science progresses there will be increasing emphasis upon sym-
metry in science, upon fitting the parts together. Although such an
emphasis runs counter to the modern trend of specialization, organiza-
tional devices both in research and education will be created so that
teams of scientists of different specialties work together. Only in
this way can even a small part of our agricultural potentialities be
realized or more than a small part of our soil science be put to work.

Even now, there would be enough food if soil science were used to the
fullest extent. There are no apparent limits to our potentiality; it is
far away, far beyond our present production. Even in this great
country there is needless inefficiency in agriculture, needless from the
standpoint of proved scientific principles and practices. Some farm-
ers do not know what to do; others have no way of knowing, or of
following the practices if they did know. Thus even on the soil
already occupied, the opportunities for more food are enormous. In
addition, there are still areas in the interior of continents that are
only partly used for lack of industry or transportation. This is
especially true concerning Asia.

Even more important than these wasted opportunities are the great
areas of tropical soils. Some say that the resources of the Tropics are
almost without limit; others say they are nil. The truth is that with-
out modern science their productivity is small; thus it might be said
that the Tropics are overpopulated now. However, with the applica-
tion of a symmetrical soil science, the potentialities of the Tropics are

MODERN SOIL SCIENCE—KELLOGG 245

enormous. Most of the soils are naturally infertile in terms of our
present practices in temperate regions, but it is possible to modify
the mineral-organic cycle of these soils and get good production of
cultivated plants on a secure basis. All the agricultural sciences will
be involved, along with soil science, medicine, engineering, economics,
and political science.

This outline of soil science in modern society leaves a million details
untold. If peace and abundance in the world are achieved, thousands
of soil scientists will have contributed their whole lives toward it,
along with other people. The data of soil science show that abundance
is possible. Whether it should be achieved, and whether it will be
achieved, are not scientific questions. Butif the people of the world
decide that they want peace and enough food, and if they address
themselves to the economic and social problems standing in the way,
soil science says it is possible.

LITERATURE CITED

1. BARRELL, JOSEPH.
1914. The strength of the earth’s crust. Journ. Geol., vol. 22, pp. 24-48,
2. Brown, Irvin C., and THorp, JAMES.
1942. Morphology and composition of some soils of the Miami family and
the Miami catena. U.S. Dep. Agr. Techn. Bull. 834, 55 pp.
3. CHANDLER, Rosert F.
1939. Exchange properties of certain forest soils in the Adirondack section.
Journ. Agr. Res., vol. 59, pp. 491-505.
4, CHANDLER, Rosert F.
1941. The amount and mineral nutrient content of freshly fallen leaf
litter in the hardwood forests of central New York. Journ. Amer.
Soc. Agron., vol. 33, pp. 859-871.
5. CHANDLER, RoBErRT F.
1943. Amount and mineral nutrient of freshly fallen needle litter of some
northeastern conifers. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer., vol. 8, pp.
409-411.
6. CLARKE, FRANK WIGGLESWORTH.
1924. The data of geochemistry. Ed. 5, U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 770, p. 841.
7. Daz, R. B., and Stasuer, H.
1909. Denudation, in Papers on the Conservation of Water Resources,
U. S. Geol. Surv. Water-Supply Pap. 234, pp. 78-93.
8. GauTIER, E. F.
1935. Sahara, the great desert. Trans. by Dorothy Ford Mayhew. 264
pp. New York.
9. HumsBert, R. P., and MarsHau, C. E.
1943. Mineralogical and chemical studies of soil formation from acid and
igenous rocks in Missouri. Univ. Missouri Res. Bull., 60 pp.
10. Jenny, Hans.
1941. Factors of soil formation. 281 pp. New York.
11. Marert, R. pr ta H.
1936. Race, sex, and environment: A study of mineral deficiency in human
evolution. 343 pp., illus. Hutchinson, London.

246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

12. Prick, WESTON A.
1939. Nutrition and physical degeneration. A comparison of primitive
and modern diets and their effects. 431 pp., illus. Haeber, New
York.
13. Rosperts, R. C., et al.
1942. Soil survey of Puerto Rico. U.S. Dep. Agr., Series 1936, No. 7,
503 pp., illus., maps.
14. Roxpinson, W. O., Eppineton, GLEN, and Byers, H. G.
1935. Chemical studies of infertile soils derived from rocks high in mag-
nesium and generally high in chromium and nickel. U.S. Dep.
Agr. Techn. Bull. 471, 28 pp.
15. Unrrep Srates DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Reports of investigations at the Soil Conservation Experiment
Stations. Techn. Bull. 558, 837, 859, 860, 873, 888, and 916.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kellogg PLATE 1

PROFILE OF A PODZOL SOIL IN MAINE UNDER THE EVERGREEN FOREST

A heavy mat of partly decomposed organic matter from the forest lies over a nearly white, strongly leached
horizon. Directly beneath this is a dark brown horizon containing colloidal material originating from
the horizons above. In this region soil-forming processes do not extend deeply. The parent material—
glacial drift—lies at about 20 inches.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kellogg

wee PF
ther
é

A, profile of a dark-colored soil developed under tall grasses in lowa (Webster clay loam—a Wiesenboden).
During its development drainage was poor, which has intensified the effects of the grasses in producing
abundant supplies of humus and kept leaching at alow point. When drained this is one of the most pro-
ductive soils in the world for the crop plants of temperate regions. (Photograph by Dr. R. W. Simonson.)

B, profile of a light-colored, leached soil developed under forest in the humid Atlantic Coast Plain (Ruston
sandy loam—a Red. Podzolic soil). In this environment little humus accumulates in the soil and
leaching is active. ‘The thick black layer so prominent in the Webster soil is essentially absent. Col-
loidal material has left the surface horizon, and part of it has been moved to the layer beneath. The
peculiar mottling of the soil in the lower part is characteristic of those developing in warm humid climates.
Although not naturally productive for crop plants, this soil can be made so through proper fertilization to
supplement the plant nutrients already in the soil, crop rotations that emphasize the deeply rooted leg-
umes, and by water-control systems that prevent accelerated run-off and erosion when cropped. (Photo-
graph by Dr. R. W. Simonson.)

TIME IN EVOLUTION!

By F. E. Zeunser, Px. D., D. Sc.

Professor of Environmental Archaeology
University of London

The study of evolution has proceeded along two different lines.
While biologists were able to investigate the intimate structure
of the cells composing living organisms and thus to unravel aspects
of the mechanism of evolution, paleontologists supplied us with
evidence for the succession of the forms of life. Broadly speaking,
biological evidence has suggested that changes in the characters of
species are sudden and paleontological evidence that they take place
gradually. Apart from the problems connected with the causes of
evolution (which are outside the scope of this discourse), there is
involved in this difference the problem of time.

It was, therefore, only natural that workers on evolution were
interested in the question of how much time was required to bring
about certain changes in the characters of animals and plants. This
chronological aspect of evolution was stressed by the early evolution-
ists, like Lamarck, Darwin, Wallace, Weismann, and Eimer. But
paleontology and stratigraphy could do no more than provide a
relative chronology of evolution. For the actual time involved there
were only guesses available which were so divergent that no con-
clusions could be based on them. No wonder, therefore, that the
time aspect of evolution was neglected by the later generations of
workers. The guesses did agree, however, in one respect: that,
measured by human standards, the time available for evolution was
very long.

Since the end of the last century, however, geology has developed
several methods of estimating geological time in years. Sequences
of annual deposits, climatic and astronomical cycles, time rates of
sedimentation and the decomposition of radioactive substances have
been used in a great variety of ways, and the branch of geology which
is called geochronology, has produced a number of time scales covering
the entire history of the crust of the earth. As is to be expected, many

1 Presented at the Weekly Evening Meeting of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Friday, December
3, 1948. Reprinted by permission of the Royal Institution, with slight alterations and additional figures.

866591—50——17 247

248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

parts of the time scales are uncertain and the margin of error is often
considerable. But an order of magnitude is gradually emerging and
various portions of the time scales have been checked by independent
methods and adjusted to each other. They have thus become useful
instruments for the reconsideration of the time aspects of evolution.

It is my intention to introduce you to this fascinating subject.
Within the limited time available only a few interesting examples
can be given. The treatment of facts and problems will inevi-
tably be sketchy, which means that some of my remarks will over-
state the case, while others, which might appear to be overstatements,
are not overstatements. In order to show the applicability, or
otherwise, of some of the apparent rules to different branches of the
tree of life, examples have been selected from as great a variety of
groups as possible.

Let us first discuss the rate of changes in direct lines of descent,
disregarding the phenomenon of splitting or branching of the phylo-
genetic tree. What I mean is illustrated by the pedigree of man, in
which the numerous branches leading to other groups have been
omitted. In order to attack the problem of the time rate of evolution,
such a generalized and tentative pedigree is of course useless. It is
necessary to consider a group for which a close succession of abundant
fossil material is available. Such a group is that of the horses, which
has been well studied in the United States. In figure 1 the chrono-
logical order and the range in time are shown for successive genera
directly ancestral to Hquus, the modern horse. From this arrange-
ment, Simpson has deduced the average duration of a horse genus as
about 5% million years. In column III, the horse’s ancestors are
spaced in accordance with the amount of structural modification
between successive stages, and the amount is measured in arbitrary
units. It is evident from the comparison of columns I, II, and III,
that the morphological step, for instance, from EH’pihippus to Meso-
hippus was great, though it did not take more time than the preceding
one from Orohippus to Epihippus. Evolution appears to have been
accelerated in this case, as also from Parahippus to Merychippus.
The remainder of the diagram shows the kinds of morphological
characters used in assessing the units of column III, and also the
trend of evolution in the horses.

This evidence supplies us with some interesting information, namely
(a) that the rate of morphological change is not a simple function of
time, and (b) that the average period of existence of a horse genus is
of the order of a few million years. The horses have further provided
an observation made by Stirton, which is worth mentioning. In
studying the progressive increase in height (hypsodonty) of the
cheek teeth, he noticed that at any one point of the lineage there is
not enough individual difference in the height of the cheek teeth,

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 249

{. TENTATIVE TIME i. RANGE ii. GENERA SPACED

SCALE IN MILLION OF GENERA ACCORDING TO EXTENT OF
YEARS STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES
| PLEISTOCENE EQUUS EQuUS
t 7
5 tL
ra PLIOHIPPUS
Y PLIOHIPPUS
e)
x 11

10

MERYCHIPPUS
15

MERYCHIPPUS

us 18
20-4
VY
Q
>=
25 PARAHIPPUS
PARAHIPPUS .
MIOHIPPUS
30 t 5
wy MIOHIPPUS MESOHIPPUS
O
3544 O ‘
2 16
re) MESOHIPPUS
40 |
45 | 9
a aii OROHIPPUS

50

I

HYRACOTHERIUM

55 HYRACOTHERIUM

Ficure 1.—The evolution of the horse in North America correlated with the
absolute time scale. (Based on the work of E. D. Cope, W. D. Matthew, W. B.
Scott, G. G. Simpson, R. A. Stirton, and others.)

250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

nor even in successive species of ages as much apart as 1 million years,
to believe that the minute differences present had any value as a
determining factor in survival.

Returning to the duration of a genus, it will be interesting to
consult other groups, to see whether the figure of 5% million years
found in the horses is more generally applicable. Similar values are
found in other groups of Mammalia, such as the land carnivores.
For these Simpson constructed a ‘‘survivorship curve’ showing that
the mean duration of a genus of carnivores is 6% million years. But
for the bivalve Mollusca, he obtained a mean as high as 78 million
years.

Just to add a few more figures: Swinnerton found 20 million years
as the average lifetime of a genus of Triassic ammonites. Lingula, on
the other hand, a brachiopod, has been known for its persistence since
the Cambrian. This genus has lasted over 400 million years. From
this evidence the terrestrial Mammalia appear to have genera of a
short duration, but even this is a matter of a few million years.

One might be inclined to interpret these different rates of generic
evolution in terms of species steps, assuming that each lineage would
pass through several evolutionary changes, each constituting a new
species, before the accumulated differences justify one in calling the
descendants a new genus. It is certain that this process underlies
the evolution of the horse, but it is conceivable that in other groups
genera may have originated without the interposition of a series of
species steps. The time rate of species formation, therefore, must
now be considered.

Selecting again terrestrial forms of life, mainly mammals, as our
first examples, because more detailed evidence is available, we find
that since the end of the last glaciation, some 10,000 to 20,000 years
ago, only minor subspecies have appeared. The differences are
confined to body size, color, slight differences in body proportions,
in the development of appendages, etc. The British race of the red
deer, for instance, has evolved since Britain became separated from
the Continent some 7,500 years ago. This is shown by fossil evidence,
since the early postglacial specimens found in the Thames belong to
the Continental race. Moreover the characters of Cervus elaphus
scoticus, as the British race is called, are probably not fixed genetically,
since, when the breed was transferred to a favorable environment,
in New Zealand, it reverted in many respects to the Continental type.
Other examples could be given of the insignificant character of
Postglacial differentiation in species. ;

Greater differences are observed in some, but by no means the
majority, of Upper Pleistocene species, of about 50,000 to 100,000
years ago. For the marmot of that time, for instance, Wehrli found
that the shape of the temporal ridges has since become stabilized.

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 251

These ridges run into the upper posterior edge of the processus
postorbitalis in a certain number of fossil specimens, while in recent
Marmota marmota they have moved to the upper side of the processus.
That this character has become practically fixed since the Upper
Pleistocene, is shown by the following figures:

TaBLeE I
Marmota Inter- Primitive
tyz.e mediate type
(Percent) (Percent) (Percent)
Wppersbleisvocenes 32. 4- =) = oe a IS 33 53 13
FES COT Gee ae a a res ee a ae Byer eye I a 98 LM, 2

Forms of this degree of variation would, in the recent fauna, be re-
garded as subspecies.

Going back to the Middle Pleistocene, about 250,000 years ago,
the differences become more conspicuous, but they are still treated
as subspecific by most taxonomists. It is only in the Lower Pleisto-
cene, about 500,000 years ago, that we encounter ancestral forms on
which the taxonomists agree that they must be classified as distinct
species. This applies, for instance, to the European elephants,
Elephas antiquus, and the mammoth, which Soergel has shown to
have evolved from an early Pleistocene common ancestor, Hlephas
meridionalis. If this view is correct, nearly half a million years
were required to produce a new species by way of a gradual change.
If it is not correct, the point of divergence lies farther back in the
past and the rate of species change is longer. In the lineages of
rhinoceroses, bears, and deer, similar evidence is available and there
are cases in the Recent fauna which have been explained as the results
of geographical isolation during the glaciations (the common crow
and the hooded crow, for instance). But again there are species
which have changed much less since the Lower Pleistocene, which
are regarded as no more than subspecifically distinct from their
Recent descendants and, therefore, must have a slower rate of species
formation. In the Cromer Forest Bed (about 500,000 years ago),
14 percent of the species are regarded as “Recent,” though it is quite
likely that subspecific differences will be detected by future revisers.

Five hundred thousand years, then, appears to be a fast rate of
species evolution in terrestrial mammals and no faster rate has, to
my knowledge, yet been found in other groups of the animal king-
dom. Let us now consider the question, how long have species re-
mained stable or unchanged? To answer it we have to resort to ma-
rine groups. Lower Miocene Mollusca of Java, for instance, are
regarded as conspecific with Recent forms. They have been stable
for 30 million years. Surveying fossils in general, this has to be
regarded as a high figure, but it need not be a maximum.

252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

It is conceivable that plant species behave differently. Small
has analyzed several groups of plants from the chronological point of
view, notably the diatoms. He came to the conclusion that the mean
duration of species is measured in millions of years. Furthermore,
he distinguished in the diatoms long-lived species (up to 100 million
years) and short-lived species (one million years or less). In other
groups he encountered shorter rates than this. These time rates are
of much the same order as in the animal kingdom. But there is one
interesting difference: while in animals the evidence suggests gradual
change of specific characters, Small regards the changes in the diatoms
(and perhaps other plants) as sudden.

Summarizing, we may say that half a million years is a short life-
time for a species and, so far as our admittedly incomplete evidence
goes, something ike a minimum. The lifetime of genera appears to
be rarely less than 5 million years. Short rates are observed in ter-
restrial groups like most Mammalia, while long rates are frequent in
mainly marine groups like the bivalve shells and the diatoms. There
appears to be a certain amount of correlation between the rates of
species evolution and the degree of changeability of the environment,
slow rates being frequent in environments like the sea in which living
conditions are exceedingly stable.

Hitherto we have been discussing changes in single lines of descent.
Let us now consider the phenomenon of phyletic splitting. Branch-
ing is a frequent event in phylogenesis. An ancestral species may
evolve into two divergent descendant species by the disappearance of
intermediates, or the ancestral species may remain unaltered and a
new type emerge as aside branch. In fact, few groups would survive
without splitting, since owing to the action of internal (genetic) and
external (environmental) factors, many species become extinct.

If the rate of splitting equals the rate of extinction, the number of
species in a systematic category, like a genus or a family, remains
constant. But if the rate of splitting is greater than the rate of ex-
tinction, the number of species in the group under consideration will
rise increasingly steeply along an exponential curve.

There are many different ways in which the rate of splitting can be
plotted in relation to time. I have selected two simple methods of
plotting which can be applied readily to any group from which suffi-
cient fossil material has been adequately studied by a taxonomist.
One is to plot the number of species existing in any period or sub-
period, or smaller stratigraphical division, on the absolute time scale.
The other consists of doing the same for the newly appearing species
only. In the first, the surviving species modify the picture. The
second is a truer presentation of the rate of splitting, but the material
is often not complete enough for its application.

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 253

Now let us consider a few examples. Figure 2 shows the genus
Salenia. These sea urchins start in the Lower Cretaceous. The
number of species rises rapidly to a climax in the Upper Cretaceous
(“increase phase’”’). Cases like this one, of a rapid, almost sudden,
blossoming-out of a group were called ‘explosive evolution” by Schin-
dewolf. We may borrow the term and call the phase of rapid increase
the explosive phase. In Salenia it is followed by a catastrophic drop
followed by a slow ‘‘decline phase” leading to almost complete
extinction. Of the cause of this sudden drop we are completely igno-
rant; it is an unusual feature, as will be seen when other diagrams are
considered.

As regards the increase phase, we learn that in Salenia it lasted for
about 40 million years.

Figure 3 shows the Brachiopod genus Lingula. Again it reveals a
rapid rise in the number of species at the beginning, from the Cam-
brian to the Ordovician, of the order of 40-50 million years. But
between the increase and the decline phases, a more or less “‘station-
ary’’ phase is intercalated, during which the number of species did
not vary greatly. The decline phase of Lingula set in with the Car-
boniferous. It is a long-drawn-out phase and continues into the
present.

Another interesting case is that of the coelacanths, a group of the
fringe-finned fishes or Crossopterygii (fig. 4). This group never had
a truly explosive phase. Nevertheless, there is an increase phase
from the end of the Devonian to the Triassic, lasting about 100
million years.

One more example may be given, the molluscan genus Poiretia
(fig. 5). Here, the explosive phase in the evolution of the genus
is 80-40 million years. Other examples confirm that the length of
the explosive phase is of the order of a few 10-million years, the
extremes so far found being 30 and 100 million years and the mean
around 50 million years.

As an example from the plant kingdom, illustrating at the same
time a group with stable, geometrical characters living in an environ-
ment which changes but little, diatoms may be shown. Small in-
vestigated the chronology of their evolution, and the diagram of
Hemiaulus shown (fig. 6) is a translation into our method of plotting
of one of his diagrams. It shows a steepening rise to a climax in the
Cretaceous. The increase phase lasted about 80 million years, no
longer than in groups living in less stable environments, but there was
a pronounced initial lag phase.

Now it is interesting to consider some higher systematic categories.
One might expect that the explosive phase in the evolution of higher
systematic units, like families, orders, classes, is longer than in
genera. But this is not so.

254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

J

eke)

See
He 50 fe)
million years

CRETACEOUS PALAEOGENE NEOGENE

FIGURE 2,—Diagram of the numbers of species in the sea-urchin genus Salenia
from the Cretaceous to the present day. (Surface area proportional to the
number of species.)

TATA 200 Tele) i

400
million years

U.CAMB.ORD. SILUR.DEV. CARB. PERM, TRIAS.JURAS.CRET. CAINOZOIC

Ficure 3.—Number of species in the brachipod genus Lingula, from the Upper
Cambrian to the present day. (Surface area proportional to the number of
species.)

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 255

COELACANTHIDAE

SRT RES TE
250 200 150 100 50 1@}

Diplocercididae

_ 300
million years

DEV, CARBON. PERM. TRIAS. JURASS.CRET. CAINOZOIC

Ficure 4.—Diagram showing frequency of species of coelacanth fishes in relation
to time. Inthe Upper Devonian the family Diplocercididae flourished. In the
Carboniferous it was replaced by the Coelacanthidae, which reached their climax
in the Triassic. The small number of coelacanths recorded from the Permian
may not represent their true frequency owing to the fact that relatively few
marine deposits are known from the Permian. Possibly, therefore, the rise to
the climax in the Triassic was not interrupted in the Permian, as is shown in
the diagram, but was continuous from the Lower Carboniferous; if so, the rise
would have taken about 100 million years and the rate of evolution would then
be one of the slowest known. The coelacanths are regarded as a very con-
servative group which changed but little in the course of time.

60 50 40 30 86.20 lO oO
million years
PALAEOGENE NEOGENE.

Figure 5.—Diagram showing the number of new species of the molluscan genus
Poiretia appearing in the different subdivisions of the Tertiary. The maximum
number of new species was produced in the late Palaegene, within 30 to 40
million years of the appearance of the genus.

256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The first example of this kind is that of the rotaliid Foraminifera
(fig. 7), showing the number of existing genera in the superfamily.
Again there is a phase of steepening increase. It lasted from the
early Cretaceous into the Oligocene, for about 70 million years.
Another case is that of the genera in the brachipod family, Spiriferi-
dae, with an explosive phase of about 80 million years. A third
example shows the orders in the class of the true fishes. This diagram

0

HEMIAULUS
(DIATOMACEA)

TOTAL OF SPECIES LIVINGIN
ANY PERIOD

NO. OF NEW SPECIES
PRODYCEDIN ANY PERIOD

Triassic ———> |Jurassic—o|L.Cret. |UpCretac|Eocene OL |Miocene|Prioc. | R.

200 MILLION [100 MILLION YEARS

Figure 6.—The diatom genus Hemiaulus. The number of species living in any
period (blocks) and the number of new species appearing in any period (curve)
from the Permian to the present day. (Numerical material from Small, 1948.
Ordinate scale linear.)

150 100 © 50 fo)

million.years

TRIASSIC JURASSIC CRETACEOUS PALAEOGENE NEOGENE

Figure 7.—Diagram showing the number of genera in the superfamily Rotalioidea
(Foraminifera) present in various geological epochs. (Surface area of blocks
proportional to the number of species.)

(fig. 8), which is based on Romer’s work, is not strictly to scale, but
there is no doubt that orders like the sturgeons and gar pikes had
explosive phases of some 20-60 million years.

Finally, the number of orders within the class of the winged insects
(Pterygota) must be mentioned. Since about a hundred orders have
been distinguished, it is possible to plot them in much the same way
as species in a genus. Once more, an explosive phase emerges, an
exceptionally large number of orders appearing during the Upper
Carboniferous and the Permian, over a period of about 60 million
years.

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 257

TABLE 2.—Insect orders

Existing New
1 DYERICO LOVE OLE es as Toes Aes popes SEG we gs yee Adis Mallee erent yen aes 0 0
ower! Carboniferous ee sac te ete ae en eit a eee Pe 2 2
Wpper Carboniferous! =. a2. es 2S 25s oe nee cee aes ee 18 16
Perm is nes is eee eae eee Pe ne ees Bg 37 30
IMlESOZO1C =e Sree 2 ee Mee at gs tei iE E Ey Ti ib oem pe Ros Ye pe eS eee ep 31 22
CAS oy RN Mey een al RE te ape ree OnE ee et eet oe ey ge 38 13
BB eY 1s} 0) ee ey Se As ISR eS Vege ae aR eee EN Pore Se A PE aero SE CI Sea ee eC
million
ears
| |
aoe > : CAINOZOIC
i i
sul CRETACE-
i y OUS
$ 2
= eo
7 NG JURASSIC
3 of
°.
8 :
on | jee
4 PERMIAN
B,
: 5 CARBON
: : ‘ -IFEROUS
DEVONIAN
SILURIAN

FiacurE 8.—The evolution of the true fishes correlated with the geological time
scale. Based on a diagram by A. S. Romer.

To summarize, increase phases (often of the ‘‘explosive” type) in
the evolution of genera, families, and orders lasted, so far as evidence
goes, something like 15-100 million years, with a mean of about 50 or
60 million years.

In other words, the increase phase of evolution is of the same length
[of the order of 50-60 million years (+30)], irrespective of the sys-
tematic unit investigated. It is difficult to resist the temptation to
speculate on the significance of this result. What it appears to mean
is that the number of species steps involved in the evolution of new
systematic categories is the same irrespective of the rank of the cate-
gory. It takes no longer for a new order to evolve than for a new

genus to appear.

258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

If this is accepted as a valid inference from the material studied,
then the difference between genera, families, orders, and classes must
lie in the quality of the unit steps involved in their evolution. This
is not a new idea,? though we have arrived at it from a new and un-
expected direction.

What is meant by the statement that the quality of the steps de-
cides the systematic category which is evolving, is easy to illustrate
but difficult to formulate. A good example is the evolution of the
jaws of the fishes from gill arches. This is an extraordinarily interest-
ing case of change of function of an organ. Its real significance,
however, is that this change provided the fishes with a decided ad-
vantage over their environment. It opened up new and better food
supplies and, as Sewertzoff expresses it, “increased the general life-
intensity of these animals.”’ A biting-mouth skeleton is important
also as an offensive and defensive weapon. It is, I think, sufficiently
evident that this particular change of function was full of evolutionary
potentialities. Applying Sewertzoff’s terminology, such changes may
be called aromorphs.

On the other hand, if one considers the extreme adaptation of a leaf
insect (Phyllium), one finds that it has—to use Sewertzoff’s phrase-
ology—led to a decrease in the life-intensity of the animal. No new
food supplies have been made available by the process of adaptation,
and its evolutionary potentialities are nil. This type of adaptation is
typical of the lower systematic categories.

There is another interesting feature that. emerges from the chrono-
logical treatment of evolution. It is that there appears to be no
correlation between fast rates of species evolution with groups having
a rapid succession of generations. Elephants are among the most
slowly breeding animals known and yet their rate of evolution was
the fastest so far found. On the other hand, Drosophila, which,
because of its rapid succession of generations, is so much used in
experimental biology, is a genus 50 million years old. It appears
therefore that a rapid succession of generations must not be taken as
a, substitute for long periods of time. It is indeed surprising to find
that the number of generations is not the only factor ruling the rate
of change in evolution and that this change is in a vague way correlated
with absolute time. Does this perhaps mean that external, environ-
mental factors are influencing evolution over very long periods of
time? I am unable to answer this question, or to offer any other
explanation.

I hope I have been able to show that a study of the chronology of
evolution is well worth the effort. The suggestions made here must

?This has been put forward in different forms, for instance, by G. G. Simpson and R. Goldschmidt.

TIME IN EVOLUTION—ZEUNER 259

not be taken as final results. For the time being the material is
still too scanty to make generalizations sufficiently safe. Some of
the time rates, however, have been found by several workers inde-
pendently, and some of the rules—if one be allowed to use this term—
have been deduced by more than one worker.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
GoLpscHMIpT, R.
1940. The material basis of evolution. 436 pp. New Haven.
ScHINDEWOLF, O. H.
1947. Fragen der Abstammungslehre. Aufs. Reden Senckenb. Nat. Ges.,
Frankfurt a M., vol. 1. 23 pp.
Simpson, G. G.
1944. Tempo and mode in evolution. 237 pp. New York.
SMALL, J.
1946. Quantitative evolution—VIII. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., ser. B, vol.
51, No. 4, pp. 53-80.
1948a. Quantitative evolution—IX—XIII. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., ser. B,
vol. 51, Nos. 17-21, pp. 261-346.
1948b. Some laws of organic evolution. 15 pp. Privately printed.
ZHUNER, F. E.
1946a. Biologicai evolution and time. Ch. XII in Dating the Past. London.
1946b. Time and the biologist. Discovery, vol. 7, No. 8, pp. 242-249, 256.
(Some diagrams shown in the discourse are figured in this article,
and acknowledgments are due to the editor of Discovery for per-
mitting their reproduction.)

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MORE ABOUT ANIMAL BEHAVIOR !

By Ernest P. WALKER
Assistant Director, National Zoological Park

[With 16 plates]
INTRODUCTION

The scope of the subject ‘‘animal behavior’ is almost unlimited, for
every species has its own particular pattern of behavior and the indi-
viduals of the species show many variations even from that pattern, so
that the subject could really be made an exhaustive study for each
and every species. Although psychologists have made extensive
studies of human behavior, actually they have merely made a good
beginning. Glimpses of animal behavior and some conception of how
behavior patterns may have developed frequently help in explaining
human behavior and human reactions, for our reactions are the result
of a long series of experiences of trial and error and elimination by
natural causes just as has been the case with those of other animals.
Similar causes have brought about similar reactions in many
instances, and different causes and environment have developed
different reactions; there is, therefore, a remarkable diversity of
behavior pattern among the different kinds of animals that live under
many different conditions. Those that have not been able to adjust
themselves to their environment have become extinct and are usually
known only by their fossil remains; those that could adapt themselves
and multiply are the forms that have survived to the present day.

The activities in an animal’s life are essentially the same as the basic
activities of humans. Individuals must survive, and to do so they
must be able to avoid enemies, to obtain food and shelter; and for the
species to survive, the individuals must reproduce and the young must
be given an opportunity to start their own struggles for survival.

No doubt everyone who has observed animals closely has seen them
do many things that could not be explained in the light of our ex-
periences and practices. However, we must judge and interpret the

1 An earlier article by the same author, under the title ‘‘Animal] Behavior,’ appeared in the Annual
Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1940, pp. 271-312, 18 pls. As the first paper has been out of print
for several years, some of the same ideas and examples contained in it are incorporated in the present paper,
although not as exact quotations.

261

262 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

actions of animals in the light of the lives they normally lead in the
wild. If we are well enough informed as to the conditions under
which they live and their mode of life, we can often understand actions
that would otherwise be incomprehensible or aimless to us. I do not
believe that animals do any more aimless things than humans. On
the contrary, I am often impressed by the direct and efficient
manner in which they carry on the work of their lives.

The habits of animals are so intimately associated with and gov-
erned by their structure that one who is somewhat familiar with either
the habits or the structure can often make rather close deductions
from one regarding the other.

Every habit or type of behavior that has been developed because it
helps the animal in its life is, of course, a special trait. Some are so
little known that attention might be focused upon them and con-
sideration given to the manner in which they benefit the animal.
To understand the animals best, we must realize that merely because
we cannot perform a given act does not mean that an animal cannot
do it. For example, the sense of smell in most humans is so unde-
veloped that we cannot trail another animal by scent, as we know many
animals do. Also, our hearing is so dull we cannot detect sounds that
we know many other animals hear. Likewise, other senses of animals
are probably so much more keenly developed than ours that they re-
celve impressions or information of which we know little or nothing.
For example, some animals give off vibrations that other animals are
able to detect; the presence of a warm live body can be detected by
certain snakes at distances of several feet even though their eyes and
nostrils are not functioning; and apparently impressions are received
by insects through their antennae and by fish through their lateral
lines.

How individual animals acquire their behavior patterns is a fas-
cinating field for study. Some actions are apparently taught to the
young by the parents; some are learned by the young by observing
others of their kind; some are learned by the trial and error system, or
as we know it, “by bitter experience”’; and some come to the animal
by instinct; that is, the animal reacts in a certain way (usually the
right way) under certain circumstances without previously having
had an opportunity to learn consciously to act in that manner under
those circumstances. How such reactions develop is explained by
various theories and is a separate study.

ECOLOGY, STRUCTURE, AND HABITS

Ecologists refer to an animal as occupying an ecological niche, that
is, the main activities of the animal take place within a certain type
of habitat. It may live entirely within the water, on or under the
ground, or almost entirely on trees, or combinations of any of these,

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER ”263

and its food is definitely limited by the products that it can obtain in
the habitat which it occupies. Animals that do not use the same food
or are not antagonistic, because one does not prey upon the other,
can occupy the same areas or overlapping areas, so that ecological
niches do not have definite, clearly defined boundaries, but are rather
areas or space spheres of activity having also a time component. The
structure of the animal to a large extent governs the type of ecological
niche that it may occupy, since through evolution the animal’s form
has been modified to adapt it to the type of ecological niche that has
been available to its long line of ancestors down to itself. Thus we
can to some extent explain and understand the great variety of forms
of animal life.

We might consider two little creatures of approximately the same
size which occupy different ecological niches and are very different
in structure, and see how they fit into their respective spheres. These
are golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and “‘flying’’ squirrels
(Glaucomys volans).

The golden hamster of Syria averages about 4 ounces in weight,
with a maximum of about 8 ounces. It is a stout-bodied, short-necked,
short-armed, and short-legged little mammal with short fingers and
toes and a tail only about half an inch in length. It has very large
cheek pouches that open inside the lips and extend far back of the
shoulders, in which it can carry surprising loads of food or nest mate-
rial. It is rich golden-reddish brown above and white beneath, with
white hands and feet. The little creature is an inhabitant of an arid,
rocky region where it lives mainly among rocks or in burrows in the
ground around the rocks. Syria’s climatic conditions result in a
scarcity of food material for such little creatures for long periods of
time; therefore, the storage of food is necessary and the cheek pouches
are of great value in carrying food to its burrow or den. It works
industriously at this, apparently the only limit to the amount of food
it carries being determined by the amount that is available.

They are relatively slow-moving, clumsy little creatures in com-
parison with many other animals that we know, but are obviously
well adapted to leading their lives in an efficient manner in their
habitat. Their movements remind one of military tanks in that they
are slow, ponderous, and persistent. There is nothing sprightly or
agile about them, but if they want to go in a certain direction or up a
certain surface they keep at it so persistently that frequently they
succeed, and they can wedge themselves through surprisingly small
crevices. They display remarkable persistence and determination to
get into crevices that would seem to be so small and uncomfortable as
not to be attractive to them.

The mouths of rodents are definitely on the underpart of the head
and back of the nose, making it difficult for them to cut upward when

866591—50-—18

264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

in their normal position. The animals solve this problem very
readily, however, by throwing themselves on the back or side and
cutting upward with their teeth. A picture of such an effort is shown
in which my “Shehammy” has thrown herself on her back and is
trying to cut upward on the lower edge of a door so that she can
squeeze through the crack between it and the floor (pl. 1, fig. 1).
This aperture was only seven-eighths of an inch high and, when she
tried to force her way through it standing on her feet, she was much
too thick and her body was much too tense, but in the inverted posi-
tion she extended her arms forward so that she was able to get a grasp
on the lower edge of the door and pull herself through the crevice,
which she did repeatedly. This ‘““chammy,”’ one of my pets, did it
regularly, and I have seen other rodents do it occasionally.

Frequently one of my golden hamsters, when permitted to run
about my study in the evening, would clamber up in the crack between
a bookcase and the wall a foot or more above the floor and stay there
for a considerable time. She usually rested by bracing her feet
against the wall and her back against the bookcase and apparently
was content to stay in that position. This suggests to me that these
animals adopt such a position as a means of being comfortable in
fissures between the rocks among which they live.

When hamsters want to get down from an elevation that they have
reached, they apparently do not think of jumping down even a few
inches, but lower themselves as far as possible with the hind feet,
sustaining themselves by the top of the hind feet, which are bent at the
ankle. Next they release one foot and then the other and fall head
downward, usually landing on their noses, but sometimes on their
backs (pl. 2). They then sit up, sneeze, rub their noses, and go about
their business. It will be noted that they do not utilize their hind
claws or toes which are too small to be effective. This method,
while probably a relatively inefficient action, has persisted because
it is not seriously harmful in the circumstances under which they
live, and is the best they can do with their short fingers and toes
which are not of much use to them for such descents.

At night, when foraging for food, hamsters apparently spend very
little time eating, preferring to fill their pouches, take the load of food
home, and return for more (pl. 1, fig. 2). In this way they gather
food when it is available and eat at leisure in their nests without
being exposed to danger. During the daytime, their sleeping period,
they frequently wake up and eat, probably consuming much more
food at this time than during the night when they are actively foraging,
grooming, exploring, or visiting their neighbors.

When “‘hammies” are away from their homes or other shelter and
there is a sudden alarm, they dash for shelter with surprising speed for
little folk with short legs but if they are touched or attacked before

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 265

they can get away, they throw themselves on their backs incredibly
quickly and are prepared to fight savagely with their sharp, fairly
strong teeth and tiny claws. If they are in their nests, they pay little
attention to outside disturbances, at most sniffing from just inside the
doorway.

Baby ‘‘hammies” arrive in litters of as many as 17, tiny, blind,
naked, pink, helpless little fellows that lie on their backs and nurse
while mother “‘hammy” hovers over them to keep them warm in the
snug cup-shaped nest of fibers she has constructed in a remote portion
of the burrow or den. The little ones grow very rapidly, and by the
thirteenth day they have a good coat of fur, are eating solid food, and
begin wandering about in the burrow, den, or cage. Even though
their eyes are not yet open, they find their way back to the nest if
mother has not detected their absence and carried them home. By
the fifteenth day their eyes are open, and by the seventy-third day they
produce babies of their own. ‘They bear large families in rapid suc-
cession but cease to breed regularly when about 1 year old, and the
life span is short (probably a maximum of about 3 years). There is
a high mortality rate, probably throughout life.

The structure and lives of the flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) of
North America are in marked contrast to those of the hamster.
Flying squirrels weigh about 3 ounces, have slender bodies, long,
slender, strong arms, fingers, legs, and toes with fairly long, curved
claws, and a rather long tail. Theskin of the body is much larger than
is necessary to enclose the delicate little form and is extended outward
along the side as hair-covered membrane indistinguishable from the
skin of the body. This skin reaches down to the wrists and ankles,
so their outline is almost square when the little creatures put their
arms forward and out and their legs back and out as they do while
gliding through the air. This adaptation more than doubles the area
of the upper and lower surfaces as it appears when the animals are at
rest. In keeping with this form, the hairs of the sides of the tail are
long, and closely set, and project at almost right angles, whereas those
of the upper and lower surfaces are very short and lie close to the bone
of the tail, so that the tail is, in cross section, almost like a feather.
All these are modifications for life in an entirely different habitat from
that of the hamster.

Flying squirrels live among the trees, generally making their nests
in hollow limbs, old woodpecker holes, or other shelters high above
the ground. They are strictly nocturnal, having very large eyes
adapted to admitting the maximum light available. They are not
limited in their movements to climbing up and down the trees or to
mere leaping between objects, for their remarkable form gives them
power to glide long distances. ‘To do this they seek an elevated point,
leap out into space and spread their arms and legs so that they take

266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

on the form of miniature gliders (pl. 4, fig. 1). When approaching a
landing, which they generally try to make on a tree or other object
not on the ground, they swing slightly upward to check the glide and
bring their long arms and legs forward as shock absorbers (pl. 4,
fig. 2). Instantly upon alighting they dart around to the other side
of the tree or limb, which is probably a provision to escape any
enemy that might be following them.

Before flying squirrels take off on a glide they almost invariably
sway the head and body as far as possible first to one side then the
other, repeated several times, and often raise as high as they can
stand and crouch as low as possible. 'Thisis probably a sort of range
finding by triangulation.

They feed very largely on nuts and acorns which they gather and
store in their nests and probably in almost any location in the forest
in which they can find a cavity that is large enough to hold a nut
securely. I assume this from the fact that my pets regularly place
nuts at many places about the house other than in their nest box.
They particularly selected the top of the window, the medicine cabinet
in the bathroom, my hand, my pockets, inside my collar, and even
the depression between my arm and body when I have my arm close
to my body. When placing nuts, they have an interesting habit of
trying to make them secure wherever they are leaving them. They
force them into the crevice or onto the surface where they are leaving
them, then tap them three or four times with their front teeth. This
suggests that they probably similarly try to wedge the nuts in cracks
in the bark or slight depressions on the tops of tree limbs in the wild.

In addition to nuts and seeds, they eat some fruits, berries, and
insects. My pets eat mealworms, grasshoppers, and small bits of
meat in moderation.

“Glauckies” (short for their scientific name) are very hesitant
about going down to the ground, feeling much more at home leaping
about in the trees, gliding from place to place; however, they will go
down on occasion. When they do so, they are plainly not at home
and run with the arms and legs extended so as to hold the body as
high above the ground as possible, the gliding membrane being
pulled upward close to the body so that a very peculiar effect is
produced.

Instead of sleeping soundly and ignoring disturbances in their
neighborhood, as do the hammies and many other burrowing creatures
who know they are safest in their dens, the flying squirrels sleep
lightly and at the least disturbance in their neighborhood they peer
out or dash away.

“Glauckies’”’ are born in families of two to six pink, helpless little
ones, with the gliding membranes plainly evident. They develop

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 267

slowly, are not well clothed in fur until about the twenty-eighth day,
and continue nursing until about the fifty-sixth day. In recognition
of the dangers of an active life in trees, they, like young tree squirrels
(Sciurus), start out exploring near the nest with great caution, and
venture farther and take more chances only as they gain strength,
experience, and confidence. Their gestation period is about 60 days
and young are born when the parents are about 1 year old.

These brief descriptions of the widely different hamsters and flying
squirrels, which inhabit very different ecological niches, give a glimpse
of the specialization among animals which enables them to survive
and to lead their lives under diverse conditions.

Giraffes (Giraffa) have developed such a high degree of specializa-
tion that they are able to fill an ecological niche without competition
with other mammals except in those portions of their range which
overlap that of the elephants. Much of the food of the giraffe is
taken from the upper portions of shrubs or from the lower branches
of trees far above the reach of most mammals. In addition to its long
legs and very long neck, the giraffe has elongate, mobile lips and can
extend its tongue several inches to help it gather in leaves and twigs.

The moles (Scalopus and other genera), which burrow in the earth,
are blind, have exceedingly short forelimbs, with nose and tail very
sensitive to touch, large, powerful hands armed with long, strong
claws, and very strong muscles in the fore part of the body, particularly
those associated with the arms. The fur is very soft and short and
will lie in any direction; thus it does not impede the mole when it
desires to run backward in its burrow, which it often does. Moles
feed on earthworms, grubs, and other small animal life they catch in
the earth. (See pl. 5, fig. 2.)

In marked contrast are the gibbons (Hylobates and Symphalangus),
highly specialized members of the primate or monkey group. Their
arms are exceedingly long and powerful, with elongate hands and four
strong fingers, the thumb being small and situated far back on the
hand. The legs are rather long, and the feet are better fitted for
grasping than are the hands. The body is small. These adaptations
enable gibbons to be the most expert of all mammals in swinging by
their arms through the forest from branch to branch and even from
tree to tree. In this process the hands are used as hooks, the thumb
taking no part in grasping. Since the hands are usually occupied
when traveling through the trees, gibbons carry objects such as food
or branches by grasping them with the feet. The same method of
carrying objects is used by chimpanzees (Pan) and orangutangs
(Pongo).

Whereas the gibbons, chimpanzees, gorillas (Gorilla), and orang-
utangs lack tails, the spider monkeys (Ateles) of Central and South

268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

America possess long, prehensile tails which they use in many
ways, especially to hang by or to use as a supplementary hand
in steadying themselves. In the picture (pl. 11) it will be seen that
one of the animals is using its tail to hold itself while it leans far
forward. On one occasion I saw seven spider monkeys in this group
leaning forward, held by their tails, watching for the door to open so
they could go into the house for their afternoon meal.

Some rodents have large, powerful incisor teeth that protrude
much more than those of the majority of rodents, and one naturally
surmises that this trait is associated with some habit peculiar to them,
which indeed it is. The animals possessing such teeth use them in
burrowing; that is, they cut away the earth, remove small stones,
and cut roots, thus performing most of the functions that the powerful
hands of the mole perform and, in addition, do the cutting work
which the mole’s hands cannot do. Some other rodents, and many
of the insectivores also, have projecting incisor teeth, but these are
relatively small and slender and are obiously not suitable for such
heavy work as digging, moving small stones, or cutting. These are
used as forceps for the picking up of food, which consists mainly of
small fish, insects, or worms.

Such animals as the kangaroos (Macropus), the kangaroo rats
(Dipodomys), the African spring hare or spring hass (Pedetes), the
jerboas (Alactaga, Scarturus, Salpingotus) and others have large,
long, powerful hind legs, relatively small, weak, short forelegs, and
long tails which are either tufted with long hairs near the tip or are
rather heavy, often very thick near the base (pl. 5, fig. 1). These
animals are leapers and use the hind legs almost exclusively in propul-
sion. The tail is a balancing member; it also acts as a tripod leg
in some forms.

The types of leaps of different animals vary greatly. One interest-
ing difference is the contrast between the leap of the flying squirrel,
an animal that leaps directly toward its objective with a very flat
trajectory, often planning to land below its target and then climb
up to it, and the leap of the tarsier (Tarsisus) which has a very high
trajectory and lands the leaper at its objective. After becoming
accustomed to photographing the leaps of flying squirrels, I tried
photographing tarsiers leaping and aimed my camera as I would
for the squirrels. With the pronounced leap upward of the tarsier,
I at first caught only the tail and hind portion of the animal in the
upper portion of the picture. After a few such experiences I learned
the difference in their leaps and corrected my aim accordingly.

The list of such highly specialized forms could be expanded indefi-
nitely to include representatives of all groups of animal life, for
every animal is specialized to lead a certain type of life.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 269

CLEANLINESS

Almost all animals are fastidiously cleanly about their persons and
their homes. Because of the fact that many animals live on or in
the ground or on trees or other surfaces that frequently are dirty
according to our standards, we often erroneously consider the animals
to be uncleanly. As a matter of fact, practically every animal takes
great pains to avoid soiling its coat, and when it does unavoidably
become soiled, the animal at the first opportunity painstakingly cleans
itself by shaking, rolling in the sand, washing in water, or licking itself.
Even those pests, the common Norway rat, roof rat, and house mouse,
which have found that they can obtain food and shelter in man’s
filthy surroundings, endeavor to keep themselves clean. If they are
observed when not alarmed, it will be seen that they carefully pick
their way through their surroundings in an effort to avoid soiling
themselves, and after they have finished their exploration they will
invariably be seen to groom carefully. If one will part the fur of
small mammals it will be seen that the skin is generally immaculately
clean.

A star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) that I am keeping as a pet
comes out of the ground, goes into a dish of water and at once begins
grooming. In a few minutes it has washed thoroughly.

Animals have developed many ways for keeping themselves and
their nests clean. Apparently flying squirrels rarely void excreta
during their entire sleeping period, which may be as much as 16 hours.
Obviously they wish to keep the inside of the tree or other nest loca-
tion clean, so wait until they go out at night when they can see
clearly and there is a minimum of danger from outside enemies.
Many of the burrowing mammals have little toilet rooms that open
off of the main burrow where they deposit their excrement, thus keep-
ing the main burrow clean. Young North American opossums
(Didelphis virginiana) of an age to be in the pouch or still be clinging
to their mother apparently do not release their excretion unless they
are stroked on the lower abdominal region. This is probably a pro-
vision for keeping the pouch clean until such time as the mother is
ready to clean the little ones.

POSTURES

The new-born babies of many of the small mammals naturally lie on
their backs. This leaves them in the proper position for nursing
when the mother hovers over them, protecting them, hiding them,
and keeping them warm.

Most hoofed animals do not voluntarily sit on their haunches. A
horse assumes this position briefly when getting up, but this does not
constitute true sitting. The exceptions to the rule are the tapirs,

270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

which frequently sit on their haunches with the forefeet supporting
the front part of the body (pl. 14, fig. 2).

A position that would appear to us to be uncomfortable is regularly
adopted by flying squirrels, which normally live in hollow trees. The
body hangs in a vertical position, either head up or head down, sus-
pended by the fingers or the toes, most of the load actually being on
the fingernails or the toenails (pl. 3, fig. 1). They sleep in such poses
at least a portion of the time. The hanging position is probably
assumed as the result of having accommodated themselves to situations
where there is no satisfactory ledge or bottom in the den, so that a
tree cavity that would otherwise be unsuitable can be utilized by
clinging to its rough surfaces. However, they now take this pose
freely even when comfortable nests or rests are available. Of course,
they also take other positions such as curled up in a ball or lying on
the side or the back.

The inverted position so often used by sloths (Choloepus, Bradypus,
and Scaeophus), wherein they hang beneath a limb, is well known and
is entirely suitable for their purposes. Bats generally hang head

downward.
HOMING INSTINCT

When an animal has become established at a given location, it
almost invariably develops a strong attachment for its home even
though such home does not provide entirely satisfactory quarters.
Almost every animal has a rather definite area in which it lives its
entire life, and it rarely leaves this range except when forced to do so
by very unusual circumstances. This is commonly shown when
captive animals escape, for they usually remain nearby for some time
and frequently go back into the cages if they are able todo so. People
who are familiar with animals regularly take advantage of this trait
by leaving the cage door open, refraining from frightening the animal,
and placing food in the cage or nearby until the animal is recaptured.

On one occasion I was keeping a specimen of the least short-tailed
shrew (Cryptotis parva) in a jardiniere. I had observed it trying to
leap out, but it is not adapted to leaping and was apparently unable
to reach the top. After a few days I discovered that it had escaped
during the night probably by superior jumping gained by persistent
exercise. It was so tiny that it was useless to search for it in the
house, so I waited until evening and then placed the jardiniere on the
floor almost directly below the place at which it had been standing on
my desk. JI crumpled around it an old blanket so that it formed a
ramp or runway from the floor up to the top of the jardiniere. I then
mashed a mealworm and dragged particles of it in a trail on the
blanket from where it touched the floor to the top of the jardiniere.
Within a couple of hours the little fellow was back in his home.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 201

Plainly he had come to recognize the jardiniere as home and was glad
to get back to it when it was made possible for him to do so.

Remarkable developments of the trait of returning to the home
range are shown by carrier pigeons (Columba), and birds, mammals,
and fish that migrate.

SELF-PRESERVATION

Humans ordinarily give little thought to the matter of self-preserva-
tion, although it becomes a vital subject during wartime. Among
other animals it is ever foremost. In its broadest aspects self-preserva-
tion involves not only active and passive resistance to enemies, but
also the ability to obtain food and shelter. Humans have recently
had brought to their attention the fact that they, like other animals,
must either be prepared to defend themselves or run away when an
ageressor attacks or threatens. If there is no place to which they can
escape, or if they cannot successfully fight off their enemy, they have
only the alternatives of being subjugated and made slaves, as some-
times happens among humans, or of being destroyed, which in the
case of animals may mean being devoured.

There are very few animals that are aggressive to the extent of
trying to drive away or subjugate their neighbors merely for the
pleasure of the victory. Ordinarily, they will start a fight only when
it is necessary to obtain food, shelter, or a mate.

The methods used by animals to avoid, escape, or defeat an enemy
are almost as numerous as the species of animals, for the individuals
of every species employ one or more methods. All are interesting
and some are very remarkable.

The seeking of shelter is the most common of passive defensive
measures and is practiced to a greater or less degree by all animals.
Some go into burrows in the ground, crevices in rocks, or holes in
trees, while some of the larger ones retreat into dense jungles or
forests.

“Freezing,” the act of remaining motionless, is extensively employed,
as at the first intimation of danger almost every animal ceases prac-
tically all movement. Since an object which is very conspicuous
when moving is readily overlooked when stationary, “‘freezing’’ is a
highly successful means of avoiding detection by enemies. Even
those that depend mainly on their ability to scent their prey may
have difficulty locating it if they cannot see it.

Rabbits and hares (Leporidae), quail (Colinus), and grouse (Tetra-
onidae), when perfectly still in their native haunts, are very difficult
to see, and often will not move unless one almost steps on them.
This method of escape is applicable in almost any type of surrounding,
even on seemingly barren plains or expanses of snow. It is most
effective, of course, if the color pattern of the animal is such that it

272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

harmonizes and blends with the surroundings or if the outline of the
animal is obliterated by some type of camouflage. Most animals are
so colored that they blend perfectly with their surroundings, some,
such as the ptarmigan (Zagopus), certain hares (Lepus), and weasels
or ermine (Mustela), even changing to white in winter to blend with
the snow.

Among insects, camouflage and mimicry have been developed to a
high degree of perfection in many species. Some resemble their
natural surroundings so closely that they are difficult to distingusih
even though one is looking directly at them. Resemblance to dead
or green leaves or stems is the most common camouflage, the pattern
and form of the insect being modified to a strikingly perfect imitation
of the color and form of those parts of the plant on which the insect
usually lives. In the type of specialization known as mimicry, one
species of insect very closely resembles and usually behaves like
another which is distasteful or dangerous to animals. By this
resemblance the imitator is often let alone by an anima) that mistakes
it for the undesirable insect which it resembles.

When it is not possible to avoid an enemy, some animals use @ more
or less passive method which is well illustrated by the armadillos
(Dasypus, Tolypeutes, and related genera) which roll themselves into
a ball, completely protecting the feet, tail, and head within the armor
plate of the body (pl. 6, figs. 1 and 2). This method effectively
baffles many animals that would ordinarily devour them, and when
the would-be attacker becomes discouraged and leaves, the armadillo
unrolls itself and goes about its business. Another method is the
feigning of death, which is well illustrated by the American opossum
which, when alarmed, falls on its side with the mouth partially opened
and appears so limp and inert that it is often left for dead by animals
that would vigorously attack if they surmised the animal to be alive.
Apparently opossums are unpalatable to many animals, so that this
means of protection is very effective. When danger ceases to threaten,
the opossum gradually resumes activity, but if the attacker is merely
waiting nearby and makes a movement, the opossum will usually
again go into its death-feigning act. It is supposed that this behavior
is a type of fainting induced by fright and is perhaps not actually
under the control of the animal. When the hog-nosed snake of the
eastern United States, frequently called spreading adder (Heterodon),
feels itself in danger, it feigns death, throws itself on its back, and
assumes various grotesque poses if it is seriously aggravated. It does
not, however, do this unless the annoyance is great and continued.
Many insects feign death when a disturbance occurs in their vicinity.
This is illustrated by the many beetles that inhabit low shrubbery,
which drop from their elevated locations to the ground and remain
quiet or quickly take refuge in a more protected location.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 273

One of the most remarkable modifications of feigning death of
which I have heard was witnessed and described to me as follows by
John N. Hamlet, of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service:

Three of us recently saw a Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperi) chase a spotted sand-
piper (Actitis macularia). The piper dropped into the water and stayed under for
several seconds. The Cooper’s lit on the stream edge a few yards down the
stream. The sandpiper came to the surface and floated down the stream with
its wings open flat on the water and its neck stretched out. It passed within 3
feet of the hawk who gave it no more than a casual glance. The piper floated
down stream about 20 yards and took off and disappeared.

The live sandpiper drifted close by the hawk but was not recognized
because it was not moving in its usual pose. This is a choice example
of the effectiveness of ‘freezing’? and assuming an unusual pose.
Mr. Hamlet has witnessed similar action by sandpipers on two other
occasions.

Bluff is another effective defense that is employed by many animals.
Its best form is for the animal to face its enemy in a pose not usually
assumed by it and that makes it appear as large as possible, ferocious,
and threatening. Many, if not all, of the owls (Strigiformes) bluff
by crouching low, spreading their wings at almost right angles to the
body and ruffling the body feathers until the bird appears several
times larger than it really is. The bittern does likewise, and most
mammals bluff to some degree. A good example is the dwarf weasel
(Mustela rixosa campestris), only about the size of a cigar, who stands
his ground, opens his mouth wide, barks, and even attacks if need be,
although its teeth and jaws are so small it can scarcely break the
skin of one’s hand. The domestic cat’s (Felis cattus) high-arched
back, bushed-out tail, and wide-open, snarling mouth present a good
example, and many of us have witnessed the hestitation of a dog
suddenly confronted by such an attitude. Often this hesitation
gives the cat an opportunity to escape without having to fight.

Fighting for mates is definitely beneficial to the species, for by
nature’s law of the survival of the fittest, which must prevail through
all species, only those survive that are best able to take care of them-
selves. This, taken in its broadest sense, includes not only physical
strength but mental alertness and adaptability to varying and new
conditions. Males that are physical weaklings and would not father
vigorous offspring are ordinarily vanquished in encounters for mates
and therefore leave no progeny. By this process nature has consist-
ently eliminated the unfit and has improved each of the species.
The occasional maiming of individuals in their conflicts is not in
itself injurious to the species, as such mutilations are not inherited
and, if the parent was vigorous, the progeny stand excellent chances
of being vigorous even though the parent may have been injured in
some of its conflicts.

274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Among animals that live in colonies or in herds, conflicts are gen-
erally rare except among males that are fighting to determine who
shall be master of the herd, as in the case of bison. However, on one
occasion I witnessed a definite fight in a prairie dog (Cynomys) colony.
In this case the aggressor was outside of the burrow and trying to
keep another one in the burrow and, at the same time, to fill the
burrow with dirt to bury him. Several others were within a few
feet watching the proceedings but taking no part in it although it
was obvious that they sympathized with the “‘underdog.’”’ Whenever
the one that was in the burrow would attempt to come out, the one
that was outside would try to bite and scratch him, and, when he had
him forced back into the burrow, would scratch and push earth into
the entrance. Finally, after perhaps 20 minutes, he lost interest and
left. The bystanders almost immediately went to the burrow, greeted
and apparently sympathized with the one that had been attacked,
and in a few minutes the normal life of the colony had been resumed.
This method of fighting by trying to imprison the victim is also used
by prairie dogs in closing the entrance to the burrow which a snake

has entered.
ADAPTABILITY

The readiness with which animals accept approaches or friendliness
of man varies greatly. Some seem to be so thoroughly imbued with
caution and suspicion of man’s intentions that they can be tamed
only with the greatest of effort. Others respond almost immediately
to handling and friendly treatment. Examples of the latter are the
gray foxes of the United States (Urocyon) which tame very readily
and in marked contrast to the general wariness and slow taming of
the red foxes (Vulpes). The beaver (Castor) is another animal that
tames easily, sometimes merely a few hours of kind treatment being
sufficient to win its confidence. Young hair seals (Phoca) also tame
almost immediately when captured. Usually they seem to have no
fear when picked up, looking to their captors as friends and becoming
affectionate pets, sometimes swimming after a boat that is leaving
them behind after its occupants have picked them up and petted
them briefly.

Penguins are fearless and very curious as to visitors on land or on
the ice or snow where they normally have few or no enemies, but in
the water they are cautious as there they are accustomed to watching
for enemies such as killer whales (Orca), sea leopards (Hydrurga), and
large fish.

Another phase of the adaptability of animals is the degree to which
wild animals can survive where man has established himself. Most
of them appear to have no fear of man’s presence and his activities
so long as they are not actually molested and their haunts and food

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 275

supply are not destroyed. We can see numerous examples of animals
that have gone ahead fairly successfully with their ives when man
has not interfered too much with conditions essential for them to live.

Another group consists of animals that thrive in close proximity to
man and either become a part of man’s household and receive his
direct aid in their existence, or adapt themselves to the conditions
that man provides and obtain food and shelter in spite of his utmost
efforts to control them. In this group are the Old World rats (Rattus)
and mice (Mus) that have become established almost throughout the
world wherever man has made settlements. Other examples are the
European house sparrow (Passer domesticus), commonly called English
sparrow in the United States, and the European starling (Sturnus
vulgaris) both of which have become firmly and widely established in
North America. These two birds, like the rats and mice, have be-
come pests in some regions where they have adapted themselves to a
remarkable degree and have become very plentiful. They have found
sufficient food and shelter around man’s activities so that they have
thrived where other less adaptable forms have not been able to sur-
vive. Indeed, in many cases they fight the native birds and take
over the ecological niches normally occupied by the local birds that
are less adaptable and aggressive and have not been successful in
defending their territory.

It is sometimes said that there is a third group of animals comprising
those that cannot tolerate proximity to man but, if we study the
problem, we usually find that man’s activities so changed conditions
essential to them for food or shelter that they could not survive, or
else that man intentionally killed them off.

Most animals, if given to understand that man will not harm them,
will become tame, and if man will feed them it is surprising how
friendly even very wild kinds will become. I have a pet big brown
bat (Eptesicus fuscus) that in a few days became so tame it would
return to me after each of its flights about the room (pl. 13, fig. 2).
Even when I awaken her she makes some effort to overcome her
stupor and come into my hand to be warmed preliminary to taking
her evening flights and receiving mealworms, of which she is very
fond?

Chipmunks (Zamias) that have been tame during the summer or
fall, then go into partial or complete hibernation and are inactive
for a period of from 5 to 6 months, come out in the springtime and
resume their friendships and friendliness practically as though they
have not been interrupted. One individual that came in the window
onto my desk and was so tame that I took a picture of it while it was
on my hand obtaining food, returned the following spring and re-

7 fa the Saturday Evening Post for February 4, 1950, is an account of further results of my studies of
ats.

276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

sumed our relationship where it had broken off with the beginning
of bad weather the previous fall.

Another example of the confidence of wild creatures is the case of
two flying squirrels that are greatly loved guests in our home. They
have such fondness for both my wife and myself that they want to
be with us at every opportunity, even to sleeping in our pockets.
They leap to us as a means of quick locomotion and for the pleasure
of the leap and glide (pl. 4, fig. 2). Their behaviour has been treated
at some length in the National Geographic Magazine for May 1947,
“Flying Squirrels, Nature’s Gliders.”

OBTAINING FOOD

The obtaining of food is an ever-present problem for all animals.
With some it is apparently a very simple process; with others it brings
into play the use of the special structures with which nature has pro-
vided them. The food-getting habits of practically every animal
would make an interesting study, but only a few of the widely differ-
ent methods can be mentioned here.

The peculiarly shaped bill of the flamingo (Phoenicopterus), which
looks as though it had been broken in the middle and the tip bent
downward, is used in an interesting manner. As will be seen from
the picture (pl. 7, fig. 1), the bird extends its neck almost straight
downward, which brings the upper portion of the bill closest to the
ground. The edge of the bill then scrapes along the ground in very
shallow water, and the lower mandible opens and closes rapidly.
The water thus scooped into the mandible is strained between the fine
laminations of the upper and lower mandibles and then discharged
after the minute crustaceans on which the flamingo feeds have been
strained out.

Relatives of the flamingo are the swans and other water fowl
(Anatidae), many of which obtain their food in fairly shallow water.
They eat a wide variety of plant and animal material such as seeds,
green leaves, tubers, fleshy roots, mollusks, and crustaceans, and a few
of them eat some fish. When the food is not too far below the surface
of the water, they “‘tip up’ so that they can extend the neck and head
to the maximum distance below the surface (pl. 7, fig. 2). Others dive
for their food.

Herons (Ardeidae) feed mainly on small fish, frogs, and other
animal life, which they obtain by standing practically motionless in
the water and waiting for the unwary victim to come within reach.
They suddenly extend their long necks to a surprising distance and
catch the prey before it has a chance to dart away. They may stand
in such a position for hours at a time waiting for their victims to
approach.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 207

A very different method of obtaining food is employed by the birds
of prey (Falconiformes), which catch their victims by a quick swoop.
An outstanding example of a bird that employs this method is the
falcon (Falco), which while soaring or flying almost out of sight will
detect a bird in flight, or a bird or small mammal on the ground, dive
from thousands of feet at speeds of as much as 280 miles an hour with
the wings almost folded but extended just enough to enable it to steer
itself, and strike and carry off its victim in its talons. In these dives
the speed of the bird is so great that a whistling sound is produced.
On one occasion I heard the whistling and an instant later a half-grown
chicken was struck within about 8 feet of where I was standing, the
falcon having come down at about a 45° angle over my head. It
scarcely seems possible that a bird can fly with such speed and accuracy
as to overtake and capture a startled duck in the air, but the duck
hawk (Falco peregrinus anatum) does this regularly, providing a
thrilling demonstration of skill and dexterity. Hunting with falcons
was a royal sport in the Old World for many centuries and then was
almost discontinued in Europe. It continued in Asia and is now
popular again in Europe and the United States, where many different
kinds of birds of prey are being trained to capture game or lures and
bring them to the trainer. Among the birds that have been so trained
are the beautiful, dainty little sparrow hawk (Falco sparverious),
Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperi), duck hawk, the prairie falcon
(Falco mexicanus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and even the
barred owl (Strix varia).

Another and little-known method of obtaining food.is practiced by
the skimmers (Rynchops nigra), in which the lower mandible is con-
siderably longer than the upper. Their regular practice in feeding is
to fly so close over the water that the tip of the lower mandible is in
the water, and when they come upon fish they merely lower them-
selves enough so that they can scoop up the fish.

Practically all woodpeckers (Picidae) feed on insects, most of
which they capture in their burrows in wood. ‘These birds may often
be seen going up or down trees, keeping the body often in a vertical
position by grasping the trunk with the feet and leaning back on
the stiff tail. Through their keen hearing they detect an insect under
the bark or in the wood, and then proceed to cut away the bark
or wood with their beaks until they approach close enough to the in-
sect or worm so that they can draw it out of its burrow with their
long-barbed tongues. The work of the woodpeckers in removing
insects from the wood is far more beneficial than harmful, for if the
insect is allowed to remain there it may do considerable damage,
whereas the woodpecker ordinarily works only to excavate wood that
has already been damaged by the insect, and by removing it prevents

278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

further damage. The flickers (Colaptes), members of the woodpecker
family, have found a less laborious method of obtaining a considerable
portion of their food—they have learned to eat ants on the ground
and have taken to feeding extensively on these and other insects in
addition to what they get from the trees. The California wood-
pecker (Balanosphyra formicivora baird2) and its relatives feed to some
extent on acorns, which are very plentiful in many portions of their
range, and they have adopted the practice of making holes in the
bark of trees or in posts in which they place acorns for future use.
Sometimes a trunk or limb of a tree or post will be studded ‘with
hundreds of acorns, each in its own separate setting which holds it
securely with the end of the nut projecting slightly from the hole.

The night hawks (Chordeiles), whippoorwills (Antrostomus), swifts
(Chaetura), swallows (Hirundo) and their relatives capture practically
all their food in their very wide capacious mouths while flying. Some
birds such as the tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) and a few others
have the habit of sitting on a perch that gives a good view of sur-
rounding territory and watching for insects. As these come within
range, they are captured in the air in a short flight by the bird, which
then returns to its perch to watch for more. The hummingbirds
(Trochilidae), as is well known, have a very long beak and tongue
which they extend into flowers to feed on the nectar and insects that
they find there. Other small birds known as honey creepers (Co-
erebidae and Melithreptidae) have a long, sickle-shaped beak which
they use in obtaining insects, nectar, and fruit pulp and juices.

Feeding habits among the mammals also vary widely. The langur
and colobus monkeys (Presbytis and Colobus) feed mainly on the
leaves of certain trees. Many of the bats, particularly the small ones
(Microchiroptera), feed almost exclusively on insects that they cap-
ture in flight. Some forms are carnivorous, killing other bats and
small birds and perhaps small mammals. Vampire and false vampire
bats (Desmodus and Diaemus) lap blood that they obtain from warm-
blooded animals by cutting off a very thin layer of the skin with their
razorlike incisor teeth. Other very large bats with a wingspread of
as much as 4 feet, which inhabit the Tropics, are known as fruit bats
(Pteropus and related genera) because they feed largely on fruit.
These bats frequently travel in considerable flocks and move to
various regions from time to time to find food.

Most rodents eat mainly plant food such as seeds or nuts, leaves,
stems, or roots of plants; many, however, also eat some insects and
small amounts of meat. A few have developed highly specialized
feeding habits together with specialized teeth and shape of jaws.
These include the fish-eating rat of South America (Icthyomys) and
an insectivorous type (Rhynchomys) from Luzon Island in the Philip-
pines. Nothing has been recorded regarding the habits of this animal,

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 1

1. GOLDEN HAMSTER (MESOCRICETUS AURATUS)

Lying on her back, she is trying to cut upward on the lower edge of a door. In
this position she pulled herself through the %-inch crack under the door.

2. GOLDEN HAMSTER (MESOCRICETUS AURATUS)

The cheek pouches are filled with seeds. The pouch is outlined by a white dotted
line.

‘doip puv 00} 1940 oy} 9Ssvolor 07 ApBaI
puv posBofar JOO} auO “VY SsII :19Y SUIP[OY o1¥ Jooj Jo soovjans szoddn ‘sso] Jo YYSuI| [[NJ 0} posaMo] ‘199 U90 ‘aspa ey} IOAO J[asioYy BursaMo] “WJay

YOOTH SHL SACS SSAHON] OF ATSHS V WOY4 NMO”d ONILLAD (SNLVYENVY SNLADIMDOSAW) YSLSWVH N3G105

c 3a1lvid JI¥Je A “d IS2UIA—"Gp6| ‘Oday uetuosyztuISg

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 3

1. EASTERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS)
Hanging head downward is one of its favorite positions while eating.

2. EASTERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS)

The flattened tail, long, strong fingers and toes, large eyes, and edge of the gliding
membrane are clearly shown.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 4

1. EASTERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS)
A glide as seen from beneath and to one side.

.

2. EASTERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS)
Preparing to alight from a glide.

The two pictures on this plate were taken with the electronic flash which operates at about 1/5000 of a second.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 5

1. EGYPTIAN JERBOA (JACULUS JACULUS)

A characteristic pose, with the very small arms and hands held close to the throat.
The hairy pads beneath the feet are protection against hot sand and the abrasive
action of rough surfaces.

2. TOWNSEND'S MOLE (SCAPANUS TOWNSENDII) (MUSEUM SKIN)

Showing the broad, powerful forefeet with large, straight claws for digging; the
lene, sensitive, mobile snout; short, sensitive tail; and dense, soft, short, plush-
ike fur.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 6

1. THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO (TOLYPEUTES TRICINCTUS)

Rolled up as a protection against enemies. The top of the head is the large inset
portion in the front of the shell; the tail is lying along side of the head. (Photo-
graph by Joao Moojen.)

2. THE BACK OF THE SAME ANIMAL
The hinged arrangement of the plates of the back permit it to roll up completely.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 7

1. FLAMINGOES (PHOENICOPTERUS)
The birds are shown feeding in shallow water, grooming, and resting.

2. WHISTLING SWAN (CYGNUS COLUMBIANUS)

“Tipping up” to obtain food from the bottom. In this position these birds can
reach to a depth of about 45 inches.

(uslooyy ovor
kq ydeisojoyg) ‘“xuey Joy uo sey puly yuo
S}l puv ‘lapynoys Joy uo We 4YS syr ‘uIyO Joy
Jopun pay SI YIIM JoyJOUL vy} OF Sursuryo st Aqeq W

(SOLVNOYMOL
SNHdOaVOS) HLOIS GANVYW 3uvuy SHL

é

‘att

8 ALV1d

£
a
é

‘1oYYBJ 9yQ JO Yowuq oy} UO a1B SoIqed OMT,
(SNHOOVF
XIMHLIITNIVD) LESOWNYVYW GSELANL-ALIHM °1

oF

JOHeA\ “q 1S2UIY—"GpG| ‘Oday ueruosy wg

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 9

1. FEMALE SOUTH AMERICAN OPOSSUM (METACHIRUS NUDICAUDATUS)

This animal lacks the marsupial pouch. Some of her babies clinging to her
nipples are to be seen between her hind foot and her tail. (Photograph by
Joao Moojen.)

2. FEMALE SOUTH AMERICAN OPOSSUM (METACHIRUS NUDICAUDATUS)

Hight baby opossumsare clinging to the nipples between the hind legs of their mother.
(Photograph by Joao Moojen.)

"YOIS 94} JO pus oY} UO 4ooSUTI

uv YO}Bd 0} YSnOUs Ivy pusejxo p[_nod snsuo0y ST

{le} o[IsSuesyoid oy} puv qooy Suidsvis oy} 910N *ainyord SI Ul UMOYS [JOM ST JOO}

“BLOUIBD OY} SuIyoyVM st ado YJo_ SYP =“ APQUepued oy} jo Aqrypiqe Suidseis o[qevyIvulel oy, “qySusy ut
492} 8 INOGB QUIT] 991} B SUTAIIVO ST 41 JOOF YU SII SAT UT

-apul y1OM soo VSOYM piBzZIT poziperoeds ATYSIy VW

(WIIWNd VHYNVSONDSIAN) NOAISWVHD “Z (iqa8v OSONOd) NVLNONVYO NVYLYWNS “1

Ol ALVId JAVA “d S2UIF—'Gp6] ‘qaoday ueiuosy qu

‘pavoq B 0JUO SUIPOY SI [rey S,4eyyou oy} Jo dry oy,
‘]I@] Joy JO oseq oy} punowe [1e} sit poddeam sey YOIM ‘Yyouq Joy UO SuIplA Aqvq B sBYy JouI0D jo] Joddn ayy Ul o[RUIEJ OY YT,
(SNSOYSWNAA SAIALY) SABMNOW YaCIdS

PM SBE Ace! JOWEA “d I89UIY— G6] ‘WOdoy ueruosyzrus

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 12

aad te eae shoo Tere gree man

tiara et

PLAINS LEAST WEASEL (MUSTELA RIXOSA CAMPESTRIS)

Upper and middle, in summer coat; lower, in winter coat (this form apparently
does not become entirely white). This is a very rare form of which practically
nothing has been recorded, and these may be the only pictures ever taken of
it. About three-quarters natural size.

“qSLIM
8 1OYING oy} UO SUTPFIS SI YOIYM (SUDI0a ShwwoznD)y))
Jolainbs sutAy udtojsvo uv IOAO SuIAy st yeq oy, re} opIsuoyoud A]5u0I4s St YIM JloszT SurApvoys st 4]

(SnOsna SNOISA1ldy) LVG NMOYG Olg “Z (SNAW14 SOLOd) NOFYYNIM *1

€l 3LV1d JIA[EA\ ‘qq 1S9U14—"6} 6] ‘J40dey ueruosyAI US

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 14

1. TWO-TOED SLOTH (CHLOEPUS DIDACSYLUS)

Hanging beneath a limb is its usual pose. The forefeet have two toes, the hind
feet, three toes.

2. YOUNG MALAYAN TAPIR (ACROCODIA INDICA)

The striped baby coat is being replaced by the solid gray and black of the adult
coat. Age 3 months.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 15

1. MALE BLACK AUSTRALIAN SWAN (CHENOPIS ATRATA)

The bird is attacking a man in defense of the half-grown young in the foreground.
The female was just to the left outside the picture.

A AT UI A aii

Lh PAAR RRO SIE iirc roe, ment

es : «ee ae 1 wer ee : 7 Fe eo ;
BEN he \ gn Js ol eee ion Sena F soe ease ee Be ae |

2. MALAYAN PORCUPINES (ACANTHION BRACHYURUM)
The two animals alternate head to tail, in which position they regularly sleep.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ernest P. Walker PLATE 16

1. SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO (DASYPUS SEXCINCTUS)
The animal is on its side asleep. They tremble almost constantly when sleeping.

2. THIRTEEN-LINED GROUND SQUIRRELS (CITELLUS TRIDECEMLINEATUS) ASLEEP

Three rest on the top of their heads, one is lying on its back, and one in the back-
ground is mainly right side up.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 279

but we can judge from its structure that it probably eats insects or
other soft animal food. The food of carnivores, the flesh eaters, is
rather uniformly flesh or fish, but carnivorous animals frequently pass
over the principal meaty portions of a carcass to drink the blood
and eat parts of the viscera, thereby obtaining valuable vitamins.
Almost invariably the glands or other parts which they eat are known
to scientific workers as being excellent sources of vitamins. In one
experiment that was conducted under my direction, we separated
chicken viscera into its various component parts and then offered
these to small carnivores. Almost all immediately chose the pancreas,
which suggests that it is probably a valuable food. Most people
have witnessed a dog burying a bone and later digging it up and chew-
ing on it. It is possible that the bacteria of the soil act on the bone
to make it more palatable and more digestible and possibly to elimin-
ate any danger of ptomaine poisoning. A few carnivores, such as the
binturong (Arctictis) and the palm civets (Paradozxurus and related
genera), have taken to a diet consisting largely of fruit.

An ingenious method was once demonstrated to me by the West
African marsh civet or marsh mongoose (Atiliz paludinosus) in the
National Zoological Park. This animal, about the size of a large cat,
had a remarkable method of breaking bones. He was commonly
given two pieces of horse ribs 4 inches in length and, when he had
eaten most of the meat off of them, he would take a piece of bone
between his forepaws, raise himself up on his hind feet with the hind
legs well extended and with his forepaws well above the level of his
head, and then quickly throw the bone down on the cement floor of the
cage from a height of 2% to 3 feet. If he was not satisfied with the
results of the first throw, he would repeat the process. The pro-
cedure described suggests that these animals probably use the same
methods in breaking the shells of mollusks and land crabs on which
they feed in their native haunts of West Africa.

The shortest mammal in the Americas and almost the smallest in
the world is the lesser short-tailed shrew (Cryptotis parva) which
inhabits the eastern United States. It weighs as much as two dimes,
less than one-fourth of an ounce, and naturally such a tiny creature
cannot cope with large antagonists in the usual manner. It normally
lives in loose soil and leafmold where it feeds on earthworms, insects,
and a wide variety of small animal life including frogs. Even a
vigorous earthworm is a difficult creature for the tiny shrew to subdue
in the usual manner, but earthworms lose their activity within a few
seconds after the shrew gives them a few light bites; sometimes a
single nip will suffice. Apparently the saliva carried into the very
minor injury made by the shrew’s teeth is poisonous to the earthworms
and takes effect very quickly. When the earthworm has become
quiet the shrew proceeds to devour it, and it may be that this special-

866591—50-—_19

280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

ized saliva accelerates digestion. Little is known regarding the
poisonous bite of these little creatures, but it is apparently similar
to that of a slightly larger close relative, the short-tailed shrew
(Blarina) whose saliva is definitely known to be poisonous to many
small creatures and whose bite on a man’s finger is sufficiently
poisonous to produce pain extending halfway up the arm with resultant
irritation lasting as much as a week. Such bites are somewhat com-
parable to the bites of snakes in which a secretion from specialized
glands is introduced under the skin of the victim, although these
shrews do not have specialized teeth or glands that are primarily
poison producers.

Among the reptiles, the chamaeleon (Chamaeleonidae) has the
interesting habit of obtaining the insects on which it feeds almost
exclusively by suddenly extending its tongue to a distance almost as
great as the length of its head and body and catching the unwary
insect with it. The tongue is attached near the front of the mouth
and folds back into the mouth like that of the frogs and toads, which
also capture their prey in a similar manner (pl. 10, fig. 2).

Emil Liers’ study of otters (Zutra) in North America have shown
that these remarkably intelligent and playful animals feed largely on
crayfish and numerous small invertebrates instead of fish, which they
have generally been supposed to eat. It is strange that this was not
discovered long ago, emphasizing the fact that there is still a fertile
field for research on animal life.

Through the long period of development of each species, animals
have learned that in general each individual or pair requires a cer-
tain amount of territory in which to sustain itself. Other species
that do not conflict with it will be tolerated in this territory, while
those that would be competitors may be driven out. Forms of life
that constitute the food supply are rarely devoured to the point of
extermination, and animals can therefore ordinarily obtain sufficient
food within a rather definite territory. Some require but a small
range for this purpose; others must have an extensive territory and
move to various parts of it at frequent intervals to obtain the necessary
food. For example, the wolf (Canis nubilus and related forms), an
animal that preys on other animal life, usually has a range about 20
miles in diameter and, except when the female is living at the den
caring for the young, it traverses this range, generally in large circuits,
returning to any given portion of the range about once every 2 weeks.

Seasonal fluctuation in the food supply, such as the migration of
fishes or the dying off of insects, results in the migration of forms that
prey upon them to locations in which food can be found. For example,
insect-eating birds have an abundant supply of food in the Northern
Hemisphere during the summer but, with the approach of winter,

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 281

insects and fruits become scarce and many of the birds cannot survive.
By migrating to regions farther south, however, they are able to
obtain an adequate supply of such food. Some forms that do not
migrate change their feeding habits during the year. During the
summer when fruit and insects and other animal life are abundant and
easily obtained, they feed extensively on these elements, and in the
winter they eat seeds and plant life that has matured during the
summer. Good examples of this are the birds of the sparrow group
(Fringillidae), in which the young are fed almost exclusively on insects
and fruit and the parents eat such food extensively when it is available,
but during the winter when few insects or fruits are to be had, they
feed mainly on seeds. Others feed only on certain types of food and
apparently cannot survive unless they can obtain these particular
foods. Notable among these are the cross-bills (Loxia), birds of the
Northern Hemisphere about the size of sparrows with usually some
bronze, red, or purple markings. They feed on seeds of the spruce,
hemlock, or pine which they obtain directly from the cones by perch-
ing on them and reaching under the scales of the cones with their
peculiar crossed mandibles and extracting the seeds. Such beaks
are probably well adapted for this purpose but are a serious handicap
to eating the type of food that most birds consume; therefore these
birds are erratic in their occurrence in a given range. If there is a
failure of the seed crop of the spruce, hemlock,-or pine, they must
move to regions in which there is a good crop of seeds on these trees.

Such sturdy, hardy animals as the American bison (Bison bison)
and caribou (Rangifer) have extensive ranges that embrace both
summer and winter forage grounds to which the animals migrate
seasonally, some making a round trip of several hundred miles each
year, measured in straight lines.

We are prone to think of our food selection and handling as being
superior to that of animals, but after observing the care with which
animals select the choice morsels and pass over food that they detect
as being contaminated or not palatable to them, I believe that the
wild ones probably are far better fed and are better judges of food
than we are. Studies of the feeding habits of antelopes on the native
range disclose that in a 14-day period they eat 24 to 30 different kinds
of vegetation. Possibly some of the material was eaten as many of
us have taken food during war time, merely for the purpose of survival,
but obviously they picked and selected foods that they preferred and
thought were best for them. If one will watch a wild rabbit or almost
any wild animal, he will see that it constantly and carefully selects
or rejects food. On many occasions I have endeavored to induce
animals, either wild or in captivity, to eat food that I had seen them
pass over. Rarely could I get them to do so, and on one occasion,

282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

the third time I offered a certain nut to a very friendly wild squirrel,
it took the nut, opened it, and dropped it, perhaps to show me that
the nut was not fit to eat.

TRANSPORTATION OF OBJECTS

The need of transporting food, nest materials, or young, and occa-
sionally objects that apparently are taken for ornamental purposes
or merely because the animal likes them, have been solved in various
ways. Most animals carry objects in their mouths to some extent,
just as a dog carries a stick or ball, but there are a number of ways
in addition to this: for example, some of the Old World monkeys
(Macaca and others) have cheek pouches that open inside the lips,
but outside the jaws, in which they are able to store food, which must
be a great convenience to them when they are trying to obtain their
share in the presence of other greedy monkeys. They then grab what-
ever food they can, put it in their cheek pouches, and eat it at their
leisure. Monkeys with food in their pouches sometimes look as though
they had mumps on one or both sides. Internal cheek pouches are
found in a number of other animals such as the chipmunks (Tamas
and Hutamias) and hamsters, which use them as shopping bags or
baskets into which to place food to carry it home to the den where it
is stored for future use (pl. 1, fig. 2). Another type of cheek pouch is
the external one which is fur-lined. This is present only in a few
North American forms such as the pocket gophers (Geomys, Thomomys,
and related genera), the pocket mice (Perognathus) and kangaroo rats
(Dipodomys and Microdipodops). Their pockets open outside the
mouth, the skin of the face being folded inward to form the pockets.
The pockets can be turned inside out to clean them, then pulled back
into place by a special muscle. The owners of these pockets carry
food, nest material, and even earth in them.

We are so accustomed to seeing mother cats carry their kittens
by grasping the skin at the back of the neck that we commonly think
of this as being the principal way of carrying young; however, there
are many other methods. The mother squirrel grasps the skin of
the baby’s abdomen in her lips or teeth so that the little one hangs
in an inverted position beneath her head, grasping her neck with its
hands and feet and curling its tail around her neck, thus aiding in
the carrying and leaving no dangling appendages to interfere with
mother’s hands and feet in her travels through the trees. Baby
monkeys cling tightly to the mother in most cases, but the white-
tufted marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) mothers generally carry the
babies only when nursing them; the rest of the time the fathers carry
them (pl. 8, fig. 1). They cling to his long fur and ride on his back or
under surface and hold on so securely that he can make leaps through
the trees without dislodging them. Baby gibbons cling to the mother

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 283

on almost any part of her body and frequently take a position around
her body almost like a belt.

The Brazilian mammalogist, Joio Moojen, of the Museu Nacional,
Brazil, has informed me that the baby of the rare sloth (Scaeophus
torquatus) clings tightly to the mother and is almost completely hidden
in her long loose hair. If no danger threatens, it may cling to her
back, which is frequently the underside; however, if danger threatens,
it is brought onto her chest or abdomen which is usually her upper
side or is between her and a tree trunk. In this position it is well pro-
tected between the mother and the trunk or branch to which she is
clinging and is so well hidden in the fur that it can scarcely be seen
(pl. 8, fig. 2).

We commonly think of the marsupials as always carrying the
young in the mother’s pouch. This is true for many of the forms,
including the common opossums (Didelphis) of North and South
America, but there are some marsupials that lack the pouch on the
abdomen of the mother. In some of these species the young are
carried or dragged about by the mother as they cling to her nipples.
Good examples of this type are the small South American mouse
opossums (Marmosa and allied forms) which range in size from
about that of a house mouse to that of a common rat. The young
hang suspended from the mother’s nipples which are in a cluster
between her hind legs, and in this location they are well protected.
When the young become larger, they are dragged on their backs,
as the mother walks along the ground. If one becomes detached from
the nipple, it is lost, for apparently they cannot again attach them-
selves to the nipples, and the mother appears to make no effort to
rescue them. The Metachirus pictured with the little ones hanging
from her nipples had eight babies (pl. 9, fig. 2).

Rodent babies of a number of different forms in various parts of the
world also cling to their mother’s nipples until they are of good size,
and when she travels about on the ground or through the trees, they
dangle or are dragged about on their backs. The North American
wood rat or pack rat (Neotoma) has this habit, and as many as four
young, which individually may weigh almost a fourth as much as
their mother, will be dragged about by her.

In the Tasmanian “‘wolf”’ (Thylacinus), a marsupial, the pouch is
a fold or shelf of skin on the abdomen between the hind legs which
opens backward—a sort of rumble seat—and the young are carried
in this. The best pouch of all is possessed by the kangaroos; they
carry the babies in a large, deep, baglike fold of the skin of the mother’s
abdomen until they may weigh almost one-fourth as much as the
mother. When there are no young in this pocket, or when they are
very little, it is shrunken and drawn up until it is rather small, but
as the young grows the pouch stretches and can accommodate one

284 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

young until it is well able to take care of itself. There is a muscle
around the entrance of this pouch which acts like a draw string and
constricts the opening until it is very small, preventing foreign objects
from getting in and the young from tumbling out.

The very beautiful, graceful kangaroo rat mothers of North America
lift their babies by grasping them by the back of the neck with their
lips or teeth. They steady the little ones by holding them with the
forearms, then hop along on their hind legs. This method of carrying
the young was observed and photographed by that great naturalist,
the late Vernon Bailey.

The North American opossum is said to carry leaves and straw for
its nest by wrapping the tip of its tail around the material. Some
doubt exists, however, that this is an established habit, as only a few
instances have been reported.

As previously mentioned, gibbons, orangutangs and chimpanzees
frequently carry objects grasped in their hind feet as well as in their
hands. On one occasion I saw a chimpanzee pick up a piece of banana
in one hand, a piece of bread in the other hand, and a head of lettuce
with one foot. The ability to carry objects in the foot is particularly
useful to animals that regularly traverse the forest by swinging by
their arms from limb to limb. An orangutang carried a limb about
2% inches in diameter and 8 feet in length from an outside cage to an
inside cage in the National Zoological Park, handling it much of the
time by grasping it with the hind foot (pl. 10, fig. 1).

A number of the animals that burrow, particularly those that make
extensive tunnels such as the pocket gophers of North America, the
mole-rats (Cryptomys.and Bathyergus) of Africa, and the bamboo-rats
(Rhizomys and related genera) of Asia, push the earth before them,
placing the hands close’to the sides of the head and against the earth
and supplying the motive power for moving the body forward by the
hind legs. Others scrape earth rearward with the forefeet and then
send it farther rearward by strokes of the hind feet. This is the most
common method of those that do not make continuous tunnels. The
prairie dogs (Cynomys) of North America move a great deal of the
earth that they use in building mounds by this method, and they also
push earth before them.

Beavers carry at least part of the earth or mud they use by holding
it against the breast with the hands.

Elephants (Elephas and Loxodontia) pick up objects by encircling
them with the trunk.

Apparently both whales (Cetacea) and seals (Pinnipedia) some-
times hold their young to their sides by means of the flipper. This
procedure has been observed so rarely and for such brief glimpses that
little is known of it. Whalers say that a mother whale sometimes

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 285

uses this method to take her baby under water with her out of danger.
Seals may do it for the same reason.

Recently my wife and I witnessed a female black individual of the
gray squirrel of the eastern United States collecting bark fiber for her
nest. She went onto a dead limb of a tulip tree about 8 feet from our
window and began loosening a strip of bark about a foot in length.
Some was torn loose entirely but left hanging by a small strand, other
parts were not hanging down but were well loosened from the branch.
I thought at first she was not satisfied with the quality of the bark,
and I was about ready to offer her advice on how to collect bark
without wasting so much of it. Finally she began picking up the
hanging fibers in her mouth, placing them crosswise and tucking the
ends in so they would not drag and be in her way. When she came
to the strands that still kept the pieces of bark attached to the limb
she cut them off. In a few instances she backed up and pulled them
loose by tugging. I then realized that she did not need any advice
on how to gather bark with her equipment. She had loosened all the
bark she needed but left it attached so it would not fall to the ground,
then when she had enough loosened she began gathering it up. Of
course she could not have had much loose bark in her mouth and still
cut more bark loose from the limb with her teeth. As usual she had
done her work in the most efficient way.

Many times I have offered my pet “flying” squirrels a tidbit that
they preferred to the one they were eating. ‘This confronted them
with a real problem. Their experience through the ages has been not
to drop food, for it falls to the ground and is ordinarily lost. They
usually solve the problem by looking for a place in which to cache the
food they are eating, then come back to me to take what I am offering.
Likewise I have many times put the same problem or a similar one up
to the gray squirrels (Sciwrus carolinensis) of the eastern United
States. Most of them try to solve it by attempting to take the second
morsel without dropping the first. Usually they cannot do this but
make several attempts and finally finish by sitting nearby to eat the
first piece and then come for the second, or sometimes they give up
the attempt and take the first piece home or at some distance to eat,
then return for the second. When I am giving them peanuts in the
shells there is often an amusing struggle to get two together in the
mouth so that they can both be held. Sometimes a squirrel will hug
the nuts in its arms next to its neck and take a few short hops to get
away and work on them at its leisure. I saw one old lady squirrel
develop an ingenious method of solving the problem. After working
with the nuts for a few seconds on several occasions she sat there and
shelled one of the nuts, put the kernels in her mouth, then picked up
the other nut quite easily. Later another learned this method and

286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

both squirrels now do it regularly. Having learned the method, they
usually hesitate after I have given them one nut to see if I will give
them a second. Why make a trip home with only one nut when they
can just as well carry two? The second squirrel to learn this is
younger than the first one and may have observed the older one per-
form the feat, for as pointed out elsewhere I believe animals learn
much from observing others of their kind. However I saw the entire
process of learning to do the act the first time with both of them, and
thereafter it was a regular procedure to use the new accomplishment.
Captive love birds (Agapornis) sometimes place straws under the upper
tail coverts to transport them to the nesting site.

My wife recently witnessed a novel method of transportation
adopted by a yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons). The bees were
feeding on and carrying away pieces of raisins put on our fourth-floor
window ledge for the birds. Generally they cut off a small piece of a
raisin and never carried away a whole one, but she saw one bee roll a
raisin with its head to the edge of the ledge and push it over. When
the raisin started to fall, the bee followed it a short distance, then came
back and repeated the process until it had dropped four raisins. My
wife does not think the raisin was accidentally pushed over, as the
bee’s movements seemed aimed at pushing it to the edge. Perhaps
the nest was near the building and this bee had discovered an easy
way of getting raisins to the nest.

CARING FOR AND TEACHING THE YOUNG

The type and amount of care and teaching that animal parents
give the young varies from nothing to a very good education. Any
consideration of this subject at once raises the question of how much
the animal does by instinct and how much it learns from its parents
or others. Of course, no conclusive or complete answer can be given
to this, but there are many fragments of information that we can piece
together to give us some light on the subject. Some animal mothers
never see their young and give them no attention whatever. Among
these are such animals as most snakes and lizards, which lay eggs that
are hatched by the heat from the soil or from decaying vegetation,
and the parent takes no part in their incubation. Exceptions are the
pythons (Pythonidae) and skinks (Scincidae), which incubate their
eggs, and the female alligator which stays near the nest to keep away
intruders that might harm the eggs. However, the mothers take no
part whatever in caring for or instructing the young. The mound-
building birds of Australia and New Guinea (Megapodidae) do not
incubate the eggs or care for the young; the mother lays the eggs in a
mass of vegetation which she, together with other birds of the same
species, scrape together, and in which all of them lay their eggs as in a
sort of communal incubator.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—WALKER 287

On the other hand many animals, particularly mammals and most
birds, give a great deal of care to the young and obviously give them
definite instructions. The bears (Ursus and Huarctos) are well-known
examples. When mother bear begins leaving the den in the spring, the
young are left inside and are apparently told to remain there. They
do not begin coming out for some time—until the mother feels that
they have developed enough to need a slightly larger world. She
first permits them to play close to the entrance to the den while she
stands guard, and later, when they are stronger, she takes them with
her on foraging expeditions, at which time she tears open decayed
stumps and logs to expose ants, grubs, mice, and other delicacies.
Likewise, she turns over stones for animal food that can be found under
them, digs up roots, and leads the babies where acorns can be found.
Mother bear is a strict disciplinarian and does not permit the young to
stray faraway. If danger threatens and she feels that for any reason
she cannot take the young to the den, she often sends them up a tree
while she stays on the ground not far away. She is usually successful
in her instructions to them to keep silent, although occasionally a baby
will become so frightened that it will ery, which often results in its
being soundly spanked and cuffed for its infraction of her rules. If
she desires not to send them up a tree but decides to run away, she
keeps them close to her, and if they are disposed to lag or become
tired, she will sometimes cuff them along ahead of her, sometimes
tumbling them end over end so that they will have an incentive to
keep up with her. Throughout this entire time, when the young are
with the mother, observers have seen that it is definitely a training
period in which the mother shows the young where and how to obtain
food, what sounds and smells to avoid, and what are apparently safe
in their haunts.

Apparently about the same procedure is followed among the foxes
(Vulpes), wolves and wild dogs (Canis), and wildcats (Felis), for the
mother leaves the little ones in the den until they are able to begin
playing about the entrance, where she finally permits them to sun
themselves and romp and engage in tussles with brothers and sisters,
gaining strength and agility. She brings them food, over which they
struggle, and finally she brings live food so that they have the actual
experience of handling live prey. Among the foxes and wolves, the
father often participates in bringing food, and both mother and father
stand guard near the entrance to give the alarm for the young to take
refuge inside when danger threatens. Usually a short bark or two is
sufficient to warn the little ones to take shelter. When they are old
enough and strong enough to venture farther away from the den, the
mother takes them on hunting expeditions on which they learn to
catch small prey that is within their strength. On these expeditions

288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

they learn to be alert, to beware of danger, to be on the watch for
prey and how to catch it, and what to avoid.

Mother deer (Odocoileus), antelope (Antilocapra), and moose (Alces)
hide their newly born young and leave them hidden for some days.
The baby antelopes may be left in plain sight on a grass-clad or very
sparsely vegetated plain. Baby deer are hidden in the grass or sparse
shrubbery, and baby moose may be hidden in such places or in slightly
more dense vegetation. The mother then goes her way to get her
food and rest, and returns to the little one only to nurse it at intervals
of several hours. Thus the young are not exposed to the hazards of
following the mother for the first few days until they have gained
strength and are able to travel with such speed and endurance that
they stand a good chance of survival by escaping with her. The mother
cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus) scratches out or selects a slight depression
in the soil and lines it with fur that she plucks from the underside of
her body. The depression is too small for her to be in it with the
babies, but she crouches over it, and when the little ones nurse, they
reach upward or climb up through the soft downy nest to reach her
nipples. The cottontail nurses her little ones only at rather long in-
tervals—apparently not at all during the daytime—and as long as 30
hours are known to elapse between feedings in some instances. When
danger threatens she dashes away and the enemy usually follows her.

Mother sea otters (Enhydra), which spend a great deal of time in
the ocean, lie on their backs much of the time and the babies rest on
the mother’s ventral surface. When she dives for food she leaves the
little one floating on the surface while she goes to the bottom and
picks up sea urchins and other food which she brings to the surface
and eats while lying on her back.

A mother flying squirrel that raised her family in my home, has
given me many glimpses of how she cares for her babies. Flying
squirrels are, of course, strictly nocturnal and there would be many
hazards for them in the daytime; therefore I was not surprised to find
that ‘‘Mother Glaucky” carries her babies back into the nest when
she finds that they have strayed out during the daytime. Perhaps
she and the tree squirrels teach their babies by demonstration and by
voice, but I have not been able to detect much evidence of this. The
young play among themselves about the nest, gradually gaining
strength and agility and venturing farther from the nest. The
length of time that baby flying squirrels and baby tree squirrels are
weak and uncertain in their movements and are dependent on the
mother is much greater than is generally supposed. Baby flying
squirrels do not venture out of the nest until they are about 60 days
of age and then only to explore in the immediate vicinity of the nest.
By the seventieth day they are venturing somewhat farther, but their
muscles are still soft and they have not gained agility or confidence.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 289

In the wild they would probably not go farther than a few feet in
their own nest tree. It is not until they are about 90 days old that
they are ready to assume full activity. Golden hamsters, on the
other hand, develop very rapidly, and by the thirty-fifth day, although
not full size, they are apparently on their own in all respects.

Swans (Cygnus, Chenopis, and Olor) are remarkably good parents
and keep close watch that their young are protected from enemies.
The female generally stays in the background and keeps the young
with her while the male goes out to meet the intruder. If the danger
is imminent he will approach with a direct rush and make vicious bites
with his beak and will strike severe blows with his wings. If the
danger is not imminent but he still feels an intruder might do harm
he frequently approaches indirectly, that is, comes up to one side of
the enemy apparently as though to catch it off guard. On one
occasion while I was sitting very quietly on a rock in the swan yard
trying to get a picture, the male swan persistently worked around to
one side of me and when I did not move he finally grabbed my arm
with his beak and tried to strike me with his wings. As soon as I
started to move away he was satisfied. In this instance I had been
trusting to my lack of motion to allay his suspicions, but my efforts
to “‘freeze’”’ were not successful. One of the poses of the male black
Australian swan (Chenopis atrata) threatening an intruder is shown

in plate 15, figure 1.
SLEEP

Generally we think of sleep as a very simple state of inactivity
which is similar in all animals, but actually the attitudes and types of
sleep of various animals differ considerably. I think it likely that
most, if not all, of the mammals that live in burrows well beneath the
surface of the ground sleep very soundly, as they are comparatively
free from danger while in their dens. Naturally, my observations of
this fact have been limited and to my knowledge it has not been
carefully studied; however, the few creatures of the burrowing type
that I have been able to study all seem to sleep very soundly. A
golden hamster can be picked up and handled gently within 30 seconds
after it has ceased activity and has thrown itself down to go to sleep.
I have similarly handled pocket mice when they were asleep in their
nests and have found that they were quite difficult to arouse, which is
in marked contrast to the great alertness of many other forms.

Animals that live above ground are, of course, subject to a wide
variety of hazards when they are asleep and must therefore, as it were,
“sleep with one eye open.” This is particularly true of rabbits, most
birds that sleep in the open and, no doubt, most other creatures that
are in similar exposed locations. My pet flying squirrels selected a
laundry bag hanging on a bathroom door for their nest and appear

290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

not to be disturbed by the swinging of the bag, which perhaps simu-
lates the swaying of the trees in which they would normally live.
They are, however, distinctly disturbed by vibration produced by
rubbing the door or the rod on which the bag hangs, which would
probably remind them of the disturbance made by an enemy climbing
to their nest in a tree. When thus awakened, they usually react in
one of two different ways. If sharply startled they are very likely to
dash out of the nest ready to take off in a glide or run to another, safer
location; or if the alarm is not so sudden they may merely quickly
and quietly go to the entrance of the nest and look out to see the
cause of the disturbance. This behavior is, of course, associated with
the rather exposed location in which they live, where danger may
arrive from almost any direction and their best chance for survival
may be to flee.

I am inclined to think that the African elephant shrews (Macrosce-
lides rufescens) sleep with both eyes open instead of only one. I
have kept some in my den to study them at all hours of the day and
night, and I have yet to see them with their eyes closed. They are
invariably sitting upright with their eyes wide open, or at most only
slightly closed. This trait suggests that they probably sit above
ground in more or less exposed locations and are perpetually alert
for danger.

A wide variety of poses are assumed by animals in sleeping. In
addition to the well-known attitudes of lying on the ventral surface,
the back, or the side, a great many curl up in a very compact ball.
The squirrels and others with bushy tails tuck the head and feet well
inside and wrap the tail around them so that it actually affords some
protection and warmth for the back of their necks and their backs.
In this curled-up position they may lie on the side, but more frequently
the head and feet are on the underside with the top of the head actually
resting on the surfaces on which they are sleeping. This is a common
position among a great many of the rodents. The giant anteater lies
on its side, curls its head and feet together, and covers itself with
its very long-haired tail which serves as a blanket and, perhaps in
the wild, to some extent as camouflage. The sloths sleep hanging
beneath a limb with the head thrown upward and forward so that it
rests on the chest, or they may be partially sitting in the fork of a
tree with the head forward between the upper arms, the tree trunk,
and the chest. Some animals sleep standing up. Horses commonly
do this, and some elephants do much of their sleeping standing.
Most of the bats sleep hanging head downward, being suspended by
the nails of their hind feet. The red bat (Nycteris), which sleeps
hanging on a twig in a tree, has an extensive membrane between the
hind legs which it draws downward so that it serves as a protection
to the ventral parts of the body. When hanging head downward,

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR—ERNEST P. WALKER 291

bats are in a good position to take off for flight, for they are generally
at an elevated location and have merely to let go with their toes and
spread their wings to be in full flight.

I have noticed that the nine-banded, the six-banded, and the hairy
armadillos (Dasypus and Huphractus) all tremble almost continuously
in their sleep, particularly when lying on their backs or sides, as they
often do. This is unique among mammals with which I am ac-
quainted, but I have no theory to explain it.

Malayan porcupines (Acanthion brachyurum) like to sleep side by
side and have an interesting method of avoiding the spines of another
that has already lain down. Each succeeding one merely faces in
the opposite direction from the last one in the row. I have seen as
many as five lying asleep in such alternating head and tail positions,
but when I tried to take their pictures in this arrangement I usually
disturbed some of them, so that I have never been able to photograph
more than two together (pl. 15, fig. 2).

The tiny bat parakeets (Loriculus) sleep hanging head downward,
clinging to the perch by their feet.

Of all the small mammals I have observed the females are much
more particular regarding the nest than the males. The females will
move it about, cut on the nest box, assemble nest material and keep
it well shaped into a snug nest, whereas most of the males are far less
particular, usually working on the nest only enough for it to be
passably comfortable. Of course, my wife noticed this before I did
and pointed out that females have stronger instincts for home main-
tenance than males.

Most mammals, when they have the opportunity to awaken natur-
ally, like to sit and “think,” or perhaps just sit, like many people
who cannot start off ‘in high gear.’”’ Those that I have observed,
after about half an hour start normal activity.

Hibernation was discussed briefly in my previous paper on Animal
Behavior and has been extensively treated in other literature so will
not be further mentioned herein.

CONCLUSION

The better our knowledge of animal habits and behavior, the better
we are prepared to cope with the problems in connection with animal
life and the administration of resources in which animals play a part
of greater or less importance. Biologists are constantly being con-
fronted with problems of how to control, circumvent, keep away, or
increase wild life. The problems may be simple or very complex,
but are always interesting.

Wildlife administration has become an important branch of national,
State, and local government work for we have come to realize that
many of the forms are highly beneficial and should be protected and

292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

built up to the maximum possible numbers, and that a few are injurious
and should be controlled.

As the activities of mankind are extended, the importance of wildlife
protection increases correspondingly, for we could not live without
animal life and the extirmination of any form is a serious loss. Better
understanding of animals leads to recognition of their value and there-
fore to more interest in their protection, and the study of animal life
as a profession, as a hobby, or merely through casual observation yields
much pleasure.

Norr.—All photographs are by Ernest P. Walker unless otherwise listed.

THE BREEDING HABITS OF THE WEAVERBIRDS
A STUDY IN THE BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

By HERBERT FRIEDMANN

Curator, Division of Birds,
U. S. National Museum

[With 8 plates]

The weaverbirds, as their popular name implies, are, by and large
birds noted for the elaborate nests they build—in many cases actually
weave—out of grasses, straws, rootlets, and other similar materials.
Included in this family (Ploceidae) are some of the finest, most expert,
and most famous of all avian architects. In no other single bird
group of similar status has the habit of nest building been carried to
greater heights, indeed their only rivals for excellence in this particular
are some of the hang-nests or troupials of the New World.

My interest in the weaverbirds began some 30 years ago when I had
the opportunity of studying the actual weaving methods in captivity
of one species, the red-billed weaver, Quelea quelea. Not long after-
ward when I began my studies of parasitic birds I learned that at
least two species of weavers, and possibly several others, not only
built no nests at all, but laid their eggs in the occupied nests of other
kinds of birds to whose care the eggs and the subsequent young were
left. A few years later, over a year’s field work in South and East
Africa gave me ample opportunity to become familiar with the surpris-
ing range of aspects the nest-building habit exhibits in this family of
birds. In this paper it is not my purpose to attempt to describe each
and every one of these aspects, but to discuss them from the point of
view of the biological implications they present. ‘The family is a
large and varied one and contains a great many species (about 275),
many of which have highly divergent nesting habits, which offer very
suggestive data to the naturalist concerned with the evolution of
habits in birds.

In order to appreciate more adequately the significance of the
various aspects of the nest-building habit in these birds, and to
evaluate them more properly in connection with other parts of the
life histories of birds involved, it is necessary to make a few preliminary

293

294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

general remarks. Birds, as a rule (there are, of course, exceptions),
go through a fairly definite cycle of behavior patterns during the year,
and repeat this cycle every year of their adult lives. Very briefly
stated, the cycle consists, in typical fashion, of the following parts:
Migration or, in the case of nonmigratory birds such as the weavers,
the fragmentation, or breaking-up, of “winter,” nonbreeding flocks
into pairs of birds; the establishment of individual breeding territories
(the extent and definiteness of which vary in different species) ; court-
ship and mating; nest building; egg laying; incubation; care of the
young; and, finally, migration or the return of the individual birds or
pairs to the “winter” flocks. Each of these parts of the whole cycle
is subject to great variation, and each may be influenced in its devel-
opment and expression by its antecedent stages, and each may exert a
similar influence on its succeeding stages.

Like any other sequence of events or stages, the undue development
of any one part may tend to throw out of line one or more of the
remaining parts. When everything runs smoothly according to
what may be looked upon as a normal pattern, it is very difficult
to observe the sequential effects of each part on its successor and it is
rarely possible to get even vague glimpses or hints of how the per-
fected whole cycle came to be developed through the ages. It is
only when something deviates from this normal pattern that we have
much chance of learning anything of the factors that control or
influence it. With these general thoughts in mind, it is instructive
to examine in some detail what has transpired in one family of birds
with respect to one part of the life cycle, the nest-building habit,
and, in connection with it, to related portions of the cycle.

The weaverbirds have been divided into a number of subfamilies
(the exact number differing in different classifications), which in a
general way are characterized by different nest-building habits.
The arboreal, so-called typical weavers (Ploceinae) construct a
suspended type of woven nest, usually shaped like a ball or a closed
oval with a lateral or a downward-extending entrance tube or
“vestibule.” Most of the species of this group are colonial, some-
times as many as 50 or more nests being built in the same tree, and
often with no others on any of the surrounding trees for considerable
distances. On the other hand, some species are quite solitary, like
Reichenow’s weaver (Ploceus reichenowi), of which usually only one,
and apparently never more than two pairs nest on the same tree, and
in those cases where there are two, only one seems to be breeding at
atime. The instinct to build is, however, very strong in most members
of this group as farasknown. Thus, Bates (1930, p. 484) noted of the
hooded weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) in Cameroon that ‘. . . it seems
to be a necessity of the birds’ nature to be always busy with their
nest; they will occupy themselves in their spare time with tearing down

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 295
unused nests, strewing the debris on the ground under the tree . . .”
Of the spectacled weaver of South Africa (Ploceus ocularius) Roberts
(1940, pp. 337-338) records that the nest has a protruding entrance
tube which is usually from 3 to 6 inches in length, but that in several
instances the nest-building activities of the birds were so great that
the entrance tubes became extended to a length of 6 feet! One
nest in the Albany Museum at Grahamstown, recorded by Stark,
has an entrance ‘‘upwards of 8 feet long.” It is a well-known occur-
rence in captivity, such as in zoologicalparks, for different species
of weavers, when given quantities of raffia or straw, to weave a vast
quantity of rather formless masses of compact, densely woven mate-
rial over the branches in the cage and even over the wire mesh of the
cage itself. The birds do so equally avidly whether they are in
breeding or in nonbreeding plumage; in other words, the urge to
build, which in most birds is seasonal and is part of the cyclical
sequence of behavior patterns, is here extended far beyond its normal
limits. Furthermore, in at least some of the species of typical weavers
(many are still very poorly known as far as details of habits are
concerned), the bulk, if not all, of the actual nest construction is
done by the males and not by the females. (In most ordinary
birds the female does most of the nest building.) Thus, in the
masked weaver (Ploceus velatus mariquensis) Taylor (1946, pp.
145-155) found that the males did all the nest building, except for
some of the lining which was put in by the females. When a nest
is completed the male that built it immediately starts to make another,
and in one colony a single male wove no fewer than 11 completed nests.

In another species, the Baya weaver of India (Ploceus philippinus),
Ali (1931) found that the males were polygamous and that the number
of mates each was able to get depended on the number of completed
nests he was able to build for them, the actual courtship and mating
behavior taking place in or around the newly finished nest. Ali
writes that in his experience with this species—

... in the initial stages of an adult nesting colony, no hens are as a rule in evidence,
and I have been unable to discover their whereabouts during the first few days.
It would appear that the instinct to breed asserts itself earlier in the adult cocks
than in the hens, for it is not until the time when the nests have progressed to a
stage where the egg-chamber is finished or nearly so, that some of the females
first become physiologically “‘ripe.”” They now visit the colony quite obviously
with the sole object of “‘prospecting”’ for laying sites, i. e., to discover if there are
any nests that are ready for their occupation. ... Two hens often fight for the
possession of an acceptable nest. The successful hen henceforward boldly enters
the nest and busies herself with finishing off and making the interior comfortable.
In no case have I been able to observe the cooperation between male and female
so often described. The lion’s share of the building—in fact all of it—is undoubt-
edly done by the cock alone. Her contribution is only the “‘interior decoration”’.. .
The “building mania,’ as it has been called, that comes over the adult cock at
this season is a sure indication of his readiness to breed...

866591—50——20

296 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

While my own field notes are less detailed for any one species of
weaver than are Ali’s on the Baya, I found males of a dozen or more
related African species actively engaged in nest building. In the
cases where my notes are fullest (the Cape weaver, Ploceus capensis
olivaceus, the black-headed weaver, Ploceus nigriceps nigriceps, and
the Kenya vitelline weaver, Ploceus witellinus uluensis) my observa-
tions indicate that the male does most of the nest weaving, if not all
of it. In some other species (Jackson’s weaver, Ploceus jacksoni, and
the spotted-backed weaver, Ploceus spilonotus) there seemed to be
more activity among the females in this regard but still the bulk of the
building was carried on by the males. (It may be that some of the
“females” were really males in nonbreeding plumage, a point that
could have been determined only by more collecting at the time.
That this is not unlikely may be adduced from the fact that in my
field notes on the masked weaver, Ploceus velatus arundinarius, I
wrote that the females take part in the nest-building activities, but
Taylor’s careful study of a slightly different subspecies of this bird,
referred to above, convinced him that the males did all the actual
construction and that the females merely added or rearranged some
lining materials. It may well be that the birds I recorded as females
were males that had not yet come into nuptial plumage.) Chestnut
weavers (Ploceus rubiginosus), watched in captivity, showed more
nest-building activity among males than females. Of Speke’s weaver
(Ploceus spekei) van Someren (1916, p. 409) noted that, ‘‘dozens of
nests are built by the male, but only one is occupied; thus there are
always plenty of old nests in all stages of completion.”

In one of the forest-dwelling, relatively solitary, or at least not highly
colonial, typical weavers, Malimbus cassini, of West Africa, Bates (p.
478) found that both sexes take care of the young. He shot a male
and a female at their nest, which had, ‘‘. .. a woven entrance tube 2 or
3 feet long, so thin that its walls were transparent, and the birds could
be seen entering and leaving, feeding young.’’ In the Cape weaver,
Ploceus olivaceus capensis, previously mentioned, Skead found that
both parents fed the young, and it appears that this behavior is fairly
widespread in the entire group.

Another section of this subfamily contains the so-called bishop
birds (Huplectes) and the whydahs (Coliuspasser and its close allies).
These birds are far more terrestrial than the members of the genus
Ploceus and their habits are somewhat different. Lack (1935, pp. 817
ff.) studied the fire-crowned bishop (Huplectes hordacea hordacea) in
Tanganyika Territory and found that the males are polygamous and
do most of the nest building, each female merely finishing or lining the
one it occupies, and each hen continuing to add to the nest throughout
the period of incubation, eventually making it so thick that the ob-
server can no longer see through it, and adding a small saclike ledge

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 297

above the entrance. One male was found to have three mates at the
same time, and may have had still others. The males have very
definite territories and the hens apparently seek out the established
cock birds. Actual mating takes place when the nest is in process of
being built by the male, but the female has, in all probability, already
settled in his territory for some time before this. Incubation of the
eggs and feeding of the young are solely the business of the hens,
which incubate chiefly at night, the warmth from the sun presumably
being sufficient for the eggs during the daylight hours.

Less complete data on the whydahs (Coliuspasser ardens and C.
jackson) suggest that these birds are monogamous. Thus, in writing
of the latter species Jackson (1938, pp. 1469-1470) states that he re-
gards the evidence against the supposed pologamy of this whydah as
conclusive. Near Nairobi, Kenya Colony, he had extremely favor-
able conditions for watching this species within a fenced-in enclosure
with open grass, outside of which enclosure the grass had been burned.
In such a small area it was easy enough to count and mark with a stick each
dancing ground. This done, the whole area was hurriedly quartered with the aid
of two boys to move and frighten away all the birds present; we then retired a
short distance, sat down and waited for them to return. The cocks very soon
appeared; the females were much more wary, but returned in due course. Some
of them settled in the grass and remained there, evidently on their nests, while
others were occupied in going to and fro with fine grass in their bills; these latter
rarely remained hidden for more than a minute at atime. Next day we returned,
and by quartering every yard of the area we discovered four nests with three
eggs, three with two eggs, one with a single egg and three not yet completed.
Each nest when found was marked by tying a knot in a wisp of tall grass close by.
At the end of a week we again returned; but no more nests were found, and on no
occasion did the females equal the number of cocks, but I accounted for this
through my failing to detect one or two of them as they sneaked back to their
nests containing incubated eggs .. .

At least it seems from this account that there were not more hens
than cocks as would have to be the case in a polygamous species.

Unlike many of the weavers whose courtship is performed at the
newly constructed nest, a group of males of Jackson’s whydah makes
a roughly circular dancing area by breaking or snipping off the tall
grass to make a clearing of from 2 to 6 feet in diameter. In the
middle of this clearing are left standing a sizable number of grasses
forming a dense tuft into which the males partly excavate little re-
cesses. Then a number of males go through a leaping peformance,
generally with no hens around to watch them. Jackson describes the
position assumed by the cock as follows:

The head is thrown back like that of a proud Turkey-cock, the beak being held
horizontally; the feet hang downward, the tail is held straight up till it touches
the ruff at the base of the head and neck, the ends of the feathers falling in a curve

downward, with the exception of two tail-feathers which are held straight out
and downward.

298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

While actually rising in the air the half-open wings are worked with a very
quick shivering motion, and the feet are also moved up and down very rapidly,
beating the air.

The bird springs straight up in the air, sometimes for a few inches and sometimes
to the height of two or more feet, and then drops.

The whole of the plumage is much puffed out throughout the performance,
which is repeated five or six times, with a short interval for rest.

The game would appear to be somewhat fatiguing, as the bird rarely makes
more than five or six jumps at a time without a short rest . . . They very often
assume their curious jumping attitude some little distance before they arrive at
their playground. . .

Besides the data quoted above it may be added that apparently
but one male may make use of one dancing area, and that often at the
end of the jumping dance it appears to try to burrow into the shallow
recesses of the central tuft of grasses (as though there were nests
there).

Jackson’s whydah shows the courtship behavior pattern developed
to a greater degree of display and ostensible rivalry between males,
and to a greater specialized areal usage (courtship, or dancing, ground
as contrasted with nesting site or even breeding territory) than others
of its relatives, but the difference seems to be more one of degree than
of kind. As typified by its habits, this section of the terrestrial Plo-
ceinae may be said to be characterized by elaboration of courtship
behavior from individual displays near the nest to a complex display
at a dancing ground, and by what seems to be monogamy. (More
detailed information is needed on this point, however. In the case of
the black whydah, Coliuspasser concolor, and of the red-collared why-
dah, Coliuspasser ardens, there are observational data supporting a
monogamous state; in the long-tailed wydah, Coliuspasser procne,
similar but less extensive data suggest polygamy.) Recently V. D.
van Someren (1945, pp. 131-141) has concluded that Jackson’s why-
dah is polygamous, but his own presentation of the case is not too pos-
itive. Thus, he writes that—

. polygamy appears to be general, and seems to arise because of the imper-
fect correlation between the maturation of the males and females. Some males
mature early, others late, and the early males may cease dancing and start moult-
ing while later males are just beginning to assume breeding plumage and dance.
This irregular maturation of the males may be spread over several months, while
by contrast, the females mature almost simultaneously, and all nests are found
at the same stage of building or incubation within a few days. Since the sex-
ratio of the mixed flock is almost 50:50, late maturing males are thus able to
mate with several females, because the mature females probably now outnumber
the mature males. Males may commence dancing some four months before the
first nest is found, but these early males are probably unsuccessful at mating be-
cause of the unready state of the females. Males may start dancing while still

in non-breeding plumage, but the behaviour pattern of these immature males is
undeveloped in several respects.

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 299

It may be noted that the assumption that late-maturing males are
able to have several mates is based on the thought that more females
are mature in the later than in the earlier part of the season, but, only
a few lines above, van Someren informs us that all the females mature
simultaneously, which would imply that the females mature later
than the early-maturing males. It would seem, from this, if van
Someren’s assumption be correct, that the early-maturing males might
be no longer in breeding condition late in the season when mates are
available, or else they would compete with the later-maturing cocks
for the hens to a degree sufficient to diminish the likelihood of the
late-maturing mates having more than a single mate apiece.

The care of the eggs and the young appears to be left wholly to the
females, and, as far as the incomplete evidence goes, the actual nest
building is also done by the hens of the various species of whydahs.

We have but little reliable data as to the territorial aspects of the
lives of most of these birds, except for Jackson’s whydah. In his
study of this bird van Someren found that—

. . . true territorial behavior becomes evident early in the sexual break-up of the
flock. The males, isolating themselves on rings (7. e., dancing areas) establish a
well-defined territory of small extent, of which the ring itself is the focal point;
the territory extends all round the ring at a radius of 6 to 10 feet from the central
tuft.

A female alighting anywhere within this territory may be solicited by courtship
behavior by the male on the ring, even though she may not alight on the ring
itself. Another full-plumaged male alighting on this territory is treated in one of
two ways, depending on the attitude of his tail as he alights. If he alights with
his tail arched and the two outer plumes drooping as in the dancing attitude, he
is attacked with pursuit flight if the owner is present in the territory. If however,
the intruding male alights with his tail folded in the normal flight attitude he is
usually solicited and displayed to be the owner as if he was a female. It is very
noticeable that when a male returns to his territory from outside it, the tail is
arched and the two outer plumes drooped the moment he crosses the boundary; the
bird alights in the dancing attitude, and thus shows his ownership by his
appearance...

Where two or more rings are found within a few inches of one another...
they are all formed by the one male, who may use them alternately while dancing,
and keep them all in good order . . . rings occupied by two separate males are
not found closer than about 12 feet. These boundaries are accepted by the other
members of the flock early in the break-up, hence territorial squabbles are seldom
seen late in the season . . . This territory is related purely to sexual functions
and has no food significance; feeding is carried out in a mixed flock even in the
height of the dancing season, on neutral ground where sexual rivalry is notably
absent.

Furthermore, this territory appears of no significance to the females apart from
the fact that they are attracted to the rings; they are unaware of the boundaries
of the male territories. At nesting time, the males cease dancing vigorously and
the main dancing area may become completely deserted; the females nest in a
different area which is usually some distance away from the dancing grounds. The

300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

nests tend to be grouped together, and are usually about 20 to 30 feet away from
the nearest ring if males have been dancing previously in the neighborhood, i.e.
well outside the territory boundaries.

In connection with the development of courtship posturings, it may
be pointed out that, unlike the members of the arboreal Ploceinae,
the whydahs, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the bishop weavers,
have very marked sexual dimorphism in the breeding plumage of the
adults and many species have elongated or otherwise specialized
plumes in the nuptial dress of the males. In the nonbreeding season
the sexes generally look alike.

Before going on to the next subfamily, we may briefly summarize
the situation in the typical weavers (Ploceinae). Many of the species
are colonial (which means, in effect, that in most of them the individual
nesting territories are nonexistent), and in those species that have been
most fully observed the nests are built largely or wholly by the males.
Furthermore, in some forms it seems that the males are regularly
polygamous and that the number of mates each one acquires depends
on the number of nests he has been able to provide for his mates.
From the standpoint of our hypothetical “standard” picture of the
cycle of breeding behavior patterns this implies that the first stage—
migration or the fragmentation of flocks into individuals or pairs—is
omitted, that territoriality is likewise skipped, and that the usual
sequence of courtship and nest building is reversed. As we have noted,
the actual courtship and mating takes place in and about the newly
completed nests the males have constructed. The Ploceinae take 2
years to acquire adult plumage and to come into breeding condition.

This summary is correct as far as it goes, but there is still one more
variation in the reproductive behavior pattern exhibited in this sub-
family. One species, sometimes called Rendall’s seed-eater, some-
times (and more properly) the cuckoo finch, Anomalospiza wmberbis,
a bird with no very close relatives, but apparently nearer to the bishop
weavers than to any other assemblage, is wholly devoid of any nest-
building or incubating or rearing instincts, and is, in short, parasitic.
It is still very imperfectly known, and all that may be said with any
certainty is that it is parasitic on small ground-nesting (or near the
ground nesting) warblers of the genera Cisticola and Prinia. (Six
species of the former and one, possibly two, of the latter genus are
known as hosts of the cuckoo finch.) As Delacour (19438, p. 71) has
recently pointed out, the fact that Anomalospiza agrees with the
Viduinae in being parasitic does not necessarily imply close relation-
ship to the members of the latter group. In most respects it seems
best placed, taxonomically, with the Ploceinae, but, it must be ad-
mitted, is an aberrant member of that group. It is aslightly gregari-
ous bird, living, at least in the nonbreeding season, in loose flocks.
Nothing is on record concerning its courtship, sexual relations, or
territorial habits.

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 301

The next subfamily is a much smaller assemblage—the buffalo
weavers (Bubalornithinae)—containing only two species, each with
several races. Unlike the typical weavers these birds do not construct
nests of fine weaving and elaborate structure, but make rather bulky,
massive nests of twigs and thorny branches, rough and untidy in
general appearance, and not suspended from, but placed on top of,
the branches of large trees (in my experience often baobabs). The
birds are colonial and the nests are often placed so close together that
they are actually in direct contact with one another. Jackson (p.
1380) records that he saw where branches had given way under the
combined weight of too many of these nests on several occasions.
Brehm found as many as 18 nests in 1 mimosa tree in northeastern
Africa. The nests are often 2 or 3 feet across and are used and
repaired and added to year after year. Each nest of the black buffalo
weaver (Bubalornis albirostris) contains two or more chambers, lined
with grass and straw, each with an entrance facing away from the
other. The only nests I ever saw of the other species, the white-
headed buffalo weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli), had but a single cham-
ber. There are descriptions in the literature of nests of Bubalornis
containing more than two entrances. Priest (vol. 4, p. 220) writes
of one that “‘. . . there were numerous entrance holes, and it looked
as if about a dozen birds lived in each of these communal nests . . .”
That the urge to build is extended in these weavers beyond the usual
small part of the annual cycle of most birds, as it is in the Ploceinae,
is indicated by some observations made in Darfur, in the Sudan, by
Lynes, who noted that “‘. . . at all seasons we found these Textors
(=Bubalornis) hanging about their everlasting great nest-clusters,
into which, even in midwinter, birds with quite inactive sexual organs
would sometimes carry twigs as if nesting . . .”

Many years ago, in southwestern Africa, Andersson described the
nests as follows:

The collective nests consist externally of an immense mass of dry twigs and
sticks, in which are to be found from four to six separate nests or holes of an oval
form, composed of grass only, but united to each other by intricate masses of
sticks, defying the ingress of any intruder except a small snake. In each of these
separate holes are laid three or four eggs . . . I obtained no less than forty of
these eggs . . . and on the following day the birds were busy in repairing one of
the collective nests which had been injured during the collection of the eggs .. .
I believe these nests are annually added to, for, so far as I have been able to see,
the same nest is retained for several consecutive seasons.

We do not have nearly as complete information on the buffalo
weavers as on the typical ones, but what data are available indicate
that the birds are colonial, that there is little or no observable evidence
of any prenuptial fragmentation of wintering flocks, and that the
males do at least part of the nest building. Whether they do it all
or not is still unknown.

302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The evidence does suggest that the nest-building habit is indulged in
out of the breeding season and by nonbreeding birds; not too different
from the typical weavers in this respect.

The next subfamily, the sparrow weavers and social weavers (Ploce-
passerinae), shows a great indulgence in nest building, in and out of
the breeding time, which culminates in the truly gigantic communal
structures of the social weaver (Philetairus socius). Thus, of one
South African sparrow weaver, Plocepasser mahali, Roberts (1940,
p. 332) writes that—

. a single pair of birds will construct as many as a dozen nests of whitish grass
stems on the projecting branches, these being arched over the top with two
entrances below on opposite sides, so that there is no cavity for the eggs and
evidently made for amusement only; the nests in which the eggs are laid have
only one entrance and are warmly lined with feathery grass tops .. .

A somewhat different description is given by Stark (1900, pp. 84-85)
who informs us that the species is—

. of social habits, it remains in flock all the year round and breeds in company,
several nests being generally built in a single tree. Rarely have I met with more
pugnacious birds; the males in spring are constantly fighting, and so desperate
are their quarrels that the combatants frequently lie exhausted, side by side, on
the ground, incapable for further movement ... The nests are large, roughly
built, kidney-shaped structures, usually placed near the ends of the branches of a
mimosa or other thorny tree. They are constructed of long grass-stems, the
blades and flowering tops being woven together, the stiff stalks projecting in all
directions. During the winter each nest has two entrances from below, separated
in the interior by a narrow bridge of grass, on which the birds roost. At the
beginning of the breeding season one entrance is stopped up with leaves and grass,
a shallow cavity being left in which the female deposits two or three eggs...
As soon as the young are on the wing, the second entrance is unstopped, and the
nest is again used, both by the old and young birds, as a roosting place. The
nests are annually repaired and last for many years.

A somewhat similar account holds for another species, the gray-
headed social weaver of East Africa, Pseudonigrita arnaudi. Jackson
(p. 1384) comments on the remarkable nest of this bird—

. . . it is very large and quite exceptionally compact, and has two entrances
pointing downwards. During the period between breeding seasons these nests
are used for roosting, the birds resting on the ridge between the two entrances.
In the breeding season one of the holes is stopped up and the eggs are deposited
in a depression beyond the ridge on the material used for stopping up the second

entrance. The nest is firmly woven to several twigs or branches . . . in small
clumps of five to eight nests together.

Of a slightly different race of the same species Jackson found (p. 1385)
the nests ‘‘. . . were packed together so closely as to form almost one
compound nest.”

Probably the most remarkable of all weaverbirds’ nests is that of
the famous sociable weaver of the western arid portions of South
Africa, Philetairus socius. The enormous communal nests built by

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 303

these little sparrowlike birds attain truly great proportions—as much
as 25 feet long and 15 feet wide at the base and from 5 to 10 feet in
height! While each nest is the product of not a lone individual, or
even a pair, but of a whole flock of as many as 75 or 80 pairs, still the
sheer bulk of the nesting material gathered and placed by the birds
is a striking testimony to the tremendous year-round urge of the nest-
building instinct in this species. The time I spent studying this bird
in the western Transvaal in 1925 was one of the most fascinating
experiences an ornithologist could have, and I cannot refrain from
including here part of my notes, at the expense of repeating some items
already published in an earlier paper (1930).

As the common name of the bird implies, Philetfairus is very social
in its habits; in fact it is probably as social as any bird could possibly
be. It is always found in flocks, feeds in flocks, and breeds in large,
many-apartmented compound nests. The smallest flocks that I saw
contained about 20 birds; the largest one at least 150. The flocks
seem to stay pretty much in the same general vicinity all the year
round, and the birds use their huge, massive nests as roosting places
during the nonbreeding season. With this extreme sociability and
sedentary habit of life the territorial relations of the species have-been
modified in a way that is quite remarkable, perhaps unique among
birds. Instead of each pair of birds having its own breeding territory,
each flock seems to have a definite territory, and as the individual
flocks are usually far enough apart not to compete with each other,
the boundaries of these territories are seldom crossed by individuals
of other flocks and other territories. However, in a few cases in my
own experience two flocks were fairly close together (i. e., two nests
were on trees not very far apart), and the birds mingled more or less
while feeding, but in these cases far more fighting and quarreling was
observed than in all the others together. In an area approximately
100 miles long and 10 miles wide, or 1,000 square miles in all, I found
only 26 nests of the social weaver, so it can be seen that the flocks
ordinarily do not live in very close juxtaposition to each other. (The
nests are so large, and so conspicuous at great distances, and the
country so open and easy to examine, the trees being so relatively few
in number, that I am quite certain I found practically every nest in
this area.)

The nests observed varied in size as did the flocks. The smallest
nest found measured about 3 feet in diameter at the base and was
about 3 feet high and had about 10 entrances on the under surface,
indicating that it contained that number of individual nests. The
largest one found was incomplete, i. e., a piece of it had broken off,
breaking its supporting branches by its weight, but the remaining
part was a large, flat, horizontal mass of straw, more or less repaired
at its broken edge, and measured about 25 by 15 feet at the base and

304. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

was about 5 feet high. The part that had broken off must have been
about 5 feet in diameter each way. This nest contained about 95
nests within it.

In a locality where these birds occur it is impossible to remain long
unaware of their presence. ‘Trees are not so numerous but that each
one becomes an object of more or less importance in the landscape.
Needless to say a tree on which there is a social weaver’s nest is a very
conspicuous object, visible for a great distance and widely proclaims
the presence of the builders. But the birds themselves soon intrude
upon one’s consciousness with their noisy, harsh, chattering notes as
they fly by in flocks or feed in scattered bunches upon the seeds of the
small, stunted shrubs and plants that wrest an existence from the
inhospitable soil. While feeding they keep up an incessant chatter
much like a flock of house sparrows, and, like them, frequently quarrel
over bits of food. In flight they all act in unison with a precision
quite remarkable for birds of their type, the whole flock turning,
rising, falling, wheeling, and stopping more or less together.

Although the birds live in compound “‘apartment-house’’ nests,
feed and fly in flocks, and are at all times exceedingly gregarious, they
seem to establish fairly strong mating relations as far as my field
observations indicate. If they were haphazardly promiscuous they
would be forever in each other’s way getting in and out of the entrance
holes of the individual nests in the large communal structures. As a
matter of fact, the harmony of life within each colony, the lack of
what may be likened to traffic congestion, i. e., the coming and going
of birds in the task of providing food for the young, the fact that out of
numbers of individual nests examined by various observers none were
found with unusual numbers of eggs or young, all argue for individu-
ality in nest occupancy. Whether each male has only one or several
mates is, however, unknown.

There have been several attempts to explain the structure of the
large, composite nests of this species, some writers claiming that each
pair of birds builds an individual nest, all of them close together, and
then the flock builds the common roof over all the nests, while other
writers have recorded that the flock builds a large structure and then
each pair builds its individual nest into this structure. J never saw
the actual beginning of a nest, and the smallest nests I found were, as
mentioned above, complete structures with numbers of nests within
them. However, Roberts (1940, p. 333) describes the construction
of the communal nest as follows:

. . . first a roof is constructed of coarse straws in the strong branches of a large...
tree, and under this a great number of nest-chambers are made by nipping off
the straws to form a tunnel upwards with a chamber at one side of the top of the

tunnel; each pair of birds has its own nest-chamber, and scores of pairs may
occupy the same colony.

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 305

To this I may add that regardless of how the first start is made, it is
true that all through the nonbreeding season, the entire flock does a
large amount of roofing and general enlarging of the whole affair so
that it is true that subsequent individual nests are built into the large
structure. The nests are added to year after year, and frequently
become so large and heavy that they break the branches upon which
they rest, and crash to the ground. All the birds seem to work
together equally, apparently the males as well as the female(?)s, and
even during the breeding season, when they have eggs or young in
the nest, the male birds may be seen carrying straw to the roof or
other parts of the common structure, not necessarily close to their
own respective individual nests. The huge, massive affairs are
composed wholly of dried grasses of a rather coarse, tough sort that
grows commonly in southwestern Africa, and the seeds of which
enter into the diet of the weavers very largely. The material is not
really woven or even plaited on the surface of the nest, but is rather
roughly put together in about the same way that hay is put into a well-
made hay rack, but with a fairly definite thatching arrangement,
causing the rain to run off and not soak through. The under side
of the nest presents the rough, hard ends of the coarse straws and forms
a very uneven surface.

In the sparrow weavers and social weavers (subfamily Plocepas-
serinae) we find, then, as far as our incomplete data permit us to
generalize, an annual behavior cycle characterized by lack of migration
or winter flock fragmentation, a substitution of a communal flock
territory for individual ones as far as nesting is concerned, and a very
marked development, both in seasonal duration and in individual
activity, of the nest-building habit. The published observational
data indicate that both sexes participate in nest building, but these
data are open to question because of the similarity in plumage of the
males and females; whether one or the other does most of the con-
struction is not known. Nothing appears to be on record concerning
the courtship habits, so it is not possible to ascertain whether this
part of the cycle comes before or is associated with already completed
nests as it is in some of the typical weavers (Ploceinae).

Turning now to the next group, the weaver finches (subfamily
Passerinae), which group includes the ubiquitous house sparrow
(Passer domesticus) and its relatives, we find a different range of nest
types. Some, like the house sparrow, build fairly bulky, formless,
untidy nests in trees, on ledges, cornices of buildings, even in holes
in trees, and other elevated sites (never on the ground). When
built in the branches of a tree the nest usually is domed with an en-
trance on one side, and fairly abundantly lined with feathers and other
soft materials; when built in a hole the lining is much reduced as is

306 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

the rest of the nest structure. The birds are multiple-brooded; both
sexes take part in nest building and in caring for the young.

Although the nests are not such as would, in and of themselves,
suggest that their makers were overly involved in building activities,
there is evidence that in a closely related species, the Cape sparrow
of South Africa, Passer melanurus, the birds use the nests throughout
the year as sleeping places “ . . . especially in winter, when nests with
more warm material are often specially built for the purpose” (Roberts,
1940, p. 334). In other words, in this species we find some indication
of nest-building activity outside of the breeding season. Whether
this is true for other forms of the genus is not known.

To return to the house sparrow, the reproductive behavior cycle,
as reported by Jourdain and Tucker (1938, pp. 157-158), is quite
peculiar and is still in need of further study before it can be properly
interpreted. The—

. . . prominent feature of breeding-season is noisy display, in which sometimes
one, but commonly several males hop with loud chirpings, round female with
elevated bill and tail and drooping wings, but merely elicit pecks from irritated
hen . . . Whole performance commonly ends with sudden dispersal of participants
and appears unconnected with coition or even pairing. Gengler relates latter to
rough-and-tumble scrimmages between several males without display, female
commonly becoming involved as well, though selection of mates as result of these
tussles seems not very clearly demonstrated. Coition is normally solicited by
female with drooping wings and twittering note, without display by male, and
may be repeated as many as a dozen or fifteen times in succession. Same observer
states that both mated and unmated birds of both sexes are involved in displays,
but that mated males display only to other females, never their own. He inter-
prets display as relict of former genuine courtship, now functionless except as
outlet for persistent display instinct . . . exceptionally coition may be preceded
by typical display of male without usual solicitation of female.

There is evidence, as well, that the species has a polyandrous or promis-
cuous tendency, and Thompson (quoted by Jourdain and Tucker)
considers the noisy displays are explained partly by this tendency,
and partly by the males coming into breeding condition before the
females.

Other members of the subfamily, such as the yellow-throated spar-
rows of the genus Petronia, the rock sparrows of the genus Gymnoris,
and the gray-headed sparrow, Passer griseus, appear to nest chiefly
if not wholly in holes in trees, in old woodpecker or barbet holes, or
even in suitable natural holes of not too large a size. They generally
line these nesting holes with fibers and feathers. The gray-headed
sparrow has adapted itself to human habitations and frequently
nests under the eaves of buildings. The chestnut sparrow, Sorella
eminibey, not infrequently makes use of old nests of other weaverbirds
although it does at other times build for itself.

The absence of adequate data on the members of this group, other
than the house sparrow, makes it impossible to generalize on any broad

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 307

scale or sure foundation. It is safer, then, merely to summarize the
picture in the one relatively well-known member. The picture of
courtship display is markedly altered from what we are in the habit
of considering normal for most passerine birds—males displaying to
any females but their own mates; females apparently soliciting rather
than permitting coition, a precarious monogamy with a tendency
toward polyandry and promiscuity.

The scaly weavers of the genus Sporopipes form a subfamily by
themselves, the Sporopipinae. They are not too well known, but I
have found them in very loose flocks or small assemblages in the dry
thornbush veldt of the Transvaal, where they feed on the ground
like the Passerinae. The South African species (Sporopipes squami-
frons) breeds during the southern winter as a rule, but at times during
the summer as well, suggesting a not too well delimited nesting time.
These birds are not colonial breeders, but build their roughly globular
nests of grass stems and fine twigs, with a fairly pointed lateral en-
trance, in the middle of the dense thorny branches of shrubs and low
trees. Two nests that I found were less globular than published
descriptions indicate is usual. They were somewhat similar to the
untidy structures of the house sparrow, but smaller, slightly more
compact, and less irregular in shape. In my field notes I described
them as horizontal cylinders rather poorly closed at one end, and made
of grasses, fine twigs, straws, etc. One nest containing three eggs
was being very timidly guarded by two of the birds, presumably a
pair (the sexes look alike). The birds would not stay near the nest
while I was close to it, but returned to it as I walked away. Nothing
seems to be on record concerning courtship, mating, or territorial
behavior in any of the scaly weavers.

We now come to the subfamily Viduinae, the indigo birds and the
widow birds, containing a dozen species, three of which are definitely
known to be parasitic and the others are suspected of having similar
breeding habits. This group is somewhat intermediate between the
Ploceinae and the next subfamily, the Estrildinae. Like the mem-
bers of the Ploceinae, the Viduinae take 2 years to acquire adult
plumage, and do not breed until then (the Estrildinae breed when 1
year old, as do the majority of small passerine birds). The adult
males have a breeding plumage in which they are very different from
the brown, streaky hens and year-old birds, the former of which they
resemble in the nonbreeding plumage. (The Estrildinae do not
show any seasonal plumage change as arule.) The best known of the
Viduinae is the pin-tailed widow bird, Vidua macroura, and the fol-
lowing description of its habits is taken largely from my field notes
coupled with pertinent data in the literature.

Vidua macroura is a gregarious bird and is usually seen in flocks of
from 5 to 50 birds, depending on the season. In the breeding season

308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

in South Africa, where seasons are definite, the flocks tend to break
up and the birds pair off more or less. Yet it is not uncommon to
see small flocks all through the breeding season. Such flocks usually
contain but one full-plumaged male and the rest. of the birds are in the
brown hen type of plumage. In some cases I shot into the flocks and
found that the brown birds were year-old males, but in two cases the
birds proved to be females with fairly enlarged ovaries. It seems,
therefore, that this bird is somewhat polygamous, although I should
judge from most of the cases I have observed (and they are many)
that it is frequently, if not usually, more or less monogamous. In
equatorial Africa all the individuals of the species in any one locality
do not breed at the same time and these flocks usually contain a
breeding pair and either year-old birds or nonbreeding adults. The
lack of definite seasons complicates things superficially to the extent
that the apparent state of affairs has no real relation to the actual
conditions.

This widow bird is largely terrestrial in habit and gathers most, if
not all, of its food on or near the ground. However, in Natal, at
least, during the southern winter the birds go about in large flocks and
spend much time in the trees, where they act and sound not unlike
small finches such as the North American redpoll, Acanthis linaria.
They are by no means confined to trees and are found in tall grass
and in reeds along stream banks. During the breeding season the
males often use isolated trees as perches from which to sing and to
watch over their territories, but the birds spend by far the greatest
part of the time on the ground.

On November 24, at Woodbush, Transvaal, I saw an adult male
in full breeding plumage. It was perched on a bush in an open
grassy field, and as I approached it flew off to a nearby bush and then
to another not far off as I came close again. It made a small circling
flight and came back to the original bush. On and off during the
rest of the day I found it there each time I visited the spot and found
by repeated trials that it could not be induced to leave it. It had
definitely established its territory there, and apparently the bush in
which it was first found was its singing perch. The next day I spent
a couple of hours watching it and tried to make it fly off, but it would
not go more than a hundred feet and then circle back gradually.
There was a single hen bird in the immediate vicinity. I shot the
male and found the testes were much enlarged. The plumage was
still very fresh; in fact the long central rectrices still retained a little
of their sheaths and one of them was so loose that it came out when I
skinned the bird.

In the same region I watched two other males that were established
in their individual territories. One of them was watched for 3
successive days and was apparently without a mate as yet. It had a

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 309

territory about 400 yards in diameter, considerably larger than that of
the first male, but more open, less bushy, and probably contained
possibilities of no greater number of nests to parasitize than the other.
The third and last male had a smaller breeding area and was usually
accompanied by three or four brownish henlike birds. I shot one of
these birds and found it to be a male—a year-old bird in first nuptial
plumage.

The courtship displayed was first observed at Woodbush, Transvaal,
on December 1. The male flew up from the ground and hovered about
2 feet in the air directly over a female, with his body feathers shghtly
ruffled and his wings beating rapidly. With each wing beat the four
long rectrices were violently jerked and made to stream boisterously
over the female, much after the cascade type of tail display of Coli-
uspasser ardens and Coliuspasser procne.

On another occasion, in equatorial East Africa, I saw a male display
to a female that was perched in a thorn tree. The display was similar
to the one already described; the male danced in a stationary posi-
tion as though suspended in midair a couple of feet above the female.
On still other occasions I watched males courting when there were
several of the brownish hen-feathered birds present. In all such
cases I noticed definitely that the male tended to confine his atten-
tions to one particular bird. It seemed as though there was but one
female and that the other brown birds were year-old males. In one
case I shot the whole band (five brown birds) and found that one was a
female in breeding condition and the rest were young males.

Inasmuch as this widow bird is parasitic in its breeding habits it
is interesting to compare it with the cowbirds (Méolothrus) of the
Americas. The chief difference seems to be in their sexual relations.
Both are more or less monogamous but the Vidua tends toward
polygamy while the Molothrus tends toward polyandry.

The vocal efforts of this species are not remarkable. The usual
call notes are weak, high, but sharp tsips, something like the weaker
notes of the redpoll (Acanthis linaria). When a band of birds calls
simultaneously and rapidly they produce a light twittering chorus.
The song is a rapid but modulated repetition of the call note and
usually consists of from 5 to 10 syllables and occasionally more.
It is given in flight as well as when at rest. Curiously enough, I
never heard a male sing while going through his display dance before
a female.

As is well known, this species is parasitic in its breeding habits;
i. e., it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds and leaves them to their
care. Vidua macroura is not the only ploceid exhibiting this habit—
V. regia and V. paradisea and, as we have already noted, Anoma-
lospiza imberbis are also parasitic, and probably the other species
of Vidua will in time be found to be parasitic as well. Vidua

310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

macroura is parasitic chiefly on waxbills and generally lays but one
egg ina nest. I have seen sets containing two, three, and even, four
of the widow bird’s eggs along with those of the victims, but such
sets are not usual. The eggs are pure white and differ from those of
the common fosterers only in size.

The following birds have been found to be parasitized by Vidua
macroura:

Lonchura scutatus Estrilda rhodopyga
Estrilda astrild Estrilda delamerei
Estrilda subflava Lagonosticta senegala
Estrilda melpoda Lagonostica rubricata
Estrilda massaica Amauresthes fringilloides
Estrilda melanotis Coliuspasser ardens

The incubation period is 12 days.

The breeding season in South Africa is late in the southern summer—
January, February, and early March, sometimes earlier. In Kenya
Colony the species breeds during both the short and the long rainy
seasons. The short rains come in November, December, and Jan-
uary; the long rains in April, May, June, and July. As one goes
northward the rains shift to later in the calendar year; thus in the
southern Sudan the long rains extend into September and start
correspondingly later than in Kenya Colony.

The young V2dua does not always crowd out or starve out its nest
mates (at least in the few cases I watched) as do the young cuckoos
and cowbirds in so many cases, but all grow up together. Fully
fledged young Vidua macroura are often found in flocks of young
waxbills after leaving the nest but they do not remain long in these
assemblages. Before they get ready to molt (postjuvenal molt)
they form flocks of their own. I have seen as many as 15 or 20
young pin-tailed widow birds together. Frequently one or two adult
birds, often males in breeding plumage, are found in these flocks.

My observation on Vidua regia, the shaft-tailed widow bird, Vidua
jischeri, the straw-tailed widow bird, and Vidua orientalis, one of the
indigo finches, while much less complete than those on Vidua macroura,
also indicate that the superficially apparent polygamy is actually not
real, that while one male in adult breeding plumage may be accom-
panied by a small flock of brown henlike individuals, most of the
latter are immature birds of both sexes and only one in a group may
be an adult female. In the case of the straw-tailed widow bird,
Vidua fischeri, I once observed what seemed to be a territorial fight
between two males in full breeding plumage.

To summarize the behavior-pattern cycle in the Viduinae, we may
characterize it as follows: apparently monogamous and solitary(?), but
solitary only with respect to its own age group (adults), not solitary

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Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Friedmann PLATE 4

1. A VERY LARGE OLD NEST OF PHILETAIRUS SOCIUS, PARTS OF WHICH HAD
FALLEN DOWN BY THEIR OWN WEIGHT

oe sss a

2. THE SOCIAL WEAVERBIRD, PHILETAIRUS SOCIUS

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Friedmann PLATE 5

foe

—

>

j

Pd

1. NEST OF PLOCEUS OCULARIUS
(From Chapin, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 37, 1917.)

2. NEST OF EUPLECTES FLAMMICEPS
(From Chapin, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 37, 1917.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Friedmann PLATE 6

Ry

Upper, dancing ground of Coliuspasser jacksoni; middle, male Coliuspasser
jacksoni on its dancing ground; lower, male Coliuspasser displaying to female
on dancing ground.

(All photographs on this plate from Van Someren, Journ. East Africa Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. 18, 1945.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Friedmann PLATE 7

1. CUCKOO FINCH, ANOMALOSPIZA IMBERBIS
(From Shelley, Birds of Africa, vol. 4, 1905.)

’

2. YOUNG ANOMALOSPIZA BEING FED BY PRINIA FALVICANS
(From Roberts, Ann. Transvaal Mus., vol. 5, 1917.)

VISSaY VNGIA AO ANO AGNV NMO
Sl] 340 S999 SSaYHHL HLIM SNVSOIAV 14 VINIYd AO LSAN °Z SNLONOTMIdS SNADO1d AO ANONOD °|

8 31V1d uueulpaliJ—'6p6| ‘j40dayy ueluosyyIUIg

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN oll

as far as immature “hangers-on” are concerned; courtship display well
developed in all species; nest-building, incubation, and rearing instincts
completely lacking in three members (V. macroura, paradisea, and
regia) and probably in the others as well. The young of the three known
parasitic species do not seem to evict or to starve out their nest mates
of the host species, but may grow up in apparent amity with them.
Roberts (1939, pp. 106-107) finds that while this is so, the female
parasite usually destroys an egg of the host when depositing its own
in the nest, but no such observations have been published. Usually
there is but a single egg of the parasite in any one nest, but Roberts
has found one instance where “‘five eggs of the common waxbill were
all replaced by eggs of the Pin-tailed Widow-Bird.” Delacour and
other writers have implied that the Viduinae are parasitic chiefly on
waxbils, and even go so far as to suggest that each of the Viduinae has
its particular Estrildinae host species, but this is by no means definitely
established. Thus, the pin-tailed widow bird is known to parasitize
at least nine species of Hstrilda and Lagonosticta, and two ploceine
weavers, Coliuspasser ardens and Amauresthes fringilloides, while there
is some evidence that Vidua regia lays its egg in the nest of a warbler,
Prinia flavicans.

The last subfamily of weaverbirds, comprising the waxbills, grass
finches, and mannikins, is the Estrildinae. Delacour (1943, pp. 71-72)
has recently summarized the characteristics of this group as follows:
Small weaver-finches of highly specialized color pattern, never showing a primi-
tive streaked sparrow-like brown plumage and horn-colored bill; sexes alike or
different; immature always different from adult females. No eclipse plumage in
males, with one exception. Nestlings always showing brightly colored, swollen
spots, lobes or bands at the gape, and an ornamentation of the tongue or palate,
consisting of spots or lines. Eggs numerous and always white; nests globular
with a side entrance, but not woven. Young birds become adult within a year
of their birth and are then able to breed, while it takes two years for young
Viduinae and Ploceinae to mature. Peculiar song and courtship variable but
consistent, in a general way, in large groups of genera. Ten primaries in the wing,
the first being very short and falcate, with the exception of two genera (Clytospiza
and Spermophaga) where it is moderately long, not parasitic.

This large group is composed of three natural subdivisions: the wax-
bills, chiefly found in Africa, but with one genus in Asia; the grass
finches, found in Australia and some of the islands of the south Pacific;
and the mannikins, found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. The
Estrildinae never weave elaborate nests like the Ploceinae but con-
struct roughly globular nests of grasses and leaves, with the entrance
on one side, and which are usually built near or on the ground, in the
grass, oF in bushes and low trees. The nests are very large for the
size of their builders. A number of species frequently use old nests
of other weavers, but usually do a certain amount of work on the
866591—50-——21

312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

nests themselves, such as adding to or rearranging the lining. Thus,
the bronze mannikin, Lonchura cucullatus, sometimes builds its own
nest, but often breeds in old nests of other weavers, particularly of
species of Ploceus. At Kaimosi, in western Kenya Colony, I found a
rather untidy, loosely constructed nest of dried grasses and plant
fibers, lined with grass seed-heads and feathers; it contained four white
eggs and was evidently the nest of a pair of these mannikins, which
were constantly seen on or about it. On the other hand, a day later I
saw a Lonchura enter an old Ploceus nest, and, wondering what the
bird might be doing there, I cut down the nest and found in it two
eggs exactly like those found in the other nest the day before. The
bird acted in a very excited manner as I examined the nest. Jackson
(p. 1473) also records that this species breeds in old nests of Ploceus
reichenowi, which it lines with grasses. Other Estrildinae known to
use old nests of other species not infrequently are the silverbill,
Lonchura cantans, the cut-throat finch, Amadina fasciata, the red-
headed finch, Amadina erythrocephala, the common waxbill, Estrilda
astrild, the zebra waxbill, Estrilda subflava, the lavender waxbill,
Estrilda perreini, and the cordon-bleu, Uraeginthus bengalus.

Aside from the fact that nest building in many of the Estrildinae
is not so fixed in its pattern but that the birds may either build new
nests for themselves or make use of old nests of other species (often
very different in design from those their own species would construct),
it is worth noting that in a good number of species the males take part
in the task of incubating the eggs. Thus, in writing of the zebra
waxbill, Jackson (p. 1517) goes so far as to say that “. . . as is gen-
erally the case with Waxbills, the males assist in incubation.” Infor-
mation on the courtship habits and sexual relations of the Estrildinae
is still rather scanty, at least as far as significant and reliably
worked-out details are concerned, but what data there are indicate
nothing unusual in either respect. The birds appear to be monog-
amous, and, as is so frequently the case with species in which the
sexes look alike, the courtship antics do not show any peculiar or
marked developments.

In review, then, the great family of weaverbirds exhibits an aston-
ishing range of diversity and variety in the mode of expression of the
different parts of the reproductive behavior cycle. In the beginning
of the breeding time we find everything from marked fragmentation
of wintering flocks into pairs, to year-round gregariousness, and in
courtship from a pattern that comes prior to nest building to one that
follows the completion of the nests by the males, from solitary antics
to elaborate display on special dancing grounds, and, on the other
hand, to almost none at all, or, as in the case of the house sparrow,
to barren but promiscuous displaying by mated males, seemingly

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 313

devoid of direct reproductive function, coupled with apparently
monagamous coition-inviting display by mated females. Nest build-
ing may vary from solitary to highly communal, and to none at all,
and even to parasitism, from slovenly put together masses of material
to amazingly fine and intricate weaving, or huge, communal super-
structures, or may be reduced to merely relining a disused nest of
another species or to lining a hole in a tree. Nest construction may
be done entirely by the male, by both sexes, or largely by the female,
or may be omitted entirely. Sexual relations vary from solitary
monogamy or social monogamy to polygamy, polyandry, and to ap-
parent promiscuity. Incubation in some species, or groups of species,
is performed solely by the hens, while in others the cocks share the
task with their mates, or, in the case of still others, neither sex takes
any care of the eggs, but are parasitic. 'The members of the subfam-
ilies Ploceinae and Viduinae do not come into breeding condition or
acquire adult breeding plumage until they are 2 years old; the mem-
bers of the other groups breed when 1 year old; this in itself is a pro-
found difference. In some forms of the Viduinae and Ploceinae it
permits a type of breeding-season gregariousness, although only a
single adult male and female are usually involved in each little flock.

Few, if any, families of birds offer such a bewildering array of
variations of the parts of the annual cycle, and I cannot help but
wonder if some of these variations may not have been due originally
to the extremes to which, in previously established variations, some of
the stages had been carried. At least the situations created by some
of these extreme developments seem to have been propitious for
further and even quite contrary subsequent changes.

Paradoxical as it sounds, it is possible that the excessive develop-
ment of the nest-building habit may actually have been a contributing
factor in the origin of the complete absence of nest building and egg
care that we know as brood parasitism. In cases of extreme indul-
gence in nest construction such as we find in the social weaverbird
(Philetairus socius) and some of its relatives (Plocepasser etc.), the
huge bulky structures are added to, chiefly by the males, all through
the nonbreeding season. By the time the birds are ready to make
their own individual nest tunnels in the already existing superstruc-
ture they are not acting very differently from birds that make use of
old nests of other species which they then repair. In the case of the
numerous species of typical weavers (Ploceinae) in which the not yet
breeding males construct many nests, the subsequently mated females
are again in a not dissimilar position of taking over nests which they
themselves have not built, and relining them and breeding in them. It
seems that Ali (1931) must have had some such thought in mind
when he noted that Baya weavers occasionally laid eggs in disused

314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

nests of others of their own kind instead of making new ones for
themselves, as this prompted him to raise the following argument:
If the bird laid in disused nests it would only succeed in avoiding the labour
of building, but would still have to incubate the eggs itself. If on the other hand
it was successful in slipping into an unguarded Baya nest whence the brooding
hen had gone (as actually happened on September 18) and in laying its eggs there,
it would be, quite involuntarily, but with good effect all the same, compelled to
retire on the return of the legitimate occupant, leaving its egg to be hatched by
the Baya. Would such a process not tend, in course of time, to develope into,
and establish, a habit of systematic and voluntary parasitism as has been observed
in some African weavers?

In this connection it may be recalled that Lynes (1924, p. 661) found
that in nesting colonies of several species of African weavers related
to the Baya, studied by him in the Darfur Province of the Sudan,
many nests contained one or two extra eggs of the same species as the
host, but recognizably distinct by virtue of different color or state of
incubation, in other words, eggs that probably were laid by other
individuals of the same kind. It seems then, both in Asia and in
Africa, that not infrequently female weavers, ordinarily using nests
they have not built themselves, may lay an occasional egg in a nearby
nest of their own species.

The Viduinae are, as stated earlier in this paper, intermediate be-
tween the typical weavers (Ploceinae) and the waxbills (Hstrildinae).
In many species (perhaps the majority) of the former group, and also
in a good number of forms of the latter group, the hens breed in nests,
the actual construction of which has been foreign to their experience
and their efforts; in many forms of the latter group, and at least some
members of the former subfamily, the care of the eggs is taken over,
at least in part, by the cocks.

The parasitic mode of reproduction occurs, as far as known, in five
widely separated and quite unrelated families of birds—the ducks, the
cuckoos, the honey-guides, the weaverbirds, and the hang-nests (cow-
birds). There can be little doubt that the development of brood
parasitism has taken place independently in each of these five groups,
and it is not without significance, or at least suggestive value, that
this highly aberrant reproduction pattern has developed among the
small passerine birds (generally considered to be the most highly
evolved of all the birds) in those two families some of whose members
have carried the habit of nest building to its highest and most complex
development. It is all the more noteworthy that in the weaverbirds,
a larger group than the hang-nests and one with greater diversity of
behavior patterns, the parasitic habit has developed in two sub-
families, apparently {independently—the cuckoo finch, Anomalospiza
imberbis, in the Ploceinae, and in the members of the Viduinae, three
of which are definitely known to be parasitic, and the rest of which

BREEDING HABITS OF WEAVERBIRDS—FRIEDMANN 315

are strongly suspected of having the same habit. Many more details
have still to be learned of the annual cycle of behavior patterns in
these birds before it may be possible to attempt to determine the
precise causes and the subsequent evolutionary paths that twice in
the history of the weaverbirds have lead from nesting and incubation
and caring for the young to a state of brood parasitism.

REFERENCES
Aut, Sauim A.
1931. The nesting habits of the Baya (Ploceus philippinus). Journ. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 947-964.
Bates, Grorce L.
1930. Handbook of the birds of West Africa.
BELCHER, CHARLES F,
1930. The birds of Nyasaland.
CuaPiNn, JAMES P.
1917. The classification of the weaver birds. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 37, art. 9, pp. 243-280.
DELACOUR, JEAN.
1943. A revision of the subfamily Estrildinae of the family Ploceidae,
Zoologica, vol. 28, pt. 2, pp. 69-86.
Deacour, JEAN, and Epmunp-Buanc, F.
1933-1934. Monographie des veuves. Oiseau, n. s., vol. 3, pp. 687-726; vol.
4, pp. 52-110.
FRIEDMANN, HERBERT.
1922. The weaving of the red-billed weaver bird in captivity. Zoologica,
vol. 11, No. 16, pp. 355-372.
1929. The cowbirds. A study in the biology of social parasitism.
1930. The sociable weaver bird of South Africa. Nat. Hist., vol. 30, No. 2,
pp. 205-212.
1935. Bird societies. Jn A Handbook of Social Psychology, chap. 5 (edited
by Carl Murchison).
JACKSON, FREDERICK J.
1938. The birds of Kenya Colony and the Uganda Protectorate. 3 vols.
Jourpain, F. C. R., and Tucknr, B. W.
1938. In Witherby, Jourdain, Ticehurst, and Tucker, Handbook of British
Birds, vol. 1, pp. 157-158.
Lack, Davin.
1935. Territory and polygamy in a bishop-bird, Euplectes hordacea hordacea
(Linn.). Ibis, ser. 18, vol. 5, pp. 817-836.
Lynes, HuBERT.,
1924. The birds of north and central Darfur. Ibis, ser. 11, vol. 6, pp. 661-
678.
Prisst, Cecit D.
1933-36. The birds of Southern Rhodesia. 4 vols.
Roserts, AUSTIN.
1917. Parasitism amongst finches. Ann. Transvaal Mus., vol. 5, No. 4,
pp. 259-262.
1939. Notes on the eggs of parasitic birds in South Africa. Ostrich, vol. 10,
pp. 1-20, 100-117.
1940. The birds of South Africa.

316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

SHELLEY, G. E.
1905. The birds of Africa, vol. 4, pt. 1, pl. 31 (opposite p. 108).
Srark, ARTHUR C.
1900. The birds of South Africa, vol. 1.
TAYLOR, J. SNEYD.
1946. Notes on the masked weaver. Ostrich, vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 145-155,
Van Someren, V. D.
1945. The dancing display and courtship of Jackson’s whydah. Journ.
East Africa Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. 18, Nos. 3-4, pp. 1381-141.
Van SomEREN, V. G. L.
1916. List of birds collected in Uganda and British East Africa, with notes
on their nesting and other habits. Ibis, ser. 10, vol. 4, pp. 373-472.

NEW ZEALAND, A BOTANIST’S PARADISE

By Eaprert H. WALKER
Associate Curator, Department of Botany, U. S. National Museum

[With 10 plates]
INTRODUCTION

The wisest traveler learns as much as possible before a trip, sees
all he can during his journey, and corrects and enlarges his knowledge
by further reading and inquiry after returning home. This article is
the outgrowth of the author’s short but full visit in New Zealand,
which was ideal in nearly every respect except for lack of advance
knowledge of the country, especially of its botany. It suggests what
the writer would have liked to know in advance but had to learn on
the trip and after it. The suggestions given here for further reading
may be of interest, not only to the fortunate few who will visit New
Zealand in person, but the greater number who may do so vicariously
by reading and by listening to those who have gone.

The plants of New Zealand can hardly fail to gain the attention of
the visitor, and the student of New Zealand will find abundant refer-
ence to them in his reading. People in an industrial country may
ignore the plant life, but those in an agricultural land like New
Zealand cannot escape the imprint of the vegetation on their
lives. New Zealand is a land of enthusiastic and competent amateur
naturalists, and its professional botanists are outstanding. The visitor
will find a local naturalist in nearly every town or center, who is eager
to share his specialties with the stranger and to show him the offerings
of the field. ‘The traveler to New Zealand will probably first meet
the introduced flora which dominates the landscape in the inhabited
parts. Only when he visits the more remote and undisturbed areas
will he see many of the native plants. If he has an economic or
agricultural bias, probably the grasslands, the backbone of New
Zealand’s economy, will impress him most. (See pl. 9.) If he is
conservation-minded, the sight of the vast area of shrubland and
fernland (Pterrdium aquilinum var. esculentum) will make him pain-
fully aware of man’s destruction of the native forest. But the soul
of the pure botanist, undisturbed by problems of economics and con-

317

318 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

servation, will be stirred most as he enters the forest or “bush” where
abounds the native New Zealand flora, so rich in plants found in no
other country—that is, the endemic species. (See pls. 2 and 3.)
Besides the grassland, scrub, and bush he will see other plant forma-
tions. The extensive plantations of trees, all planted in rows of uni-
form age, are very impressive. The species so grown are all exotics,
that is, not native to New Zealand, the principal one being the Monte-
rey pine (Pinus radiata), a useless tree in its native California, but
here by far the most economically important tree to be found. Not
only does it occur in plantations, but it is to be found almost every-
where as a hedge tree or windbreak (pl. 9, fig. 1) and even as a
naturally planted weed invading wasteland.

It is essential in understanding the peculiarities of the flora of New
Zealand to know its location and climate as contrasted with that of
more familiar areas. The vegetation or the major plant formations
will then be discussed, after which the flora or the elements which
compose the vegetation will be taken up. Finally some consideration
will be given to the past and present study of botany in the country.

LOCATION AND CLIMATE

New Zealand extends from about the 34th to the 47th parallel south
latitude, a distance of about 900 miles. (Fig. 1, and fig. 2, p. 333.)
It consists essentially of three islands, North, South, and Stewart
Islands, with a few small nearby islands or islets. There are several
outlying island groups, politically and biologically part of New
Zealand, of much interest, but they are not included in this discussion.
For vivid geographical comparison, suppose the three main islands of
New Zealand were inverted and superimposed on North America at a
corresponding latitude, with the North Cape of North Island at Cape
Lookout about the center of the Atlantic coast of North Carolina.
Then the South Cape on Stewart Island would lie north of Quebec in
Canada. The East Cape at the end of the Grisborne Peninsula of
North Island would be in southern West Virginia, and Mount Egmont
at Harpers Ferry, W. Va. Wellington, at the southern end of North
Island, would be in west-central Pennsylvania, and Christchurch on
the east side of South Island would be on the shore at the east end of
Lake Ontario. Both areas are in temperate zones of the earth’s
surface, but their climates are in striking contrast. Eastern North
America has a continental climate with extremes of temperature and
a moderate, irregular precipitation. New Zealand, however, has a
strong oceanic climate with far milder temperatures throughout and
a much smaller difference in temperature between the northern and
southern ends and between winter and summer. The precipitation is
fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, although it varies
from place to place. New Zealand owes its climate to the unifying

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 319

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influence of the warm Tasman Sea on the prevailing westerly winds
which blow over it from Australia, over a thousand miles away. In
its oceanic climate lies the explanation of many of its vegetational
contrasts with other countries.

The vegetation in northern New Zealand is far more tropical in
appearance than its geographical counterpart in North Carolina.

320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

This ‘subtropical’ aspect of the forests can be seen even in northern
South Island and grades into the characteristic features of the dense
temperate rain forests of the west coast of South Island. The south-
ern-beech forests of Nothofagus in the south are clearly Temperate
Zone forests. (See pl. 1, fig. 2.)

The mountains in New Zealand cause more changes in the climate
from place to place than does the latitude. The mountain ranges
and plateaus of North Island le mostly east of the center. They
are largely volcanic and influence the vegetation not only through
their effect on the winds and moisture but also on the soil. The
volcanic ash and pumice readily absorb more moisture, much of which
seeps away beyond the reach of the plants growing on the surface.
Mount Egmont is a majestic isolated volcanic cone on the west coast
with vegetation in characteristic altitudinal zones from sea level to
the perpetually snow-covered summit.

In South Island the rugged Southern Alps parallel the west coast
and thrust their peaks far into the zone of permanent snow. (See
pl. 7, fig. 1.) Their highest peak is Mount Cook, its summit 12,349
feet above the Tasman seashore less than 24 miles to the west. They
are formed by erosion of uplifted land rather than volcanic activity
and are composed largely of friable greywacke rock. (See pl. 7, fig. 2.)
These ranges drain the prevailing westerly winds of most of their
moisture. Thus the west coast has a heavy rainfall of around 200
inches a year, while on the plains of the eastern leeward side there
may be as little as 20 inches. The highest annual rainfall yet re-
corded is 228 inches at Puysegur Point on the west coast, and the
lowest, 13 inches, in Central Otago only 150 miles away. Dense rain
forests cover the steep western slopes and the narrow coastal plain
below, whereas on the east are the natural grasslands and the broad
cultivated plains. In Central Otago is a semidesert area. The
transition fromheavy rain and dense forest to sunshine and almost
barren eroding slopes may be made in a surprisingly short time in
driving over the divide. Other ranges and hills, especially the Kaikora
Ranges in Marlboro and those in the rugged Banks Peninsula, inter-
rupt this picture and diversify the ecological conditions and vegeta-
tion. Thus New Zealand has a great variety of distinctive, plant
formations in a remarkably small space, a fact which makes bota-
nizing a most interesting and relatively easy occupation. The climate
of New Zealand has been presented by Kidson (16, 17).!

THE GRASSLANDS

The grasslands of New Zealand are the foundation of its agricul-
tural economy, and one is sure to be impressed by their extent and

1 Numbers in parentheses refer to the bibliography.

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 321
.
variation. They are of two kinds: first, the original tussock grass-
lands of native species (pl. 9, fig. 2), and second, the pastures with a
sward formed of introduced species (pl. 9, fig. 1). The history of
New Zealand is largely the story of man’s replacement of the native
bush with pastures and the exploitation of the native grasslands in
feeding his flocks of sheep. In the ashes of the bush he planted grasses
and began the process of adapting the sward-forming techniques, so
well developed in his native England, to the conditions of this new and
promising land. He fought a continual battle with the few native
plants with weedlike tendencies and the more numerous and generally
more vigorous exotics, which he intentionally or unintentionally
brought from the far parts of the earth. From early blunderings he
has now developed the technique of sward growing to a very advanced
degree, and agricultural progress or deterioration in large parts of
North Island and certain regions of South Island depends on the com-
position and condition of this pasture sward. Much land formerly
covered with fern, scrub, or blackberry is now grass-covered, with a
high sheep-carrying capacity. It was a most enlightening experience
to see the work of the Animal Research Station at Ruakura near
Hamilton in Auckland Province, in breeding and mixing strains of
grasses, on which, with proper rotation, an amazing number of sheep
can graze throughout the year without additional feed. The various
types of these artificial grasslands of North Island have been carefully
mapped and analyzed in a publication by Madden (19). Something
of the history and significance of these grasslands can be gleaned from
the account written by an English‘agronomist, Stapledon, who visited
Australia and New Zealand in 1926 (25). The planted pastures of
South Island, developed by essentially the same means, are well
described in Hilgendorf’s ecological survey of the grasslands (13),
which supplements Madden’s.

The natural grasslands are very different from the man-made
pastures. They occur most extensively in South Island, but smaller
areas are to be found in North Island, especially in the central plateau.
A relatively low rainfall with a cooler and more even temperature are
among the principal factors governing the development of grasslands
rather than shrublands or “bush.’”’ The plant composition of this
formation varies considerably according to local conditions. Pas-
toralists generally recognize five tussock grasses. ‘Two of them, snow
grass (Danthonia raoulii var. flavescens) ? and red tussock (D. raoulu
var. rubra) are the tall tussocks, 3 to 6 feet high, while the short
tussocks, 1 to 2 feet high, are the silver tussock (Poa caespitosa) and
the hard or fescue tussock (Festuca novae-zealandiae). The blue
tussock (Poa colensoi) is only 6 to 9 inches high.

2 The names, both common and scientific, in general use in discussing these grasses vary considerably.
This makes research on the grasslands rather difficult. Zotov (28) recognizes only four tussock grasses.

322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The history of the tussock lands is an almost continuous story of
progressive deterioration due to overgrazing, burning, rabbit infesta-
tion, and increased wind erosion, land slip, soil creep, and water
erosion. The present deserts in northern Canterbury, Marlboro,
and Central Otago Provinces were grasslands when white settlement
began, and the carrying capacity of most sheep runs is today far less
than it was in the beginning. Everywhere one can see erosion that
is of recent origin. A most definite sign of overgrazing in South
Island is the excessive development of the scabweed, Raoulia lutescens.
(See pl. 8, fig. 2.) Usually the rabbit population increases as the
tussocks diminish and more open spaces are formed. This only
accelerates the destructive process. It is important to keep in mind
that the tussock grasses themselves are rarely grazed, except the new
growth which springs up after they are burned over, which is tradi-
tionally done annually. The role of the tussocks is to furnish pro-
tection to the smaller grasses and other plants which grow among
them and furnish most of the feed.

The tussock grasslands of South Island have been dealt with rather
fully by Zotov (28) and recommendations presented for restoring these
areas to production. First, annual burning must be eliminated or, if
absolutely necessary to eliminate shrubby invaders, replaced with
carefully controlled burning. The number of grazing animals must
be reduced to the carrying capacity of the land and rotational grazing
introduced in order to restore the fertility. When necessary, the tus-
sock grass must be replanted with selected unpalatable strains or jor-
danons, and, when a protective covering is thus established, highly
palatable strains of native species must be sown between the tussocks.
Hardly any of these measures are now used by the sheepmen. It was
most gratifying to have a glimpse of the Government’s research work in
tussock-grass restoration at its field station in Hutt Valley near
Wellington. The work done there is preliminary to research and
experimentation in the tussock country itself and will surely some
day result in restoration of much depleted land. Probably some
areas have gone almost beyond reclamation and will remain, as have
so many other parts of the world, monuments to man’s lack of fore-
sight and self-control in seizing all the produce of the land rather than
just its surplus.

SHRUBLAND AND FERNLAND

No traveler in New Zealand can fail to be impressed, and at the
same time generally depressed, by the vast extent of land covered by
shrubs and ferns. Unlike the grasslands, they bring no sense of well-
being to man, and, compared with the forest, they at first seem
botanically unattractive. But neither impression is wholly correct.

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 323

Shrubland is any plant community in which tall trees are wanting
and shrubs dominate. The fern, which comprises the fernland, is the
native variant of the world-wide bracken, Pteridium aquilinum var.
esculentum, or P. esculentum of many authors. Fernland is here
linked with shrubland because the fern reaches shrub size and the
formation is as dense and impenetrable as the densest thicket of
woody shrubs. Furthermore, this fern community is closely related
ecologically to the other most extensive shrub community, that
dominated by manuka? (Leptospermum scoparium or L. ericoides—
Myrtaceae) (pl. 5, fig. 2). Together these two cover more area than
do the other shrub formations, of which there are many in very
different habitats and of diverse composition, form, and origin. As
in other lands, these shrub formations develop in response to certain
natural conditions. These conditions may develop over a long
period of time. When sudden changes occur favorable to the growth
of a shrub community the formation is called an induced formation.
Shrub formations follow certain volcanic eruptions and sometimes
floods or places of excessive erosion. But more significantly they are
man-induced, coming along after the forest has been destroyed with
ax and fire, and grass has been sown on the ashes, or where man’s fires
and his overabundant greedy sheep have destroyed the natural
grass cover. (See pl. 4, fig. 1.)

The manuka (Leptospermum scoparium—Myrtaceae) is a shrub or
small tree with an amazing adaptability and persistence. It usually
forms a community without the bracken or it may be variously mixed
with this fern. It seems able to grow anywhere, wet or dry, in good
soil or bad, and in heat or reasonable cold, but not in alpine con-
ditions or deep forest shade. Its outstanding ability to thrive on
poor soil makes it rush in where man has done his best to destroy the
land. It is especially prominent on the gumlands of North Auckland,
dug over and the fertility dissipated in the search for fossil kauri gum,
desired as an ingredient in high-grade varnish. Manuka is extremely
plastic in its response to its environment. Within this community
there are some 81 other species of plants, many of them of great
interest to the botanist, not the least being the bulbous-rooted New
Zealand orchids. Manuka is an important source of fuel for man,

3 To the foreigner the widespread use in New Zealand of native Maori names for trees and other plants is
somewhat disconcerting. Very often there is no other name, as for example, manuka for Leptospermum
scoparium or kauri for Agathis australis. These names have often been made into the specific scientific
names, as taraire in Beilschmeidia taraire and tawa in B. tawa. Another common practice of many New
Zealanders is to use in speech a specific scientific name for a common name, as macrocarpa for Cupressus
macrocarpa, lawsoniana for Cupressus lawsoniana, and radiata for Pinus radiata, the Monterey pine.
Another disconcerting practice is the use of some common English name, such as pine, for something which
a foreigner at least would hardly recognize as such. Native pine in New Zealand refers to species of Podo-

carpus. ‘Thus the traveler is in a new nomenclatorial atmosphere. For popular names of New Zealand
plants see Andersen (2) and Cheeseman (4).

324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

and in its shade grow seedlings of many forest trees, which eventually
rise up and wipe out this ‘‘nurse” species by overshading it. So the
manuka shrubland fills a varied and not altogether harmful place in
New Zealand’s plant economy.

One cannot feel quite so resigned to the fernland, though one
quickly does resign from the job of trying to penetrate it. Its adapta-
bility and prolificness closely matches the manuka, but within its
dense growth there are few if any other plants. Like the manuka, it
cannot endure much shade or cold, and so is not a denizen of the
forest and alpine or subalpine slopes. Man may burn its tangled
fronds, but new ones rise quickly from the unharmed underground
stems. However, overstocking with cattle which eat the tender
young fronds catches the bracken in its “tendon of Achilles,” and if
the practice is persisted in, this scourge can eventually be conquered.

A third shrubland community of much prominence is not only the
result of man-made conditions, but of man’s introduction of plants.
The English gorse, Ulex europaeus, was first brought, no doubt, to
relieve man’s nostalgic longing for the lovely English countryside and
to lend color to the generally colorless New Zealand vegetation. But
this was an imprudent act. From the hedgerows it spread easily to
adjacent fields, dry, gravelly river beds, formerly forested hillsides, and
pastures. It is quite indifferent to the quality of the soil. Large open
spaces soon became impenetrable thickets. Man constantly burns it
off, but fire seems only to improve the viability of its seeds and to
impoverish the soil, which harms the accompanying fodder plants
more than it does the gorse. Control over large areas by grubbing it
out of the ground is hopeless in this land of limited labor and large
demands on human resources. Handcuffed with this gorgeous yellow
culprit are the broom (Cystisus scoparius—Leguminosae), the rose, and
the blackberry, and several adventive shrubs from adjacent Australia,
especially hakea (Hakea acicularis—Proteaceae). One American
shrub of this category is the tree-lupine of California, Lupinus arboreus,
brought as a sand binder and now spreading beyond its first plantings
to other sandy and gravelly spots, not always according to man’s
wishes.

The term “scrub” is often applied to any shrub formation. In
Australia it is erroneously applied to certain forest formations, but
Cockayne (7) applies the term in a more restrictive sense to any
community of divaricating, stiff, shaggy, and often spiny shrubs.
Such shrubs have numerous extremely wiry or rigid, much interlaced
branches and twigs which zigzag at a wide angle in every direction.
The thickets they form are close, unyielding, and often cushionlike
masses. ‘To push ones way through this scrub is impossible and to
travel over it is often a hazardous undertaking. The scrub is usually
subalpine and is composed of various species of Coprosma (Rubiaceae),

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H, WALKER 325

Cassinia and tree-daisy (Olearia—Compositae), wild Irishman (Dis-
caria toumatou—Rhamnaceae—pl. 6, fig. 1), and Myrtus (Myrtaceae),
though altogether there are about 55 species in 18 families which have
this divaricating habit.

The plant collector who makes pressed specimens almost meets his
Waterloo when he tries to make a herbarium specimen to represent
adequately such a plant. Some divaricating shrubs further thwart
the collector by dropping their leaves, flowers, and fruits almost at
the first gentle touch. The divaricating branches of pohuehue
(Muehlenbeckia astoni—Polygonaceae) are pliant enough, but when a
representative specimen has been warped into a plant press there is
rarely a leaf or fruit left in situ, and a vivid supplementary description
is needed to bring to the observer’s mind any adequate concept of the
original habit of the plant.

One will find various shrub formations in a wide range of habitats.
Besides the extensive hillside formations of manuka and fern, and the
subalpine scrub, this type of vegetation is often found on sea coasts
(both rocky and sandy), wet lands, mineral lands, areas of volcanic
ash and pumice, and wind-swept shores and mountain slopes. Its
component species, growth forms, and adaptations to environmental
conditions are of much interest. In some places associations of trees,
dwarfed to shrub size by wind, salt spray, or soil influences, resemble
and merge into shrub formations.

FORESTS

The principal natural resource in New Zealand when the pakeha or
white man first came was its trees; at the present time it is its grass.
But the white man could live only secondarily on the forest, so the
trees had to go in order that he might provide for his primary need—
food. Hence, this natural resource, which formerly covered almost
the whole of North Island and much of South Island, was sacrificed
at a rate hardly equaled anywhere else in the world. It took Europe
four centuries to exploit its forests and America two centuries, but
New Zealand accomplished this in one century. Although the exten-
sive natural forests of the past are gone, the remaining fragments are
sufficient to tell us a great deal about New Zealand’s botanical history.
According to Cockayne (7), 385 species of plants are characteristic of
the forests. Of these, 99 are trees, 63 shrubs, 51 herbs, 26 grasslike
plants, 88 ferns, 26 climbing plants, 15 epiphytes, and 13 parasites.
Ninety percent are endemics. So it is in the New Zealand forest that
a visiting botanist will find his greatest delight in becoming acquainted
with the true New Zealand flora. If he arrives in North Island, as is
most likely (and much regretted by the people of South Island), his
first acquaintance will almost surely be with the rain forest, which is
composed of many species of trees and shrubs of many genera and

326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

families. (See pl. 3, fig. 1.) Later he will meet the strikingly dif-
ferent southern-beech forest, composed almost entirely of one or two
species of Nothofagus and few shrubs. (See pl. 1, fig. 2.) There, if he
is from the Temperate Zone of North America or Europe, the traveler
will feel much more at home, although all the plants will be new to him.

The rain forest in New Zealand is clearly tropical in its origin and
affinities; indeed, it is often designated as subtropical rain forest,
although it lies entirely in the Temperate Zone. Its character is the
result of the oceanic climate with its mild, rather uniform temperatures,
and its abundant, evenly distributed rainfall, which assures a high
atmospheric humidity throughout the year. The southern-beech
forest of Nothofagus, however, is clearly temperate in origin, with its
nearest affinity the Nothofagus forests in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego,
and southern Chile, on one side, and in Tasmania and adjacent
Australia, on the other. This forest occurs in New Zealand in cooler
and less humid regions than most of the rain forests. It depends
more on ground water and thrives in a less humid atmosphere. All
the forests in New Zealand are evergreen. There are a few deciduous
trees but none of them are forest dominants, so there are no deciduous
forests in New Zealand.

The rain forest is complex, the beech forest relatively simple. These
two forests may be contrasted in part, as follows:

Rain forest Southern-beech forest
Tropical in appearance. Temperate in appearance.
Composed of many tree species in many Composed of one or two tree species in
genera. one genus.
Dense within. Open within.
With several plant strata.‘ With only an open layer of shrubs be-

tween canopy and ground.
Bases of trunks often with plank but- Trunks without buttresses.
tresses.

With many vines or lianas. With very few vines.
Loaded with epiphytes. With only a few parasites.
With many ferns. With few ferns.

Each forest formation has various forest associations within it, these
being quite complex in the rain forests and relatively simple in the
southern-beech forest. The forest associations are named according
to the dominant species within them, the principal associations in the
rain forests being: (1) kauri (Agathis australis—Pinaceae), (2) mixed
dicotylous-taxad,®? and (3) “white pine” or kahikatea (Podocarpus
dacrydiovdes).

4 “Forest is piled upon forest.””—Humboldt.

5 Cockayne’s term for this forest association varies. It is called a mixed taxad forest (6) and dicotylous-
podocarp forest (7). Species of New Zealand “pine,’’ Podocarpus or Dacrydium, members of the yew family
Taxaceae, are dominant or characteristic. There are also many trees of various families of dicotyledons,
whose seeds have two cotyledons in contrast with the conifers which have several and the monocotyledons

with only one cotyledon. The use of the term dicotylous rather than dicotyledonous is in conformity with
Cockayne’s usage (7).

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 1

]

1. LAKE FERGUS NEAR THE HOMER TUNNEL, WESTERN OTAGO, SOUTH ISLAND

Southern-beech (Nothofagus) forests clothe the mountains high up toward the snowy peaks of the Southern
Alps.

2. SOUTHERN-BEECH FOREST (NOTHOFAGUS FUSCA), PARADISE, LAKE WAKATIPU,
OTAGO PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND

Without looking at the foliage one would think himself to be in a northern-beech (Fagus grandifolia) forest
in temperate North America.

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Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 4

1. EDGE OF WAIPOUA STATE FOREST, NORTH AUCKLAND, NORTH ISLAND

The untouched primeval kauri forest (right) formerly extended over the now cut-over stump, bracken,
grass, and exotic shrub covered sheep-grazing land (left). (Photograph by E. H. Walker.)

2. COASTAL DYSOXYLUM SPECTABILE FOREST, STEPHENS ISLAND, COOK STRAIT

The forest floor is free of undergrowth, probably partially damaged by cattle. The Dysorylum has
characteristically twisted trunks and above-ground roots. The slender trunks are Piper eacelswm.
(Photograph by L. Cockayne, courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 5

1. TREE FERN, SHORE OF LAKE ROTO-ITI, NORTH ISLAND
Large tree ferns of many kinds are denizens of the forests and cut-over lands, and often of the roadsides

i je toe Bye ae ees os 0 eer i 7 Pe

2. MANUKA (LEPTOSPERMUM SCOPARIUM), EAST COAST SOUTH ISLAND

This abundant association clothes vast open lands from sea coast and swamps to mountain sides with an
almost impenetrable thicket. (Photograph by L. Cockayne, courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 6

1. WILD IRISHMAN (DISCARIA TOUMATOU), A DIVARICATING SHRUB, DRY EAST
COAST OF SOUTH ISLAND

This characteristic growth habit is found in many New Zealand shrubs. See also plate 7, figure 1.
(Photograph by L. Cockayne, courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

2. COLLECTING DONATIA NOVAE-ZELANDIAE IN AN ALPINE BOG, MAUNGATUA
RANGE, OTAGO PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND

This dense flat mat is so solid that footprints hardly show. Other species of this genus occur only in
Tasmania and southern South America. (Photograph by E. H. Walker.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 7

1. HOOKER VALLEY BELOW THE HERMITAGE, EAST SIDE OF SOUTHERN ALPS,
CANTERBURY PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND
A debris-choked glacial valley with braided streams thick with glacial grindings is gradually invaded by
wild Irishman shrubs (Discaria towmatou) and alluvial fans of weathered rock. (Photograph by E. G.
Holt, U. S. Soil Conservation Service.)

CS '¢ r -
£ aS >”

SOUTH ISLAND

Rain clouds, rising against the range, drench the rain forests on the lower slopes and cover the higher
peaks with deep snow, whence flow the glaciers. (Photograph by E. G. Holt, U. 8. Soil Conservation
Service.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 8

1. EROSION AND ITS CAUSE NEAR WAIHO DOWNS, SOUTH OF TIMARU, CANTERBURY
PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND

When sheep overgraze the grass and cut the turf, erosion occurs. Fencing out the sheep (left) allows the
vegetation to help control erosion. (Photograph by E. G. Holt, U.S. Soil Conservation Service.)

2. AN OVERGRAZED HILL IN TUSSOCK-GRASS COUNTRY, LINDA PASS, OTAGO
PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND

Soil, bared by overgrazing between the tussocks, is covered with pale green scabweed (Raoulia lutescens)
which in turn nurses tussock-grass seedlings. (Photograph by E. H. Walker.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PLATE 9

reat
Ee

1. PASTURE LAND, HERETAUNGA PLAIN, HAWKES BAY, NORTH ISLAND

Rich pastures of introduced grasses are often separated by hedges and windbreaks of lombardy poplars
and Monterey pine or cypress. Turnips or swedes are grown for winter feed. (Photograph by E. G.
Holt, U.S. Soil Conservation Service.)

2. BREAST HILL STATION IN THE LOW TUSSOCK LAND OF CANTERBURY PROVINCE,
SOUTH !JSLAND

Sheep stations (ranches) are protected by windbreaks of planted pine. The roadside vegetation is little
grazed and more luxuriant. (Photograph by E. G. Holt, U.S. Soil Conservation Service.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Egbert H. Walker PEATE LO

CANTERBURY PROVINCE, SOUTH ISLAND

”

The ‘‘pimples’”’ on the near end are flowers. This weird plant is characteristic of open shingle slopes in

the dry area. (Photograph by L. Cockayne, courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

a
ac 7 E ee mes - ea i
2. BULL KELP (DURVILLEA ANTARCTICA) ON ROCKS AT LOW TIDE, DOG ISLAND,
FOVEAUX STRAIT
This flat-bladed leathery kelp grows abundantly on wave-lashed recky shores. (Photograph by L.
Cockayne, courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER S20

The kauri forest is the best known of the rain-forest associations,
this being due to the noble as well as the highly commercial attributes
of its prominent component, the kauri tree itself. (See pl. 2, fig. 1.)
Originally almost all of North Island north of the 38th parallel, which
crosses the island about the base of the Bay of Plenty, was a vast
kauri forest. The title of a recent booklet, “The Waipoua Forest:
the Last Virgin Kauri Forest of New Zealand” (21), shows its present
state. The Waipoua State Forest or the Waipoua Forest Reserve in
North Auckland contains about 40,000 acres, of which about 27,600
acres is actually forested. Perhaps the Trounson Kauri Park with
only about 975 acres is too small to consider, but nevertheless it con-
tains a primeval kauri stand of limited extent, donated by its lumber-
man namesake to the State for a preserve. Because of its small size
and the natural degeneration from its exposed margin, its longevity
as a primeval forest may be limited. The kauri forest formation is
composed of many other tree species besides Agathis australis, as well
as characteristic shrubs and ferns, including huge tree ferns, and a few
herbaceous plants. Among the many climbers is the kie-kie or climb-
ing pandanus (Freycinetia banksit) (pl. 2, fig. 2), the only New Zealand
member of this tropical family, Pandanaceae. This forest varies
according to the presence or absence of the actually dominant trees,
especially of Beilschmeidia taraire in the northern and B. tawa in the
southern part of its range. Various studies have been made of this
forest from different points of view, but probably Cockayne’s (5) and
McGregor’s (21) are of greatest interest to the botanist.

Impermanence seems to be woven into the fabric as well as the
history of the kauri forest. Cockayne (6) has stated that the kauri
is always in a state of progression or retrogression. Seedling kauris
cannot normally reach maturity within the kauri forest itself, but
must grow up where there is more light, for this forest is predomi-
nantly dark, gloomy, dense, and almost impenetrable. Seedlings
grow well, however, in the shade of the manuka or in accidental
clearings and along roadsides cut through the forest. By some it is
thought that the kauri forest will in time cease to exist unless man
takes a hand to perpetuate it. But the Maori people first came only
800 years ago and the white man less than 150, and there were kauri
forests many centuries earlier. There is in New Zealand now a lively
controversy over the preservation of the Waipoua State Forest.
Shall it remain as it now stands, or be reduced in size? Shall it be
left wholly untouched, or is it to be altered within by forest manage-
ment? Shall it furnish timber to commercial exploiters or forest
managers, or be a recreation ground and memorial of the past to the

6 Actually the kauri tree is not dominant, as it grows singly or in clusters. Kauri forests are so named

because of the prominence and commercial value of the kauri, The broad-leaved dicotylous species are
actually dominant.

866591—50——22

328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

public, or an untouched natural research laboratory to the scientist?
Able protagonists have arisen to fight for its preservation from com-
mercial exploitation (21).

The many complexities and variations in the mixed dicotylous-
taxad forest can only be suggested here. Such a forest may be a rimu
forest with the ‘‘red pine” (Dacrydium cupressimum) dominant, a
totara forest with Podocarpus totara dominant, or a tawa forest with
the principal trees Beilschmeidia taraire or B. tawa of the dicotyledon-
ous family Lauraceae, though usually with Podocarpus or Dacrydium
also present. These forest types intergrade and vary extensively, so
it is often difficult to determine just what kind of tropical forest one
finds himself in.

The parallels of 38° and 42° south latitude are significant as the
southern limits of quite a number of species and the northern limits
of others. As noted above, the kauri ceases at about 38° south.
Some of the 100 or so others which drop out at this point are the toru
(Persoonia toru—Proteaceae), the white-flowered tawari (Izerba breri-
oides—Saxifragaceae), the climbing fern (Lygodium articulatum), and
the trailing fuchsia (Fuchsia procumbens—Onagraceae). The 42d
parallel, where many other species drop out, cuts off the northern end
of South Island. The fact that this unnatural boundary does not co-
incide with Cook Strait between North and South Islands suggests
the geologically recent separation of the islands.

In addition, certain plant forms drop out at various points. For
example, the numerous epiphytes of the mixed rain forests of the west
coast of the South Island are conspicuously lacking in the rain forests
of Banks Peninsula, the vicinity of Dunedin in Otago, Southland, and
Stewart Island. The composition of these mixed rain forests changes
also with variations in the atmospheric humidity, the soil moisture
and composition, the altitude, and perhaps the geological and biological
history. The dicotylous-taxad association of the better-drained land
gives way to a much more pure association of ‘‘ white pine,” kahikatea
(Podocarpus dacrydioides) in poorly drained or swampy lands, as
formerly existed in some prominence in Canterbury on the dry side
of South Island. Here the deleterious effect of the drier air, inimical
to the best growth of most rain-forest trees, was compensated for by
the greater and more steadily available ground water. The swamp-
land forests of Stewart Island are dominated by another tree, Dacry-
dium intermedia. Altitude, or the changed environmental factors
that go along with changes in altitude, also cause changes in this
mixed association. As it rises higher on the mountains it is gradually
replaced by southern-beech forests. On Mount Egmont, however,
they give way to another altitudinal forest association composed of
kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa—Cunoniaceae) and the New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 329

cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii—Pinaceae). ‘These numerous changes are
dealt with by Cockayne (7) and in many special accounts and reports
of the vegetation of certain localities.

The southern-beech forest extends intermittently, essentially from
the central plateau of North Island to Southland in South Island (pl.1,
fig. 1), but is lacking in a stretch of Westland and does not occur on
Stewart Island. In former times it was often called birch, but this
erroneous designation is seldom used today. These forests are usually
composed of just one species of Nothofagus, or at most two. The spe-
cies change rather strikingly with changes in altitude. The forester
is not content with the taxonomist’s five species of this genus, but is
able to recognize in this complex a great many more entities or varia-
tions, most of them more or less significant to him in dealing with this
economically important forest association. It is now the most im-
portant native timber tree, since the kauri is practically gone as a source
of commercial timber. Hence, the foresters are working out ways of
conserving, extending, and using the beech forests of South Island.
Soil conservationists are interested in Nothofagus forests, for these
can prevent erosion on mountain slopes, if man would only let them
alone or aid Nature to restore them. But man’s ax and fire have laid
waste large tracts of mountain slopes. And now another danger
threatens the beech forests. ‘The deer which man introduced for
sport, or their progeny, are busy browsing and trampling the young
beech seedling so that in places the undergrowth of young seedlings
has disappeared. The solution for the regeneration of these forests
seems to be the extermination of the deer, or at least the keeping of
the population under control at a much lower level than it is today.
Indeed, the problems of future forests involve many factors in this
fascinating country.

THE FLORA, OR THE PLANT SPECIES COMPRISING THE
VEGETATION

Many species of New Zealand plants are possibly unimportant in
considering the structure, origin, and distribution of the vegetation or
plant associations. They are, however, extremely important in rela-
tion to the flora as a whole and the understanding of its origins,
affinities, and distribution. There are too many interesting species to
deal with them at all thoroughly here, but some aspects of the flora
can be reviewed. ‘The marine and fresh-water algae (pl. 10, fig. 2),
and the other lower cryptogams must be omitted, but with full recog-
nition of their great interest and importance. Although New Zealand
is famous as a pteridologist’s paradise, the ferns, too, must be largely
ignored. (See pl, 5, fig. 1.)

One’s first impulse in looking at the New Zealand flora is to divide
it into two categories, the native plants and those introduced by man.

330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Each seems a separate unit and the visitor with limited time tends to
pass over the introductions. There are, however, so many interesting
and important botanical features in both floras that neither should
be omitted.

THE NATIVE FLORA

The indigenous flora of New Zealand is among the most distinctive
of the world’s floras. It is not especially rich in number of species,
Cheeseman’s Manual (4) listing only 1,763 species, but it contains a
wealth of fascinating members, mostly belonging to genera and families
unfamiliar to the traveler from northern lands. About 78 percent of
the indigenous species of ferns and seed plants are endemics, that is,
are not found anywhere else in the world. This becomes 88 percent
if the ferns and monocotyledonous plants are excluded, and even
higher if only the forest species are considered. Forty genera are
found only in New Zealand. Among the more conspicuous or signifi-
cant are the lacewood (Hoheria—Malvaceae), one of the few natives
which has conspicuous and ornamental flowers and is deciduous, and
two composite genera, Haastia and Raoulia, which form the ‘‘ vegetable
sheep” (pl. 3, fig. 2, and pl. 10, fig. 1), for which New Zealand is noted.
The reasons for the occurrence of these species and genera only in
New Zealand are mostly obscure, and leave much yet to learn. They
may have evolved here or they may have had a widespread distribu-
tion and have died out elsewhere. It cannot readily be determined
that these represent a flora which developed in New Zealand, rather
than one that came from some other part of the world in remote
geological times, but the evidence is that such flora did evolve here.
It is called the palaeozelandic flora and certain genera are tentatively
assumed to belong to it. They include the three strictly endemic
genera just mentioned, besides others now found elsewhere but which
probably originated here. Among them are the distinctive New
Zealand pine (Dacrydium) in the Taxaceae, the New Zealand broom
(Carmichaelia—Leguminosae), the widespread shrub Coprosma (Rubi-
aceae) of distinctive divaricating habit and many species, and the
woody genus Hebe (Scrophulariaceae), which is often combined with
the widespread genus Veronica with mostly herbaceous species.

The majority of the nonendemic species and genera are found also in
Australia. One might suppose this indicated a relation between the
floras of the two regions, but too much emphasis should not be given
to this numerical superiority of the Australian element. It is just as
important in considering this relationship that certain prominent
Australian groups do not occur in New Zealand. Thus in these
islands there are no native eucalypts (Hucalyptus—Myrtaceae), bottle-
brushes (Callistemon—Myrtaceae), Melaleuca (Myrtaceae), wattles
(Acacia—Leguminosae), and other significant genera, especially

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 331

legumes, and only two genera, Persoonia and Knightia, of the con-
spicuously Australian family Proteaceae. Few of the Australian ele-
ments are familiar to travelers from the North Temperate Zone. One
that a visitor to the New Zealand forest will soon meet, however, is the
supplejack (Rhipogonium scandens—Liliaceae), a conspicuous vine
which hangs from the tops of the trees. Another is the genus Celmisia
(Compositae), whose many New Zealand species are among the chief
ornamentals in the montane and alpine vegetation (pl. 3, fig. 2).

Besides the Australian element there are indigenous species and
genera, found also in the Malay Archipelago and the Pacific region,
but they are fewer than the Australian ones. The kauri is of this
group, for certain other species of Agathis grow in Australia, New
Caledonia, Fiji, and elsewhere. The climbing pandanus (Freycinetia)
(pl. 2, fig. 2) and the only New Zealand palm (Rhopalostylis) (pl. 8,
fig. 1) belong to definitely Malayan-Pacific groups.

The third group of indigenous but not endemic elements is the sub-
antarctic, most conspicuously represented by the southern-beech
(Nothofagus), already mentioned. There are a good many genera and
some species in this group with distribution around the southern
Pacific, some with extensions into more northern regions. They are
of much interest to plant geographers in understanding the past geo-
logical history of this whole southern region.

Finally, there are New Zealand plants with a world-wide distribution
constituting the cosmopolitan element. An example is the widespread
bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, the New Zealand variety of which, var.
esculentum, grows to such great size, as already noted. Most of these
cosmopolitan species are seashore or littoral plants.

These floristic elements and their origin have been discussed by
various authors, including Wallace (27) and Cockayne (7). The sub-
antarctic flora has been most thoroughly dealt with by Hooker in his
introduction to the Flora Antarctica (14) and by Skottsberg (24).

BOTANICAL DISTRICTS

More significant to the traveler than the origin of the indigenous
elements of the flora, is the distribution of the species within the islands.
This has already been mentioned in connection with the various plant
formations and their occurrence, but consideration of the species
rather than the formations brings out more clearly the botanical
divisions of New Zealand. Through a lifetime of study of the vegeta-
tion and plants of this area, Cockayne (7) has divided the country,
exclusive of the outlying islands, into 16 more or less distinct botanical
districts. There is, of course, some disagreement with these divisions
and other workers will alter them when new studies and interpre-
tations are made, as Cockayne himself predicted. The districts are

332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

shown on the accompanying map, figure 2.” The following char-
acterizations are largely derived from Cockayne’s publications and
the writer’s personal observations. Only a few of the many outstand-
ing species are here mentioned.

Northwest of North Cape lies the seldom-visited Three Kings Dis-
trict composed of a small group of islands with this name. Their
flora includes 10 species of plants not found elsewhere in New Zea-
land, 6 of which are obviously related to New Zealand species, 3 have
relatives only toward the north, and 1, a species of Chloris (Gramin-
eae), is of almost cosmopolitan affinity, although not found elsewhere
in New Zealand. The impoverishment of this flora by introduced
grazing animals, especially goats, and its recovery after these were
removed is an interesting study with significant implications for other
likewise devastated areas. These Islands have recently been treated
botanically by Oliver (23) and Baylis (8).

In the North and South Auckland Districts there are more than 100
species of plants which do not occur farther south, or extend only a
short distance beyond the southern limit at approximately the 38th
parallel. The kauri tree has already been mentioned in this connec-
tion. The taraire (Beilschmeidia taraire), usually the dominant tree
in the kauri forest, does not go farther south as does the other impor-
tant kauri associate, the tawa (B. tawa). Several ferns are found
only here, as well as the parasite Cassytha paniculata (Lauraceae),
which resembles, but is no relative of, the dodder (Cuscuta) of wide
distribution. This parasite genus occurs in the Pacific area, Australia,
and the gumlands of northern North Auckland. It is a hazard to
walking wherever it grows as it binds together the manuka and other
shrubs by dull green resistant cords. An interesting phenomenon is
the occurrence on the small islands adjacent to these districts of
species or varieties similar to those on the main island, but with larger
leaves, flowers, or fruits, among other differing characters. These
islands are difficult to reach, but one can often find these distinct
plants growing in private gardens, nurseries, and parks where enthusi-
astic New Zealand botanists grow them. Several species have their
northern limit in the South Auckland district, one being the silver
beech (Nothofagus menziesii). Although there are no natural grass-
lands in this area, there are extensive man-made pastures with certain
distinct plant species, mostly grasses. The mild climate makes it
possible to grow certain citrus fruits and other subtropical crops with
success.

¥ After this map was prepared Cockayne and Allan (8) proposed an additional district, the Sounds-Nelson
Botanical District, comprising the South Island portion of the Ruahine-Cook District, which formerly

straddled the Cook Strait. This district was recognized in Cockayne’s larger work (7), which is followed
in this survey, but which does not have a map suitable for reproduction here.

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 333

THREE KiWGS Is 5° 1
North Cape

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North Auckland

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North-western South Island ...
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Figure 2.—The botanical districts of New Zealand, according to L. Cockayne (6).

304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The first natural or tussock grasslands as one progresses southward
are found in the Volcanic Plateau District. Here one begins to see
certain characteristic subalpine shrub formations, especially of
monoao (Dracophyllum subulatum—Epacridaceae). The volcanic
mountains, three of which are still active, raise their summits far above
timber line and support a fascinating alpine flora.

The northern tip of the East Cape Botanical District is within the
northern plant zone marked off by the 38th parallel, so contains some
northern plants. The southern part in the Hawkes Bay region is
drier, hence it has certain agricultural possibilities not found else-
where. Maize or Indian corn (Zea mays—Gramineae) is grown for
its grain, but elsewhere mostly for fodder.

To the botanist Mount Egmont is probably the first attraction of
the Egmont-Wanganui District in the southwest portion of North
Island. However, its high mountain flora is less rich than is that in
the mountains of the central plateau, which are visible in good
weather from Egmont’s higher slopes. The zones of vegetation on
this isolated volcanic cone, however, are very vivid. There are few
plants endemic to this district and the southern-beech forests are
absent. <A forest of tawa (Beilschmeidia tawa) probably originally
covered most of the lower land, of which the Wanganui plain is the
most significant, but the area is now almost entirely converted into
agricultural land. The moist, mild climate has led here to the exten-
sive development of dairying, a most thriving enterprise based entirely
on artificial pastures.

The Ruahine-Cook District occupies the southeastern segment of
North Island, with Wellington as its principal city. It is divided by
the Ruahine and Tararua Mountains into two parts, the eastern or
protected side having a drier climate. The west side is influenced by
the winds and storms, so characteristic of Cook Strait, and sand dunes
and wind-shaped trees and shrubs are common. There are remnants
of various forest types in the lowlands, and southern-beech forests
extend up to timber line in the mountains. Most of the North
Island alpine species and formations are found on the higher slopes.
(See pl. 3, fig. 2.) Among the lowland forest types is one composed
primarily of the kohekohe (Dysorylum spectabile), the only member
of the Meliaceae in New Zealand. (See pl. 4, fig.2.) Itisa relatively
open forest with dense shade, many lianas, and few undershrubs.
This tree bears flowers and fruits on the larger branches and trunk,
a characteristic fairly common in the Tropics and subtropics. The
occurrence of mixed dicotylous-taxad forests and southern-beech
forests at the same or adjacent elevations, but on slopes with different
exposures, gives one an opportunity to see vividly the contrasts
between these two types of forest. Certain mountain plants of South
Island may be found on the exposed coast of Cook Strait at sea level.

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 335

The Sounds-Nelson District has remnants of forests almost identical
with those of the preceding district, of which it has been considered
only a part (6, 8). Cook Strait is less of a natural boundary than
the parallel of 42°S. which crosses South Island below this Sounds-
Nelson District. The striking features of this district are the
beautiful long, rugged sounds in the north and scattered, lofty moun-
tains toward the south. The climate is one of the best in New Zealand,
and agriculture of a more mixed nature than in most parts is well
developed in the valleys and lowlands, especially about the principal
city, Nelson. From this progressive center one can readily reach the
diverse botanical associations and seek the unusually large number of
endemics. The famous Mineral Belt crosses this district with its
vivid exhibition of the effect of an excess of magnesium in the soil
on plant growth. Here at a nonalpine elevation are alpine and other
plants with a dwarf or dwarfed habit growing on the mineral or
serpentine belt only a few yards from rich taxad and southern-beech
forests growing on nonmineral soil. One of the principal interests
of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson is in mineral deficiencies in
agricultural soils. Hops, tobacco, and fruits are among the crops
grown in this district.

The Northwestern District is a mountainous area with some broad
valleys. The rainfall is heavier, especially in the southern part,
than it is farther east and agriculture is less well developed. It con-
tains about 30 endemic species including Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae),
a species of the epiphytic tree genus Metrosideros (Myrtaceae)
(pl. 2, fig. 2), a native broom (Carmichaelia fieldui—Leguminosae),
gentians, forget-me-nots, and species of the variable woody genus
Hebe (Scrophulariaceae). This genus is so closely related to Veronica
with only herbaceous species that they are often combined under the
latter name. Here one finds certain wet areas called pakihis. They
would be considered bogs if they contained more peat. They are
underlain by an impervious soil of “‘iron pan” and stones, causing
water to collect on the surface. Characteristic plants are sedges of
the genus Cladium, the bog umbrella-fern (Gleichenia umbellata) not
found between here and North Auckland, and a gentian. Here also
occurs H’pacris pauciflora of the family Epacridaceae, which in this
part of the world furnishes the heaths, as the closely related Ericaceae
do in the Northern Hemisphere. There are, furthermore, a few orchids,
sundews (Drosera—Droseraceae), an endemic species of an endemic
genus, Siphonidium longiflorum (Scrophulariaceae), and a few other
plants, as well as that amazingly adaptable shrub, manuka.

In the Northeastern District there are very few forests, except in
the Seaward Kaikouras, the coastal one of several mountain ranges
which dominate this essentially dry area, characterized by low tussock
grasslands. Here occurs one of the two almost desert regions of

336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

New Zealand already mentioned (p. 320). The many endemic species,
often of very restricted range, as is characteristic of those of South
Island, are largely denizens of open rocks and high, barren, stony
fields called fell-fields. Here, as throughout the drier mountains of
New Zealand, occur extensive ‘‘shingle-slips’” on dry mountainsides
where weathering has broken the greywacke rock into deep layers
of loose shingle. (See pl. 7, fig. 1.) On this formation grow certain
distinctive shingle-slip plants, mostly isolated or in small colonies
and specially adapted to these precarious life conditions. One of
those most distinctive cushion growths known in New Zealand as
vegetable sheep is characteristic of this Northeastern District, Haastia
pulvinaris (Compositae). It also occurs in the adjacent districts to the
west and northwest. Other vegetable sheep are mostly in another
composite genus, Raoulia, a widespread and variable New Zealand
group of about 22 species of a characteristic, extremely dense growth
form, especially adapted to dry areas.

The Western District is an area of dense temperate rain forest of
taxads and associated dicotyledonous trees on the western side of the
Southern Alps. There is no beech forest except high up on the moun-
tains (this perhaps properly belonging to the eastern province), and
at the northern and southern ends of the district. The rainfall on
the coast and mountain slopes and the snowfall in the high mountains
are excessive. The traveler here feels he is in a pioneer atmosphere
where man has only begun to despoil nature, except perhaps toward
the northern end. Agriculture is limited by the extent of the forests,
the rainfall, and the narrow coastal strip. Sheep are replaced by
cattle which thrive better under such humid conditions. The great
attractions to botanists as well as others are the Franz Joseph and
Fox Glaciers (pl. 7, fig. 2), which extend far down from the great
snow fields above through deep gorges. Their tips are just under
700 feet above sea level, far down among the forests. Here is the
only place where one can photograph a glacier in a framework of
tree ferns. There are a few endemics in this wet district.

Over the divide on the opposite side of the Southern Alps is the
Eastern District, almost the antithesis of the western. Here are
extensive tussock grasslands instead of forests, and low instead of
high rainfall, dry instead of almost saturated atmosphere, and well-
developed agriculture, with wheatfields instead of stump-filled clear-
ings recently cut from the “bush.’”’ The propserous city of Christ-
church is the center from which to become acquainted with this area.
The climate may be called semicontinental. ‘Temperatures range
higher and lower than in most other parts of New Zealand except
Otago Province, and the precipitation varies. There is much discus-
sion as to the original extent of the grasslands (pl. 9, fig. 2) and the
forests, but the latter, undoubtedly never very extensive, are now

NEW ZEALAND-——EGBERT H. WALKER 337

much less so. Remnants occur in the Canterbury Plain of the swamp
forest or kahikatea, composed of Podocarpus dacrydioides (see p. 328).
In the high mountains are fell-fields, amazing shingle-slips, and other
alpine formations, each with characteristic plants. Mount Torlesse,
with its vegetable sheep (Raoulia eximia and R. mammillaria) (pl. 10,
fig. 1), and other characteristic alpine plants, is a well-known mountain
rather easily reached from Christchurch. The Banks Peninsula,
with mountains of volcanic origin which can wrest moisture from the
eastern winds, constitutes a subprovince. It, too, has certain endemic
plants and formerly had dicotylous-taxad forests, now largely gone
to make way for prosperous dairy farming.

Reference has already been made (p. 320) to the desert conditions
in Central Otago, which is the outstanding characteristic of the North
Otago District. This is the hottest and driest, as well as the coldest,
part of New Zealand. It owes this distinction to the protection from
the rain-laden westerly winds and the failure of the southwest winds,
which bathe the area to the south, to reach this district. Its desert
conditions have been aggravated by overgrazing (pl. 8), burning, and
the nibbling of an amazingly dense rabbit population. Irrigation in
river valleys makes possible the growing of certain fruits and alfalfa.
There are a few endemic plants, mostly xerophytes, some of them
grazed almost to extinction. The weed population is perhaps more
conspicuous than elsewhere in New Zealand. Forests are practically
absent.

The least-interfered-with and the botanically least-known part of
New Zealand is the Fiord District, an area of difficult access because
of the meagerness of means of transportation and of population. Its
boundaries are rather vague, especially the separation from the South
Otago District. Forests of taxads and of southern-beech stretch from
seacoast to timber line. Almost the only open land is the tussock
grassland in the alpine zone between the tree and the snow lines. The
distinctive or near-endemic plants are largely low ground plants or
shrubs, most of which occur also in the districts toward the east.
Here was recently found, in an isolated valley, the supposedly extinct
flightless bird, the takahe (Notornis mantellz), one of the group of rails.
Within 3 weeks of this discovery a large area was declared by the New
Zealand Government to be a reserve where only those with special
permits could go. Such rapid action bodes well for future conserva-
tion. One wonders what rare plants may also some day be found in
this district of superb wild scenery. Those who have been in this
district so far have found it of rather more zoological than botanical
interest.

In the South Otago District, which includes southern Otago and
most of Southland Provinces, the moisture comes largely from the
wet southwest winds, which leave snow on the high mountains in the

338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

west. Elsewhere the land is also mountainous with fertile plains
between. From Dunedin one can readily reach mountains with many
specially interesting plant formations and some forests. (See pl. 6,
fig. 2.) Farther south are the eastward extensions of the beech forests
of Fiordland, which so far cannot be set off by any definite line.
Originally in the east were dicotylous-taxad forests differing from those
farther north in their fewer species, but the forests in this area have
suffered much from the ax of the settlers, who are still pushing steadily
westward. The tussock grasslands at lower elevations are extensive,
as well as the alpine formations high on the mountains. There are
only a few endemic species in this district. Agriculture is well devel-
oped, some of the most prosperous farms in New Zealand being in
the vicinity of Invercargill in the south.

The most unaltered part of New Zealand is the Stewart Island
District, unless it may have to contest this honor with the Fiord
District. It is for the most part heavily forested with dicotylous-
taxed forests, which are very similar to those of southern South Island,
just across stormy Foveaux Strait. Remarkable swamp or kahikatea
forests occur here, dominated by Dacrydium intermedvum and distin-
guished by very numerous huge moss and livewort cushions on the
forest floor. There are no beech forests on Stewart Island, and several
other trees and shrubs that one would expect to be here are wanting.
Altogether about 500 species of plants are to be found with about 20
endemics. Several species are found elsewhere only on the sub-
antarctic islands to the south or are closely related to plants of that
region. Stewart Island has an abundant rainfall, high winds, and
moderate temperatures, frost and snow being very rare except on the
highest mountains, none of which are over 3,000 feet high. As there
are no roads except close about the only settlement, Oban, on Half-
moon Bay, travel is very difficult. The interior is best reached by
rough trails, usually called ‘‘tracks” in New Zealand, from nearby
points on the coast to which one must go in hired fishing boats. A
prominent feature is the characteristic coastal high-shrub formation,
often of the composite genera Senecio and Olearia or tree-daisies, and
treelike species of Dracophyllum (Epacridaceae), at the bases of which
penguins nest. Alpine species are frequently found here at seal level.

Much importance is attached to the study of the subantarctic
islands farther south, and they have been visited a number of times by
specialists. It is not, however, feasible to discuss them here.

SOME PECULIARITIES OF NATIVE NEW ZEALAND PLANTS

It is impossible in a brief survey such as this to take up even the
most interesting plants. There are, however, a few outstanding
characteristics or peculiarities of the plants of this flora which will

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 339

be of interest. In the first place, there are few annual or biennial
plants in the native flora. Then it is striking that many genera,
which in other parts of the world have mostly herbaceous species,
here have only or mostly shrubby ones. Why the long-isolated New
Zealand flora should have developed a flora without annuals and
biennials and with this emphasis on woody plants is somewhat puz-
zling. ‘There were no grazing animals in New Zealand until the white
man came, except possibly the large extinct flightless bird, the moa.
Hence, the course of evolution may have been slightly different from
what it was in other countries where grazing animals could have
influenced the development of the flora.

A puzzling characteristic of about 200 species in 32 different families
is the development of different types of foliage and growth habits at
successive stages in an individual plant’s life. In its youth, which
may extend from a month to 50 years, a plant may have a “juvenile
foliage,” and then develop a strikingly different “adult foliage.”
These may be so different that one finds it difficult not to doubt the
veracity of the local botanists who point out that these different forms
of foliage really occur on the same plant and that they do not repre-
sent different species. Furthermore, many of these plants in one
stage are adapted to one habitat and in the other are better fitted to
live in a different environment. Most of these species are endemics,
so the phenomenon seems in some way related to the evolution of the
New Zealand flora. Are these changes related to past changes in the
climate of New Zealand, and are the plants now reflecting their evolu-
tion in the stages of development through which the individual plant
passes? The phenomenon is a very puzzling one. It is by no means
confined to New Zealand, but is more strikingly evident here than in
other parts of the world. At any rate this feature has advantages
to the plant propagator, for sometimes in cultivation it happens that
the “juvenile” stage is more susceptible to an insect or fungus attack
than is the “adult” stage. In that case the grower can vegetatively
propagate from ‘‘adult” plants, thus entirely eliminating the sus-
ceptible stage in the development of his plants, unless the adults so
grown take a notion to revert to the juvenile habit of growth. Often
change to another stage can be induced by altering the growing con-
ditions of plants under cultivation.

Another disconcerting phenomenon to the student of species of the
taxonomist is the extreme variation of form that may be found within
a genus. A genus may have species which are diminutive in size and
others that are huge trees. The taxad Dacrydium is an example.
This phenomenon occurs in other countries also but it seems to be
outstanding here. Great variation within certain species is also very
disconcerting, as is the running together of the species in many genera
such as Coprosma (Rubiaceae). Hybrid swarms are common and

340 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

have been given much consideration, over 500 hybrids having been
recognized in the New Zealand flora. Thus the taxonomist is often
hard put to give a plant a proper name and to define the limits of
species. Reference has already been made (p. 324) to the divaricating
habit of growth. (See pl. 6, fig. 1.) Indeed, New Zealand has so
many engrossing botanical phenomena that the great interest in
plants on the part of so many people is not surprising. Perhaps the
characterization of the country as a botanical paradise is not an
exaggeration.
THE INTRODUCED FLORA

The vividness of the conflict between the introduced and the native
flora in New Zealand makes consideration of the exotic plants more
worthwhile in this than in many countries. We can study the history
of this conflict here more easily than anywhere else in the world for
several reasons. In the first place, the geographical isolation of New
Zealand has reduced the number of ways plants can come in, thus
enabling us more easily to scrutinize these channels. Secondly, there
are certain rather definite records of “‘pre-pakeha”’ introductions in the
legends of the Maori peoples. Finally, the records of plant and animal
introductions since the arrival of Captain Cook are fairly complete,
and the existing gaps do not materially vitiate the conclusions that
may be drawn from these data.

It appears on the surface that the native flora is doomed to disappear
under the impact of the more vigorous invaders. But more thorough
observations have led to the conclusion that the strength in the new-
comers lies in the aid they have gained from man’s activities in chang-
ing the environment to their advantage and to the disadvantage of the
native species. Where competition occurs unadied by man, the
indigenous species are able to maintain themselves and win supremacy.
With a growing consciousness of the need for conservation in New Zea-
land, late though it may be, the threat of extinction of the native
flora will disappear. But it will be a long struggle to overcome the
great losses already suffered here, as in so many other parts of the
world, through man’s past failure or unwillingness to see the conse-
quences of his acts and to restrain his desire for immediate returns
to himself, in the interests of future generations.

Most Maori legends of the bringing of food plants to New Zealand
are plausible explanations of the presence of certain species. Among
these are the hue gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris—Cucurbitaceae), the
sweetpotato or kumara (Ipomoca batatas—Convolvulaceae), the taro
(Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum or C. antiquorum—Araceae),
and the ti tree (Cordyline terminalis—Liliaceac). Sometimes, how-
ever, these legends do not fit the observable scientific facts. For ex-

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 341

ample, legend says that the tree called karaka (Corynocarpus laevi-
gata—Coriariaceae) was brought in a canoe about 500 years ago,
obviously from Polynesia. But this species is not known in Polynesia
or anywhere else outside of New Zealand except in the Kermadec
Islands. Possibly it was brought from that group. Another species
occurs in the New Hebrides and one in New Caledonia. These
Maori introductions do not seem to have influenced the native vege-
tation. These people did not greatly alter the environment in favor
of their introductions, and even when they did do so they usually soon
abandoned the fields and let the native flora take over again.

The first definite record of introductions are those mentioned in the
account of Captain Cook’s second voyage to New Zealand in 1773.
He brought animals to release, especially goats, and plants to sow,
because on his first visit he was impressed by the shortage of food
plants and animals in the country. He wanted to assure a larger
supply for his future expeditions. Thus he planted gardens and en-
couraged the natives to tend them and to plant more. On later ex-
peditions observations were recorded of the few successes and the
more numerous failures of these ventures.

Probably few introductions occurred between Cook’s voyages and
the first regular settlement, which was at Wellington in 1839. It is
recorded, however, that potatoes were actually exported to Australia
during this time. Then with the influx of immigrants to New Zealand
there came accidental weeds, partly with their rough bedding which
was thrown out with other refuse full of European weed seeds. When
these settlers gained some leisure from the grinding toil of pioneer
life, nostalgic longings for the atmosphere of the lovely English
countryside overcame them. They sent for plants to lend color to
their new homes, where the native plants were generally so lacking in
bright flowers. Here were no social class distinctions to keep the
people from enjoying the sports reserved at home for the privileged
few. Hence, as New Zealand lacked animals, fish, and game birds
suitable for sport, deer, hares, rabbits, and other animals were intro-
duced and released with no thought of the future, except the sport of
hunting them. Skylarks were brought to make music for settlers’
ears, and pheasants to shoot. Soon ‘acclimatization societies” were
formed to aid in bringing in plants and animals. Enthusiasm rose
to great heights. Many introductions, according to the records,
failed time after time; others succeeded all too well and became
destructive elements in the flora and fauna. The story of the efforts
of diverse people and groups the world over to introduce plants and
animals and then to control those that prove harmful is always the
same. Many well-meaning efforts fail from lack of coordination of
interested groups and of scientific understanding of the problems

342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

involved either in selecting introductions or dealing with those that
threaten to or have run amuck. G. M. Thomson (26) has vividly
summarized this course in New Zealand.

The first important list of introduced plants appeared in J. D.
Hooker’s Handbook in 1867 (15). The latest is that in Cheeseman’s
Manual, second edition, 1925 (4), since which time other species have
arrived and more are constantly being introduced by both official and
private interests. Several publications have been issued to aid in
identifying introduced plants, as one by Allan (1). In 1922 G. M.
Thomson brought together the scattered information on introduced
animals and plants (26). His object in compiling the book was to
obtain precise data as a basis for understanding what to expect in the
conflict between the introduced and the native flora and fauna, and
for drawing up effective future scientifically based control measures.
He records over 600 species of plants as truly wild, that is, they re-
produce by seed and appear to be permanent denizens of New Zealand.
Most of them are of European origin, a few are from Australia, and
some from America and Asia.

Although widespread harm has resulted from bringing in certain
foreign plants, the economy of the country is founded on imported
species of plants and animals. The list of introduced plants includes
injurious, potentially harmful, harmless, and both injurious and useful
species, depending on circumstances. Reference has already been
made to several harmful species. A potentially dangerous species is
the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) which in Australia has been so
destructive. It was reported in 1840 at Hokitika on the west coast
of South Island but has not spread. One wonders what would happen
if a frost-resistant species were released in Central Otago. Red clover
(Trifolium pratense) came early, but had to wait for the introduction
of the humblebees to pollinate its flowers before it could set out to
cover New Zealand. One accidentally introduced weed, the slender
thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus), which probably came originally as an
impurity in farm seeds, now is an emergency winter feed for sheep in
Central Otago. But if the native feed had not been overgrazed, this
emergency would not arise. An interesting failure seems to be the
Chinese paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) reported by Sir
Joseph Banks on the first Cook expedition in 1769. It was obviously
a Maori introduction, for cloth was made from its bark fibers, but it
is not found in New Zealand now, though it is a common weed in
most tropical and subtropical and warm-temperature countries. The
common mullein has an advantage not shared by most weeds and
cultivated plants in that the introduced rabbits and sheep will not
eat it.

Many New Zealand introductions show astonishing vigor, rapid
growth, and large size. This is especially striking in the Monterey

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 343

pine (Pinus radiata). At first this phenomenon caused much alarm
lest the native flora should be wiped out. When Darwin’s ideas on
evolution through natural selection first came to people’s attention,
much speculation arose in New Zealand as to whether new species
and varieties would arise capable of overcoming the native flora.
Observations, however, do not show evolution of new entities, nor
have the fears of the extermination of native species been realized.
Although there have been profound changes in the vegetation, there
is no known record of the extinction of any species. If the full record
of the New Zealand flora at the time of the white man’s first arrival
were known, we might, however, be able to record today some extinct
species. ‘The record of the existence and distribution of New Zealand
plants is by no means complete even today. Local extermination has
occurred in many places. For example, the antiscorbutic, Lepidium
oleraceum (Cruciferae), which Captain Cook found abundant and
which supplied his urgent need, is now rare, thanks to the depreda-
tions of appreciative sheep. ‘The traveler will see and be shown many
examples of formerly common but now rare plant species and the
efforts being made to protect them. ‘They usually show maintenance
vigor when man’s introduced grazing animals, sheep, goats, and
rabbits, are eliminated. (See pl. 8, fig. 1, and pl. 9, fig. 2.) But at
the same time aggressiveness is not confined to the introduced flora.
Often when man has changed the natural habitats, indigenous species
have been the invading weeds rather than vigorous exotics. The
most notable of these are the manuka (Leptospermum scoparium)
(pl. 5, fig. 2) and the bracken (Pteridiwm acquilinum var. esculentum),
already described.

Indeed, the introduced flora is well worth the traveler’s attention.

BOTANICAL STUDY AND RESEARCH

Scientific interest in New Zealand plants began with the first
explorers. The noted botanists Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Daniel C.
Solander accompanied Capt. James Cook on his first voyage to New
Zealand in 1769. Most other expeditions that came here in the early
days also made scientific observations and collections. We even owe
some scientific knowledge to the early whaling voyages that preceded
the settlement of New Zealand. The settlers were for the most part
of a class which was alert and inclined to make observations, and many
people recorded what they saw and sent collections to the European
scientists. Officials and missionaries gleaned rareties from the
countryside as they went about on business and mission trips. The
nomenclature of New Zealand botany is full of memorials to their work,
as Haastia (Compositae) for Sir Julius von Haast and Colensoa
(Campanulaceae) for Rev. William Colenso. Scientists with various

866591—50 ——28

344 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

expeditions collected here, but the most noteworthy was Sir Joseph
Hooker who wrote various works on the Antarctic and New Zealand,
including the first real flora of this future Dominion (14). Naturally,
early work was done in England, but gradually scientific works began
to appear in New Zealand. The Government fostered scientific work
at an early date and the larger part of present-day botanical research is
being carried on within the Government. Among the many botanists
of New Zealand only two may be mentioned here for lack of space.
Names of others are noted in the bibliography and in various works
there listed. Leonard Cockayne contributed greatly, not only to the
knowledge of ecology and phytogeography in New Zealand, but also
to the dissemination of this knowledge among the people by his practice
of writing for both the laymen and the scientists. (See especially
(6).) T. F. Cheeseman issued the first edition, in 1906, of the now
widely used Manual of the New Zealand Flora, the second edition
having been issued in 1925 (4). It is now being revised again by H. H.
Allan.

The principal herbarium collections of plants in New Zealand are
deposited in the Auckland Memorial Institute and Museum, the
Division of Botany of the Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research (everywhere known as the DSIR) of the Government in
Wellington, the Dominion Museum in Wellington, and the Canterbury
Museum in Christchurch. Botanical research is being promoted very
actively, especially by the DSIR. Botany is being taught and research
conducted in all the scattered colleges of the University of New
Zealand, in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The
agricultural colleges are, of course, doing research in applied botany,
as is also the Cawthron Institute in Nelson which is specially concerned
with basic agricultural problems.

The extent of this research and teaching is a recognition of the
importance of botanical science in the development of the country.
Much has been done, but in a real sense the surface has only been
scratched. Cockayne’s major work on the vegetation is an excellent
comprehensive treatment, but the author recognized that it was a
preliminary presentation. Cheeseman’s excellent flora is subject to
improvement, as indeed is every other flora ever published.

One cannot in a survey such as this even touch upon all the facets
of the subject. Many important plant formations and fascinating
plants have been left for the traveler and the reader to discover. The
fields of marine algae and fossil pollens are very lively and promising
subjects of research in New Zealand today. Fungi are coming into
their own, and bryophytes are by no means neglected; at least the
groundwork has been laid. The ferns of New Zealand are famous and
much has already been published on them. Nor are the laboratory

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 345

and experimental aspects of botany neglected. All are thriving and
carrying on the advancement of pure and applied science in New
Zealand.

The botanical traveler in New Zealand will soon come to know
many amateur and professional botanists. Nearly every community
has a local naturalist or two, often with special interest in some
limited group of plants, and nearly all much interested in growing
native plants in their gardens. The commercial nurseries are in tune
with this spirit and have separate sections devoted to natives which
can be successfully grown in gardens. The city parks are usually
dominated by exotics, but it was most gratifying to hear one superin-
tendent with 3,600 acres of park and public domain in his care, in a
city of under 11,000 population, explain his extensive use of native
species. ‘The planting of natives versus exotics in reforestation is a
lively subject.

Botanical travel in New Zealand is relatively simple and most parts,
except the Fiord region of the southwest and Stewart Island beyond
the Halfmoon Bay region, can be reached by car, train, bus, or boat
plus not too strenuous walking. The diffusion within the population
of people sympathetic to botanical travelers makes the experience one
never to be forgotten. The common bond of the English language
facilitates explanations freely given. The handicap to the visitor of
the frequent use of native Maori names is lessened by the unusual
familiarity of many people with scientific names, so necessary for clear
understanding. Indeed, New Zealand is a botanist’s paradise.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. ALLAN, H. H.
1940. A handbook of the naturalized flora of New Zealand. Bull. Dep. Sci.
and Industr. Res., No. 83, pp. 1-344, figs. 1-141B.
A systematic treatment with keys.
2. ANDERSEN, JOHANNES C.
1926. Popular names of New Zealand plants. Trans. New Zealand Inst.,
vol. 56, pp. 659-714. May.
A discussion and alphabetic list of generic and specific names with Maori
and English names.
3. Barus, G. T. S.
1948. Vegetation of Great Island, Three Kings Group. Rec. Auckland Mus.,
vol. 3, pp. 239-252, pls. 35-40.
4. CHEESEMAN, T. F.
1925. Manual of the New Zealand flora. 2d ed., xliv-+1163 pp. Wellington.
This is the best currently used systematic manual. A new edition is
being prepared.
5. CockaYNE, LEONARD.
1908. Report on a botanical survey of the Waipoua kauri forest. New
Zealand Department of Lands, C.—14, pp. 1-44, 10 pls. (figs. 1-20),
1 folded map. Wellington.
One of many reports by Cockayne on important reserves, parks, and
regions.

346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

6. CocKAYNE, LEONARD.

10.

IE

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

1919. New Zealand plants and their story. 2d ed., xvi+248 pp., illus.
Wellington.

A comprehensive semitechnical treatment for the general botanical

reader and student. The index makes discussions of subjects more readily

available here than in his more technical work of later date (see next entry).

. CocKaYNE, LEONARD.

1928. The vegetation of New Zealand. 2ded. Jn A. Engler and O. Drude,
Die Vegetation der Erde, vol. 14, pp. i-xxvii, 1-456, pls. 1-87,
3 folded maps. Leipzig.
By far the most comprehensive ecological and phytogeographical treat-
ment yet prepared. It includes a good bibliography. The index is of plant
names only.

. Cockayne, Lronarp, and Auuan, H. H.

1926. A proposed new botanical district for the New Zealand region. Trans.
New Zealand Inst., vol. 56, pp. 19-20. July.
Proposes the Sounds-Nelson District, formerly included in the Ruahine-
Cook District.

. CocKayNE, Lronarp, Simpson, GrorGe, and Tuomson, J. Scorr.

1932. The vegetation of South Island, New Zealand. In G,. Karsten, Vegeta-
tionsbilder, Reihe 22, Heft 5/6, pp. 1-17, pls. 25-36. Jena.

CUMBERLAND, KENNETH B.

1941. A century’s change: natural to cultural vegetation in New Zealand.
Geogr. Rev., vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 529-554, figs. 1-11, 1 folded map.
October.

CUMBERLAND, KENNETH B.

1944. Soil erosion in New Zealand, a geographical reconnaissance. [vi]+ 227
pp., illus., maps. Wellington.

Includes a good general bibliography with botanical references.

Davies, WILLIAM C.

1947. Some salient features of the New Zealand native flora. Bull. Roy.
New Zealand Inst. Hort., November, pp. 1-16, 19 pls. (figs. 1-23).

A general lecture with excellent illustrations.

Hitcenporr, F. W.

1935. The grasslands of the South Island of New Zealand. An ecological
survey. Bull. Dep. Sci. and Industr. Res., No. 47, pp. 1-24, 2 maps.

Hooker, JosepH DALTON.

1844-60. The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H. M. discovery ships Erebus
and Terror in the years 1839-1848 under the command of Captain
Sir James Clark Ross. Pt. I, Flora Antarctica. Pt. II, Flora
Novae-Zelandiae. Pt. III, Flora Tasmaniae. London.

Hooker, JoserH DALton.

1867. Handbook of the New Zealand flora: a systematic description of the
native plants of New Zealand and the Chatham, Kermadec’s, Lord
Auckland’s, Campbell’s and Macquarrie’s Islands. Ixviii + 789 pp.
London.

Kipson, E.

1929. Climate of New Zealand. In New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1930,
pp. 24-35, 1 text map. Wellington. Reprinted pp. 1-14, 1929.

Kipson, E.

1932. II. The climate of New Zealand. In W. Képpen and R. Geiger,
Handbuch der Klimatologie, Band 4, Teil S. Australien und Neusee-
land, pp. S109-S1388, figs. 1-5. Berlin.

18.

1

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 347

Lainc, Rosert M., and BLacKWELL, ELLEN W.

1940. Plants of New Zealand. 4th ed., xvii + 499 pp., illus. New Zealand.

A popular discussion and systematic treatment of the seed plants,
exclusive of some groups, intended as a suggestive guide for botanists. The
illustrations are mostly photographs of plants.

Mappen, E. A.

1940. The grasslands of the North Island of New Zealand. Bull. Dep. Sci.
and Industr. Res., No. 79, pp. 1-45, figs. 1-39, 1 folded map.

Martin, WILLIAM.

[1947]. The Flora of New Zealand. 3d ed., xiii + 266 pp., figs. 1-88. New

Zealand.

A popular discussion of the flora, including the seaweeds, fungi, bryo-
phytes, lichens, ferns, and major growth types of seed plants, intended for
secondary students.

McGregor, W. R.

1948. The Waipoua Forest: the last virgin kaur{f forest of New Zealand.
88 pp., 56 photographs, 1 text map. Auckland.

An excellent analysis of this forest in the light of its threatened destruc-
tion.

OuivEr, W. R. B.

1935. The plants of New Zealand. In New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1936,
pp. 26-34. Wellington. Reprinted pp. 1-11, 1935.

An excellent review of the principal features, of the flora, the families
represented, and the major associations.

Ouiver, W. R. B.

1948. The flora of the Three Kings Islands. Ree. Auckland Mus., vol. 3,
pp. 211-2388, pls. 31-34.

SKOTTSBERG, CARL.

1915. Notes on the relations between the floras of subantaretie America and
New Zealand. Plant World, vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 129-142, May.

STAPLEDON, R. G.

1928. A tour in Australia and New Zealand; grass land and other studies.
xv + 128 pp., 8 pls. London.

TuHomson, GEORGE MALcoL”o.

1922. The naturalization of plants and animals in New Zealand. x + 607 pp.
Cambridge.

A comprehensive treatment, with data on all introductions.

WALLACE, ALFRED RUSSELL.

1902. Island life: or, The phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras,
including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of
geological climates. 3d ed., xx + 563 pp., illus., maps. London.

A well-known work. Chapter 22, pp. 487-508, is entitled “‘The Flora
of New Zealand: Its Affinities and Probable Origin.”

Zotov, V. D.

1938. Survey of the tussock-grasslands of the South Island, New Zealand.
Preliminary report. New Zealand Journ. Sci. Technol., vol. 20,
No. 4A, pp. 212A—244A. Reprinted without change of pagination
as Bull. Dep. Sci. and Industr. Res., No. 73, 1939.

THE ARCHEOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF GUATEMALA

By A. V. KippER

Chairman, Division of Historical Research
Carnegie Institution of Washington

[With 6 plates]

The high aboriginal cultures of Mesoamerica extended from north-
central Mexico well into Nicaragua. Guatemala lies almost exactly
in the middle of this great area. Not only is it central geographically
but, as will be shown, it is unquestionably one of the New World’s
most important archeological fields.

To begin at the very beginning, it is certain that somewhere in
Guatemala there must exist remains of the earliest comers to the
Americas. The Indians, we know, were present at the extreme tip
of South America at a time when many sorts of animals now extinct
were still in existence. To reach South America, their forebears
must have worked their way down through Central America and
Panama. Until very recently, however, no trace of early human
occupancy of, or man’s passage through, Mexico and Central America
had come to light. But during the last 2 years crude implements and
a human skeleton have been found in the Valley of Mexico in deposits
which seem surely to date from very shortly after the close of the last
glacial period. Discovery of similar evidence in Guatemala would
add greatly to our at present extremely scanty information as to the
peopling of the New World, and as to the culture possessed by the
pioneers.

Where to seek such evidence is a problem. The Pacific coast
plain, level, rich in game, its waters teeming with fish, would seem to
have offered the most favorable route for migration. It surely so
served in later times. However, to find the meager remains that
hunters and fisherfolk and gatherers of wild foods can be expected to
have left behind them will not be easy. The coast plain and the
slopes of the volcanic coast range are deeply covered by alluvium
washed down during the ages from the mountains. Early camp sites
must, in most cases, lie far below the present surface. Not only that,
but the shore line of today is evidently a considerable distance farther
out than it was 10 or 15 thousand years ago. Random digging would

349

350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

be useless. A sharp lookout should therefore be kept for materials
which may become exposed by the cutting of streams or by road and
other excavations. But the chances of an archeologist’s happening to
be on the spot to take advantage of such an accidental find are almost
negligible.

Whether or not the highlands served as a route for early travel is
unknown. They may well have been, and at any rate doubtless be-
came inhabited a very long time ago. In the interior valleys there
should accordingly exist remains dating from the very long period
which elapsed between the first coming of man to Guatemala and the
rise of agricultural, pottery-making cultures. This stretch of at least
several millennia is at present entirely unrepresented by identifiable
relics, not only in Guatemala but throughout Mesoamerica. In many
parts of the highlands search for evidence of human life during those
years will encounter the same difficulties presented by the coast. It
is possible that the oldest sites may have been buried by falls of vol-
canic ash—incidentally, it is most important that studies be made
to determine the age of the more recent volcanic deposits. And even
if not blanketed by the original falls, such sites may well have been
covered by ash washed down from the higher parts of the terrain.
For this reason search should be made of areas not so affected, as on
the northern and western slopes of the Cuchumatanes, in Alta and
Baja Verapaz, and particularly in the valley of the Motagua and its
tributaries. That drainage is a most promising region because, owing
to its aridity, the groundis little hidden by vegetation; many quebradas
present extensive cross sections through old deposits; and also be-
cause, in the Motagua country, there have often been found bones of
members of the elephant family known to have been hunted by the
early ancestors of the Indians in North America.

The next major stage in Mesoamerican culture development was
that which saw the beginnings of settled agricultural life, a stage,
theoretically, during which maize was first brought under domestica-
tion. This, again theoretically, should have been an era of small com-
munities, possessing few of the attributes of the later, more advanced
civilizations. Pottery, however, was presumably being made. I
have said “theoretically” because no trace of these postulated first
farmers has so far come to light in Guatemala or, for that matter, in
any other part of Mesoamerica. That such a stage must have existed
somewhere is obvious, because the oldest cultures we can now identify—
the so-called Archaic of Miraflores and Salcaja in Guatemala, Playa
de los Muertos in Honduras, Zacatenco and Early Tres Zapotes in
Mexico—are so highly developed that they can only have been the
result of a long period of growth.

Were the above-mentioned Archaic cultures relatively uniform, one
might suppose that they were introduced in mature form from South

GUATEMALA—KIDDER Som

America, but although they are more generalized than those of the
Classic Period they nevertheless exhibit distinct local differences that
seem to have evolved so-to-speak in situ. Furthermore, they are
unlike any culture at present known from south of Panama. This
problem of the early agricultural-pottery-making peoples is one of the
most baffling which confronts the student of Mesoamerican prehistory.
Guatemala should be a particularly favorable area for research on this
important question because elements of the so-called ‘Q-complex”’
which, as Lothrop and Vaillant have pointed out, appear to underlie,
or at least to have played some part in the evolution of the more
southerly Archaic manifestations, are to be seen in both Miraflores
and Saleaja materials. Search should accordingly be made for any
culture of simpler type than Miraflores and Salcaja. If the Lothrop-
Vaillant hypothesis is correct such a culture should contain an even
higher percentage of ‘‘Q”’ traits.

It is, of course, to be hoped that the postulated early remains may be
found in stratigraphic position below those of a recognized Archaic
culture. That would definitely settle the matter of relative age.
But enough work has been done at Kaminaljuyu to make it reasonably
certain that at that site nothing older lies below Miraflores and two
other closely related but slightly earlier Archaic phases known as Las
Charcas and Sacatepequez; and, although the Salcaja deposits have
been less carefully studied, there are no indications that they overlie
anything more ancient. Both Kaminaljuyu and Salcaja, however, are
in areas heavily blanketed by volcanic ash, the upper layers of which
may be of sufficiently recent date to have rendered those localities
unsuitable for agriculture during pre-Archaic times. It would there-
fore be well to investigate country upon which little or no ash has
fallen. The northwestern slopes of the Cuchumatanes fulfill this
requirement and they should certainly be explored, not only because
of absence of ash but also because that region sustains an exceptionally
luxuriant growth of teocinte, a plant which, whether one regards it
as an ancestor or a bastard offspring of maize, is in some way con-
nected with maize. Maize having been without question one of the
very important food crops of Archaic times, and therefore presumably
of pre-Archaic times, any area in which it might have been brought
under domestication becomes important in our search for the origins
of New World civilization.

With the opening of the Archaic Period we at last find ourselves on
more solid ground, in that materials are abundant and their assign-
ment to a pre-Classic era can be made not only on typological grounds,
but on the incontrovertible evidence of stratigraphy. In Guatemala,
as has been said, the Archaic is represented by Las Charcas, Sacate-
pequez, Miraflores, and Salcaja. Further work can be counted
upon to reveal other Archaic cultures in the highlands and on the

302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Pacific coast. In Peten, also, Archaic remains have been found: the
Mamom phase and the somewhat younger Chicanel of Uaxactun.
These are of special interest because before their discovery it was
generally believed that advanced culture had developed in the high-
lands and had not worked its way into the lowland jungles until a
relatively late date. Now, however, it appears that Mamom may be
even older than anything so far known in the highlands, for the closest
resemblances between the Peten Archaic and that of the highlands
are on the Chicanel, rather than the Mamom horizon. ‘This raises the
possibility that the beginnings of higher civilization may have to be
sought in Peten. This will be no easy task because of the difficulty of
getting about in that area and the practical impossibility of locating,
in the dense tropical undergrowth, any archeological site not marked
by mounds or stone structures, which, in all probability, were not
erected by the first agriculturists. The Mamom and Chicanel
deposits at Uaxactun would, for example, never have come to light
had attention not been called to the site by the presence of its Classic
Maya buildings.

Nothing earlier than Mamom apparently exists at Uaxactun but
even more ancient remains may well exist at some of the many other
ruined cities of Peten and no excavation at any one of them should
be considered complete until pits have been sunk to bedrock in plazas
and other places where possibly early refuse might have accumu-
lated. It is difficult to choose any specific district for investigations
looking to the discovery of lowland pre-Archaic, but one would sup-
pose that the shores of the many lakes of Peten and the banks of
such great rivers as the Usumacinta and Pasion would be promising
locations.

To return to the Archaic proper, far too little is known of Mira-
flores or Salcaja; and Mamom and Chicanel are represented by
materials from but a single site. More data are needed, both in
the way of specimens and in the matter of distribution. As to the
archeology of great stretches of country we are entirely ignorant.
It is nevertheless becoming increasingly clear that the Archaic cultures
were considerably more advanced than was formerly supposed. The
people of that time were skilled potters and stone workers, they had
already developed social and economic systems under which it was
possible to carry out great communal undertakings. As evidence of
this are a number of very large mounds at Kaminaljuyu that are
certainly of Miraflores date and one on Finca Arizona near Puerto
San Jose in the summit of which were found Miraflores tombs. Tem-
ple E-VII-sub at Uaxactun is believed to be a Chicanel structure.
We must also believe that the remarkable hieroglyphic and calendrical
systems of the Maya were evolved during the Archaic, for when the
oldest dated stelae were erected at the beginning of the Classic Period,

GUATEMALA—KIDDER 353

those systems were in full working order. Where this took place is
as yet unknown. Peten seems to be the most likely region, but the
eminent Mexican archeologist Alfonso Caso has recently brought for-
ward weighty arguments tending to show that bar-and-dot numera-
tion, always thought to have been a Maya invention, may have been
originated in Oaxaca, supposedly by the ancestral Zapotec !; and if
the very early date on the famous stela of Tres Zapotes, in Veracruz,
has been correctly read and if it recorded a contemporaneous event,
one might have to look to the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico
for the place of origin of the Maya calendrical system.

We now pass upward in time to the Classic Period, which saw the
full flowering of Mesoamerican civilization in Guatemala, Honduras,
El Salvador, and Mexico. It was once rather generally believed,
because of the brilliance of this development among the Maya, that
their culture preceded and stimulated such others as those of Monte
Alban, Tajin, and Teotihuacan in Mexico, and of Tazumal in El
Salvador. Finds of Early Classic Maya pottery at Teotihuacan and
also in tombs at Kaminaljuyu, where it was associated with Teoti-
huacan pottery and a stone carving of unmistakable Tajin style, have
suggested, however, that most, if not all, the Classic cultures came into
being more or less simultaneously, each apparently growing out of a
preexistent and already locally specialized Archaic forerunner. As to
the chronological position of still another very important culture, the
Olmec or La Venta of southern Veracruz and Tabasco, there is greater
doubt, the distinguished Mexican artist and scholar Miguel Covarru-
bias believing it to have been earlier than, and in some respects
ancestral to, those just listed. Other students feel that Olmec was
probably contemporaneous with them.

This problem and many others have been really little more than
formulated. Much exploration, excavation, and comparative studies
of ceramics, stone artifacts, jade carving, and major stone sculpture
must be carried out before satisfactory solutions can be reached. In
all such research Guatemala is destined to play a most significant
role because of the abundance of its ancient remains and also because,
throughout its long pre-Columbian history, parts at least of Guatemala
served as a highway for migration and trade.

Archeologically speaking, Guatemala, of the Classic Period may, like
Gaul, be divided, very roughly, into three parts: the northern lowlands,
the highlands, and the Pacific coast. The northern lowland province
consists of the Department of the Peten, and British Honduras,
with limited extensions into the Mexican states of Campeche and
Chiapas. The Peten is its heart, both geographically and culturally.
In Peten lie Piedras Negras, Altar de Sacrificios, Uaxactun, Holmul,
Xultun, Naranjo, and Tikal, the greatest of all ancient Maya cities.

4A. Caso, “Calendario y Escritura de las Antiguas Culturas de Monte Alban,” Mexico, 1947.

354 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Close to the border, in Chiapas, are Yaxchilan, Palenque, as well as
Bonampak, whose remarkable mural paintings have been recorded by
Sr. Antonio Tejeda F. and the Mexican artist Villagra. According to
the evidence now available, the brilliant Classic Maya civilization
had its origin in north-central Peten and spread outward from that
center.

in spite of the extreme difficulty of travel in its dense tropical jungles,
the archeology of Peten is better known than that of any other part
of Guatemala. This is of course due to the presence there of the
above-mentioned and many other Classic Maya sites whose spectacular
ruined temples and wealth of hieroglyphically inscribed stelae have,
until very recently, almost monopolized the attention of students.
More excavation has also been carried on there—particularly at
Piedras Negras and Uaxactun—than in all the rest of the Republic.
Nevertheless, a vast amount remains to be done. Many important
cities doubtless still await discovery in the vast forests; others, already
located, have only superficially been studied. Work anywhere in
Peten would be valuable, but certain specific investigations are ur-
gently needed. The search for and exploitation of Archaic and pre-
Archaic remains has already been mentioned. Among the Classic
sites, Altar de Sacrificios, a very large and evidently long-occupied
city, especially calls for attention because of its situation at the junc-
tion of the Pasion and Salinas Rivers, which makes it probable that
it received trade from north-central Peten, from the Usumacinta
cities, and, via the Salinas drainage, from the highlands. Excavations
at Altar de Sacrificios should yield much-needed information as to
cultural and chronological relations between the various lowland
Classic centers and between them and various centers in Quiche,
Huehuetenango, and Alta Verapaz. Another strategic point is Lake
Peten where, at Tayasal, are Classic ruins and where, presumably on
the present site of modern Flores, the Itza remained independent and
practiced the ancient Maya culture until the end of the seventeenth
century.

It is to be hoped that Tikal may some day be cleared and main-
tained as a national park. This city, as has been said, was the greatest
of all Maya cities. Its scores and scores of structures of all sorts,
many in remarkably good preservation, are dominated by steep and
towering pyramids, each crowned by a tall roof-combed temple. If
sufficient vegetation were removed to render the buildings visible—
they are now literally buried in dense bush—and if a landing field
were provided, Tikal would become one of the world’s most famous
monuments of antiquity. And judging by the wealth of fine specimens
found at nearby Uaxactun, which was really little more than a suburb,
the material to be recovered from tombs and caches of Tikal would be

GUATEMALA—-KIDDER 355

of the utmost archeological and artistic importance. The work,
however, would be long and costly. A tremendous amount of labor
would have to go into the mere felling of the forest. And the jungle
growths once removed, the pyramids and temples would have to be
stabilized, for the tree roots, which in past ages have caused such
destruction, now serve to hold and bind together the masonry of walls
and terraces. For this reason, no project should be undertaken at
Tikal until a thorough and definitive piece of excavation and repair
can be assured.

In so brief asummary as this of the archeological riches of Guatemala
and of their scientific significance, it is impossible to do more than
outline a few of the manifold problems of the lowland area. Those
of the origin of Maya civilization have already been glanced at, and
it was assumed that it arose from a local Archaic base in north-
central Peten. The outward sweep of Maya culture seems to have
been comparable to that of Christianity over early medieval Europe,
that is to say, a diffusion to already resident and probably Maya-
speaking populations of a religious cult, with linked ceremonial,
artistic, architectural, and intellectual attributes, rather than a
spread of people. Although this is somewhat of an assumption, it
seems to be borne out by divergences from Peten practice in the more
everyday aspects of material culture, such as milling stones, common
household pottery, etc., which are to be seen in the Motagua Valley,
at Copan, on the Usumacinta, and in Yucatan, all areas into which,
if we have correctly interpreted the evidence of the dated stelae,
Maya ceremonialism penetrated from the Peten nucleus.

What stimulated the development of the extraordinary Maya cult
and what factors conditioned its wide acceptance will probably never
be revealed to us, but as to the life, the arts, the architecture, the
calendar, and the hieroglyphic writing of the Maya, we already have
considerable knowledge, and further work in the as yet almost un-
touched wealth of ruins in Peten and adjacent regions will yield a
rich harvest of new information. We may also learn whether the
entire territory occupied by peoples of Maya culture was under the
sway of a central government, in other words whether the ‘Old
Empire” was indeed an empire; whether it was loosely bound together
in some sort of confederacy; or whether, like ancient Greece, it was
divided into independent city states. At all events, the southern
cities were in existence for some six centuries before they were aban-
doned and the once populous Peten reverted to jungle. Why this
should have occurred has not as yet been satisfactorily explained.

So much—and it is little enough—for the lowlands of northern
Peten. Between them and the highlands is the vast and also densely
forested sweep of southern Peten, a little-explored region which seems
never to have been heavily populated.

306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The highlands were also occupied by Maya-speakers, sturdy, inde-
pendent folk, to judge from their present-day descendants. Culturally
they never reached the heights attained by their lowland linguistic
relatives. Very little is yet known of highland archeology. Sites are
abundant, but because few of them contain well-preserved buildings,
they have generally failed to attract the efforts of students. The lack
of striking architectural remains was believed by Manuel Gamio to
have been due to prevalence of earthquakes which would have ren-
dered unsafe any masonry structure the ancients were capable of
erecting. Stone buildings did, however, exist, particularly in the
northwestern highlands, but none in that area carried the corbelled
vault and, seemingly because of the difficulty of working the hard
volcanic rocks of the highlands, none are of cut stone. The majority
of sites therefore now consist of earth mounds that formerly supported
temples of perishable materials, as at Kaminaljuyu; or of stone
substructures and fragments of walls that time and weather have
largely stripped of their original stucco facings as at Utatlan and
Zaculeu. For this reason there has, until recently, been no ruin
illustrating the architectural achievements of the ancient people which
is easily accessible to the people of Guatemala and to tourists. Now,
however, through the interest of the United Fruit Company, Zaculeu,
former capital of the Mam nation, easily reached from Huehuetenango,
has been excavated and many of its principal buildings restored.

Although Guatemala highland ruins are, in their present state, un-
spectacular, they contain materials of the greatest archeological im-
portance because, far more than Peten, the highlands were open to
influences from east and west as well as to actual incursions of out-
siders. Valuable evidence can thus be gathered there, as was the
case at Kaminaljuyu, regarding the chronological and commercial
relations between many Mesoamerican groups.

In the highlands, no less than in Peten and other parts of Meso-
america, a remarkable burst of cultural energy ushered in the Classic
Period. Kaminaljuyu was in its prime. At Nebaj, at Chalchitan
near Aguacatan, at Zaculeu, at Zacualpa, and elsewhere are extensive
assemblages of mounds dating from this era. It seems to have been
a relatively peaceful time, for all the known large Classic sites except
Zaculeu were located without reference to defensibility. Trade was
brisk and far-reaching. Objects from central Mexico, the Gulf
coast, the Peten, and El Salvador have been found at Kaminaljuyu;
and, at Nebaj, pottery from Peten and jades probably carved on the
Usumacinta.

GUATEMALA—KIDDER S506

Even in those early days, influences from Mexico had begun to
appear. It may even be that there were actual migrations from the
north. At a later time movements of people from Mexico certainly
took place. Evidence of this is found in such legendary accounts as
the Popul Vuh, in the presence of groups of Nahua-speaking Pipil on
the coast, on the Motagua, and in what is now Baja Verapaz. It has
been suggested that warlike Mexicans may have been responsible for
the disturbed conditions and intertribal strife that occurred throughout
the highlands between the close of the Classic Period and the coming
of Alvarado. That such conditions existed is indicated by the fact
that sites of that period, such as Utatlan, Chuitinamit on Lake
Atitlan, Iximche, Chutix Tiox near Sacapulas, and many others in
the Departments of Quiche and Huehuetenango were situated with
an obvious eye to protection from attack. Furthermore, the Popul
Vuh and the Annals of the Cakchiquels are full of accounts of battles
and sieges.

What was going on in Alta Verapaz at this time is less understood.
During the Classic Period that area received strong influence from the
Lowland Maya, as is shown by the beautiful pottery found there. As
to events of the later prehistoric era we know next to nothing. Queerly
enough, there seem to be relatively few large ruin groups in Alta
Verapaz; but almost no archeological work, even surface reconnais-
sance, has been done.

Although our knowledge of the highlands is scanty, we are in even
worse case as regards the Pacific slope and coastal plain. That
wonderfully fertile strip of country between the volcanic rampart and
the ocean probably contains more ancient remains per square kilometer
than any other part of the Republic. Sites, for the most part assem-
blages of earth mounds—there seems to have been very little stone
construction at any period—are everywhere; and, even more than the
highlands, the coast was easily accessible to influences and migrations
from without. There is evidence of a heavy population during Classic
times, but little is known of Classic coastal culture, save for a rather
late phase represented at Finca El Paraiso, in the Chuva district. <A
little work has also been done at El Baul, where there occur most
interesting sculptures, including a colossal stone head. Other sculp-
tures, some showing strong Mexican traits, have been found at Santa
Lucia Cotzumalhuapa. Elsewhere, carvings in Olmec style have come
to light. It is certain that a stock taking of coastal remains, followed
by excavations at sites which such a survey shows to be strategic,
would yield a rich harvest of information, not only as to Guatemalan
pre-history but also upon problems of continent-wide importance.

308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Enough has been said to make clear the vast archeological wealth of
Guatemala. Its antiquities are a precious heritage from the past;
they also constitute a vital chapter in the story of human civilization,
of man’s slow and painful conquest of nature, of his unremitting strug-
gle for a better and fuller life, a struggle which began with the Stone
Age and is still going on.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kidder PLATE 1

1. ALABASTER VASE FROM A TOMB AT NEBAJ IN THE HIGHLANDS

peeks enti re <arrese =
ey,
: noes 3

—

2. CARVED JADE FROM A CEREMONIAL CACHE AT NEBAJ

One of the finest pieces of its kind that has come to light.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kidder PLATE 2

2. GENERAL VIEW OF UAXACTUN
Restoration drawing by Tateania Proskouriakoff.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kidder PLATE 3

1. THE ‘‘PALACE,’’ UAXACTUN
Restoration drawing by Tateania Proskouriakoff.

2. TEMPLE E-7-SUB, UAXACTUN

Restoration drawing by Tateania Proskouriakoff.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kidder PLATE 4

1. EXCAVATION AT KAMINALJUYU, NEAR GUATEMALA CITY, SHOWING REMAINS
OF A LATE STRUCTURE COVERING THE WELL-PRESERVED STAIRWAY OF AN EAR-
LIER ONE

2. GRAVE OF THE CLASSIC PERIOD AT KAMINALJUYU

PLATE 5

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Kidder

STELA E AT QUIRIGUA, THE TALLEST MAYA STELA KNOWN

‘oinqooyyore puvlysty jo o[duiexe [woidAy y
ANWdWOD LINN GALINM 3HL AG GSYOLSSY SV ‘NAINOVZ Lv AIdWAL GNV GINVYAd

Sle J9PPI— '6r6l *qaoday ueluosy yg

EXCAVATIONS AT THE PREHISTORIC ROCK-SHELTER OF
LA COLOMBIERE!

By Hauutam L. Movius, Jr.

Curator of Palaeolothic Archaeology,
Peabody Museum, Harvard University

[With 7 plates]
INTRODUCTION

The primary objective of the expedition sent out in 1948 by the
Peabody Museum of Harvard University to eastern France was to
attempt to date the time when an Upper Paleolithic locality in the
Southern Jura region was occupied by our Stone Age ancestors.
This problem, fundamental to the establishment of a reliable chron-
ology for the classic sequence of Old Stone Age cultures in western
Europe in terms of the advances and retreats of the Alpine glaciers
(see chart, fig. 1), was approached by means of combined archeological
and geological field work.

The dating of archeological deposits by means of geology is based
on a detailed study of stratified layers of sand and gravel which were
laid down by the action of rivers flowing from the glaciated regions.
These sand and gravel deposits were built up into the form of terraces
by the waters which flowed from the glaciers. The latter pushed
thousands of tons of debris—called moraines—ahead of them, and
during the warm seasons of the year, when the ice was melting, there
was an abundant supply of this material piled up at or near the edge
of the ice that was available for transport by the rivers. The rivers
in turn carried this material away, and deposited it in the base of the
valleys, through which they were flowing, in the form of terraces.

In order to find a locality where combined archeological and geolo-
gical field work could be expected to furnish fresh facts bearing on
the problem of Upper Paleolithic chronology, it was not necessary
to conduct an extensive program of reconnaissance. Just before
the first World War commenced, Dr. Lucien Mayet of the University
of Lyon and M. Jean Pissot of Poncin (Ain) partially excavated the
large rock-shelter of La Colombiére.? This site (pl. 1) is located
in the Department of Ain, some 45 miles northeast of Lyon and near

1 Reprinted by permission from Archaeology, vol. 2, No. 1, March 1949.

3 Mayet, Lucien, and Jean Pissot, ‘‘Abri-sous-roche préhistorigue de La Colombiére, prés Poncin
(Ain),’”’ Ann, Univ. Lyon, ser. 1, vol. 39, pp. 1-205, 1915.

866591—50——_24 359

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

360

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ROCK-SHELTER OF LA COLOMBIERE—MOVIUS 361

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Ficure 2.—Map showing location of La Colombiére and places mentioned in
the text.

the town of Poncin, in the valley of the Ain River (see map, fig. 2).
It is in this region that the river emerges from the Jurassic limestone
foothills of the Southern Jura onto the flat, marshy plains area,
known as the Pays-de-Dombes.

362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Now, as may be clearly observed in several of the fine photographs
published by Mayet and Pissot, the basal deposits in the La Colom-
biére rock-shelter consist of river-laid sands and gravels that form
part of the 20- to 23-meter terrace of the Ain (pl. 2), which has a
wide distribution in the region. Presumably during the warm
months of the year, Upper Paleolithic hunters moved into this section
of the Ain Valley and actually camped on the surface of this terrace,
which more than half fills up the area protected by the overhanging
rock at La Colombiére. They left behind various types of flint
implements—knives, points, scrapers, and engraving tools—as well
as several objects with drawings of animals engraved on them, and
the bones of the game they hunted.

These vestiges of a Stone Age occupation are found in direct asso-
clation with extensive fire hearths in the uppermost levels of the
terrace referred to above. In other words, the earliest habitation
layers at this site, which consist of two gravel horizons (D; and D2 in
pl. 2), are intimately and directly tied in with the final stages of
deposition by the river. These so-called ‘“D” layers in turn were
separated from the overlying Magdalenian horizon * (indicated as B
on the section) by a thick deposit of sterile sand, there having been
no Solutrean occupation * here.

The two primary objectives of the 1948 expedition of the Peabody
Museum of Harvard University to eastern France, therefore, were:

(a) To excavate the rock-shelter of La Colombiére, near the town
of Poncin (Ain); and

(6) To investigate the extensively developed Late Pleistocene
terraces of the Ain Valley for the purpose of dating the main occupa-
tion layer at La Colombiére in terms of the local glacial sequence.

Both of these objectives were successfully accomplished.

This work was made financially possible by a substantial grant from
the Viking Fund of New York for which we are profoundly grateful.
We would also like to take this opportunity of thanking the Com-
mission of Historic Monuments, Ministry of National Education,
Republic of France, which very generously gave its authorization for
the expedition to undertake the excavation of La Colombiére. This
permission was granted to the writer under the same conditions as
those normally established for French archeologists.

WORK OF THE 1948 SEASON

The excavations at the rock-shelter of La Colombiére were begun
on June 10 and completed on August 20, 1948. Im this 10-week
period the remaining archeological deposits at the site were completely

3 This layer was completely excavated by Mayet and Pissot during their 1912-13 season.

4 The type station of the Solutrean culture, Solutré (Saéne-et-Loire) is located near Macon, less than 35
miles due west of Poncin.

ROCK-SHELTER OF LA COLOMBIERE—MOVIUS 363

dug, with the exception of a test section approximately 2 meters
square left at the request of Dr. Franck Bourdier, Regional Director
of Prehistoric Antiquities, and a small, apparently sterile area at the
extreme eastern end of the shelter.

The personnel of the expedition was as follows: Dr. Kirk Bryan,
Professor of Physiography, Harvard University; Dr. S. Sheldon
Judson, Jr., Department of Geology, University of Wisconsin; Louis
Dupree, Harvard University; Carleton Pierpont, Harvard University;
and the writer. Professor Bryan was assisted in the geologic field
work by Dr. Judson, while the writer had Messrs. Dupree and Pier-
pont as his assistants during the digging of the site.

The rock-shelter of La Colombiére is 46 meters long and some 12
meters wide in the approximate center of the site below the maximum
projection of the rock overhang. When we arrived there on the 8th
of June 1948, not only was the place overgrown with small trees and
shrubs, but also it was impossible to see across it, owing to the presence
of several enormous boulders and piles of earth. The former had
fallen from the roof of the shelter during prehistoric times; the latter
consisted of M. Pissot’s rather extensive dumps.

When the tedious work of clearing away this refuse had been
completed (pl. 3, fig. 1), the limits of the areas previously excavated
could be established. As the result of finding the edges of the trench
dug in 1912-13 in the eastern portion of the site, it was possible to
identify accurately the various levels originally reported by Dr.
Mayet and M. Pissot (compare pl. 2). During the course of these
clearing operations, Dr. Judson successfully completed a detailed
topographic map showing La Colombiére and the adjacent region.

From the outset the chance that the rock-shelter had been occupied
during the interval immediately preceding the deposition of the 20-
to 23-meter terrace (1. e., prior to the invasion of the site by the river)
was considered a good possibility. It was also believed likely that
what appeared to be the top of a filled-in lower cave (see pl. 3, fig. 1)
might yield evidence of an earlier, and possibly even more interesting,
occupation. But the hoped-for lower cave failed to materialize, and
there was no evidence whatsoever of an occupation layer underlying
the deposits in question.

Bedrock was finally reached at a depth of 11.85 meters, and a
magnificent section was exposed through the tightly packed and fine-
grained terrace deposits, which consisted entirely of sands and silts,
with a basal layer of coarse sand and gravel (pl. 3, fig. 2, and pl. 4, fig. 2).
Throughout, a very interesting fauna, especially rich in small verte-
brates and also containing a few mollusks, was collected.

Abundant soil samples were taken for analysis, and it is hoped that
on the basis of these the presence of a microfauna, as well as pollen
(in the silty and clayey layers), will be demonstrated. It is felt that

364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

detailed studies of the fauna and the soil samples will yield interesting
and important data on the environmental conditions that prevailed
in the region during the time when the La Colombiére terrace was
being formed.

While the deep central trench was being driven through to the bed-
rock at the archeological site, Professor Bryan and Dr. Judson made
an intensive study of the Late Pleistocene deposits of the Jura region
in the vicinity of La Colombiére. This work led to an extremely
satisfactory and convincing tie-in of the 20- to 23-meter terrace of
the Ain with a series of well-marked end-moraines near Nantua, a
town approximately 11 miles due northeast of Poncin. In order to
accomplish this it was necessary to leave the Ain Valley at the town
of Croiselet and follow the valley of the Oignin River southward to the
Nantua Basin. In this manner it was definitely established that the
La Colombiére terrace was formed at the time when the front of the
glaciers was located near Nantua. This may certainly be regarded
as a late episode during Wiirm (Fourth Glacial) times, but on the basis
of the present evidence it is impossible to be more precise.

As regards the Upper Aurignacian occupation layers overlying the
20- to 23-meter terrace of the Ain at La Colombiére, it was not only
possible to identify all the levels reported by the original investigators
of the site (see pl. 2), but also to establish the intimate and direct
association of them with the uppermost portion of the thick deposits
of river-laid sands and silts so clearly exposed in the main central
trench. Very fine sections (pl. 4, fig. 2) clearly showing this relation-
ship were revealed in both the western and the eastern portions of
the site. In the latter sector the main occupation layer was for the
most part intact. Although rich Upper Aurignacian (Gravettian)
deposits were reported by! Mayet and Pissot in the former locus, almost
no archeological material was found there during the course of the
1948 season. The deposits in the eastern half of the rock-shelter,
however, proved to be very much richer.

As previously stated, the Magdalenian® layer was chinnptetely
removed during the 1912-13 season by Dr. Mayet and M. Pissot;
nevertheless a small patch of gravels that had accumulated during
Late Pleistocene times was found in the base of a cleft in the rear
wall of the eastern part of the site. In addition to a small collection
of vertebrate remains, these gravels yielded the broken piece of an
interesting broken bone object (pl. 5, fig. 1), which is possibly the
perforated end of a so-called “baton de commandement.” In any
case, the geometric decoration—chevron pattern, crossed on one side
by parallel lines—is typically Magdalenian. The object, which is

' The Magdalenian is a prehistoric culture which attained the peak of its development during the closing
stages of the Ice Age, some 10,000 years or so after the Aurignacian,

ROCK-SHELTER OF LA COLOMBIERE—MOVIUS 365

25 inches (6.6 cm.) long, is broken at both sides of a well-made hole,
and it is the only example of Magdalenian art ever found at La
Colombiére.

In the actual Upper Aurignacian occupation layer a typical assem-
blage of flint tools, including several Gravette points, was found at the
extreme eastern end of the site. Furthermore, a large quantity of
broken flints and animal bones was unearthed in the vicinity of a
fairly extensive series of hearths that came to light in the east-central
portion of the site. In definite and direct association with this hearth
complex an outstandingly fine art object—a very beautifully engraved
pebble—was discovered (pl. 5, fig. 2).

Of the five or six superimposed animals on each surface, the ex-
tremely naturalistic horse, shown in the upper photo in plate 6, is the
most easily recognizable. But there are also a second horse, a very
finely drawn reindeer (with shed antlers), an ibex, a woolly rhinoceros,
two carnivores (possibly bear), as well as several as yet unidentified
animals (pls.6 and 7). It is considered to be one of the finest examples
of an Aurignacian engraved object that has ever been found, and
constitutes a find of great importance from the point of view of Upper
Paleolithic art. Unfortunately it has been broken at one end. It
has been made a national antiquity by the French Government. For
study purposes the Ministry of National Education of the Republic
of France has graciously permitted the expedition to bring this singu-
larly fine object to the Peabody Museum of Harvard University.

TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of the results achieved to date, it is possible to state
that the earliest occupation of the rock-shelter of La Colombiére
was effected immediately following the deposition of the 20- to 23-
meter terrace in the Ain Valley, an event that occurred during Late
Glacial times, when a tongue of the main Rhéne Valley glacier was
stationary at a line clearly marked by a series of end-moraines across
the Nantua Basin. The first inhabitants of this site were people
who possessed a very typical Upper Aurignacian (Gravettian) culture.
At this time the river, which was incising itself into a flood plain on
the present +20- to -+23-meter level, still occasionally flooded the
site during seasons of high water. Jn terms of glacial chronology,
this was during the beginning of the retreat of the late Wiirm ice from
the Nantua moraines. On this basis, La Colombiére is the first Upper
Paleolithic occupation site in France to be geologically dated.

At the time these Upper Aurignacian hunters moved into the
Jurassic limestone uplands of the Southern Jura, cold grassy steppe
conditions prevailed in the Ain Valley. The region supported a rich
grazing fauna which thrived in a climate characterized by fairly

366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

warm summers, severe winters probably with much snow, and short
spring and fall seasons; in other words, an environment very similar
to that which exists today in the northern portion of Europe.

Neither the relatively small series of flint implements recovered
at La Colombiére, nor the total number and thickness of the fire
hearths, in comparison with other Upper Paleolithic sites in western
Europe, suggests that this rock-shelter was ever permanently occupied.
Furthermore, during the wet summer of 1948 it was found that the
roof “Jeaked’’ very badly. This unpleasant feature, coupled with the
fact that during Late Pleistocene times weathered-off fragments of
limestone must have been constantly falling from the top and sides
of the shelter, would not have been an inducement to settlers to
occupy the place permanently. On this basis, it is concluded that
the site was used only as a temporary camping place during the hunt-
ing season.

Finally, why are there so many animals superimposed on the two
surfaces of a single pebble that measures only 4% inches long, 3%
inches wide, and 1% inches thick (12 x 8.2 x 3.5 cm.)? In providing
an answer to this question it seems difficult to avoid putting forward
the suggestion that, in the eyes of the prehistoric occupants of La
Colombiére, this pebble was probably regarded as a hunting talisman
rather than an art object. For there are thousands of similar water-
worn limestone pebbles strewn on the floor of the Ain Valley near La
Colombiére. Surely, if an Upper Aurignacian artist had simply
wanted to reproduce in the form of an outline drawing one of the
animals his group was hunting (i. e., art for art’s sake), it would be
logical to expect him to select a new pebble with a fresh surface each
time he desired to depict a new animal.

Therefore, it is probable that there was some definite reason for
superimposing so many animals on a single pebble, and on this basis
it is felt that the only plausible explanation is to regard the object
as having importance in connection with certain magico-religious rites
performed in connection with the chase. Thus we can imagine that
the pebble was initially engraved and used in a hunting ceremony.
Since that particular hunt was successful, the pebble was reengraved
and used on subsequent occasions for the same purpose. It possessed
magical qualities, or “mana.” It is therefore tentatively concluded
that the primary significance of this very fine object, from the point
of view of the people who actually lived at La Colombiére during the
closing phases of the Ice Age, was not the beautiful engravings so
carefully executed on its surfaces, but the fact that it was the medium
by which it was possible to commune directly with the spirits of the
animal world for the purpose of successfully replenishing the all-im-
portant food supply.

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Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Movius

1. THE SITE LOOKING EAST
(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

2. TRENCH DUG THROUGH RIVER-LAID TERRACE DEPOSITS AT LA COLOMBIERE
(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Movius PLATE 4

1. MAIN TRENCH NEAR REAR WALL OF ROCK-SHELTER
(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

2. SECTION NEAR WESTERN END OF LA COLOMBIERE

(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Movius PRATE 5

1. BROKEN MAGDALENIAN BONE OBJECT FOUND AT LA COLOMBIERE
(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

2. ENGRAVED PEBBLE FOUND AT LA COLOMBIERE

(See explanation of plates, p. 367.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Movius

OBVERSE AND REVERSE SURFACES OF ENGRAVED PEBBLE FOUND AT LA
COLOMBIERE

(See explanation of plates, p. 368.)

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Movius PLATE 7

) = Ru
SS \ gout
\\ iy + \ Ml
SN \

5)
OUTLINE DRAWINGS OF ANIMALS ENGRAVED ON PEBBLE FOUND AT LA COLOMBIERE
(See explanation of plates, p. 368.)

ROCK-SHELTER OF LA COLOMBIERE—MOVIUS 367

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

On behalf of the expedition, it is my pleasure to take this oppor-
tunity of thanking Professor Marcel Thoral, Director of the Labora-
toire de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences de Université de Lyon, and
Dr. Jean Viret, Director of the Muséum des Sciences Naturelles,
Lyon, for their generous assistance and kind cooperation in connec-
tion with our investigations at La Colombiére. It is also my privi-
lege to thank Messrs. Joe E. Cason and Raymond H. Thompson,
graduate students in the Department of Anthropology, Harvard
University, for their expert help in deciphering the outlines of the ani-
mals engraved on the La Colombiére pebble and reproduced on plates
6 and 7 of this article.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES

PuiatTe 1

General view of the rock-shelter of La Colombiére showing the Late Pleistocene
terraces of the Ain Valley in the vicinity of Poncin. The site, which is 46 meters
long and some 12 meters wide, faces due south and directly overlooks the Ain
River.

PLATE 2

La Colombiére. Photograph taken by Dr. Mayet and M. Pissot in April
1913, showing the stratification revealed in a trench dug in the western end of the
site.

PLATE 3

1. The site looking east, showing the undisturbed surface of the deposits after
clearing. In the left foreground what appeared to be the top of a filled-in lower
cave may be noted.

2. A deep trench, the outer or southern half of which was 2 meters wide, was
dug through the river-laid terrace deposits at La Colombiére to determine whether
or not the site had been occupied prior to its invasion by the river in Late Pleisto-
cene times. Note the rails and trucks, used for removing the excavated material,
in the foreground.

PLATE 4

1. Near the rear wall of the rock-shelter the width of the main trench was
expanded to 4 meters. Bedrock was finally reached below a total thickness of
11.85 meters of river-laid sands, silts, and gravels, of which the so-called La
Colombiére terrace was formed. There was no evidence of an early occupation
of the site.

2. Section near the western end of La Colombiére showing the intimate and
direct association of the gravelly occupation layers with the sands laid down when
the Ain River invaded the site during the late stages of the formation of the 20-
to 23-meter terrace.

PLATE 5

1. Broken Magdalenian bone object perforated at one end and decorated with
chevron pattern crossed on one side by parallel lines.

2. The interesting engraved pebble described in the accompanying text was
found in the main (Upper Aurignacian/Gravettian) occupation layer at La

368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Colombiére in direct association with an extensive hearth (diameter: 2 m.; thick-
ness: 40 em.), on the surface of which the meter scale is resting, as shown in the
photograph.

PLATE 6

The beautifully engraved pebble discovered during the 1948 season in the
Upper Aurignacian occupation layer at La Colombiére, near Poncin (Ain).

Upper: The obverse surface of the pebble showing a very realistic horse, which
is by far the most easily recognizable of any of the engravings on either face.
In addition, there is an extremely finely drawn male reindeer (with shed antlers),
an ibex, and two carnivores (possibly bear). The heads of the two former animals
appear upside down on the right of the photograph. At least two other as yet
unidentified ungulates may also be distinguished.

Lower: The reverse surface of the pebble on which a second horse and an out-
standingly fine woolly rhinoceros are depicted. There are also the heads of two
other partially completed rhinoceroses, and the outline of the body and legs of
what appears to be a cervid of some type.

PLATE 7

Outline drawings of some of the most easily distinguished animals engraved
on the interesting pebble found at the La Colombiére rock-shelter in an Upper
Aurignacian context. Nos. 1-4, upper surface; Nos. 5 and 6, lower surface.
On the basis of the exceedingly skillful and very realistic portrayal of the forms
represented, it is at once apparent that the drawings reproduced come from the
hands of men who knew their models intimately at first hand. In particular, the
engravings of the horse (No. 1) and the woolly rhinoceros (No. 6) are so remarkably
alive that there is no mistaking the subjects. Note that all four legs are shown
in the case of Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 6, and that the hair on the neck, forelegs, and
shoulders of the rhinoceros has been cleverly arranged so as to suggest shading.

Figure 1

Prehistoric archeology deals with the immense span of time between the first
appearance of man and the beginnings of written record—a period of perhaps some
1,000,000 years’ duration. As indicated on this chart, which shows the relative
duration of prehistoric time, during approximately 49/50ths of this period man
was in the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic and Mesolithic stages, of cultural
development. These stages cover the entire Pleistocene or Glacial Epoch, as well
as much of Early Post-Glacial or Recent times. During the Pleistocene the
northern regions and mountainous areas of the globe were subjected four times
to the advances and retreats of the ice sheets (those of the Alps are known as
Giinz, Mindel, Riss, and Wiirm), river valleys and terraces were being formed,
and profound changes were being induced in the fauna and flora of the Earth.

Throughout the entire span of the Old Stone Age (including both the Paleo-
lithic and the Mesolithic periods) man was a food-gatherer depending for his sub-
sistence on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits,
nuts, and berries. On the basis of the levidence obtained: to. date, particularly
that from western Europe, it is possible to recognize three main groups of funda-
mental traditions employed by our Stone Age ancestors in manufacturing their
stone implements. These subdivisions are as follows: (a) core tool traditions,
(b) flake tool traditions, and (c) blade tool traditions. The industry found in
1948 at the rock-shelter of La Colombiére by the Peabody Museum of Harvard
University’s expedition to eastern France belongs in the blade tool category; typo-
logically it appears to have close affinities with what is known as the Gravettian
stage in the Upper Paleolithic sequence of western Europe.

RONNE ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION, 1946-1948 !
By CoMMANDER FINN Ronne, U.S. N. R.

[With 8 plates]

My interest in polar exploration dates from 1909, when my father,
Martin Ronne, was selected to accompany Capt. Roald Amundsen
to the Antarctic, on the memorable expedition on which the South
Pole was first reached. That association continued until the great
explorer’s untimely death, after which my father went with Admiral
Byrd on his First Antarctic Expedition, 1928-30. During all this
time I had closely followed the detailed work involved in the planning
and successful execution of polar expeditions. Martin Ronne died
suddenly in Norway in 1932, in his seventy-first year. On Byrd’s
Second Antarctic Expedition, 1933-35, I had the good fortune to
follow in my father’s steps in the capacity of ski expert.

Upon my return to the United States in 1935, I began to plan for a
small Antarctic expedition of my own, on which we would sledge and
map the coast line from the Palmer Peninsula to the Ross Sea area.
I planned to be set ashore, with four men and sufficient dog power,
in the Charcot Island area by a Norwegian whaler and to be picked
up by the whaler several months later on the Ross Sea side. However,
an independent expedition did not prove possible at the time, and my
modest plans eventually were merged into the United States Antarctic
Service Expedition,? on which I acted as second-in-command of the
east base, on Stonington Island, in Marguerite Bay, Palmer Land.

EXPEDITION PLANS

In May 1941, I obtained a commission in the United States Navy,
in which I served until the end of hostilities. Off and on in my spare
time I began formulating plans for an expedition to the old base of
the United States Antarctic Service Expedition on Stonington Island,
a location I considered well suited to geographical exploration, since
within flying range lay the unexplored Weddell Sea coast line and
perhaps the termination of the mountain axis of the Palmer Peninsula.

1 Reprinted by permission from The Geographical Review, vol. 38, No. 3, 1948.

2 English, R. A. J., Preliminary account of the United States Antarctic Expedition, 1939-41, Geogr. Rev.,
vol, 31, pp. 466-478, 1941. The operations from the east base are described on pp. 469-473.

369

370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

I also planned to carry on an extensive scientific program of at least
a year’s duration with a small group of competent men. To eliminate
the necessity of sending the expedition ship back to civilization, I de-
cided to let it freeze in at a small cove close to the base; the expedition
members themselves would man it. Through Congressional action
I was able to obtain from the Navy Department, on a loan basis, a
sturdily constructed ocean-going wooden tug (pl. 1, fig. 1). From
the Army Air Forces, Office of Research and Development, many
articles of equipment were obtained for testing, including three air-
planes, two snowmobiles (‘‘weasels’’), camping equipment, and numer-
ous types of clothing.

Only those who have had the experience of planning and organizing
an expedition can fully appreciate the enormous amount of work in-
volved, especially in the matter of financial backing. I contacted
many scientific organizations and foundations interested in Antarctic
research, but with few concrete results. Under the auspices extended
by the American Geographical Society of New York, and by selling
the exclusive news rights of the expedition to the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc., and with a few subscriptions from interested
friends and a contract with the Office of Naval Research for the
scientific results to be obtained, I was finally able to get the expedition
under way. It was not before December 8, 1946, however, that I
was definitely assured of the minimum required financial support.
Through continuous hard work day and night, and spurred on by a
strong determination to sail, we were ultimately able to assemble the
thousands of needed articles of equipment essential for a polar
expedition.

UNDER WAY

On the afternoon of January 25, 1947, we threw the mooring lines
off our ship, christened The Port of Beaumont, Texas. 'The road had
been long and rough, and many obstacles lay ahead, but we were on
our way at last. Brief stop-overs were made at Balboa, C. Z., and
Valparaiso and Punta Arenas, Chile. To avoid the dangerous roaring
forties with our topside weight, which included 8 airplanes, 112 drums
of gasoline and lubricating oil, and 43 northern sledge dogs, we sailed
in the sheltered waters of southern Chile’s inland passage. On board
ship much work was done to the three airplanes, particularly the
Beechcraft C—45 exploratory plane, in which a complete electrically
operated trimetrogon camera unit was installed, and also a radio
altimeter and extra transmitters and receivers for long-range commun-
ication. Two additional gas tanks were placed in the fuselage, so
that the plane now had a maximum cruising time of 9 hours.

Our passage between Cape Horn and Marguerite Bay was fortu-
nately very smooth, and we encountered only a relatively small amount

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 371

80° 7s° 70° eke 60° perien? a 65° o
RONNE ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION =. st¥ LK"
— 1947-1948 a OE ——
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Antarctic Research Expedition.

312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

of pack ice and bergs. We anchored off our main base in Stonington
Island on March 12, 1947 (pl. 1, fig. 1). Shortly before my depar-
ture from the United States, I had learned through the Department of
State that, 2 years before, the British Government had established
a permanent base on the island in continuance of a program begun
in 1943 under wartime secrecy. It had also established and was
maintaining other bases on the Palmer Peninsula. Great Britain,
through the Falkland Islands, has long laid claim to this sector of
Antarctica, and these five bases were under the administration of the
Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. However, it has been the
policy of the United States not to recognize the claim of any govern-
ment in the Antarctic, nor has the United States Government made
any claims of its own.

I had knowledge that in the 6 years since the departure of the United
States Antarctic Service Expedition in 1941 ships from several other
countries had visited the American camp site. In 1943 the Argentine
gunboat Primero de Mayo had visited the American base, and an
Argentine ship and two Chilean vessels had been there shortly before
we arrived in 1947. Upon our arrival we were greeted by the British
leader, Maj. K. S. Pierce Butler, commander of the Falkland Islands
Dependencies Survey, 1947-48, and later we became acquainted
with the other 10 men,, who were occupying their own quarters
constructed about 200 yards from the American camp site. As I
investigated, I was appalled at the amount of wanton damage that
had been done to the three large and three small buildings constitut-
ing the American base. After much hard work the base was made
livable again and occupied by our expedition (pl. 1, fig. 2).

GEORGE VI SOUND TRIP

I decided to attempt to establish an operational base at the south-
east corner of George VI Sound, 300 miles to the south, before we
anchored the ship in its final position for the winter freeze-in. I
hoped to be able to set up a cache of gasoline, stores, and one of our
two weasels at this halfway point and thus facilitate the transporta-
tion of such heavy equipment into the field at a later date. The
attempt did not prove successful, and we later abandoned this loca-
tion in favor of Cape Keeler, on the Weddell Coast. However, the
journey did reveal some new features.

At 5 a.m. on March 23, after riding out a number of strong south-
easterly gales with velocities of as much as 60 miles an hour, we hoisted
anchor and steamed south along the Falliéres Coast, past Cape
Berteaux, to the entrance of George VI Sound. A group of islands,
which I named the Bugge Islands, were found in approximately
69°10’ S., 68°55’ W. Three large islands, the largest about a mile

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 373

and a half long, stretched for some 5 miles in a northeasterly direction.
Numerous small islands were 15 to 20 feet high, and most of them
were bare. ‘The larger islands, however, were covered with snowcaps
more than a hundred feet high, though bedrock was exposed at the
water’s edge.

Thanks to the skillful piloting of our skipper, Commander Isaac
Schlossbach, U. S. N. (ret.), who was also second-in-command of the
expedition, the vessel moved steadily among the huge shelf ice and
glacier-formed bergs that blocked the entrance to the sound. At
4 o’clock in the afternoon we reached 69°20’ S., our farthest point,
a new record for ships navigating in this region of the Antarctic.
To make a landing anywhere was virtually impossible. I was unable
to see the 150-foot ice wall which marks the entrance to the sound and
over which I had traveled in 1940, but it was obvious that these
tabular bergs had recently broken off from the shelf ice of the sound
itself.2 (Our plane flights several months later revealed that the
shelf edge was discharging bergs such as those among which we were
now sailing and that the face of the shelf had moved back 35 miles
in 7 years.) Not only did the conditions ahead offer an immediate
danger to our only means of transportation back to the civilized world,
but had we continued to search for a suitable landing place farther
south, a sudden change in the weather so late in the season might
have blown these huge bergs in upon us and blocked exit for another
year, The risk was too great, so I gave orders to return to the open
Marguerite Bay.

Our ship was moored in Back Bay, a cove a third of a mile from the
base. As temperatures fell during the first week of May, it became
safely frozen in the bay ice, and it remained so until the summer thaw
of the following year partly released it from the icy grip (pl. 2, fig. 2).

WINTER PREPARATION AND TRAIL PLANS

The winter passed rapidly, and an immense amount of preparatory
work had been accomplished by the time we were ready to start the
field program. On July 15, [ led a sledge party up to the plateau,
6,000 feet high, 17 miles east of our base to establish a meteorological
station. This station was manned and operated during the entire
flying season and, in conjunction with a station later established at
Cape Keeler, 125 miles to the south of the Weddell Sea side, made
it possible for H. C. Peterson, our meteorologist, to forecast the highly
variable weather with good accuracy.

By August all three planes had been unloaded from the ship,
assembled, and made ready. I intended to use the single-engine,

8 Ronne, Finn, The main southern sledge journey from East Base, Palmer Land, Antarctica, in Reports

on Scientific Results of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, 1939-1941, Proc. Amer. Philos.
Soc., vol. 89, No. 1, pp. 18-22, 1945. This journey confirmed the insularity of Alexander I Island.

374 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

650-horsepower Norseman plane, which had been especially designed
for cold-weather work, for flying gasoline caches to various points
along the Weddell Coast. Weeks of continuous overcast, however,
prevented us from completing this program. In November, by the
time the weather had improved sufficiently for the southern explora-
tory flights, we had deposited 28 drums of high-octane gasoline at the
Cape Keeler Advance Base.

During the winter Major Butler and I had decided to cooperate in a
surface field program. A joint British-American Weddell Coast sledge
party consisting of four men, Major Butler and surveyor Douglas
Mason of the F. I. D. S., and two members of my expedition, Walter
Smith, navigator, and Arthur Owen, dog driver, were to cross the
plateau by dog team to the eastern side of the Palmer Peninsula.
They would sledge south along the Weddell Coast to Cape Knowles,
beyond which the territory was virgin so far as surface travel was
concerned, though the United States Antarctic Service Expedition had
made an exploratory flight as far south as Mount Tricorn. When the
surface party reached Mount Tricorn, the two Americans, now forming
the Ronne Weddell Coast party, would continue southward into the
unknown as far as supplies would permit, in order to establish ground
control points for our aerial mapping. So long a sledge trip without
the aid of supporting dog-team parties would be possible because our
Norseman plane was to deposit several caches of man and dog food
along the route of travel (fig. 2).

RESCUE OF BRITISH AIRMEN

As a first step the small British Auster plane took off for Cape
Keeler on September 15, followed by the larger Norseman plane loaded
with 3,000 pounds of trail supplies. The smaller plane was to make
the initial landing in the field and pick out a suitable landing area for
the heavily loaded Norseman. The Auster did not have adequate
radio communication and in flight unfortunately became separated
from the other plane. When the Norseman did not sight the Auster
at the Cape Keeler rendezvous, a search was made, but darkness and
bad weather were approaching, and Capt. James W. Lassiter had to
turn back. By 10 o’clock that evening a storm had set in, and the
British plane was still missing and unreported. Accordingly, I made
all the facilities of my expedition available to Major Butler for his use
in searching for the missing plane. Captain Lassiter and Lt. Charles
J. Adams made numerous unsuccessful searching flights in the over-
cast weather during the next 8 days. On the ninth day, when hope
was dwindling rapidly, Captain Lassiter located the three lost British-
ers walking back on the sea ice 40 miles south of our base. We learned
that they had actually landed at Cape Keeler on the day of the out-
ward flight and, when they were not sighted by the Norseman, had

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne

1. THE *“‘PORT OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS,’’ AT ANCHOR OFF THE MAIN BASE, STON-
INGTON ISLAND, MARCH 12, 1947

2. THE MAIN BASE ON STONINGTON ISLAND
Neny Island on the right.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PLATE 2
—

wif
1. WEASEL HAULING THE BEECHCRAFT INTO POSITION FOR FLIGHT AT THE MAIN
BASE

2. THE ICE-LOCKED VESSEL SEEN FROM THE GLACIER NEXT TO THE BASE
Red Rock Ridge in the background.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PLATE 3

1. THE MAIN BASE (LEFT FOREGROUND), STONINGTON ISLAND
Ship at anchor near ice cliff.

—

i .

2. DOG TEAM NEAR THE TERMINAL CLIFFS OF ONE OF THE BIG GLACIERS NEAR
hie BASE

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PLATE 4

1. AT THE ENTRANCE TO NENY TROUGH

Heavily crevassed glacier front.

2. COMMANDER RONNE, W. R. LATADY, AND CAPT. LASSITER BESIDE THE C-45
AFTER THE LONG SOUTHERN FLIGHTS

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PEATE 5

VIEW OF BASE AND

*

VIEW OF BASE AND NENY FJORD FROM 10,000 FEET

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PLATE 6

1. NEW BEDFORD INLET

K-17 photograph taken late in the evening on the first flight south. Altitude of
plane, 10,000 feet, height of mountain in center of picture: 4,100 feet (taken
from ground survey).

2. CAPE KEELER, ON THE WEDDELL. SEA COAST
Advanced base used as an intermediate stop on flights into the unknown south.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PEATE 7

1. WRIGHT INLET, EAST COAST OF PALMER PENINSULA
At the head is Mount Tricorn (5,450 feet).

2. HEAVY CLOUDS NEAR STEELE ISLAND

The cause of our spending a night in the field and the end of our first long flight
south.

Smithsonian Report, 1949.—Ronne PLATE 8

(nn we
ee ate

1. ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF PALMER PENINSULA
Scaife Mountains in the center.

2. LASSITER SHELF ICE, SEPARATED BY OPEN WATER FROM LOOSE PACK ICE IN
THE WEDDELL SEA

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE

375

i XC. Eielson - ne
\ SCALE 1:3,000,000
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é wee Sys the Expedition........C Adams ~7!
, eet Elevations in feet
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13760 amy
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DETAIL MAP OF NEWLY

DISCOVERED WEDDELL SEA AREA

Figure 2.—Detailed route of the Weddell Coast sledge party, comprising British
and Americans.
866591—50——25

376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

attempted to return to their base, lost their way in the bad weather,
and crash-landed on the sea ice in Marguerite Bay. The three men
were uninjured but were extremely weak from a diet of only 630
calories a day each.

FIELD PROGRAM BEGINS

Bad overcast weather continued. On September 29 a short break
permitted Lassiter to fly Walter Smith and C. O. Fiske to Cape Keeler
to establish our second weather station and advance base (pl. 6,
fig. 2).

On September 28 the geological party, consisting of Dr. Robert L.
Nichols and Robert H. T. Dodson, departed for George VI Sound and
the Alexander I Island area. On October 9 the Joint British-American
Weddell Coast sledge party left the main base for their long southern
journey, with Smith joining them at Keeler operational base.

During October the weather continued to be unsuitable for flying,
though occasional breaks of a few hours enabled the two pilots to
make quick gasoline-hauling trips to Cape Keeler. Often they had to
remain there for days at a time because the rapidly deteriorating
weather at the main base made the return trip impossible. Finally,
on November 4, I flew over to the Cape Keeler base with Captain
Lassiter as pilot.

EXISTENCE OF ISLANDS OFF CAPE KEELER DISPROVED

On the morning of November 7, with Lieutenant Adams as pilot,
I took off in the L-5 airplane on a short exploratory flight eastward
over the Weddell Sea. After his flight from Deception Island along
the Weddell Coast in 1928, Sir Hubert Wilkins reported the appear-
ance of islands due east of Cape Keeler. On a flight from the United
States Anarctic Service east base in 1940, I also had the impression of
seeing islands through clouds in this same general area. We now
flew due east from Cape Keeler for 100 miles, to the edge of the Larsen
Shelf Ice, with its sheer cliff disappearing into the blue water. The
width of this open water was about 2 miles, and beyond it, since
visibility was perfect, we could see at least a hundred miles of heavy
pack ice covering the Weddell Sea to the horizon. At the barrier edge
we turned due south and followed the ice cliff until we sighted Cape
Eielson. At the south end of Hearst Island the barrier became lower
and joined the sea ice without break. At no time during our 34-hour
flight did we see signs of the reported islands. This flight, coupled
with my observations of the cloud formations while we laid over at
the Cape Keeler base, convinced me that on certain days clouds are
formed over the open water to the east in such a way that they at
times give the appearance of mountainous islands.

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE RYWs

ACTIVITIES AT THE ADVANCE BASE

By this time the complement of the Cape Keeler base had increased
to eight men: the two permanent residents, Fiske and E. A. Wood,
and the six in the aviation group—Lassiter, Adams, William R. Latady,
Commander Schlossbach, James B. Robertson, and myself. The tents
had originally been pitched on the surface, but heavy drifts soon
snowed them over. A series of interconnecting tunnels were dug to
facilitate our life underground.

On their way south the four men of the Joint British-American
Weddell Coast sledge party stayed at Cape Keeler for 2 days to rest
their dogs. In 2 weeks they had sledged 150 miles over the plateau.

The heavy overcast weather still continued. It seemed as if we
should be marooned forever in this ‘‘hellhole”’ of the Antarctic. Our
camp was just 3 miles north of Cape Keeler, first sighted by Sir Hubert
Wilkins in 1928 on his flight southward. The shelf ice extending
seaward from the cape, on which our base was located, had an eleva-
tion of about 65 feet above sea level. To the south of the cape, heavy
pressure areas caused by moving glaciers flowing eastward from the
high plateau extended 5 miles seaward. On my flight eastward on
November 7, I had observed a number of lenticular holes in the shelf
ice and a deep trough running seaward in an east-northeasterly
direction. The elevation of the bottom of this trough was close to
sea level, though no sea leads could be seen in it.

On November 20, Adams, who had just flown over from the main
base, considered that the weather was good enough for the laying of a
much-needed cache for the southward-traveling sledge party. Pilot-
ing the L-5, he flew ahead to pick out a landing field for Lassiter, who
piloted the larger Norseman, heavily loaded with supplies. After
Adams passed Cape Hielson, he could easily identify several of the
islands shown on the United States Hydrographic Office charts.
They were all snow-covered except the one charted as Sharbonneau
Island. A closer investigation disclosed that this extremely black
rock outcrop was actually a cape, being connected with the mainland
by a high snow-covered ridge. Following the map closely, Adams
continued south and began searching for Darlington Island. It also
proved to be a cape. At the same time, he discovered that Hilton
Bay was at least 20 miles deeper than had previously been thought.
Gruening Glacier flows eastward into it from the high plateau; to the
south a new glacier was seen, which I named Tejas Glacier. The
sledge party was located at Cape Knowles, and supplies were deposited
for their use on the return journey. In overcast weather the pilots
brought the planes in for a safe landing at the advance base.

378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

FIRST LONG SOUTHERN FLIGHT

On November 21 rifts began to appear in the overcast to the south-
east, and by 9 a. m. we were delighted with a cloudless sky. Weather
reports radioed from the main base, the plateau weather station, and
the sledge party, now 200 miles to the south of us, indicated that this
was a perfect day for a long southern flight. The twin-engine,
trimetrogon-equipped Beechcraft, Hd Sweeney, and the single-engine,
cargo-carrying Norseman, Nana, had been ready for many days.
By 9:20 a.m. the Norseman, with Adams as pilot and Schlossbach as
copilot, was heading south, carrying five drums of gasoline as cargo.
The heavily overloaded plane required a long run to get off the well-
packed surface. Joyously I watched it head south with its precious
cargo for the rendezvous in the Mount Tricorn area. Our attention
was now turned to the Beechcraft.

The surface temperature was —15° F. As the engines of the Beech-
craft were being warmed up, the fuel pressure lines from the car-
buretors to the instruments on the dashboard were found to be frozen
solid. Robertson was able, however, to fix them without much delay,
and with Lassiter as pilot, Latady as aerial photographer, and myself
as navigator the faster Beechcraft took off from Cape Keeler, an hour
and a half after the Norseman.

The visibility was perfect. Seaward I could see a 20-mile-wide
strip of sea ice attached to the land, then a stretch of open water,
and beyond that a belt of heavy pack ice which extended to the
horizon. Mount Thompson, 5,600 feet high, was sighted close to
Cape Eielson. To the west of our flight track, in the center of the
Palmer Peninsula plateau, I saw several high, well-defined mountains
south of the previously discovered Mount Andrew Jackson. These
new mountains I named Mount Russell Owen, the Vincent Gutenko
Mountains, and Mount Coman. They rose high above the plateau,
and I estimated their heights to be more than 10,000 feet. Continuous
radio contact was maintained between the two planes. Our rendez-
vous was 3,000 feet above Mount Tricorn at the head of Wright
Inlet (pl. 7, fig. 1). The Norseman reached there after a flight of
3 hours and 15 minutes; the Beechcraft took only 2 hours and 30
minutes. We had no difficulty in spotting the Norseman, and together
the two planes flew south along the coast line at 4,000 feet (pl. 8,
fig. 1). In a few minutes we were 15 miles south of Mount Tricorn.
Beneath us lay a snowy inlet, extending about 10 miles in a south-
westerly direction, with rock exposures at the head. This inlet,
which I named Keller Inlet, could not be seen until we were directly
over it. About 30 miles south of Mount Tricorn was another inlet,
which, upon examination, proved to be Nantucket Inlet (map,
fig. 2). Its northernmost headland I named Cape Fiske, its southern-

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 379

most Cape Smitty, and two glaciers flowing into the inlet from the
west Johnston Glacier and Kelsey Glacier. These glaciers showed
only a very few crevasses where they met the inlet. Incased on both
sides by mountains, they appeared like smooth, wide thoroughfares
leading to the elevated land to the west.

About 50 miles south of Mount Tricorn we suddenly came upon a
large bay, some 55 miles deep and 25 miles wide, Gardner Bay (map,
fig. 2). Almost in the center, and connected with the head by a low-
lying peninsula, was a striking snow-covered dome mountain with
rock outcrops on the sides, Mount Austin (map, fig. 2). Three
glaciers flowed into the bay from the high mountainous land to the
west. Those coming in from the north I named Irvine and Wetmore
Glaciers, and the one on the south side Ketchum Glacier. Ketchum
Glacier was heavily crevassed. It was about 5 miles wide where it
entered the bay, and it was joined by a tributary glacier from the
southeast. The headland on the north side of the entrance to Gardner
Bay I named Cape Adams, and the headland on the south side Cape
Schlossbach. Rock outcropped on the east and south sides of Cape
Adams and on the east side of Cape Schlossbach. Twenty-five miles
to the northwest of Mount Austin was another mountain, its black,
vertical cliff facing east, Mount Robertson.

LANDING IN THE FIELD

I decided to land both planes next to Mount Austin (8,200 feet),
since it was easily recognizable from the air and could serve excellently
as a flight stand-by base. Also, Adams had just reported from the
Norseman that half the gasoline supply in his fuselage tanks had been
used and the remainder would be needed for the return flight to Cape
Keeler. Both planes came in for a landing less than 3 miles away from
the sloping mountainside. The surface was so smooth and soft that
we could not tell the exact moment when the skis touched. Once on the
ground, I began making calculations. From the speed of our plane and
the length of time the flight had taken, it was immediately evident that
Mount Tricorn had not been correctly located on the maps—according
to my rough calculations, it was about 50 miles farther to the north.

While the men were fueling the Beechcraft, I took sights with a
bubble sextant to determine our exact location. Upon our return 6%
hours later, I took another series of sights, which gave me an accurate
fix and established our plane base at Mount Austin as being in 74°48’
S., 62°50’ W. Our position proved that Mount Tricorn was 55 miles
farther northwest than had previously been thought, and it revealed
another interesting fact. Southward from Cape Knowles, in 71° 45’
S., the entire coast line was about 30 miles farther to the west than it
had previously been plotted, and its configuration was considerably
different.

380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

We were now 250 miles farther south on the Weddell Coast than any
human foot had ever trod before. The Beechcraft’s altimeter indi-
cated the elevation to be 300 feet above sea level. When 2% drums of
gasoline had been transferred from the Norseman’s cargo into the
Beechcraft’s wing tanks, we were ready to take off on the long flight.
The time was 4:10 p.m. Adams and Schlossbach, with the Norseman
plane and a trail radio, were left to stand by as an additional safety
and emergency precaution.

UNEXPECTED TREND OF COAST LINE

As we headed for Cape Schlossbach, we started to climb to 10,000
feet, so that the trimetrogon cameras could photograph the terrain
from one horizon to the other. Visibility was unlimited as we passed
the cape and headed due south to follow the trend of the mountainous
coast line. A huge ice barrier could be seen disappearing over the
horizon in a southeasterly direction. ‘To the north of the barrier open
water extended for 20 miles, and beyond was loose pack ice. Shortly
after we rounded Cape Schlossbach, an island was sighted some 5
miles from the mainland, completely snow-covered except on its south-
west side; Dodson Island is about 12 miles in length and half as much
in width. It was the southernmost island that we discovered. The
opposite coast I called Orville Escarpment.

Unexpectedly the mountainous coast line turned westward until its
trend became 245° true. To the right, numerous mountains of various
heights came into view. As we continued southwestward, the moun-
tains were spaced farther apart. More readily definable groups took
form, sharply etched against a cloudless background of white. The
height of the land beneath us seemed to be gradually increasing, and
at the same time the height of the rock exposures was gradually
decreasing, until at our southernmost point only a gradually rising
snow-covered plateau was seen. I named the mountains and groups
of mountains as discovered: Sweeney Mountains with Mount Edward
in the center, Scaife Mountains, Wilkins Mountains (map, fig. 2),
Latady Mountains, Lowell Thomas Mountains, Mount Horne, Mount
Brundage, and Mount Hassage. Mount Haag, estimated to be 11,000
feet high, was the last newly discovered mountain peak seen; beyond
it, in the distance, Mount Ulmer, discovered by Lincoln Ellsworth
in 1935, loomed above the horizon.

Our flight so far had proved that the mountain axis of the Palmer
Peninsula gradually swings southwestward to 77°30’ S., 72° W., where
it dies out or merges into a higher plateau that stretches southward as
Joerg Plateau. The elevation of this plateau was found to be approxi-
mately 5,000 feet, and it stretched to the limit of our visibility, which
at our 10,000-foot altitude I estimated to be at least 150 miles. This
meant that we actually saw the terrain as far as 81° S. It is my

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 381

opinion that this plateau gradually rises until it connects with the
South Polar Plateau or terminates in a range which might be a con-
tinuation of the Queen Maud Range, to the south of the Ross Shelf Ice.
This was the first of two major discoveries that together seem to
eliminate the possibility of any connection between the Ross Sea and

the Weddell Sea.
RETURN FLIGHT

As we turned to head back to Mount Austin, Latady dropped the
American flag in the name of the United States. Our flight back paral-
leled the outward course 20 miles to the west, and an overlapping set
of continuous photographs was taken.

When we were within 30 miles of Mount Austin, we turned southeast
to follow the ice barrier. An altitude of more than 10,000 feet was
maintained throughout the flight (pl. 6, fig. 1). About 50 miles
from Cape Adams, 5 miles inland from the edge of the shelf ice, we
passed over a highly crevassed area, 100 feet in width, which extended
parallel to the edge for a distance of 30 miles. The southern side we
later found to be 200 feet higher than the outer side. Similar dis-
turbances were sighted farther inland. When we had reached
approximately 77° S., 50° W., Lassiter informed me that the gasoline
supply was getting low and that he felt we should return to our
stand-by base (pl. 6, fig. 2). As we turned back, I noticed that the
shelf ice seemed to continue on in the same southeasterly direction.
There was much open water near the edge, and loose pack ice farther
out. Itseemed to me that a vessel could easily penetrate as far as the
shelf ice itself if conditions were no worse to the north. We sighted
Mount Austin without difficulty and landed alongside Adams and
Schlossbach 6% hours after taking off. Sun and moon sights were
taken to fix our position.

I realized then that another flight would be necessary to determine
the extension of the shelf ice to the east and its connection with Coats
Land, as explored by the German Filchner expedition in 1912. To
accomplish this, more gasoline would be needed for refueling the
Beechcraft. So far, the weather had provided us with few suitable
flying days such as the one we were just finishing. I therefore decided
that, instead of waiting in the field while the Norseman brought
several loads of gasoline to us, it would be more efficient for both
planes to return to Cape Keeler, refuel, and make a second trip to
the south. Half an hour after we had landed at Mount Austin we
were again in the air, headed north. The Beechcraft climbed to
11,000 feet, in order that Latady might photograph the coast line
with the trimetrogon cameras, since he had not done so on the out-
ward trip in order to save gasoline. Although it was 10 p. m. when
we took off, the 24 hours of polar daylight made it possible for him to
get good results.

382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

We did not see the Norseman during the return, but constant radio
communication was maintained between the two planes. By the
time we had reached Cape Knowles, 250 miles to the north, ground
fog covered the entire area ahead (pl. 7, fig. 2). Close to Steele
Island, Lassiter found an opening in the fog and quickly dove through
to make an emergency landing on the smooth, hard sea ice, and within
30 minutes Adams in the Norseman had been guided in by radio.
We camped here until 3 o’clock in the afternoon of November 22, at
which time the meteorologist at Cape Keeler informed us that Keeler
weather was suitable for flying. After a brief stop at Keeler, we re-
turned to the main base, landing at 6 p. m., just 31 hours after we
had left Cape Keeler for the southern flight.

That evening Adams in the Norseman left again for the Keeler
base, carrying another load of gasoline. With Fiske, Robertson,
Wood, and Schlossbach, he was forced to remain there for several
weeks because of continued overcast.

SECOND LONG SOUTHERN FLIGHT

The second long flight south was still foremost in my mind, but the
weather reported on the daily schedules from Cape Keeler had been
most discouraging—‘snowed in,” “blizzards with strong winds,” or
“overcast with ceiling zero.” Finally, on the morning of December 8,
Keeler reported the same good weather that prevailed at the main
base. Within an hour, Lassiter, Latady, and I were in the Beech-
craft headed for Keeler. Adams and Schlossbach had the Norseman
loaded with a cargo of five gasoline drums and their emergency
equipment and were ready to take off. The temperature was 0° F.
and the air dead calm. The condition of the surface snow was very
different from that on November 21, and the first three attempts to
take off were unsuccessful. Finally, Schlossbach and all his emer-
gency gear and two of the five drums had to be left behind. Even
then, without the aid of any wind Adams was barely able to lift the
plane into the air. It was the first time that the Norseman’s plastic-
shod skis had stuck to the snow. We all agreed, however, that the
plastic-shod skis were far superior to metal-shod skis under most
snow conditions.

The reduced load of gas made it impossible to undertake as long a
flight as I had intended. My original plan had been to fly due south
from Mount Tricorn for about 3 hours, then head northeast to Moltke
Nunatak and the shelf ice, which we would follow back to the Norse-
man stand-by base. Adams had previously established a cache of
138 gallons of gasoline at Gruening Glacier for our return.

Unlike the Norseman, the Beechcraft had no difficulty in getting
into the air. We climbed to 10,000 feet immediately, and by the time
we passed the south end of Hearst Island, Latady had the trimetrogon

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 383

cameras systematically photographing the terrain below. Our flight
track was farther inland than before, in order that he might obtain
an additional set of overlapping pictures. The terrain beneath us
was highly mountainous, and in places the sea ice came close to its
rugged side. The 20-mile-wide belt of sea ice stretched south along
the coast for 350 miles, to the great shelf ice. Numerous sea leads
ran from the open water toward the mountainous coast, and fre-
quently I detected seals sunning themselves on the ice.

After a 2%-hour flight from Keeler, the Beechcraft landed at 2:55
p. m. off the northernmost headland of Wright Inlet, which I desig-
nated Cape Wheeler. About 20 minutes later Adams circled overhead
for a landing. The joint British-American Weddell Coast sledge
party had reached Wright Inlet and re-formed as the Ronne Weddell
Coast party. My intention was to have them stand by with Adams
in the Norseman to guard our flight.

Two drums of gasoline were pumped into the Beechcraft’s tanks,
our emergency gear was checked, and the trimetrogon film was made
ready for reloading the three cameras at intervals during the flight.
As the weather ahead looked perfect, I decided to start at once. We
experienced no difficulty in taking off from the sea ice where the
sledge party had made their camp. Our course was laid due south.

We were steadily gaining altitude as we passed over Nantucket Inlet.
Gardner Bay, with Mount Austin in the center, appeared to be about
30 miles to the west. An hour after the take-off, as we were flying
slightly away from the coastal trend, we suddenly saw a heavy over-
cast obscuring the horizon to the south and southeast. We continued
south for another 15 minutes in the hope that the visibility would
improve, but instead it became much worse. Disappointing as it was,
the only thing to do was to turn back to Wright Inlet and wait for more
favorable weather, and 2 hours later we again landed alongside the
sledge party.

The overcast that we had met to the south moved slowly northward,
and by morning the visibility was less than 5 miles. That day, the
9th, the Ronne Weddell Coast party departed for the south. Their
work was to obtain fixes of geographical features for correlation with
the aerial photographs we had taken. The temperature remained
about 0° F., and for 2 days a 40-mile wind swept over our small camp.
We spent most of our restless time in sleeping bags, though we tried
to take some soundings in a sea lead about 3 miles from the coast.
Bottom was not reached with a 75-fathom line. On the evening of
December 11 we saw that the southern horizon was beginning to clear.

THE FINAL ATTEMPT

At 3 o’clock the next morning, December 12, Adams, who had
volunteered to keep an all-night weather watch, called Lassiter,

384 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Latady, and me. He had pumped the last drum of gasoline and 30
extra gallons of gas from the Norseman’s tanks into the Beechcraft
and already had breakfast waiting. At 5:20 a. m. we took off, with a
clear blue sky overhead. This time, however, we were unable to leave
with full fuel tanks, and consequently my plan for the flight had to be
slightly modified. Instead of flying due south for some distance, I
decided to follow the shelf ice southeast to Moltke Nunatak and Coats
Land, and then go south as far as our gas supply would permit.

Twenty minutes after the take-off we flew over the dog-team party,
still sledging south. They were taking advantage of the better snow
surfaces during the hours when the sun was lowest. From time to
time we passed through patches of overcast, which made us lose
altitude. J noticed that the area of open water to the north had
increased considerably since our flight of November 21. The looseness
of the pack ice as seen through my field glasses confirmed my belief
that a sturdy vessel could have sailed right up to the shelf ice if condi-
tions to the north were similar. In 78°25’ S., 44° W., we crossed a
deeply indented bay, about 20 by 20 miles, which I named Gould Bay.
At the head of the bay was an ice fall, heavily crevassed for a width
of about a mile or more inland. Tongues of ice protruded into the
head of the bay and the bay itself was partly filled with small tabular
bergs, cemented together with sea ice. It reminded me very much of
the Bay of Whales, in the Ross Shelf Ice in approximately the same
latitude on the opposite side of the continent. Gould Bay would seem
to offer a suitable place for landing a wintering party. Shortly after
we had crossed the bay, overcast skies appeared straight ahead. To
the north and northeast, practically ice-free water could be seen to
the horizon. There was, however, some loose pack ice next to the
shelf ice. By taking a sun sight to obtain a line of position, and by
dead reckoning, I estimated that we were in 78°40’ S., 40° W., and
about 50 miles west of Moltke Nunatak. Through a light haze we
could see the easterly trend of the shelf ice.

LAND BENEATH ICE SHEET

Three hours and seven minutes after we had taken off, black clouds
covered the surface beneath, and we were forced to change our course
to 218° true. Through a distant clearing beyond the clouds we could
see a snowy surface without visible rock outcrops. From our elevation
we were unable to see either Moltke Nunatak or other mountains,
and if any exist, they either are small in size or were obscured by the
clouds. Our new course took us along the edge of the overcast. As
this was a most important leg of our flight, I scanned the horizon with
field glasses for a break of surface, but none was visible. At 8:50
a. m. Lassiter informed me that one of the fuselage tanks might run
dry at any minute, and I knew, to my sorrow, that we should have to

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 385

return soon. Just then the engines missed for an instant, and Lassiter
switched to a full fuel tank. Latady again dropped the American flag
in the name of the United States, and I made this area part of Edith
Ronne Land, which name I have given to all the newly discovered
land from the farthest west seen on the November 21 flight to the
farthest east seen on this flight.

I obtained a sight with the bubble sextant, which gave me the
approximate position of our turning point. About 12 miles from the
edge of the shelf ice Latady obtained a reading from the radio altimeter,
which indicated that the surface beneath us was 700 feet above sea
level; a few minutes later another reading from the radio altimeter
indicated that the surface was not 300 feet above sea level; and a final
reading, at the edge, showed only 100 feet. The gradual southward
increase in elevation of this huge ice mass was our second important
discovery. These observations, together with the observations made
on the November 21 flight, the obvious obstruction which accounts
for the indentation named Gould Bay, the lines of crevasses which we
saw at some points extending parallel with the Lassiter Shelf Ice fringe
over a width of 15 to 20 miles inland, and the fact that as seen from
our most southerly position, the surface of the ice seemed to rise
steadily, leads me to believe that the Antarctic continent is a single
unit and is not divided by a frozen body of water extending from the
Ross Sea to the Weddell Sea. The whole area had now been covered
where a possible strait might exist. The line of position that I obtained
at the barrier when the sun was 90° off the plane’s heading fixed its
location precisely.

RETURN TO MAIN BASE

While speeding over the shelf ice more than 900 miles away from
our main base, we heard Kelsey come in on the radio stronger than
ever. We also maintained contact from time to time with Cape
Keeler and with Adams at Cape Wheeler. As we approached Mount
Austin, the mountainous coast line loomed ahead once more, and
Mount McElroy and Mount Nash stood well above the horizon south
of Mount Tricorn. Latady was eager to obtain a second set of tri-
metrogon photographs of the coast line as we continued northward, so
we radioed Adams to take off at once for Cape Keeler. Through my
field glasses I was able to see him taxi for a take-off as we flew over
Mount Tricorn at 10,000 feet. Soon afterward he was lost to sight.

When I looked southeast for the last time, I saw the 100-foot barrier
disappear over the horizon. Behind us lay our most important dis-
covery. We had followed for 450 miles the ice barrier that bounds the
Weddell Sea on the south and had found that it connects with Coats
Land at some distance south of 77°50’ S., 36° W., where Filchner found
an ice wall in 1912. From the trend of the shelf ice as we saw it, I

386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

conclude that Filchner saw the north side of either a huge tabular
iceberg or an ice tongue that has broken off 60 miles since 1912, to its
present position. Filchner reported that he built a camp on the shelf
ice, which he was forced to abandon less than a month later because it
had calved and was drifting northward. I named the extent of the
shelf ice that we had seen in honor of my pilot Captain James W.
Lassiter.

After some difficulty, because of the large patches of overcast
beneath us, we located and landed at Gruening Glacier, where we
pumped the 138 gallons of gasoline into the Beechcraft’s fuel tanks.
Meanwhile, Adams in the Norseman had gone directly to Cape Keeler
and had landed, refueled, and taken all the personnel there back to the
main base. We ourselves landed at the main base at 6:05 that same
evening. We had been in the air 12% hours, and in that time we had
covered 1,700 miles of terrain.

THE SLEDGE PARTIES

On December 13 the Ronne Weddell Coast party reached the top of
Bowman Peninsula, forming the north side of Gardner Bay. Here
they verified my observations on the location of the bay and Mount
Austin and made a general survey of the area. Upon their return to
Mount Tricorn, this party again formed the joint British-American
Weddell Coast sledge party. By utilizing the caches laid by the
Norseman plane, they had no difficulty in making a good distance
daily on their way back to Stonington Island. ‘They reached the
base on January 22, 1948, having covered 1,180 statute miles in 105
days on the trail.

The geological party, consisting of Nichols and Dodson with their
13-dog team, sledged southward over the sea ice of Marguerite Bay to
the head of George VI Sound. Cape Nicholas on Alexander I Island
was visited, and sedimentary rocks were found and studied there. On
the return journey geological studies were made on Mushroom Island,
Terra Firma Island, and the coast line northward to Neny Island.
The men reached the main base on December 26. They had been in
the field for 90 days and had covered 450 miles. After a few days in
camp, Nichols, accompanied by Dodson and Latady, made a detailed
geological study of Red Rock Ridge and the Neny Fiord area.

MAPPING FLIGHTS ON THE WEST SIDE OF PALMER PENINSULA

Trimetrogen flights were made on November 27 and December 3, 21,
and 22, over the west and east sides of Palmer Peninsula both north
and south of the main base. On the December 3 flight, over George
VI Sound, cloudy weather prevented us from photographing south of
the Batterbee Mountains. I still considered it would be well worth
while to tie in Alexander I Island with the area south of the Batterbee

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 387

Mountains and then connect this with the Robert English Coast.
These areas had not been previously photographed with trimetrogon
cameras, though Eklund and I had established the ground control
points in 1940. In spite of the fuel shortage, which was now becoming
acute, we managed to fill the Beechcraft’s fuel tanks with high-octane
gasoline for a last flight.

On December 23, for the third consecutive day, the weather was
excellent, with ceiling and visibility unlimited. We flew south past
Mount Edgell, at the entrance to George VI Sound, and followed the
sound to the Batterbee Mountains, where I saw and named the 8,500-
foot Mount Ward. Mount Russell Owen, Gutenko Mountains, and
Mount Coman were well defined above the Palmer Peninsula plateau.
As we passed Margaret Goodenough Glacier, we changed course to
250° true, to follow the trend of the Robert English Coast westward.
We passed slightly south of Eklund Island, and farther to the north-
west we could see where the Sound ice terminated in Ronne Bay
(named in 1940 for my father, Martin Ronne). Isolated mountain
peaks lay to the south. Had the weather been more favorable at the
time of his flight in 1985, Lincoln Ellsworth would certainly have seen
them. Beyond Ashley Snow Nunataks (three) we flew over an escarp-
ment with exposed rock facing the northeast. Fifty miles to the south
a snow-covered mountain rose to about 10,500 feet, Mount Rex; some
60 miles west of it was Mount Peterson, tabular and about 9,000 feet,
with six smaller peaks nearby.

Due west of our turning point, 74° S., 79°35’ W., was a partly
snow-covered mountain of more than 9,000 feet, which I named Mount
Tuve (approximately 74°30’ S., 88° W.), another, to the northwest,
Mount Combs. At the turning point the radio altimeter recorded a
surface elevation of 3,100 feet above sea level, which was later checked
on the ground. The surface appeared level and uncrevassed, and we
decided to land. The plane taxied smoothly along the soft snow.
The line of position I obtained from sun shots upon landing, when
correlated with the fixes I obtained on my 1940 sledge journey over
some of this area, will provide ground control for the photographs we
took. Twelve minutes later we were again in the air, following a
course directly toward the main base. We reached Alexander I Island
20 miles to the west of the termination of the shelf ice of George VI
Sound in Ronne Bay. In 71°S., 70° W., an impressive snow-covered
range stretched in an east-west direction for about 40 miles. Sixty
miles to the south a dark, massive range loomed majestically above the
surrounding terrain. These two newly discovered mountain ranges
I named respectively Colbert Range and Le May Range.

We changed our course almost to due north, then northwestward
across Wilkins Strait to Charcot Island. In our flight track straight
ahead we saw the Walton Mountains, about 4,000 feet, and Mount

388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Paul Lee loomed high above the terrain looking westward to the
extreme western cape of Alexander I Island. In approximately 71°S.,
75° W., I observed an ice cliff extending south from Charcot Island to
the north coast of Alexander I Island. It appeared to be a connecting
link between the two islands. I hope that the trimetrogon photo-
graphs will further clarify this interesting matter. Over Charcot
Island our radio altimeter indicated that the surface beneath was 900
feet above sea level.

On the smooth snow surface 20 miles to the south of the three small
peaks of Charcot Island we made our second landing on this flight—
the first persons to set foot on that much-discussed and elusive island.
The stop was just long enough for me to take a few sights. The sun
was due west, and I was able to obtain a good longitudinal line of
position. The sloping terrain to the south made it easy for the lightly
loaded plane to take off on the last leg of our return flight. When we
were in the air again, I observed much open water to the west and
north of Charcot Island. It would have been possible but difficult
for a ship to force its way to the island. To the east I saw many sea
leads, though huge tabular bergs were still frozen in the sea’s icy grip.

As we flew over the north end of Alexander I Island to cross the
10,000-foot Dougias Range, the sun still shone brightly in all directions
except the east, the direction of our flight, where there was a heavy
overcast. At the same time Kelsey at the main base gave us the
first of a series of warnings on the sudden and rapid approach of bad
weather. We crossed the island in 69°30’ S., by following a deep and
wide valley for 40 miles. Tufts Valley, as I named it, contained a
crevassed glacier that terminated on the Marguerite Bay side of the
island. A 20-mile-long glacier, Nichols Glacier, is a northern branch
or tributary. By the time we reached the entrance to George VI
Sound we were flying in overcast. Lassiter descended below the
heaviest cloud formations to an altitude of 3,000 feet, and we managed
to continue northward. At Red Rock Ridge, 10 miles from the base,
the weather had completely closed in around us. Fortunately,
Lassiter was familiar with the terrain, and he guided the plane around
the barely visible outlines of the high cliffs. At 200 feet we skimmed
over icebergs floating in the open water off the ridge. Once a sudden
downdraft caught the plane and forced it violently within 50 feet of
the icy water beneath. Lassiter maintained his usual steady control,
and a few minutes later we landed safely on the bay ice in Neny Fiord,
4 miles from base. The weasel, summoned by radio before landing,
helped to bring the plane to its mooring. Gusts of wind of as much as
70 miles an hour made taxiing the plane extremely difficult. However,
with two men riding on each wing to break the wind stream, we man-
aged to get the Beechcraft moored in its usual position. I know of
three men who were mighty happy to be on the ground that night!

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 389

The contrast between the weather at our departure and that on our
return after more than 8% hours of flight was striking. Once again I
was deeply aware of the respect one must always hold for the sudden
dangers mercilessly lurking behind the white veil that wraps this vast
continent.

EVACUATION AND RETURN OF EXPEDITION

During the first week of January 1948, the three planes were dis-
mantled and loaded aboard the ship from the bay ice. This 4-foot-
thick ice, which had been used extensively as the runway for the
planes, was already beginning to show signs of deterioration as a result
of the summer thaw. Day by day it slowly rotted and weakened.
In February strong winds with swells from the northwest broke up
some of the ice, but on February 11, 4 miles of solid ice still separated
the ship from the open water.

It had been my original plan to remain at the base until the middle
of March, at which time I anticipated that the ice would have cleared
from the Bay sufficiently to permit our return without hindrance.
However, on February 12 I was informed by radio that the two Navy
ice breakers then operating in Antarctic waters would visit our base.
By the time they arrived, on February 19, our ship, which for some
time had been surrounded by open water was again frozen in. AI-
though winds had been blowing almost continuously for more than a
week, the freezing temperatures led me to believe that the cold weather
of an early fall had already overtaken the summer thaw. I remem-
bered only too well that in 1941 this same bay ice was not gone by
March 22 and we were forced to evacuate the base by two hazardous
airplane flights. The risk of having to remain another year in the
Antarctic, if the bay ice did not go out, was too great.

I accordingly decided to utilize the excellent opportunity offered
by the presence of the ice breakers and to follow in their wake to the
open sea. In this connection it is interesting to note that on April
9, 1948, I received a communication from the Governor of the Falk-
land Islands that stated:

Sea ice in Marguerite Bay broke up February 28, but navigation only became
possible March 18. Sea freezing periodically maximum thickness one inch. Two
hundred yards strip old ice still fast between Roman figure four and Neny Island.

Therefore, had I remained it would have been possible to have
completed a full year of observations in the Antarctic, and to have
returned without assistance, but this could not have been foreseen at
the time of the ice breakers’ visit.

With no difficulty whatever, they broke through to our ship. We
spent all that day and the following one hurriedly completing the
loading of our equipment. One of the vessels, the U. S. S. Edisto,
went ahead to clear a wide path. The second ice breaker, the U.S. 8.

390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Burton Island, maneuvered into position ahead of our ship and
steamed into open water, and we followed in its wake.

At 4 o’clock on the afternoon of February 20, 1948, The Port of
Beaumont, Texas rounded the stretch of ice-enclosed Stonington
Island, Neny Island, and Red Rock Ridge and finally sailed into the
open sea of Marguerite Bay to the west of Adelaide Island. Our
year’s work at this lonely outpost was now a part of history. For
the third time I left the snow-covered mountains of the Antarctic
continent behind me and turned my eyes northward to greener shores.

SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The accomplishments of the expedition were greater than I had
hoped for. In a total flying time of 346 hours the three planes had
covered 39,000 air miles of Antarctic terrain. No fewer than 86
landings had been made in the field. The planes had made extensive
reconnaissances, laid caches for aviation and dog-team parties, searched
for the lost British fliers, transported personnel and equipment to
advanced field bases, and carried on geographical exploration and
trimetrogon mapping. The program had netted a conservative total
of some 250,000 square miles of terrain explored for the first time and
a total of some 450,000 square miles of territory covered by 14,000
trimetrogon photographs. The photographs are now being developed,
and they will be used to make new maps.

Data were obtained in various branches of science. Dr. Robert L.
Nichols, head of the geology department of Tufts College, spent a total
of 154 days in the field, making geological studies in the Marguerite
Bay area, with the competent assistance of Robert H. T. Dodson,
graduate student at Harvard, who sledged with him during the entire
geological field season. Physicist Harries-Clichy Peterson’s work in
meteorology, cosmic rays, solar radiation, dew point, refraction, and
surface radiation kept him busy for many hours of the day. He was
ably assisted by Climatologist C. O. Fiske, both at the main base and
when Fiske was operating the Cape Keeler advance base. Geo-
physicist Andrew A. Thompson made continuous comprehensive
seismographic recordings with his two sensitive instruments and also
carried on tidal observations and investigations in terrestrial magnet-
ism. He spent a little more than 2 weeks at Cape Keeler taking
magnetic readings; and Lt. Charles J. Adams, when in the field
guarding our plane flights, was able to obtain magnetic readings from
the Mount Tricorn area. These men also gave any help needed for
the maintenance of the planes or the camp. Results of the geological
and geophysical investigations will be available in due course.

E. A. Wood, Walter Smith, and Fiske operated the plateau weather
station and the Cape Keeler advance base. Smith and Arthur Owen

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 391

were the American members of the joint British-American Weddell
Coast sledge party and at Wright Inlet, with the two British members,
formed the Ronne Weddell Coast party, which sledged to Gardner
Bay and back to Wright Inlet. James B. Robertson, aviation me-
chanic, was at Cape Keeler during the flights, and Commander Isaac
Schlossbach, second-in-command, when not flying as copilot with
Adams, also manned the Cape Keeler base. Lawrence Kelsey was
untiring at the main base radio, which was the central point for cor-
relating information from all field units. Charles Hassage, chief
engineer of our ship, The Port of Beaumont, Texas, in addition to
running the camp during my absence, was always ready to help with
the maintenance of the planes and the numerous camp chores. Mrs.
Ronne assisted in the organization of the camp during my absences
and acted as recorder. Nelson McClary served as ship’s mate, and
Dr. Donald McLean as medical officer. Chief Commissary Steward
Sigmund Gutenko, U.S. N., on leave of absence with the expedition,
procured and prepared all expedition food and assembled all trail
and emergency food; he also gave a hand in servicing the planes when
time allowed him a spare moment from the galley.

The pilots were Capt. James W. Lassiter and Lieutenant Adams,
both assigned to the expedition on active duty by the Army Air
Forces. Adams, as pilot of the Norseman and the L-5, hauled tons
of essential equipment into the field and conscientiously and depend-
ably backed up and stood by the Beechcraft’s exploratory and photo-
graphic flights. Lassiter, in addition to piloting the Beechcraft, when
flying communicated by radio with our auxiliary bases on the Weddell
Coast and the main base on Stonington Island. During all the
Beechcraft’s flights William R. Latady checked the plane’s drift meter
and passed the information on to me. As aerial photographer, he
was fully cccupied with the operation of the trimetrogon and hand
cameras and the changing of film. When not in the air, he was base
photographer and machinist. The navigation end of the flights I took
care of from my vantage point in the copilot’s seat, which gave me a
splendid view of the terrain beneath and ahead. Harry Darlington,
who was accompanied by his wife, and Jorge di Georgio, Chilean,
completed the personnel.

Beside carrying out the extensive program of the expedition while
in the Antarctic, these volunteers manned and operated our sturdy
1,200-ton wooden vessel to and from the Antarctic, a distance of more
than 14,000 miles.

To the men, whose initiative, cooperation, and loyalty contributed
so greatly to the successful accomplishment of the expedition’s large
program, I give my sincere appreciation and gratitude.

866591—50 26

392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949
APPENDIX

The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition was organized with the
support and good will of many individuals and organizations through-
out the United States. I can mention only a few: Dr. and Mrs.
Edward L. Sweeney of Evanston, Il., and Washington, D. C., Mr.
and Mrs. Allan Scaife of Pittsburgh, Pa., and John Hauberg of Rock
Island, Ill., who because of their interest in exploration and science
provided the necessary support. Without the sale of news rights to
the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc., a contract with the
Navy Department for the results of research in various branches of
science, and the many articles given me by the Research and Develop-
ment Section of the Army Air Forces, the expedition would not have
materialized. Representative J. M. Combs of Beaumont, Tex., was
one of our strongest and staunchest supporters, and Sir Hubert Wilkins
gave me many helpful ideas and suggestions. Of inestimable help,
too, were Dr. Isaiah Bowman, president of The Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, and Dr. Lawrence McKinley Gould, president of Carleton Col-
lege. The American Geographical Society of New York, through its
director, Dr. John K. Wright, extended its auspices during the days
when I was planning the expedition. In addition, there are others,
far too numerous to mention, who helped me in many ways. For
their help I am grateful. To Capt. Harry L. Dodson, U.S. N., Dr.
Dana Coman, and Dr. I. C. Gardner I am indebted for their untiring
efforts to further the aims and purposes of the expedition.

NAMES OF NEW FEATURES

The new names given by me and applied to the map are: Cape
Wheeler, after John N. Wheeler of New York; Kelsey Glacier, after the
Kelsey family, Sacramento, Calif.; Swann Glacier, after W. F. G.
Swann of Swarthmore, Pa.; Mount Coman, after Dr. Dana Coman,
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Waverly Glacier,
after the seat of the Kasco Dog Food Company’s mills; Keller Inlet,
after Louis Keller of Beaumont, Tex.; Cape Fiske, after the Fiske
family of Buffalo, N. Y.; Cape Smitty, after Walter Smith, expedition
mate and navigator; Cape Little, after D. M. Little of Washington,
D. C.; Johnston Glacier, after Freeborn Johnston of Washington, D. C.;
Mount McElroy, after M. C. McElroy of Boston, Mass.; Mount Nash,
after H. R. Nash of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mount Owen, after the Owen
family of Beaumont, Tex.; Cape Adams, after Lt. Charles J. Adams,
expedition pilot; Cape Schlossbach, after Commander Isaac Schloss-
bach, second in command of the expedition; Gardner Bay, after Dr.
I. C. Gardner of Washington, D. C.; Wetmore Glacrer, after Dr.
Alexander Wetmore of Washington, D. C.; Wright Inlet, after Dr.
John K. Wright, Director of the American Geographical Society of

ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION—RONNE 393

New York; Mount Austin, after the Texas hero; Mount Robertson,
after James B. Robertson, expedition aviation mechanic; Mount Wood,
after E. A. Wood, ship’s engineer; Dodson Island, after Capt. Harry L.
Dodson, U. 8S. N.; Lassiter Shelf Ice, after Capt. James W. Lassiter,
expedition pilot; Mount Russell Owen, after Russell Owen of the
New York Times; Mount Haag, after Joseph Haag of Todd Ship
Yards, N. Y.; Gutenko Mountains, after the Gutenko family of Balti-
more, Md.; Latady Mountains, after William Latady, expedition aerial
photographer; Sweeney Mountains and Mount Edward, after the
Sweeney family of Evanston, Il., and Washington, D. C.; Hauberg
Mountains, after John Hauberg of Rock Island, Ul.; Wilkins Moun-
tains, after Sir Hubert Wilkins; Scaife Mountains, after Mr. and Mrs.
Allan Scaife of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mount Brundage, after Burr Brundage
of Cedar Crest College, Allentown, Pa.; Mount Horne, after Bernhard
Horne of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mount Hassage, after Charles Hassage,
expedition chief engineer; Gould Bay, after Dr. Laurence McKinley
Gould, President of Carleton College; Edith Ronne Land, after Mrs.
Ronne, expedition recorder and expedition participant; Mount Ward,
after W. W. Ward of Beaumont, Tex.; Mount Tuve, after Dr. M. A.
Tuve of Washington, D. C.; Tufts Valley, after Tufts College, Mass. ;
Nichols Glacier, after Dr. Robert Nichols’ daughter, Medford, Mass.;
Niznik Island, after the Niznik family of Baltimore, Md.; Bugge
Islands, after the Bugge family, Molde, Norway; Mount Thompson,
after the Thompson family of Friendship Hill Farm, Pa.; Mount
Peterson, after Dr. Edwin Peterson of Belmont, Mass.; Mount Rez,
after Commander Daniel Rex of Washington, D. C.; Bowman Penin-
sula, after Dr. Isaiah Bowman, President of The Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Md.; Ketchum Glacier, after Commander
Gerald Ketchum, U.S. N.; Tejas Glacier, after the Daughters of the
Republic of Texas, Beaumont, Tex.; Cape Light, after Dr. Richard
Upjohn Light, President of the American Geographical Society;
Irvine Glacier, after George J. Irvine, Washington, D. C.; Orville
Escarpment, after Capt. H. T. Orville, U. S. N., Washington, D. C.;
Mount Lee, after Admiral Paul Lee, U.S. N.; Walton Mountains, after
Col. R. C. Walton, U. S. Marine Corps., Washington, D. C.; Colbert
Range, after Admiral Leo Otis Colbert, Coast and Geodetic Survey,
Washington, D. C.; Le May Range, after Gen. Curtis Le May, A. A.F-.;
Cape Cole, after W. Sterling Cole, Representative to Congress from
New York.

These names have received the approval of the United States Board
on Geographic Names. To the Board’s Advisory Committee on
Antarctic Names I am particularly indebted for promptness of
consideration.

THE STATE OF SCIENCE!

By Karu T. Compton
Chairman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation

As I contemplated the task of preparing for this occasion an evalua-
tion of science at the midcentury, I quickly came to a conviction
which became more firmly established as I proceeded, and which I
shall now demonstrate to you. It is that I am inadequate for the
task. I am reminded, by analogy, of the Negro sprinter who when
complimented on his running of 100 yards in 9% seconds, replied:
“T could run that race in 9 seconds if it wasn’t for the longness of the
distance and the shortness of the time.’? I am handicapped by the
bigness of the subject and my incapacity to do it justice.

Were I a Man from Mars, visiting our planet 4 la Orson Welles,
I should have certain advantages. In the first place I should un-
doubtedly be very intelligent, else I could not have contrived to make
the journey and to land safely. In the second place I could view this
earthly scene objectively. For the attempt to stand off, in time or
space, and survey objectively our accomplishments and our short-
comings is a difficult one. Our sincerest efforts toward objectivity
are unconsciously colored, not only by our own convictions and
philosophy, but by those fields to which we have allied ourselves, so
that the statesman tends to view everything first as a political prob-
lem; the priest, as a spiritual one; the economist, as a social one; and
the scientist, as a problem for his laboratory. Nor am I, as we shall
see later, an exception to this rule.

But for the moment, let us look at the world through the eyes of
the Man from Mars. This, his latest invasion, is timed for the round-
ing of the midcentury, an accounting time when one tends to review
the past for the progress made to date and to contemplate the future
speculatively as to what may lie ahead.

Let us suppose our Martian had prepared himself for his trip by a
study of history. He would first of all be struck by the long existence
of the earth itself as a physical entity in contrast to the brief span of
time in which man has played a significant role, an estimated 2 to 3
billions of years for the earth, and a brief million and a half for man.

1 Reprinted by permission from The Technology Review, May 1949, edited at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.

395

396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

He would be further astonished by the tiny fragment of time we call
“history” in contrast to the endless millennia of prehistory. He
would note that all that modern man knows of prehistoric man has
been cleverly deduced from the mute evidence left by his ancestors,
often hidden in caves and dried river valleys. And finally he could
not fail to be astonished by the unequal march of history itselfi—the
long eras during which man fought and struggled and moved along,
to the slow pedestrian pace of 2 or 4 miles per hour—in contrast to
this century in which he has accelerated his pace until it has exceeded
the speed of sound.

Our Martian’s perusal of history would have acquainted him with
the various stages of civilization and culture through which man has
passed—the nomadic civilization of the early Semitic tribes, the in-
tellectual ages of Greece and Rome, the primitive agrarian culture of
the Middle Ages, the emergence of the crafts and guilds, the cultural
renaissance of the Western world, and the rise of exploration and sea
travel. And finally, he would view with some astonishment, no
doubt, the industrial revolution of the last 100 years and its kaleido-
scopic impact on succeeding decades.

But he would be unprepared, I think, in his global survey, for the
strange inconsistencies and incongruities of the modern world. Hav-
ing observed in his study of history a slow progression through no-
madic, agrarian, handicraft, and industrial stages of economy, he
would likely be surprised to find examples of all these stages still
extant in various parts of the world. Or, if he had been particularly
interested in the social and political emergence of man, how would he
account for the vestigial remains of ancient tyranny, the oppressive
burden of autocratic rule, still existing side by side with the democ-
racies of the modern world? In short, to borrow a figure from the
biologists, he would find our present-day civilization the phylogenesis
of human history.

We might assume that this Mid-Century Convocation on the Social
Implications of Scientific Progress, which opens today, has convened
for the purpose of explaining to the Man from Mars the achievements,
the trends, the problems, and the anomalies of our times. And in so
doing perhaps we shall gain for ourselves a better understanding of
the multiplicity of forces which have a bearing on our lives and so
achieve a better orientation for the resolution of those discords that
threaten further progress.

For my part, I am happy to be today the special pleader for the
role of science in modern society. For I hold that science and tech-
nology are largely responsible for much that we find good in the world
and are capable of being the common denominator of many things
we seek to accomplish in the decades ahead.

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 397

To our visitor from Mars, I would point out that the scientist and
engineer are busy not only in the laboratory and library but in many
strange places on, above, and below the surface of the earth. On one
of the highest peaks in America, one group of scientists measures the
effects of cosmic radiation, while many feet below the surface of the
earth, in a dark tunnel or at the bottom of a lake, other groups check
on the cosmic bullets that pierce the surface of the earth. In bathy-
spheres as strange in appearance as though they themselves had come
from Mars, men try new fathoms of the ocean depths. And missiles
of extraordinary shape and size hurtle hundreds of miles above the
earth to seek new data on the upper atmosphere and the spheres that
lie above it. So that if to our neighbor, Mars, we appear as a race
of ants, busy with a complex and remarkable division of labor, we
must also appear as the possessors of an extraordinary intellectual
curiosity—examining every aspect of our tiny globe and then pro-
jecting ourselves beyond it into the infinities of space.

The marvels thus uncovered have been so numerous and so dazzling
in recent years that we have come to accept each new announcement
with a certain complacency, almost indifference, as though nothing
were to be wondered at. Yet these things to which we adjust our-
selves so quickly as to be almost unconscious of change, and which
we quickly come to count as necessities and ‘‘rights”’ of life, are often
things which were entirely unknown to our parents or grandparents.

It is not inappropriate then, that we should take stock, at the mid-
century, of exactly where we do stand in scientific achievement and
of what is yet to be accomplished. For the scientist is not apt to
find himself in the predicament of Alexander the Great, who wept
because there were no more worlds to conquer. We shall see, I think,
that much needs to be done on an ever-widening scale toward meeting
the physical needs and opportunities facing mankind and that science
is responsive, also, to those who see in it a method of approach to the
deeper social problems of our times.

In assessing the status of science and society today, it is a tempta-
tion to use as a point of comparison the middle of the last century.
Politically, the world then turned in an aura of unrest, not unlike that
in which we now find ourselves. The revolutions which had swept
across central Europe in 1848 with an upsurge of liberalism and self-
determination had been succeeded by counterrevolutions and strong
reaction of 1849 and 1850. ‘To those seekers of freedom who had
sought to introduce new concepts of human rights into the ancient
monarchies of Europe, it must have seemed that their work and sacri-
fices had been in vain. The efforts for a democratic federation of
states in Germany had failed; Austria had regained its autocratic
domination of central Europe; and the progress that had been made in
Italy had been lost in the tide of reaction.

398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Men like Garibaldi, Lamartine, and Louis Kossuth became the dis-
placed persons of their day, and many of them sought refuge in the
United States. Yet though all may have seemed lost to these valiant
liberals, the receding tide of revolution had left its mark, and the smell
of change was in the air.

In Great Britain, Queen Victoria had only just completed the first
decade of her long reign. Things were relatively stable politically,
and the industrial revolution had passed its first phase. The long train
of miserable social conditions, which the first impact of the machine
age had brought to the working classes, had only begun to be amelio-
rated. But thanks to the zeal of social reformers and enlightened
industrialists, such as Robert Owens, Britain was learning how better
to utilize this vast new giant in its midst and, above all, was coming to
realize that economic stability was intimately associated with well-
being, and that increased ability to produce on the part of working
people was basic to any improvement in their standards of living.

It is hard for us now to realize from what depths these living stand-
ards have risen, thanks to those applications of science which produced
the machine age. Just prior to the introduction of steam power, men,
women, and children labored between 14 and 16 hours a day in poorly
equipped factories; enjoyed no transportation of any kind; lived in
windowless and unheated homes; and could not afford the luxury of
candlelight because candles were taxed. Even the least fastidious
today would be horrified at the unhygienic conditions which every-
where prevailed in the absence of even the most primitive types of
sanitary facilities. In the long, 6-day weeks there was neither money
nor leisure for any kind of recreation. The average number of a man’s
acquaintances during his entire lifetime was of the order of only 100.
Intellectual and cultural activities among the poor were unheard of.
The rate of infant mortality was enormous and estimated life expect-
ancy was 30 years. Moves to better these conditions can be traced
in part to the strong emotional appeal of such tales as Oliver Twist,
Bleak House, and Martin Chuzzlewit.

In 1850 the first industrial exposition in the world was held in the
Crystal Hall in London under the patronage of Queen Victoria and
the Prince Consort.

For the United States, which abounded in its great expanses of
unexploited land and endless national resources, there were no very
difficult adjustments to make to get into the swing of the industrial
revolution. It was just coming into full stride as anation. Politically
the sectional strife between the abolitionist North and the slave-
holding South had come to an uneasy lull, based upon the com-
promise of 1850. For the time being, violently partisan points of
view were submerged by the common desire to take advantage of a
rapidly expanding economy.

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 399

Arthur M. Schlesinger in his chapter on midcentury America ?
gives us the following picture of midcentury economy:

The amount of capital invested in manufacturing (including fisheries and mines)
doubled, totaling more than a billion dollars on the eve of the Civil War. First
in order of importance was the making of flour and meal, then boots and shoes,
cotton textiles, and lumber products, with clothing, machinery, leather and
woolen goods forging rapidly to the fore. In 1849, for the first time, the patents
granted for new inventions passed the thousand mark, to reach nearly six times
that number in 1860.

He also points out that ‘of the new mechanisms employed in in-
dustry the census officials in 1860 characterized the sewing machine
as an altogether ‘revolutionary instrument.’ ”’ From where we stand
today, it is difficult to realize that a century ago perhaps the most
significant tool in American industry was the sewing machine.

With respect to science and invention, the world at the last mid-
century stood at the threshold of far-reaching and significant dis-
coveries which were to render the ensuing century unparalleled in
human progress.

Whitehead has observed that the greatest invention of the nine-
teenth century was the invention of the method of invention. He
goes on to say, “in order to understand our epoch, we can neglect all
the details of change, such as railways, telegraphs, radios, spinning
machines, and synthetic dyes. We must concentrate on the method
itself, that is the real novelty which has broken up the foundations
of the old civilization. The prophecy of Francis Bacon has now
been fulfilled; and man, who at times dreamt of himself as a little
lower than the angels, has submitted to become the servant and
minister of nature.”

In physics, at the last midcentury, the scientific world stood firmly
on the solid foundation of Newtonian mechanics, unaware that just
ahead a series of events was taking shape which would effect a revolu-
tion in traditional thinking. In electricity, the basis had been laid
by Franklin and Volta, while Oersted, Faraday, and Henry had
shown the relation between electricity and magnetism. Fresnel had
established the wave theory of light, and Joule had just proven the
equivalence of heat and work.

But in 1850 the great evolution of the science of physics was about
to begin. Robert A. Millikan summarized these events last year on
the occasion of the centennial of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science by mentioning three great advances: (1)
the establishment by Joule, Kelvin, Mayer, and Helmholtz of the
first and second laws of thermodynamics; (2) the quantitative proof
of the kinetic theory of gases by Clausius, Boltzmann, and Maxwell;
and (3) the publication by Maxwell in 1867 of his classic paper on

2 Political and Social History of the United States. Macmillan Company. New York, 1933.

400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

electromagnetism. Millikan calls Maxwell “the greatest ornament
of his age’ and points out that “Maxwell’s book has created the
present age of electricity in much the same way in which Newton’s
Principia created, a hundred years earlier, the mechanical age in
which we are still living.”

The century drew to a close with four very great discoveries which
have profoundly affected our own times. They are: (1) Roentgen’s
discovery of X-rays in 1895; (2) Becquerel’s discovery of radioactivity
in 1896; (3) J. J. Thomson’s demonstration in 1897 of the electron
as a fundamental constituent of all the atoms in the universe; and
(4) the quantum theory of radiation enunciated by Planck in Berlin
in 1900.

During the period in which such strides were being made in physics,
the other sciences, notably chemistry, biology, and medicine, were
not standing still. But, whereas research in physics had enjoyed a
steady growth for the two centuries preceding the opening of the
nineteenth, the other sciences lagged somewhat in their development.
This was partly because in both chemistry and biology there was a
strong tendency to cling to the classical teachings of the past. But,
more significantly, progress in these fields and in medicine also was
dependent to a large extent on the tools and processes being evolved
by modern physics.

If one were to review even a partial list of the great names in the
growth of chemistry prior to this century, it would be necessary to
mention the Norwegians, Guldberg and Waage, who stated the law
of mass action; the great Swedish chemist, Arrhenius, who advanced
the theory of electrolytic disassociation; and the American, Willard
Gibbs, whose phase rule contributed so much to the development of
industrial chemistry. There would be the Russian, Mendeleev, who
first classified the elements in the periodic table, and the Polish
Marie Curie who, with her French husband, Pierre, made the impor-
tant discovery of radium. Von Liebig and Wéhler would stand for
organic chemistry and mention should be made of Hofmann, who
may be regarded as the father of the German dye industry. To as-
piring young scientists of today it should be of interest to note that
one of Hofmann’s students, W. H. Perkin, a boy of 17, is credited
with discovering the first synthetic dye. The chemical industry in
the United States today owes much of its start to basic work in dyes
and synthetics which was done in Germany prior to World War I.

The emphasis which modern industry and modern warfare also
have laid upon physical sciences has tended to obscure somewhat in
the public eye the less spectacular advances of biology and medicine.
The use of atomic power for both constructive and destructive pur-
poses has greater interest for the public imagination than that mys-
terious process by which green plants convert the energy of the sun

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 401

into the substance of life. But who can say whether the answer to
the secret of photosynthesis may not have more far-reaching effects
on our lives and on those of generations to come?

Kenneth Mees, whose book, The Path of Science; presents a suc-
cinct review of the growth of scientific ideas, places the beginning of
modern biology in 1838 with the publication by two Germans,
Schleiden and Schwann, of the cell theory.

Biological sciences received enormous impetus from the publica-
tion in 1859 of Darwin’s Origin of Species, but Darwin died without
ever learning of the important work of Gregor Mendel whose great
study of heredity shed such interesting light on Darwin’s theories.
The science of genetics which rests upon the foundation so brilliantly
laid by Mendel owes much to Belgian zoologist Beneden who dis-
covered the double sets of chromosomes in each nucleus except the
reproductive cells.

It was also in this latter half of the nineteenth century that the
great German pioneer bacteriologist, Robert Koch, discovered the
bacilli of anthrax and tuberculosis, that the great French chemist,
Louis Pasteur, did his pioneering work on germs and ferments, and
the British Lord Lister developed antiseptic surgery.

Astronomy at the end of the nineteenth century was largely obser-
vational, with the discovery and cataloging of stars and nebulae,
examination of the appearance of sun and planets, and precise calcu-
lations of orbits. Stellar spectra and brightness were measured with
routine persistence but without interpretive theories to guide and give
significance to the observations.

In the foregoing sketch of science up to the beginning of our twen-
tieth century I have made no attempt at complete coverage; I have
even omitted entire fields of science, like geology and psychology.
I have not discussed practical applications, like engineering and
medicine. I have only used these few examples to serve as spring-
boards for the jump into the twentieth century, in which scientific
progress has forged ahead with ever-increasing acceleration and in
which the fields of science, hitherto almost separate in their develop-
ment, have merged more and more toward a single all-inclusive and
all-interrelated science of the forces and materials of nature.

The physicists and the chemists both started their twentieth-
century research with the atom. The physicists have looked into the
atom to discover how it was constructed and how its parts behaved.
The chemists piled atoms together to form molecules of all degrees
of complexity. The work of each reacted on the other, and physicists
had to learn more chemistry and chemists more physics. And the
discoveries of each provided new tools for both.

3 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1947.

402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

The major interest of physical science in the first dozen years of the
century was in the attempt to explain natural phenomena by the
behavior of electrons under the influence of electric forces. Such
theories were very successful for some phenomena, and had some
very important practical applications, namely, our entire modern
electronics industry. But the electron alone was far from adequate
to account for the universe.

Then Sir Ernest Rutherford proved that each atom has a heavy
nucleus of positive electricity surrounded by electrons. Moseley in
England proved by X-rays that these atomic nuclei are characterized
by simple numbers: 1 for hydrogen, 2 for helium, 3 for lithium, and
so on up to 92 for uranium—and these numbers were soon identified
with the electric charge of the nucleus or the number of electrons
outside it in the atom. Thus quantitative meaning was given to the
periodic table of the chemists. Next, Bohr in Denmark and Sommer-
feld in Germany applied the quantum theory to the Rutherford-
Moseley atom and found the basis for explaining the spectra of light
and X-rays. Henceforth spectroscopy became the most powerful tool
for further atomic structure research, and such research became a
major preoccupation of physicists in the 1920’s.

But all during this time other scientists were experimenting with
radioactivity, an interesting and puzzling subject whose only practical
uses had been for making watch dials luminous, and treating with
moderate success certain types of cancer. But when Rutherford in
1920 succeeded in transmuting one chemical element into another by
bombarding it with fast particles from a radium source, and thus made
real the ancient dream of the alchemists, a new era in science opened
up. It opened slowly at first, and it was not until 1931 that such a
transmutation was effected by use of a high-voltage machine. This
was done by two pupils of Rutherford in Cambridge University. In
that same year Ernest Lawrence at the University of California
invented the cyclotron, which has proved the most productive of all
atom-smashing machines to date. Also in the same year, Chadwick
in England discovered another very important subatomic particle, the
neutron. And still in that same year Fermi in Italy showed that
neutrons are extremely potent in producing atomic transmutations in
the atoms which they strike.

The quick result of the atomic nuclear research stimulated by these
discoveries was the new discovery, or production in the laboratory, of
more than twice as many new species of atoms as had been previously
known to exist. Furthermore, whereas it was formerly thought that
only a very few of the heaviest types of atoms were radioactive, it is
now possible in these atom-smashing machines to produce at least one
radioactive modification, or isotope, of every kind of chemical atom,
and several radioactive modifications in many cases.

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 403

Now we jump to the fateful time, just 10 years ago, when the
discovery of nuclear fission opened the way to the atomic bomb and
atomic energy. In early January, 1939, two Germans, Hahn and
Strassmann, found that an isotope of barium is produced when
uranium is bombarded by neutroms. This news promptly reached
Copenhagen, where it was given the true explanation as being a
hitherto unsuspected phenomenon, nuclear fission, by two refugee
scientists, Frisch and Lise Meitner, who had fled Germany to work
with the great Danish physicist, Niels Bohr.

On January 19, Bohr arrived in the United States to deliver some
lectures, and brought with him the news of this discovery of nuclear
fission. By January 26 this discovery had been confirmed in four
United States laboratories, in Copenhagen, and in France, and there
had been a scientific conference on the subject in Washington. All
this had happened within the short space of less than one month. By
the end of a year more than 100 scientific articles on nuclear fission
had been published.

Then, in 1940, the clouds of war shrouded the further developments
in a degree of secrecy never before imposed in the field of science.
This secrecy was at first entirely self-imposed by the scientists them-
selves, who conceived of the military applications of nuclear energy
before either officialdom or industry even knew of the existence of this
new phenomenon. The project barely survived the skepticism with
which it was initially received by many of the nonnuclear scientists
and engineers who became concerned with it, but by the end of 1942
its potentialities had become well established and the great Manhattan
Project was undertaken, with close cooperation between the carefully
selected scientific groups from the United States, the United Kingdom,
and Canada.

The rest of the story is now written into the history of the dramatic
ending of World War II with Hiroshima and Nagasaki; of the efforts
to turn atomic energy into an instrument, through international con-
trol, for the maintenance of permanent peace; and of the current work
under our Atomic Energy Commission to develop peacetime uses of
atomic energy and radioactivity which are already beginning to influ-
ence the processes of industrial production and medical practice, and
to open entirely new fields of exploration in chemistry, geology,
metallurgy, physiology, botany, and agriculture. On the horizon
still uncertainly loom the possibilities of useful production of power
for ship or aircraft propulsion and other special applications of heat
and power.

In this story we see the sudden merging of the results of many lines
of investigation which had previously proceeded almost independently:
50 years of research on radioactivity; 20 years’ development of high-
voltage machines; the equivalence of mass and energy announced by

404 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

Einstein as early as 1905 as part of his theory of relativity; several
decades of study of cosmic rays; 50 years’ development of electronics;
the whole modern art of chemical separation; the science of radiology
whose impetus had come from medical applications of X-rays and
the rays from radium; the most modern refinements of metallurgy,
of chemical and electrical engineering. And the practical consum-
mation of the atomic-energy objectives has called upon the highest
skills of engineering design and instrumentation. It is truly an
exciting picture!

I might have described many other scientific achievements of our
century, such as the synthesis of complicated organic chemicals; the
developments in aerodynamics or those like radio, radar, and tele-
vision in the field of communications; the exciting new discoveries of
hormones and their influence on physiological and emotional processes
in animals and man; or the growth of the automobile industry which
has so profoundly influenced our personal lives and our business
operations. But I elected to dwell at length on this story of atom-
ic energy for several reasons. It is the most striking scientific and
technological development of our century; it best illustrates the
methods of scientific discovery and its practical application; from it
can be drawn many lessons, some of which I would mention.

The first lesson is the cooperative character of scientific progress,
depending on the stimulating interplay of ideas and the accumulation
of facts and skills contributed by many scientists. In my survey of
nuclear science progress I mentioned only some of the most significant
steps in the progress, but back of it all and filling in the gaps was the
work of some thousands of other research workers.

A second lesson is the unpredictable and uncontrollable origin of
the new ideas and discoveries which produce scientific progress. It
was to emphasize this point that I mentioned the origins of the major
discoveries which led up to the atomic-energy program. Many
scientists from many parts of the world contributed the building
blocks which, piled each on the ones below, completed the structure.
The fact that it was done so quickly is explained by the quick and free
channels of communication, often supplemented by personal acquain-
tance, which have traditionally characterized the scientific fraternity
the world over. It is more than tragic that any nation should seek
to restrain the great flow of knowledge across the world or, within
national boundaries, should seek to direct its course or make it sub-
servient to the current politics of the state. That such a policy will
ultimately stifle the birth and development of significant ideas is
scarcely open to dispute. For nowhere more than in science is
Donne’s statement true ‘“‘that each is a part of the maine,” and the
killing off of scientific ideas in one area impoverishes the world.

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 405

Engineering developments can usually be carried through in
accordance with a plan carefully prepared in advance, and often this
can be done most effectively by a competent self-contained group like
a company or a bureau. But scientific discovery, in its very nature
and as proved by experience, does not progress according to pre-
conceived plan and is stified if attempts are made to control the free
initiative of the research workers or to limit the freedom of com-
munication between them. This is one reason why most of the
fundamental new scientific discoveries have originated in free environ-
ment of the universities rather than in the quite properly more con-
trolled atmosphere of industrial or governmental laboratories. When,
however, it comes to practical applications and engineering develop-
ments, then thorough planning and control are essential to efficiency.
Thus the third lesson which I would draw is this: to the extent that
we wish fundamental science to advance, we must maintain the
maximum of opportunity for competent scientists to follow their
own bent and to communicate freely with each other.

The fourth lesson is, at first sight, in apparent contradiction with
the last, but actually it is not. It is that teamwork has proven
extraordinarily effective in producing results. To a certain extent,
of course, teamwork implies control, which I have just decried. But
what I mean by a team is a group of competent and imaginative
project leaders whose skills and knowledge supplement each other
and are supported by the technical assistance required to carry out
their ideas. Such groups actually provide the maximum opportunity
for quick initiative and for stimulating interchange of ideas. As
science becomes more complex, or as its practical applications come
more to the fore, the advantages of such team organization become
more pronounced.

The fifth lesson, which needs no amplification, is the increasing ex-
tent to which a basic advance in theory or technique in one branch of
science is likely to provide new concepts or new tools which can open
up new frontiers for exploration and exploitation in other fields of
science orart. Thisisnotanewidea. It was for this reason, for exam-
ple, that the Rockefeller Foundation established, under the National
Research Council, the great program of National Research Fellowships
which were largely effective within a decade or two in raising the
United States from a third-rate to a first-rate world position in science.
The Rockefeller Foundation hoped, by thus stimulating advance in
the fundamental sciences, to uncover new avenues of approach to
medical science—a hope that has been brilliantly justified. And
another lesson which can be drawn comes from the realization that an
astonishing proportion of today’s leaders in American science, and of
the project leaders who were the key men in our great scientific pro-

406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

gram during World War II, were men who had received their inspira-
tion and training in independent research under this National Re-
search Fellowship program.

Let me now conclude this address by a look to the future. I might
discuss this in terms of current scientific programs. I could describe
the race between the cosmic-ray scientists who, from mountain top,
airplane, and balloon, seek to utilize the still unknown energies of the
cosmos to search out even more of nature’s fundamental secrets of
matter and energy, and the high-energy machine scientists who, with
Van de Graaff generator, cyclotron, betatron, and synchrotron, are
reproducing cosmic phenomena in the laboratory. It remains to be
seen which group will discover the most for the fewest millions of
dollars. This much can be said: both groups are meeting with
exciting successes, and each stimulates and supplements the other.

Or I could try to describe some of the opportunities for the use of
radioactive chemical isotopes, produced by cyclotrons and atomic
piles, as tools in other lines of research. Of this, Dr. Shields Warren,
Director of the Division of Biology and Medicine of the Atomic
Energy Commission, said at the eighth annual science talent dinner
in Washington this month:

. an event, the scope of which can be but dimly appreciated, has recently oc-
curred in the development of atomic energy. First, a revolutionary concept in
physics has been developed and'proved and active experimentation as to its poten-
tialities is well under way. Second, a method of tagging atoms by radioactivity
so that chemical and biologic processes can be followed through in great detail is
now at hand. Through this radioactivity accurate measurement of minute quan-
tities is now feasible, for as little as one million billionth of an ounce of radio
phosphorus may be detected. Third, advance in knowledge of biologic effects of
radiation permits changing some hereditary characteristics in plants or animals.

Or I could venture some speculations on the possible future role of
synthetically manufactured hormones which, administered like
insulin to a diabetic, could control the tendency to cancer, or produce
a race of giants, or turn a general into a pacifist, or cure a schizophrenic.

Or I might review the interesting theories of the universe. Is it
finite; is it expanding; is it still being created; what maintains the
heat of the stars and how old are they; what is their internal consti-
tution and what forces and energies account for their condition?

But such considerations are ruled out by the limitations of both my
time and my knowledge. I shall therefore approach the future more
as I introduced the past, in terms of some of the problems which face
our society and in whose solution science may be able to assist.

In view of the prodigious strides which science and technology have
made in our century, what remains to be accomplished? From our
own point of view the United States might appear to be at the summit
of its industrial greatness. The young country which, in 1849, was

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 407

sending its first railroads across an undeveloped territory and pouring
eager thousands of its citizens into the frantic California gold rush,
in 1949 has spread across a continent and developed the land from
coast to coast. Its teeming agriculture has reached new heights of
productivity so that we have been able to feed not only ourselves but
much of the war-torn world as well. Our industries thrive, the
majority of our people are well employed at good wages, and the chief
danger seems to be that we may over-extend ourselves and push
prosperity beyond the point of stability. At a glance, this picture
would not seem to leave much for our creative energies.

A closer examination of the facts leaves less room for complacency.
Not only do we have left to solve many problems of our own areas,
but we have facing us also the inescapable fact of one world. Even
if we were disposed to pursue our own destiny, unmindful of the rest
of mankind, we have recognized that it is impossible to do so, and
that our national good is strongly linked to the good of the rest of the
world. This has been the philosophy underlying the Marshall Plan
and of much of our postwar thinking.

One of our principal causes of concern as scientists is the grave
interruption that foreign science suffered by the war, and we are
anxious for its rehabilitation. The destruction of institutions and
implements of learning has been a source of distress to scholars
throughout the ages, and American scientists have viewed with a
sense of personal loss the destruction of libraries, laboratories, and
other important tools of learning as one of the sad byproducts of war.

We should like to see foreign science restored to its prewar vigor,
not only in the interest of fundamental knowledge everywhere, upon
which we and everyone can draw, but also because of the way in
which a healthy body of science can contribute to economic and social
recovery of all nations.

To my way of thinking, it would be a helpful and legitimate thing
if those countries whose programs of scientific research were most
seriously disrupted by the war would see fit to include funds for the
rehabilitation of those programs in their requests for United States
aid under the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948. I
believe that such requests should be sympathetically received, since
sound plans for economic development must rest upon technology
supported by fundamental research. It is not difficult to envisage
the ultimate practical good to be derived from renewed investigation
in such fields as utilization of human resources, food and nutrition,
medical sciences, chemistry, physics, metallurgy, geology, meteor-
ology, hydrology, engineering, and soil mechanics. If only a small
percentage of Marshall-Plan funds were invested in this manner,
there can be no doubt that rich returns of a long-range nature in

866591—50-——27

408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

material matters and in good will could be anticipated, beneficial
alike to the countries concerned and to the United States.

The purposeful employment of science and technology to aid in
economic reconstruction following a period of disaster is no new thing.
Louis XV established the first significant school for civilian education
in engineering as part of a program prudently directed to restoring
French economy from the depression brought on by the extrava-
gances of Louis XIV. In similar fashion, the great Ecole Polytech-
nique was established in Paris in 1795 as part of the government’s
program of scientific and technical education designed to repair the
economic ravages of the French Revolution. For a century, at
least, L’Ecole Polytechnique was the world’s outstanding center of
pure and applied science, and profoundly influenced French social
and economic progress.

In Germany, where the statesmen had a peculiar appreciation for
the practical values of technological education, this type of school
was established in part as a recovery program from the economic
chaos brought on by the Napoleonic Wars, and in part as an aid in
competing with Great Britain in industry and trade. The famous
technical schools in Germany became the very foundation stone of
its industrial progress. Of them Whitehead has said:

. . . the Germans explicitly realised the methods by which the deeper veins
in the mine of science could be reached. They abolished haphazard methods of
scholarship. In their technological schools and universities progress did not have
to wait for the occasional genius or the occasional lucky thought. Their feats of
scholarship during the nineteenth century were the admiration of the world.
This discipline of knowledge applies beyond technology to pure science, and
beyond science to general scholarship. It represents the change from amateurs
to professionals .. .

Closer to our own day, we have the admirable example of the
British, who, following World War I, established the million-pound
research fund for stimulating renewed industrial activity. This
marked the beginning of a great program of scientific research under
private management but with governmental support which, in the
results of fundamental research and creative invention, has been
claimed to exceed that of the United States, at least on a per capita
basis.

It follows, then, that one important task confronting science and
technology today is to assist in rescuing world-wide economy from the
set-back suffered during World War II. This applies not only to the
other war-devastated countries, but also to our own country where
also the war seriously diminished the normal supply rate of new
scientists and engineers and of new scientific discovery into those
stockpiles of trained technologists and new ideas which should be our
most important future asset.

STATE OF SCIENCE—COMPTON 409

It is to be hoped that our leaders of public affairs, in government
and business and the professions, will be no less farsighted than those
statesmen of earlier days. ‘The postwar interest in research shown
by our military departments, the favorable prospects for a national
science foundation, and above all the recently increased liberality of
American industrial firms in support of fundamental research within
and without their organizations, are all encouraging signs.

An aspect of such problems which is in the traditional spirit of
American altruism, but which is also of long-range bearing on our
own welfare, was ably stated by the President in point four of his
inaugural address when he said:

We must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific
advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of
underdeveloped areas.

More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching
misery. ‘Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic
life is primitive and stagnant. ‘Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to
them and to more prosperous areas.

For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and the skill
to relieve the suffering of these people.

Already notable steps along such lines have been undertaken by a
number of industrial companies which have been convinced that their
long-term profitable business in relatively undeveloped areas is
closely linked to the improvement in the living standards of the
populations of these countries, for reasons both economic and political.
Hence we see skillful programs in progress, by such companies as
United Fruit, the oil companies and others, not only to raise wages
but, more importantly, to apply the most modern arts of medicine
and public health, soil utilization, seed selection and agricultural
technique, education and recreation for improving the health, pros-
perity, and morale of the peoples with whom they deal. The more
of this that is done, the better and the safer the world will be.

One of the lessons of history is that the improvement of man’s
physical and environmental well-being does much to contribute to
the elimination of political and social unrest, and that the reverse
promotes revolution. We know also that the constructive applica-
tions of science do improve man’s environmental well-being if the
gains from science are fairly distributed among the people. Hence
we see, in the program advocated by the President, not only a program
of altruism but also of utilizing technology in the interests of political
stability and peace.

This subject will be given expert treatment in one of the panel
discussions tomorrow. So, in fact, will many other goals of our current
technological programs, about which I had originally thought of
speaking. And I can obviously do little justice to much in my few

410 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949

remaining minutes. I would, therefore, simply state my credo and
my conclusions by quoting two paragraphs from my recent Wallberg
Lecture at the University of Toronto:

The people of our countries crave peace and security. They want protection
against the perils of Nature, like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts;
and against man-made perils of transportation, fire, and group violence. Labor
strives for steady employment at higher wages, shorter hours, and more com-
fortable working conditions. They want the quality of goods to go up and prices
to go down. People want better and more adequate housing. ‘Those in business
want larger profits. Governments, in our expanding civilization, need more tax
money. Everybody wants better health. Those who think much beyond the
present envisage ahead what I believe to be the greatest ultimate challenge to
mankind, and that not many generations in the future. It is the problem of
maintaining our growing populations in the face of rapidly depleted natural
resources without descent into a final world epoch of struggle for bare survival.

If we were to take the time to examine into all these needs and desires of men
we would discover two facts. One is that science and engineering have positive
contributions to make to every one of these requirements. The other is even
more striking. I believe that technological progress is the only common denomin-
ator to them all—the only solution which can simultaneously satisfy these state-
ments of human needs. Laws, ideologies, economic theories, ethics, and brotherly
love can provide orderly distribution, reduce waste, and promote good will
among men, but they cannot create the wherewithal to satisfy all the apparently
conflicting demands listed above.

We must be prepared to take each step as it comes in these vast
new fields which are open before us. The fact that all the answers are
not immediately at hand is no reason for pessimism. It is in the
American spirit of things to want to accomplish everything overnight,
and in view of past triumphs of technology perhaps we may be for-
given for being sanguine of success in this venture. In the long run,
it is not likely that our confidence will be disappointed.

In any event, today, as in every other time, the scientist still stands
on the threshold of the unknown. Perhaps that is his greatest joy—
what Huxley more than a half century ago called “the supreme delight
of extending the realm of law and order even farther towards the
unattainable goals of the infinitely great and the infinitely small,
between which our little race of life is run.”

A
Page
Mp bote@hantessG stat c= seme Ain ia ys nee soe here eR eS ATI Ae xe ae
ALO DOL GAN ECU CK CTA #5 ox tere aS Dae Boma tihy cy a) aan oy ee he Ss SNS Ee
ENC CESSIONS ses Aare & aa A es a oe ee 17, 27, 42, 47, 87, 98, 122, 132
Hihmology> Is ureato fi AmMerica nner. ee ee ee ee eee 87
BreensGalleryrolArt 2 soe eee pera ee ee Oeier ere 47
ilprany eee n= he een Sasori k & Sates BA ete Seo SSS a ee 132
NationaleAirs iuscum=—eeee see wee ae aa ees eee Pe 122
Nationale C@olle ction fe time Atr (cee eee ee eee ee eee 42
iNanonalkGallerviolsArtx sess =2* san ee Ieee ae ean arene vee ee 27
Nea tonale\Guseuineee ssa Scie ss noe wr eae et SA ae Sek 2 eee 16
iNationaleZoolosicalabarks= == ssn 56 sa= sone snes eae AS eee 98
NCE NGA eee he oe iene ee ae eI AORN Ram HS IIA. Soe eee viii, 52
Adams, Chere ley Cs meee Bo at oe ne crete west Sle ot en de ea eee E 128
Administrative accountant of the Institution (ihomasy he Clark)a ses. == v
Administrative assistant to the Secretary (Louise M. Pearson) -_-_------ Vv
MDCT ULE OUCE Eta a= ann eke SaaS! ReS sees ree hes eee ee eee 127
Aldrich, Loyal B., Director, Astrophysical Observatory--...-..-------- ix, 113
PAU eTIMey Aur t hii Tet Ngeees See ewe Bee A epee Beka DE se HS th Seen sito Beye oy = 129
A Grit VWallliania pee me seers ee eee tfc ie 2 BL ewe ee eats vii, 23
Amencan Mistoriesl Association, Reportss. 62-22-2022 222 oo] eee 141
Anderson, Car] D. (The elementary particles of physics) _--_------------ 203
Anderson», Clinton=—P—(regent of the Institution) 2222522242222 2-2 2 222 v, 6
Animal behavi ior) Morevabout (Emest PS Walker)= 3292225322" " 2-2-2 261
Antaretie research expedition, Ronne, 1946-1948 (Commander Finn
ENO TIIAC) eee ea ae Sere a ey te ee ob aree 100s heer SA yn es 369
OPLOME A IOUSE Nae Aeon nes ae ete ee 7, 26, 59, 107, 131, 142, 148
CanalyZoneBiolociesloAred 222 92282. S52 22 SS sre sees eae 131
Iishitubkeromoocial Anthropology te a. oa one a ee ee ene eee a 59
INE OnaAlmGallenycOmAnr Gee = eee en oe ea oe eee ees 26
NationalZoolosicalebarika sania 92s As Nee oe eee es eee eee 107
TEVETUSW BA AYER (eipaeG | OVUGKG Ley ade ete et pn ted lp ly eM et ek pe 142
River Basin SURVEYSe erat cee thon Stes een Reh ee eee 59
STAM Se TAT 1 Te ae lar ne Ne ers wy hr oS er A Se eS a 7, 148
Arab rmanenineri Cane Corfe een ee eee se ee ee ee 22
Anchicvimstitute OLoNOrth Americas. 2a Sess oe ee eee Tere 23
PAC COWS Kal ered @niiay, Kwan 6 eae See Say See es RR ee ee 111
Srinser Ohimpelsaylonrks ose wie hae ee on ee Oe SE ee nee os 41
Ani Murleckure torxteenth: = occa eee es see no a een eee eee 8
Assistant Secretary of the Institution (John E. Graf)__-__--------- Wi On 4d ae
Assistant Secretary of the Institution (J. L. Keddy) _------------------
INSETO Diy sical’ OOSCEVALOLY oe oes ae ee eee eee a seca cs ee rg, 1c}; 109
Astrophysical Research, Division Off. =) o> 5922 s2s—n=—seeo == ix, 109
Radiation(and Organisms, Division Of- 229-2222 os 22 =. = bey 1}, Wi
4 BSCS) 00 cr ge ae a in a ot aa ag Sg eg ln th ee ee Seat 109
SIR Gi Sh So OD, a Ree Sieae ek ncaa (hela Mic ge Ae emesis Se ee oe AO a ix
INECHISOM OSC DN OAT ae Se ene ae aan ee e ee ee eaeia aeeoe ae 119
Attorney General of the United States (Tom C. Clark, member of the
MS GUC WETOM oe ae ae ene eee ee oe pete ote ere oat es Vv
ANISH OV ee ce cee ee a ee Sr eats eee aa ie ore 79
Australia-National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition. 21
ING CTV BeAr ea eee ere 2 een ee sie one es eee vii
Acyl SAGTIAG GN pect eee mee eee a et ete ee nes eee vi
B
ASA Cl wams GOnG OU tps ese 2 a el ae ee DS ee ee ae 75
Barbeaul ©, Mess.s02 = BPs tt ey ee Be eet ee 57

412 INDEX

Page
Barkley, Alben W., Vice President of the United States (member of the
ln SiG Uti On) Me ee os oe ee eee ieee oes ee eee ee ee ee eee v, 4, 6, 20
IS ATES diy che 2 eps regen vk EL EAS i oes Be Rr a cl vi
IBA TESOL OR meets As LM bie en eg ges Mer ee de ee Se vi
Bassler: shai s ca seh ria eae Ree AUR aes AN eo Oe ee ee vii
Bauxars JA JOSep hick = tee TS Se a en a ies es ae | ce 74
Bavier shred erick lees 20 eee ers et od i eee en a gc eer ara vi
BY GFEN GS alpsei eyStS EA eat ae nl Aa i oe a apres eae ea IMS EG De Metin ns 14 aA ad ahd hse vii
Beal Git ond el. See ere ts te A gee AE a tS ene es ee 41
Beaulac: Willardiiaed Sos. ey. Se Bee ee La ee ee 60
Beers, Stephen tue. 2225 Sas bere SOE. hapa ape ces Sa 5 pee a ee a ix, 121) 122
Beggs, Thomas M., Director, National Collection of Fine Arts_.__-__--- ah
41,
Belin, Ferdinand Lammot, Vice President, National Gallery of Art §'viii, 25, 26
Bell aRiobenty tess Sar, ees Ss ey nee Ne ge AOE ee tale eee e ee 63, 80, 81
1 XSI Ohi s pa Dg el egies ae ag Sle eRe eae aimee A Nira wae S Beye! reas ewes oe © Wie Pye ees vii
dB Yon al oie [ts] Ree aes perenne hy tie eee ne ery eT AY eS Sorts el Ee ere vii
BembtmeAM Ginn Coe eee oe es te ere eee ek, pe ee vi
STAC Ewell Creel eee is teres ee ate eas Nee Re eee ye oe ea er ee vi
BlakersVini@s ted 26 a lis? Ce Se Se ce ae: eye eee ae vi
Bliss Robert AWO0dSH = be sen sok ho eee ee ee ee ee 7,41
IBIS ESAS UC aot es Bes sg aa ee a a ee 74, 75
HEY GY 0} OVS) pal ©)2 0) reac See | ae amp tT ee RE OR on eg es ree ere NP J ve Se § 120
BOSS WING renin bra eT Se eee fe rcs ee ee Os ee ee ea ee vii
BB Givin oe WAS EGE Uae OEE ee Se Ee i TNR ch a I alee vi
IBOWO Meee GI CTs see eee ae el Rage pe YR Sareea et ea 102
IBOWSlTer., WAe Mie een og ae es ke eget eee el cha a A See es et 23
Brannon, Charles F., Secretary of Agriculture (member of the Institution) - Vv
| BD eh ine) ie © pk ial cena AREA ine peel ayia a Se Ee eC EUR AS ek RN oS ks 75
STO wira Ae Va eS ee Se ee Ge eee ee ee a ge eee Be oe vil
TOs Wikeedins see eee cat re, See tet lee eee Sy Nt oy eS vi
Buchanan plies ee eee rae Se eee 8 reset Ae noms ied Vpted BFS) Tea aS BT vi
lekoial, \yiallbeyan Wife ee ee ae SNE ene A” RERUN IOT SS RENE |b ermine ee! 70
BEES Tags Ear Lo TG Ui as sas ct a yc kl 67
Bush, Vannevar i(tegent) of thedlnstitution)2 2 = == = 2-2 en ee v, 6, 149
1 BSAA PR i wa Sele eh Rr eg mleeieyac ey le reagan NIN * See, ele me ge Py nie OW A vi
C
(CEH Gaels tape pete terreno in pean name 6 A npeign te A Lae sen Pe + Ayes bes vi
Cairns, Huntington, Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel, National
CallenvzotpArte tare chs Sone a ore oo Ee eae viii, 25, 34, 40
alice Ose 1 lS ae see ee ra ye a 63, 64, 81
Canale Zone B1ologi call Ate seems ey ee eee ix, 14, 126
ISGalare ports fe seme el ere es eo ee ee ee 131
JIMpPLOVEMentsuNAd ey c= 2 te eee a re ee See eee 126
Nigrewurgent NC6dS soe een ee ee 129
Raintalistablessewee eee ea Ie OT re ee eee 130
R4(S) oY 0) ol ray ge en ag anagem eek eetiete Pome ete Te ee ony rt eh eyes Poles x indie ae 126
SIGISINAGES Aware WoSie Gi HOChese esas en Se ee oe See eee eee 126
Cannon? (Clarence (regentror the Institution )o-- 25-2222 ee v, 6, 149
@sreys Charles ere ee Re Sia te et ees oe oe ee vii, 24
@anrilcers Vie scl Miri a tae re eee Fe ee ee eee 22
Cartwrcht Ona ses Sean ss meee ee ee eke keno ee eee vi
Canwithen.By i personneltoticen== "9 eee ee ee eee v
Casse diy fe clive sae a ete ee Tas ee ee ee ee ae viii
Chace he Ae aT re es Aa ee ee ce Ray ee ee ee vi
Ghamperiohmelisraes ss ota cece ee ee ae eee eee pn ner 85
Chancellor of the Institution (Fred M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United
FSET eso) i eccne ee ape rte eerie igo Se agiee Meee yan ee Se ar a ed oe v, 4, 7, 20
hve pind war ee ee eee eee ne tee ee eee eee vi
Chase vAgnageh + ss She = se Me ar ee Fane Se Se ren Se ae vii
Chief Justice of the United States (Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor of the
AVery G16 Gn 61.0 ra) see ee ee v, viii, 4, 7, 20, 25
W@oriste serve etree Oe a ste a 36
@lark vAustingbl. 5.05355. e = le ae ores vi
Clark, Leila KF, brarian.of the Institution. 22. -2-2=2-522-222 ee v, 135

@larkaR Sete otek oe ile eo eye Ie gle ie tee erg een eee ee vi

INDEX 413

Page
Clark, Thomas F., administrative accountant of the Institution________-
Clark, Tom C., Attorney General of the United States (member of the Bn-
SUILUtION) eS os eer = ee ee See S See ale Soe ee wie es ee ve Vv
Clarke a Walter oe etn A eee ee edt SERED A Meare et See 14, 127
@ lair Ked G ila re eI) ene ae ey re oe eS ee ee Fee SE 41
CoalenG correwlhs = saa 4 SLB aks 518 soe ae see ae ee Dae ae ee Fe 69, 70
CochransD oriswMp essa see e ee eens eee ee lel Ee dE vi
Collins Henry Dear ta i OI ee ee nod ee viii, 11, 56, 37
Collins ei lOy Git s=5 94 54-5 29-2 esac aa eh ee bee a ne ve ee Be ER 70
Commerford, L. E., chief, division of publications_--—-----..----------- Vv
Compton Arthurshen(recentiofathemnstitution aa 2 sess] senna v, 6
Compton Karine @hhestate ols cience) masa eee ee ee 395
Cone era lt S a ae ea cg re A hee op fo rt eh a aa ee he vii, 23
Coopers Gustav Ao oS) epee yo eke RE Se Oe eS eee Vil, 2a, oc
Coopereaul licen. eas ase eee TRE eee ea ee ae ee UP, 73, Uy, CU.
Crore 155 18, GReygainie OH Wag line MAUI RON) ee v, 6
Craigias IR aad(oy aio a ee eel ae ee eee See es een eS 60, 61
(Carey eine, Aiice 1D Ses Sea Re Spc neo, Nes es te ee ee ee ee ee ee ee vii
Crmixent wi OsG ete on ee ee tee ne eee ae ea ae eee eee 59
Cunning who Derby si.) Gs ee eae naa ee we eae ee eee eee ae 75
Curator, National Air Museum (Paul E. Garber)__________- IN NAO, UA, ee
Cushman, 1R(0}] 0 Sf et rik peek wee lle oh mre sere repel ance vane Ae nal pe fet et pee Eee
D
TB eK, (Cae Sa piesa kx eth pce i Pag RUN et ects I PF SURRR yg A t Vili, 25, 26
DauchertyppicwandeD) = "ae Seas shee oe to Be See see eee eee 69, 70
Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society of, Report- - --- 141
Davis: ‘Harvey, N. (egentrof the Institution)i22-_—..---2 = --2-2----=--5 v, 6
TOES ich Jeg lB) ete eae a apn a che oer eee ee aN can ee A 118
Deron Gaye oe ae See 2 ee ee enn Se er See 5 See eee Vino
Densmore, IRIE TCC Gere een es ee a ye Soe ea Viii, 58, 88
Director of the National Museum (CA@RemimeatoneWellogg) maaan vi, 24
Donaldson, Jesse M., Postmaster General of the United States (member
of the Institution) _ nS a Se Ge eR eE mee e RD espe e Aa DC RMP SL AS Vv
DON ONO MO lie © Meet see ee este es ea Ne SS ee ee ee he ee eee 79
Dri CKkerae i nilifp ees eee tee ee ee ee re ee ee See ee viii, 67, 68,69
Die eho ee ss" =e kea ees Se eee ee Sheet eas ec see es cal
Ay Talc] Ce) Me ieeete oe mee ee ten ee ee ee a Pe ae ek Se eee vii, 23
Cu CKG GOMEZ ih isha ere eae as Es Se a Se ES Se
E
Partie helompin on ae. hnorntony hace) 2 2222524 2- 40222 2 See eee 161
iastmanss Donal di 225 S87 2 See Se ea ep aaah ere ek reals 65
dgellit George ries ssh Bie eo Ske a ee ee Al
Haditonialadivasiony © hietr@Webster im lGUe) asa a ee v, 142
Beversvangehigeiis.. 52 us aoe heen oe = eee 38
iscnim ann wc oeCn Ces =o es a ee eee Sse ee ee eee 128
Elder, R. A. Jr. Be reser, Uae ee os ole es bes eo he Lae oe eee vi
Elementary ‘particles of physies) Lhes(C@arleD. Anderson) =- 225545222 203
Poise Viaxn Mie a enact Sha Bea” ee ue oe So ee es eee vi
Elstad, NES BS er aoe a aN as ee Nl. ye aa Oh NS RH yn yy EM ee 5 2 ix
Gn siMeers eC OLDS Olen sae set es ten ee ae ne es Nees Sy a ee 61, 62
ramen onaldiSins2s8 2. we ota See eee 4 eS ae ee oe ee vi; 22
Mstablishiment se hhest. 22s) eee. eee a 2 Oe Coe eee 5
Hthnology., bureausof-Americans=225282=— 952 s=a25s 5552 >seenen ee viii, 11, 55
PNUO OU cist eee ey Sen eS ee es ee nee ae Se ee Ae a ee 87
Collectionsss392 2 = aa eee ee ae ae ee ee ee a ee eee 87
Hditonalaworkeandenublications a= eee 12, 86, 141
ihustrationsa: 36 2oae 2222-7 ee eee ee Eee ee eee 86
Institutesot,cocialsAnthropologye = 322242 e225 2222 ee ee 12, 58
ibratyeeeae se See es ee ee ee ee eee Le eee eS 86
Miscellanecousse2- 2222 eure tee oes a ee Ola See ee ee 88
Reporte he See nest He eee Ce ee kee Sees ee eee oe eeaee 55
Rivers basinv Surveys os 26 2 ese eee ee eee | aaa. eee 11, 61
Special-researches!../ See = 323 Sac Seah ee es ae Re ee See 58
Stati. 5. See ee ck Oe ea te viii

414 INDEX

Page
Bttinghausen; Richard... 2253222525 2.55 2 ee ease eee See S viii, 52, 53
Bvans, JGR W222 2a ecm ae en gt Bao ars has apg be: Rens 110
Biwers® Jie C2 ae ie ee pclae ere tat rte a vi
Executive Committee of the Board of Regents___.--_-_._------------- v, 149
Membersec22 = seu eat euieew ce ee cee ee eee oe kee es 2 SS ce ee v, 149
1 =) O10) Pe ee ee ees 143
GANT OTOU © OTL ER GL ODS cet es ney ee 148
aNCSTS{ Ol i ee ee eee Oe ee ee ee ee eee ce eee 147
Y\0T0 bl Renee ane ene eS ee ei rar nee aS 148
Cash balances, receipts, and disbursements during fiscal year 1949_ 146
Classificationvof investments =a. = aa ee ee 145
HreerGallerycorArt fundistet 222 spe as a ee ee 145
GBS cos ee ae ee a etn rade a | 148
MATE MSOMLATAMEIAG Oyyy TUNE Math ULL eee ed 143
SUMMary: OMmendowMents so = ee a 145
Unexpended funds and endowments.___------------==-------- 147
F

Haine hile Davida see ce ae ee eae eee er ace e re eee eee vii
Bie rh GO Tt Val tsa rene NY een ere cae een ee eee eee Vill, 12, 57, 58
client Se ee a8 ee ee Se ee ee ee ee vi
1 EILANG 1 YG1 21S) el lee ec ste lh aye pear emia each 2 eel ey 7, 144
PASTS OPO ELV ET OTS ee ae ee age ee pe eee ere ee U
inimiayaon, Tolan AL, ayevel 1eenel Mls = ee ee ee eee se soeaee 50
Finley, David E., Director, National Gallery of Art___.___--_- viii, 7, 25, 26, 41
RISE T: VV EE Seete cet, Stes mt St Sa ee nn ae eee ats pa ee eee vi
GET e CS °] ap cd fll mts arose nme n Oape e ren an a o p aps Nyel npa d Bos vii
Kleming, Robert’ V. (regent of the Institution) —_ 2-3. --- 25-25 ee v, 6, 149
ontaine SV USselI oes? * Soe Ae ee ee eee Senate eee 127
1 ENOp esByra KS Ah, 9 Meet i pate Ng gt A RC pro RN WRN DUT CS I SEES ey 109
TDCI] ci chp, le {es aie eae a RC My aR ey, Se AT she Na ye aoe EY vii
Foster, G. M., Jr., Director, Institute of Social Anthropology--_---- viii, 12, 59
henalids) ise (Olbnygirs = = = see Se Se: sh rere oe ne AP” OMS BE Ro 4
TAS STS UD) OLO UU ge te we ye tees eee ee ae toe a ae ee 79
HredericksonwD avidehs == eae er te Sas eos ae ee Oe eee eee 64
Hreery Gralll ery: Ot AiG manerg eee re ee ene ee ees viii, 11, 47
PATE GO TA GL ERIN CE epee eae eee re aa ee ee ee ee 150
Chanvestiny exhibitions. ses 2 one en = Se ee ee 50
CWOleChionseeeres Base ss ee a estes ee oe ele eae ae ee a 47
Docent SeLvVICeand Ober sta hee bLvbL eS pee eet 51
FLOM Ona VRCUIGTCS otter ney trea a ee a ee 54
1ST ray ae mers ee, 2a A OR TE I ae ee ek ee ae 50
Publications =e. See 8 oe 3, eee. Se ey eter 7 gh Shey ees 50, 141
Repairs toune;collections 22m s.. oe ee eee eee 49
REDOrE Maes FARR A Se ee ee ee ee 47
Reproductionss!et= 253 osa5a5 [oe SUS eee eda See 50
SpEeclalvisitOrssae 2 S552 en See eee eee ee eee 51
ASIST: dpe enh mcs ee See Ae opel Seed enemy Aye DONG OE EE viii
Briedimann wien bernie esi ten en yen es ee oe fe ay vi

(The breeding habits of the weaverbirds: a study in the biology of
behavior patterns) ance ee ee ae ee ee ee ee 293

G

Crs oss cam ee ahs Dn ee ee. en eae. eS ixey A,
Gardner: Maj) Gen. Grandisom. 3.2.2.2 224.5 525. -6o= 5 oe ee ee rbsey, JENS
Gardnenees Vee: oo ee oe Sey oe ee 8 se eee eel A ee eee aye ee vili, 45
Gazi Mid eB eS Sh a) ta ieee heed Se eee vii, 23
Gazin, srchisabetily hast. ee pe eh Os he Ae eee vi
Gellatiyecollection~2——< =< 25-228 see en Se Bee es Eee u
George, Walter) (regent, of the Institution)—— 22 == 2.22 ae v, 6
Glance: (Grace who. 25 22 ao we ee ee oe eel ee ee oe ee ee ee vi
Goodrichsilloy dace. Vaio aie 2 ee ee eee 41
Graf, John E., Assistant Secretary of the Institution___--_------- v, 6, 41, 129
(Greer yore DS Oe sais ee a ape eee eer eee Ase o vi
Greene aC@harlés Te. 2.88222 ee Se ee oe ee ne ae vi
Ground-water investigations in the United States (A. N. Sayre) --------- 219
Guatemala, The archeological importance of (A. V. Kidder) ____-_-------- 349

Guest, Grace Dunham. - o-oo 22 ee ee koe 2 eee viii

H
Page
HigleoMiar- Genk sWillish) a 92ers Bape oo oe eS ee 55
Hale telescope, The 200-inch, and some problems it may solve (Edwin
1 (RUT 09 5) (23) eee ae at CO ne ln ee, Ee Pee ene er ene ee ee, 175
HET TI BEVO Derby ees ee a ae Soe eA ae) eS eat ey ee 79
Han dley2Charlesi@s ihre 52 ypc pee elo 8 gel (EL pees i Bs Ee 22
aT rine DOme ys) Olah 21 sa ae se 9 Nemes i eee viii, 11, 56
LE (Vert hag] Res al Gade ee A ee ee AN cee Ns Re ete Pyle ON a fe al le 8
TE (Sia Stolt Ao 2 eee A en Rn aye Ae een nee aml mee ere Fa te gt a ix
Elar manera mike At = mee = pwr lant aa eae arene Pot ols A Hekate Aes Ee ee D7
LE [SrA Sip) B90) OTs) a al in ee ee nt eee i ene ei eg See ee ee 69
ElendersOn eer ttt he we See eek es A oN Ee oe ee vii
SiS eal Ores nat cal Dias eae eleaien S clae Oe ee ye SR Re SON ON ee Ee ee Be ape be vii
LE pts Gc) a6 ota Wik s/s eee ge RO pe a Se ee eee eee: 85
TEL GIIG ine gl Ol Deas eR ana Cee ee tee Ce Se eee vii
SE LoU Ke Yes Sand 2 Fiet5] 0) ea a a Pd a ee ee Sees, 85
elo lim berg Alba me tree ta Sete ey toe ee et ee Ee Oe re 60
ETO OVER, Walia tiny ids: soccer oe eat Pe eae eae Se ix, 110
ROUSE kare Ghigo yLOTI Woe a oe tet oh Ce ry eee oh ce vey et 67
ESTO UGE yyste nA ete ae a eg ac enc ee gt ct a ah ear 82
Howard: J.-D). treasurer of the Insmtutione 22292522522 5-2 4 see Vv
LOW aicleg lO) ate ome eRe Pena ern Se a heey ad eee ns IS Se vi
IS LON ell LOR BY VALS) pe ee en ee een ee Tas ee eee vi
Hubble, Edwin (The 200-inch Hale telescope and some problems it may
SO live) ae ee eee ec ee La er ey oe I ce ya Se 175
iaohestaclk vise nt ote Se ha ee eye oe 2 a Phy Le CRUD
eure wel ae E sinks Wars ees oar eo ek ae a a en Se eh th Acre RS 128
Elunsaker, Jerome ©, (regent of the Institution) _--.-..----=--=-s=s=24- v, 6
Els a © Millian ews eae Ne Se Clr es ee tas oe os BS pees 66
I
TEU care? 221 Dias eel SE neh i ee Re A Oe ee ae ee Seems ee. Se oes vi
BEsraal easyer eh pn Ven ee ae 2 ee yee oe Pen ane hth eee BAS 23
Imstiimberom SOclaIvAnthrOpoOlopye. 2-42 == 5 22 a eee eee viii, 12, 58
International Bxchange Services. 2. 9-2. ja. ee viii, 12, 89
Foreign depositories of governmental documents___..-------------- 90
Horerpnuexchange agenciess. =. 2o5 2252 a seco en So ea 95
Interparliamentary exchange of the official journal_____------------ 93
Rackaces received and sente se eau as fossa es ee eae ease 89
RE DORt a: oe 2 tk ana Reet a Re 8D) sane Vv nS SSeS ee 89
SCOPE N Ge ile e steers eee as Me on FE Sa ahd Ge = one A eye meee 79
J
James, Macgill, Assistant Director, National Gallery of Art------------ viii, 25
VellisoneeWianite == awe See se ee we en ne oa sae vi
RFK Tas Coma ag) aa yri lia Leer pets IE PL ETERNAL P S eae So tee vi, 21
Babnconmeliredenickwoate<- (ie 2 ewe het week eer eee ee eS See 75
Johnson, Louis, Secretary of Defense (member of the Institution) - ~~ ----- Vv
rice Nelle ie eee ee 2k ees ee Se ee a Se oe ee vi
K
TROY OYE 0) Jae pel tle GR CN ys Se SAA ep RR Re Ie el Ue i RE vii
KG ya eelcOyee ee Seer een tee Ser es etic Rae oe ee ee ee 79
Keddy: J. is ‘Assistant Secretary of the Institution. 5222_--==-=-2==---- Vv
Kellogg, A. Remington, Director of the National Museum-_------------- vi, 24
Kelloge ‘Charles ES (Modern soil science) 2225_ 2252 52 See 27 Sees 227
TRCTIIOared Bt 0h ape eg el SN EN eae REE Se eC 129
Gell n eI Sae le See eee eth ee 2 erm ar Semen as aug ch en 60
Ge Pel A VAG eer ts ae ee ne ee Wee ais een ae ee 2s eee 35
iestner sabe photographer - eae se Soe eee eo es Meee sere = ee Vv
econ uri Vural bs ee ne Oona ee see Sey ok a Ree eee yan eee ae vili
Keyes Cc harlesmiy- tse tee ec ee ae ae ne mn a a en te See Sem 71
Kidder, A. V. (The archeological importance of Guatemala) _---_-------- 349
RG ip tee eee eee Pe fee te es Ae ee leas Be ee ye vii, 22, 128
5 ERLE AUN Ceca Oe) CI sg eh, a oA IRN PE NE ERNE TSE Ry ES 72, (6, (7

Rerigiit ee Brookes: = ines re ns ke ME aR SL ee eee eho vii

416 INDEX

Page
Kowal Jose phim ba ases = 1 sen ae ele ee SE ae ee ee 127
Kram i 6 Adv re Wy svat oe Sea ee ae gt ee ly in ee I ix
Kress, Samuel H., President, National Gallery of Art____---------- viii, 25, 26
iMriegen gH Wists Se Lee en ot eee a ee ee ee ye eee ee eee vi
ikroeberpAvis cavee=ceewecenheccoen es se hok esha hele sees Se Ree em 58
Krug, Julius A., Secretary of the Interior (member of the Institution) ---- Vv
Kubler (Georses soe Sky se So Soe ea ee eee ee eee 60
Kemi e Var] Orie sea eae ete ae ed a ee ee ix
1a ee O10) al Die: 0) Pee eee ee eee Le nee ee Se Se 120
L
Wtehner wiley ke == seen ae eae Saas = ee mn or meee ote ee ee vi
La Colombiére, Excavations at the prehistoric rock-shelter of (Hallam L.
Movius, Jr.). aA a eRe Snes Se one ee Ree ee oe Sac sal oes eee 359
Landry, (CGN EY Sel oe DE ee ema ORT SLC ea 4
HANG AMC Wane ene a Ae eee La ae ee eee eS See SS eee eee 35
Wane] Os yAte Cire =a ame ts aren = on wk SAS Rs > eS Se ee eA 129
MeamleyeaWi bit Heme tee aaa e eet tenn fe Se oy eer ee ee eee 2S eee vi
Weonard hia Cas «enemas oa: Se senate see RRC eS Pe wees vii
Lewton, PHL acprk dwac we eien de ane ane eh oae aa tha ee 5y cre Ne gee vii
Librarian of the Institution (lellask=Clark) es 2 es eee eee v, 135
ibracy aes neme ek kes ee oe ae ee eh a ee Seer 15, 36, 45, 50, 86, 132
Bureau) of American @ithnolory -----~— 952-2252 alu. 5 Se ee eee 86
BreeriGalleryaor Aarts. occwas s Seah AL. Sete. Oy i Se ee 50
National Collection-of FinevArtse: 2 ==> s-<2s2-5=2522"=5s=2=e ase ee 45
Wational Gallery of-Art;9 222 225= 2=* sie 568 ane SS eee 36
FRC On tia a2 ais iL Mosinee leet Spe agile A en ee ee eee eee eee 132
Smithsonian tes & atte ee te ETA ee A er eee ee See eee 15, 132
iin keAma aes a alse 2 ste A eae ee en ee eee eee viii
AS baphtee pee eee Ane 8 ht See oe ye IN Re oe ee eee 109
hlamoy George Avot ou Seg h ae aE ks Ce eee eee vii, 23
iihoeblich-rAGMto JT 232 22 nes {oS aainin mPa So lter ae iw bee ke SOS Se vii, 23, 82
ihocning* Grover.) .-2s & = seen sod se eh eek ee ees eee ee eee ee EE ee ix, 120
Longnecker, BST aN Vie te a a sty 2 oo ed vie = Nee ee 128
Lowe, Frank O., Head Keeper, National Zoological Park__.----------- ix
Lundelius, Ernest gc irr aa ALSO G AY Ale SRE EE Oe. So) a ee 79
Prindell CC slit — ae eee eee KE Sk oe ok ek ee ee ee Se 23
iran y i Wiss Hieyy 2 se 2 a IU DRO LY SS ee ee no ee eee 129
M
INGA WASNT A Sia! S228" ao Benes 2S Te soli eco oe eee eneere aaa ix
Mann, William N., Director, National Zoological Park___.--------- vi, ix, 108
Manning, CR ESS Rae ee ea ees ee ee ee eee vii
IManshipwrPaul: <2. 24 3 eee ee oe eee ee 7,41
JW We) 6) Pec fee] Bae PR a SI ees SS ee ee a ee ee eon Sona vil
Marshall, George C., Secretary of State (member of the Institution) - - ~~ - V, Vili
Marshall, Wire ene feria Ge as vi
Martin, Grit eee sn eens ie aoe eee ee ee Vili
Mayer-Oakes, Walliams! 20 ein ies nee fA oe SA ee ee 80
McBride, Harry A., Administrator, National Gallery of Art_--.-------- viii, 25
McClure, 1 UR eae ie a el Oe ae. 2 neat ad er AE See i Vii, 23
McConnell, SST Uh Rs ap ee eS een ee en ke eg ny 6
IMeGresor*J chin @sscoseccere eae aeos tae ee eee eee (el
MeiKenzie Gordon PO S22 2eesecned 1 ac lat eee Se eee eR ES eee 79
McQOuiren.* Mr222 20 cercon 3 lL Se Soe Oe ee ee ee 79
Mielion™ Paulie a) 2522 20. ire te. Sy ae bee ee Deo eee ae ee ees Vili, 25, ep
Membersiof the Institutiona222 2242 ee oe ee eee
Menzel) 0 r2< tts 20.20 as sets 2 ee nee ARS SS te Ee eee ee 110
Metcalf (Georve: =. 625.4 -2r coe sata eee: PE Ee Ree ee ee ee (2,40
Willer Caner 2hecs224424 2208s ent ae ae se ee ee ee eee 63
Miller *Gerrit(S = drecrcn et eeeetctreet ea case ee eee eee vi
Miller Mass Gene iuther Di teee2ee wees Sete een eee ote sete el eee eee us
Miller sN; -Miei<4% 22244250 05 actrees ot aae eee ee Se See eee vi
Miller. “Robertititesi8 ius ve SU Ae Fe eer as Oe See eee ae 21
NhitchellMS Ack: tus oes Uae bin doe eee ee ook es dee ee eee eee 9

————_

INDEX 417

Page
LOT G OS AA Chg tel en. ee ee ee ae eee os eee ix, 125
IVI HA AUG eG ca te peaks cee 9 cath Neenah res eG OR Ae eA praeck aA IR Re 64
ING Genie s SELENE sees he at cet Rea ne Ns De pea Le een 128
Migiden keg Mirgs ore Net sere rane ere ee Ot ah eR mala 128
Mion ante blizalbeth epee © ote ot nye tales edna Eee ha 1c Une ait Aen ation Sovo4vco
1 oroy ene [1 622) och cs ee ee PO ee ee ee eee AON me Pee esac ated © 2/0 vi
IMomrisom sy) OSep leks Bp Sie ak es ere re a UE aes i ee ke ee vi
ISU ove wey oecl CaN eG 5 Zit Sle a So cea et ree ee ee Ae eee REE Ee OI SS eT? ¢ vii
Jp OSV GXSs ANTS isl. [2 A A Se ae rel yee eee ee Meee ee ee vii
INOS Sere OL Vir AE peg ee ape eagle Le ag pe ig eg 128
IN (OREN A ONeS Ek Ol ov ha tek) bee ee a a Ss eae ene ee 21
Movius, Hallam L., Jr. (Excavations at the prehistoric rock-shelter of La
Coloma ere ye eres Ree Ee es Ny a Fe ET Sn eM al gi 359
IVI aay Atel eee pe dcen Sea Spe aan pe rte ter al SIE ey sda a Bere patel ae vii, 23
MyersCatherine,. Walden. funds 2200 oo he Se 2a eh po petted ted 10
MiversGeorgetnewitts= 1 22 ee ton a segan ee ee ee ee ee ee 41
N
NiationaleAin Marse tin.) eyt ios 28 See ia ee ae 2 eS ix, 13, 114
IAIC CESSTOINS Mert Sia rae ee tS oe ee kee er ee 122
Acivisony board so6 22" see oe tes see ee ee es See aa ix, 115
Gurston alvactiviticse ss cee ere ee a rere ee eee Leen eure iy renee 117
Jibs gtl] OF BO oT ken pet ie een ae eee ee po en Rel arpa ee ee a Meme = eh pay LBL NZ
Inform atlonsaSenviCes ea yee ee a ae ee eae Be es 120
Museumrsiterand bulldinge= === 2255.0 hoe eS ee 116
NEA a ou Naa ES eR Ce Nice eae Sane eae Ae ep Neo aes me PET our ELL a 116
VESEY CY ONE a ete eee ee dO a ae ote a AE 114
PS IEEEN gee Ses 2 es rpg mts SR Sop I ne sas mao eee meer Ue Send Ly de Nee oy BES 1X
Storage eceean = te kee sent ee eee ae eS Nee tia SEG
SURVeV eee eee ee ee on ayan os eee a eal ee th See 121
National: Collectionmot Mine wArtsi = 2 oes). eee eae easy vile LOD Ast
DEepositsG- see LU SS eee Se Se eee eet eee iter ty ive ye ae 42
Imtormationsenvi Cems = a eee ea eee ee eae 45
Ibilonary Ane ote nate Ras Oe Rone ee oe ee ee re es ee 45
MEOH NHAC CE LCC eee eee eee ee pe Pes ee oe 43
oans;vorothers museums andloreaniza tions mse eee 43
Mier a@atherines Waldens fund]*2 5222) 2. = Jel Ao = eae eee ae eee 42
IBReSCLVa lO nets Bete ee er ees eee ee ee AS eee ee ee 45
Rangeriblenrya Ward tung sss. fen sen es eee eee eee 44
BERT Oe eee ee ei era rly Un (OPIN as SNL, pp 41
SUM MS OMA ATS © OATS STO 1 eee eee ee 41
Specialvexhibitionsesea2 sane ae= sees oe eee s eee Ps eee 46
SU Fame Benet i he RR me MRD ee a ree ae ERR A CF AY a ce 2 VN © aN viii
Wathdrawals iby Ownerss4 2a" 98 eens. St Soe Sor See et Bee 43
NationalaGallenyaofeATt= ao ssa ose == se See ee ee vill, 10; 25
INCCESSIONS eee ae Ree rn ee ae ee SS ee ere oan eee 27
IAC QUMISIETONS re OMIT t; Gee meen ey eres ee ye ee eee ne 26
JN OYOL AO) OV IEE AUON OVS oe a ss ABS ree hg uae Seger 26
INTHE TOYO U2 NOW cle Yo) ceo win et sprees oe papal ee tobe Rela Stier See el See TS TNL? i 10, 27
Audit o1 private tunds.of the: Gallery=.22 222-022 s8e oes =e 40
@arevandimaintenancerorst ier touil cit pee eee 39
(Climmmnnninies O? Gosia GxnnNinenes Ee seed eee esen 39
Gua tonial ea cc ivaGles sete eee ace ea tered eee Rn anyday een ea eee 33
I DfohoKee atop ae yl fob oved tons Ae eee ee es ee ee 36
Exchangesvol wOrks,O1artes so6 5 = eee sea see ea eee eee eee ce 28
HXecubiviercoMmmitteel= == == a Uae aes ee een eee ee ee 25
TEST Nada T ETE © 1S ps eae eee lt oe a meg eek ee ce ep 31
Hin anNcerCOMIMItlee as Seas sas ee ee aa A ea ee eee 36
German paintings. «custody:0f==<1 2.) er 2s eee ee eee 37
Germantsilver,custod yiole ase 22s ee ee ee eee eee
index: ofeAmericanyDesi¢nixna=.-5=5<5 5255555552045 2 se eases lt 8 33, 37
GID TAT Vegan 2 mn a ee i a ee eee ed Recie e mee A ee 3
FoanedaworksoPart returned =. sso ee oeet Oe ie ee sees 29
Newiconstructionis===<22.52=2 25-55 s2-455 5852 2 Jee: eS 38

OCS Stee 5 ee apa a a ae Be Ree es ee ae ale ok Lee AS viii, 25

418 INDEX

National Gallery of Art—Continued Page
Organizations «<.=-5. 255 5225s 522s 5sesrnesssesese sa eee eee 25
Othervactivities.=+—-.-223. Send ae net sae en eee Ae oe 40
Othenciltss* . Varta a a eee BS a ee oe ae a Del ee ee 40
(Psin Gin Gs Sa 2 aa by in a a i oo el at cn A en A aA A PATE
Bhotographs'a a ase Aes a he eR oe me eee ee ae 28
President eiruman sina weurel recep to lessee a ee ee ee 37
Print svanesadrawints:es4 as-s2s2s5eee52822eeenrscSoss eso eee 28
Publicationgac 22 oss ss 4224424 oeeee dob en tas nee snes see AN ee 34
ReDOrhs Sees 32 aa 5 at ale a a le ea ss oo A a Mie ee Rh 25
Restorationyand repair OfawOLks Of/artea== ee ae ee eee 34
Rosenwaldvcollection==22 5523592 h-.2: 522552232222 5) See eee 32
Sculpturckesne suet Stee Ay oS ie ao ee A ee eee 28
ALLAVelIng.OxMIDIGlONS == ==o a aan—r Qos wa ne Aaeee S le eh SS tele ee 32
WMRUStCESSe k= eee ee eee eee eet ee eee cede een Os See ee viii, 25
Wihiteseiouse furniture custo cya of ss ee a eee
Wiorks:oMartdoanedios = 2225 222 Slee Sosa eek Oe SEN Peewee 30
Wiorksiof-anton loantoese. 52a a ak So ween ete ee ee 29

National cosrap bi cis OCle tyme ee eee 9, 11, 21, 55

National Geographic Society-Yale University-Smithsonian Institution

I XpeditiOn® 252.8222 24k once sunes hee ease a eee ase 22

National sViiseume 22 s.. 5 Stee ee ae Soe ie ae eee vi, 9, 16
Changes anOrganization: 25-52 2S n eae ee
WOME CHO TIS ee ee ee a me ee ea eer 16
Bxploration/and: fieldwork: 22" 9a e aos eee ee Oe 21
Publications ee. | se 25 eos ote soo. eee Oe eee eee 23, 138
Re DOR 2 2a ee ae eae es oe one oe ne ae eee eae ee ee 16
SHEE HG ee pis Fe See alee yap Ay SRI IN Ne RENE ERIS AAA eT vi

ING Gro rn ea Pearl S era Oasys es eg ee ee a ay 61, 62

NationaleZoolopical Park! 2.0.02. 20 bee 2 sae ee ae LED. OF
Ha CSN G1 TO ae Rig RL A ae IE RS imine ronda MeN Gps Rk 98
Birthsjand ~hnatehings.—. os 222 22 eee ee 103
Depositors and, donors and, their, gilts. = 22252225505 5— 4 se ee 99
Exhibits). 25s 0s .ostaets soa seg aa ee 97
Meedine theyanimals-\., 5 s2esosons aoe See eae 105
IMATNCGS a5, oe en eo as res = as ns a oe or ee 107
Maintenance) 1d sina O Velie ribs eee ea ee 105
Needs ofthe; 70022252255 2225s a sees oe ee eee ee ee een 107
TERS TOO at ee es cs cece esc a a on 97
Dbalie se oe Sas oe ee ee Sa re at ae ix
Statuspofithescollection-2=5= =.= =. eo. ee eee eee 108
WASItOTS Scene Sh See So ooo oa ee EE eee 106

Ne wan an eV aes So. Re es Sa be oa 2 en tS See ee vi

Newman stanley2.2 2 so oe See ee oe ee a eal ns ead eh es 60

New Zealand, a botanist’s paradise (Egbert H. Walker) ______-_-------- 317

INicolMiDavides2 5 scac= se Soe ae aoe ae es ee See ee vii

O

Obere Ke lery Oe = eee ee ee ee Ae SS eee eee ee 59

Ochser ah aulehistses = Se aes ea SS ee See eee oy a ey ee eee vi

Offictalsyotethemins tit ic ries eee Se ete ee ene ee ee Vv

Oliver, L. L., superintendent of buildings and labor________------------ v

Oliver Ori weaas fees was vole os Te Se SE ene etre noe fy nee ae ore vii

Orr-ikKennethi(G= oe =!s tet ameane ass Soe ae eee Ce ee ee ae 71

Osborne. Homer Douglassa= > 5 =A ers See eS eee Re ee ee 68, 69, 70

Ee

Pacific Science Congress jpevienthe= =~ = 52. ee ee ea ae 22

inagew Lhornton (ihe origin of the earth) -2 5-82 yes. eee eee 161

Ralmer, Medieleno =. 2222-22 o-oo eee eek oe Seeks eee viii

Ralimers NS SS. 2232 38 ke 2 eee Se Se ee oe eee vi

H e1ST Tu c/otea) Th | Leo 8 aa poe ep epee eth SRSA Re Tifa ty 9 Eis ee vii, 23

Pearson, Louise M., administrative assistant to the Secretary_---------- v

Peat. Marwick; Mitchell & Cos... 2-5-2 Scone 2 e522. eae es 149

Rendicton sles sic 2 Seam hae ee Mee on yn i eee ee ee ee vii

IPOER VAG wasn a2 See eee eye ees cw rt pe a ee ee vii

3 es bs t . }

INDEX 419

Page
ECT ero Oe Ete ee ren en care Sa rn a ae oe Res Re ES Be et vii
HEC TSIay OAV eV bea ee tele S9k eats DL ee eee ee bee ye ee 22, 129
ersounel olicer (Bb. --. Canwithen)/ = 22.225 on. sole nee Lee Vv
RECETSOU SR = te a eee ne nes ae age) te ee es ae ae dpe vi
ISLETS OU ey lem yc ett) es eae le ol re Rene RTC Ln 2 palomino ie ee vii
mnilips sy Oincane fee ee a ee ler eae Roe hon AM Dee ae vili, 25, 26
photographer. (lb. ACeStnen) ono: = scm ee oe oe el eee eee a Vv
ICHeLLO ms OLepHen Oss Nee nana: See a ee ee De aes arg 34
PCTSCOD ys LD) ONAL seaate we ote in Gules wen AO ne Ee 59
EMC Cle Les EUG INdiana ec ee ne Lay Sed ete tee api Oe Cheb dete eee gts vii
lnwoods-rlastics: Corp an se ee ele ee Sie ie en ee 22

Pope, John A., Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art__ viii, 51, 52, 53, 54
Postmaster General of the United States (Jesse M. Donaldson, member of

hem NS LUGUMGIOU) mers, eee eee Serre) cee eee ds ee ety of pan eee eee Vv
| GLE ehot yal Slee at ees ee er pat ae el PE epee TARE at eM! NLL Fy ix
Peon Reurepe ANd EY ol atoll Oy Rea ee ee eS Sere ie epee Sees 115, 120
Precise time, The determination of (Sir Harold Spencer Jones) __________ 189
President of the United States (Harry 8S. Truman, Presiding Officer ex
OLtCrOro hat ne Blin SU UG UG 1O rn) ae ey me 4
Presiding Officer ex officio of the Institution (Harry S. Truman, President
oOLzthesUmitedistates)/sssr ee ee a ns ee ee eet che ee epte Es 2 Vv
Ce nmiCe w AGL ONG) ten hee Me ee ees ee ee Ee eee 118
EL Conm CeO Mares ketene Se Saco Sere rete Lene 2k pe eee can al ee im ix
BnICe MW oLernousesds COs 20.2 Soeie eae nee oe ee ee ee Le 40
rice wmLveate AGM Ato Vite. 2a. 2 5, hee weats ete lS es eee eee ix
Property, supply, and purchasing officer (Anthony W. Wilding)________ 4
Publications ®2 = = - =" eee eos eee aera Nf eae 14, 23, 34, 50, 61, 86, 136
Nppropriation tor printing and binding=2"_2- 22 2 2 (pe ees 142
Americans ristoricalwASsociatione 2. = ss oan ae ee 141
Bunesucor- American Huanolooye.- eee oo eee ee 86, 140
AONU AIRE DOM eee oe ee ne ein PEL je olan BE onthe 86, 140
Instituteof socialyAnthropologye == =p 22s an hee 61, 86, 140
Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society___________ 141
BAS Elo it ora apeg ears eps See EE ep tp Sa eee apna NE perp tg Nien 136
reer Gallery, Arta 2.0 = SecA es Oh Man Saye PW pa h pert Sey bi pls Be dee. 50, 141
Occasional yRapers se —4 so eek el eee aS oat ae 50, 141
INationalvGallenyioh Att = 25 89- = «sate ee pe oes BAN eal TS eds, 34
Nationa lense Wists fae pie oe lye Ot ee edt Be 23, 138
PACT VESRT IESG POT GAs eee ot ay — sees I ny TE ree oa a ae ey 139
BS ULE Gin epeees eet fe en eee Soe RAD oe Le Leas el ae mS 140
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium__-___ 140
RTO CCE CER GS Sep ds Oe Fe ye eee Oe 0 ee i ee ee ee 139
BERGE POIs tre see See ae NS Sap I oS ee a a eee Oh pe 136
SME RSOMIa nw ames se eee ser eae oe! a eae ho epi re 14, 136
PATE LCD ORU = ses anon ee Se EE Sea pa ee ame oe 137
Miscellancous*C@ollections®s-- =o. 200. 2 ln ae Cae en 136
RS ONE 621] Ux Te A Oper ep RO ca a) NTN 138
Publications. division of, chict (i,k. Commerford)_2 2-22) 2 22a) ae Vv
Q
Quartermaster General; Oflice of. the. 22 25-252 5 ily 1p
18
Radiation and: Organisms. DivisiontOles <5 2" =e ee eee eee IB} IIe
FERVETIA STO CUS bm tees econ ie apace ei en ae ee eee 10
PVECIOMIA CIO MMs UREA EO fe ereiey eae hn rea Boe ae Ann Se eds ea eee 61, 62
Re eC RH a CRE ere as ie A eS 2 eee Oke eee eee 2 eee vii
TRCEXENSI KS C5 i ey J ee ee Pe a SP Rg Uh ew Ae Bet vii
TRRSVeN SV aU TSI af BXOLEN WW.) Eee a yh ee a a v, 6
Xe CUGIVEy CO TIMI CC lee i eee ee eee ee een v, 149
TEU © YO Ob teenie ae oe Arcee oe bei tee od A Ft Senne, SN ae Se eee 143
INTe Tia RG) ane oo cA A as an pe hn ce ee ee ee eye 2 Se v, 6
J EATON CYS) SOU BY Of i ce a ey al A
RC IiGl eee eV Tet CURA ae ie eS re re eo edn DOSE I eee ee ees vi

RichardsCharlesh Misa nse >a se Oe eee 22 wo eee 34, 35

420 INDEX

Page
Richardson Capt; HoldensCs2ece. 4 =. sects = eee een ee on em eee ree 118
RiddellyicranciswAse. jose ee eeten sen eee ees ee een eee eee 64, 69, 70
RiddelibiartysS: Jt 224 s=sS==52 seed e eee en eee ee aa see eee ee , 20
Ripley tose wOillome: «<2 2k 222 eee ected ee see ee eee ed awe ee eee ee 22
IRiVerbasin: SURVEYS -ace=ceee ooee ea en aks ae ee Renee ak eee ee ee viii, 11, 61
Roberts, Frank H. H., Jr., Associate Director, Bureau of American Eth-
nology, and Director, River Basin Surveys_.-.-.----.------- vili, 11, 55, 63
Robinsoniieljdbis~ eee wee ete ees eee ee Sates bees eee ee eee 76
ReOeHline wd OHNWAL i. oo ee oe ee ee eee eee eee 6
OS OTS by Gre a eee ete ee eed eel erbss wk ese eet en ne eee: aE vii
INO Wely NS wAPE == tee ee eee ne eee eee ecko oes Be Eee eee vi
Ronne, Commander Finn (Ronne Antarctic research expedition, 1946-48)_ 369
ROWE) .OlT MEO. 2 LRyROLs oe GENT RSS eee) ub a Ae ee 60
WR Gas (ble eee ee eee ee ee See ee LS vii
ARTTSSE ll cae WO WTASGIN Cle as lp ne ee ee vi
S
Saltonstall, Leverett (regent of the Institution)_.____..___________-____ v, 6
Sawyer, Charles, Secretary of Commerce (member of the Institution) ____ Vv
Sayre, A. N. (Ground- -water investigations in the United States)_________ 219
Schallen Wily oeeestee eee cecece ete tee eee UE ee vii
Schmitt, Wisidosbisn ssa eee eee ae ee eee vi
Scholander, eta gel eel oe ee ee Oe ee ee ene Oe re Eee 14, 127
Schraden Brany. je Sek en eee ee 127
pebraderssalhyMuches*. 3. LOR lat. Pe a eee ee. Cee ee 127
Schultz plieconard Wee ae ee eee ee eee ee ee ee ee vi
Schumacher wh aGecec ose see eee eee ies er) sere vill
SchwarcZ Poenjamins aL eels ee le a a es ee ee See vi
Sciences hestate ot (Karl Cl. Compton) 2.4540 2222) Geese eae 395
Searles iVirs pElancietymicharasOn. os. 2 onton oer ee Re vi
Secretary of Agriculture (Charles F. Brannon, member of the Institution) __ Vv
Secretary of Commerce (Charles' Sawyer, member of the Institution) _____ Mu
Secretary of Defense (Louis Johnson, member of the Institution) it Gees
Secretary of the Institution (Alexander Wetmore) -_-___- NW walt, he (oy, IL, P45}. 128
Secretary of the Interior (Julius A. Krug, member of the Institution) ____ yi

Secretary of Labor (Maurice Tobin, member of the Institution)________-
Secretary of State (George C. Marshall, member of the Institution)_-_ v, viii, 25
Secretary of the Treasury (John W. Snyder, member of the Institution) --

viil, 25, 26
Setzler phrankOMaiy er! Jee. SOTO Tee eed MOL Bie eee vi, 21
Setzerghlenhys Woe acoso eee er re er ee vi, 22
SeyMour Charles. Rsv. see te eee EEE EOE ae ee ee 34, 35
Shalkop, Roberts... -.u cee eeee tee Beet ee eee Set eee 80
Shapley Meri Roce eee ee REESE ee A eS 35
NS eaves MEG Tern aS pepe eee, A pn oe 117
Shepard. Donald WD. 2 eee eee ee ee ee ee ee ee 25
Shih-hsiano-: Wangs aqcuco. == ee ee a ee ee eee 24
Shiner! oe liye Ae 8 Sa ee Sn Se oe eee
Shippeerde Wie kee er ee ee Se SB Rhea Tie ra ae eS Doe ee eee 42, 03; uy
Shoemaker (C) Re 22s 2s ei ee sal ee a eee eee vi
Sirlouis, J. a A a Lae sa Lea tal COIS keira Shee vii
Smith, IN Oia thew rae ban are ee BE De ay Ue ERO Re Coe vii
Smith-"Carlyle'S2s2 225/252 58ers = fates Oe eee ee eee 84
Smith, Danae oe a BE apes Sie el a a ea Oa NI ae ee See vii, 22
Smithsonian Art: Commission... ae 6, 10, 41
Snyder, John W., Secretary of the Treasury (member of the Institution)_ v, viii, 26
Soil science, Modern (CharlesshKelloce) ana se ass saa ae ee 227
Solecki, Ralph PS Fe eR, NP 8 IR PE A SIR 15) 9 De Se eet ane ec ncn Pee Se See 63, 64
Soper, OV CR Tati Cs ona iether Diente inept iocredninier tN Beilin sig 7 > 14, 127
South American Botanical Congress, Second_..........----------=---- 22
Speicher lucene By. 24 6c ce ec eee ee oe eee eee ee ee 7, 41
Spencer Jones) iri arold Lao oe aoe ee Le ee Se te 9
(The determination of precise time) sae Soe ee eee eee 189

Spitzer, uyman, Jr. (The formation of, stars).-2..22-525 2-52 —s4seeeeee= 153

INDEX 421

Page
HED Ry ee ne a SNe ae een meg 7 ne Ce ae eae 2S Gy ae Vv, vi, viii, ix
AStropiny sl cals ODSCTVatO Tye sacs ee ee ee te ix
Bureaujof American) Ethnology 22225285 2) ee ee eet viii
@anal’ZonerBiological Areas] Sos 22 ee ee ee ae a ix
BireermiGallenyromenrG 251 sale A sue also eta Bl el rae CBr ae viii
Intemational Exchange Servicel 222252222222) ee woe ix
Nationale Aine Museums. loess ee ee Foe oe ee ae. Ss ee ix
National Collectionzof Kine: Arts: 2225 2) 5 225. - sae es eee viii
NationaliGallerycot: Artis oe 2. 2 sins wees bike © eg a pb te See Rae vili
Nationale Viusetimiss aoe 2 eek. me Meme eee a pee ee eee vi
National ZoolosicaloPark ase. 2. 20m eu dso eae ee as eee ix
RSKES CST GT OT eben IO Sa Se ea eta Rng te eA ee vege SS en ey Pi rs vi
(SUD OYSY OY 00 E79 shay ea ae tenia Ural nce oh te ee ern Renae Gey a er A Oe | Vv
Stanley, Wendell M. (Recent advances in virus research)_____________- 213
DGATGOM glen Wis OES! ee eens Siete Coy Vale Sethe a ie dake meee eed ty ak me vii
POLAT KO EC OWC Tob rete she aM Sips An 9d ONG ee yeah he Dp pps ee 82
Stars, ane formation of Gayman Spitzer) dirs) =a ee eee ee 153
SLelansson ss Valllnj alma eee rey rape i eee eal pees Seen ee. Seles 56
Prephenson. IODSri Mime = ss eel oe oe ee 82, 83
SEC VENSOMe JONMVAw wn 2 ees = ks Se oe ee a ee ee vii
PUG WW ALTU SECC MAT Cys os ae 2 cue es ee es a Satin a ae 128
Diewath nM DAle eee. foo ee ME ee ee ete en vi, 22
Stirling, Matthew W., Director, Bureau of American Ethnology__________ viii,
11, 55, 88, 128
SrTlingvincssVintbaeweW = sb seer = ees ss Sak eee hs Senet ws ee ee 128
Shouew ViaTsnelley > 2256 ae oe 6 ie eo re ed Ge ee 128
SHOU SMIVALUUTeNTIN ES) ise ea ee oe ee ie oi a ae ix
SbEOWC MeLVOWCTUS Cm oe ee eee ee eee Seen eee Ea ix, 121, 122
SGUDDS UTM SwAtse fe ese ei Se Soe See lea oe eee. ee oe 53
Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution________ 9
Superintendent of buildings and labor (L. L. Oliver) ___-______________- Vv
RON He rae AS OMe heen oe Me ae eS eee 2 ep ee vii, 23
SM AULOMMOOUMEL eRe ea tani ns eee ea = ee ee Sal viii, 88
SSN WVEUGUIEAN ES AY 6 ee 2 a et eg ee ee ee ey 20 vii
SAS eC RAISE ae ee ea ee en een eee eee See ie 8 vii
T
lea yer tg) ein Cree ar pe ee Ea ee Oot eh Pr ae ix
“ACI Ne Wee 1 yee £7 pt le ae Va i Pe erent Tie UE af Nyro Mee, SO Me ee vii
MRA OT MMV US TVA Oo) ey tet ae saa ee ae Ne, AS 2 7
MER VIOP WE ol k= Soe eee eee Se ee eo es ei Ee vi
ghhackernC OliN= soe cetes. oe aol ee ek ee Bee nie os oe eee 56
PN OMAS MISS Bhi sao as RE oes hoes aaa cane a eee Se 5 lee 129
PRO MIR S Cre ON Se eee a keer eet ie St ee Ceres oS a vii
Time, The determination of precise (Sir Harold Spencer Jones)_________- 189
“Mime ain Gxrollvypvon (Ch, 1d, VCUIMER) eee ea cence oc ee enece secede 247
Tobin, Maurice, Secretary of Labor (member of the Institution)_________ Vv
MOUuTLCLOUPEIATTY GAs 22 Soe sao hee oe aes eR Sa tse apr ae a oe ee @
(MRS UR Ot Wa lbaALATAKOIN jy IDL Jako ewe) 2 v
shrucmWebstert.. Chich editorial, Divisions = ===s=2-56 42 = - = 2 eae v, 142
Truman, Harry 8., President of the United States (Presiding Officer ex
Oi c1OROfes chem ln sStiGutlon) i ar ee a aerle ce nee eee eee Vv
“MaKe fepes INI Ne ies eo ee eS oS Se eS ae ee ae eee ea SeS viil
200-inch Hale telescope, The, and some problems it may solve (Edwin
TB ADNG) 6) Le) ley eu pa PO AAS SY roars mane co oti aR MT ie Pe on SRE Cry Pts em 175
PTGS MERC AINE = ape wince ct ah aoe a hts Ae SI I sd ee ena eee 118
V
NYEvayo Kes ov ayes fee yee © (ey aleg dc laps cs Dem A aa es ra a a ee ne ees eee 115
NUE TNES OV 0d IN (oe oe aan NE ei a ga pe on eS eee eed ae Sees eka a vii
Vice President of the United States (Alben W. Barkley, member of the
AD TES 6:5 GAL GY ny) ee a ee ee are te ote ners ee v, 4, 6, 20

Viking Fund

422 INDEX

Page
Vinson, Fred M., Chief Justice of the United States (Chancellor of the
MMS GG WGI OT) ee os ee ee re ee Vv, vill, 4,7, 20) 25
Virus research, Recent advances in (Wendell M. Stanley) _-_--_-----_--_- 213
MicHOISS. oe ips on eae eee ee eee eee EE ee See eee 8, 11, 27, 50, 51, 106
Breer Gallery, of Artss a. 52 ote ct pecan scek ene eae le eee 1S 50, 51
National iGallery: of Arte. 222 oc<eeceeane= eee ae ee Oa 10, 27
National, ZoolocicaléParks<-2--2------=6=—-=e eS eee ee eee 106
Smithsonian buildines:2o---<-=22—-2-——— ae = ee ae ee 8
Vorys; John’ M. (regent ‘of the Institution)_.---=-=252_42 32222 eee v, 6
WwW
Walcottwhredertc: O22... secs settee thee eel e teases ees eee 6
Winlier <Bisbert i. nrliert BGiy At Reiiaoha sae hee Vahl vii, 22
(New Zealand, eu boOtanist:s paradise)--====-—=-—-—-=—=-— eee) eee 317
Walker, Ernest P., Assistant Director, National Zoological Park_________ ix
(ioreyaboutsaninis libeliaivi Or) esas eee et ee er 261
Walker, John, Chief Curator, National Gallery of Art__.__-_-_-- viii, 25, 34, 36
Walters -iViadimiT ss.2 o-oo ab etectuckibestecestect seats LSS ee 14, 127
Warned Antonio. -Sr otek eee eee Sen eae etee oes ee ee viii, 88
Watkins, .C. Mewceetant nat toboceectete eee oats thes SESE ae ee vi
Wiaitkins: (\WioNe = ee ee ee eee eet eee e ste ae tee See see vii
Weaverbirds, The breeding habits of the: a study in the biology of behavior
PAuberMonglerbert LP ricdmManM)). .. 2. =<. eee a oe ee eee 293
NicddenburnsyAy Janite=<cenece mes ateneese= sates Lt Rs eee vii
Wedel. WialdoRiis ainia ss ae a vi, 22, 72, He
Wein Martie n= St = 2. = dnp e nee cee nese eee es so cete eee eee ee
Wieisss tielen a) Mita i. 20 ne 3s) a pe on ee ee ne hom gd BA ee
Wenley, A. G., Director, Freer Gallery of Art.-.------------- Vill, 7, 41, 53, Pf
Wenner aa wic Fle yas eis tule 228 Sa Foy eae ee 2 ee =)
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