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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marshall Field, 1893
Rooaerelt Road and Lake Shore DiiTc, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lbstbk Armour Stanlet Field

Sbwell U Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCobmick Blair Henry P. Ishah

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cumminos William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field ••?"»»''•"'

Marshall Field Ptrtl Vxet-Pnmdnt

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Stamd Vtct-Prmimt

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Viee-PrtsideiU

Solomon A. Smith Trtasurer

CUFPORD C. Gregg Director and Setrelary

John R. Molar AnittanI Seentart

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of Ou Muttum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Pauls. Martin Chief Curator of Anihropolon

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Galon

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zooion

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harts Public Relatione Couneel

Members are requested to inform the Museum
promptly o( changes of address.

SIXTEEN EXPEDITIONS
PLANNED FOR 1951

Sixteen expeditions are scheduled to go
into the field for the Museum in 1951, it is
announced by Colonel Clifford C. Gregg,
Director.

The largest-scale operation will be the
17th Southwest Archaeological Expedition,
which will continue the work of past expedi-
tions in the New Mexico prehistoric culture
field. Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator
of Anthropology, again will be the leader,
and his chief assistant will be Dr. John B.
Rinaldo, Assistant in Archaeology. It is
planned in the new season to continue the
research so successfully begun in 1950 in
dry caves where an abundance of material
of a perishable type was obtained. New
caves will be opened in 1951 with the ob-
jective of finding artifacts of additional
kinds to fill in sequences incomplete because
of gaps in the Tularosa Cave stratigraphy
of the 1950 operation.

The Department of Botany will attach
an expedition of its own to the Southwest
Archaeological Expedition. Dr. Hugh C.
Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, will
conduct this expedition, which has for its
purpose comparison of the types of vegetable
food products found in Tularosa Cave with
the crops that grow in this area today.

SAN SALVADOR PROJECT

Several members of the Museum staff —
Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of

Geology, Dr. Austin L. Rand, Curator of
Birds, Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Eco-
nomic Geology, Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of
Lower Invertebrates, and a member of the
botanical staff — are slated to go to San
Salvador for collecting and research in their
respective fields. This work got under way
in 1950 when the Museum dispatched Dr.
Norman C. Fassett, Professor of Botany
and Curator of the Herbarium of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, to this field in Sep-
tember for the collecting of aquatic plants.
He will remain until about June.

Emil Sella, Curator of Exhibits in the
Department of Botany, and Samuel H.
Grove, Jr., Assistant in Plant Reproduction,
will leave for various parts of Florida in
January to collect exhibition material.

Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mam-
mals, and Orville L. Gilpin, Chief Preparator
of Fossils, will continue collecting from early
Cretaceous mammal bearing deposits in
Texas, a project in which they have been
engaged for several seasons.

FOSSIL-FISH COLLECTING

■ Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, will collect material in his field
from middle Devonian limestone deposits
in central and northern Ohio. During July
or August Curator Denison will collect
from Devonian limestone and shales in
western New York and Silurian fish fossil
localities in New York and Pennsylvania.

George Langford, Curator of Fossil
Plants, will make a series of field trips to
obtain material of the Coal Age in the area
near Wilmington, Illinois, and will collect
upper Cretaceous and Eocene fossil plants
in Tennessee and Mississippi.

Philip Hershkovitz, Assistant Curator of
Mammals, will continue the Colombian
Zoological Expedition upon which he has
been engaged since 1948.

Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of
Fossil Invertebrates, will collect inverte-
brates of the lower Paleozoic period in
various parts of the West.

SEEKS AFRICAN BIRDS

Harry A. Beatty, of New York City,
ornithologist who collected for the Museum
in Liberia during 1946-47, will collect birds
and other animals in selected areas in French
Equatorial Africa.

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, Clifford H. Pope, Curator of
Amphibians and Reptiles, and Colin C.
Sanborn, Curator of Mammals, will continue
various branches of field work within the
United States. Chief Curator Schmidt will
resume field trips for reptiles and amphibians
in Texas in the spring. Each year he covers
a selected area. Curator Pope will continue
his investigation of salamanders in Arkansas.
Curator Sanborn will continue his survey of
mammals of Arkansas in co-operation with
colleagues at the University of Arkansas.

Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes, has

been invited by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to participate in deep-water investi-
gations to be conducted in the Gulf of Mexico
during a cruise of the government ship
Oregon. Curator Woods and Robert F.
Inger, Assistant Curator of Fishes, will
continue their successful cave-fish studies in
underground caverns of Missouri and
Arkansas. In 1950 they worked in similar
caves in Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois.

A. B. WOLCOTT

ALBERT B. WOLCOTT, 1879-1950

Albert B. Wolcott, a Museum employee
for thirty-four years, died on December 8,
in the DuPage County Convalescent Home,
at the age of 81. Mr.
Wolcott was born in
Bloomington, Illinois,
on January 9, 1879.
While still a youth he
became interested in
insects, especially
beetles, on one family
of which he soon
specialized. He be-
came a noted authority
and the author of
nearly forty papers on
the small bright-color-
ed checkered beetles,
the Cleridae, some of which are commonly
seen on flowers.

In July, 1908, Mr. Wolcott was appointed
as an assistant in the Division of Insects in
the Museum, and in January, 1914, he was
transferred to the then newly formed N. W.
Harris Public School Extension of the Mu-
seum. In this department his artistic skill
and knowledge of insects were very useful
in preparing exhibits of insects and other
material in the small portable cases that are
circulated in the Chicago schools.

In 1942, his failing health and diminishing
eyesight compelled him to end his Museum
duties, as well as the research work he did
for many years on his chosen family of
beetles, to which he devoted all of his spare
time. His extensive and valuable collection
of beetles of the family Cleridae and his
books and papers pertaining to them he
generously donated to the Museum when
he retired. The Museum published his
Catalogue of North American Beetles of the
Family Cleridae in 1947.

William J. Gerhard
Curator Emeritus of Insects

Last Call for Entries
of Nature Photos

January 15 is the deadline for entries in
the Sixth Chicago International Exhibition
of Nature Photography to be held at the
Museum February 1 to 28, inclusive, under
the auspices of the Nature Camera Club of
Chicago and the Museum.

Silver medals and ribbons will be awarded
in the various print and slide classifications.

January, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

MARIANAS EXPEDITION EXCAVATES ANCIENT 'GHOST HOMES'

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY

Its field work completed, the Museum's
1949-50 Anthropological Expedition to the
Marianas Islands has returned to Chicago,
where the bone and stone tools, pottery.

'THE HOUSE OF TAGA'
Massive stone columns on the island of Tinian,
Part of the capstone on top of the colutnn in the
background has broken o0. The one in the fore-
ground has broken off, too, probably under the
weight of its capstone. Column with capstone is
more than 16 feet high.

ornaments, and all the other objects and
artifacts excavated from the shores of those
far-off Pacific islands await the patient
study necessary to unravel the secrets of a
pa.st lived hundreds of years ago by men
long since dead and forgotten. The Museum
for many years has maintained an interest
in the peoples and cultures of the Far East
and the Pacific. A major objective of the

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The king of Arctic beasts is
shown in our cover illustration.
The polar bear, Thalarctos mari-
timus, is truly a "maritime sea-
bear." It is a veritable symbol
of the polar region. It is the only
member of the bear group that
swims boldly at sea, seeking its
food on ice floes. Its long, yellow-
ish-white fur blends in with its
normal background of ice and
snow, over which it hunts for
seals. The polar bear adjusts itself
so well to life in warmer climates
that it is a familiar sight in zoos
and is known to every school child
in our larger cities. The cover
picture shows part of a habitat
group in Hall 16.

Marianas expedition was to push forward
the understanding of man's early history in
that section of the Pacific called Micronesia,
in which the Marianas lie. Most of Micro-
nesia is administered today by the United
States, as a United Nations trust territory,
the islands having been captured from
Japan in World War II.

A previous BULLETIN article described
some of the earlier excavations conducted
in 1950 by the Museum on Saipan, where
the headquarters of the expedition were
maintained. Although the final results of
the work will not be known until the field
collections have been studied thoroughly,
in this article the remaining excavations of
the Museum expedition will be briefly
described.

GHOSTS AND STONE COLUMNS

The characteristic feature of most of the
surviving prehistoric sites in the Marianas
are groups of stone columns or pillars.
Locally, these are called latle. Many of
the Chamorros — the native people of the
Marianas — believe that these latte mark
ancient graveyards that still remain the
homes of ghosts of the dead of olden times.
These ghosts wander among the living today
and can be seen as vague shapes and appari-
tions, particularly at night or just at dusk.
They have the power to harm the living by
causing illness, and so are feared and avoided.
It took a great deal of diplomacy and tact
to convince the native digging crew that if
excavations at latte sites were carried on in
a properly respectful manner the ghosts of
the ancient dead would not harm those that
had come to pry into the secrets of the past.

The latte sites are indeed burial places.
They are for the simple reason that the
stone pillars, or latte, were the foundation
posts for houses, and the ancient dwellers
of these houses had the custom of burying
their dead under the house, or immediately
to the seaward side of the house. The stone
pillars are not gravemarkers, but merely the
most solid type of house post available to
the original builders.

LATTE SITES OF TINIAN

The previous Bulletin article described
the excavation of two latte sites on Saipan.
Following the completion of the Saipan
excavations, the expedition shifted its activ-
ities to the nearby island of Tinian — known
to the modern world as the base from which
the first atom bomb of World War II was
flown to Japan to be dropped on hapless
Hiroshima. On Tinian two major lalte sites
were dug. One of the expedition's objec-
tives was to find a latte village site as
undisturbed as possible — the Saipan sites
had been considerably disturbed — and we
were fortunate in locating a relatively intact
village, which we called the Blue Site, as it

lay directly back of a beach designated by
invading American marines during the war
as Blue Beach. A second objective of the
expedition on Tinian was to investigate the
largest latte house in the Marianas, known
as the House of Taga. Taga is an old
Chamorro culture hero, a man believed to
have been of great size, who built his house
of giant stone pillars on the shore at Tinian's
harbor.

THE blue SITE

The Blue Site consisted of a dozen large,
stone-pillared houses strung end-to-end back
of, and paralleling, the beach. At one time
there may well have been additional houses,
whose pillars have since disintegrated. At
the center of this string of houses was the
largest structure, with pillars over 9 feet
high and with an over-all length of 60 feet.
Probably this center house belonged to the
local chief, or served a communal purpose.
Back of the houses, the earth was found to
contain areas densely filled with charcoal
and broken utilitarian pottery, indicating
that this was the area where the cooking
was done. To the seaward side, a number
of small refuse mounds were found, where
unwanted trash was dumped. As in the
case at Saipan, burials were found under
the houses and toward the seaward side.
And fortunately, as was also the case on
Saipan, the fears of the digging crew were
allayed by the careful and respectful manner

SOUTH PACIFIC -DIG'
Chamorro workmen commencing excavations on an
ancient "latte'* or stone-pillared house at the Blue
Site, Tinian, for the Museum's Archaeological Ex-
pedition to the South Pacific.

in which the burials were unearthed. The
men were further satisfied that the ghosts
of these ancient dead would be honored to
have their bones repose in the modern steel
storage cases at the Museum, in company

(Continued on page i, column 3)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1951

NEW FOSSIL REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN EXHIBITS

By RAINER ZANGERL
cukatob of fossil reptiles

The Division of Vertebrate Paleontology
has completed the first three exhibits in a
program of remounting the superb skeletons
of early reptiles and amphibians received
from the University of Chicago as a gift.
These exhibits may now be seen in Ernest R.
Graham Hall (Hall 38).

The amphibian and early reptile exhibits
were designed to answer a number of ques-
tions pertinent to the current views about
the origin of these animals, as well as to

dwellers much as the early reptiles were.

It can be stated, as has been done in
these exhibits, that the amphibians pioneer-
ed and the reptiles completed the conquest
of the land. The most important step in
this process was probably the evolution of
a "land egg," an egg that is so constructed
that it will not dry out readily, even though
its shell must be porous, and will provide
the developing embryo with enough food
substances to complete its early stages of
organ formation and growth inside the pro-
tected enclosure of the egg shell.

NEW ADDITION TO FOSSIL REPTILE EXHIBITS
Skeleton ol Bradysaurus baini, a sizable pareiasaur reptile from the Karroo o( South Africa.
men is displayed in Ernest R. Graham Hall (Paleontology — Hall 38).

The speci-

show them as free-mounted skeletons. There
is little doubt in the minds of most paleon-
tologists that the amphibians evolved from
fishes, and among the latter from a group
known as lobe-fin fishes, or crossopterygians.
We do not yet know a specific animal that
is clearly intermediate in its bodily structure
between the fishes and the amphibians. We
are thus left to wonder how, for instance,
the paired fins of the ancestral fish became
walking limbs in the amphibian. The pro-
cess must have involved not merely the
appendages but also a large portion of the
body. The fins of a fish suspended in
water are not used, ordinarily, to support
the weight of the body. They are attached
to small girdle bones and muscle groups at
the lower sides of the fish. The limbs of
an animal walking on land, however, must
support the entire weight of the animal.
Thus the major difference does not lie in
the actual shapes of the fins and the limbs
but in their connections with the principal
supporting structures of the body as a whole.

WIDE VARIATIONS

In speaking of early amphibians we are
inclined to think of them only as a group
of animals that arose from the fishes and
in turn led to the origin of the reptiles. We
should not forget, however, that the am-
phibians underwent adaptive radiation on
their own. Many of them became specialized
swimming predators, bottom-dwelling scav-
engers, mud-burrowers, and some were land-

All this, however, is not enough. The
early development of the embryo itself had
to be modified in accordance with the
changed circumstances of development. The
embryo had to be enclosed in a separate
fluid-filled container, and a sack to receive
the waste products had to be provided.
Numerous embryonic blood vessels cover
the latter and the food-containing yolk sac,
and serve to carry oxygen to and carbon
dioxide away from the embryo. Needless
to say, the conquest of the land by the
reptiles involved far more changes than
one would be led to believe by comparing
the rather similar construction of the
skeletons of early amphibians and reptiles.

MANY RETtJRN TO WATER

Having once conquered the land, a great
many reptiles returned to the water. Some
of them became swamp dwellers, others went
to sea. Among the latter are the well-known
ichthyosaurs (fish-lizards) whose external ap-
pearance is that of a fast-swimming shark,
the plesiosaurs whose body has been de-
scribed as resembling a snake pulled through
a turtle, and many other kinds that lived
entirely in an aquatic environment.

The third exhibit houses the unbelievably
bulky skeleton of the pareiasaur, Brady-
saurus, a native of South Africa. The
bones of this barrel-bellied vegetarian are
so large with respect to the over-all size of
the skeleton that few students can agree as
to the probable posture the animal assumed

when alive. It is reasonably safe to say,
however, that Bradysaurus was a sluggish
animal and sf)ent most of its days in shallow
lakes and swamps. There, the unquestion-
ably great weight of its body would have
been largely supported by the water.

MARIANA 'GHOST HOMES'—

{Continued from page S)

with distinguished skeletal friends from
many other parts of the world.

THE HOUSE OF TAGA

The second latte site at Tinian — the House
of Taga — is truly impressive, despite the
fact that all the stone pillars except one
have collapsed. Originally, there were
twelve massive stone pillars, each sur-
mounted by a capstone, the pillar and
capstone rising to a height of 16 to 17 feet.
Each pillar and capstone together weighed
approximately 15 tons. The quarry from
which these stones came is located about a
mile south of the site. Although it is
probable that the pillars at the House of
Taga were erected through the use of an
earth ramp, how they were transported
from the quarry by a people who — so far
as we can tell — had no knowledge of the
wheel remains a mystery, if one does not
accept the ancient Chamorro legend that
for a being with the great strength of the
giant Taga, the construction of such a
house was no great feat.

The House of Taga represents a final
flowering of the prehistoric Chamorro pre-
occupation with bigger and better house
columns. At the House of Taga, the expedi-
tion simk a series of test trenches into the
subsoil, not so much to find artifacts con-
temporary with the Taga lalle as to find
out what lay beneath them. At the Blue
Site the soil was so shallow that a previous
occupation was precluded. The House of
Taga, however, was literally built on sand —
an old dune at least 20 feet in depth. In
the test trenches, pottery was found under-
lying the Taga latte to a depth of some
six feet, indicating that the site had been
occupied by a people earlier than the
builders of Taga's House.

LATTE CULTURE AND ANTECEDENTS

The many latte sites of the Marianas are
sufficiently alike and the material recovered
from them sufficiently similar so that we
can allocate them all to a latte culture. This
culture reached its climax with the House
of Taga. In addition to /aMe-building, the
culture is characterized by a distinctive
set of pottery types, by a mixed fishing-
agriculture economy, and by a characteristic
set of shell, bone, and stone tools. From
documentary and archaeological sources we
know that the latte culture endured until the
Spanish conquest of the Marianas in the
16th and 17th centuries, but how far back

January, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

in time the culture goes is still a matter of
conjecture. However, on several sites on
Saipan and Tinian, the Museum's excava-
tions found evidence of a more ancient non-
Ja«e-building occupation. How old this
earlier occupation is cannot yet be deter-
mined with any degree of exactness, but
the geological evidence indicates a probable
antiquity of some 750 to 1,000 years.
Though man may have been in the Marianas
at an even earlier time, at present our still
tentative time scale cannot penetrate further
back than this approximate date.

The story of those early wanderers who
first voyaged into the expanses of the
Pacific's blue waters is still largely unknown,
but the Museum expedition was successful
in pushing the anthropologist a step ahead
in his task of reconstructing, on the sound
basis of knowledge that only archaeology
can provide, the culture history of the vast
Oceanic area.

MUSEUM STAFF CHANGES

Two of the Museum's Curators were
retired from active duty as of December 31,
1950. They are William J. Gerhard, Curator
of Insects, and Paul C. Standley, Curator
of the Herbarium. As both are desirous of
continuing scientific research, they will retain
connection with the Museum, each having
been appointed Curator Emeritus in his
division.

Mr. Gerhard is a veteran of nearly fifty
years' service on the Museum staff — the
longest service record of any staff member
now living. He joined the staff in 1901 as
Assistant Curator of Insects, became Associ-
ate Curator of Insects in 1921, and Curator
of Insects in 1936. Born in 1873 near
Reading, Pennsylvania, Mr. Gerhard was
educated in the schools of that area and at
Temple College in Philadelphia. He was
Jessup Student on Insects at the Academy
of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia from
1895 to 1898. Before coming to the Museum
he collected butterflies in Bolivia. In the
course of his duties here he engaged in local
entomological field work. He is the author
of various papers on entomological subjects.
He is a member of several scientific societies,
including the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, the Entomological
Society of America, the Illinois State
Academy of Science, and the Chicago
Entomological Society.

Mr. Standley, as Curator Emeritus, will
reside permanently in Honduras and there
will continue for the Museum his Central
American plant studies that have been his
principal activity for several years past.
He joined the staff of the Museum in 1928
as Associate Curator of the Herbarium and
became Curator of the Herbarium in 1937.
Mr. Standley was born in Avalon, Missouri,
in 1884. He completed his education at
Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, and
New Mexico State College, Mesilla Park,

earning degrees of bachelor of science and
master of science at the latter. From 1906
to 1909 he was a member of the faculty at
New Mexico State College. In 1909 he was
appointed to the botanical staff of the
United States National Museum, Wash-
ington, D.C., where he served until 1928
and achieved a notable reputation, which
was further enhanced by his work later at
Chicago Natural History Museum. Mr.
Standley is the author of many important
botanical works. Among the most notable
published by Chicago Natural History
Museum are Flora of Yucatan, Flora of the
Lancetilla Valley, Honduras, Flora of Costa
Rica, The Forests and Flora of British Hon-
duras (in collaboration with Samuel J.
Record), Common Weeds, several families of
plants for Flora of Peru (by J. Francis
Macbride), and Flora of Guatemala (in
collaboration with Dr. Julian A. Steyer-
mark). Works published by the United
States National Museum include Flora of
New Mexico (in collaboration with E. O.
Wooton), Flora of the District of Columbia
(with A. S. Hitchcock), Trees and Shrubs of
Mexico, and Flora of Glacier National Park.
Other publications include monographs of
the families Allioniaceae, Chenopodiaceae,
Amaranthaceae, and Rubiaceae in North
American Flora, published by the New
York Botanical Garden ; The Flora of Barro
Colorado Island, published by the Arnold
Arboretum; and Lista Preliminar de las
Plantas de El Salvador, in collaboration with
Dr. Salvador Calderon, published privately
in San Salvador. Mr. Standley conducted
the following expeditions for Chicago Natural
History Museum: Sewell Avery Botanical
Expedition to Guatemala, 1938-39; Stanley
Field Botanical Expedition to Guatemala,
1940-41; Chicago Natural History Museum
Expedition to Middle Central America,
1946-47; and expeditions to El Salvador,
Honduras, and Nicaragua in 1948, 1949,
and 1950.

Promotions

The vacancy in the curatorship of the
Division of Insects caused by the retirement
of Mr. Gerhard has been filled by appoint-
ment of Rupert L. Wenzel as Curator of
Insects. Mr. Wenzel first became associated
with the Museum as a volunteer assistant
in the Division of Insects in 1934 while still
a student. After completing his professional
preparation at Crane Junior College, Central
Y.M.C.A. College, and the University of
Chicago, he was appointed Assistant Curator
of Insects in 1940.

Also effective January 1, Henry S. Dybas,
Assistant Curator of Insects, was promoted
to Associate Curator of Insects. Mr. Dybas
has been associated with the Museum since
1941, beginning as Assistant in the Division
of Insects. He completed his education at
Wilson Junior College, Central Y.M.C.A.
College, and the University of Chicago.

Dr. Julian A. Steyermark has been ap-

SOCIAL SECURITY EXTENDED
TO MUSEUM EMPLOYEES

Effective January 1, employees of the
Museum were brought under the provisions
of the social security law as recently amend-
ed by Congress to cover non-profit institu-
tions of this type. To make this practicable,
the Museum's own private pension plan
was adjusted by action of the Board of
Trustees. The private pension will continue
on a modified basis in combination with the
social security benefits. The combination
of the two will give each employee a con-
siderably larger pension than either plan
would provide by itself.

Audubon Society Lecture
Offered January 13

The second lecture in the current series
of the Illinois Audubon Society will be
given Saturday, January 13, at 2:30 p.m. in
James Simpson Theatre of the Museum.
The lecture is "Saguaroland," by Karl
Maslowski of Cincinnati. Mr. Maslowski,
distinguished naturalist-photographer, has
appeared before audiences in the Museum
several times. "Saguaroland," a color film
made in Arizona, shows great canyons,
desert scenes, birds, and the giant cactus.

Admission is free to the general public.

Potentiality of a Cell

If a single cell, under appropriate condi-
tions, becomes a man in the space of a few
years, there can surely be no difficulty in
understanding how, under appropriate con-
tions, a cell may, in the course of untold
millions of years, give origin to the human
race.

Herbert Spencer, in Principles of Biology

Of all the funny things that live, in

Woodland, marsh or bog
That creep the ground or fly the air, the

Funniest thing's a frog. — Anonymous

pointed Curator of the Herbarium to succeed
Mr. Standley. Dr. Steyermark joined the
Museum in 1937 as Assistant Curator of
the Herbarium and was named Associate
Curator in 1948. Dr. Steyermark was
educated at Washington University, Henry
Shaw School of Botany, and Harvard Uni-
versity and has earned degrees of bachelor
of arts, master of science, master of arts,
and doctor of philosophy. Before coming
to the Museum he was on the staff of the
Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis,
biology instructor in a high school at Uni-
versity City, Missouri, and ecologist and
taxonomist on a special survey of the Clark
National Forest in the Ozark Mountains of
Missouri.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1951

NEW RADIOCARBON METHOD FOR DATING THE PAST

By DONALD COLUER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
AND ARCHAEOLOGY

THE COMMONEST and usually the first
question asked by visitors to archaeo-
logical digs and museums is "How old is
it?" This general curiosity about the age
of things made by man in the past is shared
by archaeologists, for it is impossible to
reconstruct the history of ancient civiliza-

by cosmic rays (neutrons). The carbon-14
atoms thus created combine with oxygen to
form carbon dioxide, which becomes mixed
in the earth's atmosphere with the vastly
greater proportion of carbon dioxide con-
taining ordinary carbon atoms. The carbon
14 then enters all living things, which,
through the life process, are in exchange
with the atmosphere. This exchange is
carried out through photosynthesis in plants.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOAT CONFIRMS RADIOCARBON DATING

A piece of one of the deck planks from this exhihit in the Museum^s Hall of Egypt (Hall J) was one of

the ancient samples of known age used by Dr. Willard F. Libby at the Institute for Nuclear Studies of

the University of Chicago to check the radiocarbon method dating. The vessel was a mortuary boat of

King Sesostris III of Egypt, who died about 1850 B.C.

tions without chronology. In the absence
of written records, like those left by the
ancient Egyptians and Mayas, archaeolo-
gists have had to depend on indirect methods
for determining time sequences in the past.
The single exception is that of the American
Southwest where, thanks to the tree-ring
method of dating, it has been possible to
trace with great accuracy the history of
Indian cultures during the past 2,000 years.
The indirect methods, such as stratigraphy,
typological cross-dating, and correlation of
human remains and artifacts with geological
events and climatic changes, are laborious
and inaccurate and do not yield dates in
years but only relative sequences.

The new method of radiocarbon dating,
developed by Dr. Willard F. Libby at the
Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Uni-
versity of Chicago, promises to revolutionize
dating problems in archaeology. This
method determines the age of things that
lived during the past 20,000 years by measur-
ing the amount of carbon 14 they contain.

Carbon 14 is an unstable (radioactive)
heavy form of carbon with an atomic
weight of 14. Normal, stable carbon has
an atomic weight of 12. The half-life of
carbon 14 is about 5,500 years. This means
that an ounce of carbon 14 is reduced by
decay to half an ounce in 5,500 years, that
half the remainder decays during the next
5,500 years, leaving a quarter of an ounce,
and so on.

Carbon 14 is constantly being formed in
the earth's upper atmosphere as the result
of the bombardment of nitrogen-14 atoms

Dr. Libby has shown experimentally that
all living matter contains a constant propor-
tion of carbon 14, which is about one
trillionth of a gram of carbon 14 to each
gram of carbon 12. This constant propor-
tion results from the equilibrium between
the rate of formation of carbon 14 and the
rate of disintegration of the carbon 14
contained in the atmosphere, in the ocean,
and in all living things.

When a plant or an animal dies, it ceases
to be in exchange with the atmosphere and
hence there is no further intake of carbon 14.
But the carbon 14 contained at death goes
on disintegrating at a constant rate, so that
the amount of carbon 14 remaining is pro-
portional to the time elapsed since death.
Given the carbon-14 content of contem-
porary living matter and the disintegration
rate of carbon 14 (the half-life), it is possible
to calculate the age of an ancient organic
sample from the amount of carbon 14 it
contains.

SAMPLES ARE BURNED

The laboratory procedure consists of burn-
ing the sample to be dated, reducing it to
pure carbon, and measuring its radioactivity
(rate of atomic disintegration) in a specially
constructed, extremely sensitive radiation
counter (a form of Geiger counter). The
measurement is expressed in terms of the
number of carbon-14 disintegrations per
minute per gram of carbon. This value is
15.3 for contemporary living samples, 7.65
for samples 5,568 years old, and 3.83 for
samples 11,136 years old. Very old samples

contain such a small amount of carbon 14
that the error in counting becomes very
large, so that the effective range of the
method with present techniques is something
less than 20,000 years. But there exists a
method for enriching or concentrating the
carbon 14 in a sample that may make it
possible to obtain useful dates back to 30,000
years. At present the year error in dating
samples ranges from 5 to 10 per cent.

Although carbon 14 is present in all
organic matter, certain kinds of material
have been found to be most useful for dating.
These are plant material and wood, charcoal,
shell, antler, burned bone, dung, and peat.
Unburned bone appears to be unreliable
because it is more easily altered chemically
than these other materials and hence may
lose or gain carbon-14 atoms by exchange
during the time between death of the animal
and the present.

This method has the disadvantage that
the sample to be dated must be destroyed
by burning. However, in most cases this
is not serious because the size of th* sample
needed is relatively small. The minimum
amount of pure carbon necessary for a
single counting run (the amount of carbon
placed in the Geiger counter) is 8 grams
(about a third of an ounce). Since the
carbon content of different organic materials
varies, the size of the sample needed to
yield this much pure carbon also varies. In
general, it is necessary to have about 2
ounces of plant material or wood, 1 to 3
ounces of charcoal, 4 ounces of shell, 5 to
10 ounces of dung or peat, and one to several
pounds of antler or burned bone. For the
greater accuracy obtained by making two
independent counting runs these quantities
would need to be doubled.

HISTORY OF PROCESS

A brief review of the history of the
development of radiocarbon dating will help
to make clear the nature of the method.
In 1934, shortly after the discovery of
artificial radioactivity. Dr. A. V. Grosse
predicted the possible existence of radio-
active elements produced by cosmic rays.
In 1946 Dr. Libby predicted that natural
or "cosmic" carbon 14 would be found in
living matter. The following year he and
Grosse checked this hypothesis by testing
methane gas derived from sewage (an
organic product) and found carbon 14 to be
present in the expected amount.

The next step was to test the assumption
that carbon 14 was present in the same
concentration in all living matter. This
research, called by Dr. Libby a "world-wide
assay of natural radiocarbon," consisted of
measuring the earbon-14 content of con-
temporary living material from various parts
of the world, various latitudes, altitudes,
and geographical situations. This Museum
contributed to this part of the research by
furnishing from the botanical and anthropo-
logical collections wood samples from the

January, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

Pacific Ocean, South America, Europe,
Africa, and the Near East. These measure-
ments, made by Dr. E. C. Anderson, con-
firmed the assumption and established the
value for the carbon-14 content of present-
day living matter.

EGYPTIAN BOAT PLANK USED

The next phase, carried out by Dr. J. R.
Arnold and Dr. Libby, consisted of testing
the dating method by measuring some
ancient samples of relatively accurately
known age. These were wood from Egypt
and Syria, a sample of wood dated by tree-
rings, and a piece of old redwood. They
ranged in known age from 1,300 to 4,600
years. One of the Egyptian samples, which
was supplied by this Museum, was a piece
of deck plank from the mortuary boat of
King Sesostris III, who died about 1849 B.C.
This boat is on display in the Hall of
Egyptian Archaeology (Hall J). The dates
obtained on this and the other samples
agreed with the known ages within the
calculated error of the method.

The final phase of this research has con-
sisted of further checking of the method by
dating selected archaeological and geological
samples of unknown age. An effort was
made to obtain from various parts of the
world samples whose relative age had been
established by the usual archaeological and
geological methods. In some instances it
was possible to secure several samples com-
ing from different layers of a single stratified
deposit. These stratified series were particu-
larly valuable in testing the consistency of
the carbon-14 dates obtained. Up to the
present more than 150 samples of unknown
age from North and South America, Europe,
and the Near East have been dated. These
range in age from a few centuries to more
than 20,000 years, and relate to the problems
of dating early man in North and South
America; the Archaic Indian cultures of the
eastern United States; the early cultures of
the Southwest, Mexico, and Peru; the Late
Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods
in Europe and the Near East; and the last
glaciation in North America and Europe.

TEST MUSEUM SPECIMENS

Among these samples were several furnish-
ed by this Museum. Two were portions of
wooden implements from the Early Nazca
culture on the south coast of Peru, excavated
by a Museum expedition in 1926. Dr.
Libby 's results show them to be about
2,000 years old, which is consistent with
other carbon-14 dates obtained from Peru-
vian samples. Two other samples were
charcoal from hearths belonging to the
Chiricahua stage of the Cochise culture in
western New Mexico. These hearths were
discovered by the Museum's 1950 South-
west Archaeological Expedition. The car-
bon-14 date indicates that these hearths
were in use about 2500 B.C. This date is
consistent with one obtained from a site of

the Chiricahua stage in Arizona. Samples
of charcoal, bark, and wood from the
Hopewell culture of Ohio (Hall of Indians
before Columbus — Hall 4) were also given
to Dr. Libby. These turned out to be
considerably older than archaeologists had
believed.

Full assessment of the results of the final
phase of Dr. Libby's research on radiocarbon
dating has not been made. But the general
consistency of the results, including the
dates on samples from periods older than
5,000 years, for which there are no absolute
dates for checking, leaves little room for
doubt that the method is sound and that
dates accurate within the experimental error
of the method can be obtained. Radio-
carbon dating is destined to have a very
important role in archaeology, both in in-
creasing the accuracy of its findings and in
reducing the amount of time and effort
devoted to problems of dating. This will
mean that, in the future, archaeologists
can move on with greater facility to the
syntheses and generalizations that are the
ultimate aim of their work.

The method will be extremely useful
also in the aspects of geology, paleontology,
and paleobotany dealing with events and
processes that occurred during the past
30,000 years. Dr. Libby has already ob-
tained dates relating to the time of the last
glaciation in North America and Europe.
These dates indicate that the last glaciation
was considerably more recent than accepted
geological estimates. It will be possible
with additional work to date the retreat of
the glaciers quite accurately, and this in-
formation will have a crucial bearing on
time estimates for the whole Pleistocene
period, which is variously estimated to have
lasted from 400,000 to 1,000,000 years.
Radiocarbon dating will also give more
reliable information on the time required
for the formation of new species among
plants and animals. In these and many
other ways carbon-14 dating promises to be
an extremely important scientific tool.

riFTV YEARS AGO

AT THE MUSEUM

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between November 16 and De-
cember 15:

Contributors

Miss Lillian A. Ross

Associate Members
John T. Beatty, Miss Margaret B. Con-
over, Paul William Cutler, Philip S. Gold-
berg.

Annual Members
Hilmar A. Andresen, Meyer Birk, Her-
man H. Bruns, Mrs. Ruth Orton Camp,
V. F. Chappell, Bernard W. Culver, I. Dob-
kin, Dr. Chester J. Farmer, A. E. Gibbs,
J. W. Huddleston, N. J. Lavezzorio, F. B.
Milhoan, Eari W. Muntz, E. H. Omara,
Lester C. Rogers, James F. Ronayne,
William L. Runzel, Jr., Bernard G. Sang,
Fred M. Schwarz, N. Raoul Sklar, Stewart
Tauber, Reno R. Walker.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"Publications. — This means of recording
the results of original research and also of
recent acquisitions proves eminently satis-
factory, and, judging from the complimen-
tary references made from time to time by

African wart hog group, originally installed in 1901
by the late Carl E. Akeley, who collected the speci-
mens. It is now on exhibition in Carl E. Akeley
Memorial Hall (Hall 22).

prominent scientists and journals, the
standard reached is very high." A Synopsis
of the Mammals of North America and the
Adjacent Seas was complimented as follows:
" 'The book is well printed, though on glazed
paper that is probably ill-adapted to with-
stand constant use. This, however, was
rendered necessary by the profuse half-tones
with which the text is illustrated. As if
to compensate for the brevity of the text,
the book is illustrated with a profu.seness
hitherto unknown in similar works. The
plates and text figures contain half-tone
reproductions of photographs of the skull
and teeth of at least one representative of
nearly every genus and sub-genus. The
standard of excellence of these figures is
very high, and no equally successful applica-
tion of photography to zoological illustra-
tion on so extensive a scale has hitherto
been made.' "

"Installation.— A striking group of the
northern Wart Hog was placed on exhibition
in the West Court and has already attracted
much attention." This group was collected
and prepared by Carl E. Akeley.

False facts are highly injurious to the
progress of science, for they often endure
long; but false views, if supported by some
evidence, do little harm, for everyone takes
a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness.

Charles Darwin, in The Descent of Man

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1951

DALLWIG TO LECTURE
ON LIVING RACES

"Living Races and Their Way of Life" is
the title of the Sunday afternoon lecture to
be given during January by Paul G. Dallwig,
the Layman Lecturer. Mr. Dallwig will
present this lecture on January 7, 14, 21,
and 28.

In this lecture Mr. Dallwig takes his
listeners on an imaginary trip around the
world, from the depths of jungle Torests
to the palaces of princes. He illustrates his
lecture with the 101 bronzes made by
Malvina Hoffman depicting the various
living races of mankind, the finest exhibition
of racial portraiture to be found anywhere
in the world, and weaves a human-interest
story around each one of these bronzes.

The lectures will begin at 2 p.m. and end
at 4:30 p.m. Midway there will be an
intermission for tea and other refreshments
in the Museum Cafeteria.

Members of the Museum may use their
membership cards to attend these lectures
without advance reservations. All others,
except out-of-town visitors and representa-
tives of the press, must make advance
reservations to attend the Sunday lectures.
Reservations may be made by mail or tele-
phone (WAbash 2-9410). The lectures are
free.

Mr. Dallwig will not appear at the Mu-
seum during February because of an out-of-
town lecture tour. He will return in March
to present "Behind the Scenes in Our
Museums."

Cutler also lectured before the Botany Club
at the University of Chicago on "The
History of Corn.". . . Dr. Julian A. Steyer-
mark, Curator of the Herbarium, lectured
last month before the Men's Garden Club
of Mundelein and Libertyville.

STAFF NOTES

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, last month attended the Confer-
ence on the Caribbean at Mid-Century,
held at the University of Florida, in Gaines-
ville. He participated in the round-table
discussions of Caribbean problems and
served as consultant on museum techniques
for the Department of Biology at the
university .... Henry S. Dybas, Associ-
ate Curator of Insects, left late in December
for studies of collections at the U. S. National
Museum in Washington, D.C., the Phila-
delphia Academy of Sciences, the American
Museum of Natural History in New York,
and the Museum of Comparative Zoology
at Harvard University .... Miss Elaine
Bluhm, assistant in anthropology, pre-
sented a paper before the American Anthro-
pological Association meeting in Berkeley,
California, on sandals found last summer in
Tularosa Cave, New Mexico, by the Mu-
seum's Archaeological Expedition to the
Southwest .... Dr. Theodor Just, Chief
Curator of Botany, and Dr. Hugh C.
Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, re-
cently conducted several botanical seminars
at the University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the last month:

Department of Anthropolofiy:

From: Estate of Susie I. Grier — 65 speci-
mens of ethnological material, United States,
Panama, and Dutch Guiana.

Department of Botany :

From: Dr. L. J. Gier, Liberty, Mo. — 43
specimens of algae, Missouri; Dr. H. B. S.
Womersley, Adelaide, South Australia — 32
specimens of algae. South Australia; Dr.
Isabella A. Abbott, Pacific Grove, Calif. —
109 specimens of algae, Hawaiian Islands;
Herman Silva, East Lansing, Mich. — 234
specimens of algae, Tennessee and adjoining
states; Donald Richards, Chicago — 199
cryptogams, Mt. Shasta, Calif.; Dr. Chester
S. Nielsen, Tallahassee, Fla. — 131 specimens
of algae. North Carolina and Florida; Dr.
Walter Kiener, Lincoln, Neb. — 305 speci-
mens of algae, Nebraska; Dr. Chester S.
Nielsen, Tallahassee, Fla., and William
Culberson, Cincinnati — 82 specimens of
algae. North Carolina and Tennessee.

Department of Geology:

From: Saskatchewan Provincial Museum,
Saskatchewan — a fossil jaw, Canada;
Allen M. Hard, Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Robert
H. Hard, Flint, Mich. — fossil turtle frag-
ments, Alabama; University of Tennessee,
Knoxville — cast of fossil turtle fragments.

Department of Zoology:

From: Boardman Conover (deceased) —
approximately 18,000 game birds; Walther
Buchen, Chicago — 128 bats and a bird skin,
Kenya Colony, Africa; Harry Hoogstraal,
Cairo, Egypt — 6,802 insects and allies;
Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. —
3 mammals and 6 birds; Lincoln Park Zoo,
Chicago — 5 adult and 6 newborn jerboas;
John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago — 91
fishes; Dr. Sidney Camras, Chicago — 678
pinned and identified flies. United States;
Margaret G. Bradbury and Phyllis A.
Madden, Chicago — 2,823 fishes, comprising
99 lots of 28 species, Illinois; Peabody
Museum, Cambridge, Mass. — 86 fishes of
16 species, Red Sea, and a collection of
10 lots of various invertebrates, Iran, Iraq,
and Saudi Arabia; Col. Luis E. Pena,
Santiago, Chile — a catfish, Bolivia, and 2
fly paratypes, Chile; N. L. H. Krauss,
Honolulu, Hawaii — 8 lizards, Fiji Islands,
and a snake, Dominican Republic.

From: Colin C. Sanborn, Highland Park,
111. — a bird skin, Illinois; William J. Ger-
hard, Chicago — a bird skin, Illinois; Harvey
M. Goldschmidt, Putnam Valley, N.Y.—
93 lizards, snakes, frogs, and salamanders,
United States; Dr. Maurice L. Richardson,
Lansing, Mich. — a collection of 26 marine
shells, California; Joseph H. Shirk, Peru,
Ind. — 3 brown-bear skulls, Arizona; Ross

JANUARY LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and cer-
tain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Wed., Jan. 3 — The Land of the Mummies
{June Buchwald).

Fri., Jan. 5 — Animals in Action. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
{Jane Sharpe).

Wed., Jan. 10 — Climate: Cause and Effect
{Anne Stromquist).

Fri., Jan. 12 — Chinese Fundamentals:
Ancient Foundations of the Chinese Way
of Life. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room {Harriet Smith).

Wed., Jan. 17 — Natural Storage of Food:
Seeds, Roots, and Other Plant Parts
{Miriam Wood).

Fri., Jan. 19 — The Indian and His Art.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
{June Buchwald).

Wed., Jan. 24 — Circus Animals {Jane
Sharpe).

Fri., Jan. 26 — Plant Adventurers: Heroes,
Fighters, Killers, and Acrobats. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
{Marie Svoboda).

Wed., Jan. 31 — Denizens of the Deep:
Marine Animals {Lorain Farmer).

Persons wishing to participate should
apply at North Entrance. Tours are free.
The Museum will be closed on New Year's
Day.

Tarrant, Walworth, Wis. — 2 snakes, Wis-
consin; Macy Parkman, Mt. Sterling, 111. —
a bird skin, Illinois; Lillian A. Ross and
Laura Brodie, Chicago — a snake, Indiana;
Dr. Orlando Park, Evanston, 111. — 311 speci-
mens of fishes comprising 16 species; H. E.
Woodcock, Chicago — 4 butterflies. Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick; Richard Russell,
Belleville, 111. — 14 specimens of land shells,
Illinois.

Library:

From: Estate of Susie I. Grier; Dr. Henry
Field, Washington, D.C.; William Wardwell,
Chicago.

Technical Publicatons Issued

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Botanical Series: Vol. XIII, Part III, No. 3.
Flora of Peru. By J. Francis Macbride.
November 17, 1950. 222 pages.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 40. Report
on a Collection of Birds from Oaxaca,
Mexico. By Emmet R. Blake. No-
vember 29, 1950. 26 pages. $0.25.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PI.ESS

ULLETIN

Vol.22,Na2-February 1951

(jJiicago Xaliiral
Illslorij MuHciini

6th Chicago International
Nature Photo Exhibit

February 1-28

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marshall Field, 1893

RooMTelt Road and Lake Shore DrlTe, Chicago 5

Telbfhonk: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lbstbb Abmouk Stanley Field

Sewbll L. Aveby Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Ishaji

Lbopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field, Jb. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field ; . . • ■ -. • • PraiiUnl

Marshall Field Firit Vu*-Prt»uUnt

ALBERT B. Dick. Jr. S4emid Vte*-Prtndnii

Samub. Insulu Jr. Third Vict-Pretident

Sou>MON A. Smith Treaturer

CurroRO C. Gregg Dindor and Steretary

JOBH R. Millab Attutant Secretan

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

CureoBDC. Gbbgg Dinttor of Ou MuMum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anihropoloty

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harts PuNte Relatione Couneel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

UMVERSITY MUSEUMS

A HUNDRED YEARS ago, indeed little
more than fifty years ago, the teaching
of zoology and botany in the colleges and
universities of North America was accom-
plished mainly by means of museum collec-
tions. Every such institution, in effect,
maintained a museum. The remarkable
Ward's Natural Science Establishment at
Rochester, New York, supplied specimens
to such museums and built up a most
extraordinary business in minerals and fossils
and zoological specimens of all kinds. In
addition. Professor Henry A. Ward, its
founder, actively promoted the organiza-
tion of museums of this kind, both at colleges
and universities and as municipal museums
in the larger cities.

When the biologists at universities, at
about the turn of the century, turned their
attention to the experimental fields of
physiology and embryology and genetics,
studies of systematic zoology and botany
tended to be more and more neglected, and
this had as an inevitable result the neglect
of museum collections and the decline of
the university and college museum. Where
some well-established "Old Bison" of zoology
continued to accumulate specimens — we may
remember the great Eigenmann collection
of South American fishes at Indiana Uni-
versity— it became a strictly departmental
collection, and without a strong museum
organization to retain it, it was dispersed
or sold when the department leadership

changed. The teaching museum, and with
it research in systematic zoology and often
in systematic botany as well, all but dis-
appeared from the American collegiate scene.

In a few places, where there had been
an especially powerful impetus to museum
studies in the last century, as was the case
at Harvard, or where some strong personality
gave impetus to renewed studies that re-
quired museum material and a museum, as
at the University of California, the uni-
versity museum has remained strong or
has renewed its vitality. The Museum of
Comparative Zoology at Harvard had the
advantage of the immense prestige of Louis
and Alexander Agassiz and of an independent
organization and independent funds. The
University Museums at the University of
Michigan underwent reorganization in the
1930's under Alexander G. Ruthven, emerg-
ing as the Museums of Anthropology,
Paleontology, and Zoology, with the Uni-
versity Herbarium, loosely associated under
a general director and housed in a single
building. At Stanford University and at
the universities of Kansas and Oklahoma,
museum departments were maintained and
have undergone renewed growth. Scattered
over the country are other museum nuclei,
often of fossils or of insects, in which fields
systematic studies and museum material
remain essential for teaching or research.

Elsewhere the storage of university col-
lections has been precarious, and it has
often been necessary to find a safer and
more permanent repository for valuable
material. Fortimately the larger municipal
museums have grown up during the very
period of decline of the college museum, and
these have welcomed some of the collections
discarded by universities and colleges, some-
times purchasing them at a fraction of their
cost and sometimes actually rescuing them
from the dump.

Renewal of interest in the study of the
species of animals and plants and in the
principles involved in their classification has
been evident in the decade since 1940. In
part this is the result of a change of direction
in the interest of the students of genetics
from the laboratory to the outdoor "labora-
tory of nature." This has been accompanied
by university recognition of the science of

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

"Volc&n Llaima" is the title of
the cover picture. It is a photo-
graph by Eric L. Bertens, of San-
tiago, Chile, who has entered it
in the Sixth Chicago International
Nature Photography Exhibition to
be held at the Museum, February
1-28. The exhibition is sponsored
jointly by the Museum and the
Nature Camera Club of Chicago.

ecology, a synthetic biology that studies the
interaction of plants and animals and their
joint dependence on the environment, and
thus again takes the professor to the field.
It is, therefore, not surprising that there
should be signs of active new developments
of university museums — at the University
of Illinois, at the various branches of the
University of California, at the University
of Florida, and elsewhere. It seems not
impossible that we may witness a complete
revival of museum interest and that it will
become not only useful but even again
fashionable to maintain a museum in con-
nection with our institutions of learning.

The larger museums have lived through
the whole cycle of rise and decline and
revival of the university museum, witnessing
the decline with dismay and welcoming
the revival as a sensible return of attention
to the foundations of the natural sciences,
especially in anthropology, botany and
zoology, and geology.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

Election of Museum Officers

At the Annual Meeting of the Board of
Trustees held January 15, Stanley Field
was re-elected President of the Museum.
This will be Mr. Field's 43rd consecutive
year in that office. All other officers were
re-elected. They are: Marshall Field, PMrst
Vice-President; Albert B. Dick, Jr., Second
Vice-President; Samuel Insull, Jr., Third
Vice-President; Solomon A. Smith, Treas-
urer; Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director
and Secretary; and John R. Millar, Assistant
Secretary.

John S. Guggenheim Fellowship
Awarded to Dr. Cuatrecasas

Dr. Jose Cuatrecasas, Curator of Co-
lombian Botany, completed his contract
with the Museum in December, 1950.
Starting January 1, 1951, he assumed his
new status as a John Simon Guggenheim
Fellow. He received this fellowship in
recognition of his distinguished work on
the botany of Colombia. While a Guggen-
heim Fellow, Dr. Cuatrecasas will prepare
a critical catalogue of all plants known to
occur in Colombia, using his own extensive
collections as the basis for this work.

Museum Attendance Rises

The number of visitors admitted free to
the Museum in 1950 increased to 1,052,420,
while the number of adults paying the
nominal admission charge on certain days
decreased to 121,241. Children, students,
teachers, and Museum Members are always
admitted free. The total attendance for
1950, free and paid, was 1,173,661, a slight
increase over the total of 1,145,359 recorded
in 1949.

February, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

MUSEUM RECORDER RETIRES
FROM POSITION

Mrs. Michael J. (Elsie H.) Thomas, Re-
corder of the Museum for many years, will
retire from her position on February 1.
Mrs. Thomas has been employed by the
Museum since 1922. She began as a
secretary in the office of the President,
became Assistant Re-
corder in 1924, and
Recorder in 1926.
Her duties have been
dual: she not only has
been in charge of
maintaining the rec-
ords of accessions in
all of the scientific
departments and
other divisions of the
Museum — a task re-

STAFF NOTES

quinng accuracy in

ELSIE H. THOMAS

keeping track of

hundreds of thousands of specimens — but
she has also administered the Division of
Publications. In the latter capacity she has
supervised the distribution of thousands of
scientific works published by the Museum
and circulated to all parts of the world in
exchange with other scientific institutions
and individual scientists. It has also been
her responsibility to keep classified statistics
of Museum attendance, making daily,
monthly, and annual reports covering the
various classes of admissions — free, paid,
special, Members, and others. Meticulous
attention to the smallest details and high
standards of efficiency were characteristic
of her service.

Mrs. Thomas is a native of Iowa. In
leaving the Museum she takes with her the
gratitude of the institution for her devotion
to her work over the years and the friendship
of the Museum staff. All join in wishing
her many happy years in her retirement.

Technical Publications Issued

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum :

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 32, No. 7. Birds
oS the Acary Mountains, Southern British
Guiana. By Emmet R. Blake. December
19, 1950. 60 pages.

Geological Series: Vol. VII, No. 9. The
Smithonia Meteorite. By Sharat Kumar
Roy and Robert Kriss Wyant. De-
cember 22, 1950. 6 pages. $0.15.

Geological Series: Vol. VII, No. 10. The
La Porte Meteorite. By Sharat Kumar
Roy and Robert Kriss Wyant. De-
cember 22, 1950. 10 pages. $0.25.

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 11, No. 2. Diplo-
eaulus, A Study in Growth and Variation.
By Everett Claire Olson. January 12,
1951. 116 pages.

At the request of the Pacific Science
Board of the National Research Council,
Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic
Ethnology, went to Washington to partici-
pate in a special conference, January 12, on
coral atoll ecological research .... Donald
Collier, Curator of South American Eth-
nology and Archaeology, recently gave an
illustrated lecture on Peruvian archaeology
and a talk on carbon-14 dating at the
University of Illinois, Urbana. Curator
Collier and Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant
in Archaeology, were interviewed respec-
tively on carbon-14 dating and the Mu-
seum's excavations at Tularosa Cave, New
Mexico, for the program entitled "Great
Stories in Corn," which is broadcast over
the NBC network.

Public School Executives
on Museum Visit

The administrative and supervisory staff
of the Chicago Public Schools held a meeting
at the Museum on January 6 to review the
educational services offered for children by
this institution. Herold C. Hunt, General
Superintendent of the school system, pre-
sided. The entire staff of the Raymond
Foundation, headed by Miss Miriam Wood,
presented the program, which began with
introductory talks in the James Simpson
Theatre and the showing of a new Museum
film, "Through These Doors." This was
followed by Museum tours showing the
latest additions to the exhibits and a few
of the exhibits most often requested by
school groups. Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief
Curator of Geology, and his staff were hosts
to the educators in a preview of the new
geology hall now under preparation, in
which fossil invertebrates and fossil plants
are to be exhibited (Frederick J. V. Skiff
Hall— Hall 37).

Sunday Layman Lectures
Resume in March

Because of a lecture tour to other cities
Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer,
will suspend his Sunday afternoon lectures
at the Museum during February but will
resume them on the four Sundays in March
(March 4, 11, 18, and 25). In that month
his subject will be "Behind the Scenes in
Our Museums." Advance reservations (ex-
cept for Museum Members) are necessary
for all of the Layman Lectures and during
Mr. Dallwig's absence in February will be
taken for the March dates either by mail
or telephone (WAbash 2-9410). Members
of the Museum are admitted upon presenta-
tion of their membership cards. The lec-
tures are free.

NATURE PHOTO EXHIBIT,
FEBRUARY 1 TO 28

The Sixth Chicago International Nature
Photography Exhibition, sponsored jointly
by the Museum and the Nature Camera
Club of Chicago, will open in Stanley Field
Hall of the Museum on February 1 and
continue through February 28. From
several thousand entries submitted by both
professional and amateur photographers in
all parts of the United States and many
foreign countries approximately 200 of the
best black-and-white prints and 700 color
slides have been placed on display. The
number of entries has increased from year
to year.

The selections were made by a panel of
judges using the exacting standards of the
Photographic Society of America, which
rates the annual show at this Museum as a
"Class A" exhibit. This exhibition is the
largest of its kind in the world devoted
exclusively to nature photography, and
despite its specialized field it is larger than
many pictorial exhibitions that are unre-
stricted in subject matter. The judges this
year were: Conrad Emanuelson, A.R.P.S.,
photographer; John W. Moyer, in charge
of Division of Motion Pictures at the Mu-
seum; R. Marlin Perkins, Director of
Lincoln Park Zoo; Merrill Tilden, photog-
rapher; and Rainer Zangerl, Curator of
Fossil Reptiles at the Museum.

The exhibition is composed of two main
divisions — prints and color slides. In each
division are three classifications: Animal
Life, Plant Life, and General. Silver medals
and ribbons will be awarded in the various
print and slide classifications. The names
of the prize winners will be inscribed on the
Myrtle Walgreen plaque. The prints are
displayed in fluorescent-lighted panels built
especially for this purpose. The slides are
displayed in rotation in a display cabinet.
They will also be projected on the screen
in the James Simpson Theatre on two
Sunday afternoons, February 11 and 18,
at 3 P.M.

An illustrated catalogue of the exhibit,
available early in March, will be published
by the Nature Camera Club. A list of the
prize winners and reproductions of some of
their entries will appear in the March
Bulletin.

Audubon Lecture February 10

The Illinois Audubon Society will present
the third lecture in its current series on
Saturday, February 10, at 2:30 p.m., in the
James Simpson Theatre of the Museum.
William Ferguson, of Omaha, Nebraska,
will lecture on "This Curious World in
Nature." The lecture will be illustrated
with natural-color motion pictures made in
Colorado. The film stresses the danger to
natural resources from vandalism and forest
fires. Admission is free to the general public.

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1951

THE OLDEST CORN
IN THE WORLD

By HUGH C. CUTLER

CURATOR OF ECONOMIC BOTANY

Last summer the Museum's Southwest
Archaeological Expedition dug up the best
series of archaeological remains of food
plants ever discovered in North America. In
Tularosa Cave, a dry cave in west-central
New Mexico, the archaeologists uncovered
well-preserved remains of the most im-

Fig. 1. Varieties of corn. Left to right: Popcorn,
flint, dent, flour, sweet, and pod corn.

portant native American food plants: com,
beans, and squash, as well as gourds, sun-
flowers, an edible desert primrose, cacti, and
grasses. In addition there were strings,
ropes, sandals, and baskets made of fibers
from grasses, agaves, yuccas, and cedar bark.
There is an abundance of material, most of
it corn. In the collection are about 38,000
corncobs, some entire and still bearing grains,
fragments of roots, stems, and tassels. In
even the lowest and oldest levels of the cave,
corn was the most abundant food plant
present.

It is believed that com from the lowest
levels of the cave may be the oldest yet
known. Some of the ears are the most
primitive kinds that have yet been un-
earthed. A definite date has not been
assigned to the lowest levels, but stone
tools found there are very similar to those
found in nearby sites that have been dated
at about 2500 B.C. by the radiocarbon
method described by Curator Donald Collier
in the Bulletin of January, 1951.

YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT

Most com grown in the United States
today is a highly developed product, the
result of years of effort by the Indians,
followed by intensive selection by white
farmers and, more recently, by scientific
breeding done by corn geneticists. Corn is
our most important crop and covers more '
than one-quarter of our croplands each
year. We grow about 60 per cent of the
com of the world, so much that there are
about 1,300 pounds of corn for each person
each year in the United States. Unlike
the Indians of Tularosa Cave, however, we
eat very little of this as corn. About 80 per

cent of it is fed to animals in the region in
which the corn is grown and we consume it
as pork or beef. A large part of the re-
mainder is used in industry to make com-
mercial starches and sugars, alcohols,
whiskey, beer, syrups for soft drinks, and
a host of minor products. Paper, for ex-
ample, is often coated with a sizing contain-
ing corn products, while printing inks for
paper or textiles contain corn products to
give the ink body. Relatively little of our
corn is used in such obvious ways as corn
on the cob, popcorn, or corn flakes.

Corn is usually classified by the character
of the grains, for it is this part that is used
most often. In popcorn, with the exception
of the embryo, most of the grain is filled
with a hard translucent or horny material
and there is very little soft starch within
the grain (Figs. 1 and 2). In flint corn there
is much more of this soft starch, although
the kernel is still completely enclosed by
the hard starch. In the dent corns, the kind
of corn grown throughout our Corn Belt
and generally called field corn, the hard
material is confined to a band about the
kernel, and the soft starch reaches up to
the cap of the grain. In flour corn nearly

Fig. 2. Diagrams of corn grains cut longitudinally.

Left to right: Popcorn, flint, dent, flour, sweet,

and pod corn.

all the storage material is soft and floury.
The grains of a sweet com like Golden
Bantam are filled with a translucent and
sweet material that, when it dries, shrinks,
and the grain becomes wrinkled.

PROTECTIVE FEl*TURES

This classification is practical for users of
corn, but for studying the development of
corn from the primitive forms grown by
the Indians who first occupied Tularosa
Cave other characters are more important.
One of these characters is the way in which
the individual grains are protected on the ear.

In a kind of corn called pod corn, in-
dividual grains are completely surrounded
by the chaffy material that surrounds only
the base of most corn and usually is not
seen until the grains are removed. In pod
com this protective covering is so large (as
in the ear to the right in Fig. 1) that the
grains often are completely concealed. Some
ears from the lower levels of Tularosa Cave
are of this type (shown in Fig. S). The
ear to the left still has all of its grains and
each of these is almost completely covered.
The two ears to the right have lost their
grains, but the cover that once concealed
each grain is evident. These are the ex-
tremes; yet most of the ears in the lower
levels have well-developed protective covers.
In most grasses the grains are enclosed by

similar structures, and it is likely that the
grains in wild corn were thus protected.
Pod corn, then, is primitive in this respect.
In later levels there is a gradual reduction
of the covers, a sign that the Indians selected
corn with more grains and ears that would
be easier to shell than pod corn.

There is very little variation in the oldest
corn ears. Most of the ears are small and
nearly of the same size and shape. The
amount of variation increased and as one
approached the top levels of the cave most
of the kinds of corn that are grown in the
same region today can be found. Here in
Tularosa Cave is a history of plant breeding
that covers about 3,000 years.

TRACING PLANT HISTORY

The story for other cultivated plants can
never be so complete as that for corn.
Corncobs are usually brought to the house
and the grains removed there. The cobs
are then discarded, usually in a refuse heap,
but often they are just left about the dwell-
ings, as was the case of the material that
the Museum expedition recovered. In other
plants there are few parts that are brought
back to the house and then discarded.
Beans, for example, are usually picked in
the pod when dry, dried some more in the
sun, and, after they have been flailed or
trampled, winnowed in a windy spot to
remove the crushed bean-pod fragments.
Occasional bean seeds are lost in the refuse
but this is quite rare. Thus, the rarity of
bean remains, especially in the lower levels

Fig. 3. Ancient ears of pod corn found in Tularosa
Cave, New Mexico, hy the Museum's Archaeo'
logical Expedition to the Southwest in the summer
of 1950. Approximately 4,000 years old, these
are the most primitive ears of com ever discovered.

of the cave, does not mean that beans were
uncommon.

Remains of squashes are usually confined
to stems and fragments of the rind. Indians
used the seeds as well as the fleshy parts of
the squash. This is unfortunate because the
principal diagnostic characters of some
squashes are found in the seeds and stems.
Stems are often broken off in the field and
so their frequency in rubbish heaps is no
indication of the amount of squash consumed.

One of the common food plants found in
the lower levels of the cave was the wild
gourd, Cucurbita foetidissima. It is closely

February, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

related to the squash and still grows wild
in the same region. The flesh of most of
the wild gourds is bitter, although there are
occasional ones that can be eaten. Usually
only the seeds are used, roasted, so that
there is an abundance of the discarded
fragments of rind with attached fibrous
flesh. There are many kinds of these wild
gourds, most of them used by the natives
of North America for their seeds. It is
likely that some of them are ancestral forms
of the cultivated squashes and pumpkins.
Some wild gourds are perennials and develop
large starchy roots that can be eaten.
Occasional fragments of a starchy root in
the Tularosa Cave remains appear to be of
the wild gourd.

There were fragments of the cultivated
bottle gourd, Lagenaria, in all layers of the
cave. The bottle gourd is the only cultivated
plant that is known to have been cultivated
in both the Old and the New World before
the time of Columbus. It originated in the
Old World, for there are many varieties
there, and spread to the New World very
early, probably by floating in the sea.
While it is used here only for water jars
and containers, in the Old World the young
fruits are often eaten. They are rather
tasteless, however, and the fact that our
Indians did not eat them may be considered
as evidence of the superiority of available
New World foods and the discrimination of
their growers.

FIFIY YEARS AGO

AT TllK MUSKUM

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany:

From: Dr. Violet M. Diller, Cincinnati,
Ohio — 28 algal cultures; Henry S. Dybas,
Chicago — 27 specimens of fungi, Illinois,
Indiana, and Wisconsin; Donald Richards,
Chicago — 625 miscellaneous cryptogams;
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stan-
ford, Calif. — 91 phanerogams. United States;
Bureau of Forestry, Manila, P. I. — 22 hand-
specimens of wood, Philippine Islands.

Department of Geology:

From: University of Chicago, Chicago —
3 fossil reptile specimens, Texas.

Department of Zooloily:

From: Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago — a
gorilla (Bushman); Chicago Zoological Soci-
ety, Brookfield, 111. — 4 bird skins; John G.
Shedd Aquarium, Chicago — a red-tailed
catfish, Amazon basin; Fisheries Depart-
ment, Sandakan, North Borneo — 89 fishes
(marine and fresh-water) representing 34
species, North Borneo; Major Robert Traub,
Washington, D.C. — 3 rodents, England;
Macy Parkman, Mt. Sterling, 111. — a bird
skin, Illinois; Robert Fleming, Mussoorie,
India — 133 insects and allies, India; Harold
Hanson, Urbana, 111. — 5 Canada goose
skeletons, Illinois; Dr. Stanley Auerbach,
Evanston, 111. — 164 insects and allies. United
States; Loren P. Woods and family, Richton
Park, 111. — 18 cypress swamp fishes. South
Carolina.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"Beguest.—The sum of $1,000.00 was
bequeathed to the Museum by the late
Huntington W. Jackson. This brings to
mind the fact that the President during the
year supported the movement to amend
the law regarding the Inheritance Tax, and
the Museum is to be congratulated on the
success with which the concerted efforts of
the various institutions in the country have
been crowned, the objectionable law having
been repealed by the United States and the
State of Illinois. . . .

"Installation. — The Curator of the De-
partment of Zoology reports that several of
the divisions are exceedingly cramped for
room and that further installation of speci-
mens in these divisions will be difficult."

SPRING LECTURES, MOVIES
FOR ADULTS, CHILDREN

The annual Spring Course of free illus-
trated lectures for adults on science and
travel and the Raymond Foundation free
motion-picture programs for children will
begin on March 3. These presentations will
continue on each Saturday afternoon and
morning throughout March and April.

"Alluring Alaska," the first lecture for
adults, will be illustrated with motion pic-
tures in color. Frederick Machetanz of
Kenton, Ohio, who since 1935 has traveled
more than 76,000 miles over all areas of
Alaska, is the lecturer on March 3. The
lecture will be given in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum at 2:30 p.m. Re-
served seats are available to Members upon
application in advance.

The same film and a special version for
children of the same lecture will be given
by Mr. Machetanz on the morning program
for March 3. The children's program will
begin at 10:30 a.m.

A complete schedule of programs of both
adult and children's series will appear in
the March issue of the Bulletin.

Library:

From: American Anthropological Associa-
tion, Andover, Mass.; Dr. Henry Field,
Wa.shington, D.C; Dr. Maurice L. Richard-
son, Lansing, Mich.; Dr. Robert H. Denison
and Prof. Frederick Eggan, both of Chicago.

Raymond Foundation:

From: Estate of Susie I. Grier — 214 speci-
mens of ethnological material, 52 books and
other publications; John R. Millar, Chicago
— 3 kodachrome slides; Ronald J. Lambert,
Zion, 111. — 3 kodachrome slides.

MUSEUM RECEIVES PLANTS
COLLECTED AT INCHON

It is not often that current military events
have a direct bearing on Mu.seum work,
but they did during the recent Inchon
invasion in Korea. An officer in the U. S.
Marines, who landed at Inchon, happened
to be a member of the Wood Collectors
Society. This is a "non-profit organization
of scientists, botanists, wood technologists,
wood collectors, hobbyists, and craftsmen,
for mutual reciprocation and assistance,"
and its secretary, Archie F. Wilson, of
Flo-ssmoor, Illinois, is a frequent visitor in
the Herbarium of Chicago Natural History
Museum. Specimens, sent for identification
to Mr. Wilson by members of this society,
are often forwarded by him to the Museum.
In the present instance, this marine oflScer
apparently landed, as Mr. Wilson writes,
"with a gun in one hand and a saw in the
other. He has shipped me several logs
from there, along with two he could not
identify and from which he took the en-
closed herbarium material."

The two specimens received belong to
the conifers, one being a species of fir and
the other a species of arbor vitae, the latter
sometimes known as white cedar in the
eastern United States. Although these
Korean plants represent species different
from those found in the United States, they
illustrate the close relationship existing be-
tween the present floras of eastern Asia
and North America, especially eastern North
America. This relationship of the floras of
these widely separated areas is the result
of former connections that existed between
Asia and North America millions of years
ago. After the land connections between
these continents were cut off, the ancestors
of our firs, arbor vitaes, and many other
genera of plants gave rise to different species
on the two continents.

Various ornamental plants native to
Korea have long been favorites in the
United States among horticulturists and
flower-lovers in general. For example the
beautiful and showy royal azalea (Rhodo-
dendron Schlippenbachii) , a native of the
mountains of Korea, is successfully grown
in the eastern and southern United States
as well as in the Chicago area. It is one of
the earliest of the azaleas to bloom outdoors
in this region. The Chinese or Oriental
arbor vitae (Thuja orientalis), a native of
Korea, Manchuria, and northeastern China,
is a beautiful evergreen commonly planted
in the southern and Pacific states of this
country. — J.A.S.

Mrs. Lura Smith, of Pyongyang, Korea,
a missionary worker who mounted plants
for two summers in the Museum Herbarium
and then returned to Korea, has made a
collection of more than 350 Korean plants
and sent them to the Museum.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1951

SAILOR-ANTHROPOLOGISTS OF THE 18th CENTURY

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOB OP EXHIBITS, ANTHBOPOLOGY

IN THE last quarter of the 18th century
there were foixr important voyages of
exploration made to the Pacific islands and
the northwest coast of America under the
auspices of Great Britain and France. The
British voyages were those of Captain James
Cook in 1776-80 and Captain George Van-
couver in 1790-95. The French voyages

EVERY thing that concerns natural
philosophy and natural history, that may
occur in the voyage about to be undertaken
round the world, cannot fail to be interesting
to the art of physic, and may contribute to
its improvement: but the Society of Medicine
conceives, that it ought to confine itself to
those subjects, which more particularly con-
cern the art it cultivates. As the questions
it has to propose are somewhat numerous.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ANTHROPOLOGY

A picture from the report of the French expedition led by Captain J. F. G. de la Pcrouse in 17S5'8S.

It shows French scientists at work with Polynesians on Easter Island, where the expedition stopped en

route to the northwest coast of America where further studies were made.

were those of Captain J. F. G. de la Pcrouse
in 1785-88 and Captain Etieime Marchand
in 1790-92.

The instructions from their respective
governments to the captains of these ex-
ploratory voyages contained directives to
study the natural history of the regions
visited. Natural history in these directives
included what is now called ethnography,
ethnology, applied anthropology, and physi-
cal anthropology. In the instructions to La
Perou^, physical anthropology is included
under anatomy and physiology, which in
turn are included in the "art of physic."
The following section on physical anthro-
pology is quoted from the journal of the
voyage of La Pcrouse (La Perouse, 1799,
I, pp. 136-139), a copy of which is in the
Museum Library. It indicates the interests,
methods, and problems of the "physical
anthropologists" — the practitioners of the
"art of physic" — of the late 18th century.
QUESTIONS PROPOSED BY THE SO-
CIETY OF MEDICINE to the navi-
gators accompanying Mr. De La Perouse,
read at the meeting of the 31st of May,
1785.

it will arrange them under heads, forming
so many divisions belonging to the different
branches of the medical art.

SECTION I

Anatomy. Physiology
The Structure of the Huinan Body, and the
Functions of its Parts.

MOST travellers have written on the
general structure and form of body of the
people they have met with in different
countries: but it is well known, that their
descriptions commonly abound with mis-
takes and exaggeration. There is every
reason to expect more accuracy from the
men of science who accompany Mr. de la
Perouse, and they are requested particularly
to notice the following points.

1. The ordinary structure of men and
women; the long and short diameters of the
head; the length of the superior and inferior
extremities, measured from the articulation
at the shoulder to the end of the middle
finger, and from the head of the thigh to
the end of the great or of the second toe;
the circumference of the pelvis, the width
of the chest, and that of the shoulders; the

height of the spine, measured from the top
of the first of the cervical vertebrae to the
sacrum. These proportions are taken from
the divisions of painters.

2. The texture and colour of the skin, in
general and in different parts; and of the
hair and nails.

3. The particular make of the head, or
of the cranium; that of the face, and espe-
cially of the forehead, nose, eyes, ears,
mouth, chin, teeth, tongue, hair, and beard.

4. These different parts islanders are
accustomed to disfigure by holes, incisions,
and extraneous substances which they in-
troduce into them, as well as by oils, and
colours prepared from ochres or vegetable
juices.

It may be of use to describe with accuracy
the processes employed by the savages for
making indelible marks on the skin; the
substances they use for this purpose; how
they prepare and apply them; the age or
circumstances under which the operation
is performed; and particularly the local
alterations or deformities, or effects upon
the individual, which result from it.

5. Excesses, defects, or varieties in the
conformation of parts of the body; as the
flattening or elongation of the forehead, the
contraction or spread of the nose, the
enlargement of the mouth and ears. Are
these varieties the regular consequences of
natural organization, or the effects of
particular practices? Dampier says, that
two teeth are wanting in the natives of Van
Diemen's Land: is it from nature, or are
they extracted: Thus the two mouths ob-
served by Cook's sailors in the inhabitants
of the American coast, near Prince William's
Sound, are produced by a transverse incision
made through the lower lip. . . .

Scarcely any thing has been said on the
use of the two hands. The question respect-
ing ambidextrous persons, or the preference
of one hand to the other, has not yet
sufficiently engaged the attention of natu-
ralists: it is of importance therefore to in-
quire, whether the people, which our navi-
gators may visit, employ both hands equally
in their labours, or use one in preference;
and whether the predilection in favour of
the right, among polished nations, be any
thing more than the effect of prejudice. It
is of importance also to inquire, whether,
among those people who are accustomed to
go barefoot, there be any who use their feet
as readily as their hands, and for the same
purposes.

6. We have no positive information re-
specting the comparative strength of dif-
ferent men. It would be well to make trial
of the burdens, which the inhabitants of
countries, where nature has not been
debilitated by effeminancy and the customs
adopted in polished nations, are able to
carry, and of the ground they can pass over
in a given time, both walking and running.

7. The nature of the sense of sight.

February, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

hearing, and smell, is capable of furnishing
important facts respecting the strength or
weakness of their organs. Much has been
said of the acuteness of smell among
savages: it would be interesting to verify
this, and to examine whether this acuteness
of smell do not exist to the detriment of
some other sense . . .

8. The voice, and the greater or less
distinctness of articulation, are of impor-
tance to be examined, as well as the expres-
sion of pleasure, pain, and joy.

9. The age of puberty in males and
females. . . . How do the women conduct
themselves during pregnancy? . . . Do they
swaddle their infants, or what methods do
they employ instead of swaddling? Are any
practices adopted with regard to children
as soon as born, as moulding their heads,
or washing them? Do the mothers suckle
them? And to what age? Are more boys
born than girls?

10. How many children die from the
time of birth to the age of puberty? What

is the term of life in different climates?

11. The quickness or slowness of the
pulse, compared with that of Europeans,
which is about sixty-five or seventy pulsa-
tions in a minute.

12. The relation of the colour of the skin
to that of the fluids. In men of more or
less swarthy complexions, has the colour
of the spermatic fluid, the medullary sub-
stance of the brain, and the blood, any
analogy to that of the skin? Among those
who are black is there any variation of
colour found in individuals, such as pale
or white negroes, &c.? Is this variation the
consequence of disease, or of a constitution
altered by the influence of climate, as is
supposed of negroes transported into cold
countries? . . .

We take no notice of giants, or pigmies,
or men with tails, and the like, because these
pretended freaks of nature have never been
seen, except by ignorant or prejudiced
travellers, or existed only in their heated
imaginations.

CORRECTION

In the January issue of the Bulletin (vol. 22, no. 1, page 4) a picture of Sphenacodon
ferox from the Early Permian of North America was printed by mistake instead of the picture
showing the skeleton of Bradysaurus baini from the Karroo Formation of South Africa, for
which the caption was written. Both specimens are illustrated below.

1

i

1

P

^ .

^^H^HL '^

J

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Wt

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bhh^ih

BRADYSAURUS BAINI
Karroo Formation, South Africa

-Prehistoric Forests (Miriam

FEBRUARY LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and
certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Frl., Feb. 2 — One Man's Meat: Unusual
Food Animals. Illustrated introduction
in Meeting Room (Harriet Smith).

Wed., Feb. 7-

Wood).

Frl., Feb. 9 — Life in the Polar Regions.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Lorain Farmer).

Wed., Feb. 14 — Say It with Flowers:
Valetine's Day (Marie Svoboda).

Fri., Feb. 16 — Houses that Minerals Built.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromguisl).

Wed., Feb. 21 — Primitive Glamour (June
Btichwald).

Frl., Feb. 23 — Caribbean Contributions:
Plants from Middle America. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Miriam
Wood).

Wed., Feb.

Sharpe).

28 — Life in the Water (Jane

Persons wishing to participate should
apply at North Entrance. Tours are free.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between December 18 and Jan-
uary 15:

Non-Resident Life Members

Edward Andrew

Associate Members

Waldo Morgan Allen, Edward M. Cum-
mings. Miss Ellen Dunlap Smith.

Sustaining Members

Joseph Targes

Annual Members

Alfred S. Alschuler, Jr., Kenneth H.
Anderson, Frederick Asher, T. J. Beirne,
Russell O. Bennett, Edwin A. Bergman,
Hugh Davis, John I. Duffy, Alec K.
Gianaras, Mi.ss Mildred L. Hannaford, Miss
Mae F. Mardorf, William V. McKinzie,
James Moran, Linton G. Moustakis, Robert
L. Noble, J. Vincent O'Neill, Albert W.
Potts, S. E. Toussaint, David B. Waller-
stein, Mrs. Adele Willott.

SPENACODON FEROX
Abo Formation, North America

Both No 26 (Jackson Boulevard) and
"Red Top" (Soldier Field parking area)
busses now provide service direct to the
Museum, with transfers from and to all
other Motor Coach Lines as well as CTA
surface lines, elevated, and subway.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1951

Books

(All books reviewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance are
promptly filled — The Book Shop pays the
postage on shipments.)

HANDBOOK OF ATTRACTING BIRDS.

By Thomas P. McElroy, Jr. Illustrated
by Lambert Guenther. Alfred A. Knopf,
New York, 1950. xi+163 pages, 51 text
figures. Price $3.

Whether or not birds live in your garden
or fields depends on whether or not food,
water, and cover for living and for nesting
are available to them. This volume by
McElroy sets forth how one can attract
birds and gives directions for making feed-
ing stations, bird baths, and nest boxes, as
well as for planting food plants. But it
goes far beyond this. It relates the birds
and their needs to land use and conservation
generally. Attracting birds is briefly covered,
from window boxes and landscaped gardens
for song birds to farms, ponds, and waste-
lands for game birds. Trees, shrubs, and
pond plants are listed with their attractions.

A chapter on predation asks for an
intelligent appraisal of hawks and owls.
They have a proper place in the scheme of
things. Even the cat is not wholly con-
demned. It is pointed out that predation,
along with other factors such as climate and
disease, must eliminate many young birds
each year or we would be inundated with
birds and they would starve. However, at
such places as feeding stations, where high
populations of birds are artificially main-
tained, it obviously becomes necessary to
eliminate the predator that is trying to eat
the birds you want to watch.

The very good advice is given to well-
meaning people who would like to bring a
chirping fledgling into the house and
personally care for it to leave its care to
its own parents. However, orphaned young-
sters may need to be raised, and directions
are given for this. Sick birds, McElroy
rightly says, should be returned to a protec-
tive cover (if not painlessly eliminated) in
the hope that nature will aid recovery.
Directions are given for treating broken
wings, but I wonder if broken- winged birds
should not rather be treated like sick birds.
Brief sections treat bird study, bird band-
ing, and sanctuaries as community efforts
in nature study.

The approach used, relating birds to their
environment, and the lack of sentimentality
are refreshing in a book of this sort. The
sections on bird baths, houses, feeding
stations, and garden planting are detailed
enough to be practical. The other sections
are hurried surveys of a series of subjects:
glimpses and indication of what one would

find if there were time to stop and explore
more fully these avenues. But a volume
of only 163 pages, which includes 51 illus-
trations, has to hurry to cover so many and
such complicated aspects of bird life. In
line with this, when any extensive planting
or game management project is proposed,
one is advised to get in touch with one's
county agent or other government official
who can give advice based on his own local
experience.

A two-page bibliography is given. Lists of
selected references and background reading
for the subject of each chapter would have
been more useful, however, and a more
effective aid to those who will want to explore
the vistas so attractively sketched.

Austin L. Rand
Curator of Birds

THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION, A
Study of the History of Life and Its
Significance for Man. By George Gay-
lord Simpson. Yale University Press,
1949. xv-f-364 pages, 38 text figures.
Price $3.75.

In this important and timely book one of
the most eminent of living paleontologists
presents an authoritative summary of the
vast accumulation of information from fossils
that forms the basic factual record of the
evolution of life on earth. This record ex-
hibits two main types of evolution: the
progressive (under various meanings of the
word) and the radiating, which last produces
the vast variety of forms of life, accounts
mainly for the "origin of species," and makes
it necessary for the layman to add to his
meanings for the word "radiation" the
evolutionary one of adaptive differentiation
in varied environments.

The second part of the book gives an
exposition of the modern biological interpre-
tation not only of the paleontological record
but of current thought in those life sciences
that are of major importance to an under-
standing of evolution. This refers especially
to the completely modern phase of the study
of heredity marked by return to an active
interest, from the base of its own data, in
evolutionary problems. These two parts of
The Meaning of Evolution form an abbrevia-
tion and popularization of Dr. Simpson's
more technical work. Tempo and Mode in
Evolution. The more popular work thus
meets a conspicuous need in the intellectual
life of our times, namely the summarization
and interpretation of the technical literature
of science for the intelligent layman by the
scientists themselves.

Among the more important of the correc-
tions of widely held popular misconceptions
about evolution and its method is the clear
statement of the new understanding of the
principal effective operating forces in evolu-
tion, subsumed under the term "natural

selection." Paleontologists, ecologists, and
geneticists alike have come to reject the
"tooth and claw" interpretation of the
struggle for existence. A gladiatorial theory
of existence (the phrase is that of Thomas H.
Huxley) was made current by the followers
and disciples of Darwin in the latter part
of the 19th century. When applied to human
relations this concept of evolution afforded
the basis for the monstrous belief in human
war as inevitable and natural and thus in
itself good. This view, now seen to be
essentially false, has been a factor in bring-
ing about much of the calamitous destruc-
tion of the civilized world and its resources
in the first half of the 20th century.

Much better than his over-hasty inter-
preters, Darwin understood that there is
selection for the ability to co-operate as
well as for the capacity for overt struggle.
Overt struggle, in its turn, has been shown to
be far less effective than the slow trans-
formation of populations by the differential
selection of hereditary characters, and this
is now regarded as the most important clue
to the methods of evolutionary change.

From the standpoint of a strict mechanist.
Dr. Simpson subjects a group of recent philo-
sophic interpretations of evolution to sharp
critique. The works in question, exemplified
by du Nouy's Human Destiny, invoke vital-
ism or finalism, or both, as essential to the
explanation of adaptation and, further, as
essential to a reconciliation of religion and
science. Their several authors appear, how-
ever, to be quite unaware of modern evolu-
tion— any studies in the field of heredity or,
for that matter, of the factual record of
paleontology.

When Dr. Simpson turns to the further
interpretation of the meaning of evolution
to ourselves, he comes to grips with the false
antithesis between religion and science that
has become a source of weakness in the
societies of civilized man. We plainly need
as much as did our forebears in an unscien-
tific age the inward strengthening and stabi-
lization that is rooted in our religious feel-
ings and instincts. Because the importance
of science in the modern world cannot be
denied, whereas its conclusions seem to
many earnest persons to be at variance with
religious beliefs, the importance of religion
itself and of the associated ethical systems
has been allowed to decline. I believe, as
Dr. Simpson evidently does, that it is the
duty of every man or woman to examine
his own attitudes and beliefs and to achieve
a working personal religion of his own. In
this final part of The Meaning of Evolution
the reader will find much clarification of
the "Search for an Ethic." I join Dr.
Simpson, across a considerable divergence
of philosophic background, in the profound
belief that it is only the truth that can
make us free.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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'Vol.22,No.3-Mareh,1951

Chicago Natural
History Museum

■Si

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marsball Field, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chlcafto 5

Telbphokb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour STA>a£Y Field

Sbwell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wh. McCorhick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cumminos William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wettbn

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Praidenl

Marshall Field First Vice-President

Albert B. Dick, Jr Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Habtk Public Relations Counsel

Members are requested to inform tlie Museum
promptly of clian£es of address.

A LILY IS 'QUEEN'

By EMIL sella
curator of exhibits in botany

Nearly 130 years ago Dr. Nathaniel
Wallich, the great Indian botanist, in a
monograph of the genus Hedychium de-
scribed this ginger lily as follows: "This is

HEDYCHIUM GARDNERIANUM
Tliis model of a lily of the Ginger family is a
recent addition to the plant exhibits in Hall 29.

the queen of the genus, surely there exists
not even an Orchidea which exceeds it in
any respects."

This recent addition to the plant exhibits
in Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall

(Plant Life— Hall 29) is known as Hedy-
chium Gardnerianum. The plant is a native
of the temperate regions of the Himalayas.
Dr. Wallich first discovered it in Nepal,
India, and named it in honor of Edward
Gardner, an official of the East India Com-
pany and one of the pioneers in Indian
botany.

Propagated by division of the rhizomes,
this plant develops annual growths of five
to seven feet in height. Its stems, with
canna-like leaves, bear large terminal flower
spikes one foot or more in length. The
fragrant blossoms are golden yellow with a
long projecting red filament. Attractive as
the flowers may seem, the late fruiting period
can be equally striking. Each fruit, splitting
into three orange-yellow segments, reveals
seeds of brilliant crimson. This display,
along with the green of the bracts and leaves,
results in a colorful array that often remains
unfaded for several weeks.

The living material required for this model
was obtained through the co-operation of
the Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago.
It was later reproduced by the writer with
the aid of Frank Boryca and Samuel H.
Grove, Jr., Assistants in Plant Reproduction.

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of
Geology, flew to El Salvador in the latter
part of February to begin his expedition.
He will sf)end several months in geological
and paleontological field investigations and
in research at the laboratories of the In-
stitute Tropical de Investigaciones Cien-
tificas, Universidad Autonoma de El Sal-
vador, which is jointly sponsoring the project
with Chicago Natural History Museum.
Dr. Austin L. Rand, Curator of Birds,
left February 14 to participate in this
enterprise for the Department of Zoology.
The Department of Botany has been re-
presented since last year .... Loren P.
Woods, Curator of Fishes, left February 12
to take part in dredging operations in the
Gulf of Mexico on the United States Fish
and Wildlife research vessel Oregon ....
D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate
Anatomy, lectured on the animal life of
Borneo to the Northwestern University
seminar in zoology on February 9 . . . .
Leon R. Aboulafla, visiting fellow from
the Biological Institute of Tel-Aviv, lec-
tured on "Biotopes and Animal Life of
Palestine" to the Ecology Group at the
University of Chicago on February 5 . . . .
Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of
the Herbarium, lectured on a variety of
botanical subjects recently before the Bilt-
more Garden Club, Barrington Natural
History Society, Ravinia Garden Club, and
Wauconda Parent-Teachers Association ....
Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

"Flight" is the title of the pic-
ture on the cover. This unusual
photograph of a flock of gulls,
ranged almost like an Army Air
Force formation, was awarded an
honorable mention in the Sixth
Chicago International Nature
Photography Exhibition held at
the Museum during February
under the joint sponsorship of
the Museum and the Nature
Camera Club. The photographer
is Louis Ouitt of Buffalo, New
York.

Ethnology, lectured recently to students in
the Department of Anthropology of North-
western University on "Field Methods in
Ethnology.". . . Donald Collier, Curator of
South American Ethnology and Archae-
ology, participated in a recent meeting of
the Carbon-14 Committee of the Institute
for Nuclear Studies at the University of
Chicago .... Miss Elaine Bluhm, Assist-
ant in Archaeology, lectured on "Archae-
ology as a Career" in the Career-Day
program of the Lyons Township High
School, La Grange, Illinois.

Visiting Hours Change March 1

Beginning March 1, spring visiting hours,
9 A.M. to 5 P.M., will replace the winter
schedule of 9 to 4. The new hours will
continue in effect until April 30.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between January 16 and Febru-
ary 15:

Contributors
Mrs. Susie I. Grier," Dr. R. H. Whitfield

Non-Resident Life Memt>ers

Dr. T. George Allen

Associate Members
Louis R. Howson, Arnold H. Maremont

Annual Members
Arthur C. Allyn, Lucius A. Andrew, Jr.,
Sidney L. Barber, Mark L. Baxter, Lloyd W.
Bowers, William A. H. Brackett, J. Beidler
Camp, John M. Connery, Edmund B. Coon,
Johnson S. Davis, Keith J. Evans, Mrs.
Evelyn Fries, John H. Golden, Carlton Hill,
E." M. Holt, Mrs. John F. Hutson, W. J.
Jack, Miss Lillian K. Jaech, Allen M. James,
Thomas C. Jones, Waino M. Kolehmainen,
Edward J. Lewis, Cecil E. Magid, H. M.
Matson, F. Chaloner McNair, Dr. Eugene
Mittelmann, C. H. Mottier, G. C. Pound,
Miss Nancy P. Robertson, Clair M. Rodde-
wig. Dr. Arthur A. Rodriguez, Lee Schooler,
Paul E. Sieber, Miss Ruth I. Sklower.

♦ Deceased

March, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

THE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF THE CHICAGO REGION

BY CLIFFORD H. POPE

CURATOR OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTII.BS

IT IS an open question whether the
average visitor in a museum would
rather see something familiar or something
unusual. Will a raccoon or an okapi arouse
the greater interest? Whatever the answer

PLASTICIZING NATURE
Assistant Taxidermist Ronald J. Lambert is shown saturating a bit of woodland
soil with lacquer solution. The lacquer, when dry, will invisibly hold together
this segment of the "actual outdoors" so that it may be taken up and used as
part of a Museum exhibit. The close-up in the lower picture shows how the
selected ground work has been fitted to the model of a bull snake that will be
exhibited upon it.

to this provocative question may be, the
exhibit most recently placed on display in
Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18— reptile
and amphibian section) is based on the
conviction that the familiar commands at
least as much interest as does the unusual.
The new exhibit consists of the herpeto-

logical fauna of the Chicago area and, in its
three cases, one sees all the kinds of lizards,
snakes, frogs (including toads), and sala-
manders that are found within some seventy
miles of the Loop (the local turtles will be
put on display later). The aim of the
exhibit is to show exactly what species of
amphibians and rep-
tiles might be encoun-
tered during a day's
outing in the Chicago
area. Obviously this
exhibit will be used
in two ways: from it
some will learn how
to avoid these animals,
others where to find
them. It is hoped
that at least a few of
those who come to
learn how to avoid
will go away wanting
to find. This turning
of a stumbling-block
into a stepping-stone
i s called educating,
and the Museum is an
educational institu-
tion.

There are several in-
teresting things about
the structure of the
new exhibits. It may
come as a surprise to
some that no actual
part of reptile or am-
phibian is to be seen
in the three cases.
All the specimens are
reproduced in a plastic
material by the special
method invented and
developed in Chicago
Natural History Mu-
seum by Taxidermist
Leon L. Walters and
executed by Walters
and Assistant Taxi-
dermist Ronald J.
Lambert. The pro-
cess is laborious but
the results are superb.
Taxidermist Walters
first makes a plaster
mold of the freshly
killed animal. After
taking the body out
of the mold he paints
inside the mold, using
liquid plastic colored
to match the specimen. One animal may
have as many as fifteen or even twenty
colors that will call for as many mixtures.
By correlating the individual scales of a
reptile with the scale impressions in the
mold, Walters or Lambert can copy the
pattern with great accuracy. In sala-

manders and frogs the scales are lacking
but the patterns can be copied by using
other guide marks.

After a sufficient thickness of plastic has
been applied to the inside of the mold,
plaster and plastic are separated and the
thin cast is strengthened by the application
of a filler of one of many sufficiently strong
materials. When the plaster has been
thoroughly removed, the surface of the
plastic shines exactly like that of a reptile
or amphibian. Painted plaster, wax, or
tanned skin simply do not have this natural
appearance. It is virtually impossible for
the layman to tell a live reptile from a plastic
one, and even the student is fooled. The
plastic specimens are so tough that they
can be bounced on the floor without being
badly damaged. Their durability is great
and they do not burn readily.

Every animal in the Chicago exhibit
rests on a segment of its natural habitat or
home. Recalling how well the animals
themselves are reproduced, some visitors
might jump to the conclusion that these
attractive little segments of the outdoors
are also artificial. Certainly, it could be
reasoned, anyone who could make a plastic
snake could easily fashion a base of artificial
soil, stones, leaves, and grass. However, in
this instance the ingenuity of Taxidermist
Walters has worked out a far simpler and
more effective setting for his deceptively
real specimens. His method is thoroughly
to saturate a small segment of suitable
ground or woodland with lacquer solution,
lift it up after it has dried, bring it into the
Museum, and reinforce it with plaster or
other suitable material. Thus a vast amount
of time is saved and a perfect background
achieved with little effort. On a single trip
into the country a whole series of bases can
be brought back and kept for future use.

Finally, it should be noted that the
Chicago cases have a new style of back-
ground and lettering, and include color
photographs by Assistant Taxidermist Lam-
bert of the home sites of many of the species
displayed. The background of a case may
be of more than one color, and the labels,
instead of being printed on pieces of paper
as heretofore, are composed by hand of
raised letters of different attractive hues.
The total effect is colorful and varied rather
than drab and uniform. Several maps,
painted in an original manner by Miss
Margaret G. Bradbury, Artist for Zoology,
lend their own artistic touch and add
interesting information. In the central case
the patterns of distribution of the local
reptiles and amphibians are explained by
a series of maps.

The ranges of these fall into the six
major types or patterns illustrated. Chicago
lies near the edge of most of these ranges:
many prairie species are not found east of
our area and many eastern woodland or

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1951

highland species do not occur farther to the
west. Chicago is not merely a railroad
terminus. The richness of its animal life
is due to its position between the central
prairie and the eastern highlands and
forests. Few fiat regions of its latitude
are endowed with such rich animal life.

A map that should prove interesting to
many is the little one showing the local
range of Chicago's only poisonous snake,
which is also the area's most dangerous

COMMON WATER SNAKE

An example of the amazing plastic reproductions

made by Stafi Taxidermist Leon L. Walters.

animal. This little rattlesnake goes under
its Indian name massasauga. Millions of
people live and die here without ever seeing
one of these reptiles, and yet the map shows
no fewer than five places where it does live,
often in abundance. Deaths from its bite
are unheard of. A small barefoot child
would be its only likely victim.

LOCAL FAUNA IS RICH

History shows that Chicagoans are very
proud of their city. Nevertheless, it is
not likely that any of the great boosters
such as John Stephen Wright or "Deacon"
Bross ever included the rich herpetological
fauna as a valuable asset or even realized
that the Chicago area surpasses many other
northern urban areas in number of species,
among them the London, Berlin, and Peking
areas. However, upon the arrival of a
New Yorker (it must be painfully admitted)
the local booster would have to sidestep
the subject because New York is located in
a region of exceptional richness that harbors
sixty-four species, or twelve more than
Chicago.

If a Londoner comes to town the subject
should be brought up at once. The region
of London can boast of a mere dozen unless
one chooses to add the few kinds of sea
turtles that are occasionally stranded on the
coast. The New York list of sixty-four
includes two of these, whereas such marine
creatures are of course imknown in Chicago
except when they arrive on ice.

London suffers the disadvantage of being
on an island that was completely depopu-
lated of cold-blooded, back-boned animals

by the low temperatures of the last Ice Age.
When the frozen waters were piled on the
continents, the level of the seas was lowered
and the British Isles became part of the
mainland. As the glaciers retreated north-
ward the mainland cold-blooded animals
re-invaded the British peninsula, but the
invasion was cut short by the flooding of
the lowest areas and by the subsequent
formation of the isolating channels such as
the English Channel. Ireland was isolated
after but two amphibians and one reptile
(a lizard) had reached it. England was a
little more fortunate. It was snake worship,
not real snakes, that St. Patrick drove from
Ireland. The fact that the inhabitants of
Ireland worshipped a form of life that did
not exist on their island shows that they,
too, were relatively recent arrivals. To be
specific, England was separated from the
mainland between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago.

Farther west is the Berlin region where
some twenty-two kinds of reptiles and am-
phibians occur. Berlin and London are of
course much farther north than are New
York and Chicago, but London enjoys a
milder climate and might be expected to
have more cold-blooded animals; its dis-
advantage has already been dealt with.
Halfway around the world from Chicago
lies the Peking region with merely nine
species. This paucity is partly due to the
relatively dry conditions that prevail in
northeastern China.

In Amphibians and Reptiles of the Chicago
Area, published by the Museimi, one may
find a detailed account of all local reptiles
and amphibians. This book is richly iUus-

FOWLER'S TOAD

One of the many specimens on exhibition, repro'

duced by Staff Taxidermist Leon L. Walters* plastic

technique.

trated with reproductions of excellent draw-
ings, photographs, and paintings represent-
ing forty-nine of the fifty-two species
treated. Five of the twelve plates are in
color. The text is not technical.

Man

When Nature, her great masterpiece design'd
And fram'd her last, best work, the human

mind.
Her eye intent on all the wondrous plan,
Sheform'd of various stuff, the various Man.

— BUKNS

SATURDAY LECTURE COURSE
BEGINS THIS MONTH

With a range of subjects from Alaska to
South America, Mexico to Australia, and
Wyoming to Africa and Fiji, the Museum
will present its annual Spring Course of free
illustrated lectures on travel and science
beginning this month. There will be free
lectures and color films on each Saturday
afternoon throughout March and April.
They will be given in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum and all will begin
at 2:30 p.m.

Limited accommodations make it neces-
sary to restrict these lectures to adults.
Members of the Museum are entitled to
reserved seats on application. For children,
free motion pictures will be presented on
the mornings of the same Saturdays by the
Raymond Foundation.

Following are the dates, subjects, and
lecturers:

March 3 — ALLURING Alaska
Both the familiar and the vmusual
Frederick Machelnnz

March 10 — Fiji
Cannibal islands of yesterday
Herbert Knapp

March 17 — Passport to Safariland
Rare pictures of big game in Africa
Berry B. Brooks

March 24 — INTO Central Australia
Record of a naturalist's travels
Alfred M. Bailey

March 31 — The Mountain
Ascent of Grand Teton in Wyoming
Ray Garner

April 7 — VEaJEZUELA VENTURE

A trip to the world's highest waterfall
Nicol Smith

April 14 — Early American Indians
1950 archaeological' work of the Museum
Paul S. Martin

April 21 — Ancient and Modern Mexico
A biologist tours a popular vacation land
Harry J. Fuller

April 28 — Through These Doors
A glimpse of this Museum's activities
John R. Millar

No tickets are necessary for admission
to these lectures. A section of the
Theatre is reserved for Members of the
Museum, each of whom is entitled to
two reserved seats. Requests for these
seats should be made in advance by
telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writ-
ing, and seats will be held in the Mem-
ber's name until 2:25 o'clock on the
lecture day.

March, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

PRIZE WINNERS IN 6th NATURE PHOTO CONTEST ANNOUNCED

The Sixth Chicago International Nature
Photography Exhibition, sponsored jointly
by Chicago Natural History Museum and
the Nature Camera Club of Chicago, which
was held during February in Stanley Field
Hall of the Museum, was the most successful
since these shows began.

In the 1951 show there were displayed
more than 200 large-size prints and more

'LAND'S END'

By Edmund W. Raab, of Los Angeles. Awarded an

honorable mention in the Nature Photography

Exhibition.

than 700 color slides, submitted by both
amateur and professional photographers in
all parts of the United States and foreign
countries as well. The accepted pictures
were selected from a total of approximately
2,800 pictures. Public projections of ac-
cepted color slides in the James Simpson
Theatre on February 11 and 18 were at-
tended by more than 1,100 persons.

The exhibition was in two divisions, prints
and color slides, with three classifications in
each division: animal life, plant life, and
general. The first-prize winner in each
classification has been awarded a silver
medal, and ribbons for honorable mention
were awarded to other entries in each
classification. Names of the prize winners
will receive subscriptions to the Bulletin
of the Museum and other rewards.

The increasing success of these annual
photographic events is due in a large measure
to the efficient work of members of the
Nature Camera Club of Chicago, to H. G.
Mitchell, its president, and especially to its
exhibition committee, of which H. J.
Johnson is chairman.

Following are lists of medal winners and
awards of honorable mention:

MEDAL WINNERS

Black-and-WhIte Photographs:

Animal Life Section: David M. Stanley, Mesa,
Ariz. — Angry Tern.

Plant Life Section: Dr. Eliot F. Porter, Santa Fe,
N.M. — Agape LecheguUta.

General Section: Otto Litzel, New York City —
Mud PaUem.

Color Slides:

Animal Life Section: Jack Brennan, Salt Lake
City — Arizona Mule Deer.

Plant Life Section: G. F. Johnson, State College,
Pa. — Roots of Ice.

General Section: Pearl E. Schwarts, Chicago—
Afterglow.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Black-and-WhIte Photographs:

Animal Life Section: Mike Bishop, New York
City; H. Lou Gibson, Rochester, N.Y.; W. T. Loke,
Singapore, Malaya; Louis Quilt, Buffalo; Dr. Eliot F.
Porter, Santa Fe, N.M.; Harry R. Reich, North
Tonawanda, N.Y.; Dr. G. B. White, Port Colborne,
Ontario, Canada.

Plant Life Section: James C. Gilchrist, Landover,
Perthshire, Scotland; H. J. Ensenberger, Bloomington,
111.; Dr. Grant M. Haist, Rochester, N.Y.; W. A.
Kirkpatrick, Phoenix, Ariz.; Thomas J. Newett, Park
Ridge, 111.; Dr. Eliot F. Porter, Santa Fe, N.M.;
Reinhart Wolf, Crawfordaville, Ind.

General Section: H. M. Bates, Worcester, Mass.;
Eric L. Bertens, Santiago, Chile; Mike Bishop, New
York City; Blanche Kolarik, Chicago; William G.
McClanahan, Lake Charles, La.; Edmund W. Raab,
Los Angeles, Calif.

Color Slides:

Animal Life Section: Don Bleitz, Hollywood,
Calif.; Edward A. Hill, Fleetwood, Pa.; J. W. Markey,
Eaton, Ohio; Mrs. Ethel P. Owen, Riverside, 111.;
Alfred Renfro, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Perry J. Reynolds,
Detroit, Mich.; Cyril F. Smith, Dartmouth, Nova
Scotia, Canada; Bertha Townsend, Johnstown, ^Pa.;
Mrs. Charles Walgreen, Chicago.

Plant Life Section: Mrs. Irene R. Ayres, Los
Angeles; Ladislaus Cutak, St. Louis; Mrs. M. Johnson
Fuller, Riverside, 111.; Winifred G. Glover, Oakland,
Calif.; H. W. Greenhood, Hollywood, Calif.; James L.
Kirkland, Chicago; Blanche Kolarik, Chicago; H. G.
Mitchell, Chicago; George W. Purdy, Port Orchard,
Wash.; Perry J. Reynolds, Detroit, Mich.; Arthur J.
Scott, Waltham, Mass.; Walter Singer, New York
City; Cyril F. Smith, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada;
A. Stewart, Santa Barbara, Calif.; R. H. Souers,
Chicago; Bertha Townsend, Johnstown, Pa.; Lewis A.

'WHITE-BELLIED SEA EAGLE'

By W. T. Loke, of Singapore, Malaya. One of the
pictures in the Nature Photography Exhibition.

Trapp, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; N. E. Weber,
Bowmansville, Pa.

General Section: Mrs. Irene R. Ayres, Los
Angeles; Rev. H. Bielenberg, Oil City, Pa.; Jack
Brennan, Salt Lake City; Byron S. Crader, Glendale,
Calif.; Don Ferguson, Salt Lake City; Joseph B. Gill,
Salt Lake City; Earl E. Harris, Montebcllo, Calif.;
G. Lewis Johnson, Winthrop, Maine: Russel Kriete,
Chicago; Angel de Moya, Havana, Cuba; J. A. Pasco,
Elmhurst, III.; Ben Randall, Orinda, Calif.; Mattie
C. Sanford, Salt Lake City; Ethel Schroeder, Chicago;
Hy Seldidge, Honolulu, Hawaii; C. E. Swink, Villa
Park, 111.; Ruth Wclty, Chicago; Dr. C. C. Wendle,
Sandpoint, Idaho; Adolf Vignale, New Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.

The Photographic Society of America
awarded two special medals for comple-
mentary or adjacent colors. These awards
were made to R. H. Souers, of Chicago, for
Water-Lily, and John H. Stanley, of Co-
lumbus, Ohio, for Last One In — Starves!

The judges were Conrad Emanuelson,
photographer; John W. Moyer, in charge

'FAMILY GROUP"

By Dr. Grant M. Haist, of Rochester, N.Y. Awarded

an honorable mention in the Nature Photography

Exhibition.

of the Museum's Division of Motion Pic-
tures; R. Marlin Perkins, Director of Lincoln
Park Zoo; Merrill Tilden, photographer;
and Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Reptiles at the Museum. An illustrated
catalogue of the exhibit, available early in
March, will be published by the Nature
Camera Club.

EI Salvador Bird Project

A handbook on the birds of El Salvador
is one of the important projects of the
Division of Birds for 1951. This work,
part of the project in which the Museum
is co-operating with the State University of
El Salvador, is being undertaken by Melvin
A. Traylor, Jr., Research Associate in Birds,
who is preparing the descriptions and keys
from specimens in the Museum, and Dr.
Austin L. Rand, Curator of Birds, who left
in February to spend six months in El
Salvador studying the birds there and writ-
ing the remainder of the text.

The photographic files of the Museum
contain more than 100,000 negatives of
material in the exhibits and study collections
and of field work all over the world.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1951

THE TOND SCUMS' ARE ALGAE; THEY HELP KEEP FISHES ALIVE

By HANFORD TIFFANY

RESBASCH ASSOCIATE IN CKYPTOaAiaC BOTANY*

Nearly everyone has noticed green growths
in pools, ponds, ditches, and lakes as well
as on soil, along shore, and in aquaria.
Many of these growths are algae, often
inelegantly referred to as pond scums. The
angler is not likely to think of the algae
when pursuing his favorite sport, but well
he might. The algae are the primary food-
makers of the water, just as other green
plants perform that necessary process on
land; and the fishes directly or indirectly
are dependent upon the algae for food: no
algae, no fishing.

It is an old adage that there is a place
for everything and that everything should
be in its place. Perhaps it was from just
such vague beginnings that the science of
taxonomy arose — the naming and classify-
ing ("putting in their places") of things.
Among the algae there are levels of rela-
tionships, from individuals to large assem-
blages of related individuals that have
received names and rank. The "top brass"
are the phyla, the classes, and the orders,
but they will be ignored in this article, and
we shall start with the family. Prominent
among fresh-water algae is the family,
Oedogoniaceae.

This particular family of plants has three
members: Oedogonium, BulhochaeU, and
Oedocladium. Each of these three has the
rank of genus (pi. genera) and is composed
of few to many subordinate captains and
lieutenants known as species and varieties.

'swollen fruits'

The name Oedogonium comes from two
Greek words meaning "swollen fruits," re-
ferring to the swollen reproductive cells
in the filaments. Bulbochaete also stems
from two Greek words translated "bulbous
bristles," in reference to the laterally placed
hairs on the vegetative cells. Oedocladium
is from the Greek too, indicating two features
of the plant: branching and swollen repro-
ductive cells. Oedogonium is a large genus,
composed of some 335 species that differ in
size, nature of reproduction, cell-wall mark-
ings, and shapes of sexual cells. Bulbochaete
has about 70 species, with similar bases for
delimitation. Oedocladium with 10 species
is the smallest genus of the three.

Both Oedogonium and Bulbochaete are
widely distributed throughout the world in
such fresh-water habitats as permanent and
temporary ponds, lakes, and streams. None
is marine, although three or four species
have been reported from brackish waters.
A few grow on damp soil, and vegetative

filaments are occasionally found in arctic
and alpine areas. Oedocladium is compara-
tively much more restricted in distribution.
It was first discovered in Germany some
sixty years ago and has not been found
there since. It is currently known from
India, Puerto Rico, and scattered areas
representing the eastern and southeastern
United States. Most of its species are
terrestrial, associated with other soil algae,
moss protonema, and liverworts. The
species of Oedogonium and of Bulbochaete
are very common in the Central States area,
the prairies, and southeastern United States.

•Dr. Tiffany is William Dewring Professor of Botany
at Northwestern University. He is author of Algae,
the Grass of Many Waters and co-author of Textbook of
Botany,

Fig. 1. The three genera of Oedogoniaceae dis'
cussed in Dr. Tiffany's article: upper left — Bulbo-
chaete, lower left — Oedocladium, and at right —
Oedogonium.

The three genera are easily distinguished
one from the other with a hand lens or
microscope but are difficult to identify
otherwise. They grow attached to various
substrates by means of special holdfast cells,
although they may be separated from their
moorings and live for some time floating in
water. The filaments of Oedogonium are
not branched. Both Bulbochaete and Oedo-
cladium are branched filaments, but the
latter do not have the bulbous hairs so
characteristic of Bulbochaete.

CELL STRUCTURE

The vegetative cell of the group is more
or less cylindric with a rather rigid wall and
a net-like chromatophore adjoining the wall.
The predominant color in the chromatophore
is green, due to the presence of chlorophylls,

although yellow and orange pigments are
also present. The association of these three
pigments is similar to that obtaining in the
flowering plants. The cell-wall has been
examined chemically and found to contain
cellulose, pectic compounds, and small
amounts of chitin. When the vegetative
cell divides, especially in Oedogonium, there
remains a terminal portion of the old cell-
wall known as an apical cap. The caps
appear as transverse rings or lines at the
upper end of the cell, and in Oedogonium
the number of such apical caps corresponds
to the number of times the cell has divided.
The Oedogoniaceae has no close relatives,
and some features of its reproduction are
unique. The contents of a single cell may
break through a circular rent in the upper
end of the wall, emerge in an amoeboid
fashion, and develop into a flagellated cell
known as a zoospore. Many flagella occur
on each zoospore, forming a ring just back
of the anterior end. The zoospore swims
around in the water for a half-hour or so,
settles upon some substrate, and undergoes
cell divisions that result in another plant.
Occasionally non-flagellated spores are form-
ed from the vegetative cells. Such repro-
duction is referred to as asexual.

LIFE CYCLE

Sexual reproduction can scarcely be de-
scribed without the use of certain terminol-
ogy, some of which is unique for the Oedo-
goniaceae. A vegetative cell may increase
in size, change its form and shape, and be-
come an oogonium (egg-case), within which
a single egg is formed from the protoplasm.
The oogonia may occur singly or in series.
Other vegetative cells may undergo divi-
sions, resulting in one or more much smaller
cells, called antheridia (sperm-cases). The
protoplasm of each antheridium may develop
into one or two sperms. Oogonia and
antheridia may occur in the same filament,
or they may occur in separate filaments.
Thus some plants may be thought of as
male, or sperm-producing; others as female,
or egg-producing; while still others are
hermaphroditic, bearing both eggs and
sperms. Sex organs are mature in about
two days after the oogonia and antheridia
become differentiated from the vegetative
cells.

The emergence of sperms from the an-
theridia and subsequent fertilization of the
egg appear to have a certain rhythmic
recurrence. Maximal sexual reproduction
has been observed in one species to occur
between midnight and 4 a.m. A second
lesser emergence of sperms and union with
eggs take place between noon and 4 p.m.
Some sexual reproduction may occur sporad-
ically throughout the day. Sexual union
may take place within a few minutes after

March, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

the escape of the sperm from the antheridium.
In appearance the sperm looks like a small
zoospore, and its escape from the antheridium
follows the same pattern as that in the
zoospore, described above. The sperm dis-
integrates within twenty to thirty minutes
if no sexual union occurs. The egg is not
motile and remains within the oogonium.
In the wall of the oogonia at specific places
often characteristic of the species, there
develop pores or slits that allow for the
entrance of the sperm into the egg-case.

After union of the sperm nucleus and egg
nucleus, the egg becomes a zygote, with-
drawing somewhat from the oogonial wall
and forming a wall of its own. The zygote
usually remains dormant for about a year,
although it may resume activity earlier
or remain dormant for several years. Upon
germination of the zygote, the number of
chromosomes is halved and usually four
zoospores are formed. Upon liberation from
the old oogonium, the zoospores after a
short period of activity develop into new
filaments.

There is an added feature to the sexual
reproduction in some of the Oedogoniaceae

^4A^oa(0O'ui^/n

Fig. 2. Life cycle of Oedogonium: A and C, sexual reproduction; B, asexual

reproduction (see text for details). Enlarged glass models of these stages may

be seen in Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29).

that occurs nowhere else in the biological
world. In some species the small cells
formed by divisions of the vegetative cell
do not produce sperms. Instead they
produce flagellated cells that look like sperms
but are physiologically different. When
these cells (androspores) are liberated from
their spore-cases (androsporangia), they
come to rest on or near an oogonium but
never enter it. Upon germination of the
androspore a miniature sperm-producing
plant, called a dwarf male, is produced,
remaining epiphytic on the larger filament.
Terminal cells of the dwarf male become
antheridia, which develop normal sperms.
There then may ensue fertilization of the
egg in exactly the same manner as noted
above.

The androspore upon germination thus
produces another filament, although it is
small and epiphytic. This would indicate
potentialities similar to those of the zoospore.
Germination, however, occurs only near the
egg, thus indicating some attraction to the
egg but not sufficient to cause fertilization.
Perhaps the androspore may be regarded
as a modified sperm that has retained some
degree of sexuality: it
cannot unite with the
egg but can grow if in
its immediate vicinity.
These microscopic
algae are found in the
stomachs of many
aquatic animals, in-
cluding some fishes,
and are even eaten by
such mammals as
cattle and squirrels
that chance to be near
shores where Oedo-
goniaceae grow. Algae
are mostly annuals,
having definite seasons
of vegetative develop-
ment and reproduc-
tion, although some
species persist through
the winter months in
the vegetative state.
Dormant zygotes,
akinetes, and the
"resting buds" of
Oedodadium are the
usual structures re-
sponsible for survival
during non-growing
seasons. Zoospores
may be formed any
time during vegeta-
tive activity, and new
plants develop in
which other zoospores
are formed. In this
way the number of
plants may increase
rapidly, and some
species form large mats
in areas of quiet water.

NEW LAYMAN LECTURE:
♦BEHIND THE SCENES'

After a month's absence for a lecture tour
to other cities Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman
Lecturer, will resume in March his popular
Sunday afternoon appearances at the Mu-
seum. "Behind the Scenes in Our Museums"
is Mr. Dallwig's subject this month, and he
will present this lecture on March 4, 11, 18,
and 25. The lectures will begin at 2 p.m.
and end at 4:30 p.m. Midway there will
be an intermission for tea or other refresh-
ments in the Museum Cafeteria.

The March lecture covers the origin and
history of museums the world over and
describes the strange early collections of
"curiosities and rarities," of which Mr.
Dallwig says some were "so gruesome that
they caused people to go home and have
bad dreams." Mr. Dallwig will also tell
the story of the development of modern
museums and how the behind-the-scenes
operations of a great museum are carried
on. He will outline the research activities
of such institutions and tell how they fill
their place in our educational system and
what their value is to the community. This
lecture is illustrated with the Museum's
most modern exhibits and habitat groups
that demonstrate the modern trend in
illumination, art, color, etc.

Members of the Museum may use their
membership cards to attend the-se lectures
without advance reservations. All others,
except out-of-town visitors and representa-
tives of the press, must make advance re-
servations to attend the Sunday lectures.
Reservations may be made by mail or tele-
phone (WAbash 2-9410). The lectures are
free.

Audubon Lecture March 18

"In the Hills of Gold," the fourth lecture
in the current series of the Illinois Audubon
Society, will be given Sunday, March 18,
at 2:30 p.m., in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.,
of Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.
Dr. Pettingill, a distinguished ornithologist
and a fine photographer, has on four oc-
casions presented lectures in the Museum's
series. His talk will be illustrated with
color films made in the Black Hills of South
Dakota.

Museum Members and Audubon Society
members may be seated in the reserved
section of the Theatre upon identifying
themselves through their membership cards.
The public is invited to attend this lecture,
which so effectively supplements the Mu-
seum's Satuday-afternoon lecture series.

The Oedogoniaceae are green plants that
can carry on photosynthesis. 1 hey may be
considered one of the "crop' plants of
aquatic habitats.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1951

FREE SATURDAY MOVIES
FOR THE CHILDREN

The Raymond Foundation will present
its annual Spring Series of free motion pic-
tures for children on Saturday mornings
throughout March and April in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. All of
the nine programs begin at 10:30 a.m. On
two of the programs the explorers who made
the films will be on hand to tell their stories
to the children. A third personal appearance
will be that of Miss Lorain Farmer of the
Museum staff, who will talk to the children
in connection with a film about local natural
history of the Chicago area.

Children may come alone, accompanied
by adults, or in groups from schools, etc.
No tickets are needed.

Following is an outline of the programs:

March 3 — ALumiNG Alaska
Remote and seldom-seen Alaska
Talk by Frederick Machetanz

March 10 — ANIMAL Tales
Also a cartoon

March 17 — Life in Bible Lands
Palestine 2,000 years ago
Also a cartoon

March 24 — Pacific Adventure
A naturalist in the Mid-Pacific islands
Talk by Alfred M. Bailey

March 31— Story of Communications
Also a cartoon

April 7 — Springtime in Holland
Also a cartoon

April 14— Sunrise Serenade
Strange dances of well-known birds
Also a cartoon

April 21 — Trailside Adventures
In the Chicago region
Talk by Lorain Farmer

April 2»— Favorite Legends and Fables
Also a cartoon

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany:

From: William L. Brown, Johnson, Iowa
— 4 herbarium specimens, Arizona; Escuela
Agricola Panamericana, Tegucigalpa, Hon-
duras— 2 specimens of flowering plants,
Honduras; Dr. Sidney F. Glassman, Chicago
— 553 phanerogams, Honduras; Instituto
Agropecuario Nacional, Guatemala City,
Guatemala — 6 phanerogams, Guatemala.

Department of Zoology:

From: Chicago Zoological Society, Brook-
field, 111. — a crocodile and a snake, India
and Peru; Lillian A. Ross, Chicago— 2

snakes, Mexico; Karl P. Schmidt, Home-
wood, 111. — a bird skin, Homewood; Dr.
C. H. Seevers, Homewood, 111. — a Spencer
mechanical microscope stage; Dr. Julian A.
Steyermark, Barrington, 111. — a bird skin,
Illinois; Loren P. Woods, Richton Park,
111. — 2 frogs. South Carolina.

Library:

From: Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, 111.;
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Woods Hole, Mass.

lEW Y£ABS AGO

M THE MUSEUM

CompUed by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Anntial Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"Taxidermy. — Work in this division has
been unusually active, and results of the
very highest character have been attained.
New methods in mounting specimens have
been adopted and in consequence a perfec-
tion of work never before attained has been
secured. Five large groups are nearing
completion, one of zebra and four of the
Virginia deer in spring, summer, autumn,
and winter, this last distinguished by a
wealth of accessories and detail never before
attempted in this class of work. . . .

"Anthropology. — Important accessions in
this Department have resulted from several
expeditions in the
field: Mr. [Charles F.]
I Newcombe among the

I Haida Indians, Dr.

'^it/l^l^mtk^ [Merton L.] Miller
^^^^B^^S^ among the tribes of
^^^■■^^ the Shahaptian stock,

^V^K^ Dr. [J. W.l Hudson in

I jK^ California, Assistant

Curator [Stephen C]
Simms among tribes
of the Pyman and
Yuman stock. Assist-
ant Curator [Charles
fL.| Owen among the
Apache and Navajo
tribes, and Curator
[George A.| Dorsey
among the Osage,
Pawnee, and Wichita
tribes."
The accompanying illustration shows a
26-foot-high gn"avepost of the Haida Indians,
one of the important accessions of 1901.
The upper part of this post of red cedar is
hollowed out to make space for a coffin,
which was placed in the post before raising
it in a vertical position. This unique
memorial column, now separated into two
sections, may be seen in Joseph Nash Field
Hall (Hall 10— Northwest Coast Indians).

MARCH LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and cer-
tain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Fri., March 2 — Plant Travelers: Natural-
ized Foreign Plants. Illustrated introduc-
tion in Meeting Room (Marie Svoboda).

Wed., March 7 — Dry Bones: Stories about
Skeletons (Lorain Farmer).

Fri., March 9 — The Adventures of Carl
Akeley. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room (June Buchwald).

Wed., March 14 — Hats and Hair-dos:
Primitive Styles in Head Ornamentation
(Harriet Smith).

Fri., March 16 — Snake Stories. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Lorain
Farmer).

Wed., March 21 — Fair-Weather Friends:
Those Animals that Appear with Spring
(Jane Sharpe).

Fri., March 23 — Alp and Avalanche:
Mountain Areas of the World. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromquist).

Wed., March 28 — Tomorrow's Plants:
Fruits, Seeds, and Seedlings (Miriam
Wood).

Fri., March 30 — Adapt or Become Extinct.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Jane Sharpe).

Persons wishing to participate should
apply at North Entrance. Tours are free.

Technical Publications Issued

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:-

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 11, Nos. 3 and 4.
Evolution and Classification of the Osteo-
straci and The Exoskeleton of Early Ost£0-
straci. By Robert H. Denison. January
19, 1951. 64 pages. $1.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 41. A
Review of the Woodpeckers Chrysoptilus
melanochloros and C. melanolaimus. By
Melvin A. Traylor, Jr. February 16,
1951. 18 pages.

On Museum visits, relax and lunch in the
Cafeteria.

I cannot but think that he who finds a
certain proportion of pain and evil in-
separably woven up in the life of the very
worms, will bear his own share with more
courage and submission.
Thomas H. Huxley, in "On the Educa-
tional Value of the Natural History
Sciences"

PRINTED BV CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

Vol.22,No.4-Aprill951

Chicago Natural
History Museum

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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

FOUNDBD BT Maksball Fibld, 1893

Rooaerelt Road and Lake Shore Drlre, Chlcafto 5

Tblbtbokb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lbstkk Armour Stanlby Field

Scn-KLL L. AvBRY Samuel Insull. Jr.

Wm. McCoRMicK Blair Henry P. Isham

Lbopolu E. Block Huohston M. McBain

Walter J. Cuhhings Wiluam H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton Gborge A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbtten

Marshall Field. Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pmident

Marshall Field Finl Viee-Pretident

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Second Viee-Pmulent

Samuel Insull, Jr. Tkird Viee-Praident

Solomon A. Smith Trtaturer

CUFroRD C. GriGG DinctoT and Secretary

John R. Mnuui Aetitiani Secretarn

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clotord C. Grbgg Direclor of Ou Miutitm

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Antkropolon

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolofy

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Hartb PubKc RelaHom Coutuel

Membo^ are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

MOOD FOR APRIL

The year's at the spring
And the day's at the mom;
Morning's at seven;
The hiUside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven —
All's right ipHh the world.

— Browning

This expresses the charm of spring, al-
though it may seem a bit too joyous for the
spring of 1951!

MUSEUM IS CHOSEN
FOR ALASKA EXHIBIT

Chicago Natural History Museum was
selected as the location for the Chicago
showing of a giant pictorial mural map of
Alaska painted by the noted portrait and
mural artist, Muriel Hannah, of New York.
The mural, measuring 15 '2 feet by 9 feet,
was shown in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18)
of the Museum for slightly more than three
weeks in March.

The special feature of the map is that it
has no names of single towns or locations
but, instead, is spotted with vividly colored
pictures that show at a glance where Alaskan
industries are located, where various wild
animals are found, where gold is mined, and
where fish and seals are caught for the

world's markets. The map was made for
the Northern Consolidated Air Lines of
Anchorage, which is sending it on a tour
of the United States, and Chicago is the
second city to receive it for exhibition. It
was displayed previously in the building of
the Department of the Interior in Wash-
ington, D.C. From Chicago it will go to
principal cities throughout the nation under
the auspices of the General Federation of
Women's Clubs.

Miss Hannah spent several months in
Alaska obtaining on-the-spot data for her
map as well as painting a number of land-
scapes. She is well known for her work at
the Museum School in Boston and the Art
Students League in New York and for her
sketches of costumes for the Mardi Gras
balls in New Orleans during the past five
years.

Audubon Lecture April 18

The fifth and last lecture in the current
series of the Illinois Audubon Society will
be given Wednesday, April 18, at 8 P.M.
in the James Simpson Theatre of the Mu-
seum. The lecture is "Canada West" by
Bert Harwell, of California. Mr. Harwell
is known to hundreds of thousands of people
through his evening lectures at Yosemite
National Park where he was Park Naturalist
for eleven years. He has extraordinary
ability in imitating the songs of birds. His
film, which he made in the wilds of western
Canada, shows many close-up views of birds
and mammals.

STAFF NOTES

Colin C. Sanborn, Curator of Mammals,
and Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects,
have returned after completing a successful
field trip to examine a bat colony in a mine
shaft at La Salle, Illinois. Curator Sanborn
studied the bats and Curator Wenzel the
parasites infesting them .... John Bayalis,
Museum Photographer, has been elected
vice-president of the Chicago chapter of the
Biological Photographers Association ....
D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate
Anatomy, recently addressed the Conserva-
tion Council of Chicago on "Conservation
Problerhs in Borneo." Karl P. Schmidt,
Chief Curator of Zoology, will address the
Council on April 9 on "Conservation as
Related to Agriculture in Peru and Ger-
many.". . . Emil Sella, Curator of Exhibits
in the Department of Botany, and Samuel
H. Grove, Jr., Assistant Artist-Preparator,
have left for Florida on a botanical field
trip .... Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Cura-
tor of the Herbarium, recently lectured
before the Barrington Lions Club on "Ad-
ventures in Collecting in Venezuela" and
before the Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The musical trill of the common
toad heralds the coming of spring
in the Chicago area and is one of
the most characteristic sounds of
April nights. The inflated throat-
sac of frogs and toads forms a
sound box that gives their voices
great carrying power. Flashlight
photography of singing frogs and
toads is a special activity requiring
great skill on the part of a nature
photographer. Our cover picture
was made by Cleveland P. Grant,
formerly a member of the staff of
this Museum and now a well-
known lecturer who has appeared
on several occasions before Mu-
seum audiences. The picture is
used with his kind permission.

on "Relation of Birds to Plant Life in the
American Tropics.". . . Dr. Alexander
Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic Ethnology,
has been appointed chairman of the newly
formed subcommittee on Pacific archaeology
of the National Research Council. He also
has been appointed chairman of the program
committee for the annual meetings of the
American Anthropological Association to
be held in Chicago in November, 1951 ....
Donald Collier, Curator of South American
Ethnology and Archaeology, has been ap-
pointed chairman of the local arrangements
committee of the latter organization in
connection with the November meetings.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members h)etween February 16 and March
15:

Annual Members

Edward R. Adams, George A. Auer,
Carl H. Beiser, Dr. Albert E. Coulon,
Samuel A. Crabtree, Howard Q. Day, Mrs.
Lewis J. Day, Miss Kitty Doody, G. Lane
Eldred, Allen B. Gellman, George M. Gibbs,
Mrs. Eleanor Y. Guthrie, Mrs. William H.
Highstone, Robert W. Hunker, Wallace I.
Kargman, Edwin P. Keller, R. C. Larkin,
Mrs. Lloyd Lewis, Rev. Ignatius Macholz,
Gunnar C. Macki, G. M. Magee, John M.
McGregor, Harry G. Mitchell, John A.
Muldoon, Jr., Eugene E. Mulhem, John
William Paschal, Al Robandt, H. R. Samp-
son, Mrs. Angeline Spieth, Floyd E. Thelen,
W. Lewis Ultsch.

Exhibits in Hall H of material from the
Philippines are arranged to emphasize the
outstanding characteristics of the cultures
of the principal pagan groups throughout
the archi|>elago.

April, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

WHEN OZARK WITCH HAZEL
BLOOMS— IT'S SPRING!

Bv JULIAN A. STEYERMARK

CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM

Toward the end of a winter, conversation
in the Chicago region often turns to signs
of spring. For some people the appearance
of a robin is a hopeful sign. Actually, it
doesn't mean much, since robins may be
seen locally all winter long. For others, the
sight of geese winging their way northward
or the croaking, trilling, or peeping of frogs
and toads is of significance (see cover picture
of this month's Bulletin). But, in my ex-
perience, the Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis
vernalis) beats all other contenders for the
honor of welcoming the glorious season of
springtime. Regardless of how we may
feel about the outside temperature going
above 70" F to be convinced that spring is
really here and whether we like to admit it
or not, the opening of the first flower should
decide for us when spring has really started.

Apparently few people realize that a dis-
tinct type of a native American witch hazel
blossoms in early spring. When witch
hazel is mentioned, nearly everybody thinks
of the eastern witch hazel {Hamamelis
virgitiiana), found in rich woods in the
Chicago area and blooming in late fall or
early winter (September through December).
The four narrow strap-shaped petals of
each flower are bright yellow and lighten
up the drab woodlands of late fall and early
winter when all or most of the leaves have
fallen from the trees.

NOT NATIVE TO CHICAGO AREA

In contrast to the wild witch hazel of the
Chicago region that blooms toward the close
of the year, the Ozark witch hazel is a
stranger in this area, its natural range being
to the southwest of us in southern Missouri,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, where
it hugs the gravel and sand bars along the
streams of timbered hilly country. There,
in its native haunts, it starts blooming in
late December and continues blossoming
until late March or early April. Its blossoms
are usually quite fragrant and more red
and orange in color than the distinctly yellow
flowers of the eastern witch hazel of the
Chicago region. When grown around the
Chicago area, the Ozark witch hazel adapts
itself very nicely and favors us with its
showy flowers. According to records of
the Morton Arboretum near Lisle, Illinois,
which were kindly furnished to me by E. L.
Kammerer, the Ozark witch hazel has started
to blossom there as early as January 5, as
during the comparatively mild winter of
1950. Mr. Kammerer states that in previous
years the earliest record for the Ozark
witch hazel there was January 25. This
year, following a very severe winter, the
Ozark witch hazel did not bepn to flower
at the Morton Arboretum until March 5.
North of Barrington, where I have some

Ozark witch hazel growing, the flowers
opened on the branches on the same day,
showing that the Ozark species responded
to the sudden mild temperatures of late
February and early March alike around
Barrington and Lisle, Illinois.

FLOWERING COMPANIONS

It might be supposed that only the Ozark
witch hazel stands out as the first flower of
the spring, regardless of the outside tempera-
ture. Actually, however, snowdrop {Galan-
thus nivalis) and certain species of crocus
(not the popular Dutch crocus that blooms
later), natives of the Old World, may be

EASTERN OR COMMON WITCH HAZEL
Hamamelis virginiana, showing a flowering and
fruiting branch with dead leaves. This is a native of
the Chicago area and blooms in late fall or early
winter (September through December). The Ozark
witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) resembles this,
but has flowers that appear from January to April
and are more brilliantly red- to orange-colored.

found in bloom about the same time in the
Chicago area as the Ozark witch hazel. In
fact, it was noted this year, as previously,
that the snowdrop started to bloom on
March 5 when the witch hazel also opened.
Mr. Kammerer informed me, likewise, that
on January 3 of last year, when Ozark
witch hazel was in bloom at the Morton
Arboretum, snowdrop and some crocus
species were sharing the limelight as first
bloomers. Among the native species of
the Chicago region, the skunk cabbage
{Symplocarpui foelidus) is, of course, the
first to blos.som. Its peculiar hood-protected
blossoms arise in great profusion above the
wet soil of swamps in which it grows and
in late February and early March its flowers
attract insects that may be out at this time.
It should be mentioned here that the genus
to which the witch hazel belongs (Hama-

LAYMAN LECTURER TO TELL
STORY OF DIAMONDS

"The Romantic Story of the Diamond"
is the subject for April of the Sunday after-
noon Layman Lectures by Paul G. Dallwig,
who will present this lecture on April 1, 8,
15, 22, and 29, closing the current season.
Mr. Dallwig's next appearances at the
Museum after the end of this month will
be in the autumn. The April lectures will
begin at 2 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. Mid-
way there will be an intermission for tea
or other refreshments in the Museum
cafeteria.

April being the "Diamond Month," this
lecture gives the fascinating story of the
diamond from the finding of the first
diamonds in India, Brazil, and Africa to
the present great diamond industry. The
lecture covers the intriguing stories of love,
hate, greed, and murder attached to the
successive ownership of the world's famous
historic diamonds. A three-act stage
dramatization is presented by the Layman
Lecturer: Act I.-The Original Find; Act
II.— The Diamond Rush; Act III. —A Trip
through a Diamond Mine. There will be a
social half-hour in the Museum's Gem Room
after the lecture.

Members of the Museum may use their
membership cards to attend these lectures
without advance reservations. All others,
except out-of-town visitors and representa-
tives of the press, must make advance res-
ervations to attend the Sunday lectures.
Reservations may be made by mail or tele-
phone (W Abash 2-9410). The lectures are
free.

melis) also includes other species that are
rather remarkable in their season of flower-
ing. Of four species found in Asia, two of
them {H. japonica and H. mollis) are often
cultivated in the United States and are
unusual in that they bloom during the winter
months, even when the temperature is
down to zero. Another New World species
of witch hazel of which little is known is
one found wild in Mexico (//. mexicana).

Besides the witch hazels the family in-
cludes about 20 other genera found chiefly
in the subtropical and warm temperate
regions of both hemispheres. Some are
familiar to us. For example, the very
striking and handsome tree, sweet gum
(Liquidambar Slyraciflua), is a native of
the United States, Mexico, and Central
America. The genus Fothergilla of the
southeastern United States, with showy
clusters of flowers, is often cultivated.
Other genera cultivated in this country
and belonging to the same family are
Disanihus, Distylium, Parroiia, Parrotiopsis,
Corylopsis, Fortunearia, Sycopsis, and Sino-
wilsonia. A genus recently described is
Matudaea, found in Mexico and Central
{Continued on page 8, column 1 )

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1951

FOUR MORE SATURDAY MOVIES ARE OFFERED FOR CHILDREN

The Raymond Foundation will continue April 14— SUNRISE Serenade

its annual Spring Series of free motion
pictures for children on Saturday mornings

Strange dances of well-known birds
Also a cartoon

MOVIE DAY
AT THE

MUSEUM

Youngsters

reflect avid

interest in

Saturday

morning

programs

of the

Raymond

Foundation

through April in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum. The four remaining pro-
grams begin at 10:30 a.m.

Children may come alone, accompanied
by adults, or in groups from schools, etc.
No tickets are needed.

Following is an outline of the programs:

April 7— Springtime in Holland
Also a cartoon

April 21 — Trailside Adventures
In the Chicago region
Talk by Lorain Farmer

April 28 — Favorite Legends and Fables
Also a cartoon

Another series of children's movies will
be given on Thursday mornings in July
and August.

SHARK-LIVER OIL USED
IN 'BAROMETERS'

By LOREN p. woods
curator of fishes

THE FACT that shark livers are rich in
oil is known to fishermen wherever
sharks are caught. The livers of certain
kinds of sharks are larger and contain more
oil than others. Within the past ten years
the oil from the liver of certain sharks living
along the Pacific Coast of the United States
and Mexico has been found to be especially
rich in Vitamin D, and the shark fishery for
this purpose is of considerable importance.

Among less generally known uses of shark-
liver oil is that employed by ornithologists
to concentrate a variety of oceanic birds
into a relatively small area so that the birds
may be collected. A shark liver is allowed
to macerate in a tub. The collector then
puts out to sea, splashing a dipper full of
oil and broken-down liver tissue into the
water every yard or so, thus forming a
slick or "petrel trail." After the oil is all
gone, he has but to return along his baited
trail and shoot the birds that gather from
far and wide.

The ichthyologists of the Bermuda Deep-

Sea Expedition of this Museum learned of
an entirely unexpected use for the abundant
liver oil of the nurse-shark (Ginglymosloma)
in the bottle "barometer," the aid and guide
of all Bermuda sailors and fishermen. To
prepare a shark-liver-oil-"barometer," one
obtains the fresh liver usually of a nurse-
shark or one of the other varieties of small
sharks common in the waters about the
islands. The kind of shark apparently is
not so important as the condition of the
liver, which must, according to all accounts,
be white or at least pale in appearance.

To extract the oil the liver is either hung
in a cloth bag and the oil allowed to drip
out or the liver is boiled and the oil squeezed
out. A small quantity of the liquid thus
secured is then placed in a six to ten-ounce
bottle and corked, although a screw-top
bottle apparently works just as well. Direc-
tions given by some are that the bottle
must be hung in the sun, by others that the
"barometer" will work just as well no
matter where it is placed.

Liver oil that is extracted by either of
the two methods described above contains
a considerable amount of white flocculent
precipitate in suspension. In a very short

time this white matter settles out, leaving
the clear pale-yellow oil above. Now the
"barometer" is ready to work. It is believed
that whenever the weather becomes un-
settled a fine cloud of the precipitate will
rise into the clear oil. If the bad weather
continues for some time, the fine cloud will
become murky. Hurricanes are said to
produce a rapid and violent reaction of this
type. When fine weather is once more
returning, the oil is quickly as clear as the
sky.

The actual value of this "barometer" as
a forecaster was not ascertained because
only two (one made by the drip process and
one by the boiling method) were under my
observation for only a short time. During
this time there were two periods of bad
weather, both coming on very rapidly. On
each occasion the storm glasses reacted as
expected by becoming cloudy, and they
cleared again with the gradually clearing
weather. But the change came on so
suddenly that the question of forecast was
not settled.

From several Bermudians questioned no
explanation was forthcoming concerning why
the storm glass works. It was suggested
that the reaction that occurs is brought on
by change in the atmospheric pressure and
that the material is sensitive to this change.
How this could be possible when the reacting
system is tightly sealed in a glass bottle is
not explained. However, in spite of lack
of explanation, many Bermudians have far
more faith in their shark-liver oil than in
the official weather forecasts.

To call any sort of weather-sensitive
device a barometer is a common practice.
Strictly speaking, a barometer is an instru-
ment for recording changes in atmospheric
pressure. Here in the United States there
have been produced instruments consisting
of a thermometer alongside a sealed glass
tube filled with a mixture of alcohol and
water with a small amount of dissolved gum
camphor to which has been added some
ammonium chloride and potassium nitrate.
The technical term for such an instrument is
"baroscope." With changes in temperature
the amount of precipitate changes regardless
of whether or not the temperature change is
accompanied by rain or storm. One of these
instruments was carefully observed during
the changeable weather of January and
February, 1950. It was found that with a
drop in temperature, regardless of other
weather conditions, the amount of pre-
cipitate increases and the clear upper fluid
becomes cloudy exactly as did the shark-
liver oil. In spite of belief and the use of
words like "barometer" and "baroscope,"
atmospheric pressure evidently does not
have anything to do with the changes in
the solution. Thus the conclusion arrived
at is that such instruments are interesting
from the standpoint of folklore but are
apparently useless as weather forecasters.

April, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

BIRD APARTMENT HOUSES

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OP BIRDS

EVERY NOW AND THEN, in our press,
appear blasts against crowded living
conditions in our cities, especially the
tenements where people are crowded to-
gether. Often there is the implication that
this type of thing is unnatural and ab-
normal. And yet when we look about us
in the bird world we see that gregariousness
is a common trait. We have only to re-
member the great flocks of starlings and
blackbirds in the autumn or the massed
flights of water fowl. Not only in traveling

Rudi J*fMMn

and in feeding but also at nesting time birds
may gather together, and some birds nest
in such close association that the terms
"apartment house" or "tenement" are
really applicable.

The martins' house on our lawn with
perhaps dozens of closely spaced rooms
(some houses have as many as 200 rooms) is
a case in point. The neat martin house of
boards is a man-made thing; but before the
white man came to this continent and before
the Choctaw Indians hung up groups of
hollow gourds for the martin colonies to
use, the martins nested in colonies. Even
in recent years certain colonies that we
might consider unprogressive have been
reported as using such diverse nesting situa-
tions as among the boulders of a lake shore
in Minnesota and the closely spaced wood-
pecker holes that riddled a dead pine in
Florida. And probably it was always thus.
The martins like company at nesting.

CUFF DWELLERS, TOO

Perhaps it would not be proper to con-
sider a colony of bank swallows, each with
a separate burrow in the same small cut

bank that is roofed with the same few
square yards of turf, as a real apartment
house of cliff dwellers. But the term has
been used in connection with a West Indian
woodpecker, where a dozen pairs were nest-
ing in a single dead tree and "the trunk was
a veritable apartment house" (Wetmore
and Lincoln, 1934). A similar situation
exists in the naked-faced barbet of West
Africa. This bird, too, makes a hole in a
dead tree for its nest, like a woodpecker,
and colonies of 30 to 50 birds may be
found nesting in a single dead tree, while
other dead trees near-by, apparently equally
suitable, are untenanted. Colonies of
hundreds of nests of cliff swallows, the nests
touching and overlapping, may be under
the eaves of a single barn or, as they used
to be and some still are, on the sheltered
side of a cliff. But as these birds had nothing
to do with the making of the roof, perhaps
these, too, do not deserve to be rated as
apartment houses.

In southern South America there is a
monk parakeet that makes a real tenement.
It nests colonially in tree tops, and the
nests of sticks are placed so close together
that they merge and form a single mass, up
to 9 feet across, in which each parakeet
has its own nest. Similar to this is the palm
chat. This West Indian bird is small and
thrush-sized, dull in color, brownish with a
streaked breast, and nothing remarkable to
look at; but it carries amazingly large
sticks, a little thinner than a lead pencil
and up to two feet or more long, to the
top of a palm tree and there makes its bulky
community nest.

BUILD NESTS CO-OPERATIVELY

These stick nests, which may be four feet
and more across, are conspicuous and regular
features of the landscape in Hispaniola. The
colony consists of four to eight pairs of
birds, and each has its own apartment in
the bulky structure and its own passageway
to the outside. But in the parts of the
community nests that hold the individual
nests together and cover them, there are
roughly defined passages running through
the interlacing twigs of the top of the nest
so that the birds can creep almost under
cover. Apparently some of the work is
carried on in common, for as many as half
a dozen birds may be working close together,
pulling and twisting twigs more firmly into
place (Wetmore and Swales, 1931).

The sociable weaver is the most advanced
apartment builder. It, like the palm chat,
has little of distinction in its appearance,
being mostly dull brownish with a black
face. But in its home country, on the
savannas of Rhodesia in South East Africa,
its huge community nests in the savanna
trees may be seen from afar. The largest
community nest Friedmann saw, when he
was studying the bird there, was about 25
feet long, 15 feet wide, and 5 feet high and
contained about 96 nests. This might have

LECTURES ON SATURDAYS
CONTINUE IN APRIL

The Spring Course of free lectures on
travel and science illustrated with natural-
color motion pictures will continue through
April on Saturday afternoons in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. The
lectures begin at 2:30 p.m.

Limited accommodations make it neces-
sary to restrict these lectures to adults.
Members of the Museum are entitled to
reserved seats on application. For children,
free motion pictures will be presented on
the mornings of the same Saturdays by the
Raymond Foundation.

Following are the dates, subjects, and
lecturers:

April 7 — Venezuela Venture
A trip to the world's-highest waterfall
Nicol Smith

April 14 — Early American Indians

1950 archaeological work of the Museum

Paul S. Martin
April 21— Ancient and Modern Mexico

A biologist tours a popular vacation land

Harry J. Fuller

April 28 — Through These Doors
A glimpse of this Museum's activities
John R. Millar

No tickets are necessary for admission
to these lectures. A section of the
Theatre is reserved for Members of the
Museum, each of whom is entitled to
two reserved seats. Requests for these
seats should be made in advance by
telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writ-
ing, and seats will be held in the Mem-
ber's name until 2:25 o'clock on the
lecture day.

been still bigger, for part of it had broken
the branch on which it rested its weight and
fallen to the ground.

Sir Andrew Smith, the early ornithologist
of South Africa, has written that when these
birds start a colony they first make a roof
of coarse grass. The group to which the
sociable weaver belongs gets its name from
the remarkable ability some of them have
of weaving their nesting materials. But the
sociable weaver neither plaits nor weaves
its roof. It puts the roof together in the
form of a well-made hay rick with a fairly
definite thatching arrangement so that the
water runs off. This is a community effort.
Under this roof each individual pair makes
its own separate nest. These apartment
houses are used year after year, but last
year's chambers are not used, new ones
being made under the roof each year. And
so the apartment house grows bigger and
bigger until the weight of the mass may
break the branches and cause a part or the
whole to fall to the ground.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1951

FISHES THAT TAKE ABODE WITHIN OTHER ANIMALS

By ROBERT KANAZAWA

PORHER ASSISTANT, DIVISION OF FISHES

One of the most interesting subjects in
the 1 ealm of nature is the association of one
creature with another in varying degrees of
dependence. All these relations fit into the
general heading of "symbiosis" (living to-
gether). There is the association called
parasitism (derived from the Greek word

COMMEiNSAUSM

An association between a sucking fish, Echeneis, and a tiger shark. Part of

the Bahamas group in Hall of Fishes (Hall O).

"para," meaning beside, plus "sitos," mean-
ing food), in which one creature lives on or
in another organism from which it directly
gets nourishment; mutualism (from the Latin
word "mutuus," meaning exchange), in
which two different organisms live in associa-
tion, each gaining benefit from the other;
commensalism (derived from the Latin root
"com-," together, plus "mensa," table), for
animals eating at the same table, usually
with a larger host; and inquilinism (derived
from the Latin word "inquilinus," meaning
dweller in another place), in which one
creature lives in the abode of another with-
out benefit to the host or even within the
body of a host without injury to it. These
different types of associations are found
among the fishes, both with each other and
with other animals.

A parasitic association exists in the case
of the small South American catfish Stego-
phiUis inaidiosiis, which is known to live in
the gill cavity of its large relative, the loango,
Pseudoplaty stoma coruscans. At first the
small catfishes were mistaken for the young
of the loango, which it was thought were
being carried in its mouth; later they were
interpreted as mess-mates living on small
organisms drawn into the mouth of the large
fish. Later discovery attests that the cat-
fish is a true parasite, living among the gills
of its host and feeding on its lifeblood.
Other species of the same family are now
known to have similar habits.

AT HOME IN TENTACLES

An association of mutualism is found
between several species of brilliantly colored

damsel fishes of the genus Amphiprion,
family Pomacentridae, and the large brightly
colored sea anemones. Instead of occupying
a hole or cranny like the other members of
the family, these damsel fishes have a living
house, a house so protected that no foe
dares attack them when they enter the
flower-like portal of their strange abode.
This living home is within the tentacles of
large sea anemones of
the genera Stoichactes
and Discosoma. Anem-
ones of this kind are
widely distributed in
the Indo-Pacific re-
gion. Their tentacles
are equipped with
hundreds of deadly
stinging organs that
paralyze any organ-
isms, including fishes,
that come too close.
How the damsel fishes
escape death or injury
from these myriad
stinging organs re-
mains a mystery.
Some authorities be-
lieve that they must
be immune to the nettle-cell venom.

All the species of Amphiprion inhabit sea
anemones and dwell with them in mutual
relation. At least six species are known to
live in as many species of anemones. A
male and female damsel fish usually take
up residence in a sea anemone. Both parents
care for the eggs usually laid near the base
cif their host. After hatching, the young
damsel fishes rise to the surface and have a
period of planktonic life, after which they
descend to the bottom in search of a home
for themselves. When not enough homes
are available, several fishes are found in a
single host. As many as seven damsel fishes,
ranging in length from 10 mm. to 100 mm.

MUTUALISM

An association between the man-o*-war fish,

Nomeus, and the Portuguese man-o*'war fish,

Physalia. Courtesy American Museum of Natural

History in New York City,

EXTREME MUTUALISM
An association between the damsel fish, Amphi-
prion, and the sea anemone. Discosoma. Courtesy
of D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc.— from "The Ways of
Fishes" by L. P. Schuiz and E. M. Stern, of
U. S. National Museum.

have been found in a single sea anemone.
The damsel fishes recognize the species of
sea anemone normally utilized and disregard
others.

BRING FOOD TO HOST

Extensive series of experiments with these
damsel fishes and sea anemones were carried
oiit at the Silliman Institute in the Philip-
pines. For observation an anemone of the
type frequented by damsel fishes, specimens
of Amphiprion of the right species, and other
small fishes of similar sizes were placed in
an aquarium with shrimps and other tidbits.
A marked difference in the behavior of the
damsel fishes and that of the other fishes
was observed. The latter seized a fragment
of food and scurried away to some nook to
eat it in safety. Upon devouring one
morsel they returned for more. On the other
hand, the damsel fishes darted upon the
food, seized a mouthful, and dropped it
among the tentacles of the sea anemone.
They returned for other bits, which in turn
were quickly placed in storage. When the
food was exhausted, the damsel fishes en-
entered the charmed circle of stinging
tentacles and feasted at their leisure. Thus,
the sea anemone and damsel fishes were
both abundantly fed.

The shrimps and other small fishes
wandering too close to the tentacles were
promptly killed, but when a damsel fish
darted among the tentacles they curled
away from the dauntless tenant. Damsel
fishes are feeble swimmers, never venturing
more than a short distance from their home
and fleeing to the safety and seclusion of
the tentacles when alarmed. Sometimes
the damsel fishes bite off a mouthful of
tentacles or feed upon the mucus or buds
of the tentacles. Dutch investigators at
Batavia, Java, found that the damsel fishes
help the sea anemones by carrying away
rejected food and waste matters, by circulat-
ing water, and by rubbing over ailing parts
of the anemone.

Another curious association of mutualism
is found between the Portuguese man-o'-war,
a floating jelly-fish of the genus Physalia,
and the beautiful man-o'-war fish of the

Avril, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

genus Nrnneus. The man-o'-war fish, a few
inches long, seeks shelter among the deadly
tentacles of the Physalia, which, like the
sea anemone, possesses hundreds of deadly
stinging organs, called nematocysts, by
means of which it paralyzes its victims.
These beautiful fishes are similar in color
to the jelly-fish, with cross bars of purplish
color. The man-o'-war fish is thought to
possess some immunity to the poisonous
organs, and in return for this protection
probably liires other fishes to destruction.

ADHESIVE HITCHHIKERS

The relation of commensalism is found
between the remoras or sucking fishes, of
the family Echeneidae, and the sharks.
The sucking fishes are remarkable for the
possession of an oval adhesive disc placed
on the broad flat upper surface of the head.
With these discs the sucking fishes attach
themselves to the bodies of sharks, mantas,
barracudas, swordfishes, whales, turtles, or
even to bottoms of ships. In this way they
are not only protected from their enemies
but also are transported to new feeding
grounds. Once among a shoal of fishes they
soon detach themselves and swim actively
about in pursuit of prey, seeking a fresh
anchorage when their appetites have been
satisfied. When the host is feeding on some
other animal, the sucking fishes may obtain
some of the fragments floating in the water.
The young of these flshes are known to take
refuge frequently in the mouth and gill
chamber of their host. It seems the sharks
pay little or no attention to the young hitch-
hikers and so far no remains of sucking fishes
have been found in their stomachs. Remoras
are shown in their regular association with
sharks in the Museum's underwater Bahama
group (Hall O).

An association of inquilinism is found
between the young squirrel hake (a relative
of the cod fish), Urophycis chuss, about 2 to
6 inches in length, and the giant scallop,
Pecten magellanicus. The young squirrel
hake seeks shelter within the shell of the
scallop. The sea snail, Liparis lineatim, a
tadpole-like fish with a sucking disc, takes
refuge in the shell of the large scallop,
Pecten tenuicostatus. In the West Indies a
little cardinal fish, Astrapogon stellatus, has
a curious association with a large sea snail,
a conch, Strombtis gigas. The cardinal fish
seeks shelter and safety in the mantle cavity
of its large host. These fishes are generally
found with their snail hosts in waters from
two to five meters in depth. Another ex-
ample is a goby, a little fish whose pelvic
fins are modified into a funnel-shaped disc,
that often lives within the shells of oysters,
other bivalves, conches, and sponges. These
associations show a one-sided benefit with
no apparent benefit to the host.

Among the strangest of all relations is
that found between the pearlfishes, Carapus,
a small eel-shaped fish a few inches in length,
and the sea cucumbers of the genus Hoh-

thuria, a relative of the starfish and the sea
urchin. The pearlfish spends most of its
time in the cloaca and the alimentary canal
of the sea cucumber, sometimes entering the
loop of the intestinal canal and occasionally
the respiratory tree. By wiggling its body,
the pearlfish enters its host either head or
tail first. Sea cucumbers living in deeper
waters may contain as many as seven pearl-
fishes. Often the same fish seeks shelter
within the mantle cavity of the pearl oyster,
an association that sometimes proves fatal
to the pearlfish, for it occasionally becomes
imprisoned by the oyster and its body sealed
up in layers of mother-of-pearl. Pearlfishes
are also found to seek shelter within large
specimens of sea urchins and starfishes.
This association seems to be a one-sided
affair; the pearlfish receives shelter from the
sea cucumber and apparently gives no benefit
in return.

Books

APRIL LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and cer-
tain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are
given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Wed., April 4 — Nature Magic: Disappear-
ing Acts and Deceptive Devices (Harriet
Smith).

Fri., April 6 — The Story of the Dunes.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Marie Swboda).

Wed., April 11 — Animals in Art (Jane
Sharpe).

Fri., April 13— Gilding the Lily: Make-up
and Related Ornamentation by Primitive
Peoples. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room (Harriet Smith).

Wed., April 18 — Killers: Animal, Vegetable,
and Mineral (Anne Stromquisl).

Fri., April 20 — Sights and Sounds of Spring:
Flowers, Birds, Frogs, etc. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Miriam
Wood).

Wed., April 25 — Natural History Facts and
Fallacies (Lorain Farmer).

Fri., April 27— Animal Pets of Other
Countries. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (June Buchwald).

Official Visitor from Japan

Hiroto Honda, secretary general of the
Science Council of Japan and Japan Acad-
emy, visited the Department of Anthro-
pology in March. Mr. Honda was sent to
this country to make a study of various
scientific institutions in the United States
and to find out how much integration there
is between the sciences and daily life.

(All books renewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
cluding an allowance for postage are promptly

filled.)

THE FRESH-WATER ALGAE OF THE
UNITED STATES. Second Edition. By
Gilbert M. Smith. McGraw-Hill, New
York, 1950. viii-|-720 pages, 559 text
figures. Price $10.

Perhaps nothing has given greater impetus
to the study of fresh-water algae of this
country than the original issue of this book
in 1933. Now an enlarged and considerably
revised edition has appeared. Some general
information has been added to the three
introductory chapters. Many more genera
have been introduced as the author has
considered the published reports of them to
be reliable. The conspicuous difference
between the two editions, as pointed out in
the preface, is the omission here of descrip-
tions of species in the smaller genera. This
may be in the interest of saving space, but
it seems to me that the result is the omission
of a great deal of information about the
algae that is henceforth available to the
student only when he consults the first
edition. With only the genera treated in
detail, the new edition will be found useful
primarily as a textbook for the classroom,
containing a larger quantity of information
than is to be found in the same author's
Cryptogamic Botany, Volume I (1938).

The various groups of algae are here
treated as divisions of the plant kingdom
rather than as classes, as they were in the
first edition. The key to genera has been
enlarged, and many references have been
added to the bibliography. The illustra-
tions are excellent.

The text is well printed except for a
number of pages (in the copy made available
to me by the publishers) in the Division
Chlorophyta. Certain errors in spelling
(like Chlorotylium cataractum instead of
C. cataractarum) have been carried over
from the first edition; others (like Phor-
phyrosiphon instead of Porphyrosiphon) are
here first introduced. Dr. Smith has in-
cluded many generic names published since
1935 without benefit of Latin descriptions.
Since these names are illegitimate according
to the international rules of nomenclature,
it seems to me unfair that the unsuspecting
beginning student should be initiated into
a new field of science in terminology
condemned by the International Botanical
Congresses.

Francis Drouet
Curator of Cryptogamic Botany

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Apra, 1951

OZARK WITCH HAZEL—

(Continued from page S)

America. Bucklandia and Rhodoleia are
interesting Asiatic members of the family.

AN OLD FAMILY

The witch hazel family, as a whole, must
be very old. Fossil remains referable to
this family date back millions of years to
the late Cretaceous. We should, therefore,
look with great appreciation upon these
interesting plants that are so welcome in
earliest spring as well as late fall. Whether
we agree with the weather man or not, spring
was already heralded some time ago by the
appearance of the Ozark witch hazel and
its companions, the snowdrop, crocus, and
skunk cabbage. Later on, the other early
bloomers, such as the pussy willow, snow
trillium, and hepatica, will follow.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology :

From: Kitty Faust, Evanston, 111. — a piece
of tapa, Polynesia.

Department of Botany:

From: Department of Botany, Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.— 29
algae, Texas; Department of Botany, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, Madison — 19 Amar-
anthus, Bolivia; Archie F. Wilson, Floss-
moor, 111. — 10 phanerogams, Korea; Dr.
G. S. Winterringer, Illinois State Museum,
Springfield — 125 phanerogams, Illinois.

Department of Geology :

From: Hans E. Chlupac, Vienna, Austria
— 51 gastropod specimens, Austria; Missis-
sippi Geological Survey — an ammonite speci-
men, Sphenodiscus okatus, Mississippi;
Robert T. Thompson, Cave Creek, Ariz. —
a specimen of specular hematite, Arizona.

Department of Zoology:

PYom: Walter Auffenberg, DeLand, Fla. —
a snake, Florida; Dr. Roger W. Barbour,
Lexington, Ky. — 26 salamanders, Harlan
County, Kentucky; Dorothy E. Beetle,
Laramie, Wyo. — a collection of non-marine
shells, Wyoming and Colorado; Graham
Bumside, Laramie, Wyo. — 7 mammals,
Wyoming; Chicago Zoological Society,
Brookfield, 111. — a European badger (cap-
tive) and 2 mammals, Peru; Hermano
Daniel, Medellln, Colombia — 35 frogs, 4
lizards, 13 snakes, Colombia; Leo F. Focha,
Sebast«pol, Calif. — a collection of marine
shells, California; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo,
Egypt — a bird skin, 5 fishes, 344 mammals,
54 lizards, and 91 snakes, Egypt; Leslie
Hubricht, Danville, Va. — a collection of
land and fresh-water shells, various localities;
Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago — a cassowary
(zoo bird); Joe Opat, Hinsdale, 111. — a
domesticated chinchilla; Lawrence O'Toole,
Evergreen Park, 111. — a chinchilla (captive);
J. D. Romer, Kew, Surrey, England — 9
frogs. Hong Kong; Dr. Glen C. Sanderson,
Marion, Iowa — a turtle, Iowa; Steward
Springer, Pascagoula, Miss. — a collection of

marine invertebrates. Gulf of Mexico; Dr.
J. A. Tubb, Sandakan, North Borneo— 12
bats, Sandakan, North Borneo; Irwin L.
Young, Chicago — 2 adult male gorilla
skeletons, Cameroon.

Library:

From: Dr. Fay-Cooper Cole, Santa
Barbara, Calif.; Eugene S. Richardson, Jr.,
Winnetka, 111.; L. C. Stuart, Ann Arbor,
Mich.; Rupert L. Wenzel, Oak Park, 111.

f IFIY YKARS AGO

Ai UIK MUSKUM

STANLEY FIELD HALL

Every visitor entering this museum by
either the north or south entrance finds
himself immediately in Stanley Field Hall,
named in honor of Stanley Field, who has
been the institution's President and one
of its foremost Benefactors for more than
forty years. It occupies the great central
nave, extending some 300 feet or practically
the length of the building and reaching
seventy-five feet to the sky-lighted roof.
With its tall Ionic pillars and the series of
arches overlooking it from the galleries on
the second floor, it carries out to the full the
beauty of the classic Greek architecture
that marks the building's exterior. At each
end, across the hall, is a larger archway.
The arch at the north is flanked by heroic size
sculptures representing "Natural Science"
and "Dissemination of Knowledge," while
at the south are figures emblematic of
"Research" and "Record." These four
statues are the work of an eminent sculptor,
Henry Hering.

This hall contains representative exhibits
from each of the four scientific Departments
of the Museum (Anthropology, Botany,
Geology, and Zoology), the aim being to
give an introductory view of the sciences
that come within the institution's scope.
Some of these exhibits are permanent; others
are changed from time to time to show new
acquisitions or the results of expeditions.
Occasionally a special exhibit is arranged to
present material related to some timely event
such as the observance of Conservation
Week or the centennial of some great man
of science.

Technical Publications Issued

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 42. Am-
phibians and Reptiles of the Hopkins-
Branner Expedition to Brazil. By Karl P.
Schmidt and Robert F. Inger. February
23, 1951. 28 pages. $0.40.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 43. A New
Lizard of the Gentts Varanus from New
Guinea. By Robert Mertens. February
23, 1951. 6 pages. $0.40.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, 44. Two New
Mammals from Southern Peru. By Colin
Campbell Sanborn. February 23, 1951.
6 pages. $0.40.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"Mr. Surber, the regular collector in the
Department of Zoology, resigned in the
early spring and Mr. Edmund Heller was
engaged to succeed him. He is now at work
on the Pacific coast, where he has been
unusually successful, having in a short
space of time added a number of species
not represented in the collections. The
visit of Mr. Meek, accompanied by a
volunteer assistant, to southern Mexico for
the purpose of collecting mammals, fishes,
reptiles and insects, was highly important.
The collection of fishes obtained was
naturally the largest and most important
from a scientific standpoint, as it will
furnish more material to work out the
geographical range of the North American
forms which are foimd in southern Mexico,
and the limit of South American fishes
which are found in Central America and
which go north into southern Mexico, that
has been collected in that country."

[Mr. Meek's Mexican collections turned
out to be of great scientific importance.]
* * ♦

A femtir and humerus of a dinosaur, the
largest ever discovered (to 1901), were
placed on exhibit. The femur pictured
below was 6 feet 8 inches high and weighed

H. W. Menkc with femur of Brachiosaurus. Mr.

Mcnke. a preparator and photographer who acconi'

panted palcontological expeditions, retired frotn

the Museum stafi in 1904.

675

uiw pounds. This specimen, then referred
to the genus Camarosaurus, was later made
the type of Braehiosaurus altithorax by
E. S. Riggs.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

ULLETIN

VoL22,No.5 -May 1951

Chicago Natural
History Museum

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marsbmj. Field, 1893

RoowTcIt Road mnd Lake Shore DrlTe, Chicafo 5

Telkphonb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Abmour Stanley Field

Sbwbll L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Ishaji

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fbnton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbttbn

Marshall Field. Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pmidenl

Marshall Field Pint Viet-Pmiitta

Albert B. Dick. Jr. Seeimd Viet-Praidenl

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Viet-Prttidtnt

Solomon A. Smith Tnannr

CiirronD C. Gregg Dindor and Seeretam

John R. Millar Atmttanl Sterttarg

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S, Martin Chief Curator of Anthropolon

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botanji

Sharat K. Rot Chief Curator of Geotogt

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoolon

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Hartb PutMe Retatioiu Coutuel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

JOHNS HOPKINS HERBARIUM
RECEIVED AS GIFT

The Museum recently received as a gift
the valuable and historically interesting
herbarium of Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, Maryland. This herbarium con-
sists of nearly 10,000 specimens, some 2,600
of which represent cryptogams (mostly algae
and mosses), the others being ferns and
flowering plants. Notable collections in-
cluded among cryptogams are the Johnson
collection of algae, largely from the Atlantic
Coast of North America, North American
mosses of the collection of the Reverend
S. M. Newman, and mosses collected in
Italy and other European countries by Carlo
Fitzgerald.

The collections of flowering plants and
ferns include those of W. Schimper from
Europe and Jamaica, those of F. Ahlberg
and J. E. Zetterstedt from Scandina\-ia,
those of E. Stahl and Lerch from Europe,
those of McKenzie from the South Sea
Islands, those of the late Professor D. S.
Johnson from Jamaica, and many others,
especially specimens from Maryland and
other parts of the United States. As many
of these specimens were collected nearly
100 years ago, they represent valuable and
welcome records and additions to the Mu-
seum's herbaria. The transfer of this
herbarium as a gift was arranged by Pro-
fessor B. H. Willier, Chairman of the
Department of Biology, and his associate.
Dr. Carl P. Swanson, with the approval of

Dr. Detlev W. Bronk, President, and the
Trustees of Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of the
Department of Botany, was instrumental in
creating the liaison between the Museum
and the Johns Hopkins authorities.

GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP
AWARDED TO CURATOR

Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mam-
mals, has been awarded a John Simon
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow-
ship for 1951-52. During his tenure of the
fellowship. Curator Patterson will carry out
studies on South American Tertiary verte-
brates. The Marshall Reld Paleontological
Expeditions to Argentina and Bolivia during
1922-27 under the leadership of Elmer S.
Riggs, former Curator of Paleontology at
the Museum, brought together magnificent
collections of fossil vertebrates. Curator
Patterson has worked on this material for
a number of years, and the fellowship
award should enable him to bring his studies
to a satisfactory conclusion.

Former Guggenheim fellows on the Mu-
seum staff are Karl P. Schmidt, Chief
Curator of Zoology, Colin C. Sanborn,
Curator of Mammals, and Dr. Hugh C.
Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany. Dr.
Jos6 Cuatrecasas, former Curator of Co-
lombian Botany, is now working at the
Museum under the provisions of a Guggen-
heim fellowship.

STAFF NOTES

Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil
Mammals, and Orville L. Gilpin, Chief
Preparator of Fossils, are afield on a paleon-
tological expedition to explore the early
Cretaceous Trinity Sands of north-central
Texas in continuation of the successful
search begun last year for a fossil micro-
fauna .... Dr. Julian A. Steyermark,
Curator of the Herbarium, recently con-
ducted a botanical field trip in Missouri.
. . . Donald Collier, Curator of South
American Ethnology and Archaeology, was
a recent speaker before the Chicago chapter
of the Archaeological Institute of America.
His topic was "Maya Civilization.". . . Dr.
Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic
Ethnology, has been awarded a National
Research Council grant to complete docu-
mentary research in connection with the
Museum's Micronesian Anthropological Ex-
pedition that he conducted in 1949-50 ....
The State Department has awarded George
I. Ouimby, Curator of Exhibits in Anthro-
pology, a F^lbright grant to accept an
invitation to be visiting lecturer at the
University of Oslo, Norway, in 1952.
Curator Quimby participated in a conference
on Hopewell pottery at the Illinois State
Museum, Springfield, April 13-14. Miss

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The scene on our cover shows
women of an indian village in the
Chicago region about .\.D. 1750
husking corn that has been
brought from the fields at harvest
time. As they do their work, they
joke and gossip in housewifely
fashion. The picture represents
part of one of the miniature dio-
ramas in the new Hall of Wood-
land and Prairie Indians (Mary D.
Sturges Hall— Hall 5). The new
hall is described on page 3 in an
article by George I. Quimby,
Curator of Exhibits in the Depart-
ment of Anthropology.

Elaine Bluhm, Assistant in Archaeology,
also took part in the discussions.

Japanese Officials Visit Museum

Three Japanese officials touring the United
States to learn American methods of exhibit-
ing and preserving historical materials re-
cently visited Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum to observe techniques employed here.
They were Dr. Jiro Harada, liaison ofliicial.
National Museum, Tokyo; Kinji Fujikawa,
Chief, Administrative Department, Com-
mission for the Protection of Cultural
Properties, Education Ministry, Tokyo; and
Jiro Arimitsu, member. Commission for the
Protection of Cultural Properties, Educa-
tion Ministry, Tokyo. Dr. Paul S. Martin,
Chief Curator of Anthropology, and his
associates were consulted by the members of
this party.

New Members
The following persons became Museum
Members between March 16 and April 16:

.Associate Members
Walter C. Alward, Jr., Miss Frances
Jeannette Carter.

Annual Members

Carleton B. Adams, Dr. Cornelius M.
Annan, Mrs. Arthur M. Blair, Felix P.
Bum, William S. Church, Mrs. Kenneth L.
Clark, William S. Deree, James Fentress, Jr.,
A. J. Frystak, Truman K. Gibson, Jr.,
George D. Hardin, Mrs. Paul W. Hayes,
William E. Hayes, John W. Heddens, Dr.
Donald J. Heffner, E. N. Hope, Nye
Johnson, Dr. Leonard F. Kowalski, LeRoy
Krabill, Dr. Harold Laufman, Irving G.
Lederer, Mrs. Josiah O. Low^, Mrs. Hugh
McCulloch, B. F. McNamara, Harrj' M.
Nacey, Paul M. Nahmens, Mrs. Edwin W.
Nelson, Mrs. E. N. Ridley, Joseph H.
Schwartz, Leo J. Schwartz, John J. Stahl.

Patrick Henry anticipated modem soil
conservation thinking and practice when he
said: "He is the greatest patriot who stops
the most gullies."

May, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

NEW HALL TELLS STORY OF WOODLAND AND PRAIRIE INDIANS

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOR OF EXHIBITS, ANTHROPOUXiY

INDIAN CULTURE of the Woodlands
and Prairies is illustrated by 59 new
exhibits created by the staflF of the Mu-
seum's Department of Anthropology. They
are housed in Mary D. Sturges Hall (Hall 5)
on the main floor. The hall is divided evenly
between Woodland and Prairie Indians.

The half of the new hall showing Indians
of the Woodlands contains the following

The Indians of the Northern Woodlands
were the Cree, Algonkin, northern Chippewa,
Montagnais-Naskapi, Micmac, and Abnaki.
These Indians made their living by hunting,
fishing, and the gathering of wild foods.
The exhibits in this section show the area
occupied by these Indians, their dwellings,
household goods, clothing, mode of subsist-
ence, tools, weajwns, and utensils, social
organization, forms of marriage, family,
kinship, and inheritance, and religion.

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FARMING AND HUNTING

DAKOTA IHDIAHS OF THE EASTEBH PRAIRIES

FARMER-NOMADS

Exhibit contrasting the two phases of the economic liie of Eastern Prairie Indians. The Eastern Dakotas are
part-time farmers living a sedentary life in permanent villages. They are also part-time nomadic hunters

living in tents.

sections: Indians of the Northern Wood-
lands, Indians of the Southern Woodlands,
Indians of the Eastern Woodlands, and
Indians of the Chicago Region of the Central
Woodlands.

CHICAGO AREA FEATURED

The Indians of the Chicago region were
the Illinois, Miami, Potawatomi, Kickapoo,
Sauk and Fox, Ottawa, Winnebago, Me-
nomini, and southern Chippewa. Not all
of these tribes occupied the area simul-
taneously, but all of them drifted into or
out of the Chicago region in the period
after a.d. 1600.

The exhibits in this section of the hall
show the distribution of tribes in the
Chicago region; the appearance of some of
the Indians as portrayed by George Catlin
in 1832; the social organization of families,
clans, bands, and tribes; types of clothing
worn by men and women; types of dwellings;
vegetable foods obtained by farming and
gathering; preparation of food; and hunting,
methods of transportation, games, art,
household goods and furnishings, warfare,
and religious activities.

The Iroquois tribes — Seneca, Oneida,
Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohawk— are used
in the new hall to illustrate the culture type
of the Eastern Woodlands. These Indians
lived primarily by farming, but they supple-
mented their agricultural products by hunt-
ing and gathering. Their houses, made of
a framework of poles covered with bark,
were very large and contained apartments
for a number of families, the women of
which were close relatives. The Iroquois
tribes were joined in a confederacy called
the League of the Iroquois. This con-
federacy established rules and regulations
for handling strife among the Iroquois tribes
and thus prevented warfare between them.

The exhibits dealing with the Iroquois
show their houses, households, hou.sehold
goods, art, and religious paraphernalia. Of
particular interest is a display of carved
wooden masks worn by members of the
False Face Society, a religious group devoted
to healing the sick.

Among the many tribes of the Southern
Woodlands were such groups as the Creek,
Caddo, Cherokee, Catawba, Choctaw, Semi-
nole, and Chitamacha. The culture type

of the Southern Woodlands was character-
ized by large villages, an agricultural
economy, and a somewhat elaborate social
org^anization that emphasized class systems.
The exhibits in this section illustrate cloth-
ing, art, tools, weapons, and utensils of
various southern tribes.

INDIANS OF THE PRAIRIES

The half of the new hall showing Indians
of the Prairies contains the following sec-
tions: Indians of the Eastern Prairies, In-
dians of the Western Prairies, and Indians
of the Southern Prairies.

The Indians of the Eastern Prairies were
the Iowa and the Eastern Dakota. They
were farmers and hunters. Part of each
year they were sedentary farmers dwelling
in villages of bark-covered houses. The
rest of the year, particularly in midsummer,
they were nomadic hunters of buffalo. Ex-
hibits illustrating the culture of the Indians
of the Eastern Prairies show their dwellings,
mode of livelihood, clothing, and art.

The Indians of the Western Prairies were
the Pawnee, the Omaha, the Ponca, the Oto,
the Mandan, the Hidatsa, and the Arikara.
The exhibits show the distribution of these
tribes, the physical appearance of some of
the Indians as portrayed by George Catlin
in 1832, the houses and households, house-
hold goods, farming implements, hunting
weapons, tools and utensils, clothing, art,
games, warfare, and religious practices. One
exhibit in this section illustrates the Pawnee
ideas of heaven, another shows the sacred
medicine bundles and other religious para-

CEREMONIAL CLOTHING
Exhibit from Pawnee Indians ofthe Western Prairies.

phernalia, and others illustrate sacred rituals
and sacrifices.

The Indians of the Southern Prairies were
the Kansa, Missouri, Osage, and Wichita.
(Coniinued on page 5, column 1)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1951

COLONIES OF ILLINOIS BATS INVADED BY BUSINESS

BY COLIN CAMPBELL SANBORN
CUBATOB OP MAHHALS

From the war clouds on the horizon there
comes to our ears the thunderous threat
of various types of alphabet bombs. Far-
sighted businessmen, in making plans for
this eventuality, are quietly looking about

numbers of these bats, which were offered
to various institutions and biological supply
houses in the city, including Chicago Natural
History Museum.

Although the Museum has an adequate
representation of the local bats, the staff of
the Division of Mammals is always in-

WINTERING BATS IN ABANDONED ILLINOIS MINE
In an old limestone mine near the town of La Salle about 5,000 bats were found hibernating. Owners i
mine plan to use it as a vault for vital papers in case of atomic war.

.f the

for underground storage rooms where rec-
ords and files can be safely stored outside
the area of strategic targets.

The American Record Storage and De-
pository Company of Chicago selected an
old limestone mine near La Salle, Illinois,
for the development of a bomb-proof storage
shelter. This old mine, unworked for fifty
years, was used to hide a still during the
"Dry Era" and was tried imsuccessfully as
a mushroom garden, but otherwise it had
not been of financial value.

THOUSANDS OF BATS

The company was surprised to find the
mine inhabited, however, by some thousands
of bats quietly roosting on the walls and
ceiling until spring arrived to arouse them
from their frigid sleep and to send them
forth to other caves or abandoned mines
where the phenomenon of producing and
raising more bats would take place. Un-
fortimately, development and construction
work necessitated the removal of some

terested in examining colonies of bats and
in identifying the species as a matter of
record. Melvin Kahn, president of the
company, generously granted permission to
visit the mine and arranged to have its
agent in La Salle act as guide.

So it happened that on the morning of
March 19, with the thermometer at 18
degrees and flurries of snow in the air, this
Curator, accompanied by Rupert L. Wenzel,
Curator of Insects, drove south to examine
the bat colony. In spite of the cold the
first hardy bird migrants were making
valiant efforts to sing, and snatches of
song from robins, song sparrows, and red-
winged blackbirds reached us faintly now
and then on the frigid wind.

PARASITES STUDIED)

The interest of Curator Wenzel lay not
in the bats themselves so much as in the
parasites that live on, and only on, the bats
and that do not transfer themselves to
human beings. In this northern area these

consist of mites, fleas, and bat "bedbugs."
These latter live in the cracks in the walls
of roosting places and come out when
hungry to have a meal of blood from the
nearest bat.

Our indoctrination and introduction to
the mine was given us by Roy Phlak, the
architect for the company, who showed us
plans of the mine workings and then guided
tis to and through the mine. He left us
then to our own bat-hunting methods, with
a promise to bring a search party if we
did not return to La Salle by a certain fixed
hour.

The mine, dug into the side of a hill,
was comprised of an upper and a lower
level. In the upper level the ceiling was
low. There were many entrances admitting
more light and cold air than desirable in
bats' winter bedrooms and so this level was
uninhabited.

HANG IN CLUSTERS

The lower level was roughly one large
room about 500 feet square, with many
halls and their connecting passageways
leading away from the one open entrance.
It was warm, about 50 degrees, dark, fairly
dry, and apparently most acceptable to
the bats. We found them in clusters of
from two to fifty hanging from ledges on
the ceiling or against the walls. Others
were solitary, seemingly not needing the
companionship or the heat of their kind.
Many old drill holes, made for blasting
when the mine was in operation, were also
occupied by the bats. In some they hung
from the top of the hole and in others they
lay piled one on top of another helter-
skelter, as though, when tired of hanging,
they had fallen in a heap. In all, it was
roughly estimated that there were about
5,000 bats in the mine.

A careful examination of these clusters
and solitary individuals showed that there
were four sjjecies of bats in the colony.
The big brown bat (Eptesicus fuseus),
represented by not more than a dozen
individuals, hung rather low on the walls,
not more than three feet from the floor.
The pipistrelle {Pipistrellus s^tbflaeus) was
found in small numbers in one hall well
back from the entrance. Its reddish color
and small size at once identified it. The
majority of the bats were the little brown
bat (Myotis lucifugus), and they occupied
sp>ots on the ceiling and the walls in all parts
of the cave. The moisture on them, reflected
in the rays of our electric lanterns, gave
them a varicolored appearance so that
some looked white and others almost black.
Brought into daylight, however, with the
drops of water shaken off, they were all
the same color.

Among the little brown bats were some
that seemed to have much larger and broader
ears and were more yellowish on the under-
parts than the others. These proved to be
Trouessart's long-eared bat (Myotis keenii

May, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

septentrionalis), whose range includes almost
all of the eastern half of the United States.
We were very glad to find it because
there are only three previous records of
its occurrence in Illinois. It was present
in small numbers, scattered here and there
throughout the mine.

We brought home twenty bats represent-
ing the four species and these Curator
Wenzel examined microscopically for para-
sites. He found on the little brown bat
three specimens of a flea (Modopsylla in-
signis) hitherto poorly represented in the
Museum collection and two or three species
of mites. No "bedbugs" were found in the
cave and none on the bats, but this was not
surprising as they are not very active during
cold weather.

This colony of bats is the largest known
close to Chicago. The mine did not appear
to be used as a breeding place during the
summer, but it is possible a few bats might
be found in it then. How long the bats
have used the mine cannot be estimated.
It is to be hoped that all their retreats will
not be taken from them because bats are
important in the destruction of noxious
insects.

The effects of the policy of Moscow reach
even into the underground roosting places
of bats!

NEW INDIAN HALL—

{Continued from page S)

These Indians, who made their living by
farming and by hunting the buffalo, lived
in houses made of poles that were covered
with reed mats or grass thatching. The
exhibits in this section show their house
types, household goods, tools and utensils,
clothing, art, and warfare.

Two general exhibits are displayed in the
new hall. One shows the Asiatic origin of
the Indians, their spread in America, and
the various culture areas that had been
established by the time of discovery. The
other deals with the modification of Indian
culture brought about by contact with the
culture of the White men.

DISPLAYED IN MODERN MANNER

The new hall is well lighted and the
newest exhibition techniques have been em-
ployed. Each exhibition case has individual
illumination so that the complete contents
are easily seen, and every effort has been
made to add to the attractiveness of the
exhibits. The upright floor cases have been
painted a neutral gray color and are placed
back to back in order to make a compound
case 4 feet wide, 12 feet long, and 7 feet
high. Each half of such a compound case
provides an exhibition space about 12 feet
long, 7 feet high, and 2 feet wide. For
protection against damage by moths and
other insects, each floor-case is equipped
with a built-in fumigating tank that can be

serviced without opening the case. Hang-
ing wall-cases along one side of the hall are
4 feet high, 6 feet long, and one foot wide.
Other cases of varied sizes contain miniature
dioramas.

The story of the Indians of the Woodlands
and Prairies is told in terms of dioramas,
idea-exhibits, and arrangement of selected
specimens in carefully planned categories.
In general, the idea-exhibits provide a
social context for exhibits of specimens by
category, and the dioramas illustrate ideas
and activities that would be extremely
difficult or impossible to convey by speci-
mens alone. Various tones of green have
been used as background colors for the
exhibits of the Indians of the Woodlands
and shades of yellow for the Indians of the
Prairies. Throughout the hall there has
been an effort to avoid overcrowding within
the cases.

MAPS AID VISITORS

Labels are brief and composed of cut-out
letters, except for a general label that is
printed and framed. With each general
label there is an accompanying map showing
location or distribution of the Indians repre-
sented.

Clothing is displayed on manikins of
papier-mache. These manikins are feature-
less and stylized so that attention is focused
on the clothing. The old-style manikins
were poor substitutes for reality and fre-
quently drew attention to such a degree
that the observer did not notice the clothing,
which, after all, was the point of the exhibit.

The exhibits in the new hall were planned
by the curatorial staff of the Department of
Anthropology and executed by Artist Gustaf
Dalstrom. The installations were under-
taken by Preparator Walter C. Reese.
Dioramist Alfred Lee Rowell is responsible
for the dioramas, and Ceramic Restorer
John Pletinckx made the manikins.

IWWYEMtS AGO

M WW. MUSKUM

WORK OF ART STUDENTS
IN SPECIAL EXHIBIT

Drawings of mammals, birds, and other
subjects displayed in this Museum form a
special exhibit by students in the Junior
School of the Art Institute of Chicago that
will be held in Stanley Field Hall from May 1
to 31, inclusive. The students represented
are those whose classes meet periodically in
this Museum for special work on nature in
art and design. Two members of the
Natural History Museum staff, Gustaf
Dalstrom, Artist in the Department of
Anthropology, and Douglas E. Tibbitts,
Staff Illustrator, made the selections for the
exhibit. Mrs. C. S. Hewlett, Head of the
Junior School, co-operated in judging the
work. The exhibit includes productions
both of the classes for students from 10 to
17 years of age and of the general drawing
classes for first-year students from 18 to
40 years of age.

CompUtd by MARGARET J. BAUER

Working of the dinosaur quarries in Colo-
rado, which were discovered and partially
exploited in 1900, was continued during
several months of the summer of 1901 by
a party under the direction of Assistant
Curator Elmer S. Riggs. The work involved
considerable blasting, tunneling, and the
construction of a temporary ferry.

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Drilling to blast dinosaur quarry

The number of expeditions in the field in
1901 outnumbered those sent out in any
previous year. Listed below are the men
in charge and the places they visited:

Anthropology: W. A. Phillips, to southern
Illinois; Stephen C. Simms, to Arizona and
California; J. W. Hudson, to California;
Charles L. Owen, to Arizona; George A.
Dorsey, to Oklahoma and Arizona; Merton
L. Miller, to Columbia River Basin; and
C. F. Newcombe, to Queen Charlotte Is-
lands, British Columbia.

Botany: Charles F. Millspaugh, to Jamaica.

Geology: Elmer S. Riggs, to western
Colorado.

Zoology: S. E. Meek and F. E. Lutz, to
central Mexico.

Southwest Botanical Expedition

On May 20 the Museum's 1951 Southwest
Botanical Field Trip, conducted by Dr.
Hugh C. Cutler, Curator of Economic
Botany, will leave for six weeks of field work
in New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. Most
of the time will be spent in west-central
New Mexico studying the vegetation grow-
ing about sites such as Tularosa Cave,
which was excavated by the Museum's 1950
Southwest Archaeological Expedition.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1951

BIRDS OF A GARDEN
IN SAN SALVADOR

By AUSTIN L. RAND*

CURATOR OF BIRDe

My son Stanley and I live in a guest
house called Villa Margarita. It is No. 3,
Colonia America, above the city of San
Salvador and across the city from the
Tropical Institute where we spend our days
studying birds. The altitude, about 2,300
feet, is great enough to ameliorate the
midday heat, if not the brightness, and the
mornings are pleasantly chilly.

Though we sleep under blankets and are
glad to pull them up under our chins, one

ENTRANCE TO VILLA MARGARITA
From here the members of the Museum's project
travel daily to their research laboratories at the
Instituto Tropical de Investigaciones Cientificas of
El Salvador. Photo by Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator
of Geology aad a member of the project.

glance at the garden in which our spacious
house is set would tell you it was in the
tropics. The house, of stuccoed brick and
tile, has its entrance heavily draped with
orange-flowered trumpet vines. Two low
fan-palms flank the steps; red-flowered
hibiscus and crotons with gay leaves line
the circular drive. There are orange and
lime trees beyond, and two araucarias (im-
ported from the Australian region) and two
feathery palms, one drajjed with a white-
flowered vine, stand beside the garden exit.
A group of long-leafed pines, similar to
those that grow higher in the mountains, is
in one comer. Hedges on each side of the
garden, one of them of bamboo, insure
privacy. There is a red-flowered pito tree.

*Dr. Rand is a member of the current Salvadorean
Project, a joint research activity of this Museum and
the Instituto Tropical de Investigaciones Cientificas,
El Salvador.

Purple-flowered Bougainvillea drapes pines
and hedges. Against this vivid tropical
color, constant watering has kept a green
lawn, and beds of roses and zinnias struggle
valiantly but wanly under these alien skies.

zoo LIONS ROAR

Beyond our hedges we see a corner of a
native mud hut, mango and paw-paw trees,
and a lonely coconut palm that raises its
head against the sky. Across the road the
roof of the fort shows; below it is the house
of the president of El Salvador, the national
museum, and the zoological garden, from
which last, at night, we hear the roar of
lions. Beyond, across the city, rises the
impressive bulk of the Volcano of San
Salvador, usually blue-gray now in the heat
haze of the dry season.

We notice other visitors from the north
spending the winter here. An olive-sided
flycatcher that was perhaps hatched in
Canada perches in one of the pines. Except
for being silent it looks quite at home.
Baltimore and orchard orioles visit the
flower trees; yellow warblers flit through
trees and shrubbery, gleaning for insects;
flocks of cedar waxwings, demure and quiet
as always, perch in our trees in passing; and
dull-colored little flycatchers that might be
least flycatchers or wood pewees sit up with-
out giving a call note as a clue to their
identity. And silent, small, grayish-olive
flycatchers are hard to identify, not only
when alive but even when they are museum
specimens.

MEET FEATHERED NATIVES

But having acknowledged the winter
visitors, we'll go on to what really interests
us, the natives. Our first morning in San
Salvador we were awakened by a three-
note, thrush-like song that we quickly came
to associate with dawn and dusk. Its
author, we found, was a thrush that, except
for its dusky color, would pass for an
American robin, with the same size and
shape, the same way of sitting, hopping,
and flitting its tail. But it was a bird of
the dark places. It never came out on the
lawn but delighted in haunting the ground
in shady nooks and corners, indicating
perhaps that before it became a garden
bird it lived in the forest. A late riser but
a noisier and more persistent songster is the
white-bellied wren. These wrens are always
in parties, and a party includes our garden
in its beat. They leave no cranny unex-
plored, hopping about through the shrub-
bery, on the ground, and on tree trunks
(one that I saw exploring a hole in a tree
forty feet up I at first mistook for a wood-
pecker). They don't neglect the house,
either, and go poking about the tiles and
the crevices of downspouts, looking for their
insect food. One bird will start singing
several rollicking liquid notes that are
repeated over and over, and other birds of
the party will join in until we have a

pleasing medley that fills the garden. They
are typical wrens in behavior, hopping
about with tail cocked up, but they are
large for wrens, larger than an English
sparrow, and as such less fussily nervous
and jumpy than many of their smaller
relatives.

The great-tailed grackles, not unlike our
bronze grackle but with much longer tails,
are the noisiest if not the most musical of
our garden birds. The male, all black with
a contrasting white eye, displays with
fluffed-up feathers and a squealing whistle
or a chirping chuckle; the female, more
brownish in color, answers with a chatter
and a flickering of wings. And at all hours
of the day their whistles, squeals, chirps,
and chatterings burst out.

MYSTERIES TO SOLVE

We usually associate nest-building with
the breeding season. But; the white-bellied
wrens I've mentioned carry on nest-building
throughout the year, even though they nest
during only a short season. Right now,
one party of six or so is building two nests
in a fan-palm by our door, and by watching
them I hope to unravel some of their
mysteries. Though it's still the dry season
some birds have begun nesting, perhaps
influenced by the greenery and the watering

VILLA MARGARITA GARDEN SCENE

This is the setting in which the members of the

Museum's Salvadorean Project are housed in San

Salvador. Photo by Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator

of Geology and a member of the project.

in our garden. A pair of kis-ka-dee fly-
catchers, bold brown and yellow birds with
conspicuous eye-stripes and about the size
of a kingbird, are building in one of the
araucarias on our drive. The call of the
querelons, from which they get their name.

May, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

bursts out periodically, at any time of day,
especially when a neighboring pair visits
them. Several female grackles are carrying
grass for nests into feather-palms and mango
trees. A pair of yellow-billed blue pigeons
sit side by side, the male cooing as it rocks
deeply back and forth; then the pair peck
fondly at each other's heads and necks and
finally visit a certain branch on the other
araucaria, where I hope they will place their
nest.

The flowers, of course, attract many
birds. Hummingbirds dart in and out,
though as yet I have not identified these
vivid-emerald living jewels, and I don't
know how many kinds there are. The red-
flowered pito tree is the favorite of the
Baltimore oriole and of another black-and-
orange oriole that is resident. They feed
by plucking a bloom, holding it under one
foot, pecking a hole in the base, poking
there for a moment, perhaps for nectar, and
then letting it drop and picking another
flower. A big dull-colored sparrow with
white eyebrows and a white stripe in its
throat is also fond of these flowers, but it
feeds in quite a different way. It picks
the flowers and swallows them, after some
manipulation in its bill.

It is not birds alone that eat these blooms.
Through the country one sees the local
people climbing into pito trees or breaking
off the blooms with poles. These blooms,
I'm told, are used in flavoring their frijoles.
I've tasted pito blooms and find them much
like green beans. The bottle-brush tree
next to the pito tree is favored by a different
class of birds that feed in a different manner.
They poke into the blooms for insects or
nectar. The chestnut-and-black orchard
oriole is one of the most persistent visitors;
it tries to drive out the other species so that
it can keep the whole tree to itself. But
little green warblers also swarm there.
Most surprising to me is that the white-
bellied wrens can turn into flower-birds.
Clinging right side up or head down, they
compete with the orioles in feeding at the
blooms.

These are some of the thirty or more birds
I've seen in our garden. Others include two
tanagers that come occasionally, a little
dove that walks our drives and coos from
our shrubbery, swallows and swifts that
fly overhead, and, toward evening, screech-
ing flocks of parrots that pass on swiftly
beating wings.

VULTURES ALWAYS PRESENT

Vultures, strictly speaking, are not garden
birds. But no EI Salvador scene is complete
without them. In the mornings when
they're sailing low, looking for breakfast,
their shadows cross and re-cross our lawn.
No doubt they would come down if there
was food, for we see them on main streets
and perched in yards of the houses in the
poorer parts of town, playing their role of
scavengers.

There are other interesting things in our
garden besides birds. There are lines of
parasol ants carrying bits of leaves to their
homes. There's a crested climbing lizard
more than a foot long that lives in our hedges
and a small gecko-like lizard with a brown
head that lives in our garage. One night a
rustling in a feather-palm made us shine a
light there to find a beautiful, bright-tawny,
big-eyed and big-eared mouse that climbed
up into our trumpet vine and disappeared.
There are a few yellow buttlerflies, but so
far not many, and none of the big, brilliant,
blue ones that I've seen in the country.

It's still the dry season. Not a drop of
rain has fallen in the month we've been
here. At midday it's intolerably bright,
but clouds are coming up today from the
low country. The other night we smelled
rain. Soon the wet season will start and
then, I expect, we'll find that our garden,
its inhabitants, and its visitors will change
with the season.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropolo^:

From Mrs. Fred L. Starbuck, North-
brook, 111. — a copper spearhead.

Department of Botany:

From: Dr. Margery Carlson, Evanston,
111. — 51 cryptogams, southern Mexico; Dr.
E. C. Cocke, Wake Forest, N.C.— 3 algae,
Carolinas; Dr. Violet M. Diller, Cincinnati —
20 algal cultures, Cincinnati; Dr. Sidney F.
Classman, Chicago — 23 cryptogams, Caro-
line Islands; Albert Greenberg, Tampa,
Fla. — a Cryptocoryne Grifiithii in flower,
Florida; Ray Grow and Simon Segal, Chi-
cago— a Ly CO podium, Indiana; Dr. Faiistino
Miranda, Mexico City — 6 plants (isotypes),
Mexico; Dr. Reuben Lasker, Coral Gables,
Fla. — 3 algae. Gulf Stream, Florida; Linda
Newton, London, England — 2 algae,
Anglesey Island, England; Oregon Wood
Chemical Co., Springfield, Ore. — a sample
of raw Douglas-fir wax, Oregon; V. W.
Proctor, Columbia, Mo. — 2 algae, Boone
County, Missouri; Dr. Albert Saeger,
Kansas City, Mo. — a Chlorochytrium, Mis-
souri; Dr. E. E. Sherff, Chicago— 119
negatives and 23 descriptions, Hawaii and
Mexico; F. A. Swink, Chicago — 2 plant
specimens, Illinois; F. A. Swink and A. S.
Rouffa, Chicago — a Trillium nivale, Illinois;
Dr. L. 0. Williams, Tegucigalpa, Hon-
duras— a Pinus caribaea and 3 plant speci-
mens, Honduras; Institute Agronomico do
Norte, Belem, Par4, Brazil — 4 phanerogams,
Brazil.

Department of Zoology;

From: Department of Zoology, Uni-
versity of Arkansas, Fayetteville — 2 bats,
Arkansas; Arkansas Game and Fish Com-
mission, Little Rock — 2 wolves, Arkansas;
Theodore F. Beimler, Brownsville, Tex. — a
snake, Texas; Chicago Zoological Society,
Brookfield, 111. — a bird skin (cage bird) and

MAY GUIDE LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every afternoon
at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain
holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs-
days, and Saturdays, general tours are given
covering all departments. Special subjects
are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays. A
schedule of these follows:

Wed., May 2 — Bag and Baggage — Travel
Kits from Primitive Lands (Harriet
Smith).

Frl., May 4 — Baby Animals. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room {Lorain

Farmer).

Wed., May 9 — Indians of Prairies and
Woodlands (June Buchwald).

Fri., May 11— The Flowers that Bloom in
the Spring. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (Marie Svoboda).

Wed., May 16— A Spring Walk in the
Woods (Miriam Wooid).

Fri., May 18 — Our Migratory Birds. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room

(Jane Sharpe).

Wed., May 23— "There's No Place Like
Home" — Housing Through the Ages
(Marie Svoboda).

Frl., May 25 — The Roaming Romans —
Ancient Rome and Her Empire. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromquist).

Wed., May 30 — No tour. Memorial Day
holiday. Museum open as usual, 9 a.m.
to 6 P.M.

a mammal, Cuba; Harold A. Dundee,
Lawrence, Kan. — 4 salamanders, Arkansas;
Rev. Brother Hermano Daniel, Medellin,
Colombia — 35 frogs, 4 lizards, and 13
snakes, Colombia; F. Gaerdes, Okahandja,
Southwest Africa — 250 moths and butter-
flies and 35 beetles. Southwest Africa;
Joseph La Pointe, Harvey, 111. — 2 sala-
manders, Indiana; Lewis E. Long, Bluefleld,
Nicaragua — 300 insects, Nicaragua; R. H.
Ness, Tower Lake, 111. — a mammal. Lake
County, Illinois; A. J. Nicholson, Billings,
Mont. — 20 batflies. New Caledonia; Pea-
body Museum Near East Expedition, 1950 —
a collection of marine and land shells. Near
East.

Motion Pictures:

Indiana University, Division of Adult
Education, Bloomington — 2 16mm color
sound-films.

Library:

From: Dr. Walter Briese, Santiago, Chile;
Mrs. Hedwig Mueller, Chicago.

The development of Egyptian civilization
from before the tenth dynasty (about 2200
B.C.) to the Roman period (about a.d. 200)
is shown in Hall J.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1951

'SECOND-HAND' BUILDING
BY SEA DWELLERS

By EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.

CURATOR OF FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

IN THESE DAYS of shortages and im-
pending shortages we don't sneer at
anyone who uses second-hand lumber, pipes,
or shingles to build his house. We wish
we had some, too. But we can't help
remarking his similarity to certain inverte-
brates, both living and fossil, that have
been found to build
their houses the same
way. The practice of
our old friend, the
hermit crab, of taking
over an abandoned
whelk shell is a dif-
ferent sort of real-
estate operation alto-
gether. He's just
buying an old house,
probably with a mort-
gage on it.

Among the simplest
animals, the single-
celled Protozoa, are the Foraminifera, very
common as fossils though microscopic in
size. Most of them build shells that look
rather like tiny snail or nautilus shells, very
beautiful productions indeed when examined

Figure 1

Figure 2

under the microscope. But some of the
Foraminifera, and we can't call them either
lazier or smarter than the rest, build their
protective coats of materials picked up
from that best-stocked of all junk yards,
the floor of the ocean.

Usually the sea floor in any limited area
is covered with a limited assortment of
materials: angular large quartz grains, round
small quartz grains, partly rounded feldspar
grains, or similar objects, dominantly of a
single variety. Most of the borrowing
Foraminifera pick these up as they glide
along the bottom, fastening one here, one
there, on their soft unprotected bodies as

needed. It is remarkable that this type of
construction results in a perfectly definite
and recognizable shape of integument for
each of the many species practicing it.
Other borrowing Foraminifera select only
grains of a given color from among thousands
of grains of slightly different hues. Others,
with infinite pains, delve about over a wide
area, selecting only the rare flakes of mica
sparsely scattered among the sand grains
or the still rarer spicules (tiny stiffening
rods) remaining from dead and dissipated
sponges. The material used and the shape
of the resulting "shell" are in each case
reliable means of identifying the species.

Most of the higher forms of shell-building
sea animals use only mineral substances
chemically removed from the sea water, as
do the normal shell-building Foraminifera.
Their shells are principally composed of
calcium carbonate ("lime"). But in even
such a relatively advanced group as the

KEY TO FIGURES
Figure 1: Textularia smithvillensis, a fora-
minifer irom an Eocene sand deposited 25
million years ago. It built its **shetl'* of sand
grains. Model by Artist Joseph B. Krstolich
for a new exhibit in Frederick J. V. Skif}
Hall (Hall 37).

Figure 2: Xenophora crispi, a sea snail
that ornamented its shell with carefully
chosen rock and shell fragments. Many of
the decorative pieces have fallen o&.

sea-snails, there are some that patronize the
"second-hand market." The Museum pos-
sesses some shells of Xenophora crispi, from
the Quaternary deposits of Palermo, Sicily.
Although the shells are built almost entirely
of lime, they are ornamented with regularly
placed fragments of rock, broken shells, and
even whole shells of small scallops, clams,
and snails. When one of these is dislodged,
a perfect impression of it remains in the
limy shell, as an impression of a removed
ornament would remain in the cement of a
fancy gatepost. The name of this decora-
tively inclined snail, translated from the
high-sounding scientific language, means
Crisp's (in Latin) foreigner-bearer (in Greek).
As usual the scientific name turns out to
have been well devised to provide a brief
description as well as a name.

With a history of the re-use of building
materials extending back to an antiquity
antedating man himself, no one need blush
for using whatever he can get when he finds
himself with a house to be built.

Learn from the birds what food the thickets

yield.
Learn from the beasts the physic of the field,
The art of building from the bee receive,
Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to

weave. — PoPE

MUSEUM RADIO PROGRAMS,
SATURDAY AFTERNOONS

Through the courtesy of the American
Broadcasting Company, Chicago Natural
History Museum is on the air each Saturday
afternoon at 4:30 P.M. over station WENR
in Chicago (and at 2:30 p.m. on the coast-
to-coast network of ABC) in a new program
entitled "Exhibit A."

On this program members of the Mu-
seum's scientific staff are interviewed in the
Museum exhibition halls, where they relate
many things about outstanding exhibits
that would not be apparent to most Mu-
seum visitors — how the material was col-
lected in the field, how it was prepared for
exhibition — and give details of natural
history that cannot be told within the
limited space of exhibition labels. To date,
those who have appeared on the program
include John R. Millar, Deputy Director of
the Museum; Karl P. Schmidt, Chief
Curator of Zoology; Dr. Paul S. Martin,
Chief Curator of Anthropology; Bryan
Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mammals; and,
in a program about the preparation of the
famous gorilla Bushman, D. D wight Davis,
Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, Taxi-
dermist Leon L. Walters, and Joseph B.
Krstolich, Artist in Zoology.

Scheduled for appearances in the near
future are Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator
of Botany, Loren P. Woods, Curator of
Fishes, and Robert K. Wyant, Curator of
Economic Geology. Other museums partici-
pating in the program are the Art Institute
of Chicago, Museum of Science and In-
dustry, Chicago Historical Society, and
Adler Planetarium.

Botanical Collectors
Back From Florida

The Botanical Field Trip to Florida con-
ducted by Emil Sella, Curator of Exhibits,
and Samuel H. Grove, Jr., Artist-Preparator,
has completed its work and returned to the
Museum with a large collection of flowering
plants. Included are species native to
Florida and species introduced from tropical
countries. In a little less than five weeks
the expedition covered a large part of the
state, including the Everglades, Lake Okee-
chobee, the Miami area, and Key West.
Studies were made at two experimental
gardens maintained by the United States
government.

Museum Pensioner Dies

John Anderson, employed as a carpenter
in the Department of Anthropology and in
the Division of Maintenance from 1920
until his retirement on pension in 1942,
died April 7. Mr. Anderson was born in
Sweden in 1869.

PRINrED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

ULLETIN

Vol.22,No.6-Junel95l

Chicago Naiiiral
llistorij Museum

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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

FOUNDBD BY MARSHALL FiBLD, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chlcaeo 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

LmTEB Armour Stanley Field

Sbwbll U Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings Wiluam H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

HowARD W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbtten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Prendent

Marshall Fibu> «'•»' Viei-Prmdefti

Albert B. Dick, Jr.* Stcond Viee-Praidmt

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-PrttidnU

Solomon A. Smith TreaturtT

Clippobd C. Gregg Direelor and Stcretary

John R. Millar Aatittant Secretary

'Resigned

However inept and ridiculous on land, the
loon probably will be remembered with
nostalgia by all who associate burgeoning
spring and luxuriant summer with forest-
bordered northern lakes.

Emmet R. Blake
Associate Curator of Birds

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CUFPORD C. Gregg Director of Uu Mutenm

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relatione Counsel

ABOUT OUR COVER—

TO MANY VACATIONISTS who spend
their summers in the north woods the
loon and its eerie, laughing cry are the
personification of the Canadian wilderness.
Rivers and lakes of the northern coniferous
belt are its preferred habitat during the
warmer months. However, breeding pairs
also occur southward to the northern portion
of this country, as shown in the Michigan
summer scene on this month's Bulletin
cover. The illustration represents part of
a habitat group in Hall 20.

Loons are beautifully adapted to their
aquatic habitat and seldom leave it except
during migration when cross-country flights
are necessary. Their legs, placed near the
rear of the body, are virtually useless for

walking.

* * *

WHEN ON LAND the bird hobbles
with much difficulty, using its wings
as crutches and even its bill to assist its
movements. Little wonder that it spends
most of its life in the more appropriate
element and even builds its nest at the
water's edge, preferably on an island.

How different the picture when the loon
is afloat! Probably no bird excels the loon
in swimming and diving, a reputation that
is well established but often challenged by
incredulous canoeists.

* * *

LOONS PREY largely on fish, which
are captured with apparent ease, and
luckless loons have been snared on set hooks
as much as 90 feet below the water's surface.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS TO DIG
IN CAVES OF SOUTHWEST

By PAUL S. MARTIN
chief curator, department of anthropology

In June, the Museum's seventeenth South-
west Archaeological Expedition will leave
for western New Mexico to continue excava-
tions in caves in Pine Lawn Valley. The
success of the cave excavations of the pre-
ceding season was so dramatic that further
research in a cave is imperative.

Digging in a cave is far from pleasant.
The dust and heat are oppressive; and the
wearing of masks and goggles — an uncom-
fortable and trying experience — is absolutely
necessary to give protection from toxic,
nuisance, and pneumonoconiosis-producing
dusts. Added to these discomforts is an-
other— inadequate ventilation. The caves
that we excavated in 1950 and the one to
be done in 1951 are small — about 40 feet
deep by 30 feet wide at the mouth and 6
feet or less high. At the end of a day, the
workers look as if they had been working
in soft-coal mines.

Many have wondered why we did not
use a large electric fan for ventilating the
cave and large flood lamps for lighting. The
answer is simple: no "juice."

ISOLATION A PROTECTION

Fortunately for us, these caves are usually
far removed from roads and trails and high-
tension electric lines. I say "fortunately
for us" because if the caves were easy of
access they would have been stripped and
pilfered long ago by vandals. But since
we have to take the good with the bad in
all phases of life, we accept the fact that a
"good" (that is, undisturbed) cave is never
near an electric power line. Hence, good
lighting and ventilation are beyond our
reach. A portable generator might be used,
but the expense of one is prohibitive; and
the problem of transporting one to or near
the cave would be difficult if not impossible.
Therefore we get along without forced venti-
lation, and for illumination we use portable,
chargeable, wet-battery electric lamps.

The results of last summer's dig were
noteworthy for several reasons. Readers of
the Bulletin may recall that the expedition
returned with more than 1,000 perishable
objects — such as clothing, sandals, weapons,
ornaments, basketry, agricultural tools, fire-
making equipment, rope, snares, netting,
and miscellaneous wooden objects. These
materials are dubbed "perishable" because
they would have turned to dust if they had

not been dug from a "bone-dry" cave. Such
specimens are unique because they are the
first to be recognized as part of the Mogollon
culture (a "new" culture that the Museum
has been investigating for seven seasons) and
the first to have been carefully removed
under scientifically controlled conditions and
therefore documented as to place in the cave
and as to chronological order or dating.

ANTEDATE ANASAZI

The second remarkable thing about the
materials recovered by the 1950 expedition
is that although many of the objects are
similar to those found in caves of the Cliff-
Dweller or Anasazi culture, our specimens
are earlier (that is, older) than Anasazi
(Basket-Maker-Cliff-Dweller) objects.

The third noteworthy observation about
our perishable materials is that from them
(by the carbon-14 or radiocarbon method
of dating, described by Curator Donald
Collier in the Bulletin of January, 1951) we
have obtained the information that our plain
brown pottery is the earliest dated pottery
(as of now) in the Southwest and that it
was manufactured shortly before the begin-
ning of the Christian era.

The fourth remarkable fact about our
1950 materials is that we uncovered more
than 38,000 corn cobs (all of which were
shipped to the Museum for intensive study
by Dr. Hugh C. Cutler of the Department
of Botany), plus many other vegetable
products, such as beans, gourds, squash,
and wild foods. This is the largest collec-
tion of archaeological foods covering an
extensive period of time that has ever been
brought together. In the bushels of corn,
Dr. Cutler found the earliest and most
primitive corn that has come to light up
to the present time. The age of this corn
has not yet been determined, but we guess
that it will prove to be about 2,000 or 2,500
years old.

MORE SPECIMENS REQUIRED

Although we recovered a large quantity
of unique materials, we need many, many
more. For one thing, we have no objects
from several important periods (a.d. 500-
700 and A.D. 900-1300). Therefore we lack
a complete sequence. Second, we have only
one or two items of particular classes or
categories of objects. For example, we
found only one fire drill, one complete bow,
one gee-string, only portions of spear-
throwers, portions of darts, and incomplete
pieces of other objects.

Naturally, it is impossible to make any
generalizations on the basis of one specimen
or an incomplete one. Therefore, one of
the prime goals of the 1951 expedition is to
augment the 1950 collection, to fill out
recognized gaps, and to try to find new
classes or kinds of materials.

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

June, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

CHICAGO AMATEUR OEM CRAFTSMEN DISPLAY THEIR CREATIONS

A notable display of gems and jewelry
prepared by Chicago amateur craftsmen will
be open to the public in Stanley Field Hall
of the Museum from June 1 to 30, inclusive.
The exhibit, sponsored by the Chicago
Lapidary Club, consists of the prize-winning
creations entered in that organization's
First Annual Amateur Handcrafted Gem
and Jewelry Competitive Exhibition. Total
value of the exhibited objects is approxi-
mately $150,000.

Objects in the exhibit range from granite

to J. L. Cunningham, chairman of the
General Exhibition Committee. It was a
woman — Selma Jenner — who spent months
searching Chicago's beaches for granite
pebbles, which she cut and polished into
attractive objects d'art, and so diligently did
she pursue this hobby that her entry in the
contest, filling nine large boxes, numbered
more than 700 specimens. Another con-
testant— one who specialized in the fabricat-
ing of jewelry pieces — was Mrs. Florence
Kibbler Renaker, an instructor in the

polished opals, with
thousands of dollars.

a value running into

PLAN ANNUAL EVENT

This year's exhibit represents the begin-
ning of an ambitious program by the
Chicago Lapidary Club. It is proposed to
continue these events each year, on an ever-
growing scale that eventually may include
craftsmen from all over the Middle West.
It is also planned to continue annually at
the Museum the thirty-day display of the

Photo courtesy Chicago Part

A PREVIEW OF GEM SHOW

Mrs. Florence Kibbler Renaker, one of Chicago's amateur jewelry craftsmen,

examines some of the precious stones and fabricated jewelry pieces submitted

for the Chicago Lapidary Club's exhibit which will be open to the public at the

Museum from June 1 to 30.

Photo courtesy Chicago Park District

TYPICAL AMATEUR GEM SHOP

Amid scenes like this were made the creations in precious gems and metals to

be shown at the Museum in June. Orville McGill (le(t) is in the automobile

business. Jack Best is an engineer, Juanita Parsons is a high-school tcacher~but

in their spare hours all arc gem crahsmen.

pebbles picked up on Chicago beaches and
polished into ornamental stones of the high-
est beauty to precious stones valued in the
thousands of dollars. More than 150
amateur craftsmen of Chicago and suburbs
participated in the contest. The exhibit
represents the best of their work in gem
cutting and in the fabrication of brooches,
rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, tie-
clasps, and other jewelry. In their creations
the contestants used more than a hundred
different kinds of precious and semiprecious
stones and gem materials as well as silver
and gold. Among the contestants were
members of three Chicago lapidary clubs
and of classes in lapidary work conducted
in five field houses of the Chicago Park
District, as well as many persons unattached
to any organization.

WOMEN IN TOP RANKS

The contestants represent many and
widely varied walks in life. The number
of women participating was about equal
to the number of men, and their enthusiasm
and skill equaled that of the men, according

American Academy of Art, who last year
gained wide fame for another exploit of an
altogether different nature when, alone,
she traveled on a rubber raft the length of
the Colorado River and through the Grand
Canyon.

The contestants were classified into three
groups: novice, intermediate, and advanced
lapidary and jewelry craftsmen. The con-
test and exhibits include nine divisions:
(1) individual gems; (2) specific gem col-
lections; (3) general gem collections; (4)
polished slab collections; (5) polished speci-
men collections; (6) individual jewelry; (7)
jewelry sets; (8) jewelry collections; and
(9) special pieces. Because of this broad
range, the ribbons, gold cups, and other
trophies awarded reached a total of 98.
The prize-winning entries, including multiple
collections comprising many pieces, bring
the exhibit as presented at the Museum up
to several hundred specimens. The en-
thusiasm with which these craftsmen engage
in their hobby is illustrated by Chairman
Cunningham himself, whose entries totaled
23, one of which alone included 250 cut and

results. Even this year, with only two
months of promotion, interest was stimu-
lated far outside the Chicago area to which
the contest was limited and inquiries were
received from many persons in other states.
Mr. Cunningham expects that within a few
years the number of entries will reach
several thousand.

TWO SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
TO MEET AT MUSEUM

The American Society of Mammalogists
and the American Society of Ichthyologists
and Herpetologists will be guests of Chicago
Natural History Museum during their
annual conventions this year. The mam-
malogists will meet from June 27 to 30,
inclusive, and the ichthyologi.sts and her-
petologists from June 28 to 30, inclusive.
An estimated 250 to 300 members from the
United States, Canada, and Mexico will
attend the meetings.

The daily sessions consisting of the read-
ing of scientific papers and discussions will
be held in the Museum.

Page h

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1951

A BIRD-MAN'S ADVENTURES
IN EL SALVADOR

Bv AUSTIN L. RAND*

CURATOR OF BIRD6

My son Stanley and I are at work in the
tropical research station of El Salvador,
knowTi officially as Institute Tropical de
Investigaciones Cientificas de la Universidad
Autonoma de El Salvador. The institute,
a pleasant, cool, one-story building, is
situated on the edge of the city, with the
Volcano of San Salvador rising behind it.
Two wings contain working quarters for
biologists, chemists, and geologists. Ad-
ministrative offices connect the two wings,
and there is a library. In construction next
to the institute is a three-story guest house
that will supply modem living quarters for
five guest-workers.

The director of the institute, genial Dr.
Carlos Llerena, a man busy with his medical
practice and with civic duties, finds time
many mornings to visit the institute. The
technical director is Dr. Adolf Meyer-Abich,
who is interested in philosophy and the
history of science.

THE MANANA MOOD

It's a pleasant, friendly atmosphere we
live in here. There is nothing of the hustle
and bustle that characterizes our northern
life. If something doesn't get done today,
there is always tomorrow. Gradually we
have been brought to accept this pleasant
idea of matiana. The first time it took two
weeks to get a manuscript from the post
office, we raged. But by the time it had
taken a month to get our equipment from
Pan American Airways and into use we
had accepted the philosophy of the country.
In the long Tna, say one hundred years more,
no one will know the difference.

Though we spend more time commuting
than I did in Chicago, we don't begrudge
the time. We go past little sidewalk
restaurants where women are patting out
tortillas and cooking them on an iron plate
over an open fire; past pack animals loaded
with great tins of what must be milk; past
two- wheeled oxcarts loaded with firewood;
past vendors of little bits of this and that,
from religious pictures to cigarettes and
sweets. There are big shops, too, with all
the amenities one could hope for; but it
is touches like the children naked but for
a tiny shirt and the women with huge baskets
balanced on their heads that intrigue us.

Sometimes we go down the streets where
farm people bring in their produce, and the
snail's pace at which we travel allows us
to inventory the contents of the baskets.
Still more intriguing are the glimpses we
catch of what goes on behind the doors of
the houses. In most sections of the city
the walls of the buildings rise from the side-
walks. Doorways and tall windows, often

•Dr. Rand is a member of the current Salvadorean
Project of Chicago Natural History Museum.

barred, have solid doors that close them;
but when open there are half-length shutters
that make at least a pretense of keeping
out the vulgar gaze and let in air. Glimpses
past them show a surprising variety of
things. Behind one window may be a
room with stacks of firewood for sale;
behind another, a bedroom. Behind others
may be a little general store, a charming
living room, a tailor shop, a patio with
palms and greenery, a kitchen with dining
room or restaurant. And once, in a village,
I looked in and saw a mule. From the out-
side the windows all look alike.

ADVENTURES AFIELD -

Once at the institute our day starts offi-
cially. The institute is laid out so that work
can be done there, with material brought
in and kept there. But the value and the
importance of a biological station should be
in studying nature at first hand in the field.
So we set out to see, study, and collect as
much as we can. Only necessary writing
and preparation keep us in the institute.

To work on foot from the institute has
its adventures. Dodging the bulldozers and
the construction crews we go through the
little groves and the gullies where there
are a few trees left. There's a rustle in a
bush. We look, expecting a tinamou, and
see a chicken or a cow or a pig. Up in a
tree there may be a boy getting green
mangoes or a woman gathering pito flowers
to flavor the frijoles for the evening meal.
Our collecting that involves shooting neces-
sitates constant vigilance. We want espe-
cially to find and study orioles' nests.
Orioles nest on the tips of branches, but
the people here have a habit of climbing
trees and lopping off branches for firewood.
This removes the orioles' favorite nesting
places, and makes the area less attractive
to them.

Finally we come to farm country, where
fields and hedges, tiny coffee plots, and
banana clumps cover the country cut up
by brush filled ravines, and the houses are
farther apart. Birds are generally common,
and we record things like the habits of the
russet-tailed sparrows that recall our white-
crowned sparrow, the big, long-crested, blue-
and-white magpie-jays, and the white-
throated saltator whose song recalls the
towhee's "Drink your tea."

cows LURE CUCKOOS

One project we have in hand is on the
efficiency of cows as beaters for anis. Anis
are black, grackle-sized cuckoos that, despite
their short legs, walk about in the grass
catching insects. But if there is a grazing
cow in the vicinity the anis go to it, stand
about its head, and catch the insects the
cow scares up. Tentatively we think the
ani catches twice as many insects in a given
time by following a cow as it does by its
own unaided efforts.

But on foot we can reach only a little

of the country. We like to make longer
trips afield by jeep. The institute has one
jeep for the use of maintenance, and for
field trips by the geologist (Dr. Sharat K.
Roy) from the Museum, a botanist from
Germany, a chemist from Germany, an
entomologist from France, and ourselves.
So we combine our field trips or take turns
using the jeep. In the month and a half
that we have been here we have made four
trips by jeep. We have been twice to Lake
Ilopango, where lake and streams vary the
habitat and birds swarm. Once we went
to Santa Tecla, where coffee plantations
predominate, and once we made a long week-
end trip to the cloud forest, where the high
point of the trip for us was to see two
quetzals. Trips into the field for more than •
a day or so need special jjersonnel and
preparation. Food and water, as in any
tropical country must be looked after for
health reasons, and the camp must have
an attendant.

Over Holy Week (Easter), when all work
stopped, the Salvadorean government geolo-
gist who works at the institute. Dr. Helmuth
Meyer-Abich, kindly took us under his wing
and showed us the country from end to end —
from Anamaros and Santa Rosa to Metapan.
Except for the coastal lowlands we saw
most of the country accessible by car: the
farmlands, coffee fincas, scattered trees and
forest, old lava fields, and cornfields on steep
hillsides. It's the dry season now, and
most trees are leafless, except the mangos
and the trees along the water courses, dry
or otherwise. The grass is bleached pale
red, or yellow, or whitish, and most water
courses are dry. From the pine forests at
La Palma and at San Jose, where the pines
start at 800 meters altitude, we looked up
through our binoculars at the little bits of
cloud forest that lap over the mountain
tips from Honduras and come down to
1,800 meters altitude.

MILES DON'T COUNT

Miles and kilometers lose their value
as an indicator of distance in this country.
The roads, once off the one main highway,
are oxcart tracks. To the traveler hours
and minutes are units of distance. It's
more important to know that the trip to
Ilopango takes 45 minutes than that the
distance is 15 kilometers.

Everywhere we go we keep our eyes open
for birds. Everything is grist for our mill.
Our main object at this institute is to write
the sections on the habits of the birds for
a forthcoming book Birds of El Salvador,
which is to be translated into Spanish and
used by the people here. We have a good
start on it now, for in the Museum Melvin
Traylor, Jr., Research Associate, has already
done the descriptions and the keys. These
we use to identify the birds we see. Little
by little, as our notebooks fill with data
and our collecting chests with specimens,
we see our way to our goal.

June, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

DAHLIAS— NEW FACTS ABOUT THESE GARDEN FAVORITES

By earl E. SHERFF
research associate in systematic botany

RECENTLY an entirely new kind of
dahlia was found in southern Mexico,
a kind that grows perched on the trunks of
lofty forest trees, makes its way upward
to a height of some 75 feet, and then clambers

knew nothing of a Swedish Professor Andreas
Dahl or of the name Dahlia that was to
be created later on, in Professor Dahl's
honor, for the genus containing these in-
teresting plants. And so they had their
own dialectic names for the various kinds
known to them, such as aeocoili (or water-

MacDOUGALL'S DAHLIA, THE ONLY KNOWN EPIPHYTIC SPECIES

Plants of this weird species are perched at varying heights midway up the trunks of tall trees in the cloud'

forest in Mexico. They send their roots downward and their shoots upward. Reaching the tree-tops, at

times 75 feet above ground, they sprawl over the branches, bedecking them with billowing masses of snowy

white blooms, as shown in illustration above.

over the topmost branches, bedecking them
with billowy masses of snow-white blooms
(see illustration). With this find we have
been made to realize that our knowledge of
dahlias has been far from complete, in spite
of the fact that for more than a century
and a half few garden flowers have so
thoroughly intrigued great sections of the
flower-loving public in this country and
Europe as have dahlias.

The early history of these flowers is
wrapped in obscurity. It is known, however,
that their native home was in Mexico and
Central America. Long before they were
conquered by the Spaniards, the inhabitants
of these countries treasured dahlias in their
private and public gardens. Fences were
ofttimes built out of canes cut from stems
of the taller sorts, and these canes, taking
root, in due time put forth leaves and
flowers without any urging. As may
readily be understood, these early people

cane) and cocoxochitl (or caneflower).

Late in the eighteenth century Cervantes,
director of the Mexican Botanical Garden,
sent dahlia seeds to Spain. From these the
great Spanish botanist Cavanilles raised
numerous plants at Madrid, these plants
becoming the basis of his new genus Dahlia
and its first published species.

About the same time, so we read, the
French botanist, Nicholas Thierry de
Menonville, sent seeds to other parts of
Europe. Presently introductions were made
into England and Scotland. Horticultural
exhibitions soon came to feature new
forms. Indeed, the two species that were
first planted in Europe and Great Britain
were found to be genetically so unstable
that "new forms" were obtained in almost
endless profusion. Almost imperceptibly
there arose a craze for new and larger (or
sometimes smaller) and more beautiful (or
sometimes merely more freakish) horticul-

tural varieties. By 1934, authorities report-
ed that a total of no fewer than 14,000
named varieties of dahlias had been intro-
duced into the floral trade.

Today the number continues to grow,
and at the dahlia shows held each autumn
in our larger American cities thousands of
visitors crowd about the exhibits to gaze at
and admire some of the latest novelties. In
Chicago, the largest and most important
dahlia show is the one held every year at
"dahlia time" in Garfield Park Conserva-
tory. The throngs are often so vast at this
famous show that visitors must fit them-
selves perforce into a sort of prison lockstep
and march in single file past the exhibits
at little more than a snail's pace.

With few exceptions, the great multitude
of cultivated varieties of dahlias seems to
have come from the two originally known
species (Dahlia pinnata and D. coccinea)
raised by Cavanilles in the Royal Garden
at Madrid about 1790 and the cactus
dahlias from a single freak plant that
"flowered in Europe for the first time in
1864." With the passing of time, the
confusion in the identification of the
numerous varieties has become so great
as to discourage most botanists from at-
tempting to identify them or even to specu-
late as to their derivation. Sometimes a
garden variety with queer foliage, as for
example the "Bishop of Llandoff," is en-
countered in collections and from its leaf-
pattern suggests an admixture of a pure
native stock, in this case of Dahlia scapigera.

CLOSER VIEW OF MacDOUGALL'S DAHLIA
The defoliated wind-beaten stems of the previous
season, with remnants of the former flowering'
heads, are an interesting feature of tree-dahlia coun-
try. The photograph shows the well-known nursery-
man and botanical explorer and collector, Thomas
MacDougall, at a habitat in southern Oaxaca, Mexico.
Plants are presumably Dahlia excelsa.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June. 1961

but usually our definite knowledge amounts
to "four minus four."

A UNIQUE DAHLIA GARDEN

Recently the Royal Horticultural Society
in England has set about trying to remedy
this situation. It has established at Wisley
(in Surrey) a unique dahlia garden, wherein
seeds from every obtainable wild or feral
kind of dahlia can be planted. In this way

A SINGLE LEAF, TWO FEET LONG
Specimen is from a tree-dahlia (Dahlia excclsa)
standing at the side door of Santo Tomas Church in
Chichicasteoango, Guatcfnala, famous for the smoke-
worship rites of the Quiche Indians.

it is hoped to roll back our dahlia knowledge
to the time when our cultivated dahlias
were in their pristine state. Once the few
dozen native or spontaneous kinds of dahlia
are established at such an experimental
farm where they can be studied through the
yeaars by geneticists, it may be possible to
interpret our modem "cultigens" more
easily.

To many dahlia enthusiasts, a dahlia's
importance increases with the size of its
flowering-head. However, in our far South-
west, where cultivated specimens of the
so-called tree-dahlias may be foimd, many
residents pride themselves on the height or
perchance the robust stature of their dahlia
plants. Unlike other dahlias, which seldom
grow more than three to six feet tall, tree-
dahlias grow usually from eight to twenty
feet tall. The lower foot or so of their stem
tends to be woody and perhaps three inches
thick. This portion sends up one or more
tall, bamboo-like branches or subordinate
stems, the stem-leaves mostly dying ofif
below, which gives a nude or barren appear-
ance to the plant. Numerous leaves are
left toward the top, however, and the great
inflorescence at the very top, often six feet
across and with up to perhaps three hundred
"single" dahlias, is a sight long to be
remembered.

PRIZEU) FOR CENTLTIIES

An examination of the writings of Dr.
Francisco Hernandez, who botanized in

Mexico during the 16th century, and of
other writers since then, and also of the
reports brought back from various Mexican
and Central American localities by collectors,
leaves no doubt that tree-dahlias were
known and prized for centuries before
European botanists came to know them.
Not until 1838, however, was the first tree-
dahlia given a conventional scientific name.
It was described and illustrated by the great
English botanist, George Bentham, under
the name Dahlia excelsa.

The circumstances attending its discovery
make most interesting reading. A consign-
ment of Mexican plants had been received
in 1830. It had been protected on the out-
side with some thick branches or stems, the
better to withstand the long, rough journey
across the Atlantic. These were found to
be showing signs of life. Out of curiosity
they were planted in open groimd and
grew to a height of ten feet, but perished
when winter came. (The writer is reminded
of one of his own experiences. Two sturdy
pieces of tree-dahlia stem were used by
him as stiffening rods for roUed-up maps
when he returned to this coimtry from
Guatemala in 1949. The pieces of stem
were planted in huge pots of soil and within
a few weeks had produced plants, one eight
feet tall.)

In 1834, William Bates imported cuttings
and roots of the same plant from Mexico,
where he had collected it in the Valley of
Mexico on October 7 of that year. Soon
material was distributed to various horticul-
tural centers. A plant in the greenhouse of
the Liverpool Botanical Garden grew
twenty feet tall. Soon afterward, Bentham
published an illustration and description of

A SINGLE LEAF, ABOUT 34 INCHES LONG
This dry leaf is from another tree-dahlia (Dahlia
Lehmannii), seed of which had been collected by
Hawkcs and plant raised at the Wisley grounds of
the Royal Horticultural Society in England. The
leaf was obtained for Dr. Sherfi by the society*s
director. J. S. L. Gilmour, in late autumn, 1950.

CANE-LIKE STKMS OF TREE-DAHLIA
A single flowering-spray.

this new kind of dahlia, calling it Dahlia
excelsa. He stated that the plants grew
thirty feet tall in their native country.

So regal is Dahlia excelsa in general
appearance, especially during the early
winter months when loaded with its many
lavender-rayed, "single-flowered," mostly
upturned heads, that it is used in various
parts of Mexico and neighboring Guatemala
and even in California for ornament. In
the rectory garden at the south side of the
famous Santo TomSs Church in Chichicas-
tenango, Guatemala, visited by many tour-
ists each year to see the quaint Mayan
religious ceremonials, the writer found two
mammoth clumps in the autunm of 1949.
From one of the stems some average-sized
leaves were obtained through the kind
permission of the presbitero in charge, Don
Santiago Gil, one of which is shown in an
accompanying illustration. It was two feet
long. In a state of nature, the old leaves
break away or get beaten away by the wind,
and for months to come the denuded stems
stand skeleton-like.

NATIVES DRINK SAP

Much more abundant, in Guatemala and
southward to Colombia, is Lehmann's tree-
dahlia. Dahlia Lehmannii, a plant with more
compound leaves and mostly narrower leaf-
segments. Like Dahlia excelsa, it has stems
completely cross-partitioned at the joints.
In this way the stem is divided into many
vertical chambers, each several inches long,
and these may be filled with water>' sap
(cf. acocotli or water cane). Many a thirsty
native has quenched his thirst with this sap.
Specimens growing at Antigua, in Guate-
mala, were foimd by the writer to have
leaves up to three feet long. These were
%igorous specimens growing at the experi-
mental farm of the Iowa State College-
Guatemala Tropical Research Center. They
had been planted by the Director, Dr. I. E.
Melhus, who had obtained specimens

June, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

directly from the great Volcfin de Agua
nearby, where the plants abounded in the
roadside thickets. The leaf illustrated was
very kindly supplied by J. S. L. Gilmour,
Director of the Royal Horticultural Society's
Gardens in England. It was about 34
inches long in the dry state.

Perhaps the most dazzling of the tree-
dahlias for sheer beauty of flowering-heads
is the handsome Dahlia imperialis, first
described from Mexican material by Bene-
dict Roezl. The writer raised noble speci-
mens of this species for several years in the
greenhouses of the University of Chicago
(where the plants were faithfully cared for
through the kindness of the head-gardener,
M. J. Costello) and of the Chicago Teachers
College. The great candelabra-like panicle
at the top bore numerous "single" dahlias
that were often seven inches across. The
usually eight rays sometimes were white
suffused with faint lilac and at the base
streaked with blood-red or in some years
(even on the same plant!) uniformly lilac
throughout. While in the other tree-dahlias
the heads point outward or upward, in
Dahlia imperialis they nod or droop and are
distinctly bell-shaped.

NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED

About 1936, Thomas MacDougall of New
York was on one of his many trips of botani-
cal exploration in southern Mexico when he
chanced upon a strange white-flowered
dahlia sprawling along over the tops of
forest trees. He obtained seed from plants
on Cerro Chivato, in what is probably
territory of the village of San Jose Quianite
(in the general area fifteen miles or so west-
southwest of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca). In
recent years he has revisited the same
general area several times, accompanied by
one or more of his native helpers. Paths
were slashed into the dense jungle-growth
of the cloud-forests where the peculiar
dahlias were growing and, after the greatest
of difficulty, flowering and fruiting speci-
mens were obtained for scientific study. The
plants were found to represent a species
quite foreign to all our previous concepts
of dahlia and to constitute indeed a new
species.

Late last year this species was described
for the botanical world under the name
Dahlia Macdougallii. From the illustrations
some idea may be obtained perhaps of the
bizarre nature of this striking novelty. Mr.
MacDougall revisited, on December 2, 1950,
the very forest where for several years he
had been making his more recent collections
of it. This was a stretch of cloud-forest
at a height of from 7,000 to 7,500 feet above
the town of Santo Tomds Teipan (in the
same area as Cerro Chivato above cited).

His letter of December 12 states: "I find
that the plants are epiphytic, at least to
begin with, and that the roots extend down
the tree trunks and then ramify into the
humus on the ground. Approximately half

of the height of the plant is root. This time
I estimated the total height of one plant to
be 75 feet. Because of the weakness of the
roots, we were unable to haul down a plant
from the ground, but by climbing a tree we
were able to dislodge a shorter specimen.
The Dahlia grows on a number of tree
species. The plant we pulled down was on
an Oreopanax and a number were on an
oak species. . . . The branches of the Dahlia
are quite solid and the heavier ones are
distinctly woody. The plant we took down
■ — and photographed — had stems and roots
up to 5 cm. in diameter, and the juncture
of the roots and stems formed a heavier,
almost bulbous structure."

IMPETUS TO RESEARCH

It may be observed here that with the
discovery of this new dahlia, outstandingly
different because of its epiphytic habit of
growth, its roots up to two inches thick and
thirty-five or more feet long, its stems solid,
woody, up to two inches thick and thirty-five
or more feet long, and with branches sprawling
for considerable distances over tall forest trees,
a new impetus may well have been given to
the scientific study of dahlias. Possibly, as
has been done in the past with the stems of
tree-dahlias, the stems of MacDougall's
dahlia may be grafted by the horticulturist
into roots of low-growing kinds, so that
manageable specimens can be raised for
scientific and other purposes in ordinary
greenhouses. For the present, however,
there seems no doubt that this remarkable
dahlia typifies an entirely new section
(described by the writer elsewhere in a
forthcoming article) in its genus.

Moreover, since the small terminal flower-
ing sprays customarily preserved as her-
barium specimens represent so inadequately
the true character of a species like Dahlia
Macdougallii, only field studies of the taller
sorts in their native haunts, we may con-
fidently assert, can be of much value here-
after for drawing descriptions. The new
Pan-American automobile highway, now
nearing completion, passes within a moderate
distance of Santo TomSs Teipan, this
dahlia's type locality. Elsewhere, too, the
highway winds through dahlia country. It
may well become a means whereby many of
our younger and more enthusiastic botanists
can penetrate deeply into the tropical forests
of southern Mexico and of Guatemala and
add immeasurably to our knowledge of
these attractive plants. Meanwhile we
hope that tree-dahlias and epiphytic dahlias
may one day make their appearance at our
local dahlia exhibitions.

Books

{All books reviewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
eluding an allowance for postage are promptly
filled.)

GEM HUNTERS' GUIDE. By Russell P.
MacFall. Science and Mechanics Publish-
ing Co., Chicago, 1951 (second edition).
187 pages, with illustrations. Price $3.

This book may well be used as an intro-
duction for anyone, young or old, who is
interested in the popular hobbies of mineral
collecting or amateur lapidary work. By
including in the book an extensive list of
mineral localities in the United States and
several chapters on how to go about collect-
ing and identifying minerals, the author
answers two of the most important questions
confronting the amateur collector: "Where
can I find it?" and "What is it?" From his
thirty years of experience as an amateur
collector the author has also included many
helpful hints to guide the beginner in ob-
taining information that will make his hobby
more informative and enjoyable.

Harry E. Changnon
Curator of Exhibits, Geology

Technical Publications Issued

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Anthropological Series, Vol. XXIV, No. 2.

AMERICAN INDIAN BEADWORK. By

W. Ben Hunt and J. F. "Buck" Burshears.
The Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee,
1951. 63 pages, 19 text figures, 54 half-
tones, 13 color plates. IMce $5.

This useful book is a guide to the funda-
mentals of bead working and ideas for design.
Methods and directions for doing different
types of beadwork are clearly described and
illustrated. Moreover, there is a good
selection of pictures of regional and tribal
Indian design for the beadworker to copy
or use as a stimulus for his own designs.

Some of the methods described are sewed
beadwork, loom work, and rosette making.
There are also instructions for making bead
looms, sorting beads, sewing with sinew, and
for using skins or leather.

This book is admirably suited to meet the
needs of boys' camps, scout leaders, and
persons interested in handicraft.

George I. Quimby
Curator of Exhibits, Anthropology

The Medora Site, West Baton Rouge Parish,
Louisiana. By George I. Quimby. April
10, 1951. 58 pages.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 33, No. 1. Philip-
pine Zoological Expedition, 19^6-19^7,
Narrative and Itinerary. By Harry Hoog-
straal. April 18, 1951. 86 pages.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1951

LECTURE TOURS IN JUNE,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and
certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Fri., June 1 — Strange Sea Animals. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Lorain Farmer).

Wed., June 6 — Lands of Perpetual Sum-
mer: The Tropics (Anne Stromquist).

Frl., June 8 — Toys: Playthings from Aleut
to Zuni. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room {Harriet Smith).

Wed., June 13 — Strange Ancient Customs
{June Buchwald).

Frl., June 15— The World's Gardens:
Domesticated Plants. Illustrated intro-
duction in Meeting Room {Miriam Wood).

Wed., June 20 — What to Wear: Unusual
Materials Used in Clothing {Marie
Svoboda).

Fri., June 22— Other Worlds: The Solar
System. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room {Anne Stromquist).

Wed., June 27 — Fragrant Plants: Perfumes,
Spices, Incense {Miriam Wood).

Fri., June 29 — Wisdom of the Wild: Special
Habits of Animals. Illustrated introduc-
tion in Meeting Room {Jane Sharpe).

STAFF NOTES

Dr. B. E. Datilgren, Curator Emeritus
of Botany, has returned to the Museum
after a four-month expedition to Cuba,
where he collected palms and other plants.
. . . Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, will leave in June on a field trip
to collect fossil plants in Arkansas, Okla-
homa, Texas, other parts of the Southwest,
and California. Toward the end of the
month he will join Karl P. Schmidt, Chief
Curator of Zoology, at the meetings of the
Society for the Study of Evolution to be
held in Berkeley, California. Before leaving
on this trip. Dr. Just attended the annual
meeting of the Division of Geology and
Geography of the National Research Council

in Washington, D.C Dr. Sharat K.

Roy, Chief Curator of Geology, currently
a member of the Museum's project in El
Salvador, has been granted permission by
the Salvadorean government to conduct
research in areas recently ravaged by
an earthquake .... Dr. Rainer Zangerl,
Curator of Fossil Reptiles, will accompany
Professor Bernhard Peyer, Director of the
Zoological Museum, University of Zurich,

Switzerland, on a trip to a number of
famous vertebrate fossil localities in South
Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. Dr.
Zangerl will spend a few days at the paleon-
tological laboratories of the University of
California at Berkeley.

IIFIY YKARS AGO

M THE MUSKUM

LAYMAN LECTURER TOPS
PAST SUCCESSES

Returning to the Museum after an absence
of two years to present his eleventh season
of Sunday afternoon layman lectures, Paul
G. Dallwig scored his greatest success as
the Layman Lecturer during the 1950-51
season. During the five months in which
he lectured, with a different subject each
month, requests for reservations ranged
from 1,500 to 2,200 a month. The type of
lecture he presents, part of which involves
inspecting exhibits in the Museum's public
halls, made it necessary to limit attendance
to between 150 and 200 persons. Thus,
unfortunately, many who requested reserva-
tions could not be accommodated but were
placed on the waiting lists, some of which
will carry over into the new season beginning
next autumn. Those attending the twenty-
one regularly scheduled lectures of the
season, plus two special ones that took care
of some of the overflow requests, numbered
3,466.

As in his past seasons, Mr. Dallwig's
Layman Lectures continued to be one of
the most popular features ever offered by
the Museum, and public response has been
most gratifying. Both the Ofiice of the
Director and Mr. Dallwig himself have been
flooded with letters of appreciation by those
who attended these Sunday afternoon events.
Many requests are already coming in for
reservations for the 1951-52 season.

Mr. Dallwig's subjects during the season
just concluded were: "Life — What Is It,"
"The Caveman Knew His Way Around,"
"Living Races and Their Way of Life,"
"Behind the Scenes in Our Museums," and
"The Romantic Story of the Diamond."

New Members

The following persons became Museum
Members between April 17 and May 15:
Associate Members
LeRoy B. Herbst, Leonard O. Krez
Annual Members

Mrs. Henry Warren Austin, O. H. Banker,
A. M. Brown, Mrs. Stanley M. Burrell, Dr.
Thadd F. Bush, Richard L. Droege, Conrad
R. Emanuelson, Rogers Follansbee, J. T.
Georgeson, Prof. John W. E. Glattfeld,
J. S. Grasty, Jr., Joseph E. Henry, P.
Sveinbjorn Johnson, Marvin B. Joyce, John
Juley, Harry F. Keller, W. A. Mayfield,
L. A. Miller, H. K. Nickell, Henry C.
Nygren, Dr. Leo Oppenheimer, Mrs. Paul
Rowan, Leon D. Sayers, Mrs. Charles W.
Schonne, Robert T. Sherman, E. H. Teichen,
George Von Gehr, Mrs. William Ernest
Walker, Edward N. Wentworth.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"Photography, Illustration, and Printing. —
Each of these divisions reports unusual
progress, both as regards equipment and
work accomplished. The addition of more
floor space to the printing office has made it
possible to increase the staff, which was
recently done. The employment of an artist
in the division of illustration must be noted
with satisfaction, being an acquisition which
had been much needed."

U. OF C. PRESENTS FOSSILS

Chicago Natural History Museum has
recently received the paleobotanical collec-
tions of the Walker Museum of the Uni-
versity of Chicago as a gift from that institu-
tion. These extensive collections have been
assembled during a period of nearly fifty
years by expeditions, purchase, and dona-
tions from many individuals. They in-
clude fossil plants from various geological
ages and from many countries. Coal-
measure plants, from the Pennsylvanian
period, constitute the largest single part of
the collections. These will supplement col-
lections of this type already possessed by
the Museum. Specimens from other Paleo-
zoic periods, and from the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic as well, provide records from ages
not heretofore represented in the paleo-
botanical collections. This gift will permit
expanded activity both in exhibition and
research in the field of paleobotany.

Everett C. Olson
Research Associate, Fossil Vertebrates

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany:

From: Herbarium, Department of Botany,
University of California, Berkeley — 140
algae, eastern China; William A. Daily,
Indianapolis, Ind. — 50 algae, Indiana; R. L.
Dunkeson, Willow Springs, Mo. — 26 phan-
erogams, Missouri.

Department of Zoology:

From: Mrs. C. A. Birdsall, Chicago — 2
bird-of-paradise skins; Laura Brodie, Chi-
cago— 8 sunfishes and 30 top minnows.
South Carolina; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo,
Egypt — 257 frogs, 447 lizards, 22 snakes,
348 mammals, and 25 fishes, Yemen, South-
west Arabia; Royal Ontario Museum of
Zoology, Toronto, Canada — 2 bird skins,
Canada; John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
— 11 fishes, miscellaneous.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

B

ULLETIN

Vol.22,No.7-Julv 1951

Chicago Na I lira I
Ilistorij Miisauni

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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893

RooMTcIt Road and Lake Shore DriTe, Chlcafto 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Field

Sbwell U Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cuhmings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbtten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pretidenl

Marshall Field Firtt Virt-Pretident

Steond Vitt-Pmident

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vict-Pmidtnl

Solomon A. Smith Treasurtr

Cufford C. Gregg Direetor and Secretary

John R. Millar Aaitlanl Stcretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CurpORD C. Grbgg Director of IM4 Mtueum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropolon

Thsodob Just Chief Curator of Bolann

Shakat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolon

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harts PubUc Rdatiane Coumel

Members are requested to inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

THE 'MONTH OF CHILDREN"
BRINGS ITS THRONGS

By JUNE BUCHWALD

RAYMOND foundation LECTURER

May is customarily the month of flowers —
symbols of peace, quiet, and beauty. This,
however, does not hold true in Chicago
Natural History Museum where we celebrate
May as the "month of children," and peace
and quiet is shattered by thunderous foot-
falls, echoing calls, and unexplainable noises
only children are capable of producing.

All past attendance records were broken
this year. School boys and girls poured in
both entrances of the Museum about 70,000
strong, representing most of Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, and Wisconsin. The revolving
doors spun around as the energetic young-
sters burst in, restrained only by the fearless
guards who checked their progress imtil a
teacher, harassed but grateful, finally
emerged from the rear entanglement. Of
the unscheduled organized school groups it
is estimated that about 20 per cent asked
for tours and about 20 per cent mistakenly
thought they were scheduled for tours.

Speaking of tours, the Raymond Founda-
tion staff of seven lecturers gave 247 lecture-
tours to 8,000 children and had to turn down
about 125 groups totaling 4,500 children.
Of course, in addition to out-of-town school
groups on field trips, the Chicago Public
Schools (the largest number since 1941)
came in for tours on specific subjects related

to their school curriculum. Proving that
man's prime interest is in himself is the fact
that the most popular subject-matter was
the hall of prehistoric people. Rainy May
days brought zoo-lovers to our animal halls,
placing animals second in the popularity
poll. Third place goes to Egypt, where
even the mechanical equipment for the
x-raying of Harwa, 3,500-year-old Egyptian
mummy, broke down under the strain.

MUSEUM 'ENTRUSTING'

Satisfaction in her efforts is gained by the
guide-lecturer when she receives letters from
the children after a tour. Here are some

A BUSY DAY AT MUSEUM
Special buses, bringing groups of school children
from communities in several states. )am parking area.

choice bits from such letters of third-graders:
"The Museum was very nice, because you
expressed your words so well"; "Thank you
for shooing us around the Museum"; "I
had lots of fun, seeing the bones from the
dinosaurs, and other Prehistoric animals.
And the dummies [mummies] were so good
prepared"; "The Museum was very en-
trusting. The exhibits were very entrusting.
Last night I dreamed of giant dinosaurs —
the bones of the dinosaur made me shiver
as if I had been dunked with cold water."

Regardless of how many times a guide
travels the same route, she finds interest
in the variety of groups and in the questions
asked of her: "Are the Eskimos stuffed?"
"How do you preserve the mummies?"
"Will those ostrich eggs hatch some day?"
"How did those penguins get into that
case?" "My mother doesn't believe about
the storks. Do you?" Most popular ques-
tion of all is, "When do we eat?"

To accommodate these seemingly starving
children, the guides, lunchroom attendants,
guards, and maintenance staff co-operated
and labored to plan an efficient schedule
each day using all facilities — cafeteria,
lunchroom, picnic-room, and baskets to
hold the unusually large lunch bags the
children carry. In fact, after thorough
research and calculation, it is estimated the
average child carries in his brown No. 20
paper bag or in his mother's size-7 shoe box
(his own would be too small) two sandwiches,
an apple, orange, cookies, cake, and candy.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover picture represents an
outpost in a typical tropical cloud
forest on the border between El
Salvador and Honduras. It is in
just such localities that Dr. Austin
L. Rand, the Museum's Curator
of Birds, is currently conducting
ornithological field work and of
which he writes in his article on
page 3: "The forest is filled with
a semisolid, slithering something
that is moving, flowing back and
forth through it. It gives an eerie,
lost- world feeling of a living pres-
ence everywhere about you. It's
really dark . . . And even though
not rainy, it's wet . . . everything
is dripping."

One little girl proudly confided that the
bag clutched in her right hand contained
four sandwiches, three eggs, an apple, and
three cupcakes, while the left hand enveloped
a half-dollar coin for supplementary food-
stuffs. The lunchroom display eN-idently
proves so tempting that on occasion a
child with no hesitation plops that lunch,
over which his mother so lovingly labored,
into a near-by wastebasket to choose the
fare on exhibit. The thirsty little people
consumed 16,000 bottles of soda pop, 9,300
half-pints of milk, and 9,200 ice cream cones.
Total attendance for the weekdays was
28,000 with full house from 11:00 to 12:30
every day.

'BROWSING' NOT PASSIVE

After lunch came the browsing period
intended for individual observation accord-
ing to personal interests. However, brows-
ing is a loose term, and in this case included

YOUNGSTERS INSPECT SARCOPHAGUS

One ol the Raymond Foundation school groups in

the Hall of Egypt.

everything from hide-and-seek to elevator-
riding. John, the elevator operator, was in
great demand. Too often when he answered
the insistent buzzer, he would find a group
(Continued on page 3, column 1)

July, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

EL SALVADOR'S CLOUD FORESTS, QUETZALS, AND RAVENS

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OF BIRDS

CLOUD FOREST occupies the highest
peaks and ridge crests in El Salvador.
And this cloud forest assumes a strange im-
portance in the minds of biologists here.
The extent of these forests is not great,
probably only a score or so of square miles
all told. Most of them are difficult to reach
and they are not typical of the country.
Perhaps these very things are their attrac-
tion. Compared with most other parts of
the country — cornfields, pastures, coffee
iincas, and brush — that have a long dusty
dry-season, the cloud forest is truly tropical
with its lushness and greenness throughout
the year.

My son Stanley and I have visited three
of the four important cloud forests here.
It's an old story to me, of course. I've
lived month after month in dripping mist-
filled cloud forest that stretched for hundreds
of miles in Madagascar and New Guinea.
But to Stanley, fresh from temperate
climates, these cloud forests fulfilled all his
ideas of what a tropical forest, a teeming
jungle, should be. The tall trees were
heavy with epiphytes and lianas, there was
undergrowth galore that made forcing a
way through the forest very difficult, and
here and there were shrubbery glades.
When the clouds were not down and the
sun shone, the undergrowth was in twilight,
even at midday, and the glades sparkled
by contrast. As Stanley said, now he knew
what Kipling meant when he had the
Ethiopian and the leopard look into the
forest and say that all they could see was
spots and streaks. The patches of light
and dark make no patterns at all to an
uninitiated eye.

AN EERIE PRESENCE

How different it is when the clouds are
down! And the clouds are usually down,
for clouds and not rain give the perennial
moisture that makes cloud forests possible.
Then the clouds swirl through the glades,
through the trees, and finally into the under-

growth. And they seem more than clouds.
The forest is filled with a semisolid, slithering
something that is moving, flowing back and
forth through it. It gives an eerie, lost-
world feeling of a living presence every-
where about you. It's really dark in the
forest then. And even though not rainy,
it's wet. The moisture condenses on the
leaves, the moss is saturated, and every-
thing is dripping.

It was Mira-mundo, "the lookout over
the world," where we first visited the cloud

magnificent moonrise over banks of mist
and clouds, and valleys far below.

Next morning we started on the wary
little mules. Again I admired the sure-
footed strength of the little beast that
carried my 250 pounds up these steep
trails. Hard by the cattle station was an
enormous eucalyptus tree, at least five feet
in diameter. Of course we'd been told that
El Salvador was an old country, that the
Hacienda San Jos6 where we got the mules
was more than 200 years old. And the old

HUMID UPPER TROPICAL ZONE VEGETATION ON LOS ESESMILES

forest. It took us three hours by jeep and
a six-hour climb by mule beyond a hard
road to reach these few square miles of
cloud forest. The jeep was faster than the
mules, but the mules were more comfortable.
We spent the first night in the bunkhouse
of a cattle station, in an atmosphere that
recalled a ski hut in the Alps: the chill (for
it's chilly at 5,000 feet in the mountains
in the tropics, and the damp drives the chill
in), the lantern light, the bare interior of
the building, the wind whistling outside, a

'AlO/VrW OF CHILDREN"—

{Continued from page i)
of children on the second floor who had just
run up the stairs for the pure joy of riding
down again, making this vicious circle over
and over. Patient John philosophizes, "Any-
thing moving is the greatest attraction for
children."

Finally, the teacher called a halt to the
visit, and all prepared for an exit, which,
of course, was past the book and souvenir
shop. Here the teacher was forced to give
"only five minutes now" to choose some
little memento. So the two Book Shop
attendants stood their ground as the horde
of 35 to 40 youngsters attacked. Speed,

dexterity, patience, and fortitude were
required by the two young women, but they
report that the situation was relieved some-
what by the fact that most of the children
were attracted by the same item — the
mystifying magnetic mummy, King Tut,
selling for 50 cents. This fascinating fellow
plus the souvenir rings, the chenille fuzzy
pins, and the glass figures helped to double
the sales in the month of May.

In closing may we make this suggestion
to teachers: Why be like everyone else?
The average teacher usually plans her class
visit to the Museum in spring. To avoid
crowded halls and crowded schedules, bring
your students in January or February!

coffee plantations and cleared fields told
the same story. But this old giant of a
blue-gum tree, an import from Australia in
one of the most inaccessible parts of El
Salvador, drove the fact home to me in a
way that nothing else had done.

We climbed over grass and shrub slopes.
Ahead we saw the tapestry of the forest
canopy. The colors were green-olive, brown-
olive, gray-olive, and rust-color, with many
a dark blotch where a gap in the canopy
let us look into the shrubbery beneath.
Almost completely lacking were the vivid
greens and yellow-greens that even in the
dry country we'd left below were common
along the waterless water courses.

LIKE A TUNNEL

At an entrance like a tunnel the trail
went into the forest. Across the top of
the entrance a lilac-flowered shrub had
flung a branch. Then we were in a world
of shadows and dull green, the inside of
the cloud forest. A friendly proprietary,
the Freund Company of San Salvador, had
placed a house in a clearing in the forest
at our disposal. This was very near the
point where the boundaries of El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras meet. The care-
taker, who was there with his wife, child,

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1951

mule, cow, and dog, looked after us for our
few days' stay.

It was the dry season, and so part of each
day was fine. But mornings and evenings
the clouds extended over from the Atlantic
slopes to drench the forest and then were
dissipated in the hot dry air that covers
most of £1 Salvador. Ravens, of the same
species that range over the northern parts
of the Old and New World, came croaking
about the clearing, especially when the
mists were dense. Now, as well as associat-
ing these birds with the Tower of London
(where they used to, and perhaps still do,
keep a pair), with Poe's "Nevermore," and
with spruce forests, I'll always associate
them with mist in a tropical cloud forest.

THE QUETZALS APPEAR

The quetzal is of course the most famous
of the cloud-forest birds. Nearly as large
as a crow, with plumes almost a yard long,
back and plumes glittering green and vivid
pink below, the male is a magnificent bird.
It is recorded as a shy bird, shunning man
and his clearings. I hardly dared hope
to see one. But before breakfast I was out
walking the trail in the half light of dawn.
The forest was drenched, but the mists
were rolling back, and the rising sim was
just touching the tops of the tallest trees.
Ahead of me I heard a half whistle, half
hoot, and in a moment two quetzals came
flying to perch in a tree directly overhead.
One, the male, had long flowing plumes.
The other was presumably its mate. Though
they were in plain sight, I could see little
color in the shadowy morning light. Then,
as if for my benefit, the male made a circular
dancing flight up into the sunlight. Its
iridescent green back gleamed, its vivid
red flanks and belly glowed, and its undulat-
ing plumes — nearly three feet long — added
grace to its movements. This %new of the
quetzals was one of the grandest pieces of
good luck I've ever had. To have even
glimp>sed them would have satisfied me.
Here I had one practically perform for me.

But birds generally were hard to find in
the forests, as I've found usual in such
mountain forests. There were only a few
exceptions. Along the trails were two species
of tiny hummingbirds that continually
startled me by buzzing in my ears, and
when I turned to look they would be some-
where else. One was slaty below, with white
head markings, and always seemed to be
chasing another one. The other was glitter-
ing green above, with a metallic violet gorget
that had elongated comers. They seemed
to "own" certain glades, perched there,
squeaked, and supped at inconspicuous
flowers in the shrubbery. A little tan-
breasted flycatcher was another species that
defied what seemed to be the almost imi-
versal rule of cloud-forest birds. It neither
skulked in the shrubbery nor dashed away
after a glimpse of me. If not the most
common, it certainly was the most con-

spicuous bird. It sat up on dead twigs on
the outer edges of the treetops, and from
there made rapid rallies, in typical fly-
catcher fashion, for insects.

VISITORS FROM THE NORTH

This is my first trip to the American
tropics, and I was thrilled to see two species
representing American families I'd never
seen before. One was one of the wood-
hewers, birds that, like gigantic brown
creepers, spiral up tree trunks. The other
was one of the toucans, a jay-sized green
bird with an immense bill that gives it a
head-heavy appearance, like a hombill, that
came into the quetzals' tree just after they
left it. Then there were old friends spend-
ing the winter here while their summer
home was in the grip of an Arctic winter:
a yellow-bellied sapsucker from the northern
spruce-aspen forests that looked out of
place, going from bare place to bare place
on the tree trunks, avoiding the epiphytes;
and a yellow, black-capped Wilson's warbler
that gleamed through the shrubbery, ap-
parently as much at home as in the dwarf
bushes of the Mackenzie Mountains.

This Mira-mundo forest and a few square
miles of forest on another hill to the east
along the Honduras border called Los
Esesmiles are the only places where the
Central American backbone of mountains
with its cloud forests spills over into extreme
northern Salvador. Originally there was
probably much cloud forest on the central
range of volcanoes (Santa Ana, San Salvador,
San Miguel, and San Vincent) and perhaps
on the coastal Balsam range, but most of
it has gone into coffee or bush, and now
what's left is a few square miles on Santa
Ana, its subsidiary cones, and perhaps a
square mile on San Salvador.

We visited the Santa Ana area on one of
the smaller peaks locally known as Frog
Mountain. We went all the way by jeep,
up through the coffee and red dust, the grass,
and shrubbery, into the old crater. Inside
the crater is what is called Frog Lake.
Perhaps in the wet season it may be a lake
swarming with frogs, but it was a grassy
meadow grazed by cows when we saw it.
Around it, on the inside of the rim, was light,
rather dry cloud forest.

A one-day trip to a cloud forest is the
act of an optimist. We snatched things
here and there. Every different place you
visit seems to have a few things different,
no matter how similar the places appear,
and this forest, though poor and scrawny,
was no exception. We found cloud-forest
species new to us. Robins, like our bird in
size and shape but dusky and with a chest-
nut collar, sang loudly in the trees. A little
cloud-forest warbler with a brown breast
mark gleamed through the branches and
twigs. And strangely, white-winged doves,
the same species as we have in the southern
United States, cooed from the forest edge
where they were apparently nesting.

When we visited the Volcano of San
Salvador we had to leave the jeep at San
Jos6 on the shoulder of the mountain and
get a local guide to show us where the trail
started for the two-hour climb on foot. It
always amazes me how mountain people
disregard the slope of mountains. They
travel in spurts at a fast walk, or even a
run, with rests here and there. And they
keep up their rapid pace for distances that
have a lowlander gasping in amazement as
well as from lack of breath. They climb
with as little apparent effort as a plainsman
walks on the level. Our guide was like this.
But there's a corollary to the endurance of
mountain people, as we found in New
Guinea. Mountain people when they get
on the level have no more endurance than
plains people in the hills.

The forest patch on the summit of San
Salvador, the volcano that overlooks the
capital and gives it its name, is fine and tall,
but it is much dryer and has fewer epiphytes
than the other forests. Here jays, of a
species blue with a black head, gathered in
bands, calling in the tree tops. They were
the only conspicuous forest birds on our
trip. Even more interesting to us was the
country just below the forest and above the
coffee. Here were planted flower gardens —
not the vivid blooms of the tropics but
familiar northern things: fields of roses,
geraniums, daisies, pinks, carnations, and
the like. At this high altitude they thrive
and are gathered to be sold in the cities.

Here we found several birds new to us.
The most important perhaps was a dingy
little flycatcher that only an expert's eye
would recognize as the second record for
El Salvador. The most spectacular, how^-
ever, was a mocking-bird with deep blue
upper parts, white under parts, and a lovely
rich song.

SUMMER LECTURE TOURS
GIVEN TWICE A DAY

During July and August, conducted tours
of the exhibits, under the guidance of staff
lecturers, will be given on a special schedule:

Mondays: 11 a.m. — The World of Animals
(general survey of the animal exhibits);
2 P.M. — General Tour

Tuesdays: 11 A.M. — Places and People
(general survey of the anthropology ex-
hibits); 2 P.M. — General Tour

Wednesdays: 11 A.M. — Green Magic (gen-
eral survey of the plant exhibits); 2 p.m. —
General Tour

Thursdays: 11 A.M. and 2 P.M. — General
Tours

Fridays: 11 A.M. — Secrets in Stones (gen-
eral survey of the geology exhibits);
2 P.M. — General Tour

There are no tours on Saturdays and
Simdays, or on Wednesday, July 4.

July, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

MORE ABOUT EL SALVADOR— A BOTANIST^S VIEWPOINT

By NORMAN C. FASSETT*

Some sixty miles east of San Salvador, in
the Central American republic of El Sal-
vador, the traveler may look southward
across a narrow valley to Jucuapa ("Hoo-
coo-dh-pah") and Chinameca ("Cheen-ah-
m&y-ca"), built on the flanks of a series of
volcanos that parallels the highway for

THE TRAGIC 'LITTLE LAKE OF REJOICING'
Lake Alegria, deep in the crater of the volcano Tccapa in EI Salvador, is sur-
rounded by high steep walls. This photograph was taken several weeks before
the recent catastrophic earthquake precipitated great masses of earth and rocks
frotn the cliffs into the waters of the lake.

The road up the mountain south of Jucuapa
is incredibly dusty in the dry season, in-
credibly muddy in the rainy season, and
incredibly steep in all seasons. It climbs
from the land of bananas and coconuts to
the land of coffee. Coffee is grown in the
shade of trees, and the mountain side that
from the highway appeared to be a vast
forest proves to be a
vast coffee grove.
Then the coffee groves
give way to native
forest. Near the very
summit of the moun-
tain, at an altitude of
something more than
a mile above sea level,
the road, which has
been circling the
moun tai n , turns
sharply to the right,
climbs abruptly over
a ridge, and descends
steeply to Lagunita
Alegria.

Alegria means
"merriment" or "re-
joicing." This little
lake of merriment is
actually in the crater
of VolcSn Tecapa. It
is nearly round, about
300 yards in diameter,
and surrounded by the
abrupt walls of the
old crater. Although
forest grows on the
cliffs and a lake oc-
cupies the crater, the
volcano is not quite
dead. Hot lava is not
far beneath the sur-
face, and on the shores
are springs of hot
water, bubbling and
steaming and giving
off an evil sulphurous
smell. Two species of
plants have adapted
themselves to life in
the water charged
with poisonous vol-

twenty-five miles. From the highway, the
aggregations of red-tile roofs do not appear
like cities of ten thousand or more inhabit-
ants, but people are crowded closely to-
gether in El Salvador.

The peak of a cone-shaped volcano seems
scarcely the place to look for a lake, but
that is exactly where Lake Alegria is located.

♦Professor of Botany, University of Wisconsin.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni liesearch Founda-
tion and Chicago Natural History Museum, the author
collected aquatic plants from September, 1950, to
March, 1951, as guest of the Institute Tropical de
Investigaciones Cientificas in El Salvador.

canic products. One
is an alga, which makes a green coating
on the rocks and is probably responsible
for the pea-soup color of the whole lake.
The other is a small sedge, of the genus
Eleocharis, which grows in shallow water
close to the hot springs. This is of particular
interest in view of the occurrence of a similar
sedge in the hot springs of Yellowstone
National Park, appropriately named Eleo-
charis thermalis. The sedge of Lagunita
Alegria has been identified by Dr. H. K.
Svenson, of the American Museum of
Natural History, as Eleocharis Sellowiana,

which ranges from El Salvador into South
America and is closely related to E. thermalis.

Alegria is now a region of tragedy and
sadness. Early in May, the mountains
trembled, and thousands of persons who
made their homes on their slopes became
homeless. Chinameca was destroyed, and
Jucuapa was such a shambles that the
debris, with countless buried dead, was
burned. At least six smaller towns, center-
ing on the Merry Little Lake, are listed as
almost uninhabitable.

A recent letter from Dr. Helmut Meyer-
Abich, geologist at the Instituto Tropical
de Investigaciones Cientificas, tells of some
effects of the earthquake.* When the
mountain shook, great landslides cascaded
into Lake Alegria. Scores of enormous
boulders rolled down the cliffs into the lake.

The lake and its scanty flora have prob-
ably survived .such disturbances in the past.
But severe changes are always possible in
this region. There was a lake in the crater
of VolcSn San Salvador, which boiled away,
literally, following the earthquake of 1917.
There is Laguna las Ranas, occupying a
crater in western San Salvador. In recent
years it has become dry, and the cracked
surface of what was once its bed is covered
now with a dense turf of Eleocharis Sello-
wiana.

* A report on the earthquake by Dr. Sharat K. Roy,
the Museum's own geologist now in El Salvador, will
appear in an early issue of the Bulletin.

Paleontologists Sift
15 Tons of Sand

An idea of the strain imposed by scientific
research upon the patience and endurance
of its practitioners may be obtained from
the experiences of Bryan Patterson, Curator
of Fossil Mammals, and Orville L. Gilpin,
Chief Preparator of Fossils, who washed and
sifted more than fifteen tons of sand in
search of tiny, almost microscopic specimens
of fossil vertebrates on their recent expedi-
tion to northern Texas. The operation was
somewhat similar to the placer method of
gold mining. The geologists returned to
the Museum last month, bringing as a result
of their herculean task some 1,600 pounds
of concentrate. Still further sifting of this
will be required to complete the work of
culling the fossil specimens.

Operations were conducted in the same
general area as in the two preceding years.
The first discovery in the Texas area of
early Cretaceous mammal-bearing deposits
was made by Museum men in 1949.

The gem collection of the Museum is one
of the best in the world. Cut and uncut
specimens of nearly every known precious
and semiprecious stone are displayed in
H. N. Higinbotham Hall (Hall 31), many
of them of great historic interest.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Jtdy, 1951

A CLOSE LOOK
AT 'KON-TIKI'

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY

THE BEST-SELLER, Kon-Tiki* has
deservedly caught the imagination of
the American public. This story of a voyage
from the coast of Peru to the Tuamotu
Islands of Polynesia, made in a balsa raft
built to Inca specifications, ranks with the
best tales of adventure. The first purpose
of the undertaking was to demonstrate
that the ancient Peruvians were capable of
making voyages over such a tremendous
distance in their own type of sea-going
vessel. The Kon-Tiki expedition is sound
proof that it could have been done and is
a convincing answer to the skeptics who
denied the feasibility of such voyages.

The second purpose of the trip was to
lend support to the belief of Thor Heyer-
dahl, the leader of the expedition and author
of the book, that the peoples and cultures
of Polynesia are derived from the New
World. This theory is outlined briefly in
the book and through the introduction of
bits of evidence is given implicit validation
by Heyerdahl. However, it is one thing to
demonstrate the possibility of making the
voyage in a Peruvian-type raft. It is quite
a different thing to demonstrate that the
Pol>Tiesians actually came to their island
home by raft and canoe from the shores of
the Americas. As a museum curator and a
professional anthropologist, both of whom
are suggested in Kon-Tiki as being rather
misguided and hopeless conservatives, I
should like to point out a few reasons why
Heyerdahl's ingenuous reconstruction of
Polynesian prehistory is more novel than
probable.

VIRACOCHA LEGEND

Heyerdahl uses as evidence the Peruvian
legend of Viracocha, said to have been an
ancient, blond, light-skinned hero-god who
was supposed to have come to Peru with
some followers of similar tyjje in pre-Inca
times, stayed for a time, and vanished.
Heyerdahl believes that Viracocha and his
colleagues actually existed, that they were
responsible for the development of a culture
in Peru called Tihuanaco (though it is not
explicitly named in the book), and that about
A.D. 500 they took to their balsa rafts and
sailed to Polynesia, which they proceeded
to populate with their offspring. Later,
about A.D. 1100, Polynesia was supposed to
have been invaded by Indians from the
Northwest Coast of North America, who
merged with the previous wave of migrants
to form the historic Polynesian race and
who evolved the historic Polynesian culture.
A few criticisms seem to be in order:
( 1 ) Heyerdahl equates the Polynesian god
Tiki with Viracocha because there is some

* Kon-Tiki, by Thor Heyerdahl (Chicsgo: Rand
McNally, 1930)

evidence that the pre-Incaic name for Vira-
cocha was "Con-Tici" or "Ilia Tici," and
at a later date sometimes "Con Tici Vira-
cocha." That the Polynesian "Tiki" and
the Peruvian "Tici" are the same is doubtful.
Occasional chance occurrences of the same
word or word element in two unrelated
languages is a common phenomenon, while
the etymology of the Peruvian "Tid" is far
from certain.

(2) Hyerdahl considers the art style of
stone carvings on Easter, Pitcairn, and the
Marquesas Islands in Polynesia so similar
to pre-Inca (presumably Tihuanaco) carv-
ings in Peru that they must be products of
the same people. These carvings may seem
similar to Heyerdahl; they have never im-
pressed critical students of the area as being
alike.

(3) He gives credence to the observations
of the early Dutch explorer Roggeveen that
among the people of Easter Island were
light-skinned individuals, presumably de-
scendants of Kon-Tici, while he suggests
that the red stone caps placed atop the
massive Easter Island carvings represent
the red hair of the early Peruvian migrants.
The Roggeveen expedition account is known
to have been much exaggerated. Poly-
nesians are quite light-skinned on body
parts not exposed to the sun and undoubt-
edly have a Caucasoid-like strain in their
racial ancestry. But that this strain can be
assigned to the legendary Con Tici Vira-
cocha and his followers, or that early historic
Polynesians included large numbers of white-
skinned individuals, is quite unproven.

(4) Heyerdahl stresses the fact that the
Polynesians were a "pure stone-age people"
and states that "there were no cultures in
the world of any reproductive capacity"
at the probable time of the Polynesian
migrations except in the New World. What
is meant by "reproductive capacity" is not
clear. However, the Peruvians at this time
were using copper for building ties and other
objects and technically were not a stone-age
people. On the other hand, peoples who
were skillful stone workers were living at the
same time in both Malaysia and Micronesia
to the west of the Polynesians.

(5) The sweet potato and the gourd are
two New World plants that most students
accept, with Heyerdahl, as being in Poly-
nesia at the time of European discovery.
Whether they were brought by Peruvians
or whether Polynesians voyaged to the New
World and returned with them is not certain.
However, Heyerdahl actually made the trip
in a Peruvian raft, while there are no re-
corded voyages of Polynesian canoes making
a round-trip voyage to South America and
back, although long voyages were likewise
possible in canoes. Yet this is slim evidence
for a migration theory and, as it has been
f)ointed out, is like saying that, because the
"Irish" potato is derived from South
America, Irishmen are ipso facto migrants
from South America also.

(6) For a possible migration from the
Northwest Coast of America to Polynesia,
Heyerdahl mentions similarity in art styles
between the two regions. It was long ago
suggested that the art of the Maori of New
Zealand and that of the Northwest Coast
were similar. A closer and more critical
inspection of Polynesian and Northwest
Coast art made by later students has not
indicated similarities that are convincing.
Also that the Northwest Coast Indians had
sea-going canoes in A.D. 1100 is not known;
nor are they ever known to have made long,
open-sea canoe voyages in early historic times.

CONTRARY EVIDENCE

The principal argument against Heyer-
dahl's theory is found, however, in the large
body of contrary evidence that ties Poly-
nesia to Micronesia and in turn to South-
eastern Asia — a body of evidence that he
has deliberately ignored and even implied
does not exist. The Polynesian languages
belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family,
which stretches in a great bridge from
Polynesia across Micronesia and Malaysia
to the Southeastern Asian island archipela-
goes. The outrigger canoe is found across
this same belt and, contrary to much popular
belief, is perfectly capable of sailing close
to the wind and making long easterly
voyages in the trade-wind latitudes, al-
though the double-canoe was the favored
Polynesian open-sea craft. A series of
Oceanic food plants, such as taro, the
coconut (for which there is no good evidence
that it was in the New World at the time
of discovery), bananas, and breadfruit as
well as the domesticated pig, link Polynesia
to the Old World rather than to the New.
These are only a few of many cultural traits
that militate against Heyerdahl's theory.

There is also negative evidence to be
considered. If Polynesians are in large part
sea-faring Peruvians, why are not funda-
mental traits such as the highly developed
Peruvian textile arts and ceramics found in
Polynesia, for the raw materials exist there?
Also, if Viracocha and his cohorts were
blond or red-headed and light-skinned, they
were presumably Caucasoids, and why has
not a well-defined Caucasoid element been
found in pre-Inca skeletal material? Pre-
history of the Andes and Polynesia is not
such a misty unknown as the book implies.

These criticisms are not directed against
the idea that actual voyages were occasion-
ally made by Peruvians to Polynesia. This
seems highly probable. Criticism is directed
against the idea that the Polynesians
migrated en masse from the New World
and that Polynesian culture owes its primary
patterning to New World sources. This
latter belief adds spice to the grand story
of Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki voyage. The belief
remains nevertheless an enthusiasm of the
author rather than the most probable ex-
planation for Polynesian origins, based on
a critical appraisal of the evidence.

July, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

STAFF NOTES

SOUTH AMERICAN AND ORIENTAL FISHES ACQUIRED

Col. Clifford C. Gregg, Director, and
Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zool-
ogy, attended the annual meeting of the
American Association of Museums held in
Philadelphia May 31-June 2. Col. Gregg is
a member of the council of the association.
Chief Curator Schmidt presented a paper
on "The Function of University Museums."
. . . Chief Curator Schmidt has been elected
a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences. He recently gave an address
on "The Origins of Domestic Animals"
before the Midwest Humane Conference.
... An expedition to collect upper Cretace-
ous and Eocene fossil plants in Alabama,
Mississippi, and Tennessee was begun last
month by George Langford, Curator of
Fossil Plants, and Dr. R. H. Whitfield,
Associate in Fossil Plants .... Dr. Paul S.
Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology,
Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic
Ethnology, George I. Quimby, Curator
of Exhibits, Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assist-
ant Curator of Archaeology, and Miss
Elaine Bluhm, Assistant in Archaeology,
attended the annual meetings of the Society
for American Archaeology held in Evanston
recently. Dr. Martin was chairman of a
session at which Dr. Spoehr presented a
paper on the archaeology of Saipan, and Dr.
Rinaldo was appointed a member of the
Executive Committee .... Dr. Martin lec-
tured and showed his motion picture, "In-
dians Before Columbus," at a meeting of the
Anthropology Club at the University of
Illinois in Urbana .... Dr. Spoehr attended
a meeting in Washington of the advisory
group for the Pacific Science Board's coral
atoll program to complete final plans for the
Board's atoll research project for the current
summer in the Gilbert Islands .... Donald
Collier, Curator of South American Eth-
nology and Archaeology, attended the annual
meetings of the Division of Anthropology
and Psychology of the National Research
Council in Washington .... Colin C. San-
born, Curator of Mammals, recently en-
gaged in studies of Philippine mammals at
the U. S. National Museum in Washington,
D.C., and the American Museum of Natural
History in New York. He particularly
studied type specimens of rodents for com-
pletion of a research project .... Dr.
Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany,
has left on a field trip to the southwestern
United States and California. He will also
attend the Sixth Annual Meeting of the
Society for the Study of Evolution in Berk-
ley, California, where he will be joined by
Chief Curator of Zoology Schmidt ....
Miss Lorain Farmer, Museum guide-
lecturer, recently appeared on Martha
Crane's radio program on WLS and told
about the work of the Raymond Foundation
.... Dr. Julian A Steyermark, Curator of

The Museum has recently purchased the
collection of fishes of the Carnegie Museum
in Pittsburgh, an outstanding collection
famous for its South American and Oriental
fishes. No extensive work on the fresh-
water fishes of South America or on the
marine fishes of the
Far East is possible
without consulting
this basic collection.

In the early part of
the century Carl H.
Eigenmann, pre-emi-
nent authority of his
day on the fresh-
water fishes of South
America, and his
students amassed and
described most of the
South American mate-
rial in the collection.
Of the 575 species in-
cluded, nearly half are
represented by types.
This part of the collec-
tion is of especial value
also because it con-
tains specimens from
nearly all sections of
South America.

The Oriental fishes
comprise about one-
third of the Carnegie
collection and are both
marine and fresh-
water species. In

this portion there are approximately 1,753
species, of which 143 are represented by
types. They are from many places in the
Orient but principally from Japan, Formosa,
and Korea. The Oriental collections were
made and studied by David Starr Jordan
and his associates and by various Japanese
ichthyologists. In addition to these Oriental
collections there are 1,364 lots of fishes
from moderately deep (100 to 300 fathoms)
waters off eastern Japan. These fishes were
collected by Allan Owston, a shipmaster,
who spent fifty years cruising and collecting
in Japanese waters. Owston was a careful

observer with some knowledge of fishes, and
many little-known species are included in
his collection.

Nearly all of the material in the Carnegie
collection was studied, sorted, and selected
before it was sent to the Museum, and be-

FISHES 'LANDED' FOR CHICAGO

Packing the collection of exotic fishes of the Carnegie Museum for transfer to

Chicago Natural History Museum.

cause of this there is very little duplication.
The geographic areas represented are those
in which our Division of Fishes has not
carried on extensive field work, and therefore
the great majority of species are especially
worthwhile additions to our study collections.
Our number of types will be more than
doubled. Incorporation of the Carnegie
material will make it possible to utilize the
South American material that we already
have and will greatly aid in working on our
marine fishes.

LoREN P. Woods
Curator of Fishes

the Herbarium, has recently been engaged in
botanical field studies in the Ozark region
of Missouri.

Annual Report Published

The Annual Report of Colonel Clifford C.
Gregg, Director of the Museum, to the
Museum's Board of Trustees, has just been
published by the Museum Press. Distribu-
tion of copies to all Members of the Museum
will be made at an early date. The Report,
a book of 142 pages, gives details of all
principal activities of the institution for
1950 and contains 24 illustrations.

Mexican Salamander Studies

Clifford H. Pope, Curator of Amphibians
and Reptiles, plans to leave for the Mexican
highlands about July 1, where he will study
the habitat relationships of woodland sala-
manders. The salamander fauna of Mexico
is of special interest because of its isolation
and its similarity to that of our own southern
highlands. Many of the Mexican species
have been but recently discovered and are
therefore little known. Investigation of the
woodland salamanders of the southern
Appalachians already has been carried on
for several years, and so the time is favorable
for an investigation in Mexico.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1951

SPECIAL GEM EXHIBIT
MOVING TO LOOP

The First Annual Amateur Handcrafted
Gem and Jewelry Competitive Exhibition,
held during June in Stanley Field Hall of
the Museum under the auspices of the
Chicago Lapidary Club, proved to be one

PRIZE-WINNING JEWELRY
Mrs. Helen Cooke (center) displays a malachite
bracelet that won "best tn show'* gold cup in the
First Annual Amateur Handcrafted Gem and Jewelry
Competitive Exhibition of the Chicago Lapidary
Club held at the Museum during June. Other prize-
winning creations are worn by Gloria Johnston (left)
and Carolyn McNerney, Patricia Stevens models.

of the most successful and interesting special
exhibits the Museum has had, and it at-
tracted unusual public attention. For those
who missed this display, it is announced
that a second showing will be held in the
State Street store of C. D. Peacock and
Company from July 9 to 21, inclusive.

To those interested in and qualified for
actual participation in the hobbies of col-
lecting gem materials and fashioning them
into finished gems and jewel creations, the
Chicago Lapidary Club — whose members
call themselves "rockhounds"— extends a
cordial invitation to inquire about member-
ship. Inquiries should be addressed to:
Chicago Lapidary Club, Grand Crossing
Park Fieldhouse, 76th Street and South
Isgleside Avenue, Chicago 19.

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN
ON THURSDAY MORNINGS

The Raymond Foundation will present
its annual summer series of free entertain-
ments for children on Thursday mornings
for six weeks, beginning July 5. There will
be five motion-picture programs and, on
July 26, one pupjjet show. Two perform-
ances of each program will be given, at
10 A.M. and 11 A.M., in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum. The theatre and
west entrance of the Museum will be open
at 9:30 A.M.

Children are invited to come alone, accom-
panied by parents or other adults, or in
groups from clubs and various centers.
Admission is free. Following are the dates
and titles of the shows:

July 5 — Nanook of the North

Robert Flaherty's film tells of a
typical Eskimo family and their
struggle for life in the far North

July 12 — The Ant and the Grasshopper

The well-known story of the ant and

the grasshopper is told in color

movies, the actors being puppets

Also a cartoon

July 19 — Indian Stories of Today

How Indians are living today and

where
Also a cartoon

July 2fr— Dick Whittington and His Cat
(presented by Cole Marionettes)
This is a real marionette show, not
a movie

August 2 — Beiaver Valley

(a Walt Disney film)
The finest of nature photog-
raphers helped to produce this
story of the animals and life
in a typical beaver pond
Also a cartoon

August 9 — Seal Island

(a Walt Disney film)
This color movie tells about the
fur seals of the Pribilof Islands
Also a cartoon

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany:

From: University of California, Berkeley
— 180 algae, New Zealand and Fiji Islands;
William L. Culberson, Cincinnati — 30 algae
and lichens, Ohio and Kentucky; R. L.
Dunkeson, Willow Springs, Mo. — 26 phan-
erograms, Missouri; Dr. William R. Taylor,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — 52
algae, Bermuda; Dr. Eula Whitehouse,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas — 27
algae, Texas.

Departtnent of Zoology:

From: Margaret G. Bradbury, Chicago —
6 bats, Missouri; Laura Brodie, Chicago —
27 salamanders, 120 frogs, 9 lizards, and a
snake. South Carolina; Chicago Zoological
Society, Brookfield, 111. — an egg of Hum-
boldt penguin; Dr. James Kezer, Chicago —
57 salamanders, North Carolina; John M.
Schmidt, Plainfield, 111. — a mammal speci-
men (Mustela vison), Illinois; Joseph H.
Shirk, Peru, Ind. — 3 mammal skulls (Felis
concolor subsp.).

Division of Motion Pictures:

From: John W. Moyer, Chicago — 2 16mm
color films.

Library:

From: Robert F. Inger, Homewood, 111.;
Henry W. Nichols (bequest), Chicago;
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Charles
B. Cory, Jr., Homewood, 111.; Kari P.
Schmidt, Homewood, 111.

fihy ykars ago

Al }HK MUSEUM

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

The original plan for establishing the
Chicago Natural History Museum building
in Grant Park in close relation to the
Art Institute of Chicago and the subsequent
vicissitudes undergone by the plans for the
institution (then known as Field Columbian
Museum) that resulted in its present location
form an interesting part of the history of

l^'"^- *»'■--- >:t..\~ -'■"■--"-■^'^'^'ii>-'iY|ii''^'yf;.~:^''"^~"t.

[ .-

pMffQQDQC

MUSEUM PLAN IN EARLY 19O0's
Map shows the one-time proposed site for what was
then known as Field Columbian Museum. The new
building was to have been located on the lake front
east of Michigan Avenue between Van Buren and
Harrison Streets, but this plan was later discarded
for the present location.

the Chicago Plan. The accompanying illus-
tration from a newspaper of the early 1900*s
shows one of these plans. The decision was
reached to keep that part of Grant Park
free of further large structures for the sake
of the view from Michigan Avenue. The
present Museum building is on lake-front
land not then in existence.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between May 16 and June 15:

Contributors

Charles B. Cory, Jr.

Associate Memliers
W. S. Deeming, Kenneth M. Henderson,
Costa A. Pandaleon, Mrs. Arthur C.
Prince, E. Hall Taylor.

Annual Memlwrs
J. C. Bowman, Mrs. Gertrude Cermak,
R. W. Clyne, William M. Collins, Jr.,
Edward A. Dougherty, C. W. Edmonds,
Mrs. Eari E. Gray, Thad Hackett, Lathrop
W. Hull, Walter R. Kolesiak, Joseph M.
Lederer, Mrs. I. E. McCabe, Frank McCal-
lister, John J. McDonough, H. L. Norby,
T. S. Pacer, Dr. Frank J. Padour, E. A.
Parker, Mrs. D. J. Peacher, Stephen T.
Pepich, Henry R. Portis, Rev. Cuthbert
Pratt, Max Pray, E. P. Queri, Harold S.
Russell, P. B. Schnering, E. C. Staunton,
C. N. Wesley, C. V. Wisner, Jr.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

U VoL22,No.8-August 1951

Chicago Natural
History Museum

Pageg

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

FOUNDBD BT MARSHALL FiBLD, 1893

RooacTcIt Road and Lake Shore DrlTe, Chlcato 5

Telephone: WAbasu 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Field

Srwell U Avert Samuel Insull. Jr.

Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings Wiluam H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fbnton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbtten

Marshall Field. Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field PraidnU

Marshall Field Firwt Viet-Prendent

Steond Viet-Pmident

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vic»-Pmidtnt

Solomon A. Smith TrtatuTtr

CurroRD C. Grbgg Director and Secretam

John R. Millar AnUtant S«crttary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CurroRD C. Grbgg Dirtlor of Ou Mu—um

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropoloin

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Boiann

Sbarat K. Rot Chief Curator of Geolon

Earl P. Schmidt Chitf Curator of Zoolan

MANAGING EDITOR
H B. Hartb Public Retatiotu Coumel

Members are requested to inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

SPIRITUALISM AS PRACTICED
BY AMERICAN INDIANS

By DONALD COLUER

curator op south AMERICAS ETHNOLOGY
AND ARCHAEOLOGY

AT ALL TIMES and in all places man
has striven for emotional security by
seeking through supernatural means knowl-
edge of the unknown and therefore dangerous
future, or knowledge hidden by the barrier
of space (distance). Such contemporary
and widespread practices as the reading of
cards, tea leaves, palms, and horoscopes,
and the summoning of spirits through human
mediums go back very far in the history of
civilization. Historically connected or ana-
logous practices have existed in ancient and
modem times among peoples all over the
world.

Spiritualism, or communication with the
spirits of the dead, is still widely practiced
in America and Europe. Such eminent
men as Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle were firmly convinced of the
reality of spiritualistic phenomena. In this
country groups in the most varied walks of
life often attempt to solve their problems
and look into the future by consulting
mediums.

THE 'SHAKING TENT'

The North American Indians, too, had
their troubles and worries. And one of the
ways that they solved their problems was
by consulting spirits through an intermediary

shaman or medium. The Indian ritual in
which the spirits are consulted is called the
"Shaking Tent" rite, a name derived from
the fact that the tent or booth on which
the medium sits is shaken violently by the
spirits during the seance. The shaking tent
rite was, and to some extent still is, practiced
by the Forest Algonkians (Montagnais,
Cree, Ojibwa), the tribes of the Plains
(Plains Cree, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre,
Blackfoot, Crow, Cheyenne, and Kiowa),
and the Kutenai of the Plateau.

Among the Forest Algonkians the medium
is a man who has gained in a dream revela-
tion the power to summon spirits. The
spirits called are the spirits of certain ani-
mals, such as turtle and elk, and independent
spirit beings, neither animal nor human.
Occasionally human ghosts are summoned.

The seance takes place at night in a special
barrel-shaped lodge or booth built for the
occasion. It is about four feet in diameter
and seven or eight feet high. The frame-
work of vertical poles set in the ground and
held by horizontal hoops is covered with
skins or canvas. During the seance the
medium sits within the booth out of sight
of the audience ranged on the ground
around the booth.

THEY TELL ALL

From the moment the medium enters the
booth and throughout the seance, which
often lasts several hours, the booth shakes
and vibrates. This vibration is believed to
be caused not by the^ medium but by the
spirits summoned, and especially wind
spirits. The spirits speak, ask what is
wanted of them, and when told by the
medium, give the answer immediately or
after leaving for some minutes in order to
obtain the desired information.

With the aid of his spirit helpers a medium
is able to secure news of persons hundreds
of miles away and to learn of events at a
distance. He may recover lost or stolen
articles, or determine the fate of missing
or overdue persons. And he can discover
the cause of and prescribe the remedy for
some puzzling maladies.

Among some of the tribes mentioned the
shaman, in order to demonstrate his powers,
has himself firmly bound with thongs before
he is placed in the seance lodge. At once
the lodge begins to vibrate, he is freed by
his spirit helpers, and the thongs are tossed
violently through the open top of the booth.

DELIVER THE GOODS

Some of the shamans were famous for
their extraordinary feats. One medium
sent his spirit helpers with a load of furs
many miles to a trading post from which
they brought back within an hour several
cases of whisky. Another, during a time
of famine, ^)roduced in exchange for four
marten skins a fifty-pound sack of flour
that his helpers had brought from a post a
hundred miles away. In another case a

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover shows the U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service's research
ship "Oregon" on her way into
port at Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The Museum has received im-
portant additions to its collections
through the co-operation of this
government division which has
permitted scientists from this
institution to participate in the
cruises. An account of recent
work by Loren P. Woods, Curator
of Fishes, appears on page 3. In
the near future it is expected that
Mr. Woods and Robert F. Inger,
.\ssistant Curator of Fishes, will
be aboard for exploration in the
vicinity of the Florida Keys and
Campeche Banks. The "Oregon"
is a converted tuna clipper
equipped with large double trawl-
ing winch carrying enough cable
to trawl at depths of 500 fathoms.
Adding to her usefulness in scien-
tific work are other trawls, trolling
lines, hand lines and traps, sonic
depth recorder, Loran receiver,
radio direction finder, deep sea
reversing thermometers, and ba-
thythermograph. The photo-
graph is by courtesy of the Fish
and Wild Life Service.

shaman is said to have produced fresh blue-
berries at a seance in the dead of winter.

Among the Plains tribes a special booth
was not used. The seance took place in the
tipi of the medium, who was concealed
behind a curtain. Animal spirits were not
summoned but only human ghosts. The
shaman was bound with thongs and was
released by the ghost. The arrival of the
spirit was announced by sounds of wind,
shaking of the tipi, and strange voices, which
only the medium could interpret. With the
aid of his ghost helpers the medium could
locate lost objects and stray horses, deter-
mine the fate of missing parties of warriors,
locate herds of game, determine the position
of enemy groups, and foretell future events.
But the shaking tent rite was much less
important here than among the Forest
Algonkian tribes.

Botanist Joins Museum Staff

E. P. Killip, one of America's leading
botanists and head curator of the Depart-
ment of Botany of the United States
National Museum at Washington, D.C.,
until his retirement this year, has been
elected by the Board of Trustees of Chicago
Natural History Museum as Research Asso-
ciate in Phanerogamic Botany. "He is a rec-
ognized authority on several families of
plants.

August, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

SCOURING THE GULF OF MEXICO FOR FISHES OF THE DEEP SEA

By LOREN p. woods
curator op fishes

Perhaps the least-known fish fauna in the
world is that lying between 100 and 300
fathoms in the sea along the continental
shelf. This is a region generally too deep
for ordinary commercial trawling operations.
In many places reefs and other obstructions
render trawling difficult and expensive, and
so, except for a very few local attempts, this

ONE OF THE BATFISHES
This fish, designated as Ogcocephalus, lives on the
bottom at depths of 60 to 100 fathoms. Its ventral
fins have flexible fingcr-like tips. The rest of the
fin is stifl for support as it drags itself on the hot'
torn. In the underside of the bony horn is a pit
containing a bulbous bait that may be protruded
and used as a lure.

region has remained one of the least explored,
being known chiefly from chance specimens
taken from stomachs of other fishes.

The most striking example of unusual
fishes to be found at these depths is the
much publicized Latimeria, an example of
a living Coelacanth fish, a group that had
been believed to be extinct since the begin-
ning of the Age of Reptiles. Trawlers work-
ing at 40 fathoms a few miles oiT the mouth
of the Chalumna River in South East Africa
accidentally caught a large specimen believed
to be an inhabitant of the still deeper reefs
that lie close to the area trawled.

U. S. RESEARCH SHIPS

As trawling in such depths is expensive
and requires a vessel larger than usual with
modified gear, fishing companies and fisher-
men consider exploration of new deep areas
too great a gamble. The discovery of deep-
water shrimp beds in the Gulf of Mexico
has aroused much interest, and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service is devoting
considerable time and equipment to explora-
tion. A little over a year ago two tuna
clippers belonging to the Fish and Wildlife
Service were brought into the Gulf of Mexico
to work on the various fisheries and related
oceanographic and biological problems. One
of these, the Oregon, adapted for fishery
research, is presently engaged particularly
in exploring for new shrimp beds, spotting
and catching tuna, and trying and develop-
ing new types of fishing gear. This research

program is being carried out by Stewart
Springer, fishery engineer of the Fish and
Wildlife Service, who has for many years
made important contributions of specimens
to our Division of Fishes.

In February of this year I was invited to
participate in the seventh cruise of the
Oregon for exploratory fishing in the north-
west Gulf. During this cruise a search was
made for trawlable areas in rather shallow
water off the coast of northern Florida be-
tween Cape San Bias and Cedar Keys. This
part of the cruise was over untried and for
the most part coral-covered bottom and
resulted in loss or severe damage to six
trawls. Since most of the trawling was done
at night, days were spent anchored on
"snapper lumps," small submerged banks or
reefs, handlining at depths from 30 to 60
fathoms. This produced many of the famous
and delicious red snappers as well as amber-
jacks, several kinds of groupers, large moray
eels, and smaller species of grunts and
snappers.

The Oregon's course from Cedar Key to
the Mississippi Delta led us across and
beyond the 100-fathom line, and here a
series of twelve trawls were made in depths
from 104 to 305 fathoms. These were by
far the most productive and interesting of

ANOTHER BATFISH SPECIE.S

Top view of a smaller kind of batfish. The body is

very rough with pits, spines and buckler-like

tubercles resembling warts.

all the fishing excursions made on this
particular cruise.

Commercially important species such as
flounder, tilefish, and silver hake, species
important in the mid-Atlantic States and
New England trawl fishery, appeared at
these depths as well as dozens of little-
known smaller species. The New England
goosefish, several other kinds of angler fish,
snipefish, silvery eels, deep-water sea basses,
sea robins, and gurnards as well as numerous
kinds of invertebrates were emptied from
the trawl onto the deck. The quantity was
phenomenal, from 25 to 50 bushels for each
time the trawl was dragged.

In the early days of exploring for fishes
in the Gulf of Mexico, Silas B. Sterns, an
interested owner of a snapper fishery off
Pensacola, regularly sent to the Smithsonian

Institution any strange fishes taken by his
fishermen, particularly specimens found in
the stomachs of red snappers. These speci-
mens were usually partially digested, frag-
mentary, or otherwise damaged and repre-
sented but a small portion of the great
variety of fishes living on or near the bottom
in the depths of 100 to 300 fathoms fished
by the Oregon. Nevertheless they were
named and described, and it was largely on
such poor material that our information was
based. This has made procuring fresh
material in good condition from nearby
areas a very worthwhile undertaking for
purely scientific reasons.

In this zone conditions of light, salinity,
and temperature are relatively constant.
Day or night, winter or summer, the
differences are so slight as to be scarcely
evident. For the animals living in this
zone many barriers that affect shore-
dwelling forms are not present and wide
geographic distribution is the rule. For
example, temperatures around 100 fathoms
off the coast of North Carolina are practi-
cally the same as in the Gulf; many of the
fishes taken at this depth are the same also.
The deep-water collections made in the
Gulf contain many species whose nearest
relatives are known to live in South African
or Japanese waters at the same depth. This
is not so startling as it may seem when we
consider that, although the distribution is
actually or has been more or less continuous,
the intervening areas have not yet been
explored.

Although the taxonomic studies of the
900 specimens collected while on the Oregon
are not completed, more than 150 species
have been determined. More than half of
these species were not previously represented
in the Museum's collections. This is the
first time some of these species have been
taken in the Gulf of Mexico, and several
have been found to be undescribed species.
Thus a by-product of very practical fisheries
work yields material that eventually, when
a .sufficient amount has been accumulated,
may shed much light on the geographic
distribution of fishes and on their abundance
and conditions of life on the sloping, muddy
banks so far beyond our sight.

SNIPEFISH
Its impressive scientific name is Macrorhamphosus
scolopax. It was captured with a 65-foot wedge
trawl off the bottom in water of 112 fathoms. Its
mouth is a very small opening right at the tip of the
tube-like snout. When alive it is semi-transparent
pink and silver. It is about four and one-half inches
in length on the average.

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1951

PLAINS INDIANS RECORDED THEIR STORY IN PICTOGRAPHS

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CUKATOR OF EXHIBITS, ANTHROPOLOGY

LIKE OTHER INDIANS of North
America the Plains Indians did not
have true writing. However, they were
able to keep rather crude records of events
and ideas by means of pictures painted on
animal skins. Such pictographic or picture-
writing was concerned with calendars, census
counts, and biographical records of famous
chiefs arid warriors.

Calendrical records were primarily his-
torical accounts of the outstanding events

of animal skins. Such biographical records
performed in part the same function as
modern military medals and campaign
ribbons, for one could quickly tell from the
record the battles, wounds, exploits, and
bravery of the warrior. Moreover, such
records were proofs of a warrior's status
and achievement because in recounting "his
deeds of bravery, he could point to the
pictographic account — a picture record that
everyone of his fellow tribesmen could
understand.

Often such picture records were autobio-

dressed in Spanish style with two companions
killing three mounted soldiers. One soldier,
on the ground, is aiming his carbine at
Bushyhead while Bushyhead, also armed
with a carbine, strikes the soldier with a
bow. The act of striking or touching an
enemy with a bow brought great honor to
the warrior. It was also an act exhibiting
extreme contempt for the enemy.

In the second episode the valiant chief
apparently raided a Sioux camp and with
his cavalry saber killed five enemy warriors.
In this fight Chief Bushyhead, dressed in a

A LIFE STORY IN ELEVEN PICTURES ON ANIMAL SKIN
This record oi the deeds of a Cheyenne warrior chici will be exhibited in a hall now in preparation in the Department of Anthropology.

of the summer and winter of each year.
The census records consisted of the names
of Indians in a given tribe or band. For
instance, to record the name of an Indian
called Running Horse there would be a
simple picture of an Indian's head and near
it a picture of a horse running. Sometimes
the name picture would be enclosed in a
cartoonist's balloon and/or connected to the
head by a line.

UKE CAMPAIGN RIBBONS

The biographical records were particularly
interesting. They recorded the military
exploits of chiefs and notable warriors.
They were painted on shirts, robes, tipi
curtains, tipi covers, and shield covers made

graphical — that is, the warrior painted them
himself. Public opinion, however, prevented
him from claiming any deeds that had not
been witnessed or proved by possession of
enemy scalps and horses or other \nsible
means.

In the collections of Chicago Natural
History Museum there is a good example
of a biographic record painted on skin. On
a large tipi-curtain collected for the Museum
in 1904 by James Mooney there is a pictorial
biography of Bushyhead, a Cheyenne
warrior who was in his prime in the latter
half of the 19th century.

This biographical painting contains eleven
episodes in the military life of Bushyhead.
The first episode shows Chief Bushyhead

Cheyenne warrior's regalia, was not injured,
but his horse was twice wounded by arrows.

In episode No. 3, Chief Bushyhead, wear-
ing full regalia for war and carrying his
bow and arrow, lance, and shield, is shown
escaping from the enemy in a hail of bullets
and arrows. His horse has two wounds, but
Chief Bushyhead, as usual, is uninjured.

Episode No. 4 shows the chief in warrior's
dress and armed with a lance about to kill
a Sioux warrior. The Sioux has shot an
arrow into Bushyhead's shield of tough
buffalo hide.

SCALPS HIS ENEMY

The fifth episode shows Bushyhead scalp-
ing a fallen enemy. The victim had wounded

August, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

Bushyhead's horse with his gun which lies
on the ground beside him, Bushyhead's
bow and arrows are in the case that tem-
porarily he has fastened to the horse's reins
to keep the horse from wandering off while
Bushyhead works on the enemy scalp.

In the sixth episode the warrior chief,
wearing a feathered war bonnet and carrying
a feathered shield, is shown with two Sioux
warriors that he has captured or is about to
capture.

Episode No. 7 shows Chief Bushyhead,
armed with lance and shield, and mounted
on a horse captured from the Sioux, in the
act of killing an enemy, perhaps a Pawnee
chief.

In episode No. 8 he kills with his lance and
pistol a Sioux warrior who is hiding in the
bushes. The Sioux warrior is carrying a gun.

ALWAYS VICTORIOUS

Episode No. 9 shows him killing an
enemy, probably a Crow warrior. Bushy-
head, mounted on his horse, is armed with
lance and bow and carries his shield of
buffalo hide. The Crow warrior is carrying
a gun.

The tenth episode shows Chief Bushyhead,
mounted on his horse and armed with lance
and shield, about to kill a mounted Pawnee
warrior who is armed with a bow and arrow.

Episode No. 11 shows a battle between
the chief and a Sioux warrior. Bushyhead
is on his horse and is armed with lance
and shield. The Sioux is armed with a
pistol. Naturally, Bushyhead killed the
Sioux.

The above interpretation of Chief Bushy-
head's military career from pictographic
paintings is a typical example of a Plains
war record. Such pictographic presentation
is reminiscent of the pictorial art of the
Mexican codices and possibly the two pic-
torial systems are remotely related.

EL SALVADOR STRIVES
FOR SCIENCE GOAL

By ADOLPH MEYER-ABICH

A new institute for scientific research in
the tropics was founded last year in El
Salvador, Central America, with the ap-
proval of the president of the republic and
with the active participation of interested
circles among the population. The buildings
of the institute are to be located in the
ninety-acre campus of the "University
City," at the edge of the city of San Salvador
and at the foot of the volcano of the same
name.

El Salvador is the smallest but also the
most densely populated of all American
republics. The country is about the size
of Switzerland (or twice the size of New
Jersey), and there are about two million
inhabitants. It is a product of volcanic
action, five volcanoes being shown on its
coat of arms. One of the volcanoes, Izalco,

is constantly active, and for this reason is
known as "the Lighthouse of Central
America" to sailors, who see its glowing
peak far out at sea. Several other volcanoes
are quiescent at the present time but are
by no means to be regarded as extinct.

El Salvador represents the Pacific slope
of the section of middle-America whose
Atlantic slope is formed by Honduras, which
is larger but much less densely populated.
Central America may be counted as one of
the most interesting tropical regions of the
world. This is the meeting ground for the
animal and plant life, and indeed the very
natures, of the two great American conti-
nents. In addition to endemic forms (i.e.

Dr. Meyer-Abich is Technical
Director of the Institute Tropical
de Investigaciones Cientificas de
la Universidad Autonoma of £1
Salvador. This article, translated
from his account in German, gives
some idea of the needs for scien-
tific research in El Salvador, and
the reasons for the Salvadorean
project of Chicago Natural History
Museum. It shows why this Mu-
seum, like other scientific institu-
tions in the United States and
European countries, has sent
members of its staff to co-operate
in the work of the new Central
American institution. In this way
these men are aiding not only the
institute there, but are broaden-
ing the research and adding to
the collections of the Chicago
museum.

forms confined to El Salvador), many plant
and animal groups native to North America
reach their southern limits in this part of
Central America. On the other hand, we
may find the northernmost representatives
of many South American types. El Salvador
has tropical lowland plains, and its moun-

tains exhibit varied altitude zones, so that
the tropical, subtropical, and temperate
zone forms are assembled close together.

As a result of its dense population, the
land of El Salvador is naturally quite fully
developed for agriculture. The principal
export product is coffee. In addition, cotton,
rice, tobacco, cocoa, and all tropical fruits
are grown. Parts of the seacoast belong to
the so-called balsam coasts, where the trees
that yield the erroneously named "balsam
of Peru" are native. In spite of the density
of population, there are still sufficient areas
with original vegetation, especially on the
Guatemalan and Honduran border, where
the mountains reach a height of 10,000 feet,
and extensive areas of cloud forest are repre-
sented.

The main building of the institute is the
first of a group of three associated structures.
It contains special laboratories for biology,
chemistry, and geology, with the necessary
equipment for research in these fields, to-
gether with a special library of about 5,000
volumes. It has in addition especially good
photographic facilities, and its own press.
Additional buildings include a physiological
laboratory, a small marine laboratory on the
Pacific coast, and a forest station in the
cloud forest region.

The second main building is approaching
completion and is to provide living quarters
for the foreign research scholars taking part
in the work of the institute. In addition to
the general director, there are two scientific
assistants, a secretary, a librarian, a
mechanic, two chauffeurs, a gardener, and
four servants. The research staff other than
the technical director and the two assistants,
is to consist entirely of guest scientists from
abroad; the institute is equipped to accom-
modate about ten such visitors. At present
there are two guest scientists from the United
States, one from France, and three from Ger-
many. Other North American and German
research workers are expected in the coming
months. These men are guests of El
Salvador, and are supplied with transporta-
tion by the institute; there are available at
present an automobile and a jeep.

SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY IN EL SALVADOR

In this building, when not on trips out into the field, scientists of Chicago Natural History Museum assigned

to the Salvadorean Project conducted their researches.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1951

OLOMEGA IN EL SALVADOR IS A MECCA FOR WATER BIRDS

Bv AUSTIN L. RAND

CUttATOR OF BIRDS

WE'D LOOKED forward to this trip to
Olomega, noted for its water birds.
We'd delayed the trip because of the dis-
tance from San Salvador, some 164 kilom-
eters along the paved road, and this in our
jeep is four and a half hours. We passed
the area of the earthquake of the week
before, that had destroyed four villages,
no more than seeing the ruins through our
binoculars, the cracked walls being all the
damage the houses along the road had
suffered. Flame trees (palo de fuego) had
recently come into bloom, and the almost in-
credible orange red of their blooms massed in
the tree tops was startling in its brightness.

The lake lies only some eight kilometers
oB the highway, and the road is safe, though
slow. A village, called Olomega, lies at the
southeast comer of the lake and here we
had our first \'iew of the water. It's a
fishing village, dirty and odorous, on a
flat sloping shore. Here we hired a canoe
and guide and put out.

Before I mention the birds that swarmed
I should briefly mention the lake. It is
some four or five miles across with a shallow-
sloping north and west shore, with the
Volcano of San Miguel looming up beyond,
and the steep, rugged Colinas de Jucuaran
rising to south and east, rugged, wooded, un-
inhabited, shutting the lake off from the sea.

EVEN CANOE GOES AGROUND

It's a shallow lake — ibis and herons were
wading several hundred yards out in the
water, and to travel about by canoe we had
to skirt the shore far out. Once, 200 yards
from shore we ran aground in the few inches
of water the dugout drew^.

As we walked dowTi to the lake, the first
bird that caught our eye was a red-winged
blackbird flying along the lake shore with
its red epaulets gleaming against the black
of its plumage in the tropical sunlight.
There were grackles, too, but they're every-
where in El Salvador so we paid them little
heed and hastened on to the water's edge.
Here two birds vied for our interest: the
jacanas and the stilts. Each is adapted for
marsh life, but in a different way. The
jacanas are rail-like marsh birds with short
legs but very long toes and toenails. Ob-
viously their feet are adapted for their
habit of running about over the floating
marsh vegetation, and thanks to the size
of their feet, it takes less dense marsh
vegetation to hold them up than it would
most birds. Side by side with the jacanas
or lily trotters were black-necked stilts.
But their modification is in the direction of
long legs (as one might guess from their
name); they wade in the water while the
jacana walks on the rafts of vegetation.

The jacanas are blackish and rufous
birds, but their most striking marking is

shown only when they fly, or when they
stand with outspread, fluttering wings. Then
one sees only the yellow wings.

The stilts, black above and white below,
are soberly but elegantly attired. They are
still more striking for the grace of their
great elongated bills and necks matching
long legs, and when they fly you see that
their long narrow wings are adequately
proportioned.

But we took to our canoe and quickly
pushed out. Beyond, it was difficult to

As a member of the Museum's
Salvadorean Project, Dr. Austin
L. Rand, Curator of Birds, has
been engaged in a comprehensive
ornithological study of the Cen-
tral American country, with the
co-operation of the Instituto
Tropical de Investigaciones
Cientificas of £1 Salvador. Dr.
Rand returned to Chicago last
month. Herewith is his account
of some of the more interesting
of the Salvadorean water birds.

estimate how far the lake stretched, for big
white birds seemed to be standing every-
where. The first we found to be big white
egrets, standing belly deep in the water,
perhaps 300 yeards from the shore. They
were actively fishing, Snatching tiny fish
from the surface of the water as they walked
slowly along. I had noted at Los Blancos
on the coast near San Salvador that these
birds often, when watching, kept their
necks stretched up and out, in a rather
strained and stiff looking attitude. But
here their necks were all curved in a more
graceful manner, and there was material
all about me for scores of Japanese screens.
Soon we came to wood ibis feeding along
with the herons. They are white with
black-tipped wings, but a rather dingy
white — not the lovely pure white of the
egrets. The great, bulky, downward point-
ing bills of the wood ibis were being used in
the same way as the slender, spear-like bills
of the egrets — to pick fish from the surface,
or near it. Both birds were very tame, and
we could put the canoe to within twenty
yards of them, and then they flew but a
short distance. There were no small egrets
out here — the water was too deep for them,
but there were a few snowy egrets, little
blue herons and one Louisiana heron in
close to shore. The little blues, and there
must have been several dozen, were almost
all in a ragged, mottled plumage, partly
the white of the immature plumage, when
it looks very similar to the snowy egret
except for the dull feet and toes (instead
of black with yellow toes) and partly in the

adult, slaty plumage, giving them a strange
mottled appearance. Both the little blue,
and the big egrets were feeding occasionally
in a manner rather unusual, but not un-
known, for herons. Flying over the water,
they swooped down and picked something,
presumably fish, from the surface. It was
far from a neat performance, with broad
flapping wings and trailing legs, but it was
apparently effective.

MONARCH OF AIR

Ahead we saw a line of ducks — and then
beyond a line of pink that could only be
spoonbills. But first a frigate bird, perhaps
the most magnificent bird awing, came drift-
ing in over the coastal range to cruise over
the lake before disappearing seaward again.
It was a young bird, as indicated by its
white head and breast, but already its
mastery of the air was great. We never
saw a wing stroke, nor an opening and closing
of the long scissor tail during the time we
watched it.

The spoonbills, that showed as a line of
pink in the distance, were a disappointment.
A few days earlier I had watched a few
solitary birds on the mudflats of the coast.
They walked about and when they came to
ponds, or bits of soft mud, they swimg their
strange, spoon-shaped bills back and forth
through it. This does not seem to be using
the spatulate tip of the bill to advantage,
for it seems very similar to the manner in
which avocets, with slender bills, feed at
times. But these spoonbills now were rest-
ing quietly along the water's edge in com-
pany with some wood ibis that completely
dwarfed them. Only once were they as
sp)ectacular as I had expected — when we
drifted by more than 100 yards off shore
and the flock rose with the ibis and settled
again, the pink of the spoonbills contrasting
with the black and white of the ibis.

Here and there stumps, or stubs, projected
from the water, and on them were cormor-
ants. But what interested me about them
was their swimming about amid a herd of
cattle that were standing in the water.
These wild fish-eaters were consorting with
cattle, swimming about their legs, just as
if they were domestic ducks. This was
near a fence that ran out into the lake, and
perhaps 100 cormorants were perched on
the fence. These birds, with all four toes
webbed, were perching not only on the
fenceposts, but also on the barbed wire.
Sometimes it took a bit of teetering back
and forth, but their dexterity was surprising.
And when they took off some jumped off
backwards, and turned around as they flew
away. When flushing from low perches,
they pattered off over the surface of the
water for a bit before they were air-borne.
As they went across the bow of the dugout
I was surprised to see they were not running
as a duck would, but were making hops.

August, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

striking the water with both feet together.
Pig ducks I've heard these birds called some-
where, but had never appreciated the name
before. Now I did as I heard the grunting
noises they made.

ALL ARE 'ducks,' EXCEPT DUCKS

Several little grebes (Colymhus) were
swimming about, but they were inconspic-
uous. The dark throat and the yellow iris
were diagnostic. The boatman pointed
them out as ducks, that I should shoot.
But here, everything that swims is a duck:
the coots, of which a dozen or so were
swimming along the shore were "patos";
the cormorants were "patos." Anhingas,
that are known to occur but were not seen,
are "patos." But when we came to what
I call ducks — the whistling tree duck —
these the natives called "Pishishi." These
are magnificent birds. First a flock came
by whistling hoarsely — then I saw them on
the water. The sun shines on their golden
bufT plumage until their brilliance rivals
that of the spoonbills.

There were other things conspicuous, too:
turkey vultures and caracaras feeding on
the water's edge, presumably on fish,
washed ashore; on a little grassy island were
a dozen or more green herons that flushed
one by one as we approached; a pair of
bluewinged teal flushed, circled and alighted;
a flock of about 20 Franklin's gulls bunched
clo.se together on the water; there were shore
birds, too, in the marshy shore vegetation.
We would have liked to have left the open
shore and investigated some of the bays
where reedy vegetation grew thick and tall;
and the far shore where the forest rose at
the water's edge. We knew that boat-billed
herons should be here somewhere, as well
as tiger bitterns, and that the hills above
were the home headquarters of the king
vulture populations of El Salvador.

As we put back for the landing and
watched the curling crests of the waves
whipped up by the freshening wind, marvel-
ing at the opaqueness of the green, algae-
filled water, we thought that here, if our
station was close enough, was material for
a couple of months' work all by itself.

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of
Oceanic Ethnology, recently returned from
Yale University and other eastern institu-
tions where he has been studying docu-
mentary material related to his researches
on Micronesia .... Dr. Theodor Just,
Chief Curator of Botany, has returned from
a field trip in Texas and Iowa. He also
presented a paper on "The Classification of
the Cycadeoidales" before the sixth annual
meeting of the Society for the Study of
Evolution held in Berkeley, California ....
Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of

the Herbarium, recently conducted a series
of botanical field trips in Missouri. In
addition to his Museum explorations, he
led a four-day field trip of the Central
States Section of the Botanical Society of
America into the Ozarks.

IW^YEmS AGO

A! THK MUSKUM

BOTANICAL FIELD TRIP
COMPLETES WORK

The Museum's 1951 Southwest Botanical
Field Trip has returned from five weeks of
study and collecting in the vicinity of
archaeological sites in New Mexico excavated
by the Museum's Southwest Archaeological
Expeditions of the past few years. Most
of the time was spent near Tularosa Cave,
scene of the 1950 operations. The wealth
of wild and cultivated plant material un-
earthed by excavations there made it
essential to study the vegetation now grow-
ing about the cave. The remains from Tula-
rosa Cave cover a period of about 3,000
years or more and include several roots that
could not be identified from herbarium
specimens and descriptions of the plants of
the region. Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator
of Economic Botany, and Jack Reeves,
volunteer assistant, collected all the plants
now growing in the region of the cave.

CURATOR TO COLLECT
FOSSIL FISHES

Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, will spend August on a collecting
trip in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New
York. One of the purposes of the trip is to
obtain specimens of the armored, fish-like
vertebrates called ostracoderms, that have
been found in certain Silurian rocks in
these states. They are of particular interest
because they are among the oldest known
vertebrates, and their structure and occur-
rence may help to throw light on the early
history of this important group. Some time
will be spent also in investigating the Late
Devonian rocks in western New York state.
A great thickness of shales was deposited in
this region more than 300 million years ago
as muds in the bottom of a sea. These
shales have yielded a few well-preserved
fishes mostly related to sharks and to a
group of heavily armored fishes known as
placoderms.

Compiled \>f MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"It would seem from the permanent im-
provements recorded each year that the
building is gradually being reconstructed.
This, as a matter of fact, is true as concerns
the offices, laboratories, etc., but the growing
needs of the Museum and the expanding
processes necessary to meet the demand of

OLD-TIME SCIENTIST'S QUARTERS

Oflice and laboratory of the Curator of the Depart'

ment of Zoology when the Museum, located in its

former building in Jackson Park, was known as the

Field Columbian Museum.

the departments are but an index of the
development of the entire institution. More
and more each year the Museum finds it-
self equipped to perform all the necessary
labor; not only the technical and scientific
labor, but the ordinary mechanical work as
well, and the circumstances are unusual
when outside agencies are employed."

"The Memberships. — There still has to be
recorded a decrease in the annual member-
ships, due, as has been previously reported,
to the fact that no effort is made to increase
the list." (In 1951, as for years past, the
membership trend is upward and the total
today is close to 5,000. Constant efforts
toward further increase are now made.)

SUMMER LECTURE TOURS
GIVEN TWICE A DAY

During July and August, conducted tours
of the exhibits, under the g:uidance of staff
lecturers, will be given on a special schedule:

Mondays: 11 a.m. — The World of Animals
(general survey of the animal exhibits);
2 P.M. — General Tour

Tuesdays: 11 a.m. — Places and People
(general survey of the anthropology ex-

hibits); 2 P.M. — General Tour

Wednesdays: 11 a.m. — Green Magic (gen-
eral survey of the plant exhibits) ; 2 p.m. —
General Tour

Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — General
Tours

Fridays: 11 A.M. — Secrets in Stones (gen-
eral survey of the geology exhibits);
2 P.M. — General Tour

There are no tours on Saturdays and
Sundays.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1951

Books

(AU books reviewed in the BULLETIN are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
cluding postage are promptly filled.)

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BUTTER-
FLIES OF NORTH AMERICA. East of
the Great Plains. By Alexander B.
Klots. Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, 1951. xiv+349 pages, 8 text
figures, 40 plates (16 in color). Price
$3.75.

Butterflies rank with birds and flowers in
possessing some of the most conspicuous and
pleasing colors and designs in nature. The
pursuit and study of these little animals is
one of the best entries into the nattval
history of our fields and forests. As with
other satisfying avocations, the butterflies
can be approached from many points of
view and from many levels of interest and
knowledge. There is the satisfaction of
the hunt, the collecting urge, the beauty of
the objects, the lure of the great rarity, the
lucky capture of the unexpected, or just
the excuse for a pleasant ramble in a natural
setting.

The transition to an interest in the butter-
fly as an organism follows naturally and
leads into the interesting aspects of life-
history, behavior, and adaptation. Here it
is possible for the amateur to make original
and important contributions to the knowl-
edge of even our commonest butterflies.
The intimate relation between butterflies
and flowers, and caterpillars and their food
plants, tends to direct the attention of
butterfly collectors to plants, and many
collectors become amateur botanists as well.
Many a distinguished naturalist has been
a butterfly collector in his boyhood. For
others who have become grocers, stock
brokers, or stone-cutters, butterfly collect-
ing has been an absorbing recreation.

For any approach to the North American
butterflies, A Field Guide to the Butterflies
of North America, by Alexander Klots, will
be an essential work. The book is a splendid
addition to the Peterson Field Guide Series
and fills a need not met by any other book.
As the title indicates, the book contains
descriptions of all the butterflies found in
North America, east of the Great Plains,
and notes the distinguishing marks of each.
More than 400 species are illustrated, 247
of these in full color. The technique of
emphasizing the recognition marks of each
species, which was used so successfully in
a previous work in the series, A Field Guide
to the Birds by Roger Tory Peterson, adds
greatly to the usefulness of the book for
quick identification. Additional informa-
tion on the lar\-ae, food plants, and the range
and beha\-ior of each species is given.

The first 60 pages of the book contain a
general account of the structure, life-history,
and classification of butterflies. Much in-
teresting information is given in a readable
chapter entitled "The Butterfly and its
Environment." Included in this chapter
are such topics as butterflies and plants,
protective form and coloration, behavior,
butterflies and climate, and conservation.
There is also a section on collecting and
preserving specimens.

Several useful indexes to the butterflies,
larval food plants, technical terms and
general subjects, and a check list of the
species, add much to the value of the book
for quick reference. A short section written
for teachers and nature leaders contains
much useful information based on Dr. Klots'
own experience as a teacher, scoutmaster,
and camp counselor.

Dr. Klots and the publishers are to be
congratulated on this fine work.

Henry S. Dybas
Associate Curator of Insects

Technical Publications

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 32, No. 8. The
Carotid Arteries in the Procyonidae. By
H. Elizabeth Story. May 11, 1951. 84
pages. $1.

Fieldiana: Botany, Vol. 28, No. 1. Con-
Iributions to the Flora of Venezuela. By
Julian A. Steyermark and Collaborators.
May 18, 1951. 242 pages. $4.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 46. Re-
marks on and Descriptions of South
American Non-Marine Shells. By Fritz
Haas. July 6, 1951. 44 pages. $1.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between June 18 and July 13:

Contributors

James Witkowsky*

.\saociate Members

Donald R. McLennan, Jr., Miss Lucile
Farnsworth Reals, Jr., Charles M. Rhodes,
Miss Marilyn Jean Wulf.

Sustaining Members

Bert R. Prall

Annual Members

Herman Balsam, Walter J. Boland,
Frederick W. Boulton, G. L. Clements,
Howard P. Clements, Jr., Dr. Warren H.
Cole, Hitous Gray, Alfred O. Grombach,
Bernard H. Heerey, W. W. Huggett, James
S. Kemper, Jr., Frank P. Kosmach, Arthur
Krausman, Dr. Richard M. Oliver, Ben-
jamin R. Paul, Felix Palm, J. D. Purdy,
F. J. Stannard, Park Teter.

'Deceased

TWO CHILDREN'S MOVIES
SCHEDULED IN AUGUST

On the first two Thursday mornings in
August the Museum nill present the final
programs in the Raymond Foundation's
annual summer series of free entertainments
for children. There will be two performances
of each program, one at 10 a.m. and one at
11 A.M., in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum. The theatre and west entrance
of the Museum will be open at 9:30 a.m.

Children are invited to come alone, accom-
panied by parents or other adults, or in
groups from clubs and various centers.
Admission is free. Following are the dates
and titles of the shows:

August 2 — Beaver Valley

(a Walt Disney film)

The finest of nature photog-
raphers helped to produce this
story of the animals and life
in a typical beaver pond

Also a cartoon

August 9 — Seal Island

(a Walt Disney film)

This color mo%ie tells about the
fur seals of the Pribilof Islands

Also a cartoon

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

FoUo^ting is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of .Anthropology:

From: William Ryer Wright, Highland
Park, 111. — 2 late blackware pwtterj- vessels,
Peru.

Department of Botany:

From: R. Romero Castaneda, Bogota,
Colombia^89 phanerogams, Colombia; J.
Soukup, Lima, Peru — 47 phanerogams,
Peru; Dr. H. P. Veloso, Santa Catarina,
Brazil — 33 phanerogams, Brazil; A. F.
Wilson, Flossmoor, 111. — 47 phanerogams,
Texas, and California.

Department of Geology:

From: O. A. Gentz, Chicago — star ruby
and unpolished crystal. North Carolina;
Miss Vida Woley, Evanston, 111. — carved
coral jewelrj'.

Department of Zoology:

From: John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
— 20 marine and freshwater fishes; Dr.
Philip A. Butler, Pensacola, Fla. — 2 pre-
served fishes, Florida; Chicago Zoological
Society, Brookfield, III. — 3 bird skins; Mu-
seum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of
California, Berkeley — 2 birds in alcohol —
California; Museum of Comparative Zool-
ogy, Cambridge, Mass. — a collection of non-
marine shells. Near East; T. Pain, London,
England — a collection of freshwater shells,
Dutch Guiana; University of Michigan
Museum, Ann Arbor — 2 frogs (paratypes).

Division of Motion Pictures:

From: John W. Moyer, Chicago— 45
2x2 original color slides and miscellaneous
material.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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LJVol.22,No.9- September 1951

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Chicago Natural
History Museum

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September. 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893

RooMTelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicaeo 5

Telbphonb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Field

Sewbll L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

W«. McCoRMicK Blair Hekhy P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings Wiluam H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Feston George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field. Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Fibi.d Pretidenl

Marshall Field FirM Vite-Praidtnt

Secortd Vic»-Prend*nl

Samuel Insulu JR Third Vict-Prmdtnt

Solomon A. Smith Trtasurer

Cufford C. Grbug Direclor and Stcrttary

John R. Millar A«»t»<an« Secrtlart

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Grbgg Dirtelor of At Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chit/ Curator of Anthropolot/y

Tbbodor Just Chitf Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolofy

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Pubtie ReUtHont Coumel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

GREAT SCIENTISTS' THOUGHTS
ON NATURE AND HUMAN LIFE

1 do not know what I may appear to the
world; but to myself I seem to have been
only like a boy playing on the seashore, and
diverting myself in now and then finding a
smoother pebble or a prettier shell than
ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth
lay all undiscovered before me.

Sir Isaac Newton, in David Brewster's
Memoirs of . . . Newton

Among the scenes which are deeply im-
pressed on my mind, none exceed in sub-
limity the primeval forests undefaced by the
hand of man. No one can stand in these
solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there
is more in man than the mere breath of his
body.

Charles Darwin, in Journal of Re-
searches . . . [Voyage of H.M.S. Beagk]

To a person uninstructed in natural
history, his country or seaside stroll is a
walk through a gallery filled with wonderful
works of art, nine-tenths of which have their
faces turned to the wall.

Thomas H. Huxley, in Science and Edu-
cation Essays

That passion is rather common in children,
but gets lost in most people later on. With-
out this passion there would be neither
mathematics nor natural science.

Albert Einstein

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Schools open in September.
This month's cover picture, show-
ing children approaching between
two of the entrance pillars of the
Museum, is to remind parents,
and teachers of all grades from
elementary school to the senior
class in college, that the portals of
the Museum lead to vistas of
knowledge which supplement
their schoolroom studies. Chil-
dren, and high-school and college
students, may benefit from these
scientific resources by coming to
the Museum independently, or,
as thousands do, in organized
school groups accompanied by
instructors. The services of the
Museum's Raymond Foundation
staff of lecturers is available to all
such groups.

There exists a passion for comprehension,
just as there exists a passion for music.

TECHNIQUE OF DIGGING
INTO THE PAST

By TOM alder

MEMBER, SOUTHW^T ARCHAEOLOGICAL

expedition staff

The excavation of the Cordova Cave in
New Mexico this summer by the Museum's
Archaeological Expedition to the Southwest
provides an interesting example of the
techniques used by archaeologists to uncover
the remains of ancient man in America.
This marks the seventeenth year that
scientists from the Museum have dug into
ruins of Indian dwellings in this area.

This season offers possibilities of yielding
some of the most interesting results, and
certainly the tasks to be done are among the
most difficult yet tackled. The very location
of the cave has presented a problem from
the outset. It is situated more than 1,000
feet above the floor of Pine Lawn Valley on
a mountain cliff, and one must undergo an
hour's ride on horseback through rugged
terrain to reach it from the road.

Before the actual excavation was begun,
the floor of the cave was marked out in a
series of 2-meter squares to be dug in vertical
levels of 20 centimeters to the rock bottom
of the cave. This method of surveying
permits the objects uncovered to be relocated
on a map for purposes of analytical study.
This research can be conducted years later,
and miles away from the site.

The technique employed in digging
follows this procedure:

Each two-meter square is shoveled off by
levels, and the refuse is put through a screen
to sift out the artifacts. The discoveries
are then put into bags which are marked
with the square and level at which they
were found. As a further distinction, plant
material such as wood and corn is put in
one bag while pottery fragments, stone
tools, and projectile points are dropped in
another.

After a hard day of digging, screening,
and classifying, the crew must get the day's
finds off the mountainside and back to camp.
With small, hard objects this is easily done,
but large fragile items such as mummies,
whole pots, and large skins require pains-
taking care in transport to avert damage.
Once the artifacts are in camp, they are
permanently catalogued on special cards

ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXPLORE CAVE
Initial trench opening into mouth of Cordova Cave,
New Mexico, which is being excavated this season
by members of the Museum's Archaeological Expe-
dition to the Southwest. Every inch at each level of

digging is carefully combed for specimens.

which carry data such as dimensions, type,
and use. The various objects are then
packed and shipped to Chicago where they
become pieces in the gigantic puzzle of
Southwestern Indian civilization which
scientists are just beginning to solve.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members between July 16 and August 15:

Associate Members
Paul Bechtner, William F. Borland, Dr.
Winston I. Breslin, L. L. Stephens.

Non-Resident .Associate Members
Elmer G. Carlson

Annual Members

Robert N. Avery, Ray H. Boland, C.
Wayland Brooks, Homer A. Burnell, Willard
W. Cole, Lee Cooper, John Doctoroff,
Philip Doern, Gillette A. Elvgren, Newton
L. Fausey, Robert E. Gooding, Martin C.
Huggett, Harvey Kaplan, Sidney M. Keller,
George N. Lamb, John G. Lambertsen,
Donald B. Martin, Ralph G. Newman,
Harry J. O'Haire, Hunter K. Orr, Charles
D. Preston, Dr. Frederick W. Preston,
Donald Purdy, R. S. Saunders, Russell J.
Tumey, Errett Van Nice, Dr. Philip H.
Wyckoff.

September, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

DIORAMAS, COLOR FEATURED IN NEW EARTH HISTORY HALL

By EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, JR.

CURATOR OF FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

On the evening of October 1, Frederick
J. V. Skiff Hall (Hall 37), in which are shown
fossil plants and invertebrates, will be
formally reopened; beginning October 2 it
will be available to the general public.
The old exhibits of these subjects, formerly
occupying part of the same hall, have been
removed and most of the specimens placed
in the study collection. There they may,

by sculptor George Marchand, of Ebenezer,
New York.

The diorama illustrated represents, in
natural size, some of the 345 species of
animals known to have lived in the Gulf of
Mexico late in the Cretaceous period, 100-
million years ago. At that time, the Gulf
extended up the Mississippi Valley into
southern Illinois. Fossil shells of the
animals represented and of many others
have been collected from clay deposited in

have eaten microscopic plants; snails eat
the same plus seaweed, clams, and oysters;
and large ammonites with grasping tentacles
capture all three kinds of slower shellfish.
These in turn must die, providing nourish-
ment for more plants, and perpetuating the
cycle.

The group also illustrates the artistic
quality of Mr. Marchand's work, though
the color, an important aspect of the whole,
cannot be appreciated from the picture. In

HUNTERS AND PREY 100 MILLION YEARS AGO
Life-size models o£ ammonites, clams and snails — one of the new habitat groups in Frederick J. V. Skiff Hall
(Hall 37) which will be reopened as a completely new hall on October 1, with a special evening preview for
Members of the Museum. The ancient animals depicted above, like their present-day relatives, spent their
time seeking and capturing food. Just as in the modern **web of life," plants formed the basic food even of

the flesh-eating creatures.

of course, still be examined by persons
interested.

Outstanding features of the new hall are
spaciousness both in the arrangement of
cases and of exhibits in them, tasteful use
of color, and clarity in presentation of sub-
ject matter, with emphasis on dioramas.

As a preview of the contents of the hall,
the illustration accompanying this article
shows one of the ten habitat groups made

the ancient Gulf and now exposed in the
banks of Coon Creek, in western Tennessee.
George Langford, Curator of Fossil Plants,
and the writer visited that locality two
years ago to collect shells for the restoration.

This group illustrates particularly well
the ceaseless feeding activity at the bottom
of the sea, based on plants as the funda-
mental food. Clams and oysters eat micro-
scopic plants and microscopic animals that

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIQHT
SET FOR OCTOBER I

A special Museum Members'
Night, for which all members
shortly will receive formal invita-
tion cards, will be held on Mon-
day evening, October 1, at 8
o'clock. The occasion marks the
formal reopening of Frederick J.
V. Skiff Hall (Hall 37) in which a
three-year task of completely re-
vamping the entire presentation
of the fascinating subject of fossil
plant and invertebrate animal life
has just been completed. The
hall is now, in effect, completely
new, with all old methods of dis-
play thrown out in favor of series
of bright, colorful and dramatic
exhibits which present the story of
millions of years of prehistoric life
in an easily followed continuity.
Outstanding are the many
dioramas in which the weirdest
creatures of a dim epoch are re-
created three-dimensionally amid
restorations of scenes on the pri-
meval earth on which they lived.

Guests will also have oppor-
tunity to see the color motion
picture film "Through These
Doors," which tells the story of
Museum activities. They will also
be taken on inspection tours of
the offices, workrooms, and study
collections on the third and fourth
floors of the Museum.

making a restoration, the artist must start
with only the shells or other hard portions
of the animals. To supply the soft, fleshy
parts of an extinct animal, he must study
the appearance of related living forms. The
color of the models is necessarily imaginary,
for color is almost never preserved in a fossil.
But by a process of logic it is made similar
to that of the living representatives of the
same group, besides being chosen to blend
or contrast pleasingly with the rest of the
exhibit.

{Continued on page 6, column S)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1951

FIFTY YEARS AGO— AND TODAY— AT THE MUSEUM

By KARL P. SCHMIDT

CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOIX>GY

ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1951, William J.
Gerhard, Curator Emeritus of Insects,
passes the landmark of fifty years of service
to Chicago Natural History Museum.

A great museum director, Joseph Grinnell,
wrote an essay with the title The Museum
Conscience, in which he set forth the peculiar
importance of detail (and thus of routine)
in a museum of natural history. In such a
museum the most basic of functions is the

multiplicity of duties of a curator in relation
to the general public, to the very special
public composed of his colleagues, and
finally to his special science — we may count
all this as secondary to his example of un-
selfish and self-effacing service and to the
living exemplification of a "Museum con-
science."

When Mr. Gerhard came to the Museum
in 1901 the total staff in Zoology comprised

MUSEUM VETERAN CONTINUES RESEARCH
Witliam J. Gerhard. Curator Emeritus of Insects, collating specimens from a recently acquired collection and
transferring them to new type of drawers used in this division. The background is formed by the division's
pamphlet library, which like the insect collection in his charge, has benefited from Mr. Gerhard's meticulous

care during 50 years of Museutn service.

preservation of its materials, its specimens,
which constitute basic records of past work
or provide the data for future studies.
These collections and the records that accom-
pany them require meticulous and continued
care. It is this function that requires the
museum conscience, and it is only those
who have it who deserve the special museum
title of curator. It is a term whose connota-
tion of honor Mr. Gerhard's fifty-year career
has enhanced. Much as all of us on the
staff have learned from him about the col-
lection and preservation and preparation of
specimens, about the care of the Museum's
Library, about the keeping of the Museum
records, and about the labeling and installa-
tion of exhibits — as well as about the

the head of the Department, D. G. Elliot;
S. E. Meek, in charge of fishes and reptiles;
Charles B. Cory, Curator of the then
separate Department of Ornithology; Carl
E. Akeley, Taxidermist-in-Chief, and
Edmund Heller, field collector. Mr. Ger-
hard was most urgently needed, not only
for the insects, but to assume charge of all
the vast hosts of other invertebrate animals.
The staff of the Department now nunbers 22,
in addition to full-time and part-time re-
search associates, and the Division of Insects
has held its own in this fifty-year growth,
for it now has a staff of three in addition to
Mr. Gerhard, plus a curator of the now
separate Division of Lower Invertebrates.
The growth in the staff of which Mr.

Gerhard is now the dean represents perhaps
the most significant kind of growth in a
museum, for the collections become signifi-
cant only as they are used. But the effec-
tiveness of the staff in turn depends on the
collections available for exhibition and
study. The first really great accession of
insects was the aquisition of the Strecker
collection of butterflies and moths, consisting
of more than 50,000 specimens. Mr.
Gerhard supervised the packing and shipping
of this collection (including the accompany-
ing library) from Reading, Pennsylvania, in
1908. It is thus singularly appropriate that
he should now be occupied with the transfer
of these specimens to the new cases made
possible by the major expansion of the
divisional quarters now in progress. The
reference collection of insects and related
groups has grown, under Mr. Gerhard's
curatorship, from a few thousand to more
than 600,000 specimens.

WELCOMED YOUNG SCIENTISTS

An especially important feature of the
Division of Insects under this fifty-year
regime has been the encouragement of young
entomologists. The Museum may take an
especial pride in the distinguished twofold
career of William M. Mann, first as a famous
professional entomologist and then, by ex-
change of avocation for profession, and of
profession for avocation, as Director of the
National Zoological Park in Washington,
D.C. Dr. Mann's interests were encouraged
and his ambitions became clear under the
guidance of Mr. Gerhard at this Museum.
He writes of his application for a job at
this Museum: ". . . the door was opened by
a slight, pleasant, dark-haired man. His
name was William J. Gerhard, and meeting
him was the most fortunate episode of my
youth as well as the beginning of a great
friendship that has never diminished." Mr.
Gerhard's welcome to young entomologists
who came to the Museum, and his teaching
by unobtrusive advice and by example have,
in fact, evolved two members of the scien-
tific staff who essentially grew up in the
Division of Insects with him — Rupert L.
Wenzel, Curator of Insects, and Henry S.
Dybas, Associate Curator of Insects.

When I came to the Museum in 1922,
good fortune located me in an office opposite
to that of the Division of Insects, in charge
of Mr. Gerhard. I was a novice in the
museum world, and of course entirely un-
acquainted with the special procedures and
special peculiarities of the then Field Mu-
seum. My neighbor across the hall proved
to be the sympathetic guide, counselor, and
friend that I needed. I could have had no
better fortune for my induction in the
department, for Mr. Gerhard's time was
endlessly and unselfishly at my service. I
could not fail to observe his careful attention
to the most trivial question from a child or
from a casual visitor; and it did not escape
me that he enjoyed an extraordinary degree

September, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

of respect from visiting entomological col-
leagues who had occasion to work with the
insect collections.

TOP AID TO CHIEFS

Mr. Gerhard had long before taken over
much of the departmental routine, serving
without title and without adequate recogni-
tion (as far as I could discern) as assistant
to the Chief Curator, and often as Acting
Chief Curator. These departmental duties,
quite distinct from those of the Division of
Insects, seem to have begun with his arrival
at the Museum in 1901, when the head of
the department was Daniel Giraud Elliot.
Mr. Gerhard has continued these services
through the regimes of the succeeding chief
curators.

It is one of the most important of the
functions of a mu.seum that it provides for
continuity of its material collections in a
fashion and fad-ridden world. As William J.
Gerhard, now senior member of the staff,
looks back on fifty years of work in one of
the great museums of the world, he may take
more than usual pride in his long career,
for it has been in the best museum tradition
of continuous service. Certainly the Mu-
seum takes more than usual pride in a dis-
tinguished Curator of Insects who entered
its doors for the first time fifty years ago.

LECTURES ON SATURDAYS
BEGIN IN OCTOBER

The Museum will open its annual Autumn
Course of free illustrated lectures on science
and travel for adults on Saturday, October 6,
with "Virginia" by Edward F. Cross. Color
motion pictures will accompany the lecture.

Lectures will continue on Saturday after-
noons throughout October and November.
A complete schedule will appear in the
October Bulletin. All lectures begin at
2:30 P.M. and are given in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum. Reserved seats
are available to Museum Members by
arrangement in advance, either by mail
request or telephone (W Abash 2-9410).

SEPTEMBER LECTURE TOURS,
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and
certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays; a schedule of these follows:

Wed., Sept. 5 — Before the Dawn of History
(Lorain Stephens).

Fri., Sept. 7 — Your Vacation in the West:
Indians, Plants, Animals. Illustrated in-
troduction in Meeting Room (Marie
Svoboda).

Wed., Sept. 12— The Primitive Traveler
(June Buichwald).

Fri., Sept. 14 — Adventures Behind a Great
Museum. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (Lorain Stephens).

Wed., Sept. 19 — Adapt or Become Extinct
(Jane Sharpe).

Fri., Sept. 21 — Indians of the Chicago
Region, in the period before the city was
founded. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (June Buchwald).

Wed., Sept. 26— Fossil Facts (Anne Slrom-
guist).

Fri., Sept. 28— Nature's Fall Color Show.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Miriam Wood).

There will be no tour Monday, Sep-
tember 3, on account of the Labor Day
holiday, but the Museum will be open.

STAFF NOTES

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, was elected vice president for
1951-52 of the Society for the Study of
Evolution at the recent annual meeting
held in Berkeley, California. He resigned
from the treasurership which he has held
for the last five and a half years .... Dr.
Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany,
will participate in a symposium on "Phy-
logeny and the Fern-Pteridosperm Complex"
at the meeting of the American Institute of
Biological Sciences to be held in Minneapolis
September 10-12. His contribution to the
symposium will be a paper entitled "The
Geographical Distribution of Fossil Ferns
and Pteridosperms." He will also present
a paper, prepared in collaboration with Dr.
Jose Cuatrecasas, Guggenheim fellow, on
"Synopsis of Fossil and Living Humiri-
aceae.". . . Miss Audrey Greeley, a recent
graduate of Rosary College school of library
science, has joined the reference staff of the
Museum Library .... Dr. Julian A. Stey-
erinark. Curator of the Herbarium, has
been conducting a series of collecting trips
in the Ozark region of Missouri .... Dr. Paul
S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology,
recently gave an illustrated lecture on the
work of the Museum's Archaeological Ex-
pedition to the Southwest, before a large
group of residents of Reserve, New Mexico,
a town near the expedition headquarters.

Noted Scientists Visit Museum

Among noted scientists who have recently
visited the Museum are: Dr. Ralph Linton,
Sterling Professor of Anthropology, Yale
University; Dr. Cornelius Osgood, Professor
of Anthropology, Yale; and Dr. Karin
Hissink of the Frobenius Institute and
Museum for Ethnology, Frankfort-am-
Main, Germany. Dr. Linton formerly was
Curator of Malaysian Ethnology at this
Museum.

BIRD PAINTING EXHIBIT,
SEPT. 15— OCT. 15

"Song Birds of America," a series of
twelve paintings by the noted artist, John
Atherton, will be presented as a special
exhibit in Stanley Field Hall of the Museum
from September 15 to October 15 inclusive.
The canvases, 25'x25' and framed, include
the following popular birds: wood thrush,
mockingbird, cedar waxwing, chickadee,
Baltimore oriole, cardinal, bluebird, flicker,
meadowlark, warblers, red-winged black-
bird, and bobolink.

The exhibition of these paintings will
correspond virtually with the peak of the
annual migration of birds to the south.

Atherton, the artist, is well-known in the
fields of both creative painting and com-

PAINTING IN SPECIAL EXHIBIT
Red-Winged Blackbird, one of the twelve oil paint-
ings by John Atherton to be shown at the Museum
Scptetnber 15-Octobcr 15.

mercial art. Some of his works hang in the
Art Institute of Chicago, and in three New
York institutions: Museum of Modern Art,
Whitney Museum of American Art, and
Metropolitan Museum of Art. He now lives
and works in Arlington, Vermont.

The exhibition of the bird paintings at
the Museum is by courtesy of John Morrell
& Company of Ottumwa, Iowa, which owns
the series.

Free Programs for Children
To Begin October 6

"Wonderland Tales," a film of stories
about animals and boys and girls, is
scheduled as the first of the Raymond
Foundation's Autumn Series of free motion
picture programs for children. It will be
presented on Saturday morning, October 6,
at 10:30 A.M. in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum. Programs will continue
on Saturday mornings throughout October
and November. The October Bulletin will
contain a complete schedule.

On September 4, the day after Labor
Day, autumn visiting hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
go into effect, continuing until October 31.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1951

BIRD-PARASITE STUDY
AND AVIAN RESEARCH

By AUSTIN U RAND

CURATOR OF BIRDS

The entomologist shown in the photo-
graph picking lice off a bird skin is a graduate
student of the University of Chicago, Ronald
Ward. The ornithologist looking on is
Emmet R. Blake, our Associate Curator of
Birds, who has just taken the bird skins out
of the case where they are filed in the
Museum.

The insects in which Mr. Ward is in-
terested are Mallophaga. (Mallophaga, pro-

COLLABORATION IN RESEARCH

Emmet R. Blake (lelt). Associate Curator of Birds,

and Ronald Ward, University of Chicago graduate

student, work out problems of bird parasites.

nounced mal-lof'-a-ga, is a more exact as
well as a more euphonious name for what
some people call bird lice.) Mallophaga live
chiefly amongst the feathers of living birds,
eating feathers and dermal scales and ap-
parently doing the birds little harm. When
the bird dies, the Mallophaga die too and
may remain on the dead bird.

To collect Mallophaga for study one must
first, of course, catch the birds. This is
where the Division of Birds assumes im-
portance for the Mallophaga expert. We
have already collected birds, more than
200,000 specimens, and have filed them in
our steel cases for study. On some of these
specimens there are still Mallophaga that
infested the birds when they were alive.
An interesting point here is that recently a
new species of Mallophaga was removed
from a specimen of a passenger pigeon and
described many years after the bird was
extinct.

Our collection has proved to be a fruitful
hunting ground for Mr. Ward. He uses
tweezers and brush for removing the insects
and a magnifying glass for examining these
little parasites, many of which may be as
small as one-twenty-fifth of an inch. His
prizes he files in vials of alcohol for study.

A record is kept of jiist where each speci-
men is found on the bird. Though the
habitat formed by the warm close cover of
the bird's feathers might be thought to be
uniform from the view of an insect living in
it, it has been found that certain Mallophaga
may live only on one part of the bird, the
neck for example, and another species per-
haps under the wings. This needs to be
checked. This is an elementary ecological
study, comparable to mapping the distribu-
tion of birds in a forest where some species
live in the tree tops, others in the xmder-
growth, and so on.

An expert, looking at specimens of Mal-
lophaga, can sometimes tell what part of
the bird they came from. For instance,
short, broad ones live on the neck; long,
narrow ones on the wings. This is adapta-
tive modification to fit the insect to its life
in the particular part of the bird's plumage
it inhabits.

SYSTEMATIC RELATIONSHIPS

The classification of the various species
of Mallophaga has a bearing on the classifica-
tion of birds. The generations of Mal-
lophaga pass from parent bird to young
bird. There is little chance for the Mal-
lophaga parasitic on one species of bird to
pass to another bird species. In the cozy
isolation of its feathery host, the Mallophaga
are differentiated. Those on each kind of
bird have the chance to become a different
species. As the birds speciate, the Mal-
lophaga may do the same. One would ex-
pect the most closely related birds to have
the most closely related Mallophaga on
them, while more distantly related birds
would be expected to have Mallophaga that
showed less relationship.

There is evidence that this is sometimes
the case. Thus, when the systematic rela-
tionships of a group of birds are in doubt,
as in the case of the jacanas that show
relationships to the shore-bird order and
the rail order, or the flamingoes that have
been considered related to the ducks and
also to the herons and storks, the Mal-
lophaga may furnish an additional bit of
evidence. This can be taken along with
the characters of the habits, the eggs, the
nest, the young, the plumage, the bone, and
the tissue of the bird. These are all weighed
together, and the bulk of the evidence
determines the final conclusion.

The entomologist's primary object may
be the taxonomy of the Mallophaga. The
ornithologist's interest in getting together
his collection is avian taxonomy. But both
come together in the Museum, helping each
other. Working together they build better
and higher than can either alone.

To the true scientist, there is no natural
object unimportant or trifling. From the
least of Nature's work he may learn the
greatest lessons. — Sir John Herschel

EARTH HISTORY HALI^-

(Continued from page S)

Seaweeds are present in most of the
groups, though they are generally not recog-
nizable in collections of fossils, where they
are represented by rather shapeless black
marks. In the group shown here, Mr.
Marchand has used his artistic license to
produce a dramatic seaweed giving a strong,
dynamic effect to the whole composition.
It is a proper accessory for the slender
ammonites swooping greedily upon the slug-
gish moUusks below.

The ten habitat groups and the 43 other
cases cover the subject of geologic history
as disclosed by the fossil plants and inverte-
brates with a completeness not previously
attempted. The hall, as the public will see
it after October 1, is probably the most
elegant and extensive display yet given to
its subject.

The new exhibits include 1,339 specimens.
Though we neglected to count the specimens
in the old cases, it is apparent from a con-
temporary photograph that several of the
individual cases must have contained more
than that number of specimens. Thus the
new exhibits achieve spaciousness. This is
seen also in the arrangement of the cases.
The 36 cases of fossils and 39 cases of ores
formerly seen in Hall 37, a total of 75,
have been replaced by 53 newly built cases.
The increased use of the Museum by guided
groups dictated the wider spacing.

Besides introducing space, we have added
color in backgrounds as well as specimens.
Suiting the generally marine environment
of the fossils, the backgrounds of the exhibits
are blue or green. Specimens are in\'isibly
fastened to the background, and essential
information about them is given in raised
letters of a different color. The letters were
first laid out in the form of the words to
be used, and then sprayed with artists'
color by a Geology Department preparator,
and each one was then individually glued
in place to make the headings and labels.
Except for pink and black, everj- color has
been used on the 60,000 letters.

The specimens and the letters are not the
only things occupying the 2,325 square feet
of case area. There are 46 original oil
paintings by John Conrad Hansen, 34
painted maps and 43 drawings, mostly by
Mr. Hansen, 24 diagrams, and 86 models.
The diagrams, several of them the full size
of a case and serving as background for
fossils, are principally the work of Harry
Changnon, Curator of Geology Exhibits.
Models of animals were made by Joseph B.
Krstolich, Department of Zoology sculptor,
and plant models by Emil Sella, Curator
of Exhibits in the Department of Botany.
Keys to the models in the groups are
furnished by small paintings made by Miss
Laura Sparks. Preparators Henry Horback
and Henry U. Taylor also contributed their
talents to preparation of the hall.

September, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

CONTROL OF EROSION
BY NATURAL MEANS

By HUGH C. CUTLER

CURATOR OP BCONOMIC BOTANY

FLOODS IN KANSAS and forest fires
in New Mexico recently cost millions
of dollars in property losses and destroyed
large areas of land, yet they are the fore-
runners of even greater disasters unless a
carefully considered land policy is adopted.
Though the catastrophes differ, they are
the result of the same mistake, mismanage-
ment of the land through ignorance or greed.

The 1951 Southwest Botanical Expedition
had an excellent opportunity to see the effect
of short-sighted land-use policies. In Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska heavy rains
were washing the soil from between the rows
of corn, wheat, soybeans, and sorghum even
where the land was nearly level. On the
plains of Kansas crop rows went straight
across rolling hills and gullies, providing
channels for silt-laden rivulets. Fields
stretched to the margins of ephemeral
streams where banks of naked earth tumbled
into the floodwaters. We had to make
several detours in Kansas because roads
were washed out or covered with silt, bridges
destroyed, and once because an earthen
dam had broken.

A few days later we neared the Conti-
nental Divide. To the west the lands were
dry. In some places there had been no useful
rain for five months. At the Divide the
drought had little effect because steep hills
had discouraged cattle and lumbermen. The
little streams running to the San Juan and

EXAMPLE OF EROSION TOLL

After lumbering and over-grazing, too little soil

remains to support the fence posts, so they are

braced and supported by rocks.

Colorado rivers were full of clear water
seeping from soils shaded by trees and
covered by grass.

But only a few miles over the Divide
trees were being cut and the earth was

bare from overgrazing. Small sawmills,
each with a smoking pile of sawdust and
waste, were operated by workers who lived
nearby in rough board shacks. Skinny
cattle foraged over the rough slopes and
found so little grass that they tasted even
the poisonous lupines and larkspurs. In
some places so little soil was left, even on
the level, that fences were held up by stones.

High prices for lumber and meat have
induced operators to cut as much timber
as possible and to stock their range with
all the cattle they can obtain. Most of
these operators seek quick profits and many
of them work on leased lands or mining
gn"ants unused for mining since the first
claims were established. Some of the most
overgrazed lands belong to the government.

Stock raising was a large and powerful
industry in the Colorado River Basin by
1870. Individuals and companies grazed
almost without restrictions. They fenced
as much land as they could and often claimed
in court that a man had a right to do this.
The courts ruled that such fences were
illegal but often granted title to lands taken
in this fashion. About 1905 the National
Forests were created and grazing in these
was placed on a permit and fee basis.
The public lands still open to grazing were
then used as hard as possible. Each grazier
ran as many cattle on the public lands as
he could, for if he did not do this, some other
herd took all the forage. The public range
became seriously overgrazed and with the
destruction of the edible grasses and forage
plants, cactus, sage, juniper and other un-
palatable plants dominated the range. In
periods of drought thousands of cattle died.
Dry years, with dust storms and the deple-
tion of the range grasses, brought the
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. This provided
for a distribution of grazing permits to
established users of the range at a small
fee, for improvement of the range, and for
administrative management of public range
lands. This is now done under the Bureau
of Land Management of the Department of
the Interior.

HOW PLANTS HELP

Where do plants come into the picture?
What has botany to do with floods and the
effect of drought? As far back as we have
records we know that there have been years
with heavy rains and others of drought.
But heavy rains will penetrate and stay in
soils made porous by roots and cannot
wash fertile soil away if each droplet is
scattered by blades of grass or each rivulet
dammed and halted by interwoven sod.
In dry years the moisture stored in the
reservoir of humus under the shade of trees
and the sod is slowly given up to water the
plants and to feed springs and streams.
Measurements on adjoining areas of land
showed that 399 times as much water ran
off a com field as did off soil covered with a
good sod, and that the farmed soil lost

JOHN W. MOVER

MUSEUM MOVIE SPECIALIST
IN U. S. SERVICE

John W. Moyer, Chief of the Mu.seum's
Division of Motion Pictures, departed
August 15 on an extended leave of absence
to accept an appoint-
ment for a special pro-
ject in the information
and educational fields
of the U. S. Depart-
ment of State's foreign
service. His first a.s-
signment is to be in
the Far East.

Mr. Moyer has been
associated with the
Museum for twenty-
two years. Before the

war he was Taxidermist in the Division of
Birds. In 1942 he joined the U. S. Navy
as Chief Specialist in the medical research
section of the Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery, in which he engaged in the making
of motion pictures. Upon his relea.se from
the Navy in 1946 he returned to the Mu-
seum to head the newly formed Division
of Motion Pictures, in which his chief
task was the making of a film on Museum
activities entitled "Through These Doors,"
now in circulation before audiences of educa-
tional and other organizations.

4,250 times as much good dirt as the grass-
covered piece. The grass-covered soil
stored most of the rain and gave it off over
a long period of time while rain falling on
bare soil between corn rows rushed to the
streams and rivers carrying a flood of silt.
Every serious flood or drought is followed
by proposals to construct dams for flood
control or for irrigation. Many of these
are advocated by conscientious people, but
a great many of these projects are designed
to benefit a small region, to provide employ-
ment, gain power, or political advantage for
a small group. Lately even the Army
Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation
have entered the struggle to build more
dams, each group seeking to erect more
and bigger dams. Practically all of the
proposals are shortsighted and try to treat
the symptoms of our most serious national
defects, not to remedy the basic causes.
Many of the dams now built are nearly
useless because their basins are filled with
silt. Others are in danger of being ruined
and proposals are made to build even more
dams to trap sediment before it can reach
dams further downstream. It is estimated
that 129-million tons of silt reach Lake
Mead each year, yet very little is being done
to eliminate this silt at its source.

RESISTANCE WAVERS

The government has the power to save
the nation's heritage of public lands and
(Continued on page 8, column 1)

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1951

DEEP SEA EXPEDITION

Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes, who
reported in the August Bulletin on the
activities of the Oregon, scientific trawling
vessel of the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service, is again at sea on that ship.
The Oregon left its home port of Pascagoula,
Mississippi, August 13, with Mr. Woods
aboard.

A series of four drags at 10, 20, 30 and 40
fathoms is to be made off the mouth of the
Mississippi River, after which the ship will
proceed to the vicinity of the Yucatan
shrimping grounds in the Gulf of Campeche.
There trawling will be carried on from Cayo
Arenas to Cayo Arcos in 60 fathoms of
water. A series of deep-water drags will
be made also on the shelf at the edge of
the Yucatan Channel.

As on his past voyages on the Oregon, it
is expected that Curator Woods will be
enabled to obtain important collections of
fishes for the Museum.

CONTROL OF EROSION—

(Continued from page 7)

its investment in dams like Hoover Dam.
Seventy per cent of the Colorado River
Basin is in federal ownership despite large
grants of railroad lands and the home-
steading of many sites. The federal lands
are the source of the greater part of the silt
in the river; they are the most overgrazed.
Although the Bureau of Land Management
has power to restrict grazing, it does not
do this vigorously because grazing interests,
though they represent only a few people,
are strong. The boards which issue grazing
permits are often composed of ranchers
who depend upon grazing permits and thus
must be liberal in their allotments. Even
officials on the Navajo Indian Reservation
were forced to modify their plans to reduce
a tremendous overload of stock because of
severe protests from Indians and traders.
Yet the Navajo Reservation, contributing
only 2.5 per cent of the water to Lake
Mead and comprising only 14 per cent of
the basin, pours 22 per cent of the sediment
into that reservoir. One of the few streams
on the reservation, Chinle Creek, often
carries more than 47 per cent of sediment
by volume. In the accounts of early
travelers the Chinle is described as a small,
clear and permanent brook surrounded by
grassy meadows. Now it is a temporary
stream, deeply entrenched in silt and sand
gullies.

Some opponents of grazing regulations
say there have always been dry and wet
periods and that regulation of land use will
not help the present period. There is con-
vincing evidence that it will. In 1908 the
lands above Silver City, New Mexico, had
been lumbered and grazed so that a creek
flowing through the main street became a
gully 15 to 40 feet deep, from 75 to 200 feet
wide, and a mile long. Wells failed and the

water supply dwindled. Wood cutting and
grazing were restricted and check dams built
in gullies. Now floods are checked, the gully
is healing, and city wells which once could
barely supply 75,000 gallons of water daily
now yield 200,000.

WOULD AID RANCHING

Some ranchers claim that grazing regula-
tion would raise the already high cost of
meat. On the contrary, most controlled
grazing results in more economical ranch
operation. Each head of cattle needs
sufficient food to grow efficiently. On some
lands the forage is so scarce that nearly a
square mile is required for each animal while
on others only a few acres will provide
enough food. If the grazing capacity of
range land is exceeded, the animals spend
most of their time and energy seeking food
and grow slowiy. Besides eating poisonous
weeds when other forage is gone, they be-
come weak and susceptible to disease. In
a controlled experiment on severely eroded
lands of the Navajo Reservation livestock
numbers were reduced to the capacity of
the forage, and land management practices
were instituted. After the first three years
the total weight of livestock produced was
greater than ever before even though the
number of animals was smaller. Erosion
and flash floods were greatly reduced.

LAND MANAGEMENT NEEn)ED

The value of sensible land management
practices must be taught before progress
can be made with a land policy. The Mu-
seum library recently purchased Ten Rivers
in America's Future, the report of the
President's Water Resoiu-ces Policy Com-
mission. Throughout this report on the
major rivers of the United States are recom-
mendations that land must be managed
effectively to prevent erosion and too rapid
runoff of water. Yet the greatest amount
of space is devoted to dam projects and very
little of the unfavorable evidence against
such projects is presented. This may repre-
sent the viewrs of the commission, mainly
people with an interest in building dams,
but I believe dams are emphasized because
they are tangible projects which can be
presented to taxpayers as located in a definite
spot and costing an estimated amount of
money. Programs for watershed manage-
ment must cover so many aspects that it is
difficult to present them simply. Keeping
the soil covered with plants, stopping flood
and erosion at the source, and building up
our ground water supplies are of primary
importance, but they lack the spectacular
appeal of huge dams with their falling water,
miles of irrigation canals, and whir of
hydroelectric generators. But unless we
wake up and speed our efforts to preserve
the plants which hold our soil, we will end
up with silted dams and no fertile soil, a
country of deserts like China, devastated
alternately by flood and then by drought.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany :

From: Dr. C. H. Muller, Santa Barbara,
Calif.— 82 oaks, Texas; Dr. E. E. Sherff,
Chicago — 77 Hawaiian phanerogams.

Department of Geolo^:

From: L. H. Bridwell, Forestburg, Tex.—
Ceratodus tooth, Texas; George B. Hinton,
Presidio, Texas — 2 specimens of vanadanite
crystals, Mexico.

Department of Zoology:

From: Eduardo F. Acosta y Lara, Monte-
video, Uruguay — 3 bats, Brazil and Uru-
guay; Chicago Zoological Society, Brook-
field, 111. — a cassowary skin; Dr. B. E.
Dahlgren, Chicago — a bat, Camaguey, Cuba;
John N. Dixon, Chicago — a collection of
lower invertebrates, Tahiti; Dr. Alfred E.
Emerson, Chicago — a paratype of a termite.
Fort Dauphin, Madagascar; Capt. Bob
Guillaudeu, San Francisco — 4 frogs, 3
lizards, and a snake, Korea; Edward Brodie
Henry, Leesville, S. C. — a snake. South
Carolina; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt —
a collection of lower invertebrates, Lower
Egypt and Yemen, South Arabia; Paul
Keller, Dyer, Ind. — a snake, Illinois; Dr.
Boonsong Lekagul M.B., Bangkok, Slam —
2 bats, Siam; Dr. S. A. Minton, Indianapolis
— 2 salamanders, 9 frogs, 4 snakes, and 2
lizards, Indiana; Philip W. Smith, Urbana,
111.; a frog paratype, Illinois; Neal A.
Weber, Swarthmore, Pa. — a snake and a
lizard, Iraq.

Technical Publications

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 45. On
the Clausiliidae of Palestine. By Georg
Haas. May 23, 1951. 24 pages. $0.40.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 47. Mam-
mals from British Honduras, Mexico,
Jamaica and Haiti. By Philip Hershko-
vitz. July 10, 1951. 24 pages. $0.30.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 48. Birds
of Negros Island. By Austin L. Rand.
July 12, 1951. 26 pages. $0.30.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 49. Review
of the Subspecies of the Sunbird Nectarinia
jugularis. By Austin L. Rand. July 12,
1951. $0.20.

Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 36, No. 6.
Acculturation and Material Culture — /.
By George I. Quimby and Alexander
Spoehr. July 17, 1951. 42 pages. $1.

The two African elephants in the center
of Stanley Field Hall were collected and
mounted by the late Carl E. Akeley, noted
explorer, naturalist, and sculptor, who was
once a member of the Museum staff.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

U Vol.22,No.lO -October 1951

Chicago Natural
Ilistoiy Museum

NEW HALL OF PREHISTORIC LIFE

Preview for Members

Monday evening, October I, 8 o'clock
{Sec page 3)

■*s

V'^^

L

wmr.^

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October. 195i

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Mabshall Field, 1893
itooMTcIt Road and Lake Shore DrlTe, Chicago 5

Tblepuone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Field

Sbwell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCoRMicK Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pretidfnt

Marshall Field Finl Vict-PrtndtrU

SKond Vict-Praident

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vict-Prmdent

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Cupfobd C. Grbgo Director and Stcretary

John R. Millar AmttarU Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of Uie Af lueum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropolon

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolagy

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoolony

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Hartb Public Relatioru Countel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

FOSSILS ARE FASaNATING

WHEN SHOWN ATTRACTIVELY

Gems and minerals commonly possess
attractions of their own, but fossil inverte-
brates and plants probably because of their
stone-like appearance and lack of coloration,
manifest little appeal for the public at
large. Museum visitors often go past the
fossil exhibits, completely ignoring them or
casting but a cursory glance at the cases.
What has been the reason for this seeming
indifference? Was it that we had failed to
bring to light the message that could be
read in a fossil? We believed we had,
readily accepted the challenge that our
failure had brought about, and thought of
ways and means by which we could do justice
to the fossils and restore them to their
rightful place. It has not been easy, but
we believe we have found a satisfactory
solution. The new exhibits in Frederick
J. V. Skiff Hall (Hall 37), detailed descrip-
tions of which will be found on page 3 of
this issue of the Bulletin, may well be
the answer to our problem.

We have not sacrificed scientific accuracy
but we have found that pleasing and appeal-
ing exhibits are not incompatible with it.
We have further learned that a few carefully
selected specimens can tell a story more
eloquently and with greater clarity than a
crowded assemblage of many. We have
permitted some latitude and indulgence
when confronted with specimens that

are otherwise unattractive except to the
charmed, often bewhiskered and bespec-
tacled, circle of paleontologists, but even
then we have never lost sight of the im-
portance of the subject matter.

We feel that the new exhibits will dispel
much of the indifference heretofore mani-
fested in fossils, and that they will lead to
a greater interest in, and a more apprecia-
tive use of them. To bring out in bold
relief the fact that fossils are not just
masses of disinterred stony remains of the
past, but are documentary evidence of
vanished oceans and forests, of the life that
has appeared and disappeared, and of the
vastness of history before the dawn of man,
has been our main purpose. By t^is, we
do not imply that the new exhibits ai^, the
last word in interpreting the message
fossils bring to us. The story set forth in
the hall of today will remain only until it
appears that it no longer serves its purpose.
Sharat Kumar Roy
Chief Curator of Geology

STAFF MOTES

Miss Harriet Smith, of the Museum's
Raymond Foundation lecture staff, is on
leave of absence until February 15, to make
a lecture tour in schools throughout the
Middle West under the auspices of The
School Assembly Service. Her lecture, en-
titled "Treasure House," accompanied by
the Museum's color film "Through These
Doors," will carry the message of this
institution to thousands of children and
teachers in many states .... Dr. Sharat K.
Roy, Chief Curator of Geology, has returned
from his expedition of several months to
El Salvador. On his way back, he stopped
in Mexico to make preliminary studies of
the volcano Paricutin .... Henry S. Dybas,
Associate Curator of Insects, recently joined
Dr. Eliot Williams of the faculty of Wabash
College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, on an in-
sect-collecting trip in caves of southern
Indiana. They were accompanied by Rodger
Mitchell, Harry Nelson and Eugene Ray,
who were temporarily employed in the
Museum's Division of Insects during the
summer .... George I. Ouimby, Curator
of Exhibits in Anthropology, has been
appointed representative of the Society for
American Archaeology in connection with
the annual meetings of the American
Anthropological Association to be held in
Chicago in November .... Donald Collier,
Curator of South American Ethnology and
Archaeology, has been appointed chairman
of the nominating committee for the Society
for American Archaeology .... Dr. Robert
H. Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, has
returned from a successful collecting trip to
various areas in the eastern United States.
.... Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Reptiles, Eugene S. Richardson, Jr.,

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover shows a restoration
of eurypterids, extinct crustacean-
like creatures that lived about 350
million years ago. This is one of
the new groups in Frederick J. \".
Skiff Hall (Hall 37). The hall,
completely reorganized and new,
is to be reopened October 1 with
a preview at 8 p.m. for Members of
the Museum. Unlike mounted
animals in Zoology or the plants
reproduced in Botany, restora-
tions illustrating geologic history
are the product of "scientific
detective work." It is not possible
to mount a freshly-killed euryp-
terid, as a taxidermist would
mount a tiger, nor can the artist
work with a specimen or accurate
illustration, as in the plant repro-
duction laboratory. Instead, a
paleontologist, studying frag-
mentary fossil specimens of ex-
tinct plants and animals must
guide a sculptor in making what
is literally a re-creation. The
restorations in Hall 37 were made
by sculptor George Marchand
under the direction of Dr. Irving
G. Reimann, of the University of
Michigan.

Curator of Fossil Invertebrates, and Curator
Denison spent several days last month in
paleontological reconnaissance work near
Mecca, Illinois.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from August 16 to September 7:

Associate Members

Miss Eva Josephine Jolly, Colonel Edward
N. Wentworth.

Annual Members
Charles W. Allen, Sidney M. Boss, Terry
Caselli, Valentine H. Christmann, Lyle B.
Cline, Gordon R. Close, Hugh S. Cloud,
Kenneth C. Eade, Arthur A. Ehrlich,
James P. Ferrall, John A. Ferry, Mrs.
Frank Fink, Walter J. Goettsch, Dr.
Bernard A. Kamm, Sam Laud, Harry F.
Liebrock, F. B. Rowe, Edward Shafer,
Harold A. Stahl, T. N. Stensland.

Exhibit of Bird Paintings
Continues Until Oct. 15

The special exhibit of "Song Birds of
America," a series of twelve painting by
the well-known artist, John Atherton,
placed in Stanley Field Hall in September,
will remain available to Museum visitors
until October 15.

October, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

THREE BILLION YESTERYEARS RETRACED IN NEW EXHIBITS

Bv EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.

CURATOR or rosso. INVERTEBRATES

Where are the snows of yesteryear?

FRANgois Villon

WE MAY LEAVE the asking of the
question to the poets and its answer-
ing to the philosophers or the hydrologists.
Those snows, at least, have now flowed over
the dam. As we remember them, they were

looking layer of plastic, covering part of a
world map. Ancient animals and plants
from the ages before history are there in
abundance. Many are in the form of
accurate life-sized models shown in natural
surroundings, but more are shown as actual
fossils, from Chicago's quarries, Illinois'
coal fields, and hundreds of more distant
places in the United States and elsewhere.

REEF OWI'f.ll KS
In a limestone deposited on a reef in the Permian period, 200 million years ago in western Texas, the fossil
shells have been replaced by hard, insoluble silica. The models in this new habitat group in Hall 37 were cast
from specimens obtained by dissolving the limestone. Sponges and brachiopods are the most abundant

of the various animals shown.

unpleasantly cold, and we're glad that
they've gone on their way.

But where are the snows of a few hundred
years ago? What part of the world was
covered with ice a few thousand years ago?
What living things ruled the world a few
million years ago?

To such questions, if a modern Villon
should ask them, we are prepared to give
answers. In Frederick J. V. Skiff Hall
(Hall 37), reopened formally for members
of the Museum on October 1, the long
panorama of the three billion years of earth
history is set forth in a series of entirely
new exhibits, emphasizing the last 540
million years, the time during which the
earth has been inhabited.

The snows that fell in Wisconsin a few
hundred years ago, we find, are now being
pumped from deep wells beneath Chicago,
as water for industrial use. A diagram shows
that the water has slowly worked its way
through beds of underground porous rock.
The area of the great ice sheet of about
25,000 years ago is shown as a cold, icy-

The exhibits, occupying 53 new cases, are
arranged in two sequences. On the south
side of the hall they constitute a summary
of life in the world through the twelve
geologic periods, a historical sequence. In
the cases on the north side, the fossils are
arranged by natural groups, forming a
biological sequence.

Entering the hall from the east, from the
gallery overlooking Stanley Field Hall, the
visitor sees first a group of four cases flank-
ing the door. These contain introductory
exhibits. People who collect their own
fossils will turn to the right, where a map
shows the distribution of bedrock of various
ages in the Chicago area, with examples of
fossils found within 50 miles of the Loop.
To the left of the door another case shows
what fossils are — and also a collection of
objects that look like fossils but are really
something else. This information should be
helpful to collectors who treasure rounded
stones or concretions in the belief that they
have found petrified slugs, tomatoes,
squirrels, or other non-petrifiable items.
Flesh preserved from prehistoric times is

extremely rare, though examples of a frozen
mammoth, a pickled rhinoceros, and a
dried sloth are illustrated by drawings in
this exhibit.

Another introductory case shows the in-
fluence of mutation and selection on evolu-
tion. This intricate subject is helped along
by specimens chosen to show fossil types that
have died out, others that have persisted
for long ages, and others that followed
evolutionary blind alleys. By means of
models arranged on a diagrammatic back-
ground, the last introductory exhibit shows
the relationship of all groups of animals
and plants.

On the north side of the hall, the natural
groups of animals and plants are arranged

MEMBERS ARE INVITED

TO EVENING PREVIEW

OF NEW HALL

(Monday, October I, 8 p.m.)

All Museum Members, and their
families, are invited to a special
preview formally reopening Fred-
erick J. V. Skiflf Hall (Hall 37), at
8 o'clock on the evening of Mon-
day, October 1 (the doors of the
building will be opened at 7:30
p.m.). The hall contains a com-
prehensive, completely new series
of exhibits illustrating fossil plant
and invertebrate animal life and
evolution over hundreds of mil-
lions of years. Outstanding fea-
ture is a series of ten habitat
groups restoring the weird crea-
tures of eons ago, made by the
noted sculptor, George Marchand.

In addition, at 8:15 p.m. in the
James Simpson Theatre, Members
may view the color motion picture
"Through These Doors." This
film tells the story of the Museum
and its exhibits from expeditions
collecting in the field all over the
world, though the research
laboratories and preparators'
studios to the completed exhibits.

The offices, workrooms and
study collections will also be avail-
able for Inspection.

in systematic sequence. Walking along
from the east end, we see first the protozoans
and sponges, and then a case showing how
foraminifera, tiny fossil protozoans, are im-
portant in oil-well drilling. Fossil foramini-
fera from several levels of a typical oil well
are shown as enlarged models. Since each
rock formation contains characteristic fossils,
oil geologists are able to determine the oil-
bearing bed and to guide the drills probing

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1951

A GARDEN OF PREHISTORIC SEA LILIES
Sea lilies, or crinoids, are actually-colorful, flower-shaped animals. In the oceatis
o£ today they live in groups resembling garden plants. Fossils in the Museum's
collection show that crinoid gardens were also common in the past, particularly
300 million years ago, in the Mississippian period, the time of this new habitat
group in Frederick J. V. Skifi HaU (Hall 37).

FISHES UNKNOWN TO ANGLERS
Where, 50 million years ago, was a large lake well-stocked with many kinds of
fishes, there now are the dry and sun-baked mesas of southwestern Wyoming.
The lake deposits yield abundant fossils of those early fishes, which have
become the principal article of trade of the small town of Fossil, some of whose
ancient inhabitants are restored in this new habitat group in HaU 37.

for oil thousands of feet beneath the surface.
Continuing the biological series are cases
showing fossil coelenterates (corals and
allies), brachiopods, worms, clams, snails,
cephalopods, echinoderms (sea-lilies, sand-
dollars, and allies) and arthropods (insects,
crustaceans, and allies), to complete the
roster of invertebrates, or animals without
backbones. The vertebrate groups are dis-
played, as always, in adjoining Ernest R.
Graham Hall (Hall 38). The remaining
cases on the north side of the hall are
devoted to the groups of plants that have
left a significant fossil record, beginning with
a case showing the relation of fossil plants
to coal, and ending with a "family tree"
illustrating the relationship and classification
of plants.

On the south side of the hall, the geo-
logical periods are the subject of the cases.
Fossils of different natural orders are asso-
ciated here by periods because it is the
study of the succession of kinds of fossils
that enables us to determine the relative
ages of beds of rock and thus to decipher
geological history. But other things besides
fossils are needed to exhibit the record of
the earth's yesteryears. To find where
ancient seas existed, geologists map sedi-
mentary rocks — the hardened sands and
muds of vanished ocean bottoms — determin-
ing their relative ages by matching the
fossils entombed in them. There is much
more dry land area today than has been
usual in the past. Three comparative maps
for each period show the changes in North
American terrain as the sea covered now
one part, now another.

The earth's crust preserved other records
besides fossils, the record of life, and sedi-
mentary rocks, the record of seas. Granites,
ores, and crumpled rocks tell of ancient
mountain ranges now worn away; beds of
ash tell of volcanoes that left no other trace;
coal beds mean former forests. Evidence

of all kinds has been brought together in
these exhibits to make a concise outline of
the geography, economic resources, and
life of each of the geologic periods.

Each geologic period is represented by a
group of cases — usually one being a habitat
group showing restored animals of the period,
another a display of the geographic and

economic features, and another showing
typical fossils. The Silurian period has been
given greater prominence than the others.
This is for the reason that the bedrock of
the Chicago area is of Silurian age. There
are two Silurian habitat groups: the euryp-
terids (see cover), included because they
are spectacular and characteristic, and a

SATURDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES OPEN OCTOBER 6

The annual autumn course of free illus-
trated lectures on travel and science for
adults will begin at the Museum on October 6
and continue each Saturday throughout
October and November. The lectures will
be given in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum and all will begin at 2:30 P.M.
Seven of the lectures will be illustrated with
color movies and one with slides.

Limited accommodations make it neces-
sary to restrict these lectures to adults.
Members of the Museum are entitled to
reserved seats on application. For children,
free motion pictures will be presented on
the mornings of the same Saturdays by the
Raymond Foundation.

Following are the dates, subjects, and
lecturers:

October 6 — VIRGINIA
A fresh look at the Old Dominion state
Edward F. Cross

October 13 — Tahiti
Volcanic island of romantic beauty and

grandeiu'
Earl B. Brink

October 20 — Dm a Comet Blast Arizona?

The mystery of Canyon Diablo crater

(Illustrated with slides)
H. H. Nininger

October 27 — The Great Ungava Crater

1950 geological expedition to northern-
most Quebec
V. B. Meen

November 3 — Earthquake Lake

Reelfoot Lake, fascinating wilderness in

Tennessee
Karl Maslowski

November 10 — Shangri-la Alaska
Pioneering on our last frontier
Fred Maehetam

November 17 — Exploration in Nepal
Difficult journey to the high Himalayan

kingdom
S. Dillon Ripley

November 24 — Algeria
Sahara sand and oasis
Clifford J. Kanten

No tickets are necessary for admission
to these lectures, .\ section of the
Theatre is reserved for Members of the
Museum, each of whom is entitled to
two reserved seats. Requests for these
seats should be made in advance by
telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writ-
ing, and seats will be held in the Mem-
ber's name until 2:25 o'clock on the
lecture day.

October, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

reef representing Silurian sea life on the
site of Chicago. Besides these, there are
two cases of Silurian fossils, one collection
coming entirely from quarries and excava-
tions in the vicinity of this city.

The highlight of the historical sequence
of exhibits is the series of ten habitat groups
by George Marchand, well-known sculptor
of Ebenezer, New York. Colorful models
of prehistoric plants and animals are
arranged in groups in lifelike positions amid
natural-looking surroundings. Not all pre-
historic animals are well enough known
from their fossils to permit their reconstruc-
tion for such a group. The restorations of
soft-bodied animals cause the greatest
trouble, in general, for when they are fossil-
ized at all it is likely to be in the form of a
flattened film. Nevertheless, several soft-
bodied animals may be seen in the Cambrian
group. It was possible to make these with
some degree of assurance because a great
many specimens are known showing the

animal crushed in enough different positions
to reveal its anatomy. In the foreground
of the Devonian habitat group is a large
spiny trilobite, Teralaspis. Though it bore
a shell, no complete sf)ecimens have been
discovered. The first fragments of a fossil
of this trilobite were collected about a
hundred years ago, and others have been
turning up ever since. The first reconstruc-
tion was made in 1892 by Dr. John M.'
Clarke, of the New York State Museum.
Then, after examining the fragments that
had been collected during the next fifty
years, Dr. Irving G. Reimann, of the Buffalo
Museum of Science, made an improved
restoration in 1941. Soon after that. Dr.
Reimann found a fine large fragment showing
more details, and made another reconstruc-
tion in 1944. The model in our group was
made under his direction.

Hall 37 is now before the public. The
fossil plants and invertebrates in their new
surroundings will serve for many years to

tell the story of the millions of yesteryears
since life took its place on our planet.

THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD

BECAH 140.000,000 YEARS AGO EHOID 7S.000.000 YIARS AGO

f THE CLOSE OF

THE MESOZOIC ERA

THe LAST DINOSAURS

AHD FLYING REPTILES LIVED

AMONG THE FIRST ANCiOSPERMS

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
RESULTED FROM SHRINKING
THE EARTH'S CRUST

TMC Ci-o»e or TMc Mr«070iC r»*

tWlMAI^ Of

r fM ivoLimaa a» momhm

HISTORY OF THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD

There is more to geologic history than the succession of fossils shown in the habitat groups in our new hall.

Cases such as this one show the changes in North American geography as the oceans moved back and forth

across the continent. Paintings by John Conrad Hansen, Department of Geology Artist, illustrate physical

forces and large animals that cannot be included in the other cases.

♦TALKING DUST' TELLS
STORY OF INDIANS

By TOM ALDER

MEUBER, SOUTHWEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXPEDITION STAFF

AT ABOUT THE TIME that Rome
burned (circa a.d. 60) another, much
smaller, fire routed a group of Mogollon
Indians from their cave home in western
New Mexico. For centuries, the fore-
fathers of these people had occupied this
cave and these people continued the tradi-
tion. There were good reasons for their
having done so. The cave was large (60
feet long, 12 feet high and 10 feet wide),
cool in summer and warm in winter. It was
comfortable; but what was more important,
it was in an excellent defensive position to
ward off attacks by hostile neighbors.

The cave, now being excavated by the
Museum's Archaeological Expedition to the
Southwest, is situated 1,200 feet above and
one and one-half miles from the valley floor.
This protection was important, but it came
at a price. To get their water, these early
cave dwellers had to travel over rugged
slopes on foot to the river in the valley.
They had to go the same distance to reach
the rich land in which they cultivated corn.
This meant that the women probably had
full responsibility for keeping the household
and preparing the meals for their menfolk
who almost certainly spent the day away
from the cave farming and hunting.

The women made baskets and wove
matting for bedding. They brought in
yucca leaves and corn stalks to keep down
the dust from the cave floor and to make
softer walking. They also made the pottery,
an art that they had recently acquired from
southern neighbors and had the meals ready
for the men when they returned from the
fields.

A SPARK, THEN CATASTROPHE

Perhaps, while the women were preparing
a meal a spark flew from the fire and ignited
some of the fibrous materials that lay
strewn about. In a matter of moments, the
flames and smoke became so fierce the cave
had to be abandoned. The women and
children fled to safety. There was no way
of quelling the flames, even if one could
have gotten near the fiery furnace, because
the water supply was so distant. The only
thing to do was to let the fire burn itself
out. This must have taken several weeks
because of the fact the floor was deeply
impregnated with fibers and grasses from
generations past.

The fire smoldered beneath the surface

making reoccupation impossible for some

time. It is probable the Mogollon Indians

attached a religious significance to the fire.

(Continued on page 7, column 2)

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1951

MORE ABOUT SEW HALL OF EARTH HISTORY . . .

EXTINCT PLANTS AND THEIR LIVING DESCENDANTS

By THEODOR JUST

CHIBP CintATOR, DEPARTUBNT OF BOTANY

LIFE ON THIS PLANET has a long
and intricate history. Although its
beginning is shrouded in mystery, we know
enough about living plants to think of
their ancestors as primitive organisms
capable of performing some of the most
important functions generally regarded as
evidence of life. These primitive organisms
were certainly aquatic, microscopic in

groups shown in this part of the exhibit
are incapable of making their own organic
food materials and depend on other organ-
isms for such, either by living at the expense
of their hosts or by breaking down dead
plant and animal bodies. These groups are
represented by the "fungi" and by some
bacteria. Although many of these organisms
are aquatic, the majority lives on land.

One of the groups of algae, the green algae,
is believed to have given rise to the vascular

I

)

4

THE MAIN GROUPS

OF THE

PLANT KINGDOM

SYNOPTIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE PLANT KINGDOM

The Plant Kingdom, with several hundred thousand species, is divided into a number of main groups. The

possible relationships of these groups are shown by connecting lines. The models are made natural size or

enlarged for purposes of exhibition. Actual specimens are shown as far as possible.

size, able to make their own organic food
materials, and capable of reproduction.
Being soft-bodied, few of these, if any,
left discernible geological traces. Yet their
descendants, empowered with greater struc-
tural complexity and functional diversity,
contributed materially to rock building and
the formation of soil, so necessary for the
growth of land plants.

The geological story of land plants, as
far as it is known today, begins late in the
Silurian period. The main phases of this
development are shown in the eight new
eases situated on the south side of the
reorganized Frederick J. V. SkifT Hall (Hall
37) near Ernest R. Graham Hall (Hall 38).
The first case near that door to the hall
reopening October 1 contains a visual scheme
of classification of the plant kingdom. Each
main group is represented by a characteristic
member, either living or fossil, and the
relationships among the various groups are
indicated by connecting lines. Several of
the main groups shown in the lower part of
the scheme are commonly called "algae."
Their members are mainly aquatic, capable
of making their own organic food materials
and characteristically colored. The other

plants. Since the beginning of the Devonian
period land plants have become increasingly
more important, while growing in stature
from small grass-like plants to the large
scale-trees of the Pennsylvanian period and
the modern giants, such as the American
redwood and big tree and the Australian
eucalypts. This general increase in size
and complexity of structure is roughly
reflected in the geological sequence of ap-
pearance of the great groups of vascular
plants and their present day representation
in numbers of species and individuals. The
small exhibit case at the end of the first
alcove illustrates this general advance in
a diagrammatic manner. The other large
cases depict, group by group, characteristic
members as found in fossil state, often
accompanied by reconstructions made up
of many isolated parts discovered at various
times by many collectors in different
localities.

Unlike their living descendants, fossil
land plants are always found in parts, either
as stumps with some large roots attached,
stems, branches, leaves, or organs of repro-
duction. Rarely are some of these attached
one to another. At best some may be found

associated in the same bed. As these parts
become known and are given names, the
whole plant can ultimately be pieced to-
gether. Such a reconstruction aims to show
the general habit and mode of growth of
the original plant. Comparatively few fossil
plants are well enough known to permit
their reconstruction as a whole.

TRACING THE PAST

Comparison of the internal structure of
fossil plants with that of their closest living
relatives and analysis of the rocks contain-
ing these fossils permit conclusions regarding
past climates and conditions of fossilization.
A particularly instructive example of this
kind is provided by coal. The principal
kinds of coal and the processes effecting its
formation are illustrated in the small cases
at the end of the second alcove. Actually
coal represents the geological record of
swamp vegetation growing in a moist, non-
seasonal, warm, but not tropical climate.

But not all fossil plants known come from
coals. Many are found in other deposits in
various states of preservation. Some are
so well preserved that they can hardly be
told apart from their living descendants.
Others, no longer present in our floras, are
known only from one or several specimens.
Still others are known from many parts of
the world thus providing the geologist with
valuable means for comparing similar strata
in widely separated localities.

NATURE PHOTO CONTEST
ENTRIES OPEN

The Nature Camera Club of Chicago and
Chicago Natural History Museum are ready
to receive entries for the Seventh Chicago
International Exhibition of Nature Photog-
raphy to be held at the Museum February 1
to 28 inclusive. All persons interested in
nature photography — both amateur and pro-
fessional photographers — are invited to send
their best nature pictures for entry in this
contest. Deadline for entries is January 14.

Silver medals and ribbons will be awarded
in the various print and slide classifications.
Entry forms and a complete resume of
conditions of the contest may be obtained
from the Museum. Entries should be sent
to the Museum.

Illinois Audubon Lectures
Coming to Museum

The Illinois Audubon Society will again
present its autumn series of free lectures in
the James Simpson Theatre of this institu-
tion. The first will be presented on Sunday
afternoon, November 18, at 2:30, when
Fran W. Hall will give a lecture entitled
"The Four Corners," accompanied by
motion pictures in color. The general
public is invited, and Museum members
are entitled to seats in the reserved section
of the theatre.

October, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

Books

(All books reviewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
cluding postage are promptly filled.)

A TEXTBOOK OF GEOLOGY. By

Robert M. Carrels. Harper, 1951. xvii+
511 pp., 301 illustrations. Price $5.

Although there is no royal road to geology,
Professor Garrels has provided what seems
to be a superhighway. In a book designed
for a one-semester college course, he has
selected just the kind of information needed
by the person who wants to find out about
geology for himself.

One who stands on a hill and sees that
the land before him was cut down to its
present level by the running water of a
stream, or one who stands on a beach and
sees that the clifT behind him was cut by
the waves is deducing geologic history from
the evidence at hand. The history of the
earth, then, may be said to be the object
of his observations. It is also the object
of Professor Garrels' book, and the reader
is led to that object from a consideration of
the processes continually operating to change
the face of nature.

Starting with a discussion of the energy
of running water, the author shows how the
Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon.
The necessary physics is gently and com-
pletely presented before a conclusion is
reached. By the time we have read the
54 pages on running water, we find ourselves
deducing the history of other streams and
valleys on our own.

The work of waves, wind, ice, and under-
ground water are presented in the same
way, followed by chapters on the origin
and composition of the sedimentary, igneous,
and metamorphic rocks. In each, the funda-
mental physical or chemical information is
given first, usually with the aid of graphs.
Graphs are an innovation in an elementary
geology text, and a welcome one. A graph
replaces many times its area of printed text,
and puts the information in the most
available form. Conclusions regarding geo-
logic processes follow the graphs with a
logical inevitability that makes them im-
mediately the personal property of the
reader.

With these chapters under his hat, the
novice can now go forth and admire valleys,
beaches, dunes, and other land forms with
a new understanding. But we are only
half way through the book. The chapter,
"Evidence of Earth Movement," follows.
Instead of being told that the earth has risen
and fallen and broken locally, we are shown
why we must conclude that it has. Studying
geology this way, we don't have to remember
a great body of facts; we are now able to
see them for ourselves.

Now that we are familiar with present-
day activities of the earth's crust, we are
treated to 34 pages of deductions that un-
ravel a good sample of geologic history, and
16 pages in which we discover that we can
find out quite a bit about the earth's inac-
cessible interior. Then follow three chapters
during which the reader will not want to
lay the book aside: "True-scale Models,"
"Mechanics of Earth Movement," and "The
Origin of the Earth."

A chapter on modern life, followed by one
on fossilization and a survey of geologic
history prepare us for the final chapters on
evolution. Those interested enough in this
Museum's new Hall of Invertebrate Paleon-
tology (see page S) to desire further study
of the subject will find this book of value.
Thus, in 468 pages (not counting the ap-
pendices), we have learned a fair amount
of physics, chemistry, and biology, and
have deduced from them enough of geologic
history to go on making further deductions
on our own.

It is of interest to the readers of the
Bulletin that a part of the chapter on the
work of waves is taken from a recent out-
standing paper on refraction of ocean waves,
of which Melvin A. Traylor, Jr., Research
Associate in Birds on the Museum staff, is
co-author. Also, it is gratifying to find that
44 of the excellent illustrations are photo-
graphs of exhibits or study specimens from
this Museum.

Eugene S. Richardson, Jr.
Curator of Fossil Invertebrates

♦TALKING DUST'—

{Continued from page 5)

They may have believed it was an ill omen,
a punishment for their evil deeds or for not
properly propitiating their gods. At any
rate, and for whatever reason, they ceased
to live in the cave, for we find no evidence
of extended or continuous occupation of
the cave from about the first century after
Christ until the coming of the Apache
Indians (about 1700).

HOW DO WE KNOW?

This all took place almost 2,000 years
ago but there is no written record of the
event. How, then, do we know it took
place? On what can we base these assump-
tions? The answer is "talking dust"!

We have, by the science of archaeology,
made the dusty floors of the cave tell us
of the ways and lives of the people who have
walked upon it. In excavating this site,
that we call Cordova Cave, we have found
an ash layer, 6 to 14 inches thick and lying
several feet below the surface, extending
from wall to wall, and from front to back.
This is a positive sign of a holocaust, for
no fire-pit would be so large. The depth of
the ash layer indicates that the fire was of
some duration and the calcined condition of

PLEASE NOTIFY MUSEUM
IF YOU'RE MOVING

Members of the Museum who change
residence are urged to notify the Museum
so that the Bulletin and other communi-
cations may reach them promptly.

A card for this purpose is enclosed with
this issue.

Members going away for extended periods
may have Museum matter sent to their
temporary addresses.

the stone implements in the layer attests to
the intensity of the blaze.

The so-called "durable items" such as
arrowheads, pottery, knives and scrapers of
stone, give us the necessary clue for dating
the occurrence of the fire— and we have
therefore been able to estimate that it took
place between the years 150 B.C. and a.d.
200. We can safely assume that the occu-
pants of the cave covered the floor of this
cave with fibers, grasses, and matting, be-
cause previous excavations have shown this
to have been a common practice.

We know they were farmers because of
the corn-cobs and vegetal refuse left in the
cave in charred forms. We know that the
cave remained unoccupied until modern
times because the pottery and tool types
above the ash layer have European charac-
teristics. The presence of particular tools
and a cache of horse hides indicates that
the Apaches used the cave in recent times.

TABOO AFTER FIRE?

To attribute the abandonment of the
cave to a religious taboo is of course pure
conjecture. The only evidence to support
this guess is that this kind of event has
caused other Indian groups to attach a
religious interpretation to catastrophes. The
Mogollon Indians continued to live in the
area for many centuries after the fire and
might have, if they had so chosen, reoccupied
the cave.

During the great drought (about a.d.
1270), the Mogollon people left the area and
the cave was next occupied from about
1700 to 1870 by Apaches.

In 1951, a group of archaeologists in a
period of three months have sifted from the
dusty cave floor a story of 3,000 years of
a culture in the Southwest.

Not only was the fire a tragic event for
the occupants of the cave; it was one for
the archaeologists also! All perishable
items — bows, arrows, spear-throwers, cloth-
ing, basketry, snares, leather — were de-
stroyed for an important, early period.

Excavations are still in process, however,
and it is possible that the deepest levels,
dating from about 700 B.C. may yield much
valuable information. These levels have
not yet been reached.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1951

RESERVATIONS OPENING
FOR LAYMAN LECTURES

"Out of This World— for One Afternoon"
is the title of the opening lectxire in the new
season of Sunday afternoons at the Museum
with the Layman Lecturer, Paul G. Dallwig.
This subject will be presented each Sunday
in November— the 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th.
In this dramatized lecture Mr. Dallwig will
take his audience into the strange world of
millions of years ago with all its weird plant
and animal life as represented in the new
Hall of Fossil Invertebrates (FVederick J. V.
Skiff Hall— Hall 37) opening October 1 (see
page S), and Ernest R. Graham Hall (Hall
38) of Fossil Vertebrates. The lecture will
include five dramatic episodes in which the
hearers will participate in two Museum
expeditions, one that uncovers a huge
dinosaur skeleton, and one to the Gobi
Desert on which the first dinosaur eggs were
discovered while seeking traces of ancient
man. The other dramatizations include a
trip to a 250-million-year-old forest of the
coal age, the death struggle of prehistoric
monsters trapped in the LaBrea tar pits of
California, and a battle between two of the
most terrifying dinosaurs of the ancient
reptilian world.

On Sundays in December Mr. Dallwig's
lectitfe will be "Gems, Jewels and 'Junk' ";
in January, "Living Races and Their Way
of Life"; March, "Money DOES Grow on
Trees," and April, "Life— What Is it?

During February Mr. DaUwig will be on
an out-of-toum lecture tour and will not appear
at the Museum.

Members of the Museum may use
their membership cards to attend
these lectures without advance reserva-
tions. All others, with the exception
of accredited representatives of the press,
must make advance reservations to attend
the Sunday lectures. Reservations may be
made beginning October 1 by mail or
telephone (WAbash 2-9410). The lectures
are free. They start promptly at 2 p.m.
and end at 4:30 P.M., including a half-hour
intermission for relaxation, or for lunch or
a cup of tea or coffee in the Museum
Cafeteria, where smoking is permitted.

CHILDREN'S FREE MOVIES
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS

Seven free motion picture programs and
one puppet show for children will be given
at the Museum on Saturday mornings during
October and November. The entertain-
ments, to be presented each Saturday at
10:30 A.M. beginning October 6, will be given
in the James Simpson Theatre, under the
auspices of the James Nelson and Anna
Louise Raymond Foundation. The Octo-
ber 27 program will be a puppet production.
On one program, that of November 10, the
picture, "Shangri-la Alaska," will be accom-
panied by a talk by Fred Machetanz of

Kenton, Ohio, the explorer who made the
film.

Children may come alone, accompanied
by parents or other adults, or in groups from
schools, etc. No tickets are needed.

Following are titles and dates of the pro-
grams:

October 6 — Wonderland Tales
Stories about animals, boys and girls
Also a cartoon

October 13 — Savage Splendor
A picture hunting expedition in Africa
meets native tribesmen and has excit-
ing adventures with lions, rhinos and
many other animals

October 20 — CHINA

A film story of the largest branch of the

human family on earth
Also a cartoon

October 27 — Folktale Puppet Studio
Presenting "Aesop's Fables" and "Color
Fantasies"

November 3 — Australia's Barrier Reef
The fabulous coral growths and the under-
water life shown under magnification
Also a cartoon

November 10 — Shangri-la Alaska

Pioneering on the last frontier. Color
motion picture and story by Fred
Machetanz

November 17 — Pacific Islands
Life in Hawaii, Bali and Tagaqe
Also a cartoon

November 24 — ANIMAL LEGENDS
Also a cartoon

LECTURE TOURS IN OCTOBER
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every afternoon
at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain
holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs-
days and Saturdays, general tours are given
covering all departments. Special subjects
are offered on Wednesdays and FWdays.
A schedule of these follows:

Wed., Oct. 3 — Poisonous Plants and Ani-
mals (Marie Snoiwda).

Fri., Oct. 5 — Color in Nature. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Jane
Sharpe). '

Wed., Oct. 10— The Races of Mankind
(Miriam Wood).

Fri., Oct. 12 — Animals of Legend and Fable.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Lorain Stephens).

Wed., Oct. 17 — Life in the Water (Jane
Sharpe).

Fri., Oct. 19— The Dynamic Earth. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromquist).

Wed., Oct. 24— Web of Life— Interdepend-
ence of Plants and Animals (Marie
Sroboda).

Fri., Oct. 26 — Masks — Not for Halloween.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(June Buchwald).

Wed., Oct. 31— Giants in the Animal World
{Lorain Stephens).

IffilY YEA1?S AGO

Al IHK MUStUM

Compiltd by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for 1901:

"Attendance. — A falling off in the total
attendance for the year has to be reported.
The figures show a difference of 18,491 in
favor of the year ending September 30,

1900, over the year ending September 30,

1901. More than half of this decrease
occurs in the month of September, 1901,
when the attendance was 9,782 less than in
the same month of the previous year. The
only explanation of this large difference is
in the fact that the weather was inclement
on three out of the nine free days of the
month. The marked decrease in the paid
attendance is explained by the fact that
during the previous year the visit of the
G.A.R. to Chicago brought a great many
strangers to the city, who visited the
Museum in large numbers, in fact, the paid
attendance during the week of the encamp-

ment was 4,500 more than the average. It
is encouraging in view of this diminution
to note that the attendance of scholars and
teachers is the largest in the history of the
Museum, being over 1,500 in excess of any
previous year."

[The total attendance for 1901 was
244,120; that of 1950 was 1,173,661; for the
first eight months of 1951 attendance totaled
928,029.)

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany:

From: Floyd Swink, Chicago — 111 phan-
erogams, Indiana and Illinois; Llewellyn
Williams, Randolph, Wis. — 129 specimens
of woods, Siam and Philippine Islands.

Department of Geolo^:

From: L. Z. Gray, Evanston, 111. —
Pleistocene mammoth tooth, Siberia.

Department of Zoolo^:

From: Neal A. Weber, Swarthmore, Pa. —
8 frogs, 9 lizards, and a snake, Iraq.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAI. HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

LJ Vol.22,No.ll-November 1951

Chicago Xalural
UiHlorij Museum

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marshall Field, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicafto 5

Telbphone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Field

Sbwell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCoRMicK Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wbtten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field .:■.■■ ^"^.'^"'

Marshall Fibld Firtt Vice-Prtndenl

^ Second Vice- President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-Prenident

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Atmslant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Cufford C. Gregg Director of Uut Mtueum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Tbeodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Kabl p. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Hartb Public Relaiiom Counsel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of chan&es of address.

THE ERA OF RETHINKING
IN MUSEUM EXHIBITION

A YOUNG MUSEUM of natural history,
if it is to be a great one with the whole
world as its field, must eagerly accumulate as
much as it can, and the emphasis on collect-
ing the material objects known as museum
specimens will dominate the outlook of the
staff. There is little time for thought, for
whole halls cry to be filled, and in many
fields of interest opportunities to collect
specimens may never again be presented —
witness the animals extinct within historic
times, and the primitive human cultures
transformed or even swallowed up by the
spread of civilization. Rivalry with other
museums, a combination of the acquisitive
instinct with all too human pride and
vanity, spurs on the acquisition of specimens
and yet more specimens. All this produces
an Era of Accumulation as an essential
growth-stage of a museum.

During this era, there is a tendency to
put everything available on exhibition, and
museums can be found whose development
was arrested at this stage. Fortunately for
American museums, the principle of separa-
tion of specimens intended for study from
those intended for exhibition was adopted
at an early period of their history, and this
separation reflects the dual function of
museums and museum staffs, of research
and publication on one hand, operating as
a research institute, and on the other the

preparation of exhibits on a magnificent
scale as an educational program.

The end of the era of accumulation in
the exhibition halls approaches when the
halls and the cases in them are filled. The
museum staff, if it be worthy of its extra-
ordinary privilege of intimate contact with
the "Three Kingdoms of Nature," with
that of Man for good measure, must now
take time out from collecting and from the
eager preparation of exhibits and yet more
exhibits to take thought about the meanings
and functions, in the broadest sense, of a
museum of natural history. We must turn
from an era of accumulation to an Era of
Thought.

It becomes immediately evident that we
have grown without much thought or plan
during the era of accumulation. The fine
large habitat groups in the zoological halls
are themselves a reaction from the rows of
stuffed specimens in older museums. But
a thoughtful survey shows that they repre-
sent what was available rather than what
was most needed to fulfill a systematic plan
of education. Even the irreducible minimum
of a conspectus of nature has been only partly
accomplished.

As we begin to think more deeply about
what we want the visitor to learn from the
Museum, our first discovery is that we have
exhibited too much. There is no virtue in
exhibiting endless rows of arrowheads or
pots or even of closely similar shells or
sparrows, except for specific purposes. The
problem proves now to be to make the most
intelligent selection from the older accumu-
lations. Intelligent selection requires much
thought, and we have all come to realize
what hard work such thinking may be, with
an occasional envious moment of recollec-
tion of the good old days when we merely
mounted and installed what was available.
It is much more difficult to select intelli-
gently than it was to accumulate. Most
important of all, selection gives us room in
our cases for the illustrations and diagrams
that are so much more effective as labels
than the solid blocks of print that were
in vogue thirty years ago.

The new Hall of Invertebrate Paleon-
tology (Frederick J. V. Skiff Hall— Hall 37)
is a visible expression of what I have at-
tempted to set forth. The Museum is still
only at the beginning of the vast job of
rethinking its exhibition program; but im-
portant beginnings have been made in every
department. The thoughtful visitor may
be intrigued to contrast the new halls
devoted to the North American Indians
with some of the older exhibition halls, in
which priceless materials are so crowded
together that their intended effect is not
accomplished. Perhaps he will understand
something of the stimulating atmosphere in
a museum that, far from being finished, has
begun to grow in a new direction.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

On our cover is a picture of
another of the ten habitat groups
of prehistoric animals exhibited in
the new Hall of Invertebrate Pale-
ontology (read "An Ancient Sea,"
page 7, this issue) which was opened
formally October 1. It represents
the inhabitants of the waters that
spread across central North
America during the Ordovician
period, about 390 million years
ago. At least a dozen times since
the world began, changes in the
elevation of land and sea have
caused the oceans to advance
across the continents. In the
muds and sands deposited in those
oceans are fossils that constitute
the record of the animals and
plants that lived in the advancing
waters. Even today, when the
continents stand higher and drier
than at most times in the past,
parts of them lie below sea level
and are covered by similar seas,
such as Hudson Bay and the North
Sea, and there the fossil record is
accumulating for the future.

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT
PROVES GALA OCCASION

The Members' Night held at the Museum
on October 1 was voted a complete success.
Approximately 1,000 Members turned out
to see the new Museum film, "Through
These Doors," to preview the new Hall of
Geologic History of Plants and Animals,
and to visit the shops and workrooms on
the third and fourth floors of the Museum.

Normally, it is not possible to open the
workrooms, preparation rooms, and labora-
tories to visitors because of the serious
interruption to the Museum's scheduled
work. On this occasion, however, every-
thing was made available and the staff
made every attempt to acquaint the Mem-
bers with their Museum.

Among the unusual attractions was
"Bushman," the celebrated gorilla, which
was then in the taxidermy shop in the last
stages of preparation. Throughout the
evening a large and enthusiastic crowd
surrounded this exhibit and questioned the
taxidermists concerning methods and prob-
lems of preparation. In all departments,
however, visitors found much to wonder at.
The only disappointment noted at any
time during the evening was that lack of
time prevented those present from seeing
all phases of Museum work.

The success of the first Members' Night
has given rise to the hope that such an
event may be repeated.

November, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

EXPEDITION FINDS VICTIM OF SACRIFICE IN! CLIFF HOUSE

By PAUL S. MARTIN

CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY

THE SKELETON of a young victim of
a sacrificial ceremony was found buried
under the ancient walls of a cliff house by
associated scientists and myself during the
1951 archaeological excavations for Chicago
Natural History Museum in western New
Mexico.

The evidence of the grim sacrifice consists
of a headless skeleton of a young person,

THE 'DIG' IS A GIRL'S JOB, TOO

The unearthing and preservation of the bones of a
prehistoric Indian woman, the victim of sacrificial
rites, is partly the work of Elaine Bluhm, Museum
stafi member who participated in the 1951 Archaeo-
logical Expedition to the Southwest.

probably a female. Excavations in a cave,
tucked away in a beautiful canyon through
which a small permanent stream flows, had
been under way for some time. At the
mouth of the cave is a small one-room house,
the walls of which are built of good masonry.
The purpose of this isolated room is un-
known, although we have made guesses
concerning its purpose. At any rate, before
the foundation for this one-room house was
laid, the girl-victim was beheaded and her
body (minus the head) was placed on the
ground. The wall was built directly over it.

FIRST INSTANCE AT SITE

Although this is the first evidence of
human sacrifice that our expeditions have
uncovered over the years, such practices
were fairly common among Indians in the
New World. Among the ancient Mayas of
Yucatan, maidens were thrown into a cenote
or sinkhole to propitiate the gods and to
bring good luck to the city of Chichen-Itza.
The Pawnee Indians of the Plains used to

sacrifice a maiden to the Morning Star. On
ancient pottery bowls made by the Mimbres
Indians, who lived just south of Pine Lawn
Valley (where Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant
Curator of Archaeology, and I have for
several years been carrying on archaeo-

Dr. Paul S. Martin recently re-
turned to the Museum after lead-
ing the Archaeological Expedition
to the Southwest (his I7th expedi-
tion in the area). The 1951 exca-
vations of prehistoric Indian caves
were begun in June.

logical researches), are found realistic paint-
ings of victims being beheaded.

Thus it may be seen that human sacrifices
are not rare. But the interesting fact is
that this human victim is the first to have
been uncovered for the MogoUon culture.
In past seasons Museum scientists have
found under walls ceremonial caches of
pottery, turquoise, and shell bracelets but
never before a human victim.

This find puzzles the archaeologists, for
the building itself is small and isolated and
seems unimportant. However, it is possible
that the room might have served as a kind
of outpost or watchtower, for it is located
in a relatively narrow canyon, the head of
which is high up in the mountains and the
mouth of which debouches into the fertile
and formerly heavily populated San Fran-
cisco River Valley. This canyon is a short
cut used by modern horseback travelers
who seek the shortest and quickest route
out of this valley, over the Tularosa moun-
tains and down into another valley, and it
might have been used in ancient times by
unfriendly peoples as an easy approach to
a populous valley. Therefore an outpost or
small fort would have been desirable. In
it several sentries might have been stationed,
who, at time of invasion, could have given
alarm to the peoples below in the valley.

REASON FOR SACRIFICE

If this guess has any merit, it may explain
the human sacrifice for the following reason:
A fortress, in such a location, would have
been useful, but its value might have been
greatly enhanced by a ritualistic sacrifice of
a maiden. The ritual might have been
performed either to insure good luck to the
builders or to please the god of war.

This unusual and weird discovery tops a
summer of archaeological researches of great
interest and significance. The cave itself
yielded an abundance of specimens of the
earliest prehistoric periods. In fact, more
stone tools of the pre-pottery period (circa
2,700 B.c.-A.D. 1) were recovered this year
than in eight previous seasons put together.
The total number of stone tools alone runs

above 1,500. In addition, tools made from
bone and antler, leather objects, sandals,
painted tablitas used as headdress in cere-
monies, bows, arrows, cigarettes, matting,
string, and fragments of basketry were
recovered. These objects, along with those
found during the season of 1950, will help
clear up the origins and growth of the
Mogollon culture.

Although the work was dusty and the
cave difficult to reach, the rewards were
great. The work this summer has imfolded
another bit of the fascinating but little-
known Mogollon culture.

A KIVA UNCOVERED

In addition to the excavations in Cordova
Cave and the small cliff house, two other
noteworthy tasks were carried forward this
season.

One was the partial excavation, under
the direction of Miss Elaine Bluhm, Assist-
ant in Archaeology, of a large rectangular
structure — a kiva, in all likelihood — in
which religious ceremonies were observed.
This kiva is unique in the valley, and there-
fore excavation of it is of great interest.
Because of its large size (about 25 feet by
30 feet by 7 feet deep) and because of the
tons of rocks that once composed the walls
of the building and had toppled into it,
digging has been very slow. At the close
of the season about half of the excavation
remained to be done, but it is possible to

CEREMONIAL BOWS AND ARROWS
These miniatures of the classical weapon of the
American Indians were used in religious or puberty
rites by Mogollon hunters about A.D. 1100. Exca-
vated from a cave by the Archaeological Expedition
to the Southwest.

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1951

announce that the roof timbers burned in
prehistoric times and collapsed on the floor.
Although the fire was undoubtedly un-
fortunate for the Indians, it brings joy to
the hearts of the archaeologists to know
that the roof burned. The reason for this
unholy rejoicing is that because of the fire
everything that was in the kiva at the time
of its destruction will still be there. We
may expect to find pottery, tools, weapons,
ceremonial objects, and even skeletons of
people who might not have been able to
escape. All these objects have been undis-
turbed and may permit tis to obtain informa-
tion about the ancient ceremonies. We shall
complete the work on this kiva next year.

FINDS MANY NEW SITES

The other undertaking was a reconnais-
sance for new sites in western New Mexico
and in east-central Arizona. This was in
charge of Dr. Herbert C. Taylor, Jr., of
Western Washington College, Bellingham,
Washington, formerly a teaching assistant
at the University of Chicago. Dr. Taylor's
work was sponsored by the Department of
Anthropology, University of Chicago, and
was tailored to dovetail with the intensive
investigations carried on by the Museum.
Dr. Taylor spent ten weeks on this project,
operating within a radius of eighty miles
from the Museum camp, and found 75 sites
of major importance. The analysis of the
survey is yet to be made but a few tentative
conclusions may be drawn from the data:

1) The late manifestations of the MogoUon
culture (Reserve Phase) cover a large area —
much larger than we had formerly realized.
The results of the survey will be published
next year.

2) The culture complex known as Mimbres
extends at least as far northwest as Glen-
wood, New Mexico. '

3) The region east of Springerville, Ari-
zona, was a cultural transition zone between
the I*uebloan and MogoUon peoples.

HISTORY RECONSTRUCTED

On the basis of present information Dr.
Rinaldo and I have tentatively reconstructed
the history of the MogoUon Indians as
foUows:

About 5,000 years ago a band or two of
Indians wandered into P*ine Lawn Valley,
western New Mexico, in search of food and
water. Drought in their ancient homeland
(southern Arizona) had forced them to
move. Here in this valley they found water
and an abundant supply of wild plants and
seeds on which they lived.

About 3,000 years ago a primitive type
of com (pod com) was introduced into the
area and, soon after, beans and squashes.
These food plants — agriculture, in other
words — brought about spectacular changes
in the lives of these Indians whom we call
MogoUon, after near-by mountains of the
same name.

Some 1,000 years later (about a.d. 1) the
ideas of pottery-making and living in semi-
subterranean houses (pit houses) were
borrowed from progressive neighbors. Dur-
ing the next thousand years the house-form
tended to remain the same, but the other

THE MODE IN SANDALS, 500 B.C.

Wickerwork footwear worn by the prehistoric

MogoUon Indians in New Mexico. Excavated from

a cave by the Archaeological Expedition to the

Southwest.

arts flourished — pottery-making, weaving
cloth, baskets, and sandals, and making
weapons and tools of bone, wood, and stone.
About the time the Normans conquered
England (a.d. 1066), profoimd changes in
architecture and pottery took place in
America. Pit houses went out of style,
and in their place we find houses built oa
the surface of the ground with masonry
walls. These houses were what we call
multiroomed and were made up of two to
twenty-five rooms. The pottery, too, re-
flects a change, for instead of bowls and
jars decorated with designs done in red
paint on a brown background, we find
pottery designs executed with black paint
on a white background.

FITTING PIECES TOGETHER

Many gaps in our knowledge of the
history of MogoUon Indians still remain to
be filled; but each season we add a little
to our knowledge. Finally from our
studies of the MogoUon culture we hope
to achieve a bit of an imderstanding of the
processes involved in the growth, flowering,
and collapse of civilizations.

The discovery of a female who perished
in a sacrificial rite and who was buried for
reasons not clearly understood by us may
seem trifling and of only passing interest.
Yet this information is as valuable to us as
the archives of a kingdom are to a historian.
Any facts, domestic odds and ends, scraps
and bits of wood, pottery, clothing, and the
like provide us with contacts with the people
of the past. We need all these miscellanea
to piece together history and to make valid
reconstructions. The itfge to understand

the nature of our civilization and others
and to expand the frontiers of knowledge
is very great and eminently worth while.

This is the eighth season that the South-
west Archaeological Expedition of the Mu-
seimi has carried on researches in Pine
Lawn Valley, western New Mexico. Staff
members of the expedition, in addition to
myself as leader. Dr. Rinaldo, Dr. Taylor,
and Miss Bluhm, were Thomas Alder,
photographer and assistant cataloguer, and
Arnold Besser, Stanley Jones, Miss Marjorie
Kelly, and Miss Elizabeth Morris, ex-
cavators. In nine earlier seasons other
sites of a different nature were investigated
by Museum expeditions.

CHILDREN'S FREE MOVIES
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS

Four more motion picture programs for
children will be given at the Museum on
Saturday mornings during November. The
entertainments, to be presented each Satur-
day at 10:30 a.m., wiU be given in the James
Simpson Theatre, under the auspices of the
James Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond
Foundation. On one program, that of
November 10, the picture, "Shangri-la
Alaska," will be accompanied by a talk by
Fred Machetanz of Kenton, Ohio, the ex-
plorer who made the fUm.

Children may come alone, accompanied
by parents or other adults, or in groups from
schools, etc. No tickets are needed.

Following are titles and dates of the pro-
grams:

November 3 — Australia's Barrier Reef
The fabulous coral growths and the under-
water life shown under magnification
Also a cartoon

November 10 — Shangri-la Alaska

Pioneering on the last frontier. Color
motion picture and story by Fred
Machetanz

November 17 — Pacific Islands
Life in Hawaii, Bali, and Tagaqe
Also a cartoon

November 24 — ^ANIMAL Legends
Also a cartoon

/

Audubon Society to Present
Sunday Lecture, Nov. 18

The autumn series of free lectures to be
presented in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum by the Illinois Audubon
Society will begin Sunday aftemoon, No-
vember 18, at 2:30 o'clock. The opening
lecture, "The Four Comers," by Fran W.
Hall, head of the department of photography
at Carleton College, will be illustrated with
motion pictures in color. The general public
is invited, and Members of the Museum are
entitled to seats in the reserved section of
the Theatre.

November, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

DALLWIG SUNDAY LECTURES
BEGIN THIS MONTH

Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer,
resumes his Sunday afternoon appearances
at the Museum on November 4. He will
lecture each Sunday during the rest of the
month and throughout December, January,
March, and April (skipping February be-
cause of an out-of-town lecture tour). Mr.
Dallwig's lecture subject in November is
"Out of This World— For One Afternoon,"
to be given on November 11, 18, and 25,
as well as November 4.

The opening lecture, which includes five
dramatic episodes, covers the highlights of
the strange world of millions of years ago
when there flourished such weird plant and
animal life as is represented in the new Hall
of Fossil Invertebrates (Frederick J. V.
Skiff Hall— Hall 37), which opened October
1, and Ernest R. Graham Hall of Fossil
Vertebrates (Hall 38). The dramatizations
are based on Museum expeditions that
uncovered a huge dinosaur skeleton and
other notable fossil specimens, a trip to a
250-million-year-old forest of the Coal Age,
the death struggle of a prehistoric creature
trapped in the La Brea tar pits of California,
and a battle between a Tyrannosaurus and
Triceratops, two of the most terrifying
monsters in the Age of Reptiles.

On Sundays in December Mr. Dallwig's
lecture will be "Gems, Jewels and 'Junk' ";
in January, "Living Races and Their Way
of Life"; March, "Money DOES Grow on
Trees"; and April, "Life— What Is It?"

Members of the Museum may use
their memibership cards to attend
these lectures without advance reserva-
tions. All others, with the exception
of accredited representatives of the press,
must make advance reservations to attend
the Sunday lectures. Reservations may be
made beginning October 1 by mail or
telephone (W Abash 2-9410). The lectures
are free. They start promptly at 2 p.m.
and end at 4:30 P.M., including a half-hour
intermission for relaxation or for lunch or
a cup of tea or coffee in the Museum
Cafeteria, where smoking is permitted.

NOVEMBER LECTURE TOURS
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and
certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays general tours are
given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of these follows:

Fri., Nov. 2 — Indian Legends. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (June
Buchwald).

Wed., Nov. 7 — In the Beginning: Fossils
and Their Living Past (Anne Stromquist).

Fri., Nov. 9 — Agriculture — Foundation of
Civilization. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (Marie Svoboda).

Wed., Nov. 14 — How Animals Spend the
Winter (Lorain Stephens).

Fri., Nov. 16 — Feast Days and Fast Days.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Miriam Wood).

Wed., Nov. 21— "Be It Ever So Humble":
Housing Around the World (June Buch-
wald).

Fri., Nov. 23 — Chicago's Prehistoric Past.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stronujuist).

Wed., Nov. 28 — Nature's Super-Market:
Roots, Seeds, Fruits, etc. (Miriam Wood).

Fri., Nov. 30 — Chicago's Winter Birds.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Jane Sharpe).

Parties for these tours assemble inside
the North Entrance.

IT'S NOW TIME TO SUBMIT
NATURE PHOTO ENTRIES

The Nature Camera Club of Chicago and
Chicago Natural History Museum are ready
to receive entries for the Seventh Chicago
International Nature Photography Exhibi-
tion to be held at the Museum February 1 to
28, inclusive. The deadline for entries is
January 14.

There will be two main divisions — prints
and color transparencies. In each there
will be three classifications: Animal Life,
Plant Life, and General (the last includes
nature manifestations, outside the specific
classifications, and scenery).

Silver medals and ribbons will be awarded
in the various print and slide classifications.
Entry forms and a complete summary of
conditions of the contest may be obtained
from the Museum. Entries should be sent
to the Museum.

FIFTY YEARS AGO AT THE MUSEUM

CompiUa by MARGARET J. BAUER

PVom the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901 :

"The collections in Hall 79, devoted to
ores of the base metals, have been completely
reinstalled. The old cases were removed
and new cases, purchased in part from the

lurgy of iron, formerly occupying Hall 76,
have been entirely removed, as they were
somewhat foreign to the present scope of
the Museum and the room was needed for
other purposes. Collections and cases were
presented to the Armour Institute of this
city. In their place will be put the collec-

Hall 79— Orn of the Base Metal*, Field Columbian Museum, 1901

United States Commission to the Paris
Exposition, substituted. These cases are
constructed of mahogany and plate glass
and represent a permanent style of installa-
tion. . . .

"The collections illustrating the metal-

tions illustrating geographic geology, which
include relief maps, globes, and other geo-
graphic material, and the space in Halls 60
and 61, formerly devoted to their exhibition,
will be used to accommodate the expanding
paleontological collections."

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1951

Our Pacific Outpoit . . .

LIFE OF THE CHAMORROS
IN THE MARIANAS

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY

SINCE World War II, Guam, Tinian, and
Saipan are familiar names to Americans,
even though many people may be a bit hazy
as to just where these pieces of island real
estate are located in the Pacific. The people
who have inhabited these islands since
before Magellan's time are less familiar.
Who are they? Where did they come from?
What are they like? The people of Guam
today are American citizens, and since the
passage of the Guam Organic Act after

GRINDING CORN

The Cbamorros use the metate and mano, American

Indian culture elements brought into their islands

by the Spanish from Mexico.

World War II, pay the federal income tax
and are subject to the draft as much as
any city-dweller of Chicago, while as resi-
dents of the U. S. Trust Territory those
who live on Saipan and Tinian are under
an American administration. The United
States is responsible for the welfare of these
people. Their future is in American hands.

THE MARIANAS

Guam, Saipan, and Tinian are all part of
the same island chain — the Marianas — that
stretches in a shallow arc for approximately
450 miles north from Guam, the southern-
most and largest island in the group.
Located some 1,000 miles south of Japan
and 1,400 miles from the Philippines, the
Marianas are an American Pacific outpost
on the virtual fringe of the Far East, and
hence of strategic and political importance.

The people of the Marianas are called
Chamorros. Influenced by long contact
with Spain, as well as with America and
Japan, the Chamorros of today are vastly
different from the original Chamorros that
Magellan saw and fought when he touched

at Guam in 1521. The approximately
30,000 Chamorros that now live on Guam,
Rota, Saipan, and Tinian — the principal
islands in the Marianas — are largely western-
ized in culture, though they still preserve
a core of Chamorro tradition and still
speak their own language, which has never-
theless borrowed great numbers of loan
words from Spanish.

ORIGIN OF THE CHAMORROS

What is known of the ancient Chamorros
indicates that they migrated to their island
home from the west. The Chamorro
language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian
family that stretches from Malaysia across
Micronesia and Polynesia. In culture, the
Chamorros had numerous ties to Malaysia.
They were rice growers and pottery makers —
Malaysian traits that reached their east-
ernmost penetration into Micronesia in the
Marianas. In addition, the Chamorros
raised taro and yams, which are Old World
and Pacific Island food crops. They
possessed the outrigger canoe in common
with Oceanic and Malaysian peoples, while
in warfare they used sharpened bamboo
stakes to line traps for the unwary enemy.
This use of bamboo stakes is also decidedly
Malaysian.

After Magellan's discovery of the Mari-
anas, the Spanish used Guam as a stopping
point on the galleon run between Mexico
and the Philippines, but did not actively
colonize the islands until 1668. At that
time a concerted attempt was made to
convert the Chamorros to Christianity.
The Chamorros resisted, and, in the manner
of the period, Spanish efforts at persuasion
were backed by the sword. A bloody war
followed that lasted for thirty years, with
victory finally going to the Spanish. There-
after, the surviving Chamorros nearly be-
came extinct, primarily through the ravages
of introduced epidemic diseases to which
they had slight resistance. The decimated
population was able to recover, however,
and through extensive intermarriage with
Spaniards, Filipinos, and with migrants
from other European countries, America,
Japan, and China developed a racially
mixed group that comprises the Chamorro
people of today.

During the period of Spanish control,
which lasted until the Spanish-American
war, Chamorro culture became greatly
modified by the influence of Spain. The
Spanish priests introduced corn-growing
from Mexico, together with the typical
American Indian metate and mano for grind-
ing corn, and such food dishes from Mexico
as tortillas. Of other food plants likewise
introduced, beans, squash, tomatoes, chili
peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and
tobacco are particularly important. The
ox and two-wheeled Spanish ox cart were
adopted. In religion, the Catholic church
became a central part of Chamorro life.
The old social organization became greatly

modified and familial life absorbed many
Spanish patterns.

LATER HISTORY

After the Spanish-American war, the
United States acquired Guam but eschewed
the remainder of the Spanish possessions in
Micronesia. These were purchased by
Germany, so that all the Marianas except
Guam were under German control. This
control shifted to Japan after World War I,
and with World War II, the United States
then assumed administration of the Mari-
anas Islands north of Guam as part of the
U. S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,
retaining Guam as an outright possession.
As a result, the Chamorros of Guam are
American citizens, whereas the Chamorros
of the remainder of the Marianas are not,
and have a somewhat anomalous status as
residents of the Trust Territory.

Since the beginning of the twentieth
century, the Chamorros of Guam have
become increasingly affected by American
contact. They are today bilingual, speaking
both Chamorro and English. They dress
in American style clothes, though many of
the older women still prefer the colorful
mestiza costume of the Philippines for church
wear and festive occasions. They drink
Coca Cola, listen to the radio, and go to
the movies. Their children attend the
George Washington high school and play
baseball.

In the islands north of Guam, German,
Japanese and now American influences have
brought successive changes. Here, too, the

CLEARING FIELD OF WEEDS
Chamorro {armer has same problems as agricultur-
ists elsewhere. He routs the weeds with his long-
handled **fosinos" or scraping hoc.

Chamorros are bilingual, knowing Chamorro
and Japanese. Since the war many have
learned English too, while a few older
linguistic virtuosos speak Spanish and Ger-
man as well. Chamorro, however, is still
spoken in the home and among themselves,
and as on Guam the people are conscious of
their Chamorro tradition, which though

November, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

mingling elements from many cultures, has
still combined these elements into a unity.
World War II devastated the Marianas
and it will be years before its destructive
effects will be overcome. The people on
Guam, because it is an American possession,
have received compensation for wartime
damages. Those of the other islands have

A CHAMORRO KITCHEN

Preparing a meat dish over an open hearth for a

wedding dinner.

not been compensated, and today are
attempting to reform their communities and
build their lives anew, with the assistance
of the American administration. In addi-
tion to its archaeological work, a principal
objective of the Museum's 1949-50 expedi-
tion to the Marianas was to observe how
community life was re-forming in relation to
present problems of adjustment and to
investigate the processes of culture change
underlying the contemporary period on
Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

An Ancient Sea . . .

TEEMING PREHISTORIC LIFE
RESTORED IN EXHIBIT

BY EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.

CURATOR OF FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

The fecundity of the sea is a matter of
awe and wonder to modern man. Fishes,
shrimps, kelp, oysters, and many other
living things of direct value to us are to
be had for the taking because the supply
is renewed annually by the astounding
reproductive capacity of ocean life. It is,
perhaps, natural for us to conclude that
all this is especially arranged for our benefit.
But even before man arrived on the scene
and started his campaign of using up the
earth's natural resources, marine life was
just as abundant. The connoisseur of sea
food can look hungrily at the fat oysters
and the juicy clams in the habitat groups
of ancient life in the new Hall of Invertebrate
Paleontology (Frederick J. V. Skiff Hall-
Hall 37) and mourn that he wasn't around
to enjoy them. Man or no man, the sea

has been bountiful for half a billion years
and will continue so indefinitely.

The record of the sea's abundance lies in
the rocks deposited as mud and sand on its
floor. Enclosed in these sediments are the
hard parts of the animals that lived while
the sediments were drifting to the bottom.
Even the record of countless millions of
microscopic animals and plants without
hard parts is pre.sent, in bituminous rocks
so full of organic matter that they will
burn. But the record of life does not
extend back to the oldest rocks we know
on earth, although they, too, were once
sediments on the ocean fioor. Life, it seems,
is not so old as our three-billion-year-old
planet. It is not until we examine the
rocks formed during the Cambrian period,
beginning 540 million years ago, that we
find the oceans supporting a full quota of
plants and animals. But from that time
to the present, teeming life has held sway.

The Ordovician habitat group shown on
the cover of this issue of the Bulletin is
a good example of the crowded sea floor
of millions of years past. In six square feet
of ocean bottom are fifteen species of
animals, not to mention a seaweed. Some
of these are colonial corals and bryozoans
that band together and build single struc-
tures for the housing of thousands of
individuals. Counting these only by the
colony, and the larger kinds individually,
we find 153 animals in the group. We
could have included twice as many without
exaggerating the concentration that actually
lived in the Ordovician sea.

A classic locality where Ordovician fossils
are found is the vicinity of Cincinnati.
Almost any piece of limestone from that
area includes fossils crowded more densely
than are the models in the Museum's group.
Paleontologists have been collecting them
for more than a century, and yet they s.eem
as plentiful as before. Elsewhere in rocks
of this age there is the same wealth of fossils
— Nevada, England, Argentina, Ontario,
even Southampton Island and Baffin Island
on the Arctic Circle, where Chief Curator
of Geology Sharat K. Roy made a large
collection for the Museum in the late '20s
and again in the early '40s.

Some parts of the oceans of today are
not populated so densely as others, and that
has also been true in the past. During the
lifetime of the animals in this group, thick
beds of sand and mud were being laid down
in New York and Pennsylvania, and animals
there were few. But the vastness of the
sea is such that though part may be un-
favorable, animal and plant life can always
find some suitable area in which to exist in
amazing abundance.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
LECTURES CONTINUE

The annual autumn course of free illus-
trated lectures on travel and science for
adults will continue each Saturday through-
out November. The lectures will be given
in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum and all will begin at 2:30 p.m.
All of these lectures will be illustrated with
color movies.

Limited accommodations make it neces-
sary to restrict these lectures to adults.
Members of the Museum are entitled to
reserved seats on application. For children,
free motion pictures will be presented on
the mornings of the same Saturdays by the
Raymond Foundation.

Following are the dates, subjects, and
lecturers:

November 3 — Earthquake Lake

Reelfoot Lake, fascinating wilderness in

Tennessee
Karl Maslowski

November 10 — Shangri-la Alaska
Pioneering on our last frontier
Fred Machetanz

November 17— Exploration in Nepal
Difficult journey to the high Himalayan

kingdom
S. Dillon Ripley

November 24 — Algeria
Sahara sand and oasis
Clifford J. Kamen

No tickets are necessary for admission
to tliese lectures. A section of the
Tiieatre is reserved for Members of tlie
Museum, each of whom is entitled to
two reserved seats. Requests for these
seats should be made in advance by
telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writ-
ing, and seats will be held in the Mem-
ber's name until 2:25 o'clock.

Visiting Hours Change

Museum hours, which have been 9 A.M.
to 5 P.M. in the autumn, change to the
winter schedule: 9 A.M. to 4 P.M., November 1
to February 28.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from September 10 to October 6:

Associate Members

C. A. Crowley, Joseph Michael New-
berger, Dr. H. R. Weinzimmer.

Annual Members

Oscar A. Barke, John L. Behr, John P.
Brent, Carlos B. Bumzahem, James J.
Cronin, William J. Connors, Elliott R.
Detchon, Jr., William S. Everett, A. V.
Farr, Albert Leo Finston, G. N. Fisher,
Dr. John T. Hart, Mrs. C. M. Kittle, Elmer
Krause, M. F. Lynch, William J. Lynch, Jr.,
R. E. Moore, Lawrence S. Newmark,
Donald J. O'Brien, Mrs. Joseph Sam Perry,
Jacob C. Pratt, Jr., Nicholas T. Ritsos,
Frank E. Selz, Allen K. Sewell, Frederick
C. Shafer, Dr. Leon S. Shalla, B. L. Smalley,
John H. Smalley, Orville Taylor, H. J.
Trainor, George H. Watkins, L. E. Wybel,
Sidney R. Zatz.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 19.11

Books

(All books renewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
cluding postage are promptly filled.)

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE SHELLS OF
OUR ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS.

By Percy A. Morris. New and revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, 1961. xix+236 pages, over 400
illustrations, 102 in lull color. Price $3.75.

In the January, 1948, number of the
Bulletin, page 8, we reviewed favorably
the first edition of this book, which forms
part of the "Peterson Field Guide Series."
Now a second, somewhat enlarged edition
of it has appeared, and the necessity of
such a new edition is already sufficient
proof of the favor Morris' guide to the shells
has found with the public. The new edition,
enlarged by more than 100 kinds of mollusks
not contained in the first one and by the
inclusion of the established common names
of shells, wherever such a term has been
in use, continues on the path of the happy
medium between scientific accuracy and
popular style; thus the little book will
become equally helpful to the scientist and
the layman interested in the subject. The
rather moderate price enables almost any-
one to secure a copy of a book that is as
much of an adviser at home as it is an
eloquent guide on the beach.

Fritz Haas
Curator of Lower Invertebrates

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 54. The
Baculum of the Gorilla. By D. Dwight
Davis. October 12, 1951. 4 pages. $0.10.

Botanical Series, Vol. XIII, Part IIIA, No. 1.
Flora of Peru. By J. Francis Macbride.
October 17, 1951. 290 pages.

Technical Publications

The following technical publications were
issued recently by Chicago Natural History
Museum:

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 10, No. 11. Fauna
of Upper Vale and Choza: 1-5. By
Everett Claire Olson. August 28, 1951.
40 pages. $0.60.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 50. A New
Ranid Frog (Staurois) from the Colony of
Hongkong. September 5, 1951. 4 pages.
$0.10.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 51. Notes
on Some Peruvian Birds. By Melvin A.
Traylor, Jr. September 5, 1951. 10 pages.
$0.10.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 52. Non-
Marine Shells from Borneo (collected by
the Borneo Zoological Expedition, 1950).
By FriU Haas. September 5, 1951. 6
pages. $0.15.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 31, No. 53. New
Species and New Records of Fishes from
Bermuda. By Loren P. Woods and
Robert H. Kanazawa. September 14,
1951. 16 pages. $0.20.

STAFF NOTES

Three members of the Museum staff
participated in the recent ceremonies for
the inauguration of Dr. Lawrence C.
Kimpton, new Chancellor of the University
of Chicago. Colonel Clifford C. Gregg,
Director of the Museum was present as the
representative of this institution. Dr.
Theodore Just, Chief Curator of Botany,
represented the Botanical Society of America,
and Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences.

Mrs. F. S. (Meta P.) Howell, Librarian,
was recently guest-speaker representing the
Museum on the Elizabeth Hart radio pro-
gram over station WMAQ .... Dr. R. M.
Strong, Research Associate in Anatomy,
was notified recently that "in recognition of
50 years' continuous membership in the
American Association for the Advancement
of Science" the Executive Committee has
voted to make him a 50-year-member ....

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of
Geology, is on a study trip to principal
museums in New York and Washington,
D.C., in connection with the Museum's
meteorite collection and the identification of
material collected on his recent expedition
to El Salvador .... George Langford,
Curator of Fossil Plants, and Eugene S.
Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Inverte-
brates, have returned from a ten-day trip
to Tennessee and Mississippi, where they
collected fossil plants from the Cretaceous
and Eocene coastal-plain deposits and fossil
invertebrates from the Cretaceous bed at
Coon Creek, Tennessee .... Dr. and Mrs.
R. H. Whitfield, Associates in Fossil
Plants, have returned from a brief trip in
southern Wisconsin to collect Cambrian and
Ordovician fossil invertebrates.

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, attended the meetings of the
American Institute of Biological Sciences
held in Minneapolis from September 10 to
12. He participated in a symposium on
"Phylogeny and the Fem-Pteridosp)erm
Complex" with his paper on "The Geo-
graphical Distribution of Fossil Ferns and
Pteridosperms" and presented a paper pre-
pared in collaboration with Dr. Jos4 Cuatre-
casas on "Synopsis of Fossil and Living
Humiriaceae." Dr. Just has also been
elected to membership in the American
Society of Naturalists .... Dr. Julian A.
Steyermark, Curator of the Herbarium,
lectured October 11 before the Garden
Club of Maywood and Broadview on "Plant
Experiences in Guatemala."

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropok)^:

FVom: Harold Abramowski, Chicago — 10
stone artifacts, Wisconsin; Mrs. Isabel
Coldren Smith, Glencoe, 111. — 5 American
Indian ethnological specimens.

Department of Botany:

From: Dr. Fred Barkley, Tucum&n,
Argentina — 8 Anacardiaceae, South America;
Anthony Bialik, Chicago — 13 cryptogams,
Florida and Illinois; Carlos Bumzahem,
Chicago — 39 cryptogams, Michigan; Dr.
Maxwell S. Doty, Honolulu, Hawaii — 115
miscellaneous cryptogams; Harold B. Loud-
erback, Argo, 111. — 68 cryptogams, Indiana;
Dr. Valerie May, New South Wales, Aus-
tralia— 10 cryptogams. New Caledonia; New
York Botanical Garden — 22 algae, Puerto
Rico; Colin C. Sanborn, Highland Park,
111. — 29 phanerogams, Arkansas; Mrs. Cora
Steyermark, Barrington, 111. — 79 phanero-
gams, Missouri; Dr. Eula Whitehouse,
Dallas, Tex. — 86 North American algae,
Texas.

Department of Geology:

From: Alick L. Carter, Kenmore, N. Y. — 4
Devonian fossil fish specimens. New York;
Claude Deo, Stratford, Iowa^-4 specimens
of Middle Silurian brachiopods, Saskat-
chewan, Canada.

Department of Zoology:

From: R. K. Benjamin, Urbana, 111. —
485 beetles, various localities; Chicago Zoo-
logical Society, Brookfleld, 111. — a Solenodon
and a Mexican squirrel, various localities;
Shelly Finn, Childersburg, Ala. — a collection
of fresh-water shells, Alabama; J. Lear
Grimmer, Chicago — 4 bats, Illinois; Dr.
Fritz Haas, Chicago — a collection of fresh-
water shells. New York; William Hammond,
Lake Forest, 111. — a snake, Illinois; Lincoln
Park Zoo, Chicago — a domestic cat and a
mammal, Montana; James J. Mooney,
Highland Park, 111. — a squirrel and a lot of
sucking lice. Highland Park; John M.
Schmidt, Plainfield, 111. — 9 mammals, Wis-
consin; Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, 111. —
15 amphibians and reptiles, Wisconsin;
Robert Sharp, Cicero, 111. — a snake, Illinois;
R. E. Stadelman, Villa Arteaga, Colombia —
3 lizards and a snake, Colombia; U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Pascagoula, Miss. —
26 lots of fishes. Gulf of Mexico; Dr. George
C. Wheeler, Grand Forks, N.D.— ^ sala-
manders. North Dakota.

Library:

From Dr. Maxwell S. Doty, Honolulu,
Hawaii; Lloyd Library, Cincinnati; Karl P.
Schmidt, Homewood, III.; Alexander Spoehr,
Morton Grove, III.

Division of Motion Picture*:

From: John W. Moyer, Chicago — a 16mm
color film.

Chinese Ceramics Studied

J. A. Pope, Assistant Director of the
Freer Art Gallery in Washington, D.C.,
recently conducted research on the Mu-
seum's Chinese ceramics.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

/

MICRONESIA
Water Colors anil Photographt

^yP^ Special Exhibit, Dec. 1-31

{Pnvlew tar Museum Member*. Friday. Nov. 30, 1:30-4 p.m.)

RULLETIN

LJVol.2aNo.l2-Deceniberl951

Chicacfo Nalural
Ilislorij Mufieiim

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded bt Marshall Field, 1893

RooMvelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Stanley Fiexd

Sbwell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jb.

Wh. McCobmick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clabencb B. Randall

HowABD W. Fbnton Gbobgb a. Richardson

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field, Jr. John p. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pretidmt

Marshall Field Firtl Viee-Preaident

Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull. Jr. Third Viee-Preeident

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

CUFFOBD C. Grbgq Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Attisiant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Grboo Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

Members are requested to Inform the Museum
promptly of changes of address.

THE UNITED STATES
AND THE PACIFIC

ALTHOUGH the gradual intensification
of American relations with other
peoples of the world has been a feature of
the maturing of the United States as a
nation, World War II and its aftermath
has given this movement an acceleration
that finds us thrust into a series of complex
problems involving our relations with peoples
in almost every part of the earth.

Our culture has grown largely from Euro-
pean roots and, although it has followed its
own course of development, no great chasm
in culture-pattern separates us from the
western European nations. Across the
Pacific, however, live peoples of a greatly
different heritage and, despite the extension
of westernization to the Asiatic continent,
the differences between the Asian cultures
and our own contribute in major degree to
the difficulties we encounter in our dealings
with the peoples of the Asiatic land mass.
In addition, the island peoples of the Pacific,
whose early history is tied to Asia rather
than America, likewise present contrasts
few Americans understand. Yet with these
peoples of the Pacific and the Far East we
must deal and, of necessity, attempt to
seek a mutually satisfactory basis for future
relationships.

As a result of World War II, the United
States acquired control of the islands of the
former Japanese Mandate in the Pacific.

These islands now form the United States
Trust Territory. The reason for assuming
continued control is the strategic impor-
tance of the islands. But people live there
too. As a country dedicated to democratic
ideals, the United States cannot avoid
responsibility for the welfare of the islanders.
The area is no Pacific paradise cast in the
form of a Hollywood vision. Its economy
was torn to shreds by World War II.
Transportation and services were completely
disrupted. The American administration
has been faced with serious problems in
attempting the economic reconstruction of
the Trust Territory. How well these prob-
lems are met is in large measure dependent

YAP NATIVE MAKING A FISH-NET

on how well the administrators understand
the islanders and their cultures.

The Trust Territory, however, has not a
large population, while as the administrating
authority we do have control over the
islands. The situation is perhaps less com-
plex than our relations to the infinitely more
populous lands to the west. But if the
United States cannot do a good job in the
Trust Territory, the prospects for satis-
factory relations with the peoples of Indo-
nesia, the Philippines, Japan, and the Asiatic
mainland would seem to be correspondingly
lessened.

The Museum has long maintained a scien-
tific interest in the peoples of the Pacific
and the Far East. As an educational
institution, the Museum cannot presume
to offer ready-made solutions to present
problems arising from our relationships to
these peoples. This is not our function.
What we can do, however, is to aid in the
diffusion of knowledge of these peoples —
a knowledge essential to the solution of
present problems — among the more than
a million visitors that annually enter our
halls. To contribute to an informed body

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

"Bay in Yap," a water color by
Joseph Feher, is reproduced on
our cover. This is one of a series
of paintings by Feher that will
form part of a special exhibit on
the peoples of the United States
Trust Territory and Guam to be
featured in Stanley Field Hall of
the Museum, December 1 to 31
(see page 3). There will be a special
preview for Members of the Mu-
seum on Friday afternoon, No-
vember 30, from 1 to 4 o'clock.
The paintings and photographs in
the exhibit come here through the
courtesy of the Honolulu Academy
of Arts. They are supplemented
by special exhibits from the
Museum collections.

politic is a major museum function. As a
modest but important step in this direction
the Museum offers in December a special
exhibit in Stanley Field Hall on the peoples
of Guam and the United States Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands (see page 3).
Alexander Spoehr
Curator of Oceanic Ethnology

Human Skeletons

Age and sex differences of the human
skeleton are illustrated in an exhibit in
Chauncey M. Keep Memorial Hall (Races
of Mankind — Hall 3). Included in the dis-
play are skulls, long bones, teeth, and pelves.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from October 8 to November 14:

Associate Members

Mrs. Donald R. McLennan, Sr., Miss
Eleanor O. Olaison, Mrs. Suzette M.
Zurcher.

Sustaining Members

Frank Dumelle, William C. Kraus, Earl
Ross.

Annual Members

George E. Ackermann, Mrs. Amy G.
Baldwin, Gilbert A. Beatty, Saul Bernstein,
Allan E. Bulley, R. I. Chutkow, E. Hector
Coates, Miss Shirley Conklin, Henriques
Crawford, W. P. Enzweiler, C. W. FoUett,
William Friedlander, Mrs. Fred A. Healy,
Thomas H. Healy, Mrs. Rosa M. Hohbaum,
Harry G. Johnson, R. J. Jurgensen, Mrs.
Frances J. Kaufman, Roy R. Laidley,
George A. Lane, T. E. Marston, Mrs. J. H.
McNabb, Louis L. Narowetz, Walter C.
Otto, Edwin E. Pearson, Miss Kathleen
Pearson, Miss Erna Schwandt, Dr. Henry S.
Testin, Frederick J. Wachter, Harry N.
Wyatt.

December, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

Special Exhibit, December 1-31 . . .

THE PEOPLES LIVING IN U.S. TRUST TERRITORY AND GUAM

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR or OCEANIC BTHNOUXSY

DURING DECEMBER the Museum
will present an exhibit on the peoples
of the United States Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands and of Guam. The Trust
Territory, Guam, and the adjacent Gilbert

Today the United States, by virtue of the
trusteeship created by the United Nations,
is responsible for the well-being of the
peoples of the United States Trust Territory
as well as of those on Guam, an American
possession since 1899. A principal purpose
of the exhibit is to call the attention of the

The background of island culture is further
portrayed by exhibits of material from the
Museum collections. The photographs on
this page and page 2 are by Raymond Sato.

Prior to the opening of the exhibit, a special
preview trill be held from 1 to i o'clock on the

YAPESE GENTLEMAN AT SOLITAIRE; CHILDREN •KIBITZING'

A PONAPE FAMILY IN OUTRIGGER CANOE

ON SAIPAN THERE IS NO HURRYING

A HOME ON A PACIFIC LACOOX

Islands (a British possession) constitute a
major region of the Pacific called Micro-
nesia, which covers some three million square
miles of ocean dotted with small islands.

Although for four years American forces
fought a series of bitter land, sea, and air
battles across the vast expanse of the
Pacific and although the names of islands
virtually unknown in the United States
before World War II are now in the com-
mon vocabulary, knowledge of the Pacific
and of American responsibilities in this area
remains confined primarily to specialists.

public to this American responsibility, to
show visually the people who live on these
islands, and to communicate the essential
facts of their way of life. The exhibit is
designed not as an academic curiosity but
to serve an important educational function.
The Museum is fortunate in securing for
this exhibit a splendid series of paintings
and drawings by Joseph Feher and photo-
graphs by Raymond Sato, assembled and
generously loaned by the Honolulu Academy
of Arts. These depict the peoples and island
setting of the Trust Territory and Guam.

afternoon of Friday, November SO, for Mu-
seum Members and their guests. Dr. Alexander
Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic Ethnology, and
Phillip H. Lewis, University of Chicago Mu-
seum Fellow, will be present in Stanley Field
Hall to answer questions.

Museum Admission Tax Removed

Effective from November 1, by act of the
recent Congress, the 20 per cent federal tax
on museum admission charges, imposed since
October 1, 1941, is no longer to be collected.

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1951

CREATIVE ARTISTRY
IN NEST BUILDING

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OP BIRDS

"As to what its significance is we have
no idea" is how I ended a survey of the seven
(now eight) cases in which cei-tain bird
species characteristically use snakeskins in
their nests (Bulletin, December, 1949,
page 6). Since then, I've had a clue to the
riddle. Unpacking a bird collection made

•SIMULATION' OF SNAKESKIN
The nest of a Borneo bulbut showing dead leaves
used in the margin o( the nest. This material in tex-
ture and appearance somewhat resembles snakeskin. •

in Borneo by Curator of Anatomy D.
Dwight Davis, I took out a bulbul's nest.
In its outer edge were flat, weathered leaves
that resembled snakeskins. Later, when we
received a bird collection from Dr. D. S.
Rabor of the Philippines there was another
nest of another species of bulbul and this,
too, had flat, dead, weathered leaves in it
that looked like snakeskin. When I was
in Madagascar, in 1929-31, I had foimd
three nests of the Madagascar bulbul, with
a snakeskin used in each. Here was a clue.
I decided to investigate the nests of the
other species of bulbuls of southern Asia
and Africa where the family is represented
by many species. By considering the snake-

MORE 'SYNTHETIC SNAKESKIN'

The nest of a Philippine bulbul with dead leaves

somewhat resembling snakeskin used in the base

of the nest.

skin-using species against the background
of the nesting of the other species, some
correlation might appear.

This became a library problem at once.
I had to look up the earlier reviews of the
problem in the ornithological joiunals. The
Auk and the OmiUiologisehe Monataberiehie,

then in Strong's Bibliography of Birds, to
make sure that no important papers were
missing from my own subject file. Stuart
Baker's Fauna of British India, Birds had a
large part of one volune devoted to bulbuls,
and gave excellent summaries of the nidifica-
tion of each species occurring there. Banner-
man's Birds of Tropical West Africa covered
the western part of that continent, and
Jackson and Sclater's Birds of Kenya Colony
did the same for the eastern part. For
collateral material I looked in Mathews'
Birds of Australia, Volume 12, Forbush's
Birds of Massachusetts and Mrs. F. M.
Bailey's Birds of New Mexico and a dozen
minor publications.

But it was worth it.

Perhaps my earlier thinking was domi-
nated by the thought that the shed snake-
skins had been parts of animals toward
which many birds show a natural antipathy.
But it's extremely probable a bird does
not recognize the snakeskin as such.
Rather to it the shed snakeskin is a strip
of thin, flexible mate-
rial. Obviously it
would be used, by
chance, by many bird
species, such as the
house wren that in
addition to such natu-
ral materials as twigs,
grass, and hair has
been recorded as using
lead pencils, paper,
nails, safety pins, and
snakeskins in its nest.

As to the regular
users of snakeskin,
the snakeskin-using
Madagascar bulbul
did fit into a pattern.
Bulbuls in general
make characteristic
simple cup nests.
Some species use al-
most any available
material. But quite
a few species had
specific choices of
materials: one species'
nest had tendrils of

vines in its base; another a lining of grass
heads of certain color; another pine needles;
another red dead leaves; and the Madagascar
bulbul snakeskins.

There seems to be a tendency for many
species to make distinctive nests. They
often accomplish this by a choice of material
used by few or no other species. What
more natural than that one species, being
in a country where snakes are common,
should hit on shed snakeskins!

To show that the choice of snakeskin as
nesting material is an expression of a
tendency for each species of bird to make a
different kind of nest may not be much of
an answer. But it is to an extent. No
longer do we say, "Why are certain birds'

USE OF ACTUAL

SNAKESKIN

Crested flycatcher's

nest in

Museum exhibit.

nests characterized by snakeskins?" Rather
we have the broader, more general question,
"Why does each kind of bird tend to build
a nest different from that of every other
kind?" Thus, little by little, we clear away
small, vexing questions and resolve them
into larger, more general questions. For
answers to these we sometimes plan extended
work involving field studies, studies of
specimens and books. And sometimes, as
we examine a specimen, read a paper, or
unpack a shipment, an answer, or at least
a clue, springs to our mind.

An Ancient Reptile . . .

COTYLORHYNCHUS ARRIVES
FROM OKLAHOMA SITE

By WILLIAM D. TURNBULL

PREPARATOR, DEPARTMENT OP GEOLOGY

Some 240 million years ago much of
Texas and Oklahoma was traversed by
broad rivers bordered by extensive swampy
areas. The climate in those remote Permian
days in the North American Southwest was
warm, humid, and semitropical. The rivers
were laden with silt, which was deposited
on the deltas and, in flood time, along the
flood-plains. The countrj' abounded in
plant and animal life and often the remains
were buried in the mud to be preserved as
fossils in hardened mudstone. Occasionally,
during high floods, some animals were buried
beneath thick mud deposits. Their skeletons
were saved from the ravages of currents
and scavengers and so were preserved intact.

Cotylorhynchus romeri is the name given
to one of these Permian animals, a member
of the great reptilian order Pelycosauria,
that lived in the rivers and swamps in the
vicinity of what is now Norman, Oklahoma.
This animal has a remarkably small, short
skuU, connected by a stocky neck to a
relatively huge, low, barrel-shaped trunk.
The teeth are blunt, indicating a herbivorous
diet. So disproportionate is the skull to
the rest of the body that the beast must
have spent a large part of its time engaged
in the mechanical process of ingesting
suflicient food through its small mouth to
nourish its large body. The limb-bones are
short and very broad, indicating a sluggish,
plodding type of locomotion. The bulky
extremities also suggest that Cotylorhynchus
w^as dependent upon the buoyancy of swamp
and river waters to help support its great
weight, estimated to have been one-third
of a ton. With a tail about equal in length
to the rest of its body, the total length of
adult individuals was between 10 and 12
feet. Little Casea (soon to be exhibited in
Ernest R. Graham Hall— Hall 38), closely
allied to Cotylorhynchus and found in
earlier Permian deposits of Texas, reached
a length of but four feet and was much
lighter in build than its large relative.

Cotylorhynchus is represented by twenty-
seven skeletons, which were discovered by

December, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

Dr. J. Willis Stovall of the University of
Oklahoma, where several of the specimens
are on display. The paleontological staff
of Chicago Natural History Museum was
anxious to obtain one of these interesting
forms for comparative study and to add to
the extensive collections of Texas pelyco-
saurs. It was arranged that during Sep-
tember a joint party from the Museum and
the University of Chicago be sent to collect
a skeleton, indications of which were found
some years ago by Dr. Stovall. The writer
was accompanied by Richard Konizeski, of
the Department of Geology, University of
Chicago.

The site of the field operations was an
abandoned pasture, dissected by erosion,
with many outcroppings of red mudstone.
In one of the gullies, fragments of bone
were found in abundance. The collectors
immediately set to work with ice-picks and
awls, chipping away the crumbly rock to
expose the skeleton. The first parts of this
Cotylorhynchus to appear were the ribs. As
the work progressed, the vertebral column,
the limbs, and the pectoral and pelvic
girdles were gradually uncovered. It soon
became evident that this was an excep-
tionally well-preserved specimen, nearly
complete, save for the skull and jaws that
had apparently weathered out some years
ago. The extremities — the curled-up toes
and the small vertebrae at the tip of the
long, curving tail — were found to be essenti-
ally complete. Of particular scientific in-
terest is the dermal armor of gastralia, or
belly ribs, which is better preserved in this
individual than in any of the previous finds.

As the fossil was exhumed, a thin solution
of shellac was poured on the bone to harden
it. When the full extent of the skeleton was
finally determined, a plaster-of-paris jacket
was carefully put on to protect the fossil
during the long journey back to the Museum.
It required the use of a tractor and four sets
of strong arms to load the 1,000-pound
specimen into the field truck. Cotylorhynchus
now lies in the paleontological preparation
room.

VENEZUELAN PLANT PITH USED IN NATIVE CARVING

1,200 4-H Boys and Girls
On Tours of Museum

More than 1,200 boys and girls of the 4-H
Clubs, national farm-youth organization,
visited the Museum on November 27 and
were conducted on tours of the exhibits by
staff lecturers of the Raymond Foundation
and members of the scientific staff.

The youngsters, representing nearly all
states of the Union and the provinces of
Canada, were delegates to the National
Congress of 4-H Clubs, which meets in
Chicago every year at the time of the
International Livestock Exposition. Those
who come are chosen in their local com-
munities for excellence of achievement. For
many years their visit to the Museum has
been a repeated occasion.

By JULIAN A. STEYERMARK

CURATOR OF THE HBRBARIUH

Most tourists who visit Venezuela know its
capital city, Caracas, better than any other
place in this interesting South American
country. If they travel westward from
Caracas along the Andean highway, they
will come eventually to M6rida, the largest
town in the Venezuelan Andes. Surrounded
by the highest peaks of the Andes in Vene-

ANIME PITH CARVINGS

Specimens show fruits carved from pith of the

Venezuelan anime plant.

zuela, it nestles in a valley at an elevation
of approximately 5,000 feet (1,641 meters).
Potatoes and wheat are grown in the cooler
climate predominating in the vicinity. A
native staple, similar in shape and flattened
like the well-known tortilla of Mexico and
Central America but made from wheat
flour instead of corn, is commonly eaten in
this area.

One of the products, used in native handi-
craft peculiar to this part of the Andes, is
known as anime. The name is applied to
various species of the Compositae, a family
that includes such familiar plants as aster,
daisy, goldenrod, chrysanthemum, dahlia,
sunflower, artichoke, and thousands of
others. While the plants called anime
resemble one another in general appearance
because of their tall thick stems with op-
posite large leaves and yellow or yellow-
and-white flowers, they can actually be
referred to at least four different species.

In the course of my botanical collecting
in Venezuela I found anime to be represented
by two species of the genus Montanoa (M.
Lehmannii and M. quadrangularis) and two
species of the genus Polymnia (P. eurylepis
and a species new to science soon to be

published in the Museum's scientific series).
Although these four differ in many respects
and are easily detected as distinct from one
another, they all have one feature in com-
mon, namely a soft whitish or pale-colored
pith. The pith, as is well known, is the soft
central portion of the stem, usually spongy
in texture and easily cut. Most herbaceous
as well as woody plants possess pith, but
in some it is of greater extent or of firmer
texture than in others.

In the case of the anime plants of Vene-
zuela, pith is well developed and quite
soft. It is similar to the pith of the stems
of our common elderberry (Sambucus cana-
densis), but attains greater thickness. The
inhabitants of M^rida and elsewhere in the
Venezuelan Andes have learned that they
can easily fashion this pith into numerous
objects of great delicacy and beauty. Hand-
carved by small knives and then colored to
appear life-like, these articles may represent
fruits of various kinds, orchids growing on
a log, roses, miniature houses, etc.

Anime is lighter than cork. Sometimes
one sees bundles of stems being collected to
use for this carving, a remarkable art not
often appreciated by the ordinary tourist.
Carvings of this kind are not limited to the
Andean towns but can also be found in
Caracas itself, as one species of anime grows
in the surrounding hills. Sometimes the
different species of anime are designated by
the local inhabitants as anime blana),
anime manso, etc.

It is interesting to note that the genus
Polymnia is also found in the eastern half
of the United States and that it is repre-

ANIME PITH USED IN ART
Reproduction of an orchid plant (Cattleya mossiae),
showing its epiphytic habit of growth on a piece of
wood. Made by a native Venezuelan artist entirely

out of the pith from an anime plant.

sented by two species in Illinois. In these,
however, the stem is quite slender and -the
pith is only slightly developed as compared
with the thick-stemmed species of Venezuela.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1951

EXPLORING GUATEMALA'S THRIVING INSECT COMMUNITIES

By RODGER MITCHELL

SOME of the most interesting and profit-
able collecting of the Museum's expedi-
tion to Guatemala in 1948 was done at
Finca el Zapote in the middle of one of the
more heavily worked agricultural areas.
The climate and location of the western
slope of the Pacific escarpment of the
Guatemala plateau, boldly marked by its
chain of volcanoes, is ideal for the growth of
one of the principal crops of the country,
coffee. Most of the land that can be
profitably farmed is in use. Grazing is
extensive, and remnants of the original
vegetation and animal life can be found
only high on the volcanic slopes or in locally
inaccessible terrain. But I cannot remember
having seen any slopes inaccessible to the
farming methods of the Guatemalan Indians.

The relationships of the original flora and
fauna have been obscured; some forms of
life rare before man's interference are now
abundant, but many forms once common
are now nearly extinct. For the entomolo-
gist this is a matter of concern but not
necessarily discouraging because even in the
areas of man's greatest interference in
Central America there is a rich, varied, and
little-understood assemblage of insects. It
is unfortunate that so few areas exist today
in something approaching a natural state.
There are regrettably few opportunities for
US to acquire the knowledge necessary to
describe and understand the changes in
plant and animal populations that occur
where man claims lands for his own purposes.

Through the generosity of F. Lind Pet-
tersen of Finca el Zapote we were given
much help, and complete freedom in our
investigations. The lands of the finca (a
Spanish name equivalent to plantation)
extended from high on Volcan de Fuego to
the lower part of the coastal plain. The
principal crops were coffee and quinine.
Coffee occupied the middle grounds, below
4,000 feet and little lower than 3,000 feet.
The cinchona trees, which produce the
quinine, grow in long crowded rows at an
elevation usually in excess of 4,000 feet.
The lands not devoted to these crops were
used for pastiu-e, other minor crops, or were
covered with a more or less modified forest.

UNSYMPATHETIC HORSES

In order to look over the finca lands we
were provided with horses. The foreman
gave us the supposedly better mounts,
which responded poorly to inexperienced
riders and took a very dim view about carry-
ing an entomologist with his rattling accumu-
lation of bottles and vials, to say nothing of
unfamiliar waving bug nets. After the first
dismounting to rummage around an old
tree stump I found the horse unwilling to
allow me to remount, leaving no alternative
but to lead him back. It was apparent that

an older, less discriminating horse would
serve me best.

One of the most interesting collecting
places on the finca was an area of recently
cleared land in which the logs had been
left out in the open. A tremendous fauna
of insects had developed in the logs. Many

The Guatemala Zoological Ex-
pedition of Chicago Natural
History Museum was in the field
from mid-April to the end of
August, 1948. Illness forced the
leader of the expedition, Rupert L.
Wenzel, Curator of Insects, to re-
turn within a month. The writer
of this article, Rodger Mitchell, an
entomologist, and Louis de la
Torre, the mammalogist, both
graduate students at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, carried on
the field work for the remaining
time of the expedition.

logs were covered with little piles of sawdust
pushed up by the insects boring in the wood,
and the ground underneath some of the logs
was blanketed with this sawdust. The
combined effect of the thousands of insects
chewing away at the logs made a noise not
unlike the crumpling of cellophane. I was
at a loss to know the source of the noise
at first, for one hardly expects that the
chewing of insects could make much noise.
Many hours were spent among these logs
and probably the greater proportion of
the log-boring insects and their associates
collected on the trip came from this small
area. In collecting insects, very often the
discovery of just one such ideal spot can
make an entire trip worth while. Only
occasionally does one find just at the right
time a spot where, for some reason, one
kind of insect is peculiarly abundant.

The more time one spends collecting in
one spot for special things the more interest-
ing and enjoyable it becomes. Here among
the logs it became apparent that there was
a very complex community in each of these
logs. Boring beetles ate the wood, a
tremendous growth of yeasts and fungi
supported many kinds of insects in abun-
dance, and another entire assemblage of
parasites and predators lived at their ex-
pense. A whole complex of these animals
lived together in one log, almost independent
of the other living things about them, with
their numbers delicately regulated so that
all could survive without destroying each
other. Over and over again in all kinds of
circumstances one is impressed with these
small sharply defined communities that com-

pose the larger and much more complex and
obscurely defined major communities. These
smaller communities fit together and are
integrated with each other in the over-all
view.

The coffee groves with their protecting
cover of larger shade trees were very good
places for collecting leaf-feeding insects.
Most of the coffee trees were under eight
feet in height and formed a dense shrub-
like growth. Between the well-spaced coffee
trees a low herbaceous growth was allowed
to develop. Twenty or thirty feet overhead
the dissected leaves of the leguminous trees
spread a delicate lacy shade that protected
the coffee flowers from the wind and rain
but still allowed enough sun through to
ripen the coffee berries to a bright Christmas
red.

VAST NUMBERS OF SPECIES

Paths and roads lead through the coffee
trees and along these many flowers grew,
each attracting a host of insects. In these
open areas a net could be used to advantage
for flying insects like butterflies and for
general sweeping of the vegetation. Snout
beetles and leaf beetles are among the most
abundant groups of insects in such situa-
tions. There are so many species in the
tropics that there are not nearly enough
specialists to identify more than a few of
the groups. Each plant feeder appears at
a particular place on the plant of its prefer-
ence and usually has a definite behavior
pattern. A moving shadow or the slightest
jar causes certain insects to drop to the
ground, whereas others respond to the same
stimuli by flying off. Some fly straight up,
others to the side, and some gain air speed
by dropping down.

If you know the insect's inflexible behavior
pattern, the killing jar can be so held that
the insect will helplessly fly right into it.
The response of insects to temperature is
obvious to all those who have done any
amount of insect collecting, for as the day
gets hotter it is harder and harder to be
quick enough to get the insects before they
take off. The best way to get large numbers
of the plant feeders, and many other insects,
is by sweeping. With a strong heavy net
one just sweeps the vegetation. At the
bottom of the net there is always a mass of
leaves, twigs, seeds, and hundreds of insects.

It takes several days' work at the Museum
to prepare all the insects collected in fifteen
minutes' sweeping; so we are often forced
to select those forms both in the field and
at the Museum that are of particular im-
portance in our lines of interest. The
butterflies were particularly abundant in
two places on the finca. Many flowers
grew by the wayside where a road led
through a narrow stretch of woods. Early
in the morning there was a host of interesting

December, 1951

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

butterflies on the flowers. But for variety
and interest the butterflies that flocked by
the mudpuddles of the road far surpassed
those of the flowers. Moist spots are great
gathering places for many butterflies and
around the Chicago area many butterflies,

HUNTING GROUND FOR INSECTS

The lands of Finca el Zapotc occupy the west slope o£ Volcan de Fuego where

altitudinal and topographic difierences make it possible to collect in many

different situations.

though few species, can be found at muddy
spots. In Guatemala there might easily
be twenty species at a single such spot.
The other place to see butterflies was the
cinchona groves. Cinchona flowers have a
rich, sweet odor and attract many insects.
The trees are just high enough to be out
of reach and collecting was difficult and
disappointing in these groves.

FUNGI YIELD SPECIMENS

The disappointment over the butterflies
being just out of reach was counterbalanced
by the abundance of fungi. Cinchona trees
are planted close together and the under-
cover cleared so that on the shaded, clear
ground it was easy to see the fungi. Insects
in great variety are found on fungi. Many
beetles feed on them, and one group of tiny
beetles eats only the microscopic fungus
spores. Fly larvae bore in and feed on the
fungus body. All, of course, have their
parasites and predators. Every member of
the complex fungus assemblage has peculiar
modifications and behavior patterns. In
each clump of mushrooms we have another
complex integrated community. It is not
surprising that we have such great difficulty
understanding the ecology of a forest or a
prairie when each one of these big units
contains so many complex smaller units. In
collecting small, active insects, like most of
the fungus dwellers, an aspirator is used.
The aspirator is a vacuum-cleaner-like
apparatus. By sucking on it you draw
the insect up into a bottle and after the
collecting is completed the insects are trans-
ferred into a vial of preservative.

Our hostess, Mrs. Pettersen, discovered
a colony of stingless bees in a hollow tree

in her back yard. These bees, not distantly
related to the familiar honey bee, build
combs of trash masticated and mixed with
a small amount of wax. Otherwise they
collect honey and act quite like ordinary
honey bees. The fact that they are stingless
had attracted the
attention of apiarists
and certain species are
being studied for pos-
sible use in the honey
industry.

When we were call-
ed back to the vicinity
of the tree, the bees
immediately swarmed
out, viciously buzzing
about and crawling
into our hair in a most
menacing manner.
Our antics in response
to this were sponta-
neous, and the source
of much amusement.
The bees were so
tangled up in our hair
that they had to be
combed out. It is
hard to avoid comparing the behavior of
these bees with that of the harmless hognosed
snake, which is more menacing and aggres-
sive than are the truly dangerous snakes.
These stingless bees certainly acted with
more vigor than their stinging relatives, and
our response was evidence that this can be
effective protection for them.

In the tropics a good bit of collecting may
be done in populated agricultural areas.
This does not mean that unexplored areas
are avoided — on the contrary, they are
extremely attractive. In both undisturbed
natural regions and in various niches in
cultivated areas scores of new species are
still to be found, each discovery contributing
to our knowledge of the history and evolu-
tion of a group of insects. As we collect
these insects about which so little is known
we can see that each species is an integral
part of a community. The marvelous and
intriguing relationships of living things to
each other and to their environment are
in fact as fascinating to observe in our back
yards and forest preserves as in the tropical
rain forests and Guatemalan plantations.

STAFF NOTES

MERRY CHRISTMAS and
HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Museum will be closed on both
Tuesday, December 25, and Tuesday,
January 1 (Christmas and New Year's
Day), so that Museum employees may
spend the holidays with their famih'es.
These are the only days in the year
when the Museum is not open.

Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects,
left Chicago recently for an extended
tour of European museums to study beetles
of the family Histeridae. He will go first
to Vienna to supervise the packing of the
Bernhauer Collection of staphilinid beetles
recently purchased by this Museum. He
will visit Genoa, Paris, and the British
Museum in London .... Loren P. Woods,
Curator of Fishes, returned to his desk
from a brief trip to southern Illinois to
collect cave fishes and their relatives ....
Robert F. Inger, Assistant Curator of
Pushes, made a trip to southwestern Missouri,
where he collected not only cave fishes but
salamanders, crustaceans, and flatworms, all
remarkable for their loss of color in the cave
environment Emmet R. Blake, Asso-
ciate Curator of Birds, attended the meetings
of the American Ornithologists' Union held
in Montreal .... Ronald J. Lambert,
Assistant Taxidermist, presented a paper
on "Supplies for the Preparation of Museum
Exhibits" at a meeting of the Midwest
Museums' Conference in Springfield, Illinois.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology:

From: Orlin I. Wahl, Evanston, 111.— 5
artifacts, McHenry County, Illinois.

Department of Botany:

From: Bishop Museum, Honolulu — 31
phanerogams, Hawaii; Dr. C. S. Nielsen and
Dr. Grace C. Madsen, Florida State Uni-
versity, Tallahassee — 147 algae, Florida and
Louisiana; J. Francis Macbride, Stanford
University, California — 83 algae, California;
Floyd Swink, Chicago — -136 phanerogams,
Illinois and Indiana; John W. Thieret,
Chicago — 187 phanerogams, Utah and In-
diana; E. J. Palmer, Webb City, Mo.— 209
phanerogams, Missouri.

Department of Zoology :

From: John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
— 50 fishes; Dr. George Bevier, La Paz,
Bolivia — 12 mammals (rodents), Bolivia;
Owen Bryant, Steamboat Springs, Colo. —
11 true bugs, Colorado and Arizona; Chicago
Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — a mam-
mal (baby sitatunga), Africa; George L.
Chindahl, Maitland, Fla. — approximately
400 magazine and newspaper pictures of
animals (various); Dr. B. E. Dahlgren,
Chicago — a snake (Typhlops lumbricalis),
Cuba; Lloyd G. Gage, Wilmette, 111.— a
collection of African marine shells, Africa;
Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 3 lots of
land shells, Egypt; Dr. James Kezer, Still-
water, Okla. — 15 salamanders, Oregon; Allen
M. Lipscomb, San Marcos, Tex. — 2 frogs
{Acris crepitans), Texas; Dr. Clarence R.
Smith, Aurora, 111. — a weasel, Illinois;
Walter F. Webb, St. Petersburg, Fla.— two
lots of African land shells, Africa; School of
Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle
— 23 fish specimens of genus Oncor-
hynchus, representing five species.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1951

^mW ^L6SS AGO

M THE MIMUM

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1901:

"In Hall 65, devoted to structural geology,
an exhibit of cave formations and cave life
has been prepared. Stalactites, stalagmites,
and other cave formations from several well-
known caves of the United States have been
mounted in their natural position and a

OLD-TIME CAVE EXHIBIT

Subterranean limestone products, particularly sta-

lagmites and stalactites, as exhibited in a hall of

Field Columbian Museum in 1901.

realistic setting corresponding in form and
details to a typical limestone cave given.
Accessories illustrating water, and animals
which live in caves, such as bats, blind fish,
crayfish, and crickets, are also used. The
whole illustrates the nature and manner of
growth of limestone cave formations and the
living forms which characterize such caves."

DALLWIG SUNDAY LECTURES
ON GEMS AND JEWELS

Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer,
will talk at 2 o'clock each Sunday afternoon
throughout December on "Gems, Jewels,
and 'Junk.' " Starting with the supersti-
tions that led to the custom of wearing gems
as charms against evil, against illness, to
bring good luck, or to further the cause of
love, Mr. Dallwig will go from the reasons
we value gems to how we obtain them. He
will trace precious and semiprecious gem-
stones from their origins in matrix rock to
their ultimate resting places in the jewelry
store, museum collection, or personal jewel
chest. This lecture also tells how imitation
and synthetic gems are produced and how
to test them for their artificiality.

By press time Mr. Dallwig had received
more than 12,000 advance reservations for

his current series of Sunday afternoon lec-
tures, which will continue through April
(excepting February, when Mr. Dallwig will
be on an out-of-town lecture tour). Arrange-
ments have been made to accommodate
larger audiences for these Sunday lectures
than in the past, although attendance is
still limited to adults. The lecture for
Sundays in January will be "Living Races
and Their Way of Life"; in March, "Money
Does Grow on Trees"; and in April, "Life —
What Is It?"

Members of the Museum may use
their membership cards to attend these
lectures without advance reservations.
All others, with the exception of accredited
representatives of the press, must make
reservations in advance. Reservations may
be made by mail or telephone (W Abash
2-9410). The lectures are free. They start
promptly at 2 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m.,
including a half-hour intermission for relaxa-
tion or for tea or coffee in the Museum cafe-
teria, where smoking is permitted.

NATURE PHOTO CONTEST
NEARING DEADLINE

Several weeks remain in which to submit
entries for the Seventh Chicago International
Nature Photography Exhibition to be held
at Chicago Natural History Museum
February 1 to 28, inclusive, under the
joint auspices of the Nature Camera Club
of Chicago and the Museum. January 14
is the deadline for entries.

Judges for the contest, whose decision will
be final, are: John Bayalis, Chief of Division
of Photography at the Museum; D. D wight
Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy at
the Museum; Ragnar Hedenvall, APSA,
photographer; Betty Henderson Hulett,
APSA, photographer; Floyd Swink, nature
lecturer.

DECEMBER LECTURE TOURS
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY

Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of
staff lecturers, are conducted every after-
noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and
certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours
are given covering all departments. Special
subjects are offered on Wednesdays and
Fridays. A schedule of the.se follows:

Wed., Dec. 5 — Land of the Mummies
(Lorain Stephens).

Fri., Dec. 7 — Trees in Winter. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Miriam
Wood).

Wed., Dec. 12— Tales of Spice Roads:
Ancient and Modern Routes of Trade
(Marie Svoboda).

Fri., Dec. 14 — Fossil Hunting: On Museum
Expeditions and On Your Own. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromquist).

Wed., Dec. 19 — Sacred Animals (Jane
Sharpe).

Fri., Dec. 21 — Fashions in Food: Effects of
Food Customs on People. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (Marie
Svoboda).

Wed., Dec. 26 — Eskimo Life (June Bueh-
wald).

Fri., Dec. 28 — Strange Sea Animals. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Lorain Stephens).

Scientific Groups Visit Museum

Two large groups of scientists attending
conventions in Chicago were visitors at the
Museum last month. Several hundred pro-
fessional anthropologists were guests of the
Museum's anthropological staff between
meetings of the American Anthropological
Association. Members of the Department
of Zoology were hosts to Veterans Adminis-
tration Consultants on Tropical Diseases.

MUSEUM AID TO CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS—

Christmas shopping and wrapping packages can be made easier if you
use services Chicago Natural History Museum offers:

(1) Christmas Gift Memberships

Send to the Director the name and
address of the person to whom you wish
to give a Museum membership, together
with your remittance to cover member-
ship fee (see enclosed Christmas gift
membership order form).

An attractive Christmas card will
notify the recipient that through your
generosity he has been elected a Member
of the Museum. He will receive also his
membership card and information on
membership privileges.

(2) Museum Book Shop Gifts

Books endorsed for scientific authen-
ticity by members of the Museum staff
are on sale in the BOOK SHOP. The,
selection is for both adults and children.

When desired, the BOOK SHOP will
handle orders by mail and telephone
(W Abash 2-9410). It will undertake all
details of wrapping and dispatching gift
purchases to the designated recipients,
together with such personal greetings as
the purchaser may specify, charging only
postal costs.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS