RULLETIN

LJ \ ol.23,No.l -J aiiuaiy 1952

Chiv.aifo Xaturul
Ilistorij yiu>ieiini

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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 195Z

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore DrlTe, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lestbk Akhoub Stanley Field

Sbwell L. Avbby Samuel Insull, Jr.

Wm. McCobmick Blair Henry P. Isham

Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain

Walter J. CuionNGS William H. Mitchell

Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall

HOWAKD W. FENTON GBOKGB a. RiCHARDeON

Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten

Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Praidtnt

Marshall Field finl Viet-Pmident

— ^ — Second Vice-Prtndtni

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vict-Pmidtnl

Solomon A. Smith Tnasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Dinetor and Seeretary

John R. Millar Attitlani Seerttart

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Direelor of Uu Muteum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chie/ Curalor of Aniknpolon

Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botoat

Sharat K. Rot Chuf Cnrotor of Goolon

Karl P. Schmiot Chief Curaior of Zoolon

MANAGING EDITOR
H B. Harte Public Relatione Countel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Chbistinb Tardy

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

NEVER-ENDING SEARCH

FOR OLDEST VERTEBRATES

As vertebrates ourselves we are naturally
interested in the evolutionary history of
this group but, unfortunately, the farther
back we trace it in time, the less we know
about it. When w^e come to the earliest
vertebrate beginnings, presumably about
450 million years ago in the Ordovidan or
Cambrian period, little or nothing is known.
It is not surprising, then, that very early
vertebrates are highly prized.

The honor of possessing the earliest verte-
brates was first held by Great Britain.
Fragments of the armor of fish-like forms
were described in 1839 from the Ludlow
bone bed, near the top of the series of Silurian
rocks in western England. Some twenty
years later, when still earlier remains were
described from the lower part of the Ludlow
series, rival claims from northern Europe
were beginning to appear. Finally in 1884
the British had to rehnquish reluctantly
their claim to possess the earliest verte-
brates when Professor Edward W. Claypole
described some armored, fish-Uke members
of the group from the Silurian red sand-
stones of Pennsylvania. Some of these
fossils were from rocks of about the same
age as the British Ludlow, but others were
much farther down in the Silurian.

Professor Claypole was rightly proud of
his discovery, as is indicated by the many

papers he published concerning it, both in
this country and abroad. But his glory was
short-lived, for in 1892 the astounding dis-
covery of fragments of vertebrates in the
Ordovician rocks of Colorado was announced
by Charies D. Walcott of the United States
Geological Survey. This extravagent claim
was more than many paleontologists were
willing to accept. Claypole, jealous of his
own position, was not convinced for some
time that these were truly vertebrates.
European scientists accepted the vertebrate
nature of the fragments, but believed that
they belonged to much later Devonian
fishes. Some went so far as to propose
preposterous geological explanations to ac-
count for the position of what they believed
to be Devonian fishes underlying rocks of
Ordovician age. But Walcott's claims were
substantiated, and today the Late Ordo-
vician age and the vertebrate nature of
these fragments is generally accepted.

What have the Russians been doing about
this? Have they missed an opportunity to
claim another "first"? Apparently they
have, for as early as 1889 "fishes" were
described from Early Ordovician rocks near
Leningrad (then St. Petersburg). Many
of these "fishes" are conodonts, tooth-like
structures perhaps belonging to some in-
vertebrate, and maybe for this reason the
record has been overlooked by most paleon-
tologists. But associated with the conodonts
are a few tooth-like fragments made of
dentine and thus unmistakably belonging
to a vertebrate. This is an occurrence that
should be confirmed, for it is older than the
one in Colorado.

Because of the rarity and poor preserva-
tion of very early vertebrates, the origin of
the group is still an open field for specula-
tion. Better fossils are needed and every
effort is being made to obtain them for

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

This is the face that has seen
more human beings than any
other gorilla. The late Bushman
saw about three million people a
year for twenty years and seemed
to find them as interesting as they
found him. Although he did not
try to attract attention, he did
show his resentment by sulking
when his neighbors had a larger
audience than he. This is why,
during his first illness in the
summer of 1950, he was allowed
to have visitors. It was felt by
those who knew him best that
isolation would definitely hinder
and not help his recovery. Bush-
man is now to be seen in Chicago
Natural History Museum.
Story on page 5

Chicago Natural History Museum. In 1949
collections were obtained from Walcott's
locality, and in 1951 Claypole's sites were
visited. New occurrences are always being
sought, and it is to be hoped that some day
a lucky find will extend our knowledge of
our own very remote ancestry back to
Ordovician or perhaps to Cambrian times.
Robert H. Denison
Curator of Fossil Fishes

NEW WRITER APPOINTED
TO MUSEUM STAFF

Effective January 1, 1952, Miss Christine
Tardy has been appointed as Assistant in
Public Relations at the Museum, it is an-
nounced by Colonel Clifford C. Gregg,
Director. In this capacity she will be
associated with H. B.
Harte, Public Rela-
tions Counsel of the
Museum for nearly
twenty-five years, in
the expanding activi-
ties of press relations
and in the editing
and operation of the
Bulletin.

Miss Tardy has
been working at the
Museum during a pre-

appointment period that began November 2.
She was formerly engaged in publicity work
for Goodwill Industries, an organization for
the aid of the handicapped. She has also
had experience in the press relations work
of other social agencies and of a number of
art, ballet, and radio organizations.

A graduate of the University of Chicago,
Miss Tardy has always manifested a special
interest in and knowledge of the fields of
science falling within the scope of this
Museum and has aimed for a career in con-
nection with them. The result of her first
assignment as a reporter for the Bulletin
appears in this issue under the heading
"Fabrics and Fashions — from 2000 B.C. to
A.D. 1952" (see page S).

Christine Tardy

Audubon Society Lecture
On Saturday, Jan. 26

The Illinois Audubon Society will offer
its second lecture of the current season on
Saturday afternoon, January 26, at 2:30
o'clock, in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum. The lecturer, Mrs. Lucie
Palmer, who is well known as artist, geog-
rapher, and photographer, will illustrate
her talk on "Underwater Kingdom" with
color movies of strange submarine life. The
lecture is free and the public is invited.
Members of the Museum and of the Illinois
Audubon Society are entitled to seats in
the reserved section of the theatre upon
presentation of their membership cards to
the ushers.

January, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

FABRICS AND FASHIONS— FROM 2000 B.C. TO A.D. 1952

IN THE ANIMAL WORLD the
finery goes to the males, but
women have turned the tables on
men almost all over the world.
Now the standard fabrics — silk,
wool, and cotton — are gradually
giving way to modern synthetic
products, our Bulletin reporter
finds. But if all should vanish,
there would still be preserved ex-
amples of the finest weaves of all
ages and all lands in the Mu-
seum's "library" of textiles.
Further, the designs of these old
materials would continue to serve
as inspiration to the artists work-
ing in the new media as they do
today to those of the present
textile industries.

By CHRISTINE TARDY

THE TIME is fast approaching when the
methods of synthetic cloth-making de-
vised by science will be available to every-
body all over the world, with the result that
the time-honored use of animal and vege-
table fibers, with all the intricate weaving
techniques, may become lost skills. Our
century is beginning to see miles of synthetic
fabrics rolling out of the mills, and nylon is
replacing silk. Ingredients such as coal,
air, water, and petroleum are being used
to make cloth instead of the more costly
wool and cotton. Aside from cost considera-
tions, the synthetic chemical fibers and
fabrics often excel the animal and vegetable
fibers — in being insect-resistant and prac-
tically wear-proof, they defy the age-old
complaints.

Our descendants may one day be amused
at all the trouble their ancestors had to go
to for a new coat, dress, or suit. Compared
to whipping up a batch of synthetic fibers
in an industrial laboratory, the old methods
of shearing sheep and carding wool or raising
cotton and running it through the gin will
seem like cumbersome efforts. Even now
sheets of cloth are coming off mill rollers
like sheets of paper towels, so that weaving
too is eliminated. It is likely, though,
that the methods of weaving we inherited
from people of centuries ago will continue
to be used for pattern effects, although a
machine now does the weaving instead of
the hands.

Partly against a future when our animal-
vegetable fabric materials and techniques
have become obsolete and forgotten, but of
equal ethnic and artistic value now, is a
recently established "library" at Chicago
Natural History Museum. This unusual
library has no books in it at all. It is a
library of fabrics — shelves full of cloth from
all over the world, ranging from very ancient

times to the present. Huge custom-made
steel cabinets, especially designed for storing
fabrics are arranged row on row. The
trays within the cabinets can be taken out
to study the cloth. Grandma's mothballs
have been replaced with the latest develop-
ment in anti-insect preservatives, and the
cases are dust-proof to ward off rapid
deterioration of the fabrics from the city's
dust.

The 10,000 pieces of cloth in the fabric
library are filed not according to the Dewey
Decimal System, but according to the area
from which they come and the people who
made and used the materials. One section
is filled with prehistoric pieces of cloth and
another section is devoted to ethnological
pieces from more recent cultures. The
largest groups of fabrics are from the
indigenous cultures of both the North and
South American continents, the Far East,
Oceania, Africa, and ancient Egypt. Of
the contemporary cultures, the best and
most extensive collections are of fabrics
from the American Indians of the North-
west Coast and the
American Southwest,
Mexico, and the
highlands of South
America. Of mate-
rials both ancient and
contemporary, Indo-
nesia, China, and In-
dia occupy the most
shelves. The very old
fabrics are mainly
from Egypt and Peru.
In the ancient Egyp-
tian section of the
"library" are to be
found linen strips used
to wrap mummies
4,000 years ago, while
Peru contributes some
of the finest fabrics
found anywhere, dat-
ing from 200 B.C. on .
Everything in the
"library" was brought
back by Museum ex-
peditions, and contri-
butions from other
sources are not
encouraged because
there is no difficulty in
obtaining pieces. The
problem is to make the
most effective use of
what the collection
already contains.

"The way the textile
library is set up, it
can be made available
for research only,"
says Dr. Alexander
Spoehr, Curator of

Oceanic Ethnology, who is in charge of the
"library." "Since the fabrics are not dis-
played as they would be in an exhibit, they
are primarily of interest to textile specialists
and designers."

The collection is by no means composed
simply of scraps of cloth. There are Indian
saris of the finest silk, delicately bordered
with colorful embroidery. Filed away are
entire costumes, such as gold-threaded
harem outfits of filmy, transparent silks
and heavy dragon-brocaded Chinese wedding
gowns. Most of the fabrics are, in fact,
pieces of clothing, but there is an almost
equal abundance of containers — everything
from medicine men's bags to pieces for
holding the baby to his mother's back. The
remainder is mainly blankets and bed
clothing, tapestries, rugs, and ornamental
material.

Browsing through this fabric library is
almost like a trip in a time-machine, and
there's no doubt about its being a travesty
on space. You can see where a lot of our
present habits of dress come from, and it's

VARIATION ON A THEME

Heavy silk robes, vividly embroidered, as worn by the aristocracy of China

(standing, left), Japan (right), and Korea (kneeling).

Pagei

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1952

SOME PEOPLE LIKE WOOL . . .
A Guatemalan lady spends a good deal of time over
her embroidery.

fun to see some of the customs that our
society never adopted or has long since
rejected. The bridal gown idea is one of the
oldest, and remote cultures go right along
with Western civilization in the custom of
going to considerable trouble for one lovely
gown that is worn once and then put away,
perhaps never to be worn again.

One of the apparent and easy concepts to
trace in clothing customs is that which is
found in nearly every modern and ancient
culture throughout the world, with very
few exceptions. That is the custom of
using dress to indicate social status and
occupation. It is still possible to pigeon-
hole yourself, or to cause others to pigeon-
hole you, according to the way you are
dressed. A man in overalls is a farmer.
Someone in blue jeans is either a student
or a factory worker. There are women
who can tell at a glance how much another
woman paid for her dress and where she
bought it. If you can afford it, you can dress
yourself to fit the part of almost any role,
whether countess or sea-captain.

But it is the fact that certain manners of
dress are associated with certain ranks or
positions in society that can be traced as a
very old and widespread idea. Until the
attempts at abolishing India's caste system
were instituted, there was never the slight-
est question about who belonged to which
caste, for it w£is immediately apparent
from the manner of dress, the drape of the
sari, and the set of the turban — effectively
enforced by social pressure.

Going through the "library" at random,
you can't help being struck with the in-
genious variety of materials called upon to
produce fibers for fabrics, as well as the

vast number of techniques for turning the
fibers into cloth. • Every known way of
weaving is represented in the collection.
According to Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator
of Economic Botany, fibers are obtained
from the bark of trees, from grasses and
leaves, from plants like cotton and flax,
from the hair of sheep, llamas, and buffalos,
and from silkworms. The peoples of China
and India obtained fiber from a shrub that
was made into a cloth called ramie. It had
a gummy quality to it, but it served them
until the cotton gin made cotton cloth
abundant. Hemp provided the fiber for
most of our early ancestors' clothing, while
linen, cotton, and wool were sufficiently

. . . WHILE OTHERS LIKE SILK . . .

A silk sari for the aristocratic Hindustani, woven

with gold.

costly to be saved for Sunday best. In
general, people have utilized the fiber
materials that were handiest to them. The
South Sea islanders, for instance, made all
of their clothing from grasses, bark, and
leaves until trade routes made other
materials available and missionaries' ideas
on morality foisted clothing conceived in
temperate zones onto the backs of peoples
in tropical areas.

The "library" is a storehouse of ideas
for textile designers, for the proud inspira-
tions of centuries of craftsmen and artists
are preserved there. Some of the "newest"
contemporary abstract and geometrical
patterns seen on store counters today have
their strikingly similar counterparts in the
patterns found on very old or remote pieces
from Africa, the American Indian, and
Southeast Asia. Curiously enough, the
weaving abilities of some New World
peoples were equal to if not superior to
anything found in Old World cultures. The
ancient Peruvian Indians in particular

developed one of the highest degrees of
textile skill found anywhere. Unbelievably
fine knitting and mesh work, exquisite
tapestries, and a remarkable variety of
techniques for making designs in cloth
were created by these people. Some fine
examples of these can be seen in James
Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond Hall
(Hall 4 — Indians Before Columbus). How-
ever, people throughout the world found all
of the ways to impress designs into fabrics,
sooner or later, whether by weaving in
different colors of fibers, painting, brocading,
embroidering, or dyeing in various ways.
The human love of decoration is responsible
for all this endeavor that has gone into
adorning the garments we must cover our-
selves with if we are to stay warm and keep
out of jail.

Nature frequently makes her male crea-
tures resplendent with color and beautiful
decoration. The male peacock so outshines
the drab female that the unknowing suspect
the two to be of different species. This
beauty makes the male an attractive object
of love-interest for the female, while her
muddier color scheme helps to protect her
from hazards by blending her in with the
environment.

. . . AND SOME PREFER COTTON

The latest thing in Florida wear, if you're a Semi-
nole Indian: colored strips on white cotton.

Things have been reversed almost every-
where, however, by modern mankind. In
our society, the modern female is the one
bedecked with colorful plumage, while the
drab male limits himself to an almost
concealed burst of brilliance in his necktie.
There are, though, a few places in the
world where it is the man who decks himself
out with riotous displays of ornament,
while the lowly female sticks to not-so-
noticeable d6cor.

January, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

HOME TRAINING OF YOUNG
BY BIRD PARENTS

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OF BIRDS

A new exhibit in Boardman Conover
Hall (Hall 21— Birds of the World) shows
stages in the growing up of three kinds of
young birds that have very different types
of infancy.

The young sparrow at hatching is a blind,
nearly naked little thing. It is almost
helpless, able to do little but keep right side
up and to open its mouth wide and hold it

FINAL TOUCH IS
Installation of the exhibit illustrating stages of the
growth of young birds is completed by Assistant
Taxidermist Carl W. Cotton (left) and Leon R.
Aboulafia, under the supervision of Dr. Austin L.
Rand, Curator of Birds (right).

up for the parent to stuff food into. This
type of hatchling bird is referred to as
altricial. It is only by a slow process of
development and growth in the nest, during
which it is cared for by the parents, that
the young bird becomes a feathered creature,
interested in the world about it, able to
hop and fly, and later, when it leaves the
nest, to feed itself.

On the other hand the young quail, when
it hatches from the egg, is down-covered,
has its eyes open, and is shortly able to
run about and pick up food for itself as it
follows the parent. Such juvenile birds are
said to be precocial.

'home TRAINING'

The young quail at hatching is in a stage
of development comparable to that of the
young sparrow when it leaves the nest.
Both may be under the care of the parents
for a time, during which the young bird,
influenced by the adult, may seek food in
certain places and shelter in others and
may learn to avoid certain enemies. Thus
a certain amount of "teaching" and "learn-
ing" takes place, a process that eliminates
many of the errors in the trial-and-error
learning through which the young bird be-
comes adjusted to its environment.

The sparrow is representative of altricial
birds and the quail of precocial, but there
are birds whose development and behavior
are intermediate between that of the infancy

of these two. The common tern illustrates
this. The young are down-covered at hatch-
ing and soon are able to run about, but for
a long infancy they depend on their parents
for food.

There are many other variations of these
three main types of behavior. The altricial
young of petrels are hatched in a dark burrow
underground, where they are cared for by
the parents until nearly full-grown and
very fat. Then the parents desert them.
The young in their subterranean burrow
complete their fledgling period by living on
their fat and, after perhaps weeks unat-
tended by parents, they come out of their
nest burrow all alone into a world they
have never seen, fly away over a sea they
have never before known, and quite without
parental guidance take up a way of life that
is characteristic of the species.

THEY GO IT ALONE

Equally remarkable is the mound builder,
or megapod, that buries its eggs and has
them incubated by the heat of the earth.
The young of these birds at hatching are
fully clothed with down and feathers, are
able to fly shortly, and are completely inde-
pendent of their parents, with whom they
have nothing to do. The fact that the young
megapod and the young petrels venture out
all alone into a world that is new to them
and behave appropriately is a good indicator
of how well developed is the instinctive
behavior of these species.

This exhibit, planned in the Division of
Birds, was begun by Kenneth Woehlck,
formerly Assistant Taxidermist on the Mu-
seum staff, and was completed by Carl W.
Cotton, Assistant Taxidermist, with the aid
of Leon R. Aboulafia of Tel Aviv, a special
student from Israel. Mr. Aboulafia, who was
in Chicago Natural History Museum study-
ing museum methods, returned last year
to his country where he will put into effect
the techniques learned here.

ZOO'S FAMOUS 'BUSHMAN'
BECOMES OWN MONUMENT

^^M—MUMMIPIinil

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from November 15 to December
14:

Associate Members

L. Martin Krautter, Mrs. John T.
McCutcheon.

Sustaining Members

Edgar J. Uihlein, Jr.
Annual Members

Edwin Goff Cooke, Samuel E. Entsminger,
Herman M. Finch, Mrs. David S. Frank,
W. P. Frye, J. Leslie Hart, Russell P.
Hughes, Ross H. Kidston, Glenn Knotts,
Rev. F. W. Lickfleld, Wilson V. Little,
Miss Agnes McGarry, Edwin Moll, Albert
W. Paul, Richard L. Snideman, Bert Edward
Sommers, Robert G. Williams.

Eskimo winters average 11 degrees below
zero.

CURATOR OF MAMHALfi

BUSHMAN of Lincoln Park Zoo, who
died a year ago, has been mounted for
permanent preservation at Chicago Natural
History Museum and placed on exhibition.
He thus is in the unique position of becoming
his own monument. This makes pertinent
some observations on the subject of gorillas
in general.

Published references to gorillas based
mainly on stories of natives appeared as
long ago as 1625. The gorilla was not
again mentioned until 1819, and it was not
until 1847 that any actual specimens came
to the hands of scientists.

It was in that year that Thomas S.
Savage, an American missionary returning
from Africa, stopped at the Gaboon River
with the missionary stationed there. Rev.
J. L. Wilson, who showed him the skull
of a gorilla. Dr. Savage, being familiar
with the chimpanzee, recognized the skull
as that of a new animal and with Rev.
Wilson's help secured four skulls and some
bones of the animal. Dr. Savage and Dr.
Jeffries Wyman, Hersey Professor of Anat-
omy in Harvard University, studied this
material and gave the world the first descrip-
tion of the animal, which they named
Troglodytes gorilla. The name gorilla was
taken from the account of Hanno, who, in
his account of the Carthaginian explorations,
described "wild men" found on the coast of '^
Africa.

Since the original discovery, and with
the further exploration of Africa, no less
than seventeen other supposed types of
gorillas have been described, each one from
a new locality being thought to be different.
However, with a greater amount of material
available for comparison, the supposed dis-
tinguishing characters proved to be merely
normal variation in the species. Today
only two kinds of gorillas are recognized —
the coast gorilla. Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Savage and Wyman, and the mountain
gorilla. Gorilla gorilla beringei Matschie.

The coast gorilla is found in that part of
West Africa known as the Cameroons and
French Equatorial Africa. The mountain
gorilla lives in a narrow strip of highland
forest, usually about 7,000 feet above sea
level, in the eastern Belgian Congo.

WEIGH UP TO 350 POUNDS

Both gorillas are large animals, old males
standing about six feet and in the wild
weighing 350 pounds or more. The girth
of the great chest is 63 to 64 inches, or more
than five feet. The powerful arms have a
girth of 18 inches and a length of 34 inches
and the distance from finger tip of one arm
to finger tip of the other is about eight feet.
The mountain gorilla differs from the coast
gorilla by its longer and thicker coat, which

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1952

is darker in color, by the presence of a
beard, by a callosity on top of its head, and
by its shorter arms and longer legs.

The first white man to shoot a gorilla
was the well known French-American author,
Paul du Chaillu, who went to West Africa
in 1855. His highly colored account, for
which the publishers are to be blamed,
continued many of the myths by which
public interest had been captured. In
spite of all that has been published since,
it is still believed by many that the gorilla
walks upright, lives in trees, attacks hunters,
and carries off women. The latter story is
still being used by motion-picture producers
to this day. Perhaps it is fortunate that
they do not know the Malay story about
attractive young Malay men being kid-
napped and carried to their treetop nests
by older female orangs.

It has been well established that the gorilla
is a terrestrial mammal. It may rise on its
hind legs, apparently in order to look over
the top of bushes, but it does not travel
in this erect posture. It moves on all fours,
the arms resting on the knuckles of the
hands, not flat on the palm. A study of the
structure of the gorilla shows that it is not
built to walk in an upright position.

IT 'NESTS,' BUT ON GROUND

The gorilla may ascend a leaning tree,
but it does not climb nor does it travel
from tree to tree by swinging from its arms.
Its bed, also, is made on the ground and is
never a nest of sticks in trees as so often
described. The animal turns about to make
a hollow in the ground and pulls into it
for a bed such leaves, sticks, or vines as
may be on the forest floor. New nests are
made each night.

Gorillas associate in family groups com-
posed of males, females, and young, with as
many as twenty-five individuals living
together. There are conflicting stories by
reliable observers concerning their reaction
to the presence of man in their immediate
vicinity. The rule appears to be that when
approached the group will move off, but if
followed, old males will show more or less
fight, depending on the individual. In other
words, offered enough provocation a gorilla
will make some show of defiance, barking,
beating its chest, and even charging to
within a certain distance of its pursuer.
Edmund Heller, the well-known African
collector, says in his field notes on the large
male mountain gorilla he shot for this
Museum, "Solitary old male which lived in
second bush or old bamboos. Hunted for
three days and charged hunters 20 times or
more." From this it can be seen that had
the animal been charging to attack, it would
have been shot on the first charge, but it
appears that even in "20 charges or more"
it did not approach the hunters close enough
for a good shot.

Gorillas are strictly vegetarians. The
mountain gorilla feeds largely on stalks of

giant wild celery and the sweet pithy centers
of bamboo. Heller noted the stomach con-
tents of the one he collected as "soft white
heart of young bamboo plants and green
leaves of some tree or shrub." Although
there is no exact data on the food of the
coast gorilla, it is also known to be a vege-
table eater.

The man-like apes, which include the
gorilla and chimpanzee of Africa, and the
orang-utan and gibbon of Asia, being closer
to man in the evolutionary scale than other
mammals, have been of intriguing interest
in regard to their intelligence. Many have
been kept in captivity, both for study and
for exhibition in zoos and circuses. A recent
survey shows 40 gorillas now living in
captivity in the United States (23 males,
17 females), and of these but seven are over
five years of age. Eight are resident in the
Chicago region — four at Lincoln Park Zoo,
two at the Brookfleld Zoo, and two in the
Milwaukee Zoo. There is but one mountain
gorilla in captivity in the United States,
Somaili of the New York Zoological Park.

FVom the few gorillas that have been
studied in captivity it can be said that they
do show a certain degree of intelligence.
They appear to be as individual as human
beings, and the treatment they receive
imdoubtedly has a controlling influence on
whatever powers of reasoning they may
develop. Some young gorillas show the
capability to learn but are not so quick
as certain chimpanzees. They do recognize
individuals, even after some lapse of time.

It is certain that gorillas need special
and individual care and grow and thrive
best when this is provided. The late Bush-

man of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is an
outstanding example. His birth is estimated
at January, 1928, and he was received by
the zoo in August, 1930. He died on Jan-
uary 1, 1951, at the approximate age of 23
years. This is close to the record age for
a gorilla, but chimpanzees and orang-utans
have lived in zoos for slightly more than
26 years.

Bushman was a coast gorilla from the
French Cameroon, raised from a baby by
Dr. W. C. Johnson, a missionary at Yaounde.
He was acquired by Jules L. Buck, animal
collector, and sold to Lincoln Park Zoo for
$3,500 in 1930, at which time he weighed
but 38 f)ounds. Keeper Eddie Robinson,
by his love, understanding care, and firm
hand, raised Bushman to his prime when he
stood 6 feet 2 inches, weighed 550 pounds,
was valued at from $125,000 to $250,000,
and was voted by the American Association
of Zoological Parks and Aquariums "the
most outstanding and most valuable single
animal of its kind in any zoo in the world."
This is an achievement and sets a record
that will long stand.

HE UKED SPORTS

Bushman was not given sijecial training
or taught tricks. Neither was he subjected
to psychological studies. Keeper Robinson
took Bushman outside for exercise at the
end of a 75-foot rope nearly every morning
for four and a half years. Wrestling, racing,
and football were sports at which Bushman
became adept, but he was never offered a
place on any team. He was always obedient
and as gentle as a six-year-old 170-poimd
(Continued on page 8, column 1)

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of
Oceanic Ethnology, was chairman of the
program committee for the 50th anniversary
meetings of the American Anthropological
Association held recently in Chicago.
Donald Collier, Curator of South American
Ethnology and Archaeology, was chairman
of local arrangements, and George I.
Qulmby, Curator of Exhibits, was liaison
representative of the Society for American
Archaeology. The meetings were attended
by Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of
Anthropology, Dr. John B. Rinaldo,
Assistant Curator of Archaeology, Miss
Elaine Bluhm, Assistant in Archaeology,
and Roger Grange, assistant in the Depart-
ment of Anthropology. Dr. Martin re-
cently gave his movie-lecture, "Indians
Before Columbus," before an audience at
the Winnetka Historical Society.

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, recently conducted a seminar on
"Mesozoic Floras and Their Biological
Significance" for the Department of Biology

at Northwestern University.

Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic
Geology, attended the annual meetings of
the Geological Society of America in
Detroit .... Bryan Patterson, Curator of
Fossil Mammals, Dr. Rainer Zangerl,
Curator of Fossil Reptiles, Dr. Robert H.
Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, and
Dr. Everett C. Olson, Research Associate
in Vertebrate Paleontology, attended the
meetings of the Society of Vertebrate
Paleontology (held concurrently with the
meetings of the Geological Society of
America) and presented papers.

Dr. Fay-Cooper Cole, Research Associ-
ate, Malaysian Ethnology, is conducting
research at the Museum on ethnological col-
lections representing the Bukidnon peoples
of the Philippine Islands. Dr. Cole collected
this material years ago while leading a
Museum expedition. It will be the subject
of a publication.

Celestino Kalinowski, of Marcapata.
Peru, who has been collecting for the Mu-
seum in Peru for the past three years, has
recently joined the staff in the Division of
Taxidermy.

January, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

MUSEUM DRAFTS A PROGRAM
OF EXPEDITIONS FOR '52

A program of 22 expeditions, both in the
United States and abroad, has been set up
for 1952, it is announced by Colonel Clifford
C. Gregg, Director.-

One of the more interesting undertakings
planned is an expedition by the Department
of Botany to the "Lost World" area of
Venezuela. This section of South America,
near Venezuela's borders with Brazil and
British Guiana, is practically unknown
botanically, and it is expected to be ex-
tremely productive of desirable material for
addition to the Museum's collections. Dr.
Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of the
Herbarium, will be in charge. The expedi-
tion will leave some time in the autumn.

Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of the
Department of Anthropology, will again
head an archaeological expedition to the
Southwest. This will be the eighteenth
year in which this work, always one of the
largest-scale operations, will be conducted.
Dr. Martin will head a party of archae-
ologists and other helpers from the Museum
staff, and they will be assisted by a number
of outsiders. Excavations of sites of pre-
historic culture in New Mexico will be con-
tinued. Work will begin in June.

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of the
Department of Geology, will go to Mexico
in the summer to engage in studies at the
famous recently-erupted volcano Paricutin.
Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Reptiles, will leave in June for Austria on
an exploratory trip that may be followed by
further expeditions at a later date. Robert
K. Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology,
will collect ore specimens in Utah during
September and October. Dr. Robert H.
Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, will
seek specimens in Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and New Brunswick in June and July.
Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mam-
mals, who recently was awarded a John
Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, will go to
Argentina in January to follow up studies
begun years ago by the series of South
American expeditions sponsored by Marshall
Field, Trustee and First Vice-President of
the Museum. Orville L. Gilpin, Chief
Preparator of Fossils, and William D.
Turnbull, Preparator> will continue fossil-
collecting in Texas, beginning in April, work
that has been under way during two past
seasons. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator
of Fossil Invertebrates, and George Lang-
ford, Curator of Fossil Plants, will continue
local collecting in their respective fields in
various areas of Illinois and Indiana.

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of the
Department of Zoology, will continue herpe-
tological researches in Texas. Henry S.
Dybas, Associate Curator of Insects, will
collect beetles in the southwestern areas of
the United States. Clifford H. Pope,
Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, will

make collections in Mexico. An ornitho-
logical survey of Mexico will be conducted
by Emmet R. Blake, Associate Curator of
Birds. Colin C. Sanborn, Curator of Mam-
mals, will collect in Arkansas, and Dr.
Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower Invertebrates,
will make two collecting trips, one to Cuba
and one to Florida. The Department of
Zoology will have three collectors outside
its own staff on expeditionary work: D. S.
Rabor, of Silliman University, collecting
birds and mammals of the Mt. Dapiak
region in Zamboanga, Philippine Islands;
Luis de la Torre, of the University of Michi-
gan, collecting mammals in Guatemala; and
Harry A. Beatty, of New York, collecting
birds in West Africa (work already under
way). Philip Hershkovitz, As.sistant Curator
of Mammals, who has been collecting in
Colombia for several years past, will con-
clude his work there and return to the
Museum sometime in the spring of 1952.

Dr. B. E. Dahlgren, Curator Emeritus of
Botany, will resume the studies of Cuban
palms in which he has been engaged for a
number of years. Dr. Margery Carlson,
well-known botanist of Northwestern Uni-
versity, plans to do some collecting on
behalf of this Museum during the course of
an expedition she is to make to southern
Mexico and Honduras.

M THE MUSKUM

DALLWIG TO LECTURE
ON LIVING RACES

Each Sunday afternoon in January,
Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer, will
talk on "Living Races and Their Way of
Life." In each of these lectures (they are
identical, not a series) Mr. Dallwig will
take his listeners on an imaginary trip around
the world, in the course of which they will
meet representatives of all the principal
races inhabiting the globe today. To
illustrate his subject Mr. Dallwig will
include a tour of Chauncey Keep Memorial
Hall (Hall 3) in which are displayed 101
famous bronze racial portraitures by the
noted sculptor Malvina Hoffman.

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.

During February, Mr. Dallwig will be
on an out-of-town lecture tour and will
not appear at the Museum. He will resume
his lectures here in March, when his topic
for the five Sundays in that month will be
"Money Does Grow on Trees," the story
of our American forests.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

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

"Taxidermy and Laboratory Work. — Labo-
ratory work has been of an exceptionally
effective character, and the taxidermists
have had a busy and productive year. The
magnificent group of Virginia deer exposed

VIRGINIA DEER, SPRING GROUP

to the public about ninety days ago seems
to mark the highest point that has been
reached in the contribution of scientific
illustration upon popular lines. While this
group has not, of course, been inspected by
the critics at home and abroad whose
opinions are of the highest desirability, yet
enough is known of their opinion of this
piece of scientific art to flatter even so
diffident a temperament as that of its creator,
Mr. [Carl E.l Akeley."

(This refers to one of the "Four Seasons"
groups of the Virginia deer that now stand
at the entrance to Richard T. Crane, Jr.,
Hall (16), American Mammals.]

LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES
OF NATURE PHOTOS

With the deadline set for January 14,
the Nature Camera Club of Chicago has
issued its final call for entries in the Seventh
Chicago International Exhibition of Nature
Photography to be held at Chicago Natural
History Museum, February 1 to 28.

The contest is open to all persons in-
terested in nature photography, whether
they are professionals or amateurs. There
will be two main divisions: Monochrome or
Color Prints and Color Transparencies. Each
of these includes three main classifications:
Animal Life, Plant Life, and General. In
the last classification are included geological
phenomena, scenery, and all other nature
manifestations that do not fall within the
specific classifications. In each unit of each
division silver medals and ribbons will be
awarded.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1959

MUSEUM RECEIVES HEAD
OF ANTLERED DOE

W. Robert McKee of Chicago has pre-
sented to the Museum a fresh specimen of
the head of an antlered female white-tailed
deer that he killed in Ontario, Canada, early
in November. The occurrence of antlers

DOE WITH ANTLERS

It is unusual, but not altogether inirequent, for th'^

Icmale deer to be thus arrayed.

in a doe has been noted before, but it is
not common, and this is the first specimen
to come to this Museum. The spikes are
about seven inches long and are unusual in
that they are covered by skin and hair
rather than velvet as reported in most
antlered does. The doe had been in excellent
health. It was fat and weighed about 240
pounds. Examination showed that it had
given birth to a fawn this year. The exact
cause of antlers appearing in a doe is not
definitely known but they might be caused
by some endocrine disturbance. — CCS.

'BUSHMAN' AT MUSEUM—

{Continued from page 6)

gorilla could be expected to be. The time
soon came, however, when Bushman did not
want to return to his cage. A slap in the
face from Robinson caused him to dash for
the monkey-house and across the basement,
dragging Robinson with him. After some
petting he returned to his cage, which he
was never allowed to leave again.

He still obeyed Robinson's commands,
would sit on his chair, which was on scales
so that a record of his weight could be
kept. He liked to be fed by hand through
the bars and at no time became ill-tempered
or vicious.

His personality appealed to the public and
an estimated three million people came to
see him every year. News of his first
serious illness in 1950 brought 120,000 sym-
pathizers in one day to call on him. His
only fears were of snakes, turtles, and
crocodiles.

On his death the Chicago Park District
presented him to Chicago Natural History
Museum where he was preserved for pos-
terity in a life-like position by Staff Taxi-
dermists Leon L. Walters and Frank C

Wonder, and Artist Joseph B. Krstolich.
For a month he was returned to the monkey
house, a part of which was dedicated with
fitting ceremonies on October 19 as Bush-
man Hall. He has now been returned to
the Museum. Temporarily he is exhibited
in Stanley Field Hall and later will be
permanently installed in Carl E. Akeley
Memorial Hall (African Mammals — Hall 22).

"The King is dead, long live the King."
There are three princes and one princess at
Lincoln Park Zoo vying for Bushman's
place in the public's heart — Sinbad, Rajah,
Irvin Young, and Lotus. Each has a
different personality and appeal; so it may
be very difficult to decide. None can take
Bushman's place. They can only carry on
his tradition.

The coast gorillas in the wild are rapidly
losing their territory to man. New settlers
have made great changes by clearing the
land, and the killing of adult gorillas,
either because they raid the plantations or
in order to capture the young, will inevitably
reduce their numbers so that in time the
animal may disappear. The mountain
gorilla, of which only a few hundred are
thought to exist today, receives protection
from the Belgian government, and there is
hope that it may continue in small numbers
for a long time.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

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

Department of Anthropology:

From: Francis E. Manierre, Chicago — 2
carved wood staffs of African chieftains.

Department of Botany;

From: Dr. Aylthon Brandao Joly, Ann
Arbor, Mich. — 42 algae, Brazil; Dr. Leon
F. Kock, Bakersfieid, Calif. — 57 mosses,
California; Missouri Botanical Garden, St.
Louis — 160 phanerogams, Colombia; Dr.
C S. Nielsen and Dr. Grace C Madsen,
Florida State University, Tallahassee — 409
algae, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi;
Science Museum, Jamaica, British West
Indies — 72 algae, Jamaica; Floyd Swink,
Chicago — 198 phanerogams, Indiana and
Illinois; U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C. — 179 phanerogams, Co-
lombia; Dr. Cesar Vargas C, Cuzco, Peru —
30 algae, southern Peru.

Department of Geology:

From: University of California, Berkeley
— collection of fossil fish; Mrs. Samuella
Crosby, Chicago — two pieces of Indian
jewelry, India; Alma C Walker, Spokane,
Wash. — 18 fossil leaves, Payette formation,
Miocene.

Department of Zoology:

From: Harvey R. Bullis, Jr., Pascagoula,
Miss. — a lot of deepwater scallops. Gulf of
Mexico; Dr. Sidney Camras, Chicago — 339
flies. United States; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo,
Eg>'Pt — 161 mammals, Eritrea and Egj'pt;
Jack Hughes, Ocean Springs, Miss. — a fish
(Xirichthys), Mississippi; Ralph Jackson,

LECTURE TOURS IN JANUARY
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:

Wed., Jan. 2 — Pageant of Winter (Jane
Sharpe).

Fri., Jan. 4. — Jungle Life. Illustrated
introduction in Meeting Room (June
Buehwald).

Wed., Jan. 9 — Green Magic: Story of the
Plant Kingdom (Marie Svoboda).

Fri., Jan. 11 — Natural Wonders: How
Earth's Scenic Wonders Are Formed.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Anne Stromquist).

Wed., Jan. 16 — Life in Ancient Times:
Egypt, Babylonia, Rome (June Bueh-
wald).

Fri., Jan. 18 — Natural Enemies. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Lorain Stephens).

Wed., Jan. 23 — Reading the Earth's
Diary (Anne Stromquist).

Fri., Jan. 25 — Animals in Action. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Jane Sharpe).

Wed., Jan 30 — Designs in Wood: Tree
Growths That Result in Beautiful Patterns
(Miriam Wood).

The Museiun will be closed Tuesday,
January 1, for New Year's Day.

Curator Ouimby on Leave
To Teach in Norway

George I. Quimby, Curator of Exhibits
in the Department of Anthropology, has
been granted a leave of absence for eight
months to go to Norway where he will
teach American archaeology and ethnologj-
at the University of Oslo under a Fulbright
grant awarded him by the U. S. Department
of SUte.

Curator Quimby will sail January 12.
While in Europe he will make a study of
European anthropological exhibits and col-
lections under a grant from the Axel Wenner-
Gren Foundation for Anthropological Re-
search. He will return to the Museum
September 1.

Cambridge, Md. — a lot of land shells,
Ecuador; W. Robert McKee, Chicago — a
white-tailed deer, Canada; Dr. Charles H.
Seevers, Chicago — approximately 10,000 rove
beetles of the tribe Gyrophaeni, United
States; Joseph H. Shirk, Peru, Ind.— 2
black bear skulls, Arizona; U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Ser\'ice, Pascagoula, Miss. — 4 lots
of fishes. Gulf of Mexico.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

*.»A-»A»x A & & t *•• »-r« • •»»» » • » ^.v.^A-^ •

'*"•«'_-. ,

In

7tb Chicago International

Nature Photo Exhibit

February 1-29

ULLETIN

Vol.23.No.2-February 1952

Chicago Natural
Historif Museum

B

Pageg

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Fisa-D, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searlb

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wbtten

John P. Wii^oN

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Marshall Field First Vice-President

Henry P. Isham Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-PresiderU

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

CUFFORD 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 Anmropology

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

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

MUSEUM ATTENDANCE
RISES TO 1,251,752 IN 1951

The number of visitors received at Chicago
Natural History Museum during 1951 was
1,251,752, a notable increase over the figure
for the preceding year, which was 1,173,661.
Of the visitors, an overwhelming majority,
1,118,412, were admitted without charge.
This number included adults coming on the
free days — Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sun-
days— and children, students, teachers.
Members of the Museum, and officers and
enlisted men of the armed forces in uniform,
all of whom are admitted free on all days of
the week. Only 133,340 persons paid the
nominal admission charge (25 cents plus
5 cents federal tax) charged on other days.

It is interesting to note that when the
attendance figures are weighed against the
Museum's operating budget of approxi-
mately $1,000,000 a year, it is found that
it costs the institution about 80 cents for
each visitor benefiting from the Museum's
educational facilities.

In addition to the more than a million
and a quarter visitors who passed through
the Museum's doors, hundreds of thousands
of persons benefited from activities con-
ducted outside the Museum's own building.
These include approximately half a million
school children to whom the Museum sends
both traveling exhibits and lecturers with

films and slides through the N. W. Harris
Public School Extension and the James
Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond Founda-
tion. Many thousands more benefited from
the free lectures for adults and free children's
programs presented in the James Simpson
Theatre, the daily guide-lecture tours, and
the Sunday afternoon "Layman Lectures"
by Paul G. Dallwig. Still others benefited
by the extension to the public of the resources
of the Museum's huge natural history
library and the many publications both
popular and scientific turned out by Chicago
Natural History Museum Press as a result
of the continual research projects being
conducted both within the Museum and
afield by the scientific staff.

TWO NEW TRUSTEES
ELECTED TO BOARD

Louis Ware, President of International
Minerals and Chemical Corporation, and
John G. Searle, President of G. D. Searle
and Company, manufacturing chemists,
were elected to membership on the Museum's
Board of Trustees at the Annual Meeting
held January 21. They will fill the vacancies
arising from the death of Boardman Conover
and the retirement of Howard W. Fenton.
Trustee Henry P. Isham was elected Second
Vice-President to fill the vacancy caused by
the resignation last year of Albert B.
Dick, Jr. (Mr. Dick resigned this office but
remained as a Trustee and member of the
Executive and Finance committees).

Stanley Field was re-elected President of
the Museum and now begins his 44th con-
secutive year in that office. All other
officers were re-elected. They are: Marshall
Field, First Vice-President; Samuel Insull,
Jr., Third Vice-President; Solomon A.
Smith, Treasurer; Colonel Clifford C. Gregg,
Director and Secretary; and John R. Millar,
Assistant Secretary.

STAFF NOTES

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, recently spoke before the Con-
servation Council on the proposal to revive
the project for establishing an Indiana
Dunes national park .... Dr. Paul S.
Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology,
recently attended a special meeting of
anthropologists in Boston to discuss South-
western prehistory, its terminology, and the
correlation of all Southwestern archaeo-
logical projects .... Dr. Theodor Just,
Chief Curator of Botany, has been ap-
pointed a member of the divisional com-
mittee for biological sciences of the National
Science Foundation and attended its meet-
ings in Washington, D.C., last month. He
will lecture at Yale University in February
on "Evolution of the Cycadophytes.". . Dr.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

"Pine Forest in Snow," repro-
duced on our cover, is the winner
of the silver medal, first prize, in
the Plant Life Section of the
Seventh Chicago International
Nature Photography Exhibition
to be held at the Museum from
February 1 to 29, inclusive. It
was submitted by Anders Sten, of
Vicka, Sweden, and with the many
other photographs received from
foreign lands, emphasizes the in-
ternational character of this year's
exhibit. The show, sponsored
jointly by the Nature Camera
Club of Chicago and the Museum,
is the largest in the history of this
annual event, with more than
3,000 pictures submitted, from
which approximately 700 color
slides and more than 200 prints
(mostly black-and-white, with a
few in color) were selected for
exhibition.

Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of the
Herbarium, has been re-elected president of
the Barrington Natural History Society.

February 23 Audubon Lecture
On Canadian Birds

"Canada East," a "nature-logue" lecture
accompanied by color films, will be given by
the Illinois Audubon Society in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum on Satur-
day afternoon, February 23, at 2:30 o'clock.
Bert Harwell, noted naturalist and in-
terpreter of bird songs, will be the lecturer.
His films show gulls, terns, guillemots, owls,
gannets, and other wildlife of the Maritime
Provinces and the picturesque Gaspe Penin-
sula. The lecture, third in the current
Audubon series, is free and the public is
invited. Members of the Museum or of
the Illinois Audubon Society are entitled to
seats in the reserved section of the theatre
upon presentation of their membership cards
to the ushers. Two more lectures, to be
announced later, will be given, in March
and in April.

Benefactor, 3 Contributors Elected

Mrs. Stanley Field, wife of the President
of the Museum, was elected a Benefactor of
the institution by the Board of Trustees at
its Annual Meeting held January 21.

For notable additions to the Museum's,
scientific collections, Mrs. Sherman C.
Bishop, of Rochester, New York, Mrs.
Daniel W. O'Dell of Ithaca, New York, and
Dr. Charles H. Seevers of Homewood, Illi-
nois, were elected Contributors. Con-
tributors are those whose gifts to the Mu-
seum range in value from $1,000 to $100,000..

February, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT AT MUSEUM FEBRUARY 1-29

The Seventh Chicago International Ex-
hibition of Nature Photography, a joint
project of the Museum and the Nature
Camera Club of Chicago, will open in
Stanley Field Hall on February 1 and con-
tinue through February 29. From more
than three thousand entries submitted by
both amateur and professional photog-
raphers in all parts of the United States
as well as in twenty foreign countries, the
judges have chosen more than 200 prints

'OLD SOLDIERS'

By Howard Oberlin of North Canton, Ohio.

Awarded an honorable mention in the

Nature Photography Exhibition.

and about 700 color transparencies for
exhibition.

Early last fall, entry forms and notices
began going out to amateur and professional
photographers all over the world announc-
ing the exhibition. Then in December the
Museum workrooms used by the Exhibition
Committee of the Nature Camera Club of
Chicago began to buzz with activity.
Judging took place on January 19 and 20,
but before that big job could be undertaken,
the Exhibition Committee worked nights
and week-ends opening packages, sorting
the hundreds of slides and prints that were
submitted, and attending to all the time-
consuming details connected with proper
handling of the photographs.

The Chicago International Exhibition of
Nature Photography is by far the largest
of its kind in the world, and it is one of the
three or four largest photographic exhibits
of any kind — even by comparison with
general photographic shows where there is
no restriction of subject-matter. The
exhibition originated in 1946, and the
first show drew 1,750 pictures, of which
197 prints and 397 slides were accepted.
Last year's show attracted a total of 2,850

pictures — 550 prints and 2,300 color slides.
This year there were more than 3,000
entries, the largest number since the exhibi-
tion was begun. The continued growth in
size and importance of the exhibition is due
entirely to the conscientious efforts of the
Nature Camera Club; its president, H. G.
Mitchell; the chairman of the Exhibition
Committee, H. J. Johnson; and all the
enthusiastic club members who assist.

Judges for the current exhibition were
John Bayalis, chief of the Museum's
Division of Photography; D. Dwight Davis,
Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy at the
Museum; Ragnar Hedenvall and Betty
Henderson Hulettt, As.sociates of the Photo-
graphic Society of America; and Floyd
Swink, nature lecturer. Both the judging
and the entire exhibition were conducted
under the rigid regulations of the Photo-
graphic Society of America, which rates
the annual Chicago nature show as a
Class A exhibit. In recognition of efficient
management and high standards of the
show, the society's Nature Division awards
two special medals for outstanding examples
of color harmony in nature.

Entries, both prints and color trans-
parencies, are classified in three divisions —
Plant Life, Animal Life, and General.
Silver medals and honorable-mention ribbons
have been awarded to leading prints and
transparencies in each division. The names
of all medal winners are inscribed on the
Myrtle Walgreen plaque at the Museum
in permanent recognition of photographic
merit. Each person who enters the contest
is entitled to an explanation if his print or
slide is rejected; that is, if an entrant wishes,
he can receive expert criticism — a service
that is unusual as contests go.

The prints are shown in cases with

fluorescent lighting, while the transparencies
are rotated so that about 200 are exhibited
each week. Projections of the entire group
of accepted color slides are scheduled for
two Sunday afternoons, February 10 and 17,
at 3 P.M. in the James Simpson Theatre.
The public is invited. The Sunday after-
noon color-programs, lasting about one hour
and 45 minutes, are staged to the accom-
paniment of appropriate background music,
as the title and maker of each color trans-

'REFLECTION'

By Kan Hing-Fook oi Hong Kong, China.

Awarded an honorable mention in the

Nature Photography Exhibition.

parency are announced. Last year's projec-
tions attracted about 1,100 spectators on
the two Sunday afternoons of the show.

WINNERS OF AWARDS IN NATURE PHOTO CONTEST

Plant Life Section: Delbert E. Philpott, Chicago;
Jack Roche, Caldwell, N.J.; H. J. Enaenberj^er, Bloom-
ington, 111.; Roy E. Lindahl, Drayton Flams, Mich.;
Cy Coleman, Detroit; L. A. Lyons, Port Kemla,
Australia; N. P. Ochotta, Edmonton, Alberta; Louise
K. Broman, Chicago; Edward T. Fiarman. Joliet, 111.;
W. A. Kirkpatrick, Phoenix, Ariz.; Otto Litlel, New
York City; Alonso Af^ilar, Jr.. San Juan, Puerto Rico;
Lawrence G. Heinnch, New York City; Caryl R.
Firth, Trappe, Md.

General Section: Kan Hing-Fook, Hong Kong,
China; Dr. Grant Haist, Rochester, N.Y.; Dr. Carrol
C. Turner, Memphis; Art H. Ochl, Winnetka, III.;
Earl W. Brown, Detroit; Alfred Ennes, San Francisco;
Charles L. Wilson, San Diego; Evelyn Curtis, Oakland,
Calif.; Otto Litzel, New York City; Caryl R. Firth,
Trappe. Md.; Alfred Blyth, Edmonton, Alberta;
Howard Oberlin, North Canton, Ohio

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

MEDAL WINNERS
Prints:

Anihal Life Section: George B. Keyes, Vectal,
N.Y.— Head o/ Flying Dobton

Plant Life Section: Anders Sten, Vicka, Sweden —
Pine Forest in Snow

General Sbction: Charles S. Wilson, San Diego —
Impact

Color Slides:

Animal Life Section: Samuel M. Benford, Mt.
Vernon, N.Y.— Neon Tetra Trio

Plant Life Section: A. Stewart, Santa Barbara,
Calif.— IVoodlond Gem

General Sbction: John Benzel, Covina, Calif. —
Autumn

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Prints:

Animal Life Section: Louis Quitt, Buffalo; Albert
N. Brown, Chicago; W. T. Loke, Singapore, Malaya;
O. C. Edwards, Bangalore, India; M. W. F. Tweedie,
Singapore, Malaya; Don Wooldridge, Jefferson City,
Mo.; H. J. Ensenberger, Bloomington, III.; Eliot
Porter, Santa Fe; Eugenia Buxton, Memphis; Howard
E. Footc, New York City

Color Slides:

Animal Life Section: M. E. Barron, Beverly,
Mass.; Louise K. Broman, Chicago; E. Collins, New
Brunswick, N.J.; Helen M. Dart, Chicago; Harry
Hoke, Stillwater, Okla.; T. Llyle Keith, Canaan,
N.Y.; Michael R. Lynch, State College, Pa.; Helen C.
Manzer, New York City; Mrs. Lorena R. Medbery,
Armington, III; Mrs. Ethel P. Owen. Riverside, III.;
L. E. Plietz, Milwaukee; Louis Quitt, Buffalo; Alfred
Renfro, Bellevue. Wash.; Dr. Fred J. Ruch, Plainfield,
N.J.: W. H. Savary, Plainfield, N.J.; Arthur T. Skopec,
Bayside, N.Y.; Sydney Thomas, Miami; Mra. Harley
B. Van Sickle, Bremerton, Wash.

(List continued on next paje)

Page U

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1952

NATURE PHOTO WINNERS—

(Continued from page 3)

Plant Life Section: Arthur E. Anderson, Chester-
ton. Ind.; R. C. Bom, Longmeadow, Mass.; W. L.
Coleman, San Bernardino, Calif.; J. L. Cooprider,
Evansville, Ind.; Walter Diehnelt, Menomonee Falls,
Wis.; Willard H. Farr, Chicago; F. J. Freeman, Itasca.
III.; L. C. Harvey, Brownsville, Ontario; T. Llyle
Keith, Canaan, N.V.; R. H. Kleinschmidt, Rochester,
N.Y.; W. H. Koch, Salt Lake City; L. E. Mayo. La
Mesa, Calif.; K. McGregor, Toronto, Ontario; Mrs.
Estelle Marker, Oakland, Calif.; Mrs. Lorena Medbury,
Armington, 111.; Paul L. Miller, Seattle; Floyd Nor-
gaard, Los Angeles; H. J. Novotny, Chicago; Barbara
F. Falser, Chicago; Robert W, L. Potts, San Francisco;
R. Presgrove, Toronto, Ontario; George W. Purdy,
Port Orchard, Wash.; Perry W. Reynolds, Detroit;
Mabel Ross. Salt Lake City; Dr. Fred J. Ruch. Plain-

•CECROPIA'

By H. J. Enscnberger o£ Bloomtngton, Illinois.

Awarded an honorable mention in the

Nature Photography Exhibition.

field, N.J.: Wes Stark, Toronto, Ontario; A. Stewart,
Santa Barbara, Calif.; Raymond S. Vogel, St. Louis;
N. E. Weber, Bowmansville, Pa.; Paul J. Wolf, Haw-
thorne, N.Y.; Eugene Z. Zimmer, Chicago; Mrs. M.
Johnson Fuller, Riverside, III.; Raymond A. Matz,
Chicago

General Section: John L. Banks, Jr., Los Angeles;
John Benzel, Covina, Calif.; Lillian Bloom, Chicago;

SUSPEND DALLWIG LECTURE
SERIES UNTIL MARCH

The Sunday afternoon lectures by Paul G.
Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer, will be
suspended during February because of the
absence of Mr. Dallwig on an out-of-town
lecture tour.

Mr. Dallwig will resume his lectures at
the Museum on Sunday, March 2, when he
will begin presentation of a new subject,
"Money Does Grow on Trees," the story of
our American forests. The lecture will be
repeated at 2 p.m. each Sunday in March.
Reservations for the March lectures and
also for Sundays in April (when the topic
will be "Life — What Is It?") may be made
during February by mail or telephone
(WAbash 2-9410). Members of the Museum
may attend the lectures without advance
reservations by presentation of their mem-
bership cards.

Harold L. Colby. Owego, N.Y.; Harry L. and Ruth
Crockett. Phoenix, Ariz.; John E. Davisson, Oakland,
Calif.; R. C. Feagans, Bremerton, Wash.; Helen E.
Fechter, Bozeman. Mont.; Georgina Fitzgerald, Chi-
cago; Dr. Joseph B. Gill, Salt Lake City; J. A. Gold-
sack, Forest Hills, N.Y.; E. William Haskell, Santa
Ana, Calif.; Joseph Hawkes, Chicago; R. S. Hildersley,
London, England; W. Javurek, Cicero, 111.; Robert J.
Jirouflhek, Villa Park, 111.; Katharine M. McGregor,
Toronto, Ontario; Clara L. Miller, North Riverside,
III.; H. G. Mitchell, Chicago; Eugenia Norgaard, Los
Angeles; Floyd Norgaard, Los Angeles; Adelaide K.
Pearce, Chicago; W. W. RatclifTe, Provo, Utah; Alice
Payne Stark, Toronto, Ontario; Winifred Stewart, San
Geronimo, Calif.; F. F. Weinard, Urbana, 111.; D. W.
Williamson, Montrose, Colo.; Alma Winton, Shippens-
burg. Pa.; Dorothy Wolstenholme, Fall River, Mass.

PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
MEDALS

Color Slides:

Adjacent Colors in Nature: L. A. Thurston,
Detroit— BK66i« Balh

Complementary Colors in Nature: Raymond A.
Matz, Chicago — Acorns

Programs Begin March J . . .

SATURDAY ADULT LECTURES
AND CHILDREN'S MOVIES

On Saturday, March 1, the Museum will
begin its annual Spring Course of free
illustrated lectures for adults on science,
travel, and exploration. The lectures, which
start at 2:30 p.m. in James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum, will continue on Saturday
afternoons through March and April. On
the same Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., also in
the Simpson Theatre, the Raymond Founda-
tion will present its free series of motion-
picture programs for children.

First of the afternoon lectures for adults
is "Capturing Jungle Babies," illustrated
with color motion-pictures, by Sasha Siemel,
well-known explorer and photographer. Mr.
Siemel's films record an exciting hunt in the
jungles of Matto Grosso, Brazil, for giant
jaguars (called "tigre" by the natives)
with bow and arrow and a crude home-made
spear as the only arms. On this hunt Mr.
Siemel captured alive both full-grown and
young jaguars for the Central Park Zoo in
New York. His exploits won for him the
name "Tiger Man," a term of respect for
courage and daring bestowed by the Brazil-
ian native Indians. The same film and a
children's version of the lecture will be the
Raymond Foundation program on the morn-
ing of the same day.

Complete schedules of both the adult and
children's programs will appear in the
March issue of the Bulletin. For the
afternoon lectures, each Member of the
Museum is entitled to two seats in the
reserved section upon advance application
by mail or telephone (WAbash 2-9410).
Seats will be held in the Member's name
before the lecture until 2:25 p.m.

Iraq Museum Head Here

Bushir Alouse, director of the National
Museum of Iraq at Baghdad, who came to
this country to do graduate work in zoology,
consulted with members of the Museum's
zoological staff on a recent visit to Chicago.

SALAMANDER COLLECTION
RECEIVED BY MUSEUM

The late Dr. Sherman C. Bishop, professor
of zoology at the University of Rochester
for nearly two decades, specialized in two
research fields: spiders and salamanders.
He became an eminent student in both and
the author of many technical papers. Some
students of arachnology did not know that
he was also a herpetologist, and some of
his colleagues in herpetology were similarly
unaware of his work on spiders. It is
illustrative of his merit that his personal
collection of spiders was welcomed by the
American Museum of Natural History in
New York, now a center of arachnology,
and that his herpetological material, pre-
sented by Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Daniel W.
O'Dell, daughter of the Bishops, was equally
acceptable as an addition to the collections
of Chicago Natural History Museum. The
importance of the Bishop salamander col-
lection may be realized by the fact that it
forms the basis of Dr. Bishop's Handbook
of Salamanders.

It should be explained here that sala-
manders are tailed amphibians resembling
lizards in shape but actually related to
frogs rather than to lizards. They are
commonly called spring or wood lizards by
the layman and are extensively used in
biological laboratories by experimental zoolo-
gists. Salamanders occur in greatest abun-
dance in the Appalachian highlands and,
contrary to an old tradition, cannot live in
fire.

In spite of poor health, Dr. Bishop was
an avid field zoologist and made many
collecting trips. His family and students
often accompanied him, and he was thus
able to build up a valuable reptile and
amphibian collection for his university. At
his death the university, at the instigation
of Dr. Donald R. Charles, chairman of the
department of biology, followed Mrs.
Bishop's example by presenting this her-
petological material to Chicago Natural
History Museum. This act was the result
of a decision by the university to drop work
in vertebrate field biology and taxonomy, a
type of zoology that more and more is
being turned over to museums by univer-
sities. However, there are only a few
museums with sufficient resources to support
research, which raises some question as to
whether this relocation of fundamental types
of investigation is a good idea.

The salamanders from the University of
Rochester added to those of the Bishop col-
lection together about equal the number
this Museum had previously possessed. This
means that Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum now, with the combination of all three
collections, has the finest assemblage of
salamanders in existence.

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only
to be understood. — Marie Curie

February, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

MUSEUM RECEIVES
'KENYA GEMS'

By JOANNE NEHER

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

The Kenya Gem Corporation of Phila-
delphia recently donated to the Museum
three cut synthetic rutiles — "The Kenya
Gem" — and a boule.

•KENYA GEMS'
Miss Joanne Neher displays synthetic rutile cut in
form of brilliants. Pear-shaped object is a boule.

A boule is a pear- or carrot-shaped mass
of an artificial mineral produced in a furnace
of special design by the fusion of certain
elements composing the mineral. From the
boule the gems are cut. Barring the fact
that synthetic or artificial gems are made
in the laboratory, they are essentially the
same as the natural gems, both in chemical
composition and physical properties.

Through the application of modern scien-
tific methods and by the elimination of
impurities, the production of synthetic rutile
with sufficient transparency to be fashioned
into gems has been made possible. This
product has a very high refractive index.
It thus approximates the diamond in bril-
liance, although it is not nearly as hard,
being only 6.5, as against 10, the hardness
of diamond.

In the manufacture of the Kenya Gem,
the basic ore is ilmenite or iron titanate.
This is reduced to titanium and subsequently
converted into rutile or titanium oxide. The
rutile is subjected to intense heat (3000° F.)
to produce the boules, which are then cut
into gems, usually in the form of brilliants.
The gems range in color from almost color-
less to light canary color. The colors are
obtained by adding pigmenting materials.
The three stones received by the Museum
vary in weight and color: 1.38 carats, almost

colorless; 2.84 carats, bluish; and 3.79
carats, light canary. These and the boule
(90 carats) will soon be placed on exhibition
in H. N. Higinbotham Hall of Gems and
Jewels (Hall 31) alongside some natural
rutile gems.

Natural rutile is oxide of titanium, con-
taining more or less iron. Its usual color is
reddish-brown, passing into black with a
higher content of iron. Some of the reddish-
brown rutiles, when cut, appear very similar
to a ruby. Black rutile (known as nigrine),
when cut, closely resembles the black dia-
mond. Because of impurities, rutile is
rarely sufficiently transparent to make clear
stones of any size. Though lacking trans-
parency and brillancy of color, it approaches
the luster and hardness desired in a gem,
and it has occasionally been used as one.
At Graves Mountain, Georgia, long
splendent rutile crystals have been found
that are sufficiently beautiful to be worn
uncut.

IITHf ^AKS AGO

AT THE MUSEUM

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Installation, Rearrangement, and Per-
manent Improvements. — The exterior of the
building has received the usual attention but
it is becoming evident that certain parts of
the structure have reached a state of decay
where renewal is impossible. The steam
plant was entirely overhauled and a new
boiler substituted for one entirely worn out.
The Director's office has been calcimined
and a hardwood floor laid." (The building
referred to, of course, is not the one occupied
by the Museum today, erection of which was
completed in 1920.)

"Photography, Illustration, and Printing. —
The development of these two divisions con-
tinues and their importance as factors in
Museum work cannot be questioned. The
addition of a new Gordon press and a large
amount of type has greatly increased the
usefulness of the Division of Printing."

To look at his picture as a whole, a painter
requires distance; and to judge of the total
scientific achievement of any age, the stand-
point of a succeeding age is desirable.

— John Tyndall

Every man has two educations — that
which is given to him, and the other, that
which he gives himself. Of the two kinds,
the latter is by far the most valuable. In-
deed, all that is most worthy in a man he
must work out and conquer for himself.

— Jearir-Paul Richter

CAKE AND WINE COME
FROM SAME BUSH

By EMIL sella
cvbator of exhibits, botany

A fruiting branch of elderberry recently
added to the exhibits in Martin A. and Carrie
Ryerson Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29) repre-
sents the honeysuckle family. The Ameri-
can or sweet elder {Sambiicus canadensis),
like the other twenty sjjecies of this genus,
is found in the temperate and subtropical
regions of both hemispheres. Some of these
sf)ecies are said to possess medicinal prop-
erties.

The generic name applied by Linnaeus is
the Latin name for an Old World species
and may have reference to a musical instru-
ment made from its hollow stem. Besides
the well-known honeysuckle (Lonicera) vines
and shrubs of parks and gardens, another
important group in this ornamental family
is the genus Viburnum. Formerly often
grown for its handsome foliage, the elder
will thrive in rich and rather moist soil.
Its numerous small white flowers are fragrant
and, when freshly gathered, may be mixed

AMERICAN ELDERBERRY
The juice of its berries makes wine; its small white
flowers are sometimes mixed with batter and baked
into cakes; and for some species of elderberry claims
of medicinal properties are made. Reproduction of
fruiting branch above was recently added to the
exhibits in Hall of Plant Life.

with batter and baked into cakes. Elder-
berry wine is made from the large clusters
of purple or nearly black fruits.

The accompanying photograph shows the
attractive new reproduction, which was
made by Artist-Preparator Samuel H. Grove,
Jr., assisted by Preparator Frank Boryca.

A man's mind may be likened to a garden,
which may be intelligently cultivated or
allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated
or neglected, it must and will bring forth.
If no useful seeds are put into it, then an
abundance of useless weed-seed will fall
therein and will continue to produce its
kind. — James Allen

We are just in the kindergarten of un-
covering things and there is no down-curve
in science. — Charles F. Kettering

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 195g

Botanical Detective Story . . .

MYSTERY PRODUCT LINKS
TAXIDERMY TO HAIR-DO

By EDITH M. VINCENT

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY

TAXIDERMISTS at Chicago Natural
History Museum often use a curious
material for dressing furs of animals being
prepared for exhibits. The same material,
Chinese shavings, is used by commercial

•SAVE THE BOX TOP"?

A package of Chinese shavings with label showing a

young lady using the shellac-like substance to hold

her hair in place much as it is done in our own

beauty shops.

furriers to produce a glaze for women's
coats. The shavings are from wood of some
kind, but what kind of wood is it?

Chinese shavings are about two or three
feet long, three or four inches wide, very
thin, and of a definitely woody structure.
They come in bundles with labels on which
are printed characters and the picture of
a Chinese girl. The characters, translated
for us by a Chinese student working in the
Department of Botany, give directions for
preparing the solution but say nothing about
the kind of wood used in making the
shavings.

At least we knew that the shavings came
from China and apparently were a well-
known article of commerce there. Surely
some of the Chinese botanies, especially
those about the useful plants of that country,
would give some account of them. Because
most of the books were indexed only for
the scientific names of the plants and not
for their uses, they proved disappointing

until the last one consulted (which was
almost discarded because it had no index)
was looked over casually. It was a very
small book by Augustine Henry, entitled
Notes on the Economic Botany of China, and
as I leafed through it, my eye was caught
by the words "shavings, P'ao-hua."

USED IN CHINESE HAIRDRESSING

Reading more carefully, I found that
these words were part of a letter to Dr.
Henry from the Director of Kew Gardens
in England, asking information about a
"wood used by Chinese ladies for dressing
the hair which is sold in the form of shavings,
P'ao-hua, which, when put into water exudes
a clean glue. The Paris Exhibition Catalogue
tells us that the tree occurs in Kwang-tung,
where it is known as the spittle tree."

The Director of Kew Gardens asked Dr.
Henry to try to get specimens of the tree
and more details about it because he had
found no information in the Chinese botanies
he had consulted. The letter ended with
the query, "How long has the practice of
using this glue been in vogue with the
Chinese ladies? I am not aware that any
one has paid attention to the subject of
fashion in China."

Now I had both a Chinese and an English
name to look for, but none of our books listed
either of them in their indexes. However,
the inquiry to Dr. Henry had come from
Kew Gardens and I recalled that they
publish a series of bulletins about plants.
If Dr. Henry had replied to the request,
maybe it had been published in one of these
bulletins. Starting with 1893, the date of
the Henry book, I searched the indexes for
"P'ao-hua," "spittle wood," and "Chinese
shavings," none of which I found. But
when I came to the index for the 1897
volume, there was a listing of "Chinese
Bandoline Wood," which sounded as if it
might be the same or a similar product.

This article repeated the facts about the
glue-producing qualities of the wood and
its use by Chinese ladies as a hairdressing
and went on to say that it was exported
from Canton to Peking under a Chinese
name meaning cosmetic glue shavings.
From leaf specimens sent to Kew by the
British Consul at Ningpo the tree was
identified tentatively as Machilus Thun-
hergii, a species originally described from
Japan by Siebthorp and Zuccarini. A draw-
ing made from these and later specimens,
showing flowers and fruits, was published
the same year in Hooker's Icones Plantarum.

IDENTITY ESTABLISHED)

Apparently this settled the identity of
the tree, but the description was not suffici-
ently detailed to be completely satisfactory;
and I went on to see if there were more
recent accounts. Tropical Woods, a maga-
zine published by the Yale School of
Forestry, was the most likely place to find
them. My search was rewarded by several

short articles about the wood known to
them as "pau-hoi," a variation of the name
"p'ao-hua" used by Dr. Henry. These
notes were by various authors who differed
as to the proper name for the tree but were
unanimous in their accounts of its mucilage-
producing quality.

In 1930 there was a final article by Ryozo
Kanehira, a botanist then connected with
the Taihoku Imperial University of Formosa.
He said that the earlier articles had raised
the question as to whether or not the Chinese
"pau-hoi" had been correctly identified.
In trying to settle that question he had
made microscopic examinations of authentic
specimens of "pau-hoi" and of Machilus
Thunbergii that showed differences of struc-
ture; also the specimen of M. Thunbergii
did not yield a gluey solution when soaked
in water. He had received reports that shav-
ings from several other species of Machilus
as well as from trees of other genera were
being sold as "pau-hoi."

After carefully examining specimens of all
of them he came to the conclusion that they
were commercial substitutes or adulterants.
However, the "pau-hoi" that yielded the
gluey solution definitely belonged to the
genus Machilus, though not to any of the
published sjjecies. Accordingly he gave it
the new name Machilus pauhoi. It is an

FOR COIFFURES AND TAXIDERMY
Opened package of Chinese shavings showing how
they are peeled ofi for use. One or two shavings
soaked in water yield a sort of shellac used in China
for dressing women's hair and in the Museum for
treating animal skins.

evergreen tree belonging to the laurel
family, which is native in southeastern
China. It grows as high as 90 feet, is about
two feet in diameter, and has smooth gray
bark. The leaves are a shiny dark green
above and light green underneath. It has
clusters of fragrant creamy-yellow flowers
and deep-green round berries.

The only Madagascar ethnological collec-
tion of importance in the United States and
one of the most complete in existence is
exhibited in Hall E.

February, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

MEXICAN MOUNTAINS A 'PARADISE' FOR HERPETOLOGISTS

By CLIFFORD H. POPE

CURATOR OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

The Zoological Field Trip to Mexico of
1951 returned to the Museum early in
September after nearly eight weeks of work.
The distance traveled in Mexico alone came
to 4,400 miles, an amount that would have
been much smaller if the floods of • late
summer had not blocked the shortest way
out. The expedition was led by the writer,
who worked for much of the time in co-
operation with Charles M. Bogert, curator
of the department of amphibians and reptiles
of the American Museum of Natural History,
New York, and Dr. Archie F. Carr, of the
department of biology of the University of
Florida. Mr. Bogert is a specialist in
Mexican herpetology, and Dr. Carr, a
herpetologist with distinct ecological lean-
ings, has a comprehensive knowledge of
faunal and floral relationships in tropical
America.

The main objective of the expedition was
a survey of the salamander fauna of the
southern part of the Mexican highlands.
For the benefit of those who do not know
just what a salamander is, it is stated here
that salamanders are small, scaleless animals
that resemble lizards in appearance but
differ fundamentally from them in structure
and habits. In these characteristics sala-
manders are much more like frogs and are
classified as amphibians.

ISOLATION OF MEXICAN SALAMANDERS

For several years I have been studying
the salamanders of our southeastern moun-
tains, and it has become increasingly desir-
able to compare the fauna of these mountains
with that of Mexico. These faunas, though

related, have been separated presumably
for millions of years by the deserts of
northern Mexico, and the comparative study
of them should shed light on evolutionary
rate and processes. The co-operation of
Mr. Bogert and Dr. Carr in such a com-
plicated study was of inestimable value.

The site most intensively worked was the
region of the Nevado de Toluca or Zinan-
tecatl. This nevado, which has a crater,
raises its snow-capped head to an altitude
of 15,000 feet near the center of the state
of Mexico just southwest of the city of
Toluca. Through the kindness and generos-
ity of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pogolotti of
Mexico City, the herpetologists were able
to work at Ixtapan de la Sal to the south-
east of Zinantecatl. Headquarters were
established in the Pogolotti home for a week
and the host and hostess helped the scientists
in many other ways.

NEAR SNOW-LINE

After headquarters were shifted to a point
just north of the nevado, an altitudinal
survey was made of the reptiles and am-
phibians on the slopes of the mountains.
Emphasis was placed on salamanders, which
lived even above the 12,000-foot level and
not far below the summer snow-line. Con-
ditions of the floor of the fir forests of
moderate altitude on the nevado are strik-
ingly like those at lower levels in our southern
Appalachians. It is in the ground cover of
damp forests that salamanders reach their
greatest abundance in the United States.
In Mexico they thrive under similar condi-
tions.

Several other sites were surveyed more
quickly, among them the Lagunas de Zem-

poala in the region of the common boundary
of the state of Morelos and the Federal
District. Here a series of small lakes
occupies valleys completely surrounded by
steep mountains. The bed of the "dry"
lake in which we worked is a haven for
amphibians because of the mat of vegetation
growing in the shallow water. One small
species of salamander was particularly

EVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL CLIMBER

Artist Margaret Bradbury's cartoon depicts the
Mexican salamander vainly trying to raise itself in
the Darwinian scale. In spite o( a lizard-like appear*
ance and a lower evolutionary rank, salamanders are
persistently called lizards by the confused layman.
The presence of dry scaly skin and the love of sun-
shine are lizard characteristics; the salamander has a
damp bare skin and shuns dry warm places.

abundant in rotting logs lying in or beside
the water. The remoteness of the lakes,
the precipitous, pine-covered slopes, and
the altitude (9,300 feet) combined to give
the site a character of its own that one
cannot forget. The lower slopes of Mount
Popocatepetl also proved to be a salamander
paradise, with individuals so abundant that
we were able to capture more than one
hundred specimens in less than two hours.
The evergreen forest was dense and damp
and its altitude great: 10,300 feet.

The tools, weapons, utensils, houses, cloth-
ing, modes of transportation, ornaments,
musical instruments, wood carvings, and
textiles of many groups of people of the
Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago
are shown in Hall G.

LOFTY COLLECTING GROUND
The Nevado de Toluca (the Volcan Zinantecatl) towering above the village of Zinacantepec. Mexico, was the
principal focus of interest for the Zoological Field Trip to Mexico of 1951. Photo by Charles M. Bogert.

The fossil fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals exhibited in Ernest R.
Graham Hall (Hall 38) are arranged, in
general, according to biological relationships
and show the development of the various
vertebrate forms.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 195?

Books

{All books reviewed in the BuLLE^riN are
available in The Book Shop of the Museum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
eluding postage are promptly filled.)

LABORATORY MANUAL FOR GEN-
ERAL ZOOLOGY. By Tracy I. Storer.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New
York, 1951. v+150 pages, 20 text
figures. Price $2.50.

The great success of Dr. Tracy I. Storer's
General Zoology, of which a second edition
appeared in 1951, is most gratifying to
museum zoologists because of its relative
emphasis on the diversity of the animal
kingdom, i.e., of systematic zoology and of
the anatomy of the animal forms. Syste-
matic zoology and botany have been more
and more neglected in American universi-
ties, and without adequate training of
students in this direction the whole founda-
tion of biology will be gravely weakened.

The laboratory manual that accompanies
General Zoology has also been revised for a
second edition and is an adequate laboratory
supplement to the larger text. It is neces-
sarily focused on the indoor laboratory and
thus is of little significance to training in
the kinds of outdoor natural history fostered
by the Museum.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

charini). By Charles H. Seevers. De-
cember 21, 1951. 107 pages. $1.25.

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 11, No. 5. Late
Devonian Fresh-Water Fishes from the
Western United States. By Robert H.
Denison. December 28, 1951. 43 pages.
$0.75.

Technical Publications

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

Fieldiana: Botany, Vol. 27, No. 2. Con-
tributions to the Flora of South America:
Studies on Andean Compositae — //, Studies
in South American Plants — ///. By Jos6
Cuatrecasas. November 9, 1951. 113
pages. $1.50.

Geological ^ries, Vol. VII, No. 11. The
Benld Meteorite. By Sharat Kumar Roy
and Robert Kriss Wyant. December 5,
1951. 13 pages. $0.30.

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 10, No. 12. A
Mastodont Tooth from Szechwan, China.
By Dirk A. Hooijer and Edwin H.
Colbert. December 6, 1951. 6 pages.
$0.15.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 32, No. 9. Birds
from Liberia. By Austin L. Rand.
December 19, 1951. 97 pages. $1.00.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 32, No. 10. A
Revision of the North American and
European Staphylinid Beetles of the Sub-
tribe Gyropkaenae {Aleocharinae, Bolito-

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 Fri-
days. A schedule of these follows:

Fri., Feb. 1— The Story of the Dunes.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(Marie Svoboda).

Wed., Feb. 6 — Natural History Facts and
Fallacies (Lorain Stephens).

Fri., Feb. 8 — Indians of the Southwest.
Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room
(June Buchwald).

Wed., Feb. 13 — Stone Age Man (Anne
Stromquist).

Fri., Feb. 15 — Adapt or Become Extinct:
Nature's Struggle for Survival. Illus-
trated introduction in Meeting Room
(Jane Sharpe).

Wed., Feb. 20 — Plant Pioneers (Miriam
Wood).

Fri., Feb. 22 — Adventures of a Fossil
Hunter. Illustrated introduction in Meet-
ing Room (Lorain Stephens).

Wed., Feb. 27 — Exotic and Unusual Flowers
(Marie Svoboda).

Fri., Feb. 29— Giants: Large Plants and
• Animals. Illustrated introduction in
Meeting Room (Miriam Wood).

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from December 17 to January 18:

Corporate Members
John G. Searle, Louis Ware

Associate Members

Dr. Jesse R. Gerstley, Albert W. Potts,
Dr. Albert L. Raymond.

Annual Members

David Blair, Edward W. Blatchford,
Abbott Cobum, Dr. Chester Coggeshall,
Robert T. Drake, Edmond I. Eger, J. S.
Garland, Hebron Hixson, Dr. Charles E.
Hughes, William A. Indelli, Robert Jones,
Marshall Korshak, R. E. Long, Bernard W.
Lynn, Graydon Megan, Fred L. Otten-
heimer, Anderson Pace, Roger L. Severns,
Herbert Stuart Stone, Jr., Edwin P. Vander-
wicken.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

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

Department of Anthropolof^ :

From: William Ryer Wright, Highland
Park, 111. — archaeological and ethnological
specimens, North America.

Department of Botany :

From: William A. Cassel, Philadelphia —
16 cultures of algae; Dr. Maxwell S. Doty,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu — 14 algae,
Oregon and California; R. L. Dunkeson,
Willow Springs, Mo. — 28 phanerogams,
Missouri; Prof. F. E. Fritsch, University of
Cambridge, England — 4 algae; E. P. Killip,
Washington, D.C., and J. Francis Macbride,
Stanford University, Calif. — 6 algae, Florida;
Dr. Herman Kleerekoper, Hamilton, Ont. —
331 algae, Quebec; J. Francis Macbride,
Stanford University, Calif. — 46 algae,
southeastern United States; Dr. Grace C.
Madsen, Florida State University, Talla-
hassee— 38 algae, northern Florida; Dr.
Richard W. Pohl, Iowa State College, Ames
— 213 phanerogams, Missouri; Dr. F.
Schwerdtfeger, Guatemala City — 39 pinus,
Guatemala; Smithsonian Institution, Wash-
ington, D.C. — 9 miscellaneous algae; Floyd
Swink, Chicago — 264 phanerogams, Illinois
and Indiana; Archie F. Wilson, Flossmoor,
111. — 13 phanerogams, Korea; Mrs. H. P.
Bracelin, University of California, Berkeley
— 540 phanerogams, Mexico^ and South
America.

Department of Geology :

From: University of Chicago — paleo-
botany collections; Kenya Gem Corp.,
Philadelphia — a boule and three faceted
gems of synthetic rutile; Jon S. Whitfield,
Evanston — 87 invertebrate fossil specimens,
Wilmington, 111.; Dr. and Mrs. R. H.
Whitfield and Jon S. Whitfield, Evanston—
140 fossil plant specimens, Wilmington, 111.

l>epartment of Zoology:

FVom: Chicago Zoological Society, Brook-
field, 111.— 66 bird skeletons, 27 birds in
alcohol, and a dasyure (Dasyuriis viverriniis),
captive; Robert M. Crowell, Wooster, Ohio
— 5 slides of water-mites. United States;
Capt. Robert Guillaudeu, APO, San Fran-
cisco— 196 specimens of fishes, 45 frogs, and
13 snakes, Korea; M. J. R. Lentz, St. Louis
— a snake, Missouri; Lincoln Park Zoo,
Chicago — 2 birds, captive; William E. Old,
Jr., Norfolk, Va. — a collection of shells,
worldwide; Shedd Aquarium, Chicago — a
sea turtle; Dr. Harold Trapido, Panama
City — 3 caecilians, 315 frogs, 290 lizards,
33 snakes, and 11 turtles, Panama; Dr.
Neal A. Weber, Baghdad, Iraq — 3 lizards,
Iraq.

Raymond Foundation:

From: Charles Albee Howe, Home wood,
111.— 22 (2 X 2) original color slides.

Library:

From: Stanley Field, Lake Bluff, Illinois;
Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, 111.; Depart-
ment of Anthropology, University of Chi-
cago; Henry Dobynes, Tucson, Ariz., Dr.
Fritz Haas, Chicago; Dr. Gerhard Lohmeyer,
Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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BULLETIN

LJ Vol. 23, No 3 -March 1952

Chicago Natural
History Museum

'^.

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Pagei

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5

Tblbphonb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field " Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Marshall Field Pint Vue-President

Henry P. Isham Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Cuftord C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar AssistarU Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropoloey

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

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

TELLS STORY OF MUSEUM
ON 6 -STATE TOUR

Harriet Smith of the Raymond Founda-
tion lecture staff has returned to her regular
duties at the Museum after a five-month
leave "on loan" to the School Assembly Ser-
vice lecture agency.

Miss Smith served as a public relations
representative for the Museum during this
extensive midwest tour of six states in which
she presented the behind-the-scenes story
of Museum work some two hundred times.
About half of these programs were high-
school auditorium assemblies. The others
were presented to varied audiences — wide
age-range groups (community schools and
military and church academies) and adults
in club and college organizations. Attend-
ance ranged from 50 at service-club lunch-
eons to 2,500 in a civic auditorium. The
average audience numbered around 800.

The lecture, called "Treasure House," was
built on a specially edited version of the
Museum's color motion-picture, "Through
These Doors," produced by John W. Moyer,
Chief of the Museum's Motion Picture Divi-
sion. The sound track was not used, and the
re-edited film includes additional sequences
on the Museum's Hall of the Stone Age of
the Old World and the mounting of the
gorilla, Bushman. Cave men were added to

illustrate the reconstruction of physical type
and ways of life made possible through the
scientific methods of archaeology and physi-
cal anthropology, as presented in the original
film. Bushman's publicity value just at this
time served as an effective device for catch-
ing the attention of audiences, and the Mu-
seum magic demonstrated in his mounting
held this attention, commanding respect for
the painstaking research and skilled work-
manship that go hand in hand in all areas of
the Museum's behind-the-scenes activities.

DAILY GUIDE-LECTURES
ON REVISED BASIS

Beginning March 1 the Museum an-
nounces a revised program for its free
guide-lecture tours that are offered at 2 p.m.
daily except Sundays. Henceforth all of the
regular public tours will be presented under
the title "Highlights of the Exhibits."
These tours are designed to give a general
idea of the entire Museum and its scojje
of activities.

This change, eliminating the tours on
special subjects formerly given on Wedne.s-
days and Fridays, was made after a study
of tour attendance statistics for the past
several years indicated the type of tour
desired by the majority of visitors. How-
ever, special tours on subjects within the
range of the Museum exhibits will be
available as heretofore (Mondays through
Fridays) for parties of ten or more persons.
Requests for such service must be made at
least one week in advance.

STAFF NOTES

Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects,
returned to the Museum in February bring-
ing with him large collections of beetles of
the family Histeridae, to which group his
studies in Europe were devoted. He will
continue to receive large additional col-
lections from Europe for study. Most nota-
ble acquisition was the Bernhauer collection
of Staphylinid beetles recently purchased
in Vienna by the Museum .... Dr. Fritz
Haas, Curator of Lower Invertebrates, left
on February 7 for two months of field work
in Cuba. He has been given working quar-
ters in the University of Cuba in Havana.

Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator

of Anthropology, has been appointed by the
Encyclopedia Americana as editorial con-
sultant on American Indians Dr. Julian

A. Steyermark, Curator of the Herbarium,
recently conducted a seminar for the faculty
and graduate students of the biology de-
partment at Northwestern University on
"Ecology, Plant Distribution, and Specia-
tion in the Flora of Missouri with Special
Reference to the Ozarks."

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

An owl, probably the Little Owl
of Europe, is the bird of Athena,
the divinity of Greek genius in
its artistic and intellectual as-
pects. Ornithologists who know
the grotesque actions and ludi-
crous expressions of this buffoon
of birds have wondered at its hav-
ing been seriously selected as the
symbol of learning and have sus-
pected that the choice was made
in a spirit of sarcasm. The picture
on our cover, "Triple Wisdom," by
O. C. Edwards, of Bangalore,
India, won honorable mention in
the Seventh Chicago Interna-
tional Exhibition of Nature Pho-
tography held at the Museum
last month. The owls shown are
youngsters of a species native to
India and related to the pygmy
owls of the western United States.

DALLWIG RESUMES SUNDAY
LECTURES IN MARCH

Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer,
will resume his Sunday afternoon talks at
the Museum during March after an absence
of one month for an out-of-town lecture
tour. His lecture for each Sunday in March
is "Money Does Grow on Trees," the story
of the development and conservation of
America's great forests. This lecture will
be repeated at 2 p.m. on March 2, 9, 16, 23,
and 30.

A feature of the lecture for March ia
a three-act dramatization by Mr. Dallwig
of the hazards, thrills, and tragedies of an
early logging operation. Mr. Dallwig will
tell also about plywood, veneers, and "super-
wood"; explain the difference between hard-
wood and softwood; define the terms "solid,"
"veneer," and "genuine" as applied to
mahogany and walnut furniture; and dis-
close the methods by which science is
turning forest products into food, clothes,
alcohol, and plastics — a story that justifies
his conclusion that "money does grow on
trees." The lecture for Sundays in April
will be "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 (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 relaxa-
tion or for tea or coffee in the Museum cafe-
teria, where smoking is permitted.

Saturday afternoon lectures — see page 8.

March, 195S

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

WHAT WOULD A RATTLESNAKE DO TO YOU— BITE OR STAB?

By CLIFFORD H. POPE

CURATOR OP AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

ALTHOUGH for centuries rattlesnakes
have been biting human beings with
painful or even fatal results, their exact
manner of doing so remains unknown. The
reason is not far to seek: The snake is much
too quick for the eye. We do know that a
successful bite injects specialized saliva,
commonly called venom, into the flesh of
the victim.

It should be remarked parenthetically
that the forked tongue of the snake has no
part in the injection, which is accomplished
solely by the fangs, two long, hollow teeth

ONE SNAKE-NOT THREE
Three positions in one strike of a western diamond-
back rattlesnake. The flashes were set ofl by "electric
eyes" and the duration of each exposure was about
l-2500th of a second. Photograph by J. B. Leviton.

in the front of the upper jaw. Well con-
cealed by a fleshy sheath, the fangs lie
against the roof of the mouth until erected
for action. They can be moved either
singly or together, and opening the mouth
does not necessarily bring them into play,
notwithstanding statements in many books.
The method of biting seems to be much
the same among Old World \'ipers and
American pit-vipers. Cobras and their
relatives use a different method. These
snakes, found chiefly in the Old World, do
not strike at all (as, for example, the coral
snakes) or do so by a simple forward and
downward thrust of the elevated head, neck,
and forebody, which are kept straight all
the while. Seizure is often followed by a
chewing movement of the jaws. In contrast,
the rattlers and other vipers hold neck and
forebody in an "S" curve until the strike
is made by a lightning-quick straightening
of the curved parts. Release is usually
instantaneous.

IMPORTANT IN TREATMENT

Is this problem of how a snake bites an
important one? It is for several reasons.
The most practical of these is the matter
of telling whether a person has been bitten
by a harmless or a venomous species. The

treatment of snake-bite is at best drastic,
at worst exceedingly dangerous; therefore
its avoidance is truly desirable. Another
reason, concerned with evolution, is of
interest to the theorist: Have vipers, highly
evolved among snakes, developed a new
way of biting, or have they merely modified
the old one of most snakes? Then there is
a third reason, the satisfaction of plain,
old-fashioned curiosity answering the peren-
nial question, "How does it work?" This
third reason should not be taken too lightly
since it reflects the attitude responsible for
the development of modern science and its
technology. At least we like to talk a lot
about "pure science" and how it has revolu-
tionized our lives during the past century.

There are two theories as to how a rattle-
snake bites. One might be called the "stab"
theory and the other the "bite" theory.
The former conceives of the act simply as
a stab with the fangs alone. The result
would be a pair of punctures, since the
jaws and other teeth would not normally
touch the victim. When you watch a
snake strike, this is what it appears to do;
so the origin of this conception is obvious.
Just as obvious is the origin of the usual
statement that the bite of a venomous snake
can thus be recognized at once; there is no
question that a harmless species leaves some
six rows of punctures when it bites.

The other theory sees the act as a complex
rather than a simple one. According to it,
the snake actually seizes the object with the
ordinary teeth of both jaws before or
simultaneously with the embedding of the
fangs, which are withdrawn before or just
as the teeth release their grip. When you
watch a strike it seems impossible that so
much action could escape the eye, and this
probably explains why the theory is not
widely held. But a bitten clay model
always has four rows of punctures as well
as the two fang marks, a fact that cannot
be laughed off no matter what the eye
records. Therefore the facts seem to me
to prove that the second theory is correct.

BITE VERSUS STAB

A comparative examination of these two
methods brings out some pertinent points.
It is hard to see how a snake could gauge
a stab-like thrust so accurately that the
fangs would stop at the right split-second
time and split-millimeter place for efficient
ejection. The pre.sence of fur or feathers
greatly increases the difficulty. If the thrust
went too far, the resistance of a large victim
would cause injury to the snake and a small
victim would be knocked away. Actually
a large rattler can strike a relatively small
animal without even causing it to lose
balance. A stab would bring the tips of
the fangs into play in advance of everything
and might mean injury to their delicate tips,
whereas a bite would get the fangs into

action last and so conserve them. The
bite would prevent the escape of the prey
no matter how alert or quick it might be.
Broadly speaking there are three ways of
finding out exactly how a rattler bites.
You can watch one bite. If this method
worked, the answer would have been known
for centuries. You can experiment, let us
say, with materials such as modeling clay,
allowing the snake to bite cylinders and
studying the marks left by the teeth.
R. Marlin Perkins, director of Lincoln Park
Zoo, and I have used this method, even
going as far as to include a gelatin replica

THE VENOM IS INJECTED
Culmination of a strike by a diamond-back rattle-
snake. Method and time of exposure as in other
photograph by J. B. Leviton (light area on snake's
body is result of second flash).

of a human hand. The results of our
investigation, published in the Archives of
Surgery (1944), apparently have not con-
vinced everyone interested. Finally, you
can use photography, a method that would
seem to be final. Modern photography
includes many techniques, but those used
to date are still unconvincing: Two persons
can look at the same photograph and come
to opposite conclusions.

In March, 1950, Natural History, the
magazine of the American Museum of
Natural History, New York, published an
article by Walker Van Riper entitled, "How
a Rattlesnake Strikes." The article began
with a sentence discouraging to me: "That
the strike of the rattlesnake culminates in
a stab rather than a bite is shown in the
accompanying pictures." The article has
three speed-photographs of stages of the
strike of a rattler. The object is a balloon
and the duration of exposure was on the
order of one ten-thousandth of a second.
Mr. Van Riper had rigged up an extremely
clever device that made the snake photo-
graph itself, the target and the snake being
part of an electric circuit closed by the
first contact of any part of the snake with
the balloon. The disappearance of the
balloon when punctured kept the snake
from following through with a natural bite

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1952

and greatly detracted from the scientific
value of the picture.

Again some light was shed on the problem,
but plenty of loopholes for skeptics remained.
I have learned through correspondence with
Mr. Van Riper that he has made many
other interesting photographs of strikes and
has thus advanced our knowledge without,
as far as I can tell, finally solving the
problem. I believe that he might do so
by placing a small conducting object within
a rubber bulb not itself a conductor. The
snake would be forced to compress the
bulb before closing the circuit and thus
produce a conclusive photograph.

OTHER EXPERIMENTS

A short article published by Life magazine
on August 12, 1947, with exactly the same
title as the one just discussed emphasizes
another aspect of the problem: the value
of the heat-sensitive facial pits of the
rattlesnake in the aiming of the strike.
Although this question of the use of the pit
of pit-vipers (rattlesnakes, copperheads,
water moccasins, and so on) is very interest-
ing in itself, it is beyond our scope. Life's
article includes two speed-photographs, one
that supports the bite theory and one that
might be taken as a boost to its opposite.

My first attempt to study the strike of a
rattlesnake by photography was made about
three years ago in Virginia at Moimtain
Lake Biological Station. I had the indis-
pensable aid of Dr. A. M. Winchester, who
is a biologist as well as a photographer. Dr.
Winchester generously offered to handle his
camera if I wotild provide and take entire
charge of the snake. His plan was to set
the camera up on a small table and depend
on the quickness of his eye to catch the
snake at the crucial instant with his high-
speed flash. Fortimately, Mrs. Winchester
watched us in a state of extreme nervousness,
for the room was small and she had to be
perilously near the snake. She had every
appearance of being totally unaccustomed
to such a relationship. Although Dr.
Winchester believes it was the quickness
of his eye that got the result, I am convinced
the air-rending scream of his wife, uttered
just before the strike, startled him into
pressing the trigger at the proper split
second.

The photograph has been copied in, ink
because the artist was able to bring out
certain important details. The copy is repro-
duced here. The wad of cotton wrapped in
gauze is clearly seen in the jaws of the
snake, a fact that certainly suggests a bite
rather than a stab. Any skeptic can point
out that such a picture does not offer final
proof because the fangs are not shown
imbedded in the wad. Nevertheless, the
Winchesters should be congratulated on a
splendid bit of co-operation.

In the autunm of 1950, Lt. Jay B. Leviton
next offered to help with a roomful of equip-
ment that included photo-electric cells. Two

rattlers were borrowed from Lincoln Park
Zoo and Lt. Leviton arranged several
"electric eyes" so that the strike of a snake
would interrupt their beams and set off
lights to expose the film. A snake was
confined to a big carton with a glass window
in one side for passage of the beams. The
equipment seemed to be about as unpre-
dictable as the snake; so two days of hard

THIS COULD HAVE MEANT DEATH
Banded rattlesnake striking a wad of cotton wrapped
in cloth. Presumably the fangs are about to sink into
the wad, although it is possible that they are being
withdrawn. From photograph by A. M. Winchester.

work and the aid of several persons were
required. When one snake decided that
the game was not worth the candle, to it,
at least, and refused to strike, it was per-
suaded to change its mind by a slight
electric shock. The great difficulty of pre-
venting the snake from missing a beam on
the forward motion but intercepting it on
the return was never overcome.

Of the many shots made, only a few were
revealing. One of these has been printed
in color in Collier's magazine (March 31,
1951) and two are shown with this article.
The results of this last effort add evidence
in support of the bite theory but still do
not give us a series of pictures of a complete
strike. Perhaps nothing but moving pictures
will do this. The difficulty with such a
method is the great amount of heat generated
by the very powerful lights required for this
sort of high-speed cinematography. Such
heat would be top much for even a snake.

This accoimt has its moral: The ap-
parently simple problems of life and of
science often turn out to be the hardest.
If the mo\ing pictures settle the strike
dilenmia, the stumbling blocks that were

surmounted will be forgotten and few will
recall how much time and effort were spent
in getting a solution

Memo for Museum visitors: Rattlesnakes
are well represented among the exhibits in
AllMTt W. Harris HaU (HaU 18).

lEWYEAT^S AGO

Al THE MUSEUM

Compiktl by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"The Library. — It was mentioned in the
last Report that several books and pamph-
lets were missing. Careful search has re-
sulted in the restoration of all those that
were missing with the exception of one book
and eight pamphlets. This is a satisfactory
showing when it was considered that this
was the first inventory taken since the
opening of the library. The most important
work done during the year, aside from the
regular routine duties, was on the shelf
list, subject and author catalogues. Over
2,400 new cards have been written . . ."
[This may be compared to the 18,777 new
cards written for 1951.)

"Departmental Inrentorying, Cataloguing
and Labeling. — It is highly gratifjing to be
able to report that the Department of Orni-
thology has completed the inventory of the
study collection which approximates 27,000
specimens. A card catalogue has been
prepared showing the number of specimens
in each species, from whence obtained, the
sex, month and locality in which they were
taken and the case and tray in which they
may be found." [The Di\ision of Birds
estimates the nimiber of study specimens
at the end of 1951 as about 220,000.]

Audubon Society to Present
Sunday Afternoon Lecture

Fourth of the Illinois Audubon Society's
current series of lectures in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum will be
given on Sunday afternoon, March 16, at
2:30 P.M. Olin Sewall Pettingill, noted
ornithologist of Carleton College, will pre-
sent "Athabaska Sojourn," illustrated with
color motion-pictures. The lecture is free
and the public is invited. Members of the
Museum or of the Audubon Society are
entitled to seats in the reserved section of
the theatre upon presentation of their mem-
bership cards to the ushers. The final lecture
of the season will be given in April.

Free movies for children — see page 7.

March, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 6

A RARE GRASS FOUND
IN CHICAGO AREA

By JULIAN A. STEYERMARK

CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM

USUALLY it is professional botanists
who are responsible for the discovery
of new or rare plants to be added to the
known flora of the world. But often their
attention may be directed to an unusual find
by a layman.

In the late autumn of 1951, Christian M.
Nielsen, architectural designer for the
Chicago Park District, received from C. W.
Larsen, of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a flowering
portion of a plant growing in that suburb.
Mr. Nielsen gave his specimen to Barton S.
Austin, landscape designer for the park
district, for identification. Mr. Austin
thought it resembled the ornamental grass
known as pampas grass. In order to verify
this identification he sent the material to
the Department of Botany of Chicago
Natural History Museum.

'ESCAPE' FROM IOWA

Here careful study of the specimen dis-
closed that the plant is an unusual orna-
mental grass, rarely planted in this country.
It was known in the United States, according
to latest records, only as an "escape" from
a locality in Clinton County, Iowa (an
"escape" is a plant that grows without
care or attention by man either in or away
from the vicinity of its original planting).
This Glen Ellyn collection is, therefore,
the first one ever made in Illinois. As this
grass was reported growing at random in
a vacant lot, this can be considered the
second record of its occurrence as an escape
in the United States.

The name of the plant is Miscanthus
sacchariflonis. This species is related to
a more commonly cultivated species of the
same genus, Miscanthus sinensis, often
referred to as eulalia. Both of these grasses
are from Asia, but M. sinensis has been
cultivated for some time in this country.
Another species, Miscanthus nepalensis,
with yellow-brown instead of whitish hairs
around the flowers, is infrequently cultivated
under the name of Himalaya fairy grass.
It is a native of Nepal, India.

Because the herbarium of Chicago Natural
History Museum contained only a frag-
mentary specimen of Miscanthus sacchari-
florus, taken from a plant cultivated at
Rochester, New York, and received some
years ago for identification from the Florists'
Publishing Company of Chicago, I visited
the locality in Glen Ellyn to obtain addi-
tional collections. The vacant lot where the
plant grows is located south of the residence
of Mrs. Peter Gusie, 215 Lorraine Road, Glen
Ellyn. It was through Mr. Larsen's and
Mrs. Gusie's interest that the plant originally
came to the attention of Mr. Nielsen. Many
residents of Glen Ellyn had admired the
plant and wondered what it might be.

When I arrived at the spot, I was pleased

to see a large stand of this ornamental
plant forming a solid, dense colony about
fifteen feet long and ten feet wide. Numer-
ous upright stalks four to six feet high
stretched above the dried buff-brown
autumnal leaves attached to the stems
and rising from the base of the plant. At
the top of each of these tall stems were
the beautiful, graceful fruiting sprays con-
consisting of large fan-shaped plumes of
soft, delicate, silky, white hairs. Viewed
against the blue sky that day, the color
contrast was exceedingly effective. I
learned from Mrs. Gusie that this plant
had been introduced from California by
the original owner of the lot and that it
has since spread out to form this large
colony.

Like many other grasses, this species
spreads vegetatively by underground stems
(rhizomes) that grow in all directions from
the original plant. Mrs Gusie had started
some plants in her own back yard and these
had increased to form a stand of consider-
able size. She and her friends were using
the feathery white inflorescences for winter
home-decoration. Even though the fruiting
sprays were beautiful at that time of year
(around November 1), she assured me that
they were even more attractive in September
and October before they had begun to lose
some of the hairs surrounding the seeds.

OTHER ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

Many people think of grasses only as
(1) lawn grasses, (2) pasturage or forage
for cattle, or (3) sources of principal staple
foods and cereal crops for man and other
animals (rice, wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats).
However, a number of grasses are grown
purely as garden ornamentals.

Grasses, one of the largest families of
flowering plants, are divided, on the basis
of structural differences, into several tribes,
one of which is called Andropogoneae. This
tribe includes a number of ornamental forms.
Many members of this tribe possess tufts of
soft, white, yellow, buff, or golden-brown
hairs associated with flowers and fruits
and for this reason have a characteristic
feathery or soft outline unlike most other
grasses. The common prairie grass, also
called blue stem or poverty grass, represents
several species of the genus Andropogon of
the tribe Andropogoneae. These species
possess such hairs. Their pale-brown or
russet-pastel shades of dry foliage lend a
soft, white or buff-colored enchantment to
the autumn landscape.

Other ornamental gras-ses are varioiis
species of Erianlhus, known as plume grass;
giant reed {Arundo donax), a native of warm
regions of the Old World; uva grass {Gyn-
erium sagittatum), wild in tropical America,
often used as a soil binder and for thatching
as well as for musical wind instruments; and
the well-known pampas grass {Cortaderia) .
Two kinds of pampas grass native in South
America are cultivated. The commoner one

A GRASS NEW TO ILLINOIS
White fruiting spray of Miscanthus sacchariflorus,

(C. selloana), found on the plains from Brazil
to Argentina and Chile, is a beautiful tall
grass often seen on lawns as an ornamental
plant in the warmer parts of the United
States. The other (C. rudiuscula), from
Argentina, is only occasionally cultivated.
Many wild species of the genus are found in
various parts of the Andes mountains of
South America.

SUGAR CANE ALSO ORNAMENTAL

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), cul-
tivated throughout the warmer parts of the
world for its stems that are crushed for sugar,
is a tall grass with attractive plume-like
flower clusters of ornamental value.

Our own wild common reed grass, native
in the Chicago region and other parts of the
United States (Phragmites communis var.
Berlandieri), is a striking and handsome tall
plant with stout stems and smooth hori-
zontally-spreading large leaves. At the
summit of its stem is a large plume-like
tawny cluster of flowers that is quite attrac-
tive and usable as winter decoration. Two
other genera are cultivated as ornamentals.
One of these, Neyraudia reynaudiana, native
in southern Asia, resembles somewhat our
common reed grass and occasionally is
planted in the southern United States. The
other, Ampelodesmas mauritanicus, is a
native of the Mediterranean region and is
likewise occasionally planted for ornament.
Some of the above-mentioned genera {Arun-
do, Ampelodesmos, Cortaderia, Neyraudia,
and Phragmites) belong to the tribe Feslu-
ceae, to which the fescue (Festuca) and
brome (Bromus) grasses belong.

How pineapples grow is illustrated in an
exhibit in the Hall of Plant Life (Hall 29).

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1952

MODERN DESIGN IS 'OLD STUFF' TO SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS

By CHRISTINE TARDY

MODERN DESIGN— that trend to-
ward the simple and functional that
is changing our ideas of good taste and
beauty — turns out to be no new thing after
all. While it's fairly new to us, far-away
and little-known cultures have had this
notion of beauty for centuries, it is pointed
out by Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Ciu^tor of
Oceanic Ethnology.

Take, for example, the kind of utilitarian
art turned out in some of the South Pacific
islands. Anthropologists refer to three
broad culture areas in this vast region —
Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian —
all of which follow styles of design strikingly
similar to what is now being shown as the
latest thing in the smartest art shops and
decorating studios.

The terms "Melanesian," "Micronesian,"
and "Polynesian" refer to three different
groups of people who are, within each
designation, of roughly similar racial type
and culture. But the terms also refer to
broad geographic areas. Melanesian cul-
tures are located on islands in an area to
the north and east of Australia, including
New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Micronesian cultures lie farther to the east
and more north of the Melanesian islands,
and they include the Caroline Islands, the
Marshall Islands, and the Marianas. The
rest of the South Pacific is Polynesian, all
the way from Hawaii down to Easter Island
and back west to New Zealand.

FUNCTIONALISM DOMINANT

The customs of the people in this vast
area vary tremendously from island to island
within the geographic groups, of course, but
nonetheless a basic idea behind their artistic
preference — functionalism — can be traced
throughout the area. It is this respect for
simplicity that gives much of Oceanic art
its consistent style — a style we are just
beginning to value in our own culture.

The Melanesian craftsman or artist has
his own variation of the functional theme,
which makes it possible to identify a piece
from this area. He goes in for an art style
that is largely derived from the natural
forms of the things he sees around him, but
the forms take their style from exaggeration
and distortion. A native of New Guinea
will carve a human likeness on a wooden
bowl, but he'll make it a fierce exaggeration
by elongating the nose, giving the head a
point, stretching or shrinking the body
proportions, and topping it all off with a
paint job that emphasizes the over-all effect
and is not mere imitation of nature. Hall A
(Peoples of Melanesia) contains the most
impressive and finest collection of Melanesian
art possessed by any museum in the countrj'.

Polynesians stick closer to simplicity in
the things they make than do the Mela-
nesians — simplicity of form at least. But

on many Polynesian islands they decorate
everything with intricate, geometric patterns.
Even a rop)e wrapped around the handle of
a weapon to give a better grip will be
wound in such a way as to form a design.
In many cases, designs are not there just
to please the eye. Polynesians have in-
tricate symbolic representations of their

canoe is a perfection of functional stream-
lining, and he was several hundred years
ahead of us in his appreciation of what
streamlining can do for efficiency. The
household utensils he makes would be the
envy of any up-to-date woman, who would
be more apt to show them off as ohjets
d'ari than use them in the kitchen (at that,

i

CAN YOU TELL WHOSE CULTURE IS WHOSE?
The South Sea island girl (left) holds an ancestor figure carved by Easter Island natives. The bowl in front
of her was used by Samoans to serve kava. a mildly narcotic liquor used on ceremonial occasions. Also shown
is a food dish from the isle of Matty. On the right an American girl compares somewhat similar objects from
American factories, as recently shown at the Gift Show in the Merchandise Mart. The bowls arc plastic, but
the sculpture is wood (mass-produced). Posed at the Museum by Norma Calderon and Pat Brand, featured

players in the cast of "South Pacific."

deities, and special motifs are reserved for
certain objects. Everything the Polynesian
makes, although it may be covered with
carved or painted designs, is the essence of
functional form.

STREAMLINING CENTURIES AGO

The art style found in Micronesia parallels
our own society's avant-garde design trend
more than either Melanesia or Polynesia
does. The Micronesian craftsman uses very
little surface decoration on the things he
makes, and he relies mainly on the beauty
of fimctional form for eye-appeal. His

they would probably be more efficient than
some of the things she does use in her
kitchen). The exhibits in Hall F (Peoples
of Micronesia and Polynesia) show how
efficiently simplified design functions for
these peoples.

The paradoxical part of it is that the South
Sea islander has gone in for this sophisticated
style as long as anyone knows, working from
solid hunks of wood and carving with sea
shells or shark's teeth, while our own tastes
did not accept this functional simplicity
until the advent of the machine age — an
age that could mass-produce all sorts of

March, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

complicated shapes and designs with none
of the problems the Pacific Islander would
run into if he tried to get fancy. Which
is to say — now that we have easier ways of
making fancy things, we are beginning to
appreciate the beauty of a simple form well
executed — something discovered centuries
ago by these machineless island cultures.

HOW ANIMAL VOICES SOUND TO FOREIGN EARS

FREE MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS

The annual Spring Series of free motion-
picture programs for children presented on
Saturday mornings by the Raymond Founda-
tion will begin on March 1 and continue
each Saturday during March and April.
Nine programs, each to start at 10:30 a.m.,
will be presented in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum. On three of the
programs the explorers who conducted the
expeditions on which the films were made
will make personal appearances to talk to
the children, and on a fourth the story of
the film will be told by Miss Harriet Smith
of the Raymond Foundation staff.

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

Following is an outline of the programs:

March 1 — Capturing Jungle Babies
The "Tiger Man" in South America
Talk by Sasha Siemel

March 8— Animal Stories
The story of a woodchuck and other

animals
Also a cartoon

March 15— Mountain Dwellers

How people live in the mountains of Lap-
land and Switzerland
Also a cartoon

March 22— Into Central Australia
The story of an expedition
Talk by Alfred M. Bailey

March 29 — Reasons for the Seasons
Story of changes in the weather
Also a cartoon

April 5 — Survival of the Fittest
The struggle for life by animals and plants
Talk by Peter Koch

April 12— Hudson Bay Adventure
Indians, fox-trappers, and animals
Talk by C. J. Albrecht

April 19 — Voice of the Pribilofs
Where the huge seal-herds gather
Also a cartoon

April 26 — SiMBA

Story of an African lion hunt

graphed by Martin Johnson
Talk by Harriet Smith

photo-

By AUSTIN L. RAND
CURATOR OP BIROS

When in El Salvador recently, I found that
the common barnyard animals had much the
same voices as the ones with which I was
familiar in the United
States. But when I
saw their utterances
written down it was
another matter. The
sounds written in
Spanish sometimes
looked as different as
the names of the ani-
mals written in
Spanish. Take the
donkey for example
(or "burro," as they
call it). In English
we call its "song"
"Heehaw!" In Span-
ish they wrote it for
me "Aja! aja! ija! ija!"

There were some
German scientists at
the Instituto Tropi-
cal de Investigaciones
Cientificas where I
was working, and for

comparison I asked them to write for me
what the same animals said in German.
The burro says "Iha! iha!" in German.
Despite the difference in the appearance of
these words, when they were pronounced by
the various nationalities they sounded very
similar. But when they were pronounced
by the burro itself, the Spanish version was
awarded the prize for being the best rendi-
tion of the beast's voice.

The cat's "miau, miau, miau" in Spanish,
"miau, miau" in German, and "meow" in
English were all very similar in appearance
as well as sound. The duck's voice came
out differently. In Spanish it was "cud,
cuS, cuS," in German "wack, wack," while
in English the initial "cu" or "q" sound of
the Spanish and the final "k" sound of the
German are united into "quack." The voice
of the hoot owl came out much the same in
pronunciation, though it looked different
written in Spanish "ju," in German "hu,"
and in English "who."

The cow's, the pig's, and the frog's voices
were also rather similar in the three lan-
guages: the cow's in Spanish being "meu,
meu, muuu," in German "miih miih," and
in English "moo"; the pig's, "grup-grup,
wink," "6uik, 6uik," and "grunt, oink"; and
the frog's, "cruac, croac, croac," "quak,
quak," and "croak." The barnyard rooster
has a difficult voice to transcribe in letters.
In Spanish it was "quiquiriguiiii," in Ger-
man "kickeriki," and in English "cock-a-
doodle-doo." After listening to the various
renditions by the various nations I could
see how each rendition came into being, but

as for deciding which was closest to the
original I hesitated to choose.

When it came to the dog, the discrepancy
was surprising: in Spanish it was "gudn,
gu&n, gu&n"; in German "wau, wau"; and

VOICES ACROSS THE BORDER

South of the border many animals seem to say the same thing, but when the

sounds are written in the respective languages, English and Spanish, they

usually come out quite differently. Cartoon by Ruth Johnson.

in English "bowwow." The German and
the English are close enough. But though
I went outside and listened to the dogs in
Salvador, never did they seem to say "gu&n,
gu&n, gudn," though I must admit that
neither did they seem to say "bowwow."

Beards Ornamental Off Face
As Well as On It

In the not-distant past the white beards
of old men were highly valued for the mak-
ing of ornaments among the natives of the
Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific.
Shaved off, the beards were worn as plumes
on the head. When a man too young to
grow a white beard wanted to make one
of these ornaments, he prevailed upon one
of his elderly relatives to part with his
hirsute adornment for the purpose. If he
had no relative willing or able to supply
his need, he often would hire an old man out-
side his family to grow a beard for him.

Visiting Hours Extended

Effective March 1, and continuing through
April 30, Museum visiting hours will be
9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (closing has been at 4 p.m.
during the winter months). On May 1 and
continuing through Labor Day (September
1) the hours will be extended another hour,
9 A.M. to 6 P.M.

French Egyptologist Studies Here

Dr. Jacques J. Clere, Egyptologist from

Paris, who is an exchange professor at Brown

University, recently visited the Museum to

study inscriptions in the Egyptian collection.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1952

SATURDAY ADULT LECTURES
TO BEGIN MARCH 1

Nine free illustrated lectures for adults
on science, travel, and exploration will be
presented in the Museum's annual Spring
Course, which opens on March 1 and will
continue on each Saturday afternoon
throughout March and April. The lectures,
to be given in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum, will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Color motion-pictures will accompany each
lecture.

Limited acconmiodations 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 1— Capturing Jungle B.\bies
A jaguar humt with bow and arrow in

Brazil
Sasha Siemel

March 8 — Sheep, St.4RS and Soutude
The epic of American herders in the West
(Repeated by request)
Francis R. Line

March 15 — Queen of the Islands —

BEaiHUDA

Coral reefs, game fishing, exotic flowers
Austen West

March 22 — Stepping Stones Across the
Pacific
The isles of Oahu, Midway, and Wake
Alfred M. Bailey

March 29 — Where the Deer and the
Antelope Play
Wildlife of the Great Plains and the

Rockies
Cleveland P. Grant

April 5 — Out of This World
Big Bend, our newest national park
Peter Koch

April 12 — Honolulu, U.S.A., and the
Magic Isles
Volcano-shadowed gem of the Pacific
C. J. Albreeht

April 19— Journey into the Forest
An American jungle turned inside out
Henry Briggs

April 26 — Two Tickets to Timbuctoo
A motor safari in Africa
Kenneth Richier

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.

Books

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

THE TRUTH ABOUT SNAKE STORIES.

By Karl P. Schmidt. Chicago Natural
History Museum Press, Popular Series,
Zoology No. 10, February, 1952 (reprint
of 1929 edition, with revisions). 23 pages,
10 text-figures (new in this edition). Price
$0.20 (plus 3 cents postage on mail
orders).

First published in 1929, The Truth About
Snake Stories by Karl P. Schmidt, the
Museimi's Chief Curator of Zoology, is a
charmingly written debunking of common
fallacies. It has long been one of the most
popular pamphlets published by the Mu-
seum. This new edition is embellished with
a cover design by Douglas E. Tibbitts,
Staff Illustrator, and a series of ten delightful
cartoon text-figures by Miss Margaret Brad-
bury, Artist of the Department of Zoology.

It is Chief Curator Schmidt's contention
that "the real truth about snake stories is
that most of them are untrue." He proceeds
to expose the absurdities in such widespread
myths as those of joint snakes or glass
snakes, hoop snakes, milk snakes feeding
themselves from the udders of cows, and
mother snakes swallowing their young to
protect them from danger. He punctures
many widely held beliefs about rattlesnakes,
tells why the drinking of whisky is com-
pletely wrong as a remedy for bites of
poisonous snakes, and discusses such sub-
jects as snakes charming their prey, snakes
being charmed by human beings, the psy-
chology of the fear of snakes, and the facts
about viviparous and egg-laying snakes.

Pottery of Madagascar Royalty

An odd storage jar that belonged to the
last king of the Betsileo tribe in the south
of Madagascar (on exhibition in Hall E) is
valued as an extremely rare piece of clay
pottery. It is probably the only one of its
kind still in existence. The vessel, collected
some years ago by a Museum expedition,
was used for storing the royal supply of
rice, chief staple food of the Malagasy. It
has a curious type of design fashioned in
strips of clay afterwards fastened to the
outside of the jar, which was then fired.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
OF PAST MONTH

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

Department of Botany:

From: Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii,
T.H. — 32 unmounted specimens of Cheiro-
dendron; Department of Geology, Uni-
versity of Chicago — 122 miscellaneous phan-
erogams; Dr. Eari E. Sherff, Chicago— 32
phanerogamic specimens, Georgia.

Department of Zoolo^:

From: Argentine A. Bonneto, Santa Fe,
Argentina — a collection of gravid branchiae
of seven species of fresh-water clams,
Argentina; Chicago Zoological Society,
Brookfield — a birdskin (Struthio); Dr.
William J. Hamilton, Jr., Ithaca, N.Y. — a
hairy-tailed mole. New York; Harold C.
Hanson, Urbana, 111. — a collection of sea
shells. Flagstaff Islands, Arctic Canada;
Leslie Hubricht, Danville, Va. — 23 sala-
manders, North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Virginia; Miguel L. Jaume, Havana,
Cuba — a collection of land shells, Cuba;
T. Pain, London, England — a collection of
fresh-water shells.

Library:

From: Charles B. Cory, Homewood, HI.
Cyril F. dos Passos, Mendham, N.J.
Paul C. Standley, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, 111.

Division of Photography:

From: Clarence B. Mitchell, Chicago — 3
color photographs; Emmet R. Blake, Evan-
ston. 111. — 881 negatives of animals, scenes,
etc., Venezuela and Guatemala.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from January 21 to February 15:

Benefactor

Mrs. Stanley Field

Contributors

Mrs. Sherman C. Bishop, Mrs. Daniel W.
O'Dell, Dr. Charles H. Seevers

.\ssociate Member

Dr. Gervaise P. Pallasch

.\nnual Members

Mrs. Eugene T. Berry, James W. Close,
Mrs. Corina Melder Collier, Mrs. Donald L.
Colwell, John A. Cuneo, John H. Darby,
Dr. Stanley Fahlstrom, Kenneth M. Fiske,
Anton G. Florian, Miss Margaret E. Fron-
ing, Edgar S. Gage, S. W. Goodenough,
Dr. Edwin L. Gustus, Herman F. Hajen,
Mrs. Evelyn F. Hall, E. Edgerton Hart,
R. H. Hauger, Clarence Hoffmann, Dr.
Arthur Loewy, Samuel Morgan, Mrs. Da\'id
G. Moyer, Dr. George H. Otto, Miss Olive
Petro, Mrs. Louis J. Reisch, Norman Ruby,
J. Robert Shanahan, Robert Somerville,
J. E. Sullivan, William W. Sutherland,
Warren Wetherell, Paul B. Zaring

Limcheons are served in the Museum
cafeteria.

PRINTED BV CHICAGO NATWlAt HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

ULLETIN

Vol.'23,No.4-April 1952
CJiiccu/o Natural

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Fibld, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore DrlTe, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. Mccormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Lsopold E. Block Wiluam H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Sbarle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pretident

Marshall Field FirM Viee-Premdent

Henry P. Isham Second Viet-Pmident

Samuel Insull. Jr. Third Viet-Pmident

Solomon A. Smith Treaturer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Seerttarn

John R. Millar i4««t»(oii< Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Mmeum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Autkrovolon

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Bolanw

Srarat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolon

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoolon

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relatione Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Takoy

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

THE ETHICAL VALUES
IN NATURAL SELECTION

Theories of evolution are as old as man's
serious thinking about the worid in which
he finds himself. Beginning with the ancient
Greek philosophers, there were eager pro-
ponents of the idea that animal and plant
forms were the result of the operation of
natural causes and of a long and complicated
history of gradual development for which
the word erolution was the best expression.

The theory gained little adherence, how-
ever, until Darwin demonstrated the opera-
tion of simple existing processes in nature
that explained not only the mode of evolu-
tion but its visible results. This was
sketched by him in the world-shaking Origin
of Species published in 1859. The full
title of this work is The Origin of Species
by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preserva-
tion of Favoured Races in the Struggle for
Life. The "struggle for life" was soon
altered to the "struggle for existence."

The theory of natural selection rapidly
gained wide adherence, but quite independ-
ently the conviction grew that the evolution
of living creatures from simple origins to
their present complexity affords a frame of
reference for all of the facts and relations
of biology. Indeed, new facts and new
ideas have immediately fallen into place in
this framework ever since, so that Darwin

is often thought of as the very originator
of the idea of evolution because he estab-
lished evolutionary thinking on so firm a
basis.

There has been a long controversy in the
highest biological circles over the effective-
ness of natural selection. This cannot be
elaborated here, except to report that
modem students of the origin of species
have returned to the conviction that it is
the main operational principle by which
the diversification and adaptation of animal
and plant forms have taken place. In the
first years of active discussion of the
"struggle for existence" this was often
envisaged in terms of the ruthless elimination
of the weak by the strong, of the exaltation
of might, and of a "nature red in fang and
claw." When such ideas were applied to
human society, there were ready adherents
to the idea that might makes right in
human affairs, and not a few of the theo-
retical warmongers of recent history have
made the operation of a natural law of
remorseless struggle a justification for war
among the nations.

The insight that the natural processes of
selection might operate in the animal world
to select the very features that we think of
as ethical in our own experence was slow
in spreading. Darwin fully recognized the
principle of selection of whole groups and
thus of such virtues as loyalty and co-opera-
tiveness, for he faced the problem of the
origin of those insect societies in which
altruistic behavior appears as a governing
principle. A society in which the old and
the weak might be preserved instead of
eliminated might have an internal strength
that could not be matched by a ruthlessly
destructive one.

There has now been demonstrated a
whole series of survival values in societal
aggregation, with the recognition that there
is an adverse effect throughout the Animal
Kingdom of undercroivding as well as of ocer-
crowding. Co-operation appears as a guiding
principle of evolution that pervades not
only every social aggregation but even the
natural animal and plant communities in
which weak and strong and predator and
prey exist together. Thus the very values
summed up in ourselves as ethical are fore-
shadowed in all animals and plants.

This aspect of evolution has been dis-
cussed by Warder Clyde Allee in a work
for the general public under the title The
Social Life of Animals. It has now been
renamed, for a new edition. Co-operation
Among AniTnals with Human Implications.
Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Shown on the cover Is a modeled
clay head from a Maya figurine.
It was found on the island of Jaina
off the west coast of Yucatan,
and dates probably from the 8th
or 9th century A.D. This head
of an ancient Maya citizen is four
inches high and the original
figure when complete is thought
to have been about twelve inches
high. The disc-shaped ear orna-
ments are painted blue to repre-
sent jade. This fine example of
Classic Maya sculpture is part of
the collection recently received by
exchange from the National Mu-
seum of Mexico {see page S).

A TAX PURGATORY

March 17, which took the place this year
of March 15 as the dreadful date, is past,
but for most people the income tax will
continue as a thorn without roses throughout

the year. Those who are on payrolls will
feel its sharp point in every weekly, bi-
weekly or monthly paycheck; most of those
who are self-employed will be wounded on
those other terrible quarterly 15th-of-the-
month dates in June, September and Jan-
uary (1953) to which December's jolt is
ordinarily deferred.

Taxes were regarded seriously in pld
China, too, years before the present regime.
Here is a list of punishments prescribed for
tax evaders and those who cheat on the
amount of taxes paid (and, O, yes, culprits
were supposed to be subjected to oU of these
in succession, not just one) :

1. The delinquent taxpayer is hung beside

a pool and water is continually poured
over him.

2. He must kneel on chains and bamboo

splinters.

3. His hands are scalded with boiling water.

4. His sinews are cut and his bones pulled

out.

5. His shoulders are pricked with a trident

and the skin rubbed with a hard iroa
brush.

6. Holes are bored in his flesh.

7. He must sit upon spikes (upright).

8. He must wear iron clothes.

9. He is crushed under heavy timbers,.

stones and huge clods of earth.

10. His eyes are plucked out.

11. His mouth is choked with dust.

12. He is perpetually dosed with "abomin-

able drugs."

13. He is made to slip on oiled beans, con-

stantly falling down.

14. His lips are painfully pricked.

15. His body is buried under gravel with the

head protruding.
These tortures for failure to pay taxes are
however, merely imaginary ones enacted in
the tax evaders' purgatory of an ancient
Chinese religious drama showing ten purga-
tories. The drama is represented in the
Museum by an exhibit in Hall 32 of the:
Department of Anthropology.

April, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

NOTABLE MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES RECEIVED BY EXCHANGE

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AUBRICAN ETHNOLOGY
AND ARCHAEOLOGY

RECENTLY the Museum acquired
through an exchange with the National
Museum of Mexico an extensive and im-
portant collection of Mexican antiquities
ranging in age from the second millenium
before Christ to the Spanish Conquest.

The Mexican collection was selected to
supplement and fill gaps in this Museum's

ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE
Stone mask from Teotihuacan, Period III, circa
A. D. 500. It is an exceptionally fine example of
early American carving, and was obtained by this
Museum in an exchange collection from the National
Museum of Mexico.

Middle American collections. For this
reason it contains typical series of artifacts
from different regions and cultural horizons,
as well as an ample selection of aesthetically
exciting sculptures in stone and terra cotta
and precious ornaments of jade representing
the high artistic achievements of the ancient
Mexicans. Included are figurines, pottery,
and tools from the Archaic cultures of the
Valley of Mexico; tools, pottery, figurines,
and ornaments from the Classic cultures of
Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico and
Monte Alban in Oaxaca; and tools, pottery,
smoking pipes, figurines, and ornaments
from the Toltec and Aztec cultures of the
Late period. The prehistoric cultures of
western Mexico and the Mexican Gulf
Coast are also represented.

Sent to Mexico in return were ethnological
and archaeological specimens from North
America and Oceania that the Museum could
spare from its large collections in these
fields.

The exchange was initiated three years
ago with the visit to Chicago of Dr. Daniel
F. Rubin de la Borbolla, Director of the

National Museum of Mexico, and Miguel
Covarrubias, well-known Mexican artist and
archaeologist who holds an honorary ap-
pointment as Research Associate in Primi-
tive Art in the Department of Anthropology
of this Museum. Dr. de la Borbolla wished
to obtain Oceanic and North American
specimens by exchange in order to increase
the scope of the exhibits in the National
Museum and to use in the teaching program
of the National School of Anthropology,
which maintains a close collaboration with
the National Museum. This Museum wel-
comed the opportunity to add to its Mexican
collection, and an exchange arrangement
was agreed upon. Later, Sr. Covarrubias
returned to Chicago to work with the staff
of the Department of Anthropology in
making the selection of the material needed
by the National Museum.

SHa.ECTED BY CURATORS

The following year the Museum, with the
aid of a generous grant from the Viking
Fund, Inc., sent Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief
Curator of the Department of Anthropology,
and the writer to Mexico to choose the
Mexican collection to be received in ex-
change. After a month of hard work in the
storerooms of the National Museum, inter-
spersed with week-end trips to important
archaeological sites and current excavations,
the exchange collection of Mexican material
was selected and assembled. During this
time every facility of the Mexican museum
and the whole-hearted co-operation of its
staff were extended to us.

Of particular interest is a collection of
pottery and figurines from the important
site at Tlatilco in the Valley of Mexico.
The Tlatilco culture was primarily of
Middle Archaic type. Charcoal from this
site has yielded a radiocarbon date of 1200-
1400 B.C. The finds at Tlatilco are im-
portant because they show a higher techno-
logical and artistic development in the
Middle Archaic than was previously sus-
pected. Furthermore, the stylistic and
technical connections of Tlatilco culture
with the mysterious, and presumably early,
Olmec or La Venta culture of southern
Vera Cruz and Tabasco, as well as less
specifically with the Hopewell culture of the
eastern United States, are of great signi-
ficance.

The sites of Teotihuacan in the Valley of
Mexico and Monte Alban to the south in
the Valley of Oaxaca tell the stories of two
of the most important Classic cultures in
Mexico. These were great ceremonial and
administrative centers containing temples
atop truncated pyramids faced with stone
and stucco. The largest of these pyramids
is the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan,
which is 740 feet at the base and 205 feet
high. Here also were the tombs of priests
and kings in which were placed offerings of

fine ceramics and carved jades. Teoti-
huacan was first settled at the beginning of
the Christian era and flourished until the
7th or 8th century.

For many years archaeologists believed
that Teotihuacan was the capital of the
Toltecs, whose exploits and cultural achieve-
ments are related in the Mexican codices
and traditional histories. But recent ex-
cavations have proved that Teotihuacan
was abandoned and in ruins when the war-
like Toltecs established their capital in the
9th or 10th century at Tula on the northern
edge of the Valley of Mexico. Monte Alban
was begun several centuries earlier than
Teotihuacan, during the Late Archaic
period, and served as a great ceremonial
center for nearly 2,000 years. During its
Classic pha.se it was the seat of the Zapotec
culture, and in late times its tombs were
re-used by the Mixtecs, who conquered
Oaxaca in the centuries before the Spanish
conquest.

Archaeologists have been able to divide
the histories of these great sites into cultural
phases or periods by studying the layers of

ZAPOTEC FUNERAL URN
Example of pottery from the state of Oaxaca, Mex«
ico, dating about A. D. 500. The figure wears a
mask depicting a tiger. This is one of the objects
obtained by this Museum in an exchange with the
National Museum of Mexico.

the pyramids and buildings, and the position
and contents of tombs. The styles of pottery
changed from one phase to another, and
these different ceramic styles serve as con-
venient time markers or pha.se identifiers.
In selecting the Mexican collection it was
possible to secure type examples of those
styles that, when combined with the speci-
mens already in the Museum's collection,
give a complete picture of the ceramic
sequences at Teotihuacan and Monte Alban.
(Continued on page 7, column 1)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1952

A FAMOUS COLLECTION OF BEETLES COMES TO THE MUSEUM

By CHRISTINE TARDY

A LITTLE BEFORE the turn of this
century, a public official in Austria
took up a hobby. Several decades later the
results of his hobby had grown into a major
systematic collection of such importance to
science that they were moved in their
entirety across the ocean to Chicago Natural
History Museum.

Dr. Ma.x Bemhauer collected beetles.
His legal and government duties as a Notar

A TYPICAL ROVE BEETLE

The picture of this particular species of the family

Staphylinidae is enlarged approximately eight titnes

life size. Other species range from a twenty-fifth of

an inch to an inch and a half in length.

in Vienna had nothing to do with entom-
ology, so his study of beetles was purely
an avocation. However, Dr. Bemhauer
didn't collect beetles the way people collect
stamps, and he didn't keep them as pets.
It happens that the world contains so many
kinds of beetles their classification is not
even nearly completed. These tiny crea-
tures— the group known as Coleoptera —
represent the largest order of insects on
earth, and it will be a long, long time before
science is acquainted with all of them.

Dr. Bemhauer was interested in doing
what he could to contribute to the world's
knowledge of this one phase of nature. He
studied the specimens of a family called
Staphylinidae (rove beetles) and published
his first paper about them in 1898. After
that, his writing was prolific and at the time
of his death in 1946 he had published reports
on some 290 separate studies. These in-
cluded contributions to the monumental
catalogue.s of the Calalogus Coleopterorum —
a shelf-full of 30 huge books listing only the

names of the beetles, with two of them
devoted to the Staphylinidae alone.

Dr. Bemhauer gave us knowledge of at
least 4,900 new species, and his collection
included approximately 100,000 beetles — a
staggering number for one man to have
collected in his lifetime. His collection is
of special value to entomology because it
contains type specimens of thousands of
species. After an animal has been described
for the first time, that description serves as
a means of identification for all other animals
like it, and the originally described specimen
becomes a "type." Many descriptions are
too incomplete for other zoologists to be
certain about which species is referred to,
so being able to study the original "type"
specimens helps clear up the difficulties.
The Bemhauer collection contains not only
the types of most of the species that Bem-
hauer himself described, but many types of
species described by other authors as well.

Scientific investigation, aimed at enrich-
ing the world's knowledge of itself, goes on
in many places. Universities, museums,
government bureaus, institutes for special
purposes, and lately, even big industries,
have all contributed. For a long time
many museums served primarily as the rest-
ing places of collections begun by private
individuals, institutions, or exf)editions.
Now these collections are being put to work
by museums in a broader way. No longer
are exhibition collections simply accumu-
lated behind glass to be observed as natural
curiosities. Museums have large staffs of
research scientists behind the scenes who
make extensive use of collections such as
the beetles recently acquired by Chicago
Natural History Museum.

Where Dr. Bemhauer left off, the Museum
takes over. Its scientists carefully study the
specimens he collected and gradually build
up a fuller understanding of this realm of
nature. This is one of the important func-
tions of a modern museum — to preserve
such collections and to continue learning
from them, and particularly to make them
available to scientists of other institutions
who previously had no access to them.

The Bemhauer collection of beetles
happened to be of particular interest to
this Museum. One of the Museum's re-
search associates in insects. Dr. Charles H.
Seevers, is an authority on the family
Staphylinidae. Access to this collection
enables him to examine certain Old World
forms which had been known to him only
as names, and several of the studies he is
making will be amplified by study of the
Bemhauer collection. Thus the collection
was put to use as soon as the Museum re-
ceived it.

Although acquiring a collection is some-
times a very simple matter (collectors fre-
quently have given their collections to
museums), occasionally the purchase of a

large collection may be a very complicated
transaction. In this case, post-war European
economic conditions cast some of the aspects
of an international diplomatic mission over
the acquisition of the Bemhauer beetles.

When Dr. Bemhauer died just after the
war, his valuable library and collection went
to his daughter, Dr. Use Himmel. She
wanted to dispose of the collection where
it would be useful to science, so she engaged
an agent to help her. It was through her
agent. Dr. Johannes Vondrak, that Chicago
Natural History Museum first leamed the
collection was to be sold. After preliminary
negotiations, the Museum arranged for
Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects, who
was about to go to Europe to study beetles
in various museums, to supervise the con-
clusion of the transaction.

Things got off to a bad start for Mr.
Wenzel even before he left the country.
When he was ready to board ship in New
York, the longshoremen's strike was in full
swing and it looked as though it might take
weeks to get passage to Europe. At the
last moment he was able to go because his
ship, which was to carry a group of diplomats
who had to get to Europe fast, was permitted
to sail despite the strike. But Mr. Wenzel's
luggage was left behind on the dock. He
arrived in Europe in the middle of winter
without any woolen underwear — a major
tragedy to one's comfort in the unhealed
buildings of fuel-short European cities.

Except for this mishap, which proved to
be a rather persistently disconcerting factor,

STAPHYLINID BEETLES
INCLUDE ODD KINDS

The Staphylinidae or rove beetles are
chiefly slender forms with short wing
covers (see illustration) that range in
length from one twenty-fifth of an inch
to an inch and a half. Most species
live in decaying animal or vegetable
matter and there feed upon other in-
sects. Some of the most remarkable
insects known are the rove beetles that
live with ants or termites; these in-
clude certain species that resemble the
host ant or termite so closely that only
an expert can distinguish between
them. The- family name, Staphylinidae,
is derived from a Greek root that means
merely "a kind of insect."

This information is supplied by
Rupert L. Wenzel, the Museum's
Curator of Insects. The accompanying
article tells of his experiences in Europe
on a successful mission to obtain the
huge and scientifically important Bem-
hauer collection of beetles for this
Museum.

April, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

it appeared as though everything would go
along smoothly once Mr. Wenzel arrived in
Austria. He was met at the Vienna airport
by Dr. Himmel and Dr. Vondrak, and
shortly afterward he met Dr. Josef Eiselt

cover the entire purchase. Requests for
revised permits are often viewed with raised
eyebrows, so getting a new one was another
time-consuming matter.

While these complicated negotiations

A TON AND A QUARTER OF BEETLES LEAVES VIENNA

Huge crate containing the important Bernhauer collection is loaded on truck for shipment to seaport on way

to Chicago. It was the largest single box of insects ever received in this city, but the size of the collections

contained is only a small part of their significance to entomologists.

of the University of Vienna and the Natur-
historisehes Museum, who had agreed to
assist with packing and shipping the collec-
tion. Dr. Vondrak had decided the collec-
tion belonged in an American museum. He
felt it would be safer than in a European
museum, because of the recent ravages of
war and the insecurity which has prevailed
ever since. Further, Dr. Vondrak seemed
motivated by a mystical faith in the future
of America.

All Europe, of course, is in the throes of
post-war recovery, with concomitant upset
economic stomachs. In attempting to cope
with the situation, which has left Austria
in a particularly insecure spot, rigorous
controls over the economy have been
established. For this reason, getting the
Bernhauer collection out of Austria became
a complicated business.

PROCEDURAL TANGLES
It was necessary to obtain a government
permit that would allow the collection to
leave Austria for America. Such permits
are issued with caution because the fluttering
economic situation has caused individuals
to try for black market exchange rates. In
order to stabilize the situation, everything
must be cleared through the Austrian
National Bank. Further, it had to be
shown that no one was trying to evade
government regulations. Unfortunately the
permit when obtained had failed to include
the Bernhauer library, so it was now
necessary to seek a revised permit to

were going on, Rupert Wenzel's nerves were
taking an awful beating. On top of every-
thing else, the packing had required the
greatest care. The beetles were pinned in
wooden boxes with glass tops. Each beetle
(thousands!) had to be secured, and the
larger ones protected with additional pin-
guards, a pin on either side to keep each
safely in place. So, Mr. Wenzel and Dr.
Eiselt taped their fingers heavily and pinned
— and pinned and pinned ! After the pinning,
layers of cardboard and cotton were placed
over the specimens in each box, between
them and the glass. As an additional safe-
guard against the possibility of damage from
broken glass, the glass of each box was
completely covered with adhesive tape. It
took nearly three weeks to get the boxes of
specimens ready to be crated.

'ALLES 1ST verboten'

The day after the collection had been
paid for according to form, and the time
for crating the individual boxes arrived,
customs officials gathered to supervise the
packing. When Mr. Wenzel walked in the
door, one of the officials stated bluntly,
"Alles ist Verboten!" After all Mr. Wenzel,
Dr. Himmel, and Dr. Vondrak had gone
through to have everything in perfect order,
it was declared "verboten." It seemed that
the National Bank permit was not enough —
another permit was required from the
Foreign Export Commission. So frantic
phoning and hailing of taxicabs ensued.

When all the arrangements had been made

FREE MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS

The Spring Series of free motion-picture
programs for children presented on Saturday
mornings by the Raymond Foundation will
continue each Saturday during April. Four
more programs, each to start at 10:30 A.M.,
will be presented in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum.

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

Following is an outline of the programs:

April 5 — Survival of the Fittest
The struggle for life by animals and plants
Talk by Peter Koch

April 12— Hudson Bay Adventure
Indians, fox-trappers, and animals
Talk by C. J. Albrecht

April 19 — Voice of the Pribilofs
Where the huge seal-herds gather
Also a cartoon

April 26 — Simba

Story of an African lion hunt photo-
graphed by Martin Johnson
Talk by Harriet Smith

and it looked as though the shipment would
be allowed to leave the country, it was
decided to crate all the individual boxes
together, making a package so heavy and
large that it would require a crane to handle
it. That way, it couldn't be thrown around
as easily as smaller crates might, and the
danger of loss by theft was eliminated. The
man who supervised the final crating was
the same one who handled the crating of the
Viennese art treasures for their American
tour, for this job required an equal degree
of delicacy. When it was all done, the crate
weighed more than a ton and a quarter and
measured six by .seven b.v eight feet.

This by no means finished the job. A
sjjecial railway car was needed to handle the
crate on its way out of Austria, through
Germany to the port of Rotterdam. From
there, a crane loaded it aboard ship and
five weeks later, after a delay at the
American port of debarkation, it arrived in
Chicago.

Now that the Museum has the Bernhauer
collection, which turned out to be so much
trouble to acquire, the Museum scientists
have months of difficult work ahead of them.
The new collection will be integrated with
the Museum's other beetle collections, and
a bibliography will be made of the Bernhauer
papers, of which a nearly complete file is
now available.

The acquisition of the Bernhauer collec-
tion was unasually complicated, but it is
an example of some of the problems worked
out behind the scenes, with which most
Museum visitors are unfamiliar.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1952

UNIQUE CHICAGO TROPIC PLANT HAS VANISHED

You WON'T believe it, but Chicago that year not one other specimen has been
(with Us climate!) is famed for the pos- found. Just enough had been collected to
session of a kind of tropical plant that is allow the plant to be classified as belonging
found nowhere else in the world. You can't to Thismia americana, a genus of twenty-
show it proudly to your visiting cousins three species all found in tropical climates

except Chicago's uni-
que South Sider.
There weren't even
enough extra speci-
mens to permit further
study to find out how
it got here, of all the
unexpected places in
the world. It just dis-
appeared.

The prairie where it
was found is a cause
of concern to botanists
at Chicago Natural
History Museum be-
cause the city is rapid-
ly biting ofl chunks of
it. Last summer Dr.
Theodor Just, Chief
Curator of Botany,
and Dr. Julian A.
Steyermark, Curator
of the Herbarium, or-
ganized another ex-
pedition into the wilds
of south Chicago in an
anxious attempt to
locate Thismia ameri-
cana once more before the fertile field that
yielded it becomes engulfed by the heavy
industry surrounding it. No luck this time,
either. The only hope of solving the
mystery of how Thismia got to Chicago and
how it survived the winters depends on
saving that prairie field.

LOCALE FOR BOTANICAL TREASURE HUNT
Map showing the suspected location of Chicago's mysterious lost plant-
curiosity, for which Museum botanists have been searching. Drawing by
Museum Artist Douglas E. Tibbitts.

though, because it can't even be located by
the scientists of Chicago Natural History
Museum and other institutions interested in
botany. They are looking for it, however —
and have been ever since 1914.

For some reason unknown to science, this
tropical plant chose a remote area of
Chicago's South Side as its environment,
when by rights it should have preferred a
jungle anywhere along the equator. Museum
botanists explain. The little mystery plant
is less than an inch high at full growth and,
since it lives on dead matter instead of manu-
facturing its own food as most plants do, it
is white except for a bluish-green flower.

A University of Chicago botany student.
Norma Pfeiffer (now a Ph.D. in botany),
discovered this tiny "D.P." (displaced plant)
back in 1912 when she wandered to the out-
skirts of the city in search of plants to take
back to class for study. When the botanists
in the laboratory had a look at it, it was seen
to be something entirely new in plant life,
unknown in any other part of the world.
Worse than that, its nearest relatives were
known only in tropical Asia, Panama,
Brazil, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

In 1913 and 1914, Norma Pfeiffer and
fellow botanists went back to the swampy
prairie field where the curious plant had
been found, and they were able to bring
back a few more specimens in various stages
of its life-cycle. Other search parties went
out after 1914, but in all the hunting since

C. T.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF ANGKOR
IN SPECIAL EXHIBIT

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY

Today, Indo-China is a major crisis area
of the Far East. Though contemporary
events in Indo-China receive much attention
in the press, not many Americans are aware
of the background of history in this far-
removed part of the world. During April,
the Museum will present a temporary exhibit
of photographs documenting the story of
Angkor, a spectacular ruined city in the
jungles of Cambodia, one of the major
provinces of Indo-China.

Angkor was the capitol of the Khmer
empire, which was roughly contemporaneous
in area with present-day Cambodia. Be-
tween the 9th and 14th centuries the Khmer
civilization flowered. Angkor became a
major metropolis, covering a large area, and
embellished by great palaces, monumental
walls, and innumerable temples. In the
14th century, the Khmer kings- deserted

Angkor, probably because their empire was
crumbling under the stress of war with
Siam and Annam. Angkor's star set and
the city became largely deserted, abandoned
to the jungle. The brilliant civilization of
the Khmers flourished and fell, unknown to
the Western world.

During its day, however, it attracted
many from outside its borders. Thus an
early Chinese visitor to Angkor wrote of the
country of the Khmers: "Rice is easily
earned, wives easily found; houses ea.sily
furnished; business easy to do. Conse-
quently we find people constantly coming
to this country."

The modern Cambodians are the descend-
ants of the Khmers. The Museum exhibi-
tion is enhanced by photographs, not only
of the splendors of ruined Angkor, but of
the modern inhabitants of Cambodia. Thus
past and present are combined in a single
pictorial exposition centering around Angkor.

The Museum has been able to present
this exhibit through the co-operation of
Ernest Rathenau of New York. Mr.
Rathenau, a fine photographer, took the
photographs composing the exhibit himself
while on an expedition to Cambodia, and
has generously lent them to the Museum
for the April exhibit.

Flamingoes in the Bahamas
Receive Protection

The Society for the Protection of the
Flamingo has been formed in the Bahama
Islands. Long pink flocks of flamingoes
harmonize well with palm trees, and tropical
islands. Scenically and aesthetically they
grace the Bahamas and the American
tropics from Yucatan to the Guianas.

They're large birds, nesting in colonies,
and at breeding time are particularly vulner-
able to predation by local people who collect
them and their eggs for food. The decrease
in numbers in the Bahamas has alarmed
residents, who are determined that these
bizarre and spectacular birds shall continue
to ornament their islands. Fortunately the
birds are far from extinct, and there seems
a large enough stock of them in the Bahamas
so that with proper protection, under the
eye of the newly formed society, we can
expect the flamingoes to multiply and be-
come better known, as one of the charms
of the Bahamas.

Austin L. Rand
Curator of Birds

Audubon Lecture April 23
On Nature Near Home

The last of the current season's "screen
tours" of the Illinois Audubon Society will
be presented in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum on Wednesday evening,
April 23, at 8 o'clock. "Wildlife at Your
Doorstep" is the subject of the color films
and the lecture which will be given by
Howard L. Orians.

April, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page?

MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES—

(Continued from page 3)
These type sequences will be important both
for research and exhibition purposes.

It was also possible to obtain typical ex-
amples of a kind of pottery called Thin
Orange ware, which was traded widely in
Middle America during the Early Classic
period. It has been found at Teotihuacan
(period III), at Monte Alban (period III),
at Kaminaljuyu, near Guatemala City, at
Uaxactun (Tzakol phase), an important
Classic Maya site in the Peten of Guatemala,
and at other places. Wherever found, this
ware has identical characteristics of clay,
methods of manufacture and firing, and
style, so that there can be little doubt that
all examples came from the same source.
The place of origin of Thin Orange ware
is not known, although the state of Puebla,
to the southeast of the Valley of Mexico,
appears to be the most likely. Even though
the source is not known, the popularity of
this pottery as an item of trade over such
a wide area serves to tell us which phases
of the various Classic cultures were con-
temporaneous.

These few examples will convey an idea
of how useful this new collection will be in
the work of the Museum. The collection
sent to Mexico will be equally valuable to
the National Museum there. In the present
day, only by exchange could the two mu-
seums have acquired collections of this size
and quality. The completion of this ex-
change is an outstanding event in the
histories of both institutions and in the
history of international co-operation in

Search for Fossils In Texas

Orville L. Gilpin, Chief Preparator of
Fossils, and William D. TurnbuU, Pre-
parator, will collect fossil mammal remains
of Early Cretaceous age in the Trinity forma-
tion of northern Texas during April and
May. ' This is a continuation of the work
of two field trips conducted in 1950 and 1951,
on a site discovered in 1949 by Dr. Robert H.
Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, and Dr.
Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles.

STAFF NOTES

Henry S. Dybas, Associate Curator of
Insects, will leave early in April to conduct
the Museum's California Zoological Field
Trip for 1952. Mr. Dybas will engage in
collecting the microfauna from leaf mold
and from other materials in which he
finds the minute beetles of the family
Ptiliidae, which are his special interest ....
D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Anatomy,
conducted a seminar in comparative anat-
omy at the University of Illinois on March
18 ... . Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower

Invertebrates, has returned to the Museum
after about a month of field work in Cuba.
He completed the greater part of a study
of the mollusk life in Piflar del Rio province
where the process of speciation of these
animals is in full progress.

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, has accepted an invitation to
participate as a guest of the French National
Research Council in its forthcoming Sym-
posium on Evolution in Plants to be held
in Paris May 15-20 .... John Ihle, illus-
trator in the Department of Botany, re-
ceived a purchase award for his print, "The
Orange Temple," at the 6th Annual Print
Exhibition of the Brooklyn Art Museum
.... Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator
of the Herbarium, addressed a recent meet-
ing of the Oak Park and River Forest
Garden Club. His topic was "Wild Flowers
and Their Conservation."

Miss Martha H. Mullen, for seven
years a member of the editorial staff of
the Encyclopedia Britannica, has been
appointed Assistant Editor of scientific
publications at the Museum .... Miss
Marian Hoffman has joined the business
staff as bookkeeper.

DAILY GUIDE-LECTURES

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

Tours Sponsored by Tribune

In co-operation with the Museum the
Chicago Tribune sponsored six special guide-
lecture tours of the exhibits on March 8
and 9. The Tribune generously used its
news columns to inform the public of the
special tours, and through its public service
office is.sued tickets to the many applicants
who desired to take advantage of the tours.
Miss Miriam Wood, Chief of the Raymond
Foundation Lecture staff, conducted the
parties through the Museum. The tours
constituted an introduction to a general
program of civic co-operation undertaken
by the Tribune.

FIFTY YEARS AGO AT THE MUSEUM

Conipilta by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Installation, Rearrangement and Perma-
nent Improvements. — The collections of relief
maps formerly occupying Halls 60 and 61
were transferred to Halls 75 and 77, these
halls together with Hall 68 having been
first entirely renovated and repainted. A
shelf with iron railing was built entirely
around the walls of the halls to provide a
means of supporting and exhibiting the
maps. In addition, twenty iron easels,

made after designs by the Curator, were
provided for the exhibition of maps in the
floor space. Four large tables were also
provided for displaying small relief maps.
In drawers in these tables have been filed
the unmounted maps to the number of
several hundred. These are now arranged
alphabetically and in labeled covers. A
total of sixty-two relief maps, large and
small, besides globes and wall maps is now
displayed in these two halls and the collec-
tion is one of the largest of its kind to be
found on exhibition in any Museum."

THE VOGUE IN EXHIBITS, 1902
How relief maps were displayed during the Museum's early days in its 6rst building in Jackson Park.

Pate 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1952

SATURDAY ADULT LECTURES
CONTINUE IN APRIL

Four more free illustrated lectures for
adults on science, travel, and exploration
will be presented in the Museum's annual
Spring Course, which will continue on each
Saturday afternoon through April. The
lectures, to be given in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum, will begin at 2:30
P.M. Color motion-pictures will accompany
each lecture.

Limited acconwnodations make it neces-
sary to restrict these lectures to adults.
Members of the Museimi 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 5— Out of This World
Big Bend, our newest national park
Peter Koch

April 12— HONOLin^U, U.S. A., AND THE

Magic Isles
Volcano-shadowed gem of the Pacific
C. J. Albrechl

April 19— Journey into the Forest
An American jungle turned inside out
Henry Briggs

April 26 — Two Tickets to Timbuctoo
A motor safari in Africa
Kenneth Richter

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.

Knudtzon, Miss Janet A. LaSalle, John F.
Lech, Walter Mara, Dr. James W. Marron,
Miss Laura M. Merkl, Arden E. Miller,
Miss Frances Poe, M. A. Saffir, Marc W.
Schwartz, Mrs. J. Russell Scott, Dr. S. J.
Shafer, Charles T. Shanner, Charies E.
Shannon, Peter M. Shannon, George W.
Stewart, David E. Wanger, Jr.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from February 18 to March 14:

Associate Members

Harry J. Bettendorf, Jan M. Pencik

Sustaining Members
Charles G. Vanlandingham

Annual Members

Thomas W. Alder, Max Becker, Anthony
J. Blaeser, Walter Colmes, Kevin W. Cronin,
Herbert Ehler, Irving Esserman, Mrs. Ruth
M. McReynolds Farley, Edward Howard
Feinstein, James Fitzmorris, William S.
Friedeman, Louis E. Frosh, Norman H.
Gerlach, James GrosboU, James A. Hart,
L. Edward Hart, Jr., Kenneth G. Hecht,
Myron A. Hecht, Melvem M. Hemmen,
Miss Elsie Hix, Raymond F. Houlihan, E. J.

Books

SPRING FEVER

Aids and abetments for that lazy feeling
in spring are books with which to relax or
to take on rambles through the countryside.
Good for reading or for reference material
are the following books on sale in the
Museum BOOK SHOP:

North With the Spring, by Edwin Way
Teale, 1951. Masterfully written and
illustrated narrative of a 17,000-mile ad-
venture north with the season. Price $5.

Coast Calendar, by Robert P. Tristram
CoflBn, 1949. The parade of seasons and
life atone place on the Maine coast. $3.75.

The Sea Around Us, by Rachel L. Carson,
1951. A best seller that will live as a
classic. $3.50.

Knowing Your Trees, by G. H. CoUing-
wood and Warren Brush. A well illus-
trated, popular, but comprehensive book
on the subject. $5.

Treasure in the Dust, by Frank C.
Hibben, 1951. The scattered threads of
American prehistory, skillfully woven into
a discernible pattern. $5.

Exploring Our National Parks and
Monuments, 1951. $2.50. Exploring
the National Parks of Canada, 1951.
$1.50, by Devereux Butcher, the National
Parks Association.

Wildlife in Color, by Roger Tory Peterson,
1951, with over 450 full color pictures
first issued as conservation poster stamps
by National Wildlife Federation. $3.

Wild Flower Guide, by Edgar T. Wherry,

1948. $3.50.

The Insect Guide, by Ralph B. Swain,

1949. $3.

A Field Guide to the Birds, by Roger
Tory Peterson, 1947. $3.75.

Museum Members may request a discount
from prices listed. Mail orders should be
accompanied by payment, including an
allowance of 12 cents for postage and
handling.

A card for Members' address changes
is enclosed with this Bulletin.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

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

Department of Botany:

From: Dr. Mary Belle Allen, Pacific
Grove, Calif. — 25 cultures of algae; Dr.
Fred A. Barkley, Chicago — 145 phanero-
gams, Argentina; Dr. E. Lucy Braun, Cin-
cinnati— 315 phanerogams, Kentuckj" Dr.
Virginius H. Chase, Peoria Heights, 111. —
32 bryophytes, Mexico; William A. Daily,
Indianapolis — 103 specimens of algae, In-
diana; Dr. E. Yale Dawson, Los Angeles —
67 algae, California and west coast of
Mexico; Dr. Violet M. Diller, Cincinnati —
11 cultures of algae; Dr. Maxwell S. Doty,
Honolulu — 308 algae and other cryptogams.
North and South America, and Oceania; Dr.
R. K. Godfrey, Durham, N. C. — 25 phanero-
gams; Dr. Askell Love, Winnipeg, Canada —
a Bryoxiphium norvegieum (cryptogam), Ice-
land; Dr. Chester S. Nielsen, Tallahassee,
Fla.— 16 algae, Florida; E. J. Palmer, Webb
City, Mo. — 321 phanerogams, Missouri;
Victor Manuel Patiiio, Valle, Colombia— 16
specimens of Tripsacum and Theobroma, and
7 phanerogams, Colombia; Dr. Jacques
Rousseau, Montreal, Canada — 31 algae,
northern Quebec and Arctic archipelago;
Miss Lillian Ross, Chicago — 10 lichens,
Mexico; Dr. Eari E. Sherff, Chicago— 42
specimens of Bidens and Dahlia, Canada
and Hawaii; Dr. Julian A. Steyermark,
Barrington, 111. — 5,486 phanerogams, Mis-
souri and Illinois; U. S. National Arboretum,
Washington, D.C. — 5 Theobroma (phanero-
gams), Brazil; Miss Miriam Wood, Chicago
— 12 lichens, Mexico.

Department of Geotogy:

From: Willard H. Farr, Chicago— 13
specimens of Mississippian crinoids, Ala-
bama; Miss Anna C. Jensen, Western
Springs, 111. — collection of fossilized wood
fossil corals, and mineral specimens, various
localities; George Langford, Chicago — 54
specimens of pygidia of Proetits chantia-
honensis Weller, Illinois; Dr. G. Winston
Sinclair, Ann Arbor, Mich. — 8 fossil in-
vertebrates; Mrs. Claudius Storm, Chicago
— collection of rocks and minerals. United
States and Europe.

Department of Zoolo^ :

From: Bernard Benesh, Burr\-ille, Tenn. —
a frog and 2 lizards, Tennessee; Harry
Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt— 2 frogs, 64 lizards
^nd 8 snakes, Egypt; Robert E. Kuntz,
Cairo, Egypt — 133 insects. New Hebrides;
Albert Lester, Chicago — a star-nosed mole,
Chicago; Seymour H. Levy, Chicago — 3
homed larks and 3 Lapland longspurs,
Nebraska and Wyoming; Dr. Bertha Lutz,
Rio de Janeiro — 19 frogs, Brazil; Richard J.
Mount joy, Chicago — a snake, Illinois; Al-
bert Pflueger, North Miami, Fla.— model of
ocean sunfish {Maslurus lanceolaius), Florida
waters; University of Texas, Austin — 33
fishes of two subspecies of darters, Texas;
Dr. Harold Trapido, Panama — a caecilian,
175 frogs, 32 lizards, and 43 snakes, Panama;
Lieut, (j.g.) William H. Wells, Bethesda,
Md.— 3 bats and 4 frogs, Venezuela; August
Ziemer, Evergreen Park, 111. — 42 butterflies
and moths, Wisconsin.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

. r ^

RULLETIN

U Vol.23, No.5-May 1952

Chicago Naturcd
Historif Muse lint

ft- ^

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 195g

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chlcafto S

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell U Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. McCobmick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block Wiluam H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cumminos Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Seablb

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field. Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wii^on

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Prendtnt

Marshall Field First Viee-Prendent

Henry P. Isham Seamd Viee-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Viee-President

Solomon A. Smith Treamrer

Cufford C. Grbgo Director and Seeretary

John R. Millar Amstant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Muteum

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. Hartb Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

MUSEUM STUDIES TRACE
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS

THE GEOGRAPHIC distribution of
animals forms a separate department
of both geography and zoology, often re-
ferred to as "zoogeography." Botanical
geography, or "phytogeography" is the
sister science, and these two fields of bio-
logical knowledge have fallen almost entirely
to museums, since both depend on the
accumulation of identified specimens. Dur-
ing the past two generations as the uni-
versities have turned to the laboratory and
to more and more recondite aspects of
biology in the researches fostered by them,
they have of necessity turned away from
museum collections in their departments or
have abandoned museum projects alto-
gether. It must be remembered that even
75 years ago every university and college
maintained a museum of sorts.

The interest and importance of biological
geography is of a high order. When we
turn to the details of the distribution of a
single kind of animal or plant the questions
as to how its present geographic range was
established, whence the species came, how
it is limited at the borders of its range, and
whether this range is expanding or contract-
ing, may drive us to long continued studies
of the geological history of the region, of
the evolutionary history of the organism,

of the climate and weather, and finally of
its interactions with and its dependence
upon other forms of life.

Current studies are for the most part
devoted to rounding out our knowledge of
the distributions of animals and plants
species by species, for there is still much
to learn about the details of the distribution
of even familiar creatures. If one remembers
the various kinds and degrees of migratory
movement of birds and bats, the complexities
of studies of geographic distribution may be
envisaged. In recent years Clifford H. Pope,
Curator of Reptiles, has engaged in detailed
studies of the ranges of certain North
American salamanders — so detailed, indeed,
that it may be said he has personally walked
along the range border in question.

For the general outlines of animal geog-
raphy we are driven to special works and
to special research papers, for there has been
no comprehensive account of the field since
the appearance in 1876 of the two volumes
by Alfred Russell Wallace on The Geo-
graphical Distribution of Animals. This
work is almost useless now on account of
the changes in classification and nomencla-
ture, as well as in our knowledge of the
sciences that bear upon the problems of
animal geography, and new syntheses of
this subject are much to be desired. It is
gratifying that several such syntheses are
in progress. The ecological aspect of animal
geography was summarized by Richard
Hesse, professor of zoology at the Uni-
versity of Berlin, in 1924; this work was
translated and prepared for an edition in
English by myself, in collaboration with
Dr. W. C. Allee of the University of Chicago
and it is gratifying to report that Ecological
Animal Geography has now appeared in a
second American edition (1951).

The very different kinds of animals and
the very different conditions in the oceans
require special methods and kinds of study.
The Tiergeographie des Meeres by Sven
Ekman, published in 1935, affords an over-
all review of the distribution of marine
animal life, and this is now promised in a
new edition in English in the near future.
Summaries of the historical aspects of the
distribution of land animals are still much
needed.

Animal geography is essentially a field of
pure science, and as such requires no more
"justification" than do studies in compara-
tive embryology, or mathematics, or than
does the composition of music. It may be
pointed out, however, that a knowledge of
the native homes of animals has proved to
be of the utmost practical importance in
combating those animals and plants that
have been misguidedly introduced, or have
calamitously introduced themselves, in new
regions where their native enemies did not
keep them in check. To overcome the
minute leaf-mining caterpillar that kept the
coconut from fruiting for fifty years in the
Fiji Islands, it was necessary to trace the

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Ani, a scribe who lived in
Egypt between 1546 and 1525 B.C.,
commissioned the preparation of
a papyrus, as was the custom, to
be placed in his tomb when he
died. The vignette on our cover,
from the Papyrus of Ani, shows
him on his way into the after-
life, accompanied in spirit by his
wife, Thuthu. Both have their
hands raised in adoration, for in
the next panel they approach a
bird-headed deity whom they
must supplicate for Ani to achieve
the after-life. This papyrus, a
replica of the original in the
British Museum, may be seen in
the Hall of Egyptian Archaeology
(Hall J) of Chicago Natural His-
tory Museum. (Story on page 5.)

origin of the coconut moth to its original
home in Malaya and discover the minute
parasitic wasps that prey upon it. Control
of the prickly pear in northern Australia,
which had rendered thousands of square
miles of land impenetrable and useless, was
accomplished only by the detailed study of
the prickly pear in South America, where
insect enemies of this cactus were found,
which, when introduced into Queensland,
proved almost miraculously effective. These
two cases of the spectacular success of
"biological controls" can be matched in our
own country and are, in fact, sufficiently
commonplace in economic entomology.

Museum zoologists and botanists may
take a proper pride in their share in keeping
alive the great, complex and difficult sciences
of animal and plant geography.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from March 17 to April 15:

Associate Members

Fred A. Schaefer, Floyd E. Thelen

Annual Members

William H. Adler, Frank W. Bloom,
William H. AUaway, Lyman E. Carpenter,
William C. Childs, Albert Christ-Janer,
H. R. Clarke, George M. Crowson, Dr.
Charles U. Culmer, Dr. Duane D. Darling,
William Dess, Cecil Homer Ellis, Franklin
Courtney Ellis, Robert S. Fiffer, Valentine
Hechler, Becher W. Hungerford, C. N.
Hurst, Lawrence Kutchins, O. C. Lance,
Leland J. Mast, Temple McFayden, Paul K.
McGaffigan, William W. Pelz, Dr. Robert
Morse Potter, Dr. Louis Rampona, Mrs.
Harper Richards, Miss Helen M. Sanford,
Joseph B. Semrad, Marc A. Shantz, Harry
L. Shlaes, Winfield Tice.

May, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

BY JEEP TO HONDURAS: A WOMAN BOTANIST'S EXPEDITION

Dr. Margery Carlson, Assistant Professor
of Biology at Northwestern University, re-
turned in April from a botanical expedition
into the mountains and jungles of Central
America, where she collected about 1,000 plants
for addition to Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum's herbarium. She was accom,panied by
Miss Kate Staley, a former physiologist at
the University of Wisconsin. It is believed
that several new species will be described when
the plants are studied and classified.

By MARGERY CARLSON

JUST AHEAD of the first big snows of
last December, Kate Staley and I
started out for Honduras in our jeep station

ZIGZAG ROAD TO FOSSIL SITE

Tortuous highway in Honduras on way to El Rosario mine where Dr. Margery

Carlson of Northwestern University hunted fossil plants for Chicago Natural

History Museum.

wagon, equipped for living and for collecting
plants to be added to Chicago Natural
History Museum's herbarium.

We stopped first to revisit Montebello, a
region of lakes and mountains on the Mexico-
Guatemala border, about 35 miles from
ComitSn, Chiapas, where we had collected
in April, 1949. The area is covered with a
pine-oak-liquidambar forest and lies on the
border of the great Chiapas rain forest. It
has an especially luxuriant epiphytic vegeta-
tion— that is, plants growing on the branches
of the trees. This time, in January, we
hoped to find plants in bloom other than
those we had found in April.

We had difficulty getting into the area
because the road is merely a track among
the trees and across the streams, which in
January, as in all the year except in April
and May, is very wet and muddy. In the
worst places we had to cut branches to fill
in over the mire, but with the four-wheel-
drive we pulled through.

RANCH he:adquarters

During our first visit to Montebello we
camped in our truck on the shores of some
of the lakes, but this time we were glad to
accept an invitation to stay in the storeroom
of a ranch, because the weather was very

wet and chilly. Our room had ears of corn
piled along one end, and bags of beans, rice,
and salt along the other end, but we covered
the center of the floor with pine needles,
spread out our sleeping bags, and used a
box as a table for our gasoline stove and
cooking utensils. Every day, in rain and
sun, we were out collecting, and at night,
while Kate wrote up the day's activities,
I put the plants in the presses to dry over
our kerosene lanterns, which furnished us
also with heat and light.

From Montebello we had to retrace our
way to the railroad because the Pan-
American highway to the Mexican border
does not meet the highway in Guatemala.
Shipping the car in-
volves difficulties,
chiefly in meeting the
demands of railroad
employees for satis-
factorily generous tips.
Our goal was Hon-
duras, so we crossed
Guatemala and El
Salvador with little
delay. The highway
in Guatemala is in
very bad condition,
except in the vicinity
of Guatemala City,
but the mountain
scenery is so spectac-
ular that one does not
mind the poor road.
The little country of
El Salvador has good
paved roads. It has made remarkable
economic progress since we were there six
years ago, on our first plant collecting
trip — especially since
the price of coffee
went up! We lingered
there only to visit the
friends who had made
our work possible in
1946.

Honduras is a con-
glomeration of moun-
tain ranges of varying
lengths and heights,
with valleys scattered
everywhere between,
bordered by the low
coastal plain. In the
highlands, the people
live in the valleys,
which become ever
more parched during
the dry season — De-
cember to May — and

then spring into lush green when the rains
begin. The mountain slopes, to an altitude
of about 5,000 feet above sea level, are
covered with an open forest of ocote pines, in
almost pure stands in many places. These
forests, too, are dry in March, April, and

May and are burned over by fires which
escape when the fields below are burned to
control weeds and ticks. The government
is at last attempting to stop this practice,
as it ruins the soil and prevents the growth
of seedling pines but does little good in
controlling weeds and ticks.

All of the mountains which extend higher
than 5,000 feet are capped by an entirely
difl'erent type of forest — the cloud forest.
The trade winds hit these peaks and their
moisture condenses into clouds which make
possible these unique mountain jungles, the
home of the quetzal bird. These dark, cool,
dripping forests are a haven for the botanist
during the dry season in the lower altitudes.
Here he finds broad-leaf trees, principally
oaks and avocados, vines, ferns, including
several species of tree ferns, mosses, liver-
worts and algae. The trunks and branches
of the trees are completely covered with
epiphytic plants. Mosses grow on ferns,
ferns on other ferns, and these on the trees.
Many species of filmy ferns, which would
dry up with a few minutes exposure to the
sun, are found only in cloud forests such as
these, and in tropical rain forests at lower
elevations.

We were able to approach several of
these cloud forests by road in our jeep, so
that the climb to the peaks, after leaving
the car, was only 2,000 to 4,000 feet.

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, also requested that I try to locate
the beds of some plant fossils which had
been collected in 1886 at a gold-silver mine.
It was a major feat in driving to get the car
down the 'road which literally plunges zigzag
on the steep side of a canyon to the mine.

SEARCHING FOR FOSSIL PLANTS

Dr. Carlson and a boy from El Rosario mine hunt among the rocks for vestiges

of the vegetation of millions of years ago on a ledge of a precipitous cliff near

the gold-silver vein.

Some of the curves are so sharp that we had
to back up before we could get around them
and some of the grades are as much as
37 degrees. Fortunately, we did not meet
any cars coming toward as — there are only
(Continued on page 7, column 2)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 195g

THE BIRD PAGE . . .

FEATHERED 'BABY SITTERS'
AND CO-OP NURSERY-NESTS

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OF BIRES

Co-operative nurseries appear even in the
bird world. In these, a few parents look
after the young while the rest of the adults
can go about their other affairs, freed of the
care of their offspring.

The wild turkey of our eastern United
States commonly steals away singly to lay

BIRD NURSERIES

An example o£ co-operation in the animal world.

Cartoon by Ruth Johnson

its eggs and incubate them in its nest on
the ground. But occasionally it happens,
Audubon writes, that several hen turkeys
associate, lay their eggs in one nest, and
raise their young together. With the turkey,
apparently there is little division of labor.
Audubon writes of finding three hens sitting
on 42 eggs, but he says that one of the hens
is always on the watch at the nesf so that
natural enemies have no chance to rob it.

A GREGARIOUS BIRD

What is of only occasional occurrence in
one species may be the regular course of
events in another. With the ani, we find
it customary for a number of birds to nest
together. The anis are moderate-sized
cuckoos that live in the tropical Americas.
The smooth-billed ani is perhaps the best
known, as a result of research by Dr. D. E.
Davis of Johns Hopkins University, who,
when studying at Harvard for his doctor's
degree, made a special trip to Cuba to
study them in the field.

The smooth-billed ani goes in flocks the
year round. Usually there are about seven
birds in the flock, but there may be as many
as twenty-four. The nest is a bulky struc-
ture of twigs and fresh leaves. When nest
building starts, one bird is usually most
active, but as many as five birds have been
seen carrying in sticks at one time. When
the nest of sticks and leaves is finished,
several females may lay their eggs in it.
But apparently only one bird incubates at
a time, and the male takes his turn at in-
cubating. When the young hatch, after

about thirteen days, most of the adults in
the colony help feed the young.

Eider ducks may nest in dense colonies,
but each bird has its own nest in which it
lays its own eggs and in which the female
alone incubates. After the young hatch
and the mother leads them to the water,
the young may band into larger flocks,
accompanied by a number of females, though
each duckling seems to be independent of
its particular parent and attaches itself to
and is tended by the nearest duck.

PENGUIN SOCIAL GROUPS

A much more elaborate system for caring
for the young has been evolved by the Adelie
penguin. These birds make their nests in
scoops in the soil, lining them with stones,
and there they lay and incubate their two
eggs. The sexes alternate in their care of
the eggs and of the young in their early
stages. But when the young are partly
grown the family unit breaks up for a com-
munistic type of social organization. The
young are then grouped into bands of up to
twenty or more birds and are left under
the care of a few old birds while the rest
of the adults go to the water, which may
be some distance away. Periodically they
return with food for the young. Apparently
an individual "child" is not recognized by
the parent, but the parent goes to the
particular group of which its young make a
part and there may feed any one of the "child
group."

Here we have two definite cases of a social
organization that has resulted in division of
labor: in the incubation of the ani and in
the care of young penguins. In addition
we have in the conduct of the wild turkey
and the eider duck two less specialized cases
of the same thing, showing the sort of raw
material on which evolution can operate
to produce new behavior patterns.

A Curator's Adventure . . .

UNPACKING BIRD-SKINS
FROM NEGROS ISLAND

A shipment of birds from the Philippines
recently arrived at Chicago Natural History
Museum. The receipt of a collection is
always an important event in the Division
of Birds as in any department of the Mu-
seimi. With hammer and pinch bar the
lids were pried off the cases, and the cartons
and packages inside were eagerly opened.
The Division of Insects was told that there
was a tin box of beautiful big atlas moths.
Monkey, pig, and rodent skins and skulls
went to the Division of Mammals across
the hall. Then we began to unwrap the
paper cylinders in which the birds had been
packed.

These are the moments of discovery. We
have all spent long days in the field on ex-
peditions, collecting our 10 or 15 or 20 birds
a day. We know how much work goes into

these collections and that only at rare in-
tervals does one find new, rare, and interest-
ing birds. There are stretches of barren
days in between. Now, in the course of a
half day, we experience all the thrills of a
whole expedition. The results of months of
collecting are wrapped in the paper cylinders
in front of us. Every ten birds or so un-
wrapped represented a day of collecting in
the jungle.

In our hurry to get this shipment un-
packed, for after all it is only one of many
shipments we receive, we have no time to
identify and compare them all. That will
come later, in working up a report on the
collection. Now we are interested in getting
the birds laid out in our trays and into our
filing cases in the bird range where they will
be safe and ready for study.

But we pause now and then to marvel at
the beauty of the bewitching markings and
variety of red and iridescent blues and
purples of the many tiny sunbirds; to note
the brilliant golden orioles or the black and
yellow chickadee that recalls our local
species but is strange, as though in mas-
querade dress; to comment on the prevalence
of blue coloration in the many flycatchers
of the Philippines. There is a greenish
babbling thrush with orange tufts on its
head, and we are pleased to see the strange
red comb on the head of a water crake. But
we are not fooled by all this brilliance into
thinking that these forms are "new to
science." We know it's unlikely that such
conspicuous things shoiild have escaped
previous attention. The row of little olive-
green birds, female sunbirds, flowerpeckers,
white-eyes, and warblers probably contains
more secrets yet unsolved than all the
brilliance of the more bizzare forms. The
green pigeons are striking, but does the
series of dull brown doves represent two
species, as is usually thought, or are they
really three closely related ones? A nightjar
may be a new record; a swift surely is.
Several babblers are certainly at least new
to our collection.

But these are things to be worked out
later, after the collection is sorted and
catalogued. Now we're interested in the
fact that there are 433 specimens, that the
avifauna seems well represented, and that
the specimens are well prepared and labeled.
The collection will add many species to our
collections and provide welcome material for
research. This shipment is part of a series
of such shipments from Negros Island in the
Philippines, where Dr. D. S. Rabor, of
Silliman University, is making the collection
while he is studying the fauna of the island.

A.L.R.

Observe always that everything is the
result of change, and get used to thinking
that there is nothing Nature loves so well
as to change existing forms and to make new
ones like them. — Marcus Aurelius

^ A ^«A-«-W A * * ^*^'V V r/^^V.W %

May, IBSe

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

HOW AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SOUGHT TO ATTAIN AFTER-LIFE

This is the story of an ancient Egyptian
papyrus on exhibition in Hall J. While not
a new exhibit as are most of those described
in the Bulletin, it is so old among the
Museum's collections that it may have a fresh
"newness" for many of our readers today.
Many of the Museum's older exhibits are out-
standing in interest, and as they were acquired
years before the inception of the Bulletin
and have been reinstalled in more modern
manner than when first received, they deserve
occasional attention in these pages.

The following is a layman's summary of
some of the more interesting data in "The
Papyrus of Ani," published by the British
Museum, London.

By CHRISTINE TARDY

ANI HAD A GOOD JOB. He held the
exalted official position of Chancellor
of the Ecclesiastical Revenues and Endow-
ments of Abydos and Thebes. As an official
scribe in the flourishing city of Thebes on
the banks of the Nile, which carried on
considerable trade with neighboring Abydos
down the river, Ani was well off indeed.

While he was still in the prime of life, Ani
built his tomb, as was the custom in ancient
Egypt, and proceeded to equip it with the
little useful things he would need in the
after-life. Ani wasn't preoccupied with
death in an unhealthy way — all the people
he knew devoted a good deal of time and
thought to their funerals, their tombs, and
the after-life, for after all, was not this
mortal existence but a transition to be
endured until one joined the immortals in
the heavens? And was it not wise to take
all the precautions one could afford to attain
life beyond the grave?

One of the more important things Ani
had to attend to was the making up of his
"book of the dead," that would be placed
in his tomb to ease his passage into the next
world. Of course, when Ani died, his wife
Thuthu could go out to the market place
and buy one ready-made, but it did seem
that the personal touch the scroll would
receive under his supervision might make
things easier for him in the after-life. Being
a wealthy citizen, Ani purchased a large
quantity of papyrus reed which was sliced
very thin. The slices were attached side by
side until the needed length was reached.
Ani could afford it, so he had his papyrus
scroll made three-ply instead of the ordinary
two-ply, and it stretched out to a full 78
feet in length.

PICTURES WERE PRECAUTIONARY

Next Ani hired an artist to paint the
customary stylized figures of himself, his
wife, and the gods, and to depict some of
the adventures he knew he would experience
on his way to immortality. One could not
be too careful about making things clear —
if the controlling spirits couldn't read, they
would understand the pictures. And they
would be pleased if the pictures were attrac-
tive and well-colored.

After the pictures were painted on the
scroll, Ani called in a scribe (or to save
money he may have done the writing him-
self) to fill in the necessary prayers, spells
and hymns. The scribe went to work with
his brush-like pens and black and red inks,
making careful hieroglyphic symbols on the
papyrus. He covered about half the scroll
with detailed and personalized accounts of
Ani's merits, making it quite plain that Ani

had devoted the best part of his life to serv-
ing the gods with righteous acts. But some-
thing happened when they got around to
the second half of the scroll. Perhaps the
scribe incurred his master's displeasure, or
perhaps Ani ran short of funds. At any
rate, the rest of the scroll was taken from
stock papyrus with ready-made hiero-
glyphics— standardized forms with blanks
for the deceased's name to be filled in. We
know this now because Ani's name didn't
fit in the spaces very well.

Ani lived and died in Thebes sometime
during the second half of the 18th dynasty — •
1500 to 1400 B.C. If his funeral came off
as it was pictured in his personal "book of the
dead," which was placed next to his body,
it was appropriate to his high station in the
Egyptian life of the time, and was quite an
elaborate affair. Ani had visualized it
thus: on the way to the tomb from the city,
Ani's mummy lay in a chest or shrine
mounted on a boat-on-runners, which was
drawn by oxen. Thuthu, his widow, kneeled
by the side, lamenting. A priest wearing a
panther's skin burned incense in a censer
and poured out a libation from a vase.
Eight mourners followed, one with whitened
hair. Behind them came a .sepulchral ark
or chest ornamented with emblems of "pro-
tection" and "stability," drawn on a sledge
by four attendants and followed by two
others. By their side walked more attend-
ants carrying Ani's palette, boxes, chair,
couch, staff, and other things he would
need for his comfort and convenience in
the after-life.

When the procession arrived at the tomb,
groups of wailing women stood around with
attendants who carried boxes of flowers.

' )U&^ '

A SECTION OF THE FAMOUS PAPYRUS OF ANI
In the iower-lcft vignette^ Ani is just beginning his passage into the a£ter'li£e. Egyptians. The center panel shows Ani before the god of the dead, Anubis,

Followed by the spirit of his wife, Thuthu, who carries a ststrum to offer to the who weighs Ani*5 heart, the emblem of conscience, against a feather, the emblem

gods, both are garbed in fringed white and saffron colored linen, and are wear* of law. Found righteous, Ani proceeds to a series of encounters with other

ing wigs, necklaces, and bracelets, according to the custom of the ancient I deities and gods, some of whom have the heads or bodies of various animals.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1952

and vases of unguents on yokes over their
shoulders. There were also a cow and a
calf and painted wooden chairs. An at-
tendant with shaved head carried in a newly-
cut haunch of meat for the funeral feast.
With Ani's mummy placed standing at the
door of the tomb, last rites were adminis-
tered, while Thuthu kneeled in front for one
last farewell. There were priests standing
all around. One had an instrument for
performing a ceremony known as "opening
the mouth," which would restore to the
mummy the functions of a living person,
so he could talk and eat. Another read the
service of the dead from a papyrus.

Many "books of the dead" stated quite
flatly that the deceased was deserving of
admission to the company of the gods.
For example, this Museum has on exhibition
the original manuscript of Isty, an Egyptian
housemistress and chantress who lived about
1000 B.C. In her scroll, only eight feet long,
she had to be brief and declare her worthi-
ness by stating all the sins she had not
committed. But Ani could afford subtlety.
There are many, many pictures that show
him posing modestly, with hands raised in
devotion and pious adoration, before a table
heaped high with offerings of haunches of
beef, bread and cakes, vases of wine and oil,
fruits, lotus and other flowers.

In Ani's time, the fact that life in the
hereafter was facilitated for those who could
buy a document — and even better, could
personalize it — indicates a shift of emphasis
from righteous character to worldly wealth.
This changing emphasis shows up in a com-
parative study of older and newer "book of
the dead" documents. The oldest go back
as far as 4500 B.C., and the custom of placing
these documents in graves to help the
deceased get through to heaven and the
gods with a minimum of trouble, continued
through to the early centuries of the
Christian era.

ani's judgment day

After Ani has pietorially buried himself,
he goes on to show what he expects to
encounter before he achieves the glorious
after-life. First he is judged — his heart
(or conscience) is weighed against law,
symbolized by a feather. Found righteous,
he goes through innumerable gateways and
passages of the other world, each guarded
by gods and deities with the heads of
animals. On all his long journey, he is
constantly pleading his case with prayers,
spells, offerings, denials of sins, and flattery
to the gods.

Although Ani's document contains less
than half of the chapters commonly assigned
to the Theban version of the "book of the
dead," it is assumed that he picked out
chapters which would suffice for his spiritual
welfare in the future life. Therefore,
Egyptologists regard it as typical of the
funeral book in vogue among Theban nobles
of Ani's time. It is also the largest, most

perfect, best preserved and best illuminated
of all those dating from that dynasty. The
original is in the British Museum, but an
exact duplication can be seen in Hall J of
this Museum. The replica is a gift to the
Museum from the late Edward E. Ayer,
one of the institution's first Trustees (1893-
1927) and its first President (1894-98).

FOSSIL LOCALITIES
OLD AND NEW

By EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.

CURATOR OF FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

WITH THE COMING of spring weath-
er, when robins, earthworms, skunks,
and such little wild creatures scurry about
and begin to take a new interest in life, the
paleontologists likewise look up from their
winter overlay of books and microscopes.
"So pricketh hem nature in hir corages,"
quoth Chaucer, our favorite spring poet;
"Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages."

And away on various "pilgrimages" go
the collectors of fossils. Highway construc-
tion crews stumble over them, quarry
managers shoo them away from their blast-
ing, coal miners find them a mile under the
ground; they peer into gullies, chip pieces
off of rock ledges, dig in fields and gravel
pits, and return to their collections with
new treasures from the distant past. Some
of these treasures seep into the Museum
during the rest of the year, as their pro-
prietors bring them here to be identified (or
sometimes just to be admired). We are
grateful to those who allow us to look at
their fossils, for often we can add a new
occurrence to our records.

But an active and growing collection re-
quires additions of its own, beyond the
occasional glimpse of what someone else has
collected, and so it is that the "fossil hounds"
of the Museum staff also go forth to gather
new specimens.

There are two kinds of localities that we
can work on: the old ones and tha new ones.
Old localities are those where fossils have
been collected before, and new localities are
those where we hope to find some. For the
benefit of the Museum collection, staff
members are planning to visit some of each
during the field season of 1952. For the
twenty-second consecutive year, George
Langford, Curator of Fossil Plants, will
make several visits to the spoil heaps of the
open coal mines in the vicinity of Wilmington
and Braidwood, Illinois. That qualifies as
an old locality. The writer, on the other
hand, will visit a new locality near Mecca,
Indiana, where interesting fossil fragments
were discovered only last year by Dr.
Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles.

SEEK NEW SPECIES

We collect in new localities in order to
find new species that should be made known
to science, or in order to gain more informa-
tion on the past distribution of known

species, or in order to improve the repre-
sentation of ancient faunas in the collection.
"But why," one might ask, "do you keep
going back to the old localities? Surely,
you already have all the fossils you need
from those places."

No. There are some old localities that
aren't worth revisiting for our collection
because no species other than those we al-
ready have from them has been found there
for many years. These we may call "used-
up localities," and we might go back to
them again to get additional specimens for
exchanging with other museums, but not
for our own collection. There are other old
collecting grounds where we couldn't col-
lect if we wanted to, such as the famous
crinoid beds at Crawfordsville, Indiana, or
the quarry near Milwaukee that once yielded
quantities of fossil fishes. The first is inac-
cessible because the surface exposures have
yielded almost all of their fossils and the
rest lie under a forbidding weight of rock
and soil; the second, thanks to a legitimate
but discouraging operation in land reclama-
tion, is now the bed of a river. These we
may call "extinct localities."

But the area near Braidwood and Wil-
mington, though old, is neither used up nor
extinct. No matter how often a locality
has been visited, if it still yields fossils that
were not in the collection previously, it
remains a productive locality, and one that
should be periodically re-examined with the
object of collecting representatives of all
the species present. As in most human
endeavor, there is a point of diminishing
returns in fossil collecting; it is reached
later in some localities than in others.

REASONS FOR RETURN VISITS

A question that may be asked in regard
to these places is: "Why don't you take one
trip and spend several months all at once
instead of doing it in pieces, a few days at
a time?" A single long visit might indeed
be the answer to collecting in some areas,
but conditions differ from place to place.
The plant-bearing clay near Puryear, Ten-
nessee, has already been visited a half a
dozen times by Mr. Langford, with the
writer or Dr. R. H. Whitfield, Research
Associate in Fossil Plants, accompanying
him, and it is still productive even though
strenuously explored on each visit. This
is because the clay is being actively quarried
for brick-making, and new beds are con-
tinually exposed.

The old spoil heaps of the Wilmington-
Braidwood coal mines are still productive,
even though the miners have long since
moved to greener (blacker, that is) fields;
for rain, frost, and thaw continually free
new specimens from the hard clay of the
heaps. Digging in this clay with hand
shovels or picks is a forbidding task. In
terms of fossils recovered per unit of labor
and expense, it is sounder practice to let
the weather do the work and to return

May, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

many times to pick up the specimens freed
by natural means.

Whether a locality is old or new, close to
civilization or far, it is well for the collector,
amateur or professional, to take advice from
the hunter and camper: don't go alone. Not
only will two people be able to find and bring
home somewhat more than twice as much
"bacon" as one, but each will be ready to
help the other in case of a fall or a flat tire.

TILLANDSIA IS ONE OF THE SHOWIEST AIR PLANTS

DAILY GUIDE-LECTURES

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scof)e of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of
Oceanic Ethnology, has been awarded a
Guggenheim Foundation fellowship for com-
parative studies in Micronesian anthro-
pology. Under this fellowship. Dr. Spoehr
will continue his field research in the islands
of the South Pacific, where he has conducted
two Museum expeditions since the war, one
to the Marshall Islands and the second to
the Marianas .... Recently Dr. Spoehr at-
tended a conference of anthropologists and
historians to discuss Indian studies. The
meeting was held by the Ayer Collection
Division of Chicago's Newberry Library
.... Dr. John B. Rinaldo, As.sistant
Curator of Archaeology, participated, as a
representative of the Museum, in the
March 27 performance of "Pace of Chicago,"
television program presented by Marshall
Field and Company over station WBKB.

D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate
Anatomy, Loren P. Woods, Curator of
Fishes, CHfTord H. Pope, Curator of Am-
phibians and Reptiles, and Robert F. Inger,
Assistant Curator of Fishes, were representa-
tives of the Museum at the meetings of the
American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists held April 17-21 in Austin,
Texas.

Miss Nancy Worsham has been ap-
pointed a guide-lecturer on the staff of the
Raymond Foundation, to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the recent resignation of Mrs.
Lorain Stephens. Miss Worsham special-
ized in biology at the University of Illinois in
both undergraduate and graduate studies,
with emphasis on ecology. For two years
she was employed in the game management
division and public information and educa-
tion division of the Department of Conserva-
tion, State of Illinois.

By EMIL sella
curator of exhibits, botany

The newest exhibits in Martin A. and
Carrie Ryerson Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29)
represent two specimens of bromeliads. The
flowering air plant (Tillandsia fasciculata),
the more striking of the two, is shown as it
is often found, clinging to and growing on
branches of trees. The other is the well-
known and characteristic Spanish moss
(Tillandsia usneoides) of the South.

Because the delicious pineapple fruit,
belonging to the genus Ananas, is the most
familiar member of the Bromeliaceae, this
group of plants is commonly known as the
pineapple family. Unlike the pineapple
which is strictly ter-
restrial and owes its
present world distribu-
tion primarily to the
efforts of man, the
seeds of Tillandsias
with their long ap-
pendages consisting of
soft hairs are carried
or blown by wind,
often landing on trees
where they become
established and grow.
Although some species
grow on the ground,
most are epiphytic (air
plants). Approxi-
mately 300 species of
this genus are native
to tropical and sub-
tropical America.

Several species of
Tillandsia are very
showy when in bloom.
Their long central
spikes bear flowers
ranging in color from
red or purplish blue
to yellow or white.
While some species are
large and stiffly erect,
others are drooping or

hanging. Tillandsias are grown in green-
houses both for flowers and foliage, and are
usually propagated by suckers or sprouts
from the base of the plants.

This exhibit is the first to be completed
from the material collected in Florida during
a botanical field trip in the early part of
last year. While living plants collected on
such trips are always used in the preparation
of models, these specimens are rarely in
bloom at the time the models are being
made. In the case of the flowering air
plant, a specimen nearly ready to bloom
was obtained from Mulford B. Foster's
garden in Orlando and supplemented by
material collected in the southern part of
the state. Fortunatel.v, the specimen from
Mr. Foster's garden came into full bloom
at the time the model was being made, an
exceptionally fine opportunity.

FLOWERING AIR PLANT

Model of Tillandsia fasciculata, a member of the pineapple family, now on

exhibition in the Hall of Plant Life (Hall 29).

The model shown was prepared by the
writer aided by Preparator Frank Boryca.
The Spanish moss is a restoration of the
actual specimen.

BY JEEP TO HONDURAS—

{Continued from page 3)

a few places where the road is wide enough
to pass.

After talking with several officials at the
mine, who knew nothing about the famous
fossils, we talked by radio to a geologist at
another of the company mines. He knew
where they were and tried to direct us to
the place, but we were not able to find them
in the time at our disposal. We hope that
he will collect them and send them to the
Museum. We managed to collect some

fossils in other localities, however, and these
are now at the Museum.

Our 5,000-mile trip finally terminated,
without mishap, at the Escuela Agrfcola
Panamericana, the United Fruit Company's
agricultural school, where we visited Dr.
Paul C. Standley, Curator Emeritus of the
Herbarium at Chicago Natural History
Museum.

Visiting Hours Change May 1

Beginning May 1, summer visiting hours,
9 A.M. to 6 P.M., will go into effect, con-
tinuing until September 1 (Labor Day).

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1952

EXPEDITION TO ALEUTIANS
OBTAINS SEA OTTERS

The Aleutian Zoological Expedition re-
turned recently with three sea otters which
will be prepared for a habitat group in the
Hall of Marine Mammals (Hall N).

The Fish and Wildlife Service, under
whose protection the sea otters are slowly
increasing, gave a permit to prepare scien-
tific specimens. The Alaska Command
granted permission to the Museum's Curator
of Mammals, Colin C. Sanborn, to visit the
area. The director and staff of the Arctic
Health Research Center in Anchorage,
Alaska, were most hospitable, acting as
hosts to Mr. Sanborn during his stay in
Anchorage, providing use of their labora-
tories, and arranging for transportation to
the Aleutians. Robert D. Jones, Jr., and
his assistant, David Hooper, of the Fish
and Wildlife Service, were hosts and guides
to the expedition while it was working on
Amchitka Island.

A parasitic disease has been the cause of
some sea otter deaths in recent years and
this is receiving special attention. Dr.
Robert Rausch, chief of the Animal-Borne
Disease Section of the Arctic Health Re-
search Center, accompanied the expedition
to Amchitka to continue this study.

Fewer dead animals were found this year
than last, and from these the expedition
secured two for skeletons. It also prepared
a male, female, and one pup for the habitat
group. The adults are a little over four feet
long and weigh from fifty to seventy-five
pounds.

The work was done under difficult weather
conditions, only one day in twelve being
sunny and moderately calm. On most days
there was a strong wind with snow or snow
squalls, and one period of 120-mile-per-hour
wind was experienced.

FOUNDATIONS AID STUDIES
IN EARLY AGRICULTURE

To aid the continuation of his extensive
research project on early agriculture of the
Indians in North America, Dr. Hugh C.
Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, has
received grants from both the Guggenheim
and the Wenner-Gren foundations.

In the work thus far carried on. Dr.
Cutler has been able to demonstrate that
farmers lived in what is now the United
States at least as far back as 4,500 years
ago, or much earlier than any of the previous
studies had indicated. More important, he
has found that these ancient farmers
practiced plant breeding to develop better
varieties of corn, just as modern farmers do,
indicating that agriculture originated a long
time before the date thus far traced. Al-
though Egyptian and Sumerian cultures,
based on agriculture, were flourishing that

early, most of the Old World was sparsely
peopled with nomadic hunters.

Dr. Cutler's investigations are based on
approximately 38,000 nearly intact cobs of
corn excavated at Tularosa Cave in New
Mexico by the Museum's Southwest Archae-
ological Expeditions led by Dr. Paul S.
Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology.
Dr. Cutler participated as botanist during
one season. Prior to the discovery of the
Tularosa corn, little was known about the
beginnings of civilization in North America,
says Dr. Cutler.

"People have to discover agriculture be-
fore they can settle down in one place and
develop refinements of life," Dr. Cutler
adds. "Since civilization is always based
on agriculture, the development of a culture
cannot be properly traced until the history
of its agriculture is known."

As his researches progress further. Dr.
Cutler will report additional developments
in future issues of the Bulletin, and will
also publish a detailed technical report in
the Museum's scientific series.

Fin Y YKARS J^SO^

f HE HRHEUM

CompUed by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Installation, Rearrangement and Perma-
nent Improvements. — The installation of
Hall 24, containing the protozoa, sponges

An exhibit of lower invertebrates in 1902

and coral collections, has been almost com-
pleted. The specimens have been placed
in new cases specially built for their display
to advantage, not only showing the speci-
mens in the best possible way, but effecting
a great economy of space, the collection,
as a matter of fact, now occupying about
one-half the space it formerly did."

ARTISTS OF TOMORROW
IN MUSEUM EXHIBIT

Tomorrow's artists — children and older
students of the Junior School of the Art
Institute of Chicago — whose studies on
nature in art and design are made partly in
classes conducted at Chicago Natural
History Museum will display their creations
in a special exhibit to be held in Stanley
Field Hall May 1 to 31.

More than 50 pastel drawings, water-
colors, and oil paintings will be shown;
there is also a block print on silk, and a
brush-and-ink sketch. The work to be
shown, judged the best of the year's total
production of the classes, was selected by
two members of this Museum's staff,
Gustaf Dalstrom, Artist in the Department
of Anthropology, and Douglas E. Tibbitts,
Staff Illustrator. The Museum artists
were assisted in judging by Mrs. C. S.
Howlett, head of the Art Education Depart-
ment of the Art Institute.

The majority of the pictures are marked
by a realistic approach. Especially promi-
nent in the exhibit are drawings inspired by
the new series of habitat groups restoring
various fossil invertebrates of hundreds of
millions of years ago, in the recently rein-
stalled and reopened Frederick J. V. Skiff
Hall (Hall 37).

The classes, which meet in this Museum
on regular schedules, include two groups of
students, one ranging from 9 to 18 years of
age and one composed of those 18 and over.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

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

Department of Botany :

From E. P. Killip, Summerland Key Post
Office, Fla.— 100 algae, Cuba and Florida;
Oliver Norvell, Stanford, Calif. — 13 Cucurbit
fruits and seeds, Mexico, Guatemala, El
Salvador, New Mexico; David Troxel, Har-
rington, 111. — 35 phanerogams, Illinois;
Robert Van Tress, Chicago — an Aglaonema
modestum.

Department of Geology:

From: Dillwyn W. Paxson, Fort Smith,
Ark. — a fossil palm stem.

Department of Zoology:

From: Dr. Sidney J. Camras, Chicago — ■
200 North American butterflies, United
States; Chicago Zoological Society, Brook-
field, 111. — a penguin; Dr. I. McT. Cowan,
Vancouver, Canada — a bird skin, Van-
couver; Lawrence L. Curtis and James W.
Cronin, Dallas, Tex. — two salamanders,
Texas; General Biological Supply House,
Chicago — 3 lizards and earthworms and
crabs. East Africa; Harold W. Harry,
Columbia, Mo. — a collection of land, fresh-
water and marine shells, worldwide; Harry
Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 600 mammals,
Egypt; Lt. Col. Robert "Traub, Washington,
D.C. — 21 insects, North America, South
America and Malay Peninsula.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

LJVoL23.No.6- June 1952

Chicago Natural
History Museum

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Juru, 195i

Chicago Natural History Museum

FOUNDBD BY MABSHAIX FIELO, 1893

Rooaerelt Road and Lake Shore DriTC, Chicago 5
Telephonb: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Lestek Abhoub Samuel Insull, Jb.

SBWBX L. AVEBY HBNBY p. ISHAli

Wm. McCobmick Blaib Hugbston M. McBain

LaopOLD E. Block Wiluaii H. Mitchell

Waltbb J. CumnNGS Clabence B. Randall

AuiBBT B. Dick, Jb. Geobge A. Richabdson

JosBPB N. Field John G. Seable

Mabshall Field Solouon A. Smith

Mabshall Field, Jb. Loub Wabe

Stanley Field Albebt H. Wetten

John P. WaaoN

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pmideni

Marshall Field Fint Vice-Pretidtnt

Henry P. Isham Seeotid Viee-Praident

Samuel Insull, Jb. Third Viee-Prendent

SouuiON A. Smith Tnaturer

CUTFOBD C. GbegG DirtclOT and Secretary

John R. Mcllab A—ulant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CLirroRD C. GUGO Director of llu Mtueum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Mabtin Chief Curator of Anthrovoloty

Thbodob Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geoiosy

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Hartb Public Relatiom Coumel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tabdy

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

SUNDAYS WITH DALLWIG
INCREASE IN POPULARITY

THE SUNDAY afternoon "Lajonan
Lectures" of Paul G. Dallwig, the
Chicago businessman who has given his
time to conduct this popular series for
twelve seasons, ex-
ceeded in 1951-52
the successes of all
previous years.
For his service in
presenting these
lectures the Mu-
seum thanks Mr.
Dallwig for a note-
worthy contribu-
tion to its program
of adult education.
We are sure, too,
that the thousands
of people who have
attended his pre-
sentations feel that
they likewise owe
him recognition for work well done.

There were over 15,000 requests for
reservations, which is 6,000 more than last
season. Even though arrangements were
made to permit increasing the size of
audiences about 20 per cent to the maximum
practicable to handle, it was possible to
accommodate only 4,229 of the applicants.

Paul G. Dallwig

This figure is, nevertheless, a new record
and compares with 3,466 in the preceding
season. The reason for strict limits on
audience-sizes is that Mr. Dallwig presents
demonstrations in the exhibition halls as
well as talks from the rostrum in the lecture
room. Average attendance per Sunday
was 186 this season as compared to 148 last
year, and on eight Sundays attendance
exceeded 200, with over 300 on one Sunday.

The most popular lectures this season were
"Money Does Grow on Trees" and "Life —
What Is It?" For each of these lectures
about 3,500 requests for reservations were
received. "Out of This World— For One
Afternoon," "Gems, Jewels, and 'Junk,' "
and "Living Races and Their Way of Life"
were the other subjects during the five
months. This season Museum Members
could attend the lectures without advance
reservations upon presentation of their
membership cards. This resulted in an
unusually large membership response, and
many Members became acquainted with the
popular Dallwig lectures for the first time.

Mr. DaUvrig will return to the Museum for
a new series of lectures to begin the first
Sunday in November. Those on the waiting
list whose requests for reservations could not
be filled this past season will be offered accom-
modations next season. Requests for reserva-
tions may be filed at the Museum throughout
the months before the next season begins.

STAFF NOTES

Homer V. Holdren has been appointed
Assistant in the Division of Photography,
where he will work with John Bayalis,
Photographer. Mr. Holdren was associated
with the McCray Studio for twelve years
.... Miss Delia Cox, a graduate of Barnard
College (Columbia University), has been
appointed secretary of the Department of
Botany Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Cura-
tor of Zoology, gave the annual John Wesley
Powell Lecture before a meeting of the West-
em Division of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science on May 1 at
the University of Colorado. Chief Curator
Schmidt was recently elected a fellow by
the California Academy of Sciences .... Dr.
Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of the
Herbarium, recently conducted a field trip
to the Missouri Ozarks.

Annual Report Published

The Annual Report of Colonel Clifford C.
Gregg, Director, to the Board of Trustees
of Chicago Natural History Museum has
just been published by the Museum Press.
The Report, a book of 139 pages and 23
illustrations, summarizes the activities of
the institution for 1951. Copies will be
distributed to all Members of the Museum
at an early date.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our June bride is a Menangka-
bau woman of central Sumatra.
Her gown and ornaments are
family heirlooms, passed on to
generations of brides. The gown
itself is silk woven with gold and
silver thread, and on her wrists
the bride wears huge gold-plated
bracelets with intricately worked
designs. Wearing a gold finger-
nail protector on her little finger
is an old Chinese custom taken
over by the Malays. The wedding
festivities last eight days, begin-
ning with a recital of parts of the
Koran before the local religious
leader and culminating in feasting
and dancing on the last day.
Photograph is of a life-size figure
displayed, with the bridegroom,
in Hall G of the Museum. An
article on wedding customs
around the world appears on
page 5.

Curator Pope to Resume
Field Work in Mexico

Clifford H. Pope, Curator of Amphibians
and Reptiles, who will continue the work
on Mexican salamanders that was begun
last year, plans to leave for the field about
the middle of June and return in early
September. During July and August of
1951 he studied the ecology and distribution
of species of the Mexican highlands chiefly
in the region of Mexico City, which lies
near the highlands' southern edge. This
year he will work on the eastern edge of
the highlands from the vicinity of Orizaba
northward, where the salamander fauna is
still richer and prospects for interesting
discoveries are great.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from April 16 to May 15:

Associate Members

Gerhard Lessman, M. W. Welch

Annual Members

William A. Armstrong, C. E. Backman,
Miss Elsa C. Beck, Frederick Beck, Richard
William Brown, W. T. Chester, Benjamin
B. Davis, Matthew L. Devine, Robert
Diller, Mrs. G. Corson Ellis, Richard H.
Grimm, Edward J. Haedike, H. H. Hassel-
bacher, William G. Hauser, Samuel C.
Horwitz, Mrs. S. L. IngersoU, Bert Johnson,
R. S. Marek, John W. McElroy, Frank
Billings Nichols, M. Hudson Rathbum,
Edward C. Riley, T. A. Siniarski, A. M.
Thompson

The proper study of mankind is man.

— Alexander Pope

June, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

LAPIDARISTS TO EXHIBIT
GEM CREATIONS

UNLESS you're a lapidarist, you've
probably only half-enjoyed your
jewelry. This month's special exhibit at
the Museum shows what happens when
people discover the pleasure that can come
from creating gems and jewelry, watching
them take form and beauty under careful
eyes and hands. The satisfaction in such
a hobby is demonstrated by the way
amateur lapidary clubs are springing up
everywhere and by the way people respond
to lapidary exhibits.

For as long as anyone knows, human
beings have liked to adorn and decorate
themselves. Some of our ancestors went in
for the permanent kind of self-decor —
tattooing — just as some South Sea Islanders
and a few of our own people, chiefly sailors,
do today. But with the exception of certain
physiological methods of beautifying, such as
plastic surgery, eyebrow-plucking, hair-
dyeing, and so forth, modern adornment is
limited more to nonpermanent and change-
able decorations, such as clothing and
jewelry.

In Stanley Field Hall, June 1 through
June 30, the Museum will display gems and
jewelry made by Chicago and suburban
craftsmen. This Second Annual Amateur
Handcrafted Gem and Jewelry Competitive
Exhibition will display the prize-winning
creations entered in Chicago Lapidary Club's
contest. The contributing lapidarists are
from all walks of life. Some of them
practice their avocations independently,
others through lapidary clubs or in work-
shops conducted in five field houses of the
Chicago Park District. These "rock hounds"
work primarily with semiprecious stones,
either cutting and polishing them to remain
as cabochons without settings, mounting
the polished gems in silver, gold, or other
metals to make jewelry, or carving designs
into the stones for everything from earrings
to bookends.

This year's contestants were classified
into two groups: novices, who have been
"rock hounds" less than two years, and
advanced lapidarists, who have been practic-
ing the craft more than two years. The
contest and exhibits include eight divisions
in each classification: (1) individual gems
(cut stones without settings, single entries);
(2) specific gem collections (all one kind of
stone) ; (3) general gem collections (different
kinds of stones); (4) individual jewelry
pieces (single entries); (5) jewelry sets
(matching pieces made to be worn together) ;
(6) jewelry collections; (7) polished slab
collections; and (8) individual pieces (sculp-
tured bookends, etc.).

Because of this broad range, the ribbons,
gold cups, and other trophies awarded
reached a total of 68. The prize-winning
entries, selected from 228 entries, comprise
hundreds and hundreds of individual speci-

mens because of the multiple collections.
For example, one entry is a general gem
collection that includes 375 cabochons cut
from 160 different semiprecious stones. An-
other entry in the specific gem collection
group consists of 300 Australian opals rang-
ing from 3 to 125 carats each. Total value
of the show's exhibits is estimated at a-
bout a quarter of a million dollars. In
addition to the cups and ribbons, advanced
division contestants competed for an ancient
and rare cup made of green-flecked off-
white Burmese jade.

Chairman of the Exhibition Committee
this year is Joseph C. Arey, an engineer for
the Sanitary District of Chicago when he's
not working on gems. When the exhibit
leaves the Museum, it will go on display in
Marshall Field and Company's jewelry
department for three weeks starting July 7.
Last year's first exhibit of this work in the
Museum was such an outstanding success
that Chicago Lapidary Club decided to
make the contest and exhibit an annual
event.

18th SOUTHWEST EXPEDITION
IS UNDER WAY

RESERVE, New Mexico has about 150
people, a general store, and a post
office. The nearest town is over 100 miles
away. There just isn't much excitement in
the little Spanish-American hamlet most of
the time. But along about May or June
things begin to perk up, for then the annual
Southwest Archaeological Expedition from
Chicago Natural History Museum is due to
arrive to spend the summer just ten miles
away. This year's activity got under way
with the departure on May 17 of Dr. Paul S.
Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology.

It's always a big event for the citizens
of Reserve and a big event for the Museum.
During the years that the archaeologists
have been digging in the area they have
become a part of the community four
months out of the year. They take part
in all the things of importance to the tiny
village — lending neighborly assistance — and
{Continued on page U)

SAFARI IN AFRICA WILL SEEK BIRDS FOR MUSEUM

AN IMPORTANT zoological expedition
to East Africa, sponsored and led
personally by Walther Buchen, of Winnetka,
Illinois, entered the field last month to
collect birds and a number of mammals.
Mr. and Mrs. Buchen left Chicago by air
on May 9 for Nairobi in Kenya Colony,
going by way of London. In Kenya they
plan to complete organization of a safari
to proceed to the upper Nile region in
Uganda.

The expedition,
planned in consulta-
tion with Dr. Austin
L. Rand, Curator of
Birds, is an addition
to the schedule of
twenty-two expedi-
tions and field trips
officially announced
at the beginning of
the year (BULLETIN,
January, 1952) and
promises to be one of
the Museum's most
ventures afield. In
Nairobi, according to the plan, the Buchens
will engage a British ornithologist as scien-
tific aide, arrange for a motor truck, and
organize their safari. About twenty native
guides, porters, and other helpers will join
the safari as it proceeds to the upper Nile
region. After going to the limit of terrain
passable by truck, the safari will penetrate
areas accessible only on foot.

The principal object of the expedition is
to collect material for a new habitat group
in Hall 20 that will reproduce a papyrus
marsh with its teeming bird inhabitants, a

Mrs. Wallher Buchen

productive current

typical scene of the Upper Nile Valley. It
is expected that from three to four months
will be required to collect the wide variety
of birds needed for this ecological group,
which will be dominated by a large grotesque
bird known as the whaleheaded stork.
Among the dozens of other birds to be sought
for the Upper Nile group are cormorants,
pelicans, water hens, herons, plovers, and
ducks of many kinds. Photographs and
color sketches will be
made on the spot for
the guidance of Mu-
seum artists and tech-
nicians who later will
reproduce this "piece"
of Africa as a setting
for the birds.

In addition to mate-
rial for exhibition pur-
poses, Mr. and Mrs.
Buchen's expedition
will seek a wide repre-
sentation of birds and
mammals that are

desired for the Museum's research collec-
tions. Mr. Buchen is already listed on the
Museum's roll of Contributors in recognition
of his past notable gifts to the Department
of Zoology of specimens collected by him
on two previous expeditions in Africa.
These gifts to the Museum include several
hundred birds from Mount Kenya and from
areas about 200 miles to the south in both
Kenya Colony and Uganda. Mr. Buchen
is president of the Buchen Company,
Chicago advertising agency. A number
of years ago, before entering advertising,
he was a member of the faculty of the
University of Illinois.

Walther Buchen

Pagei

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1952

SOUTHWEST^EXPEDITION—

(Continued from page 3)

the village takes part in the work of the
expedition. Each year at least five residents
of Reserve are hired to help with the
digging, and all the others have become
enough acquainted with the scientists' work
to hunt around for likely places that might
become new sites. When Dr. Martin, leader
of the expedition, gives lectures in the high
school, folks come from 90 miles around to
hear him speak.

MODES OF UFE TRACEU)

Partly through the aid resulting from this
type of close-knit co-operation and com-
munity interest, the sites investigated in
this mountainous area of New Mexico have
yielded particularly rich results. More and
more questions are answered each year, as
new evidence is unearthed to tell the story
of the ancient civilizations that lived in the
region. In the past two years the work has
uncovered the oldest com (4,500 years old)
ever discovered. Studies of this corn to-
gether with other foods and artifacts make
it possible to begin to get a picture of how
these ancient Indians lived throughout the
centuries. This, of cotirse, throws light on
the whole history of Indian civilization and
human development.

Starting in February each year. Dr.
Martin begins to line up his crew and the
equipment needed for the coming summer's
expedition. This year Dr. John B. Rinaldo,
Assistant Curator of Archaeology, and Miss
Elaine Bluhm, Assistant in Archaeology,
will be joined by Robert Adams and Thomas
Alder, anthropology students, and Miss
Marjory Kelly, research archaeologist. The
expedition's cook, Mrs. Martha Perry, will
set up camp early in June. When the whole
crew has arrived, they'll engage five workers
from Reserve.

Dr. Martin and his crew have built a
shack near Reserve and this, supplemented
with a couple of tents, is where the archae-
ologists will spend the cold, cold nights.
Six days a week the crew is out working
where it's usually at least 100 degrees in
the shade. But after simset, the tempera-
ture begins to drop — and fast! In a 24-hour
period, the mercxiry changes 60 to 70 degrees.
During supper you put on a sweater. At
dessert, you put on another. Then you keep
adding more clothing until it's time to go
to bed, when it's so cold you crawl into a
sleeping bag clothed as if on an arctic
expedition.

THE WORK IS RUGGED

When you wake up in the morning, you
put on blue jeans and a T-shirt, toss a straw
hat on your head, and pull on a pair of heavy
army boots. You need thick soles on the
rocky terrain, and it's a good idea to have
thick leather protection around your feet
because the area is infested with rattle-
snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. You

pick up a pair of goggles and a respirator
mask and a high-power battery light, and
you're ready to walk to the site and start
digging.

The camp itself is 6,200 feet above sea
level in a mountain pine-forest. Craggy
peaks tower up another 2,000 feet all around.
There are two sites being worked, a cave
and a kiva (underground ceremonial cham-
ber). The cave site borders on the edge of
the forest near an ancient lake bed, hidden
on the side of a boulder-strewn mountain
about 400 feet above a road. This is a new
cave being explored because others near it
yielded so much remarkably preserved
material, protected for centuries in the
extreme dryness. The slightest movement
in these caves stirs up fog-like clouds of
dust so thick that the crew looks at the
end of each day as though it had been
working a coal mine. The dust is the
reason for the goggles and masks and
heavy-duty lights. Unfortunately, water
for the essential daily baths has to be
hauled from a well half a mile away.

The kiva site is twenty miles from the
cave site. This undergound ceremonial
chamber is the only kiva of a certain unique
shape and size in the area. Digging, which
started there last year, looked hopeful,
although it wasn't possible to go deep
enough to yield much then. It is thought
that a study of this kiva may indicate
certain cultural ties with regions farther
away.

TOIL AT NIGHT

After a day's w^ork at the sites, the crew
returns to camp to clean up and eat dinner.
The day's work is by no means over, how-
ever. Evenings and Sundays are spent
identifying and cataloguing the specimens
dug up during the day in order to get some
of the rough work done before the material
is shipped back to the Museum. For this,
one of the essentials of equipment is an
extensive reference library.

The camp is quite isolated, and Reserve's
single general store couldn't adequately
supply its provisions. Food is brought in
from a town 100 miles away by truck. Meat
arrives every two weeks to be stored in
Reserve's refrigerator locker, and staples
come once a month. Everyone on the
expedition pitches in with his share of the
work. The main work is digging, but in
addition to certain specialized types of
work above and beyond the digging, every-
one has to be ready and willing to perform
any task that needs doing.

At the end of September, camp is closed
and the crew returns to the Museum to
spend the rest of the year studying the
evidence turned up during the summer and
to prepare for the following summer's work.
This year marks the eighteenth season of
the Southwest Archaeological Expedition.

— C.T.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

M THE MUSLUM

Compaed by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Income and Maintenance. — While the
repairs and physical maintenance of the
building (Field Columbian Museum in
Jackson Park] by the exercise of the greatest
economy cost $2,000 less than the provision
of the budget for these items, this should
not be accepted as an indication that the
building is requiring less attention. The
fact is, on the contrary, that the structure
has about reached the limits of repair, using

Virginia Deer in Summer. This is one of the **Four

Seasons" groups. Prepared 50 years ago by Carl E.

Akeley, this exhibit now may be seen in Richard T.

Crane, Jr., Hall (American Mammals).

that word in its literal sense. That is to
say, any further expenditure in what might
be called the maintenance of the building
would be in the line of new construction.
This is especially true of the exterior of the
building, which, in spite of the most per-
sistent and ingenious efforts to conceal the
real condition, is gradually falling to pieces.
The building is safe — in fact, much safer
than it was when it was taken possession of
by the Museum, and I have no reason to
believe that disintegration threatens the
security of the building as a structure.
But I do feel compelled to direct the atten-
tion of the Board of Trustees to the necessity
which exists, in my opinion, for seriously
considering at an early date the welfare of
the material whose intrinsic value must be
over $3,000,000 and whose educational value
is incomputable."

Algologists from Australia

Dr. and Mrs. H. B. S. Womersley of the
University of Adelaide in South Aastralia
recently came to the Museum to study the
collections of Australian algae in the ciyp-
togamic herbarium. They are on a year's
tour of American and European herbaria.

June, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

HAIL TO JUNE: THE WORLD'S WEDDING CUSTOMS IN REVIEW

By CHRISTINE TARDY

WHETHER we're conscious of it or not,
just about all of us are amateur
anthropologists. Simply because we're
human beings with egos, we're interested
in our own species. Those of us who really
let our curiosities loose, though, may become
professional anthropologists or, at the very
least, amateur ethnologists.

In getting acquainted with the ways of
other peoples — reading about them or spend-
ing a pleasant hour or two with them vicar-
iously the way you can when you browse
among the Museum ethnology exhibits —
have you ever caught yourself viewing our
own customs objectively? Some of our
most deeply rooted customs are fairly
unique and sometimes downright shocking
to large groups of people in the rest of the
world. Our habit of eating beef disgusts
the Hindu. The way our women expose
their faces offends the moral sensibilities of
women of the more remote Mohammedan
groups. Our custom of covering the feet
with shoes causes people of many areas to
shake their heads at such "folly."

Since June is the month of weddings and
brides, we inquired about marriage customs.
Do other people have the same ideas as to
what constitutes marriage? Where do our
wedding customs come from? What are
other people's weddings like? Here's what
we found.

MARRIAGE IS UNIVERSAL

The higher an animal is in the evolutionary
scale, the longer its "childhood" lasts. The
extended jjeriod of immaturity and help-
lessness requires longer parental care and
training. This biological necessity is one
of the basic reasons human beings have
an institution called marriage. Nowhere
are two people of the opposite sex allowed
to live together openly and raise children
without the approval of the community.
This usually involves some kind of ceremony
to give publicity to the union. So mankind
has a set of customs called weddings.

Human beings are generally monogamous.
It just doesn't happen very often that an
individual is inclined to live with more than
one mate at a time. In our society an
individual can have a theoretically unlimited
number of legal mates (but not all at once)
if he cares to put up with the high cost of
divorce and a good deal of social disap-
probation. In some other societies, one
simply returns one's mate and sets up
housekeeping with the new one, with a
minimum of legal procedure. Even in
societies that sanction multiple-mate mar-
riages, these unions are usually monogamous
in practice. In a polygynous situation, the
husband ordinarily maintains separate
households for each wife and her children,
living with his wives one at a time. The
same thing holds true in polyandrous

societies, where the woman has many
husbands. She usually maintains a house-
hold for herself and her children, and her
husbands agree among themselves on the
periods each shall spend with her. But
although the monogamous state predomi-
nates in the world, our view of it as the only
permissible form of marriage is a com-
paratively recent development, limited al-
most entirely to Western culture.

WHO CAN MARRY WHOM?

Our current ideas of romantic love and
free choice are quite new. Most of the
world imposes pretty rigid restrictions as
to who can marry whom. What one culture

his caste — this elevates the status of the
woman and her family.

Western civilization has its prescribed
marriages too, but in subtler forms. One's
"blood" isn't taken into account so much
as one's income. In parts of Europe until
recently a girl and a boy were assigned to
each other by their respective families fre-
quently without regard to their personal
wishes. In fact, this practice still remains
in some parts of the continent. Before the
advent of romantic love, marriages were
arrangements between parental groups, often
with an eye to economic advantage. In
medieval Europe young marriageable people
of the nobility were mere pawns in a power-

PHILIPPINE WEDDING CEREMONY

Wedding guests in a Tinguian community in northern Luzon witness the first sharing of food between bride

and groom, a custom incorporated into the marriage rites of most people throughout the world. In this case

the food was a bowl of rice. Photographed by a Museum expedition.

considers proper would outrage another,
and it frequently happens that culture-
prescribed marriages serve to maintain the
homogeneity of the group.

In parts of India and among some South
Sea island people only cross-cousins can
marry. Among some Semitic groups only
parallel cousins can marry. There are
places where a girl must marry her uncle
and a man can marry only his aunt. In-
cestuous marriages were prescribed for the
royal families of ancient Hawaii, Egypt,
and the Incas of Peru. When caste strati-
fication occurs, endogamy may exist, where
one must marry within one's caste. Or
hypergamy may obtain, where a man can
marry a woman from a lower section in

and-property game. The peasants often
had their marriages dictated by their lords-
of-the-manor.

WHIP PRESENTED TO GROOM

There was a time when women were
looked upon as vassals of men. In ancient
Russia papa would bring a new whip to
the wedding and during the ceremony he
would strike his daughter lightly with it.
Then he would tell her this was the last
time — but he would hand over the whip to
her bridegroom. In Croatia the bridegroom
would box his bride's ears as part of the
wedding ceremony, to leave no doubt that
he was to be her master henceforth. Nowa-
days, in our society, men carry a vestige

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1952

of this old prerogative over women when
papa gives the bride away to her husband.

Marriage isn't always a religious affair.
But ceremonies without religious rites are
usually very simple. The Eskimos, some
tribes of American Indians, some African
tribes, and some South Sea island peoples
simply have the two set up housekeeping
together and inform the community that
they are married. Navahos have the young
couple eat some maize pudding from the
same bowl — this first-sharing symbolizes the
union and is, in effect, the marriage.

But in many places, the approval of the
community alone isn't enough, and the
protection of the gods is sought. Injecting
rites of religious significance into the
marriage ceremony has served to stabilize
the community by binding people to their
customs, particularly when religion is the
guardian of morals and ethics. And these
rites of magic and religion designed to protect
the new union — seen by many peoples as a
delicate relationship that must surmount
many dangers to succeed — constitute many
of the complex and colorful customs asso-
ciated with weddings.

MARRIAGE CODES

All societies have codes either written
or unwritten, designed to establish what is
lawful marriage and what isn't. People of
civilized nations almost always contract
marriage by religious ceremonies, but this
doesn't necessarily mean that ecclesiastical
sanction is or was required. There are
many cultures where weddings are lawful
without much attention to the gods or
their earthly representatives. Buddhist
monks look on marriage as a sort of con-
cession to human frailty; so in some Buddhist
countries weddings are civil contracts. In
China the bridal pair goes to the ancestral
hall in the groom's home to prostrate them-
selves before the altar where ancestral tablets
are arranged and ask the blessing of their
forebears. Among the Hebrews, marriage
was a religious contract, but there is no
mention in either the Scriptures or the
Talmud of priestly consecration being re-
quired at marriages. Mohammedan wed-
dings are simple civil contracts, but they
are concluded with a prayer to Allah.

Some of the very ancient civilizations of
Europe (especially that of the primitive
Teutons) and the Middle East (Egypt,
Persia, and India), as well as Greece and
Rome in their early stages, wouldn't recog-
nize a couple as lawfully married unless a
priest officiated and the ceremony was
religious. But later on, as indifference to
the old faith increased, in Greece and Rome
particularly, religious rites in marriage were
regarded as of le.ss importance. Christianity
revived the religious character of marriage,
although marriage was considered lawful
without ecclesiastical benediction Until the
year 1563 when the Council of Trent made
it a religious ceremony. This lasted until

the French Revolution, when civil cere-
monies were once again considered lawful.
Since then, civil marriage has been accepted
in most European countries, as liberty of
conscience has advanced.

OMENS AND SYMBOLS

Among many people it's very important
to choose the right day to be married.
Today's American bride is concerned mainly
about the weather, if anything, but in Siam
the parents of the couple see a fortune-teller
to learn whether the young couple's birth-
dates will permit them to live happily as
husband and wife. If the horoscope says
no, they can't marry and that's that. In
India and among the Mongols and some
Turkish nations the same thing holds true
for other kinds of omens, which are very
carefully prescribed and observed.

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MENANGKABAU BRIDE AND GROOM
Here is our cover girl with her groom. His wed-
ding garments are as elaborate as hers. The kris
tucked in his belt is the traditional fighting knife of
the Malay. These life-size models are exhibited
in the Sumatran collection (Hall G).

The same sort of faith and superstition
that takes cognizance of omens has led
people to the use of certain types of symbols
in marriage rites, also with the protection
of the union in mind. Symbols used in
wedding ceremonies are concerned with sex
and gestation, domestic equanimity, eco-
nomic welfare, and the social ties set up
between the groups involved in the marriage.
The symbolism found in modern American
wedding customs is very similar in purpose
to the symbols used by other peoples
throughout history, although we go through
the motions of these customs without hav-
ing the same vital reasons for them that
our ancestors originally did and have largely
forgotten their intended purposes.

It's at the really fancy modern weddings
that most of this symbolism comes out. If
our modern bride is young and being married
for the first time, she wears a white gown,
the symbol of purity. The concept that

requires the bride to be innocent and un-
touched is widespread but by no means
worldwide. In parts of southeast Asia and
China white is associated with mourning
and funerals and would be considered very
out of place at a wedding; so there the rule
is one's brightest and most colorful finery,
emphasizing colors that stand for good luck.

Our bride's face is covered by a veil that
is lifted only after the religious vows have
been taken. This is similar to the custom
still found in the Middle East, where only
a woman's husband may see her face and
she must ever go veiled before other men.
In parts of India and southeast Asia,
marriages were contracted by the parents
and it frequently happened that the two
young people had never seen each other
before their marriage. When the bride
lifted her veil after the couple was lawfully
and forever wedded, the groom saw his
mate for the first time.

Our modern bride is followed by attend-
ants, among them a little flower girl and a
small boy ring-bearer. Children were used
in weddings originally in the belief that their
presence would make the marriage produc-
tive— they are an ancient symbol of fertility.
Although symbolism usually involves the
use of an object (such as grain) to stand for
a concept (such as prosperity), once in a
while the real thing becomes the symbol,
as when the presence of a child is credited
with magic powers to produce progeny.

CUSTOMS ARE SIMILAR

Once our American couple is at the altar,
something occurs that is remarkably the
same wherever priests, ministers, or religious
representatives function in the marriage
ceremony. There is a statement of the
duties of the mates in marriage and the
bride and groom must promise to fulfill
these duties. Among the Fiji Islanders,
the priest invokes the protection of the gods
and then instructs the pair to "love, honor,
and obey each other, be faithful to each
other, and die with each other" — sounds
like our vows, doesn't it? In our ceremony,
as in others wherever religious rites are part
of the marriage, the priest closes with a
prayer for the protection of the marriage.

The new bond created by the marriage
is represented by some symbol almost
everywhere. In our culture a wedding band
goes on the woman's finger — a sign to all
men that this female is married. Lately,
it has become quite common for our women
to put wedding rings on their husbands, too.
The Veddahs of Ceylon used a variation
with the same significance. The bride ties
a thin cord of her own making around her
groom's waist, and he wears it all his life.
In the Hindu ceremony, bride and groom
have their hands bound together with grass
(but not for life). The Gonds and Korkins
of India make the bond indisputably known
by tying together the garments of the bride
and groom, whereupon they must dance

June, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

together around a pole. Then they must
subject themselves to being doused to-
gether in water, and finally they exchange
rings. Another way to symbolize the bond
occurs in the customs of all Indo-European
people^joining the hands of the bridal pair.
Sometimes this simple symbolizing of the
new bond takes on very specialized forms,
as in Malacca, where the groom's right
hand takes the little finger of his bride's
left hand.

In some places social custom causes the
difference between a married and an un-
married woman to be made very plain by
marking the married woman in a way that
is easier to see than a wedding band. In
parts of India both bride and groom are
marked with each other's blood, which may
have led to the more refined and widespread
custom of marking the bride with red lead.
The Parhayas of India use a red powder
called sindur — the groom seals the marriage
by putting a dab of this powder on his
bride's forehead. An old custom among
Polish Jews was the shaving of the girl's
head when she married. While still a
maiden, the girl wore long, shining tresses,
but once married, all the world would know
she was a matron, for her head remained
shaven the rest of her life.

THE FESTIVE IDEA

When the marriage rites of our modern
bride are completed in the church, the
whole wedding party proceeds to the wed-
ding feast. This sharing of food and drink
can be traced way back and it's the most
widespread of all wedding customs. As we
have seen, sharing of food between the
bride and groom was one of the first customs
to become part of marriage rites, and among
the simplest cultures it is sometimes the
only ceremony they have. In some Brazilian
tribes, the bridal pair drink brandy to-
gether. In Japan, bride and groom drink
a specified number of cups of wine. Scandi-
navians and Russians used to have the pair
share a single beaker's contents.

When the feast is over, our bride and
groom try to slip away unobserved to start
their honeymoon. But as they leave they
are showered with a barrage of rice. This
old, old custom symbolizes fertility and is
a way of wishing the couple prosperity in
all things. Grain played such an important
part in early civilizations, when the welfare
of the whole community depended on
bountiful harvests and many children, that
it was a natural symbol to use in wishing
the marriage success. Wheat or rice or
other grains figure in marriage customs
almost everywhere. In some places grain
is sprinkled around the nuptial bed.

The feast ends the modern American
wedding, unless there is to be a good, old-
fashioned "shivaree" or unless some addi-
tional special ethnic customs of the Old
World are observed. But elsewhere in the
world, following the wedding ceremony

proper, feasting and celebrating, or fasting
and solemn rites, depending on what's
deemed most propitious, may go on for
days or weeks to insure the success of the
new union.

Books

(All books reviewed in the Bulletin are
available in The Book Shop of the Mtiseum.
Mail orders accompanied by remittance in-
cluding postage are promptly fiU^d-)

CROCODILE HUNTING IN CENTRAL
AMERICA. By Kari P. Schmidt. Chi-
cago Natural History Museum Press,
Popular Series, Zoology No. 15, March,
1952. 23 pages, 10 halftones. Price
$0.25 (plus 4 cents postage on mail orders).

Crocodile-Hunting in Central America is
the latest addition to the Museum's Popular
Series (Zoology, No. 15). The booklet, by
Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zoology,
tells the story of an expedition he led in
British Honduras and Honduras to collect
the specimens which now form the large
habitat group of American crocodiles in
Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18).

Mr. Schmidt was accompanied on the
expedition by Staff Taxidermist Leon L.
Walters. The expedition was not without
excitement. Mr. Schmidt on one occasion
engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with
a medium-sized but extremely vigorous
crocodile, and this specimen, when examined
proved to be a "lost species." This species,
Morelet's crocodile or the Belize crocodile,
had first been described by a French traveler
seventy years before, but had been so long
lacking from collections since that time that
its continued existence had been doubted in
scientific circles.

The author tells the story of the expedi-
tion, describes Lake Ticamaya in Honduras
with its large crocodile population, and
explains how the hunting of crocodiles is
done, in the face of hazards. Small dugout
canoe.s were used, and the weapons were
harpoons, ropes, pistols, and bare hands.
Mr. Schmidt also outlines the steps in
preparation of the Museum exhibit from
the making of plaster molds of specimens
at the time of collecting in the field through
the involved processes of the plastic repro-
duction method of taxidermy (invented by
Mr. Walters).

Lectures by Botanist

Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of
the Herbarium, recently addressed the Con-
servation Council on "Observations on Some
Conservation Practices in Latin America."
He also lectured on "Conservation of Wild
Flowers" before the Maywood Garden Club
and the Men's Garden Club of Winnetka.

GIANT SNAPPING TURTLE
FROM LOUISIANA

Although almost everyone has heard of
the common snapping turtle, few know that
this reptile has a formidable southern cousin
rating as one of the giant fresh-water turtles
of the entire world. This cousin, the alligator
snapper of the Gulf and lower Mississippi
drainages, is twice as big as an ordinary
snapper. Chicago Natural History Museum
has long wanted to place on exhibition a
fine large specimen of the alligator snapper,
which reaches a maximum weight of about
200 pounds according to the books. Actu-
ally, specimens of that size are exceedingly

MONSTER FROM THE BAYOUS

One hundred and seventeen pounds of a very much

alive alligator snapping turtle require careful han*

dling from Taxidermist Ronald J. Lambert.

rare, and much of their weight may be the
result of overfeeding and underexercising
captives.

After vain efforts of many years, the Mu-
seum has at last received from F. L. Cail-
louet, wholesale shipper of Thibodaux,
Louisiana, an alligator snapping turtle in
prime condition (unfattened) that tips the
scales at 117 pounds and has a shell 27
inches in (greatest) length. The three high
ridges of the carapace are beautifully
sculptured and there are about twenty
growth rings on each plate. This young
specimen is in every way suited for ex-
hibition. — C.H.P.

Navy Consults Museum Library

The Library of the Museum was consulted
last month in the course of a project to
uncover source material on oceanography
required by the United States Navy. The
survey of material available here was made
by E. S. McKay, oceanographer of the U. S.
Navy Hydrographic Office, Division of
Oceanography.

Coming in July: A special exhibit of
Mexican antiquities in Stanley Field Hall.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 195t

AN EXTINCT BIRD IS ADDED
TO STUDY COLLECTION

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CUKATOR OF BIRDS

IT'S NOT EVERY DAY that we add
another species of extinct bird to our
collection. But we did one day in April.
Not through an expedition, not through
long correspondence, local collection, or
exchange, but by accident we found a
specimen sitting on a shelf, overlooked, in
a comer of a Museum workshop.

It's a specimen of the huia, from New
Zealand, one of about three species of
wattled starling-like birds that comprise
a family, Callaeidae, restricted to New
Zealand. Recently I'd made a hurried review

SURPRISE ACQUISITION
Dr. Austin L. Raod with a fine specimen of the
extinct huia found unexpectedly in the Museum.

of the family and found that we had two
of the species but that the huia was missing
from our collections and that it was extinct.
I resigned myself to the thought that prob-
ably we'd never get one of them. Then,
on this April morning, while seeing to a
bird exhibit, I noticed, standing in a dark
comer with some miscellaneous material
awaiting preparation for exhibition, a dark,
pigeon-sized bird with a long, curved bill
and an orange mantle at the comers of its
mouth. It could only be a huia.

I got it down. It was a well-mounted
bird on a polished mahogany stand of the
type so popular years ago, with a Ward's
Natural History Establishment label on
it that bore the correct scientific name,
Heteralocha acutirogtris. Presumably it was
among the first birds the Museum received.
Probably it was exhibited for a time and
then, put aside to be incorporated into our
collection, forgotten. Now it goes into our
study collection, where under its family
and species name it will remain filed, readily
available for comparison and study.

Not only is the huia interesting as com-
pleting our representation of an obscure
family from the antipodes, but it has unique
features also. The male and the female have

different types of bills — the male a straight
bill some 2^ inches long, the female a
curved bill some 4 inches long (our bird is
a female). These birds were insect eaters,
specializing in wood-boring grubs. But the
two sexes go about getting them in different
ways suited to their differently shaped
bills. The male, with his straight short
bill digs into rotten wood for the grubs
burrowing there. The female probes into
existing cracks and crannies for them. Sir
Walter Lawry Buller, writing of a pair he
had captive, says that one day a male
excavating a grub foimd the wood too hard
to excavate sufficiently to reach his prey.
The female, investigating, was able to reach
in with her slender bill and get it. This
looks like co-operation, but Buller writes
that the female ate all of the grub secured
by the combined efforts of the pair.

The finding of a rarity, long overlooked,
in an obscure corner of a museum, is not
without precedent. It doesn't happen often,
or it wouldn't be a rarity. Also, it happens
less and less often because museums have
fewer and fewer obscure comers — they try
to utilize space to the full. But sometimes,
with a decision postponed, a change put off,
or work delayed, something may be put
aside for a time that lengthens considerably.
The best known case of such a rediscovery
is that of Dr. J. P. Chapin of the American
Museum of Natural History in New York.
While working in the Congo Museum at
Tervueren in 1936 he found a mounted pair
of strange gallinaceous birds sitting on a
cabinet in a corridor. They had come to the
museum in 1914. They turned out to repre-
sent an undescribed genus and species of
African bird — the Congo peacock that
Chapin later named. Truly, the omitholo-
glst's material is where he finds it.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lectitfe tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Simdays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

Summer Programs for Children

The summer series of free entertainments
for children, presented annually by the
Raymond Foundation, will begin on Thurs-
day, July 10, and continue for six successive
Thursdays, including August 14. Informa-
tion about the programs, which usually are
motion pictures but sometimes include other
features, will be in the July Bulletin.
Two performances of each program will be
given, at 10 a.m. and 11 A.M., in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Botany :

From: Dr. Henry Field, Washington, D.C.
—11 fungi, Florida; E. P. Killip, Big Pine
Key, Fla. — 143 phanerogams, Florida; Dr.
Earl E. Sherff, Chicago— 142 prints and
negatives of phanerogams

Department of Geolo^:

From: W. F. Kohler, Seattle— a slab of
fossil foliage (Metaseqitoia oceidentalis
Chaney), Cook Inlet, Alaska

Department of Zoology:

From: Arctic Health Research Center,
Anchorage, Alaska — two wolf skulls, Alaska;
Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. —
a bird skin (rhea); Dr. B. E. Dahlgren,
Chicago — 36 bats, Cuba; D. Dwight Davis
and Robert F. Inger, Chicago — 4 lizards
and a snake, Texas; Dr. Henry Field,
Washington, D.C. — 153 insects and their
allies, 57 snakes, and 4 gars, Iraq, Iran,
and Florida; General Biological Supply
House, Chicago — a catfish, Uganda; Harry
Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 1,384 insects and
their allies, North Africa and Yemen; Ruth
Johnson, Chicago — a salamander, Missouri;
Dr. James Kezer, Columbia, Mo. — 54 sala-
manders and a frog. United States; David
Kistner, Chicago — 2 insect paratypes. New
Jersey; Peter Letang, Chicago — a block of
reef coral, Florida; R. Earl Olson, Rock-
ford, 111. — 3 snakes, Illinois and Minnesota

Henry F. Ditzel, 1880-1952

Henry F. Ditzel, who served as Registrar
of the Museum for more than thirty-eight
years, died May 21 at the home of one of his
daughters, Mrs. Dorothy Ditzel Allen, in
Oak Park, Illinois. News of his passing was
received with regret at the Museum, where
many of his associates are still members of
the staff. Mr. Ditzel was in his seventy-
second year. He joined the staff of the
Museum in 1905 and retired on pension in
1944. He was responsible for maintaining
important record systems of the institution
and served as an aide to all the Directors
the Museum has had, beginning with the
first. Dr. Frederick J. V. Skiff.

Paleontologist in Austria

Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Repriles, left for Europe recently. He will
investigate an alpine formation of Triassic
age (about 190 million years old) in western
Austria to determine its content of verte-
brate fossils.

Austrian Educator Visits Museum

Dr. Ferdinand Eckhardt, of Vienna, chief
of education for the Kunsthistorisches Mu-
seum and other Austrian state art collec-
tions, visited Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum on May 1. He was entertained by
members of the staff.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

PageZ

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893
Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Marshall Field Ft>s( Vice-President

Henry P. Isham Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar AssistarU Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CurrORD C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Thbodob 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

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

MEN WERE ELECTED, BUT
ONLY WOMEN VOTED

THERE WAS A TIME when a large
segment of the American female popula-
tion controlled the politics of its territory.
Long before women of Western cultures
began fighting for suffrage, the Iroquois
Indians had an electoral system that enabled
women to run things in the Eastern Wood-
lands.

Some men will yawn at this, having con-
tended grudgingly that women took over
and began running everything long ago.
But most males will agree that politics is
still predominantly a man's realm. Cer-
tainly at the forthcoming Republican and
Democratic national conventions, women
delegates will still be heavily outnumbered
by the men. Nevertheless, of course, in
choosing a candidate the men will have to
consider the huge vote of the women in the
November election.

WOMEN HAD THE SAY

Among the Iroquois Indians, however,
the choosing of candidates for chieftains was
done entirely by the women. The Iroquois
in the United States now number only in
the hundreds, living mostly on reservations
in New York state, and the old tribal
organization is no longer maintained. But
until the American Revolution, although

chiefs were chosen from among the men,
the women's influence was so strong that
the tribal councils could be said to consist of
the women's representatives.

Fifty great peace chiefs made up a council
representing all the Iroquois tribes and clans,
and these were vested for their lifetimes with
supreme executive, legislative, and judicial
authority. Each tribe had within it a few
particularly select and privileged households
that held the hereditary right to elect chiefs
to represent the tribe. Iroquois women,
not men, owned the houses and property,
passed their names on to the children, and
elected the chiefs.

When a vacancy on the council was to
be filled, the household's chief matron con-
sulted with a few older women of the house
to select a candidate from among her sons
and grandsons. The Iroquois long-houses
contained many people, each family unit
maintaining its own "apartment" within
the house, but because descent was counted
through the female line, husbands were
looked upon more as boarders than as part
of the family, and the power was in the
hands of the wives, mothers, sisters, and
daughters.

REGENT SOMETIMES A WOMAN

After a candidate was nominated, the
chief matron called a council meeting of all
the women of child-bearing age in the house
and invited clanswomen from other house-
holds, too. If the choice was ratified, the
new chief dropped his own name and took
the name of the deceased chief, which was
also the hereditary title of the office. If
an infant was elected, which sometimes
happened since close relatives were pre-
ferred to more distant ones, a regent dis-
charged his duties until he matured, and
this regent was sometimes a woman.

If a chief lost the respect and confidence
of his constituents, the chief matron of
his household, after warning him twice,
could have him impeached in the same way
he was elected. So since both impeachment
and nominating powers were vested exclu-
sively in the women, they wielded powerful
control even though they did not them-
selves actually hold the chieftainships.
However, there was a special class of lesser
chiefs called "pine-tree chiefs" similarly
nominated and elected, who served as
advisers to the chiefs. Held for life, though
not hereditary, these influential offices could
be and were occasionally taken by women.

An exhibit in Mary D. Sturges Hall
(Hall 5) illustrates the Iroquois matrilineal
system, which was largely responsible for
the women's control of the electoral system
of the Iroquois.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Rapture, excitement, delight,
fascination, amusement, com-
plete absorption, and as many
other responses as there are faces
show up in an audience of children
at Museum movies. The films are
not galloping and shooting west-
erns; natural-history films prove
just as appealing. Every spring,
summer, and autumn the Mu-
seum plays host to thousands of
children at series of free programs
in the James Simpson Theatre.
This summer's schedule of pro-
grams at 10 and 11 o'clock on six
successive Thursday mornings be-
ginning with July 10 will be found
on page 8. This time there's even
one cowboy program — real cow-
boys at work on a real ranch, with
plenty of riding but no shooting.

MUSEUM SERVES AS HAVEN
TO CHILDREN IN SUMMER

Chicago schools closed on June 27.
Parents seeking safe, cool, and entertaining
havens in which to leave their children for
a day or part of a day during the long
summer vacation are reminded that the
provision of such a place is one of the
community services rendered by the Mu-
seum. It is open every day from 9 A.M.
to 6 P.M. and admission is always free to
children.

The Museum welcomes all visitors,
children and adults alike, at all times. In
issuing the special invitation to children.
Director Clifford C. Gregg stresses, however,
that the Museum is not offering to take small
children under its wing on a day-nursery
basis, as some parents have occasionally
interpreted similar summer-vacation invita-
tions in past years.

Difficult Assignment

A researcher for a television producer
recently called the Museum and said:

"We have a spot on our program we would
like to devote to Museum material. We
would like a speaker to tell, and demonstrate
with graphic material, the story of the
origin and development of the earth, and
also the origin and development of man."

"That would cover a span of one to three
billion years. How much time would we
be allotted on the program?" the Museum
representative asked.

Answer: "Two minutes."

To him who in the love of Nature holds
Communion vrith her visible forms, she

speaks
A variotts language. — BRYANT

The Lamaist religion, a form of Buddhism
introduced into Tibet from India, is illus-
trated in Hall 32 by images, paintings,
sculptures, musical instruments, and other
objects used in Lama temples.

July, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

ANCIENT MEXICAN ART IN SPECIAL EXHIBIT DURING JULY

The arts and archaeology of ancient
Mexico are the subject of a special exhibit
to be on view in Stanley Field Hall from
July 1 through July 31. The Museum's
recent acquisition of an important collection
of antiquities by exchange with the National
Museum of Mexico has aroused such interest
that some of the outstanding pieces have
been selected for display.

This exhibit contains examples of pre-
Columbian sculpture, ceramics, and lapidary
art, including jade work, ranging in age from
the Archaic period of 1000 B.C. to the Aztec
period at the time of the Spanish conquest
in the 16th century. In addition, unusual
tobacco pipes of clay and sharp razor-like
blades cut from green obsidian are being
shown. These artifacts are significant for
their aesthetic qualities as well as for what
they can tell us of the lives of the ancient
Mexicans.

KEY TO ILLUSTRATIONS

The clay mask (top left), about 1,450 years
old, is from Tcotihuacan. The Mixtec pot-
tery vase (lower left), found in Oaxaca, was
made about A.D. 1400. The **two-faced wo'
tnan*^ (top right) was once part of a clay
figurine made about 1000 B.C. at Tlatilco.
The tripod vase with birds for supports (lower
right), made about A.D. 500, is from Colima.

STUDIES OF SALAMANDERS
UNDER WAY IN MEXICO

What is described as the world's richest
field for herpetologists is being combed
again by Clifford H. Pope, Curator of
Amphibians and Reptiles. Curator Pope
left June 16 for a region on the eastern edge
of the Mexican highlands where he will
continue studies and collecting of sala-
manders begun on a similar expedition last
year.

Approximately 300 kinds of salamanders
are known, and they are found chiefly in
moist forested regions of Japan and China,
the United States, and Central America.
They are often mistaken for lizards. "Sala-
manders found in the United States became
separated from those of Mexico tens of
thousands of years ago by the big stretch
of desert between the two countries, and
the present Museum project offers oppor-
tunity to study the speciation that was
caused by this isolation," Curator Pope
said in explaining the objectives of his
field work.

"The region we are going to is particularly
good for studies of ecology and distribution
of species because it's located where tropical
jungle meets temperate mountain forests.
There are deep canyons where salamander
species have been isolated so long that they

are different in structure and habits from
those found a few miles away. With the
many different altitudes and climates we
find a corresponding variety of species.

"This Mexican field is new, discovered
only a few years ago, and it has been found
to have a larger snake and salamander
population than any other part of the world.
It is very unusual for a field so rich in
vertebrate fauna to be discovered at so
late a stage in scientific exploration."

Insect-Hunter Returns

Henry S. Dybas, Associate Curator of
the Division of Insects, recently returned
from a six-week collecting trip to the
Southwest and to the West Coast, where
he was a guest at the Ralston White Natural
History Reservation of the California
Academy of Sciences. The purpose of the
trip was to collect certain groups of small
insects that, because of their small size, are
poorly represented in museum collections.

Botanist from Honduras

Dr. Louis O. Williams, botanist at the
Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Teguci-
galpa, Honduras, recently visited the
phanerogamic herbarium of this Museum.
Dr. Williams is an authority on Mexican
and Central American orchids.

HIGH FASHION IN CHINA
UNDER THE MANCHUS

A life-size mannequin of a typical Manchu
lady dressed in robes befitting her estate,
with characteristic coiffure and adornments,
is included in the Museum's exhibit of gar-
ments worn by Chinese royalty and nobility
in the 18th century. The shoes in the figure
are high-heeled in a fashion that outdoes
the most fantastic PVench heel or platform-
sole creations, for the heels are in the
middle of the shoe sole and the wearer had
to balance herself as though on stilts.
Nevertheless the Manchu women are said
to have developed a graceful walk. Beneath
the slit dress of this costume are pantaloons
that end with ornate garters at the ankles.
Such foibles as rouge, lipstick, and powder
were used by Chinese women for thousands
of years, and the "compact" and "vanity
case" of the modern girl are believed orig-
inally to have been Chinese inventions.

Survival of the Fittest

The survival of the fittest is the ageless
law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the
strong. The fittest are those endowed with
the qualifications for adaptation, the ability
to accept the inevitable and conform to the
unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or
changing conditions. — Dan E. Smalley

PageJt

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1952

HOW OLD ARE FOSSILS? ROCKS REVEAL SECRETS

By EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.

CURATOR OF F08SU. INVERTEBRATES

ASTRONOMERS, GEOLOGISTS, and
the U. S. Congress share a preoccupa-
tion with larger numbers than the average
man has occasion to worry about and should
be prepared to explain why their numbers
have to be so big. Some time ago, the
Museum published a popular handbook
under the title, How Old Are Fossils, by

up to ground level: Channahon limestone,
Kankakee limestone, Rockdale dolomite,
Joliet dolomite, Bellwood dolomite, Racine
dolomite. Port Byron dolomite. The fossils
in each bed are somewhat different from
their relatives above and below, indicating
the evolutionary changes during the forming
of the rocks.

However, a rough separation between the
two limestones at the bottom and the five

CHICAGOANS OF 365 MILLION YEARS AGO
The scene is not 3 flood after a heavy March rain. At the time reproduced in this habitat group in the

Halt

of Invertebrate Fossils (Hall 37) the land on which Chicago is now built had not yet risen from the sea. In
fact, the bedrock beneath the city was still being formed by tiny grains of limy mud settling to the bottom of
a shallow sea where the animal life shown here — cephalapods, cystoids, trilobites, and other creatures — lived

in reef'like communities.

Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of Geology,
explaining how geologists determine ages of
millions of years for the earth's extinct
plants and animals. Astronomers frequently
publish clear accounts for the layman, show-
ing why they have to work with billions of
miles. And Congress —

But let us return to the fossils. Un-
fortunately, Dr. Roy's booklet is out of
print; it will some day be revised with
reference to the fossil exhibits in Frederick
J. V. Skiff Hall (Hall 37) and Ernest R.
Graham Hall (Hall 38) that are new since
it was written. In the meantime it may not
be amiss to anticipate some of its informa-
tion for our readers.

Since the earliest scientific study of fossils,
it has been abundantly shown that the fossils
in successive beds of sedimentary rocks are
different from those in higher or lower layers
but similar to those in matching beds even
some distance away. At any one place, the
sedimentary record is incomplete. For ex-
ample, in northeastern Illinois, the succes-
sion of formations runs, as seen in part in
the wall of a quarry, going from the floor

dolomites above indicates that soma beds
are missing and that the story is incomplete.
Therefore we search elsewhere for beds of
the missing age and find in a dolomite in
eastern Wisconsin some fossils similar to
those in the Rockdale dolomite, with beds
called Hendricks dolomite, Byron dolomite,
and Mayville dolomite beneath. Looking
further, we find in the northern peninsula
of Michigan not only these three new beds
of dolomite but also, lying smoothly beneath
them, a bed called the Manitoulin dolomite,
whose fossils show that it is of the same
age as the Kankakee limestone here at home.
Thus, in a roundabout way, the complete
geologic record is unraveled and the succes-
sion of fossils made known. But though we
can call all of these fossils "Silurian" in age
and though we know their relative order
within the Silurian period, we still haven't
found out how old they are in years.

An exhibit in Hall 37 (Fossil Plants and
Invertebrates) placed in duplicate at each
end of the hall gives the calendar of geologic
periods, with their duration in years. The
Quaternarj' period began 1,000,000 years

ago; the Tertiary period began 60,000,000
years ago; the Cretaceous period began
140,000,000 years ago . . . the imposing dates
roll back through fantastic stretches of time
to the beginning of the earth itself, estimated
at one to three billion years ago.

How is this possible? How can time have
endured so long? How do you know?
Naturally, such estimates shock some
visitors, and of course some won't believe
them.

RADIOACTIVITY GIVES ANSWER

In the geologic calendar exhibit there is
space for only a brief explanation:

"Radioactive elements occur in the
minerals of many rocks. The disintegration
of their atoms, unaffected by heat, pressure,
or any other conditions, produces atoms of
lead. Chemists, knowing the rate of atomic
decay and measuring the relative amounts
of the lead and the parent element, have
determined the age in years of rocks in
many parts of the world. The age of other
rocks is estimated from their geological
relation with those of known age."

The determination of geologic age is one
of the by-products of the investigation of
the properties of radioactivity. Since the
discovery of the phenomenon in 1896, many
chemists and physicists have examined it in
pursuing "pure science." As a result,
geologists and paleontologists have acquired
a wealth of information on which to draw.
This is periodically summarized and made
available by a Committee on the Age of
the Earth, appointed by the National Re-
search Council, and, indeed, certain rock
analyses are now made for the express
purpose of providing geologic age data.
It is a complicated process: several different
varieties of radioactive elements commonly
occur together, disintegrating at different
rates to form helium and different kinds of
lead; the amounts of the elements present
in a sample of mineral or rock are exceed-
ingly minute; lead or uranium may have
been added to or subtracted from the sample
by underground water during the geologic
past.

From time to time, with the refinement of
technique, there have been many revisions
of these results, each revision bringing us an
enlarged estimate of the length of geologic
time. But now it appears that the technique
has about caught up with the intricacies of
the problem and that future revisions will
be minor.

DATING OF FOSSILS

The best age determinations now rest on
analyses of mineral crystals contained in
certain coarse-grained igneous rocks. How,
then, can the age of fossils be estimated?
Fossils, of course, are found almost exclu-
sively in sedimentary rocks.

Sedimentary rocks are those formed by
the settling of countless individual grains or

July, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

particles upon a pre-existing surface. If that
surface happens to be composed of a dated
igneous rock, we can say only that the
sedimentary rock is younger. And if the
igneous rock is one that at some time in
the past has penetrated a crack in a sedi-
mentary one and there solidified, we can say
that the sedimentary rock is older. If, then,
a sample can be taken from an igneous body
that cuts a sedimentary layer and is in turn
overlain by another sedimentary layer, and
if those layers contain fossils not widely
separated in the known sequence of relative
age, a date becomes available for transfer to
the calendar of geologic periods.

At present, only a few points in the geo-
logic time scale have been so neatly pin-
pointed, but those, combined with many
radioactive dates quoted as "earlier than"
or "later than" some point in the procession,
have enabled us to record dates on the ex-
hibits of fossils. While these dates may be
subject to some revision as further informa-
tion becomes available, the amount of
change is not likely to be appreciable.

FOSSIL COLLECTORS BACK
FROM TEXAS FIELD

The 1952 Texas Paleontological Expedi-
tion, continuing a collecting project that has
been under way during two previous years,
has returned to the Museum. The collectors.
Chief Preparator Orville L. Gilpin and Pre-
parator William D. TurnbuU, brought back
material that is expected to yield further
specimens of several extinct orders of primi-
tive mammals for addition to the collections
obtained earlier.

This project had its origin in the fortunate
discovery in 1949 near Forestburg in north-
ern Texas of mammalian remains of Early
Cretaceous age (about 125 million years ago)
by Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, and Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator
of Fossil Reptiles. Collecting was under-
taken in both 1950 and 1951 by Bryan
Patterson, Curator of Fos.sil Mammals, who
is studying and describing the mammalian
remains.

The significance of this discovery becomes
apparent when it is realized that in all the
world only some half-dozen mammals of
Early Cretaceous age had previously been
found. Now, after intensive field and
laboratory work in 1950 and 1951, the
Museum may well be proud of a collection
of more than 125 pieces of remains of tiny
mammals from this Texas deposit. The
specimens consist primarily of teeth, micro-
scopic in size, many of which are frag-
mentary. In addition to the mammals,
remains of turtles, dinosaurs, crocodiles,
frogs, and fishes occur.

At least four mammalian orders are repre-
sented. The most abundant among these
are triconodonts and multituberculates, ex-
tinct primitive mammals of small size only
distantly related to modern mammalian

forms. Of greater importance, however,
because they are more closely allied to most
groups of later mammals, are the much rarer
symmetrodonts and the representatives of
a new order of mammals, as yet unnamed,
related to the pantotheres. Thus, in terms
of understanding early mammalian evolu-
tion, the value of the Museum's remarkable
collection cannot be overestimated.

This year's collecting trip to Forestburg,
like those of the previous years, was carried
on in co-operation with Texas Memorial
Museum. Chief Preparator Gilpin and
Preparator Turnbull spent six weeks in the
field and about one week in reconnaissance
work in the eastern extension of the same
Early Cretaceous formation in Oklahoma
and Arkansas, but no promising areas were
discovered there.

A somewhat unusual method has proved
successful in these loosely consolidated sands.
The "bone level" is dug out and separated
from the remaining sediments; it is then
washed through sieves to concentrate the
fragments of bone, teeth, and fish scales.
The washing process involves two steps.
The first is the field operation that serves
to eliminate nearly all of the sand and clay
(a ton of the original matrix is reduced to
about 90 pounds of "bony" concentrate).
The 1952 collection yielded 1,750 pounds of
concentrate. Back in the laboratory the
concentrate is washed again thoroughly so
that great quantities of extremely "clean"
residue can be examined microscopically
to sort the fossil remains.

The machine in which this final washing
is accomplished was especially built for this
purpose by Preparator Stanley Kuczek.
A slow-speed motor causes a series of con-
centric sieves to revolve so gently through
a water-bath that the delicate fossils are
never damaged by the tumble action.

Rare Volumes on Butterflies
Acquired by tiie Library

The Library of the Museum recently re-
ceived as a gift, from Cyril F. dos Passos,
of Mendham, New Jersey, a copy of the
rare second edition of Eugenius .lohann
Christoph Esper's comprehensive illus-
trated publication on European butterflies
and moths entitled Die Schmetterlinge in
Abbildungen nach der Natur mil Beschrei-
bungen. This edition, consisting of six
quarto volumes with 441 hand-colored
plates, was issued with supplements by
Toussaint von Charpentier in the period
1929-39.

Columbus Newsboys Visit Museum

A group of 352 carrier boys from Co-
lumbus, Ohio, was brought to the Museum
recently under the auspices of their news-
paper, the Citizen.

NEW TURTLE EXHIBITS

The exhibit of the amphibians and reptiles
of the Chicago area was completed last
month by the addition of the screen of
local turtles to Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall
18 — amphibian and reptile section).

Lack of space made it impo.s.sible to put
the turtle screen with the rest of the Chicago
area exhibits, but it is placed nearby al-
though on the opposite side of the hall. The
March, 1950, Bulletin has a full account
of this exhibit of local species, including a
description of the special techniques used
in making most of the models as well as
in making the segments of the natural sur-
roundings on which each one stands.

Typical turtles from various parts of the
world are shown on the other side of the
screen of local turtles. The screens are
prepared in the new manner with painted
background and raised letters.

STAFF NOTES

Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of
Zoology, will represent the Museum on the
American Committee for International Wild-
life Protection, a post that was formerly
held by Stanley Field, President of the
Museum .... Dr. Alexander Spoehr,
Curator of Oceanic Ethnology, recently
attended a two-week international sym-
posium on anthropology held in New York
under the sponsorship of the Wenner-Gren
Foundation, where he served as chairman
of one session .... Clifford H. Pope,
Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, was
recently interviewed by Tony Weitzel,
"Town Crier" columnist of the Chicago
Daily News, and Mrs. (Dorothy) Weitzel on
their radio program over station WMAQ
.... Pictures in which Miss Nancy Wor-
sham, Raymond Foundation guide-lecturer.
Miss Lilly Liu Ho, of the Department of
Botany, and Miss Christine Tardy, As-
sistant in Public Relations, posed as brides
in exotic costumes from the Museum's
anthropological collections were shown on
Chuck Acree's WNBQ television program
in a June feature on wedding customs.

Several Museum halls are devoted to
plant economics.

Technical Publications

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

Fieldiana: Botany, Vol. 24, Part III. Flora
of Guatemala. By Paul C. Standley and
Julian A. Steyermark. April 25, 1952.
432 pages. $4.50

Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 37, No. 2.
Bibliography of African Anthropology,
1 937-1 9i9. Supplement to Source Book of
African Anthropology, 1937. By Wilfrid
D. Hambly. 142 pages. $1.50

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1952

The Bird Page

SOCIAL PARASITES
AMONG BIRDS

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OP BIRDS

THE MOTHER who would leave her
infant on a stranger's doorstep to be
brought up an orphan, never to know its
own parents, is a despicable character in
human society. But when we leave man-
made society we must leave man-made rules
of behavior and man-made prejudices be-
hind. Morals are human. The rest of the
animal world is not immoral; it is amoral.
It cannot afford criteria beyond survival
and reproduction. So when we call certain
birds "social parasites," we attach no stigma
to them. They represent several groups:
the cowbirds; the weavers; the cuckoos; the
honey guides; and the ducks.

Carelessness in egg-laying is common even
in birds that ordinarily lay their eggs in
their own nests and care for them them-
selves. This accounts for the robins' eggs
that you may find on your lawn (which of
course are wasted, addling and rotting).
Perhaps the fate of the eggs of pheasants
and ruffed grouse that are found in the same
nest is happier. Ducks usually make their
own nests, but many species occasionally
lay eggs in the nest of another species, and
one South American duck no longer makes
any nest of its own but is a social parasite
not only on other kinds of ducks but also
on coots and some other birds.

The small, well-marked family of honey-
guides, of Africa, notable in other ways, is
also remarkable for social parasitism. The
favorite host species, chosen to look after
the eggs and young, are the close relatives
of the honey-guides, the barbets (which
themselves are most closely related to our
woodpeckers). The nesting of certain
African weaver-birds was long a puzzle to
ornithologists until it was found they, too,
were social parasites on other weaver-birds.

VARIED NESTING HABITS

The cowbirds, numbering several species
in North and South America, belong to a
family notable for variation in nesting habits.
Their nests vary from the elaborate purse-
shaped structures of the oropendola and
orioles to the meadowlark's dome-shaped
nest on the ground and the simple cup of
the bobolink and red-wing — while the cow-
bird makes none. The cowbirds' eggs are
laid in the nests of a wide variety of other
species and left for the foster parents to
care for. Here those who discuss the
relative importance of heredity versus en-
vironment can profit by considering these
social parasites. The young cowbird, hatched
and brought up by, say, a yellow warbler
remains a cowbird. As soon as it no longer
needs its foster parents' care it flocks with
other cowbirds, with all their mannerisms

and characteristics, and next season it mates
with another cowbird. There is nothing left
of its early environment.

The cuckoos of the United States and some
of those of the Old World make their own
nests in normal avian fashion. But a number
of Old World species are social parasites,
and their behavior has long been a subject
of study and discussion. Specializations
indicate that here perhaps we have the
highest stages of social parasitism. Whereas
the cowbird may grow up with nestmates
that are the young of the foster parent,
unless by chance it crowds them out or
starves them if it is larger, the young

cuckoo gets the rightful occupants of the
nest on its back and throws them out of the
nest to perish.

EGGS LOOK AUKE

Another refinement in social parasitism
by the European cuckoo is that apparently
certain individuals, and apparently certain
strains, lay their eggs only in the nests of
certain host species. And these cuckoos'
eggs resemble the eggs of the particular
species in which the cuckoos' eggs are laid.
For example, if certain cuckoos lay their
eggs only in the nests of meadow pipits
these cuckoos' eggs would resemble those of
meadow pipits, while another group of
cuckoos specializing in hedge-sparrows would
have eggs resembling those of hedge-
sparrows.

Another Oriental cuckoo has a color
adaptation in the young. In southern Asia
these cuckoos parasitize crows, and the
nestling cuckoos have black feathers like
the young crows. In the Australian area,
where the same species of cuckoo occurs, it
parasitizes grayish-brown honey eaters and
the young are brown, more like the rightful
nestlings. Both these resemblances ap-
parently reduce the chances of the cuckoos'
offspring being rejected by the foster
parents.

Your vacation photographs may be suit-
able for the coming Nature Photo Contest.

A 'MYSTERY' PEACOCK
FROM THE CONGO

A specimen of the rare African or Congo
f)eacock has been received by the Museum
as a gift from the New York Zoological
Society. Although we sympathize with the
New York Zoo in the loss by death of one
of its prize birds, we cannot help but be
delighted to have this specimen in our study
collections.

Its interest lies partly in the recency of
the discovery of such a large and showy
"new" game bird. The African peacock is
the only true pheasant in Africa and is
perhaps most nearly related to the Oriental
peacocks, as its name implies. The account
of its discovery and description reads like
a detective story. Of course, there is the
added satisfaction of filling a gap in the
already fine collection of game birds in the
Museum.

The African peacock is a large and beauti-
ful bird of the pheasant tribe. Somewhat
smaller than the Oriental peacock, it lacks
the long train of that bird but is handsome
in its own right. It is blackish, glossed
with green on the back and with purple
on the lower neck and chest. The sides
of the neck are red, and a stiff upright
tuft springs from the top of the head.

CLUB IN NATIVE'S HAT

The real-life detective story surrounding
the bird's first discovery began when Dr.
J. P. Chapin of the American Museum of
Natural History was in the Congo in 1913
and found in a native's hat a wing feather
of a bird he could not identify. He labeled
the feather and saved it. One never knows
when such a datum will serve a purpose.

For twenty-four years the feather lay
unidentified in New York's museum. Then
in 1936 Dr. Chapin was in Europe, con-
tinuing his study of African birds in the
Congo Museum near Brussels. In passing
through a corridor there he saw two mounted
pheasants the like of which he had never
seen. They were new to science but lacked
any indication of origin. Remembering the
unidentified feather he had collected in
1913, he compared the feathers. They were
the same. This established that they came
from the Belgian Congo, and Chapin de-
scribed the bird as a new genus and species,
Afropavo congensis.

On a flying trip to Africa, with the clue
of the 1913 feather indicating the forest of
the Congo as locality, Chapin was able to
get specimens and to show that the bird
was fairly numerous in one of the little-
frequented areas of the Upper Congo forests.
Chapin's account of the discovery appeared
in 1937 in Natural History, magazine of the
American Museum.

When Charles Cordier, well-known live-
bird collector, was in the Congo for the New
York Zoological Society, early in 1949 he
collected the male bird that has just come

July, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

to us. Along with several others of its
kind, it went to the Bronx Zoo in New
York. On its death, Lee S. Crandall of
that institution recalled the desire of Robert
Bean, director of Chicago Zoological Park,
that one or more of these rare birds might
eventually come to Chicago, and forwarded
the bird to this Museum. The American
Museum already had specimens of its own.
And yet, wonders do not cease — only by
good fortune was it received here in good
condition. I was away from the Museum
at the time and on my return found ten
papers, memos, letters, and telegrams on
my desk concerning it. The bird in the
flesh, packed in dry ice, had been sent to
Chicago by mail, returned by postal
authorities to New York for some unknown
reason, and then reconsigned to Chicago.
Letters and telegrams had passed back and
forth. The bird was finally received at the
Museum after several days. Fortunately,
the long stay in the mails had not advanced
decomposition too far. The bird, a male,
made a splendid specimen. As soon as it
was dry it took its place in our trays of
study skins, available to any serious student
of African birds or of game birds.

— A.L.R.

FLOOD-CONTROL PROBLEM
IN ANCIENT BABYLONIA

As the national conventions of both the
Republican and Democratic parties are
about to assemble in Chicago this month,
it is interesting to find that some political
issues persist not only from campaign to
campaign but had parallels in history for
thousands of years back. Certain to be
argued pro and con in the 1952 contest for
the presidency and domination of Congress
is the subject of fiood control.

Flood control was an issue as far back as
2500 B.C. in ancient Babylonia. Efforts to
solve the problem seem to have resulted in
some successes and some failures. Among
exhibits from the Babylonian city of Kish in
Hall K (Peoples of Ancient Babylonia) is a
flood-stratum deposit of a type found in
dwellings of the Early Dynastic period (3000-
2500 B.C.). It was found 36 feet below the
surface of a mound excavated some years
ago by the joint Mesopotamian Expedition
of Chicago Natural History Mu,seum (then
Field Museum of Natural History) and
Oxford University. The slab on exhibition
was 10 feet above the present water table.
On the surface of this clay deposit there
still may be seen the remains of fresh-water
fish left behind when the water receded.

The following information, furnished by
Richard A. Martin, Near East archaeologist
who participated in the surveys and excava-
tions of the Kish area, accompanies the
exhibits on this subject in Hall K (Mr.
Martin is now Curator of the N. W. Harris
Public School Extension Department):

"In Babylonia high water came in the
spring during the growing season when
flooding the fields would be disastrous. This
led to the development of perennial irriga-
tion with a complicated network of canals
both to supply arable land .with water
when needed and to divert the high-water
season runoff into nonproductive areas. The
canals served also as waterways for the
transport of goods. The canals were state
operated and taxes were imposed for their
maintenance.

"Remains of some of the main canals
that supplied the Kish area have been
found. Today, in the same area, modern
irrigation canals follow the courses of the
ancient ones. That many of the canals
closely paralleled each other is due to their
constant silting. When piles on either bank
become too high conveniently to shovel out
the silt, it is easier to dig a new canal along-
side utilizing one bank of the old.

"To control the floods of the Euphrates
and Tigris and still supply the irrigation
canals with water, barrages were constructed
in the river channel or at advantageous spots,
and sections were opened and closed by
earth locks and dams.

"During times of political upheaval these
control points were left unattended, the
natural silting of the river blocked the
restricted openings, and a new channel
would be cut by the river. . . . Any unusually
heavy precipitation at the headwaters of the
Euphrates would readily account for the
overflowing of the banks of the lower river
and adjoining canals."

LOOP STORE TO DISPLAY
PRIZE-WINNING GEMS

The prize-winning entries in the Second
Annual Amateur Handcrafted Gem and
Jewelry Competitive Exhibition, which at-
tracted large numbers of visitors to the

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"The chief additions to the Department
of Ornithology were obtained by Mr.
[George F.) Breninger in the field [in Mexico),
consisting of 1,500 bird skins, many of which
were new to the collections, and 163 eggs.
Some minor gaps in the exhibition series
were filled by purchase in the local market
from time to time. . . . The condition of the
specimens obtained by Mr. [Edmund) Heller
in the field justifies the great importance
which should be attached to this method
of obtaining additions to the Zoological
collections. This collector's itinerary ranged
from Oregon to California and from Cali-
fornia to Mexico, and the conscientious
manner in which he covered this territory
is a matter on which the Museum should
be congratulated . . . Mr. [William J.] Ger-
hard, Assistant Curator of the Division of
Entomology, added over 2,500 specimens
of insects to the collections."

PRIZE <.a:M c:ui AiioNS

Mary Oddo, Patricia Stevens model, wears earrings
and pin made by Knutb Larson, 6rst'prize winner
in the advanced jewelry division of the Chicago
Lapidary Club's contest and exhibit. Jewelry in dis-
play trays was created by Athalie Young, novice
division 6rst-prize winner. Exhibited at the Museum
during June, the lapidarists* work moves to Marshall
Field and Company to be shown there July 7-31.

Museum in June, are going to the Loop
for a second display in July. They will be
shown for three weeks beginning July 7 in
the jewelry department of Marshall Field
and Company.

The show is sponsored by the Chicago
Lapidary Club and includes several hundred
pieces fashioned by amateur gem cutters
and jewelry makers of Chicago and suburbs.
There is a wide variety in the objects sub-
mitted by these "rock hounds," as the par-
ticipants in this craft call themselves. The
objects range from polished slabs of gem
materials and single cabochon-cut gems to
collections of several hundred specimens.
Included are many elaborately fabricated
jewelry pieces and jewelry sets, and there
are even sculptured cups and saucers, book-
ends, and other household articles carved
from blocks of jade and other materials.

A third special exhibit is planned for the
early summer of 1953, with the principal
showing again in Stanley Field Hall of
the Museum. Many of the rock hounds
will be working most of the intervening
year upon pieces to be entered in that con-
test. A cordial invitation to submit gem
and jewelry creations is extended by the
Chicago Lapidary Club to residents of the
Chicago area who are interested in this
avocation and who have not heretofore
participated in these events. They may
also join the organized groups now active
in this art throughout the year.

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 195i

MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
ON THURSDAYS; FREE

Free-movie time is here again for children.
The Raymond Foundation's annual summer
series of Thursday-morning programs will
begin on July 10 and continue for six
consecutive Thursdays through August 14.
Two performances of each program will be
given, 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

1

W^

WAITING FOR THE SECOND SHOW

The Raymond Foundation's popular summer movie-
programs for children attract capacity houses.

Museum will be open at 9 :30 a.m. Following
are the dates and titles of the shows:

July 10 — Nature's Half Acre

A Walt Disney color-film showing

nature's pageant in all seasons
Also a cartoon

July 17 — The American Cowboy

A story of real cowboys and life

on their ranch
Also a cartoon

July 24 — Fishing Tales

A picture to start you on your own

summer adventures
Also a cartoon

July 31— Bill and Coo

An unusual story with birds as the
actors

August 7 — Land of the Pueblos

A color-film of New Mexican Indian

pueblos, dances, and fiestas
Also a cartoon

August 14 — Animal Friends

Possible companions during your

summer vacation
Also a cartoon

Children are invited to come alone, accom-
panied by parents or other adults, or in
groups from organizations. Leaders of
groups are requested to seat their children
together, to remain with them, and to

maintain order during the programs. Special
note: Although the films are selected for
children, they are of interest to adults also
and so grownups are welcome to attend.
However, because the programs are primarily
for children, adults not accompanying
youngsters may be requested to give their
seats to children if the Theatre is crowded.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Anthropology:

From: Gracia M. F. Bamhart, Hinsdale,
111. — model of totem pole, British Columbia;
Dr. Erik K. Reed, Santa Fe, N.M.— 3
prehistoric adzes and pottery, Mariana
Islands

Department of Botany:

From: E. J. Palmer, Webb City, Mo.—
552 phanerogams, Missouri; Dr. E. P.
Killip, Big Pine Key, Fla. — 13 phanerogams

Department of Zoology :

Dr. B. E. Dahlgren, Chicago — 9 frogs, a
lizard, and a snake, Cuba; Chicago Zoo-
logical Society, Brookfield, 111. — 3 bird skins;
Illinois Natural History Survey, Urbana —
a bird skin; Dr. L. H. Held, Arlington, Va. —
70 wasps and 39 galls; Dr. Robert Rausch,
Anchorage, Alaska — a wolverine, Alaska;
Bernard Benesh, Burrville, Tenn. — 180 in-
sects, 10 exotic stag beetles; Walter Auff en-
berg, Gainsville, Fla. — a snake, Florida;
Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 138 insects
and 11 bird skins; J. H. Shirk, Peru, Ind. — 6
jaguar skulls, Venezuela; Lloyd Herbert,
Tomo River, N.J. — 3 turtles, New Jersey;
Ross Tarrant, Palm Beach, Fla. — 9 marine
fishes. Palm Beach, Florida; U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Pascagoula, Miss.
— 80 deep-water fishes. Gulf of Mexico;
Dr. Mario Sanchez Roig, Cuba — a collection
of land and fresh-water shells, including
several paratypes, Cuba; Lillian A. Ross,
Chicago — a snake, Illinois; P. Quentin
Tomich, Robles del Rio, Calif. — 358 insects,
Egypt; Lt. Col. Robert Traub, Washington,
D.C. — 197 insects, Borneo

Library:

From: Henry Dybas, Hazelcrest, Illinois;
William J. Gerhard, Chicago; Eugene S.
Richardson, Jr., Gurnee, Illinois; Karl P.
Schmidt, Homewood, Illinois

N. W. Harris Public School Extension:

From: John H. Crea, Fargo, N.D. — a
mounted pileated woodpecker

Rewards of Research

The great scientists, as all great men, have
not been concerned with fame. The joy
of achievement that comes from finding
something new in the universe is by far
their greatest joy. A great research scientist
is constantly discovering new things in his
field. This is his reward. He knows how
to spend long years in preparation and long
hours in investigation, with no thought of
public honor or reward. — William P. King

TWO LECTURE TOURS
DAILY IN SUMMER

During July and August the conducted
tours of the exhibits will go on a two-a-day
schedule, mornings and afternoons (Monday
through Friday). Each morning tour, ex-
cept Thursday, is a general survey of one
department of the Museum. The afternoon
tours (and Thursday morning) are general
surveys of the highlights of the exhibits.
The schedule follows:

Mondays: 11 a.m. — The World of Animals;
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Tuesdays: 11 A.M. — The Earth's Story;
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Wednesdays: 11 a.m. — People and Places;
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Thursdays: 11 A.M. and 2 p.m. — Highlights
of the Exhibits

Fridays: 11 A.M.— The Story of Plants;
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Special toiu^ on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for groups of ten or
more. Requests for this service must be
made to the Director of the Museum at
least one week in advance.

There are no tours on Saturdays and Sun-
days (or on Friday, July 4), but the Museum
will be open to visitors on those days during
the usual hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Studies in Corn Genetics

Dr. Edgar Anderson, assistant director
and geneticist of the Missouri Botanical
Garden, St. Louis, recently visited this
Museum to examine the collection of com
and prehistoric plants. He discussed prob-
lems in the genetics of corn with Dr. Hugh C.
Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany here,
who is engaged in studying the vast amount
of prehistoric agricultural material recovered
from caves excavated by the Museum's
Southwest Archaeological Expeditions of the
last two years.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from May 19 to June 13:

Associate Members

Max Pray, Mrs. Frederic P. Vose, Row-
land L. Williams

Annual Members

B. J. Babbitt, Alfred E. Bolt, Leo Sanford
Blustin, G. E. Cogswell, J. Lester Cunning-
ham, John F. Czachorski, Miss Genevieve
M. Farls, Dr. George Fenyes, John O. Giles,
Robert F. Grohe, Henry S. Kahn, Howard
Knight, Richard W. Kritzer, Seymour J.
Layfer, William S. Richer, Dr. Bruce A.
Spooner, John M. Thornburn, Frank H.
Thorne, Albert S. Vinnedge, Mrs. Edmund
J. Von Henke, Philip M. White, Frank H.
Yarnall, Sidney M. Yavitz

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

ULLETIN

VoI.23,No.8-August 1952

Chicago Natural '
History Mas (nun

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893
RooMTelt Road and Ijike Shore DrtTe, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell U Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

WAI.TER J. CUMMINGS CLARENCE B. RANDALL

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wbtten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Marshall Field Fmt Vice-President

Henry P. Isham Second Vice-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

CUFFORD C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millab Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CUFFOBD 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 Geolof/y

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harts Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

Juggle Hide-and-Seek . . .

GORILLAS AND ELEPHANTS
PLAY IT ROUGH

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OF BIRDS

Since January, 1951, Harry A. Beatty, of
New York, has been collecting birds and
other animals for this Museum in Gaboon
and Moyen Congo, French territory just
north of the lower Congo River. In recent
letters to the Museum he characterized the
location of his camp near the coast as a
"wonderland of swamp forest." Officials
and missionaries in the area were helpful
and hospitable.

Forestry is a major industry in Gaboon,
though the scarcity of natives has necessi-
tated importing labor from the nearby
colonies. Thus, getting local help for zoo-
logical collecting proved almost impossible.
Offers of forestry stations and lumber camps
as quarters have been a great help to Mr.
Beatty. The dense, rank vegetation makes
collecting difficult. It is one thing to shoot
a forest bird at a glimpse after playing hide
and seek for half an hour, and another to
find the downed specimen.

Transportation is always a difficulty in
scantily inhabited country, and this is true
of Gaboon. A few roads, impassable in
the rains, supplement river travel that may

become difficult when the water is low in
the dry season. On one river trip, after
Beatty waited days for a boat, it came at
last, towing a barge-load of soldiers.. Spinal
meningitis broke out and they were all
quarantined for ten days. However, prog-
ress has reached these regions, too, and
airplane transport is available to some places.
Gaboon is lowlands, like most of West
Africa. But when Beatty was camped in-
land he was within reach of a few low
wooded hills where there has never been
adequate zoological collecting, and this leads
to hope that he will find this a new station
for some of the birds typical of mountain
habitats and otherwise known in West
Africa only on Mount Cameroon. It was
near here that the rare lyre-tailed honey
guide, known from but twelve specimens,
was heard by Beatty, although he had not
collected it at the time of writing. One can
be directly below this bird that lives in the
tops of forest trees, hear its flight song, and
yet not catch a glimpse of it through the
dense foliage overhead.

GORILLAS SPREAD TERROR

An American intent on photographing
gorillas visited Beatty at one camp. Beatty
himself has encountered gorillas. He
writes, "I have had several terrifying ex-
periences and hope they are the last. In
three weeks I saw two men with feet and
hands crushed and the last man had his
scalp ripped off and the muscles of arms and
back ripped away by a huge gorilla. He
died."

Beatty tells of rains and droughts but he
seems nevertheless to like West Africa. He
writes, "A white Christmas is lovely to
look at but I prefer the endless spaces of
Plateau Bateke. I killed a buffalo and had
a cheerful season with the four French
families here." In this locality he got a
black-and-yellow weaver bird known from
but a single specimen in 1930, and a tiny
lark described from Ruwenzori. He also
investigated the hybridization of two other
black-and-yellow weaver birds. A number
of FVench residents are interested in the
birds, and their advice is helpful. From one
Beatty obtained a collection of about 250
skeletons of birds that will be a very useful
addition to the Museum's Division of
Anatomy. An all-black forest guinea fowl
is included among rarities from this forest
area.

The Oubangui River, the tributary of the
Congo that divides French from Belgian
Congo, was visited by Beatty when the
water was low. Never less than a mile and
a half wide, it is dotted with islands and
sandbars on which many ducks, geese, and
ibises rest. These birds come in the dry
season from the Lake Chad area to the
north on the edge of the Sahara.

Traveling by motor boat for a time with
the local physician, Beatty and the doctor
stayed nights in natives' huts, which are

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The famous fighting elephants
in Stanley Field Hall require a
"beauty treatment" with a vac-
uum cleaner on an average of
twice a year. The story of how
this and other "housekeeping"
problems of the Museum are
solved is told on page 6. The ele-
phants were collected in Africa in
1906 by the late Carl E. Akeley,
who mounted them shortly there-
after. The group remains to this
day one of the Museum's out-
standing exhibits.

few and far between in this forested country.
Beatty writes, "One night elephants paraded
near our hut and squealed unpleasantly. . . .
A huge elephant rubbed his broadside across
the corner of my hut, ripped it away, and
the roof fell in. It was a frightful experience
in the middle of the night."

On the sandbars of a river, Beatty located
breeding colonies of the red-billed swallow.
This swallow is all blackish. Its bill is large
for a swallow and bright red. For years
little was known about this bird, and it was
thought to be the sole representative in
Africa of the Asiatic wood swallows. Then
it was discovered nesting in the Congo, its
habits learned, and specimens dissected, and
it seems to be a true swallow. By visiting
the colony at night, where the birds had
placed their nests at the ends of burrows
dug by themselves in sandbars, Beatty
found that both male and female sleep in
the nest burrow — the female with the eggs
or young, the male in the entrance where he
slips away when disturbed.

I have finished listing the birds so far
sent by Beatty and find 308 species repre-
sented. The specimens provide us with
range extensions, examples of many rare
species known from only a few specimens and
at least one species that is probably new to
science. In adding new birds to our collec-
tion the West African Expedition rates very
high.

Many Beduin Arabs of North Africa be-
lieve in the existence of demons (affrits) who
are supposed to carry out evil designs under
direction of a chief. Primitive rock engrav-
ings and even the desert itself are attributed
to these demons. Divination and omens
are seriously regarded and the evil eye is
greatly feared. As protection against these
influences, the people resort to amulets and
tattooing.

Manufacture of glass ornaments from
melted-down European glass is one of the
rare occupations of West African tribes.
Some examples are in Hall D.

Augmt, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

HEAT SUFFERERS: HERE'S HOW TROPIC NATIVES KEEP COOL

By CHRISTINE TARDY

BUliETIN STAFF WRITER

IT'S BEEN A HOT SUMMER. These
hints for helpless sufferers are offered
because there is every indication we're in
for many more scorchers. So mop your
brow, sit down near a fan, put a frosty drink
in your left hand, and in your right hold this
discourse and read on.

People, wherever they happen to be born,
find that maintaining a comfortable Fahren-
heit environment for themselves is a con-
stant if not foremost concern. And of

BUNDLING UP TO KEEP COOL
Staunch supporters of the viewpoint that full cover
protects against heat, this upper-class Nigerian
couple demonstrates the use of many rohes to es-
cape the direct rays of the sun.

course, until very recently in human history,
the materials directly at hand had to be
used to achieve this comfort.

We hope it won't be much longer before
everybody everywhere has access to the
know-how of science, so that, between the
availability of lower-cost air-conditioning
units and (perhaps soon) reasonably-priced
atomic fuel, ideal temperature conditions
can be maintained and we can nearly forget
to complain about the weather. However,
it will probably be some time before science
devises a way to control the outdoor tem-
perature to everybody's satisfaction; so sun-
struck residents of the Temperate Zone may
profit from an examination of the methods
Tropic Zoners use to adjust themselves to
the heat.

THE CLOTHING CONTROVERSY

How to dress is a prime consideration.
There are two schools of thought on the
clothing question, which we may divide
roughly into the Continental Faction and
the Island Faction. Probably majority

opinion lies with the Island Faction, which
contends that the only way to beat the heat
is to reduce clothing to the minimum. But
the fairly influential Continental Faction
vouches for the effectiveness of complete
covering.

It happens that the Continentalists in-
habit by far the hotter climes. Equatorial
areas on large land masses do not have the
cooling relief of trade winds known to the
islands, which are additionally blessed with
the insulation of the surrounding waters.
There are three general types of hot environ-
ments found on earth, the conditions of
which will vary a bit according to the size
of the land mass. The hottest environment
is that of the dry lands or deserts. Although
the mean temperature can be reckoned at
65 degrees Fahrenheit for deserts, one of
their most striking climatic features is the
daily change in temperature. In Salah Oasis
in the Algerian Sahara, the temperature has
been known to rise within twenty-four hours
from 26 degrees to 126 degrees Fahrenheit.
Azizia in Libya holds the record at 136.4
degrees Fahrenheit.

According to an account by Dr. N. B.
Tindale of the Adelaide Museum in Australia,
ethnologists who have traveled with native
hordes in central Australia's vast desert
report that the aboriginals, who are naked,
can sleep only with difficulty. Most of them
huddle around their fires at night. Early
in the morning, before sunrise, they get up
and begin to move around. Their tempers
are short and frequent quarrels arise. Then,
when the sun has risen clear of the horizon,
they begin to quiet down. By noon the sun
is beating unmercifully upon them and
everyone who can has found shelter.

The two other principal types of hot
environment are found in the tropical forest
lands. Rain forests know no seasons and
the temp)erature is very constant, ranging
between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit all
the time. It usually rains two or three
times a day every day, and the humidity
discourages human habitation. Semidecid-
uous forests constitute the other type of
humid tropical environment. This is the
true jungle, with very heavy undergrowth
beneath the trees, which are spaced less
densely than in rain forests. There are
seasons in this type of environment — dry
and wet — and both are hot.

THE COVER-UP VIEWPOINT

The Nigerians of British West Africa are
advocates of the cover-up-to-keep-cool school
of thought, according to Dr. Wilfrid D.
Hambly, Curator of African Ethnology. In
the southern part of Nigeria, mainly forest
land, it is hot and moist night and day.
There is only a small temperature fall at
night. By day this humid heat averages 85
to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, falling to 80 or
85 degrees at night — a sort of Louisiana

type of climate. Northern Nigeria, which
is open semidesert country bordering on the
Sahara, is hot and dry except in the wet
season. It is an Arizona type of climate —
cool in the early morning, reaching 110
degrees in the sun at midday, and cooling
rapidly after sunset to 50 degrees before
morning. Perhaps in the interest of an
economical, all-purpose wardrobe, but more
likely because of the influence of the Arabs,
the Nigerians wear two or three cotton robes,
full-length, one over the other, which, with
turbans or big straw hats, protect them from
exposure to the sun. This, of course, is the
keep-cool method favored by desert in-
habitants, who must cover from head to
toe as protection against sand and dust in
addition to warding off the night chill and
the daytime heat.

The Nigerian dogma, however, is summed
up in the admonition, "Keep out of the sun."
And from local materials the Nigerians have
devised a most effective cool house. The
walls are made of mud and clay, 18 inches
to two feet thick. Large jars of water are
hung in doorways and passageways to catch
any breeze. Thus the Nigerians have been
utilizing one of the principles of air-condi-
tioning long before the machine age.

MANY PREFER MINIMUM GARB
This woman of New Guinea is aligned with the
majority of the world's equatorial residents in her
contention that the best way to keep cool is to wear
little clothing. The materials at hand supply her
simple wardrobe.

The Island Faction contends that clothing
should be dispensed with as much and as
often as possible, although adherence to
this viewpoint has in the past few hundred
years met with ecclesiastic opposition.
Where the missionaries have run into strong-
willed resistance, however, comfort has not
been sacrificed in the interests of respecta-

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1952

bility and godliness, and we still find
islanders who are practicing the clothing
customs evolved over the centuries as the
most practical adjustment to their difficult
climates.

Where token covering is customary, says
Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic
Ethnology, it is frequently no more than a
loincloth for men and something made of
grass for women. Lately, of course, cotton
and other fabrics used by us have reached
the most remote peoples, so that the fabrics
formerly utilized, fashioned of the materials
at hand, are fast going out of use. It's
perhaps unfortunate, because the cloth made
from the natural fibers they had was porous
and cool. Tapa cloth, for instance, made
by beating bark into a fine, thin cloth, was
cool to wear. Women of the Marshall
Islands wove fiber or grass mats slightly
larger than place-mats, and created a simple,
cool costume by tying one fore and one
aft with a sash. Grass skirts, of course,
are what come to mind when we think of
tropical island costumes, and these are, in
fact, very popular. Even for the men in

NON-MECHANICAL 'AIR CONDITIONING'
In the Nigerian's house thick mud and clay walls
provide good insulation. Small windows set high
and jars of water in doorways arc effective ways to
cool off the air circulated within. The designs are
worked in while the clay walls are still wet.

some places, grass skirts are preferred to
other types of clothing. Not only are they
cool, but the swaying strands of grass serve
to dispel flies.

AVOID TIGHT CLOTHING

Where cotton and other "civilized" fabrics
have been introduced and accepted, tropical
peoples have largely foregone western styles
and have de\'ised cool methods of draping
the material. In Bali, a length of cotton is
wrapped rather loosely around the torso. In

Mexico and South America, where clothing
more like ours is worn, loose-fitting garments
have also been found cooler. Try it your-
self. If you must keep your shirt on, men,
loosen your cuff's and collar and pull out
your shirt-tail. Women are urged to avoid
anything tight. Ventilated sandals, full
skirts, and loose blouses have been found
cooler by women from the warm countries
who wear clothing somewhat similar to ours.
Although Islanders, even right on the
equator, generally have an easier time of it
with the heat than do residents of the con-
tinental heat belts, the humidity remains
high all of the time, and so devices to catch

VENTILATED TROPICAL HOUSE

This house at Wahda, Dutch New Guinea, uses a

raised floor to avoid the ground dampness. Large

windows admit breezes from the trade winds.

breezes have been worked into their scheme
of living. Of all the islanders, the Samoans
have perhaps the most efficient house for
keeping cool. It's a round hut with a
conical thatched roof. Between posts driven
into the ground in a circle to support the
roof, the Samoans hang fiber mats very
similar to the bamboo blinds now in vogue
among modern decorators. Like these
blinds, the mats roll up. So for cool com-
fort, the Samoan rolls up his walls and
catches breezes from the trade winds. If
he wishes some privacy rather than the
breezes, he can roll the walls down.

SLEEP ON THE FLOOR

On many tropical islands, houses are
built with raised floors, mainly to keep
away from the dampness of the ground.
Where this is done, grass mats serve as
beds. Cool because they are ventilated,
mats placed directly on the floor make a
fine place to sleep since the house is
ventilated by cool air and breezes coming
from below.

Within any house or shelter, it is possible
to devise temperature controls simply be-
cause there is a limited enclosed and pro-
tected area with which to work. Roofs
keep out the sun and, if insulated in some
way, will keep out much of the heat.
Throughout the world's hot areas, houses
are kept cool by the design of the house itself

and by the use of fans or other cooling
devices. In Arabia, the masonry houses are
built with lattice windows and small
apertures high up in the walls to insure a
constant flow of air. In India, where there
is a great division of labor, special servants
keep huge fans, called punkahs, in motion
by continually pulling on ropes. By the
constant movement of these punkahs, an
artificial circulation of air is achieved.

TROPICAL NEURASTHENIA

Every one has noticed that it is difficult
to work in hot weather. You're more tired
and have trouble sleeping. Everything
seems harder to do. You miss a bus rather
than run for it as you might in cooler
weather. You relish sedentary work in
preference to active kinds. Human beings
everywhere react in much the same way,
and peoples of the tropics have had to cope
with this sort of lethargy to get anything
done. The Marshall Islanders avoid the
sun and do all of their work in the shade
whenever possible. Most tropical inhabit-
ants do the bulk of their work in the early
morning and late afternoon, and close up
shop for the noon hours when the sun is
hottest. The siesta is a Mediterranean
custom, but something similar to it is found
in all hot climates. There is in our culture
a tendency to cut down on working hours
during the summer months, but regrettably
there is no Mandatory Siesta Movement
under way.

The effects of discomfort that we all
experience when it gets too hot may be
minor manifestations of what can become
tropical neurasthenia if it is prolonged under
certain types of conditions. Interestingly
enough, this disorder is unknown to natives
of tropical environments and is suffered
only by foreigners, particularly women. The
symptoms are irritability, disregard for one's
person, mental depression, loss of weight
and appetite, and chronic digestive difficulty.
It has been suggested that tropical neuras-
thenia is caused in part by boredom, the
inability to adapt to a new environment,
unvarying humid heat and rain, lack of
exercise, and overindulgence in alcoholic
beverages.

Tropical neurasthenia is unknown in our
part of the world, but the things that
happen to the minds and bodies of Tem-
perate Zoners in hot weather may be
embryonic hints of it. That's a sufficient
reason for getting acquainted with the
ideas and methods of people who endure
extremes of temperature the year around.
A visit to the ethnology exhibits in the
Museum might provide you with some addi-
tional ideas for cooler living. Especially
recommended are exhibits from Melanesia
(Hall A), Australia (Hall A-1), Africa and
Madagascar (Halls D and E), Polynesia
and Micronesia (Hall F), Malay regions
(Hall G), and the Philippine Islands (Hall H).

August, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

MRS. BUCHEN TELLS STORY
OF AFRICAN BIRD HUNT

The Buchen East African Expedition left
Chicago in May. It is sponsored and led
by Walther Buchen of Winnetka, Illinois.
One of the main objectives of the expedition
is to collect material for a Museum habitat
group showing the abundant bird-life of the
marshes of the Upper Nile. The site chosen
was Lake Kyoga on the Victoria Nile, in

"To date we have about 170 specimens.
. . . The saddlebill storks and the great
white egret, which we failed to get in Uganda,
we hope to pick up in Tanganyika. They
were impossible to secure near Lake Kyoga.
Rare as they were, they were always in the
exact center of tremendous marshes with no
cover available. Walther (Mr. Buchen]
tried bravely slogging through mud and
water up to his waist at times but never
succeeded in getting close enough. . . . We

WHALEHEAD STORK

Dr. Austin L. Rand, Curator of Birds, and Taxidermist Carl W. Cotton with giant-sized prize of the col-
lection received from Mr. and Mrs. Walther Buchen who are still in East Africa on an expedition for the
Museum. The specimen is for use in a habitat group showing a papyrus marsh of the Upper Nile Valley

teeming with bird life.

Uganda. Mrs. Buchen, a member of ti»e
party, recently wrote from the camp in
East Africa:

"You will probably be surprised to hear
that we are back from Uganda with the
collection practically complete and that it
will be off from Nairobi by air-freight some
time next week. . . . Things have gone much
more rapidly than we expected.

TWO WHALEHEADS COLLECTED

"I think the group should be quite fine.
The whalehead [stork], of which we have
two good specimens, is most impressive, if
not beautiful, and the lovely crowned cranes
make up in a big way for this deficiency —
several pygmy geese will be another fine
touch. We have a group of the brilliant
scarlet West Nile bishop, seen everywhere
in the marshes of Kyoga; also a group of
beautiful Uganda yellow-collared weavers
with nests and eggs taken from the edge of
the lake — and a pair of the colorful little
malachite kingfishers — all bright purple,
blue, and cinnamon — with scarlet bills.

are glad to get out of Uganda where the
climate is hot and humid — mosquito-in-
fested near the lake.

PELICANS THRONG SKY

"But as I sit here in front of the tent in
our camp overlooking Lake Naivasha in
Kenya (about 6,000 feet), it is cool and
lovely — a great battalion of pelicans is
displaying its wonderful wheeling and circl-
ing maneuvers in the sky before me, four
crowned cranes have just alighted down the
hillside, two whiteheaded fish-eagles are
screaming wildly nearby, and in the distance
a hoopoe is calling.

"It is all wonderfully interesting and quite
as thrilling as lion hunting."

The Buchen expedition's first shipment,
sent by air from Africa, arrived at the
Museum July 17. It consisted of about
170 birds, including the whalehead storks,
crowned cranes, and many herons, ducks,
plovers, and other marsh birds. The expe-
dition is continuing field work and further
shipments are expected soon.

TWO LECTURE TOURS
DAILY IN AUGUST

During August the conducted tours of the
exhibits will be presented on a two-a-day
schedule, mornings and afternoons (Monday
through Friday). Each morning tour, ex-
cept Thursday, is a general survey of one
department of the Museum. The afternoon
tours (and Thursday morning) are general
surveys of the highlights of the exhibits.
The schedule follows:

Mondays: 11 A.M. — The World of Animals;
2 P.M.— Highlights of the Exhibits

Tuesdays: 11 a.m. — The Earth's Story;
2 P.M.— Highlights of the Exhibits

Wednesdays: 11 a.m. — People and Places;
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 2 P.M. — Highlights

of the Exhibits

Fridays: 11 a.m.— The Story of Plants;
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for groups of ten or
more. Requests for this service must be
made to the Director of the Museum at
least one week in advance.

There are no tours on Saturdays and Sun-
days but the Museum will be open to visitors
on those days during the usual hours, 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m.

Vacations Offer Opportunity
For Nature Photo Entries

Vacationers are urged to think now about
putting aside some of the best photographs
they make on their travels for entry in the
next nature-photo contest. Pictures of
animal life, plant life, geological formations,
scenery, etc. — either black-and-white or
color prints or color transparencies — will be
eligible for the silver medals and ribbons to
be awarded in various classifications. The
month-long Eighth Chicago International
Nature Photography Exhibition, jointly
sponsored by the Nature Camera Club of
Chicago and the Museum, will be held next
February in Stanley Field Hall. A deadline
for entries, about the middle of January,
soon will be announced.

National Science Foundation
Grant to the Museum

Recently the National Science Founda-
tion approved a three-year grant to Chicago
Natural History Museum for use by the
Department of Botany in support of "A
Study of the Flowering Plants of Colombia"
by Dr. Jos6 Cuatrecasas. For the past two
years Dr. Cuatrecasas was a fellow of the
Guggenheim Foundation.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1952

Housekeeping for a Museum ...

GETTING BEHIND THE ELEPHANTS' EARS
CALLS FOR A MOTHER'S TOUCH

By H. B. HARTE
managing editor

THERE'S A LOT MORE to running a
museum than preparing exhibits, going
on expeditions, conducting research, and the
other activities of the scholarly men on the
scientific staff. Take the matter of house-
keeping, for example —

The housewife who frets over the problems
of keeping her house or apartment tidy
should find it easy to sympathize with "Jim"
Shouba, Superintendent of Maintenance,
and "Bill" Lake, Chief Engineer of Chicago
Natural History Museum. They and their
corps of some 55 men and women helpers
are responsible not only for the normal
maintenance tasks required in any building
comparable in size to the Museum but all
of the special problems presented by thou-
sands of exhibits whose cases must be kept
clean and in which proper lighting must be
provided at all times.

This huge job is complicated further by
several hundred thousand sticky fingers of
children that simply cannot be prevented
from leaving their imprints on the glass.
As a matter of fact, since sticky fingers are
a normal attribute of childhood and the
Museum administration wants all of the
children of Chicago and elsewhere to benefit
from its educational offerings, the marks on
the glass and the labor entailed in removing
them are accepted as inevitable — we would
much rather have these problems than not
have the children. The marks also indicate
what exhibits are most popular. And no
doubt a good portion of the fingerprints are
left by grownups, too, among the more than
a million and quarter visitors who come in
an average year.

SEVENTEEN ACRES TO CLEAN

What kind of a job is it that Shouba and
Lake face in keeping the Museum clean,
properly heated, and properly lighted?
Well, there are some 17 acres of floor space,
including the three exhibition floors, the
James Simpson Theatre and lecture halls,
and the offices, laboratories, and workshops
of the scientific and administrative staffs.
Of this area, approximately 12 acres com-
prise exhibition halls, and in these the
vertical problem — the glass in the cases
totaling approximately 200,000 square feet
of surface — constitutes more of a giant's
chore than is usually encountered in the
total maintenance of any type of structure.
Also, there are about 1,700 windows to be
kept clean. In addition, the roof, an expanse
of some four and one-half acres with enor-
mous skylights over Stanley Field Hall,
requires considerable vigilance. To heat the
vast area encompassed in the Museum,

about 4,300 tons of coal are required be-
tween late fall and spring. On the coldest
winter days as much as 40 tons are burned
in a single day.

One of the more spectacular maintenance
jobs that always draws the interest of
visitors who happen to be present when it
is done is that of vacuum-cleaning the
elephants. These animals form so con-
spicuous and familiar a central attraction
in Stanley Field Hall that they have come
to be a kind of symbol of the Museum.
The task of pachyderm beauty treatment
requires the time of two men for about
four and one-half hours and calls for tall
ladders and special vacuum-cleaning equip-
ment.

"This job is the same as with kids — it's
getting them clean behind the ears that's
hardest," said James Higgins, one of the
workers who helped in the most recent of
the semiannual primpings of the elephants.
"Of course, the fellow with his trunk lifted
away up in the air gives us a time, too —
reaching the tip."

The work on the trunk is done with a
"wand," but it's work, not magic. The
wand is a long extension pipe with a special
type of suction-nozzle, and manipulation of
this overgrown bit of housecleaning equip-
ment is difficult. As for the ears, they are
hard to reach and to get under. Sometimes
when weather and other conditions make
the skin brittle, treatment by the taxi-
dermists is necessary to make it flexible,
repair breaks, and touch up the color.

Another major task in Stanley Field Hall
is the periodic cleaning of the six huge and
heavy chandeliers that hang high over this
great central exhibition area that reaches
from the first to the fourth floor and into
which the principal (north and south) en-
trances of the building open. Along with
the cleaning of these large, elaborate, and
delicate light sources, all dead or weakening
electric bulbs are replaced. But it is the
task of lowering and re-raising them that
poses complications. This is done with
cables from windlasses at each end of the
roof. Two men are required to crank the
windlasses, while two others are stationed
at strategic points in the clerestory to signal
the precise second for starting or stopping
descent or ascent so as to avoid damage.
On the floor of Stanley Field Hall a group
receives each chandelier as it is lowered and
goes carefully to work upon it.

CATWALK CRAWLING

Speaking of maintenance of lighting facili-
ties, no housewife in her home would go
through what is necessary to provide proper
illumination for Museum exhibits. Most of

the exhibition cases for habitat groups and
dioramas are lighted from ground-glass light
boxes above the exhibits, out of sight of
those viewing the groups. To reach these
to clean the ground glass or replace burned-
out light tubes the men have to crawl on
their hands and knees on narrow catwalks
with less headroom than a midget would
require.

Most of the floors in the Museum are
plain cement surfaces — a few special exhibi-
tion halls, corridors, and other areas are
covered with heavy linoleum, and a few
areas, like Stanley Field Hall, have marble
floors. The cement floors total approxi-
mately nine acres. Most people find it
surprising to learn that the cleaning of
these is done by vacuum cleaner rather than
by mops or scrubbing. The reason: it has
been discovered that washing gradually
breaks down the surface of cement floors
until they begin to powder and become
uneven, whereas vacuum-cleaning removes
the dirt more effectively and imparts a
smooth and saving finish to the cement.
Among floor problems is that of chewing-
gum. The fact that frequent scraping of
floors is necessary to remove deposits of
this sticky substance is a reproach to the
habits of the public.

EVER-BUSY WORKSHOPS

In addition to the huge and never-ending
tasks mentioned, the Division of Mainte-
nance has adequate carpentry and machine
shops in which many kinds of exhibition
cases are built to special design as required.
Here also are made many special items of
equipment required in laboratories and
workshops for the use of workers in taxi-
dermy, plant reproduction, fossil articula-
tion, and the restorative processes used on
archaeological and ethnological material.

Countless other chores and details con-
front the maintenance and engineering crews
and place heavy responsibilities on Superin-
tendent Jim Shouba and Chief Engineer
Bill Lake. And like the rest of us, I'll bet
when they go home from work, Mrs. Shouba
and Mrs. Lake greet them with: "Dear,
there's something I'd like you to fix in the
living room."

Albino Tribesmen in Africa

White Negroes (albinos) sometimes occur
among African tribes. The albinism may
be complete or piebald. The skin, however,
is pinkish, not white. The Bakongo tribe
required an albino or some hair from one
before they would open a new branch of a
secret society. Some tribes are reported to
regard albinos as reincarnations of deceased
chiefs; among others, albinos experience
difficulty in attaining marriage because the
women hold them in disfavor; among some,
the usual tribal marks — incisions in the
skin — are denied to albinos.

August, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

NEW EXHIBIT DEMONSTRATES THAT 'A MUSCLE IS A MACHINE*

By D. DWIGHT DAVIS

CURATOR OF VERTEBRATE ANATOMY

A new exhibit in the Hall of Vertebrate
Anatomy (Hall 19) shows the structure of
muscles and how they function in the body.
Muscles are the anatomic mechanism that
makes it possible for animals to move.

Muscles are machines. Like many man-
made machines — an automobile engine, for
example — they develop force that is trans-
lated into movement. Like an automobile
engine they require fuel, which is piped to
them by the arteries, and they produce
waste products comparable to exhaust fumes,

the body muscles. This gradual shift in
emphasis is evident in a series of models of
the primitive limbless lancelet, shark, sala-
mander, lizard, and mammal.

The exhibit is the first of a series proposed
for Hall 19. It was prepared by Artist
Joseph B. Krstolich under the direction of

MUSCLES OF VERTEBRATES

^cve » A H^

-X.

"^

WL

NIAVI.T tULr ••■ •■•<

A BTIAIt amw% «••

MUSCLES-THEIR STRUCTURE AND HOW THEY FUNCTION
Part of a new exhibit illustrating the mechanics of motion in various animals, such as those in the horse's legs designed for speed, those of the mole to

including human beings. The models show specializations in types of muscles,- provide power, or those in a man's arm adapted to skillful manipulations.

Nearly all muscles extend across one or more
joints, and when the muscle fibers contract
and shorten, the segments of the limb move,
with the joints as the hinges. Everyone is
familiar with the bunching and hardening
of the biceps muscle when the arm is doubled
up.

Nearly half the weight of the human body
is muscles. Many people fail to focus on the
fact that "muscles" and "meat" are the
same thing and that meat animals like cattle
and pigs are raised by man so he can eat
their muscles. A beefsteak, with the in-
dividual muscles identified, is displayed in
the new exhibit to make this clear. It has
been suggested in view of current prices that
the Museum is exhibiting the steak as a
rare treasure, comparable to the crown
jewels or a rare art object, but this is not
true. (The Museum steak, incidentally, is
a plastic reproduction — even more costly
than actual meat at the butcher shop.)

which are carried off by the veins. Like an
automobile engine they must be sparked,
and the nerves supplying a muscle are com-
parable to an ignition system.

The same muscles differ from one kind of
animal to another, depending on the kind
of work they are designed to do, just as the
carburetor on an automobile engine is dif-
ferent from the carburetor on an airplane
engine or the engine of a power mower.
Models of the foreleg muscles of a horse,
an animal designed for speed, and of a
mole, designed for power, and model of a
man's arm muscles, which are designed for
skillful manipulations, illustrate this clearly.

The earliest ancestors of the vertebrates
had no limbs and, of course, no limb muscles.
Movements were only body movements, and
the body muscles were large and powerful.
During evolution the limb muscles became
progressively larger and more important.and
in mammals and birds they far outweigh

the writer. Some of the models were made
several years ago by Miss Nellie Starkson.

Hunts Paleozoic Fishes

Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, is seeking fish specimens of the Paleo-
zoic era (about 500 million years ago) on
an expedition for the Museum in fossil
fields of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and
New Brunswick. Material is being sought
to fill gaps both in the exhibits and the study
collections of the Division of Paleontology.
Curator Denison will be in the field for about
six weeks.

Because of protection of the elephant
by game laws, little ivory is now used by
African tribes. However, some excellent
old examples of ivory armlets and anklets
are displayed in Hall E.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 195i

FREE CHILDREN'S MOVIES
AUGUST 7 AND 14

The Raymond Foundation's summer
series of free motion-picture programs for
children, which began in July, will continue
on two more Thursday mornings, August 7
and 14. Two performances of each program
will be given, one at 10 a.m. and one at
11 A.M., in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum. The Theatre and west en-
trance of the Museum will be open at 9:30
A.M. Following are the dates and titles of
the shows:

August 7 — Land of the Pueblos

A color-film of New Mexican Indian

pueblos, dances, and fiestas
Also a cartoon

August 14 — Animal Friends

Possible companions during your

summer vacation
Also a cartoon

Children are invited to come alone, accom-
panied by parents or other adults, or in
groups from organizations. Leaders of
groups are requested to seat their children
together, to remain with them, and to
maintain order during the programs. Special
note: Although the films are selected for
children, they are of interest to adults also
and so grownups are welcome to attend.

STAFF NOTES

George I. Quimby, Curator of Exhibits
in Anthropology, has returned to his post
at the Museum. Curator Quimby has been
on leave of absence since January to fulfill
an engagement to teach archaeology and
ethnology at the University of Oslo in
Norway, under a F^lbright grant awarded
to him by the U. S. Department of State.
Under a second grant, from the Axel
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropo-
logical Research, he also made studies of
European anthopological collections and
museums .... Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator
of Fossil Reptiles, has returned from Europe
where his prime mission was the investigation
of an alpine formation of Triassic age (about
190 million years old) in western Austria.

Museum Botanist Attends
Symposium in Paris

An international symposium on "Evolu-
tion in Plants" was held at the Paris Museum
of Natural History from May 15 to May 20
under the auspices of the French National
Research Council. Dr. Theodor Just, Chief
Curator of Botany at Chicago Natural
History Museum, was one of two American
speakers invited as guests of the FVench
government.

After the symposium. Chief Curator Just
visited various museums in Switzerland,

western Germany, Sweden, Belgium, The

Netherlands, and England to study their
rich collections of fossil plants, particularly
those of fossil cycads in the Department of
Geology, British Museum (Natural History),
London, and the Paleobotaniska Avdeln-
ingen, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseum, Stock-
holm. This part of the trip was supported
by a grant from the National Academy of
Sciences.

M TOI MUSEUM

Compikd by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Attendance. — An increase in the attend-
ance approximating 14,000, including 2,500
increase in paid admissions, during the year
is the most gratifying evidence that could
be given of the growing popularity of the
Museum and its increasing interest and con-
sequent usefulness. August 24 marked the
fourth largest number of admissions in a
single day, 11,000. The analysis of the
attendance will be quite interesting. It
shows a slight falling off in the attendance
of school children and teachers on pay days,
but this decrease was coincident with very
inclement weather, in the absence of which
the comparative attendance at other times
shows that in this character of attendance
the numbers would have been largely in-
creased. There can be no doubt that the
schools of Chicago and Cook County, the
public schools as well as universities and
colleges, are availing themselves more and
more of the facilities of the Museum as
teaching adjuncts to the books." [The total
attendance in 1902 was 262,576; in 1951 it
was 1,251,752.)

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from June 16 to July 14:

Contributor

Miss Margaret B. Conover

Associate Member
Peter G. Torosian

Annual Members

S. R. Ballis, Maurice A. Barancik, Ben F.
Bohac, John G. Bucuss, Jonathan Q.
Caldwell, Keith S. Campbell, Freeman S.
Church, Philip K. Crowe, Gustave B.
Ehnborn, Louis Feinberg, Henry S. Fraer-
man, Alfred J. Kelley, Francis T. Kiley,
Dr. Robert H. Koff, Alf Kolflat, William H.
Leahy, Frank G. Marshall, F. L. Miller,
DeForest Sackett, William W. Sims, Dr.
Harold M. Spinka, Edward Sternberg,
Henry A. Taendler, F. A. Tipple, Clarence
P. Wagner, Frank R. Warton

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

From: Iowa State College, Ames — 48
phanerogams, Missouri; State University of
Iowa, Iowa Cjty — 825 phanerogams, Nica-
ragua and Mexico
Department of Geology :

From: St. Mary's Seminary, Techny, 111.
— 57 fossil invertebrates, Canada and
Austria

Department of Zoolo^:

From: George N. Avery, Marathon, Fla. —
a seashell, Japan; Bernard Benesh, Burr-
ville, Tenn. — 20 insects, 2 myriapods,
Tennessee; British Museum (Natural His-
tory), London — a horse skin and skeleton,
Haiti; Dr. Durval T. de Lucena, Pemam-
buco, Brazil — a collection of fresh-water
shells — Brazil; Fisheries Department, San-
dakan. North Borneo— 1,329 fishes. North
Borneo; Lloyd G. Gage, Wilmette, 111. — a
collection of non-marine shells, Anglo-
Egyptian Sudan; Dr. Fritz Haas, Chicago —
a collection of fresh-water clams, Wisconsin;
Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 282 mam-
mals and 100 insects, Egypt and Anglo-
Egyptian Sudan; Col. H. A. Johnson,
Centralia, Wash. — a collection of shells,
Washington; Dr. James Kezer, Columbia,
Mo. — a cave fish, Missouri; T. Pain, London
— a lot of fresh- water clams, North Ireland;
Dr. Helmut Sick, Rio de Janeiro — a coral
snake, Brazil; Fred N. White, Houston,
Tex. — a snake, Texas

Technical Publications

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

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 10, No. 13. A

Classification of the Conularida. By G.

Winston Sinclair. June 12, 1952. II
pages. $ .20

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 10, No. 14. Fauna
of the Upper Vale and Choza: 6. Diplo-
caulus. By Everett Claire Olson. June
27, 1952. 20 pages. $ .35

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 11, No. 6. Early
Devonian Fishes from Utah. Part I.
Osteostraci. By Robert H. Denison.
June 16, 1952. 25 pages. $ .50

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 34, No. 1. Refer-
ences to the Tuatara in the Stephen Island
Letter Book. By Karl P. Schmidt. June
10, 1952. 10 pages. $ .20

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 34, No. 2. A New
Leptodactylid Frog from Chile. By Karl P,
Schmidt. June 11, 1952. 5 pages. $.10

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 34, No. 3. Notes
on Birds from the Marcapata Valley, Cuzco,
Peru. By Melvin A. Traylor, Jr. June 11,
1952. 7 pages. $ .10

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 34, No. 4. The
Surinam Coral Snake Micrurits surina-
mensis. By Karl P. Schmidt. June 27,
1952. 10 pages. $ .20

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

LJ Vol.2'.i,No.9-Septemberl952

Chicago Naturcil
Historif ]^Iii>ieuni

BIRDS OF MEXICO

special Exhibit of Water-Colors

by George M. Sutton

September 1-30

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum Museum Members' Night October 10

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893
RooMTelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5

Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isram

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block Wiluam H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Sbarle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten
John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Prttidnt

Marshall Field Firtt Vice-PmidenI

Henry P. Isham Second VUe-Prtsidenl

Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

CUFFORD C. Grbgc Dirtttor and Secretary

John R. Millar Aaistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CUPFORD C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curalor of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Karl P. ScEoaoT Chief Curator of Zootogy

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

HORNBILL WIVES WALLED
INSIDE TREE-NESTS

By AUSTIN L. RAND
curator of birds

FOR A LONG TIME it has been written
that the male hombill walled up his
mate in her nest in a hole in a tree at nesting
time, and one author even wrote that the
male plucked out the female's feathers then.
Even though the facts underlying these
statements have different interpretations,
the life of the hombill is still strange enough.
Travelers and naturalists in Africa had
brought back tantalizing bits of information
to add piecemeal to our knowledge, summar-
ized by R. E. Moreau, the noted naturalist.

First, we must not say "the hornbills,"
for there are Asiatic and Malayan species
as well as African. Further, African species
differ amongst themselves — notably the
ground hombill, which acts quite differently
from the others.

It is quite true that in many African
species the female is walled up in her nest
and this period when she is enclosed may
last three to four months. But it's not an
imprisonment forced on her by the male,
and presumably she could, if she wanted to,
open the entrance at any time — as she does,
finally, on emerging.

With the African hornbills the details
vary with the species, but the nest is usually
located in a hole in a tree and, except for

A STAGE SHOW IN AMERICAN INDIAN COSTUMES:
'OPEN HOUSE,' AND A SPECIAL EXHIBIT

THE EVENING OF FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, has been designated
as Museum Members' Night. All Members of the institution and
their guests are invited to attend "open house." Admission will be by
presentation of membership card or the invitation that will be sent to
Members at an early date.

Features of the evening will include a
"fashion show" of American Indian cos-
tumes in the James Simpson Theatre; a
special exhibit of two remarkable collections
of Indian dolls; a preview of the first half
of a newly reinstalled Hall of the Plains
Indians (Hall 6); and visits to the work-
rooms, laboratories, and studios of the
scientific and technical staff on the third and
fourth floors of the Museum normally not
open to the public.

"Open house" will begin at 7 P.M., but the
exhibition areas of the Museum will be open
at 6 P.M. For the accommodation of those
who wish to come early and prefer to dine at
the Museum rather than go home or to
the Loop, the Museum Cafeteria will begin
serving at 6 p.m.

The Theatre show will run from 8:30 to
9:30 o'clock. About thirty young women,
garbed in the costumes of various tribes,

will participate. The show will be staged by
Eric Douglas, Curator of the Department of
Native Arts at the Denver Museum of Art.
This is an elaborate production that has
received great acclaim in previous presenta-
tions at museums in other cities.

One of the most popular features of Mem-
bers' Night last year was the opportunity to
tour the studios, laboratories, and work-
shops of scientists, preparators, and tech-
nicians on the Museum's third and fourth
floors. This feature will be repeated on this
occasion and again the members of the staff
in each department and division — chief
curators, associate curators, assistant cura-
tors, taxidermists, artists, plant-reproduction
specialists, and other assistants — will all be
on hand to greet Members and to explain
various phases of the work of preparing
exhibits and conducting research. The
Museum will remain open until 10:30 P.M.

the ground hombill, the entrance is plastered
up so that only a narrow slit is left, about
wide enough for the passage of the bird's
bill. The female takes an active part in
the walling up of the opening and might
be said to wall herself in. When the opening
to be filled is wide, the male may bring earth,
which he mixes in his gullet with saliva and
presents to the female who does the actual
plastering. In some species the walling up
of the entrance may take months.

The female may wall herself in for some
days before she lays her first egg. Through-
out incubation she remains there. Depend-
ing on the species, she may peck her way out
or burst out when the young are partly
grown, or she may stay until the young
are ready to fly.

During the time the female is walled in
the male brings food for her, and later for
the young also. That he is a good provider
is indicated by the fatness of the female
and her young. This is proverbial with the
natives (who probably have a culinary view-
point). The method of feeding varies with
the species. The male may bring a bit of
food in his bill, pass it in to the female, and
then go for more. Other species, which we
might think more intelligent, carry berries
in their gullet, regurgitate them one by one,
and pass them to the waiting female. These
species make trips to the nest less frequently.

Apparently shortly after the female goes
into the retirement of her walled-in nest, she
quickly molts all her flight feathers so that

she is fllightless, and then she begins to
grow them again. When the female bursts
out of the nest, the young, only partly grown,
replaster the hole using remains of food and
rotten wood. Perhaps only half-way
through their nestling period they thus wall
themselves in. The female then helps the
male care for the young.

Such is an outline of what some of the
African hornbills do at nesting time. This
conduct is unique in the bird world. Details
differ from species to species, and one species

>*■ g^i

appears not to wall up its nest. In an
Asiatic species it is said that if the male is
killed other hornbills help to feed the
female in her retirement. It is an amazing
behavior pattern and an improbable one in
that it is difficult to find a functional
explanation for its development.

September, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

SOME LIZARDS OF FOREST AND DESERT, AND HOW THEY LIVE

By KARL P. SCHMIDT

CHmP CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY

THE FEW GROUPS of living reptiles
that survived the great wave of extinc-
tion at the end of the Age of Reptiles about
70 miliion years ago include only the solitary
New Zealand tuatara (a lizard-like reptile
that proves to be no lizard), the twenty-odd

WATER. WALKING LIZARD
The common basilisk ol Central America, shown
poised to run off on the surface of a stream. This
species runs on its hind legs, on land as well as water.

species of crocodilians, about 200 turtles,
and the closely related groups of lizards and
snakes, which have held their own much
better in the world of mammals and birds.
There are about 2,500 kinds of snakes and
some 3,000 species of lizards, mostly small.
It is the lizards that seem to museum spe-
cialists to be the most typical reptiles, per-
haps because most of them are four-limbed,
while some become startling little analogues
of the dinosaurs that ran on their hind legs
when they (the lizards) do likewise. Actu-
ally, the crocodiles and alligators are more
closely related to the dinosaurs than the
lizards are.

In two new panels of lizards recently
reinstalled and placed on display in Albert
W. Harris Hall (Hall 18), the lizards are not
arranged family by family according to
relationship but by the type of surroundings
— forest or desert — in which they live. This
is the way we see them if we journey to the
lizard metropolis of the American Southwest
or to the forests and waterways of the tropics
in Central America or the East Indies. The
importance of this division according to
environment lies in that it is of first impor-
tance to the lizards themselves, as is shown
in their special adjustments for living in trees
or on sand and rock.

THE POISONOUS GILA

The desert and dry plains panel shows
some of the best-known lizards of the Ameri-
can Southwest. The Gila monster is boldly
colored to go with its poison-secreting glands,
and perhaps its clumsy form and deliberate
locomotion are related also to the fact that
it is a dangerous customer. Except for a
close relative in western Mexico, it is the
only poisonous lizard in the world.

Wherever there is rocky desert there are
lizards that live in the crevices of rock and

wedge themselves in by inflating their lungs,
so that their scaly bodies are not at all easily
extracted. The chuckwalla represents this
type in our Sonoran desert. This remarkable
protective habit is often reinforced by a
spiny tail, sometimes an extremely spiny
one, like that of the Egyptian mastigure,
which whips any hungry desert fox on his
sensitive nose if he tries to pull the lizard out.
Spininess seems to go with desert lizards in
general and is found in various parts of the
world — in the Moloch lizard of Australia
(shown on the screen), in lizards of South
Africa and Central Asia, and in our own dry
regions by the "horned lizards," which is the
book name for what are everywhere known
as horned toads.

Three different kinds of homed toads are
shown. Several groups of lizards have be-
come legless and snakelike, and one of these,
the Californian limbless lizard, is included
in the exhibit. Of the American rock-
lizards, by far the most familiar is the
collared lizard, which is gaily colored and calls-
attention to itself by sitting up conspicuously
on a rock.

LARGEST OF LIZARDS

Among the forest dwellers, the common
East Indian monitor represents the family
with the largest of living lizards. This group
includes the Komodo dragon, shown in a
separate case in the hall. The common
monitor supplies most of the ornamental
leather used for women's handbags and
shoes. One of the larger South American
lizards (still represented by a stuffed skin.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The birds on the cover are Mexi-
can trogons, colorful members of
a notably colorful family that in-
cludes such exotic species as the
quetzal, national bird of Guate-
mala (exhibited in Hall 20). Tro-
gons occur commonly in the
tropical regions of both hemi-
spheres and are best represented
in lowland forests. They usually
nest in cavities excavated in soft
tree-trunks or in termite nests
and feed principally on fruit. The
species shown frequents oak and
pine forests at high altitudes. It
is among the native birds most
likely to be seen in the mountains
of Mexico and Guatemala. Our
picture reproduces one of about
fifty paintings of brilliantly plum-
aged Mexican birds by George M.
Sutton that will form a special
exhibit in Stanley Field Hall
throughout September (see page 7).

one of the very few such specimens still
extant in the Museum) is the tegu, whose
scales are remarkably like those of the
monitor.

An especially interesting model shows the
Central American basilisk, one of the Ameri-
can lizards that habitually runs on its hind
legs when it gets up speed. It can even dash

DESERT SHORT-HORN
Only it*s a short-horned horned toad, one of the
lizards with a flattened body that are characteristic
of arid regions in the southwestern United States.

over the surface of the water on a pond or
stream and does so in a V-shaped spray of
water. The traction that enables it to do
this is supplied by fringes along its long hind
toes. Our model was made from a lizard
caught and posed for its mold by Staff
Taxidermist Leon L. Walters in British
Honduras nearly thirty years ago, when he
and I were on our first expedition for the
Museum. An especially fine model shows
the Australian water dragon, which is
familiar as one of the lizards that lives well
in captivity and is commonly to be seen in
Chicago's zoos.

ADHESION AIDS CLIMBING

Among the most characteristic of forest
lizards are those that climb by means of
adhesive pads on their fingers or by a com-
bination of claws and pads. Such lizards are
familiar in the little green anolis of the
southeastern United States (not shown in
the new screen) and in the gecko family.
Geckos appear on both desert and forest
screens in the new case. There are vastly
more different types of forest geckos, though
there are perhaps more species of the fewer
desert types.

The new models are in cellulose acetate,
made in the Museum's preparation labora-
tory by Walters and a fellow taxidermist,
Ronald J. Lambert. The models are shown
on natural bases, many of which are actual
ground and vegetation taken up by infil-
trating it with thin cellulose acetate solution.
The case is provided with map labels and
with photographs to show different types of
forest habitat in Central America.

Books on natural-history subjects, popu-
lar in style but scientifically authentic, are
sold in The Book Shop of the Museum.

Pagei

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1952

WALKING FISHES OF SOUTHEASTERN ASIA TRAVEL ON LAND

By ROBERT F. INGER

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF FISHES

WE GROW ACCUSTOMED to the
phenomena of nature and frequently
make unconscious generalizations about
them. We become aware of this mental
process only when surprised by an observa-
tion that does not fit these concepts. For
example, the word "fish" invariably con-
jures up an animal that lives in water
and dies if on land — an animal that moves
gracefully in water but merely flops about
erratically on land. When we learn that
some fishes regularly leave their aquatic
environment and crawl about on dry land,
we raise an eyebrow; when we leam further

Ulusitaiions by Mugaret G. Bradbury

Fig. 1. The catSsh, Clarias batrachus. (a) Cut-away side view of the head

showing the accessory respiratory structures (one-half adult size), (b) The

accessory breathing organ (life size).

that certain of these fishes drown, literally,
if forced to remain under w^ater, we are
certain that something is amiss.

Considering what we have learned since
Darwin developed and began the documenta-
tion of the theory of evolution, it should not
be astounding that a few fishes behave so
imexpectedly. Land vertebrates arose from
fishes; the fossil record is clear on that score.
Somewhere along the line the fish-like
ancestor of all the amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals had to leave the water.
So we know that fishes "walked" in the
distant geologic past.

ADJUSTMENT TO LAND LIFE

The fact that some fishes habitually crawl
out of their aquatic habitat and move about
on land indicates many interesting biological
problems and processes. Can we find, for
instance, explanations for this strange be-
havior? What biological need is so served?
It is generally considered that the ancient
lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to terrestrial
vertebrates were obliged to crawl overland
from one waterhole to another in search of
water as droughts dried up successive
habitats. Observation indicates that this is
a partial explanation of the behavior of
only some of the modem walking fishes.

What about breathing? Evidently the
gills of the vast majority of fishes are
incapable of extracting oxygen from the air
although they carry out that function
adequately in water. How do the walking

fishes breathe? In water most fishes move
gracefully and seemingly with little effort
by moving the tail from side to side. How
is locomotion managed on land?

Curiously, southeastern Asia has a number
of fishes that crawl onto land. They belong
to such unrelated groups as the catfishes,
labyrinth fishes, gobies, blennies, and syn-
branchid eels. Among the fresh-water species
the catfish, Clarias batrachus (Fig. 1), and
the climbing perch, Anabas testudineus
(one of the labyrinth fishes) (Fig. 2), are
well known for their abilities to travel over
land. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, for many years
a resident ichthyologist in Thailand, was
able to observe the terrestrial movements
of both of these
species. Although he
was unable to deter-
mine the maximum
distance traveled or
the maximum speed
achieved. Dr. Smith
did record a distance
of 150 feet for an in-
dividual Clarias and
300 feet for an Anabas.
The latter covered the
300 feet in 30 minutes.
Dr. Smith also re-
ports that fishes of
these species are commonly displayed alive
on stone slabs in the markets of Thailand.
Occasionally the merchant may sprinkle
some water over them. If they are not
sold, they are put in jars with a little water
and offered for sale
again the following
day — still alive and
fresh. Ichthyologists
have kept Anabas out
of water for twenty-
four hours without
any apparent damage
to the fishes.

Both Anabas and
Clarias inhabit rivers,
lakes, ditches, ponds,
and swamps. In

southeastern Asia two factors frequently
cause these habitats, with the exception of
the larger rivers, to be deprived of most of
their dissolved oxygen, without which very
few animals can survive. First of all, the
sun may raise the temperature of the water
to over 90 degrees, which drives out the
oxygen. Secondly, decomposition of organic
material so abundant in these bodies of
water removes great amounts of oxygen.
Natural selection, in the case of the inhabit-
ants of these oxygen-poor waters, has put
a premium on the ability to extract oxygen
from the atmosphere. It is not surprising
that many fishes living in such places, pri-
marily the relatives of Anabas and Clarias,
do breathe air.

Much of southeastern Asia has a "mon-
soon" climate where rainfall is high but
limited to a few months of the year. During
the dry season, swamps, ponds, and even
lakes dry up. Obviously fishes must have
some means of avoiding the annual severe
drought. Many burrow deep into the
muddy bottom and pass through the dry
season in a quiescent state. A few, like
Clarias and Anabas, are able to leave a
shrinking pond or ditch and move overland
to another body of water. Note that this
behavior is identical to that presumed for
the fish ancestors of terrestrial vertebrates.

But the drying up of the habitat may
not be the only stimulus for the terrestrial
wanderings of Anabas and Clarias, for they
are often foimd on land during the rainy
season. It has been suggested that these
fishes are hunting food. Several African
relatives of Clarias have been observed
eating grain in fields surrounding ponds.

MtTD-SKIPPERS

Along the swampy estuaries and coasts
of southeastern Asia the periophthalmid
gobies, or mud-skippers (Periophthalmtts),
are one of the conspicuous features of the
landscape. These small (less than 8 inches
long) slender fishes (Fig. 3) with protruding
eyes are present in imbeUevable numbers,
hopping or crawling over the mud flats or
resting on the stilt-like prop-roots of man-
grove trees. At the first sign of danger they
flip themselves rapidly toward the water.
But instead of seeking refuge in the water

Fig. 2. The climbing perch, Anabas testudineus. (a) Cut-away side view show-
ing the accessory breathing structures (one-third adult size), (b) The "labyrinth**
or accessory breathing organ (twice life size).

by diving, the "unfish"-like PeriophOialmiis
skitters over the surface of the water, like
a flat stone thrown by a boy, and returns
to the shore out of reach of whatever threat-
ened it. Precise speed determinations are
not available, but my own experience has
been that it is practically impossible to
run one down on land.

Unlike Clarias and Anabas, the mud-
skipper spends most of its time out of water,
returning periodically to moisten itself. Its
habitat differs from that of the catfish and
climbing perch in that the oxygen content
of the mouths of rivers is rarely depleted.
Of course, in the most shallow water near
shore, the temperature undoubtedly is high
and, consequently, oxygen content low. But

September, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

oxygenated water is close at hand farther
from shore. Presumably the ancestor of
Periophthalmus might have obtained oxygen
merely by swimming a few feet. De-
oxygenation of the water, therefore, does
not seem to be a stimulus for the terrestrial
habits of the mud-skipper. Since the estu-
aries are flooded daily by the tides, the
habitat never dries up. Drought and the
search for water must also be eliminated
as explanations.

The food habits of Periophthalmus hold
the key. The mud flats on which it lives
abound with small crabs, snails, and insects
that form the bulk of the mud-skipper's
diet. It is a common
sight to see one of
these fishes make a
short dash (on land)
and grab a tiny crab.

The ability to
breathe atmospheric
oxygen is one of the
most remarkable ad-
aptations of the walk-
ing fishes. The res-
piratory apparatus of
Clarias consists of the
usual four pairs of

gills provided with long gill filaments
found in the majority of fishes including
the catfishes. Exchange of oxygen and
carbon-dioxide, the basic process of breath-
ing, takes place through the gill filaments.
In addition to gills, Clarias and its relatives
have, on each side of the gill chamber,
an opening leading into a pouch at the
rear of the head {Fig. la). Each of these
pouches contains a so-called "dendritic" or
branching tree-like structure {Fig. lb) that
is richly supplied with blood and functions
as an accessory respiratory organ.

Anabas and its air-breathing relatives
also have accessory respiratory structures
in addition to the four pairs of gills. As
in the case of Clarias there is a large pouch
on each side of the head in which is located
the accessory respiratory organ {Fig. 2a).
But this organ consists of a series of thin
sheets supplied with many small blood
vessels {Fig. 2b). This respiratory structure
is called a labyrinth organ and gives its
name to an entire group of fishes (Order
Labyrinthici).

Compared to its thoroughly aquatic rela-
tives, Periophthalmus has a reduced gill
apparatus. Four pairs of gills bearing fila-
ments are present, but the total surface
area of the gills is small relative to the total
surface area of the body. The reduction in
"aquatic" respiratory surface is more than
compensated by the development of ac-
cessory respiratory surfaces. The floor and
roof of the mouth and the walls of the gill
chamber are provided with networks of
blood capillaries. Exchange of gases takes
place through these vascularized tissues,
which are absent in the aquatic members
of the family.

In their usual habitats both Anabas and
Clarias rise to the surface at irregular
intervals (every one to fifteen minutes) and
gulp air, which is stored in the accessory
pouches and .expelled later through the gill
openings. Experiments conducted to test
the dependence of these fishes upon aerial
respiration indicate that Anabas and its
relatives die in one to seven hours if pre-
vented from rising to the surface in water
that contains enough oxygen to support
non-airbreathing fishes. Thus the labyrinth
fishes actually drown if they cannot gulp
air. The evidence now available is that
Clarias and Periophthalmus can live without

Fig. 3. The mud-skipper, Periophthalmus. (a) Resting position out of water

(about one-quarter adult size), (b) Top view (note the fleshy fin bases and the

elbow-like bend in the fin).

access to the atmosphere if the water is
well oxygenated ; otherwise they, too, '
succumb in a short time. In its oxygen-
poor habitat, therefore, Clarias probably
cannot survive without atmospheric oxygen.

HOW FISHES WALK

The walking fishes have been faced with
the same locomotor problems that the
earliest land vertebrates had. The density
of water is such that aquatic animals need
little energy to lift themselves off the bottom.
The thin atmosphere, however, does not
provide such buoyancy, and land animals
must develop means of raising their bodies
off the substrate or expend a great deal of
energy counteracting the friction of a body
dragged over the ground. Maintenance of
a posture and equilibrium are also easier in
the denser medium of water, and only
slight movements of the paired fins will
suffice. On the other hand land movement
over uneven surfaces requires frequent shift-
ing of the entire weight with consequent
expenditure of considerable energy.

How are these problems solved by con-
temporary walking fishes? The truth is
that some of them are not solved. Ter-
restrial locomotion of both Anabas and
Clarias is accomplished by rapid lateral
undulations of the body, the tail pushing
against the ground. This is precisely the
manner in which Anabas, Clarias, and the
great majority of fishes swim forward. But
on land this motion, similar to that of snakes,
also means that friction must be overcome.
For Anabas and Clarias the expenditure of
energy is the only solution. In the case of
Anabas this rather inefficient mode of pro-
gression is probably aided by the rough

scales that overlap to the rear and catch
on any unevenness of the ground, . thus
preventing the fish from sliding backwards.

Anabas has the additional problem of
maintaining its equilibrium. Its deep and
compressed body would tend to topple over
if it were not for the paired ventral fins.
These fins, provided with a stout spine, are
held out from the side and serve as props.
The pectoral fins may also aid in equilibrium,
but, being relatively high up the side, are
probably less effective. To the low-slung
Clarias, equilibrium would not seem to be
a problem. Yet it, too, holds paired fins
at right angles to the body. In this case
the pectorals, which are low on the side and
equipped with a stout spine, are used. It
is likely that the ventrals of Anabas and
the pectorals of Clarias help prevent back-
ward movement. As yet no one has made
the relatively simple observations necessary
to determine the role of the paired fins in
propulsion.

Periophthalmus has developed a far more
effective mode of terrestrial locomotion.
Starting from a resting position on land, the
pectoral fins are raised, moved forward,
and set on the ground. The front two-
thirds of the body is then raised off the
ground and pushed forward, the pectorals
acting as crutches. At the end of the
cycle the pectorals are back along the sides.
By repetition the body is hitched over the
ground at a moderate speed. The ventral
fins are operated in the same manner as
the pectorals but, because of their shorter
length and mechanically less efficient posi-
tion, they do not propel the body as readily.
The tail is merely dragged along {Fig. Sa).

The movement just described we might
call "cruising" speed. Maximum speed is
attained by a rapid cycle of bending and
straightening the body. Forward propulsion
is given by the tail, which thrusts against
the ground. This motion actually lifts the
entire fish off the ground and is also used
in skipping over the surface of water.

The pectoral fins of Periophthalmus are
clearly vital organs of terrestrial locomotion.
These fins have a thick, fleshy base followed
by a definite kink reminiscent of an elbow
{Fig. 3b). Thus a straight membranous
fish-fin originally used for equilibrium has
been modified into an effective walking
or crawling limb.

Several general biological principles are
evident in this account. In the course of
evolution the function of structures is sub-
ject to alteration. For example, the pectoral
fin — originally an organ of equilibrium — has
been modified in Periophthalmus so that it
now propels the fish. Secondly, adaptations
to one set of circumstances sometimes enable
animals to exploit another set; this is one of
the types of pre-adaptation. The solution
of the problem of respiration in their oxygen-
deficient aquatic habitats in the form of new
aerial respiratory organs enabled Anabas
{Continued on page 7, column 1 )

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1952

AN ANCIENT TRADE ROUTE OF INDIANS TRACED

By THOMAS P. ALDER

MEMBER OF SOUTHWEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION

WHAT WAS ONCE an important com-
munication route for Indians of the
Southwest is now a desolate and almost
inaccessible river valley that poses difficul-
ties for members of the Museum's Southwest
Archaeological Expedition who seek to learn
more about the prehistoric Indians of the

PART OF SOUTHWEST EXPEDITIONS 1952 DIG'
Over-all view of Cosper Cave, near Reserve, New Mexico, showing two en-
trances, and the Blue River below, looking east northeast. Here the party of
archaeologists and assistants, working under the direction of Dr. Paul S. Martin,
Chief Curator of Anthropology, is making some of the most important excava-
tions of the current season.

area. This year's expedition is the Muse-
um's eighteenth. The current operation is
the ninth season of excavating ruins in this
part of New Mexico.

By uncovering remains of the MogoUon
civilization (about 850 B.C. to A.D. 1250),
Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of An-
thropology and leader of the expedition, and
his associates hope to reconstruct the extinct
culture and relate it to contemporary cul-
tures. A cave dwelling, thirty-three moun-
tainous miles and two driving hours from
the camp near Reserve, New Mexico, was
chosen as the site for this season's excavation

because its remote location was insurance
against the effects of over-zealous amateur
diggers.

Although the site is difficult of access
today even with modern automobiles, ex-
cavations have unearthed evidence indicat-
ing that the area was heavily traveled about
1,000 years ago. Indians from as far as 125
miles to the north, south, and west appar-
ently traded along the
river that flows below
the cave. What they
brought has remained,
until now, beneath the
cave soil. From this
material the archae-
ologists draw evidence
to reconstruct as far
as possible the story of
the Mogollon Indians
who lived there.

In this particular
cave dwelling, finding
pottery fragments of
the type used by con-
temporary but distant
civilizations led to
the belief that the val-
ley was a trade route.
This conclusion is an
additional piece in the
unfinished puzzle of
prehistoric Mogollon
civilization. To arrive
at such a conclusion,
archaeologists must
relate the inert, speech-
less objects they find
to those that they
themselves have pre-
viously found and to
those found by others.
By interrelating
object with object,
conjecture with con-
clusion, the archaeolo-
gist hopes ultimately
to have enough of the
right pieces in enough
of the right places.
Then we will have an
understandable pic-
ture of these people
who are now known to us only by fragmen-
tary remains of some of their works.

Change in Visiting Hours

On September 2, the day after Labor Day,
autumn visiting hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., go
into effect at the Museum, continuing until
October 31.

Museum Appraisal by an 'Expert'

Allan Sillyphant, Director of the Glendale
(California) Museum of Arts and Sciences
was a recent guest of Chicago Natural
History Museum. John R. Millar, Deputy
Director, was host on a tour of the building.

Reflecting natural pride in his California
institution, Director Sillyphant said: "We
are making great progress in exhibition tech-
niques in Glendale — but Chicago Natural
History Museum is good, too."

Director Sillyphant is 11 years old. The
Glendale museum is supported and operated
by some 40 boys. They have assembled
their museum, which is housed in a four-car
garage, by pooling their personal collections
and constantly seeking additions. The
Glendale museum now has about 7,000 speci-
mens relating to natural science, the arts,
and American history.

Paleozoic Fishes Received

Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, has returned from the maritime
provinces of Canada with collections of fos-
sil fishes from a number of localities. This
work was a continuation of his research on
the Silurian and Devonian vertebrates that
lived about 350 million years ago.

M f HE »nJSEUM

The extensive research collections of the
Museum may be examined by qualified
students, specialists, and Members of the
Museum upon application to the Director.

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Expeditions and Field Work. — In the
interests of the Department of Geology,
Assistant Curator [Henry W.] Nichols, dur-
ing the months of October and November,
made an extended trip through the mining
districts of the southern Appalachians,
principally in the mountainous parts of
North Carolina and Georgia. The well-
known copper mines of Ducktown, Tennes-
see, were visited, and a full series of the
copper ores, rocks, and accessory minerals
there occurring were collected. . . . Some
fossils were obtained in southern Tennessee
and Mississippi. In all, the expedition
yielded six hundred and eighty-two (682)
specimens of minerals, one hundred and
thirty-two (132) specimens of ores and
associated rocks, twelve (12) specimens of
fossils, and twelve (12) miscellaneous geo-
logical specimens. A deposit of Permian
batrachian fossils in Oklahoma was investi-
gated by Mr. [H. William] Menke in Novem-
ber, with a view to determining its richness
in Museum material. Some fragmentary
specimens of scientific importance were
secured, but the investigation showed that
material for exhibition purposes was not
likely to be afforded by the locality."

September, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

MEXICO'S COLORFUL BIRDS
IN WATER-COLORS

George M. Sutton, one of America's best
bird artists, will have a one-man show of
some fifty water-colors of Mexico's birds in
a special exhibit at Chicago Natural History
Museum from September 1 to 30, inclusive.

Among the birds represented are guans,
hawks, doves, cuckoos, trogons, motmots,
woodpeckers, woodcreepers, warblers, and
tanagers. Chicago bird watchers who have
visited Mexico or who may plan to do so in
the future will find among these pictures
many subjects of special interest. All of the
birds are represented by specimens in the
Museum, either in the exhibits or the
research collections. Most are essentially
tropical species, but several occur commonly
in our western states.

The paintings are large in size (22" x 28'),
giving sufficient scope for detailed studies.
The birds themselves are depicted in life
size. (While the exhibit is here, lithographed
reproductions of some of the paintings will
be on sale in The Book Shop of the
Museum.)

The paintings were made by Dr. Sutton
during repeated journeys in Mexico, begin-
ning in 1935. Sutton is noted for his skill
in reproducing the natural colors of the
birds, many of them extreme in brilliance,
and for his faithful portrayal of the subjects
from the standpoints of anatomical accuracy
and naturalness in posture. His work is
marked further by freshness and sym-
pathetic treatment, so that the paintings are
outstanding artistically as well as from the
viewpoint of soundness of their natural
history.

Dr. Sutton occupies a unique position
among bird artists. Ornithologists are gen-
erally agreed that he has few peers in bird
portraiture. In addition, his talents have
enabled him to achieve eminence as an
author and research scientist and as a field
naturalist. His familiarity with and genuine
love for wild birds are reflected in his work.

Dr. Sutton developed his exceptional tal-
ents for painting while studying at Cornell
University with the late Louis Agassiz
Fuertes, held by many to have been the

WALKING FISHES—

{Coviinued from page 5)

and Clarias to exploit a different environ-
ment. Thirdly, the peculiar requirements
of a given environment often result in
similar, though not identical, adaptations
in unrelated animals. Convergence, as this
phenomenon is called, is evident in the
accessory respiratory apparatus independ-
ently evolved in Anabas and Clarias.
Finally, different ecological problems may
have similar solutions. Thus the search for
water, by Anabas and Clarias, and the
search for food by Periophthalmus, have
both led to terrestrial habits.

greatest of American bird artists. (Fuertes
accompanied the Chicago Daily News Abys-
sinian Expedition of the Museum in 1926-27
as staff artist, and the Museum possesses a
valuable collection of his paintings of Ethi-
opian birds.)

Dr. Sutton began his ornithological career
as assistant curator of birds at the Carnegie

MEXICAN POTOO

A relative of our nighthawk and whippoorwill. One

of the water-colors by George M. Sutton to be seen

in special exhibit during September.

Museum in Pittsburgh. There he became
interested in the Arctic, and spent the winter
of 1929-30 on Southampton Island in
Hudson Bay. His voluminous technical
reports on this experience are abbreviated
for the general public in the vividly written
Eskimo Year. In 1932 he again became
associated with Cornell University, and
more recently with the University of
Michigan. He has moved from Ann Arbor
to Norman, Oklahoma, where he will begin
teaching ornithology this autumn at the
University of Oklahoma. He is a founder
of the Neotropical Re-search Foundation and
the author as well as illustrator of a number
of books on ornithology and exploration.
In addition, he has illustrated the works of
many other writers.

Newspaper Assigns Correspondent
To Museum Expedition

The Chicago Sun-Times last month as-
signed Robert Northshield, staff feature
writer, to cover from the field the operations
of the Museum's Southwest Archaeological
Exf)edition near Reserve, New Mexico.
Mr. Northshield arrived at the height of the
season's work and was the guest in camp of
Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of
Anthropology and leader of the expedition.
Publication of a series of vivid accounts re-
sulted from Mr. Northshield's observations.

MAMMALS OF GUATEMALA
BROUGHT TO MUSEUM

When the animals of the Western Hemi-
sphere spread out over the vast masses of
the North and South American continents,
adaptation to the varied environments pro-
duced a great diversification of species.
Much of zoological research is devoted to
studies of speciation and distribution because
knowledge of this sort contributes to our
understanding of evolution.

Luis de la Torre's study of the mammals
of Guatemala will be a contribution of this
kind. Since 1948, Mr. de la Torre has made
three trips to Guatemala at different seasons
of the year to collect specimens of small
mammals on Museum expeditions. He has
just returned to the Museum from his most
recent trip, bringing this time approximately
600 specimens, mostly rodents. It is impor-
tant to obtain many specimens of each
species for proper identification of the species,
and for the same reason it is important to
catch the creatures at different seasons of
the year. , Just as a weasel becomes an
ermine in the winter, so the animals of
Guatemala change appearance from dry
season to wet season.

Mr. de la Torre collected in the south-
eastern part of Guatemala, bordering on
Honduras and El Salvador, where the great
continental belt of mountains lowers briefiy,
to tower up again farther south. This
zoologically little-known area is a cross-
section of a great variety of terrain, with
mountains, wet lowlands, and desert areas.
Further, Guatemala is a segment of the
bridge between the two American continents,
so that the animal life consists of representa-
tives of the fauna of both, together with
some unique Guatemalan variations.

For his study, Mr. de la Torre chose the
small mammals, especially mice, because
these do less cross-country meandering than
larger mammals, such as the various cats
and the coyote. Speciation caused by isola-
tion is more apt to occur among the stay-at-
homes.

Economic Geology Field Trip

During September, Robert K. Wyant
Curator of Economic Geology, will collect
ore specimens and related rocks in the
mining districts of central Utah and eastern
Nevada. Particular attention will be given
to the lead and zinc ores of the Tintic dis-
trict in Utah.

The search for new ore bodies has led to
the study of the degree of physical and
chemical alteration of the rocks adjacent to
the known ore bodies. It is planned to make
a collection of these rocks and ores to be
used in future exhibits in the Hall of
Economic Geology. In addition, ores of
tungsten, fluorite, and silver from other
mining districts will be added to the growing
Museum collection.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1952

Two Series Open October 4 . . .

OFFER SATURDAY PROGRAMS
FOR ADULTS, CHILDREN

The Museum's annual Autumn Course of
free illustrated lectures for adults on Satur-
day afternoons and the free motion-picture
programs for children on Saturday mornings
will begin on October 4 and continue on the
nine Saturdays throughout October and
November. Both series will be presented
in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum. The children's programs are
under the auspices of the James Nelson and
Anna Louise Raymond Foundation.

Lectures for Adults

The lectures for adults, on a wide variety
of subjects in the fields of travel, exploration,
and science, begin at 2:30 P.M. The first, on
October 4, is "Newfoundland," illustrated
with natural-color motion pictures. Dick
Bird, of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, is
the lecturer. His film and talk will present
fascinating studies of the interesting fauna
and flora of Britain's oldest colony, which
has recently become Canada's newest
province. A schedule of the eight other lec-
tures will appear in the October issue of the
Bulletin.

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 (W Abash 2-9410) or
in writing, and seats will be held in the
Member's name until 2:25 o'clock on the
lecture day.

MoTles for Children

The free motion-picture programs for
children will be given at 10:30 a.m. No
tickets are required. Children may come
alone or in groups, either with or without
adults. If the Theatre seating capacity is
exhausted, adults may be asked to surrender
their seats to children. A complete list of
the titles of films to be shown will be printed
in the next Bulletin. The first program,
on October 4, will feature "The Story of the
Jungle."

HASTENS BACK TO FIELD
OF 3-YEAR RESEARCH

Zoologist Harry Hoogstraal is again on the
assignment that has taken him to geographi-
cal and zoological realms that few people ever
see. For three years he has been studying
ticks and tick-borne diseases as head of the
medical zoology department of United
States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3
with headquarters at Cairo, Egypt, in an
effort to gain control over serious diseases
occurring in that part of the world. Last
month he returned to this country for a brief
%nsit during which he conferred with col-
leagues in the Department of Zoology at the
Museum.

Mr. Hoogstraal is connected with the
Museum as a Field Associate in zoology.
His research has enabled him to make valu-
able studies and collections of creatures from
various parts of Africa, Madagascar, and
Yemen. These collections are mainly of
small mammals, reptiles, insects, and a few
birds and fishes — those having a connection
with the transmission of tropical diseases.
Included are rare desert rodents that are
represented in the world's museums by only
three or four specimens. He acquired a
specimen of the rare Innes cobra, a three-
foot-long burrowing snake with tiny eyes,
that lacks the hood characteristic of other
cobras. There are fewer than ten of these
cobras in all the museums of the world.

Two of the more important diseases Mr.
Hoogstraal is studying are Q-fever and
relapsing fever. Q-fever is similar to the
worst types of malaria; formerly unknown
in Egypt, it is now widespread. It has been
traced largely to dairy animals, which
appear to have been infected with it by wild
carriers such as desert rodents and ticks.

His project has carried him into some
extraordinary experiences. In Yemen, Mr.
Hoogstraal and his associates were guests of
the king and his court.

On his recent visit to this country Mr.
Hoogstraal studied at the Museum and
attended a conference at the Rocky Moun-
tain Spotted Fever Laboratory at Hamilton,
Montana. He has already left for Cairo to
resume his work there.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

There will be no tour on Monday, Sep-
tember 1, because of the Labor Day holiday.
The Museum will be open, however, from
9 A.M. to 6 P.M.

Museum Ethnologist Honored

Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic
Ethnology, has been appointed a member
of the National Research Council's Pacific
Committee on Anthropological Sciences. As
a consultant to the Pacific Science Board,
Curator Spoehr attended a conference on
Micronesian and Hawaiian archaeology at
Honolulu in August.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Geoto^ :

From: On behalf of August G. Becker
(deceased) (presented by Raymond B.
Becker), Gainesville, Fla. — a cranium of
musk-ox, Iowa; Jon S. Whitfield, Evanston,
111. — 73 fossil plants, Tennessee; Dr. and
Mrs. Robert H. Whitfield, Evanston, 111.—
170 fossil plants, 3 fossil invertebrates,
Illinois; Edward W. Wilke, Chicago — a
specimen of granite showing differential
weathering by frost action

Department of Zoolo^:

From: George N. Averj', Marathon, Fla. —
a collection demonstrating animal associa-
tions, American seas; Bernard Benesh,
Burrville, Tenn. — 191 pinned insects, chiefly
flies and wasps, Tennessee; Dr. Argentine A.
Bonetto, Santa Fe, Argentina — a collection
of 12 lots of fresh- water clams, Argentina;
Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111.
— 19 birds; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt
— 411 frogs, 271 lizards, 39 snakes, 4 turtles,
Madagascar; David Kistner, Chicago — 37
beetles, Europe; Dr. Boonsong Lekagul,
Siam — 19 bat specimens, Siam; Dr. Robert
Rausch, Alaska — a bat, Alaska; Dr. Helmut
Sick, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — a collection of
shells, Brazil; Alan Solem, Oak Park, 111.—
a collection of North American shells and
many pamphlets

library:

From: Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee;
Dr. Donovan S. Correll, Washington, D.C.;
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
College, Cambridge, Mass.

The royal azalea (Rhododendron
Schlippenbachii) is a native azalea of Korea.
It is one of the earliest to bloom and has
large spatulate-obovate leaves and large
pale rose-pink flowers.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from July 15 to August 14:

Life Member

John G. Searle

Non-Resident Life Meml)er

Thomas C. Desmond

Associate Members

Dr. Erwin F. Geldmeier, Miss Elizabeth
Hoffman, Kenneth Kroehler

Sustaining Member

Dr. Donald C. Lamons
Annual Members
George Echt, Donald R. Eck, Dr. Alfred
B. Falk, Arthur C. Fariow, H. Folger
Fellowes, Dr. Frank T. Grill, B. A. Guettler,
Richard E. Gutstadt, H. B. Herring, Charles
F. Hough, Robert S. Ingersoll, William G.
Karnes, Robert J. Koretz, Dr. Stanley R.
Korf, A. E. Kuta, Daniel J. Lamont, Joseph
D. Lohman, Robert E. Potter, Philip G.
Reed, Joim F. Sembower, Dr. Jack H. Sloan,
Dr. LeRoy H. Sloan, Glen L. Sponsler,
Henry C. Stirn, Mrs. Da%id H. Wagner,
Lawrence C. Walgren, C. E. Waltman, Mrs.
Tony Weitzel, Sidney Wells, Schuyler Yates

Gift suggestion: a Museum membership

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

Paget

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1951

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 ,

Rooaevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5
Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Sewell L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. Mccormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

l,EOPOLD E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pretident

Marshall Field First Vice-President

Henry P. Isham 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. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

THE TWO-HEADED CALF
A^D THE ALBINO ROBIN

The accumulation of oddities and freaks
is one of the first responses to the collecting
instinct and one that has filled many a
mantel shelf, and, in the end, many mu-
seums. The general public is still likely to
think that an albino robin or a two-headed
snake must have great value to a museum.
Such specimens are indeed interesting, but
their interest is a limited one, and after the
second sf)ecimen has been received, the
museum's interest drops rapidly to zero
and presently, it must be added, to less than
zero.

The mission of a science museum is two-
fold. It presents the common and familiar
to its visitors in such a way as to show what
is meaningful or otherwise imp6rtant in
ordinary things. On the other hand it
brings the strange and exotic to its halls,
since these are not only of intrinsic interest
but may throw light on the familiar. What
is exotic to us may be, of course, the familiar
on another continent.

Albinos are freaks of heredity, produced
by a mutation in the normal complex that
controls inheritance or, of course much
more commonly, by the inheritance of the
mutation after it has taken place. This
inheritance is of the simplest Mendelian
type, the character of albinism being "re-

cessive," so that from the mating of albino
and normal non-albino, albinism is visible
in one-fourth of the offspring, one-fourth
becomes free of the character, and in two-
fourths, albinism is recessive, i.e., present in
the hereditary mechanism but not developed.
This mode of inheritance, the number of
albinos per hundred thousand, and the fact
that albinism is possible in every kind of
animal in which pigment is developed at
all, are the things of interest. It is already
known that there may be an albino robin
or an albino earthworm.

A recently published account of a fictitious
albino bat contains a likewise fictitious
interview between the author of the story
and a museum curator, in which the curator
is made to say that an albino bat would be
of extreme interest to the museum and of
the greatest scientific importance. The
capacity of the curators of mammals and
birds for total indifference to albino speci-
mens is so great that nothing could have
stamped the interview more plainly as
imaginary.

The embryonic monsters usually die early
in development, but may occasionally be
hatched or born alive. Though in part also
the result of heredity, they are mainly the
result of some embryonic accident, either
physical or chemical. Two-headedness is
merely a special case of the phenomenon of
twinning. Experiments with amphibians
have shown how all kinds of duplications
may be produced, and it is this, and the
extent to which the tendency to defective
development may be inherited, that are of
interest with respect to monsters. It is the
rare event of such a monster being not only
born or hatched but able to live that provides
freaks for the circus side-show.

Since such embryonic defects occur also
in human development, there tends to be
a morbid interest in them. Human monsters
were formerly carefully preserved in spirits
and exhibited in museums of natural history.
They are now regarded as more appropriate
to the medical museum, where such collec-
tions may still be seen, and to the medical
statistician. The natural history museum
would use such specimens only to exhibit
the phenomena of abnormal development;
but a two-headed calf or a six-legged one is
less suitable for this purpose than the
laboratory-produced salamanders and frogs.
We are fortunate to be able to avoid this
field of morbid interest.

Karl P. Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology

HOBBY CONTRIBUTES
TO BIRD RESEARCHES

Hobbies, when seriously pursued over a
period of years, sometimes lead to results not
only gratifying to the individual but also of
much value to science. Such has been the
experience of T. B. Monniche of Boquete,
Panama, a former Canal Zone engineer who

THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Kachina dolls aren't playthings
to Hopi Indian children — they are
intended to further the children's
religious education. Each doll
imitates the costume of a kachina
dancer, who in turn is impersonat-
ing a Hopi deity. On the left in
our cover picture is a "wakas ka-
china" (cow kachina) that appears
in many dances. On the right is a
"Hano mana kachina" (maiden)
from the Hano colony that moved
in with the Hopi and adopted
many of their customs. These
two dolls are from a collection pre-
sented to the Museum by Byron
Harvey III of Chicago. They are
included in a special exhibit of
kachina and other Indian dolls to
be shown in Stanley Field Hall to
carry out the Indian theme of
Members' Night on Friday,
October 10. They will continue
on exhibition for the general pub-
lic from October 11 to November 9.

for a number of years collected bird skins for
recreation while developing a coffee planta-
tion in the humid cloud-forest zone of the
western cordillera.

Finca Ijerida, as Monniche's plantation is
known, is only a few miles distant from
Volcan Chiriquf, Panama's highest moun-
tain. There, in a region partly under culti-
vation but with much of the original forest
intact, Monniche studied birds at all seasons,
and through the years amassed a collection
of some 2,000 meticuously labeled specimens
representing more than 250 distinct forms.
All were taken at altitudes exceeding 5,000
feet in a region of special interest to orni-
thologists, both historically and by virtue of
the implications of its geographic position.

The major portion of the Monniche collec-
tion, or some 1,600 specimens, was recently
acquired by the Museum. It contains many
species and geographical varieties not pre-
viously represented in our collection and is
rich both in endemic forms and in "topo-
types," the latter being specimens taken in
localities from which came those that were
first described as new to science. While others
have collected birds on and in the vicinity of
Volcdn Chiriquf, Mr. Monniche was the first
to do so at all seasons over a period of years.
Studies based on so notable a collection
should add much to our knowledge of Middle
American birds, to the lasting credit of the
persevering hobbyist. — E.R.B.

In the African section of Hall E are some
ostrich eggs, engraved with simple geometric
designs, used as water containers by the
Bushmen, primitive hunters of South Africa.

October, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 3

MUSEUM MEMBERS INVITED TO A STAGE SHOW AND PREVIEW

ON MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT,
which comes this year on Friday,
October 10, the big event of the evening will
be "American Indian Style Show." Thirty-
four young women from the Art Institute
of Chicago will appear on the stage of
the Museum's James Simpson Theatre as
models to display authentic costumes
selected from among the most beautiful that
have been fashioned by many tribes in all
parts of the United States.

The presentation of this show will climax
the four-feature program arranged for
Museum Members and the guests each
Member is invited to bring. Two of the
other features carry out the Indian motif
that prevails for the evening — a special ex-
hibit in Stanley Field Hall of Indian dolls
from the collections of Byron Harvey III and
Mrs. Lenore Blanchard Warner (both Chi-
cago residents) and a preview of a new Hall
of Plains Indians that will be open to the

floor open from 6 to 8 p.m. (regular service
and prices). The special exhibit of dolls and
the new Hall of Plains Indians may be seen
by visitors any time from 6 to 10:30 p.m.
Open house in the laboratories, studios,
ofHces, and workshops on the third and
fourth floors — areas that are not accessible
to the general public — will be from 7 to
10:30 P.M.

The stage show in the James Simpson
Theatre will run from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The Theatre has seats for more than
1,100 persons, but, judging from the
attendance on last year's Members'
Night, its capacity may be taxed to the
full. Therefore, those wishing to see
the performance are urged not to wait
until the last minute.

"American Indian Style Show" will pro-
vide a colorful and exciting kaleidoscope for
both men and women because of the wide
variety of the cultures represented and the

SLAUGHTER FOR MEAT IN THE OPEN SPACES
Diorama in new Museum hall showing a typical buffalo hunt of the Plains Indians. Groups of about thirty
hunters, using arrows and lances, could kill about 300 buffaloes in fifteen minutes. The scene shows a hunt as
observed by white met^ about 1832. This type of hunting was most popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The diorama was made by Alfred Lee Rowell of the Museum staff and will be on view for visitors on

Members' Night, October 10. and for the public thereafter.

public on the day after Members' Night.
Separate articles on each of these exhibits
will be found on pages 5 and 6. The fourth
feature of the evening will be open house.
For this our visitors are invited to explore
"behind the scenes" on the third and fourth
floors, meet the members of the Museum
staff, and ask questions about any phases of
the Museum's operations in which they may
be interested. There will be elevator service
to the upper floors.

TIMETABLE FOR VISITORS

Here's the timetable for the evening: The
Museum doors will be open at 6 p.m. Any
Members who desire to have dinner at the
Museum will find the Cafeteria on the ground

wide contrasts of design demonstrated.
Tribes of most of the principal geographic
areas — Eastern Woodlands, Great Plains,
Southwest, Northwest Coast — will be
represented.

ORIGIN OF CURRENT FASHIONS

For the women in the audience, the show
will have a special interest because they will
immediately recognize in the costume pat-
terns, colors, and designs the origins of many
of their own fashions found in the swankiest
shops — styles of the current season, styles
worn in past years, and, no doubt, styles of
the future. Some women may be interested
in anticipating the future by making mental
notes for designing of their own based on

costumes of America's aboriginal inhabitants.
Just at the present time there is a definite
fashion trend among the younger set for
dresses based on Seminole designs.

The producer of the show — Frederic H.
Douglas, Curator of Native Art at the
Denver Art Museum — will be on the .stage
to provide a running commentary as each of
the models appears in the spotlight. This
pageant has been presented in museums of
other cities and has received great acclaim.

Curator Douglas furnishes the following
explanation of the aims of his show:
(Continued on page i, column 1 )

MEMBERS' NIGHT
Friday, October 10

7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

(Museum doors open at 6 p.m.)

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE—

Special Motor-Bus Service has been

arranged for Museum Members and guests.
Bus will leave Michigan Avenue and Jackson
Boulevard at 15-minute intervals beginning
at 6:30 p.m. Returning, last bus will leave
Museum at 10:45 p.m. Transportation is
free — no fares, no transfers. The bus will
stop at 7th and Michigan on each trip to
and from the Museum.

You May Dine at the Museum in the
Cafeteria (ground floor). Open 6 to 8 p.m.
(regular service and prices).

FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT—
- THE PROGRAM -

Special Exhibit: Dolls of American
Indians — Stanley Field Hall (first floor).
The collections of Byron Harvey III and of
Mrs. Lenore Blanchard Warner (6-10:30
p.m.).

Preview of New Hall: The Plains
Indians (Hall 6, first floor east). Lifelike
dioramas and other new-style exhibits-
(6-10:30 p.m.).

Open House: "Behind the Scenes,"
7 to 10:30 p.m. Visitors are invited to take
elevator to third and fourth floors where the
scientific staff and other Museum workers
will welcome them in laboratories, studios,
offices, and the Library and explain various
phases of a museum's operation.

STAGE SHOW, 8:30-9:30 P.M.

In James Simpson Theatre
(Ground Floor West)

•'AMERICAN INDIAN STYLE SlfOVy"

Thirty-four young women will model cos-
tumes from tribes in all parts of the U. S.,
under the direction of Frederic H. Douglas,
Curator of Native Art, Denver Art Museum.

Pagei

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1952

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT—

{Continued from page S)

"The main purpose is to help promote
inter-racial understanding by pointing out
in dramatic fashion the basic resemblances
between jjeoples of different races rather
than playing up the slight superficial differ-
ences between them. Women of both Indian
and White groups share a deep common in-
terest in fine clothing and have achieved
results that in many ways have remarkable
similarity in purpose and function if not in
actual details of materials used. Like her
White sister, the Indian woman is well aware
of new materials for construction and dec-
oration and of the most effective use of these
materials. Her styles change more slowly
than those of our life — in response to the
same felt need for something different now
and then. She recognizes clearly that differ-
ent types of garments are indicated for dif-
ferent purpo.ses, that dressing up does some-
thing important for a woman's psyche.

"All of the clothes are of Indian manufac-
ture and none is a replica. The clothes
range in time from about 1830 to 1948,
though many represent types of greater
antiquity. In geography the range is from
Florida to Labrador to British Columbia to
Arizona. In function the range includes
party dresses of many types, house and work
clothes, and costumes for special social or
religious events such as debuts and weddings.

"A feature of the show that sometimes
puzzles people is the absence of feathers.
Actually, women under native conditions
wore feathers relatively rarely and then
under ceremonial conditions. Indian women
were also for the most part hatless. Basket
caps were once worn fairly widely in the
West, but they hardly came within the scope
of the word 'hat.'

"Though Indian women's dresses seem to
be bewildering in variety there are actually
only seven basic types in the United States
and Canada, each characteristic of one large
area. For example, practically everywhere
west of the Rockies and south of the Colum-
bia River the basic dress was a pair of fore-
and-aft aprons. In the entire area east of
the Mississippi, except to the north, a short
wrap-around skirt was the fundamental gar-
ment. All of these types were adaptable to
infinite variations and one of the most inter-
esting aspects of the Style Show is the skill
and taste displayed by Indian dressmakers
in working new materials into the old basic
dress-designs."

STAFF TO WELCOME MEMBERS

After the show, as part of open house,
those especially interested in the Indian cos-
tumes or in Indian lore in general will have an
opportunity to discuss these subjects with the
curators of American ethnology and archae-
ology in the Department of Anthropology.

Chief curators, associate curators, assistant
curators, artists, taxidermists, plant-repro-

duction experts, technicians, librarians, and
other members of the staff will be present to
greet Museum Members, to answer ques-
tions, and to demonstrate some of the un-
usual things they do in preparation of exhib-
its. The open house will also provide oppor-
tunity for Members to learn first-hand from
these members of the staff something about
the institution's world-wide expeditions and
about developments in natural-science
research.

NEW TECHNIQUES USED

The new Hall of Plains Indians, which will
be previewed on Members' Night, apart from
its interest for its own subject, is notable also
as the latest example of new exhibition tech-
niques being used in the Museum. This new
method of preparation of material is grad-
ually giving a new face to exhibits in all
departments — Anthropology, Botany, Geol-
ogy, and Zoology. Its utilization reduces
the specimens placed on view from a quanti-
tative standpoint and increases their value
qualitatively. The material shown is se-
lected because it is significant. Specimens
within a case and from case to case are chosen
for relation and inter-relation to tell a con-
nected story. Thus the visitor is not con-
fronted with the long rows of specimens that
characterized exhibits of old-fashioned types.
Attractive and contrasting pastel colors in
backgrounds, the most advanced forms of
lighting, and a wide variety of novel devices
to link exhibited material and explain its
meaning combine to dispel any vestiges of
the old-time complaint known as "museum
fatigue."

For the convenience of visitors coming
by all means of transportation and from
all parts of the city, the Museum has
arranged for special bus-service for
which no fares will be collected and no
transfers required. A chartered bus
will leave Michigan Avenue at Jackson
Boulevard for the Museum at intervals
of about fifteen minutes, beginning
at 6:30 p.m. Frequent returns from
the Museum to the Loop will be made,
the last bus leaving the Museum at
10:45 p.m.

DEVONIAN VERTEBRATES
FROM NOVA SCOTIA

Many of the discoveries of early verte-
brates have been made in sediments that are
otherwise nearly devoid of fossils. Such a
formation, exposed near the shores of North-
umberland Straits in Nova Scotia, was
visited this summer by Dr. Robert H.
Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes. It con-
sists of a thick series of river-deposited red
and green shales and sandstones, among
which many hours of the most careful search
may yield nothing but a few poorly preserved
plant fragments.

After several unrewarding days, a small
bluish fragment of bone was found. Traced

uphill, the layer from which it had come was
finally located and proved to be full of small
pieces of bone. When part of the over-
burden had been removed to expose this
layer, not only fragments but also occasional
entire shields of armored fish-like vertebrates
came to light. A preliminary study at the
Museum has indicated that these creatures
lived about 350 million years ago at the very
beginning of the Devonian period. They
are the first well-preserved specimens of this
age to be found in North America.

Dr. Denison also brought back a few
vertebrates from still older Silurian black
shales near St. John, New Brunswick. Col-
lections were made in younger Devonian
rocks at Campbellton, New Brunswick, and
at Miguasha, Quebec. These two localities
contain varied and well-known fish faunas
that hitherto had not been adequately rep-
resented in our collections.

STUDIES OF SALAMANDERS
IN MEXICO COMPLETED

The second summer of field work in cen-
tral Mexico by Clifford H. Pope, Curator of
Amphibians and Reptiles, proved to be even
more successful than the first (1951). The
main object was the investigation of sala-
mander ecology and distribution in the rugged
eastern slopes of the great Mexican plateau.
The center of activity lay in the region be-
tween the cities of Jalapa and Orizaba. The
former lies at the base of the Cofre de Perote,
the latter just southeast of the Pico de
Orizaba, highest of North American moun-
tains except those of Alaska and immediately
adjacent British Columbia. The Cofre de
Perote and the Pico de Orizaba lie at the
extremities of a mountain area rich in sala-
mander life, and a valuable collection ac-
companied by copious ecological notes was
secured.

Curator Pope did not confine his activities
to the study and collection of salamanders
but secured hundreds of specimens of other
amphibians and reptiles as well. All of
these abound in the rich vegetation of the
lower mountains where even much of the
country under cultivation affords excellent
cover for these cold-blooded animals. This
dense cover is in the form of coffee-banana
plantations where the low coffee bushes are
shaded by banana plants and various kinds
of trees.

This field trip lasted from June 16 through
September 3, dates of departure from and
return to Chicago. A distance of some 7,500
miles was traversed by automobile.

I hold the unconquerable belief that
science and peace will triumph over igno-
rance and war, that nations will come
together not to delay but to construct, and
that the future belongs to those who accom-
plish most for humanity. — Louis Pasteur

October, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

A Members' Night Feature . . .

AMERICAN INDIAN DOLLS
IN A SPECIAL EXHIBIT

By CHRISTINE TARDY

BULLETIN STAFF WRITER

IN OUR OWN CULTURE, dolls are chil-
dren's playthings, and this is true in most
cultures. There are, though, a few societies
where dolls are unknown, and there are a few
others where special kinds of dolls are not
playthings. To complement the Indian
theme for Members' Night on Friday,
October 10, the Museum is placing a special
exhibit of Indian dolls in Stanley Field Hall.
Dolls of American Indian tribes from coast
to coast and border to border are being
shown, along with a few from Eskimo tribes.
Most of the dolls were made for Indian chil-
dren to play with, but the fascination of
many derives from their functions when not
intended as toys.

The kachina dolls on exhibition come from
the Hopi people of the Southwest. They
are part of a collection of 180 kachina dolls
recently presented to the Museum by Byron
Harvey III of Chicago, who has been col-
lecting kachinas since he was a youngster.
Two are shown on our cover.

Although Hopi kachina dolls are made
for and given to children, they are not to
play with but are used as a means of educat-
ing the children in religious tradition.
Kachinas have three aspects: (1) super-
natural spirits as they exist in the minds of
the Hopis, (2) the masked impersonators of
supernatural beings who perform dances in
the religious ceremonies, and (3) the small
dolls carved in likenesses of the dancers im-
personating the spirits.

DOLLS ARE SCULPTURE

When a kachina ceremony is about due, a
man will go along the banks of the river in
search of a three-to-four-inch-thick root of a
dead cottonwood tree, which he cuts off.
With a chisel and a saw, he roughs out his
sculpture and with a penknife he whittles
out simplified detail. Then he sands it
smooth with a piece of sandstone, adds a coat
of white kaolin paint, puts touches of color
here and there in simplified emulation of the
dancer's costume, adds feathers and bits of
horn or bone where needed to imitate decora-
tions, and hides it until the appointed day
for presentation to his small child. From
December to July each year there occurs a
whole series of "Christmases" for Hopi chil-
dren, because with each kachina ceremony
(about one a month in this period) all chil-
dren receive presents of kachina dolls, sweets,
fruits, and toys. The kachina dolls are not
to play with, however, but are hung up on
walls of the child's home to be studied, and
in this way the child becomes acquainted
with aspects of the Hopi religious traditions.

Other non-toy functions of certain Indian
dolls, aside from those of the kachina dolls,
are to be seen in the collection of Mrs.

Lenore Blanchard Warner of the Museum's
Department of Botany, lent for this exhibit
from her personal collection. Mrs. Warner's
interest in Indian life goes back to her child-
hood, when she played with Indian children
out west. But her interest in Indian dolls
began twenty-five years ago when her anthro-
pologist husband, the late Paul J. Warner,
who spent many years with Indian tribes,
once brought her a pair of cornhusk dolls
made by a blind Iroquois woman. (Mr.
Warner was a member of the staff of the
Museum's Department of Anthropology for
twelve years before his death in 1950.)
Later she received more Indian dolls in pay-

COLLECTOR'S ITEM
Doll of the Sauk and Fox. It is carved from wood
and dressed with painstaking faithfulness to tribal
clothing traditions, complete even to a small fur cap
and decorative beadwork. In the exhibit of dolls
from collection of Mrs. Lenore Blanchard Warner.

ment for illustrating a book about Indians.
By this time she had developed an active
interest in Indian women and children, in
their customs, and in dolls, and has devoted
the years since to extensive research on these
subjects. In talks before women's groups,
she uses the dolls to illustrate aspects of
Indian life.

EVEN AN 'imaginary' DOLL

One of the most interesting in Mrs.
Warner's collection is an imaginary doll!
From the Sioux of South Dakota, she has a
beautifully beaded miniature cradleboard or
papoose-carrier, filled with soft milkweed
floss, worn by a woman whose baby had died.
The mother carried this on her back and
rested it on the bank of a stream as she did
her washing or fishing, talking and cooing
to it as though a live baby were there. It
seemed to alleviate her grief, and the pre-

NATURE PHOTO CONTEST
ENTRIES INVITED

All photographers, both amateur and pro-
fessional, who include nature subjects in
their work are invited to submit entries for
the Eighth Chicago International Exhibition
of Nature Photography to be held at the
Museum February 2 to March 1. Spon-
sored jointly by the Nature Camera Club of
Chicago and Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum, the contest awards silver medals and
ribbons to winners in various print and slide
classifications. Divisions are Animal Life,
Plant Life, and General (scenic).

Deadline for entries is January 17. All
entries should be sent to the Museum.
Entry forms and a complete summary of
conditions of the contest may be obtained
from the Museum.

tending might help her to realize the hope
that soon another baby would come along to
fill a real cradleboard.

DOLLS NOT FOR PLAY

Eskimos occasionally make dolls to repre-
sent deceased persons, and these are taken
to feasts and "fed" in order that the departed
may continue to enjoy the company and
good times of friends. These are carved of
bone or ivory. Mostly, however, Eskimo
dolls are children's playthings. A doll from
Greenland in Mrs. Warner's collection is a
perfect miniature fashion-plate with tiny
sealskin boots (fur side turned in), an eider-
down-lined coat, and an intricately beaded
yoke collar.

A number of the dolls are useful for a study
of clothing customs. There is an Apache
doll with "cactus-snubber" moccasins — the
tip of the sole is extended in front of the toes
to prevent sharp cactus from hurting the
feet. Another Apache doll represents an
attempt to emulate fashions seen on white
women in the year 1860. The leather is '
carefully cut into fringe to represent rows of
rufHes, and the doll is given an off-shoulder
neckline and bobbed hair.

Among the Navaho, dolls made before the
Indians' contact with the friendly Mormons
show the Navaho woman's dress as two
blankets fastened together at the shoulders.
But as soon as calico became available,
Indian women took up the Mormon woman's
costume of long full-fiounced skirt and belted
overblouse. AH this is shown in the cos-
tuming of some of the dolls.

The smallest doll is about one and one-half
inches tall, and the largest nearly two feet
tall. They date from the early 1800's to the
present. After Members' Night, the dolls
will be on exhibition for the public until
November 9. Visitors should not expect
them to be in perfect condition — the paint is
worn on many, and others have suffered the
fervent hugs of many a small Indian — but all
have interesting stories behind them.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1952

NEW HALL PREVIEW— MEMBERS' NIQHT . . .

EXHIBIT OF NOMADIC PLAINS INDIANS' CULTURE

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOR OF EXHIBITS

THE NEW EXHIBIT of Plains Indian
culture will be open to the public on
October 11 after a preview by Museum
Members and guests on Members' Night,
Friday evening, October 10. The exhibit
occupies the west half of Hall 6.

The Plains Indians were nomadic hunters.
They used horses for travel and transporta-
tion and for hunting the buffalo. Before the
17th century the Plains Indians did not have
horses and the Plains area seems to have

of the buffalo was food, the hide was used for
shelter and clothing and for many other
things, the bone was used for tools and
weapons, and the dried buffalo-dung was
used for fuel. In short every bit of the
buffalo was used.

The Plains tribes were the Blackfoot,
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Gros Ventre,
Dakota (Sioux), Kiowa, and Comanche.
All of these tribes are represented in the new
exhibit, which contains twenty-five indi-
vidual cases that express important themes
or categories of Plains Indian culture.

TYPICAL EQUIPMENT FOR PLAINS INDIAN CHILDREN

Cradles, toys, clothing, and other needs of children are included. This case exemplifies the new type of

exhibit in the new anthropology hall opening on Members' Night, October 10.

been a marginal region where making a living
was somewhat difficult. However, the in-
troduction of the horse from the Spanish
settlements in the Southwest in the 17th
century provided the necessary mobility for
efficient exploitation of the great herds of
buffalo.

For instance. Plains Indian villages con-
sisting of tipis or skin-covered tents could be
quickly moved from place to place. Tents
and all other belongings were packed on
horses or dragged behind horses on a pole-
conveyance called a travois. Mounted hunt-
ers pursued the buffalo. In a typical buffalo
hunt witnessed by George Catlin in 1832,
about 300 buffaloes were killed in fifteen
minutes by a group of about thirty hunters.
Bows and arrows and spears were used to
kill the buffalo. For this purpose bows and
arrows were more efficient than the muzzle-
loading guns of the period because the more
primitive weapons could be shot more
quickly.

The buffalo was the most important thing
in the lives of the Plains Indians. The flesh

These themes or categories are Men's Cloth-
ing, Women's Clothing, Livelihood, Travel
and Transportation, Preparation of Food,
Household Furnishings and Equipment,
Children's Equipment, Games, Warfare,
Pictographic War Records, Ceremonial Life,
Equipment of the Medicine Men, and Art.
The appearance of the Indians is shown by a
group of original oil paintings made by
George Catlin in 1832 Another exhibit
shows the origin of Plains tribes and the
introduction of the horse and how it changed
Plains culture. One of the two dioramas in
the new exhibit depicts a buffalo hunt; the
other shows a typical village of skin-covered
tents or tipis.

In addition to the exhibits illustrating
Plains culture, there are ten exhibits dealing
with inter-mountain tribes that were strongly
influenced by Plains culture. These tribes
were the Nez Perc6, Kutenai, Flathead,
Cayuse, Wasco, Yakima, Klikitat, Bannock,
Shoshoni, Ute, Paviotso, and Paiute. All
of these tribes originally were food gatherers
and hunters who lived a life quite different

from that of the Plains tribes. But with the
flowering or climax of Plains culture, these
tribes took over many Plains characteristics
— clothing, shelter, buffalo hunting, art
styles, etc., and added these to their own
basic culture. Their own basic culture per-
sisted but was overshadowed by the more
spectacular Plains traits that they had
adopted.

The exhibits were planned by the writer,
as Curator of Exhibits, and were installed by
Preparator Walter C. Reese. Artist Gustaf
Dalstrom is responsible for the composition
and colors used as well as the art work in
general. Manikins used in the display of
clothing were made by Ceramic Restorer
John Pletinckx. The dioramas are the work
of Dioramist Alfred Lee Rowell.

FREE CHILDREN'S MOVIES
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS

Nine free motion-picture programs for
children will be given in the Autumn Series
to be presented at the Museum on Saturday
mornings during October and November by
the James Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond
Foundation. Two of the film programs will
be accompanied with talks by lecturers who
appear also in the autumn lecture course for
adults. The speakers are Don Catlin on
October 1 1 and Murl Deusing on November 8.

The children's programs will be given at
10:30 A.M., beginning October 4, in the James
Simpson Theatre. Children may come
alone, accompanied by parents or other
adults, or in groups from schools, clubs, and
other centers. No tickets are needed.
Following are the titles and dates of the
programs:

October 4 — The Story of the Jungle
Also a cartoon

October 11 — Thunderbird — Along
Navaho Trails
Story by Don Catlin

October 18— The Magic Horse
A legend of a small boy and his tiny hump-
backed horse

October 25 — PEOPLE ALONG THE

Mississippi
Also a cartoon

November 1— GETTING Ready for Winter
Also a cartoon

November 8 — Exploring the Everglades
Story by Murl Deusing

November 15 — India
Also a cartoon

November 22 — Your Favorite

Animal Movies
Also a cartoon

November 29 — Animal Legends
Also a cartoon

October, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

SATURDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES, FILMS START OCTOBER 4

THE SMELL OF BURNING LEAVES
and the early hints of chill in the air are
accompanied by a renewed surge of interest
in intellectual activities after summer's
lethargy.

The Museum's annual contribution to
autumn-stimulated intellectual hunger comes
in a series of free lectures on Saturday after-
noons throughout October and November.
In each case the lecturer is the explorer who
made the films illustrating his experiences —
and the audience shares the adventure and
is spared its discomforts. Time and space
are traversed freely to bring inside reports of
areas much in the news today — Africa,
Japan, the Middle East, and Egypt. Adven-
tures in this hemisphere will deal with wild-
life, Newfoundland, Navaho territory, life in
Florida's Everglades, and Guatemala.

The lectures will be presented each Satur-
day afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. Limited
accommodations make it necessary to re-
strict these lectures to adults. For children,
however, free motion-pictures will be pre-
sented on the mornings of the same Satur-
days by the Raymond Foundation.

These are the adult lectures scheduled this
season :

October 4 — Newfoundland
Dick Bird

Britain's oldest colony, which recently be-
came Canada's newest province, abounds in
moose, caribou, bear, and sea-bird colonies,
not to mention the fertile fishing banks that
first attracted European interest and settlers.
Mr. Bird, of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada,
has filmed all this in color, in addition to a
study of St. John's, North America's oldest
city, with its crafts and industries and rugged
scenery.

October 11-

-Thunderbird — Along
Navaho Trails

Don Cailin

The fantastic land of painted deserts, tow-
ering red spires, deep canyons, and rainbow
arches, where dinosaurs once roamed, is the
home of the Navaho. In spite of exploitation
first by gold-hungry Conquistadores and
then by trappers, traders, and land-grabbing
settlers, the Navaho has managed to main-
tain parts of his once-great culture. Mr. Cat-
lin. Research Associate in History, Milwaukee
Public Museum, has recorded on color-film
some of the ancient ceremonies and customs
— tribal dances, sign language, medicine-
men's rituals, marriage, courtship, and death
customs — and on the sound-track he has
recorded the songs and chants of the Navaho.

October 18 — Action in Africa

James T. Monesmith

Mr. Monesmith started out as a business-
man with a special interest in hunting. This

led him into adventures all over the jungles
of Africa, after "small stuff" of this hemi-
sphere developed his hunting skill. Fortu-
nately for zoos, museums, and audiences, he
"brings 'em back" both alive and dead and
with exciting records on film. He is accompa-
nied on his safaris by an expert big-game
hunter — his 12-year-old daughter — who is a
crack shot. This movie is of an adventure
into hinterlands never before filmed.

MAYA CHILD 'ACTRESSES'
In highlands that bred a great civilization, CliHord
J. Kamen found these sisters who play roles in his
film, "Guatemala." Mr. Kamen shows this motion
picture when he lectures at the Museum on Novem-
ber 29, in the Saturday lecture course that opens
in the James Simpson Theatre October 4.

October 25 — The New Japan

Bowen C. Dees

Dr. Dees' three years in Japan just after
the war placed him in touch with the most
vital forces and personages now molding
Japan's changing way of life. On film he
has recorded the contrast between the old
and the new as it appears from the Caucasian
Ainu culture in the north to the industrial-
ized and Westernized cities of the south.
This documentary visualization of an un-
settled civilization provides important back-
ground material for an understanding of Far
Eastern affairs today.

RESERVED SEATS
FOR MEMBERS
No tickets are necessary for ad-
mission to tliese lectures. A sec-
tion 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
writing, and seats will be held in
the Member's name until 2:25
o'clock on the lecture day.

November 1 — Realm OF THE Wild
A. Tyler Hull

American wildlife — of interest to the nat-
uralist as well as the sportsman — is compre-
hensively filmed by this noted American
camerman. Fishes and the underwater world
of fairyland marine growth off Florida's coast
are shown. Birds of the continent, familiar
and strange, are to be seen as they live. Big
and small game from all over the country are
captured and studied in this color film.

November 8— EXPLORING THE EVERGLADES

Murl Deusing

Mr. Deusing's notable camera studies in
nature (in Disney's "Nature's Half Acre"
and "Beaver Valley") have won wide ac-
claim. During the war when he was unable
to travel to exotic places for his subject-
material in films, he went to his own back
yard for actors and action. His film of the
Florida Everglades is a penetration through
prohibitive terrain in search of the unique
plant, animal, and human life that makes its
home there. He shows the Seminole Indians
in their difficult adjustment to and conquer-
ing of this no-man's land. Mr. Deusing is
Curator of Education at the Milwaukee Pub-
lic Museum.

November 15 — The Troubled Middle
East
Colonel Homer F. Kellems

Films of explosive trouble-spots in the
Middle East illustrate Colonel Kellems' lec-
ture on the issues at stake and the peoples of
this little-understood area. Here are min-
gled factors of diverse religions, economic
systems, customs, and politias, all floating
on "hot oil."

November 22 — Egypt — A Voyage into
the Past

Ray Garner

The Nile begins high in the Mountains of
the Moon, starting as single drops of water
off the tip of Stanley Glacier. The 5,000-
mile course of its majestic growth as it flows
through a desert on its way to the sea and the
course of the great kingdoms it has supported
for thousands of years are traced with scien-
tific accuracy and artistic presentation in
this color-film.

November 29 — Guatemala
Clifford J. Kamen

No two scenes are quite alike in Guate-
mala, and Mr. Kamen has tried to show this
in his film. From village to village the
people dress with distinct differences, so that
you can identify a person's village by his
clothing. There are places where the ancient
Indian gods are worshipped still, in this land
that knew the great Maya and Aztec
civilizations.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1952

APE-MEN OF AFRICA
FOCUS OF STUDIES

By ALEXANDER SPOEHR

CURATOR OF OCEANIC BTBNOLOQY

Through the generosity of the American
Institute of Human Paleontology and the
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropo-
logical Research, the Museum has recently
been presented with two fine casts of a
mandible and pelvic fragment of a very
important fossil find, Australopithecris pro-
methus. In the never-ending search for
man's early fossil ancestors, the spotlight
is presently focused on South Africa, where
in recent years a series of highly significant
and curious finds has been made that
bears directly on the problem of human

APE-MAN JAW
Cast of lower jaw of Australopithecus promethus.
Although the jaw is not large (illustration about
two-thirds actual size) the molar teeth are enor-
mous, being at least twice the size found in man,
although the cusp patterns exhibit many of the
characteristics found in human teeth.

ancestry. These finds, including the two
represented by the casts, consist of the
remains of some thirty individuals and to-
gether are known as the Australopithecines.

The significance of these finds is that they
combine a number of unusual features.
These creatures had small brains and large
jaws — both ape-like characteristics. On the
other hand, certain aspects of the dentition
are decidedly man-like. The bicuspid,
first lower premolar, is remarkably human,
and the canine teeth were small and ap-
parently did not interlock — another human
feature. The form of the dental arch also
resembles the condition found in man. The
skull, though small, is larger than that of
the living apes. Furthermore, from the
pelvis (hip bone) and the manner in which
the skull was placed on the vertebral column
it is certain that these creatures possessed
erect posture in a distinctly human fashion.
It is completely erroneous to consider that
the modem apes are ancestral to man, but
the Australopithecines combine human fea-
tures with primitive anthropoid ones.

The mandible, the cast of which is shown
in the accompanying photograph, was

found in the central Transvaal. The upper
part, or ramus, is missing. It is interesting
to note that the jaw had been fractured
before the death of the individual by a
terrific blow directly into the face. In the
words of Professor Raymond A. Dart, of
the University of the Witwatersrand, who
described the find, the fracture was caused
by a "localized, crushing impact received
by the face slightly to the left of the midline
in the incisor region and administered pre-
sumably by a bludgeon."

The last point is interesting. Apes
generally rely on teeth and nails in close-
quarter combat rather than on weapons
held in the hand (a human characteristic).
The use of a hand-held weapon requires
not so much more intelligence as upright
posture — being able to pivot upright on
the legs, which in turn are supported by
something approaching man's principal
specialization, the human foot.

The pelvic fragment is interesting in that
it exhibits evidence for the upright posture
of Australopithecus. Both pelvis and man-
dible are those of an adolescent.

How the Australopithecines fit into the
pattern of human evolution is at present a
matter of analysis and discussion. Whether
they are an evolutionary radiation from the
presumed Hominid ancestral stock, a radia-
tion that later became extinct, or whether
they lie closer to the main stream of fossil
forms that eventually took the path leading
to man is still not clear. Much depends on
the geological dating of the finds, a question
that has not yet been worked out except
very roughly. The age of these fossil men
is approximately a million years. Regard-
less of this uncertainty as to dating, their
discovery has added a most significant group
of fossils to the ever-growing record of the
Primate forms preceding the known appear-
ance of man.

GIRL SCOUTS TO STUDY
NATURE AT MUSEUM

In accordance with its policy of co-operat-
ing wherever possible with worthy youth
organizations in educational endeavors, Chi-
cago Natural History Museum is extending
the use of its facilities in connection with a
"Nature Study Project" organized last
month for the Girl Scouts of the Chicago
region.

The project is sponsored by Howard T.
Greene, president of Brook Hill Farms, Inc.,
of Chicago, in celebration of the fiftieth an-
niversary of his dairy farms at Genesee
Depot, Wisconsin. Some 3,000 troops, com-
prising approximately 55,000 Girl Scouts,
are participating. Included are not only
those troops within the city of Chicago but
also those of five Illinois counties (Cook,
Lake, Kane, DuPage, and Will) and those
of Lake County, Indiana. This area em-
braces the entire group of communities from

Waukegan, Illinois, to Michigan City,
Indiana.

Girl Scout leaders began bringing their
troops to the Museum in September and will
continue bringing them until November 21
to study the exhibits of birds, mammals, in-
sects, and plants. The leader of each group
selects one of these subjects for the girls to
explore. On their arrival at the Museum,
the Girl Scouts register and are provided
with maps and directions to aid them in
hunting out the exhibits that give the infor-
mation required. The data to help them is
prepared by the staff of the James Nelson
and Anna Louise Raymond Foundation, one
of the two divisions of the Museum devoted
to correlating the institution's educational
resources with school programs.

After their visits to the Museum, the Girl
Scouts are to write, on behalf of each troop,
a letter on "What We Learned at the Museum
About Mammals" (or flowers, birds, or what-
ever subject any particular troop chooses).
These letters must be submitted to Brook
Hill Farms before November 22. The letters
will be considered for merit, and to each of
the 100 troops judged to have written the
best letters Brook Hill Farms will present an
official Girl Scout American flag. Miss
Miriam Wood, Chief of the Raymond Foun-
dation staff, will be one of the judges.

AWARDS IN DECEMBER

Presentation of flags to winning troops
will be made at a ceremony in the Museum's
James Simpson Theatre on Saturday,
December 6. Girl Scout leaders and families
of members of the winning troops will be
invited to attend. There will be music by a
leading service-club band, and a soloist will
lead in the singing of "The Star-Spangled
Banner." Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Direc-
tor of the Museum, will act as host, and pre-
sentation of the awards will be made by Mr.
Greene on behalf of Brook Hill Farms.
Officials of the Girl Scout councils will be on
the stage as guests of honor.

The project was officially begun on Sep-
tember 27 with a flag-raising ceremony at
the Museum in which a group of senior Girl
Scouts participated. Mr. Greene, Museum
representatives, and officials of the Girl Scouts
attended.

Because of the impetus supplied by this
project, it is expected that organized nature-
study by Girl Scout troops will be continued
on Museum visits throughout the winter
months.

Distinguished Visitor from India

Dr. M. R. Sahni, a supervising geologist
attached to the Geological Survey of India,
with headquarters at Calcutta, recently
spent several days inspecting collections at
this Museum. He consulted with Dr. Sharat
K. Roy, Chief Curator of Geology, and
Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of In-
vertebrate Paleontology.

October, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 9

MUSEUM NEWS FLASHES
ON 4 TV STATIONS

Chicago Natural History Museum has
taken the first steps toward an extensive use
of television for publicizing its educational
activities and for spreading knowledge in the
fields of natural science.

Arrangements have been completed with
all four of the Chicago television stations
(WNBQ, WBKB, WENR-TV, WGN-TV)
for the carrying of Museum news and an-
nouncements with pictures, both still and
"live," of specimens from Museum collec-
tions or of complete exhibits. The service
has begun, and material appears on each
station on an average of twice a day. The
first releases of this type of material went on
the air in August. They appear in station
breaks — 8-to-60-second "spots" in the inter-
vals between regular programs. Although
they are given frequently, no definite sched-
uled times are set. In all cases, the stations
are televising this material as a part of their
public service and educational activities
without any cost to the Museum. They are
thus making a contribution of time that at
commercial rates would cost several hundred
dollars a day.

In addition, several plans are under con-
sideration whereby, in the not far future, the
Museum may be able to present material in
regular programs or series of programs, prob-
ably running to one-half hour in length. If
suitable sponsors or subsidization should be-
come available, the inauguration of a valu-
able educational service could be expedited.

MUSEUM A TV PIONEER

Some Chicagoans may recall that 'way
back in the early days of television, when
there was only one station on the air in
Chicago and only about one hundred homes
in the city had receivers, the Museum pio-
neered in experiments with television as an
educational medium. That now seems long
ago in video history, although actually it was
as recent as 1940. At that time members of
the Museum's scientific staff and lecturers of
the Raymond Foundation appeared in a
series of twelve educational programs given
over what was then Chicago's only TV sta-
tion—W9XZV, operated by the Zenith Radio
Corporation. The Museum speakers demon-
strated the subjects of their talks with ethno-
logical, botanical, geological, and zoological
specimens (some of the las.t named, like
turtles and snakes, were alive).

Later, as television progressed, the Museum
continued to participate in occasional pro-
grams, especially in the past few years during
which families in Chicago with television
sets have increased from the original one
hundred or so to several hundred thousand.

At the time of the experimental work on
the old Zenith station. Colonel Cliflford C.
Gregg, Director of the Museum (then Field
Museum of Natural History )< wrote in Field
Museum News (May, 1940):

"Looking to the future, we see in television
a peculiarly efficacious opportunity for the
distribution of information to hundreds and
thousands of persons simultaneously. It is
conceivable that simultaneous instruction,
visual as well as auditory, may eventually be
transmitted from a central point to school
classrooms in every state in the union, even
as we are today giving auditory classroom
instruction by radio. Through television we
will have many additional advantages, by
being able to demonstrate, as well as tell
about our subjects. The children will learn
through their eyes, as well as their ears, since
we will thus be able to bring our materials to
them — living animals and plants, as well as
inanimate objects. Further, it will be pos-
sible to demonstrate methods with action.
In this way many children will see objects,
living creatures, and processes which would
not be otherwise available to them. In some
instances demonstrations may safely be given
by television which, if given in individual
classrooms or assemblies, might involve
hazards, as in the case of chemical experi-
ments, or as in the Zenith-Field Museum
series where during a lecture on reptiles,
living poisonous snakes were held up to view.

"It is highly appropriate that Field Mu-
seum, which is not only a teaching institu-
tion, but a research organization as well,
should be among the pioneers in the dis-
covery of and experimentation with new and
better methods of accomplishing its purpose.
Therefore we especially welcome television
as a new outlet through which to give the
world the results of scientific discovery."

Today it seems that Colonel Gregg's aspi-
rations may be on the verge of full realization.

broader radio scope, too

In addition to its television project, the
Museum's Division of Public Relations has
in the past few months broadened its cover-
age of radio stations. Always, in the last
quarter-century since radio broadcasting has
been a serious factor in communications, the
Museum's publicity releases for newspapers
have been sent also to the newsrooms of the
principal radio stations of the Chicago area
and to the national networks. Much of this
material has been heard over the air. In
past years, the Museum has also had several
series of programs of its own on various sta-
tions and has co-operated in programs of
other organizations.

Under the latest extension of the Museum's
radio efforts, in addition to the news releases
sent to stations, a new series of "spot" an-
nouncements for radio (different from those
on TV) has been inaugurated. These an-
nouncements are especially designed for sta-
tion breaks. With the beginning of this
service in July, the list of radio stations cov-
ered was increased to 26, large and small,
both AM and FM, or nearly all of the sta-
tions in Chicago. All of these were queried
before service was instituted, and all re-
sponded that they would and could use such

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower Inver-
tebrates, left for Florida early in September
on a field trip. Establishing headquarters
on a quiet beach on the Atlantic Coast, he is
collecting marine animals of various kinds
and studying the life conditions of beach-
dwelling creatures. Philip Hershkovitz,
Assistant Curator of Mammals, has returned
to the Museum from Colombia after three
years of intensive collecting. He obtained
some birds, insects, reptiles, and amphibians
as well as specimens in his own field.

Miss Miriam Wood, Chief of the Ray-
mond Foundation, is in New York for a
month as one of the five representatives of
the United States at a UNESCO-sponsored
international seminar on "The Role of
Museums in Education." The seminar,
held at the Brooklyn Museum of Arts and
Sciences, is limited to 45 participants from
member countries of the United Nations.

Miss Edith Fleming has been appointed
to the lecture staff of the Raymond Founda-
tion. She is a graduate of the University of
Chicago and has a master's degree in anthro-
pology from that institution. Before com-
ing to the Museum, Miss Fleming was a
research assistant for the University's Com-
mittee on Human Development. She re-
places Mrs. June Buchwald, who has
resigned.

Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of
the Herbarium, was recently invited to at-
tend the Third General Assembly of the
International Congress for the Protection of
Nature held in Caracas, Venezuela, in
September. Although unable to go, he
forwarded a paper to be read at the congress
on "The Destructive Effect of Dams to Plant
Life," based on a botanical survey that he
made in certain areas of the Ozarks.

Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of
Anthropology and leader of the Archaeolog-
ical Expedition to the Southwest, has com-
pleted his season of excavations in New
Mexico and returned to the Mu.seum. Dr.
John B. Rinaldo, Assistant Curator of
Archaeology, and Miss Elaine Bluhm,
Assistant in Archaeology, are also back at
their Museum desks. Other members of the
expedition, who served as temporary assist-
ants to the Museum personnel, were Miss
Marjory Kelly, research archaeologist, and
two students of archaeology, Robert Adams
and Thomas Alder.

material. The results, estimated from such
scattered listeners' repwrts as are available,
have been excellent.

The Museum would be pleased to hear
from its members, and others, reports of
stations, hours, and dates when they see or
hear Museum television or radio material
and also their reactions to it. This data will
help evaluate the effectiveness of activity
through these media.

Page 10

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1952

COLOR CHANGES IN LEAVES
AND THEIR MEANING

EVERY AUTUMN we are given a mag-
nificent display of color that outdoes
anything technicolor can produce. At its
most spectacular in the broad-leafed decidu-
ous trees of the temperate zones, this familiar
phenomenon has long fascinated nature
lovers and scientists alike. But for all the
centuries it has been observed, we are only
now approaching a complete understanding
of color change in nature and its meaning in
the life of the plant, for the chemical and
physical processes involved are extremely
complex.

Autumn coloring, an outward expression
of fundamental changes inside the leaf,
seems to be mainly associated with the
waning vitality of the leaf. As the season of
growth slows up toward a stop, a special
layer of cells forms at the base of the leaf.
Behind this layer, the cells of the stem be-
come corky and clog the passage of water.
This cuts down the exchange of materials to
and from the leaf, which interferes (among
other things) with the development of
chloroph,vll, the all-important green pigment
so essential in the production of organic sub-
stances from the inorganic raw materials
taken in by the plant. If more chlorophyll
(which means "green leaf" in Greek) cannot
be manufactured to replace that lost through
destruction by sunlight, the leaves lose their
green color.

GREEN TURNS YELLOW

When that happens, any other coloring
matter formerly masked by the green may
show up. There is also some evidence to
indicate the formation of new coloring matter
not present in the leaf before decomposition
of the chlorophyll began.

As the green disappears, yellow is most apt
to replace it. Two important yellow pig-
ments— carotene (named from carrots) and
zanthophyll ("yellow" in Greek) — are always
found in association with chlorophyll. You
can demonstrate this easily by warming some
fresh green leaves in ethyl alcohol. Add
an equal quantity of benzene, shake up the
mixture, and watch it separate into two lay-
ers, an upper green one and a lower yellow
one. The top layer, of course, is chlorophyll
dissolved in benzene, and the bottom layer
is carotene and zanthophyll dissolved in alco-
hol. Because yellow pigments have greater
stability in sunlight, they are usually seen
after the sun has destroyed the chlorophyll.

'photographic' PHENOMENON

Red colors may also appear. You may
have noticed that a bright and sunny autumn
sometimes produces more vivid coloration
than a dull and cloudy season. When
chlorophyll disappears, more light is ad-
mitted to the leaf, which may affect the
development of red pigments. If you cover
part of a maple or oak tree as it is changing,
the shaded section will stay yellow while the

rest turns red. Sometimes one leaf will
"photograph" itself onto another when one
shades another. The upper leaf will be red,
from more sunlight, and the shaded section
of the lower leaf will be yellow, following
perfectly the outlines of the leaf above.

TEMPERATURE A FACTOR

Temperature has something to do with it,
too. As it happens, leaves that develop the
greatest intensity of red, such as the maples,
are rich in sugar. An abrupt change from
high summer temperatures to low autumn
temperatures may retard the movement of
sugars and other materials out of the leaf and
be conducive to pigment formation more
spectacular than that produced by gradual
temperature change. This is because most
of the red, blue, and purple colors of plants
are caused by pigments known as antho-
cyanins ("blue flower" in Greek), which
must have sugar in order to form. And it
may be that lower temperatures hinder the
conversion of sugar to starch, thus aiding the
change to red.

Aside from sunlight and temperature, in-
juries inflicted by insects, breaks, or fungus
can cause color change. When you see a
leaf partly yellow and partly red, it may be
due to such an injury. The injury or cut
probably happened while there was still a
lot of sugar in the leaf and if the sugar could
not be transferred from the severed section
as would be normal, it would remain for
anthocyanin formation. The section above
the cut in such leaves would stay green
longer than the rest of the leaf but finally
turn red in leaves that make anthocyanin.

WHY RED?

Anthocyanin pigments can be extracted
from plants with water, as you know if
you've ever boiled beets. Whether red or
blue predominates in a plant depends in
many instances on the reaction of the sap in
cells where the pigments occur. When the
cell sap is acid, the color is red, and when it's
alkaline, the color is blue. We don't advise
spraying a sugar maple with alkali to make
its leaves turn blue, but you can take a red
leaf and change it to blue with a few drops of
an alkali, and you can make a blue flower red
by putting it in a weak acid solution.

In some plants, production of anthocyan-
ins is a hereditary character and these plants
can become red in the absence of light, as
do beet roots, but others fail to develop
anthocyanin if deprived of blue-violet and
ultraviolet radiation. Recent experiments
showed that it is possible artificially to color
apples picked late in the summer by using
ultraviolet light.

As we witness these dramatic color-changes
in plants and study the chemical and physical
processes controlling them, we constantly
gain in our understanding of the real impor-
tance of these changes to the plant and,
thereby, to all living matter.

— C.T.

IWW 'HEARS AGO

i«ff THK MUShUM

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From In Brightest Africa by Carl E.
Akeley:

"By the time I had finished the deer
groups I had become pretty well convinced
that a real taxidermist needed to know the
technique of several quite different things.

"First, he must be a field man who can
collect his own specimens, for other people's
measurements are never very satisfactory,

Virginia Deer in Autumn. Prepared 50 years ago

by the late Carl E. Akeley, this is one of the '*Four

Seasons** groups exhibited in Richard T. Crane, Jr.,

Hall (American Mammals, Halt 16).

and actual study of the animals in their own
environment is necessary in making natural
groups.

"Second, he must know both animal anat-
omy and clay modeling in order to make his
models.

"Third, he should have something of the
artistic sense to make his groups pleasing as
well as accurate.

"Fourth, he must know the technique of
manikin making, the tanning of skins, and
making of accessories such as artificial leaves,
branches, etc.

"With all these different kinds of technique
in taxidermy it is obvious that if a man at-
tempts to do practically everj'thing himself,
as I did in the deer groups, taxidermy must
be a very slow process — just as if a painter
had to learn to make his own paint or a
sculptor to cast his own bronzes or chisel his
concepts out of granite or marble."

Australian Museum Aide a Visitor

F. R. Morrison, Deputy Director of the
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Syd-
ney, Australia, was a recent visitor at Chicago
Natural History Museum. Mr. Morrison is
a delegate to the UNESCO seminar on "The
Role of Museums in Education" in Brook-
lyn, New York.

October, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 11

HOW COLLECTORS OBTAIN
SMALLEST INSECTS

By henry S. DYBAS
associate curator of insects

COLLECTING specimens for the research
and reference collections is one of the
more important as well as colorful activities
of the Museum staff. The museum ento-
mologist has an especially big collecting job,
as our planet seems to be more richly en-
dowed with insects than with any other kind
of life. One type of insect collecting — the
stalk and wild gallop with a butterfly net — is
familiar enough to most of us. It is a per-
fectly legitimate way of collecting the larger
and more conspicuous and active insects, as
well as being good clean fun. But most in-

metol
funnel

debris con-
taining insects

wire screen

— rubber tubing

vial of alcohol

AN INSECT FUNNEL

Diagram of a simple apparatus used for collecting

microscopic insects, as described in accompanying

article by Associate Curator Henry S. Dybas.

sects, either because of their cryptic habits
or their small size, cannot be collected in this
way. The smallest of insects are about one-
hundredth of an inch long and are scarcely
visible under the most favorable light and
against a white background. In comparison
with insects of such size, the mosquito and
housefly are giants.

Minute insects are no less interesting sci-
entifically or important economically than
are large insects. We need to know about
these small things, and our collections should
contain them for study and comparison.
But these small forms remain relatively much
less known than the large species. It is one
thing to discover a bird or a butterfly in a
tropical forest, but it is a very different
matter to detect a speck of an insect, one-

fiftieth of an inch long, that is hiding in the
leaves and twigs on the forest floor.

entomologist's trade secrets

Visitors, who see some of these small kinds
of insects in our collection, commonly ask,
"Just how does one see and collect anything
that small?" The answer is partly in know-
ing where to look and what to look for and
partly in the use of special equipment. The
most generally useful piece of special equip-
ment for collecting tiny hidden insects is the
insect funnel.

With an insect funnel, an entomologist can
extract an astonishing variety and number of
insects out of such situations as decayed logs,
compost heaps, manures, straw, debris from
hollow trees, fungi, soil, and, indeed, almost
any conceivable organic material. Unusual
situations, such as pocket-gopher burrows
and chambers, subterranean fungus gardens
of tropical leaf-cutting ants, and the large
twiggy nests of pack rats, often produce very
unusual kinds of minute insects that are re-
stricted to these special habitats.

The total number of individual insects in
some of these situations is almost incredible.
Ivar Triigardh, of Sweden, recorded an aver-
age of 120,000, and a maximum of 282,500
Collembola, or springtails, per square meter
in the 2-5-inch layer of dead leaves and twigs
on the floor of a spruce forest in southern
Sweden.

HOW INSECT FUNNEL WORKS

The piece of equipment that Triigardh
used in making his collection of minute ani-
mals from the forest floor was the insect
funnel, first developed by the great Italian
entomologist Berlese in 1905 and now usually
named for him. Berlese, in a simple but
ingenious way, made use of a common reac-
tion that insects, living in such situations as
.soil and leaf-litter, make to conditions of heat
and dryness. Under such conditions, the
insects tend to burrow downward where it is
normally cooler and more moist. Berlese
brought samples of leaf-litter and other mate-
rials containing tiny insects to the labora-
tory, placed these on a wire screen in a large
funnel, and applied moderate heat to the
funnel. As the sample of debris became
warm and began to dry at the surface, the
insects gradually moved downward through
the debris until they passed through the
screen and fell into a vial of alcohol placed
under the narrow spout of the funnel. The
contents of the vial could then be sorted
under a microscope and even the most minute
of insects could be easily detected. When
this method of collecting was first introduced,
some very remarkable new types of insects
and other invertebrates were discovered.

It is difficult to overestimate the useful-
ness and importance of this simple device.
Not only does it offer us a tool for sampling
various niches in nature for the kinds of
minute insects and other animals that they

A GEOGRAPHICAL MYTH
ABOUT MEXICO

For more than a hundred years the public
was kept in a state of suspense over the
alleged Chinese discovery of Mexico in the
fifth century. The idea is pure fiction but
was given credence through the deductions
of De Guignes in the 18th century from
the Chinese account of a marvelous island
called Fu-sang. Fu-sang is not a real
country but a product of the imagination,
a geographical myth pieced together by
Buddhist monks from many different
sources. Whatever Chinese influences may
be found in the indigenous cultures of
America are not the result of a migration
of individuals or a direct transmission of
cultural ideas from China or Japan across
the Pacific but have gradually filtered in
over the land route through intertribal com-
munication from northeastern Asia down our
Northwest Coast.

support, but it permits us to obtain informa-
tion on the numbers of each kind of animal
in these situations. This last information is
especially important for understanding the
complex food-webs by which animals are
bound together in an interdependent system
in nature.

One limitation of the Berlese funnel in the
past was the dependence on a heat source
(hot water or electricity) and the length of
time, sometimes a week, that was required
to drive the insects into the vial of alcohol
under the funnel. This, in general, limited
the use of the funnels to a more or less perma-
nent laboratory setup. Resident entomolo-
gists could bring samples of material from
the immediate area to the laboratory for
analysis, but traveling entomologists, on field
trips and expeditions, were hampered in their
search for minute insects.

PROBLEM SOLVED

Recently it has been found that naphtha-
lene flakes (the substance in moth balls) can
be substituted for the heating and slow-
drying method. The flakes are sprinkled on
top of the debris sample in the funnel and the
irritating fumes gradually work down through
the debris and drive the insects down just as
effectively as does the heat and a good deal
more rapidly. This development makes the
funnel much more portable and much more
practical for use on expeditions and field
trips away from laboratories and ba.ses.

In much of the world, there are no resident
entomologists. A knowledge of the insects
of these parts depends on collections made
by entomologists traveling under museum,
university, and other auspices. The devel-
opment of a portable Berlese funnel will
enable these entomologists to learn much
more about the lower part of the size-spec-
trum of the insect world than has been
possible before.

Page 12

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1952

Paul G. Dallwig

DALLWIG SUNDAY LECTURES
BEGIN IN NOVEMBER

The Dallwig lectures on Sunday afternoons
will begin again in November. This autum-
nal announcement is always welcome to
thousands of Chicagoans who have become
"fans" of Paul G.
Dallwig, the Lay-
man Lecturer, who
in twelve seasons of
appearances at
Chicago Natural
History Museum
has achieved an en-
viable popularity.
His special facility
in interpreting sci-
entific subjects in
nonpedantic terms,
observing all the
requirements for
strict accuracy but
with charming
humor throughout,
has been acclaimed in newspapers and maga-
zines. His Museum lectures have drawn so
much attention that in addition to a busy
season here he is called upon each year to
make many out-of-town appearances.

Mr. Dallwig will open his thirteenth season
at the Museum with "Mysterious 'Night-
Riders' of the Sky," to be given at 2 p.m.
each of the five Sundays in November (No-
vember 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30). Always keep-
ing up to date, Mr. Dallwig will include a
discussion of the current mystery of flying
saucers. He will dramatize the possibilities
of a trip to the moon by atom-propelled
rockets and describe the strange phenomena
that space travelers would find after arrival
on Earth's satellite. Comets, meteors, and
meteorites will also be discussed.

The title of Mr. Dallwig's lectures on Sun-
days in December will be "Money Does
Grow on Trees"; in January, "Life — What
Is It?"; in March, "A Museum Zoo Is Excit-
ing Too"; and in April, "Living Races and
Their Way of Life" (February is omitted
because Mr. Dallwig will be on an out-of-
town lecture tour that month). Lectures
are given partly in the lecture hall and partly
in the exhibition halls containing collections
pertinent to the subjects.

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 (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 relaxa-
tion or for tea or coflTee in the Museum cafe-
teria, where smoking is permitted.

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.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Anthropology :

Mrs. F. W. Geisler, Chicago — ethnological
material, Sumatra

Department of Botany :

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa
Barbara, Calif. — 70 herbarium specimens of
oaks, Mexico; Archie F. Wilson, Flossmoor,
III. — 48 phanerogams, Florida; Floyd A.
Swink, Chicago — 225 phanerogams, Indiana
and Illinois; Bailey Hortorium, Ithaca, N. Y.
— a Roystonea Dunlapiana, Honduras

Department of Geology:

Dr. Charles A. Reed, Chicago — a collec-
tion of fossil mammals, Montana; Marshall
B. Stam, Salt Lake City, Utah— 15 fossil
sunfish, 8 fossil minnows, Nevada

Department of Zoology :

Dr. J. A. Ramos, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
— 258 lots of fishes representing 105 species,
Puerto Rico; Dr. R. L. Fleming, India — 318
birdskins, India and Nepal; Harry Hoog-
straal, Cairo, Egypt — 342 insects and allies,
100 mammals, Egypt; Eduardo Acosta y
Lara, Montevideo, Uruguay — 3 bats, Uru-
guay; Chicago Zoological Society, Brook-
field, 111. — a mammal; Lincoln Park Zoo,
Chicago — a mammal, South Africa; Bernard
Benesh, Burrville, Tenn. — 197 insects, chiefly
flies and wasps, Tennessee; Richard Jan-
ovsky, Lockport, 111. — an albino mallard
drake, Illinois; A. Bognar, Whiting, Ind. — 2
birdskins (dowitchers), Indiana; W. E.Eig-
sti, Hastings, Neb. — 2 lots of bird lice,
Nebraska; Alan Solem, Oak Park, 111. — a
collection of moUusks (including 2 para-
types), echinoderms, and corals

Library :

From : Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, Illinois

MEMORANDUM : Museum Members'
Night, Friday, October 10, 7 to 10:30 p.m.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from August 15 to September 11:

Annual Members
Louis F. Cainkar, Mrs. Edwin G. Cheno-
weth. Dr. Egbert H. Fell, Edward J. Frucht-
man, Samuel C. Maragos, M. M. Mathews,
Guy E. Reed, Dr. Dale Rold, George I.
Rosin, Manuel Rosner, George Spatta, Mrs.
W. E. Swanson, Louis Swidler, George T.
Weick, Alfred J. Weil, A. F. Yaworski

ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY
OFFERS FIVE LECTURES

A series of five "screen-tour programs"
will be presented in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum by the Illinois Audu-
bon Society. The first is scheduled for
Sunday afternoon, October 26, at 2:30
o'clock, when Laurel Reynolds of Piedmont,
California, will lecture and show color-films
on "Western Discovery." The Reynolds
films cover the Pacific Coast from Mexico to
Puget Sound. Wildlife shown includes ele-
phant seals, killer whales, shore birds, wild
geese, and various kinds of ducks.

The rest of the series will be given in the
winter and spring of 1953. On Saturday
afternoon, January 3, Howard Cleaves will
present "Animals Unaware"; on Saturday,
February 28, the title will be "Oddities in
Nature" by Walter H. Shackleton; Robert C.
Hermes will give "Bonaventure Diary" on
Sunday afternoon, March 22; and the series
will close on Sunday, April 12, with "From
Coast to Crest" by Alexander Sprunt, Jr.

Admission to these lectures is free, and
the public is invited. Members of the
Museum or of the Illinois Audubon Society
are entitled to seats in the reserved section
of the theatre upon presentation of their
membership cards to the ushers.

"Suicide Pouches"

"Suicide pouches" were carried by Man-
chu princes of the 18th century whenever
they had an audience with the Chinese
emperor. Suicide pouches are silken bags
in which a supply of arsenic was carried,
and one of them was hung over each hip.
A prince was not allowed to attend an
official audience without wearing them, for
they were symbols of loyalty, and in case
the wearer should incur the displeasure of
the emperor, he was granted the "privilege"
of ending his life, on command, at his
emperor's feet. This was regarded as a
privilege because persons of lower rank in
the same predicament would be done away
with by the more humiliating processes of
the public executioner.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

Although there are no tours on Sundays,
the Museum is open during the usual visiting
hours, 9 A.M. to 5 p.m.

MEMBERS' NIGHT Stage Show will
begin at 8:30 p.m.

PIUNTBD BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

RULLETIN

LJ VoL23.No.ll-November 1952

Chicciijo Natural
I list or If ^luHeiim

■M^^J^i

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Mabshall Pieu>, 1893
RooMTett Road and Lake Shore DriTe. Chicago 5

Telkphose: WAbasii 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Aemour Samuel Insull, Jr.

Seweix L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Clhmisgs Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten
John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field Pnndenl

Marshall Field First Viet-Pretident

Henry P. Isham Steond Vict-Pmidm

Samuel Insull, Jb. Third Viee-Preadent

Solomon \. Smith Trtamrer

Cufford C. Gregg Director and Seerttart

John R. Millar Aititlant Seeretart

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
CUFFORD C. Gregg Director of tt« Jlf HMum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Oiief Curator of Anthropolon

TheodoR Just Chief Curator of Botanw

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geolon

Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoolon

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Habte Public RelatioM Coumel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

I.I SO VISIT MUSEUM
ON MEMBERS' NIGHT

The response to invitations for the second
Museum Members' Night, held October 10,
was most gratifying. More than 1 ,1 50 Mem-
bers and guests attended, a considerable
increase over the previous year's turnout.

Members' Night is the Museum's means
of expressing its appreciation to the thou-
sands of Chicagoans, residents of the city's
suburbs and others, who by their member-
ships help to support this institution. It is
designed to link the Members more closely
with the institution and its work, to demon-
strate what the Museum has done and can
do, and to make it clear that the contribu-
tions of its Members are. a vital factor in its
accomplishments.

The prevailing theme of this yeiar'« Mem-
bers' Night was the cultural achievement of
our American Indian^. This motif was car-
ried out by the preview for Members of the
new Hall of the Plains Indians (Hall 6), by
the special exhibit of Hopi kachina dolls
collected and presented by BjTon Harvey III
and of Indian dolls on loan from Mrs. Lenore
Blanchard Warner, and by the presentation
in the James Simpson Theatre of the feature
of the evening, "American Indian Style
Show." The stage show was under the
direction of Frederic H. Douglas, Curator of
Native Art at the Denver Art Museum.

Thirty-four young women from the Art
Institute of Chicago modeled some of the
most attractive costumes designed by Indian
tribes in all parts of the United States.

Though less spectacular, perhaps the Open
House part of Members' Night was more
fundamentally allied with the basic purposes
of the occasion. Members were invited to
visit the scientific laboratories, and the work-
shops and studios in which exhibits are pre-
pared, and to meet members of the staff —
Director, chief curators, taxidermists, art-
ists and other technicians. Some of the
Members were conducted in small groups
by lecturers of the Raymond Foundation
staff. Through demonstrations of what the
Museum is doing, and the ways in which it
is done, always with strict regard to the most
rigid standards of accuracy, the Members
were enabled to obtain a better understand-
ing of how a museum fulfills its functions,
and of the problems of science and scientific
workers.

aiRL SCOUTS BECOME
SPECIAL MUSEUM AIDES

Girl Scouts of the Chicago area are busily
engaged in the "Nature Study Project" an-
nounced in the last issue of the Bulletin.

A new development is the assignment of
about 60 of the girls as Museum aides to
assist the staff of the Museum's Raymond
Foundation in guidance of the troops of other
Girl Scouts who come to the Museum in con-
nection with this project.

On the basis of the knowledge obtained in
the Museum halls, the Girl Scouts will write
letters on "What We Learned at the Museum
About Birds" (or mammals, iiisects, or flow-
ers, according to the topic a troop selects).
These will be submitted to Brook Hill Farms,
Inc., of Chicago, whose president, Howard T.
Greene, is sponsoring the project. To each
of 100 troops judged to have written the best
letters. Brook Hill Farms will award a Girl
Scout American flag.

Since the opening of the project, its scope
has been extended to include the Brownies,
youngest class of Girl Scouts, and the Marine
Girl Scouts, "seagoing" branch of the
organization.

Visit by Museum Directors

Among museum directors who have re-
cently visited Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum are: Hugo G. Rodeck, University of
Colorado Museum, Boulder; Bradford Wash-
bum, New England Museum of Natural
History, Boston; Henry D. Brown, Detroit
Historical Society; Mitchell A. Wilder, Colo-
rado Springs Fine Arts Center; Torsten Karl
Wilhelm Althin, Teknisha Museet, Stock-
holm, Sweden, and Dr. J. W. B. van der
Stigchel, Museum of Education, The Hague,
The Netherlands.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Part of the diorama of a tent
village in the new Hall of the Plains
Indians (Hall 6) is shown in our
cover picture. The hall, pre-
viewed by Museum Members on
Members' Night, October 10, is
now open to the public. The tents
or tipis in which the nomadic
Plains Indians lived were made of
buffalo skin supported by a con-
ical framework of leaning poles.
These tipis and all their other
possessions were carried on horses
or packed on pole conveyances
called travois (shown on cover)
that were dragged behind the
horses as the tribes moved about
the plains in search of buffalo
herds. The tipis were set up by
the women, who were responsible
for the welfare of the village in
addition to their own household
duties while the men were off
hunting.

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of
Geology, has gone to the United States
National Museum, Washington, D. C. for
several weeks of research on meteorites. . . .
Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany,
Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Curator of the
Herbarium, and Dr. Francis Drouet,
Curator of Cryptogamic Botany, recently
attended the annual meetings of the Amer-
ican Institute of Biological Sciences held at
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Dr.
Steyermark has been appointed to the board
of governors of the organization known as
Nature Conservancy. . . . Dr. Fritz Haas,
Curator of Lower Invertebrates, has re-
turned from a field trip to Florida where he
has been collecting in the vicinity of Boynton
Beach, about fifty miles north of Miami . . .
The educational work of Chicago Natural
History Museum for both children and adults
was outlined by Miss Miriam Wood, Chief
of the Raymond Foundation, for the
UNESCO-sponsored international seminar
on "The Role of Museums in Education"
recently held at the Brooklyn Museum of
Arts and Sciences. Her contribution will
form part of a report to be made available
to museums in member countries of the
United Nations. In addition, she served as
chairman of the United States delegation.

Fossils Collected

Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of
Fossil Invertebrates, and George Langford,
Curator of Fossil Plants, made a field trip in
October to localities in Tennessee and
Mississippi. They collected in Eocene and
Cretacous deposits.

.<-■».

November, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DIG TONS OF DEBRIS WITHOUT BULLDOZER

By PAUL S. MARTIN

CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOUXiY

WHY IN THE WORLD would anyone
want to move tons of dirt and rocks,
especially if such sweaty labor had to be done
with only picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, trow-
els, grapefruit knives, orangesticks, whisk-
brooms and NO BULLDOZER?
Well, actually we did move over 400 tons

^i '

#-^

Ml^

ANCIENT CAVE DWELLING
Occupied by the Mogollon Indians at least 2,000 years ago, this site, when eX'
cavatcd by the Museum*s Southwest Archaeological Expedition last summer,
proved to be rich in artifacts that provide clues to a little-known early American
culture. During operations here the archaeologists, coming to the dig and re'
turning to camp, each day faced a hazardous one-hour tnountain drive, followed
by a fivc'mile hike with equipment packed on their backs. During this trek they
had to ford the winding San Francisco River seven times each way.

of dirt and rock this last summer without
benefit of machinery. And what's worse, all
that dirt was moved by wheelbarrows, and
then sifted and strained — by forcing it
through hardware cloth of ?^-inch mesh.

And we brought home only about a ton of
stuff and threw away the other 399 tons.
But this stuff is valuable and was well worth
the time and effort taken to screen it; for,
from this ton of materials, we hope to close a
gap — a gap of about 200 years in duration; a
gap in the history of the Mogollon Indians
that we are putting together piecemeal.

IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY

About the time that William the Con-
queror was invading England (a.d. 1066) a
group of Indians in western New Mexico
was carrying on its daily routine — building

houses, bringing up children, making pot-
tery, planting or harvesting crops, fending
off attacks of covetous neighbors and praying
for rain.

All this is not fancy, but is a factual state-
ment based on the work of the Southwest
Archaeological Expedition for 1952. The
Indians about whom I write are called
Mogollon (pronounced Mog-ee-yon) since
we do not know their
own tribal designa-
tion. For nine seasons,
with pick and shovel,
we have been pursuing
the history of these
Mogollon Indians and
have been able to dis-
tinguish at least seven
distinct, clear-cut pe-
riods or eras in their
history. This is not
the place or time to
review these periods in
detail because scien-
tific publications on all
our archaeological ac-
tivities in New Mexico
as well as several pop-
ular accounts of our
work have been pub-
lished {Scientific Amer-
ican, July 1951, pages
47-50, and Archaeol-
ogy, March 1952, pages
14-21). Suffice it to
say that we now know
that the Mogollon
Indians occupied the
Pine Lawn Valley and
adjacent area in and
around the town of
Reserve in western
central New Mexico
for some 3,500 years,
from about 2500 B.C.
to A.D. 1300.

The period or epoch
that we chose to in-
vestigate during the past season is known as
the Reserve Phase and it is tentatively dated
at about a.d. 1000 to 1200. We explored an
open site as well as caves and cliff-dwellings.
We collected tools, clothing and pottery of
this period so that we might know more
about the daily life, the religion, and the
problems of the people of that far-off time.

CAVES excavated

From previous work in "open sites," we
had found out what architectural knowledge
the Indians of the Reserve period possessed,
and what kinds of pottery and stone tools
they manufactured and used; but we knew
almost nothing about many other aspects of
their life — what kinds of textiles they wove,
what footgear and clothing they wore, or
what tools and ornaments they made of wood

or vegetable fibers. These last named objects
are called "perishable" because they would
rot away in open sites in the course of time.
Therefore, the obvious place to find "p)erish-
able" objects is in a dry cave; and in dry
caves we dug.

At this point, a word must be said about
caves in the Reserve area. First, they are
scarce; second, most of them are high up in
the mountains and difficult of access; third,
many of them are "wet" and therefore of
little interest to us; and fourth, some of
them had been thoroughly cleaned out by
pot hunters. After making numerous in-
quiries and after arduous climbing and
searching, we finally found four that fitted
our specifications and these were dug during
the season. In addition to the caves, a large
ceremonial structure was excavated.

CLIFF DWELLINGS

Two of the caves contained cliff dwellings
or masonry-walled houses built within the
shelter of the cave. One cliff house, over-
looking the Blue River, consisted of two
rooms and was crudely constructed. The
other, located high up in the mountains and
screened from the eyes of the unobservant by
a dense growth of pine trees, was well con-
structed and in amazingly good condition.
The walls were still standing to a height of
10 feet, were smooth, and well constructed.
After excavation, we found that some por-
tions of this cliff-apartment-house contained
two stories and that there were 11 rooms
altogether. The ceiling of the first story (and
therefore, the floor of the second story) was
perfectly preserved. It was composed of
several beams, about 5 inches in diameter,
across which were laid (close together)
wooden splints and cedar bark, all of which
was topped by a 5-inch layer of adobe. This
type of roof-ceiling was common in many
parts of the Southwest; but this is the first
example of such a roof that we have found.
In fact, this cliff house is the first and only
one of the Mogollon culture that has ever
been scientifically excavated ! We shall send
a portion of one of the beams to the Tree
Ring laboratory in Tucson in the hope that
it can be dated. Our conjectural date for
this structure is about a.d. 1050.

All told, about 1,500 items were recovered
from the caves. I should like to name a few:
bows, arrows, portions of matting and bask-
etry, sandals, wooden digging-sticks, cigar-
ettes, painted wooden objects (tablitas) that
were worn in ceremonial dances, grinding
stones, tools of bone, arrow points.and pot-
tery. In addition, we recovered bean pods,
com and corn cobs, nuts, squash rinds, sun-
flower heads, and animal bones (rabbit,
mountain sheep, deer, squirrel, turkey, etc.).

No mummies were found this year, but we
did make a few choice discoveries: a cache
of planting sticks and sandals carefully laid
away and forgotten on a ledge in the back

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1952

of the cave; a large twill-plaited mat of
rushes, a rabbit net of great length (it is so
fragile that we have not yet dared to unfold
all of it) and a cache of five beautifully
chipped knife blades of basalt.

FRAGILE ARTIFACTS

Since these artifacts are more than 800
years old, some of them are fragile and must
be treated with tender care. In excavating
such specimens, we used a camel's hair brush,
and a tire pump for blowing away the dust.
The rabbit net that I mentioned was cleaned
off in this manner and was then sprayed with
a plastic solution which served to bind the
parts together and to strengthen the whole
so that we could carry it back to camp.

Excavating caves is difficult at best, for if
they are dry, the dust is indescribably fine,
easily disturbed, and is almost volatile.
Therefore masks and goggles had to be worn
at all times during actual digging. Light was
furnished by large, portable, chargeable bat-
tery lamps. But, digging in caves has many
rewards. Since the dusty refuse contains so
many well-preserved household and utili-
tarian objects, one feels as though he were
walking into a deserted house and finding the
cast-off, forgotten, or hidden objects left
behind and undisturbed for eight centuries
or more.

Since the materials have not yet been
analyzed we cannot announce final details at
this time. But, when the detailed work has
been accomplished, we may have answers to
many of the questions that now confront us.
All of these questions might briefly be
summed up in two major queries: (1) How
did the Mogollon Indians solve their prob-
lems of daily life? (2) What caused them to
progress?

A CEREMONIAL STRUCTURE

In addition to the four caves, we also
excavated part of a surface building and a
nearby large, rectangular structure that was
probably used for religious and ceremonial
purposes. Few buildings of this type are
known in the Southwest, and because of its
rarity we decided to dig it. The building
measures 28 feet by 32 feet and is 4 feet deep.
The job of clearing the trees, rocks, and dirt
(about 200 tons in all!) from this building,
and all by means of pick, shovel, and wheel-
barrow, was a major undertaking and re-
quired the efforts of six people for the season.

We called this ceremonial structure a
"kiva," a Hopi Indian word that is applied
to this type of building. The entrance to
our kiva was extraordinarily large. Usually,
kivas wefe entered through a hatchway in
the roof. Our kiva entrance, however, was a
long (30 feet) ramp, broad enough to accom-
modate passage of a truck; and it sloped
gently upwards from the sunken kiva floor
(4 feet below the surface) to the outer
ground level.

We discovered that we had not just one
kiva, but two! The earlier structure was

about the same size as the later one; and
was also subterranean, since the same floor
level served both the earlier and the later
structures. The walls of the earlier building,
however, had been composed of upright
posts set about 6 inches apart and the
interstices filled with branches and mud. We
call this type of wall construction "Jacal" or
"wattle and daub." The earlier building
probably burned.

CHANGE TO MASONRY

The elders then decided to use stone for
their walls and accordingly walls of masonry
— fairly crude to be sure — were erected. It
was these stone walls, of course, that we un-
covered when we excavated the kiva. After

decoration in black paint. On the breast of
the duck one finds realistic, wavy lines that
immediately suggest water; and on the sides
are other lines that represent feathers. To
make this duck-effigy a utilitarian piece, the
potter chose to omit the head, and in its
place created an orifice into and out of which
liquids could be poured. On the back is a
convenient handle. Thus, we have in effect,
a duck-effigy pitcher.

This piece is unique in our excavated col-
lections and is, indeed, highly prized. Since
it was found near the kiva, and since ducks
are associated with water, we conjecture that
this pitcher may have been used for pouring
libations to the rain-gods; for in that country
rainfall was, and still is, always scarce; and

COMPLETELY EXCAVATED CLIFF HOUSE
This stronghold high up on the side of a remote mountain is the first scientifically dug-out clifi house of the
Mogollon culture. It dates to about A.D. 1050, and is notable for its defensible situation. The natural pro-
tective features were augmented by others constructed by the isolated inhabitants, in apparent fear of enemies.

all excavations, mapping, and photography
had been finished, we took a peek behind the
masonry and found there evidence of the
earlier wattle and daub construction.

The nearby surface village probably con-
tains ten or twelve rooms. We had time to
excavate only two of these. But the data
thus gathered make us feel fairly certain
that the surface rooms and the kiva made up
a village unit and that both were built by
the same people at about the same time.

The pottery from the kiva, curiously
enough, is not all of local origin. Much of
it came from villages to the south — perhaps
100 miles off. This we do not yet understand.

Most of the pottery that we found was
broken but one superb piece, perfectly pre-
served and whole, was recovered. The shape
of this piece is rare; it is a representation of a
duck, white in color on which was painted a

more rainfall was, and is, constantly desired
by farmers.

When all the details are worked out, after
charts and tables have been constructed, and
after arguments, conjectures, and medita-
tions have been indulged in, then — and only
then — shall we have a fairly clear idea of how
the Mogollon Indians of about A.D. 1100
ate, worked, prayed, and thought.

The year 1952 marks the ninth season for
the Southwest Archaeological Expedition in
New Mexico. As we look back at the stag-
gering amount of work accomplished, my
colleagues. Dr. John Rinaldo, and Miss
Elaine Bluhm, and I are happy to thank the
people who helped us: Robert Adams,
Thomas P. Alder, Vivian Broman, W. T.
Egan, Wayne Gaines, E. D. Hester, Marjorie
Kelly, David Mabon, Martha Perry, Alain
Petit, Michael Snyder, and Wayne Spurgeon.

November, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

SATURDAY LECTURE COURSE
CONTINUES IN NOVEMBER

Saturday afternoon lectures on travel and
science for adults will continue throughout
November. They are presented at 2:30
o'clock in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum. Limited accommodations make it
necessary to restrict admission to adults; for
children, special free motion pictures will be
presented on the mornings of the same Satur-
days by the Raymond Foundation.

Following are the dates, titles and lecturers
for the five remaining offerings in the series:

November 1 — REALM OF THE Wild
A. Tyler Hull

November 8 — EXPLORING THE EVERGLADES
Murl Deusing

November 15 — The Troubled Middle
East
Colonel Homer F. Kellems

November 22— Egypt — A Voyage into
THE Past
Ray Gamer

November 29 — GUATEMALA
Clifford J. Kamen

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.

DALLWIG SUNDAY LECTURES
ON 'SKY NIGHT RIDERS'

Paul G. Dallwig, the Layman Lecturer,
will open his 1952-53 season of Sunday after-
noon lectures at the Museum in November.
His subject is "Mysterious 'Night-Riders' of
the Sky," to be given November 2, 9, 16, 23
and 30.

Keeping abreast of developments in cur-
rent news, Mr. Dallwig will include a dis-
cussion of the "flying saucer" mystery.

Recently there has also been, especially
since the establishment of radar contact
with the moon, a rash of speculation in the
press and elsewhere about the possibility of
travel by atomic-power-propelled rockets to
the moon. There have been hints that this
is not only a possibility but that it may occur
in the quite near future. Mr. Dallwig's lec-
ture includes a dramatized preview of what
could be expected on such a journey.

Mr. Dallwig will explain also the difference
between comets, meteors and meteorites.

On the four Sundays in December Mr.
Dallwig's lecture topic will be "Money Does

Grow on Trees," the story of forestry and
the lumber industry.

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 (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 relaxa-
tion or for tea or coffee in the Museum cafe-
teria, where smoking is permitted.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 p.m. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

Although there are no tours on Sundays,
the Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(4 p.m. on weekdays).

LIFE IN LIBERIA: PICTURE STORY OF A NATION

"Life in Liberia," the picture-story of the
West African republic founded in 1822 by
freed Negro slaves from the United States,
will be featured in a special exhibit in Stanley
Field Hall of the Museum from November 14
to December 15. The exhibit is composed of
more than 50 large photographs made by
Griff Davis, well-known photographer for
the Black Star Publishing Company of New
York, on several trips he has made to
Liberia in the last three years. Mr. Davis is
at present an information officer assigned to
the State Department's "Point IV" program
in the African republic.

The pictures in the special exhibit show
the transition that has taken place in Liberia
as the old African customs have gradually
yielded to more modern ways of living,

AN EXAMPLE OF EFFICIENCY
In the community wash stream of a Liberian village a girl combines in one oper-
ation her personal bath and the laundering of her clothes. This is one of more
than fifty "Life in Liberia" photographs by Griff Davis that will be shown in a
special exhibit in Stanley Field Hall of the Museum from November 14 to De-
cember 15. Mr. Davis is a U. S. Slate Department official.

largely as a result of influences from America.
They have been selected as the very best

from some 5,000 negatives-made by Mr.
Davis. The President of Liberia, William
V. S. Tubman, gave his backing to the pic-
ture-taking project, but left the .selection of
material entirely to the photographer. The
exhibit recently was shown at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York.
In area, Liberia is just about the size of
Ohio, or three times the size of Switzerland.
There have been close ties between the little
republic and the United States ever since its
founding when the first band of settlers
landed at Providence Island in the harbor of
Monrovia. Although the major part of the
country is still primitive and sparsely popu-
lated (about 2,500,000), the Liberian govern-
ment, with help from America and the United
Nations, is steadily developing its potential
human and natural re-
sources. It is only
within recent years
that the varied groups
inhabiting the country
have put aside their
tribal and ancestral
differences to work to-
gether toward a na-
tional citizenship.

Liberia is of interest
both because of the
unique factors that
brought it into being
and because of the
progress that is being
made today. One of
the things that is re-
sponsible for economic
and social advances in
the country is the fact
that its government
maintains some 300
students in American
universities and col-
leges to learn techni-
cal skills needed in the
nation's projects. Al-
ready Liberia is sup-
plying the western
world with rubber and
iron ore of high qual-
ity, and during World War II it was of great
strategic importance to the Allies.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1952

SONG BIRDS OF WORLD IN EXHIBIT SHOWING RELATIONSHIP

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CURATOR OF BIRDS

METALLIC-HUED SUNBIRDS, gaudy
tanagers, and brightly colored weaver
birds, as well as duller sparrows, grackles,
and starlings, a huia from New Zealand, a
pepper shrike from South America, and a
chipping sparrow from near home are among
the song birds that ornament the latest
addition to our bird exhibits in Hall 21 . Not
only does this addition augment our series

family being chosen as our basic unit, partly
because popular knowledge has recognized
families by giving them vernacular names,
like shrikes, sparrows, warblers, tanagers,
etc., and partly because it is a convenient
unit.

The identity, as to species, of each bird is
unimportant in this exhibit. For example,
in the present exhibit the bull-finch, the
snow bunting, and the crossbill are not there
as such but are placed in the group of twelve

EXHIBIT OF SONG BIRDS INSTALLED IN 1952

The arrangement is by families or family groups, with closest relatives together. Uniform poses facilitate

comparisons. The perches reduced to a minimum lessen distracting elements. Supplementary material adds

information and relieves the monotony of rows of specimens.

of display^, but several new features make
it a distinct advance in our method of
exhibition.

This new case is part of our "Birds of the
World" exhibit, already partly installed.
When the exhibit is completed, some ten
cases will show in synoptic series the varia-
tion in the bird world, from ostrich to oriole
— the range in size, form, color, and pattern.
Only a small part of the 9,000 or so bird
species that exist can be shown, so that those
exhibited were chosen with care.

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT

The birds in the exhibit are in systematic
order with various groups of birds segregated
on rectangular raised panels or plaques.
This arrangement into groups puts the
nearest relatives together. The main pur-
pose of a synoptic series of birds of the world
is to show not only the diversity and varia-
tion in birds but also the arrangement into
order. In classification the species or kinds
of birds are arranged for convenience into
groups according to their affinities; genera
contain closely related species; families,
closely related genera; and orders, closely
related families; all in the class aves (or
birds).

Each family is to be represented, the

species to show variation in form and color
in the sparrow family (Fringillidae). On the
same plaque we have also placed, in an
adjacent group, the weaver birds of the
Old World (family Ploceidae) and the single
representative of the South American plush-
capped finches (family Catamblyrhynchidae)
that all are at least superficially similar in
having a conical bill adapted for seed eating;
and the whole plaque is headed "Seed
Eaters." This is also evident in the plaque
above, headed "Old World Flower and Fruit
Eaters," where four related families are
shown: the metallic plumaged sunbirds
(family Nectarinidae) with elongated bills
for flower probing; the honey eaters (family
Meliphagidae) of the Australian area, many
with similar bills; the stubby-billed flower
peckers (family Dicaeidae); and white-eyes
(family Zosteropidae).

DIVERSITY EMPHASIZED

The number of individuals of a family
shown usually bears a relation to the number
of species and the diversity of their appear-
ance. The American blackbirds (family
Icteridae), with meadowlarks, grackles,
orioles, redwings, etc., in all eight species
shown occupies a whole plaque. The
shrikes (family Laniidae), with six species

shown, also have a plaque to themselves.
But just below the shrikes is a small plaque
of "Shrike Allies" on which six smaller
families — wood shrikes, vangas, wood swal-
lows, pepper shrikes, vireo shrikes, and
vireos — are shown by only eight birds.
Though the bird family is stressed in this
exhibit, we've not ignored the student who
may want to know the identity of the species
represented. We give beside each family
group a list of species with a corresponding
letter beside the bird.

The main purpose of a synoptic series of
birds is to show birds, and birds should
predominate. To reduce the conspicuous-
ness of the perches we thought of making
them of transparent plastic or of wiring the
birds in place so that their attachment
would be practically invisible. But our
Museum experience ruled against that. If
an obvious but unobtrusive perch is used,
the Museum visitor recognizes it and dis-
misses it from his mind, going on to examine
the exhibit. But if no obvious support is to
be seen, many a visitor, especially younger
ones, set out to solve the mystery, as we've
seen them looking for the fine, almost
invisible wires that support a flying bird.

So we made the perches mere pegs and
painted them the same color as the back-
ground. They are there to see, but they are
unobtrusive, and we're pleased with the
result — a clean, uncluttered case with the
birds the things that catch the eye.

The birds in each group are mounted in
similar attitudes, facing the same way. This
and the reduction of the size of the perches
make it possible to group the birds close
together, facilitating comparison.

SOME NESTS INCLUDED

We've used some accessories in this
exhibit for several reasons. One of course is
to tell something about the family. The
typical basket-like vireo nest is shown and
the cup-nest of the tanagers. There are
sketches of the great variety of nests of the
American blackbirds, from pendant sac-like
structures slung from the tips of branches
to nests hidden on the ground. Another
sketch shows a weaver bird tying a knot, as
these species do in weaving their retort-
shaped nests, and another shows starlings,
called oxpeckers, climbing about on a cow
looking for their usual food of ticks. Another
reason, equally powerful, for using accessories
was to break up monotony. A uniform
exhibit of birds seems to cause fewer visitors
to stop and look than does one interrupted
with the other related objects. But the
accessories, the lists, the group name, and
the birds are all arranged so that they form
part of the appropriate group.

To a casual glance at a distance, the
exhibit presents order and an attractive
design. A closer inspection shows that each
group in the design represents closely re-

November, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

lated birds. A student can quickly get an
idea of the "spread" of a family without
reading more than the name at the head of
the group. If he wants to go farther, the list
of species is there; and at the bottom of the

mounted in many different poses, each a
triumph of taxidermy in itself. But when
placed near each other, the birds offset each
other's attractiveness. Comparisons, too,
were more difficult with different poses.

INSTALLATION TYPICAL OF EARLIER TECHNIQUE
A panel of birds as it was installed in the same hall (Systematic Birds, Hall 21) in the 1930's.

case are short write-ups of each family, with
the geographical distribution of each family
marked on a map.

To appreciate the advance in exhibition
technique, one should compare this new case
with earlier ones. The old-time exhibits of
the early days of our Museum displayed the
birds mounted on polished mahogany
T-stands. The richly colored wood was
beautiful in itself but it detracted from
rather than added to the birds. These
T-stands gradually lost popularity, and
natural branches became popular as perches
for birds on exhibition. Sometimes twigs
and leaves and even grass were added. This
had a great advantage in showing something
about the bird, suggesting the kind of place
in which it lived. Often each individual
bird, with its accessories, was beautiful in
itself. But when many different ones were
placed side by side in one big case, the
over-all effect was confusing. The first
impression was of a case filled with tips of
branches, sticks, leaves, and grass, with some
birds amongst them.

The birds on the old-time mahogany
stands were, of course, placed in rows on
shelves, sometimes of glass to reduce shad-
ows. This had the advantage of system,
but in quantity it was depressing and made
the survey of a group more difficult. The
arrangement when bits of habitat were used,
fastened directly to the background, was
usually to scatter the birds uniformly over
the case. No pattern emerged, and each
individual bird had equal emphasis. Com-
parison was more difficult. The birds were

It's to convey information. As such, the
main theme is scientific, with arrangements
that show variation and relation. But we've
used artistry in arrangement to make the
exhibit as pleasing and attractive as possible.

After the new case is installed jwe will con-
tinue to check to see how it is being received
by our clientele — find how many people look
at it and perhaps overhear what they say.
But we also have a little-known automatic
recorder of the attention each case gets.
When people are interested in a case they
tend to point with their fingers and touch the
glass. Children particularly crowd closer
and press their noses against the glass. Each
leaves a print on the polished glass. By
looking, at the end of a day, at the number
of finger and nose prints on the glass we can
get an idea of the relative attractiveness of
various exhibits.

The synoptic series of birds of the world,
of which this exhibit forms a part, has the
earlier or more primitive families already
installed, from ostriches, penguins, and
albatrosses to pheasants and parrots. There
still remain five or six ca.ses to install showing
the rest of the perching birds, climbing birds,
cuckoos, swifts, owls, and their relatives
before our aim of a survey of the bird world
is completed.

Sometimes we hear this series referred to

OLD-FASHIONED INSTALLATION
A peek into part of the same bird hall (Systematic Birds, Hall 21) as it appeared in the 1920's.

By systematizing and grouping in our bird
arrangement, reducing extraneous perch
material, and adding supplementary explan-
atory material, we've increased the educa-
tional value and the attractiveness of the
exhibit. We've used both science and art.

as the foreign or exotic bird series in con-
trast with the American series across the hall
where all American species are shown. But
we don't like the designation. The new
exhibit contains exotics, it is true, whether
(Continued on page 8, column 2)

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1952

AFRICAN BIRDS BROUGHT IN
BY BUCHEN EXPEDITION

The ornithological expedition to East
Africa, sponsored and led by Walther Buchen
of Winnetka, Illinois, has completed its col-
lecting wifB notable success, and Mr. and
Mrs. Buchen have returned home. Most of
the specimens have arrived at the Museum.
Work has already begun on preparation of
the habitat group representing a papyrus

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Members o( East African Expedition triumphantly
gather around 6rst specimen of whalehead stork ob-
tained for Museum's projected papyrus-marsh bird
group. Left to right; Walther Buchen, sponsor and
leader of the expedition; Mrs. Buchen; a native
boatman, and John Williams, ornithologist.

marsh with its teeming bird inhabitants.
The assemblage of material for this group
was the primary objective of the expedition.

Mr. and Mrs. Buchen flew to Nairobi in
Kenya Colony early in May. There they
recruited a British ornithologist to accom-
pany them, and organized a safari to hunt
birds in the upper Nile region in Uganda.
The entire summer was spent in the field.

The papyrus marsh ecological group will
be dominated by specimens, collected by the
Buchens, of the large and grotesque whale-
headed stork and a group of crowned cranes.
Other birds in the group will include pelicans,
cormorants, water-hens, herons, plovers,
and a great variety of ducks. Preparation of
the group will require several months, at
least. Museum artists and taxidermists will
be guided by photographs and color sketches
made by members of the expedition.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Anthropology:

Byron Harvey III, Chicago — 50 Hopi
kachina dolls, 22 baskets and 15 miscella-
neous ceremonial objects, various Hopi
villages, Arizona; W. T. Knapp, Chicago — ■
9 pieces of Pueblo pottery and a string of
bell jingles (Navajo), Rio Grande Pueblos,
New Mexico

Departtnent of Botany:

Dr. W. H. Hodge, Beltsville, Md.— 18
Peru\ian phanerogams, Peru; Floyd Swink,
Chicago — 72 phanerogams, Illinois and Indi-

ana; Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Tegu-
cigalpa, Honduras — a pentaplaris, Honduras.

Department of Geology :

Jon S. Whitfield, Evanston, 111.— 26 fossil
fishes. Eocene, Wyoming; Joseph N. Beck,
Ramsen, Iowa — a hair ball, Iowa; John H.
Alexander, Colorado Springs, Colo. — a topaz
crystal, a microcline and a smoky quartz.
Pikes Peak, Colorado.

Department of Zoology:

Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111.
— an aardvark, a South American tortoise
and an allig:ator; Ralph M. Eiseman, Chicago
—2 frogs, Indiana; U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Pascagoula, Miss. — 52 lots of fishes.
Gulf of Mexico; Institute de Zoologia, Port-
ugal— 99 mammals, Portuguese West Africa;
Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Chicago — a snake,
Austria; Eugene Ray, Chicago — 41 Mordel-
lid beetles, Africa, Asia, Europe; A. Wolffson,
British Honduras — 4 lizards, 3 snakes, and 5
turtles, British Honduras; Harry Hoog-
straal, Cairo, Egypt — 7 birdskins, Egypt;
Harold A. Dundee, Lawrence, Kan. — a
snake, Texas.

SONG BIRDS—

(Continued from page 7)

we use the term simply as contrasted with
the word "domestic" to indicate coming
from a foreign land or in the sense implying
"strangely beautiful and brilliant." We
have such birds in the case. But we also
have domestic birds — birds from the Chicago
area, like the chipping sparrow. The series
is of birds — without qualification. To bring
out that fact we label it a synoptic series of
birds of the world, for it's certainly that if
anything.

This exhibit was designed by the Division
of Birds. Taxidermy is by Carl W. Cotton,
art work is by Douglas E. Tibbitts, and
maps are by Margaret G. Bradbury.

IffiW YEARS AGO

All IHi; MUSLUM

Compaed by MARGARET J. BAUER

The first publication from the Museum's
notable work on the fresh-water fishes of
Mexico appeared in 1902 as A Contribution
to the Ichthyology of Mexico, by S. E. Meek.
Dr. Meek was the first ichthyologist to col-
lect in many of the more important Mexican
rivers, in some of which every species
obtained was new to science.

In the fall of the same year Dr. Meek
lectured to the Museum members on "The
Fishes of Mexico — A Study in Geographical
Distribution."

William J. Gerhard gave an illustrated
lecture on "Insects of Southern Peru and
Bolivia" based on his own field work some
years previously.

FIVE MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
ON NOVEMBER SATURDAYS

Of the autumn series of free motion-picture
programs for children, five remain to be
given on Saturday mornings in November.
The programs are presented under the aus-
pices of the James Nelson and Anna Louise
Raymond Foundation. They begin at
10:30 A.M. and are given in the James Simp-
son Theatre of the Museum. No tickets are
needed. Following are the remaining pro-
grams:

November 1 — Getting Ready for Winter
Also a cartoon

November 8 — Exploring the Everglades
Story by Murl Deusing

November 15 — India
Also a cartoon

November 22 — Your Favorite

Animal Movies
Also a cartoon

November 29 — ANIMAL LEGENDS
Also a cartoon

Geology Expedition Returns

Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic
Geology, has returned from a successful
collecting trip in Utah and Colorado. In
addition to obtaining needed ores and rock
specimens from various mining localities,
several pegmatite minerab were collected.

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 12 to October 13:

Contributor
Byron Harvey III

Associate Members
Miss Shirley Conklin, Lyman R. Kirst

Annual Members

J. D. Acosta, Charles F. Biersborn, Fred-
erick H. Bird, Charles C. Blish, Mrs. Oma
M. Bradley, Robert Y. Bradshaw, Keith T.
Campbell, Dr. Charles B. Congdon, Robert
C. Cross, George H. Dapples, Frank O.
Frisk, Alfred E. Gebhardt, Miss Alice Ham-
ilton, David E. Henkle, Miss Ruth L. Hoff-
mann, J. C. Houston, Jr., M. G. Jackson,
E. T. Kurzdorfer, Mrs. James D. Kysor,
Max Lubig, C. F. McConnell, C. Bouton
McDougal, Dr. Michael R. Mizen, Jules
Montenier, Richard B. Rush, Vincent D.
Sill, Donald Stanley, Harold I. Stickler,
John E. Stipp, Fred W. Strassheim, Miss
Virginia Terhime, H. Hoyt Thompson, Mrs.
Carl H. Weil, North Western

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUS8UM PRESS

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I Vol.23,No.l2-Dccemberl952

Chicago Natural
History Museum

Pages

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1952

Chicago Natural History Museum

Founded by Marshall Fiexd, 1893 ,

Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Ghicaio 5
Telephone: WAbash 2-9410

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lester Armour Samuel Insull, Jr.

SEWELL L. Avery Henry P. Isham

Wm McCoRMicK Blair Hughston M. McBain

•Leopold E. Block William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Albert B. Dick, Jr. George A. Richardson

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field Solomon A. Smith

Marshall Field, Jr. Louis Ware

Stanley Field Albert H. Wetten

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field ■•.■■■■•■ S"*"'^',

Marshall Field • ■ First y.M-Presidenl

Henry P Isham Second Vtce-President

Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

CUFFORD C. Gregg Dtrector and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

* Deceased November 11, 1952

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. Hartb Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Helen A. MacMinn Christine Tardy

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

LEOPOLD E. BLOCK, 1869-1952

Chicago Natural History Museum suffered
a distinct loss in the death on November 11
of Leopold E. Block, a member of its Board
of Trustees. Mr. Block was 83 years old.
He was one of the founders of Inland Steel
Company, and in its
early days was vice-
president and treas-
urer. From 1919 to
1940 he was chair- •• — t

man of the com- < '^

pany's board of direc- ■ /

tors, from 1940 to the
end of 1951 he was
chairman of its finance
committee, and in
January of this year
he became honorary
chairman of the board. ^'°P°''' ^- 8'°'''
Other business connec-
tions included directorships of the First
National Bank of Chicago and the Common-
wealth Edison Company. He was honorary
vice-president of the American Iron and
Steel Institute, which he had served for
many years as a director.

Mr. Block was elected a Trustee of the
Museum in December, 1936. Since that

time his counsel had been a valuable asset to
the administration of the institution, espe-
cially in his capacity as member of the impor-
tant finance committee. He was both a
Corporate Member and a Life Member of
the Museum.

JOHN CONRAD HANSEN, 1869-1952

If it can ever be said of a man that his life
began at 70, then this can be said of John
Conrad Hansen, who died on November 12
at the age of 83. In the fall of 1938, when
he was 69, Mr. Hansen had completed a
lifetime's work, begun when he was 13, as an

John Conrad Hansen

outstanding lithographer and engraver. But,
losing no time, this tenacious though frail
man started a new and distinguished career
as staff artist and illustrator in the Depart-
ment of Geology of the Museum.

Mr. Hansen combined meticulous crafts-
manship with an ability to observe minute
detail and, though he had no background in
scientific work, became an accomplished
illustrator of scientific objects, particularly
bones. His specialty was pen-and-ink draw-
ings, which betray the elegant technique of
the master engraver. A great many of his
excellent illustrations have been published in
scientific literature, and more remain to
appear in future publications. In his later
years, Mr. Hansen's eyesight began to fail
and he preferred painting to the more exact-
ing pen-and-ink drawing. Many of his
paintings are included in exhibits in Fred-
erick J. V. Skiff Hall and Ernest R. Graham
Hall (Halls 37 and 38).

Mr. Hansen was born on August 4, 1869,
in Trondheim, Norway, and came to this
country with his widowed mother, a brother,
and three sisters when he was 12. The family
settled in Minneapolis, where John Conrad
began his apprenticeship.

He was extremely conscientious in his
work and loyal to his employers, giving little
heed to himself. This is, in part at least, the
reason why he never married and why he
worked until a month before his death.
Rainbr Zangerl
Curator of Fossil Reptiles

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The scene showing white-tailed
deer in their winter phase is one
of the "Four Seasons" groups in
Richard T. Crane, Jr., Hall. These
are among the earliest and best-
known habitat groups prepared by
the late Carl E. Akeley. During
the short autumn deer-hunting
season in many states thousands
of bucks are shot each year. Deer
were an important game animal
to the American Indians. They
have held their own remarkably
well, even against the most in-
tensive hunting. They have been
re-introduced in places from which
they had been driven out, and,
where carefully protected by law,
their numbers have increased.
With our national and state parks
and other refuges, our game laws,
and the continuation of intelli-
gent conservation practices, the
white-tailed deer should always be
with us.

SPECIAL KOREAN EXHIBIT

Because of interest in Korea stimulated by
current events, an exhibit of ethnological
material from that country will be placed in
Stanley Field Hall on December 15. This
exhibit, comprising two cases, will remain on
exhibition through January 31. The mate-
rial shown is varied. It includes clothing,
embroideries, household goods, musical in-
struments, charms, and jade ornaments.

NEW MEMBERS

The following persons became Museum
Members from October 14 to November 13:

Associate Members
Richard H. Dix, L. B. Kidwell, Miss Ema
Schwandt, Gustavus F. Swift, Jr.

Annual Members

Ralph C. Archer, Mrs. Maurice H. Bent,
Mrs. G. L. Bergen, Maurice H. Bronner,
Beckwith R. Bronson, E. A. Bronson, James
W. Cotter, Hugo Coutandin, Mrs. Douglas
Craycraft, Dr. Roland R. Cross, Jr., Seymour
S. Cunningham, Frederick H. Deknatel II,
Calvin Fentress, Jr., Dr. Charles A. Ford,
Mrs. Ernest A. Gebhardt, Mrs. Evelyn M.
Gebhardt, FrankHn T. Griffin, F. A. Hohe-
nadel, John M. Lavezzorio, Charles J. Leon-
ard, Mrs. Isabel Catharine Lesch, Harry F.
McCombs, Thomas C. McConnell, David B.
McDougal, Mrs. Edward G. McDougall,
Mrs. Clara K. Meyer, Edward Michalko,
C. H. Olmsted, Edward Rothschild, H. E.
Seyfarth, Raymond M. Sheridan, Stanley L.
Shetler, Mrs. William Somerville, Dr. Henry
A. Szujewski, Gerard E. Waters, George J.
Zelinko

December, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Pages

ORIGINS OF YULE CUSTOMS PRE-DATE THE CHRISTIAN ERA

Br CHRISTINE TARDY

BULLETIN STAFF WRITER

WHAT WE ARE today is, in a sense, the
result of everything that's gone before.
We are the product of hundreds of millions of
years of biological evolution plus a few thou-
sand years of cultural and social develop-
ments. Biologists recognize the continuing
thread of evolution in physical characteristics
because all creatures possess vestigial remind-
ers of their more primitive ancestors. Sim-
ilarly, anthropologists find traces of ancient

Until recent times, remote areas of the British Isles
witnessed the mysterious processional of the horse's
skull at every winter solstice celebration. Probably
of ancient Celtic origin, a part of this rite gave us
the wassail bowl for holiday festivities.

customs in the things we do today. Customs
do not begin suddenly either, but are ours
through a long course of evolution.

Because the holiday season is almost upon
us, let's look into the past to find the begin-
nings of our beautiful and happy customs of
this time of year. We can be fairly sure that
our New Year's observances did not simply
spring into being with the acceptance here of
the Gregorian Calendar back in 1752 and
that Christmas customs did not take form
suddenly in celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Since there is long evolution behind every-
thing we do, it should not surprise us to find
that these modern Christian ceremonies of
ours have their roots in pagan ceremonies.
After all, the history of man is measured in
thousands of years and the history of Chris-
tianity only in hundreds.

Of course, even where we have carried a
practice unchanged through the centuries,
such as the hanging of mistletoe, we no longer
do it for the same reason the ancients did it.
We don't need to — times have changed. The
forces and factors that bring about changes
in our physical environment always require
an adjustment in our attitudes and customs,
and it takes time — often hundreds of years —

for our established ways to change. So
today's traditions — modified from customs
of the past — while they no longer serve their
original vital functions, contribute much of
the color, interest, and pleasure we derive
from life.

DISPUTES ON DATE

The origins of many of our Yule customs
can be traced back into prehistoric times, but
as official Christian holidays, Christmas and
New Year's had a long struggle to become
established. Even today, December 25 is
not observed as Christmas everywhere in the
Christian domain. Armenia and other coun-
tries celebrate it on January 6, the Epiphany
or spiritual birth of Jesus. In the early days
of Christianity there was considerable con-
troversy over whether the physical or the
spiritual birth should be commemorated, and
those who agreed on the physical birth then
disagreed about the date, some holding that
it took place on March 25 while others in-
sisted it was December 25. Five hundred
years passed before agreement was reached
in the Roman church and Christmas was
officially celebrated on December 25.

It happens that the origins of many Chris-
tian ceremonies were closely bound up with
the political situation in Rome at the time.
In those early days, Christians were recruit-
ing support from the Roman people, who
were, of course, pagans. The Christians met
with stiff opposition from the ruling classes of
the empire, whose status was jeopardized by
the concept of brotherhood of man. But
they also had trouble with a rival religion,
Mithraism, that was making its appeal to the
same people. Mithraism was a Persian reli-
gion possessing many concepts similar to
those in Christianity and therefore was a
dangerous rival. To gain a following among
the Roman people, the adherents of both
religions realized they had to cope with the
fact that their ideas were strange and foreign
to the Romans and that for acceptance the
new creeds would have to acquire an aura of
the familiar.

The Romans had an important festival,
Saturnalia, toward the end of December, and
the followers of Mithraism had an established
ceremony at the same period to celebrate the
birth of the sun. Thus Romans swinging to
the Mithraic faith would not be deprived of
a much-enjoyed happy festival. Conse-
quently, the Christians deemed December 25
a good time for a joyous Christmas festival.

PRE-CHRISTIAN CEREMONIES

Christianity not only offered a competing
festival, but made it just as happy an occa-
sion as the Romans had in Saturnalia largely
by adopting some of the Saturnalian cus-
toms. Saturnalia was originally, in very
early Roman religion, a one-day festival
commemorating the Golden Age of the rule
of Saturn, god of agriculture and bringer of

culture to the Romans. It was a solstice
ceremony, connected with the turning of the
year, when prayers and offerings were given
to bring about good crops and prosperity
in the coming year. At its height, after
Caesar's reform of the calendar, when the
Christians first came on the scene, it had
been stretched out to five days, including one
just for children. During these holidays,
gifts were made of wax fruits, candles, and
dolls. There is evidence to sugge.st that the
giving of dolls may then have a remnant of
the custom of human sacrifice, but it happens
also that the doUmakers held an annual fair
at this time. The wax fruits symbolized the
wished-for bountiful harvests of the coming
year, and candles had to do with the making
of new fires customary at the solstices, when
the sun turned northward again.

A king, Saturn, was chosen to reign during
the festival. In very early Roman times this
king could do anything he wished, enjoying
himself to the fullest during the festival, and
at its close he was sacrificed to the god. By
Caesar's time human sacrifice was a thing of
the ancient past, but a king continued to be
chosen to supervise the merriment of the
festival.

England, France, and other European
countries today carry a vestige of this ancient

During Saturnalia, the Roman people spoofed cv-
crythtng. Men and women exchanged costumes or
walked about in their underwear. The happy mood
of this festival time and many of its customs, such
as gift-giving, influenced our own holiday customs.

ceremony in the Lord of Misrule elected to
preside over the Feast of Fools on January 1 .
At its height during the Middle Ages, this
custom permitted the Lord of Misrule to
command all manner of ridiculous doings in
his direction of Christmastide revels. In

Page U

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1952

Scotland he was known as the Abbot of
Unreason, in France as the Abb6 de la
Malgouverne.

The thing that stamped the old Roman
Saturnalia with carefree gaiety was the fact
that everything customary during the rest of
the year was either forgotten or reversed.
Schools were closed, the courts stopped hand-
ing down punishments, wars ceased. People
either walked about in their undergarments
or men and women exchanged garb. Anti-
gambling laws were ignored and groups gath-
ered openly to throw dice. Social distinc-
tions were reversed in this slave-holding
society, and masters waited on their servants.
Manners and actions were unrestricted,
which contributed to unbridled speech and
licentious behavior to some extent, a char-
acteristic of many fertility ceremonies.

The more serious aspects of Christmas are
derived from the winter solstice celebrations
of the early northern barbarians, which re-
volved around the dark ancestral spirits.
Just as they had done it in Rome, it was
logical and sensible for the early Christians
to gain a foothold by easing into the already
established customs, adapting them to
Christian concepts. So as Christianity
spread northward into barbarian territory,
elements of Celtic and Teutonic winter-sol-
stice customs were worked into Christmas,
which came at the same time of year.

CELTS AND WASSAIL

The Celts penetrated so deeply into the
mountainous backwoods sections of the
British Isles and the northwestern part of
the Continent and they did this so long ago
(close to 2,500 years) that they had a long
time, undisturbed by any significant outside
influences, to develop highly individual inter-
pretations of the old rites. These old druid-
cult ideas have helped to mold our modern
Christmas customs. As has been mentioned,
the undertone of all the northern peoples'
winter-solstice rites had to do with the mys-
teries of life and death, mainly the latter.

In County Cork until recently, and derived
from ancient druid rites, it was the custom
to usher in winter (Samhain) by lighting bon-
fires (for the same reasons the Romans gave
candles) and to go from house to house to
solicit contributions of coin and food, led in
a procession by a man called the "White
Mare" (Lair Bhan) who wore a white robe
and carried a rude representation of a horse's
head. Peat fires in the cottages were put
out, to be freshly lighted in the morning, and
gifts of food were left for the "little people"
who were thought to wander abroad exces-
sively on that night.

In Wales, the Brythonic-speaking branch
of Celts had their own variation on this dur-
ing the Christmas season, called Y March
(the Horse) or Y Warsel (the Wassail) or
Mari Lwyd (which can mean either Gray
Mare or Holy Mary). Again, a leader car-
ried a horse's skull or wooden imitation,
draped himself in a sheet, and led the whole

party from house to house to receive gifts and
drink from the wassail bowl.

THE TEUTONIC YULE FEAST

The Yule Feast of the Nordic Germanic-
speaking peoples in Scandinavia and north-
central Europe had many things in it similar
to the Celts' winter celebrations. Like the
Romans, the Teutons were concerned with
recognizing the winter solstice and bringing
about a bountiful new year, but fear of
spirits and attention to the departed gave
the ceremonies a serious countenance like
that of the Celts.

The burning of a huge Yule log for several
days started in ancient times with a purpose
akin to the sun-fire associations found in the
Roman giving of candles and in the Celts'
lighting of bonfires, with the idea of starting
the new year with a new fire. In parts of the
north, it was (and is still in some places)
thought that burning the log or keeping a bit
of it around the house all year would protect
the house against fire and lightning, and that
it would insure bountiful crops and make the
livestock fruitful.

The Christmas tree, incidentally, is a
recent thing, spreading from the Germans
only in the last century and a half, but it
may have been inspired by the May-tree
worship of the Celtic druids. Lights on the
tree may come from the Jewish Hanukkah
(the Feast of Lights) held at this same season.
When Jesus was born the neighboring houses
were probably bright with Hanukkah lights.
Or there may be an affinity here with the
lights and fires of the Romans, Teutons, and
Celts.

Mistletoe has been regarded from earliest
times as sacred and mysterious, possessing

prevent the entrance of witches. Our use
of it today stems from a time when it played
an important role in fertility rites of the
ancient Celts.

Our use of mistletoe dur-
ing the holidays has
changed somewhat from
the time it first acquired
its holy and magical func-
tions in the rites of the
ancients. Most of us no
longer use it to ward ofi
demons or witches, but we
do retain a remnant of the
idea behind its old use in
druid fertility rites.

powers of life and fertility, by peoples from
the Mediterranean to the Baltic. It was
Aeneas' famed Golden Bough (the berries
turn gold-tinged as the plant withers). It
was particularly holy to the ancient Celtic
druids, for it grew on the sacred oak, and its
use is definitely linked to various old Euro-
pean sun-cults. It is still credited with
magical powers in parts of the world, from
the Louisiana bayous where it is hung to
counteract the powers of conjurers, to Euro-
pean cottages where it is hung over doors to

IIF1¥ "^EM^ ASO

M THE »a^£UM

Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER

From the Annual Report of the Director
for the year 1902:

"Expeditions and Field Work. — The collec-
tion of an adequate representation of the
forest trees of the United States that bear
particularly upon commerce and the defores-
tation of the country that was begun several
years ago and lapsed for the last three years
on account of lack of time with the then
working force of the Department of Botany
has again been taken up, three weeks being
spent in northern Minnesota for this purpose.
Incidental to this work, other collections of
economic material were made in the same
locality. The Department has continued its
field work upon the plant life of the 'Lake
Chicago Basin,' a flora that is rapidly becom-
ing extinct from drainage and reclaiming of
the area for building and other purposes.
During the year 388 specimens have been
added to the already fine series representing
this interesting region."
* * *

(Virginia Deer in Winter, one of the "Four
Seasons" groups prepared fifty years ago by
the late Carl E. Akeley, is shown on the cover
of this Bulletin. The exhibit may be seen in
Hall 16, Richard T. Crane, Jr., Hall of Amer-
ican Mammals.)

DALLWIG'S SUNDAY TOPIC
IS DOLLARS FROM TREES

Contrary to what almost everyone else
will tell you, "Money Does Grow on Trees,"
says Paul G. Dallwig, the Museum's Lay-
man Lecturer, and that is the title of the five
talks he is to give at 2 p.m. on Sunday after-
noons in December.

In this lecture Mr. Dallwig tells the inter-
esting story of the development and con-
servation of our great American forests.

Members of the Museum may use
their membership cards to attend these
lectures without advance reservations.

Museum Closes on Two Holidays

On Christmas and New Year's Day the
Museum will be closed so that employees of
the institution may spend the holidays with
their families. These are the only days in
the year when the Museum is not open to
visitors.

December, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

GULF OF MEXICO FISHES
TO BE COLLECTED

An expedition to collect deep-sea fishes of
the Gulf of Mexico on a triangular cruise of
some 1,500 miles from Pascagoula, Missis-
sippi, to Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys
and then down to Banco Campeche along the
north coast of Yucatan, Mexico, was sched-
uled to get under way at the time this
Bulletin went to press.

Through the courtesy of the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, Loren P. Woods,

> couitety FUb and Wildlife Service

SHIP SERVES SCIENCE

The **OregoD,*' research ship of the Fish and Wild'

life Service, uncovers many secrets about life in the

depths of the sea.

Curator of Fishes, and Robert F. Inger,
Assistant Curator of Fishes, were invited to
act as scientific observers aboard the serv-
ice's motor-vessel Oregon, which was to sail
November 28 on a survey of new shrimp
grounds. The trawling to be done will yield
many specimen^ of varied kinds of fishes,
most of which will be available to Woods and
Inger for addition to the Museum's research
collections.

This is the third expedition of the kind in
which Curator Woods has been enabled to
participate through the co-operation of the
Fish and Wildlife Service. The two previous
cruises aboard the Oregon resulted in the
acquisition of about 300 species of fishes,
about half of which were not previously rep-
resented in the Museum's collections. Drags
on the present cruise will probably range
from depths of 30 to 100 fathoms.

The Oregon is a large converted tuna clipper
with full equipment for scientific collecting.
She has a large double trawling-winch, carry-
ing enough cable for use at depths to 500
fathoms, and electronic devices.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered at
2 P.M. daily except Sundays under the title
"Highlights of the Exhibits." These tours
are designed to give a general idea of the
entire Museum and its scope of activities.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons. Requests for such service
must be made at least one week in advance.

Although there are no tours on Sundays,
the Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(4 P.M. on weekdays). The Museum will be
closed Christmas and New Year's Day.

♦ANIMALS UNAWARE' FILM
AND LECTURE OFFERED

The Illinois Audubon Society will present
the second in its current season of "screen-
tour" lectures on Saturday afternoon, Jan-
uary 3, at 2;30 o'clock in the James Simpson
Theatre of Chicago Natural History Museum.
Howard Cleaves will lecture and show color
motion-pictures on "Animals Unaware."

Admission to these lectures and others to
follow in March and April is free and the
public is welcome. Seats in the reserved
section of the theatre are available both to
members of the Illinois Audubon Society
and of the Museum upon presentation of
their membership carda to the ushers.

GIRL SCOUTS AT MUSEUM HONOR UNITED STATES' WAR DEAD

Approximately 900 Girl Scouts and their
relatives and friends attended an Armistice
Day ceremony at the Museum on November
11. The girls who participated are members
of troops engaged in their current "Nature
Study Project" in which the Museum is the
center of activity for Girl Scouts of Chicago,
five neighboring Illinois counties, and one
county in Indiana.

On Armistice Day the Girl Scouts assem-
bled in the south end of Stanley Field Hall.
Major Frank A. Reker, Jr., conducted the
ceremony, speaking from the first landing of
the steps leading to the balconies. After
colors were posted by a Girl Scout color
guard. Major Reker introduced Colonel
Clifford C. Gregg, Director of the Museum,
who spoke a few words of welcome and intro-

duced Howard T. Greene, who made a brief
address. Mr. Greene, president of Brook
Hill Farms, Inc., of Chicago and Genesee
Depot, Wisconsin, is the sponsor of the Girl
Scout nature-study project.

At 11 o'clock all faced east in accordance
with Armistice Day custom, while a Girl
Scout drum and bugle corps directed by
Mrs. Frank A. Reker., Jr., played taps ac-
companied by mufHed drums.

The nature-study project has attracted
widespread interest. Brook Hill Farms will
award a Girl Scout American flag to each of
the 100 troops whose letters are judged to be
the best. The awards will be made at a
meeting to be held in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Musseum on December 6.

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Cffi

GIRL SCOUTS AT MUSEUM ON ARMISTICE DAY
Drum and Bugle Corps of Girl Scout Troop 572 and Flag Troop 22 participate in solemn Armistice Day
ceremony in Stanley Field Hall. More than 950 Girl Scouts attended and were welcomed by Howard T.
Greene, president of Brook Hill Farms, Inc., who appears on stair landing used as speakers* platform. Mr.
Greene is sponsor of the current **Nature Study Pro)€ct" for Girl Scouts in which the Museum's facilities are
used by troops throughout the Chicago area and neighboring counties of Illinois and Indiana.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 195g

'WHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH MEXICO' TOLD BY EXPLORER

By CUFFORD H. POPE
cxntATOR or amphibians and reptiles

ALTHOUGH zoologists learned during
the 19th century and the early 20th
much about the reptiles and amphibians of
Mexico, it was not until the last two decades
that they could boast a superior knowledge

My wife and I went to Mexico last June with
a plan to investigate the relationships of one
species to another under natural conditions,
with salamanders as a focal point of interest.
Before relating our experiences I might as
well make one confession: I am prejudiced in
favor of Mexico and its inhabitants, and

TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS FOR SALAMANDER HUNTER
Cofrc de Pcrotc in the state of Veracruz, as seen from patio occupied by Curator Pope while collecting speci'
mens of the area's amphibians. A turkey gobbler struts in the foreground. The Cofre, one of Mexico's highest
mountains, attains an akitudc of 14,048 feet; this photograph was taken at about 4,600 feet above sea-level.

of this subject. This recent advancement
has been due largely to the work of two inde-
fatigable explorers, Edward H. Taylor and
Hobart M. Smith, who, during the '30s and
'40s, collected about 50,000 specimens while
making seventeen expeditions to Mexico.
For example, well over half of the species of
salamanders of this coimtry have been de-
scribed by these workers since the late '30s.

This bit of Mexican zoological history is
interesting because it is typical of that of
many other parts of the world: a gradual
accumulation of knowledge for decades fol-
lowed by a sudden increase due to some
special stimulus in the form of a large expe-
dition, or the efforts of a few men especially
interested, as are Smith and Taylor. It
should be recalled in this connection that all
true zoological exploration is extremely
recent. From the point of view of modern
science, the animals and plants of the world
were almost totally unknown a century and
a half ago.

Now that the work of Smith and Taylor
has brought our knowledge of Mexican her-
petologj' to such a level, the stage is set for
the specialist in classification, ecology, spe-
ciation, or any related branch of study, to
step in and concentrate on a particular field.

shall continue to be so until something hap-
pens to induce me to change my mind. So
far our experiences have been overwhelmingly
of the pleasant kind. During three and a
half months of work, and travel over 8,500
miles in seventeen states and Distrito Fed-
eral, we have met with courtesy and consid-
eration from hundreds of persons whom we
encountered without introduction, and the
times we have been treated discourteously
can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
And we did not travel as tourists with money
sticking from all pockets, but as workers
who often did things without apparent
reason. For example, we went through in-
numerable fields turning stones and other
objects, and yet no farmer objected to such
unusual behavior. We had many a pleasant
conversation with land-owners who surely
puzzled over our actions. I have often
thought what kind of a welcome a foreigner
would receive in our country if he did what
we have done, and it is not a pleasant
thought. I was warned that we would be
molested or robbed but we were not. Our
obviously loaded Chevrolet "carryall" has
been left over night in city streets or for
hours in towns, villages, and remote places
in the country.

We made our first real headquarters at
Jalapa, capital of the state of Veracruz and
historic site on one of the two highways con-
necting Mexico City with the Gulf port of
Veracruz. Jalapa, with an altitude of 4,681
feet, was an important stop on the northern
stagecoach road, for here the traveler could
spend the night in cool mountain air after
sweltering in the tropical plains below. This
elevated location makes Jalapa as interesting
to the biologist as to the traveler because the
surrounding country supports a rich flora and
fauna. By going a few miles up one road you
get into the temperate zone, and by going as
far down another you reach the tropics.

A glance at a relief map will show that
Jalapa lies near the base of the Cofre de
Perote, one of Mexico's highest mountains.
The Cofre's top, 14,048 feet above the level
of the sea and only fifty airline miles from it,
is elevated enough to wear a white cap occa-
sionally in the summer. The famous lofty
peaks of our own western states are scarcely
higher than this little-known mountain.
Forty-five miles to the south, joined to the
Cofre by a continuous range of mountains
without highways, towers snow-capped Ori-
zaba, unsurpassed in grace and beauty among
North American i>eaks, and higher than any
south of the Alaskan boundary. Its altitude
is a mere 18,696 feet.

A DOG APPEIASED

Since the problem of a place to live is
always the first to be solved, we set about
finding an abode. Camping is not advan-
tageous in such a rainy, heavily populated
area, and living in hotels is even less appeal-
ing. After some difficulty we found a room
to rent in a home on the outskirts of Jalapa.
The room was located between a large garden
and larger patio or barnyard in which lived a
horse and innumerable domestic fowl of
many kinds, and several dogs. One dog at-
tacked strangers at sight; so entering the
patio where we parked our car was often
venturesome. The problem of this ferocious
bitch was solved by a little raw meat and our
table scraps. We were soon on the most
friendly terms. The charming owner of our
abode saw to it that we had everything
needed before turning us over to the affec-
tionate care of her many servants. The
house, garden, and patio occupied perhaps
three acres, and their care called for much
labor.

It was not hard to get an early start in the
morning because long before daylight a
series of noises began : ringing of church bells,
barking of dogs, crowing of roosters, and,
finally, blowing of bugles and beating of
drums by the local soldiery, who marched
along the street in front of the house at 5 A.M.
every day. I must admit that toward the
end of our sojourn even this pandemonium
sometimes failed to wake me. Then often

December, 1952

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

there was excitement during the daylight
hours as when three-year-old Guadalupe,
smallest member of the household, decided
to teach the biggest of the dogs some man-
ners. He bent over in front of the big dog
to take a bone from it for one of the little
dogs. The result was a long tooth gash on
his head, a bloody white shirt, and howls that
dwarfed all the barnyard noises. We were
called upon to assist with first-aid treatment
and it was not long before "Lupe" was hap-
pily sucking some candy. More exciting
still was the pursuit about the patio of an
alleged mad dog. The weapons used were,
in order of effectiveness, a floor mop, a stick,
stones, a pitchfork, a machete, and a large
pistol. Only Lupe failed to join the attack-
ers. The agility with which the dog evaded
his pursuers cast some doubt on his madness.
The event occurred during a typical mad-
dog "scare."

With headquarters from which to operate
we next established stations in the surround-
ing country. These were within some twenty
miles of Jalapa, and could be reached for a
day's work at a time. One of the stations
was a hacienda that included a stretch of
open pasture with small streams and wet,
grassy spots; two were in barrancas or can-
yons down which roared mountain streams.
These barrancas were at such different alti-
tudes that they supported different faunas.
Even the patio itself, with its partly over-
grown lower slope, and innumerable boards,
stones and debris lying about, had its herpe-
tological fauna, and a large colony of sala-
manders inhabited the hill opposite ours,
bare and open as it was. First one station
was visited for a day and then another. In
this way we were able to observe the stations
at different times of day and under various
weather conditions.

FRIENDLY 'MUCHACHOS'

Our most successful work was done in two
adjacent barrancas about 3,000 feet higher
than Jalapa and fifteen miles distant by road.
On our first visit we found the ruins of an old
church in a pasture near the canyon's mouth,
and among the ruins and nearby stone walls
and rocks we discovered a large population
of lizards and snakes. The inevitable
"muchacho" or boy was there in his pictur-
esque costume watching his cows and of
course he soon became interested in helping
us. Mexican farm boys always show up and
are one of the characteristics of the country
districts. I could write a whole essay on
them. They seem to spring up from no-
where, and making friends with them is not
hard, especially when a little candy is handy.
As a rule they answer all questions respect-
fully with either a "Si" or a "No" until con-
vinced that you want a full answer. I recall
one who stood by while we ate lunch, and
when asked whether he wanted this or that
invariably replied, "Como no," which is to
say, "How not." Each morsel, after being
carefully examined as to consistency, was, if

dry and firm, carefully deposited in one of
many pockets; if soft or sticky it was eaten
at once. The boy reminded me of a huge,
friendly chipmunk.

The local people of all ages take a great
interest in what goes on and can be most
helpful. A goatherd whom we met farther
up one of the two barrancas saw us catching
salamanders and responded to our offer to
buy any by promptly disappearing. Two
hours later he returned with seven specimens
wrapped in a large leaf. In the meantime we
had caught some of the same species under
the bark of a pine log. The goatherd assured
us that his had been caught in a tree, and
offered to take me to his collecting site. Sure
enough he had found his series by climbing a
tree, throwing down the bromeliads or air-
plants growing some twenty feet above the
ground, and searching through them. Thus
we were shown for this species a "habitat
niche" new to us.

We worked six days in these canyons dur-
ing which time many notes on habits were
recorded and 450 specimens assembled. We

Books

•MUCHACHO' AND TURTLE
This Mexican lad shows with delight a specimen
found near his home at Miguel Hidalgo, Tamaulipas.

felt that we had secured representatives of all
the species but of course we had not done
this in such a short time. The villagers had
helped and it was always interesting to com-
pare our catch with theirs. They had the
advantage of superior knowledge of local
conditions, whereas we knew the scientific
aspects of the work. It usually turned out
that their collections supplemented ours
remarkably well.

After leaving Jalapa we continued our cir-
cuit of the Cofre de Perote-Orizaba range
until we reached the region just south of it,
where we found an even richer fauna. We
were able to visit briefly many famous col-
lecting sites in the region of Cordoba.

(AU books reviewed 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.)

FOREST ENTOMOLOGY. By Samuel
A. Graham. Third Edition. McGraw
Hill Book Company, New York, 1952.
xiH-351 pages. 85 figures. Price $6.

Forest Entomology is a somewhat technical
textbook and will not have the reader appeal
of some of the more general works that have
been reviewed here. Nevertheless, it is
worthy of note because of the interest it
will have to Bulletin readers who are
Interested in the conservation of natural
resources. To them the book will be a
valuable reference, as are others of the
"American Forestry Series."

Many changes have occurred in the field
of forest entomology since the last edition
(1929) of this text. Whereas the control
of forest insects previously was largely a
matter of good silvicultural practices — and
these still are very important — the develop-
ment of some of the modem insecticides
and insecticide dispersal equipment have
made the direct chemical control measures
much more practical than before. The
techniques of survey and appraisal have
likewise been greatly improved, with the
result that potential outbreak areas now are
much more likely to be recognized in advance
and taken in hand before serious insect
outbreaks can occur.

Although this valuable book is specifically
one of a series on North American forestry,
it would seem to the reviewer that even
brief references to the problems of forest
entomology in other parts of the world
would help broaden the viewpoint of the
reader and, particularly, of the student.
Rupert L. Wenzel
Curator of Insects

The principal groups of mammals of the
world from the monotremes (egg-laying
mammals) and marsupials (pouched mam-
mals) of Australia to the highest types
(monkeys and man-like apes) are syste-
matically arranged in Hall 15.

BOYS AND GIRLS OF 4-H
TO VISIT THE MUSEUM

In accordance with a custom established
many years ago, more than 1,200 boys and
girls of the 4-H Clubs, national farm-youth
organization, are scheduled to visit the
Museum on December 2. The Raymond
Foundation will assign its staff lecturers to
assist the young people in finding exhibits.

Nearly every state in the Union and all the
provinces of Canada will be represented by
groups of delegates. Rural boys and girls,
selected for excellence of achievement in
their local communities, are sent to Chicago
each year for the National Congress of 4-H
Clubs at the time of the annual International
Livestock Exposition.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1952

TOYS OF OTHER PEOPLES AND PAST AGES IN MUSEUM

STAFF NOTES

Photogtaphi courtety of U

Playthings given to children of many lands are to be found among the Museum's anthropological collections.
In picture at left, young Miss Nicky Borch, of Berwyn, Illinois is shown in Indian costume as she posed, for
a press photographer, holding a toy papoose-cradle. On the table, for comparison, is a modern doll-cradle
such as is to be found on the toy counters of stores during the Christmas shopping season. Babies* rattles at
least 3,000 years old are shown in ancient Babylonian exhibit (Hall K). Held in front of the case for com-
parison is a modem version of the toy that pacifies infants with its mysterious and pleasant sound.

Dr. Austin L. Rand, Curator t)f Birds,
was the representative of the Museum at the
annual meeting of the American Ornithol-
ogists' Union in Baton Rouge . . . D. Dwight
Davis, Curator of Anatomy, attended the
recent regional meeting of anatomists at the
University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator of Eco-
nomic Botany, attended a recent meeting
in Washington, D.C., of the National
Research Council's committee on the preser-
vation of indigenous strains of maize.

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of
Geology, and Robert K. Wyant, Curator of
Economic Geology, recently visited Yerkes
Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisconsin, to
attend a symposium on the abundance of
elements from meteoritic and terrestrial
sources.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM
IN PAST MONTH

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

Department of Anthropology:

From: Robert Trier, Chicago — 3 archae-
ological and 5 ethnological specimens,
Marquesas, Samoa, and Tonga

Department of Botany:

From: Dr. Nicolas Angulo, Trujillo, Peru
— 18 algae, Peru; Botanic Gardens, Sydney,
Australia — 29 algae, Gilbert Islands, Micro-
nesia; Botanische Abteilung, Vienna, Austria
— 1,034 algae; Canterbury Agricultural Col-
lege, Christchurch, New Zealand — Raoulia
exemia, Mount! Torlesse; William A. Daily,
Indianapolis — 54 algae, Indiana; Dr. Anna
de Toni, Brescia, Italy — 111 algae, Albania
and Gorizia; Florida State University, Talla-
hassee— 90 algae, Florida; University of
Hawaii, Honolulu — 55 algae, Hawaii; Dr.
E. P. Killip, Washington, D.C.— 71 algae,
17 phanerogams, Florida; J. Francis Mac-
bride, Stanford University, Calif.— 732
algae, southwestern United States; Mahog-
any Association, Inc. (George H. Lamb),
Chicago — 5 mahogany planks, Philippine
Islands; Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
— 35 miscellaneous algae; University of
Nevada, Reno — 59 algae, Nevada; Dr. C. M.
Palmer, Cincinnati — 37 algae, Ohio; Dr.
P. O. Schallert, Altamonte Springs, Fla. —
155 cryptogams, Florida; Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale — Juniperus drupa-
cea, Turkey; Dr. Cesar Vargas, Cuzco, Peru
— 16 algae, Peru; University of Wisconsin,
Madison — 60 miscellaneous lichens

Department of Geology:

From: August G. Becker (deceased), pre-
sented by Raymond B. Becker, Gainesville,
Fla. — five geodes, various localities; R.
Bookwalter, Chicago — fossil tree-trunk filled
with quartz crystals

Department of Zoology:

From: William J. Beecher, Chicago — 3
screech owls, Illinois; Bernard Benesh, Burr-
ville, Tenn. — 100 insects (chiefly flies),

Tennessee; Dr. Argentino A. Bonetto,
Santa Fe, Argentina — fresh-water clams,
Argentina; Department of Conservation,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. — 60 sea
lampreys. New York; Harry Hoogstraal,
Cairo, Egypt — 78 insects, 6 arachnids,
desert snails, 42 frogs, 31 lizards, 20 snakes,
turtle, Egypt; Marine Studios, Marineland,
Fla. — fishes (Centropristes strialus), Florida;
Max McGraw, Dundee, 111. — albino chip-
munk, Illinois; J. D. Romer, Hong Kong,
China — 4 frogs. Hong Kong; Dr. Otto Schu-
bart, Sao Paulo, Brazil — collection of fresh-
water shells, Brazil; Neal A. Weber, Swarth-
more. Pa. — 2 frogs, 42 lizards, 2 snakes, Iraq
and Bahrein Island

Library:

From: Henry S. Dybas, Hazelcrest, 111.;
W. R. Shealy, Jr., Chicago

Two Museum Curators Honored
For Zoological Research

The honorary degree of Doctor of Science
has been conferred upon Karl P. Schmidt,
Chief Curator of Zoology, by Earlham
College, Richmond, Indiana, in recognition
of his years of research in various fields of
zoology, most notably in herpetology. Chief
Curator Schmidt is one of the foremost
authorities on reptiles and amphibians.

Emmet R. Blake, Associate Curator of
Birds, was recently elected a fellow of the
American Ornithologists Union at its annual
meeting held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The fellowship is a recognition of Associate
Curator Blake's extensive contributions to
neotropical ornithology.

HOW TO DO YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

WITHOUT STIRRING FROM YOUR EASY CHAIR

Christmas shopping can be made painless and economical. You don't
even have to wrap a package if you avail yourself of one or both of the
special services Chicago Natural History Museum offers at this time of
the year. Here are the details:

(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
(WAbash 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