^BULLETIN VOL 1 E?^ltinoro . NO 1 TO THE M.1BBRS OP THE SOClETYs Boginning with this issuo all morabors of the Society will rocoivo this bulletin bi¬ monthly. It will bo inoued- in the months of January, March, May> July, September and November. The object is to keep our members in¬ formed of the work, activities, interest manifest and the progress of the Society, Owing to the size of the bulletin, all matter will be more or less condensed, as our staff is small, and consequently the work must be kept down to a minimum. The Editor. FIRST BIRTHDAY March twenty-fifth the Society completed its first year. The Annual Meeging was held on iferch twenty-third and was commem¬ orated by a supper. The President made an address on organized work done in Natural History in the State of Maryland during 1 the past century. Ho- rnado comparisonG vvith the work of sucoGSsful inst?ltut ions outside of this state and pointed out that the greatest contribution to their success was their form of organization. The Assistant Secretary announced the res¬ ults of the annual election for Trustees. Mr* Sidney Garman was elected to fill a vacancy. Dr, Frank Valentine and Mr. Lowellyn Jones v/ere elected for terms of three years each. *’ The annual financial report for 1929-30 and the budget for 1930-31 were read by the Treasurer. A geries of enlarged photographs demon- ■ ' "s'trating various phases of field work were exhibited by Mr. Edmund B, Fla dung ^ ^ ' GEOLOGY On' March sixteenth the Department of Geology' v/ent to Summit Bridge, Delaware to study and collect Cretaceous fossils. Three machines and six men made up the- w^orking force. A large number of specimens were collected and many photographs -Yore taken,. - • ■ ' On’ April sixth a similar trip was made to Brightseat and Seat Pleasant, Ikiryla’nd, for the same purpose ^ Owing to heavy rain the results from a point of collecting were nil. HERPETOLOGY The articLe on the Rhinoceros Iguana, of Haiti published by Mr„ Gilbert' G. Kilngel from his recent trip to the island, in the Natural His¬ tory of the American fiuseum of Natural His¬ tory of New York in the Sop t ember -Out ober number, was re -pub 1 i shed i xc the Illustrated London News, March issue-, . . LECTURE ■ . Mr. W.W.Golemah delivered a very interesting - 3 o contradictions as to demolish them completely. However, this lack of knowledge does not re¬ duce the interest of the subject, but on the contrary, serves to increase its fascination. Knowing that birds evolved from reptilian ancestors, we cannot help but wonder how, when, and where, the change in egg formation came about. It is bewildering to think that delicate walls of calcium whose fragility is so great that it has become proverbial, can claim any relat ionshipto the tough leathery eggs of reptiles, ¥0 cannot help but wonder what was the formation of eggs of the 13 ■first, bijrd Imown to man, the Archoecpteri'X, •«chich id the prize of every Palo.entologist and the pride of every theorist « Did this queer creature emerge from a tear in a leather sack, or did a mil of mineral mat¬ ter fall asunder at' the thrust of its horny tooth-lined bill ? A grasping of the fourth domension which has characterized this generation has not lessened Man’s respect for the more familiar three, Ihen we ompare an egg of our pre¬ sent day humming bird, so small that the mil of your smallest finger would cover it, with that giant of the past, ages, the great Aepyornis of Madagascar, whose shell measures nine by thirteen inches, wo can only excuse the inefficiency of our informants and en¬ courage them to greater efforts, ¥, ¥, Coleman, Curator of Ornithology, GEOLOGY Summary of field- trip to Solomon’s Island, July 19, 1930 by Curator A, Llewellyn Jones, A short trip was made to Solomon’s Island and vicinity for the purpose of investigat¬ ing the Miocene formations of this locality. The area covered was confined to the low cliffs along the north side of the Patuxent River between Mill Creek and Drum Point Light, then north along the Chesapeake Bay about three quarters of a mile, a total distance of three miles, Mo traces of fossils were found in either the river or the bay sections of the cliffs, however fossils were found in the presence of a fossil bearing stratum that dips below the tide level at this point. 14 A representative col?Lection wao mide in-- eluding a piece of hard efced clay showing r inariks of Pectin madisonius^ the Turritella plebia was found in large quantities, (t%TO very good Bpeoimens were found) and fragments of Epohora, Polynioes, pecten and Area ware ; noted though no good specimens were secured^ The absence of teeth was also noted* THE AlffiRICAE i/IUSEUM OP ITATURAL HISTORY AUD THE HATUHAL HISTORY SOCIETY OP IMRYLMB West Indian Herpetological Expedition* On August 20, 1930 the vessel. for this ex¬ pedition was brought to Baltimore from Oxford Maryland by Mr* Gilbert Co K1 ingel and Mr* ^EdY«rard 0. Wegner* This trip vas uneventful with th-e exception that they were becalmed for sixteen hours* . . . The vessel, which is yawl rigged, was built by the firm of Alonzo Conley, Oxford Maryland, after the famous **Spray”, of Captain Slocimi, who circumnavigated the globe in his vessel* Mr* Klingel’s ship the "Bc.3ilisk^* is the third built after the origional ‘‘Spray*’ ; the second 4^ also called the “Spray", was’ built for Major Culler of California^ The ’^Basilisk" has. been mooted at the foot of Pier 4, Pratt Street^ where she is being fit¬ ted with ''photQgraphio laboratory, galley, ;etc«. , Members of 'the Society desiring to see the vessel are ■ cordially invitedo There is nearly alY/ays someone on board « The "Basi?Lisk" will lea,ve for a shott trip 4 September 20th, returning October 7tho ■- . 15 PlEuL’ ’j;jri^xb On Augu£st 29th 'the President Mr, Pladving jnahe a short trip to Prosthurg, Maryland to look over the coal mine district and make photographs of the mountains of this locality. Owing to heavy mists hanging over the area, not many good photographs were secured, Mr, Haydon, Secretary of the Society, while visiting in the Pocono Mountains of Eastern Pennsylvania, made notes on the wild life of this region, especially a colony of Beavers vihioh hcd biult several dams and a colony house, ' ..inu.n.i.iii|l|ir III. Iiin- 111111111 |ir .,1 I DR, HOBLE VISITS BALTIMORE Dr, Kingsley Roble, Curator of Herpetology of the American Museum of Hatural History was in Baltimore August 30 and 31, Dr. Hoble came to see the "Basilisk” and talk over and make arrangements about equipment for the coming expedition. Dr. lloble was very pleased with the work of the Society and promised his support to further the Society’s efforts, ■While in Baltimore, Dr, Hoble was the guest of Mr, ELingel, VioePresident of the Socmety, THE BALTIMCHE MUHICIPAL JOURHAL A two page write-up cf the Society appesed in the Municipal Journal, of Auguet 22, 1930, Members desiring a copy can secure same by writing to the Secreta,ry, The article was followed up by a condensed report in the Baltimore Amoricam, CORRECTIOH C In the annual report of the Department of Geology in the August issue, trip Ho 8, Seat Pleasant, Cretaceous, and Ho 9, Bright Seat, Cretaceous, was ommitted. 16 S 0^-. ‘^’3 .Vt/. U^■Siiry. ... __ I >'•' -# BULLETIN Vol, 1 Baltinior-e. Coof-ber V'j^O No 5 MABYLMD^ & WEII TH .ON FINE PAPILIOS , Aix,o-c%: ueari.y • all I- epldoo berj sta. one finds ■the longing to vjsit the . T.-r'U'Nos foi the pun- pose of ocllecting spec irriona , ^lideed a : most rjamiral d^Blrev for the moth a-!:id 'butter- •fly c.olleotor. is bound to be. lever of beau¬ ty,. and there is no denying the''s'p;:n^ndor of most , of ’ the' fdrniB of lep^ido.ptera. ^ditoh abound .the trop:LC regions « It lias o.ften been ' conced-- ed trp naturalists that- line pcssj.blc. ex^ ' cepticns of the .metallic -Mo rp has- of gouth and Central America and the' glga-ntj.o Cmithoptcras of the East Indies, there is no genus of but- terf.lies more splentiid than the papUlcs, or ’* Cwallorabai],s^M The genus j s inimensa- and is dj.stributod in nearly every I.ooalPty kno'm to the butterfly coileotor^ Here^ in Maryland^ u-e are excremely f ortuna-te in having -six re-, presentative speciesj all of large size and gorgeous colorings In this fact our good for- * tune is greater than the average person real- izesj and it is more manifest by. the fact rhaL the entire continent of ©-ir ope proper boasts 17 - - . - but ■ •’tifOv' 'Europe’^n forms, Mach^ion ''.nd Fbdnilirius, are dwarfed in contrast to the large handsome species common to Maryland. Ihen considering the rich greens and black of our native Troilus,. the gorgeous metallic reflections and lustre of Philenor, the showy black and white and fantastic tails of- Ajax, and the immense size and beauty of Cresphon- tes- and Tumus, one should feel grateful that all these fine creatures are native to and in every case but Cresphontes, common in our state. It is a shame that in so many cases, the lepidopterist, in looking only to'^^ard the dazzling creatures of the far away tropics, forgets the fine things that are at his very feet, Maryland's vast wealth of butterfly life, and particularly the fine Papilios should be far more appreciated bi^ our local n aturalj sts, Stansbuiy Hay don Curator Dept, of Insect Life THE i-DSEHM OE n.^fiUEx^L HISTORY ■ THE HaTHLYL HiCTORf SOSIEIY OE MARYLMD West ftidian HiXpetc .1 ;; g^.-cal Expedition. ■ A bhext trip 'T-ao made by the BASILISK from' September 2Cth ^o October 7th 19’d0. ■ The . trip took in the various tributaries of the Ches apeak Bay and the Atlantic around Cap Henry. , Various experiments and manoeuvera were conducted, with the vessel preparatory 'to the ■final, sailings. The whole experimeht was except! jh ally snpc'essful , All conditions Of weather were experienced. There was, a storm fop two days during the . trip and winds of various, directions were - encountered, :;' -..Mr Gilbert,;,g,' Hllngel conductor of the expedition conducted the e^spericient, faselnted "by Mr. Alvin D. Z^ichary. _ M‘5ny Photo?r*3ph3 ■were't’^ken end a nusiber ’ of sharks -were seen, one of these tos harpoon¬ ed, Tshich had followed the/veasel for several -hours. ANKUAl REPORT OP THE DEPIRTMINT OP OMITHOLOGP W. UTallace Colenan, Curator • ■While the ■"'fork tdiich has been accomplish¬ ed is not as imposing as some of that of oth¬ er departments, nevertheless ye have secured some valuable information and records for 'the Society. '• The present purpose of this department' is to collect authentic information and pho¬ tographs rater than skins or mounted specimens. Ho-rever such specimens as we receive will be prepared. A specimen of American Wcodcock ( Phj.lohela minor ) which had been killed by an automobile was the only skin collected. A total of twenty-three birds were stud¬ ied and photographed. The various families being represente'd as follows : ' Laridae one Strigidae one Ardeidae one Alo.edinidae one Scolopacidae one Tyrannidae ; two Phalaropodidae one Corvidae one , Columbidae' one icteridae four Cathartidae one • Hirundinidae ohe Buteoriidae three KLmidae two Pandionidae one Picidae ohe Another’ important phase of the worksbe¬ ing carried on is the collecting of dates on the arrival and dissapearahce of such mhgra- :tory species ■which are either transient or season residents. ' This.is -being carried on under the .guidance of .The United States 19 filoCLogical Survey. Only ’the Lacls of proper equipment will p-revent these Investigations from 'being carried forward on a greater scale. The following species were photographed from life by means of blinds> stalking, etc. by Messrs G. C\Elingel, Alvin D^Zachary, and E. B. Eladung and Charles A.-Pertsch : Aaerlcan Herring Gull, Larus argent atus smithsonianus ; Green Heron, Buterides vires= cens, Mourning Dove, .Zenaidura macroura , Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperi , American Osprej'', Pandion haliaetus carolinensis ; Belted King¬ fisher, Ceryle alcyon> Flicker, Golaptes auratus, Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus , Least Flycatcher, Epidonax minimus , Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus> Meadowlark, Stumella magna, Chipping Sp’arrow, Spizella socialis, Towhee,Pipilo erythropthalmus ; Catbird,, Galeoscoptes carolinensis , Brown Thrasher, Harporhynchus rufus > Saw- whet Owl, Cryptoglaux acadica. jVi important contribution to the So¬ ciety was a collection of oilpain tings made by Mr.Gilbert C..Klingel and framed by Mr.E.B., Fladung,, they were > Red Shoul¬ der HaTidc, , Blue Jay, , ITilsons Phalarope, Sparrow Hawk, Jamaican King Fisher, One illustrated lecture was delivered to the Society by the Curator on the subject of bird migration. MR. HASSIER VISITS BALTIMORE Mr, William G. Hassler of the Department of Heii^etology, Ajnerican Musexam of natural History, while in Baltimore on Sept. 6. & 7. to make final arrangements for the coming ex- pdition,, was the guest of Mr, Klingel,, Vice- president of the Society and leader of the expedition. 20 7J Vol, 1 i-..Ti3re ITovemBer 8c D^cemb^r 1930 ■ ITa 6 TO Om iiEIIBSRS The Editor and Staff offers an apol-- ogy to our members for the delay of the i Bulletin. • The ^ork entailed to our limited Staff, the changing of some of our plans T'^hich TJ-as found necessary and the holiday seasons were the chief cause of delay ^ ¥e trust to he more regular in the fu<- ture* The co-operation of every memher is so¬ licited, ¥e have requested articles from f our members on nature, travel etc., but so far have received very fe^^ responses. Please send in jomt article to the Se¬ cretary . THE EDITOR OUR SEUT-MlIUAl GUEST EVEUIUG ' The third Semi-Annual Guest Evening was held Friday October 24-th. 193^- One of the" features of the evening was two motion pictures loaned the Socle oy 21 i I » f ‘ i 'i ^ i ■ 'll S ^ fi I the Amerio^ii Museum of TT^^turnl Kistuiy, New York. The one picture featured moose, muskrat j deer, ^/^aid goats and hirds,, thlru Northern Cana:ia, The second reel was birds of Sonawenture - This was entirely a "bird, picture, featuring water-fowl f * As a request Mr, KlingelVs reel o.f the Ehinoeeros Iguana of Haiti wa'S shorm. Almost oeautiful display of butterflies was e-xhibited 'by Mr. Stansbury Haj^^don, Curator of Entomology, as a special "loan coilection<. •The butterflies exhibited were of the family of lapilio-s from Asia, India, Japan, Ce3^1on, Philipinu ■)lslands , South' Ameriaa, Europe jh'iTest Africa and the Dutch East Indies . The displa^r also consisted of a col¬ lection of exceptional fine Ornithoptera from New Guinea and a collection of Mor- pho from South America, 'A new exhibition of enlarged photo¬ graphs were exhibited by the following: .Mr,,^. ¥.¥<,Coleman , . fungi , Morchella conica; Spring peeper , H37*la- nickering ii , ; Mr . E * B . •Eladung, Barred Owl, Chipping Sparrow^ American Robin. and Cardinal; Mr, E^ S^ Haydon, Beaver Colony Housed and Beaver handiwork; Mr . Jones? Natural Bridge Virginia, Devonian pa\; Mr. Gilbert C. Klingely Me adowlirk, L-oopard .I^rog, Cooper's Hawk (young) Arum and ^ the B-asllisk ” and bj^ Mr. E. Mo'Colgan*, the Bat fish. The .Department of Geology, ^ had a dis¬ play of Miocene Fossils and Mr. E. S. Haydon a display of Cretaceous Fossils, SUMiiulY REPORT OF THE RECENT .ACTIVITIES .OF THE DEPaRTivENT OF ’GEOLOGY A .LleYirellim Jones, Curator AUg. 51st & Sept. 1st- trip to Natural Bridge, Va,! Shanando ah 'Caverns near New 22 Mao'Icet, Va, , and.^Lakelaiid Cavexn^ in Char- Xaa^own,' ¥.Va, Sept-- h^th- trip to the rocks of ©eer Creek, Md,, about 9 miles ITorth of Belair, Md. Oct; 4th- trip to the sand pits of Link Sc Sons, and the Caton ‘Sand Co., on the Washington Bl^’vd^hear Lansdowne, Md. Oct. irth- trip to the abandoned clay pits of the Baito. Brick Co., ’ilorth Sc South of the Washington Bl^vd between Caton Be Soto Hds. Here a number of specimens of fossil wood were found in hemitite. Oct. 12th-r.tri’p to Bodkin Point at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Oct, 19th- trip to Bare Hills quarry at Palls Rd. and Old Pimlico Rd,- Oct, 25th- trip to Gwynn Pa.lls quarry and Hilton quarry in Gwynns PaHls Park South of Edmondson Ave, Oct, 26th- trip to Loch Raven near Ash¬ land, and then to Bea.ver Bam Marble quarry at Cockeysville then to the quarry of the Md. Calcite Company at Texas then to' the Gunpowder quarry one ha,lf mile S. of Cock¬ eysville, ' The above trips were made by ; the^ -cu¬ rator of the’Bept. assisted by Mr-. -Chas, P, Svec , Photographs were made and. repre¬ sentative sample of the minerals' was taken at ea.ch location. ■; TIdJSTSEG IZIETIHG The quarterly meeting of the. Board of Trustees was held October 17th, 1930. Owing to the’ contemplated trip of two Trustees on our West Indian' PiXp edition and which might handicap, the functioning of the Boards .as five are ■ necessomy for a quo¬ rum, ‘Mr. Wo ‘V/, CoBeman resigned ana. ilr.,-' IHjclwOTd term. • ^tie President made the foliov/ine. appcinxrD^nts : The TJxa-c-u rive G ormni 1 1 e e Mr. Sidney L. Garman, Chairman, and Messro P. B, haydon and A, Llev/ellyn Jones. The Pinanoe Gcmmittee, Mr. E. Pladung, Chairman and Messrs E. McGolgan and Stanshur^" Haydon The Pahlioenc ion Gemini tree Mr. P. 3c- Ho.ydon, Cha..irman and Messrs E. 3. Pladung, Gilbert G Jdlingel E. R* Polaceh, ¥. Coleman, A. L., Jones and A^ Zachary. L E C T U R E; -- . - . . On December End the Societ.y,had the pleasure of heari-ng an '’illustrated '1 ecture on the Oberamin0rgo.u Passion -Play by Mr. Edward McCoigan. . Hr. LIcCoigan gave the History of -this classical perfoma’nce- in cenj unction with ' the lecture; vjhich he at tended on his re¬ sent tri'p- to Europe c The lecture v/as illustrohed worn o4 colored slides. EXPEPITIOH MAIERIAI. So fan’ considera.ble rnateria/l has been received from -the Inagua Island 3. ¥o I. consisting of Insects and Mcluscs. The Insects are being prepared and mounted by Mr. Eugene R- Pclacek of the department of Entomo] cgy. - • The material j.1 ' s^iorrl^^ be on ex¬ hibit for our members Vol.l, Baltimore y January & February 19ol COMPOSITION IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY This organlzatif^ has recognized the Value of photography as an aid in recording tlie Natural History of our State. We have im¬ proved the technical quality of our records and now I believe we should pay some attention to the composition of our picture. This element seems lacking in almost all the nature pictures I have observed. Nature photographers seem satisfied if they get a recognizable picture of the object to be photographed and pay little attention to the arrangement of the subject, lighting, - background' etc. Tills is usually excused by the naturalist by stating that nature objects are difficult to photograph due to adverse lighting conditions and that such subjects can not be arranged according to the photographers fancy. By pictorial com.position we simply mean the arrangements of the component parts of the picture so as to present the whole in a unified manner. In arranging any subject the matter of prime importance is the plac¬ ing of it in a position where its outstand- ing feature eannot, or vvill not be over¬ looked; and all other features’ l^re of n.o^e' or less' seco'ndary or oontrasting imp0rt,..n'iGO . So in •ah' endeavor to'mo.ke .our ri./tu're ' pict ure. actuVrily ■..rtisticfe-kpresbions of’ our ideas, 'and not ‘mehe ' phot ographic records-., we must select, with profound care, the most ar .resting quality of'ths subject and first en- .gage ourselves in setting that forth, in a striking manner .^nd then compose our b. ck-- ground , ’V.vtmo3phere^\ in u-rtistically con-, ceived contrast, not only to emphasize the subject itself, but to enhsnce it and make the whole an individually eng.a.gin,g nhot.o- .graph comprising .xll completely well stud- - ied phases ^of subject and backgrou.nd . - • Alvin ’D, Zachary. AirCRIGAN OF FIS'^OIY' kUD h.^URAL HISTORY- SOG-I Y^Y 0? IImYIANT- ■ \(lest .. Indicx.n Her^Aetolcgioal Ytipedition 'By this ' time our ’members .’and friend's ,ij,re ac puainted' with 'the f,.i.ct'that the’ yawl ”3as- ilisk^ has been wrecked while bn this expe¬ dition,^, aevertheless,. the expedition is being continued although not on the exten¬ sive scale as originally planned, 1 The '^’Basilisk left Baltimore for the Iviagothy River bn' Dct ober 30th for final stow.'a.'ge * Leaving the Magothy November 3rd for. .Oxford Md. , where final adjustments wereumade, the vessel set sail on Hovember 14th for Hampton Roads, On Hovember B4th, winds being f-.vorable, the Expedition head¬ ed south with Mr, Gilbert G. Klingel, Cur¬ ator of Herpetology and Leader of the Ex¬ pedition, and Mr, V/. Wallace Golem:- n. Cur¬ ator of Ornithology. . . 26 on the second day they encountered a herrific storiii, which lasted over fourteen days f The yawl weathered the huriiucaic au- ju^iXcs-ulj^ ctx tiiuUg^iio ui.iC Ol uiit; We?. cJ da- iua^tsu uj tiic fcuXi Ujl Weaves eUxu • Tii-e A^iOriixixo Docei.*ut;r Qtn drought a Gallic with clear skies? but very heavy seas, s-t 6 p.li. land was sighted? but the exact longitude could not be deterLiined, the chro.- .;, noLieter having developed a serious error du¬ ring the storm. The vessel hove to about eight miles from land to await morning^for the pur¬ pose of ascertaining the position if this were possible with the dax..aged chronometer. Early, on the morning of . the Qth? with very heavy seas running? ^and.^ dariaiess. •enveloping.' every¬ thing? without any warning 5 a loud ghr.tin'g- sound was heard? .and the -vessel vibrated violently; the ’’Basilisk’* had , been 'driven on- a reef during the night, owing to • the tremend¬ ous seas. All 'Oii'orts to aislodge the vessel were of no avail, and every wave v\/ith contra¬ ry wind drove her hight^r and higher upon the reef. Realizing their position, hr. Klingel and Mr. Coleman proceeded at once to se.ve all equipment and food possible before the ship should go to pieces. Before nightfall practically everything of value and import¬ ance had been salvaged. The next morning Mr * -igL ingel set out in quest of help. It was then that he learned their position to be the north east cape of"' Great Inagua Island, B* ¥• I-? tiie most south¬ erly of the Bahai^a Group. At Matthewtown aid was secured through the assistance of Mr. Eric Jones, a British Government Engineer. Mr. Jones and his associates rendered Mr. Klingel and Mr. Coleman all possible aid in salvaging the vessel^ s equipment and supplies, and to establish a worming base- and lanor- atcry near Ma’tthewtown . The scientific imw.- portance'of Inagua was first realized' v^hen. • ^ : "27 ' r i the following lABL:iGl-AM rocei-'ea from the American Mnsenm of Ilax irai History; "Grateful both safe; good work, admire your Splendid endeavor, fortitude and devotion. ■Delighted you are on Inagua, very important. Noble v/riting. Happy Ne'W Year.” Sherwood ’ . Since the disaster the expedition has been at work, and on Jc^nuary 14th Mr. Coleman re¬ turned on the S.S. Flora with over 500 lizards representing five genera of which very little is now known. He also brought a large number of photographs which are now in the process of development. Mr. K1 ingel will remain on Greater Inagua for several months. Yory little has been done on this island for many years, and in fact no Naturalist has set foot unon it since the days of Ags-ssiz. MYRIT BADGE FACULTY of TEE BOY SCOUTS OF A!IERIGA Our Society has been endeor/oring to promote interest in Natural History and aMliod sci¬ ences or in whatever branch our members can assist as advisors and examiners. At present we have the following on this faculty; Mr. E. R. "^olacek as sdvisor and examiner in insect Life; Mr. "^aul V/Uvtson as advisor and examiner in A.stronomiv; Mr. Edward 0. Vy'egner as adviser and examiner in Electricity. Mr. Gilbert 0. Klingol, prior to the sailing of the V/est Indian Expedition, was advisor and examiner in Reptile Life. No doubt Mr. ill in gel will resume this work upon his return from the Indies. E6 BIRD M^.ICA 1 IHE Wr^LlSlT SPARROW %> Throue^hout the winter no representative of our bird life has been more frequently observed than the English Sparrow. The very familiarity of a subject often lessens our curiosity, but if we start investigating^, a number of interesting facts may be disclosed. The true name is not English Sparrow, but House ^ Sparrow, (Passer domes ticus) as it was oris-inally by no means confined to England alone, but common over nearly the entire European Continent. The explanation of this misnomer is easily understood. Our nearest European relative being England, the majority of our international natural history efforts have been carried on with the help of the Mother Country. Most of the birds in question brought to America were imported from En^^land which explains the 'origin of the misleading na::ae. The first House Sparrows were brought to this country in 1850, under the direction of the Brooklyn Institute which imported eight pair. However, they -29- failed to thrive and in 1852 were introduced and being cared for throa<^h the winter, were liberated in the Spring of 1853 at Greenwood Ceinetary, New York, where they did well and multiplied. From this time on a number of small importations were made by several of the more progressive municipalities, and in 1869 Phila¬ delphia introduced one thousand birds. By 1373 there were colonies established from Boston to San Francisco and from Cleveland to Galvanston. Thus we see that the reason for its being so widely spread is due to the enthusiasm it met in the United States and not because it was a professed traveler. It is gratifying- to Icnow that at least so far as authentic records show there is no proof that Maryland played any part in the introduction of this species which unfortunate¬ ly has proved so pestiferous and incompatible with our. native birds. W. W. Coleman, Curator of Ornithology Uc W. COLE^W HSTUENS W. W, Coleman, Curator of Ornithology who accompanied Gilbert C. Klingel on the West Indies Herpetological Expe¬ dition returned to the United States January 26th. Ov/ing to the loss of the "Basilisk*’ some changes had to be made in the itinerary of the Expedition. Mr. Coleman stopped in New York to deliver som.e thousand of lizards to the American Museum of Natural History. klr. Coleman brought a quantity of insects and molluscs from the Great Inagua, which were collected for the Society. Mr. Elinp-el has continued to Haiti and San Domingo where he will make some studies and collect reptiles for the Society and the Ameicican Museum. -30- A PUBT.ICATIO^T A new publication on ’’Notes on Color Variation of Lepidoptera with Reference to Climatic ^ Weather “T Conditions,” v.as issued and sent to all the members. The pamphlet is the work of F. Stansbury Haydon, Curator of Entomology, TRUSTEES IVlEETINCr The quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held January 30th, An amendment to the Constitution was proposed giving the Board of the Trustees the power to raise any member from second to first class. The Amend¬ ment will be submitted to all members of the first class sometime during the year. With the approval of the Board the President appointed F. S, Haydon, A. Llewellyn Jones, and W. W, Coleman as a nominating committee to nominate three members for Trustees in place of Sidney L. Carman, Gilbert C. Klingel and Edv/ard McColgan whose terms expire this coming March. AT'IMJAL hTTlTINCx March ICth our Society has passed the second year of its existence. The annual meeting was purely a business meeting. The President made his address showing the rapid progress of the Society. The report was too lengthy for the Bulletin, but will be pub¬ lished under separate cover and mailed to all the members . The Secretary announced the election of Trustees to serve until March 1934, they are: Mr. Sidney L, Carman, Mm. Gilbert C, Klingel, and Lir . Ed. McColgan. -31- Other reports were read by Mi*. Haydon the Sec¬ retary, llr^-McCol^an the Treasurer. Reports v^ere read by the followinf- Curators t A. L. Jones, Departinsiit of Geology; , W. Coleman, Department of Ornithology; E. B. Fladung for the Cui'ator of Herpetology; F. S. Haydon, Sntomolop*y, and Sidney L. German. LECTURES On February B4th the Society, had the pleasure of hearinn: blr . Herbert C. Moore, talk on the mineral deposit of Bare Hille, Maryland. Moore spoke on the various deposits and the history of the commercial business connected v/ith these v/ell known deposits. The various copper and chrome industries ':*hich Y;ere developed at various t im.e s . The lecture will he published as one of the transactions of the Society. Dr. Ernest Cory, vStsito Entomolos^ist gave a lec¬ ture to the Society on March 24th. Dr. Cory spoke on the recent advancements in the field of Sntomolory. Also spoke on the econoraic work that is bein-r done in this State. An interesting travel talk was ^iven by Ih*. John D . Elder on March 31st . With the aid of motion pictures made by ¥r . Elder the Society was taken from ITev/ York to Enmland, Scotland, Frarce, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Mr. Elder will deliver another lecture to the Society next fall. -32- Vol. 1 Baltimore, Mary land. May 1931 No. 9 t THE ANT LION, AN INSECT TRAPPER ^ Among the myriad forms of insect life we find a nttraber of very clever trappers and hunters. The solitary wasps are usually excellent hunters of their prey; the beetles coxuit among their nmbers some huntsmen of unusml ability; and the spiders, although not strictly Insects, are famed for their traps and snares. One of the cleverest types of insect trappers are the members of the Eamlly Myrmelionldae of the Order Neuroptera, or ”Ant .Lions." The Imagoes of these creatures are very 'graceful and beautiful Insects, with long, slender bodies, similar to those of the Damsel flies of the Order Odanata. The antennae are short, and thick¬ ened at the extreme ties. The wings are long and narrow, very delicate in structure, and crossed and recrossed with many veins, creating numerous snail cells, including one very long and narrow cell which is peculiar to the members of this family. The trapping characteristic is present in the larval stage only. The larvae, ungainly little creatures, with small legs and very large mandibles, excavate small pitfalls in sandy places, usually -33- sheltered under the edges of overhanging rocks, re¬ moving the sand with a peculiar upward movement of the flattened head, using the jaws and head as a diminutive shovel. The pits are dug in such a manner as to become perfect inverted cones, with steep sides, slippery on account of the loose natur^ of the sand. The sand removed from the pit is throV*! loosely about the edges of the crater, so as to slide in at the suites t weight. The larva then buries Itself all but its head and jaws in tiie bottom of the pit, and awaits its prey. Ants very naturally frequent sandy places, and it is by this fact that the ant lion gains many victims in selecting the sandy places for his pit < fall. Persons who have studied ants will remember that these creatures move very rapidly, and are quite careless of obstacles. The ants therefore are unaware of the pit- fall until they have moved upon the loose sand piled about the edges. This sand immediately gives way and carrying the ant with it, falls into the conical pit. The ant very naturally falls directly into the jaws of the ant lion, which are waiting at the apex of the cone-llkq opening. If the ants, by extreme struggling and cling¬ ing to the steep sides of the pit, succeed in avoiding the jaws of the ant lion, the latter tosses sand against the wall below tiae victim, causing the side to give way beneath the ant; and it has been often noted that the ant lion will shower the struggling ant with sand, forcibly knocking it , j down to be devoured. . The instinct of selecting the areas .frequented by ants, the geometrical precision with which the conical pit is dug, the manner in which the loose sand is arranged at the edges of the pit, and the method of throwing sand at an escaping victim, all these ftictors make this creature one of the clever¬ est trappers of the Insect World, and a wonder to ^ those who study Hexapods. P. Stansbury Haydon, Curator Department of Entomology IN NATURAL HISTORY Am account of the recent Herpetological ex¬ pedition of our Society in conjunction with the American Museum appeared in the January & Btehruary number of Natural History. The article was written by Dr. G. K. Noble, Curator of Herpetology of the American Museum. The article covers some eight pages of which are some eleven half tone pictures of the "Basilisk" interior and exterior and Mr. Klingel and Mr. Coleman. The photographs were made by Mr. Wm. G. Hassler of the Museum Staff and Mr. E. B. Fladung of our Society. OUR SEMI-ANNUAL GUEST EVENING Our fotirth Semi-Annual Guest Evening was held on April 28th. The usual nature motion picture was part of the evening’s program, featuring "Falling Waters" a one-reel movie of various Canadian and American water falls and "Kicking Horse Trails" a one-reel movie of the famous historical trail. The pictures were loaned to us throu^ the courtesy of the American Muaevan of Natural History, New York. At the request of our members and guests, Mr. Klingel' s motion picture of the Rhlnoceras Iguana was shown again. An exhibition of, Nature photographs just re¬ cently made were exhibited. > Mr. Edward McColgan featured gulls In four en¬ largements. Also photographs of Sand Pipers, Perns, and Alligators. Mr. Coleman ejdilbited a Scorplan from Inagua, and White Heath Asters. Mr. Klingel: Box Turtle, American Copper and Little Green Heron. Mr. Fladung: The American Buffalo. After the program Tea was served. :-35 The first annual exhibition to the public of Baltimore was held at the Baltimore Museum of Art from May first to the thirty- first. Although the exhibition was to be for fifteen days, at the request of the Art. Museum, it was continued through the month. » The following were exhibitors at the Museum: Messrs. G. C. Klingel, W. W. Coleman, A. D. Zachary, F. S. Haydon, E. McColgan and E. B. Fladung. Tnrenty-slx prints depicting mammals, birds, reptiles, batrachians. Insects, and plants were exhibited. The exhibition attracted unusual attention by the public and the press . trustees meeting The quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on April the 13th. Z> This is the first meeting of the new Board at which the Officers for the Society are elected. The following were elected President ------- Edm^und B» Fladung Vice President - - - - Gilbert C. Klingel Secretary - — ----f. Stansbury Haydon Treasurer ------- Edward McOolgan Assistant Secretary - - A. Llewellyn Jones Through the action of the board a Department of Archaeology was opened and Mr, Latison C. Whilhelm was appointed Curator. , Resolutions of Sympathy were adopted and ex¬ tended to our President, Mr. Edmund B. Fladung on the death of his mother and to our member Mr. Hugo Reiss for the same loss. WRECK OF THE "BASILISK'' An account of wreck of the "Basilisk" was pub¬ lished in Natural History in the March and April number. Accounts have appeared in all the New York a.iad BaJ-timore papers as as in many others. BULLETIN #6- Vol . 1 Baltimore, Maryland dune 1931 No. 10 y INAGUi-N STUDIES ' HuriHrii ng- b ir d s Among the most interesting forms of life to be found on the Great Inagua Island, Bahamas, are the humminff-birds . On this flat, arid, salty land mass the paucity of bird and animal life is one of the most noticeable features. The humming-birds are an excep¬ tion. They are everywhere. Extremely tame, darting here and there, feeding on the cactus blossoms, occa¬ sionally lighting on a twig or thorn, chirping in odd notes and buzzing like bees they are most entertaining. There are several species, but the most nuifierous is a species that has no common name. The scientific name is Doricha lyriira. In common with most humming¬ birds it is a beautiful little creature, brilliantly colored with em.erald green over the back, gorget of iridescent royal purple and breast of soft rose. The tail is reddish brown. One breezy afternoon I was seated in the one room hut that m.ade the expedition headquarters, when an angry buzzing against the screen attracted my atten¬ tion. A ’^hummer'* had entered the 9pen door and was trying to penetrate the transparent screening. I picked him off the mesh, placed him in a nearby lizard cage -and: continued writing. I had hardly started when another began buzzing at the screen. I captured him too. For a few moments I admired the two gorgeous birds preening their ruffled feathers in the cage. They were quite composed and went about the feather cleaning quite methodically, chirping the while and paying me not the least bit of attention. Even when I picked them up they did not struggle but lay quietly in my hand . After a bit I opened the cage door and allowed them to escape. They flew up into the rafters and began flying back and forth . As I settled back in my chair they seemed to have forgotten my presence . I lay back and watched . One was perched on, a rafter when the other backed the entire length of the hut and rushed headlong at the sitting bird. The iirrpact knocked him clean off his perch, but he recovered before he had fallen far and retaliated with. a rush. Back and forth they swooped, Things a blur and squeaking and calling in trilling crescendoes. Suddenly as if a truce had been declared the two sat side by side on a convenient beam and care¬ fully preened and combed their ruffled feathers. The open door and myself were ignored. The battle, if battle it was, started again. I watched, fascinated. The impacts of their meetings were terrific. Again the birds rested. Half an hour later they were still at it when I left for dinner. The door was carefully let open so that they could escape. - On my return I looked in vain among the rafters for the birds. They were not there. My eye fell on the cot. In the center was a tiny fluff of bedraggled feathers. It was one of the '^hummers. The bird was still alive but very weak. It lay quietly in my hand but continually sent up series after series of dis¬ cordant squeaks . I perched him on the edge of a prickly pear blossom. The bird drank onco, twice, rested and very weakly flew between two large cacti i and out of sight. Gilbert C. K1 ingel. -38- NOTICE The article on HuiPiiing- birds from the recent Herpeto- logical Expedition in the West Indies is one of a series of articles which will appear in the Bulletin. Mr. iCLingel, Curator of Herpetology will write articles on animal, plant and native life on the Islands of Inagua, Haiti, and San Domingo, where he spent six months for the American Museum of Natural History and our Society. THE MJSEDIi' llvD NATURAL HISTORY ORGANIZATION OF TODAY AND YESTERDAY Experience has shewn that the Natural History Museum like a business, if it does not keep abreast of the times, will go into decay and gradually lose its value as an edu¬ cational factor in its community. The old fashioned idea of a Museum of Natural History in which a species, male and female, was displayed with a Latin name, has passed forever in the history of man. This sort of Museum served its purpose in past tiims, when a Society of Natural History consisted of a few men, among whom was one or two moneyed individuals who were its mainstay. It was then that the study of Nature was a hobby of the then intelligent. With the influx of other forms of amusement this hobby began to decline with the passing of older genera¬ tion- This fact was realized by men of foresight and great breadth of mind, who had to take stock of their resources and find recruits to keep the study alive. The only means was to make the subject so fascinating as to attract the youn^ and cultivate their taste and desire for this most delightful form of recreation as well as knowledge. To awaken the desire for the study and pursuit of Nature, the Museum had to be entirely revolutionized. Instead of a lifoloss mass of stuffed creatures ar¬ ranged in a ’’roah’s Ark’^ fashioned with (in most instances) meaningless Latin names, the habitat group has been constructed, displaying maicmals, birds, reptiles, insects, etc., in their natural surroundings with natural poses and intelligent labels telling of the life and habits of these creatures. Leaflets, pamphlets, and cards are being sold for a moderate sum, depicting the creatures and their lives in an interesting, understandable manner, instead of bulletins or papers with dry, technical facts. Other phases of Museum life were corrected. Hither- tofore the Museum was almost unapproachable. The layman had the impression that he was not sufficiently learned to enter its portals, which were in charge of a Director or Custodian who held all at arms length and discouraged any work other than that done by himself. The place in general v/as gloomy and dusty with an air more like a tomb or store¬ house . Today one is welcomed by efficient and courteous men and who. conduct visitors over the building, explain¬ ing the various displays and giving information on the work •in which one might have an interest. Work and contributions by amateurs are sought and encouraged, classes are conducted and lectures are given to children and grown ups, and a gen¬ eral welcome is extended in well lighted, clean and comforta¬ ble quarters. This evolution is what has saved Natural History and the success has been proved by the growth of many Museums which fifty years ago consisted of but a few men; whereas, those who have pursued the old order of things, have gone into decay and in many cases have ceased to exist. Under this new order, men of means with civic pride contribute largely and seek the aid of City and State through financial appropriations to foster this wholesome, clean and interesting study, thereby, to help and build useful and cultured citizens out of the youth and to pre¬ serve in a proper manner a correct record of the fast vanishing wild life of their native State with the ad¬ vancement of Civilization. - V Edmund B. Fladung -40- Vol. 1 Baltimore, llarylaM July 1931 No. 11 THE BRSPARATION AND l!AINTENAI^CE i,, OF A MODW STUDY COLLECTION OF irSECTS To the casual observer who sees an entomologist in the field collecting specimens, the idea is immediately suggested that the collector merely catches his specimen, kills it, pins it in a box and that is all. Possibly half a century ago this v/ould have been in a measure true, for at that time little preparation was done; but ^today, with modern facilities, advanced knowledge and .ideas, the entire picture is changed. Let us begin with the actual capture of the speci¬ mens, for the modern study collection. With it are taken all manner of notes and data, such as temperature, food-- plant, weather, method of capture, condition and attitude of the specimen when it was taken — all these items of Information are of great importance, as they may later ^shed light on some unknown facts concerning the particu¬ lar species. The specimens collected in the field are then taken to the laboratory, and preparations for mounting are begun. They are carefully removed from the field box with forceps, and pinned on an especially prepared spreading or mounting board. The wings are -41- spread to the proper position Tdth a mounting needle, end held firmly in place v/ith strips of transparent ' paper. All the information taken in the field is m^itten on a card, one for each specimen, and these cards are numbered. A bit of paper bearing the corre¬ sponding number is pinned on the board with each speci¬ men. The specimens are allowed to remain on the board until thoroughly dry, this requiring from one to two weeks or even longer in the case of the very large ■ moths and beetles whose muscles dry very slowly. They are then removed, this operation requiring the greatest care, as the fully dried specimen is extremely brittle and fragile, and injury to wings and antaennae easily occur. The next step in the preparation of the speci¬ men is the labelling. These labels are made as small as is possible, being written in India ink, and placed on the pin beneath the insect. As a rule three labels are used with each specimen, one bearing the collector’s name, a second the locality and date, and the third the insect’s name and sex. Below these is placed a minute number-label, on which is written the serial number of the particular specimen. This serial number corresponds to the number placed on the collection file card, on which all field data and remarks have been transferred. A complete file of these cards is maintained, so that by referring to the specimen number on the pin on which the insect is mounted, and then looking up the corre¬ sponding card, all information concerning that par¬ ticular specimen can be readily ascertained. This file is self-expanding, so that as the collection increases, complete data on each and every specimen added can be incorporated therein, thus making a complete record of scientific value for the entire collection. The serial num^bers include letters indicating orders and suborders, so that these subdivisions of nomenclature and taxonomy can be kept separate , The specimens themselves are placed in large drawers of a specially designed cabinet, in rows according to Order, Family, genus, and species, with appropriate labels, which must be neatly printed for each subdivision. -42- The work does not end here, as many might supposo. The '.collection must be constantly and carefully treated with protective preparations to insure preservation against the ever-present pests, such as the Defnestes -r beetles which destroy the specimens. For this purpose, small boxes filled with dichloricide are placed in each drawer, and must be continually refilled, as the crys¬ tals rapidly evaporate. Small wads of cotton, 'saturated with carbolic acid, and carbon disulphide are also used, and these too must be replenished at frequent intervals. Thus it can be seen the immense amount of work en- tailed in the proper formation and maintenance* of a modern ^ study collection of insects, and that the old idea so often surviving today, that the entomologist merely kills and pins his catches, is thoroughly in error. ' F. S. Haydon, Curator Department of Entomology ^ TRUSTEES' 15EETIKG The quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held July 8th at the home of Mr . Stansbury Haydon, Trustee and Secretary, Mr. Haydon entertained to Trustees at dinner prior to the meeting. The President made the following Committee ap¬ pointments; Executive Committee Mr. Gilbert C. Klingel, Chairman, F, S, Haydon, Edward McColgan and the President Ex Officio. Finance Committee MiT, Edward McColgan, Chairman, F. S, Haydon, and the President Ex Officio, The Publication Committee was abolished. All publications will b.e handled by the Department of Education and Publication which was inaugurated with the President as Curator. -43- At the same meeting a Department of Conchology was opened with Mr. Charles Svec as Curator, ^ The entire Staff was reorganized and governing rules with a definite program was adopted. The rules will be presented to the Staff members at a Staff . meeting which will be held shortly. Following are the appointments of the Staff. DEPARTt'FIlTS GEOLOGY: EMTOMOLCGY: HERPETOLOGY: ORNITHOLOGY: CONCHOLOGY: ARCHAEOLOGY: EDUCATION & PUBLICATION: LIBRARY: A. Llewellyn Jones, Elra Palmer, C. Svec, A. Rubenstein, F. Stansbury Haydon, Sidney L. Garman, Edgar Gretsky, Gilbert C, Klingel, W. Wallace Coleman, Charles Svec, F. s, Haydon, A. Latison Wilhelm, Albert Rubenstein, Richard S. Stearn, Edmund 3. Fladung, F. S. Haydon, A. L. filhelm, ?/illiam J, Leslie, Charles H. Waller, Alvin D. Zachary, H. Corwin Moore, W, W. Coleman, A. L. Jones, G. C. Klingel, E. McColgan, Edward McColgan, S. Garman, Eugene R, Polacek, Curator Assistant Curator Staff Assistant Staff Assistant Curator Staff Assistant Staff Assistant Curator Curator Curator Assistant Curator Curator Assistant Curator Associate Curator Curator ^ Editor Sc Associaite Publicity Sc Associate Publicity Artist Photographer Lectures Associate Associate Associate Associate Librarian Assistant Librarian Assistant Librarian The President is Chief of the Staff and ex officio member of all departments. -.44- -m B U Vol. 1 Baltimore, Maryland - August, 1931 . . Ko.18 ARROWHEADS ARD ARROWS Editor’s Note: The folloTmn^-’ is one of a series of articles on weapons, pottery, and customs of Maryland Indians, hj AVoevt Rubeiistein, Assistant Curator of the Department of Arcnaeolog^y . In the lives of tne abori;E TIN ypl. II Baltimore. Maryland - October 1931 Wo. 3 INAGUAN STUDIES Flamingo -i Frank M. Chapman, veteran ornithologist once • said of the flamingo, "There' are birts larger t ■ than the flamingo and there are birds more beau¬ tiful than the flamingo, but there is no bird, as large and as beautiful as the flamingo. " And he is right. I shall never forget my first sight of a fla:» mingo flock. It was an the day we were shipwreck ed on Inagiaa Island. ¥e had made a rough camp <^n a bluff overlooking the sea. Below us and to one side stretched a semi-circUlar lagoon, tur¬ quoise blue, and coral fringed. The sun was set¬ ting and tingeing the tree tops with orange and gold. We walked down to the sMdLbwy beaeh. From high overhead came a faint "honking". In . resplendent V-shap^d ‘formation* * scazl'et line of flamingo circled us and with wings ablaze, with the last rays of the setting sun disappeared into "the gathering twilight. In the days that followed-we saw numbers of the big birds. Great Inagua is dotted with hundreds of small ponds and lakes, most of them very shal¬ low. These are favorite haunts of the flamingo and it is seldom that there was not one or two birds wading about each lake. It would be diffi- i _ . ^ _ _ cuLt to estimate the nujnber of birds that make Ina- gua their home but two thousand birds would not.. be an exaggerated figure. In the big saltpond near Mathewtomi only a short distance from our headquart¬ ers^^ almost always could fin^ a hundred or a hun¬ dred fifty of the big birds. In the distance they looked like a great pink cloud resting on the water'.*' The flamingo of Inagua is one of the large colonies of these birds left on the Bahamas Islands. The famous colony of Andros Island was largely destroyed by the 1938 hurrican and it be some years before the birds there regain their former numbers, if they ever do,- Flamingoes are to be found on other islands of the Bahamas group but by no means are the flocks as large as those on Inagua. The British Colonial t-', Government protects the flamingo as well as it is able but unfortunately, in spite of legislation, lajvge numbers of the birds are shot each year by the natives. The Ina^an flamingo breed in a colony on the far side of the great lake that occupies the center of the Island, The nests are made of mud piled up in cone shape to the height of approximately a foot and a half. The eggs are laid in a depression 4n l!!| the top. At the time we left the island the birds were beginning to disappear inland for the nesting season.. One by one, and -by t’^os and threes they left the saltpond for the great lake. On the last day that I spent on the island I ./nlked back to the saltpond for a last look at the baa,vitifxi.l birds. There were only a few left, I walked over to them. They let me approach to within fifxy feet and with shrill cries flew higher and higher, circled a few ^ times, and straight as a beeline flew inland- The saltpond was empty. Gilbert C- Klingel Curator of Herpetology. BIRD IiaUGRAITS IN MARYLAND The European Starling > The starling (Sturnus vulgaris) whose importation followed that of the house sparrow and which bids fair to become just as great a nuisance is certain¬ ly the second most familiar natural j»od bird citizen in our state. Although the starling was unknown -54- in country before 1890, whereas the house % eparrow had established itself successfully, if n not firmly, by 1866« The speed of distrikbution promiBes to exceed that of the first alien. Released in Oentral Park in 1890 by Mr. Schieffelir they nested that very year upon the building of the Natural History. **During the ten years that f * fclloned , their number steadily increased and they spread out over more territory. Their trend appear¬ ed to be Hoith and South ratner than Western, due no doubt to the mountains ana the absence of cities. . By 1910, their southern boundary iruluded Philadel- I phia and by 1920 it was known, from Maine to Virginia ^ and as far wast a.s Ohio, having orosst^d the Alleghen^ji mountaiiiSc lith the governmient receiving varying^^ reports, it is impossible to Btate the definite range limit of the bird today. There are several reasons to account for the tremendous increase of bird population limited to j this oiie species, the most important of course being its adaptability. f The species manages to withstand both extremes ' of ii'emperature, and whether it is a year of drought or floods feast or famine, the starling race goes on< With the exception of the house sparrow it has ' no competition worth mentioning in its batt.fee for existence and being a rather p\ignacious creature this factor is negligible. Migration, a feature that always makes considerable deimana uuon our native bird life §0EB hOt MVSxi His movements are governed solely oy the aoundance or scarcity of food. -*• The European Starling as an Ameriran Citizen. Ohapmran, natural History, 1925. X Spread of the European in North America. Cooke, U. S. Dept, of Agriouiture. E. ’Wallace Coleman, Curator of Ornithology. TRUSTEES MEETING The quarterly meeting of thu Board of Trustees ■^as held on October 30, 1931., Mr, Latisoii Uilhclra, Curator of Archaeology, re¬ signed as Curator of the department oaring to the lack of time, whereupon the Board appointed Albert Riibenstein -was appointed froin assistant Curator to Curator and Mr, Latison Wilhelm as Assistant Ciorator By the action of the Board, the President, Mr. Edmund 3. Fladung, mas elected a life menHier of the society. Resolutions of thanks and appreciation mere voted to 'Ir. Charles H. Taller for the beautiful roster of the Officers and Members of the Society, mhich he engrossed and presented to the Society. A like resolution of thanks and appreciation mere voted Mr, Edmard 0. Wegner ’^ho gave his time and materia] in building the nem exhibition cases for the Society FIELD WORK This season particular stress m ‘S laid on the field •work of the Society. Every week tmo and sometimes as many as four departments spent from one to tmo days a meek in the field. ‘ The Department of Archaeology had tmo to three men in the field every meek. The Department of Geology conducted trips to many ‘localities outside the State as mell as mithin the State. The Department of , Entomology and Ornithology mas in the field mith from one to six members. The last paragraph of the article on Canadian Beaver should read; "mere curtailed" instead of "mas curtailed". Reference was made in the Article on Additional Contributions tha,t an exhibition cabinet for the Department of Archaeology mas the gift of Mr. Richard Stearns. a,nd Mr, Albert RufeinstPitinand Mr. Richard Stearns Presented the cabinet in question* The Society regrets these errors. -56G vol. 11 Baltimore, Maryla^nd - November 1931 Bo ,3 Maryland’s “Verde Antique^. “Believe it or not“, as Ripley would say, but ^ Maryland marble reaches the sky. The Empire Stsite building in Bew York City is faced Y\?ith serpen¬ tine taken from the quarries at Cardiff, Maryland. This green marble should be familiar to all of us, for 3.11 one he s to do is to yjovIIc down Chr.rles Street 3.nd observe the store fronts, many of which are very attractively faxed vvitli this bea^utiful marble . Serpeniine ma^rble is knovrn commercially as ^ Verde Antique. The name serpentine is probably of Greek derivs.tion meaning snaJee. named such eith¬ er on account of the mottled a,ppearance of the mam#^ ble, or the fact tlic.t the ancient Greeks believed the stone to be an antidote for snrlce bites. The Greek name being letter trcxslated into Le.tin Ser- pentaria, by Agricola in 1546 ( ref . Hd. Geo. Survey, Vol. 12) ¥e as Maryla.nders , should be exceptionally . proud that such mpurble is quarried in our St8.te; for although there are numerous d.eposits of ser¬ pentine throughout the United States, only four are worka.ble for imrble. most deposits being used for ballasts The Co.rdiff quarry is approxim3.tely 250 feet 57 deep^ At the bottom there are t'wo la.rge tunnels in ■’Ahiich nearly aJ.l present is being done. The on?.y .means of desoent into this quarry is a breath'- ta.ring anJ hair rising ride in a staying bucihet. The marble is quariied in large biccks i/veighing anymhere from bcn no thirty-fire' tons, the biochB:heing hoisirnd from tne floor of rhe quarry by a' giant derrleln The blocks are t.nen sav/ed int G Slcfos of varying thicxnrsses . , The sawing is done with steel saws and sand- m oaded waoter, Te n days and nights of coniiriiiai sawing is generally required to sa,^ a block weighing apprcmimately fifteen toinm These slabs are then sent uo the polishing house where they are cut and polished into the suitable sizes. It is of interest to note the many a.na married ■... uses of serpentine-. Rock too soft to be used a,s marble is crushed into imny sizes ^ The smaller sizes arre used a^^s stucco, the la^rger sizes for roa>d boullcast, while tne dust from the crushers and ssoWs is ba.gged a.nd used in concrete icr road and foundation work. In this niarnner all rock ta,ken from the quarry is utilized with a very snmil loss. Elra M* Pa.lmer, A.sst, Gurcutor of Geology. CERSMOhlAL STOmS OE THE IfU^YLAm IhDIAHS. Among the India,n antiquities found on the a.ncient villa^ge sites of Ma.ryland sire objects msude of slate and other stones to a. limited ex¬ tent. These a.re ca.lled gorgets, pendents 8.nd Ba.nnerstones amid ea^ch ha.s • a. specialized form. The gorge! is a. perferafced ta^blet usuall3A threeor four' inches 3-cng and , ha.lf a.s wide a^nd a^bout a quainter of a.n inch in thicknesSf> In the center, a.bout an inch apart a.re two nc.les bored in line Vvith the 3.ongest dimensionc In seme iusta.nces gorgets are found with merely two perfe radons .. Theusua.l sharpes ra.nge fruc. a,n osaal, sometimes ^iith pointed ends to rec trmigular with strahgnT, con-^ex 58 - or concave sides; some care decorated vith notches or t^‘.lly marks around the edges* The pendent differs fromthe gorgets in hav¬ ing hut one holCj either in the center or c0.t one end. T]ie hannerston is s more elaborate ceremon¬ ial. stone than the gorget o It wets much harder to make and it is not f jo.nd often^ It' roseiholes some vh-ai: a double edged hc-h-chet in shapes. It probably made out of a block of sElecied stone BDout I'i.ve by tvo by one incho The thickness of of each end "Was ground down to about a. quarter of an inch:, leaving a thick section in the center through which a hole veas bored wjith a. wjooden drill, saind and wvater. If this operation was successful, the object w;as then f inshed by grinding and ' polishing. These objects are found over the whole of 'the Eastern part of the United States east of the Mississippi voUley and eastern Canada. They reach their highest development in the Ohio valley, al¬ though some of these implements found in Maryland are equal with those of other localities in point of workmanship. Richard E* Sterns, Asst. Curator of Archaeology OUR EIETH SEMI-AMIUAL GUEST EYEUIUG, On November third the fifth Semi-Annual Guest evening w:as held. The feature of the evening wjas a lecture by Idx, Gilbert C^ Elingel on Inagua, visited by him on our recent expedition in conjunction with the iuierican Museum, of Eatural History, Hew: York. Mr. Alingel divided his lecture into three parts; Inaguai. Hatii and Santa Domingo , The lec¬ ture was graphically illustrated w:ith maps and lantern slides, showin,. the many phases of the 59 life of the natives as well as the a^nimal life of Inaguao Bometime later Mr.IQingel will sgeak other portions of the Expedition,. Itr. Wallace Golerja3.n \ilio accompanied Mr* ICl in¬ gel on the InagU3.n lap displayed a numher of reed arti"?le:5 made hy the natives* line species of insects from Inagua v/ere ex- hioitRda The insects were mounted and prepared by Mr* Eugene R* Polacek. The Depa^rtment of Entomology had a fine dis¬ play of foreign butterflies of the families Eu- poeinaej Papilionidae, Morphidae, and Pieridae* The Department of Archaeology displayed a fine collection of spear heads, arrowheads, ban- nerstones, pottery and ornaments from Maryland Indians • A temporary display of Maryland fossils was exhibited by the Department of Geology, represent- ingthe various Maryland deposits. A special fea¬ ture of the Department was the exhibition of a collection of semi-precious stones loaned for the purpose, by MreElra M* Palmer, Assistant curator of Geology. The phc'cographic display was entirely Inaguan* Mro Coleman displayed enla.rged photographs of the two species of Inaguan land crabs, and the only scorpion of the island. Mr. hlingel d: splayed enlarged photographs of the lizards ^ Leiocephalus inaguae and Leiocephalus mayno.rii,; b. nawiber of the hummingbird Resophlox ly^^‘ura. of 'ohe banana bird, the Dominican grebe and the Iiermii. crab. Over twenty species of MeJ ushs from Inagua 7/ ere prepared "03^ the Department of Conchv''hcgy . Our fifth Bemi-AnnueJ. Guest evening was the largest and best in display so fe^v jield by the Society, Every Depen*tment head everted every effort to make the exhibition the most, interesting in the histor^^ of the SoG.iety. This v/as done under ‘che most trying condi cions, a.s the quarters were quite upset owing wo the renovating and instalation in progress. GO Vol* 11 Baltimore, Maryland - December 1931 Bo .4 TEE ILIPQF.TAE9E ,m) SySiEMA.T..C DE PEEE EEIQMG o;- r ,*> _.!y During social discoar-se s suffered a loss due to the resignation of Mr. ¥. Wallace Coleman, Curator of Ornithology, upon his leaving Baltimore to accept a position in Saska^toon. Saskatchewan, Canada. Ivir. Coleman has been Curator of this ^ Department since the founding of the Society., Besides his work of the Department Coleman j was making a special study of Maryland Fungi. | The Board accepted Mr. Colemans resignation! with regret and appointed him Associate Curator in the Department of Ornithology. The Depart- | ment will be under the direction of the Presi¬ dent until e, new Curator can be secured. Resolutions of sympathy were adopted upon the death of our member Dr. Philip Friese. A copy of the resolutions were sent to his family. Botes Trustees meeting will be continued in the next Bulletin. -68- Vol 11 Baltimore, liaryland, February 1932 110.6 liAHYLAIlD AS A PCS8IL LOGALIIY Although Maryleaid is one of the smalj.est states of the United States in area the student > ot Paleontology need not go outside its ineor- porate^ limits to find fossil material from the very ea.rliest to the most recent, ^ ^ Maryland contains a remarhahly complete ^ sequence of geological form?otions repr.esenting nea,rly every horizan from the Anchian {Archeoz¬ oic) to the -Pleistocene . Two of the divisions, the Crystalline Roclcs a-nd the TriassiC;. are nearly destitute of organic reimins^ The otherS) , however, are rich in their faunas a,nd floras... The Carboniferous, Cretaceous, and the Pliocene - Pleistocene, conta,in an Cobundance of both animoA and pla.nt fossils. The Cambris-n, Ordovician, Silurian, Pevoniern, Eocene and Miocene periods. All certain extensive fa.unas while fev; if any plant remaans are known. In Western ii.iTylo.nd. nea.r the tow?n of Prostburg, sever-.- a. coal mines in that vicinity expose the Carboniferous to adVc.ntagCc A few miles to the ea.st, in the Cumberlcind Y/ater- ga.p the Silurie-n formations are found o Several members of the Pevonieji ma3" be studied, in end aground the-vicinity of Ha^ncock^ While the Cambrian and Ordivician m-y be found 1-69- e. little -west of Hp.gerstown along Gonococheague Creek: These a.re the hest .kno-wn loca.lities west of the fall line Y^hich practically divides the state. The Creta.ceous a^^re found Just ea.st of the fa.ll line, constituting the oldeco forimtion of the coa.staI plahn deposits a.nd fossil -heds are en¬ countered throughout its entire length from Sumiiiit Bridge, Pelawa^re to YiTashington, .0. C. The Eocene a.lso covers a V7ide belt across the eastern section of the state. The bods near upper Marlboro a.re mentioned by the Urltcd Sta^tes Geologica.l Survey a.s the best exposures of the formation in the east* The MioceViie de¬ posits of Ma.ryland were mentioned as early as 1669 and the cliffs along the Chesapeake Bay side of Ca^lvert County/ ha.ve long been fai'ious j a.s fossil collecting grounds. The >''liocene - Pleistocene group while covering a fair size csrea, fossil beds are not abundant, the best known being Cornfield Harbor in Saint Mary’s County. A. Llewellyn Jones, Curator of Department of Geology (Hote) this is the first of a series of art- iolOB on fossils of Maryland a.nd it is in¬ tended on subsequent articles to discuss the formations with localities as noted cabove in deta.il. iJlISTOTLB, THE EATHER OE HATURixL HISTORY It is the object of the Y/riter to present short sketches. of the makers of natural History and it is conceded that beyond the time of Aris totle-very little wa,s known of animal and plant life. ■ - , Y/e find Aristotle ref ering to the Ancients and Y/ell he might,. -for we he.ve indubita,ble evi¬ dence that much of the scientific work of a-n- tlquity has been lost. One of the most impor- -70- tant discoveries pointing in that direction is now famous papyrus v/hich‘v/as found by George Ebers in Egypt in about I860, This document was a treatise on medicine dating from the fif¬ teenth century B, Although we have these evidences, they show Tory little of the real knov/ledge of Natural History and though Aristotle refers to the views of the Ancients, he regards himself in a sense as a pioneer found no basis prepared” he says, ”no models to copy Mine is the first step, and therefore, a small one, though ?/ork- ed out Y/ith much thought and hard labor. It must be looked at as a first step and judged Y/ith indulgence.” It is generally admittted that Aristotle was a man of vast intellect and that he Y/as one of the greatest philosophers of the ancient world. The enthusiastic appreciation of Cuv¬ ier and the critical estimate of Lewes are the best argYiments in favor of this great philoso¬ pher as the father of v/hat vie call today. Natural History. Aristotle knowledge of animals was exten¬ sive, He v/as particular in his studies of the life histories of animals. He knew that the drone bees developed without previous fertil¬ ization of the eggs (by parthenogenesis); that in the squid, the yolk sac of the embryo is carried in the front of the mouth; that some sharks develop within the egg-tube of the mother. He followed the complete development of the chich within the hen^s egg and observed the progression of many other animals. In embry¬ ology, he anticipated Harvey in the appreciation of the true nature of development as a grad¬ ual process of gradual building, and not as the mere expansion of a previously formed germ. He described the tissues in the structure of an¬ imals and in a crude manner analyzed the organs into their component parts. It is also kno\Yn that he made drav/ings of anatomical figures, but, unfortunately, these have been lost. But his greatest v/as in his philosoph¬ ical treatment of the Structure and development of animals^ He belie ve^d in a complete gradat¬ ion from the lowest organism to the highest and that man is the topmost of a long and con¬ tinuous ascend. Aristotle v/as born in Stagjra a city on the - Thracian peninsula known as Chalcidice in the year 384 B* G* and lived until 322 B. C* His , I father^ Nicomachus, was the court physician and friend of the Macedonian king Amyntos. Aris¬ totle came to Athens in 367 B. C. and became the most distinguished pupil of Plato and later the teacher of Alexander the Great. There were about three hundred Y/orks of his compo- j sition, most of v/hich have been lost^ He wrote on philosophy, metaphisics, psychology- pol¬ itics, etc., but in the domain of Natural History he attained absolute pre-eminence. Edmund B. Pladung. Notes Continued from Last Bulletin ^ ^ C Regrets were extended to Mr. F. Stansbury Haydon Secretary, Curator of Entomology and Ed¬ itor of the Bulletin, Y/ho suffered a broken arm through an accident while riding. Sim¬ ilar regrets Y/ere extended to Mr. Elmo Mas¬ ters also of the Department of Entomology who is at present confined to a hospital in Phila¬ delphia, as the results of an automobile acci¬ dent on Nev7 Year*s Day. The Department of r Entomology will suffer a setback through these accidents . Our Bulletin which has been delayed by the above accident to Mr. Haydon will be resumed un¬ der the direction of Mr. Elra Palmer. With this issue the Bulletin will be to date. Lecture On February 16th, the Society had the pleasure of hearing a lecture by Mr. Elra M. Palmer. The subject of the lecture was the ”Evo- lution of plant Life.*' Ihe lecture v/as one of the most pleasing talks of the season. It was Yrell illustrated with slides and drawings. -72- Vol II Baltirmore, Maryland, March 1932 Ho. 7 A GEIIERAL STUPY OE THE ORCHID Since my first association with ornarien- tal plants grown under glass, I have talcen an avid interest .■'.n orchids. At first I thought of them as particularly difficult to grow, hut as my association Yre three methods of sovving or¬ chid seed. The first is on a substratum not artif icia,lly inoculated with a fungus. The second method is in flasks containing-, a nu¬ tritive solution. The third method is in flasks contemning peat mixtures inoculated by a, fungus. The first method is probably the easiest, so I, therefore, will attempt a brief- explanation* Medium sized pots after sterilization are filled with broken crock and charcoal .and then topped with live sphag- rium moss. This is covered with a sterilized disc of turklsh tov^eling, burlap or some oth¬ er coarse cloth. After the pot has been Sc?.t- ur-ated with water, the seeds are thinly scat¬ tered over the surface. This pot is then set on a bench .and is covered Vvith a bell jar and is kept at a temperature of 80^P. The jar is lifted daily for needed spraying. The seeds will be large enough in tv;o months to trans¬ plant, if properly attended to. While there are several species of or¬ chids which are of some commercial value, that knovm as Cattleya, and Hybrids from it are recognized as being the most useful of all commercial orchids. This is because they give large, shov/y, flowers in varying shades of color from white, through pink to a tense -74- crimson purple. There is also an ever increas¬ ing numher of Hybrids giving flowers of rich yellow and bronze coloring, Formerly, the Cattleya grown for comier- cial purposes was the old type imported from South and Central America, but these a.re ro-p- idly being replaced by our own improved Hybrids, J, Hitchel Hilpert STAFF IIHETIHG A meeting of the Staff was held on Ma.rch eighteenth. Many important phases of Natural History work of the Society and nevv’ ideas were introduced, AJiiong the many matters discussed the most important were the following:- Commencing Friday, April 1st, there vi/ill be a. series of photogrc.phic talks to members and all those interested in photography, es¬ pecially Natural History photography. The sub¬ jects are; April 1, Introductory, Cameras, Lenses, Films, etc. by Alvin D, Zachary. 8, Exposures by A, D, Zachary. 22, Developing by Edmund B. Fladung. 29, Printing and Enlarging by G, C. Klingel« Ma.y 6, Carbon Process, by Ralph Benwitt. 13, Studio, Lighting, etc. Mr. Met tee . 20, Composition and mounting by A, D. Zachary and E. B. Fladung. -75- That a Junior Department he ihaugerat-*— . • ed. The ijvork to he conducted hy Blra M. Pal¬ mer eaid begun sometime during the month of Kay* The years operating budget was discussed as was the coming Annual Photographic Exhibit-' ' ion. AimJJJ. IJEETIllG The third Cunnual meeting of the Society - was held on Tuesday, March 29th. I'/- ' The President opened with address show- ing the progress of the Society. . This v/as fol- , lowed hy the Secretaries report. The main -point in the report was the increased membership. The Treasurer rea.d the financial report. A copy of the report will he mailed to each mem¬ ber.. ^ The following Departments submitted __ their reports:- Department of Geology by , Cur¬ ator A. L. Jones, Department of Co.nchology^ by Curator, S. He.ydon, Department of Herpetology by Cur Cut or G. C. Hlingel, Department of Orni¬ thology by Curatcr^E. B.Pladung Department of Archcwelogy by Curator Albert B.> Rubenstein, ■ Library by Edward McColgeun, Librarian, Depart¬ ment of Education and Publication by Curator ' Eo B. Eladung. All of the above reports will be publish-' ed under the Third Annual Report and a copy will be sent to each member. The meeting was the largest annual meet-. - ing ever held by the Society. The report and sta.tistics showed the roupid progress that ha,s been ma.de in the pa,st year, which undoubtedly was the best experienced by the Society, Pol-'- lowing the meeting a smoker wa.s held a.nd re¬ freshments were served. -76- ♦ B ULLE T 1 Vol II Baltiraore, Maryland April 1932 Ho. 8 H0TE3 OH THE FAMILIES OF MAHYLAHD MOTHS ' I: The Sphingidae Among the larger Heterocera native to the stat of Maryland, there is perhaps no family Letter repre sented or more frequently ohserved than the Sphin¬ gidae, the Sphinx or Kawlc moths. The family is an iimnense one, and is distributed in large numbers throughout the va.rious faunal regions of the Y^orld. In Maryland, are extremely fortunate in the fact that there are thirty-five species occurrent in our State, which constitutes 43^ of the entire eighty- one species native to the limits of the United State^ The scientific name given to the family is derived from the fancied sphinx-like position assumed by the larvae when at rest. In this position the head and foremost segements of the caterpillar are drawn back and raised above the posterior segements, and this attitude was said to resemble that of the Eg¬ yptian Sphinx, the name of the family being given by early entomologists for this reason. In size, the members of the family vary to a ^ large degree, there being some species in the trop¬ ical regions which a,re but an inch or more in length of wing spread; and others in the tempera,te and also exotic fciuna which are very large, often meas¬ uring five to six inches across the wings. The s-u^r^es found in Maryland are of the large and med - i iuTxi types, witli the exception of the genus Haem- orrhagia, ’which contains several sma.ller types. The bodies of the moths composing the fanaily are thick, with several types of abdomens* Some are conical, others cylindrical, and some have a marked flattening of the ventral surface. Some species bee^r thick tufts of hair on the last seg- ement of the abdomen, and these tufts are capable of being spree.d at the will of the insect. The abdomen in every case extends v/ell behind the hind margin of the lower wings, this being one of the most frequent characteristics of identity employed by the casual observer. The thorax is also quite thick and frequently/ extends beyond the junction of the wings. The head is generally large, with proportionately sized naked eyes and probocis of extreme length a.nd development. In many cases the probocis is longer than the entire body of the insect. The antennae are large, and heavier in the male sex. They are generally thick at the base, taper to the ends, and are usually hooked at the extreme ties, or in some species, curved. The Sphinx moths bear very small wings in- ratio to the size of the body. The primaries are very long and narrow, usually well pointed at the apexes, and are generally straight or rounded as to margins, with the exception of some genera,, particularly in the Sub-family Ambulicinae, which bear margins of undulated design. The lower mar¬ gin of the fore wings is invariably shorter than the costal margin, this being the case in all spe¬ cies,. The secondary wings are much sma.ller than the primaries and seem at first entirely dispro- v portionate.^ The venation of the wings may be stat-' ed as eleven to twelve veins in the fore wings, and eight in the lower pair, with the discal cell small in both. The members of the family are all capable of powerful flight and are particularly swift on the wing. They are sometimes taken for Ir.imming birds when observed at a distaxice hovering over blossoms. Most of the genera are nocturnal in their habits, though the majority of these fly in the dusk of the evening. Some genera are diurnal and some in¬ dividual species are both day and night flyers. The sphingidae are all of the nectar sucking type, and are seen most frequently darting from blossom to blossom among the nectar bearing flowers. Jassmine and honeysuckle seem to be favorite sources of food and I have seen them in large numbers hovering about the large sweet scented lily, Lillium regalis. The larvae of the Sphingidao are usually all large in size, and vary in coloru to a groat de¬ gree though those occurront usually bear green in some shade. Most of the species bear diagonal strloGS of the sides of the segementsands also a horn on the last eegment, though some are lacking in this latter characteristic. The peculiar at- t’tude assumed by the larvae when at rest, caus¬ ing a derivative for the name of the family has ’ already boon mentioned. The larvae arc not poly- gagus in their fopdplant, but good solely on the , plant peculiar to each species. Pupation always takes place on the ground, or in colls in the ground. Some species spin cocoons , among fallen loaves, while others dig colls deep in the earth and transform there. The Familv Sphingidao as represented in tho United States is divided into five subfamilies, K the Achcroni linae , the Ambulicinao, the Sostinao, the Philan;p'-.linao, and tho Cher oc amp Inac . Stansbury Ilaydon, Curator, Dept, of Entonologir NOTES TRUSTEES lEETiNG. The annual rice ting of tho Board ’ of Trustees vjas held April 15th. Results of the yearly election of Trustees vjcre announced. Hr. E. B.' Pladung, Mr. F. S. Kaydon and Mr. Elra Palmer Mere elected. Tlic following Officers were elected for the coning year:- PrG3^1dcnt, Hr. E. B. Fladungi Vico President, Mr. G. C. Klingeli Secretary, Mr. P. S. Haydon; and Treasurer, Mr. E. IvIcColgan. Mr. Sidney L. Gar-man v;ho has served as Trtistce for the past three years resigned. A vote of thanks, appreciation and regret was tendered Mr, Garrion. Mr. Herbert C. Moore was elected to servo tho uncxp-Tcd terra of Mr. Garnan. -79- In reccgnition of important serv.iCGS rendered the oocjet-^r^ Mr, A, L. Jones ^ Mr. Edward McColgan, Mr. Elra Palmer and Mr. Albert Rubenstein were elected to First Class Membership in the Society. GUEST EVENII'G. The 6tli Semii-Annual *^Guest Evening” of the Society/ was held on April 22nd. An illus¬ trated lecture on ^Boaiitj ^pots in Maryland” was \ . given by Mr. Karl Pfeiffer, Assistant State Pdresten. The Depo-rtnent of Archo.eology had an unusually fine exhibition of Alaskan and Esquimaux Indian im¬ plements. Also a display of Dominican Pottery. Mr. Albert Ribcnstcin displayed a special collection of coals. Uature prints were exhibited by the following :- Mr. John Caldcr, Spanish Moss and Natural Bridge, Va. Mr. Gilbert C. Klingel, Cotton Tail Rabbit, Box Turtle, and Chipping Sparrov;* Mr. Edward McColgan, DovmGY Woodpecker, Nut Hatch, and English Sparrow j and Mr. E. B . Pladung, Garter Snake, Snapping Turtle, Box Turtle, and Mallard Duck;* . •' Pollov;ing the lecture, tea was served. E/UIIBIT. An exhibition of Maryland Moths and But¬ terflies v/as displayed at the Central Branch of ' ^ the Enoch Pratt Library from April 25, 1932 to May ^ 1§, 1932. The exhibit v;as under the dirccti'on of the Department of Entomology. Unusual interest WO.S displayed b:\r the public and many inquiries were received. LECTURES. Four special lectures on photography were hold during the month. % April 1st on cameras, films, lenses and the principals of photography, by A. D. Zachary. April 8th, photographic exposures, by A. D. Zachary. April 22ns, the chemistry of photo¬ graphy and the development of the negative, by E. B. Pladrng, and April 29th on the enlargements and contact prints, by G. C. Klingcl. On April 12th Mr. S. B. Pladung delivered a lecture on insects to the class of ®iolog'^" at the Baltimore C:i h* College. Mr. G. wy Klingcl is conducting a series of ^ ^ informal debates on subjects relative phases of work! and problems affecting Natural History and our Society. The first of the series v;as held on April 12th 1932. -80- s-d&.yj B ULLE JUL 1 i 1334 4 V Vol 11 Bal+inorf', J'’^^Br:;Vnd , May 1952 No 9 -PECIAL PEQUES"^ The Departnent of Enfonoloyy in nakiny every efforf fhin neanon to conpEete an far an ponsible the ntiidv oolie^tion of Maryland br 1 1 erf 1 ien . To da‘''e nea rlv ^ v-^o^thirdn of the collect'^ on in co'^o^.ete and oroperl"'’’ arranp:ed- Thin conprinen 61. Ip of +he local snecienj accordinj^ to the cheoklint tenta- t"* velv adopted by +he crra-^ or. Thin lin^*' will be con''^irned la + er in ^Y'f- -rear with nil c h c ha n ve n ne c e n n i + a e d b y ^ he re ni'' 1 + n o f research to be done a"^ '^he Bv^rear of Taxononio I n V e s t i g a t i o n n , U n i t e d S t a t e n N a t Iona 1 Mii - s er n, Was h. i n g t on ^ di’ r i n g t h e n on t h of An gii s t . 'We are at p renam'd, lac'cing 58.9% of the species na+ive to the sta+e. The najority of these are c onf i n e d t o th e Fan! 1 y He s pe r i i da e , or Skippers^. This fanily has been greatly ne¬ glected drring the pen*^ years ^ and of the t,h 1 r t y-s lx s pec i e n n o"' 1 i s e d , ?^e ha br t eleven in "^he collec'’" ion . Thrn it is to be S€^en that the najori^. v of nah^^rial ’^.acking is within this fanij.y. - 81 tbe collection st-endc as regards +be ^.^arioi'S r z-xSLil 1 ies : j . Pa.ilionidae ; 1 species lacking 11. Acs :i ida e ; 2 species lac'’^ing 111. Dana i dae ; Complete . IV. Sa tyridae : 1 species lac'cing V. Eyrriplial ida : 3 s pe c i e s lack ing VI. Eiby the Idae : Complete . Vll. Pi od in idae t 1 G pe c i e s la c k i n g Somf= doubt as t c o r "a e ck .1 n 1 Vlll. Eycaenidae 5 s pe c i e s 1 a c k i n g IX. Hesperi idae: 25 species lacking All tiCt mb e r s of f he S o c i e t y , vi h e + b. e r a t - ta c b e d t o tb e e fa f f of Enf ono 1 ogy or not, are earnestly ui-p'yrri to do all tbat is possible to aid in the conoletion "^f this inportant work. Ke rewit b is published a list of the more easily collected material lacking in the coleotion. Evers^ member of the organisa¬ tion ba^^ing am/ of these species in bis pos¬ session or is able to ob"-ain them, is asked to convey td^e said material to Curator either as a gift or loan to the Society. Also the members are asked to co-operate with the Department in doing what collecting that they may find possible, so that v-e can, vm‘.t.bort de¬ lay , complete the cabinet, with a finished col- lectionof Mar^^-land Rbopalocera. The following m.atorial is nee died: Dapilio c re spb outer Ant t^o char is midea Ze rone c a e s on in E n o i d i a o o r t . 1 n ri d i a Pol y m o n i a f a ni^ s A s t, c- r o c a oir) a c 1 v t , q n 1 b e 0- i a n t S V' a 1 1 t o / t 1 i : e 0 r a n g e T i to The Dog Face Srlphnr t p o G r • f H ^ n C o mm a T be 1 i or n t a i n E mpe nor. available species of Frnily Lycaeindao-- B Ir e s , Ila i r s t r- e a !c s a n d C p pc- r * s , - B: All The All nvnil^hle spocion of F.nnily He sporlida e - ■‘Trie- tiK Ip pcnre .. y St n n s bu r y H p.y do n Curator , Dept, of Entonolog^r Ag ProGlclont of thio Society, I urge every neraber to co-operate in the excellent work of Mr. Ha yd on in building a conplete collection of no the and brtterflioG of Mary- , land for tbis Society f/e nor/ have two large cabinets to prop¬ er 1 b 01" G e t b e c o 1 1 e c t i o n a n d t ru s e "'^e r y one will do b i g u t no g t t o a s si g t Hr , Ha dd on . Signed , Ednn n d B . F 1 a dr n g , President NOTES EXH IBIT : T b e a nnu - 1 e xb. ib 5. t o t' na tu ra 1 bis torn prints waG bed.d at the Mar "inland in""titute fron May 6tb, to May Cord. This exhi. bit was larger and better than our last, both in the nunber of prints as "”ell as exb i b i tors . The Ma r yla nd I ns t i tu t e thr or gh the courtesy of Mr. Hans Schuler gave t'''e nain lobbv for the exhibit. The follo"’ing nenber exhibited; John C-^lder, 2; W. W. Coleman, 3.; Edmund B. Fla dung, ; • Hilbert C. Klingel, 23; E dw and Me C o 1 ga n , 2g a n d A 1 vi n Sac b ary 3 ; raa k i ng a total of 4 1 p r i n t s o f a 1 1 pha s e s of natural historv, 91>t of which were Mary¬ land subjects. c- At the weeklv assembly of the doeiet^i^ of May 17th, Mr. Albert Riibenstein, curator of Archael-^gy, displayed an -*0111" sual exhibit of Japanese Swmrd Hilts, 83 DIVIRIG^I: Ano + hor r’'3"^.pno of fho ' jc lot 7^r> w o rR w-a u 1 np v gi ■ rn f e f o n I ^p y 2 1 n f , The p ro o i cl o n t n cl d ro o o o d t f o Jii n i o ne ob o r o o n tdic- vnluo of tPo Junior nonbers to tbo Society. s r o p r 0 o n i n g S 1 f y Col 1 e r o , U ,n i r n i t y of MoryloriH, Loyoln Hief Sol'ool, end t^-^o Boy ou :i t G o f ■ A c'.ie r ice r 1 1 n d e d . F o 1 1 oy' i n g the PddreGS, Obe Jbnior rao'nbp'rs \-rc-re Ghoun '^be veriouG coll^-ctiono ^ pfter nricb ^ refroob- rne n t. g y^ e re ft- r v ed, , XjF C TU re ! Tfi 0 ]- P Y; f of 0 series of pb o t o “• grepblc lectures wee held on May 6tb at tbe home of Mr. Halpb bomsit. Ibe subject of tbe talk ’eas Carbo Prints. Mr. BonYrit gaY^e a demons tra tion of One entire process. PRC ^OG-RAPRY; Tbe Socie+y uas boriored by tbe Baltio.ore Sunday Ren^s pr blisbiing a series of Nn tu re Phot oyra nb s of Ma ryla nd vr ild life, in 'be Phot ograveure section of the Ma y 1 5 1 b i s su e of tb e Bo It i no re n do y Sun . An entire page o/as gi^'en O'^ tbe pbotegrapbs Y/bicb Y/ere contributed b^r filbert C. K1 ingel, E dY/ a r d M c C o 1 g a n , Ed mu la d B . E I a di; g , a n d A 1. v i n P. Eacbary. MiSCELLANEOrS; The se o^-^onci series oi s i n f o r na 1 d e ba t e s Mr. filbert C. Klingel* subjects r e 1 a t i ve t o pb a s e s a n rl vr or k of Na+ural History, affecting tbe Society Yoas be Id on Mau b4th. on It. is earnestly requested by tbe editor that all articles, to be ou.blisbed, be type¬ written or Y^ritten -iegibly, TIh- Editor 84 ! 5Z)^Z3 I Vol 11 Baltimore, llaryle.nd June 1932 No 10 FROG PHOTOGRAPHY In the pitch darkness of a murky nlyht we moved slowly up the center of a woodland stream. Our flashlights cut thin pencils of light in the blackness as they foccussed here and f!,^ere on the banks. Ahead and to the right sounded a musical call, resonant and penetrating. Further on soiuided another and another lentil the still night hummed with the noise. As quietly os possible r-e waded over t'-^e moss covered s tomes and bould¬ ers. The flashes darted along the edge of the water, skirted a rainature sandbar and finally rested on the author of the din. Above- a still pool, on a P3’’ramid of rocks, squatted a toad. The skin of its chin and throat ivas distended into brobdinagian proportions all out of reason to the ~:\ze of the head. Our eardrums attuned to the same pi'^ch as the piercing call vibrated noisily to the din of it. Suddenly the g.^'-eat throat bag collapsed and the creature was 85 quiot . For a monent or tFo the throat trem¬ bled and once again nwolrod to fvlloBt ex¬ tension . Qu. i e 1 1 g ou r c a ■ lo r a s vi ore b r on gh, t \ n t o focus, the- lens ;i''ackod hack and forth until the subject uas in good detoil. Holding ourselves rigid ue oalted unt5_l the throat once again si^ellocl out. With a blinding fl^sh of light ^nd an ear-splitting eve rbe ration 'Oo pressed the shutters of our cameras which, closed the electric-'l oonneotiono, automat ic^^lly firing the flash powder sealed in lap.ter- proof containers. The noise and sudden light affected the toad not at. r-ll for he remained singing as if the r^xplosion was no m.ore than distant uhunder. Yet an incautious movement a moment later caused the tocad to collapse his throat bubble and make a wild jump for safety. In vrriT much the manner described have the majority of the interesting and unusual; frog and toad pictures in the collections of the Society have been taken. All effort is concentrated in securing photographs which, are natur;-’! and in odnich. the subject iIg un<- aware of the photographer , Ample justification conies to the pho¬ tographer for his discomfort when the chem- istrv of the dcr':ro:jm brings into visibility the scene of the ni.ght before when on a pyramid of rack abov^- a. shadowy pool toad sat calling into the darkness. (xilbert C. Klingel Curator, Dept, of Herpetology 86 PLINY Gauis Pinius Secundios, comrnonl^r called ; Pliny the elder, though he was he^^rlded in the nineteenth century as the greatest nat¬ uralist of antiquit did not materially for¬ ward anything to broaden the scope Natural History; in fact, he uplaced the nature classifccation of Aristotle, by a plan of a highl^^ artificial one, based on the inciden¬ tal circumstances of the abodes of animals, either in air, water, or on the land. Yet he expended a great deal of labor in accum¬ ulating the data of his time, which he read or had read to him upon the subject. His '*Historia ^aturalis,” is divided into thirty-seven boohs, which according to his own account, is a com-pliation from upward of 2000 volumes. Besides plants and animals this work embraces astronomy, geography, and metorology, and in some instances goes be¬ yond what'would be included in Natural His¬ tory. Nevertheless he perserved and collected much matter of value, which no doubt would have been lost, during these turblent times. Pliny was born 23 A, D, He cam.e to Rome at an early age and had resource to the best teachers of his time. H© entered the army and rose in the course of time to the command of a troop of cavalry and finally he was made procurator of Tyri^ . During the Intervals of his military and political duties he wrote about one hundred sixty vol¬ umes, mainly dealing with the wars of his time and accumiila t ing all the data available upon the subject of Natural History. Pliny perished ho the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which over-whelmed Pompeii and Herculaneun in the year 79 A, D, Edmund B. Fladung 87 NOTES COBBS ISLAND BIRD EXPEDITION. On Juno 30th, Gilbert C. Klingel and Edmund B. Fladung re¬ turned, after spending ten days on Cobbs Is¬ land, Virginia, for the purpose of aa.king studies and photographs of sea birds. A number of the sea birds of Maryland nest on this Island and it mas for this pur¬ pose that the expedition o^as sent out under thF leadership of Mr. Klingel. Twelve species of birds was observed, tep of which '^re na¬ tive to this state. Although the work was somewhat cu.rtailed owing to the wash out tide v/hich destroyed over ten thousand- nests of gulls, nevertheless over one hundred and twenty-five photographs and a small motion picture reelv'was made. Much valuable information was secured relative to Skinners and Terns. JUNIOR MEETING. The second meeting of the Junior division was held on June 23rd. A fine exhibition was arranged by the Junior members consisting of a display of photographs of some Maryland birds, a collection of Mary¬ land Mnorals, a series of leaves of Maryland trec^s and an exhibic of Egyptian and Indian antiquities . An illustrated lecture on the Indian Tribes of Maryland and their impiiments eras fiven by Richard E. Sterns, Assistaiio Curator of Archaeology, Mr. Lira M. Palmer, under whoes direction the Junior as conducted, gr'^nted an award to Jerome Meus^ 1 ^or his excellent work in Geology .. In September there will be three awards given to the Junior members making the best collection of Natural History objects, for tbe best article on Maryland Natural Histor3^ and for the best photograph of some Ifar^rland Natural History subject. - 88 - Vol II. laltimore, Md. July, 1933 No. ‘ 11 The Oyster The oyster, the luxurious dish of the A ncient Romans, is a genus of lamellibranchita mollusksoa of the section with a single adduc¬ tor muscle. The shell . consist s of two unequal and somewhat irregularly shaped valves of lam¬ inated and coarsely foliated stiv jture; the hinge’ is without tooth or ridge, the. valves 'being held together by a ligament lodged in a little cavity found in each valve. The oyster is among the lowest and. simplest of lamelli- branchiat e' mollusca having no power of loco¬ motion. Its food consists of animalcules and minute vegetable particles brought to it by the water,' a continual . current of which is directed toward- the ^mouth by the action of the gills. • . . ' The oyster produces a vast number of young, say about four thousand -in one spawning. The eggs are hatched within the shell of the parent and the young swim slowly in a whitish -89- Sl’ fluid surrounding the gills this fluid becomes .. i olrrher and murky when the young are about to bo exp:t'lled. A young oyster is about one- one hundred twentieth of an inch long and two million can be put in a cubic inch because they pack very closely. These young attach themselves no old shells, stones, etc. in favorable envir¬ onments and have been known to accumulate so rapidly as to fill up shallow water and form^ Wc.lls effective enough to resist waves and * v tides. The oyster has long been consumed- in - great quantities as a delicious food.- Sergiud- Ora.ta., an Ancient Rom^^, formed the first artificial beds in the English Channel. -Along our oyster famous Chesapeake Bay the Indians, long before the advGht:of the white man consumed so many oysters that on some of their village sites nothing but oyster shells several feet in thick- ness can be found. To-day the .oyster has become a great industrial problem. Kow can the amount * consumed be maintained? The government not only has season law protecting the oyster, but em¬ ploys a group of scientific man who continuously study it from, every possible angle. The oysters of ^yesterday” were even more numerous than those o.f the Recent Period and about seventy species of the fossil have been found. In a section of the ,St . Marys Cliffs at Cornfield Harbor, there is a two feet layer of sandy clay literally packed with Pleistocene ”Ostrea virginica” which differs but very slight¬ ly f,rom our Recent oyster. ^ . During the Miocene .Period large quantities of ”Ostrea carolinensis** existed as sho?jn by a section of Drum Cliff at Jones Wharf, Mc5.., but they by no -means dominated the Chesapeake as they did in the Pleistocene and Recent Periods. -90- When the waters were much farther inland and when Prince George *s County was bay bottom, the Eocene “Ostrea compressirostra" .made his home there. This oyster is quite flat and not so irregular in shape as compared to that of . today. Even in the remote Cretaceous Period we find ^’Ostrea falcata^ with its scalloped valves looking half like an oyster and half like a scal¬ lop. Thus we can see that the Maryland oyster belongs back almost haJf a billion years. • Charles F. Svec . Curator, Dept- of Conchology :(c sfe Notes The. Board of Trustees quarterly meeting was held on July 14, 1932. Mr.' F. Stansbury Rayden, trustee and sec¬ retary, resigned, so as to devote all of his time to the Department of Entomology of ^.which he is the Curator. As Mr. Ha^yden^s plans for his Department are rather elaborate, he found it necessary to relinquish the executive work owing to lack of time. Mr. Hayden’s resignation was accepted ?;ith regrets and a resolution was ofiered thanking -Mr. Hayden for his faithful, generous, and arduous services to the Society. The resolution was engrossed and presented to Mr. Hayden. A similar resolut-ion was ofiered to Mr. Carman who resigned some months previous, for similar reasons. A resolution of sympathy was passed upon the death of Mr. Eric Jones, Honary Member of tlie Society. The resolution was sent to the parents of Mr. Jones. 91 The- President made the followin staff sip- pointments 'for- the year;- -- . . / Geology -Ah L. JoHeB-,*--Ourat€>-r- - . / Conehology:- ’ Charles Sveo, - Curator .-• •* * j Entomology-:— • E. - St-rasoury- Hayden, Curator / Herpetology:- Oiloert . C .• Eliagei, Curator- Ornithology:- Edmund * Bv " Fladung, Curator. ’Archaelogy :- Aloert B. Rubenstein, C-arator Education and Publication:- ’ - . • ^ ' Elra M. • Palmer, • Curator- Library:- John B; Calder*- . ^ Mr. Elra M.. .Palmer ^was elected Secretary of. the society in place'-'of -Mr.- Hayden.* iHyiOR DIVISION: During the' month of July the i'ollowingy trips ere conducted xor the Junior memoers:- July 9, for the -study' of Botany. .and the collection .of plant s* July 16, ’to Calvert Cliffs to study. Geology (miocene); -July -23, for the study of Entomology and the collectihg of : insect s. . . . ; ' A lecture on the collecting and preserv-- 1 ng of^ iimsect s was given the Juniors by Mr. < E. R. Polocek, . a member of the Staff of Educa¬ tion and Publication. In recognition of irnoortant services ren¬ dered to the Society, Mr. Richard Stearns was elected to First class. membership. ‘ , • -Lecture: On June 7, Mr. Gilbert C. Klingel delivered a lectuTe on ” The Greater Inagua*^ to the class of Biology at the Baltimore City College* ‘rDh,:B . SoBie Incr..3.n Village Sites on the Patp-nsco River and its Tributaries Along the •'bc.nks of the Ppitapsqo River ^'from Elkridge to its mouth and along Deep Bun and Stony Run, man"/ "villa.ge sites once occupied by Indian tribes are to be found. The first village is near the mouth of the Pataosco on the left bank opposite English Consul, about a quarter of a mile above the Baltimore and Ohio Railroa.d Bridge. The site, although not a large or important one, is the only site on the river where oyster shills are found. This evidence suggests that this was, the only olpuce on the river where oysters mere secured for food by Indians. Opoosite Fhumphries is the location of another village site, but' it IS. of little importance.. One of the la.rgest sites. Is located on -the right bank, north of - the Phuinpheries Station. The village extended over a large tract of land, traces of it being found for a mile along the river. Every type of relic common to Maryland Indian .has been secured ■ -93~ Jon this site. The gravel hank here and in fact \thuBe in all the village sites partly account \for their location, for it 7^as here that the Indian found material for his arrow points. 1 A mile farther up the river on the 'same' side is another site which has produced a fine Ooliection .of .'implement s^ • On the left hank of Deep Run at its junc¬ tion with the Patapsco there is a site which |s almost ohliterated hy a modern village. / iinother . site is located farther up on the" ^ame bank which is of considerahle interest . I'he great quantity of chippings found ther^ eignifies' that this location we.s' a. favorable one for making implements,". Thi.s uould suggest that a large number of points could be found here. However, this is not the fact. The scarcity of the objects can '..easily he ^explain- P'Jl hy rhe inhabitants o.u the district. The writer -was informed thout about forty years ;ago the ■ grounds were carefully worked by an ; ancheologist . (Probably/ J. D. McGuire of Hllicott Git y) . . At Hanover on the right bank of the Run, ■there is a very large village site. The. Auth-r or has gathered a large colle'ctiOxi from this site. Another collection from this locality is in the possession of the Disney family of . Hanover. The. Disney collection has been c:)l- lected . through a period of forty years.- There are only two important sites on Stony Run. The one at Stony Run Station; the other at Harmon^s Station. It is not known whethe.r these villages were all inhabited at the same time or whether the Indians roamed frc.n cne place to another in search of a more convenient location as to the abundance of material and game-. However the great similarity of ttie tools and other objects^ establish without a ^oubt fhat thev were occupied by the^^sg.me people.. T-ie -t'/pe -01 relics found- include-' arro^/- and ^ spear ooint-s of ^eloped • ouart-z ' and* rhvoiite-, ' • grooved. axes and'olettsp -banner stone, eprr-ets, fragmentary ootterv, soaos-ione7 oowle, -pestles, mortars, and ha.nmei stones: - — RiCiiard'~E. Specn-nsp A s s i s 't ana nu i o.t o r , *Dept. of A cneology Roport on Ant Exeeriment At Lutherville, Md. The purpose of this experiment was to de¬ termine the distance that the ants in the Luth¬ erville colony carry the material which is found on their hills. To carry on the experi¬ ment, it was necessary first to prepare sawdust colored with waterproof dye and then select two hills s JLf ficientl]/ isolated from other hills. The hills selected will be referred to in this report as ’d-!ill No. 1" and ”Hill No- 2”. Hill No-, 1 was one foot, six inches high; four feet, two inches in diameter; and thirteen feet, three' inches in circumference. . It w/as grass covered at the base for six inches on the southwest spde and from six to twelve inches on the northwest, north, and northeast .sides. Its base was round, its apex slightly off center to the north. The surrounding land was cove'red with saplings and hush-wood. Yellow’^ saw/-dust was placed around it in a circle, 'the radius of w/hich ran ten feet from the center of the hill. Brown sa-’dust was scattered in a circle fifteen feet from the center of the hill. Hill No. 2 was two feet, seven inches high; twenty-five feet in circumference; and eight feet, two inches in diameter. It was an even cone with gra.ss on the Northeast side and on the Southeast side. A very thick growth of honeysuckle surrounded the hill from ten to fifteen feet to -ths ^^est and ran well down into the woods on the other sides. There were- a n p- I I youj}.^ viee^B growing near the hill. V r^awrinet was placed in circles similar to 'i-hosa around Hi.ll ho. 1. Yellow, and brown v^•a■^^;JU3t being placed at ten and fifteen feet .re:\i|j-'Ctivsly. A third circle of pink sawdust "K- p placed around this hill at twenty feet* / 'ihe observations on this experiment will be published in the next issue of the Bulletin. ) . John B. Calder Dept* of Geology Notes Bt / Mary-s County Expedition;- On August IQth Mrc.' ?:ira IvU Palmer^ Mix John B.* Calder, and Mr. B-n. Calder returned from a two weeks ex¬ pedition to St. Mary’s Countyc The object of the expedition was to complete the studies on-' the Miocene fornration of Maryland as well as to complete the study collection, which the' Department of Geology has been making for the Society. The Expedition 'was under the leader¬ ship of Mr. Palmer, A ssist. Curator of Geol¬ ogy. Junior Division;- The monthly lecture of the Junior Division was presented by two of their, own members, Mr, Jerome A , Meusel and Mr. Charles V.. Sevick, The meeting being held on August 25th. Mr. Meusel spoke on the ’’Miner¬ als of- Bare Hills’% and Mr^ Sevick on' the . : p life history of ferns. Both lectures were well illustrated with specimens and drawings.,: School Aotivites;- A moth hunt was con-ducted for -the boys of McDonough school on August 26th. for the purpose 6f teaching the boys to collect moths \)y sugaring ^ A previous at¬ tempt had been made on A ugust 19th, but w^as ■ '■ " V c ' ■ e s 3 + u 'I o n £ t. o a su d u e n storm vli i c h ^ fields Vol, III BALTIMORE. MD. SSPTMBER, 1952 No.l MOCKINGBIRDS Although the mockinghird is not the most beautiful bird in North America, it makes up for v/hat it lacks in colorful feathers by an unexcelled voice. Perched on his favorite chim¬ ney or limb, he pours forth a melodious song that makes him worthy of bein^c: called America's finest songster. No monotonous song has he that is repeated ever and over again, but a variety of chucks, whistles, and trills that astounds any one fortunate enough to hear him. I have heard him'lmitate; a cardinal ’ s whistle, a killdeer’s piercing cry, and the songs of the robin. His scientific name, fits him adrairably. The mockingbird is a permanent resident and as hard as Old Han Winter tries, he cannot force this feather covered bundle of energy to depart for warmer climes. A piece of suet ?7ill always attract him and keep him hanging around the house. On April 25th, , I found a nest in a ^ thick bush nerr a neighbor’s home. Three young -1~ were in it and they a'.peared to h^'ve h'^tched } about five or six days before^ Both adults ' fed their youn^^ -t regular intervals. Their coming was always heralded by a chorus of ocuaks from the fledgings. Or? M y 5th, the younr left their nest. Fr'-^m that time on one of the three seemed to have disappeared, and he was never heard of ^gain. The tv^o p"^ rents were busy n^'^w teaching the young to fly or securing food for them. Whenever I ccpproach- ed one of their young for a photograph, the parents flew around me, emitting harsh 'K>hrips :\s •soon*’ ■ s the 3^oung heard these houd hissing. notes , they became still. So •3.g.4..i^po,i^;,t:-£.-.could -.pake my; f in:gefn>:aUJ:iera, without their batting an e^relid. On May 21rd, they were able to fly rather well csely. * ... made of twigs, -grass, moss' and twine, and. the - host- proper, t,hat is, the. hollow part,, mea.- ■ sures^ five t^- six inches.. ’ The eg;f‘S- are- - greenish’ swotted. and mettled wath brown. On June lith. three eggs were hatched. 'Then I areht^to look afthe birds the .pcrents ■ showed their disapproval b^/ swooping r-t me several- times and actuall^T- str iking, m^^ head , • One d'^y-I timed their feeding trips to the ne^:^t . I fourd th'^'*’: In. two hours, they made 45 trips, or an* .a^vi^rrge of - -per hcu_ .. This means a trip every three minutes, so • .u cr.n^see the parents hod -no idle’ nomonts on their hands.. on June 19th. the ^^oung left the nest and o/ere followed aroupd-h^a the parents who drove arr^^y the • enemies v;ho d^ red to approach the young. The Mochingbirl possess a fiery temper and will attack anything.. I have seen it drive .away people, crov/s, rock doves^ I grp-ckles, dogs, and sp.^rroT;s many times. The- male and female mockingbird are alike in color, although I noticed that the female a7as a little slirmer than her m^'^te. Thoy aro gray with a^hitish underp^^rts, they can bo easily identified by a/hite out¬ er tgil feathers and Y/hite primaries which are very conspicuous in flight. They walk rapidly along the ground ana a curious habit of 'raising, their wings ai cor oach stop. The young also -'exhibited this h-bit* as soon as thoy "had .'loft the nest, , Honri Seibert Dept, of Ornitholo-gy Junior Division REPORT ON ANT EaJ^ERBISNT AT LUTHERVILLE; MD. (Continued fronn August 193S Bulletin) One aroek '.after 'the hills had been se¬ lected for the experiment and the saaedust had been senttered, the hills tverc visited for the purpose of making observations.. The past.v/eek had been cold and rainy, h^v;- evor, this afternoon aaas warm and clear, and the ants T;ore swarming (tver the .entire surf.rccs.of the hills. There v/ore more sticks' and dried gr-^^ss on the hills, partic¬ ularly on the north sides and on top, than had boon noticed before- On Hill No.-. 1, several pieces of brown sawdust and yellow sawdust were found on the Y-'est side* . No more' sawdust was placed around this bill. On Hill No. 2 a few peices of yellow sawdust were found on the west side. No brown or pink sawdust Wc.s seen. Bluegreen sawrdust was placed at tv/enty-five feet and purple was placed at thirty feet. = 3- I Five days later . the-hiiis.’''ere visited- again and- green- sa”'d-ast ’vas placed- around ■“Hill Not -I” at t'^enty feet. The observa¬ tions ^vere similar to those riade on the first trip. A third trip was made nine days later. T he afternoon was very warm and the ants had practically deserted the ’"est sides of both hills^ Yellow sawdust and brown saw¬ dust was 8.gain found on both "Hill No. 1” and ” Hill No. 2” . • Ho’^ever, none of the other colors -was ■ represented on the debris on the hills. These ob; tions I'cd to the conclusion that the ants will carry material to deposit on their hills at least t'^^elve to seventeen feet. ■ . t John B. Calder 'Dept. "Of Geology - O - ■ staff Meeting,*- The Semi-An.iUal meeting- of~ the Staff ' ^’^as held oh 3epten3ber the 30th. Of our twenty-three Staff members, fifteen •^^ere present. Plans ^’^'ere made for the -Fall and Winter sea.sons for both the Senior as well as "the Junior members and activities for the public; various phases of Natural History ^"rork ^no"’^ in progress ’f^ere discussed. The Bulletin; - With the August issue the • • bulletin has completed its second volume* An index will be. mailed "to everyone. This rrill enable those -^ho desire to have the bulletins bound, to hav-e a completed book of these t’^o volumes ^hich ^dll be over a hundred pages. The Society will have t^^o bound vola.iies for its Library. Thanks are due to the t^o Editors, Mr. Hayden and Mr. Palmer. a Vol. TII Md« Octobsr 1952 No. 2 The Botton of the Bay ' The most recent activity which has en¬ gaged the attention of ‘the Staff of the Natur¬ al History Society of Maryland if the e:q)lor- ation of the'Bay Bottom and study of the Marine Life of the Ghesapeake .from the interesting if unusual viewpoint of the diver. The diving equipment emplo37-Gd for this work is relatively simple, quite different from the cur bersor.e outfits er:ployod "by professional divers. It consists- r'.ercly of a helmet ^ glass fronted, resting o.n the shoulders of its own weight and connected to a suffacG pui'..p by common g^raon hose. The pur:p which forces air to the diver is of simple construction, operated 'bj hand and very satisfactory. *. Obviously such an outfit is not intended for deep sea diving, but it is most practical for ‘the moderate depths of the Chesapeake. While the staff had long contemplated rmarine work of this type in the Chosapeake Ba^y it was not until June of this, year that a hel¬ met could be procured. - ifi B ULLE T I JUL ^ — -fil >-fi^ sir'd j'HtTJirt i^as mado in tin o.tlijr River in e.bout 12 fe„t of natox. Mr. Zncli.^r^ made tin first trip down disappear¬ ing amid a gurgling of bubbles. After a few minutes he returned to the s'urface onthusies- tic. Our first day of diving opened a nex? world to us, the possibilities of which ’■"e hive not as yet thoroughly grasped. The first descent was a bit bewildering and amazing, con'iitiens beneath the surface being so utterly different from those of the upper ” atmosphere” . How¬ ever, after a few dives one comes more or less accustomed to the st.rfnge conditions c?;,nd be¬ gins to transfer his i^-nterest from his own wel¬ fare to the life about hin;. 4 pear shaped comb- jelly, wraith like, but gleaming with lines of iridescent color, was the first sign of life. The ” Works'- were qu'ltc visible through the transparent flesh. ■’a sam suite a number of these jellies during oux fj. xst dive and latex, in the season they ..Jellyfish from beneath the water and owo.i in their own element are interesting in a deg^’oe incomprehensible to those who have not viiw'd them from the angle of the diver. The surprise of the day ormo xohen we made a descent t-eer an anchored sloop. A great crowd of slim silvery fishes, ( Silveneides) , surrounded us. They seen.ed not a bit afraid but curious. They swam -and slithered about and presented a splen¬ did spectacle as the light hit their gleaming EC'^les. Later in the summer we transferred our diving operations to the Bfh" pr'jper. 'Te feund the water clea,rer end life much more xibundcnt. .la. spent much time walching the anemones, barn¬ acles, tunicates, etc. growing on submereec fish poles and observing the. actions of the Blue Crab. Shortly after, cold weather brought cur diving to a.n end for the season. We have improved our equipment consider¬ ably j enlarging the glass ports so as to give a wider field of vision and are planning to in¬ clude telephones in the helmets so the diver can give his observations to the surface oper¬ ator as they occur. The first summers diving has presented possibilities to us so wide and so different from the usual line of work that we have been doing in Natural History that to a certain ex¬ tent we are still so bewildered as to hardlv know where to start. «■ v-u xia.j.uxy The present plan is to concentrate on fishes as much as possible, taking notes on other forms, however. We intend to do a great deal of night diving-, attracting fish by mer.ns of lights "^d baits. Our efforts will largely be directed towards studying the habits and actions of such fishes as we come in contact with and in this wa,y vie hope to add some inter¬ esting knowledge to that a.lready existing on the Life of the Chesapeake. Gilbert C. Kiingel NOTES JUNIOR EXHIBIT; October 3rd the society's sea¬ son opened with and . exhibition by the Junior Division. Tvienty four d-isplays comprising Ind¬ ian artifacts, minerals, fossils, amphibians, insect-s, shells, bird nests and feavthers, fun¬ gi, ferns, leaves, (mainly the oaks of Maryland) bird and mammal osteoglogy, biological, drawings, phoptgraphs of leaves and birds, and paintings of birds. One hvmdred and seventy six guests regis¬ tered. Each guest was furnished with a program of the. various exhibits and refreshments were served. - EXHIBIT AT PRATT LIBRARY; The department of En-- tomology^ through its Curator, Mr. F. Stensbury IJ'.Cdo'i; hold a Special exhibit of exodic butter- rlies and nee ties at the Library for a period of' tinree weeks, comrienc ing October 5rd. riCTHRES AT FOREST PARK HIGH SCHOOL: A series r-iiL uu lectures 7/ere delivered orx Cetcoer 10th, irfth, 14, 17, and 18, et the Foresu Park liigh dissociate Curator of c O v^li John Colder ool by Mr geology* ' The lectures were on the Miocene deposits rl St. Mary’s County, and v/ere delivered to the three' home-rooin classes and to the Boys Oppor¬ tunity. Club of ^ the- school. sJkIQR- Lie tube SEASON: of the Society opened od October 18th with ~an illustr-alod lecture on' tie '’Aborigines 'of MBryland” by Mri- Richard E. Assistant Curator of Irchaeology The mr^rA.hlj nee ting as held- on October B'Qtli. heir anatomical adapta-' Andrev' Gc'ss. The pres- awards .for the co'mpetitive exhi- S teams TRUSTEE MEIilTING: The quarterly laeoting of the loard of Trustees .was held on^. October ‘22nd. I’v.iiny plans were inaufur.atcd card rcado, some of V'iich v.all be completed and reader for. announce- lihnt in the December or Janviary issue of the jUiletin, _Ej]TiOR_ MBETIj^ AiD J-ECTiTRE * ^ (.:f tne Junior Divilaron^waTs xi lecture on* birds and “ tllity was given by Mr. ident made th bition pnotographs end DA.tural His-tor^" Artiol-es ' Mr. Jerome Feusel was wranted the' Award --fbr the ^ best Mature exhibit at the recent- Junior ‘r;xnibit ion. Mr. Mausel’s exhibit co.nsisted of mnorals md fossils, uispla^^' of fun.ai, but most hote- wortny was a series, of -56 leaf photo mounts, all ^hilvnd oiees, nr. Gworgo Didusch was a.— vT-rdea hororable I'lention for ills displc-y' of 'the r^pr-sontotiv-o orders cf insects, Ills collection of“ irinircriols end bird osteology, and his Gastro- . -'■''Id . ■ eollocticn of liarylrnd r.inGrrJ s .00 uell as ppds of the '.VOX' - s- 9 7,3 V»l. Ill B^ltimoro, Mrryland^ ^ NovcmlDer 1932 No IKS SCALLOP , The > Scallop is cf V7orld-\:iao distribution rnd has "".bout tr/c hundred ppeoios in its ^ franily* 'Its shell is rdmir^'bly '"dopted to protect v/ithout overburdening the .i^ocupant. The .V"' Ives pre rrched rnd p^-aited to give the. greatest strength nKth the ninmum cf vroigh-c. The v/ide hinge ivS the fulcrum upon vhich the centr^-ljadciuctor muscle acts to shut-tho t'vTo valves at mill, 3 nd tfie resil¬ ient ligament opens them. The shell rests upon the right valve, adiich is arched smooth, r'nd p^lo compared uith, its mate. _ " . There is a close interlocking of the margins when the nusele contracts, except for a nisfit of the large ear. ’ A notch per¬ mits the passage of the hyssus, the cord by which the mollusk attaches itself. A glut¬ inous secretion of the byssal gland is ex¬ truded fron pores, and these threads are nan- ipuleted by the finger-like foot to forin a rope before they beoorie toughened by their ^ contact with the sea water." Young scallops are all able to spin this byssus at will. They tether thenselves by it to objects on the sea botton, and cast off their anchor rope when they wish to be free again. Adults, with Aa few exceptions., abandon tho byssus habit. The connon scallop (Pecten varius) retrain it through life. IIo creature thvat lives in the vasty deep can bo prettier than these daintily sculptured, gaily p'^.inted. shells, full of life , and grace of 'action, with- plumes of- wcawced semetinGs” trailing .behind tiior:.' - . Tho scallop' doGs not crav/l or burrow. ~ Tho foot is dw^arfed till it passes easily in and out of the byssal notch. This is the pewrt ■'’o o'^t. It is strange that the in^.ctive 03^- ster has-, so tough a. nusele that, we discard it, courting tho reriainder a doliciou's' morsel. The SC'- Hop’s hard-worked -nusele is a .white and tender bite that t^stos like lobster ric-rit. YIe e - ous in I-Iaryland except for, ripple marks and mud cracks which are Yiell displayed on wea¬ thered surfaces in the vicinity of Smithsburg. Seventh, the Elbrook Formation; a series of light blue and gra^/ limestone which wea¬ thers quickly after exposure, so natural out¬ crops are rare. A few fossils have been found near the base of this formation. Eighth, the Conococheagae Limestone; a massive dark blue, closely banded limestone. In the basal 15 or 20 feet of this formation are found the remains of the earliest fossil plants; an algae known as Cryptozoon prolif- erum and Cryptozoon imduiatim. A reef com¬ posed entirely of Cryptozoon proliferum is well exposed in the Railroad Cut of the Norfolk ilestern R.P. Southwest of Antietam. Station. Other Cambrian strata are found in the Appalachians both North and South of Mary¬ land, some of which contain well preserved fossils, but, as these are out of our field a more complete discussion ivill bo made later. A. Llewellyn Jones Curator Dept, of Geology. -ooOOoo- Edxtor’s Note. The Editor wishes to apologize for being so late in publishing the Bulletins. -ooOOoo- -19- NfTES — CTTi- a se:'^i('8 of men Lb i, pi'Dparatien of tbe vnrj J^m-aa r"-7 b-Ct-.a- (tonicina^U'^e i ■. -^T'orrmtHice "■e on the / ; binris of nature 8i..bjeCLS for the runniim display end collect ions* The firot of the seneo nar; given b^r Mr, W. Dryant Tyrellj Aosiotano Curator of Ornithology, on the nkinning of birds and raamraa Is LECTURg AT TROOP 178 An illustrated lecture was given by Hr. E.B, Fladung on photographing of Wild Life to the scouts and officials of troop 178, on January 13th* TRUSTEES MEETHTtJ- The quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on Ja.nuar3" 14th, The President appoinLed the nominat- iag Gomnittoe, composed of r.r, C, Elingol Mr, E,M, Pcilmer and Mr. IHC, Iiooro, to nom¬ inate two candidates for tno vacancies of t.wo Trustees ?/ho*s terms eenniro on February 28th/ ^ Also a Budget ConmM/oee watics. Howevc->r, their plunago are so dull and sinilar, that, identification .is .rather difficult. It, is the aim of this article to help in distinguishing the various species/. Song Spa rr ows j - ' • The song aparrow^ vMth the exception of the house sparrow is perhaps the most pibundant of all sparrows. It is to be f-ovind practic¬ ally everywhere at any tirae. Its best fie.ld mark is its streaked breast which has a large spot in the center. It keeps to the thickets and shrubs of fields and gardens^ It is al- ?/ays full of pepj and will always sing its' cheerful song ?/hich has boon described as a ” voluble ana uninterrupted but short refrain” 21-. Field S^^-rrow:~ The brightly;' colored boclc, rufour, crown end rod' bill ere onougbi to identify tbis bird. It is abundant in any stubble field, and It is often found on the ocyos of woodlrnds. . Its call is a **cbip" while its song "being an un¬ usually clear and plaintive whistle" has been 7/rltten as "chor-woe-ohor-woc-^ -cher -wee , chee-o dee “0“0 -e -o . " It is also found in winter. Length 5.68 Chipping Spa rrov-- ; - Chestnut crown, black forohe-d, block line through eye, bloc a bill and spotless breast are good identification marks. No introduction is neoaed hero, for chippies saclabilit^r has v/on the affection of nan, and his monotonous "chippy -chi pay -chippy" is heard all c round the house. No is the most commoni in the sumnc^r because most of them leave in thc> winter. ■ . . p ■ Length 5 . 57 • Kenry Seibert Dept, of 0rnitholog3r -ooOOoo- Ginger Amomum Zingiber, common l^r known as ' Ginger is a plant that despite the fact that most of us use it almost daily, fcuw of us know what it is. As a rule, slices grow above ground, but ginger is an exception, it being the rhizonos of zingiber. Zingib-r is a perennial reed- like plant, similti r in ‘appaaranco to our Iris. Each of the underground roots throi^^ out two ariel steras, which in turn grow' to al height of three or four feet. This first shoot thrown up boars- the leove.s and the second or shorter stem., the flowers which blossom in August- or September . At this tine the ground will be - ^averecl by tho r^jrpr. cl of tho withor one! Tado at the closi? of tho year, V7hen tho rhizono is in o rino state and reader for harvesting* The rhizono sono- timos grows to ci groat size; often a sin¬ gle root -will weigh one pound* It is a gro€it improvisor of the. land and tho same ground should not be used more than two consecutive years. The yield is about four thousand pounds to the- acre, each plant pro¬ ducing about eight tubers, and eight to ton times more in weight than the amount planted* J* Mitchol Hilpeht* Note IXIilhlT AT Thh Nhh huOCF OC CAS I ah OF ITS OPEN If a ON ATT LTPpapy on TNE PEBRIJAny 4th, 1935 Although wo xYero not re^^-chr for thc^ porman ent ojd'iibits for the new Pratt Llbr-rv, hr. ?/heeler and the Library Ofy-cials thought it xYould bo desirebie tlict we xYould have e:chibits for the opening, ponding the opening of the 5rd. floor where our porme^nont e'd'ibits are to be placed. . — . The exhibit committoo coriposed of hr. E, B. Fladung, hr. a* C* Klingei and hr. liji, palmer with the valuable aid of our various department Curators arranged six displays con¬ sisting of some attractive minerals as well as some ¥'ell knov/ri minerals of Ihr^^land; Fos-' sils of the Lioceno formation of the Calvert Cliff ; ^‘nd Pottery of the lb rjrlandg Indian; Brightly colored shells from the var¬ ious parts of the earth* unusual butterflies and beetles of tho tropics; and some xyoII kn own b i r d s and e g g s . Ac o o mpa n y in g the ex¬ hibits are photogra hs to give tho observer an idea of the scope of our work. These exhibits are on the second floor. EnilBIT AT FOREST PART RICtF SCROOL;- In con¬ junction xvith the 5Cth anniversary of tho -25- athool tiiO dopcatnont of Goology arrangod an exhibit of l-iocono rosoils for a period of three weeks on display comnonaing Fob. 5th • DEMONSTRATION AT TFE SOCIETY;- The second of the series of dcnonstro tions was held on Fob. 7th by Mr. EE E, Tyrell. The work of the evening was noiinting of birds, LECTURE AT POPEST PAPP IT.IG-K SCF00L;44 On Feb. 8th, !ir, EpB. pladung delivered a lecture to the camera Club and Biology Club of thS.s school, the subject being Nature Photography. E’ailBITS AT TROOP 170;- On February 10th at St. Antonyms Church, an exhibit of hL’*ture Photographs was .hold at the quarters of the troop, for .the benefit of the parents and the Ladies Society of the Church. RESOLUTION OF THE DEATH OP m. i:iCHEL HILPERT; A resolution on the death of hr, !!ichol Hil- . pert, father of our esteemed member fir. Kifchel Hilpert was passed by a special meeting of the Excutive Committee on February 18th. The Res- olutioiG was ordered to be engrossed and pres¬ ented to Mr. Hilpert and spread upon the min¬ utes of the Society. JUNIOR MEETING: - As the demonstrations con¬ ducted by Mr. EEE;T3rrell were so well received by the members, it was thou.ght advisable to . have the same demonstrations for our Junior mem.- bers. The first one on the skinning of birds v/as given by Mr. Tyre 11 on Peb . 25, at the mon¬ thly meeting of the Junior Division. HONTH.LY LECTURE;- The monthly lecture of the* - Society/ was held on Peb. 28th. Dr. E^A. An¬ drews of Johns Hopkins University spoke on the famous ant hills of Lutherville. The lecture, which was- finely illustrated, v^as very well - • received. -24- , /l/'.3 m • » * ♦ Vol. Ill There wore more than a hundred buzzards ^ circling above us. This cJ.ear cold mid-af ter-- n o on of a w in tor day, t h o y v/ o re la z i 1 y c i r c ling about 5 some barely skiraning the tree- tops^ others so high thao they v/ero more specks against uho br ignt sky. They seemed to move in several distinct groups and their intermingling circ.les made a kaleidoscopic pattern as we watched them through the bi^ro branches cf ihe trees » What had attracted so mainy of these birds? ^ Was there a dead animal nearby? v/o were on the hills of the Patapsco Forest, near Baltimore, and as we continued our explorations., wo come to a large black-oak tree ?/ith its upper limbs whitened with excreta,, while on the somber floor of the forest beneath Lhere was a xvhit- ish ring of the same material* This, then, was the Buzzards Roost, which explained why so ‘m£)ny birds were flying above us. Here we^s an opportunity for some inter¬ esting observat .1 one . We marked the location carefully, selected the most navantageous spproach to the tree... and moved on to other parts of the forest until about four o’clock w h on w o / o t. ui ir.. o d t o 1 1 1 o t x'*' o . v t w o u 1 d bo k by five and vie wanted to \7atcn the great birds as they came to x'^oost. Already thirty or fort.y had settled upon the chosen big oak aind a fev; others wore sGatt-“ e r e d about in n e i gh boring trees, we approacheci as quietly as the dry leaves under foot o/oulcl allow, but v/e were stl'M some distance . away when a. branch crackled under foot* With a swish of heavy wings beating the air and the dull thud of feathers striking branches^ nearly all the biras hurriedly left, only to circle in front of us above the tangled branches uo sat down at the base of an old tree and made ourselves as comfortablo os possible to await the return of the buzzards. Fe>ar us a few green fronds of the Christmas Fern lay on the dead leaves. In front of us, beyond the forest, the greenish water of the stream ref¬ lected the somber hills and sky, 'and on the opposite" side of the valley, silhouetted black against the waning light were nany buzzards roost in^' in uhe bare branches of the irees that covered a high bluff, (To be continued in April Pullotinj V/, B-"^yant Tg-'rell Asst. Curator Dept, of Ornithology |.!a r y la n d B 1 1 1 1 e r f 1 y G o 1 1 o c t- 1 on The Dope rt menu o'f Entom.ology is pleased to be able to report to the nonbers of who Society that recently uhe long process of bringing the collection of T-Iaruland butter¬ flies towards c empiet i'on has been prac Gica ll^r accom.plished . With the ^acquisition of tlio new cabinet frame to bold oho dravfoi’ cases, the c o 1 1 o c t. i on is a e c e s b 1 e t o t h e m e mb e x^.s of the Society. -'lYhile' it is* true' that we still ’lack, a number of species, the majority )f these are' confined b.o one family, the Hespe^riidae on Skippers, and this faiilL will be rectified -26- diiring the coming cclloccing season, rowevor^ the c o 1 1 e c t i on is r o p r o s on i. a t i v e .1 ^ g o n, p 1 e t> o j a nd c on t a i n s s o mo f in o s o r 1 o s of s p o o i men s ^ s omo o f wf ; i 0 h r- r o insiis iia 1 1 y e x c o 1 1 on f. . T / i o task of arranging this manorial so inao iu may bo viovirod by the nombors of she Bocioty to advantage has oocupiod a groa o dean cf time and effort of the part of ibo ^'io jX.n'daxont staff. Tie v7.i,Gh to state bore than the collect i on is n o¥/ of f ic ia 1 open “ t o t ho ne^ inbo r s to inspect as they may v-isiy^ and jt is’ our hope that they may derive pleasin^e and inform¬ ation from this important part of the Society* ever increasing collootions of natural history spooinens . .... Stansbury raydon Curator Dept, of Entomolog^r, STAFF meetings “ The Spring mooting of the staff v/as held on iiarch ord. All Departments were represented to discuss and inaugurrste plans for the work of the Spring and Sumner months . DEMONSTRATION:- On March f:th, the monthly demonstration was given by I'r. T, Tyrell on the casting of reptiles and amphibians. LECTURE AT GILI'AN SCnOCL:- A lecture on Nat¬ ural History adventures was given to the Junior students of the Gilman Country School^ on March 50th by Mr’. E.B. Pladung. EXHIBITION!- An Archaelogica 1 display of i'aryland Indian artifacts and impliments were exhibited at the State Normal School from March 17th to 51st. The exhiibit v/as arranged in conjunction with the study of the history of the American Indian* -27- JIJMIOR MSET';i'G;- Tino nootiuy of the Junior D^’.vision woo hold on T'orch 2 5th. !-r. Corrol gave a dotoanot-raxlon of the cpdu^" Glides for the ANNUAL IIELTING;- The l^ourth Annual meeting of the Societ.y was held -on laroh 23ch. The , nx^sldent made an address showing the rapid progress of the Society during the past four years. The Secrete! ry in his report announced the election of I'r- John Gaidar and hr. A. Llewellyn Jones as Trustees for the period of four ^rears. The Treasurer, besides the finan¬ cial report for the year, read the budget for the corning year. Reports were read by the following;- Departnont of Geology, A. L. Jones; Dopartnont of Concho! ogy, C, Svoc * Department of Entomology, r,S.Ha3rdon; Dept. Rerpet ol og^r G.C.Klxngel; Dept. Grnith ol.ogy , pladung Dept. Archaoolog^f , A.G, Rubenstien: Library, John B. Caldor, and Dept. Education and Pub¬ lication, E, IE palmer. The Departments of Kerpotologgr and Ornithology/- road rheir .uro¬ grams for the coming year. Following the meeting, tea was served. An Ornithological Mood For 7/ant of a suitable c?vninet for our grow¬ ing collection of bird skins, this valuable work ’Will have to bo disc ont inueci , urd.ess some generous morribor or friend oomos to o-ur aid. Our collections are well housed and are all well represontou 7/ith the exception of the h ous ing of th e b i r d s , It is no use whatever .of securing birds un 1 e s s i7 e c a n t a k e c r r o of t h ti m p r o p (•) r 1 y . 17 e ^’;ro loath to ki3.1 just for the sake of killing, but an organization such as oui-s should have a repro senta 1 1 vo sc lent i f i o c ollec t i on of birds . be trust some genor';nis person will cone to our a id . Edmund B. Fla dung, G uia""- 1 or of 0 r n i t h o .1 og v . oi mjLS- . t ud y of K IbCxxJuogg/ -28 R'i- Vol. Ill Bc-ltiraoro, April ^ 1955 No. 0»00»9t(ct>ya Eocene of Aquia Grook^ Yd. Some time ago^ I did 3 fortunate enough to a c c onpa nir 1 - r * B oxin of t h o B a t i ona 1 I- luo e u.n on a collecting trig to Aquia Creek;, in Virginia, where there is an exposure.' of Biccene Bossils. It is on a tract of land owned hy I;re- E. B,. McLean, the iashington publisher, and his per¬ mission must be obtained before^ a visit can be made.. The farm is .about an eighty mile trip from Baltimore by way of '-ashington, and the last ten miles are through a naze of very bad dirt roads, which with the local direct¬ ions being very indefinite, makes the farm a hard place to find, however, once on the loc¬ ation a very fruitful day can be spent col¬ lecting fossils of the Aepaia formation. The cliffs in which the fossil-s.-nre ex¬ posed, rise for over one hunared f eet f ron a narro?.^ sandy beach, and are composed of gi^een- sand, g r e on san d ma r 1 , a n d g la u c on i t i c 1 i me - stone ledges. One of these lodges, Bone 9, a thio.k bed some sixty feet above the shore linos is particularly interesting because it is composed almost entirely of ‘‘Turritelia mortoni.’* This fossil is present through out iha erci^’fjsuro and Boonri to Inavo boon the connon mollusk. In the other beciG^ closer to the beach and composed of softer material, the fossil remains are more diversified, and a good representative collection of tlocene fos¬ sils can be made. In these lower bedrs, the cslcarerous mat¬ erial of the shells is not comnonly found in tact, but very fine casts remaj.n. Neverthe¬ less, casts retaining all or most of the cal- carerous material qan bQ found , hut as they are very soft, greet 'care must *be ta’cen to ' prevent their being damaged. Fossil remains other tha,n mollusks. are few and consist prin¬ cipally of sharks teeth and an occasional ' . fragment of bone. Aocording to the ifarylahd Geologioal Survey, the cliffs extending from Aquia Greek to ilathias Point are the tost exposures of the Eocene on the Ifiddle Atlantic Slope.- On the I'laryland side of the Potomsc River, there are good sections at Piscataway and liattawonan Greeks, Upper liarlbbro, and along some of the \7estern branches of the Patuxent River. There are other exposures, but generally they are thin sections and the fossils are either rare or entirely lacking. Roger S# . Hoclclinger, Assoc ia te , Dept, of G-eology. t Turkey Vultures (continued frob liureh Bulletin) As we sat* there, the .great* birds would sail noiselessly over, sonotimos their small baked red heads gleamed in the last rays of the sun, 'their dark, silver-lined wings mov¬ ing only to catch movements of the air cur¬ rents as they glided by. They soon began to come back, some alighting gracefully^ for buzzards; while others came awkwardly to rest on the sv/aying branches, using their, broad v/ings to steady their ungainl^r bodies. Some -50- - * r- lighting ^ w^iild shrike until overy feather was ruffled ^ giving thoR a noat unkempt ap,^.)oararico . Others would alight on a branch, ¥/hore one or more wore alreadv roost- ing and tho inpact of the land,lng ?/ould throw the^' off their balance and result in many awkward and ludicrous fcdlancirig novenents of body and wing. .Often they would sit and proon ; and some wore olfroTS watching tho novo- monis of the neighborho.od^ cocking their boads first to one side and then t-he ot-hor to. see each newcomer* A fe?/ seemed to be ‘resting^ oblivious of wliat ?#as going on around them, and would sit with their hoods resting on their bodies . ' _ Q,uiet reigned ao dusk dooponod into dark¬ ness, with onljr an occcisi-onal bird coming to rest ---“147 birds wore in the trees in front of us*. ,OV;ly the restfi-.! - babbling of water running over stones and the slight rustling of the dead loaves still ov; the trees disf- urbed the peacefulness-, of tho forest. By 6:PM it wtiG quite dark and we left our con?- coalment as.quietl;/ as .q^ossible , retraced our steps and were soon back on tho road and headed to?;...rds home, be hope to bo able to "return in the spring, find a buzzard nest or t\¥o, e?roct a blind and secure a series of photographs of the brooding female and the growing yo'ung. , ■ ^ W, ■^ryant . Tyroll. ■ -ooOOoo- ■ • Noto£ I^SETIFG OF DEPT. 0F GEOLOGY:- A Staff meet¬ ing • of the? Do pat rt meet- of Geology was held on April 7th. A program of field ?/ork was ad¬ opted -and assignments were made to its var¬ ious 'merabers. DEMONSTBATIOY : - This months- demonstration vms held ' on ' April llth. Mr. Flingel Curator of -31- ty hiG dop^rtiTiont in propc*rlny itudy spoclnonG T^IISTTTiS KEnTING-;- The Annurl l.enting of fha Hoard of Trustees was held on April 20th, ho- Gidos the usual business, Lhe Officers for the e n G ue i ng y go r w o r elec t e d . P r e s 1 d on t ^ 0 . P ^ Pladung ; Vice-President ^ G. C , Klingel ; Secret a ry , E . I . Pa Iner ^ and Tree surer , E , I":cC olgan . The President appointed the following coduitt ~ eesj Executive^ G.G, Klingel. G];..airnanj E, PaH n:er and E, luGolgan; rinarice Connittoe^ E. KcColgan, Ghairnan, JAu Calder, G.G. Klingel; I'iombership Goramitteoj FA I., PainePj Chairman K. C, Moore and A. L, Jones. The President is ex officio nox-ihor of all c ommit tees , SEMI^tAKNUAL GUEST EVENING:- On April 25th; was hold our eight Serai itnnual Guest Evening. A Lecture orr the ’^G on serve t ion of our Eild Life” was given by Mr, E. Lee LeCompte-j the State Game Gin rden . The De'ra rt men t of Orni" h ologg?- hold a very fine c.ispiay of mounted birds and manrials as well as a part of rhe skin*Goll- o c t i on t hat the do pa nci n t i s a uci. s s e n g „ The Do ijo. r t men t of ' r. e r po t o 1 og y • e xi, .1 !) t o d i t. s c o n- plete diving apparr:tus to be used in the con¬ ing seasons work. Eos ides these displays, there was an exhibition of bird and Kiamnai photographs by g. Pladung^. E, McGolgan in'id 17, E. Tyroll. LADIES NIGIIT;- April 28th was our first Ladies Night. Dives, I'cthers and the Ladx^ Friends of our n embers ¥/ere the guests of the Society, The feature of the eouening was an illustrated lecture on Inogua , by Mr. Gilbe-rt C, Klingel. A.fter the lecture our Lady guests were shown our various c o3. loot ions and too was served in English fashion . Junior b.eetingj*- The monthly Junior Meeting was held on A.prll 2Pth. N.r. S.-. Pladung gave a lecture on Wild Life Photography. Tho Quooh Srxake - Matrix loboris (Cope) This snake is also known as the noon snake and leather snake in different local¬ ities. It may be roughly described as fol¬ lows. A slender serpent whoso head is not very distinct fror.i the body, dark chocolate brown colour above and having a stripe on either side on the first and second rows of scales. Those stripes are not iinline crean in colour and begin at the upper labials run¬ ning the entire length of the body. closer exarnina tion will disclose three other stripes of blackish hue also running the entire len¬ gth of the body. These are ind istinct . ' The •abdonen is yollov'ish and gives an effect of being. • striped with t?/o broweiish lines. The scales are roughly iieeled. During two 3/-ears of observation and. collection on the Patapsco Stat.e Forest, I -bb- 'Wv© nstisad what 1 ajapll iiafel, « of this aorr;vnt, . There s re ras-trr trt.rxwio 3er.>^^t5^.aro t^rundy t a jrx-)> >-<* >.- — fA oi^po-^-cj- It* CO p or> "t P i- G o cl to . 13 niaj.J_^,j5.poa . The apea I, refer to is located at Glen Artnevj al.ong the banl-cs of Rull Run;, from whore the- run meets the Patapsco River , thence upstrcH^ri a ciistance not excoecllng that of a h a if a c i t y bloc k • Qb s o r va t i on s sh ow one may find this serpent laying in the branches overharx.ging the rrn from nhe latter of ilarch to early in October^ Jrst why all the other nearby streams are unluhiabitod by-, the Queen Snake I cannot exp3-ain, inasmuch ' - thSit conditions appear much the same.. They mate interesting pets, however 1 have had. little success with them in ca ;tivit\n rai'py C, Robertson Dept, cf herpetology . ►-ooOOoo'* Agrostology b'hich is the term employed to define the study of grasses^ represents a splendid field of study and colloct.ing which is open to all who desire to explore and cultivate , a knov/loclge of one of the most interesting branches ©f natural history. A remark suoh as ”jist grass" does not only reveal a lack of in for mad ion on the subject, b ut is also a o on f e s s i on of the speakers ignorance of the romance that ma^r be fonnd. Few of us realize the significant p la c e gra s s e s oo c upy in r e la 1 1 on to the ether branches of botany. It is estimated to rep resent about one sixth of all vegetable life, ! i and in its distribiiti on it is practically un~ 1 i ni t o d . lloa cl ow ^ m o un t a in , . s f e < n p dn d donor t all have thoir particular spocios, Tbo on- thusiast can begin in his back Vcarcl and :,o as far as bis purse cir.d opportunities will pernit . There are more than f our hi.nclrod genera and four tb on sane species that await bis attention. Such a stato.oent may discourage some, but to otbers it will prove an incen- itive to learn bo'w many of this formniable number can b e f oun d in th o 1 r oien c onnun 1 1 j ^ county, or as wo prefer all our collections to represent, the State of Iiaryland. Viben one considers the advantages of a stud3r confined to this groups of plants it is difficult to understand wlr/ it is so neg¬ lected . ^ First there is the supply of material, in Ilaryland, because of its geographical location and diverse t op og rai ph , on e i mne ( • ia t o 1 ir realizes that a state collection Vv^ill include a great man^/ more speciraens than other div¬ isions of the Inion which do not enjo^r such advantages, The next important consideration is the preparations of sp}ocimens, here arrain one easily/- recognizes the lack of clif f icukit ies Compared to other botanical specimens their ^ F/ator content is very iov/ and for preservation the simpiiest sort of spoar-tus will suffice, a pile of old newspapers and a few heavy !,)00'Cs v/ili provide a press to meet roqiiirenents . Nor does mounting the specimens for display; involve difficulties, there are tv/o methods to choose from. Fount in.g on bristol board in the usual fashion or the use of ll^o more elaborate Hiker mounts, a/hose size would permit the addition of photograp; s illust¬ rating stands and habitat of the species -3 '3- and pcsaiblo pliotunicoprapba of the Bnnller structarors . (To be continued next month) -^ooGOog- Notes LECTURE:- The iaat lecture of the season was on hay 23ra by harry G. Robertson of the Dept of herpetology. hr. Robertson spoke on the observations of har^^land Repd.iles. The lec¬ ture .was illustrated with 'live and prepared sjpeciraens., . . . . EXIIIBIT:- A display of the diving equipment our new depart nent of I.arino Rosea rch w.os ex¬ hibited at the Pratt Library from lay 15 to 29 ‘inclusive . This exhibition attracted an uiousual interest and many inquiries vu>ro rec¬ eived at the Society in relation to this' branch of our work. JUNIOR ilEETINCt:- The raonthly 'meeting of the Junior Division ?ras held on hay 27th. h.r. J. Stansbur37 Ha yd on gave a lecture on the self preservation of insects. Thh PAPILI0NIDA31 OF llkTYUlD A nev/ publication of the Department of Ent¬ omology, which has just been issued. The proceoc- ¥/hich was written by Curator F,, Stan bury haydon gives the life histories of the butterflies of this family in Ixryland. If you did not receive a copy, please notifjr us -56- A'^ROsSTOLOCfY (Ocntinuod from May Issue) If you were to ask the average person to name five grasses they would probabl^r declare they were not equal to the task* As a .ina^ttar of fact^ they could nar.e the reciuired number and five more without difficulty. wheat ^ bar- ley^, rye^ buckwheat^ and corn are all true grasses. If ' you were to tell them you • had seen grass growing one hundred and fifty feet high, they would scoff at the idea, yet ban*- boo is a true grass. And in conpa risen to ■ the giant grass you have these of the Alpine hei¬ ght s wh ere a so e c i men of three inc has tall is reckoned as a big -f ind. HO¥/evdr,, it is the wild grasses growing in yoiir'"-'own State that ' command your greatest attention. As an example let us take timothy ■(phleun pratense) the most important of all the hay grassc^s, it is represented in the by four difforent specfs^ one I.ointain timotby already na t. i v a a nd th e o t !;■ a r s i n t r ^xl no a d. . Timothy 7/as first known in the Northern States where its oultivation was begun as "herd” grass because it ’was irxprrted from the old world by a Mew T]nglander of that name. Lb ter records indicate that a ‘’Timothy” Hain-- sen brought some of this grass seed to raiy^-- land and began its cultivation in the South. This was before 1750 and it has been known as timothy ever since. Such is the romance of grass and we have not mentioned tlx^ biological pr o c e e dure s wh i c h a r e e ve ri m o;x" e fa s c i na t i ng . Just ’’grass’ deserves your attention* Note. The State of Ilaryland should yield at least one hundred different species „ W. V/allace Oolemeno In these short sketches of the fathers of Natural History we musb inclid e dalen^ although from a modern ^uoint of view, Galen would not necessarily be called a naturaiist^ but rather a n anatomist, fie v/a s o r i g 1 na 1 a nd us e d ^ as a wh ole, t h e r j. gh t me t h od s i n a r r i v i n g at facts. He erred, however, 3 a using the lower animals for dissection to prove his the'^ries relating t o t h 0 human a ita t ony . Huxley has this to say of hira.. ”No man can read Galen's works without being im.pressed with the marvelous extent and diversity of his knowledge, and his clear grasp of those experi¬ mental imethods by which alone physiology can ho ad-vanced-H’ His researches with the 1 owner animals must have given him at least a clear insight in -38- I their structure, v/hich is in;;ortant today in the identification of many species ^ Ga 3 . en or C la ud i u s G-a 1 en u s v- a s a G r e e k physic ian^ horn 151 A, lu. in Perganus , Mysia . He studied iriedicine in Corinth and Alexandria, returning to his native city in 158 A,;D, , where he was appointed physician tc the school of gla diat ors He went to Rone- six years later vdiere he esiatlished a wide r^eputatlon and four years later he returnee again to his nat¬ ive city. Later be was sunn on eel to Rome by the Lmp c? r or s 1 la r c u. s A u r e 1 i i:: s a n d e r u s ' wh e r e he served for some time^ hut long is not knoY/n, At about the end of the 2nd century he was employed tv the Lmperor Se'^^vis, He died in the year 201 xt.D. in Sicily.. Ho was a voluminous writer and. there are 83 treatises of his exbant today which are su prosed t o he g enu i n e , b h e ni s t i mp o r t a nt of wh ic h are those t r oa t i ng on a n a l o my .. T h e s e b e "• came the unfailing authority up to and Inci ud‘- ing the l-Iiddle Ages. Edmund Ih-. Fla dung. -ooOCoo-* NOTES LECTURE* On June 3rd, Mr.. Gilbert C. Hlingel of the Department of Marine research deliver¬ ed an illustrated l.ecLure on the Greater Ina- gua to the Yeung Peoples Soertty of St, Johns Ep i s c o],'j a 1 C h ur c h , JIMIOR MEETINGc The monthly meet ing of the Junior Division was held on June 3rth,, The meeting was devoted to- the reading of notes on oarious observations made during the -oast ■39- rar^nth by the Juniors* Ned 0rosby gave a talk cn the idontif ioat Ion cf rranerals fluor- esence through the raedium of the argon iampi ARCK/iELOaiE-GAL TRIP, Cn Jinao 12th,, Mr. Eioha.rd E. Stearns, Assistant Curator of the Depart¬ ment left the Fiagothy River on his cat -boat the ”Goot** bound for the Ghoptank River for the purpose of locating Indian village sites. Owing to south winds, hov;evor, he was compelled to enter the Chester River* They lay hero for some tirrie, a northwester preventing them from maiang much progress. Afterwards they proceed¬ ed up^ the Chester River (although not their origina 1 . intent ion) as far as Corsica Creek at Middle Quarter Cove^ where there was a shell field. There were many shells, hut a few chips of jasper and quarcz only, some broken pottery and a hammerstorie were found. The locality Ydulch might be successfully worked in the fall after the crops have teen harvested seems a good place to fino artifacts, according to Hr. Stearns. At Queenstown another shell field was located, but at present io is too much over¬ grown to be v/crkod. In 1932, the bank at the foot of a long wharf had boon cut away, ex- posiri>g a burial pit from \vhich a skeleton was Oaken am this locahity. v/ilch is now in $ibe possession of Di% Price. A large piece- of a day vessel with a geometric pattern which was imprc-.ssed with- cor'd before the day was flreA., was c'oilectecu At Love point on Kent ‘Island, the final field locality ore reti. rning, half a gor¬ get of 'mr.k^tied gray slate broken in three pieces by the plow was found. The trip extended, over a per iod of seven da ys . -40- 5'Z)4..73 Vol. Ill BaltiiTiOre, July 1933 No. 11 SPORE DISPERSAL Spores, like the seeds, vary in their methods of dispersal. The fungi and algae that form spores depend on the wind and water far disperse’. 1. host of the moss plants shed spores by means of the teeth at the mouth of the cap¬ sule, The ferns shoot off their spores. To observe the spore disp^ersal action of the ferns one needs a microscope, a glass sLde, and water. A fern sporangium may be obtained by taking a fertile frond and removing the sporangium with a teasing needle. If a single spore case is placed on the glass slide and a drop of water is placed on it you may examine it very easily, prior to the exposing. On close examination of a typical spore case, Leather woodforn. (Thelypteris mi.argina His) an annulus or ring of surrounding cells will be found. The place where they are the thinnest is called the lip. Pan gently, so as to hasten the evaporation. As the ¥/ater passes off, the sporangium will be seen to split at the lip and slowly draw back. -41- A few spores fall oAit at this pointy birt these e.re stra^r ores. The^ upp^er part, of the . spore ease is drawn, back as thoiiph bry- an irr’- esistible foreeo Suddenly it is released and as it flies back to its nornal place ^ the spores are shot ort like cannon ' ba Is , "The explanation of this acU. on is simple. When you place the sporangium in the water the annulus took in wa tek"' wh ich , when, evaporated^ caused the annulus cells to contract , pulling the lip open and setring fi^ee the upper half of the case which is pi: lied hack. The enn- ulus contracts to a certain point and then releases' the half of the case.;' this action is similar to that of a stretched, rubber band' that is suddenly released. The force thus exerted sends the spores flying in all dir*- ections* . ha rl .K . Pa Imer Department of Uotany, ^ ’ NOTES ' SyCKIB'IT, July . 3rd completed a t?vO week min¬ eral e^doibit at the Central Branch ol‘ the' Enoch Fratt Library bpr Ned 0]'*osby. one of our Junior members „ The exhibit caused a good. bit of favorable cbmoent in our local ne’wspaperSc jelARINE RESKIRCF TPIP 'TO lEORIIlA , Kr . Gilbert ' . C, Klingel/ Curator of the' Department of Mar¬ ine Research and Barry tk Zachary. Assistant Curator^ returned from a ten day tikip to Flo.ride on July 15. The purpose of the trip Yv a s tost u d y ma r i n e • 1 i i e a n d tie t r i o d t-: o f ma r‘ - ine photcgraohy as well as various used of the diving eqiMpment p>repara to ry t o tnoir work in the' Chesapeake Bay^ TRUSTEES MEETINGc The quarterly meeting of t h e B oa r d o f T ru s t e e w a s h 1 d on Ju ]. y 20th. Owing to the gi-owth of the- Society and the progres.s that has been made in the various branches of the v/ork under taicen by our De- -42- partments it was thought aavisahle'^ to inau-- gurate a Departmcnit of Marine F.e search and a Department of Botany. The Department of Gon- ohology is incorporated in the Department of Marine Eesearcii. Aiso^ the Department of Geology was split into a Department of Min- erology and a- Department of Paleontology; likewise the Department of Education and Pub¬ lication was. split into eeparate Departments^ a Department of Edixation and a Department of Publication . The President made the following appoint¬ ments of Curators to the respective Departments and the various Curators appointed their ions Assistants j Associated, etc. The neYi Staff is as follo?/3: The President in virtue of his office automat¬ ically becomes chief of the Staff. Secretary of the Staff.. H. Palmer. 'DEPARTMENT OF HIMEFCLOGY. A. Llewellim Jones, Curator; Walter S. Price Jr. and Elra I!. Pal¬ mar, Assif5tant Curators; John B. Gaidar, Ben¬ jamin Qalder, Roger Ilecklinger, Herbert G. Moore_, and Charles S^'^ec , Associate Curators; Bryant Mathers, Jr. and Bed Crosby, Juniors, DEPAFiTKEMT OP PALfXoMTOLOCrY. Elra H. Palmer, Curator; John B, Gaidar and A. Llewellyn Jones Assistant Curators; Benjamin Calder and Roger Hecklinger, Associate Curators. DEPARTi-iBNT OF SMTOMOLOGY. P. Stansbury raydon^ Curator: Edgar Gretsky, Assistant Curator* DEPARTMENT OF i:ARIhE RESEARCH. Gilbert 0. Klinj.el, Curator; Harry LE Eachary, Assistant Curator; Charles Svec, Assistant Curator of Conchology. DEPARTMENT OF HERPETOLOGY, Harry C, Pobartf^n, Curator; Gilbert C. Klingel Asst. Curator. -43- 'jiEPAHTl:?^NT OF OFFITr'OLOGY . Edmund F. Pladung dura t o i'’ * "v V i 1 3. i a m ^ Ti>ry el 'i a n d I r v i n g E * Rampe^ Assistant Curators ^ VE Waliaco Goleman', G-ilberu G Klingel., Ecu/ard r.cOolgan, Bruoe H. Overingt.onj Kenrl Seibert ^ xtssooiate Curators AiM^ew GcsSj, Junior* DEPARTMENT OF i^RGKAEGLCGY. Albert B. Euben- stierij Curator , Rlotiard E, S':>earns^ Assistant Curator; Y, woodward BurkharL and Frank Grimm, Associate Curators .. ■ B, F3.adung, . J os e ph Uhire Seycik^^ Assoc i a1e :rarian ; Eugen e R . Assists nt Lib ra- Curator, rians, lu Burkhart and Edmund B, pladung Jr. Junior Librarians, DEPARTMENT CF iUBLlCATION . Herbert 0 . Moore ^ Editor 5 Edmund B., pladung Jr,. Assist-nt Ed-’ itor. Heads of all DegartmeriLS are Assoc¬ iates. a^PARTMENT CF EDUCATION. E3*^a_M. Palmer, Cur¬ ator; John B, OFldeiB Assistant Curator. Earl H. Palmer, Se jr‘era\*y . t q rrm^ 'Oewar tment Stan¬ ley Crooketo, Secretary to c-he Curauor. Charles H. Wai.lerm Art iso for the Department. All the heads of Departments are Associates. JTTLY NOTES CONTINUED IN AJGUST ISSUE* -^44- Vol. Ill Baltimore^ August 1955 Fa. 12 BUIiETIN NOTICE , Roginning v/lth the Saptonber issue of the Bulletin, the first nunber of Vol, jv, I-Ir* For- bert F.core will becono Editor ^nd I'r. Edmund . Pladung Jr*, Assistant Editor. It is intended to increase the size and form, of the issues of the nev/ Volume. • ^ ' TheVcld size was four ^ pages inches by Bg inches. The new size will be six. pages 8|- inches by 11 inches. From time to* time there will be illustrat.ed drawings / maps and diagrams accompanying articles. Other features are planned which v/ill appear later on. At the expiration of ohe year a printed cover and an index, will be nailed each memherl. MetTibers are urged to ;;reserve their copies if they desire to keep the bulletins for their files, as we only print a limited number and the requests for back numbers cfLen cause us - to run out of an Issue.- We are only keeping sufficient copies for the Society's records. Edrraind B. Fla dung : President* -45- W OQyFJ¥ BIRDS siiabb: in ias. rblirb Our B^deral Relief Progran is further reaching than one can imagine. Not. only is man belief it tod , by the Inited States unemplQynent " relief progran, but according to llr,- Paul a. Redington, -Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey^ United States Departrient of Agriculture t he b i rd 3 are b on e f i 1 1 ed as we 1 1 * This is ■ e spec ia 113^ true of the waterfowl of Mar^i^land, which are being protected hv the improveraent of the ""backwater Migrator^r uird Refuge^ near Can b r 1 c tg e ^ Nary la nd * Th is re fug e is the breec^. in.g grounds for black duck and blue winged teal. The iia Hards and Pintails also concentrate on the Blaclovater marshes during the. migration season. The Civilian Conservation Corps are improving this refuge . . as well as ‘a number of others in yari ous- states . This statement is of special interest to us because prior .to 1929 but few if any of hhe ■ y blue-winged-.-teal 'were then to be found in liarir- land. According to the i'.aryland Conservation¬ ist, 1932 Suirimhr issue/ the first record for some time was on July 2b ^ 1929, v/hen Tal¬ bott Denmead, observed fourteen or fifteen birds of this species on the Btack"water River: in Doxchester County, liaryland. On April 28, 1931, twelve. 7/ere observed and on April 30, 1931, five pairs- v/ere observed by hr. Denmead /• on the sane River « Since then the bird is on a steady in¬ crease in this as well as other localities around La ry land, and with proper kept pres¬ erves and i'.rot-ect ion , teal as well as other birds will become' abundant throughoi t the state. Edmund pladung D e pa r t men t of 0 r n i t h o 1 og y . NOTES ' (Continued from July) CtE^LOCY. Mr, A. Llewellyn Jones, Curator -of Minerologp^ and Assistant Curator of Paleon- -46- tology Gpent three days fron Jihiy 21 to 24 • at the Sokhart ilaryland, to stad^?- the Permian deposits sf- ti e Paleozola period; ^ Some fossil plants were found in the Georgia ooal seam of the Dunkhard formation* JUNIOR KEETINCt, The monthly meeting .of the Junior Division vvas held on July 29th. i!r. ' .Br^mnt ^Lather gave a very interesting talk on tile minerals within a fifteen mile* radius of the City of Daltinore. . • . AUGUST NOTES., ORNITNOLOGYc Hr. ?/. Wallaoe Coleman , former Curator of Ornithology, and Associate Curator at present , who has been residing in .Saskatoon Saskatohwan, Canada, for the past two years, ’ has returned to Baltimore for a six week va-^ ration with Nrs. Coleman. PALEONTOLOGICAL E:TI‘'’IT. The Department of Pal eontology had a very fine exhibit of mamnal fossils from the ilocene- depos its , at the Cen¬ tral Branch of the Enoch Pratt Library. Spec¬ imens of note Were the t.wo skulls of prehist¬ oric v/hales and the t'wo five foot whale mand¬ ibles. The exl'ik-it was undoubtedly the finest of its kind ever seen in Baltimore, ilany fav¬ orable comments were received and the daily press gave it wide publicity. The exlibit was held from July 24th to August 11 inGllusi.ve JUNIOR I'EETINCt. On August 19th the Junior Di~ vision held its monthly meeting. hr. 17. Wal¬ lace Coleman gave an il?aistrated lecture on the Natural History of Sasxatoon, Canada. Ornithological Lecture. Yfith- the' event of ■ " Mr. \i , 17. Coleman’s visit to Baltimore, the Society had the pleasure of hf^aring a lecture by kr. Gcleman on the Natural History of Sas¬ katoon on August 22nd. The most striking feature of the lecture was the birds of Saskatoon, especially the «47Q white-~riirri;_:ed shrike and the ?/arbler* Other interest '.nt observations wei e on the pine gross beak, t-he long-eared owl^, V-estern great horned owl and the pintail diiok. The leoture v^as well illustrated with lantern slides * PALEOKTCLOGICAL EXPEDITION rTTUlN . On August 25th after a period of three creeks the St, Mar^^’s Paleontological Expedition N’ nber two returned. The Expedition v/as under the lead¬ ership of hir, Elra ik Palrier. Girator. hlr. Pa Imer s a c c onpa n i e d bur A s s i s t a nt ’ 0 ur a tor John Galder and Assoc iaoe Curator Benjanin .Calder* The expedition v/ould have cent ini ed much longer in the field but ov^ing to the recent storm and heavy. rain, it was forced to abandon the ?/ork for the present, CRESSoTOURNAlS^Te On August 28tb, a social evening with a Chess Tournam.ont as the main attraction was enjoyed by ten members of the Society. The plc.yers were I'essrs, Allen, Coleman, Edm.innd B. pladung, Edmund B. Elad- ung Jr,, Jones, Klingel, Edward IlcColgan, James I-'cCclgan, lloore and CveringtoHe PALEOFTOLOaiCAL DISCOVERY, Mr. Elra Ik Palm.er Earl H, Palmer, I-.r. John Calder and Benjamin • C a Id e r , wi] i 1 e on a t r 1 p t o G oir o r n o.rs Run , . on Augi st 29th, discovered a wh ale s ku 11. This s ku 1 1 i s on o of t h e la r - gest ever discovered and itasures six feet in length. The upper mandible is present. ilr. Pladung and Ur. Klin gel rushed to aid the e xc a va t i on of tl e f o s s i 1 wh i c h v>r a s f ina 1 1 y accomplished at two oTciock the next morning. ■ 14r. ililpert aided naLerlally in transporting the heavy specinc-n by granting us the use of his truck. -48-