Skip to main content

Full text of "Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution"

See other formats 


¥ vaihnl 


erate 
MP the” 


, oot ; _ wer hn : 
or " Aree) a aoe a r] 


i he 
es ray, ra Eve 
b 
wp ap 4 
WE A d ante h, ¥ 
. 4 2 \ : nm ¥ hee ast eu 4 ; be Ad abe P ; 
aN Fe Lal eyed: ia Dona ; Ld) PSS , y 
, : _ ‘ ~ 
» ' ; han 
) q 
‘ 
Al 4 ‘ . 
’ Lb 4 f 
-- cd \ : A 4 A 
' RUN hve 
% a 
| j ‘ Wi me ft 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
BOARD OF REGENTS OF 


THE SMITHSONIAN 
INSTITUTION 


SHOWING THE 


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


194] 


(Publication 3651) 


UNITED STATES 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
WASHINGTON : 1942 


For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - - - - - = Price $2.00 (cloth cover) 


Ce PrTeh Or TRANS MITTAL 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 
Washington, December 3, 1941. 
To the Congress of the United States: 

In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents, 
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- 
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 
ended June 30, 1941. I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
C. G. Axssor, Secretary. 


It 


CONTENTS 


Page 

PENNE RCTETICSELLA © eS et ee Nes a DERN tee Sw epee ey 50 IX 

BGAN OVCHLG SM Sac oe ee SL ace ek oe oe 2 aes 1 

Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution_______ 2 

MHETestabuannent. osc eee ee Me eae cree 8 

Mae DORT i Ol mepmenty se Set es ale Ae a Ue a os ee ea 8 

LEE TED a HP LOR Siac RNS ance ee ee Re nes Bea eS Al ie 9 

Miavtets OL CCneralmntOROs lo. one o ka Meat et ek ee te ee ee soe 9 

DBIMLBAOMath TACIO PLOPTAM a2 = 2252 0h 22255562228 le bas eke ee 9 

Wialtersataoone Bacon scholarships. 2- 2222 2220222222022 2e Se 11 

popiseniany main, Nall exhibit...-- 25-5202 5-255eso2e-c0 ono see 12 

PiPiCumAniaNTeCiiTe 20065. > een kt en eek eed oe a 13 

Dees URS er he Seer eee eres oe 8 ee ee a Ee 14 

PelOveLiGnn ang Meld work: \ 72 os) Slee een bee es ele ee eee 15 

J ETE] CU TEEEE rete 1 AY Bg gl an AA see nn Sets ye Se Rae ee gS 17 

cP SIS ey CES pS ls Heres eR SLUR Rar 17 

Appendix 1. Report on the United States National Museum___________- 19 

2. Report on the National Gallery of Art__...-._...._-_.____- 34 

3. Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts___________- 45 

4. Report on the Freer Gallery of Art__........-.--_--_.---- 51 

5. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology_---..___-__- 56 

6. Report on the International Exchange Service______.____-- 69 

7. Report on the National Zoological Park_....-_------------ 78 

8. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory _._..-.--..___--- 108 

9. Report on the Division of Radiation and Organisms-__--____- 111 

PO Cepory ON the LDPATY ceo ee eee ul eS 116 

Ta LepOrt (OM PuvlicanGne. 22. 22 u eee CNet LT ee ee 123 

Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents____-._______- 130 

GENERAL APPENDIX 

What lies between the stars? by Walter S. Adams_____________________ 141 

Artificial converters of solar energy, by H. C. Hottel_---__.____-_-_---- 151 

The new frontiers in the atom, by Ernest O. Lawrence_-_----- Rao ee Seen 163 

Science shaping American culture, by Arthur H. Compton___-_________- 175 

Mathematics and the sciences, by J. W. Lasley, Jr__.-.-.-_-.-___--__-- 183 

The role of science in the electrical industry, by M. W. Smith___________ 199 

The new synthetic textile fibers, by Herbert R. Mauersberger-_---_--_-_-- 211 

PASS UICS MOV n CONG OD Vos KUTING ses eel Pe SE A She MN RSL ee Mee Ee 225 

Vitamins and their occurrence in foods, by Hazel E. Munsell____-______- 239 

Science and human prospects, by Eliot Blackwelder____---_---_-_-_---- 267 

Iceland, land of frost and fire, by Vigfus Einarsson_.._._._-_-_--------- 285 

The genes and the hope of mankind, by Bruce Bliven____--_-_----_--_--- 293 

Care of captive animals, by Ernest P. Walker........-..-...-...---... 305 
The influence of insects on the development of forest protection and forest 

Mise MeN he HY. (rs CPAIPNERG a. fie oe a SoD eg ee 367 

Growth hormones in plants, by Kenneth V. Thimann_-_-____---_-------- 393 

Weeful algae, by Florence Meier Chase... --=2/-.22.-2 =) 42... ene. 401 


VI CONTENTS 


The excavations of Solomon’s seaport: Ezion-geber, by Nelson Glueck... 453 
Decipherment of the linguistic portion of the Maya hieroglyphs, by Ben- 


Jamin’ bee Whort set snes CAL Le alee ey eens er, Seek eeas Utes 479 
Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine, by William N. 

Penton. SoA ak eas i ee wel eee geen Mens Ut Ure ee AA 503 
The study of Indian music, by Frances Densmore________.___________.. 527 
Snake bites and the Hopi Snake Dance, by M. W. Stirling______________ 551 
The: Eskimo ‘ehild;) by Ales (Hirdlic icq 6 spy) 8 rey ol Aylin 557 


Wings for Transportation (Recent developments in air transportation 
equipment), by ‘Theodore PP’ Wright, (Di Se... 0. ee ee ee 563 


LIST OF PLATES 


Page 
Secretary’s Report: 
DEAE ES TR Aa eS ES Sel Ade a pt La bat eae eee RA ween 4 SE 12 
TET PS oes seg TR EAD aS OR pellets oe Ful UT Gm eae Oy game US BAU 52 
DET sa frees ee pene esta RL a dae ys Se Daa pe We a A ae 78 
What lies between the stars? (Adams): 
PERE es Led eee aa tae a ae aR ete ce eee foe ce ates ce Pe ae) eee Oy TRY a 150 
The new frontiers in the atom (Lawrence): 
TESA eS Oe ee LAR a ee een ee ee ee es ees 174 
The role of science in the electrical industry (Smith) 
SEA ye a i CA FES Od FS a Se aS I) Te ee eee ee ane Te 210 
Plastics (Kline) 
cele eye ar ne he se ee sore ey tee ee a aes See ee 238 
Iceland, land of frost and fire (Einarsson): 
RV erbes pe besl ices pia eh roe i ee cere ly St te 292 
Care of captive animals (Walker): 
Pisces lees see nara ere ne, see eens alesse eo oe at 366 
The influence of insects on the development of forest protection and forest 
management (Craighead): 
IB Laes eke pee: 2) insane an ea cake od EM Sey AL 2 ahd peel lew Speier 392 
Growth hormones in plants (Thimann): 
ELSES GLIA aa ae ee aca De th lah a ae Ome ee) Se 400 
Useful algae (Chase): 
PETS tres ie Cae Spi ea 2a ee Bed te ee kee ee = ee 452 
The excavations of Solomon’s seaport: Ezion-geber (Glueck): 
Wels tesla 4 ert 2 Rey, eae eed cone ane ol fe Sas See a 478 
Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine (Fenton): 
lates peters kr hee ee ree to NG e erat Shh 2S OR eee oo ae Se 526 
The study of Indian music (Densmore): 
IP Ua bes l— Ge mires arias ack es pre Les ee OL ah a a a 550 
Snake bites and the Hopi Snake Dance (Stirling): 
EE Ui i Fe age a le TIA AL Nl a et SE a wb» tg gee EN A I 556 
The Eskimo child (Hrdli¢ka) : 
albcy es Vel Ca Ut ee ee El ae ee a Be Ne 5 it iden) a) err ee Spe ee 562 
Wings for transportation (Wright): 
Plateset— 4a ee ie a he an ime 2 Ee ge ee ee alee 584 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
June 30, 1941 


Presiding officer ew officio——FRANKLIN D. RoosrvEtt, President of the United 
States. 
Chancellor—CHARLES EvANS Huaues, Chief Justice of the United States. 
Members of the Institution: 
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States. 
Henry A. WALLACE, Vice President of the United States. 
CHARLES Evans HUGHES, Chief Justice of the United States. 
CoRDELL HULL, Secretary of State. 
Henry MoRGENTHAU, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury. 
Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War. 
Rosert H. JAckson, Attorney General. 
FRANK C. WALKER, Postmaster General. 
FRANK Kwnox, Secretary of the Navy. 
Harrop L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior. 
CLAUDE R. WicKARD, Secretary of Agriculture. 
JESSE H. JoNES, Secretary of Commerce. 
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary of Labor. 
Regents of the Institution: 
CHARLES EVANS HUGHES, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor. 
Henry A. WALLACE, Vice President of the United States. 
CHARLES L. McNary, Member of the Senate. 
ALBEN W. BArKiEY, Member of the Senate. 
BENNETT CHAMP CLARK, Member of the Senate. 
CLARENCE CANNON, Member of the House of Representatives. 
Witrim P. Cots, Jr., Member of the House of Representatives. 
Foster STEARNS, Member of the House of Representatives. 
FREDERIc A. DELANO, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
Rouanp S. Morris, citizen of Pennsylvania. 
Harvey N. Davis, citizen of New Jersey. 
ARTHUR H. Compton, citizen of Illinois. 
VANNEVAR BusH, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
Ezecutwe committee.—FREDERIC A. DELANO, VANNEVAR BUSH. 
Secretary—CHARLES G. ABBOT. 
Assistant Secretary.—ALEXANDER WETMORE. 
Administrative assistant to the Secretary. HARRY W. DORSEY. 
Treasurer.—NICHOLAS W. DORSEY. 
Chief, editorial division —WEeEBSTER P. TRUE. 
Librarian.—WiiAm L. CorsBin. 
Personnel officer.—HELEN A. OLMSTED. 
Property clerk.—JAMES H. HILL. 


x ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


Keeper ex officio—CHARLES G. ABBOT. 
Assistant Secretary (in charge).—ALEXANDER WETMORE. 
Associate Director.—JOHN EB. GRAF. 


SCIENTIFIC STAFF 


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

Division of Ethnology: H. W. Krieger, curator; J. E. Weckler, Jr., assistant 
curator; Arthur P. Rice, collaborator. 

Section of Ceramics: Samuel W. Woodhouse, collaborator. 

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

Division of Physical Anthropology: AleS Hrdlitka, curator; T. Dale Stewart, 
associate curator. 

Collaborators in anthropology: George Grant MacCurdy; W. W. 
Taylor, Jr. \ 
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY: 
Leonhard Stejneger, head curator; W. L. Brown, chief taxidermist; 
Aime M. Awl, illustrator. 

Division of Mammals: Remington Kellogg, curator; H. Harold Shamel, senior 
scientific aid; A. Brazier Howell, collaborator; Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., 
associate, 

Division of Birds: Herbert Friedmann, curator; J. H. Riley, associate cura- 
tor; H. G. Deignan, assistant curator; Alexander Wetmore, custodian 
of alcoholic and skeleton collections; Casey A. Wood, collaborator; 
Arthur C. Bent, collaborator. 

Division of Reptiles and Batrachians: Leonhard Stejneger, curator; Doris 
M. Cochran, assistant curator. 

Division of Fishes: Leonard P. Schultz, curator; BE. D. Reid, senior scientific 
aid. 

Dwwision of Insects: L. O. Howard, honorary curator; Edward A. Chapin, 
curator; R. H. Blackwelder, assistant curator; William Schaus, honorary 
assistant curator. 

Section of Hymenoptera: 8. A. Rohwer, custodian; W. M. Mann, assist- 
ant custodian; Robert A. Cushman, assistant custodian. 

Section of Myriapoda: O. F. Cook, custodian. 

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

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

Section of Lepidoptera: J. T. Barnes, collaborator. 

Section of Hemiptera: W. L. McAtee, acting custodian. 

Section of Forest Tree Beetles: A. D. Hopkins, custodian. 

Division of Marine Invertebrates: Waldo L. Schmitt, curator; C. R. Shoe- 
maker, assistant curator; James O. Maloney, aid; Mrs. Harriet Rich- 
ardson Searle, collaborator; Max M. Ellis, collaborator; J. Percy Moore, 
collaborator; Joseph A. Cushman, collaborator in Foraminifera; Charles 
Branch Wilson, collaborator in Copepoda. 

Division of Mollusks: Paul Bartsch, curator; Harald A. Rehder, assistant 
curator; Joseph P. BE. Morrison, senior scientific aid. 

Section of Helminthological Collections: Benjamin Schwartz, collab- 
orator. 

Division of Echinoderms: Austin H. Clark, curator. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY xI 


DEPARTMENT OF BioLocy—Continued. 

Division of Plants (National Herbarium): W. R. Maxon, curator; Ells- 
worth P. Killip, associate curator; Emery C. Leonard, assistant curator; 
Conrad V. Morton, assistant curator; Egbert H. Walker, aid; John A. 
Stevenson, custodian of C. G. Lloyd mycological collection. 

Section of Grasses; Agnes Chase, custodian. 

Section of Cryptogamic Collections; O. F. Cook, assistant curator. 
Section of Higher Algae: W. T. Swingle, custodian. 

Section of Lower Fungi: D. G. Fairchild, custodian. 

Section of Diatoms: Paul S. Conger, custodian. 

Associates in Zoology: C. Hart Merriam, Mary J. Rathbun, Theodore S. 
Palmer, William B. Marshall, A. G. Boving. 

Associate curator in Zoology: Hugh M. Smith. 

Associate in Marine Sediments: T. Wayland Vaughan. 

Collaborator in Zoology: Robert Sterling Clark. 

Collaborators in Biology: A. K. Fisher, David C. Graham. 

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY: 
R. 8. Bassler, head curator; Jessie G. Beach, aid. 

Division of Physical and Chemical Geology (systematic and applied) : W. F. 
Foshag, curator; Edward P. Henderson, assistant curator; Bertel O. 
Reberholt, senior scientific aid. 

Division of Mineralogy and Petrology: W. F. Foshag, curator; Frank L. 
Hess, custodian of rare metals and rare earths. 

Division of Stratigraphic Paleontology: Charles E. Resser, curator; Gustav 
A. Cooper, assistant curator; Marion F. Willoughby, senior scientific aid. 

Section of Invertebrate Paleontology: T. W. Stanton, custodian of 
Mesozoic collection ; Paul Bartsch, curator of Cenozoic collection. 

Division of Vertebrate Paleontology: Charles W. Gilmore, curator; C. Lewis 
Gazin, assistant curator; Norman H. Boss, chief preparator. 

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

Associate in Paleontology: E. O. Ulrich. 

Associate in Petrology: Whitman Cross. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES: 
Carl W. Mitman, head curator. 

Division of Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, curator. 

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

Section of Aeronautics: Paul E. Garber, assistant curator. 

Section of Mechanical Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, in charge. 

Section of Electrical Engineering and Communications: Frank A. 
Taylor, in charge. 

Section of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering: Carl W. Mitman, in 
charge. 

Section of Physical Sciences and Measurement: Frank A. Taylor, in 
charge. 

Section of Tools: Frank A. Taylor, in charge. 

Division of Crafts and Industries: Frederick L. Lewton, curator; Bliza- 

beth W. Rosson, senior scientific aid. 
Section of Textiles: Frederick L. Lewton, in charge. 
Section of Woods and Wood Technology: William N. Watkins, assistant 
curator. 
Section of Chemical Industries: Wallace E. Duncan, assistant curator. 
Section of Agricultural Industries: Frederick L. Lewton, in charge. 


XII ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES—Continued. 
Division of Medicine and Public Health: Charles Whitebread, associate 
curator. 
Division of Graphic Arts: R. P. Toiman, curator. 
Section of Photography: A. J. Olmsted, assistant curator. 
DIvIsioN oF History: T. T. Belote, curator; Charles Carey, assistant curator; 
Catherine L. Manning, philatelist. 


ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF 


Chief of correspondence and documents.—H. S. BRYANT. 

Assistant chief of correspondence and documents.—L. E. COMMERFORD. 
Superintendent of buildings and labor.—R. H. TRmMBLY. 

Assistant superintendent of buildings and labor.—CHaArLES C. SINCLAIR. 
Editor—PavuL H. OFHSER, 

Accountant and auditor.—N. W. DoRsEY. 

Photographer.—A, J. OLMSTED. 

Property clerk.—LAWRENCE L, OLIVER. 

Assistant librarian.—LEILA FE’, CLARK. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 

Trustees: 

THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Tue SECRETARY OF STATE. 

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 

Tue SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

Davin K. E. Bruce. 

DUNCAN PHILLIPS. 

FERDINAND LAMMOT BELIN. 

SAMUEL H. KRgESs. 

JOSEPH BE. WIDENER. 
President.—Davip K. BE. Bruce. 
Vice President.—FERDINAND LAMMOT BELIN. 
Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel.—Donatp D. SHEPARD. 
Director.—Davm EK. FINLry. 
Assistant Director.—MacciLL JAMES. 
Administrator.—H, A. MCBRIDE. 
Chief Curator —JOHN WALKER. 


NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


Acting Director—RvuEt P. TOLMAN. 


FREER GALLERY OF ART 


Director—JoHN ELLERTON LODGE. 

Assistant Director.—GRACE DUNHAM GUEST. 
Associate in archeology.—CarL WHITING BISHOP. 
Associate in research.—ARCHIBALD G. WENLBEY. 
Superintendent.—W. N. RAWLEY. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Chief —MAtTTHEW W. STIRLING. 


XIII 


Senior ethnologists—H. B. Cottins, Jr... Joun P. Harrineron, JoHn R. 


SWANTON. 
Senior archeologist—F RANK H. H. Roberts, Jr. 
Senior anthropologist.—JuLIAN H. STEWARD. 
Associate anthropologist.—W. N. Frenton. 
Editor.—M. HELEN PALMER. 
Librarian.—Mir1AM B. KETCHUM. 
Illustrator—EDWIN G. CASSEDY. 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE 


Secretary (in charge).—CHARLES G. ABBOT. 
Chief Clerk.—CoatEs W. SHOEMAKER, 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


Director.—WILLIAM M. MANN. 
Assistant Director.—ERNEST P. WALKER. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


Director.—CHARLES G. ABBOT, 
Assistant Director.—LoyaL B. ALDRICH. 
Senior astrophysicist.—WILiIAM H. HOovEr. 


DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS 


Director.—CHARLES G. ABBOT. 

Assistant Director.—EHaAriL S. JOHNSTON. 

Senior physicist —Epwarp D. McALIsTER. 

Senior mechanical engineer.—LELAND B. CLARE. 
Associate plant physiologist—I'LORENCE M. CHASE. 
Junior biochemist.—RoBrert L. WEINTRAUB. 


i 
Re 
Ores! 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


C. G. ABBOT 
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1941 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 


GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith my report show- 
ing the activities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution and 
the Government bureaus under its administrative charge during the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1941. The first 18 pages contain a sum- 
mary account of the affairs of the Institution, and appendixes 1 to 11 
give more detailed reports of the operations of the National Museum, 
the National Gallery of Art, the National Collection of Fine Arts, 
the Freer Gallery of Art, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the 
International Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astro- 
physical Observatory, the Division of Radiation and Organisms, the 
Smithsonian library, and of the publications issued under the direc- 
tion of the Institution. On page 180 is the financial report of the 
executive committee of the Board of Regents. 


OUTSTANDING EVENTS 


Among the numerous bureaus and agencies in Washington, certain 
ones are listed as defense agencies, and the Smithsonian Institution 
was included during the year in this list. Its vast collections are 
of great usefulness in the identification and study of strategic ma- 
terials relating to national defense, such as rubber, tin, aluminum, 
mica, optical glass, abrasives, and many others. Its staff includes 
scientific experts and technicians with outstanding experience in 
connection with such materials, as well as laboratories and equipment 
for all sorts of delicate experimental work. The Smithsonian has 
already been assigned a number of defense problems and stands 
ready to devote all its resources to such work when called upon. 

The National Gallery of Art was completed and opened to the 
public in March 1941, bringing to fruition the late Andrew W. 
Mellon’s gift to the Nation of his priceless art collection and a mag- 
nificient building to house it. 

The great hall of the Smithsonian Building was completely re- 
decorated, and in it was installed a unique exhibit designed to 


a 


2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


illustrate concisely for visitors all the activities of the Institution 
and its branches. Opened in January 1941, after a preview by the 
Board of Regents, the new exhibit aroused widespread favorable 
comment. 

The Smithsonian radio program, “The World is Yours,” on June 
14, 1941, put on the air an anniversary broadcast marking the com- 
pletion of 5 full years of the series. A tabulation of station-manager 
ratings of the program showed that its popularity throughout the 
country continued unabated. 

Among several bequests to the Institution announced during the 
year, the largest was that from Mrs. Mary Vaux Walcott, widow of 
the late Secretary Charles D. Walcott. Her bequest amounted to 
more than $400,000. 

New members on the Board of Regents were Vice President Henry 
A. Wallace, and Representative Foster Stearns, of New Hampshire. 

The revision of all solar-constant values collected by the Astro- 
physical Observatory from all Smithsonian observing stations from 
1923 to the present proved to be an even more tremendous task than 
had been anticipated. It was nearing completion, however, at the 
close of the year, and publication is expected to begin by the first 
part of 1942. 

M. W. Stirling made further archeological discoveries in southern 
Mexico, working in cooperation with the National Geographic 
Society. Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., conducted his sixth and 
final archeological expedition to the Lindenmeier site in northern 
Colorado, his work having added greatly to our knowledge of 
Folsom man and the whole subject of the early occupation of 
America. 

The work of the International Exchange Service was seriously 
hampered by world conditions, but the scientific and other publica- 
tions intended for foreign exchange that cannot now be sent are 
being stored at the Institution until the end of hostilities. 


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


National Museum.—Appropriations for the maintenance and 
operation of the Museum during the fiscal year amounted to $818,305. 
Additional funds are needed annually for guards, curators, and im- 
provements, but in the press of defense needs the Congress has not 
found it expedient to grant them. Accessions for the year totaled 
326,686 individual specimens, bringing the number of catalog entries 
in all departments of the Museum to nearly 17,500,000. Among the 
outstanding things received were the following: In anthropology, 
a collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age implements 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 3 


and ornaments from Java, nearly 1,000 potsherds and shell imple- 
ments from Indian burial mounds near Belle Glade, Fla., skeletal 
remains from Peru, and a reconstruction of the newly found remains 
of the fourth Pithecanthropus; in biology, 74 mammals, 472 reptiles 
and amphibians, and nearly 2,000 fishes from Liberia, all resulting 
from the Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to that country, the 
Nevermann collection of about 33,000 Costa Rican Coleoptera includ- 
ing much type material, and a large collection of marine inverte- 
brates resulting from the participation of Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt 
in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s investigations of the Alaska king 
erab; in geology, an 1,800-carat aquamarine crystal from Agua 
Preta, Brazil, the Sardis, Ga., meteorite, weighing 1,760 pounds. 
the fifth largest ever found in the United States, many thousands of 
Cambrian, post-Cambrian, and Devonian fossils collected in various 
parts of the United States by members of the Museum staff, and the 
greater part of a fossil skeleton of the primitive mammal Uintather- 
ium; in engineering and industries, an operating exhibit of the West- 
inghouse air brake, a fighter plane known as the Curtiss Sparrow- 
hawk, and a 93-dial display clock made by Louis Zimmer, of Lier, 
Belgium, which tells the time at many places around the world, 
the tides at various points, and many calendar and astronomical 
events; in history, busts, costumes, or mementos of famous Americans 
including Abraham Lincoln, William Jennings Bryan, and Brig. 
Gen. Caleb Cushing. As usual, many members of the scientific 
staff took part in field expeditions, financed for the most part by 
Smithsonian private funds or through cooperative arrangements 
with other organizations or individuals. Twenty-five publications 
were issued by the Museum, and 52,170 copies of its publications 
were distributed. Visitors for the year totaled 2,505,871. Fourteen 
special exhibits were held under the auspices of various educational, 
scientific, and other groups. Changes in staff included the retire- 
ment of Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., as curator of the division of mammals 
and the advancement of the assistant curator, Dr. Remington Kellogg, 
to succeed him, and the appointment of two new assistant curators, 
Dr. Joseph E. Weckler, Jr., in the division of ethnology, and Dr. 
Richard E. Blackwelder in the division of insects. 

National Gallery of Art—The completed building of the National 
Gallery of Art was formally accepted by the trustees of the Gallery 
on December 10, 1940, and on the evening of March 17, 1941, the 
opening ceremonies were held. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes 
briefly described the purposes of the Gallery, Mr. Paul Mellon, son 
of the donor of the Gallery, presented the building and the Mellon 
Collection to the Nation, and Mr. Samuel H. Kress presented the 
Kress Collection to the Gallery. The President of the United States 

430577—42-—2 


4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


then accepted the Gallery on behalf of the people of the Nation. 
The following day the building was opened to the public, and the 
attendance from that day to June 30 was 798,156, an average of 
7,529 per day. Practically all the initial staff of the Gallery had 
been employed by March 1, 1941, the number of employees on June 
30 being 229. The first catalog of the Gallery and a booklet of 
general information were ready for distribution at the time of the 
public opening, as were also a book of illustrations of all the art 
works in the collection, color reproductions, and postcards. A num- 
ber of important prints and four paintings were accepted as gifts 
during the year. Under the educational program of the Gallery, 
the docent staff has been organized so that there are at least two 
public gallery tours every day and two auditorium lectures every 
week. A memorial tablet to the late Andrew W. Mellon, donor of 
the Gallery, was installed in the lobby, and four marble panels were 
set aside for the names of important donors to the Gallery. The 
names at present carved on the panels are those of Mr. Mellon and 
Samuel H. Kress, and the names of future donors will be added as 
authorized by the Board of Trustees. 

National Collection of Fine Arts——The National Collection re- 
ceived two additions to its endowment funds during the year: 
$5,000 from the Cornelia Livingston Pell Estate of New York, 
and $10,000 from the Miss Julia D. Strong Estate, of Washington, 
D. C. Three paintings were accepted for the National Collection 
by the Smithsonian Art Commission in December 1940, and several 
other gifts of etchings, miniatures, and paintings were deposited 
during the year to be passed upon by the Commission at its next 
annual meeting. Three miniatures were purchased through the 
Catherine Walden Myer Fund. The following eight special exhibi- 
tions were held: 48 pastels, drawings, and lithographs by Lily E. 
Smulders; the Sixth Annual Metropolitan State Art Contest, 1940, 
comprising 289 art works by 158 artists; the work of William Baxter 
Closson (1848-1926), comprising 94 oils, 40 pastels, 21 water colors, 
112 wood engravings, and other material; 111 pastels by 17 artists, 
exhibited by the National Society of Pastelists; 22 water colors and 
21 pastels by Ethel H. Hagen; 42 paintings by Alejandro Pardinas 
under the patronage of the Cuban Ambassador; 39 caricatures by 
Antonio Sotomayor under the patronage of the Bolivian Minister ; 
and a memorial exhibition of 17 color prints and 50 black and white 
prints by Bertha E. Jaques (1863-1941). A new edition of the 
Catalog of American and European Paintings in the Gellatly Collec- 
tion was published. 

Freer Gallery of Art—Additions to the collections included 
Chinese bronze, Chinese jade, Arabic manuscripts, Indian and Per- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 5 


sian painting, Chinese porcelain, and Chinese and Persian pottery. 
The work of the curatorial staff was devoted to the study and record- 
ing of these new acquisitions and other art objects and manuscripts 
already in the collection. In addition 693 objects and 180 photo- 
graphs were brought or sent to the Director for information con- 
cerning them, and reports upon all these were made to the owners. 
Changes in exhibition involved 84 individual objects. Visitors to 
the Gallery totaled 111,784 for the year. Six illustrated lectures 
were given in the auditorium, six study groups were held in a study 
room and ten groups were given docent service in exhibition galler- 
ies. A. G. Wenley of the Gallery staff gave a 6 weeks’ lecture course 
in Chinese and Japanese art in the Far Eastern Institute at the 
1940 Harvard University Summer School. William R. B. Acker, also 
of the staff, returned from Holland, having taken his Ph.D. ewm 
laude in Chinese at the University of Leyden. 

Bureau of American Ethnology.—The Chief of the Bureau, M. W. 
Stirling, continued his archeological excavations in southern Mexico 
in cooperation with the National Geographic Society. At Cerro de 
las Mesas 20 carved stone monuments were unearthed, and 2 initial 
series dates were deciphered. At Izapa, a link between the west 
coast of Guatemala and the isthmian region of southern Mexico, a 
large number of stelae were excavated. The collections made were 
brought to Mexico City, where they were studied by Dr. Philip 
Drucker, assistant archeologist of the expedition. Dr. J. R. Swan- 
ton brought to completion his extensive report on the Indians of 
the Southeast, comprising 1,500 typewritten pages, which the Bureau 
plans to publish shortly. Three other ethnological papers by Dr. 
Swanton were in process of publication. Dr. J. P. Harrington con- 
tinued his comparative study of the Navaho and Tlingit languages. 
His work on the Navaho was completed during the year, forming a 
manuscript of more than 1,200 pages. Dr. F. H. H. Roberts, Jr., 
brought to completion the sixth and final season of archeological in- 
vestigations at the Lindenmeier site in northern Colorado, wherein 
much new and valuable information on the subject of Folsom man 
and the early occupation of North America has been obtained. To- 
ward the close of the year he went to San Jon, N. Mex., to start 
excavations at a promising site suggestive of another phase of early 
man in North America, the so-called Yuma. Dr. J. H. Steward 
completed his researches on the Carrier Indians of British Columbia 
and investigated a burial site on an island off the coast of Alaska. 
He devoted the rest of the year to editorial and organizational work 
on the proposed Handbook of South American Indians. Dr. H. B. 
Collins, Jr., continued his study of collections from Eskimo sites in 
the vicinity of Bering Strait. Dr. W. N. Fenton conducted field 


6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


work among the Senecas of Allegany Reservation, N. Y., and carried 
forward a number of other investigations dealing with Iroquois 
problems. Miss Frances Densmore, a collaborator of the Bureau, 
continued her study of Indian music, collecting additional songs, 
transcribing these and songs previously recorded, and preparing ma- 
terial for publication. The Bureau published its annual report and 
three bulletins. The library accessioned 378 items and relabeled and 
reshelved over 5,000 books. 

International Exchange Service-—The Exchange Service acts as 
the official United States agency for the interchange of parliamentary, 
governmental, and scientific publications between this country and 
the rest of the world. During the past year the Service handled 
576,282 packages of such publications, with a total weight of 388,649 
pounds. Naturally, the last 2 years have shown a marked falling off 
in the number of packages passing through the Exchange Service 
because of war conditions in large parts of the world. The material 
that cannot now be shipped abroad will be stored at the Institution 
until the end of hostilities. Transmission of shipments to and from 
Great Britain and to Latin America has been practicaly uninter- 
rupted, and some material has been forwarded to Spain and Portugal, 
although irregularly. Five consignments of exchanges have been lost 
through war activities. 

National Zoological Park.—The W. P. A. project which has been 
of such great assistance to the Park in the past few years was termi- 
nated on August 6, 1940, so that few improvements could be under- 
taken during the year. The four new waterfowl ponds were com- 
pleted and birds transferred to them at the beginning of the year. 
The new restaurant constructed by the P. W. A. was completed in 
the fall of 1940 and was opened to the public in March 1941. Visi- 
tors for the year totaled 2,430,300, including 48,050 representing school 
or other groups from 20 States and the District of Columbia. The 
Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia for the purpose of 
collecting live animals for the Zoo returned to this country in August 
1940. The animals brought back numbered nearly 200, representing 
61 species of mammals, birds, and other forms, several of them being 
new to the history of the collection. The usual large number of 
gifts was received during the year, and 70 mammals, 49 birds, and 
14 reptiles were born or hatched in the Park. The total number 
of animals in the collection at the close of the year was 2,380, repre- 
senting 730 different species. The chief need of the Zoo is for 
three new buildings: one for antelope, deer, wild hogs, and kan- 
garoos; one for monkeys; and the third for carnivores. 

Astrophysical Observatory.—At Washington the work of the staff 
was devoted largely to completing for publication the immense table 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY y / 


of daily solar-constant observations at the three field stations at 
Montezuma, Table Mountain, and Mount St. Katherine from 1923 
to 1939. The rest of the text for volume 6 of the Annals of the 
Observatory was also nearly completed, and the whole is expected 
to be ready for the printer before January 1942. During preparation 
of a paper on “An Important Weather Element Hitherto Generally 
Disregarded,” Dr. Abbot noted that the solar variation is several 
times greater in percentage for blue-violet rays than for total radia- 
tion. This led him to consider whether the sun’s variation might 
not be more effectively followed by observations limited to the blue- 
violet region of the spectrum. He finally devised a method of thus 
restricting the observations, which was introduced near the close 
of the year at the three field observing stations. There is great 
hope that the new method will yield more reliable daily indications 
of the solar variations. Dr. H. Arctowski continued his meteoro- 
logical investigations relating to the effects of solar variation on 
atmospheric barometric pressure and temperature and completed a 
manuscript incorporating the results of this study which will be 
published during the coming year. Daily determinations of the solar 
constant of radiation were made at the three field stations whenever 
conditions permitted. A new concrete dwelling house for the 
observers was erected at the Montezuma station. 

Division of Radiation and Organisms.—The Division continued its 
program of research on the relation of radiation to various phases of 
plant growth. In continuing the project dealing with the genesis of 
chlorophyll and the beginning of photosynthesis, a large amount of 
information was obtained on the respiration of etiolated barley seed- 
lings. This material is important because of its bearing upon photo- 
synthesis as measured by the gaseous exchange method. It appears 
that conditions of carbon dioxide storage or depletion develop in 
the plant tissue depending upon the concentration of this gas sur- 
rounding the plants. In subsequent periods, when the respiration is 
measured there is an increase or decrease in the rate of CO, excre- 
tion (i. e., in the apparent rate of respiration) until a state of 
equilibrium with the new environment is attained. Considerable 
time was spent in improving the performance of the spectrograph 
used in measuring carbon dioxide for very short periods, and the 
new features developed have greatly improved the speed-sensitivity 
and stability of the apparatus. Further study was made of the 
spectral effectiveness of radiation for the growth inhibition of the 
oats mesocotyl, and a comparative study was undertaken of some 
other species of grasses. A paper resulting from experiments in the 
ultraviolet irradiation of algae showed that algae exposed four times 


8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


to stimulative amounts of certain wave lengths of the ultraviolet 
exhibited 4 to 4.8 times the growth rate (expressed as number of 
cells) of the control cultures. The influence of culture conditions 
on the photosynthetic behavior of the alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa 
was investigated. The growth cycle of this organism was studied 
in relation to light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration, and the 
composition of the nutrient solution. A number of papers were pre- 
sented by members of the staff before meetings of scientific bodies, 
and six publications resulting from the work of the Division were 
issued during the year. 


THE ESTABLISHMENT 


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


THE BOARD OF REGENTS 


Changes in the personnel of the Board of Regents during the 
fiscal year included the succession of Vice President Henry A. Wal- 
lace to the membership held by former Vice President John N. 
Garner, effective January 20, 1941, the Vice President being by law 
a regent ex officio, and the appointment by the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives on January 22, 1941, of Representative Foster 
Stearns, of New Hampshire, to succeed Representative Charles L. 
Gifford, who had resigned his membership as a regent. 

The roll of regents at the close of the fiscal year was as follows: 
Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancel- 
lor; Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States; mem- 
bers from the Senate—Charles L. McNary, Alben W. Barkley, 
Bennett Champ Clark; members from the House of Representatives— 
Clarence Cannon, William P. Cole, Jr., Foster Stearns; citizen mem- 
bers—Frederic A. Delano, Washington, D. C.; Roland S. Morris, 
Pennsylvania; Harvey N. Davis, New Jersey; Arthur H. Compton, 
Illinois; and Vannevar Bush, Washington, D. C. 

Proceedings.—The annual meeting of the Board of Regents was 
held on January 17, 1941. The regents present were Chief Justice 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 9 


Charles Evans Hughes, Chancellor; Senator Bennett Champ Clark; 
Representatives Charles L. Gifford and Clarence Cannon; citizen 
regents Frederic A. Delano, Roland S. Morris, Harvey N. Davis, 
and Vannevar Bush; and the Secretary, Dr. Charles G. Abbot. 

The meeting was held in the Smithsonian main hall, which had 
recently been newly decorated and equipped with illustrative exhibits 
giving a comprehensive view of all Smithsonian activities. The new 
exhibits were viewed with approval by the regents. 

The Board received and accepted the Secretary’s annual report 
covering the year’s activities of the parent institution and the several 
Government branches. The Board also received and accepted the 
report by Mr. Delano, of the executive committee, covering financial 
statistics of the Institution; and the annual report of the Smith- 
sonian Art Commission. 

The Secretary informed the regents of the death of Mrs. Mary 
Vaux Walcott on August 22, 1940, and of her designation of the 
Smithsonian Institution as residuary legatee, the bequest, when re- 
ceived, to be made a part of the Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott 
Research Fund set up by the former Secretary. Appropriate resolu- 
tions were adopted by the Board. 

In his usual special report the Secretary mentioned briefly the 
more important activities carried on by the Institution and its 
branches during the year. 


FINANCES 


A statement on finances will be found in the report of the Execu- 
tive Committee of the Board of Regents, page 130. 


MATTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST 
SMITHSONIAN RADIO PROGRAM 


The Smithsonian educational radio program, “The World is 
Yours,” celebrated its fifth anniversary on the air on June 14, 1941. 
On that date a specia] program was prepared wherein extracts from 
specially successful previous broadcasts were woven together into 
a composite story to illustrate the way in which the various sciences 
are handled in this series. “The World is Yours,” a series of weekly 
half-hour broadcasts in dramatized form on science, invention, his- 
tory, exploration, and art, is put on the air over a Nation-wide 
network through the cooperation of the United States Office of 
Education and the National Broadcasting Co. The program subjects 
are selected by the Smithsonian editorial division and the scripts are 
written by a professional script writer, employed by the Institution, 
from material furnished by Smithsonian experts in the various fields. 


10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The programs are produced in Radio City, New York, as an N. B. C. 
public service feature and go out over the N. B. C. red network. 

That the popularity of the program has continued undiminished 
is shown by the fact that an official rating service has twice within 
the past 2 years placed “The World is Yours” at the top of all non- 
commercial programs on all networks. A recent rating of N. B. C. 
public service programs by percentage of station program directors 
selecting them placed “The World is Yours” sixth on the list, but 
most of the five rated above it were programs devoted to discussion 
of current events, which are naturally of greatest interest in these 
disturbed times. 

The list of subjects covered by “The World is Yours” during the 
past fiscal year is as follows:? 


1940 
Mexico; diind of Silver-2 21.20). BA Sey See eee ie): Fe ae July. af 
John Deere’ s SteelsBlowree Bee. lich SES USM) Che timate ok. ae July 14 
Prim tien Va Bin ers 3 sock be Set sch ath a abe Seed eel eg Ree © We July 21 
ig: RheresLite on Othemeianeten 155 see ee eee oe ee ee ee ee July 28 
GRRAC Ie Tyg ist oe ee ee a he! Fn Age tg ME 0. 400, eR EO ee Eee Aug. 4 
OurEsland "Universe: thes br Beil TID ohn ES A RAT NA Aug. 11 
From;Liberian Jungleto Zool ss 2 oe ee a ae Aug. 18 
Exploring Cliff ,Dwellingsiof the Weste 2.45. ese a ee Pe eee Aug. 25 
Story olsheolver sercem. ti. a 2iy- 1 See es SOs ae ee Sept. 1 
‘Phe Wall: ofa Meteorites]. 2 Ss ey ee eee es ee Sept. 8 
Natures Migranteees ie oe coe See ee Se ee ee ee eae Sept. 15 
Reaching, the: Upper Airis 29) eaeesee eae onl ele Le eee ee Sept. 22 
The World’s Most Important Chemical Reaction..______-___-_----_- Sept. 29 
Prospecting for .BlackeiGold? «2h. 3 sah oe oie ate So Oct. 6 
Discovering the Source of the Mississippi____-......_.------------_- Oct. 13 
With the: Clipper Ships:to Chinal so.) a oe oe ee ee Oct. 20 
An‘ indian Theague/or Wations 3222528 fla. Ce ke ee epee ee Nov. 3 
Independence TEAM Ss ies ire Seek coe le See ee Oe) ees eens eke eee Nov. 10 
New) Wonders of Cliemistry a! 220) ei 1 gE ee Nov. 17 
(he: Band: Makes History: sso tsers oie te ce ee re ne et Nov. 30 
500: Nears: of ‘Printing 3 cae oF Be eo ae oe eee nee Dec. 7 
Pueblo indians'on: the Plains stoke he es eer pee ee Dec. 14 
‘TheiStoryof the Parachutes! a2 8h 2a es ee ee ie a Dec. 21 
Benward: with Sciences Jeu ke a0s 2 ee ee a Cee Dec. 28 
1941 
The Dinosaur National Monument and Its Fossils____.__.__.-------- Jan. 4 
Behind the Seenes, at the: Smithsonianss-) 222246 222.222 25 Se ee Jan A 
APG rat i Romo Bans it oa i ia a Ee kl a Ec a ea a Jan. 18 
AG Mec urom: NUIGTORCODE.(s 2 oa 's ae ne eye ena castes Sie cee Jan. 25 
The Army Medal of Honor’. a ee eee eee Feb. 1 
‘Dhe StoryrofeVitaminss Seer eno. ee AUS Ae eS a eee Feb. 8 
Preaties: with the Wndianig. 20 0 ok es i ee a kp) er i. cok? Kebab 
Disseminating Knowledge Throughout the Harth__---_-------------- Feb. 22 


1No broadcasts were given on October 27 and November 24, 1940, and April 26, 1941, 
because of important addresses or other commitments by N. B. C. for the usual period 
of “The World is Yours.” 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 11 


1941 
Ariiy AncmiNavy NU NLOMOR S28 ose. fl ae oe eee ek Mar. 1 
Tine ahian Ss Wem ATiielery 8 he es ge es ce Mar. 8 
PIR DTT SS Or LMCERESUEY: = 2s Ate 2 hee ee So ee Mar. 15 
CL ETISIGVE, 4 SSCS EZ ep RR ASI EA A Sot ate ae Aigo = eel rat ae Mar. 22 
RiFbyAC en iinice Orme ue. oe ee oe as oie sae eee Mar. 29 
Sereripiain.in Now EmelanG ss. fo eet ele a ae eee Apr. 5 
Smaneoman Hiei Wx pedilons. 22.42 Jos ete coke coe coe toe eee Apr. 12 
errr at GOR OL Gaenise ioe eee oe ee te LSS 2 he ya Apr. 19 
cs SUEPE DEO IY 2S 8s SR A A a ee SER PA LESS Ss RNA iG SP oe US ay May 3 
Le TOCE LA TALE ERES 2) i a A ag a MES Ek OR LYS pete ph O egc en SN Sly hk May 10 
Bate taed OL 4ne INOTSEMICN se. oie cee eee Se a oe ee May 17 
Oliver Evans—Early American Engineer_.__-....._..-------------- May 24 
IONE ARNO a a So eee ee oe See Chee Se eh Se ee May 31 
dren TPNERTIIEeS seh nee wee eee ee A ele Sc Se a a Se June 7 
Five Years of The World Is Yours (anniversary program) -_-__-------- June 14 
LD RETEGE SSSR (6) GE) Lil cos RRR eR ag ee ON ke RT June 21 
Pane eeT re ON ory ne Pet ese eee ahr Dee eg ee Oe eS eee June 28 


The Institution was unable, because of lack of funds to employ 
additional personnel, to resume publication of the supplementary 
articles, or “listener-aids,” which up to June 30, 1940, contributed 
greatly to the educational value of “The World is Yours” programs. 
It is hoped that a way will be found to reestablish this part of the 
project during the coming year. 


WALTER RATHBONE BACON SCHOLARSHIP 


A bequest made to the Institution in 1919 in the will of Mrs. Vir- 
ginia Purdy Bacon, of New York, provided for the establishment 
of a traveling scholarship, to be known as the Walter Rathbone 
Bacon scholarship for the study of the fauna of countries other 
than the United States of America. 

For the past 2 years the Bacon scholarship has been held by Dr. 
Hobart M. Smith, whose purpose was the accumulation of specimens 
of reptiles and amphibians from Mexico, on the basis of which a 
herpetology of Mexico might be compiled and the biotic provinces 
of the country more accurately defined. 

During the year 1940-41, the some 20,500 specimens of reptiles 
and amphibians obtained during the 2 preceding years were sorted 
and a portion studied and entered in the permanent collections of 
the National Museum. The collection requires study that could not 
be completed within the year, and as a result certain groups must 
be reserved for study at a later date. 

A total of 1,421 specimens of snakes was obtained, representing 170 
species and subspecies, of which 23 appear unnamed. These com- 
prise about half the species known from Mexico. Nineteen specimens 


12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of three species of crocodilians, all that are known from Mexico, 
were obtained. The study of these groups has been completed. 

Not all the lizards have been studied yet. Completed genera num- 
ber 22, comprising 4,547 specimens of 116 species and subspecies. 
Eleven are unnamed. Six lizard genera remain to be studied. 

The amphibians are not completed. A preliminary sorting, how- 
ever, reveals some 5,173 frogs and toads, of about 110 species; 5,064 
specimens of approximately 40 species of salamanders; and 6 speci- 
mens of one species of caecilian. Most of these are being studied by 
Dr. E. H. Taylor. 

The turtles have been turned over to Dr. Leonhard Stejneger for 
study. 

While most of the data pertaining to this collection are reserved 
for a future paper, descriptions of new species and surveys of certain 
genera have been prepared for preliminary publication. Seven such 
papers have been issued during the present year. 


SMITHSONIAN MAIN HALL EXHIBIT 


In my last two annual reports I have spoken of the project of 
installing in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building a new type of 
exhibit intended to serve as a visual index to all Smithsonian activ- 
ities. During the 95 years since the founding of the Institution, 
its activities have so expanded in scope and the buildings it occupies 
have so increased in number that it has been impossible for visitors 
to get an adequate idea of what the Smithsonian is and what it does. 
The project was brought to completion during the year, and the 
new exhibit was formally opened to the public on Monday, January 
20, 1941. The Board of Regents of the Institution had a preview 
of the exhibit on January 17, when their annual meeting was held 
in the main hall. 

As stated previously, the entire project has been handled by a 
committee consisting of Messrs. C. W. Mitman, chairman, W. F. 
Foshag, Herbert Friedmann, F. M. Setzler, and W. P. True, all of 
the Institution’s staff. The great hall of the Smithsonian building, 
some 150 feet long by 50 feet wide, was first completely redecorated 
according to the committee’s recommendation. Then special back- 
grounds for the exhibits were designed and constructed to form eight 
separate alcoves and four quadrants, the central aisle being left clear 
for free circulation of visitors. The eight alcoves present graphi- 
cally the work of the Institution in astronomy, geology, biology, 
radiation and organisms, physical anthropology, cultural anthropol- 
ogy, engineering and industries, and art. The four quadrants, facing 
the central area of the hall, contain exhibits on the scope of the 
Institution’s work, the National Zoological Park, history, and the 
organization and branches of the Institution. 


Secretary's Report, 1941 


Pateerrorec: 
Nak NTSUE OF ronan enn’ see. vcauve 


1 ie: 
bs | 
F. “i, oe z 
i 
« JBB 


f 


es 3 


NEW “INDEX EXHIBIT’’ AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 


Upper, part of the astronomy exhibit. 
Center, part of the geology exhibit. 
Lower, part of the biology exhibit. 


Secretary's Report, 1941 


INTEMSIVE TAVERTIONS cones sects see ncmnass comune sae ome 


NEW “INDEX EXHIBIT’’ AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 


Upper, part of the radiation and organisms exhibit. 
Jenter, part of the cultural anthropology exhibit. 
Lower, part of the engineering and industries exhibit. 


re 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 13 


The plan of each of the eight alcoves is the same (see pls. 1 and 
2. The name of the subject treated is stated at the top, followed 
by a brief definition. Below this, a central theme consisting of a 
diorama, working model, or other device illustrates strikingly the 
significance of the particular subject. Flanking this on either side 
of the alcove are exhibits to show as simply as possible what the 
Smithsonian Institution does in each field. The number of objects 
shown is kept small, labels are made as short and simple as possible, 
and the whole attempt is to make the exhibits interesting and popular 
and at the same time instructive. 

A valuable adjunct of the new exhibit is a separate room opening 
off the main hall in which are exemplified the Institution’s methods 
of diffusing knowledge. One feature is a complete bound set of all 
Smithsonian publications from 1846 to the present. The books 
occupy 138 running feet of shelf space. Placards describe these 
publications, as well as the Institution’s educational radio programs, 
press releases, International Exchange Service, exhibits, lectures, 
correspondence, and library. An important feature of this room is 
an information desk where visitors may obtain accurate information 
on special phases of the Institution’s work or exhibits. 

Visitors to this new exhibit for the last 5 months of the fiscal 
year—from February 1 through June 30, 1941—totaled 191,699. 
Comparable figures for the preceding year are not available because 
the building was closed at that time in preparation for the new 
exhibit, but the total number of visitors for the corresponding months 
of 1939 was 144,372. The present year therefore shows an increase 
of 47,327 visitors, or 32 percent, over 1939. 

The committee in charge of the project has been kept in existence 
to supervise maintenance of the exhibits and to incorporate changes 
from time to time, for the intention is to keep the whole exhibit alive 
and up to date. Wide and favorable notice has been given the ex- 
hibit by journals and newspapers. 


TENTH ARTHUR LECTURE 


The late James Arthur, of New York, in 1931 bequeathed to the 
Smithsonian Institution a sum of money, part of the income from 
which should be used for an annual lecture on the sun. 

The tenth annual Arthur lecture was given by Brian O’Brien, 
professor of physiological optics at the University of Rochester, under 
the title “Biological Effects of Solar Radiation on Higher Animals 
and Man,” in the auditorium of the National Museum on the evening 
of February 25,1941. The lecture will be published in a forthcoming 
Smithsonian Report. 


14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The nine previous Arthur lectures have been as follows: 


1. The Composition of the Sun, by Henry Norris Russell, professor of astronomy 
at Princeton University. January 27, 1932. 

2. Gravitation in the Solar System, by Ernest William Brown, professor of 
mathematics at Yale University. January 25, 1933. 

8. How the Sun Warms the Earth, by Charles G. Abbott, Secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution. February 26, 1934. 

4. The Sun’s Place among the Stars, by Walter S. Adams, director of the Mount 
Wilson Observatory. December 18, 1934. 

5. Sun Rays and Plant Life, by Earl S. Johnston, assistant director of the 
Division of Radiation and Organisms, Smithsonian Institution. February 
25, 1936. 

6. Discoveries from Eclipse Expeditions, by Samuel Alfred Mitchell, director 
of the Leander McCormick Observatory, University of Virginia. February 
9, 1937. 

%. The Sun and the Atmosphere, by Harlan True Stetson, research associate, 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. February 24, 1938. 

8. Sun Worship, by Herbert J. Spinden, curator of American Indian Art and 
Primitive Cultures, Brooklyn Museums. February 21, 1939. 

9. Solar Prominences in Motion, by Robert R. McMath, director of the McMath- 
Hulbert Observatory of the University of Michigan. January 16, 1940. 


BEQUESTS 


Mary Vaux Walcott bequest—Mary Vaux Walcott, widow of the 
late Charles D. Walcott, former Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, died August 22, 1940. Mrs. Walcott had for many years been 
deeply interested in the Institution and its work, and during the years 
1925 to 1930 her beautiful water-color sketches of North American 
wild flowers were published in five sumptuous volumes under the 
auspices of the Institution. During her lifetime Mrs. Walcott mani- 
fested her interest by numerous valuable gifts, both in the form of 
specimens and of money for specific purposes connected with Smith- 
sonian researches. In her will she named the Institution residuary 
legatee, the relevant portions of that document reading in part as 
follows: 

I give, devise and bequeath all the rest, residue and remainder of my 
estate * * * to the Smithsonian Institution * * * in memory of my 
beloved husband, Charles D. Walcott, to be added to and form a part of the 
Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott Reasearch Fund, established by my husband 
in his lifetime, with the express stipulation, however, that the restriction as to 
the use of the income of said fund shall not apply to the income from this devise 
and bequest. 

At the annual meeting of the Board of Regents on January 17, 
1941, the following resolutions were adopted : 

Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution learns 


with profound sorrow of the death on August 22, 1940, of Mrs. Mary Vaux 
Walcott, widow of its late Secretary. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 15 


The noble character of Mrs. Walcott, her great skill and zeal in depicting 
wild flowers, her personal researches in glacial geology, her deep interest in the 
paleontologic researches of Dr. Walcott, and her many gifts, over a long period, 
to the Smithsonian Institution are highly appreciated. 

Resolved, That this Board learns with profound gratitude of Mrs. Walcott’s 
large bequest to the endowment of the Smithsonian Institution in memory of 
her late husband. 

Further resolved, That these resolutions be spread on the minutes of this 
meeting and that a copy of them be sent to Mrs. Walcott’s executors. 

The amount of Mrs. Walcott’s bequest was slightly over $400,000. 
At the close of the fiscal year, the estate had not been settled. 

Julia D. Strong bequest.—In the final accounting of the will of 
Julia D. Strong, of Washington, D. C., who died April 12, 1936, the 
National Collection of Fine Arts of the Smithsonian Institution, as 
alternate beneficiary, received the sum of $10,000. No stipulations 
as to the use of the fund were stated in the will. 

Florence Brevoort Eickemeyer bequest—The will of the late 
Florence Brevoort Eickemeyer, of Yonkers, N. Y., contained the 
following provision: 

I give and bequeath to the Smithsonian Institution * * * the sum of 
$10,000 * * * to use or apply the income thereof, or as much thereof as 
may be necessary, in or about the exhibition, preservation and care of my late 
husband Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr.’s photographic works and collection, the residue 
or surplus of such income, if any, to be applied to the uses and purposes of the 
Section of Photography established or maintained by said Institution. My late 
husband, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr., in and by his last will and testament and 
codicil thereto, intended to provide a fund for the exhibition and care of his 
photographie works and collection, bequeathed thereby to said Smithsonian 
Institution, and his estate being sufficient to provide such fund, I do hereby 
make the above bequest to carry out my late husband’s purpose in that regard. 

The money thus bequeathed had not been received at the close of 
the year. 

Alfred Mussinan bequest—The Smithsonian Institution is named 
as a residuary legatee of the estate of the late Alfred Mussinan, of 
Sumter County, Fla. His will divides his estate into two equal parts, 
and upon the death of certain legatees named in the will, the Insti— 
tution is to receive five-eighths of the principal sum of one-half of 
the estate, “the income therefrom to be used by said institution for 
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” The amount 
of Mr. Mussinan’s estate was estimated by the executor in May 1941 
to be approximately $30,000, in addition to real estate, stocks, and 
bonds in Germany which it was impossible to evaluate. 


EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 


In the furtherance of its investigations in many branches of science, 
the Smithsonian sent out or cooperated in 19 expeditions, which 


16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


worked not only in many States in the United States, but also in a 
number of foreign lands as well. 

Paleontological work was carried on by Dr. Charles E. Resser in 
investigations of ancient Cambrian rocks; by Dr. C. Lewis Gazin 
in Utah and Woming, resulting in the discovery of an almost com- 
plete fossil skeleton of the primitive mammal] known as an uintathere; 
and by Dr. G. Arthur Cooper in Texas and Tennessee where an 
abundance of fossil material, much needed in the Museum’s study 
collection, was obtained. 

Dr. Willian M. Mann, Director of the National Zoological Park, 
and Mrs. Mann went to Liberia on an expedition financed by the 
Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., and brought back an assortment of live 
animals for the Zoo, including a 400-pound hippopotamus, and some 
3,000 preserved specimens for the Museum. Dr. Alexander Wetmore 
spent a month in Costa Rica studying the birds of that region. 
W. L. Brown collected material in the Canadian Rockies for back- 
grounds for the Rocky Mountain goat and sheep groups exhibited in 
the Museum. Dr. Hobart M. Smith, holder of the Walter Rathbone 
Bacon scholarship, assisted by Mrs. Smith, continued his study of 
the reptiles and amphibians of Mexico. Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt par- 
ticipated in the biological investigations of the king crab of Alaska, 
initiated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Capt. 
Robert A. Bartlett conducted another expedition to Greenland, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hawkins, Jr., visited the Gulf of California, 
both to collect marine material. Austin H. Clark carried on his 
observations of the butterflies of Virginia. Mrs. Agnes Chase made 
an extensive study of the grasses of Venezuela, bringing back large 
collections including 11 species previously unknown. 

Dr. T. D. Stewart spent several weeks at the historic Indian village 
site on Potomac Creek in Virginia known as Patawomeke, exam- 
ining an ossuary that was discovered during the previous field sea- 
son. Dr. Waldo R. Wedel conducted archeological investigations in 
central Kansas in an effort to locate Coronado’s “Province of Qui- 
vira.” David I. Bushnell, Jr., made several trips to the vicinity of 
the Peaks of Otter in search of tangible evidence of early man in 
Virginia. Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., obtained further informa- 
tion on Folsom man, one of the earliest known inhabitants of Amer- 
ica, from excavations at the Lindenmeier site in Colorado. Dr. 
Julian H. Steward visited British Columbia to record culture changes 
among the Carrier Indians; Dr. John P. Harrington made a com- 
parative study of the northwestern Indians in Alaska and the south- 
western Indians in New Mexico; and Dr. William N. Fenton col- 
lected data among the Seneca in New York State on Iroquois masks 
and ritualism. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY Lf 


PUBLICATIONS 


The publications of the Smithsonian Institution constitute its 
chief means of carrying out one of its primary functions, the “diffu- 
sion of knowledge.” From its private funds, the Institution issues 
the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, a series containing all 
the scientific papers published by the Institution proper; from Gov- 
ernment funds are issued the Smithsonian Annual Report (with 
general appendix reviewing progress in science), the Bulletins and 
Proceedings of the National Museum, the Contributions from the 
National Herbarium, the Bulletins of the Bureau of American Eth- 
nology, the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, and Catalogs 
of the National Collection of Fine Arts. The Freer Gallery of Art 
pamphlets and the series, Oriental Studies, are supported by Freer 
Gallery funds. 

All publications of the Institution are issued through the editorial 
division, which comprises the central office where publications of 
the Institution proper are handled, the office of the editor of the 
National Museum, and that of the editor of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology. The editorial division also directs the Institution’s 
informational activities and its radio work. 

The year’s publications totaled 78, of which 48 were issued by the 
Institution proper, 25 by the National Museum, 3 by the Bureau of 
American Ethnology, 1 by the National Collection of Fine Arts, 
and 1 by the Freer Gallery of Art. Information as to titles, authors, 
and other details concerning these publications will be found in the 
report of the chief of the editorial division, appendix 11. The total 
number of publications distributed was 125,837. 

Among the outstanding publications of the year may be mentioned 
a paper by the Secretary entitled “An Important Weather Element 
Hitherto Generally Disregarded,’ wherein are summarized evi- 
dences of the dependence of our weather on the variations of solar 
radiation; a revised edition of Assistant Secretary Alexander Wet- 
more’s “A Systematic Classification for the Birds of the World”; 
another volume in the series of life histories of North American 
birds by Arthur Cleveland Bent entitled “Life Histories of North 
American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, and Their Allies”; 
a paper dealing with the very interesting Chicora (Butler County, 
Pa.) meteorite, by F. W. Preston, E. P. Henderson, and James R. 
Randolph; and part 2 of the monograph entitled “Archeological 
Remains in the Whitewater District, Eastern Arizona,” by Frank H. 
H. Roberts, Jr. 

LIBRARY 


The year’s accessions to the Smithsonian library totaled 6,839 
volumes, pamphlets, and charts, bringing the holdings at the end of 


18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the year to 894,655 items. As usual, many gifts were received, among 
the largest of which were a collection of 942 scientific books and 
journals belonging to the late Frederick E. Fowle of the Smith- 
sonian staff and presented by his widow; 622 publications from the 
Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; 
and 612 publications from the American Association for the Ad- 
vancement of Science. Again during the past year the library’s 
exchange work was carried on with great difficulty because of war 
conditions abroad. Most of the publications that failed to come 
were European and Asiatic. Some of these are being held by the 
issuing agencies for transmission after the wars are over, others have 
delayed publication, but a few have been discontinued. The library 
staff cataloged 6,693 volumes, pamphlets, and charts; prepared and 
filed 40,238 catalog and shelf-list cards; made 22,311 periodical 
entries; loaned 10,990 publication to members of the Smithsonian 
staff; and conducted an interlibrary loan service with 45 lbraries 
outside the Smithsonian system. Other activities included work on 
the union catalog; a large amount of bibliographic assistance to 
members of the Smithsonian staff and others; and checking of the 
serial holdings in connection with the forthcoming second edition 
of the Union List of Serials. The funds allotted to the library per- 
mitted it to bind 958 volumes—only one-half of those completed for 
binding during the year. The most urgent need, therefore, is for 
more adequate funds for binding in order to prevent loss of parts 
of volumes that may be very difficult, if not impossible, to replace. 
Respectfully submitted. 
C. G. Ansor, Secretary. 


APPRENDI Xt 
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the condi- 
tion and operation of the United States National Museum for the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1941. 

Funds provided for the maintenance and operation of the National 
Museum for the year totaled $818,305, which was $6,580 more than 
for the previous year. The amount was reduced $6,500, however, 
by reason of a compulsory administrative reserve. 


COLLECTIONS 


Building up of the great collections of the Museum continued, 
and a total of 1,518 separate accessions, aggregating 326,686 indi- 
vidual specimens, was received during the year. Although this was 
about 400 fewer separate accessions than last year, the individual 
Specimens increased by 114,000. Distribution of these additions 
among the five departments was as follows: Anthropology, 4,064; 
biology, 262,521; geology, 55,818; engineering and industries, 2,688; 
and history, 1,595. For the most part these acquisitions were gifts 
from individuals or represented expeditions sponsored by the Smith- 
sonian Institution. All are listed in detail in the full report on the 
Museum, published as a separate document, but the more important 
are summarized below. The total number of catalog entries in all 
departments is now nearly 1714 million. 

Anthropology—tmportant archeological material included a col- 
lection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age implements and 
ornaments from Java; over 700 stone artifacts from western New 
York; about 450 specimens from an Indian village site in Page 
County, Va.; and nearly 1,000 potsherds and shell implements from 
burial mounds near Belle Glade, Fla. In ethnology, many objects 
were received representing the cultures of the Navaho; Alaskan 
Indians and Eskimos; Plains, Pueblo, and Southwestern tribes; the 
Iroquois; and others. Collections from peoples outside the Americas 
included specimens from Malayan tribes of the Philippines, from the 
Grebo of Liberia, and from the natives of Bali. Twenty-nine ce- 
ramic specimens, 30 musical instruments, and 47 pieces of period art 
and textiles were added. In the division of physical anthropology, 
skeletal remains from Peru and from southeastern Alaska and a 


19 
430577—42——_3 


20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


reconstruction of the newly found remains of the fourth Pithecan- 
thropus were the principal acquisitions. 

Biology.—Biological specimens, many of great scientific value, 
totaled 262,521, a considerable increase over last year, although these 
came in fewer individual accessions. The most important mam- 
malian accession was a complete skull and both sets of baleen of an 
adult humpback whale (Megaptera novae-angliae) and a fetal whale- 
bone whale skull from the North Pacific. Other mammals received 
included 74 specimens from Liberia; 102 from South Carolina; 85 
cavernicolous bats; other bats from Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and 
Puerto Rico; 2 fetuses of humpback whales; a baby walrus skeleton; 
and other specimens from Indo-China, Ecuador, Korea, Costa Rica, 
Bolivia, and Brazil. Of nearly 100 mammals received from the 
National Zoological Park, the most important was a gayal (Bos 
frontalis) . 

Large representations of birds came from Indo-China, Costa Rica, 
Brazil, Antarctica, Mexico, and Manchukuo. Field work of the Mu- 
seum in South Carolina yielded 1,205 bird skins for the study collec- 
tions. 

Incorporated in the collections during the year were 4,201 Mexican 
reptiles received from the Smithsonian Institution as the major part 
of the collections made by Dr. Hobart M. Smith, under the Walter 
Rathbone Bacon scholarship, among them being types of many new 
forms and representatives of species hitherto not contained in the 
Museum. The second installment of Dr. W. M. Mann’s reptilian and 
amphibian collections in Liberia consisted of 472 specimens, represent- 
ing several new forms and much valuable comparative material from 
territory hitherto little known. 

Nearly 2,000 Liberian fishes also resulted from the Smithsonian- 
Firestone Expedition headed by Dr. Mann, in addition to those acces- 
sioned last year. Among other ichthyological specimens received 
were 900 fishes from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, 420 from Alaska, 
and 60 sharks from Florida and Texas. 

The most important accession in insects was the Nevermann collec- 
tion of Costa Rican Coleoptera, comprising about 33,000 specimens 
and including much type material. Other important entomological 
material came in many miscellaneous lots, the largest being 64,000 
insect specimens transferred from the Bureau of Entomology and 
Plant Quarantine. A collection of nearly 3,000 beetles from Panama 
was donated by Assistant Curator Richard E. Blackwelder, who col- 
lected them several years ago. 

About 500 marine invertebrates from the west coast of Greenland 
came as a result of the Bartlett Greenland Expedition of 1940. 
Through Curator Waldo L. Schmitt there was accessioned a large 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY pai 


collection of marine invertebrates taken in the course of the Alaska 
king crab investigations of the Fish and Wildlife Service. From this 
same Service there was transferred a lot of nemertean worms collected 
by the Albatross and Fish Hawk. Outstanding also was a large col- 
lection of mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans, miscellaneous inverte- 
brates, and 182 bottom samples obtained by Russell Hawkins, Jr., on 
1989 and 1940 cruises along the west coast of Baja California and in 
the Gulf of California. Over 3,000 selected molluscan specimens were 
obtained by purchase through the Frances Lea Chamberlain Fund. A 
remarkably fine collection of over 3,000 Samoan shells was contributed, 
as well as 1,000 land and fresh-water shells from Texas. Séveral inter- 
esting lots of echinoderms were added, chiefly from the Antarctic 
region, from Greenland, and from the Abrolhos Islands, Western 
Australia. 

About 25,000 plants from many sources were added to the collections 
of the National Herbarium. 

Geology—Many choice minerals and gems were acquired through 
the Canfield, Roebling, and Chamberlain funds of the Smithsonian 
Institution. The finest mineral specimen is an 1,800-carat aqua- 
marine crystal from Agua Preta, Brazil, showing the rare berylloid 
form. The extensive Diaz collection of Mexican cassiterites and 
valuable sets of minerals from Bolivia also are noteworthy. Gems 
added included a brilliant cut purple enclase of 46 carats from Cey- 
lon, and a greenish-yellow 9-carat enclase from Brazil. Another 
important acquisition consisted of 620 Brazilian gem stones trans- 
ferred from the United States Treasury Department. ‘The out- 
standing addition to the meteorite series was the Sardis, Ga., speci- 
men, an altered iron, weighing 1,760 pounds, the fifth largest single 
meteorite ever found in the United States. Four meteoritic falls, 
all American, were represented in specimens presented by Dr. Stuart 
H. Perry, associate in mineralogy. A valuable series of tin ores 
resulted from Curator W. F. Foshag’s studies for defense purposes 
of the tin resources of Mexico. 

Field work by members of the staff yielded the bulk of the in- 
vertebrate fossils accessioned: About 8,000 Cambrian brachiopods 
and trilobites from the Rocky Mountain region, Missouri, and the 
Appalachian Valley; 20,000 post-Cambrian specimens from west 
Tennessee and Texas; and 15,000 Devonian fossils from the various 
counties in the geologically classic Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 
Much valuable type material was contained in other miscellaneous 
accessions, mostly gifts, including Upper Cambrian invertebrates 
from Texas and southeastern Missouri, Ordovician Bryozoa from 
Oklahoma, Upper Triassic ammonites from Nevada, and type fos- 
sils from the Kaibab formation of the Grand Canyon. Important 


22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


lots of Foraminifera came from such widely separated regions as 
Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, and Arabia. Casts of 256 type specimens 
of the fossil shell Z'urritella, from the Tertiary rocks of the Pacific 
coast, comprised an outstanding addition to the Cenozoic collections. 

As a result of paleontological field work in central Utah several 
articulated Upper Cretaceous lizard skeletons (Polyglyphanodon) 
and fragmentary mammalian jaws and teeth from the Paleocene 
were received, in addition to 149 lots of vertebrate fossils collected 
from the Bridger Eocene of southwestern Wyoming. Also worthy 
of special mention among the new vertebrate material are the greater 
part of the’skeleton of the primitive mammal Uintatheriwm, a partial 
skeleton of a Palaeosyops, and a perfect skull and jaws of the dog- 
like Thinocyon velox. Parts of several fossil whales and porpoises, 
from the Miocene Calvert formation of the Chesapeake Bay 
country, were acquired. 

Engineering and industries—To the section of transportation and 
civil engineering came an operating exhibit of the Westinghouse 
air brake, and three fine scale models, the Polish motorship Pélsudski, 
the Rolls Royce automobile Silver Ghost, and the diesel-engined 
trawler Storm. 

A unique accession in the section of aeronautics, received as a 
transfer from the Navy Department, was a fighter airplane known 
as the Curtiss Sparrowhawk, a type developed in 1931-85 as an 
auxiliary fighter to the dirigibles Akron and Macon. Several inter- 
esting airplane models were received: The original model of a steam- 
engined bombing helicopter designed in Civil War times and scale 
models of the Columbia monoplane (1910), the triplane bomber 
(1918), the U. S. Army pursuit type P-35, the U. S. Army trainer 
type BT-8, and the amphibian SEV-8N. 

In mechanical engineering the outstanding accession was an excep- 
tional operating model made by Howell M. Winslow of a Reynolds- 
Corliss steam engine of about 1900. The section of electrical 
engineering and communication received three original Plante stor- 
age battery plates and two replicas of the posted plate batteries 
made by T. A. Willard in 1881; also the tone arm of a modern 
photoelectric phonograph. 

One of the most spectacular acquisitions in recent years is the 
93-dial display clock made by Louis Zimmer, of Lier, Belgium, for 
the Brussels World’s Fair in 1935. It is 14 feet high, tells the stand- 
ard time of many places around the world, the tides in various 
parts, and a great variety of calendar and astronomical events. The 
section of woods and wood technology received the first letter file 
made to handle correspondence unfolded and vertical. An important 
and generous gift to the division of graphic arts was a collection 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY pe 


of 200 Currier and Ives prints from a donor, who in addition lent 
183 others. There came also as a loan the original camera believed 
to have been used around 1836 by Dr. John W. Draper, the eminent 
American chemist and physiologist, while a member of the faculty 
of Hampden-Sydney College, Richmond, Va. 

History—Nearly 1,600 objects of historic and antiquarian interest 
were accessioned, including busts, costumes, or mementos of such 
outstanding Americans as Abraham Lincoln, Mrs. Andrew Jackson 
Donelson, Col. Samuel Simpson, William Jennings Bryan, Henry 
B. F. Macfarland, and Brig. Gen. Caleb Cushing. The numismatic 
collection was increased by 176 coins and medals, including a series 
of United States bronze, nickel, and silver coins struck at the Denver, 
Philadelphia, and San Francisco mints in 1914; and the philatelic 
collection by 1,310 stamps and other items. 


EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 


Field exploration by the Museum’s experienced staff and its col- 
laborators continues as one of the most important sources for addi- 
tions of new materials in the broad fields of anthropology, biology, 
and geology. As in previous years this work was financed in the 
main through funds provided by the Smithsonian Institution or 
through interested friends of the Institution. The specimens 
obtained have filled many gaps in the Museum’s series. 

Anthropology—During August and September, 1940, Dr. T. 
Dale Stewart, associate curator of physical anthropology, continued 
excavations at the historic Indian village site known as Patawomeke 
on Potomac Creek, in Stafford County, Va., completely exploring 
the ossuary discovered last year. The work this season yielded a 
number of facts that verify or supplement the meager historical 
records pertaining to the burial ceremonies of the Virginia tide- 
water Indians. Of the approximately 100 skeletons encountered in 
the ossuary, the majority had become disarticulated, or were dis- 
articulated before burial. A few, however—approximately a dozen 
adults—were observed to be fully articulated. These were found on 
the bottom or along the sides of the pit and hence may have been 
the first bodies received into the grave. Moreover, all these artic- 
ulated skeletons are possibly males and had their arms extended 
along their sides as do the bodies shown in John White’s picture of 
a death house, which was drawn during his visit to Roanoke Island 
in 1585. Also, all these skeletons had their lower legs flexed un- 
naturally forward, which would have been a practicable way for 
shortening an extended body resting on its back. There is evidence, 
on the other hand, that the disarticulated skeletons were exposed 


24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


for a considerable period before burial; in several cases mud dauber 
nests were found in the skull or among the bundled bones. This 
finding indicates that the period in which these bodies were exposed 
in an open death house included at least one warm season. 

On February 27, 1941, Dr. Stewart went to Peru in connection 
with the program sponsored by the State Department for cultural 
cooperation with other American republics. In Lima, through the 
kindness of Dr. Julio C. Tello, director of the Museum of Anthro- 
pology, Magdalena Vieja, he had the privilege of studying two docu- 
mented series of human skeletal remains, one from Paracas and the 
other from Malena. These two series are interesting for comparison 
because that from Paracas is very early, whereas that from Malena 
is late coastal Inca. The Paracas people, although relatively ancient, 
were far from being primitive in the cultural sense. Their textiles 
are famous and among the finest produced anywhere. While in 
Lima Dr. Stewart visited many of the nearby ruins and ancient 
Indian sites. From these trips Dr. Stewart brought back a small 
collection of the more interesting skeletal remains to supplement 
earlier collections. 

During the week of March 30 Dr. Stewart represented the Insti- 
tution and the National Geographic Society at the Third Assembly 
of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History meeting 
in Lima. Following the Assembly he visited the Museo Arqueolédgico 
“Rafael Larco Herrera” at Chiclin, where, through the kindness of 
Sr. Rafael Larco Hoyle, he was able to study a documented series 
of Mochica and Cupianique skeletons. These remains are from the 
oldest cultural periods of the northern coast. From Chiclin Dr. 
Stewart went south to Mollendo, and thence by way of Arequipa 
to Cuzco. Here, besides visiting some of the famous ruins, he saw 
the fine collection of mummies and trephined skulls at the University 
of Cuzco and the Instituto Arqueoldgico. 

Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, assistant curator in archeology. was in the 
field from June 1 to September 16, 1940, continuing the Institution’s 
archeological survey of Kansas, begun in 1937. The 1940 explora- 
tions were carried on at several locations in Rice and Cowley 
Counties. Preliminary excavations show that the sites investigated 
mark villages inhabited by semisedentary, partly horticultural In- 
dians who did not live in earth lodges. These people made pottery, 
wove basketry, had a wide variety of artifacts in stone, bone, horn, 
and shell, traded with the Pueblos on the Rio Grande for turquoise, 
pottery, and obsidian, and were in contact with white men. Frag- 
ments of glaze-paint pottery represent types made on the Rio 
Grande between 1525 and 1650, and bits of chain mail suggest a 
visit from some of the early Spanish explorers. It is tentatively 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 25 


suggested that these remains, widespread in central and southern 
Kansas, may be of Wichita origin, and possibly represent some of 
the Quivira villages seen by Coronado, Humafia, Bonilla, and Ofate. 

During the period from December 5 to 12, 1940, and again in 
May 1941, Dr. Wedel made a brief reconnaissance in the Holston 
River drainage near Saltville, Va. A number of extremely promis- 
‘ng prehistoric village sites and two apparently affiliated burial caves 
were visited, and a local collection was studied. No excavations were 
undertaken. The cultural materials indicate some relationships with 
Middle Mississippi remains in Tennessee and adjacent States, but 
pending more extended studies their exact position culturally remains 
uncertain, 

Walter W. Taylor, Jr., collaborator in anthropology, inaugurated 
archeological excavations in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. From 
January 1941 to the close of the fiscal year, Mr. Taylor surveyed a 
wide area in the various mountain valleys around Cuatro Ciénegas 
and excavated several small caves and one large cave. The principal 
purpose of this program was to determine the relationship between 
the prehistoric cave inhabitants in this northern section of Mexico 
and the inhabitants of similar sites in the Pecos River and Big 
Bend area of southwestern Texas. A superficial relationship seems 
evident from Mr. Taylor’s field reports, but final conclusions must 
await a careful comparison of material in the Museum. 

Biology.—During October and November Dr. Alexander Wetmore, 
Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, visited Costa 
Rica as part of the program sponsored by the State Department 
for cultural cooperation with the other American republics. He was 
received with every courtesy as the guest of the Costa Rican Gov- 
ernment, and in San José, the capital city, he worked at the National 
Museum and visited and conferred with officials in various branches 
as well as with scientists in other services. Following this, accom- 
panied by Dr. Juvenal Valerio Rodriguez, director of the National 
Museum, and Carlos Aguilar in charge of the zoological collections 
in the Museum, he crossed by air to Liberia, the principal city of 
Guanacaste, the northwestern province of Costa Rica. From this 
base collections of birds were made in the surrounding country. Dr. 
Valerio returned to San José, while Mr. Aguilar remained for train- 
ing in zoological field work. Guanacaste is devoted mainly to cattle 
raising, with small cultivation. Liberia lies on a slightly elevated 
plain east of the swampy lowlands bordering the Rio Tempisque. 
For more than 2 weeks Dr. Wetmore and Mr. Aguilar were located 
at a great hacienda on the southern slopes of the Volcan Rincén de 
la Vieja where there was access to heavy rain forest on the mountain. 
Collections were obtained for the National Museum in San José as 


26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


well as for our Institution. The several hundred birds that have 
come to Washington as a result of this work add measurably to our 
series, as our earlier investigations of the birds of Costa Rica did 
not cover Guanacaste. On his return north at the end of Novem- 
ber Dr. Wetmore had opportunity to spend a day in Habana, Cuba, 
where he was received by representatives of the Cuban Government 
and conferred with prominent scientists of the country. 

From March to May, 1941, Dr. Wetmore visited Colombia in con- 
tinuation of the program mentioned for closer personal contact and 
cooperation with scientists in our neighbor republics. In Bogota 
he was received at the National University, where he worked par- 
ticularly in the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales. He also conferred 
with scientists who had been in attendance at the Eighth American 
Scientific Congress in Washington the year previous, and visited 
scientific workers with whom the Smithsonian Institution has been 
in contact through correspondence for years. Following this, with 
M. A. Carriker, Jr., as assistant, and accompanied by Dr. F. Carlos 
Lehmann and his assistant from the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales 
and by Lt. Alejandro Rubiano as a representative of the Colombian 
Government, Dr. Wetmore set out from Santa Marta on a pro- 
longed expedition through the Guajira Peninsula. The party 
traveled by truck to Riohacha stopping en route for work in ex- 
tensive forest areas near the Rio Ariguani and its tributaries. Here 
in 8 days’ time specimens of 100 distinct species of birds were ob- 
tained, an indication of the richness of the fauna. In Riohacha the 
party obtained another truck and here entered the Guajira proper. 
The peninsula in the main is an arid, desert country with extensive 
open savannas and broad stony plains, grown in places with heavy 
stands of mesquite and cacti that form veritable forests. In the 
eastern section there are low mountains with trails along their bases 
passable for heavy trucks except during the period of rains. On 
the highest range where the trade winds build a cloud cap with con- 
sequent more or less regular precipitation in contrast to the desert 
below, there is an island of tropical rain forest with the species 
usual to such an environment, here isolated by long distances from 
other similar areas. Dr. Lehmann and Lieutenant Rubiano com- 
pleted their work with the party in April while the others continued 
to the forested region mentioned. On the return the middle of May 
it was necessary because of disrupted steamer schedules for Dr. 
Wetmore to cross by schooner from Puerto Estrella, in the Guajira, to 
the Island of Aruba. Here after a 2-day wait he obtained plane 
passage to Curacao, and from there sailed for New York. <A stop 
en route at La Guaira, Venezuela, gave opportunity to visit Caracas, 
where he was guest of honor at a luncheon given by W. H. Phelps 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY par 


to a group of Venezuelan scientists, and had opportunity to visit 
the new Museo Nacional and the Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias 
Naturales. 

Mr. Carriker, whose expenses for this work in Colombia were 
carried by the W. L. Abbott fund of the Smithsonian Institution, 
continued in the field in the Guajira until late in June to finish the 
investigations. At the end of the fiscal year he was located in the 
Sierra Negra in the northern section of the Perijé Mountains, a 
region previously unknown to naturalists. 

The collecting expeditions by W. M. Perrygo, scientific aid, to 
obtain much-needed material for the study of the vertebrate fauna 
of the Appalachian region, were continued with good results. Accom- 
panied by John S. Webb, of the division of birds, he left for South 
Carolina on September 14, 1940, working first along the Catawba 
River and in the wooded regions of the Piedmont region and later 
collecting in the swamps along the Pee Dee River. The middle of 
October he continued southward to Allendale to complete work begun 
in the spring months along the Savannah River. Two weeks were 
spent in collecting along the Lynches River, a tributary of the Pee 
Dee, and the final stay centered around McClellanville for work in 
the salt marshes near the Cape Romaine Wildlife Sanctuary. The 
expedition returned December 3. This work also was financed 
through the W. L. Abbott fund of the Smithsonian. 

Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt, curator of marine invertebrates, during 
the latter part of 1940 served as biologist and leader of the field party: 
organized by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the 
purpose of investigating the biology of the king crab in Alaska. 
He left Seattle on August 28 and on September 12 established head- 
quarters at Canoe Bay, off the northwest corner of Pavlof Bay, where 
investigations were carried on successfully for 5 weeks. Later on 
operations were transferred to Alitak at the western end of Kodiak. 
Work at a final base on the north side of Shelikof Strait, east of 
Kukak Bay, from November 15 to 20 ended the investigations for 
the season, which in addition to observations on the distribution and 
biology of the king crab yielded an extensive collection of marine 
animals of interest to the Museum. 

Clarence R. Shoemaker, assistant curator of marine invertebrates, 
in company with T. Kenneth Ellis, undertook a 2-weeks’ collecting 
trip for fresh-water amphipods through Virginia and the Carolinas. 
The expedition returned with much interesting material to the 
Museum, the particular object being to extend the study series of 
certain rare species from this region. 

The Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia under the leader- 
ship of Dr. W. M. Mann, Director of the National Zoological Park, 


28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


obtained for the Museum a large amount of zoological and botanical 
material, including many novelties, from a region of the world 
hitherto poorly represented in our collections. Although started 
early in 1940, the expedition did not return until August 7, and is 
therefore properly referred to here, as the specimens brought back 
were accessioned during the present year. The story of the expedi- 
tion has been widely published, and a condensed account with illustra- 
tions will be found in the volume Explorations and Field Work of 
the Smithsonian Institution in 1940, pp. 13-20. 

As in past years, Capt. Robert A. Bartlett in his annual expedi- 
tion to Greenland in the schooner Morrissey brought back valuable 
additions particularly to the invertebrate collections, made with 
equipment supplied by the Museum. 

Dr. Hobart M. Smith, under the Walter Rathbone Bacon scholar- 
ship, finished his field work in Mexico in August 1940, bringing 
back to the Smithsonian Institution splendid collections that in all 
comprise more than 20,000 specimens of reptiles and amphibians now 
deposited in the Museum. During July and August, 1940, he was able 
to study the collection of the late Dr. Alfredo Dugés, which contains 
many type specimens of Mexican reptiles and amphibians. 

Dr. E. A. Chapin, curator of insects, spent 5 weeks on the island 
of Jamaica during April and May, 1941. Arriving there on April 
22, he was met at customs by C. B. Lewis, curator of natural history 
of the Jamaica Institute, who during the entire period of work 
‘assisted In various ways. Special trips arranged by Mr. Lewis in- 
cluded a day on Goat Island, 1 on Portland Ridge, 2 at Cuna Cuna 
Pass, and a 4-day stay at Cinchona in the Blue Mountains. Except 
for 8 days spent in and around Savanna-la-Mar, headquarters was 
maintained near Kingston and short trips were made out from that 
point. Because of the poor showing made in certain groups in 1987, 
it was decided to concentrate on the termite and ant faunas. In 
addition to various rare beetles, at least 13 species of termites, mostly 
of the type living in hardwood, were found, and at least 3 of them 
are additions to the Jamaica list. Other results of the work include 
the establishment of very pleasant relations with the Jamaica Insti- 
tute and the Government Entomologist’s Office. 

The United States Antarctic Service expedition returned from a 
year’s stay in the Antarctic with very valuable material consisting 
of mammals, birds, and a considerable collection of lower crypto- 
gamic plants. The Museum was represented in this work by Herwil 
M. Bryant. J. E. Perkins and M. J. Lobell were detailed to the 
expedition by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of 
the Interior. 

Local field work in nearby Maryland and Virginia by various 
members of the staff has included investigations of Dr. L. P. Schultz 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 29 


on fresh-water fishes. Botanists of the staff gathered material for 
a proposed new Flora of the District of Columbia, the object sought 
being a thorough knowledge of the Washington-Baltimore region. 

Geology—Under a cooperative arrangement with the United 
States Geological Survey, Dr. W. F. Foshag, curator of mineralogy 
and petrology, accompanied by Carl Fries, of the Geological Survey 
staff, made a 3-month survey of the tin resources of Mexico. All 
the important mining districts of Mexico included within the states 
of Michoacin, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Aguascalientes, 
Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango were visited and the deposits studied 
as to their geology, mineralogy, and commercial potentialities. The 
largest potential deposits are the placer sands derived from granite 
intrusions in San Luis Potosi. The deposits in the rhyolitic rocks 
are, in most cases, small and of little importance. 

Dr. C. E. Resser, curator of stratigraphic paleontology, spent 3 
months in field work, chiefly in the Rocky Mountains, assisted by 
Charles H. Frey, 3d, of Lancaster, Pa. Dr. Resser left Washing- 
ton on June 25, making first a brief stop in southwestern Virginia. 
His next objective was the Cambrian section in the Ozark Mountains, 
where several days’ work enabled him to familiarize himself with 
these strata. Only indifferent fossils were found, as most of the 
Cambrian rock does not carry fossils. He continued then to examine 
Cambrian deposits in Colorado in the Front, Mosquito, and Sawatch 
Ranges and the Glenwood Springs Canyon. Ten days in the State 
permitted examination of several sections. Dr. T. S. Lovering, of 
Ohio State University, who was mapping the region about Gilman, 
assisted materially in showing the sections there. At the Grand 
Canyon National Park in Arizona Dr. Resser examined new localities 
under the guidance of Park Naturalist Edwin McKee during a 3- 
day trip to Peach Springs and Meriwitica Canyons, 150 miles west 
of Grand Canyon Village. Some fossils were found and physical 
measurements made. In the Wasatch Mountains the party checked 
on the position of certain faunas and on the stratigraphy, which had 
been questioned. Fine collections were made at critical points. At 
the Green River Lakes, one of the most beautiful spots in America, 
Dr. Resser’s party found a section 850 to 1,000 feet thick, representing 
both Middle and Upper Cambrian, carrying a few fossils. Several 
sections were studied in Montana, notably on Squaw Creek in the 
Gallatin Range, Newland Creek, Little Birch Creek, and Deep Creek 
in the Belt Mountains, and several localities near Three Forks, Mont. 
Particularly fine material was secured at several of these localities. 
Advantage was taken of the new road constituting the northeastern 
entrance to the Yellowstone to study the excellent section at Bear- 
tooth Butte. Here some good collections were made. On the return 


30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


journey a new section across the Big Horn Mountains was seen 
along Shell Creek, and about a week was spent in the Black Hills. 
During an earlier trip from May 5 to 15 to southwestern Virginia 
and eastern Tennessee Dr. Resser examined outcrops of the belt 
west of Clinch Mountain to ascertain the faunal content of the Mary- 
ville formation. Fossils were scarce and very difficult to free from 
the matrix. A visit to Austinville, Va., furnished some excellent 
fossils, and observations confirmed earlier interpretation of the stra- 
tigraphy. The exact stratigraphic position of a new brachiopod 
related to Nisusita—as yet undescribed—was discovered. 

In August 1940 Dr. G. Arthur Cooper, assistant curator of strati- 
graphic paleontology, joined Mrs. J. H. Renfro and daughter in 
Fort Worth and with the guidance of these expert collectors collected 
Pennsylvanian fossils in the region around Jacksboro and Graham 
in north-central Texas. An abundance of fine material for the 
biological series was obtained. Following 2 weeks in north-central 
Texas, Dr. Cooper went to the Glass Mountains in west Texas, where 
he spent another 2 weeks collecting limestone containing silicified 
specimens. About a ton of blocks was sent back to Washington, 
where almost half the material has since been etched with acid, 
yielding very beautiful rare fossils that preserve the delicate spines, 
and peculiar features of the interior of the animals concerned in a 
truly remarkable way. Proceeding to west Tennessee he collected 
Silurian and Lower Devonian fossils along the Tennessee River in 
localities that soon will be lost through the impounding of water 
behind the Gilbertsville, Ky., dam. At places the Silurian in this 
part of Tennessee teems with fossils of many kinds and fine col- 
lections were obtained, including new forms as well as many others 
not previously present in the collections. From there he went east 
to Murfreesboro, Tenn., where he joined Dr. Josiah Bridge, of the 
United States Geological Survey. They spent 10 days in the Central 
Basin of Tennessee collecting the fossils and studying the rocks of 
the Stones River (Ordovician) group, as problems of correlation 
never satisfactorily solved exist in this area. 

As the vertebrate paleontological field exploration under Dr. C. 
L. Gazin, assistant curator of vertebrate paleontology, extended into 
the present year, but brief mention was made of it in last year’s 
report. The expedition, into central Utah and southwestern Wy- 
oming, was a continuation of previous investigations. In the Upper 
Cretaceous several additional lizard skeletons were collected; and 
in the Paleocene a considerable number of fragmentary mammal 
specimens. Interesting new forms contribute information to the 
known fauna of the Dragon formation. The bulk of the season 
was spent in the Bridger formation of the Eocene in southwestern 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 31 


Wyoming, where 149 lots of fossil specimens were obtained. A 
skeleton of Uintatheriwm complete enough to articulate for exhi- 
bition, probably the most complete skeleton of this animal yet dis- 
covered, was the outstanding specimen collected. Partial skeletons 
of Palaeosyops are also of high importance. 

Short trips to the Miocene along Chesapeake Bay for cetacean 
remains were made by Dr. Remington Kellogg and other members 
of the staff. Many specimens from this unique fauna have been 
added to the collections. 

MISCELLANEOUS 


Visitors—A_ total of 2,505,871 visitors at the various Museum 
buildings was recorded during the year, this being virtually the 
same as for the previous year. The high months this year were 
August 1940 and April 1941, when 369,942 and 320,594 visitors, re- 
spectively, were recorded. The attendance in the four Museum 
buildings was as follows: Smithsonian Building (main hall closed 
from July 1 to January 19), 212,464; Arts and Industries Building, 
1,302,210; Natural History Building, 803,516; Aircraft Building 
(closed from March 17 to June 30), 182,112. 

Publications and printing—The sum of $23,000 was available 
during the fiscal year 1941 for the publication of the annual report, 
Bulletins, and Proceedings. Twenty-five publications were issued— 
the annual report, 1 Bulletin, 1 volume of Bulletin 100, 1 separate 
paper from another volume of Bulletin 100, 1 title page, table of 
contents, and index of the Contributions from the United States 
National Herbarium, 19 separate Proceedings papers, and 1 title 
page, table of contents, and index of a Proceedings volume. Par- 
ticularly outstanding were the following: “Life Histories of North 
American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, and Their Allies,” 
by Arthur Cleveland Bent (Bulletin 176) ; “The Fishes of the Groups 
Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Isospondyli, and Ostariophysi Ob- 
tained by the United States Bureau of Fisheries Steamer Albatross 
in 1907 to 1910, Chiefly in the Philippine Islands and Adjacent Seas,” 
by Henry W. Fowler (Bulletin 100, volume 13); “Further Studies 
on the Opalinid Ciliate Infusorians and Their Hosts,” by Maynard 
M. Metcalf; “The Cuban Operculate Land Mollusks of the Family 
Annulariidae, Exclusive of the Subfamily Chondropominae,” by 
Carlos de la Torre and Paul Bartsch; “A Supposed Jellyfish from 
the Pre-Cambrian of the Grand Canyon,” by R. S. Bassler; “Notes 
on Birds of the Guatemalan Highlands,” by Alexander Wetmore; 
and “The Chicora (Butler County, Pa.) Meteorite,” by F. W. Preston, 
KE. P. Henderson, and James R. Randolph. 


32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Volumes and separates distributed during the year to libraries, 
institutions, and individuals throughout the world aggregated 52,170 
copies. 

Special exhibits—Fourteen special exhibits were held during the 
year under the auspices of various educational, scientific, recreational, 
and governmental groups. In addition the department of engineer- 
ing and industries arranged 17 special displays—8 in graphic arts 
and 9 in photography. 


CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION AND STAFF 


In the department of anthropology, Dr. Joseph E. Weckler, Jr., 
was appointed assistant curator, division of ethnology, on March 1, 
1941. 

In the department of biology, on the retirement of Gerrit S. Miller, 
Jr., curator of the division of mammals, the duties of this office 
were, on January 1, 1941, assumed by Dr. Remington Kellogg, ad- 
vanced from the position of assistant curator. To the division of 
insects Dr. Richard KE. Blackwelder was appointed as assistant 
curator on October 1, 1940; to the section of taxidermy Edgar G. 
Laybourne was appointed senior scientific aid on March 20, 1941, 
and to the division of birds, John S. Webb was appointed scientific 
aid on August 1, 1940. 

In the department of engineering and industries, to the division 
of graphic arts Irwin Lefcourt was appointed scientific aid, on 
September 3, 1940. 

Other changes in appointment on the staff were as follows: Elisa- 
beth P. Hobbs to assistant librarian, on March 16, 1941; Ralph A. 
Silbaugh, foreman of laborers, on January 16, 1941; David L. Hubbs 
to acting foreman of laborers, on September 1, 1940; Ernest Desantis 
to lieutenant of guard, on July 1, 1940; and two principal guards 
(sergeants), James C. Clarke, on July 1, 1940, and Bascom F. Gordon, 
on March 16, 1941. 

Honorary appointments in connection with the National Museum 
collections were made by the Smithsonian Institution as follows: 
On July 1, 1940, Walter W. Taylor, Jr., as collaborator in the de- 
partment of anthropology; on January 1, 1941, Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., 
as associate in the department of biology. 

The scientific staff lost the services of Miss Margaret W. Moodey, 
by resignation, on May 381, 1941. 

Five employees were furloughed indefinitely for military service, 
namely: Robert E. Kirk, on October 4, 1940; John J. Queeney, on 
August 15, 1940; Charles E. Stousland, on November 27, 1940; 
Charles A. Bone on May 21, 1941, eal George V. Worthington, 
on August 21, 1940. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 33 


During the year 13 persons were retired, as follows: Through age: 
Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., curator, division of mammals, on December 321, 
1940, with 40 years 10 months of service; Gertrude L. Woodin, as- 
sistant librarian, on January 31, 1941, with 34 years 11 months of 
service; Joseph T. Saylor, foreman of laborers, on December 381, 1940, 
with 30 years 8 months service; David H. Zirkle, guard, on June 
30, 1941, wtih 15 years of service; Hattie L. Henson, charwoman, on 
March 31, 1941, with 19 years 6 months of service; and Emma D. 
Whitley, charwoman, on March 31, 1941, with 15 years of service. 

Through optional retirement: Anne J. B. DePue, telephone oper- 
ator, on November 30, 1940, with 40 years 5 months of service; and 
Donald MacDonald, guard, on September 30, 1940, with 33 years 9 
months of service. 

Through disability retirement: Trezzvant Anderson, guard, on 
March 31, 1941; Eugene Smith, guard, on June 18, 1941; Anna M. 
Bowie, laborer, on March 14, 1941; Charles Davis, laborer, on June 30, 
1941, and Lish Myers, laborer, on April 30, 1941. 

Through death, the Museum lost during the year two employees 
from its active roll, Clayton R. Denmark, engineer, on December 22, 
1940, and William G. Shields, guard, on May 31, 1941. From its 
list of honorary workers, the Museum lost by death, on January 12, 
1941, Charles W. Stiles, associate in zoology, division of marine in- 
vertebrates, since April 17, 1894, and on June 4, 1941, David I. Bush- 
nell, Jr., who served temporarily from May to June 1918 as archeolo- 
gist and. from July 27, 1932, to his death as _ collaborator 
in anthropology. 

Respectfully submitted. 

AvexaNper Wermort, Assistant Secretary. 

Dr. C. G. Axssor, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 2 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 


Sir: I have the honor to submit, on behalf of the Board of Trustees 
of the National Gallery of Art, the fourth annual report of the Board 
covering its operations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1941. 

Such report is being made pursuant to the provisions of the act of 
March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51), as amended by the public resolution of 
April 13, 1939 (Pub. Res. No. 9, 76th Cong.). Under this act Con- 
gress created, in the Smithsonian Institution, a bureau to be directed 
by a board to be known as the “Trustees of the National Gallery of 
Art,” charged with the maintenance and administration of the Na- 
tional Gallery of Art, appropriated to the Smithsonian Institution 
the area bounded by Seventh Street, Constitution Avenue, Fourth 
Street, and North Mall Drive (now Madison Drive) Northwest, in the 
District of Columbia, as a site for a National Gallery of Art, and 
authorized the Smithsonian Institution to permit The A. W. Mellon 
Educational and Charitable Trust, a public charitable trust estab- 
lished by the late Hon. Andrew W. Mellon, of Pittsburgh, Pa., to 
construct thereon a building to be designated the “National Gallery of 
Art.” Further, the act authorizes the Board to accept, for the Smith- 
sonian Institution, and to hold and administer gifts, bequests, and 
devises of money, securities, or other property for the benefit of the 
National Gallery of Art; also, under the creating act, the United States 
is pledged to provide such funds as may be necessary for the upkeep 
of the National Gallery of Art and the administrative expenses and 
costs of operation thereof, including the protection and care of the 
works of art so that the Gallery shall at all times be properly main- 
tained and the works of art exhibited regularly to the genera! public, 
free of charge. 


COMPLETION AND OCCUPATION OF THE GALLERY BUILDING ~ 


Formal notice of the completion of the National Gallery of Art 
project, calling for the construction of the Gallery building and the 
landscaping of the area appropriated for the site of the National 
Gallery of Art, in accordance*with plans and specifications approved 
by the Commission of Fine Arts, was given by the Trustees of The 
A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust under date of No- 
vember 30, 1940, to the Trustees of the National Gallery of Art and 
the Smithsonian Institution, and as provided in the trust indenture 


34 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 35 


dated June 24, 1937, the legal title to the building was deemed forth- 
with to be vested in the Smithsonian Institution, of which the National 
Gallery of Art is a bureau, and the maintenance and administration 
of the building and site became the exclusive and sole obligation of 
the Trustees of the National Gallery of Art. A copy of the notice of 
completion is attached to this report, as exhibit A (not printed). 

The Gallery building was turned over to the Trustees of the Gallery 
on December 1, 1940, and following inspection and upon certification 
by Eggers and Higgins, successors of John Russell Pope, architect 
for the Gallery, as to the final completion of the project, the Trustees 
of the Gallery, at a meeting held December 10, 1940, formally accepted 
the Gallery project. Copy of the architect’s certifieate is attached 
to this report, as exhibit B (not printed). At this meeting the mem- 
bers of the Board expressed great satisfaction with the coustruction 
of the Gallery building, as finally completed, and their appreciation 
of the efforts of the Trustees of The A. W. Mellon Educational and 
Charitable Trust, the surviving Trustees being Paul Mellon, Donald 
D. Shepard, and David K. E. Bruce, in the erection of a Gallery build- 
ing of such monumental character and such outstanding architectural 
merit. 

The Trustees have been apprised that the total cost of the Gallery, 
including approaches and the landscaping of the site, amounted to 
$15,035,597.50. 

The small nucleus of the Gallery staff, which was housed in offices 
furnished by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 
moved into the building on November 27, 1940, and proceeded with 
the work of installation of furnishings and equipment. By Decem- 
ber 1, 1940, the nuclear staff, consisting of curatorial and clerical 
employees, mechanical, guard, and cleaning force, had been organ- 
ized sufficiently to take over the administration and maintenance 
of the Gallery building by the Trustees. 

During the first days of January 1941, the works of art in the 
Mellon Collection were moved into the building, and during January, 
February, and March the works of art in the Kress Collection were 
received from New York. 

Installation of the works of art in the two collections in the gal- 
leries prepared for them was undertaken immediately upon their 
receipt in the new building, and was completed the first week of 
March. 

DEDICATION CEREMONIES AND OPENING OF 
THE GALLERY TO THE PUBLIC 


On the evening of March 17, 1941, 8,822 invited guests attended 
the opening ceremonies. Included among the invited guests were 
the members of the Cabinet, Senate, and House of Representatives, 

430577—42—-4 


36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Government officials, the diplomatic corps, artists, art critics, heads 
of educational institutions, persons generally interested in art, and 
other distinguished guests. 

The ceremonies, a half-hour program, with Chief Justice Charles 
Evans Hughes as the presiding officer, began at 10 o’clock, with an 
invocation by the Reverend ZeBarney Thorne Phillips, Chaplain of 
the Senate. Following a brief talk by the Chief Justice on the 
object and purposes of the Gallery project, Paul Mellon, son of the 
late Andrew W. Mellon, the donor of the Gallery, on behalf of his 
father and the Trustees of the Mellon Trust, presented the Gallery 
and the Melion Collection to the Nation. Samuel H. Kress then 
presented the Kress Collection of Italian paintings to the Gallery. 
The President of the United States accepted the Gallery and the 
Mellon and Kress Collections on behalf of the people of the United 
States. A copy of the President’s address, and that of Chief Justice 
Hughes, are attached to this report, as exhibit C (not printed). The 
ceremonies closed with the National Anthem, led by the United 
States Marine Band. During the early part of the evening, there 
was a preview of the Gallery collections. Orchestras played in the 
garden courts, decorated with the famous Widener collection of 
acacias, which had been given to the Nation for the joint use of the 
Gallery and the United States Botanic Garden, and tropical plants. 

On the foliowing day, March 18, 194i, the Gallery was opened to 
the public and was viewed by large crowds. In accordance with 
the decision of the Board of Trustees, the Gallery building is open 
every day in the year, except Christmas and New Year’s day. The 
hours are 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. on week days and 2 p. m. to 5 p. m. on 
Sundays. 

ORGANIZATION AND STAFF 


The statutory members of the Board are the Chief Justice of the 
United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, 
and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, ex officio, and five 
general trustees. The general trustees, serving during the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1941, were David K. E. Bruce, Duncan Phillips, 
Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Joseph KE. Widener, and Samuel H. Kress. 
In May 1941 the general trustees elected Ferdinand Lammot Belin, 
whose term of office would expire on July 1, 1941, to succeed himself 
as a general trustee, to serve as such until July 1, 1951. At the 
meeting of the Board held on June 20, 1941, the resignation of Chief 
Justice Charles Evans Hughes was accepted by the Trustees with 
great regret, to take effect July 1, 1941, and in doing so the Board 
adopted the following resolutions: 


Whereas the Honorable Charles Evans Hughes has resigned as Chief Justice 
of the United States and has consequently tendered his resignation as Chairman 
of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Art, effective July 1, 1941; 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 37 


And whereas the Board of Trustees has learned of his resignation with 
profound regret; 

Therefore, be it resolved, That the members of the Board of Trustees record 
their sense of the loss which the Gallery has sustained in being deprived of the 
services of Chief Justice Hughes; 

And be it also resolved, That the Board hereby expresses its grateful apprecia- 
tion for the devotion with which he has carried out his duties as Chairman, 
and for the wisdom and unfailing courtesy with which he has guided the affairs 
of the National Gallery during the critical years of its formative period ; 

And be it further resolved, That the Board wishes to express to him its high 
regard and best wishes that he may enjoy many years of health and happiness 
after his long career of distinguished public service to his country. 

Pursuant to the provision of the act of March 24, 1937, the newly 
appointed Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable Harlan 
F. Stone, who succeeds Chief Justice Hughes, will serve as an ex 
officio trustee of the Gallery. 

The Board at its annual meeting held February 10, 1941, reelected 
David K. E. Bruce, President, and Ferdinand Lammot Belin was 
reelected Vice President of the Board to serve for the ensuing year. 
The executive officers who continued in office were Donald D. Shepard, 
Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel; David E. Finley, Director ; 
Harry A. McBride, Administrator; John Walker, Chief Curator; and 
Macgill James, Assistant Director. Other officers of the Gallery con- 
tinuing in office were Charles Seymour, Jr., curator of sculpture; 
George T. Heckert, assistant to the administrator; and Sterling P. 
Eagleton, chief engineer and building superintendent. During the 
year Charles Zinsner was appointed assistant treasurer and the fol- 
lowing honorary officers were appointed by the Board: Alexander 
R. Reed, building consultant; Alfred Geiffert, Jr., consultant land- 
scape architect; and William A. Frederick, consultant horticulturist. 

The three standing committees of the Board, provided for in the 
bylaws, as constituted at the annual meeting of the Board, held 
February 10, 1941, were: 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


Chief Justice of the United States, Charles Evans Hughes. 
The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. C. G. Abbot. 
David K. E. Bruce. 

Ferdinand Lammot Belin. 

Duncan Phillips. 


FINANCE COMMITTEE 


The Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr. 
The Secretary of State, Cordell Hull. 

David K. E. Bruce. 

Ferdinand Lammot Belin. 

Samuel H. Kress. 


38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ACQUISITIONS COMMITTEE 


David K. E. Bruce. 
Duncan Phillips. 

Joseph E. Widener. 
Ferdinand Lammot Belin. 
David E. Finley. 

Other standing committees appointed by the Board during the 
year: A committee to make recommendations as to the acceptance 
or rejection of gifts of property other than works of art, monies, 
and securities; a committee on public relations; and a committee on 
the building. 

During the first half of the year all of the civil service positions 
for the Gallery staff had been classified and by March 1, 1941, prac- 
tically all of the initial staff of the Gallery, including the curatorial, 
clerical, custodial, and maintenance personnel had been employed. 
On June 30, 1941, 229 civil service employees were on the Gallery 
staff. Among such employees were the chief docent, the librarian, 
and the registrar. 

The cataloging of the works of art was completed so that it was 
possible to issue the first catalog of the National Gallery by March 
17, 1941, the date of the opening. 

The guard force was organized to assure not only efficiency in 
the protection of the works of art and of the building and grounds, 
but also to assure a high quality of service to the public. 


APPROPRIATIONS 


For salaries and expenses, for the upkeep and operation of the 
National Gallery of Art, the protection and care of the works of art 
therein, and all administrative expenses incident thereto, as author- 
ized by the act of March 24, 1987 (50 Stat. 51), as amended by the 
public resolution of April 18, 19839 (Pub. Res. No. 9, 76th Cong.), 
there was appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, the 
sum of $533,300. Of the $300,000 appropriated by Congress for 
the period July 1, 1940, to June 30, 1941 (54 Stat. 187), $298,543.14 
was expended or encumbered, in the following detailed amounts, for 
personal services, printing and binding, and supplies and equipment, 
leaving an unencumbered appropriation of $1,456.86. This appropri- 
ation was based, of course, upon part-year operation and expendi- 
tures were made therefrom as follows: 


EXPENDITURES AND ENCUMBRANCES 


Personal services___________ eb Rk Sati eee a 171, 786. 18 
Rrnting wand: binding Eee 7, 352. 51 
Supplies*and| equipment —_— 119, 404. 45 


0) 21 Ieee OE ape Soe RDU Bas SO ey ME $298, 543. 14 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 39 
ATTENDANCE 


The total attendance from March 17 to June 30, the end of the 
fiscal year, was 798,156, an average of 7,529 persons per day. The 
greatest number of visitors in any one day was 24,745 on March 238, 
1941. 

A booklet of general information on the Gallery, containing a check 
list of paintings and sculpture and floor plans, supplied from Gov- 
ernment funds, has been found of great assistance to the visitors to 
the Gallery. There is no charge for this booklet and a copy is 
given to visitors who request one. 


PUBLICATIONS FUND 


Through the Publications Fund it was possible to have ready for 
the opening of the Gallery, not only a catalog, but also a complete 
Book of Illustrations of all the works of art in the collections of the 
National Gallery; color reproductions; and postcards, both in color 
and in black and white. These publications are on sale at moderate 
cost in the Information Rooms. 


ACQUISITIONS 


GIFTS OF PRINTS 


On March 13, 1941, the Board of Trustees accepted from Miss 
Ellen T. Bullard and three anonymous donors a number of important 
prints; and again on June 20, 1941, the Board accepted a number of 
additional important prints from one of the anonymous donors who 
nad previously made a gift of prints to the Gallery, all of which are 
listed in exhibit D (not printed). Also on June 20, 1941, the Board 
accepted as a gift from Lessing Rosenwald of Jenkintown, Pa., a 
collection of important engravings, etchings, and woodcuts, which 
are listed in exhibit D (not printed). 


GIFTS OF PAINTINGS 


On February 10, 1941, the Board of Trustees accepted from Mrs. 
Felix M. Warburg the gift of two valuable paintings: 
Triptych attributed to the School of Pietro Lorenzetti 
“The Preaching of Savonarola,’” by Domenico Morone 
as a memorial to her husband, the late Felix M. Warburg. The 
paintings have been received and will be exhibited with the Perma- 
nent Collection. 
On June 20, 1941, the Board of Trustees accepted from Duncan 
Phillips, a trustee of the Gallery, the gift of an important painting 


40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


by Honoré Daumier, entitled “Advice to a Young Artist,” for ex- 
hibition with the Permanent Collection. Also on June 20, 1941, the 
Board accepted from Mrs. David K. E. Bruce the gift of a portrait of 
her father, the late Andrew W. Mellon, by Oswald Birley, which has 
been hung over the mantel in the Founder’s Room. , 

During the year other offers of gifts of works of art were received 
but were not accepted because, in the opinion of the Board, they were 
not considered to be desirable acquisitions for the Permanent Collec- 
tion as contemplated by section 5 of the act of March 24, 1937 (50 
Stat. 51). 

OTHER GIFTS 


During the year there were also gifts to the Gallery of furnishings, 
equipment, materials and supplies, ornamental trees and plants, books 
and publications, from the Trustees of The A. W. Mellon Educational 
and Charitable Trust and others. 


SALE OR EXCHANGE OF WORKS OF ART 


During the year no works of art belonging to the Gallery were sold 
or exchanged. 


LOANS OF WORKS OF ART TO THE GALLERY 


During the year the following works of art were received on loan: 
An anonymous loan: 


20 Rembrandt prints—listed on the attached exhibit D (not printed). 
From Dr. Horace Binney, of Milton, Mass. : 
A portrait of his ancestor, the Honorable Horace Binney, by Gilbert Stuart. 


From Chester Dale, of New York, the following paintings of the 
American School: 


Artist Subject 

John Smibert______ Portrait of Oxenbridge Thacher of Milton. 
Thomas Sully_____. The Sicard David Children—Julia, Ferdinand, and Stephen. 
Jeremiah Theus___- Portrait of a Woman in Red Dress. 
John Neagle_______ Portrait of John Rush. 
Thomas Sully_____. Portrait of Mrs. William Griffin. 
S. F. B. Morse____- Portrait of Mrs. Henry John Auchmuty. 

Dok ues Portrait of a Lady. 


From Samuel H. Kress and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation: 
43 paintings and 22 pieces of sculpture, listed in exhibit D (not printed). 
From The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust: 


187 paintings, many of which were formerly in the Clarke Collection, for an 
indefinite period to be held for study, exhibition, or use as may be provided by 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 41 


the acquisitions committee. (See exhibit D, not printed.) The following paint- 
ings from the collection have been placed on exhibition as loans: 


Artist Subject 
PRS OD GUE HG Cee Sa aa a eo ee Williamina Moore. 
Gilbert S Guha aa ee ee a Eee Richard Yates. 
PD Yay eh DE Rig alg LA Te pele RR ID Si George Washington 
FU) (yee 2c ED A LL BE George Pollock. 
UPS) ere eres ie pees UE Newhall ab MeN Meal a dies ee a oe Joseph Anthony. 
FONE VV OLLASEO Nae ate ae ee SE ay Mary Walton Morris. 
From Duncan Phillips, a trustee of the Gallery: 
Artist Subject 
WOrots 22k Sees Le eS ere ee ee ee The Dairy Farm. 
ODT oS) ee ee ee eee The Rocks at Ornans. 


From John Cooper Wiley: 


Russian icon of the thirteenth century, for study and exhibition in the collec- 
tion if considered desirable. 


LOAN OF WORKS OF ART BY THE GALLERY 


During the year no works of art belonging to the Gallery were 
placed on loan. 


RESTORATION AND REPAIRS TO WORKS OF ART 


During the year, as authorized by the Board and with the approval 
of the Director and the Chief Curator, Stephen Pichetto, consult- 
ant restorer to the Gallery, has undertaken such work of restoration 
and repair of paintings and sculpture in the collection as has been 
found to be necessary. 

Prior to the opening of the Gallery to the public, the work was 
done at Mr. Pichetto’s studio in New York, and all works of art 
have been returned in excellent condition. Since March 17, 1941, 
such ‘work has been carried on in the restorer’s rooms at the 
Gallery. 

CURATORIAL DEPARTMENT 


The curatorial work during the first part of the year consisted 
in installing the National Gallery collections and completing the 
work on the catalog. The catalog was issued at the opening of the 
Gallery, and contains brief biographies of all the artists, descriptions 
of the works of art, and notes indicating the date or approximate 
date of the paintings and sculpture with such factual information as 
may be of interest to the student. A book of illustrations of the 
paintings and sculpture in the National Gallery was also issued under 
the supervision of the curatorial staff. 

During the year 619 works of art were submitted to the acquisi- 
tions committee with recommendations as to the acceptability for 


42 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the collection of the National Gallery; 16 visits were made to private 
collections by various members of the staff in connection with offers 
of gift or loan; expert opinion on 61 works of art was given verbally 
to various members of the public; and 101 letters were written to 
persons asking for historical data or other information regarding 
works of art in their possession. 

The curatorial staff also supervised the arrangement of temporary 
exhibitions held by the Gallery and assisted in the work of the 
Educational Department. 


EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 


The docent staff has been organized so that there are at least two 
public gallery tours every day and two auditorium lectures every 
week. This program of instruction for the public has been found 
to meet a definite need. During the period from March 18 to June 
30, 1941, 11,324 persons came to the Gallery as members of special 
groups or organizations desiring special guidance by members of 
the docent staff. Many of these were school and college groups, 
including both instructors and students, from practically every State 
in the Union. 

Two thousand eight hundred and eighty-two individuals have 
been conducted through the Gallery by members of the docent staff 
in special gallery tours, available to the general public. Two thou- 
sand four hundred and eighty individuals have attended auditorium 
lectures on the collection presented twice a week by members of the 
docent staff, beginning April 8, 1941. 

In addition, members of the docent staff have conducted private 
and group conferences for 288 teachers and other individuals inter- 
ested in and learning about the Gallery and the collection. 


LIBRARY 


Books and catalogs to the number of 162 were presented to the 
Gallery; 196 publications were acquired through exchange; and 51 
books were purchased. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT 


Since February 16, 1941, 6,356 prints have been made by the 
photographic laboratory. Many were used in connection with the 
opening of the Gallery on March 17, 1941. Others are on file in the 
library, where they are for sale and for the use of the Gallery staff. 
Lantern slides made for use in connection with free public lectures 
in the Gallery numbered 341. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 43 
EXHIBITIONS 


From May 15 to June 5, 1941, an exhibition was held in the central 
gallery on the ground floor, of 200 American water colors selected 
by John Marin, Charles Burchfield, Buk Ulreich, and Eliot O’Hara 
from a National Competition for the Carville, La., Marine Hospital, 
held by the Section of Fine Arts, Federal Works Agency, Public 
Buildings Administration. This was the first loan exhibition held at 
the Gallery and proved a popular one both with the public and with 
the critics. 

MEMORIAL TABLET 


At the annual meeting of the Board, on February 10, 1941, the 
Board authorized the erection of a memorial tablet to the late 
Andrew W. Mellon, with an inscription in the wording appearing 
immediately below, under a bas-relief portrait of Mr. Mellon to be 
done in marble: 

ANDREW WILLIAM MELLON 


1855-1937 


He gave the Building, with 
his Collection, for the founding 
of this National Gallery of Art. 


For the whole earth is the sepulchre of 
famous men; and their story is not graven 
only on stone over their native earth, but 
lives on far away, without visible symbol, 
woven into the stuff of other men’s lives. 


This tablet was installed, prior to the opening of the Gallery, be- 
tween the then two free standing pillars in the lobby, facing the 
Constitution Avenue entrance of the Gallery. The bas-relief portrait 
was executed by Jo Davidson. The cost of the work was contributed 
by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. 


COMMEMORATIVE TABLET ON THE ERECTION OF THE BUILDING 


Also prior to the opening of the Gallery, the Board authorized, 
and there was installed in the building, a bronze tablet recording 
the history of the erection of the building, with the names of the 
donor and others who rendered valuable aid toward the completion 
of the Gallery project. 


MEMORIAL PANELS TO BENEFACTORS OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 


At the annual meeting of the Board, held February 10, 1941, the 
Board set aside the four marble panels on the east and west walls 


44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of the Constitution Avenue entrance lobby for the names of impor- 
tant donors to the Gallery, and arranged for the carving at the top 
of one of the panels the words, “Principal Benefactors of the 
National Gallery of Art,” and beneath, the names “Andrew William 
Mellon” and “Samuel Henry Kress.” The Board further authorized 
having such names carved in future as may be authorized by it. The 
carving authorized by the Board was completed before the opening 
of the Gallery. 


AUDIT OF PRIVATE FUNDS OF THE GALLERY 


An audit has been made of the private funds of the National 
Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 1941, by Price, Water- 
house & Co., a nationally known firm of public accountants, and the 
certificate of that company on its examination of the accounting 
records maintained for such funds has been submitted to the Gal- 
lery. The financial statement referred to above is attached to this 
report, as exhibit E (not printed). 

Respectfully submitted. 

F. L. Berry, Vice President. 

Dr. C. G. Aszor, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 3 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activ- 
ities of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 1941: 

Two bequests were received, namely, $5,000 from the Cornelia Liv- 
ingston Pell Estate of New York, and $10,000 from the Julia D. 
Strong Estate of Washington, D. C. 

Several proffered gifts of etchings, miniatures, and paintings have 
been deposited here to be passed upon by the Smithsonian Art 
Commission in December 1941. 

Eight special exhibitions were held in the foyer involving the 
installation of over 900 specimens. Hight special Graphic Arts 
exhibits were shown in the lobby because of alterations in the 
Smithsonian Building. 

Three paintings were restored for the Comptroller of the Currency, 
Treasury Department: “Portrait of Charles G. Dawes,” by Zorn, 
“Portrait of Henry W. Cannon,” by T. W. Wood, and “Portrait 
of John Jay Knox,” by Eastman Johnson. 

Illustrated lectures were delivered by Mr. Tolman, the Acting 
Director, before the American Association of University Women 
on January 380, 1941, and before a group of young Italian art lovers 
at the Ambassador Hotel on February 19, 1941. 


APPROPRIATIONS 


For the administration of the National Collection of Fine Arts 
by the Smithsonian Institution, including compensation of necessary 
employees, purchase of books of reference and periodicals, traveling 
expenses, uniforms for guards, and necessary incidental expenses, 
$41,715 was appropriated, of which $32,006.84 was expended for the 
care and maintenance of the Freer Gallery of Art, a unit of the 
National Collection of Fine Arts, and $1,585 for the salary for 11 
months of one clerk in the Smithsonian Institution. The balance 
of $8,123.16 was spent for the care and upkeep of the National Col- 
lection of Fine Arts, nearly all of this sum being required for the 
payment of salaries, traveling expenses, books, periodicals, and 
necessary disbursements for the care of the collection. 

45 


46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
THE SMITHSONIAN ART COMMISSION 


The twentieth annual meeting of the Smithsonian Art Commis. 
sion was held on December 3, 1940. The members met at 10:30 in 
the Natural History Building, where, as the advisory committee on 
the acceptance of works of art which had been submitted during 
the year, they accepted the following: 

“Sunny Slopes,” by Gardner Symons (1863-1930). Gift of Mrs. Louis Betts, 
formerly Mrs. Gardner Symons. 

“Portrait of George Fuller (1822-1884),” and “Self Portrait,” by William 
Baxter Closson (1848-1926). Gift of Mrs. William Baxter Closson. 

“Portrait of Dr. William H. Holmes (1846-1933),” by Nicholas R. Brewer 
(1857- ). Gift of Mrs. Nicholas Webster, daughter of DeLancey Gill. 

After a visit to the National Gallery of Art building, then almost 
completed, the members assembled in the regents’ room in the 
Smithsonian Building for the further proceedings, the meeting being 
called to order by the Chairman, Mr. Borie, at 12:30. 

The members present were: Charles L. Borie, Jr., chairman; Frank 
Jewett Mather, Jr., vice chairman; Dr. Charles G. Abbot (ex officio), 
secretary; and Louis Ayres, Gifford Beal, Gilmore D. Clarke, David 
KE. Finley, James E. Fraser, Frederick P. Keppel, John E. Lodge, 
Paul Manship, Edward W. Redfield, and Mahonri M. Young. 
Ruel P. Tolman, curator of the division of graphic arts in the United 
States National Museum and acting director of the National Col- 
lection of Fine Arts, was also present. 

The following resolutions on the death of Mr. McClellan were 
submitted and adopted: 

Whereas, the Smithsonian Art Commission has learned of the death on 
November 30, 1940, of Col. George B. McClellan, a member of this Commission 
since 1931; therefore be it 

Resolved, That the Commission desires to record its sincere sorrow at the 
loss of Mr. McClellan, who as a man and a collector had the respect of the 
entire Commission. His advice and suggestions were always timely and valu- 
able, and as a friend he will be deeply missed. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the records of the Com- 
mission, and that the Secretary of the Commission be requested to convey this 
action to the family of Mr. McClellan with an expression of our deepest sympathy 
in their bereavement. 

A set of rules for the National Portrait Gallery, prepared by Mr. 
McClellan, chairman of the executive committee, was submitted. 
Professor Mather offered an amendment to rule 3 which was accepted. 
By motion, the Commission adopted the entire set of rules as 
amended, subject to any later modifications that may be made. They 
read : 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 47 


SUGGESTED RULES FOR THE ADMISSION OF PORTRAITS TO THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT 
GALLERY PREDICATED ON THOSE OF THE BRITISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 


1. Admission of a portrait to the Gallery shall be based primarily on the 
celebrity of its subject rather than on its artistic merit. Such celebrity shall 
have been acquired from the subject’s contribution to the history or development 
of the United States regardless of his or her opinions, words, or deeds. 

2. No portrait of any living person shall be admitted to the Gallery unless 
such portrait is that of one of a group of persons at least a majority of whom 
are dead. 

8. No portrait of any person dead less than 20 years shall be admitted to 
the Gallery except by unanimous vote by individual ballot of those present at 
a meeting of the Commission. 

4. No gift or bequest shall be accepted or portrait purchased except by a 
three-fourths vote of the members present at the meeting of the Commission. 


The Commission recommended to the Board of Regents the re- 
election of John E. Lodge, David E. Finley, Edward W. Redfield, 
and Paul Manship. 

The following officers were reelected for the ensuing year: Charles 
L. Borie, Jr., chairman; Frank Jewett Mather, Jr., vice chairman, 
and Dr. Charles G. Abbot, secretary. 

The following were elected members of the executive committee 
for the ensuing year: Herbert Adams, Gilmore D. Clarke, John E. 
Lodge. Charles L. Borie, Jr., as chairman of the Commission, and 
Dr. Charles G. Abbot, as secretary of the Commission, are ex-officic 
members of the executive committee. 

The chairman stated that as the competition for the plans for 
the Smithsonian Gallery of Art had come to an end and no funds 
had been obtained for further work on the project, there was nothing 
to report. 

Mr. Clarke and the Secretary also addressed the Commission in 
regard to the activities connected with the recent competition for 
the plans for the Gallery, but no action was taken, although the 
members expressed the feeling that the Commission was ready to take 
active steps whenever funds were available to advance the project. 


THE CATHERINE WALDEN MYER FUND 


Three miniatures were acquired from the fund established through 
the bequest of the late Catherine Walden Myer, as follows: 


22. “Portrait of a Young Man,” by Moses B. Russell; from Miss Alice G. 
Rogers, Old Lyme, Conn. 

23. “Le Chevalier Ed. van Cockelberghe de Dulzele of Belgium,” by an 
unknown artist ; from Samuel M. Crockett, Lynn, Mass. 

24. “Antoinette Bates,” by Thomas Sully; from Mrs. Eva Wilson Chadbourne. 
Washington, D. C. 


48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


LOANS ACCEPTED 


Two oil paintings, “My Mother” and “The Dawn,” by E. Hodgson 
Smart, were lent by the artist. 

Three pastels, “The Cliffs Aflame,” “Portrait (Patsy),” and “Sun- 
shine and Pine Needles,” and seven oil paintings, “Looking Far 
Out,” “The Woodland Way,” “The Butterfly Dance,” “Joyous Child- 
hood,” “The Red Barn,” “Peonies,” and “Springtime,” by William 
Baxter Closson, were lent by the artist’s widow. 


LOANS TO OTHER MUSEUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS 


The following five paintings were lent to the Carnegie Institute, 
Pittsburgh, Pa., for a Survey of American Painting from October 
24 through December 15, 1940: “Sunset, Navarro Ridge, California 
Coast,” by Ralph A. Blakelock; “Cliffs of the Upper Colorado 
River, Wyoming Territory,” by Thomas Moran; “Moonlight,” by 
Albert P. Ryder; “Fired On,” by Frederic Remington, and “Visit 
of Nicodemus to Christ,” by John La Farge. (Returned January 
7, 1941.) 

Two paintings, “The Cup of Death,” by Elihu Vedder, and 
“Christ Before Pilate,” by Walter Beck, were lent to the Howard 
University Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., to be included in an 
exhibition of Christian Art in connection with the twenty-fourth 
annual convocation of the School of Religion from November 12 to 
December 28, 1940. (Returned January 9, 1941.) 

One painting, “Sheepyard—Moonlight,” by Horatio Walker, was 
lent to The Art Gallery of Toronto, Canada, for an exhibition of two 
Canadian painters, Horatio Walker and Tom Thomson. The paint- 
ing was also shown in the National Gallery of Canada at Ottawa 
and the Art Association at Montreal. (Returned April 28, 1941.) 


WITHDRAWALS BY OWNERS 


Two portraits in pastel, by James Sharples (c.1751-1811), of Gen. 
James Miles Hughes (1756-1802), original member of the Society 
of the Cincinnati, and Mrs. James Miles Hughes, his wife, were 
withdrawn by the owner, Mme. Florian Vurpillot, on November 5, 
1940. 

Marble bust of Samuel Gompers (185€-1924), by Moses W. Dykaar 
(1884-1933), was withdrawn by the owner, The American Federation 
of Labor, to be exhibited at the Department of Labor, on November 
15, 1940. 

An oil painting, “My Mother,” by E. Hodgson Smart, was with- 
drawn by the owner, Mr. Smart, on November 30, 1940. 

A pastel, “Sunshine and Pine Needles,” by William Baxter Closson 
(1848-1926), was withdrawn by the owner, Mrs. William Baxter 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 49 


Closson, and presented to Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Drake, Washington, 
D. C., on May 5, 1941. 

An oil painting, “The Butterfly Dance,” by William Baxter Clos- 
son (1848-1926), was withdrawn by the owner, Mrs. William Baxter 
Closson, and presented to Miss Elizabeth Peet, Washington, D. C., on 
May 5, 1941. 


LOANS RETURNED 


An oil painting, “Portrait of Mary Hopkinson (wife of Dr. John 
Morgan),” by Benjamin West, lent to the Masterpieces of Art 
Exhibition at the New York World’s Fair, 1940, was returned 
September 17, 1940. 

A bronze statue of Lincoln, by Augustus Saint Gaudens, lent with 
the consent of the owners, the estate of Mrs. John Hay, to the New 
York World’s Fair for exhibition in the Illinois Building, was 
returned November 14, 1940. 


THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS REFERENCE LIBRARY 


A total of 180 publications, including 146 acquired by purchase 
and 5 by transfer, were accessioned during the year. 


THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND 


The following two paintings, purchased by the council of the 
National Academy of Design from the fund provided by the Henry 
Ward Ranger bequest, were recalled for action on the part of the 
Smithsonian Art Commission, in accordance with the provision in 
the Ranger bequest. The Smithsonian Art Commission decided not 
to accept the paintings and they were returned to become the absolute 
property of the museums to which they were originally assigned. 

“The Offering,” by Charles W. Hawthorne, N. A. (1872-1930), assigned to 
the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, June 12, 1931. 


“Gleam on Hilltops,” by Gardner Symons, N. A. (1863-1930), assigned io the 
Montclair Art Association, Montclair, N. J., June 2, 1922. 


SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS 


The following exhibitions were held: 

October 8 to 25, 1940.—Special exhibition of 48 pastels, drawings, 
and lithographs by Lily E. Smulders. 

November 1 to 24, 1940.—The Sixth Annual Metropolitan State 
Art Contest, 1940, under the auspices of the Department of Fine 
Arts of the District of Columbia Federation of Women’s Clubs. 
There were 289 exhibits consisting of paintings, sculpture, and prints 
by 158 artists. 

December 1, 1940, to January 1, 1941.—Special exhibition of the 
work of William Baxter Closson (1848-1926) consisting of 94 oils, 


50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


40 pastels, 21 water colors, 112 wood engravings, intaglio and relief 
prints by the Closson method with tools and necessary materials, 
and also medals which had been awarded to him. 

January 8 to 29, 1941.—Special exhibition by the National Society 
of Pastelists. There were 111 pastels by 17 artists. 

February 1 to 26, 1941.—Special exhibition of 22 water colors 
and 21 pastels by Ethel H. Hagen. 

May 15 to 19, 1941.—Special exhibition of 42 paintings by Alejan- 
dro Pardinas under the patronage of His Excellency the Cuban 
Ambassador. 

June 2 to 15, 1941.—Special exhibition of 39 caricatures by Antonio 
Sotomayor under the patronage of His Excellency the Bolivian 
Minister. 

June 3 to 30, 1941.—Special memorial exhibition of 17 color prints 
and 50 black and white prints by Bertha E. Jaques (1863-1941). 


PUBLICATIONS 


ToLMAN, R. P. Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts for the year 
ended June 30, 1940. Appendix 3, Report of the Secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution for the year ended June 80, 1940, pp. 38-42. 

Caratoc of American and European paintings in the Gellatly Collection, 20 
pp., 11 pls. 1940. 

Lopez, J. E. Report on the Freer Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 
1940. Appendix 4, Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 
for the year ended June 30, 1940, pp. 43-48. 


Respectfully submitted. 
R. P. Totman, Acting Director. 
Dr. C. G. Assor, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 4 
REPORT ON THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the twenty-first annual report on the 
Freer Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 1941. 


THE COLLECTIONS 


Additions to the collections by purchase are as follows: 


40.11. 
a-b. 


40.23. 


41.1. 


41.6. 


41.8. 


BRONZE 


Chinese, late Shang dynasty, twelfth century B. C. A ceremonial cov- 
ered vessel of the type yu. Outside, fairly even patination in shades 
of gray green with flecks of cuprite; inside, cuprite, azurite, and 
malachite with areas of original metal; little incrustation; cast in- 
scription of one character. 0.361 x 0.269 over all. 

Chinese, late Chou dynasty, sixth-third century B. ©. A quadruped, 
its surface almost entirely covered with linear and countersunk 
naturalistic and decorative designs. Smooth, gray-green patina with 
scattered incrustations of green and blue. Vent in the belly. 0.115 x 
0.182 over all. (Illustrated.) 

Chinese, late Chou dynasty, fourth century B. C., or earlier. From 
Chang-sha. A mirror, patinated in shades of gray with slight incrusta- 
tions of malachite and rust on the obverse; five long-necked birds in 
linear relief against a background of cur] and feather design on the 
reverse. Diameter: 0.164. (Illustrated.) 


Chinese, late Chou dynasty, fifth-fourth century B. C. A garment 
hook. Sheathed with silver, gilded and ornamented with inlaid tur- 
quoise and other stones; engraved designs showing the silver on the 
back; malachite incrustations. Carved wood stand. Length: 0.221. 

Chinese, Shang dynasty, fourteenth-twelfth century B. C. A ceremonial 
vessel of the type tui (or chiu). Gray-green patination with scattered 
spots of green inside and out; malachite and azurite incrustations on 
the bottom. Cast inscription of two characters. 0.140 x 0.211 over all. 


JADB 


Chinese, early Chou dynasty or earlier, twelfth century B. C. A cere- 
monial blade of mottled gray-green and gray-white nephrite. 0.266 x 
0.103 over all. 


51 
44057 7—42——5 


52 


41.4. 


41.5. 


40.16. 


40.19. 


40.17. 
40.21. 
40.12- 
40.13. 
12. 
13. 
40.14— 
40.15. 
14. 
iS. 
40.18. 


40.20. 


41.2. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


JADE AND BRONZE 


Chinese, Shang dynasty, twelfth century B. C. A ceremonial imple- 
ment: the blade of mottled gray-brown and white nephrite mounted 
in bronze closely inlaid with turquoise; socket for vertical shafting ; 
seattered malachite incrustations. Length: 0.213. 

Chinese, Shang dynasty, twelfth century B. ©. A ceremonial weapon 
of the type ko: the blade of mottled white nephrite, the tang of 
bronze ornamented with turquoise inlay; malachite incrustations. 
0.418 x 0.223 over all. 


MANUSCRIPTS 


Arabic (Persia), thirteenth-fourteenth century. A book bound in 
tooled brown leather (repaired) : Juz’ XVII of the Qur’dn. Text in 
thulth script on 144 paper leaves, three lines toa page, with interlinear 
‘Persian translation in naskhi script. Illuminated pages, chapter 
headings and marginal ornaments. 0.277 x 0.178 (single leaf). 
(Illustrated. ) 

Arabic (Persia?), fourteenth century. An illuminated frontispiece 
from an unidentified book. Naskhi script in white on a gold ground; 
floral scrolls in gold on dark blue and light green; gold borders. 
Paper: 0.393 x 0.290; illumination: 0.276 x 0.214. 


PAINTING 


Indian, Mughal-Rajput, seventeenth centry. A woman standing. 
In color and gold on paper. 0.127 x 0.063. 

Indian, Rajput (Deccan), early seventeenth century. A woman receiv- 
ing travelers at the door of a house. In opaque color (somewhat 
worn) on paper. 0.122 x 0.222. 

Persian, Mongol (Il-Khin) period, early fourteenth century. Two 
additional illustrations belonging to our Shahnadmah ms. 30.1, painted 
in colors, silver (darkened), black and gold on paper. 

Siyawush attended by Rustam receiving the homage of Garsiwaz. 
0.095 x 0.115. 

Bizhan in bonds before Afrasiyab. 0.092 x 0.115. 

Persian, Mongol (Il-Khan) period, early 14th century. Two illus- 
trations from a Shahndmah, painted in colors, gold and black on 
paper. 

Piran presents young Khusraw to Afrasiyib. 0.044 x 0.083. 

Prisoners of war brought before Shah Kawis. 0.055 x 0.121. 

Persian, sixteenth-seventeenth century. A group of dervishes. Line 
drawing in black, red, and blue inks; lightly tinted. 0.163 x 0.100. 

Persian, Timurid, fifteenth century. An illustration on a leaf from a 
Shahndmah: Shih Kawis and Kai Khusraw approach the sacred 
fire. Painted in colors and gold on paper. 0.095 x 0.160. 


PORCELAIN AND POTTERY 
Chinese, K‘ang Msi period, seventeenth-eighteenth century. A porce- 


lain flask, covered with a luminous, pale green glaze. Date mark 
in blue enamel under the foot. Height, 0.210. 


Secretary's Report, 1941.—Appendix 4 PLATE 3 


40.22 


scsi emititcossan nan 


: i Nn 
f g] 
$ : A 
ie , ¥ % a 3 
3 ke . i aah ee 


40.16 


SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART. 


Secretary's Report, 1941.—Appendix 4 PLATE 4 


41.1 


40.23 


SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 53 


41.7. Chinese, Sung dynasty. Incense burner. Soft paste pottery covered 
with a glossy, celadon blue glaze. 0.095 x 0.110 over all. 

40.22. Persian, Kishan, early fourteenth century. Bowl, of a soft sandy 
body ; the decoration painted in gold luster on a white ground. 
0.083 x 0.200. (Illustrated.) 


The work of the curatorial staff has been devoted to the study and 
recording of the new acquisitions listed above, and to other Arabic, 
Armenian, Chinese, East Indian, Japanese, Persian, and Syrian art 
objects and manuscripts either already in the collection or submitted 
for purchase. Other Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Persian, European, 
and American objects were sent or brought to the Director by their 
owners for information as to identity, provenance, quality, date, or 
inscriptions. In all, 693 objects and 180 photographs of objects were 
so submitted, and written or oral reports upon them were made to 
the institutions or private owners requesting this service. Written 
translations of 24 inscriptions in oriental languages were made upon 
request, several bibliographies compiled, articles and reviews written, 
and several Gallery publications revised. 

Kighty-four changes were made in exhibition as follows: 
Ohinese breuze and jade. - os. 28 A 
MOEN SE 9) 29 CO re a i Da 
@hinese marbles 2) Bas Sasa St ea ee 


COHAN ESC Wye GL eevee ree ee 
CHINESE TO EL Cry a a ee 


Sonku 


Repairs, etc., to the collection were as follows: 


PATO TE CATAL Th G1) sere ies Sane ee ee 
Ghinesespanel paintings esas See ee ee ee 
OHITESE ESCLON ar PUM Gil Osea ee ee ee ees 
RET SiaT DOLLY ee ee en at ee A re 
Mans; iblneprints® mounte dig es 2 ee eet tess eh seemed aes 3 ee 


wh & Oe 


i 


ATTENDANCE 


The Gallery has been open to the public every day from 9 until 
4:30 o’clock, with the exception of Mondays, Christmas Day, and 
New Year’s Day. 

The total attendance of visitors coming in at the main entrance 
was 111,656. One hundred and twenty-eight other visitors on Mon- 
days make the grand total 111,784. The total attendance for week 
days, exclusive of Mondays, was 79,246; Sundays 32,410. The aver- 
age week-day attendance was 305; the average Sunday attendance, 
623. The highest monthly attendance was, as usual, in April, with 
14,280 visitors; the lowest in January, with 5,901. 


54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


There were 1,369 visitors to the main office during the year. The 
purposes of their visits were as follows: 


Hor “general:.information=. 2 eee ee ee eee 186 
To see objects:in. storages 2222 eo ey SC ee ee eee 370 
Rar! Hastern. ‘painting s22 22 sa) es ee eee eee 50 
Near Eastern paintings and ein: LAN i ho Sen PEE FS 19 
East Indian paintings and manuscripts__---___ ee eee 3 
PG iiters (eeholae ethhal hey 4-3 eee Oa ee 2 ee ee 60 
WETS ELE sry ee I A Te A ae a a aly er ON TRESS 7 
American pottenyeeen os ve sees ee ee ed a ee as 5 
Oriental pottery, jade, bronzes, and sculpture_______-_-___-______ 133 
Syrian Arabic wandmbsyptians lasses aera a eee ee eee 11 
Byzantine objects) seat Se ae sek oe ee Oe ns ee ee 4 
Washington: Manuscripts: 2 a ees ee ee ee ee es 78 
pS Dy opis ac e2 0 Wis Hay wh ae ums 0 ara emma Ae Lf I I ee 172 
To make tracings and sketches from library books______---__ Se ERR A 6 
Tovsee) the) building andeinstallation==2se. ses sae ee eee eee 3 
To obtain permission to photograph or sketeh_--_--_--__________--_-__ 32 
Tousiubmit Objects fon examinations. sees ee ee 173 
To. see vmemberstot ther stafie=.— 25 Ss = Ses See eee 376 
To see the exhibition galleries on Mondays___----------___--______-__-~_ 49 
Tovexamine or purchase photographs====ss)2.)) == ee 292 


LECTURES AND DOCENT SERVICE 


A 6 weeks’ lecture course in Chinese and Japanese art was given 
by A. G. Wenley in the Far Eastern Institute held at the Harvard 
University Summer School of 1940 under the auspices of the Ameri- 
can Council of Learned Societies. 

At the Freer Gallery 6 illustrated lectures were given in the audi- 
torium (total attendance, 98); 6 study groups were held in a study 
room (total attendance, 80) ; and 10 groups were given docent service 
in exhibition galleries (total attendance, 269). The total number 
of persons receiving instruction at their own request was 447. 


PERSONNEL 


February 18, 1941, William R. B. Acker returned from Holland, 
having taken his Ph. D. cwm laude in Chinese at the University of 
Leyden. 

September 3, 1940, Oliver W. Puckett reported for duty as watch- 
man. 

June 30, 1941, David H. Zirkle, watchman, who had been at the 


Gallery for 16 years, was retired with a record of the most faithful 
and efficient service. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 55 


October 10, 1940-June 18, 1941, Grace T. Whitney worked inter- 
mittently at the Gallery on the translation of Persian texts. 

October 12, 1940, Elizabeth Hill, librarian, was married to Wilson 
R. Maltby, a physicist in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at the 
U. S. Navy Yard. 

Respectfully submitted. 

J. E. Lover, Director. 
Dr. C. G. Axsor, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 5 
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the field 
researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of Ameri- 
can Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1941, conducted 
in accordance with the act of Congress of April 18, 1940, which 
provides “* * * for continuing ethnological researches among the 
American Indians and the natives of Hawaii and the excavation and 
preservation of archeologic remains. * * *” 


SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES 


M. W. Stirling, Chief of the Bureau, left Washington on Decem- 
ber 29 to continue his archeological excavations in southern Mexico. 
Intensive excavations were begun at the site of Cerro de las Mesas 
on the Rio Blanco in the state of Veracruz, this site having been 
visited the preceding season. In addition, another expedition was 
made to the site of Izapa in the southwestern part of the state of 
Chiapas. As in the 2 preceding years, the work was undertaken in 
cooperation with the National Geographic Society. Dr. Philip 
Drucker again accompanied Mr. Stirling as assistant archeologist. 

At Cerro de las Mesas 20 carved stone monuments were unearthed 
and photographed, several mounds were cross-sectioned, and a num- 
ber of stratigraphic trenches dug on various sections of the site. 
The stratigraphic work proved unusually successful and extends the 
cultural column for this part of Veracruz to a much later date than 
did the excavations at Tres Zapotes. Two initial series dates were 
deciphered at Cerro de las Mesas, one being in the 1st katun, the other 
in the 4th katun, of baktun 9. Another stone monument at this site 
was of considerable interest because of its similarity to the famous 
Tuxtla statuette. Large quantities of jade were found including one 
cache containing 782 specimens. 

At Izapa a large number of stelae, most of them with altars, were 
excavated and photographed. This site is important because of its 
location, which makes it an interesting link between the west coast 
of Guatemala and the isthmian region of southern Mexico. 

At the conclusion of the work at Cerro de las Mesas at the end 
of April, the collections were brought to Mexico City where Dr. 
Drucker remained to work with them. 


56 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 57 


During the year Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, employed most 
of his time in completing an extensive report on the Indians of the 
Southeast, upon which work had been done during several past 
years, and which covers about 1,500 typewritten pages. This is now 
ready for final copy and editing. 

The bulletin entitled “Source Material on the Ethnology and His- 
tory of the Caddo Indians,” upon which he was at work last year 
is now in galley proof. It will cover about 350 printed pages. A 
brief contribution by Dr. Swanton entitled “The Quipu and Peruvian 
Civilization” has been accepted for publication in a forthcoming 
bulletin of anthropological papers and is now in the hands of the 
printer. 

Early in the year the bulletin prepared by Dr. Swanton entitled 
“Linguistic Material from the Tribes of Southern Texas and North- 
eastern Mexico,” was completed and distributed. It contains all of 
the fragments of the Coahuiltecan, Karankawan, and Tamaulipecan 
tongues known to be in existence, and covers 145 pages. 

Considerable time has also been devoted by Dr. Swanton to answer- 
ing letters, including particularly extension of advice regarding the 
placing of markers along the route pursued by Hernando de Soto 
and work for the United States Board on Geographical Names. 

At the beginning of the fiscal year Dr. John P. Harrington, eth- 
nologist, was engaged in working over Navaho materials and those 
of the closely related Tlingit language of Alaska. Recent field 
studies had proved that something like 200 words of Navaho and 
Tlingit are almost the same despite the 2,000-mile separation of the 
two languages. Sometimes the same word was found to be applied 
to two very different organisms; for instance, what is crab apple in 
the north is cactus in the south (spininess being the trait which these 
two plants evidently have in common), and jack pine in the north 
was found to be juniper in the south. 

Tlingit was copiously recorded in southeastern Alaska, and the 
Ugalenz language, related to the Tlingit and to the Navaho, was 
discovered and studied. The Ugalenz formerly occupied 350 miles 
of southeastern Alaska coast, from Prince William Sound in the 
west to Latuya Bay in the east. 

The origin of the name Sitka, the old Russian capital of Alaska, 
was discovered. The name means “On the oceanward side of Bara- 
nov Island.” Shee is the name of Baranov Island, and Sitka is 
situated on its oceanward side. 

Leaving in August for Gallup, N. Mex., Dr. Harrington worked 
on many parts of the Navaho Reservation, finding a surprising uni- 
formity in dialect. This uniformity must have arisen from a jumb- 
ling together of earlier Navaho dialects when the Navahos were in 


58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


captivity in eastern New Mexico in 1867 and 1868. During this 
captivity, dialects were evidently jostled together, and resettlement 
by the United States Government further dislocated them. 

Field work during the latter part of the summer was done with 
more than 10 of the leading Navaho interpreters. In a tribe of more 
than 45,000 population, there are many educated speakers, including 
university graduates, and with them were explored special features 
of the language which could not have been obtained from the tongues 
of poor and uneducated tribes without much greater expenditure of 
time. 

The Navaho language was found to have only 4 vowels and 34 
consonants, making it a true consonantal language. The sounds of 
Navaho were found to be almost identical with those of the other 
languages of the Southwest, for instance, with those of the neighbor- 
ing Tewa language. Also many words were found to be the same as 
in Tewa. Navaho was found to have, for practical purposes, a 
high and a low tone, and a falling and rising tone only on long 
vowels and diphthongs. One of the most peculiar developments 
to be found in any language is the hardening in Navaho of almost 
any consonant by placing a sound of German ch after it if it is 
voiceless, and of open g (gh) after it if it is voiced. There are also 
traces of a hardening of | to n, and the like. 

Returning to Washington late in the fall, Dr. Harrington continued 
his study of the Navaho, until it now constitutes a finished manuscript 
of more than 1,200 pages. Throughout the work there has been a 
constant revelation that Navaho and related languages are not as 
unlike other American Indian languages as has been thought by early 
vocabulary makers and classifiers. 

At the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, 1940, Dr. Frank H. H. 
Roberts, Jr., was engaged in a continuation of excavations at the Lin- 
denmeier site, a former Folsom camping ground, in northern Color- 
ado. From August 1 to 31 he was on leave and during that period, in 
accord with the Smithsonian Institution’s policy of cooperation with 
other scientific organizations, directed the excavation program of the 
advanced students at the University of New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon 
Research Station. 

From Chaco Canyon, N. Mex., Dr. Roberts went to Boulder City, 
Nev., to inspect a large cave located in the lower end of the Grand 
Canyon of the Colorado River at the upper reaches of Lake Mead. 
The trip to the cave was made by motorboat from Pierce’s Ferry in 
company with officials of the National Park Service’s Boulder Dam 
Recreational Area. Rampart Cave is situated in the south wall of 
the canyon at the top of a steep talus 600 feet above the present water 
level. It is of unusual interest because of its extensive deposits of 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 59 


sloth remains and of the bones from large creatures that preyed on 
the sloth, and the possibility that it may provide evidence of human 
contemporaneity with such extinct animal forms in that area. Plans 
and methods for a program of excavation were discussed and various 
suggestions were made concerning the advisability of providing an 
exhibit in situ for visitors to the Boulder Dam Recreational Area. 

From Boulder Dam, Dr. Roberts returned to the Lindenmeier site 
where he continued his investigations until the end of September when 
the project was brought to a close. During the six seasons of inten- 
sive exploration of this Folsom site and the adjacent area much new 
and valuable information on the subject of early occupation of North 
America was obtained. From the large series of specimens collected 
it will be possible to draw comprehensive conclusions relative to the 
material culture and economic status of the aboriginal peoples inhabit- 
ing that portion of the country during the closing days of the last Ice 
Age, and in general to broaden the knowledge on early stages in New 
World history. 

Dr. Roberts returned to Washington in October. He spent the 
autumn and winter months working on the material from the Linden- 
meier site, preparing the manuscript for his report on the investiga- 
tions there, in writing short articles for publication in various scien- 
tific journals, in identifying numerous archeological specimens sent in 
from all parts of the country by interested amateurs, and in furnishing 
information on many phases of New World archeology. Plans and 
preparations were made for an expedition to the Coclé region in the 
province of Penonome, Panama, but, because of the last-minute devel- 
opment of an insuperable combination of adverse circumstances, the 
proposed investigations had to be abandoned. 

On May 15, 1941, Dr. Roberts went to Bedford, Va., to initiate exca- 
vations at the Mons site near the Peaks of Otter where the late D. I. 
Bushnell, Jr., had found artifacts suggestive of a much earlier aborig- 
inal occupation of the area than previously had been supposed. Con- 
struction work on the Blue Ridge Parkway had destroyed much of the 
site, but a series of test trenches dug in various undisturbed remnants 
established the fact that it had once been an Indian camping place, 
possibly a village site of late protohistoric times. However, there was 
no evidence of its having been used by older groups comparable to the 
early hunting peoples of the western plains. 

On the completion of the work at the Mons site, Dr. Roberts returned 
to Washington and on June 11 left for San Jon, N. Mex. Camp was 
established on the rim of the Staked Plains 1014 miles south of that 
town and excavations were started at a site where material suggestive 
of another phase of early man in North America, the so-called Yuma, 
has been found. The location is in a shallow ae that appears to 


60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


have been an old, filled-in lake bed. Heavy erosion in recent years 
started a series of ravines and gullies and exposed extensive deposits 
of bones. Stone implements found near some of these outcroppings 
indicate the possibility that many of the creatures were killed by 
aboriginal hunters and that an association of man-made objects and 
bones from extinct species of animals can be established. Bison, 
camel, and mammoth bones, as well as those from smaller and as yet 
unidentified mammals, occur in the site. Material in the fill in the 
old lake bed probably can be correlated with other geologic phenomena 
of established age. Hence, the determination of contemporaneity be- 
tween the artifacts, animal remains, and lake deposits would constitute 
an important addition to the evidence on early occupation in the New 
World. There is also a possibility that the site may contribute infor- 
mation on the subject of relationships between some of the different 
older cultural remains. At the close of the fiscal year Dr. Roberts and 
his party were well started on the problem of the San Jon site. 

The beginning of the fiscal year found Dr. Julian H. Steward, 
anthropoligist, in British Columbia completing researches on abo- 
riginal Carrier Indian ethnography and on ecological aspects of 
recent changes in Carrier socio-economic culture at Fort St. James and 
neighboring villages. While here a collection was made of more than 
100 Carrier specimens of material culture, and of more than 50 ethno- 
botanical specimens. At this time several pit-lodge sites were ex- 
amined. From here Dr. Steward proceeded to Alaska, and then by 
plane from Ketchikan to an island off the coast where he investigated 
a burial site reported by Commander F. A. Zeusler, of the Coast Guard, 
and Ranger Lloyd Bransford, of the United States Forest Service. 
Accompanied by the latter, he procured specimens of several skeletons, 
fragments of carved burial boxes and other materials, and a mummified 
body in excellent preservation. The body was dressed in buckskin, 
wrapped in a cedar mat, and deposited ina cedar box. All specimens 
were brought back by plane to Ketchikan and shipped to the Smith- 
sonian Institution. From Alaska Dr. Steward went to Berkeley, 
Calif., to hold consultations on the Handbook of South American In- 
dians, which is being prepared for the Smithsonian Institution. 
From there he proceeded to Albuquerque and Chaco Canyon, N. Mex., 
for further consultations and to attend the Coronado Quatrocenten- 
nial and the Chaco conference, finally arriving in Washington late in 
August. 

The remainder of the year was devoted mainly to editorial and or- 
ganizational work on the Handbook of South American Indians, and 
work on the project was actually initiated, $6,000 having been made 
available for this purpose by special appropriation for cooperation 
with the American republics through the Department of State’s Inter- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 61 


departmental Committee. The collaboration of 33 contributors, each 
a specialist in some phase of South American anthropology, was ar- 
ranged. Work accomplished during the year included completion of 
manuscripts by Dr. Robert H. Lowie and Dr. Alfred Métraux totaling 
more than 150,000 words; completion of a new base map drawn from 
the American Geographical Society’s 1: 1,000,000 sheets, and of four 
new maps showing respectively the vegetation, climates, physical fea- 
tures, and topography of South America; compilation of a preliminary 
bibliography of near!y 2,000 items; substantial progress on many other 
manuscripts; and integration of the Handbook plan with research 
activities of many other institutions in different countries. Arrange- 
ment was made to engage the services of Dr. Métraux on full-time 
basis as assistant editor in the fiscal year 1941-42. The services of a 
secretary were had for the Handbook during three months of 1941. 

During the fall Dr. Steward acted as chairman of the Program 
Committee of the American Anthropological Association, arranging 
the program for the Christmas meetings in Philadelphia. He also 
served on the Committee on Latin American Anthropology of the 
National Research Council and accepted membership on the Scientific 
Advisory Committee of the Pan American Trade Committee. 

The following scientific papers were published: Archeological Re- 
connaissance of Southern Utah, Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 128, pp. 
275-356; Nevada Shoshone, in Univ. California Culture Element Dis- 
tributions; several short papers on the Carrier Indians; a description 
of the Handbook of South American Indians for the Boletin Biblio- 
grafico de Antropologia Americana. An article was prepared for 
American Antiquity on The Direct Historic Approach to Archeology. 

During the fiscal year Dr. Henry B. Collins, Jr., ethnologist, con- 
tinued with the study and description of archeological collections from 
prehistoric and protohistoric Eskimo village sites in the vicinity of 
Bering Strait. Material was also assembled for a paper on the origin 
and antiquity of the Eskimo race and culture in relation to the larger 
question of the original entry of man into America. 

At the request of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology 
and Ethnology of Harvard University, Dr. Collins made two trips to 
Cambridge to assist in the identification and selection of materials for 
the new Eskimo exhibit being planned by Donald Scott, director of the 
Museum, and his assistant, Frederick G. Pleasants. 

Dr. Collins also served as collaborator and technical adviser for 
Erpi Classroom Films, Inc., in connection with production of a motion- 
picture record of Eskimo life on Nunivak Island, Alaska, to be made 
by Amos Burg, explorer and photographer. The film, designed for 
use in the elementary schools, will provide an authentic picture of the 


62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


daily life and activities of the Nunivagmiut, who have retained more 
of their native culture than any other coastal-group Eskimo in Alaska. 

During July 1940 Dr. William N. Fenton, associate anthropologist, 
was engaged in field work among the Senecas of Allegany Reserva- 
tion, N. Y. While here he delivered the St. Lawrence University 
series of lectures at the Allegany School of Natural History. The 
lectures on the Iroquoian Peoples of the Northeast covered prehis- 
toric cultures of the area, the adjustment of the Iroquois to their 
environment, their society and government, and their religious sys- 
tem. At the Six Nations Reserve on Grand River, Ontario, Canada, 
August 9 to September 1, the yearly cycle of ceremonies that are 
currently celebrated at the Onondaga Longhouse were outlined by 
Simeon Gibson and the principal speeches that constitute the bulk 
of the annual Midwinter Festival were taken in Onondaga text and 
translated. This study is an extension of previous investigations 
of Seneca ceremonies which Dr. Fenton has published, and it adds 
new material on the nature of village bands and their removals, 
the function of moieties, the nature of residence after marriage, and 
the sororate which was practiced, at least by the Lower Cayugas. 
Further assistance was rendered by Deputy Chief Hardy Gibson 
with Hewitt’s manuscript on the Requickening Address for installing 
chiefs in the Iroquois League, which Dr. Fenton is editing for pub- 
lication. 

Returning from the field September 15 with 300 photographic 
negatives, largely of masks studied at museums in New York and 
Ontario together with a series of their manufacture and use in 
Troquois fraternities, much time elapsed assembling pictures and 
notes and arranging them for study. 

A special paper on The Place of the Iroquois in the Prehistory of 
America was presented before the Anthropological Society of Wash- 
ington; and Dr. Fenton also served as technical adviser for An 
Indian League of Nations, which was broadcast. October 27 on 
“The World is Yours” radio program. 

Work on two new research projects aimed at clearing up prob- 
lems previously outlined was begun during the year. While serving 
as consultant to the Pennsylvania Historical Commission on arche- 
ological matters, Dr. Fenton contacted local historians who are col- 
laborating in special phases of a study of Cornplanter’s Senecas on 
the upper Allegheny River; and it is planned to publish their find- 
ings together with Quaker Mission Journals from 1798 which describe 
Indian life and events attending Handsome Lake’s revelations. In 
quest of original sources, Dr. Fenton searched the Records of the 
Yearly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia, and visited the libraries 
of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. In this project he has 
had the active help of M. E. Deardorff of Warren, Pa., and C. E. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 63 


Congdon of Salamanca, N. Y., who have located and transcribed 
other documentary sources. 

Iroquois music has long deserved serious study, and with the devel- 
opment of modern electric sound-recording apparatus, record making 
in the field has become practicable. When the Division of Music 
in the Library of Congress furnished the necessary blanks and 
apparatus for Dr. Fenton’s trip to the Six Nations Midwinter Fes- 
tival, January 10 to February 17, 1941, Dr. Fenton undertook the 
task of making the recordings, first at Ohsweken, Ontario, and later 
at Quaker Ridge, N. Y. Sixty-two double-face records were made 
of samples of social and religious dance songs, and complete runs of 
several shamanistic song cycles and the Adoption Rite of the Tutelo 
were taken. Informants gave complete texts for all the recordings, 
and these, as rewritten after returning to Washington, should prove 
helpful to the transcriber. For this purpose the Recording Labora- 
tory is furnishing a duplicate set. Because musicologists have ex- 
pressed interest in the recordings, several were selected for a proposed 
Album of Iroquois Music, which the Library contemplates publishing ; 
and in return for the fine cooperation of the Recording Laboratory 
and the Division of Music, Dr. Fenton delivered a lecture, Music in 
Iroquois Religion and Society, illustrated with slides and records, 
as the first of a series by the Archive of American Folk-song. It 
was repeated for the Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology at its 
annual meeting. 

In addition a series of brief informal excursions were made to 
Allegany regarding place names and to explore the area that may 
be flooded by the proposed Allegheny Reservoir, and to Tonawanda 
to collect song texts of the Medicine Society. 

Besides a number of book reviews in scientific and historical jour- 
nals, Dr. Fenton published two papers in Bureau of American Eth- 
nology Bulletin 128—Iroquois Suicide: A Study in the Stability of 
a Culture Pattern, and Tonawanda Longhouse Ceremonies: Ninety 
Years After Lewis Henry Morgan—and an article, Museum and 
Field Studies of Iroquois Masks and Ritualism, which appeared in 
the Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 
1940. Dr. Fenton prepared for publication in the Annual Report 
of the Smithsonian Institution for 1940, a paper entitled “Masked 
Medicine Societies of the Iroquois.” 


SPECIAL RESEARCHES 


Miss Frances Densmore, a collaborator of the Bureau, continued 
her study of Indian music by collecting additional songs, transcribing 
these and songs previously recorded, and preparing material for pub- 
lication. In August 1940 a trip was made to Wisconsin Dells, Wis., 


64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


to interview a group of visiting Zufi Indians. Songs were obtained 
from Falling Star, an Indian born in Zufi, who had lived in the 
pueblo most of his life and taken part in the dances. His father 
also was a singer and dancer. Falling Star recorded 17 songs, 15 
of which were transcribed and submitted to the Bureau. These are 
chiefly songs of lay-participants in the Rain Dance and the songs 
connected with grinding corn for household use. 

Additional data on the peyote cult among the Winnebago were 
obtained from a former informant and incorporated in the manuscript 
on that tribe. 

In October Miss Densmore went to Washington for consultation 
on manuscripts awaiting publication. During the winter she tran- 
scribed records of 71 Seminole songs, completing the transcriptions 
of recordings made in that tribe during the seasons of 1931, 1932, and 
1933. It is expected that the book on Seminole music, containing 
245 songs, will be completed in the near future. 

A paper on A Search for Songs Among the Chitimacha Indians 
in Louisiana, submitted in 1933, was rewritten, amplified, and pre- 
pared for publication. The Chitimacha is the only tribe visited by 
Miss Densmore in which all the songs have been forgotten. Musical 
customs were remembered, and several legends were related in which 
songs were formerly sung. 

In May 1941 Miss Densmore read a paper on The Native Art of 
the Chippewa before the Central States Branch of the American 
Anthropological Association at the Annual meeting held in 
Minneapolis. 

At the close of the fiscal year Miss Densmore was in Nebraska, her 
special interest being a search for songs that were recorded phono- 
graphically by Miss Alice C. Fletcher in the decade prior to 1893 
and published in that year by the Peabody Museum of American 
Archaeology and Ethnology. If Indians can be found who remem- 
ber these songs, they will be recorded again. A comparison of the 
two recordings will show the degree of accuracy with which the 
songs have been transmitted, and will be important to the subject 
of Indian music. 

The entire collection of recordings of Indian songs submitted to 
the Bureau by Miss Densmore has been transferred to the National 
Archives for permanent preservation. These recordings were made 
and submitted during the period from 1907 to 1940, all having been 
cataloged and transcribed in musical notation. Many hundreds of 
other recordings have been made, studied, and retained by Miss 
Densmore but not transcribed. Recordings submitted after 1940 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 65 


have been cataloged in sequence with the former collection. Thirty- 
five tribes are represented in the collection of 2,237 recordings, in addi- 
tion to a group of songs recorded in British Columbia in which the 
tribes are not designated. 


EDITORIAL WORK AND PUBLICATIONS 


The editorial work of the Bureau has continued during the year 
under the immediate direction of the editor, M. Helen Palmer. There 
were issued three bulletins, as follows: 


Bulletin 126. Archeological remains in the Whitewater District, eastern 
Arizona. Part II. Artifacts and burials, by Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. With 
appendix, Skeletal remains from the Whitewater District, eastern Arizona, 
by T. D. Stewart. xi+170 pp., 57 pls., 44 figs. 

Bulletin 127. Linguistic material from the tribes of southern Texas and 
northeastern Mexico, by John R. Swanton. v-+145 pp. 

Bulletin 128, Anthropological papers, numbers 13-18. xii+368 pp., 52 pls., 
(shes. 

No. 13. The mining of gems and ornamental stones by American Indians, 
by Sydney H. Ball. 

No. 14. Iroquois suicide: A study in the stability of a culture pattern, 
by William N. Fenton. 

No. 15. Tonawanda Longhouse ceremonies: Ninety years after Lewis Henry 
Morgan, by William N. Fenton. 

No. 16. The Quichua-speaking Indians of the Province of Imbabura 
(Ecuador) and their anthopometrie relations with the living 
populations of the Andean area, by John Gillin. 

No. 17. Art processes in birchbark of the River Desert Algonquin, a circum- 
boreal trait, by Frank G. Speck. 

No. 18. Archeological reconnaissance of southern Utah, by Julian H. 
Steward. 


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


Bulletin 129. An archeological survey of Pickwick Basin in the adjacent 
portions of the States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, by William S. 
Webb and David L. De Jarnette. With additions by Walter P. Jones, J. P. E. 
Morrison, Marshall T. Newman and Charles E. Snow, and William G. Haag. 

Bulletin 130. Archeological investigations at Buena Vista Lake, Kern County, 
California, by Waldo R. Wedel. With appendix, Skeletal remains from Buena 
Vista sites, California, by T. Dale Stewart. 

Bulletin 131. Peachtree Mound and village site, Cherokee County, North 
Carolina, by Frank M. Setzler and Jesse D. Jennings. With appendix, Skeletal 
remains from the Peachtree Site, North Carolina, by T. Dale Stewart. 

Bulletin 132. Source material on the history and ethnology of the Caddo 
Indians, by John R. Swanton. 

Bulletin 183. Anthropological papers, numbers 19-26: 

No. 19. A search for songs among the Chitimacha Indians in Louisiana, 
by Frances Densmore. 

No. 20. Archeological survey on the northern Northwest Coast, by Philip 
Drucker. 


66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


No. 21. Some notes on a few sites in Beaufort County, South Carolina, by 
Regina Flannery. 

No. 22. An analysis and interpretation of the ceramic remains from two 
sites near Beaufort, South Carolina, by James B. Griffin. 

No. 23. The eastern Cherokees, by William Harlen Gilbert, Jr. 

No. 24. Aconite poison whaling in Asia and America: An Aleutian transfer 
to the New World, by Robert F. Heizer. 

No. 25. The Carrier Indians of the Buckley River: Their social and relig- 
ious life, by Diamond Jenness. 

No. 26. The Quipu and Peruvian civilization, by John R. Swanton. 

Bulletin 134. Native tribes of eastern Bolivia and western Matto Grosso, by 
Alfred Métraux. 


Publications distributed totaled 11,882. 
LIBRARY 


There has been no change in the library staff during the fiscal year. 
Accessions during the fiscal year totaled 378. 

The library staff has relabeled and reshelved 5,137 books. The sec- 
tions of general ethnology and non-American material, and linguis- 
tics have now been entirely reclassified and reshelved. Library of 
Congress printed cards, so far as they are available, have been 
ordered for practically all of this material, when not already in the 
catalog. Part of the work of typing these cards and filing in the 
catalog has been completed and will be finished in a month or two. 

The sorting of foreign periodicals and society transactions has 
been completed and all material not in the library field has been 
put aside for appropriate disposal. A temporary shelf list has been 
made for this material and it is hoped that this section will be 
reclassified and reshelved by the first of the year. The checking lists 
for the second edition of the Union List of Serials were marked with 
our holdings and returned. 

The sorting of the pamphlet collection has been completed and 
more than half have been classified and shelved. Library of Con- 
gress cards where available have been ordered. In the future the 
library will have no separate pamphlet collection. All pamphlets 
that are kept will be classified and shelved with the books. Work 
has also been done on Congressional documents and some of this 
material is now’ classified and reshelved. Government documents 
from the War and Interior Departments, publications of the Chero- 
kee and Choctaw nations, and of various special boards and com- 
missions have been sorted and classified and all Library of Congress 
cards available ordered. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 67 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Following is a summary of work accomplished during the fiscal 
year by Edwin G. Cassedy, illustrator: 


LOAVES Ia eae) a Oe Oe ee Se Oe Eee Ss 602 
Stpplemarawine sae sa ee ee ee ee 3 
INV GANTUMO Del Willies ether ee a ee eee 4 
VUEY aspera eter AR One Le ha ee SS ee ne te ee eS 22 
Gara DNS ae A ie ey 6 
IbTatesyassembled) = eters. ie Re RT ee eee ee 95 
Photographs) retouched === 222s ee eee ee 14 
HGETO TIN S| OOS ee ent ee ee I OE ee ees 114 
Niuralpaintin gs = 2 Seer aed oe oe ea ee ean 2 
Neratives: retouched ®. 2c bis 2. e hic ab uk ae ees hss a 5 

ECG Chea ee ee SE et ee ee ek ON ee 867 


The month of December 1940 and the first half of January 1941 
were devoted to work on the new Index Exhibit in the Smithsonian 
main hall. 


COLLECTIONS 


Collections transferred by the Bureau of American Ethnology to 
the Department of Anthropology, United States National Museum, 
during the fiscal year were as follows: 

Accession 

No. 

124,559. Portions of a child’s skull and skeleton collected near Kissimmee, Fla., 
and sent in by L. R. Farmer. 

157,350. Skeletal and cultural remains from burial sites on Pennock Island and 
Dall Island, southeastern Alaska, collected during the summer of 
1940 by Dr. Julian H. Steward. (36 specimens.) 

157,796. Collection of 94 ethnological specimens from the Carrier Indians, 
obtained by Dr. Julian H. Steward in the region of Fort St. James, 
British Columbia, in 1940. 

157,965. Collection of ethnological objects purchased among the Iroquois Indians 
during the past summer by Dr. William N. Fenton. (3 specimens.) 

158,151. Collection of carved wooden masks and musical instruments collected 
by the late J. N. B. Hewitt among the Iroquois Indians of the Six 
Nations Reserve, Grand River, Ontario, Canada. (27 specimens.) 

158,498. Two unfinished wooden masks made by Tom Harris, an Onondaga Indian 
of the Six Nations Reserve, Grand River, Ontario, Canada, and 
collected in August 1940 by Dr. William N. Fenton. 

160,243. Archeological specimens from a sand burial mound on Lemon Bay, near 
Englewood, Sarasota Co., Fla. (25 specimens.) 

160,244. Archeological specimens from various mounds in the vicinity of Parrish, 
on Little Manatee River, Manatee Co., Fla. (61 specimens.) 

160,249. Archeological and skeletal material from a refuse and burial mound 
1% miles west of Belle Glade, in Palm Beach Co., Fla. (988 archeo- 
logical specimens. The skeletal material in this accession has not 
been counted this year, but the figures will be included in some future 
annual report.) 


430577—42——_6 


68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


MISCELLANEOUS 


During the course of the year information was furnished by mem- 
bers of the Bureau staff in reply to numerous inquiries concerning 
the North American Indians, both past and present, and the Mexican 
peoples of the prehistoric and early historic periods. Various 
specimens sent to the Bureau were identified and data on them 
furnished for their owners. 

Personnel.—Mrs. Frances S. Nichols, editorial assistant, retired on 
August 31, 1940; Miss Anna M. Link served as editorial assistant 
from September 1, 1940, to April 30, 1941, when she resigned to 
accept a position in the library of the United States National Mu- 
seum; Miss Nancy A. Link was appointed on June 1, 1941, to fill 
this vacancy. Miss Florence G. Schwindler was appointed on Jan- 
uary 6, 1941, as stenographer in connection with the preparation of 
the Handbook of South American Indians; she resigned on April 21, 
1941, to accept a position in the War Department. 

Respectfully submitted. 

M. W. Srirtine, Chief. 

Dr. C. G. Apzort, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 6 
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the ac- 
tivities of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1941: 

The appropriation allowed by Congress was $44,880, the same 
amount as for the previous year. There was also received by trans- 
fer from the Department of State $500 from an appropriation made 
by Congress to that Department for cooperation with the American 
republics. This amount was allotted to the Exchange Service for 
mailing packages of publications to the Argentine Republic and 
Brazil, so that they would reach their destinations without the delay 
which occurs when shipments are made through exchange bureaus. 
To all other South and Central American countries, with one excep- 
tion, exchanges are transmitted by mail under governmental frank. 
From repayments there was collected $3,036.53, making the total 
available resources $48,416.53. 

The number of packages received for transmission during the year 
was 576,282, a decrease of 63,062. The weight was 388,649 pounds, a 
decrease of 138,896 pounds. 

The following table gives the number and weight of packages sent 
and received through the service: 


Packages Weight 


Sent Received Sent Received 


from fr 
abroad abroad abroad abroad 


err | mn rr | ET | 


Pounds |} Pounds 


United States parliamentary documents sent abroad_-____--____ 349/020) [aaa eee aI a Bir Wy | | hee as ae id 
Publications received in return for parliamentary documents___|]__.__-___- Mi B64) | sees ee 4, 549 
United States departmental documents sent abroad___-_-_-___- 103; O52) eases ae ae OO OL |eoeeerie o- 
Publications received in return for departmental documents_-__|--_------- B)O445 he For en eee 6, 093 
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent abroad _- 9271960 ae ae en TIGS8077 [ences ose se 
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications received from 
abroad for distribution in the United States____.._-.._.------]---------- Pf enls 3) ae elas 24, 662 
ROL eaee an Ae eee So ae eek eke es Pe Ae See eee oS 644, 769 31, 513 353, 345 35, 304 


Grandifotal. os. Sat he ak Pe ee eee 576, 282 388, 649 


The packages referred to in the above table as sent abroad were 
forwarded partly in boxes by freight to exchange bureaus for dis- 


69 


70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


tribution and partly by mail directly to their destinations. The 
number of boxes shipped was 965, a decrease from the preceding 
year of 929. Of these boxes, 419 were for depositories of full sets of 
United States governmental documents and the contents of the re- 
mainder were for depositories of partial sets and for distribution to 
various establishments and individuals. The number of mail 
packages was 117,700. 

As stated last year, when a decrease in the work of the office was 
reported, the falling off in the amount of material handled is due 
to the interruption of the interchange of publications between the 
United States and many countries owing to the foreign wars. Ship- 
ments to nearly all the European countries, as well as to China and 
places bordering on the Mediterranean, have been suspended tem- 
porarily. Through special efforts, however, it has been possible dur- 
ing the latter part of the year to forward large consignments to 
Sweden and Switzerland. Transmissions were made to Finland 
and the Soviet Republic almost to the end of the fiscal year, but 
when those countries became involved in the European war, further 
shipments to them were suspended. One large consignment was for- 
warded to Spain during the year and several others were sent to 
Portugal. Owing to the conditions abroad, however, the Institution 
cannot follow any regular schedule in the sending of boxes to those 
two countries. With the exception of one or two short suspensions, 
there has been no interruption to the transmission of shipments to 
and from Great Britain, although, owing to the shortage of cargo 
space, it has not been possible to dispatch consignments as promptly 
as before the war. 

The British Museum and the London School of Economics and 
Political Science, both depositories of United States governmental 
documents, have requested that no further consignments be for- 
warded to them until the close of the war, because of the possibility 
of destruction of the material through the bombings of London. 
The Edinburgh Public Library and the St. Andrews University also 
have asked that publications for them be stored until the cessation 
of hostilities. No other requests for the withholding of transmissions 
have been made by British establishments. 

The very large number of packages for shipment abroad that are 
being held here awaiting the cessation of the war has over- 
taxed the space in the Exchange rooms to such an extent that it has 
been necessary to construct a storage shed in the grounds in the 
rear of the Smithsonian Building for storing the books. The struc- 
ture is made of corrugated iron and is substantially built. When 
the emergency is over, the shed will be used for the storage of empty 
packing boxes. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 71 


Since the outbreak of the European war in September 1939, so 
far as reported to the Institution, five consignments of exchanges 
have been lost, the details of which are given below: 


Five boxes forwarded to Denmark in December 1989 were destroyed on the 
dock in Bergen by fire caused by airplane bombardment. 

Five boxes sent to France in April 1940 were destroyed by fire at the Havre 
railroad station. 

Eleven boxes forwarded to England in November 1940 were lost at sea. 

Thirteen boxes sent to Germany in August 1939 were lost at Havre after 
the consignment was disembarked. 

One box, while in the warehouse of the Smithsonian agents in London await- 
ing shipment to the Institution, was destroyed in January 1941 by fire caused by 
airplane bombardment. 


FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS 


On account of conditions in Europe due to the war, several deposi- 
tories have been removed from the list of those receiving full and par- 
tial sets of United States governmental documents. This has resulted 
in reducing the number of those publications now received from a 
total of 104 to 92—55 full and 37 partial sets. 

The depository of the partial set in Haiti has been changed from 
the Department of Foreign Affairs to the National Library. The Hon- 
duran Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been added to the partial-set 
list. 

A complete list of the depositories is given below: 


DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS 


ARGENTINA: Direccién de Investigaciones, Archivo y Propaganda, Ministerio de 
Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, Buenos Aires. 

AUSTRALIA: Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra. 
New SoutH WaAtgEsS: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 
QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane. 

SouTH AUSTRALIA: Parliamentary Library, Adelaide. 

TASMANIA: Parliamentary Library, Hobart. 

Victorta: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

BELGIuM: Bibliothéque Royale, Bruxelles. 

Brazii: Instituto Nacional do Livro, Rio de Janeiro. 

CanapDA: Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 

MANITOBA: Provincial Library, Winnipeg. 
Ontario: Legislative Library, Toronto. 
QueEsEC: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec. 

Cute: Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago. 

CHINA: Bureau of International Exchange, Ministry of Education, Chungking. 

CoLoMBIA : Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Oficina de Depdédsito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 

José. 
CuBA: Ministerio de Estado, Direccién de Relaciones Culturales, Habana. 
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague. 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


DENMARK: Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen. 
Eeypt: Bureau des Publications, Ministére des Finances, Cairo. 
Estonia: Riigiraamatukogu (State Library), Tallinn. 
FINLAND: Parliamentary Library, Helsinki. 
FRANCE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. 
GERMANY: Reichstauschstelle im Reichsministerium fiir Wissenschaft, Erzie- 
hung und Volksbildung, Berlin, N. W. 7. 
Prussia: Preussische Staatsbibliothek, Berlin, N. W. 7. 
GREAT BRITAIN: 
ENGLAND: British Museum, London. 
Lonpon: London School of Economics and Political Science. (Depository 
of the London County Council.) 
Huneary: Library, Hungarian House of Delegates, Budapest. 
Inp1A: Imperial Library, Calcutta. 
{RELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin. 
IrAty: Ministero dell’Educazione Nazionale, Rome. 
JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo. 
LatvIA: Bibliothéque d’Etat, Riga. 
LEAGUE OF Nations: Library of the League of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 
Mexico: Direcci6n General de Informaci6n, Mexico, D. F. 
NETHERLANDS: Royal Library, The Hague. 
NEw ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 
NorkTHERN IRELAND: H. M. Stationery Office, Belfast. 
Norway: Universitets-Bibliothek, Oslo. (Depository of the Government of 
Norway.) 
Prru: Seccién de Propaganda y Publicaciones, Ministerio de Relaciones Ex- 
teriores, Lima. 
PoLaNnD: Bibliothéque Nationale, Warsaw. 
PortTuGaL: Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon. 
RuMANIA: Academia Romana, Bucharest. 
Spain: Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Avenida de Calvo Sotelo 20, 
Madrid. 
SwEDEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 
SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque Centrale Fédérale, Berne. 
TURKEY: Department of Printing and Engraving, Ministry of Education, 
Istanbul. 
UNIoN oF SoutH ArricA: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal. 
Union oF Sovier Socratist REPUBLICS: All-Union Lenin Library, Moscow 115. 
UKRAINE: Ukrainian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, 
Kiey. 
Uruauay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo. 
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 
YUGOSLAVIA: Ministére de l’Education, Belgrade. 


DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS 


AFGHANISTAN: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Publications Department, Kabul. 
Bortv1A: Biblioteca del H. Congreso Nacional, La Paz. 
BRAZIL: 
Minas GErAgEs: Directoria Geral de Estatistica em Minas, Bello Horizonte. 
Rio pw JANEIRO: Bibliotheca da Assemblea Legislativa do Estado, Nictheroy. 
BriITIsH GUIANA: Government Secretary’s Office, Georgetown, Demerara. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 73 


CANADA: 
ALBERTA: Provincial Library, Edmonton. 
BritIsH COLUMBIA: Provincial Library, Victoria. 
New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton. 
Nova Scorra: Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, Halifax. 
PRINCE EpwAkD ISLAND: Legislative and Public Library, Charlottetown. 
SASKATOHEWAN: Legislative Library, Regina. 
Cryton: Chief Secretary’s Office (Record Department of the Library), Colombo. 
Cur1nA: National Library of Peiping. 
DoMINICAN REPUBLIC: Biblioteca del Senado, Ciudad Trujillo. 
Ecvuapor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito. 
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca Nacional, Guatemala. 
Hartr: Bibliothéque Nationale. Port-au-Prince. 
HONDUBAS: 
Biblioteca y Archivo Nacionales, Tegucigalpa. 
Ministerio de Relaciones Hxteriores, Tegucigalpa. 
TIcetAND: National Library, Reykjavik. 
INDIA: 
BrneaL: Secretary, Bengal Legislative Council Department, Council House, 
Calcutta. 
BIHAR AND ORISSA: Revenue Department, Patna. 
BompBay: Undersecretary to the Government of Bombay, General Depart- 
ment, Bombay. 
BurMa: Secretary to the Government of Burma, Education Department, 
Rangoon. 
PunsaB: Chief Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, Lahore. 
UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH: University of Allahabad, Allahabad. 
JAMAICA: Colonial Secretary, Kingston. 
Liser1A: Department of State, Monrovia. 
Matta: Minister for the Treasury, Valletta. 
NEWFOUNDLAND: Department of Home Affairs, St. John’s. 
NicARraquA :Ministerio de Relaciones Hxteriores, Managua. 
PaNnAMA: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama. 
PaArAcuay: Secretario de la Presidencia de la Reptblica, Asuncién. 
SAtvaporR: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 
Straits SETTLEMENTS: Colonial Secretary, Singapore. 
THAILAND: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok. 
VATICAN Crtry: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy. 


INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL 


On account of conditions arising from the war, the sending of the 
Congressional Record and the Federal Register has been discontinued 
to certain countries. Haiti has been added to the list as a recipient. 
The number of copies of the Record and the Register now sent abroad 
is 78, having been reduced from 104. A list of the present depositories 
is given below: 

DEPOSITORIES OF CONGRESSIONAL BECORD 
ARGENTINA : 
Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Buenos Aires. 
Cémara de Diputados, Oficina de Informacién Parlamentaria, Buenos Aires. 


Boletin Oficial de la Republica Argentina, Ministerio de Justicia e Instruccié6n 
PfGblica, Buenos Aires. 


74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


AUSTRALIA : 
Library of the Commonwealth Parliament, Canberra. 
New SoutH Wates: Library of Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney. 
QUEENSLAND: Chief Secretary’s Office, Brisbane. 
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Library of Parliament of Western Australia, Perth. 
BRAZIL: 
Bibliotheca do Congresso Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 
AMAZONAS: Archivo, Bibliotheca e Imprensa Publica, Manios. 
BAuHIA: Governador do Estado da Bahia, Sao Salvador. 
Esprriro Santo: Presidencia do Estado do Espirito Santo, Victoria. 
Rio GRANDE po SuL: “A Federacao,” Porto Alegre. 
SAo PAvuto: Diario Official do Estado de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo. 
SERGIPE: Bibliotheca Publica do Estado de Sergipe, Aracaju. 
BritIsH Honpuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize. 
CANADA: 
Clerk of the Senate, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa. 
Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 
CusA: Biblioteca del Capitolio, Habana. 
Heyer: 
Chambre des Députés, Cairo. 
Sénat, Cairo. 
GIBRALTAR: Gibraltar Garrison Library Committee, Gibraltar. 
GREAT BriTatIn: Library of the Foreign Office, London. 
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca de la Asamblea Legislativa, Guatemala. 
Haitr: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince. 
HONDURAS: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Tegucigalpa. 
Houneary: A Magyar orsziggyiilés kényvtard, Budapest. 
InpIA: Legislative Department, Simla. 
INDOCHINA : Gouverneur Général de l’Indochine, Hanoi. 
Iran: Library of the Iranian Parliament, Téhéran. 
Iraq: Chamber of Deputies, Baghdad. 
TrtsH FREE STATE: Dail Eireann, Dublin. 
LEAGUE oF NATIONS: Library of the League of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. 
LEBANON: Ministére des Finances de la République Libanaise, Service du Ma- 
tériel, Beirut. 
LIBERIA: Department of State, Monrovia. 
Mexico: Direccién General de Informaci6n, Mexico, D. F. 
AGUASCALIENTES: Gobernador del Estado de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes. 
CAMPEOCHE: Gobernador del Estado de Campeche, Campeche. 
CHIAPAS: Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez. 
CHIHUAHUA: Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua. 
CoaHuItA: Periddico Oficial del Estado de Coahuila, Palacio de Gobierno, 
Saltillo. 
Cotima: Gobernador del Estado de Colima, Colima. 
Duranco: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Durango, Durango. 
GuaNaguATO: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado, Guanajuato. 
GueErRERO: Gobernador del Estado ce Guerrero, Chilpancingo. 
JALISCO: Biblioteca del Estado, Guadalajara. 
LoweEeg CALIFORNIA: Gobernador del Distrito Norte, Mexicali. 
México: Gaceta del Gobierno, Toluca. 
MicHoacAn: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado de Michoacan, 
Morelia. 
Moretos: Palacio de Gobierno, Cuernavaca. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 1D 


Mexico—Continued. 

Nayagir: Gobernador de Nayarit, Tepic. 

Nuevo LE6N: Biblioteca del Estado, Monterrey. 

Oaxaca: Periddico Oficial, Palacio de Gobierno, Oaxaca. 

PuEsLA: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Puebla. 

QueRéTaRO: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Seccién de Archivo, Querétaro. 

San Luts Potosi: Congreso del Estado, San Luis Potosi. 

Suvatoa: Gobernador del Estado de Sinaloa, Culiacdn. 

Sonoga: Gobernador del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo. 

Tapasco: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Seccién 3a, Ramo de Prensa, 

Villahermosa. 

TAMAULIPAS: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Victoria. 

TLAxcALA: Secretaria de Gobierno del Estado, Tlaxcala. 

Veracruz: Gobernador del Estado de Veracruz, Departamento de Gober- 

nacién y Justicia, Jalapa. 

YucaTANn: Gobernador del Estado de Yucatan, Mérida, Yucat&n. 
NETHERLANDS INDIES: Volksraad von Nederlundsch-Indié, Batavia, Java. 
New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

Peru: Camara de Diputados, Lima. 
RUMANIA: 

Bibliothéque de la Chambre des Députés, Bucharest. 

Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Bucharest. 

SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Fédérale Suisse, Berne. 

Bern: Staatskanzlei des Kantons Bern. 

Str. GALLEN: Staatskanzlei des Kantons St. Gallen. 

SCHAFFHAUSEN: Staatskanzlei des Kantons Schaffhausen. 

ZiRicH: Staatskanzlei des Kantons Ziirich. 

Turkey: Turkish Grand National Assembly, Ankara. 
UNION oF SOUTH AFRICA: 

Library of Parliament, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. 

State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Urueuay: Diario Oficial, Calle Florida 1178, Montevideo. 
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca del Congreso, Caracas. 
VaTICAN City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy. 


FOREIGN EXCHANGE AGENCIES 


The bureaus or agencies to which consignments are forwarded in 
boxes by freight are given below. To all countries not appearing in 
the list, packages are sent directly to their destinations by mail. 


LIST OF AGENCIES 

ALGERIA, via France. 

ANGOLA, via Portugal. 

AUSTRIA, via Germany. 

AZORES, via Portugal. 

Bretcium: Service Belge des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale de 
Belgique, Bruxelles. 

CANARY ISLANDS, via Spain. 

CHINA: Bureau of International Exchange, Ministry of Education, Chungking. 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de 
l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague 1-79. 

DENMARK: Service Danois des Echanges Internationaux, Kongelige Danske 
Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen V. 


76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Eaypt: Government Press, Publications Office, Bulag, Cairo. 

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

France: Service Francais des Echanges Internationaux, 110 Rue de Grenelle, 
Paris. 

GrRMANY: Amerika-Institut, Universititstrasse 8, Berlin, N. W. 7. 

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Wheldon & Wesley, 721 North Circular Road, 
Willesden, London, NW. 2. 

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

Inp1A: Superintendent of Government Printing and Stationery, Bombay. 

Iraty: Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Ministero dell’Educazione Nazionale, 
Rome. 

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

Latvia: Service des Hchanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque d’Etat de Lettonie, 
Riga. 

LUXEMBOURG, via Belgium. 

MADAGASCAR, via France. 

MApetrA, via Portugal. 

MozAMBIQUE, via Portugal. 

NETHERLANDS: International Exchange Bureau of the Netherlands, Royal Li- 
brary, The Hague. 

New SoutH WaAtsEs: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 

New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

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

PALESTINE: Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem. 

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

PortuGAL: Seccio de Trocas Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon. 

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

RuMANIA: Ministére de la Propagande Nationale, Service des Echanges Inter- 
nationaux, Bucharest. 

SourH AvusTRALIA: South Australian Government Hxchanges Bureau, Govern- 
ment Printing and Stationery Office, Adelaide. 

Spain: Junta de Intercambio y Adquisici6n de Libros y Revistas para Bibliotecas 
Ptblicas, Ministerio de Educaci6én Nacional, Avenida Calvo Sotelo, 20, Madrid. 

Swepen: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 

SwITZERLAND: Service Suisse des Kchanges Internationaux, Biblioth@que Cen- 
trale Fédérale, Berne. 

TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart. 

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

Union or SoutH ArricA: Government Printing and Stationery Office, Capetown, 
Cape of Good Hope. 

Union oF Soyrer Socratist REpusrics: International Book Exchange Depart- 
ment, Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Moscow, 56. 

VictorIA: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

YuaostavrA: Section des Echanges Internationaux, Ministére des Affaires 
Fitrangéres, Belgrade. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY rar 4 


After the expiration of the year’s extension granted Frank E. 
Gass, he was retired from the Government service February 28, 1941. 
However, having been appointed correspondence clerk on the Smith- 
sonian private roll, effective March 1, he is continuing to carry on 
his work in the Exchange office. 

Respectfully submitted. 

C. W. SHommaxrgr, Chief Clerk. 

Dr. C. G. AxBzor, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 7 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the oper- 
ations of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 1941: 

The regular appropriation made by Congress was $239,910, all of 
which was expended with the exception of $2,440 which represents 
savings from lapses in the filling of vacant positions. 


PERSONNEL 


An important personnel change was the appointment on June 
2, 1941, of Carter H. Anthony, D. V. M., as veterinarian. He came 
to the Zoo from the University of Arkansas, where he was engaged 
in animal disease research work. This is the first time in the 
history of the Zoo that a full-time position of this character has 
been filled. It is expected that this will result in a more careful 
dietary supervision, as well as much better medical and surgical 
attendance on the animals. Also closer cooperation can be given 
the various Government departments, as well as outsiders, in any 
experiments and studies in which the facilities of the Zoo are used. 

A much larger turnover in the force than in prior years has been 
occasioned by men accepting positions in work connected with the 
National Defense program. Included in this was the recall to active 
service of William J. Grant, senior operating engineer, a member 
of the Naval Reserve. 


IMPROVEMENTS 


The closing of the W. P. A. project at the Zoo on August 6, 1940, 
prevented improvements that had been contemplated for the year. 
The regular force is hardly sufficient to maintain routine repairs, and 
therefore few improvements were begun. 

The series of four waterfowl ponds was completed, and birds 
transferred there on July 29, 1940. This now makes one of the 
most attractive outdoor exhibits in the Zoo. It is especially so 
when viewed from the terrace of the new restaurant. 

The reptile pit on the south side of the reptile house was com- 
pleted by adding a small waterfall at one corner. 

78 


Secretary's Report, 1941.—Appendix 7 PLATE 5 


1. DINING ROOM, NEW RESTAURANT, NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 


2. BIRDS IN THE REFRIGERATED CAGE, NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 


The five birds are those received from Antarctic Service Expedition, 1941. The three large penguins 
right foreground, are emperors; the one to the left is a gentoo penguin: rear center, a kelp gull, 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 79 


The old waterfowl pond near the creek was filled in with earth 
and crushed rock, though no grading was done. Some planting was 
done in that area. It is planned to utilize this space for parking of 
cars and also to make part of it available for picnicking. 

Work was begun on remodeling the west side of the antelope build- 
ing, and at the close of the year it was about two-thirds completed. 
A cage is being constructed to house the pair of reticulated giraffe. 
This will give them a cage with a higher ceiling as well as a larger 
outdoor enclosure. 

The restaurant constructed by the P. W. A. under an allotment 
of $90,000 was completed in the fall of 1940. It is of the Virginia 
tavern type of stone construction. The main dining room is beauti- 
fully decorated with murals of carved lacquered linoleum, executed 
and mounted by Domenico Mortellito. This, with the outside ter- 
races overlooking the new waterfowl ponds, has proved to be a 
popular luncheon and dining place for the public. The new con- 
cessionaire, L. G. Leech, opened the restaurant for business on 
March 29, 1941. 

The area about the new restaurant was landscaped with evergreens 
and other trees and shrubs. An azalea garden of about 300 plants was 
laid out on the hillside west of the restaurant. This will greatly 
add to the beauty of the surroundings, especially when the plants 
are in bloom. In addition, about 200 wild azaleas, more than 100 
dogwoods, and about 40 redbuds, as well as other trees and shrubs, 
were planted about the grounds. 

It is with pleasure that we take this opportunity to thank C. A. 
Logan, of the Beltsville Agriculture Center, for the more than 350 
trees and shrubs that were obtained from their C. C. C. nursery. 
These included shade trees, flowering plants and shrubs, fruit- and 
nut-bearing types, and others suitable for ornamental purposes. 


NEEDS OF THE ZOO 


Proper buildings continue to be the chief need of the Zoo. Struc- 
tures most urgently needed which would complete its development 
are a new building to house antelope, deer, wild hogs, and kanga- 
roos; one for monkeys; and one for carnivores to replace the present 
building, which is no longer suitable for the exhibition of these 
animals, 

Since the closing of the W. P. A. project, and with the increase 
of exhibition areas, the existing personnel is inadequate to maintain 
the grounds in a presentable condition. It is therefore important 
that the maintenance personnel be increased by at least 10 men. 


80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


VISITORS FOR THE YEAR 


A record of the attendance for the year shows an increase of a 
little more than 300,000 visitors over the figures for last year. This 
is due in part to the increase in population in the city. 


A J a ee UE ee 221s TOO.  MCDLUAT ya eee ee 95, 800 
[NTU hae a ea ee 21Gy O00!” Min rele ae oo ee ee ac ee 171, 700 
September! 24 eee SLC HOO MTA pr 2. Sew ae eee ee 265, 000 
Octoben— 2 ere eee 1665200) (Mary 222 cere pe ee 2 ee 8 277, 800 
November <2 362k ..._ 169,900 June_----------------______- — 280, 100 
December’ so = 5 Lesa 134, 700 co 
SATUS Ty ee ei es 115, 600 dio) 2) a ee 2, 430, 300 


The attendance of organizations, mainly classes of students, of 
which there is definite record, was 48,050, from 876 different schools 
or groups in 20 States and the District of Columbia. This is the 
largest number of such groups ever recorded. A complete listing 
by States follows: 


Number | Number Number | Number 
of of (9) of 


State State 
persons parties persons | parties 

@omnnecticuysets2-Souserate ste 413 TU NVWONGWersey eee sas ee ores cee 2, 365 33 
Delaware: (=. Fe ss ese 626 AQ News VOLK. == eee ee 964 23 
District of Columbia_-__------ 8, 115 142'"||\"North’ Carolina--2-2 22292" — = 1, 457 39 
Georeiay es es eee 1 15 lose Soke Pa Re ee 1, 256 33 
LOU haley t ee 2 SS Re 38 ME ennsylvania ee] sees eee 10, 304 201 
Tndianase ee eee eee 31 14 KSouth@arclinas2ese—= seen 1, 474 38 
Kentuckyi}s.t2 Sail ein 128 Qn Nennesseeheses a eee eee. peee ee 135 4 
IMainG se es ee 100 Quill VirzininS Sse Se eas aed 7, 563 139 
Marylandits- Pes ide: prek be =u 9, 708 TON West Varginia= 2. 26a. teneee 2, 309 38 
Massachusettss.-c 2225-22 152 3 

IMG ob lesh ae ee RS a ee 875 9 

New Hampshire____..--_----- 121 2 Trotalliuc 2 Pelee 48, 050 876 


About 3 o’clock every afternoon, a census is made of the cars 
parked on the Zoo grounds. During the year 56,185 were so listed, 
representing every State in the Union, as well as Alaska, Canada, 
Canal Zone, Cuba, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Philippine Islands. 

Since the total number is merely a record of those actually parked 
at one time, it is not of value as showing a total attendance, but is of 
importance as indicating the percentage of attendance by States, 
Territories, and countries. The record for the year on this basis 
shows the District of Columbia automobiles comprised 38 percent; 
Maryland, slightly more than 24 percent; Virginia, 16 percent; Penn- 
sylvania, 4 percent; and the remaining cars were from other States, 
Territories, and countries. 

This is the first year that the cars were counted on Sundays and 
holidays. In previous years, the record showed that a little more 
than 50 percent of the cars were from outside the District. This 
year it is 62 percent, which substantiates our estimate of previous 
years that adding Sundays and: holidays to the count would show 
at least 60 percent from outside the District. 


REPORT OF THE) SECRETARY 81 
ACCESSIONS 
FIELD WORK 

SMITHSONIAN-FIRESTONE EXPEDITION 


A partial account of this expedition was given in the 1940 annual 
report of the Director of the National Zoological Park. 

Through funds donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the 
Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., of Akron, Ohio, a party was sent to 
Liberia, West Africa, for the purpose of collecting specimens for 
the National Zoological Park. The party consisted of the Director, 
Mrs. Mann, Ralph Norris, and Roy J. Jennier. They sailed on the 
American-West African Line on February 17, 1940, for Monrovia. 

A preliminary shipment of animals collected was made from Li- 
beria to Boston in the care of Roy J. Jennier, who arrived at that 
port on May 17, 1940. A list of these animals can be found in the 
1940 annual report. The remaining members of the expedition ar- 
rived in Norfolk, Va., on August 6, 1940, with 100 specimens, several 
of which were species new to the history of the collection. We 
again wish to express our sincerest appreciation to the members of 
the Firestone staff, both in Liberia and here, for the aid and 
hospitality given the expedition. 

A list of the live animals which arrived in Norfolk on August 6 
follows: 


SMITHSONIAN-FIRESTONE EXPEDITION 


Scientific name Common name Number 
Civetiictis cwetia_________-__..-_____. African ¢clvete a= oe ese eee 2 
GEN CHMANOCN Stas an ee os Oe) Dark "Senet oes see ee es 2 
INGMOMURTUINOLOIE =. ee SL JAE EICAN. PALM CLV Cleese eee a 
Galerella melanura___-_-------~------ Dwarf civet2we vito sree al 
PeEvOdIChOUs NotlOslc. =~ eal 8 Botte fia 2 Soe Bt Bie ee 1 
Cercocebus torquatus lunulatus_______- White-crowned mangabey__--_____ 1 
MERER GEN DLS 2 ee Man gabeys- = 6-5 a ee eee 6 
ESOT LI 5 a al a le a ie ake Whence 8 eee 1 
LETT SE: CGY Ty Se sei Sia RA a ES Sells ‘Baboons2 a= as seen anes cere eee 1 
Huzerus erythropus lacustris_______-_- African ground squirrel__.________ 2 
Meavord, COMeNnsis=as = ee 8 Ratelic tht Bet oe ee pe as Se i 
Cricetomys gambianus liberiae________. Liberian giant pouched rat________ 2 
Choeropsts liberiensis___.___._.____._____ Pigmy hippopotamus2 22-22 2 
ALRCTUNOVGTMCONG:—— West African brush-tailed porcupine 1 
igemoschus aquaticus. 2s ees CHevroraii® os eee ener es 4 
Vepnatophisinigen2) is. i ee Black duikerut Se IPE tees ae 3 


Cephalophus nigrifrons______________-. Black-fronted duiker__..___..______ 3 


82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


SMITHSONIAN-FIRESTONE EXPEDITION—continued 


Scientific name Common name Number 
OCrossarchws obscurus_—=_2— 2-2 ee Marsh? Civetsi2cs = ea ae eee 1 
Psittacusertthacus= 22 ee African) 2ray, (parrots s soos ss 2 
Agapornis pullaria_________-------~--. Red-faced lovebird_-_----__--_--___ 19 
Ceratogymna. elata___-_____-_____-_-_-. Yellow-casqued hornbill__-__----__ 1 
Stephanoaetus coronatus_____-_-------. Crowned hawk-eagle____-_--_-_-_--__ 2 
Gypohierar angolensis_______-_______- Hish-eating -vultures=22¢0 4= tS 1 
Kaupifalco monogrammicus___-------~- Northern lizard-buzzard_______--__ 1 
Accipiter tachiro macroscelides___-___-~ West African goshawk__-_----____ 1 
Bitlis MOSUCOTIS a ee eee DINOCeros) “Viperas sae ne 3 
Bites. gavonica = ee ees Gaboon: vipers se een ee eee 2 
NGI OS pe seeks ees Se eee Cobracse ees ease eee ee 2 
Python Sebde ses eee ene a West African python__----_-______ 2 
Varanus niloticuse 222 oes eee ee Nile: monitor =e ae eee 4 
UT INCH OUALS) SP eo seer se Le West African tree frog__-_--_____- 11 
RANQOCcipiuGlissn. ee 2 eee ee West African bullfrog--___-__-____ a 
Osteolaemus tetraspis_______-__-___--__- Broad-nosed crocodile-____________ 1 
Crocodylus cataphractus__________---- Narrow-nosed crocodile___________ 1 
ANTE Y SNOT OS Cae St ea Dea a West African back-hinged tortoise 7 
Pelusios derbianus.._..-- = 5 Turtle, 223220 bene ee es 1 


A summary of the specimens received from the expedition, 
including those in both shipments, follows: 


Class : Species Individuals 
Misr rma Ts ie le ee ea a 23 48 
STG ea a a a aren 2 a 15 42 
YTS 0) 51) Y= ER im ME lg A A NPS nell a bit La 20 76 
ACT ED Vey Se Se a oe en ds 2 15 
MVD a Sig) 2 ot eel i i ea 1 14 

Dg tee eee es Sl eS ee 61 195 
GIFTS 


Pleasant contacts made by two previous expeditions have resulted 
in the receipt as gifts of a number of desirable specimens. 

From the Firestone Plantation in Liberia, through George Sey- 
bold, manager, and Dr. Fuszek, Director General of Public Health 
of Liberia, the Zoo received a pigmy hippo, a western chimpanzee, 
a leopard, 2 rhinoceros vipers, a green mamba, a crowned hawk- 
eagle, and a porcupine. These resulted from associations made dur- 
ing the Smithsonian-Firestone expedition of 1940. 

Through contacts made by Malcolm Davis, Zoo staff member of 
the Antarctic expedition of 1940, an interesting lot of birds was 
received, including 8 emperor penguins, 4 Gentoo penguins, 2 kelp 
gulls, and a giant fulmar. These birds were collected through the 
cooperation of Richard Black, Dr. Paul Siple, Jack Perkins, Roger 
Hawthorne, and others of the expedition, and brought to the States 
by Herwil Bryant, Jr., whose painstaking care on the trip saved 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 83 


all the specimens. Other outstanding gifts include a pair of black 
bear cubs from Newbold Noyes, Washington, D. C., an ocelot each 
from Maj. C. V. Haynes, Langley Field, Va., and N. M. Rhodes, 
U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and a trio of tahr goats 
from the New York Zoological Park. E. A. McIlhenny, of Avery 
Island, La., has continued his generosity by sending a number of 
waterfowl, greatly adding to the exhibition value of the new water- 
fowl ponds. A complete list of donors and their gifts follows. 


DONORS AND THEIR GIFTS 


Mrs. Robert Adams, Washington, D. C., 2 opossums. 

Mrs. Reed Alexander, Washington, D. C., Virginia rail. 

Richard Archbold, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 2 ring- 
tails or cacomistles. 

S. D. Ashford, Washington, D. C., opossum. 

Mrs. J. K. Atherton, Hyattsville, Md., double yellow-head parrot. 

Judith Atkinson, Washington, D. C., white rabbit. 

Vernon Bailey, Washington, D. C., 5 antelope squirrels, 2 eastern chipmunks, 
mountain wood rat. 

Robert Ball, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Herbert Barber, National Museum, Washington, D. C., mink. 

Dr. T. Barbour, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., 3 Florida 
king snakes, 2 chicken snakes, garter snake, glass snake or legless lizard, 
horn snake. 

Mrs. Bemar, Bradbury, Md., 5 opossums. 

J. B. Berry, Washington, D. C., red fox. 

Howard Blanchard, Arlington, Va., 5 horned lizards. 

Mrs. Blumenberg, Washington, D. C., common pigeon. 

Warren Bowman, Washington, D. C., milk snake. 

Miss Wilma Bradford, Washington, D. C., 2 cottontail rabbits. 

David 8. Brown, Washington, D. C., Florida diamond-backed rattlesnake. 

Mrs. R. Brown, Washington, D. C., robin. 

J. Brylawski, Washington, D. C., great horned owl. 

Mrs. J. 8S. Burdette, Kensington, Md., double yellow-head parrot. 

W. W. Campbell, Riverdale, Md., barred owl. 

Patricia Chambers, Washington, D. C., white rabbit. 

Mrs. Cipriano, Washington, D. C., angora rabbit. 

Charles Clark, District Training School, Laurel, Md., 2 red-tailed hawks. 

Mrs. M. O. Clarke, Chevy Chase, Md., red-tailed hawk. 

Mrs. H. Clements, Washington, D. C., white-eyed parrot. 

Elias Cohen, Washington, D. C. (through J. N. Hamlet), copperhead snake. 

H. James Cole, Bethesda, Md., 4 green tree frogs, hog-nosed snake, 2 garter 
snakes, 6 common tree frogs. 

Martin S. Cooper, Arlington, Va., ring-necked pheasant. 

Mrs. B. J. Costello, Arlington, Va., 2 alligators. 

R. BE. Crouch, Washington, D. C., oppossum. 

Mrs. E. C. Davis, Washington, D. C., 20 guinea pigs, rabbit. 

Harry Day, Hyattsville, Md., king snake, 11 painted turtles, 9 spotted turtles, 
Snapping turtle, 2 musk turtles. 

W. M. DeNeane, Washington, D. C., common iguana. 

Benjamin C. Dooley, National Zoological Park, red-breasted merganser. 


430577—42——7 


84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Charles East, National Museum, Washington, D. C., pilot snake, fox snake. 

Robert Ellis, Washington, D. C., king rail. 

Mrs. M. J. Fadgen, Baltimore, Md., troupial. 

Dr. Ferguson, Washington, D. C., eastern cardinal. 

Albert A. Fields, Washington, D. C., rough-sealed green snake. 

Firestone Plantation, Harbel, Liberia, pigmy hippopotamus, western chimpan- 
zee, leopard, 2 rhinoceros vipers, green mamba. 

Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, Hast African porcupine, crowned 
hawk-eagle. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Beltsville, Md., 12 Canada 
geese. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., 8 black 
ducks. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Mattamuskeet Refuge, New Holland, N. C., pintail 
duck. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento National Wild Life Refuge, Sacramento, 
Calif., 10 cackling geese. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Seney Northwest Refuge, Germfask, Mich., 2 blue- 
winged teal. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Wichita Mountains, Wild- 
life Refuge, Cache, Okla., American elk. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, through H. A. Bailey, Pungo, Va., 3 whistling swans. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, through John N. Hamlet, Washington, D. C., Mlorida 
diamond-back rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake, chicken snake, pine snake, 
coachwhip snake, 2 pilot snakes, 2 eastern porcupines. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, through John M. Hopkins, Waycross, Ga., bald eagle. 

Fish and Wildlife Service through William Hopkins, McBee, 8S. C., for Caro- 
lina Sandhills Refuge, wood duck. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, through George Mushbach, National Bison Range, 
Moise, Mont., bald eagle. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, through Sam A. Walker, Manteo, S. C., 2 blue-winged 
teal, 6 American coots. 

Ralph Fisher, Hyattsville, Md., opossum. 

W. M. Fitch, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Wiley Ford, Washington, D. C., 3 guinea pigs. 

L. V. Friedlei, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Mrs. J. Friedman, Washington, D .C., screech owl. 

William Gee, Washington, D. C., barred owl. 

J. Gott, Washington, D. C., least bittern. 

Norman Gramam, Suitland, Md., great blue heron. 

W. B. Greenwood, Washington, D. C., 2 western rattlesnakes. 

Martha Hall, Glen Dale Sanatorium, Glen Dale, Md., Pekin duck. 

John N. Hamlet, Washington, D. C., tayra. 

Major C. V. Haynes, Langley Field, Va., ocelot. 

Helen H. Haynes, Washington, D. C., Pekin thrush. 

A. M. Hazel, Washington, D. C., barrel owl. 

Dr. A. Henry, Washington, D. C., weasel. 

Mrs. F. W. Hill, Washington, D. C., blue jay. 

G. A. Holland, Texas, 4 Texas rattlesnakes. 

Miss Hopkins, Washington, D. C., mourning dove. 

Miss G. B. Hudson, Washington, D. C., painted turtle. 

N. Hynson, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Mr. Jacobsen, Arlington, Va., 3 peafowl. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 85 


Mr. and Mrs. C. M. James, Landover, Md., horned owl, 2 valley quail, bobwhite. 

G. H. Jelinek, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Joel, Washington, D. C., ferret. 

A. L. Johns, Washington, D. C., painted turtle. 

Sgt. D. Jones, Police Department, Rockville, Md., black widow spider. 

John Paul Jones, Washington, D. C., opossum. 

Dr. Howard A. Kelly, Baltimore, Md., 2 marmosets. 

William Kennedy, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk. 

Cc. S. Kimball, Washington, D. C., Virginia rail. 

Mrs. H. Kingsland, “Blackstable,” Aiken, S. C., 2 barred owls. 

Mrs. Krast, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mrs. H. W. Lambert, Washington, D. C., 2 painted turtles. 

Brady D. Large, Washington, D. C., ring-necked pheasant. 

George Leonard, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

O. M. Locke, New Braunfels, Tex., 52 horned lizards. 

Mr. Lovell, Washington, D. C., large brown bat. 

Mrs. A. N. Lukacs, Washington, D. C., skunk. 

Ernest Lupton, Washington, D. C., black-crowned night heron. 

Mrs. J. A. Lyon, Washington, D. C., 2 Arkansas goldfinch, painted bunting. 

Mrs. J. A. Mandley, Washington, D. C., white-throated capuchin. 

Mrs. L. O. Manley, Chevy Chase, Md., ferret. 

J. P. Marshall, Alexandria, Va., great blue heron. 

Mrs. J. J. Marvel, Takoma Park, Md., Cuban parrot. 

Edward Matteossion, Bethesda, Md., weasel. 

Sgt. J. McAuliffe, Bethesda, Md., barred owl. 

B. McClellen, Washington, D. C., barred owl. 

Henry J. McDermott, Takoma Park, Md., 2 canaries. 

R. A. McGee, Washington, D. C., opossum. 

BH. A. Mctlhenny, Avery Island, La., 15 pintails, 3 green-winged teal, 4 canvasback 
ducks, 7 lesser scaup, 5 coots, 24 blue-winged teal, 3 Florida gallinule, 6 blue 
geese, 2 lesser snow geese, 3 hybrid ducks (greenhead and black mallard), 
ring-necked duck. 

Evan McLaughlin, Washington, D. C., ring-necked snake. 

Dr. H. R. Mills, Tampa, Fla., bald eagle. 

Vernon Mills, Fallon, Nev., 7 soft-haired ground squirrels. 

Mrs. R. T. Minahan, Baltimore, Md., common marmoset. 

Miss V. Moore, Washington, D. C., great white heron. 

G. Myers, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., 33 California newts. 

National Institute of Health, through Dr. J. Oliphant, 2 golden hamsters. 

J. A. Nettle, Washington, D. C., screech owl. 

New York Zoological Park, 3 tahr goats. 

Newbold Noyes, Evening Star, Washington, D. C., 2 black bears, 

James O’Hagen, Washington, D. C., woodchuck or ground hog. 

Mrs. H. A. Ourand, Takoma Park, Md., red-shouldered hawk. 

Logan Owens, Jr., Washington, D. C., coot. 

Miss Nancy Pelty, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Dr. Elmo Peters, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Capt. S. Picking, Coco Sola, Canal Zone, Panama, 2 Galapagos tortoises. 

John A. Plugge, Chevy Chase, Md., snapping turtle. 

Mrs. Virginia Poore, Mount Rainier, Md., white-throated capuchin. 

Mrs. Edward Portner, Washington, D. C., 4 skunks. 

Mrs. Pratt, Washington, D. C., turtle. 

Miss G. V. Rainey, Takoma Park, Md., alligator. 


86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Mildred Reed, Washington, D. C., water snake. 

Mrs. James Reeks, Washington, D. C., 4 snapping turtles. 

Mrs. Rehbein, Washington, D. C., weasel. 

N. M. Rhodes, Dispensary Bldg., U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., ocelot. 

Dr. Waldo Schmitt, National Museum, Washington, D. C., 2 James Island 
snakes, South Seymour Island snake. 

Mrs. Scott, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mrs. Lizzie Shelby, Washington, D. C., 4 pine snakes. 

Mrs. Sherry, Washington, D. C., 2 common rabbits. 

Robert Shore, Washington, D. C., red fox. 

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Shorts, Lander, Wyo., Philippine monkey. 

Robert Shosteck, Washington, D. C., fence lizard, snapping turtle. 

C. L. Sibley, Wallingford, Conn., 3 bantam chickens. 

Orville S. Simpson, Washington, D. C., tovi paroquet. 

B. Sisson, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Mrs. R. Sizemore, Mount Rainier, Md., 2 Muscovy ducks. 

Donald Skinker and William Wohlfarth, Washington, D. C., 3 garter snakes 

Joy Eloise Smith, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks. 

R. Smith, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia—see field work. 

Soldiers’ Home, Washington, D. C., red-shouldered hawk. 

W. H. Sterling, West Falls Church, Va., black widow spider. 

Louis Stone, Washington, D. C., mole snake. 

Rex Sullivan, Hudson, N. C., smooth green snake. 

Miss L. C. Tait, Washington, D. C., zebra finch. 

Clifton Taylor, Hyattsville, Md., snapping turtle, king or chain snake. 

Robert Thulman, Chevy Chase, Md., white king pigeon. 

Patricia and Terry Townsend, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck. 

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

Tropical Fruit Shop, Washington, D. C., opossum. 

Dr. W. G. Trow, Warrenton, Va., barred owl. 

U. S. Antarctic Service, Washington, D. C., 3 emperor penguins, 4 Gentoo 
penguins, 2 kelp gulls, giant fulmar. 

J. W. Urban, Arlington, Va., society finch, zebra finch. 

Albert Valeer, Washington, D. C., 3 common rabbits. 

Guillermo Valenzuela, Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Nicaraguan titi monkey. 

Ernest P. Walker, National Zoological Park, Washington, D. C., 5 ornate 
turtles, bull snake. 

Washington National Airport, Dispensary Building, ring-billed gull. 

Mrs. Way, Washington, D. C., 3 alligators. 

Mrs. Lena White, Harpers Ferry, W. Va., double yellow-head parrot. 

Karl Weissman, Kew Gardens, Long Island, N. Y., brown capuchin. 

Mrs. Martin Welch, Seat Pleasant, Md., opossum. 

Jess Williams, Washington, D. C., barred owl. 

Lanier Williams, Washington, D. C., water snake, milk snake. 

Shirley Ann Williams, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk. 

Miss Katherine A. Zehrfeld, Washington, D. C., alligator. 


BIRTHS 


There were 70 mammals born, 49 birds hatched, and 14 reptiles 
born or hatched during the year. 


OO 
~J 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


MAMMALS 
Scientific name Common nume Number 
Ammotragus ltervia__.____—--_~-__-___ YAN OU Oe se re ee ee 3 
AOtUS ITVUIGOtUs oe Douroucouli or owl monkey__---- 2 
PAIR CODES oe ale he SUES Le AXIS 7 Geer ee Seen eee ee ee 2 
EERO VEO RON eee ee eee ee PATO TET CTIA DLS ep TN eee 3 
PS OSTANGICUG tS US 1); SES ee de Bre Oe 1 
SEDI. AL EE eee Ding) 22835222 ae ee 3 
Canis lupus nudbilus—___—_~_-___-_-_— Risins wolf 22> ne Se oe eens 4 
UST U US ae ee ee Texas redicw oO lie 9 
er USHELAD NUS iat no ETOPCAN TOs CCRT n ee ees ul 
Chaeropsis liberiensis__.____.__._----. Pigmy hippopotamus______________ 1 
Cricetus cricetus subsp____----_-_- — = Golden hamster 2222 = eee 9 
DOM OONN a ee ee allow deer: 2 oes 4 
Wendrolagus: mustus. == = Tree Vkancaroos23 1 aie eee 1 
Dolichotis magetlanica__._____----~-~-. BPatazonian Chyy2 22 eee 3 
FU CLESEOTUC(Le mkt 23h Bt BRI eee ee Me pe ee eaten SER ht et Re 
LETT OTS AAG oS SEE Sees eee NU G22 a as ES a i A gS De PL al 
Leontocebus rosalia____-._-_-_...--_- — Lion-headed or golden marmoset_-_ 2 
VINE CLOCHL ATE UCL UE te ae et ee eee Mhesus monkeys. sans eee 1 
Macaca nemestrina__—_—---—--__---~ Pig-tailed macaque —______________ a 
MOCHSTON:: COUDU ao = Ae a =. (Coypulror nutriass o-oo e 3 
Onciyelis: geofroyi = = Geotiroyis, eat =. 2 ose eee 1 
CLLUIULS OT CUICEN S22 2 be a Lesser flying phalanger_____-_--_- 6 
PEP OUOTULO LON arte ne eee NO ee Blak \TaACCOON == ee 5 
VONER Hey Red t tore. 4.220 2 ee eee 2 
BIRDS 
Branta. canadensis... —----_~-__._~. @anada)co0se-2 as 16 
Guore altbaXG. rubra__-—-=—.--—__ = iy bridtibige =. ee ee eee il 
Limnocoraz flavirosira____—---___-_- APriCan blaclkaeral ee eee eee 4 
Nycticorar nycticoraz naevius__-__-_- Black-crowned night heron___--___~- 16 
ERUOUCTISIOUUS Se ee Bluevpestowle2=— AZ 
REPTILES 
Orotalus adamanteus= == Florida diamond-backed  rattle- 
SNARK CG Ao SS 14 
EXCHANGES 


There were not a great number of specimens received during the 
year through the medium of exchange. Ennio Arrigutti, Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, continued his shipments of desirable South Ameri- 
can animals. The New York Zoological Park sent a purple-crested 
plantain eater. A pair of green Japanese pheasants was received 
from the Miami Rare Bird Farm, Miami, Fla. Several shipments 
of reptiles have again been received from C. W. Kern, Tujunga, Calif. 


PURCHASES 


The more important specimens acquired by purchase were a harpy 
eagle and a pair of South American bush dogs, three naked-throated 


88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


bell birds, a pair of raccoon dogs, a pair of Chinese badgers and a 
pair of Peruvian viscachas. Also purchased during the year were 
a pair each of vicunas and llamas. This completed our exhibit of 
all the American representatives of the camel family. 


REMOVALS 
DEATHS 


A most serious loss during the year was the number of birds, 
mostly parrots, which died as the result of an epidemic of psittacosis 
in the bird house. A number of birds suspected of having the dis- 
ease were put to death. The entire building was closed, on advice 
of the Department of Health, District of Columbia, for about 3 
months. The parrot room is still closed to the public. It is believed 
that the situation is now well on the way to being cleared. Other 
losses included several chevrotain, and an East African leopard, the 
jast of the lot received in 1926 from the Smithsonian-Chrysler expedi- 
tion. A brown hyena which had been in the collection since 1928 
died during the year. Asin the past, all specimens of scientific value 
that died during the year were sent to the National Museum. 


SPECIES NEW TO THE HISTORY OF THE COLLECTION 


MAMMALS 
Scientific name Common name 
Cephatophusiniger== aaa ee eee Black duiker. 
Cephalophus nigrifrons2 =o. ee Black-fronted duiker. 
Euxerus erythropus lacustris.__ ----__._.------- African ground squirrel. 
Galerella mein. eee Dwarf civet. 
Genetiapoensisna ss 2 eS ea an Dark genet. 
TO GUAIN 01S COCCI ee Peruvian viscacha. 
Meles meles leptorhynchus______--------_-----. Chinese badger. 
ING OINOOTN OL ee ee African palm civet. 
BIRDS 

BAaUtCO POCCULOCHTOUL 8 ee ee Red-backed buzzard. 
Gallirexr porphyreolophus______--------_--_---. Purple-crested plantain eater. 
GYUponteren angolensisse= ee eee Fish-eating vulture. 
LOTUS) COMMTACOTLS ee ee ee aes Kelp gull. 
Macronectes giganteus--2 == eee Giant fulmar. 
Py goscelis papudaes2 = = eee Ae eee Gentoo penguin. 

REPTILES 
KAnigy serosa as ee ee ee West African back-hinged 


tortoise. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 89 


Statement of accessions 


. Mam- Rep- | Amphib-| yp. Arach- 
How acquired aaa Birds tiles ians Fishes mids Total 
Prosentodee a2. sec met ee Ed Soa 80 207 165 10 10 3 475 
Bormionphatched =e: 22 22s ss 70 49 bY EY | apt Ree Ee ie EY ere 133 
Received in exchange__.........._______- 16 40 39 bY | [ge ae re | De ae ete ee 129 
PPrrehinsc clear eae 2 Seal eet 13 57 16 2 BONES ee ee 138 
COs eC LEy oa") | ee eel Ee ee ey 18 bY Sol PARR ae Retro e | (Be eee ae ae 52 
Received from Smithsonian-Firestone 
Expedition to Liberia____...._._______- 41 31 23 x Ut) le ee oo a 110 
Received from Antarctic Expedition_____|_______- 2 CTE i SPREE IRE Rae es erat, Wied Mise hee) 10 
PL OGRE Se serra ee es ee ee ee 238 428 257 61 60 3 1, 047 
Summary 
PATI AISVON) NAM Oc ULY Al nhl O40 sae tte eS eee 2, 550 
PANCOSST OTL: CLUUTET Se GEN CO. VCE Rae BN te ss Ee 1, 047 
Totalianimals in collection/during yeari 2222 2 oe eee 8, 597 
Removal from collection by death, exchange, and return of animals on 
CDOS Geers Sacer aS he  e ek  e a Aly’ 
HUCONECtION Sune. SO.) OF se atin 2 cet ee Lo 2 ek 2, 380 


Status of collection 


Class Species toad Class Species indies 
IMarimbis soo re See et 221 ZOU | eUTISeC tS tee = een te eee 1 26 
lab tite Fes Sees ee re ee ee 327 O80: | eolliisks se Saat eee etl 1 5 
Reptiles2 22 2228 222 222s te 124 439) )||) Crustaceans -_- 2---2s-2-- oe 1 3 
Amphiblans! = 2:2-> 2.255 23 79 a 
ishes ero os sie San 8s 30 144 is Wo} 2 eee ep ee 730 2 380 
ATaAchnigs seo 2s sees 2 3 


A list of the animals in the collection follows: 


ANIMALS IN THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK, JUNE 30, 1941 


MAMMALS 
MARSUPIALIA 
Didelphidae: 
Didelphis virginiana______--.-_____.. Opossum’! "2 ae eee 4 
Dasyuridae: 
Sarcophilus ursinug_._.-.-__----___- Dasmanisn devils ee eee 1 
Phalangeridae: 
Peraurus oreviceps2s. = ees Lesser flying phalanger____________ 9 
Trichosurus vulpecula________-_-___- Vulpine opossumseese = sae 1 
Macropodidae: 
Dendrolagus inustus___-_----_------ Treejkangeroo- ee. ee 3 
Dendrolagus inustus finsechi__-_.____~ Finsches tree kangaroo________-___ 3 
Dendrolagus ursinus X D. inustus_._._ Hybrid tree kangaroo_____________ i 
Phascolomyidae: 


MOMOGLULE UrstiG eae ee ees Flinders Island wombat___________ 2 


90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


CHIROPTERA 
Vespertilionidae: 
Pipiesicus Fuscus. 22 Se See eee large Drown Datotoeae= oe 
CARNIVORA 
Felidae: 
Acinony» jubatus___-_____---_-____. Ghoetat-t te. tie ee ce eee 
CUS CROUGH 2 A= Aa ea need heat ee Jungle (Cate a ee ee 
Felis concolor puma 2 222 Patagoniany pumaa = ses) ae 
Melis L6G set os eA 2 ea eee, 8 WY a 0 ep ete Aa hh ere ew aul 
; Jap ua oe eee ee eae ee 
HWS ONE am analt Rese nae ea are fae (OU aT ee eae eee 
Weis, Panddhsss2 oes eee Ocelot see SoS see ae Be ae 
FCN pundit eee oe OT Ne ae leopard_------------------ 
Black Indian leopard22225)-2s22228 
Fes tigrnind 2 teste es ee eee Ma tony ti ra ee ee 
RES NLUQT 4S a ae ak hh ees Slee Bengal tigers 22222 eee 
Felis tigris longipilis________-------- Siberianitigers220 Soe es ee 
Felis tigris sondaicus._____-------—-. Sumatran) ticers eee ee 
TAINO OCMEYt Se eee oe ee es Bailey's) sliynik 2 P ee 
TIE GU TUS Se 2s ee Bays ya Ke Ee ee 
EAST AUT a oe eo ed OD Cait Sa See ee ee NS a 
INCOTeCiS NeUULOSds= == eee @loudedWleopard=== 
Oncifelis gcofroy_ Geotiroy:s Cato a2 22 eee 
Profeisitemmincki== 22 eee Golden'catiartsa4 4 Sse 
Viverridae: 
Arctictis binturong_—_------------~--- IBINtUTOng: £25 Su re ee eee ee 
Cwetiictis civetia_ eee @ivete:- eso Se hs See ee 
Galerella melanura___-------------- Dwart icivet{_- 2. a eee 
Moschothera megaspila__--------~--- IBurmesencivetZt = 2-2) ees 
Nandinia binotata_________-__---_--- AE EICAM Palm nCiVye tae eee 
Paradorurus hermaphrodytius______-. Small-toothed palm civet______--_-- 
Hyaenidae: 
Crocuta crocuta germinans____------ Hast African spotted hyena__------ 
Canidae: 
Canigalatranst Sie ee ae eee Coyote sti. sale ALO ees eee 
Canis latrans X domestica___------- Coyote and dog hybrid___________ et 
Canis lupus lycaon__--_----------~-- Aim ber Wolk: Stan See 
Canis lupus nubilus________________- BWV, OLB Aa lee Soe Ee re 
CONAS HU [US ees a is LE Texas Tred) wolf 22-3 ese se 2 ee 
Chrysocyon jubata_________-___--___ Manned: wolit=.eo ti) soi See 
Cuon javanicus sumatrensis_________ Sumatran wild dog_____-___---___ 
DUSTY OSSD ae oe ee ee South American fox______________- 
Pusicyon 'Spis ease ee ee South American foxes eee 
Urocyon cinereoargenteus___________. Gray TOR oe ee eee 
Vielpessfulvas2 ee ee WRG T Ox 2 82 2 aks ee eee 
Procyonidae: 
INGSUGINGTIC( 220 Oo a Coatimund 12222. ee 
POLOS SUMO US LN he SE ae al IKinkajouie = oe a eee 
RACCOON A | sho ees 
PROCUONMLOLON een eae ee a Le Raccoon (albino)___-_---_---_-_.- 
Black) raccoon22222222- eee 
Bassariscidae : 


Bassariscus astutus_________------_- Ring-tail or cacomistle____________- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


Mustelidae: 
Anctonya: coltaris-.2 Sse eee Hogibadser see ee ee 
AAG NlUutOlse 3 See Sei Wiaterhcivetss ota stan ee ee 
Charronia flavigula henricii____-__-- Asiaticomarten 2272 =. 62 eee 
Galictis barbara barbara_______--~--~- White fayras® ee ae ee 
GUMS SD. 2 ae oe ee el ee ee Browntta yrs 2s ike en Ae 
Cris One Glan Gavat = Te is ate Boron. Lae ls ee Ae 
Grisonella huronag__.—-—--~_--=- ==. Giiison! te i eae 
GUOMLUSCUS oe soos eee ee Wolverine22). 2. 2 es eee ae eee 
Lutra canadensis vaga____-------~--~- Moridaotters] 222k ete os 
WICLER RI PICSE a eee ee) Ones spl Huropeanjbadger-- = eae 
Melliwora capensis.______=----~---~~. Ratela2= 22225. 2..2 le ee 
MMennsitis nigra= 22 2 {eee ee ee EE Skunkeee oo Sip alinaty dea 
Micraonya teptony@s.----2--_ 3-2 - Small-clawed. otter222222 2s 
Mustela eversmanni____------------. Merret 22332 oe ee ee 
Mustela noveboracensis____---------- Weasel]ia fhe Se eal 
Mustela vison vison_______-=—------- Minks 33k ee ee As 
Ursidae: 
Huarctos americanus_______-_-___-_- American black bear-—--—=-=—--== 
Euarctos emmonsti___________---~~-- Glacier: bear. 222-7 2 saree ae 
Helarctos malayanus______-_------~- Malayzor sun hear! 222 =n ee 
Thalarctos maritimus___—-—- +=. Polar Abeer) eS eee pe3 
Thalarctos maritimus X Ursus midden- 
OT eh a a ee eee Hybrid! bear. 2-— 22 ae 
DT SUSU ON CLO SS a Has thes ed 2 pest dep AE European brown bear_____-_----- pss 
(GEES ot Se ae oe es Alaska Peninsula bear____-__---_-- 
Ursus middendorfit_.22°2625 2 ese. Kodiak brown bear..22-225) 2s 
UM SUS*SITKeNsis.. 22 Sitkaybrowny beat ee 23 
Wsusntheveraniis: 2 ee Himalayane bear. eee 
PINNIPEDIA 
Otariidae: 
Zalophus californianus________-_--_- California season]. 22 
Phocidae: 
IPROCGAMICRATOU= == Pacitiesharbor Seale = = ae 
PRIMATES 
Lemuridae: 
INUCLICEUUS: COUCONG == a. sen Slow: lois. 22s te el a 
PCr OUICUICUSEDOLLO= 2 es POttoO 22a se Ee ee 
Callitrichidae: 
COULTAD IACCRUS 2 OS ee Common) marmoset2=—— ee 
meontoceous rosalias =~ - = Lion-headed or golden marmoset___ 
MACOROnQCHtOb=— === 22 eo ee Black-tailed marmoset_—--------~-_ 
Oedipomidas oedipus__________-__--_- Pinche tamarin=2222 2223 2 eee 
Saimiridae: 
(SUC A Ee eee ee eee Nicaraguan titi monkey__---_---__ 
Cebidae: 
ALGTUS ETVUIT OG OUS n= Douroucouli or owl monkey__---_--~ 
LIERLES CLG ES ae ee es Brown capuchins== sae ees 
ICU SHCODUCIIIG 2 8S White-throated capuchin_________~-- 
UCU ET CTL CLUS 22 2 eas Weeping capuching==— = 
“OUAICES By a A en Pn ee eee Gray) capuchin= se eee 


Pathecus, monacha. = —) 2 Saki monkey 


92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Cercopithecidae: 
Cercocebus fuliginosus__-__-_-------- Sooty. mangabey—. 232s 19 
Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops_____- Grivet -monkey_=.2—--+2 sees 1 
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus___--~ Green :cuenoneet eh eo eee 7 
Cercopithecus diana__._—--_=-~-=_--—- Diana .monkey222255 425546 2s 1 
Cercopithecus neglectus_____--------. De Brazza's guenon=—- aes of 
Cercopithecus petaurista_____------~ _. Lesser white-nosed guenon__-______ il 
Cercopithecus roloway___-_--------- Roloway monkey al 
Erythrocebus patas__.-_-_---_----_- Patas:;monkey=--3 25-32 See 2 
Mactce fuscata. 2 = eee eee Japanese: monkeys. 2s ease 2 
Macacatlastotisici22 ie ee ees Chineseimacaques=—- eee 2 
MACdCG MOndagd ea oe Javan: molkey= eee 9 
Macacoumulatig=2= 22 a a eee Rhesus), monkey2=-2— eee 4 
Macaca nemestrina________---------. Pig-tailed macaque_--__-.._--____— 6 
MaGCacaNstleniss eas 22a Wanderoo monkey—--~-_~-_~-__-__ 1 
MQCOLG) Sinica se eee ee eee Toque or bonnet monkey___________ 3 
MaAGUSIINCUTU Sia eS ee ee Moor: monkey 22222223 eee 5 
Mandrillus leucophaeus_____-_------- Drill ee eh ee eee 1 
Mandrillus spring. eee Mand rill. Se ee ee 3 
IPODIOS COMAWUSE ae = ee ee Chacmazs 225 555° ae eee eee 1 
IPAPONDap Obes ne oe ear Ares he West African baboon_--_-_-________ 1 
‘Paniolspa eee eS West African baboon_----___-__-__ 1 
Presbytis senex nestor____-______-____. Western purple-faced monkey_-___-_ 2 
Hylobatidae: 
Hylovalestagilis=aa eee Sumatran .cibbon=—-=—— ae 1 
Hylobates tar piteatus2=— 22 Black-capped gibbon___..__-_____-_- 1 
Symphalangus syndactylus_________-. Siamang, cibbon es pe a 
Pongidae: 
PANTSOLY GUS ee Bee eo nee Chimpanzee. .2 32 ee ee eee 4 
POM SALUT US CCUG ee ee Western chimpanzee______________ 1 
(PONgO (Gbeltt = soe ee Sumatran oraneutan==— ee 2 
ONGOSDYGINACUS ae at eee Bornean orangutans s ese 1 
RODENTIA 
Sciuridae: 
Ammospermophilus leucurus____-__-- Antelope: squirte]=2=2 ssa see aa 
Citellusemolis= = 20 es ee Soft-haired ground squirrel________ 4 
Cynomys ludovicianus______-_______- Prairie: Gog: 2.2 eas 16 
Glaucomys votans__-_ Biyingssquirreles2e eee 1 
Marmota monag === ee Woodchuck or ground hog___-__-__ 3 
Scturus jintaysont2 22 ee Lesser white squirrel_____________ Be 
SCiuinusnnige =e a ew Southern) fox squirrel] 2 aseee 3 
Tamigsstriatug ie ee eee Hastern’ chipmunk ibe oie 
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus_________-_- Red! ‘squirreloe ces eee a 
Heteromyidae: 
Dipodomys deserti_______-_.--___--_ Desertikaneanoo ates eee 1 
Dipodomys merriami________-_---_-_- Merriam kangaroo rat__--_-_-~-- Shen | 
Jaculidae: 
Jaculus jaculiss ts see ee Heyptiany jerboae oan. eee al 
Castoridae: 


Castonxcanadensiss ee Beaver 222 ees eee 1 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


Cricetidae: 
Cricetus-cricetus subsp___=—--—~-=——— Goldenshamsters2 33 eae 
Cricetomys gambianus______-__--__-- Gambia pouched rat-_--__-------~_- 
Neotoma floridana atiwateri______-_- Round-tailed wood rat---_-----~-- 
Ondatra abethica. = Black? muskrat: 2a ee 
Peromyscus californicus.____-___-__. hong-tailed.;mousel==2-= 2-5 
Peromyscus leucopus..-_____-_ = White-footed ‘mouse! —_. = 
Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis_. Northern white-footed mouse_----- 
Peromyscus maniculatus____-------- White-footed mouse____.-------__ 
Peromyscus maniculatus osgoodi____- Black-eared deer mouse_-----~~- aon 
Peromyscus polionotus polionotus_._.__ Old-field mouse_-------------_---- 
Muridae: 
Rattus norvegicus (albino) ~__----__- White rat: 2222.2 ee eee 
Hystricidae: 
Acanthion brachyurum___----------- Malay porcupine.—- 2 eee 
Atherurus africana_..-—-...-..-=~~. West African brush-tailed porcu- 
Pin@ e222 a ee eee 
i astrar G0leGt a. = Hh = Sens 9S East African porcupine_-___-__-~- 
RCCUTUS SUING C632 San A a See Brush-tailed porcupine___-_______- 
Erethizontidae: 
Coendow prehensilis-.- 2.5 +. Prehensile-tailed porcupine___----- 
Hrithizon dorsatwm_.——-==-—~--.— ~~~ Hastern “porcupine 
Erithizon epizvanthum___------------ Western porcupine__-----_____-___ 
Myocastoridae: 
MajOCOStOT COUDU = = ae ae INUOT ee e  e 
Capromyidae: 
Capromys pilorides.._.=8 2-2 utigi es a ee eee ee 
Cuniculidae: 
Cuniculus paca virgatus__.____-___---_- Central American paca=—__..-____. 
Dasyproctidae: 
Dasyprocta croconota prymnolopha__. Agouti__-._--------___-_-___~_-~- ‘s 
Chinchillidae: 
Lagidium. viscaccia...___-__-—_ =. Peruvian. yiscacha==--——— 
Caviidae: 
Cavia porcellus________- _=_._.______.. Domestic guinea pig-_-____----_---_ 
COMGDOTCELII SS a = ae eee Domestic guinea pig (angora 
breed) 2-225 = ee ee awe? 
Dolichotis magellanica_____________- Patagonian Gayyoo aes se ee 
Pediolagus salinicola__________-_-~-. Dwar: Cavys-o..- ee eee 
LAGOMORPHA 
Leporidae: 
Oryctolagus cuniculus_____________-. Donestic rabbit eee 
ARTIODACTYLA 
Bovidae: 
Ammotragus lervia_._.= ==» AQUG AU 22 2s oe = een ee 
Anoad depressicornis_________~_.___=. O00 Cr) ee eee Semen ase eee a eee eed 
PESRU OSE CUTS oe ai ts Saeed De Gare 220 Cee ae 
eerie! fy ab thstie t whdkeadt saital an | f50) 1 ee ore SU wa au 
Al bing) PISO ee ee ree 
EO SEAT OAOULS eee ne ee ee he FDU ee SS eee A DL 


94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Bovidae—Continued. 
Oephalophusinije==- Duaiker-2242 52 See Se eee ae 
Cephalophus nigrifrons_____-__----~-- Black-fronted duiker__-_-_--______ 
Conmnochaetés gnu_---—- 2-3 White-tailedtenu eee eee 
Hemitragus jemlahicus______-__----. ahr 28s 2 ot ea Bea 
Orye beisa annectens—__—.-—=~ === Tbean \beisaroryxee se eee 
Ovts europaeus Se eee Moufloni 4a ee, SE es 
Poephagus grunniens___------_-----. Veet: 2S aed ES ae fe A 
PSeudots nanhunase eet eee Bharal or blue sheep____----_--_-_ 
Syncerosscaujier-22 22 Se eee African? buftalo===s—=) eee 
TQUROLvaguear Ory Dee =2 2 eee sees Bland! 2-c4eee 2 eae es eee 
Cervidae: 
A CUS eB US RS A ee dy 2 EIT AXIS -.eePsee 2 387 Ab seers Sores 
Oervus canadensis2a- ee Wiapitics 22 2526s 2 eer 
Cervus duvaucelii- ae =e ee iBarasinghar deers2o-32 2 eee 
Cervusrelaphiss ae ee) Cee eee Huropean: red: deers 22 o22 2. _ sa ie 
ae ornate ence cin Tee | Browntallowideersss. == eae 
White fallow deer.2. === 
Muniiacus muntjak___._------------- Rib-faced or barking deer____--__-~ 
Mamitacus, simensis=—— 2-2 se ee: Chinese rib-faced deer_________--__ 
Odocoileus costaricensis___________~- CostasRican. decreas eee 
Odocoileus virginianus___--_-_-----~- Virginiadeer=.2 ae eee 
Sica nip DON es ES Japanese. deer. ae ee 
Tragulidae: 
Tragulus javanicus=2—— = 3 ee Javan mouse deer_____-_-__-_____- 
Giraffidae : 
Giraffa camelopardalis______________ Nubian: firatiena 2556 Sa ea 
Grafica Reticulated giraffe_.________== === 
Camelidae: 
Camelus bactrianus__--__ Bactrian’ (camels 222-2 eee 
TONES GUC ee Inlam aya See eee es ee ee 
LONG UOnGCUS= eee ae ae Sen Guanaco 2S eee 
EL OMNG DOCOSH = <2 DA OS SS Alpacas... eee eee 
VAGUGTORULCUGT Cae ee Vicunai2- se ee ee eo eee 
Tayassuidae: 
(P COON ONGULTTUS 2e  ee Collared: ‘peceary====—== == es 
TOUASSIL DD CCONt === = es eee White-lipped peccary__-___-----_-- 
Suidae: 
Boorse curs ee Babirussa se 2 ses SN ee a ee 
Phacochoerus aethiopicus massaicus_. East African wart hog_----------- 
SUSESCTOi Use ae eee Huropean wilds boars =a 
Hippopotamidae: 
Choeropsis iberiensis._______ ---__-_- Pigmy hippopotamus____--__-_____- 
Hippopotamus amphibius____-_----~~- Enippopotamus2=s2=—.—=— ae 
PERISSODACTYLA 
Equidae: 
FIQUUMOT CD Yt eee Grevy's *zebrafee tee 
Hquus grevy7-asinus___ = Zepra-ass hyprid= 222220 
Haquus grevyi-caballus.___________-__- Zebra-horse hybrid ee 
I QUUSTICLO 1 Ge ae nee ey ene oe Asiatie wild ass or kiang______-__-_ 
GUUS DT ZCIOGUSh ia ae Ee Mongolian wild horse_______------ 
Hquus quagga chapmani__-________-. Chapman's (zepr ase =) eee 


I QUUS ZED Te sae epee a ae oe Mountain zebras ees 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


Tapiridae: 
AcrocodiaAndieas = 2 Asiatic: tapiteas=-—- 2 sas 
Tapiretla batrdwt_____+-__-=+--=4+_.. Central American tapir____-_------ 
ROUTE LEVY SUNS oe ee South American tapir__._____-_--- 
Rhinocerotidae: 
DCEO OLCOT NAS eae 2 he Re Black ‘rhinoceros === 2-2 2s 
Rhimoceros wnicornis_______-----~-~ Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros_ 
PROBOSCIDEA 
Elephantidae: 
Hlephas sumatranus______-__-------- Sumatran: elephants= 222" 222 2222——= 
Lozodonta africana oryotis_________ ‘African’ elephants 222 228 
EDENTATA 
Choloepodidae: 
Choloepus didactylus_________-_~---- ‘Two-toed> slothi22 2-2. see 
Dasypodidae: 
Chaetophractus villosus______-_----- Hairy arma dillo==22 eae 
Dasypus novemcinctus_____--------- Nine-banded armadillo_______--__- 
BIRDS 
STRUTHIONIFORMES 
Struthionidae: 
UTULnAO COMeClUs == South African ostrich__-______--~- 
BHEIFORMES 
Rheidae: 
Fe a ee Se Common rhea or nandy] ae ee 
White rhea=*-. soe eae 
CASUARIIFORMES 
Casuariidae: 
Gasuarius: bennett = = =. Bennett's) cassowary—__ = 
OSLO AUS US = = oan ee CASSOWATY2 = 5 4 ee ee, 
Casuarius unappendiculatus_____---~ Single-wattled cassowary_--------- 
Dromiceiidae: 
Dromiceius novaehollandiae______-_-_ Common, (emus!) 2222 eee 
SPHENISCIFORMES 
Spheniscidae: 
ADLENOUYLES [OT stert__- = Himperor penguin]. se Se 
EV GOSCOUS DONUO e Gentoo! pene wines. a eee 
Spheniscous demersus__.—__________-- Jackass penouin= = 2 
TINAMIFORMES 
Tinamidae: 
WOLONCZUS  CLCOUNS = = aa eee Crested, tinamous2=)2 2222 ae 
Nothura maculosa__——.——---.---..-.- Spotted. tinamous= ee 
PELECANIFORMES 
Pelecanidae: 
Pelecanus californicus____._-______--. California brown pelican__-_--_-__ 
Pelecanus conspicillatus________-___- Australian) pelicanss2235 2222225 — 


Pelecanus erythrorhynchos__—--__---~ American white pelican___-____-___ 


96 


Pelecanidae—Continued. 
Pelecanus erythrorhynchosXP. occi- 


Pelecanus occidentalis___--____-__-= 

Pelecanus onocrotalus._____.-__----. 

Pelecanus:1o0seus #22) ee eee. 
Sulidae: 

MOTAUSTDOSSONUSE Se es Bee er ae 
Phalacrocracidae: 

Phalacrocoragz auritus albociliatus___ 

Phalacrocoragr auritus floridanus____ 
Anhingidae: 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


American white and brown pelican 

(hybrid) 2222-3. ee eee 
Brown pelicanl--222 les seen eee 
Huropeanspelicansa22 = sss ou 
Rose-colored pelican________-_--__ 


Ganne Hise eae ee ie eee 


Harallonicornmorant ss se eee 
Hlorida, cormorant= 2 


CADUAILO Gi GOUTUUILG Ca = es ee Anhinga oo os 2a aoe 2 ee 
Fregatidae: 
Pregataiariel 22 aan. see eee = lesser’ frigate bird=--=2== ss 
CICONITFORMES 
Ardeidae: 
AT EG LCT OUND Sa ae e eeeerre e eae Great blue yherons 22a eee 
Ardeasoccidentalis) ae seem Great: white: heron]=) 2s 
Notophoyz novaehollandiae_________. White-faced heron__-..___-______- 
Nycticorag nycticoraxr naevius___-__- Black-crowned night heron___----- 
Cochleariidae: 
Cochlearius cochlearius______-__-_-_-. Boatbill heron22222 22222) ae 
Ciconiidae : 
DiSsOurd CpisCopus== ==. ae ee Woolly-necked stork_--..--------- 
EHphippiorhynchus senegalensis___-_-. Saddle-billed stork_____-______-___ 
TOAS CON EN EUS he 2 TNS IE Ee Malay istorke! 22 2 ee 
Leptoptilus crumeniferus__________~- Marabou 2s fats ase eee 
Hepioprus duos. 22 ee Indianiadittant== ss eee 
Leptoptilus javanicus_______________ esser adjutant: 22 eee 
Mycteria americana. Wood iDISs= ete ee ce ee 
Threskiornithidae: 
AFCA Os ee eo eee nee Ee Roseaterspoonbil meses eae 
GUO ae ee ee ene She Whitey bISe aan sae eee eee 
GuaravalaxXG. 70rd. Hybrid ibis (scarlet and white) --_ 
CUOMO ALOT Ceara ee Oa Searlet ibis_____ NUE varie ee ed ee 
Threskiornis aethiopica-_____-__-___ Sacrediibisne\=sse sere on eee 
Threskiornis melanocephala______-__ Black-headed: bisa ee ee 
Threskiornis spinicollis_____.________. Straw-necked|ibis2 2222 ees 
Phoenicopteridae: 
Phoenicopterus chilensis_____._-__-__. Chilean flaming oes =) 2e2n ese 
PROCELLARIIFORMES 
Procellaridae: 
Macronectes giganteus_________-____ Giant) folmart22o2 ee ee eee 
ANSERIFORMES 
Anhimidae: 
Chauna: cristata ee Crested: screamer!02 2 
Anatidae: 
AIO ODORS a Oe ee Wood. ducks. et eee es 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 97 


Anatidae—Continued. 
Alopochen aegyptiacus_______-__----- Ngyntinn. so0ses- oe 1 
PANGS UFUSILONSIS == oe ee Brazihantteale 22. eee 2 
ANGSidOmesticd == 22-22 Ree a Pekin. duck] 3242-2 eee eee 27 
Anas platyrhynchos__.___--------~-- Mallard) duck. eS BS 
ANAS TUUTIDES ate ee Pe Black or dusty mallard__-__-_-_-__ 1 
ANSON ALDA;V ONS. SB ese ee American white-fronted goose__-_-- 3 
Anser cinereus domestica_____---~~-. Toulouse _g00se= == Se 1 
Anserinas semipalmata______----_--. Australian pied goose_--_---------- 2 
BranigWernicla. Se, ES Brant. 22-3. eee eee 1 
Branta canadensis.__._____-____-__-- Canada) goose- ee eee 20 
Branta canadensis minima___--~---~- Cackling: s00se-—= = 23) eee eee 10 
Branta canadensis occidentalis_____- White-cheeked goose_------------- 15 
Cairina moschata______----------~-- Muscovy duck. 222233 eee 8 
Casarca, variegata 2222 ee ese Paradise. duckiti2352) seas i 
Cereopsis novaehollandiae______---~- Cereopsis or Cape Barren goose__--- il 
Ohenvatlanticass see ee hoe Snow. go0se.s_ 5 aS ee eee 7 
Ohen._ caerulescens===2-. == +--=2--- Blue: goose. 22 oe ee 8 
Ohenonis atrata22 2222) Sse eee Blacksswanz=2=-).. ee ees 4 
Chloephaga leucoptera______--------. Magellan ‘goose. -= eee 1 
Chloephaga poliocephala________----~ Ashy-headed upland goose_--_----- 2 
Coscoroba coscoroba. 2) 2k: s-ss—s = Coscorobat.22 2 ae eee 2 
Cygnopsis cygnoides_______--------- Chinese. goose... 22-2 ee 3 
Cygnus columbianus._.--—=——---_-_- Whistling swan = ee 5 
Cygnus melancoriphus___-----~-----~ Black-necked Swan=—-- = 2 
CYONUSEOLOT ae Mutes swan.) 22 Ss eee 2 
PD Ce TL Cie CURE 8 ea Oa ss iPintail= 6.2222 os eee 8 
DOIG SPUNACWUOG = ee Chilean. ina) Ee 1 
Dendrocygna arborea_____---------- Black-billed tree duck-----------~ 3 
Dendrocygna autumnalis_____------- Black-bellied tree duck_----------- 2 
Dendrocygna viduata______-------~-- White-faced tree duck_-___-------- 4 
Mareca americana_._-—-------__---- ‘Baldpatecs ise ae ee 1 
EERO NS a8 aoe es ae esser Scanp = eee 2 
MOY ALG COMMIS Sates, es ee 2 Ring-necked: duck==2_ 2222 eee 1 
Nettion carolinense_______------_--- Green-winged teal_.________----_- oe 
ENTE 1 A) NO Se eae 1 cae 2 Hybrid: duck= 2-2 te eee a 
Nyrocaoalisinerias 202 2 @anvasback duck) eee 2 
Plectropterus gambensis_______------ Spur-winged goose____-_----------- 2 
Querquedula discors___.______-----_-. Blue-winged”teal__- 13 
FALCONIFORMES 
Cathartidae: 
Aegypius monachus______-__-------- Cinereous. vulcure==-—- il 
Oathariessaurgs. = ee Turkey -yulture. === ee 3 
Cathartes auraXCoragyps atratus___. Black vulture and turkey vulture 
hybrid) ea See eee il 
Coragupssatratus. es eee 'Blacky vultures22-222 eee 1 
Gymnogyps californianus______--_-_-.- California: condor.) = 2 
Gypohierazr angolensis_________---~-. Wish-eating vultures i 
Gans rieppelli = cei, wee oles Ruppel’s volture= = 1 
Kaupifalco monogrammicus___----~-~-. Northern lizard-buzzard_______---- il 
Sarcoramphus papa_.______---------- King vulture... 25. ee 1 
orgossirochehotuss_ == ee African eared vulture_______------ 1 


WUE OTY DIS = = as ee South American condor_----------- 3 


98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Sagittariidae: 
Sagittarius serpentarius_____-___----- Secretary. bird 2.22208) 2") sees 

Accipitridae: 
Accipiter tachiro macroscelides_____- West African goshawk__-_.-__-_-- 
iButeo borealis cae eS ee eee Red-tailed hawk -co2s62 222522288 
Buteo Wneatus sos ees See ase eee es Red-shouldered hawk_------------ 
Buteo melanoleucus______-_-_-------- South American buzzard eagle__-_-- 
Buteo poecilochrows__—__-__-____--_- Red-backed buzzard_--__-_---__---_ 
Buteo swainsoni______-__-__-----_--_- Swainson’s’ hawkis sss 
Haliaeetus leucocephalus______------ Bald. eagle: .2 5. Se ee eh 
Haltasturindus: ee eee Brahminy, kite= === ee 
Harpid) NOGDY C222 eee Harpy eaglesi2220 se eee See 
Hypomorphnus urubitinga___-------- Brazilians eagle: 22a ae eee 
Milwago chimango___---_----------- Chimango 2.2). Ses oes 
Milvus migrans parasitus_____----~_-. Wellow-billed: kite 2S ee 
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis____-_-~ Osprey. or fshi hawks] ee 
Parabuteo uwnicincius____..--- = 4 -. One-banded hawk =~ 222222222" 222 
Stephanoaetus coronatus______--_---. Crowned hawk-eagle___----------_ 
Uroacius auder.- eee Wedge-tailed eagle______----__---- 

Falconidae: 
Cerchneis: sparveriuss2 Sparrow, hawkils= ee eee 
Cerchneis sparverius cinnamominus__ Chilean sparrow hawk__--_-------- 
Daptrius americanus_____-_---__--_- Carancho. 2.22 ea eee 
Polyborus cheriway__ == Audubon’s caracara__----—=—---=-— 
RPoWvorus plancus= 42. ee ee South American caracara___------~ 

GALLIFORMES 

Cracidae: 
Cranjasciolcta== =e ee Crested curassow--.---~---------- 
Crax rib re eee ee se Panama curassowe--)-——— 
Craccsciaten 2 ee Sclater’s curassow—-----_--------- 
Malini ee eee ee eee Razor-billed curassow__----------- 
Penelope Spree ees Guan tee oe ee eee 

Phasianidae: 
ALCCLOTIS "OT CECO Sees eee Chukar partridge 
Argusianus argus.o—-—--_ = Argus’ pheasant==— 
Chrysolophus amherstiae______------- Lady Amherst’s’pheasant__-----___ 
Chrysolophus pictus _____-__ = -_ Golden pheasants.2=-—. 24) 242-5223 
Colinus virginianus_______---------- ‘Bobwhite! 202. ae ee 
Coturnia coturniz______-___---_____- Migratory) quails: eee 
Eexcalfactoria chinensis_________--__- Blue-breasted button quail_________ 
GGUS OCU Sa eae hs ee ee Jungle TOWles os ae Sy eae 
Galius lafayettt=22- eee eee Ceylonese jungle fowl_______-__--_ 
Gallus: spe 2 ee Bantam: fowls - = eee 
Gollustsp! jobs eek See ee Araucanian (fowlso=* =) eee eee 
Gallus sp.x Numida galeata____-----. Chicken and guinea fowl hybrid___ 
Gennaeus Wneatus_ oe Lineated pheasant._-_.-_---._-_--_ 
Gennaeus nycihemerus_____--------- Silver: pheasants=]22 812 eae 
Hierophasis swinhoti_--_-__------~--. Swinhoe’s pheasant____-_-----__-- 
Lophophorus impeyanus_____-------- Himalayan impeyan pheasant__-~---_ 
Lophortyx californica vallicola___-—-. Valley, quiai}sieeeser ied ee a eee 
Dophura rubrav. 2 ae Malayan fire-back pheasant____-__-_ 
Pavo cristatus--. = 22 ‘Peafowl22-222. ee 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 99 


Phasianidae—Continued. 


Pave amnuticue sa 5 *~ Sees tee. Green peafowl-2-_ 28s22ee= coe se 1 
3 Ring-necked pheasant_______--~--- 1 
Phasianus torquatus———------------- oe ring-necked pheasant_______- 2 
Phasianus torquatus formosanus____- Formosan ring-necked pheasant-____ 1 
Phasianus torquatus (var.)---------- Melanistic mutant  ring-necked 
pheasant.) = es eee ees 3 
Phasianus versicolor__-__._-_.----.-- Green Japanese pheasant____-_---- 4 
Polyplectron napoleonis___-_-------- Palawan peacock pheasant_-----~- a) 
Syrmaticus reevesi________-------- =. Reeves’ spheasantste2i > suieehee il 
Numididae: 
Acrylium vulturinum____----------- Vulturine guinea fowl___---------- 1 
Nang asp a. === Nae i ee Guineatiowh22e seks sees 4 
GRUIFORMES 
Gruidae: 
Anthropoides paradisea____--------_-. Paradise (cranes. = 2 = 22s sae 2 
Anthropoides’ virgo =. Demoiselle'crane.=_— eee 7 
Balearica pavonina_______---------— West African crowned crane__-_--~ 3 
Balearica regulorum gibbericeps___-_-. Hast African crowned crane___---- 1 
TUM COROMETICONG 222 2a8 sere Se American):coot.— 3 ese eee 10 
Grus canadensis canadensis____-___-- itthlesbrown crane2—- nase 1 
Gres vleucauchen== 22s sore pent White-naped crane___----__-_-__-- 1 
CRUSTICUCOQETONUSE == ae ee Siberian .cranes2o. 22 eee 2 
Rallidae: 
Gallinula chloropus cachinnans___-~~ Moridaycallinul essa eee 4 
Gallinula chloropus orientalis____-_-_-.- Sumatran‘gallinules #22055" =-2355 2 
LTimnocoraz flavirostra______-------- African black rales ee 10 
Porphyrio poliocephalus_______----~- Gray-headed porphyrio_-_--------~- 2 
Eurypygidae: 
HULU DUO O CUCU =k Serre ae tse Sunbitterm] 2 = tee eee al 
Cariamidae: 
Cariama cristata____.~-4-=-—---_-- Cariama or seriama——=s_ =. = -2 25s 2 
CHARADRIIFORMES 
Haematopodidae: 
Haematopus ostralegus_------------- European oyster catcher__-_------- 2 
Charadriidae: 
Belonopterus chilensis________----~-~-- Chilean lapwing==22-=) = 2 
Scolopacidae: 
Philomachus pugnar____------------ Rutt SS ee ee eee 1 
Laridae: 
OTUs OT Gentats. = — es ee Herring cull’ sie eo ee 1 
NGO TUS  @ELQADGT ON sts = = Ring-billed) cull eee 1 
Larus dominicamus.__--- === -_-- Kelprcullzi 2283S 2 
PHTeS QUMICESCONS 8 Glaucous-winged gull______----___- 1 
Larus novaehollandiae______-__--__- Silver gull. - ese 16 
COLUMBIFORMES 
Columbidae: 
Oalumbiaguinea—- 2s — = Triangular-spotted pigeon_____-_-- il 
Columba livia (domestic) -------_-~-. Archangel mizconssstees seen eee rf 
Columba livia (domestic) -----------_- Man-tailed: pigeons. 22ee 1 
Columba maculosa____________--_-— Spot-winged pigeon_____-_-___---_ 1 


430577—_42——_8 


100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Columbidae—Continued. 
Columba palumbus______-___---_---. Wood) pigeons 228 os aaa at 
Ducilasaenea. See ae eee ee a Green imperial pigeon_____________ 1 
Gouraoristaia2s2 see eh eee Sclater’s crowned pigeon________-__ al 
Goura ,oictoride 223 =e eee Victoria crowned pigeon___--______ 1 
Lamprotreron jambu___------------- Pink-headed fruit pigeon__-_______ 1 
Leptotila, riifacitlau ee ee Scaled'ipigeons 22 e202 wite eee it 
Muscadivores paulina-_—_---_------ Celebian imperial pigeon___________ al 
Streptopelia chinensis_______-___-_--- Asiatic collaredsdovyes=2222 2 3 
Streptopelia chinensis ceylonensis___._ Lace-necked or aSh dove____-______ 6 
Streptopelia semitorquata__________-. African red-eyed dove___--_______--_ il 
PUTT FAS OT US 2 Lee ear Turtledove! ss cesses eee: Lee q 
Tympanistria tympanistria fraseri_._.£.'Tambourine pigeon________-_______ 2 
Zenda auriculatas——- == _. South American mourning dove_____ 11 
Zenaidura macroura__________—-_-—— Mourning (0). ese= = ee 3 
PSITTACIFORMES 
Psittacidae: 
Agapornis pullaria__________-___._ 2) Red-tacedulovebird222 ens eases 12 
AT@ GTO GUNG sane ae ee a ae Yellow and blue macaw__-__--_---_ 3 
ARC sCRIOVODCERG. 222 = aa we Ul any Red and blue macaw_____-_-__-___ alt 
ATE MNOCAG2 222s stlleesd eee EET Red, blue, and yellow macaw___-__ 2 
Ara manilatac- neni ae eee Illiger's.macaw= 2222 if 
Ara militaria 2223 2 See Saeee Mexican green macaw__------_---- 1 
Aa SOVER GE me Ae eae aN aa Severehmacawaste22 a2 22 ae 1 
Aratingaieuops 6s ee ee eee G@uban‘conures.2% 2 eee 1 
Calyptorhynchus magnificus________~ Bankstanicockatoos 22-22-22 ee 1 
Coracopsis: nigra. 2 See eee Lesser vasa sparrots2 2 renee al 
Cyanopsiitacus spivi__-__-_- Spix’s) Macaw ss2fs 522 he eae 2 
Domicella flavopalliata_______-__----_ Red Jory. 22.0) 2 ee) eee 3 
HICLECIUS MECLOTALisa. = =e eae Helectus@ partotss2 =.= == aa 2 
Holophus roseicapillus______________. Roseate) cockatoos22 2 ee 2 
Hupsittula canicularis_____________-- Petz paroquet222 eee eee al 
EQUEGLO CR LUG Co ae tat eae Wihite:icockatoo 222 tas oa ees 2 
Kakatoe galeria. aa eee Large sulphur-crested cockatoo____- 3 
KGkaloe lead 0eatlent === ee Leadbeater’s cockatoo__-__-_--__--~ 1 
Kakatoe moluccensis____________-__- Great red-crested cockatoo____--__- 1 
TGKALOC SUD TUE oe ee Lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo______ 5 
Kakatoe tenwirostris2 es ae _ Slender-billed cockatoo_______-_--- 1 
Orisa OmiCellas= = eee Rayah* lory 22222 cet eee 2 
LOMUUSROONTUNLS Soa ee ee nee ae REE TOT Ye ea ere are as Sone eee 2 
Melopsittacus undulatus_______------ Grass parakeet: 22 2>ses2.2 eee 6 
Microglossus aterrimus______-_----~- Great black cockatoo___._______-_-- al 
Myopsitta monachus___-----------~- Quaker*paroquet==s— ae i 
Nandayus: nandayss: 2222 ee Nanday -paroquét-2 2 =e 1 
Neston notavilis= 2s ee eee Re ea eae bet rene ae ee eee eu ere 2 
Nymphicas hollandicus___-_____--_-- Cockatielien2\)22 Semen iron ee i 
Pionites canthomena_2—- = Amazonian Chiquessss =e ee 2 
Psittacwia eupatma—-- == Red-shouldered paroquet__-__----- 4 
PStUTACULC ICT OIC aa ee eee Keramer'sparoquetses sess aa 4 
Psitiacula longicauda_______________. Long-tailed paroquet_____-_------- 2 
IPSULOCUS CTULNGCWS= 2 ee ee, ACI Can Sra ys PALO b= ee 2 
Tanygnathus muelleri______-_------- Mueller parrot oe ee ee 1 


Trichoglossus cyanogrammus___——-—- Green-naped, lory2.2=2 22222 ss see 1 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


CUCULIFORMES 
Cuculidae: 
Gentropus sinensigoaue. 22S ses e Sumatran coucals == eee ae 
Eudynamis scolopaceus___-_--------- Roeliss fru eat ode eka “sia! ek 
Gallirex porphyreolophus__---------- Purple-crested plantain eater_____- 
STRIGIFORMES 
Tytonidae: 
Tyto alta pratincola.22+-—-—-+- ==. American) barnjowless- 2 as ae 
Strigidae: 
BuUu00 Or Quvignuseis 2. Se es Great: horned) owl=2222-—- 2 > 
MGI G Kelupuan a. SoS Sees Malay fish owes 2 ase ee 
OUESTES10 aS Ses Be ee Screceh! owillsas kee Sou ee 
SiitD DONG) CONG es ee ee IBarredO wl. cee eee ee ade 
CAPRIMULGIFORMES 
Podargidae: 
Podargus strigoides=_— === a Dawny frogmouths =.) =e 
CORACIIFORMES 
Alcedinidae: 
DD} CCC} OMOVI GS ee eee Kookaburra] = sat Set ee eee 
Halcyon pyrrhopygius_____---------- Red-backed kingfisher__._._.___-__-____ 
FETIOYOM SONG ILS mea = ee ee ee Ssered® kinetisher=2222 22 eee 
Momotidae: 
MMOMOTUSN LESSON ee Mot 0 tt ee 
Bucerotidae: 
BUCETOS GRAINOCENOS ee Rhinoceros, hornbpilla a eee 
Bucorvus abyssinicus_______________. Abyssinian ground hornbill___---~-~- 
Ceratogymna elaitaz= = s2 Yellow-casqued hornbill___-_--__-_ 
Dichocercs Dicornisa—- == = 3 eS Concave casque hornbill__-____--_- 
PICIFORMES 
Ramphastidae: 
Ramphastos carinatus____.-___--_--. Sulphur-breasted toucan__-__------ 
Ramphastos piscivorus_________--___ Noco:toucan eS ee 
PASSERIFORMES 
Cotingidae: 
Procnias.nudicollisa2 208 oe Be ee. Naked-throated bell bird_________- 
Rianicola rupicola.— so == see eS Cock of: the rock. Se eee 
Corvidae: 
Calocitta formosa 822 22st sss Mexican magpie jay--------------- 
Otssarchinensigea-2 a ae ee Ghineseeissal 2 aes eee 
Conpisralois ees 2am Se et ~ White-breasted crow------------~-- 
Corvus brachyrhynchos__-__--------- AAMETICAN) CrOW = ee 
Coreussoonnig ss ee Eooded= crow. 22 eee eee 
Corousieoronoides.22_= 2 ATIStralian CLOW see ees 
Corvusieryplroleucisel Se ese White-necked raven_________--____ 
COppusHinsolens. == =o ee Ny et Indian Crowe eee Cee ees 
Ovanocitiareristate= = ees, Ble ay see ee ee hs Le BBY 
Cyanocorazr chrysops__.--.-~-------- Wer alti ay ea 
Cyanocorar cyanopogon___---------~ White-naped jay_i iS ee 


Cyanocoras mystacalis_____.___-_._--- Moustached jay_--_-_ 


102 


Corvidae—Continued. 


Gymmorhina hypoleuca______-___- _-_ 


Pi0a NuUliquii ss 2 eA eee 
PACH MCOANUGS ONIG2 a eee: 
Urocissa occipitalis_____.__________-~ 
Paradiseidae: 
Ailuroedus crassirostris_____________ 
Epimachus fastuosus___-_________. —- 
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus__________- 
Seleucides niger. ee ee 
Unranornsubr ds eee 
Pycnonotidae: 
Otocompsaijocosus22=2 == ee 
Pycnonotusianthis2.- ees 
Pycnonotus bindentatus__________-__ 
RULDI GUL SONS DO ae ee ee, 
Trachycomus zeylonicus_____________ 
Turdidae: 
MEesia Orgentqinise. = ee eee 
Mimocichla rubripes________________. 
LUG USOT OY Ue re ee ete ee 
ITE ROLTKS GO UTI en 
Laniidae: 
UG USEO OTS C11 Se 
Sturnidae: 
Cosmopsaris regiwts_—-—---—_ -—--__=- 
Creatophora cinerea________________. 
Galeopsar salwadorii______________--— 
Ch GTA TRANG OS 
Molothrus bonariensis______________- 
TAD LOLS te LULD Diane se ee ee 
Ploceidae: 
Coliuspasser ardens= 2-2 = 
Diatropura procne_=--—— 
Mania Mage aes Se ee ea ea 
Mauniainrovceg 22 a eS. 
MuniaOry2Zwvordga 2 2a eee 


Munia punctulatus____-_-_----_-___- 
Ploceus 000022222 ee ee ee 
Ploceus intermedius__._________--___-_- 
Ploceus rubiginosus.—-—--_ 5 
Poephila acuticauda___________-___-. 
Quelea sanguinirostris intermedia___- 
Stegawura paradisea_______---___-_- 
Taeniopygia, castanotis_______------- 
Icteridae: 
Agelaius assimilis. = 
Gymnomystar mexicanus_______-___- 
Teterus icleruse = ee eae 
INOUODSOT CUTGCUS= = — ene eee 
Xanthocephalus canthocephalus_____. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


White-backed piping crow_----___- 
Yellow-billed magpie________-___-_- 
American) magpie==S ae eee 
Red-billed blue magpie_--_-------- 


ZATIStralianm cat bind#s222—2 55 =s sea 
Sickle-billed bird of paradise__--_-- 
Satin bowerbird 2s See 
12-wired bird of paradise______---~- 
Red: bird of paradise 222) 2o22 255 


Red-eared bulbul== = eee 
Yellow-vented bulbul_______-----_- 
Orange-spotted bulbul_____________ 
Red-throated bulbul___.________-__- 
Yellow-crowned bulbul________---- 


Silver-eared mesia_.-____-__-----_ 
Western red-legged thrush__---_--~ 
Bonaparte/s thrush sss eee 
Argventinesropin se ae ee ee 


Splendidistariins=22.==== = 
Wattled | staring=__ 
Crested) (starling==s2aa ee 
Southern hill mynah_-_---_-______ 
Shiny; (cOwbDitds22 2 eas eee 
Military starling=22-)=2—-2=——=——= 


Red-necked whydah__-__-__-_--___ 
Giant whydah 
White-headed munia____-__--_-__-_ 
Black-throated munia—____________ 
Java eS DaltO We a= =a eee 
White Java sparrow_-----_------- 
Rice bird or nutmeg finch________--_ 
Baya, weaver. 2 ee eee 
Black-cheeked weaver__---------- 
Chestnut-breasted weaver_—-----~~ 
long-tailed! finche=2 25222 .s see 
Southern masked weaver finch_---_ 
Paradise: whydahs22 352s) ess 
Zebra’ finch2= 242222 2S ae ae 


Cuban red-winged blackbird_______-_ 
Giant oriole]. = <2 ae eee 
Troupial 
Chilean’ blackbird2==222=--=—= 2 
Yellow-headed blackbird__—----~-- ye 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 103 


Fringillidae: 
Amandawa amandava____----------- Strawberry finchssst2 ss 2 Se 27 
Coryphospingus cucullatus_____----~-- Red-crested | finch 24 2s se se eee 2 
Cyanocompsa argentina__----------~ Argentine blue grosbeak__-----_--- 2 
SCE AU ee ee Diuca fineh=—=-- es ae 2 
Lophospingus pusillus____.__-_------~- Black-crested finch____-___--__----- + 
WMetopyrrha nigra... 320 See Guban: bullfinch=—_ = ae il 
Paroaria cucullata_22—— =. ~-+--__- Brazilian’ cardinal! =a ee 5 
IBCASCTINGTOMN Gre eS = = ee Painted bunting=——-—— ae i 
Pheuctious tibialis_—_ 2 et Yellow: ‘grosbeak-=== 3s ih 
Phrygilus fruticeti____ 222+ Mourning: finch... +7 ie" 4eeee 16 
IPhrygilus: gayi. Bas Pe eet Gay’s gray-headed finch_--------~-- 7 
Senwus canarius—.. 2 -— 5. angry *22 2 202 ee eae at 
Bicais fiiveolt= == 2a JA ee Mystorfinch= =.= == ae eee al 
IIOULESIMNINOT = se lesser-yellow finch= 2 6 
SPINUSiPSQlirid 28 8s Arkansas! goldfinch==—==== === 1 
Spinus uropygialis_______-___-_-_-_----. Chileans Siskin ss <2 hee oe 3 
Sporophila aurita___-__._____-__----- Hick’s seed-eater= =... => 2 ee 2 
Sporophila gutturalis________-------. Yellow-bellied seed-eater____----~- 2 
Troms olivace@=222- 2s... Mexicany grassquita=—2s- = ee 1 
Uroloncha leucogastroides______---_- Society) finch 22s a ae 1 
Volatinia jacarini_________-_______-. Blue-black grassquit_______-----_- 1 
Zonotrichia capensis__________-~--- = I@HIN O10 2283 8 oo a 2 A 3 
REPTILES 
Crocodylidae: LORICATA 
Alligator mississipiensis______.______- Alligator 2-22 Ae ee ee 388 
TAU GQ OUOT SEN CTUSU aa an Chinese alligator: => = 3 
Caaman tatirostris_—-= se Broad-snouted caiman _____-_____- 1 
COSTE SCLET ONS fa Be Spectacled ecaiman-—_..--_-_--_-_ 3 
CLOCORYUIS OCUTUS eos tee American, crocodile: = 3 il 
Crocodylus cataphractus____.________. Narrow-nosed crocodile____________ of 
Crocodylus niloticus __.__ = ATTICAn Crocodiles =.—2 = il 
Crocodylus patustris._ “oad? Crocogile== = = 25 2a eee 2 
CrOCOdUUS NOrosuss 8 oe Salt-water crocodile_-+—- === == 1 
Osteolaemus tetraspis_______.________ Broad-nosed crocodile______-_-_____ 2 
Agamidae: SQUAMATA 
Physignathus lesueurit____.__________ Lesueur’s water dragon____________ 1 
Gekkonidae: 
CGECIORUC CKO ee et ee nt ee ae ee GECKOS ae ae See eae ee ee ee 4 
Iguanidae: 
oA NOUS CUT OUNENSS eee eer nts oe Halse ‘chameleons. e ees 25 
PATO TESREITULCS LIAS 2 oe eet Giant Vanoligso 2s ee ee 1 
LPR STS ELON OLLL (a rp ie a DA gv C0; ah hea ee ee il 
Phrynosoma cornutum____-_-_______-_. orned) lizard == 25. eee ee 25 
Sauromalus obesusn 22 @huckwallae 222 ee eS 2 
Sceloporus undulatus_______________. Hence Jizard=Ssecer a= ae sea Zz 
Anguidae: 
Onhssaurus apuss = 92 European glass snake________-____ 1 
Ophisaurus ventralis________________ GIasst snakes. © see 2 ee Be 3 
Helodermatidae: 
Heloderma horridum_______________- Mexican beaded lizard________ ee ye 


Heloderma suspectum______________- Gilat ON Sessa ene errr eee oe 6 


104 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Teiidae: 
Tupinambis nigropunctatus______---- Teo lizard< <== eee 
Tupinambdis rufescens_____-_-------- Red! tegu) lizards2e2ae) eek ee eae 
Tupimambis teguivin_-__-__----------- Yellow tegu lizard=2225 2.23225 

Scincidae: 
Egernia cunninghami___------------ Cunningham’s) skink2222 sess see 
Tigua mgrolutea._-— se Mottled’ lizard222== 28022222225 
Tiliqua. scincoides22 = Blue-tongued lizard-__-__--_-------- 

Varanidae: 
Varanus komodoensis___._----------- Komodo dracon] =- =) eee 
Varonus niloticus_2 2-82) ee African monitors ee 
WOranus) Salvatore: ase eee Sumatranemonitor—_- = 

OPHIDIA 

Boidae: 
BOW COOK ste ee ee eee Cook's stree Dod eee 
OConstrictor constrictor22— eee Boa constrictors] se eee 
EMPtCrates CONChTIS= wana e eee Rainbows DO ae ee eee 
Ei piCrates Chas susees i sas ee Salanrantas 22 2S Sesiee eee 
Bpicrates striatus. — = eee Haitian bod se eee 
(PATRON OUTS ae ee eee Indignirockspythoneee == 
PU LWOVT CO UUS a ee eee Balle py thonac == 2 ee ee eee 
PUTNON IT CUCH ICUS ne Regal pythone == ee 
PYLON SCONE rane eee ene Aftricanbrock python] ==——) see = 
Tropidophis melantrus___----------- Guban: bogs ee eee 

Colubridae: 
Acrochordus javanicus_______-______. HDlephant-trunk snake_--_-------__ 
Coliter:consticio eee Biack snake. .v2 hols ea ees ees 
Cyclagras 91903 EEE Cobra-de-Paraguay==— ee 
Diadophis punctatus___-.__-___--_---- Ring-necked snake___--_=--------- 
Dromicus dorsasz2 22 aes. James Island snake __---_-_______-- 
Dromicusisp ee es ee South Seymour Island snake__---_-_ 
Drymarchon corais couperi____------ Indigo: snake2= ee eee 
THONG ine snake_---~---------------—-- 

Night, snakes. 32S eee 
LRG NO OURTONG (0 ee ae snake_~--~----------------- 
White pilot: snakes22e ssl 

Hlphe quadrivitiata_______________.. Chickensnakes.2 tee eee 
Heterodon contortric-= == Hog-nosed snake___-----_-_--_---- 
Lampropeltis getulus floridana______- Mloridavking, snake2 0-20.22 eres 
Lampropeltis getulus getulus______-_-. ing) oruchain snakes22s-2 ee 
Lampropeltis triangulwm______------ Mabe Sake 3a LS I ieke ne eee 
Leimadophis poecilogyrus________-__- South American green snake______- 
TAODTUSE TU Se ee eee ie South American brown snake__-_-- 
Inopeltis vernalis.____________.--_-~- Smooth green snake__.___________ 
INGETAL I CUCLOPLON ae ee ee ae Water snakes: 2 202i 2a eae 
INGA D See err a rere She ane ea Waterisnake 2222525. 
Pituophis catentferi222- ae Western bullisnakes== sees 
Thamnophis ordinoides____________-_- California garter snake____-------- 
Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus____---~ Pacifiq garter snake___________---- 
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis_________- Garter ‘snakes: 22222223 

Elapidae: 
NGF GSN TS Se a eT SE ee ae King cobras 22 ee eee 
Naja tripudians sumatrana_________- Sumatran: black-hooded cobra_----- 


NGIG Spa ee ew cree ee eS el ae African black cobra___---_-------- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 105 


Crotalidae: 
Agkistrodon mokasen_____~_-_----_-~ Copperhead. snake==-23es) Seek 2 
Agkistrodon piscivorus..__.__....-_—-- Water moccasin 2222 sess where a 
Crotalus adamanteus_______-______-. Florida diamond-backed rattle- 
snake 222 Son Se eee eee 4 
Crotalus. cerastese 2 2s! Bee Sidewinder rattlesnake__________--_ 7 
Orotaius. cinereousi2— 22 ke Texas rattlesnake! 3222s ae 6 
Orotalus: hornidugss as oe ress ee Banded. rattlesnakes =a 2 
Ststrurus miliarius___.--________-_.. Pigmy, -ratvlesnakes== sess al 
Viperidae: 
BALESRGCUONACH a eS hee Gaboon viper: | eC eee eed 2 
Bilis nasicornis.— toe) bye ee IUHINOCerOsi Vipera. ae 1 
TESTUDINATA 
Chelydidae: 
Batrachemys nastta—__---—----_- = South American side-necked turtle__ 3 
Chelodina longicollis___________---_- Australian snake-necked turtle___._. 2 
Oheivarimondtace= = SS ees Matamata turtle 22.2 al 
HOG Ck ee See South American snake-necked turtle. 4 
Hydromedusa tectifera_____._______-- South American snake-necked turtle. 16 
Platysternidae: 
Platemys platycephala_____________- Miat-headed! turtles. seo ee 1 
Platysternum megacephalum__——--~~- Large-headed Chinese turtle________ al 
Pelomedusidae: 
Pelomedusa qaleatas. Common African water tortoise____. 2 
Podocnemis expansa—==—- —~~—=-—————-. South American river tortoise_____ il 
Kinosternidae : 
KAN OSTCTMNON Spe ee ee ee Central American musk turtle_____ 1 
Kinosternon subrubrum____---------~ MUSK turtles oe eee cen eae 2 
Chelydridae: 
Chelydra serpentina__________-_____. Snapping turtles sets ee eee 8 
Macrochelys temminckii_______-----~- Alligator snapping turtle_____-____ 1 
Testudinidae: 
ORGUSEM YS NCLO = see ~ = ae Painted: turtle2=2-—- eee 13 
Olemmiysoutignis. ao as Spotted:turtle:--=* 220th See eet 6 
Clemmys insculpta__.__._.___.__._._______ IWOOd tortoise =422 2 a eee 3 
Clemmys muhlenbergii_____________- Muhlenberg’s tortoise______________ 1 
Cyclemys amboinensis_______-______- keuraykura DoOxsturble see 6 
Deirochelys reticularia____________—_ Chicken; tortoise == eae 1 
Hmys blandingt-.- = Blanding s7turtlessss = =e eee 1 
Gopherus polyphemus_______---___-_ Gopher turtles 2-423 Sa it 
Graptemys geographica_________-__-. Geographic turtle: 22222 al 
TRGVAD US FOTOS ets as a ee West African back-hinged tortoise__ 4 
Malaclemmys centrata______________. Diamond-back terrapin____________ 9 
Pseudemys concinna___________-___-. Cooter 2s soso S eee ee a ee ee 4 
Pseudemys deoussata_—_ iHaihan: terrapinsese se ee al 
Pseudemys d@orbignyi____.__________. DOrbigny spout essa. a= eee 3 
Rseudemys elegans= == Cumberland? terrapins = 8 
Pseudemys floridana_______________ =) PL OTIG a terra pile = ese ore 2 
Pseudemys malonei__.-.-. = Wresh-watergbuntlewe* ss. ee tee) 2 
EESCALLENIVUS OT TULLE sea ee OUT AEG MEU ELC ee ee ee 2 
Pseudemys rubriventris____________-. Red “bellicds turtle =ase ae es 1 
PsCudemys rugosus____- Cubanaterra pins. = eee ee ee 1 


Terrapene carolina___._____________- Box: tortolsess Se ee 15 


106 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Testudinidae—Continued. 


Terrapene ornata___-_--~------------ Ornate; hox:, turtles==)522-=s"2=22=5 5 

Testudoichilensisice. See ee eee 9 

Teshido dentiouldtan cece Se ee ee ee ee ee 2 

Testudo elegats.= == Star tortoises-2- o>. eee 2 

Testudo emis. 22 i ie See Sumatran land tortoise-______--__- ft 

Testudo ephippiuwm___-=--=—-=----=-- Duncan Island tortoise__-_____-_-_ 3 

Testuda OOCenstg eee e ee ee Hood Island tortoise______--- _-__-- 3 

Testudo stornien 2s eee eee Soft-shelled land tortoise_____-_--_- 4 

TEStUdOr VI CING = Soe Se ee Albemarle Island tortoise_____-_-__ 3 
Trionychidae: 

Amyda fenrot 22. eee see nee Soft-shelled turtle_---__.___-__-_-___-- 6 

Amiyda triunguis_.--.—---=—--_____. West African soft-shelled turtle____ 2 

Trionyx cartilagineus_______-_-----_ Asiatic soft-shelled turtle___.__---_~_ 1 

AMPHIBIA 
CAUDATA 

Salamandridae: 

Triturus pyrrhogaster__ Red-bellied Japanese newt___--_--- 1 

TUT US LOT OSS eee eae ee California newt.-2222 22 ese 12 

Triturus viridescens___ ss Common) new t=ss— se ee Pe 

EPEC UT SUELO CLS ee eee Salamander pases Sees Be eee 2 
Ambystomidae: 

Ambystoma maculatum_____________. Spotted salamander_____-_-_____-- 2 

Megalobatrachus japonicus_________-. Giant) salamander 1 
Amphiumidae: 

Amphiuma means___---_--_-__-----_- Blind eel or Congo snake_____-__--_ 2 

Amphiuma tridactylum_______------_- Blind eel or Congo snake______-___- 1 

SALIENTIA 

Discoglossidae: 

Bombina tombina______--_-____ -___. Bire-bellied® toad {==2 se ee eee 6 
Dendrobatidae: 

ALCLODUS ISD ten sao ee ee eae Spotted atelopus#2222220 2 eee 1 

Dendrobates auratus_______________. ATTOW-DOISOM LT Og eae eee 3 
Bufonidae: 

BUT O GMCTICONUS 222 ae ee Common American toad_____-_---_- 1 

BU OPC DUS US ae a a an ee ee ee Sapo'de concha!=2 2. ee 12 

BULO MANNS eae ee Se ar eee Marine (0nd =a ss ae ee eee 10 

Bufo peltocephalus_________________- Cubanigiant toada2= 2 5 
Ceratophrydae: 

Ceratophrys ornata___________-____-_ Horned froge 22 eee ene 2 

Ceraionnrys Varigeas ee Horned frogess 2.2 are ee 
Hylidae: 

YU CGCT Wed ee ce Australian tree frog_________--_-_-- 1 

Gay VET StCOLOT sane ee ee ee Common treestr0 gs ee 1 
Pipidae: 

Pipa GMeniCOnds. 22k ee Surinam (toa dss 222 2s 1 
Ranidae: 

Rana catesbiana_______.___-_________ American bullfrog 2-3 3 

RQ TULRCLONVELGIUS Sa rn ee ee Green irog ss ae ee 3 


Rana) oceipitalis.2- = West African bullfrog____-______--_ 1 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 107 


FISHES 
PARTON HISHOCELLCUUS ee ee eee en Sb hits) GRIM ose pare 3 
Bona macracanthus.— oe, Clownwloach=2222 25 2 
Oarnegieliatstrigata. 2225 eee = Stripedshatchetfish==== == 4 
Corydoras melamistius —-_._-._.-__-.... Armored. cathsh=— es 2 ees oe see 5 
Epalzeorhynchus talopterus___________. Black’shark® 222820) Sess Se sates 4 
SEMESTU APE LIATLTTUALS RALTULRTUCUD CUE Game re 1 
Hyphessobrycon innesi__________-____- Neon*tetra) fish==2 222) ee 16 
Kryptopterus bicirrhus__________-__--- Glassteatiish!: 0 222 ee ee 4 
Mmebistes reticulatus— 2) Guppy ee eee 25 
Lepidosiren paradova__.____..___=.--- South American lungfish___________ 3 
Benorinius fasciata==_ = eopard: fish? #2222222 2 a ee 1 
Monocirrhus polyacanthus__________--- eget shi] 2e a2 os ee ee it 
RVIEPETUO SEOTTALSH CMLOTIVGTAES seen a rts ee NEY ln oo a a ed eee 4 
INEUNGRLGINUS: MLALOUNGTUS ean eee ee ee oe en ae be eee tad Fy hy 
IMASPITORLOMLILS TERT IVEQ TALS cers. Sade a ee ee d= te ee a es ee 2 
ITEP EDES ALTO RIS Cs, ea a ne a coe Dy ee Se SE ee ae ERE 2 
Pantodon buchholzt_._.___._.-.-._~.~~- Butterily fish=] 222-2 2 eee 2 
Platypoecitlus maculatus______-___-__-_.- Goldpleties=2 282 a ee 10 
PCCOSCONMIS UND ae oe eee tee ee Window cleaner 222. Se + 
ReIRALC LUGE LC ant ee Pe «ee eer i es a ee eee 3 
Pierophyltwm. scalare_.__----.--=----~-. ANI PO efi SNe nn ae ie = be 4 
ELUM SLO LOU SIO U Gn ee Se a Ae ee eee eee il 
Puntius partipentazona________------~ iRed-inned! bak pa ee 3 
Rasbora heteramorpha________-___-__- TRASDOU Ge es ee es ae 8 
Rerrasaimus ternetzt_._______=-_____-_- Piranha or cannibal fish_____-___- 1 
Tanichthys albonubes___.._-__-___--_- White Cloud Mountain fish_____-__- 20 
LUTE Th CY ee Se et Mouth-breeding fish_________--___- 3 
Trichogaster leeri_______- megs bot Fas SSpOb eourant 2 ee 272 ee es es 3 
maghnophorus hetlert._____..-._______.. Sword=tanls 2 ete ores a Ee aes 1 
ee ee ee Bladkiknife fishes 22.2 et soe oe 
ARACHNIDS 
UCN Spas n sos 22 ee ee AT aAN GU ae ee ee ee ee 2 
Latrodectus mactans__-.-.__-._-___.._ Black widow spider________-__-_-_- il 
INSECTS 
Es Giant cockroach=.- 224.5), 2a) ces 26 
MOLLUSKS 
moratina variegata___-___._____________. Glaritiliand snails t 22 ee ee 5 
CRUSTACEANS 
Coenobita clypeatus___________________ and hermit: crabs 2-2-2 eee 3 


Respectfully submitted. 


W. M. Mann, Director. 
Dr. C. G. Axor, 


Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 8 
REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities 
of the Astrophysical Observatory for the fiscal year ended June 30, 
1941; 

WORK AT WASHINGTON 


Messrs. Aldrich and Hoover, with assistance of computers Mrs. A. M. 
Bond, Miss L. Simpson, and Miss N. M. McCandlish, prepared in 
manuscript the immense table of daily solar-constant observations 
from 1923 to 1939. The table contains all individual observations 
in detail for the three stations, Montezuma, Table Mountain, and 
Mount St. Katherine. A single day sometimes involves in itself alone 
a subtable of 10 lines, 10 columns wide. Every solar-constant deter- 
mination was scrutinized in detail from the original records before 
entry into the great table, and in very many instances recomputed to 
check discordant results. Mean values giving the most probable result 
of each day at each station were computed, and all were plotted on an 
extended scale. This plot made up a roll about 15 inches wide and 
200 feet long. 

In this form every day’s values were scrutinized by C. G. Abbot, and 
discordances noted. As one result of his work in preparation of a 
paper entitled “An Important Weather Element Hitherto Generally 
Disregarded,”? Dr. Abbot had been strongly impressed by the fact 
that the solar variation is several times greater in percentage for blue- 
violet rays than for total radiation. This led him to investigate 
whether on discordant days the shorter wave length parts of the 
energy spectrum of the sun, as computed for outside our atmosphere, 
were also discordant. It proved that in many cases they were not, 
showing that errors had been made in other than the spectral parts of 
the determinations. Hence, the entire great table was gone through, , 
and for all discordant days the blue-violet extra-atmospheric spectrum 
was reduced to comparable units by bringing all days to equality in| 
the infrared region, where solar variation is nearly nil. Nearly ai 
hundred pages of newly computed manuscript tables were required | 
to set forth this information. | 

With this new information available, Dr. Abbot in many ia 
marked “improved preferred” daily values on the great chart for onee 


1 Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 101, No. 1, 1941. t 
108 | 
| 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 109 


or more of the stations, as dictated by the blue-violet spectrum. He 
then took the general mean for each day, not only of the untreated 
results, taking into account only the grades assigned by Messrs. Ald- 
rich and Hoover for the separate stations, but also an “improved pre- 
ferred” mean for perhaps one-fourth of all the days. These new 
means were the results preferred after considering the blue-violet spec- 
trum. Both of these daily means were entered in the great table, so 
that when it is published, readers may use either the preferred general 
mean or the “improved preferred” general mean, as they please. 

As the great table was thus being finished in manuscript, it was being 
typewritten by Miss M. A. Neill in preparation for the printer. By 
the end of the fiscal year it was almost finished for publication. In 
the meantime the rest of the manuscript for volume 6 of the Annals 
had been finished as far as possible by Dr. Abbot and typed by Miss 
Neill. But some changes and additions will be made after the inspec- 
tion of the great table is completed. There appears every reason to 
hope that the entire manuscript of volume 6, including the great table 
and its subsidiaries, tables of 10-day and monthly means, will be in 
the printer’s hands before New Year’s Day. 

The study of the great table led Dr. Abbot to reconsider whether 
the sun’s variation might not be more effectively followed by observa- 
tions limited to the blue-violet region of spectrum. He was at length 
able to devise a method which appears promising, and which has been 
introduced just at the end of the fiscal year at all three field stations. 
In brief, the method contemplates inserting in front of the spectro- 
bolometer slit a glass filter which restricts the radiation to the desired 
blue-violet region. An exactly similar glass filter is inserted before 
the aperture of the pyrheliometer. Knowing from the usual solar- 
constant work of the day the atmospheric transmission coefficients for 
blue-violet rays, it is possible to compute the extra-atmospheric energy 
spectrum of the restricted blue-violet spectrum given by the screened 
spectrobolometer. A comparison of the blue-violet energy spectra at 
the station and as computed for outside the atmosphere gives a factor 
to multiply the screened pyrheliometer reading to what it would be 
outside the atmosphere. 

In this way we restrict the observations to the most variable part 
of the observed solar spectrum, and avoid those spectral regions where 
ozone, water vapor, and extreme short and long wave lengths introduce 
great errors. We greatly hope that this new method will yield more 
reliable daily indications of the solar variation. 

The necessary instrumental changes for introducing the new method 
were done by A. Kramer. He has also prepared special apparatus 
for solar distillation of sea water after Dr. Abbot’s design, and many 
other required small jobs for the Observatory. 


110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Dr. H. Arctowski continued his meteorological investigations re- 
lating to the effects of solar variation on atmospheric barometric 
pressure and temperature. His studies led to researches on the 
upper air. By courtesy of the Chief of the United States Weather 
Bureau a long series of daily nocturnal radio-meteorograph records 
were procured. Dr. Arctowski did very extensive computations and 
graphical representations with these data. At the end of about 18 
months of strenuous investigation he prepared a paper illustrated by 
many plots and much tabular matter which will be found of source 
value hereafter. This paper will soon issue under a Roebling grant. 
Dr. Arctowski finds the important influence of solar variation on 
weather plainly obvious, but the manner of its operation extremely 
complex. He regards this first paper as merely introductory, and 
sees a great field for future investigation. 


FIELD STATIONS 


As far as possible daily determinations of the solar constant of 
radiation were made at three field stations, Montezuma, Chile, 
Table Mountain, Calif., and Tyrone, N. Mex. A commodious rein- 
forced concrete dwelling house was erected at Montezuma under 
H. B. Freeman’s direction. 


PERSONNEL 


L. A. Fillmen, for many years instrument maker in the Division 
of Radiation and Organisms under private support at the Smith- 
sonian Institution, was transferred to the Astrophysical Observatory 
Government roll. 

SUMMARY 


The immense task of preparing the solar-constant work of the 
past 20 years for final publication was practically finished. A new 
method of following solar variation was devised and installed at 
all field stations. An extensive research on the effects of solar vari- 
ation by Dr. H. Arctowski approached publication. Dr. Abbot pub- 
lished a paper entitled “An Important Weather Element Hitherto — 
Generally Disregarded,” in which many proofs of solar variation 
were assembled, and the effects of it on weather were shown, to- — 
gether with preliminary attempts at 3- to 5-year weather forecasts _ 
and verifications. These ambitious forecasts, while not as success- | 
ful as was hoped, are promising. 

Respectfully submitted. 


C. G. Assor, Director. 
THE SECRETARY, 
Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 9 


REPORT ON THE DIVISION OF RADIATION AND 
ORGANISMS 


Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on the 
activities of the Division of Radiation and Organisms during the 
year ended June 30, 1941: 

The operations of the Division have been financially supported by 
funds of the Smithsonian Institution and in part by a grant from 
the Research Corporation of New York. 

For several months during the past year actual work in the 
laboratories was suspended during the construction of a new sewer 
system and the preparation and actual work of electrical rewiring 
throughout the building. Also three of the laboratories and the 
machine shop were repainted. 

Considerable time has been given by members of the division in 
the planning and construction of an exhibit now on display as part 
of the “Index Exhibit” in the Main Hall of the Smithsonian Building. 
A detailed description of this exhibit appears in the July 1941 
number of the Scientific Monthly. 


INFLUENCE OF RADIATION ON RESPIRATION 


Following the preliminary experiments and improvement in tech- 
nique as reported last year on the project dealing with the genesis 
of chlorophyll and the beginning of photosynthesis, many data have 
been obtained on the respiration of etiolated barley seedlings. This 
information is highly desirable because of its bearing upon photo- 
synthesis as measured by the gaseous exchange method. Further- 
more, a comprehensive review of the literature on respiration as 
affected by radiation is being completed and will soon be made 
available. 

The rate of respiration (carbon dioxide evolution) of etiolated 
barley seedlings (i. e., seedlings grown in complete darkness and 
devoid of chlorophyll) increases following illumination, whether 
measured in dark or in light. Under favorable conditions this rise 
amounts to as much as 20 percent of the previous dark rate and is 
maintained for at least 7 hours after the light exposure. 

111 


112 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The maximal effect of illumination for a 30-minute period occurs 
at a fairly low intensity (60 foot-candles or less). The magnitude 
of the effect produced by 60 foot-candles of light increases with 
the time of illumination up to an exposure period of about 20 min- 
utes and remains constant with longer light periods. These results 
are graphically illustrated in figure 1. 

In many of these studies it was observed that the rate of respira- 
tion was not as constant as one would desire during the periods 
prior to irradiation. It was thought that perhaps the metabolic 
reactions of the seedling were affected in transferring them from 
the germination conditions to those of the respiration chamber. A 


PIRCEAT MERC ASE 


60 300 600 '200 1800 2400 3000 
INTENSITY(F GC) OF ILLUMINATION (30 MIN) 


PERCENT INCREASE 


50 100 200 300 400 $00 


Ficurp 1.—Hffect of illumination on respiration of etiolated barley seedlings. Percentage 
increase in rate of respiration is plotted against intensity of illumination in upper 
graph and against duration of exposure in lower graph. 

number of changes were made in the germination conditions and 
in the preliminary treatment of the experimental plants in the 
respiration chamber. After many experiments of this nature it 
appears that the rate of respiration either increases or decreases 
continuously for a period of time following exposures of the seed- 
lings to low or high carbon dioxide concentrations respectively. For 
example, figure 2 shows the relative rates of respiration for succes- 
sive half-hour periods following a conditioning period of 5 percent 
carbon dioxide. 

From data of this type it would appear that conditions of car- 
bon dioxide storage or depletion develop in the plant tissue depend- 
ing upon the concentration of this gas surrounding the plants. In 
subsequent periods, when the respiration is measured there is an 
increase or decrease in the rate of CO, excretion (i. e., in the apparent 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 113 


rate of respiration) until a state of equilibrium with the new environ- 
ment is attained. If this phenomenon is of widespread occurrence 
in green plants as well, it must be of considerable importance also 
in experiments in which rates of photosynthesis are measured. 
Considerable time has been spent during the late winter and spring 
in improving the performance of the spectrograph used in measuring 
carbon dioxide, for very short periods. A 15-cc. volume absorp- 


COND/TIONED 
nN 
5% CO, 
FOR 
/7.5 ARS. 


aa 


60 


2 
N 
x 
NS 
g 
Q 
S 


A 
9 


COz FREE 
AIR 


9 


EEE A AQq\ iWiMNQodWV01 WW 


se) 


LRQA A , WW 


.2) 


REE AAAQAQAA AWN 


is) 


WAGSAAA AQAAAAAWN 


SS 


S 


WS a Qa MDB 
ROAASSEKX¥XMA\ MGV 


® 
© 
dx 
= 


Ficurb 2.—Effect of previous CO, environmental conditions on succeeding rates of respira- 
tion of etiolated barley seedlings. 

tion cell providing a 15-cm. optical path was made in the shop and 
installed on the instrument. The spectrograph case was lagged 
with 4 inches of rock wool and the whole room thermostated to 
maintain a temperature of 830° C. These features have improved the 
speed-sensitivity and stability of the set-up very materially. The 
assembly has been used recently in measuring the solubility of CO, 
in water at very low concentrations where a marked departure from 
Henry’s Law was discovered. Further experiments on this are 
in progress and will be published soon along with a detailed descrip- 
tion of the spectrographic method of CO, measurement. 


114 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
INFLUENCE OF LIGHT IN EARLY GROWTH OF GRASS SEEDLINGS 


Further study of the spectral effectiveness of radiation for the 
growth inhibition of the oats mesocotyl has indicated that the maxi- 
mum response occurs at 6600 A. It is highly suggestive that both 
chlorophyll a and a pigment as yet unidentified which has been found 
in dark-grown oats seedlings exhibit an absorption band at this 
position. 

A comparative study has been undertaken of some other species 
of grasses that have been reported in the literature as having meso- 
cotyls insensitive to light. All of those so far investigated have 
been found to be suppressed by light although the intensities required 
are much greater than in the case of Avena. 

Since the growth of the oats mesocotyl is decreased, even in dark- 
ness, by higher temperatures it is of interest to compare the effects 
of temperature and of radiation. The high temperature inhibition 
appears to differ fundamentally from the light inhibition inasmuch as 
the growth of other organs of the seedling, notably the roots, is also 
greatly suppressed in the former case. Some preliminary experi- 
ments have indicated that in certain varieties of rice, on the other 
hand, mesocotyl growth is greater at higher temperatures. 


INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL CONDITIONS ON THE GROWTH OF ALGAE 


The influence of culture conditions on the photosynthetic behavior 
of the alga Chlorelia pyrenoidosa has been subjected to further 
investigation. The growth cycle of this organism has been studied in 
relation to light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration, and the 
composition of the nutrient solution. This work is far from com- 
plete but has suggested certain changes in the composition of the 
nutrient solution and in the design of the apparatus. Equipment 
is being constructed for the continuous culture of algae in order 
to obtain completely reproducible quantities of biological material 
for irradiation experiments. 

Experiments were also conducted to ascertain suitable light condi- 
tions and culture media for optimum growth of the alga Haema- 
tococcus pluvialis in preparation for research on the comparative 
effects of short wave lengths of the ultraviolet on the green pigment, 
chlorophyll, and the red pigment, haematochrome, in algae. 

As a result of inquiries regarding the use of algae in industry 
and because of its importance to producers of kelp, Irish moss, agar, 
and alginic acid in the defense program, a paper is being prepared 
containing the latest statistics and information about the economic 
uses of algae. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 115 


PERSON NEL 


No changes have occurred in the status of the Division’s per- 
sonnel during the past year. Dr. Jack E. Myers has continued his 
work with algae and on photosynthesis under his National Research 
Fellowship grant. 


PAPERS PRESENTED AT MEETINGS 


Photosynthesis and fluorescence. Presented by E. D. McAlister at the Marine 
Biological Station, Pacific Grove, Calif., and at Stanford University, Palo 
Alto, Calif., in August 1940. 

Quantum efficiency of photosynthesis from fluorescence measurements. Pre- 
sented by E. D. McAlister before the Physics Colloquium, George Washington 
University, Washington, D. C., on October 28, 1940. 

Fluorescence and photosynthesis. Presented by HE. D. McAlister before the 
Philosophical Society of Washington, D. C., on October 26, 1940. 

The efficiency of photosynthesis in relation to fluorescence. Presented by 
E. D. McAlister before the Botanical Society of America, Philadelphia, Pa., 
December 30, 1940. 

Inhibition of first internode of Avena sativa by radiation. Presented by 
Robert L. Weintraub before the American Society of Plant Physiologists, Phil- 
adelphia, Pa., December 30, 1940. 

Influence of light on the respiration of etiolated barley seedlings. Pre- 
sented by Earl S. Johnston and Robert L. Weintraub before the American 
Society of Plant Physiologists, Philadelphia, Pa., December 30, 1940. 

Culture conditions for Chlorella in relation to its photosynthetic behavior. 
Presented by Jack Myers before the American Society of Plant Physiologists, 
Philadelphia, Pa., December 30, 1940. 

Photosynthesis in past ages. Presented by E. D. McAlister before the 
Paleontological Society of Washington in April 1941. 


PUBLICATIONS 


CHASE, FLoRENCcE Meter. Increased stimulation of the Alga Stichococcus 
bacillaris by successive exposures to short wave lengths of the ultraviolet. 
Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 99, No. 17, pp. 1-16, 1941. 

McAttster, EH. D., and Myers, Jack. The time course of photosynthesis and 
fluorescence observed simultaneously. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 99, No. 6, 
pp. 1-87, 1940. 

McAtutster, BH. D., and Myers, Jack. Time course of photosynthesis and 
fluorescence. Science, vol. 92, No. 2385, pp. 241-248, 1940. 

McAlister, E. D., MATHESON, G. L., and SwEENEY, W. J. A large recording 
spectrograph for the infrared to 15yu. Rev. Scientific Instr., vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 
314-319, 1941. 

MetEr, FLORENCE BE. Plankton in the water supply. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian 
Inst. for 1939, pp. 893-412, 1940. 

WEINTRAUB, Ropert L. Plant-tissue cultures. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 
for 1940, pp. 357-368, 1941. 


Respectfully submitted. 
Earu 8S. Jounston, Assistant Director. 
Dr. C. G. ABgor, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 
430577—42—9 


APPENDIX 10 


REPORT ON THE LIBRARY 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the 
activities of the Smithsonian library for the fiscal year ended June 
30, 1941: 


THE LIBRARY 


The library, or library system, of the Smithsonian is made up 
of 10 major and 35 minor units. The former consist of the main 
library of the Institution, which since 1866 has been in the Library 
of Congress and is known as the Smithsonian Deposit; the libraries 
of the United States National Museum, Bureau of American Eth- 
nology, Astrophysical Observatory, Freer Gallery of Art, National 
Collection of Fine Arts, National Zoological Park, Division of Radi- 
ation and Organisms; the Langley Aeronautical Library—deposited 
in 1980 in the Division of Aeronautics at the Library of Congress— 
and the Smithsonian office library. The minor units are the sec- 
tional libraries of the National Museum. Although the collections 
in these 45 libraries are on many subjects, they have to do chiefly 
with the matters of special moment to the Institution and its branches, 
namely, the natural and physical sciences and technology and the fine 
arts. They are particularly strong in their files of standard mono- 
graphs and serials and of the reports, proceedings, and transactions 
of the learned institutions and societies of the world. 

Cooperating with the Smithsonian library system, but independent 
of it, is the library of the National Gallery of Art, which, during 
the year just closed took its first steps, under a competent staff, to 
meet the reference needs of the Gallery personnel and of others 
outside. The libraries of the Institution welcome the opportunity to 
further, in every way possible, the interests of this new friendly 
neighbor. 


PERSON NEL 


The year brought an unusually large number of changes in the 
staff. Among these were the following: The retirement, on account 
of age, of Miss Gertrude L. Woodin, after long and valuable service 
as assistant librarian; the promotion of Miss Elisabeth P. Hobbs, 

116 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY LEZ 


junior librarian, to succeed her, and the transfer of Miss Anna 
Moore Link from the editorial office in the Bureau of American 
Ethnology to the vacancy thus created; the advancement of Miss 
Nancy Alice Link to the position of editorial assistant in the Bureau; 
the resignation of Mrs. Dorothy E. Goodrich, under library assistant, 
and the selection of Miss Elizabeth Gordon Moseley as her successor. 
The position of minor library assistant was reclassified to that of 
junior clerk-typist and filled by the appointment of Miss Elizabeth 
Harriet Link. Charles McDowell served part of the year as assist- 
ant messenger. The temporary employees were Mrs. Georgeanna 
H. Morrill, library assistant, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Bendure, assistant 
clerk-stenographer, Miss Anna May Light, junior clerk-stenographer, 
Mrs. Marie Boborykine, special library assistant, and Arthur W. 
Gambrell, assistant messenger. 


EXCHANGE OF PUBLICATIONS 


The exchange work of the library was again carried on with the 
greatest difficulty, owing to abnormal world conditions. The pack- 
ages received through the International Exchange Service were only 
515—fewer by 814 even than those of the year before, when there had 
been a similar decrease from the normal number; the packages that 
came by mail were 17,038, or 3,283 fewer than came the previous 
year. Most of the publications that failed to come were, of course, 
European and Asiatic. Fortunately, some of these are being held 
by the issuing agencies, to be sent to the library as soon as the wars 
are over; others have merely delayed publication; but a few have 
been discontinued. Altogether the influence of the disturbed condi- 
tions that prevailed was far from favorable to the increase and 
diffusion of knowledge by means of the exchange of learned 
publications. 

There were received, however, a number of rather large sendings, 
notably from the Clube Zoologico do Brasil, Sao Paulo; Bataviaasch 
Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschaffen, Batavia; Royal Swedish 
Academy of Letters, Stockholm; Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edin- 
burgh; Royal Society of Tasmania, Hobart; and Wellington Accli- 
matisation Society, Wellington. 

Dissertations came from only 4 universities, 2 of which are in 
a neutral European country—Basel and Ziirich; and 2 in the United 
States—Johns Hopkins and Pennsylvania. These totaled 452—quite 
a contrast to the 5,190 received in 1939 from 34 foreign institutions 
and 3 American. Of the 452 dissertations 261 were assigned to the 
Smithsonian Deposit, and the rest, being on medical subjects, were 
turned over, as usual, to the library of the Surgeon General. 


rs ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Most of the 2,316 letters written by the staff pertained to the 
exchange interests of the library. They naturally showed a de- 
crease from 1940, as did the new exchanges arranged for. There 
were 284 of the latter, however, nearly all of which were on behalf 
of the Smithsonian Deposit and the libraries of the National Museum, 
National Collection of Fine Arts, and Astrophysical Observatory. 
Although the number of want cards handled—795—was smaller by 
87 than the year before, the publications obtained, both by special 
correspondence and by search among the recently organized and listed 
duplicates in the west stacks of the Institution, were 8,824, or 1,278 
more than in 1940. The result of this successful effort was that a 
great many gaps—some of long standing—were filled in several of 
the Smithsonian libraries. In addition to these publications, which 
were assigned to the regular sets, others to the number of 6,112 were 
selected from the duplicate material and put in reserve for use in 
the future. Among these were many foreign items—not a few of 
them rare—closely related to the work of the Institution and its 
branches. Thus again did the surplus collection in the west stacks 
prove of no little value to the library system. And it bids fair to 
prove so for years to come, as this rich store of material is made 
increasingly available through listing and through checking against 
the needs of the various libraries. 

From time to time, too, during the year files of serials, long and 
short, not wanted by the libraries were exchanged for publications 
that otherwise would have had to be purchased. This plan of ex- 
changing duplicates for other publications essential to the Institu- 
tion was adopted by the library some years ago and has met with 
much success. It has added to the collections many valuable items 
and has placed a considerable number in other research institutions 
where, instead of standing useless on the Smithsonian shelves, they 
have contributed their part toward the advancement of knowledge. 
The year just closed brought to the library, under this special ex- 
change plan, a goodly number of important monographs and serials 
that could not be obtained by regular exchange. Among them were 
such works as Drawings in the Fogg Museum of Art, vols. I-III, by 
Agnes Mongan and Paul J. Sachs; The Material Basis of Evolution, 
by Richard Goldschmidt; The Ferns and Fern Allies of Wisconsin, 
by R. M. Tryon, Jr., N. C. Fassett, D. W. Dunlop, and M. E. Diemer; 
and Nomenclator Zoologicus, in 4 volumes, edited by Sheffield A. 
Neave. 

In connection with both its regular and its special exchange 
activities, the library continued its effort, in cooperation with 
the offices of publications, to replenish the depleted stock of Smith- 
sonian publications by encouraging the return of material from 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 119 


libraries throughout the country in which it was not needed. It 
also continued to act as a clearing-house, thus sending out again 
much of this material to institutions that were waiting for it. The 
libraries of more than 25 museums, colleges, and universities eagerly 
shared in this give and take effort, which was to the advantage of 
all participants, but chiefly of the Smithsonian library, for by this 
means it was able not only to make many of the publications of the 
Institution more widely available to readers and investigators, but 
to increase in no small measure the supply of such publications—some 
of which had long been out of print—that could be used for future 
exchanges. 
GIFTS 


Many gifts came to the library during the year. Among these 
were 622 publications from the Geophysical Laboratory of the Car- 
negie Institution of Washington; 612 from the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science; 72 from the American Association of 
Museums; 66 from the Public Library of the District of Columbia; 
42 from the National Institute of Health; and 94 from the recently 
discontinued Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific 
Literature. Among them, too, were a large number of publications 
from the Honorable Usher L. Burdick, Member of Congress from 
North Dakota, from the late Mrs. Charles D. Walcott—always a 
generous friend of the library—and from the Secretary and Assistant 
Secretary and other members of the Smithsonian staff. The largest 
gift, however, came from Mrs. Frederick E. Fowle—that of 942 sci- 
entific books and journals which had belonged to her husband, the 
late research assistant of the Astrophysical Observatory. 

Other gifts were Hiroshige, by Yoné Noguchi, from the Japanese 
Embassy; The Herbarist, Nos. 1-7 (1935-1941), from Mrs. Foster 
Stearns; Chinese Jade Carvings of the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth 
Century in the Collection of Mrs. Georg Vetlesen—an illustrated 
descriptive record compiled by Stanley Charles Nott, volume III, 
from Mrs. Georg Vetlesen; A Catalogue of Rare Chinese Jade Carv- 
ings (2 copies), compiled by Stanley Charles Nott, from the com- 
piler; Two Early Portraits of George Washington Painted by 
Charles Willson Peale, by John Hill Morgan, from the Princeton 
University Press; Bird Reserves, by E. C. Arnold, from the author; 
Moss Flora of North America North of Mexico, volume II, part 4, 
by Dr. A. J. Grout, from the author; The Young Mill-Wrights & 
Miller’s Guide (1807), by Oliver Evans, from Edna E. Switzer; 
Charles Goodyear—Connecticut Yankee and Rubber Pioneer—A Bi- 
ography, by P. W. Barker, from Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc.; The Shorter 


120 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Scientific Papers of Lee Barker Walton, with an Introduction by 
Herbert Osborn, edited by George P. Faust, from the editor; Genus 
Labordia, Hawaiian Euphorbiaceae, Labiatae and Compositae, by 
Dr. Earl Edward Sherff, from the author; Seventh Report of the 
Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science (1834), from Dr. Rob- 
ert B. Gordon; Barbed Fencing, by Charles G. Washburn—a type- 
written copy of an original in the possession of the donor, Reginald 
Washburn, who had the copy made especially for the Smithsonian 
Institution; Atlanta City Directory, 1940, from the Carnegie Library, 
Atlanta; Men and Volts, by John Winthrop Hammond, from the 
General Electric Company; The Cranial Bowl, by Dr. William G. 
Sutherland, from the author; Military Medals and Insignia of the 
United States, by J. McDowell Morgan, from the author; The 
Stapelieae, in 3 volumes, by Alain White and Boyd L. Sloane, from 
Alain White; The Old Bay Line, by Alexander Crosby Brown, from 
the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News; By Their Works, by H. 
Phelps Clawson, from the Buffalo Museum of Science; and Flora of 
Indiana, by Charles C. Deam, from the Indiana Department of 
Conservation. 


SOME STATISTICS 


The accessions to the libraries were as follows: 


Pare Appror 

Library Volumes phils Total hialanire 

charts seve 
Astrophysical ODServatOry.s220 oo eee ee on eee a ee 173 138 311 10, 156 
Bureawof/American Ethnology. 222 Sen eye eee eee 378 1 33, 140 
IP TOOT) Gallery Ol Att soe ae ae ek CN Sree 398 66 464 16, 225 
Langley, AGronauticnly ec. ered ae gna sega ane Ble 32 20 52 38, 550 
National pelecean Of Hine Arts 3) cee ei La 240 157 397 7, 689 
WNationalIMiuseum = beet See ae a a 1,979 942 2, 921 219, 760 
National Zoological Parker Tor Se ee ee a eee 36 34 70 3, 916 
Radiation andiOrzanisms ssa eo eee ee ee ee 67 2 69 596 
Smithsonian Deposit, Library of Congress____._-_._.________ 1, 350 758 2, 108 568, 662 
Smithsonian ofhice essa ore ce ee ee a ee ee es 65 4 69 30, 961 
TOTAL Ce ut eae oo Ssh Paes Sri ano SIE ens a lis Seek eMa| 4,718 2, 121 6, 839 894, 655 


1 From this total have been omitted a large collection of pamphlets hitherto included in the holdings 
reported for the library of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and quite a number of other publications 
recently removed from the library as not being closely related to the work of the Bureau. 


The staff cataloged 6,693 volumes, pamphlets, and charts; prepared 
and filed 40,238 catalog and shelf-list cards; made 22,311 periodical 
entries; loaned 10,990 publications to the members of the Institu- 
tion and its bureaus; and conducted an interlibrary loan service 
with 45 libraries outside the Smithsonian system. They rendered 
more reference and bibliographical assistance than ever before, in 
response to requests in person, by telephone, and by mail, from the 
ktaff of the Smithsonian, other Government employees, visitors, 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 12] 


and correspondents far and near—requests often involving hours 
of search not only at the Institution but at the Library of Congress 
and elsewhere. They kept the index of Smithsonian publications up 
to date, and made considerable progress with the index of Smith- 
sonian explorations begun the previous year, and some with that of 
exchange relations. Their work on the union catalog may be sum- 
marized as follows: 


WalimesenCea tal OPOG me een ok ee pe Se ee See 2, 472 
Pmnicis ang charts Catalogedo_o 3! 7'= eh eee oe ee ee 1, 947 
ouse se Biel wen Ll OSs LG Ot te Es a Ts Sh ee ee 178 
vine cards, agded to, catalog, and» shelf list== == 22s Se 3, 880 
Library of Congress cards added to catalog and shelf list____________--- 13, 662 


OTHER ACTIVITIES 


As has already been suggested, one of the main activities of the 
staff, apart from their routine duties, was that of making lists of 
the longer runs of surplus items in the west stacks and checking 
them against the needs of the Smithsonian libraries. Another task 
was that of bringing nearly to completion the checking of the serial 
holdings of several of the libraries, to be included in the forthcoming 
second edition of the Union List of Serials. When this work is 
finished, it will have involved the examination of the records of more 
than 7,000 sets of serial publications, not including, of course, the 
thousands in the Smithsonian Deposit and the Langley Aeronautical 
Library, which, as they are housed in the Library of Congress, are 
reported by that Library. Still another task was selecting consign- 
ments of duplicates for exchange, especially with such universities 
as Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. 
And another was preparing the exhibition set of Smithsonian pub- 
lications—by completing it and having many of its volumes bound— 
for transfer to the shelves provided for it as an outstanding part 
of the exhibit of Smithsonian interests in the “Diffusion of Knowl- 
edge” room at the Institution. And, finally, among other tasks were 
the following: Sending a large number of foreign documents, which 
had come to light in course of checking the surplus material, to the 
Library of Congress; sorting 2,500 or more reprints by subject and 
assigning them to the appropriate sectional libraries of the National 
Museum; carrying forward the inventorying of the technological 
library, with revision of its catalog and shelf list, and the rearranging 
of the office library; and continuing, with excellent results, the work 
of reorganizing the library of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 


BINDING 


Again, lack of funds seriously limited the libraries in meeting their 
binding needs. This was true in respect both to the thousands of 


122 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


older serial volumes still standing unbound on the shelves and to 
hundreds of new ones added the last fiscal year. As it was, the 
library of the National Museum sent to the bindery 800 volumes; that 
of the Astrophysical Observatory, 50; of the National Collection of 
Fine Arts, 59; of the Freer Gallery of Art, 38; and of the National 
Zoological Park, 11—a total of 958, only about one-half the number 
of volumes completed during the year by these libraries. 


NEEDS 


First among the needs, then, is adequate funds for binding, to the end 
that the publications—some of them almost priceless now, in the light 
of the destruction that is taking place abroad—may be safeguarded 
for the permanent use of the Institution. 

Another need, which has become acute, is that of more shelf room 
for the collections, especially those of the National Museum library. 
Unless this can soon be provided, it may be necessary to resort to the 
unfortunate measure of placing some of the less-used files in dead 
storage. 

And, finally, five new positions should be established, for the follow- 
ing: An assistant librarian, to take charge of the acquisition depart- 
ment; a junior librarian and a library assistant to strengthen the 
under-staffed preparation department, especially the catalog division; 
a junior typist, to relieve the catalogers of much clerical routine; a 
messenger, to serve primarily the libraries of the Institution proper. 


Respectfully submitted. 
Witiiam L. Corsin, Librarian. 
Dr. C. G. Axsgor, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 11 


REPORT ON PUBLICATIONS 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publi- 
cations of the Smithsonian Institution and the Government branches 
under its administrative charge during the year ended June 30, 1941: 

The Institution published during the year 16 papers in the Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous Collections series, and title page and table of 
contents of volume 98; 1 annual report and pamphlet copies of 27 
articles in the report appendix; and 8 special publications. 

The United States National Museum issued 1 annual report; 19 
Proceedings papers, and title page, table of contents, and index of 
volume 86; 1 Bulletin, and 1 volume and 1 part of a volume of Bul- 
letin 100; and title page, table of contents, and index of volume 26 
of Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. 

The National Collection of Fine Arts issued 1 catalog, and the 
Freer Gallery of Art, 1 pamphlet. 

The Bureau of American Ethnology issued 1 annual report and 3 
bulletins. 

Of the publications there were distributed 125,837 copies; which 
included 66 volumes and separates of the Smithsonian Contributions 
to Knowledge, 32,031 volumes and separates of the Smithsonian Mis- 
cellaneous Collections, 24,022 volumes and separates of the Smith- 
sonian annual reports, 5,243 Smithsonian special publications, 52,170 
volumes and separates of the National Museum publications, 11,882 
publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 9 publications of 
the National Collection of Fine Arts, 3 publications of the Freer 
Gallery of Art, 16 reports on the Harriman Alaska Expedition, 12 
Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, and 383 reports of the 
American Historical Association. 


SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 


There were issued title page and table of contents of volume 98, 
and 15 papers of volume 99 and 1 paper of volume 101, making 16 
papers in all, as follows: 

VOLUME 98 


Title page and table of contents. (Publ. 3590.) 


1 This does not include the Brief Guide to the Smithsonian Institution, the catalog of the 
National Collection of Fine Arts, or the pamphlet of the Freer Gallery of Art. 


123 


124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
VOLUME 99 


No. 6. The time course of photosynthesis and fluorescence observed simul- 
taneously, by E. D. McAlister and Jack Myers. 37 pp., 16 figs. (Publ. 3591.) 
August 28, 1940. 

No. 7. A systematic classification for the birds of the world, by Alexander 
Wetmore. 11 pp. (Publ. 3592.) October 10, 1940. 

No. 9. Recent Foraminifera from Old Providence Island collected on the 
Presidential Cruise of 1938, by Joseph A. Cushman. 14 pp., 2 pls. (Publ. 3594.) 
January 24, 1941. 

No. 10. Coelenterates collected on the Presidental Cruise of 1938, by Elisabeth 
Deichmann. 17 pp., 1 pl., 4 figs. (Publ. 3595.) January 27, 1941. 

No. 11. A new cephalopod mollusk from the Presidential Cruise of 1938, by 
Helen C. Stuart. 6 pp., 2 figs. (Publ. 3596.) February 4, 1941. 

No. 12. Acarina collected on the Presidential Cruise of 1938, by G. W. 
Wharton. 8 pp., 4 figs. (Publ. 3597.) January 29, 1941. 

No. 13. EHuphausiacea and Mysidacea collected on the Presidential Cruise 
of 1938, by W. M. Tattersall. 7 pp., 2 figs. (Publ. 8598.) January 31, 1941. 

No. 14. The male genitalia of Hymenoptera, by R. E. Snodgrass. 86 pp., 33 
pls., 6 figs. (Publ. 3599.) January 14, 1941. 

No. 15. Evidence of early Indian occupancy near the Peaks of Otter, Bedford 
County, Virginia, by David I. Bushnell, Jr. 14 pp., 5 pls. 4 figs. (Publ. 3601.) 
December 23, 1940. 

No. 16. New fossil lizards from the Upper Cretaceous of Utah, by Charles 
W. Gilmore. 38 pp., 2 figs. (Publ. 3602.) December 9, 1940. 

No. 17. Increased stimulation of the alga Stichococcus bacillaris by suc- 
cessive exposures to short wave lengths of the ultraviolet, by Florence Meier 
Chase. 16 pp., 2 pls., 3 figs. (Publ. 3603.) January 10, 1941. 

No. 18. Two new races of passerine birds from Thailand, by H. G. Deignan. 
4 pp. (Publ. 8605.) December 11, 1940. 

No. 19. Notes on Mexican snakes of the genus Geophis, by Hobart M. Smith. 
6 pp. (Publ. 3629.) February 19, 1941. 

No. 20. Further notes on Mexican snakes of the genus Salvadora, by Hobart 
M. Smith. 12 pp. 7 figs. (Publ. 3630.) February 21, 1941. 

No. 21. A new shipworm from Panama, by Paul Bartsch. 2 pp., 1 pl. (Publ. 
3632.) March 31, 1941. 


VOLUME 101 


No. 1. An important weather element hitherto generally disregarded, by 
O. G. Abbot. 34 pp., 11 figs. (Publ. 3637.) May 27, 1941. 


SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORTS 


Report for 1939.—The complete volume of the Annual Report of 
the Board of Regents for 1939 was received from the Public Printer 
in October 1940. 

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution show- 


ing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year 
ended June 30, 1939. xiii+567 pp., 139 pls., 58 figs. (Publ. 3555.) 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 125 


The appendix contained the following papers: 


Is there life in other worlds? by H. Spencer Jones, F. R. S. 

Use of solar energy for heating water, by F. A. Brooks, 

The fringe of the sun: nebulium and coronium, by C. G. James. 

Our knowledge of atomic nuclei, by G. P. Harnwell, Ph. D. 

Spectroscopy in industry, by George R. Harrison, Ph. D. 

Physical science in the crime-detection laboratory, by J. Edgar Hoover. 

Physical interpretation of the weather, by Edgar W. Woolard. 

Hurricanes into New England: meteorology of the storm of September 21, 
1938, by Charles F. Brooks. 

Humanity in geological perspective, by Herbert L. Hawkins, D. Sc., 
F.R.S., F.G.S. 

Geologie exhibits in the National Zoological Park, by R. 8S. Bassler. 

The structure of the earth as revealed by seismology, by Hrnest A. Hodgson. 

Our petroleum supply, by Hugh D. Miser. 

Biologic balance on the farm, by W. L. McAtee. 

On the frontier of British Quiana and Brazil, by Capt. H. Carington 
Smith, R. BE. 

The sea bird as an individual: results of ringing experiments, by R. M. 
Lockley. 

Birds and the wind, by Neil T. McMillan. 

Bookworms, by E. A. Back. 

The problem of conserving rare native plants, by M. L. Fernald, D. C. L., 
D. Se. 

Plankton in the water supply, by Florence BH. Meier. 

Trichinosis in swine and its relationship to public health, by Benjamin 
Schwartz. 

Closing the gap at Tepe Gawra, by H. A. Speiser. 

Sun worship, by Herbert J. Spinden. 

The use of soapstone by the Indians of the eastern United States, by 
David I. Bushnell, Jr. 

The modern growth of the totem pole on the northwest coast, by Marius 
Barbeau. 

Historic American highways, by Albert ©. Rose. 

Modern trends in air transport, by W. F. Durand. 

The story of the Time Capsule, by G. Edward Pendray. 


Report for 1940.—The report of the Secretary, which included 
the financial report of the executive committee of the Board of 
Regents, and which will form part of the annual report of the Board 
of Regents to Congress, was issued in January 1941. 

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report 
of the executive committee of the Board of Regents for the year ended June 
30, 1940. ix+115 pp., 4 pls. 

The report volume, containing the general appendix, was in press 
at the close of the year. 


SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS 


Brief guide to the Smithsonian Institution (fourth edition). 80 pp., 74 figs. 
(Publ. BL.) July 1, 1940. 

The Smithsonian Institution, by C. G. Abbot. 25 pp., 13 pls., (Publ. 3604.) 
January 18, 1941. 


126 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Explorations and field work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1940. 100 pp., 
100 halftone figs. (Publ. 3631.) April 3, 1941. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


The editorial work of the National Museum has continued during 
the year under the immediate direction of the editor, Paul H. Oehser. 
There were issued 1 annual report; title page, table of contents, and 
index of volume 86 of the Proceedings, and 19 separate Proceedings 
papers from volumes 87, 88, 89, and 90; 1 Bulletin, and 1 volume 
and 1 part of a volume of Bulletin 100; and title page, table of 
contents, and index of volume 26 of Contributions from the United 
States National Herbarium, as follows: 


MUSEUM REPORT 


Report on the progress and condition of the United States National Museum 
for the year ended June 30, 1940. iii+118 pp. January 1941. 


PROCEEDINGS : VOLUME 86 


Title page, table of contents, and index. Pp. i-ix, 598-626. July 22, 1940. 


VOLUME 87 


No. 3077. Further studies on the opalinid ciliate infusorians and their hosts, 
by Maynard M. Metcalf. Pp. 465-634, figs. 21-157. October 29, 1940. 


VOLUME 88 


No. 3090. Seven new species and one new genus of hydroids, mostly from 
the Atlantic Ocean, by C. McLean Fraser. Pp. 575-580, pls. 32, 33. September 
18, 1940. 

VOLUME 89 


No. 30938. Two new anuran amphibians from Mexico, by Edward H. Taylor. 
Pp. 43-47, pls. 1-3. August 13, 1940. 

No. 3094. The West American Haliotis, by Paul Bartsch. Pp. 49-58, pls. 
6-8. August 15, 1940. 

No. 3095. Revision of the scarabaeid beetles of the phyllophagan subgenus 
Listrochelus of the United States, with discussion of related subgenera, by Law- 
rence W. Saylor. Pp. 59-130, figs. 1-18. November 15, 1940. 

No. 3096. The Cuban operculate land mollusks of the family Annulariidae, 
exclusive of the subfamily Chondropominae, by Carlos de la Torre and Paul 
Bartsch. Pp. 131-885, i-x, pls. 9-57. April 2, 1941. 

No. 3097. Seven new crayfishes of the genus Cambarus from Florida, with 
notes on other species, by Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. Pp. 387-423, figs. 14-22. 
November 23, 1940. 

No. 3098. Echinoderms from Greenland collected by Capt. Robert A. Bart- 
lett, by Austin H. Clark. Pp. 425-433, pls. 58, 59. February 27, 1941. 

No. 3099. A revision of the keyhole urchins (Wellita), by Hubert Lyman 
Clark. Pp. 485-444, pls. 60-62. December 12, 1940. 

No. 3100. Hurhoptodes, a remarkable new genus of Philippine cryptorhynchine 
weevils, by Elwood C. Zimmerman. Pp. 445-448, fig. 23. November 1, 1940. 

No. 3101. The polyclad flatworms of the Atlantic coast of the United States 
and Canada, by Libbie H. Hyman. Pp. 449-495, figs. 24-31. February 27, 1941. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 127 


No. 3102. New species of heterocerous moths in the United States National 
Museum, by William Schaus. Pp. 497-511. March 6, 1941. 

No. 3103. Dinotocrinus, a new fossil inadunate crinoid genus, by Edwin Kirk. 
Pp. 5138-517, pl. 68. February 28, 1941. 

No. 3104. A supposed jellyfish from the pre-Cambrian of the Grand Canyon, 
by R. S. Bassler. Pp. 519-522, pl. 64. February 27, 1941. 

No. 3105. Notes on birds of the Guatemalan highlands, by Alexander Wetmore. 
Pp. 5238-581. March 26, 1941. 


VOLUME 90 


No. 3106. New fishes of the family Callionymidae, mostly Philippine, obtained 
by the United States Bureau of Fisheries Steamer Albatross, by Henry W. 
Fowler. Pp. 1-381, figs. 1-16. April 8, 1941. 

No. 3108. Synopsis of the tachinid flies of the genus TYachionmyia, with 
descriptions of new species, by Ray T. Webber. Pp. 287-804, fig. 17. June 30, 
1941, 

No. 3111. The Chicora (Butler County, Pa.) meteorite, by F. W. Preston, EB. P. 
Henderson, and James R. Randolph. Pp. 387-416, pls. 54-59, fig. 19. June 
17, 1941. 

No. 3114. A new genus of sea stars (Plazaster) from Japan, with a note of 
the genus Parasterina, by Walter K. Fisher. Pp. 447-456, pls. 66-70. June 
18, 1941. 

BULLETINS 


No. 100, volume 13. The fishes of the groups Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, 
Isospondyli, and Ostariophysi obtained by the United States Bureau of Fisheries 
Steamer Albatross in 1907 to 1910, chiefly in the Philippine Islands and adjacent 
seas, by Henry W. Fowler. x + 879 pp., 30 figs. March 10, 1941. 

No. 100, volume 14, part 1. Report on the Echinoidea collected by the United 
States Fisheries Steamer Albatross during the Philippine Expedition, 1907- 
1910. Part 2: The Echinothuridae, Saleniidae, Arbaciidae, Aspidodiadematidae, 
Micropygidae, Diadematidae, Pedinidae, Temnopleuridae, Toxopneustidae, and 
Echinometridae, by Theodor Mortensen. Pp. i-iv, 1-52, pl. 1, figs. 1-3. July 
25, 1940. 

No. 176. Life histories of North American cuckoos, goatsuckers, hummingbirds, 
and their allies, by Arthur Cleveland Bent. viii + 506 pp., 73 pls. July 20, 
1940. 


CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THF U. S. NATIONAL HERBARIUM: VOLUME 26 
Title page, table of contents, and index. Pp. i-xii, 5381-554. March 6, 1941. 
PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


Catalog of American and European paintings in the Gellatly Collection, com- 
piled by R. P. Tolman. 20 pp.,11 pls. 1940. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 


The Freer Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution. 8 pp., 1 pl., 2 figs. 


1940. 


128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


The editorial work of the Bureau has continued under the immediate 
direction of the editor, M. Helen Palmer. During the year the follow- 
ing Bulletins were issued : 


Bulletin 126. Archeological remains in the Whitewater District, eastern Ari- 
zona. Part II. Artifacts and burials, by Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. With 
appendix, Skeletal remains from the Whitewater District, eastern Arizona, by 
T. D. Stewart. xi-++-170 pp., 57 pls., 44 figs. 

Bulletin 127. Linguistic material from the tribes of southern Texas and north- 
eastern Mexico, by John R. Swanton. v-+145 pp. 

Bulletin 128. Anthropological Papers, Nos. 13-18. No. 13, The mining of gems 
and ornamental stones by American Indians, by Sydney H. Ball. No. 14, Iroquois 
suicide: A study in the stability of a culture pattern, by William N. Fenton. No. 


15, Tonawanda Longhouse ceremonies: Ninety years after Lewis Henry Morgan, . 


by William N. Fenton. No. 16, The Quichua-speaking Indians of the Province of 
Imbabura (Ecuador) and their anthropometric relations with the living popula- 
tions of the Andean area, by John Gillin. No. 17, Art processes in birchbark of 
the River Desert Algonquin, a circumboreal trait, by Frank G. Speck. No. 18, Ar- 
cheological reconnaissance of southern Utah, by Julian H. Steward. xii+368 
pp., 52 pls., 77 figs. 


REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 


The annual reports of the American Historical Association are 
transmitted by the Association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution and are communicated by him to Congress, as provided by 
the act of incorporation of the Association. 

During the year there was issued the Annual Report for 1936, volume 
2 (Writings on American History). At the close of the year the 
following were in press: Report for 1936, volume 3 (“Instructions of 
the British foreign secretaries to their envoys in the United States, 
1791-1812”) ; Report for 1937, volume 2 (Writings on American His- 
tory, 1937-1938) ; Report for 1939, volume 1 (Proceedings) ; Report 
for 1940. 


REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 


The manuscript of the Forty-third Annual Report of the National 
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, was transmitted to 
Congress, in accordance with law, December 9, 1940. 


ALLOTMENTS FOR PRINTING 


The congressional allotments for the printing of the Smithsonian 
Annual Reports to Congress and the various publications of the Gov- 
ernment bureaus under the administration of the Institution were 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 129 


virtually used up at the close of the year. The appropriation for the 
coming year ending June 30, 1942, totals $88,500, allotted as follows: 


Smithsonian institution] se 4 oo ee ee ee ee $16, 000 
INablon alvin se ui == ooh oe a ee ee Be 43, 000 
BureaubofeAamerican Ethnology. ee eee 17, 480 
National Collectionvof hinevArts=-— 22 ee 500 
International: siixchangess-= 282228 ee weer) ee ee 200 
NationaleZoolorical. Bark= 2.01 a ee Be 200 
Astrophysical Observatory ss] sss oa) ee 500 
American aHistorical Association== == 22 22s ee 10, 620 

BO (een ee = carp i eee a ee 88, 500 


Respectfully submitted. 


Dr. C. G. Axsor, 


W. P. Trust, Chief, Editorial Division. 


Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF 
THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITH- 
SONIAN INSTITUTION 


FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1941 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 


Your executive committee respectfully submits the following 
report in relation to the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, to- 
gether with a statement of the appropriations by Congress for the 
Government bureaus in the administrative charge of the Institution. 


SMITHSONIAN ENDOWMENT FUND 


The original bequest of James Smithson was £104,960 8s. 6d.— 
$508,318.46. Refunds of money expended in prosecution of the 
claim, freights, insurance, etc., together with payment into the 
fund of the sum of £5,015, which had been withheld during the 
lifetime of Madame de la Batut, brought the fund to the amount 
of $550,000. 

Since the original bequest the Institution has received gifts from 
various sources chiefly in the years prior to 1893, the income 
from which may be used for the general work of the Institution. 

To these gifts has been added capital from savings on income, 
gain from sale of securities, ete., and they now stand on the 
books of the Institution as follows: 


Avery, Robert S. and Lydia T., bequest fund___--__-________ $51, 445. 64 
Hndowment fund, from gifts, income, ete_-__-__-_-______-_______ 258, 328. 92 
Habels Ores: bequest fund) ee ee eee 500. 00 
Hachenberg, George P. and Caroline, bequest fund__________ 4, 044. 06 
Hamilton James, bequest tung === === eee 2, 905. 94 
Henry, Caroline bequest. fund EEE 1, 216. 20 
Hodgskins/e Phomasy Gs iui eee ea eee Sy era eS 146, 392. 62 
DR UT STN Ne CNY ee EA a a ce 728, 867. 62 
Rhees> William, Jones; bequest, fund=2 2222 2s ese 1, 065. 72 
Santord)|George He, memorial fund ees eee 1, 995. 18 
Witherspoon, Thomas A., memorial fund__-----___---_--_--- 129, 774. 35 
Speelal fume == 223 Oe Oa re eo ee ee 1, 400. 00 

Total endowment for general work of the Institution____- 1, 327, 936. 25 


The Institution holds also a number of endowment gifts, the 
income of each being restricted to specific use. These are invested 
and stand on the books of the Institution as follows: 


Abbott, William L., fund, bequest to the Institution______.______ $103, 969. 99 
Arthur, James, fund, income for investigations and study of the 

SUN Vand PlECEUre (Om Glee SU 40, 217, 77 
Bacon, Virginia Purdy, fund, for a traveling scholarship to in- 

vestigate fauna of countries other than the United States____ 50, 381. 96 


130 


REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 
Baird, Lucy H., fund, for creating a memorial to Secretary 


Barstow, Frederic D., fund, for purchase of animals for the 
A OLOS CHa Dicer Sie RE Oy ea ea a 
Canfield Collection fund, for increase and care of the Canfield 
COMUechiOnMORGMINerals: 294 2k aa ae So ae 
Casey, Thomas L., fund, for maintenance of the Casey collection 
and promotion of researches relating to Coleoptera___________ 
Chamberlain, Francis Lea, fund, for increase and promotion of 
Isaac Lea collection of gems and mollusks_________________ 2. 
Hillyer, Virgil, fund, for increase and care of Virgil Hillyer col- 
lechionvon lighting dob jects2 2 2k Wao a ee ae 
Hitcheock, Dr. Albert S., Library fund, for care of Hitchcock 
FACTS KORO RECN eat PSRs betes SES eee ele ee 
Hodgkins fund, specific, for increase and diffusion of more exact 
knowledge in regard to nature and properties of atmospheric 


Hughes, Bruce, fund, to found Hughes alcove_________________- 
Myer, Catherine Walden, fund, for purchase of first-class works 
of art for the use of, and benefit of, the National Gallery 


Pell, Cornelia Livingston, fund, for maintenance of Alfred Duane 
Pel eCOueGhiGit fe e1 55 2 ESN EE ies See obey ee ene eee 
Poore, Lucy T. and George W., fund, for general use of the 
Institution when principal amounts to the sum of $250,000___- 
Reid, Addison T., fund, for founding chair in biology in memory 
Ole A SHE Tes DUNS 15st. ue toe eS AS i ee eae eee ee 
Roebling fund, for care, improvement, and increase of Roebling 
ecollectionwor-mineralsses 2 iy Sah Sse oe eee 
Rollins, Miriam and William, fund, for investigations in physics 
PYAVEh | CLOTHS] ne AS OR ee eee eee ee 
Smithsonian employees retirement fund_--__-_-_____-________-_- 
Springer, Frank, fund, for care, etc., of Springer collection 
PUTGMIDEATY po = oe os Fee Se a eel ne oka 
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, research fund, for develop- 
ment of geological and paleontological studies and publishing 
ERIM ES aR EITCLE OL en tae Sr ee eee eae 
vounrer, Helen Walcott, fund, held in trust_.-.-----—----\-.-__ 
Zerbee, Frances Brincklé, fund, for endowment of aquaria______ 
Special research fund, gift, in the form of real estate___________ 


Total endowment for specific purposes other than Freer 
end Gwen tits Shae oc oels Se pyle bh eee ee ee See 


131 


$16, 296. 07 
764. 93 

38, 461, 71 
9, 223. 59 
28, 318. 52 
6, 609. 11 
1, 375. 68 
100, 000. 00 
18, 248. 71 
19, 062. 41 
2, 427. 09 
81, 367. 65 
30, 134. 19 
121, 359. 54 


99, 963. 23 
11, 651. 48 


18, 033. 47 


11, 635. 83 
50, 112. 50 

765. 33 
20, 946. 00 


881, 326. 76 


The above funds amount to a total of $2,209,263.01, and are carried 


in the following investment accounts of the Institution: 


U. S. Treasury deposit account, drawing 6 percent interest_______ 
Consolidated investment fund (income in table below) -~-----_--_- 
SMPCMUHeOUS Special. funds. AS Se ee 


$1, 000, 000. 00 
1, 093, 301. 51 


115, 961. 50 


430577—_42——_10 


2, 209, 263. 01 


132 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


CONSOLIDATED FUND 


Statement of principal and income for the last 10 years 


Fiscal year Capital Income apni Fiscal year Capital Income |? proud 
MOS2! 222 5-cee 3 $712, 156. 86 | $26, 142. 21 SiO Tigh OS (asa ns ee $738, 858. 64 | $33, 819. 43 4.57 
LOSS ates eer 764, 077. 67 28, 185. 11 3.68 |} 1938..-.______ 867, 528.50 | 34, 679. 64 4.00 
LOS te oe aS 754, 570. 84 26, 650. 32 B100ui| ehOsdes= sete 902, 801. 27 30, 710. 53 3. 40 
19352520 o ee 706, 765.68 | 26, 808. 86 Ort ales rene eee 1, 081, 249, 25 38, 673. 29 3. 47 
19362255220 723, 795. 46 26, 836. 61 GAMA) | PUOSIE See 955 Vee 1, 093, 301. 51 41, 167. 38 . 76 


FREER GALLERY OF ART FUND 


Early in 1906, by deed of gift, Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, gave 
to the Institution his collection of Chinese and other Oriental objects 
of art, as well as paintings, etchings, and other works of art by 
Whistler, Thayer, Dewing, and other artists. Later he also gave 
funds for the construction of a building to house the collection, and 
finally in his will, probated November 6, 1919, he provided stock 
and securities to the estimated value of $1,958,591.42 as an endow- 
ment fund for the operation of the gallery. From the above date 
to the present time these funds have been increased by stock divi- 
dends, savings of income, etc., to a total of $6,030,586.91. In view 
of the importance and special nature of the gift and the requirements 
of the testator in respect to it, all Freer funds are kept separate 
from the other funds of the Institution, and the accounting in 
respect to them is stated separately. 

The invested funds of the Freer bequest are classified as follows: 


Coun and ero cy frie ee a aa ae ee ie $675, 573. 37 
Court/and erounds maintenance: fume ee ee ee 169, 656. 83 
Curator: fume sete a Oe eS ed eh NR ee te ae Peay Ba(eeae 687, 507. 68 
Residuary legacy __-_____ NBA A mee Papa Deena Med Tae ges Byte 4, 497, 849. 03 
MO tee See ee a eT ae eal Ble ca dae ee 6, 030, 586. 91 
SUMMARY 
Invested endowment for general purposes_____-_______________ —— $1, 327, 936. 25 
Invested endowment for specific purposes other than Freer endow- 
MYM TA Geb Ss os SA 2 he ad Pia a a ei eee A Seed le =e 881, 326. 76 
Total invested endowment other than Freer endowment 2, 209, 263. 01 
Freer invested endowment for specific purposes_________________ 6, 080, 586. 91 
Total invested endowment for all purposes____________-- 8, 239, 849. 92 


CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS 


Deposited in the U. S. Treasury at 6 percent per annum, as 
authorized in the United States Revised Statutes, sec. 5591____ $1, 000, 000. 00 


REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 133 


Investments other than Freer endowment (cost or market value 
at date acquired) : 


Bonds )(s0) different, groups) === =- == == $467, 455. 26 
Stocks: (41> different groups) /=-——-=4. = 663, 791. 62 
Real estate and first-mortgage notes________-_- 71, 249. 00 
Uninvestedis capital sso 6 see een ee 6, 767. 13 


$1, 209, 263. 01 


Total investments other than Freer endowment___-------- 2, 209, 263. 01 
Investments of Freer endowment (cost or market value at date 
acquired) : 


Bonds (48 different groups) —--------------_- $2, 483, 088. 10 
Stocks (57 dilterent, groups) 222. oe 3, 584, 772. 34 
Real estate first-mortgage notes____________-_ 9, 000. 00 
uninvested) capital 22222 Saee ee Leese 3, 726. 47 
6, 030, 586. 91 
Motalsin Vestments oe ht 8, 239, 849. 92 


OASH BALANCES, RECEIPTS, AND DISBURSEMENTS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ? 


Cashepalancesonwhand June) o0,) 1040-2. 22 ae ee ee $391, 308. 66 
Receipts: 
Cash income from various sources for general 
Wolk (OL the institutions ee eee $90, 769. 51 


Cash gifts and contributions expendable for 

special scientific objects (not to be invested)__ 43, 063. 26 
Cash gifts for special scientific work (to be 

TEL VGSUCC cee ee ee See 20, 713. 17 
Cash income from endowments for specific use 

other than Freer endowment and from miscel- 

laneous sources (including refund of temporary 


AaVAanNCes) 2 =e A Se ee ae 59, 800. 48 
Cash received as royalties from Smithsonian 
Scientific ‘Series. =_ ss Meee See — 28, 404. 41 
Cash capital from sale, call of securities, ete. 
(to besreinvested)2- -- es Se ae es 157, 121. 07 
Total receipts other than Freer endowment______________ 394, 871. 85 
Cash income from Freer endowment___--_--_ 2338, 079. 22 
Cash capital from sale, call of securities, ete. 
(ronbecreinvested) 222s a2 Sass See 1, 059, 382. 29 
Total receipts from Freer endownment____.__---------__~ 1, 292, 411. 51 
AUT) 67 Leh sees Lage a ce el de Lah ie ee anaes weg enna 2, 078, 592. 02 


1This statement does not include Government appropriations under the administrative 
charge of the Institution. 


134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Disbursements : 
From funds for general work of the Institu- 
tion : 
Buildings—care, repairs, and alterations__ $2, 852. 33 
Hurmiture andetxtoTres sass ae eee 182. 43 
General ‘administration 222 34, 184. 52 
1 GL 0 oi a aN MMC ic pe aol A Eat tee. SELON e a Rs 2, 129. 85 
Publications (comprising preparation, 
printing, and distribution) —___.. A hh 20, 378. 94 
Researches and explorations_____--____-__ 28, 720. 74 
—----- --- $88, 448. 81 
From funds for specific use, other than Freer 
Endowment: 
Investments made from gifts, from gain 
from sale, ete. of securities and from 
Savings On NCOMCL seas ae eee ee 26, 774. 50 
Other expenditures, consisting largely of 
research work, travel, increase, and care 
of special collections, ete., from income 
of endowment funds, and from cash gifts 
for specific use (including temporary ad- 
VELTIC ES) tae ee ee eee 90, 389. 94 
Reinvestment of cash capital from sale, call 
Of securities) ele ics ass aes See eee 154, 138. 09 
Cost of handling securities, fee of invest- 
ment counsel, and accrued interest on 
bonds! purchased 2212. ee es ee 2, 090. 48 
———_—_——_ 273, 243. 01 
From I'reer Endowment: 
Operating expenses of the gallery, salaries, 
field’ expenses; @te@s2222-— 24-4 eae 43, 399. 19 
Purchase of art objects2.--2 4. 8-2 96, 719. 64 
Investments made from gain from sale, 
Cte: wok dsecurities Ss. riew lh a ee 15, 976. 19 
Reinvestment of cash capital from sale, 
call of ‘securities, etest2.2-5)-=-- 1, 047, 577. 09 
Cost of handling securities, fee of invest- 
ment counsel, and accrued interest on 
bonds purchased 222s eee eee 20, 986. 95 
1, 224, 659. 06 
Gashi(balance June 30, 1941s eee ee ee 497, 141. 14 
TT tala es ee ee a Sn oe ee ee 2, 078, 592. 02 


2 This includes salary of the Secretary and certain others. 


Included in the foregoing are expenditures for researches in pure 
science, publications, explorations, care, increase, and study of col- 
lections, etc., as follows: 

Expenditures from general funds of the Institution: 
uD lica thong yee Ee $20, 378. 94 


Researches and explorations___________________ ==) (23, 620304 
44, 099. 68 


REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 135 


Expenditures from funds devoted to specific purposes: 


Researches and explorations-—-=---==- = 2-2 Sees s- $60, 879. 90 
Care, increase, and study of special collections____ 4,836.80 
Rubies tions) yee a oes oe See ee ee 5, 470. 90 
$71, 187. 60 
TRU [a teapot altar ade ra Ali ee A ee aa nantes UE LE sae LE 115, 287. 28 


The practice of depositing on time in local trust companies and 
banks such revenues as may be spared temporarily has been continued 
during the past year, and interest on these deposits has amounted to 
$715.42. 

The Institution gratefuliy acknowledges gifts or bequests from the 
following: 

Mrs. W. W. Daly, for Smithsonian endowment fund. 

Friends of Dr. Albert S. Hitchcock, for the Hitchcock Agrostological 
Library. 

Cornelia L. Pell, for the Pell Collection. 

Research Corporation, further contributions for research in radiation. 

John A. Roebling, further contributions for research in radiation. 

H. Nelson Slater, for investigations in connection with early cotton ma- 
chinery. 

Julia D. Strong, for National Collection of Fine Arts. 

Mrs. Mary Vaux Walcott, for purchase of certain specimens. 

All payments are made by check, signed by the Secretary of the 
Institution on the Treasurer of the United States, and all revenues 
are deposited to the credit of the same account. In many instances 
deposits are placed in bank for convenience of collection and later 
are withdrawn in round amounts and deposited in the Treasury. 

The foregoing report relates only to the private funds of the 
Institution. 

The following annual appropriations were made by Congress for 
the Government bureaus under the administrative charge of the 
Smithsonian Institution for the fiscal year 1941: 

Piste are xgienines 6.02 222 o nt es So ee ee a ees $386, 260. 00 
(This combines under one heading the appropriations heretofore 
made for Salaries and Expenses, International Exchanges, 
American Ethnology, Astrophysical Observatory, and Na- 
tional Collection of Fine Arts of the Smithsonian Institution 
and for Maintenance and Operation of the United States 
National Museum.) 


BIeseLVa clone Ol COMCCHONS sae == eee oe a ee 627, 470. 00 
PUG Save Cerin GaN aaa eS oe 5 A ey ke Pe 73, 000. 00 
NEStLOn aE ZOOLOFI CAMP An ka wee e ae oe eae ele 239, 910. 00 
Cooperation with the American Bepablicn (transfer to the Smith- 

SOT AT MORES CUCU LOT) ee tate el and Pe pe ee 28, 500. 00 


AUG) el Go oat ENE bs BES SAD eo Ne nt SE a 1, 355,140. 00 


136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The report of the audit of the Smithsonian private funds is printed 


below: 
SEPTEMBER 8, 1941. 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, BOARD OF REGENTS, 
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 

Simms: Pursuant to agreement we have audited the accounts of the Smith- 
sonian Institution for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1941, and certify the balance 
of cash on hand, including Petty Cash Fund, June 30, 1941, to be $499,041.14. 

We have verified the record of receipts and disbursements maintained by 
the Institution and the agreement of the book balances with the bank balances. 

We have examined all the securitites in the custody of the Institution and in 
the custody of the banks and found them to agree with the book records. 

We have compared the stated income of such securities with the receipts 
of record and found them in agreement therewith. 

We have examined all vouchers covering disbursements for account of the 
Institution during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1941, together with the au- 
thority therefor, and have compared them with the Institution’s record of 
expenditures and found them to agree. 

We have examined and verified the accounts of the Institution with each trust 
fund. 

We found the books of account and records well and accurately kept and 
the securities conveniently filed and securely cared for. 

All information requested by your auditors was promptly and courteously 
furnished. 

We certify the Balance Sheet, in our opinion, correctly presents the financial 
condition of the Institution as at June 30, 1941. 

Respectfully submitted, 

WruiiaAmM L, YArcrEr, 
Certified Public Accountant. 


Respectfully submitted. 
Freper1io A. DrLAno, 
VANNEVAR BusH, 
Executive Committee. 


GENERAL APPENDIX 


TO THE 


SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1941 


137 


reg geet a 
es toh aN 29 ue ed 
bs ye ) a Waly ky yee 


thi haf —_ ot em a r ~s By dint ¥ } re 
ban ee | We htt ped pele Ys 
Md . Hiase. ieee ein 1 
cn 4 errs Ms i 
WL AE dp VN i , 
ie OL ae Ck eae. Re oe Soy an ny any 
Pa neg Bee hicons a ep Gas aeaE ta mH i 
J ‘ r ivy ie . wet a f hy : ‘ Le va ALY ca 
it Lae mb Herel! hoe exible At her! Ta eae rene ; eT re Par 
Nr Dalen rea enth bes ptt AN, Vea aha © (ely b 
ia , ‘ : ; 
i A. Wal enirels 28 wht: VLA aati he eaneae 
‘ - 1-4 r ARs 
hy y is iy Pi bee x mile 
ie i Teh f i 
hee ik the ee ity or ees ia ei 
h p a 2 pt hs ra, | a . & Pe ah fy 
7 ; d x oP hai isl hha We ae 
L/ rae iS ‘ Ae - ee ee are ie jl 
Bea Manne 4 fiayh EE AOL RN BY ake i pare 
) 1; o? 


« 
bi tr ety my 
\ ef Ai 
vy» 
1 ] 
note 

PA 

Me 

ny ! 

8) ' 
t i i 


y 
4 
‘ 
i 
i 
uf 
} 
. 
1 by i 
iM X i 
5, J ' 
) 
i eer he 


ADVERTISEMENT 


The object of the Generat Appenprx to the Annual Report of the 
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific dis- 
covery in particular directions; reports of investigations made by 
collaborators of the Institution; and memoirs of a general character 
or on special topics that are of interest or value to the numerous 
correspondents of the Institution. 

It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution from a very early date to enrich the annual 
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more 
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological 
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations 
of the Institution; and, during the greater part of its history, this 
purpose has been carried out largely by the publication of such papers 
as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific progress. 

In 1880, induced in part by the discontinuance of an annual sum- 
mary of progress which for 30 years previously had been issued by 
well-known private publishing firms, the secretary had a series of 
abstracts prepared by competent collaborators, showing concisely the 
prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geology, 
meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and 
anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not altogether 
satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888. 

In the report for 1889 a return was made to the earlier method of 
presenting a miscellaneous selection of papers (some of them original) 
embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and discus- 
sion. This method has been continued in the present report for 1941. 


139 


WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE STARS? 


By WALTER S. ADAMS 


Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mount Wilson Observatory, Pasadena, Calif. 


[With 4 plates] 


We are accustomed to think of the material upon which the astron- 
omer works as consisting mainly of the sun and its planetary system, 
occasional comets, and the vast array of stars and nebulae which dot 
our skies at night. In other words the astronomer is largely con- 
cerned with matter in a sufficiently condensed form either to radiate 
light like the hot sun and stars or to reflect light like the cool planets 
and satellites. In recent years, however, new information has obliged 
us to consider more seriously what lies between the stars, and it is 
this subject which I should like to discuss briefly with you this 
evening. 

In the first place it is interesting to realize how much space there 
really is in our stellar universe and how little of it is actually occu- 
pied by the stars. If this room represented an average portion of 
space and we let a floating speck of dust represent a star, we could 
not allow another speck within the room to represent another star 
because no matter where we put it the two would be too near each 
other. The star nearest to the sun is about 25 million million miles 
away. Another way of realizing how much of space is compar- 
atively empty is through its average density. If we put together 
everything we can observe directly, such as the stars and nebulae, 
in the general neighborhood of our sun, and divide the total by the 
volume of the space in which it lies, we find for each cubic inch 1 
grain of matter divided by 1 followed by 22 ciphers. At the center 
of our galaxy the density is probably 10 times greater. These values 
may perhaps be in error by a factor of 10 but we need not feel the 
deep concern of the individual who thought the lecturer gave 1 
billion instead of 10 billion years for the possible life of our sun 
and was enormously relieved when he discovered his error. 


1 Alexander F. Morrison Lecture. Reprinted by permission from Publications of the 
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 58, No. 312, April 1941. 


141 


142 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


If, at the turn of the century, a layman or even an astronomer 
had been asked what lies in the vast spaces between the stars he 
would probably have answered, “Little or nothing.” There might 
be an occasional wandering mass of cold rock like an asteroid or a 
meteorite or specks of dust such as produce our “shooting stars” 
when they strike the earth’s atmosphere; but in general, space was 
considered as essentially empty, with practically all the material in 
our galaxy condensed into the stars. 

About 1900 several observations raised serious questions regarding 
the supposed emptiness of space. The most important of these were 
Barnard’s photographs of the Milky Way which showed great lanes 
and holelike structures in the huge clouds of stars which compose 
this shining ring of light. To interpret these as real vacancies where 
no stars exist was the natural impulse, but gradually observations 
accumulated which made it impossible to retain this view. The 
“holes” were too sharply bounded and in many cases were associated 
with visible cloudlike luminosity which veiled the region. Moreover 
the presence of numerous long “tunnels” among the stars pointing 
toward the earth seemed altogether improbable. The final evidence 
was afforded by the photographs made at the Lick Observatory of 
the outer universes of stars, the extragalactic nebulae, many of which 
showed definite streaks of absorbing material crossing the main body 
of the nebula. The apparent vacancies were due to the presence of 
dark clouds of cosmic dust which absorb and scatter the light from 
the stars behind, either obliterating them completely or leaving 
them comparatively faint and inconspicuous. 

These cosmic clouds are composed of very finely divided particles 
of dust and are often of enormous extent, especially in the region 
of the Milky Way. When their thickness is great they blot out the 
stars behind them, and when thin they redden the starlight passing 
through them just as dust or smoke in the earth’s atmosphere red- 
dens sunlight, especially near sunrise or sunset when the path through 
the dust is long. The importance of these cosmic clouds in astron- 
omy is very great: they affect the brightness and color of every star 
whose light passes through them, and calculations of the distances 
of remote stars, the size of our universe, and the quantity of matter 
within it are all profoundly influenced by the absorption and scatter- 
ing of light in interstellar space. 

I shall not dwell longer on this most interesting question of dust 
clouds in space since many of you heard Dr. Seares give a lecture on 
this subject a few months ago on the occasion of the award to him 
of the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. To 
those of you who may not have heard him I can recommend a 
reading of his admirable presentation of the whole subject in the 


SS 


WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE STARS—ADAMS 143 


Publications of the Society.2, Modern observations with blue and 
red color filters show the remarkable degree to which the presence 
of such obscuring clouds modifies the appearance of great areas of 
the sky, especially in the region of the southern Milky Way, and 
illustrate the use made by astronomers of the power of red light to 
penetrate cosmic dust. 

We now know at least three forms of solid matter in interstellar 
space. There are probably dark stars, that is, stars with temperatures 
so low that they give out little or no visible light. If we knew 
where to look we might be able to detect some of them with sensitive 
heat-measuring devices—which will measure the heat given out by a 
candle at a distance of many miles—but as it is we can only infer 
their existence. We know that in the descending scale of stellar 
temperature we find cooler and cooler stars until finally we observe 
objects which give out only a faint red light. It seems reasonable 
to assume that there may be many others with still lower temperatures 
which have become invisible and are gradually approaching the con- 
dition of cold bodies like our planets or asteroids. They are probably 
small stars which have gone through the successive temperature stages 
of stellar development at a rather rapid rate. 

In addition to these occasional dark stars there are in the spaces 
between the visible stars great numbers of smaller masses of matter, 
“chunks” as Dr. Hubble has called them, such as now and then fall 
upon the earth in the form of meteorites. They are cold bodies with 
the chill of the depths of space upon them, commonly ranging in 
mass from a few pounds to a few tons. 

Finally and most important, we have the dust of space, often 
gathered into huge cosmic clouds which weaken or even blot out the 
stars behind them and give us much of the variegated pattern of the 
Milky Way. 

There is, however, another form in which we find matter existing 
in space, matter not in the solid state but in the form of gas, consist- 
ing of molecules, atoms, and even portions of atoms, the tiny elec- 
trons of the physicist. Much of our knowledge of this subject is 
of very recent date, and because it is new and because it is certain 
to affect our views of the conditions in interstellar space I should 
like to discuss it in a simple way this evening. 

This brings us at once to a consideration of a few elementary facts 
about the spectrum, for it is from the spectrum that we gain essen- 
tially all our knowledge of matter in the gaseous state. As you all 
know, white light is a mixture of several primary colors and the 
eye combines them into an impression which we call white. The 


? Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, vol. 52, p. 80, 1940. 


144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


spectrum is simply a map of the colors spread out into a band begin- 
ning with violet at one end and passing through blue, green, and 
yellow into red at the other. It can be produced in several dif- 
ferent ways, the simplest of which is by a triangular piece of glass 
called a prism. When white light passes through a prism the violet 
part of the light is bent a certain amount when it comes out, the 
green a little less, and the red still less. The final result is a con- 
tinuous band of color extending from violet to red. You have all 
seen flashes of such a spectrum when sunlight falls upon a cut-glass 
bow] or the edge of a beveled mirror. 

Now the important fact is that any chemical element, when heated 
to the point where it vaporizes and gives out light, gives it in a 
pattern of colored bright lines which is unique for each element 
and defines it absolutely. Some patterns are comparatively simple, 
while others are exceedingly complex. For example, sodium has 
relatively few lines in its spectrum and nearly all the light which 
sodium vapor emits is concentrated in two strong lines of orange 
color. These are so dominant that they define the color of a sodium 
lamp completely, as you all know who have ridden through the 
yellow glare of the street lights now in such common use. Similarly 
neon gas has its strongest lines in the red portion of the spectrum 
and hence neon signs are red to the eye, while mercury light with 
an exceedingly strong green line in its spectrum is predominantly 
green in color. On the other hand the vapor of iron produced in an 
electric arc has an extraordinarily rich spectrum consisting of some 
2,000 lines distributed throughout all the colors of the spectrum. In 
the absence of predominant lines of one color, luminous iron gas 
appears nearly white to the eye. 

One other fact should be remembered before we pass to our 
immediate astronomical applications of the spectrum. A hot, solid 
body or one consisting of dense gases gives out a spectrum which is a 
continuous band of color, not one of bright lines. When the light from 
such a body, a star for example, passes through a gas of somewhat 
lower temperature the gas will absorb light of just the color of its 
characteristic lines, and we shall have a pattern of absorption or 
dark lines. For example, when the light from the filament of an 
ordinary incandescent lamp is passed through a slightly cooler tube 
of sodium vapor we see the two strong yellow lines of sodium as dark 
lines on the yellow background of light given by the filament. 

In astronomy we have almost a precise analogy to the filament and 
tube of sodium vapor. The body of the sun or of a star corresponds 
to the filament and gives out a continuous band of color, while the 
gaseous atmosphere corresponds to the sodium tube and produces the 
absorption lines. The principal difference is that the atmosphere of 


> ee 


WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE STARS—ADAMS 145 


a star like our sun contains not only sodium but a great variety of 
other elements and so we get not only sodium lines but an immense 
number of other lines as well—such as those of hydrogen, calcium, 
iron, and some 60 other elements. 

It is hardly necessary to say that the spectra of the elements, these 
characteristic patterns of bright lines which define them uniquely 
and individually, have been studied with extraordinary care by physi- 
cists and astronomers alike for many years. Maps have been made, 
the intensities of the lines measured, and their positions determined 
with an almost uncanny degree of precision. Asa result astronomers 
know almost every element which enters into the composition of the 
sun and even the most distant stars, merely through comparison of 
the positions and intensities of the dark lines produced in their at- 
mospheres with the well-recognized bright lines of terrestrial 
elements. 

One other point should be considered. When we observe a star, its 
light comes to us through the earth’s atmosphere which is itself com- 
posed of various gases. These gases are cold and because they are 
cold remain in the form of molecules. Intense heat will break up 
molecules into atoms, and in the atmospheres of the hotter stars we 
find only the lines due to atoms. Molecules, however, can also emit 
and absorb light and give spectrum lines arranged in characteristic 
patterns, the principal difference from those produced by atoms being 
that molecules usually give an enormous number of closely packed 
lines arranged in the form of bands. Asa result when we observe the 
spectrum of a star we find superposed upon it the bands of gases 
such as oxygen, water vapor, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 
of the earth. These bands lie mainly in the red and infared portion 
of the spectrum. 

About 40 years ago two very narrow sharp lines were observed in 
the violet part of the spectrum of a star in the constellation of Orion. 
They were at once identified with well-known lines of calcium, but 
their positions did not vary periodically as did those of the lines from 
the star, and it was clear that they were not of stellar origin. They 
were called provisionally “stationary” lines, and Sir Arthur Edding- 
ton suggested the bold hypothesis that they originated in the absorp- 
tion of the atoms of calcium gas in interstellar space. Some 20 years 
later two more such lines were discovered at the Lick Observatory in 
the yellow portion of the spectrum. These are due to sodium and 
are the characteristic lines to which we have already referred. In 
1936, observations with a spectroscope on the 100-inch telescope at 
Mount Wilson led to the discovery of several additional lines, a few 
of which were identified as due to titanium and potassium. By this 
time the interstellar origin of all such lines had been fully established, 


146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


and through the work of Struve, of the Yerkes Observatory, the in- 
tensities of the calcium lines were being used as a measure of the 
distances of the stars in which they were observed. The greater the 
distance of the star, the greater the amount of interstellar gas through 
which its light passes, and the stronger the lines. Several broad hazy 
lines, apparently originating from interstellar gases but differing 
greatly in appearance from the normal sharp lines, had also been 
discovered by Merrill at Mount Wilson. 

Until recent months, accordingly, the situation was that the gases 
of calcium, sodium, titanium, and potassium had been identified in 
interstellar space but that the origin of several fairly conspicuous 
lines still remained unknown. The identified lines all arise from the 
atoms of the elements, and naturally astronomers searched for identi- 
fications of the remaining lines in the atomic spectra of other ele- 
ments. ‘This led to no success, however. The possibility was then 
considered whether the unidentified lines could arise from molecules 
instead of atoms. As I have already said, under ordinary conditions, 
molecules of compounds produce bands consisting of hundreds or 
even thousands of closely packed lines as contrasted with the simpler 
spectrum of relatively few lines arising from the atom. Under the 
conditions of interstellar space, however, with extraordinarily low 
densities and temperatures, the molecular spectrum might well be 
simplified and even reduced to a few observable lines. The suggestion 
that the broad diffuse lines observed by Merrill might have a molecu- 
lar origin was put forward by several investigators, and in the 
specific case of one of the sharp lines discovered at Mount Wilson a 
tentative identification with a line of the common hydrocarbon gas 
CH was offered by Swings and Rosenfeld. An identification resting 
upon a single line, however, necessarily remained somewhat doubtful. 

The next step was taken by McKellar at the Dominion Astro- 
physical Observatory. Applying to molecular spectra the principles 
derived from a study of some of the identified atomic lines, he was 
able to predict the positions of several additional lines for each 
molecular spectrum. Thus if the single relatively prominent line 
tentatively assigned to CH were correctly identified, there should be 
at least three other fainter lines present in another region of the 
spectrum. Similarly McKellar could predict the positions of certain 
lines of the familiar cyanogen gas CN. 

Hence the final solution of the question came back to the observer. 
Since the predicted lines were faint and narrow, it was clear that 
photographic plates of high contrast and fine grain must be used and 
that exposure times would be long. Fortunately a bright star was 
available, Zeta Ophiuchi, lying near the southern Milky Way. The 
100-inch telescope and a spectroscope 114 inches long were used with 


WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE STARS—ADAMS 147 


exposure times of about 4 hours. The results were conslusive. The 
predicted lines of hydrocarbon gas CH all appeared in their correct 
positions with their calculated intensities. In the case of cyanogen 
gas CN, the evidence is based upon fewer lines but is equally strong. 
Hence the existence of the gases CH and CN in interstellar space 
may be regarded as practically certain. 

After this brief description of how these discoveries were made, a 
few comments upon the meaning of the results may be of interest. 
In the first place, we have learned that several of the common ele- 
ments exist in space in the form of atoms; sodium, calcium, potas- 
sium, and titanium have been identified, and it is very probable that 
many if not all of the others could be recognized if only conditions 
were favorable for the appearance of their spectra. Then we have 
very recently found that two common gases, or at least two slightly 
modified common gases, are present, cyanogen and hydrocarbon gas. 
This is the first discovery of molecules in interstellar space. That 
hydrogen, the most abundant element of all in the universe, has not 
been discovered directly is due to the fact that the lines which it 
could show under the conditions present in space are in an inaccessi- 
ble part of the spectrum, and, like the lines of many other important 
elements, are cut off by the ozone in the earth’s atmosphere, which in 
the words of Russell “lies like a black pall upon the dreams of the 
astrophysicist.” However, we do find hydrogen combined with 
carbon in hydrocarbon gas and thus have ample evidence for its 
presence. 

Although the lines of hydrocarbon gas are well marked and at 
least one of them is fairly conspicuous, it is the enormous length of 
the path of light from the stars rather than the density of the gas 
which provides enough absorbing molecules. The actual density is 
extraordinarily low. In a cubic mile of space there are probably 
only a very few thousand molecules; and when we remember that the 
diameter of a molecule is less than one ten-millionth of an inch it is 
easy to see that very little of the space is occupied. But if the path 
is long enough, a good many molecules will be encountered by the 
light from a distant star, and observable absorption lines will result. 
The same reasoning holds true for lines originating from atoms such 
as sodium and calcium. Dunham estimates that there is one sodium 
atom in about 25 cubic yards of space, and yet in the spectra of very 
distant stars the interstellar sodium lines are conspicuous. 

A calculation by Russell of the average density of interstellar gas 
in general gives a value of about 2 preceded by 24 ciphers of the 
density of water. So great are the distances, however, that in the 
volume of space whose radius is equal to that of the nearest fixed 
star, the mass of the interstellar gas amounts to about one-fourth 
| 4805774211 


148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the mass of the sun. So if we consider the huge dimensions of our 
galaxy, the amount of matter contributed by interstellar gases is by 
no means negligible. 

An interesting and somewhat amusing subject is that of the tem- 
perature of these gases in space. We are accustomed to dwell upon 
the intense cold of outer space far removed from the heat of any 
nearby star and we are quite right in doing so. A thermometer placed 
in interstellar space would show a temperature of about 3° above 
absolute zero on the Centigrade scale or about 455° below zero on the 
usual Fahrenheit scale. But this is by no means the temperature of 
the atoms or molecules of a highly diffuse gas. In such a gas the 
effect of the radiation of a star which falls upon an atom is to drive 
out electrons, or, to use a technical word, to ionize it. It is the same 


process which happens when light falls upon a photoelectric cell: — 


electrons are driven out and the energy of these electrons when ampli- 
fied rings a burglar alarm or opens a garage door. The electrons in 


space have a temperature depending upon the mean energy with — 


which they are driven out of the atom, and when they collide with the 


atom they raise its temperature. Thus the atoms and molecules of | 


gas are lifted to a high temperature estimated at some 10,000° to 
20,000° on the Fahrenheit scale. The interesting feature about the 
process, as Eddington has shown, is that it depends upon the quality 
and not the quantity of the radiation, so that the temperature of a 
gas far in space will be just as high as if it were near a star. The 
rate of production of electrons will be slower but the temperature will 


not be affected. So we may say that we have two kinds of tempera-_ 


ture in space, one of space itself as registered by a thermometer, and 


a very different one for the gases, which through their remarkable — 


structure are able to build up and maintain a temperature of thou- 
sands of degrees in spite of the bitter cold of the medium which 
surrounds them. 3 

There is one other interesting characteristic of the molecules and. 
atoms in our interstellar gases. Under ordinary conditions such as | 


about rapidly, colliding with one another and knocking off and 


picking up electrons in a fraction of a millionth of a second. In the) 
extremely rarefied conditions of gas in space, however, the situation | 
is quite different. Collisions are extremely rare and the atoms and| 
molecules can remain for weeks and perhaps even months in the least” 


excited state which the state of their being will allow them to have. | 


To use a homely comparison, if we touch a sleeping cat the cat! 


responds with a a twitch of an ear or a leg which represents the least | 
possible disturbance to its equilibrium. So the lazy molecules of! 
space when disturbed by a ray of light or heat from a star seek to” 


' 


in a physical laboratory they are in a wild state of excitement, flying 


| 
| 


WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE STARS—ADAMS 149 


move as little as possible from their condition of rest and the spec- 
trum lines which we observe are those due to transitions of this sort. 
This is the reason why the complicated spectrum of a gas like cyano- 
gen, consisting of hundreds of closely packed lines, is reduced to a 
meager three or four lines when observed in interstellar space. 
These are the only lines which the molecule in its lowest state of 
energy can absorb. 

In this brief outline we have discussed the gaseous material of 
space, how it is studied, and what we know about its composition, 
temperature, and density. We have seen that three of the most im- 
portant elements which enter into the composition of the universe, 
hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, are present in the form of compounds, 
and that others as yet unidentified are represented by spectral lines in 
the interstellar gases. If in most of our considerations we have had 
our ciphers on the left-hand side of the significant figures instead of 
the right, it is because we have been dealing with atoms and molecules 
instead of stars and universes. Even so, such is the volume of space 
that the mass of the dust and gas which lies between the stars may 
well exceed by several fold all the matter actually visible with our 
greatest telescopes. 


ate bi 


“7 
eS 
‘ 


Aiba Al Aloe er be 
mt 5 wihy: TR 


iss oi aC Mee ud 


ae in *} A im valet . ur m 
kun din ae ‘tnnws meh mbes a y “haeten sero 
f ygtet inhi teahae dwn 


: syyibie 
ss be why 2asivyh ip en tk 
oe a ply’ 


Smithsonian Report, 194].—Adams PLATE 1 


Blue 


FIELD OF NGC 6553. 


Photographed by Baade in blue and in red light. The exposure times were so chosen that an unobscured 
field of normal color would have appeared similar on the two photographs. Clouds of cosmic dust be- 
tween_us and the stars scatter and absorb the blue light much more than the red. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941. 


Adams 


4000 
| 


5000 
l 


PLATE 2 


“6000 7000 
| 


CONTINUOUS 


st 


HYDROGEN 


ALCIUM 
STELLAR” (iid 


SODIUM 


OXYGEN | 


el 


GCavks A 


Na 


1. DIAGRAM SHOWING THE ORIGIN OF THE CONTINUOUS SPECTRUM AND VARIOUS 
TYPES OF ABSORPTION LINES IN STELLAR SPECTRA 


a, 55 Cygni. 


b, € Ophiuchi. 
e. ©Onhiuchi. 


(CN). 


3874.6 


H and K lines due to interstellar ionized calcium, 


Interstellar lines \ 4232, unidentified, 
Interstellar lines of CH, \ 3886 and A ¢ 


3886.4 


3890.2 


2. STELLAR SPECTRA SHOWING ABSORPTION LINES DUE TO INTERSTELLAR GASES. 


and diffuse lines due to stellar elements. 
and A 4300, hydrocarbon gas (CH). 
3890; also \ 3874.6 and a trace of A 3874.0, both cyanogen 


“(V8EE “ZVZE WW) WOINVLIL 
GAaZINO| ANY (ZOEE XY) WNIGOS WWHLNAN OL ANG SANIT YVIISLSYSALNI DNIMOHS ‘SINOINO ;X 4O WNYLOAdS LATIOIAVYLIN AO NOILYOU 


bzove £z0¢ce 


PAY TT 47 


€ 3ALV1d sulepy—'|p6| ‘140deaxy UPIUOSYAIWIG 


“SOLTOOJOA JUOLOYIP APUYSIS YALA SULAOU SBS WINIO[VO JO spnoyo eyeIEdes 0} onp Alqeqoid oie S}UaMOdUL0d aU, I, 
avoluny * 4O WN Loads NI (MH GNV H) WNMID1VD GAZINO] AO SANIT YV1I1ISLSYALN] 3a718noqd 


vy ALVW1d sulepy— | $6] ‘J4oday uURTUOsYyzIUIS 


ARTIFICIAL CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY ? 


By H. C. Horren 


Massachusetts Institute of Technology 


A study of the literature on solar energy utilization has convinced 
me of the existence of an unalterable tradition among speakers and 
writers on the subject. One must always begin such a discussion by 
expressing the earth’s reception of solar energy in units no one has 
thought before to use, the more startling the better. In keeping 
with this tradition, I shall mention a few old figures and add my 
own. The earth and its atmosphere intercept the equivalent in 
energy of 21 billion tons of coal per hour; 6 million tons per second; 
the equivalent in 3 minutes of the annual American energy consump- 
tion of about 1 billion tons; energy at a rate sufficient each year to 
melt a layer of ice 114 feet thick; on an acre at noon the equivalent 
of the discharge of a healthy stream from a garden hose spouting 
fuel oil instead of water. 

Having made the conventional beginning, let me add what many 
of you know: that figures such as these are almost irrelevant to the 
problem of practical utilization of solar energy. They have attracted 
uncounted crank inventors who have approached the problem with 
little more mental equipment than a rosy optimism. Now, an in- 
formed pessimism is sometimes the healthiest mood in which to 
approach an engineering problem; and I want to use a little space in 
an endeavor to put you in that mood. Consider a solar power plant 
utilizing 1 acre of land, and operating on the principle of conversion 
of solar energy to heat in steam used to run an engine. There is 
incident at noon, normal to the sun’s rays and outside the earth’s 
atmosphere, 7,400 horsepower of solar energy. On a clear day, of 
this quantity about 5,000 horsepower arrives at the earth. Allowing 
for the efficiency of collection of the sunlight as heat in the working 
fluid to be used in the engine, the quantity drops to about 3,300 horse- 
power. Utilizing the highest achieved efficiency of conversion of 
solar heat to useful power (results of Dr. Abbot’s experiments), the 


1 Presented before the symposium on Solar Energy, Harvard Chapter, Spring, 1940. Re- 
printed by permission from Sigma Xi Quarterly, vol. 29, No. 1, April 1941. 


151 


152 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


horsepower output drops to 490. These calculations have so far all 
been on the assumption of normal incidence of the sun on the collector 
systems. To achieve this the collector must be mounted to turn with 
the sun and must be far enough from its neighbor not to shade the 
latter in morning or afternoon. Introducing a ground-coverage fac- 
tor of one-third to allow for this, the output is cut to 163 horsepower. 
But this figure applies only to the hours when the sun shines with 
full intensity. Converting to a 24-hour basis of operation on clear 
days in summer in Arizona, the output drops to 83; or in winter to 
46 horsepower; or for the year to 68 horsepower. Passing on to the 
average year of New York weather, the output is down to 30 horse- 
power. Even if one stops at a reasonably attainable value of 50 
horsepower in Arizona, that figure is one one-hundred-and-fiftieth 
of the original 7,400 horsepower. 

For rough orientation as to the meaning of these figures, suppose 
the possibility of a 50-horsepower steady output from an acre in 
Arizona be accepted. ‘To evaluate this power, let it be assumed that 
electric power can be produced in a large modern steam plant at a 
cost of 0.6 cents per kw.-hr., or $53 a kilowatt year, making the out- 
put of our 1 acre worth $1,900 per year. In the absence of knowledge 
of labor costs, maintenance, etc., one can only guess the capital value 
of such an output. Capitalization at 15 percent is almost certainly 
overoptimistic, and even that yields but $18,000 to spend on the en- 
tire plant, or about $2.60 per square yard. Since the ground coverage 
is but one-third, $8 are available to build each square yard of re- 
flectors, mounts, and accessories. ‘The result is one so often encoun- 
tered in engineering projects: indecisive. It may be possible to build 
a plant for such an amount; much more exact knowledge of perform- 
ance and costs is necessary than was at hand in making the above 
rough estimate. What I have particularly wanted to emphasize by 
this preliminary consideration is perfectly obvious to the engineer, 
namely, that solar power is not there just for the taking! 

However, this preview has at least indicated that solar power is 
not completely outside the realm of economic feasibility. It is worth- 
while, then, to examine in more detail the problem of use of solar 
energy by conversion to heat, a problem which has commanded the 
attention of engineers for three-quarters of a century. 

First, a moment on some elementary principles of heat transmis- 
sion. If a black metal plate is exposed to the sun, and cooling water 
is run under the plate fast enough to keep the plate from rising 
appreciably above the surrounding air temperature, substantially all 
the energy of the sun’s rays intercepted by the plate shows up as 
energy in the water; the efliciency of collection of heat is nearly 100 
percent, but the value of the heat is low because of its low tempera- 


CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY—HOTTEL 153 


ture level. If the water enters 50° F. above the surrounding air 
temperature and flows through fast enough hardly to rise in tem- 
perature, there is the same interception and absorption of solar 
energy by the plate; but now much of it is used in keeping the plate 
up to temperature; it is lost to the surroundings by radiation and 
convection, and very little of the absorbed energy appears in the 
water stream. To improve the efficiency the losses must be cut down. 
There are several ways. ‘The back side of the plate may be insulated, 
since it never sees the sun. Or a plate of glass may be placed over 
the metal plate and parallel to it, with an inch or so of air space 
between. Then the plate receives and absorbs almost as much sun- 
light as before—the glass transmits about 90 percent—but the losses 
from the metal to the outer atmosphere are reduced: the convection 
loss because of the imposed stagnation of the air, and the radiation 
loss because glass, though transparent to the sun’s rays, is opaque 
to the long-wave infrared radiation emitted by the hot metal plate. 
Variations of this idea include the use of several glass plates and of 
glass vacuum chambers. Another method of cutting down losses is 
to reduce the area at which losses occur relative to the area of the 
interceptor of the energy to be collected. This may be done by 
choosing the most favorable orientation of the plate, that is, normal 
to the sun’s rays, or by use of a concentrating device, such as a mirror, 
which intercepts rays covering a large area and brings them to a 
focus on an object of much smaller area where the heat loss is 
consequently correspondingly small despite the high temperature. 

From this discussion there emerges a threefold basis of classifica- 
tion of solar energy collectors: (1) By nature of orientation of the 
collector (whether and how completely it follows the sun), (2) by 
amount of concentration achieved by mirrors, (3) by amount and type 
of insulation of the receiver surface. It is perfectly obvious that 
many of the early inventors and engineers in this field were familiar 
with these principles in a general way. 

One might now ask, “With all this work, have not the possibilities 
of energy production by conversion to heat been so thoroughly studied 
as to yield a definite answer?” Unfortunately, no. Qualitative 
familiarity with the principles involved, these men had certainly ; but 
with the exception of the work of Dr. Abbot, their experiments and 
records indicate inadequate quantitative knowledge of the problem. 
As an exemple, consider the simplest possible collector, the flat plate 
insulated with several air-spaced glass layers. Willsie’s work at 
Needles in 1909 indicated the possibilities of this simplest of solar 
plants, but it left unanswered the question of merit relative to the 
much more efficient—and more expensive—plant of Abbot, and did 
not yield data permitting the design of such a plant for any given 


154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


climate. Among the projects at M. I. T. made possible by Dr. God- 
frey Cabot’s endowment for research on utilization of solar energy 
is one having as its first objective the determination of the perform- 
ance characteristics of solar energy collectors of different types, the 
performance, of course, being correlated with records of incident 
solar energy so as to permit calculations of expected performance 
in any locality where sunlight records are available. The first and 
so far the only type of collector studied has been the flat plate, which 
will now be considered briefly. 

Since each additional layer of glass and air cuts down the losses 
from such a plate, it is apparent that with glass having perfect 
transmission one could build a collector which, without any focusing 
or concentrating device, would still collect efficiently at a very high 
temperature level. But the best glass is not perfect. It doesn’t ab- 
sorb much solar energy when one picks the right glass—and there is 
ample evidence that early experimenters were too casual in their choice 
of glass in that respect—but there is a reflection loss of about 4 per- 
cent at each surface. Consequently, as glass plates are added the 
point is ultimately reached where the reduction in heat loss from the 
metal plate is more than offset by the reduction in intensity of in- 
cident radiation due to reflection losses. The optimum number of 
plates to use will be less the more intense the sunlight, more the 
colder the weather and the higher the temperature of collection of 
heat. 

The controlling part played by reflection losses in the design of 
flat-plate collectors having been brought out, the desirability of a low 
reflecting glass was discussed with Professor Hardy, of our Physics 
Department. The result was the invention by Drs. Turner and Cart- 
wright of a method of processing glass to give it a permanent sur- 
face of reflectivity approaching zero at one point in the spectrum. 
The process has already demonstrated its importance in a great many 
uses ranging from spectacle lenses through bomb sights to high-speed 
cameras and the solar-corona camera which was described in the first 
article of this series. Here is an excellent example of a need in one 
field stimulating research, the results of which have many applica- 
tions in other fields. The special glass has not yet been used for an 
experimental solar-energy collector, but calculations indicate that 
its use should make possible the attainment of temperatures up to 
800° F. without any mirrors or lenses or so-called concentrating 
devices. 

Another problem of flat-plate collectors is that of optimum tilt. 
Obviously they are too cheap a type of collector system to warrant 
being mounted to follow the sun, but they may profitably be tilted 
permanently toward the Equator. A little consideration will in- 
dicate that the optimum tilt depends very definitely on the use to 


CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY—-HOTTEL 155 


which the collected heat is to be put. If the objective is the max- 
imum collection during the entire year, tilting should favor the sum- 
mer season. If, on the other hand, the objective is to supply heat for 
a load which varies throughout the year, the tilt should be chosen to 
favor that part of the year in which the load is highest. 

As to the use of such collectors, it has already been indicated that 
one must find first just what they cando. But speculation is permissi- 
ble. One might visualize a large artificial lake with sloped sides 
formed by throwing up an earthen ring around a surface-scraped cen- 
ter, the bottom and sloping sides being surfaced with asphalt. Float- 
ing on this lake, which is, say, 20 to 40 feet deep, is an enormous raft 
covering it completely. On the raft is a layer of insulation, then a sys- 
tem of flat-plate collectors. Forced circulation of lake water through 
the collectors whenever they attain a temperature above the reser- 
voir will produce a large body of hot water available for continuous 
operation of a power plant. The working fluid in the engine might 
be low-pressure steam or, to cut down engine size, a fluid which 
boils at lower temperatures. It is not possible to state at this time 
whether such an idea has possibilities. 

Another less ambitious use of flat-plate collectors might be that of 
house heating in relatively cold but sunny climates, or summer air 
conditioning. Some preliminary figures may indicate the prospects 
in this direction. Consider house heating in New England, and 
take as a basis the furnishing of one therm of heat throughout the 
heating season—100,000 B. t. u.: the heat obtained by burning 1 
gallon of fuel oil with normal efficiency of combustion. If 1 square 
foot of flat-plate receiver covered with three plates of glass and 
tilted 40° southward is operated in connection with 114 cubic feet 
of water in a well-insulated tank, and the water is pumped from 
the tank to the receiver and back whenever the receiver is hotter 
than the tank, the combination will supply all but 15 percent of the 
100,000 B. t. u. required during the season; the 15 percent has to be 
supplied as auxiliary heat in December, January, and February. 
The value of the heat saved is the cost of 0.85 gallons of fuel oil, or 
about 6 cents. Capitalizing this at 6 percent gives only $1 available 
to be spent on the roof collector and tank. This is plainly not enough, 
but the answer is interesting because we have not determined the 
optimum number of glass plates, or tilt, or ratio of roof to tank 
area, or considered the possibility of some day having treated glass of 
lower reflectivity. More particularly, the idea looks interesting for 
localities where the ratio of winter to summer sunshine is somewhat 
more favorable than in Boston, and the winter heating requirements 
somewhat lower. According to a recent publication of Dr. Abbot’s, 
Dr. F. G. Cottrell has proposed a somewhat similar storage system 
in which sand is to be used instead of water. Whether the ad- 


156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


vantages of low-cost installation and ability to store heat at a higher 
temperature would be offset by the disadvantage of lower efficiency 
of collection is a point requiring study. 

Whether the use of flat-plate collectors together with a storage 
system is economically possible for house heating or air conditioning 
in certain areas of the earth, whether other types of collector will 
prove cheaper for these uses or for power generation, whether power 
generation from solar heat demands the development of a new 
heat-engine cycle, and whether power generation by any process 
dependent on direct conversion of sunlight into heat with consequent 
unavoidable losses due to the degradation of energy is sound—these 
are questions which it is hoped this program will help to answer. 
Regardless of the result, the present considerable and increasing 
importance of solar heat for hot water in certain parts of this coun- 
try indicates the need for a comprehensive study of the factors 
involved in the design of collectors. 

Now to come to a second project, related to the one just dis- 
cussed. Conventional heat-power plants are characterized by a cost 
of power production depending enormously on the capacity of the 
plant; and we have seen that solar power does not now look very 
attractive when compared to large-scale operation of steam plants. 
If, on the other hand, it were possible to operate small solar plants 
with an efficiency comparable to large ones, the comparison with 
fuel-fired plants might lead to some very different conclusions. 
So far as the collectors of the sunlight are concerned there is little 
indication that the cost should be other than proportional to the 
amount of collector area. If then it were possible to devise an 
engine with moderate efficiency even in small units, one might have 
something worthwhile. The second project is, in effect, a study 
of a type of engine which may have just such desired characteristics. 
When two dissimilar conducting materials are joined to form a 
loop and the two junctions are kept at different temperatures, heat 
flows into the loop at the hot junction, a portion of its energy is 
converted to electrical energy and the rest flows out of the cold 
junction as heat. The phenomenon involved here has itself long 
been known; many investigators have been led to speculate upon it 
as a possibility for large-scale thermoelectric power production, but 
then to dismiss it as unimportant because the effect is small. Of the 
early experiments in this field, the best yielded an over-all efficiency 
of conversion of energy from gas to electricity of only 0.6 percent. 
Consequently, until recently, the: sole use of the phenomenon has been 
in the measurement of temperature. 

In trying to better these results, one naturally asks, first, the ques- 
tion “What property must a metal or alloy have besides high thermo- 
electric power if it is to be of interest for heat-power generation?” 


CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY—HOTTEL 157 


Plainly, the material should have a low thermal conductivity to 
minimize the loss of heat flowing from the hot to the cold junction. 
Moreover, the electrical conductivity should be as high as possible 
in order not to dissipate an excessive amount of electrical energy 
as heat within the “engine.” The ratio of the two quantities, thermal 
conductivity to electrical conductivity, is known as the Wiedemann- 
Franz ratio; and it has just been shown that this ratio should be 
as low as possible. A correlation of data from the literature and a 
consideration of theoretical limitations indicate a sort of conspiracy 
on the part of Nature to prevent the finding of any material with 
a Wiedemann-Franz ratio less than a certain minimum value. A 
study of the properties of zinc-antimony alloys indicates that the 
thermoelectric power is a maximum for an alloy containing 36 per- 
cent zinc, but that, owing to the extremely abnormal value of the 
Wiedemann-Franz ratio in this alloy, there is an advantage in use 
of an alloy containing 48 percent zinc, since the thermoelectric power 
of such an alloy is almost as good as the best, and the Wiedemann- 
Franz ratio is very much more favorable. 

An “engine” consisting of an alloy of zinc and antimony contain- 
ing 48 percent zinc against the alloy copel has been found to produce 
a 5 percent useful conversion of heat to electrical power in the 
external circuit, when the temperature difference of the hot and cold 
junctions of the system is maintained at 400° C. To the layman 
this may not sound very imposing, but it is to be remembered that 
25-percent efficiency is attained only in the best of modern steam 
power plants and that 5 percent would not be considered bad for a 
small engine. Moreover, it is to be remembered that a great many 
alloys and compounds exist, the thermoelectric properties of which 
are unknown, that it is not inconceivable that further study of the 
problem may produce a material increase in efficiency in this kind 
of an engine. With such an idea in mind, there has been initiated 
at M. I. T. a program of study of the thermoelectric properties of 
various compounds and alloys. The work is in too early a stage to 
justify consideration at the present time. 

So far in this discussion only the so-called heat engine has been 
considered as a means of conversion of solar enregy to useful power. 
The term, to an engineer, means a device which receives energy as 
heat at a certain temperature, converts part of that energy to useful 
power and throws away the rest to a so-called heat sink at a second 
lower temperature. That this discussion was concerned in the first 
instance with the use of steam in the engine and in the second in- 
stance with the use of a thermocouple for conversion to power is 
immaterial; in each case the first step has been the conversion of 
solar energy to heat. Now, there is available to the scientist and 
engineer a powerful tool, known as the second law of thermodynam- 


158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ics, that permits him to appraise the possibilities of the heat engine; 
and it tells him, for example, that the enormous reservoir of heat 
which the earth’s atmosphere constitutes is not available for use in a 
heat engine. This same second law of thermodynamics states that, 
in the act of collecting sunlight and converting it to heat at a lower 
temperature level, a degradation of solar energy has occurred; the 
energy has been made less available for conversion to power even 
though none of it has been lost; and no process—no matter how 
clever the inventor—can restore the energy to a form as intrinsically 
useful as when it arrived here as solar energy just before its conver- 
sion to heat. 

In consequence of this important limitation on what can be ex- 
pected so long as one’s interest is restricted to heat engines, it is 
appropriate to consider other means of conversion of solar energy to 
power which do not involve as a first step the collection of the energy 
as heat, but which instead make use of the special nature of the 
energy as it arrives. Solar energy reaching the earth consists of a 
jumbled mass of radiations of wave lengths varying from the short 
ultraviolet through the visible spectrum and out into the infrared, 
roughly one-third of the total energy lying in the visible spectrum. 
The radiation might be likened, if the analogy is not pushed too far, 
to a shower of bullets—unit quantities of energy, known as quanta, 
each of a particular wave length. The quanta of shortest wave 
lengths have the greatest unit energy content; and almost two-thirds 
of the total energy consists of relatively impotent quanta in the 
infrared. If, instead of pouring all these quanta into the funnel of 
a heat engine, they are given a chance to show their individuality, 
what are their specialties? One, of particular interest to us at pres- 
ent, is the phenomenon of photoelectricity, the ability of light quanta 
of certain wave lengths to knock electrons out of atoms or atomic 
lattices in crystals and produce an electric current. 

Many of you have encountered this phenomenon in using that type 
of camera exposure meter which indicates on a dial the intensity of 
illumination. Light is there being converted into electrical energy 
which is in turn used to make the galvanometer needle move. The 
light-sensitive unit of such a device is one of two kinds, each referred 
to as a blocking-layer photocell. The copper oxide cell is typical; it 
consists of a massive plate of copper which has been oxidized on one 
face and then etched, to produce thereby a layer grading from 
cuprous oxide through all proportions of oxygen down to pure cop- 
per. The cuprous oxide surface is covered with a thin film of an- 
other metal, so thin as to be transparent to light quanta. There is 
thus produced a sandwich in which the outer layers are metal and 
the inside layers consist of material graded in character in a direc- 
tion normal to the surface. If a quantum of visible light strikes 


CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY—HOTTEL 159 


the thin metal cover of the cuprous oxide, it passes through that and 
through the cuprous oxide layer, penetrating to some point in the 
structure where the composition lies between that of cuprous oxide 
and copper (the so-called blocking layer) ; and there the quantum— 
the bullet of energy—succeeds in knocking out an electron from the 
erystal lattice. The electron, being liberated in territory where the 
view depends on which way it looks, finds, in general, that the going 
is easier when it migrates toward the copper rather than through the 
cuprous oxide to the other metal film. This preferential movement 
of the electrons in one direction constitutes an electric current. 

How important is this phenomenon for power generation from 
sunlight? Tests on copper oxide photocells indicate that of the 
visible light quanta falling on such a cell only about 5 percent suc- 
ceed in causing an electron to show up in the external electric circuit, 
that, furthermore, the voltage efficiency of the system is only about 
10 percent, with a consequent over-all efficiency of conversion of 
luminous energy to power of one-half of 1 percent. Preliminary 
calculations indicate that a tenfold increase in this efficiency would 
make copper oxide cells interesting for solar power production; and 
there is no present reason to believe such an accomplishment im- 
possible. It is not easy, however, for the physicist doesn’t really 
know just what goes on in the blocking layer of the photocell. 
Clearly the problem is one which demands a fundamental study com- 
pletely divorced from any present considerations of a practical nature. 
Such a project has been initiated in our Electrical Engineering Depart- 
ment in connection with a broad program of study of insulators and 
semiconductors—the cuprous oxide of our photocell is such—from the 
atomphysical viewpoint. The problem is really one of studying the 
laws of motion of electrons in semiconductors; the effect of crystal 
versus amorphous structure; of crystal structures in which there is 
strong ionic binding, such as sodium chloride versus crystal struc- 
tures in which the bonding is atomic, as in sulfur; the effect of tem- 
perature on conduction and break-down in insulators; the effect of 
an excess of one of the components of a crystalline compound present 
in the crystal. When the nature of the migration of electrons in 
semiconductors is better understood, when their interaction with the 
lattice structure is able to be formulated quantitatively, then one can 
attack with some hope of success the difficult barrier-layer photocell 
problem. Whether such an attack succeeds or not, the knowledge 
acquired in the course of the problem is certain to be of enormous 
value in a field of great practical importance, insulation research. 

I come now to the last of the M. I. T. solar-energy projects, one 
which like the previous one depends on the special properties of 
sunlight rather than its over-all energy content. Dr. Thimann 


160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


pointed out in his contribution ? our complete dependence on the proc- 
ess known as photosynthesis: the use by green plants of solar energy 
in the visible spectrum to produce carbohydrates out of carbon doxide 
and water. He also emphasized the extreme complexity of the proc- 
ess—the fact that no one has been able to extract the essential 
chlorophyll and carotenoids from a plant leaf and make the reaction 
go in atest tube. By some process, which we have hardly begun to 
understand, the leaf structure succeeds in capturing the energy of 
sunlight and transferring it to the reaction: carbon dioxidet+ 
water=carbohydrate+oxygen, a reaction absorbing 112 kilocal- 
ories per gram atom of carbon. But to store solar energy chemically 
one does not have to carry out the same reaction that nature does; 
any chemical reaction which absorbs energy and produces a fuellike 
product capable of later combustion to return the energy for use at 
the proper time would be acceptable. Chemical industry has often 
succeeded in competing with nature in the production of a material 
of desired characteristics, not by attempting a complete imitation of 
nature, but by focusing attention on those properties of the natural 
material important to its use and imitating them with a synthetic 
product, perhaps chemically quite different from nature’s product. 

In the photochemical field, then, a combination of sensitizers and 
catalysts might be attempted that would allow us to perform some 
relatively simple energy-storing reaction such as the decomposition 
of water. A major problem would be to provide suitable inter- 
mediate steps in the process in order that the relatively small energy 
quanta, which constitute visible light, could be used in stepwise fash- 
ion such as nature apparently uses them in the photosynthetic ap- 
paratus of green plants. The photochemical system would probably 
have one of the characteristics of the photochemical system of the 
plant, namly heterogeneity. But the heterogeneity might be accom- 
plished not by constructing some sort of imitation leaf, but rather, 
for example, by a colloidal solution. 

Another approach to the problem is possible. We may renounce 
the production of metastable products or mixtures with a high con- 
tent of chemical energy—fuels or explosives—and turn our attention 
to the utilization of the energy of the unstable intermediate products 
obtained in almost every photochemical reaction. Among the ways 
of utilizing these products is to convert their high energy content 
into electrical energy. A reaction must be found in which passage 
from the unstable to the stable state can be made to proceed as an 
electrode reaction in a galvanic cell. Examples of this kind are 
oxidation-reduction reactions in electrolytes. The properties of such 
a reaction, carried out in what is known as a photogalvanic cell, are 


*?Thimann, Kenneth V., The action of light on organisms. Sigma Xi Quart., vol. 29, 
No. 1, pp. 23-35, April 1941. 


CONVERTERS OF SOLAR ENERGY—HOTTEL 161 


being studied at the Institute. The system chosen consists of an or- 
ganic dye, thionine, and ferrous iron in the form, for example, of a 
ferrous sulfate solution. The two components form in the solution 
a reversible oxidation-reduction system. 


(dyestuff) +Fet*= leukodyestuff-+Fett* 


(colorless) 


Ferric iron is a much stronger oxidizing agent than thionine; there- 
fore, in the dark, all the thionine is in the form of the dye, and all 
the iron in the ferrous form. If, however, the mixture is illuminated 
by the light absorbed by thionine—1i. e., visible light in the region 
5000-7000 A. (green, yellow, red light)—the thionine molecules are 
activated by light and become capable of oxidizing ferrous iron. 
Since the reduced thionine is colorless, the reaction is recognized by a 
decoloration of the solution. This bleaching proceeds to a steady 
state, whose exact character depends on the intensity of illumination. 
In this state, the velocity of the photochemical bleaching reaction 
is exactly compensated by that of the back-reaction restoring the 
equilibrium. As soon as the light is switched off, the system reverts 
to its original state. 

Experiments have been conducted on the kinetics of this interesting 
photochemical process, using a photometric method for the determina- 
tion of the concentration of the dye under different conditions. Of 
more interest in the present connection is the electrochemical effect of 
light in the thionine-iron system. As the composition of the solution 
changes through illumination, its electrode potential is also changed; 
if two platinum electrodes are placed in the solution and the electro- 
lyte surrounding one of them is illuminated while the other is kept 
dark, a potential difference is established between the two electrodes 
and a current flows from the dark to the illuminated electrode. 
The problem of the photogalvanic effect demonstrated by this experi- 
ment has two elements: the first and simpler question is that of the 
electromotive force produced by a given illumination; the second is 
that of the current that can be.drawn from such a photogalvanic 
cell. 

So far, experiments have been concerned with the first part of the 
problem. The photogalvanic potential of the thionine-iron system 
has been measured in relation to the concentrations of all the compo- 
nents and the light intensity. A pronounced maximum of potential 
is found at a certain concentration of the dyestuff, and a strong in- 
crease in effect with decreasing acidity of the solution. From such 
experiments, it has been possible to develop a quantitative picture of 
the photogalvanic effect in satisfactory agreement with the experi- 
mental results. The next step is a study of the factors affecting cur- 


162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


rent withdrawal from such a device, a phase of the program which 
has just commenced. 

As to whether photogalvanic cells of this or similar types have 
practical importance as solar energy converters it is too early to 
hazard an opinion. Certainly their study has the merit of presenting 
problems in photochemistry which, while complex, are not so complex 
as to defy analytical treatment. In that respect they satisfy the 
condition which the scientist has learned to impose on himself, namely, 
not to ask questions of Nature which are so difficult that he cannot 
yet begin to understand her answer. 

In summary, I have tried to point out that the best-known method 
of utilizing solar energy by artificial means is the relatively simple 
one of first converting the energy to heat; that, today, engineering 
data are inadequate properly to determine the value of such heat, 
whether for conventional use as heat or for conversion to power; 
that, if heat is converted to power, we are limited in possible efficiency 
by the second law of thermodynamics; that consequently it is necessary 
to turn to the fields of photochemistry and photoelectricity where 
theoretical limitations on expected output are less severe; that in 
turning to these fields it is found that the problems which arise are 
of so complicated a nature as to point plainly to the need for a long- 
range program of research into fundamental phenomena, research 
divorced almost completely for the time being from any considera- 
tions of a practical nature. To summarize this summary, with respect 
to the future of solar energy utilization, your guess is as good as 
mine. 

REFERENCES 
ABBsorT, C. G. 
1929. The sun and the welfare of man. Smithsonian Sci. Ser., vol. 2. 
New York. 
1939. Utilizing heat from the sun. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 98, No. 5. 
ACKERMANN, A. S. E. 
1915. The utilisation of solar energy. Journ. Roy. Soe. Arts, vol. 63, No. 
3257, pp. 5388-562, April. 
BROOKS, F’. A. 
1936. Solar energy and its use for heating water in California. Univ. Cali- 
fornia, Coll. Agr. Bull. 602, November. 
EPSTEIN, LEO F.., KARUSH, F., and RABINOWITCH, HE. A. 
1941. A spectrophotometric study of thionine. Journ. Opt. Soc. Amer., 
vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 77-84. 
Hortet, H. C. and WoERrTz, B. B. 
1942. The performance of flat-plate solar heat collectors. Trans. Amer. 
Soc. Mech. Eng. February. 
RABINOWITCH, EH. 
1940a. The photogalvanic effect. I. The photochemical properties of the 
thionine-iron system. Journ. Chem. Phys., vol. 8, No. 7, pp. 551-559. 
1940b. The photogalvanic effect. II. The photogalvanie properties of the 
thionine-iron system. Journ. Chem. Phys., vol. 8, No. 7, pp. 560-566. 


THE NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM* 


By ERNEST O. LAWRENCE 


The University of California 


[With 9 plates] 


The anniversary celebration of a great university is indeed an 
important occasion, and it is appropriate to signalize the event by a 
symposium on “The University and the Future of America,” for a 
a great institution of learning is eternally youthful, and youth looks 
always to the future. I am greatly honored to be included in this dis- 
tinguished gathering, and it gives me especial pleasure to join in wish- 
ing our sister institution many happy returns. 

In a discussion bearing on the future, the scientist is always in some- 
thing of a dilemma. On the one hand, he is cautioned to make only 
very limited prognostications, for he has learned the very limited 
region of applicability of existing knowledge and the likelihood of 
error in speculation. On the other hand, he faces the future with eager 
excitement and curiosity about what is beyond the present frontiers 
of knowledge, and he is naturally tempted to speculate and indeed 
to indulge in day dreams. Perhaps I may convey something of what 
is in the minds of physicists these days by a brief discussion of somé 
recent developments of the current intensive attack on the new frontier 
in the atomic world—the nucleus of the atom. 


ATOMS 


The atomic constitution of matter has long been a keystone of 
natural science. At the beginning of this century it was a keystone 
in a structure having as pillars the principles of the conservation of 
energy and the indestructibility of matter. In the nineties, it was 
almost axiomatic to say that the building blocks of nature are the 
atoms—indivisible, indestructible entities, permanent for all time. 
But the discovery of radioactivity altered all this. There followed 


1 An address delivered at the symposium on “The University and the Future of America,” 
on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of Stanford University, June 16-19, 
1941. Reprinted by permission from volume entitled ‘The University and the Future of 
America,” published by Stanford University Press. 


4305774212 
163 


164 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the discovery of the electron and the proton as smaller and more 
fundamental constituents of matter and the atom itself became the 
happy hunting ground of the experimental physicist. Atomic physics 
developed rapidly; for the atom was found to be a domain of almost 
incredible richness, and today, thanks perhaps to the newspapers, 
our children speak knowingly of smashing atoms! 

To explain the wonderful phenomenon of radioactivity, Rutherford 
came forward in 1904 with a revolutionary hypothesis which reduced 
the complicated and mysterious observations of radioactivity to simple 
order. According to Rutherford, not all of the atoms have existed 
for ages and will exist for all time, but there are some atoms in nature 
that are energetically unstable and in the course of time, of their own 
accord, blow up with explosive violence. These are the natural radio- 
active substances, and the fragments given off in the atomic explosions 
are the observed penetrating rays. 

It was not long before Rutherford’s hypothesis was established as 
a law of nature and formed a greater keystone, replacing the chem- 
ists’ conception of the atom and serving as a foundation for a new 
science, the science of the atomic nucleus. 

Time does not permit an adequate historical résumé of the develop- 
ment of nuclear physics, but for the present purpose it is sufficient 
to say that the ideas of Rutherford and Bohr on the structure of 
atoms are now firmly established. There is an abundance of evidence 
that an atom consists of a nebulous cloud of planetary electrons 
whirling about a very dense sun, the positively charged nucleus, 
and that it is in the nucleus that the atomic explosions of radioactiv- 
ity occur. Indeed, our assurance that this is so rivals our confidence 
that the planets revolve about the sun! 


ATOMIC NUCLEUS 


Let us now proceed immediately to a consideration of the structure 
of the nucleus. The nucleus consists of a closely packed group of 
protons and neutrons, elementary building blocks of nature some 
2,000 times heavier than the electrons. The neutrons are electri- 
cally neutral while the protons carry positive charges, and for each 
proton in the nucleus there is a corresponding negative electron out- 
side, for the atom as a whole is uncharged. Since the number of elec- 
trons outside determines the ordinary chemical and physical proper- 
ties of the atom, it follows that the nuclear charge determines the 
place of the atom in the periodic table of the elements. 

Thus, the nucleus is the body and soul of the atom. More than 
99.9 percent of the atom’s mass is in the nucleus and the nuclear 
charge determines the nature of the atom, its chemical and physical 
properties. 


NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM—LAWRENCE 165 
TRANSMUTATION OF THE ELEMENTS 


These considerations reduce the age-old problem of alchemy to 
simple terms. For we see to change one element into another is sim- 
ply to change the nuclear charge, i. e., the number of protons, in the 
nucleus. The subject of transmutation of the elements has recently 
received a great deal of attention in the laboratory. All sorts of 
transmutations have been produced on a minute scale—helium has 
been made from lithium, magnesium from sodium, and even mercury 
has been turned into gold. The day may come when we will indeed 
possess the philosopher’s stone and will be able to transmute the ele- 
ments on a grand scale. But interesting as these developments are, I 
should like to draw your attention to two other subjects, artificial 
radioactivity and the question of tapping the vast reservoir of energy 
in the nucleus of the atom. 


ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVITY 


One of the early results of atomic bombardment was the discovery 
that neutrons could be knocked in or knocked out of the nucleus 
to produce radioactive isotopes of the ordinary elements. Thus, for 
example, the nucleus of the ordinary sodium atom contains 11 neu- 
trons and 12 protons, 23 particles in all, and so it is called sodium 238 
(or Na*); and by bombardment it was found that a neutron could 
either be added to make sodium 24 or subtracted to make sodium 22, 
both isotopic forms not occurring in the natural state. The reason 
that these synthetic forms are not found in nature is that they are 
energetically unstable. They are radioactive and in the course of time 
blow up with explosive violence. Sodium 24 has a half-life of 14.5 
hours, i. e., it has an even chance of disintegrating in that time, 
turning into magnesium by the emission of an electron. Sodium 22, 
on the other hand, has a half-life of 3 years and emits positive elec- 
trons to turn to stable neon 22. 

These artificial radioactive isotopes of the elements are indistin- 
guishable from their ordinary stable relatives until the instant they 
manifest their radioactivity. This fact deserves emphasis, and it 
may be illustrated further by the case of chlorine. Chlorine consists 
of a mixture of two isotopes, 76 percent of Ci®* and 24 percent of 
Cl", resulting in a chemical atomic weight of 35.46 which is the 
average weight of the mixture. By elaborate technique, to be sure, 
it is possible to take advantage of the extremely slight difference in 
chemical properties and bring about separation of these isotopes, but 
in ordinary chemical, physical, and biological processes, the chlorine 
isotopes are indistinguishable and inseparable. The artificial radio- 
active isotopes Cl* and Cl** are likewise indistinguishable. In fact, 


166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Cl** is more nearly identical in properties to the natural isotope 
Cl** than is the other natural isotope Cl*’.. And again I would say 
that the radioactive characteristic of Cl®* becomes evident only at the 
moment it blows up to turn into the neighbor element sulfur. 


RADIOACTIVE TRACER ATOMS 


In these radioactive transformations of the artificial radioactive 
isotopes, the radiations given off are so energetic that the radiations 
from individual atoms can be detected with rugged and reliable 
instruments, called Geiger counters. Thus, radioactive isotopes can 
be admixed with ordinary chemicals to serve as tracer elements in 
complicated chemical or biological processes. 

As an illustration of the power of this new technique of labeling 
and tracing atoms, let us consider iodine in relation to the thyroid 
gland. It is well known that the thyroid takes up and stores iodine, 
and this fact can be demonstrated strikingly by feeding an individual 
iodine including a small quantity of radioactive iodine. Before the 
feeding, the radioactivity of the food can be measured by placing it 
near a Geiger counter, thereby giving a measure of the iodine con- 
tent. Later the progress of the iodine through the body can be 
observed by placing the Geiger counter next to various parts of the 
body. Likewise, the proportion of the fed iodine in the various 
body fluids at any time can be determined quickly by taking small 
samples of the fluids and measuring their radioactivity. After some 
hours it is found that a large part of the iodine taken in has col- 
lected in the thyroid, a fact that is readily established by placing a 
Geiger counter next to the gland (pl. 1, fig. 1) and observing the 
activity while finding no appreciable activity elsewhere. This tech- 
nique makes it possible to study the behavoir of the thyroid in 
health and in disease, and much interesting work along this line has 
been carried out recently. 


RADIO-AUTOGRAPHY 


Although the tracer elements are readily detected with the Geiger 
counter, there is a photographic method which for many purposes 
has obvious advantages. This method is sometimes called radio- 
autography and is illustrated by plate 1, figure 2. Here a minute 
amount of radioactive phosphorus in the form of sodium phosphate 
was added to the nutrient solution of a tomato plant, and after a 
day or so leaves were placed against a photographic film enclosed in a 
light tight paper envelope. The penetrating rays from the radio- 
active phosphorus produced the developed contact image shown in 
the figure, which gives an accurate and detailed picture of the uptake 
of phosphate by the plant. Now, indeed, the same method works 


NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM—LAWRENCE 167 


very well also for the thyroid, as is shown in plate 2, which is a 
photomicrograph of a thin section of thyroid tissue containing 
radio-iodine; alongside is the radio-autograph obtained from the 
same microsection by placing it against a photographic plate. The 
distribution of the iodine in various parts of the gland is shown in 
surprising detail. 

Similarly striking radio-autographs of the distribution of phos- 
phorus and strontium in rats are shown in plate 3, figure 1. Here 
two rats were fed radiophosphorus and radiostrontium respectively, 
and then some hours or days later they were sacrificed, and frozen 
sections of the entire bodies of the animals were placed against a 
photographic plate. The resulting radio-autographs show clearly 
that both strontium and phosphorus are selectively deposited in the 
bones, phosphorus being more widely distributed in other tissue. 
The distribution of the strontium in the bones also appears to be 
quite different from that of phosphorus as radio-autographs of the 
sections of bones clearly show (pl. 3, fig. 2). 

These examples serve to illustrate the power of the new technique 
of radioactive tracer atoms. It has often been said that the progress 
of science is the progress of new tools and new techniques, and I 
think we may look forward to accelerated developments in biology 
resulting from the tracer elements. 


ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES IN THERAPY 


It is somewhat afield for me to discuss medical problems, but I 
should like to direct your atention to the possibilities of the artificial 
radioactive substances in the treatment of cancer and allied diseases. 
It is well known that at the present time there are two main ap- 
proaches to the treatment of neoplastic disease, surgery and radia- 
tion. It is sometimes possible to cut out a cancer completely and 
effect a cure, and in other circumstances, it is possible to destroy a 
tumor by irradiation with X-rays or radium. The mechanism 
whereby the radiation destroys the tumor without destroying an 
excessive amount of surrounding norma] tissue is doubtless extremely 
complicated, but in any case it is evidently important to localize the 
radiation to the tumor as much as possible. Perhaps the idea would 
be approached if a means were at hand to irradiate each and every 
malignant cell without irradiating a single normal cell. 

The artificial radioactive substances open for the first time the 
possibility of an approach to such selective irradiation of tissue. 
The above examples of tracers suggest the treatment of thyroid 
tumors with radioactive iodine, bone tumors with radioactive 
strontium and radioactive phosphorus. These possibilities are being 
investigated as is the more specific problem of finding a radioactive 


168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


substance that is selectively taken up by tumor tissue. If there 
were time, I should like to describe work along this line in progress 
in several laboratories, and especially to speak of the important 
progress that is being made in the treatment of leukemia, but I must 
content myself with only mentioning these new developments in 
medicine, which are so promising for the future. 


ATOMIC ENERGY 


For a long time astronomers have been vexed with a problem, the 
problem of the source of stellar energy, for there is evidence that the 
sun has been blazing at its present brilliance for thousands of millions 
of years, and no ordinary fuel could be responsible for such an eternal 
fire. 

The discovery of radium posed to the physicist a similar difficulty ; 
for it was found that radium gives off every hour enough energy to 
heat its own weight of water to boiling, and this it continues to do for 
more than a thousand years. Such a vast source of energy in the 
radium atom was as difficult to understand as the evidently limitless 
store of heat in the sun. The problem was of fundamental interest 
and all sorts of possibilities were considered even to the abandonment 
of the principle of the conservation of energy. 

But the first clue to the solution of the problem appeared in 1905 
when Einstein announced the theory of relativity. One of the revo- 
lutionary consequences of the theory was that matter is a form of 
energy and that presumably in nature processes go on in which 
matter is destroyed and transformed into more familiar forms of 
energy such as heat, radiation, and mechanical motion. The rela- 
tivity theory gave as the conversion factor relating mass to equiva- 
lent energy, the square of the velocity of light—a very large number, 
even to an astronomer! Thus, the theory indicated that, if a glass 
of water were completely destroyed, more than a billion kilowatt 
hours of energy would be released, enough to supply a city with light 
and power for quite a time! 

This exciting deduction was immediately accepted by the astron- 
omers, who said, “Doubtless within the sun conditions are such that 
matter is being transformed to heat. Thus, slowly through the ages 
the sun is losing mass; its very substance is radiating into space.” 

Likewise, the physicists, who had other compelling reasons for 
accepting the Einstein theory, concluded that the source of the energy 
in the radium atom was a destruction of matter in the atomic 
explosion giving rise to the penetrating rays. 

Although the fundamental assumptions on which the relativity 
theory was based were evidently sound, and the explanations of 
the source of energy of the sun and stars and radioactivity were 


NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM—LAWRENCE 169 


most attractive, until direct experimental verification was forth- 
coming, Einstein’s great deduction could not be regarded as an 
established law of nature. 

The first direct evidence of the truth of this fundamental prin- 
ciple was obtained in the first atom-smashing experiments a decade 
ago. It was observed that, when the nucleus of a lithium atom is 
hit by a proton having a kinetic energy of less than a million electron- 
volts, the result is the formation of two helium nuclei which fly apart 
with an energy of more than 17 million electron-volts; thus in the 
nuclear reaction in which hydrogen and lithium unite to form two 
helium atoms, there is a great release of kinetic energy. 

Now one of the interesting and important occupations of the ex- 
perimental physicist has been the measurement of the masses of 
atoms and the weights of atoms are known with great precision— 
much greater than any individual knows his own weight. In par- 
ticular, it was known precisely that a lithium atom and a hydrogen 
atom have a total weight slightly greater than the weight of two 
helium atoms, and it was a great triumph for the Einstein theory 
when measurements showed that the excess kinetic energy with which 
the helium atoms flew apart in the hydrogen-lithium reaction corre- 
sponded exactly with the disappearance of mass according to the 
mass-energy relation. Literally hundreds of similar nuclear reactions 
have been studied in the intervening years, and in each instance the 
Kinstein relation has been verified. At the present time this great 
principle has as firm an experimental foundation as any of our laws 
of nature. 

URANIUM FISSION 


Now that it is an experimental fact that matter can be converted 
into energy, it becomes of great practical importance to inquire 
whether the vast store of energy in the atom will be tapped for 
useful purposes. This question has recently taken on added interest 
through the discovery of a new type of nuclear reaction involving 
the heavy element uranium. 

It has been known for some years that the heavy elements, such 
as lead, gold, and uranium, are relatively heavier than the middle- 
weight elements, such as copper and iron, or more precisely that the 
average weight of the neutrons, protons, and electrons in the heavy 
elements is greater than their average weight in the atoms near the 
middle of the periodic table. Accordingly it is to be expected that, 
if heavy atoms were split approximately in two forming correspond- 
ing middle-weight atoms, there would be a vast release of energy 
corresponding to the disappearance of matter in the transformation. 
Indeed, from known values of the masses, it can be calculated on the 


170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


basis of Einstein’s mass-energy relation that each splitting or fission, 
as the process is called, of a uranium atom into two approximately 
equal parts releases an energy of about 200 million electron-volts, 
which is millions of times more heat per atom than is given off when 
ordinary fuel is burned. Thus, calculations show that 100 pounds 
of uranium would yield a billion kilowatt hours, which at 1 cent 
per kilowatt-hour would be 10 million dollars’ worth of electrical 
energy. 

For some time these considerations were largely academic because 
no way was known for producing fission of the heavy elements. But 
interest in the matter has now become extremely lively as a result 
of the discovery that fission of uranium is actually brought about by 
bombarding it with neutrons. 

The phenomenon has, during the past 2 years, received intensive 
study in laboratories all over the world and several salient facts have 
emerged. First, the rare U?** isotope undergoes fission after absorp- 
tion of a slow neutron. Second, the energy released in the fission 
process has been measured; and, as expected, it is found that, when 
a neutron having an energy less than an electron-volt enters the U?** 
nucleus, about 200 million electron-volts of energy is released. Third, 
it is found also that the fission process is so violent that usually the 
U*** nucleus does not break up into two parts only, but more often 
several neutrons are given off in addition to the two large fragments. 

That neutrons are generated in the fission process is of the greatest 
interest because it opens up the possibility of a chain reaction, a 
series of nuclear reactions wherein the neutrons liberated in one fission 
process go to produce additional fissions in other atoms which in 
turn give rise to more neutrons which produce further fissions and 
so on. It is this possibility of a chain reaction that has excited the 
interest in uranium as a practical source of atomic energy. 

Without going into further detail, it is perhaps sufficient to say 
that there is some evidence now that, if U**® could be separated in 
quantity from the natural mixture of the isotopes, a chain reaction 
could, indeed, be produced. But herein lies the catch, for there is 
no practical large-scale way in sight of separating the isotopes of 
the heavy elements, and certainly it is doubtful if a way will be 
found. 

But I should not want to indicate that the uranium matter is a 
disappointment, that after all we shall never find a way to bring 
about fission of the heavy elements for useful purposes. Quite the 
contrary ! 

The present situation is not unlike the circumstances 50 years ago 
surrounding the then great question of whether man would ever be 
able to fly. In those days the fundamental laws of classical mecha- 


; 
} 


NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM—LAWRENCE 171 


nics were known, and they allowed the possibility of heavier-than-air 
flight. Moreover, there was an abundance of supporting observa- 
tional evidence that flight should be possible; there were kites and 
there were the birds of the air. But man’s realization of the dream 
awaited primarily the development of the combustion engine, a cir- 
cumstance not so evidently connected with the fundamental problem 
of flight. Likewise the fundamental laws of nature recently revealed 
to us allow the possibility of obtaining useful nuclear energy, and 
radium and the sun and stars bear witness that this vast source of 
energy is being tapped in nature. Again success in this direction 
may await the development of a new intrument or technique just as 
the airplane depended on the gas engine. 

Perhaps the problem awaits a deeper understanding of the forces 
that hold nuclei together. That there are little-understood forces 
operative in the nucleus is more than evident; especially from obser- 
vations of the cosmic rays, it has been established that particles of 
matter called mesotrons of intermediate mass between electrons and 
protons play a dominant role in nuclear structure. Theoretical con- 
siderations suggest that the mesotrons may be connected with the 
primary forces in the nucleus, and accordingly, an understanding of 
mesotron forces may ultimately yield the solution of the practical 
problem of atomic energy. 


THE GIANT CYCLOTRON 


In order to study experimentally the mesotron problem, it is neces- 
sary to bombard nuclei with atomic projectiles having energies in 
the range of 100 million electron-volts rather than in the neighbor- 
hood of 10 million electron-volts at present available in cyclotron 
laboratories. To this end a giant cyclotron is now under construc- 
tion on Charter Hill in Berkeley; some pictures of this great machine 
are shown in plates 8 and 9. Whether it will be the key to the vast 
store of energy in the atom, what new discoveries, what new insight 
into nature it will bring—only the future will tell! 


THE PRINCIPLE OF THE CYCLOTRON 


The principle of the cyclotron has been described as follows in a 
popular article by Henry Schacht.? 


A circular chamber was placed between the poles of the magnet. Then all 
air was removed from the chamber and heavy hydrogen gas allowed to flow in. 
This so-called heavy hydrogen behaves in the same way as ordinary hydrogen. 
However, while the nuclei of ordinary hydrogen atoms contain one positively 
charged particle, or proton, heavy hydrogen nuclei contain two such particles 


4Schacht, Henry, Lawrence’s cyclotron, Part I and Part II. California Monthly for 
May and June, 1940. 


172 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


plus one electron. Consequently, they weigh just twice as much as the nuclei 
of ordinary hydrogen atoms. They are known as deuterons. 

The deuteron’s added weight makes it an ideal atomic bullet. And here is 
how Dr. Lawrence planned to send streams of deuterons crashing into the nuclei 
of other atoms in a constant, destructive barrage: Inside the cyclotron cham- 
ber was a heated filament that emitted streams of electrons. These particles 
would collide with the electrons surrounding the nuclei of the hydrogen atoms 
and in the ensuing mix-up the nuclei and their satellites would become sep- 
arated. The deuterons would be left free to float around the chamber. 
Bventually, the magnetic force set up by the cyclotron’s magnet would pull 
them between two metal grids separated by a space across which an alternating 
electrical current of 10 or 15 thousand volts would be operating. As the 
deuterons floated into this space, they would receive a heavy shock, and under 
this stimulus fly off toward the side of the chamber. But the magnetic field 
would pull them back again in a semicircular path until they again came 
between the two grids. Again they would be shocked and be sent flying out 
toward the side. And again the magnet would pull them back to complete one 
full circle of the chamber and be shocked again. 

At each jolt from the current the deuterons would gather more energy. This 
meant that they would go flying out from between the grids with constantly 
increasing force and in constantly widening circles. So you get the picture of 
the atomic bullets receiving shocks one right after the other from a weak 
electrical force. Each time the bullets receive a shock their energy is increased 
and they go on, describing wider and wider circles around the cyclotron 
chamber. Finally, they circle so widely that they reach a slit in the chamber 
wall and go flying out into the open air. The whole secret of the thing lies in 
making sure by means of the magnet that the atomic bullets are forced to 
come back for successive shocks until their energy is built up to the point where 
they can force their way to the exit. Dr. Lawrence figured that to bombard 
any Substance with his atomic bullets, all he had to do was clamp this sub- 
stance over the slit and let the onrushing stream of deuterons crash into it. 
This then was the theory put to the crucial test in 1934 at the Universiy 
Radiation Laboratory. Dr. Lawrence threw the switch that sent a high-pow- 
ered radio transmitter pumping energy into the cyclotron and the first experi- 
ment with the 85-ton machine had begun. 

Within a short time, physicists were amazed to hear that Lawrence and his 
cyclotron were not only changing familiar elements like platinum into other 
elements like iridium and gold, but were actually producing substances never 
before seen on earth. These were the artificially radioactive elements. Perhaps 
their character is best explained by illustration. 

One of the experiments performed with the cyclotron involved the bombard- 
ment of iron atoms with the high-speed deuterons produced by the cyclotron. 
When the deuterons crashed into them with a force of about 8 million volts, 
the iron atoms were broken up. Some changed into atoms of cobalt or man- 
ganese. But others were converted into a new form of iron which, like radium, 
emitted streams of electrically charged particles. In other words, this new iron 
was radioactive. Thirty-four different elements were subjected to bombard- 
ment with the 85-ton cyclotron and all of them underwent a transformation, 
many turning into radioactive substances. Among the artificial radioactive 
materials produced by the cyclotron were sodium, phosphorus, iron, and iodine. 
It was even possible by bombarding bismuth to produce a degenerate form of 
radium called Radium E. 


NEW FRONTIERS IN THE ATOM—LAWRENCE 173 


Another interesting product of these atomic bombardments was the neutron, 
a particle often found in the atomic nucleus. It adds to the weight of the 
nucleus but has no electrical charge, hence its name. When atoms were smashed 
by the bullets from the cyclotron, they flew into two parts. One might be an 
atom of a new radioactive element, and another an atom of a light element such 
as hydrogen or helium. But more often than either of these two, a neutron 
would uppear. When the cyclotron was going full blast, 10 billion of these 
particles could be liberated every second. 

It was found that radioactive elements, such as sodium and phosphorus, had 
certain advantages over radium which might make them extremely valuable 
for treatment of human disease. Preliminary experiments indicated that 
radioactive phosphorus might solve the problem of leukemia, the wasting blood 
disease for which no cure has yet been found. Radioactive sodium, iodine, 
phosphorus, and many other of the newly created elements proved to be price- 
less instruments in the hands of scientists interested in finding out more about 
our fundamental body processes. Finally, streams of released neutrons gave 
every indication of being a more powerful weapon against cancer than the 
X-ray. These discoveries marked the end of the first cycle of the cyclotron’s 
career. So promising were the medical applications of its products that plans 
were laid to build a new 225-ton cyclotron. This machine was finished and 
housed in the William H. Crocker Radiation Laboratory on the University 
campus during the spring of 1939. 

In its first performance the new atom smasher produced deuteron beams with 
a strength of 17 million volts, and “alpha rays,’ or beams of helium atoms, 
with an intensity of 34 million volts. These voltages were greater than any 
obtained with the original machine even though the electric current used to 
energize the particles within the cyclotron chamber was only 60 kilowatts. 
Such results were entirely unexpected, far exceeding anything Dr. Lawrence 
had hoped for on the first trial run. 


On April 8, 1940, The Rockefeller Foundation of New York City 
announced its willingness, under certain conditions, to contribute 
$1,500,000 toward construction of a 4,900-ton cyclotron at the Uni- 
versity. It would be 56 feet long, 15 feet wide, and have an over-all 
height of approximately 30 feet. About 12 feet of the vertical struc- 
ture would be underground. It is estimated that 8,700 tons of steel 
and 300 tons of copper windings would be used in the construction. 
It is believed that such a machine could produce a deuteron beam 140 
feet in length as compared with the 5-foot beam produced by the 
present 225-ton machine. This next cyclotron is now under con- 
struction at the University of California (see pls. 8 and 9) and when 
it is completed the problem of subatomic energy may be solved and a 
new power may be released to run the wheels of industry. 


‘ hs i git 4 fi 
ae nue: Nella 

igs) “ fragt ne tay cia 
ee a + 


lh rT 
Wahi Hh: Wy) vi iy 


Phe tL etic aged Ad! 
Teka 4 i t 
inh ; 
i 
Din” 
» 4 i 
i ) . 
a he 
ra M A 
; 
i Wy 
1 


LO Ewiay 


Did ee 
te we 
: i 


tat, eee 7% 
eels fan Pe 4 
7 : hd ie; t \ 
re i eat P| LM sal 
“bsty they elonikas tal i ft 
, Fatt he uy nee 
H Now 4 
te Lay ay : 
feo y , 
Peay oy 
eater cd ‘ ct 
it “hi 4 
as die’ ue if Fi 
i OAR 
y\t Ft 
in a ‘ 
if I { 
A Aa Ht is 
. tig! zt) oar 
“ur \ i Ua ie 
hy Oe ied 
i) Sy Ye aa 


‘SOABOT OY} UI doBTd yoo) 


-OIPBL 104jB SINOY 9g JURTd oY} WLOI; UIYBI 219M SOABO] OUT, 


“INV 1d OLVWOL V 
AO SAAV]AT AHL NI SNYOHdSOHdOINGVY AO 
NOILNSIYLSIG AHL AO HdDVYHOOLNV-OIGDVY ‘2 


‘Oo 
-OIPBI 9} pur 


YY AQ popasodod § 1108 
yoou oY} ysurese peoeid st eqn} JojUNOD JoBsIer) OU, 


“ONV1D GIONYAHL AHL NI 
ANIGO][ AAILOVOIOVY AO SAONASSYd AHL AO NOILOSAL 
-3Aqd AHL YOdA LNAWSONVYEYY IWLNAWIYSsdxXy SHL ‘1 


a4 
d 


EGER s 


. * 


“QUIPOI-OIpRA JO UOTJISOdap ysajwoIs JO SUOTSeI oY} 0} puodsed10d ZuluoyIep JO svore oY} ooy UMOYS Ydvisojne-o1pes oy} UT “SULPOL-Olpws oy} JO 4sour 
poye[NuModov YOIYA oNsst} PlOIAY} POpBAU! JO SpURIST [[BUIS dIIY} 1B Jo OY} OL “anssl} plorAy} SNOsedUvd JO dN apeBUL ST UOTJoS of} JO JPBY WYStA oy} SULIGAOD BAIR IB[N[[ed VsNYIp oy L 
(09 X) GIONAHL SHL AO 


YAONVD V HLIM LNSILWd V WOU HdVeHSOLNV-O1OVY ONIGNOdSSYYNOD SLI GNV SNSSIL GIONAH| AO NOILOAS V AO HdVY 90 DIWOLOHd 


Z@ a1V1d a0usIMe[—' | $61 ‘qaoday uetuosyytWig 


*‘souog oY] UI po 
‘ qi ) 


“SOLNV-OIGVY AO ANOINHOAL AHL AG GALVYLSNOWSAG SV 
“SYUNWASA LIFSSVY SLVY NI WNILNOYLSOIANVY GNV SNYOHdSOHdOIGVY GaEsyoOsS 
OML AO SS9DIIS NIHL WOYS HdVYHOOLNV-OIAVY ~ savy ADUNSSAY 20 NOILINsIetsiqg]’ Nil SSNSausSse1q AHL 1 


| 


NSULOASAD IS AOANOLSI ED, Atiipsyanccae >See rece = 
“AIOVVIOGL'T UOTRIPEY ‘1OJOOITCT JuRASISSy ‘AosyooD preuod “iq Aq sydeisojoyd : 
*paieioues *peyeijsuoulep AT[NJssooons 4sig 
SI SjoT[Ng o1u1018 9Y} JO peeds ayy Yorym uy ,,Ued,, oY} JO JopOUL SuTyIOM ALIVY Z% SBM SUIOUB JO SUIYSPUIS [BOIUBYDUT JO ALOBY} 9} YOIYM YITM [OPOUL SUTYAOM [BUY “| 


y 3ALV1d audIMe]—'"| $6] ‘4oday uetuosyytuIG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Lawrence PLATE 5 


1. Another early working model of the ‘“‘pan”’ in which the speed of the atomic bullets is generated. Photo- 
graph by Dr. Donald Cooksey, Assistant Director, Radiation Laboratory. 


2. The chamber begins to assume somewhat its present form. Photograph by Dr. Donald Cooksey, Assist- 
ant Director, Radiation Laboratory. 


TWO PHASES OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CYCLOTRON. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Lawrence PLATE 6 


1. THE FIRST LARGE CYCLOTRON WHICH IS STILL IN OPERATION IN THE RADIATION 
LABORATORY. 


Photograph by Dr. Donald Cooksey, Assistant Director, Radiation Laboratory. 


2. THE 225-TON MEDICAL CYCLOTRON. 


Smithsonian Report, 194].—Lawrence PLATE 7 


1. THE ‘WORKING SIDE"’ OF THE 225-TON MEDICAL CYCLOTRON, WHERE NEUTRON- 
RAY TREATMENTS FOR CANCER ARE ADMINISTERED. 


2. THE CYCLOTRON RELEASES A BEAM OF DEUTERONS. THE ‘‘ATOMIC BULLETS’’ 
OF TRANSMUTATION. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Lawrence PLATE 8 


1. The first base plate being placed on the concrete foundation. The plate is 52 feet long, 75 inches wide, 
and 2 inches thick, and weighs 1314 tons. There is about 1,200 tons of reinforced concrete in the founda- 
tion. 


2. The lower core of the magnet prior to placing of the final pole face. The diameter of the pole face is 184 
inches, and the gap between the poles will be 40 inches. 


PROGRESS PICTURES OF THE NEW GIANT CYCLOTRON AT BERKELEY, CALIF. 


[0048 JO SUO} OLE UIBJUOD TIM JT “OPI SOyOU! PRT puB ‘YATY 100) OF “SUOT Joo] ge ST OUIeIJ JoUSvUI OY, “SooRy ofOd pue 9100 soddn oYyy Suryovy [[Ms ‘juosord 4 SI 4 se youseuL OY, 


“SAIIVD CAS TSEMYAG LV NOY LONIDAD LNVISD MAN AHL AO SYNLO!ld SSAYDOYd 


6 ALV Id 20U9IMe]—"| $6] ‘J4Odayy URTUOSY AILS 


SCIENCE SHAPING AMERICAN CULTURE* 


By ArrHur H. CoMptTon 


Professor of Physics, University of Chicago 


In no other part of the world and at no previous time in history 
has life been so greatly influenced by science as in the United States 
today. This influence extends not only to the supplying of the means 
of living, but likewise to our thought, our amusements, our art, and 
our religion. 

American civilization is based upon science and technology. That 
civilization includes great cities, which need for their very existence 
mechanical transportation, steel rails and girders, electric elevators, 
refrigeration systems to preserve food, careful control of sanitation, 
and means of preventing the spread of communicable disease. It 
embraces great areas of thinly populated but highly productive farm 
land. Here farmers live relatively complete lives, and supply the 
nation with an unparalleled abundance and variety of food, because 
of the agricultural knowledge and tools and convenient communica- 
tion and transportation that science has supplied. With the help 
of science, labor and capital are efficient, the Government coordinates 
the activities of a widely spread people, and our continent has become 
a national community. 

American thinking is strongly influenced by science. Whereas at 
Oxford it remains doubtful whether science has yet earned a true 
place in education, at Chicago three of the four main divisions of 
the university are called sciences. Of the older learned professions, 
the minister needs to pay close attention to science if he would retain 
the respect of his congregation; the lawyer who would deal with pat- 
ents, or corporations, or even crime must acquaint himself with the 
rudiments of science, and, as for the doctor, the more science the 
better. Most of the newer professions, such as engineering and archi- 
tecture, are based upon science. A survey of current literature can 
leave no doubt but that in American society most of our creative 
thinking is in the field of science. 


1Read April 19, 1940, Symposium on Characteristics of American Culture and Its Place 
in General Culture. Reprinted by permission from Proceedings of the American Philosophi- 
cal Society, vol. 83, No. 4, September 1940. 


175 


176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


It is typical of contemporary American cultural life that good 
reproduction of the best paintings, and radio programs of the best 
music are available to nearly everyone. Here is an opportunity for 
widespread vicarious enjoyment of fine art and music. Yet the soul 
of art is in its individual expression. While the widespread use of 
color printing may seem to have discouraged the amateur painter, 
his place is perhaps taken by the amateur photographer, and the 
recent rapid growth of school orchestras and bands seems to be 
ascribable to the growing familiarity with orchestral music as heard 
over the radio. It is not impossible that use of the radio may mark 
the birth of a new era in American muscial expression. 

On the credit side of the ledger we can certainly count the intro- 
duction of new techniques in music and art. Among these may be 
mentioned the electric “organ,” which affords rich, new tone possibili- 
ties, and photography and motion pictures. Though the possibilities 
in these directions are only beginning to be explored, it is already 
clear that in both still and moving pictures there are new fields 
opening for both the professional and the amateur. In particular, 
the possibility of adding action and sound to pictures is comparable 
in importance with the discovery of representing a third dimension 
in perspective drawing. 

In our recreation we may try to live a primitive life. Having 
motored hundreds of miles over hard highways, we arrive at the 
cabin in the wildwood, cook Chicago bacon on a stove using oil from 
Texas refined in New Jersey, and go fishing with an outboard motor 
made in Michigan. Or it may be that we go so completely native as 
to canoe down the river, relying only on our Pittsburgh steel ax and 
matches made in Ohio from Louisiana sulfur to light our fires, fruit 
canned in California for our food, and mosquito netting woven in 
New England to keep off the pests. Though we want to be free 
from the ring of the telephone and to use the sun as our clock, we 
must take care that the milk we drink is pasteurized. Thus the 
American frees himself from technology! 


SCIENCE MAKES MEN HUMAN 


In his recent book, “Science and the New Humanism,” George 
Sarton shows how throughout history man’s cultural growth has 
followed the gradual growth of his scientific knowledge. In art, 
except for new pigments, tools, and photographic technique, the 
American certainly does not excel the Greek nor hardly even the 
prehistoric European who painted lifelike animals on the walls of 
his cave. In music the Russian peasants and the natives of Hawaii 
give us lessons. It is Sarton’s contention that those aspects of our 
culture which have been developing owe their growth primarily to 


SCIENCE SHAPING AMERICAN CULTURE—COMPTON 1 


the advance of scientific knowledge. Thus by learning more and 
more about the world in which he lives, man has distinguished him- 
self from his animal cousins. If this claim is valid, it means that 
the primary responsibility for humanizing man les with science, and 
that the society in which scientific knowledge is most rapidly growing 
is the spear point of man’s advancing culture. 

Let us then examine Sarton’s argument more closely. He points 
out that each stage has been ushered in as some inquirer, more per- 
sistent or more fortunate than his predecessors, and building on the 
foundation of their techniques, has learned new facts regarding the 
properties of matter, the chemistry of metals, or the laws of 
mechanics. Thus when we speak of the stone age, the bronze age, 
the iron age, and the machine age, we are summarizing the growth 
of man in terms of the tools with which he does his work. Not that 
mechanical inventions are the only ones. Language and writing 
are among the most significant inventions of all, giving as they do 
means of thinking more clearly, of communicating ideas, and of 
remembering ideas with definiteness. When the invention of print- 
ing, telegraphy, the telephone, moving pictures, and the radio are 
added, it becomes possible for people to share thoughts widely, to 
become quickly aware of what is happening to all mankind, and to 
“remember” what has happened to men in the past. A great change 
thus comes in men’s attitudes toward each other. The world becomes 
almost a conscious unit, very similar to a living organism. Thus 
even the nonmechanical inventions have found their most effective 
application through the aid of scientific developments. 

Hand in hand with this development of invention has gone the 
increase in our knowledge of nature. Skillfully made lenses made 
possible a telescope, and Jupiter was found to be a miniature solar 
system. As high-vacuum pumps were developed, X-rays were dis- 
covered, giving new knowledge of the structure of matter, with 
resulting advances in metallurgy. “If I saw farther, twas because 
I stood on giant shoulders,” is the statement ascribed to Isaac 
Newton, who clearly recognized the way in which one advance makes 
possible another. 

The knowledge of nature, which from the beginning had been 
man’s gradually but accidentally increasing heritage, at length be- 
came the conscious objective of alert minds. Three centuries ago 
the hobby of a few amateurs, there are now in the United States 
nearly 2,000 research laboratories, equipped with refined apparatus, 
where men of the highest training are striving to enlarge our under- 
standing of the world. As a result, our life differs from that of 
two generations ago more than American life of that day differed 
from the civilized life at the dawn of written history. 


178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The growing rate of this increase in knowledge and of the re- 
sulting social changes may be strikingly presented by using the 
historian’s device of compressing the time scale until the whole 
growth of man through a million years is concentrated within the 
lifetime of a middle-aged man of 50. It was then as a child that 
our man was learning how to use certain odd-shaped sticks and 
stones as tools. The meaning of sounds became definite as he learned 
to talk. By the time he was 40 he had developed the art of skill- 
fully shaping stones to fit his needs. Man soon became an artist, 
and by half a year ago had learned to use simplified pictures as 
symbolic writing. Some 6 weeks ago the Phoenicians introduced the 
alphabet, and within a fortnight came the brillant art and science 
of ancient Greece. Then came the fall of Rome, hiding for some 
weeks the values of civilized life. Less than a week ago, as the 
report has it, Galileo dropped the heavy and the light cannon balls 
from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, refuting a proposition of Aristotle 
and starting the period of modern science. Three or four days ago 
the first practical steam engine was built and it was at about this time 
that the United States came into being. Day before yesterday the 
laws of electromagnetism became known, which by yesterday had 
given us the telegraph, the telephone and incandescent electric light. 
Only last night X-rays were discovered, followed quickly by radium 
and wireless telegraphy. It was this morning that automobiles 
came into general use. Air mail began to be carried only at noon 
today. Popular short-wave broadcasts, practical color photography, 
and fluorescent lighting have been with us for only an hour. It is 
clear that our American scene is staged in the midst of a period 
of unparalleled advance in science and rapidity of social change. 


AMERICAN CULTURE IS THAT OF A CHANGING SOCIETY 


Even before the outbreak of the present wars, America had be- 
come the leader in most fields of scientific endeavor. The tradition 
of the pioneer has made it relatively easy for the American to alter 
his habits as required by the introduction of new techniques, with 
the result that in this country social changes have gone ahead with 
a speed not found elsewhere. Our culture is thus that of a new 
community, with our customs and ideas only partly adapted to 
the rapidly changing conditions of life. 

For a week I have been living in an apartment on a corner by 
which a streetcar clangs its noisy course. When first installed, these 
cars gave the rapid transportation that made the city possible. Now 
the demand is insistent that the streetcars be replaced by quieter 
buses that will permit conversation by day and sleep by night. 
Thus the first application of technology was to meet the primary 


SCIENCE SHAPING AMERICAN CULTURE—COMPTON 179 


need of transportation; but eventually the refinements come that 
add to life’s enjoyment. 

Our older habits no longer fit the new conditions of life, and 
we have not yet learned how best to use the new possibilities placed 
at our disposal. Nor as long as such rapid changes in our social 
life continue can we hope to make a completely satisfactory adapta- 
tion of our mode of life. For as one aspect of the problem becomes 
solved, changes will lead to maladjustment somewhere else. It would 
for this reason be futile to hope to attain within the next generation 
an art of living in a technological world that can compare in re- 
finement with the classic culture initiated by the Greeks and developed 
through centuries of such tradition as that carried on by European 
and English society. In course of time, though it may require 
centuries, we may expect the development of science to approach 
a new plateau of knowledge and invention. Then we may hope again 
to refine our mode of living to fit precisely the conditions of our 
greater world. 

Does this prospect of generations of incomplete adaptation, with 
resultant discontent and hardship seem discouraging? One is 
reminded of the legend in which the people complain to Daedalus 
that the steel sword he has given to King Minas will bring not happi- 
ness but strife. Daedalus replies, “I do not care to make man happy, 
but to make him great.” For those who have courage, the new pow- 
ers thus given by science present a challenge to shape man’s life on a 
more heroic scale. Here is a vision of a new world which only the 
brave may enter. 

Yet we can thus appreciate the dread felt by those who have 
followed the tradition of classic culture as the life they have loved 
and whose values they have cherished is threatened by the advance 
of technology. They see science replacing the human interests pres- 
ent in literature, art, and music with technological developments in 
which the human factor becomes less and less significant. The most 
fundamental values of morality and religion are ruthlessly shaken, 
with the implication that their value is negligible. It is just because 
so many scientific men seem blind to these human difficulties that one 
feels the greater concern lest in following science mankind may lose 
its soul. 

There is a passage in Plato’s Phaedo in which Socrates describes 
his early interest in physics and how he had found that physics fails 
to account for the important things in life. Thus, he explained, 
Anaxagoras would say that Socrates sat on his cot waiting to drink 
the hemlock because of certain tensions of tendons acting on his 
bones. The true reason was rather because he had been condemned 
by the people of Athens, and as a man of honor he could not creep 
stealthily away. Such moral forces as honor were not to be explained 

430577—42-—13 


180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


by science; yet it is these forces that shape men’s acts. Since it did 
not meet their human needs, the followers of Socrates and Plato 
abandoned science, and the study. of the truths of nature was for- 
gotten for a thousand years. 

We have now once more come to fear the unhuman implications 
and the inhuman abuses of science. Yet science has enriched our 
lives and has helped us catch a vision of a new and better world. 
Shall we then again give up science and with it the tools by means 
of which that better world may be attained ? 

The truth is that we cannot cast away science even if we would. 
In a time of intense social strife the knowledge of the world that we 
call science is a source of tremendous strength. Nothing is so clear 
as that a nation which abandons science must soon become weakened. 
The world’s leadership must go to those who are served by science 
and technology. That we shall live with science is thus decreed by 
the immutable laws of evolution. 


THE HUMAN MEANING OF SCIENCE 


For those who know science, its inhumanness is a fiction. It serves 
to satisfy the human hunger for a better understanding of man’s place 
in his world. In this age when men throughout the world are trying 
to formulate a philosophy by which they can live, it is to science that 
they are turning with confidence in its truth. But perhaps of great- 
est importance is the fact that science is making man develop into a 
social being. 

One of the most striking of biological phenomena is the change of 
man in a short thousand generations from an individualistic to a 
social animal. As has been indicated above, this change is due largely 
to the development of science and technology. If we would assess 
the cultural significance of science, it is thus important to consider 
what the more specific directions may be along which this social 
evolution will proceed. It is clear that we may expect those modifica- 
tions in our mode of life to survive which give strength to the social 
group. Among these strengthening factors three may be empha- 
sized. These are: knowledge, cooperation, and a common objective. 

In science and technology lies our approach to the laws of the 
world of nature and the application of these laws. Enough has been 
said regarding the strength that comes through such knowledge. In 
a highly competitive, warlike world, that society cannot long survive 
which neglects the truths of science. 

Without cooperation, knowledge cannot be made effective. If men 
divide into antagonistic groups, it becomes terribly destructive. Ex- 
perience as well as theory has shown the superior strength of those 
social groups which work together. The evolutionist thus sees as 
inevitable the growth of social cooperation. 


SCIENCE SHAPING AMERICAN CULTURE—COMPTON 181 


Just as the automobile demands sobriety, or congested life makes 
necessary careful sanitation, so the mutual dependence of a techno- 
logical civilization implies consideration of the rights of others. 
Breasted has shown how the growth of community life along the Nile 
stimulated among the Egyptians the “dawn of conscience.” Cheyney, 
in his retiring presidential address before the American Historical 
Association, lists prominently among his “laws” of history the trend 
toward a greater consideration of one’s fellows as society grows more 
complex. Thus in the technological society of which American cul- 
ture is a supreme example, science and industry are emphasizing as 
never before the need of the will toward cooperation, that is, of the 
love of our neighbors. Perhaps the urgency of the universal accept- 
ance of this central doctrine of Christianity is not generally 
recognized. This is merely because the social implications of our 
increasingly complex life have not yet become evident within the 
brief decades of the world’s growing social unity. 

Most significant of the factors that give strength to man is, how- 
ever, the vision of a goal which he recognizes as worthy of his supreme 
effort. If we would truly live, we need a purpose. To many of its 
followers, science gives a basis for the appreciation of man’s place in 
the universe. It helps him to see himself as he is, a creature with 
animal limitations, but with godlike powers, sharing with his Creator 
the responsibility for making this world a fit place for life. The man 
of science may not feel qualified to choose for others that which gives 
life dignity and worth; but he can at least supply the data on which 
that choice must be made. How can we correctly orient ourselves 
without learning the facts about the world and dispassionately con- 
sidering their implications. It is, I believe, in just this direction that 
science must ultimately make its greatest human contribution. Science 
must clarify the vision of the seers who would point out to us the 
goal of life. 

It is noteworthy that these things which give strength to society 
are likewise those that make life worthwhile, the understanding of 
man and nature, the love of one’s neighbor with the acceptance of 
responsibility for his welfare, the finding of a goal worthy of our 
best efforts. Though American technological civilization may lack 
the refinements and nice adjustments which perfected the classic cul- 
ture, its growth is toward the greater social development of man. 
In this sense it is truly humanistic. 

The role of science in American culture is thus threefold. First, 
it supplies more adequate means of life, giving men longer life, better 
health, and a richer variety of experience. Second, it stimulates man’s 
social growth by rewarding more abundantly cooperative effort and 


182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


punishing more severely his antagonisms. Third, science serves as a 
direct means of expression of the human spirit. 

It was the greater variety of life that was the great reward of 
science seen by Francis Bacon as he wrote in his “New Atlantis”: 

The end of our society is the knowledge of causes, and the secret motions of 
things, and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire to the effecting of all 
things possible. 

After three and a half centuries of experience with modern science 
this aim has been so realized that the president of one of our leading 
technical institutes can say, 

In the last 50 years physics has exerted a more powerful beneficial influence 
on the intellectual, economic, and social life of the world than has been exerted 
in a comparable time by any other agency in history. 

It is its responsibility for man’s social evolution which leads Sarton 
to describe the growth of science as the central thread along which 
may be traced the biography of mankind. 

To the man of science himself, however, it is as an effective method 
of developing the human spirit that he values his science. His study 
affords exercise of imagination and broadening of perspective. 
Whereas to Plotinus it appears that 

It is through intuition rather than through reason that we may approach 
our highest aspirations, 
the scientist finds that in the discipline of unprejudiced search for 
truth lies the beginning of wisdom. Thus, in the words of Thomas 
Huxley: 

Science seems to me to teach in the highest and strongest manner the great 

truth which is embodied in the Christian conception of entire surrender to the 
will of God. Sit down before a fact as a little child, be prepared to give up 
every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses 
nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. 
This is the aspect of science recognized by the Greek philosophers, 
who would seek “of what and how the world is made” in order that 
they might find a better way of life. To a certain degree this 
humanizing aspect of science is esoteric, since it can be fully appre- 
ciated only by those who have themselves submitted to the discipline 
required to share in the effort to widen the horizons of knowledge. 
Certain aspects of science, notably astronomy, have been more effec- 
tive than others in opening the way for many amateurs to take part 
in their enterprise. As in art and literature, here in advancing hu- 
man understanding is an opportunity for enriching life. With find- 
ing new knowledge comes the satisfaction of knowing that one has 
not only made a permanent addition to man’s heritage, but that the 
new knowledge is a seed that will grow from more to more. With 
Democritus the scientist can truly say, “I would rather learn the true 
cause of one fact than become King of the Persians.” 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES? 


By J. W. LASLEY, JE. 
Department of Mathematics, The University of North Carolina 


INTRODUCTION 


At the outset I wish to express my very sincere appreciation for the 
evidence of trust on your part which makes this occasion possible for 
me. It is quite a surprise when a group of scientists so honor a 
teacher of mathematics, for it is a moot question as to whether 
mathematics is a science. It is more than a surprise when that 
teacher is your speaker, whose association with science has been more 
that of a worshiper from afar than he likes to have to admit. 

The duties of this office resolve themselves in large part to the 
retiring address which brings us here tonight. Upon asking myself 
what I might say to you that might in part compensate you for 
coming here, I thought it pertinent to consider with you the relation 
between mathematics and the sciences. With this purpose in mind 
I asked a philosopher colleague what he considered that relation to 
be. His reply was quick and pointed. “There is no relation,” he 
said, “science thinks a thing in terms of other things; mathematics 
thinks a thing in terms of itself.” Huis inference was that the two 
are mutually exclusive. This was very discouraging. 

The history of science, however, does not seem to bear out the 
philosopher’s contention. Until the time of Galileo (1600) that 
history is practically a history of mathematics. Although we have 
some knowled%e of perhaps 6,000 years of mankind’s intellectual ac- 
tivity, we search in vain for any trace of science before 2,500 years 
ago. True we have the pyramids, some 5,000 years old, and their 
structure indicates the employment of scientific ideas. We have, 
too, the Rhind papyrus, 3,500 years extant, and within its pages 
a kind of mathematical science. But the first scientist to emerge 
from the mists of antiquity was Thales, the mathematician of 2,500 
years ago. Almost contemporary with him is Pythagoras, a strange 
mixture of scientist and pseudo scientist. Two centuries later came 


1 Retiring address of the president of the North Carolina Academy of Science, Wake 
Forest, N. C., May 5, 1939. Reprinted by permission from the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell 
Scientific Society, vol. 55, No. 2, December 1939. 


183 


184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Democritus with the beginnings of an atomic theory which even the 
opposition of an Aristotle could not down. Another century brings 
us to Euclid, but we must wait yet another century until, around 
200 B. C., appeared that resplendent figure of old, Archimedes, bring- 
ing with him the law of buoyancy, the principle of the lever, the 
discovery of light reflection and the cry of “Eureka,” which White- 
head says should be celebrated as the awakening cry of mathematical 
physics. 

In the 17 centuries from that day to the time of Copernicus (1500) 
physics was to remain at practically a standstill. In another century 
these latent stirrings of the scientific spirit were brought to light for 
the first time in the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei, whom 
we know so well that we invariably call him by his first name. Im- 
portant it is that he should be the first to formulate inertia, to dis- 
cover the law of falling bodies, to invent the pendulum and the 
telescope, to discover the four satellites of Mercury and the sun- 
spots. More important still, says Millikan, that he should see “that 
force is proportional not to motion, but to the rate of change of 
motion, an idea the most profound in human thought.” I dwell on 
Galileo because he is generally regarded as the originator of the 
modern viewpoint in science. He, asserts Einstein, “saw that all 
knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it.” Thus, 
as Whitehead so aptly puts it, “the world waited 1,800 years from 
Archimedes to Galileo for someone who could relate abstract mathe- 
matical ideas to experimental investigation of natural phenomena.” 

Modern scientific inquiry as such seems to have begun with Roger 
Bacon in the thirteenth century. Leonardo da Vinci was indeed a 
voice crying in the scientific wilderness of the fifteenth century. 
Tycho Brahe’s tables of 1601 were a first step in scientific observa- 
tion. By means of them one could tell the position of the planets. 
It took a Kepler (1610) to see in them the three fundamental laws 
of planetary motion. Kepler could then tell us where the planets 
would be. In 3 inches he condensed the voluminous tables of Brahe, 
a tremendous scientific advance. 

And then came Newton! Whitehead says that science came of age 
that day with Newton in his garden. Einstein regards Newton’s 
laws of motion as expressed in differential equations as the “greatest 
advance in thought that a single individual has ever been privileged 
to make.” He says further that Newton was the first creator of 
a comprehensive, workable system of theoretical physics. This one 
man, he continues, gave intellectual guidance to science for 200 years.” 
Perhaps no man, then or since, has known Newton’s scientific view- 
point as has his modern prototype, Albert Einstein, who has done 
more than any man to supplement his work. He says of Newton, 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 185 


“He believed that the basic laws and concepts of his system could 
be derived from experience. This is the meaning of ‘hypotheses 
non jingo.’ Newton was uncomfortable about absolute space, abso- 
lute rest and action at a distance, since he found no basis for them 
in experience. The successes of his theories prevented discovery of 
the fictitious character of his foundations.” 

Daniel Bernouli (1700) following shortly after Newton has been 
called the founder of mathematical physics. 

From this era dates the origin of organic chemistry. Lavoisier 
(1743-94) transmuted alchemy into a rational science. Perhaps, as 
his judges said when he faced the guillotine, the republic had “no 
need of savants.” Certain it is that chemistry had great need of 
Lavoisier. 

Mathematics through the calculus as we know it today was shaped 
largely by the hand of Euler (1707). 

Sedgwick and Tyler state in their history of science that at the 
beginning of the nineteenth century general physics and chemistry 
were “still in the preliminary stage of collecting and coordinating 
data, with attempts at quantitative interpretation, while in their 
train the natural sciences were following somewhat haltingly.” 

Geike adds that at this time “geology and biology were not yet 
inductive sciences.” 

But the stirrings of science in the eighteenth century projected 
themselves into the nineteenth. Dalton (1808) with his law of 
multiple proportions for the formation of compounds supplied the 
first scientific approach to the atomic theory. 

Lyell with his publication of his “Principles” in 1830 raised 
geology to the dignity of a science. 

Biology was admitted to the union of sciences in the Victorian age 
through the efforts of Darwin, Spencer, Huxley, Wallace, and others. 

By 1850 the older universities had founded scientific schools. 
Academies of science began to be formed. The public by the open- 
ing of the twentieth century was science-minded. A new era was 
about to dawn. 

This new era took the form of a new conception as to the structure 
of matter. There were significant undercurrents in the world of 
physics. Sir Humphrey Davy made what he called his greatest 
discovery, Michael Faraday. Faraday (1791-1867) discovered the 
principle of magneto-electricity, and originated the electromagnetic- 
field theory. The world was little aware of these tremendous hap- 
penings. Even at a time when the Atlantic cable was in operation 
Gladstone could (and did) ask Faraday whether electricity had a 
use. And Faraday replied, “Why Sir, there is every probability 
that you will soon be able to tax it.” 


186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


In 1850 Maxwell placed a mathematical support under Faraday’s 
theories, to be followed by the experimental verification of Hertz. 

Joule (1818-89) found a mechanical equivalent for heat, namely, 
energy, giving the world the first law of thermodynamics. 

Plank gave a description of radiation as incapable of emission in 
aught but units, the quanta. In this quantum theory fractions of a 
unit of energy simply do not exist. 

De Broglie and Schrodinger combined the energy theory of Einstein 
with the quantum theory of Plank and compelled the joint wave- 
particle view of the atom. (Since then the physicist has been accused 
of teaching the wave theory on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 
and the particle theory on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.) 

Heisenberg proclaimed the doctrine that nature abhors not a 
vacuum so much as it does accuracy and precision. 

Dirac extended the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg to the 
entire realm of atomic physics. 

Pauli furnished us with his exclusion principle. 

Millikan and Cameron gave us cosmic radiation. 

Minkowski offered his space-time world. 

Einstein supplemented the Newtonian mechanics, proclaimed the 
invariance of natural laws in inertial systems, the constancy of the 
velocity of light, the abandonment of simultaneity, the identity of 
mass and energy, claimed absolute motion incapable of detection, 
related time and motion, connected space and matter. Gravitation, 
that most elusive of concepts, appeared as the curvature, or crum- 
pling, of a space-time continuum. But the electromagnetic fields 
were not expressed in the field equations of general relativity. Later 
came a field theory in which gravitation and electromagnetic radia- 
tion were welded together. Only the expression of the atomic 
structure in terms of the field theory was, and still is, missing. 

Here we are, and what a long way we have come. Let us examine 
some of the high and low places along the path. Let us see again 
something of the view from a few of the peaks and depressions along 
the way. Let us inquire of Mathematics, the guide in this long and 
fascinating journey. 

CONTINUITY 


Perhaps we never realize its subtlety until we really try to find 
out the meaning of continuity. The writer of radio script uses the 
term to refer to his product. We have heard his programs. Can 
such an idea be hedged about with difficulty? As is so often the case, 
an understanding of the concept implies an understanding of its 
opposite. The opposite of the continuous is the discrete. 

Long ago there lived an excellent gentleman named Zeno. It was 
back in the time of the Pythagoreans, 500 years before Christ. This 


’ MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 187 


Zeno saw the conflict between these opposites, and used what he saw 
to deny the possibility of motion, to discourage placing bets on 
Achilles in his historic race with the tortoise, and for other strange 
and bewildering purposes. Even today one doesn’t just rush in to 
show where Zeno was wrong. In his antinomies are found the baffling 
ideas of the infinite, the deceiving implications of continual divisi- 
bility. Down the years we trace these difficulties like a colored skein 
in the pattern of scientific thought. They face the scientist in his 
effort to understand the constitution of matter. Is this paper from 
which I read smooth and unbroken, or is it made of discrete particles 
bounding about hither and yon—a veritable beehive? The physicist 
leans to the latter view. (This opinion may help explain the nature 
of what is being read from these pages.) What, then, about action 
at a distance? How are light, radiation, energy, gravitation con- 
veyed from here to there? What? No ether? Can we have ether 
without continuity? If the ether is a jellylike mass, is it not com- 
posed of particles? If it is composed of particles, will not the 
quantum behavior of matter nullify the continuity of the action? If 
we have a continuous exciting cause, is it not strange that energy 
should emerge in units (quanta), or not at all? Are there no frac- 
tions? The physicist says, “No, no fractions.” De Vries claimed 
that evolution proceeds by “explosions.” But Darwin, Newton, 
Kant, Leibniz all believed in continuity. Plank’s quantum theory 
replaces a continuum of states in an isolated system by a finite number 
of discrete states. 

The mathematician has been through—I should say, is in—this 
same turmoil. He has never fully recovered from the Pythagorean 
shock of the irrational. For a time it was thought that Weierstrass, 
Dedekind, and Cantor had laid the spectre, but the contrary views of 
Knonecker, Brouwer, and Weyl on the calculus of Leibniz and New- 
ton, the feeling that this calculus is making “bricks without straw,” 
must at least have a hearing. The critics of continuity claim that 
nothing which cannot actually be constructed by a finite number of 
steps can hope to lead to a discipline free of paradox. They maintain 
that all analysis must eventually subject itself to the domination of 
the positive integer. Karl Pearson, one of the nonmathematical 
scientists who shares this view, states the position thus, “No scientist 
has the right to use things unless their existence can be demonstrated.” 

Some may meet these difficulties by what has been called “a con- 
tinuous but discreet silence.” 

Certain it is that a Thomas Wolfe may write “Of Time and the 
River” with a much more glib assurance than may an Einstein. 

Simple things these—in time such a perfect continuity; in number 
such discreteness (I came near saying “discretion”), and in the 
shadows an infinity trying to bridge the gap. 


188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
CAUSATION 


Jeans maintains that the “steady onward flow of time is the essence 
of the cause and effect relation.” It is but natural, then, that when 
continuity is in question, causation should take its place under the 
microscope of scientific scrutiny. There is more at issue than the 
mere post hoc ergo propter hoc argument. We are so used to draw- 
ing inferences from data, that it is hard to realize on what flimsy 
grounds many of our conclusions rest. It is hard, too, to see how 
we may do intellectual business at all without the ability to infer 
effect from cause. The great seventeenth century of Galileo and 
Newton encouraged the scientist to think of causation as something on 
which he could definitely rely. Modern physics takes the position, so 
ably formulated by Pearson, that causation is intelligible only in the 
perceptual sphere as “antecedence in a routine of sense impressions.” 

With the precision of measurement in studying natural phenomena 
came the realization of the statistical character of those measure- 
ments. Into the relations connecting the numbers arising in this 
way began to enter questions of doubt. The descriptions of the phe- 
nomena exhibited by the relations were seen to be more exact than 
the uncertainty of the data warranted. It began to appear that the 
descriptions described little more than what Wey] has called “statisti- 
cal regularities.” Pearson has put it thus bluntly, “In the order of 
perceptions no inherent necessity can be demonstrated * * * 
necessity has a meaning in the field of logic, but not in the universe 
of perception * * * causation is neither a logical necessity, nor 
an actual experience.” 

This position seems at first glance to be at variance with the “if 
this, then that” of mathematical disciplines. The causation which 
inheres in logic, whose presence we so naively hope for in our scientific 
thinking, seems actually to emerge in the tenets of the mathemati- 
cian. How, then, may the scientist fit data patently statistical in 
character into mathematical form, clearly nonstatistical in character? 
If, as Pearson claims, “contingency and correlation replace causation 
in science,” how does the mathematical equation tell us a true story of 
natural phenomena? Pearson answers this in part by saying, “Con- 
tingency is expressed in a table with cell-dots forming a band. This 
band viewed through an inverted telescope gives a curve. This curve 
is the mathematical function.” 

In the language of the mathematician, the scientific relation ap- 
proaches the mathematical formulation asymptotically. Perhaps a 
more nearly correct statement is that both the scientific data and the 
mathematical description near each other in a process of successive 
approximation which would warm the heart of a Poincare. 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 189 


Although many scientists feel, with Jeans, that the advent of 
Plank’s quantum mechanics has dethroned continuity and causation, 
they in large measure share his belief that the appeal to a purely 
statistical basis may be a cloak for ignorance and that cause and 
effect of an unknown character may actually be in operation. 


DETERMINISM 


One would expect that questions about cause and effect should have 
philosophical implications. There arise the old questions of deter- 
minism and freedom. Determinism, according to Dantzig, “consists 
of the assumption that, given any natural phenomenon, the various 
features that characterize it are completely determined by its ante- 
cedents. The present knowledge permits prediction of the future 
course.” “Each extension of the law of causation,” says Jeans, 
“makes belief in freedom more difficult.” Pearson claims that “our be- 
lief in determinism is the result of supposing sameness instead of 
likeness in phenomena.” Eddington asserts that “physics is no longer 
pledged to a scheme of deterministic law.” When asked why one 
magnet repels another, Whitney replied, “By the will of God,” and 
added “science can enslave us, or it can make us free, but it is we who 
make the choice.” Others hold the view that our bodies and our 
minds are as physical as inert matter, made of the same chemical ele- 
ments to be found in the remote stars, subject to the same inevitable 
laws; that the same determinism which holds for them holds also for 
us. Compton, speaking at the University last November, refuted the 
claim that man’s actions depend on physical law. But he claimed it 
a vital question for science to find out whether man’s actions are 
determined; and if so, by what factors. He maintained that it is no 
longer justifiable to use physical law as evidence against freedom. 

Into this confused picture comes mathematics with its Jaw of aver- 
ages and its probability theory. Almost within the last decade the 
uncertainties of the situation have been amplified by Heisenberg into 
an Uncertainty Principle, which says, “To any mechanical quantity 
@ there corresponds another quantity P in such a way that the 
product of the uncertainties in our knowledge of Q@ and of P can 
never be less than a certain constant , Plank’s constant; hence the 
more accurately we determine Q, the more ignorant we are of P.” 
In the Newtonian mechanics a knowledge of the position and of the 
velocity of an electron at an instant determines the future position 
of that electron, but Heisenberg assures us that we can never know 
both. The more accurately we determine the position, the less accu- 
rately we know the velocity; and vice versa. This concept of un- 
certainty seems to put the coup de grace on determinism. But who 


190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


shall say that the very law of averages which replaces determinism 
may not itself be as great a despot as the dictator which it displaces? 
May there not be still a new determinism dominated by probability, 
just as there may be a new causation whose source is unknown to us? 
Or shall we, with Compton and others, align ourselves with freedom 
because, as he says, “I find reason to believe in freedom, and wish 
to find whether such freedom is consistent with the recognized laws 
of physics.” It would be a fine irony, indeed, if science, the greatest 
liberator of men’s minds, denied to itself that freedom which it has 
so unstintingly given to mankind. 


LAW 


This outlook brings us to consider our ideas of law anew. When 
we say law, what do we mean? Do we think of brass buttons and a 
uniform? Do we think of statutes to which as citizens we owe 
obedience? Do we think of natural law, such as Newton’s universal 
law of gravitation, or of mathematical law, such as Gauss’ law of 
quadratic reciprocity, or of the philosopher’s definition: “Law is 
Unity in action difference”? 

Wey] tells us that the mathematical lawfulness of nature “is a rev- 
elation of Divine reason.” “The world,” he says, “is not a chaos, but 
a cosmos harmoniously ordered by inviolable mathematical laws.” 
We speak of Boyle’s law for a perfect gas, of Kepler’s three laws of 
planetary motion, of Dalton’s law of multiple proportions and many, 
many other laws. The scientist maintains that his chief concern is 
the discovery of nature’s laws. Just what does he mean by that? 
Is civil law one thing, and natural law another? Does law mean 
one thing to some of us, and quite another thing to others of us? 
Or, is there a philosophic pattern behind all law? 

In trying to understand the world we live in we observe and we 
experiment. We assume the validity of sense perception. We as- 
sume that normal human beings observe and experiment in much the 
same way. If we have ever listened to witnesses testify in court, we 
know just how much of an assumption that is. And furthermore, 
what, pray, is a normal human being? Many of us feel that all the 
knowledge that we obtain of natural phenomena comes through the 
senses, despite Pearson’s continued insistence that in thinking we deal 
not only with sense impressions but with stored-up opinions of for- 
mer sense impressions. We measure with all the uncertainties at- 
tendant thereto; we think, or try to, amid all the doubts above 
mentioned as to continuity and causation and determinism weighing 
upon us. How in this atmosphere can we get at law? 

The mathematician stands serene in his confusion. To him law is 
simply the matter of an invariant under a set of transformations. 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 191 


This invariant incorporates the unity, if any, present in the differ- 
ences of action in the situation in question. This unity answers the 
question as to how we may see the permanent in the transitory. The 
scope of it tells us how we may see the general in what is particular. 

In civil law we have to make the statute. Whether we like it or 
not, that statute may be broken. Still in the changing pattern of 
civil law the statute formulates what unity is possible in the diversity 
of action which it seeks to control. In natural law these differences 
in action take the form of the great dissimilarities in observed phe- 
nomena. The unity is the common part, if such there be. The 
natural law expresses this unity amid the action differences. Its 
form is never final until it partakes of the form of the mathematical 
invariant. 

POSTULATION 


Reflections on the nature of law bring forcibly to our minds the 
postulational character of our thinking. We do well to examine the 
meaning of our most fundamental concepts as well as the lines of 
argument leading to our most important conclusions. Every science 
has its undefined terms. Aught else is an infinite regression. When 
analysis fails, we rely on the properties of our concept to define it 
for us. In setting up the discipline for a science, some of the prop- 
ositions must be accepted without proof for similar reasons. The 
criterion for choice is simplicity. This is not as simple as the name 
indicates. By simplicity, as used here, is meant logical simplicity. 
As Einstein so aptly words it, “By ‘simplest’? we mean that system 
which contains fewest possible mutually independent postulates, or 
axioms.” This attitude of modern science is far removed from New- 
ton’s hypotheses non fingo. It is an attitude undoubtedly provided 
by the mathematician. Einstein continues, “Nature is the realiza- 
tion of the simplest conceivable mathematical ideas. I am convinced 
that we can discover by means of purely mathematical constructions, 
the concepts and the laws connecting them with each other, which 
furnish the key to the understanding of natural phenomena. Exper- 
ience may suggest the appropriate mathematical concepts, but they 
most certainly cannot be deducted from it. Experience remains, of 
course, the sole criterion of the physical utility of a mathematical 
construction. But the creative principle resides in mathematics.” 

Such a postulational approach to mathematical thinking was seen 
by Euclid insofar as our inability to define satisfactorily all our 
terms. The fact that even a mathematician cannot prove every- 
thing was not formulated until Pasch, almost in our own time. Now 
the necessity of a postulational approach to both definitions and 
theorems is a universally accepted tenet of the mathematician. 


192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
SYMBOLISM 


Whether we agree to this postulational so-called simplicity, we 
can have no doubt of the existence and efficacy of symbolism in both 
mathematics and the sciences. The desire for constructibility, so 
ably championed by Knonecker, has found its way into our search 
for an understanding of the nature of matter. We hear Lord Kelvin 
exclaim that he “can understand nothing of which he cannot make a 
mechanical model.” To meet this desire we have the dynamic Ruth- 
erford-Bohr model of the atom and the static Lewis-Langmuir model. 
But we are told these are too simple and definite to be regarded as 
other than intellectual conveniences. The ether is symbolized for 
us as a jellylike mass with remarkable properties. We are warned, 
however, that the universe is not completely picturable in a graphical 
sense. Radiation and gravitation elude such a mechanical descrip- 
tion. We speak of particles and waves as describing the behavior 
of light and radiation, but we are reminded that the electron is 
only a symbol for convenience of speech. Eddington tells us that 
matter and all else in the physical world has been reduced to a 
“shadowy symbolism.” When we ask what the symbols stand 
for, the reply is that it doesn’t matter. (One is reminded of the 
story that is told of Professor Lefevre, of the University of Vir- 
ginia. He is said to have greeted his philosophy class one fine morn- 
ing with the startling pronouncement, “What is mind? No matter. 
What is matter? Never mind.”) “Physics,” continues Eddington, 
“has no means of probing beneath the symbolism. Nor does one 
have to understand the symbols. What we have to understand are 
the conditions to which the symbols are subjected.” The symbols 
themselves are dummies. Any other would do as well. 

The mathematician is thoroughly in accord with this use of sym- 
bolism. He has likened his subject to a game of chess. The rules 
of the game play the role of postulates. In such a game Beil tells 
us there is no question of “truth”; there is merely a question as to 
whether the rules have been complied with. To Hilbert mathematics 
is “a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless 
marks on paper.” 

PREDICTION 


We have heard of old that a prophet is not without honor. For 
the man in the street the ability of science to predict the future 
holds a particular fascination. He is thrilled by the story of an 
Adams and a Leverrier working apart, each computing from the 
perturbing influences of an unknown source on Uranus, the position 
of a new planet, Neptune, just 52 minutes from where Galle later 
found it. He reads of the electromagnetic waves predicted by Faraday 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 193 


and Maxwell and verified by Hertz. He has heard of the more recent 
prediction by Einstein of the shift toward the red end of the spec- 
trum, caused by the deflection of light in a gravitational field, verified 
in the solar eclipse of 1919. These and many others, such as Men- 
delejeff’s prophecy as to the discovery of gallium, scandium, and 
germanium, and such as Hamilton’s prediction of conical refraction, 
have cast science in the role of one of the major prophets. Even 
Pearson concedes science the ability to predict, as well as to describe. 

Mathematics provides in its differential laws a pattern for these 
predictions. “A differential law,” says Einstein, “tells us how the 
state of motion of a system gives rise to that which follows it in 
time.” “If we know how the velocities and accelerations depend 
on position, we can trace out the past and future of our universe,” 
says Pearson. This is done by means of differential equations with 
proper boundary value conditions. The chemist does it when he 
predicts the position of the electron in its orbit. The astronomer 
does it when he predicts the position of the planet in its orbit around 
the sun. Despite Heisenberg’s uncertainty as to our ability to 
measure both position and velocity, the schedules of the planets are 
much better known than are those of the crack Chicago to New 
York trains. 

INVENTION 


Science is known to many only for its inventions. Much of its 
popularity with the masses is due to the added comforts and en- 
joyments with which it supplies them. Their eye is open for the 
so-called practical things of science. The auto, the radio, and the 
thousands of gadgets which give us our arm-chair civilization, endear 
science to the heart of the multitude. 

But this has not been the path of scientific progress. These things 
have usually been but byproducts. Hertz little thought when he 
verified Maxwell’s electromagnetic waves that he was laying the 
foundation for radio. Perhaps as often the practical leads back 
into the fundamental principles, as do the principles lead to inven- 
tion. Again, when the scientist thinks himself most theoretical, he 
may be near a very useful practicality. “Indeed,” says Richards, 
“the developments of the wave mechanics now in progress may be 
fraught with graver practical consequences for humanity than the 
approaching commercialism of television or rapid transoceanic pas- 
senger flying.” 

It is an old story to the mathematician, whom the cry of “prac- 
ticality” fails to arouse. Archimedes, tracing his conics in the 
sand when Marcellus’ soldiers snuffed out his genius, had no thought 
of a Kepler using them to describe the paths of the planets. Argand, 
Gauss, Wessel in their abstract imaginings about the complex num- 


194 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ber little fancied that they would later im the hands of Maxwell 
place a firm footing under modern electrical theories. Riemann, 
Cayley, and Sylvester had no thought that they were preparing the 
way for Einstein. Sturm and Liouville had no concern for the 
wave mechanics of De Broglie, which their researchers made pos- 
sible. The meditations of Cayley appear in the modern theories of 
Heisenberg and Dirac. Fermat, Gauss, De Moivre, Pascal could not 
possibly have foreseen that their probability theory would one day 
revolutionize physics. Indeed, the theory of today is so often the 
practice of tomorrow. If it were not, it would be no great matter. 
But, as Philip has said, “it is only against the background provided 
by the pure research of yesterday that the technical problems of 
today can be viewed in their proper setting and tackled with a reason- 
able prospect of success. Work in the pure sciences, however remote 
from the practical issues of the moment, is building up a reserve of 
knowledge and technique for future workers to draw on.” 


COSMOGONY 


One of the reasons why one studies mathematics and the sciences 
is this: to obtain a better understanding of the world in which he 
finds himself. As the sciences and mathematics have developed, so 
have developed our views of the cosmos. To primitive man who 
thought of himself as the center of the universe, to men who with 
Ptolemy regarded the earth as the center, to men who with Coper- 
nicus placed the sun in this strategic position, the cosmos presented 
a very different view. This view colored many aspects of their 
thinking. It led to the formulation of a very different philosophy 
of life. So much so that someone has said “tell me a man’s view of 
the Universe, and I will tell you what sort of man he is.” There 
have been religious upheavals attendant upon man’s change in his 
views of the world about him. In our own day his view is suffering 
what is perhaps its greatest change. Not only has the sun been dis- 
placed from its central position, but in its place nothing has been 
substituted. We are told that there is no known center; no refer- 
ence frame in which to orient a path in the cosmos. We have myste- 
rious cosmic rays beating down upon us from an unknown source 
with unknown effects. Out in an unknown place somewhere, Milli- 
kan suspects cosmic radiation may be rebuilding matter—an inverse 
phenomenon never dreamed of until our time. These are tremendous 
disturbances in man’s view of the cosmos. That there have been no 
attendant religious disturbances is a conspicuous testimonial to intel- 
lectual freedom. The lay world is becoming accustomed to regard 
almost as commonplace views which former generations held to be 
impossible in some instances unintelligible. That the world can 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 195 


achieve this transition complacently is due in large part to the tough 
intellectual fiber provided by mathematics and the sciences. 


SOCIAL IMPLICATION 


Einstein asserts that “concern for man himself and his fate must al- 
ways form the chief interest of all technical endeavors * * * in 
order that the creations of our minds shall be a blessing and not a 
curse to mankind.” That scientific findings have the potentiality 
of becoming the latter is the thought of many at this time when mod- 
ern warfare threatens the very existence of civilization. May not our 
very scientific endeavors prove a Frankenstein? It has even been 
suggested that science take a holiday in order to let the rest of the 
world, particularly the world of good will, catch up. But, as Hill 
has pointed out, the scientist is after all a human being. Can he 
know which of his discoveries will be put to harmful ends?) Mankind 
must learn to take the good and the bad together. “It is ironical,” 
says Gregory, “that greater productivity through invention should 
bring more distress anc unemployment rather than an increase in 
human welfare.” Soci..f progress has not kept pace with scientific 
progress. Russell takes the position that if mankind were rational, 
his conquest of nature would increase his happiness and well-being. 
“Only kindness,” he says, “can save the world, but even if we knew 
how to produce kindliness, we should not do so unless we were kindly.” 

This dilemma, many believe, is caused by our failure to apply to 
social and economic problems the same intelligent analysis that has 
been applied to scientific problems. They assert that scientific think- 
ing is definitely on a plane above thinking in other fields—and that 
this explains the fact that science has outdistanced nonscience. The 
ideal of thinking is presented in the perfectly welded chains of mathe- 
matical proofs. The sciences approximate this norm more closely 
than do the nonsciences. Social, as well as scientific progress, comes 
with the finding of truth. The pattern for the search for truth is 
mathematical thinking. 


FAITH 


One rarely thinks of faith as an element essential to the scientist. 
The scientist is by definition one who knows. What need then can he 
have of faith? Mark Twain says that, “Faith is believing what you 
know ain’t so.” Somewhere Hilaire Belloc exclaims, “Oh, one should 
never, never doubt what no one can be sure about.” Does this levity 
contain some truth? Does not the worker with facts need faith as a 
sort of whistle to keep up his courage? If he is never really sure, does 
he not need faith to bolster up this insecurity? Or is it that a calm, 


pervading faith is one of the necessary tools in the kit of the scientist ? 
4306774214 


196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


That the latter is the attitude with which the scientist should ap- 
proach his task we are assured in the retiring address of President 
George D. Birkhoff, of the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science, delivered this past year at the Christmas meeting in Rich- 
mond. There one of America’s foremost mathematicians spoke to 
America’s scientists of the faith that is his. It is fitting that we here 
try to catch an overtone of that meeting. 

Mr. Birkhoff claimed that whether it is the mathematician dealing 
with number, or the physicist with matter, the biologist with organism, 
the psychologist with mind, or the sociologist with social values, there 
is behind one and all an inherent faith guiding the reasoned super- 
structure which they create upon intuitional concepts. Whether it is 
the mathematician’s belief in the existence of infinite classes, the phys- 
icist’s belief in the presence of a discontinuous process at work in 
the theory of radiation, the biologist’s belief in a vitalistic theory of 
life, the psychologist’s belief in a physiological accompaniment to 
every psychical fact, or the sociologist’s belief in societal progress, 
Birkhoff emphasizes faith as an “heuristically valuable, more general 
point of view, beyond reason, often in apparent contradiction, 
which the thinker regards as of supreme importance as he endeavors 
to give his conclusions the greatest possible scope.” 

Some think that there is an opprobrium attached to any belief, that 
belief and science are mutually exclusive. Do these same people believe 
in the processes of logic? Do they have faith in the rationality of the 
human mind, in the similarity of the perceptive and reasoning fac- 
ulties of normal, civilized beings? Is it not in their code that nature 
is orderly, and that there are spiritual values underlying material 
facts? 

CONCLUSION 


In the foregoing we have traced in broad outline the advance in 
scientific thought from the earliest time down to the present. We 
have pictured the scientist journeying down this path with his guide, 
the mathematician. We have noted some of the scenes from certain 
plateaus and valleys in the path. Continuity, causation, deter- 
minism, law, the postulational method, symbolism, prediction, inven- 
tion, cosmology, social implication, faith, have passed in review. We 
have endeavored to point out how the guiding hand of the mathema- 
tician has aided the traveler along the way. The physical aspects 
of science, particularly those relative to the structure of matter, have 
been stressed because they are better known and because of the major 
importance of matter as “the building blocks” of the universe. There 
has been no disposition to indulge in propaganda for mathematics. 
Mathematics needs no “sales talk” to the scientist. It has been rather 


MATHEMATICS AND THE SCIENCES—LASLEY 197 


an effort to understand its function in the domain of scientific think- 
ing. This relation seems to be much like that of the guide to the 
mountain climber. Hardly could a guide be better fitted for his 
task. Bound to the traveler by a philosophical bond they rise or fall 
together. The assistance is by no means all on one side. Many are 
the instances in which the problems of the scientist have enriched the 
theories of the mathematician. Many are the instances in which the 
theories of the mathematician have aided in the solution of the prob- 
lems of the scientist. The equations of the mathematician are re- 
garded by many as the only language which nature speaks. Helm- 
holtz expressed this thought in the words, “the final aim of all na- 
tural science is to resolve itself into mathematics.” Jeans has this 
in mind in his statement, “all the pictures which science draws of 
nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational 
fact, are mathematical pictures * * * the Universe seems to 
have been designed by a pure mathematician.” Even Galileo back 
in the beginning of what we are pleased to call modern science said, 
“Nature’s great book is written in mathematical language.” White- 
head maintains that the aim of scientific thought is, “to see what is 
general in what is particular and what is permanent in what is 
transitory.” In this vision science utilizes the general abstraction 
of mathematics and adopts its theory of invariants. The concept of 
progressive change is basic in the study of natural phenomena. This 
same idea is the mud sill of the calculus. “With the calculus as a 
key,” continues Whitehead, “mathematics can be successfully applied 
to the explanation of the course of nature.” When classical physics 
suffered the impact of the Michelson-Morley experiment it was forced 
by its own findings to reexamine its foundations. “In this emer- 
gency,” to quote Dantzig, “it was entirely due to the fiexible mental 
apparatus with which the mathematician supplied them, that the 
physical sciences have at all survived this drastic revision.” Rich- 
ards asserts that “when we reach the core of physical reality, the 
truth is presented in mathematical equations.” Weyl] claims that in 
the long ago the Pythagoreans held that the world was not “a chaos, 
but a cosmos harmoniously ordered by invariable mathematical laws.” 
Jeans expresses it in the words, “Nature seems to know the rules of 
mathematics as the mathematicians have formulated them in their 
studies without drawing on experience of the outer world.” 

We come now to the end of tonight’s account of this amazing jour- 
ney of the scientist. In saying farewell to our scientific traveler we 
hear that insistent injunction from the mouth of his guide, so aptly 
put by Dantzig, “Read your instruments and obey mathematics; for 
this is the whole duty of the scientist.” 


ey nen sears Doli mitbetaisthed isch ap i 
Vieni © Lah Wt Cal” abe ao Iiknasae ehiomae 
RGR: ses otk aul debetod ‘ig a'h dior bse bnaki | 
angen tee, ywlvlet sel Mookie wah oun pik artista a Ae si | 
Ante -banlboeray ginal Sati ties elt Ap ihisal 6G ee 
Cee shake pe rept seans: Mp, chit fiac Bas be ine 
elim ot Gite ating tnelad.’ Abuntt bavi ee Hu loca as antes hoe 
alt revs lta tbr ian pc edh) Sonlagieniay a ee. Saab mates alarks 
Sage. atalagetggiontte nak abide copyenpmoa tacts Sing Wat sah 
2a torn ae lah abit diltickerubgied natlt) Hecatnd ; 
seca ue pies (hs apap atixk ines milonepias ara yidl 
«Reeser sete in kau Uns asa foe leat oli sds” Sieh oly Lae hk 
iene Rene RARE in Biba we lulaaels Tf svete Pena DRC chet doe Eeyore 
di Eas core wih vant! hi Ki mht Py Ripe my ‘opel yey owen 10 Baty: ornare Aa) EY, 
Stlck codon harry Bet, shanti uma! eens ones ond bewrgianke basi 
adden DAB! MeL T YS boy bate! vy Enemas thir Apps biped [ae rh Bae) 
Paoualtee eFogpiagcc ul Tthemege Mie re ele we nligedth goes ee 
Sie by AR o Hear” ee ' Weltyeros {iii te ne $B Tn Fit, 
gts a dae pa ees eerpog gt atlven Mei te 1 gitmsieg ath: subclone ws 
‘ai rpnsedtye siete souks ausiditen: annie vrottgiaty Bute acts ™ ash FES 
Testa dO soantey ag Sp pce b gota Lagi Saker he 
veka eT. Ver onal a pana { an ay anaes WO Lhe: ‘heel ay rune’ 
sas he sidlai laa eg eG han) oilt Danis Bare ationk tenons & 
r at eh can pone ek vin deities Lanoueh sand a 
seca haoieaele: Dees, Tete MG hte ane Sie athe a QE 

fe ty Rae Rann ti Di aise sya feat? us at spetebsll ihe vs iM ‘ieee reek weit 
mes Torte a0) 4 a Bde Ty Bik PieeR Lows “OF. SEM vis Rhee we 
fp tilun UAL acl oon) ; iy ee? heey it aint shines a Ae ; 
Ppt ( hi Hie lk ne LET Ae rehhe bee vy) pve ty Arana 
“ato ee Har ee ian Ey abate Lik eave a 1 a rae mth) yan ee 


a 


‘hae re hs is by fy i oh Pay Pity a aa! i ‘ier b bi a Gt rm “ Tay ime) Oe / 
’ 2, Say adthaly red Wy We Gist wi) rast iii bli os Ma | he heey "ny ‘tat 
f : ‘ . ia } ‘i 
3 pis peta! bel ; aly Flip yy ety tiaeeaay Hy at Liae eae on , On a ee 
a ET TAP pike il PR eekeN Vc me Beet FEU a in ia 


Pi er i Mi 4 ty 


: Hi f 1 A ae, f 4. : 
ya) PL Ley g 43) Ne KO Uh ae Wee sebithe me Ty T Ly Ce) 


tart ire ! deve Me bs aie * eb) eH te i i peur ey as pope Bity ae Wy 1a ys 7 
ee Tciur aston Ole 9 Nias piyy nh Se ney i a tt ttt Sate 

eri Aan vt +93 od i Vay Phe HO : vas ae sf t deri sok ‘ ety fe Ny bast “hii 

7 4 Ne 1 egy og 4 Have H ‘ i 4 ii, ‘ek ites 5 rae iba ae ie yo M fe Lr ith white mat = ’ 


4 ‘it f ar “ahi y Lif i uo 0 ‘we mo ¥ Noi waa ‘slidtehi vit ae 
iT a eat (RRL TNO TIN BI ats bien var tio >e Ny ft ns “Saha: a i 43 be. 
a eae a AN eT Pk ible Reishi or o Ht sae Ps wh) tet itor hes eS: 


gi : 5 ep 
Pie | ( b . ye P| ’ h 


THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY * 


By M. W. SMITH 


Member American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Vice President in Charge 
of Engineering, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company 


[With 1 plate] 


Behind the phenomenal growth of the electrical industry lies an important 
fact: “The industry has consistently accepted and adapted to its own use the 
new ideas and developments of science.” 

The story of the electrical industry is one of growth in giant, 
breath-taking strides and great technical advances. Turbine- 
generator units have progressed to the stage where ratings of 100,000 
ky.-a. at 3,600 r.p.m. and 300,000 kv.-a. at 1,800 r.p.m. can now be 
built. Hydraulic generators, the size of which may ultimately be 
limited by manufacturing facilities because of their large diameters, 
have exceeded 100,000-kw. rating. Efficiencies of some of the large 
hydrogen-cooled turbine generators, synchronous condensers, and 
frequency changers have approached 99 percent in individual units. 
Transformers have increased to present-day ratings of over 150,000 
ky.-a. per bank, and efficiencies of well over 99 percent have been 
realized. Circuit breakers are capable of interrupting several million 
kilovolt-amperes—equal to that of the short-circuit capacity of some 
of the large interconnected systems. Lightning arresters? are avail- 
able with sufficient capacity to handle a direct lightning stroke of 
over 100,000 amperes and yet limit the voltage to safe values. 

Behind this growth, the rate of which has shown no diminution 
since the birth of the industry, lies a significant, important fact. 
The industry has consistently accepted and adapted to its own use 
the new ideas and developments of science. In fact the industry has 
fostered and encouraged fundamental research to the point that the 
research laboratory has become an integral part of the industry 
itself. It also recognizes the value and importance of the scientific 
accomplishments of the universities and other research institutions, 
and maintains a close contact with their work. 


1 Reprinted by permission from Hlectrical Engineering, vol. 59, No. 2, February 1940. 

2A lightning arrester is an electrical device used to protect electrical equipment from 
damage when exposed to lightning or other voltages that are higher than that for which 
the equipment was designed to operate, 


199 


200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Although the industrial laboratory has become the basic element 
in the electrical industry, the manner by which its fruits are put to 
practical use is complex. Not only are there many ways by which 
a new idea is transformed into a practical thing, but also there are 
many problems in connection with making the fullest use of scientific 
effort. These ways and these problems merit a closer examination. 


EFFICIENT USE OF SCIENCE PRESENTS MANY PROBLEMS 


The task of the industry is not only to uncover new principles and 
make new discoveries, but also to determine which ones can be put to 
practical, profitable use, and how. It is difficult to recognize the 
potential value of new discoveries and to determine at an early stage 
the possibilities of applying them to industrial processes and 
products. 


THE PROBLEM OF TIMING 


The rate of application of new ideas is not dependent solely upon 
the time necessary to conceive and develop them. It is also influenced 
by the time required for public acceptance. Household refrigeration, 
the basic principle of which is very old, required a relatively long 
time for both instrumentalities and public acceptance. Numerous 
problems had to be solved in the commercial development of such 
items as suitable refrigerants, sealed compressor shafts or the alterna- 
tive of hermetically sealed units, systems of proper lubrication that 
would be effective for a period of years, elimination of noise, quan- 
tity-production methods such as those previously developed in the 
automobile industry, electric-welding methods, and many other items, 
including even such things as a system of time payments. 

During the first two decades of radio the efforts of radio engineers 
were directed toward developing methods by which radio could be 
used as a means of private communication. It remained for a new 
idea, the opposite of this notion, to allow radio to assume its present 
stature. Public acceptance of radiobroadcasting was almost instan- 
taneous. This case is an exception to the rule that the exploitation 
of new products and devices usually results in unprofitable operation 
for prolonged periods. 

The course of carrier current* also supports this point. In the 
middle 20’s carrier current came into successful use for communica- 


*Carrier current is a term used to define currents that are superimposed on circuits 
such as transmission lines which are already carrying power currents. These carrier cur- 
rents are induced in, and collected from, these circuits by the use of high-frequency trans- 
mitting and receiving equipment which is not metallically connected to the circuits over 
which they are carried. These carrier currents are generally used for communication and 
control purposes, and this scheme of operation eliminates the necessity of providing parallel 
telephone or transmission circuits, 


ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY—SMITH 201 


tion along transmission lines. Then came a quiet period of several 
years in its development, followed about 1935 by an intensified ac- 
tivity which shows no signs of any immediate slackening. The need 
for high-speed relaying of long lines, the development of better tubes, 
and other changes in the industry spurred engineers to adapt the 
fundamentals of carrier current to relaying and supervision as well 
as communication. 

Spot welding has been a practical, though limited, industrial tool 
for many years. However, some 6 or 8 years ago, the idea was con- 
ceived of using the ignitron* to control exactly the duration of the 
welding current. Since that time, spot welding has grown enor- 
mously both in total use and in diversity of applications. The ig- 
nitron, incidentally, was originally developed not with welding in 
mind but to increase the reliability of mercury-arc rectifiers. 


THE PROBLEM OF OBSOLESCENCE 


The industrial laboratory poses the inexorable problem of obsoles- 
cence. Fortunately the leaders of the electrical] industry have taken 
the far-sighted view that, in order to make sound progress, the seem- 
ing ruthlessness of obsolescence must be accepted. Unless one has 
studied the rates of development and consequently the rates of obso- 
lescence, it is seldom realized how relentless is the march of progress. 

A plant that is modern today may be out of date tomorrow. As 
a matter of fact, the more progressive companies attempt to antici- 
pate obsolescence. Capital expenditures are made on the basis of 
the time at which the new plant or equipment will be obsolete, not 
when it is worn out. 

The discovery of a new fact in sclence may completely upset an 
existing design. Even though the style or performance of a product 
may not be greatly modified, the practice of the art or process by 
which it is produced may be radically changed. With the steep rise 
of welding not long ago, in a few short years the method of con- 
structing most large machines swung from casting to welded fabri- 
cation. Neither the appearance nor the performance of the machines 
was fundamentally altered by this change; the principal motive is 
economy of time and of construction cost. 

It behooves all managements to keep themselves keenly alive to the 
necessity of meeting changes resulting from progress. Of all com- 
petition, there is none quite so ruthless as that which replaces. We 
all can remember that during the early stages of radiobroadcasting, 
several plants rapidly grew up for the making of radio headsets. 


“The ignitron is a special form of the mercury-arc rectifier, and is generally used to 
convert alternating current to direct current. 


202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The development of the loud-speaker practically ruined this active 
business. The early sets used vaccuum tubes supplied by direct cur- 
rent, requiring plate and filament batteries. This created a heavy 
production of dry batteries that was subsequently curtailed by the 
development of plate-battery eliminators. Later, the development 
of the copper-oxide rectifier eliminated the use of the storage bat- 
tery for filaments, and still later, the development of a.-c. tubes so 
completely changed the design of radio receivers that it rendered 
many inventories and factory equipments obsolete. 

The most recent step in this evolution—and one that shows the 
cyclic character of many industrial developments—is the battery- 
operated portable set that has suddenly become so popular. It is 
additionally significant that although a tube development displaced 
the early battery set, another development of tubes brings the bat- 
tery back—the perfection of a tube that operates successfully on 114 
volts. 

This last development also shows the rewards from the policy of 
letting the obsolescence caused by science take its seemingly ruthless 
course. The new battery-operated radios do not offer new competi- 
tion for established types of radio sets, but instead simply create or 
uncover an additional demand for radios. The demand for batteries 
and for tubes promises to reach an all-time peak. 

Similar successive steps of development occurred in illumination. 
A large kerosene-lamp industry was rendered obsolete, particularly 
in metropolitan districts, by the coming of the gas mantle. It, in 
turn, was replaced by the electric lamps. Now a new family of 
lamps—the gas-discharge lamps, which include sodium-vapor, high- 
pressure mercury-vapor, and fluorescent units—with efficiencies sev- 
eral times those of incandescent lamps, have demonstrated their 
practicability. It is still too soon to predict to what extent they will 
become the universal illuminants, but there is more than a hint that 
illuminant evolution is not at an end. No one in the industry thinks 
for a minute that the more efficient light sources presage a decrease 
in the requirements for energy or equipment. On the contrary, as 
in the past, this improvement should promote further expansion. 


INDUSTRY FINDS MANY BENEFITS FROM ORGANIZED RESEARCH 


The industrial laboratory has served the march of electrical prog- 
ress in many ways. Not the least of these is that it has served to 
bring the scientist, the design engineer, and the application engineer 
into closer contact. They now talk the same language and use the 
same tools. Universities are giving more attention to the training 
of industrial scientists, and within the last few years, important 
meetings have been devoted to discussions of the application of 
physics to industry. 


re ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY—SMITH 203 


The cooperation of university and industrial scientific effort has 
also contributed much to the progress of development by bringing sci- 
entists of different training closer together on specific problems. For 
instance, much of the recent progress in the improvement of insula- 
tion for electrical apparatus has resulted from the combined efforts 
of physicists, chemists, and electrical engineers working harmoni- 
ously in close-knit groups. For many years, only a limited number 
of scientists in the universities had shown any interest in dielectrics, 
particularly solids. The engineer stumbled along rather blindly, and 
little progress was made until all phases of the problem were coor- 
dinated through the industrial laboratory. This relationship not 
only has served an important function in coordinating the efforts of 
individuals, but also has exerted a strong influence in bringing to- 
gether the various departments within an organization as well as 
outside agencies on problems of mutual interest. A new develop- 
ment for one department is often seen to be of value to another. 
Thus, research acts as a clearing house for information and stimu- 
lates its flow from one department to another. 


JOINT RESEARCH BETWEEN MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER 


Another coordinating function of the industrial laboratory is the 
cooperative work between electrical manufacturers and the suppliers 
of raw materials. For many years, electrical manufacturers have 
carried on cooperative research with manufacturers of steel, carbon 
brushes, insulating materials, and other raw materials. As a result 
greatly improved materials have been developed. These in turn 
enable the electrical manufacturer to build more reliable and more 
efficient apparatus, which can be extended into new and larger fields 
of application. 


INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH SHORTENS TIME BETWEEN DISCOVERY AND USE 


Another important accomplishment of the industrial laboratory 
has been to effect a marked reduction in the time between the dis- 
covery of a new idea and its commercial application. For example, 
only a few years ago scientists conceived the idea of using as a 
germicidal agent a certain type of lamp the rays from which are 
lethal to bacteria. In the last 2 or 3 years the resulting Sterilamp 
has been put to regular daily use in tenderizing meat, retarding 
spoilage of foods, killing bacteria on drinking glasses, helping to 
prevent infection following surgical operations, and many other 
important tasks. 

Even today, however, special attention must be given to this phase 
of the problem: After the research work has been completed and 
the theory or principle of operation has been verified, there still 


204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 


remains the decision as to the commercial possibilities of the new 
device or product. Usually sufficient information is not available at 
this stage on whch to base an intelligent decision. Information as 
to probable costs (including equipment investment), processes, pro- 
duction methods, market analyses, and distribution methods must be 
obtained before a decision to manufacture and sell can be made. 
This requires that the new product be carried through some prelim- 
inary stage of development, where a study of these factors is made. 
Usually this takes the form of some kind of pilot-plant activity 
under the direction of a special experimental or development group 
that has the responsibility of carrying new products through this 
incubation stage following the completion of research work. This 
form of development is particularly conspicuous in the chemical 
industry. 


PATENT SYSTEM STIMULATES NEW DEVELOPMENTS 


Our patent system has had a stimulating influence on industrial 
research and developments in the electrical industry that should not 
be overlooked. It costs money to develop and exploit inventions. 
The protection afforded by patents provides an incentive to develop 
new things under conditions such that they may be exploited long 
enough to become established. Quite often a strong urge toward a 
particular development seems to become manifest and inventive effort 
starts simultaneously in many places. This seeming chaos that 
theorists would like to control from some central throne eventually 
turns into true cooperative effort through the practical necessity for 
cross-licensing of patents before a useful product can be obtained. 
Television is a present-day example. Patents themselves are pub- 
lished and the protection afforded does away with the necessity for 
secrecy. ‘The new progress that has been made impinges upon other 
minds, thereby starting new chains of ideas that result in coordinated 
group effort leading to rapid progress. 

Without the protection provided by patents, capital would be re- 
luctant to venture into new fields. Industrial research would become 
secretive, and because of the resulting lack of cooperation and coor- 
dinated group effort, our progress in technical accomplishments and 
standards of living would be seriously retarded. 

In the light of these advantages, many times verified by experi- 
ence, it is disturbing to observe the tendency in some political circles 
to propose legislation that would destroy these values and place seri- 
ous limitations on individual right. Even the uncertainties surround- 
ing such proposals create a lack of confidence, tending to retard initia- 
tive and technical progress. This same condition exists to a large 
extent throughout the industry, and particularly in the public-utility 


ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY—SMITH 205 


field where political threats and limitations have seriously curtailed 
expansion and thus retarded the use of scientific developments di- 
rectly in the generation and distribution of electricity. 


ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY DRAWS FROM ALL BASIC SCIENCES 


Contributions to the development and progress of the electrical 
industry have come from practically every branch of the basic 
sciences. This is not surprising when we consider the large variety 
of materials used in the manufacture of electrical equipment. 

Metallurgy—tImprovement in electrical apparatus is largely de- 
pendent on the improvement made in the properties of the materials 
used. This applies to both physical and chemical properties of vari- 
ous kinds. The limitations in physical properties of materials are 
most likely to be encountered in high-speed rotating machinery such 
as steam turbines, where centrifugal and steam forces are likely to be 
large under conditions of high temperature, which in turn tends to 
lower permissible stress limits. 

Research work done in recent years by both electrical and steel 
manufacturers to determine and improve the fatigue, creep,’ cor- 
rosion, and other physical properties of various alloy steels used 
in highly stressed machines has resulted in such marked advances 
in design that output ratings have been more than doubled at the 
highest operating speed in less than 5 years. 

The electrical industry has also called on the metallurgist for new 
and improved magnetic steels and alloys. Magnetic steel, particularly 
electrical sheet steel, has been a subject of continued research by both 
electrical and steel manufacturers. This has involved studies of 
molecular and grain structures as well as of chemical compositions 
and purity. This work has resulted in a steady decrease in iron 
losses * in the cores of transformers and machines of such magnitude 
that they have been reduced by more than half in the last 20 years, 
with a saving to the industry of millions of dollars annually. 

Until recently, the improvement in electrical sheet steel was con- 
fined largely to iron losses. Practically no improvement in perme- 


5 When a load or strain is applied to a structural member such as a steel bar, the bar 
elongates or stretches proportional to the load applied up to the elastic limit of the material. 
For most practical applications, this elongation for a given stress is presumed to remain 
fixed or constant. Actually, most materials will continue to elongate at a very slow rate 
(in some cases over a period of years), even though the stress remains constant at a value 
below its elastic limit. This property or characteristic of materials to slowly elongate 
on a constant stress with time is commonly referred to as “creep.” 

*In the iron cores of electrical devices, such as generators, motors, and transformers, 
which either generate or receive alternating current, the magnetic flux is subject to 
reversal at the same frequency as the generated or applied alternating current. This 
reversal of magnetism produces a molecular friction loss inside the iron core which results 
in an energy loss that appears in the form of heat. This energy loss is commonly referred 
to as “iron loss.” 


206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ability had been accomplished. As a result of recent research and 
development we now have a magnetic steel that has not only lower 
iron loss but also much better permeability. 

New alloys are sometimes discovered and developed as byproducts 
of other research work. In the electrical industry, the need for new 
alloys with special characteristics often arises in connection with 
new electrical developments. It is therefore often necessary to de- 
velop special alloys to meet limitations encountered in electrical 
developments, particularly when the volume required is too small 
to be attractive to alloy manufacturers. For example, a recently 
developed alloy containing only a few percent iron, is stronger at 
1,100° F. than any low-carbon steel at room temperature. It creeps 
very little. It survives a 6,000-hour creep test at 1,000° F. that 
causes cast carbon-molybdenum steel to fail and high-strength nickel- 
chromium steel to creep 100 times as much. As an amazing demon- 
stration of how it retains its elastic properties when hot, a bar of 
steel and one of this alloy were heated to 1,100° F. When struck with 
a hammer, the steel bar responded with a dull thud; the alloy with 
a clear, bell-like tone. 

Chemistry.—The application of chemistry to the electrical industry 
has been almost unlimited. Chemists have been called on principally 
to produce new and improved insulating materials, compounds, var- 
nishes, oils, etc. ‘There have been many other developments, however. 
For example, a fireproof chlorinated compound has been developed 
to replace transformer oil in applications where fire hazards exist. 
Many fireproof liquids have been made available, but a great amount 
of research and development work has been required in recent years 
to obtain a material that also had satisfactory electrical properties 
such as high dielectric strength, low power factor, and viscosities 
comparable with transformer oil, particularly at low temperature. 

Physics.—The foundation of the electrical industry is supported 
to a large extent on the laws of physics. Some of the most impor- 
tant scientific discoveries and applications therefore have come from 
this field. The discovery of electromagnetism, the electron, and the 
X-ray are outstanding examples. From researches on the mechanics 
of the ion came the principle of circuit interruption by deionization 
that has been applied to a whole family of interrupting devices from 
the giant circuit breakers that handle millions of kilovolt-amperes 
down to the new practical circuit breakers for the home that are 
little larger than a wall switch. In the field of electronics, numerous 
electrical developments of far-reaching importance have been based 
on these and similar discoveries. 

Mathematics.—Probably no other industry rests on such a precise 
mathematical basis as the electrical industry. From its very begin- 


ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY—SMITH 207 


ning its every step in the design, construction, and operation of 
electrical apparatus has been guided by computation. In fact, the 
electrical engineer has invented several mathematical tools to serve 
his purposes, such as the complex quantity and symmetrical com- 
ponents. He has even placed his mathematics on a mechanical basis, 
such as that amazing creation, the calculating board. 

Pure mathematical concepts have given birth to many electrical 
devices. Particularly has this been true of relays for the protection 
of transmission lines and terminal equipment. A conspicuous recent 
example is a new, simplified pilot-wire relay that greatly extends 
the practical field of this type of relaying. This relay was conceived 
directly from the mathematical conception of positive, negative, and 
zero-sequence components of alternating currents. 


AS TO THE FUTURE 


We know so little about nature’s basic underlying principles that 
it is incredible that anyone should think that our knowledge of 
natural laws is anything but exceedingly small when compared with 
the vast amount that is listed in the unknown column. This alone 
should be encouraging, for if we can accomplish all that we have 
with such a poor understanding, it is reasonable to expect vastly 
better results as we obtain more basic knowledge. 

While our human limitations may prevent us from seeing very 
far into the future, present developments give us some idea of future 
trends and in what fields expansions are likely to occur. 

In the processing industries, electricity will probably assume an 
increasingly important role in the way of metering, regulating, and 
controlling numerous phases of new as well as existing processes. 
Recent improvements in electric furnaces and their controls, including 
the control of the atmosphere inside of the furnace as well, indicate 
various possibilities in this field. For instance, heat treatment of steel 
sheets for automobiles by continuous processes in less than 15 min- 
utes has been accomplished. In the presence of highly purified at- 
mospheres, various steels and alloys can now be bright-annealed. In 
controlled-atmosphere furnaces, dies can be heat-treated without 
oxidation or carburization, thus eliminating subsequent grinding. 

In the broad field of air conditioning, electricity will play an im- 
portant part, not only in applications requiring power but in the 
processing and treatment of the air itself. Electrical means are now 
available for cleaning and sterilizing air. These new aids in air 
conditioning, coupled with the available services of heating, cooling, 
and humidity control, make it possible to improve man’s living con- 
ditions so profoundly that he may live in a clean spring or fall 
atmosphere all the year around in any locality. 


208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Lightningproof electrical systems were but the dreams of engineers 
a few years ago. They are still not a reality, but the day is coming 
when they will be.» Much has been done in this direction; more is 
yet to be done. The recent development of a device for recording 
natural lightning strokes that is relatively inexpensive and simple, 
so that dozens of them can be installed over wide areas, will be of 
tremendous assistance in collecting that quantity of statistical in- 
formation about lightning necessary for the construction of protective 
devices and self-protecting apparatus. We now have reason to believe 
that in the not too distant future lightning, once the great disturber 
of electrical systems, will be eliminated as a hazard to power 
continuity. 

Vast new vistas are being opened by high-frequency electric energy. 
High frequencies, which broadly include everything beyond 60 cycles, 
are already being used for numerous tasks of melting, heat-treating, 
and drying. Packaged raw materials are being dried without open- 
ing the containers; bearing surfaces of finished engine crankshafts are 
being given additional hardness by localized heating induced by high- 
frequency currents. With the rapid developments in high-frequency 
generators, both of the rotating and electron tube types, it is not in- 
conceivable that all gasoline and Diesel engines, machine tools, and 
other machines will be treated by high-frequency when assembled or 
partially assembled to harden the wearing surfaces. 

The great field of electronics, which is now best known in radio, 
television, and communication, can be expected to find a greater 
number of future applications in the electrical industry, particularly 
in those fields having to do with automatic machine operations, in- 
spection of materials and safety methods. Recent progress in the 
development of larger and more reliable metal-tank tubes indicates 
that electronics may also be expected to play an increasingly im- 
portant part in electric-power distribution, both in transformations 
and control. 

When it is considered that the power consumption in many small 
homes today is from 8 to 10 times the national average, due to the 
increasing acceptance of electric ranges, water heaters, forced air 
circulation, high lighting levels, and other conveniences, we can ex- 
pect domestic power consumption to double in a reasonable time. 
This indicates the need for an improved low-voltage distribution 
system as well as rewiring of homes. 

Agriculture is another field that has scarcely been touched by the 
electrical industry. In addition to the usual applications of power 
and light, there appear to be many possibilities of applying treat- 
ments and radiations for the stimulation of plant growth and control 
of insects that now infest grains, plants, and seeds. 


ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY—SMITH 209 


Present researches in nuclear physics in many institutions may re- 
sult in obtaining information that will be just as extensive in its 
influence on the developments in the electrical industry as was the 
discovery of the electron. The production of radioactive substances, 
through the disintegration of the atom may provide a very useful 
tool. Naturally, one thinks of using these radiations instead of the 
X-ray for radiography or for radium in the treatment of disease. 
While they no doubt will be used to some extent for such purposes, 
the possibility of using these radiations as a means of studying 
certain atomic reactions and structures may be even more useful. 
For instance, by the use of electrical-detection methods, it appears 
feasible to follow the migration of radioactive atoms through a metal 
during heat-treating processes. Similarly, it is possible to trace 
the movement of radioactive substances through a plant or the 
human body and thus learn more about how and where these sub- 
stances are assimilated. In contrast to radium, most of these arti- 
ficial radioactive substances have such a short life that no permanent 
harm is done to the human system. 

The present methods of generating electric power are so well 
established that we are inclined to accept them as permanent. 
Gradual improvements in present methods have reduced the amount 
of coal used per kilowatt-hour to approximately one-fourth that 
required 20 years ago. While this improvement is indicative of real 
progress in steam-power generation, it is still small when compared 
with the theoretically possible energy that could be gotten from a 
highly efficient method of energy conversion. 

With an increasing knowledge of the fundamental properties of 
matter and a better understanding of the conduction of electricity 
in gases, recent calculations and experimental work indicate that it 
may be possible to use the electromagnetic properties of the rapidly 
moving ionized products of combustion of certain fuels in conjunc- 
tion with some suitable electrical transforming device as a means 
of generating electric energy. A practical development of this idea, 
which at least appears to be a possibility at the present time, would 
result in the use of static electrical devices extracting power from 
the kinetic energy of the gases of combustion without the intervention 
of rotating electrical machinery. 

Although these and many other prospective developments that 


might be mentioned are indefinite and difficult to evaluate, we can 


look forward with the expectation that the electrical industry will 
continue to grow under the stimulation and impetus of new scientific 
| discoveries and advances. 


% if ets Lap (y 


mee 
ny i bt i 


‘ ns 
Cy we Ay +i vm. 


"i 
¥ 
a “Hose yi 


HN 
oF \\ ye 


‘a st ae Fs 


fi ih Mf a fit 


Ror 


ae siden te nee 
ae a ag 


hae 


Daaalies iho 
Lehuaih 

‘cny so x iat as g3 esi ti 
A oe 


te MG one b> p 


’ ' 
\ Re ir Doles ns sae 


ney ‘hoot wEM ) ig Himok ue 
ep ‘2 Mi, 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Smith 


RESEARCH 


STUDIES OF VIBRATION 


IN LARGE STEAM TURBINE BLADES. 


PLATE 1 


THE NEW SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS? 


By Hersert R. MAUERSBERBGER 
Technical Editor, Rayon Tecatile Monthly 


We are living in a fast and progressive age as far as textiles are 
concerned, recently referred to as a “fiber revolution.” The old nat- 
ural fibers do not any longer limit the ability of the textile industry 
to create and supply new fabrics of unusual character, beauty, and 
usefulness. These new developments mark an advance in fiber tech- 
nology, which must be examined and evaluated with the greatest care 
by all who wish to keep up-to-date. They create both opportunities 
and hazards for the progressive textile manufacturer—opportunities 
for those awake to the possibilities they offer of meeting our human 
needs more fully; hazards for the ultraconservatives, who let prog- 
ress pass by. To the technical man, they are fascinating and worthy 
of careful examination and study. 

In my investigation of these new synthetic fibers I have not in- 
cluded the cellulosic filaments and fibers, such as rayon or modified 
rayons. I believe that the word synthetic has never been applicable 
to rayon in its various textile forms. True synthesis would involve 
the union of chemical elements to form the basic substances from 
which a textile fiber is obtained. This stage has not as yet been 
accomplished, but the new man-made fibers I shall discuss come very 
close to this ideal. 

My information has been obtained from sources I believe authentic, 
such as patents, chemical abstracts, newspapers, both local and foreign 
technical publications as well as private correspondence with the 
companies directly involved. 

In discussing them with you, I will take them up in the order of 
their present relative importance. I will also include a few in which 
research work has been practically completed but which have not 
been marketed as yet in this country for economic or other reasons, 
which I shall state. In each case I will state the origin, comparative 


1 Paper presented before American Society for Testing Materials, Papers Session, October 
17, 1940. Reprinted by permission from Rayon Textile Monthly, November and De- 
cember 1940. 

211 
430577—42——-15 


212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


properties as far as they could be ascertained, and their present or 
past uses. 

The importance of these new synthetic fibers may be more fully 
understood when it is considered that the supply of some of our 
natural fibers may be cut off or prices become prohibitive. At a 
recent technologists’ meeting, the Army, Navy, and Air Force have 
taken serious recognition of this and are making tests on substitution 
for silk and wool in particular. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. von Bergen, Director of Research 
Laboratories of Forstmann Woolen Co., prints of a number of new 
synthetic fibers, both in longitudinal and cross section, are found in 
the new Textile Fiber Atlas to be published soon. 


NYLON 


Nylon is the generic name chosen by the du Pont Co. for “a man- 
made proteinlike chemical product, which may be formed into fibers, 
bristles, filaments and sheets, and when drawn is characterized by 
extreme toughness, elasticity and strength,” to quote from the com- 
pany’s statements. This means that it has to some degree the same 
chemical composition as the proteins, of which silk, hair, and wool 
are common textile examples. The term “nylon” does not refer to 
any particular chemical form of the polyamide any more than glass 
refers to any particular form or item of glass. 

It is an outgrowth of considerable research begun by du Pont in 
1928 and its success was announced by the company on October 27, 
1938. ‘To explain how it was conceived and how it is made today 
would be a paper in itself. I shall confine myself only to the textile 
aspect and its various desirable properties. While nylon is com- 
monly stated to be made from “coal, air, and water,” much more is 
involved. To the technical man, it can be made from a dibasic acid 
derived from phenol and a diamine, likewise derived from phenol. 
Oxygen from the air is needed in the dibasic acid, and ammonia is 
used in making the diamine. Since phenol is commonly derived 
from bituminous coal and since ammonia is made synthetically by 
causing the hydrogen from water to unite with nitrogen from the air, 
it follows that this particular nylon is derivable from coal, air, and 
water. 

In regard to its physical and chemical properties, it must be said 
that nylon is the first synthetic textile fiber that has reached practical 
use and thereby has proved definitely that it is possible to make 
textile fibers synthetically and with raw materials other than cellu- 
lose. Nylon has a crystalline polyamide structure, can be drawn 
cold, and is exceedingly strong and elastic. This is attributed to 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—MAUERSBERGER 213 


the orientation of molecules in the drawing process, which can be 
altered to suit any particular condition or demand. It is the proper- 
ties of the yarn resulting from this control of molecular arrangement 
which caused the company to introduce it in the manufacture of fine 
hosiery. Nylon is also extremely tough, standing long wear and 
abuse, making it ideal for the bristles in tooth and hair brushes, fish- 
ing leaders and the like. It is resistant to abrasion. Its resistance 
to heat is good, 1.e., its melting point is around 480° F., which is 
above the temperature normally used in ironing fabrics. Nylon 
does not burn or blaze or propagate a flame. It merely melts. 
Hence, no fire hazards are involved in its use. It is not injured by 
water or any liquid commonly used in the home. It is attacked by 
phenol (carbolic acid) and certain mineral acids normally found 
in the laboratory only. It is readily wet out by water, but absorbs 
much less water than common textile materials. Hence, nylon 
articles dry extremely rapidly and are just as strong wet as when 
dry. Hot water and saturated steam impart a substantially “perma- 
nent set” to nylon yarn and fabricated materials, which serves to 
retain its shape. Of course, nylon can be made waterproof or water- 
repellent by customary treatments. 

Nylon, like all ordinary textile fibers, is subject to injury by 
ordinary light. It is claimed to be at least equally as resistant to 
indoor and outdoor light as corresponding unweighted silk fabrics. 
It can be stored in the absence of light for long periods without 
injury. Nylon is absolutely proof against attack by moths, fungi, 
and bacteria. Nylon has good insulating properties and high abra- 
sion resistance. Its refractive index in the textile form is 1.53 to 
1.57 Nylon is doubly refractive and when examined between crossed 
Nicol prisms, all colors of the rainbow appear. 

Of its present 4,000,000-pound production, 90 percent goes into the 
manufacture of fine, full-fashioned women’s hosiery. It has found 
application in the manufacture of sewing thread known as “Neophil.” 
It is also used for corset fabrics and for shroud lines for parachutes, 
and is now being developed for the parachute fabric itself. As a mono- 
filament and bristle, it is used in “Exton” and “Miracle Tuft” tooth 
brushes and hair brushes; also as surgical sutures. 

While nylon is produced at Seaford, Del., with a capacity of 
8,000,000 pounds, another plant is being started at Martinsville, Va., 
which will bring the production to 16,000,000 pounds by the spring 
of 1942. 

Much of this information is already available to technicians, sct- 
entific workers, and textile experts. It is merely repeated for the 
sake of A. S. T. M. records and also as a summary for you. Nylon 
serves as an excellent example of what can be done to construct and 


214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


manufacture textile filaments and fibers to suit specified needs and 
modern demands. 
VINYON 


This is probably the most promising new synthetic textile fiber. 
While already hinted at by Dr. Robert Hooke in 1664, and by René 
Reaumur, the production of a suitable and practical textile fiber 
from gums and resins did not become a reality until synthetic resins 
were made. 

Vinyon was originally made by Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Cor- 
poration and described in a United States patent, No. 2,161,766, 
granted to Rugeley, Field, Jr., and Conlon in 1937. Later in 1939 
the American Viscose Corporation took up the manufacture of the 
filament yarn and fiber. 

Vinyon is the result of extensive research on vinyl polymers, 
specifically a copolymer of vinyl chloride and viny] acetate produced 
by polymerization rather than by condensation. The raw polymer 
in the form of a white fluffy powder is dispersed in acetone and a 
dope is obtained containing 23 percent of the copolymer by weight. 
After filtering and deaerating, this solution is spun the same as ace- 
tate and coagulated by the dry- or warm-air process. After condi- 
tioning on take-up bobbins the yarn is wet-twisted to 6 turns per 
inch, whereupon it is given a stretch of over 100 percent of its orig- 
inal length, giving the yarn its high tensile strength and true elas- 
ticity. It is also produced in the partially stretched condition for 
certain purposes at a lower price. They are now produced in 40, 
60, 80, 120 deniers and up. 

Delustering is done by incorporation of pigments and a new 
process has been found to produce a mild delusterization directly in 
spinning. The yarn has no abrasive action and, owing to its high 
tensile strength of 1-4 grams per denier and elongation from 18-120 
percent, will stand abrasion well. The tensile strength is the same 
when wet or dry. Dyes are rapidly being found so that it can now be 
colored in a wide variety of shades. 

These unusual properties have caused the yarn to be employed for 
many industrial fabrics, such as filter cloths, pressed felts, sewing 
threads and twines of various types, chemical workers’ clothing, sail 
and tarpaulin fabrics, fish nets, parachute cords, chemical-resistant 
hose, noninflammable fabrics, awnings, curtains, and upholstery. 
Vinyon staple fiber has been mixed with cotton, wool, and rayon, and 
fabrics made from it will retain their pressed shape, fold, or crease 
very well. Maximum concentrations of mineral acids, caustics, alka- 
lies, bleaching agents do not affect vinyon. It has no affinity for 
moisture, does not support bacteria and virus growth, and is not sub- 
ject to damp rot, mold, or mildew. 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—MAUERSBERGER 215 


it is truly a synthetic fiber, of truly amazing properties and not 
like any natural fiber—another excellent example of what can be done 
in creating fibers of special character to meet special needs. 

Modifications and further experimentation in this category of 
synthetic textile fibers have produced other very interesting and 
valuable materials in Europe known as Pe-Ce fiber, Synthofil, Igelite, 
and Permalon. The latter is a vinyldene chloride derivative which 
the producer, The Dow Chemical Co., calls Saran. According to 
Pierce Plastics, Inc., of Bay City, Mich., they take this white powder 
and exude it after heating through a die. When the filament issues 
from its die it is hot, and thence is passed through a tank of water. 
It is then taken to a stretching device, where the size of the threads 
is controlled and at the same time acquires a tensile strength of 
40,000-50,000 pounds per square inch. When the company first 
started, it made Permalon threads solely for fishing-leader material. 
They now make small tubing, which is used for catheters in hospitals. 
A number of textile concerns are now making a narrow fabric and 
upholstery seat fabrics of Permalon threads—a very remarkable and 
interesting development of considerable importance. 

Dow Chemical has also made experiments with ethy! cellulose deriv- 
atives, known as Etho-raon, Ethocel, and Ethylfil. I am informed 
that Dow Chemical is not ready to disclose any details, but has stated 
that these materials are very similar to cellulose acetate rayon. It 
was first made known at the National Farm Chemurgic Council in 
Detroit. More information on these new textile fibers may be 
available later. 


CASEIN FIBERS AND FILAMENTS 


Probably the most extensive and costly research was done on the 
possibility of producing synthetic textile filaments and fibers from 
milk casein, first mentioned by Todtenhaupt in 1904. He dissolved 
casein, which is the coagulable portion of milk, in an alkaline fluid 
and then allowed the solution to fall, or pressed it in the form of thin 
threads, into an acid bath. Later the spinning solution was dissolved 
in zinc chloride, spun and insolubilized in a formaldehyde solution 
which made the filaments softer and more pliable. The principal 
objections and early difficulties were the proneness to swell, soften, 
and stick together at normal temperatures during dyeing. Many ex- 
periments were necessary to overcome this and finally resulted in the 
Ferretti process of Italy in 1935, which has produced a satisfactory 
commercial product known as Lanital. 

In Ferretti’s process the casein is dissolved in dilute aqueous alkali, 
allowed to stand 2 to 3 days until the solution becomes thick and 
viscous. A solvent is gradually added to the desired volume and 
viscosity, then spun, rendered insoluble, and deacidified. This fiber 


216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


has shown closer resemblance to wool than any other synthetic fiber 
yet produced. This fiber was imported into this country as Lanital 
until Italy entered the war. 

Owing to certain weaknesses in the casein fibers, particularly 
tensile strength in dyeing, attempts have been made to mix viscose 
and casein together. Such products as Railan and Cisalfa are the 
result of such experiments. Further, casein has been mixed with 
Latex and glue with some success in fibers known as Tiolan (German) 
and Lactofil (Dutch). 

In this country Whittier & Gould in their United States patent 
No. 2140274, of December 138, 1938, and later No. 2204535 in June 
1940, offered a process of making casein fiber and assigned the patents 
for public use. 

Recently in this country a new synthetic staple fiber has been an- 
nounced by F. C. Atwood, president of the Atlantic Research Asso- 
ciates of Boston, under the trade name of Aralac. It was announced 
at the National Farm Chemurgic Conference in March 1940, at De- 
troit. This casein material is made in natural or opaque form, or 
in a delustered condition; also in a softened condition to simulate 
the softness of high-quality wool, as well as in an unsoftened con- 
dition, possessing a scroop. It is made in less than 20 microns and 
over 30 microns to match the thickness of every grade of wool. It 
is now being produced commercially by the Aratex Division plant 
of the National Dairy Products Corporation, at Bristol, R. I. 

The present physical and chemical properties are about the same 
as Lanital, reported on by von Bergen. It has a high affinity for all 
wool dyes. Its dry strength is about one-half that of wool and its 
wet strength is about one-fifth that of wool. Compared to viscose 
rayon it has about 10-20 percent less strength. Of course, lack of 
strength is not always a drawback to its introduction, as was the 
case with rayon. 

The longitudinal structure of Aralac is more or less smooth and 
shows no pronounced indentations or striations like rayon, but its 
surface is peculiarly “rippled,” the only word I can find to describe 
it. Its cross section is nearly circular and highly uniform. The 
contour shows hardly any deviation frem a smooth circle. Its dif- 
ferentiation from soybean and Lanital is not easy, because of its 
close chemical composition. 

The price of Aralac is now from 40 to 55 cents per pound. Its 
principal use at present is in the felt-hat industry, as an admixture 
with wool and rabbit hair. It is claimed that hats and hat bodies 
containing up to 50 percent of Aralac are already on the market. 
Experiments in other woolen fabrics and admixtures are now in 
progress and all uses will consume almost a million pounds in the 
first year of its existence. 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—-MAUERSBERGER PLT. 


According to an announcement last week the National Dairy 
Products Corporation has a new casein fiber known as R-53? (finer 
than Aralac), which is furnished to the Hat Corporation’s three 
plants in long continuous strands of 15,000 filaments each. These 
are cut to 34-inch staple lengths and blended with natural fur in 
proportions of 10-15 percent casein fiber to 90-85 percent rabbit hair. 
They claim men’s hats made from this blend are the equal of ortho- 
dox felt hats in appearance, feel, resistance to wear and crushing, 
and superior in color fastness. 


SOYBEAN FILAMENTS AND FIBERS 


While the major part of research work in soybean has been in 
connection with the preparation of plastics, foods, paints, oils, and so 
forth, some work has been done to utilize the protein meal or pulp 
after the oi] has been extracted. The work on the casein pulp has 
been a side study, rather than a direct study on the part of chemists. 

Heberlein & Co., back in 1929, submitted the extracted protein 
from soybean to a swelling operation with water under pressure and 
heat or a dilute acid with simultaneous treatment with phenols, after 
which the filaments are formed by extrusion in the usual manner. 

In this country, the first announcement of research work on the 
production of a synthetic textile fiber from soybean pulp came with 
the opening of the World’s Fair in 1939. A part of the Ford exhibit 
was devoted to its manufacture. The Dearborn Laboratories of the 
Ford Motor Co. had been working since 1937 on the idea of producing 
a synthetic textile fiber that would simulate wool very closely. From 
20,000 acres of soybeans under cultivation, they had been using the 
soybean oil for paints and the meal for plastics. 

The process used is about as follows: After the soybean is crushed 
under pressure and the oil extracted with hexane it is passed through 
a weakly alkaline solvent, which extracts the protein. The soybean 
meal is exceptionally rich in protein value—as high as 50 percent. 
The protein is then combined with various chemicals and/or dyestuffs 
in a secret process and made into a viscous solution. It is then forced 
through a spinnerette and coagulated into filaments in a bath con- 
taining sulfuric acid, formaldehyde, and sodium chloride or alumi- 
num sulfate. A formaldehyde solution is used to set the filaments 
during the winding process. They are bleached and dyed, if desired, 


2 R-53 is the laboratory name used for this new fiber by the Hat Corporation of America 
during the present experimental state of its use. The R stands for research, and the 
number indicates that this was the fifty-third fiber tested by the company in the course 
of a 20-year search for a fiber that could be used in making top-quality felt hats. R—53, 
as used by the Hat Corporation, cannot be regarded as the same as Aralac, because while 
Aralac rovings are the original raw material from which the company produces R-53, 
much additional processing is necessary before the fiber is ready for hat making. It must 
be specially combed to remove noils and knots, and it must be cut to the proper staple 
length for blending with rabbit fur. 


218 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


and are then ready for commercial use. The filaments are also cut to 
produce a staple fiber. The skeins have the consistency and texture 
of silk and wool, which are our present protein fibers. Ford officials 
have informed me that Henry Ford himself has shown considerable 
personal interest in these experiments. The yarn has been woven 
and knitted into goods and the company considers its suitability for 
auto upholstery definitely satisfactory and practical. Later, the 
Glidden Co. at Chicago set up a pilot plant for experimental purposes 
of fiber production for the textile trade. 

The physical and chemical properties of textile fiber produced 
from soybean are particularly interesting. I submitted a sample of 
the product to Mr. von Bergen, of the Forstmann Woolen Co., late 
in 1939. He reported that it closely resembled Lanital in color, lus- 
ter, touch, and crimp. Its tensile strength was 0.94 gram per denier 
dry and 0.26 gram per denier wet. The elongation of the filaments 
was 112 percent dry and 47 percent wet. This means that soybean 
fiber is about four times weaker than wool when dry and approxi- 
mately eight times weaker than wool when wet. 

The fineness and diameter of the soybean fiber is exceptionally 
uniform, approaching nylon in this respect. The fibers are more or 
less smooth with fine dots and streaks or short striations, presumably 
caused by air bubbles. Similar to protein fibers, soybean fiber does 
not burn, but chars and produces the same odor as wool, which is 
like burned feathers. He found traces of sulfur present and 
yellowish-brown alkali fumes issue when it is heated in a test tube. 
The fiber shows a high affinity for acid colors with no visible change 
in the fiber itself. For identification purposes Mr. von Bergen sug- 
gests a sulfur-content test to distinguish it from Lanital, if this is 
ever necessary. Water does not wet soybean fiber as readily as it 
does casein fiber and wool. Its specific gravity is 1.31. Recent 
samples are more resistant to carbonizing and to boiling in dilute 
acids and alkalies. 

Hence, the only deficiency is its tensile strength; the filaments and 
fibers otherwise show remarkable qualities. I am informed that in 
more recent samples from Ford and Glidden the strength had been 
improved. Development work on upholstery fabrics has progressed 
satisfactorily and it looks as if the soybean fiber will soon be a com- 
mercially practical textile fiber, ready for the textile trade to use. It 
is now used in hat felts, suitings, upholstery fabrics, etc. A com- 
mercial plant for the production of this fiber at the rate of about 
1,000 pounds per day is now planned. 


FIBERS FROM CORN 


A protein fiber can be obtained from corn meal, which is a corn 
proteid, often called zein or maisin. It has received considerable 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—-MAUERSBERGER 219 


prominence since a patent was granted in May 1939 to Corn Products 
Refining Co., of Argo, Ill. Zein is obtained from corn and is soluble 
in 75 percent alcohol, phenol, mixed solvents such as alcohol and 
toluol, alcohol and xylene, and others. The zein, according to Swal- 
len, of Corn Products Refining Co., is dissolved in aqueous alcohol 
containing a proportion of formaldehyde, which is extruded into an 
aqueous coagulating medium and the withdrawn filaments subjected 
to a current of air heated to not above 100° C., skeined, then baked at 
60°-90° C. for 8-10 hours. Up to the present time there have been 
no difficulties in spinning zein filaments, but the product obtained, 
when sufficiently insoluble in water, has been deficient in elasticity, 
resiliency, and tensile strength in the dry and wet condition. They 
can be dyed. Latest reports from Corn Products are that the work 
on it has been suspended but may be revived at a later date. 


FIBROIN FILAMENTS 


The idea of obtaining a merchantable fiber from fibroin, a proteid 
substance and the chief ingredient of raw silk, is in itself not new. 
It is composed mainly of two constituents—probably proteins—which 
comprise chemical combinations of alanine and glycocoll, with some 
tyrosine. The problem for a long time was to find solvents for this 
substance, which could be obtained from silk waste, old silk stockings, 
and silk threads. 

The Japanese did considerable work in this field and samples of 
some yarns, then termed “regenerated silk,” came to this country in 
1937. Samples from Max Baker were analyzed and investigation 
showed that a patent and process had been devised in this country in 
1923 by Abraham Furman. The patent was assigned to Corticelli 
Silk Co., of New London, on May 13, 1924. The company tried the 
process out and produced a 75-denier yarn on a small scale from 
cocoon waste and other raw and dyed silk noils and waste. The pro- 
cedure in brief was as follows: The silk waste was cut into very short 
lengths, boiled off twice, hydroextracted and dissolved in a chemical 
solution, probably copper or nickel sulfate. The solution was then 
forced through filters and piped to storage tanks. It was then de- 
aerated and spun on spinnerettes, similar to rayon, with refrigeration, 
and coagulated into an acid bath. Bleaching was not necessary and 
the yarn was washed and finished in skeins. The lack of sufficient 
strength and elasticity finally caused the Thames Artificial Silk Co. 
and the Corticelli Co. to discard the process. The Japanese samples, 
while a little better in strength, did not satisfy textile requirements. 
Many other investigators, such as Galibert, Hoshino, Millar, Lance, 
and others, are still trying to perfect this method, but so far none 
has succeeded or undertaken commercial production anywhere. 


220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


This is merely an instance of how many efforts have been made and 
what types of processes have fallen by the wayside. This does not 
mean that they are impractical or that under favorable conditions 
they would not be revived. 


GLASS FIBERS AND FILAMENTS 


Fiberglas (or glass fibers) has been lifted out of the category of 
curiosities, and is now a textile raw material, with many potential 
applications. It is being produced by two processes—the continuous- 
filament process and the staple-fiber method—by Owens-Corning Fiber 
Glas Corporation. In its manufacture glass marbles are fed into an 
electrically heated furnace, which has a trough or V-shaped bushing 
made of metals of a higher melting point than glass. In the continuous 
process, molten glass, entering the wide top end of the bushing, is 
“drawn” downward by gravity, the glass emerging from 102 tiny holes 
in the bottom of the bushing. The filaments, averaging 0.00017 to 
0.00020 inch in diameter, are combined to make one strand measuring 
0.024 inch in diameter for winding on bobbins. A number of strands 
can be plied together to produce a yarn of any size. 

In the staple process, the molten marbles are forced downward 
through holes of the same type as in the continuous process, but, in- 
stead of being “drawn,” they are blown downward by steam under high 
pressure. Passing through a burst of flame to eliminate moisture, the 
fibers, averaging 8 to 15 inches in length, gather upon, and are drawn 
from, a revolving drum. The accumulation of “sliver” follows 
grooved wheels to be wound on revolving spools. The subsequent 
spinning operation is carried out on regular textile machinery. 

Spun yarns have been made as fine as 100s cotton count. The yarn 
is put up on beams, cones, tubes, bobbins, and spools, as desired. The 
physical and chemical properties of glass filaments and fibers are very 
interesting. The fibers are produced in various colors which are not 
affected by heat, light, or weather. The fibers are solid, circular in 
cross sections, and smooth. Fiberglas is fireproof, resistant to acids 
(except hydrofluoric and phosphoric) , weatherproof, and mildewproof. 
Good dialectric properties and good thermal-insulating characteristics 
are very pronounced. Glass fiber is attacked by strong or hot solu- 
tions of caustic soda. 

Fiberglas has a high tensile strength which can be varied by chang 
ing the glass formula. In general, finer yarns have a greater tensile 
strength than coarser yarns of the same size. The tensile strength and 
elongation of the basic 102-filament fiberglas yarn are as follows: 
Tensile strength, 6.8 grams per denier; elongation, 1 to 2 percent. 

The strength expressed in grams per denier of yarns spun from the 
staple fiber type is somewhat lower and elongation is higher, 24% to 4 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—-MAUERSBERGER 22d 


percent. The fibers lose strength when abraded and hence, unless they 
are protected by a flexible coating, are not suitable for applications 
involving severe bending or creasing. While the fibers themselves are 
waterproof, fabrics woven from them are more susceptible to mechan- 
ical damage when wet than when dry. Resistance of yarns and 
fabrics to abrasion has been improved considerably since fiberglas was 
first introduced, and further progress along that line is expected. 
At temperatures above 600° F. there is a loss in tensile strength, and 
at 1,500° to 1,600° IF. the fibers start to soften or melt. Fiberglas 
yarns are approximately two to two and a half times as heavy as 
cotton yarns of the same diameter. 

Fiberglas yarns can be woven, braided, or knitted on the usual types 
of textile equipment. During manufacture a small amount of lubri- 
cant is added to the yarn. Special formulas for warp sizing have been 
worked out. Fiberglas cannot be dyed satisfactorily by any of the 
usual processes. Some experimental work has been carried out on 
printing fabrics with lacquer colors. 

For the present, fiberglas textiles have been confined to industrial 
and decorative purposes. Some knitted fabrics have been produced 
experimentally. Aside from shoe fabrics, no attempt has been made 
commercially to manufacture fabrics for wearing apparel. Among 
the more important industrial applications are filter fabrics; yarns, 
braids, tapes, and other materials for electrical insulation purposes; 
anode bags used in the electroplating industry; wicking for oil stoves 
and lamps; pump diaphragms, and belts for resisting high tempera- 
ture, fumes, and acids. Draperies made from fiberglas are now on 
the market in a wide range of designs and colors. Among other po- 
tential household uses are tablecloths, bedspreads, curtains, uphol- 
stery, wall coverings, and awnings. Still other applications are rope, 
twine, and sewing thread for sewing glass textiles. 


FILAMENTS AND FIBERS FROM CHITIN 


Chitin was discovered in 1811 by Braconnot and is a polysaccharide 
containing nitrogen, present in the cell walls of fungi and the skeletal 
structure of such invertebrates as crabs, lobsters and shrimps. Like 
cellulose it may be acetated, but has little resemblance to cellulose 
and is quite different from fibroin. Rigby in his United States 
patents deacetylated chitin in 1936, and the product as well as many 
of its salts may be used for the manufacture of films and filaments. 
He has used a 3-percent aqueous solution of medium viscosity 
deacetylated chitin acetate for films, filaments, and for cementing 
paper sheets, the product being insolubilized by exposure to 
ammonia fumes, 


222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Kunike, of Germany, in 1926 found that purified chitin is soluble 
in acids, from which the filaments can be spun wet or dry. It hasa 
round or heart-shaped cross section and its tensile strength is 35 kilo- 
grams per square millimeter as against 25 kilograms per square milli- 
meter of cellulosic silk. The pale lustrous filaments resemble acetate 
rayon and real silk. He claims that the production of textiles from 
chitin offers no commercial difficulties. 

Thor and Henderson, of Visking Corporation of Chicago, IIl., have 
described the production of filaments from regenerated chitin 
products. The purified chitin in a modified process is xanthated and 
filaments are obtained by treating it with an alkali and then with 
carbon bisulfide, filtering, deaerating, and extruding through minute 
orifices into a setting bath. The films obtained from regenerated 
chitin resemble those of regenerated cellulose, but differ from the 
latter in their affinity for dyestuffs. Its dry tensile strength is some- 
what better than regenerated cellulose, but its wet strength is much 
lower. The only drawback to its commercial introduction is the 
insufficient supply of chitin, I understand. 


GELATIN SILKS 


The earliest attempt to produce a commercial textile fiber of a 
gelatin base was Vandura silk by Adam Miller of Glasgow in 1894, 
which was not successful owing to its partial solubility in water, 
and could not be dyed in filament form. This was followed by Bi- 
chromate silk by Fuchs and Bernstein, in which the glue or gelatin 
is insolubilized by potassium or sodium bichromate. Gerard, Men- 
del, and Ohl worked on producing a gelatin filament, but so far no 
satisfactory and economical textile filament has been produced as far 
as can be learned. 


OSSEIN FILAMENTS 


Ossein is closely related to gelatin and is obtained from bones by 
dissolving out the mineral part with phosphoric acid and recovering 
the ossein by evaporating the mother liquor. There are several 
methods of obtaining the ossein. Helbronner and Valee have pre- 
pared such filaments. Early difficulties were brittleness. Carbofil 
is a German protein fiber obtained by mechanical treatment of horse 
or ox muscle, previously treated chemically to remove the major 
portion of soluble proteins. The fibers are 3-8 centimeters long and 
resemble flax in structure. They are resistant to boiling water and 
have been used in surgery. 

The Swiss have made a protein fiber known as Marena fiber from 
jides and leather wastes, which may be mixed with wool in textiles, 


SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS—-MAUERSBERGER 223 


FILAMENTS FROM LICHENIN, PECTIN, ICELAND MOSS, AND AGAR- 
AGAR 


Vegetable mucilages such as lichenin, pectin, Iceland moss, and 
agar-agar have been experimented with in England, for use in 
gauzelike fabrics. By incorporating into the viscous mass before 
extrusion glycerol, borax, or gluten the fibers become rather flexible. 
Such fibers are said to be sufficiently resistant to atmospheric moisture 
and to be nonhygroscopic. Colored fabrics are made by incorpora- 
tion of ground colored pigments or by spraying on dyes. 


ALGINIC ACID FILAMENTS 


A synthetic textile fiber has been produced in Germany by Goda 
from a jellylike substance containing algin (alginic acid) prepared 
from seaweed by dissolving it in ammoniacal copper solution con- 
taining alkali metal hydroxide, and spinning it into a bath containing 
a salt prepared from furfural and caustic soda, an aliphatic acid, 
alcohol and formaldehyde. The filaments are afterward treated 
with solution containing a sulfate and sulfite. Sarason, of Great 
Britain, also has a method of preparing such filaments; also the 
Japanese have a method for forming filaments. Nothing is known 
of their success or their commercial introduction. It is merely cited 
here to show the possibilities for future synthetic textile filaments 
and fibers. 


Pacis), Diane ? 
ame} Hi r 


Swi is 
y aE 


Hi 1 
6 A i . 


rh pire 


bd 


ine 
‘4 fy ate 
7 
wow 


Mo 
t 


i ae wh a eS Le ele pre sate era Kaiki y + GH rs Wi 7 
a Yidh ela 9 cuties » nolaolos 
) ‘ i ee i ¥ OFM “ Aa 


‘ 
4 
i 
. 
‘ 
i 
At 
i 
- 
x 
| 
1 
j 4 
‘ 
4 
‘ 
‘ 
1) 
tt 
ha 
at i 
’ Vv 
‘ i- 
h 


PLASTICS? 


By Gordon M. KLine 


Chief, Organic Plastics Section, National Bureau of Standards 


{With 5 plates] 


The parade of new applications in plastics went on in 1940 as 
the industry continued its phenomenal growth, as evidenced by the 
increased volume of production and greater annual dollar value of 
the finished products. This progress can be aptly surveyed by a 
glance at the winners of the 1940 Annual Modern Plastics Competi- 
tion which drew approximately 1,000 entries, representing the com- 
bined contributions of chemists, engineers, designers, molders, and 
fabricators in extending the frontiers of the plastics industry. 

In the architectural classification awards were given for decorative 
and functional uses of plastics in the beauty salon and theater and 
for a crystal-clear doorknob resembling the expensive glass knobs 
formerly imported from Czechoslovakia and Belgium. In business 
and office equipment, new achievements in telephone equipment, hous- 
ings for portable sales registers, and drafting devices were recog- 
nized. Midget and portable radios in the communications group 
and ingenious seasonal displays in decorators’ accessories were out- 
standing. The judges selected the woven plastic porch and terrace 
furniture, transparent acrylic resin tables, and colorful “period” 
Pieces veneered with cast phenolic sheets for top awards in furniture 
applications. Such prosaic but essential items as bathroom scales, 
brooms, and shower heads revealed further extension of plastics 
into the household domain. Plastic diffuse reflectors for fluorescent 
lamps won most of the honors in the lighting group. Electrical 
and refrigerator equipment, soldering paddles, and nylon-bristle 
brushes for industrial purposes represented advances of plastics in 
machinery and appliances, and transparent oil containers, electric 
razor housings, and greeting cards were selected from a host of 
novelty and miscellaneous items. Laboratory dialyzers, portable mo- 
tion-picture projectors, and arch supports won recognition in the 


1 Reprinted by permission from The Progress of Science, a Review of 1940. Published 
by the Grolier Society. 


225 


226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


scientific group, and transparent plastic belts and suspenders, shoes, 
raincoats, and smocks topped the style and fashion group. In the 
sporting goods, games, and toys classification, model boats, chess- 
men, and harmonicas of exceptional interest were made of plastics. 
The shipping, airplane, and automotive industries were all repre- 
sented in the awards made in the transport group. Special listing 
was given to the development of resin-bonded plywood, which has 
expanded the market for this material to cover many outdoor ap- 
plications, such as home construction, boats, concrete forms, outdoor 
signs, airplanes, truck and bus bodies, farm silos, and refrigerator 
cars. 

A consideration of the classification of plastics and of some de- 
tails of each type will promote a better understanding of what 
plastics are and why they can take on many important tasks. 


SCOPE OF THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY 


The dictionary definition of plastics as materials which are “readily 
responsive to shaping influences” does not place a convenient limita- 
tion upon this field. It implies, but does not state, that the material 
should maintain its new form when the shaping influences are re- 
moved. Even this more limited definition of a plastic would include 
a great variety of materials—from the metals which are readily 
shaped when heated to the solid rocks of the earth which exhibit 
zones of flow at great depths because of the pressure of the overlying 
mass. 

The modern plastics industry deals chiefly with moldable materials 
manufactured from organic compounds, that is, combinations of 
carbon with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements. The 
inorganic molding materials, such as concretes, cements, and ceramics, 
and also rubber, an organic substance, are not generally included 
within the scope of the plastics trade as it is known today, inasmuch 
as the industries utilizing these materials are considerably older 
and were already individually organized and developed prior to 
the advent of the newer plastics. 

Classification on basis of chemical source-—The four principal 
types of organic plastics are (1) synthetic resins, (2) natural resins, 
(3) cellulose derivatives, and (4) protein substances. A brief de- 
scription of each of these groups will serve to indicate to the reader 
who is unacquainted with this field the essential characteristics of 
each type and the distribution of the various commercial plastics 
according to this classification. 

Synthetic resin plastics—Public interest has probably centered 
largely upon the synthetic resin plastics because of their multiplicity 
and versatility. ‘The chemist has been able to produce at will resin- 


PLASTICS—KLINE 227 


ous materials having the hardness of stone, the transparency of 
glass, the elasticity of rubber, or the insulating ability of mica. These 
synthetic resins, in combination with suitable fillers, are readily 
molded into products characterized by excellent strength, light 
weight, dimensional stability, and resistance to moisture, moderate 
heat, sunlight, and other deteriorating factors. They lend them- 
selves especially to the rapid manufacture of large quantities of 
accurately sized parts by the application of heat and pressure to 
the material placed in suitable molds and to the use of original or 
imitative effects in a variety of colors. Some of the cheap raw 
materials used in their production include phenol, urea, formalde- 
hyde, glycerol, phthalic anhydride, acetylene, and petroleum. Syn- 
thetic resin plastics are known commercially under such trade 
names as Bakelite, Catalin, Beetle, Glyptal, and Vinylite. They 
are used in an ever-growing variety of applications, such as electrical 
parts, automotive parts, closures, containers; costume accessories in- 
cluding buttons, buckles, and jewelry; hardware, tableware, and 
kitchenware, and miscellaneous novelties. 

The powdered molding compositions are generally sold to custom 
molders who produce the finished parts. Casting resins and lam- 
inated resinous products, described in more detail later, are, how- 
ever, usually made into sheets, rods, or tubes by the manufacturer of 
the resin. Blanks are cut from these for the preparation of the 
finished product by machining operations. 

Natural resins —These are more familiarly known to the public 
by their common names, such as shellac, rosin, asphalt, and pitch, 
than by the proprietary names attached by manufacturers to mold- 
ing compositions prepared from them. ‘They are used in industry 
for the production of the fusible type of molded product as dis- 
tinguished from the infusible articles formed by some of the syn- 
thetic resins. Hot-molding compositions are prepared by mixing 
shellac, rosin, and asphalts with suitable fillers. Compositions con- 
taining chiefly shellac as the binder are used in electrical insulators 
for high-voltage equipment, in telephone parts, and in phonograph 
records. ‘The terms rosin and resin are often confused. Rosin is a 
natural resin recovered as a solid residue after distillation of turpen- 
tine from pine tree extracts. 

Cellulose derivatives.—The third type of organic plastics, the cellu- 
lose derivatives, is probably the most widely used and best known 
of any of these materials. To this group belong celluloid plastics 
used for making toys, toiletware, pen and pencil barrels, and the 
like; cellulose acetate commonly used in the Celanese type of rayon, 
safety film, and in place of the slightly less expensive nitrated cellu- 
lose when noninflammability is desired; and regenerated cellulose, 

430577—42-—16 


228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


familiar to all as the wrapping material Cellophane and the common 
or viscose type of rayon. 

The basic raw material, cellulose, is obtainable in fairly pure, 
fibrous condition as either ordinary cotton or pulped wood. ‘Treat- 
ment with chemicals converts cellulose into compounds which are 
characterized by the ease with which they can be formed into desir- 
able shapes. Cellulose plastics excel in toughness and are especially 
useful in thin sheets which have remarkable flexibility. These plas- 
tics conduct heat slowly and can be made substantially tasteless, 
odorless, and transparent. Their principal applications, in addition 
to those mentioned above, include photographic film, safety glass, 
flexible window material, artificial leather, airplane dopes, and 
lacquers. 

Protein plastics.—These are perhaps best known according to the 
source of the raw material—for example, casein from skimmed milk 
and soybean meal from soybeans. These protein substances are thor- 
oughly kneaded into a colloidal mass, which is then formed into 
sheets, rods, or tubes by suitable presses or extrusion devices. The 
formed pieces are hardened by treatment with formaldehyde. The 
finished products, such as buttons, buckles, beads, and game counters, 
may be machined from blanks cut from the hardened material or may 
be shaped from the colloidal casein mass and then hardened. This 
latter process is now common practice because of the shorter curing 
time required for the thin pieces. 

Classification on basis of heat effect—The plastics used in the 
molding industry may be divided into two groups, based on their 
behavior toward heat, as (1) thermoplastic and (2) thermosetting. 
The thermoplastic materials are permanently fusible, that is to say, 
they alternately meit or soften when heated and harden when cooled. 
If they are subjected to very high temperatures, vaporization or 
decomposition takes place. The cellulose derivatives, some synthetic 
resins, and most of the natural resins are examples of this type. The 
thermosetting plastics, on the other hand, may be made permanently 
infusible. ‘This group is usually further subdivided into three stages 
on the basis of changes in physical and chemical properties. The 
product of stage (A) is called the initial condensation product and 
may be liquid or solid; it is both fusible and soluble. The inter- 
mediate or stage (B) product is insoluble and difficultly fusible, but 
it can be molded by the proper application of heat and pressure. 
This is the usual condition of the resin in the molding composition 
when it is received from the manufacturer. Further heating of 
this material, as in the process of molding, converts it to the final 
or stage (C) product, which has a permanent set and maximum 


PLASTICS—KLINE 229 


hardness, strength, resistivity, and insolubility. Most of the molded 
products of synthetic resin composition which are on the market 
belong to the thermosetting type. 


HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLASTICS IN AMERICA 


A chronological survey of the development of plastics in America 
is presented in the following paragraphs. By discussing them in 
the order of their appearance on the market a better idea of the 
underlying needs which led to their production and their relative 
importance in the plastics industry today will be obtained. The spe- 
cial properties which characterized each new material and which 
in many instances were there by design and not by mere chance alone 
will be described. The important uses which have been made of 
these various plastics will be recounted. 

Cellulose nitrate plastic—The oldest of the synthetic plastics is 
the cellulose nitrate or pyroxylin type. It is amazing that a material 
so hazardous to handle and so readily decomposed by heat has held 
an important share of the plastics business for so many years. How- 
ever, it has many unique properties which until recently have made 
it the best available thermoplastic material for many purposes. 
Alexander Parkes, an Englishman, prepared various articles from a 
solution of cellulose nitrate and camphor during the period 1855 to 
1865, but John Wesley Hyatt, an American, is generally credited 
with being the first to attempt to work with cellulose nitrate as a 
plastic mass rather than in solution. He is said to have been moti- 
vated by a desire to find a substitute for ivory in the manufacture of 
billiard balls, in order to win a prize offered for that achievement. 
Although unsuccessful in obtaining the award, Hyatt with his 
brother, Isaiah S. Hyatt, took out a patent in 1869 for making solid 
collodion with very small quantities of solvent, dissolving the 
pyroxylin under pressure, thus securing great economy of solvents 
and a saving of time. The Albany Dental Plate Company was or- 
ganized in 1870 to handle the first application of the cellulose-nitrate- 
camphor plastic. By January 28, 1871, the demand for the material 
for miscellaneous uses had become sufficiently great to bring about 
the formation of the Celluloid Manufacturing Co., which moved in 
1872 from Albany to Newark, its present location. Today Celluloid is 
only one of a number of trade names, such as Nixonoid and Pyralin, 
that are used to designate cellulose nitrate plastics produced by 
various firms in America. 

Cellulose nitrate plastic was one of the first to be used in the auto- 
mobile, being employed in sheet form as windows in the side cur- 
tains of early models. Its flexibility and nonfragility were impor- 


230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


tant factors in this application, but its susceptibility in the trans- 
parent form to ultraviolet light resulted in rapid deterioration of 
these sheets. Typical applications of this plastic include bag 
frames, brushes, buckles, clock dials and crystals, drafting instru- 
ments, fountain pens, piano keys, shoe eyelets and lace tips, spectacle 
frames, toilet seats, tool handles, toothbrush handles, toys, and covers 
for wooden heels. The contributions of this first synthetic plastic to 
the plastics industry have been extensive and lasting. It not only 
paved the way for the advances which have been made in formulation 
and pigmentation of all thermoplastics, but it also supplied much of 
the mechanical and operative means of manufacture and fabrication. 
It was the real pioneer in the development of the market for plastics 
and in many of their uses. 

Shellac plastic_—The next plastic to become of importance in this 
country was shellac molding composition. Shellac is of natural 
origin, being produced by an insect which lives upon certain trees 
in India and southern Asia, and has been known and utilized for 
many centuries for various purposes, such as a component of sealing 
waxes, polishes, and varnishes. In 1888, Emile Berliner had worked 
out the details of the method that made it possible to engrave a sound 
groove on a flat disk, but means of duplicating these recordings in 
large numbers remained to be perfected. He tried both cellulose 
nitrate and hard rubber, but neither of these materials was satisfac- 
tory for his purpose. In 1895 he turned to a plastic composition 
containing shellac as a binder, and soon the technique of molding 
shellac-base phonograph records was under full development. It 
remains today the largest single outlet for shellac in the plastic 
molding field. The properties which make it especially suitable for 
the manufacture of records are ease of molding, toughness, hardness, 
fidelity of reproduction, low cost, and the possibility of reusing the 
scrap material. Developments in the past 20 years have been pri- 
marily in its application as a resinous binder for cloth, paper, silk, 
mica, and other electrical insulating components. 

Bitumen plastic——The third plastic to become industrially impor- 
tant in America was the bituminous type, more commonly known as 
cold-molded. Emile Hemming was the pioneer in its development 
in the United States and introduced it on the market in 1909. The 
raw materials used in the preparation of cold-molded plastics are 
asbestos, asphalts, coal tar, stearin pitches, natural and synthetic 
resin, and oils. The asbestos in the proportion of 70 to 80 percent 
contributes the body of the material and the bituminous or resinous 
ingredients in the proportion of 20 to 30 percent function as the 
binder. The molding is done at or near room temperature, hence the 
name cold-molded. The pieces are removed immediately from the 


PLASTICS—KLINE 231 


mold and cured in electrically heated ovens to drive off the volatile 
constituents, oxidize or polymerize the oils or resins, and so trans- 
form the plastic into a hard, infusible state. The cold-molding 
operation is faster than hot-compression molding since the curing 
is not done in the mold, but the higher pressures required for cold 
molding and greater abrasive action of the mineral filler make mold 
maintenance much more of a problem than it is in hot molding. 
Typical applications of cold-molded plastics include connector plugs 
on household electrical equipment, heat-resistant handles and knobs 
for cooking utensils, and battery boxes. 

Phenol-formaldehyde resin.—The first and still the most versatile 
of the commercial synthetic resins, the phenol-formaldehyde con- 
densation product, was described and patented in 1909 by Leo Hendrik 
Baekeland. Thus, both the original thermoplastic material, cellulose 
nitrate plastic, and the original thermosetting material, phenol- 
formaldehyde resin, were first developed commercially in America. 
Johann Friedrich Baeyer had reported in 1872 that the reaction be- 
tween phenols and aldehydes leads to the formation of resins, but 
no products of industrial interest were obtained for the next 35 years 
because of the inability of investigators to control the reaction. 
Baekeland’s fifth-mol patent provided this essential feature, and his 
heat and pressure patent described the technique for converting this 
resin in a relatively short time into a molded article of excellent 
mechanical and electrical properties. The basic patents covering the 
preparation of solutions of this resin and their use in impregnating 
fibrous sheets to make laminated products were issued to Baekeland 
in 1910 and 1912, respectively. 

The manufacture of Bakelite phenolic plastics was begun in Baeke- 
land’s Yonkers, N. Y., laboratory in 1907. The General Bakelite 
Co. was organized in 1910 and was merged in 1922 with the Condensite 
Co. and the Redmanol Chemical Products Co. into the Bakelite Cor- 
poration. Since the expiration of the basic patent in 1926, many 
other firms have marketed phenolic resins under other trade names, 
for example, Durez and Resinox. 

An important modification of this general type of resin is the use 
of furfural, produced from waste oat hulls, in place of formaldehyde 
for the condensation reaction with phenol. 

Typical applications of phenolic plastics include distributor heads, 
coil parts, switches, and related elements in automobiles and _ air- 
planes, camera cases and other housings, corrosion-resistant apparatus, 
and telephone and radio equipment. In combination with paper and 
fabrics, phenolic resin produces laminated products which are used 
for gears, bearings, trays, table tops, refrigerator doors, wall coverings, 
doors, and counter and cabinet paneling. 


Zon ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Casein plastic.—The discovery of the tough, insoluble, hornlike mass 
produced by the action of formaldehyde on milk casein is said to 
have been made by two men who were looking for a composition ma- 
terial to replace slate for blackboards. These two men, Wilhelm 
Krische and Adolph Spitteler, began production of casein plastic 
about 1900 in Germany and France, respectively, using the trade name 
Galalith, meaning milk stone. It was 1919 before successful produc- 
tion in America was realized, and its use has been limited because 
of the marked variations in climate throughout the year, which lead 
to warping and cracking of this plastic. Its use is confined to small 
articles like beads, buckles, buttons, game counters, novelties, and 
trimming accessories. 

Cellulose acetate plastic.—A period of very active development of 
new plastic materials in America started with the appearance of 
cellulose acetate in the form of sheets, rods, and tubes in 1927. The 
firm which pioneered in the development of pyroxylin plastic also 
introduced cellulose acetate plastics to the American market. This 
was accomplished by a combination in 1927 of the Celluloid Co. with 
the Celanese Corporation, already a large producer and consumer of 
cellulose acetate for rayon manufacture. In 1929 the first cellulose 
acetate molding powder was marketed for use in compression molding. 
The appearance of the injection molding press in the early thirties 
greatly increased the speed with which molded articles could be pro- 
duced with this thermoplastic material. Cellulose acetate plastics and 
molding powders are now available from several commercial sources 
and have outstripped the cellulose nitrate type in the quantity and 
dollar value of annual production. 

Cellulose acetate very early found use as a safety photographic 
film to replace the hazardous cellulose nitrate product. Many of the 
applications of this plastic—for example, protective goggles, oil gages, 
screw-driver handles, and flexible window material—have been 
brought about by the safety factor introduced by its high resistance 
to impact. It is employed in practically every make of automobile 
and the total number of acetate parts involved is well over 200, includ- 
ing such items as knobs, handles, switches, escutcheons, steering 
wheels, instrument panels, horn buttons, and dials. Some of the 
trade names for cellulose acetate plastics are Lumarith, Plastacele, 
and Tenite I. 

Urea-formaldehyde plastics —The appearance of the urea-formal- 
dehyde resinous molding compound on the American market in 1929 
meant the extension of unlimited color possibilities into the field of 
thermosetting molding. Two such urea molding powders, Aldur and 
Beetle, became available that year, while another, Plaskon, was mar- 
keted in 1931. Extensive use of urea plastics in the illuminating in- 


PLASTICS—KLINE 233 


dustry has resulted from their efficiency in providing a diffused light, 
plus their lightness in weight and shock resistance. The fact that 
they are insoluble, infusible, tasteless, and generally chemically inert 
has made possible their successful use for bottle closures and light- 
weight tableware. The urea-formaldehyde resins have also been in- 
troduced into the field of laminated plastics as paneling and trim for 
bathrooms, libraries, and hotel and theater lobbies, in order to take 
advantage of the many stable colors in which they are produced. 

Cast phenolic plastics—Phenolic resin for casting is prepared in 
the form of a viscous syrup which is poured into lead or rubber molds 
and hardened by heating. Products were made as early as 1910 from 
cast Bakelite resinoids, but in their modern form cast phenolics were 
first introduced in America in 1928. Cast phenolics are known by 
such trade names as Catalin, Gemstone, and Marblette. They owe 
their popularity quite largely to their beauty and decorative value, 
and this type of plastic is often referred to as the “gem of modern 
industry.” Typical application include advertising igns and dis- 
play, clock cases, game counters and pieces, radio housings, and 
lighting fixtures. More recently their ue in indutrial adhesives and 
laminating varnishes has been promoted. 

Vinyl resin plastics—Resins formed by copolymerization of vinyl 
chloride and vinyl acetate were first made in the United States by 
the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation under the trade name 
Vinylite in 1928. This type of resin has found its most important 
uses in phonograph records, coatings for concrete and metals, can 
linings, adhesives, and electrical insulation. In a highly plasticized 
form, it is now employed for making transparent belts, suspenders, 
and shoe uppers. The resins formed from the individual esters— 
vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate—are also important commercially 
for the manufacture of wire and cable coverings, coated fabrics, ad- 
hesives, and plastic wood-filled compositions. Polyvinyl butyral plas- 
tic has been found to be outstandingly superior for use as the binder 
in laminated glass for the automotive and aircraft industries. Three 
plants were built for its manufacture during 1937 and 1938, and it 
has now largely supplanted cellulose acetate in this particular appli- 
cation. Production of vinylidene chloride resin was initiated by the 
Dow Chemical Co. in 1939, and 1940 saw its successful use in fishing 
lines and seat coverings. 

Styrene resin—In 1937 the Dow Chemical Company made avail- 
able a synthetic monomeric styrene of high purity and a correspond- 
ing polymeric product, Styron, in clear, transparent form. The 
Bakelite Corporation also started to manufacture Bakelite poly- 
styrene this same year. The most significant properties of polysty- 
rene are its low power factor and practically zero water absorption. 


234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


These remarkable properties make styrene resin exceptionally well 
suited for radio-frequency insulation. Its transparency and chemical 
resistance are responsible for most of its other uses, such as bottle 
closures, refrigerator trim, automotive accessories, and indirect light- 
ing of mileage and other indicators. 

Acrylic resins.—The acrylic resins were first prepared industrially 
in America in 1931 for use in coatings and as a binder for laminated 
glass. The better-known and very interesting methyl methacrylate 
resin is a product of more recent origin. The cast resin, called Plexi- 
glas and Lucite, respectively, by its two manufacturers, reached the 
production stage during 1937-88. The airplane industry has found 
these cast sheets particularly well adapted to their requirements for 
gun turret and cockpit enclosures because of their lightness, weath- 
ering resistance, nonfragility, and clarity. The resin’s high internal 
reflection makes possible spectacular and useful lighting effects in 
edge-lighted signs and dental and surgical instruments. This type of 
resin has been found to be preeminently suited for dentures. Its 
optical qualities make it suitable for spectacle and camera lenses and 
for reflectors for indirect highway lighting. 

Cellulose acetate butyrate-—The Hercules Powder Co. introduced 
this material in 1932 as a protective coating base. The Tennessee 
Eastman Corporation started manufacture of a cellulose acetate 
butyrate molding composition in 1938 and designated it as Tenite IT, 
the original Tenite being their cellulose acetate molding compound. 

Cellulose acetate butyrate compositions are superior to cellulose 
acetate plastics in weathering resistance and in freedom from warp- 
ing. The requisite plasticity can be produced with a relatively low 
percentage of plasticizer and with comparatively nonvolatile and 
water-insoluble plasticizers. The applications of cellulose acetate 
butyrate plastic are primarily such as result from its combination of 
toughness and resistance to weathering, for example, woven furniture 
for exterior use, automobile accessories, and fishermen’s equipment. 
Its record of achieving new applications during 1940 was outstanding 
among the plastics. 

Ethylcellulose.—The first cellulose ether to be made commercially 
in America was ethylcellulose. The Hercules Powder Co. began 
making it in 1935 and the Dow Chemical Co. undertook its manu- 
facture in 1937, marketing their product under the trade name Etho- 
cel. Ethylcellulose plastic has not as yet come into general use for 
molded parts. Its chief applications to date have been in protective 
coatings, adhesives, paper and fabric coatings, wire insulation, and 
extruded strip. Another cellulose ether, methylcellulose, was an- 
nounced by the Dow Chemical Co. late in 1939. Methocel, as it is 
called, is water soluble, odorless, tasteless, and nontoxic. It yields 
films which are greaseproof and highly flexible. 


PLASTICS—-KLINE 235 


Lignin plastics.—The utilization of waste wood and sawdust for 
the production of molding compositions has been the objective of a 
considerable number of investigators for the past 10 years. Wood 
contains approximately 25 percent of lignin, a complex and highly 
reactive organic compound. In 1937 a lignin plastic first became 
available under the trade name Benaloid, manufactured by the Ma- 
sonite Corporation. The development of lignin molding compo- 
sitions of both the thermoplastic and thermosetting types was 
announced in 1939 by the Marathon Chemical Co. The possible 
commercial applications of this type of plastic have just begun to 
be explored. The low cost of the necessary ingredients makes this 
plastic of interest for industrial applications which require large 
quantities of material, such as certain automotive parts, building 
units, furniture, and wall paneling. 

Alkyd resins —A survey of plastics would not be complete without 
mention of the alkyd resins. They are used primarily as coating 
materials which, incidentally, are the largest single outlet for syn- 
thetic resins. Over 75,000,000 pounds of these resins were produced 
in 1939, out of a total resin production of about 215,000,000 pounds 
for that year. They are made by the reaction of phthalic anhydride 
or maleic anhydride with glycerol or other polyhydric alcohols. 

Finishes based on these resins, Glyptal, Dulux, and Rezyl, are 
characterized by rapidity of drying, good durability outdoors, excel- 
lent flexibility, tenacious adhesion, and electrical insulating qualities. 
These resins during the thirties replaced the pyroxylin lacquers to a 
large extent for finishing the bodies and fenders of motor cars. 

Nylon resins —These polyamide resins are made from polyamines 
and polybasic acids. They could be called amkyd resins, following 
the terminology used in the name “alkyd” for resins made from 
polyhydric alcohols and polybasic acids. The basic raw materials 
for nylon resins are castor oil from which sebacic acid (a 10-carbon 
dibasic acid) is obtained, and phenol which by hydrogenation and 
oxidation yields adipic acid (a 6-carbon dibasic acid). Hexamethyl- 
ene diamine made from adipic acid, and decamethylene diamine made 
from sebacic acid are typical diamines used in synthesizing these 
resins. Nylon resin was made available on a large scale by E. I. 
du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc., during 1940. It has already 
proved its suitability to manufacturer and consumer alike for hosiery 
and has been accepted as a superior bristle material for tooth brushes, 
hair brushes, and brushes for miscellaneous industrial purposes. 

Coumarone-indene resins—The manufacture of this type of resin 
from certain coal-tar distillates was begun in 1919 by the Barrett 
Co. using the trade name Cumar. In 1929 the Neville Co. marketed 
such resins as Nevindene. The low softening points and brittleness 
of these resins have restricted their use to serving as plasticizing 


236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


agents and tackifiers with various organic binding materials in rubber 
compounding, floor-tile compositions, and other industrial applica- 
tions. Annual production in 1935 was 8,000,000 pounds and the 
output is said to have increased appreciably in recent years. 

Molding technique-—The discovery of the fundamental principle 
involved in the operation of the hydraulic press is generally conceded 
to have been made by Blaise Pascal in 1653. The adaptation of this 
principle to a practical machine is credited to Joseph Bramah in 
1795. Little industrial use was made of it until after the discovery 
of the vulcanization of rubber by Charles Goodyear in 1839. A 
simple hydraulic rod-type press, between the platens of which a 
2-piece mold was inserted, was developed for handling the manu- 
facture of rubber products and was subseqgently employed for 
molding the thermoplastics. 

The advent of the phenolic thermosetting resin in 1909 provided 
the stimulus for introducing features in the compression molding 
press which would increase the output from a given mold. However, 
realization of the fully automatic compression molding press has 
come about only in the last 2 to 3 years. These presses perform all 
the operations of routine molding of thermosetting plastics, consist- 
ing of measuring the charge of molding powder, preheating it, loading 
it into cavities, closing the mold, opening it slightly for breathing, 
that is, expulsion of gases, closing it again for a predetermined 
curing period, opening the mold, ejecting the finished pieces, blowing 
flash from the cavities and plungers, and then repeating this cycle 
hundreds and thousands of times with the only manual labor required 
being to keep the hopper supplied with the molding powder. 

The original conception of the injection molding principle is com- 
monly attributed to Edmond Pelouze, who in 1856 developed a die- 
casting machine for forcing molten metal into a die by mechanical 
or hydraulic means. The industrial history of the injection molding 
machine for plastics in the United States is only about 5 years old, 
a fact which seems almost incredible when one looks at the huge 1940 
model capable of taking a mold 3 by 4 feet in cross section and 
turning out four 36-ounce moldings every minute. 

The need for the injection molding machine came with the com- 
mercial development in 1929 of the heat-stable thermoplastic mold- 
ing material, cellulose acetate, which required an uneconomical 
chilling period when molded by conventional compression methods. 
The cellulose acetate plastic, however, unlike the older cellulose 
nitrate type, could be kept hot for a relatively long period in a heating 
chamber and injected hot into a cold mold, wherein it cooled in a 
few seconds to a temperature at which it would maintain its shape 
and hence could be ejected from the mold. 


PLASTICS—KLINE o3% 


At the close of 1935 there were approximately 75 injection mold- 
ing machines in use in America, mostly of 14 to 114 ounces per cycle 
capacity and suitable only for the molding of small articles, such as 
buttons, pocket combs, and costume jewelry. The demands of molders 
for machines of increased capacity and sturdier construction to be 
used for turning out parts for industrial applications led domestic 
press manufacturers to construct injection molding machines with 
radical changes in the design of the heating cylinders, spreading de- 
vices, injection plungers, and clamping devices. By combining sev- 
eral cylinders, each feeding into a different inlet in the same mold, 
parts of considerable size weighing up to 36 ounces can be produced. 
It is estimated by the Institute of Plastics Research that at the close 
of 1940 there were in the United States 1,000 injection molding 
presses, 11,000 compression presses, 550 preform presses, and a rapid- 
ly growing number of plastic extruding machines. 


SUMMARY OF 1940 ADVANCES 


No really new plastics appeared on the market during 1940, but 
outstanding progress in developing increased volume and new mar- 
kets can be credited especially to the vinyl ester resins and cellulose 
acetate butyrate. Vinylidene chloride resin is commanding attention 
in its applications as high-strength fibers and seat coverings. Nylon 
resin is entering the industrial field as bristles for brushes used in 
the textile-printing trade. There was further activity in the manu- 
facture of melamine resins, which, in combination with the chemically 
similar urea resins, are finding ready acceptance by the automotive 
industry as a hard, durable, rapid-baking finish for car exteriors. 

Improvements in injection and compression molding presses have 
been concerned primarily with various operating features, partic- 
ularly heating and automatic controls. The technique of continuously 
extruding thermoplastic materials also advanced considerably dur- 
ing 1940, and extruded plastics are replacing reed and rattan in 
woven furniture. A process for forming molds by spraying metal 
against a model has been perfected to the point where production 
molds have been made and are being tested in service. 

The aircraft industry was spotlighted during the past year, and 
further important strides were made in the use of plastic plywood 
for molding airplane wings and fuselages. An outstanding develop- 
ment in this field was the laminated plastic tab for insertion in 
aileron, elevators, and rudders to aid in balancing and controlling 
the aircraft during flight. The reinforced plastic contributes a saving 
in weight and greater rigidity in this part. Other military applica- 
tions of plastics include transparent plastic windshields for airplanes, 
luminescent resins for various devices, cellulose acetate chutes for 


238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


conveying ammunition from boxes to machine guns, plastic face pieces 
and lenses for gas masks, molded parts for shells, and the use of 
synthetic fibers in parachutes. 

Resin-bonded plywood in 1940 expanded into many industrial fields. 
Refrigerator cars constructed largely of this material are said to be 
6,000 pounds lighter than the previously used type and to provide 
an economy in fabrication costs because of an 86.5 percent reduction 
in the number of joints. Simplification of small-boat construction 
and improved weather-resistant decking and planking for larger 
craft have also marked the introduction of this material into the 
shipbuilding industry. The use of laminated plastic for bearings 
and cams in high-speed industrial machinery was further extended 
during 1940. Jigs and fixtures made of laminated plastic represent 
a new development for light milling operations. Laminated sheets, 
rods, bars, and tubes of various cross sections and lengths are avail- 
able so that these tools can be produced with very little machining. 

Progress in plastics applications during 1940 may be summed up 
by noting that many branches of industry, such as the automotive, 
radio, refrigerator, and mechanical handling fields, which had pre- 
viously made extensive use of plastics, added new molded parts to 
their products, and that other manufacturers of consumer goods, 
faced with military priorities for light and heavy metals, turned to 
the synthetic plastics as readily available and suitable materials for 
structural parts of many types of equipment. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Kline PLATE 1 


1, 


SUCCESSIVE STEPS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF A PLASTIC. 


At the starting line are these snowy cotton linters. Taken from the cottonseed after the spinnable 
cotton has been ginned, these short, fuzzy fibers are bleached and scoured to a fluffy mass of pure cellulose. 
2. Into this acetylating mixer go the cotton linters, catalysts, and a vinegary solution of acetic anhydride 
and acetic acid. Powerful machinery stirs the mixture during reaction. 3. Drastic transformation. 
Acetylator tips up, and owt pours an entirely new substance—cellulose acetate. 4. The cellulose acetate 
is then hydrolyzed (or ripened) in huge storage jars. 5. Cellulose acetate reappears in cakes which may 
eventually become photographic film, transparent wrapping material, acetate rayon, or other plastics. 
6. The plastic, Tenite, shown here is supplied in granular, blank, and sheet forms for molding. It is 
available in plain and variegated colors, and in all degrees of transparency from crystal clear to opaque. 


- = = Sk tpg oy 


‘suoljelodo [BLysnpul AUBUE 10J ‘OUIUOT, JOST UMOYS 9UN OY, “oY JO VdUNSoId OY UL SNOpiezeByuoU 
AUIIGISIA pue WOT}00}01d YAOq sproye ‘Ose 0784908 OSOTN][90 B ‘afooBIse[q JO PlarysoAe SIY I, pue slo Aq pejooyRun ‘siop10 o[qvedTAJos 9YVU SoVse[d yUoredsuBIy pajUT] 10 Iva] 
Pela S Ost S2 PES alc ancG ISNVD AIO YOs SSILSVad! +1 


<2 aALV 1d aUl| J—" | $6| ‘40dey ueruosyaIUICG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Kline PLATE 3 


1. WEAVING A PLASTIC MATERIAL. 


Woven Saran makes a rattanlike seat covering. 


how i OT ell 4 J 
2. NYLON BRUSHES IN INDUSTRY. 


The operator is inserting new brushes into the machine which is used by a bottling company. 


‘OMse[d opTAurA JO Sjeays poystfod ‘reopo wod poywolaqey [[B MOPUIM AReI PUR ‘oINsopoUA JIdyo0o ‘pyerysputa B sey euRTdoUOUT [RJOUT-[[B MOU STU, 


“NOILONYLSNOD ANV1dy lV NI SOILSV1d 


= Se 


vy 3ALV1d 2Ul[ J—" | p6| ‘W4oday ueruosyyruc 


‘omseyd JUaITISet ‘Ysn0} “WYSIOMIYSI] B ‘AIIUaA TL, JO papyour si UMOYS VUO OU, ‘OFBI 
9109], PAPlOUI-UOTDof[Ul 9B WaUISsOYd dsoy.p, JO [[BJ OY} UL OUT} ISI OY) IO} UOITPIAS OY UO UAVS BIOM SJOMPAY [[BqQ100] ISR 


NAWSSAHD DILSV 1d ‘2 “IAW IAH DILSV 1d ‘1 


G 3aLV1d oull sI—" 1 6A 1 ‘110day7 URTUOsSUATUIC 


VITAMINS AND THEIR OCCURRENCE IN FOODS’ 


By Hazet H. MUNSELL 
Nutrition Chemist, Washington, D. C. 


INTRODUCTION 


The first vitamins were discovered less than 3 decades ago, but 
since then an almost phenomenal number of substances has been 
classified in this nutritionally important group. A complete listing 
at the present time would include as many as 40 or more and there 
are indications of the existence of still others. 

The presence of vitamins in foods was recognized from observa- 
tions of the almost spectacular effect certain foods have on growth, 
function, and general well-being of the body. For centuries it had 
been known that the juice of limes or lemons would prevent or cure 
scurvy, but there had never been an adequate explanation of this 
relation. When it was demonstrated that a substance in the outer 
coating of the whole rice grain would cure or prevent the disease 
known as beriberi, and that butter and egg yolk contained a sub- 
stance required for growth and for the prevention of a peculiar type 
of inflammation of the eye, it became apparent that foods contain 
certain substances other than protein, carbohydrate, fats, and min- 
erals which are likewise essential for normal nutrition. 

The substances in foods credited with these properties were dis- 
tinguished by descriptive terms as the antiscorbutic, antiberiberi, 
and antiophthalmic factors, respectively, or on the basis of their 
solubility, as water-soluble C, water-soluble B, and fat-soluble A. 
When the name “vitamin,” from the term “vitamine” originally used 
for the antiberiberi substance, was suggested for them as a group 
they were designated vitamin C, vitamin B, and vitamin A. Since 
the chemical composition of the vitamins became known, several of 
them have received names related to their chemical structure. Thus, 
vitamin C is now known as ascorbic acid, vitamin B, as thiamin, 
vitamin G or B, as riboflavin, and vitamin B, as pyridoxine. 


1Reprinted by permission from The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, vol. 18, No. 4. 
October 1940. 


239 


240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


For various reasons a number of the water-soluble vitamins have 
been grouped together as the vitamin-B complex. Vitamin B, and 
vitamin G were the orginal members of this group which now in- 
cludes nicotinic acid and vitamin B, as well as five or six other 
factors not mentioned in this discussion. 

The number of vitamins actually known to be essential in human 
nutrition is relatively small. The importance of vitamins A, B,, and 
C in the diet is now well known. It is certain that vitamin D is a 
requirement of children, and while it may be needed by adults as 
well, perhaps in lesser amounts, this is yet to be demonstrated. Evi- 
dence of the significance of riboflavin (vitamin G) in the diet of 
man has been obtained within the last 2 years, and we now have a 
clear picture of the external symptoms that follow the use of a diet 
deficient in this factor. Since the announcement in 1937 of the value 
of nicotinic acid in the cure of the disease in animals which is com- 
parable to pellagra in man, considerable information has accumu- 
lated to establish the value of this substance as a pellagra preventive. 
There is still some question as to whether nicotinic acid and/or 
nicotinamide can unreservedly be designated the pellagra-preventing 
or P-P factor or factors, but there can be no doubt that they are 
specific in their effect on certain symptoms of pellagra. The sub- 
stance in foods which is referred to as vitamin K helps promote the 
clotting of blood, and the supposition now is that it functions in 
man, aS well as in animals, in maintaining a normal level of pro- 
thrombin in the blood. An anemia which occurs in chicks given a 
diet deficient in vitamin K responds to treatment with extracts 
containing this vitamin. 

These are the vitamins definitely known to be required by man. 
There is also considerable evidence in favor of two others, vitamin 
E and vitamin B,. Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) has been shown to 
be important for normal reproduction in several species of animals 
and it may be required for successful reproduction in the human 
species as well. Both vitamin E and vitamin B, are being actively 
investigated at the present time. 

The importance of the vitamins to normal nutrition is now fully 
recognized, although there is still a great deal to learn about these 
substances. In planning foods for the day it is essential to know 
how to select them for vitamin values as well as for their content of 
protein, carbohydrate, fat, and minerals. The purpose of this article 
is to give a brief and not too technical presentation of our knowledge 
of the properties and food sources of these vitamins. A brief de- 
scription of the method of quantitative expression used for them and 
a table of values for vitamin A, vitamin B,, vitamin C, and riboflavin 
content of common foods are also included. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 241 
PROPERTIES AND FOOD SOURCES 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 


The most distinctive common characteristic of the vitamins is the 
fact that they occur in foods in almost infinitesimal quantities and 
are effective in the body in similarly small amounts. Beyond this 
they have little in common since they differ markedly both in their 
physical and chemical properties. Some are soluble in water while 
others dissolve only in fats and fat-solvents. Some are easily de- 
stroyed, especially at high temperatures and when oxygen is present, 
as when foods are heated in air. Others are fairly resistant to de- 
struction by heat even when heated for several hours at temperatures 
well above the boiling point of water. In the case of nearly all of 
them, however, destruction takes place more rapidly in alkaline than 
in acid solution. 

In estimating the vitamin value of foods in the diet it is essential 
to know and keep in mind the properties of the various vitamins in 
order to be able to take account of possible losses. Consideration 
of changes that occur in the vitamin content of foods during processes 
connected with preservation and preparation, such as storage, freez- 
ing, cooking and canning, and drying, is of as much importance as 
consideration of the vitamin content of the fresh or untreated food. 
A food which, in its original state, is a perfectly good source of one 
or more of the vitamins may have its content of one or all of these 
factors reduced to insignificance as a result of the treatments it un- 
dergoes during preparation for consumption. Loss of vitamin value 
may be brought about not only as a result of inactivation or destruc- 
tion of the vitamins but also through their mechanical removal by 
solution, the vitamin passing out of the food material into the sur- 
rounding liquid. 

While vitamins are found in foods of both plant and animal 
origin, plants—generally speaking—should be considered the pri- 
mary sources since animals depend upon plants for their supply of 
most of the vitamins. This does not mean that the substance re- 
sponsible for vitamin value in plant tissue is always the same as that 
having a similar function in animal tissue. Vitamin A, for instance, 
does not occur in plants, the vitamin-A value of plants being due to 
certain orange-yellow substances called carotenoids. These are broken 
down in the liver of the animal so that vitamin A is derived from 
them, and for this reason the carotenoids are sometimes called the 
“precursors” of vitamin A. 

It is now well known that foods show marked differences both in 
the kinds and amounts of vitamins they supply. Differences in the 
vitamin values of different foods do not constitute the only problem 


242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of variation that must be considered, however. There is the equally 
important matter of variation from sample to sample of a single 
food item. While it may generally be taken for granted that samples 
of a given food, selected at different times, will contain the same 
kind or kinds of vitamins, it does not necessarily follow that they 
will contain equal quantities of any kind. The idea must not be 
held with respect to any natural food, that it has a definite and fixed 
content of any vitamin—unless, perchance, it is zero. 

The problem of sample variation in vitamin content of foods is 
responsible for some of the newer phases of vitamin research, espe- 
cially in connection with studies related to food production. Some 
of the factors associated with this variation have been identified but 
there is still much to be learned. In foods of plant origin, variety in 
a given kind is very often an important factor in relation to vitamin 
content. Age and maturity of the product, its size, the amount and 
kind of fertilizer used in cultivation, the amount of moisture present 
in the soil, and the degree of exposure to sunlight may also have 
considerable influence. In foods of animal origin the breed of the 
animal from which the food comes, as well as its age and physical 
condition, is sometimes of significance, but the most important fac- 
tors are the vitamin content of the animal’s food and, in the case of 
vitamin-D value, the length of time the animal was exposed to sun- 
shine. This sums up to the conclusion that values for vitamin con- 
tent can in no sense be considered exact unless correlated with an 
adequate knowledge of the conditions that might have had an 
influence on them. 

A point of considerable practical importance in dealing with vita- 
min values for foods is the fact that relative vitamin potency may 
easily be discussed by reference to food groups or food types. A diet 
can be planned on the basis of food groups rather than individual 
foods, thus lessening the tendency to place undue emphasis on one 
food that may have been shown to be very rich in a particular 
vitamin. 


VITAMIN A 


Properties.—Vitamin A belongs to the group of fat-soluble vita- 
mins and is practically insoluble in water. The pure vitamin, pre- 
pared by freezing it out of solution, is a pale yellow, viscous, oily 
substance. It is not readily broken down by heat but is inactivated 
by oxidation, especially when heated in a medium where there is 
free access of oxygen. 

As already explained, the vitamin-A value of foods of plant origin 
is due not to vitamin A, since this substance does not occur in plants, 
but to the presence of orange-yellow pigments called carotenoids— 
“precursors” of vitamin A. There are four of these substances: 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 243 


alpha-, beta-, and gamma-carotene, and cryptoxanthin. Beta-caro- 
tene is by far the most important and most widely distributed in 
natural food products. Cryptoxanthin occurs in only a few foods. 

The carotenoids, like vitamin A, are soluble in fats and fat-solvents 
and are not readily inactivated by heat except as oxygen is present. 

Food sources—The vitamin-A precursors may occur in any part 
of a plant root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed. There is con- 
siderable variation, however, in the amounts present in foods of 
plant origin. Many contain them in abundance, and some carry only 
small amounts or none at all. 

An orange-yellow color in foods of plant origin indicates the 
presence of one or all of the plant carotenoids from which vitamin 
A may be derived and furnishes a rough index of vitamin-A potency 
in many vegetables as well as in fruits. Carrots and sweet potatoes 
are outstanding examples of this relationship. This index holds 
good where there are yellow and white varieties of a given product. 
Yellow turnips, yellow peaches, yellow corn, and yellow tomatoes 
are sources of vitamin A whereas the corresponding white varieties 
are not. To avoid confusion as to the application of these findings 
a word of caution seems advisable here. The fact of the presence of 
vitamin A in yellow varieties of foods is no reason for ignoring the 
white varieties. They may have values the yellow ones do not have. 
There is a place in the diet for all types of foods and there is little 
or no reason for consistently using certain ones and excluding others. 
Care should be taken to avoid applying factual information on food 
values in a fanatical way. 

A yellow color is not invariably associated with vitamin-A po- 
tency, for there are yellow plant-pigments that do not yield vitamin 
A. A red color has no relation to vitamin-A value and is not indica- 
tive of it except that in some foods a red color may mask the orange- 
yellow of carotene. An example is the red-fleshed tomato containing 
carotene either in the flesh or the skin. 

Experience has led to the recognition that a green color? in plants 
indicates vitamin-A value. Green leaves, and more especially thin 
green leaves like those of spinach, kale, dandelion, and leaf lettuce, 
are among the richest sources of vitamin A. Other green foods that 
are notable in this respect are green string beans and green peppers. 
The stems of asparagus, celery, and broccoli, and many other plants, 
may be appraised for vitamin-A value on the basis of greenness. 
Bleached parts of plants that would normally be green but do not 
have the green color, either because the chlorophyll never developed 


7Chlorophyll, the green coloring matter of plants, does not itself form any part of 
vitamin A, but the high concentration of this vitamin in parts of the plant where chlorophyll 
functions has led to the suggestion that it may play a role in the formation of the vitamin. 
Vitamin-A potency in other parts of the plant would in that case be due to substances 
transported to them for storage. 


430577—42 17 


244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


or because it was destroyed as in the case of winter cabbage, the 
inner leaves of lettuce, and the bleached stems of asparagus and celery 
have practically no vitamin-A value. 

In general, roots and tubers may be accepted as low in vitamin-A 
value with the exception of carrots and sweet potatoes, as noted above. 
Seeds, including nuts, cereal grains, and legumes (peas and beans), 
are on the whole low in, or totally devoid of, vitamin-A value unless 
they have some green or yellow color as peas and yellow corn. 

Vegetable oils contain little or no vitamin A. 

Among the foods of animal origin, eggs and milk are important 
sources. The hen and the cow do not convert all of the carotene 
obtained from their feed into vitamin A, and eggs and milk contain 
both vitamin A and carotene. In both cases the proportion of vita- 
min A is much higher than that of carotene. The ratio between the 
quantities of these two substances in milk from different breeds of 
cows may be significantly different, some breeds, for instance, con- 
sistently giving milk which contains a higher proportion of carotene 
than others. Since vitamin A is soluble in fat and only slightly, if at 
all, soluble in water, the vitamin-A value of the egg is in the yolk 
and that of milk is in the cream. Butter is an important source of 
vitamin A, and other milk products, such as cheese, contain it in 
proportion to the quantity of milk fat present. 

Eggs and milk show wide variations in vitamin-A values. The 
total quantities of both vitamin A and carotene in eggs and milk are 
influenced by the quantities present in the feed of the respective ani- 
mals producing these foods. During the summer months, when 
green feed is available, milk and eggs may show radically higher 
values than during other months of the year, although present-day 
feeding practices, by the use of feeds of high vitamin-A value 
throughout the year, tend to eliminate seasonal variation. 

In contrast to its precursors, the carotenoids, vitamin A has very 
little color. Inasmuch as milk and eggs contain both carotene and 
vitamin A, color is of little value in judging their vitamin-A po- 
tency. This is especially true of eggs. If the hen derived vitamin-A 
value from green feed or products rich in carotene, the yolk of the 
eggs will be deep yellow in color and will have a high vitamin-A 
value. If the hen did not have access to green feed or other highly 
colored food, but was given feed containing cod-liver oil, which 
contains vitamin A but not carotene, then the yolk of the eggs will 
be very light in color and still will be rich in vitamin A. 

Meats vary considerably in their vitamin-A value since much 
more of this factor is stored by some tissues than by others. Liver, 
especially, retains large amounts of it when there is an abundance of 
the vitamin in the diet, which makes it a rich food-source but from 
the standpoint of cost it can hardly be considered an important one. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 245 


Glandular organs, other than liver, contain fairly large amounts of 
the vitamin but, like liver, they are available in limited quantities. 
Lean muscle meats contain only small quantities of vitamin A. 

Losses of vitamin-A value.—Vitamin A and its precursors are not 
greatly affected by any of the processes connected with food preser- 
vation and preparation unless there is considerable chance for oxi- 
dation. Foods that are stored show a loss only after prolonged stor- 
age. This is greatest in foods that have been dried preparatory to 
storing, such as dried grasses and dried fruits. Even though such 
foods were good sources to begin with, they may lose as much as 50 
percent of their vitamin-A value in a few months’ time. Boiling and 
steaming cause practically no diminution in vitamin-A content. 
Losses have been noted as a result of baking but they are not serious; 
in roasting, destruction of vitamin A is appreciable. 

As would be expected there is little or no loss of vitamin A when 
foods are canned. During storage the vitamin-A content of canned 
foods may decrease but this change takes place gradually and usually 
is not appreciable up to 9 months. 


VITAMIN B, (THIAMIN) 


Properties.—Vitamin B, is a white crystalline material that is solu- 
ble in water. In plants it seems to exist in relatively simple combina- 
tion and may be removed fairly easily by extraction with water. In 
animal tissue it is present in more complex form combined with 
phosphate. 

Vitamin B, is described as heat-labile—that is, unstable when 
heated. Inactivation depends entirely, however, upon conditions 
under which it is treated. In acid solution it is relatively stable but 
in neutral or alkaline solution it is readily broken down, the rate of 
destruction being higher with increase in alkalinity, temperature, 
and time of heating. The rate of destruction of the vitamin is also 
higher when it is heated in solution or in mixtures that are moist 
than when heated in dry mixtures. 

Food sources.—Vitamin B, occurs in practically all foods derived 
from plants with the exception of fats and oils, but there are very 
few concentrated sources. Vitamin-B, values of foods seem to be less 
subject to the influence of conditions of production and are therefore 
somewhat more constant than other vitamin values. 

The relatively low concentration of vitamin B, in foods and the 
lack of sensitivity of the methods for measuring it have not made it: 
possible to determine its distribution in the different parts of plants 
as closely as in the case of some other vitamins. Seeds, including 
grains, nuts, and legumes, are known to be among the richest sources. 
_ In grains, the vitamin is concentrated in the embryo and outer cover- 


246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ing. In the process of refining, these parts are largely removed, 
hence the importance in the diet of whole-grain breads and cereals 
from the standpoint of vitamin B,. 

All fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin B,;. Although 
none of them is a rich source, they should be considered important 
sources since they comprise a part of all diets and are usually eaten 
in relatively large amounts. Potatoes should be considered especially 
in this respect. 

Milk is a good source of vitamin B, in that it is generally con- 
sumed without having been subjected to treatment other than pasteur- 
ization which entails little loss of the vitamin. Eggs are also a 
good source, the vitamin being in the yolk. 

Meats should probably be rated as good sources of vitamin B,, 
although there is considerable destruction during cooking. For 
reasons not yet determined pork has a vitamin-B, content two or 
three times greater than other meats, and the dark meat of chicken 
may be richer than the light meat. Glandular organs, liver and kid- 
neys for example, are somewhat richer than muscle meats. 

Fats and oils do not contain vitamin By. 

Losses of vitamin B,—In considering loss of vitamin B, in foods 
it is essential to keep certain facts clearly in mind: (1) The vitamin 
is soluble in water; (2) it exists in foods in different combinations 
which may have a bearing on the ease of removal and also on its 
destruction; and (3) inactivation of the vitamin depends upon con- 
ditions,’ and the quantity destroyed cannot very well be expressed by 
a definite percentage but is more a matter of rate of destruction. 

When foods are cooked by boiling, the proportion of vitamin B, 
destroyed is relatively small up to cooking periods as long as 1 hour, 
and generally does not exceed 10 to 15 percent unless the food is 
distinctly alkaline or has been made so by the addition of soda. 
The loss by solution, on the other hand, may be considerable, de- 
pending, in addition to other factors noted, upon the proportion of 
water used. Larger amounts of water remove more of the vitamin. 
The proportion of vitamin B, found in water in which food has 
been cooked has been reported as high as 50 percent of that origi- 
nally present in the food. If this water is used there will be little 
loss of the vitamin. 

Baking causes only slight, if any, destruction of vitamin B, but 
the higher temperature and longer time required for roasting results 
in appreciable destruction. 


3 Acid solutions containing vitamin B, have been heated as long as 1 hour at 120° C. 
without appreciable deterioration of the vitamin. In slightly alkaline solutions losses ap- 
proximated 30 percent during 1 hour of heating at the boiling point of water. Dry mix- 
tures containing vitamin B, have been heated at 100° C. for as long as 48 hours and have 
shown no detectable change in their vitamin-B, content. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 3 247 


In canning there is apparently no loss of vitamin B, from process- 
ing, the greatest loss taking place during blanching or other proce- 
dures where there is a chance for solution. There are very few data 
to support a statement concerning the effect of storage on vitamin 
B, in canned foods. Losses noted were determined after about 6 
months’ storage and ranged around 40 percent. 

Practical information on the inactivation of vitamin B, in foods 
during drying is almost entirely lacking. The vitamin seems to be 
retained fairly well by foods dried at a temperature of 60° C. but at 
higher temperatures destruction is probably considerable. 


VITAMIN O (ASCORBIC ACID) 


Properities—Vitamin C in its pure form is a white crystalline 
material with an acid taste and is readily soluble in water. It is 
inactivated by oxidation and the rate of destruction increases 
rapidly with increase in temperature. The degree of acidity of the 
mixture also has a marked influence on the stability of vitamin C. In 
an acid mixture like tomato juice it is destroyed only slowly, but in 
less acid solutions the rate of destruction is much more rapid. 

Inactivation of vitamin C by oxidation proceeds in two steps. By 
mild oxidative processes a substance called dehydroascorbic acid is 
formed. This substance, which functions in the animal body as vita- 
min C but does not respond to the usual chemical] test, may be re- 
duced to ascorbic acid. Under more drastic conditions of oxidation 
the vitamin is completely inactivated and iis activity may not be 
restored. 

Food sources.—Vitamin C may well be called the vitamin of fresh 
foods. This does not mean fresh from the market, but fresh from 
the plant or animal that produced the food. One authority has said, 
“with the exception of ripe seeds, practically all fresh foods of either 
plant or animal origin contain generous amounts of vitamin C.” 

Fruits and vegetables are, on the whole, the richest sources of 
vitamin C. There is a tendency, however, to limit the emphasis to 
fruits and vegetables that can be eaten raw, and more especially to 
the citrus fruits and tomatoes. Since these specific products are not 
only outstandingly rich sources of the vitamin but also retain their 
potency remarkably well during the various treatments to which 
they may be subjected, they have come to be considered almost 
essential in the diet. This tendency should probably not be encour- 
aged to the extent of diverting attention from other fruits and vege- 
tables that are equally important for vitamin C. In some localities 
and at certain times of the year other fruits and vegetables, if 
handled so as to conserve their vitamin-C value, might be more 
economical than citrus fruits or tomatoes. 


248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Other fruits that may be considered important from the stand- 
point of vitamin-C content are strawberries, blueberries, and cran- 
berries. Among the vegetables, peppers are outstanding in the quan- 
tity of vitamin C they contain. Cabbage and other members of the 
cabbage family, cauliflower and brussels sprouts, and turnips and 
rutabagas also contain large amounts. Vitamin C occurs in fairly 
high concentration in all leaves such as spinach, collards, turnip 
greens, and watercress. 

Variation in vitamin content according to variety has been studied 
more extensively with respect to vitamin C than for any of the other 
vitamins. Rather wide varietal differences have been shown for 
apples, tomatoes, oranges, and cabbage. In the case of oranges sev- 
eral other factors are known to influence vitamin-C content, making 
varietal differences as studied of lesser importance. Fully ripe fruit 
contains more of the vitamin than partially ripe fruit, and that ex- 
posed to sunlight is richer than that from the shaded side of the tree. 
The vitamin-C content of a given variety of orange decreases pro- 
gressively as the season advances although this change is less pro- 
nounced for some varieties than others. Conditions of cultivation 
also have an influence, but these are not as well defined as other 
factors. The extent of differences that exist in the vitamin-C content 
of oranges may be illustrated by values obtained in the Bureau of 
Home Economics on a dozen oranges examined individually. These 
oranges were of uniform size and appearance and were purchased 
at one time and came from a single bin in a store in Washington, 
D. C. The vitamin-C content ranged from 24 to 60 milligrams of 
ascorbic acid per 100 milliliters of juice. 

Factors other than variety that may influence vitamin-C content 
have also been studied with apples and tomatoes. With apples, size 
is significant. In this fruit the vitamin is concentrated in the skin 
and in the flesh just under the skin. Since the proportion of skin to 
flesh is greater in small than in large apples, a small apple contains 
more vitamin C in proportion to its weight than a large one. In 
tomatoes there is a gradual increase in vitamin-C content as the fruit 
matures while during the actual process of ripening there may be a 
decrease. 

Milk and meats should not be considered significant sources of 
vitamin C. Milk as it comes from the cow contains an appreciable 
amount, but this is inactivated rapidly as the milk stands. Meats are 
not important sources because whatever vitamin C they contain is 
destroyed during cooking. Eggs do not contain vitamin C. 

Vitamin C is not present in fats and oils since it is soluble in water 
and not in fats. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 249 


Losses of vitamin @.—Loss of vitamin-C value from foods may 
occur as a result of inactivation by oxidation or removal of the vita- 
min by solution. 

Consideration of losses from oxidation require mention, at least, 
of factors pertaining especially to this vitamin. Some fruits and 
vegetables contain substances called oxidases that accelerate the rate 
of inactivation of vitamin C by oxidation. These substances in turn 
are inactivated by heat and are destroyed in a short time when kept 
at the boiling point of water. Small amounts of copper coming from 
utensils and containers also catalyze, or hasten the oxidation of vita- 
min ©. Some foods also contain within their tissues an amount of 
oxygen sufficient to be a factor in the oxidation process. 

Deterioration of vitamin C begins in all foods as soon as they are 
removed from the environment in which they were produced. This 
is the reason for indicating carefully what is meant by “fresh foods” 
from the standpoint of vitamin-C content. The rate of inactivation 
of vitamin C in fruits and vegetables that are allowed to stand seems 
to depend upon their physical characteristics. Thin leaves like spin- 
ach lose vitamin C rapidly and may retain no more than 50 percent 
after standing 2 or 3 days. Peppers having a smooth compact 
outer covering, show little loss. In apples the loss is gradual and 
ripe tomatoes may be stored as long as 10 days without detectable 
change in vitamin-C content. Rate of inactivation in all such prod- 
ucts increases with increase in temperature so that loss is less when 
they are kept under refrigeration. 

In plant products inactivation is more rapid when the plant cells 
have been opened up so that the vitamin is exposed to oxygen. De- 
crease in vitamin-C content takes place in vegetables that are pre- 
pared for cooking or canning and then allowed to stand. Foods that 
are chopped or crushed lose vitamin C rapidly and may contain ap- 
preciably less of the vitamin after standing only a few hours. The 
rate of destruction of the vitamin is less, however, at low tempera- 
tures in such cases. Expressed juices like orange juice and tomato 
juice may be stored in covered containers at household refrigerator 
temperatures for as long as 24 hours with no detectable change in 
vitamin-C content. Rate of destruction after that time depends 
upon whether the oxidases have been previously destroyed by heat- 
ing. Canned tomato juice, after the can is opened, shows little 
change in vitamin-C content after several days’ storage in a 
refrigerator. 

Heat markedly accelerates the rate of destruction of vitamin C 
and cooked foods are not dependable sources of this vitamin. Toma- 
toes are a notable exception since they are rich sources to begin with 
and due to their high acidity they show loss of the vitamin only 


250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


after prolonged heating. In foods that contain oxidases destruction 
of vitamin C during cooking is very rapid at first or until the tem- 
perature is reached at which the oxidase is destroyed when it pro- 
ceeds at a much slower rate. To preserve vitamin-C content during 
cooking, foods should be cooked quickly. They should also be 
served immediately since cooked foods lose vitamin C more rapidly 
when allowed to stand than do raw ones. 

When foods are boiled some of the vitamin C they contain may 
dissolve in the cooking water. This dissolved vitamin may be con- 
served, obviously, by using the water. The proportion of vitamin C 
destroyed in foods that are boiled averages 20 to 25 percent while 30 
to 40 percent may be present in the cooking water depending upon 
the amount used. 

Foods that must be cooked at temperatures higher than that of 
boiling water do not retain enough vitamin C to require 
consideration. 

Reduction in vitamin-C content from canning is less than in foods 
cooked by other methods since air is largely excluded during proc- 
essing. Decrease in vitamin-C content is greater in foods that are 
preheated in an open kettle before they are put into the can than in 
those canned by the cold pack method. Blanching may cause some 
loss of vitamin C through solution, but this procedure at the same 
time effects inactivation of any ascorbic acid oxidase present. 

Canned foods may be stored several months without showing 
serious decrease in vitamin-C content, but when deterioration once 
begins it proceeds rapidly. Inactivation of vitamin C in canned 
goods is directly and specifically related to the size of the bead space, 
hence, this should be kept as small as possible. Conditions of stor- 
age do not seem to be closely related to rate of loss of vitamin C in 
canned foods. The question as to whether loss is greater in foods 
canned in tin or in glass is still in the controversial stage. 

In considering canned foods as sources of vitamin C, one impor- 
tant point must be kept in mind. Such foods have been cooked at a 
fairly high temperature and the cellular structure is largely broken 
down. If they are allowed to stand after removal from the can or 
are heated and then allowed to stand they will not have very 
much vitamin C. Tomatoes are an exception since they retain vita- 
min C well under most conditions because of their high acidity. 

Drying of foods is very destructive of vitamin C. Some dried 
products—fruits—have been reported as containing small quanti- 
ties, and sulfured foods are supposed to contain more than others; 
but the amounts left even in foods that have just been dried are so 
small that it seems safer on the whole to disregard dried foods as 
probable sources of this vitamin. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 251 
VITAMIN D 


Properties.—At least 10 different substances are known to have 
vitamin-D activity but only two of these are of practical importance. 
They are vitamin D, or activated ergosterol, known also as calciferol, 
and vitamin D, or activated 7-dehydrocholesterol. Ergosterol which 
is found only in plant tissue, and 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is asso- 
ciated with cholesterol, the sterol in animal fats, are often called pro- 
vitamins. Under the influence of ultraviolet light (irradiation) they 
are changed into active forms of vitamin D. The commercial prep- 
aration known as Viosterol, is a solution of activated ergosterol in 
oil. 

The relative activity of these two forms of vitamin D is different 
for different species of animals. A preparation of vitamin D, or 
calciferol, judged by tests with rats to have the same activity as a 
given preparation of vitamin Ds, will be judged to be considerably 
less potent when examined by tests with chicks. Thus, while, for a 
given effect, chicks may require the same amount of vitamin Ds, 
they will require more vitamin D.. 

Vitamin D (D, and D;) is soluble in fats and is not affected by 
heat or oxidation. 

Food sources.—Vitamin D does not occur to any extent, if at all, 
in foods of plant origin, but plants do contain the provitamin, ergos- 
terol. Dried plant tissue containing ergosterol acquires properties 
of vitamin D on exposure to ultraviolet light. Yeast contains large 
amounts of ergosterol, and irradiated dried yeast is an important 
source of vitamin D. 

The only significant natural sources of vitamin D are among the 
foods of animal origin. These include milk, eggs, liver, and fish that 
are rich in oil, like salmon and herring. The value of these foods 
as sources of vitamin D may well be questioned, however. The 
quantities of the vitamin that they contain are so small compared 
to the quantities needed by children for protection against rickets as 
to be of little practical value in this respect, and if adults require 
vitamin D it is difficult to believe that the quantity is as small as 
that ordinarily supplied by the use of these foods. This statement 
does not apply to fish-liver oil, which is the richest natura] source of 
vitamin D. Since foods of animal origin are the only ones that 
contain vitamin D naturally, and they contain only vitamin D, this 
form of the vitamin is sometimes referred to as natural vitamin D. 

The vitamin-D content of milk and eggs may be increased by 
feeding the animals producing these foods some rich source of the 
vitamin. Cows may be given irradiated yeast. “Metabolized” vita- 
min-D milk is produced in this way. The greater proportion of 


252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the vitamin D in such milk will be vitamin D, with the small quantity 
of natural vitamin D normally present. Eggs of high vitamin-D 
activity are obtained by including cod-liver oil in the hen’s feed so 
that eggs generally contain only natural vitamin D. 

Milk may also be enriched in vitamin D by irradiating the cow, 
by irradiating the milk, or by adding concentrates of the vitamin 
directly to the milk. Only the last two methods have been used 
to any extent commercially. 


RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN G) 


Properties.—Pure riboflavin is a yellow crystalline material readily 
soluble in water, giving a yellow green-fluorescent solution. Ribo- 
flavin is not readily destroyed by heating but is less stable in alkaline 
than in acid solution. 

As it occurs in nature, riboflavin forms part of a protein phos- 
phorie acid complex that must be broken down penne the pure 
vitamin can be obtained. 

Food sowrces—Food sources of riboflavin are less completely 
known than are sources of the other vitamins so far discussed. This 
is due partly to its later discovery but largely to the lack of a 
satisfactory method of measurement. 

Milk, eggs, and lean meats are the richest sources. The yolk and 
the white of eggs contain it in about the same concentration. As 
riboflavin occurs associated with protein, it is present in milk in the 
skimmed milk and not in the butterfat. 

In plants, riboflavin seems to be concentrated in the green parts. 
Thin green leaves are especially rich sources. Green stems are much 
richer than the flower or the root. Although the vitamin is more 
concentrated in the green parts, the bleached parts of plants are not 
devoid of it, as they are of vitamin A. Most root vegetables and 
tubers contain some riboflavin. In fact, riboflavin is present in 
practically all vegetables of one sort or another. 

Seeds vary considerably in the amounts of riboflavin they con- 
tain. Legumes, peas, beans, and especially soybeans are good sources, 
while nuts and cereal grains are not so rich. The germ portion of 
the seed usually contains a high concentration of riboflavin, as it 
does of vitamin By. 

In general, fruits are low in their content of riboflavin. The ma- 
jority can be rated only fair and some fruits such as grapes, lemons, 
oranges, and grapefruit, contain little more than a trace. If there 
is a basis for classifying fruits as to riboflavin content, it is not 
apparent in the few data now available. 

Fats and oils have already been described as not containing the 
water-soluble vitamins B, and C. They are also about the only 
foods that do not contain at least traces of riboflavin. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 2583 


Losses of riboflavin—There is not a great deal of information 
available on losses of riboflavin in foods. From the fact that the 
vitamin is soluble in water it might be anticipated that there would 
be loss during boiling or any process where food is kept in contact 
with water for any length of time. It will be remembered, however, 
that in foods riboflavin is combined with other substances. The 
difficulty experienced in removing the vitamin from foods by those 
who have undertaken quantitative estimation by chemical tests indi- 
cates that probably no great amount would be removed during 
boiling, blanching, or soaking. 

Riboflavin is described as heat-stable, which again might lead one 
to think that losses during cooking would be small. Milk whey, 
having an acidity comparable to that of tomato juice, was found to 
lose only 10 percent of its riboflavin value when heated at the boiling 
point of water for 1 hour, and 4 hours of heating was required to 
reduce the original value by 30 percent. When the mixture was 
made only slightly alkaline, the rate of destruction reached 30 to 40 
percent for 1 hour of heating. This is a clear indication that con- 
ditions within the medium influence inactivation of riboflavin as they 
do inactivation of vitamin B,. Under similar conditions, in a liquid 
medium the rate of destruction of riboflavin was found to be slightly 
less than the rate of destruction of vitamin B,. This relieves the 
situation relative to lack of specific information on loss of riboflavin 
in foods, since any measures designed to reduce losses of vitamin B, 
during boiling apparently would also operate to protect against losses 
of riboflavin. 

In contrast to vitamin B,, riboflavin is less stable when heated in 
a dry mixture than in one that is watery or even only moist. This 
may afford partial explanation of the fact that the most extensive 
losses noted have been in the baking, roasting, and frying of meats. 
These ranged from 30 to 60 percent. 

There is no indication that storage causes loss of riboflavin irre- 
spective of whether foods are fresh, canned, or dried. Canning per 
se does not seem to reduce the riboflavin content of foods or at least 
not significantly. Information on the effect of drying is not 
available. 


NICOTINIC ACID (PELLAGRA-PREVENTING FACTOR) 


Properties.—Nicotinic acid is a white crystalline substance soluble 
in water and fairly resistant to heat. The amide, nicotinamide, is 
also effective as a pellagra preventive. Like some of the other vita- 
mins discussed, nicotinic acid as present in foods is combined with 
other substances and is not easily removed until these complex 
compounds are broken up. 


254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Food sources——No consistent effort has been made to determine 
the nicotinic acid content of foods accurately. Most of the studies 
along this line have been concerned with determination of pellagra- 
preventing value directly. Some of these studies have been made 
with dogs as subjects and some with human beings. It is difficult to 
correlate the two kinds of data. Appraisal of pellagra-preventing 
value of foods on the basis of content of nicotinic acid depends upon 
the quantity of this substance required for the cure and prevention 
of pellagra; and this has not yet been definitely determined, although 
it can be stated approximately. 

Milk, lean meats, eggs, fish, liver, and some vegetables have long 
been known to be valuable in the cure and prevention of pellagra. 
Among the vegetables, green leaves are especially effective, and the 
legumes (peas and beans) and tomatoes have some value. 

Losses of nicotinic acid.—The pellagra-preventing value of foods 
is not reduced easily. Foods have been heated in an autoclave or 
pressure cooker as long as 6 hours without showing a decrease in 
effectiveness. Canned foods seem to be equally as good as the 
corresponding fresh ones. 


VITAMIN K (THE ANTIHEMORRHAGIO VITAMIN ) 


Properties.—Vitamin K is one of the newer vitamins. It is a color- 
less or slightly yellowish crystalline substance soluble in fats but 
not in water. It seems to be resistant to heat but is destroyed by 
alkalies and certain substances that bring about oxidation. 

Food sources—Vitamin K is fairly widely distributed in foods. 
It occurs abundantly in green leaves, alfalfa having been one of the 
chief sources from which concentrates have been prepared. Flowers, 
roots, and stems of plants contain less than leaves. The vitamin is 
present in soybean oil and some other vegetable oils and in tomatoes. 
It is not present in fish-liver oils, but decomposed fish meal has been 
the source of a substance having vitamin K activity, differing slightly 
from the vitamin K of alfalfa. A number of compounds are known 
to have properties ascribed to vitamin K but how many of these occur 
naturally is not known. 


VITAMIN E 


Properties.—Vitamin-E activity is shown by several substances. 
The one of most importance from the standpoint of its natural occur- 
rence is alpha-tocopherol. This has been separated from wheat-germ 
oil and cottonseed oil as a light yellow viscous oil. 

Food sources.—Vitamin E occurs in many of the various types of 
foods considered essential in a well-balanced diet and it is not dif- 
ficult to obtain an adequate supply. Foods known to contain vita- 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 255 


min E in abundance are milk, meat, eggs, whole seeds, including both 
cereal grains and legumes, and lettuce. It is also present in many 
vegetable oils including, in addition to the two already mentioned, 
corn oil, rice oil, and Red Palm oil. 

Losses of vitamin E'.—Vitamin E is soluble in fat and occurs asso- 
ciated with oils. It is stable toward heat but is inactivated when 
oils containing it become rancid—presumably because of oxidation. 


VITAMIN Bg, OR PYRIDOXINE 


Properties —Vitamin B, is a white crystalline substance and is 
soluble in water. It is stable toward heat even in alkaline solution, 
but is destroyed by long exposure to light. 

Food sources.—Vitamin B, is found in seeds; in some vegetable 
fats and oils such as linseed oil, peanut oil, rice oil, soybean oil, 
cottonseed oil, corn oil, and wheat-germ oil; and in butterfat, beef 
fat, meats, and fish. Most vegetables and fruits are poor sources. 


THINGS TO REMEMBER 


The array of information relating to the vitamins is extensive and 
complex. Unless one is making almost constant use of it, it is next 
to impossible to keep even the essential details in mind, and very few 
people wish to be hampered by the need of a pocket handbook in 
order to remember their vitamins. In the selection and preparation 
of foods for a diet adequate in vitamin content a few rules or sum- 
mary statements are usually sufficient. Those given below are sug- 
gested as helpful and others may be formulated if need requires. 


1. Use a variety of all types of foods giving especial attention to the use 
of milk, eggs, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, 
and whole-grain cereals and breads. 

2. To avoid loss of vitamin value in cooking: 

Cook foods as quickly as possible. 

Use small amounts of water and use any that is left. Special utensils 
are not necessary for so-called waterless cookery. 

Steaming is an excellent way to cook many vegetables and some other 
foods. 

Do not peel vegetables or fruits and cut them up and then let them stand 
before cooking. Cooking them whole and with the outer covering on helps 
preserve vitamin content. 

Never add soda to vegetables during cooking. It serves no useful pur- 
pose and makes for destruction of vitamins. Cook green vegetables in an 
open kettle and they will stay green. 

Serve foods as soon as possible after they are cooked. 

Do not fry foods if they can be cooked in some other way. Frying 
and roasting are very destructive of vitamins. 

3. Give very careful attention to sources of vitamin B: in the diet. It is 
more difficult to obtain an adequate amount of this vitamin than any of the 
others. It is probably the one in which American diets are most deficient. 


256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Take special care to conserve the vitamin B: in foods during cooking. Many 
of the foods that contain an abundance of vitamin Bi are cooked before being 
eaten, and next to vitamin C, vitamin B: is the vitamin most likely to be lost 
when foods are cooked or canned. The precautions necessary to conserve vita- 
min B; will conserve other vitamins as well. 

4. Store foods at low temperatures and in closed containers. 

5. Do not chop or crush fresh fruits and vegetables and allow them to stand. 
They lose vitamin C rapidly. 

6. Frozen foods have practically the same vitamin content as fresh ones. 
Care must be taken to conserve it during preparation for serving. Do not 
defrost and then allow to stand. If frozen foods are to be cooked put them on 
to cook while they are still frozen and use all of the liquid. 

7. Dried foods are not especially recommended for vitamin value. 

8. Canned foods retain vitamin value well, with the possible exception of 
vitamin C, provided they have not been stored too long. To obtain full value, 
use the entire contents of the can. Canned foods are cooked foods and should 
be treated accordingly. 

9. In canning foods observe the same precautions for conserving vitamin 
content as suggested for cooking. 


VITAMIN VALUES 


As soon as the existence of any one of the vitamins was recognized 
it became a matter of concern to know not only in what foods it oc- 
curred but also in what quantities. The development of methods of 
measurement was, therefore, of considerable importance. Chemical 
identification of the vitamins has usually not been made until some 
time after their discovery and for this reason development of chemi- 
cal or physical methods of measurement proceeded uncertainly. 

Many of the studies on the physiological effects of the vitamins 
have been made with laboratory animals. It was natural in some of 
these studies for information to be obtained on the relation between 
the quantity which an animal ate of a food known to contain a par- 
ticular vitamin and the response of that animal in terms of growth, 
or cure or prevention of the disease associated with the vitamin. As 
these observations were made, consideration was given to the possi- 
bility of using a relationship of this kind as the basis of a quantita- 
tive method of measurement for the vitamin concerned. Methods of 
determination in which the reactions of animals are used are called 
biological methods. 

To determine actual vitamin content by a heel ieat method it is 
necessary to carry out a test in comparison with a substance con- 
taining a known amount of the vitamin in question. When the bio- 
logical methods were first suggested, this condition could not be 
met because the chemically pure vitamins had not yet been prepared 
and natural products vary too much to be used as reference mate- 
rials. As a result of this situation it became the custom to express 
content with respect to a particular vitamin in terms of the quantity 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 257 


required to produce a given response in the animal used and under 
the conditions specified for the test. Such a quantity was known as 
a “unit.” Several of these biological units have been defined and 
used but the best known are probably the Sherman units for vita- 
mins A, B,, and C, and vitamin G or B, (riboflavin). 

As interest in the importance of the vitamins increased, attempts 
were made to devise more satisfactory methods of evaluating them. 
A committee appointed by the Health Organization of the League 
of Nations has established standards of reference called Interna- 
tional Standards of Reference for vitamins A, B,, C, D, and E to be 
used in determining the content of these vitamins in foods and other 
materials. A definite quantity of each standard was specified as the 
International unit in terms of which the content of the respective 
vitamin was to be expressed. 


Definitions of the International Units for Vitamins A, B:, C, and D 


Vitamin A.—The International unit of vitamin A is the vitamin-A activity 
of 0.6 microgram (0.0006 milligram) of the International Standard beta-carotene. 
One U. S. P. (United States Pharmacopoeia) unit of vitamin A presumably 
has the same value as 1 International unit (I. U.) of vitamin A. 

Vitamin B,—The International unit of vitamin B: is the vitamin-B, activity 
of 3.0 micrograms (0.003 milligram) of the International Standard crystalline 
thiamin chloride (vitamin B:). One U. 8. P. (United States Pharmacopoeia) 
unit of vitamin B: has the same value as 1 International unit (I. U.) of 
vitamin B:. 

Vitamin C.—The International unit of vitamin C is the vitamin-C activity of 
0.05 milligram of the International Standard crystalline ascorbic acid (vitamin 
C). One U. S. P. (United States Pharmacopoeia) unit of vitamin C has the 
same value at 1 International unit (I. U.) of vitamin C. 

Vitamin D.—The International unit of vitamin D is the vitamin-D activity of 
1 milligram of the International Standard solution of irradiated ergosterol in oil. 
One U. S. P. (United States Pharmacopoeia) unit of vitamin D presumably has 
the same value as 1 International unit (I. U.) of vitamin D. 


Enumeration of vitamin potency in terms of International units 
is now the accepted mode of expression. As more satisfactory chemi- 
cal and physical methods of measuring vitamin content are developed, 
this somewhat cumbersome device will doubtless be abandoned for 
the more usual procedure of giving composition on the basis of 
weight of chemical substance. This is already the case with vitamin 
C where values are given more often in terms of milligrams of as- 
corbic acid per gram or per 100 grams of material than in terms of 
International units. 

No International Standard for riboflavin has been established. 
The Sherman or Sherman-Bourquin unit is frequently used for de- 
noting vitamin-G potency, otherwise riboflavin is given directly as 
milligrams or micrograms of riboflavin. 


258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Values for vitamin-A, vitamin-B:, and vitamin-C content of foods 
and other materials determined prior to the adoption of the Inter- 
national Standards of Reference are for the most part expressed in 
terms of the Sherman units. For some foods the only values avail- 
able are expressed in these units and for this reason attempts have 
been made to derive factors showing the relation between the Sher- 
man and the International units. Since there has been some divided 
opinion as to what these should be, it seems well to reemphasize the 
fact that a biological unit does not have an exact value. These 
units are defined in terms of animal behavior which, however well 
controlled, is certain to vary. This simply means that the ratio be- 
tween an International unit and the corresponding biological unit 
varies according to conditions, and a fixed figure cannot be estab- 
lished for it. Values expressed in International units which have 
been derived from Sherman unit values by use of conversion factors 
cannot be considered more than rough approximations. International 
unit values so obtained should be clearly designated if pre- 
sented with other material. The ratios given below for these two 
units represent general experience with comparative values. 


Suggested Interrelation of Sherman Units for Vitamins A, B, C, and @ and the 
Corresponding International Units 


Vitamin A.—Sherman units of vitamin A corresponding to 1 International unit 
of vitamin A have been found to vary from 0.8 to 2.5. The ratio of 1.5 is 
suggested as most representative, that is, 1 Sherman unit of vitamin A=0.7 
International unit. 

Vitamin B,—Sherman unit values of vitamin B: corresponding to 1 Inter- 
national unit of vitamin B; have been found to vary from 0.7 to 4 or 6 Sherman 
units. The most general relation for the majority of values obtained by the 
Sherman technique is suggested as 1 Sherman unit equivalent to 1 International 
unit. 

Vitamin C.—One Sherman unit of vitamin C is generally considered equivalent 
to 10 International units. 

Riboflavin.—One Sherman-Bourquin unit of vitamin G is equivalent to 3.0 
to 3.5 micrograms of riboflavin. 


VALUES FOR THE VITAMIN CONTENT OF FOODS 


For some purposes, and especially for dietary calculations, it is 
desirable to have a set of values showing the quantities of the vari- 
ous vitamins in different foods. In the general discussion of food 
sources of the vitamins it was made clear that no food has a fixed 
and invariable content of any vitamin. Values for different samples 
of any food may vary over wide ranges depending upon the factors 
that influence the content of the vitamins it contains. The deriva- 
tion of average values, in the strict sense of this term, is not possible 
without using an unreasonable amount of descriptive material con- 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 259 


cerning each individual food item. In lieu of this it might seem 
advisable to indicate a range in place of a single value. The diffi- 
culty in that case is that anyone requiring a single value will use 
the median of the range which may not be in any sense the best 
value to use. This reduces the problem to one of arbitrarily select- 
ing what are considered the most representative values. 

The values in the table presented here, which is offered as an 
aid to those who must use single values expressive of vitamin con- 
tent, were selected on this basis. The selections were made from a 
summary of all of the data that could be obtained in the literature 
or elsewhere up to July 1, 1940. Careful consideration was given to 
the methods of analysis used and the nature of the food material 
studied. The values given should be taken as applying to foods that 
are reasonably fresh and of good quality. This is especially im- 
portant to keep in mind relative to vitamin-C values. “Market fresh” 
vegetables are often far from “fresh” as far as vitamin-C content is 
concerned. Adjustments should be made in the vitamin-C values 
for fruits and vegetables, especially leafy vegetables, when the 
products to which they are being applied are not strictly fresh. 

Some values in the table may differ materially from correspond- 
ing ones in other summaries. Too much concern should not be felt 
over such discrepancies, perhaps, since all values of this kind are, 
as explained, arbitrarily selected and their approximation to actual 
fact is problematical in any case. If specific information about a 
food is available, other values might be selected as more suitable. 


TABLE 1.— Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods 


[Unless otherwise stated, the values given are for the edible portion of the fresh food] t 


Vitamin a | VOSmIa) |Natamin Oh | ee Crees 
Food material 
Units per 100 grams! 

Int. Int.2 Int. Int. Sherman 4 

Alfalfa leaf meal, dried___-___ SO ee ee Le eee 50 
MenrReNiCh Ss M3 Sa en 2 ht 75 (ile re ae 0 | aes 200 

30-40 
oie ee 75| 15 { sae Mel cele 10 
PeIeOb, eresn. 2 4, 000 10 LOBES 17 
murncoat, dried 22) k 2S: 5, 000 30 GORE Ee ss 35 
Artichoke, Globe__________- 200 60 a DF ial eee Fair 
Artichoke, Jerusalem. {== 2. toss... 8 50 1 3 ee ee 
Asparagus, green___________ 700 70 7 a 40 
Asparagus, bleached__-_-_____ 0-50 50 6500/5054 Fair 
Pate LS oe OP ee 100 30 400: |e mee 30 
bp 6 ae 300 15 200" 2ee=ee 30 
pemete S Beh s os 0 120 alee a8 we 3 
Beans, snap: 

Eecn eer e . SET AR 1, 000 25 300 j__=__- 40 
Sth ale pile bal REDE | RR 25 SOO Neeser 40 


See footnotes at end of table. 
4305774218 


260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


TaBLE 1.—Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods—Continued 


Riboflavin 
vitamin G 


Vitamin A ba Vitamin C Vitamin 


Food material 


Units per 100 grams 1! 


Beans, shelled: 


INEVY ee oe eee eee eee 
Red kidneys Sess See Ses | bea seat ee 
Soy pean. See Lee 


Beet topsie See oo ee oe 

Blackbertyesot cease ee ee= 

Black-eyed peas (see Cow- 
peas). 

Bitebernye oreo eee eee 
erg hubtish: pear spe ele ae aie 
WEG Wil US Ws ieee ate ee ee ee 

Brazilmuteeess 5 asses 

Bread: 


Brussels sprouts_-==------- 
BB we kewihea te see ce ee ee or al ee pees 
Butter, average=...¢. 4... 
From cows on dry feed__-- 
From cows on green feed_-_ 
Cabbage, head: 
Young, partly green---_--- 
Mature, bleached__-_------ 
1B 0 Lang wy a PSS GO EES ce IE a ey ere (ee 
C@hinese®scas. #422425 
Cantaloupe.= 2. 3ssce oS se= 
OFF iar (0 rea AE wes ee ee 
Calitiowers 222 5-5-2. 225. = 
Celery stalks: 


Cheese: 
Cheddares 42/55) eee ee 
Cotiagete 2224. pb et os 
Cream sss ee eee Se hee 


Darke eee Sleek eae ea Le ee eS ea £5 Oa Na Mp ene earsi stor ees SES Excellent 
Waits Get 2 8 a ee te Se SO ke Pas es ah | rere Excellent 


God sliverolll. 6 ane (*) 0 OFC) 0 
Collandae ve OMe Ley oe e 7, 000 50 SOOV aes 100 


See footnotes at end of table. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 261 


TaBLE 1,—Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods—Continued 


Vitamin A Se Vitamin C eae Ebonay G 
Food material 
Units per 100 grams! 
Int. Int.4 Int.3 Int. Sherman 4 
Corn, sweet: 
Js a, ad eee 08 9 0-50 45 200 ee essu |e see Ree 
MEN OWE] st te eee eS 500 45 200 ues eo 20 
Corn dried: 
LOU Sas Aig et Ine aS ahh ee pao 0 100 Ove. 2a Fair 
PIC ILON a eke ee Sie 550 100 Ose Fair 
@orn oil, refined... - 0 0 O ad Sar 0 
Cottonseed oil, refined______ ) 0 0 0 0 
owpea: 
RYO Tete seek Wee rereyal emer ESP LN es See Oe ee kee 2 {0 ese eee he Ah 
Diedaee ote. = 2 hee he 50 SOOR | Sasa es Se ae |e oe 100 
Grauperrys (22. abt west, DOG eeet 5 = 225 0 0 
Cream, 20 percent___.---.-_- 600 I po Ney rs Pracesi2iso 32 220 
@ucumberso 2222 - es eee. 2 20 5 200b i EeSe se 8 
Currant: 
BY FY) eects i eres (a Fs 400 10 S OOO NEAL Seas Oe oe 
UCC ee ee ee Le a ee 15 C200 al eens ce MeL 
Mandetion. = -.5-L. 255.2 12 000' 422.4. 2; 000! |= Se=3 Good 
Mates. cured=. 1202855). 150 25 ay eg td 15 
Muck leaves: 2.22. 52625 205. 14 O00) |S see ee ae Good 
Pie, Wales x2 5 Book 2 1, 000 50 Oo eee 110 
| OY ye Ae a ee 2 See ee 0 0 Ok | Seas 100 
YOO 2s, Ae Lee Se | Se ee 2, 800 140 Oe Fon 115 
7129 0) 721) es: 35 15 4 0018 aR 10 
Endive (escarole) _....-.-..._ 15, 000 28 400 |___---_ 40 
i et eae roofers LM Neng ata ar 4h a 20 
Fig: 
a Se ee 50 25 30) |/s28 ise 15 
iDance 2 22 eee Et eee 60 22 Oto oes2 25 
Flour: 
White, patent_2..._..._-- 0 30 Ove. ee ee 
Wiholeawheaten. U.o 2. 2 2| se Lt eee 1 1CGY 0] A es  s Fair 
Gardenicress. 22256 see Excellent OO! ee lg Fa rele a el All Rg 
RUSE UCEIV GS). atau os Sa ae BIS ee 500.) 5 SO Fete Sere) 
0 ae ee eee Trace 15 COWS 2025 8 
EDEL oe Es eae ee sae Sena | Ieee py ey a 
UENO a DR ee a 0 23 Sh0 A222 Trace 
WICH Sete a a 0 25 S00 Sees Trace 
@Wanned 2 = 22 2 tt Bee. ee Si 0 25 300) /22==—- Trace 
NAVA ee oo ee 200 14 1 SOOM =e 3 
eRe OMe py I 5 OTT ooh od homtiaee Ollie ahs Good 
LE (ZOD ToL 0T ci, om De maar MS | Ee pape a lb 5510s Pena erea aa na trae eg Ag 
a zelnuteet sot Be Se 100 220) soo Se a eee a ee ae 
eart: 
leiyeis a ee Trace 200) |e soee sy Ue ee 300 
LLP y aa oy Se 8 SR ee Trace 200 [ES 25 5se Se eee ee 
OT Wane tee eh eee en eN hs ere Bee Le SO) Spe 2 aes a Ria eg HR ED 
LIS Ca A a 0 0 0 0 0 
EROTSELA CIS I Cene eax ty etons cs 3 | OR ee, 9) Aeab s ae diet 2000 | Sena a eee ee 
“EEG Sh fe a © Aer (CL Peer aa | 7a ey ss na 
Pale eere ee es EL Ne i Das 20, 000 50 2 O00} aee aes 200 
Kidney, beef or veal_____-_- 1, 000 60 |S easosalsee Se 700 
Wamp awe eee 1, 000 451) paper ree ye 25 (Aaa Ie es ee ae 
1 Ex Gh eae SR EES PA Pepe Ce 222 ee 15032222 eee a 2 | 
LL TITS RS, BS APRONS) I OF 3) epee 20 1 200M PAST ack 
Mesmip.varuscie, lean. 258 Sole 80 Noo t esse ble eee 70 


See footnotes at end of table. 


262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


TABLE 1.—Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods—Continued 


Riboflavin 
vitamin G 


Vitamin A Vitamin 


Vitemin |" vitamin © 
1 


Food material 


Units per 100 grams! 


BEG of WEY ie a ee Es eee 
Week auch Satu ccs 21a Oa bess tee 
Memonyjuice== == Se ee 
Bentilsvdried2 4522222222 — 
ettuce, green. 2. fase --2- + 
Bleaché@en 2 Be ee 
Romaine or cos 
AGIM| | UICC es eRe a La bs Ne ee 
Miverubeer eo eee eee 9, 000 75 | Fresh 750 45 600 
Caltexs ld Site ct ti eo See 2 7, 000 70 | Fresh 650 15 550 
Chickentis {ese e soe als Excellent 75 | Fresh 450 50 | Excellent 
110) cS CoRR Bae Sogn Excellent 75 | Fresh 750 20 550 
Pi ee A lye eee 2 2 Excellent 100 | Fresh 525 45 600 
Man pO! ee ye a BNO or 1, 500 30 (a0 0 (ne eae 20 
1s GLA Tae pet La gel vB aie LY BO FEE pen sa, 8 | a Be Raw 404) 22 eee 
Whele fresh, average mar- 110 20 Past. 25 2 75 
et. 
From cows on dry feed_- 55 20 Raw 30 1 60 
From cows on pasture-- 175 20 Raw 50 3 80 
Whole dried: 
AV ETA TC Las sO eet 875 120 0 16 500 
From cows on dry feed_- ASO boast 0 8:32 sete 
From cows on pasture -- 1 400M eee 2 0 DA 92 Cheep eee 
pe Lehto Wat a SE ek ey 2 15 (0) (ee Excellent 
DIM, iGried: oat eeage 20 120 Ly LCR a 
Molasses! Mine wanaee fae 0 0 Ogee S| eee 
MuUShroomen ees seca eee 0 30 ‘Traces|tes..4|2=2..=ae 
Mustard ereens . 28802 Excellent 45 2, 0008 ese =a Excellent 
Oats (rolled or oatmeal) _-_--- Trace 180 0 0 30 
OS cfs ae be ON eR pe eee 400 40 400 ges Fair 
Olive, canned: 
(Ge; 2) 1 a ae BS SRY SOME SER HOO a cee Oo. aah fees. 
1 RE) 0 oe eo ae ee esl ae =e 125 2 0 0 0 
Olive oil, refined. 2232 -—_ 22 te) ENuee ea an |e Cot oh Po Olea eke 
Onion: 
Eh ere) «NON GE Deanne 1) eee See Bair se DAS) nee | Sra oh 2 
Mapareu so. 22a mee Es 0 10 TEQn ee 30 
@ranpe juices: 42 45-250 |), a0 182.20" \ nie 5 
Oystere sae Pe 14 Qn eee 2 (pl eee ee (reer re 
BaDa Vast eos Suu cee eee eee 2, 500 25 GOO see Ss 60 
Parsley = Scio se es Se SO; 000s Sasa =— 2; 000) )|=2222=|-s4-e6eee 
Parsi = oes oe See oie Trace 40 450 (0222 22)| ass see 
Pea: 
Green fresh eon 2 eee oe 1, 000 140 500) | 2222—= 65 
Green dried sess = 22 1, 200 ise Se es 100 
Peach: 
Witte fm ee ae re 5 10 200-22 22 2|kseeseees 
NWiellowes esos. See Rees 1, 000 10 200s pee 20 
Willow. anied=]- 9a 30008 eaeea= Oa eee ee eee 
Peanut: 
Wi rADO 20 Seer ei OW. $320; pe. cee eal ee ae Good 
BLOBSGEOS 0) Oc tees nea 2 co QO es ee | les 
SPAnISh oe 2. ey tee ee ree BOO oe eee ee ee 250 
Spanish, roasted ci oa) hs be BO ioe eee oe ee ee eee 


See footnotes at end of table. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 263 


TABLE 1.—Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods—Continued 


Vitamin A |Vitamin! vitamin |Vitenin) oa 
Food material 
Units per 100 grams! 
Int. Int. Int.3 Int. Sherman 4 
[EG ee Se a eee ee 10 ss 105 es 2 
2 Tre Be ee ae UT UG, (aa +5, | Mi ee ne ae kal Ee 100 
Pepper 

TKO) d=, eee Mieco eae 5, 000 10 20008 |2eee a 40 

Reds aie s 5 eee 8. 3th 5, 000 10 3; 000 22222 ee 
Pumeanple se ers on 2 5 90 25 BOO. ey se 12 
DNTICG SITES Hter tee ee en eee eee 30 6008 | Eas s|2 eee ane 
Wee veRMNet 2S se eee oe 25 BO sie eee ele 
Lae ee en ee 2 ee Pee ee eee 35 LOOT a2. —— 15 
Pork; muscle, Jean. 2-22 2—— Trace 400 eae oe see 75 
Potato, Average = 22} 4 222k 30 40 DAG 0 al (Eee ise 15 
Ne eee en ere Sees 8 Le ee ee OUR eee [epee 
SHORE) Ol Ces ee eee | ae ee 1 0 a (ae em eras are ay 
Prune: 
Hires hype ool kerk tare Toe 1, 500 AY ecco Sea ole Nip Bia (mate alin pc 
Driedese ss 2 Pe 2, 500 50 5On eee a= Good 
LEU eh) SS a ee ae. 2, 500 15 1 Sera 15 
PEST 0 Se Roc Ree ie Sela lee Oe iy SS ZION |e eae ag ees 
peices OOS ORV Pe oa Trace 20 A00s1e 22 22 10 
EUSRIS Tree ee sey ete se 50 SOLS era OW 2s FE Be ee 
LED TT AE eg SS Cpe area pee ean (a Ryaaarel epee 10 GOGL w ees 
Oa eee ‘Draces|s22 2. AQQ "22s or S1 |e eae are 
ice: 
STO Wiles see sero ta Trace 75 UF ee es 50 
Polished Saaern maeee ee 0 10 (Ut | Sapte tos Trace 
(OTS aS pp ne neg og a 2, 000 30 LOO 222 Fair 
Rutabaga: 
Rinnoess sees eS Mee 0 15 BOO TE Stes aes eae 
BYiellow iss 22212. ceri pl sees 25 5 A002 2 2225 | 4 Ss Biot 
lve. eee 0 140 On) Fair 
Salmon, canned: 
LE se tes es ery 2 Bens 8 3402) eee Oy 8 PCR eee 220922 skal 4 
Whinogke ss. es eee ASLO] OS ey aes oe leaped Be DGD be eee ee 

ETN epee pe Pe RE NN OOS Ee oe eee eee 625):|U eet eee 

NER yf Fe a ys Se es 4 325 |Trace 0 800 75 
Se Se eas Lee PONE re tes ie ee ees Good Good 
Soybean (see under Bean). 

Smaghe 68. 8 Be kt 25, 000 40 17500) 2s 2e= = 125 
Squash 

Summers ies fe ae 1, 000 in) pee LS St) ees 15 

Wiritenic 22: 26 Soe 2 ee Fee 4, 000 15 TOO) | eae 4s 25 
SUE el a ae oe Trace |Trace 10008 | aaaes Trace 
Sweet potato. 2322 /.. fue. 3, 500 30 400 Fs eee. 30 
puccrine SAE SONAR ete ORY (he Pee ETE EON 30 ZOO ph oe 10 

omato, mature: 

[Bae eee 700%|0. 23) fo) orgy he 15 
Biiied tented e Marais 2c 1,000:/) 26. |] agen (ieee 20 
RTIRG AAPOR oe 1, 000 25 Page 51 dig Ie ag Mls ea le 
auiee, canned commercial -|2--- 222.52 2)225._- { Pek ae ee Ds | pe Spee 

Turnip 

Wihitectwie ots 2 bee 0 12 GOOH | 28a 12 

TLS ee a cs en 20 12 6003/2222 12 
aiwenip greens. 2 | 10, 000 40 3S; HOG) fees 120 


See footnotes at end of table. 


264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


TABLE 1.—Values selected as representative of the vitamin-A, vitamin-B,, vitamin-C, 
vitamin-D, and riboflavin content of common foods—Continued 


Vitamin A Vitamin Vitamin C Vitamin evan e 
Food material 
Units per 100 grams! 
Int. Int. Int.3 Int. Sherman 4 
Walnuts 

Bake wet ee hele ood 130 VO see SE Ah eee oe 
Bima iba ee fc 8021 dye aged 100 TSO sae ys 2 | 3 ee 
Watercress. 22. > BRE Se 4, 000 40 15500 u peaeee 90 
Watermelon. 2) fee. fou Trace 20 150 0 10 
Wiheater jb fi AAR od Trace 180 Ons sgoee 35 


3 ; Where there are no values, data were not available for making estimates. 100 grams is approximately 
.5 ounces. 

2 International units of vitamin B; multiplied by 3 give micrograms of thiamin. 

3 International units of vitamin C multiplied by 0.05 give milligrams of ascorbic acid. 

4 For the calculations made in this table, the relation of 1 Sherman unit equivalent to 3.0 micrograms 
(0.003 milligrams) of riboflavin was used. Sherman units multiplied by 3 give micrograms of riboflavin. 

*For vitamins A and D use values given on the container. 

t The author suggests the following revisions for table 1: A value of 100 for the vitamin-A content of cottage 
cheese instead of 500, a value of 10 for the vitamin-C content of dried prunes instead of 50, and a value of 78 
for the riboflavin content of jumbo and roasted peanuts. 


SELECTING FOODS TO MEET VITAMIN REQUIREMENTS 


In planning or assessing diets for adequacy in vitamin content, it 
is obviously necessary to have information as to the quantities of 
each of the vitamins needed in the daily diet. Suggested values for 
vitamins A, B,, C, D, and riboflavin are summarized in table 2.4 

At the present time considerable interest is being shown in studies 
to determine the requirement of the various vitamins known to be 
essential in the diet of man. The main problem has been the 
development of methods giving results that could be interpreted in 
relation to nutritional well-being. The first knowledge of the 
requirement of any vitamin came as a result of determining the 
quantity required to cure or prevent the disease associated with that 
vitamin. Such quantities have usually been referred to as minimum 
protective quantities. It soon became apparent that the quantity 
needed for normal nutrition was considerably in excess of the mini- 
mum protective quantity. As information and experience accumu- 
lated the aim has been to obtain values of vitamin requirements that 
apply more nearly to normal nutrition. 


4See also the Table of Recommended Dietary Allowances prepared by the Committee on 
Food and Nutrition, National Research Council, May 1941, available through Nutrition 
Division, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C. 


VITAMINS—MUNSELL 265 


TABLE 2.—Values suggested as expressive of the daily requirement for vitamins A, 
B, C, D, and riboflavin! 


For the average adult under average conditions 


a ee ee eee a ee During prer- 4 ; 
Vitamin kes nancy and lac- | F ee ene cten 
solute . tation 
anne Adequate Optimum 
/\ Ae eee 2,000 I.U____- oc to 5,000 a to*8;000))| (More: —---==2=-- 8,000 to 10,000 I.U. 
B,; (thiamin) -} 200 I.U. or 300 to 400 1.U. 500 to 600 I.U. | Several times al- Considerably more in 
0.6 mg. or 0.9 to 1.2 or 1.5 to 1.8 lowance for proportion to their 


mg. mg. average adult weight than adults 
C (ascorbic | 20 to 25 mg. | 40to 60mg. or | 80mg.or1,600 | Twice that for | Only slightly less than 
acid). or 400 to 500 800 to 1,200 FU the average that for adults. 

I.U. I.U. adult. 

1D TS ie eae ee IN OG WonO wanes Sao Se as ree 8001.U. suggest- | 300 to 400 I.U. suggest- 

ed as adequate ed as adequate for 

protection against 

rickets; 675 I.U. sug- 

gested for optimum 


growth. 
Riboflavin | Approximately 600 Sherman-Bourquin units |_.__..______-____- At least 400 Sherman- 
Gi tamin or 2 milligrams. Bourquin units. 


1 Previously published. Munsell, Hazel E., Planning the day’s diet for vitamin content. Journ. 
Amer. Dietetic Assoc., vol. 15, p. 639, October 1939. 

In summarizing data on vitamin requirements, it seems desirable 
to give the quantities determined as minimum as well as those con- 
sidered adequate. In some instances data have been obtained indi- 
cating that nutritional well-being is enhanced by a diet supplying 
quantities of a vitamin in excess of that considered adequate. Such 
quantities have been designated as optimum. 

Studies to determine the requirement of the various vitamins are 
still in the preliminary stage. It is problematical whether the 
requirement of any vitamin can ever be expressed with precision. 
Many factors operate to influence the quantity of each that is needed. 
Data already at hand indicate that the requirements may vary from 
individual to individual according to sex, age, size, and activity, and 
vary in the same individual from day to day depending upon the 
physiological condition, activity, or environment. 

The material offered in table 2 should be used with certain con- 
siderations in mind. With the exception of vitamin D the values 
for the requirement of each of the vitamins represent quantities 
that may be supplied readily by the use of natural foods. These 
quantities indicate the daily requirement of the normal individual 
with no allowance made for variation in the vitamin value in dif- 
ferent foods or losses that may occur from cooking or other processes 
to which the food may be subjected. 

There is no evidence of harm from the ingestion of vitamins as 
they occur in foods in quantities considerably in excess of those given 
as requirements. In planning diets the aim should be to provide 
foods that will supply at least as much and preferably more than the 
adequate allowance of each vitamin and several times this allowance 
in cases where there is indication of a greater need. 


te penta “it: 4 


F ‘ate on ue a: thay t Me wiaheinne! Ps 


,. adeetelle sil tay ri rn 
Ds Da eon at Piscuins site nto 


jive 
evita PN 


if Pitd' he aN ne 
jist whim ag Paap mites ey Apaans 


cing ar acca 
safe loelyascaata sat Ma 7 
Chnsoy Ose VA ‘on 


vis sal 6 0) paty ‘ha 
Pe P i ‘ 


ae a 


i t} 
ai; one + iu hin fe ce 


Wi 


rh Te 


aoe ys 


bt ul Mise ha Hess 


iv: \ i 
Ad stad 


hie mene ae oe 


ibn ix se 


> ees 
wre 4) yet 


Rubia (gi 


— 


f, ict ba ‘isl wht y ii 
cigiaNty ard ‘hi iain, Take 7 bd 
Bee vars, sevice Ste a awit 
nia, ack: aig dag at 


pains 


ae iy why! Nill 


‘4 ae a ¥ He Ot eat 7 ¥ iP ae way Nu io “ae 
Shi mintistatdys ‘* To. stl os u, wai re ey sa 
bi bie wi ihe AD. ih WY, fh ie a) Cannio ‘ sobs 


SCIENCE AND HUMAN PROSPECTS? 


By Evior BLACKWELDER 


Stanford University 


On facing the duty of preparing the customary presidential address 
for this year, I gave some thought to the question of what contribution 
I could best make. Having been for many years a field geologist and 
at times even an explorer, I might have gathered up the results of 
many local studies and generalized them. Being engaged more re- 
cently in studying desert physiography and the Pleistocene history 
of the western States, I might have chosen one of those subjects—and 
indeed they are well worth considering. 

However, in such a fateful year as 1940, it seemed to me that the 
occasion called for a subject of greater importance and one that has a 
more direct relation to the welfare of this nation; and so I decided to 
ask your attention this evening to a subject that has long been one 
of my chief concerns—namely, education in science and its relation 
to the future welfare of humanity. 

It seems to me that a teacher of geology, or indeed of any other 
science, should devote himself not only to giving his students informa- 
- tion, and explaining processes and theories—however important those 
educational duties may be—but especially to training young people 
in the scientific way of thinking and helping them to acquire the 
scientific spirit. To my mind, that is his most important function. 

Since geology is considered a science—albeit not one of the so-called 
exact sciences—and since we call ourselves scientists, it may be well 
to ask at this point, what, essentially, is science? In general terms 
the dictionaries say that it is knowledge established, organized, and 
systematic. To me, however, this concept is not adequate. In the 
words of the great French mathematician, Poincaré: “A collection 
of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.” Verified 
knowledge is one element, organization and classification are necessary 
and so is the testing of hypotheses, but I cannot regard any of these 


1 Address as retiring president of The Geological Society of America, delivered at the 
annual meeting of the Society in Austin, Tex., December 26, 1940. Reprinted by per- 
mission from the Bulletin of The Geological Society of America, vol. 52, Mar, 1, 1941. 


267 


268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


as the core of science. Tome the basic thing about science is an attitude 
or habit of mind, a way of thinking which is characteristic of those 
entitled to be called scientists. If that is so, most subjects of human 
concern may be dealt with in a scientific way. The essential basic 
condition is freedom from bias and prejudice. The major objective of 
the scientist is truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be or how 
much discomfiture it may cause among those who hold cherished 
beliefs which happen, nevertheless, to be errors. Dr. Crapsey once 
remarked that: “Truth is a brand new virtue.” And it may be added 
that as such it is not yet as widely sought and valued as it should be. 
It has been well said that “the purpose of science is understanding.” 
This is only a modern version of the well-known admonition of King 
Solomon to “get understanding.” 

The scientific method is relatively new. As recently as four cen- 
turies ago it was a rarity even among the most learned thinkers of 
the time. Today it is used only incidentally by most of the people 
in even the most civilized countries. It is hardly an exaggeration 
to say that the majority of educated persons—even those with college 
degrees—do not really understand it. Often it is confused with in- 
vention or the mere cataloging and classifying of knowledge. Some 
years ago, in a nation-wide poll which was taken for the purpose of 
finding out who was popularly considered to be the greatest scientist 
in the United States, the choice fell upon Edison, the inventor. But 
inventions, however useful and ingenious, are only the outgrowth, 
the byproducts, of science. Although invention was originally a 
matter of mere cut-and-try experiment it now makes more and more 
use of science, until much of it is now highly scientific in the true 
sense. Even so, the one should not be confused with the other. 
Science is not invention. The purposes of scientists and inventors 
are fundamentally different, even when they use similar methods. 

As for the majority of mankind, in the less-developed countries, 
their lives have scarcely been touched by science except in the form 
of some of its tangible products such as machines, the radio, or by 
the services of the sanitarian; and their understanding of science is 
hardly greater than was that of their ancestors a thousand years ago. 

Even among the most cultured of civilized people some misunder- 
stand science so completely that they think they disapprove of it and 
consider it dangerous. Not infrequently do we hear the ills of the world 
today blamed upon the advances of science, by which is evidently 
meant inventions such as dynamite, poison gas, or the airplane. Some 
writers have even called for a moratorium on scientific research, 
lest the dangers they ascribe to science overwhelm our civilization. 
But we do not abolish automobiles just because criminals use them 
in bank robberies and child snatching. On the contrary, it would 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 269 


seem better to extend the scientific method to those fields of study 
which are not yet making the required progress. One might para- 
phrase a famous remark about democracy by saying: “The best cure 
for the evils of science is more science”’—at least better and more 
widespread science. 

The genuine scientist searches out the facts he requires, testing and 
evaluating them as he goes. He must try to discriminate the true 
from the false, and the trivial from the significant. His disciplined 
imagination, always at work even during the fact-gathering process, 
suggests explanations for the things observed—usually for the de- 
tails and later, as the picture takes shape, for phenomena of wider 
scope. All these ideas must be impartially tested before they can be 
either accepted or rejected, just as an engineer determines by calcu- 
lation the strength of the arches in a projected bridge, and for a 
similar reason. How high shall we appraise the value of the for- 
{unate speculator who happens without much evidence to hit upon 
the right explanation far ahead of others, as compared with the 
patient investigator who carries a firm structure of fact and con- 
trolled theory with him all the way? The former has uses, but it 
is chiefly to the latter that steady scientific progress is due. Loose 
speculation is an ingrained habit of humanity, but the careful scien- 
tist realizes that many problems are now insoluble because the nec- 
essary data are not yet obtainable. He will, therefore, restrain his 
fancy, devoting his efforts to objectives that are within his reach, 
content to leave to his better-informed successors those other ques- 
tions which are not yet ripe for consideration. 

The critical testing of ideas is a habit difficult for the average hu- 
man being to adopt. An original idea is a brain child and tends 
to be jealously cherished as such. To expose it to the cold light of 
reason takes a sort of Spartan courage that is too often undevel- 
oped and yet is one of the essential attributes of anyone who aspires 
to be called a real scientist. To be merely logical with facts selected 
for a purpose is much easier than to divest oneself of bias. Stead- 
fast courage and a renunciation of false pride are required in the 
search for opposing rather than supporting evidence. 

The unrealized assumptions hidden in his theory are the sunken 
rocks on which the ship of many a hopeful scientist is wrecked. Our 
literature affords examples without number, especially in the earlier 
times. Geologists will find a good illustration even in the writings of 
that thoughtful old Scot who is regarded as the founder of their 
science—James Hutton. Writing about the granite boulders from 
Mont Blanc that are sprinkled over the slopes of the Jura Moun- 
tains near Geneva, he concluded that the Rhone River must have 
excavated its valley after they were deposited. The erroneous as- 


270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


sumption, hidden in his mind and unrecognized, was that only 
streams could have moved the boulders, and he knew that streams 
cannot flow uphill. He overlooked the glaciers, although it is 
evident that he already knew something of their power and habits. 
Perhaps he assumed that those he saw around Mont Blanc had never 
been much larger than they were in his day. 

Failing to understand what the real scientist must be and what 
the essentials of science are, part of the public today is led to accept 
as science various elaborations of intuition, speculation, and fancy, 
such as were much more widely current a few centuries ago. To the 
practitioners of this pseudo science, David Starr Jordan (1924), in 
a humorous paper, once gave the name “Sciosophists.” The term, he 
explained in mock seriousness, comes from two Greek words, skzos 
meaning shadow, and sophos meaning wisdom, or in short “the 
shadow of wisdom.” Sciosophists, he said, are happily free from 
the ordinary limitations of science for they are not hindered by the 
need of evidence. To them one idea is as good as another, and so 
why go through the laborious process of examining facts, searching 
out all the evidence, and testing each explanation before accepting 
it? A glittering and imposing structure can be built up with ease 
by a sciosophist out of many such unverified suppositions; but, of 
course, Jordan scarcely needed to say that it is as vulnerable to 
critical analysis as a child’s tower of blocks is to a touch of the hand. 
It is regrettable, but in a free country perhaps unpreventable, that 
the cloak of science should be donned and worn by faith healers and 
other mystics who have no comprehension of the meaning of the 
term. As a result, however, it is hardly surprising that part of the 
general public has a rather confused impression about science, when 
it reads serious accounts of such absurdities as a “science of astrol- 
ogy,” “the science of phrenology,” and many others. 

That the scientific method had its beginning in the ancient Greek 
and probably even earlier civilizations is clear enough, but it was 
displayed by only a few of the philosophers of that era and not con- 
sistently even by that few. This is all the more strange in view of 
the fact that the art of reasoning—logic—was highly cultivated by 
the Greeks. True, men like Anaxagoras at Athens had many sound 
ideas and employed the scientific method to a notable extent, but at 
the same time they entertained, as firm beliefs, some notions that 
would now bring a laugh to any schoolboy. 

If one examines the writings of the founders of ancient Greek 
science in the sixth century B. C.—men like Thales and Anaximan- 
der—he finds that many of their opinions were mere suppositions, 
elaborated and bolstered with such support as labored argument and 
ingenuity of words could give. These men were the precursors of 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 271 


modern scientists but can hardly be called scientists themselves. No 
true scientist would have seriously put forth as a conclusion so fan- 
tastic and wholly unverified a notion as the great Aristotle’s dictum 
that earthquakes are due to the surging of the wind through caverns 
in the earth. Even allowing for the inaccuracies of translation from 
the Greek, one can find only the slenderest evidence to support this 
opinion. It was a result of pure speculation upon a subject about 
which the author had not even the most elementary knowledge. Yet 
it was quoted with approval for 20 centuries. This is all the more 
inexcusable because a considerable body of definite information about 
earthquakes was available in the Greek world of Aristotle’s day, and 
there were many pertinent observations on geology that could easily 
have been made in that epoch, even without modern instruments, if 
serious attention had been devoted to the problems. 

In its early stages the cultivation of science was often too largely 
a contest between champions of rival theories. In ancient Greece the 
celebrated master gathered about him a group of disciples who too 
often came to regard his pronouncements as infallible. In the school 
of such a man as Pythagoras of Sicily, to quote the leader was suf- 
ficient to settle any disputed point. The ideas of the master thus 
became dogmas and took on a kind of sanctity. 

It must be admitted that dogma has been the fashion of the past. 
For millions of the earth’s inhabitants it still remains so. Today we 
see the current of progress being reversed in the despot-ridden coun- 
tries of Europe, where the privilege of freely drawing conclusions 
from evidence is being restricted and the blind acceptance of official 
dogma is exalted as a duty, if not a necessity. 

Even in the last century or two the history of science was marred 
by many a bitter controversy between rival leaders and their followers 
over theories. A theory was defended like a home citadel, and 
doubters were considered enemies actuated by the darkest of motives. 
Among such bickerings there was by contrast the magnanimity of 
Charles Darwin who said, regarding the storm of criticism that 
raged after the publication of “The Origin of Species,” “If my book 
cannot stand the bombardment, why then let it go down and be 
forgotten.” 

Fortunately, rancorous disputes have nowadays largely ceased to 
afflict the relations of real scientists. Yet there is still far too much 
of that spirit in the world at large. It has been well said that “Most 
men think with their emotions rather than their intellects.” The 
ancient method of verbal combat is still employed in our law courts 
and legislative halls. Each participant adheres to his thesis. Search 
is then made for evidence to support it and at the same time to 


272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


refute its opponents. An equal effort is made to suppress or 
depreciate any facts that may prove to be embarrassingly adverse. 

The debating society may be a good place to train lawyers, but the 
partisan attitude of “win the argument and confound the opponent” 
is an unhealthy state of mind for a young scientist. Indeed, he can 
never become a true scientist until he outgrows that mental attitude. 
Rather he should cling to the advice of that wise old Quaker, William 
Penn: “In every debate, let truth be thy aim, not victory.” Per- 
haps it is our sporting instinct, derived, it may be, from our age-long 
struggles against each other, that makes us usually more interested 
in winning a contest than in finding the truth. 

By those who have not considered the matter thoroughly, scientists 
are often adversely criticized for devoting so much of their energy 
to problems that seem to lead to nothing of any human value. No 
doubt there is considerable merit in this charge. But we shall never 
know to what extent it is justified, because we can only guess what 
kind of knowledge and what kind of understanding may become 
useful in the future. The history of science is full of examples sup- 
porting this statement. Our huge electric motor industry grew out 
of the simple discovery by Faraday that when a magnet was moved 
in a loop of wire an electric current was generated in the wire. Why 
should the knowledge of that bare fact have been of much value, 
and why should the public have been impressed at the time? In fact, 
it was not. Only a few men of science gave it some attention, as 
revealing a new principle—that of electromagnetic induction. Sim- 
ilarly, the oil industry of Texas has been greatly aided by the in- 
telligent combining of many bits of scientific information no one of 
which by itself has much commercial value—such items as undula- 
tions in strata, earth vibrations, soil analyses, and Foraminifera in 
drill-hole samples. 

Although the gathering of facts cannot in itself develop a science, 
yet facts we must have, in infinite number and variety, even though 
they are only the bricks to be used by the builder. The mere multi- 
plication of facts, the piling up of observations closely similar to hun- 
dreds of others, is properly regarded as of less value than the search 
for explanations, principles, and laws. While the layman thinks 
of Major Powell as the intrepid explorer of the Colorado River and 
its Grand Canyon, discovering, even at the risk of death, the wild 
beauty of its scenery and the details of its geologic section, it is 
fitting that geologists should honor him even more for his clear 
exposition of the principles of the base level of stream erosion and 
the antecedent river. 

In view of the fact, already mentioned, that we can seldom foresee 
what utility any scientific fact or principle will eventually have, we 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 273 


cannot afford to neglect any aspect of science. Discoveries in one 
field often release obstructions that have held back progress in other 
branches of science, and thus permit further advances. On the other 
hand, by regimenting scientific work and even opinion, along with 
all other phases of life, for their own immediate purposes, modern 
tyrants are violating this principle. This they can do with some 
measure of success for a short time, but eventually their countries 
will almost surely suffer a degeneration of science, and therefore of 
the civilization which is based upon it. 

Along with the increasing complexity of modern life there has 
grown up an urgent need for the scientific expert. The demand is 
being met by many persons who are real scientists but unfortunately 
by others who do not deserve the name. On that score Dean Roscoe 
Pound lately said in sarcastic vein that “the administrator is not 
appointed to office because he is an expert but he is an expert because 
he has been appointed.” We all know of cases that fit this satire, 
but in all seriousness we may trust that they are not numerous and 
that they are decreasing. 

Since the public must depend on its experts, it is essential that it 
should be well justified in placing confidence in them, to the end 
that such respect will endure. That puts a heavy responsibility upon 
the individual expert. As Grover Cleveland once said, “a public 
office is a public trust,” no less so should any degree of leadership in 
science be regarded as a public trust; and so the expert scientist is 
under great obligation to deserve the confidence of the public. His 
intellectual honesty will need to be outstanding and unwavering. 
Today, in this country, the scientist has already won such esteem 
to a large degree, although he is compromised and discredited now 
and then by the shortcomings of the less conscientious and careful 
of his colleagues. Unfortunately, too, it is among the latter that the 
most vocal types are apt to appear, and it is they who often attract 
the most public attention. Perhaps it is expecting too much of man, 
as we know him, to hope that a time will some day arrive when our 
most influential leaders will be persons who have the true scientific 
spirit and have been trained expressly for the work they are to do, 
as humble in the face of their own limitations as they are wise and 
honest. 

Many years ago a former president of our Society, R. A. Daly, 
speaking informally as a visitor to one of my classes, advised the 
boys to “think to scale.” It would be hard indeed to pack more 
meaning into three words. The person who thinks to scale sees the 
relative value of each fact he uses and of each objective before him. 
He can then economize his time by confining his attention chiefly to 
the important and the significant problems. On that point the wisest 


274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of the Roman emperors, Marcus Aurelius, is said to have remarked 
that “Every man is worth just so much as the things are worth to 
which he devotes his earnest efforts.” It might be somewhat dis- 
quieting to many of us if we should measure ourselves by that 
principle. 

More than three centuries ago Sir Francis Bacon urged the appli- 
cation of the scientific method, as he then conceived it, to human 
affairs and problems in general, but we are still far short of having 
adopted his advice, although all our experience since his day confirms 
its value. 

The greatest progress has been made thus far in the physical 
sciences and scarcely less in the biological. The scientific method 
and attitude of mind also pervade to a very large degree the related 
professions of engineering and medicine. Engineering and inven- 
tion, based in increasing measure upon science and pursued largely in 
the scientific spirit, have given us nearly all our modern transport 
and communication facilities, our great water control and power de- 
vices, our vast numbers of useful and convenient new materials such 
as rayon, plastics, alloy metals, and other benefits too well known 
and too numerous to mention. But for the application of medical 
science we should be decimated not only by typhoid, tuberculosis, 
and smallpox, but also by yellow fever, cholera, and even the plague. 
Were it not for the deficiency of science in politics, statecraft, and 
ethics we might not find ourselves today threatened by the plague 
of military despotism, which is more deadly in its modern form 
than any pestilence. We have used the scientific method in engineer- 
ing and medicine for a century and have found it good—far more 
effective than the old ways of speculation or of trial-and-error. In 
spite of the difficulties involved, why not then extend it to other 
fields? Is there any reason to suppose it will not bring great improve- 
ment there also ? 

In such fields of study as economics and sociology, the complex 
and fluid nature of the basic data that must be used and the influence 
of human prejudice, which closely touches these subjects, have greatly 
impeded their emergence from speculative philosophy and their rise 
toward the scientific level. In addition they need a more general 
adoption of the scientific attitude and method. Why not apply these 
to human affairs, subdue the emotional considerations, and brush 
away the cherished errors of the past? Then we should be able to 
move more rapidly toward a real understanding of principles, for we 
are justified in believing that such principles do exist. 

In ethics, which is in some respects the most important of all 
subjects of human inquiry, we have made no great progess beyond 
the Greeks of Aristotle’s day; and most of them were, except in 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 275 


mathematical studies, philosophers rather than scientists. Even to- 
day the study of human conduct is but slowly emerging from its 
age-long status as an appendage of religion. Would it not bring 
fruitful results to study ethics in the same scientific spirit that 
already pervades such a field of research as physiology? Without a 
firmly based and widely accepted science of ethics, the other natural 
sciences alone may lead us eventually to ruin for want of adequate 
control. Under the direction of the engineer, dynamite is an effective 
aid in construction and promotes industrial progress; but in the 
hands of the criminal it means murder and destruction. The differ- 
ence is only one of ethics. 

To have science flourish, there must be complete freedom of in- 
quiry and discussion. The beneficial influence of such freedom is 
indicated by the extraordinary development of philosophy and the 
sciences among the Greeks in the fourth to the sixth centuries B. C., 
in the Germany of the nineteenth century, and in modern America. 
Scholars properly insist on this necessity and guard their hard- 
earned right to intellectual liberty; nor is this freedom of research 
so firmly held but that it takes a little defending all the while from 
the bigots who would close to discussion certain trends of thought 
of which they chance to disapprove. 

But if the scientist is to deserve and therefore keep his freedom, 
even in a democracy, he should be equally scrupulous about his own 
responsibility to the public. He has no right to claim on the one 
hand immunity from restraint and on the other license to be unre- 
liable. It is the few irresponsible members of our profession who 
endanger our freedom of expression, for it is their words that tend 
to discredit the very science to which they are nominally attached 
and thus bring all science into disrepute. 

One of the best indicators of the scientific maturity of a nation 
is the standing accorded scientists in their own communities. In 
Greece science and philosophy flourished not only because they were 
free, but because they brought honor and even wealth to those who 
distinguished themselves in scholarship. In Germany 40 years ago 
the great scientist, like Helmholtz, was appointed a Geheimrat and 
on the whole stood higher in the social scale than the banker or the 
industrial magnate. In our own country we are lately beginning 
to appreciate our thinkers, but their value to the world is not widely 
comprehended, nor are we very discriminating in recognizing them. 
We are apt to rate too highly the man who makes a spectacular but 
very definite and easily apprehended discovery, as compared with 
another who slowly develops an idea or principle which in time 
unlocks for us another room of progress. 

430577—42-—19 


276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Jefferson, Franklin, and other founders of our American Union 
fully realized that a well-informed people was essential to the suc- 
cess of the republic. Although a lover of freedom, Goethe under- 
stood the difficulty of making a democracy succeed, remarking that 
“the trouble with democracy is that it has to wait for an enlightened 
public opinion.” More pessimistic commentators, like Disraeli, were 
confident that the experiment could end only in failure, because they 
believed that even the best popular education that was practically 
attainable would be inadequate. 

A system of education, to be good, must be suited to its time in 
history. The boys of ancient Persia were taught “to ride and to 
shoot and to speak the truth.” In their day, nearly 3,000 years ago, 
that was education enough, but now it would be of little avail, 
although the last item (speak the truth) has eternal value. 

If we were willing to accept the Nazi plan of society we should need 
only a small highly educated upper caste. The rest of the people 
would be given only training and indoctrination. But if we want 
freedom and the so-called democratic way of life, then we need the 
most widespread and effective education that our mental equipment 
will permit. In our own system, a few wise leaders would be help- 
less in the face of a grossly ignorant populace, swayed chiefly by its 
emotions and prejudices. Too often this has been true in democracies 
thus far, and in America it is still a dangerous factor. So I conclude 
that we must have, as soon as we can provide it, far better and more 
extensive education, and a general adoption of the scientific attitude 
of mind. Is that a large order? It surely is—perhaps too much to 
expect—but it may well be the price of our liberty and the survival 
of the American type of civilization. 

Hitler is quoted as having said that no people is capable of govern- 
ing itself or even of planning its own affairs. If the majority of the 
people are to be kept in ignorance, he is doubtless right. As our life 
becomes more complex our problems become more difficult. To solve 
them badly may mean disaster. To solve them well requires adequate 
knowledge and especially clear thinking. Bias and prejudice are lia- 
bilities or handicaps that we cannot well afford and hence should 
try by all means to reduce. If, in a republic, we are to have affairs 
well handled, we must rear millions of capable unbiased persons to 
make those varied problems their life concerns. That, it seems to me, 
demands the scientific attitude of mind and an efficient system of 
education expressly devised for that purpose; for it is not something 
which we gain by inheritance or in the common experiences of life. 

To insure a well-informed and intelligent people is a most difficult 
task. History affords no good example of such a nation. It is by 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 277 


no means certain that it is even possible. The eugenicists will prop- 
erly assert that their advice must be followed, and no doubt there 
is some hope in their principles and plans; but beyond that it seems 
evident that education is our best chance. It means educating more 
people and educating most of them longer—perhaps continuously 
throughout life. Most important of all, it means educating them far 
more wisely and efficiently. As a scientist I am perhaps biased in 
believing that the most important element in this education is the 
scientific attitude of mind. That does not mean that every person 
must become a scientist, but that he must acquire the habit of think- 
ing as a Scientist. It means that the great majority should under- 
stand what science is, what it stands for, and its value to society. 
They should then be able to recognize the true scientist and distin- 
guish him from the sciosophist or the imposter. It will also enhance 
their capacity to judge the merits of their leaders and the general 
issues of the day. 

Having harped at length on the importance of science, I must ask 
you not to misunderstand me as implying that science is all we need. 
It is no panacea for our troubles. Indeed, if we were exclusively 
scientific we should not be human at all. There are other things that 
are also necessary—love, art, imagination, intuition, loyalty, poetry, 
and many others. I merely emphasize the opinion that science is one 
of the most indispensable factors in civilization. We must become 
more scientific and especially more widely scientific. 

To say that one vital function of society is more important than 
another is as pointless as to say that the lungs are more important 
than the heart. We may, however, be sure that effective education is 
one of the indispensable concerns of a free civilized nation. In the 
opinion of Dr. Copeland (1928) “education is incomparably the most 
important function of society.” Without it the state could not en- 
dure for even a century, for in no other way can the long, slowly won 
progress of the past be effectively transmitted. Good education is 
one of the greatest means of national advancement. Poor education 
insures the decline of a people and even their disappearance as a 
nation. 

Many of the ablest thinkers in the past, from Plato down to our 
own day, have felt sure that democracy was an unworkable plan. 
Much as I hope that they were mistaken, I should feel constrained to 
agree with them if I did not have some grounds for hoping that we 
can devise and continually improve a process of education adequate 
for the requirements of the country; but it will need to be much 
better than anything we have had thus far. This hope is encouraged 
by the view of so experienced an educator as ex-President Morgan of 


278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Antioch College, who has said that “results as revolutionary are 
possible in education as in engineering, and they are even more 
necessary.” 

Conditions in our schools and even in our colleges and universities 
today are far less satisfactory than they should be in view of our 
acute need of the best education we can provide. As recently 
remarked by Professor Curtis (1939) : 


Even in this so-called scientific age we find, among our high-school, college, and 
university graduates, many who believe nothing definite and have no convictions, 
while many others will believe anything, no matter how fantastic * * * 
there is little difference between many college graduates and those who have 
not gone beyond the eighth grade, insofar as their mental attitudes or judgments 
in the fields of science are concerned. 

This he is inclined to ascribe partly to the fact that many teachers, as 
well as students, have had little or no training in science and partly 
to the type of teaching that is all too prevalent, especially in our 
lower schools. Too much of it is dogmatic, and the student is not 
trained to think for himself. There is far too much emphasis upon 
the learning of facts, on the mistaken supposition that knowledge, 
as distinguished from understanding, is the chief object of schooling. 

Since in order to progress we must constantly improve our educa- 
tion, we shall have to have more teachers, especially better and wiser 
teachers, and teachers who are not only competent to train youth but 
who are allowed to utilize their competence in teaching, under a 
minimum of administrative control. In my opinion no mature 
teacher who needs to be told by a principal or dean how to teach 
deserves to be employed as a teacher. There has grown up in recent 
years a widespread tendency to overstress the importance of teaching 
methods and to give school executives wide powers of direction over 
the daily work of the individual teacher. Such practice overlooks 
the fact that good teaching is a matter of individuality, that the 
teacher to be successful must be a true scholar, and that scholars can- 
not be regimented. Also, our system has always been less effective 
than it should be, because we have left so much of the education of 
our rising generation to relatively inexperienced young persons. This 
seems almost as shortsighted, and in the long run as likely to prove 
disastrous to the Nation, as to leave our military defense largely to 
young recruits. The only apparent advantage to this is that it is 
less expensive than the alternative; but the cheapest system may prove 
in time to be the least economical. 

At this point it may be asked what results we can fairly expect 
from such improvements in our educational arrangements in the next 
decade or century. The experienced scientist will understand that 
sound improvement in human affairs will come only by evolution and 
after cautious experiments on a small scale rather than by sudden 
revolutionary changes on a large scale. 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 279 


One of our greatest dangers lies in the impatience of many people 
to gain great results quickly. This is natural enough, in view of the 
brevity of our individual lives. But it is inconsistent with the prin- 
ciples which govern all life. We are a part of Nature and, however 
much we may seem to influence natural processes, there is every rea- 
son to believe that we are in fact and on the longer view controlled 
by Nature. Whether we like it or not, slow evolution is Nature’s 
way. And so we can hardly hope to elaborate some theoretical new 
scheme of social or economic organization, put it into practice on a 
national or world-wide scale in a few years, and have any reasonable 
prospect of success. Hidden faults and weaknesses are likely to cause 
failure, and that in turn may exhaust for decades even the healthy 
impulse toward improvement. The fascination that these schemes 
have for our youth doubtless has a complex cause, but it may well 
be due in part to the faulty character of our current education, which 
has not given them the advantages of the scientific viewpoint. Again, 
as Daly said, they should learn to “think to scale.” 

However difficult it may be to forecast future trends more than a 
few years ahead, the geologist can hardly be expected to overlook 
the longer view; and so I may now raise a few questions about what 
may be in store for humanity in another epoch—not a matter of 
centuries but probably of tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. 

There are many who expect that man will make continuous progress 
toward higher and better things, becoming in the course of time so 
much wiser, more sensible, and reasonable that the world’s life will 
be vastly more happy than it has ever been in the past. War, sick- 
ness, and poverty would then be abolished. Cruelty, hate, and in- 
justice would become obsolete, and we should be living in a sort of 
Golden Age the like of which we have never even approached. That 
is a beautiful vision to contemplate, especially in these dark times. 

The lessons of historical paleontology may throw a beam of light 
ahead on this speculation, for of course it is no more than that. As 
we look back over the history of man we find evidence of great cul- 
tural progress since the time of the primitive cave man, who made 
crude stone implements but lived in isolated families competing with 
the wild beasts of the day for such food as could be found or seized. 
He was indeed only one of the beasts, and it is hard to point out 
more than a few respects in which he was superior to them. Did 
the early Stone Age men gradually develop, by slow practice and 
learning, into modern man? We do not know, but there is little 
reason to suppose so. All that we know today of human paleontology 
indicates that what we loosely refer to as man comprised a group 
of at least five and probably eight or more distinct animal species 
which are generally grouped by zoologists in several genera. These 


280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


may have originated in various parts of the world, each lived many 
tens of thousands of years, and then with one exception all became 
extinct. At certain times two or more such species may have co- 
existed, although probably in different regions. Perhaps they even- 
tually killed off each other, just as the white race in historic times 
has exterminated the Tasmanians and certain other primitive tribes. 
But today only one species survives, and he has apparently had the 
field all to himself since the middle of the last glacial epoch, or about 
30,000-50,000 years ago, according to current estimates. Each of 
these species appears to have been as distinct from the others as 
species and genera of animals usually are. 

There is nothing to indicate that the very primitive Sinanthropus 
made much progress in culture during his long career in China. He 
learned to use fire—probably to make it—and to fashion a few simple 
tools of stone and bone; but that seems to have marked the limit of 
his inventive capacity. For shelter and safety from attack he seems 
to have crept into caves, like many another beast. 

Neanderthal man, generally placed in the genus Homo, shows evi- 
dence of a distinctly higher culture. He made more varied and better 
tools of chipped flint, of wood, bone, and other materials ready to 
his hand. But with a brain which appears to have been inferior, 
even his long career as a species seems not to have sufficed for him to 
invent pottery, polished or ground stone tools, to learn to domesticate 
and use other animals rather than to hunt them, or to grow crops, 
not to mention building houses or using metals. Apparently he had 
some ideas about spirits and a future life, for he buried his dead 
with some care and placed in their graves some of their ornaments 
and weapons; but we have no evidence that he developed any art of 
drawing or sculpture, and none of his tools were finely wrought. 
There is evidence of only slight progress during the long age 
through which he lived, and at his best his cultural level was dis- 
tinctly lower than that of the most primitive savages now known to 
anthropologists. 

How these various species of men came into existence is unknown 
and may well remain so. But there is nothing to suggest that their 
origin differed in any way from that of the other mammals. To 
suppose that it did would be gratuitous speculation. Indeed, had it 
not been for the achievements of the latest of these species, the 
Hominidae would never have been entitled to special notice as 
anything more than somewhat peculiar mammals. 

From biological friends whom I have consulted, I learn that they 
are not yet agreed upon the question of how a new species originates. 
In fact there is some difference of opinion as to just what constitutes 
a species, as contrasted with a race, a variety, or even a genus. While 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—-BLACKWELDER 281 


waiting for the biologists to work out these problems, we may use 
the term “species” a bit vaguely in its current meaning, and we may 
tentatively adopt the now preponderant view that new species origi- 
nate not by gradual imperceptible changes but by sudden mutations, 
either extensive enough to produce a distinct species at once or 
occurring in series which eventually culminate in full specific status. 

However any new species actually originated, its parental species 
doubtless continued to exist for a time without much change. The 
new kind expanded in numbers and, if more effective, eventually over- 
ran and exterminated the older one. It then went on living without 
important physical change until it was in turn crowded out by more 
efficient animals or until it succumbed to other adverse factors in its 
environment. 

Have we any reason to suppose that Homo sapiens is not subject to 
the same process or that his fate will not be similar? He differed 
from earlier species of men very slightly in physical form and struc- 
ture. His achievements and the shapes of his crania suggest that he 
possessed, from the outset, not only a larger but probably also a dis- 
tinctly better brain, which has enabled him to learn more extensively, 
to devise complicated languages, and eventually to develop what we 
now call civilization. This progress seems to have gone forward on 
a steadily rising curve. For perhaps 20,000 years Homo sapiens was 
only a savage, a wandering hunter. In the next 5,000 years or more 
he advanced locally to the status of a shepherd and even a village 
farmer. In another 3,000 years he learned to extract and use metals, 
form city states and even nations, and become skillful in many of the 
finer arts. Accelerated advance in the next 1,000 years lead to books, 
commerce, literature, and philosophy. The last century or two has 
witnessed a rapidity of material progress in communication and far- 
flung organization that exceeds anything previously known; and 
with it has come much growth in ideas and in the complexity of eco- 
nomic and social arrangements. Are we justified in assuming from 
the contemplation of that curve that it will continue to rise indefi- 
nitely, and at a similar rate? Is there in all geologic or human his- 
tory any precedent for that? Other animal species of the past have 
followed career curves that involved a rise, culmination, and decline. 
We have seen the same law controlling the nations and even races of 
humanity. Will our own species also reach its climax and then 
deteriorate? And if that happens, how and when will it occur? 
As yet we have but little basis for answers to such questions. 

In contrast to his progress in ways and ideas, Homo sapiens seems 
to have undergone only slight physical changes, even in the estimated 
30,000 years of which some records have come down to us. Anatom- 
ically there seems to be no evidence whatever of any progress—no 


282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


increase in cranial capacity, probably no appreciable change in brain 
anatomy. In the last 3,000 years, in which some evidence is available, 
there is no sign of any improvement in native intelligence. Man’s 
actions are still governed more by his emotions and subconscious 
mental elements than by his intellect. His savage instincts, that we 
like to think began to be conquered thousands of years ago, are still 
present beneath the surface and reappear at unexpected intervals 
even in civilized man. Among the more backward modern races of 
humanity they have scarcely changed. 

In short, our surviving species of Homo, being one of the mam- 
mals, is probably as definitely limited in his possibilities as are the 
other species of that class. Just as we do not expect a dog to learn 
algebra, although he can learn to open a door, so we probably ought 
not to expect more from present-day man than his brain is capable 
of attaining. As Hawkins (1930), the English paleontologist, sees 
it: “Our mental capacity is a specific character.” If this is the truth 
of the matter, it may be over-optimistic to expect our own species to 
rise far above his present stage of mentality. Notable improvement 
along lines already established, and a raising of the other two-thirds 
of the earth’s population to or above the level of the present civilized 
minority, may well take place over the centuries and thousands of 
years yet remaining in the expectable future life of this species. 
His contribution to biological progress will then have been made, 
and, if history is to repeat itself, he will then be ready for conquest, 
if not extermination, by some other type of being, perhaps some new 
species of the Hominidae that has more innate capacity for progress. 

Whence may such a higher species originate? Will it be an out- 
growth of the most highly civilized nations of today? The general 
testimony of history suggests the contrary. The ancestral mammals 
did not spring from the most advanced dinosaurs of the Mesozoic 
era. Man and the great apes are traced back, not to the large special- 
ized mammals of Eocene times, but to primitive generalized animals 
related to the humble insectivores. The extraordinarily successful 
Mongol dynasty of the Middle Ages arose not from the cultivated 
Chinese of Nanking, but from a tribe of barbaric nomads of the 
steppes. Likewise the most civilized nations of modern Europe did 
not spring from the Romans of Caesar’s day but from the forest bar- 
barians around the Baltic. Perhaps, therefore, the progenitors of 
the newer and better man will appear unnoticed in some remote and 
backward corner of the world, where they can develop in obscurity, 
while the well-known modern races of Homo sapiens contend with 
each other for a transient supremacy. 

Just as it would have been difficult for even a most intelligent 
trilobite to imagine the fish, which was destined to drive him from 


HUMAN PROSPECTS—BLACKWELDER 283 


the scene, so it is not easy for us to forecast the nature and potential- 
ities of that new species of Homo which may appear in the distant 
future, unless indeed our genus itself has by that time run its course 
and it is not destined to offer the world anything further. It is of 
little consequence whether such a new species may have smaller 
teeth, a skin less hairy, or taller stature. The only way in which 
he is likely to outstrip Homo sapiens effectively is in the quality of 
his brain. Will he be able to absorb knowledge more rapidly and re- 
member it better? Will his imagination be keener; will he reason 
out his problems more effectively; and, above all, will his life and 
conduct be controlled by his intellect rather than by his feelings? 
If so, he may be able to take knowledge in larger doses, profit more 
by the stored-up experience of others, instead of merely his own, and 
by the lessons of history. He should be far more educable than any 
earlier species in the family. 

It may be objected that these speculations are hardly optimistic, 
that they do not present a hopeful picture, and that they do not neces- 
sarily envisage continued progress toward a far higher and better 
human world. To this I must reply that a scientist is under no 
obligation to be an optimist. His only concern must be to approach 
nearer to the truth. If the truth offers hope, we may rejoice. If it 
fails to do so, we are not thereby justified in denying or even ignoring 
it. As King Solomon long ago advised, let us get understanding, and 
by so doing we may reach a serenity of outlook that will fit us better 
to play a worthy part in the great drama of human evolution. 


REFERENCES 
COPELAND, E. B. 
1928. Natural conduct. Stanford Univ. Press. 
Curtiss, O. F. 
19389. Education by authority or for authority? Are science teachers teach- 
ing science? Science, n.s., vol. 90, pp. 100-101. 
Hawkins, H. L. 
1930. A paleontologist looks at life. Cotteswold Nat. Field Club, Proc., 
vol. 23, p. 219. 
JORDAN, D. S. 
1924. Science and sciosophy. Science, n.s., vol. 59, pp. 563-569. 


me bh (4 Me ult Grama 
aay jog alee gah pe We iat 

yr a tie hans : : ‘ae it? ae 
ee mie rates xt tara ni res Seg ak 
a ee Raia Susie Wirth: ‘notetata i 

4 : ane DA ay its vive theta 4 


Dever “4 gi fiiega oe tartan wget 
iste hed divs: pie it pe ai Tish ‘ave: "Doobie | 4 


= eel Uh abel tlre ats 1. Mpa leis: ihe Pool aes, ieee ny 
eae: "ony pais Aydeegd pari ead wy, Shiota): phil 4 Svat cilpatiiy indoles 
, dis: i a ‘aevitio be Mipaart Be pgiviliwronnt: anny wt rosette 
\ fg bale Him slag mre es : nae ye ances eb, sels ivoy Ce a bougla's ila 
i" ahi pa biel iy bitsy uh ps when eek cued iitioda ty Cian er rer ld 
Pate dad Wr Oe aa Bet Da tae bag pia oe a ae pr 4) oy da: oH oe 
R Py ek eet: f ¥ ieee nin pirohial PRONE 0 a paele of botaaieth tus nti 
Ly 1) aaa ea beige iikaregelf hy uth SOWA ie dsgis ry : ; 


pshbeatad yank ‘ 


orks, Le da bad teed ate ROS fy aan | oa 
by dit ¥ IY yo abst ah aa’ lenin 4 ee san ut vty SNe, can a 
AY 43 a ares be prislegte en, Wa ve ata j 
ee | Leyak ori, i) athe ig Be 
+4 as EK! be A IN, my ip ar spe ; Nupur iy he ond Ae ob ep 
Ey CTSA PE aR ‘i hi aus ty eKiong sah ON anh halo # 
8 Meee oe OM ATEN tag et yu a ehehietet yi cig “4 vi 
| ae altace Lerten, oe teeeioete <y ait it ti r iat ve a vee 
ee i AL OD ae Moai sc Cy Nae wom by ‘i ee ca 


Mae | | aoe win ben soul duties Lye HRA shiny? iy 


ay | : 
; f i “ " i 4 J s 
Ys ROE von Wet a eR ge Bet Crtt) Ae sat ht | tel OT c ae aly AW. anh no, mane 
" j "© 7 N 


ere: 


i } Cae , { 
| ae a a ak eee 
, yn Aas) Pa ail rem ett Pal ' Ms a thay 
eh att MONT IR Bere) ee se ye “pratere Sh nil niyews iy be 
: WS abhi Pee ean eS Neely Ba ~ a 
iD Ai eos iat ; ie cS Prey ‘i ay i 
: eA OT a ‘ . x VERE i 
‘iS te ar ‘1 Ro eg 0 te ei Uti om ah edna a; ae wie eesti 3 89 
N we 7. i ae Pan | ee | baat Ley 
th i. 
rar ‘ 
' ‘ ‘ 
i J “A yl ee . 
i ye 
1 re sy i Wy 
1 / ( aa 
» ’ i 
‘ ; rhe, “is er 
“9 Pes i at 
‘ ‘eh ‘ M ef 
| ; i " i ta 
A \ ia} { ‘ 
: y », ¥ iu Wit 
iy i Pana a ANA ee PUY bP 


ICELAND, LAND OF FROST AND FIRE? 


By Vicrus HINARSSON 


Ministry of Industries and Communications, Iceland 


[With 12 plates] 


Remote from all other countries, in the middle of the Atlantic 
Ocean, a stepping stone between the New and Old World, lies Ice- 
land. It is the largest island in Europe after Britain, having an 
area of 40,000 square miles. 

Iceland is a very mountainous country, consisting of basalt lava 
and other volcanic rock, with, however, a large area of lowlands, espe- 
cially in the south and the southwest. Otherwise there is very little 
lowland, except at the heads of the fjords and in the great many 
valleys which stretch from the numerous fjords and bays up into the 
highlands. Except for some rounded hills and shallow depressions, 
the central part of the country is an unbroken plateau, 1,100 to 2,600 
feet high. In the interior, a great deal of the territory, especially 
the higher mountains, is covered with a cap of eternal snow. 

Iceland is the most volcanic country in the world, and is, perhaps, 
most widely known for her volcanoes. Volcanic signs can be seen 
everywhere. Not only the mountains but great plains are covered 
with lava, often like a furious sea which has suddenly become stilled. 
This is something more than a simile, because the lava was once a 
roaring current of boiling rock. Over a hundred eruptions have 
been recorded since the country was first inhabited. In later years, 
however, volcanic eruptions have not been frequent, and most of 
them have taken place in the center of the country far from human 
habitation. 

The most famous of all volcanoes in Iceland is Hekla, a familiar 
name in every country. In former times this mountain was con- 
sidered unmistakable proof of the existence of Hell. For several 
centuries people refrained from climbing Mount Hekla because it 
was believed to be the chimney of the dark abode underneath, but 
during later years it has become quite popular. A return trip to the 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Canadian Geographical Journal, vol. 21, No. 4, 
October 1940. 


285 


286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


top of Hekla, with a neighboring farm as a starting point, takes 10 
to 12 hours. The view from the top is magnificent and well worth 
the somewhat strenuous trip, which is accomplished partly by the 
aid of ponies. 

In Iceland there are many glaciers under which are volcanic craters 
in various places, as for instance, in the western area of Vatnajokull, 
which, in recent years, has commanded attention on account of vol- 
canic eruptions. A number of Icelandic and foreign scientists have 
climbed the glacier in order to investigate this peculiar phenomenon 
of ice and fire. It is fantastic to visualize these two opposing forces 
in conflict, fire breaking its way through hundreds of feet of solid ice. 

Hot springs and geysers are to be found all over the country, even 
in the rivers, on the sea bed, and under the glaciers. The most 
famous of all the hot springs is the Great Geysir about 80 miles 
from Reykjavik; from it spouting springs all over the world have 
derived their name. After having witnessed an eruption of the 
Great Geysir which lasted for 20 minutes, a Scottish captain re- 
marked: “This power would have sailed half a dozen Queen Mary’s 
right across the Atlantic.” This unbroken column of scalding water 
and steam that rises from 160 to 180 feet up into the air is impres- 
sive and affords a spectacle never to be forgotten. The internal heat 
of the earth is a tremendous source of power. During recent years 
the Icelanders have been busy harnessing this heat and power. This 
is done chiefly by heating houses, buildings, swimming basins, and 
greenhouses. Not only are a great number of individual farms 
heated by the thermal springs, but certain public buildings as well, 
such as the larger country schools. It is of special interest for the 
traveler to note that many of these country schools are used as hotels 
during the summer season. In these places one can have outdoor 
and indoor swimming in warm water. The houses, in a considerable 
part of Reykjavik, are already heated by the thermal springs near 
the city, and we have reason to hope that a heating system of this 
kind will cover the entire city within a few months. After that no 
chimneys will be built in Reykjavik. The greenhouses, supplied with 
natural heat, are already busy procuring flowers as well as tropical 
fruit. 

There are numerous rivers in Iceland and some of them have great 
volumes of water. Most of the larger ones have their origin under 
the glaciers and are of an opaque grayish color, on account of the 
glacial clay. Others rising from springs are crystal clear. Most of 
the rivers are now spanned with bridges, but one can still imagine 
what it meant to ford them on ponies. 

These huge rivers, rapid and powerful, sometimes run peacefully, 
although with a hidden strength, over fertile plains; sometimes 


ICELAND—EINARSSON 287 


plunge in tremendous falls, thundering on their way, and where the 
rivers drop down from the highlands, magnificent and beautiful 
waterfalls are formed. The most remarkable of these are Dettifoss 
in the north and Gullfoss in the south. 

The water power in the country is enourmous, and year by year it 
is being more and more utilized. Af present it is giving light and 
heat to thousands of homes in Iceland. But the rivers in Iceland 
provide another asset ; in a number of them the salmon are abundant, 
as are the trout in the many lakes in different parts of the country. 

The lava fields of Iceland are numerous and extensive, especially 
in the uninhabited part of the country, the most remarkable of these 
being Odaoahraun, the largest lava field in the world. 

Iceland has often been called “the land of contrasts” and it justly 
deserves the name. This is a land where the snow-white caps of the 
mountains cover the intense fire beneath, where you can take a bath 
in hot-spring water out in the open during the severe part of the 
winter; the inhabited valleys and plains are friendly, inviting, and 
charming, the lava deserts desolate, barren and awe-inspiring. Beau- 
tiful lakes and rivers winding through green pastures and fertile 
meadows with their gushing geysers are a sharp contrast to the 
sparkling glaciers, those fields of snow and ice, where no birds sing, 
and where nature is dead and silent except when the wind sweeps 
over the white desert. 


THE CLIMATE 


The name of the country and its geographical situation have given 
rise to the prevalent erroneous ideas about the island. Fortunately, 
however, there is very little similarity between the name and the 
country itself. 

The climate of Iceland is a maritime climate: not particularly 
warm in summer and not very cold in winter. As for the tempera- 
ture, it is interesting to note that the mean temperature in January 
in Reykjavik, the capital, is about 30° F. The mean summer tem- 
perature is 52° F. The mean temperature of the whole year is 39° 
F., which is similar to Quebec. In Reykjavik we very seldom have 
snow, and on the lowlands snow rarely lies for long ; on the mountains, 
however, it lies deep, making ideal conditions for winter sports. 


THE POPULATION 


And now, who are the people who inhabit this “land of frost and 
fire” as Iceland is sometimes called ? 

The people of Iceland are descendants of Scandinavian vikings 
who were full of vitality, eager in exploiting new countries and 


I88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


seeking freedom as Leifur the Lucky, the Icelander who discovered 
America. 

Iceland was colonized mainly by Norse vikings, who wanted to 
throw off the political yoke of Harald the Fairhaired of Norway. 
But a considerable part of the early settlers came from the British 
Isles, principally from Scotland and Ireland. The Icelanders are 
therefore a Scandinavian people with a mixture of Celtic blood. 

Hrafna-F16ki was the first viking who intended to settle down in 
Iceland, but he left the country after a short stay, somewhat disap- 
pointed, as due to lack of foresight he gathered no hay for the sheep 
he had brought with him and therefore lost them all. Before he left 
the country he climbed a high mountain and saw a firth full of ice. 
This gave him the idea of giving the country the uninviting and rather 
misleading name it bears, 

In the year 874 the first settler of Iceland, Ingélfur Arnarson, 
landed on the south coast of the country. Three years later he 
built his homestead where Reykjavik now stands. Reykjavik claims 
the distinction of being specially selected by the gods themselves to 
become the leading place of the country. According to the tradition, 
Ingélfur, when he sighted land, threw overboard his high seat pillars, 
declaring that he would settle down where the gods deigned to have 
them driven ashore. After a 3-year search he found them where is 
now the harbor of Reykjavik. 

Sixty years after the settlement of Ingélfur the population was 
about 50,000; these self-willed vikings made their homes here, becom- 
ing a nation of farmers and creating their own history and culture. 

In the summer of 930 the people established a code of laws. This 
legislative assembly, the Althing, the oldest parliament in the world, 
used to gather every summer at a place called Thingvellir. 

In the year 1000 the Christian faith was adopted by law. In the 
same year Leifur, called the Lucky, discovered America, which he 
called Vinland. In commemoration of this event, the Congress of 
the United States of America presented Iceland with an impressive 
statue of Leifur the Lucky at the one-thousandth anniversary of the 
Icelandic Parliament in 1930. 


THE LANGUAGE 


Icelandic, the language of Iceland has remained pure and prac- 
tically unchanged since the time when it was the common tongue 
of all northern people. Consequently, it might be called the mother 
tongue of the Scandinavian languages; a great many words in the 
English language are derived from this same source. 


ICELAND—EINARSSON 289 


In Iceland there are no dialects, thanks to the national literature 
the Icelanders created long before any such thing was known in 
other parts of northern Europe. 

Early in the twelfth century the Icelanders began to write their 
laws and the history of their country on parchment, which was 
followed by the writing of the famous Icelandic “Sagas.” 


POLITICAL RELATIONS 


In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, through changes in 
political relations, Iceland became united first with Norway and later 
with Denmark. 

The loss of political freedom, epidemics, and widespread poverty 
and hardships for many years caused the population to diminish to 
about one-third of what it was at the time of the republic. But 
during the last few decades the Icelandic people seem to have taken 
on new life. In 1918, after a long and strenuous political struggle, 
Iceland became an independent and sovereign state in personal union 
with Denmark through a common king. Since the restoration of 
the power of administration, a steady and far-reaching change has 
taken place in the mode of living and general conditions in the 
country. 


FISHING, AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY, TRADE 


The Icelandic nation is one of the smallest nations in the world 
(population about 120,000), but its influence in the world trade is 
felt far beyond what one might expect. 

The greatest factor in Iceland’s economic life is the fisheries. The 
sea around the country is enormously rich in fish. There are two 
currents striking the coast of Iceland. A branch of the Gulf Stream 
encompasses the larger part of the coast so that the country is almost 
surrounded by warm water. This is the reason the climate on this 
Arctic island is much milder than one would expect when its geo- 
graphical position is taken into consideration. The other current, 
polar in character, comes from the north and strikes the north and 
east coasts of the country. 

On account of these two currents with their different types of 
marine plant and animal life, the sea around Iceland is rich in the 
growth which is the basis of life for various kinds of fish such as 
cod, saithe, haddock, halibut, herring, and many others. Seals are 
numerous and millions of sea birds breed and make their homes on 
the seashore, on the rocks, and on the many small isles around the 
coast. The most important of these sea birds is the eider duck, from 
the nests of which the eider down is gathered. 


290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The Icelandic fisheries are as old as the nation itself. For cen- 
turies the Icelanders used virtually only rowing boats. Later on 
came sailing vessels, which again, in their turn, were replaced by 
steam trawlers, other steamships, and motorboats. Now the fishing 
is run on the most scientific modern lines. 

But it is not only the Icelanders who enrich themselves with the 
abundance of the sea. There are thousands of ships of different 
nationalities fishing around the coast of Iceland. During the winter 
nights some of the fishing banks look like moving towns, light with 
light, ship with ship, all fighting for the cod. But the Icelanders 
are, of course, best situated for these fishing grounds, and indeed 
they exploit them with diligence, being the fourth largest fishing 
nation in Europe. 

Agriculture, second largest occupation of the Icelandic nation has 
undergone a great change although the development has been slower 
than in the fishing industry. Stock raising is largely pursued, the 
qualities of the soil being suited to it. The production of vegetables 
is considerable and increasing. An interesting feature of this occu- 
pation is, as has been stated earlier, the ever increasing use of natural 
heat from the thermal springs for growing all kinds of vegetables, 
fruit, and flowers. The possibilities in this respect are practically 
without limit. 

There is a considerable amount of industry in Iceland, particu- 
larly in connection with the fisheries, and it is increasing rapidly. 

Trade, both at home and with foreign countries, is extensive in 
proportion to the size of the population. The foreign trade is greater 
per person than that of any other country from which statistics are 
available. This is because Iceland has need of a great many products 
for which there are no raw materials in the country. On the other 
hand, the products are somewhat one-sided. The exports consist 
mainly of sea products, such as fresh fish, frozen, salted, and dried 
herring, cod-liver oil, fish meal, and agricultural products such as 
meat, wool, butter, cheese, hides, and skins, and eider down. Manufac- 
tured goods, groceries, and all kinds of cereals have to be imported. In 
Iceland there are no mines, no coal, no salt or oil. These and all kinds 
of machinery must therefore be imported. 


COMMUNICATIONS 


Communication is, as may be expected, rather difficult in Iceland. 
The country is mountainous and intersected by great rivers, but the 
population is small. Perhaps the first thing that would strike the 
visitor wanting to travel about in Iceland is the absence of railways. 
There have never been any railways in Iceland, and it is improbable 
that any will ever be built. Nevertheless, roads fit for motor traffic 


ICELAND—EINARSSON 291 


total altogether over 3,000 miles with about 330 bridges, of which the 
majority have been built during the last two decades. The roads 
cover most of the populated districts, linking them together across 
highland and mountain passes. Motor roads are also beginning to 
reach up into the highland plateau. Motor vehicles are the chief 
means of transport, and have replaced the horses. But travelers want- 
ing to reach places outside the motor roads have to resort to ponies 
both for riding and transport of goods. The Icelandic ponies are the 
most delightful animals; they are strong, sure-footed and intelligent. 
As a matter of fact there are a great many who prefer the ponies to 
the motor vehicles, and it is difficult to imagine a more pleasant way 
of spending a holiday than by going with a group of friends on 
horseback through certain parts of Iceland. 

Before the outbreak of the war passenger steamers sailed regularly 
from Iceland to England, Denmark, Norway, and Germany. This is, 
of course, somewhat changed now, and two steamers have been put on 
the Reykjavik-New York route. Iceland hopes for improved com- 
munications with the American countries in the near future and 
wishes to establish a closer cultural and commercial relationship, par- 
ticularly with Canada and the United States. 

Telegraph lines extend over the whole country, and submarine 
cables, as well as a wireless telephone system, link Iceland with the 
rest of the world. 


EDUCATION 


Illiteracy is unknown in Iceland, and the general level of education 
is considered very high. Attendance in school is compulsory for every 
child up to 14 years of age. In towns the school system is not unlike 
what is common in the English speaking countries. But in the 
country, schools have not yet been built in every district, so that in 
some places the teachers have to use the individual homes where the 
children gather. A number of schools for adults have been built in 
the country districts. These schools are preferably erected at the side 
of a hot spring, and are not only heated but are also equipped with 
swimming baths and even steam baths. 

The University is small and a number of students go abroad to 
various European and American countries for special studies. 

The art of writing seems to be a strong inheritance because a com- 
paratively great number of people have shown their talent in this 
respect. Perhaps they are encouraged by the knowledge that if they 
have something to say and say it well, it will be read by a whole 
nation, even if a small one. Nowhere are so many books and news- 
papers published yearly in proportion to the size of the population, 
and, in addition, there is imported a great number of foreign books, 

430577—42——20 


292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


for many people read one or more foreign languages. On the book- 
shelves in the farmsteads may often be seen a selection of world litera- 
ture in the original languages. 


ICELAND AS A TOURIST COUNTRY 


Iceland lies off the beaten track and has therefore not yet been dis- 
covered as a tourist country, except to a very limited extent. But the 
country has great possibilities in this respect. The number of tourists 
visiting Iceland has been increasing steadily in recent years and to 
those who love the open air and the pleasures and recreations afforded 
by nature, Iceland has much to offer. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Einarsson PEATE 1 


1. MANY WATERFALLS ARE FORMED WHERE THE STREAMS FROM THE LAVA 
PLATEAU PLUNGE OVER ITS BOUNDING ESCARPMENT. 


The lava banks show the typical columnar structure formed in many lava flows when they cocl. 


2. A WATERFALL FORMED WHERE A STREAM DROPS INTO A CRACK IN THE LAVA 
PLATEAU. 


*puno1da10J 944 UT Toes sIOABl POYTIB1IS JO Sot.os “SMOTJ OFI[SE [BIDAOS JO 4081 


8 poulloy sey JosA03 OY} UOJ 19}}VUI [BIBT JO pnul Jo MOY-7No sq, -109 JO SOUIT oY} Suoye uvotso1a Aq posneo aie soyouod oyI[do}s oy, 
“ONVW 139] “SAIDV1d 
AO SONIYdS LOH OGNV SYASARD ANVW AHL AO ANO ‘2 ANVW NI WSS SHL WOYdA ASIY SSASAITD YSRAHS °1 


2 aLvi1d uossieul]—"| $6] ‘J4odeyy UBlUOsyzIWIG 


*PpUNOIZIIOJ 94} UI BART 9} UI syoVIO oY} JO 9UO UI 103BM Jo [ood *peprs-aay A[YSNo1 Uajjo ‘syooq 04UT BAB eT} 


B YIIM ‘punoisyoRq ot} UI Woes SI UOTSe1 SNOMIeIUNOM JYSIY oq, ayBIBd9s YOIYM SYIVAN 9} PIuI10} YOO1 uojpOUL 9yy JO Suypooo oy, 
“NVALVId AHL NO ‘SHDO0Y DILIVSVG AHL NI NOW 
SddLS GAWYOSA AAVH SMOT14 VAV] SNOIYVA AHL “2 “-WOD SI JYNLONYLS S3dIid-NVOYO YOUVNWNT1OCD “1 


7 
7 

« 

“Re 


4 


€ SLV Id iy pees = ede Pak e UN We Saree: eo ; : uossieuly—' | $6] ‘J40deyy UeruosyyTUIG 


“SHONVOTIOA AHL WOYSA 
QSaLOgerg IINSLVW GNV SVAV] SHL NI NOISO’S “ONV1S] 3HL AO SHDOY DINVOTOA AHL 
Ag G3S3SNVD MOON AMIIWOOYXHSOAW YVITINOAd V 2 NI SWYO4 WNOISOYN WNOSNNN ANVYW 3uYV SYeaHL ol 


py 3LV1d uossivUIy—"|p6| ‘Oday ueIUOsyzIWIG 


“yraelyAoy Jo AWUTOTA oy} UT pey oq Avur sdri1y o1ud0s AuB yy 


“Mova 
“Ga LOOS-3SYNS GNV AGHYNLS 3AYV SAINOd DIGNV TAD! “2 -ASYOH NO S| ‘SGQVOYN YOLOW Maa SHL WOYSA AVMY “ISAVYL “1 


G 3LV1d uossieult]—"| p6| ‘J4oday UeruOsYyzIWIg 


AMID SIGNVASaS] NY «2 “NVALV Id AHL NO AYANADS ‘1 


9 ALV 1d uossieuly—* | $6] ‘J40dayy Ueluosy zug 


“NVALV1d 
BHL ONINFOGHYOG LNAWdeVOSy SHL YSAO SAONNId 
*“NOILdNYA NI SYHSASAAD AHL AO ANO ‘2 WVSYN1IS AHL AYSHM GAWHOSY TIVAYSLVM VY OL 


*puUBlSI 04} Ul SZulIds 404 pus sissh03 AUB 918 919T,L, 


LALV1d 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Ejinarsson PLATE 8 


1. CONES ARE BUILT UP AROUND VENTS WHERE LAVA OR HEATED WATERS OF THE 
GEYSERS ISSUE. 


This material is deposited in layers. 


2. SINK-HOLE DEPRESSIONS ARE QUITE COMMON, EITHER AT THE VENTS OF GEY- 
SERS WHERE THE WATER WELLS OUT OR WHERE GASES ESCAPE FROM THE 


HEATED INTERIOR. 


i 


Smithsonian Report, 194].—Einarsson 


PLATE 9 


1. COASTAL SCENE IN ICELAND. 


2. A STREAM IN ICELAND. 


Note the peculiar pinnacles due to erosion in the voleanic rock. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Einarsson PLATE 10 


J — e. 
CE AC ETE MY ea ema 
~ ” ~ a ” > 


1. CANADIAN AND BRITISH TROOPS IN ICELAND 


2. CANADIAN AND BRITISH TROOPS IN ICELAND. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Einarsson PLATE 11 


1. CANADIAN AND BRITISH TROOPS IN ICELAND. 


es 


bina oe cae A 


2. CANADIAN AND BRITISH TROOPS IN ICELAND. 


oes 


‘sjued 1amod Sueoy pure surjysi, 10} 1amod ojdure vptaoid soy, 


“ddVOS ONINSACHORd SHL YAAO SONN 1d GNV1dN 
SHL WOYA SYHALVM AHL AYSHM GAWYOS “GNV149] “SNITOOD ATIHM WAV] AHL AO NOILOVYLNOD 
NI SYSAIN AHL AO ST1IVH SNOYAWNN AHL AO ANO ‘Z S3HL OL ANG MOVED LNIOCF MOYYVN V NI 100d V ‘1 


cl 3LV 1d uoss1euIy— | $6] ‘340da,y URTUOSYAIUIC 


THE GENES AND THE HOPE OF MANKIND* 


By Bruce BLIvEN 
Editor, The New Republic 


Amazing strides have been made in recent years and even months 
in relation to the most fascinating of all scientific riddles—that which 
has to do with the origin and development of life itself. These 
recent achievements would have attracted far more attention than 
they have were it not that the world has been distracted with war 
and politics. Nevertheless it is quite possible that some of the work 
done in the past few years may be remembered for many centuries 
after the political and military leaders of today are gone and for- 
gotten. In some of the great research laboratories of the United 
States I have recently had the privilege of seeing the extraordinary 
achievements in this field that science is now accomplishing. 

It is hard to realize how rapidly progress has been made in rela- 
tion to this subject. It is only since the year 1901 that the Mendelian 
Jaw has been rediscovered after having lain forgotten for more than 
35 years in a paper written by the fat Austrian monk. (It was 
ridiculed, when first published, by some of the leading scientists 
of the day.) It was more than a decade later before the extensive 
usefulness of the tiny banana fly in laboratory experiments was 
fully realized. Only in 1927 did science discover that bombarding 
the individual with X-rays or neutrons could produce a wide variety 
of mutations in the next generation, thus speeding up the evolution- 
ary process a hundred or a thousandfold. Not until 1934 did the 
scientists learn that the giant chromosomes found in the salivary 
glands of this banana fly (Drosophila) could be studied under the 
microscope to great advantage. Finally, only within the last year 
or two have the scientists found out that remarkable things happen 
to plants when they are treated with the miraculous drug called 
colchicine, obtained from the roots of the bitter autumn crocus. 
As a result of all these things, the doors have swung open on a 


1 This is the sixth of a series of articles under the general title, “The Men Who Make 
the Future.” They are based on interviews with numerous leading American research 
experts who were promised that they would not be quoted by name. Reprinted by per- 
mission from The New Republic, vol. 104, No. 15, April 14, 1941. 


293 


294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


wonderland of new knowledge, although as yet we have only crossed 
the threshold. 

If justice is done, there will some day be monuments all over the 
world to the banana fly. This tiny, light-colored insect has great 
advantages in the genetics laboratory. It thrives in captivity, pro- 
duces one generation in only 12 days, and each female may have 
several hundred young; thus 2 years of the banana fly are equal 
to 2,000 years of mankind. Its unique giant salivary chromosomes 
seem almost made to order for the research of the scientists. 

One of the first things to impress a layman about the new knowl- 
edge of the geneticists is the similarity of the life principle in plants 
and animals. In the great genetics laboratory of the Carnegie In- 
stitution at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, the other day I saw a 
chart of the genes and chromosomes of the jimsom weed, a favorite 
plant for colchicine experiments. Only across the hall was a similar 
chart for the banana fly. While there were of course differences, 
the similarities were even more apparent. In both cases, the living 
matter consists of cells. In both cases each of these cells contains 
a nucleus equipped with a definite number of chromosomes. In 
both cases these chromosomes are filled with genes. In both cases, 
each gene or group of them supplies a definite characteristic to the 
living organism. It is not too much to say that from the stand- 
point of science plants are only stationary animals, or that animals 
are perambulating plants. 

In order to understand the startling new information which science 
has unearthed regarding all living things, with its searching impli- 
cations for our own social conduct, it is necessary to describe briefly 
the mechanism of birth and growth, as the scientists now understand 
it. For the sake of simplicity, I shall use the human body as my 
illustration, although the process is similar throughout all organic 
matter. 

The body consists of microscopically small cells, each containing 
in its nucleus 48 chromosomes that are very much smaller still. 
Twenty-four of these are contributed by the father and an equal 
number by the mother. (This rule holds good throughout the world 
of plants and animals, although the number of chromosomes differs 
with each species.) The microscopic chromosomes contain the genes 
and these have the clue to the very riddle of life itself. They are 
known to control the growth and development of so many character- 
istics that geneticists believe they probably dictate all growth proc- 
esses. How many different genes there are in a human bemg no one 
knows; it is believed that Drosophila has about three thousand. 
Man probably possesses at least as many. 


GENES AND MANKIND—BLIVEN 295 


Under the microscope the giant salivary chromosomes of Droso- 
phila (100 to 170 times larger than those in other tissues) look some- 
what like tiny snakes with alternate transverse markings of light 
and dark. You must not think, however, that each dark area is one 
gene or even that the genes are concentrated in them. All that the 
scientists are willing to say is that certain genes are associated with 
certain dark areas and that the bands in some sense mark the limits 
within which certain genes are known to lie. There are of course 
many genes in each part of each chromosome. 

There is one important exception to the rule that there are 48 
chromosomes in every human cell. The male sperm and the female 
evum which meet to start a new life have only 24 chromosomes each. 
They meet and join at the moment of fertilization and the chromo- 
somes which appear in the cells of the offspring come from both 
parents. This meeting of the chromosomes and genes is not a 
matter of mere blind chance. Genes for the same characteristic of 
the individual (color of hair or eyes, pigmentation, etc.) are located 
always in the same chromosomes. (Any one character, such as eye 
color, is not, however, controlled only by genes from a single chromo- 
some.) The genes from both father and mother jointly dictate the 
characteristics of the child. 

As science discovered more than a hundred years ago, there are 
dominant and recessive characters. When they meet, we now know, 
the dominant will win out, as the word itself suggests. In Mendel’s 
famous experiment, he crossed a true-breeding form of red peas 
with white ones. Red is dominant; white is recessive. In the next 
generation all the plants had red flowers, but they were carrying 
the white genes none the less. The self-fertilized grandchildren of 
these peas were 25-percent pure red and 25-percent pure white. The 
other 50 percent were red in color, but they, too, carried white genes, 
so that their descendants would not breed true to the dominant red. 

Sometimes characteristics are controlled according to whether 
the organism possesses one gene of a certain type, or a pair of them. 
For example, there are two genes which, when they appear in pairs, 
cause a man to sing bass and a woman to sing soprano. ‘Two other 
genes, in pairs, produce tenors and altos. One gene from each pair, 
together cause baritones and mezzo-sopranos. As Dr. Herluf 
Strandskov has pointed out, the children of a basso and a soprano 
can only sing bass or soprano; a tenor and an alto can have only 
children of those voices. A baritone and a mezzo-soprano is the 
only mating that can hope to produce a quartet! 

How does a child grow from an almost invisible, microscopic fer- 
tilized egg into a 200-pound football player? He grows, and so 
does everything else in nature, by cell division. Did you ever put 


296 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


a bubble pipe in soapsuds and blow until a mass of tiny bubbles rose 
above the surface of the water and almost overflowed the basin? The 
analogy is inaccurate, but the mental picture you will get is similar 
to what happens in the process of cell division. Each of the 48 
chromosomes in a cell divides by splitting lengthwise into two parts, 
which separate, half of them going to the right, so to speak, and 
the other half to the left. Then the nucleus begins to narrow in 
the middle, into a dumbbell shape, with 48 chromosomes in each end. 
The bar in the middle grows shut; the two ends break off, and we 
have two cells each containing all the chromosomes of the original 
one. This process is repeated; the two cells become four, the four 
become eight, and so on, until their number rises into billions. 

The almost unbelievable work that has recently been done is to 
identify the genes which create certain characteristics of the living 
creature. With enormous patience and countless hours of weary 
industry, the scientists have tracked down the characteristics 
associated with individual genes. (This had been worked out in 
theory some years before it was verified under the microscope 
through experiments in artificial mutation.) In the case of the 
jimson weed, for example, about five hundred new genes have been 
discovered, of which more than seventy have been located in par- 
ticular chromosomes. The scientist can put his finger on the 
chromosome chart of the jimson weed and can say: “At this point 
are found the gene or genes that cause the plant to have a rough 
skin, or to carry tufts, or to be an albino.” In the banana fly, simi- 
larly, the scientists know where in the chromosome lie the genes 
associated with certain definite characters such as the color of the 
eye, the size of the wings, bands on the abdomen, and so on. More 
than 500 genes in Drosophila have been definitely located. 

A few years ago it was discovered that carefully controlled bom- 
bardment with X-rays, neutrons, or other radiation would affect the 
genes. Sometimes they are altered or destroyed, sometimes the 
arrangement of the sections of the chromosomes is changed. In a 
state of nature, once in many times the genes are spontaneously 
changed by extreme heat or cold, by old age, or for other reasons. 
When the organism is subjected to X-rays, the process of change is 
enormously speeded up. Large numbers of mutations can be 
detected in the short space of two generations, and the scientists are 
perhaps beginning to see the mechanism of evolution in operation 
before their very eyes. 

The almost incredible fact is that the experts now know in 
advance in a general way what will happen when Drosophila is sub- 
jected to a moderately severe dose of X-ray. Perhaps half the flies 
will be killed. Among the survivors some will have descendants, 


GENES AND MANKIND—BLIVEN 297 


and among these descendants certain types of mutation will appear 
in definite percentages which the scientists can now predict in 
advance. They can tell you before the baby Drosophilae are born 
(when they are considered in sufficient quantities) about how many 
will have dwarfed wings, or white eyes resulting from lack of 
pigmentation, or other abnormalities. If mankind has ever come 
any nearer than this to usurping the privileges of the Deity, I do not 
know where. 

These changes in characteristics which the scientists create in the 
laboratory will breed true for all time in the future unless affected 
by additional mutation later on. Ten thousand years from now, if 
these Drosophilae were to continue having descendants that long, 
their remote offspring would still have white eyes or dwarf wings, 
because the genes creating the normal characteristics, colored eyes, or 
large wings, are lacking or altered. To illustrate this with a more 
familiar laboratory animal: you could cut off the tails of 1,000 gen- 
erations of mice and the one-thousand-and-first would have tails as 
long as those of the original ancestors. But destroy the chief long- 
tail-producing genes in a single pair of mice, and their descendants, 
if inbred and selected for taillessness until they are pure for this 
characteristic, will be tailless forever more. 

The action of the genes must certainly be one of the most interest- 
ing mechanisms in the realm of nature. It is hard to believe, yet it 
is increasingly being proved, that almost every hereditary char- 
acteristic of the individual is to be found packed away in these 
microscopic particles. The genes, acting together, seem literally to 
plan the growing organism. Science does not yet know just how 
this is done, or the relation among the genes, the mysterious and 
miraculous glands of internal secretion, and the tissues. It is 
assumed that the genes control the shape that growth takes from 
the beginning of the new life. There are embryonic tissues, called 
by the geneticists “organizers,” which evoke specific growth-reactions 
in other embryonic tissues. In the human being each of the glands 
of internal secretion—the pituitary, the thyroids, parathyroids, 
pancreas, adrenals, and gonads—secretes one or more hormones which, 
poured into the blood stream, keep the body functioning. Most of 
them, indeed, are vitally necessary for the maintenance of life itself. 

It staggers the imagination to think of the genes at work 
through the months and years creating every organ of the complex 
electrochemical-physical machine for living that is the body, Either 
directly, or indirectly through the endocrine glands, they bring each 
of the organs to full usefulness at the proper time and in co-ordina- 
tion with each other. Then think of the hundreds of thousands of 
species of animals and plants, in each of which the genes follow the 


298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


proper and unique pattern of the species, and you begin to have 
some idea of the wonders of this universe. 

When you lift your arm or bend your finger the process is an 
electrochemical one. The nerve impulse from the brain sets up at 
the proper places in the muscles an electrically induced chemical 
alteration. It is possible that the genes do their work in the same 
way; we do not know. 

Nothing is more mysterious in this whole complex story than that 
the genes, and the tissues and glands which they help to build up, seem 
to work on an elaborate and intricate time schedule. In human 
beings, for example, there are characteristics that do not develop 
until many years have passed. There appear to be “bad” genes, from 
the individual’s point of view, which lurk unsuspected for half a cen- 
tury and then cause a man to become bald in just the way his father 
did. Others seemingly wait for decades to produce hereditary blind- 
ness or insanity. A marvelous mechanism is that operated by the 
gonads which brings about the characteristics of adolescence at 13 or 
_ 14, produces hair on the face of the male (in certain races) at 18 or 19, 
and either creates the changes of the menopause in the forties and 
fifties or, by ceasing to function, permits them. There are even pre- 
sumably old-age genes which determine, before you are born, how 
long you will live—if you don’t terminate your life prematurely with 
whiskey, a bullet, or a speeding automobile. For longevity, as every- 
one knows, “runs in families,” and whatever runs in families, if 
actually inherited, is controlled by the genes. That is to say, the 
tissues and organs of the individual have a gene-determined life cycle 
that will be carried out if other factors do not intervene. 

The miracle of the “time-clock genes” is clearly shown in the case 
of identical twins—twins which arise from a single fertilized egg 
which for some reason divided early in embryonic life to produce two 
human beings with, so far as science knows, the same genes and 
chromosomes. Identical twins develop the same physical character- 
istics, throughout life, at almost exactly the same time. This prin- 
ciple holds even if three, four, or five children have developed from 
a single egg. This is the case with the Dionne quintuplets, who have 
the same genes. 

Let me emphasize again that it is wrong to think of a single gene 
as performing a specified function unaided. It is now believed that 
every gene influences every other, just as all the genes occur in every 
chromosome and there are 48 chromosomes in every cell of the body 
except the sperm and ovum from which the new life will be created. 
There are eye genes in your toe, and toe genes in your eye. Science 
now knows that there are certain groups of genes which are inherited 


GENES AND MANKIND—BLIVEN 299 


together. Often such genes appear to have no logical relation to one 
another, at least in the present state of our understanding. In some 
families of human beings, for example, a given color of hair is asso- 
ciated with the lack of one or more of the incisor teeth. By studying 
family strains it is possible to predict that a child born to certain 
parents, and having hair of a given color, will possess only six or 
seven incisors instead of eight. 

This innocent-sounding fact is likely to prove of the very highest 
practical value to the future of the human race. Many diseases are 
not predominantly hereditary, but others are, and often you can inherit 
a predisposition. Among the hereditary ones are some that are par- 
ticularly terrible in their effects, which nevertheless do not manifest 
themselves until middle life, after the victim has unwittingly married 
and had children to whom he can pass on his taint. An example of 
such a disease is Huntington’s chorea, which does not appear until 
the individual is 35 or 40 years of age. Previously he may have been a 
fine physical and mental specimen. When Huntington’s chorea strikes, 
he goes to pieces mentally and physically; his muscles fail; he sinks 
into hopeless insanity which usually terminates, after a few years, 
in death. 

Medical science knows no way to cure this terrible malady; but 
the knowledge that is coming out of the laboratory gives us the 
hope of a means by which we could stamp it out in only a few gen- 
erations. If linked genes could be discovered that are inherited to- 
gether and transmitted with the disease, latent Huntington’s chorea 
could be identified far in advance through other seemingly harm- 
less and unrelated characteristics. No civilized person would marry 
and have children if he knew that such a fate overhung him and 
them. The time may not be far distant when, thanks to the ad- 
vance of science, society can say to such an individual long before 
he reaches the age for fatherhood that it is forbidden to him. Other 
dread diseases, believed to be hereditary, for which there is now 
similar hope are muscular atrophy, which brings death at about the 
age of 20, and hereditary blindness, which may also begin in the 
late teens. 

Opinion is divided among the experts as to whether it is possible 
to inherit a predisposition toward diabetes or whether its seeming 
to “run in families” is due to quite different causes. Whatever 
the scientific explanation, it is desirable that one who may develop 
diabetes should be forewarned and should take the necessary steps 
to safeguard himself by following a hygienic routine of living. 
Science is now prepared, by the study of family histories, to give 
warnings of this sort. 


300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


These new secrets of the laboratory have resulted in greatly alter- 
ing our concepts of many aspects of our individual and communal 
life. Here are a few: 

1. Geneticists are no longer interested in the old debate as to 
whether environment is more important than heredity. From their 
point of view, both are of tremendous significance. What the or- 
ganism inherits is not so much characteristics.as the tendency to 
produce these characteristics provided the environment is favorable— 
a profound new discovery which, if it could be grasped by political 
leaders in all its implications, might well make over our society. 
For example, there is a species of rabbit whose hair is mostly white; 
but if exposed long enough to low temperature, black hair grows 
out. Pink-flowered hydrangeas can be changed to blue by adding 
iron salts to the soil. Tall corn planted too close together will 
grow only a quarter of its normal size. Yet the offspring of these 
rabbits, hydrangeas, and corn, in a normal environment, will again 
have white fur, pink flowers, and tall stalks. When the hereditary 
influences are strong, those of environment are correspondingly weak, 
and vice versa. 

These changes, however, could not have taken place unless the or- 
ganisms carried the special genes that make them possible. Not 
all rabbits have fur that changes color; there are “Tom Thumb” 
breeds of corn that never grow tall no matter how widely the hills 
are spaced; some flowers remain the same color when fed iron salts. 
In other words, environment can change you, but only on a basis 
of what you originally possess—or lack. It is like the developing 
chemical in the photographer’s dark room; it creates nothing, but 
it can bring out what is on the plate. The tragedy of life is that 
we so often discard the plate without ever finding the perhaps rich 
and beautiful picture concealed on it. 

2. For practical purposes, at least, we may assume that almost 
nothing in our biological heritage is transmitted from one generation 
to the next except what is passed on in the genes. This does away at 
one stroke with a multitude of conceptions of the popular mind. It 
is nonsense to suppose, for example, that because a mother before the 
birth of her child receives a fright or sees a snake, the child will be 
“marked,” any more than he will be musical or artistic if she goes to 
concerts and galleries. 

3. There is a popular theory that whole families can be subjected 
to continuous decay and degeneration. This might be true under 
very special circumstances, if, for instance, all the good men in a 
community had been killed off in war, or in the case of isolated 
groups where inbreeding would serve to reinforce undesirable strains 
instead of desirable ones. The chances are, however, that when a 


GENES AND MANKIND—BLIVEN 301 


family seems to go rapidly downhill from generation to generation, 
it is only partly because of bad heredity. The rest of the story is 
environment—poverty, ignorance, and imitation of their elders driv- 
ing down one crop of children after another. 

Science nowadays looks with deep suspicion on conclusions drawn 
from the famous “degenerate families” such as the Jukes and the 
Kallikaks, with which sociologists regaled us a generation ago. No 
doubt there were some “morbid” genes among the members of 
these families; but the sociologists made a bad mistake in attributing 
the whole evil record to the genes alone and ignoring environmental 
factors. What chance would even a normal child have had, brought 
up in a household composed largely of drunkards, thieves, and pros- 
titutes? His family record would be enough to turn the community 
against him from the start. The geneticists of today try to balance 
the evils transmitted by the genes against those caused by imperfect 
surroundings. 

4, Alcoholism, as such, probably cannot be transmitted from par- 
ent to child, though an unstable neural system, predisposing to dip- 
somania, may be. When the son of a drunkard takes to drink, it is 
possible that his genes are involved; but it is also possible and even 
probable, that it is by imitation or in response to a bad environment 
in which the father’s alcoholism played a part. Roughly the same 
is true of other human weaknesses—drug addiction, sexual promis- 
cuity, improvidence, love of gambling, habitual lying. 

5. The common belief that the mother’s blood circulates through 
the body of the child before birth is now known to be false. The 
two blood streams are separated by the placenta, through which 
nourishment passes by osmosis, which is roughly the way that blot- 
ting paper picks up moisture. Mr. Justice Holmes in a famous 
decision once held that an unborn child is “a part of the mother’s 
bowels”; but science has overruled the great Justice. The number 
of abnormal conditions the mother can transmit to the unborn child 
is much smaller than is commonly supposed. She can infect her 
baby with syphilis, but this is not a hereditary form, and responds 
to treatment. She cannot transmit gonorrhea, although she can 
infect the child during birth itself. Until a few years ago, thou- 
sands of children all over the world became blind at birth because 
of venereal infection transmitted in this way. There are a few 
drugs which manage to find their way through the placenta, and it 


is believed, for example, without much reliable evidence, that an 


unborn child may become a cocaine addict. Certainly the child’s 
genes can be injured before birth by lead poisoning. But such path- 
ological conditions, at least as between mother and child, are not 
hereditary and can be treated just as postnatal infections are. 


302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


As scientific knowledge improves, we learn more and more about 
inherited susceptibility, or predisposition, toward certain diseases, 
as well as resistances or even immunities, We learn that some types 
of illness formerly supposed to be hereditary are only partially or 
not at all in this category, while in other cases inherited character- 
istics are found to predispose an individual toward a given disease. 
Among those in which inheritance is a definite factor are rheumatic 
fevers in childhood, a few rare types of cancer, color-blindness, a 
number of disorders of the eye, baldness, and albinism. Certain 
sorts of feeble-mindedness are hereditary. The geneticists are in- 
creasingly reluctant to draw a hard and fast line between environ- 
mental and hereditary factors; yet in regard to 10 of the 12 most 
serious diseases, environment on the whole seems more important 
than heredity. 

These recent scientific revelations have enormously altered our 
conception of eugenics. We understand now for the first time how 
mutations occur, through destruction or alteration of the genes. 
From the individual’s point of view, there are good and bad genes, 
but the good ones enormously outnumber the bad. Since nearly all 
changes in the genes are destructive, and consist in taking something 
away, under the law of averages most mutations are undesirable. 
They produce an organism limited in some respects, in comparison 
with its parent, and therefore probably somewhat less fitted to cope 
with its environment. 

In a state of nature, this does not matter greatly, for it is offset 
by natural selection—the survival of the fittest. Mutations that are 
disadvantageous tend to die out; good ones help the organism to sur- 
vive and to transmit its desirable “symphony of genes” to the next 
generation. But unfortunately civilization as it has existed for the 
past few centuries tends to reverse this process. We are moving in 
the direction of keeping everyone alive, the unfit as well as the fit, 
and permitting nearly all of them to transmit their genes to their 
children. Many of the leading geneticists of the world believe that 
this process, continued long enough, would so reinforce the morbid 
genes as to bring about the degeneration of the race. 

To say this is not, however, to accept the theories of those who are 
demanding wholesale compulsory sterilization of the unfit. The 
geneticists realize better than the amateur enthusiasts what an 
enormously difficult and complicated subject this is. They advocate 
sterilization in certain definite cases of proved hereditary feeble- 
mindedness and insanity, partly to put an end to bad genes and partly 
because people of low or unstable intelligence bring up their children 
badly. In other cases of undesirable heredity, the experts recom- 
mend voluntary abstention from parenthood. 


GENES AND MANKIND—BLIVEN 303 


Amazing things have been done in only a few generations to per- 
fect plants and animals, and impatient persons often ask why the 
same should not be possible for mankind. It is a legitimate ques- 
tion and the assumed answer holds an exciting promise for the 
future. There is little doubt that if genetic principles could be ap- 
plied to humanity, the average of our population could be brought 
up to the level of our best examples within a few generations. If 
you want a slogan, here it is: “Every man a genius by the year 
2141.” 

The difficulty is that somebody would have to decide what are the 
desirable traits, after we had agreed that hereditary feeble-minded- 
ness and insanity are undoubted handicaps. His judgments would 
be subjective, and that is where the trouble comes in. Who is to ac- 
cept the fearful responsibility of saying what are good traits for a 
future society, and what are bad ones? For that matter, who is to 
say what the future society will be like? Will you assume a con- 
tinuance of our present social organization, which seems to require 
large numbers of not-too-bright toilers and soldiers? Or will you 
envisage an ideal state of universal peace and all the heavy work 
done by machines? 

The overwhelming obstacle is that most human beings today live in 
environments so unsatisfactory that we cannot tell what their genetic 
possibilities are. We know by scientific research that there are 
thousands of geniuses in this country alone who remain swamped by 
poverty and ignorance and never get a chance to demonstrate their 
abilities. Before we can live up to the promise of our genetic future, 
we must remove the shackles which prevent full development of our 
present capabilities. Otherwise, the effort at improvement is like 
trying to carve a statue in the dark. 

The geneticists, on a basis of solid science, hold forth a glorious 
picture of the future of mankind. They tell us that by improving 
our environment and our heredity simultaneously we can in a few 
generations abolish nearly all human afflictions. It is sober truth to 
say that it lies within our power to create a race of superbeings, liv- 
ing in Utopia, and to do so in perhaps the length of time that has 
elapsed since George Washington was born. No more exciting pros- 
pect was ever offered mankind. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS? 


By Ernest P. WALKER 


Assistant Director, National Zoological Park 


[With 12 plates] 


INTRODUCTION 


The purpose of this article is not to stimulate the keeping of 
animals in captivity, but rather to make more tolerable and, if 
possible, more happy the lives of those that are inevitably to be kept 
in captivity. Most pets are kept because the captor is fond of them. 
Yet in altogether too many instances the animals are not properly 
cared for. The result is often suffering, ill health, or death due 
largely to lack of knowledge on the part of the captor, who would 
gladly provide his pet all it needed if he but knew how. 

Anyone not sufficiently fond of and interested in animals to be 
willing to provide the proper quarters for pets and thereafter give 
them proper and regular care should not attempt to keep them. 


1 Animals of many kinds have not yet been successfully kept in captivity, or if they have 
been so kept, the fact is not generally known. Therefore the information now available 
about the best ways of keeping many kinds is necessarily very incomplete. It is hoped 
that readers of this paper who have had experience in the keeping of animals whose needs 
in captivity are little known, will communicate with the author in order that the benefit of 
their experience may be added to his records and so be made available for others who are 
interested in the subject. 

Acknowledgment is made to the following persons for information, assistance, and advice 
in the preparation of this paper: Dr. Carter H. Anthony, veterinarian, National Zoological 
Park; Mr. Vernon Bailey, retired, chief field naturalist, U. S. Biological Survey (now the 
Fish and Wildlife Service) ; Dr. Doris Cochran, assistant curator, Division of Herpetology, 
U. S. National Museum, for examination and considerable work on the reptile and amphib- 
ian sections; Mr. Malcolm Davis, principal keeper, National Zoological Park; Dr. Herbert 
Friedmann, curator of birds, U. 8. National Museum, for examination of the bird section ; 
Mr. John N. Hamlet, of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Mr. Roy H. Jennier, principal 
keeper, National Zoological Park, who has given consideration to the reptile and amphibian 
sections; Dr. David Johnson and Dr. Remington Kellogg, of the Division of Mammals, 
U. S. National Museum, for examination of the mammal section; Mr. Charles E. Kellogg, 
Section of Fur Resources, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Dr. J. E. Shillinger, Section of 
Wild Animal Disease Studies of the same service; and numerous others who have at various 
times supplied me with information which is incorporated herein. Such a work as this is 
necessarily a composite of information obtained from innumerable sources, all of which 
cannot be specifically credited. 

Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, jr., associate in biology, U. S. National Museum, has painstakingly 
gone over the entire manuscript to review it from both biological and editorial points of 
view. 


305 


306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


When man takes wild animals into captivity and endeavors to 
maintain them, he sets up for himself a definite obligation to furnish 
them with the comforts and necessities to which they are accustomed 
in their native state. 

The basis of the entire problem is to view the subject from the stand- 
point of the animal and its requirements. Experience gained in 
handling one animal is often of great value in the handling of related 
kinds, but this is not an infallible guide, as frequently related forms 
will have different feeding habits and requirements. 

Within the scope of such a brief work as this, it is not possible 
to treat in detail each kind of animal; the most that can be attempted 
is to point out a few of the basic principles that may generally be 
applied, and to cite additional sources of information where further 
details regarding certain groups may be obtained? Perhaps it will 
also encourage those who keep live animals to view the subject from 
the broadest possible standpoint, so that they may obtain new informa- 
tion regarding the care and requirements of their captives. 

Fairly satisfactory information can frequently be obtained by cor- 
respondence or personal inquiry from well-informed sources, such as 
the personnel of zoos, museums, biology departments of universities 
and high schools, State and governmental agencies, and local natural- 
ists. 

The work of agencies for the prevention of cruelty to animals is 
to be commended, and well-run zoos and parks cooperate with them. 

Altogether too often animals are kept as exhibits merely to attract 
attention to a business enterprise, and the captor has no real fondness 
for the animal, knowledge of its requirements, or interest in its wel- 
fare. 

Unhappy, sick, or diseased animals are not pleasing pets or attrac- 
tive for exhibition. Therefore, any effort on the part of the captor 
that will keep the animals happy, contented, and in good health, is 
well justified. The more one knows of the conditions under which 
the animal lives in the wild, the better able he will be to plan for its 
welfare. 

It is sometimes said that certain animals cannot be kept in captivity. 
A better way of stating the fact would be that we do not yet know 
enough about the requirements of certain animals to be able to keep 
them successfully. Often certain people have excellent success not 
only in keeping but in breeding animals that others have said could 


2The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., 
has available for distribution many publications formerly issued by the U. S. Biological 
Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries relating to food habits and care of many different 
kinds of animals, including earthworms and other forms used for bait or food of animals. 

The Bureau of Animal Industry of the U. S. Department of Agriculture has issued many 
publications on the care of domestic stock, including chickens and ducks, that contain 
useful information. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 307 


not be kept in captivity. The sooner we admit that we really know 
very little about the lives and requirements of wild animals, the 
sooner we will be in a frame of mind to learn more about the subject, 
with correspondingly increased success in keeping them. 

The observing, thoughtful person can amplify the sketchy outline 
given herein and find many more foods, methods, and materials use- 
ful in keeping animals. He will realize that the animals in any re- 
gion eat only the plant, animal, or mineral products in their own 
generally restricted ranges. This will suggest many local products 
that are potential foods. 

Adoption of the rule that “the animal is always right” will go far 
toward smoothing the road for both the pet and the owner. We are 
fond of animals because they are animals; therefore they should be 
allowed to live the lives of animals rather than forced to ape our 
lives, actions, and methods. 


GENERAL CARE 


In providing for animals, it is important that we give considera- 
tion to the range of temperature under which they normally live, 
whether their home climate is dry or humid, what kind of food they 
eat, and whether or not they vary their food from season to season 
as many animals do. We should also provide the proper type of 
shelter or nest, meet their requirements as to drinking water, tem- 
perature of water, and know whether or not they need to swim or to 
wallow in dust or mud. These are major necessities; but there are 
many other important details in the life of every captive animal] that 
must be heeded if they are to be successfully kept. 

Before obtaining animals,’ persons should endeavor to ascertain 
the proper care for them and be prepared to render such care upon 
the animal’s arrival. If specimens are obtained from dealers or 
others who have had them in captivity, it is frequently possible to 
obtain fairly satisfactory information as to their care. In some 
instances irresponsible or poorly informed dealers will give erroneous 
or incomplete instructions. An example of this is the advice given 
by circus vendors to feed anolis, which they sell under the name of 
chameleons, sweetened water. The animals soon die on this diet. 
They eat live insects, and will thrive on flies. 

Obviously man cannot provide animals with exactly the same con- 
ditions they would enjoy in the wild. It is therefore of great im- 
portance that he give very careful heed to providing the substitutes 


* Almost every nation, country, State, and Province has restrictions on the capture, pos- 
session, transportation, and importation of wild animals. Anyone who wishes to obtain 
animals should first familiarize himself with the restrictions of the region in which he 
expects to obtain the animals, and any of the restrictions that may apply to the method of 
transportation contemplated and within the region in which he expects to keep them. 


4305774221 


308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


that most closely approximate the conditions and foods they would 
obtain in their natural state, and that he give the animals a sufficient 
variety so that they may select those that are best adapted and 
thereby show the captor the foods and conditions preferred. 

Newly acquired animals are usually much worried, fretted, and 
tired from a trip, and often have not had water or proper food 
en route. The first step in their care is, therefore, to provide them 
with clean, fairly roomy quarters, proper food, water for drinking 
and bathing, and fine sand or dust for cleaning themselves, if they 
use that method. Birds that require grit have usually not received 
it on their trip. A small amount should be given immediately. 
They will take too much if given a large quantity. 

Let them be quiet and undisturbed so they may rest. If they are 
just received from the wild and are to be placed in a collection with, 
or in close proximity to, other animals, it is an excellent plan to 
exercise some quarantine precautions, such as maintaining them in 
quarters well isolated from the main collection, and, at the same 
time, treating them with insect powders and sulfur to remove ex- 
ternal parasites, doctoring serious injuries, and taking any other 
safety measures that may appear necessary. Some animal custodians 
also follow the practice of giving some medical treatment to elimi- 
nate internal parasites, or to at least make observations of feces to 
determine whether or not such parasites do exist. 

The shipping crates or cages in which the animals are received 
should be burned or cleaned and sterilized thoroughly to prevent 
introduction of parasites or disease. 

Too often animals are displayed in the hot sun without an oppor- 
tunity to get into the shade, often without water, and in other 
instances they are exposed to bleak winds without shelter, and with- 
out straw, leaves, or bedding to insulate themselves from cement, 
iron, or board floors. Such treatment is inhumane, to say the least. 

Almost all animals have some sort of a home in the wild. In 
some instances it is a burrow deep enough so that there is almost 
no change in temperature in it throughout the year. In others, it 
is a nest made of fibrous material that is good insulation from 
changes in temperature. Wild animals are free to move about and 
choose for themselves the locations and conditions most to their 
liking. This is not possible for captives, so it behooves the captor 
to heed their needs closely, for they cannot talk our language to tell 
us of their wishes and sufferings. 

Sunlight is essential to the welfare of many animals, but like other 
good things, it can be overdone. It is important that cages be placed 
so that the animals can choose whether to be in the sun or in the 
shade. Even a comparatively short period in the direct rays of the 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 309 


sun is often fatal to snakes and lizards that are inhabitants of 
desert regions and are supposed to enjoy the sun. They regularly 
seek the shade during the hot portion of the day in hot weather; or 
they burrow in the sand or under stones to get out of the intense 
heat. Small den houses become unbearably hot when in the sun. 
Shade should be provided for such enclosures in hot weather. 

Animals that particularly require sunshine frequently develop ill 
health and become unsightly because they do not get enough sunlight 
or ultraviolet rays. This can frequently be remedied by installing 
ultraviolet lamps at the cages so that the animals can go into the 
rays to such extent as they wish. Such rays can be harmful if the 
animal is subjected to them too much. 

Sunlight is not essential or even desirable for certain animals, 
for, being nocturnal, many of them never see the sun, not coming out 
into the open until the sun is set, and going to bed before the sun 
rises. Others live subterranean lives entirely away from the sun- 
light. Presumably such creatures obtain, through their food, the 
materials that are manufactured by other animals in sunlight. 

Developments in air conditioning, refrigeration, and special types 
of lighting now make it fairly easy to provide physical surroundings 
that closely approximate those of the climate in which animals would 
normally live. The big problem is to furnish suitable substitute 
foods. In the wild, some of the animals are what we term “speci- 
alized feeders,” that is, they eat but very few kinds of food. At first 
thought such foods may not appear to furnish well-balanced diets. 
However, careful consideration will disclose the fact that their 
limited diet does provide a well-balanced ration for them. Feeding 
these animals is sometimes the most difficult of all problems, and at 
other times it is very simple, depending on whether or not we are 
able to furnish palatable substitute foods that contain the necessary 
constituents. Other animals take a wide variety of foods in the wild, 
a nibble of this and a nibble of that, obviously selecting things that 
are palatable to them and that contain the constituents necessary for 
their well-being. Careful study of the feeding habits of such animals 
in the wild discloses a surprising variety of food consumed. Some- 
times they may eat a limited variety for a short period, but with 
the changes of the season, the diets may be radically changed. In 
some instances, such changes appear to be necessary for physical de- 
velopment aud growth. For example, many young birds, such as 
finches and others, are fed insects by their parents, whereas the adults 
eat mainly seeds for most of the year, and insects for only a short 
season. In others, the changes appear to indicate a wide food toler- 
ance that permits the animal to survive under seasonal conditions that 
vary greatly from one time of the year to another. 


310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The examination of stomach contents of wild animals, which has 
been carried on so extensively by the United States Biological 
Survey ‘ over a long period, has been of great value in showing what 
North American animals eat. The studies carried on in this manner 
are valuable as guides in the keeping of captive animals. 

One of the most common errors in the feeding of carnivorous ani- 
mals is to give them only choice red meat, on the assumption that 
carnivores limit themselves strictly to such food. On the contrary, 
in many cases when carnivorous animals make a kill, they eat the 
viscera of the prey or drink its blood or eat its brains before they 
will eat any of the red meat. Recent studies in vitamins reveal that 
the viscera of animals are rich in several vitamins; liver is especially 
rich, as are other glands of the body. Furthermore, it is probable 
that the digestive fluids in the stomach and intestines, which are 
regularly consumed by the carnivores, are really needed by these 
animals. The fur or feathers and skin of the victims are regularly 
consumed, and are obviously needed as roughage and bulk if they 
serve no other purpose. The bones of the victims are relished in 
many instances and are valuable as a source of minerals such as 
calcium and phosphorus; also, red bone marrow is a valuable food. 
Furthermore, the chewing of bones stimulates the flow of digestive 
fluids and strengthens the teeth and jaws. 

Almost all carnivores will occasionally take plant foods to some 
extent, as witness the cat that will frequently chew grass, apparently 
taking it as a medicine or for the vitamins. Dogs do likewise. Bears, 
other than polars, eat mainly plant products. 

Overfeeding is a frequent cause of animals becoming sluggish or 
excessively fat, and even dying. Care should be taken to give an 
animal only as much as it will clean up fairly promptly at its usual 
time to eat. Surplus food that remains in the cage is likely to spoil 
and poison the animal, and also to attract ants, flies, cockroaches, 
and other pests. 

Nocturnal animals will not, of course, ordinarily take food that 
is given to them in the daytime. Their failure to take it promptly 
should not be construed as indicating that they are not hungry. 
They should be fed in the evening. 

Fur farms are probably the most outstanding examples of progress 
in the care and keeping of wild animals in captivity, for if a fur 
farm is to profit, it must not only be able to keep its animals alive, but it 
raust be able to induce them to reproduce prolifically and to be in such 
excellent health that their fur is of superior quality. Furthermore, 


*On July 1, 1940, this organization was consolidated with the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, 
formerly of the Department of Commerce, under the new title of U. S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and transferred to the U. S. Department of Interior. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER la | 


these conditions must be produced at a minimum of cost. The many 
fur farms in the northern United States, in Canada and Alaska, as 
well as elsewhere in the world, carry on a variety of research work 
looking toward more successful fur farming. Veterinarians have 
been employed who are not merely animal doctors and surgeons, but 
who carry on active research in well-equipped laboratories and make 
many painstaking and accurate observations. Experimental fur 
farms of governmental agencies, such as that operated by the former 
Biological Survey and now carried on by the Fish and Wildlife 
Service at Saratoga Springs, N. Y.; their rabbit experiment station 
at Fontana, Calif., the Canadian fox experimental station at Sum- 
merside, Prince Edward Island, and others are at work on these 
problems. Asa result of these studies by individuals, companies, and 
governmental agencies, a wonderful fund of information about the 
care of fur-bearing animals has been developed. Some of this is avail- 
able in Government or other publications that are cited in the bibliogra- 
phy at the end of this paper. Naturally most of the information 
developed relates to the raising of foxes, minks, muskrats, rabbits, 
chinchillas, coypus, and a few other animals, as these are the 
fur bearers that are commonly raised. However, the researches and 
experiments have so clearly demonstrated the need of many animals 
for vitamins, certain foods, and certain types of treatment and care, 
that the basic principles can well be applied to a much wider variety 
of animals and to man. Research laboratories that have carried on 
experimental work with mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, monkeys, and 
other animals for the purpose of developing information relative to 
medicines, vaccines, serums, foods and food deficiencies, and for other 
purposes, have likewise made outstanding contributions. These were, 
of course, mainly designed to advance the cause of human medicine, 
but their findings should be freely used by persons interested in 
keeping animals in captivity in the best possible condition. 
Various studies have been made to determine the chemical constitu- 
ents necessary for proper diet for animals. These have been carried 
on in various ways and much valuable information has been devel- 
oped. Among the studies is the work of Dr. C. P. Richter, of the 
Psychobiological Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Hospital, who over 
a long period of years has carried on studies, principally with rats, 
in which he has clearly demonstrated the importance of furnishing 
animals with the proper amount of the various food constituents 
needed by them. He has carried on long feeding experiments with 
a great number of rats fed on diets composed entirely of solutions 
of starch, proteins, salts, and other ingredients. On these the ani- 
mals thrived, remained active and in good health, and developed 
good coats. He found that by removing certain of these foods, he 


312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


could induce the evidences of ill health that frequently can be recog- 
nized in captive animals. These experiments obviously showed that 
some captive animals do not receive all of the food constituents 
needed by them. In some of his experiments, he supplied the rats 
with what would normally be considered good varied diets, but he 
also offered them the test-tube foods so that they could choose from 
them any ingredient that they might feel they needed. He found 
that they would frequently take certain test-tube food, thereby dem- 
onstrating that the supposedly good general diet they were receiving 
was deficient in certain constituents necessary for their welfare, and 
realizing this lack, they made it up by taking the relatively unpalata- 
ble test-tube material. 

An example of deficiency due to an inadequate diet, and what can 
be accomplished by supplying a suitable diet, is the case of a wood- 
chuck that was in the National Zoological Park. It became almost 
completely naked, and remained so over a period of 2 or 3 years. It 
was fed by Dr. Richter on his chemically complete diet, and at the 
end of 4 months was returned to the Zoo with as good a coat of fur 
as a wild marmot would ordinarily have. This animal, together with 
others of its kind in the National Zoological Park, had been fed with 
what was supposedly a varied, well-balanced diet, but obviously some- 
thing was lacking which prevented its growing good fur. This is a 
clue which should be followed up in the hope that the specific food 
requirement may be found for the growing of hair. It would benefit 
many mammals that have a tendency to become naked in captivity, 
and perhaps some of the birds that suffer from feather loss. Con- 
ceivably it might even be useful to bald-headed men. 

Grooming is an important activity in the lives of animals, and they 
will ordinarily take good care of their coats if they feel well. If 
they fail in this, it may be because of ill health or because they lack 
proper facilities. Some must have water for bathing; others, fine 
sand or dust; others enjoy a shower bath, and still others need to bathe 
in mud. Large mammals, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, and hogs, 
delight in daily baths of mud or water, which assist them in avoiding 
insect pests and parasites. 

If a mammal does not shed its old fur and keep sleek and well- 
groomed, it is a sign that something is wrong, probably in the diet. 

In addition to correcting the diet, it is well to provide bundles of 
brush in the cage so that the animal can comb out its fur by rubbing 
against it, as it would comb its fur in the wild by going through 
vegetation. 

Human standards of cleanliness should not be the sole factor in 
determining cage arrangements and accessories. Fresh soil and mud 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—-WALKER 313 


with normal bacteria is often of great value to animals, whereas 
human beings are likely to consider it dirty, and therefore objection- 
able, forgetting that the real menace to the health of their pets 
may lie in dangerous bacteria that multiply in food left exposed, or 
in food and drinking dishes not entirely clean. It is well to adopt 
a regular routine of sterilizing the utensils frequently, and, if possible, 
cleaning the cage with disinfecting solutions which are not harmful 
or objectionable to the animals. 

The National Zoological Park is now using a disinfecting and 
cleaning solution made up as follows: Stock solution—5 gallons of 
5 percent solution of sodium hypochlorite and 18 ounces of caustic 
soda (lye). Dissolve the lye in 1 to 2 gallons of water in enamelware 
or earthern container, then pour lye solution slowly into hypochlorite 
to avoid violent reaction. Stir while pouring. For use add 1 pint of 
stock solution to 2 gallons of water. The stock solution costs only a few 
cents per gallon to make and is very similar to, if not better than, a 
commercial product that sells for about $2 a gallon. This mixture 
is good for disinfecting cement floors, walls, and dishes, but is injuri- 
ous to paint. 

Disinfectants and deodorants should not be confused. In general, 
if cleaning and disinfecting is well done, there is little need for 
deodorants. In some cases, however, a deodorant is desirable to mask 
an odor which cannot be eliminated. For such, use about 4 ounces 
of oil of pine to a gallon of water. This is excellent and is not 
known to be harmful to any animal, unless it be reptiles. Many 
deodorants and disinfecting preparations, such as carbolic acid, 
phenol, creosote, and others, are harmful to animals and should not 
be used. 

There appears to be a widespread but erroneous belief that an 
animal can thrive under a wide range of temperature. As a matter 
of fact, only a few can withstand extremes of heat and cold as great 
as man regularly endures. The majority have some means of avoiding 
extremes. Some migrate. Those that burrow obtain equitable tem- 
peratures in their dens. Others go into caves, hollow trees, masses of 
dead leaves, or other locations where there is good insulation from 
heat and cold. Further, the cavities are usually small so that the 
body heat of the animal is conserved. 

Exercise is important in maintaining the health of most animals 
in captivity, though to provide suitable means for exercising is a 
problem for the ingenuity of the caretaker. He must, of course, know 
something of the type of activity that each animal normally carries 
on. A few suggestions are made. The larger the cage, the more 
likely the animal will be to obtain some exercise by moving about. 


314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


(Some caretakers maintain that certain parrots do better in small 
cages than in large ones.) If it is a climbing animal, trees, horizontal 
bars, swings, ropes, rings, and poles will all stimulate activity. 
Wooden or rubber balls, or other toys, even dolls, are sometimes useful, 
either as playthings or as companions. Wheels that will give the 
animal a sense of progress are particularly good. They may be of 
the inclined disk type, or of the ferris wheel type. (See pl.1.) It is 
also probable that successful exercising devices might be developed 
for the small cats, or other animals of similar size, after the model 
of the endless-belt treadmills, such as were at one time made to utilize 
dog and horse power for man’s purposes. 

Some animals that do not thrive in captivity when kept alone do 
very well in groups with others of their kind. An excellent example 
of this is the ani; lone individuals promptly die in captivity, but 
groups of four to six have lived for several years in the National 
Zoological Park under exactly the same treatment as previously given 
single birds. Others thrive when a companion of another kind is with 
them, if one of their own kind is not available. There have been 
numerous odd companionships of this kind, such as the friendship 
between an African rhinoceros and a goat. We have in the Zoo a 
Javan macaque monkey that lovingly fondles its pet guinea pig, and 
is thus provided with an interest in life. One black-tailed marmoset 
in a cage by itself at the National Zoological Park was gradually 
failing. Presently two other marmosets of a different species were 
put in the cage with it. At first, it was very much afraid of them 
and stayed as far away as possible. After a few days, it gained a 
little courage and would occasionally come near the others, and finally 
it was participating in their play. Thus, the lethargy and so-called 
cage paralysis which had been coming on was averted. ‘This example 
rather definitely suggests that one type of cage paralysis is the result 
of a wasting away of muscles due to inactivity, which can be prevented 
by providing animals with a good-sized cage and inducement to 
exercise. 

When placing animals of the same kind or different kinds together, 
care must be taken to prevent fighting. It is a good plan to keep 
them in adjacent cages so they may see and smell each other for a 
few hours, days, or even weeks, and thus become acquainted. When 
they are first put together, it should be done very quietly and the 
animals should be allowed to make their own approach to each other. 
Careful watch should be kept until it is seen whether or not they 
will get along together. Nocturnal creatures should be watched the 
first night. Many animals have a very definite sense of ownership 
of their homes and resent intrusion by another. It is therefore 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 315 


sometimes desirable to put both animals into a new cage so that 
neither will feel that it is the owner. 

Sometimes animals will get along well together for some time, 
and later begin fighting. Males should usually be removed from a 
cage before a female is to give birth. 

If captive animals are to be successful in rearing their young, it 
is generally essential that the female should have a nest, den, or 
secluded quarters of some kind during the earlier life of the little 
ones. 

Many nocturnal animals are attractive and can become interesting 
pets. Their habit of sleeping during the day and being active at 
night is a disadvantage in some instances, and in others, an ad- 
vantage. Some animals can be induced to reverse their days and 
nights by keeping them under a very subdued light during the day- 
time and at night giving them a nest box and flooding their cage 
with bright lights. The daylight can be reduced by filtering it 
through one of the celluloidlike materials sprayed with a blue-black 
lacquer, or blue cellophane. Special arrangements must be provided 
for properly cooling and ventilating the cage. 

The toenails and hoofs of many animals grow rapidly in order to 
be adequate for their function in the wild. It is well to provide 
facilities for such animals to wear down their hoofs or claws. If 
this cannot be accomplished, it is often necessary to trim the nails or 
hoofs. 

Many animals that would normally hibernate > do not if kept under 
unfavorable conditions. In order to hibernate they must become fat 
and have cool quarters so well insulated against winter weather that 
they will not be subject to freezing. There should be little fluctua- 
tion in temperature and the atmosphere should be definitely moist. 
Animals appear to have a remarkable instinct in this matter, and 
with a few exceptions will refuse to hibernate as long as they do not 
have a snug nest in a well-insulated den; but if supplied with such 
facilities they will promptly go to sleep. Apparently such a period 
of rest is required by many animals if they are to thrive. 

Hibernation appears to be essential to female bears if they are to 
be successful in rearing their young, which are born while the mother 
is in hibernation. Rodents that normally hibernate rarely survive 
the second summer, if not allowed to sleep during the winter. 

Dry leaves, grass, straw, hay, paper, cloth, and many other ma- 
terials may be used for nest material and bedding. While soft tissue 
paper is excellent for small mammals, it sometimes sticks to the wet 


5 The ninth, tenth, and eleventh editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica contain good 
articles on hibernation. 


316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


newborn young. Sugarcane pulp, a byproduct, is available in bales, 
and is an excellent absorbent and insulating material which can be 
spread on cement, metal, and wooden floors to help keep the cage 
clean and to insulate the animal from the cold cement that is so com- 
monly used in cage floors. This is much better than sawdust, which 
often contains resins that get into the fur or feathers of animals 
and make the animal’s coat look dirty and unkempt, or sometimes 
causes actual staining of the coat. Most furry creatures need to have 
fine sand or soil in which to roll to keep their fur clean. This is 
particularly true of the finely furred little desert creatures that ap- 
parently cannot keep their coats in good shape unless they have very 
fine sand constantly available. Slightly moist soil appears to be 
desirable for furry creatures that regularly burrow in moist regions. 


HANDLING ANIMALS 


In handling practically all wild creatures, strategy, gentleness, and 
patience must be exercised. Most wild things will struggle violently 
if forcefully restrained, particularly if they are suddenly seized. 
Often they will dislocate wings or legs, or injure themselves. Until 
the animal has become well accustomed to its captor and is willing to 
submit to him, actual physical handling should be avoided by the 
use of shifting crates or cages, or the placing of a small box over the 
creature so that it will be quiet while the cage is being cleaned or 
other activities are carried on. 

In handling the smaller of the small mammals in the National 
Zoological Park, “telescoping” cardboard nest boxes are provided. 
A hole is made in one end which goes through both of the walls. When 
the animal is in the nest, it is a simple matter to slip a piece of wire 
fabric in front of the hole between the two walls. This provides 
a very effective temporary method of restraining the animal while 
the cage is cleaned or in which to shift the animal to another cage. The 
animal feels perfectly at home in its own nest, and does not fret 
itself or struggle. (See pl. 2, fig. 1.) 

A very effective means of transferring small and medium-sized ani- 
mals from one container to another when the containers are of such 
type that it is difficult to place the entrances opposite each other so 
that the animals can go directly from one to another, is to use a large 
cloth bag of moderate weight, placing the entrance of the cage con- 
taining the animal in the bag, inducing the animal to go into the 
bag, removing the now empty cage, and then placing the bag with 
the animal in it in the new cage and gradually and gently working 
the animal out of the bag into its new quarters. Ring nets, that is, a 
bag or net securely fastened to a ring from 10 inches to 2 feet in 
diameter on the end of a pole, can often be used to excellent advantage 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—-WALKER 317 


in capturing and transferring animals. The use of such a net elimi- 
nates the need of grasping the animal; and, when yielding materials 
such as cloth are used, the animals do not ordinarily hurt themselves 
by struggling violently. 

Often a slow approach, best accompanied with gentle, slow-spoken 
tones, will reassure the animal, and it can then sometimes be picked 
up without danger of injury to itself or to its captor. 

One should never grab an animal suddenly by the tail, wings, or 
legs. Almost invariably the animal will make a sudden start, and 
the tail feathers of birds may be pulled out or the skin of the tail 
of mammals may be stripped off the bone. If the wings or legs are 
clumsily grabbed, the long bones may be broken or dislocated. 

When animals are to be liberated in a new cage or new enclosure, 
it is good practice to hang burlap or other material that appears as 
a definite obstacle in front of the glass or wire, so that the animal 
enters a place of subdued light and can see that it is enclosed. It 
is then less likely to dash into the glass or wires of the cage or fence. 
The box or shipping crate in which it was transferred to the new 
quarters can often be placed inside the new cage or at the entrance 
of the cage and left there for a time. The animal is thus permitted 
to choose its own opportunity to go into the new quarters, and is 
thus less likely to make a sudden dash and suffer injury. 

When large animals, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, and other 
hoofed animals, are liberated from their shipping or shifting crates 
into their paddocks or cage rooms, it is well to place the crate so 
that they back out of it into the new quarters. This will often 
prevent a sudden charge out of the crate that might result 
disastrously. 

To one not accustomed to working with a wide variety of animals, 
it is inconceivable the number of difficult situations that can arise. 
Animals have an abundance of time, are often energetic, can get 
into many predicaments, some of which may be fatal to themselves, 
or at other times, may be merely annoying or embarrassing to the 
captor. Careful thought will go far toward ayoiding such unhappy 
incidents. 

Practically all animals are much quieter when being shipped if 
they are screened from the view of the public. Burlap or other 
more or less porous material placed around or in front of the prin- 
cipal opening of the cage helps to make them feel secluded. Such 
material cannot be used if the animal is able to get its paws or hands 
out through the openings. In this event, small-mesh wire fabric 
through which the captives cannot put their hands or paws should 
be placed before the openings in the case or crate, and then the cloth 
material placed beyond it at a distance of a few inches, so that it 


318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


will be out of reach of claws or fingers. The cloth can be arranged 
as a curtain so that it can be raised for inspection of the interior 
when necessary. 

FOODS 


Under this heading we might include everything that can be eaten, 
but obviously it is impossible to list all foods that might be available 
or desirable for animals. Therefore, the best that can now be done 
is briefly to list foods that are ordinarily obtainable, or that in general 
must be supplied to meet the requirements of a considerable variety 
of animals. The saying, “What is one man’s meat is another man’s 
poison” is particularly true of animals. Some thrive on foods that 
would be fatal to others; therefore, if one does not know definitely 
just what a particular animal requires, it is important that careful 
heed be given to determine as nearly as possible what it probably 
eats, and to offer a wide variety within this range, in order that it 
may find among the foods offered something that will serve its pur- 
pose and not be forced to satisfy hunger by eating foods injurious 
to it. In general, very few animals will eat foods that are harmful 
to them if they are supplied with a wide variety. The instances of 
animal deaths from the eating of foods that are harmful are usually 
the result of endeavors to satisfy cravings arising from the lack of 
some necessary element in the food given, but sometimes they may 
be from actual hunger cravings. 

Persons interested in maintaining animals in good condition should 
consider every possible food obtainable in their native haunts. It 
would be ideal to supply a complete array of such material, but 
obviously from the practical standpoint, this is impossible. It be- 
comes necessary, therefore, to offer the animal such food as can be 
obtained. 

In the wild, many animals that are normally supposed to feed 
principally on fruits or other plant life supplement their diet with 
insects or other animal material, and most carnivores do not strictly 
limit themselves to meat. While the quantity of supplementary food 
may be small, it apptars to be of great importance, in some cases at 
least. Many rodents should be offered small bits of meat, mealworms, 
or other forms of insect life, and eggs, either fresh or boiled; also 
bones with dried meat on them. This material takes the place of 
the insects, animal carcasses and bones they would find in the wild. 
Carnivores should likewise be offered fruits, vegetables, and bread. 
The rejection of any given food on one or two occasions is not 
necessarily conclusive evidence that the animal will never eat it; 
therefore, it is a good plan to continue offering such food from time 
to time. 

When it becomes necessary to offer animals food to which they are 
unaccustomed, it will frequently be found that they are hesitant about 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 319 


eating it. It may appear that they are not hungry, when in reality 
they are, but lack confidence in the food. For this reason, new food 
should be left long enough for them to become accustomed to it. 
Such unfamiliar food will sometimes be taken only after it has been 
repeatedly offered to an animal. If it is possible to make a gradual 
change in the diet where such change becomes necessary, it is prefer- 
able gradually to reduce the food that the animals have been receiv- 
ing, supplementing with the food that they are expected to consume 
in the future. In the course of any such change, it is important that 
the animal be offered as wide a variety of foods as possible, in order 
that it may make a selection. It is frequently found that animals 
eat and relish foods that experienced so-called animal authorities 
say they will not eat. 

Protein, carbohydrate, and fat should form parts of every diet, 
since these are always present to some degree in every animal cell. 

In general, carnivores have a higher protein requirement than 
herbivores and omnivores. Therefore, lean meat or some other pal- 
atable food of high protein content should constitute the major por- 
tion of their diet. Carbohydrates and fat can be utilized by these 
animals, but neither should replace the meat entirely because of the 
essential amino-acids and vitamins contained therein. Carbohydrates 
and fat can be used to supplement exclusively protein diets, though 
the former nutrient is of limited value to most carnivores. Red meat 
or muscle is not the sole source of protein. Tendons, connective tis- 
sue, cartilage, bone, brain, and nerves, as well as the viscera, are 
excellent sources of protein that are frequently wasted. 

Herbivorous animals are able to digest large amounts of roughage. 
The latter should be of good quality in order to insure adequate pro- 
tein, minerals, and vitamins. Small amounts of grain are commonly 
used as a supplement to the roughage. 

Omnivorous animals stand somewhere between the carnivorous and 
herbivorous species as to requirements. Apparently they can utilize 
more carbohydrates than carnivores, and less roughage than 
herbivores. 

Presumably most of the known vitamins required by man are neces- 
sary to most lower animals as well, but perhaps not in the same 
proportions. It is likely that furred and feathered creatures may 
require certain vitamins in greater proportions than mankind, at least 
during the seasons for growing hair and feathers. 

The vitamins * known at this time, and a brief summary of infor- 
mation regarding them, are given below. Since vitamin studies have 
been made primarily of foods used by human beings, and evidences 


* Most of the information regarding vitamins has been condensed from the Physicians’ 
Vitamin Reference Book issued by the H. R. Squibb Co. and the Nutritional Charts issued 
by the A. J. Heinz Co. 


320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of lack of vitamins are usually expressed as to effects on human be- 
ings or laboratory animals, the statements should be evaluated 
accordingly. 

Vitamin A.—Known to exist in oil from cod, halibut, and certain 
other fishes; egg yolk, whole eggs, spinach, liver, raw carrots, cheese, 
fresh prunes, squash, butter, sweet potatoes, green lettuce, cream, 
peas, tomatoes, peaches, salmon, bananas, milk, yellow corn, and al- 
falfa, arranged in the order of their richness in this vitamin. In 
vegetables, vitamin A occurs as carotine and is known as provitamin 
A. Lack of the proper supply of this vitamin is evidenced by eye 
and skin defects, possible susceptibility to infections, and retarded 
growth. 

This vitamin can be given to animals in the form of cod liver oil, 
halibut liver oil, and several well-known medicinal concentrates. 
The vitamin A value in cod liver oil is seriously impaired by expos- 
ing the oil to light or heat, or when the oil becomes rancid. It 
should be used sparingly because of injurious effects due to overdos- 
age. Green plants eaten in sufficient quantities will ordinarily sup- 
ply the animal with enough of this vitamin. Apparently all verte- 
brate animals require this vitamin. Pregnant and nursing females 
require unusual quantities. 

Vitamin B, (thiamin hydrochloride).—Found in yeast, wheat 
germ, rice polishings, whole-grain cereals, peanuts, dried beans, 
liver, milk, nuts, malt, ham, bacon, almonds, spinach, prunes, pars- 
nips, carrots, corn (canned), and greens, in order of the richness of 
their content. | 

Deficiencies in this vitamin in man are evidenced by lack or loss 
of appetite, retarded growth of young, and increased nervous excit- 
ability, pains, tremor, and muscular fatigue. 

Can be supplied in cod liver oil, halibut liver oil, commercial con- 
centrates, capsules, and drop dosages. Thought to be required by 
all animals, but it is known that ruminants manufacture this in their 
digestive tracts. Others of the B group are also manufactured by 
certain animals. 

This compound is readily destroyed by heat and alkalines. 

Vitamin B, (riboflavin).—Good sources are dried yeast, liver, 
kidney, eggs, meat, wheat germ, spinach, milk, cheese, milk whey, 
turnip greens, carrots, and carrot tops, kale, and cottonseed. 

Deficiency in this vitamin is associated with digestive disturbances, 
retarded growth, reduced lactation, loss of hair and other skin 
troubles, eye diseases, and irritation of the gums and tongue. 

Can be supplied in commercial tablets. 

This compound is destroyed by strong light. 

Nicotinie acid and nicotinic acid amide——Good sources are dried 
or concentrated yeast, liver, lean meat, kidney, heart, buttermilk, 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS-——-WALKER 321 


cabbage, spinach, wheat germ, salmon, dried whey, eggs, kale, milk, 
peas, potatoes, tomatoes, and turnip greens. Deficiency of this vita- 
min in human beings is associated with soreness of mouth, redness 
and itching of skin, swelling of the tongue, diarrhea, vomiting, 
nausea, loss in weight, indigestion, and nervous disturbances. 

Can be supplied in medicines as tablets and solution for hypodermic 
administration (intramuscularly). 

Vitamin B, (pyridoxin).—Good sources are dried yeast, liver, rice 
polishings, meat, fish, maize, whole wheat, egg yolk, wheat germ, 
legumes, milk. 

Deficiency of this vitamin in man is associated with retarded 
growth, anemia, and muscular disorders. Can be supplied in cap- 
sules, or solution for intravenous injections. 

Vitamin @ (antiscorbutie vitamin, ascorbic acid; cevitamic acid) .— 
Found in oranges, lemon and grapefruit juice, raw cabbage, toma- 
toes (fresh or canned) or tomato juice, strawberries, cranberries, 
fresh peas, peaches, apple juice, blueberries, asparagus, canned pine- 
apple, lettuce, broccoli, parsley, brussels sprouts, turnip greens, spin- 
ach, and red and green peppers, in the order of their content. 

Deficiency in supply of this vitamin in man is responsible for 
spongy, bleeding gums, loose, poratic teeth, hemorrhagic tendencies, 
sore and swollen joints, increased capillary fragility, edema, and 
scurvy. Deficiencies more frequently appear in the young than in 
adults. Essential for primates and guinea pigs, but known to be 
synthesized in the body of some animals. In addition to the foods 
listed above, this vitamin can be supplied in the form of cevitamic 
acid tablets. So little is known about vitamin C that anything given 
herein should be considered as suggesting watchfulness and experi- 
mentation. 

Vitamin D (antirachitic factor).—Gocd sources are fish liver oils, 
butter, egg yolk, irradiated milk, and liver, arranged in the order 
of their richness. 

This vitamin is in such small quantities in human foods that 
deficiencies are usually made up by giving the patient viosterol, cod- 
halibut liver oil, or cod liver oil. Lack of the proper supply of this 
vitamin in man is evidenced by improper development of bones, 
muscular weakness, protruding abdomen, delayed development of 
teeth and dental deformation. No doubt many cases of rickets, cage 
paralysis, and other instances of poor bone development in captive 
animals are the result of deficiency of this vitamin. Animals that 
will eat fish livers might obtain enough from this food. Some zoos 
now regularly use viosterol or halibut or cod liver oils to make up 
the deficiency. 

Vitamin EF (antisterility)——Good sources are wheat-germ oil, 
cottonseed oil, lettuce leaves, whole rice, watercress, egg yolk, meat, 


322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


milk, and grains, palm oil, peanuts, and rice oil, arranged in the order 
of their richness. 

Evidence of lack of the vitamin is sterility, placental failure, re- 
tardation of growth, degenerative diseases of nervous system, mus- 
cular weakness, muscular dystrophy, habitual abortion. Enough of 
this vitamin will probably be obtained by most animals that are sup- 
plied with plenty of grain and green food. It is known to be essen- 
tial for dogs and chickens, not essential for goats, sheep, or rabbits. 
Habitual abortions in cattle and pigs have been successfully treated 
with vitamin E preparations. It can be supplied in the form of 
medicine, as wheat-germ oil. 

Vitamin F.—Certain unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, 
were known at one time as vitamin F. There is little evidence to 
justify its use for skin abnormalities when added to the diet or 
when applied externally. The Bureau of Investigation of the Amer- 
ican Medical Association holds much the same opinion. However, 
Weinstein and Glennar state that vitamin F may be of value in some 
diseases of the skin, including allergic eczema. 

Vitamin K (antihemorrhagic).—Good sources are alfalfa, kale, 
spinach, dried carrot tops, tomatoes, chestnuts, soybean oil, and 
certain other vegetables, putrefied fish meal, bran, casein, alfalfa leaf 
meal, hog liver, hemp seed, cabbage, carrot greens, cauliflower, egg 
yolk, rice bran. The sources listed are not necessarily arranged in 
the order of their value, as little is known about the occurrence of 
this vitamin or the amounts necessary for animal welfare. Lack 
of the vitamin results in prolonged coagulation time of blood, and 
anemia. It can be supplied in oil, capsules, and tablets. 

Pantothenic acid (filtrate factor—antidermatitis).—Good sources 
are dried yeast, liver, rice polishings, whole-grain cereals, lean beef, 
egg yolk, milk, peanuts, yeast, molasses, peas, rice bran, salmon, 
wheat bran, wheat germ. Lack of this vitamin is evidenced by corni- 
fied skin, dermatitis, desquamation of skin, granulation of eyelids, 
incrustation of mouth, retarded growth. This vitamin has been 
found essential for the nutrition and growth of chicks, rats, dogs. 

Choline occurs in bran, egg yolk, heart, kidney, liver, pancreas, 
sweetbreads, tongue, fish, fruits, grains, meat, milk, root vegetables; 
it is most plentiful in the first eight. Evidence of the lack of this 
vitamin in human beings is impairment of liver and kidney functions, 
hemorrhagic degeneration of the kidneys, regression of thymus, en- 
largement of spleen. It has been found essential for normal satis- 
factory metabolism, lactation, growth, and structural elements in 
body tissues, and is known to prevent fatty livers and “perosis,” 
or slipped tendon, in turkeys. 

There is no proved commercial source. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 323 


Vitamin P.—The “permeability” vitamin (citrin, hesperidin) is a 
factor, other than vitamin C, in paprika and lemon peel. It is 
necessary for normal capillary resistance in guinea pigs. This vita- 
min is present in material (called hesperetin or hespendrii) flavone, 
a colorless crystalline substance. From it are formed numerous yel- 
low dyestuffs, some of which (atrin) have an antiscorbutic vitamin 
influence. 

Vitamin T.—This is a factor present in sesame oil. It is reported 
to produce with regularity an increase in the number of platelets 
in the blood of normal children. A fat, soluble substance not pres- 
ent in cod liver oil or olive oil—therefore not vitamin A; it has been 
called vitamin T. 

Vitamins A and D are the ones most likely to be lacking in diets. 

Many elements available in minerals are known to be essential 
parts of a properly balanced diet for animals. Calcium, phosphorus, 
sodium, magnesium, chlorine, iodine, potassium, and sulfur are re- 
quired in some quantity. Smaller amounts, or mere traces, are re- 
quired of copper, manganese, cobalt, zinc, iron, and fluorine. 


MEATS 


All animal products will be treated under this heading. 

Beef, horsemeat, chickens, rats, mice, and rabbits are most com- 
monly used. However, almost all meats will be eaten by some animals. 
When the flesh of larger animals such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats, or 
pigs is fed, efforts should be made to feed not only the red meat but 
also the skin, glands, such as the liver, blood, viscera, fat, bones, bone 
marrow, and brains. 

Chickens, pigeons, mice, rats, rabbits, and other small animals 
should be given freshly killed, and whole, if possible. 

Milk is an excellent food, especially for building bones. It is often 
taken by sick animals when other food is refused. Adults in good 
health sometimes take milk alone; and milk is a good vehicle for giv- 
ing medicines to an animal. Raw eggs can frequently be mixed in 
it to provide very nutritious food for such animals as anteaters, car- 
nivores that are not well, and young animals. Dried skim milk is 
especially useful for travelers. Evaporated milk can be used wher- 
ever raw milk is needed, and need only be diluted with water. 

Chicken and other eggs are excellent foods and can be used raw or 
boiled, alone, or mixed with other foods. 

Cheese and cottage cheese are valuable for supplying the important 
protein of milk. 

Insects are eaten by such great numbers of animals that they should 
not be overlooked in providing foods for many different species. 

430577 —42——-22 


324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


One of the most convenient means of maintaining a supply of in- 
sects is to raise mealworms (Tenebrio molitor, or Tenebrio obscurus). 
These are generally fed in the larval or worm state, which is about an 
inch long and 1 inch in diameter. Such larvae are easily raised and 
appear to be almost ideal food. 

In the National Zoological Park, the mealworm cultures are kept 
in deep trays or drawers about 40 inches long, 20 inches from front to 
back, and 8 to 10 inches deep, with metal bottoms and a metal over- 
hang at the top. Bran is put in the drawer to a depth of 3 or 4 inches 
and two layers of burlap are placed on the bran. The culture is occa- 
sionally sprinkled lightly with water to supply moisture, and pieces of 
potato, apple, and various green foods are put into the bran to supple- 
ment the mealworms’ diet. 

Because the larvae congregate between the two layers of the burlap, 
it is an easy matter to scoop up quantities of them after raising the 
top layer. It is also possible to separate them from the bran by sifting 
through a coarse mesh screen, allowing the bran with the dusty residue 
and small worms and eggs to fall back into the tray. 

Small cultures can be kept in pound coffee cans, or almost any con- 
tainer that has ventilation and will retain the insects. 

Grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets are favorite foods. Whenever 
they can be captured alive, they afford excellent variety in the diets 
of the many creatures that eat them. It is probable that grasshop- 
pers or crickets could become staple articles of food for many ani- 
mals by arranging for the capture and proper drying of them in 
regions where they are especially plentiful, as for example, in the 
grasshopper-infested regions of the western United States and of 
Africa. Analysis of grasshoppers shows that they are excellent 
food, and chickens fed on grasshoppers have made good growth.’ 

Waxworms and the adult waxmoths (Galleria mellonella) are 
excellent food for small toads, frogs, and many other creatures— 
particularly those that require very soft, tender insect food. They 
are pests of bee culturists and can sometimes be obtained from bee 
raisers. Cultures can be maintained in almost any sort of box or 
container that is tight enough to prevent the insects from escaping 
and that provides some ventilation, such as that given by screen wire 
openings. The waxworms are supplied with ath bee comb on which 
they feed. If bee comb is not available, the insects will thrive on 
the following mixture: 1 part of fine corn meal, 2 parts of whole- 


7 Information on the value of grasshoppers as food for animals and methods of capture 
and treatment are to be found in Locusts versus agriculture (pp. 35-37), by Ignacio 
Villamor, published by the Agricultural Service of the Philippine Islands, Manila, P. L., 
1914, This article tells of excellent success in feeding chickens with locusts; Grasshopper 
control in Indiana, by J. J. Davis, Cire. No. 88, Indiana Agr. Exp. Sta., Lafayette, Ind., 
January 1919; Grasshoppers and their control, by J. R. Parker, Farmers Bull. No. 1828, 
U. S. Dep. Agr., Washington, D. C. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 325 


wheat flour, 2 parts skimmed-milk powder, 1 part powdered dried 
yeast, and 2 parts of standard wheat middlings. This should be 
thoroughly mixed. When ready for use, it should be mixed with 
equal parts of honey and glycerine until about the consistency of 
wet sand.® 

The adults, maggots, and pupae of the common housefly (Musca 
domestica) and the bluebottle or blowfly (Calliphora sp.) are good 
and convenient forms of food for a number of animals. They can 
be caught and raised fairly easily. One method of capturing the 
insects and of starting the cultures is to place in the open, where 
flies can get to it, a conical or pyramidal screen wire cage with a 
smal] hole in the top plugged with a cork or a piece of paper, and 
with a door on the side that can readily be closed. This is usually 
placed in a pan or tray in which is meat or fish to attract the flies, 
and the door of the cage is left open. ‘The flies enter the cage to lay 
their eggs on the meat or fish. If one desires the adult flies at that time, 
he closes the door and removes the flies by inverting a wide-mouth 
bottle or screen wire bag over the opening in the top of the cage 
after the stopper or paper is removed. Now, by tapping on the 
sides of the cage, the flies can be induced to go upward into the 
jar or screen wire container in which they can then be transported 
to the cage containing the animal that is to be fed. The eggs are 
permitted to hatch into maggots. These feed on the meat or fish, and 
in this stage can be fed to animals, or they can be allowed to pupate 
and permitted to hatch into adult flies, thus maintaining the cycle. 
If there is a layer of sand or sawdust an inch or two in thickness on 
the bottom of the pan on which the meat is placed, the maggots will 
enter this to pupate. The pupae will hatch into adult flies in 6 to 
15 days, depending on the temperature. However, by placing the 
pupae in a refrigerator, hatching can be delayed indefinitely. The 
pupae can be removed from the refrigerator from time to time in 
such numbers as needed, and permitted to become warm, whereupon 
they will hatch into flies that can be supplied to chameleons, aniles, 
and such other creatures as require this food. Shrews and a few 
other mammals, and many birds and some reptiles, will enjoy the 
maggots and pupae when they might not take the flies. 

Cockroaches can often be readily obtained and are freely eaten by 
many animals. Cultures can easily be maintained. 

EKarthworms (Lumbricus) are excellent food for many animals, and 
cultures can be kept in rich garden soil in almost any container that 
will prevent the worms from escaping. Earthenware or wooden 
containers are preferable to tin. The soil should be slightly moist 


SThis formula was developed by Dr. Mykola H. Hydak and deseribed by him in the 
Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer., vol. 79, No. 14, pp. 581-588, December 1936. 


326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


and the temperature never allowed to go over 75° Fahrenheit. Earth- 
worms may be fed on well-decayed leaves, powdered bread crumbs, 
pieces of boiled potatoes, and crumbled hard-boiled eggs. The orig- 
inal stock can often be obtained by offering boys a small sum of money 
for capturing them. (The yellowish-green earthworms that are about 
manure piles are almost invariably refused by animals. Persons pur- 
chasing worms from boys should make certain that they are not sup- 
plied with worms from such sources. ) 

White worms, or enchytrae (’nchyiraeus) are from 1 to 2 inches 
long and scarcely larger than threads. They are very good food for 
small fishes and some other small animals, and can be raised in a 
small container such as a granite pan 8 to 10 inches in diameter and 
5 inches deep, filled to a depth of about 314 inches with good garden 
soil. Moisten the soil occasionally, but do not allow it to be wet. 
Give the worms mashed potatoes, boiled rice, bread soaked in milk, 
and see that all the food is covered with soil. The temperature should 
be maintained between 45° and 70° Fahrenheit. Keep the top of the 
pan covered with a piece of slate or glass to prevent the soil from 
drying. 

Common green frogs (Rana) are excellent food for otters, minks, 
raccoons, herons, and some snakes. They can usually be obtained 
from biological laboratories and supply houses, or local boys will fre- 
quently capture them for a small price. Various sizes can be obtained 
from those just past the tadpole stage to full-grown frogs. They are 
generally readily obtainable from dealers in the southern United 
States. The same type of material, however, is obtainable throughout 
most temperate and tropical regions. 

Tadpoles, the tailed, early stage of frogs and toads, are excellent 
food for some animals and can be obtained at a small price from deal- 
ers, or can be captured in quantities with a dip net in their native 
haunts. 

Toads are almost the exclusive diet of the hog-nosed snake. They 
can be obtained from dealers or captured by local boys. 

Small lizards, particularly anolis, the so-called chameleon of the 
southeastern United States, Cuba, and Central America, are inex- 
pensive and good food for small snakes, such as green and garter 
snakes. The principal food of many snakes consists of smaller snakes 
of their own kind or of related species. 

Minnows and other small fish can usually be obtained locally by 
the use of dip nets or small seines, or they can be purchased from 
dealers. 

Shrimp of various sizes, from the large kinds commonly used for 
human food, down to the minute forms, are excellent food for various 
animals. They can be used either fresh or dried. Large shrimp, 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER Sa | 


when used as food for birds that are accustomed to feeding on the very 
small kinds, should be crushed or ground and given in shallow water. 
Dried shrimp can be obtained from dealers in pet foods. 

Crabs, crayfish, and other Crustacea of numerous kinds, including 
lobsters, are eaten by many animals. They can be fed fresh, or the 
dried meat can be soaked or mixed with other foods. Crab scrap, 
the refuse remaining from the commercial packing of crab meat, con- 
tains some meat mixed with a considerable quantity of crab shell. 
This material is used by some zoos with success. It is probable that 
the chitinous material of the shells contains valuable constituents 
necessary for certain animals. In particular, it may assist in keeping 
pink in the plumage of flamingos and roseate spoonbills. This mate- 
rial when fed to such birds must be finely ground and placed in water. 

Fish, canned, dried, or frozen, is extensively used on fur farms and 
is an excellent food for foxes and other fur bearers. The livers of 
some fish are known to be as valuable as cod livers as a source of 
vitamin A. 

PLANT PRODUCTS 


There are probably only a few kinds of plants that do not produce 
material consumed by one or more animals at some time during the 
year, and practically every portion of the plant is used—buds, flowers, 
seeds, seedpods, leaves, twigs, bark, roots, and the various fleshy roots 
and modified underground stems that are rootlike in appearance. Such 
material is generally readily accessible and for the most part can be 
freely offered to animals. If animals generally have had a satisfac- 
torily varied diet and do not have some particular craving due to a 
dietary deficiency that prevents them from using customary good 
judgment, they will rarely eat plant products that are not good for 
them. 

Bananas are perhaps the most universally accepted of all foods. 
Many animals that have never had an opportunity to become 
acquainted with them eat them freely at the first opportunity. Bananas 
should be well ripened, preferably to the point of the skins becoming 
freely marked with brown or black. Most animals do not eat the 
skins, but there is no harm in giving the animal the whole fruit. 

Oranges, prunes, apples, figs, grapes, plums, melons, apricots, and 
practically any fruit that is available will be eaten, fresh or dried, 
by some animals. Raisins are particularly convenient. 

Seeds of a great variety are excellent food, and relished by many 
animals. The seeds most readily available in the United States are 
the common grains—corn (cracked), wheat, oats (whole, crushed, or 
rolled), rye, barley, Kaffir corn, milo maize, hemp, canary, millet, and 
cooked rice. Sunflower seeds are especially enjoyed, but are too rich 


328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


and fattening to be the major portion of a diet. Soybean meal, beans 
(cooked), and other leguminous products are excellent foods. 

Wheat middlings, a byproduct of the manufacture of white flour, 
is largely composed of wheat germ. It is, therefore, an excellent 
material to put into bread and mashes, and to use otherwise. 

Nuts are particularly good food for many animals. Such hard nuts 
as walnuts and hickory nuts, and somewhat softer nuts such as pecans, 
hazel nuts, or filberts, are especially valuable in providing such animals 
as squirrels with a means of wearing down their incisor teeth. How- 
ever, if the teeth have grown to much more than normal length before 
the nuts are given to the animals, it may be impossible for the cutting 
edges to come to bear on the nuts. This will make it necessary to 
cut the teeth to give the animal itself a chance to keep them worn down. 

Acorns, which grow throughout much of the world, are relished by a 
surprisingly wide variety of animals, including squirrels and other 
rodents, skunks, hogs, deer, bears, and many more. 

Peanuts (not only the unroasted nuts, but also the roasted and the 
salted ones) are relished by great numbers of animals. The seeds of 
cherries, peaches, and almonds can be safely offered to animals. 

Germinating grain and the young green grain plant are particularly 
rich in vitamins A and E. Many animals are very fond of this food, 
which can readily be supplied them by germinating the grain in pans 
or boxes containing a little moist earth or sand, or merely with moist 
cotton. A new pan of germinating or growing grain can be placed in 
the cage each day, or as often as is necessary. 

Many waterfowl, particularly geese, normally are grass eaters. 
They therefore relish lawn clippings and some of the common garden 
weeds. A suitable substitute for fresh material of this kind can be 
supplied by slightly soaking bright alfalfa hay and chopping it up 
into short lengths. Chopped hay is especially valuable in the winter, 
when green food is not readily available. 

Alfalfa leaf meal is now available through poultry and livestock 
feed houses. It is an excellent food for many animals that habitually 
eat hay, and for a great many that eat only a small amount of dried 
vegetation. 

Hay of the various leguminous plants (especially alfalfa, clover, soy- 
bean, cowpea, etc.) is particularly high in protein and vitamin A and 
is very nutritious. 

If several different kinds of hay of first-class quality can be obtained 
and offered to the animals, the best results will ordinarily be obtained. 
However, if several different kinds are not available, it is possible to 
do very well with hay that is well cured but which contains a mixture 
of weeds, grass, clover, and other legumes. The refuse left by the 
animals after they have picked through this should be carefully 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 329 


examined to ascertain what proportion of it is not acceptable to them, 
and if the proportion seems unduly high, efforts should be made to 
obtain a different mixture. 

It is very important that hay should not be moldy or musty, and 
that it does not contain the so-called foxtail and other grasses and 
grasslike plants (Hordeum, Bromus, and others) that have seeds bear- 
ing barbed awns that penetrate the mouths of the animals, causing bad 
sores which frequently lead to serious ulcers, and occasionally permit 
infectious organisms to enter through the injuries. 

The custodian of animals that will eat any green food should be 
constantly alert to obtain the wide variety that is available through- 
out the year. In this category are lawn clippings, comprised mostly 
of grass and clovers, weeds from vacant lots, roadsides, and fields, 
leaves, twigs, and small branches of woody plants. Small branches 
are particularly desirable during the winter, when grass, clover, 
weeds, and leaves are not readily available. It should be borne in 
mind that great numbers of animals browse and make such coarse 
vegetation a considerable portion of their diet. 

Root crops such as beets (red and sugar), sweet potatoes, and yams 
(raw and cooked), carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and others are valuable 
foods and constitute a convenient means of supplying almost all 
animals with fresh green food that they like. 

Cabbage, lettuce, kale, spinach, celery, and other such garden prod- 
ucts are good, and can usually be obtained. 

A food mixture that meets the requirements of many animals is 
composed of chopped vegetables such as beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, 
cabbage, kale, crushed oats, and bread. 

In the Tropics there are many fruits, vegetables, leaves, and stems, 
insects and other animals that are readily available. Such are not 
mentioned herein because few of them can be obtained in the Tem- 
perate Zones where most captive animals are kept. 

Persons who have access to the seacoasts might well try out some 
of the algae (such as the so-called sea lettuce and the coarser kelps) 
as elements in food mixtures calling for green food. This material 
is found in the stomachs of many animals, and the extent to which 
it is taken intentionally is not known. It is known, however, that 
sea lettuce is used by aborigines. The seaweeds are rich in iodine, 
a good preventative of thyroid disturbances. 

Water, fresh, clean, and pure, should with few exceptions always 
be accessible. Various animals in the wild have developed many 
different ways of satisfying their requirements for water. Some 
can and will drink freely from pans of water; others might die for 
lack of water, even when there was plenty in their pans. Certain 
lizards, for example, take water through their skin, and need to be 


330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


sprinkled occasionally or dipped in water. Some of the little desert 
mammals apparently do not know how to drink water from a con- 
tainer, as they are accustomed to obtaining only occasional drops 
of dew or rainfall from leaves and stems. Their food may be 
sprinkled with a little water so that they can get a few drops at a 
time. Animals that inhabit arid regions usually obtain most of the 
moisture for their systems either by manufacturing it from dry seeds 
they eat, or from the vegetation. In captivity, they will obtain much 
of their required moisture from fresh vegetation, but they should 
also from time to time be offered a wisp of cotton saturated with 
water. They may be supplied with water from a little glass sipping 
tube somewhat like a medicine dropper, with the point bent in U shape 
so that it operates as a fountain, but will give out the water only a 
drop at a time as the animal takes it. 

It is entirely possible that the general lack of success in keeping 
various marine animals in captivity has been due to the failure of the 
captor to supply them with salt water of suitable composition. Some 
are accustomed to living alternately in salt and fresh water a part of 
each year; others spend their entire lives in either. Some appear to 
require salt water either for drinking or for its healing and curative 
properties. However, many marine animals appear to adapt them- 
selves gradually to fresh water. 

Very satisfactory artificial sea water can be made by dissolving 314 
pounds of Turks Island salt in 100 pounds of fresh water. 

Minerals essential for building body tissues will ordinarily be 
obtained from the food if the diet is sufficiently varied and the animals’ 
glands are functioning properly. It is, however, often desirable to 
supply calcium in the form of calcium phosphate, ground bone, or 
old dried bones on which the animals may chew. 

Enough iodine can usually be supplied in iodized or rock salt if 
the animal will take it. If not, iodine can be given in organic form, 
or with the feed. 

Salt requirements seem to vary widely. Salt appears to be essen- 
tial to the welfare of cattle, sheep, deer, goats, horses, and rabbits, 
but is rejected by many animals. A safe plan is to offer it to almost 
all, and let them accept or refuse. 

Many prepared foods can be used advantageously, such as some of 
the canned meats and meat mixtures. In addition, zoos and animal 
keepers have developed certain other foods which are listed below, 
together with formulas for two of them. 

Bear bread.—The National Zoological Park uses bread made up in quantities 
of about 200 pounds at a time as follows: 100 pounds of flour, 60 pounds of bran, 


2 pounds of salt, % pound of yeast, and 1 pound of blackstrap molasses. This 
is thoroughly mixed with water, allowed to rise, and is baked like other breads. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—-WALKER Sok 


Mockingbird food.—This is made up by preparing a stock food consisting of 5 
parts of zwiebach, 1 part of crissal (meat meal), 14 part of ant eggs. To this 
stock food add as used: hard-boiled eggs, grated carrots, ground hemp seed, and 
cod liver oil. The stock food can be made up in quantities and stored indefinitely. 

Ensilage (silage) has been so extensively and successfully used in 
feeding cattle and other livestock that it might well be tried as a food 
for some of the wild animals kept in captivity, such as bison, antelopes, 
deer, sheep, goats, and others. 

The prepared fish foods are the most convenient and economical 
diet for small aquarium fish that are kept in most homes. 

“Ant eggs,” which are really the dried eggs of termites, are valuable 
food for many insectivorous birds, and are particularly valuable when 
birds of paradise are moulting and growing their new plumage. It is 
entirely possible that these eggs would also be valuable for small 
insectivores. 

Honey is particularly enjoyed by bears. 


SOURCES OF FOOD 


To obtain suitable foods for various animals kept in captivity will 
frequently tax the resourcefulness of the caretaker. It should be 
borne in mind, however, that pet stores and animal dealers generally 
carry some of the unusual types of material required. In addition to 
the markets and stores that sell the usual vegetables, meats, fish, seeds, 
and fruits, bakeries can supply stale bread which is still palatable and 
excellent animal food. Meat-packing plants and abbatoirs can fur- 
nish animal offal, some of which is particularly valuable. In poultry 
markets, the viscera and heads of chickens, turkeys, and other fowl 
can be obtained. Fish livers can often be obtained at fish markets, 
wharves, and canneries. 

Biological supply houses are also usually able to furnish articles 
that are not on the ordinary market, such as frogs, tadpoles, toads, 
snakes, and other wild material. Another means of obtaining food is 
to solicit the help of local boys, who are almost invariably interested 
and willing, for a small consideration, to obtain such material as 
insects, worms, frogs, toads, salamanders, crabs, crayfish, and plants. 
Valuable help can also be obtained from fishermen, hunters, and trap- 
pers, who may be willing to supplement their incomes or to tell one 
where and how to capture material. 


CAGES AND ENCLOSURES 


Animals are so varied in their needs that many different types of 
cages, enclosures, shipping crates, and other devices are needed for 
safekeeping and displaying them under conditions which will main- 
tain them in good health. In general, all devices for restraining 


332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


animals must be made adequate as to safety, must provide ample 
space for the animals to move about and obtain exercise, and should 
be so constructed as to be easily cleaned. Large enclosures that are 
fenced for retaining such animals as horses, zebras, deer, antelope, 
kangaroos, etc., may be of almost any convenient size, depending on 
the area available. They may be large pastures in which people 
may walk or drive. If the general public is to view the animals from 
outside the enclosure, it is preferable that the enclosures have a depth 
from front to back of from 150 to 200 feet; a greater depth is likely 
to permit the animals to get so far away that the public does not 
obtain a good view of them. The front, where the public is to pass, 
may be of any convenient length, but should not be less than 50 
feet for the larger animals. The restraining barriers for enclosures 
of this type can be wire fences, palisades, rock walls, or moats, or 
combinations of any or all of these. The moat treatment requires 
greater ground area, but is particularly effective in that there is no 
obstruction of the view. If the moat is properly constructed, the 
animals can be entirely secure. 

The conventional cage varies from small bird cages made of wire 
or partially of glass, to large cages adequate for gorillas and other 
powerful or dangerous animals, The size and, to some extent, the 
type of material to be used will largely be determined by the kind 
of animal to be enclosed. In general, no cage should be smaller 
than five times the length of the animal, although probably the 
majority of animals are kept in smaller enclosures. Since maximum 
visibility of the animal is particularly desirable, the cage should be 
of strong material of small dimensions so that it will cause the 
minimum obstruction to the visitor’s view, at the same time furnish- 
ing adequate security. Glass can be used for many cages. 

In constructing cages side by side, there should either be a solid 
partition between them so that the animals cannot get their toes, 
fingers, arms, or legs through into the adjoining cage where they might 
be bitten or otherwise injured, or, if mesh partitions are used, these 
should be double and far enough apart so that the animals cannot 
reach into the adjoining cage. 

Aquaria and tanks can vary in almost infinite degree, from the 
cans or pans in which small boys frequently and sometimes success- 
fully keep fishes, toads, frogs, and turtles, up to elaborate aquariums 
and large tanks. 

Restraining the animal by means of a collar about the neck or, in 
cases of some monkeys, a belt immediately in front of the hips, or a 
strap on the legs of birds is frequently practiced. Before leaving 
an animal entirely unwatched in the early stages of making it secure 
in this manner, it is well to make certain the animal does not become 
entangled in the chain or leash attached to the collar or belt. Some 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER goo 


animals regularly become entangled, with the result that they strain 
or injure themselves. Others appear to learn quickly how to avoid 
such troubles. 

When animals are so restrained, it is particularly important that 
the chain be short enough so that it cannot become entangled with 
such objects as pegs in the ground, limbs in trees, crossarms on posts, 
or other obstructions. 

If careful attention is given to choosing species that will not harm 
each other, and sufficient space and suitable conditions are provided, 
very attractive and interesting groups can be maintained. For 
example, in a large cage or outdoor enclosure with pools or other 
natural features, several different species of birds (see pl. 4, fig. 1), 
reptiles, and mammals can be exhibited if properly selected. Large 
cages with many individuals of a single species afford considerable 
activity; and if belligerent individuals are eliminated, such groups 
frequently do well and multiply, if provided with the proper facilities 
for nesting or rearing young. 

Heed should always be given to placing cages, aquaria, or chained 
animals where conditions can be comfortable regardless of the weather 
and without too much dependence on the thoughtfulness of caretakers. 

Modern steel alloys, particularly the so-called stainless steel of the 18 
and 8 group, are exceptionally good material for cage construction, as 
they are very strong and do not corrode under contact with excretions 
and secretions of the animals. The dull finishes are preferable, as they 
are less conspicuous to the eye. Electric welding is particularly desir- 
able in the construction of such cages, as it provides a maximum of 
strength with a minimum bulk of material. The aluminum alloys 
should be avoided, as all that have come to my attention when used for 
making cages have been subject to very rapid corrosion from the ex- 
cretions and secretions of the animals. When in contact with steel, 
this action is still further accelerated. 

In regard to all cage and paddock construction there should con- 
stantly be borne in mind the fact that there must be no sharp projec- 
tions about the cage on which animals can hurt themselves. Ends of 
wires should be carefully bent or otherwise guarded to prevent animals 
from injuring themselves or leaving tufts of hair or fur on them. If 
there is to be more than one animal in an enclosure, it is well to avoid 
having any of the walls come together at angles less than 90°. Angles 
of about 135° are to be preferred as they will provide no narrow cor- 
ners into which one animal can drive another and harm it. The same 
idea should be borne in mind in constructing shelter houses for the 
larger hoofed animals. 

Practically every enclosure should have some kind of a shelter or 
nest box. Houses may be built in the corner of the yards for large 


334 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


animals, or dens just outside the cage with an opening into it, or for 
small creatures, nest boxes placed in the cage. 

It is desirable to provide the most natural type of surroundings 
possible. Well-drained earth, sand, or gravel surfaces for animals 
that are not vigorous diggers should be provided. Burrowing animals 
can often be provided with soil in enclosures having cement or brick 
walls, and bottoms several feet below the ground level. These are 
good for such animals as badgers, skunks, prairie dogs, and many 
others. 

Cement floors are extensively used, but in many respects are very 
bad for animals. It is to be hoped that more resilient, less absorbent, 
less heat-conductive material will be found and generally adopted. 

It is preferable not to ship male deer when they have large antlers, 
but if this cannot be avoided, due heed should be given to providing 
ample protection so that the animal cannot get into situations in which 
it will harm itself, or from which it cannot extricate itself. Never 
ship deer while the antlers are in the velvet if it can possibly be avoided. 

Shipping containers should be carefully constructed to make certain 
that there are no sharp or rough places inside on which the animals 
can injure themselves. Furthermore, there must be no point at which 
the animal can get its hands or feet out through cracks, or it may 
break its legs or strike at other animals or transportation employees. 
The bottoms of crates should be so constructed that they drain quickly, 
and bedding should be provided on the floor. Crates for hoofed 
animals should be provided with shallow cleats or roughened suffi- 
ciently to provide good footing. 

Mangers or other containers for food and water should be so placed 
that they can be refilled by transportation crews with a minimum 
of trouble, and it is important that they be so placed that they can 
readily be removed, cleaned, and put back into place after refilling. 
Full instructions should be placed on the outside of the crate as to 
the care of the animal—that is, as to range of temperature at which 
it should be maintained, whether it is to be kept away from steam 
pipes or must be kept warm, not to leave in the hot sun, the kinds of 
food, quantities, and times it should be fed and watered and, if the 
trip is a long one, full instructions relative to cleaning the cage. Cages 
intended for long trips should be provided with so-called foot boards 
or long, narrow, clean-out doors at the bottom which will permit keep- 
ing the cage clean without allowing the animal to escape. Such doors, 
however, must be so attached that they can readily be unfastened and 
fastened by the caretakers, and so secured that the animal cannot get 
its legs out through them. 

In place of foot boards, a false movable bottom like a very shallow 
drawer can be used for animals that are not heavy or do not stand 
on the floor all the time. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 300 


In general, only a single animal should be placed in a shipping 
crate or compartment in a crate. Often animals that would get 
along nicely together in large quarters under normal quiet sur- 
roundings will fight and injure each other when placed in close 
quarters and subjected to the irritations and excitement of transpor- 
tation. Many entirely unnecessary losses occur by crowding animals 
together under such conditions. If two animals are accustomed to 
being together and they are especially fond of each other, it is some- 
times safe to send them in this manner. A safer way, however, of 
permitting them to have the benefit of companionship and at the 
same time not take risks on their fighting, is to place them in the same 
crate with a partition between. The partition should be of such 
small mesh that the animals cannot get their toes, tails, or ears into 
the adjoining compartment where they might be injured. 

The size of the crate for shipping animals is subject to great 
variation, depending upon the kind of animal and the length of the 
trip. In all cases, however, the crate should be large enough so 
that the animal can take its normal position without being crowded. 
Under no circumstances should the crate be so small that the animal 
must be shoved into it and compelled to hold itself in a strained 
position. It should be unnecessary to mention such a subject, but 
occasionally it is found that animals have actually been shipped 
under such conditions. The larger animals, such as horses, cattle, 
and large antelope, are most often shipped in crates that are slightly 
more than the length of the animals, and sufficiently high so that the 
animal does not injure its head against the top, and but little wider 
than the body so that the animal cannot turn around in it. However, 
if the animal is to go on a long trip, it is desirable that the crate be 
large enough so that it can move about freely. In some instances, 
animals in narrow crates have thrown themselves over backwards, 
landed on their back and been unable to get up. 

Most of the small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and some birds 
regularly take shelter if they have the opportunity to do so. It is 
therefore an excellent plan to provide in the shipping crate a small 
box with appropriate nest material so that the animal can go into it 
and feel secure and sheltered. This greatly facilitates cleaning the 
cage, for the animal will soon learn to stay in the box while the cage 
is being cleaned, or if it does not do this, it is an easy matter to close 
the entrance to the box while such work is being done. Pains should 
be taken to make certain that animals can keep themselves clean and 
dry. This is sometimes accomplished by providing a shelf slightly 
above the floor, on which the animal can repose much of the time, or 
by furnishing a wire-mesh bottom to the cage. Occasionally such 
animals as beavers and other semiaquatic creatures are shipped with 


306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


water, but without opportunity to dry themselves. This often results 
fatally. 

Exterior handles should be provided on shipping crates so that 
transportation crews will have no difficulty handling the containers. 
Express charges are by weight, so shipping containers should be as 
light as possible consistent with strength and adequate size. 


MEDICAL AND SURGICAL CARE 


In spite of the extensive studies that have been made of human ail- 
ments by the medical and allied professions, much remains to be 
learned about these ailments, and how they should be treated. It 
should be borne in mind that great numbers of people, with vast 
resources at their command, have participated in these studies, and 
their subjects—other human beings—have been able to cooperate with 
the research workers by telling of their ailments and otherwise facili- 
tating the study. With wild animals the problem is radically dif- 
ferent. We must assume that they are subject to more or less the same 
general types of ailments that their human relatives suffer; but, nat- 
urally, every one of the thousands of different kinds of animals has 
its own particular reactions to its own particular ailments. 

Very little has been done in the study of animal diseases, except as 
to fur-bearing and domesticated species. Because the subjects cannot 
cooperate by describing their symptoms we must assume, for all prac- 
tical purposes, that we know very little about the details of their ail- 
ments, and the precise medical and surgical treatment that should be 
given. This emphasizes the importance of preventive measures to 
keep captive animals fit, rather than depending on medical or surgical 
treatment after ill health has set in. Proper feeding and the preven- 
tion of undue exposure to contagion or injury will go far in helping 
us toward the desired goal. 

Evidences of ill health should be constantly watched for, and any 
unusual condition should be carefully observed. Diarrhea, constipa- 
tion, failure to eat, excessive thirst, dullness of the eyes, unusual 
lethargy, and convulsions are indications that something is wrong. 
Other symptoms, such as purulent discharges from the eyes and nose, 
rapid or labored breathing, ragged or rough-appearing pelage and 
plumage should also be looked for. A trained observer can use these 
various symptoms as guides to the probable nature of the disease. 

A few treatments are now fairly well known, and can usually be 
applied safely by competent veterinarians with fair chances of suc- 
cess. Medicines should ordinarily be given only by veterinarians. 
Sometimes, however, physicians will give advice when a veterinarian 
is not available. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—-WALKER 337 


Struggling with an animal to control it while giving it medical or 
surgical treatment often does more harm than can be offset by the 
treatment. If treatment is essential, care and strategy should be 
used. Animals can be rendered sluggish by giving certain drugs in 
their drinking water. Small creatures can be anesthetized in closed 
containers. Medicine can often be given in food without arousing 
the animal’s suspicions. 

The size of the dose of medicine should in general be proportionate 
to the size and weight of the animal; that is, a small animal should 
be given a small dose, and a large animal a large dose. 

So-called cage paralysis probably has numerous causes. Inactivity 
has been mentioned. Rickets is another frequent cause. Proper 
food, sufficient sunlight, and in some cases supplementary feeding of 
ricket-preventing medicines and foods will go far toward obviating 
this condition. 

Occasionally some mammals lose their hair gradually or fairly rap- 
idly and do not grow new coats. A corresponding condition some- 
times exists in birds. The cause of this loss of hair and feathers is 
not definitely known, but in some instances it is caused by deficiency 
in diets, though just what dietary measures can be used to prevent it 
is, in the majority of cases, still uncertain. 

Some birds, particularly parrots, develop the habit of plucking 
their own feathers and eating them, or plucking the feathers of their 
cage mates. Apparently this indicates a dietary deficiency, which 
has been remedied in some cases by giving salt, fat, bones, and meat. 
On other occasions such methods have been without beneficial effect. 

The incisor teeth of rodents in captivity are often found to be so 
long the animal cannot eat. In such cases, it is necessary to cut the 
overgrown teeth to a proper length. These teeth grow continuously 
throughout the life of the animal, and the animal will usually keep 
them worn down if it has plenty of wood, nuts, or other hard mate- 
rials to gnaw. If one of these chiseling teeth is broken, the opposing 
tooth must usually be cut at frequent intervals. 

If animals are kept on cement floors without earth or other mate- 
rial over them, careful watch should be kept for corns on the soles of 
the feet, or actual wearing away of the skin and flesh to the bone. 
(See pl. 8, fig. 2.) 

Toenails must sometimes be trimmed. 

It is often desirable to render flying birds flightless so that they 
can be kept on lawns or in large enclosures without wire covers. Here- 
tofore this has generally been accomplished by amputating the ter- 
minal joint of one of the wings. This is a more or less brutal and 
disfiguring method. Another method—eutting one of the flight ten- 
dons—which causes little pain and does not disfigure the bird, was 


338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


developed and described by Dr. Charles R. Shroeder and Karl R. 
Koch.® Persons attempting to use this method should be certain that 
they sever the proper tendon, for otherwise the birds are not rendered 
flightless. 

In some regions flies (Stomowys calcitrans) persistently bite the 
ears of dogs, wolves, coyotes, and foxes. If the animals cannot get 
into a dark den away from the insects, it is well to saturate a cloth 
with a mixture of 10 parts kerosene, 1 part pine creosote, 1 part tur- 
pentine, and 1 part oil of murbane, and hang it at such a location that 
the animal will rub its ears on it as it walks about the cage, or spray 
the animal lightly and the cage heavily with this solution, or some 
other that will keep the flies away. Tar put on the edges of the 
ears has a beneficial effect in preventing fly injury. 

Some animal keepers have placed quinine in the drinking water 
of ailing animals even though there was no specific diagnosis to show 
that quinine was desirable. However, there is no evidence that 
quinine is useful in the treatment of animal ailments in general. 
On the contrary, pure palatable drinking water is known to be of 
great value. Therefore, the indiscriminate dosing with quinine is 
mentioned only to discourage the practice. 

Apparently it is essential that the females of some animals eat the 
placenta or afterbirth in order to start their milk flow. Many animals 
do this. 


SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CARE OF ANIMALS 


The greatly abridged information that follows relative to the care 
of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, is presented to help 
inexperienced persons in caring for the animals that may fall into 
their hands. The order of arrangement in each of the groups follows 
a more or less widely accepted scheme of scientific classification, each 
group starting with the lowest or least specialized, and going to the 
highest or most specialized. 

In the case of animals that are more or less regularly kept in cap- 
tivity or that are known to have been successfully kept, the instruc- 
tions are specific and very abridged. In the case of those that are 
not known to have been kept in captivity, or only rarely or with poor 
results, information will be given about their known habits in the 
wild in the hope that this may furnish clues to successful handling. 


MONOTREMES: EGG LAYERS (MONOTREMAEFA ) 


ECHIDNAS or SPINY ANTBATERS (Echidnidae). Primitive burrowing, egg- 
laying mammals, inhabitants of Australia and Tasmania. Feed mainly on 


® Journ. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc., vol. 97, No. 761, pp. 169-170, August 1940. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 339 


insects. Rarely kept in captivity, but one has lived for 38 years in the Phila- 
delphia Zoo on a diet of one raw egg and one pint of milk daily, with one 
teaspoonful limewater added to the milk. The yolk of the egg is unbroken when 
placed in a shallow dish separate from the milk. 

PLATYPUS or DUCKBILL (Ornithorhynchidae). A primitive egg-laying 
mammal of Australia, now rare in the wild, and almost never kept in cap- 
tivity. Inhabits streams, and burrows in the banks. Feeds on small mollusks 
and probably on water insects. One captured young was kept 4 years on a 
diet of tadpoles, worms, grubs, beetle larvae, duck eggs beaten up and placed 
in a vessel of boiling water until the mixture boiled up like milk, then fed 
in water. The platypus lacks teeth, so apparently needs fine grit with its food. 


MARSUPIALS: MOSTLY POUCHED MAMMALS (MARSUPIALIA) 


OPOSSUMS, MOUSE-OPOSSUMS and WATER OPOSSUMS (Didelphiidae). 
Almost omnivorous. Should be fed on meat, insects, milk, bread, eggs, green 
corn, fruit, vegetables, green leaves, and honey. The smaller kinds are so mouse- 
like in appearance that they are frequently mistaken for rodents, but they have 
sharp-pointed noses and lack gnawing teeth. 

DASYURES (Dasyuridae). Almost omnivorous animals of varied habits. 
Should be offered meat, insects, eggs, bread, bananas and other fruit, some green 
vegetation, seeds, grain. 

TASMANIAN WOLF (Thylacinidae). Feed meat, supplemented with bread, 
fruit, vegetables, milk, and eggs. 

BANDED ANTEATER (Myrmecobiidae), An insect eater not known to have 
been successfully kept. Try meat, eggs, milk, bread, fruit, and soft or soaked 
seeds. 

BANDICOOTS (Peramelidae). The feeding habits of these marsupials are 
varied and little known, some of the animals being very rare. Offer grass, clover, 
and other green vegetation, hay, seeds, meats, insects, bread, and eggs. 

MARSUPIAL MOLE (Notoryctidae). Mainly insectivorous, but probably also 
eats bulbs and fleshy roots and stems. Offer insects, meat, bread, vegetables, green 
vegetation, seeds soaked in water. 

CAENOLESTES (Caenolestidae). Extremely rare and little-known inhabit- 
ants of Andes. Not known to have been kept in captivity. Try same diet as for 
opossums. 

PHALANGERS (Phalangeridae). This group contains some specialized feeders, 
but most of its members eat fruit, honey, and vegetation. The koala, or Aus- 
tralian bear, eats almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves. The smaller kinds are 
known to eat petals of flowers, flower nectar, and insects. If feeding habits are 
not definitely known, offer wide variety of green vegetation, fruits, bread, in- 
sects, and honey. 

KANGAROOS and WALLABIES (Macropodidae). Give them grass, clover, 
weeds, leaves and twigs of trees, vegetables, grain, hay, bread. 

WOMBATS (Phascolomyidae). Burrowing, herbaceous feeders. Offer vegeta- 
bles, grain, grass, clover, weeds, and hay. 

EDENTATES (Edentata), HAIRY ANTHATERS (Myrmecophagidae). In the 
wild, these animals feed almost exclusively on ants or termites, perhaps supple- 
mented with other small insects. In captivity, individuals sometimes do fairly 
well on a diet of mealworms and raw eggs and milk stirred up together. Will 
not survive chilling. 

SLOTHS (Bradypodidae and Choloepodidae). Tropical inhabitants of trees. 
Leaves, buds, twigs, and fruit furnish almost all of their food. The three-toed 


430577—42——_23 


340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


sloth (Bradypus) has not generally been successfully kept in captivity, but the 
two-toed sloth (Choloepus) thrives on a diet of lettuce, bananas, leaves, and 
twigs. They like to go into the water to bathe, but are easily killed by chilling. 
Sloths hang beneath limbs and cannot stand upright. Therefore, they should be 
provided with substantial limbs or vines on which to climb. 

ARMADILLOS (Dasypodidae, Euphractidae, Chlamyphoridae, and Tolypeu- 
tidae). Powerful diggers that feed almost exclusively on insects and perhaps to 
some degree on carrion. Some of them have been very successfully kept when 
fed mealworms, ground meat, eggs, and milk. Some are so nearly toothless as to 
be unable to tear pieces of meat. Armadillos probably thrive best when permitted 
access to the ground, but the walls and bottom of the cage in which they are to 
burrow must be of well-constructed cement. They cannot survive cold weather. 

PANGOLINS (Manidae). Large-scaled inhabitants of Africa and southern 
Asia. Powerful burrowers. Feed mainly on insects, termites, and ants. Have 
not generally been successfully kept in captivity, although some have done fairly 
well when fed on mealworms, ground meat, milk, and eggs. One very young 
animal thrived in the hands of a sailor for more than a month on a diet of green 
beans that had been chewed by the sailor. It also received some canned milk. 


CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS (ARTIODACTYLA) 


CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, OLD WORLD ANTELOPES (Bovidae). Feed 
grass, clover, weeds, leaves and twigs of trees, chopped vegetables, grain, and 
hay. Keep rock salt constantly before them. 

AMERICAN PRONGHORN ANTELOPE (Antilocapridae). Feed grass, clover, 
alfalfa, weeds, grain, hay, chopped vegetables, and rock salt. Do not generally 
thrive in captivity, especially in the eastern United States. Possibly large en- 
closures and a wide variety of food might give better results in keeping them. 

GIRAFFE and OKAPI (Giraffidae). Browsing animals, but giraffe are suc- 
cessfully kept on a diet mainly of hay, chopped vegetables, grain, green vegeta- 
tion, and rock salt. The few okapies that have been taken into captivity have 
been fed a wide variety of green vegetation, hay, grain, and vegetables. Probably 
require Salt. 

DEER, ELK, MOOSH (Cervidae). Feed grass, clover, weeds, leaves and twigs 
of trees and shrubs, hay, grain, chopped vegetables, and rock salt. Moose (Alces) 
forage extensively in swamps and stream bottoms, consuming lily roots and 
leaves, grasses, leaves, and twigs. Have not generally done well in captivity. 
Caribou and reindeer (Rangifer) do not require the so-called reindeer mosses 
(lichens, Oladonia), although they of necessity feed on them extensively on 
their northern ranges. 

MOUSE DEER, WATER DEER OR CHEVROTAIN (Tragulidae). Feed grass, 
clover, weeds, leaves and twigs of trees and shrubs, hay, grain, chopped vege- 
tables, and rock salt. Keep warm. 

CAMELS and LLAMAS (Camelidae). Feed green vegetation, chopped vege- 
tables, hay, grain, and rock salt. 

HOGS and PIGS (Suidae). Feed chopped vegetables, grain, grass, weeds, 
leaves and twigs of trees, acorns and other soft nuts, meat, and bread. Some 
must be kept warm. 

PECCARIES, (Tayassuidae). Same care as hogs. 

HIPPOPOTAMI and PIGMY HIPPOPOTAMI (Hippopotamidae). Feed grass. 
clover, weeds, hay, and a mixture of chopped vegetables and grain. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 341 


ODD-TOED HOOFED ANIMALS (PERISSODACTYLA ) 


HORSES, ZEBRAS, and ASSES (Equidae). Feed grass, clover, weeds, leaves 
and twigs of trees, chopped vegetables with grain, hay, and rock salt. 

TAPIRS (Tapiridae). Feed wide assortment of green vegetation, chopped vege: 
tables with grain, hay, and salt. Tropical animals; require warmth, but some indi« 
viduals have thrived outdoors in northern climates. Give them a good-sized pool 
of warm water. 

RHINOCEROSES (Rhinocerotidae). Grazers and browsers in the wild. Feed 
wide assortment of green vegetation, hay, chopped vegetables, grain, and rock 
salt. They enjoy mud wallow or shower. Avoid chilling. 


ELEPHANTS (PROBOSCIDEA ) 


ELEPHANTS (Elephantidae). Feed wide variety of green vegetation, hay, 
bread, vegetables, grain, and salt. Will survive moderate cold. 


HYRACES (HYRACOIDEA ) 


HYRACES or OLD WORLD CONIES (Procaviidae). Small creatures sup- 
posedly related to the elephants. One group lives in trees, the others live 
mainly around cliffs and rocks. Feed grass, clover, leaves and twigs of trees, hay, 
chopped vegetables, grain. 


SIRENIANS (SIRENIA) 


SIRENIANS or SEA COWS, MANATEE (Trichechidae) and DUGONG (Du- 
gongidae). Marine inhabitants of tropical seas, feed on marine and brackish- 
water vegetation. Offer lettuce, kale, and other fairly soft green foods if marine 
and brackish-water vegetation is not available. Must have tank of warm 
water. Will not survive chilling. Have not generally been successfully kept. 


WHALES, PORPOISES, AND DOLPHINS (CETACEA) 


WHALES, PORPOISES, and DOLPHINS. Mostly large marine mammals, 
some of which are specialized feeders. Only a few of the smaller porpoises 
are known to have been kept in captivity for short times. Occasionally porpoises, 
dolphins, and belugas or white whales are kept in tanks and fed mainly on fish. 


FLESH EATERS (CARNIVORA) 


LIONS, TIGERS, LEOPARDS, JAGUARS, PUMAS, and SMALLER CATS 
(Felidae). Feed meat, viscera of animals, skin, hair and feathers, milk. The 
smaller ones will thrive best on whole chickens, pigeons, rabbits, guinea pigs, 
mice, rats, and milk. Some of the cats will take bananas and other fruits, also 
bread and vegetables. The fossa of Madagascar is so rare that it is seldom seen 
in captivity. Little is known of its habits or the best care for it. Try same 
treatment as for medium-sized cats. 

CIVETS, GENETS, BINTURONGS, and their relatives (Viverridae). Feed 
Inice, rats, birds, meat, including skin, hair, feathers, and glands, liberally supple- 
mented with fruit, vegetables, bread, milk, and eggs. Certain animals of this 
group normally feed mainly on fruits and other vegetation, and apparently all of 


342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


them use considerable fruit. They are all tropical and subtropical animals that 
require protection against cold. 

MONGOOSES and their relatives (Herpestidae). Feed meat with skin, hair, 
feathers, and glands; small birds, mice and rats are particularly good. Some 
of this family are especially fond of snakes, and others like crustaceans, such 
as crayfish, shrimp, and crabs. Also offer fruit. Tropical and subtropical 
animals that require protection against cold. The importation of mongooses 
into the United States is prohibited by law. 

HYENAS (Hyaenidae). Feed the large brown, spotted, and striped hyenas 
meat with skin, hair, feathers, and plenty of bones. The aardwolf has weak 
jaws and small teeth, and is primarily an insect eater. Feed it cooked ground 
meat, insects, eggs, and try mice and small birds. 

DOGS, WOLVES, COYOTES, and FOXES (Canidae). Feed meat with skin, 
hair, feathers, bones, and viscera; also fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, and eggs. 
Much has been written about the care of dogs and foxes. (See bibliography.) 

CACOMISTLE, RINGTAIL or BASSARISCUS (Bassariscidae). Feed meat, 
mice, small birds, insects, and some fruit and green vegetation. 

RACCOONS, COATIMUNDIES, KINKAJOUS (Procyonidae). The kinkajous 
will thrive best on fruit, boiled sweet potatoes, eggs, and some meat, including 
mice and small birds. Raccoons and coatimundies will eat meat, fish, frogs, 
occasionally snakes and lizards, fruit, bread, and some vegetable materials, such 
as corn in the milk, acorns, and boiled sweet potatoes. Kinkajous and coati- 
mundies are tropical animals and should not be subjected to chilling. 

PANDAS and LESSER PANDAS (Ailuridae). Feed the lesser pandas meat, 
eggs, bread and milk, fruit, honey, bamboo, grass, clover, and other green vege- 
tation. The large panda is generally supposed to feed mainly on bamboo, but 
is apparently almost omnivorous, and should be offered a wide variety of vege- 
tation and fruit, milk, and some meat. 

BADGERS, MARTEN, SABLH, SUN BADGERS, SKUNKS, OTTERS, and 
their relatives (Mustelidae). These carnivores eat a wide variety of food. 
Feed whole mice, rats, birds, meat with hair, feathers, viscera, and bones, 
insects, fruit, some green food, soft nuts, bread, milk. Many of these animals 
consume quantities of insects and crustaceans; also some fish, frogs, and 
snakes. Otters have been generally supposed to feed mainly on fish and crus- 
taceans, but the most succcessful otter keeper has found that they thrive best 
with a wide variety, such as crayfish, frogs, snakes, worms, insects, and a 
limited amount of fish. Sea otters have not been kept in captivity. They feed 
mainly on sea urchins (Echinodermata), mollusks (Mollusca), and small 
amounts of crab, mussel, fish, as well as other marine animals and some marine 
plants. ; 

BEARS (Ursidae). Omnivorous. Feed meat with skin, hair, feathers, viscera, 
and bones, insects, fish, liberally supplemented with fruits, grass, clover, and 
other vegetation, including acorns and other soft nuts, bread, milk. Fond of 
honey and other sweets, which may be given in moderation. In temperate and 
cold regions they should be permitted to hibernate quietly in a secure den suffi- 
ciently insulated and provided with bedding so that there is no danger of their 
being subjected to freezing temperature. Captive bears in general do not raise 
their young (which are born while the mother is in hibernation) unless they 
can have such conditions. 


SEALS, SEA LIONS, WALRUSES (PINNIPEDIA ) 


SEA LIONS, SEA BEARS, EARED SEALS, AND FUR SEALS (Otariidae). 
Feed almost exclusively on fish and squid. Sea lions fed on fish are readily kept 
in capitivity. Fur seals have not generally thrived. Should have large pool. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 343 


WALRUSES (Odobenidae). Walruses mainly eat clams and other mollusks— 
possibly other sluggish marine animals and perhaps some plants. Have not 
generally been successfully kept in captivity, although young animals have 
survived on milk and fish for a few months. 

EARLESS or HAIR SEALS (Phocidae). The crab-eating seal of the Antarctic 
feeds mainly on small crustaceans, but has survived for a few months in cap- 
tivity when fed small pieces of fish. The remaining seals are primarily fish 
feeders, and do well on a purely fish diet, although some will occasionally take 
birds and warm-blooded animals. Should have pool. 


RODENTS OR GNAWERS (RODENTIA) 


TREE SQUIRRELS, “FLYING” SQUIRRELS, CHIPMUNKS, SPERMO- 
PHILES, MARMOTS, and PRAIRIE DOGS (Sciuridae). Feed a wide variety 
of vegetable material, such as nuts, acorns, tree seeds, bark, twigs, leaves, fruit, 
green grass, clover, weeds, roots such as beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, and dried 
materials such as hay, grains, seeds. Some meat and bones with or without 
meat should be constantly available for them to gnaw to wear down their teeth. 
Insects are relished by many. Young squirrels and others of this group have 
been successfully raised with cats as foster mothers. Numerous requests are 
received as to how to raise young squirrels. No known method is well tested; 
but the following formula for human babies has been used with excellent suc- 
cess in some instances: 3 parts whole milk (unpasteurized), 1 part prune juice, 
1 part water, a very small amount of calcium gluconate or other invert sugar. 
A little beaten egg is added about every other day; and it has been suggested 
that the addition of a very small amount of the vitamin B group and a drop 
of viosterol might improve the formula. Very young squirrels should be fed 
about every 2 hours with an eye dropper or a doll nursing nipple. When they 
are ready to take some solid food, give uncooked rolled oats, seeds of niaple 
and elm and other soft seeds, also lettuce, grapes and other fruit, carrots, bread, 
and, later, nuts. 

Some squirrels are tropical and will not stand chilling. Others are hardy. 
Always provide nest boxes with plenty of nesting material; likewise trees and 
branches with rough bark, and exercise wheels. 

POCKET GOPHERS (Geomyidae). Feed green or dried grass, clover, weeds, 
vegetables such as carrots, Sweet potatoes, beets, seeds, bone, and wood on which 
to gnaw. These rodents are burrowers that rarely come to the surface of the 
ground. Unless they have dirt in which to dig, they generally do not thrive. 

KANGAROO RATS, POCKET MICH, and SPINY MICE (Heteromyidae). 
Feed assorted seeds, small amounts of vegetables, green and dried vegetation, 
and bread. All of them should have fine, clean sand constantly before them 
with which to keep their fur in good condition. They enjoy running exercise 
wheels. Several members of this group become delightful pets. 

BEAVERS (Castoridae). Feed twigs and limbs of a wide variety of trees and 
shrubs, but preferably of aspen or cottonwood; also grass, clover, weeds, bread, 
and vegetables. Should have a tank of water, but must have a well-drained 
place on which to dry their fur and also a nest den. They must have plenty 
of wood on which to gnaw to keep their incisors worn down. Even then, the 
teeth of captive beavers sometimes require cutting. 

DORMICE (Muscardinidae). Feed same food as listed for squirrels and mice. 

MOUSELIKE CREATURES (Cricetidae). This family contains many attrac- 
tive and interesting little rodents whose combined ranges embrace almost the 
entire world. The habits of many cricetines are not well known, but some of 
these animals can be successfully kept when fed with a considerable variety 


344 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


of seeds, vegetables, green vegetation, fruit, and meat, and supplied with bones, 
wood, cardboard, and other material for keeping their teeth worn down. Nest 
boxes should be well supplied with nest material. Animals from the Tropics 
should not be subjected to chilling. 

MALABAR SPINY MOUSE (Platacanthomyidae). Little-known inhabitants 
of southern India and Cochin China, and not known to the author to have 
been kept in captivity. Try same food as for Cricetidae. 

BAMBOO RATS (Rhizomyidae). Feed vegetables, green leaves and stems, 
hay, seeds, fruit. Must have wood or bones to gnaw. May consume some meat. 
Inhabitants of the Tropics; should not be subjected to chilling. 

MOLE RATS (Spalacidae). Same care as for bamboo rats. 

MICE and RATS (Muridae). This very large family contains, in addition 
to the well-known house mice and house rats, many attractive and interesting 
animals that inhabit most of the Old World. The habits of some kinds are 
little known, but many have been successfully kept by the same care as out- 
lined for the mouselike creatures (Cricetidae). Those from the Tropics should 
not be subjected to chilling. 

AFRICAN DORMICE (Graphiuridae). Not known to the author to have been 
kept in captivity. Try same materials suggested for Cricetidae—the mouselike 
rodents. 

MOUNTAIN BEAVER, SEWELLEL (Aplodontiidae). Almost all of the nu- 
merous efforts to keep it in captivity have resulted in prompt failure. In the 
wild the animal inhabits a very humid region and feeds on a wide variety of 
vegetation, burrowing into hillsides for shelter, but spending much time on the 
surface of the ground or in low vegetation. 

LARGE AFRICAN “FLYING” SQUIRREL (Anomaluridae). Not known to 
the writer to have been kept in captivity. Try foods similar to those of tree 
squirrels. 

DWARF or LONG-TAILED AFRICAN “FLYING” SQUIRREL (Idiuridae). 
Not known to the writer to have been kept in captivity. Try foods similar to 
those of tree squirrels and mouselike creatures. 

JUMPING MICE (Zapodidae). Feed seeds, green vegetables, grass, clover; 
provide with plenty of nest material. Must be given facilities for hibernating in 
winter. 

JERBOAS and their relatives (Dipodidae). Weed assorted seeds, bread, and 
small quantities of green vegetation such as lettuce, and vegetables. Should 
have fine, clean, dry sand constantly available to keep fur in good condition. 

AFRICAN JUMPING MICE or GUNDI (Ctenodactylidae). Not known to the 
author to have been kept in captivity. Try same treatment as that recommended 
for the Cricetidae—mouselike and ratlike creatures. 

AFRICAN JUMPING HARE (Pedetidae). Feed vegetables, lettuce, grass, 
clover, and other greenery; also grains and hay. 

CAPE MOLE RATS, or NAKED SAND RATS (Bathyergidae). Feed vege- 
tables, lettuce, grass, clover and weeds, seeds, and plenty of live roots; also give 
them bones and woody plant stems on which to wear down their teeth. These 
are burrowing rodents of the Tropics, some of them practically naked. They 
should have soil in which to burrow and a uniformly warm temperature. 

OLD WORLD PORCUPINES (Hystricidae). Feed vegetables, greenery, some 
hay, and keep well supplied with wood and bones so they can keep their teeth 
worn down. Animals of the Tropics; should be fairly warm. Unlike the Ameri- 
can porcupines, they are not tree climbers. 

AMERICAN PORCUPINES (Erethizontidae). Feed vegetables, grain, and a 
wide variety of twigs and leaves, and, for the North American porcupines, there 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 345 


should be a generous inclusion of spruce, fir, and pine twigs. Should have heavy 
trees and limbs to climb. 

SPINY RATS (Hchimyidae). Feed the same as mouselike creatures 
(Cricetidae). 

AFRICAN ROCK RATS (Petromyidae). Not known to the author to have been 
kept in captivity. Try feeding like Cricetidae. 

NUTRIA or COYPU (Myocastoridae). Feed grain, vegetables, green vegeta- 
tion, hay, including an abundant supply of twigs and limbs so that they may keep 
their teeth worn down. They need a pool in which to swim and dry land on 
which to sun themselves; also a nest box. Now being extensively raised in cap- 
tivity for their fur. i 

HUTIAS or TREE RATS (Capromyidae). Feed grain, vegetables, green mate- 
rial including twigs and branches so that they may keep their teeth worn down. 
Should have heavy, rough-barked trees and branches on which to climb. 

AFRICAN POUCHED RATS (Thryonomyidae). Feed similarly to Muridae 
and Cricetidae. Be hate 

BRANICKS RAT (Dinomyidae). Very rare, but can probably be kept in 
captivity by being fed chopped vegetables, grain, green vegetation. Possibly will 
eat some dried green material such as alfalfa hay. 

PACAS (Cuniculidae). Feed vegetables, green material (including twigs and 
limbs), hay, grain, and meat. Supply bones for gnawing. 

AGOUTIS (Dasyproctidae). Feed vegetables, green material, dried vegeta- 
tion. Supply wood and bones for keeping their teeth worn down. 

VISCACHAS and CHINCHILLAS (Chinchillidae). Feed grains, vegetables, 
green vegetation. Supply wood and bones for gnawing. 

SOUTH AMERICAN CHINCHILLA RATS (Abrocomyidae). Try feeding 
same as Cricetidae. 

GUINEA PIGS and CAVIES (Caviidae). Feed grain, vegetables, greenery, 
hay, meat. Supply bones for gnawing. 

CAPYBARA (Hydrochoeridae). Feed grain, vegetables, green material, and 
meat. Supply wood and bones for gnawing. Should have pool of warm water 
in which to bathe. A tropical animal and should not be subjected to chilling. 
The largest of living rodents. 


HARES, RABBITS, AND PIKAS (LAGOMORPHA) 


HARES and RABBITS (Leporidae). Feed vegetables, green vegetation, hay, 
grain, and salt. Certain animals of this group are now extensively raised, 
while other wild ones are almost never successfully kept in captivity. Scrupu- 
lous cleanliness, and the keeping of the animals in coarse-mesh wire-bottom cages 
or in large pens, might facilitate the successful keeping of some of the more 
delicate kinds. (See bibliography.) 

PIKAS (Ochotonidae). Animals of the higher mountains of the Northern 
Hemisphere. They have not been much kept in captivity. Try same methods 
as outlined for rabbits and hares. 


AARD-VARK (TUBULIDENTATA) 


AARD-VARK (Orycteropidae). Feed insects (such as mealworms), milk, and 
eggs. 


INSECTIVORES (INSECTIVORA ) 


Many of the insectivores are very small, nervous creatures that have not been 
successfully kept in captivity. Some of them must eat almost continuously or 


346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


they will starve to death. Therefore, food and water should be left before them 
almost constantly. 

TREE SHREWS (Tupaiidae). Feed insects, such as mealworms, waxmoths 
and larvae, ground meat, eggs; also try ripe bananas, and other fruits. Tropical 
animals that will not survive chilling. 

ELEPHANT SHREWS (Macroscelididae). Feed mealworms and other 
insects; also meat. Try eggs, ripe bananas, and earthworms. ‘Tropical animals. 
Must not be chilled. 

GOLDEN MOLES (Chrysochloridae). Feed insects, earthworms, meat, eggs; 
also try green material, vegetables, and fruit. 

HEDGEHOGS (Erinaceidae). Feed mealworms, ground meat, earthworms, 
milk, eggs; may take some fruit and green food. 

MOLES (Talpidae). Feed mealworms, earthworms, ground meat, eggs, milk; 
make available small quantities of seeds that have been soaked in water, and 
small quantities of green vegetation and vegetables. Moles are burrowing 
animals, and apparently soon fret themselves to death if they cannot burrow 
or at least keep themselves well sheltered from light. They are most likely to 
thrive if the soil is slightly moist, but not wet. 

SHREWS, WATER SHREWS, SUN SHREWS (Soricidae). Feed mealworms, 
earthworms, ground meat, milk, rolled oats, eggs, nut meats; offer thoroughly 
ripened bananas, tender green vegetation, vegetables, seeds soaked in water. 
Shrews are burrowers, mostly inhabiting moist locations. They should be given 
water in which to bathe or swim, and moist moss in which to seek shelter, but 
should have a dry nest. 

SOLENODONS (Solenodontidae). Feed insects, mealworms, earthworms, 
ground meat, eggs, milk. Burrowing animals that probably thrive best if pro- 
vided with soil in which they can burrow. Should not be subjected to chilling. 

TENREC (Tenrecidae). Not known to have been kept long in captivity. Try 
feeding same as shrews. 


COLUGO (GALEOPITHECIA ) 


COLUGO or FLYING LEMUR (Galeopithecidae). Not known to the author 
to have been successfully kept in captivity. Presumably omnivorous. Offer 
insects, ground meat, eggs, milk, bread, thoroughly ripened bananas, and other 
fruits; also good assortment of green vegetation. Inhabitants of the Old World 
Tropics. Chilling must be avoided. 


BATS AND FLYING FOXES OR FRUIT BATS (CHIROPTERA) 


FRUIT BATS or FLYING FOXES (Pteropidae). Feed bananas, oranges, and 
a wide variety of fruits. Perhaps will take some meat and eggs. The importa- 
tion of fruit bats into the United States is prohibited by law. 

INSECTIVOROUS BATS ‘(Rhinopomidae, Emballonuridae, Noctilionidae, 
Nycteridae, Megadermidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Phyllostomidae, 
Natalidae, Furipteridae, Thyropteridae, Myzopodidae, Verpertilionidae, Mysta- 
copidae, Molossidae). Mainly small insectivorous bats, most of which occur in 
the Tropics, although some of them range extensively through the Temperate 
Zones ‘and even into the sub-Arctic region. Very few have been kept in cap- 
tivity; but the success that has attended the keeping of some kinds indicates 
that others might be kept by similar methods. The author kept a big brown 
bat (Hptesicus) in his home. The animal was shut in a cage during the day- 
time, but each evening it was given an opportunity to fly about the rooms. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 347 


Others of the same genus have been kept in the National Zoological Park for 
more than 2 years. The author’s bat and those kept in the National Zoological 
Park have been fed almost exclusively on mealworms. Other people have had 
fair success when they fed various insects or meat. Cheese, cream, and dog 
food have likewise been found satisfactory. It would be a good plan to offer 
well-ripened bananas and other soft fruit to any captive tropical bat as some of 
them probably consume such material in the wild, in addition to their principal 
diet of insects. Some of the insectivorous bats are known to be carnivorous, 
killing and eating other bats and small birds. Some also eat flower petals. 
Water should be available at all times, as they drink frequently and copiously. 
A slightly moist atmosphere appears to be favorable to all bats, and many are 
inhabitants of the exceedingly humid Tropics. If the bat is to remain active, 
the temperature should not fall much below 70°, as bats either hibernate or 
migrate to avoid cold weather. If they are to hibernate, they should be 
maintained in a temperature of between 40° and 50° with very high humidity. 

VAMPIRE and FALSE VAMPIRE BATS (Desmodontidae). Can be success- 
fully kept when fed defibrinated blood, or fresh uncoagulated blood. Keep in 
uniformly warm temperature. 

FISH-HATING BATS (Noctilionidae). Bats of this family catch small fish 
and perhaps insects from the surface of the water. Try feeding tiny fish or 
small pieces of fish, insects, meat. They may also eat some fruits. 


LEMURS, MONKEYS, APES (PRIMATES) 


Most monkeys do not survive chilling, but a few can withstand moderate 
winter weather. Some individuals of species from the Tropics become hardy 
and spend much time outdoors in winter if they are given the opportunity. 

AYE AYE (Daubentoniidae). An inhabitant of Madagascar, uncommon in . 
the wild and exceedingly rare in captivity. Apparently feeds mainly on insects, 
but probably also eats fruit. Natives say it eats bamboo. Try feeding insects, 
ground meat, eggs, fruit, leaves. 

TARSIUS (Tarsiidae). Feeds mainly on insects, and probably also eats fruit. 
Try feeding insects, meat (raw and cooked), eggs, fruit, some soft green leaves 
such as lettuce. 

LORIS, SLOW LORIS, POTTO, GALAGOS, and LEMURS (Nycticebidae). 
Apparently omnivorous in the wild. Feed insects, meat both raw and cooked, 
eggs, fruit, green vegetation, seeds, milk, bread. 

MARMOSETS (Callitrichidae), HOWLING MONKEYS (Alouattidae), NIGHT 
MONKEYS (Aotidae), CACAJOUS, OUKARIS, SQUIRREL MONKEYS, SPIDER 
MONKEYS, WOOLLY MONKEYS, CAPUCHINS (Cebidae), BABOONS, 
MACAQUES, VERVETS, GRIVETS, PATAS, LANGURS, and COLOBUS (Cer- 
copithecidae). Almost omnivorous in the wild. Feed the widest possible 
variety of fruits, vegetables, lettuce, cabbage, kale, sweet potatoes and other 
root vegetables, meat (cooked and raw), eggs, bread, milk, leaves, seeds and nuts 
that are not too hard for them to open. The langurs and colobus monkeys are 
primarily leaf eaters and will consume a higher proportion of leaves of a wide 
variety than most of the other monkeys. It is well to vary the diet from day 
to day. 

GIBBONS (Hylobatidae), ORANGS, CHIMPANZEES, and GORILLAS 
(Pongiidae). Feed similarly to the preceding families. Young animals should 
be given practically the same care as babies and young children. 


348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
BIRDS 
OSTRICHES (STRUTHIONIFORMES, STRUTHIONIDAE) 
RHEAS (RHEIFORMES, RHEIDAE) 
CASSOWARIES AND EMUS (CASUARIIFORMES; CASUARIIDAE, DROMICEIIDAE) 


Birds that are members of the four groups listed above can be kept under 
essentially uniform treatment. They eat vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, 
white potatoes, apples, and some form of green food such as kale, cabbage, or 
alfalfa hay, ground or cut into pieces about the size of a man’s thumb. To 
such mixture may be added “bear bread” cut in 1-inch cubes; also small stones 
and oyster shell as grit. Supply water for drinking. Emus enjoy bathing and 
should have a pool of sufficient size. Ostriches are fond of dust baths. 


KIWIS (APTERYGIFORMES, APTERYGIDAE) 


Nocturnal birds. Feed in the evening by burying mealworms or small strips 
of meat (the size of an earthworm) in the soil on the floor of the cage. The 
bird probes for its food. This method is used in the Zoo in Wellington, New 
Zealand. 


TINAMOUS (TINAMIFORMES, TINAMIDAE) 


Feed grain, ground bread, green food, mealworms, and a pinch of ground 
meat. 


PENGUINS (SPHENISCIFORMES, SPHENISCIDAE) 


Specialized feeders; some eat small Crustacea (Euthosia), which form a red 
thin scum on the Antarctic Sea (Ross Sea) known as krill to the whalers; this 
feed is impossible to supply or imitate in captivity. The large and medium- 
sized penguins do fairly well when fed fish cut into strips about 3 inches long 
and 14-inch wide, with the vertebrae removed. It is desirable to soak the fish 
occasionally in cod liver oil. The jackass penguin will eat some oyster shell. 
The Antarctic penguins are accustomed to very low temperature and all of 
them appear to be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections. It is 
therefore desirable to provide them with artificially cooled rooms (pl. 2, fig. 2), 
the air of which is frequently changed by the introduction of air that has been 
filtered to free it of dust and micro-organisms, and from which most of the 
moisture has been removed. This type of care should be provided continuously 
from the time the birds are brought to temperate regions. The throat infection 
to which penguins are subject is caused by mold of a type that grows freely 
on hay and straw. Such bedding should be kept away from them until they 
are in their permanent quarters and even then should be introduced only 
when needed as nesting material and only after it has been subjected to treat- 
ment that will kill the spores of the plant. The black-footed or jackass pen- 
guins do fairly well in captivity in the Temperate Zone without elaborate 
facilities for their care. They appear to thrive best in temperatures ranging 
from about 55° to 60°. The Galapagos penguins do not require artificial cool- 
ing, as they are accustomed to live on desert islands at the Equator. 


1 Cod liver oil should be supplied to practically all birds that are kept indoors. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 349 


LOONS (GAVIIFORMES, GAVIIDAE) ; GREBES (COLYMBIFORMES, COLYMBIDAB) 


In the wild these birds eat mainly fish and small aquatic animals. Although 
common in the wild, they are so rare in collections as to indicate that the 
proper procedure for successfully keeping them has not been hit upon. It is 
possible that if they were supplied with large tanks or pools in which they 
could feed on small live fish, and perhaps were given some finely chopped or 
ground green material, such as lettuce or kale, they might be kept successfully. 
Most of the loons that are brought into zoos have been captured on the ground 
where they have failed in making migrations. Therefore, it is possible that 
these captives are injured or in poor health. If healthy birds were captured, 
or young taken, they might be kept successfully. 


ALBATROSSES, SHEARWATERS, PETRELS, AND THEIR ALLIES 
(PROCELLARITIFORMES ) 


These are oceanic birds that fly a great deal and obtain minute crustaceans 
and perhaps other small life from the surface of the ocean. The albatrosses 
are, to some extent, scavengers and will devour refuse from ships’ galleys after 
the manner of gulls. They are almost never kept in captivity. If one would 
attempt to keep these birds in captivity, he should provide them with a pool 
of salt water in which to swim, and offer them meat, shrimp, crab meat, cray- 
fish, or other Crustacea, all finely ground, fed to them on the water. They might 
be induced also to take other foods, as is suggested by the observations that the 
albatross will feed on ships’ refuse. It should be remembered, however, that 
the mouths of all the birds of this group are small, and food for them must 
be in very small pieces. 


TROPIC-BIRDS, PELICANS, GANNETS, FRIGATE-BIRDS (PELECANIFORMES) 


TROPIC-BIRDS (Phaethontidae). Feed small fish, or strips of fish, dipped 
in cod liver oil. Provide them with a pool of water. Do not allow to be chilled. 

PELICANS (Pelecanidae). Thrive on a wide variety of fish, either small 
ones weighing about a pound, or pieces of large fish cut up. They take the fish 
freely from the hands or when tossed to them, and will also take them from 
the water. The average pelican will eat from 3 to 4 pounds of fish a day, but 
care must be taken to prevent them from overeating and 1 day’s fast a week 
is desirable to keep them in good condition. Pelicans should have a good- 
sized pond for swimming and bathing, and some ground area. They will nest 
and rear young. Do not subject to freezing. 

BOOBIES and GANNETS (Sulidae), CORMORANTS (Phalacrocoracidae), 
SNAKE-BIRDS (Anhingidae). Feed small fish whole thrown into the water, 
or pieces of larger fish cut into strips roughly an inch in cross section and 3 
to 4 inches long. Provide with pools or tanks with a little land to rest upon. 

FRIGATE-BIRDS (Fregatidae). Powerful fliers of the high seas, rarely kept 
in captivity. Most likely to thrive if kept in a large flight cage containing a 
pool of water. Can be fed on the wing by tossing to them fish which they will 
eatch in midair. If such a cage cannot be provided, it is sometimes necessary 
to hand-feed them, or they may take the fish from the surface of the water. 


HERONS, STORKS AND THEIR ALLIES (CICONIIFORMES) 


HERONS, BITTERNS (Ardeidae). Feed fish, frogs, meat, mice, some 
ground bread and green food. These are wading birds that obtain much of 


350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


their food in the shallow water of streams and ponds. If pinioned, they can 
be kept in fenced enclosures with pools, or they may be kept in cages. 

WHALE-HEADED STORKS (Balaenicipitidae). Habits and food similar 
to the above. 

HAMMERHEADS (Scopidae), STORKS and JABIRUS (Ciconiidae), IBISES 
and SPOONBILLS (Threskiornithidae). Should be given a wide variety of 
food, including fish, meat, ground bread, finely chopped green vegetation and 
vegetables. These birds are waders, but they will take their food from solid 
surfaces. They can be kept pinioned in fenced enclosures, or in cages. 

FLAMINGOES (Phoenicopteridae). Specialized feeders that obtain their 
food while wading in shallow water. They subsist mainly on small Crustacea 
and other minute animals found in swampy regions. Can be successfully kept 
in captivity on a mixture of bran, rice, wheat, bread crumbs, crab meat, crab 
scrap or ground shrimp, and bone meal. These materials should be in small 
particles mixed together and fed in shallow water so that the birds can obtain 
it by straining it out as they pump the water through their beaks. 


SCREAMERS, DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS (ANSERIFORMES) 


SCREAMERS (Anhimidae). Feed mixture of grains, bread crumbs, chopped 
green vegetation and vegetables, with a small amount of ground meat. Can 
be kept in large fenced enclosures if pinioned, or in cages. Should have ponds 
in which to wade and swim. 

DUCKS, GEESH, and SWANS (Anatidae). Require same food as the scream- 
ers, but take less meat. A flock consisting mainly of geese and swans should 
be fed proportionately more green food than is required by the ducks. Should 
have good-sized ponds or pools. Mergansers are fish-eating ducks that thrive 
best if they are given a plentiful supply of small live fish to catch. Will some- 
times survive on a diet of fish cut in small strips and meat finely ground or cut. 
The sea ducks, such as the eiders, scooters, and harlequins, consume a consider- 
able variety of small animal life and also some vegetable material. Not gen- 
erally kept in captivity; but with care might survive on fish, meat, crab scraps, or 
shrimp, clams, bread crumbs, some soaked grain and green material, all ground 
together. Should have large, deep pools in which to dive. 


VULTURES, HAWKS, FALCONS (FALCONIFORMES) 


All the birds of this order will eat either meat or fish or both. The larger 
kinds can be fed meat in large pieces or on large bones. The smaller kinds 
thrive best on whole small animals, such as rabbits, pigeons, mice, or sparrows, 
and the larger ones should have such food at frequent intervals, in order to 
obtain the fur, feathers, and viscera, which appear to be essential to their 
welfare. Bald eagles are particularly fond of fish. Vultures thrive on fresh 
meat, and there is no reason to give them spoiled meat. Ospreys feed almost 
exclusively on fish. 


MEGAPODES, CURASSOWS, PHEASANTS, HOATZINS, CHICKENS, TURKEYS, 
GROUSE, PEACOCKS, QUAILS, GUINEA-FOWL (GALLIFORMES) 


Feed a mixture of grains, green feed, ground meat, and fruits, especially 
bananas. Mealworms and other insects and mice are relished. Supply crushed 
shell, coarse sand, or fine gravel for grit. Dust baths should be provided. Size 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 351 


of enclosures can range from cages to yards with moderate-height fences, pro- 
vided the birds are pinioned. Ample ground area for exercise is desirable; also 
plenty of sunshine. Some of these birds are hardy inhabitants of rigorous 
climates; others are natives of the Tropics and cannot survive cold weather. 
There is an extensive literature regarding the raising of many of these birds. 
See bibliography for a few citations. 


CRANES, RAILS, AND ALLIES (GRUIFORMES) 


BUSTARD-QUAILS (Turnicidae), COLLARED HEMIPODES (Pedionomidae). 
Feed same as cranes, rails, coots, and gallinules. 

ROATELOS and MONIAS (Mesoenatidae). Feed same as cranes, rails, coots, 
and gallinules. 

CRANES (Gruidae). Feed a mixture of grain, chopped or ground leafy mate- 
rial and vegetables, bread crumbs and meat. They also enjoy mice, lizards, 
and insects, and some take a small amount of fish. 

LIMPKINS (Aramidae). Same as above. 

TRUMPETERS (Psophiidae). Feed same as poultry. They easily become tame 
enough to eat out of one’s hand. 

RAILS, COOTS, GALLINULES (Rallidae). Feed finely cut or ground mixture 
of meat and fish with a small amount of grain, plenty of green feed, and bread 
crumbs. They are not primarily grain feeders nor fish eaters, so there must be 
a plentiful supply of green food and all of the material should be finely divided, 
as the mouths of the birds are small. Some swim and wade extensively, so 
should have ponds. Others prefer to perch and spend little time on the ground 
or water. 

SUN-GREBES (Heliornithidae). Give same food as for Gruiformes, but it 
should be ground or chopped more finely. 

KAGUS (Rynochetidae), SUN BITTERNS (Eurypygidae). Feed fish and a 
mixture of meat, green vegetation, bread crumbs, mice, mealworms, and small 
pieces of bone. 

CARIAMAS (Cariamidae). Feed grain, meat, bonemeal. Mice and young 
or small birds, such as Sparrows, are essential for the fur and feathers. 

BUSTARDS (Otididae). Feed meat and a mixture of green feed, bread, and 
grain. The birds of this order can be kept in cages, but thrive best in large 
outdoor runs. 


SHORE BIRDS, GULLS, AND AUKS (CHARADRIIFORMES) 


JACANAS (Jacanidae). Tropical marsh birds that probably feed mainly 
on insects, insect larva, small fish, and green material. No information is avail- 
able to the author as to the keeping of these birds in captivity. Try mealworms, 
and finely ground meat, green vegetation, and shrimp. 

PAINTED SNIPE (Rostratulidae). Feed the same as rails. These birds 
probe in the earth to find their food. Worms are essential. 

OYSTER CATCHERS (Haematopodidae). They frequent ocean beaches, 
where they pick up a wide variety of small animal life and perhaps some plant 
Material. In captivity feed small pieces of fish, worms, bread crumbs, green 
leafy vegetation. 

PLOVERS, TURNSTONE, and SURFBIRDS (Charadriidae). Inhabitants 
of seacoasts and streams, lakes, and ponds. Some live on the drier uplands. 
Offer a wide variety of fish, meat, grain, green food, bonemeal, crab meat, 


302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


crab scraps, or shrimp—all ground, as the mouths of the birds are rather small. 
Mealworms are particularly relished by the birds. 

SNIPE, WOODCOCK, and SANDPIPERS (Scolopacidae). The feeding hab- 
its of the snipe and sandpipers are somewhat similar to those of the plover and 
the turnstones. Woodcocks are specialized feeders that in the wild live largely 
on earthworms obtained by boring into the ground with their long beaks which 
have flexible tips that open in the ground, grasp the worm, and pull it out. 
They are rarely kept in captivity, but a few have survived when fed mealworms 
or earthworms in earth. Finely cut strips of meat, mealworms, and earth- 
worms might be placed in earth to tempt them. 

AVOCETS and STILTS (Recurvirostridae). These beautiful birds inhabit 
the shores of shallow lakes and alkali ponds. They feed on minute animals 
such as tiny shrimp, brine shrimp, and other forms; probably they take some 
plant food as well. They are not known to the author to have been kept in 
captivity ; but it seems probable that they might survive if given mealworms, 
meat, fish, shrimp, crab, and a variety of green material finely ground and fed 
in water. The birds spend much time wading and swimming and should be 
provided with shallow pools and plenty of ground on which to exercise. 

PHALAROPES (Phalaropodidae). These little swimming, snipelike birds 
might thrive on the same mixture suggested for avocets and stilts, but they 
have rarely, if ever, been kept in captivity. 

CRAB-PLOVERS (Dromadidae). Feed same as shore birds. 

THICK-KNEES (Burhinidae). Feed a mixture of ground or finely chopped 
fish, meat, seeds, bread, green vegetation and mealworms. 

PRATINCOLES and COURSERS (Glareolidae). Feed same as shore birds. 

SEED-SNIPES (Thinocoridae). Feed same as shore birds. 

SHEATH-BILLS (Chionidae). The birds of this family have not to our 
knowledge been kept in captivity. They inhabit the southern shores of the 
Southern Hemisphere and their habits appear to be somewhat between those 
of the gulls and petrels. It is possible that they could be successfully kept by 
offering them mixtures of ground or finely chopped meat, fish, mealworms, 
shellfish such as clams, crabs, shrimp, and some green food, fed on or in 
shallow water. They should have pools in which to bathe and swim. 

SKUAS and JAEGERS (Stercorariidae). Feed small pieces of meat, mice, 
small rats, small birds, and fish. They should have a pool in which to bathe. 

GULLS and TERNS (Laridae). Feed fish, mice, fruit, meat, bread. Pool 
for bathing. 

SKIMMERS (Rynchopidae). Feed fish and meat. Should have plenty of 
water for bathing and swimming, and some shore space. 

AUKS, AUKLETS, and MURRES (Alcidae). These are heavy-bodied, small- 
winged seacoast birds that obtain fish and perhaps other food from the sea 
and usually nest on ledges, in crevices, or in burrows in the ground or under 
rocks. They are rarely kept in captivity, but should not be difficult to keep. 
It is suggested that they be fed small strips of fish, squid, and perhaps some 
shellfish, meats, and shrimp. Young tufted puffins thrived when they were 
fed from the hand with strips of fish from %4 to ¥% inch in diameter and 
2 to 4 inches long that had been dipped in salt water. 

The birds should be provided with a pool in which they can swim and dive, 
and with rocks or ground on which they can rest. They do not need much 
land on which to exercise. They are not able to take off on the wing from the 
small areas in which they will normally be enclosed so they can be kept in 
open-top enclosures, as well as in cages. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 300 


SAND-GROUSE, PIGEONS, DOVES (COLUMBIFORMES) 


SAND-GROUSE (Pteroclidae). Despite its name, the sand grouse is closely 
related to the pigeons and doves, both in structure and habits. Like these 
birds, it will thrive on a mixture of grain and green food. It should be 
given plenty of gravel or grit. 

PIGEONS and DOVES (Columbidae). Grain, small amounts of green leafy 
vegetation, fruit, and grit are needed by these birds. Many of the tropical pigeons 
are fruit eaters and should be supplied with grapes, bananas, apples, small pieces 
of oranges, etc. Raisins might be given if no other fruit is available. 


LORIES, PARROTS, AND MACAWS (PSITTACIFORMES) 


These birds will eat a considerable variety of food and will thrive on a diet 
mainly of sunflower and other seeds (such as canary and hemp seed), fruits 
(such as apples and bananas), bread, carrots, some green food, and some 
ground meat. Lories, being primarily fruit eaters, will not consume many 
seeds or much bread. They should have a plentiful supply of fruit, honey, 
milk, and bread. 

All the birds of this group should have limbs or wood on which to bite so 
that they may keep their beaks properly worn down. Some parrots enjoy 
bathing, but the grass parakeet (Melopsitiacus) prefers to roll in wet grass 
and does not ordinarily bathe in water. Occasionally parrots take to plucking 
their own feathers to such an extent that they become naked. This probably 
indicates a dietary deficiency. On occasions it has been remedied by feeding 
meat and fat or by giving them an opportunity to chew on bones. 

In other cases, these methods have been useless. These birds may be kept 
in moderate-sized cages either alone or in small groups, or in large cages with 
a variety of other birds. Their cages should be strongly constructed, as they 
have powerful beaks and will frequently bite persistently at a single place in 
the cage covering. 

Most of these are birds of the Tropics with the exception of a few such as 
the kea of the high mountains of New Zealand and the grass parakeet (also 
ealled budgerigar). These two birds can be kept outside throughout the year 
in a climate such as that of Washington, D. C. Others must be carefully 
safeguarded against cold. 


PLANTAIN-EATERS AND CUCKOOS (CUCULIFORMES) 


PLANTAIN EATERS (Musophagidae). These thrive on bananas, raisins, 
oranges, grapes, apples, bits of boiled egg, ground meat, mealworms, and 
mockingbird food. 

CUCKOOS, ROADRUNNERS, ANIS (Cuculidae). These birds are insecti-- 
vorous and carnivorous in their native haunts. The cuckoos should be fed 
mealworms, ground meat, boiled egg. The roadrunner eats mice, lizards, small 
birds, and insects, and when these cannot be given, it can be supplied with 
small pieces of meat and hard-boiled egg. 


OWLS (STRIGIFORMES) 


BARN OWLS (Tytonidae), OWLS (Strigidae). These are nocturnal birds 
of prey, and should be fed in the evening. To this rule the snowy owl is an 
exception. This bird may be fed either in the evening or during the day. 


304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Owls should be supplied with small mammals such as mice and rats, or with 
birds, such as small chickens. A number of the smaller owls eat insects. They 
will also eat meat, preferably fragments left on the bone, from which they 
may tear it off. It is important, however, that they be given plenty of small 
animals that can be swallowed whole in order that the owls may have the 
skin, feathers, bones, and viscera. These birds should not be exposed to bright 
light. It might be possible to reverse their normal round of activities, if they 
were given very subdued light during the daytime and artificial light at night. 
They should have an opportunity to get into a box or other cavity or a dark 
corner to sleep. 


OIL-BIRDS AND GOATSUCKERS (CAPRIMULGIFORMES ) 


OIL-BIRDS (Steatornithidae). Feed mealworms, ground meat, small rodents, 
Insects, reptiles, and possibly hard-boiled eggs. 

FROGMOUTHS (Podargidae). A frogmouth has been kept in the National 
Zoological Park by feeding it one mouse a day. If mice are not available, 
other food might be offered it, such as mealworms, ground meat, small rodents, 
insects, reptiles, and possibly hard-boiled eggs. 

POTOOS (Nyctibiidae). Same as above. 

OWLET-FROGMOUTHS (Aegothelidae). Same as above. 

GOATSUCKERS (Caprimulgidae). These birds live by capturing insect 
prey when on the wing. They are rarely kept in captivity, although a nestling 
nighthawk that was brought to the National Zoological Park thrived for several 
years on a diet of mealworms, mockingbird food, and ground meat rolled into 
small balls. A similar diet might be successful with others of this group and 
some of the related forms. 


SWIFTS AND HUMMINGBIRDS (MICROPODIFORMES ) 


SWIFTS (Micropodidae). Like the goatsuckers, these birds obtain all their 
insect food on the wing. They might be successfully kept on food similar to 
that listed under goatsuckers. Outside cages lighted at night to attract insects 
have been suggested. 

CREST SWIFTS (Hemiprocnidae). Same as above. 

HUMMINGBIRDS (Trochilidae). Hummingbirds can be kept in captivity 
fairly successfully on a mixture of 1 teaspoonful of Mellon’s baby food, 2 
teaspoonfuls of honey, 1 teaspoonful evaporated milk, 1 drop of beef extract, 
and 4 teaspoonfuls of water. A convenient feeder is shown in the accompany- 
ing diagram (pl. 7, fig. 1). Food containers should be so constructed that 
these birds can get only their bills in to reach the food. They should also 
have the opportunity of capturing fruit flies, which can usually be made avail- 
able to them by leaving a bit of fruit such as a banana in the cage to attract 
the flies. They will bathe under a fine shower if it is available. They are so 
small that glass fronts to the cages are desirable. Wire fabric of about 14-inch 
mesh can be used on the sides, back, and top. Sunshine or ultraviolet light 
is necessary in winter. 


COLIES (COLITFORMES) 


COLIES (Coliidae). These birds can be successfully kept on a diet of 
fruit such as bananas, grapes, raisins, oranges, small bits of meat, hard-boiled 
eggs, mockingbird food, and mealworms. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 355 


TROGONS (TROGONIFORMES ) 
Trogons (Trogonidae). These can be kept on the same diet as the colies. 
KINGFISHERS, BEE-EATERS, ROLLERS, AND HORNBILLS (CORACIIFORMES ) 


KINGFISHERS (Alcedinidae). The North American kingfisher can be fed 
a diet almost entirely of fish. The tropical kingfishers and those of the other 
parts of the world feed on a wide variety of animal life such as large insects, 
lizards, and fish. The kookaburra of Australia is included in this group. They 
should be fed mice, worms, lizards, and small birds, such as finches. The birds 
vary greatly in size, and the smaller kingfishers cannot, of course, take full- 
grown mice or lizards. 

TODIES (Todidae). May be fed hard-boiled eggs, small bits of meat, meal- 
worms, bananas, oranges, and raisins. 

MOTMOTS (Momotidae). Same as for todies. 

BEE-EATERS (Meropidae). In the wild, these birds eat insects and are 
particularly fond of bees, apparently suffering no ill effect from stings. In 
captivity, they should be offered as wide a variety of insects as can be obtained, 
such as mealworms and grasshoppers, as well as finely ground meat, boiled 
egg, and mockingbird food. 

ROLLERS (Coraciidae). Same as for motmots. 

CUCKOO-ROLLERS and GROUND-ROLLERS (Leptosomatidae). Mostly 
insectivorous. Feed mealworms, grasshoppers, meat, beiled egg, mockingbird 
food. 

HOOPOES (Upupidae). The hoopoes will thrive on the same food recom- 
mended for the bee-eaters. 

WOOD-HOOPOES (Phoeniculidae). Feed same as bee-eaters (Meropidae). 

HORNBILLS (Bucerotidae). Hornbills thrive on a diet of mockingbird food 
rolled with boiled rice into balls about the size of marbles; also balls of meat, 
bananas, grapes, oranges, apples, pears, boiled egg. Mice, lizards, or small 
birds are essential to their welfare. 


JACAMARS, BARBETS, TOUCANS, AND WOODPECKERS (PICIFORMES) 


JACAMARS (Galbulidae). Feed insects, mealworms, mockingbird food, boiled 
eggs. 

PUFF-BIRDS (Bucconidae). Same as above. 

BARBETS (Capitonidae). These birds will thrive on the same diet as that 
recommended for hornbills. Balls of food must be made much smaller than 
those given to the hornbills. 

HONEY-GUIDES (Indicatoridae). Feed insects, mealworms, mockingbird 
food, boiled eggs. 

TOUCANS (Ramphastidae). They thrive on the food recommended for horn- 
bills. Make the balls of food smaller. 

WOODPECKERS and PICULETS (Picidae). Rarely kept in captivity. In 
the wild they feed on insects, ants, fruit, acorns, and some other plant food. 
In captivity they can be given mealworms, meat, suet, fruit, and should be 
offered some bread, grain, hard-boiled eggs, and mockingbird food. Most of 
these birds regularly cling to the sides of trees and should have rough-barked 
limbs in a more or less vertical position to which they may cling. They will 
also perch crosswise on larger limbs, but do not care for small perches. 


430577—42 24 


356 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


PERCHING BIRDS (PASSERIFORMES) 


BROADBILLS (Hurylaimidae). Feed fruit, bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, 
boiled eggs, mockingbird food. 

WOOD-HEWERS (Dendrocolaptidae), OVENBIRDS (Furnariidae), ANT- 
THRUSHES (Formicariidae), ANT-PIPETS (Conopophagidae), TAPACULOS 
(Rhinocryptidae). The birds of these families are known as soft-billed birds, 
and will eat fruit, mockingbird food, boiled egg, and mealworms and other 
insects. Live worms and insects are essential. 

COTINGAS, BELL-BIRD, COCK-OF-THE-ROCK (Cotingidae), MANAKINS 
(Pipridae). Feed fruit, boiled egg, mockingbird food. 

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS (Tyrannidae). Aerial feeders in the wild, and 
difficult to keep in captivity. Feed mealworms, ground meat, boiled egg, 
mockingbird food. Insects are almost essential. 

SHARP-BILLS (Oxyruncidae), PLANT-CUTTERS (Phytotomidae). Same 
as above. 

PITTAS (Pittidae). Weed mealworms and any other available insects, mock- 
ingbird food, and ground meat. The floor of the cage should be covered with 
soft material, as their feet are tender. 

NEW ZEALAND WRENS (Acanthisittidae), ASITINS (Philepittidae). Feed 
insects, mealworms, mockingbird food, boiled egg. 

LYRE BIRDS (Menuridae). Feed fruit, insects, seeds, and green vegetation. 
They spend much of their time on the ground. 

SCRUB-BIRDS (Atrichornithidae). Soft-billed birds. Feed the same as 
thrushes. 

LARKS (Alaudidae). Feed mockingbird food, mealworms, boiled eggs, 
ground meat, fruit, lettuce. 

SWALLOWS (Hirundinidae). Give them mealworms and any other avail- 
able insects, also ground meat. Try bread, soft, well-ripened fruit, and cheese. 
These birds are rarely kept in captivity, and no method is known to be par- 
ticularly suecessful with them. 

CUCKOO-SHRIKES (Campephagidae). Soft-billed birds. Feed meat, mock- 
ingbird food, insects boiled egg. 

DRONGOS (Dicruridae), OLD WORLD ORIOLES (Oriolidae). Feed meal- 
worms and other insects, ground meat, mockingbird food, fruit, boiled egg. 
Insects are essential. 

CROWS, MAGPIES, JAYS (Corvidae). These omnivorous birds thrive in 
captivity if given a wide variety of meats, soaked grain, bread, fruit, vegetable 
material. They enjoy mealworms, insects, and mice; some of them will eat 
small birds. 

BIRDS OF PARADISE (Paradiseidae). Feed mockingbird food with liberal 
addition of grated carrots and boiled eggs, apples, raisins, bananas, oranges, 
meat, insects. When the birds are growing new plumage, they apparently 
become greatly exhausted. At such times they should have ant eggs and plenty 
of insects. 

PARROT-BILLS, SUTHORAS (Paradoxornithidae). Soft-billed birds. Feed 
same as thrushes. 

TITMICE (Paridae), NUTHATCHES (Sittidae). Feed mockingbird food, 
boiled eggs, ground meat, mealworms, seeds, soft nuts, bread, meat, insects. 

CORAL-BILLED NUTHATCHES (Hyposittidae). Soft-billed birds. Feed 
mealworms and other insects, ground meat, bread, fruit, and tender green 
leaves. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER tis 


CREEPERS (Certhiidae). Feed mealworms, other insects, and ground meat. 

WREN-TITS (Chamaeidae). Soft-billed birds. Feed same as thrushes. 

BABBLING THRUSHES (Timaliidae). Feed mockingbird food, mealworms, 
and other insects, ground meat, fruit, lettuce, raisins, grapes. 

BULBULS (Pycnonotidae). Fruit, insects, mockingbird food, ground meat, 
bread crumbs, boiled eggs, canary seed. 

DIPPERS (Cinclidae). Not known to the author to have been kept in 
captivity. Frequent streams, into which they dive to capture aquatic insects. 
Try feeding mealworms, waxworms, and any other insects available, and ground 
meat. Also lettuce and soft green vegetation. Should have water in which 
to bathe; preferably a continuous shower falling into a small stream or pool, 
which might make them feel more at home. 

WRENS (Troglodytidae), MOCKINGBIRDS and THRASHERS (Mimidae), 
THRUSHES (Turdidae). Feed fruit, mockingbird food, boiled eggs, meal- 
worms and other insects, ground meat, some green food, bread crumbs. 

OLD WORLD WARBLERS (Sylviidae), KINGLETS (Regulidae), OLD 
WORLD FLYCATCHERS (Muscicapidae), ACCENTORS, HEDGE-SPARROWS 
(Prunellidae), WAGTAILS, PIPITS (Motacillidae),WAXWINGS (Bombycil- 
lidae). Feed mealworms or any other insects available, and ground meat. 
Also try soft, well-ripened fruit and a small amount of bread crumbs. Rarely 
kept in captivity, and no well-proved diets are known to the author. 

SILKY FLYCATCHERS (Ptilogonatidae). Aerial feeders. Try mealworms 
and any other insects, also mockingbird food, boiled eggs, and ground meat. 

PALM-CHATS (Dulidae), WOOD-SWALLOWS (Artamidae), VANGA 
SHRIKES (Vangidae). All insect eaters. Feed soft food, meat, mealworms, 
flies, small animals. 

SHRIKES (Laniidae). Feed mealworms and any other insects available, 
also meat, mice, small birds, mockingbird food, boiled eggs, bread. lettuce. 

WOOD-SHRIKES (Prionopidae), PEPPER-SHRIKES (Cyclarhidae), 
SHRIKE-VIREOS (Vireolaniidae). All insect eaters. Feed soft food, meat, 
mealworms, flies, small animals. 

STARLINGS (Sturnidae). Feed the same as crows and jays. 

HONEY-EATERS (Melithreptidae), SUN-BIRDS (Nectariniidae), FLOWER- 
PECKERS (Dicaeidae), WHITE-EYES (Zosteropidae). Feed mealworms and 
other insects, ground meat, mockingbird food, boiled egg, fruit. Some of these 
birds like honey. 

VIREOS (Vireonidae). Feed mealworms and other insects, ground meat, 
fruit, mockingbird food. 

HONEY-CREEPERS (Coerebidae), HAWAIIAN HONEY-CREEPERS (Dre- 
panididae). Feed fruit, such as oranges, bananas, apples, with honey, meal- 
worms and other small insects. If flowers are in the cage, they will thrust 
their long, curved beaks into the flowers to obtain the nectar. Orange and 
pineapple juice in small tubes might be accepted. 

WOOD-WARBLERS (Compsothlypidae). Insect eaters in the wild. Feed 
mealworms, small insects, ground meat, and well-ripened soft fruit. Rarely 
kept in captivity, and no tested diet is known to the author. 

WEAVER FINCHES (Ploceidae), BLACKBIRDS, TROUPIALS (lIcteridae). 
Feed seeds, bread, fruit, green vegetation, vegetables, mealworms and other 
insects, and ground meat. 

SWALLOW-TANAGERS (Tersinidae). Feed mockingbird food, boiled eggs, 
fruit, mealworms and other insects. 


358 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


TANAGERS (Thraupidae). Feed soft ripe fruit, such as bananas and 
oranges, mockingbird food, mealworms and other insects, boiled eggs, and 
lettuce. 

PLUSH-CAPPED FINCHES (Catamblyrhynchidae). Feed mockingbird 
food, boiled eggs, mealworms and other insects, green vegetation, seeds, and 
fruit. 

GROSBEAKS, FINCHES, BUNTINGS (Fringillidae). Feed assorted seeds, 
fruit, lettuce, and other green vegetation, mealworms, ground meat. 


REPTILES 


Reptiles are known as cold-blooded animals because their temperature fluctuates 
with that of their surroundings. They are mainly creatures of warm climates, 
and must be kept warm to be active. When the temperature gets low, they 
become sluggish and torpid, like other hibernating animals. If they are con- 
tinuously subjected to daily warming and nightly chilling, they will refuse to 
eat, and, while they mey be active during the daytime, they will become weak 
and presently die. It is therefore important that they be given a fairly constant 
and uniform temperature within the range preferred by the species. In general, 
the temperature for reptiles should not go below 70° and the animals will be 
more active and interesting at a temperature of 80° to 90° or upward. Cages 
for reptiles should be provided with some means of warming such as electrical 
heating units controlled by thermostats, or other devices that will aid in main- 
taining a fairly constant temperature at all times. A convenient means of 
providing uniform temperature for those animals that burrow is a thick layer 
of sand that can be warmed and that will retain the heat. 

Almost all reptiles need plenty of sunshine, or the substitute, ultraviolet light. 
However, they cannot endure extremes of either light or heat. 

Most snakes drink frequently and should be provided with water. Some 
lizards drink, others do not even though there is an abundance of water avail- 
able, as nature has provided that they shall take moisture through their skins. 
These animals should be sprinkled with water occasionally, or placed in a shallow 
pan of water. 

The shedding of skin by snakes and lizards is facilitated if the animals have 
access to water in which to soak. In some instances, gentle manipulation assists 
shedding. 

Some reptiles and amphibians will not notice food that is not moving. There- 
fore, if an individual will not eat when all other conditions seem to be suitable, 
try impaling the food on a stick and moving it about in front of the animal. 
This procedure is sometimes successful. 


ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, CAIMANS AND GAVIALS (LORICATA ; CROCODYLIDAE) 


All of these thrive on fish or meat, or both. If the temperature is maintained 
at 75° to 100°, and they refuse to eat at least once a week, they can sometimes 
be tempted by placing the fish or meat on the end of a stick and annoying 
them until they snap at the food. By this method they can sometimes be 
induced to eat freely. Provide with a pool of water of about air temperature 
into which the food can be thrown. There should be earth or rocks upon which 
they may climb to bask in the sunshine or the rays of powerful electric lights. 
They are not particularly active and do not require much space to exercise. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 359 


TURTLES, TORTOISES, AND TERRAPINS (TESTUDINATA ) 


The baby turtles often sold with gaudily painted shells never develop properly, 
as the paint stunts their growth and eventually kills them. The paint may 
be removed by swabbing with turpentine or alcohol, but these fluids should 
not be allowed to come in contact with the young turtle’s skin. 

LEATHERBACK TURTLES (Dermochelidae). Feed fish. They must have 
fair-sized tanks of salt water of about 85° to 95° Fahrenheit. In the wild state, 
they come out of the water only to lay their eggs, so will not need any area 
above the water unless the females are to be encouraged to lay their eggs in 
the sand. They may be kept for a limited time in fresh water, but where 
so kept they usually succumb within a short time. See formula on page 330 for 
making salt water. Water should be changed sufficiently often to keep the 
tank from becoming cloudy, but need not be changed as often as for some other 
animals. 

If whitish films develop around the eyes, it is ordinarily a fungus growth 
and is usually fatal. Sometimes this condition can be controlled by the following 
methods: 

Add enough potassium permanganate to the water to give a slight tinge of 
color. The animals should be placed in this for 3 days, then in plain salt water 
for 1 day, changing again to the permanganate bath for 3 days, next remaining 
for 9 days in clean salt water, again 3 days in the permanganate water, then 
finally remaining in salt water. This latter method is used in some aquaria to 
kill various invertebrates as well as fungi. 

Another method is to add about 1 ounce of tincture of iodine to each 10 
gallons of water in the tank. 

Chlorine in the proportion of 1%4 to 2 parts per million of water will also 
kill fungi. Care should be exercised not to make the solution so strong as to 
injure the turtles or fish. 

SNAPPING TURTLES and ALLIGATOR SNAPPERS (Chelydridae). Feed 
fish or meat. Provide with sufficient water in which to swim, and earth, sand, 
or rocks on which they can rest when out of the water. 

MUSK or MUD TURTLES (Kinosternidae). Feed fish and meat. They 
should have water in which to swim and some ground, rocks, or other space 
above the water on which to rest. 

LARGE-HEADED CHINESE TURTLE (Platysternidae). Will eat meat, 
Snails, worms, and fish. Usually lives in mountain streams. Nocturnal. 

BOX TURTLES, LAND TORTOISES, and many FRESH-WATER TURTLES 
(Testudinidae). The land forms need plant food such as lettuce, kale, bananas, 
melons, prickly pear cactus, mushrooms, tomatoes, and occasionally a little fish 
or ground beef and soft bread. The aquatic types should be fed fish, meat, 
insects, shrimp, some green vegetation, fruit, and bread. Provide sufficient 
water in which to swim, and space to roam about out of the water. Some 
of the dry-land forms do not swim, and will drown in water. If one is not 
certain of the swimming or water requirements of this group, it is well to 
provide the cage with a tank with sloping edges so that the animal can readily 
climb out of water. The dry-land forms enjoy soaking in shallow water, as 
they may obtain their water in this manner rather than through drinking. 

SNAKE-NECKED TURTLES (Pelomedusidae). Fish, meat, and insects should 
be offered; also occasionally lettuce, bananas, and bread, until one is certain 
the individuals he has will or will not take it. Since they are semiaquatic, 
they should have water in which to swim; also a fair amount of area outside 


360 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the water. It is said that some of these turtles cannot swallow unless they 
have their heads beneath the water. The writer has seen them take cockroaches 
beneath the water to swallow them. 

WATER-TURTLE OF NEW GUINEA (Carettochelys). Habits unknown. 
Supposedly like those of other fresh-water turtles. (See Testudinidae—aquatic 
types.) 

SOFT-SHELLED TURTLES (Trionychidae). Fish and meat appear to be 
adequate foods. These turtles spend most of their time in the water or mud, 
but enjoy sunning themselves, so in addition to an ample swimming tank, they 
should have a place to rest above the water. 


LIZARDS AND SNAKES (SQUAMATA) 
LIZARDS (SUBORDER SAURIA) 


GECKOES (Gekkonidae). Tropical animals. Keep warm. Feed cock- 
roaches, mealworms, and other insects. 

CAT-EYED GECKOES (Eublepharidae). Nocturnal. Feed insects. 

BARK GECKO (Uroplatidae). Habits presumably same as those of the true 
geckoes. Try similar food. 

“WORM” LIZARD (Pygopodidae). Habits not known. Try feeding earth- 
worms, enchytrae, and insects. 

AGAMAS and their allies (Agamidae). Ground-dwelling and arboreal. Feed 
insects, fruit, meat, tender green leaves. 

IGUANAS and their allies (Iguanidae). Small species eat insects and small 
invertebrates. Large forms devour birds and small mammals, and rob birds’ 
nests. The marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands feeds on seaweed. The com- 
mon iguana of tropical America is largely herbivorous. Feed fruit and green 
vegetation. The chuckwalla of the southwestern United States eats cactus 
and other flowers. Feed flowers, buds, and green vegetation. Some desert 
forms, such as the horned lizard (horned “toad”), need sand in which to burrow. 
Feed ants and other insects. 

XENOSAURUS (Xenosauridae). Related both to the Iguanidae and the 
Anguidae. Food habits are presumably the same. 

ZONURUS (Zonuridae). Feed ground meat, boiled egg, and lettuce. 

SLOW-WORMS, ALLIGATOR LIZARDS, and their allies (Anguidae). The 
burrowing forms feed on small earthworms, enchytrae, and possibly slugs. 
The more active terrestrial ones catch insects. Feed enchytrae, mealworms, 
waxworms, other insects, and meat. 

“WORM” LIZARD (Anniellidae). Burrowing. Feeding habits probably sim- 
ilar to Anguidae. Provide with earth. 

GILA MONSTERS (Helodermatidae). Feed eggs mixed with raw chopped 
beef. Will sometimes take mice. 

MONITORS (Varanidae). Feed mice, rats, lizards, snakes, fish, birds, meat, 
eggs. Extremely voracious. 

NIGHT LIZARDS (Xantusiidae). Feed same as Teiidae (next family). 

RACE-RUNNERS and their allies (Teiidae). The small species eat insects, 
mealworms, grubs, grasshoppers, crickets, and other invertebrates of suitable 
size. Large ones, such as the tegus, devour young chickens, eggs, raw meat, 
and rats. 

“WORM” LIZARDS (Amphisbaenidae). Burrow in sand or soil. Feed earth- 
worms, enchytrae, and raw beef. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 361 


WALL LIZARDS (Lacertidae). Insectivorous. Some are cannibalistic. 
Feed insects, meat, boiled eggs, and lettuce. 

GERRHOSAURUS (Gerrhosauridae). Presumably insectivorous. Try meal- 
worms, waxworms, small mice, and lettuce. 

SKINKS (Scincidae). Feed insects, worms, slugs, meat, and fruit. The 
stump-tailed lizard is known to eat meat, lizards, and snakes. The smaller 
species are satisfied with insects and slugs. 

ANELYTROPSIS (Anelytropidae). Feeding habits not known to the author. 

DIBAMUS (Dibamidae). Blind, subterranean. Try enchytrae, earthworms, 
and soft insects. Provide earth in which it can burrow. 

CHAMELEONS (Chamaelontidae). Feed grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, flies. 
Provide plants or limbs on which the animal may climb. 

SHINISAURUS (Shinisauridae). Feeding habits not known to the author. 


SNAKES (SUBORDER SERPENTES) 


BLIND SNAKE or WORM SNAKE (Typhlopidae). Burrows. Feed earth- 
worms, enchytrae, soft insects, mealworms, fly larvae, maggots, and waxworms. 
Provide earth in which it can burrow. 

BLIND SNAKE or WORM SNAKE (Leptotyphlopidae). Same habits as 
Typhlopidae. 

SHIELD-TAILED SNAKE (Uropeltidae). Burrows. Feed on earthworms, 
enchytrae, and insect larvae. 

SUN-RAY SNAKE (Xenopeltidae). Eats other snakes. Provide earth for 
burrowing. 

BOAS and PYTHONS (Boidae). Feed mice, rats, rabbits, pigs, pigeons, and 
chickens. Some will eat other reptiles. 

ANILIUS (Anilidae). Eats other snakes. Provide earth in which to burrow. 

COLUBRID SNAKES (Colubridae). About 1,200 different species. This family 
includes most of the harmless snakes, as well as venomous rear-fanged serpents. 
Feed mice, rats, small birds, eggs, insects, frogs, toads, and fish. 

COBRAS, CORAL SNAKES, KRAITS (Elapidae). Feed mice, rats, birds, 
snakes. The coral snake eats smaller snakes and baby mice. 

SEA SNAKES (Hydrophidae). These snakes inhabit tropical seas. Feed eels 
or strips of fish. Keep in tanks of warm salt water. 

CHUNK-HEADED SNAKES (Amblycephalidae). Feed snails and slugs. If 
these are not available, try mealworms, waxworms, baby mice, and meat. 

TRUE VIPERS (Viperidae). Feed mice, small rats, and small birds. 

RATTLESNAKES, WATER MOCCASINS, COPPERHEADS, FER-DE-LANCE, 
BUSHMASTER (Crotalidae). Feed mice, small rats, small birds. Moccasins 
also take fish. 


AMPHIBIANS 


Amphibians are cold-blooded but do not require such high temperatures as 
reptiles and cannot endure drying conditions, for their skin is moist and evapora- 
tion takes place rapidly. They will dry up and die if they do not have water, 
mud, moist vegetation, or other similar materials in which to harbor. Tempera- 
tures for salamanders generally should not exceed 90°, and many of these animals 


thrive best under temperatures of about 70°. Some will remain active in tem- 


peratures as low as 40°, but below that point will become torpid, as for hibernation. 
Shade is necessary. 


362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Tadpoles (immature stage of most amphibians) are aquatic. They feed on the 
green scum and microscopic plant life found in standing water. This material 
must be provided if they are to survive in aquaria. 


FROGS AND TOADS (SALIENTIA ) 


NEW ZEALAND FROG (Liopelmidae). Semiaquatic. Should have both 
water and a bank of mud or sand on which they can come out. Feed earthworms, 
small insects, scraps of raw beef moved about in front of them. 

DISCOGLOSSUS (Discoglossidae). Eats earthworms dropped into water. 
Semiaquatic, so should have pool and mud bank. 

SURINAM TOAD and its allies (Pipidae). Feed scraps of raw fish or meat and 
mealworms dropped into water. Aquatic, so must have tank of water. 

PELOBATES and its allies (Pelobatidae). Feed worms, slugs, and insects, 
especially beetles. Burrows, so should have soil in cage. 

TOADS and their allies (Bufonidae). Must have moist soil and water. Feed 
mealworms, cockroaches, or any crawling insects, spiders, and earthworms. Some 
keepers have observed that where two or more species of toads or frogs have 
been put together, there have been unusual losses. This suggests that it may be 
advisable to keep each species to itself. 

TOADLIKE AMPHIBIANS (Brachycephalidae). A mixed group. Feed as 
for Ranidae (below). 

TREE TOADS (Hylidae). Feed soft-bodied insects, preferably alive, and pro- 
vide plants in the cage so that the animals can rest on the foliage. 

TRUE FROGS (Ranidae). Feed live insects to the small and medium-sized. 
Some of the larger frogs will take small mice. 

ASIATIC TREE TOADS (Polypetidae). Give same food as Hylidae. 

NARROW-MOUTHED TOADS (Brevicapitidae). Feed earthworms, slugs, 
ants, and other small invertebrates. Burrows, so should have soil in cage. 


SALAMANDERS (CAUDATA) 


COECILIANS (Coeciliidae). Legless, wormlike creatures that live in the 
moist soil, mud, or swamps of the Tropics. Try earthworms, enchytrae, and soft- 
bodied insects. 

HYNOBIUS (Hynobiidae). Try earthworms, enchytrae, and small incects. 

GIANT SALAMANDER, HELLBENDER, and allies (Cryptobranchidae). In- 
habit clear streams of fairly cool water. They possess neither lungs nor gills and 
obtain the necessary oxygen from the water through their skins. Therefore, they 
should be provided with well-aerated water in a pool or tank. Feed worms, 
insects, meat, liver, boned fish. 

SPOTTED SALAMANDER and allies (Ambystomidae). Feed earthworms, 
enchytrae, mealworms, waxworms, and soft-bodied insects. 

MUD-“EEL,” BLIND EEL, CONGO SNAKE (Amphiumidae). Inhabitants of 
sluggish, warm streams, where they spend much time in the mud. Provide with 
mud in the bottom of the aquarium, if possible, and feed mealworms enchytrae, 
soft-bodied insects, and small particles of meat. 

SLIMY SALAMANDER and allies (Plethodontidae). Must have moist soil and 
water. Feed earthworms, enchytrae, slugs, small insects, and small pieces of 
meat moved in front of them on the end of a straw. 

CAVE SALAMANDERS (Proteidae). The white or colorless cave salamander 
cf the United States and Europe (Proteus) is accustomed to cool water in almost 


= 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 363 


total darkness. Feed sparingly on enchytrae, ground shrimp, daphnia, waxworms, 
er bits of raw meat. Necturus, the two North American colored forms, inhabit 
warm, sluggish streams. Feed fish eggs, enchytrae, mealworms, small bits of fish, 
and acquatic insects. 

SIREN (Sirenidae). Feed small fish, fish eggs, tadpoles, aquatic insects or their 
larvae, enchytrae, earthworms. Aquatic, so should have pool of water. 


FISH 


Fish kept in captivity for exhibition purposes may be roughly divided into two 
classes, as follows: 

Small, mainly tropical fish, often beautiful, brilliantly colored creatures, can be 
kept in small aquaria without inconvenience, and sometimes add real beauty to 
the home. Great interest has been taken in so-called tropical fish raising, and 
Some excellent publications have been issued on the subject. (See bibliography.) 

Larger fish require large tanks with special provisions for aeration, filtering, 
cooling or warming the water, and to keep them involves numerous problems 
which only a large aquarium could undertake. It is therefore not advisable to 
attempt to treat the keeping of fish in this work. 

Such large aquaria as the John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, the Aquarium of 
the New York Zoological Society, New York City, the Steinhardt Aquarium, San 
Francisco, the Regents Park Aquarium operated by the Zoological Society of 
London, and numerous others have issued publications relative to the raising of 
fish. The United States Bureau of Fisheries, now a part of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, has issued many publica- 
tions relating principally to commercial fish. In addition, many facts are con- 
tained in articles and reports issued through various biological laboratories. 


INVERTEBRATES 


There are a vast number of invertebrates, including protozoa, worms, soft- 
bodied marine forms, crabs and crayfish, insects and mollusks that are attractive 
to many people. Many of these make interesting and sometimes beautiful exhibits, 
but a discussion of their care is beyond the scope of this paper. Information 
regarding the keeping of such creatures can be obtained from entomologists or 
other biologists. The raising and study of such forms can be a fascinating work 
or hobby for persons who are interested. 


LITERATURE RELATING TO THE CARE OF ANIMALS 


A vast amount of material on the subject of animals and their 
care has been written. It is not possible to give here even a reason- 
ably complete list of such literature. Governmental agencies of 
practically all countries throughout the world have issued publica- 
tions on domestic and wild animals. In our own country, the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service, of the Department of the Interior, 
has many bulletins and leaflets on North American birds, mammals, 
reptiles, amphibians, and fish, some of which treat of the raising of 
fur-bearing animals, certain birds, fish, and invertebrates. Scientific 
societies and various research agencies have put out many excellent 
works. Natural histories and similar works—dealing specifically 


364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


with certain animals, groups of animals, or the animals of certain 
regions—and encyclopaedias contain much information of value to 
those interested in the care of animals. Periodicals on fur farming, 
aviculture, and general natural history contain many articles of 
interest to one keeping pets. A few of these works are cited below, 
not because they are necessarily the best, but because they are readily 
accessible, or known to the author to be useful. 


SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 


MAMMALS 


PUBLICATIONS ON FUR AND FUR ANIMALS. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Leaflet No. 83-1024, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1940. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON FUR BREEDING. Imperial Bureau of Animal Genetics, 
The University, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1931. Mimeographed; fairly com- 
plete to 1930. Supplements to be issued. 

CARE AND HANDLING OF DOGS. By J. L. Leonard. Garden City Publish- 
ing Co., New York, 1928. 

A PRACTICAL CAT BOOK FOR AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS. By 
Ida M. Meller. Chas. Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1939. 

RABBIT PRODUCTION. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1780, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1939. 

MINK RAISING. Fish and Wildlife Service Leaflet No. 191, U. S. Department 
of the Interior, 1941. 

DISEASES OF FUR ANIMALS. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1777, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, 1937. 

ELEPHANTS AND THEIR DISEASES. By G. H. Evans. Superintendent of 
Government Printing, Rangoon, India, 1910. 

THE CAMEL, ITS USES AND MANAGEMENT. By Maj. A. G. Leonard. 
Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1894. 

WILD ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. By EH. W. Nelson. Jn National 
Geographic Magazine for November 1916 and May 1918, National Geo- 
graphic Society, Washington, D. C. 

LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTHERN ANIMALS. By E. T. Seton. 2 vols. 
Chas. Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1909. 

FIELD BOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS. By H. E. Anthony. 
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1928. 

AMERICAN ANIMALS. By Witmer Stone and W. E. Cram. Doubleday, Page 
and Co., New York, 1920. 

AMERICAN MAMMALS. By W. J. Hamilton. McGraw Hill, New York, 1939. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS (Mammals). By George Jennison. Mac- 
millan Co., New York, 1927. 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA (Mammals). By F. W. Fitz- 
simons. 4 vols. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1920. 


BIRDS 


PUBLICATIONS ON CAGE BIRDS. Processed leaflet of the Fish and Wildlife 
Service No. 3-173, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1940. 

AVICULTURE (issued monthly). Published by the Avicultural Society of 
America, Chicago. 


CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS—WALKER 365 


THE AVICULTURAL MAGAZINE (issued monthly). Stephen Austin and Sons, 
Ltd., Hertford, England. 

CANARIES: THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1327, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1923. 

HINTS ON THE CARE OF PARROTS. Processed leaflet of the Fish and Wildlife 
Service No. 8-521, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1934. 

PARROTS IN CAPTIVITY. By W. T. Greene. G. Bell and Sons, London, 
1884-1887. 

THE BOOK OF THE PIGEON. By C. A. Naether. David McKay, Philadel- 
phia, 1939. 

ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. By R.E. Hubbard. Simpkins, Marshall, Ham- 
ilton, Kent and Co., London, 1907. 

PROPAGATION OF AQUATIC GAME BIRDS. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1612, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1930. 

FOOD OF GAME DUCKS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. Technical 
Bulletin No. 634, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1939. 

DISEASES OF UPLAND GAME BIRDS. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1781, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1937. 

A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS. By Chas. W. Beebe. Rublished under 
the auspices of the New York Zoological Society by Witherby and Co., London, 
1918-1922. 

LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. By A. C. Bent. U. 8S. 
National Museum Bulletins Nos. 107 (1919), 118 (1921), 121 (1922), 126 
(1923), 130 (1925), 185 (1927), 142 (1927), 146 (1929), 162 (1932), 167 
(1937), 170 (1938), 174 (1939), 176 (1940). 

BIRDS OF THE WORLD. By F. H. Knowlton. H. Holt and Co., New York, 
1909. 

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS 


THE HABITS AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ALLIGATORS. By Rem- 
ington Kellogg. Technical Bulletin No. 147, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1929. 

TURTLES OF THE U. S. AND CANADA. By C. H. Pope. A. A. Knopf, New 
York, 1939. 

SNAKES OF THE WORLD. By Raymond L. Ditmars. Macmillan Co., New 
York, 19381. 

SNAKES ALIVE AND HOW THEY LIVE. By C. H. Pope. Viking Press, 1937. 

THE AMERICAN CHAMELEON AND ITS CARE. Processed leaflet of the Fish 
and Wildlife Service No. 92, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1937. 

REPTILES OF THE WORLD. By Raymond L. Ditmars. Sturgess and Walton 
Co., New York, 1910. 

THE FROG BOOK. By Mary C. Dickerson. Doubleday, Doran and Co. Inc., 
New York, 1931. 

THE TOAD. Processed leaflet of the Fish and Wildlife Service No. 3-664, 
U. S. Department of the Interior, 1922. 

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS. By Thomas Barbour. Houghton-Mifflin Co., 
New York, 1926. 

FISH 


THE AQUARIUM (a periodical). Innes Publishing Co., Philadelphia. 

AQUATIC WORLD (a periodical). Roth Press, Baltimore, 1917-1941. 

TROPICAL FISH. By L.Q. Mann. Leisure League Book No. 6, Leisure League, 
New York, 1934. 


366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


EXOTIC AQUARIUM FISHES. By Wm. T. Innes. Innes Publishing Co., 
Philadelphia, 1935. 

TROPICAL FISHES FOR THE HOME: THEIR CARE AND PROPAGATION. 
By F. H. Stoye. Frederick H. Stoye, Sayville, N. Y., 1935. 

GOLDFISH: THEIR CARE IN SMALL AQUARIA AND PONDS. By FPF. C. 
Fearnow. Appendix 7, Report of the Commissioner, Bureau of Fisheries, 
U. S. Department of Commerce, 1924. 

GOLDFISH VARIETIHS AND TROPICAL AQUARIUM FISHES. By Wm. T. 
Innes. Innes Publishing Co., Philadelphia, 1931. 


GENERAL 


WILDLIFE REVIEW (issued at irregular intervals). Fish and Wildlife Sery- 
ice, U. S. Department of the Interior. 

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO GAME BREEDERS. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Leaflet No. 182, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1941. 

COPEIA (a periodical). American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 
Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1913-1941. 

MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY IN LOWER BENGAL. By 
R. B. Senyal. Bengal Seceariat Press, Calcutta, 1892. 

ANIMALS AS FRIENDS AND HOW TO KEEP THEM. By M. Shaw and J. 
Fisher. E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., New York, 1940. 

PETS, THEIR HISTORY AND CARE. By L. S. Crandall. Henry Holt and 
Co., New York, 1917. 

ALL ABOUT PETS. By Margery Binaco. Macmillan Co., New York, 1929. 

OUR SMALL NATIVE ANIMALS: THEIR HABITS AND CARE. By Robert 
Snediger. Random House, New York, 1939. 

THH BOOK OF WILD PETS. By Clifford B. Moore. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 
New York, 1937. 

THE PET BOOK. By A. B. Comstock. Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, 
N. Y., 1930. 

MEDICAL CARE OF ANIMALS IN THE ZOO. By W. R. Blair. Scientific 
Monthly, vol. 35, pp. 454-457, November 1932;.also quoted in Literary 
Digest, vol. 117, pp. 28 ff., January 14, 1933. 

DISEASE IN CAPTIVE WILD MAMMALS. By Herbert Fox. J. B. Lippincott 
Co., Philadelphia, 1923. 

ROYAL NATURAL HISTORY. Edited by Richard Lydekker. F. Warne and 
Co., London and New York, 1849-1915. 

THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY. By W. T. Hornaday. Chas. Scrib- 
ner’s Sons, New York, 1914 edition. 

THH RIVERSIDE NATURAL HISTORY. By J. S. Kingsley. Houghton- 
Mifflin Co., New York, 1888. 

THH CAMBRIDGE NATURAL HISTORY. By H. Evans. Macmillan Co., 
New York, 1900. 

FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA. Taylor and Francis, London, 1888-1928. 


Notre: Requests for Farmers’ Bulletins, Technical Bulletins, and processed 
leaflets prepared by the former Biological Survey, U. 8. Department of Agri- 
culture, and Bulletins prepared by the former Bureau of Fisheries, should be 
addressed to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, 
Washington, D. C. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 1 


1. A choice specimen of American mink running a ferris-type wheel in its glass-fronted cage. A small 
stump and limb on which the animal can climb is behind the wheel. 


2. Two big-eared cliff mice running on an inclined disk wheel while a third beneath the wheel watches the 
photographer. 


All photographs taken by the author unless otherwise indicated. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker 


PLATE 2 


2. Syrian hamster coming out of a te 


lescoping type of nest box, showing wire fabric slide used to close the 
entrance when desired. 


2. Three emperor penguins, one gentoo penguin, four jackass or black-footed penguins, and two kelp gulls 


in glass-fronted cool room in the N 


ational Zoological Park. The glass front is of two layers of glass with 


a dead air space between. A temperature of about 50° is maintained. 


Oe OT i a OE 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 3 


1. Plains pocket mouse with fur in good condition as the result of cleaning her coat in very fine dry sand 


Yes 


i) 


Plains pocket mouse with fur beginning to show bad condition, owing to having been on coarse sawdust 
for 72 hours. The cracked appearance in the fur is the result of the sticking together of the hairs, partly 
by the oily secretion of the skin and partly by the resinous material in the sawdust. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.— Walker PLATE 4 


i. Scene in flight cage in bird house, National Zoological Park, showing Chilean flamingoes, demoiselle 
cranes, scarlet ibis, Egyptian ibis, white ibis, black-billed tree ducks, Chilean pintail, gallinules, Ameri- 
ican coot, European oyster catchers, fireback pheasant, Chilean lapwing, sun-bittern, wood pigeon, 
golden pheasant, New Zealand mudhen. 


2. Waterfowl on one of a series of four ponds, National Zoological Park. About 30 species of waterfowl 
are usually in this enclosure. Whistling swans, snow geese, blue geese, Hutchins geese, pintail ducks, 
canvasbacks, mallards, blue-wing teal, wood ducks, Pekin ducks, and coots appear in this scene. 


-‘qeom B Aq oljqnd oy} Woy poyeredoas 
“Hy ‘osvoigO ‘00Z pleyyoolg Ul YOM Yoo [eIoyyie wo slveoq UMOIG BYSLTV % “yIeVd [Bolso[ooZ [VUOIweN Ul UrejJUNOUT [BIOyyIe 4B dooys Areqieq Jo spepnoy ‘| 


G$¢3LV1d J9¥[BA\—' | p6| ‘Woday ueruosyyiwg 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 6 


oe ey ss Sts 


1. Woodchuck or marmot that was almost nude for several years, apparently because of a dietary deficiency. 
After 4 months on a suitable diet it grew a heavy coat of hair. Photograph by C. P. Richter. 


2. Pinche tamarin in glass-fronted cage in small-mammal house, National Zoological Park. 


SsUIMIMINT ‘Tf 


L£3ivW1d 
J2¥BA\— | $6] ‘Oday uUeruosyytwG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 8 


1, Skull of marmot or woodchuck with both upper and lower incisors grown so long that the animal could 
not gnaw or eat normally. The left upper incisor had penetrated the roof of the mouth. 


9 


2. Left, end of tail of coypu or nutria, probably originally injured by fighting, but worn to the bone at the 
tip by dragging on concrete; right, foot of ring-tailed monkey or capuchin, showing area on bottom of 
heel from which the skin and flesh had been worn to the bone as a result of walking on the concrete floor. 
The animals give no evidence of pain caused by such injuries. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 9 


beat 


1. Malayan porcupines gnawing on a freshly cut tulip tree limb about 20 inches long and 4 inches in diam- 
eter. Within 10 hours, the five porcupines in this cage had reduced the limb to a mass of chips and a 
spindle-shaped piece about a foot long and not more than 2 inches in diameter at its largest point. 


to 


. Binturong on artificial rock work in Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, Ill., separated from the public by a moat 
and a low, irregular imitation rock wall. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 10 


ry 


Reptile pool in yard enclosed by moat, low fence, and guard rail, in front of reptile house, National Zoo- 
logical Park. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 11 


1. Three gaboon vipers in glass-fronted cage in reptile house, National Zoological Park. A small pool is 
immediately beyond the snake closest to the glass in front. 


2. American alligators in glass-fronted room in reptile house, National Zoological Park. A skylight com- 
prises almost the entire roof. Both plants and alligators thrive in the temperatures of 80° to 100°, and 
the high humidity that prevails in this enclosure. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Walker PLATE 12 


1. Horned lizards and fence lizards in cage with clear-glass front, pebble-glass sides, back, and top, a small 
cactus, and an artificial rock with a hollow in the top for water. 


2. Argentine horned frog in cage in reptile house, National Zoological Park. The sides and back of the 
cage are of pebble glass, with front of clear glass. A small pool shows in the background. 


THE INFLUENCE OF INSECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT 
OF FOREST PROTECTION AND FOREST MANAGEMENT? 


By F. C. CraicHEAD 


Principal Entomologist, Division of Forest Insect Investigations, Bureau of 
Entomology and Plant Quarantine 


[With 12 plates] 


Forty years ago, when the idea of forest conservation was acquir- 
ing momentum, few people realized that insects were in any manner 
a part of this picture. Today, with our coordinated Federal, State, 
and private organizations for the protection of our forest properties, 
over a million dollars are expended annually in measures designed 
to protect these forests from insect depredations. At the same time 
the cooperative efforts of a group of highly trained entomologists, 
pathologists, and foresters are devoted to the development of plans 
for growing new timber crops so as to circumvent the numerous forest 
pests of our second-growth forests. 


EARLY INSECT OUTBREAKS 


There are historical records of several destructive insect outbreaks, 
both bark beetles and defoliators, in earliest colonial times. These 
early affairs appear to have been regarded as more beneficial than 
injurious, coming as they did when the dense forests were a handicap 
to settlement and farm expansion. 

Probably the first insect outbreak that aroused sufficient concern 
among lumbermen to give rise to technical investigation occurred in 
West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland from 1890 to 1892 from 
attacks of the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.) 
A. D. Hopkins (1899) studied this outbreak in great detail and 
reported on it in a publication of the West Virginia Agricultural 


1 Investigations on forest insects by the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 
are carried on at nine field laboratories. Their leaders and locations are as follows: R. C. 
Brown, New Haven, Conn.; C. W. Collins, Morristown, N. J.; J. C. Evenden, Coeur d'Alene, 
Idaho; C. H. Hoffman, Ashville, N. C.; F. P. Keen, Portland, Oreg.; H. J. MacAloney, 
Milwaukee, Wis. ; J. M. Miller, Berkeley, Calif. ; D. E. Parker, Columbus, Ohio; T. E. Snyder, 
New Orleans, La. Substations are also located at Saucier, Miss., Miami and Hat Creek, 
Calif., Cass Lake, Minn., La Grande, Wash., and Beltsville, Md. Many unpublished reports 
from these laboratories were drawn upon for the factual material used in this presentation. 


367 


368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Experiment Station. In an area of over 75,000 square miles a large 
percentage of the pine and spruce was killed. A few years later, 
around 1900, the eastern spruce beetle (D. piceaperda Hopk.) was 
responsible for extensive depredations in the forests of Maine. Here 
again Hopkins (1901), collaborating with Austin Cary (1900) of 
the Forest Service, made a study of the conditions. Just prior to and 
during the Maine outbreak, 1895-1905, the Black Hills beetle (D. 
ponderosae Hopk.), which was not known to science at this time, 
destroyed more than a billion feet of timber in the Black Hills 
National Forest in South Dakota (Hopkins, 1902). This outbreak 
crystallized the realization that more technical knowledge was needed 
concerning these destructive bark beetles, and resulted in a small 
appropriation of $5,800 for the Bureau of Entomology for forest 
insect investigations and an allotment of $2,700 in 1906 for the control 
of this outbreak. 


WESTERN BARK BEETLES 


Recent outbreaks of bark beetles have been even more widespread 
and spectacular. To quote from a recent unpublished report of 
F. P. Keen, in charge of our Portland, Oreg., laboratory: 


The ponderosa pine forests of the Pacific States have suffered a continuous 
and serious drain from western pine beetle attack for the past 20 years or 
more, while in the Rocky Mountain region sporadic outbreaks of the Black 
Hills beetle have taken a heavy toll of this species of pine in many local 
areas. Most spectacular of all has been the destruction of lodgepole pine for- 
ests in the northern Rocky Mountain region and local areas in the Cascades 
from uncontrolled outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle. Sugar pine [pl. 2, 
fig. 1; pl. 4], western white pine, and other species of pine are from time to 
time also seriously damaged by pine beetles. 

Records from annual surveys in the Klamath region of southern Oregon 
and northeastern California show that on an area of 4,300,000 acres 5,273,000,000 
board feet of ponderosa pine timber, representing 17.5 percent of the stand, 
was killed during the 20-year period 1921 to 1940 inclusive. This, of course, is 
not all a direct loss, as some of it was offset by growth. In portions of this 
region from 60 to 90 percent of the stand was destroyed. The western pine 
beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis Lec.) was a major factor in this mortality. 
[Repeater 

An outbreak of the Black Hills beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.) on 
the Kaibab Forest of northern Arizona between 1917 and 1926 is a good example 
of the potential destructiveness of this species. During this outbreak it was 
estimated that 300,000,000 board feet of timber, representing 12 percent of 
the stand, was killed. In the heaviest centers of infestation, on areas 1,000 acres 
or more in extent, all trees down to those 2 inches in diameter were killed. 
Large openings in the forest, with remains of fallen snags showing the markings 
of beetle galleries, attest the fact that similar outbreaks have occurred in the 
past and may occur from time to time in the future. 

Outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus monticolae Hopk.) in 
lodgepole pine forests as described by Evenden [1940] are the most devastating 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 369 


of all in respect to extent and completeness of kill, although this tree species 
is not so valuable as several other species of pine. In the northern Rocky 
Mountains an outbreak originating in the Bitterroot Valley in 1922 swept down 
the Continental Divide and laid waste lodgepole pine forests over thousands 
of square miles. Estimates placed the total destruction at 7,250 million board 
feet, with more than 36,000,000 trees having been killed in one national forest 


alone. [Pl. 5, fig. 2.] 

Taking the pine forests of the western States as a whole, recent estimates 
place the annual mortality associated with bark beetles at 2.8 billion board 
feet. The magnitude of this yearly figure can best be visualized by comparing 
it with the 4.4 billion board feet of lumber produced by all western pine saw- 
mills and the 1.4 billion board feet of saw timber killed by forest fires 
throughout the entire United States in 1936. 


DEFOLIATING INSECTS 


Defoliating insects have been even more destructive than bark 
beetles. The larch sawfly (Zygaeonematus erichsonii (Hartig)) had 
practically wiped out larch as a commercial species in the eastern 
States and Canada by 1910 (Hewitt, 1912) and is now attacking 
stands west of the prairies. The spruce budworm (Cacoecia fumi- 
ferana (Clem.)) has repeatedly invaded our forests. (Pl. 9, fig. 2.) 
An exceptional outbreak in the northeastern States and Canada 
(Swaine and Craighead, 1924) ravaged the spruce and fir forests for a 
period of 10 years (from 1910 to 1920), and it has been estimated that 
in spruce-fir types of Maine, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick 
from 40 to 70 percent of this timber was destroyed, i. e., the equiva- 
lent of more than 25 years’ pulpwood supply for current annual 
American paper requirements (Senate Document 19). Certain 
species of defoliators, even if they do not kill the timber, cause a ces- 
sation or reduction of growth which may increase the rotation period 
of the stand from 5 to 10 years or more. Such defoliations may be 
local and confined to a single species of tree or they may spread over 
enormous areas involving several species. The most recent outbreak 
of the Pandora moth (Coloradia pandora (Blake)) in the ponderosa 
pine stands of southern Oregon (pl. 7, fig. 2; pl. 9, fig. 1) occurred be- 
tween 1918 and 1925 and covered approximately 400,000 acres (Pat- 
terson, 1929). Growth measurements from plots in this area showed 
that for a period of 11 years the normal forest growth was reduced an 
average of 32 percent, or suffered a loss of increment of approximately 
100 million board feet. The spruce sawfly (Diprion polytomum 
(Htg.) (pl. 10, fig. 2)) has more recently threatened the spruce forests 
of the New England States and Canada. In the Gaspé Peninsula in 
Canada it has already (1940) killed 10,000,000 cords of spruce (Balch, 
1941). Late in 1940 it was suddenly checked by a disease which 
decimated its number throughout its range. 


370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
FIRE AND INSECT RELATIONS 


Insect outbreaks are occasionally of more importance because of 
the fire menace they create than because of the value of the timber 
killed. This condition is described in “A National Plan for American 
Forestry” (Senate Document 12, 1933), as follows: 


When extensive outbreaks of insects develop in forest types composed chiefly 
of one species of tree, a high percentage of the stand may be destroyed. These 
standing dead trees go down in the course of a few years, making an almost 
impenetrable tangle of logs and tops. Under proper conditions a flash of 
lightning may set off the mass, resulting in a widespread conflagration almost 
impossible to fight. Past experience has shown that epidemics of the mountain 
pine beetle in lodgepole have been followed by fires more often than not. 
[Rio fetal 

The old snags of insect-killed trees scattered throughout our mature forests, 
which average for some areas aS many as 10 per acre, stand for many years 
and greatly increase the cost, difficulty, and danger in fire control. Snag 
felling is required in many sales of national forest timber, and many private 
operators have already adopted this regulation. The increased cost of control 
of fires which have spread from burning snags within fire lines would alone 
justify insect control even at a high cost. 


It should be understood that in making any comparisons between 
losses from insects and from fire, a certain percentage of this destruc- 
tion by insects occurs in what are called normal or endemic in- 
festations in timber stands of such low commercial value that an 
expenditure for control would not be warranted. Such losses are 
inevitable and are in most cases offset by the annual increment of the 
stand. Also, as stated in Senate Document 12, 

Forest fires, beside destroying variable amounts of mature timber, kill all 
the smaller trees and reproduction, and repeated fires leave the land in a 
totally unproductive condition for generations to come. Forest insect epidemics, 
on the other hand, destroy only the mature timber and not only leave the 


regeneration already existing in a better condition for rapid growth but 
frequently induce copious reproduction. 


SCENIC AND PROTECTIVE VALUES 


The preceding citation of insect damage in commercial timber is 
only a part of the picture. To quote again from Senate Document 
12, 


The importance of the forest cover in national parks, game preserves, and 
recreational areas cannot be estimated in monetary values. Here aesthetic 
and protective values far outweigh those of commercial timber. One of the 
greatest attractions in these areas is a green forest cover on which much of 
the natural beauty of the parks is dependent. The trees also give protection 
to the birds and animals. 


Insect depredations which mar the scenic value or destroy the 
protective values of the forest cover in these parks and recreational 


| 
} 
| 
} 
, 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD ott 


areas have in late years become of even greater moment than those 
involving only commercial timber. 


DEVELOPMENT OF BARK BEETLE CONTROL 


As our reserve supplies of timber became depleted from utilization, 
fire, and insects, and recreational activities continued to spread into 
more and more remote areas, private timberland owners and Federal 
administrators of timbered areas became more conscious of the need 
of any action that would delay part of this depletion. A short 
sketch of this work is of interest. 

The first control project, as mentioned previously, was initiated 
on the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota in 1906, 
when $2,700 was expended in an effort to check an epidemic 
of the Black Hills beetle. Since then many projects have been car- 
ried out, some of them covering areas of more than 1,000,000 acres. 
Up to the present time (fiscal year 1941) approximately $8,000,000 
has been expended in the control of bark beetle infestations, mainly 
in reserves of timber which are being held until conditions warrant 
logging and marketing of the lumber. 

The annual expenditures from 1906 to 1921 were small—rarely 
ever $20,000 and usually much less. Since 1922, with the fuller 
appreciation of the importance of insect losses, increasing amounts 
have been spent each year for the protection of valuable timber 
stands. From regular appropriations the Forest Service has spent 
$100,000 to nearly $200,000 annually, the Park Service from $40,000 
to $50,000, and the Office of Indian Affairs from $10,000 to $20,000. 

During late years it has been possible to meet the needs for forest 
insect control more adequately by means of increased funds avail- 
able to land-managing agencies through emergency legislation and 
Civilian Conservation Corps labor. During the fiscal year 1937, and 
for several years since, nearly a million dollars or its equivalent in 
manpower was utilized in insect control work on Federal lands. 

As control work proceeded, year by year the need for competent 
technical advice became more and more apparent. Trained men were 
needed to appraise the character of the insect infestations, to make 
recommendations to the timberland owners or administrators, and to 
direct technical features of control. This resulted in the development. 
within the Bureau of Entomology, of a service for these purposes. 
The objectives of such a service were set forth in a memorandum by the 
Secretary of Agriculture dated February 16, 1920, covering the re- 
sponsibilities of the Bureau of Entomology and the Forest Service. 
In time this understanding has been interpreted as applying to all 
other Federal agencies managing timberlands. Briefly, the instruc- 
tions stated that the Bureau of Entomology shall be responsible for 

4305774225 


372 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


surveys, for making specific recommendations on the need of con- 
trol work, and, when necessary, for the technical direction of con- 
trol. This service was extended to private owners as well. A fine 
spirit of cooperation between the several national agencies manag- 
ing timberlands, namely, the Forest Service, the National Park Serv- 
ice, the Office of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Entomology 
(lately the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine) has facil- 
itated this plan. 

Gradually these surveys have been developed to cover many of 
the more important timber types in the western States although 
the job is still far beyond the appropriations available. During 1940 
the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine covered in these 
surveys over 23 million acres in all types of forests. Much of the 
country was covered by general reconnaissance surveys, while certain 
areas required intensive detailed estimates. These results were re- 
ported to the agencies administering these timberlands and in many 
cases recommendations for control were suggested and carried out. 

As this control program increased, it stimulated new ideas and 
technique and provided large-scale tests for these developments. 

To quote Craighead et al. (1931), 

Control methods necessarily must be based upon information regarding the 
seasonal history and habits of the insects, and also, until thoroughly tried out 
in practice, upon certain conceptions and theories. Each species of bark beetle 
presents its own special problem, and even the same species may present prob- 
lems which differ in different regions. 

Control of bark beetles is admittedly expensive. (PI. 3; pl. 6; pl. 

7, fig.1.) According to Craighead (1938), 
It involves the spotting of infested trees in the forest, followed by felling, 
barking, and often burning of the bark to destroy the beetles and thus pre- 
vent new broods from emerging from infested trees and attacking nearby 
green trees. Usually the largest trees in the forest are attacked and the labor 
required for spotting, felling, barking, and burning costs from $2 to $20 per 
tree, depending on its size, accessibility, type of timber, and other factors. 
Such costs are a limiting factor in the application of control, as frequently 
the expenditures run too high to make control economically feasible. In recent 
years several new methods have greatly reduced these costs. 

The so-called solar-heat method was tested out on a large scale 
in lodgepole areas in Oregon by Patterson (1930) and found to be 
successful under certain conditions. It consists of simply felling the 
tree and exposing the trunk to full sunlight, later turning the log 
to expose the underside. The heat generated under the bark by the 
direct rays of the sun is sufficient to kill the brood. In California 
the thick bark of yellow pine and sugar pine is first peeled and then 
spread out in the sun. 

About 1926 a method was devised for burning the infested bark from 
standing lodgepole pines. It was tested on several large projects in 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 3/0 


southern Idaho and proved to be effective and economical. (Arrivee, 
1930.) 

The possibility of injecting chemicals into the sap stream of the 
tree and thus preventing the development of the bark beetle broods 
and doing away with the costly operations of felling and barking 
or burning the tree for the control of bark beetles has been experi- 
mentally tested during the last few years. There appears to be some 
promise in this field, both from control and salvage standpoints, 
but it has a practical difficulty in that treatment is necessary shortly 
after the beetles attack, i. e., before the blue stains in the sapwood 
cut off conduction. (Craighead and St. George, 1938.) 

One of the disadvantages of bark beetle control has been the 
loss of the lumber from the trees that are treated. Studies by Keen 
(1931) of the salvage possibilities of beetle-killed timber have led 
to some practical methods of treating this problem. He says: 

A great deal of attention has been devoted by our entomologists in the last 
few years to the use of so-called salvage methods of control, and the Forest 
Service and private timberland owners have cooperated heartily. In the pon- 
derosa pine types of eastern Oregon and northeastern California when the 
terrain permits caterpillar logging, prompt spotting and salvage of these trees 
is feasible. [PI. 3, fig. 1.] 

It has long been desirable to have a method of treating infested 
trees through the summer period, one that would be quick in action 
and avoid the use of fire, which is so dangerous at that time of year. 
After considerable experimentation several penetrating sprays were 
developed which, when applied to the trees, promise to meet this 
need effectively. The most satisfactory chemical is orthodichloro- 
benzene carried in light fuel oil. This method is particularly well 
suited to the control of mountain pine beetle broods under the thin 
bark of lodgepole and white pines in the Rocky Mountain regions. 
(Salman, 19388.) 

The lethal effect of low winter temperatures has been taken advan- 
tage of to call off control work on projects already under way when 
temperatures dropped to a sufficiently low level to destroy the broods. 
(Miller, 1931; Keen, 1937.) 


RESULTS OF BARK BEETLE CONTROL 


A review of the control work against bark beetles in our forests 
and an appraisal of its values were summarized by Craighead, Miller, 
Keen, and Evenden in 1931. It should be explained here that con- 
trol work is carried out only against a small percentage of the out- 
breaks. In inaccessible timber, where new trees will replace those 
destroyed before the area is logged or where commercial values do 
not warrant large direct expenditures, control is seldom undertaken 


374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


unless recreational or scenic values are at stake or unless outbreaks 
in remote areas threaten commercially valuable stands. In general 
only where utilization is anticipated in the next 10 to 25 years is 
control economically feasible. 

The results might be said to be more or less in direct proportion 
to the aggressiveness of the beetle. The Black Hills beetle, which 
appears to be one of the most destructive of all species of Dendroc- 
tonus, seems to build up into aggressive outbreaks rather suddenly 
and, after locally killing extensive areas of timber, disappears quite 
as rapidly. Control efforts against this species have been uniformly 
successful if thoroughly applied. The southern pine beetle is 
equally as aggressive. Its outbreaks have been definitely shown to 
be tied in with deficiencies in rainfall extending over a period of sev- 
eral months. Direct control is, however, more difficult here because 
of the short duration of many outbreaks. The mountain pine beetle 
in lodgepole pine behaves much like the Black Hills beetle and has 
wiped out tremendous volumes of mature timber. Here, again, 
control work has been successful when persistently applied. On the 
other hand, this beetle’s activities in the white pine type of the north- 
ern Rocky Mountain region and the sugar pine type of California 
are quite different. The western pine beetle in the ponderosa pine 
type of Oregon and California may be classed as the least aggressive 
of all these species, in that it seems to show a definite predilection 
for certain weakened trees and its activities appear to run in cycles 
associated with definitely unfavorable weather. This correlation 
has been frequently noted and recently developed by Keen in a study 
of tree growth, precipitation, and bark beetle activities. The climatic 
influences that dominate the growth pattern undoubtedly have a 
direct effect on the insects. (Keen, 1937.) 


CONTROL OF FOREST DEFOLIATORS 


Even greater efforts have been expended against some defoliating 
insects. The gypsy moth is a European insect which reached eastern 
Massachusetts in 1869. Some 20 years later it had become well- 
established and attracted popular attention because of its widespread 
defoliation of hardwood trees. The State of Massachusetts undertook 
control work, which continued until about 1899. Then there was a 
period when no work was done and the insect increased rapidly. 
In 1905 the Federal Government stepped into the picture in an effort 
to prevent its spread to other States to the south and west. Since 
that time more money has been spent on the control of the gypsy moth 
than has been spent on all other forest insects combined. In 1934, 
total expenditures, State and Federal, to date were approximately 
$40,000,000. Since then, through C. C. C. and relief funds, some $20,- 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 375 


000,000 additional has been spent. This is obviously out of all propor- 
tion to the immediate damage in the infested area, notwithstanding 
the fact that in the early days of the gypsy moth, before it had been 
acclimated to behavior more or less like that of a native insect, it 
did cause tremendous destruction of oaks and associated pines in 
eastern Massachusetts. It was the danger that it might spread south 
and west throughout the eastern hardwood regions that warranted 
large-scale, continued effort. 

Aside from the value of local suppression and prevention of spread 
of the gypsy moth, this program developed many features of inesti- 
mable value in the control of forest, shade, and fruit-tree insects. 

Spraying of woodland areas has developed into something of a 
“big business” with a scientific background. Modern high-pressure 
spraying machines and other equipment have been evolved to meet 
the necessity. This technique now has wide application in all parts 
of the country. The adaptability of the autogiro (pl. 10, fig. 1) for 
applying arsenicals over forested areas has been demonstrated, and 
this type of equipment bids fair in time to supplant completely the 
use of ground machinery. It may lower the cost of the application of 
insecticides to such a figure that it will be economical to protect forest 
lands on the basis of the value of the threatened stand rather than 
on the additional threat of spread to, and destruction of, forest in 
other areas. Lead arsenate, one of the most widely used arsenicals, 
was developed commercially. 

For many years an extensive program of parasite introduction was 
carried on in an effort to establish the principal insect enemies of the 
gypsy moth in this country. Most of the important foreign parasites 
are now firmly established here and several of them have spread 
throughout the gypsy moth infested region. This was the first large- 
scale undertaking of this kind, and the knowledge gained has served 
as a basis for studying parasites of a large number of injurious 
insects. 

Many other destructive outbreaks of defoliators have occurred from 
time to time in our forests but most of these developed unobserved 
to such magnitude and declined with such abruptness that it has 
been impossible to organize a control campaign. Suppression work 
on many smaller direct-control projects in scenic and recreational 
areas in our national parks and national forests have been carried out 
during this period and will undoubtedly be conducted more frequently 
in the future as the use of these recreational areas increases and costs 
of application are reduced. 


CONTROL OF VECTORS OF THE DUTCH ELM DISEASE 


The Dutch elm disease can logically be referred to here inasmuch 
as its spread is entirely due to insect vectors, chiefly the small bark 


376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


beetle Scolytus multistriatus (Marsham) (pl. 11), introduced from 
Europe, and a native bark beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes (Kich.). 
Without these associates the disease could do no damage. In this 
case, control emphasis has been placed on the disease, although actu- 
ally the case is a close parallel to our bark beetle problems, where 
several species of Ceratostomella, or blue stains, are introduced by 
Dendroctonus into the stems of pine and spruce to bring about their 
destruction. More and more the control of this disease is becoming 
a problem in the control of the vectors. 

Scolytus was introduced from Europe many years ago and is 
widely distributed. When the disease first appeared in 1930 a survey 
showed that it was well established in New Jersey and that a few 
outlying infections existed. An eradication program was undertaken 
in 1935. At the present time over $25,000,000 has been spent. 

As in the case of the gypsy moth control campaign, this large 
intensive campaign has perfected methods, particularly in scouting 
and chemical control, suitable for application to future similar 
emergencies that may arise. 


RESUME ON DIRECT CONTROL 


Thus during a period of some 40 years, beginning at a time when 
many of the most destructive of our forest pests were still new to 
science, the threat of insects to our reserve timber stands, their 
capacity in marring scenic and recreational values, their destruction 
of second-growth forests, and their importance as a fire menace have 
become widely appreciated, and highly specialized organizations for 
the prevention or control of these losses have been developed. 

During this period more than $100,000,000 has been spent and in 
recent years $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 annually has been utilized in 
protective measures. The annual expenditures by the United States 
Forest Service for fire protection is approximately $15,000,000. 


PROTECTION THROUGH MANAGEMENT 


The foregoing discussion presents a broad picture of insect activi- 
ties in our forests and of man’s efforts to counteract their destructive 
tendencies where the timber stands are of sufficient value to warrant 
direct expenditures for control. Such effort has been based on the 
theory that the necessary expenditures are justified because of the 
greater value of the green timber saved by this action or because 
of the recreational values involved. 

Gradually, while this was going on, entomologists and foresters 
were thinking of the future, toward a time when methods for growing 
timber crops so as to avoid insect losses could be substituted for 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD ald 


artificial control. Definite suggestions along these lines were 
expressed very early by Hopkins (1909a) : 

The desired control or prevention of loss can often be brought about by the 
adoption or adjustment of those requisite details in forest management and 
in lumbering and manufacturing operations, storing, transportation, and utiliza- 
tion of the products which at the least expenditure will cause the necessary 
reduction of the injurious insects and establish unfavorable conditions for their 
future multiplication or continuance of destructive work. 

Curiously enough the principles for growing or handling forests 
to avoid insect attack are best learned from the study of the insects 
themselves. As mentioned previously, insect losses are only serious 
‘when they interfere with man’s need. For generations certain types 
of forests have been destroyed by insects and rebuilt through growth, 
and this process is still going on unnoticed and of little concern to 
man in the more remote areas. Nature also uses insects for the 
removal of certain shade-intolerant or temporary species of trees 
from the forest, thus hastening the arrival of the climax type. 

Many excellent examples of such activities have been observed and 
recorded. The first might be illustrated by the activities of the Black 
Hills beetle on the Kaibab Plateau, an area relatively undisturbed by 
man. To quote Craighead (1924) : 

This beetle has been present in this forest, killing enormous quantities of 
timber, probably since the forest has been in existence, although absolute 
records can only be dated back 400 years. The activities of these beetles have 
been almost continuous with intermittent periods of greater epidemicity * * * 
Generally speaking, the forest consists of a densely stocked immature stand. 
Stands of old mature timber are very limited in extent * * * These beetles 
have in reality been putting into effect a form of management—cutting by a 
group system the annual increment of the forest for hundreds of years in the 
past and providing at the same time good conditions for reproduction. But 
little study is needed to convince one that this system has been highly successful 
from the standpoint of producing rapid growth and fully stocked stands. 

An illustration of the action of insects in effecting natural forest 
succession is provided by the 1910-20 spruce budworm outbreak in 
eastern Canada and the northeastern part of the United States, as 
described by Swaine and Craighead (1924) and by Graham and Orr 
(1940). This outbreak was one phase of a slow process of natural 
forest succession over extensive areas. The temporary types, com- 
posed largely of aspen and birch, were gradually replaced by mix- 
tures of balsam fir, spruce, and red and white pine. The forest tent 
caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hbn.) probably aided in this con- 
version by killing some of the aspen and birch and thus releasing 
the coniferous understory. By the time the fir and spruce reached 
maturity they formed a considerable part of the upper crown canopy 
and thus made conditions favorable for an outbreak of the spruce 
budworm. The budworm killed most of the mature fir and some of 


378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the spruce. The eastern spruce beetle was also a factor in killing | 
overmature spruce. Insects were thus important in the production _ 
of the extensive stands of white pine of early logging days—giant 
trees 800 or more years of age overtopping a spruce-fir-hardwood 
understory. 

The application of entomological knowledge to forest management 
must go hand in hand with practical developments in forest utiliza- 
tion. Many schemes have been suggested for handling timber stands, 
particularly second growth, to avoid some specific insect damage. 
Many of these may eventually be applied but most of them are still 
impractical because of economic considerations. 


FROM DIRECT BARK BEETLE CONTROL TO SELECTIVE LOGGING OF 
SUSCEPTIBLE TREES 


Probably the most persistent effort in the application of entomo- 
logical knowledge to the management of timber stands has been 
expended for the prevention of bark beetle losses in the ponderosa 
pine type of California and Oregon. 

During the period of increasing control work, while we were utiliz- 
ing our overmature reserves of timber, many of the disadvantages 
of direct control became apparent, particularly the costliness and 
the variability of the results and the fact that much of the timber 
treated could seldom be utilized but had to be left in the woods to 
decay. 

That the western pine beetle (pl. 1) should have been one of the 
first insects for which definite suggestions were made for substituting 
management for direct control is easily understood. Extensive stands 
of increasingly valuable timber were at stake, losses in the best-quality 
timber were increasing, biological studies and control efforts were 
pushed more energetically than for any other beetle, and, most impor- 
tant, it was realized early in the study of this species that it showed a 
decided preference for trees with certain recognizable characteristics 
and that advantage might be taken of this preference in marking 
timber sales. 

Hopkins (1909b) notes the preference of this beetle for “larger, best 
matured trees.” 

Pearce (1920) pointed out that “beetle activities in our pine forests 
not only represent a serious economic loss but must be taken into con- 
sideration in planning for sustained yield.” 

Craighead (1925a) expressed this idea as follows: 

Generally speaking, the western pine beetle appears to prefer overmature, slow- 
growing, decadent trees, particularly those on poorer sites * * * There ig no 
doubt, however, that successful management of the western yellow pine is just 


as intimately tied up with this beetle problem as it is with fire or with the 
silvical characteristics of the tree and that the beetles’ ability to increase in 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 379 


numbers is conditioned by physiological changes in the trees brought about by 
deficiency in rainfall or opening of the stand which allows greater desiccation. 

Person (1928) was the first to give this predilection of the beetle for 
certain trees a definite terminology, using “tree susceptibility” and 
“beetle selectivity.” His work showed that 


* * * tree selection, as used in this paper, is not intended to mean a con- 
scious selection of certain trees by the insects, but rather that trees having certain 
characteristics are more apt to be killed by the western pine beetle than trees 
which do not have them. 

The preference of the western pine beetle for the slow-growing trees varies 
with the area and the status of the infestation, being more marked under endemic 
or increasing conditions than under decreasing epidemic conditions. 

The slow-growing trees, which are of least value for producing wood, are the 
trees most likely to be killed by the western pine beetle. If these trees can be taken 
out in the earliest cutting of timber the condition of cut-over areas will be 
materially improved from the standpoint of insect damage and of subsequent 
growth. 


In a later paper (1931) Person states: 

Any increase in our knowledge of how the western pine beetle selects the trees 
which it kills will make it possible to reduce this Joss by leaving on our cut-over 
areas only such trees as will have the best chance of surviving until the next cut. 

A greater knowledge of tree attractiveness and stand susceptibility will 
make it possible to determine the probability of insect loss when the logging 
plan is first drawn up, before the insect loss occurs, thus obviating the necessity 
of later changes, which are usually costly. 

Dunning (1928), in presenting a tree classification for western yellow 
pine, recognized the importance of bark beetles as a mortality factor. 
To quote: “The greatest single cause of mortality was bark beetles 
(Dendroctonus) which killed 61, or 35 percent, of the 172 trees and 
accounted for 50 percent of the basal-area loss.” He also comments 
on the possibility of using in management, the selectivity shown by 
these beetles, stating that “The elimination of susceptible trees in cut- 
ting would doubtless lessen endemic insect damage, the most important 
cause of loss on cut-over areas.” 

In presenting an appraisal of control, Craighead, Miller, Keen, and 
Evenden (1931) point out that the results of control work against the 
western pine beetle have “not been spectacular or outstanding * * * 
and the benefits only temporary. * * * Such (control) work may 
be combined with selective logging to remove susceptible trees and 
produce better growth conditions in order to give permanent pro- 
tection for long periods.” 

Further developments with this idea were reported in 1933 (Senate 
Document 12) following actual experimental tests in removing 
beetle-susceptible trees (fig. 1): 

Much progress has been made in recent years toward establishing sustained 


yield on both Federal and private timberlands in the ponderosa pine type of 
California and Oregon. The management of these stands is based on an initial 


380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


partial cutting, leaving a sufficient reserve of timber for future growth, so as 
to enable a second cutting in from 380 to 40 years. Bark beetle losses in these 
stands reserved for future growth have in certain areas not only offset all inere- 
ment, but have reduced the original forest capital from 1 to 15 percent. Recent 
experiments have indicated the possibility of avoiding this loss by removing 
insect-susceptible trees in the initial cutting. These susceptible trees are those 
of slower growths which can be detected at the time of marking the timber for 
sale. Recent sales have been marked on this plan. 


RISK CLASSES FOR PONDEROSA PINE 


Low Risk High Risk 


FieuRE 1.—Touched-up photographs to illustrate types of ponderosa pine sus- 
ceptible to bark beetle attack. Lowered vigor and resistance and greater 
Susceptibility indicated by higher numbers. (Salmon and Bongberg.) 


Keen (1936) was the first definitely to classify ponderosa pine on 
the basis of susceptibility to bark beetle attacks. He proposed a 
classification based on age and vigor (crown size, shape, and density) 
that has served very well for this purpose and has been widely 
adopted by foresters for other purposes as well (fig. 2). He says: 

Once the type of tree most likely to be killed can be recognized with a fair 
degree of certainty, it is possible to make partial cuttings of beetle-susceptible 
trees, either for the purpose of salvaging valuable high-risk trees before they 


are damaged by beetle attack or for the silvicultural objective of reducing mor- 
tality and increasing net growth. 


381 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 


A PONDEROSA PINE TREE CLASSIFICATION 


BASED ON AGE AND VIGOR 


FicurE 2.—Keen’s tree classification based on age and vigor. 


382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


These studies have revealed that the risk of being killed by western pine 
beetles is distinctly greater for trees of certain types than it is for other trees 
in the same stand. In general, the trees more susceptible to attack are the 
weaker, less vigorous individuals and, to a certain degree, those more advanced 
in age. The problem, therefore, is one of recognizing the combination of char- 
acters which indicates susceptibility. 

Silvicultural management of our ponderosa pine forests should eventually 
lead to the solution of the present pine beetle problems. Although forest manage- 
ment may not eliminate all future bark beetle troubles, it is at least a step in 
the right direction of improving the chances of ponderosa pine stands to escape 
such injury. 

The practicability of Keen’s scheme was quickly recognized, and 
actual marking of timber sales by this classification was carried out 
in Oregon and Washington and adaptations of the system were used 
by foresters in the Southwest and in the Rocky Mountain regions. 
The results were good and led to further study and refinement of the 
characteristics of “bug trees.” 

About this time thought along these lines had crystallized suffic- 
iently to demand further experimental plots for testing the possibili- 
ties of marking beetle-susceptible trees. In 1936, on the Blacks 
Mountain experimental area, the California Forest Experiment Sta- 
tion set aside certain areas for use of the Berkeley laboratory of the 
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, and Bongberg and 
Salman marked the “bug trees” on the basis of their ideas of the 
characteristics that indicate susceptibility. After 4 years the results 
of this work have been highly satisfactory and are being applied by 
private interests and the United States Forest Service in Oregon and 
California. Salman and Bongberg (1941) have shown that on these 
experimental areas they were able to mark and remove before attack 
85 percent of the trees that would have been destroyed by bark beetles 
from comparison with the losses on adjacent areas. 

Thus after many years of direct-control efforts against the western 
pine bettle and the testing of several methods for marking and cut- 
ting of ponderosa pine on Federal and private lands in an effort 
to obtain sustained yield, we are now anticipating nature’s ruthless 
but effective method—selection by climate and beetles. For many 
years this selection system has been going on before our eyes but 
only recently have we seen it—no doubt, we still see only a part of 
it. It is still too early to predict the success of this method, aptly 
phrased “beating the bettle to it.” Theoretically it looks good. If 
we remove the susceptible trees before the beetle broods develop 
in them, it seems reasonable to believe that beetles cannot increase in 
numbers and become aggressive to the point of killing nonsusceptible 
trees. In practice, success will depend on several considerations. 
Logging methods and terrain, as well as the lumber demand, will 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 383 


govern the size of the cut. The “beetle system” will demand low- 
volume removals at frequent intervals in most stands. Can we mod- 
ify our usual cutting practices so as to remove more frequently the 
susceptible crop of trees? Under favorable weather and beetle con- 
ditions, as have recently prevailed, it seems possible to do this with 
a light cut every 5 years or so. Under adverse conditions, such as 
prevailed 10 to 15 years ago, it would have been necessary to remove 
25 to 50 percent of many stands in a few years. 

This discussion pertains to overmature and usually understocked 
stands. It does not consider the conditions that will prevail once 
these stands have been removed and abundant reproduction occupies 
the ground. Obviously the competition in these younger stands will 
offer conditions favorable to group attacks by the bark engravers 
(Zps) and the mountain pine beetle, even if the western pine beetle 
is not abundant, and judicious thinnings will be required to prevent 
the excessive opening of the stands by large group attacks, thus 
bringing about local understockings or conversion of type to less 
desirable species (Craighead, 1936; Eaton, 1941). Pearson and 
Wadsworth (1941) recognized this need in their experimental work 
with ponderosa pine on the Colorado Plateau and show preliminary 
favorable results from thinnings by poisoning and pruning of crop 
trees. 

This marking and removal of low-vigor trees has been recom- 
mended and applied only to the east-side ponderosa types of California 
and Oregon. In the west-side types of more vigorous growth, beetle 
outbreaks are less important. They occur in definite short periods 
and die out as suddenly as they develop. 


THEORIES OF BARK BEETLE SUSCEPTIBILITY 


As indicated in the preceding discussion, the susceptibility of cer- 
tain trees to bark beetle attack has been recognized for a number of 
years. Various explanations have been advanced for this suscepti- 
bility. Some of these are published and others are developed in 
reports and correspondence in the files of the Division of Forest Insect 
Investigations. A thorough understanding of what makes these trees 
susceptible to bark beetle attack would aid materially in the applica- 
tion of preventive measures. 

Observations in the field have shown that mortality in the ponderosa 
pine type varies tremendously from periods of low (endemic) loss 
to periods of excessive (epidemic) loss; that during certain periods 
many trees die with few or no insects present; that others may be 
infested by wood borers only; and still others are attacked by bark 
beetles which introduce blue-staining fungi into the sapwood, thus 
cutting off the transpiration stream between the roots and the crown. 


384 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


This same picture applies more or less to all bark beetle outbreaks 
in all parts of the United States. 

It is obvious that any satisfactory explanation for the susceptibility 
of trees to bark beetle attack must also explain all the observed facts 
during the ups and downs of these outbreaks. It is the writer’s 
opinion that the condition is induced primarily by lack of moisture, 
chiefly from drought but also from excessive competition within 
the stand. It is probable that in the case of ponderosa pine, as with 
other trees, the roots are first affected.2, Then, in turn, the foliage 
thins out to compensate for a reduced root system. The topmost 
branches often die. Certain insects that kill the twigs (such as scale 
insects and the birdseye pine midge, Retinodiplosis sp., pl. 8, fig. 1) 
may bring about additional defoliation. This all results in the manu- 
facture of less food and consequently narrower rings, which in turn 
may reduce the volume of conduction, all of which contributes to 
lowered vigor to the point where many trees cannot recover. 

Thus it could be that under adverse conditions many trees die 
from the effects of the physical environment without insect attack; 
others are attacked by borers which in themselves are not very 
important—at least no sound physiological explanation of the effects 
of their attack has been offered—but are only symptoms of a deeper 
malady. These “predisposing insects” of Graham (1939, p. 226), 
Keen and Salman (1941), and West (1941), with their special senses 
can recognize this moribund condition before we can, and act 
accordingly. Such insects appear to be the principal factor only 
because they are immediately associated with visual symptoms of 
death. Others of these trees in slightly better condition do not 
fade (die) until conduction is completely and quickly cut off by 
blue-staining fungi introduced into the sapwood by bark beetles 
(Nelson and Beal, 1929). This theory implies that many trees go 
out of the stand from the effects of an adverse physical environment 
and may serve as hosts to numbers of borers and other insects, 
whereas other trees less seriously affected by drought serve as suitable 
host material for breeding up large populations of bark beetles. It 
is conceivable that the lowered water content and possibly higher 
oxygen content of the wood associated with drought (Nelson, 1934; 
Caird, 1935) are necessary for development of the blue stains, which, 
in turn, condition the tree for optimum development of bark beetle 
broods (Leach, Orr, and Christensen, 1934). 

From this it should by no means be inferred that these bark 
beetles cannot by their attack kill healthy trees. The aggressiveness 


7 Secrest, MacAloney, and Lorenz (1941) have shown that the foliage of drought-affected 
hemlocks may remain green several years even when the tree has a dead root system 


(apparently sustained by stored food in the trunk and moisture received through the 
dead roots). 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 385 


of the beetles depends on their abundance, as they kill by gregari- 
ous attack, introducing into the active sapwood fungi that cut off 
conduction. When they become abundant their gregarious attack 
will kill trees that are apparently in full vigor and which show no 
characteristics of susceptible trees, but as the condition of the border- 
line trees improves with increased moisture more bettles are required 
to kill a tree, poorer broods develop, and the insects decrease in 
abundance and consequently are of decreasing importance, 

This theory appears to be supported by evidence collected from 
other insect outbreaks and drought periods in the more humid parts 
of the United States. That such comparisons are not too far- 
fetched is supported by the following recent statement by Pearson 
and Wadsworth (1941) : 


Notwithstanding local variations in size and growth rate, ponderosa pine 
behaves in much the same way wherever it is found. There is also more in 
common between different species in widely separated regions than foresters 
generally realize. The influence of light and shade and of root competition, 
though differing in degree, is fundamentally the same whether one is dealing 
with ponderosa pine in Arizona, with pines in the South, or the Lake States, 
or with Douglas-fir in the Pacific Northwest. 

The southern pines (shortleaf, loblolly, and longleaf) have from 
time to time been subjected to sharp local droughts which have 
killed large volumes of timber. Outstanding among these was the 
summer drought of 1924 in Texas and Louisiana, when a deficiency 
in precipitation of some 15 inches, occurring from June to January, 
resulted in the destruction of over 100,000,000 board feet of timber. 
Although /ps were prevalent in the dying trees, much of the timber 
was very lightly infested. (St. George, 1925.) 

A few years later Cary (1932) reports a similar drought in 
Florida and Georgia extending through 7 months, which destroyed 
nearly as much pine timber. The southern pine beetle was notably 
absent in these occurrences, as outbreaks are rare in longleaf and 
slash pines, although this insect does attack these species. Personal 
experience in both these cases was very convincing as to the greater 
effect of drought and the secondary importance of the associated 
insects, 

Blackman (1924) showed that the attack of the hickory bark 
beetle was dependent on a moisture deficiency and that the attacking 
insects were destroyed when normal rainfall was resumed. Craig- 
head (1925b) analyzed a series of outbreaks of the southern pine 
beetle in shortleaf pine and found that the same conditions held. 
Subsequent observations have upheld this evidence and have per- 
mitted issuance of warnings when precipitation has dropped below 
normal, 


386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


For some time it had been recognized that a more systematic 
study of the interrelationship of tree susceptibility and climate was 
necessary in the ponderosa pine type. Any direct connection between 
timber losses and deficiency of precipitation has been much more 
difficult to establish in the ponderosa pine type because of the lack 
of adequate records in the timber areas and the apparent adjustment 
of this pine to the rainless summers of the region. Three years 
ago at our Berkeley laboratory R. C. Hall initiated such a field study, 
establishing locations in several timber types and on several timber 
sites, amply supplied with instruments to measure various environ- 
mental factors. In these areas insect records and timber losses are 
available over a long period of years. Already, after 3 years of 
observation, very striking information (unpublished reports) has 
been obtained indicating a close tie-up between climate, past timber 
losses, and beetle activities, even definite variations within the 
different sites of the ponderosa type. 


MANAGEMENT FOR INSECT CONTROL IN SECOND-GROWTH STANDS 


In the eastern States, particularly in some private forests, silvicul- 
tural systems primarily designed to circumvent insect damage have 
been applied in pine and hardwood stands. Such insects as the 
gypsy moth, the white pine weevil, the locust borer, the turpentine 
borer, and the bronze birch borer have each been the dominant factor 
in shaping management plans of the forest types in which they are 
active. 

Fiske (1913) was probably the first in this country to realize the 
possibility of controlling the gypsy moth through forest management. 
He suggests taking advantage of the preference shown by the larvae 
for certain species of trees and removing these, especially oak, from 
the stands. 

This possibility of control through adjustment of food plants stim- 
ulated extensive studies by the Bureau of Entomology which were 
published by Mosher (1915). Mosher classified the plants in the 
regions into the following four groups: (1) Species highly favored 
by all stages of gypsy moth larvae; (2) species that are favored food 
for the gypsy moth after the early larval stages; (8) species that are 
not particularly favored but upon which a small proportion of the 
gypsy moth larvae may develop; and (4) species that are unfavored 
food. 

The gypsy moth develops normally and becomes destructive only 
on plants of group 1. 

From the germ of Fiske’s suggestion and the definite classification 
proposed by Mosher, the possibility of silvicultural control gradually 
gained recognition and resulted in a cooperative study between the 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 387 


Forest Service and the Bureau of Entomology to obtain more specific 
data and to test out theories by means of experimental plots. This 
study was assigned (Clement, 1917) to Clement and Munro, who re- 
ported on their work in Bulletin 484 of the United States Department 
of Agriculture. They indicated certain possibilities and certain limi- 
tations, chiefly economic, in the application of management to gypsy 
moth control. The proposals were a little ahead of the times and no 
general application resulted. 

A more recent study of this problem in central Massachusetts 
through cooperative efforts of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant 
Quarantine, the Harvard Forest, and the Northeastern Forest Experi- 
ment Station developed more specific information. First, Baker and 
Cline (1936) showed that no serious defoliation occurred unless more 
than 50 percent of the stand was composed of species of group 1. 
Continued study led to definite recommendations by Behre, Cline, and 
Baker (1936) and indicated that there are very far-reaching possi- 
bilities for applying the principles of forest management to the con- 
trol of the gypsy moth in the New England States, because of the 
favorable conditions which existed, namely, (1) the composition of 
much of the forest with regard to the distribution of favored and 
unfavored food plants was suitable to work with in thinning prac- 
tices; (2) there were large areas of second-growth hardwoods, many 
of them with understories of conifers, which needed release; (3) the 
Federal and State agencies were then spending considerable sums on 
less permanent methods of control, such as spraying and creosoting 
egg masses. This money would do more permanent good if diverted 
to forest improvement; and (4) considerable manpower was avail- 
able (at the time of writing) through C. C. C. camps and relief 
organizations. 

The ice is now well broken and it is likely that silvicultural meas- 
ures will be given more and more emphasis and the present control 
program will change from one of temporary practices, such as spray- 
ing and creosoting, to one involving the permanent improvement of 
forest stands. It is reasonable to believe that with such measures a 
large part of the present infested area can be made relatively immune 
to the gypsy moth and a considerable reduction in expenditures for 
control can be effected. 

These writers (Behre, Cline, and Baker, 1936) showed how the cut- 
ting practices of the past 30 years and frequent fires led to the increase 
of secondary types which are primarily composed of species of group 
1, and thus brought about more favorable conditions for the gypsy 
moth. To quote: 

Thus it becomes evident that the forest types which present most favorable con- 


ditions for gypsy moth attack are the direct result of a transient agriculture 
and the destructive lumbering practices of the past. 


430577—42——-26 


388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Definite recommendations are made for treating the predominant 
stands of the regions, namely, coniferous plantations, coniferous un- 
derstories, mixed conifers and hardwoods, and mixed hardwoods of 
commercial importance. The writers conclude: 

Consideration of the history of the gypsy moth and of existing forest conditions 
in New England leads to the conclusion that, in spite of all control effort to date, 
epidemic outbreaks with serious defoliation may continue to occur within the 
infested area. 

Increasing the proportion of woodland in which conditions are unfavorable for 
the development of the insect should lessen the need for artificial control and 
reduce the frequency and severity of outbreaks. * * * With few exceptions, 
elimination or reduction of highly favored food species will conform to desirable 
silvicultural practices. Silvicultural control, therefore, has the added advantage 
of serving the objectives of forest improvement. 

An introduced insect may thus prove to be the dominant factor in 
shaping plans for the management of large areas of New England 
forest land, provided our present appraisal of its economic importance 
has not been too pessimistic. 

A dominant factor in shaping cultural practices for white pine in 
the Northeast has been the white pine weevil. As farm lands were 
abandoned a generation or more ago, they seeded in to stands of white 
pine. In addition many acres were planted. Gradually it dawned on 
the landowners and foresters that many apparently vigorous stands 
were worthless “cabbage pines” as the result of repeated attacks of 
the white pine weevil. The many desirable characteristics of this 
tree, particularly its rapid growth and high-quality wood, led to 
repeated investigations of the weevil problem, culminating in recom- 
mendations by the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, the 
New York State College of Forestry, and Harvard Forest for growing 
mixed stands of hardwoods and pine to avoid weevil damage (Mac- 
Aloney, 19382) and for the reclamation of merchandise boles from 
badly weeviled stands. (Cline and MacAloney, 1931, 1933, 1935.) 

Continued experimental work on the Harvard Forest tracts with 
pines planted among hardwood seedlings was recently verbally re- 
ported to the writer by A. C. Cline, director of Harvest Forest, indi- 
cating simplified measures of growing these mixtures to avoid weevil 
damage (pl. 8, fig. 2). It is obvious that white pines of value cannot 
be grown commercially in the Northeast unless these methods or sub- 
sequent modifications of them are utilized. 

Dying white and yellow birch in overmatured stands or following 
logging operations or severe droughts have invariably been found 
infested with the bronzed birch borer (Agrilus anwius Gory) in the 
Northeast and in the Lake States. Studies of this insect (Hall, 1933) 
have led to the conclusion that “changes in the physical factors of the 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 389 


environment brought about through the medium of logging are often 
such that trees left will succumb without the attack of either insects 
or fungi, and the borer plays only the role of a secondary factor in 
hastening post-logging decadence.” 

Thus a study of this insect has led to a better understanding of the 
silvical characteristics of these trees and the need of modification in 
cutting practices. 

The turpentine borer, Buprestis apricans (Herbst) (pl. 12), has 
been a contributing factor in shaping plans for the management of the 
turpentine groves of the South. This borer attacks the faces of 
turpentined trees, riddling the entire bases of the trees with its 
mines and so weakening them as to cause extensive wind throw. It 
was found that only “dry-faced” or fire-scorched faces from which 
the protective coating of resin had been removed were attacked. 
This emphasized the value of conservative practices, such as narrow 
chipping and fire protection—practices which were advocated for 
obtaining better yields of gum (Beal, 1932). 


LITERATURE CITED 
ABRIVEB, DAVID. 
1980. An adventure in bug hunting. Amer. For. and For. Life, vol. 36, 
No. 2, pp. 71-73. 
Baker, W. L., and CLINE, A. C. 
1936. A study of the gypsy moth in the town of Petersham, Mass., in 1935. 
Journ. Forestry, vol. 34, No. 8, pp. 759-765. 
BatcH, R. E. 
1941. The spruce sawfly outbreak in 1940. Pulp and Pap. Mag. Canada, 
vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 219-222. 
BEAL, J. A. 
1932. Control of the turpentine borer in the Naval Stores region. U. S. 
Dep. Agr. Cire. 226, 18 pp. 
BeagnR:, C. E., Ciing, A. C., and BAKER, W. L. 
1936. Silvicultural control of the gypsy moth. 16 pp. Massachusetts Forest 
and Park Association, Boston. 
BLACKMAN, M. W. 
1924. The effect of deficiency and excess in rainfall upon the hickory bark 
beetle. Journ. Econ. Ent., vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 460-470. 
CAIRD, RALPH W. 
1935. Physiology of pines infested with bark beetles. Bot. Gaz., vol. 96, 
No. 4, pp. 709-7338. 
Cagy, AUSTIN. 
1900. Insect damage to spruce timber in Maine and New Hampshire. The 
Forester, vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 52-54. 
1932. Effect of drought on pine trees. Naval Stores Rev., vol. 42, Nos. 
15, 17, 18, 19. 
CLEMENT, G. E. 
1917. Control of the gypsy moth by forest management. U. S. Dep. Agr. 
Bull. No. 484, 54 pp. 


390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Cringe, A. C., and MAcALoney, H. J. 
1931. A method of reclaiming severely weeviled white pine plantations. 
Bull. No. 152, 11 pp. Massachusetts Forestry Association, Boston. 
1933. The improvement of weeviled white pine plantations. Publ. No. 24, 
11 pp. Connecticut Forest and Park Association, New Haven. 
1935. Progress report of the reclamation of severely weeviled white pine 
plantations. Journ. Forestry, vol. 33, No. 11, pp. 982-935. 
CRAIGHEAD, F. C. 
1924. The Black Hills beetle practicing forestry on the Kaibab. ‘lhe Forest 
Worker, November, p. 74, U. S. Dep. Agr., Forest Service. 
1925a. The Dendroctonus problems. Journ. Forestry, vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 
340-354. 
1925b. Bark beetle epidemics and rainfall deficiency. Journ. Econ. Ent., 
vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 577-586. 
1936. Forest insects and forestry. Penn State Sylvan, pp. 18-19, 85, 92. 
1938. Research points the way in forest insect control. Journ. Forestry, 
vol. 36, No. 9, pp. 905-908. 
CRAIGHEAD, F’. C., Mittrr, J. M., Kren, F. P., and EVENDEN, J. C. 
1931. Control work against bark beetles in western forests and an ap- 
praisal of its results. Journ. Forestry, vol. 29, No. 7, pp. 1001-1018. 
CRAIGHEAD, F. C., and St. Grorer, R. A. 
1938. Experimental work with the introduction of chemicals into the sap 
stream of trees for the control of insects. Journ. Forestry, vol. 36, 
No. 1, pp. 26-384. 
DUNNING, DUNCAN. 
1928. A tree classification for the selection forests of the Sierra Nevada. 
Journ, Agr. Res., vol. 36, No. 9, pp. 755-771. 
Haron, C. B. 
1941. Influence of the mountain pine beetle on the composition of mixed 
pole stands of ponderosa pine and white fir. Journ. Forestry, vol. 
39, No. 8, pp. 710-713. 
EVENDEN, J. C., and Gisson, A. L. 
1940. A destructive infestation in lodgepole pine stands by the mountain 
pine beetle. Journ. Forestry, vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 271-275. 
FIiskKg, W. F. 
1918. The gypsy moth as a forest insect, with suggestions as to its control. 
U. S. Dep. Agr., Bur. Ent. Cire. 164. 
GRAHAM, §S. A. 
1939. Principles of forest entomology, 2d ed., 410 pp. McGraw-Hill Book 
Co., New York City. 
GRAHAM, S. A., and Orr, L. W. 
1940. The spruce budworm in Minnesota. Techn. Bull. 142, Univ. Minne- 
sota Agr. Exp. Stat., 27 pp. 
HALL, RALPH C. 
1933. Post-logging decadence in northern hardwoods. Univ. Michigan School 
of Forestry and Conservation, Bull. No. 1, 66 pages. 
Hewitt, C. Gorpon. 
1912. The large larch sawfly. Dom. Canada Dep. Agr., Bull. No. 10, ser. 2, 
42 pp. 
Hopxins, A. D. 
1899. Report on investigations to determine the cause of unhealthy con- 
ditions of the spruce and pine from 1880-1893. West Virginia Agr. 
Exp. Stat. Bull. 56, pp. 197-461. 


INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT—CRAIGHEAD 391 


Horpxins, A. D.—Continued. 
1901. Insect enemies of the spruce in the northeast. U. 8. Dep. Agr., Bur. 
Ent. Bull. 28, n. s., 48 pp., 16 plates. 
1902. Insect enemies of the pine in the Black Hills Forest Reserve. U. 8. 
Dep. Agr., Bur. Ent. Bull. 32, n. s., 24 pp., 7 plates. 
1909a. Insect depredations in North American forests and practical methods 
of prevention and control. U. S. Dep. Agr., Bur. Ent. Bull. 58, 
pt. 5, n. s., pp. 57-95. 
1909b. Bark beetles of the genus Dendroctonus. U. 8S. Dep. Agr., Bur. 
Ent. Bull. 83, pt. 1, 165 pp., illus. 
KEEN, F. P. 
1931. Pine beetle control costs reduced through logging and salvage. U. 8S. 
Dep. Agr. Yearbook, pp. 428-430. 
1936. Relative susceptibility of ponderosa pines to bark beetle attack. 
Journ. Forestry, vol. 34, No. 10, pp. 919-927. 
1937. Climatic cycles in eastern Oregon as indicated by tree rings. U. S. 
Dep. Agr. Monthly Weather Rev., vol. 65, pp. 175-188. 
KEEN, F. P., and Furniss, R. L. 
1937. Effects of subzero temperatures on populations of the western pine 
beetle. Journ. Econ. Ent., vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 482-504. 
Keen, F. P., and SALMAN, K. A. 
1941. Progress in pine beetle control through tree selection. (Ms. ap- 
proved July 15, 1941, for publication in Journ. Forestry.) 
LEACH, J. G., Ogn, L. W., and CHRISTENSEN, CLYDE. 
1934. The interrelationships of bark beetles and blue-staining fungi in the 
felled Norway pine timber. Journ. Agr. Res., vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 
315-341. 
MAcALONEY, H. J. 
1932. The white-pine weevil. U.S. Dep. Agr. Cire. 221, 30 pp. 
MrIter, J. M. 
1931. High and low lethal temperatures for the western pine beetle. 
Journ. Agr. Res., vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 303-821, 3 figs. 
MosHe_r, F. H. 
1915. Food plants of the gypsy moth in America. U. 8S. Dep. Agr., Bur. 
Ent. Bull. No. 250, 39 pp. 
NELSON, RALPH M. 
1934. Effect of bluestain fungi on southern pines attacked by bark beetles. 
Phytopathol. Beitschr., vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 327-353. 
NELSON, RAtpH M., and Brat, J. A. 
1929. Experiments with bluestain fungi in southern pines. Phytopathol., 
vol. 19, No. 12, pp. 1101-1106. 
PATTERSON, J. EH. 
1929. The pandora moth, a periodic pest of western pine forests. U. S. 
Dep. Agr. Techn. Bull. 137, 20 pp., illus. 
1930. Control of the mountain pine beetle by solar heat. U. S. Dep. Agr. 
Techn. Bull. No. 195, 20 pp., 11 figs. 
PEARCE, W. J. 
1920. The relation of insect losses to sustained forest yield. Journ. For- 
estry, vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 406-411. 
PEARSON, G. A., and WADSworRTH, F. H. 
1941. An example of timber management in the Southwest. Journ. For- 
estry, vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 484452. 


392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


PERSON, HUBERT L. 

1928. Tree selection by the western pine beetle. Journ. Forestry, vol. 26, 
No. 5, pp. 564-578. 

1931. Theory in explanation of the selection of certain trees by the west- 
ern pine beetle. Journ. Forestry, vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 696-699. 

St. Groroe, R. A. 

1925. The recent death of large quantities of southern pine. Amer. Lumber- 

man, May, pp. 50-51. 
SALMAN, K. A. 

1938. Recent experiments with penetrating oil sprays for control of bark 

beetles. Journ. Econ. Ent., vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 119-123. 
SaLMAN, K, A., and BoneBere, J. W. 

1941. Logging high risk trees to control forest insects in pine stands of 
northeastern California. (Ms. approved August 2, 1941, for pub- 
lication in Journ. Forestry.) 

SEcrEsT, H. C., MacAtonry, H. J., and Lorenz, R. C. 


1941. Causes of the decadence of hemlock at the Menominee Indian Reserva- | 


tion, Wisconsin. Journ. Forestry, vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 3-12. 
SENATE DocuMENT 12. 
1933. The progress in forest entomology and protection against forest insects 
from “A National Plan for American Forestry.” Sep. No. 28. 
SwaItng, J. M., and CRAIGHEAD, F. C. 


1924. Studies on the spruce budworm (Cacoecia fumigerana (Clem)). Dom, | 


Canada Dep. Agr. Bull. No. 37, n. s. (techn.), 91 pp., 24 plates, 
Ottawa, December. 

WEsT, A. S., JB. 
1941. Biological notes on two species of Melanophila. Journ. Econ. Ent., 
vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 48-45. 


“SoTI9[[83 559 MOYS 0} pexIeq 901} auld vsoIapuod Jo yuNI} J9MOT ‘¢ {yIeq aUId BsoJOpUOd jo dOBJINS IDUUT UO Sala[[Vs S50 SUIPUTA ‘F fazIS 
qoexy “yortd ay] UI pesvous o]J00q peed ~“AJol[es 38a 07 9oURIQU 4B YIBq JO ooRIJAIMS UO seqny youd ‘g ‘yavq Ur s[joo jednd ut ovary ‘Z fazIs [eanqeU Sout} g ynoqy ‘9f200q IMpPyV ‘1 


(SINODIASYS SNNOLOOYGNAQ) 31L33g SNIid NYSLSAM AHL 


L 3aLW1d peaysreiy— | p61 ‘40day ueruosyywig 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Craighead PLATE 2 


INFESTATION OF THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE IN A VIRGIN STAND OF SUGAR 
PINE. 
August 1932. The light-colored trees are recent attacks and have been 
faded for only a short time. 


We 


Yosemite National Park, Calif. 


PEs 


PO Le 


2. PONDEROSA PINE TIMBER IN MODOC NATIONAL FOREST, CALIF., KILLED BY THE 
WESTERN PINE BEETLE. 


Eastside pine type. September 1932. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Craighead PLATE 3 


1. SALVAGING BEETLE-KILLED PONDEROSA PINE TIMBER ON THE SHASTA NA 
TIONAL FOREST, CALIF. 


The infested logs are being trucked to the mill over forest roads. July 1939. 


2. BURNING THE INFESTED BARK ALONG THE BOLE OF A LARGE PONDEROSA PINE 
TREE. 


Stanislaus National Forest, Calif. May 1935. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Craighead PLATE 4 


A LARGE SUGAR PINE TREE RECENTLY KILLED BY THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE 
IN THE STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST, CALIF., SEPTEMBER 1935. 


Usually such large trees are not killed by this beetle in a single year, two or more attacks often being suffered 
before the entire stem becomes infested. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Craighead PLATE 5 


1. INA LODGEPOLE PINE GHOST FOREST OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIF. 


These trees were all killed by the mountain pine beetle in an epidemic lasting only 4 years. 1915. 


2. INFESTATION OF THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE IN LODGEPOLE PINE. 


Insect-killed trees show white in photograph. Bitterroot National Forest. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Craighead PLATE 6 


1. TREATING WHITE PINE TREES INFESTED WITH BROODS OF THE MOUNTAIN PINE 
BEETLE BY BURNING DECKS OF INFESTED LOGS. 


2. TREATING WHITE PINE TREES KILLED BY THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE BY PEEL 
ING BARK FROM INFESTED PORTION OF BOLE. 


When exposed, the insects are destroyed by ants and small mammals. 


“92-8161 AO 


HLOW VYOAOUNVd 
“MYvVg NIH L SHL HLVWANAG SGOOYUG 


SINACIdg AHL NI 


Cini Zs=t CalcHeialejeicial “sgtett=' Va\e ty 

‘“NOS3YO NI NOILVAYASSY NVIGNI SHL 11M OL GSANYNG GNV 110 HLIM GSAVeEdS 

HLVYVWVY1M AHL NO ANId VSOYSAGNOd °2 SANId 31IOdSa39007] GSLSSAN|] 31LSSq HYve '1 
x ee ee 


peaysieig— 1P6l *qaodayy uBIuosyyIWG 


LALVW1d 


SEE 9 RI — 
“S01O ‘OUsy “BIUIO]I[eO PUB UOSeIQ jo suortse1 ould 


‘sasodind Jaquit} 10} ssoyq710M ey} JNoYSNoIg} pojnqisjstp AT[B1oues SI J “WIAOIS Ut 
a014 (,,eurd aSeqqeo,,) poursoy Ay10od & UT sz]NSed YOIYM ‘vouRUT YOVq-JoS POploop B SUISNVS S[BUTUIIO} O44 S|TPY JosUr syyL 
-ULOP IOJ 9JOAUL0d S[B1VIV] OY} JO [RIBAS PoTILY SI [BUUII} 9q} 103) V -(S1SO7d 

‘SsNIgNa SAGOSSId TWASZAM ANId ALIHM AHL -IGONILSY) ADGIW ANId S3HL Aa GsasnvDd 
A@ GHAONLSAG 3eaYNL ANId ALIHM AO YACVAT “2 3gSu Ll ANId VSOYUSGNOd V NO ,,S9OV714,, ‘1 


i ‘ 7 7 


8 ALV1d peaysieig—' | $6] “q4odayy ueruosyqiuig 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Criaghead PLATE 9 


1. PANDORA MOTH (COLORADIA PANDORA) A DEFOLIATOR OF PONDEROSA, LOGDE- 
POLE, AND JEFFREY PINES IN OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. 


2, VARIOUS STAGES OF THE SPRUCE BUDWORM (CACOECIA FUMIFERANA). EGGS 
ON LEAF, LARVAL INSTARS, PUPAE, CAST PUPAL SKINS, AND ADULT MOTHS, 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Criaghead PLATE 10 


25 


AUTOGIRO IN ACTION SPRAYING CONCENTRATED OIL-LEAD ARSENATE MIXTURE 
OVER RED PINE PLANTATION INFESTED WITH NEODIPRION SERTIFER. 


LARVAE OF THE EURCPEAN SPRUCE SAWFLY (DIPRION POLYTOMUM) MASSED 
UNDER THE TREES THEY HAVE DEFOLIATED. 


These larvae fall to the ground after the foliage is consumed in their search for additional food. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Criaghead PLATE 11 


SCOLYTUS MULTISTRIATUS, THE VECTOR OF THE DUTCH ELM DISEASE. 


Adult, eggs, larval tunnels, larva, pupa, exit holes and feeding scars, and point where tree is inoculated with 
the disease. 


Smithsonian Report, 194] —Craighead PLATE 12 


= 


¥ 


| 

pe 
Jes 

Ps 

, : 


1. TYPICAL WIND-THROWN STAND OF LONGLEAF PINE FOLLOWING POOR TURPEN- 
TINING PRACTICES AND SUBSEQUENT ATTACK OF THE TURPENTINE BORER. 


é 


2. THE TURPENTINE BORER (BUPRESTIS APRICANS) ATTACKS THE BASES OF TUR- 
PENTINE LONGLEAF PINES AND SO RIDDLES THE WOOD WITH THE LARVAL MINES 
THAT THE TREES BREAK OFF. 


GROWTH HORMONES IN PLANTS? 


By KENNETH V. THIMANN 


Harvard Biological Laboratories, Cambridge, Mass. 


[With 2 plates] 


The development of our knowledge of the plant hormones is a 
very interesting example of how a piece of research which seems 
purely academic may lead to results of considerable practical impor- 
tance. It also demonstrates rather well the reason for the fascination 
of scientific work, because one never knows quite where one is going 
to be led next. Almost any research problem becomes a kind of chase, 
with all the excitement of an old-time comedian’s chase, which may 
embroil him in all kinds of difficulties and may finally land in the 
most unexpected places. 

No scientific story, of course, has a true beginning, for they all 
grow out of some earlier one, but this may be regarded for the present 
as beginning in 1919, when Professor Paal, in Hungary, was studying 
the response of certain seedlings to light. For this work he used the 
coleoptiles of the cereals, especially oats. 

In a field of oats or wheat, when the crop is still young, one may 
often see a thin, papery sheath at the base of the stalk. It is soon 
torn open by the leaves which grow up through it, and withers early. 
This delicate shoot first attracted the attention of Charles Darwin by 
its extreme sensitivity to light, and since Darwin many others have 
studied it. Now Paal was interested in the effect of the extreme tip 
of the coleoptile on the sensitivity of the part below it. He was anx- 
ious to confirm the earlier finding of Boysen-Jensen (1918), which 
was that if the tip is removed, the sensitivity to light—as shown by 
the curving of the coleoptile toward the source of light—was lost, 
and that when the tip was replaced (not grafted but just glued on) 
this sensitivity returned. He not only did confirm this, but found 
something even more important. If the tip which had been cut off 


1 Presented at a meeting at the Franklin Institute March 9, 1939. Reprinted by permis- 
sion from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 229, No. 3, March 1940. 


393 


394 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


was stuck on again a little to one side, the side on which it rested 
grew more than the opposite side, with the result that the plant 
curved (fig. 1). No light was here involved; the curvature was due 
to the one-sided influence of the tip. Paal deduced that the growth 
of the shoot was controlled by a growth substance or hormone which 
was produced by the tip. 

Now the idea of hormones was developed by zoologists to account 
for those phenomena in which one organ influences tissues in other 
parts of the body. The heroine of the dime novel, who is suddenly 
confronted by the villain, or by the family ghost, turns as white as 
a sheet, her hair stands on end, and her eyes widen with horror. 
These effects result from her having received a dose of a hormone 
(adrenalin) which is secreted in a special gland and travels about 


N 


Fieurr 1.—The experiment of Pafil. Left, intact seedling; center, tip removed 
and replaced to one side; right, curvature resulting. 


in the blood stream, causing the capillaries to contract all over the 
skin and scalp. Many other hormones are known. All of them are 
secreted in some part of the animal body and travel about it to exert 
their effects in other parts. 

In this case growth is controlled by a substance or hormone se- 
creted by the tip and traveling down the side of the plant, which 
responds by growing faster. In the normal plant, with the tip 
symmetrically placed, all sides would receive the same amount of 
the hormone and consequently would grow equally. 

It was 10 years before the next step forward was taken by Went, 
in Holland (1928). He found that if the tips were cut off and 
placed on a jelly of agar or gelatin, this jelly acquired the property 
of hastening the growth of a coleoptile stump when applied to one 
side of it. The growth-promoting hormone had diffused from the 
tip into the agar. The curvatures which resulted were very regular, 
and Went found that under constant conditions the reaction could 


GROWTH HORMONES—THIMANN 395 


be used as a test for the hormone (fig. 2). Agar pieces of controlled 
size were used, and the curvature of the plants measured after a 
definite time. The curvature was then proportional, within certain 
limits, to the amount of hormone which must have entered the agar. 

Instead of placing the agar on one side of the coleoptile stump 
it can be placed symmetrically on it, thus taking the place of the 
tip, with the result that the coleoptile grows faster on all sides. 
With a traveling microscope the straight growth can also be used 
for the assay of the growth hormone. This is important in prin- 
ciple, but the curvature method has certain technical advantages 
for use as a routine test. 

Now there are a good many natural conditions under which plants 
curve. Plants are not free to move about as the higher animals 
are, since their base is usually fixed. When one is confined to bed 
by doctor’s orders, one’s base is similarly fixed, and about all that 
one can do, when receiving visitors, is to curve in various ways. 


~~ 


Ficure 2.—Oat seedlings with tips removed and blocks of agar containing growth 
hormone applied. Photographed 100 minutes later. 


Plants curve in particular in response to light and gravity. In these 
curvatures there is a characteristic difference between the response of 
the shoot and that of the root. Shoots curve toward a weak light, 
while the roots are either indifferent or (in some plants) curve away 
from the light. Shoots curve upward away from the earth, roots 
typically downward. As mentioned above, it was from studies of 
the curvature toward light that the role of the growth hormone was 
discovered. Naturally, therefore, it occurred to these workers that 
the curvatures caused by asymmetric application of the growth hor- 
mone are probably related to those due to light and gravity. Cho- 
lodny, in Russia (1927), suggested that all such curvatures were due 
to a displacement of the hormone within the plant, more going to 
the lower side when the plant is placed horizontal, or to the shaded 
side when exposed to a one-sided source of light. That this is the 
correct explanation was proved in the following way: tips were cut 
off and placed on two small pieces of agar so that the hormone 
diffusing from the two sides would be collected in separate pieces. 
On now exposing to light from one side, the agar on which the dark 
side rested was found to contain more growth hormone than the 


396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


other. The amounts of growth hormone were determined by apply- 
ing the agar to other plants from which the tips had previously 
been removed, and measuring the curvature. In the same way tips 
were placed horizontal and the agar in contact with the lower side 
was then shown to have more hormone in it than that in contact 
with the upper side. (See fig. 3.) These experiments have since 
been repeated in a variety of plants and they leave no doubt that 
this is at least the major factor in the production of such curvatures. 

It was not long before chemical work on the nature of the hormone 
was undertaken. This was made possible by the discovery that it is 
present, in much larger quantity than in the coleoptile tip, in cultures 


aT 
(al 


Ficure 3.—Above, light coming in direction of arrow causes more hormone to 
diffuse out from the dark side, D, than from the bright side, B; below, gravity 
acting on the tip placed horizontal causes more hormones to diffuse out from 
the lower side, Z, than from the upper side, U. 


of some bacteria and fungi, and in human urine.? Ko6gl and Haagen 
Smit, in Holland (1931-34), isolated three active substances from 
urine and also from corn seeds, while I isolated (1935) the substance 
produced by the fungi and found it to be identical with one of their 
compounds. Since then other active compounds have been synthe- 
sized, and we now have a variety of these substances, which all have 
about the same effect, though in different degree. They have been 
called “auxins.” 

While this work was developing we made a survey of the distri- 
bution of auxin in the whole plant. It was found that it is formed 
mainly in growing buds and in young leaves. This had an im- 
portant sequel. As is well known, plants usually have a “leader” 
or terminal bud. If this is cut off, one of the other buds begins to 


3 More than 10 million coleoptile tips would be required to prepare 1 milligram of the 
hormone. 


GROWTH HORMONES—THIMANN 397 


grow and soon becomes the leader. In other words, this bud was 
capable of growth all the time, but did not do so because the terminal 
bud was present, i. e., it was inhibited by the terminal bud. Now 
since the terminal bud produces relatively large amounts of auxin, 
Skoog and I made the experiment (1934) of removing this bud and 
putting in its place a supply of auxin. The buds below were then 
inhibited to the same extent as they would have been by the terminal 
bud. The auxin which this bud produces, then, has two functions: 
it causes the stem below it to grow, and it causes the buds below it 
to be prevented from growing. This is the first example of what 
was later found to be very general, namely, that auxin elicits differ- 
ent responses from different plant parts. Although normally it 
causes the stems to grow while the buds are inhibited, it must not 
be thought that this is simply a balance or a compensation of growth, 
i. e., that if the stem grows the buds do not and vice versa. For we 
found that it is possible by using the right conditions to prevent the 
growth of the buds without causing the stem to increase appreciably 
in length. In other words, the inhibition is quite independent of 
other growth processes. 

At the same time that this work was done we were engaged in the 
study of another problem. It is known that isolated parts of stems, 
ie., cuttings, form roots under certain conditions. Generally cuttings 
root better if young buds or leaves are on them. On this account 
it was thought possible by van der Lek and by Went (1929) that 
the formation of roots is controlled by a hormone. Went and I 
(1934) soon found that certain preparations when applied to cuttings 
which otherwise were not in the condition to root (having been kept 
in the dark) caused rooting, and that the number of roots formed 
could be made roughly proportional to the concentration of the ma- 
terial used. Work was therefore begun on the purification and iso- 
lation of the active root-forming hormone. It was not long before 
it became clear that the richest sources of this were the same materials 
which had proved the rich sources of auxin, namely urine and the 
cultures of fungi already mentioned. On successive stages of puri- 
fication of the root-forming hormone, its activity always went along 
with the auxin activity. Finally we became convinced that the root- 
forming hormone is identical with the growth hormone, auxin. This 
was proved when we synthesized an auxin (indole-acetic acid, which 
K6gl and Haagen Smit had just isolated from urine and shown to 
be an auxin) and found it to be highly active in producing roots. 
Furthermore, the production of roots, like the promotion of growth, 
is general and not limited to special groups of plants, so that the 
use of auxins by nurserymen in promoting the rooting of cuttings has 
since that time become widespread. Several synthetic auxins have 
been marketed for this purpose. 


398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Although the results of auxin treatment in rooting of cuttings are 
in general very striking, there are some plants which do not respond 
markedly even to this. Recently we have studied some of these so- 
called “difficult” plants. It appears that some of them, such as 
Canadian hemlock and blue spruce, may be readily rooted if care 
is used and auxin in the right concentration is applied (pl. 1). Some 
others, such as white pine and Norway spruce, can also be rooted, 
but only when the plants from which cuttings are taken are them- 
selves young (pl. 2). It is important to note that it is not the age 
of the cutting which is important, but the age of the tree from which 
it istaken. Occasionally, too, other substances, such as sugar, vitamin 
B,, etc., when used together with auxin, promote the formation of 
roots. 


Ficgurn 4.--Inward curvature of slit stems in auxin solutions. Left to right: 
water, 0.2, 1, and 5 mg. auxin per liter. Photographed after about 30 hours. 


Another fact of some importance in the rooting of woody cuttings is 
the type of shoot used. In some of the conifers it is clear that there 
is a difference in response between the side shoots (laterals) and the 
apical or terminal shoot. The latter, even if supplied with sufficient 
auxin, roots less readily and dies more quickly than the side shoots. 
Thus here again the response to auxin varies with the part of the 
plant. 

Perhaps the most remarkable variation within the plant is shown by 
the different responses of different parts within the same section of 
stem. If stems of young pea plants are slit in two and placed in auxin 
solution, the two halves curl inward toward each other. The extent 
of the curvature varies with the concentration of the solution, and 
the reaction can thus be used as a test for the auxins (fig. 4). Many 
other plants show the same phenomenon; dandelion stalks are very 
responsive. The development of the curvature can best be shown 
in the form of a movie, taken by lapse-time photography. The halves 


GROWTH HORMONES—THIMANN 399 


first curve outward, then after an hour or so the inward curvature 
begins and is complete in about 20 hours. 

Now in this reaction the auxin is being supplied to all the tissue, 
since the piece of stem is immersed in the solution, yet nevertheless 
the curvature which results shows that the tissues on the outside 
grow more than those on the inside. It is evident that this phenom- 
enon is quite different from those described at the beginning, in 
which curvature results because the auxin is only applied to one side. 
We have accumulated a good deal of evidence to prove that here 
there is truly a difference in the response of the outer and inner 
sides to the same auxin concentration. 

Such subtle differences as this between closely appressed layers 
of tissue, or those described above between the rooting response of 
different parts, can now be investigated for the first time by the use 
of growth hormones. These substances are a powerful tool for 
studying all kinds of phenomena in plants and especially that most 
obscure process of all, whose understanding is one of the most 
fundamental things with which biologists are concerned, the 
phenomenon of growth. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BoYSEN-JENSEN, P. 
1913. Uber die Leitung des phototropischen Reizes in der Avenakoleoptile. 
Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges., vol. 31, No. 10, pp. 559-566. 
CHOoLopry, N. 
1927. Wuchshormone und Tropismen bei den Pflanzen. Biol. Zentralbl., vol. 
47, No. 10, pp. 604-626. 
KO6GL, Fritz, ERXLEBEN, HANNI, and HAAGEN Smit, A. J. 
1934. Uber die Isolierung der Auxine a und b aus pflanzlichen Materialen. 
Hoppe-Seyler’s Zeitschr. Phys. Chem., vol. 225, Nos. 5-6, pp. 215-229. 
KoeL, Fritz, and HAAGEN Smit, A. J. 
1931. Uber die Chemie des Wuchsstoffs. Kon. Akad. Wetensch. Amsterdam, 
Proce. Sec. Sci., vol. 34, No. 10, pp. 1411-1416. 
K6cL, Fritz, HAAGEN Smit, A. J., and ERXLEBEN, HANNI. 
1934. Uber ein neues Auxin (“Hetero-auxin”) aus Harn. Hoppe-Seyler’s 
Zeitschr. Phys. Chem., vol. 228, Nos. 1-2, pp. 90-103. 
Pad, A. 
1919. Uber phototropische Reizleitung. Jahrb. Wiss. Bot., vol. 58, No 1, 
pp. 406—458. 
THIMANN, KENNETH V. 
1935. On the plant growth hormone produced by Rhizopus suinus. Journ. 
Biol. Chem., vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 279-291. 
THIMANN, KENNETH V., and SKooc, FotKE 
1934. On the inhibition of bud development and other functions of growth 
substance in Vicia Faba. Proc. Roy. Soc., ser. B, vol. 114, No. B 789, 
pp. 317-339. 
THIMANN, KENNETH V., and WENT, F. W. 
1984. On the chemical nature of the root-forming hormone. Kon. Akad. 
Wetensch. Amsterdam, Proc. Sec. Sci., vol. 37, No. 7, pp. 456—459. 


400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


VAN DER LEK, H. A. A. 


1925. Over de wortelvorming van houtige stekken. (With a summary in 
English.) 230 pp. Wageningen. 


WENT, F. W. 
1928. Wuchsstoff und Wachstum. Rec. Trav. Bot. Néerl., vol. 25, livr. 1-2, 
pp. 1-116. 


1929. On a substance causing root formation. Kon. Akad. Wetensch. Am- 
sterdam, Proc. Sec. Sci., vol. 32, Nos. 1-5, pp. 35-39. 
For more extended discussion and bibliography, see 
WENT, F. W., and THIMANN, KENNETH V. 
1937. Phytohormones. Macmillan, New York. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Thimann PLATE 1 


Top, Canada hemlock. Left to right, 400, 100, and 0 mg. auxin per liter for 24 hours. 
Middle, Canada hemlock, variety pendula. Left to right, 100, 50, and 0 mg. auxin per liter for 24 hours. 


Bottom, Blue spruce. Left to right, 400, 200, 100, and 0 mg. auxin per liter for 24 hours All photographed 
after 9-10 weeks in peat-sand medium. (From Thimann, K. V., and Delisle, A. L., Journ. Arnold 
Arboretum, vol. 20, pp. 116-136, 1939.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Thimann PEASE 2 


WHITE PINE. 


Left to right: Above, 0 and 100; below, 200 and 400 mg. auxin per liter for 24 hours. Photographed after 4 
months. 


i a asi 


USEFUL ALGAE 


By FLORENCE MEIER CHASE 


Associate Plant Physiologist, Division of Radiation and Organisms, 
Smithsonian Institution 


[With 9 plates] 
ALGAE AND THE ANCIENTS 


The earliest mention of algae that we can find in the Chinese Classics 
is strangely enough an economic one, thereby discrediting Virgil’s 
famous words, “vilior alga” or “useless seaweed.” In the Book of 
Poetry, the Chinese song words which have a datable range between 
800 and 600 B. C., the following ode occurs: 


THE DILIGENCE AND REVERENCE OF THE YOUNG WIFE OF AN OFFICER, DOING HER PART 
IN SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS 


She gathers the large duckweed, 

By the banks of the stream in the southern valley. 
She gathers the pondweed, 

In those pools left by the floods. 


She deposits what she gathers, 

In her square baskets and round ones; 
She boils it, 

In her tripods and pans. 


She sets forth her preparations, 
Under the window in the ancestral chamber. 
Who superintends the business? 
It is [this] reverent young lady. 


In Legge’s translation of this poem which is given above, the words 
“pondweed” and “duckweed” are designated in the original Chinese 
version by the character for algae. From this poem we can assume 
that even in the time of Confucius algae were considered a food of 
great delicacy, even a worthy sacrificial offering to the ancestors since 
the ancestral chamber is known to be the room behind the temple 
specially dedicated to the ancestors. 
401 


402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Algae were also considered an emblematic figure, for in the classical 
Book of History, the Chinese character for algae occurs in the follow- 
ing, where Legge translated it as “aquatic grass”: 

The emperor: “I wish to see the emblematic figures of the ancients—the sun, the 
moon, the stars, the mountain, the dragon, and the flowery fowl, which are 
depicted on the upper garment; the temple cup, the aquatic grass, the flames, 
the grains of rice, the hatchet, and the symbol of distinction, which are embroid- 
ered on the lower garment.” 

Another use of the beautiful forms of algae as decoration is described 
again in the Chinese Classics as follows: 


The Master (Confucius) said, “Tsang Wan kept a Jarge tortoise in a house, on 
the capitals of the pillars of which he had hills made, with representations of 
duckweed on the small pillars above the beams supporting the rafters.” 


We also find in the Confucian Analects: 

The capitals of the pillars in the grand temple with hills carved on them, and 
the pondweed (¢sao) carving on the small pillars. 

In their writings and speech, the Chinese use the character for 
algae to describe a thought where the meaning of elegant, or fine 
composition is implied, thereby showing their appreciation of the 
delicate and intricate morphology of the algae plants. 

Algae, or seaweed, are described in the Materia Medica of the 
Ancient Chinese as follows: “Whole plant is officinal. Taste bitter 
and salt. Nature cold. Nonpoisonous.” “The hai tsao (algae) 
grows in Tung hai (Shantung) in ponds and marshes. It is gath- 
ered on the seventh day of the seventh month and dried in the sun.” 
“It grows on islands in the sea, is of a black colour, and has the 
appearance of flowing hair.” Then in the eighth century: 

There are two kinds of tsao. The ma wei (horse’s tail) tsao grows in 
shallow water. It looks like a short horse tail, is fine-leaved and black. 
Before use it must be steeped in water to remove the brackish taste. The other 
kind has large leaves and grows in the deep sea near the Kingdom of Sin lo. 
The leaves are like those of the shui tsao but larger. The sea people having 
attached a rope to their waists glide down to the bottom of the sea and so 
secure the seaweed. Owing to the appearance of a large fish, dangerous to 
man, it cannot be gathered after the fifth month. This plant is mentioned in 
the Rh ya. 

Then there is an alga with verticillate leaves called “hair-of-the- 
head vegetable.” “Aun pu (a kind of algae) is produced in the 
Eastern Sea. It is twisted into rope like hemp. It is of a yellowish 
black colour, soft but tough and edible. The A ya calls it lun.” 

Still in the eighth century: 

The kun pu is produced in the Southern Sea. The leaves are like a hand, 
large, and of a purplish red colour. This plant undulates [in the sea]. The 
foreigners (Coreans) twist it into ropes, dry it in the shade, and carry it by 


ship to China. All the different sorts of hai t’sai (seaweed) resemble each 
other in quality and taste, and their medical virtues also are much alike. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 403 


Several kinds of algae were used by the ancient Chinese as food. 
The large seaweed called Laminaria saccharina and Gracilaria 
lichenoides commonly known as Ceylon moss are mentioned as articles 
of food in the Chinese Materia Medica. The Chinese regarded a 
seaweed diet as cooling but rather debilitating if pursued for a long 
time. Both as a food and a medicine was used Porphyra coccinea 
which is described in the Chinese Materia Medica as follows: 

This algal plant is a sort of laver which is green when in the fresh state and 
purple when dry. It grows on the seashore of South China and the Fukienesu 
gather it and press it into cakes. It is not poisonous, but when taken in excess 
produces colicky pains, flatulence, and eructation of mucus. It is recommended 
in diseases of the throat, especially goiter. 

The Péntsao recommends all of the medicinal algae in the treat- 
ment of goiter. A seaweed called k’un-pu was recommended for 
dropsies of all kinds. Gillur-Ka-putta, a dried seaweed collected 
near the mouth of the Saghalien River was highly prized in upper 
India as a remedy for bronchocele. Lung-shé-ts’ai (dragon’s tongue) 
was used as an application in the treatment of abscesses and cancers. 
Gracilaria lichenoides was utilized as a demulcent in intestinal and 
bladder difficulties. Practically all the medicinal properties of plants 
are attributed to the semimythical Shén Nung, known as the First 
Farmer or Father of Husbandry and Medicine, and who purportedly 
lived in 3000 B. C. 

Virgil, the prince of Latin poets, who lived from 70-19 B. C., 
used the phrase “vilior alga” meaning “more vile or worthless than 
algae.” Algae grew in great abundance about the Island of Crete. 
When it was torn by the violence of the waves from the rocks where 
it grew and was then tossed about the sea and finally cast upon 
the shore, it became altogether useless, lost its color, and presented 
an unseemly appearance. Again, in another passage, Virgil writes 
of seaweed beaten back against the shore by the waves. Evidently, 
seaweed had no value whatsoever in his experience. 

Horace (65-8 B. C.) shared Virgil’s poor estimation of algae. In 
his Satires he writes: “But birth and virtue unless [attended] with 
substance, is viler than seaweed”; and again, “Tomorrow a tempest 
sent from the east shall strew the grove with many leaves, and the 
shore with useless seaweed, unless that old prophetess of rain, the 
raven, deceives me.” 

However, Pliny the Elder (A. D. 23-79), the Roman naturalist, 
speaks of garments dyed purple with “phycos Mallasion,” a seaweed 
like lettuce. He also uses the word “fucus” for dye. Then he uses 
the word “algensis,” meaning that which supports itself or lives upon 
seaweed. 

In his Epigrams, Martial (A. D. 502-102?) writes of “all the 
swarthy Indian discovers in Eastern seaweed,” meaning pearls. 

430577—42——27 


404 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 
WHAT ARE ALGAE? 


The word “alga” (singular), “algae” (plural) comes from the 
Latin and is used by us to designate the large class of plants, the 
algae, which are the lowest and simplest in organization of all the 
plants in the plant kingdom. The algae, like all the plants with 
which we are familiar, possess chlorophyll, or green pigment, and 
are thus able to make their own food from inorganic materials such 
as carbon dioxide, water, and certain mineral substances with the 
aid of light. Alga is derived from the Latin word “algor” which 
means “cold.” 

The algae include the seaweeds and unicellular and multicellular 
green plants that do not possess a true stem, a true root, true leaves, 
or true seeds as are found in the higher plants. All of the life proc- 
esses of the algae—respiration, photosynthesis (the manufacture of 
their food), and reproduction—are organized within their cells. Al- 
though they do not have true organs—root, stem, leaves, and seeds— 
they possess the green pigment called chlorophyll which is charac- 
teristic of plants and essential for the production of their food. 

The lower algae include plants whose whole framework consists 
of an individual, isolated cell such as the Diatomaceae, Desmidiaceae, 
and Palmellaceae. Every function of life is performed within the 
cell: the assimilation of gases and salts, the manufacture of their 
own food, and growth until the cell reaches the size proper to its 
species. Then the nucleus within the cell gradually separates into 
two portions and at the same time a cell wall is formed between 
each portion, thus forming two cells from the original one cell. 
These two cells do not adhere to each other as cells do in a compound 
plant, but each half-cell separates from its fellow and starts out 
on its own independent career: food manufacture, increase in size, 
division at maturity, and then separation of the contents occurs 
again. In spite of the fact that these infinitesimal plants are micro- 
scopic in size with their uniform and simple structure, they have 
an innumerable variety of exquisite and artistic forms, and the secrets 
of their mechanism are still puzzling and intriguing the scientists. 

In other low forms of algae, the cell is cylindrical and sometimes 
lengthened into a threadlike body, or the lengthened cells are joined 
end to end as in the Oscillatoriaceae. There is a further advance in 
the Vaucheriaceae, where the filiform cell becomes branched without 
any interruption to the plant body; and these branching cells some- 
times attain inches in length with the diameter of half a hair and 
constitute some of the longest cells among plants. In the nearest 
genera to Protococcus the frond is a roundish mass of cells which 
cohere irregularly by their sides; then more advanced are the Ulvaceae 
where the cells are arranged in a compact membranous expansion 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 405 


formed by the lateral cohesion of a multitude of roundish polygonal 
(due to mutual pressure) cells that originate by the quadripartition 
of older cells (longitudinal as well as transverse division) so causing 
the cell growth to proceed nearly equally in all directions. In Ulva, 
or sea lettuce, we find the earliest type of an expanded leaf. 

Similarly, the earliest type of a stem may be traced back to the 
cylindrical cells of the lower algae. In Conferva, whose body con- 
sists of a number of cylindrical cells fastened end to end, all con- 
tinually originating by the continual transverse division of an original 
cylindrical cell, the frond or plant body continually lengthens but 
does not make any lateral growth. It consists of a series of joints 
and interspaces and correctly symbolizes the stem of a higher plant 
formed of a succession of nodes and internodes. In other genera, 
these confervoid threads branch and the branches originate at the 
joints or nodes like the leaves and branches of the higher compound 
plants. In still other genera of algae, the stems become flattened 
at their summits until leaflike parts are formed which again by the 
loss of their lateral membranes and by the acquisition of thicker 
midribs change back into stems. Among the most highly organized 
algae there are leaflike lateral branches that assume the form and, 
to an extent, the arrangement of the leaves of higher plants. But 
even when the leaflike bodies appear most highly developed in the 
algae, they are merely expanded branches as may be seen by observa- 
tion of the gradual changes that take place in a young Sargassum 
seaweed as the frond lengthens. 

The algal cells imbibe their food equally through all parts of their 
surface and the food is passed from cell to cell toward the cells that 
are assimilating more actively or growing more rapidly. The salts 
and gases that compose the food of algae are dissolved in the salt 
water or fresh water that surrounds the algal cells or they are in the 
air or dissolved in the water in the soil about the algae. For this 
reason the alga does not need a true root such as is found in the 
higher plants. Where a rootlike organ exists in algae, as in the 
larger seaweeds, it is a mere holdfast with the purpose of anchoring 
the seaweed to a stone or wooden base and thus preventing the seaweed 
from being driven about by the action of the waves. Ordinarily, in 
the smaller kinds of seaweeds, it is a simple disk or conical expansion 
of the base of the stem that is strongly fastened to the substance on 
which the seaweed is growing. In the gigantic oarweeds, or Lami- 
naria, where the frond has attained a large size and offers a propor- 
tionate resistance to the turbulent waves of the ocean, the central disk 
is strengthened by lateral holdfasts or disks formed at the bases 
of side rootlike parts emitted from the lower part of the stem, just 


406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


as the tropical screwpine Pandanus puts out cables and shrouds to 
support the increasing weight of the growing head of branches. The 
branching false roots of the Laminaria are merely compound Fucus 
disks and in some few instances, as in Macrocystis, the grasping fibers 
of the rootlike part develop extensively and form a matted sub- 
stratum from which many stemlike parts originate. The holdfast 
extends over the flat surface and adheres to it with no tendency to 
penetrate it as do the roots of higher plants. Only on unstable soil, 
as on the shores of the Florida Keys, do the rootlike holdfasts of the 
Siphoneae and the Caulerpeae penetrate into the sand, forming a 
compact cushion but in search of stability in the shifting sands rather 
than for food. . 

The four chief varieties of color observed among the algae are 
green, blue-green, olive green or brown, and red. They form an easy 
method for separating the algae into separate divisions since the 
classes of color are fairly constant among species that are allied phys- 
iologically and morphologically. 

The green color of the Chlorophyceae, or green algae, and the 
blue-green color of the Cyanophyceae, or blue-green algae, is char- 
acteristic of the algae that grow either in trees, in the soil or on 
land, on rocks, in fresh water, and in the shallower parts of the sea 
where they are exposed to full sunshine but are seldom quite un- 
covered by water. About one-fourth of the green and blue-green 
algae found in deep water are as vivid a green as those found near 
the surface so that it cannot be assumed that the green color, as in 
land plants, is due to a perfect exposure to sunlight. 

The brown algae, or Phaeophyceae, are most abundant between 
tide marks in places where they are exposed to the air at the recess 
of the tide, and are thus alternately parched in the sun and flooded 
by the cool waves of the returning tide. They may extend to low- 
water mark and form a broad belt of vegetation about that level. 
A few straggle into deeper water, sometimes into really deep water. 
The gigantic deep-water algae Macrocystis, Nereocystis, Lessonia, 
and Durvillea are olive-colored. 

The red algae, or Rhodophyceae, are most abundant in the deeper 
and darker parts of the sea. They rarely grow in tide pools with 
the exception of pools shaded from the direct rays of the sun by an 
overhanging rock, or by overlying brown algae. The red color is 
always most intense and pure when the plant grows in deep water 
as may be observed by tracing the same species from the greatest 
depth to the least depth at which it is found. Chondrus crispus is 
deep-purplish red in deep pools near the low-water mark but in 
shallow pools where it is exposed to the sun’s rays it fades to greenish 
or whitish shades. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 407 


Many species of seaweeds, fresh from the sea, can resist the action 
of fresh water while others instantly dissolve and decompose in fresh 
water. 

In the lowest forms of algae where the whole body consists of a 
single cell, some cells gradually change and are converted into a 
spore or fruiting body without any obvious contact with other cells. 
More frequently, as in the Desmidiaceae and Diatomaceae, a spore 
is formed only by the conjugation of two cells or individual plants. 
When the two cells are mature, usually filled with darker-colored 
chlorophyll, they approach each other. A portion of the cell wall 
of each one is then extended into a tubercle at opposite points. The 
tubercles come in contact and become confluent as the cell wall be- 
tween them vanishes and a tube thus connects the two cells. The 
contents of the cells are mixed through this tube and a sporangium, 
or new cell filled with spores, is formed either in one of the old cells 
or at the point of the connecting tube. Then the old, empty cells 
die while the sporangium may remain dormant for a year or several 
years. These sporangia which are formed in abundance at the close 
of the growing season become buried in the mud at the bottom of 
pools where they are encased when the water dries up in the summer, 
then in the spring with the return of water they develop new fronds. 

The filamentous algae of the pools and ditches also form new plants 
in this manner. Almost every cell of these filaments is fertile and 
when two filaments are joined together a series of sporangia will be 
formed on one filament while the other is converted into a string of 
dead, empty cells. 

In the highest algae there appear to be two sexes. The sporangium 
is fertilized when it is in its most elementary form and when it 
cannot be distinguished from an ordinary cell. The fertilizing 
organs are called antheridia and are most readily seen among the 
Fucaceae. 

Besides reproducing by single spores many algae have another and 
sometimes a third means of reproduction. 

As has already been mentioned, the simplest algae divide by the 
division of a single cell into two cells. 

In the green algae, the homogenous, semifluid consistence of the 
cell becomes granulated. The granules detach themselves from the 
cell wall and float freely in the cell. At first they are irregular in 
shape but gradually they become spherical. They congregate in a 
dense mass in the center of the cell and a movement similar to 
that of bees around their queen commences. One by one the active ° 
zoospores detach themselves from each other ‘and move rapidly 
about in the vacant space in the swarm cell. They continually push 
against the cell wall until it is broken, when their spontaneous move- 


408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ments continue for some time in the surrounding fluid. The zoo- 
spores become fixed to a submerged object where they proceed to 
develop cells and grow into algae similar to the ones from which they 
originated. 

NATURE’S UTILIZATION OF ALGAE 


Now when algae are used in myriad ways in food, agriculture, in- 
dustry, medicine, photography, and even in cosmetics, it seems strange 
that, considering the great quantity of them growing all over the 
world in the ocean as well as in fresh water and on land, their full 
usefulness has been so slowly realized by man. Wise old Mother 
Nature has always allotted them their role in her scheme of life 
although man has been tardy in recognizing it and in applying her 
methods of their utilization to his own needs. 

The great abundance of algae in the sea and on the land is not 
merely an indication of nature’s generosity. The microscopic and 
visible algae that fill the ocean are there for a direct purpose whether 
man sees fit to utilize them or not. For the oceans are teeming with 
animal life varying in size from microscopic polyps to the mam- 
moth whales which could not exist without the aid of the plant life. 
One of nature’s many laws is that animal life requires nutriment pre- 
pared by the plant life, and plants are necessary to change the min- 
eral constituents of their surrounding environment into available nu- 
triment for the animals. In the sea, the algae are the only plants that 
can grow and therefore a large number of species of sea animals are 
directly dependent upon them for their food, while other species 
depend upon them indirectly. The algae are indispensable to the 
continuity of animal life in the sea. The green fat of the turtle and 
the green material present in the lobster are indicative of their source 
ef nourishment—the algae. 

There is a famous Chinese proverb: 

Big fish eat little fish 

Little fish eat shrimp 

Shrimp eat mud. 
The so-called mud is full of microscopic algae. The alimentary can- 
als of small and large fish have long been happy hunting grounds 
for biologists. The unicellular algae and diatoms are the salad of 
the water. They are so minute as to be available for the consump- 
tion of the smallest animal organisms, and yet, because of their 
abundance, they may represent the sole food supply of some of the 
‘ larger forms of fish. They are highly nutritious, and not one among 
the thousands of living species is deleterious. The abundance of 
the plant growth in the water is responsible for the abundance of the 
fish supply. Dr. Albert Mann, the noted diatomist, examined the stom- 
ach contents of some young hake (fish about 5 inches in length). 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 409 


The stomachs were filled with small herring. The herring in turn 
were gorged with two species of copepods; and the copepods were 
filled with diatoms and algae. As Dr. Mann pointed out: “Very 
clearly this chain of four links is equal to a sentence of four words. 
No diatoms, no hake.” 

Tiffany was able to identify 150 species and varieties of algae 
in the digestive tract of Dorosoma cepedianum (gizzard shad) which 
he observed to be a highly vegetarian fish. In a similar study made 
by Coyle, 128 species of algae were determined in another fish, 
Pimephales promelas (the fathead minnow). Two other species of 
minnows, Notropis procue and Ewoglossum mazwillingua, are also 
known to consume much vegetable matter including filamentous algae 
and diatoms. These minnows are food for the game fish. 

The cultivation of Bangos in the Philippines has been described in 
detail by Adams, Montalbin, and Martin. Lab-lab is the name 
given to the food of the fry of the milkfish. It is composed of 
unicellular, colonial, and filamentous blue-green algae, unicellular 
green algae, diatoms, bacteria, protozoa, minute worms, and small 
crustaceans. The pond bottom is cleaned two or three times by flow- 
ing water freely into it and out of it. The pond is then exposed 
to sunshine for 2 or 3 days. When the pond bottom is dry, water 
is turned into it to a depth of 3 to 5 centimeters. The lab-lab 
develops in 3 to 5 days, then the water is increased to a depth of 
12 centimeters. The fry feed on the lab-lab and, when they are 
older, on the filamentous green algae that develop over a depth of 
12 centimeters. The algae thrive especially where the water is brack- 
ish. Mullet also feed on the algae. 

Velasquez has studied the algae in the digestive tract of Dorosoma 
cepedianum (the gizzard shad) in an effort to ascertain the ecological 
balance of fish ponds in which vegetarian fish are an important part 
of the fauna. He observed that the overstocking of fish ponds in the 
Philippines is often followed by a great predominance of blue-green 
algae which give the fish a bad taste. He found by culturing the 
stomach contents of the fish that the digested algae which had been 
present in the water supply but were not viable and so did not appear 
in the cultures were Bacillariaceae (diatoms), Volvocaceae, Dino- 
bryon of the Heterokontae, and filamentous green algae. On the other 
hand, 30 species and varieties of Chlorophyceae, 12 species and varie- 
ties of Myxophyceae, 4 species of Bacillariaceae, 2 species of Hetero- 
kontae, and 1 species of Euglenophyceae passed undigested through 
the digestive tract. His investigation indicates that one of the 
sources of selective increase of certain algae in nature, and con- 
versely, of the decrease of others, is due to the vegetarian fishes. 


410 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


It should also be emphasized that the presence of a plentiful supply 
of plant life (algae) in waters where there is an abundance of fish 
is also of importance in regulating the balance of carbon dioxide and 
oxygen. Since the algae use in the production of their food a large 
amount of carbon dioxide which is given off by the fish, and the 
fish need a large amount of oxygen which is given off by the algae, 
the two forms of life derive mutual benefit from their association. 

Of great importance in nature is the effect of algal growth on 
air and water. But before developing this subject further, it seems 
necessary to describe briefly the food substances and conditions 
necessary for the growth of algae. We already know that algae, like 
other plants, need certain essential elements for their growth. Cal- 
cium is not essential for many algae, but certain of them are unable 
to develop without it. Calcium, potassium, and magnesium are im- 
portant because their bicarbonates furnish a supplemental supply of 
carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, which is the production of sugar 
from water and carbon dioxide taking place by the action of 
chlorophyll in light. During this process, a part of the oxygen is 
set free, thus providing oxygen for the respiration of animals which 
in turn throw off carbon dioxide for the plants. It should also be 
mentioned here that algae also use nitrogen in the form of nitrates, 
nitrites, or ammonium compounds. A small quantity of iron is also 
essential to their growth. Under certain conditions, the nature and 
quantity of the available calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, 
and iron compounds have a direct influence upon the existing type 
of algal flora just as the varying diets of the different races of people 
affect their characteristic appearance and habits. 

Light, owing to the fact that it is essential for photosynthesis, 
would seem to be an important factor in the environment of algae. 
But algae differ markedly in their tolerance of light intensity, as has 
been shown by our experiments here at the Smithsonian Institution. 
Provided their food is prepared and in available form, some algae 
exist in a green condition in the depths of the earth and the ocean 
with a very small amount of light. The intensity of light that is 
available for plants growing under water below a depth of 1 meter 
decreases more or less uniformly with the depth. The turbidity of 
the water also has an effect on the quality of the light. Water ab- 
sorbs energy in the infrared and red regions of the spectrum to a 
much greater extent than in the blue region. As a consequence plants 
in clear water receive a relatively large percentage of light within 
the region 4,400 to 5,800 Angstroms. Most plants cannot survive 
indefinitely in light intensities too low to permit sufficiently rapid 
photosynthesis to balance the carbohydrates used up in respiration. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 411 


The depth at which the compensation point occurs depends on the 
species as well as on the quantity of light available. The point at 
which photosynthesis just balanced respiration for certain algae was 
found to occur from 7 to 20 meters in turbid water and at 30 meters 
in clearer water. The optimum location for photosynthesis in the 
lakes of northern Wisconsin was found to be at the surface on cloudy 
days and at a depth of about 5 meters on fair, bright days. The 
brown and green algae require higher light intensities for a photo- 
synthetic balance than the red algae. The ability of the red algae 
to live at greater depths than the green or brown algae may be due 
to the fact that the red algae absorb a greater percentage of blue 
light. 

Temperature has an important effect on the acceleration or retarda- 
tion of growth and reproduction, and under exceptional conditions 
the temperature of the habitat restricts the algal population to certain 
species. 

The quantity of water or moisture necessary for algal growth 
varies, as may be seen, from the large amount required by the plants 
that live submerged in the ocean to the infinitesimal quantity at the 
disposal of the aerial algae. 

The essential part that algae play in the life cycle of animals, 
which is their use of carbon dioxide and their throwing off of oxygen 
in the free state, keeps the water surrounding them pure. A large 
amount of oxygen is also yielded to the atmosphere during their 
processes of growth. It is a well-known fact that, whenever land 
becomes flooded or wherever an extensive surface of either salt or 
fresh shallow water is exposed to the air, Confervaceae and other 
allied forms of algae quickly multiply. Stagnant pools and ditches as 
well as water standing in urns or flowerpots in the open air quickly 
fill up with green scum and green silken threads. This scum and 
these threads cannot grow without emitting oxygen, and on a sunny 
day, the bubbles of oxygen can be observed to collect where the scum 
or threads are massed together. The oxygen continually passes off 
into the air while the algae usually vegetate vigorously, one species 
succeeding another as long as the water remains. When the land or 
the container dries up, the algal bodies, which are merely membra- 
nous skins filled with fluid, shrivel and are carried away by the wind 
or form a papery film over the surface of the soil or the container. 
The majority of species do not cause the air about them to become 
obnoxious by their decomposition. Each small individual cell does 
not yield a great deal of oxygen, it is true, but the aggregate yield 
from the algal cells is vast when we take into consideration the 
extensive surfaces of water spread over the earth. Nature has placed 


412 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


her lowest form of plant life in them to help maintain a pure and 
healthy atmosphere. 

Moreland (1937) writes of the puzzlement of the inhabitants in 
certain sections of Louisiana when they observed unusual deposits 
of thick, cobwebby, or paperlike material hanging from weeds and 
other vegetation after the spring floodwaters of the Atchafalaya and 
Ouchita Rivers had receded (pl. 1). In one section, near Jonesville, 
La., the paperlike deposit not only clung to vegetation but covered 
the ground and fences which looked as if they were covered with 
snow. When an examination was made of the material which ap- 
peared microscopically to be composed of unbranched filaments 
interwoven similarly to the fiber of lens paper, it was found that the 
substance was formed by the luxuriant growth of certain species of 
green algae including filaments of 7’ribonema, Oecdogonium, and 
Spirogyra. The overflow water which was almost free of sedi- 
mentation had come early in the season when the temperature was 
especially favorable for the growth of these algae. Undoubtedly, 
the air over these flooded lands was purified by their presence. 

It has also been shown by scientists that certain algae play a role 
‘ in the nitrogen cycle in the soil. They do this directly by fixing 
gaseous compounds and indirectly by supplying nitrogen-fixing bac- 
teria, especially Azotobacter, with available carbon compounds, pro- 
duced by algal photosynthesis, and which are used by the bacteria 
as sources of energy necessary for the fixation process. Both green 
algae and blue-green algae can stimulate the activity of nitrogen- 
fixing bacteria. Very recently it has been definitely established that 
certain species of blue-green algae can fix atmospheric nitrogen in 
the light though not in darkness. However, their practical impor- 
tance in the nitrogen economy of the soil remains to be determined 
since there is little known concerning the distribution and abun- 
dance of these algae in the soil and the conditions which determine 
natural fixation. 

Algae have for some time been recognized as nature’s pioneers in 
plant succession, and for that reason are now assuming importance 
in man’s efforts to control erosion. 

Treub describes the manner in which slimy layers of algae ap- 
peared over the surface of cinders and rocks on the Island of Kra- 
katau 3 years after a volcanic eruption which had denuded the island 
of all visible plant life. By the growth, death, and decay of these 
algae, the island surface was rapidly prepared for the growth of 
mosses, ferns, and higher plants. Fritsch believes that an algal 
covering on the surface of dry, sandy soil regulates the moisture of 
the soil and thus provides a shelter for seed plants. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 413 


Graebner listed the species of soil algae found in a plant com- 
munity as a whole on the heaths of northern Germany and ascribes 
to them great importance since they are the first immigrants on new 
soil and cause the first formation of humus in poor soil. He enumer- 
ated 31 species of Cyanophyceae, three species of Diatomaceae, and 
18 species of Chlorophyceae found on these uncultivated heaths. 

Fritsch and Salisbury described the succession of cryptogams 
(plants that do not bear true seeds) on burnt heath in England. 
The first immigrants were the green algae Cystococcus humicola, 
Gloeocystis vesiculosa, Trochiscia aspera, and Dactylococcus infusi- 
onum. Various fungi grow in their mucilaginous envelopes, and by 
degrees, lichens (a symbiosis of algae and fungi) appear. With 
the formation of lichen thalli, filamentous algae, Mesotaeniwm vio- 
lascens, Hormidium flaccidum, and Zygogonium ericetonium appear. 

The investigation of a single locality in east Greenland has shown 
that subterranean algae are present in the absolutely virgin soil 
there. 

The soil in a rice field is inundated with water once or twice a 
year for a period of 8 to 12 weeks. Holsinger found a quantity of 
green and blue-green algae growing in this water. 

Harrison and Aiyer have shown; that a surface stratum composed 
of algae and other organisms in the irrigation ditches of rice fields 
plays an important part in the production of oxygen necessary for 
the growth of rice roots. 

The cultivated paddy soils of the United Provinces (Benares, 
Mirzapur, Gorakhpur, and Basti) consisting of large tracts covering 
an area of at least 5,000 acres were investigated by Singh and found 
to contain 43 species of green and blue-green algae that were at 
a depth of 2 inches, 6 inches, and 12 inches. None were found in 
the wet fields. When the soils dried up, the blue-green algae were 
found to withstand desiccation longer than the green algae. 

Algae can withstand drought better than the higher plants. This 
is illustrated during very dry periods in the summer when the grass 
is killed by drought. Piercy has shown that the green alga Hor- 
midium which lives through periods of dryness will then begin to 
grow where the grass has been killed in the next succeeding damp 
period, usually in the springtime, and will spread extensively. The 
algae evidently help prepare the soil for the grass as numerous grass 
seeds then germinate and form a dense carpet of grass which will 
choke the algae and force them to disappear until the next summer 
drought. 

Petersen and Puymaly have also described how the soil algae in 
a garden walk are constantly competing with the grass weeds that 


414 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


crop up. Whenever the grass is weeded out, the algae attain a 
vigorous growth which gradually ceases with the renewed appear- 
ance of the grass. 

Various scientists have described the presence of algal crust on 
large areas of soil during drought and how, by the addition of 
organic matter to the soil due to their decay, the land is made ready 
for the growth of grasses. Very recently, Booth (1941) has written 
of a series of scientific experiments that attempted to discover the 
use of algae in the control of erosion. Several species of algae 
belonging to the Myxophyceae grow in algal crusts on the residual 
Red Plains soils of central Oklahoma. This crust of algae forms 
during the wet seasons on sandy, wind-blown soil and is able to 
hold the soil in place during heavy winds. The crust is often 
broken by trampling and then is easily undermined which, together 
with covering by sand, leads to its final destruction. Hundreds of 
acres of badly eroded land in the south-central United States were 
chosen for study. The badly eroded land was due to overgrazing, 
to cultivating the land for a brief period and then abandoning it, 
or to frequent burning. Excessive erosion on the cultivated fields 
had changed the top soil so that the native climax plants were un- 
able to become established until the slow process of plant succession 
and the building up of humus in the soil would recreate a suitable 
environment. In such places soil algae are of great importance as 
after a short time they are accompanied by mosses and annual seed 
plants. After study and experimentation on this area, Booth came 
to the conclusion that several species of soil algae constitute an 
initial stage in plant succession by the formation of a complete algal 
layer over these badly eroded acres. This plant cover may last for 
many years until higher perennial plants are able to form an abun- 
dant ground cover. The algal stratum does not slow down the rate 
of infiltration of water into the soil except in one case studied where 
there is a slight retardation for about the first 7 mm. of water. The 
soil losses from plots protected by the algal stratum were greatly 
reduced as compared with the losses from bare areas. The resistance 
of the algal crust to erosion is evidently the result of the union of 
the surface particles of soil into a nonerosible layer which is found 
to be very effective in breaking the force of falling water. Experi- 
mental tests indicated a higher moisture content in the top inch of 
soil which has had the protection of an algal layer, than in bare 
soil. 

Fritsch sums up the chief benefits which the very important soil 
algae contribute as follows: Their faculty of withstanding drought 
without appreciable change and without the assumption of special 
resting stages; their ability to absorb atmospheric vapor as well as 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 415 


water (liquid) thus enabling them to tide over periods of drought 
and to start growth as soon as wet weather begins; their successful 
competition with higher plants during drought; and the fact that 
after death they must form surface humus. The algae that grow 
in the soil to a depth of 6 inches surely must enrich it with the 
addition of organic material. 

Not all of the marine algae are small, ornamental, delicate sea 
mosses or coarse, succulent, unattractive kelps or rockweeds, which 
have in both cases little substance remaining after their decay. There 
are many different kinds of marine plants that secrete lime from 
the sea water and are more or less hard and stonelike, although they 
form beautiful purple and lavender incrustations, so that their decay 
or continued upward growth is accompanied by a considerable in- 
crease in the height of the sea bottom where these plants are growing. 
The corals (animals) are, generally speaking, confined to the tropi- 
cal seas, but the corallines (lime-secreting seaweeds which have a 
superficial resemblance to the corals) are more widely distributed. 
The fact has been known for years that the corals and other lime- 
secreting animals are active agents in building reefs and forming 
land, but only recently has it been noted that certain marine algae 
or seaweed, the corallines, have a function in the same great work. 
Kjellman has stated that off the shores of Spitzbergen and Nova 
Zembla Lithothamnion glaciale, a coralline, forms thick layers on 
the ocean floor at a depth of 60 to 120 feet in the water and that in 
the future formation of the strata of the earth’s crust in these re- 
gions it will become of essential importance. Algae probably form 
the largest mass of the shell sands of Bermuda. Sir John Murray, 
in reporting the results of the famous Challenger expedition, has 
recorded that in three out of four samples of so-called coral sand 
or mud from Bermuda, over 50 percent of the mass has been com- 
posed of the calcareous seaweeds and their broken-down parts. 
Materials brought up by borings that were made to a depth of 1,100 
feet in Funafiuti, a true coral island of the Ellica group, indicate 
that the lime-secreting seaweeds have been of greater importance 
than the corals in the formation of this island. 

Nature’s provision of vast beds or groves of giant kelp of the genus 
Sargassum of the order Fucaceae has been appreciated by voyagers 
since the time of the Phoenicians. Aristotle speaks of the weedy 
sea which they found at the termination of their voyage, and un- 
doubtedly he was referring to the kelp. Columbus was the first 
voyager of modern times (September 16, 1492) to encounter it but it 
is possible that the same bank of seaweeds that he discovered was 
the one found by the Phoenicians. A great bank of Sargassum 
extends between the twentieth and forty-fifth parallels of north lati- 


416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


tude and in 40° W. of Greenwich which appears to occupy the same 
position today that it did in the time of Columbus. Between this 
bank and the American shores, there are various smaller areas and 
detached masses of this seaweed which are thrown into the ocean by 
the eddies caused by the subcircular motion of the great ocean currents. 
Humboldt computed that the whole of this area of seaweed in the ocean 
covered about 260,000 square miles, but not all this space is completely 
occupied with the floating seaweed. In many places there are spaces 
of clear water between distant and narrow ridges of the seaweed. 

The geographical range of the Fucaceae is very extensive. It is 
found on the eastern shores of Europe and on the western shores of the 
American continent and in great abundance also off the shores of Japan 
and China. Later, we shall study more fully the economic impor- 
tance which it has in industrial life. It is thought that it probably 
originated in rocks off the southern reefs and keys, where it was torn 
by the storms from the rocks and as it floated about in the ocean con- 
tinued growth from its broken parts. 

The giant kelp, as it is called on the Pacific coast, grows in such 
great abundance that it sometimes forms natural breakwaters for 
harbors, as at Santa Barbara, Calif. It also was greatly appreciated 
by the early navigators since, when it grows close to the shore, it is 
usually attached by holdfasts to large rocks so that mariners were 
many times saved from shipwreck by the danger signals formed by 
these large olive-brown floating seaweeds. 


ALGAE AS FOOD 


In the most primitive civilizations man is forced to seek from the 
vegetable kingdom sources of food, especially in times when animals 
are not plentiful. Since the earliest times, algae have been used by 
man as food, especially as condiments, and a number of civilized 
peoples still consume the seaweeds. 

The Chinese and the Japanese doubtless use a greater quantity of 
seaweed as food than any other peoples, although the Hawaiians eat 
it in large amounts. 

The beautiful livid purple gelatinous but firm membranaceous sea- 
weed called Porphyra, which is cosmopolitan in its growth, is one 
of the most important food plants in Japan. It is consumed by every 
class of the Japanese people and the cultivation of Porphyra is one 
of Japan’s leading industries. The Japanese call it amanori or laver 
(pl. 2, fig. 1). It grows abundantly in bays and near the mouths of 
rivers on all parts of the Japanese coast. Its cultivation was begun 
at a very early date in Japan, and its financial returns, considering 
the average yield per acre, are not surpassed by many branches of 
Japanese agriculture. The earliest and most celebrated Porphyra 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 417 


grounds were in Tokyo Bay. One or two centuries ago, according 
to Smith (1904a), Porphyra grew in natural quantities at the mouth 
of the Sumidagawa, near Asakusa, in Tokyo. As the river carried 
down large amounts of gravel, its mouth advanced farther and far- 
ther into the sea, thus making the waters near Asakusa too fresh for 
its growth. To the dismay of the inhabitants Porphyra ceased to 
grow there. Then the cultivation of Porphyra was begun. The 
quality of the cultivated Porphyra is dependent largely on the 
weather. It is best after frequent rains and snowfalls have made 
the shallow water brackish. 

Harvey tells us varieties of Porphyra are gathered in winter off 
the rocky shores of Europe. The British and French boil it for 
many hours until it forms a dark brown semifluid mass which is 
called marine sauce, sloke, slouk, or sloucawn. Lemon juice or vine- 
gar is served with it and its flavor is more delectable than its appear- 
ance. At some of the British establishments for preserving fresh 
vegetables, it was in the past century put up in hermetically sealed 
cases for exportation and use at sea, or for use at seasons when it 
did not grow on the rocks. In winter, the Porphyra fronds grow 
abundantly on the rocky coasts of Europe and North America. 
Porphyra is not only regarded as antiscorbutic but is said to be useful 
in glandular swellings, possibly because of the minute quantity of 
iodine which it contains. 

Harrington states that the Indians have used Porphyra for thou- 
sands of years, ever since they came from Siberia. It grows on 
the Gulf of Alaska and along the whole archipelago of Alaska as 
well as on the shores of Washington, Oregon, and California. Wher- 
ever it grows, the Indians would hunt for it. 

The Indian does not believe in using salt on his food. The Iro- 
quois referred to a white man as “a salty one” because they ate people 
and they knew that the white man had a saltier taste than the red 
man. The Indians would not salt their mush, or their eggs, as 
they believed that salt would make their hair turn gray and their 
toes turn up before their time. Salt was white man’s style so it 
should be avoided, but sea lettuce, as they called laver, was native 
style, and therefore they gathered the sea lettuce with which they 
supplied the salt need of their bodies. The Indians collected the sea 
lettuce in the spring because their grandfathers were accustomed to 
gather it at that time. 

The various kinds of kelp, coarse, broad-fronded members of the 
Laminariaceae family (pl. 3, fig. 1) form an important food product 
of Japan, and large amounts of the kelp or kombu, the name of the 
foods made from kelp, are exported from Japan to China. Kombu 
products have been sent to the East Indies and San Francisco but 


418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


there is very little sale for kelp as a food here where the dietary 
standards differ so radically from those of the Occident. It is valu- 
able to Japan because of its cheapness and the number of ways in 
which it can be prepared as food. Most of the kelp is obtained from 
Hokkaido, the most northern of the main islands of the Japanese 
Archipelago. The kelps grow on all parts of the coast, but those 
of highest quality are found on the northeastern coast which is 
washed by the Arctic current. 

Undoubtedly the most important seaweeds used as food and in 
industry are those with jelly-making properties that belong to the 
family Gelidiaceae. Agar is made chiefly from the algae Gracilaria 
lichenoides, Gelidium corneum (pl. 2, fig. 2) and other closely re- 
lated species of Gelidiwm. The Chinese introduced it to Japan in 
A. D. 1662. It was used principally as a substitute for bird’s-nest 
soup stock and as a summer jelly. It is used in Japan, China, and 
India as an ingredient of soups and sauces, and is also used as a 
sort of dessert and as a candy. In Japan it is called Kan-Ten 
which means “cold weather” as the substance made from the algae can 
only be manufactured during the winter months. The manufactured 
product is called agar. 

In the early years of its use, or rather before the large agar indus- 
try was developed, the seaweed was merely boiled to form a mass of 
jelly, but at the present time the agar of commerce is in the form 
of sheets, sticks, bars, and flakes. 

Kan-Ten is pearly white, shiny, transparent, tasteless, and odor- 
less. It swells in cold water but does not dissolve, and is soluble in 
boiling water and easily forms a jelly. In foreign countries it is 
used chiefly where a gelatin is required such as in making jellies, 
soups, sauces, candies, pasteries, and many desserts, in all of which 
it is far superior to animal isinglass or gelatin. It is also used for 
the clarifying of wines, beers, coffee, and other drinks. 

Agar is used to a great extent in the United States. It is very 
desirable in food manufacture as it jells rapidly and at relatively 
high temperatures without the assistance of intermediary substances. 
It has proved very economical because of its high gel strength. Ex- 
periments have shown tnat agar in bread and pastries, on account 
of its high moisture-retaining quality, keeps them fresh longer. The 
confectioner can use it to make a healthful jelly candy with less 
sugar by using agar in %4 to 1 percent solutions. For that reason 
it is very economical. It provides a good body to drinks, and acts 
as a stabilizer in chocolate drinks and syrups, in which it prevents the 
forming of sediment. A manufacturer of ginger ale and fruit syrups 
believes that it sharpens the flavor. Agar has proved to be of great 
value commercially in the manufacture of sherbets, ice creams, and 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 419 


cheeses. It imparts a smoother texture to the product and also acts 
as a stabilizer. It has been highly recommended by the manufac- 
turers of mayonnaise, and Tressler (1923) states that it is superior 
to gelatin in preventing the disintegration of fish and meat products 
in cans, as the agar retains its gelling power to a greater extent than 
gelatin after subjection to the higher temperatures necessary in 
processing fish and meat foods. Many breakfast and health food 
manufacturers are incorporating agar in their products since 
although it has no food value in itself, it helps to modify highly con- 
centrated diets and acts mechanically in a manner similar to the 
cellulose of vegetable foods, and consequently can be considered 
excellent roughage. 

Japan has long been the world’s greatest exporter of agar. But 
considering the large supply of the agar-forming seaweeds that grow 
on our own Pacific coast and the modern equipment in the factories 
here, which is far superior to that in Japan, where most of the 
preparation of the product is done by hand, there is no reason to 
fear that American manufacturers will be unable to supply all of our 
needs for this indispensable product. 

Another seaweed that forms a nearly colorless, insipid jelly, and 
can be cooked with milk, seasoned with vanilla or fruit and thus 
rendered highly palatable, is Chondrus crispus, the carrageen or 
Irish moss of the markets. It is a nourishing form of diet for 
invalids and has been recommended in medical cases as will be seen 
later. It grows abundantly on the rocky coasts of Europe and on 
the shores of the northern States of America. 

Chondrus crispus is a red seaweed of the family Gigartinaceae. 
(See pl. 3, fig. 2.) It is a perennial plant that reaches its full develop- 
ment in the spring and summer. The tufted plants vary from 
dark green to red in color and after drying are almost gray or white. 
The center of the industry in the United States is at Scituate, 
Mass. In 1939, 200,000 pounds of moss was “pulled” bringing in a 
total of about $20,000. Two and a half hours before low tide, the 
mosser puts on oilskin overalls and rubber boots and sets out in his 
dory, equipped with pulling rake and a bottle of cod-liver oil to 
smooth the water. The moss is bleached on the beach (pl. 4) where 
the successive stages in the process, deep purple, dark red, pink, 
light brown, and finally yellowish white, turn the shore into a 
gigantic patchwork quilt. The moss is washed in salt water, dried, 
packed in barrels, and shipped to the market. 

Irish moss is best known as a preparation for delectable blanc 
manges. It is also used in confections as a filler, and to give body 
to candy. In ice cream it serves as a stabilizer and prevents melting, 
since by its use the consistency of the ice cream is only partially 
dependent on low temperatures. 

430577 —42-—28 


420 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


One of the most important uses of Irish moss before prohibition 
was in the “fining” of beers and ales. The cloudy solution of malt 
extract in the early stages of beer brewing contains insoluble and 
undesirable proteins which can be removed by a tedious process of 
settling or a swift process of “fining.” The Irish moss is added to 
the brew while it is being boiled. The gelatin freed from the sea- 
weed by boiling unites with the tanin of the hops to form a floccu- 
lent mass which encloses the suspended particles, the impurities, 
which are then removed as a scum. With the repeal of prohibition 
and the reopening of the beer industries, many manufacturers began 
to use chemical finings to fine their beers. The use of Irish moss is 
very economical as half a crateful of it is more than enough to 
clarify 500 barrels of beer. Irish moss may also be used in the 
fining of coffee, for which purpose it is more economical than eggs. 

Algin, a mucilaginous product obtained from the kelps of the brown 
seaweed family, as described in more detail in the section on algae as 
cosmetics, is also extensively used in the food industry. Algin is non- 
toxic, possesses nutritive value, and is not an allergen. It is used pri- 
marily in foods as a stabilizer, chiefly in ice cream, where it prevents 
the formation of large ice crystals without masking the flavor and 
produces an ice cream that has a smooth, velvety texture of creamy 
consistency. It facilitates ice cream manufacture since ice creams 
made with algin whip fast and do not require any “aging” before 
freezing. It is of similar use in water ices and sherbets. It is used 
as a suspending agent for the cocoa fibers in chocolate milk, and in 
milk puddings it acts asa jellying agent. It is used as an emulsifying 
and stabilizing agent in place of starch and various gums in salad dress- 
ing. It is also found to be a valuable addition to doughnuts, cakes, 
icings, buttermilk, cream, and confectioneries, especially marsh- 
mallows. 

The vegetable stabilizers, agar, algin, and Irish moss, notwithstand- 
ing their higher price, have been increasingly used in the manufacture 
of ice cream instead of animal gelatin. Their use has been stimulated 
by the objection of the orthodox Jews to the use of animal gelatin in 
the manufacture of ice cream as it is contrary to the ritual! of orthodox 
Jewry to eat an animal product combined with a dairy product. To 
meet this objection, some manufacturers have completely abandoned 
the use of animal gelatin as a stabilizer in their products. 

The dulse (Scotch) or dillsk (Irish), Rhodymenia palmata, is one of 
the red seaweeds with which Americans are familiar as it is often found 
in a rough-dried state in the water-front markets of Boston, New 
York, and other seaports of the United States. (See pl. 5, fig. 3.) 
In some places on the west of Ireland, this seaweed forms the chief 
relish to the Irishman’s potatoes. Its use is not confined to the poor 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 421 


alone since children are particularly fond of it. In the Mediter- 
ranean, it forms a common ingredient in soups. It is usually eaten 
raw or dried as a sort of salad or relish. In the olden days, it is said 
that some of the Scotch or Irish were addicted to chewing it before 
tobacco and chewing gum became popular. 

It is natural that the peasants and the fishermen should use more 
varieties of seaweed as their food than do the better classes in Japan 
and China. 

MacCaughey (1916) has written an interesting account of the im- 
portance of seaweed in the dietary of the Hawaiians. The ancient 
Hawaiians considered seaweeds a necessary staple of their daily 
food, and many present-day Hawaiians still consume it. The vil- 
lages of Hawaii, like those of other parts of Polynesia, were usually 
situated near the seashore. The Hawaiians were a maritime people 
and very familiar with all the sea products, since the greater part 
of the population was habitually engaged in fishing. The protracted 
labor and hazard involved in the deep-sea fishing made it the work 
of the men, but the women and the children as well as the men en- 
joyed reef fishing. A wide variety of marine edibles including crabs, 
crayfish, shrimps, mollusks, holothurians, sea-urchins, octopi, and 
fish of many kinds were obtained from the lagoons and shallower 
waters. The native limu, the Hawaiian name for seaweed, formed 
an important element in these waters also. About 75 species of sea- 
weed were used as food in this island world, and for each species the 
Hawaiians had a specific name. In fact, Hawaii is noted for having 
the largest variety of edible seaweeds in the world, although they 
are poor in quantity as compared with those of Japan and other 
parts of the world. 

The seaweed was collected in various ways according to the nature 
of the habitat. Some species, such as Sargassum and Gracilaria, 
drift ashore in abundance and were easily gathered. Other kinds, 
growing in the quiet waters near the shore, such as Ulva, ‘Entero- 
morpha and Chondria were readily collected by the older women 
and the children. Those seaweeds with stout stems and holdfasts, 
occupying the black lava rocks in rough waters where they were 
continually pounded by the surf, could only be collected by the ex- 
perienced swimmers, the men and the younger women. They used 
a sharp stone or chisel to separate them from the rocks. Gelidium 
and Porphyra are of this type. Still another type including Gym- 
nogongrus and Dictyota, grew on the outer edges of the reef where 
the heavy rollers break. These were usually gathered by the men 
in outrigger canoes. A few species, such as Porphyra laucostica, 
occur only in restricted localities or during brief seasons, thereby 
making them choice delicacies to be served only to the nobility, or 


422 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


they were consumed only locally and not generally used by the entire 
population. 

The Hawaiians anticipated by many centuries the more recently 
advocated plans of limnologists for cultivating economically aquatic 
vegetation. In the olden time, the Hawaiian nobility had the rare 
and choice varieties of limu transplanted to the vicinity of the chief’s 
beach home where they were protected and easily available. The 
fish ponds were used frequently as algal gardens. The less desirable 
algae were weeded out and the semicultivated forms developed much 
more luxuriantly than they otherwise would have done. One of the 
ancient royal limu gardens is near the beach residence of ex-queen 
Liliuokalani at Honolulu. 

With the advent of the white man on the island, the collecting of 
seaweeds was greatly facilitated by the glass-bottomed “water-boxes” 
and sharpened iron rods. The natives quickly observed their useful- 
ness and adopted them. In ancient times, the limu gatherer had been 
compelled to rely on his vision alone and a simple stone chisel. 

The women took charge of the seaweeds when they were brought 
ashore. The various kinds were sorted and then washed in salt 
water and fresh water. Certain species decayed rapidly when 
washed in fresh water, so they were rinsed in salt water and eaten 
immediately after preparation. After the other limu had _ been 
cleaned, it was salted, chopped or broken into small fragments, and 
eaten raw like a salad or relish. It was the universal accompaniment 
of the fish that formed the essential part of the native diet. At times 
of war or famine when the usual supply of vegetables, such as taro, 
sweet potatoes, or yams fell short, the limu was cooked in an under- 
ground oven with the meats. 

Certain types of filamentous algae that grew in the mountain 
streams as well as some marine forms were subjected to a “ripening” 
process. This limu was soaked in fresh water for 24 hours or more, 
thus causing the partial decomposition of the seaweed and the de- 
velopment of a strong odor. 

Finely chopped limu was eaten with raw fish, squid, shrimps, 
limpets, crabs, sea-urchins, holothurians, kukui nuts, and chili pep- 
pers. One of the favorite relishes was made by roasting kernels of 
the kukui nuts (Aleurites moluccana) or candlenut, chopping them 
fine, and then mixing them with limu and salt. This was kept for 
months in glass jars and was excellent with bread and butter as well 
as with cold meats. It resembled Russian caviar in flavor, and was 
served with poi. raw or cooked fish, or roast meats. 

In modern times, in spite of the great shrinkage of the native pop- 
ulation, limu forms a staple article of merchandise at the fish markets. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 423 


In Honolulu, the chief market in Hawaii, the annual sales for 1 year 
amounted to about 5,000 pounds, selling at about $2,500. This limu 
consisted of Kohu, Asparagopsis sanfordiana, limu ele-ele, E'ntero- 
morpha spp., and limu-o-olu, Chondria tenuissima. Hawaii’s pre- 
ponderant oriental population uses large quantities of the seaweed. 

In the Philippines, especially in the northern provinces of Luzon, 
seaweeds are commonly boiled and mixed with vegetables. In the 
Bicol regions the algae belonging to the Caulerpa group, are used 
chiefly. In Ilocos, Cagayan, and La Union Provinces, the seaweeds 
are eaten raw as salads. The following are some of the edible vari- 
eties found in Ilocos and Cagayan Provinces: Aganthopera orien- 
tales, Caulerpa racemosa var. wifera, C. sertulariodis, C. Freycin- 
netti, probably C. peltata but possibly a form of C. chemnitzia, 
Chaetomorpha, Enteromorpha, Gracilaria, Hydroclathrus cancel- 
latus, Hypnea (near H. nidifica), and Sargassum. 

Some of the edible varieties found in La Union Province are 
Aghardiella sp., Fucus, commonly found in Manila Bay, Chaeto- 
morpha crassa (Ag.) Kutz, Codiwm tenue Kutz, Enteromorpha in- 
testinales, Eucheuma spinosum (L.) J. Ag., Gracilaria confervoides 
L. Grev., Gracilaria crassa Harv., Halmenia formosa Harv., Liagora 
cheuneana Harv., and Sargassum siliquosum. 

In Guam, the natives use some of the gelatinous forms for making 
blanc mange, according to Safford. 

Some of the passerine birds use their saliva to glue together the 
feathers and twigs with which they build their nests. This habit 
points to the extraordinary ability of the sea swift Callocalia of the 
Far East which is able during its mating season to secrete enough 
saliva to form a nest of consolidated salivary juice. (See pl. 5, 
figs. 1,2.) If the nest is destroyed in any way and has to be re- 
built by the sea swift, it usually weaves in bits of seaweed which 
led to the supposition by the early French scientists that the nests 
were made of jellylike seaweed. The nest is shaped like a shallow 
half of a small cup and is fixed against the walls of cliffs and caves 
by the seashore on the islands of the Indian Archipelago, especially 
in caves on the shore of Java. Some of them look like frosted sugar 
and consist principally of mucins. Over 314 millon of them used 
to be sent from Borneo to China in 1 year as the Chinese connois- 
seurs in foods considered that they contained remarkable aphrodisiac 
qualities and would pay a king’s ransom for them. They formed 
the stock for the famous bird’s-nest soup of the Occident. When the 
nest is stolen or destroyed the swift makes a substitute nest of in- 
ferior quality, of a yellow color which is very obviously eked out 
with seaweed. The alga found most frequently in these nests is 


424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Gracilaria spinosa, one of the jelly-forming algae. Occasionally, the 
layman confuses seaweed nests with the nests that are used for 
bird’s-nest soups, but actually they are very different from each 
other. 

“Can-can” is the peculiar dry and tangled egg mass of the volador 
or flying fish which is collected in season and dried so that it may 
be kept in the market throughout the year. This product has long 
been familiar to the natives of Peru. The egg mass is usually found 
entangled in the seaweed. 

During World War I, peoples in Europe found it necessary to 
turn to seaweeds for a source of nourishment. According to Alsberg, 
there is no proof that seaweeds have more than a moderate food 
value although their value as an antiscorbutic, similar to cabbage 
and lettuce, is appreciated. Very little is known about the proteids 
of seaweeds, but according to Cameron, they do not begin to approach 
the food value found in cereals. The value of seaweeds as a food 
is to a large extent due to the mucilage produced by the membranes 
of the cellular tissue which is rich in pectins and hemicelluloses; it 
dissolves readily in boiling water and forms a jelly when cold. 
Because of this property of jellification, the attention of experts has 
been directed to the utilization of seaweeds both in cookery and in 
various commercial preparations. 

Very little is known about the chemical composition of these mem- 
branes. Among the green seaweeds, the cellulose is associated with 
hemicellulose, a substance that is soluble in 3 percent sulfuric acid 
solution and contains a great abundance of xylane. There is also 
an insoluble portion rich in dextrane. Another hydrocarbon that 
has been detected in Fucus is called fucine. It is soluble in 1 percent 
sulfuric acid, turns blue with iodine, and is localized in the middle 
lamella. Dextrose and methylfurfurol occur in the brown algae. 
The red seaweeds, according to Perrot and Gatin, contain galactans, 
mannans, levulosans, dextrans, and sometimes methylpentosans. 
Some of these complex carbohydrates are a possible source of energy, 
but their extent is still unknown. Fat is a negligible quantity. The 
analyses given below show what little justification there is in arguing 
for the food value of algae. 


TABLE 1.—Analysis of Turrentine (Odmeron) 


Gelidium corneum 


Percent 
Water 2 at nee SSB a 2 pk Ben toh otk ROB Slo Se 2 ee ee 22. 29 
PRO COR rae ee 2 ea Se ede Be 6. 85 
Carbohydrates! 2 2 ee EI ee ae A oe eee eee eee be ae, pe 60. 32 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 425 


Laminaria spp. 


Percent 
AI VCEU IDE api pa teh PAR et Be SUN ak 5S wea el Se eb ee 22. 82-24. 44 
Peroternees as A Sai Pde, Fe EN a Sh seh ged ne erase 1h Rl 5. 49— 5. 82 
TUNE ENS pS he UU sR ee ge ee a eR ee ep =. 32 ee 1. 52- 0. 74 
Soluble nonnitrorenousimaterials is! sets ote eee ee ee ee a 47. 83-45. 57 
LOTUS 2g Ree ee ae A ee ee EEE Ee eae ae SR 4.55- 6. 44 
OASI Dele i en ee ee Se ee ees ee eee 18. 69-17. 00 


Of other substances found in seaweeds, bromine occurs most abund- 
antly in Fucus serratus (pl. 9, fig. 4). Laminaria digitata (pl. 6, 
fig. 1), L. saccharina (pl. 3, fig. 1), and Fucus vesiculosus (pl. 6, 
fig. 2) are richest in iodine, Sacchoriza bulbosa containing a little less. 
It is not yet known whether iodine is contained in the form of alka- 
line salts or in organic combinations. 

The vitamin content of several algae used as food was tested recently 
by Norris, Simeon, and Williams. They found that Alaria valida, 
Laminaria sp., Porphyra nereocystis, Porphyra perforata, Rhody- 
menia pertusa, and Ulva lactuca were good sources of vitamin B, and 
compared favorably with many fruits and vegetables. 

Porphyra was the richest source of both vitamin B and vitamin C 
among the algae tested. A number of algae from the different orders 
were found to be as rich a source of vitamin C as lemons. The algae 
growing on the littoral zone or on the surface tend to be higher in 
vitamin C than algae that are dredged from a depth of 5 to 10 
fathoms. 

The sugar, mannite, has been prepared from certain species of 
Laminaria. Laminaria saccharina (pl. 3, fig. 1) contains 12 to 15 
percent of this sugar. In Kamchatka the natives prepare an alco- 
holic drink from dulse or Rhodymenia palmata. 


ALGAE AS FOOD FOR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 


On the northern shores of Europe, seaweeds have long furnished 
provender for cattle. So general was the use of seaweeds by the 
domestic animals that there was only one variety for which the cattle 
had a great distaste and would not touch as food, a certain variety 
of Laminaria which the Norwegians and Lapps called Neptune’s 
belt because of its form similar to a long, broad ribbon, or the horse’s 
kelp or sea devil. The ancient peoples in the Scandinavian countries 
thought that it must be bewitched since the cows would not touch 
it and they believed that it was employed by the sorcerers to excite 
the sea horses. Rhodymenia palmata (pl. 5, fig. 3) constitutes a 
favorite food of the Scandinavian goats, cows, and sheep. On certain 
small islands of Scotland, the cows and sheep go down to the shores 
at low tide to hunt for this alga, also for Alaria esculenta (pl. 6, 


426 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


fig. 3). When Rhodymenia palmata grows attached to the stipes of 
Laminaria cloustonii, the sheep nibble at the Rhodymenia without 
touching its support. Laminaria cloustonii (pl. 8, fig. 2) sometimes 
grows in such abundance that it covers the other seaweeds. The 
cows raise it up on their muzzles and hunt below it for the seaweeds 
that they like. Only the fronds of Laminaria flexicaulis are eaten. 
The peasants gather it from the shore in large quantities to give to 
the beasts in the stable, and as it is considered a very healthy food it is 
given to them fresh from the beach without being washed in water. 
On the whole coast of Iceland in the winter, and even in certain places 
in the summer, thousands of sheep and other cattle wander freely and 
eat the seaweed even when there is grass available. In certain local- 
ities they are not given additional food, although in places some addi- 
tional grain is supplied to them. On the coasts, as a rule, the cows 
do not go to pasture, but are given Rhodymenia palmata (pl. 5, fig. 3) 
and Alaria esculenta (pl. 6, fig. 3) in the stable since their milk does 
not absorb any taste from it. Their meat does not show any ill effects 
from the seaweed diet, although it is said that at Langarnes, where 
only seaweed is fed the animals, the lambs have weaker legs than those 
in the interior of the island. 

Sometimes the Icelanders gather seaweeds to prepare as supple- 
mental fodder. They wash it in water to remove the adhering sand, 
then bury it in deep ditches where it is pressed down under a layer of 
stones and thus compressed until it forms a firm mass which is cut 
into pieces with axes and fed to the animals in the winter. In cer- 
tain places A/aria is gathered in the autumn, dried in the air after 
being washed with fresh water, and then packed in the barn alter- 
nately with layers of hay. The nutritive equivalent between the 
algae and the hay varies with the quality and digestive ability of 
the different species of plants and also with the animals. The sheep 
of the Iceland coast that have been nourished with seaweeds for 
several generations digest it more easily than the sheep of the interior 
which have been habituated to eating only hay and grain. The 
Norwegians often boil the seaweed with fresh water and then feed 
it to their beasts. There are two factories in Norway where the 
algae are dried and then broken into pieces, but because of the salts 
and the iodine present in the seaweeds, it is thought best not to feed 
them to the cattle in large quantities. De la Pylaie, who lived in 
1824 on the Island of Sein, wrote that Laminaria leptopoda when it 
has been acted upon by the rain and the dew loses the olive-green 
color of the frond and becomes white like a piece of parchment. 
The cows would go to hunt for it at low tide on the coasts and would 
have nothing to do with it in its natural state but would eat it with 
great avidity when it had whitened. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 427 


The provender value of seaweeds was almost completely neglected 
in France until World War I caused a shortage of grain. A num- 
ber of experiments were then carried on to determine the effect of 
seaweed as food for cows and horses. The experiments by Sauvageau 
(1920) show that Fucus serratus (pl. 9, fig. 4) and Laminaria flexi- 
caulis even after a prolonged stay in their acidulated liquor form an 
excellent aliment for beasts. It was also found by Adrian that the 
seaweed food caused an augmentation of weight in the animals in 
proportion to the weight of algae consumed. The seaweeds seem 
to act as an accessory in the assimilation of the usual nutrients, an 
action that may be caused by the development of the digestive 
sugars, possibly by the multiplication of the hydrolizing bacteria, 
a study which Sauvageau (1920) believes should be made the subject 
of further search. 

Experiments at Skjorn near Trondjhem, Norway, were begun in 
1917 to establish the manufacture of cattle feed from seaweed. Meal 
was made from the varec or wrack, as the kelp is called, which was 
dried and ground into a fine powder. An analysis of this meal is 
given below: 


Percent 
\ AVERT T  e e s e oe ee 6. 49 
JNISLDY Eats we, Spt Se Pee aa aah iT bai a Mins IRS ie RS CTR OD 19. 07 
ST Eee nek ieee ek AER Sane e ete ower. ated Menor Dae ale Bs PAE 
YAO rey io aa ee Saas Se ee Ea ee SO 7. 04 
WCCO (5 TH 09 ae RS SN eal ee 2 Pega eee es 2k ee 6. 16 
CHENG 070) 600 bite aes Pa Se RA 5 A A ee ere ee 58. 47 


The protein was found to be digested in very small amounts, and 
the mineral content of the food was found to be too large. The sea- 
weed meal was a useful addition to the hay for cattle feeding and 
proved to be excellent feed for hens. 

A seaweed-meal factory was also started in Denmark where a 
process was used by which the seaweed is partially digested during 
manufacture. The washed plants are cooked with superheated steam, 
drained, and then pressed into cakes which are dried in a vacuum 
and ground into a coarse powder. The juice formed during cooking 
is evaporated until a portion of the salts crystallize. They are sep- 
arated from the mother liquor in a centrifugal separator. The mother 
liquor is mixed with the powder and the mixture pressed into cakes. 
The analysis of this feed follows: 


Percent 
BUS ad tik ome eee eee Scone re ES kn he ee 5. 00 
TOLLE Mes GNOC O20) aaa a ee ed nn te ee ih abe 
COys( LG Ley 5 a] aves Jes ute Ti ieee Ae ey ae ee ee ere Memeo) Je yas 9. 00 
ENS, oes eA a a ee hd 9 ee hE ld al ed 5. 03 


Albert and Krause investigated German seaweeds and stated that 
all kinds of German seaweeds were valuable for cattle feed. They 


428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


recommended that Laminaria saccharina (pl. 3, fig. 1), which they 
thought resembled spinach when cooked, should be used for cattle in 
times of scarcity of other foods. 

Beckman carried on feeding experiments with dogs and hens giv- 
ing these animals bread made from a mixture of finely ground sea- 
weed, rye and potato flours. He said that during the baking the 
characteristic odor disappeared and that the bread was found to 
possess good properties. 

Gloess wrote that algae from which the salts of potassium, bromine, 
and iodine have been removed can be used to replace oats in the diet 
of horses, and serve as feed for swine and poultry when mixed with 
their rations. 

Intensive experimentation conducted by Ringen .shows that the 
composition of seaweed varies with the season. The nutritive value 
is highest in the fall so that the seaweed intended for fodder should 
be harvested late in the summer. Two kinds of seaweed were used 
in his experiments: Laminaria, which was used to provide a product 
called Algit, and Fucus which was used to make Neptun. Seaweed 
meal is high in ash content and nitrogen-free extract. The calcium, 
magnesium, and iodine contents are especially high, but potassium, 
copper, iron, and manganese exist in quantities too small to be of any 
significance. The digestibility of seaweed meal is low, especially 
when it is made from Fucus. The digestibility is lower for pigs than 
it is for sheep. When meal prepared from Fucus is fed to the stock, 
there is a loss of 7 to 9 grams of digestible protein from the rest of the 
fodder. Sheep are able to use the protein in seaweed meal for main- 
tenance and production of wool. Iodine in seaweed meal is easily ab- 
sorbed, 55 to 58 percent of it being absorbed as compared with 35 to 40 
percent in hay. 'The seaweed meal was decided to be a suitable calcium 
supplement to the grain ration of pigs. The nutritive value of seaweed 
mealislow. Pigs thrive better on Algin than they doon Neptun. The 
meal has no effect on bacon quality. Seaweed-meal feeding increases 
the weight of the thyroid and the iodine content rises both absolutely 
and relatively. The meal has no effect on the vitamin A content of 
pig liver. Seaweed meal has a strong laxative effect. Two sows that 
were fed seaweed meal during the period of gestation showed marked 
signs of iodism. 


TABLE 2.—Government typical analysis of kelp meal* 


Percent 
Ashe(colloidalsaltis)) 2-2 SSE ee ee 38. 5 
Carbohydrates. 22218 srl k es oo 5 Re Be Ae 40. 6 
Proteint 395 Os aie SAS Des 2 Ls LE eee ie eee, Sn 5. 6 
Wat: Gether-soluple)) o-oo se sa ae ie Lt ee ue 4 
J SLT SY) pie tite tes si a Dn oleh Denk Ry ht Lg tied Paap Rae 5.8 
Moisture? 2c seek oe ee ee eal 


1 This analysis was obtained from the Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 429 


The following minerals are included in the above analysis: 


Percent 
TGS BT eet Is Se Sot oe Rae ea AR Ee a ee oe SS Ae Ee 0. 15 
Se a0) age es io i PE a BN cok pl elo ye a eh oh 5 ee ae ts} 
SPDR Ro eee ee ee ee ee . 003 
Mancaneses-t 2-28 eo 22 Ba Ne les Ma oles ey Se eee . 05 
Ine Wgriis tes pe Se eh ea .29 
(QHifc th 11a ee ee eee OR ote eel ly be PSB N oy Uptake Bie te 1, 28 
SEU DEFT ets A OR elles AS RE ES oes Se IA oe ee A 1. 04 
Sogiurniisse ee 2 SPs OPE ee Hy uenttes CaS ns the RPL e. oe 6. 50 
POtaASs ium ewes tS ee ee ee ENE gt Sak LI 12. 49 
hlgrine= tes Ss srt teat eee os ie 1 ee Se eee ee 13. 67 
Maomesii mass = hoe So) ee ee GE a eel ee ee ae 72 


There are two commercial companies on the Pacific coast which 
utilize the tremendous groves of giant kelp that grow there to manu- 
facture seaweed products (pl. 7), among which are seaweed meals 
used for poultry and cattle rations. 

A meal manufactured by a firm in Los Angeles, Calif., is dried and 
ground kelp for use in animal feeds. 

This meal has been tested for vitamins as shown in table 3. 


Taste 3.—Results of vitamin tests on Kelco-Meal 


\yakicrie ay ay Ves See De OS ned a eee eee 3,000 international units per pound. 

Vitamin B (thiamin chloride) --------~- 45 international units per pound. 

NUANCE oY) 0) i AIR SS a ep pons None. 

AVAL EST EIN ET ann eet ee ee en NS een ae Ee Trace. 

Vitamin’ (G \(riboflavin))- =! 2 ee: 3,500 micrograms per pound. 

Vitamin F (filtrate factor [pantothenic 300 University of California units per 
acid]). pound. 

Nel beer Rn ete 8s 2 Present. 


Of the above vitamins, vitamin G is present in sufficient quantity to 
be commercially important. 

Owing to the vitamin G and mineral content, this meal can be used 
in combination with a protein source such as meat scraps or fish 
meal to supplant dried milk in various poultry and animal rations, 
thus freeing dried milk for more essential uses. 

A concern in Los Angeles, Calif., leases from the State Bureau 
of Fisheries local kelp beds, which it harvests and dehydrates with 
a triple-drum air-drier originally designed to handle dehydrated 
alfalfa. For several years, it has manufactured a poultry feed, 
but recently they have also produced a cattle feed and a hog feed. 
These are all three supplementary feeds. In addition to machine- 
dehydrated kelp, the cattle feed contains ground dried fish, molasses, 
fish liver meal, and irradiated yeast. The hog feed also contains, 
in addition to the above, fish presswater concentrate, vitamin A, fish 
liver oil, ground oyster shell, sodium bicarbonate, nut charcoal, and 
anhydrous manganese sulfate. The poultry feed consists of machine 


430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


dehydrated kelp (ground), ground dried fish, fish liver, and fish 
presswater concentrate, fortified fish oils, ground oyster shell, sodium 
bicarbonate, and anhydrous manganese sulfate. 


ALGAE AS MEDICINE 


As was related in our introduction, one of the earliest uses of algae 
made by the Chinese and Japanese was as medicine. The monks used 
it in the olden days in cases of fever caused by the stomach. They 
would boil Gelidium, probably into a jelly, and sprinkle a little ginger 
and sugar over it. They would also make a milk paste of it and eat 
it with sugar and vinegar to protect themselves from disorders caused 
by the extreme heat. 

Undoubtedly the algal product most used for medical purposes is 
agar which is the commercial name for the dried, bleached, gelatinous 
extract of certain red seaweeds belonging to the family Gelidiaceae 
(pl. 2, fig. 2). The name agar is an abreviation of the Malay term 
agar-agar which simply means jelly. In general, the jelly that comes 
from these seaweeds will absorb water and swell up but will only 
dissolve when heated to boiling. On cooling, the solution coagulates 
to form a more or less colorless, translucent jelly. 

The effect of agar was recently tested by Nechales, Sapoznik, Arens, 
and Meyer on the motility of the stomach and the digestion of food 
in it. The experiments were performed on six normal subjects, on 
six patients afflicted with peptic ulcers, and on a dog carrying both 
gastric and duodenal cannulas. Agar decreased the emptying time 
of the stomach in each case. 

Agar has also been successfully used when cooked with milk in 
the treatment of certain stomach disorders of young children. 

The colloidal property of agar of absorbing and holding water 
and the fact that it is not digested makes it of great value in medicine 
as a laxative. 

Tests made by Caravaggi and Manfredi have shown that agar 
contains principally laxative and purgative principals to the ex- 
clusion of deleterious secondary principles. They found that it has 
a slight nutritive value and maintains the tone of the gastrointestinal 
tract. They have reported methods for the extraction of the active 
principals of the drug in the form of a dry powder which may be 
compressed into pastilles with an inert filler. They state that these 
preparations act uniquely on the intestine by exciting peristalsis 
without affecting the functions of the stomach or the duodenum. 
They are painless in use and are not habit-forming. 

As a laxative, according to the United States Dispensatory, agar 
may be administered cut up in small pieces and eaten like a cereal 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 431 


with the addition of cream and sugar as desired. There is a choco- 
late-coated form of agar for those who do not care for it plain. 
It is also combined with mineral-oil emulsions in a number of medical 
preparations that are on the market. The dose prescribed for the 
dry agar is from 2 to 4 drachms (8 to 15 grams) administered once 
a day. 

Agar was once used as a cure for obesity. 

Glycerine suppositories have been made with agar as a vehicle, 
but they contain only 70 percent of glycerin as compared with 90 
percent in those made with sodium sterate. 

A preparation of agar is now used beneath bandages for healing 
wounds. This method of healing wounds dates back to the ancient 
Polynesians who used certain filamentous species of algae such as 
Spirogyra to make poultices for sore eyes. A number of kinds were 
also used by them as poultices for cuts, bruises, sores, and boils. The 
native Hawaiians also used an infusion of Centroceros as a cathartic, 
and Hypnea nidifica (pl. 8 fig. 1) was employed similarly for stomach 
troubles. 

The most important use of agar in pathology and bacteriology is 
as a medium for the cultivation of pathogenic bacteria, of skin fungi, 
and of yeasts. In 1881, Koch developed the use of this medium for 
the isolation and cultivation of bacteria, and since that time agar 
has become an essential in every hospital and research laboratory in 
the world. Many scientists have worked on methods of preparation, 
filtration, sterilization, adjustment of reactions, its purification, and 
other details. Standardization of methods for its use in bacteriology 
and biology has been effected. Agar is used in standard methods for 
analyses of water, milk, soil, and sewage. 

In his intensive report on hypercolloidal impression materials used 
in dentistry, Paffenbarger (1940) states that in the last few years in 
the United States many materials containing agar have been devel- 
oped for dental use in making impressions. He states that probably 
the first scientist who used agar for taking impressions of living 
tissues was the Viennese investigator, Alphons Poller, who was 
granted a British patent on this material in 1925, and later an 
American patent. Dr. Poller called his compound negocoll. He sold 
the patent rights for the dental use of this material to the De Trey 
Brothers of Zurich, Switzerland, who manufactured a modification 
of it which they called dentocoll. Many materials of a similar nature 
have been developed in the United States since then, and most of 
them contain agar as the essential and important ingredient. The 
value of agar in these materials is that the sol or liquid state is 
reached only when the impression material is heated to practically 
the boiling point of water. When the liquid is formed, it does not 


432 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


harden to a gel until it is cooled to temperatures that approach the 
temperature of the mouth. This means that there is a lag of from 
60° to 70° C. (108°-126° F.) between the liquefying and hardening 
temperatures, which is important in dental materials of this type. 
The agar constitutent is doubtless responsible also for the unusual 
elastic behavior of the materials. 

Irish moss, of which the scientific name is Chondrus crispus (pl. 3, 
fig. 2; pl. 4), also a member of the Florideae, the red seaweed family, 
forms a jelly very much like the agar-producing seaweeds. The com- 
mercial supplies of Chondrus crispus are obtained principally from 
Scituate, Mass., Nimes, France, and Dublin, Ireland. Its Irish name 
carrageen comes from a place called Carragheen near Waterford, 
Ireland, where it abounds. 

Chondrus crispus, or Irish moss, is nutritive, and being easily di- 
gested and not unpleasant to the taste, it forms a useful article of 
diet in cases in which the farinaceous preparations such as tapioca, 
sago, and barley are usually employed. It was formerly utilized as 
a demulcent in chronic pectoral affections, diarrhea, and irritations of 
the urinary tract, but it is rarely employed for those purposes today. 
The United States Pharmacopaeia recommends that it be macerated 
for about 10 minutes in cold water before cooking, in order to re- 
move any unpleasant flavor it may have acquired from contact with 
foreign substances. The dose is 4 drachms (15.5 grams). 

In 1835 Irish moss was a fashionable remedy for consumption. 
A former mayor of Boston, Dr. J. V. C. Smith, helped to establish 
the moss industry in Scituate, for at that time one person was paying 
from $1 to $2 a pound for Irish moss or carrageen, as the Irish called 
it, from Ireland. Today one drug company alone uses 6,000 to 7,000 
pounds of Irish moss a year. This company sorts and cuts the moss 
with revolving knives, then packs the cured moss and sells it princi- 
pally for invalid food or the preparation of blanc manges. Repu- 
table physicians have recommended the jelly extract in cases of 
stomach ulcer. 

Another company of manufacturing pharmacists puts on the 
market at least six distinct preparations of Irish moss. One is a 
laxative and regulator made up of Irish moss and mineral oil. The 
moss is used for its excellent emulsifying effect. Another is a cough 
medicine. The usual cough medicine consists of a soothing or quiet- 
ing principle dissolved in a sirup of sugar, the body of which is neces- 
sary to hold the mixture against inflamed membranes. Since the 
sugar acts at times as an irritant, the cough medicine that uses Irish 
moss as a base is claimed to be superior. The Irish moss gives the 
medicine body and also produces a slight soothing effect in itself. 
The other preparations are described in the section of this paper 
entitled “Algae as Cosmetics.” 


USEFUL ALGAE—-CHASE 433 


Carrageen is still used in localities of Ireland for the treatment of 
pulmonary distress. Its jelly is also the acting principle in a poultice 
which consists of a piece of cotton filled with Irish moss jelly and 
then dried. It enters into the composition of a number of European 
pharmaceutical emulsions, in particular, the emulsion of cod-liver 
oil, which consists of 325 cc. of a 3-percent decoction of Irish moss, 
500 ce. of oil, 500 ce. of sirup of tolu, and water sufficient to complete 
the liter. 

Irish moss has also been used as veterinary medicine for nourishing 
cows, and has been found useful in rearing pigs and calves. 

Algin, a product of kelp which is described in more detail in the 
section on algae as cosmetics, is of great value in the pharmaceutical 
field where its pronounced colloidal properties render it useful as an 
emulsifying, bodying, and suspending agent. Because of its superior 
qualities, it replaces tragacanth and other natural gums in the manu- 
facture of greaseless lubricating jellies. It is a component of sulfan- 
ilimide ointment and other similar ointments. Iron alginate is used 
as a hematinic. 

The United States Dispensatory lists Gigartina mamillosa as having 
chemical and medicinal properties that are probably identical with 
Chondrus crispus. 

Helminal, according to the The United States Dispensatory, is an 
extract said to be derived from Digenea simplex, a red alga that 
grows on the eastern coasts of Asia. This plant is dried and sold by 
the Japanese and Chinese apothecaries. Its extract has been gener- 
ally regarded as a valuable infantile remedy, but it is not as popular 
as formerly although it still is used in the provinces among the 
country people as a vermifuge. It is efficient in the treatment of 
Ascaris and Oxyuris. It is also nontoxie. It is sometimes sold in 
the form of tablets. 

Until the end of the eighteenth century, two vermifuges of two 
calcareous algae, Coralline officinalis L. and Coralline ruben L. were 
popular as vermifuges. Their usage was discontinued when a Greek 
doctor named Stephanopoli discovered a small alga on the island of 
Corsica in 1775. He called this alga Corsican moss. This alga grew 
in red tufts on the rocks of Corsica when the sea was low and very 
calm. It was thought to be the same alga that was used as a vermi- 
fuge by the ancient Greeks. Corsican moss was in great demand as 
it effected a very rapid cure. The military hospitals used it with 
great success and it was long an article of commerce under the name 
of Corsican moss. The scientists had a great deal of difficulty in 
naming this alga. Kiitzing identified it as Alstdium helminthochorton. 

In China, a mixture of algae including 1 Enteromorpha, 1 Chor- 
daria, and 7 Floridees were used as a vermifuge so that it is not 


434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


surprising that the Chinese attribute vermifugal properties to marine 
algae in general. 

At one time iodine, widely used in medicine, was derived from the 
seaweeds. In 1804 a French chemist named Bernard Courtois began 
work on nitrate of sodium, the process consisting of decomposing 
nitrate of calcium by the carbonate of sodium obtained from the 
burnt ashes of the seaweeds called kelp. In the course of his work, 
he observed that the iron vessels which he was using became corroded 
if the liquors from which the sodium salts had been crystallized were 
left in them for a long time. He found that these liquors when dis- 
tilled with sulfuric acid liberated a body with a beautiful blue vapor. 
He examined this vapor and discovered some of its properties; for 
example, its formation of a detonating compound with ammonia. 
He gave a specimen of it to Clement who read a paper on it, but the 
rest of the investigation concerning it was carried on by Gay Lussac. 
Todine was first employed as medicine by Coindet, of Geneva. 

Todine is a nonmetallic element which exists in certain marine algae 
particularly the kelps and rockweeds. These seaweeds are the largest 
of the algae that belong to the family Laminariaceae. The kelp in- 
dustry for many years was an important one as well as a lucrative 
one in parts of England, Ireland, Northern France, Norway, and Den- 
mark. It was engaged in by the peasants of the sea coasts who 
gathered the kelp by hand or by boat and burned it in covered 
trenches by the shore. After a time, the chemists found it cheaper to 
derive their iodine from the saltpeter beds of Chile and the great 
kelp industries of northern and western Europe began to decline. 
Brown seaweeds are still gathered for their iodine on the coasts of 
Japan, Scotland, Ireland, and Norway. 

Iodine probably exists in seaweeds in the form of sodium iodide. 
Besides iodine, the ashes contain sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, 
potassium chloride, sodium sulfate, and other salts in small amounts. 
The deep sea /'wci contain the most iodine, and when these are burned 
at a low temperature for fuel as on the island of Guernsey, their 
ashes form more iodine than does ordinary kelp. In Japan, the sea- 
weeds most used are E’cklonia (pl. 9, fig. 1) and Sargassum which 
contain about 0.14 percent of iodine. In France, species of Fucus 
are employed. The ash contains sometimes about 5 percent of iodine, 
but usually below 1 percent. During World War I, the United 
States began to utilize its vast groves of kelps, Macrocystis (pl. 7, 
fig. 1) and Nereocystis (pl. 9, fig. 2), which grow on the Pacific coast. 
The ash was burned to obtain potassium salts and iodine, but as 
soon as the war ended, the production of potash and iodine from 
kelp slowed down, as at the present prices for potash the utilization 
of kelp did not seem profitable. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 435 


The Japanese production of iodine and potassium iodide from kelp 
is still large. Okuda and Eto carried on a number of investigations 
regarding the iodine content of certain Japanese kelps. They found 
that algae in an open sea contain more iodine than the same species 
in an inland sea, and that the iodine content of the algae is lowest 
in the spring and highest in the fall. 

The fact that goiter is unknown among the people of Japan and 
China is an indication of the effect of the iodine in their seaweed diet, 
while this deficiency disease is very prevalent among peoples of 
Switzerland who have no contact with the marine algae. 

The charcoal derived from kelp was used at one time under the name 
of Aethiops vegetabilis or vegetable ethiops in the treatment of goiter 
and scrofulous swellings. Bladderwrack, the common name for 
Fucus vesiculosus (pl. 6, fig. 2), is an ingredient of certain nostrums 
used in the treatment of obesity. One scientist affirms that Fucus 
vesiculosus is largely used in Ireland for fattening pigs so it seems 
doubtful that its preparations are capable of reducing human obesity 
unless given in such doses as to interfere with digestion and injure 
the health. The possible explanation for its reducing power is found 
in experiments of Hunt and Seidell who present evidence indicating 
that the extract of this plant is a powerful stimulant to the thyroid 
gland. 

The vegetarian food and diet shops have a number of commercial 
preparations made from algae, which they advertise for use in defi- 
ciency disturbances due to improper balance of minerals and espe- 
cially the lack of iodine and calcium in the body. The majority of 
these products in powder and tablet form are prepared from the giant 
kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera (pl. 7, fig. 1). 


ALGAE AS FERTILIZERS 


Seaweeds have been used as fertilizers since the beginning of agri- 
culture in Japan and China, and on the islands and coastal farms of 
northwestern Europe. The driftweeds were usually gathered after 
storms and piled on the shore or near the barns to dry out in time for 
the fall, when they were placed around the fruit trees and on the 
ground preparatory to planting the spring root crops. Even in the 
United States seaweeds, especially the kelps, were employed as fertili- 
zers before the real reason for their action had been determined. The 
Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station issued a bulletin in 
1893 stating that the value of seaweed fertilizers utilized was $65,044 
as compared with $164,133 paid for commercial fertilizers. Since the 
founding of the colony at Rye Beach, N. H., the farmers have con- 
sidered the success of their red clover growth due to the fact that they 
cover their land with seaweed and plow it under. On the island of 

4305774229 


436 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts, the thrifty farmers still 
gather the driftweed and use it as fertilizer. 

The fertilizing properties of the kelps are chiefly due to the potash 
or potassium salts contained in these seaweeds. If plants are to grow 
and thrive in the soil, the three essential elements necessary for their 
growth are potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The seaweeds sup- 
ply potassium in especial abundance. The application of seaweeds in 
bulk also has a desirable physical effect upon the soil. The majority 
of algae when first dried and then soaked in fresh water tend to swell 
enormously. When the dried seaweeds are plowed under into the 
light, dry soil, this spongelike action of the seaweeds holds small res- 
ervoirs of water in close contact with the roots of the cultivated plants. 
There is also a large amount of organic material in the kelp which 
decays slowly in the soil and forms humus. 

There is a great deal of variation in the analyses made of kelp since 
the stipes of Nereocystis (pl. 9, fig. 2) and Macrocystis (pl. 7, fig. 1) 
contain much more potash than the leaves. The proportion of stipes 
to leaves in the samples of kelp according to Merz has a direct effect 
upon the result obtained. 

Using figures obtained by Cameron, Frye and Rigg, Hoagland, and 
Turrentine, Rigg calculated the amount of potassium chloride, iodine, 
algin, and other contents in a ton of giant kelp. These figures given in 
table 4 indicate the large amount of kelp which must be handled in 
order to obtain a ton of potassium chloride. 


TABLE 4.—Content of a ton. of the various kelps 


Other | todine | Algin ae Nitrogen 


Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds 
0. 22 23.4 8.4 


Macrocystis luetkeana__._______- 1834 53.7 |25. 1-37. 7 2.9 

Macrocystis pyrifera_.....-____- 1736 52.5 |26. 7-55. 7 . 61 44.4 19.3 4.3 

Alariaifistulosas= 2 1726 39.3 27.6 Trace (1) (1) (eet 
1 No data. 


In 1912 Senate Document No. 190 appeared with a preface by the 
President of the United States and a letter of transmittal from the 
Secretary of Agriculture. This monumental book of about 300 
pages contains a number of plates and maps describing particularly 
the larger Pacific coast seaweeds and kelps and reiterates that the 
seaweeds of the United States which have been neglected for so long 
a period should be developed agriculturally and economically. A 
second Government document entitled “Potash from Kelp,” issued 
by the United States and Alaska, reports further surveys of the kelp 
beds of the United States and Alaska and reports progress in the 
mechanical problems connected with harvesting and drying kelp. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 437 


The reason for this increased interest in kelp was that the potash 
which the farmers of the United States used for fertilizer on their 
soil came almost exclusively from the mines in the Stassfurt region 
in Germany. This Stassfurt region was a former sea bottom where 
various soluble potassium salts accumulated in a solid form by the 
concentration and final drying-out of the sea water. Up to the 
beginning of World War I, the Stassfurt mines were the one im- 
portant source of the potash supply of the world. The German 
conservation laws limited the amount of potash salts that were mined 
each year, also the amount of the annual product which was sold 
outside of Germany. The farmers of the United States were prac- 
tically dependent upon Germany when they began to use artificial 
fertilizers. Previous to World War I, the United States was im- 
porting from Germany potash valued at 12 million dollars or more 
annually. For 3 or 4 years before the war broke out, there was disa- 
greement between the American importers and the German Kali 
Syndikat over the raising of the price of potash and the threatened 
curtailment of the amount allowed to be shipped to the United States. 
This incident, together with the fact that the United States had 
undeveloped supplies of potash of its own, led the United States Con- 
gress to instruct the Bureau of Soils of the Department of Agri- 
culture to make an investigation of the possibilities of developing 
within the boundaries of the United States a potash supply that 
would meet the domestic requirements and make the United States 
independent of any foreign nation in this regard. 

The investigation included a search for potash in the alkaline 
basins of the arid West where the surface alkali includes potash salts 
and also in the feldspar and granite rocks which contain potassium in 
immense quantities but in the form of insoluble compounds. The 
Washington scientists finally took into consideration the long-estab- 
lished use of seaweeds as fertilizers for the soil and began a scientific 
investigation of the extensive groves of kelp on the Pacific coast 
to determine the amount of potassium salts contained in them. 

Enormous kelp beds extend along most of the Pacific coast from 
Mexico to Alaska. The problem was to devise an economical means 
for harvesting the kelp and then converting it into fertilizer, po- 
tassium salts, and other valuable products. 

About half the area of the kelp beds surveyed are in the vicinity 
of San Diego, Calif. Approximately two-thirds of the kelp that 
was cut grew near San Diego, and was used in industrial plants near 
that city. The amount of potash obtained from the kelp during 
Wold War I was slight as compared to the amount previously im- 
ported from Germany, but the kelp-potash industry was second only 
to the industry obtaining potash from natural mines. During 1917, 


438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


when there was a great shortage of potassium salts in the United 
States, 3,572 tons of potash (K,O) was produced from kelp which 
represented only a small proportion of the harvestable kelp on the 
Pacific coast. 

The cost of harvesting and drying kelp is high since kelp con- 
tains a large amount of water. The operation of the kelp-potash 
plants during World War I indicated that it was not possible to 
produce potash alone from kelp in successful competition with foreign 
potash. Only one privately owned plant operated during the war 
was designed for byproducts and that plant produced materials 
chiefly of value in wartimes. All commercial plants producing pot- 
ash from kelp suspended operations immediately upon cessation of 
hostilities. 

ALGAD AS COSMETICS 


As we have already mentioned, the Roman ladies of ancient days 
used rouge extracted from Fucus. The young Kamchatkales mix the 
Fucus with fish oil to redden their faces. The ladies of several mari- 
time regions in Europe used to macerate Fucus (pl. 6, fig. 2) in water 
and rub their cheeks with this mixture. 

Technicians of a certain drug company noticed that the people 
who worked with Irish moss or Chondrus crispus, (pl. 8, fig. 2; pl. 4) 
preparing its mucilage as an emulsifier, never suffered from chapped 
skin on their hands even in the coldest weather. They quickly took 
advantage of this principle m making this seaweed the base of a 
popular preparation. Other ointments are also made from Irish 
moss. By using the gelatin of Irish moss as their base, a nongrease 
ointment results which it is possible to apply without fear of soiling 
the clothing. 

Chilson (1938) recommends a pineapple juice hand lotion since he 
says that pineapple juice is an excellent hand cleanser in which a 3 
percent mucilage of Irish moss forms 35 percent of the product. He 
also recommends Irish moss curling fluid for the hair. Its mucilage 
is the base for other curling fiuids as for instance in sulfonated 
oil curling jelly. Irish moss is among the ingredients listed in the 
United States Government tooth-paste specifications for use as a 
binder. A thick mucilage of Irish moss is also used in deodorant 
pastes. Irish moss also forms an ingredient of compacts, powders, 
and rouges. 

Agar, used as a binder in tooth pastes, may form 4 to 8 percent by 
weight of the tooth-paste materials. 

The seaweed product which probably is used most in cosmetics 
is algin or sodium alginate. Algin was discovered by Stanford in 
1884 although its manufacture in the United States did not begin 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 439 


until World War I. Stanford was engaged in the Scotch kelp in- 
dustry when he noticed that one of the brown kelps, Laminaria digi- 
tata (pl. 6, fig. 1) after exposure to rain assumed a tumid appearance 
and that sacs of fluid were formed from endosmosis of the water 
through the membrane, dissolving a peculiar glutinous principle. 
When the sacs were cut, a neutral, glairy, colorless fluid escaped. It 
could often be seen partially evaporated on the frond as a colorless 
jelly. This substance, insoluble in water, was given by him the name 
of algin. He found that algin contained calcium, magnesium, and 
sodium in combination with a new acid called alginic acid. When 
this natural liquid is evaporated to dryness, it becomes insoluble in 
water but very soluble in alkalies. This substance is so abundant in 
the seaweed that on maceration for 24 hours in sodium carbonate in 
the cold the seaweed plant is completely disintegrated. He found 
that it had an extraordinary gelling power. It has 14 times the vis- 
cosity of starch, and 37 times that of gum arabic. It does not co- 
agulate with heat. 

The commercial product is now in the form of a white powder pro- 
duced from kelp found in Ireland, Scotland, Norway, France, and on 
the Pacific coast of the United States. Laminaria hypoborea is used 
for the production of algin in Ireland and Scotland, and Macrocystis 
pyrifera (pl. 7, fig. 1) is employed in the United States. Its Eng- 
lish trade name is Manucol. Manucol solutions are stable in the 
pH range 5.5 to 8.5 and may be pasteurized at 50° C. without affecting 
the grade. It is useful for cosmetic preparations having an aqueous 
or glycerine base such as glycerine hand jellies, transparent setting 
lotions, shaving creams, and beauty milks. It is used in sunburn 
lotions and in hair creams and fixatives. 

Its value in the cosmetic industry lies in the fact that sodium 
alginate produces standard mucilages that do not vary much pro- 
viding the conditions of their preparation are similar. These mu- 
vilages are transparent, water white, and almost odorless, thus over- 
coming the difficulty caused by the use of certain Karaya gums which 
have a grayish-brown color and also avoiding the question of opacity 
which arises with the use of tragacanth. The viscosity of Manucol 
V solutions is raised enormously by the introduction of calcium ions 
and if sufficiently raised the solution gels. The thickening effect of 
calcium ions increases as the pH of the solution is lowered due to the 
precipitation of calcium alginate as a jelly from the soluble alginate. 
All metallic ions other than those of the alkalies, magnesium, and 
ammonium behave similarly. The interesting feature about alginates 
is that it is possible to vary the viscosity of the solution over an 
infinitely wide range merely by altering the proportion of the calcium 
or other ion. 


440 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The Algea Pradukter, a factory at Christiansund, Norway, was re- 
ported in the fall of 1940 to be experimenting with new uses of 
kelp, in particular with the manufacture of soap. 

One company of the Pacific coast has a line of soaps, shampoos, 
soap pastes, and beauty lotions that it makes from kelp which they 
advertise as giving “good results in cold, warm, soft, hard, and salt 
water.” 

ALGAE AND TEXTILES 


Since the earliest times, certain of the most succulent algae which 
have gluelike properties have been used by the Chinese and the 
Japanese for starching their clothes. The principal alga of this 
type is Glotopeltis coliformis, although Gloiopeltis intricata is prob- 
ably just as satisfactory. Various other algae such as Chondrus 
crispus (pl. 3, fig. 2), Chondrus elatus, and Chondrus ocellatus (pl. 
9, fig. 3) are also employed for this purpose, although they do not 
make as fine a product. The Japanese call these algae funori, a word 
which means material for stiffening fabrics. The manufacture of 
funori is an important industry in Japan, although it does not rank 
with the agar and kelp industries. 

In 1875 and 1876 the Société Industrielle de Rouen instructed three 
of its members, Clouet, Heilman, and Reber to study the possible 
industrial applications of the substance called hai-thao or thao, actually 
agar, which was imported from China and Japan. Attempts made by 
a sulk manufacturer at Lyon to prepare silk tissues with the thao had 
given good results, therefore the Rouen officials desired information 
in regard to its use with cotton and linen goods. Heilman recom- 
mended that agar be used especially for fine tissues where suppleness 
is more desired than weight and stiffness. Heilman tried the com- 


parative effects of Senegal gum, tragacanth, Chondrus crispus or’ 


Trish moss, and agar. He found that the Senegal gum gave the cloth 
a rough, dry touch. Tragacanth made the cloth a little more supple 
and almost as supple as the cloth sized with agar. The chief ad- 
vantage of the agar was that it strengthened and compressed the 
cloth while tragacanth left it shallow and without any body. 
Chondrus crispus or Irish moss employed at a concentration of 3 
percent gave the cloth a rich and “unctuous” touch which had no 
analogy with the cloth sized with agar. He recommended it for use 
in the silk stuffs. Heilman thought that agar would have a great. 
industrial future in the sizing of calicos when it had been sufficiently 
improved. 

The seaweed products that are now used in the preparation ot 
sizes are Irish moss, funori, agar, and algin. Agar is too expensive 
and too valuable a product elsewhere to be used in the sizing of any 
but the most expensive fabrics such as silk. The amount of salt in 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 44] 


Irish moss sometimes gives a harsh feeling to thread, provided all 
the salt has not been removed from the moss by a preliminary steep- 
ing in water. Irish moss is used to thicken dye solutions for use in 
printing calico. A process of treating Irish moss extract with 
formaldehyde in order to make the dried size insoluble has been 
patented. Algin has been used for fixing mordants and is a sub- 
stitute for various salts formerly used in fixing mordants previous 
to the dyeing of cottons and yarns. 

Algin or sodium alginate is a very useful alginate since it is 
easily soluble in water and can be readily changed into soluble sub- 
stances. For this reason it is valuable as a sizing substance. It is 
superior to starch in this use as it fills the cloth better, is tougher, 
more elastic and, since its solutions are very viscous, it goes farther 
than starch or any gum. As soon as the sodium alginate has impreg- 
nated the cloth it may easily be made insoluble by treatments with 
dilute acids, lime water, salts of calcium, barium, and various other 
metals. It can be used as a fixer for mordants in fabrics and to some 
extent as a mordant. Ammoniated aluminium alginate can be used 
for the preparation of waterproof fabrics since it becomes insoluble 
after drying. 

In November 1938 the Department of Commerce received the 
notice of a new mucilage product made from Chondrus crispus, 
Chondrus elatus, Gigartina tenella, Grateloupia filicma, Grateloupia 
flabellata, Hypnea seticulosa, and other seaweeds. The mucilage 
from them is high in adhesive content and low in price. The 
mucilage is produced by washing the seaweed in fresh water, remov- 
ing the salt, adding a definite quantity of water, and the effecting 
of certain physical and chemical treatments, the details of which are 
not divulged. The solution is made highly viscous and its solidifying 
property is reduced. The product is said to be high in solubility 
and a concentrated solution of more than 30 percent can be produced. 
The invention is significant in view of the appreciable imports of 
mucilage from abroad. Its use is very extensive in the special proc- 
essing of textiles, for stickers in general, for the production of 
printing materials, and other uses. 

In ancient times the seaweeds were used in dyes. There were 
certain ones that had the reputation of clearing the colors and mak- 
ing them more brilliant and intense, especially those that were used 
as red dyes. The ancients used Fucus which they called “red fucus” 
or “dyer’s fucus” to dye their draperies and other linen materials. 

By nitrating alginic acid, Nettlefold prepared a brown dye that 
is suitable for dyeing unmordanted cotton. This unmordanted cot- 
ton dyed a fine Bismarck brown color which was more fast to soap 
than many alkaline colors, equaling chrysoidine. The depth of the 


442 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


shade was considerable and could be worked to a great intensity. In 
an acid solution the dye would not become attached to the fiber. 
Ammonia was the best alkali to use for this purpose. The brown 
dye had little power of attraction for wool. Mordanting did not 
increase the depth of the dye. 

Some species of algae are used to make string. Chorda filum is 


very abundant on the French coast where it is used for that purpose. — 


Plants of Chorda filum are often 5 to 6 meters in length. A series 
of them are strung together, two or three at a time according to the 
usage for which they are to be employed. They must be dampened 
when used as then they are stronger and less likely to break. 

For centuries, the fishermen of Alaska have used the stipe of 
Nereocystis (pl. 9, fig. 2) which is long and flexible and the size 
of an ordinary window cord. They cut it below the pneumatocyst, 
soak it in a stream of running water until it is almost white, then 
stretch it, rub it to reduce it to the size desired, and then dry it in 
the smoke of their dwellings. This type of cord is easily broken 
when dried but extremely resistant when wet and much stronger than 
fishlines of linen or cotton. The pieces of the stipe varying from 
10 to 15 brasses in length are knotted together to form a line 80 
brasses in length, the size required for fishing at the entrance to 
the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, or of 200 brasses in length for 
fishing the black cod off the Island of Queen Charlotte in British 
Columbia. 

When the kelp in long streamers, with its big floaters which the 
Alaskans call heads or bulbs, washes ashore on the beach of Juneau, 
the children cut the ropelike thallus and use it to make swings and 
jumping ropes as long as it is wet and humid. When it dries it 
stiffens and would be of no further use to them unless they greased 
it with some of the grease which is always present in the Indian 
dwelling, in order to make it pliable. 


ALGAE AND CERAMICS 


The first commercial use that the Chinese ever made of agar was 
for wrapping porcelains and bronzes which they sent to Europe. 

The ancients have always searched for alkalies to employ in the 
manufacture of glass and pottery. It was not, however, until the 
seventeenth century that we find mentioned the use of seaweeds or 
the kelps in the manufacture of soda for the glazier’s trade in Europe. 
Carbonate of soda does not exist completely formed in the seaweeds 
but is combined with fixed acid minerals and with organic acids that 
by incineration give carbonate of soda. The ashes of the sea kelps 
contain potassium salts mixed with sodium salts in relative propor- 
tions that differ with the various species. The term “soude” or soda 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 443 


was given to the ashes of the burnt kelp in France because 
of its resemblance to the commercial product and its method of 
manufacture. 

In 1692 Louis XIV gave to the Royal Company of Glass Manu- 
facturers at Paris the sole privilege of cutting from March 15 to 
September 15 of each year for 20 years all the kelp along the coast 
of La Hogue for the production of kelp ashes, and allowed them to 
transport these kelp ashes to Paris. This law was revoked in 1718 
by demand of the Normans who wished the kelp for fertilizers and to 
burn for iodine. In the glassworks all the ashes were used, since the 
portion of fixed alkali which was already in combination with the 
organic matter was in a state that acted as a melter for the other 
clays and sands which entered into the composition of glassware. 
For this reason kelp ashes were used with great success and to great 
advantage in the glass and porcelain works where common glassware 
was manufactured, especially in Normandy. 

Funori or seaweed glue is used in the decorating of porcelains in 
Japan. 

Algin is used as a binder and plasticizer in ceramics. 

Mertle writes that Irish moss has been suggested as a substitute 
for fish glue in the preparation of bichromated enamel, but it has 
never been popular owing to the greater uniformity of results 
obtained with glue mixtures. 

About 25,000 pounds of Irish moss is used each year by the paint 
industry in the making of cold-water or casein paints. Irish moss 
is used as a stabilizer to give the casein coloring matter and water 
consistency, and to hold the film in place while the casein hardens. 
Casein paints treated with Irish moss brush well and hold to the 
surface while they dry. Chondrus crispus is used in preference to 
other gums because of its cheapness, its thick consistency in extremely 
low concentrations, and its transparency, which keeps it from inter- 
fering with the color of the paint. Agar has been substituted for 
fish glue in process enamels to a slight extent. 

Algin is used as a suspending, emulsifying, and bodying agent in 
water paints, resin emulsion paints, and other special types of paints. 


ALGAE AND TANNING 


In the early part of the nineteenth century the French gold beaters 
used supple gold-beater’s skins to reduce the gold into thin leaves. 
Isinglass or fish glue was used to give the luster which the tanning 
removed. The animal substances cracked under the repeated blows 
of the wooden hammers. A Parisian manufacturer replaced the 
isinglass by agar and found he achieved better results. Irish moss or 
Chondrus crispus is used in the tanning industry, as it imparts to 
certain types of leather a gloss and a stiffness that is very desirable. 


444 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Its principal use is in the finishing of straight grains and grain 
upper leathers. When hides are split, the hair side is the grain 
side, a somewhat rough leather of a very even quality. The re- 
mainder of the split hide is uneven both in thickness and texture and 
finds its principal use in the manufacture of inner soles. After tan- 
ning is completed, the leather may be given one of several finishing 
processes, one of which includes the use of Irish moss. The gelatin 
is extracted from cured seaweed and then filtered for purification. 
This gelatin is swabbed onto the leather with brushes, thereby giving 
it body and stiffness. The leather is still dull in this state and must 
be glazed to give it a polish, which is accomplished by rubbing it 
with glass cylinders. Repeated glazing or the application of dress- 
ing materials then intensifies the luster to a gloss. Irish moss gelatin 
is used in shoe polishes, in which form it restores the finishes on worn, 
scuffed leather. The dull finish given to the leather at the factory is 
produced by revolving brushes on leather that has been treated 
with Irish moss. 

The polishing effect of Irish moss is due to the ability of the 
mucilage to smooth and hold down the tiny, rough projections on 
the surface of unfinished leather. In this way grain leather is given 
the luster which we see on our own shoes. Luster is not as important 
as other qualities in the case of the inner soles, where Irish moss 
is used as a filler to impart stiffness and body to the leather. The 
gelatin of Irish moss is also used to impart body and luster and to 
assist in the waterproofing of the very heavy retan leather used in 
the soles and uppers of heavy footwear. One shoe manufacturer in 
New England imports from Ireland about 12,000 pounds of Chondrus 
crispus a year. 

Agar and algin are also used in the treatment of leather. 


ALGAE AND THE PAPER INDUSTRY 


The Chinese in the olden days spread a little agar lightly over rice 
paper to make it more durable. They also mixed it with lacquer to 
strengthen paper, especially in the manufacture of fans and um- 
brellas. Agar is used now to some extent in the manufacture of 
paper as a paper coating, to impart resistance to penetration of 
resin, wax, and grease. 

At various times processes of manufacturing paper from the giant 
kelps have been proposed but apparently with no commercial success. 
The cellulose obtained from the Laminariaceae bleaches easily and 
under pressure becomes very hard so that it can be easily turned and 
polished. A good tough paper can be made from it. 

When dry, alginic acid assumes a hard, hornlike form that is very 
insoluble and resistant to the action of chemicals. It may be used 
for a substitute for horn and as an insulating material, 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 445 
ALGAE AND PHOTOGRAPHY 


In 1882 Mitchell proposed the substitution of agar for gelatin in 
the preparation of photographic materials needed in tropical coun- 
tries. Several patents were obtained for this purpose. Manipulative 
difficulties and inconsistent results prevented photographic manu- 
facturers from placing agar products on the market to any great 
extent, although a few firms in Germany and England were manu- 
facturing agar papers some years ago. Cooper and Nuttall experi- 
mented further on the application of agar to photography. An agar 
film need be but one-eighth as thick as a gelatin film. Other ad- 
vantages are that agar as compared with gelatin is cheaper and is 
more insoluble in water except when it is very hot. One firm states 
that as a reagent in sensitized emulsions, agar has proved to be of 
better quality than any similar material now on the market. In 
photomechanics the term “colloid” is applied to all substances that 
are capable of being rendered insoluble in water when impregnated 
with bichromates and exposed to the action of light. For this reason, 
agar and Irish moss are among the colloidal materials that are of 
value in the various phases of photomechanical plate making for 
the production of photographic images. 


ALGAE AND WAR MATERIALS 


During World War I, the Germans made a surprising use of 
a variety of Laminaria. When dry, the kelps with their massive 
thalli diminish in volume and become wrinkled. As soon as they 
are placed in water, they absorb the water, swell up, and return to 
their natural form. Some of the German grenades that fell into 
bodies of water or humid places, exploded after a certain length of 
time. When similar grenades were studied, they were found to 
contain sulfuric acid in a small glass ampoule and potassium chlorate. 
The grenades were hermetically closed with a piece of Laminaria 
cloustonii bearing at its internal end a sharp metallic point. With 
humidity the piece of seaweed elongated so that it pushed the metallic 
point against the ampoule, thus breaking it. The contact of the 
released acid and the chlorate caused an explosion. In other grenades 
the needle pushed by the piece of seaweed came in contact with a 
capsule of fulminate. 

Algin is used as a binder in cartridge primers here in the United 
States. 

ALGAE AND OTHER INDUSTRIES 


In connection with national defense work, the algin products made 
by a company on the Pacific coast are supplementing the foreign 
gums such as tragacanth, locust bean, gum arabic, and other gums 
which are practically nonavailable since the present war started. 


446 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Algin has been found to be equal to, or better than, the foreign gums 
in most of the industrial applications that require the use of gums. 
The usage of gums is more widespread than is generally known. 

Algin products are employed in the treatment of boiler water and 
other industrial waters, in can-sealing compounds, in oil-well drill- 
ing muds to seal off porous formations and resist the flocculating 
action of brines, and as a medium for separating battery plates in 
the manufacture of batteries. 

For resolving and preventing the incrustations of boilers, sodium 
alginate is recognized by experts as one of the best preparations, as 
it precipitates the lime salts in a state in which they can be readily 
blown off. The charcoal formed during the manufacture of iodine 
by the wet process, when combined with algin, has been largely used 
for covering boilers under the name of carbon cement. Three per- 
cent of algin is sufficient to make the carbon adhere, and a cool, light, 
and adequate covering is formed. Agar is used as a suspending agent 
in a wire-drawing lubricant. 

Just recently, a patent was given for the use of shredded agar to 
retard evaporation in tobacco. 

Sharp found that agar activates nicotine in insecticide sprays to 
a noteworthy degree. 

Certain species of seaweeds are used in different parts of the world 
for making ornaments and curios. Species of Laminaria having a 
hollow stipe are used for knife handles, since these kelps dry to a 
very hard, hornlike substance. They are called artificial staghorn. 


THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE SEAWEED INDUSTRIES 


In the summer of 1941, as this paper is being written, it is difficult 
to obtain recent figures from Europe and Asia regarding exports 
and imports of seaweed material. The few figures given below, 
however, give a slight indication of the importance of seaweed as 
an article of commerce. 


AGAR 


Japan has long been the world’s leading producer of agar and is 
the only country that exports this product to any great extent. Only 
small quantities of an inferior grade of agar are reported to have 
been produced in China and the Soviet Union. In 1938 the Nether- 
lands Indies developed a small industry supplemented by a second 
establishment opened by a well-known ice-manufacturing concern. 
The seaweed needed by these concerns is obtained along the Java 
and Celebes coasts, whence comes much of the seaweed used. in the 
Japanese manufacture of agar. The seaweed could be purchased 
from the natives for as little as $1.65 per picul of 136 pounds. Sufli- 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 447 


cient raw material is obtained in 1 picul for the manufacture of 114 
bales of agar with approximately 4,000 pieces to the bale. In 1939 
the industry was still insufficient to meet domestic requirements but 
the two factories in operation hoped eventually to produce a surplus 
for export. The Japanese output of agar fluctuated only slightly 
from 3 million pounds annually during the period 1923-31. It then 
rose from 3.3 million pounds in 1932 to 5.5 million pounds in 1937, 
when the output was valued at about $2,800,000. 

For the year ending June 30, 1938, Japanese production of agar was 
estimated at about 750,000 pounds less than in the preceding year, 
although the quality was better. For 1938-39 the yield was still 
lower, and even lower yet for 1939-40. The sudden reduction in 
1938 was due to the stormy weather of the previous summer, which 
resulted in extensive damage to the seaweeds. The Japanese also 
attributed the lower yield to difficulty in obtaining sufficient labor 
to harvest and dry the seaweed and, later, to bleach the crop. 

The principal primary markets for imported agar in the United 
States are New York, Indianapolis, and Detroit, where it is inspected, 
cleaned, and repacked for distribution by manufacturers of pharma- 
ceutical and biological products. One food-supply house in Los 
Angeles used 43,000 pounds of agar in 19388. 

The limit to which agar has been imported into the United States 
has been in the past governed only by Japan’s ability to supply this 
product. Normally, Japan was able to supply agar in sufficient 
amounts to meet world requirements at reasonable prices. The prices 
have varied from year to year; within the past 2 years the prices 
have risen to record levels owing to a scarcity of supplies in Japan. 
During the first 9 months of 1939, the United States imported 877,355 
pounds of agar valued at $266,331. Since the outbreak of hostilities 
in Europe in September 1939, the United States has imported a total 
of 54,898 pounds valued at $46,233. It is very likely that the ship- 
ments making up this total were cleared from Japan early in August 
1939. 

The war in Europe has had little effect upon the wholesale prices of 
agar in the United States. Prices prior to the hostilities had risen to 
high levels, owing to the scarcity of supplies already mentioned, 
thereby probably forestalling further advances in prices. Except 
for the Netherlands Indies there is little prospect of American im- 
porters being able to obtain agar from other countries of the world 
in the near future. During the first 9 months of 1939, Japan supplied 
all the agar imported into the United States except 40 pounds which 
came from China. Since the war began, Japan has continued send- 
ing agar to Germany by the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is interest- 
ing to note that Germany was the largest single purchaser of Jap- 


448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


anese agar in 1938. Germany imported about 20 percent of the total 
amount exported to all countries. 

The domestic output of agar since production in 1923 has been 
very irregular. (See table 5.) Since 1932 practically the entire 
domestic output has been sold during the year in which it was pro- 
duced. The principal markets are New York, Chicago, and other 
large cities. In 1938 production totaled 7,170 pounds, and sales were 
6,820 pounds valued at $9,131. 

Table 5 gives the figures for United States agar production from 
1923 to 1938 and the first 9 months of 1938 and 1939. These figures 
were compiled by the Tariff Commission from data obtained from the 
sole producer prior to 1984, and subsequently from another producer 
who granted permission to publish his output. 


TasLe 5.—Agar: United States Production, 1923 to 1938, and first 9 months of 
1988 and 1939 


Year Quantity Year Quantity 
Pounds Pounds 

p Kt ps a ee eS ie ie OE aa Es ee Po EOD BEL Doe ek oes os SEE Sy rs ee cee eee 10, 
aC eae ese ee Ee ne ee ee , 281 338222228 oe ee Pela 41, 557 
pA Js a ee ce Ob ke Ep a ty Ay ies i kt YU ee ON Ae aa aes eo] 
DP LS ET SIREN W NEES at TA Ne Raa DoH cl Wn es eae Te ER SER RT TG Ree 8, 061 
BA 27-7 Ge Se Bie Coe le LG i AS Tee De oe TOSG Re EE Cee ee ae ee 1 
DA 7-2 ty SER CU APT REEL “PRU PITY ANI Sy Seo eee ee ee a Tee 21, 208 
TOES ee Mas TE ae ee eRe PS B14) | USSR: 99 HER SE NP a 7,170 
1 O80 See ae Se ae Ls Ee 44, 805 || 1938 (Jan.-Sept.)2___..__..____-________ : 
ROSS 22 Se be ae eat AT ee Be ft a 28, 395 || 1939 (Jan.-Sept.)2__...........-.______- 8, 098 


1 Not availahle. 
3 Preliminary. 

Briefly, the principal uses of agar are as follows: As an ingredient 
of glue and various adhesive preparations; a substitute for gelatin; 
culture media in bacteriological and scientific work; in foods as 
sausage casing, substitute for white of egg, a thickening agent in 
cream, milk, ice cream, sherbets, cheeses, cakes, puddings, sauces, 
soups, jellies, fruits, preserves, and in candies; as a suspending agent 
in wire-drawing lubricant; a substitute for isinglass; a preparation 
used beneath the bandage for healing wounds; a laxative; an ingre- 
dient of greaseless creams, ointments, and lotions; in dental plate 
impressions; as a reagent in sensitized emulsions; to size paper and 
silk; and as a thickener in drying and printing of fabrics. 


KELP 


The Japanese production of kombu or kelp probably exceeds that 
of any other country, reaching nearly half a billion pounds in 1929. 
The greater part of this kombu or kelp is used as foodstuffs. The an- 
nual production of kombu apparently varies considerably from 
year to year, probably depending on the effects of the ocean currents. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 449 


Japanese exports of whole, sliced, and powdered kelp for 1932 
were valued at 2,013,000 yen. The export prices are usually lower 
than the domestic wholesale prices because export prices are generally 
quoted in larger quantities than in the case of domestic wholesale 
transactions. The kelp produced for China is of lower quality as a 
rule than that consumed in Japan. The kelp shipped to Hawaii and 
the United States is in meal and powdered form to. be used as poultry 
feed, human food, and for medical purposes. 

Norway produces kelp ash, the greater part of which is taken 
over by the iodine trust in Scotland. Ash is also exported from 
Norway to Great Britain. Before 1930 Russia was a fairly good 
market for the limited production of iodine, but the beginning of the 
manufacture of iodine in Russia adversely affected the Norwegian 
kelp burners. In 1932 heavy storms washed ashore large quantities 
of seaweed all along the northern and southern coasts of Stavanger. 
The kelp was of better quality than that gathered in previous years, 
and for it the burners would have been paid a higher price. How- 
ever, a heavy decrease in price was caused at that time by the fact 
that Chile, the world’s largest exporters of iodine, abandoned the 
gold standard, and with abundant stocks of iodine on hand, was able 
to cut the price about 25 percent. It was then impossible for manu- 
facturers in England and Scotland to produce iodine from Norwegian 
or Irish seaweed ash at competitive prices. Lower price quotations 
for iodine were also reported from Japan and Russia. 

Kelp was formerly exported from the Wieringen district in Hol- 
land in the amount of 2,000 to 3,000 tons annually, going principally 
to Belgium, England, and France, with occasional shipments to the 
United States. It consisted chiefly of fully prepared seaweed to be 
used as filling for mattresses and upholstery and for plant gelatins. 

A firm in San Pedro, Calif., leases the kelp beds in the vicinity 
from the State Bureau of Fisheries and prepares the seaweed for 
livestock and poultry concentrates. This company also prepares kelp 
for human consumption. 

A concern in Seattle, Wash., manufactures chiefly cosmetic products 
from kelp. 

At one time there was a kelp-gathering project in Nova Scotia 
which obtained kelp from the shores of Nova Scotia near Clark Har- 
bor and processed it in a plant at Rockland, Me. The fishermen 
were paid $3.00 a ton for kelp. They pulled it off the rocks by hand 
or with hooks and loaded it in their dories to take to the plant, 
where it was treated with chemicals in cement tanks to prevent it 
from rotting. It was then packed in rope bags, and when a sufficient 
quantity, 100 to 110 tons, had accumulated, it was shipped to Rock- 
land in a power boat. In 1938, the first year of operation, 6 ship- 


450 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ments of kelp were made to Rockland, and in 1939 there were 5 ship- 
ments. No further details have been received from the factory since 
that time. 

The Fisheries Research Board of Canada in the summer of 1941 
reports that considerable quantities of kelp are harvested along the 
south shore between Yarmouth and Cape Sable Island and trans- 
ported to Maine. 


ALGIN OR SODIUM ALGINATE 


The imports of algin into the United States are relatively unim- 
portant, ranging in the New York district from 5,000 pounds to about 
13,000 pounds during the years 1932 to 1935, inclusive. The United 
Kingdom was the principal supplier in 1933 and 1984, the Irish 
Free State in 1932, and Norway in 1935. Some sodium alginate 
materials enter as crude or semimanufactured seaweeds, algin, or 
extract of seaweed. 

In the United States, sodium alginate has been produced by only 
one large company in recent years. The imports are relatively un- 
important in comparison with domestic production. There are no 
available statistics of the exports but it is believed that they are 
small, if any. 

The one company producing sodium alginate in the United States, 
located at San Diego, Calif., started operations several years ago by 
taking over a plant established in 1926 which had failed. After 
intensive research and developmental work, they have brought their 
product to a point of commercial production. 


IRISH MOSS 


The center of the Irish moss or Chondrus crispus industry is at 
Scituate, Mass., where an annual supply of approximately 200,000 
pounds is produced. 

Summarizing briefly, the gelatin from Chondrus crispus, is used 
in tanning, in fining beverages, as a filler and stabilizer in various 
foods, as a basis of certain drugs, and in the cosmetics industry. 


CONCLUSION 


A third verse should be added today to Longfellow’s famous poem 
“Seaweed”: 


When descends on the Atlantic 
The gigantic 
Storm wind of the equinox 
Landward in his wrath he scourges 
the toiling surges, 
Laden with sea-weed from the rocks. 


USEFUL ALGAE—CHASE 451 


Ever drifting, drifting, drifting, 
On the shifting 

Currents of the restless main, 

Till in sheltered caves and reaches 
of sandy beaches, 

All have found repose again. 


Indeed the seaweeds are not finding repose in this generation, for 


day by day the scientists and industrial workers are developing new 
uses for them in every walk of life. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


I wish to express my sincere appreciation and grateful acknowl- 
edgment to the following persons who have aided me in obtaining 
information for use in this paper: Mr. L. A. Barber of the Consump- 
tion Materials Unit of the United States Department of Commerce; 
Mr. A. G. Wenley of the Freer Gallery of Art; Mr. A. B. Steiner of 
the Technical Department of the Kelco Co.; Mr. Fred A. Conroy, 
gatherer and bleacher of Irish Moss, Scituate, Mass.; Mr. L. K. Small 
of the Marine Products Co.; Miss Gertrude K. Beckwith of the Re- 
search Division of Philip R. Park, Inc.; Mr. O. Rappe of the Rappe 
Kelp Industries; Mr. L. Drew Betz, consulting engineer, Philadel- 
phia, Pa.; Dr. C. F. Moreland, Louisiana State University; and Dr. 
S. A. Beatty of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Note.—Owing to the considerable size of the bibliography, it was found 
hecessary to omit titles of a number of the books consulted in writing this 
article. However, the few references listed below contain complete references 
to the literature of the authors quoted. 


Booru, W. E. 


1941. Algae as pioneers in plant succession and their importance in 
erosion control. Ecology, vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 38-46, January. 
CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS. 
1930-1941. See references on agar, algin, and kelp, vols. 24-35. 
CHILson, Francis H. 
1938. Modern cosmetics. 531 pp. The Drug and Cosmetic Industry, 
New York. 
Conroy, FRED A. 
1939. The past, present and future of Irish moss. (Unpublished Ms., pp. 
1-8.) Scituate, Mass. 
MAcCAUGHEY, VAUGHAN. 
1916. The seaweeds of Hawaii. Amer. Journ. Bot., vol. 3, pp. 474479. 
MEIER, FLORENCE EB. 
1936. Those ubiquitous plants called algae. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 
for 1935, pp. 409-427. 
1940. Plankton in the water supply. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. for 1939, 
pp. 393-412. 


430577—42——_30 


452 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


MorgLanp, C. F. 


1937. Natural paper formed by dried algae. Amer. Journ. Bot., vol. 24, | 


No. 9, pp. 592-593, November. 
PAFFENBARGER, GEORGE C. 
1940. Hydrocolloidal impression materials: Physical properties and a 
specification. Journ. Amer. Dental Assoc., vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 
373-388. 
SAUVAGEAU, CAMILLE. 
1920. Utilisation des algues marines. Pp. 1-894. Paris. 
SmitH, HueH M. 
1904a. The seawood industries of Japan. Bull. Bur. Fisheries, vol. 24, 
pp. 135-142. 
1904b. The utilization of seaweeds in the United States. Bull. Bur. 
Fisheries, vol. 24, pp. 169-181. 
TRESSLER, DONALD K. 
1923. Marine products of commerce. Pp. 70-145. Chemical Catalog 
Company, Inc. 
VINCENT, V. 
1924. Les algues marines et leurs emplois agricoles, aliméntaires, indus- 
triels. xv 206 pp. Printed by Edouard Ménez, Quimper. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Chase PLATE 1 


: 16 


1-3, views of field and fence showing old cotton stalks and fence covered with ‘natural paper’’; 4, photo- 
micrograph of a piece of bleached algal film with the filaments teased apart; 5, photograph of typing and 
lead pencil writing on algal paper; 6, photomicrograph of a few filaments of Tribonema from the green 
end of an algal film. Courtesy of C. F. Moreland. 


*pue[UI 94} PUB 4SBOdD 94} JO SAATJVU 94 UAVM49qG 
JoJIV JO 9fO14AV UB SUIIOJ JT “BYSLPY WOT] ‘SW DJDIUIID) DINYdLOg JO 9yBd B ‘fF BY DIDIWIID) DLhYydsog ‘¢ ‘sUOy BUOF{ WOIJ MOWIL'T WnaUs0I WnIpijay ‘% ‘AAR, “BY siipbjna vifiydsog ‘Tt 


c@ 3LV1d aseyQ—'| $6 ‘ode ueiuosyzIWIG 


PLATE 3 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Chase 


Lyngh., from Cape Ann, Mass. 


ispus 


2, Chondrus cr 


’ 


1, Laminaria saccharina var. Kiitz from Japan 


4aLV1d 


AOIMOD “VY “y jo AsozInNoD 


“SSByY ‘9}BNYIOS 4B YOveq ay) uO 


SSOU YS] SurdAiq 


aseyY— | $6] ‘Oday ueruosyqiuIG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Chase PLATE 5 


1, Nest of the sea swift in its natural state; 2, nest of the sea swift that has been cleaned preparatory to 
making bird’s nest soup; 3, Rhodymenia palmata mollis 8. and G. from the Aleutian Islands. 


BIUIOJT BO Woy} Add D]Ua]NISa DUD SAB MIO uu101 tT §N807NIISAA SND VA -pue Coys) () ulody I Co) 00) I 'T DIDI DILDUVLD I I 
: . p : 1V § N J 729 vdT G T H n ( ) DY ip 


9 ALVI1d 


aseyg—'| P61 ‘qaoday ueruosyyIwg 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Chase PLATE 7 


Treen 


= 
et 
= 
hom 
a 


1,The giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera in its natural habitat: 2 and 3, a power-driven barge harvesting kelp. 
Courtesy of the Keleo Company. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Chase PLATE 8 


1, Hypnea nidifica J. Ag.; 2, Laminaria cloustonii. 


“puRlad] UO) 7] Su pVLsas snony “p SuRdBe UTOI) “WATOFY $77D]/900 snupuoyD ‘¢ ‘SpuR[sy uene uUBg WoT “AdNY puB Ysog vUDayjJan) sipshooasany ‘% ‘uRdep wIOdJ “UAT[oly Vana DLUOPYOR ‘T 


6 3iv4d aseyy—"| 6] ‘ode ueruosyqiug 


THE EXCAVATIONS OF SOLOMON’S SEAPORT: EZION- 
GEBER 


By NELSON GLUECK 


Professor of Bible and Biblical Archaeology, Hebrew Union College, Sometime 
Director, American School of Oriental Research, Jerusalem 


[With 14 plates] 


Three seasons of excavations were conducted during the spring 
months of 1938-40 at Tell el-Kheleifeh, under the auspices of the 
American School of Oriental Research, Jerusalem, the American 
Philosophical Society, and the Smithsonian Institution. They re- 
sulted in the almost complete uncovering of Ezion-geber, and of 
Elath, as it was known in the latter part of its history. Tell el- 
Kheleifeh (pl. 1, fig. 1) is situated in the center of the southern end 
of the Wadi el-‘Arabah, on the north shore of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah, 
the eastern arm of the Red Sea. It is about halfway between the 
northeastern and northwestern ends of the gulf, marked respectively 
by the modern village of ‘Aqabah (pl. 1, fig. 2, and pl. 2, fig. 1) in 
Transjordan, and the police post of Mrashrash in Palestine. On the 
east side of the gulf is Sa ‘idi Arabia, and on the west side is Sinai. 

The discovery of Tell el-Kheleifeh and its identification with 
Ezion-geber:Elath were the result of archeological explorations, 
aided by some scanty references in the Bible. As a result of the 
archeological exploration of the Wadi el-‘Arabah, the great rift ex- 
tending between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Gulf of 
‘Aqabah, and known in the Bible as the ‘Arabah, extensive copper- 
and iron-mining and smelting sites were discovered, which could be 
dated by the pottery recovered particularly to the time of King 
Solomon. One of these mining and smelting sites, called Mrashrash, 
directly overlooks the present shore line of the northwest corner of 
the Gulf of ‘Aqabah. Near the east end of the north shore are 
located the extensive ruins of the Nabataean-Roman-Byzantine- 
medieval Arabic site of Aila, whose history goes back to at least 
the third century B. C. These facts compelled the conclusion, sev- 
erals years before it was actually located, that the site of Solomon’s 
seaport of Ezion-geber had to be situated somewhere along the present 


453 


454 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


MEDITERRANEAN 


BK lL s2erg2 © Hallabat 
~ Jerusalem en 
@ Aza 
) ff) —. AS 2 Main @ Geseienien 
JUDAH }% or Pee ; 
} ) ye ee 
ky) hs t ce 
r?) ‘ 
—/ Cagr Tuba * Ww 
< we: Qalrant OF NE 
of : % 
0 \ 
Q ¢7 EDOM . 
of rik 
\ ey @ Petra phe iy 
Na Sth een \ I 
Mene“iyeh \@ oH TRANSIJIORDAN \ 
} £EzionsGeber 


Mrashrash “¢ 


SINAI 
PENINSULA 


SAUDI ARABIA 


Statute Miles 


Oo 16 20 30 40 SO 


Kilometers’ 


© 10 20 30 40 50 


- 


FigukEe 1.—Location of Ezion-Geber. 


shore of the north end of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah.1. This was also in 
harmony with the statement in I Kings 9: 26: 
King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on 
the shore of the Red Sea, in the Land of Edom. 

Until the actual site of Solomon’s seaport was discovered and ex- 
cavated, the notion was current that it was to be located at a place 


1 Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Bull. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
No. 65, p. 12, February 1937 ; The first campaign at Tell El-Kheleifeh (Ezion-Geber). Ibid., 
No. 71, pp. 4-5, October 1938; Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools 
Oriental Res., vol. 15, pp. 26-27, 42-45, 47-48, 138-139, 1934-1935. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 455 


called Mene ‘iyeh in the Wadi el-‘Arabah, some 30 kilometers north 
of the present shore line of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah. This was believed 
in at a time also when it was not known that Mene ‘iyeh was 
actually the site of one of the largest mining and smelting sites in 
the Wadi el-‘Arabah, worked intensively particularly during the time 
of King Solomon.? Other identifications have been with Ghadyan * 
and with a place near ‘Ain Defiyeh,* which latter site is some 16 
kilometers from the present shore of the sea. For various reasons, 
it had been thought that the waters of the gulf had retreated in the 
course of some three millennia from approximately 30 to 16 kilometers 
to the position of its present north shore. The waters of the Gulf 
of ‘Aqabah, have, as a matter of fact, retreated during the course of 
the last 3,000 years, but the retreat measures about 550 meters, and 
not as many as 25,000 meters more or less. It remained for a German 
explorer, Fritz Frank, to discover the small mound of Tell el-Khe- 
leifeh, which is situated about 550 meters from the shore and is 
about halfway between the eastern and western ends of the gulf. 
He found large quantities of pottery fragments on the surface of the 
mound (pl. 2, fig. 2), which he judged to be old, earlier than Roman. 
When the expedition of the American School of Oriental Research, 
Jerusalem, subsequently examined the site, it was seen that the pottery 
there was the same as that at the mining sites in the Wadi el-‘Arabah, 
and that the main period of occupation of Tell el-Kheleifeh must be 
assigned to and after the time of King Solomon.® The excavations 
(pl. 3, fig. 1) have shown that in all likelihood Tell el-Kheleifeh is 
to be identified with Ezion-geber: Elath, although it cannot be arche- 
ologically demonstrated beyond all question of doubt. It is, how- 
ever, now clear that the shore line of the north end of the Gulf of 
‘Aqabah has not changed appreciably in the last 3,000 years. 

It would facilitate the identification of Ezion-geber greatly if we 
knew exactly where Elath was situated. Both sites, if indeed there 
ever were two separate sites, which we doubt, are at least to be sought 
in close proximity to each other, according to the Biblical passages 
referring to them. We have attempted to identify Eloth, or Elath, 
as it is variously called in the Bible, with the large ruined site of 


? Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
vol. 15, pp. 42-45, 19384-1935; Musil, Alois, Arabia Petraea. Vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 186-190, 
Wien, 1908; Phythian-Adams, W. J., The call of Israel. Pp. 187-188. London, 1934. 

3Cf. Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental 
Res., vol. 15, p. 45, 1934-1935. 

*Cf. Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental 
Res., vols. 18-19, pp. 5-6, 1937-1939. 

5 Frank, Fritz, Aus der ’Araba, I. Zeitschr. Deutsch. Palistinavereins, vol. 57, pp. 243— 
244, 1934. 

6 Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Bull. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
No. 65, p. 12, February 1937; The first campaign at Tell El-Kheleifeh (Ezion-Geber). 
Ibid., No. 71, p. 4, October 1938; Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools 
Oriental Res., vol. 15, p. 48, 1934-1935; vols. 18-19, p. 3, 1937-1939. 


456 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Aila, several kilometers to the east of Tell el-Kheleifeh, and almost 
directly on the shore of the gulf. To judge from careful and re- 
peated examinations of the surface pottery finds there, however, Aila 
was occupied from the Nabataean to the medieval Arabic period, 
but not before then.’ The possibility remains, nevertheless, that if 
excavations were to be undertaken at Aila, sherds might be found 
indicating occupation of the site during and preceding the times of 
the Biblical Ezion-geber and Elath. I consider that possibility, how- 
ever, to be a remote one, because the depth of ancient debris on the 
site of Aila is not considerable, and could not go below the Nabataean 
ruins without striking the water level. If there ever were any ancient 
sites at Aila, which could be related to the Biblical Ezion-geber or 
Elath, then in all probability their ruins were completely cleared 
away by the heavy and deep and extensive building operations which 
took place there particularly in the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzan- 
tine periods.® 

The Biblical evidence, which we have gone into in detail elsewhere, 
seems to indicate that Ezion-geber did not become a really important 
site until the time of Solomon, and figured as such in the biblical 
annals from the tenth to the middle of the ninth century B. C., 
after which time its name is no longer mentioned. It was replaced 
by Elath in the biblical accounts, becoming important in the eighth 
century B. C., near the end of which it passed from Judaean into 
Edomite control, and out of the Biblical record. There is reason to 
believe from the evidence in the Bible, that the Elath which succeeded 
Ezion-geber as an important site on the north shore of the Gulf of 
‘Aqabah, was built on the ruins of Ezion-geber, after that site had 
been abandoned for some time. It is not an uncommon happening 
for different names to be applied to the same ancient Biblical site 
during various stages of its history. Thus Qiryath-séfer and Debir 
are one and the same place, as are Hebron and Kiryath-‘arba.1° In 
view of the fact, therefore, that Tell el-Kheleifeh is on the shore of the 
eastern arm of the Yam Sif, the Red Sea, and that there is no other 
site on that shore which shows the proper early occupational history 
necessary for either Ezion-geber or Elath or both, and that the exca- 
vations of Tell el-Kheleifeh revealed that it was occupied from the 
tenth to the late fifth centuries B. C., including thus the main periods 


7™Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Hastern Palestine. Bull, Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
No. 65, p. 12, February 1937; The first campaign at Tell El-Kheleifeh (Ezion-Geber). 
Ibid., No. 71, p. 4, October 1938; Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools 
Oriental Res., vol. 15, p. 47, 1934-1935 ; vols. 18-19, pp. 6-7, 1937-1939. 

® Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
vols. 18-19, p. 3, 1937-1939. 

° Glueck, Nelson, The topography and history of Ezion-Geber and Elath. Bull. Amer. 
Schools Oriental Res., No. 72, pp. 9-10, December 1938. 

10 Tdem. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 457 


of both Ezion-geber and Elath as reflected in the Bible, we are com- 
pelled to conclude that Tell el-Kheleifeh is to be identified with 
Ezion-geber and Elath. 

One of the chief difficulties at first of identifying Ezion-geber: 
Elath with Tell el-Kheleifeh, is the location of the tell in the center 
of the south end of the Wadi el-‘Arabah on the shore of the gulf, and 
not farther to the east nearer to ‘Aqabah, at a place such as Aila, for 
instance. Assuming, as we do, that Ezion-geber is to be identified 
with the lower levels of Tell el-Kheleifeh, it is possible to say that 
the builders of the site could not possibly have chosen a more inclem- 
ent site along the entire shore line. Situated in the bottom of a curve 
banked on the east side by the hills of Edom, which continue into 
Arabia, and on the west side by the hills of Palestine, which continue 
into Sinai, it is open to the full fury of the winds and sandstorms 
from the north that blow along the center of the WAdi el-‘Arabah 
as if forced through a wind tunnel. During the 1940 season of 
excavations, for instance, there was a blinding sandstorm which lasted 
almost continuously for 10 days, and made work on the tell practi- 
cally impossible. By walking about a kilometer to the east or to 
the west of the tell, it was always possible to escape the winds and 
the accompanying sandstorms. Inasmuch as it is demonstrable that 
the physical conditions have not changed appreciably there during 
the last 3,000 years, the question which disturbed us before the com- 
mencement of the actual excavations was how the ancient architects 
and city planners had hit upon this particular place for the building 
of an important town. It is not difficult to understand why Solomon’s 
port city could not have been built farther to the west. The shore 
is rocky there, and dangerous for ships. Furthermore, from Mrash- 
rash, at the northwestern end of the gulf, to Tell el-Kheleifeh, there 
is no drinking water in a distance of about 314 kilometers. The 
police stationed at Mrashrash send all the way to ‘Aqabah, at the 
northeastern end of the gulf, about 7 kilometers’ distance one way, 
for their drinking water. The point where the sweet-water wells 
begin is marked almost exactly by the location of the ruins of Ezion- 
geber. From there eastward toward ‘Aqabah there is a continuous 
line of such wells, increasing in number the closer one gets to ‘Aqabah, 
and becoming constantly less brackish, and marked by a correspond- 
ingly increasing number of date palms between the two points. 
Why, then, did the builders of Ezion-geber not locate their site nearer 
‘Aqabah, where the water is comparatively sweet, and where protec- 
tion may be found under the lee of the hills from the strong winds 
and biting sandstorms that plague it in its present position? The 
strong winds that blow steadily from the north were evidently a 
feature so desirable to the architects of Ezion-geber that they built 


458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


it directly in the path of these winds, at the sacrifice of much con- 
venience and comfort for its inhabitants. 

The very first building uncovered gave the answer to this par- 
ticular problem. The excavations were begun at the northwest end 
of the mound for various reasons, not the least of them being consid- 
eration for the direction of the winds, which would at least blow 
the debris being dug up away from, and not directly into, the eyes of 
the workmen. A large building containing originally three large 
rectangular rooms and three small ones was dug out, its walls more 
or less intact to about a third of their original height. It soon be- 
came evident that this was not an ordinary large building or palace, 
but a completely novel type of structure, the like of which had not 
previously been discovered in the entire ancient Near East. The 
walls of the rooms were pierced with two rows of flues, and the main 
walls were interconnected by a system of air channels inside the 
walls, into which the upper rows of flues opened (pl. 3, fig. 2). The 
lower rows of flues pierced the walls between the rooms. It is our 
present idea that the lower rows of flues were intended to permit 
gases forming in one chamber to penetrate into a second one and 
preheat its contents. In other words, not all of the rooms were 
fired at the same time, but were fired progressively. The upper rows 
of flues were used then to create a draft, the air being sucked 
throughout the entire length of the building toward the draft chim- 
ney, which we have reason to believe once rose over the southeast 
corner of the structure. The originally unfired yellowish mud 
bricks had been baked by the heat of the fires in the rooms to the 
consistency of kiln-fired bricks. It became evident that the building 
was an elaborate smelter or refinery, where previously “roasted” 
ores were worked into ingots of purer metal. It was obvious both 
from the sulfuric discoloration of parts of the walls, and from fin- 
ished metal articles fashioned from the ingots produced, that the re- 
finery at Ezion-geber was devoted mainly to copper, and in a lesser 
degree to iron. Great quantities of both copper and iron, especially 
copper, abound in the Wadi el-‘Arabah, in Sinai, and in northwestern 
Arabia." In the complex of buildings surrounding the smelter were 
foundry and factory rooms, in which finished or semifinished articles 
were turned out for home consumption and for export. Ezion-geber 
was the Pittsburgh of Palestine. The rooms in its refinery were, so 
to speak, air-conditioned for heat, utilizing a natural forced-draft 
system to fan the flames in the furnace rooms, which in principle 
was related to the Bessemer principle of forced draft discovered 
less than a century ago. 


U Glueck, Nelson, The first campaign at Tell El-Kheleifeh (Ezion-Geber). Bull. Amer. 
Schools Oriental Res., No. 71, p. 7, October 1938. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 459 


The fuel for firing the refinery was obtained in all probability in 
the form of charcoal from the wooded hills of Edom.” Layers of 
crushed ore were placed between layers of lime in thick pottery 
crucibles on top of a base of hard-baked, loosely packed clay debris. 
Piles of charcoal were then packed around and above the crucibles 
in the open furnace rooms of the refinery, and the rooms fired in 
successive order at proper intervals of time. In this wise do we 
reconstruct the method of refining the ores and firing the furnaces. 

In view of the now-established character of the important smelter- 
refinery of Ezion-geber: Elath, which was used and reused in one 
form or another throughout practically the entire history of the site, 
it is possible to understand why the builders of ancient Ezion-geber 
chose the site they did for the founding of their fortified industrial 
establishment. They had in mind the needs of the large refinery 
they were planning to erect. After careful examination they chose 
the one site in the center of the south end of the Wadi el-‘Arabah, 
where the winds blew strong and constantly from an almost unvary- 
ing direction. They needed a constant draft from a known quarter 
to fan the flames in the furnaces of the refinery. Without these 
strong winds, for the sake of which they were willing to endure 
frequent sandstorms, they could not have erected such a large and 
elaborate refinery, and would have had to rely completely upon the 
hand-bellows system in vogue previously. The comfort of better 
water and a more protected location for the founding of their city 
was dispensed with by its builders in order to enable them to harness 
the elements for their industrial purposes. 

Incidentally, the shore line in front of Tell el-Kheleifeh is free of 
the rocks which make the east and west ends of the north shore 
dangerous for boats. It was on such rocks, according to I Kings 
22:49 that the fleet of Jehoshaphat, which he had had constructed 
in order to sail to Ophir in Arabia for gold, came to grief. Sol- 
omon’s fleet, which made the trip to Ophir and back once every 3 
years, according to I Kings 10:22 and II Chronicles 9:21, may have 
previously experienced a similar fate. The ships of both fleets were 
probably no larger than the small sailboats in which the fishermen 
put forth from ‘Aqabah today. The requirement in Solomon’s 
time was not a harbor with a deep draught for ships, but one which 
had a sandy bottom enabling ships to be dragged on shore. The 
main anchorage for Solomon’s fleet may even have been farther to 
the east, approximately at the position on the shore line facing 
Aila, where, as we shall point out, some of the free residents of 
Ezion-geber: Elath may have tented. Solomon’s ships brought back 


“Idem, p. 10; Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
vol. 15, pp. 26, 44, 1934-35. 


460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


various precious products from Arabia,'* undoubtedly giving in ex- 
change the copper and iron ingots and finished metal objects pro- 
duced in Ezion-geber. 

In addition to the fact that the entire first town of Ezion-geber, 
which for convenience we shall call Ezion-geber I, represented a 
carefully integrated industrial complex, the excavations have shown 
that it was built completely anew on virgin soil. It experienced no 
gradual growth and development but was built at one time, within 
the space of a year or two, from a preconceived and carefully 
worked-out plan. Surveyors, architects, and engineers had evidently 
looked over the north shore of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah in advance with 
a view to the particular requirements they had in mind. They were 
industrial scouts, and chose a town site which no builders would 
have selected in the normal course of events for the founding of a 
settlement. They needed, as we have seen, strong and continuous 
winds, coming from a known direction to provide drafts for fur- 
naces. They needed also sweet water to drink, a central point com- 
manding strategic commercial and military cross roads, and access 
to the sea. Great quantities of copper and iron ore were present in 
the Wadi el-‘Arabah, and provided the most important impetus for 
the building of the first town on the site known today as Tell 
el-Kheleifeh. 

The town site chosen, intricate plans for the establishing of a very 
complicated factory complex must have been drawn up. A great 
deal of specialized technical skill was necessary. Thick and high 
walls of sun-dried bricks had to be erected, with flues and air chan- 
nels in them, and with allowances made for the weight of the wall 
above them. The angle of the buildings had to be chosen carefully 
to get the full benefit of the winds from the north. Bricks had to 
be made by the thousands, and laid by expert bricklayers. In no 
period in the history of the subsequent towns, each built on top of the 
ruins of the previous one, were bricks as excellently made and skill- 
fully laid as during the first period. Certainly not in the poor little 
town of ‘Aqabah several miles to the east, which in modern times 
has superseded Ezion-geber. Al the bricks were laid in complicated 
systems of headers and stretchers, with the corners of the walls well 
bonded together. One reads today of new towns, planned in ad- 
vance, and springing up as if by magic on previously bare soil with 
the aid of modern transportation facilities and mechanical equipment. 
Ezion-geber, however, still remote from civilized points today, was 
a long and difficult journey from them in ancient times. It took the 
writer 13 days on camelback, several years ago, to travel from the 
south end of the Dead Sea, which is already comparatively far from 


18 T Kings 10: 2, 13, 15. 


EZION-GEBER—-GLUECK 461 


Jerusalem, to the north shore of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah. It took a 
great deal of business ability, as well as architectural, engineering, 
and metallurgical skill, to construct the factory town and seaport of 
Ezion-geber, and to keep the production line going. 

One can easily visualize the conditions existing about three mil- 
lennia ago, when the idea of building this place was first conceived 
and then brilliantly translated into reality. Thousands of laborers 
had to be assembled, housed, fed, and protected at the chosen build- 
ing site. As a matter of fact, most of them were probably slaves, 
who had to be guarded and goaded to work. Skilled technicians 
of all kinds had to be recruited. Great caravans had to be collected 
to transport materials and food. An effective business organization 
had to be called into existence to regulate the profitable flow of raw 
materials and finished or semifinished products. There was, so far 
as we know, only one man who possessed the strength, wealth, and 
wisdom capable of initiating and carrying out such a highly complex 
and specialized undertaking. He was King Solomon. He alone in 
his day had the ability, the vision, and the power to establish an 
important industrial center and seaport such a comparatively long 
distance from the capital city of Jerusalem. 

The wise ruler of Israel was a copper king, a shipping magnate, 
a merchant prince, and a great builder. Through his manifold activi- 
ties, he became at once the blessing and the curse of his country. 
With increased power and wealth came a centralization of authority 
and a ruthless dictatorship which ignored the democratic traditions 
of his own people. There resulted a counterdevelopment of forces 
of reaction and revolt, which were immediately after Solomon’s death 
to rend his kingdom asunder. During his lifetime, however, Solomon 
reigned supreme. The evil he did lived after him. His far-flung 
net of activities extended from Egypt to Phoenicia, and from Arabia 
to Syria. Ezion-geber represents one of his greatest, if indeed up 
to the present time his least-known accomplishments. In the person 
of Solomon, more than anyone else before or after him, was fulfilled 
the promise to Israel, contained in Deuteronomy 8:9, according to 
which Israel was to inherit a land (the ‘Arabah), “whose stones are 
iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” 

A long period of mining, smelting, refining, and brickmaking must 
have preceded the construction of the elaborate refinery, unless one 
is to assume that experts were imported for the purpose, just as, for 
instance, Solomon imported Phoenicians to build and man his ships 
(I Kings 9: 26-28; 10:11, 22). There is, however, no reason for 
that assumption. Mining and smelting and refining were known 
along the length of the ‘Arabah at least from the beginning of the 
Early Iron Age, and quite probably already in the Early Bronze 


462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Age. The Kenites, who were native to the country, and whose very 
name reveals that they were smiths, were the ones who probably 
introduced the Israelites, whose leader Moses had apparently taken 
a Kenite wife and who retained ever afterward the closest relation- 
ship with them, and the Edomites, to whom they were related through 
the Kenizzites, to the arts of mining and metallurgy. Was it from 
the Kenites that Moses learned how to make a copper serpent? (Gen- 
esis 21:9.) Saul was mindful of the close connection between the 
Israelites and the Kenites, and spared them in his battles with the 
Amalekites, 

That the Kenites were at home in Edom and in the Wadi ‘Arabah 
is indicated by Balaam’s punning proverb with regard to them in 
Numbers 24:21: “Everlasting is thy habitation, and set in the Rock 
(Sela) is thy Nest (Qén).” The pun on Qén and senite (Qenite) is 
obvious, and Sela is to be identified with Umm el-Biyarah in Petra.%* 
The Bible tells that Tubal-Cain (a Kenite) was the first forger of cop- 
per and iron instruments (Genesis 4:22). It is stated in I Chronicles 
4: 12-14 that the Kenizzites lived in the Valley of Smiths. We believe 
that this means the Wadi ‘Arabah, with its many copper and iron min- 
ing and smelting sites, and that the City of Copper mentioned in con- 
nection with the Valley of Smiths is to be identified with the large 
Iron Age mining and smelting site of Khirbet Nahas (the Copper 
Ruin), located near the north end of the Wadi ‘Arabah.® Confirmed 
wanderers, the Kenites seem to have retained throughout their history 
a Bedouin form of life, like the related Rechabites and Jerahmeelites. 
The presence of individual Kenites in Judah and Israel, pictured as 
wandering about from place to place, can be understood when it is 
realized that they were itinerant smiths. 

The smelter-refinery was literally the center of the first Ezion- 
geber, or Ezion-geber I, as we shall call it. Some distance removed 
from it, and around it, was built a square of foundry and factory 
rooms. This industrial square was only one room thick. The rooms 
were formed by thin partition walls, between the spaced, parallel 
inner and outer walls. There seems to have been an entrance guarded 
by a strong square tower on the southwest side. The plan of the 
smelter, together with the industrial square, may be likened somewhat 
to that of a strong stockade wall, with a row of houses one room 
thick, built against the inside of the walls of the stockade square, 
and with an isolated, commanding building in the center of the 
square. There is, furthermore, some reason for believing that con- 
siderably beyond the industrial square, whose outer wall is strength- 


% Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
vols. 18-19, p. 26, 1937-1939. 

#8 Glueck, Nelson, The other side of the Jordan. P.83. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., New 
Haven, 1940. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 463 


ened like a fortress wall with regular offsets, there may have been 
in the very first period an outer, complex fortification system, con- 
sisting of two separate walls, with a glacis built against each of them, 
and a dry moat between the two walls. All traces of it have disap- 
peared because of a later fortification system much like it, which com- 
pletely displaced it. 

- Both the smelter and parts of the industrial square were used and 
reused in later periods. Indeed, one of the main difficulties of the 
excavations consisted in just this fact: That wherever a later age 
found a good wall of a previous one, it frequently built other walls 
against it to form a new room. The employment of a straight 
stratigraphic method of excavation would have produced dire results. 
The problems of unraveling the puzzles of walls there, built against 
each other, yet frequently belonging to totally different periods, were 
baffling at first appearance, but usually could be solved. The fre- 
quent use of different types of bricks and different methods of brick- 
laying in different periods helped to distinguish one period from 
another. In certain parts of Tell el-Kheleifeh, walls of successive 
periods were built on respectively higher levels. 

The intricate smelter-refinery of Ezion-geber: Elath was from the 
very beginning till near the end of the history of the place consid- 
ered to be its most important structure. It underwent numerous 
changes in the course of time. The system of flues and air channels 
in the walls was abandoned after they had become filled with sand 
and soot. The flue holes were plastered over, and the smelting pro- 
cess reverted to the use of hand bellows. Im this wise, the great in- 
dustrial plant continued to function for a number of centuries longer. 
The tremendous heat in the furnace rooms of the smelter transformed 
the sun-dried bricks used in its construction into the equivalent of 
kiln-baked bricks. The copper sulfide fumes of the copper ores being 
reduced in the smelter turned its walls green; where the fumes did 
not come in direct contact with the walls, the heat turned them brown 
and red. Centuries of experience had produced a brick measuring 
40 by 20 by 10 centimeters, with which an excellent wall two and a 
half bricks thick could be produced, of enduring strength. Some of 
the walls of the smelter have stood almost to their original height 
for nearly 30 centuries. 

When finally heat cracked the walls of the smelter in places, and 
repairs and reinforcements were necessary, a means of strengthening 
them was employed, which had hitherto been applied only to 
fortresses. A sloping retaining wall in all respects similar to a 
fortification glacis, was discovered during the third season of work, 
built against each side of the smelter. It was almost half again as 
wide at the bottom as the smelter walls themselves. Each row of 


464 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


bricks in this supporting ramp was set about 2 centimeters back of 
the preceding row, so that by the time the top of the inward slope 
of the glacis reached the top of the smelter wall, only the width of 
the smelter wall remained. The outer, very steep slope of this glacis 
was then covered with a thick facing of strong mud mortar, which 
effectively hid all the irregularities of the tiny steps of its successively 
graduated rows of bricks, and presented a surface so smooth as not 
to afford a toehold to anyone desirous of ascending it. Although 
the glacis around the smelter can in no wise be distinguished from 
a fortification glacis, it was intended not so much to keep out an 
enemy as to bolster up the walls of the smelter. 

The strength of this smelter glacis was, furthermore, enhanced 
by the fact that while its outer face sloped inward as it went upward, 
the rows of bricks in it sloped downward somewhat toward the face 
of each of the walls against which the glacis was built. In addition, 
the builders of this glacis (and others like it in a later period at Tell 
el-Kheleifeh), employed a principle of tying the bricks to each 
other that was commonly used, for instance, in the Renaissance 
Period in Europe, particularly for fortress construction. The bricks 
were laid in complex, crisscross patterns. It is the strongest form 
of brick bonding known to man, and must already have been old 
when used by the brickmasons of Ezion-geber. By ascertaining the 
degree of the angle of the slope of the glacis around the smelter, both 
the height of the glacis and the original height of the walls against 
which it was built could be obtained. Allowing for the upward 
extension of the walls of the smelter above the top of the glacis, it 
is possible to say that the smelter walls were about 4 meters high. 
There was no roof over the smelter. Naturally, when the strength- 
ening glacis was built against the smelter walls, the flue system 
could no longer function in the same manner as previously. The 
inside walls were completely plastered over, closing the flue holes 
from this side also. Just how the necessary draft was furnished 
for the furnaces is not clear to us. One thing is certain, namely, 
refining and, to a degree, smelting operations were continued in the 
smelter-refinery. The heat was so intense that the plaster covering 
the walls and the previous flue holes was literally fused against the 
walls. Perhaps flue holes were built in the walls above the level of 
the top of the glacis; or perhaps the crude bellows system worked 
by hand was reverted to. Apparently the smelter-refinery was used 
in one form or another till the end of the occupation of Ezion- 
geber: Elath. 

In all probability, the refinery and foundries and factories at 
Ezion-geber were manned for the most part with slave labor, even 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 465 


as the mines in the Wadi el-‘Arabah were worked by slaves. The 
fumes and smoke from the smelter-refinery alone, coupled with the 
severity of the natural conditions, would have made life there in- 
tolerable to the free-born, and impossible for slaves. The welfare 
of the latter, however, would hardly have been taken into considera- 
tion. The permanent population of Ezion-geber: Elath was never 
large, numbering probably not more than two or three hundred. 
During the essentially seasonal industrial activity there, the popula- 
tion figures must have increased considerably with the importation 
of slave labor. While the officers and merchants may have tented 
some distance away from the furnaces and foundries, the slaves, 
however, upon whom the main burden of the work fell, were prob- 
ably confined inside the walled area. With them must have been a 
changing guard of a certain number of soldiers to control them and 
guard the site. 

Not only did the smelter-refinery continue in use throughout the 
entire history of Ezion-geber: Elath, but the south and east sides of 
the industrial square were likewise employed throughout the entire 
history of the site. The north and west sides of the industrial square 
were destroyed, when, at the beginning of Period II, a new series 
of fortification walls was put up around Ezion-geber, in part per- 
haps on the line of former, outermost fortification walls which may 
have encircled the industrial square, and in part on entirely different 
lines. As a result of the new alinement of the fortification walls of 
Period II, the smelter-refinery which still remained the most import- 
ant building, was no longer in the center of the site, but at its north- 
west corner. It consisted of two lines of defenses. There was a very 
strong inner wall, strengthened by regular offsets along its outer 
side. It was further strengthened by a strong glacis built against it, 
with corresponding offsets (pl. 4, fig. 1). About 3 meters beyond the 
base of the glacis was another fortification wall, about 1 meter thick 
and 3 meters high. It, too, seems to have been further strengthened 
by a glacis built against it. It is probable that both this wall and 
the glacis against it had offsets corresponding to those of the parallel 
inner wall and glacis. Between the two walls ran a dry moat, the 
bottom of which was marked by a stamped-clay and mud-brick floor. 
At the corners of the major wall were towers, which in each instance 
overlooked the slopes of its glacis. The smaller outer wall is much 
less well preserved than the larger wall, but it seems probable that 
it too had similar towers, one at each corner. 


1° Glueck, Nelson, Explorations in Eastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., 
vol. 15, pp. 28-44, 1934-35. 


466 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


On the south side near the southwest corner was found a monu- 
mental gateway, with three pairs of doors and two opposite sets of 
guardrooms between them, which will be described in more detail 
later (pl. 5, fig. 1). The glacis of each of the outer fortification 
walls is broken off before arriving at the gate, so it is impossible to 
say exactly what the connection between them and the gate was. This 
double-walled fortification extended a considerable distance south 
and east, respectively, of the industrial square, built in the preceding 
period of Ezion-geber I. On the north side, and part of the west 
side, however, it cut through and in part was built over the line of 
rooms of this industrial square, with no attempt to make use of its 
rooms on these sides. The rooms of the industrial square on the 
other two sides were reused. The north half of the outermost 
glagis on the west side was built against the outermost west wall of 
the industrial square. It is interesting to note that the scheme of 
double-walled outer defenses with a dry moat between the walls, is 
known elsewhere in Transjordan. It is particularly clear at the 
Early Iron Age site of Khirbet el-Medeiyineh overlooking the Wadi 
Themed.” It is difficult to understand why the builders of this 
complex fortification scheme in Ezion-geber II did not extend the 
outer walls beyond the north and west sides of the industrial square 
as they had on the south and east sides. Indeed, on the north side, 
the larger of the two fortification walls was built partly over the 
north side of the smelter, and over the glacis built against the smelter 
on that side in the preceding period of Ezion-geber I. 

The main wall had been built so well and so regularly that it was 
possible, after parts of it had been exposed, to plot out its course 
and determine its exact line, where it had not been completely weath- 
ered away or destroyed, by merely trenching at intervals along its 
length. At the now preserved top of the wall, which is almost flush 
with the level of the desert, being covered with a layer of debris, the 
wall is from 2.5 to 3 meters thick. Its foundation courses go down 
below the soil from 75 centimeters to a meter, and in many places 
the lowest foundation course rests on a natural, hard-clay stratum. 
As the wall goes downward, it widens out, sometimes in three suc- 
cessive steps of two rows of bricks each, with the result that in some 
places the wall is almost 4 meters thick at its base. It is built of 
sun-dried brick, like the rest of the site, laid carefully in alternate 
rows of headers and stretchers, and must easily have been 8 meters 
high. There are strongly marked offsets along the sides of the walls, 
and particularly at the corners. 


17 Galling, Kurt, Biblisches Reallexikon. P. 372. Tiibingen, 1937; Glueck, Nelson, Ex- 
plorations in Hastern Palestine. Ann. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., vol. 14, p. 13, 1934; 
The other side of the Jordan. P. 143. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., New Haven, 1940. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 467 


After the outer fortification wall had been discovered, the search 
began for the main gateway leading into the town. It was found 
near the southwest corner of the wall, on the south side, facing the 
sea. There were three gates in this entrance way, built at intervals 
one behind the other, the first two of which opened respectively into 
separate sets of guardrooms behind each gate, with one room on each 
side of the entrance passage (pl. 5, fig.2). Thus if the first gate were 
broken down, the enemy would enter a rectangular area formed by 
the two rectangular guardrooms facing each other on opposite sides 
of the entrance passage; and the same if the second gate were broken 
down. The third gate opened into the main street of the town, 
which made a sharp right-angle turn to the east. The third gate 
seems also to have led into a large open square, where the market 
place was undoubtedly located, and in a section of which the camels 
of visiting caravans may have been kept during the night time. The 
amazing thing about Ezion-geber II is that a place of such com- 
paratively small size should be surrounded by such a strong outer 
double fortification wall, with its three-doored gateway. The entire 
site, walls and all, covers an area no larger than approximately an 
acre and a half—about large enough for a villa with a good-sized 
garden in a modern suburb. 

The three-doored gateway of Ezion-geber II is to be directly re- 
lated to the south gate of the inner town of Carcemish, as well as to 
the west gate of the outer town of Carcemish.* Evidence from Me- 
giddo has shown that the gateway regarded by Guy as belonging to 
stratum IV at Megiddo, and which he compared with the south gate 
at Carcemish ?® may actually belong to stratum III, dated 780-650 
B. C.7° The plan of this gateway is closely related to that of Ezion- 
geber II, and it is probably based on an earlier plan contemporary 
with that of Ezion-geber IT. 

We consider it likely that when the nature of the Solomonic gate- 
way at Megiddo has been definitely established, it will be shown to 
be almost, if not completely identical with the gateway of Ezion- 
geber II. Lankester Harding has called my attention to the fact 
that there is a gateway at Lachish, which the excavators have as- 
signed to the tenth century B. C. and attributed to Solomon, which 
is almost a duplicate of the gateway at Ezion-geber IT, and the com- 
parable ones at Carcemish. We think it likely that Solomon’s 


18 Wooley, C. Leonard, and Lawrence, T. B., Carcemish II. Pp. 82-85, pl. 12, 1921. 
Watzinger, Carl, Denkmiiler Palistinas, I. P. 55, 1933. 
Guy, P. L. O., New light from Armageddon. Oriental Inst. Comm., No. 9, pp. 25-27, 


44-48, 1931. 

20>TLamon, Robert S., and Shipton, Geoffrey M., Megiddo I. Univ. Chicago Oriental Inst. 
Publ., vol. 42, pp. 74-75, 19389; Amer. Journ. Archaeol., vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 289-290, 1941; 
Albright, W. F., Further light on the history of Israel from Lachish and Megiddo. Bull. 
Amer. Schools Oriental Res., No. 68, p. 25, December 1937. 


430577—_42——_31 


468 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Ezion-geber was captured by Shishak’s forces during the same cam- 
paign which resulted in the destruction of many towns in Palestine, 
including Megiddo, shortly after Solomon’s death.” 

It is significant that the offsets of the new fortification walls and 
of each glacis of Period II are parallel to the offsets of the outer 
wall of the industrial square of Period I. Furthermore, the bricks 
of the glacis built against each of the fortification walls of Period 
II, were laid in the same diagonal, crisscross fashion as the bricks in 
the glacis built in Period I against the smelter-refinery. Were it not 
for the indubitable fact that part of this great fortification scheme 
of Period II in places cuts through and in other places is built over 
part of the rooms of the industria] square and the north side of the 
smelter-refinery with its glacis of Period I, it would be possible to 
say that they are all to be assigned to the same period, and to overlook 
the differences in types of bricks used in the various constructions. 
The close relationship in manner of construction between the later 
fortification walls and glacis and the earlier ones, makes it seem 
possible that the Period II fortification scheme replaced a similar 
earlier one. If this is so, then we may date all of Ezion-geber I to 
the tenth century B. C., to the time of Solomon, and then perhaps 
Ezion-geber II may be assigned to the ninth century B. C. More 
particularly, Period II may represent a reconstruction by Jehos- 
haphat of Judah, who reigned about 873-849 B. C. He was the one, 
it will be recalled, who made the abortive attempt to revive the sea 
trade between Ezion-geber and Arabia, which had flourished during 
the reign of Solomon. We are told that Jehoshaphat had a new fleet 
of Tarshish ships built to sail to Ophir for gold. No sooner were 
they completed, however, than a gale blew them on the rocks several 
kilometers from Ezion-geber, where they foundered. The venture 
was thereupon abandoned. The very attempt, however, must have 
meant that Ezion-geber received a new lease on life. Its defenses 
would have been restored, and its industrial activities renewed with 
full intensity. Exports, such as ingots and objects of copper and 
iron, would have been made ready for the ships to carry to Arabia 
in return for the products obtainable there. After the destruction 
of his fleet, Jehoshaphat may have relied upon camel caravans for 
transport. 

The possibility exists also that Periods I and II represent early 
and late phases of building coinciding with the earlier and later 
parts of the reign of Solomon. Both would be the direct result of 
his great program of public works, which dotted Palestine with build- 
ings of all kinds and Ezion-geber II would have continued in use 
during the reign of Jehoshaphat. We find it significant that at the 


21 Glueck, Nelson, The second campaign at Tell Ej-Kheleifeh (Ezion-Geber: Elath). 
Bull. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., No. 75, p. 18, October 1939. 


EZION-GEBER—-GLUECK 469 


very end of the account in I Kings 9 of Solomon’s manifold building 
activities throughout Palestine, there is narrated in some detail the 
story of the construction of a fleet of ships for him at Ezion-geber, 
which, manned by Phoenician sailors, sailed to Ophir for gold. For 
some reason or other, the author of this account failed to mention 
that Solomon exported copper and iron ingots and finished products 
on these ships in exchange for the gold and other products obtainable 
in Ophir. He also failed to mention that shortly before, or shortly 
after, or at the same time as the ships were being constructed, the 
port city and industrial town of Ezion-geber was being built. After 
the time of Jehoshaphat, the name of Ezion-geber disappears from 
the Bible. It fell into the hands of the Edomites.*? 


22During the reign of Joram, the son of Jehoshaphat, Edom revolted against Judah 
and regained her complete independence (II Kings 8: 20-22; II Chron. 21:8-10). In all 
probability the ‘Arabah and Ezion-geber reverted to Edomite control. In fact, if there was 
a Judaean garrison at Ezion-geber, as seems likely, then in all probability the town was 
beseiged and sacked and the garrison put to the sword. In a word, the successful rebellion 
may well have resulted in a destruction of Ezion-geber shortly after the middle of the ninth 
century B. C. Once communications between Judah and EHzion-geber were cut, as they 
must have been when Edom successfully shook off the Judaean control which had been 
imposed upon her by David, it would have been impossible for the Judaean garrison to 
have resisted for long. For about half a century Edom retained her independence, and 
then lost it again to Judah. Amaziah of Judah (c. 797-779 B. C.) waged successful war 
against Hdom and captured Sela‘, which he renamed Joktheel (II Kings 14:7; II Chron. 
25:11-12). His capable son, Uzziah, rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah (II Kings 
14:22; II Chron. 26:1-2). Ezion-geber is no longer mentioned, and, so far as the 
Biblical accounts are concerned, it had, from the time of Joram of Judah (c. 849-842) on, 
ceased to exist. It plays no further role in the historical accounts, being passed over as 
completely henceforth as Elath had been previously. 

A lot must be read between the lines of the statements in II Kings 14:22 (II Chron. 
26:1-2) that Azariah (Uzziah) “rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah.” It is clear that 
the city that was lost when Edom first regained her independence from Joram of Judah 
was Ezion-geber. We are told, however, that it was not Ezion-geber but Elath which 
Uzziah restored to Judah. What then had happened to Ezion-geber during the seventy- 
odd years that intervened between the time when Edom regained her independence from 
Joram of Judah and lost it again to Uzziah of Judah—figuring from the beginning of the 
reign of Joram to the beginning of the reign of Uzziah? 

There are two possible explanations that suggest themselves. The first is that Ezion- 
geber was utterly destroyed and left abandoned by the Edomites when they captured it 
from Joram’s troops, while they occupied the insignificant neighboring site to the east of 
it, called Elath, which had fallen to them at the same time as Ezion-geber. It was then 
this Elath which Uzziah built or rebuilt (perhaps it, too, had been partly destroyed) and 
restored to Judah. The question rises immediately, how could he restore Elath to Judah, 
when, at least so far as we know, Elath had never been lost, it being Ezion-geber that had 
passed out of Judaean control? The alternative explanation is that when Hzion-geber was 
captured and destroyed by the Edomites in the time of Joram, it was abandoned for many 
years and there was no settlement of any moment at the head of the Gulf of tAqabah, 
with the exception of the small, straggling site of Elath. This may have been nothing 
more than a tiny collection of mud-brick houses somewhat to the east of it. Not being 
strong enough to develop into a sea power, Edom was not able to make out of Elath what 
Judah had created out of Ezion-geber. Actually Edom probably no longer controlled the 
head of the Gulf of tAqabah from the time of Amaziah on, having held it in what seems to 
have been little more than nominal control for about 50 years. Meanwhile Ezion-geber 
lay a sand-covered ruin, which differed little in appearance from the sand hillocks in the 
vicinity. Even the name of Ezion-geber may no longer have been heard, because two full 
generations had passed by since it was destroyed. In the course of time it may gradually 
have become identified with Elath—as belonging to Elath. When Uzziah came to the 
south end of the tArabah, he actually built on top of the former site of Ezion-geber, which 
had become identified with Elath. The reasons that had impelled Solomon and Jehosha- 


470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Inasmuch as Ezion-geber I is the very first settlement built upon 
the present site of Tell el-Kheleifeh, with all its walls resting on 
virgin soil and no traces whatsoever of earlier buildings, it becomes 
necessary to conclude that this Ezion-geber I is not the Ezion-geber 
which the Israelites saw when they emerged from the Wilderness of 
Sinai after the sojourn there lasting 40 years. The Ezion-geber they 
saw was probably a tiny, straggling site, with a few mud-brick huts, 
and a few scraggly palms, and must have been situated farther to 
the east, where the drinking water is less saline, and the sandstorms 
blown by the strong winds down the center of the ‘Arabah do not 
occur. All traces of this earlier site of Ezion-geber have disappeared, 
only its name surviving in the bustling town of Ezion-geber, first 
built probably by Solomon in the very path of the winds blowing 
down the center of the ‘Arabah. 

A most interesting grave was found, sunk partly into the floor 
level of the dry moat between the two outer fortification walls of 
Period II on the north side, a short distance removed from the 
smelter-refinery (pl. 4, fig. 2). It may possibly be the grave of the 
man who directed the construction of this elaborate system of fortifi- 
cations, and who died perhaps shortly after the walls were completed. 
The top of the large mud-brick, mastabahlike grave was covered with 
a layer of granite boulders, resting over a mud-brick roof. The 
grave had already been anciently disturbed, and whatever of intrinsic 
value it contained stolen, probably by some one familiar with its 
contents. An interesting amount of material still remained in the 
grave, however, when we opened it. It was found to contain a large 


phat, for instance, to occupy and extend Hzion-geber and to develop it into an industrial 
center and a seaport must have been as valid in Uzziah’s day as in theirs. It was Hzion- 
geber, now known as Elath, which Uzziah restored to Judah. It is this alternative possi- 
bility which we believe to be the more likely one. It is possible to restore to someone 
only something which was previously owned. Thus in II Kings 16:6 we read that the 
Edomite king drove out the Judaeans from Elath and restored it to Edom. If the Hzion- 
geber of Solomon and Jehoshaphat and the Elath of Uzziah can be identified with each 
other, then the Biblical difficulties with regard to them disappear, and the archeological 
ones resolve themselves into understandable relationships. 

After the time of Uzziah, Elath was to change hands once more, being lost by Judah 
to Edom in the time of his grandson, Ahaz. Taking advantage of Ahaz’ distress during 
the Syro-Ephraimitic war in 735 B. C., the Edomites regained control of Elath. II Kings 
16:6 should be amended to read: “At that time the king of Edom restored Elath to Edom, 
and drove out all Judaeans from Elath; whereupon the Edomites came to Elath, and 
dwelt there to this day.” 

After that time Judah was never again strong enough to dispute Edom’s control over the 
‘Arabah and Hlath. Edom thereafter became progressively less able to exploit the mineral 
wealth of the ‘Arabah and to hold Blath. Adadnirari, and particularly Tiglatb-pileser ITI, 
Sargon, Sennacherib, Ezarhaddon, and Assurbanapal, held Edom as a vassal state, and as 
the Assyrian records show, the Arabs harried the Edomites with increasing force. (See 
Glueck, Nelson, The topography and history of Ezion-Geber and Elath. Bull. Amer. Schools 
Oriental Res., No. 72, p. 9, December 1938.) The political power of Edom was really com- 
pletely at an end when Nabonidus made Teima his main seat of residence. The rapidly 
rising Nabataeans took over the remains of the Edomite kingdom, infusing it in time with 
new life and power. From their time onward, a new site, Aila, was selected for settlement 
nearer the east end of the head of the Gulf of ‘Aqabah. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 47] 


number of human, animal, and fish bones, most of which, unfor- 
tunately, had almost completely disintegrated. It soon became 
obvious that only one person had been buried there. Several frag- 
ments of the skull were recovered, as well as part of a lower jawbone, 
with several teeth still embedded in it. Careful sifting of the debris 
in the grave yielded 24 human teeth. With the dead person, probably 
a man, were found the remains of a camel. It may well have been 
his favorite dhalil, his racing camel. Next to the skull fragments 
were two three-handled jars, the only ones of the type recovered in 
the excavations. Inside one of them was a delicate little bowl, con- 
taining bones of a small bird, a small animal, and a fish. The joints 
of the spine of a large fish could be seen in position. The last meal 
provided for the final journey of the buried man was a sumptuous 
one. A millstone, a mortar, and a fragment of a cosmetic palette 
were also found in the grave. This burial is the earliest one belong- 
ing to an historic period ever discovered in a controlled excavation 
in Transjordan. Trenches were run in all directions from this one 
grave in an attempt to discover others, but in vain. It seems safe 
to assume, however, that there could not have been many burials as 
comparatively elaborate as the grave in the dry moat. The bricks 
in the rectangular grave were of the same size as those in the fortifi- 
cation walls of Period II. The walls of the grave were rather thin, 
having the thickness of only the width of a brick. The rectangular 
grave measured about 3 by 1.80 meters. 

Not only was it possible to trace the complete line of the fortifica- 
tions of this period, but part of the very brickyard was discovered, 
from which the bricks were taken for the building of the fortification 
walls. It is to be remembered that in Period II, the site was still 
more on the order of a large caravanserai than of a settlement proper. 
With the exception of the smelter-refinery, and the south and east 
sides of the industrial square which had escaped being destroyed or 
built over and were consequently reused in Period II, there was 
nothing else inside the enclosure formed by the fortification walls. 
There remained a great courtyard, in which the trading caravans 
may have rested at nighttime. 

At the southeast corner of this great compound were left long rows 
of rectangular bricks, of exactly the same size as those used in the 
construction of the fortification walls of Period II. For the con- 
struction of these walls thousands upon thousands of sun-dried mud 
bricks were necessary. The areas inside and outside the proposed 
lines of the fortification walls were transformed into huge brickyards. 
Bricks were made and then laid out to dry in symmetrical rows, with 
spaces between each row and spaces between each brick to enable the 
rays of the sun to get at each brick from all directions. First the 


472 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


bricks were laid flat and then placed on their sides. As soon as they 
had dried, they were brought to the bricklayers, who with great skill 
placed them in long and intricate rows of headers and stretchers till 
the walls of the desired thickness and height were obtained. When 
the new fortifications were finished, hundreds of bricks still remained 
in position in the southeast corner of the compound, where they had 
been placed to dry during the last stages of construction. In time, 
both before and after the settlement of Period II had been destroyed, 
they were covered with debris and sand, and were completely lost 
sight of and forgotten. In the following Period III, new houses 
were built over the buried rows of bricks, which could have been 
used in the construction of these houses had their builders but known 
of their existence. 

The bricks of Tell el-Kheleifeh were, on the whole, exceedingly 
well made. Good clay, obtainable directly on the site, was used. It 
was mixed with straw of a kind, perhaps palm-tree fibers, which 
served as an excellent binding material. Usually, in addition, char- 
coal and fragments of shells and bones were mixed in with the clay. 
In ancient Egypt it was correctly thought to be the height of hard- 
ship to be compelled to make bricks without being supplied with the 
necessary complement of straw. We read in Exodus 5:10 ff.: 

And on that day Pharoah commanded the taskmasters of the people and their 
officers, saying, “Ye shall no more give the people straw for themselves; neverthe- 
less, ye shall still exact from them the same number of bricks as they previously 
made, nor shall ye reduce the number.” 

An idea of the excellence of the ancient bricks found in Tell el- 
Kheleifeh can be obtained by comparing them with the modern, sun- 
dried bricks used in present-day ‘Aqabah. In April 1940, a teriffic 
rain and hail storm literally washed half of the mud-brick village 
away. Many of the mud-brick walls simply dissolved. A few days 
later, the natives began to make new mud bricks and dried them in 
the sun, preparatory to repairing the damage. Their bricks were 
made without any binding materials whatsoever except lumps of 
dried mud from which the sand content had been more or less washed 
away by the rains. Small wonder that such bricks go to pieces dur- 
ing the first heavy rain! With some trepidation we returned to the 
excavations after the rains were over to see what damage had been 
done to the exposed ancient mud-brick walls of Tell el-Kheleifeh. 
We found upon our arrival that not only had they not suffered at all, 
but that even the unattached bricks of the ancient brickyard had not 
suffered the slightest harm. It is not surprising, therefore, that the 
mud-brick walls of Ezion-geber: Elath, built more than 2,500 years 
ago, have survived in some instances almost intact, while the mud- 
brick walls of modern ‘Aqabah crumble and collapse not long after 
they are built. 


EZION-GEBER—-GLUECK 473 


The settlement of Period III was built partly over and partly 
against the walls of Period II, and utilized the old line of fortifica- 
tion walls. The easiest way of distinguishing the settlement of 
Period III from that of Period IT, at least in the southeast corner, is 
that its walls rest on the debris and sand covering the remaining lines 
of bricks of the brickyard of Period II. In several instances the 
foundations of the walls of Period III encountered and cut through 
some of the bricks of Period II, which had been placed on their sides 
in the second stage of drying. The builders of Period III must have 
thought that these were isolated bricks. Had they dug down less 
than a foot they would have found all the old bricks, and would 
undoubtedly have utilized them in their new buildings. In addition 
to making use of the smelter-refinery and the still existing rooms of 
the industrial square, the entire area of the rest of the site was filled 
with houses in Period III. For the first time in its history the place 
assumed the semblance of a real village, and not merely a large, 
fortified, industrial plant. Essentially, however, it remained an 
industrial settlement with obviously a large amount of industrial 
work carried on also in private homes. 

If the settlement of Period I is to be assigned to the tenth-ninth 
centuries B. C. and that of Period II to the same time or solely to 
the ninth century B. C., the settlement of Period III is to be assigned 
to the eighth century B. C. when it became known as Elath. It may 
have been constructed by Uzziah, who ruled from about 779 to 740 
joe OA 

The city of Period III, which is Elath I, functioned again as an 
industrial town of much the same nature as its predecessor. The 
gateway in the outer fortification system was altered, without any 
changes now apparent being made in the walls themselves, of which 
only the foundations remain. Some repairs or changes were probably 
effected in their superstructure. 

The main changes in the gateway, in addition to the fact that the 
floor level was considerably raised, are that the entrances to the two 
pairs of guardrooms were blocked up, creating thus four small, 
squarish rooms behind the passageway, and an additional mud-brick 
pier was built on each side of the third gateway, narrowing the pas- 
sageway considerably. In other words, the general scheme of the 
gateway of Period II with three doors was adhered to, but the guard- 
rooms were transformed into casemates. A somewhat similar filling 
up of the guardrooms in the Megiddo gateway discussed above seems 
to have taken place. 

In a room belonging to Period III was found a beautiful signet 
ring. The seal itself, enclosed in a copper casing, had incised on it 
in retrograde, in the clearest possible ancient Hebrew characters, the 
following inscription: ZY7M, meaning, “belonging to Jotham” (pl. 


474 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


6, fig. 1). Below the inscription is a beautifully carved horned ram, 
which seems to be Syrian in style. In front of the ram seems to be 
the figure of aman. It cannot definitely be proved that the Y7// of 
the seal is the very king Jotham (c. 740-736 B. C.) of Judah, whose 
dominion included also Elath, but the likelihood is a strong one. 
In all events, it is quite appropriate that during the period of Judaean 
control over Elath extending throughout the reigns of Uzziah, 
Jotham, and the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, the Hebrew name 
of Jotham should be found, while during the Edomite rule of Period 
IV, the Edomite name of Qausanal should occur, as we shall see (pl. 
6, fig. 2). 

After the settlement of Period III had been destroyed by a terrific 
conflagration, a completely new industrial village was built over its 
ruins. This settlement of Period [IV was Edomite. Its history can 
be divided into three clear subperiods. The history of Period IV, 
extended from about the end of the eighth century B. C. to about 
the end of the sixth century B. C. The new industrial village con- 
tinued, like that of Period III, to use the system of fortifications 
that had been erected in Period II. Industrial operations continued 
on a fairly extensive scale. It is to the first phase of Period IV, 
which probably extended well down into the seventh century B. C. 
that we now assign the jars discovered in the previous season of 
excavations, stamped with a royal seal in ancient Hebrew-Edomite 
characters reading: “Belonging to Qausanal, the Servant of the 
King.” It is thus now possible archeologically to fix a date for 
the Qausanal seal impressions which harmonizes with the one 
proposed for them by Albright on the basis of epigraphy alone. 
Qausanal is a typical Edomite name, the first part of which, Quas. 
is the name of a well-known Edomite and then Nabataean deity.”® 
It seems likely that this Qausanal, who was probably an Edomite, 
was the officer commanding the district of Elath, and was the 
representative (“servant”) of the Edomite king of the time. 

Belonging to Period IV are the fragments of a large jar, on two 
pieces of which were incised the first ancient South Arabic letters 
ever discovered in a controlled excavation (pl. 7, fig. 1). Ryckmans 
considers these letters to belong to the Minaean script.** The 
Minaeans are reputed by Pliny to be the oldest known commercial 
people in South Arabia, controlling the Incense Route and mono- 
polizing the trade in myrrh and frankincense. It has been possible 
since the discovery of those fragments to put them together, and 


*8 Glueck, Nelson, The third season of excavation at Tell El-Kheleifeh. Bull. Amer, 
Schools Oriental Res., No. 79, p. 13, October 1940. 

*4 Ryckmans, G., Un fragment de jarre avec caracteres minéens 4 Tel] El-Kheleifeh. Rev. 
Bibl., vol. 48, pp. 247-249, 1939; Glueck, Nelson, The first campaign at Tell El-Kheleifeh 
(Ezion-Geber). Bull. Amer. Schools Oriental Res,, No. 71, pp. 15-16, October 1938. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 475 


thus to restore most of the shape of the jar, which may well have 
been the container of precious products brought from as far as South 
Arabia. It may also possibly have belonged to a Minaean trade 
representative living in Elath. This discovery emphasizes the inti- 
mate commercial relationship between Ezion-geber: Elath and Arabia, 
and underlines anew the importance of Ezion-geber: Elath as a 
trade center and seaport, in addition to being an important industrial 
site. Miss Caton-Thompson and her colleagues have recently dis- 
covered some South Arabic inscriptions during the excavation of the 
temple at Hureidha, apparently first built in the fourth century 
B. C.25 They are similar in type to the Minaean characters found 
incised on the jar at Tell el-Kheleifeh. The Hureidha inscriptions 
thus again furnish an approximate date—less definite, to be sure, 
than that obtained from the excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh—upon 
which the history of the South Arabic type of ancient Arabic writing 
can be pegged. The distance between Ezion-geber and Hureidha is 
approximately 1,200 miles, and at least four centuries intervene 
between the South Arabic inscriptions found at the two sites. It be- 
gins to appear, however, that both places were set in one cultural 
pattern, and that Arabia continued into what is today called Trans- 
jordan, and thus in ancient times almost literally abutted the terri- 
tory of Israel. To this day, for instance, the “skyscraper” houses 
of southern Arabia, described in recent books such as Freya Stark’s 
“Southern Gates of Arabia,” linger on in ruined form as far north 
as Ma‘an in southern Transjordan. Ezion-geber: Elath and Hureidha 
are at opposite ends of the great Spice Route. A site at the southern 
end of this great trade route, contemporary with Ezion-geber: Elath, 
is bound to be found. 

In addition to the sea and land trade with Arabia, evidence was 
discovered of trade with Egypt and Sinai. There were found such 
varied objects coming from Sinai or Egypt as carnelian, agate, ame- 
thyst, and crystal beads, cartouche-like seal impressions, a tiny, faience 
amulet head of the god Bes, a Bubastite cat (pl. 7, fig. 2), fragments 
of alabaster cups and plates and buttons, and a part of a scaraboid 
bead. 

To a later phase of the Edomite settlement of Period IV belongs 
a small storeroom near the southeast end of the mound. In it were 
four beautiful jars, three of them as intact, with the exception of a 
crack in one of them, as when they left the potter’s wheel about 2,500 
years ago. One of the jars was partly broken. The mouth of this 
jar had been closed with a heavy stone stopper, and further sealed 


* Caton-Thompson, G., Geology and archaelogy of the Hadhramaut, Southwest Arabia. 
Nature, vol. 142, No. 3586, pp. 139-142, July 23, 1988; A temple in the Hadhramaut. Asia, 
May 1939, p. 299. 


476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


with a clay covering, over which a large curved fragment of pottery 
had been placed. The heavy debris which had fallen on top of the 
jars, when Period IV was destroyed, had resulted in the cracking of 
the jar and the partial crushing of its top by the stone stopper. As 
a result, the obviously valuable contents of the jar had seeped out 
or evaporated. Another one of these storage jars was found to be 
full of resin, as sweet smelling today as it was two and half millennia 
ago. When this jar had been removed from the ground and left 
for a while at a tilted angle in the sun, the resin began to melt and 
flow over the mouth of the jar. It is a matter of speculation for 
what purpose this store of resin may have been intended in Elath. 
Some of the resin may have been used, for instance, in the ship- 
building industry which flourished at Ezion-geber and its successor 
Elath. More of it was used, in all probability, in connection with 
the smelting and refining and metal-manufacturing activities carried 
on so intensively there. 

The settlements of Period IV were destroyed in turn, and a new 
industrial village was built, with its walls, for the most part, on lines 
entirely different from those of the previous ones. Not much of the 
settlement of Period V is left, but it had possibly two phases. Its 
history lasted from about the end of the sixth century or the first part 
of the fifth century B. C. down to the fourth century B. C. To this 
last settlement of Period V belong numerous sherds of Greek pottery 
transported from Athens to Gaza by ship and sent then by camel 
train to the north shore of the Red Sea, and reexported from there 
to Arabia. 

In these Greek jars were contained wines and other products 
shipped to Elath, and thence to Arabia, in return for the incense and 
spices and other wares obtainable there. Aramaic ostraca were found 
in this level during the previous season, belonging to the fifth-fourth 
centuries B. C., and thus in part contemporary with the Attic wares 
found with them. One of the ostraca was a wine receipt (pl. 8, 
fig. 1). Another ostracon consisted of a fragment of an eighth- 
seventh century cooking pot, with profiled rim and loop handle. 
The ink inscription was on the inside surface of the sherd. It made 
a very convenient piece of writing material, because the scribe could 
grasp the handle of the fragment of pottery, while he dipped his 
brush into the vegetable ink and brushed on the letters, many of 
whose lines, unfortunately, are very faint. The inscription is Ara- 
maic, and contemporary with the ostraca previously discovered, 
despite the fact that the sherd itself belongs to an earlier age.”* 


76 Glueck, Nelson, Ostraca from Elath. Bull. Amer. Schools Oriental Res., No. 80, pp. 
3-10, December 1940 ; No. 82, pp. 3-11, April 1941. 


EZION-GEBER—GLUECK 477 


The settlement of Period V was the last one to be built on the 
site. The next one was moved to Aila, near ‘Aqabah, and owes its 
origin to the Nabataeans and its present repute to the Romans, who 
made it the end of the famous highway of Trajan. 

In one of the houses which may be assigned to Period IV was 
found a pottery plaque representing the pregnant Mother-Goddess, 
the goddess of fertility. It was made with conspicuous crudeness, 
and is startingly ugly. It must have been considered crude and ugly 
even when it was first fashioned. Why the potters of Ezion-geber: 
Elath chose to turn out figurines of deities in such ungracious forms, 
when at the same time some of the pottery they produced was of 
exquisite shape with beautiful decoration, is beyond comprehension. 
Was it the desire to reproduce something to which the crudity of the 
elemental was still attached? A figurine of equal ugliness, repre- 
senting the same type of fertility goddess, was found in another room. 
With it was found a tiny cup, in which incense may have been burned. 
It is reasonable to believe that at Ezion-geber : Elath—a junction of the 
great incense routes between Arabia and Egypt and Palestine and 
Syria—this commodity must have been comparatively cheap (pl. 8, 
fig. 2). The favor of the gods must have been sought in clouds of 
sweet-smelling smoke. The piety of the people induced them also, 
when building a new house, to place some sort of a foundation offering 
under one of the walls. These offerings consisted at Elath of pots 
filled with fruits of the ground and fowl of the air and fish of the 
sea. In one instance a number of household utensils were carefully 
placed in a pot and the wall was then built over this foundation 
offering. 

All manner of copper and iron objects were discovered in the 
excavations. They included copper fishhooks, iron gaftheads with 
barbed points, copper arrowheads and spear points, fibulae, frag- 
ments of fine copper dishes and tools, iron hoes and knives (pls. 9, 10, 
and 11, fig. 1). It seems likely that the coppersmiths of Ezion- 
geber : Elath, like their Egyptian contemporaries, possessed the secret 
of tempering copper to such a degree of hardness that it could be 
used for tools and drills. For both fine and coarse work, however, 
stone hammers and drills were also used, in addition to metal tools. 
Fine quartz pebbles were found, obviously brought in from elsewhere, 
which had evidently been used, to judge from their abraded ends, as 
hammers to shape fine metal jewelry. Other hard stones of varying 
sizes and coarseness were notched and grooved, so that a forked 
handle could be tied to them with thongs (pl. 11, fig. 2) Similar 
stone hammers were commonly used, for instance, by the American 
Indians. Stone drills were also found in the excavations, almost 
exactly like those found among the North American Indians. Egyp- 


478 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


tian stone dishes and alabastra, fascinating pottery incense stands | 
and censers, amethyst, agate, carnelian, quartz, and shell beads, and | 
a fragment of a gold earring were among some of the other small | 
finds. 

Much of the material found at Ezion-geber: Elath has a flavor all 
its own, and some of it is distinctly unique. The horn- and ledge- 
handled, hand-made pots, many of them built up on straw mats, are 
without parallel elsewhere. Filled with ore, some of them were 
probably set inside furnaces or crucibles. They could then be drawn 
out by tongs fitted underneath their horn handles, turned upside 
down, and the molten metal in them poured out. A good quantity 
of the fine, painted and burnished ware which has come to be known 
as typical of the Early Iron Age pottery of Edom and Moab, was 
recovered. A peculiar kind of pottery of excellent make was dis- 
covered, with bands of protruding dentilated ornamentation. In 
general, the impression obtained from the three seasons of excava- 
tions is that despite the long control exercised over Ezion-geber: 
Elath by the Judaeans, its population, pottery, and general cultural 
patterns fit in more with the picture of Eastern Palestine, North 
Arabia and Sinai, than with Western Palestine. Edomites, Kenites, 
Kenizzites, and Arabs formed the bulk of the population, among 
which, however, were numbered Phoenicians, Egyptians, Judaeans, 
and in time, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. 

The archeological exploration of northwestern Arabia will un- 
doubtedly reveal sites closely related to Ezion-geber: Elath. A new 
archeological survey of Sinai is also necessary, in the light of the 
discoveries referred to in this article, showing again the intimate 
connections between Sinai and greater Palestine. The Wadi el- 
‘Arabah, the Gulf of ‘Aqabah, and the peninsula of Arabia and Sinai 
are bound to become increasingly more important in the future. The 
copper, iron, gold, and spices of these lands, which were the sources 
of their wealth in ancient times, have been superseded in modern 
times in the same lands by oil. There is oil in the Wadi el-‘Arabah, 
and the sands of Arabia are merely a desert top over a very great 
oil reservoir. Manganese is probably present in the Wadi el-‘Arabah, 
in Sinai, and Midian. The day is not far off when great industrial 
plants, modern versions of that of Ezion-geber: Elath, will dot these 
lands, as in some places they already do, and tremendous caravans 
will again course through their wastes. 

And the everlasting Bedouins, content in the enduring strength of 
their weakness, will pause and wonder at yet another transient phase 
of civilization, over whose ruins, if the experience of the past repeats 
itself, their descendants will some day pitch their rude tents. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 1 


ope S23 = 


Seely 


1. VIEW OF TELL EL-KHELEIFEH, LOOKING NORTHEAST BEFORE BEGINNING OF 
EXCAVATIONS. 


2. LOOKING SOUTHWEST OVER MODERN VILLAGE OF ‘AQABAH AND OVER NORTH- 
WEST END OF GULF OF ‘AQABAH. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 2 


1. EXPEDITION HOUSE IN ‘AQABAH. 


2. SORTING POTTERY AT EZION-GEBER. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 3 


1. EXCAVATIONS AT TELL EL-KHELEIFEH, LOOKING WEST-SOUTHWEST AT NORTH- 
WEST END OF GULF OF ‘AQABAH AND AT HILLS OF SINAI. 


2. REFINERY, EZION-GEBER. 


Outer south wall, showing two rows of flues. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 4 


ped 


1. Foundations of the larger (and inner) of the two outer fortification walls, with the glagis built against it. 
The foundations of the perpendicular main wall were deeper than those of the sloping glacis, which was 
bonded into the main wall about six or seven rows of bricks above its base. 


2. Grave of man who may have been the builder of fortification walls. 


EZION-GEBER. 


“VOOT M00y 41 poyeU ‘(Bag PexY JO UIE Ulojsee) Yequby, JO J[NH pIeMo} 
-BISOp OABY OA “ABALOJVS OG JO OPIS Iso 94} WO MOOIPIeNS 4sIY oy, Joqoy-UoIZy JO ABMOJVS BOS JO SUOIJBpUNO} YSno1y} yINos Suryoo7y 


Nolclcilehicla bY femlel ale NL =r “HLYON WOU XATKIWOD SONVYLNGA *1 


G¢3AaLV1d yenN|H— | $6] “ode ueruosyzwG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 6 


1. SEAL SIGNET RING OF JOTHAM, KING OF JUDAH, AND IMPRESSION OF INSCRIP- 
TION ON SEAL. 


Inscription reads LYTM, ‘“‘belonging to Jotham.”” Underneath the inscription is a ram, with a man (?) 
standing by its head. 


2. TYPE OF FINE JARS OF THIN GREENISH-GRAY WARE WITH QAUSANAL STAMPS 
ON THE HANDLES. 


Such a stamp is visible at the bottom of the handle of the jar on the left. 


"IT HeYsiys ‘Ayseucdp pzz 


“SAWIL O0Ol GADYVINA ‘LAINWY LVYD SLILSVENG NVILdDADZ *2Z “NOILdIMOSN] NVAVNIW HLIM YVF GaYHOLSSY ATILYVd “Ll 


LALV1d WoenN[H—'|p6| ‘oday ueruosyyug 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 8 


1. ARAMAIC OSTRACON FROM FIFTH CENTURY B.C. LEVEL OF TELL EL-KHELEIFEH. 
IT 1S A WINE RECEIPT. (FULL SIZE.) 


2. SEVEN-LIPPED CIL SAUCER LAMP AND POTTERY CENSER 


(Approximately one-third natural size.) 


(‘azis BINYwU J(BYy-u0 AToyBuNIXOIdd y ) 


“1337 SHL NO 33yHL LSYHIA “MOY WOL 
-10@ NI MOOH GNVY ‘34SINM ‘GV3H 3ONV7] NOY! ANY ‘STOOL ‘AavV1NeIA 
GNY ‘SLNIOd 3ONV1 ‘SQVSHMONNY (YaddOD) AZNOYG ‘2 (4addOD) AZNOYURG ANV ONINYVS G10D AO LNAWSVSS 1 


(‘azIs [BINjBU JjBYy-9u0 Ajojeulxoiddy ) 


6 3LV1d *pen|y— | F6l ‘qaoday ueruosyyWig 


Ol 


aLV1d 


(zis [b1njeU Jfey-ou0 Ajoyeutxoiddy ) 
PSEC tlsCeloje) yr 


(‘921s [Binge Jfey-euo Ajojyeuntxoiddy ) 
“SLNAWNYLSN] GNVY SMOOHHSI4 YaddOD *| 


3pen[y— lr6l *yaoday UeIUOSYFIWIG 


(azis [eangeu pilqj-ouo Ajeyeutxoiddy ) (OZIS [BangeU j[By-ou0 A[oyeuIxoIddy ) 


“LHSISM LAN-HSI4 VY A1sVveOud SI HOIHM MOY “SLNAWYNYO ANY SONTY 
GNOOD3S JO GNA LHSIYN LV SNOLS 1d3d9xX9 STI1IYC ANOLS “2 (YaddOD) AZNOUG ANV ‘SHNV1G GVad GNV SLHSOISM SNOLS ‘1 


LL SLVI1Id yon|H—' | p6] ‘Wodey ueruosyywg 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 12 


1. STONE MORTARS AND MILLS OF VARIOUS SIZES FOUND IN ONE ROOM. 


2. SIFTING THE DEBRIS IN A ROOM TO FIND THE SMALLEST OBJECTS IT MIGHT 
CONTAIN. 


“WOOD AANIVLNOD LI] YSLVA SH1L daeay OL WOOY 
“HLV15 WOU YVE GAYMYVW ‘GSATIGNVH-LHOIZ “Z S3H1L AO YOO14 SHLOLNI MHNNS NOILISOd NI GNNO4 Yvr aDYVvI * | 


€1 3LV1d PEN|H—' | pb] ‘WOday UBIUOSy TWIG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Glueck PLATE 14 


“AQABAH, LOOKING NORTHEAST AT MODERN FORT. 


DECIPHERMENT OF THE LINGUISTIC PORTION OF THE 
MAYA HIEROGLYPHS? 


By BensamMin Lee WHorr 


The Maya were the only fully literate people of the aboriginal 
American world. The buildings and monuments of stone that they 
left are covered with their writings—writings of which little has yet 
been read except the dates with which they begin. Moreover, they 
wrote many books and manuscripts, and three such books of fairly 
late period have been preserved. These are the famous three Maya 
codices, and I propose, before the end of this paper, to read a very 
brief extract from one of them, and to show, in a very plain and 
simple way, what the Maya writing system was like, and how its signs 
were put together. 

Included in this writing system is a group of signs and combina- 
tions of signs referring to a special kind of subject matter. These 
are signs denoting numerals, periods of time, and terms of the calen- 
dar, between which mathematical relations exist and the use of 
which constitutes a system of mathematics. The mathematical ref- 
erences of these signs have been determined from these mathematical 
relations that are observed to exist between them, and thus we can 
read the dates and the positions of the solar-lunar calendar that are 
recorded at the beginning of most inscriptions. Besides this mathe- 
matical record, there is the purely linguistic portion of the writings, 
between the parts of which we can observe grammatical or linguistic 
relations, but no mathematical relations. These purely linguistic 
portions are those with which I shall deal. I shall deal, moreover, 
with the writing in the codices, not that of the inscriptions, though 
the inscriptional writing is generally similar to that of the codices. 
It may surprise many to know that in the codices the nonmathe- 
matical, linguistic signs outnumber the mathematical ones by more 
than a hundred to one (not counting repetitions of the same 


1A paper read before the Section on Anthropological Sciences of the Eighth American 
Scientific Congress, Washington, D. C., May 10-18, 1940. Proof of this paper has not been 
read by the author, who died on July 26, 1941. 


479 


480 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


sign). So much for the belief that the Maya writings are mainly 
mathematical. 

When Champollion began the decipherment of Egyptian writing, 
he was in the relatively fortunate position of not having to oppose 
an extensive body of established doctrine holding that the markings 
were not writing but a nonlinguistic symbolism. To be sure there 
were the fantastic speculations of Athanasius Kircher, concerned 
wholly with the religious and mystical symbolism which he read into 
the hieroglyphs, but these were upheld by none of the scholarly dis- 
ciplines and quickly went down before Champollion’s irrefutable 
logic. At that time the philologist and literary scholar reigned 
supreme in the study of ancient cultures. Champollion therefore 
had only to prove the linguistic logic of his results to philologists; 
he needed not to advocate his methods to archeologists, for there were 
none, except philologists. ‘There was not then the specialized separa- 
tion of disciplines which prevails now. At that time philology led 
the way, read inscriptions, and stimulated archeology. 

It is popularly supposed that the success of Champollion’s effort 
was wholly due to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone with its bi- 
lingual inscription, and that there is nothing corresponding to the 
Rosetta Stone in Maya hieroglyphs. Both suppositions are wrong. 
Champollion would have ultimately succeeded without a Rosetta 
Stone, for the inscriptions happened to be in a language that he knew. 
He knew Egyptian, that is Coptic, the late form of the language and 
still essentially the same tongue, which the ancient Egyptians spoke 
and wrote. Just so the Central American writings happen to be in 
a language that it is possible to know. They might have been in a 
dead language, and then the case would indeed be difficult, but for- 
tunately they are in Maya, which is still spoken and can be studied 
from many sources. But how do we know they are in Maya? This 
will be quite clear to a linguistic scholar, who appreciates that if 
texts in an unknown character are in a language that he knows, it is 
likely that he can detect that fact from the the nature and frequency 
of repeated collocations of signs. In addition, the meaning of vari- 
ous clusters of signs in the Maya system is known from tradition 
(e. g., the glyphs of the months) and others from pictures that 
accompany them in the codices. The hieroglyphs record a language 
in which the writings for a certain month and for sitting position 
begin with the same sign, which is the image of a feather. This 
condition is satisfied only by the Maya language, in which the roots 
of these particular words and the root of the word “feather” all begin 
with the same syllable. Again, it is a language in which the writings 
for snake, fish, and a certain time period all begin with the same 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—-WHORF 481 


or with mutually interchangeable signs, a condition also satisfied by 
Maya. It is a language in which the writings for honeybee, earth, 
and the name of a day begin the same, in which “hold in the hand” 
and “nothing” begin the same, in which “spear” and “noose” begin 
with the same sign, which is also found in the clusters that mean 
jaguar, nine, and lunar month, and so on. The evidence mounts 
and becomes at last overwhelming. Not even Cholti or Tzeltal, the 
languages closest to Maya, can satisfy the requirements; only Maya 
can do so. 

There exists also a lesser equivalent of the Rosetta Stone, i. e., the 
preserved names of the ancient months and other calendar terms 
with the sign clusters for writing them, the ways of writing the 
numerals, the 27 characters recorded by Bishop Landa, the sign 
clusters for the cardinal directions, the colors, quite a number of 
animals, and various gods—a collection of odd bits that, when gath- 
ered together, make a not inconsiderable total. Finally there are 
many texts in the codices in which the meaning is almost as plain 
as though a translation ran beside it, because of the detailed pic- 
tures that run parallel with the text and illustrate it. Thus we really 
do have a Maya Rosetta Stone, as well as a knowledge of the lan- 
guage of the texts, so that, given linguistic scholarship like that of 
Champollion, it is perfectly feasible to decipher and translate some 
of the texts now, and eventually all of them. 

But, on the other hand, the linguistic decipherer today has to con- 
tend with the chasm that now exists between American archeology 
and philology. The philological viewpoint, with its scholarly in- 
terest in texts simply as texts, has become rather strange and incom- 
prehensible to modern American archeology, with its high develop- 
ment, along the scientific side, of the logical correlating of strictly 
material evidence, the while its popular side and its financing is 
largely connected with the esthetic interest, and with the interest 
that attaches to concrete human subject matter, particularly that of 
an exotic kind. Now the linguistic and philological interest is to 
be distinguished both from the materially and physically scientific 
interest and from the estheticohuman one; for while it is not en- 
tirely divorced from either, and it cannot live in a vacuum, yet it 
finds its main concern upon a different level, a level of its own. 
The linguistic scholar is interested in a text as the monument of a 
language arrested and preserved at a certain point of time. He is 
not primarily interested in the subject matter of the text, either as 
history, folklore, religion, astronomy, or whatnot, but in its lin- 
guistic form, which to him is the supreme interest of interests. From 
this proceeds his type of objectivity, an earnest that his reading 


482 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


will not be affected by theories concerned with the content of the 
writing. He puts aside content to concentrate on linguistic form. 
He aims to reconstruct the language as it actually was, with its con- 
sonants and vowels in their actual places in words, its paradigms of 
declension and conjugation and its patterns of syntax, thereby add- 
ing a new body of facts to the whole domain of linguistic taxonomy. 
A byproduct of his research is the reading of history and culture, 
but it may be questioned if his discovery of strictly linguistic fact 
in a time perspective is not the more important. The decipherment 
of Hittite has proved to be far more important for the light it has 
thrown on the development of the Indo-European languages than 
for all the accounts of Hittite reigns and conquests. The battles 
and politics of the Hittites are as dead as a nail in Hector’s coffin, 
but their verb forms and pronouns and common words are matters 
of live interest in American universities at this moment, since the 
accurate facts of the Hittite language revealed by careful decipher- 
ment are completely revolutionizing our concepts of Indo-European 
linguistics. This authoritative knowledge of Hittite could not have 
come about if the deciphering scholars had not been linguists who 
had slowly and carefully ascertained, by scholarly methods, with pro- 
found respect for the text as a text, the exact words and grammar, 
conceiving this as their paramount duty. It could not have come 
about if they had conceived their duty as that of reading off a 
sweeping survey of Hittite history and culture, or even as one of 
clothing the dry bones of archeology with the flesh of human nar- 
rative, important as these things are. 

The desiderata for Maya decipherment are no different. Reading 
Maya texts must be a slow, careful investigation of linguistic forms, 
regardless of the interest or lack of interest of their subject matter. 
We must not conceive it our task to read off sweepingly the Maya 
literature for the sake of the information on history, culture, re- 
ligion, or whatever else may be contained in it. The annals of this 
subject are cumbered by such attempts to read off or “interpret” the 
whole corpus of the Maya codices at one fell swoop, from Brasseur 
de Bourbourg to one very recent such an attempt. Such amusements 
proceed from a longing for glamour and quick results, misconceiv- 
ing what is the most valuable thing to be obtained from the results. 
On the other hand much of the work of Cyrus Thomas, and various 
bits of linguistic data pointed out by Morley and others have been 
at least in the right direction—they seem to have understood what 
the problem really is. 

The Maya writing system was a complex but very natural way— 
natural to minds just beginning to exploit the idea of fixing lan- 
guage in visual symbols—of using small picturelike signs to represent 
the sounds of fractions of utterances (usually of a syllable or less m 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 483 


extent), combining these signs so that the combined fractions of 
utterance outlined the total utterance of a word or a sentence. Past 
study of this system has been considerably retarded by needless and 
sterile logomachy over whether the system, or whether any particular 
sign, should be called phonetic or ideographic. From a configura- 
tive linguistic standpoint there is no difference. “Ideographic” is 
an example of the so-called mentalistic terminology, which tells us 
nothing from a linguistic point of view. No kind of writing, no 
matter how crude or primitive, symbolizes ideas divorced from 
linguistic forms of expression. A symbol when standing alone may 
symbolize a “pure idea,” but in order to represent an idea as one 
in a definite sequence of ideas it must become the symbol for a 
linguistic form or some fraction of a linguistic form. All writing 
systems, including the Chinese, symbolize simply linguistic utier- 
ances. As soon as enough symbols for utterances have been assem- 
bled to correspond uniquely to a plainly meaningful sequence (phrase 
or sentence, e. g.) in the language being written, that assembly of 
signs will inevitably convey the meaning of that linguistic sequence to 
the reader native to that language, no matter what each sign may 
symbolize in isolation. Meaning enters into writing, writing of any 
kind, only in this way, and in no other. The meaning of any linear 
or temporal succession of symbols is not the sum of any symbolisms 
or denotations that the symbols may have in isolation, but is the 
meaning of the total linguistic form which that succession suggests. 
Hence the fact that some individual signs look like pictures of the 
things or ideas denoted by the words of the utterance plays no real 
part in the reading; those signs are just as much symbolic, learned, 
and at bottom arbitrary signs for fractions of utterance as any other 
characters or letters. On the other hand, resemblance to an object 
or picture may be really important in decipherment, as a clue to 
how the sign came to be invented, to the logic of its original use, 
and hence to the fraction of utterance, i. e., sound, which answers to 
it in reading—a clue to be tested by how well that proposed fraction, 
or sound, fits into each proposed reading. 

Figure 1 shows 23 symbols selected out of the several hundreds 
found in the whole Maya literature. These particular ones have 
been chosen because they enter into the written words and the codex 
sentence used as examples of decipherment in this paper. The frac- 
tions of utterance to which these signs regularly correspond have 
been identified by comparative evidence—running back ultimately to 
that body of evidence which I have called the Maya Rosetta Stone. 
Signs 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 17, 22, are also given by Landa with the same 
values (1, 7, 12, 17 being slightly altered in form) in his book 
“Relacién de las Cosas de Yucatan,” a first-hand account of the Maya 
shortly after the Conquest. The left-hand column shows in alpha- 

430577—42——32 


484 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Probable Maya Name || NemberSound Symbol Probable Maya Nome 
Object -Source of Object-Source Object-Source of Object-Sourre 
1 ha, h LZ wy scraper haab l 1 @ 9) ) 
pea CU) Conary ‘cepillo, o qualquier 12. Ile € loop. uA le 
instrumento para raspor’ “lazo para cazar’ 
©°) erforations bis d 
oo i ouble loo 
sina = “pequenos aquiereados’ B1Jle GS (No. 12 doubled) = 
points, dots € drinkin Dial 
‘ g-cup(&loop) lu& 
2 e penta’ 14 1,lulo W ‘vaso para beber? 
(A Opening, door grasp of the hand 
4. h ‘abrir como puertas’ 15.m ma ‘asir, tomar con las 
‘ manos, © empuTiar ’ 
haw Pee) (face of chief ahdaw pees e&) ? ? 
: rey 16.men 
letter, book huun nen ly tail ass 
‘ 5 > > 
carta olibro 17. ne Tee Vae 
vU nnn nipples (ofanimal) im no : 
GL uuU ‘teta de mujer y ig Ss. sa (| jwoven work in loom sakal 
es de qualquicr animal’ Cae tela en el telar’ 
: tretched strings’ sin 
pan kat ) = i= Sole 
Jncutiadulen sean 19 Sin SS) Sree eters ay 
armar lazos’ 
no. 8 enlarged and is Tead- crossings $a 
9. he SE doubled CP) 20. §, Sa “encrucijada de camino’ ‘ 
< I ) 
adie tiediBribes \uKalullyesitetvy MEG AeA $i Li eee 
cerrar conCerrad 
1 kag Ca ener emcemuaore, 
face of dog (7) (59M 
Feathe Kuk zz. gs) & ‘perro liso sin pelo’ thainless des? 
r 
. Kum ‘pluma de ave’ E Crescent moon ? u 
23. uU ° “tuna? ‘moon’ 


FicurE 1.—Examples of Maya symbols having phonetic values. 


betic order the fraction of utterance, i. e., sound which regularly ? 
corresponds to the appearance of the sign in a written form. The 
next column to the right shows the usual appearance of the written 
sign, with common variants added in some cases. The list includes 
less than a third of all the signs the phonetic values of which I con- 
sider fairly well established. The column headed “Probable Object- 
Source” names the thing or condition of which the written sign was 
probably at one time a picture. However, these theories as to pic- 
torial origins, while they seem probable and have a substantiating 


2Regularly but not always in the case of all these signs, for polyphony is a prevalent 
trait in Maya writing, as it is also in Sumerian and Akkadian (Babylonian) cuneiform. 
That is, various signs are polyphones, with two or more contrasting sets of sound values, 
besides the slightly differing values within a set, such as either ha or h with vowel lacking 
or indefinite, which slight differences are on another level than the polyphonic contrasts. 
The native reader, able to grasp words as wholes, is not confused by these polyphonic 
values; he knows from the other signs assembled with the one in question just which of 
the polyphonic values applies in a given case, just as the reader of English is not confused 
by the o in women or the olo in colonel, but is governed by the total collocation so that he 
reacts with fractions of utterance entirely unlike those regularly associated with the 
written forms o and olo. Polyphony is therefore the same type of thing as irregular spell- 
ing under an alphabetic system of writing. Thus the Maya sign No. 5 of figure 1 has also 
the value la, 1, as in the writing of the word lak’in, lik’in “east’’; this value may very 
likely derive from the word lJalail “the largest, greatest, principal, chief’’—a near-synonym 
of ahaw. Sign No. 15 occasionally has the value ¢, as in the writing of ¢ik’in “west”; 
this value probably derives from é¢uvk “catch or seize with the hand,” a near-synonym of 
mac, 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—-WHORF 485 


value, are not the evidence for the phonetic values, and their being 
proved wrong would not invalidate the latter nor alter the readings; 
but would merely mean that the origin of the sign was other than | 
have supposed. There are several signs for which I am unable to 
offer any explanation (e.g., No. 16), yet for which the phonetic value 
is reasonably certain. I did not guess the probable object source of 
No. 6 until after I had known its phonetic value for several years. 

The extreme right-hand column shows the Maya word, as given in 
the Motul dictionary,’ for the thing or condition postulated as the 
object source. It will be observed that the initial sound of this Maya 
name of the object (i. e., the first consonant and/or the first con- 
sonant and vowel) is the sound which the sign represents in writing, 
as shown in the left-hand column, except in the case of No. 1, in 
which the initial / is either lost or transposed, yielding a or ah. The 
Spanish entry under the English name of the object source is the 
way in which the Motul dictionary defines the Maya word in the 
extreme right-hand column. 

Figure 1 then should be self-explanatory. The following supple- 
mentary remarks may be added: No. 1 does not occur initially in a 
word. Primary word-initial h in Maya, in becoming secondarily 
word-internal, as when it begins the second member of a compound 
word, tends to be weakened or lost. This explains why a syllable 
originally denoting ha would denote a@ when used only to write non- 
initial fractions of words. No. 6 is especially interesting. Maya has 
simple, unanalyzable words for “write” or “book,” not connected 
with “paint” or “draw” as in Aztec and many other American 
languages. This fact, ceteris paribus, argues for the greater 
antiquity of writing in the Maya culture than in these other cultures. 
Maya missives and books (e. g., the codices) were written on an 
elongated strip of tissue which was then folded up, and when tied 
or clasped would have an appearance not unlike a modern letter 


*The Motul dictionary is an anonymous sixteenth-century work ascribed to Fray 
Antonio de Ciudad Real, and is the most voluminous and authentic source of information 
upon the Maya language at the time of the Conquest. Actually it is not only a dictionary 
but a grammar and a chrestomathy as well, for most of the word citations are accom- 
panied by copious examples of phrases and sentences. The technique of stem-composition in 
Maya of this period is beautifully brought out in these examples; the same is true of 
syntax. The Maya words in fig. 1 are not cited in the conventional Maya orthography 
used in the Motul dictionary, but in the phonetic alphabet used by most present-day lin- 
guists for American Indian languages (the revised American Anthropological Association 
system), except that ¢ is used instead of ¢ for the alveolar affricate (a sound like fs). 
The cedilla has been added to the c to avoid confusion with the ec of Maya orthography 
which represents k. The symbol No. 22 is cited by Landa with the value c; it is unques- 
tionable that he meant Spanish ¢ or the soft sound of c¢, as in the name of the letter “ce,” 
which is very likely what he asked his Maya informant to write. This soft sound of c 
was close to ts in old Spanish, which is why it was equated to the Maya sign for ts, No. 22. 
The sounds ¢ and § are English ch and sh, k’ is a glottalized k; the language has a series 
of such glottalized sounds: p’, t’, c, ¢’, k’. Through some curious omission, the Motul 
dictionary does not actually cite the word ne, “tail,” but this is, of course, a well-known 
Maya word. 


486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


sealed in its envelope, or like No. 6.4 The nipple (ém) sign for ¢ 
appears in the codices usually with three nipples, which leads me to 
think that the teats of a deer or other animal may have been one of 
the original forms; sometimes it appears with two; Landa shows it 
with two, and the sign of the day Ik (2k’) may be based on an original 
human breast form with only one. No. 8 probably represents a kat, 
an earthen, basketry, or wooden pan, tray, or low flat tub, often 
boat-shaped; it was also called a Gem or boat (see Motul, chem licil 
ppo and chem che), and conversely a boat may have been called a 
kat. The comblike lines may be the conventionalization of a fluted 
rim or of projecting basketry withes, or may represent people in a 
kat in the meaning boat. No. 10 is an example of the many perspec- 
tive drawings found in both Maya art and the writing symbols—a 
rounded, flattened pot, basket, or calabash with a #’al, a tied-on or 
clasped lid or cover. The Maya, as is well known, drew in per- 
spective from very early times. No. 11 is a k’uk’im, feather or 
plume, and in this word k’%m was probably felt to be the true initial 
form of the stem and #’u- a reduplication, which may not have been 
historically the case, but which would be felt analogically in a 
language like Maya in which initial reduplication is a derivational 
process in wide use. Nothing as yet is postulated as to the object 
source of 16, a profile head with a sort of parrotlike beak; a sugges- 
tion here would be the parrotlike bird called moan or muan. The 
sign corresponds to the consonantal sequence mn, with any or no 
vowel intervening, and as a day sign denotes the day Men. No. 23 
looks very much like a form of No. 1, but it is always upright and 
placed in front of a sign cluster with its concave side toward the 
cluster, while No. 1 is not placed in front of a cluster and is usually 
horizontal. No. 23 corresponds to initial w of a word or to uw as a 
separate word or as a prefix. 


*As may be inferred from this, I regard the previous theories about what No. 6 repre- 
sents, one of which calls it a kernel of maize (to which it has no resemblance), as fanciful. 
The fact that in some Maya pictures corn plants may sprout from characters of writing, 
and characters may take part in the scenes like persons or objects, is secondary symbolism, 
not the original logic from which the character arose. All this elaborate secondary sym- 
bolism, perhaps religious and magical in large degree, has nothing whatever to do with 
the reading of the characters in their capacity of symbols of writing, any more than the 
elaborate symbolism and numerology that grew up around the Hebrew letters in rabbinical 
tradition affects the reading of the Hebrew texts by one jot. This secondary symbolism 
may eventually become a matter of philological literary study, wherein it will very likely 
prove important. At present, and from a linguistic standpoint, clearing away all this sort 
of symbolism iis essential to understanding the proper symbolism and function of the Maya 
signs in writing. The use of No. 6 to denote the day Kan is a writing of the original name 
of the day Hu—i. e., lizard, iguana (cf. Aztec Cuetzpalin, lizard, for the same day). All 
the original names of the days, except for Ik, Cimi, Caban, and perhaps Manik, Cauac, and 
Eznab, and one or two more, became changed under the Maya culture subsequently to the 
establishment of the writing system. Some of the days continued to be represented by the 
initial letter or character of their original names, much as we write “Ib.” for “libra,” but 
read it “pound.” The voluminous speculations of Seler concerning the day symbols are to 
be taken with a great deal of caution, if they are not indeed stumbling blocks of the worst 
kind. 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 487 


Figure 2 shows the writing of six words occurring in the codices.® 
The sign clusters or glyphs of various animals, originally determined 
by Schellhas from their concurrence with pictures, have long been 
Iknown.® No. 1 is cited by Schellhas as the glyph meaning snake. 
It will be noted that it consists of No. 8 of figure 1, ka, and No. 17, 
nm, and a third symbol. This third symbol and the iguana figure in 
the next glyph of figure 2 are the only symbols cited in this paper 
which are not found in figure 1. The first two symbols spell kan, 
which is the Maya word for snake. The third symbol is probably 


¥e kkumhu 


name of a month 


4. 4 { 5 G. . " 
loman le “noose', and lesinah catch 


ulin strung noose-trap” 


“stabbed, speared "| “catch im noose-trap 


C3 


lu-m-ma-n le-e or l-e le-e-Sin-a 


. (eas ’ 
“signo de cacerfa signo de cacer’a | le “coger por fazo' 


por medio de 


+ " 
flecha y lanza eee igs iar 


: a ) 
” sim ‘armar lazos' 


FIGURE 2.—Maya Sign clusters representing words. 


derived from a picture of a rattlesnake’s rattles, intended to evoke 
the linguistic response “snake,” i. e., kan, and has itself the value kan. 
However, it is apparently insufficient by itself to write the word kan. 
Tt was not unusual in the Maya system to write a word of one syllable 
simply by one sign having the value of that syllable, probably be- 
cause that sign often was polyphonic, having other values. Instead, 
the Maya method was to suggest the syllable by a combination of 
signs that was probably, to Maya speakers acquainted with the con- 
ventions of the writing, unambiguous. This combination of signs 


5In an unpublished paper read before the annual meeting of the American Anthropolosgi- 
eal Association at Washington, D. C., in December 1936, entitled “A Comparative De- 
cipherment of Forty-Six Maya Written Words,” I exhibited 46 word-writings similarly 
analyzed, including hu and kumhwu of the present six. 

° Paul Schellhas, Gittergestalten der Mayahandschriften, 1897, 


488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


could be made according to two principles: (1) synthetically, build- 
ing the syllable from signs to be understood as fractions of the sylla- 
ble, which together made the whole syllable; (2) by repeated affirma- 
tion, that is, by combining, in the sense of repeating, different ways 
of denoting the whole syllable. A word of one syllable, or often a 
syllable within a longer word, could be written by either method, 
or by both together, as in the case of this writing of the word kan. 
The signs ka and n build the word synthetically, the sign kan repeats 
it; we have double writing, but only single reading. It is as if the 
writing said “my first is ka, my second is n, my whole is one of the 
values of the snake-rattle sign, and so must be kan.” The combina- 
tion is, by sum of all its parts, ka-n-kan, but we may use the con- 
vention of transliteration ka-n-*™ to show that the final kan is a 
doubling in the writing only, not in the reading. 

No. 2, figure 2, is the sign cluster meaning iguana, or large lizard, 
a meaning which is quite obvious since it accompanies plain pictures 
of that animal, besides containing such a picture itself. But this 
one picturelike sign, no matter how much it may look like the animal, 
is not sufficient by itself to write the word meaning iguana. The 
Maya system, as already noted, requires combination with at least 
one other sign before we can have a unit of writing, capable of 
standing alone. The exceptions to this rule form a very restricted 
list indeed, the most important ones being the 20-day signs, which 
are single elements enlarged to the size of a full cluster and capable 
of standing alone. The month glyphs and calendric and math- 
ematical glyphs in general conform quite to the rule, being clusters 
of signs. No. 2 writes the one-syllable word hu “iguana” entirely 
by the method of repeated affirmation, using the ordinary sign for 
hu, No. 6 of figure 1, topped by an iguana figure, which of course 
has the linguistic value of the animal’s name. Here the formula 
which we use in transliterating is hu-hu, to be read or pronounced, 
of course, as “hi.” 

No. 8 writes the word kumhu, the name of a Maya month, entirely 
by the synthetic method. It is the well-known glyph of this month 
Cumhu as found in the codices. It uses the feather sign kum, No. 11 
of figure 1, plus hw, No. 6, so we transliterate kKwm-hu. Some other 
words of the codices using the sign kum, No. 11 of figure 1, are 
kumah, the stem “sit” with transitive suffix meaning “seats” or “car- 
ries seated,” and kuwmag, another word meaning snake (cf. Quiche 
kumag “snake”). Although we are still somewhat in doubt as to the 
values of the vowels in these words, the general phonetic contour is 
interestingly confirmed by the fact that the codices write kwmah 
not only as kum-ma (with 11 and 15) but also write it as kw-m-a, 
while Landa cites a way of writing the month Cumhu which is the 
cluster of kw-m-hw; in both of which writings kw and m are signs 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 489 


not included in figure 1 (but confirmed by other evidence) while a 
is 1 and Aw is 5 of figure 1. 

No. 4 of figure 2 occurs in texts of the Codex Tro-Cortesianus 
dealing with hunting and illustrated with hunting pictures. It is 
obviously a sign cluster or word referring to animals killed by 
spears or arrows, and the commentary in the Villacorta edition’ of 
the Tro-Cortesianus calls it “signo de caceria por medio de fiecha y 
lanza.” It is a writing composed synthetically with doubling of 
one subsyllabic sign. At the top is the cup-and-loop sign lw, lo, No. 
14 of figure 1, written within the outlines of No. 15, m, ma, which is 
doubled, the lower member of the doubled pair enclosing the tail sign 
n, No. 17 of figure 1. When we find doubled a sign which according 
to the total set-up is probably to be interpreted as a syllabic con- 
firmed by a subsyllabic, we may transliterate without using the con- 
vention of writing a superscript, using instead a convention that 
permits of possible interpretation as a long consonant or vowel, e. g., 
in this case not ma-ma but m-ma. No. 4 is then transliterated 
lu-m-ma-n or lo-m-ma-n, which is a word meaning exactly what the 
accompaniment of pictured scenes tells us. It is the passive par- 
ticipial inflection in -an of the stem dom, which means a spearing 
or stabbing thrust or blow, and by extension a spear, while with the 
verbal inflection it denotes the occurrence of a spearing action. The 
Motul dictionary gives “Jom: tiro de lanza, o dardo, y cosas assi, 
y estocada, o pufialada.” This stem with the transitive verbal in- 
flection is given by the Motul as “lomah, ob: fisgar, o harponear, dar 
estocada o pufalada, alancear y aguijonear,” this citation being fol- 
lowed by that of the passive participial form, “/omdn: cosa que esta 
assi fisgada.” Hence this word loman written in the hieroglyphs of 
the Maya text means speared, stabbed; pierced, wounded or killed 
by a spear, arrow, etc. 

No. 5 of figure 2 is synthetic with doubling of the inherent vowel 
of one sign. It is common in the hunting section of the Codex Tro- 
Cortesianus, and is obviously the word denoting catching of animals 
by a noose or lasso, or in a noose snare—a trap consisting of a noose 
set to spring by a stretched rope triggered and attached to a small 
bent-down tree so that when the animal steps in the noose and 
releases the trigger the tree springs back, drawing the slipknot of the 
noose and catching the animal. The glyph or sign cluster No. 5 
accompanies pictures of this operation, e. g., Tro-Cortesianus 42c. 
Villacorta calls it “signo de caceria por trampa.” It consists of the 
double loop or knot sign 7, le, No. 13 of figure 1, and the dot sign e, 
No. 3 of figure 1, and is to be transliterated Je-e and read Je “loop. 
noose, slipknot, noose trap or snare,” Motul “Je: lazo para cazar y 


7J. Antonio Villacorta C. and Carlos A. Villacorta, Cdédices Mayas, published in 
Arqueologia Guatemalteca, 1932. 


490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


pescar, y pescar con lazo,” with the verbal inflection, e. g., leah mean- 
ing catch or trap with noose snare, for which the Motul gives the 
participial “Jean: cosa enlazada o cogida en lazo.” Here again we 
see the principle that a sign is inadequate by itself, in that No. 18, 
though itself derived from the picture of a slipknot or noose le and 
denoting the sound fraction le, is not sufficient alone to write the 
monosyllabic word having this sound, i. e., Je “noose,” but is subject 
to the rule that a sign must be combined with another and cannot 
stand alone. Here it has its inherent vowel reaffirmed by attachment 
of the sign e. Hence there is a mixture of the synthetic and the 
repeated affirmation principles in sign clusters or glyphs of this type. 
We also find the verbally inflected form leah “catch with noose,” 
written le-e-a, with No. 1 of figure 1 for a. Cyrus Thomas correctly 
analyzed the Je-e cluster, I believe, though I worked it out without 
referring to his work. A number of Thomas’s readings are undoubt- 
edly correct. 

In No. 6, figure 2, we have one of the polysynthetic words common 
in Maya, in which two stems are compounded and suffixes attached. 
It is illustrated in Tro-Cortesianus, page 46, by three pictures show- 
ing vividly in successive stages of action a deer caught and jerked 
upward by the spring of the bent tree to which the noose of the trap 
is attached. It is written Je-e-sin-a (or -ah), with signs 12, 3, 19, and 
1 of figure 1, and is to be read lesinah. This word is typical of a 
common kind of Maya compound, consisting of two stems with the 
verbal inflection suffixed after the second. The stems are le, already 
defined, and sin “stretch or string tightly (as cloth, hides, or cords 
are stretched on a frame), draw taut, string with stretched cords, 
string up, string or rig a noose trap or the like to spring when 
released, etc.” The Motul gives “zin (i. e., stn): estender pafios o 
cueros y colgar estendiendo o tender desarrugando; armar lazos; 
armar arco o ballesta.” Such a compound usually has the following 
type of meaning: designating the two stems as X and Y, a compound 
X-Y-ah or X-Y-t-ah*® means do X by means of Y, transitively, or to 
an object. Thus, since Ze-ah means catch in a noose, we can form 
freely words such as /e-k’ab-ah (or more modern le-k’ab-t-ah) “catch 
in a noose by action of the hand” (#’ab “hand”), le-k’as-ah “catch in 
a noose by a tying action,” and so on. Our word le-sin-ah then 
means catch in a noose by the action sin or catch in a noose by tight 
stretching, catch by the spring of a tautly strung noose trap.® 


8 The form with the suffix -t- before the suffix -ah is the common form in Maya of the Motul 
dictionary for binary compounds of this type. 

®° We find in the codices other compounds of this type, including some others with sin 
as second member; thus in the Tro-Cortesianus (e. g., 41a) the picture of a deer trussed up 
in a bundle, legs folded up, with cords lashed around it, is accompanied by the sign cluster 
ma-sin-a (with Landa’s ma sign), to be read probably massinah, assimilated from matinah 
compound of stems maé and sin), meaning clasp together (like a clasped fist) by pulling 
and tension, by tight stringing, by tightly drawn cords. 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—-WHORF 


Ficure 3.—Page 88 of the Codex Tro-Cortesianus. 


49] 


492 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Now, having noted the reading of a few individual words, let us 
read a short sentence written in Maya hieroglyphs. Figure 3 shows 
page 88 of the Codex Tro-Cortesianus, and the sentence thereon to 
be examined in particular is that made by the four sign clusters or 
glyphs over the second seated figure in section b, the middle of the 
three horizontal divisions of the page. Figure 4 shows this sentence 
written on one line, analyzed, transliterated, and translated. As can 
easily be observed from figure 3, the texts which comment on the 
pictures, or to put it the other way, which are illustrated by the 
pictures, are placed over the pictures reading from right to left 
across the width of the picture and then on the line below similarly ; 
or they run vertically downward in the cases where there is no pic- 
ture. This order is easily demonstrated from the parallelism of the 
writing; we have here plainly a repetition of very similar short sen- 
tences or clauses. Thus, if we give a letter to each cluster or glyph 
which is the same, the middle-section text over the first or left-hand 
picture runs A—B, and then on the line below C-D, next to the right 
running straight downward we have A-B—E-F, then over the next 
picture A—B-C-D again, then downward again A-B-G-H. The 
texts of the top and bottom sections can be seen to run in the same 
manner, which indeed is general throughout the codices. The texts 
would seem to be in a style which is common enough in aboriginal 
American songs, chants, and ceremonies; sets of phrases containing 
a constant element repeated throughout a set, as when each line of 
a song stanza begins the same way but then introduces a certain dif- 
ference. Thus the text which we have just examined consists of 
lines each beginning A-B and then becoming different. Navaho 
chants are of course typical cases of this sort of thing. In the top 
section, dealing, as the pictures show, with hunting by means of the 
spear, each clause begins with the word Joman “speared” that we 
have already studied. We shall not however pause to analyze this 
top section in detail, since the limits of this paper do not allow it. 

The middle and bottom sections are very similar to each other, 
though not identical, and deal with drilling, as can be seen from the 
pictures. The pictures of the middle section show the using of the 
drill to make fire, the bottom set show the drilling of an object which 
appears to be a stone. Each clause in each section begins with the 
word for drilling or drill, as is evident not only from comparison 
with these pictures, but also from one of the other Maya books, the 
Dresden Codex, in which the same sign cluster accompanies pictures 
of drilling. This cluster, A, occupies first position, which is the 
regular position of the predicating word of a clause in Maya of the 
sixteenth century (if not also today) as shown by the hundreds of 
short simple sentences in the Motul dictionary. This predicator 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 493 


need not be a formal verb in Maya grammar (though it most often 
is), but it is what corresponds to the predicate in an English trans- 
lation. The final two words of each clause, C, D, * * * ete., 
are the well-known name glyphs of the Maya gods. They are the 
names of the persons shown in the pictures, as has long been known, 
and consequently they are undoubtedly the grammatical subjects of 
the clauses. The second cluster of each clause may be called B, in 
the middle section, B, in the bottom section, to indicate that it is the 
same throughout each section but differs between the two sections. 


Fea Ge! 


$Fanscription in\ H is ured wie 09 (=e) 


transliteration wh- $-e-Sa u - to- kak i-¢-mn-a Ka- haw 


reconstruction NaSesah u tok - Kak igamna ka ahaw. 

translation ane by] his burning-fire Itzamna our lord. 
drilling 

traditional 

Maya 

orthography 


haxezah vu tooc kak Itzamna ca ahau 


stems: hag ‘drill’ “taladrar o 
vocabulary! agujerear taladrando’ 
of the hag Kak ‘encender lumbre 
text frotando un palo con otro’ 
tok ‘burn’ ‘quemar’ 
Kak ‘fire’ ‘fuego o lumbre 
igamna name of a god 
ahaw ‘lord’ ‘rey, © gran senor 
u this’ ka ‘our? -@S- causative : : 
-ah transitive, non-future illustration 


3 


Figure 4.—Analysis of a Maya sentence taken from page 38 of the Codex Tro- 
Cortesianus. 


By elimination and by position after the predicator it should indicate 
the grammatical object and/or result of the verb action, which agrees 
with the fact that the drilling is pictured with different objects and 
results in the two sections. Thus we have, as a first schematization: 

A, predicator or verb (drilling) 

Bi, B,, object and/or result (fire, stone) 

C,D, * * * etc. subject (names of gods or persons) 

Figure 4 is a detailed exposition of the sentence over the second 
picture of the middle section, which shows the Roman-nosed god of 
the codices, or god D, making fire with a drill. The top line is a 
copy of the text, arranged from left to right on one line, instead of 
on two lines as in the original. This line, like the original text, is 


494 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


in glyphic script, the form of writing used in the codices. It closely 
resembles the monumental glyphic style of the stone inscriptions, but 
is less ornate and has more rounded outlines. In both these styles 
the signs in a cluster are gathered into a tight bunch or cartouche, in 
which they are grouped in two dimensions and there is only a vestige 
of linear order in that the front or extreme left-hand part of a cluster 
never stands for the last part of a word and similarly for the rear 
or right-hand part, which never stands for the beginning of a word. 
The signs in a cluster are usually in contact and often fused together 
or enveloped in the same flowing outline; they may be attached to 
the top or bottom of a central sign or they may be one within an- 
other, i. e., one sign may serve as the frame or ground of another. 
In short, the putting together of signs is more like that of a heraldic 
device than like our kind of writing.? But the reading of the signs 
is exactly as if they were written in linear order, although this order 
must be learned separately for each glyph and hence requires a 
separate and often prolonged study of each by the decipherer. 

The second line from the top in figure 4 shows the signs which 
compose each cluster regrouped in one-dimensional linear order. 
Such an arrangement I call open transcription or linear script, and 
there is some evidence that the Maya actually used such a form of 
script, though not in the inscriptions or in the codices that happen to 
have been preserved. Landa cites instances of the utterances “ma in 
kati” and “elele” written by a native informant in this manner,” 
the signs delineated consecutively from left to right and either close 
together or actually touching. It seems not unlikely that such a 
linear script may have been used by the later Maya for convenience 
in ordinary purposes, as the Egyptians used demotic, while the 
glyphic script would have been regarded as more hieratic and orna- 
mental and used for important books, priestly writings, and inscrip- 
tions. Be that as it may, conversion of a passage of glyphic into 
open transcription is a device which is often helpful to the decipherer. 
It will be noted that all the signs in this passage are given in figure 
1, so that from this line of open transcription the whole utterance 


1°Tt should be pointed out that even in our kind of writing, i. e., the alphabetic kind, 
linear order of signs is not quite absolute in many systems, which contain vestiges of an 
older two-dimensional way of grouping. Thus in the writing of pointed Arabic, pointed 
Hebrew, and Pitman shorthand, the vowel points are grouped two-dimensionally with the 
consonantal signs, not written consecutively with them in the order of actual utterance. 
In the Devanagari alphabet the vowel signs are fused two-dimensionally with the con- 
sonant signs, and the vowel 4 to be uttered after a consonant is actually attached in front 
of that consonant. Our own wh is similarly written backward, being actually hw—a 
special cluster of signs that retains an unusual order of positions. Some monograms and 
modern advertising placards also use two-dimensional groupings of letters. 

11 Diego de Landa, Relacién de las Cosas de Yucatan. The first phrase means “I do not 
want.” The second utterance is gibberish from the Maya standpoint, but judging from the 
eontext it evidently represents the informant’s attempt to comply with a request to 
“write L-H, ‘le’.” 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 495 


can be read off in rough outline, as shown in the third line or trans- 
literation. Since many of the signs can be indefinite as to vocalic 
timbre, even when they imply a preferred inherent vowel, the vowels 
of the utterance are here and there doubtful, although the indication 
of definite vowels is generally much better than in Egyptian or 
unpointed Hebrew. To a certain extent, but by no means wholly, the 
transliteration of vowels is based on sixteenth-century Maya, which 
can hardly have changed radically in this respect since the period 
of the codices probably not very many centuries earlier; and it is also 
based partly on comparative evidence from other Mayan dialects, a 
field of research which must of course go hand in hand with scholarly 
and philological reading of the codices. But it must also be empha- 
sized that the text itself contains unmistakable reference to many of 
its vowels; thus the signs a, e, 27, wu of figure 1 are unambiguous in 
their indication of vowels, though the position of the vowel in the 
word may not always be clear. ‘Thus we arrive at the transliteration, 
namely: 
h-&-e-sa u-to-kak 7-¢-mn-a k-ka-hao 


The position of the e in the first word is not wholly clear, since 
this e is written inside both the / and the s signs; and another pos- 
sible transliteration is h-e-s-sa or he-e-s-sa, to be read either hesesah 
or hessah, which would indicate that the stem which means drilling, 
which is Aas in sixteenth-century Maya, was pronounced more nearly 
hes in the dialect of the codices. At present more evidence would be 
needed to confirm this, and the reading hasesah seems preferable, the 
vowel a not being indicated in the writing but a reasonable recon- 
struction from Maya linguistic evidence. 

Under the transliteration is a reconstruction of the original sentence 
in the light of Maya linguistics, written in the usual Americanist 
phonetic system, and below the translation of this is a repetition of 
the reconstruction written in the traditional Maya orthography. This 
is included in order that Maya students may see the sentence written 
in the way most familiar to them; though the use of this traditional 
spelling for linguistic purposes is not to be recommended and im- 
poses a handicap; indeed may breed quite misleading notions in the 
minds of students. Thus we have for the reconstruction: 

Phonetic___ hasesah u-tok-k’ak’ icamma ka-ahaw 
Traditional____ haxezah u tooc kak Itzamna ca ahau 

Under the phonetic transcription is the literal translation: “makes 
(or made) by drilling his burning-fire Itzmna our lord,” or in 
smoother English: “Our lord Itzamna kindles (kindled) his fire 

with a drill.” 

The first word is a derivative of the stem has meaning twisting or 
rolling between the palms, drilling, and with the verbal inflection, 


496 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


twist between the palms, work a drill, bore, drill. The Motul has 
“hax, ah, ab (i. e. has, hasah, hasab): torcer con la palma o palmas 
de las manos y hazer tomiza, o cordel assi, y lo assi torcido” and again 
“haws: taladrar o agujerar taladrando y la cosa taladrada o agujerada 
assi.” This stem is the only word for drilling in Maya that I know 
of, so the case is particularly convincing. The word for a drill, the 
instrument, is hasab; we do not have it in this codex, but rather the 
verbal inflection. The suflix -es, -s (followed by -ah) of the verbal 
inflection is causative, similar in meaning to the suffix -bes; Y-es-ah 
means puts (put) it (grammatical object) into the condition X, or 
else, cause (caused) it to exist by the condition or action X, makes 
(made) it by X-ing, by doing X. The second type of causative 
meaning is that which fits the present case. The suffix -ah denotes 
transitive action already accomplished, in contrast with -2k, transitive 
action not accomplished or not finished, either future or continuing 
in the present. Thus Aasesah means makes (made) it by drilling. 

Makes what by drilling? According to our scheme above, that 
which is denoted by the next sign cluster, B,. In the bottom section 
of the same page the corresponding cluster B, denotes the stone or 
stone object being drilled. In that case “makes by drilling” of course 
does not mean create the object wholly by drilling, but rather perform 
that step in the manufacture of the object that requires drilling. 
Hence in that case there is merely a subtle shade of difference between 
hasesah and hasah “drills it.” To digress a little, cluster B, is prob- 
ably to be read e-7-7-2: e, dots, here many instead of three, 7 of three 
nipples, and a form of double-loop 72 doubled by scratches (laé) 
between the loops. The word edd could mean edge-tool, i. e., weapon- 
point, knife, ete. Such points or knives were of course predominantly 
of stone among the Maya, and were no doubt sometimes drilled. 

Returning to the middle-section text; here “hasesah B,” means 
makes B, by drilling, actually in the sense of “causes” or “creates,” 
since B, evidently denotes fire. This fits in well with the expression 
cited by the Motul for making fire with the firedrill: hasah k’ ak’ 
(Wak? “fire”), which uses the simpler or less inflected form hasah 
rather than hasesah. The Motul gives “haw kak (i. e., has-[ah] 
k? ak’): encender lumbre casando fuego frotando un palo con otro,” 
also “haxab kak (hasab k’ ak? ‘drill for fire’): artificio o recaudo con 
que sacan fuego los indios.” 

The cluster B, is analyzed as u-to-kak, consisting of sign No. 23 
of figure 1, uw, sign No. 21, to, tw (to be read here to), and No. 9 of 
figure 1, which if it is a doubled and enlarged ka (No. 8) might be 
read kaka, kak, or simply ka. Here the reading kak fits exactly. 
The initial w here would denote the preposed third-person pronominal 
reference vu. For our present purposes it is immaterial whether this 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 497 


be regarded as a prefix or a separate word always occurring immedi- 
ately before nonpronominal stems. Owing wholly to the grammatical 
patterns of English (and other European languages), it must be 
translated as he (she, it, they) if the following stem is translated as 
an English verb, but as his (her, its, their) if that stem is translated 
as an English noun. From the Maya standpoint it denotes the same 
relationship at all times; Maya stems are neither nouns nor verbs 
in the English sense, but a single class delimited on a quite different 
basis from our parts of speech. The stem with which this w is in 
construction is what is written as to-kak in the rest of the cluster. 

The writing to-kak however is only approximately phonetic, as 
with Maya writing in general; it suggests only in rough outline the 
sound of the utterance, from which suggestion the reader is expected 
to infer the right Maya word; the Maya application of phonetics in 
writing had progressed no farther than this, as we have already seen. 
Now the word that is apparently indicated is not what a modern 
Americanist phonetician understands by the transcription tokak, 
but rather what he would transcribe as to;kh’ ak’. This is a compound 
word, to k-k? ak’, consisting of the stems to & “burn, burning, ignition” 
(o denotes long 0) and X’ ak’ “fire.” The Motul gives these as “tooe (1. 
e., to *k): quemar, abrazar, y cosa quemada” and “kak (i. e., k? ak’): 
fuego, o lumbre.” Note that the Maya way of writing to: kk’ ak” 
does not distinguish the glottalized palatal stop %’ at the end of k? ak’ 
from the corresponding unglottalized stop & at the end of to: &, nor 
does it distinguish the sequence of the two, £#’ from either one singly 
nor the long vowel o from a short 0. This is all part and parcel of the 
approximate and outlinelike character of the phoneticism, implicit 
rather than clearly conscious phoneticism, which Maya scribes em- 
ployed. There is a phonemic difference between the simple and the 
glottalized stops in Maya but it is a minimal difference. The writing 
used the same symbol for both a simple stop and the homorganic 
glottalized stop; instances of this are numerous. This does not mean 
that these were not distinct sounds in the Maya dialect of the codices. 
It is almost a certainty that they were distinct, just as they are in 
all modern dialects of Maya. They were not distinguished in writing 
probably in the same way that minimally-differing phonemes (e. g., 
the long and short vowels of Latin) are often not distinguished in 
a writing system, because the native reader can always tell from the 
context which sound to supply. And this condition is no more than 
we meet, to varying degree, in all systems of writing other than those 
devised by linguistic scientists for the express purpose of an accuracy 
going beyond the needs of simple communication. 

The expression w-to :k-k’ak’ may be translated “his burning fire,” 
or probably better “his kindling fire, his igniting of fire.” It follows 


498 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


a type of Maya two-stem compound, probably the same type as 
already explained, though the idea of “by means of” here need not 
be injected into the translation. We now have attained to transla- 
tion of the whole predicate: “(he) causes by drilling his ignition of 
fire; and it is evident that this expression ha esah u-to*k-k’ak is but 
a more elaborate form of the hasah k’ak’ cited by the Motul diction- 
ary as the way of saying that one starts fire with a fire drill; it 
follows the same basic pattern. 

I might here digress briefly, anticipating a misconceived objection 
that might be raised, to say that the sign cluster to-kak sometimes 
occurs in the codices where there is no pictured reference to fire, and 
seems in these cases to refer to an animal in a hunting scene. An 
instance of this is seen in figure 8, top section, over the second pic- 
ture, where occurs the cluster to-kak-a, with -a of No. 1, figure 1, and 
without preceding w-, forming part of a sentence roughly analyzeable 
as loman u-NORTH tokaka X “speared (in) his north (is) (gram- 
mat. object)—X.” I shall suggest first, but not in seriousness, a type 
of explanation that overstresses the mentalistic approach. I shall 
suggest that the reason why this glyph accompanies both pictures 
of fire and pictures of a hunted animal is that it is a glyph which 
denotes sacrifice or a sacrifice, hence either a sacrificial fire or a 
sacrificial animal. Now apparently just this sort of explanation, 
with its thin veneer of ethnological allusion, sounds plausible to 
some minds that have engaged themselves with Maya hieroglyphs, 
and it is necessary to warn against it. This is why no people but 
linguists should touch the hieroglyphs. In the present case of 
course, the explanation is an out-and-out concoction of my own, 
cooked up in a few seconds merely to illustrate a point. A trained 
linguist would, I believe, be inclined to ask, “Have you searched for 
an explanation in the configurations of utterances and in the data 
of the vocabulary, before adopting this quite speculative hypothesis?” 
The real reason is no doubt that besides the stem to'k “burn” Maya 
has the similar sounding stem tok (with nonlong o) “take away, take 
by force, capture, carry off,” etc. The Motul has “toc, ah, 0b (i. e., 
tok): quitar, tomar por fuerza, privar, arrebatar, robar y usurpar 
casas, y cosas muebles.” The sign cluster to-kak in this case is not 
being used to write the compound word to°k-k’ak’ but to write some 
similarly-sounding derivative or inflection of the stem tok, and the 
word probably means prey, animal taken or carried off, catch, game. 
Possibly the word contains tok and the repetitive plural suffix 
-ak, hence “(successive) catches of game.” The context is enough 
to distinguish this word from the similarly-written word pertain- 
ing to fire. 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 499 


The next sign cluster, 7-¢-mn-a, writing the word igamna “Itzamna, 
name of the leading Maya god, the Roman-nosed god of the codices,” 
is very important because it is the first proper name written in Maya 
hieroglyphs to be deciphered. Proper names and especially per- 
sonal names have a peculiar convincingness in the decipherment of 
any script. They are ideal tools for decipherment when they can be 
had. When a decipherer can with the aid of his system spell out 
some well-known proper name which should occur in his text, he 
knows that he is on the right track. It will be remembered that it 
was the names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra in an inscription that gave 
Champollion his most effective clues, and similarly it was the names 
of Xerxes and Darius in the Behistun inscription that afforded Raw- 
linson his starting point for the decipherment of cuneiform. It has 
long been agreed that the Roman-nosed god of the codex pictures, 
or god D, corresponds in characters to the one traditionally known as 
Itzamna. His glyph is always written in this way. If we knew 
more of the ancient names of the gods our progress in decipher- 
ment would be materially aided. Unfortunately the god Kukulcan, 
who appears so frequently in the codices, evidently is not called by 
that name in the codices, or else if he is called by that name it is 
written by a unitary word sign. 

The next cluster, k-ka-haw, representing the pronunciation kahaw, 
is to be reconstructed ka-ahaw “our lord,” “our master,” “our king.” 
This was the characteristic epithet of Itzamna as the Maya Zeus. In 
the Chilam Balam of Chumayel and also that of Tizimin, this god is 
referred to and called Jtzamna kavil. Here “kavil” equals in the 
Americanist phonetic system, k’awil, from kahawil (glottalization 
arising from loss of -ah-) from ka-ahawil, which has the same mean- 
ing as ka-ahaw. Thus this decipherment may be likened to Rawlin- 
son’s recognition of “king, great king, king of kings” after the name 
of Xerxes. The Motul defines ahaw as “ahau (ahaw) : rey o empera- 
dor, monarca, principe o gran sefior.” The preposed pronominal 
ka (traditional spelling ca) is the second person plural governing 
the following word, the translation of the relationship being pos- 
sessive when that word is translated as a noun, subject when it is 
translated by a verb. Here of course the translation is “our.” The 
cluster k-ka-haw “our lord” is an almost invariable accompaniment 
of the name Itzamna in the codices; rarely it is omitted, and rarely 
it occurs with the names of other gods. Occasionally also with 
names of gods we find the simple epithet ahaw “lord,” written a-hw, 
with an a sign not listed in this paper but cited in slightly variant 
form by Landa, and with No. 6 of figure 1 for hw. In accordance 
with the general principle of Maya writing that signs may not be 

4305774233 


500 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


used in isolation, except as day signs, the word ahaw is not written 
with sign No. 5 (Aaw) alone, except when it means the day Ahau. 

Thus we arrive at our final translation: “Our lord Itzamna kindles 
his fire by drilling.” 

The importance of this decipherment and translation is quite inde- 
pendent of the interest or lack of interest of the subject matter. As 
far as concerns the information which this translation gives us about 

the Maya, or about its own subject matter, it is quite trivial; it is no 
- more than we could have gathered from the pictures alone. Its im- 
portance is linguistic and philological—linguistic because it gives 
information about the structure of a language, as far as the writing 
can express it, at a certain period of past time, philological because 
it is precedent to the study of a literature and of culture as reflected 
in this literature, at a period of past time and in a historical context 
and perspective. From this one short sentence can be gathered a host 
of linguistic and philological data, only a small fraction of which 
has been discussed in this paper, data which can be tested and cor- 
related, and employed heuristically in further investigations, of 
progressive difficulty. A very few of these further ramifications of 
this sentence are barely hinted at in the footnotes, which the 
exigencies of space have kept relatively brief. Each such footnote 
actually represents an extensive study. In this way the decipher- 
ment establishes itself upon a constantly growing enlacement of sen- 
tences, their translations controlled by sets of pictures, which 
sentences mutually give rise to a growing grammar, syntax, 
vocabulary, and sign list. 

There are two main wrong ways of trying to read the Maya 
codices. One wrong way is to attempt a clean sweep of the job—to 
retire into seclusion and eventually emerge with a book—a book 
which “tells all,” which reels off, interprets, explains, epitomizes, and 
comments on everything from page 1 of the Tro-Cortesianus to the 
last page of the Dresden. There have been several such books in the 
past hundred years. Usually such books proclaim the discovery of a 
key. This key is then applied at the author’s sweet will, and the 
trick is turned as easily as a magician lifts a rabbit out of a hat. 
Often, moreover, such an author has exposed his slight acquaintance 
with the Maya language and with linguistic procedures in general. 
Historical writings are not to be read with keys; there is never any 
key but research. The amateur decipherer is prone to make a false 
analogy between straightforward writing and a cipher. Actually the 
very word “decipher” which I have employed so profusely in this 
essay, embodies a misconception. Why have I used it? I suppose 
because it is simple and vivid, it has been generally used for this sort 
of research, and I have succumbed to usage. But really one does not 


MAYA HIEROGLYPHS—WHORF 501 


decipher a literature, one deciphers only a cipher. A cipher is a 
method of writing with deliberate intent to conceal the content from 
those who do not possess the key. It is deciphered with a key 
because it has first been enciphered with a key. A straightforward 
writing, not intended to conceal its tenor from all but a select few, is 
not really deciphered; it is analyzed and translated. The methods 
of such analysis and translation are quite different from the methods 
of message decoders; they are the methods of Champollion and Young 
with Egyptian, of Rawlinson and Grotefend with Babylonian, of 
Hrozny and Sturtevant with Hittite; they are the methods of 
linguistics and philology. 

The other wrong way of attacking the linguistic portion of the 
Maya codices is the Sitzenfleisch approach. I¢ concentrates for long 
periods upon isolated glyphs or words, having conveniently forgotten 
that such things as sentences exist. Suppose that in this method 
one succeeds in deciphering or partly deciphering thé glyph of 
Itzamna. Then one next spends years scrutinizing every glyph of 
Itzamna in the literature, noting the most minute differences, to 
the pen quirk, and linking it up first with every scrap of information 
that can be gleaned about Itzamna, then with every god in the Mid- 
dle American area that can be connected with Itzamna. The mere 
glyph disappears from view, having served as the springboard into a 
sea of mythology, religion, and folklore, from which one may per- 
haps emerge at last with a monograph entitled “The Concept of 
Itzamna.” This method, through concentrating entirely on word 
study, wanders so far from the specific incidences of the word in the 
texts that it finally ceases to be linguistic altogether, and becomes 
something else. Words are nothing without sentences. What a 
word is depends on what it does, i. e., on its position and function in 
the sentence. This is even more important than how it is written. 
In Maya as in English there are many homonyms, and also words 
which though not homonyms are written alike, as in English are 
lead (the metal) and lead (go in front). Hence the determination 
of the sounds of signs and of their glyphic combinations is only 
half the battle. 

There is only one road to decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphs 
and reading of the Maya literature. It is through a growing con- 
catenation of sentences, proceeding from the less to the more diffi- 
cult, beginning with sentences whose meaning can be understood from 
pictures, with the linguistic interest and linguistic findings kept con- 
stantly foremost, and conclusions relative to subject matter resolutely 
submerged. The linguistic findings must eventually bear the scru- 
tiny of, and become the ground of, collaboration for various lin- 
guistic scholars. One man cannot be the medium for interpreting a 


502 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


literature; such a task requires the mutual contributions of many 
scholars who are able to proceed in general agreement as to basic 
principles. Linguistic principles alone carry the conviction neces- 
sary to such scientific agreement. 

As the research progresses and expands and grows more sure it 
becomes able to read with some confidence sentences which lack pic- 
tures to control the translation. We shall thus begin to read cau- 
tiously portions of the inscriptions, and the long pictureless texts of 
the Peresianus codex whose meaning is now utterly mysterious. As 
the major linguistic difficulties are conquered the study becomes more 
and more philological; that is to say, subject matter, cultural data, 
and history play an increasing role—it becomes a matter of not only 
reading but of understanding as much as possible the allusions, the 
references, the nonlinguistic contexts, the cultural patterns which 
are seen by glimpses, as it were, through the bare words and gram- 
mar of the translations. This is philology. But as the base of 
philology we must have linguistics. Only in this way can we ever 
hope to understand the history and culture of the Maya. 


CONTACTS BETWEEN IROQUOIS HERBALISM AND 
COLONIAL MEDICINE? 


By WILt1AM N. FENTON 


Bureau of American Ethnology 


[With 5 plates] 


INTRODUCTION: THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE 


A traveler of the seventeenth century leaving the cedar-lined banks 
of the St. Lawrence River to ascend the Great Lakes would have 
encountered Indians living inland from both shores who continued to 
speak related dialects of the Iroquoian language as he passed Niagara 
and went on across southern Ontario toward the Detroit River. 
South of Lake Ontario lay the country of a great confederacy 
known to the French as the Iroquois and to the English as the 
Five Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca 
tribes who populated a dozen ragged villages across New York; but 
the cognate Neutral of Ontario and the Huron near Georgian Bay 
were never part of the great League, which the Tuscarora of North 
Carolina joined as the sixth nation in 1722.2 In common these 
tribes shared generalized cultural as well as linguistic similarities 
that set them in sharp contrast with Algonquian hunters living north 
of them. But for the individual the local band was society and he 
knew best his own village and the surrounding woods and fields where 
he hunted and collected plant foods. Particularly was this true of 
women who remained at home to till the fields, seldom traveling on 
tribal business or on the warpath. Villagers discovered and sampled 
the flora of their local habitats during a continual search for food. 
Many plants were known or discovered to have medicinal properties, 
while a few tragic events served to remind the cautious experimenter 
that certain plants are poisonous so that he must be careful about 


1This article publishes the first part of a longer study, “Herbs and Herbalists among 
the Iroquois Indians,’’ which is the further extension of a preliminary report entitled “An 
Herbarium from the Allegany Senecas,” published in The Historic Annals of Southwestern 
New York, pp. 787-796, edited by Doty, Congdon, and Thornton. Lewis Historical Publ. 
Co., New York, 1940. 

2 For the territories of the Iroquoian tribes see the maps and the writer’s paper in Essays 
in Historical Anthropology of North America, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 100, 1940. 


503 


504 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


biting indiscriminately into all roots. Thus fear and cultural con- 
servatism and, perhaps, lack of interest, save in dire necessity, pre- 
vented all but a few individuals from acquiring systematic knowledge 
of the flora. Probably very few old men and women throughout 
Iroquoia, who through specialization were regarded as authorities, 
could distinguish 300 species in a region that has yielded modern 
botanists five times that number. An occasional herbalist might 
recognize a third of the local flora. Nevertheless, the Iroquois were 
aware of changes in topography and ecology that a traveler would 
note as he passed from the coniferous forests north of the Mohawk 
country, through predominantly beech-birch-maple forest in Oneida 
and Onondaga territory, across elm bottoms and hemlock swamps to the 
mucky land of the Cayuga; thence having passed the Seneca towns, 
he would cross the Genesee, beyond which “oak openings” or prairies 
in western New York were skirted by great stands of basswood and 
white pine, and where such typically southern species as sassafras, 
tulip, and cucumber trees blended into the oak-hickory-chestnut forest 
of the Allegheny uplands (pl. 1, fig. 2). If the beech was the most 
numerous upland tree of the Iroquois country, the maple was more 
important in economy and religion: to this day it is remembered 
with an annual festival of thanksgiving. Stately white pines towered 
on the river terraces and invaded abandoned village sites, but until 
after the introduction of the steel ax the pine was not as important 
to the Iroquois for house building (pl. 2, fig.1) as the bottomland 
American elm, which must have been an important species in the 
primary forests of their region because they extensively used its bark 
for houses, vessels, and boats, and it was the prominent tree symbol of 
mythology and art.° 

Since the culture of every society exists over and against an 
environment, it becomes important to observe how a people adjust 
to it, to what degree they exploit it, how its offerings affect the con- 
tents of their behavior, and how they react to new discoveries. 
Studies of how peoples of primitive culture use plants (ethnobotany) 
in relation to the possible uses of plants to man (economic botany) 
yield information for elaborating this type of problem. Because 
plant lore and knoweldge of medicinal uses tend to survive among 
peoples like the Iroquis the ethnologist can undertake such studies 
on their reservations that form island communities in the surround- 
ing sea of whites. Here one may observe the clash of cultures in a 
patient who calls in the Government physician and later summons 
his wife’s mother, a noted herbalist. Reservations provide nexus of 


3 Zenkert, Charles A., The flora of the Niagara frontier region. Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. 
Sci., vol. 16, 1934; Gordon, Robert B., The primeval forest types of southwestern New 
York. Bull. New York State Mus., No. 321, 1940. 


TROQUIOS HERBALISM—FENTON 505 


kin, locality, and dialect, permitting some Iroquis to retreat from 
the modern world of frustration into a native religion that fur- 
nishes delusions of past political granduer and quasi health insur- 
ance in Indian herbalism. Thus the Indian herbalist, bolstered by 
a native religion and the belief of many ignorant whites in his uni- 
versal knowledge, is encouraged to preserve the ethnobotanical 
knowledge of his grandparents whose ancestors learned plant uses 
for the flora of the region his people continue to inhabit (pl. 2, fig. 
2). To what he can retain of this fund of family knowledge, the 
modern Iroquois adds the plants that he collects for drug traders 
and other popular practices that the whites have proved to him to be 
effective. Moreover, discounting plant species and usages of obvious 
European introduction and checking one informant against another, 
one can readily assemble a respectable list of plants and their Indian 
names which have currency in the Iroquois community and are 
probably ancient. Similarly, if we compare them tribe by tribe and 
reservation by reservation, those names and usages that are now 
widely separated in time and space and yet are demonstrably equiva- 
lent date back to the time when the Iroquois tribes were inhabiting 
neighboring territories, or to a still earlier time. 

Since so much of Iroquois culture has the mark of a southern 
origin, it would seem that, as they moved into the area which they 
inhabited during historic times, not only was it important for them 
to discover new edible fruits, but a host of plants awaited tech- 
nological and medicina] experiment. Possibly Algonquian neighbors 
had devised some uses which they showed them, but to other plants 
the Iroquois have applied concepts that relate to analogous domestic 
or known southern species. However, those plants which are named 
for maize may reflect a process of reinterpretation following long 
years of maize cultivation in the north. In comparing present 
Iroquois and Algonquian plant names we find some names that have 
similar meanings and yet we cannot be sure in which direction such 
ideas traveled. 


INDIAN AND COLONIAL MEDICINE 


10th: I give a beverage made from an excellent white root, with which dis- 
eases Of all kinds are cured in my country.—Speech of a Mohawk envoy at 
Quebec, 1659.4 

Contact between Indian herbalism and western medicine was a 
natural result of colonization. When they met in the early sixteenth 
century European medicine was still carrying a heavy burden of 
medieval practices so that the few first physicians in the colonies were 
but several centuries advanced from the Indian shaman who selected 


«Jesuit Relations, vol. 45, p. 83. 


506 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


his herbs thinking of the effect that their appearance might contrib- 
ute to the disease, and guaranteed their efficiency with incantations 
and feats of magic. Moreover, the average settler had brought from 
the old world a knowledge of herbs that in kind was not unlike that 
of the Indian, but as newcomers they were unfamiliar with New 
World plants; and although the level of their own popular medicine 
did not set them above adopting Indian remedies, the Indian herbalist 
whose knowledge was power was not always a ready teacher. Two 
centuries of missionary, military, and scientific travel were to enlarge 
medical botany until many new world plants in use by the Indians 
were to become part of our pharmacopoeia. To this fund of knowl- 
edge the Iroquois contributed a share. 

The Canada band of Laurentian Iroquois, at that time living in 
the environs of Quebec, made a sensational beginning as teachers 
when in 1536, after 25 of his able seamen had died of scurvy, they 
showed Cartier how they obtained relief from a simple decoction of 
the bark and needles of hemlock (7suga canadensis (lu.) Carr.), or 
white pine (Pinus strobus L.). 

One day our captain, seeing the disease so general and his men so Stricken 
down by it, * * * caught sight of a band of Indians approaching from 
Stadadona [Quebec], and among them was Dom Agaya whom he had seen 10 
or 12 days previous to this, extremely ill with the very disease his own men 
were suffering from; for one of his legs above the knee had swollen to the 
size of a 2-year-old baby, and the sinews had become contracted. His teeth 
had gone bad and decayed, and the gums had rotted and become tainted. The 
captain, seeing Dom Agaya well * * * was delighted, hoping to learn what 
had healed him, in order to cure his own men. And when the Indians had 
come near the fort, the captain inquired of him, what had cured him of his 
sickness. Dom Agaya replied that he had been healed by the juice of the 
leaves of a tree and the dregs of these, and that this was the only way to cure 
sickness. Upon this the captain asked him if there was not some of it there- 
abouts, and to show it to him that he might heal his servant who [in his 
opinion] had caught the disease when staying in Chief Donnacona’s wigwam 
at Canada, being unwilling that he should know how many sailors were ill. 
Thereupon Dom Agaya sent two squaws with our captain to gather some of it; 
and they brought back 9 or 10 branches. They showed us how to grind the 
bark and the leaves and to boil the whole in water. Of this one should drink 
every 2 days, and place the dregs on the legs where they were swollen and 
affected. According to them this tree cured every kind of disease. They call 
it in their language Annedda.° 

Until recent times hemlock tea has been a favorite winter beverage 
with the Iroquoian tribes whose names for hemlock, or evergreen, are 
clearly cognate with the term given Cartier. Curiously enough he 
says that this decoction brought miraculous relief in longstanding 
cases of venereal disease among the sailors, and modern Iroquois 


5 Biggar, H. P., ed., The voyages of Jacques Cartier, Publ. Public Arch. Canada, No. 11, 
pp. 212-213, et supra, Ottawa, 1924. 


IROQUIOS HERBALISM—FENTON 507 


herbalists employ the hemlock as an ingredient in formulae for boils 
and venereal disease. This is an interesting fact historically, 
whether or not the plant is a specific for the disease. Seventeenth- 
century travelers were unable to rediscover the famous tree, because 
the Laurentians had abandoned their Quebec towns in the intervening 
decades and the succeeding Algonquians did not employ it as an anti- 
scorbutic. 

The seventeenth-century Huron and Iroquois distinguished among 
them shamans who cast and removed spells, clairvoyants who diag- 
nosed disease or foretold weather and future events or recovered lost 
objects, and herbalists or apothecaries who administered remedies. 
Frequently, several roles were combined in a single individual. Here 
principally the herbalist interests us, although he seldom adminis- 
tered his simples without a modicum of ritual to impress the ex- 
pectant patient.® 

Against such competition the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries to 
New France labored with all their wits and the skills of European 
civilization. Such medicines as they had brought or they were able 
to import from their brothers in Europe and the lancet were potent 
weapons in the conversion of the Indians who took readily to being 
bled. During the summer and fall of 1636 and throughout the winter 
of 1637 when a great contagious epidemic leveled the villagers of 
Huronia, Father Joseph LeMercier wrote: 

Everything was given by count, two or three prunes, or five or six raisins to 
one patient; * * * 

Our medicines produced effects which dazzled the whole country, and yet I 
leave you to imagine what sort of medicines they were! A little bag of senna 
served over 50 persons; and they asked us for it on every side; * * *7 

Undismayed, the Huron shamans combated this success with dreams 
of visits to an inhospitable French heaven, with tales that the French 
are sorcerers, and that the faithful before the epidemic had believed 
enly to get tobacco; and the missionaries had no sooner gotten the 
Indians to acquiesce to forsaking their dream feasts to avert the wrath 
of God in the pestilence than an unusually adept shaman ordered the 
False-faces to purge the cabins of disease. LeMercier continues: 

Towards evening [8th February, 1637; at Ossosané, great town of the Bear 
band of Huron], the Captain Andahiach went through the cabins to publish a new 
order of the sorcerer Tsondacouanné. This personage was at Onnentisati, and 


was not to return until the next day. He was carrying on his preparations, 
that is to say, certain sweatings and feasts, in order to invoke the assistance of 


®For a compendium of the principal sources on shamans and medical practice among 
the Huron at this period, consult Kinietz, W. Vernon, The Indians of the Western Great 
Lakes, 1650-1760, Occas. Contrib. Mus. Anthrop., Univ. Michigan, No. 10, pp. 131-160, 
1940. 

™Le Jeune’s Relation, 1637, in The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Reuben Gold 
Thwaites, ed., vol. 13, pp. 113, 115, Cleveland, 1898, 


508 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the demons, and to render his remedies more efficacious. This prescription con- 
sisted in taking the bark of the ash, the spruce, the hemlock, and the wild cherry, 
boiling them together well in a great kettle, and washing the whole body there- 
with. He added that his remedies were not for women in their courses, and that 
care should be taken not to go out of their cabins barefooted, in the evening.® 

Similar decoctions were in use among the Mohawk of Caughnawaga 
in cases of colds, coughs, and rheumatism as recently as 1912, and the 
tabu is characteristic of later Iroquois belief. 

In the face of these circumstances the French ‘missionaries were 
naturally slow to adopt new remedies when the supply that they 
had brought with them ended, while in the tiny center of French 
culture at Quebec European medicines were used almost exclusively. 
After 1640 we read long lists of medical necessities required by the 
hospital nuns of Quebec who were treating Indian patients for 
smallpox that had come to them from Europe. Into the Ursuline 
hospital willing Indian patients brought some folkways of the 
forest. The Mother Superior speaks of them in Le Jeune’s Relation 
of 1640: 


The remedies that we brought from Europe are very good for the Savages, 
who have no difficulty in taking our medicines, nor in having themselves bled. 
The love of the mothers toward their children is very great, for they take in 
their own mouths the medicine intended for their children, and then pass it into 
the mouths of their little ones.° 

Two years later they dispensed over 450 medicines and their supply 
was exhausted. The long list of necessaries of which they suffered a 
great lack in the year 1665, for the relief of the patients then there 
in large numbers, pleads for senna, rhubarb, jalap, and theriac, 
among others; and for succeeding years there are similar, shorter 
lists.?° 

However soon these deficiencies were corrected by cultivating herbs 
in Quebec, as early as 1641 Charles Garnier in a letter thanking his 
brother for a memorandum of the easiest remedies, which were never- 
theless difficult because the ingredients were scarce in Canada, begged 
for some medicinal seeds useful as purgatives and for information 
concerning their growth which he contemplated at the mission of Ste. 
Marie in the Huron country.” 

A generation later, Lamberville, among the Onondaga near Syra- 
cuse, bemoans the lack of a quantity of medicines as an aid to 
converting the sick. 


It would be a bait wherewith to secure nearly all The dying. There are 
some who, when they find that They are given no medicine, turn Their backs 


8Idem., p. 261. 

® Jesuit Relations, vol. 19, p. 21. 

0 Thid., vol. 22, p. 173; vol. 49, pp. 205-207; vol. 50, p. 161; vol. 51, p. 118; vol. 52, pp. 
107-109. 

4 Jbid., vol. 20, p. 101. 


IROQUIOS HERBALISM—FENTON 509 


to me, and say that I have no pity on them, and after that they cannot be 
approached.” 

And the following year some ointment that had been sent him proved 
a sovereign remedy for ulcers; but just at the point where he had 
gained prestige with his first cure, the supply gave out and his case 
was lost.* On the other hand, to offset the successes which the 
Jesuits claimed we have Baron Lahontan’s statement that the Indians 
in his day were opposed to making use of French medicines and 
surgeons.** 

The picture that we have developed of Indian medicines during 
the period of its failure to cope with introduced European diseases 
leads us to inquire how successfully native herbalists treated indig- 
enous ailments. Early travelers remark that certain diseases then 
common among Europeans were unobserved among the northeastern 
American tribes. Among these, gout, gravel, and dropsy were men- 
tioned by Lahontan.** On the other hand, ailments growing out 
of their way of life were more frequent: prolonged fasts followed 
by feasts and periods of famine induced digestive disturbances; 
rheumatism , neuralgia, pleurisy, and pneumonia were not uncommon 
among the Iroquois; and long years of group living in smoke-filled 
longhouses brought on conjunctivitis with advancing years; while 
wounds, dislocations, and fractures were risks in a life on the warpath 
and the hunt. Possibly asthma and dropsy accompanied advanced 
age;?® and the great number of prescriptions for deficiencies of the 
blood and uterine disorders suggest anemia and complications fol- 
lowing childbirth. Zeisberger’s description of hardships and disease 
among the Delaware and Iroquois in the middle eighteenth century 
is probably typical of earlier times. 

Indians are not less, rather more, subject to disease than Europeans, their 
rough manner of life and the hardships of travel being contributing causes. 
On journeys they mind neither water nor snow nor ice, even though creeks and 
rivers be ever so full of running ice they go through and nothing holds them 
up. On the chase they not only steal through the woods to get, unnoticed, near 
the game, but also pursue it * * * until they get within range, thus * * * 
they may have chased from morn til eve * * * sometimes 8 or 10 miles 
away from their hunting lodge, no food having been tasted the entire day. 
So long as they are young and strong, they suffer no ill effects, but with ad- 
vancing years * * * Rheumatism is common among them, often leading 
to lameness, deafness or blindness. The women who carry everything by means 


of a carrying girth fixed to the forehead, whence the whole burden—and a 
hundred weight is not considered heavy—is suspended down the back, suffer 


2 Relation of 1672-73, Jesuit Relations, vol. 57, p. 173. 

18 Tbid., vol. 58, pp. 211-213. 

4 Lahontan, Baron de, New voyages to North America, vol. 2, p. 50, London, 1703. 

4% Idem, pp. 45-46. 

1° Stone, Eric (M. D.), Medicine among the American Indians, pp. 23-26, Clio Medica, 
New York, 1932; Corlett, Wm. Thos. (M. D.), The medicine-man of the American Indian, 
pp. 55-56, Chas. C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill., and Baltimore, 1935. 


510 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


in back and neck as they grow older. The men carry everything fixed to a 
carrying girth fixed across the chest. A deer weighing from a hundred to a 
hundred and thirty pounds they will carry the entire way home without allowing 
themselves to rest. 

sd * * * * * * 

They are subject to festering sores. Cured in one place they break out in 
another. Chills and fever, dysentery, hemorrhage, and bloody flux in women 
are very common among them. Venereal diseases having during the last years 
spread more and more, * * *” 

The latter and possibly tuberculosis were the worst of the imported 
infectious diseases which included measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, 
chickenpox, smallpox, typhus, typhoid, malaria, and yellow fever.’® 
Were it not for these introduced contagions, says the Jesuit ethnol- 
ogist Francois Lafitau, who visited the Caughnawaga Mohawk band 
and the Abenaki of St. Francis during the second decade of the 
eighteenth century, and scrofulous maladies caused by hardness of 
drinking water melted from snow and a kind of phthisis (consump- 
tion) contracted by exposing chest and abdomen to winter blasts, for 
which they had developed no remedy, and which carried a majority 
to the grave ere the prime of life, their otherwise rigorous consti- 
tutions stood them to an extreme old age in which they had either 
to be knocked on the head or suffered to go out like a light by a mere 
default of nature.’® 

The early writers are unanimous in agreeing that Indians, includ- 
ing the Iroquois, possessed some natural remedies capable of checking 
endemic diseases, but assert that they excelled even European sur- 
geons at healing wounds, setting fractures, and replacing dislocations. 
The Iroquoian-speaking Wenro tribe were reported in the year 1639 
when they migrated from western New York to Huronia on Georgian 
Bay “* * * to excel in drawing an arrow from the body and 
curing the wound; but the prescription * * *” was thought to 
have no efficacy unless a pregnant woman were present, whose condi- 
tion in later times was generally considered bad luck in medicine.” 
Incidents from Indian wars furnish abundant evidence of this skill. 
An Iroquois prisoner among Hurons has his thumb and forefinger 
done up in “some leaves bound with bark;’*?, Father Poncet, cap- 
tured, tortured, and finally delivered as a relative into an adopting 
Mohawk family, had an amputated finger cauterized with an ember 
and wrapped in a leaf of Indian corn. Subsequently it was poulticed 


1 Zeisberger, David, A history of the Indians. Ohio Arch. and Hist. Soc. Publ., vol. 19, 
pp. 23-24, 1910. 

18 Heagerty, J. J., Four centuries of medical history in Canada, 2 vols., vol. 1, p. 270, 
Toronto, 1928. 

19 Lafitau, J. F., Moeurs des sauvages Amériquains, 2 vols., vol. 2, pp. 359-361, Paris, 
1724, 

20 Lalement in Le Jeune’s Relation, 1639, Jesuit Relations, vol. 17, p. 213. 

1 TeMercier (1636), Relation of 1637, Jesuit Relations, vol. 13, p. 41. 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 511 


for a fortnight with a decoction of some unknown roots or barks, 
“which they wrapped in a linen rag that was greasier than a kitchen- 
cloth.” 22, Dutch writers of the period also attest that there must be 
valuable simples in the colony of New Netherlands because the Indians 
know how to cure very dangerous wounds, sores, and bruises in a 
most wonderful manner with herbs and roots and leaves which grow 
in their country and are known to them.” The Relation of 1663-64 
conveys some notion of the skill of Mohawk surgeons in the adventure 
of three soldiers of the garrison of Three Rivers, Quebec, who were 
ambushed by Mohawk warriors on the Richelieu Islands. In the 
attack a ball passed through the body of one and lodged at the side 
opposite its entry. We read: 

The Iroquois—who take pride in leading home prisoners alive and full of 
strength, to endure the strain of torture * * *—turned Physicians * * * 
and, with cruel compassion, dressed his wound and bled him * * *. They 
probed the wound full through his body, and finding the place where the ball 
had stopped, made an incision there and removed it, with admirable skill. After 
this successful operation, it is incredible what pains and care they took of this 
poor patient. Some would cleanse the wound and infuse into it the juice of 
roots, either boiled or chewed, which is a sovereign remedy with them; others 
would bandage it * * *, 

That he survived to run the gauntlet before a Mohawk town and sub- 
sequently escape near Oneida is almost as remarkable as his blunder- 
ing into the cabin of a captive woman who had been reared by the 
Ursulines of Quebec. 

For she set about * * * preparing a fire for them, giving them something 
to eat, and wiping the matter from their sores, without showing any disgust 
at the stench which arose from those ill-dressed ulcers. She even went to fetch 
some medicinal roots, and made of them a dressing, which she applied to all 
the places * * * where the gangrene seemed most dangerous, and cleansed 
the others— * * * omitting nothing * * * that a wise and kind sur- 
geon could do.” 

Indians apparently were not as subject to gangrenous infections as 
the French. Lahontan (vol. 2, p. 50) attributed this to the Indians’ 
hail constitutions, not to the quality of the herbs employed, because 
notwithstanding the use of the same remedies gangrene invaded the 
wounds of the French. Indians attributed this to eating salt. The 
present-day Iroquois abstain from eating salted foods while under 
treatment of the sacred Little Water Medicine, a mixture of powdered 
vulnerary herbs and animal hearts composing their sacred war 
bundles. That the Mohawk of Caughnawaga knew this formula at 


2 Relation of 1652-53, Jesuit Relations, vol. 40, pp. 139, 143. 

22 Van der Donck, Adriaen, Description of the New Netherlands. Coll. New York Hist. 
Soc., 2d ser., vol. 1, p. 207, New York, 1841; The representation of New Netherland, 
1650, in Narratives of New Netherland, J. F. Jameson, ed., pp. 299, 301, New York, 1909. 

4 Jesuit Relations, vol. 49, pp. 121, 129. 


512 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the beginning of the eighteenth century seems probable from Lafi- 
tau’s essay on medical practices. He says that the healing of 
wounds was the masterpiece of their operations, that they were on 
the verge of something so remarkable as to be almost unbelievable. 
One Mohawk warrior who went against the Fox Nation had his 
shoulder fractured by a gunshot during the attack on a Kickapoo 
village; yet he survived hunger and the discomforts of a journey of 
700 leagues (2,100 miles) to be treated by a tribal surgeon. To effect 
these marvelous cures, he says,?> they concocted a treacle water ** 
composed of several classes of ingredients. The first group included 
vulnerary herbs, graduated according to their properties. Next were 
vulnerary trees from the trunk or root of which splinters were taken. 
The third was derived from the bodies of divers animals, especially 
the heart, which, dried and powdered, was made into a mastic. His 
description of the solution of the first of these sounds very much like 
the modern “Small dose,” or Little Water Medicine, of which very 
little is used and the fluid appears almost colorless. He says its effect 
is to push out not only vicious humors that have the habit of forming 
in the wound, but also the splinters of broken bones and arrowheads. 
The patient is given some to drink and is kept away from all nour- 
ishment while in danger, although in modern cases light unsalted 
breads and white meats are given. Meanwhile the doctor drinks 
some of the solution himself to the end that his saliva is saturated 
with it, before sucking the injury or spraying it with his mouth, the 
latter being the modern practice. Lafitau attaches great importance 
to the practice of covering the wound so as to exclude contact with 
everything save a possible binding of boiled herbs, which they think 
prevents infection. He continues that when the wounds are dressed 
and the above operation repeated the wounds always appear clean 
and fresh and free of clots; and provided that the sick man is careful 
he is soon healed. Whereas Lahontan has argued that eating no 
salt facilitated these cures, Lafitau thought that the healing followed 
principally from the efficacy of their vulneraries and particularly 
from the precautions taken to prevent the wound from becoming ex- 
posed to the air. Whatever the validity of his arguments a chemical 
analysis of samples of the modern plant and animal powders would 
be interesting. 

Indian surgeons were apparently as successful with fractures and 
dislocations. However, Lafitau’s assertion that they did not perform 
less well with ruptures and hernias and that broken bones mended in 
8 days’ times is questionable. The important fact historically is that 


% Lafitau, J. F., op. cit., vol. 2, pp. 365-366 ff. 
2° Theriaca, Lat., was an antidote, or medicine to counteract the effects of poison, origi- 


nally against the bites of wild beasts ; and such preparations were frequently carried by the 
Jesuits in New France. 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 513 


these early medicine men undertook the same types of cures that 
are also attributed to their descendants, the present holders of the 
Little Water Medicine bundles. As specialists the latter profess 
some feats that were formerly performed quite commonly by hunters, 
among whom dislocations were more frequent than fractures. 


If an Indian has disclocated his foot or knee, when hunting alone, he creeps 
to the next tree, and tying one end of his strap to it, fastens the other to the 
dislocated limb, and lying on his back, continues to pull it till it is reduced.™ 


Sweat lodges were formerly a common feature of Indian settle- 
ments throughout the eastern woodlands. They were usually situated 
on the edge of the village near a stream where they served not only 
as a regular place of bathing, but provided also a retreat for the 
shaman and the men of the village who gathered there for ceremonies 
and recreation. The songs which the Medicine Company continues 
to sing among the modern Iroquois refer to prominent features of 
sweating, for example the rise and condensation of steam, juggling 
with hot rocks, and tossing songs across a fire; but the sweat lodge 
has not survived as a reservation institution. Nevertheless, for a 
time it came into general use among the colonists of the maritime 
provinces of Canada.” Lafitau’s description is probably typical of 
those in use among the Iroquois: 


The sweat bath is their most universal remedy, and of it they make a great 
deal of use. It is equally for the sick and the healthy, who thus are purged of 
abundant humors, which can have changed their health, or might in the end 
have caused infirmities. 

The sweat bath is a little round cabin 6 or 7 feet high with room for seven 
or eight persons. This cabin is covered with mats and furs to protect it from 
the outside air. In the middle of it they put, on the ground, a certain number 
of cobbles, which they have left for a long time in the fire until they have 
been thoroughly heated, and above these they suspend a kettle full of cool 
water. Those who are to sweat themselves enter this cabin nude, * * * 
and having taken their place, granted that they are not to transact secret 
business, * * * they begin to stir extraordinarily, and to chant, each his 
song. [Singing individual songs of power is a feature of the Medicine Society 
meetings.] And as the tunes and words are often entirely different, it is the 
most disagreeable and discordant music to which one could possibly listen. 

From time to time, when the stones begin to lose their action, they revive 
them by dousing them with a little of this cold water which is in the kettle. 
This water no sooner touches the stones than a vapor arises which fills the 
cabin and greatly increases the heat in it. They throw in each others’ faces 
this cool water in order to prevent themselves from fainting away. In an instant 
their bodies stream from all parts; and when their pores are well open and 
the sweat is most plentiful, they go out all singing and run to plunge into the 
river, where they swim and flounder with much vehemence. Some, the ill ones 


2a Loskiel, George Henry, History of the mission of the United Brethren among the 
Indians of North America, LaTrobe trans., p. 112, London, 1794. 

2% Bailey, Alfred Goldsworthy, The conflict of European and eastern Algonkian cultures, 
1504-1700 Publ. New Brunswick Mus., Monogr. Ser. No. 2, p. 121, St. John, New Bruns- 
wick, 1937. 


514 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


in particular, content themselves with being sprinkled with cool water. It 
seems as if the contrast of an extreme heat with the cold of the water ought 
to seize them and cause their death * * *; but they have the experience that 
it does them good which is worth more than all the arguments that one could 
make.” 

Plant remedies passed between Indians and the colonists of New 
France, New England, New Netherlands, and New Sweden to an 
extent that is difficult to estimate, and frequently the direction of bor- 
rowing is uncertain. Seventeenth-century explorers were on the 
lookout for plants which had been reported as sovereign remedies 
against maladies that were current in Europe, and the rapid spread 
from country to country of certain species like tobacco and sassafras, 
the history of which is known, attests their wide acceptance into 
European medical practice. Inadequately described at first, some 
were to remain unknown botanically until the middle of the 
eighteenth century, when collecting was stimulated in America to 
furnish seeds for exotic gardens that were becoming fashionable in 
England, and systematic botany was coming into being under Linné 
in Sweden. The latter’s student, Peter Kalm, and John Bartram, 
Philadelphia botanist, were often hard put to decide which plants 
a century after contact were native and whether Indians or colonists 
first used them medicinally. 

The first plants reported by whites and adapted to their use were 
those which Indians used most effectively. In New France, follow- 
ing the mystery of Cartier’s Annedda, Champlain (1615) and Sagard 
(1623) reported several medicinal plants which were long known 
only by their Huron names that sometimes enable us to identify 
them. There are two poisonous plants, for which there is a long 
subsequent literature relating to their use in Huron and Iroquois 
suicides: *® mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum L.), which has an ed- 
ible fruit but a poisonous root, was clearly described by Champlain; 
and Sagard discovered Ondachiera, the deadly waterhemlock (Cicuta 
maculata L.) (pl. 3, fig. 1). When individuals accidentally ate of 
these, the Indians employed powerful emetics as antidotes; but they 
also understood that mayapple furnished a reasonably safe cathartic 
if they first baked the poisonous podophyllin from the roots; and 
of waterhemlock and its relatives their physicians used the roots in 
poultices for reducing sprains and inflammations. The plant known 
us Oscar, “which does wonders in healing all kinds of wounds, 
ulcers, and other sores,” *° might possibly be bloodroot, basswood, or 
sassafras; but phonetically, it more closely resembles onaahra’ge’ha 


23 Lafitau, J. F., op. cit., vol. 2, pp. 371-372. 

2 Fenton, William N., Iroquois suicide * * * Bur, Amer, Ethnol. Bull. 128, Anthrop. 
Pap., No. 14, pp. 80-137, 1941. 

89 Sagard, Father Gabriel, The long journey to the country of the Hurons, p. 195, George 
M. Wrong, ed., Champlain Soc., Toronto, 1939. 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON Hy Bs) 


(M.), “stump dweller,” the common elder (Sambucus canadensis 
L.) or ’oskaé’a (S.), the hellebore (Veratrum viride Ait.),* the use 
of which in wounds has been attributed to the Penobscot and Micmac 
of Maine and New Brunswick.” 

The ignorance of the French colonists provided the Indians with 
some amusing incidents when they did not have tragic consequences. 
A French boy in Sagard’s party set all the Hurons laughing when, 
having teased some Huron children to share with him some roots 
called Ooxrat which they were carrying home, he burned his mouth 
badly on biting into them. The appreciative savages had long since 
learned to avoid the stinging pain by first cooking the roots in hot 
ashes, and they used them * * * “to purge the phlegm and 
moisture in the head of old people and to clear the complexion; 
* * *» Although Ooxrat has the smarting properties of hellebore 
’oskaa’a (S.), the dried root of which is still popular among the 
Iroquois as a snuff for catarrh, the fruit and root of Indian turnip 
or Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott) produces 
the burning sensation mentioned, and its Cayuga name, owa’hyshra’, 
“cradleboard,” resembles Huron Ooxrat. 

A reporter on New Netherlands, in 1650 without professed skill 
in medical botany found with little effort over 30 plants which he 
thought might convey a notion of the valuable plants that were 
known to the Indians. Of these, we recognize the following as herbs 
in use among the Indians of later times: polypody, mullein [intro- 
duced from Europe], priest’s shoe, sweet flag, sassafras, crowfoot, 
plantain [introduced], mallow, laurel, violet, blue flag, wild indigo, 
Solomon’s seal, dragon’s blood, milfoil, fern[?], agrimony, wild leek, 
snake root, and prickly pear.** 

The histories of three American plants that were used medicinally 
by the Iroquois—sassafras, maidenhair fern, and ginseng—are suffi- 
ciently documented to serve as examples of how the Iroquois con- 
tributed to the introduction of medicines into Europe. Sassafras, 
known to the Seneca as “rough bark” (ono’hsta’she’), and employed 
by all the Iroquois as a tonic, created at one time in Europe a stir 
like that which attended the discovery of the sulfanilamide series or 
vitamins in our own time. Brought to Spain after the middle of the 
sixteenth century from Florida, where French Huguenot refugees 


%1 Phonetic note.—The orthography employed in this paper for writing Iroquois words 
has the same phonetic values as explained in “Iroquois suicide * * *” cited above, with 
a single innovation of denoting long vowels by doubling them instead of employing a 
raised period after the vowel to indicate length. 

Abbreviations in parentheses following Indian words refer to dialects of Iroquois as 
follows: (M.), Mohawk; (Oe.), Oneida; (Oa.), Onondaga; (C.), Cayuga; (S.), Seneca; 
(T.), Tuscarora; and (H.), Huron. 

* Stone, Eric, op. cit., p. 80. 

8° The representation of New Netherland, 1650, p. 298. 


430577—42 34 


516 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


had learned its use in fevers from the Indians, it was described by 
Nicolaeus Monardes of Sevilla (1574) and it was soon imported into 
Europe in large quantities. Spreading from Spain and France, its 
use became well known in Frankfort-on-Main in 1582 and in Ham- 
burg a few years later. Such was the demand for the new drug 
that sailing expeditions were despatched to America to bring back 
the root. An English merchant, Martin Pring, visited the American 
coast in the summer of 1603, and following it to the south in search 
of sassafras, returned in August, his two vessels laden. Until 1622 
Virginia colonists were drawing the roots in winter and exporting 
them in quantities equal with tobacco.** That so valuable a drug 
was growing in the Iroquois country naturally pleased the founders 
of the short-lived French colony at Onondaga Lake. Its presence 
there furnished Father Dablon a pleasant topic to offset some hard- 
ships in writing “Of the nature and peculiarities of the Iroquois 
country.” 

But the most common and most wonderful plant in those countries is that 
which we call the universal plant, because its leaves, when powdered, 
heal in a short time wounds of all kinds; these leaves which are as broad as 
one’s hand, have the shape of a lily as depicted in heraldry; and its roots have 
the smell of the laurel. The most vivid scarlet, the brightest green, the most 
natural yellow and orange of Europe pale before the various colors that our 
savages [the Onondaga] procure from its roots.35 

Since it had been long known among them as a blood purifier, it 
is not strange that the Iroquois employed it to heal venereal diseases; 
Lafitau implies this use was ancient on the supposition that these 
diseases were carried from America to Europe.* Regardless of the 
origin of these diseases, by the middle of the eighteenth century, 
when the work of Kalm and others made sassafras known botanic- 
ally, its use in their cure was so well known in Europe that English 
gentlemen had abandoned drinking tea of sassafras flowers lest in 
using it they be suspected of infection. Kalm found the Swedes of 
New Jersey putting sassafras peels in beer, recommending it as an 
insecticide against moths and bedbugs to the extent of turning their 
bedposts out of the wood; and the women of Philadelphia had 
learned, perhaps from the Delaware, to make a fast orange dye for 
worsteds. Medicinally, an old Swedish woman had employed a de- 
coction in cases of dropsy; and near Albany, Kalm learned that the 
natives [Mohawks?] considered the sassafras valuable in treating 
diseased eyes. 


They take the young slips, cut them into halves, scrape out the pith or the 
medulla, put it into water, and after it has been there for some time, wash the 


% Lloyd, John U., Laurus Sassafras, in Pharmaceutical Rev., December 1898, pp. 450-459. 
%5 Relation of 1656-57, Paul Le Jeune, ed.; Jesuit Relations, vol. 43, p. 259. 
8° Lafitau, J. F., op. cit., vol. 2, p. 368. 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 517 


eyes with the same water * * * natives from Canada formerly * * * 
cut the stems in two, took out the pith and preserved it and took it home with 
them to use as described above.*? 

Living at the northern extremity of its range Iroquois uses of sassa- 
fras were typical of tribes farther south. Seneca warriors carried 
the powdered leaves, women employed it as a tonic after childbirth, 
it was used in cases of rheumatism, and as a diuretic; and drinking 
sassafras tea as a spring tonic has so long ago become a part of life 
on the American frontier that the Iroquois herbalists have regularly 
peddled the root bark on the doorsteps of their white neighbors. In 
the modern city of Buffalo the Indians still maintain the right to sell 
sassafras and wildflowers in season from certain street corners, and 
choice stations are annually preempted by old Seneca families of 
Tonawanda and Cattaraugus reservations. Some years ago when the 
matrons of the Bear clan at Tonawanda were considering the nomina- 
tion of a recently deceased Sachem, someone remarked, “All he 
knows is how to sell sassafras!” 

Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum L.) attracted much attention 

in the colonies. For its most conspicuous feature, a black stalk, it 
was generally known among the Iroquois as “black shins” (deganyen- 
daaji’s(S.) ; degodisinahumji’s(M.)). Mohawk and Seneca mid- 
Wives recommend it as a haemostatic in women’s disorders and for 
labor pains. Its earlier uses which made it a popular export item 
from New France do not appear in Waugh’s or my own notes. 
Several people in Albany and Canada assured * * * {Kalm (1749)] 
* * * that its leaves were very much used instead of tea, in consumption, 
cough, and all kinds of pectoral diseases. This they have learnt from the 
Indians who have made use of the plant for these purposes since ancient times. 
This American maiden hair is reckoned preferable in surgery to that which we 
have in Europe and therefore they send a great quantity of it to France 
every year.” 
The export trade in this drug was flourishing as early as 1687 when 
Lahontan observed * * * “that the Inhabitants of Quebec pre- 
pare great quantities of its Syrup which they send to Paris, Nants, 
Rouan, and several other Cities in France.” * In Kalm’s day the 
price varied according to the grade of the plant, the care taken in 
preparing it, and the quantity available at Quebec. The Indians 
went into the bush about the first of August and traveled far above 
Montreal in quest of it. 

Of greater importance financially and more pertinent to a discus- 
sion of Iroquois herbalism than either sassafras or maidenhair fern 


7 Peter Kalm’s travels in North America, pp. 180, 179, 78, 606, Adolph B. Benson, ed., 
New York, 1937. 

% Idem, p. 438. 

®TLahontan, Baron, de, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 253. 


518 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


was the discovery of an American species of ginseng in the forests 
bordering the St. Lawrence near Montreal. Ginseng had long been 
a common drug among Iroquois herbalists, who set no especial value 
on it until an artificial demand for it created by the China trade 
raised the price out of all proportion to its medicinal properties. The 
burgeoning traffic in ginseng was to bring illusions of wealth to the 
French colonists and stimulate a search by both white and Indian 
ginseng hunters that within a century would nearly eradicate the wild 
species in northeastern America. In 1709 Father Jartoux, a French 
Jesuit missionary to China, had undertaken a mapping expedition 
into inner Tartary for the Chinese monarch; there he met 2,000 na- 
tives occupied in hunting a plant they called Gin-seng, which com- 
manded a high price in oriental markets. Jartoux’s paper entitled 
“A Description of a Tartarian Plant called Gin-seng,” which ap- 
peared subsequently in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal 
Society of London, came to the notice of a brother Jesuit, Joseph 
Francois Lafitau (1681-1746) during a visit in 1715 to Quebec on 
business for his mission (pl. 1, fig. 1). Lafitau had come out to 
America in 1711 to work among the Caughnawaga band of Mohawk 
living at Sault St. Louis above Montreal where he remained during 6 
years before returning to France. Scholar, botanist, and ethnologist, 
he vainly searched the Relations for references to the plant, but he 
did not abandon hope of finding it growing in Canada, the ecology 
of which impressed him as being markedly similar to that of Tartary ; 
and in thinking that the native Indians were related to Tartars, he 
was among the earliest writers to develop the theory of an Asiatic 
origin for the American Indian. He held that because the French 
of Canada had an inferior regard for Indian medicine, the Jesuits 
had not made such remarkable discoveries as their brothers in South 
America. Sparing what time he could from missionary labors and 
exercising care not to antagonize his brothers by seeming to confirm 
native beliefs, or to arouse the suspicions of the Indians by mani- 
festing too much interest in their culture, he made field trips and 
questioned Mohawk herbalists who appeared to know many of the 
excellent plants that filled America. To one who displayed such 
respect for their ability, they were not opposed to divulging some 
private knowledge which was hereditary in their families, and they 
encouraged him to continue his search because they hoped he would 
find the plant which he described to them. Although such interviews 
were not advancing the ginseng quest, they provided a body of data 
on native customs and beliefs and medical information which he 
hoped would increase knowledge of savages and medicine in Europe. 
Retaining memory of the plant through the winter of 1715-16 and 
having passed 8 futile months in the field, he unexpectedly en- 
countered the mature plant growing within striking distance of a 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 519 


house. To his dismay, a Mohawk woman, whom he had been employ- 
ing to search for it on her own, recognized it as one of their ordinary 
remedies, but on the strength of his account of the regard the 
Chinese had for it, she cured herself next day of an intermittent 
fever which had been plaguing her several months. She had pre- 
pared a simple infusion by soaking in water the root which she 
crushed between two stones. Moreover, at the sight of Jartoux’s 
plate, which was sent up from Quebec at Lafitau’s request, the 
savages recognized their plant of Canada. “And as we had in hand 
the different species, we had the pleasure of seeing a description so 
exact and in such just proportions with the plant, that it did not 
lack the least detail of which we had the proof before our eyes.” 

Lafitau published 2 years later his discovery of the American gin- 
seng species, Panax quinquefolium L., in the now rare “Mémoire 
* * * concernant la precieuse plante du Ginseng, découverte en 
Canada,” Paris, 1718. Dwarf ginseng or groundnut, Panag tri- 
folium L., which is still collected by the Seneca of western New York, 
has the same Iroquois name. Both the Iroquois and the Chinese 
singled out the same feature, the bifid root, for naming their respec- 
tive species. Lafitau held that the Iroquois (Mohawk) word Gar- 
ent-oguen, composed of orenta, hips and legs, plus -oguen, bifid, and 
Ginseng derived from the Chinese, “looks like a man,” were demon- 
strable parallels in evidence of the Asiatic origin of Indians, and he 
attributed their similarity to diffusion. Recent recordings of various 
dialects—degaredo’ga (M.), degai¢’do’ge (Oa.), diaig’do’ge’ (C.). 
dje’,=, or dja}’’ doge’ (S.)—also mean “‘crotched body,” the spindled 
root resembling the hips and legs of a man. 

In the same report Lafitau observed how easy it is, even for the 
Mohawks who distinguish between them, to confuse ginseng with its 
relatives of the Aralia family. The Mohawks of his day called wild 
sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis L.), Tsioterese, “long root,” and their 
descendants, djohde’rise. A third member he did not name but 
described ; the modern Mohawks call it djohde’risegoowa, “great long 
root”; it is spikenard (Aralia nudicaulis L.) The latter two are gen- 
erally used among the Iroquois in blood remedies and for colds, but 
the Caughnawagas of Lafitau’s day ranked sarsaparilla among their 
vulneraries. Besides, like the modern Seneca, they used ginseng to 
purge babies on the cradleboard and as a stomachic; and the Huron 
and Abenaki, whom he says were one culturally, employed it for 
dysentary. 

If the report of Lafitau’s discovery and the arrival of the botanical 
specimen in Paris created a furore in the Royal Academy, at least 
in Canada there was no question about the value of the plant. 


520 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Throughout the summer of 1716 Indians enjoyed a lucrative business, 
digging the root and marketing it in Montreal. A year later a lieu- 
tenant of French infantry introduced its use among the Fox of Green 
Bay, Wis. Very soon the French began collecting it, with the help 
of Indian diggers, for export to China. There it was desired in such 
quantities that dried ginseng presently became an important article 
of commerce in Canada. At first, traders were able to buy at 2 
francs per pound in Quebec and sell the root for as high as 25 francs 
in China. In the early stages of the trade, the Company of the 
Indies, who then controlled the trade, permitted the officers of their 
vessels to carry ginseng as a private speculation. But in 1751, when 
they perceived that these individuals were growing wealthy, the com- 
pany reserved the trade for themselves. For a year thereafter the 
price rose steadily beyond 33 francs in Canada until, to meet the - 
tremendous demand of the Rochelle merchants, an immense quantity 
was dug out of season, improperly cured in ovens and shipped to the 
French port, amounting in value to a half million francs. When 
part of this arrived in China the Canadian root acquired such a bad 
reputation that soon after 1754 the China market was virtually lost.*° 

Although the status of the ginseng trade when Kalm visited 
America is typical of colonial commercial interests during the eight- 
eenth century, fortunately the same period witnessed the rise of the 
scientific spirit in Europe and America. European physicians and 
botanists coming to this country were inspired to collect New World 
flora and fauna for expanding the new systematic biology which was 
emanating from Linné in Sweden. Moreover, in England both the 
commercial and scientific interests in plants centered at the house of 
Peter Collinson, London merchant, whose importations from America 
enabled him to stir up enthusiasm for gardening; and Collinson’s 
unflagging zeal as a letter writer made his address the international 
exchange for botanical information. In America, Philadelphia was 
the scientific capital of the Middle Colonies. On a neighboring farm 
lived John Bartram (1699-1777), who experimented with herbs and 
was influenced by Franklin to study botany seriously. He became 
Collinson’s American correspondent, and in the course of their long 
relations, Bartram collected and shipped nearly 200 species of Amer- 
ican plants and seeds, which Collinson introduced into botanical 
gardens of England. Subscription funds raised by Collinson enabled 
Bartram to travel widely through the country of the Delaware and 
Iroquois. Although Bartram fundamentally distrusted Indians, he 
made good observations of their customs on an expedition to Onon- 


“°Nash, George V., American ginseng; its commercial history, * * * etc. (revised 
and extended by Maurice G. Kains), U. S. Dep. Agr., Div. Botany, Bull. No. 16, revised 
ed., 1898; Kains, M.G.,Ginseng * * * New York, 1909, 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 521 


daga (1743),‘t but basically he was disinclined to publish. His 
botanical garden in Philadelphia, however, is a mute monument to 
his unrecorded knowledge of Indian plant uses, which were in part 
set down by Peter Kalm, Linné’s student, who found Bartram charm- 
ing but complained that he wrote too little. Through Collinson, 
Bartram and later Kalm met Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776), 
physician, surveyor, historian of the Five Nations, and politician, 
who, during a busy life in America since 1710, had nevertheless found 
time to employ Linné’s classification for the plants of the New York 
colony. In correspondence Colden discussed the virtues of Indian 
remedies with Mitchell and Collinson in England, maintaining that 
common lard is a more trustworthy deterrent for rattlesnakes than 
the widely touted Seneca snakeroot (Polygala Senega L.).# 

From as early as 1650 various writers had reported that Indians 
knew demonstrably powerful antidotes against rattlesnake bites. 
When traversing snake-infested country they constantly carried dried 
roots to chew and spit on their hands to repel the reptiles or to 
counteract the venom. Possibly several species were employed in 
different localities. The “true rattlesnake root” has been variously 
identified by Loskiel and the Moravians as Polygala Senega L., or as 
Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria L.), or as wild ginger 
(Asarum canadense UL.), which the Senecas call snakeroot 
(oskwai’da’) ; however, Kalm reports that Bartram learned of the use 
of stoneroot or horse balm (Collinsonia canadensis L.) from Conrad 
Weiser, Mohawk-speaking interpreter for the Six Nations; while 
Charlevoix and that professional elk hunter of Pennsylvania, Phillip 
Tome, mention a yellow-flowered member of the aster family (com- 
positae), which the latter calls oxwood, and describes as having a 
slender stem and limbs and yellow flower like the sunflower; but the 
modern Senecas of Allegany maintain that the “rattlesnake killer” 
(osfgweo’t odinyos) is either Prenanthes alba L. or P. altissima L., 
designating the latter the male and the former the female of the 
species. ** 

Colden was not alone in questioning the value of Indian remedies 
which had gained wide currency among colonists on the frontier. That 
the Dutch, Swedish, English, and French settlers had borrowed many 
wrinkles in herb therapy from the Indians in addition to the very rich 


“Bartram, John, Observations * * * in travels * * * to Onondaga, etc., 
London, 1751. 

“Earnest, Ernest, John and William Bartram, botanists and explorers, pp. 16, 34 ff., 
and 71, Philadelphia, 1940; Cadwallader Colden Papers, Coll. New York Hist. Soc., vols. 
3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9. 

# Van der Donck, Adriaen, op. cit., p. 178; The representation of New Netherland, 1650, 
p. 298; Jesuit Relations, vol. 59, p. 101; Loskiel, George Henry, op. cit., p. 114; Kalm, 
Peter, op. cit., pp. 105-106; Charlevoix, P. F. X., Journal of a voyage * * *, vol. 1, p. 
244, 1761; Tome, Phillip, Pioneer life; or thirty years a hunter, 1854, Harrisburg reprint, 
p. 117, 1928, 


522 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


medical folklore which they had brought with them from northern 
Europe is plain from the journal of Peter Kalm’s Travels (1748-1751), 
already referred to, and the Materia Medica Americana (Erlangae, 
1787) of Johann David Schoepf, the Anspach-Bayreuth surgeon who 
came over with Hessian troops during the Revolution and traveled 
westward during 1783 across Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh and the Ohio 
River as far as Kentucky, returning via Annapolis and Baltimore. It 
is not difficult to appreciate the belief in Indian remedies when such a 
pious man as Heckewelder, missionary to the Delaware and Shawnee 
in Ohio, testified that he had been cured of a stubborn rheumatism by 
Indian sweating and that “The wives of Missionaries, in every instance 
in which they had to apply to the female physicians, for the cure of 
complaints peculiar to their sex, experienced good results from their 
abilities.” ## In fact, so many Indian herbs had been reported by bot- 
anists and their uses as practiced by so-called Indian herb doctors in- 
cluded in herbals of the period (as witness John Bartram’s “Descrip- 
tions, virtues, and uses of sundry plants of these northern parts of 
America; and particularly of the newly discovered /ndian cure for 
Venereal Disease (Lobelia sp. L.)” (1751), and C. S. Rafinesque’s 
“Medical Flora” (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1828-30) ), that Dr. Benjamin 
Rush (1745-1813), the eminent physician of Philadelphia, decided to 
investigate the desirability of admitting Indian remedies to the phar- 
macopoeia. Having returned to Philadelphia in 1769 fresh from med- 
ical training in Edinburgh, Rush not only attracted wide attention for 
advocating a new “system” of medicine, but he soon joined the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society and began delivering papers on social issues. 
Among his first was an oration, delivered February 4, 1774, on the 
diseases of the American Indians,** a tour de force of reasoning based 
on a few facts taken from Lahontan and Charlevoix, some personal 
observations of pulse rates taken on Indians visiting his city, and evi- 
dence furnished by persons of experience with Indians, notably Dr. 
Edward Hand, surgeon of the 18th regiment at Fort Pitt. Neverthe- 
less, lacking personal observations, Rush maintained that Indian soci- 
ety was adapted to a vigorous mode of life and, therefore, he discussed 
the etiology of their diseases in terms of birth, diet, division of labor 
by sexes, and common customs—a rather advanced viewpoint ethno- 
logically. Their pediatrics—cold baths, cradleboard, and 2-year lacta- 
tion—he found conducive to survival of the fittest, and their mixed 
diet, periods of alternate rest and exercise, late marriage, and matura- 


+ Heckewelder, Rev. John, History * * * of the Indian nations * * *%, p. 229, 
Philadelphia, 1876. 

4 Rush, Benjamin, an inquiry into the natural history of medicine among the Indians 
of North America, and a comparative view of their diseases and remedies with those of 
civilized nations. Together with an Appendix, containing proofs and illustrations. 118 
pp., Jos. Cruikshank, Philadelphia, 1774. 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON 523 


tion of men and women, he thought productive of a hardy race whose 
women suffered few miscarriages and endured childbirth unattended 
in a secluded hut and whose men inured to warfare and dancing were 
vigorous and seldom neurotic. Himself an advocate of the use of spe- 
cial remedies for each disease, Rush questioned the value of Indian 
specifics on the grounds of secrecy—such medicines cease to work cures 
when the formulae are known—and the undifferentiated nature of 
Indian society which did not permit a hunter-warrior to give his entire, 
abstracted attention to herbalism. He insisted that Indians fail with 
the wrong remedies; and he questioned the antivenereal qualities of 
Lobelia sp. L., Ceanothus sp. L. (New Jersey tea), and Ranunculus 
(%) which Kalm had reported. Dr. Hand had informed him that the 
Indians around Fort Pitt employed a plentiful decoction of the pine 
tree, but that they sometimes died. He noted that the Indians had 
acquired from the whites the art of phlebotomy, which he dogmati- 
cally defended in his own practice, and in contrast he concluded, as if 
to purge the materia medica of his time, “We have no discoveries in 
the materia medica to hope for from the Indians of North America.” 

Despite this judgment Rush was still open to conviction a number of 
years afterward. On May 2, 1791, he transmitted a list of questions 
concerning matters of health and medicine among the Indians through 
the Secretary of War, to be asked by Colonel Pickering on his mission 
to the Six Nations. 

To summarize this discussion of white borrowings from Indian 
medicine, we offer a partial list of the more important medicinal 
plants used among the Iroquois. Notwithstanding Rush’s prediction 
to the contrary, some of these have been retained in the U. S. Dis- 
pensatory: Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum L.), ground pine 
(Lycopodium obscurum L.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), hemlock 
(Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), Indian turnip (Arisaema triphyllum 
(L.) Schott.) , sweet flag (Acorus calamus L.), in singing; Indian poke 
(Veratrum viride Ait) for catarrh; bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata 
L.), blue flag (Zris versicolor L.), sweet gale fern (Myrica aspleni- 
folia L.), used by Mohawks for toothache (Kalm) ; white oak bark 
(Quercus alba L.), an astringent; slippery elm (Ulmus fulva Michx.) 
in childbirth; wild ginger (Asarwm canadense L.) in fevers; and the 
dyeplant, pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L.). Several members of 
the crowfoot family were borrowed: Goldthread (Coptis trifolia (L.) 
Salisb.), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.), Canada anemone 
(Anemone canadensis L.), and black cohosh, snakeroot (Cimicifuga 
racemosa (l.) Nutt.) (pl. 4, fig.1). Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum 


Pickering Papers (historical index), Coll. Massachusetts Hist. Soc. Boston, ser. 6, 
vol. 8, p. 233; Pickering Papers (ms.), vol. 61, folios. 183, 302 [with answers]. See also 
Rush, Benjamin, in Dictionary Amer. Biogr., vol. 16, pp. 227-231. 


524 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


L.), blue cohosh or papoose root (Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) 
Michx.), sassafras (S. officinale Nees & Eb.), and bloodroot (San- 
guinaria canadensis L.) are well known. Indian physic or Bowman’s 
root (Gillenia trifoliata (L.) Moench.) (pl. 3, fig. 2); avens (Gewm 
canadense Jacq., G. rivale, and G. strictum Ait.) in fever and diarrhea ; 
cherry (Prunus. serotina Ehr.) bark for coughs (pl. 4, fig. 2) ; yellow 
wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R. Br.) and cranesbill (Geranium 
maculatum L.) for summer complaint were common colonial reme- 
dies. Sumac (Rhus typhina and glabra L.), New Jersey tea (Ceano- 
thus americanus L.), basswood (Tilia americana L.), and leatherwood 
(Dirca palustris L.) bark for wounds, and willow herb (E'pelobtwm 
angustifolium L.) were not so widely known. 

The ginseng family—Panax quinquefolium and P. trifolium L., 
spikenard (Aralia racemosa L.), and wild sarsaparilla (A. nudicaulis 
L.j—have been discussed, as well as waterhemlock (Cicuta maculata 
L.). Angellica (A. villosa (Walt.) BSP. and A. atropurpurea L.) 
for respiratory ailments is less known than several species of dogwood: 
Cornus florida L. for arrows, spoons, and weavers’ tools (Kalm), and 
red osier dogwood (C. stolonifera Michx.), “green osier” (C. alterni- 
folia L. £.), and kinnikinnik (C. Amomum) as emetics; while Prince’s 
pine (Chimaphila umbellata (L.) Nutt.), trailing arbutus (Z’pigaea 
repens Lu.), and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens L.) for blood 
and kidneys were used by Indians and settlers alike in western New 
York. 

Likewise, ague weed (Gentiana quinquefolia L.), two species of the 
dogbane family (Apocynum androsaemifolium L. and A. cannabinum 
L. [Indian hemp]) for fiber and “bloody flux” (Kalm), and stoneroot 
(Collinsonia canadensis L.) were formerly much used by Indians and 
are still demanded by traders. Indian tobacco (Wicotiana rustica L.) 
is still grown by the Iroquois, and hare figwort (Scrophularia lanceo- 
lata Push.) for blood, and Culver’s root (Veronica virginica L.), a 
cathartic, are the great medicines of the Allegany Senecas. Par- 
tridge berry (Mitchella repens L.) or “squaw vine,” feverwort (7'rzo- 
steum aurantiacum Bicknell), elder (Sambucus canadensis L.) , a whole 
pharmacy in itself whose proper use the Iroquois understand, and sev- 
eral species of Lobelia, the great “love medicine” of the Iroquois, for 
which Kalm advanced antivenereal qualities, enter into many 
formulae. 

Of the many species of the aster family (Compositae) that the Iro- 
quois employ, some were naturalized from Europe, but use of two 
groups was acquired very early by the whites: Joe-Pye weed (Hupa- 
torium maculatum L. and purpureum L.) for kidneys, and thorough- 
wort (Z. perfoliatum L.) for colds and fever (pl. 5, fig. 1) ; and rattle- 
snake root (Prenanthes alba L. and altissima L.). Life in the colonies 


IROQUOIS HERBALISM—FENTON VAS 


demanded that the settlers rely on a greater number of native plants, or 
Indian herbs, than were ever introduced into Europe to supplement 
the few garden herbs which they brought with them. 

Species that the colonists had introduced for their gardens and 
undesirable weeds unwittingly brought here were either traded or soon 
escaped to the Indian country, where new uses were devised for them. 
Both Lafitau and Loskiel agree that the Indians were eager to learn 
the remedies of the white physicians, and because of the lack of 
botanical literature among Indians one cannot decide what uses for 
native plants were acquired from Europeans. Nevertheless, we can 
be certain that specifics and formulae based on species that are known 
to have been naturalized from Europe were devised during the contact 
period. In 1748 Kalm observed mullein (Verbascum thapsus L.), 
which the Swedes called wild tobacco, growing around Philadelphia; 
and a half century later it had spread in great abundance to newly 
cleared fields and burnt-over areas in remote parts of the country, 
where sometimes not a plant was found in 100 miles.*7 Iroquois use of 
mullein leaves in poultices for swellings and sores either was acquired 
from the whites or dates from the eighteenth century. In the case of 
Chenopodium album IL. (lambs quarters, or pigweed), which Kalm 
noted growing on dunghills, streets, and grain fields around Phila- 
delphia in 1748, the Mohawks have commemorated its introduction by 
naming it skanadanuym’ we, “loves the village,” because it grows along 
paths and roads of settlements. A similar Iroquois name, deya’oowg’ 
(S.), diyuhahg’wih (C.), “covers the road,” marks the naturalization 
of broadleaved plantain (Plantago major L.). My Iroquois inform- 
ants recommend it as a poultice for skin injuries and they would be 
surprised to learn that their forebears had regarded it as an interloper. 
Kalm, writing in 1748 of his visit to John Bartram, says: 

Bartram had found this plant in many places on his travels, but he did not know 
whether it was an original American plant or whether the Europeans had brought 
it over. This doubt had its rise from the savages (who always had an extensive 
knowledge of the plants of the country) pretending that this plant never grew 
here before the arrival of the White Men. They therefore gave it a name which 
signified the (Hnglishman’s) foot, for they say that wherever a European had 
walked, this plant grew in his footsteps.® 

Readiness of the Iroquois to expand their culture is moreover 
apparent from the following adventive plants that were added to 
their materia medica during the contact period: Yellow dock (Rumex 
crispus L.), bitter dock (2. obtusifolius L.), heartweed (P. persicaria 
L.), milk purslane (Huphorbia maculata L.), mallows (Malva 
rotundifolia L. and I. moschata L.), St. John’s wort (Hypericum 


«7 Kalm, Peter, op. cit., p. 40; Pursh, Frederick, Flora Americae septenrionalis, 2 vols., 
p. 142, London, 1814. 
“ Kalm, Peter, op. cit., p. 64. 


526 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


perforatum L.), Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota L.), catnip (Nepeta 
cataria L.), and peppermint (Mentha piperita L.). To the aster fam- 
ily belong the greatest number of important introduced herbs. Of 
these, elecampagne (Jnula helenitum L.), consumption medicine, is 
domesticated and as an escape on abandoned settlements “grows like 
sunflower” (gawe’’ gsoontha’ (S.)) (pl. 5, fig. 2), while common yarrow 
(Achillea millefolium U.) along the paths “grows like hemlock” 
(gane’’dgtha’), with mayweed (Anthemis cotula L.) for summer 
complaint, and tansy (Zanacetum vulgare L.) with its “powerful 
odor” (gahymda’gerasgoowa (M.)) for sick headache; and to com- 
plete the list add burdock (Arctiwm minus (Hill) Bernh.) for body 
pains, dandelion (Leontodon taraxacum L.) present since Kalm’s 
day, and useless devil’s-paintbrush (Hieraciwm aurantiacum I.) 
which the birds disseminated from Canada during the lifetime of the 
late John Armstrong (Seneca). 

In general these introduced plants bear Iroquois names betokening 
their diffusion during historic times, or they are named after native 
plants which they resemble. Names of new plants differ markedly 
more than old plant names. Their uses, when not actually acquired 
simultaneously or later from herbals, are based on analogies with 
older plants. Significantly, they are not employed in ancient cere- 
monies, and frequently are not used at all. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Fenton PEATE 


1. MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS-XAVIER, AT CAUGHNAWAGA, P. Q_., ON THE ST. 
LAWRENCE, WHERE J. F. LAFITAU DISCOVERED GINSENG IN 1716. 


2. THE ALLEGHENY RIVER AND UPLAND FOREST OF THE SENECA COUNTRY IN 
SOUTHWESTERN NEW YORK 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Fenton PEATE 2 


1. LCG HOUSES OF WHITE PINE SUPPLANTED ELM BARK HOUSES IN 1800. 


INDIAN PBR ent. 
HER sroMaeN TROUBLES Ete 


i Ce er ee us 
h Fe - 4 “a ge a! “ sane se timp mst ea 


2. AN ONONDAGA HERBALIST OF SIX NATIONS RESERVE ON GRAND RIVER, 
ONTARIO, WHO PRACTICES AN ANCIENT ART.| 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Fenton PLATE 3 


- ONDACHIERA, THE DEADLY WATERHEMLOCK (CICUTA MACULATA L.), OF 
IROQUOIS SUICIDES. 


2. INDIAN PHYSIC OR BOWAN’S ROOT (GILLENIA TRIFOLIATA (L.) MOENCH.) 
TRANSPLANTED INTO A SENECA HERBALIST'S GARDEN. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Fenton PLATE 4 


= 


DWIGHT JIMMERSON (SENECA) COLLECTS, FOR RHEUMATISM, BLACK COHOSH 
(CIMICIFUGA RACEMOSA (L.) NUTT.) WHICH HE SELLS TO WHITE PEOPLE. 


2. CHAUNCEY J. JOHN, SENECA HERBALIST, DRIES BARK OF WILD CHERRY 
(PRUNUS SEROTINA EHR.) BEFORE TRADING IT TO DRUG MANUFACTURERS. 


“YHAAIY GNVYD NO “HMYOA MIAN NI SYSATLLIAS ALIHM AHL AG 
GOOM S,AgIHD LV AdvVOSH NV SV DNIMOYD (71 WOINS 14H ANYVv7 GaYINOOY SVM SQ10D GNV YSAa4S YOsS CT WOLVIT 
VYINNI]) SNOVdIWY93719 SONIA (VONAVD) NOSEID VWIWAL “2 -OkdYHFd WNINYOLVdNA) LYVYVMHONOYOH!, YO LASANO® “1 


G¢ 3LV 1d u0ju2.J—"| p6| ‘Woday uetuosyyIWIG 


THE STUDY OF INDIAN MUSIC 


By FRANCES DENSMORE 


Collaborator, Bureau of American Hthnology 


[With 6 plates] 
INTRODUCTION 


The invention of the recording phonograph opened a new era in the 
preservation and study of Indian music. Previous to that invention 
it had been necessary for students to write down Indian songs by 
hearing them, a proceeding which involved many difficulties. Dr. 
Theodor Baker, of Germany, collected songs in that manner in 1880, 
and Dr. Franz Boas did his remarkable work among the Central 
Eskimo in 1883-84, the resulting publication (6th Ann. Rep. Bur. 
Amer. Ethnol.) containing more than 20 Eskimo songs with a descrip- 
tion of their melodic form. Ten Omaha songs were presented in a 
paper by Miss Alice C. Fletcher entitled “The ‘Wawan’ or Pipe Dance 
of the Omahas,” published in 1884 by the Peabody Museum of Amer- 
ican Archaeology and Ethnology. When the phonograph became 
available, Miss Fletcher used that method of collecting Indian songs, 
and her name is forever linked with the study of Indian music. The 
phonograph that she used among the Omaha, about 1890, was later 
transferred to the Bureau of American Ethnology. This instrument, 
which I saw in Miss Fletcher’s home, had a high mandrel, at least 6 
inches above the plate of the machine, and she said it was a sturdy 
instrument as it had “traveled across the prairie in the wagons of the 
Indians and even rolled down hill without injury.” Ninety songs 
recorded among the Omaha were transcribed by John Comfort Fill- 
more and contained in Miss Fletcher’s book entitled “A Study of 
Omaha Music with a Report on the Structural Peculiarities of the 
Music by John Comfort Fillmore,”* published by the Peabody 
Museum in 1893. Twelve aluminum disk records of Arapaho, Kiowa, 
Caddo, and Comanche songs, collected by James and Charles Mooney 
in 1894 and marked “E. Berliner’s Gramophone, pat. Nov. 8, 1887, May 
15, 1888,” are in the possession of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 


1 Peabody Mus. Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., Harvard Univ., Pap., vol. 1, No. 5, 1893. 
527 


528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


It is believed that the first printed account of the use of a phono- 
graph among Indians was that of Jesse Walter Fewkes, published in 
1890. In April of that year Dr. Fewkes took a phonograph operated 
by a treadle among the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine and re- 
corded their language and songs. Sixteen items were recorded, five 
of which were songs. Later he recorded Zufii and Hopi songs, using a 
phonograph with storage batteries, but he considered this less satis- 
factory than the instrument with a treadle. These songs were tran- 
scribed and studied by Dr. Benjamin Ives Gilman. With his keen 
appreciation of advancement in science, Dr. Fewkes was also a pioneer 
in the recording of Indian songs on disks, in the field. Assisted by 
Dr. John P. Harrington he thus recorded 11 Hopi songs. (See 48d 
Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., p. 5, 1925-1926.) A complete record- 
ing equipment was installed by a piano company and operated by a 
professional sent for the purpose, and the disk records were released 
through commercial channels. 

It is impossible to mention all the ethnologists and musicians who 
have included Indian music in their studies, but each has contributed, 
in some way, to the development of the research. 

As this paper is to trace the development of my own work on In- 
dian music, let me first express my appreciation of the inspiration 
and aid extended to me by these pioneers in a unique and highly 
specialized field of research. Miss Alice C. Fletcher’s work was 
called to my attention a year or two before the publication of her 
book on Omaha music, and with the encouragement of Professor Fill- 
more, whose acquaintance I had made, I wrote to Miss Fletcher, tell- 
ing of my interest in the subject. If she had been less gracious in 
her response it is probable that I would not have taken up the study 
of Indian music. My interests were entirely musical as I was teach- 
ing piano and lecturing on the Wagnerian operas. Indian music 
attracted me only as a novelty, but in 1895 I added it to my lecture 
subjects, presenting Miss Fletcher’s material with her permission. 
I availed myself of every opportunity to hear Indians singing at 
fairs and other exhibitions, and began a systematic course of reading 
on the history and customs of the American Indians. About 1901 I 
wrote down a Sioux song that was sung by Good Bear Woman, a 
Sioux living in a small Indian village near Red Wing, Minn. Among 
the attractions at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 
in 1904, was the old Apache warrior Geronimo. I stood behind him 
and noted down a melody that he hummed as he printed his name in 
careful letters on cards to sell to passersby. 

Every year, on June 14, the Chippewa at White Earth, Minn., hold 
a celebration with much singing and dancing. I attended this cele- 
bration in 1905 and had my first impression of Indian dancing on a 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 529 


reservation. The Chippewa are excellent singers, the costumes were 
picturesque, and the green of the prairie was a lovely background to 
the picture. Hour after hour I sat beside the dance circle, becoming 
more and more impressed with the idea that I must record Chippewa 
songs as Miss Fletcher had recorded the songs of the Omaha. Two 
years later I recorded Indian songs for the first time, from some of 
the same singers. The June 14 celebration was attended again, in 1907, 
and afterward, using a borrowed recording phonograph, I recorded 
songs sung by Big Bear and other Chippewa friends. Later I 
stopped at Onigum, on the Leech Lake Reservation, and the visit was 
at an opportune time. Flat Mouth, the chief of that band of Chip- 
pewa, lay dying, and the medicine men were treating him according 
to the customs of the Grand Medicine Society (Midewiwin) of which 
he was a member. This took place about a mile from the agency 
and I was the only white person present. The Indians knew I was 
there but made no objections, and I heard songs that were sung only 
on such an occasion. 

Prof. William H. Holmes, then Chief of the Bureau of American 

-Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, in 1907 allotted $150 for the 
recording of Indian songs. I bought an Edison Home Phonograph, 
the best recording equipment available at that time, and returned to 
the Chippewa agency at Onigum to begin my work. The Indians 
remembered my presence there at the time of Flat Mouth’s death, and 
the medicine man who was in charge of the ceremony recorded many 
of his best songs. Several others recorded songs of the Grand Medi- 
cine and drew the pictures that represent the words of these songs. 
I tested the accuracy of this system of mnemonics by showing the 
pictures to members of the Grand Medicine Society at White Earth, 
a few weeks later, and they sang the same songs. 

Later in the same year, with a further allotment of funds, I went 
to White Earth, Minn., and continued my work. One of the most 
important informants was an aged man named Maingans (Little 
Wolf), a member of the Midewiwin. 

A few weeks after this work at White Earth I went to Washington 
for the first time, and gave a lecture on Indian music before the 
Anthropological Society of that city. Maingans and several other 
old Chippewa were in Washington on tribal business and consented 
to enact a portion of a Grand Medicine ceremony, singing the songs. 
They did this in all sincerity and it was received with respect, but 
Maingans was severely punished when he returned to the reserva- 
tion. He was not allowed to enter the lodge when the Midewiwin 
held its meetings the following June. His wife died, and this was 
attributed to his enacting part of a native religious ceremony for 
the pleasure of white men. The Indians did not blame me, and the 


530 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


responsibility was placed entirely upon him and the other Chippewa 
who took part, but the regret remained. For that reason I have often 
refused to take material that is surrounded by superstition. I tell 
the Indians that I am trying to preserve the material so their chil- 
dren will understand the old customs, and that I do not want them 
to worry or be unhappy after I have gone. Sometimes this allays 
their fears and they are willing to talk freely, but I would rather miss 
some information than cause such distress as that of my old friend, 
Maingans, the Chippewa. 


RECORDING EQUIPMENT 


The phonograph I bought was a small machine and the Bureau 
in 1908 replaced it with a Columbia graphophone. Home recording 
was at the height of its popularity and this machine was made to 
meet the demand. I was also supplied with several special recorders 
which I tested with various types of voices and marked for the use 
to which they were best adapted. The galvanized-iron recording 
horn sent with this equipment was the best I have ever used. I have 
since tried many others, but none has produced the same quality of 
tone. This equipment is still in excellent order and I used it in re- 
cording Zui songs in 1940. 

During the years since this was purchased I have tried one type 
of recording apparatus after another, as they have been placed on 
the market. My next equipment was a 4-minute Edison phonograph, 
used for the first time among the Ute in 1916. This had a metal 
frame, increasing the weight. The cylinder was longer, making it pos- 
sible to record more singing, but the thread was finer and the little 
ridges on the cylinder sometimes broke down with repeated playing 
of the record. This equipment was used only in Utah and in North 
Dakota, when recording songs of the Mandan and Hidatsa in 1918. 
It had several recorders but I could not distinguish between the qual- 
ity of their recordings. 

In 1924 I began the use of an electric dictaphone and have used 
one at intervals ever since. It was used when recording the songs of 
the Tule Indians in Washington, the Seminole in Florida, the 
Winnebago in Wisconsin, the Omaha in Nebraska, and the songs of 
Santo Domingo Pueblo, recorded in California. For recording on 
the reservations I have used a dictaphone operated by a storage 
battery, but for recent work among the Omaha I used a 1941 model 
dictaphone, adapted to either direct current or alternating current. 
The type of recording apparatus varies with the circumstances under 
which the work is done. The ordinary dictaphone is not a precision 
instrument and alternating current is not always the same. The - 
difference in current may cause a difference of a half tone, or even 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 531 


a tone, in the pitch of a song as played on different days, but the 
transcription corresponds to the final checking of the record. The 
dictaphone is not intended to reproduce musical sounds and the 
quality of tone is less satisfactory than that of a phonograph. 

An advantage of the dictaphone is that the change from recorder 
to reproducer is made with a single motion, whereas in a phono- 
graph it is necessary to detach the horn, loosen a screw, take out 
the recorder, insert the reproducer, tighten the screw and connect 
the horn. Frequently an Indian wants to hear the record he has 
made, or it is desirable to hear the recording for some other reason, 
and these motions take an appreciable time. A disadvantage of the 
dictaphone is that the horn is small, as it is intended for a man at 
an office desk. If the Indian becomes interested in his singing and 
moves the horn away from his mouth the record becomes faint. It 
is sometimes necessary to hold the horn in position while the Indian 
sings. His position is easier to maintain when he sits in front of a 
phonograph horn that is swung from a crane. Another advantage 
of a phonograph horn is that it will, if desired, record the sound of 
as many as four singers, carefully grouped. It will also record the 
sound of a percussion instrument as accompaniment. 

Songs are recorded best when the phonograph is not tightly wound. 
It is customary to rewind the phonograph with a few turns of the 
crank between recordings to maintain this tension of the springs. 
This precaution is scarcely necessary, as a test of the Columbia 
graphophone showed that the speed remained the same for about 15 
minutes, after which it dropped rapidly. An uneven action of the 
motor distorts the speed and pitch of the record. Thus Dr. Fewkes 
described in conversation some of the difficulties he encountered 
with his first phonograph, which was operated by a foot treadle. 
If he became interested in the singing he moved the treadle faster, 
increasing the speed and raising the pitch. Sometimes he moved the 
treadle slower, with the opposite effect. 

The records on the phonograph and dictaphone are made by the 
“vertical path,” often called the “hill and dale” method, in which 
the depth of the groove varies with the loudness of the tone. The 
late Emile Berliner expressed the opinion that this method of re- 
cording was best adapted to my work. He became interested in my 
work in 1913 and a pleasant acquaintance continued almost to the 
time of his death. The process of recording on disks was advanced 
by Mr. Berliner in 1887. Records on disks are made by the “horizontal 
path,” the groove made by the recording needle being of uniform 
depth throughout its length and varying from side to side. This is 
the only method used commercially on disks at the present time, but 
recording on disks by the vertical path has been developed in the 


430577—42-——35 


532 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


laboratories of the Bell Telephone Co. Concerning this recording on 
disks, Dr. Leopold Stokowski stated in 1935 in correspondence, “The 
quality of the recording was extremely high.” 

During the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933 I recorded Indian 
songs on disks, using a Fairchild apparatus courteously placed at 
my disposal by Mrs. Laura G. Boulton and Dr. George Herzog. The 
records were made on aluminum disks. This apparatus uses a micro- 
phone and makes possible the recording of groups of singers. It 
was desired to obtain records of typical group singing by Sioux, 
and five singers—three men and two women—were selected from 
those taking part in exhibitions at the fair. I also obtained ex- 
amples of typical singing by women, with their peculiar tone pro- 
duction. Navaho songs were recorded by two members of that tribe, 
singing in unison while beating a small drum. 

Many of my cylinder recordings were transferred to aluminum 
disks in the laboratory of Dr. C. E. Seashore at the University of 
Iowa. This work was done in 1934 and the original tone was ad- 
mirably preserved. Dr. Seashore’s courteous interest has extended 
cver a period of many years and is acknowledged with deep apprecia- 
tion. A considerable number of my cylinder recordings have also been 
transferred to composition disks. 

Mention may here be made of the interest shown by the Indians 
when they first hear recordings of their voices. One woman said, 
“How did the phonograph learn that song so quickly? That is a 
hard song.” Another woman said, “The phonograph seems to be 
blowing feathers,” referring to the shavings of the recording. Such 
primitive Indians are not met so frequently now as in the earlier 
years of the work. 


WORK IN THE FIELD 


Before describing the recording of Indian music in the field, let 
me acknowledge with appreciation the courtesy that has been extended 
to my work by the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, the representa- 
tives of the Indian Office in the field, and the missionaries of Protes- 
tant and Roman Catholic churches on the reservations. 

The first endeavor, after presenting my credentials to the super- 
intendent (formerly called the agent) and arranging for a place 
to stay, is to find a competent interpreter. It is not advisable to 
employ the agency interpreter nor one connected with a mission, 
as they use the current vocabulary of those institutions. Their pur- 
pose is to convey an idea and, beyond the simplest transactions, my 
work requires a different type of man or woman. I must have an 
interpreter who can think in Indian and translate the native idioms 
into pure, grammatical English. My best interpreters have been 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 533 


graduates or former students of Hampton Normal and Industrial 
Institute and the Carlisle School. These men had a literary use of 
English because they were away from its vernacular use for so 
many years. Valuable aid was also given by the Rev. Clement H. 
Beaulieu, a Chippewa clergyman of the Episcopal church who studied 
the subtle meanings of the Chippewa language as he studied Greek. 
Much time is required in working out the understanding of a word 
in the Indian mind, and the interpreter must be patient as well 
as painstaking when translating the words of songs or any informa- 
tion that lies close to the finer phases of Indian thought. An exact 
translation of the Indian idiom reveals the native poetry in the words 
of the songs. 

It was particularly hard to find a competent interpreter among 
the Seminole in Florida, as shown by the following incident: A cer- 
tain dance was designated as the Two-headed Dance. On being 
questioned further the interpreter said he meant that the dancers 
“headed two ways,” and described the motion of the dancers around 
the man who is shaking the coconut-shell rattle. They move in a 
circle until they reach their starting point, then stand still a minute 
before reversing the motion, moving in the opposite direction and 
singing another song. The name of the dance was recorded as the 
Two-direction Dance. Another dance was called the Screech Owl 
Dance and many songs were recorded with that title. Panther said 
it was also called the Prairie Dance, saying this was an “off-hand 
name” given it by the white people. He said the Seminole were to 
dance at a certain exhibition and the manager gave it that name. 
“There was no reason for the change but white people understood 
that word ‘Prairie.’ ” 

Robert Higheagle, my interpreter on the Standing Rock Reserva- 
tion in North Dakota, was a graduate of Hampton Institute as well as 
of the business department of Carnegie College. I could send him 
away for a day, on horseback, and he would “bring back his man”— 
not literally, but the man would come in his wagon the next day. 
After such a quest, Brave Buffalo, a distinguished medicine man, 
came to the agency and recorded his best songs. Attached to the 
band of his hat was a whistle which showed that he was on his way 
to attend a patient. He excused himself to go and see the sick person 
but returned later, as he promised. It was my custom to type my 
material and ask Higheagle to look it over. Thus I wrote a brief 
account of the life of Sitting Bull, in connection with his personal 
songs, and asked Higheagle to read it. He studied the material and 
then said “You have written that Sitting Bull returned from Canada. 
I think we had better say that he was returned, for the soldiers 
brought him back.” When an interpreter uses the pronoun “we” I 


534 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


know that the work is his as well as mine, and that he is giving the 
best that is in him. 

The ideal place for recording Indian songs is a detached building 
which is not so isolated as to give an impression of secrecy nor so 
conveniently located that Indians will linger around the door. The 
building should be near the agency and trading post, so the Indians 
can attend to business if they wish to do so. This was important in 
the old days when they often came 25 miles or more on horseback. 
Such an ideal “office” is rare, but the superintendents of the reserva- 
tions have always given me the best facilities at their disposal. I have 
recorded in an agent’s parlor and in his office on a Saturday afternoon, 
and also at a Protestant mission. I have even recorded in a school 
laundry, with the tubs pushed back against the wall, and in an 
agency jail that was not in use at the time. A tar-paper shack was 
my oftfice for more than a month on the Dakota prairie when the 
temperature in similar shacks was 116—there was no shade for miles 
around, 

I remember with queer affection an office at Fort Yates, N. Dak., that 
had been part of the kitchen of the old fort. Subsequently it had 
been used as a coal shed, and it had neither door nor windows when I 
took over. The agent let a prisoner from the guardhouse help me fix 
it up and he suggested boring holes in the floor to let the water run 
through, when the floor was cleaned. He made steps, rehung the 
door, and nailed window sash over the openings, and I pasted paper 
over the broken plaster and used packing boxes as tables. For many 
weeks I used that office, and the Indians felt at home there, which is 
important. I stayed until the weather was bitter cold and the snow 
was piled high around the door. A little stove kept the place warm 
and I nailed a blanket over the door after entering, in order to keep 
cut the bitter wind that blew down the Missouri River. One trial 
was that the mice did not move with the soldiers and their descendants 
had populated the building. They frisked around the floor and hid 
behind the paper on the wall. Once I found one under my typewriter 
when I came back at noon. 

Among the Sioux who recorded songs in this office was Siya’ ka 
(pl. 1), a particularly fine man, who recorded 29 songs, including 
songs of the Sun Dance, the warpath, and the buffalo hunt. 

Many hundreds of songs have been recorded in schoolrooms during 
the summer vacation and in the homes of Indians. Henry Thunder, 
a Winnebago, refused to sing unless he could record in a grove, where 
he could see in all directions and be sure that no one would overhear 
him (pl. 2). I have recorded in a hospital, when a singer was able 
to sit up long enough to sing, and in the issue room of an agency, with 
its meat block and boxes, in the warehouse of a bridge company, and 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 535 


in the little store of a Northwest Coast Indian, with whaling equip- 
ment of various sorts on the walls. There was a fine pair of floaters 
that I wanted to buy, but one morning when I asked for them the 
Indian said that someone came for them the night before, saying that 
a whale had been sighted. He said the floaters belonged to the whole 
village and anyone might call for them. 

It is a rare combination of circumstances if I have a comfortable 
place to stay, an interpreter, singers, and a place to record all at the 
same time. Let us suppose that such ideal conditions exist, that the 
equipment has arrived in perfect order and been set up in an “office,” 
that the singer is willing to sing, and the interpreter is seated beside 
him. Perhaps the man wants to smoke before he sings, which causes 
a slight delay. I usually ask the brand of tobacco that is popular in 
the tribe and provide a package which is duly presented at this time. 
I pay the singers in cash at the end of each day, and sometimes at the 
close of each song. An argument always arises as to the price, and 
I explain that I have the same price in each tribe for general songs, 
paying a higher price for certain classes of personal songs. It is hard 
for an Indian to understand why a song that was worth a horse in the 
old days should be recorded for the small price that I pay. A Sioux 
once offered to record a song that would break the drought. He said 
the dry summers would not have occurred if the Government had let 
the Indians sing their rain songs. He said the song would “work” 
for me as well as for an Indian, and he wanted $50 for it. According 
to him, the song was cheap at that price. Needless to say, I did not 
record the song and the drought continued. 

If the Indian singer does not understand or speak English, the nego- 
tiations must be entrusted to the interpreter. He must explain that 
the history and origin of the song and the meaning of the words is 
included in the price of recording, unless there is a long legend or 
extended information, for which he will be paid by the hour. The 
interpreter explains that different verses of a song do not count as 
separate songs, neither are recordings of the same tune with different 
words paid for as separate songs. The Indian is told that he must 
not record songs that differ in only a few tones and expect pay for 
each recording. Ifa long series or a cycle of songs is under considera- 
tion, he is told to select the songs with the most interesting words or 
melody. This understanding is necessary, as a series may comprise 
a very large number of songs, and it is easier for the Indian to sing 
them all in sequence. There is little variety in such series, and it would 
be impossible, as well as unnecessary, to transcribe them all. The 
Indian is also instructed to sing the song through a certain number of 
times and then pause. Without this precaution the recordings would 
be almost impossible to separate. 


536 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


When all these matters have been settled, the singer is shown how 
to sit in front of the horn, and to sing into it from the proper distance. 
If a dictaphone is used he must be shown how to hold the horn, press- 
ing the upper edge against his upper lip. He is also told that he must 
sing in a steady tone and not introduce the yells and other sounds 
that are customary to Indian singers. The recording is not intended 
to be realistic, but to preserve the actual melody. 

Indians rarely sing alone and generally have a percussion accom- 
paniment. A medicine man may sing alone when treating a sick 
person, and under certain circumstances a man may sing his personal 
song at a gathering, but as a rule Indian singing may be called en- 
semble music. For this reason it is hard for one man to sing alone 
and to record his song without the support of a drum or rattle. The 
sound of an Indian drum does not record well, and I substitute a 
pasteboard box, struck with a small stick, which gives percussion with- 
out resonance. ‘The singer soon learns to use it, holding it near the 
horn if the sound is to be recorded and farther away if it is only for 
his own assistance in singing. I may record two or more renditions 
with the percussion audible in order to preserve the relative rhythms, 
and then have one or two renditions with the accompaniment in- 
audible so the melody can be transcribed more easily. In some songs 
the meter of the drum is different from that of the voice, or the rhythm 
of the drum may be peculiar, and in such instances I am careful to 
obtain recordings in which the drumbeat is clear throughout the 
song. When the record is transcribed, the sound of the voice is ex- 
cluded when determining the beat of the drum, and the sound of the 
drum is excluded when recording the voice; then I listen to the two 
together and check the result. In ordinary songs, such as the songs 
of games and social dances, the drum is continuous and steady and I 
may not make any record of it. Instead a notation is made in my 
notebook such as “drum in quarters exactly with the voice.” 

The sound of an Indian rattle can sometimes be recorded in order 
to obtain a record of the rhythm, but pounding on the pasteboard box 
is generally substituted for a rattle when songs are recorded. The 
Indian usually wants to try making a record with the accompaniment 
of the rattle but is soon satisfied that it is not practical with my equip- 
ment. Occasionally, he wishes to shake the rattle at his side, with- 
out trying to record it. Circumstances vary and there is no inflexible 
rule of procedure. 

When a song is recorded, the cylinder box is marked with the 
singer’s name and the number in his sequence, such as Red Weasel 
10 or Brave Buffalo 20. At the beginning of my work I assigned a 
catalog number to each song when it was recorded and sent all the 
records to the Bureau of American Ethnology, but this was changed 


INDIAN MUSIC—-DENSMORE 537 


after about 200 songs were recorded and I assigned catalog numbers 
only to the records that had been transcribed in notation. The others 
are studied but not sent to the Bureau. They may be almost like the 
songs that are transcribed, or they may be “seconds” that, in my 
opinion, are not worth preserving. 

A singer may want to hear songs of other tribes, and I always carry 
a few discarded cylinders for that purpose. The type of melody 
differs in various tribes, and the Indian listens attentively, as one 
musician to a performance by another. I never use recordings in 
this manner, however, if the original singer objects to that use of 
his songs. Ordinary dance songs are sufficient for the purpose. 

It is unsatisfactory to ask an Indian to give an “audition” of a 
song, to find out whether I want to record it. Strange as it may seem, 
his first rendition is usually the best, and this should be recorded. 
Instead of asking him to sing the song, I ask him to “go over it care- 
fully in his mind until sure that he remembers it correctly.” The 
room is quiet and he “thinks” the song, or hums it under his breath, 
probably tapping the time with one finger. A blank cylinder has 
been put in place and when he signals that he is ready the recorder 
is dropped and he records the song. It is many years since the old 
men have sung the old songs and the record must be made while the 
recollection is clear. A slight disturbance or delay might mean the 
loss of the song. 

Psychology enters largely into the work of obtaining the old 
Indian songs. The singer must always be kept at ease. This is 
essential to success, and one must learn when to urge a singer and 
when to let him relax. Care must be taken that the form of a ques- 
tion does not suggest an answer. Through faulty questioning a per- 
son could obtain astounding statements from an Indian, as he might 
not understand the question or might be too polite to differ with the 
questioner. 

An Indian may be willing to tell what is desired and not know how 
to express it. Sometimes one will question an Indian for a long 
time and the Indian will leave out the things one wants most to know; 
then he will suddenly give the whole information without realizing 
it, or in reply to a seemingly casual question. One must be like a 
lawyer examining a witness. Yet Indians become restive and irri- 
tated if they feel that they are being questioned too closely. In my 
own work, I try to have the Indian feel that we are friends, talking 
over things in which we are mutually interested. In that way he 
becomes interested in clearing up points that I do not understand, 
and in the end I have the desired information. 

A reservation is like any small community, and each man is known 
to his neighbors. On one of my first visits to the Red Lake Reserva- 


538 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


tion in Minnesota I recorded songs from a strange Chippewa who said 
that he was a good singer. My interpreter was absent at the time 
and the man seemed so sure of himself that I made no inquiries about 
him. The records of his songs contained no sense of a keynote and 
were melodies on which strange theories of primitive scales might 
have been based. When my interpreter returned I told him of this 
recording and he exclaimed, “You didn’t take songs from that man! 
He can’t carry a tune. Let me hear the records.” He was able to 
recognize the songs and offered to record them. In his rendition they 
became simple little melodies with tones clearly referable to a key- 
note. As I became more experienced, I would decline to take songs 
from such a singer after hearing his first recording. Unlike white 
musicians, Indian singers are not sensitive, and a man is not offended 
if I say, “Your voice is not good enough for me to record.” He is 
probably disappointed because he is not able to earn money, but he 
shows no resentment. 

Personal character as well as musical ability is taken into consid- 
eration in the selection of singers. For this information I depend 
upon the interpreter and consult the white people at the agency. 
During the work among the Sioux a singer was brought by an in- 
formant, and data concerning the Sun Dance was recorded. Robert 
Higheagle was absent and another interpreter was obtained. When 
Higheagle returned, a few days later, he said, “There is trouble 
among the Indians. John Grass and other prominent men say they 
will have nothing more to do with the work if So-and-so is con- 
nected with it. He killed a man, and his record in other matters is 
not good.” The matter was carefully considered and the responsi- 
bility placed on the man who introduced him. Finally his material 
was expunged and I never saw him again. 

A good voice is not essential when the old songs are being recorded. 
Many old men and women who know the best songs have weak voices 
but it is possible, with care, to obtain a record that can be transcribed. 
Such songs are usually connected with magic power or with the treat- 
ment of the sick and were received in dreams by the singer or ob- 
tained by him from men who received them in that manner. The 
procedure is different if dance songs are desired. The dance is at- 
tended and the leader at the drum is observed with special care. 
Later, he or other singers are asked to record songs that were used 
on that occasion and the descriptions of the songs are aided by 
hearing them at the dance. My work has included many classes of 
modern dance and game songs, in all tribes under observation, but 
the old songs will be first to disappear. Such songs are not taught to 
the younger generation, who are seldom interested in them. In some 
instances the old songs are learned by young men but, in my expe- 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 539 


rience, the rhythms are simplified. Thus I recorded a song from an 
old man and later allowed a young man to record the same song. In 
the latter rendition it had become a simple little melody, without the 
native rhythmic peculiarities. On one reservation a young man from 
an Indian school told me with pride that he was adapting the old 
songs and playing them on the cornet. Indian music with the 
present generation is in a transitional form, and my effort has been 
to preserve the old songs in their original form. 

Women singers are much less in number than men. Women might 
treat the sick with songs or exercise other power received in dreams, 
but the number of such women was comparatively small. In some 
tribes a few women sang around the drum at dances, sitting behind 
the circle of men and singing an octave higher. The relative number 
of men and women singers is too large a subject for present considera- 
tion, but mention may be made of two classes of Indian songs that are 
popular. These classes are lullabies and love songs. I once asked an 
Indian singer about lullabies and he replied, “The women make a 
noise to put the children to sleep, but it is not singing.” Subsequently 
I obtained two records of a lullaby, from two women. One was little 
more than crooning and the other was a simple melody, suggesting 
that the song had gradually taken form from the rather vague “noise 
to put the children to sleep.” As the status of the lullaby is so low 
in the minds of Indian musicians I leave its recording until near the 
end of work in a tribe and then obtain one or two records from trusted 
Indian women. The other subject to be handled discreetly is the 
love song. This is not a native custom and is usually connected with 
evil magic or intoxication. Love songs, in the old days, were sung to 
aid intrigue of various sorts, accompanied in some tribes by the use 
of figurines or other “charms.” A Papago said, “If a man gets to 
singing love songs we send for a medicine man to make him stop.” 
In all tribes it is said that the love song, in our use of the term, came 
with the advent of the whites. In one tribe I was warned that if I 
recorded love songs, the fine old men would have nothing to do with 
my work. I have, however, recorded both the old songs of love 
magic and the modern love songs, as they are part of the music of the 
American Indian. The words of the modern songs generally show a 
lack of respect for women and boast of fascinations and conquests. I 
have learned not to ask for their translation in all instances. A promi- 
nent Pawnee said, “Songs arising from deep affection and respect were 
occasionally sung by Indians in the old times, and might be concern- 
ing persons who had been married for many years.”? The cause of 
the change from these songs of respectful affection to the modern love 


2 Densmore, Frances, Pawnee Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 93, p. 93, 1929. 


540 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


song is found in the general change from primitive customs, and began 
when the young people refused to recognize parental authority in the 
matter of their affections. The subject of love songs is undertaken 
only with old, steady Indians. 

When the old chiefs were still living, I frequently consulted them 
in regard to singers. Thus Red Cap, the famous Ute chief, said 
that he could not sing himself but would delegate his best singers 
to record the old songs for me. Red Cap stayed in the room while 
these songs were recorded, and his influence made it possible for 
me to record songs that otherwise would have perished with the 
singers. John Grass, the prominent Sioux chief, did not sing but 
gave important information concerning the Sun Dance and his in- 
fluence was of great assistance in the work. 

A fact to be constantly borne in mind concerning Indian music 
is that it had a purpose. Songs in the old days were believed to 
come from a supernatural source and their singing was connected 
with the exercise of supernatural power. The songs of social dances 
are a later phase and of less importance. Health, food, and safety 
were the major concerns of the old Indians, and singing was an im- 
portant means of assuring these. Ceremonies or ceremonial action 
was connected chiefly with the first and second of these requisites. 
The general term “medicine men” is applied to those who were skilled 
in these important matters, a term not unlike the title of “doctor” 
in our own race which is applied to others than medical practitioners. 
I have numbered many Indian medicine men and women among my 
friends. They have appreciated the value of my work and given 
their best songs and information, in order that the Indian might 
be understood more clearly by the white men. Among these in- 
teresting medicine men was Sidney Wesley (pl. 3, fig. 1), a Choctaw 
living near Philadelphia, Miss. His Choctaw name was translated 
“Kills it himself,” meaning that if game had been wounded, or any 
difficult task was to be performed, he did it himself instead of dele- 
gating it to someone else. His long, disarranged hair was said to 
“show that he is a doctor.” Among his songs was one that men- 
tioned hatred of the Folanche and Hispano, and it is interesting to 
note that contact of the Choctaw with the French ended about 1763 
and the contacts with the Spaniards were still earlier. Wesley did 
not know what the words meant but sang the syllables by rote, as 
he learned them. He and his friend, Mary Hickman (pl. 3, fig. 2), 
aided one another in remembering old times, and said they joined 
in the war dances when they were young. The wars were ended 
but the dances continued, as in other tribes. The songs were re- 
corded in Mary Hickman’s house. Her Choctaw name was trans- 
lated “Putting it back,” and her little house indicated that she was 
an orderly person. 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 541 


The most familiar songs connected with the food supply are the 
Pueblo songs to bring rain. The Chippewa sang to obtain an abund- 
ance of maple sugar, and the Plains tribes sang for success in the 
buffalo hunt. All tribes had songs for success in war, often con- 
nected with the use of “charms.” 

The songs collected in a tribe are a cross section of its culture. 
Thus the proportion of ceremonial songs recorded is largest in a 
highly ceremonial tribe, the proportion of healing songs is largest 
in tribes with rich vegetation and many medicinal herbs, and the 
proportion of hunting songs is largest in regions where game is 
abundant. Indian songs are of little value unless correlated with 
the life of the people. Indian music should be recognized as an impor- 
tant branch of ethnology. 

It would be futile to stress quantity in collecting Indian songs, as 
every good Indian singer knows several hundred songs. Among the 
Seminole of Florida I recorded more than 200 songs from one singer, 
without a duplication. This man was Billie Stewart (pl. 4, fig. 1), 
leader of the Corn Dance in the Cow Creek group. His home (pl. 4, 
fig. 2) was in the cabbage palm region near Brighton, and his record- 
ing was done in two successive seasons—1932 and 1933. Toward the 
end of the second season he hummed a song of the Quail Dance and 

_said, “I sang that for you last year, so I won’t record it again.” His 
wife was a medicine woman known by her maiden name of Susie 
Tiger, and she recorded several songs that she sang when treating the 
sick. A marvelous native poetry was contained in the words of these 
songs. 

Other Seminole singers were Charlie Billie (pl. 5, fig. 2), leader of 
the Corn Dance in the Big Cypress group who recorded the cere- 
monial songs of that dance, and Josie Billie (pl. 6, fig. 1), who 
asked that his material be recorded with his Seminole name, meaning 
Panther. He recorded songs of the Hunting Dance and other valu- 
able old songs. An interesting informant on Seminole customs was 
Mrs. John Tiger (pl. 5, fig. 1). Several villages in the Everglades 
were visited and photographed, including a camp known as Old Camp 
Florida. 

TRANSCRIPTION OF RECORDS 


The transcribing of records is seldom done in the field, as time is 
so valuable and facilities are limited. The speed screw of the phono- 
graph is removed when the instrument is shipped, and it is neces- 
sary to adjust the speed of the instrument when the songs are tran- 
scribed. Without this adjustment the pitch would not be the same 
in recording and transcribing, and the two performances would not 
be uniform. The desired speed is 160 revolutions per minute and 
this could be attained by counting the revolutions of the mandrel, 


542 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


but I devised a different method. The tone C of a pitch pipe was 
recorded on a wax cylinder. This is placed on the phonograph and 
the speed screw adjusted until the tone produced by this record is 
the same as that of the pitch pipe. The piano used when tran- 
scribing is tuned to the same pitch (A-440). Thus the pitch of the 
singer’s voice and the original tempo are preserved, and the tran- 
scription is made as nearly as possible from his actual performance. 
The voices of some men extend down to E below the bass staff, though 
a majority of the records made by men are within a compass of 10 
or 12 tones above A, first space, bass staff. It is not unusual for the 
voice of an Indian woman to go down to KE, third space, bass staff, 
and very few women have voices that extend above C on the treble 
staff. The Sioux have voices with a particularly large compass and 
a Sioux woman recorded a song extending to F, fifth line, treble staff. 

The outline of a melody is determined by comparing the tones of 
the record with those of the piano, but the intervals are usually de- 
termined by ear. The intervals with simplest vibration ratios are 
sung with best intonation, many singers showing an intonation that 
would be creditable to a member of our own race. Indians differ 
in this respect, and the personality of the singer is taken into con- 
sideration when his songs are transcribed. Thus a peculiarity in a 
record made by an expert singer is given more attention than a simi- 
lar peculiarity in the work of a man whose performances are known 
to vary. If several renditions of a song have been recorded they are 
studied and compared, the transcription being made from the best 
and clearest rendition. 

The presentation of anything as strange as Indian singing must be 
in familiar terms if it is to be intelligible. Therefore I have used 
ordinary musical notation with a few special signs and entrusted the 
differences from that notation, as well as the mannerisms, to descrip- 
tive analyses. In this, as in any study, a great deal depends upon the 
standpoint of the investigator. What sounds strange to our ears is a 
song to the Indian, and my work has been from the standpoint of 
a musician who is approaching the music of an alien race. Bytones 
and various modes of attacking and releasing a tone are common in 
Indian singing. Early in my work I made an experiment to deter- 
mine the importance of these vocal sounds. Placing two phono- 
graphs with the horns together I played a typical Sioux record, 
transferring it from one machine to the other until it had been 
copied six times. On comparing the seventh recording with the 
original rendition it was found that the seventh was much softer 


3A certified test of the author’s pitch discrimination was made in 1914 by Prof. Carl E. 
Seashore, dean of the Graduate College, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. (See Dens- 
more, Frances, Northern Ute Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 75, p. 209, 1922.) 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 543 


and the bytones had been eliminated, leaving a clear, pure tone, with 
intervals comparable to those of our musical system. It is not re- 
quired that all the sounds produced by our own singers be shown in 
the notation of a song, and it seems reasonable to make a similar 
allowance when expressing the singing of Indians. The alternative 
is to devise an elaborate graphic system, based upon hearing the 
records or upon tone-photography. Such a system must of necessity 
be mastered by those who desire information on the subject. To be 
accurate with respect to Indian music as a whole, the system should 
be applied to different renditions of a song by the same singer, and 
to renditions of the same song by other singers. If carried to a con- 
clusion, such a system would produce a vast amount of data, with 
small variations which are not essential to the song itself. For these 
reasons, the graphic presentations in my work are limited to “plots” 
showing the principal progressions of melodies, in order to compare 
the structure of various classes of songs,* and diagrams which show 
the results of tabular analyses.® ‘These were discontinued when it 
was believed their purpose had been attained. Occasionally a mu- 
sician or other person with a keen musical ear has been asked to com- 
pare the records of the songs with their transcriptions; they have 
invariably expressed the opinion that the transcriptions were 
adequate. 

In order to test the pitch discrimination of the Indians, a series of 
tests was made among the Chippewa, Sioux, Mandan, and Hidatsa 
Indians, using a set of tuning forks kindly lent for the purpose by 
Dr. C. E. Seashore. The results were tabulated and submitted for 
examination to Dr. Seashore who expressed the opinion that “the 
abilities here shown are about as good as one would find among the 
average American whites under similar circumstances.” 

A graphic analysis of one of my records was made by means of 
phonophotography, showing the possibilities of that method. This 
analysis was made by Dr. Harold Seashore (1934) in the psycho- 
logical laboratory at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.* In respect 
to pitch, the graph made from the tone-photograph was substantially 
the same as the transcription by hearing. 

In order to test the accuracy of certain observations concerning the 
relative rhythms of voice and drum, the phonograph, with a selection 
of records, was taken in 1918 to the laboratory of Dr. Dayton C. 
Miller, head of the department of physics, Case School of Applied 
Science, Cleveland, Ohio. The sound was recorded graphically by 


4Densmore, Frances, Teton Sioux Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 61, 1918; Northern 
Ute Music. Bull. 75, 1922; Mandan and Hidatsa Music. Bull. 80, 1928. 

5 Teton Sioux Music, pp. 40-51, figs. 1-18. 

® Seashore, Carl E. and Harold, The place of phonophotography in the study of primitive 
music. Science, vol. 79, No. 2056, pp. 485-487, fig. 1. 


544 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the phonodeik, an instrument of Dr. Miller’s invention, and an 
analytical study of the result was made by Dr. Miller, with a com- 
parison of the photographs and the transcriptions of the same songs 
by hearing. Dr. Miller stated “the close agreement of the two 
methods hardly justifies the great amount of labor involved in the 
photographic method. This study was undertaken principally to 
learn what could be done if it were desirable.” * 

In determining the meter of the songs I use an ordinary Maelzel 
metronome which was tested at the Bureau of Standards. The metro- 
nome is not a precision instrument. The marks on its scale are not 
near together, and the “bob” is some distance from the scale, but this 
metronome was found to be reasonably accurate with the bob set at 
120, on a level with the eye. This indication is about midlength of 
the scale. For very slow or rapid songs the instrument is placed in 
this position and the tempo indicated by the position of the bob. The 
exact tempo of Indian singing is not important, and this mode of 
measurement is sufficient, the same metronome and method being used 
with all the songs. 

Having determined the meter of the song, it is necessary to note the 
accented tones by which the transcription is divided into measures. 
The use of measures does not imply that the Indian has any know!l- 
edge of our musical customs, but it is a convenient form for showing 
the rhythm of his musical performance. Each accented tone is tran- 
scribed as the begining of a measure, regardless of the time interven- 
ing between the accents. In some songs the accents are evenly spaced ; 
in others they seem erratic, but on further study they often combine 
to form a rhythmic pattern. Such a pattern usually comprises several 
measures and is designated as a rhythmic unit. Sometimes a 5-8 
measure is followed by a 3-8 measure. ‘The note values may suggest 
two measures in 24 time, but the accent divides the series as indicated. 
A measure transcribed in 7-8 time cannot be divided, as there is no 
secondary accent. Quadruple time rarely occurs, but 2-4 time is com- 
mon in the songs. The accents in a song do not always correspond to 
the accents in the words of the song when spoken. The rhythm of the 
song is the rhythm of the melody in the mind of the singer. 

The tempo sometimes changes during a song. Such a change may 
be either abrupt or gradual, and in the latter instance the new time 
indication is shown when the new tempo is established, preceded by 
“ritard” or “accelerando.” A question to be determined is whether 
the change is intentional. The several renditions are compared, and, 
as a general rule, the change is found in all the renditions, showing 
it to be part of the song. Old Indian singers have a remarkable sense 
of both pitch and tempo. Thus, Mrs. Holding Eagle, a Mandan, re- 


7 Densmore, Frances, Northern Ute Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 61, Appendix, pp. 
206-210, pls. 12-15, figs. 20, 21, 1918. 


INDIAN MUSIC—-DENSMORE 545 


corded certain songs in 1912, and in 1916 recorded the same songs 
again, the pitch and tempo being the same. Other instances of exact 
duplication have been noted in other tribes, and series of songs recorded 
by one singer are generally identical in tempo and pitch. 


INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 


Instrumental music is used only as an accompaniment to singing 
among the Indians, except that the young men sometimes play a flute 
in the evenings and a whistle may be blown in ceremonies or in the 
treatment of the sick. The musical instruments are of four classes, 
consisting of drums (or similar percussion instruments), rattles, flutes, 
and whistles. There are many forms within each class, and the in- 
struments are generally made of materials available in the region 
where the Indians live. An exception is the gourd rattle, which is 
widely distributed. Specimens of the musical instruments in the 
several regions have been collected and placed in the United States 
National Museum. 

Drums of the familiar type are made by tribes that hunt the deer 
or can obtain deerhide from their neighbors. The Papago, who are 
not hunters, use a bowl-shaped basket similar to the family bread 
basket, inverting it on the ground and striking it with the palm of 
the hand. The Makah, near Cape Flattery in Washington, formerly 
used a long box for a drum, several men sitting on it and kicking it 
with their heels or pounding it with their fists in time with the sing- 
ing. This could be heard in the long wooden houses where their 
gatherings were held in winter. The same tribe pounded on a plank, 
when a gathering was held on the shore during the summer. The 
Indians of British Columbia beat on a plank as an accompaniment to 
the songs of the Slahal game, the plank being raised a few inches above 
the ground to produce resonance. The clapping of hands or stamping 
of feet sometimes accompanied Indian singing, showing the use of the 
human body in place of an instrument. 

Rattles are a form of percussion instrument and may consist of 
receptacles containing small stones or clay pellets that make a noise 
when shaken together, or they may consist of objects suspended so 
that they clash against one another when the rattle is shaken by the 
hand. Such rattles made of turtle shells or cocoons are sometimes 
attached to the knee of a dancer and the sound is produced by the mo- 
tion of his dancing. The gourd rattle is a familiar example of the 
first type of rattle and an interesting example of the second is a 
rattle obtained from a Makah medicine man which consists of pecten 
shells suspended from a hoop of whalebone. The rattle is often con- 
nected with magic, and the form of a man’s rattle may be in accord- 
ance with instructions received in the dream by which he obtained 
his power. 


546 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Indian flutes are of the type known to musicians as the recorder, or 
fliite & bec, which was the European flute of the Middle Ages. It 
was held in a vertical position and blown at the end, the instrument 
preceding the transverse flute of the present day. The recorder is 
played by blowing into an air chamber at the upper end of a tube, 
the sound being produced by a whistle opening similar to that of an 
organ pipe.® The typical Indian flute is made of any soft wood witha 
straight grain, and the number of finger holes varies in different 
tribes. Flutes are made of cane in tribes that lack suitable wood, and 
in modern times a gun barrel or piece of metal pipe is used in making 
a flute. The only transverse flute that I have collected is a cane flute 
obtained among the Yuma.’° The playing of many flutes has been 
recorded and transcribed in notation. In some tribes it is said that 
certain songs may either be sung or played on the flute, and the 
Menominee said that love songs were imitations of flute melodies. 
Several legends of the origin of the flute have been obtained, one of 
the most interesting being that of the Papago.” 

The whistle is a simple form of the fifite 4 bec. Among the Indians 
it is generally made of the wing bone of a bird and connected with a 
ceremony or with the exercise of magic power. Such whistles and 
the wooden whistles are usually short. Certain Plains tribes, how- 
ever, used a “grass dance whistle” made of wood and about 25 inches 
in length. This was described by the Sioux and a specimen obtained 
from an Hidatsa named Pan on the Fort Berthold Reservation. He 
recorded a performance on the instrument, part of which was 
transcribed. A portion of the long harmonic series was produced on 
this whistle, and it is possible that Indians using such a whistle may 
have obtained a perception of overtones from the instrument. 

Robert Henry (pl. 6, fig. 2) is one of the Choctaw medicine men who 
blow whistles the night before and during a ball game. Each group 
of players is assisted by the blowing of such whistles. Henry had 
three whistles, differently marked. The illustration shows a whistle 
with a crude face, said to be his personal mark. 


SCOPE OF THE WORK 


The scope of the work has been broad. It was my plan to select 
representative tribes in each of the large areas, and songs have been 
recorded from the following: 


® Handbook of the Collection of Musical Instruments in the United States National 
Museum, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 136, pp. 25-27, 1927. 

® Densmore, Frances, Chippewa Customs. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 86, pp. 167, 168, 1929. 

10 Densmore, Frances, Yuman and Yaqui Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 110, pp. 25, 26, 
1932. 

4 Densmore, Frances, Menominee Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 102, p. 208, 1932. 

“Densmore, Frances, Papago Music. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 90, pp. 54-77, 1929. 


INDIAN MUSIC—-DENSMORE 547 


Northeastern Woodlands______-__ Chippewa, Menominee, Iroquois. 

Southeast (Gulf of Mexico) -___ Alabama (Texas), Choctaw (Mississippi), 
Seminole (Florida). 

ertnern bits. Se Sioux, Winnebago, Mandan, Hidatsa.” 

iehe Plateaus Asse Ae eee Northern Ute. 

Soutnern, Plainge= =... -__-=_ Pawnee, Omaha, Cheyenne, Arapaho.“ 

Southwest: Pueblo_——_.—._-___..-- £ Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, Zui, Hopi, Santo, 


Domingo.* 
Southwest: Rancheria and Nomad. Papago, Yuma, Cocopa, Yaqui, Navaho.” 


British Columbia Plateau____-~--- Salish, including Nitinat, and Thompson 
River. 

iNorthwest Coast =. 2.2 2-2 ss). Makah, Clayoquot, Quileute, Tsimshian. 

Northern, California=——--2—=-—- = Valley Maidu. 

SEU SYN ge Tule Indians of San Blas.” 


The Chitimacha Indians in Louisiana were visited but the only 
surviving members of the tribe did not know any songs. Interesting 
information concerning the music was obtained, also legends in which 
songs were formerly introduced. 

The Iroquois records comprise a series of ceremonial songs of the 
Condoling and Installation Council of the League of the Iroquois, 
recorded by the late J. N. B. Hewitt. These include the Farewell 
Chant of the Dead Chief, sung by the people as representing the dead 
chief, the Eulogy of the Founders of the League, and an interesting 
song entitled “Over the Great Forest.” 

The songs of Indians in Alaska comprise eight songs obtained at 
Anvik, Alaska, by the late Rev. John Chapman. They were recorded 
by dictaphone and the cylinder was obtained by Dr. Ale’ Hrdlitka, 
who presented it to the Bureau of American Ethnology. Information 
concerning the songs was obtained by correspondence with Mr. Chap- 
man, and the record was transcribed in its entirety. 

In the collection of records transferred to the Bureau of American 
Ethnology 27 tribes or large tribal groups are represented by 11 to 356 
songs, and 12 small groups are represented by less than 11 songs. 
Many of the latter songs were recorded by Indians who are not 
members of those groups. Indians often learn songs from other 
tribes and sing them in dances and games. No attempt has been made 
to obtain any considerable number of such borrowed songs. 


48 The first field trip to the Mandan and Hidatsa was under the auspices of the North 
Dakota Historical Society. A subsequent trip and publication of results was under the 
Bureau of American Ethnology. 

44 Field trips to the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Valley Maidu, and the recording of songs 
of Santo Domingo Pueblo by a member of the tribe temporarily in Los Angeles, were under 
the auspices of the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Calif. With the exception of the 
music of the Maidu the results of these trips have been published by the Southwest 
Museum. A manuscript on the musie of the Maidu awaits publication by that museum. 

1% Songs of Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, Zufii, Hopi, and Santo Domingo Pueblos have been 
recorded by singers from those pueblos temporarily in a low altitude. 

1@ Obtained from Navaho temporarily in a low altitude. 

17 Songs of the Tule Indians were recorded by Indians from that locality, temporarily 
in Washington, D. C. 


4305774236 


548 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


The following list shows only a portion of the work, as many 
hundreds of songs have been recorded and not transcribed. The 
summary comprises work from September 1907 to November 380, 1941. 


1. Transcribed records submitted to the Bureau of American Ethnology 
and transferred in 1940 to the National Archives for permanent 


preservation 2a 22 Ge Pe ee ee ei 2,201 

2. Transcribed records submitted to the Bureau after the collection was 
transferred to the Archives=5)~ 2-2 ee oe ee eee 150 

8. Transcribed records in possession of Southwest Museum, Los Angeles 
(copies oF S37ot these included intitenth) 22225 ee ee eee 205 
4. Transcribed records in possession of North Dakota Historical Society___ 40 
Total 22528 Bi ie Ae Si SN ee ee a hall ed 2, 6382 

CONCLUSION 


The two principal observations made by those who have listened to 
the singing of Indians are that it is chiefly rhythmic and that it is 
minor in character. The rhythm of Indian singing appears first 
because of its prominence and insistence. The songs heard by a 
casual observer are generally the songs of dances, but a study of the 
recorded melodies shows that the rhythm of important Indian songs is 
more elaborate than the rhythm of corresponding songs in our own race. 
A desire to check these and other impressions prompted my analysis 
of recorded Indian songs. It was not difficult to assign a keynote to 
most of the melodies by the test of the ear, and the songs were divided 
into two groups, major and minor, according to the interval of the 
third and sixth tones above this apparent keynote. The term “key” 
was avoided and the term “tonality” decided upon, partly at the 
suggestion of Charles K. Wead, examiner, United States Patent Office, 
about 1909. It was found that more than three-fifths of 180 Chippewa 
songs under analysis were major in tonality. In subsequent analyses 
of larger groups of songs it was found that the minor third was the 
most frequent interval except the whole tone, which is generally a 
passing tone. The prominence of this interval had given the impres- 
sion that the songs were minor in tonality, according to our musical 
system. Continuing this investigation, all the intervals in large groups 
of songs were expressed in terms of a semitone, and the average progres- 
sion was found to contain approximately a tone and a half which is a 
minor third. This table of analysis was last used in my “Yuman and 
Yaqui Music” (Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 110, table 13, p. 34, 1932) 
which shows that the average interval in a cumulative analysis of 1,343 
songs contains 3.03 semitones. 

The first tabulated analyses used in my work were nine in number, 
contained in my first book, “Chippewa Music” (Bur. Amer. Ethnol. 


INDIAN MUSIC—DENSMORE 549 


Bull. 45,1910). The melodic analyses comprised such bases as tonality, 
first progression (upward and downward), and tone material, while 
the rhythmic analyses noted the beginning on the accented or unac- 
cented portion of the measure and a comparison of the metric unit 
of voice and drum. The familiar major and minor pentatonic scales 
were designated as the fourth and second five-toned scales according 
to the classification by Helmholtz. The various classes of songs were 
grouped together, making it possible to compare the structure of war, 
game, and other songs. To Dr. AleS Hrdlitka, curator of physical 
anthropology, United States National Museum, I owe the suggestion 
that the results be expressed in percentages, a custom begun in 1913 
and followed in subsequent work. 

The number of tables of analysis was increased to 22 in my second 
book, “Chippewa Music Il” (Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 53, 1918), and 
this number was gradually reduced until only 14 were used in “Nootka 
and Quileute Music” (Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 124, 1939). When 
the results of an analysis were practically uniform in the tribes under 
consideration the basis was discontinued, and certain other tables did 
not seem of sufficient importance to be continued. Among those used 
for only a few hundred songs were tables showing the metronome time 
of the voice and drum, and the keynote of the song. These analyses 
were regarded as tests, and no claim was made that they were scien- 
tific; neither was any claim made that the results would apply to all 
songs of all Indian tribes. They were concrete observations on the 
material under consideration, which represented as nearly as possible 
the music of certain tribes of Indians. 

As a preliminary to the tabular analyses, each song was analyzed, 
using forms devised and printed for that purpose. In recent years 
I have continued the individual analyses and combined the results 
in descriptive groups or tribal analyses. A comparison of the songs 
under consideration with songs previously analyzed was used for the 
last time in “Nootka and Quileute Music,” in which 210 songs of that 
group were compared with 1,343 songs of other tribes. The dis- 
crepancy between the tribal group and the total number of songs had 
become so great that a comparison was scarcely justified. 

Mention may here be made of a group of songs designated in the 
analyses as irregular in tonality and comprising songs without an 
apparent keynote. This designation was adopted at the suggestion 
of Charles K. Wead, who suggested that the material could thus be 
reserved for future consideration. The designation was used first in 
“Teton Sioux Music” (Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 61, 1918) and has been 
continued in later work. The table concerning the tone material of 
the songs contains a group designated as “other combinations of tones.” 


550 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Some of these songs contain only three or four tones, and others are 
wandering melodies, according to the present basis of classification. 

Throughout this study the objective has been to record the structure 
of the Indian songs under observation, with my interpretation. Other 
students, scanning the material, may reach other conclusions. My 
work has been to preserve the past, record observations in the present, 
and open the way for the work of others in the future. 


PLATE 1 


Densmore 


Smithsonian Report, 1941. 


SIVA’ KA, SIOUX SINGER. 


“AAOYD V NI SONOS ONIGHOOSY ‘OSVESNNIM ‘YSGONNHL AYNSH 


a, 
* 
as 


Te FS Sonatas Rie 


; 
i 
: 
£ 
4 f Fd t 
j . = H Bas 
2 A ey 


ee 
a, tem | : 
= | ss ‘ ? pon e ; b & iz : 
a10Uulsusq—" | $6] “J40deyy UeTUOSsyATUIG 


/ pir vl? 
Pes 


¢ ALW 1d 


LNYVWYHOAN!] MVLOOHD 'NYWHOIH AYVW °Z “"NVW ANIDIGQAW MV LOOHD ‘AS ISAM AANOGIS “1 


\F 


€ 3ALV1d e10WIsu9aC]—"|p6| ‘WOdayy ueruosyyIUIg 


“NOIS3SY W1Vd “dNOYUD HMAAYD MOD NI AONVG 
S39veasvd NI ‘dWvVD S,LYVM3LS 4JITTI1gG KC NYOD AHL AO YSAQVAT AIONIWAS ‘LYVMALS FINT1I1E “1 


vy ALV 1d ‘ a10WIsSUsq]—"| 6] ‘Oday URIUOsSYIWIG 


“dNOYD SSAYdAD JIG NI SONVAG 
NYOD SHL SAO YRq0VEaT AIONINAS ‘AITMNG AFIWVHD “2 “ILNVWHYOAN] ATIONIWAS ‘YS9IL NHOF SYW ~L 


G3aLv1d 3IOUISUdTTI—" 1&4) ‘110da\y URPTUOSUIIUIC 


AWYVSD T1Vqd NI SSSD9NS HOSA 
GaSN AILSIHM ODNIMO1G ‘MVLOOHD ‘AYNAH LYSEON “2 “HAONIS ATIONINAS LNANIWOYdd “(SIT1IG AISOf) YAHLNVd ‘| 


9 3LV 1d 210WsUIq]—" | $6] ‘J1Odayy UeIUOSYyTUIG 


SNAKE BITES AND THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 


By M, W. STIRLiIne 


Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology 
Smithsonian Institution 


[With 1 plate] 


The most widely known American Indian ceremonial is undoubt- 
edly the so-called Snake Dance of the Hopi Indians of Arizona. 
Actually the Snake Dance is only the concluding feature of the 
elaborate 9-day Snake Ceremonial, which is held in alternate years 
at most of the Hopi pueblos primarily as a prayer for rain. During 
the preliminary days of the ceremony live snakes, including both 
venomous and nonvenomous varieties, are ritualistically gathered 
from the vicinity of the pueblo and brought to the kiva. Here they 
are utilized in the ceremonies, preparatory to fulfilling their role 
as messengers upon being released on the final day when the public 
ceremony is held, during which live snakes held in the mouth are 
danced with. 

Because of the peculiar attitude of the typical white man toward 
snakes, once the Hopi ceremony became publicized it aroused unusual 
interest, with the result that an enormous literature on the subject 
has been published since the first description appeared in print in 
1881. Some of the early scientific investigators had unusual oppor- 
tunities of observing the ceremonial in fairly complete form, so that 
a number of excellent descriptions were written before the tourist 
influx made the Hopi more secretive toward the whites. It is not 
the purpose of this paper to discuss the ritual or its esoteric sig- 
nificance. For the benefit of the interested reader a selected bibli- 
ography is attached. The intent of this article is merely to put in 
condensed form the answer, at least in part, to one of the most 
frequent queries received by the Bureau of American Ethnology, 
namely, “Are the snake dancers ever fatally bitten; and if not, why 
not?” (For a detailed and excellent treatment of this matter see 
Klauber, 1932.) The complete answer to this query is fairly com- 
plicated and is largely bound up in the fact that the average white 
man is highly superstitious regarding snakes, and the Indian is not. 

551 


552 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Likewise the typical white man is even more ignorant regarding the 
habits and actions of snakes than he is of most other animals, since 
his superstitions cause him to avoid them. The Indian, on the 
other hand, is a realist regarding snakes and is as well versed in 
snakelore as in any other native form of life. 

The only venomous snake available to the Hopi is the prairie rattler, 
Crotalus confluentus confluentus. A study of the results of 128 bites 
by this species revealed 8 fatalities (Hutchison, 1930). Some of these 
had the benefit of antivenin treatment, so that a true fatality per- 
centage might be somewhat higher. Therefore the prairie rattler 
may be considered a moderately dangerous snake. Many factors, of 
course, affect the seriousness of the bite. Among these might be men- 
tioned the size and health of the victim, the location of the bite, and 
the amount of venom injected. Thus we might assume that an adult 
dancer struck fairly by a rattler with full poison glands would suffer 
painful though probably not serious aftereffects. A small boy par- 
ticipant, on the other hand, struck in this manner, would probably 
suffer serious results, possibly fatal. A number of instances of dancers 
being bitten by rattlers, including some of small boys, have been 
recorded in the literature by reputable observers. In no case, how- 
ever, have uncomfortable results been reported nor have the recipients 
of the bites retired from the ceremony after being bitten. In short, 
it is evident that the Hopi snake dancers do occasionally get bitten by 
venomous snakes. Since they are reasonably cautious and skillful in 
the handling of the rattlesnakes, such bites are not very frequent. 
From reports of competent observers and from the Indians themselves 
it would appear that serious results never follow, even though small- 
boy initiates are sometimes struck. The reason for this seeming im- 
munity has been speculated upon at great length by observers of 
widely varying ability. Klauber has listed some of the more common 
theories which he has summarized in three groupings, as follows: 


A—CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE AUDIENCE 


1. The audience is suffering from some form of group hypnotism. 
2. The audience is not qualified to distinguish venomous from nonvenomous 
species. 
B—CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE SNAKE PRIESTS 


1. The priests have taken an internal protective medicine prior to the dance. 

2. They possess knowledge of antidotes—internal, external, or both—which, 
taken after an accident, quickly render rattlesnake bite innocuous and even 
painless. 

3. Sucking, cauterizing, and arresting the circulation by tourniquets are re 
sorted to in case of accident. 

4. The priests are so purified by the ceremonial emetic as to be immune. 

5. They are smeared with a preparation so disagreeable to the snakes (as, for 
instance, in odor) that the latter will not bite. 


HOPI SNAKE DANCE—STIRLING GH) 


6. They are covered with an invulnerable preparation, as, for instance, a thick 
paint. 

7. They are so healthy from outdoor life that rattlesnake bite does not affect 
them. 

8. They have an immunity resulting from a long fast prior to the dance. 

9. They build up an immunity by increasing doses of venom, as is done with 
horses in the preparation of antivenin. 

10. They have a mysterious hypnotic power over the snakes, akin to that said 
to be possessed by the snake charmers of India. 

11. They are fearless of snakes, which, therefore, are without power to bite 
them. 

12. They are protected by the religious exaltation of the ritual. 

18. They are actually bitten with serious results, of which outsiders are kept 
in ignoranee. 


C—CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE RATTLESNAKES 


1. The snakes’ fangs, venom glands, or both have been removed. 
2. Their mouths have been sewed closed. 
8. They have expended their venom on harmless snakes or other objects in the 
kiva. 
. They have been milked of their venom in the kiva. 
. They are tame snakes used repeatedly in successive years. 
They have been lately tamed by handling. 
. They are doped or hypnotized. 
They are starved into submission. 
. They are blinded by the sacred meal, or paralyzed by the tobacco fumes 
from the ceremonial smokes in the kiva. 
10. August is the blind season for rattlers; they cannot see to strike. 
11. They are invariably held in such a way that they cannot bite. 
12. The eagle feather snake-wands prevent their biting. 
13. They cannot strike because they are not permitted to coil. 
14, Rattlers are relatively innocuous anyway. 


WOONA aA 


Most of these theories obviously do not hold; others, deserving of 
consideration, can be proved false. That venomous snakes are actually 
danced with is, of course, amply demonstrated. It is also true that a 
portion of the ceremony involves the taking of an internal “medicine.” 
This, however, is “magical” in nature and not concerned with the 
matter of snake bites. After being bitten in the dance, the Hopi also 
take an “antidote” prepared from herbs, as do almost all Indians when 
bitten by snakes. This “antidote” has been subjected to careful scien- 
tific tests, however, and found to be completely ineffective (Coleman, 
1928). The Indians, of course, do not claim this medicine to have a 
physiological effect, but regard it as a protective charm, since their 
ideas of the cause of the disagreeable results of snake bite are quite dif- 
ferent from ours (Mindeleff, 1886a). The emetic taken by the Hopi 
after the dance for purposes of purification also quite obviously could 
have no effect on a poison which affects the blood stream. 

The fact that the snakes have been kept captive for several days pre- 
ceding the Snake Dance, during which time they are handled, un- 


554 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


doubtedly takes considerable edge from their aggressiveness, as it is a 
commonplace observation of zoo keepers and others that rattlesnakes 
in captivity tend quickly to lose much of their fear of those handling 
them. 

The theory has been frequently advanced that the fangs of the 
snakes have been removed when they are captured, or later in the kiva. 
Curtis (1922) states that one of the priests told him that the fangs of 
the snakes are pinched off with the thumbnail when caught. Other 
later writers have claimed to have recaptured released snakes and 
found their fangs removed. It is probable that in recent years, as a 
result of acculturation, some of the Hopi villages have adopted this 
precaution. However, it is quite certain that originally this practice 
was never followed, as too many careful students of the Snake Dance 
have specifically testified to the contrary. Klauber, an expert herpe- 
tologist, saw at close range rattlers expose their fangs during the dance 
at Mishongnovi. Lummis reports a rattler hanging by its fangs from 
the cheek of a dancer. Scientists have occasionally recaptured rattle- 
snakes immediately after the dance and found the fangs intact. In 
1883, Dr. H. C. Yarrow, a competent herpetologist, was admitted to the 
kiva before the dance and examined one of the rattlers, finding its 
fangs intact. After the dance, two rattlesnakes were sent to Washing- 
ton and found not to have been tampered with (Mindeleff, 1886b). 

Since rattlesnakes are accustomed to strike from the coiled position, 
they would doubtless be in a somewhat unfavorable position as carried 
in the mouths of the dancers. Nevertheless there is ample evidence 
that they can and do sometimes strike under these circumstances. 

After carefully analyzing all the evidence, Klauber advances the 

conjecture that the principal reason for the lack of serious results 
from bites received in the Snake Dance is that the poison glands of 
the rattlers are previously emptied, either by allowing the snakes 
to strike some soft objects or by the simple process of “milking” the 
glands. Klauber says: 
If I were an Indian engaged in this dance I would not be satisfied to 
take a chance on the admitted and known docility of the rattlers, especially 
having in mind the danger to some of the boys of 8 years, or even less, who, 
as novitiate priests, take part in the ceremony. Without taking any step 
which would injure the snakes (even temporarily, as by the removal of the 
replaceable fangs), I would use the simplest, least apparent, and safest method 
of rendering the snakes almost innocuous, that is, by thoroughly emptying the 
venom glands. This statement is based on a personal experience in the milking 
of well over 2,500 rattlesnakes. 

To summarize briefly, the popular appeal of the Snake Dance 
is the result of the white man’s peculiar attitude toward snakes. 
The average person has an exaggerated idea as to the potency of 
rattlesnake venom. With moderate-sized rattlers, such as the species 


HOPI SNAKE DANCE—STIRLING Boo 


used in the Snake Dance, a bite with full poison glands should result 
fatally in less than 1 out of 10, in the case of adults. 

Owing to knowledge of the habits of the rattlesnakes, previous 
manipulation and confinement of the snakes, skill in handling, and 
teamwork in the dance, the Hopi dancers are not frequently bitten. 
However, occasional bites do occur but apparently never with 
serious results. The principal reason for this is probably that dur- 
ing previous handling the poison glands of the snakes have been 
emptied or the venom considerably reduced in quantity. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
BourkE, JOHN G. 
1884. The Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona, being a narrative 
of a journey from Sante Fe, N. Mex., to the village of the Moqui 
Indians of Arizona, with a description of the manners and customs 
of this peculiar people and especially of the revolting religious 
rite, the Snake Dance, to which is added a brief dissertation upon 
Serpent worship in general, with an account of the Tablet Dance 
of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, N. Mex., etc. New York. Pp. xvi+- 
871, pis. 1-81. 
CoLEMAN, GEORGE E. 
1928. Rattlesnake venom antidote of the Hopi Indians. Bull. Antivenin 
Inst. Amer., vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 97-99. 
Curtis, Epwarp 8. 
1922. The North American Indian. Vol. 12: The Hopi, pp. xi+281. 
Dorsry, GEO. A., and VoTH, H. R. 
1902. The Mishongnovi ceremonies of the Snake and Antelope Fraternities. 
Field Columbian Mus., Publ. No. 66, Anthrop. Ser., vol. 3, No. 8, 
pp. 159-261, pls. 75-147. 
FEWKES, J. WALTER. 
1897. Tusayan snake ceremonies. 16th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., 
pp. 267-3811, pls. 70-81. 
1900. Tusayan flute and snake ceremonies. 19th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. 
Ethnol., pt. 2, pp. 957-1011, pls. 45-638, figs. 42-46. 
FEWKES, J. WALTER, assisted by STEPHEN, A. M., and Owens, J. G. 
1894. The snake ceremonials at Walpi. Journ. Amer. Ethnol, and Archaeol., 
vol. 4, pp. vi+126, 40 ills., map. 
HurtcHison, R. H. 
1929. On the incidence of snake-bite poisoning in the United States and 
results of the newer methods of treatment. Bull. Antivenin Inst. 
Amer., vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 48-57. 
1930. Further notes on the incidence of snake-bite poisoning in the United 
States. Bull. Antivenin Inst. Amer., vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 40-43. 
KiAvuser, L. M. 
1932. A herpetological review of the Hopi Snake Dance. Bull. Zool. 
Soc. San Diego, No. 9. 
MINDELEFF, CosMOs. 
1886a. An Indian Snake Dance. Science (Supplement), vol. 7, No. 174, 
pp. 507-514. 
1886b. An Indian Snake Dance. Science, vol. 8, No. 178, pp. 12-13. 
VorH, H. R. 
1903. The Oraibi summer snake ceremony. Field Columbian Mus., Publ. 
No. 83, Anthrop. Ser., vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 268-358, pls. 148-219. 


We be 


ru Mare 


Fie ae pane ok a Hes dprei 

ty, ‘ aaa ay, 4 ‘ espe 

Pree uy fcue ROPES DIR a we 
Mri iby ieee Wx pulil 
Pi Paget ay OS son a \ A 


: : 4 ph er rae: Nae 
; re 
! Aiea ee oe 
2. 7 , 2 i: 
;* ee et ay a) Doe | 
if 4 te § DES Ca L 
vi cf rte i LA, 
Wi L7G 5 ihe J 4 
1 SE 9 Seno k reae ane Ae tag se inh) ae, ROW Ne 
‘ . “ x 4 , , 
: Cigeeh on a Cui Lael MS Thee re eat tat Pra sikh oh te 
fae! PY ot yee se ie ‘ aid ety A ae oy Le pil ya My anak , 
* aor u ; 
iti BA 98h OA A AIT, A My BKC le 
ret cate als, Aas a8 ‘ a i 2 
\ pal? Hae ey) ee edSeRe Vay | a if ny 
ees Oi, SG cee} 


4 ¢ r 515 ad a ‘ 
aie ts RS ST RD Aaa GE 


‘, : 
CVs t aod > 
} 
Vy A May ‘ 
Mts oli er 
Bie rs 


1 wits 
LEG EH, bist Bek. tivo i ‘ried i ma ae ate 
sa a ak pants ail ats 


| Sith dtal ee >i} eae, “ali al ya Ly 
wy: ; bg ne b hdsty AS ik its atl nena Ds a 
a hr) Mate aa ane ean dee 
oe pet Gxt) ft? seen ‘sy i ie * que BO, & a a 

‘yi uy ak i ae 


Disaees 


a 
4 nie r 
ine 
" 
is 

fi 
4 5 
a 
; 
t H 
j 
y 
; } 4 
i we 
i 9, i 
“i .. 


‘puevy Sy Ul SoyRUS SUIP[OY PUR PUBM JOYIRO] YIIM ,,.J01OYIVS,, BSPURIS 14S 941 IV I] OYBUS B SOLIIBO ‘PUBM JOYIRO YIM ,,dossny,, oy} AQ poj1ooso “1ddUBp B Joy ay VY 


“LO61L LSNONY IAONONOHSIWZW LV VZW1d NI ANOWSYsaD AMVNS 


| 31Vv1d BUILING—"| b6| ‘yaodayy ueruosyqiwig 


THE ESKIMO CHILD 


By ALES HrpricKa 


Curator, Division of Physical Anthropology, U. 8S. National Musewn 


[With 10 plates] 


There is no more pleasing or richer study in the field of physical 
anthropology than that of the human child; and a study of the Eskimo 
young is in some respects even more remunerative than that of the 
white because the subject is less familiar, and because the surviving 
Eskimo child is usually healthy, normal, and brought up without 
modern artificialities. 

The Eskimo mother and father, though less demonstrative, love 
their children at least as much as do the average mother and father 
of our race. The Eskimo mother, in fact, sacrifices herself even more 
for her babies than does the average white mother of our time. Her 
children are more dependent on her, as under the hard conditions of 
life in the North the father is of even less help than in our civiliza- 
tion, and she wants to give them the best she has in every particular. 
On the other hand, the Eskimo child, as long as it is healthy, is a very 
contented little creature, giving but little trouble. 

The Eskimo woman as a rule loves to have as many children as 
she can, and in every Eskimo community there are plenty of them; 
but until recently many died from digestive disorders, exposure, and 
infections brought in by whites. Various travelers and casual ob- 
servers, seeing the frequently small Eskimo families, drew the conclu- 
sion that the Eskimo woman was not prolific. This, actual observa- 
tions and records have shown, was erroneous. There are, of course, 
women among the Eskimo, as there are among all peoples, who for 
some reason bear but a few children, and, rarely, even no child at all; 
_but those are exceptions. The true conditions may be seen from the 
records of the last United States censuses and from those taken by 
special observers. I have given the available data in one of my 
papers.t According to the 1930 census? relating to the Alaskan Ks- 


1Wecundity of Hskimo women. Amer. Journ. Phys. Anthrop., vol. 22, p. 91 et seq., 1936. 
1See also Anderson, H. C., and Eell, W. C., The Alaska natives: A survey of their 
sociological and educational status, pp. 138-139. Stanford Univ. Press, 1935. 


557 


558 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


kimo, “the live birth rate per 1,000 of the Eskimo population in 1928 
was 47.1 as based on returns from 12 representative villages. The 
birth rate per 1,000 in the registration area in the United States for 
the same year was 19.7.” 

One of the regions in which there are large numbers of pure-blood 
Eskimo in good condition is that of the Kuskokwim River and the 
neighboring area. Here live about 4,000 of these people, partly civil- 
ized, partly still following the old Eskimo ways. In this region an 
investigation on 27 full-blood Eskimo women at the end of the 
childbearing age showed that the average number of children born 
alive per woman was 6.2; or, eliminating two women who bore but 
two children each, 6.6. Among the American Indians the number of 
children borne by women during their childbearing period averages 
about 7. 

There is, therefore, no dearth of babies among the Eskimo. As a 
matter of fact, since receiving more effective medical assistance the 
people are increasing in numbers, notwithstanding the periodic deadly 
epidemics of influenza, frequent tuberculosis, and other diseases of 
white man’s introduction. 

In rare instances an Eskimo woman will give birth to twins. At 
present such children would probably be brought up, but in the more 
strenuous past such an occurrence might have meant too much of a 
burden, leading to the elimination of the weaker infant. Nothing 
definite, however, is known on this subject among the Eskimo. The 
old people would doubtless still remember, and it would be worth 
while for someone who has their confidence to inquire into the matter. 
As to triplets or other multiple births, nothing could be learned. 

The Eskimo baby comes generally without any expert assistance 
and, as is usual with people of simple life and good resistance, acci- 
dents are uncommon. There are still practiced various old customs 
relating to both the mother and child which ought to be recorded 
and published, but the Eskimo have a lot of good common sense and 
have learned no small amount from both the Russians and the Ameri- 
cans, so that in many details they now behave at birth and there- 
after much as would our own poorer people under similar conditions. 

The babies as a rule are chubby and, when healthy, more quiet and 
patient than ours. They look very much like Indian children and, 
were it not for their more or less brownish color and the fold at the 
inner corner of each eye (epicanthus), would look but little different 
from equally chubby white infants. At first they seldom cry, and 
spend most of their time in sleeping or feeding. They are carried 
along by the mother wherever she goes, and at home they lie on skins 
or blankets. They apparently commence to smile, creep, walk, and 


THE ESKIMO CHILD—HRDLICGKA 559 


talk in the same order and at much the same time as do our children, 
but on these points precise observations are still needed. When ail- 
ing, they are very responsive to cod liver oil and other remedies, as 
are also their mothers. 

There is a general tendency to nurse the baby longer than is the 
practice among the white people. Formerly, as soon as the baby had 
some teeth it was given also tidbits of meat and other food, including 
bought sweets, which often did more harm than good. Feeding prac- 
tices are now being regulated by instruction in the school, with the 
advice of the nurse and the physician; and the mothers are very 
’ responsive, so that infant mortality is decreasing. There is, however, 
still much to be done in this direction. 

The Eskimo mother usually carries her baby in the hood of her 
parka, and the tot seems perfectly contented there—it will even sleep 
there a part of the time. Occasionally, the child is carried on the 
mother’s shoulders, the feet straddling her neck. There are no 
cradleboards among the Eskimo, and no head deformation, either 
intentional or accidental. Older girls, as elsewhere, help with the 
young children. 

An “education” or training of the Eskimo child begins early. For 
a girl it is usually attended to by her mother and grandmother, for a 
boy, by the father and uncle. The girl is taught the womanly duties 
and arts, the boy, boating, hunting, and trapping. Strangely, though 
living by and largely on the water, none of them ever learn to swim— 
the waters are too cold. Until recently, when customs began to change, 
the boys grew exceedingly expert with the kayak (a small skin canoe 
for one person), and later also with the umiak and umiak-pak, the 
larger skin boats of the people. They learned how to throw a dart, 
spear, and harpoon—bows and arrows were used much less and only 
on land; and they learned all the arts, wiles, and lore of the hunter 
and trapper. There were, of course, differences in the aptness of the 
pupils or in talents in special directions, and those with outstanding 
abilities were much honored. 

There is but little punishment of the children among the Eskimo. 
I have witnessed some spankings by the mother—never by the father. 
The Eskimo children in general give less cause for punishment than 
ours—they are more orderly, less mischievous. The boys have but 
little restraint, yet do not seem to abuse their freedom much—for one 
thing there is not so much chance, and for another there is a group 
discipline, once adolescence is reached, to which they must conform. 
In all my contacts with the people I never heard a complaint about 
the children. One sees them everywhere, and from the age of 3 or 4 
they begin to be helpful, doing something useful in connection with 


560 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


the dogs, wood, or boats; as they grow older and stronger, they help 
also in the hunt, with the fishing, handling the game, and in other 
activities. 

But the life of the Eskimo child is far from being all serious and 
all work; there is also much play, and it would be hard to find a 
happier lot in this respect than theirs. They play in very much the 
same way as would our children under the same conditions, but there 
is less altercation and more steadfastness. The girls play with rag 
dolls, which in some instances are provided by the father or uncle with 
an ivory or bone head and perhaps even hands and feet; and they 
build from pieces of driftwood and earth little houses, exactly as 
would ours. They are happy and talk and laugh and pretend, but 
are never very loud. Inside they play and help about the fire, or make 
little odds and ends for their dolls. The boys like boys’ play, sport, 
and contest, but from the beginning their games are related to their 
future occupations. 

Personal embellishment in Eskimo children is now limited to the 
girls. Formerly, the boy at puberty had a hole made on each side 
of the lower lip in which he wore for the rest of his life a labret of 
wood, bone, ivory, lignite, or stone; and there were perhaps other 
practices, but all that has long since been given up. With the girl 
decoration begins in infancy. It consists at first of a simple necklace, 
now generally of varicolored beads, with perhaps a little cross hanging 
from it. As the girl grows, more strands of beads are added, and 
bead strings are also intertwined with the hair, producing a pleasing 
effect. A few now wear also a simple ring, but that has been learned 
from white people. The young and also older women used to be 
tattooed and painted themselves for ceremonies, but that too has all 
been given up. Aside from the beads, the acme of embellishment in 
the older Eskimo girl is a beautiful white-patched reindeer skin parka 
(robe), with a gorgeous wolverine hood collar. 

The Eskimo children formerly wore charms, and some of these are 
perhaps still in use, but they are not in evidence; even the children 
among the Eskimo are sensible people. 

The Eskimo children, particularly the girls, love living pets. The 
most common of these are the fat, shaggy puppies of their dogs. There 
are no ordinary watch dogs or pet dogs or cats—they would not live 
long near the jealous and powerful sled dogs. Some of these latter, 
more particularly the mahlemute breed, grow large, strong, and fierce. 
A visitor dares not approach them; yet a 4- or 5-year-old Eskimo 
boy with a stick will fearlessly walk among them and even hit them, 
without any of them resenting it. But should a child fall down within 
their reach, as happens now and then, they will pounce upon it and 
kill it, should no help come—the old wolf habit. The young, however, 
make very nice and harmless pets. 


THE ESKIMO CHILD—HRDLICKA 561 


There are no social gatherings for the Eskimo children, no com- 
munal functions; but they may, it seems, attend the “dances” and 
singing arranged on occasions by the adults, and also, in summer, 
any outdoor jollifications. 

Thus passes the earlier Eskimo childhood in the Far Northwest. 
Many interesting local details might still be gathered on this period 
and should be recorded before it is too late, for the Eskimo is very 
adaptable and is rapidly changing to a modern way of living and 
doing things. 

With the approach of adolescence the play period of the Eskimo 
child is largely ended. The boy now is a substantial help to his 
father, the girl to her mother. The age at which this period begins 
among the Eskimo girls has within recent years been definitely estab- 
lished in some regions. At Bethel, on the Kuskokwim River, west- 
ern Alaska, the mean age for 16 full-blood girls was 13.3 years, for 
6 mixbloods (Eskimo-White) 13.2 years, with the extremes in the 
former 12 to 141% years, in the latter 11 to 15 years.* This is much 
the same as with the majority of healthy white girls (13 to 15 
years). In the boys, as with ours, the period is generally a little 
later. 

Formerly, there were among the Eskimo various observances 
connected with this period, both for boys and girls, but these have 
now been largely given up. One of the most curious of these prac- 
tices, which doubtless served as one of the tests and marks of initia- 
tion of the youngsters into manhood and womanhood, was the 
knocking out of one or more of their front teeth.* This practice 
was once widespread over the world, including America, and is still 
in vogue among the Australians and some other primitive groups. 
It seems now to be wholly forgotten in Alaska. 

During adolescence, many of the young men grow handsome, ac- 
tive, and in cases rather reckless and boastful; the young women 
often good looking and even very pretty, shy, modest, and in some 
instances full of inborn naive coquetry, highly enjoyable to the 
observer. Not a few of these girls now marry local white men, and 
make them fair wives. The well-trained and educated girls brought 
up by such establishments as the Moravian Orphanage on the Kus- 
kokwim River are especially sought for, so that there are generally 
a number of native grooms, with now and then a white, awaiting their 
release. 

The outstanding sports for the Eskimo youth are wrestling and 
tossing. Wrestling has always been in great repute among the 


*¥For details see the writer’s “Puberty in Eskimo Girls.” Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., vol. 
22, pp. 355-357, 1936. 

“See the writer’s “Ritual Ablation of Front Teeth in Siberia and America,” Smithsonian 
Misc. Coll., vol. 99, No. 8, 1940. 


562 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Alaskan Eskimo. Matches, the old-timers say, were held yearly be- 
tween the Eskimo of northeastern Siberia and those of St. Lawrence 
Island and the Kotzebue region. To this day, high on the hill at 
Gamble (St. Lawrence Island), the Eskimo show burial places of 
famed wrestlers. 

The tossing game was probably brought over by the Russians. 
It consists of a girl or a boy, standing on a skin held outstretched 
slackly some feet above the ground by strong young men, being 
tossed up by a combined jerk that straightens the skin, dropping 
down, being tossed up higher, and so on until the players tire. I 
have seen a young woman thus tossed up, as high as 5 feet above the 
skin, rising and descending time and again, as straight and stiff as a 
doll. It is no mean sport and must call for no small ability on the part 
of both the tossed and the tossers. 

A healthy Eskimo child is a happy and lovable creature and, 
except for less boisterousness, nervousness, and _ self-consciousness, 
is very much like our own average youngster. They are tractable, 
malleable, and, though less demonstrative than ours, become genu- 
inely attached to a good teacher. They are by no means stupid or 
stolid, and as soon as the difficulties with language are overcome, 
they progress very much as do white children. When the girls 
marry, if fate gives them good husbands and spares them illness, 
they keep their homes as clean and bright as could any of their 
white sisters. 

When a child dies there is deep though undemonstrative mourning. 
A small, sickly infant is not mourned for so much, but the loss of a 
larger or stronger child is felt deeply. It will never be voluntarily 
spoken of, and its name will never be mentioned. The loss is par- 
ticularly felt when no more children can be had by the mother, and may 
then be compensated for more or less by the adoption of an orphan. 

The Eskimo population as a whole is happy, resourceful, and 
virile, and everyone who truly knows them must wish them all pos- 
sible good. May we be wise and just enough to save their children 
from the many unnecessary deaths, and aid in every rational way 
to restore and further develop this excellent strain of native people, 
who are utterly American, and may yet be the saving element for 
many parts of Alaska. 


“R[NSUIMAT PABMAg ,,AOYIOT IIIT, OUL 
"NOIDSYM AWON ‘GQ7TIHD GNV YSAHLOW OWIMSS °?Z “"NS3YCTIHD OWIMS®Z “1 


L 3LV 1d RHPA —' [PG] “Woday weruosyqiug 


“VIOSNIN3d 
Na3YqTIHD OML YAH AGNV YAHLOW OWINSA “1 


‘WAS ONIYSG NYAHLYON ‘GIIHD OWIMSZ *Z GuvMas * 


¢ ALVId PA2PAH— Ih61 ‘Woday ueiuosyzturg 


“WIMYMOmM 
-SNM AIGGIW ‘MOTHSING ‘SIYyID OWNS AILLIT ASYHL *?e ‘WIMMOMSNM AIGGICW ‘MOTHSINGO ‘SAOG OWIMSA ASYHL *1 


€ ALVId 24211PIH— 1h6| ‘Oday weruosyqiws 


y ALW1d 


“WIMMOMSNMY ATIHD OWIMS®A “2 


eAPIH— |p| ‘Wodey weruosyyruig 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Hrdlitka 


1. ESKIMO BOYS, SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA. 


ii nl st i lst lly an 


2. ESKIMO CHILDREN, BETHEL. 


“AGAWOICG AILLIT NO‘'ATINVA S.,YSHOVAL OWINSA 


9 ALWId eH21PIH— |f6| ‘“HOdey ueruosyarwg 


“"WIMMOMSN™M “1HID OWIMS® °2 “TAHL3AG SAO8V SADVNVHdYO NVIAVYOW “THID OWIMS® 1 


LaLWd ®21(PIH— 1h6| ‘Hodey weruosya tug 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Hrdlitka PLATE 8 


i ? 


1. FULLBLOOD ESKIMO BOYS, WALES. 


2. ESKIMOS AT MOOSE CREEK CAMP, UPPER MIDDLE KUSKOKWIM. 


“GNV1SI SJONSYMV LS (AOG OWINSA LNAOSATOOY NV “2 “SA1VM 1Y!1D OWIMSA LNSADSA1IO0Y NV ‘1 


6 3ALVW1d BY2|PI{— | $6] ‘W4odey uvruosyzwig 


“ONV1S|] JONAYMV 7 LS THID OWINSA LNSDSa100Vv 


OL 3ALW1d PAI (PALY— [$6] ‘Woday ueruosyqwig 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION: (RECENT DEVELOP- 
MENTS IN AIR TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT) 


By THEODORE P. WRIGHT, D. Sc. 


Vice President and Director of Engineering, Curtiss-Wright Corp. 


[With 14 plates] 


During the past few years, we have been forced to think of the 
airplane’s future more in terms of “air power” than “air transport.” 
Starting with Munich, air power assumed a dominant rcle in inter- 
national affairs. It is fortunate that we, in this country, have been 
able to maintain a better balance between military and commercial 
aviation so that we can continue to appreciate that the ultimate role 
of the airplane is to serve peaceful purposes. 

It is not intended to imply that we can, for an instant, relax our 
efforts in building up our air force; we cannot play the role of the lamb 
in a world of wolves. But in spite of this necessity for military avia- 
tion to receive such great attention, it is still essential to look into the 
future and study the possibilities and objectives of air transportation. 
This is important now and will be more so after the present conflict 
is ended. 


TRANSPORTATION 


“The very pace of life depends upon the speed with which matter 
can be converted into energy available for transportation.” Let us 
consider transportation in general: the carrying of goods or persons 
from one place to another. We constantly seek to reduce the effective 
size of the earth and to increase the effective span of human life. Prog- 
ress in this field has been marked by a succession of improvements 
paralleling the development of civilization itself: First by walking, 
“leg power”; then by domesticated animals; by the invention of the 
wheel; by the application of steam and the internal combustion engine 
to the railroad and the automobile and the steamboat; and now finally 
by the airplane. In each case, ourselves or our goods move from where 


1 Presented at a joint meeting of The Franklin Institute and the Philadelphia Chapter 
of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences held Wednesday, December 6, 1939. Reprinted 
by permission from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 229, No. 4, April 1940. 

563 
430577—42———_37 


564 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


they are to somewhere else that we want them to be in some amount 
of time. It is significant that the quotient of distance over time is 
velocity, or speed. 

What then differentiates this latest means of transportation from 
the others? It is true that it strikes off into a different medium, one 
of three dimensions, the air, but the essential difference is that it car- 
ries out the function of transportation at greater speeds. From 
moving under his own power at 4 miles an hour, man has contrived 
to increase his speed to 40 miles an hour by automobile, to 65 miles an 
hour by rail, to 200 miles an hour by air when traveling long distances. 
One may ask: Is it likely that air transportation will continue to 
advance and augment its services, even to become the major means of 
transportation? To do this it must be economically sound; and the 
year just ended shows that progress has reached a stage of advance 
where this is now the case. 

We wish to see where we are going in this new field. Trends are 
therefore important, and it is a major object of this paper to discuss 
this item of trends, alluding to some of the engineering methods that 
have been used in order to reach our present status, and to others 
which will be used in order further to improve. Finally, we ask: 
Should it be? Is it in general good for man to be able to travel from 
place to place three or four times as rapidly as was heretofore possible? 
Will his life be fuller and richer and will there be greater happiness 
for a greater number if this maintains? My answer to all of these 
questions is “Yes,” as in the final analysis, the destiny of the airplane 
will be to serve peaceful rather than warlike purposes. But the 
attainment of such objective will not be automatic. We cannot be 
too certain. We must constantly bear in mind the social implications 
of science, and make sure that civilization is advanced and not retarded 
by our scientific progress, particularly by its most recent acquisition, 
the airplane. 

HISTORY 


With this brief statement of the case, let us now examine more 
particularly the history of air transportation. In a lecture given by 
Mr. E. P. Warner at Norwich University on this subject, he selects as 
a starting point the year 1870 and I will follow his example. 

The Franco-Prussian War was under way and the city of Paris 
was being besieged. Normal communication with the outside provinces 
was completely cut off. The Parisians finally resorted to the use of 
the free balloon to remedy this situation. During the 127 days of 
siege, 64 balloons were sent up from Paris, carrying some 4 million 
letters and 88 passengers to the outside world. Only a few of the 
balloons were lost, either at sea or to the enemy, so that this initial 
effort in air transportation may be considered to have been successful. 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 565 


This means could be used, of course, only for transportation out of 
Paris, but an ingenious method was devised for making possible the 
dispatch of return communications. Each balloon carried a quota of 
homing pigeons when it left Paris which were subsequently released 
with reply messages. 

The next step in aerial transportation took place in 1911, also 
using lighter-than-air craft. A service utilizing 5 Zeppelins was 
operated for 2 years between several cities in Germany. During this 
time, over 34,000 passengers were carried, traveling 107,000 miles in 
all with no loss of life. The service was far from satisfactory eco- 
nomically and was abandoned. 

But we are interested primarily in heavier-than-air craft. The 
epoch-making flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903 was followed by 
9 or 10 years of activity which involved flying, but not air trans- 
portation. Aviation meets consisting of much stunt and demonstra- 
tion flying were the rule. 

Almost from the first, however, the prospect of carrying mail by 
air was in the minds of all these enthusiasts though it was not until 
the end of this period of infancy that any official carriage of mail 
by air took place. Preceded by stunt mail-carrying wherein a small 
amount of mail might be transported to a flying field by auto truck, 
flown about a bit, perhaps to another field, and then picked up by an- 
other (or possibly the same) truck and carried back to the same 
post office, a real start was made on September 23, 1911, when the 
Post Office Department authorized Earle Ovington to make an 
official mail flight. Emphasis must here be placed on the fact that 
at that time it was the carrying of mail that appealed to the popular 
fancy as the goal of the airplane. 

Several isolated attempts at starting air transport lines took place 
following this period, such as one in 1914 which operated with a 
single flying boat between St. Petersburg and Tampa, in Florida, a 
distance of 86 miles. All of these efforts, essentially uneconomical, 
were abandoned after short periods of operation. Greater airplane 
efficiency had to be realized before success could be attained. 

A real start, however, was made in 1918 when the Post Office De- 
partment decided to fly the mail between New York and Washington, 
D. C. The Army Air Service, with Maj. Reuben Fleet in charge of 
the operation, was designated to do the job since initial bids for 
airplanes designed especially for the service resulted in delivery dates 
for the craft which were unsatisfactory to the impatient officials. The 
first flight was made on May 15, 1918, and was intended to consist 
of a trip in each direction. The flight of the plane leaving Washing- 
ton, with the take-off witnessed by the President of the United States 
and members of his Cabinet, terminated shortly thereafter in southern 


566 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Maryland, completely off the course. The trip from New York, how- 
ever, was successful, consuming 814 hours’ time at a cost, in this 
Army training plane, of approximately the same amount per mile as is 
now required to fly a modern 14-passenger transport with many times 
the load and speed. However, the line continued and great credit is 
due this pioneering effort to carry the mail regularly by air, a service 
which has never ceased to improve and expand. 

Landmarks in this expansion followed in rapid succession. One 
was the opening of the New York-to-Chicago route in 1919, using 
rebuilt wartime DH-4 airplanes. Another, and an illuminating 
vision of the future, was the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean 
by air—the successful undertaking of the United States Navy, using 
NC-4 flying boat. 

On September 8, 1920, the first transcontinental flight was made 
during a competition, one plane getting through in 9 days 414 hours. 
But an event of outstanding importance occurred on February 22, 
1921, when Jack Knight completed a night flight from Omaha to 
Chicago, under terrifically unfavorable weather conditions. His 
way was lighted only by occasional bonfires. Lighting of this sort 
at frequent intervals had been promised but because of weather con- 
ditions so unfavorable to flying, many communities failed to light 
their fires. Made possible by this night flight, mail was carried from 
San Francisco to New York in about 3314 hours, approximately 
twice the time now required for a similar service. 

Another important event of 1921 was the inauguration by the 
Army Air Service of a regular Dayton-to-Columbus airway for 
night flying. Here the revolving beacon with periodic flashes was 
developed, an innovation which was to prove so advantageous in 
the system of airways later evolved for this country. Its inherent 
advantages over the simple lighthouse type favored in Europe con- 
tributed much toward the more rapid advance of air transportation 
in this country. The lighted airway from Cheyenne-to-Chicago was 
completed and put into operation on July 1, 1921. This was a most 
important step in progress as by it a great number of enthusiasts 
of that time appreciated anew the fact that in order to take full 
advantage of the airplane as a means of transportation night flying 
must be used. This country surpassed Europe by a wide margin 
both in the proportion and technique of night-flying operations. 

By 1927, the Post Office Department had satisfactorily established 
its basic air-mail system and was ready to turn it over to private 
operators. The last flight by the Department was on September 1, 
1927. It had expended 17 million dollars in its pioneering efforts, 
had received back about 7 million and thus gave to the American 
people a magnificent start in air transportation at the exceedingly 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT _ 567 


small relative net cost to the taxpayers of 10 million dollars. The 
operation had been dangerous and had resulted in many fatalities, 
as must all pioneering efforts, but the fatality rate decreased sharply 
from its inception to the final flight at which time it was at least 
10 times as safely conducted as at first. 

Having outlined the progress in carrying the mail which was the 
first use to which the airplane was put in commerce, let us now 
consider the progress in carrying passengers. As remarked above, 
at first passenger-carrying did not strike the American public fancy 
as the final role of air transport. This differed from the attitude in 
Europe where passenger-carrying rather than mail-carrying seemed 
to be the goal, and consequently where the start in air transportation 
was made. However, there were a few lines in the United States, the 
primary purpose of which was to carry passengers. These were 
started in 1919 and operated between New York and Atlantic City; 
Miami and Nassau; Seattle and Victoria, and Key West and Havana. 
It is noteworthy that they all used flying boats and that although 
some useful service was given, they were not by any means suc- 
cessful financially. 

In 1920, the Army Air Service again made a distinct contribution 
when it inaugurated its model airways system. Capt. Burdette S. 
Wright initially supervised the operation which lasted through the 
next 5 years, involving a total of 336,000 miles of flying. Aside 
from the contribution made in requirements of cross-country flying 
for Army officers, a real lasting service was provided air transporta- 
tion by spreading air-mindedness to hundreds of communities along 
the airways. This resulted in a period of airport development of 
great importance. 

The relationship between Government and private enterprise in 
developing air transport was very unsatisfactory at this time. Rec- 
ognizing this, a group known as the Morrow Board was appointed 
by the President to investigate the situation. A very statesmanlike 
report was made, resulting in the passage of the Air Commerce Act 
on May 20, 1926, a date to be noted as an important landmark in 
air transportation development in this country. An Assistant Sec- 
retary of Commerce for Air was appointed and steps were taken for 
regulating air transportation for the future. Then, in 1927, came 
the solo trans-Atlantic flight of Colonel Lindbergh which set the 
country aflame with enthusiasm for the air. Expansion followed 
at once with such lines as National Air Transport, Transcontinental 
Air Transport, the Aviation Corporation network (later American 
Airways), United Aircraft and Transportation Corporation, and 
Western Air Express, organized and started in operations by 1929. 

Another development of far-reaching significance was the inaugu- 


568 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


ration of the Pan American Airways System which started in 1927 
with a run of 90 miles from Key West to Havana. This line ex- 
panded rapidly to 12,000 miles in 1928, encircling the Carribean, and 
then to South America in 1930, further extending its mileage to 
30,000. We all know and are proud of the more recent developments 
of Pan American Airways wherein the Pacific was spanned in 1935, 
bringing the total mileage to 33,000, and the Atlantic in 1988, raising 
the figure to 54,000 miles, a truly remarkable development and one 
envied by all the countries of the world. Pan American has fur- 
nished a most important service to our country in extending com- 
munication services to the far-flung points on its routes. In the 
future, this dual role, transportation and communications, will be 
important in international affairs. 

But to return to a somewhat earlier period, we find that by 1931 
there had been completed the phase of mergers which sought to com- 
bine the great number of individual air-line companies previously 
organized into basic groups much as we know them today. If avia- 
tion’s “infancy” ended in 1911, we can say that its “childhood” ended 
in 1926 and its “adolescence” in 1931. 

One of the first air lines to be formed in Europe was K. L. M. in 
1920. Its record of expansion and achievement has made it one of 
the greatest lines in the world. We, in this country, are rather proud 
of the fact that the equipment which it has used during the last 5 or 6 
years has been of American design and manufacture—Douglas planes 
with Wright engines. Imperial Airways was formed in 1924, Luft- 
hansa in 1926, and Air France in 1933. Perhaps the most significant 
difference between foreign air lines and our own is in the matter of 
subsidies. In the first place, the amount of subsidy abroad was and 
is larger than ours; and in the second place, the subsidy has usually 
taken the form of direct payment to the air lines as against the 
American way of payment for carrying the mails. In addition to 
the far smaller proportion which the subsidies of our air lines bear 
to income from other sources than maintains abroad, the method of 
determining it, as mentioned above, is of equal importance in induc- 
ing American air lines to make themselves self-sustaining economi- 
eally. This is certainly the ultimate goal and its attainment is much 
more nearly approximated here than abroad. It is so much the case 
that many doubt the correctness of calling air-mail payments here a 
subsidy as they seem really to represent a legitimate Government 
expense in providing a most necessary service. 

This very brief history of air transportation can be concluded by 
stating that after 1931, which ended the period I called “adolescence,” 
wherein its own development was its chief concern, the industry 
started its next period of “young manhood.” Its strength was by 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 569 


then such that from the standpoint of competition it could force 
consideration on other forms of transportation. Let us therefore 
consider the broad relationship between air transportation and 
transportation by rail. 


AIR TRANSPORT IN COMPETITION WITH OTHER TRANSPORT 
METHODS 


In table 1 this comparison shows that by virtue of greater speed 
and shorter distances, the time-saving factor favors the air by about 
3144 to 1. The fare differential favors travel by rail by a ratio of 
3 to 2, but combining the two in a time-cost efficiency factor, there 
appears a resultant gain for the air by 214 to 1. A more refined 
analysis is given later but because of the existence of these broad 
considerations, the rapid expansion of air transport has resulted. 
Let us now view this progress in terms of equipment. 


TABLE 1.—Transportation: rail vs. air 


Variation Average 

Speed between stations over 200 miles apart___.____ 0. 30 to 0. 40:1 (he8} Bal 

Distance between stations over 200 miles apart_____ 105\to ds 22 21: albatsy Bal 

Time between stations over 200 miles apart___.____- 3. 00 to 3. 90:1 SOOn teh 

Fare’ between stations over 200 miles apart________ 0. 65 to 0. 70:1 0.66 :1 
Time-cost efficiency factor=—1/cost factor xX time 

TEE Raye ak Sas Ty oes Ns EAE ee ees eS ee 0. 30 to 0. 49:1 0. 484:1 


1 Fares cited are based on quotations for 1-way trips, including Pullman fares in the 
case of rail travel, and not taking account of reductions for round trips, for use of scrip 
tickets or excursion rates, or other special considerations, such as the saving in expense 
for meals when traveling by air. The result of combining such factors will react to the 
advantage of air travelers, giving, in round numbers, a time-cost efficiency factor favorable 
to the air when comparing to rail of about 2.5: 1. ' 


EQUIPMENT USED IN AIR TRANSPORTATION 


Starting from the use of Army training planes during World 
War I and later modified Army observation planes, it was not until 
1926 that types designed specifically for air-transport use appeared. 
As an example of this early effort, plate 1, figure 1, illustrates the 
Boeing Model 40, a biplane designed much along the Army observa- 
tion plane formula but nevertheless specifically built for air trans- 
port. Its cruising speed was about 100 miles an hour. By 1929 
the Ford trimotor had come into use for air transportation at a 
cruising speed of about 105 miles an hour (pl. 1, fig. 2). The expan- 
sion of the air lines at this time and the period immediately following 
was very largely based on the Ford, which appealed to the popular 
fancy because of its monoplane arrangement, its all-metal construc- 
tion, and its three engines. Not economical to operate in the light 
of present standards, it nevertheless seemed to operators of those 
days the last word in efficiency and many considered that nothing 


570 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


better need be expected. It was noisy, it was none too comfortable, 
but, after a fashion, it did the job. 

The Curtiss Condor (pl. 1, fig. 83) appeared in 1930. Although a 
biplane in accord with the earlier traditions, it nevertheless marked 
a distinct advance in two respects. First, it had two engines and 
would actually fly at a reasonable altitude in a satisfactory manner 
when one engine was inoperative. Secondly, it made a very distinct 
contribution toward comfort for passengers, both from the standpoint 
of the luxurious seats which it provided and, more particularly, 
because of the installation of sound-deadening means which reduced 
the cabin noise level to a point approximating that of other means 
of transportation. It had a cruising speed of 116 miles an hour. 

In Europe at about this time there appeared the Handley-Page 
Hannibal (pl. 2, fig. 1), a biplane type equipped with four engines 
but cruising at under 100 miles an hour. A fair degree of comfort 
was provided but its slow cruising speed would not seem to justify 
the long period of service that it had on Imperial Airways. 

A sesquiplane, the French Breguet Model 39, was developed in 1934, 
and the German Junkers triplane came out that same year. Like the 
Ford, this latter was all-metal construction and had three engines, 
but, unlike the Ford, it had a low-wing rather than high-wing ar- 
rangement. 

In this country, the next plane which should have special mention 
was the Boeing 247 (pl. 2, fig. 2), also appearing in 1934. Cruising 
speeds were raised to 180 miles per hour by this ship which also had 
most of the present-day features of form, including all-metal low- 
wing twin-engine monoplane construction with retractable landing 
gear. This type is still giving good service on several air lines. In 
1934, there also appeared another version of the Curtiss Condor, the 
chief contribution of which was the introduction of the sleeper ar- 
rangement for night flying. Plate 2, figure 3, illustrates the interior of 
this ship alternatively arranged for use during the day and at night. 
With planes of this type American Airlines started its popular cross- 
country sleeper schedules, 

As to flying boats: a step ahead occurred when the Sikorsky S42 
was placed in service on Pan American Airways. Although the first 
large boat used by that company was the Consolidated Commodore, 
nevertheless, the S-42 and S-42A were and still are standard equip- 
ment for the South American runs. Plate 3, figure 1, shows this 
Sikorsky. 

It was also in 1934 that the Douglas DC-2 appeared, embodying all 
the essential improvements which are used in the present-day air trans- 
port. In addition to the use of two-engine, low-wing all-metal mono- 
plane arrangement with retractable landing gear, introduced by Boe- 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 571 


ing, it also incorporated the Wright Cyclone engine with NACA cowl, 
the wing flap with resultant permissible increase in wing loading, and 
the controllable-pitch propeller. Cruising at 180 miles an hour with 
a complement of 14 passengers, it provided a degree of excellence in 
air transportation unequaled (if not indeed unapproached) by any 
other piece of equipment. It is indeed fitting that the Guggenheim 
Medal should be awarded to Donald Douglas this year in recognition of 
his contributions to air transportation, starting as he did mainly with 
the introduction of the DC-2. Plate 3, figure 2, is a view of this air- 
plane in flight. 

Again to revert to flying boats, there is shown in plate 4, figure 1, 
the Martin 130, by means of which the Pacific route of Pan American 
Airways was opened up. Cruising at 130 miles an hour, this flying boat 
possessed a very high ratio of useful load in proportion to gross weight. 

The next big step in equipment development was the Douglas DC-3, 
the present standard of air-transport equipment of the air lines of 
the world. Although developed directly from the DC-2, neverthe- 
less, by virtue of greater span and larger fuselage, coupled with 
slightly more power permitting a substantial increase in useful load, 
it has made possible very great economy of operation. With a gross 
weight of about 24,000 pounds and a payload of 5,000, it cruises at 
181 miles an hour and can be operated at a direct operating cost of $65 
an hour; 39 cents a mile; and 1.8 cents per 200-pound payload unit per 
mile. This airplane is shown in plate 4, figure 2. 


TRENDS 


Having illustrated the advance in air-transport equipment to this 
point, it is desirable now to show by a series of graphs the trends which 
are indicated for various phases of our subject. 


GROWTH OF AIR TRANSPORTATION 


First, let us consider the growth of air transportation as illustrated 
in figure 1. The four sets of curves are self-explanatory in showing 
a tendency to accelerate in growth during the past 2 or 3 years, and 
particularly in 1939, as measured by growth in airways, passengers, 
passenger-miles, and ton-miles of mail and express. One can only 
reach the conclusion from these data that there will be a substantial 
period of time before any falling off in tendency to increase may be 
expected. 

ECONOMIC ASPECTS 


Now let us consider certain economic aspects of the situation in a 
second group of graphs (fig. 2). Here, under figure 2 (A) is indi- 
cated the saving involved by air travel as against rail when considering 


572 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


all factors of expense, including salary loss, and under three classifi- 
cations. For the middle case, a salary of $3,500 per year, it appears to 
be economical to travel by air if the distance involved is 750 miles or 
greater, and under the assumption that the alternative of rail travel 
would be carried out at night to cut down the salary loss while travel- 
ing to nothing or toa minimum. If travel were to be carried out in 
the daytime by either means of transportation, the lines representing 
air and rail travel cross at about 200 miles for all salary brackets. 

Under figure 2 (B) a few statistics are shown. Reduction in 
passenger fare from 12 cents a mile to 5.7 cents has brought this item 
to a point where, from figure 2 (A), it appears reasonable travel 
economy is effected. The tendency for passenger-load factor to 
stabilize at 60 percent requires some comment as, offhand, it might be 
considered that a larger amount would be necessary or at least de- 
sirable. However, it should be realized that in order to attain this 
average, there must, of necessity, be many trips which are 100 percent 
filled. It is also evident that at 100 percent load factor, it would be 
likely that in many cases passengers would be turned away because of 
lack of capacity. Furthermore, such a lack of capacity would imply 
failure on the part of the operators to render a service which can 
reasonably be expected by the public. It appears that the tendency 
to stabilize at 60 percent will persist and that air lines must therefore 
reckon on making their operations satisfactory to themselves 
financially on this basis. 

The next noteworthy item is average trip length which is ap- 
parently stabilizing at about 400 miles, a decrease from a few years 
ago due to a tendency recently for short-haul traffic to increase. 
Next, there is the figure of 95 percent efficiency in completing trips 
started. 

In figure 2 (@) there is shown the increase in air traffic against 
Pullman traffic from a figure of just over 3 percent in 1935 to almost 
7 percent at the present time (December 1939). As the points on 
which this curve are based lie on a straight line, it is reasonable to 
expect continuation of this tendency, reaching 10 percent by 1945. It 
is possible that there will be an acceleration thereafter and several 
have prognosticated a final flattening out at 40 or 50 percent. 
Apropos of this possibility should be mentioned the comparison of 
bus and rail traffic. A comparison of these two modes of travel 
showed that but 1 percent as many people traveled by bus as by rail 
in 1920 while by 1932 a figure of 37 percent was reached. 

Trans-Atlantic air travel has only just commenced, but in view of 
the loads now being carried by Pan American Clippers, it can con- 
fidently be predicted that the proportion of air to first-class boat 
travelers will be substantial. The market is available, as recent anal- 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 573 


ae Tere 3F 
= ow iS 


‘one 
ep sta nas 


Fi@vureE 1. 


pees cereses 

ig 

phe geet 

TE 

Vt i 

+ 

aye 

He 
a2. a a 
a 


FIGURE 2, 


574 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


yses have shown that in normal times there are a hundred or more 
passengers per day crossing the ocean in liners and who pay rates 
comparable to those asked by Pan American for air passage. Already 
Pan American, with over 100 crossings to its credit, is averaging about 
20 passengers a trip on a twice-a-week schedule with occasional sched- 
ules of 30 or 40. Mail, averaging about 1 ton a flight, has occasionally 
gone to 3,500 or 4,000 pounds. It is rumored that more frequent sched- 
ules will be justified in the near future in the expectation that even in 
peacetime such frequency of schedule will be justified. 

The last subdivision of figure 2, graph (D), shows the improved 
efficiency of the airplane as measured in terms of horsepower-hours 
per ton-mile pay load. This factor has decreased (showing increased 
efficiency) since the start in 1922 from a figure of seven to a present 
figure of just over two. The fact that this curve has flattened out is a 
clear indication that the difficulties of further improvement will be 
great. It should be noted, however, that in general our air lines made 
a profit in 1939. I previously mentioned a direct operating cost of 1.8 
cents per passenger-mile for the Douglas DC-3 airplane. If a 66 per- 
cent overhead is assumed and a 60 percent capacity load factor, it 
means there is an actual operating cost of 5 cents per passenger-mile. 
Subtracted from present fare averages of 5.7, a profit of 0.7 cents per 
passenger-mile, or just over 12 percent, results; so passenger air trans- 
portation with present equipment can be made profitable. 


GROWTH IN SIZE 


The graphs of figure 3 are designed to illustrate the growth of the 
airplane itself. It should be realized that average curves have been 
drawn to show the tendency to increase in size. Naturally, there are 
smaller pieces of equipment coexistent with larger. In fact, curves 
(A), (2), (C) of figure 3, rather than being averages of all equipment, 
are more accurately a trend of the largest sizes for any given period. 
The tendency of the weight curve, (A), for landplanes to flatten out 
as against the nonexistence of any such tendency for flying boats is 
significant in connection with the different type of service each pro- 
vide. The long-distance service of the flying boat requires less fre- 
quency of schedule and makes it likely (as indicated in graph (A) of 
fig. 3) that greater and greater sizes will be developed. However, for 
landplanes, the desire for a service “every hour on the hour” auto- 
matically sets a limit on size increase. It is perhaps noteworthy that 
the Douglas DC-4 airplane which will first be placed in service is not 
the original DC-4 but a smaller version. This flattening out in size 
curve for landplanes will, of course, not persist if in the future, as may 
well occur, landplanes are used for transoceanic service. 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 575 


Graphs (B) and (C) of figure 3 show, respectively, increases in 
horsepower and cost of equipment. ‘Twin-engined landplanes cost- 
ing $115,000 may be expected to increase to over $225,000 and four- 
engined equipment in the $350,000 bracket will be with us soon. In 
the flying-boat field, we are now in the half-million-dollar class. 
Graph (D) of figure 3 shows the steady increase in average seating 
capacity, rising from 7 in 1932 to 14 at the present time. 


iz se a 


i (ati 
ie HA 


HE 
ieeeee 


ape ee 


Nn, 


rH 
esas 
suse” aeaer’ ag Awe arr 


eadard Spa igecvssssccsesduacn 
a 


Sts sa8* i 


ica en 
Sd Nie 


afi 


Perry Bee eet 


HEH 
eae ai 


‘Fan 


| He este SEH 
oa 
AH 
raed i PLES oe es 
ieee i enll 


ete eres HH 
saremilsuit HH ssa neee a 
BOGE SHBG. BA AO 92 96.89.90 | || 


BSSCocRBes SS OSS8S SeSeeeeenes: E oH 


FIGURE 3. 
COMFORT AND SAFETY 


The curves of figure 4 are presented to show improvements In com- 
fort and safety.2. Graph (A) is extremely important, in that the 
steady increase in weight per passenger of passenger furnishings and 
safety equipment shown has been so marked in the past 10 years that 
we have arrived at the point where the operator now carries the equiva- 
lent weight of two passengers and baggage for every one that he actu- 
ally carries! In other words, passenger furnishings now amount in 
weight to 175 pounds per passenger with safety equipment at about 15 
pounds. This increase of 150 pounds per passenger of such equipment 
between the old Ford and the Douglas DC-3 is a good measure of the 
improvement in comfort of the modern air liner. An interesting side 


21 am indebted to E. T. Allen for the data necessary to plot curves (A) and (B) and 
in one or two of the other curves shown. 


576 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


comment here concerns the fact that because of the increase just de- 
scribed, it has not been possible to increase the useful load in terms of 
percentages of gross load. In fact, an actual decrease has occurred. 
From 1929 to 1939, this percentage has decreased from 40 to 33, where 
it appears to be stabilized. For flying boats, during the same period, 
it started at 45 percent and increased in certain instances to 50 but 
now seems to be stabilizing at 42. The fact that it has not gone down 
still further is only due to improvements in structural efficiency which 
have been accomplished. 


isi esol el 
sees Ruensaeaen pe Et mE 
t cH “ fa ati 
ane He EPL PE 
rT COAT i | Bey 
r HH ist 
ai rt FEE aL EHHEe 
> Pepe 
asc nsnnn ia 
ot Pearce ty 
anaes Ht { re, 
eee tiie 
Tee ti 
FPEEEEECE ry it 
ae inal 
gegeuenenl See 
18 ia BH 
ie HAT 
savafaseetaseateteeiavetiaiet 
£ {i FREE EEL TEE 
if 15 
—1t ly aa 
au STEER REEEE 
TH EEE 
EEE soosesaaqegs ce eeay face 
cangae. : LEAH 
T cs 4p 
EEE EEE 
ty FELL RIAA 
7 H Fete Bue 
a ot 


Ficure 4. 


Provision for increased space as shown in figure 4 (B) will be recog- 
nized at once as a substantial contribution toward passenger comfort. 
These curves for flying boats give values roughly twice those that main- 
tain for landplanes. For the latter our modern transport planes pro- 
vide over 10 square feet and 60 cubic feet per passenger. But from 
the standpoint of comfort, it is perhaps figure 4 (C) which shows the 
most important contribution, namely, reduction of noise. The decibel 
unit (old scale) is used and it may be seen that from the days of the 
Ford in which noise of 110 decibels existed, we are now in the 70- 
decibel range. This 40-percent decrease is (as mentioned above) 
based on the decibel unit which, in turn, is a logarithmic scale measure- 
ment. The actual sound in our present-day air-transport cabins is 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 577 


but 1/50,000 as much as 10 years ago. In fact, it is almost exactly the 
same as for the Pullman car, being, of course, far less than in street- 
cars and subway trains, and only slightly more than for an automobile 
traveling at 50 miles an hour. To obtain further improvement will 
require expenditure of a greater amount of weight, and it is likely that 
a final stabilizing figure of 65, or possibly slightly less, will maintain. 

And now for safety (fig.4 (D)). Here have been shown the actual 
points for each year which have maintained during the past 10 years 
for passenger fatalities per one hundred million passenger-miles 
flown and a trend curve. The record is remarkable and important. 
Let us take the year 1938, where the figure is five, and let us appre- 
ciate that this figure represents one fatality for twenty million passen- 
ger-miles, which is the equivalent of a flight each day from New York 
to Los Angeles and back the next day, carried on without interrup- 
tion for 21 years. ‘The record for 1939 is very substantially better (an 
actual figure of less than 114), so much so that President Roosevelt 
issued a special news release on this record on November 7, 1939, by 
which date 500 million passenger-miles of air-transport operations had 
been completed without a fatality and which, as he dramatically 
pointed out, was the equivalent of transporting the whole population of 
the city of Washington to Boston and back. This record has continued 
unblemished, approaching two-thirds of a billion passenger-miles now, 
and unstinted credit is due air-line operators for the infinite number 
of details earnestly carried out which brought about this fine condition. 

Substantial contributions have also been made by our plane and 
engine designers in the airplane itself to help make this record pos- 
sible. A few of these are: The use of multi-engined equipment hav- 
ing satisfactory flying qualities under all conditions of flight; the 
general improvement in stability and controllability; the improve- 
ment in reliability of the power plant; the perfecting of the constant 
speed propeller; tremendous developments in instrumentation; the 
use of de-icing equipment; and the current efforts to reduce or elim- 
inate pilot fatigue by making the pilot’s job easier and his working 
conditions more comfortable. The important advances in the field 
of meteorology, radio communication, and airway traffic control 
should also be stressed. 


AIRPLANE CHARACTERISTICS 


The final curves, figure 5, illustrate trends of airplane character- 
istics. Cruising speed, in 10 years, has roughly increased from 100 
to 200 miles an hour—(A). A rather slight flattening-out tendency 
is now evident although there will be a substantial lapse of time be- 
fore the limit for certain classes of equipment is reached. In the 
graph of figure 5 (2B) are plotted the trends of wing and power load- 
ings. Noteworthy is the flattening-out of the wing-loading trend 


578 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


curve for landplanes at a figure of just under 85 pounds per square 
foot. It is likely that seaplane loading will continue upward 
although both may be further increased (than shown by these 
curves) as the result of introduction of assisted take-off means. 
Power loadings have not decreased greatly and will probably stabilize 
at about their present figure. 

In connection with landing speeds, figure 5 (@), the flattening-out 
tendency of the curve is indicated, but it should be mentioned that 
in general it can be shown that for equal safety, landing speeds can 
legitimately increase proportionately to the sixth root of the gross 
weight. Here again, therefore, the curve depicts the trend for the 
largest sizes of equipment and it may be expected that for smaller 
planes the landing speed will be less. 


Ae 


CORRS 
i 
rat 


at Vor mu] uns roppe ns 
an geeuqaaeacdyau : | : dueanpades a 2 Hit 

EEE-CEet BERRA 3 Fa HE ects Ptal ee ie 
ite 4 ama 9 7, ae Ta GU Bama H em (aoe (ait 
a T 6 ae re ae SEECEE EE pra " 
ARE it Eoepanhe nat 1 “a ieti 

E BIH Seoeeeeosesestoreseataad Ee cat 
Sats SEE es a(| | ' i 
i BEE Bieta AH itd 

OB a a 

LS [Pe 

abe paed ed Doe 

PEELE HF 

“ip apy 
F ciel iis 

4 
PEELE elf 

PEA PLL fi! 

EHF Hf Hl! Bane 

+ < a 7a a’ 

SL GER cule | 


Ficure 5. 


Next we consider cruising altitude, graph (Y) of figure 5, where 
the jumps represent for the most part changes in the power plant 
which permitted economical flight at successively higher altitudes. 
Starting from just over sea level, there was a jump in the DC-2 
airplane to cruising at approximately 10,000 feet which remained 
the case until the present time, December 1939. Equipment just 
about to make its appearance will raise this to 20,000 feet and it is 
my belief that eventually 35,000 feet will be utilized for certain classes 
of equipment and service. 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 579 
MODERN AIR-TRANSPORT PLANES 


These curves, then, show the trend. Let us now see some of the 
most modern air-transport planes now operating or about to be 
placed in service. To start off again at the point where we previously 
stopped—the Douglas DC-3 airplane—let us note in plate 5, figure 1, 
the interior of this ship as used by United Airlines between New 
York and Chicago. The picture speaks for itself as to the provisions 
which are made for passenger comfort. Plate 5, figure 2, shows the 
interior of a DC-3 accommodating 21 passengers as used on most of 
the air lines in this country and many abroad. 

In plate 6, figure 1, is a view of the Short Empire flying boat which 
is a thoroughly modern piece of equipment used by Imperial Airways 
and seen in this country on its trial trans-Atlantic flights and in the 
New York-to-Bermuda service last year. 

Next we see in plate 6, figure 2, the Boeing 314 which has done such 
yeoman service in Pan American trans-Atlantic operations. Another 
view, of the interior of this ship, in plate 6, figure 3, gives an idea of 
the spaciousness and comfort that the passengers enjoy when travel- 
ing on these Clippers. 

The Lockheed 14 in plate 7, figure 1, although smaller in size than 
the DC-3, provides a very excellent and comfortable service at the 
high cruising speed of 220 miles an hour. 

Plate 7, figure 2, shows the DC-5, about to be put into feeder-line 
service in this country. It is noteworthy for the introduction of the 
tricycle landing gear. 

In plate 7, figure 3, there is shown a very fine view of the Boeing 
307 Stratoliner, several of which were recently ordered by TWA and 
Pan American, to be placed in service this year. And in plate 8, fig- 
ure 1, we have a DC-44, the largest of land air transports yet produced. 
It is noteworthy, not only for its fine performance and load-carrying 
ability but again for the introduction of the tricycle landing gear. 


THE FUTURE FOR PERFORMANCE 


And now to examine three more tables indicating the possibilities 
of the future for speed and range. In table 2 are shown the factors 
which made possible the 80 percent increase in cruising speeds which 
occurred from 1929 to 1939. The preponderant effect of aerodynamic 
cleanness shown in the first item is noteworthy, with the additional 
substantial items of increased wing loading, decreased power load- 
ing, flying at higher altitudes, and wing efficiency; following with 
minor improvements in the last three items, induced drag, propeller 
efficiency, and weight reductions brought about by structural weight 
improvement. These features have brought the speed from 105 to 

430577—42_38 


580 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


TABLE 2.—Airplane cruising speeds: factors causing increases of the past 10 years 
and possibilities of the nent 10 Years 


Speed improvement 


Item Description of the Henrie aeiee and improvements Actual Possibilities 
1929-39 1939-49 
Percent Percent 
“Wasted” drag._------. Streamline shape; smooth surfaces; interferences; 3 
improved nacelles; elimination unnecessarily ex- 
posed parts; improved Reynolds Number accom- 
panying size increase. 
Wing loading_--.------- Improved flaps and sections_......_...........----.- 17 4 
Power loading--.-------- Increased allowable landing speed with size increase; 8 0 
higher take-off powers with improved fuels. 
Altitude flying__...___.. Prcereestvely. from sea level to 10,000 feet, to 35,000 9 18 
eet. 
Wing efficiency.--...-.- By pier “petlecy taper; thinner and improved sec- 7 2 
tions: ete. 
Induced drag-_-.-------- By higher aspect ratios; elliptical wings; ete ________ 1 2 
Propellers22 2522 ees Operation at better V/ND; blade section improve- 1 2 
ment. 
Structurali: 2 2222-22 Weight reductions due larger size, better materials, 1 3 
and improved design. 
80 40 
M. p. h. M. p. h. 
Resultant cruising | Average values typical of the period_.--.-_._-_-_-__. 105-190 190-266 


speeds 


Notge.— Further, but more remote possibilities are: Cooling drag reductions or elimination; very high wing 
loadings using assisted take-off; greater than normal] power-plant improvements; complete laminar flow by 
section change combined with smal] chord or boundary layer control. 

190 miles an hour. My prognostication of increases to 266 miles an 
hour cruising speeds in the next 10 years will be effected by the same 
items but with a different relative proportion for each as shown in 
the second column of table 2. The importance played by flying at 
still higher altitudes should be noted together with important im- 
provements in drag reduction, although of only one-quarter the 
magnitude that maintained for the last 10 years. The reason for 
this is shown in table 3 where it will be observed that horsepower 
“wasted” in overcoming unnecessary drag is now but 20 percent of 
the total as against 66 percent 10 years ago. At that time, speeds 


TABLE 3.—10 years advance in aerodynamic cleanness 


Item 
Actual 
Year Wasted speed in 
horse- percent of 
power! | streamline 
speed ? 
b IC8 2A Jie eg al ei’ swt al Slap ON Se fh Ie ak Lag NY pa kt A Alek St 66 65 
12 53 Je ae Eg op Rad Mem ap See ety SG Sak Sha ee eR fal Ste ERD ot ak 20 90 


1 “Wasted horsepower” is horsepower consumed in overcoming the drag of unnecessarily exposed parts or 
of nonstreamline shapes. 

3 “Streamline speed" is the speed the airplane would make at a given altitude if its only drag were smooth 
flat plate skin friction; drag caused by efficient cooling of the engine; and induced drag due to lift. 

Figures are obtained by using the method of B. Melvill Jones. 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 581 


made good were only 65 percent of what they would have been if all 
this unnecessary drag were eliminated and a perfect streamline air- 
plane produced. This proportion of actual speed to streamline speed 
is now 90 percent, leaving only a short way to go in possible improve- 
ment. 

Table 4 indicates three factors which will contribute toward in- 
creasing range by about 30 percent in the next 10 years. It is be- 
lieved these are self-explanatory. However, it should be noted that 


TasLe 4.—Airplane range: factors causing increase in the next 10 years 


Percent 

Speed increases automatically improve range. The improvement may be of 
EO MOE CIN a tert eee ee are ee a ee ee ee 15 
Reduction in specific fel consumption 22222 20 i A ee ee 10 
SiGicuiralapeig ht reductions ates Se eet eee ee eee 5 
BRN Ge ee Se See oe 30 


all of the speed increase shown in table 2 will not go into range 
increase since that proportion which will be attained by flying at high 
altitudes will not result in range improvement and, as well, the weight 
reductions resulting from structural improvements cannot all be 
used both for speed and range increase. Then too, cruising velocities 
are higher than schedule speeds which are reduced by time losses in 
take-off and landing to give what are known as block-to-block speeds. 
As these losses are constant regardless of cruising speed, the final 
range increase due to cruising-speed improvement is about 15 percent 
as shown. <A further 10 percent reduction in specific fuel consump- 
tion is expected although it will be difficult to obtain when it is 
realized that in the past 10 years, specific fuel cosumption has dropped 
from about 0.52 pounds per horsepower hour to about 0.41, a 21 
percent improvement. 


THE FUTURE OF AIR TRANSPORTATION 


Now I shall briefly discuss the future of air transportation. Let 
us look at plate 8, figure 2, which shows the New North Beach, 
La Guardia Airport in New York City, from which operations started 
on December 1, 1939. This magnificent airdrome with its long all- 
direction runways and fine hangars and waiting rooms, is a definite 
indication of air transportation’s future expansion. Just as those 
cities which provided themselves with facilities and inducements for 
the railroads to pass within their limits in the 1870’s and ’80’s, 
made certain their future as centers of commerce and industry, so 
likewise the case will be now for those cities that provide themselves 
with proper airport facilities. At North Beach dual facilities for 
land and water operations are provided. 


582 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 


Next are shown views of flying equipment which may be important 
in further development. First, in plate 9, figure 1, there is the Mayo 
composite airplane arrangement which by means of assisted take-off 
provides the operating, or top unit, with increased speed and range 
which may therefore be a factor in trans-Atlantic mail flying. 

In plate 9, figure 2, there is shown a view of a model of a helicopter, 
a type of aircraft which will be used for transporting mail and pas- 
sengers from airports to roof tops in the centers of cities and even, in 
many cases, for short-haul traffic directly between city centers. In 
addition it may revolutionize our conception of private-owner air- 
craft. 

Plate 10, figure 1, is a view of the Curtiss-Wright Model Twenty 
with pressurized cabin and with extremely large baggage and express 
compartments. A noteworthy contribution to economy of operation 
is expected when this plane goes into service, making it eminently 
suitable for use between large centers of population. Other views 
of this plane during its development are shown in plate 11, figure 1, 
which is an interior view of one arrangement which accommodates 30 
passengers, and plate 10, figure 2, which illustrates, in a construction 
view, the unique manner in which structural provision for pressuriza- 
tion is provided, accompanied by provision for tremendous bulk of 
baggage, express, and freight under the cabin floor. An idea of the 
size of the plane is shown in plate 11, figure 2, where one of its four gas 
tanks is set beside a two-place training plane; the tank is almost as 
large as the entire fuselage of the training craft. Plate 12 is a view 
of the plane in flight over New York City. This plane will provide 
still higher standards of safety and economy in operations. 

The final illustrations of this paper are views of the most modern 
equipment now flying; the beautiful Boeing Pan American Clipper 
(pl. 18, fig. 1) and the Douglas DC-4 (pl. 18, fig. 2). Last of all, 
two views illustrating a prediction of Mr. Sikorsky of the trans- 
Atlantic airliner of the future, plate 14, figure 1, showing the dining 
salon and plate 14, figure 2, the flying boat itself in the air. 


CONCLUSION 


We have thus reviewed transport aviation, showing its history from 
“infancy” to 1911, through “romantic childhood” to 1926; “painful 
adolescence” to 1931; its satisfactorily progressing “young manhood” 
to the present time; and its promise of “maturity” for the future. One 
cannot but be inspired by contemplating some of the following: 

A recent TWA timetable schedule headed “EKurope—New York—Chi- 
cago—Los Angeles—San Francisco—Asia.” 
The growth of one of the United States air systems, American Airlines, 

Inc., from its first passenger in April 1927, to its millionth in Feb- 

ruary 1937, and its two millionth in September 1939. 


WINGS FOR TRANSPORTATION—WRIGHT 583 


The fact that our domestic air lines are now flying over 250,000 plane- 
miles each day; the equivalent of 80 round trips from New York to 
Los Angeles or of 10 trips around the world at the Equator, or 
perhaps better still, one to the moon. 

The fact that there are 30 large airlines flying daily each way on 
scheduled trips between New York and Chicago (a greater number 
than holds for through-train schedules). 

The fact that we are now enjoying regular service coast to coast in 
just under 17 hours which we may confidently expect will, within a 
reasonable time, be reduced to 12; and regular trans-Atlantic trips 
of 24 hours’ duration at present which will be cut eventually to 18. 


These factors are all indicative of the inspiring future of air 
transportation. 

I cannot close without again referring to my belief that this bring- 
ing of peoples closer together will be a tremendously important factor 
in maintaining the peace of the world once the present war is over. 
This vision was, strangely enough, first pronounced almost a hundred 
years ago by William S. Henson, the inventor of an “aerial steam 
carriage” in 1843. His vision of the airplane as represented mechan- 
ically in his invention was remarkable in its close approximation in 
many respects to our present-day airplanes, but what he wrote con- 
cerning his vision of human relations as affected by his invention is 
even more important and is quoted below: 

* * * ‘The changes which must follow the first aerial voyage of one hundred 
miles in length must be great, may be astounding to our present notions, may 
be dashed as all human advances are with subtractive evils, but they must be 
largely beneficial to the human family. It is no considerable earnest of future 
good that the very nature of the design compels us to consider all mankind as 
one community * * * when men are strangers, they are ready to become 
enemies; render them mutually acquainted, and they soon become mutually 
useful, and when their interests are at stake we may safely reckon on their 
continued and abiding friendship. * * * 

Let us continue to improve our air-transport planes and our air- 
transport services. Let us see that the objectives finally accomplished 
are those envisioned above. And make certain that it shall not come 
to pass that the air conquers man, but that truly man conquers the air! 


baba 


Pt oe i 
weet? ‘ 
AS oe 


WGA 


Wy 


Ve 4 


a: te 


a 
, 


aw 


Fi 
yD 


Wane, te Able) cokes . 
WENT UES OSS (: SHITE | 


he 


Let hy Bi) 

vais 
EM eRe . 
wie Lata me 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 1 


1. BOEING 40-B, 1926. 


2. FORD TRIMOTOR. 


3. CURTISS CONDOR, 1930. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright 


PLATE 2 


1. HANDLEY-PAGE 42, 1931. 


ae 


2. BOEING 247, 1934. 


AMERICAN 


3. CURTISS CONDOR SLEEPER, 1934. 


AIRWAYS. 


as 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright JSVLINT ES 33} 


1. SIKORSKY S-42, 1934. 


2. DOUGLAS DC-2, 1934. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 4 


1. MARTIN 130, 1935. 


2. DOUGLAS DC-3, 1936. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.— Wright PLATE 5 


#% 


1. INTERIOR OF DOUGLAS DC-3, 1937. 


2. INTERIOR OF DOUGLAS DC-3, 1937. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 6 


1. SHORT EMPIRE FLYING BOAT, 1937. 


2. BOEING 314 CLIPPER, 1937. 


3. INTERIOR OF BOEING 314 CLIPPER. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 7 


1. LOGKHEED 14, 1937. 


2. DOUGLAS DC-5, 1939. 


3. BOEING 307 STRATOLINER, 1939. 


PLATE 8 


Wright 


Smithsonian Report, 1941. 


1. DOUGLAS DC-4, 1939. 


‘tandplans inisteati 
Including hath Cb 
offices Per. Passe 


Walkway for Foreign Landplane arrivals~— 
Landing Float—px- 


Main Terminal a 


Ad, 
ineluding ene 
and Public Health 7 
Ramp 
Marine Railway 


to Hangar 


LA GUARDIA AIRPORT, NEW YORK, 1939. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 9 


1. MAYO COMPOSITE AIRPLANE. 1939. 


2. PROPOSED TRANSPORT HELICOPTER. 


‘aonds 03189 puBv UOMBZLAINSSaId IOJ UOISTAOI 


‘Oc ISGOW LHSIYM-SSILYND “2 ‘OV6l O2 ISGOW LHSIYM-SSILYND (1 


Berd e RE LuK wm 
OF TROOW inom m-seiien 


1 ae wT 


worn we \ 
O07 T240W LHOIMM-SaLLENS . \ 


— 


_ ‘ ~ 


¥* 
swoerey es ~, 
OF TIEOW Lifts PILL ‘ 
4\ 


FV gin ™~ 


> 


O| 3LV1d 1Y4311\\—" | $61 *qaodayy uetuosyztUIG 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 11 


é 


1. INTERIOR OF CURTISS-WRIGHT MODEL 20. 


2. CURTISS-WRIGHT MODEL 20. 


Fuel tank size comparison. 


“ALID HYOA MAN YSAO LHOI14 NI O@ TISGOW LHSIYM-SSILYND 


cl 3LVW1d 


ISM —"|p6| ‘Oday weruosytwg 


Smithsonian Report, 194].—Wright PLATE 13 


1. BOEING PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER. 


2. DOUGLAS DC-4. 


Smithsonian Report, 1941.—Wright PLATE 14 


1. INTERIOR OF PROPOSED SIKORSKY OCEAN AIRLINER. 


2. PROPOSED SIKORSKY OCEAN AIRLINER. 


INDEX 


A 
Page 
Abbot, C. G., Secretary of the Institution-.--________-_----_---__--— = ix, 
x, xiii, 7, 9, 18, 36, 37, 46, 47, 108, 109, 110 
INDIO Di 0 pi La ee eee eer 27 
JMelrases SAU US 8s) 8 ee ee 2 5 
ANEPYRIIEY, | BUGPA SH Re ee 47 
Adams, Walter S. (What lies between the stars) -----_---__--------_-____ 141 
Administrative assistant to the Secretary (Harry W. Dorsey) ~----------- ix 
Administrative: staff, National Museum=—22os2-22220 22 2 i xii 
PRS ea ELON aw a a ee 25 
RIORRRINGR ast CHSC) ee an ee a ea = T4001 
Aldrich, Loyal B., Assistant Director, Astrophysical Observatory_-_---- xiii, 108 
ANTONE Sp ING A eee ee ee x 
NODS OV GLOSZ, (OEE) C0) 8 ee 78 
JASCO TRS by ie nee ee ee ee = Senay) 
JMB aTS, AUDITS OTe ISS) ee eer 13 
Arthucalecture: tenth 22522520 0i Ss eee i wees oe ee eee ele ae 13 
Artificial converters of solar energy (Hottel) —------_---__-_----__---. 151 
Assistant Secretary of the Institution (Alexander Wetmore) —~_----__-- 5 b.Gyp.¢ 
Associate Director, National Museum (John BH. Graf) —------------___.--- x 
ANERO DH SICAL © DSELVALOLY soe eee ee ee ee xiii, 7 
BARS Y A GR 6S wes Fah TE ei i a i ee Se a eatin 54 ( 
PRCT SEAL LL OIA Seen cme ee Lie So Wi bal wn a Pek SO ae 110 
TESS GG MNT Dice ree baa OY Ha I A hy I NE eNO 
EPPO) a el ee Sp ee 108 
BS UTR A RD 2h 09 cai ee Se i ee oe 110 
Atom-+The new. frontiers in’ the (Lawrence)/22-=- = 163 
Attorney General (Robert H. Jackson, member of the Institution) _-__---- ix 
Ay eA TH Go Mi eerecens pes Bee eae a RURL TOA Rise Porte eet oe eee x 
SAT, TOT a NE a es ep OS tt rte 46 

B 
Bacon shires, Virginia, Purdy, bequest. 22 he ee ee 11 
Barkley, Alben W. (regent of the Institution) ---_-___-_---------------_---- ix, 8 
SES ERTS pred epee ae i co es Se A Nae a eS x 
eine) eine, CE parerny Rrra Cope a fee Dit Voy Ve 20 
Baptlent whopert’, Aq 22 os ee ee eee 16, 28 
SEG wae A et ke a eee eee >. Ap 4 
TES ECTS 1 ENC Se ee ee een ee ee ee xi 
Weeden lessietGe 622505 cl eee ee ee eee xi 
ietoail, (CMrday6 | ee ee ee eee eee 46 


585 


586 INDEX 


Page 

Belin, Ferdinand Lammot, Vice President, National Gallery of 
Ta a eR ee xii, 36, 37, 38, 44 
MSOC EE 9 TE ae eS en eee a ee xii 
Bent, Arthur) (C22 oe che eae ea ae Sea DiS eee Oe = x 
Bequests 26 eo a ee ee eee 14 
Bishop, Carl. Whiting 2 =< 2 oe eee Ae ee a xii 
Blackwelder, Eliot (Science and human prospects)_--_________________ 267 
Blackwelder, Ey.) Mists SS ae eae ee se cel ne BEN Payal, 
Bliven, Bruce (The genes and the hope of mankind)_--______-_________ 293 
Bolivian Mims teres oe esta ee ei a a SBN ey eA Ase Ae 4 
ord, Mires (Al Mies See el ne 108 
Borie; st: CHAT Te Ray sy Tee eS ake ee fae eae Beek yaaa 46, 47 
SOS SPIN OL TIANN gE Ld eh A sk ee Ge xi 
SO y trig 5 AG) Gea oe ee Eh ee A at xi 
ESTEVE ON | EO Yao rare Ne is Li hs ee 60 
Bridge, | Tos ie Tis seek od Pale Sable bite ihe NS eso Shi See i ee 30 
Browmisy Wa Dook cae ee ek OE ee ee ee ed ee x, 16 
Bruce, David K. E., President, National Gallery of Art_________ xii, 35, 36, 37, 38 
Sy ek a Ge EN oS ae ee eas Pe ol ae xii 
BES Try SUT ED ry ee a Ee Se MTA 28 
SUCH era earns? Tiga ee aE ae ed ee de ee 2 Ee x 
Bush, Vannevar (regent of the Institution) __________-______________ ix, 8, 9, 136 
Bushnell, ‘Davids Ti) rss = oe ee eee ee 16 

Cc 

aura fi eT ch Boa rn i ee ee 21 
Cannon, Clarence (regent of the Institution) -__.___.________________ ix, 8,9 
Care. of ‘captive: animalsia(Walker) 22222322 ee eee eee 305 
@arey;) Charlee ae ar ear Ne ee xii 
Carrer SM Ay NS So I ee ee ce 26, 27 
@ASSEC ys We wens Ce eae i eee es ee ee 67 
Chamberlainsehrancesi Lea. hun dase eS ee eee 21 

Chancellor of the Institution (Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of 
the Unitedw States) oo2. 2 Ln ee eee ix 
Chapin; "Hdward! Aste eta ee ee eee x, 28 

Chief Justice of the United States (Charles Evans Hughes, Chancellor 
Of; theeInstitutlon) 32 2 ae eee a ae ee ix, 3, 8, 9, 36, 37 
Chief Justice of the United States (Harlan F. Stone) __---________-_____ 37 
Chief Justice of the United States (Trustee, National Gallery of Art)-~- xii 
CaSO yA OS a a Sa er oe xi, 16 
Chasey iMorence Mas soa oS ee ee eee ee eee xiii 
(Wseful-alzvae) use eee ae oo eee ee ee ee 401 
@lark: Aq stim ? ioe a Sem ay ol wt ae he oh a PE a ee x, 16 
Clark, Bennet Champ (regent of the Institution) ~--_---__-___-__________ ix, 8,9 
CL ear Uk, Tie ht eae By i ig ie a a hel ar ls a Pas I xii 
Valk Bese earn 5 ee aca oe a i ee xiii 
Glark,“Robert: Sterling)... bea als Rs SES xi 
Clarke; + Gilmore Wart ee ee pe na le A eae ee 46, 47 
@ochran; Doris ~Me wie eee ee le eee nee x 
Cole, William P., Jr. (regent of the Institution) -----_________________-___- ix, 8 
Collins “Henry4Bi) Pe ee ee eee ee xiii, 5; Gil 


Commerford) os W222 520 2 22 6 en ee ee ee cs xii 


INDEX 587 


Page 
Compton, Arthur H. (regent of the Institution) ______________-___-______ ix,8 
(Sefence shaping..American. culture) oc-204..2022 25054 s 282 175 
(Clay sVEjs (eh A OES 2 ne Es Ups SAE aE eh ee Re tere. CCP EN Reteter, Oe 63 
CONSERVE AU hye eee ete ena eee ES A Mae ces ENS a ol xi 
Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine (Fenton) ___-__ 503 
Cooks Oia es tes. Ble oe wilh oe arene oth Aw eye ey. nome Eat ae 5G 9d 
@oonerm Gustav, Arthurs 2 2) oe 5 eee a ad Peete Aes ote Eine xi, 16, 30 
@orbiny William L., Librarianof the Institution=-222 222 eee ix; 122 
Craighead, F. C. (The influence of insects on the development of forest 
Provechionvand forest management) See ee ee ee 367 
[oto SSAA V0 10 1s ERA ces eve seeetioeeet aaae  otaelh ee ee S P ON e UD ee ESTE Ua |e xi 
Gia banrAmpassad 0p Swe wets ands SOW cee hentia liber Sete Alan oh We 4 
WoSDMANs OSC We Akt SE ae ese ee eee ee Sree nd iy ig ee x 
POMPETTETYSRTY: PERODGEE Ae amet mh the bel SE ll ie ely a be eta a x 
D 
WAV ROSON JO 2% se a a a ee a ek ee 43 
Davis; Harvey N. (regent of ‘the! Institution) —2 2 aes ee ee Bb Hts 
PRS ar OTE trae se lee RT 62 
Decipherment of the linguistic portion of the Maya hieroglyphs (Whorf)__ 479 
Wefense swObke 6: 22s ee ee oe Zid Ca a | 
Weisnan wr. Ga 25 aoe cnet eet a secon EU Ue x 
Delano, Frederic A. (regent of the Institution) _________________=__ ix, 8, 9, 1386 
WMCNSMOEC Tan COG= set es et ee ree __6, 63, 64 
(hel study oft Indian Gmusie eee < seis si tee See ee ee 527 
Dorsey, Harry W., Administrative assistant to the Secretary_______- ms ix 
Dorsey, Nicholas W., Treasurer of the Institution.____________-_______ ix, xii 
LFA TLELS 2) Ue 2711 | ¢ Ae Oe OS SRN see SRO A 5, 56 
Wancan VWViallace.. West e es ae ee eee ee tt Se ee xi 
BH 
AE PLOT es GOT Mra ais a a ere pa ee IE 37 
Hditoriall division; + Chiefs (wWebster Po True) 2ses es ix 
DR 9 SBS BN CEE TN 69 Se oe RET ee Au 35 
Eickemeyer, Florence Brevoort, bequest-____._______-_-______--__--_-__ 15 
Hinarsson, Vigfus (Iceland, land of frost and fire) _-____________________ 285 
Electrical industry, The role of science in the (Smith) ---_____-__-______-_ 199 
LEADS, hs 1c Re RN Se pay a Oe ee nd ee RE x 
DEALT SS TS SCOTT) Gof bets tn ad i ed 2 he oe A Le 27 
LVS V a rede ccs CAAT TRY ty TR (8S fg or): | Pr 557 
SEEMS TT ents y 4 Te ete Ba a ee eA ee 8 
Hthnologys Bureau Of SAM er Cans tsk th i ee ee xiii, 5 
(Oa) 1 Cre) 10) « = ener eee ee ees ee ie EIN CP AO Oren ve eS ORe tn ver acne es MA A a 67 
Hditorialwork-cand publications 2322s 22 eee ee See eee 65 
) CURTIS geen Uo) a t= eeremen nee ett UTE SSG yO ae Se eS re Se RL eed 67 
SUN RAN YG a a 2 ct os aoe lt nos Se LR 66 
Miscellaneous 225s ee ee FOE LA ein 2 OAL BL BEE 68 
PPG WSO rT Cau as eco A OE ES tS 68 
RCT OT Ga ec a ge 2 cn Set dh ea a Oh SREY i 56 
Special-aresearches’) 2:02 fre 4 Ses 0 Ae eae 63 
Systematic; -researches22 stu 22 eee Se ee ee A ee a ee 56 


Excavations of Solomon’s seaport: Ezion-geber, The (Glueck) -----._— a 453 


588 INDEX 


Page 
Executive Committee. - a. len ei Mg’ ep ta Wome | ee ee oe ix, 130 
| 27 1) 5 Sa eee ae ee ea RAE ESE TLS PLCS TE Nett WLS LP ae LE 130 
A DDT ORTIAUION 3 ooo a eee We ce ee ee 185 
551s |) nea ce Se Dea ee PNRM ER HL tieeb AB eS. cls 136 
Bequeste: i. 24 heii stew to's Fas J ee Ae Cee aay pees ek oe 135 
Cash balances, receipts, and disbursements during the fiscal year_. 133 
Classification of. Investments - os ae eee 132 
Consolidated. find == as totes) ly Ea ei SORRY 228 Ue eed 132 
reer Galleryot Art: fand 122 23 el ee ar Tk 132 
Smithsonian endowment fund 2 2 bey oe ie ae ee 130 
Borman ary 2 So ce Ree see a si eth SES 132 
Explorations and) field work. 222-2. 8 ee 15 
Bzion-geber, The excavations of Solomon’s seaport: (Glueck)----_-______ 453 
Fr 
Hiya sist) To Aline 0 MT I SIRI MOC DIER Cre oRavU NE ceri CTPA YN SID RUPE NWS SUI UR Tl xi 
Mentors, Wy uitaan: No ee eee oe a yes Pa ee We ee cna ee xiii, 5, 16, 62, 63 
(Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine) __-___-_ 503 
STEEN CRS ee 2 ee 2 ee Le 9 
Finley, David E., Director, National Gallery of Art--__-__-____ xii, 37, 38, 46, 47 
Hirestone Expedition, Smithsonian 2020) 8 3, 6, 20, 27, 81, 82 
HITERtONe sire Gc, ERED DOT i Cipher 16, 81 
MishcandisWildlife: ‘Services. 2206 snhesee hes eh ls eee 8, 16, 21, 27, 28 
Baer pA Th See ee ae as ng |e a xi 
Forest protection and forest management, The influence of insects on the 
development of;(Craighead) 2+. S_0s.ties wane la epee dS Glee ae 367 
BOSH) WW Fa has lea oe ke ek (aed eI IN ee Oe xi, 12, 21, 29 
Wiraser, | James ghek ss 22 ise UIA GL Ly Ch, co Rel cei cae dae ee nee 46 
Frederick.) William cAys 8o0 0 ot J ir es nie a 37 
OCEANS 4) PB acct a ics UO ra AGM Gg 8) is LEN cae eel Dalal ae ev 110 
Breer Gallery. GecArt sl 0) owl Ok yeas aC Ne 2 re ee xii, 4 
Attendances se ae Pea VTA ERG a2 ne ee oe 53 
Collections? 3a en 2 leg aes ee gee ah ee 51 
Lectures, and docent services .2 = 30) 54 
Personnel: 2-225) 8k ee oa ae ine ok pop ge eee 54 
Reporte ee 2 A he a a a oD 51 
Wisltorns oe 524 a os tea a a eae ee 54 
Brey, Charles (Ei. . S02 ics a2 2 nS ch SR ae Ls Se 29 
Hiriedmann, Perper t aie 2 te ee x, 12 
G 
Garber} Paradis Hiss et a a oe eS xi 
Garner Jobe Nes cd 2s a ak) ea i te eee ORE ak a, ae 8 
Gazin;: CisThe yy is ics s ie 8 Da nd 7 xi, 16, 30 
Belen’, PALER i Fre i ea a ae a oe Edm 37 
General) Append et ee eee i AS ee leg 137 
Genes and the hope of mankind, The (Bliven)_--____-____________ 2 TA 293 
Gifford, Charles L. (regent of the Institution) _-________________________ 8,9 
Gilmore, Charles) Wei a0. 823228 ose nee le ee xi 
Glueck, Nelson (The excavations of Solomon’s seaport: Ezion-geber)—_-__ 453 
Graf, John E., Associate Director, National Museum________---_____-____ 


x 
Graham, David: Cpe Sop a a a xi 


. INDEX 589 


Page 
RR OT CUE CESS Pen Ae ee ae PEO cn OR, eee ee See ae See: ae 78 
UD) ESTER Te 2S Sel Re a SE ce ee aS ETERS Re a EeTE AE FTN te. x 
Srawconnormonessin. plants) (Thimann)) <2) 2.8 2 ee a 393 
Guest, Grace Dunham, Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art--__-_____ xii 
H 
CSTD VST 2 Se an ane ceed Wea Ce MOAT ADE: fee P xiii, 5, 16, 57, 58 
PEP KANS ECUSSEL are a) a oS eee 16, 21 
RUmINEPEE NNT TSTASSOU, DT oe A eas 16 
LES SELEY gl LS a Se le eR Oe ee nS OPES oe ee ee 37 
SREREARYCR SNES CON) ea SCL UV AT CU ee Yr i eT >.d | 
SRE MEU EV) Repl gees etn ee eS EL AE ee ae Ae te ae ne xi 
EAU Nes Hel. MroOperty Clerk == 8 Cohen ed ee ee ee ee ix 
1S COGN ay ay NALD: Da WE ey ed Sree SEE PT — xiii, 108 
Hopi Snake Dance, Snake bites and the (Stirling)__-_--________-________ 551 
CE ESS gS 6 BE DEES SSS ene > Oe aN aes nee en ora = x 
Honmonessine plants, Growth, (‘Thimann) = =~ 22222 ee 393 
Hottel, H. C. (Artificial converters of solar energy) _--__________________ 151 
EXO REC ae ACM ES Zi Cees has 2d Mee ti hee he Ses ee es else nero Sao tee El ees 3S 
PE LER ERTCEG Bry Oi ga ee eh Nao ooh ew ce pe A RM x 
VE CET TPES TANT TVA a) DD af yi a a ee le a ee a 24 
PERC aes epee ee ee a ee ee re eer eee Se x 
AOR MES LTT OMe TIC) eee he Se = es ce eS ee ee 557 
Hughes, Charles Evans, Chief Justice of the United States (e@haneeion 
Ofachesinstitution)) Soa ee =a aikk eee ae Be roe a ix, 3, 8, 9, 36, 37 
Hull, Cordell, Secretary of State (member of the Institution) __________ axa 
I 
Reeiaids Ane OL Trost ang efire; (i DATSSON)) 22 == oe ee ee eee 285 
Ickes, Harold L., Secretary of the Interior (member of the Institution) —__ ix 
irre xan e xl Di Ge ee oe ae oee ln Sats ears at oe SN oe ee 1,12 
indiangmusic: ‘The study, of (Densmore) 22 222s) oe Aes et BS eee Sy O20 
Insects, The influence of, on the development of forest protection and 
LOrest manarement. (Craighead) sas sk nse = ee eee eee es rood 
international” xchange). Services. oa ae ee ee xiii, 26 
A BEODE Tat ON a sts ee eee eset Ei eat ded ie ys ee 69 
CONSIPTIMEN ESS LOS Gea a a ae All air) ae eer ate ea 71 
Hepositories of Congressional Record 222. 22s) 228 ee eee 73 
Foreign depositories of governmental documents__________________ fil 
Horeigny exchange va gencies. 25. mia aey ee  oe e  ee 75 
Interparliamentary exchange of the official journal______._-____-__ 73 
PAeCrg ees, TCCCLVed, ANG Bento oo 2 sa tae eee eee oe ee a ee 69 
ROO Ui oa eee Ce, Re ee Se eee 69 
Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine, Contacts between (Fenton). 503 
J 
Jackson, Robert H., Attorney General (member of the Institution) ——_ ix 
James, Macgill, Assistant Director, National Gallery of Art-_._______- pdb hay 
PERMETROV id 2s eee eee kee SBOE cs 81 


Johnston, Earl S., Assistant Director, Division of Radiation and 
Organisms... fe snes ee eed es ee ek ee ee xiii, 115 


590 INDEX 


Page 
Jones, Jesse H., Secretary of Commerce (member of the Institution) — ix 
Bi CIN a TV 2s eo a Ie a le x 
K 
Kellog serine ora Ss a ee a es Se Xi oro 
Keppel, (Rrederick) Pc: otis oe i eee eee 46 
Beet eb cin pi iiredion rai (BS = ah a ae a xiii 
ROAM ip; HOU S wo rtlng Bese aa a ag ass xi 
Kiline,, .Gordon;, M... (PIasties) 2-223 2 ee I a 225 
Knox, Frank, Secretary of the Navy (member of the Institution) _____ ix 
IKeramer, Ae 22 oho a a Se a ee ee 109 
Bred eres Ee WV ak a x 
Reress' s@ollection xa a has he SE se Be 8, 35, 36 
iKress; A Samuel He ae ee ea eee xii, 3, 4, 36, 37, 44 
L 
Lasley, J. W., Jr. (Mathematics and the sciences) _____________________ 183 
BF {cy 0 VEE] ESR (ge aS a a PPR a ip ad ee ate 79 
DBs) 0 ea Fei ae pent Fe Wi 0} ae rh tag I Ao Ges nat ae poe Poel etn I ee ot IE 1 |g 26 
UO MR RTL gh TCT oe ae re ey Ar ee ee ee ee a ee a xi 
DPE USP gC UA 8 Iota ln or ae ai a ie seen a hea ee aA bo ee ld Pee 28 
Mew LOM, CMEC CLICK 1 Myst ei ey ge xi 
Librarian of the Institution (William 1 Corbin) ea ea ee ee ib.< 
DEPTH ay cB ah Re ae SON Feb A ek dic ce cups eed pe pea eee eases hese SeE A cece A ye ds ee = 17 
(ACCESSIONS ce 22 SL aa SNe de ae Oe ee Oe ea ae 20 
SU OG hn f= SAR ala a a Se te as an Ee ne po an a A eee ee Non aval 
WXchange or Publica ti Ons Ss essere MOS eee eee aya en eee eaten ee ees 117 
CG a faaie g  Ae  coeeeagu ps ouetetel ut Ak Leu Ve tame nen 2b banning a ia. pee Ute he 119 
AD rary {Sy SUC Tae te ee ee a Baer eee ee ee 116 
DEC Sr 0 FPS a le ey hee Cake LN one yal ce Moe ia pal edt A Seay hg 122 
OY CLAY SV Ee VC[ a Iglesias et oA eel eee peep Eh ene ety en eines ae es eae bk tas a 121 
| Ye) egsfoy a0 0 2) kena ali eon wh eerie plies EGA ahaceladysls A CE mews elidel cee yA mde i 116 
§ G2) O09 | epee iad ah tea latte ey teaser Sececetabes p Seal hi alien bon lepayea se Aah eaten Ve 116 
Statistics ere re ese See ae eee Ne ie ere ee ae ee eee ee 120 
BOG) ye) bag I hii (ees hii peacoat mel nates asin lil iene ape ibe nyt ia wlpa eiatle ls aries 28 
Lodge, John Ellerton, Director, Freer Gallery of Art___--_----_-_- xii, 46, 47, 55 
DOr EEN Ohl OL he aka aap ape cr pn ee Se a he He ae et 79 
TOO VOLT ee LD A See ere ai Sarl AIA ea RIE ig OY ee pee nN Ce ea NET ee 29 
M 
Mac@urdy, <Georee: Gren tec. ee eee eee A espe x 
MALONEY i AICS: (i eee ae ee he ee Be 2 Cee x 
Mann, W. M., Director, National Zoological Park______ EX. KI TOV AO Aco 
IUD srr VE Se WV ML a rn A a eh ee tas ee 16, 81 
Manning: © Catnerime@) Tis oe eee os Nee a Re ee ee xii 
Ui aS] et OTA 242 yf (eae I al sts LA Nore pay OS, MD ae MRD Sb ears apn Eat Ses eS Ss 46, 47 
Marshall, WilliammB:? 222% ene ne yA Rg BS eee kT ea xi 
Mathematics and the sciences (Lasley) ~~ 21 4--_-_-__ 183 
Mather: ram Jewett Ur ee are 46, 47 
Matters of. general) interest=s424 e212! «sane. en a ee ee eee 9 


Mauersberger, Herbert R. (The new synthetic textile fibers) _--_-______ Sey 2it 


INDEX 591 


Page 
PUESECOTDS VV 5 ee ees Sieh ee a gf ye eye ewe ete Btn eae vt pes 5 ey xi 
Maya hieroglyphs, Decipherment of the linguistic portion of the 
COMNYALOU ah) Ye a a ee ear Oe ee eNO Eyes ee eee, ge ae 479 
MICATIISHCR er ward Ds 22a sk oe ae ee eS xiii 
BERANE UN aN ann a ty cee at le na ee oa Ay ee x 
McBride, H. A., Administrator, National Gallery of Art___-_____________ xii, 37 
MUMeaCeeN LT SENN Mile oe ee oe eee 108 
NOE CHGNRIGE (CEOS Wel 5 SRE ere ee ee ee een See SS St 46 
MeWcen Mid will. 222 ne et AA ee es Bas oe See 29 
MeNary, Charles L. (regent of the Institution) ~-___-___________-____--__ ix, 8 
Mellon; CANGrewA Wess! 2 tn se ee see ie Se eet eh ae 4, 34, 36, 43, 44 
Ute ona COU CCL OMS a oe So aS ee ee ei 3, 35, 36 
Melon: Hducationaland. Charitable, 'Trust=—-- = eee 34, 35, 43 
IgE eee a Ee eee 3, 35, 36 
NMembers7or. che institution.- 25 ==. ote See Ue See ix 
Merriam aC ERAT Ga a8 oS ee Se 8 ae ee a oe xi 
AVEO OTT Rss fel Des sn ee ee ee Xa 
1h GR TeEP TS COE) UO See DAs Be ee a ee ee ee Se ee xi, 12 
Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury (member of the 
GTS UGC ON) ese ee ee eee es ix, 37 
Morris; Roland S: (regentof the Institution) ———— ee eee ix, 8,9 
IMOrTISON OSE) Dr has oe ee eek a6 
RMOTCeLILO SO OMeNICO >= 2-2 ene ee ee ee ee ees 79 
LEDER DY Tie KET TN 1 Veta I | ee ee Se xi 
Munsell, Hazel E. (Vitamins and their occurrence in food) ----__----_____ 239 
MnASsinan Alfred. -Dequest=—22-— sae ee ee eee a ey, 15 
Myers @atherine: Walden, fund 222-522 2 Se eee 4,47 
N 
Wai onal broadcasting) (CQ = ee eee 9,10 
Watonal Collection of WinevArts 2.2 oa ee es ae eee ee xii, 4 
LaNP UFO) eC DY 0) eh LT C0) we a i te I ny a nae aon es eee EET te 45 
1 BETA EL ESS a SS NSD re SN ee i ey ee 45 
Catherine Walden, Myer tung ===" Sis ee eae ee ees 47 
TB (SoM ea PON Bia Wd RUG Wks) em eb ha (0 Dae RARE a ae Seed eee ee 49 
TOA SEA CCCDtCG M2 i a ee ee ee ee 48 
Loans to other museums and organizations_____________-___________ 48 
WOanS a returned: = aos Se CeO ee Sire ee Re ee 49 
BEST a TUT C220 el OVS a oe ee 50 
USENET eLSTA VETTE 0) EP os a a ac pe ae a Fe ps aoa Se pe ae 49 
DIR Ys a ee 45 
Smithsonian, Art (Commission =— 22202. ok a ee eae 46 
Specialexbib ition sso oes ee ee a 49 
Withdrawals. by OWners==— 32s ss eae ee ee eer 48 
RatonaleG abley Otc Ate = se ees So ee ee ee xo 
PACHMISITON So ae ees oe ee ee ee eee 39 
Commiitiee 222 5 a ee AN Mace ap ate ek EEE 2 ee 38 
ADNTODTIA tO, = ee ee ae BE ee LE ee ES 38 
PNT SCTIYS ET BY ERA 5 SA i Raat sy Fe Rh aPeE  ee ep ere la Bele Oe 39 
Audit of private funds__--_____- Os ae ae A ee emer raeee hs | | 44 
Commemorative tablet on the erection of the building__-____________ 43 
Completion and occupation of the gallery building._________________ 34 


Curatorial Zdepa rtm eu te ee ee ee a 41 


592 INDEX | 
Page j 
Dedication ceremonies and opening of the Gallery to the public________ 35 a 
Educational program ticcniett at aa treo ene ee eh 42 i 
Hxecutive..committee. 220444025 og ee ee Se 37 | 
WOK [bebo 0) ee ese se a 43 ‘| 
Expenditures .and -encumbrances.22.5222210 20.2522 ee 38 | 
Finance) committee 28¢.42)4s 5th beens |e ho aa Pe ea ee Bb 37 
GUL as es ee A ee ah Be Ee UO age ee 39, 40 
3 +) 1) A a le ee ES PET ee NENTS ne EMER OeE alc OM a/ LLP <) BAM gE 42 . 
Loan. of: works of art: bythe Gallery. 2.22222 oe 41 
Loans of works of art to the Gallery-__.._-__.____________________ 40 
Memorial panels to benefactors of the National Gallery of Art_______ 43 
berries Cen lo le fics a a se 43 
Witiela less. a a is oe ae xii 
Organization. and, .stath toe ee ee ee 36 
Photographic:.department, 22 oo eae ee 42 
Publications Lio ee se ee eg Ee 39 
ERC POT Ea Eh EN ee Se 34 ‘ 
Restorationsand: repairs tonworks) ofiart=-222- eee ee ee 41 
Salevor exchangeof works'of art=21 32) se ek ee ae 40 i 
National sMiusermr 2 a a a eT ee a a See 2 i 
Administrative). staft 220 EA Alecia at ayy Nae eae eee xii i 
PAOD EG BRIA ELON ae ee ae ak ce 19 
Changes in organization and) Stall 2222 eee 32 
Collections: 2222005 2) 22 boo oe ee eee 19 ; 
Hxplorations and: field) workecs ser) Bias fae es ee ee 23, 
Publicationssand printing <2. 22s Se ie eee 31 
Reporte 22 25 2 eo Rae ee eee 19 
Scientific’ sta fies. Se eee ce ee x 
Specialvexhibites i222 20 oo See ee eee pane 32 
Visitorsscooe SSE a ee Ses Se DRA Te Sees ae 31 
National Zoological’? Parks oso 2 a ee eae es — xiii, 6 
ACC@SS1 ONS) 22 =o oo oe ee eee 81 
Statement cote. 23S ee ne ee eee ee oe 89 
Animals in, the:Zoo June. 30), 1941222 oS eae eee ee ee ae 89 
Appropriation [222 eee iid I SS 78 
1B) gel ¢¥< RUE ae ey ch A Aree Dap ere ae Uy Hee ab a RL kT 96 
Donors: and: their gifts.2. Ses eee eee 83 
FOX CHANCE Bee ee 87 
Mieldi work. 2222 fer te eG ee ee ee 81 
CRIB ga ee PE Dk ae eee 82, 83 
Improvements 22220 ae ee a ee eee ee eee 78 
Needs ‘of the Zoo.) -- 2222 2o ss ee oe ae ee eee 79 
POT SONIC! Sa so eA ee eye eee ee 78 
Purchases2522 2. 222 oe ee eee ee eee 87 
TER Yr OV. Sis SNP Re LL SNS eee eee 88 
Reporte eee oa a er ee ee 78 
Species new to the history of the collection--_____-______-___------_- 88 
Statusiof- theicollection se ee eee eee 89 
Dh C= B= eS a eet Re Nat CANA LS ER Se ey 80 
HINGE TTS Ns eS a ee Se ene ee eee 109 


New frontiers in the atom, The (Lawrence) ~--_----_-__-__-----_--------- 163 


INDEX 593 


Page 
ORS Se RRA tee ee ee eee A a Se ee ee 81 
O 
OI BTE RETRO 8 ol 2 6 Yee a IRS SI ARS RT EN ART Mie. ie oil ANS es 13 
OVEN EI) EET Ni) 3 RR RS ray “OR es NR Ra ives | at lt ee xii, 126 
MiHcialssOL the InStlCutiOns = 29s aus ete ieee ea ee ix 
COV ere lest Wien GO Lise 2 22 eae en sre hs ee ae GE pee ee xii 
COI VEEYSY 1a Ne Rk eC PR POSE TS RR pS NS Nee PE ove xii 
Ohusted: Helen A:, personnel officers. = 22s 2s oe a eee ae eee ix 
CUTER CHC OVEN Tees ee ee Ae Relea Sey eA eC ee ee 1 
P 
1 EU TUSS AD 8 RC a eR Sela pene a aap RS py ne Ca ak RS PE IN eee >¢ 
YEP AM BETES Rs eh BEAN S (CE) Sy oi SP ea ee le ed ea oe eet xiii, 65, 128 
IMO, WEDCOUOLC) Sees ae ee ee ers eee ee ee eS eee ee eg xi 
HellCornellavdhivingston states. 2.2522 Soc se See ee ee 4, 45 
Perkins, Frances, Secretary of Labor (member of the Institution) _________ ix 
VETS) Fa YS 5. Yc) LA ae Se ar RI ge tp OS Tee ue 28 
DEES, RYE SM) SRE a ek SE eel pea 2 ae Ne elie amp Mu AN ae xi Of 
1 EOE TEETER GE 1 ES SSS RSI ST SRE OE I eee SL SURLY 27 
Herronnelwonicer. (Helen. A; Olmstead)=- 2 s-- == ee ix 
he Sa Wee ble as ee ee Sh eS oe, Ue eh a 26 
Ce SUEUR: 217216) SR a a REESE eect ae eS xii, 36, 37, 38 
BHilinssehey.. Zebarney, Thorne... 2a 2a se eee 36 
PIASEICS ISIN G)) ee oe er en ee ke ae eee 225 
Popes sohnwrusselles 252s ee oe hee ee Sa ee 35 
Postmaster General (Frank C. Walker, member of the Institution) ___ ix 
President of the United States (Franklin D. Roosevelt) --__-_______ ix, 4, 36 
Presiding officer ex officio (franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the 
OTE CEC Ve ESL IS a Se A OA a eae ee eee Sa ee ix 
Price a Waterhouse 4 6c) C06 a 23 ok ee See ee ee 44 
rmperty  cierk, (James 2. Hill) 28 otek se Se en ix 
TETP A CUO TI Ca 0 (Se Se ee ee ee ee eee als 
PMLLORMETICS LOT pT LMa Gl yn oe en a ee a oe ae eed 128 
American) Historical, Associations 2.20 eee. ae ee eee 128 
Mavehters of the, American; Revolutions. 2.22 — sesso eee eee 128 
LOPES EL HO a Cy 0 Rese aR ee” Ee EL OER tt I 123 
HMehnology,.bureauiol, AMerican==22.2 one ee ee ee eee 128 
reer Gallery Of AS Gane ee ee er ee en eee 127 
National Collection: of: Wine Arts-- 222224 2 = eee ee eee 127 
Na tHonalliy MUSsenME S22 ne ae Pa ee ee 126 
Anmnal Rep OrE sek oS ee ee ee 126 
ret hn gis see eS alee ear ae eee 127 
Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium——-_--_--_--__ 127 
IPTOCCCC In gee oe a ie ee ee 126 
REINO Ge is ae cen ee ee he Ne ee 123 
NOITMGM SON LAN ook eee ot ea ea ee READ Ae 123 
Anal RepOrtss: aaa le  Tene i Pe ee ee ote eee eee 124 
Miscellaneous s(Collectionsisus= 2st. FY ont Fe ey ees ae eee 123 
Special pnblicationsh say seus at Saad en ere tan rele tae ee a 125 


594 INDEX 


R 

Page 
Radiation,and. Organisms, ‘Division of 3 ee eee xiii, 7 
Hinanelal support. 2-2 22 ee 111 
Influence of cultural conditions on the growth of algae______________ 114 
Influence of light in early growth of grass seedlings________________ 114 
iifluence or radiation: On respira tl OMe = ee ee titi 
Papers presented at meetings. = 2a oe ee ee ee ee 115 
PGrsonne) a occ eo a ert ae eet ne ee 115 
Publica tlons ae eee eee ee ees oe oa ee 115, 
FRO Gi a a ae ee 111 
Leo 0 6) -9 cif ee ea ee eee eee 2, 9, 10, 11 
Ranger, ,Henrye Ward, fund 2e 2 Sen ee a ee ee 2 eee 49 
Rathbun ya rye See SS sas SB a eS Se a een ran rer ieee eee xi 
FECAL Gor RN IN en epee eh sear el ae ae eo ee ee ere ee eee xii 
Meberholt, =| Berielw Owase oi eres See ees Peewee se aaa ee ee RA ee xi 
TOG CTO): Eich yar Gai Vy meee en es ee ee Lo eee 46, 47 
eed! Al exam Ger Meese eee RAE a ae en ence Oe 2 ROT Iles eet eee 37 
Regents Ther Board: Of s s=5 et Se 2 Me ee ee es eee a 8 
SIE TUT 1) GTS ee Se wee oS gs roe 2 is ee Te a Pe 1 
EVO GEE CET CS ew ams sa td a ae vrs 0 ee ce Ree RR Ot 8 
EGG TT Ce resp eek 1 aT LA wre rt pe fh LO A x 
DBRT CU pS en) Sh a si aa nh 0 Vo AU ee i Aen te x 
dE) 08) LO) 9 Datei (On & eee cath pea ee eat ee rater eee a De 30 
EPCS SE epg COATES ye coh a ee es ee le I DL xi, 16, 29 
THe Ae Gr Ua a a ate th Fak eh nd re te ee BT AB REED I ae x 
MERU ys reba eM es a ah a ae NAN ho SN ed EY pes Xs 
RobertssWrank Et.) Els Pree ee TS ee xiii, 2, 5, 16, 58, 59, 60 
Rodrigue TZ JUVenal Valerio wes Ske RRR AE eS AcE es et BRAD ea eae eee 25 
Roebling) fund Sees See ee Ae I ee ee 21 
AERO Wy Crs Sh A saa = tae te ah RR at SA TR PER oe Xs 

Roosevelt, Franklin D., President of the United States (Presiding officer 
ex officio) and member of the Institution) 222222" 22 a eae ix, 36 
FROSSOM; EE ZA DCT NW ae err es ewe i ee oe i ern Pepe aie SE ae ES >a 
Rubiano;--Alejandro 22a = eae ee ee ee bee a IE ee 26 
MER UL SSO LE say cFis iy 1 Wy EMSS Cha aa Se re eA ON nth x: 

Ss 

Behatler,, W.Va ss ee en roe xi 
SST Uva co WVU gg rv a a rn en X 
Schmitt, Waldo 2 = 2 a! oo ee ae eee 5 taj Al} 10S Pall 
SCHULEZ. eo rnb 8 Te a ae a x, 28 
SCH WALZ: bs Grey airy ee a eX: 
Science and human prospects (Blackwelder) —-_-------------__-------— E26 
Science in the electrical inc istry, The role of (Smith) --_---_-____-_____-_ 199 
Science shaping American culture (Compton) ~-_----________--__-_____-_- 175 
Sclientifie stati. 2s Se ee eee eee aK 
Searle, Harriet Richardson--________________________________________ aes Xs 
Secretary of, Agriculture (Claude R. Wickard, member of the Institution) ix 
Secretary of Commerce (Jesse H. Jones, member of the Institution) —---_ i bie 
Secretary of the Interior (Harold L. Ickes, member of the Institution) -- ix 
Secretary of Labor (Frances Perkins, member of the Institution) —---__- ix 
Secretary of the Navy (Frank Knox, member of the Institution) —---__- ib 


Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (Charles G. Abbot) —~-..- ix, xii, 36, 37 


INDEX 595 


Page 
Secretary of State (Cordell Hull, member of the Institution) -____ix, xii, 36, 37 
Secretary of the Treasury (Henry Morgenthau, Jr., member of the Insti- 


[FORG KO) MA ce Ee eee eee Pe sa Me eS ck RMAC SEL eee jae mes Ot, ix, xii, 36, 37 
Secretary of War (Henry L. Stimson, member of the Institution) _____ ix 
SIEtO2A Ley er 0 ce EM ES ore PAs SEE anh a AU LOR fe la ae 
OC VATOLIE ICG ATS Gs ieee eee: es RE Py De 387 
“LCDS EIS [1S 19061 £7 0 be ee lap pa ERI ats er ae bot eee Bk Bea Puneet x: 
Shepard, Donald D., Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel, National 

Galleri, OneAT tes ou. 2-2 hs eek ee ge ee xii, 35, 37 
MHOPMIBIKEr ClarenGe Bes 6 oi) oie tes cee eg ee, X27 
Shoemaker, Coates W., Chief Clerk, International Exchange Service______ 0H iy (ef 
PS aa OSOYOU | BP 22 RN aS nee eee eer OU ee NERR LIN ASAT'Y Que eons ee tuber 108 
SS Dn OG Leading © Fa Stal OS ke 8 A ide i ea xii 
Sa GH ETON AT bMS =o Cae a cape ae eee ee, 11, 16, 20, 28 
Se See ODE tan Mies = = ek oe ee ee ee 16 
ISTE BED pee Rg Ea 0s 2 i ee EE el xi 
Smith, M. W. (The role of science in the electrical industry ) _-_______-_-__ 199 
Smicosoniane Arts COMMISSION e = te ei be ee a 46 
Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition_____________________ 3, 6, 20, 27, 81, 82 
SSEHT GLU SOTNE UT CTIN TED Pea ea PT te se ee a Fe bs 
Snake bites and the Hopi Snake Dance (Stirling) _-____-_-_---_--_-------- 551 
Solar energy, Artificial converters of (Hottel) ------____-__________---____ 151 
Solomon’s seaport: Ezion-geber, The excavations of (Glueck) ~---------_- 453 
SSS Tea OTD WV a a Nh a IE aa xi 
Stearns, Hoster (regent of the imstitntion)) 222 ee x 2,8 
SrejMe Ber Mom AT iiss! oe a ph ee eS 02) tala hs Pe x; 12 
RSS SRST SU WMO TN Aes ae a ae a ed ed xi 
CCW ECS UTLATY: FAS Sot ae oe ee ae a LS ee 5 xiii, 5, 16, 60, 61 
Eevee ee oI) = ee a ee ee a a ee x, 16, 23, 24 
Stirling, Matthew W., Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology______ xiii, 2, 5, 56, 68 

(Snake bites! and the Hopi Snake Dance) 2-22 2- see 551 
Stone, Harlan F. (Chief Justice of the United States) ____________________ 37 
ferrets et: SD): ESS Te ti A Tk LN 4, 15, 45 
Sindveor indian: music; ‘The: (Densmore) =— 255" a2 se ee ee 527 
Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution_______ 2 
Rywrencon ye OD WR. . oo ee eee ee ee ee xiii, 5, 57 
SHOES ied A ee ee ee ee eee wt xi 
Synthetic textile fibers, The new (Mauersberger) ----_-----__________-__- 211 

At, 
Ith AK) 29 0) S ee eee 12 
SRN LOTS (Mt Hol a. es 8 Se ee ee ee eee ae xi 
AVIOP Walter W,;0lsasoo 28 oe ee eed oe x, 25 
OLD ELEC) Gg ee ee 24 
Thimann, Kenneth V. (Growth hormones in plants) ~---_---_________-___ 393 
Tolman, R. P., Acting Director, National Collection of Fine Arts___ xii, 45, 46, 50 
Treasurer of the Institution (Nicholas W..Dorsey) 22-202 ae ee ix 
PRS TAD LG) esc a Ee a ee ee xii 
True, wiebpsier &., hier. editorial (divisions 2220s eee eee ix, 12, 129 

U 
DTTC aed Oe a a ee ee eee ee ee Se xi 
mibedastakes) OfieexoLmhGucatlones.=s-2e ee ee eee ee 9 
Weehulral aver (CO HAGE) ewe ee eee ete ie te ee sl 401 


430577—42——39 


596 INDEX 


V: 
Page 
Vaughan;: "2.""Waylands 2222. 322 Shy BO aS 9a re al TO Ne xi 
Vice President of the United States (Henry A. Wallace, member of the 
Dx SUG uni ry) 2 es a i a a ah a ix 
Vitamins and their occurrence in foods (Munsell) __--__--____-__-_-__-_- 239 
WwW 
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, Research Fund_____________________ 9 
Walcott. Mrs; Mary: Vaux; DEG es tas sooner oa ape 2S A a 2, 9, 14 
Walker) Mebert. ice a= sales ee ee ae ee ee ee ee xi 
Walker, Ernest P., Assistant Director, National Zoological Park ________ xiii 
(Care.of captive;animals)) 1-044 os been a hee erie bey She ee 305 
Walker, John, Chief Curator, National Gallery of Art____________________ Ron 
Wallace, Henry A., Vice President of the United States (member and regent 
OL Lhe TS Git ea Gory) oe aa a ren a IL, EA 1b. ype’ 
Walter Rathbone Bacon» scholarship sess eae ee ee ee 11, 16, 20, 28 
SWVC SSVI ES Sora IN Se EBT ESL EE OE ENE INE SE a Ae xi 
Webbs DOR Tai Se OE a a nd ke ae oe Lee ER 27 
Wrecklenv Usb ss Jee 2. ee Or aa x,3 
Wiedels Wald oie 2202 eu ee ee ee x, 16, 24, 25 
Wenley, ArchibaldiG ifs 20 22s 20 Sl) A eS a Le xii, 5, 54 
Wetmore, Alexander, Assistant Secretary of the Institution (in charge of 
the National Museum)?! Sis Se ee eee oe ee ee ix, x, 16, 25, 26, 33 
Wihab les thet ween thes Searsis (A cern!) esse ee eee ew 141 
Winitebread "Charlee 2 ee rake oh pares egg ECE ee Te xii 
Whorf, Benjamin Lee (Decipherment of the linguistic portion of the Maya 
VEG TO SU yap nh Si) Ss ees Le he (ee 479 
Wickard, Claude R., Secretary of Agriculture (member of the Institution) — ix 
Widener: VJOSep hy H) ss eae Se OS Se ee eee ees xii, 36, 38 
Wallouehib ya! Marion: yt rete oe sea area PA eae ee xi 
Walson, (Charles Branch. saan eee | 20 See ve SR eee eee x 
Wings for transportation. (Recent developments in air transportation 
equipment). (GWtight) S22 226 ee ee ee 563 
Wid: Casey) Ai 2) Seen eee SN re I Te Ee Lk AO ER ms 
Woodhouses:S arte ll Wyk eek eee ET EE ee eee ae x 
World as! Yours) Chex(radio: program) = ses ee ee eee 259) 105 19! 
WV ss ed ect She ae a Ed ete Lg ee ee ee ee eas hn 6, 78 
Wright, Theodore P:. (Wings for transportation) 2222 eee 563 
rs 
WA CCOPA VV UTA eke ase ele nal ed ie ee i ee es 136 
Younes: Mahonris Mets ss=s2 tes ieee ee eee eee 46 
Z 
FANSUCT 4 CHATICS =e S28 ease Aa TAR OS A ane eee ee eee ee 37 


ype en whee 
EG Tat 
. AA nu y . 
ia bist Peay) tae AeA 
Ast mdb AP bina , “i one h: 
bak ; . Wael 


Ks Srennihte ee ate 
uD 


’ 


ye! 


——— 
_—— 
—— 
——= 
————— 
——+ 
SS— 
———<$—— 
——$— 
—$ 
~—$— 
——— 
—— 
—_—_— 
———{ 
—$$— 
———$ 
— 
<<< 
—— 
< 
—— 
——= 
———$—— 
ee 
—$—> 
——= 
ee 
ee 
_——— 
——$ 


9088 00944 9703