I JANUARY, 1950 Vol. 21, No. 1 Chicago Natural History Museum Paget CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN January, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive. Chicago S Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Marshall Field, Jr. Sewell L. Avery Stanley Field Wm McCormick Blair Samuel Insull, Jr. Leopold E. Block Henry P. Isham BOARDMAN CONOVER . HUGHSTON M. McBAIN Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fenton Georce A. Richardson Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field • • • • -£r**"\'5*1'/ Marshall Field First Vxet-Preexden' \lbert B. Dick, Jr. Second Vtee-Preeident Samuel Insull, Jr. Tkird Viee-Prendent Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary Solomon A. Smith Treasurer John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. H arte Public Relatione Counsel Members are requested to inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. THIS MONTH'S COVER— The Bulletin opens the New Year with a calendar of Nature on its cover depicting some characteristic phenomenon for each month of the year. Elsewhere in this issue is an article by Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zoology, on the history, philoso- phy, and significance of naturalists' calen- dars. The observation of seasonal changes is the basis of much of our science and the starting point for the careers of many men eminent in research. The cover calendar, executed by Staff Illustrator Douglas E. Tibbitts, represents subjects appropriate to the various months: for January, snowflake crystals; for Febru- ary, the hibernating striped gopher; for March, hepatica flowers and early tree frog (spring peeper); for April, the meadowlark; for May, the white trillium; for June, the bullfrog, the last of the frog voices to be heard; for July, the small-mouth black bass; for August, bam swallows gathering for their southward migration; for September, the monarch butterfly; for October, the gray squirrel harvesting nuts; for November, a cock pheasant in flight; and for December, the winter stars over a white spruce, one of the more familiar Christmas trees. NATURE PHOTO CONTEST JUDGES APPOINTED Three members of the staff of Chicago Natural History Museum have been named among the five judges for the Fifth Chicago International Nature Photography Exhibi- tion. They are: Emmet R. Blake, Associate Curator of Birds; Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Associate Curator of the Herbarium; and Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology. The other two judges are William Dennin and Harry Langer, F.R.P.S., A.P.S.A., both well-known professional photographers. The exhibition will be held in Stanley Field Hall of the Museum from February 1 to 28, inclusive. Deadline for entries, which may be sent to the Museum, is January 16. Entry forms may be obtained from the Museum or from Mrs. Louise Broman Janson, 6252 South Kedzie Ave., Chicago 29. The exhibition will be conducted in ac- cordance with recommendations of the Photographic Society of America and ac- cepted contributors will be eligible for listing in Who's Who in Nature Photography. The exhibition will be in two divisions, prints and transparencies, with an entry fee of $1 in each. No more than four entries may be submitted in either division. There are three classifications in each division. They are: A. Animal Life — animals, birds, insects, tracks, nests, etc. (no domestic animals); P. Plant Life — flowers (except formal arrangements), trees, shrubs, fungi, etc.; G. General — scenery, geology-, clouds, etc. Prints must be on 16' x 20* mounts. They may be in monochrome or color and any size up to that of the mounting. Each must be entirely the work of the individual contributor and must show on the back title, classification, and maker's name and address. Untitled prints will not be accepted. Color slides or transparencies should not exceed 3 14' x 4" and must show title and maker's name and address. Slides may be Sponges, sea stars, corals, and other marine invertebrates are displayed in Hall M. BOOK SHOP OFFERS NATURE CALENDAR The BOOK SHOP offers an attrac- tive 1950 nature calendar for the wall in home or office. It is spiral hinged, opens to 8J£ x 21 inches, and contains 12 full-color illustrations from Koda- chrome photographs of plants, ani- mals, and people. Price $1. Also available is the American Calendar for 1950. This 104-page engagement book has 52 full-page reproductions of the work of well- known photographers plus a frontis- piece and cover in full color. Price $1.25. in glass or cardboard but glass is recom- mended. Glass over cardboard will not be accepted. Each must be spotted in the lower left-hand corner. Larger transparen- cies should be in cellophane envelopes if not bound. Immediately after judging, notices will be sent to each contributor. A catalogue will be sent at the close of the exhibition. All accepted prints and slides will receive stickers. All contributors will receive the Exhibition Bulletin for a year. A number of accepted entries will be reproduced in the Museum Bulletin, the P. S. A. Journal, and elsewhere. Permission for such reproduction is presumed unless there is notification to the contrary. Silver medals and ribbons will be awarded in the various print and slide classifications. All winners will receive the Museum Bulletin for a year, and their names will be inscribed on the Myrtle R. Walgreen plaque on display in the Museum. Utmost care will be exercised by the Camera Club and the Museum but no responsibility is assumed for lost or damaged entries. All entries will be returned to owners prepaid immediately after close of the exhibition. Or, if owners so direct, they will be forwarded to any other exhibition indicated. Bulletin Comes of Age With this issue, the Bulletin* begins the 21st year of its existence and its 21st volume. In its first twenty volumes it has covered all Museum events since its initia- tion in 1930. It also printed, in its first two volumes, a brief history of the Museum recording all the principal developments of the institution before the inauguration of this periodical. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between November 16 and De- cember 15: Associate Members James A. Erickson, Christopher D. Norton Sustaining Members Willis H. Scott Annual Members John R. Walsh Baldwin, Ralph Austin Bard, Jr., John T. Beatty, Louis E. Bohlin, Mrs. R. W. Cornelius, Dr. Maxwell Gitelson, Gordon L. Glassford, Harold V. Glen, George W. Harvey, Jr., Frederick W. Hawley, Jr., Max Homan, Lester B. Knight, F. Willis McGuire, Dr. Rose Menendian, R. R. Minor, A. E. Patton, C. D. Pettingell, Andrew Pettinger, Dr. Gerhart Piers, W. J. Reilly, Miss Forsythe Render, John W. Rose, Walter D. Rudolph, William R. Ruehlmann, Dr. Winfield W. Scott, Dr. W. Walter Sittler, Lendol D. Snow, Jr., Mrs. Louis Staudt, Dr. Augusta Webster, H. A. Wehmeier, James A. Wilhite, Charles C. Wooster, Mrs. Earl A. Zaus. January, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 3 NATURALISTS' CALENDARS —THE FIRST ROOTS OF BIOLOGY By KARL P. SCHMIDT CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY IT IS at the simplest observational level in natural history that one begins to keep a record of seasonal events — seasonable and unseasonable temperatures; winter visitants to one's bird shelf; the arrival of the first robin and then the stream of transient bird migrants; the blooming of the earliest flowers and of those that come of flowering and the periods of growth of plants, we have the origin of much biology. This very aspect of natural history con- tinues to be much pursued, and when its facts are examined critically, it becomes the subscience of phenology, which the dictionary defines as the "science of the relations be- tween climate and periodic biological phe- nomena, as the migrations and breeding of birds, the flowering and fruiting of plants, NATURAL HISTORY ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE ©ilbrrt ijfflhitc Af»TKR OK ANTIOUItUl •> NMDEE futumrrM A FAMED NATURALIST'S CALENDAR Woodcut frontispiece and title page of 1875 edition of Gilbert White's "The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.** Original edition was published in 1789. after through the summer; the opening of the fishing season; the departure of birds in the fall; the entry of spermophile and woodchuck into their winter sleep; the gathering of his winter stores by the chip- munk; harvest and hunting season; and so again to the coming of winter. One records with equal interest the normal natural event and the exceptional one. The earliest roots of scientific observation in prehistoric times may be discerned in the need for dating seedtime and harvest, which thus gives rise to the marking of the seasons by the annual march of the stars, with the development of calendars and of astronomy. In the intimate need of surviving severe weather by making use of good seasons, and hence the need of some knowledge of the weather's regularities, we have the origins of meteorology and climatology. In the knowledge, implicit in the crudest of agri- cultural civilization, of the mating time and breeding seasons of animals and of the times etc." The naturalist's calendar bears the same relation to phenology that natural history in general bears to the still new science of ecology. child's path into science There is a natural recapitulation of the evolution of the race in our individual development from child to adult; and a parallel may be drawn between the mode of origin of early science and the way in which a child (or any amateur naturalist) may enter upon an interest in science. The simplest tool for the beginner, and one of the most important to any scientist, is a notebook. Any child who has enough tenacity to do so should be encouraged to keep his own notes of weather and of all that interests him in the world outside him- self, for the writing down of observations will lead to more and better observation. It is only a short step from the gathering of facts to the discernment of the orderly and meaningful ways in which they arrange themselves, and this is already "science." All this is by way of introduction to a brief commentary on the subject of those naturalists' calendars that have found their way into book form. It is a little paradoxical that naturalists, having been admonished from Agassiz' time to "study nature, not books," should be so prone to bookishness and to the collecting of books and that they should be such ready victims of the urge to write yet more books. Indeed, Louis Agassiz himself was the first bibliographer of natural history and a prodigious, writer of books. If his famous dictum were to be taken literally, naturalists, at least, would not have read them. Clearly, we need both observation in nature and books. It is the cycle from reading to original observation to yet more reading and then to renewed observation that produces the naturalist. The beginning, of course, may lie in observation, and the chain of interaction, with the writing of books and essays and technical papers as added links, may extend through a lifetime. LITERARY STEPPINGSTONES From the most cursory glance at book lists it appears that books with the title "Naturalist's Calendar" or "Naturalist's Almanac," under various literary permuta- tions and combinations, are so numerous as to constitute a distinctive segment of popular natural-history writings. A naturalist's literary career has often begun with such a work, as seems to be the case with William Beebe (A Log of the Sun, 1906) and Donald Culross Peattie (An Almanac for Moderns, 1935). Contrariwise, an elder naturalist may gather his more fugitive essays under some such title toward the end of his career. The kind of observation from which such books, and literary natural history in general, are derived is perhaps best exemplified by Gilbert White's The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, published in 1789. Gilbert White's only other work, published in 1795, after his death, is A Naturalist's Calendar. These works are so infused with love of nature and of the observation of nature for their own sake — are so objective in appearance, yet so clearly let the peaceful spirit of the old country curate shine in their pages — that they have had the qualities of popular and then of classic works in normal succession. There are almost as many editions of White's Selborne as there have been years since 1789. My own favorite is the Macmillan edition of 1875, with woodcut illustration and with A Naturalist's Calendar included. Gilbert White is to be regarded as the father of British natural history. It is the strength of the distinctively British school of eager observers in field and garden, at home and (Continued on page h, column 3.) Page b CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN January, 1950 TEXAS FIND AUGMENTS MAMMALIAN HISTORY On their way to attend the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, held in El Paso during November, Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles, and Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, made a brief stop in northern Texas. Their purpose was to examine an area that had been recommended by Glen L. Evans of the Texas Memorial Museum as a promising one for Early Cretaceous turtles. Noticing minute bone fragments on the surface of the ground, they made a close examination and almost at once Dr. Denison picked up a partial lower jaw of a mammal, a most exciting find that adds considerably to the history of mammals during the Age of Reptiles. Further search yielded hundreds of fragmentary remains of other vertebrates, among which were included those of dino- saurs, flying reptiles, lizards, frogs — the first thus far found in deposits of Cretaceous age — and fishes. On a return visit following the meetings, Dr. Denison found a second jaw, rather better preserved than the first. A brief summary of the early history of mammals will make the importance of this discovery clear. The first record of mammals is contained in rocks of late Triassic age that were laid down about 180 million years ago. Very little is known about these earliest members of the class of animals to which we ourselves belong other than that they were diminutive and insignificant components of the fauna of that far-off time. Dinosaurs and other great reptilian groups had by that time entered their period of dominance that was to last for more than 100 million years longer. During this great stretch of time, which covered the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods of earth history, the mammals remained small and inconspicuous. Not until after the extinction of the great reptiles, about 75 million years ago, did their turn for dominance arrive. Despite the relatively unimportant role they appear to have played during the Age of Reptiles, mammals did achieve a consider- able degree of evolutionary progress during this time. Glimpses from a few Jurassic localities reveal that at least four distinct groups were in existence by then, one of which may well have been broadly ancestral to all living mammals with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes of the Australian region. In late Cretaceous time, mammals were still small in size, but primitive repre- sentatives of the two major divisions of modern mammals — the placentals and the marsupials — were already in existence. A- part from a few isolated teeth found at a locality in southern England, mammalian history remained unknown from the end of the Jurrasic until near the end of the Cre- taceous, a span of some 60 million years. The great interest of the Texas discovery will now be apparent. It was made in Early Cretaceous deposits and therefore begins to close a great gap in our knowledge. The two specimens thus far found belong to an extinct group that was not ancestral to any living forms, but their finding holds forth the prospect that such ancestors may be found there in the future. Further work in the region is planned in co-operation with the Texas Memorial Museum and will be entered into with high hopes. FIFTY YEARS AGO AT THE MUSEUM Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER "An important action of the Executive Committee has been the abandonment of all the industrial and historical collections of the Museum. With the exception of the annex occupied by transportation, the halls heretofore occupied by the industrial arts have been or soon will be transferred to the use of the Department of Anthropology, and the material here- tofore contained therein returned to George M. Pullman, a the donor, present- Museum Benefactor for ed to appropriate whom Pullman Hall was institutions 0T named, died in 1900. stored away for further considera- tion. In this connection it is well to note the distribution of the material, photographs, paintings, etc., in Columbus Memorial Hall to the Chicago Historical Society, the Uni- versity of Chicago, [and] the Newberry Library . . ." "The resignation of Mr. [J.] Dieserud, Librarian of the Museum, was accepted during the month of July, and Miss Elsie Lippincott was appointed as his successor. "The most notable accession to the library was the splendid gift from Mr. Edward E. Ayer of his carefully selected Ornithological library, numbering approximately 400 vol- umes, many of them rare and all of the highest value. Special book cases were built for their installation, and also a special standing case for the set of Audubon." The Hall of Plant Life (Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall — Hall 29) presents a general view of the entire range of plant life from the lowest order, bacteria, as seen through a microscope, through the algae, fungi, mosses, and other flowerless plants, throueh the conifers, and flowering plants. NATURALISTS' CALENDARS— (Continued from page 3) abroad, from which the great strength of the English and Scotch in the biological sciences is derived. A glance at the Museum's library shelves reveals further exemplars of the naturalist's calendar. A Year at the Shore (1865) by Philip Henry Gosse, carries seaside observa- tions through the year month by month. Round the Year, A Series of Short Nature Sketches (1896) is by the distinguished en- tomologist, L. C. Miall. The Biology of the Seasons (1911) is by J. Arthur Thomson, who wrote so voluminously on biological subjects that a work by him under some such title might have been predicted; he did, indeed, write a second book under this heading, Nature All the Year Round (1921). There is no likelihood of a dearth of volumes to represent the naturalist's calendar class of literary natural history. It is represented in 1949 by distinguished works — The Twelve Seasons, by Joseph Wood Krutch, and A Sand Country Almanac, by the late Aldo Leopold, whose poignantly tragic death while fighting a brush fire was somehow nobly fitting for a conservationist of such force and note. How appropriate it is that the current selection of the Natural History Book Club is a nature calendar from the Maine coast — Robert P. Tristram Coffin's Coast Calendar. NEW CURATOR APPOINTED George Langford has been appointed Curator of Fossil Plants effective January 1, it is announced by Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director. Mr. Langford joined the Museum staff in 1947 as Assistant in Fossil Plants. Before that he was engaged in industrial work as mechanical engineer with the Chicago Great Western Railroad for a brief period and with the McKenna Process Company from 1898 to 1945, inclusive. He invented and used new processes in metal- lurgy upon which seventy American and ten foreign patents have been issued in his name. He was a member of the class of 1897 of Yale University and obtained his mechanical engineering degree at the Shef- field Scientific School. Paleontology and paleobotany began as a hobby with Mr. Langford at the early age of twelve. In all the years in which he was engaged in industry, he was studying and collecting in this field on the side. After retiring from industry, he came to the Museum to make his hobby his principal occupation. He has also been interested in archaeology and is the author of several books and a number of articles in archaeological and other journals. Civilizations of the ancient Near East from the middle of the fourth millennium B.C. to a.d. 400 are shown in Hall K. January, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 CO-OPERATION BY BIRDS By AUSTIN L. RAND CURATOR OF BIRDS CO-OPERATION, according to my desk dictionary, is the working together of two or more individuals for a common object. The working together of two birds to rear a family is so well-known an affair that one forgets that it is an example of co-operation, not only in building the nest and brooding and feeding the young but also in defending nest and young. Sometimes more than one species will join in ousting an enemy. For example, when a cat caught a young robin, recently out of the nest, the parents, in their frantic effort to make the cat release the bird, attracted the attention of another robin and a pair of cardinals nesting near-by in a honeysuckle. All five birds jumped on the cat's back, screaming and pecking it so vigorously that it released the young robin and returned to its home. More spectacular are some of the co- operative activities of birds in food-getting. Bald eagles sometimes feed on ducks. Fre- quently two eagles may combine their efforts. The two birds may work together to force a black duck from the air onto the water, and when they are trying to catch a diving duck, they much more quickly exhaust their prey by swooping at it in turn. Bald eagles sometimes take water birds too large for them to carry, and then they must flap along dragging their prey on the surface of the water to the nearest shore. On one occasion an eagle dragging a large cormorant ashore was joined by two other birds, and all three took turns in dragging it. When they got it ashore, all three shared it. Several fish-eating birds co-operate in capturing their prey. "The merganser is primarily a fishing duck . . . very skillful and a voracious feeder. It pursues under water and catches successfully the swiftest fish. Often a party of sheldrakes may be seen fishing together, driving the panic- stricken fish into the shallows or into some small pool where they may be more easily caught." When a school of fish approached a flock of white pelicans, the birds suddenly as- sumed a circular position, surrounding the school. All the pelicans moved slowly but cautiously toward the center of the circle, their heads near the surface of the water or partly submerged and their necks slightly extended. The birds moved in perfect unison, making the circle progressively smaller, ready to engulf their helpless victims at the first opportunity. When all the pelicans were close to the fish, the birds made rapid jabs at the fish and apparently consumed a large number of them. It appeared that every bird got from one to several fish. 13,000 BAND TOGETHER Avocets and, to a lesser extent, the black- necked stilts also band together for co-opera- tive drives on small fry and aquatic insects. Such drives are made in water of wading depth. Instead of forming circles, the birds present compact spearhead and wedge formations and sweep the bottom muck with the characteristic back-and-forth side movements of their long bills. As many as 13,000 avocets have been observed taking part in such co-operative feeding projects. Another striking example is furnished by black vultures. A three-quarters-grown skunk was wandering across a field. "One vulture (after having been banded and liberated) alighted near the skunk which was then about two hundred feet from where I stood at my banding work. The skunk immediately stopped and raised its tail. Other vultures that were sitting around on the ground soon joined the one that was near to the skunk, and when six or eight of them had gathered about the animal one suddenly attacked it from the side. The skunk immediately discharged its musk, but this seemed to have no effect on the vultures, which, on its discharge, attacked in a mass. "As soon as the attack was made, other vultures that were circling above the meadow or sitting in the trees near-by joined the group, until there were probably twenty-five or more around the skunk. They piled on to it, and with much flapping and croaking, pulled it about until it was dead, then devoured it." (Mclllhenny.) On another occasion a black vulture came from high in the air to alight near two full- grown opossums "that were following a narrow cattle trail which led from the cypress swamp at the foot of the hills across a wide piece of open land to the timber on the hills. The first vulture was almost at once joined by many others that dropped down from the sky with almost unbelievable swiftness, until there were probably between seventy- five and one hundred black vultures follow- ing the opossums, some on both sides, some in the rear. Suddenly, three or four of the vultures attacked one opossum at the same time." Quickly, "both opossums were covered with a swarm of hissing, flapping birds, and within fifteen minutes there was nothing left of them but the larger bones and the hides, and these were stripped of every vestige of flesh." (Mclllhenny.) EIGHTEEN EXPEDITIONS FOR MUSEUM IN 1950 A program calling for fourteen new expedi- tions, in addition to the continuation of four already in the field, has been announced by Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director. The fourteen new expeditions are as follows: Florida Keys Fish Collecting Trip (Janu- ary)— Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes. Appalachian and Ouachita Mountains Zoological Field Trip (March)— Clifford H. Pope, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles. Field Work for Cave Fishes (March) — Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes. British North Borneo Zoological Expedi- tion (April) — D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, and Robert F. Inger, Assistant Curator of Fishes. Texas Zoological Field Trip (April) — Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zoology. Wilmington (Illinois) Paleobotanical Trips (April) — George Langford, Curator of Fossil Plants. Texas Paleontological Expedition (April, May, and June) — Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mammals, and Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles. Mississippi Valley Field Trip (May) — Robert Kriss Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology. Sixteenth Southwest Archaeological Ex- pedition (June) — Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief ■ Curator of Anthropology, leader. Bermuda Zoological Expedition (June, July, and August) — Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower Invertebrates, and Joseph B. Krstolich, Artist. Utah Paleontological Expedition (June and July) — Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes. Florida Zoological Field Trip (June) — Leon L. Walters, Taxidermist, and Ronald J. Lambert, Assistant Taxidermist. Canadian Invertebrate Paleontological Expedition (July and August) — Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Inverte- brates. Arkansas Zoological Field Trip (Sep- tember)— Colin Campbell Sanborn, Curator of Mammals, and Kenneth Woehlck, Assist- ant Taxidermist. ALREADY IN FIELD The four expeditions continuing activities begun in 1949 or earlier are: Micronesian Anthropological Expedition (1949-50) — Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic Ethnology. Middle Central American Botanical Ex- pedition (1948-49-50)— Paul C. Standley, Curator of the Herbarium. Colombian Zoological Expedition (1948- 49-50) — Philip Hershkovitz, Assistant Cura- tor of Mammals. United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt (1949-50)— Harry Hoogstraal, Field Associate. Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN January, 1950 RUSH WATKINS COLLECTION FROM SIAM RECEIVED The collections made by the Rush Watkins Zoological Expedition to Siam arrived re- cently at the Museum after more than two months in transit from Bangkok. Among the specimens are two Malay tapirs to be used in a habitat group in the Hall of Asiatic Mammals (Hall 17). Besides brought home. One species was found with sharp curved bones hidden in a socket under each eye that can be extruded at will as an extraordinarily effective means of defense. The collection of shells represents most of the fresh-water species known from Siam, and most of the marine forms are ■ . "' «W r& . \Jm m tmmmm gu"^ "" "\ "V. ^^ "^ ^ H ^^B *■■-■. V 2*2 ^;.#i»r hf I '* . ■ u ***** m&- \ ,■: - * pfS CAMP OF THE RUSH WATKINS EXPEDITION IN SIAM the tapirs there are skins and horns of the fast-disappearing Eld's deer and a series of five species of squirrels including the giant squirrel, which is about four feet in length. Many bats were collected, and some ex- tremely rare and interesting parasites were found on them. Nearly 1,000 specimens of fishes were new to the Museum series. Some birds, reptiles, and amphibians were also included. The expedition members were A. Rush Watkins, sponsor, Colin Campbell Sanborn, Curator of Mammals, and Frank C. Wonder, Preparator. Time in the field amounted to eight weeks in the west-central and later in the southern part of the country. Books (All books reviewed in the Bulletin are available in The Book Shop of the Museum. Mail orders accompanied by remittance are promptly filled — The Book Shop pays the postage on shipments.) THE AWAKENING VALLEY. By John Collier, Jr., and Anibal Buitron. Uni- versity of Chicago Press, October, 1949. 199 pages, 167 illustrations. Price $6. Most ethnological reports make dull read- ing for the layman, because such reports are written for the specialist. Here, however, in The Awakening Valley, one finds a rare if not unique type of ethno- logical report — one that makes immediate appeal to any reader because of the subtle and rich blending of text and photographs. The text is simply written — a fact that implies great skill, feeling, and insight. The illustrations express an artistry that is breath-taking and an imagination that illu- minates the entire book. The photographs alone tell the story; and yet the text is com- plete also. Each is a beautiful entity and yet the two, like the themes of a fugue, are so interwoven that they cannot be separated. The artist, Collier, and the social scientist, Buitron, tell the story of a small settlement of Ecuadorian Indians and their near-by town Otavalo. By means of sections that deal with such subjects as agriculture, civil affairs, marriage, baptism, death, and the changing economy this story is told so skillfully by words and photographs that the reader feels he is indeed in Ecuador and is sharing the life of these Indians. But aside from these techniques, the great event that makes the story worth telling is the miraculous and recent economic im- provement that the Indians have achieved by their own efforts. Indians in many places in the New World live in poverty that belies description — not so much poverty of tangibles as of the spirit, a poverty that robs them of independence, initiative, pur- posefulness, self-reliance. When a man has these things — be he red, white, or black — he walks as a free man, not as a slave. By chance, a textile industry has come into being in the Valley during the last generation — at first small and weak, now lusty and growing. The tweeds woven by the Indians there are now sought after wide and far. The money thus acquired is used for buying back from the hacienda owners the land that was once Indian property. The events that follow in the train of success- ful business, the absorption of the good in white civilization and the rejection of that which is not needful, and the development of energy and faith — an almost complete rebirth — these are the things that make the story of The Awakening Valley vital and exciting. Here, for once, the ethnologist has a chance to observe and describe a resurgence instead of a decline, or worse, a degeneration. Paul S. Martin Chief Curator, Department of Anthropology Technical Publications Issued Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 39. Majuro, A Village in the Marshall Islands. By Alexander Spoehr. November 17, 1949. 266 pages, 50 text figures, 11 maps. $3.50. The Museum Press has recently issued a publication entitled Majuro, A Village in the Marshall Islands, by Dr. Alexander Spoehr, Curator of Oceanic Ethnology. This 266-page report contains the results of Dr. Spoehr's investigations on Majuro Atoll during the Ethnological Expedition to Micronesia, 1947, which was carried out in co-operation with the Pacific Science Board and the United States Navy. It is a study of the social organization of these people and the changes in their way of life resulting from the American administration of Micro- nesia, from the events of the last war, and from previous contacts with European and Asiatic cultures. The report is generously illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, and charts. Plant life of the sea may, in numbers of kinds and individuals, exceed the vegetation found on land. Some of the outstanding seaweeds are shown, as they grow in life, in the North Atlantic coast habitat group installed in Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall (Plant Life, Hall 29). The proximity of Roosevelt College to the Museum has occasioned the frequent use of Museum exhibits by its students. January, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 DESPISED WEEDS SOMETIMES PROVE BENEFACTORS OF MAN By HUGH C. CUTLER CURATOR OF ECONOMIC BOTANY A WEED, the dictionary says, is any useless or troublesome plant. But, like humans, plants are never entirely bad the banks of our expanding highway system. Soon afterwards, when a series of dry years shriveled up the fields of grain and weakened even native plants, only a few weeds, among them the Russian thistle, or good and some plants we call weeds are were left on farms to keep the soil in place. RURAL SCENE IN KANSAS Russian thistles in lower left foreground. really friends and helpers. The Russian thistle, or tumbleweed, is one of these. It came to the United States from Europe more than fifty years ago and slowly spread through the dry West. The Russian thistle made little progress on good soils where it had to compete with native prairie vegeta- tion or with cultivated grain crops, but on poor soils, where other plants struggled, the immigrant flourished. About the time of World War I the Russian thistle began to spread more rapidly, especially along the ditches of new roads. Many agriculturists spoke angrily about the advancing weed, as few of them realized the tumbleweed was helping to control erosion on In some places even the Russian thistle was blown out. The plants tumbled over the fields and piled up along the fences, a last line of resistance to the dust storms. When the first explorers penetrated the Navajo country, many canyons were thickly covered with green plants, and small streams of clear water ran throughout the year. Then the Navajos acquired sheep and before long the flocks had multiplied so that most of the accessible forage was destroyed. With the protective plant-cover gone, rains washed away the good topsoil and cut the stream beds until they were deep gullies, always dry except for the short-lived floods that followed a rain. The Russian thistle began to spread over the poor soils and before long there was enough of it to protect more desirable plants. When dead, the old plants rolled over the plains, scattering their seeds, and fell into the gullies. Here they slowed down the flow of the silt-laden floodwaters. Erosion- control dams and reduction in the numbers of livestock allowed on the land have helped to restore the Navajo country, but the Russian thistle is responsible for much of the improvement. EVEN RAGWEED IS USEFUL But the Russian thistle is not the only plant that saves man from his follies. In the Chicago area we are familiar with rag- weed covering land that has been disturbed by construction work. To the ever-growing number of hay-fever sufferers the plant is troublesome when in flower, but it is cover- ing the ground and helping to hold it in place. Where the land is left for a long time, other plants eventually replace the ragweed. On many of the ranches of our West, sage- brush (an entire plant of this is on exhibition in the center of Hall 26) is the most common plant now because cattle have eaten all the grass. Without competition from the grasses, the less palatable sagebrush flourished. Many ranchers who attempted to keep more cattle than the land could carry would have been left with only bare rocks and gullies if the sagebrush had not held the soil once the grass was gone. Some other plants, like creosote bush, blackbrush, rabbit brush, and saltbrush, function in the same way. Ranchers are now trying to eliminate these plants by cutting and burning and by using weed- killers like 2,4-D. These expedients are necessary whenever grasses are so weak- ened by continued grazing that they cannot compete successfully with the less desirable shrubs. Thus, as weeds are often useful, useful plants are often weeds. The scattered corn plants in fields of soybeans are examples of this. Soybeans are usually planted the year after corn and some of the corn dropped at harvest time grows up the following year. These plants shade and compete with the soybeans and interfere with the harvest operations. The stalks seldom bear usable ears, and even if they did, it would not be worth while to collect them. Exploring Florida Waters Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes, left last month on a field trip to southern Florida. He is seeking species of fishes to fill gaps in the Museum collection. Coming. February 1-28, Fifth Chicago International Nature Photography Exhibi- tion. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN January, 1950 JANUARY LECTURE TOURS DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every after- noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Wed., Jan 4 — Circus Animals and Their Homes (Jane Sharpe). Fri., Jan. 6 — Your Winter Vacation — The Andes Countries. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (June Buchwald). Wed., Jan. 11 — Chinese Fundamentals — Ancient Foundations of the Chinese Way of Life ( Harriet Smith). Fri., Jan. 13 — From Polar Bears to Pen- guins. Illustrated introduction in Meet- ing Room (Marie Svoboda). Wed., Jan 18— The Primitive Traveler (June Buchwald). Fri., Jan. 20 — Adventures of a Fossil Hunter. Illustrated introduction in Meet- ing Room (Lorain Farmer). Wed., Jan. 25 — Natural Storage of Food — Seeds, Roots, and Other Plant Parts (Miriam Wood). Fri., Jan. 27 — Building Blocks of the Uni- verse— Atoms and Elements. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Anne Stromquist). Persons wishing to participate should apply at North Entrance. Tours are free. STAFF NOTES D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, has concluded the special labora- tory course on "Comparative Anatomy of the Head" that he gave for students in the graduate school at the University of Chicago. The course was under the direction of Dr. Everett C. Olson of the university faculty (Museum Research Asso- ciate in Fossil Vertebrates). Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles, and other members of the Museum staff con- tributed advice and assistance .... Donald Collier, Curator of South American Eth- nology and Archaeology, has been appointed book-review editor of the American An- thropologist, official organ of the American Anthropological Association .... Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology, and George I. Quimby, Curator of Ex- hibits, recently were interviewed on a radio program for station WMBI, the topic being the exhibits in the new Hall of Indian America .... Dr. Jose Cuatrecasas, Cura- tor of Colombian Botany, spoke to the Ecology Group (students and faculty at the University of Chicago, Department of Zoology) on "Mangroves of the Pacific Coast of South America.". . . Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany, gave two botanical seminar talks at the University of Illinois, Urbana, on "Work of the Depart- ment of Botany, Chicago Natural History Museum," and "Rates of Evolutionary Processes.". . . Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Cura- tor of Economic Botany, visited Cornell University in December for some special plant studies in the Bailey Hortorium .... Dr. Cutler, Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Associate Curator of the Herbarium, and Dr. Cuatrecasas attended the New York meetings in December of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and participated in the symposium on the plant geography of South America .... Marie Svoboda, Raymond Foundation lecturer, represented the Museum in a panel discussion on "How can science be made an integral part of the elementary school school program?" at a Chicago conference of the Central Association for Science and Mathematics Teachers. Miss Svoboda de- scribed and demonstrated with materials how this Museum helps make science a part of the school curriculum. GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Anthropology : From: A. W. Bahr, Westmount, Que., Canada — a stone head of a Buddhistic deity of the Tang dynasty (621-907), China. Department of Botany: From: Donald Richards, Chicago — 158 specimens of algae, New Brunswick; Elmer J. Richards, Chicago — 2,011 specimens of algae; Dr. Richard Evans Schultes, Cam- bridge, Mass. — 107 herbarium specimens, Brazil and Colombia; William Culberson, Cincinnati — 52 specimens of fungi, Cincin- nati region; Dr. Maxwell S. Doty, Evanston, 111. — 79 hepatics, Oregon and California; Dr. William Randolph Taylor, Ann Arbor, Mich. — 56 specimens of algae, Bermuda. Department of Geology : From: William M. Murray, Chicago — a physical geology specimen showing differ- ential weathering, Glacier Park; Stuart H. Perry, Adrian, Mich. — Gergenti meteorite specimen (incomplete individual, with crust, 2,151 grams), Sicily; Dr. and Mrs. R. H. Whitfield and Jon S. Whitfield, Evanston, 111. — 319 fossil plant specimens. Department of Zoology: From: Harry Hoogstraal, Chicago — 28 robber flies, including one allotype and two holotypes, Mexico; Leslie Hubricht, Dan- ville, Va. — 14 salamanders, southeastern U.S.; Maj. Robert Traub, Washington, D.C. — 29 mammal skins and skulls, Malaya; Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — 2 lizards, Australia; Frank H. Seaton, Tampa, Fla. — a snake, Florida; Maj. Howard T. Wright, Orlando, Fla.— 445 insects and allies, and 18 isopods, south- eastern Asia and the Philippine Islands; 4-H BOYS AND GIRLS LAUD MUSEUM During the period of the International Live Stock Exposition in Chicago, which closed early last month, the Museum enter- tained, as usual, the delegates to the National Congress of 4-H Clubs, totaling some 1,235 American boys and girls. As usual, these splendid young people from the rural areas of the United States were en- thusiastic in their praise not only of the Museum but of almost everyone and every- thing in Chicago. This visit marked for many of them their first stay in a large city. Of special interest perhaps is the opening sentence in a letter of thanks received from a young lady in Texas shortly after her return home: "A building so large and exhibits so grand I have never seen — even in Texas!" Another letter commented: "You cannot imagine what a world of wonders the Mu- seum opened up to me — a junior in a little high school in a small prairie town. I wish I could spend a month looking at the ex- hibits for I am terribly interested. Some- day, I would like to be in an expedition to find things." Audubon Lecture Jan. 7 The Illinois Audubon Society will present the third lecture in its current series on Saturday, January 7, at 2:30 p.m. in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. George and Arlene Hadley, leaders in Detroit's out-of-doors movement, will pre- sent the story of their activities under the title "Happy Valley." The lecture will be accompanied by a color motion-picture film recording canoe treks through northern Michigan — the land of Hiawatha. The Hadleys will tell of the poetry and philoso- phy they found in trees, wild flowers, song- birds, and wild animals of the woods. Henry S. Dybas, Hazelcrest, 111. — 1,177 insects, U.S., Mexico, and Colombia; Lillian A. Ross, Chicago — 159 insects and allies, U.S. and Virgin Islands; Col. Clifford C. Gregg, Valparaiso, Ind. — 2 millipedes, 2 spiders, a phalangid, and 10 ants, Indiana; Clair Cotterill, Chicago — 48 insects, Maine; American Museum of Natural History, New York — a parrot fish and 75 pomacentrid fishes, British West Indies; Richard Arch- bold, Lake Placid, Fla. — a lizard, Florida; Dr. Alvin R. Cahn, U.S. Army — a sala- mander, Honshu Island, Japan; Col. E. W. Wentworth, Chicago — 5 skulls of selected purebred hogs, with pedigrees; Lieut. John F. Kurfess, U.S. Navy — 15 lizards and 9 snakes, Guam. Library: From: Art Institute of Chicago; Col. Clifford C. Gregg, Valparaiso, Ind.; Dr. Henry Field, Washington, D.C; Anthony Mazur, Chicago; and Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Winnetka, 111. iicago international Nature Photo Exhibit February 1-28 Page 2 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN February, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Marshall Field, Jr. Sewell L. Avery Stanley Field Wm. McCormick Blair Samuel Insull, Jr. Leopold E. Block Henry P. Isham Boardman Conover Hughston M. McBain Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fbnton George A. Richardson Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. Hartb Public Relations Counsel Members are requested to inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. ATTENDANCE UP IN 1949 The number of visitors received at the Museum during 1949 was 1,145,359. This is a slight increase over the preceding year, when attendance was 1,134,643. Of the 1949 attendance, 1,022,580 were free ad- missions— children, students, teachers, Mu- seum Members, and others admitted free on all days, in addition to the general public on free days. Only 122,779 visitors paid the nominal fee charged on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This compares with a paid attendance of 128,845 in 1948. history specimens and books to the Museum. The designation "Contributor" includes all those who give to the Museum from $1,000 to $100,000 in money or materials. Museum Officers Re-elected Stanley Field has begun his 42nd con- secutive year as President of Chicago Natural History Museum, having been re- elected at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees held January 16. Other officers re-elected are: Marshall Field, First Vice- President; Albert B. Dick, Jr., Second Vice- President; Samuel Insull, Jr., Third Vice- President; Solomon A. Smith, Treasurer; Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director and ' oretary; and John R. Millar, Assistant Secretary. WINNER OF SCIENCE QUIZ WELCOMED AT MUSEUM Director Gregg meets Boston champion The accompanying photograph shows Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director of Chicago Natural History Museum, greeting Miss Antoinette Cutrona, 13 years old, who won a contest, "Science is Fun," sponsored by the Boston Museum of Science and the Boston Post. The prize was a visit to Chicago by airliner for the winning girl and her mother, who is in the picture. Also accompanying Miss Cutrona were Miss Caroline Harrison, public relations repre- sentative of the Boston Museum of Science, and a reporter for the Boston Post. Partici- pation in the contest, a series of fourteen quizzes, was limited to young people from eight to fourteen years of age. Miss Cutrona spent several days in Chicago, where she visited various museums, zoos, and other institutions. Museum Contributor Elected Henry S. Dybas, Assistant Curator of Insects, has been elected a Museum Con- tributor in recognition of his gifts of natural- Audubon Lecture Feb. 18 The fourth lecture in the current series of the Illinois Audubon Society will be given Saturday, February 18, at 2:30 P.M., in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. The lecture is "Bird Magic in Mexico," by George Miksch Sutton, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Sutton, scientist, artist, and distinguished ornithologist, was co- leader of an expedition to the tropical wilder- ness of Tamaulipas, Mexico. In motion pictures, "Bird Magic in Mexico" portrays the brilliant jungle life, with its unusual and gaily colored birds, insects, and flowering plants, many of them now recorded in film for the first time. ■THIS MONTH'S COVER- "Wild Geese at Sunrise" is the title of the cover picture. It is a photograph by Charles J. Cig- natta, of Baltimore, who has en- tered it in the Fifth Chicago Inter- national Nature Photography Ex- hibition to be held at the Museum February 1-28. The exhibition is sponsored jointly by the Museum and the Nature Camera Club of Chicago. NOTED FRENCH EXPERT VISITS MUSEUM Georges Henri Riviere, Associate General Director of the International Council of Museums, was a visitor at Chicago Natural History Museum on January 5. M. Riviere had recently come from Haiti, where he spent seven weeks advising the Haitian government on the setting up of a projected "folk museum" in Port-au-Prince. In the United States he has been making a study of principal museums in New York, Wash- ington, Chicago, and elsewhere. M. Riviere will return to Paris shortly to prepare for the opening of the new Museum of French Ethnology and Folk Art, of which he is curator. He is also an associate editor of Museums, a publication of UNESCO. M. Riviere conferred at this Museum with Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director, Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthro- pology, and Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of Geology. He was especially impressed with the new Hall of Indian America (Hall 4), which he pronounced the finest exhibit of its type that he has seen anywhere. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between December 16 and Jan- uary 13: Associate Members Mrs. Joseph M. Cudahy, Adolph Ettlinger, William H. Lerch, Mrs. Frank E. Nagel. Annual Members George Albiez, John G. American, John Brugaletta, Edward M. Cummings, John H. Goessele, Carl L. Goetz, Dr. R. Wendell Harrison, Mrs. James E. Hastings, George J. Leahy, John M. McDonald, Eugene V. Morrissy, Joseph H. Oberfelder, Andrew P. Olsen, Dr. Angelo R. Patti, Ralph E. Patton, David Priest, Mrs. Jack Pritzker, John P. Purdy, Miss Marie Katherine Remien, Fred C. Rowley, Jr., Leonard P. Spacek, Melvin Thillens, Dr. Albert G. Waldman, Harold Wellin, George B. Whitfield, R. P. Wolchina. Mark your calendar: Saturday afternoons in March and April, free illustrated lectures on science and travel at the Museum. February, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 3 WHALES, MOST REMARKABLE MAMMALS THAT EVER LIVED By D. DWIGHT DAVIS CURATOR OP VERTEBRATE ANATOMY Whales are the most gigantic animals that ever lived on earth. A blue whale 100 feet long and weighing 150 tons is larger than the largest of the dinosaurs. Beside it a ten-ton elephant is a pigmy. Partly because of their tremendous size, partly too because of the difficulties of observing them, and, finally, because man otters, or beavers, for example— spend a good deal of time in the water, but none is so completely tied to an aquatic life as are the whales. Only the manatees and dugongs approach the whales in their dependence on water, but they never venture beyond the shallow coastal waters and are less specialized. Adapting a hairy, four-footed, air-breath- ing mammal to a perpetual life on the high PA9T (WiMMEHl Aftl STMAMUMD TMWI M*E T*0 KIMIW O* -WM»LS< WHAXJS ARC TVUC MAMMALS WHALE 'STREAMLINING' ILLUSTRATED IN NEW EXHIBIT A model o£ a torpedo on the left shows how man has adopted nature's methods to decrease water resistance to a minimum. has long engaged in hunting them, whales have always attracted interest. In the vast expanse of the ocean even a whale is a tiny object, poorly seen because, like an iceberg, most of its bulk is hidden beneath the surface. Even today a beached whale causes a flurry of local excitement and is likely to be pictured in newspapers through- out the country. The "beaching" of a whale is the key to the whole story. The largest whales can be as big as they are only because their enormous bulk is supported by water. A creature of such proportions would be help- less on land; the muscles required to move such weight would themselves be so great that the monster would have to be even larger, requiring still greater bones and muscles, and so on ad infinitum. Engineers have a simple formula to prove that it can't be done. Whales are mammals, no matter how fishy they may look. Other mammals — seals, seas was something of an evolutionary problem, and the astonishing contrivances by which this was accomplished have excited the wonder of biologists from earliest times. Whales are the most highly modified of all known mammals, living or extinct. Merely cataloguing some of the problems whales had to solve gives an idea of the adjustments that were required in their evolution. They are warm-blooded like other mammals. But water conducts heat 27 times as rapidly as air, and the thick layer of fatty blubber is the whales' answer to this insulation problem. Water is 227 times as dense as air, and an animal moving through water even at the relatively slow speed of a whale must be as well streamlined as the fastest jet plane. For the same reason, a man-made torpedo is well streamlined, although it travels through the water at a top speed of only 30 to 40 miles per hour. The hind legs are missing in all whales, but hip bones remain as a functionless vestige. Like other mammals, whales nourish their young with milk. To do this successfully they have developed a remarkable system of injecting milk into the mouth of the young. Even special physiological adjust- ments to drinking salt water were necessary in an animal that never comes into contact with fresh water. Of course a whale has no gills and would drown promptly if deprived of air. The devices for insuring a constant supply of air — and for insuring that water cannot get into the lungs — are remarkable. In all whales there is only one nostril. Instead of being on the tip of the snout, where water could enter as the whale lies on the water surface, it opens on top of the head, as the so-called "blowhole." The larynx, or "voice box," is thrust directly into the back of the nose, so that it is impossible for a whale to get food or water into its "Sunday throat." A series of models explaining some of these remarkable modifications was recently in- stalled in the Whale Hall (Hall N-l). The models were prepared by Artist-Preparator Joseph B. Krstolich under the direction of the author. A companion exhibit covering the biology of whales is in preparation. BLUE MUSHROOMS By JULIAN A. STEYERMARK ASSOCIATE CURATOR OK THE HERBARIUM Sometimes the experiences that befall a botanist are amusing as well as interesting and scientifically profitable. For instance, during the summer of 1949, while on a collecting trip in the southern part of Missouri, I was botanizing the slopes of a deep canyon known as Grand Gulch, when I spotted a dark blue object on the ground and discovered to my surprise that it was a mushroom. Back in Chicago, I immediately turned the specimen over to Dr. Francis Drouet, Curator of the Cryptogamic Herbarium, with the request that he try to name it for me, assuring him that I had never observed a mushroom of such unusual color. He at once recognized it as a mushroom known botanically as Laclarius indigo, and showed me an illustration of it. ONE FROM GUATEMALA Then Dr. Drouet showed me to my great surprise and bewilderment the only speci- men of this species in our herbarium, which I had collected in 1942 in Guatemala, Central America, on the volcano of Santa Clara. The label of this Guatemalan collet tion showed that I had recorded the bluish color of this specimen realizing its unusual character. This brought up the question of how common blue is as a color in mushrooms and other fungi. Talking with Dr. Drouet (Continued on page 7, column S) Page i CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN February, 1950 RESURRECTING A PREHISTORIC INDIAN VILLAGE By PAUL S. MARTIN CHIEF CURATOH, DEPAHTMBNT OF ANTHKOPOUXiY WE MADE some startling archaeo- logical discoveries — Rinaldo* and I — during the summer of 1949 in remote Pine Lawn Valley in the Apache National Forest of western New Mexico, where we were conducting the 15th Archaeological Expedi- walls. And, because it was made up of many contiguous rooms, each house was really a hamlet or small town. Such a village-house probably resembled a one- story apartment house and was occupied by several families. What architectural innovations! Here we have for the first time in that area (1) stone NEW MEXICO HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, A.D. 1000 An example of earliest surface house with stone masonry walls — South Leggett Pueblo, excavated by the Museum's Archaeological Expedition to the Southwest. tion to the Southwest of Chicago Natural History Museum. We are studying there a culture called Mogollon, which differs greatly from the better-known Pueblo "cliff house" culture. Our objectives in the 1949 season were to hunt for the houses in which Early Man lived (by "early" we mean - about 4,500 years ago) and to find and to excavate some ruins that, on the basis of superficial studies, might date at about A.D. 1000. In previous seasons we had excavated ruins that are dated by estimate at a.d. 500, 600, 700, and 900, respectively. These ruins consisted entirely of separate pit houses scattered here and there in the forest. A pit house is a kind of cellar-house, with the floor three or four feet below ground level and a roof made of logs and dirt. UP OUT OF THE CELLAR But the excavations of 1949 brought forth information of quite a different character. The houses built by the Indians of about A.D. 1000 were completely unlike those of the preceding eras. These houses were built on top of the ground, with masonry * Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant in Archaeology. walls or masonry, (2) rooms on top of the ground, (3) contiguous rooms, and (4) a special type of doorway. And, in addition, new and better tools and different kinds of pottery were found. Where all these new ideas came from is not certain, but we do feel sure they were borrowed and not invented on the spot. Now, if you were to look at the crude and disintegrated walls we uncovered, you would certainly wonder what all this shouting is about. Let me explain. Let us turn the magic lens of the archae- ologist on these ruins and then see what we can see. OPENS SOCIOLOGICAL VISTAS First off, by studying the architecture of these "villages," we find that there is more to the problem than just stones, mortar, and method of construction. The study of these early surface houses provides us with extensive knowledge of the way these In- dians lived. We find that much is revealed about the customs,.the era, and the profound changes in social patterns. "How can that be?" you may ask. The answer is that the ruins that we excavated and studied constitute a kind of book, which, with the proper "key," can be read. By reading, I mean that we can make inferences. But we are careful to shield our inferences from the ■ stigma of "science fiction" that one reads in some newspaper supplements or pulp magazines. Let me give an example of the kind of inference we may safely make. If we find bone needles in our excavations, we may infer that sewing was done, that perhaps skins were sewed together for various uses, including possibly clothing. If we find a small ash-filled hole in the floor of a house, we may assume that fire was known and that it may have been used for lighting or cooking or both. This is what I mean by "reading" the "book" or making inferences from the data obtained by excavations. Now, under the "magic lens" what do our crude masonry walls and our ruined village-house become? What can we see? ERA OF ISOLATION ENDS First, we can see that the centuries-long isolation of the Mogollon Indians has been breached. Isolation, caused by dwelling in sheltered mountain villages, had retarded the cultural development of these people. They were outside the main stream of history. But now, for reasons yet unknown to us, new influences washed over the Mogollon Indians and profoundly changed them. Instead of living in small one-family houses scattered here and there in the forest, they began to live together in one-story apartment surface houses with walls of stone. These conglomerations of rooms in effect constituted compact small villages, and such village life entailed changes in the social organization of the Mogollon Indians. One of these changes would be the need for some governmental mechanism, such as a chief or a council or both. No longer could each man go his own way; others' feelings and wishes would have to be con- sidered. Forms of social control would be needed with which to co-ordinate effort and reduce friction in this larger and more com- pact community. Habits of co-operation would develop. Building a multi-roomed unit to house five or ten families would require the pooling of skills and of efforts. Farming would probably be done com- munally. This might produce a greater food supply, and this in turn would create more stability and a somewhat greater density of population. A greater population would increase the chances of producing more inventors. Because all the time of all the population would now not be needed to fill bellies, more leisure would be created and some energies could be devoted to the development of specialists — such as potters, weavers, basket- makers, architects, artisans and artists, priests, shamans, and politicians. Thus all February, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 patterns of conduct were probably modified ■ — slowly but surely. Although these small towns were distinctly rural, yet the people had started along the rocky and arduous road toward urbanism, specialization, dif- ferent roles (ruler and ruled, priests, etc.), and co-ordination of human efforts. DAWN OF A CIVILIZATION Thus, in these humble ruins, one can ob- serve the very first stumbling steps that man took on his way toward civilization. These excavations, then, take on tremendous significance, for here we can observe in miniature the same processes of develop- ment through which our own ancestors went about 3,000 or 4,000 years ago. The inferences seem conservative and logical in that they follow the general patterns of human conduct and breathe life into the rooms from which we cleared the debris of centuries. These inferences — resulting from the painstaking sifting of evidence, measuring, and mapping — make our summer's work worth while. We are not interested in details per se but for what information we can squeeze out of them. We found the "bones" of a village and, in a manner of speaking, we have articulated them and clothed them with flesh and blood, so that once more these villages are occupied and throb with human activities. SCHOOL TEACHERS LEARN HOW TO USE THE MUSEUM FEBRUARY LECTURE TOURS DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every after- noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Wed., Feb. 1 — Animals of Illinois (Jane Sharpe). Fri., Feb. 3— Unusual Pets. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (June Buchwald). Wed., Feb. 8 — Exotic and Unusual Flowers (Marie Svoboda). Fri., Feb. 10— Trees in Winter. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Miriam Wood). Wed., Feb. 15 — Animals of the Orient (Lorain Farmer). Fri., Feb. 17— Your Trip to Florida— In- dians, Animals, and Plants. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Jane Sharpe). Wed., Feb. 22— Watermarks— The Work of Surface and Subsurface Water (Anne Slromquist). Fri., Feb. 24 — Getting Along with Winter — How People and Animals Adjust to the Cold. Illustrated introduction in Meet- ing Room (Harriet Smith). By MIRIAM WOOD CHIEF, RAYMOND FOUNDATION Did you ever stop to watch a teacher or Museum guide take a group of school children through the Museum halls? Many visitors are seen watching this never- ending and always- different drama in the Museum. They often interrupt their own browsing to watch in astonishment. Some- times they smile, possibly as they think of their own school days. A few of these visitors get so in- terested in the school children that they follow along with them to listen to their comments and ques- tions and to hear the answers and explana- tions given by the teacher or guide as the story of the nat- ural history of the world unfolds in exhibit after exhibit. Eventually the visitor begins to comment and ask questions: "How wonderful that children today can learn so easily by seeing!" and "How did that teacher learn to handle all those children so expertly?" or "How can she remain so patient with all the questions?" It isn't possible to answer all these ques- tions quickly or simply. But if this visitor happened along at a time when another kind of class was studying in the Museum halls he would hear some of the answers, because this other type of class is composed of students from colleges and universities who are studying and training to be teachers. These classes of teachers-in-training come to the Museum to learn how to make use of a museum as well as other educational resources in a community. Under the direction of a Raymond Foundation staff member the teacher-students can observe other school classes studying in the Museum. They learn what to do and what not to do in bringing a class to a museum. They learn how to plan a trip and to make the important preparations for it in the class- room with their students. They learn what this Museum can do to assist them and what facilities there are here for their use. They discover, usually to their great amazement, that this Museum can be compared to a library where you cannot possibly absorb all the information or use all the material in one visit and that it is much better to use only certain parts as needed. Therefore the teachers-to-be learn what material is available and will know where to go and how to go about using it when needed. Thus the visitor could readily understand that it is only through study, training, and experience that a teacher learns how to plan a class visit in the Museum and carry it out successfully. It is only necessary to SCHOOL CHILDREN STUDYING MASTODON SKELETON watch an unprepared group struggling through a poorly planned educational trip to see the difference between their confused learning and the good time enjoyed by a class seeing and learning easily under expert direction. The Museum staff is happy to have a part in helping teachers plan and prepare for better use of the Museum exhibits. COMING: ADULT LECTURES AND CHILDREN'S MOVIES On March 4 the Museum will begin both the spring course of illustrated lectures on science and travel for adults on Saturday afternoons, and the Raymond Foundation free motion picture programs for children on Saturday mornings. The first of the adult lectures will be "Banana Country," by Dr. Arthur C. Twomey, of the Carnegie Institute, Pitts- burgh. The lecture will be given in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum at 2:30 p.m. Reserved seats are available to members upon application in advance. The first of the children's programs, to be given also on Saturday, March 4, will be "Summer in Idaho." Dr. Twomey will appear on this program also and tell the story of salmon and trout fishing, western rodeos, and flowers and birds of Idaho and the famous Sun Valley. The children's program will begin at 10:30 a.m. A complete schedule of programs of both adult and children's series will appear in the March issue of the Bulletin. Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN February, 1950 'Spoiled' Youngsters . . . CONDITIONING IN BIRDS By AUSTIN L. RAND CURATOR OP BIRDS TO CONDITION, in psychological termi- nology, according to my unabridged dictionary, is to attach a subject to a new stimulus or response; it may also mean to produce a new attachment of stimulus and response in a subject. The classical experi- ments in conditioning and reflexes are those of Pavlov in the last century. The one best known consisted of sounding a bell each time food was given to a dog. Finally the salivary response resulted when the bell was rung even without the food being given to the dog. The dog was conditioned to the bell. First it had responded to the food, then to the food and the bell, and finally to the bell alone, by a flow of saliva. The beauty of this experiment is its sim- plicity, dealing as it does with a single reflex. Though much behavior is more complex, experiments have been worked out to show how environment, in a broad sense, can influence inherited behavior. An illuminat- ing example of this is one dealing with young loggerhead shrikes and the duration of their infantile behavior. Young shrikes, while in the nest, as with young passerine birds in general, are fed directly by their parents placing food in their mouths. One of the earliest behavior patterns these young birds acquire is to stretch up with widely opened mouth, fluttering wings, and buzzing calls, in anticipation of being fed. This we call begging. Though typically infantile behavior, it may reappear in courtship, but this latter we shall not consider here. Ordinarily this infantile begging behavior is discontinued shortly after the young birds leave the nest and become able to feed them- selves. In a state of nature, observations indicate that this change is probably hastened in part by the young birds them- selves, who come to avoid having food thrust down their gullets and prefer to pick up the food for themselves, and in part by the waning interest of the parents in the young, which confers an advantage on those young who early become self-supporting. CASE OF RETARDED DEVELOPMENT Certain observations made from time to time have indicated that, though the age at which young birds change from infantile begging for food to self-supporting inde- pendence is fixed by instinct, certain external factors, notably the amount of care the young have received, can affect the age at which this change occurs. Indeed, there is a record of a young cedar waxwing raised by hand, who never learned to feed himself. When I secured a brood of four young loggerhead shrikes, or butcher birds, the material was available to conduct a con- trolled experiment. The young birds were raised together by hand to the stage at which they were ready to begin to pick up things, to feed themselves, and to begin to abandon their infantile behavior of begging for food. This was when they were 21 days old. They were then divided into two lots and housed separately. One couple had a supply of food kept in front of them, and hand feeding was gradually discontinued and stopped as soon as possible. At the age of 28 days they fed themselves well, though they still begged freely when I approached. By the time they were 39 days old they begged rarely, and after 45 days they were not seen to beg. The other two birds had no free food available at any time and were fed com- pletely by hand, the food being placed in their mouths. At the age of 28 days they had made no effort to feed themselves. By the time they were 53 days old they made efforts to feed themselves by trying to peck the food from the fingers instead of having it thrust into their mouths. They evidently would have changed quickly to independent self-feeding and abandoned their infantile begging behavior, but hand-feeding was continued. At the age of seven and one-half months, when the experiment was discon- tinued, though these birds were capable of feeding themselves, as was seen when food was dropped accidentally on the floor of their cage, they still begged for food from their human foster-parent. OBJECT LESSON FOR PARENTS The four birds used in this experiment were nest-mates, with similar hereditary and early environment. The birds in the lot that received only enough care to insure proper development became self-feeding and independent and lost their infantile begging behavior when they were about a month and a half old. The birds of the other lot, which received an excessive amount of care and were hand-fed without being allowed to develop the behavior that would have made them independent, retained the in- fantile behavior pattern of begging until the end of the experiment. They were then seven and one-half months old, and their nest-mates, under a different set of condi- tions, had lost their infantile behavior six months earlier. Thus in some birds it appears that exces- sive care can be a conditioning factor. It can delay the loss of infantile behavior and the acquiring of normal independence. Though the young shrikes instinctively tried to develop their independent behavior, when this was not possible they continued their dependent conditioned behavior. STAFF NOTES At the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in New York, Chief Curator of Zoology Karl P. Schmidt was elected to the editorial board of the Society's journal, Ecology .... Rupert L. Wenzel, Assistant Curator of Insects, recently studied insect collections in the principal eastern museums .... Donald Collier, Curator of South American Ethnology and Archaeology, gave an illustrated talk on Peru for the Jackson Park Camera Club .... Paul G. Dallwig, Layman Lecturer, has extended his leave until next November. He will then resume lectures for Sunday audiences in the Museum . . . .At the recent annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution in New York, Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany, spoke on "Fossil Floras of the Southern Hemisphere and Their Bearing on Continental Drift." He was elected secretary of the Society for 1950-52. In New York Dr. Just also at- tended the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America, where he made a report on the activities of the Committee on Paleobotanical Nomenclature, of which he is chairman .... Several other members of the Museum staff presented papers at the meeting of the Botanical Society. Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, spoke on "The Phytogeography of Bolivia." Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Associate Curator of the Herbarium, spoke on "The Phytogeography of Venezuela." He was elected secretary of the Systematic Section of the Botanical Society of America. Dr. L. H. Tiffany, Research Associate in Cryptogamic Botany, presided over meetings of the Phycological Society of America and presented several papers. Dr. Francis Drouet, Curator of Cryptogamic Botany, attended and conducted research at the New York Botanical Garden. Donald Richards, Research Associate in Crypto- gamic Botany, attended meetings of the American Bryological Society. Dr. JosS Cuatrecasas, Curator of Colombian Botany, spoke on "The Phytogeography of Co- lombia." He was appointed a member of the organizing committee of the Third South American Botanical Congress to be held in Bogota, Colombia, in 1953. February, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 NATURE PHOTO EXHIBIT OPENS FEBRUARY 1 The Fifth Chicago International Nature Photography Exhibition will open in Stanley Field Hall of the Museum on February 1. It will continue through February 28. In the display are more than 200 prints and 500 color slides from all parts of the United States and foreign countries as well. These were selected as the best among many times that number submitted. The Annual Nature Photography Exhibi- tion, sponsored jointly by the Museum and the Nature Camera Club of Chicago, has become a regular feature of the Museum program each February. The increasing popularity of nature photography is evi- denced by the fact that there are now eight photographic exhibitions in the United States that are either limited to nature material or else include a nature division. It is gratifying to note that the Chicago exhibition is not only the largest of its kind in the world but that, in spite of its restric- tion to a specialized field, it is larger than many of the pictorial exhibitions. The number of entries has increased from year to year, and this fifth exhibit bids fair to be still "bigger and better" than all previous ones. Entries were received last year from Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Ber- muda, Costa Rica, Canada, England, France, Holland, India, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Scotland, and Switzerland, and also from Alaska and Hawaii and most of the states. The Chicago Nature Photography Exhibi- tion is one of the very few shows that meets all of the exacting standards as to manage- ment, efficiency, etc., of the Color Division of the Photographic Society of America. As a consequence, this show is rated by the above organization as a "Class A" exhibit. It has been the policy of the Nature Camera Club to use five judges (rather than three) because a jury of this size provides a better balance of interests and insures a more equitable consideration of each entry. The judges this year are: Emmet R. Blake, Associate Curator of Birds at the Museum; William Dennin, photographic exhibitor, teacher, and writer; Harry Langer, Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and Associate of the Photographic Society of America; Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Asso- ciate Curator of the Herbarium at the Museum; and Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology at the Museum. In each of the two divisions of the exhibi- tion (prints and color slides), there are three classifications, Animal Life, Plant Life, and General. Silver medals and ribbons will be awarded in the various print and slide classifications. The names of the prize winners will be inscribed on the Myrtle Walgreen plaque. The prints are displayed in fluorescent-lighted panels built especially for this purpose. The slides are displayed in rotation in a display cabinet. They will also be projected on the screen in the James Simpson Theatre on two Sunday afternoons, February 12 and 19, at 3 p.m. An illustrated catalogue of the exhibit, available early in March, will be published by the Nature Camera Club. A list of the prize winners and reproductions of some of their entries will be featured in the March Bulletin. FIFTY YFARS AGO Al THE MUSFUM Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER In the spring of 1900, the Field Columbian Museum added to its staff an osteologist by the name of Edmond N. Gueret to fill a post that had been vacant for more than a year. At the same time there came an enormous collection of skeletons that had been purchased from the renowned Ward's Natural Science Establishment where Mr. Gueret had been engaged in skeleton pre- paration since 1875. He assisted in install- ing this nucleus collection, and for forty years practically every skeleton exhibited in Hall 19 was mounted by Mr. Gueret, The late Edmond N. Gueret who thus left a notable monument to his skill and devotion to a chosen work. His knowledge of osteology, through sixty-five years of specialization, made Mr. Gueret an invaluable consultant for zoologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists. He died on November 30, 1940. Horticultural Meeting On January 18 the American Horticultural Council held a meeting in the Museum, with botanists and horticulturists representing various societies in attendance. BLUE MUSHROOMS— {Continued from page S) and Dr. V. E. Graham, noted mushroom authority of the Chicago region, I learned that blue is not confined to this species, which has been found in the Chicago area. Other mushrooms having a deep blue to purple color are Leptonia euchroa, Nolanea eaelestina var. violacea, Clitocybe cyanophaea, C. ochropurpurea, C. laccala var. amethystina, Cortinarius violaceus, C. caerulescens, C. caesius, C. alboviolaceus, C. purpurascens, C. iodes, C. lilacinus, C. michiganensis, Russula cyanoxantha, Tricholoma nudum, T. ionides, and T. personatum, and one of the coral mushrooms, known as Clavaria amethystina. EDIBLE THOUGH ALARMING According to Dr. Graham, all of these mushrooms are edible, although many people would be loath to pick them at first sight, for the expression "turning blue at the gills" is suggestive of death or of a condition connoting illness or strangulation. One of the bracket fungi, Polyporus per- gamenus, has a slight violet tinge. Other fungi having a purplish color are Peziza violacea and Poria purpurea. These three species are inedible. In addition to the above fungi, Dr. Drouet called my attention to some other fungi that are definitely greenish-blue or bluish-green in color. For example, the common mold that attaches itself to spoiled citrus fruits, such as lemons, has a greenish- blue color and is a species of Penicillium, a relative of the famous P. notatum, source of penicillin. Finally, fungi of the family Helotiaceae belonging to the sac fungi (Ascomycetes) and known botanically as Chlorosplenium aeruginascens and C. aeru- ginosum are responsible for the blue-green or green color found in rotten wood. All in all, blue is a comparatively rare color among higher fungi, which usually display other colors, including various shades of purple. A cellulose-acetate model of a 350-pound Galapagos land turtle is on exhibition in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18). COLOMBIAN EXPEDITION MAMMALS RECEIVED A collection of mammals from the states of Bolivar and Magdalena in northern Colombia has been received from Assistant Curator of Mammals Philip Hershkovitz, leader of the Colombian Zoological Expedi- tion. Mr. Hershkovitz, who has been in the field since December, 1948, has made important collections at seven localities in northern Colombia. This is the first ship- ment received and contains 755 specimens representing practically all the known species from the region and some not before re- corded from Colombia. Monkeys, kin- kajous, tayras, sloths, rabbits, squirrels, spiny rats, and bats are well represented and about 65 skeletons of these are preserved. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN February, 1950 Books (All books reviewed in the Bulletin are available in The Book Shop of the Museum. Mail orders accompanied by remittance are promptly filled — The Book Shop pays the postage on shipments.) AMERICAN SPIDERS. By Willis J. Gertsch. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1949. xiii+285 pages, 6 text figures, 64 plates (32 in color, 32 gravure). Price $6.95. Few major groups of animals have been so misunderstood and so much maligned as the spiders. This has largely been due to the myths, folklore, and old-wives' tales that have accumulated through the cen- turies, as well as to the unreasonably ex- aggerated, sometimes hysterical "Sunday supplement" accounts that have been pub- lished about the very few relatively poison- ous species. But the misunderstanding is also the result of the fact that araneology (zoology treating of spiders) has largely been an esoteric field, even to most profes- sional invertebrate zoologists. The restricted nature of the knowledge about spiders has been accentuated in this country by the almost complete lack of general works on the natural history or biology of spiders in the popular litera- ture. This has been indeed unfortunate, inasmuch as spiders exhibit some of the most remarkable instincts and structural and physiological adaptations to be found in the world of living things. Further, they are animals that for the most part can be observed and exploited with relative ease, both by the laboratory worker and the field naturalist. Hence, the appearance of Dr. Gertsch's book should be of considerable interest to specialist and nonspecialist alike. Dr. Gertsch first treats such general sub- jects as "Introducing Spiders," "The Place of Spiders in Nature," "The Life of the Spider," "Silk Spinning and Handiwork," "Courtship and Mating," and "The Evolu- tion of Spiders." These chapters are followed by general accounts of the major groups of spiders, "The Tarantulas," "The Cribellate Spiders," "The Aerial Web Spinners," and "The Hunting Spiders." "Economic Importance" and "The North American Spider Fauna" conclude the book. Relatively few technical terms are em- ployed (a short glossary is included at the end), and the text is, on the whole, very readable and enjoyable. The subject material is fascinating. Color and gravure plates (all photos) are lavishly used. As photographs they are mostly excellent, though one may take issue with some of the choices, arrangement, and duplication. The separate numbering of the gravure and color plates is annoying. American Spiders is a "must" on the list of anyone really interested in natural history. It is a valuable reference as well as unusually interesting reading. It is one of a series, the "New Illustrated Naturalist," that obviously is intended to be the American counterpart of the admirable and eminently successful British series, "The New Natural- ist." Rupert L. Wenzel Assistant Curator of Insects WEBS IN THE WIND— The Habits of Web-weaving Spiders. By Winifred Duncan. The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1949. 387 pages, 74 plates, 101 figures. Price $4.50. Museum zoologists are well aware of the inexhaustible opportunities for the study of the habits and behavior of animals, and of the fact that studies of this nature, begun at the amateur level, are likely to develop a serious and even lifelong interest on the part of the student. So little is known in this field, and the animal kingdom is so vast and varied, that such life-history studies soon produce contributions to knowledge and blossom forth in technical, semipopular, and popular publications. The respect in which the work of Jean Henri Fabre is held by entomologists, as well as the volume of his work, is perhaps the most familiar ex- ample of this phenomenon. All this is exemplified in Miss Duncan's book on the habits of spiders. She could scarcely have chosen a group more likely to lead her from a personal to a scientific in- terest and from popular writing to scientific contributions. There is, of course, a large technical literature on spiders and their hab- its, and Webs in the Wind refers to it and draws upon it. Her occasional misinterpre- tations of zoological relations do not at all mar her original work. While it may not be essential to be an artist to engage in studies on animal habits, it is quite evident from the abundant, effective, and distinguished illustration of the present book from Miss Duncan's own efforts that such ability is a major asset, better, perhaps, than even photography. It is pleasing to observe that the author has been brought into contact with museum workers, who will now regard her as a colleague. "Natural History," as that branch of zoology that best bridges the gap between science and the reading public, needs work of the distinction of Miss Duncan's book. She is to be congratulated and thanked by both scientists and public. Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Botany: From: William Culberson, Cincinnati — 52 specimens of fungi, Cincinnati region; Dr. Maxwell S. Doty, Evanston, 111. — 79 speci- mens of hepatics, Oregon and California; Dr. Humberto de Andrade, Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil — 5 specimens of carnauba wax, repre- senting official classifications in Brazil; Dr. William Randolph Taylor, Ann Arbor, Mich. — 56 specimens of algae, Bermuda; Barbara Calhoun, Milwaukee — 82 herbarium specimens, Ecuador; Colegio Salesiano, Lima, Peru — 60 herbarium specimens, Peru; Illi- nois State Museum, Springfield, 111. — 72 herbarium specimens, Illinois. Department of Geology: From: Stuart H. Perry, Adrian, Mich. — 2 slices of Hill City and Weaver meteorites, Kansas and Arizona, respectively; Rodney L. Bell — 17 brachiopod specimens, Tennessee. Department of Zoology: From: Raffles Museum, Singapore — 6 bats (two topotypes), Malay States; Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — 54 birds; Col. E. N. Wentworth, Chicago — 5 selected skulls of pedigreed domesticated hogs; Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago — 7 birds and a new-born three-toed sloth; Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, Greenwich, Conn. — 65 specimens of marine mollusks and 29 specimens of marine shells; Boardman Conover, Chicago — 18 miscellaneous fresh-water fishes and a golden-eye duck, India and Illinois, respec- tively; Laura Brodie, Chicago — 4 fishes, South Carolina; Lewis E. Long, Washington, D.C. — 2 lizards, 2 frogs, and 9 crabs, Nica- ragua; Ross Tarrant, Wilmette, 111. — 45 specimens of aquarium fishes and 2 fish skeletons (a blue marlin and a white marlin); Lieut. John F. Kurfess, Hinsdale, 111. — 4 lizards, Ulithi Islands and Falalap Island; Dr. Harald Sioli, Belem, Para, Brazil— 86 specimens of land and fresh-water mollusks, Brazil; Eduardo F. Acosta y Lara, Monte- video, Uruguay — 7 bats, Brazil; N. H. Duckworth, Chicago — a turtle, Borneo; Rodger D. Mitchell, Wayne, 111.— 14 lots of fresh-water mollusks and other inverte- brates, Missouri and Michigan; Frederick Greeley, Madison, Wis. — 9 bats, Wisconsin; Dr. Clarence J. Goodnight, Lafayette, Ind. — 3 lots of fresh-water shells, Mexico. Library: From: L. S. B. Leakey, Curator of the Coryndon Memorial Museum, Nairobi, Kenya; and L. J. McCormick, La Fonta- nette, St. Tropez (Var), France. Technical Publications Issued Fieldiana: Botany, Vol. 24, Part VI. Flora of Guatemala. Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark. December 27, 1949. 440 pages. Museum Membership Membership in Chicago Natural History Museum assists one of the world's greatest scientific museums to continue research work of fundamental importance and helps to support cultural and educational activities that benefit approximately 2,000,000 people annually, including hundreds of thousands of school children. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS . m+j * liicago Natural History Museum Page 2 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN March, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES fully admit the immortality of the human soul, the destruction of our world will not appear so dreadful. From Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Lester Armour Sewell L. Avery Wm. McCormick Blair Leoi"Old E. Block BOARDMAN CONOVER Walter J. Cummings Albert B. Dick, Jr. Howard W. Fenton Joseph N. Field Marshall Field John P Marshall Field, Jr. Stanley Field Samuel Insull, Jr. Henry P. Isham Hughston M. McBain William H. Mitchell Clarence B. Randall George A. Richardson Solomon A. Smith Albert H. Wetten . Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel Members are requested to Inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. NO SINGLE THING ABIDES* No single thing abides; but all things flow. Fragment to fragment clings — the things thus grow Until we know and name them. By degrees They melt, and are no more the things we know. Globed from the atoms falling slow or swift I see the suns, I see the systems lift Their forms; and even the systems and the suns Shall go back slowly to the eternal drift. Oh Science, lift aloud thy voice that stills The pulse of fear, and through the conscience thrills — Thrills through the conscience the news of peace — How beautiful thy feet are on the hills. *This is a translation by W. H. Mallock of the first, second, and last (twenty-second) stanzas of the poem by the Roman poet Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus, 96-55 B.C.). DID DARWIN FORESEE THE HYDROGEN BOMB? Believing as I do that man in the distant future will be a far more perfect creature than he now is, it is an intolerable thought that he and all other sentient beings are doomed to complete annihilation after such long-continued slow progress. To those who STAFF NOTES D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, has been appointed Lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Chicago .... Rupert L. Wenzel, Assist- ant Curator of Insects, has returned from a study trip to the principal eastern museums in the course of which he received gifts of specimens, loans for study, and important information on type specimens .... Mrs. Meta P. Howell, Librarian, and Mrs. Eunice M. Gemmill, Associate Librarian, attended the American Library Association Conference in Chicago on January 27 . . . Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zoology, addressed the Kumlien Club of Madison, Wisconsin, speaking on "The Saga of Pro- fessor Henry A. Ward.". . . Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Associate Curator of the Her- barium, has been appointed a member of the Conservation Committee of the Friends of Our Native Landscape. Among his re- cent speaking engagements are: Barrington Women's Club, on "Exploration in the Lost World of Venezuela"; Chicago Aquarium Society, on "Experiences in Collecting Plants"; and Conservation Council, on "The Effects of Dams on Vegetation in the Ozarks.". . . Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology, and Donald Collier, Curator of South American Eth- nology and Archaeology, recently conferred with Dr. James Arnold, of the Institute for Nuclear Studies, regarding chronological problems in North American archaeology. Dr. Martin lectured before the American Ceramic Society. He, Curator Collier, and George I. Qirimby, Curator of Ex- hibits, attended meetings of the Chicago Anthropological Society and the College Art Association. They and other members of the Department also conferred with Dr. Ernest Beaglehole, of Victoria College, Uni- versity of New Zealand, concerning an- thropological problems in New Zealand. GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Botany: From: Donald Richards, Chicago — 270 bryophytes, Alaska; Natural Resources Sec, Div. of Forestry, GHQ, SCAP— 40 wood specimens, Japan; Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Chicago — 120 herbarium specimens, Brazil and Bolivia; William Jewell College, Liberty, Mo. — 43 herbarium specimens, Missouri; Botanical Museum, Harvard Uni- versity, Cambridge, Mass. — 92 herbarium specimens, Brazil and Colombia. THIS MONTH'S COVER- "If winter comes, can spring be far behind" seems to fit appro- priately this March snow scene of trees laced with snow and ice. The photograph is the work of Godfrey Lundberg, color photog- rapher for the Chicago Sunday Trib- une, who entitles it "Fairyland." The picture was made in Harms Woods, west of Wilmette, Illinois, on the north branch of the Chi- cago River. It was shown in the Fifth Chicago International Na- ture Photography Exhibition at the Museum during February. Department of Geology: From: Dr. and Mrs. Rainer Zangerl, Harvey, 111. — a fossil mammal jaw, late Eocene, Utah; Morgan Davis, Humble Oil & Refining Co., Houston, Tex. — gypsum crystals with sand inclusions, Texas; H. V. Feltwell, Altoona, Pa. — a fossil impression of part of the trunk of a giant club-moss {Lepidodendron sp.), Pennsylvania. Department of Zoology: From: Pacific Science Board, Washington, D.C. — 89 Hymenoptera, Micronesia; Chi- cago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — a macaque, an Old World badger, and a giant anteater^ William H. Stickel, Laurel, Md. — 210 frogs (including one type and 2 paratypes) and 6 frog skeletons, Philippine Islands; Dr. C. Andresen Hubbard, Tigard, Ore. — 206 fleas on 86 microscope slides, western United States; Princess Sigismund of Prussia, Barranca, Costa Rica — 5 snakes, 4 bats, 5 insects, 4 scorpions, and a pedipalp, Costa Rica; Maj. Robert Traub, Washing- ton, D.C. — 30 fleas, Mexico; Princeton Uni- versity— 51 frogs, 56 lizards, and 5 snakes, Argentina; Lillian A. Ross, Chicago — a frog and a lizard, Cuba; Dr. Hans Schlesch, Copenhagen, Denmark — a collection of fresh-water mollusks, northern Germany, and a collection of fresh-water clams, various sources; Julius Friesser, Chicago — a jaguar skull, Brazil; Harry Hoogstraal, Chicago — ■ a collection of land mollusks, Madagascar; Ross Tarrant, Wilmette, 111. — a fish, Florida. Library: From: Jose M. Tristan, Rochester, N.Y.; Dr. Fritz Haas, Chicago; Dr. Henry Field and the Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C. Take It Easy Do not attempt to see everything in one Museum visit, whether you have half an hour or a day. It has taken 56 years to assemble the Museum exhibits. They are arranged in 48 halls that cover 542,400 square feet of floor space (12.5 acres). So don't expect or hope to see and enjoy them all at one time. March, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page S FREE SATURDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES, MARCH AND APRIL The annual Spring Course for adults of free illustrated lectures on travel and science will cover a wide geographic range — Central and South America, Japan, Africa, Alaska, Australia, and parts of the United States. The lectures will be presented each Saturday afternoon of March and April at 2:30 p.m. in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. Motion pictures in color will accompany all of the lectures except one, for which slides will be used. Limited accommodations make it necessary entire length of Chile over the highest man, now more than 21 years old. It is natural that he should look ahead to the need for replacing Bushman and try to get an "understudy." How he obtained not one but three understudies and how he acted as nursemaid in bringing them home is the subject of Mr. Perkins' lecture and colored slides. to restrict these lectures to adults. Members of the Museum are entitled to reserved seats on application. For children, free motion pictures will be presented on the mornings of the same Saturdays by the Raymond Foundation. Following are the dates, subjects, and lecturers: March 4 — Banana Country Arthur C. Twomey Dr. Twomey, Director of Education and Curator of Ornithology at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, is widely known as an explorer-scientist. He brings his latest color film from expeditions in Spanish Honduras, a land of tangled jungles and forests of bananas. The film includes a visit to the islands that Columbus dis- covered and to Tegucigalpa, ancient capital of Honduras, and shows tropical birds never before photographed in their natural haunts, cloud-cloaked mountains, and tropical jungles studded with orchids. March 11 — Japan Journey Karl Robinson In "Japan Journey" Mr. Robinson tells about one of the most important roles of America in world peace. His motion-picture story of the United States Army of Occupa- tion and its achievements in leading a people from an autocratic feudal regime into a democratic industrial economy ranges from Hokkaido at the northern extremity of Japan to Kyushu in the south and covers postwar Hiroshima. Other features are the climb of Mt. Fuji, the shooting of the Hozu Rapids, and pearl divers of Ago Bay. March 18— Land of Enchantment Alfred M. Bailey An all-color film provides nature studies in the beautiful land traversed by the Conquistadores 400 years ago. Shown are ancient pueblos and present-day Indian villages of the Rio Grande, old Santa Fe in spring and during the fiesta, Taos and the great Indian pueblo near by, and in- tertribal Indian ceremonies in Gallup. Dr. Bailey, Director of the Denver Museum of Natural History, has appeared for eleven consecutive years on Museum lecture pro- grams and is well known to audiences here. March 25 — Contrasts of Chile Clifford J. Kamen In narrative and color films Mr. Kamen tells the story of his journeys through the mountains in the Western Hemisphere. In southern Chile, one of the wettest places on earth, a region of fog, violent rain, and storms, visits are made to some of the most BRONZE BUDDHA, JAPAN From film "Japan Journey," which will accompany March 11 lecture by Karl Robinson primitive Indians. The film includes a transit of the Strait of Magellan and a flight out to Cape Horn. April 1— Gorilla Hunt R. Marlin Perkins Mr. Perkins, Director of Lincoln Park Zoo, has custody of the most extraordinary of all living captive gorillas, the famous Bush- RESERVED SEATS FOR MEMBERS No tickets are necessary for ad- mission to these lectures. A sec- tion of the Theatre is reserved for Members of the Museum, each of whom is entitled to two reserved seats. Requests for these seats should be made in advance by telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writing, and seats will be held in the Member's name until 2:30 o'clock on the lecture day. April 8 — Alaska Wildlife Cecil E. Rhode In his lecture and film Mr. Rhode presents the high spots of his twelve years of residence in Alaska. The film shows big game in Kenai Peninsula, with close-ups of game fish, mammoth bears, big-horn sheep, bull moose, and other animals. April 15— Travel Trails of the Andes Herbert Knapp Mr. Knapp begins his story and film with a visit to the plateaus of Ecuador and Peru where picturesque Indians and strange camel- like llamas live. He then shows the colorful sights of Lima, the Peruvian capital; Arequi- pa, the country's second city; and Cuzco, atop the southern Andes, capital of the fabulous Inca civilization that was old be- fore the Spaniards arrived. April 22— Aboriginal Australia F. M. Setzler Mr. Setzler's lecture and motion pictures tell the story of the Arnhem Land Expedi- tion of 1948, an international undertaking sponsored by the National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, and the Commonwealth of Australia. The primary activity of the expedition was the study of the aborigines of northern Australia, but the color film illustrates also the plants flowers, animals, birds, and scenic features of the country. April 29 — America Out-of-Doors Victor Coty The world of nature as seen by a sports- man is the subject of this lecture. Color films show figure skating at Lake Placid, champion skiers in spectacular action on snow trails and jumps, mountain climbing, sailing races at Nantucket, salmon and trout fishing, bass and musky fishing in Algonquin Park, big-game fishing off Cat Cay in the Bahamas, and ruffed-grouse hunting in New Hampshire and Vermont. Schedule of free Saturday morning movies for children on page 7. Visiting Hours Change March 1 Beginning March 1, spring visiting hours, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., will replace the winter schedule of 9 to 4. The new hours will continue in effect until April 30. Page i CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN March, 1950 EXHIBIT TELLS STORY OF BIRDS' NESTS AND EGGS By AUSTIN L. RAND CURATOR OF BIRDS AN EARLIER bird exhibit in Hall 21 illustrated how nests may have evolved from crude and scanty structures to elabo- rate and well-made cradles for the young. In most arrangements in nature there are many loose ends — things that do not fit, special adaptations to unusual conditions. There may be lines of evolution that were "tried" and, although unsuccessful, have lingered on. This became evident in plan- suggested. When the female finally does emerge, she simply bursts her way out. INTERIOR DECORATION Next to the hornbill nest is one of the crested flycatcher, which can be found in the Chicago area. The nest is in a crevice and the noteworthy feature is a snakeskin as though for decoration, something crested flycatchers almost always add to their nests and for which no adequate explanation has been offered. GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS Margaret G. Bradbury, Museum Artist, demonstrating to two Antioch College girls bow the new exhibit of birds' nests and eggs can be used as material for art work. ning the first case of birds' nests because many nests did not fit into the series. Some of these nests were so striking, so illustrative of the ramifications of adaptation, that a second exhibit was planned for them, com- bined appropriately with an exhibit of birds' eggs. The most conspicuous object in the ex- hibit is the hornbill's nest. A male giant hornbill is clinging to the trunk of its nesting tree. Inside the nest tree, in the nest hole, which is a natural cavity, is the female bird with only the tip of her bill visible, for the entrance to the nest hole has been plastered up until the opening is too small for her to come out. This is an amazing habit of many hornbills. At nesting time the male and female working together seal up the entrance to the nest cavity, the female from the inside. The female stays in the nest during the whole period of incubation and through part at least of the nestling period of the young. The male brings her all her food during her retirement and feeds her through the slit-like opening. This is a voluntary retirement of the female and not an imprisonment by the male, as has been The mud nests shown are of four different types. A shelf-like black phoebe's nest built up of mud pellets and the flask-like nest of mud pellets of the cliff or eaves swallow, both stuck to a wall or a cliff, represent two types. The third is of mud throughout, the domed nest of the South American oven bird, whose Portuguese name, being interpreted, means "John of the mud." It is claimed in Brazil that Juan do barro will not work at its nest- building on Sunday. The fourth nest show- ing use of mud is that of the American robin, in which there is a concealed mud lining. The four-storied yellow warbler's nest was an attempt of the female yellow warbler to avoid hatching a cowbird's egg. The cow- bird makes no nest of her own and lays her eggs in the nests of other species of birds, to have her young raised by foster parents. She is a social parasite like the common cuckoo of Europe. Instead of docilely incubating the intruded strange egg, the yellow warbler will occasionally bury it, sometimes along with some of its own, in the bottom of the nest, and this process may be repeated more than once if the cow- bird lays again in the same nest. People sometimes put out string, yarn, or cotton wool for birds to use in building their nests, and the birds, which use whatever is available and suitable, may then make gaily colored nests, as is shown in the exhibit by comparison of the oriole's nest of string and yarn with one of natural fiber. SOME WANT SPACE There is usually a rough correlation be- tween size of nest and size of bird; the stork or the eagle may make a nest yards across, while that of a sparrow will be only inches across. But the relation between size of nest and size of bird is only approximate as is shown in the exhibit by the olive-sided flycatcher, with a small, neat, cup-shaped nest, and the dipper, a bird about the same size as the flycatcher but with a much larger nest of living moss. The swifts are the only birds of which I know that use a secretion from their salivary glands as nest material. Our common chimney swift's nest is made mostly of sticks, but they are stuck together as well as stuck to a hollow tree or the inside of a chimney with the bird's saliva. In the Orient there is a group of cave swiftlets that makes its nests entirely of saliva, and these are the nests that are used in the making of "bird's-nest soup." In the exhibit we show not only a chimney swift's and a cave swiftlet's nest but also a sample of the cave swiftlet's nest material as it is sent to market and a sample of the prepared material as it is sold in packages in Chicago ready to be put into soup. We have pointed out that size of nest does not correspond exactly with size of bird, and the same is true of eggs. The most obvious discrepancy is between two birds of almost the same size where one has "altricial" young (hatched blind, nearly naked, and helpless) and the other has "precocial" young (down-covered and active soon after hatching). The precocial young CONTRASTS IN SIZE An egg of the largest living bird, the ostrich, and the tiny eggs of a hummingbird. need more food in the egg and the eggs of precocial birds are correspondingly larger than the eggs of altricial birds of the same size. This we have illustrated with the March, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 spotted sandpiper and the robin and their eggs, and in the adjoining case on the breeding habits of birds. CONCEALING COLORATION Concealing coloration in birds, that is, matching of the color of the eggs or of the birds with their background so that a predator may not find them easily, is one of the striking adaptations in the animal world. The nighthawk's eggs in the exhibit blend so well with the pebbles on which they are laid that it is not easy to tell one from the other. Shape in an egg may correlate with where it is laid, as we illustrate with the murre's egg on a ledge of rock. Its sharp taper causes it to roll in a small circle when it is disturbed, and thus is it less easily rolled off the ledge than if it were of normal egg shape. The floor of the case is devoted to the general topic of birds' eggs. "Egg- shape" as a term is usually restricted to the shape of the hen's egg, ovate or a modified oval, broader at one end. But the shapes of birds' eggs vary widely, approaching roundness in the owls, sharply pointed at one end in murres and shore birds, and elongate, with both ends nearly equally rounded, in the albatross. While the size of eggs does not correlate exactly with the size of the birds, the largest eggs are certainly laid by large birds and the smallest eggs by small birds. They vary from the tiny pea-sized egg of the humming- bird to that of the ostrich, giant among living birds, and the still larger, extinct Aepyornis or elephant bird. For comparison, the following measurements are of interest: Length Weight of of Egg Egg Species Inches Grams Humming bird 5 0.5 Leghorn fowl 2.4 58 Ostrich 6.6 1,400 Aepyornis (Madagascar, extinct) 12.2 12,000 The glossy eggs of tinamous, which gleam like polished gems, contrast with the chalky egg shell of the cormorant, in which the blue color of much of the shell is hidden by an outer limey deposit. These show two ex- tremes in the surface texture, with the egg of a duck and hen somewhere between. Other variation is seen in the pebbled sur- face of the cassowary and emu egg, in which each raised pebble is a spot of darker color against the depressed, paler background, and in the little pits in the surface of the ostrich egg. VARIATION IN COLOR It is the beauty of color in birds' eggs that started many a boy of an earlier genera- tion to making an egg collection. We have shown in the exhibit some of the variations in color: the uniform white egg of the shear- water, the dark blue of the catbird, the greenish color of the duck, and the gray of the tinamous. Other ground colors, such as buff and pink, are heavily marked with specks, spots, splashes, blotches, or lines. Pink or some shade of reddish brown to almost blackish is the common color for markings. Often some of these have a gray VARIABILITY WITHIN UNIFORMITY The eggs of one kind of bird tend to be of a charac- teristic color, with characteristic markings. Vari- ability is the rule in nature, however, and the murre's eggs shown, all of one species, illustrate extreme variation. or lilac tinge, which is produced by the color spot being below the surface and over- laid with shell color. Sometimes, as with the black tern and the ptarmigan, the spots cover more of the egg shell than does the ground color. The blue and white eggs of the guira cuckoo are strikingly different from all the others in having a dark blue background and white markings. Each kind of bird lays a special kind of egg, but there can be wide variation within the species. In the case is a set of golden eagle eggs, one of which is of normal color while the other is white. A set of ptarmigan eggs has one freak white egg and one runt egg. In addition to freaks there is normal variation, greater in some species than in others. This is shown by the murres' eggs with background from white to green and blue, which vary from almost immaculate to heavily marked. Sometimes relationship is indicated by eggs, as is the case with the pointed eggs of auks, murres, etc., and of the shore birds. Most New World blackbirds have eggs with "scrawls" on them. Within a family there may be great diversity, as indicated by the exhibit of sparrows' eggs, which show types ranging from white to heavily colored, im- maculate to heavily marked, and markings from specks to heavy blotches and lines. The number of eggs a bird lays is more or less constant for a species. Some species, like albatrosses and shearwaters, some pen- guins, and some tropical pigeons, typically lay but a single egg; two is the normal set for our mourning dove, ruby-throated hum- mingbird, and nighthawk. Many of our common garden songbirds lay from three to six eggs. Many ducks, grouse, and quail ZOOLOGISTS WILL STUDY ANIMALS OF BORNEO The animal life of Borneo, third largest island in the world, will be studied by members of an expedition leaving the Mu- seum on March 19. D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, and Robert F. Inger, Assistant Curator of Fishes, will first fly to Singapore, where they will con- sult with scientists in the Raffles Museum. At Kuching, capital of Sarawak, they will discuss plans with local naturalists who have lived in Borneo for many years. The expedition will make its headquarters at Sandakan, capital of the province of North Borneo, and will remain in the field for about six months. Borneo is famous chiefly for the head- hunting "wild men," stock in trade of circuses a generation ago, and for the great red-haired orang utan and grotesque pro- boscis monkey, whose colossal nose looks like a caricature of "Schnozzle" Durante. But as often happens, the smaller animals are of most scientific interest. It is from these smaller fry, most of them even lacking common English names, that biologists hope to get some of the answers to the greatest riddle of all, the riddle of evolution. Field zoologists in the past have concen- trated mostly on collecting and preserving animals, working feverishly to get as large a sample as possible during their all too short stay in the field. Such collections form the basis for the relentless search for new species, the gigantic task of inventorying the animal life of the world that is still far from com- pleted. Little can be learned of the habits and behavior of animals from these dead specimens, and lack of exact information of this kind is a serious handicap to many kinds of biological research. Davis and Inger hope to concentrate on studying the habits and behavior (such as locomotion) and ecological relations of the animals of North Borneo rather than amassing as large a collection of preserved specimens as possible. Visitors desiring to use wheel chairs may rent them at the Main (North) Entrance for a fee of 25 cents an hour. A deposit of $1 is required on each chair. Attendants must be furnished by the applicants. lay large sets of eggs. The largest set in our collections is a bobwhite quail clutch of twenty-two eggs. The eggs of local nesting birds are repre- sented by a selected series of some of the commoner species. A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg. Samuel Butler, in Life and Habit Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN March, 1950 THE EARLIEST VERTEBRATES WORE HEAVY ARMOR By ROBERT H. DENISON CURATOR OP FOSSIL FISHES It was an exciting event in the scientific world when, in 1891, Charles D. Walcott, of the United States Geological Survey, announced the discovery of remains of vertebrates in rocks that were deposited on the shores of an Ordovician sea about 400 ing both the head and the trunk. What- ever purpose it served in their ancestors, the shield probably was useful as an armor to protect the ostracoderms from their predaceous contemporaries, the eurypterids, distant relatives of the living king crabs. Poor swimmers the ostracoderms must have been, for most of them did not have a FAST-SWIMMING PREDATOR OF 315 MILLION YEARS AGO The Late Devonian Dinichthys. with armor much reduced compared to earlier forms known as Ostracoderms, was more than five feet in length and a jawed vertebrate. Redrawn from Heintz by Artist John Conrad Hansen. million years ago. Skeptics, both in this country and abroad, questioned his dating of the rock formation, and many geologists and paleontologists visited his site near Canon City, Colorado, to check the facts for themselves. But today Walcott's dating remains essentially unchanged, and other similar finds have been made elsewhere in Colorado, in Wyoming, and in South Dakota to confirm it. The tremendous interest aroused by this discovery is due in part to the fact that we ourselves are vertebrates and those of us who have an active scientific curiosity are anxious to trace our ancestry back as far as possible. Also, in vertebrates as old as Ordovician, we might hope to find some direct evidence as to how our own group evolved from an invertebrate ancestor. Un- fortunately, all of the remains of these earliest known vertebrates are too poorly preserved to be of much help in answering these questions. The small fragments of their bony armor have the same microscopic structure that is found in later, better- known vertebrates but are insufficient to give us any idea of the structure or appear- ance of the animals themselves. SLUGGISH BOTTOM FEEDERS To get any idea of the organization of the vertebrates, we must go to Late Silurian rocks, deposited about 50 or 60 million years later. In many and widely scattered parts of the earth have been found a variety of peculiar, small, fish-like vertebrates, com- monly known as ostracoderms. Almost all of them possessed a heavy bony shield, cover- streamlined body or any paired fins. Their only organ of propulsion and steering was their tail, which was covered with small bony plates. They must have spent much of their life on or near the bottom of streams, swimming at best no more adeptly than a tadpole. Of great importance is the fact that they did not have any real jaws, as do all later vertebrates, for without jaws they couldn't have done any very successful biting. Many of them may have fed by drawing in a large mouthful of water with its contained food particles (and probably mud), then filtering out the food as the water was expelled through their gills. While the ostracoderms were the only vertebrates and had only the invertebrates to contend with, they were a very successful group. They evolved into a number of diverse lines and were numerically very abundant in some regions. But with the arrival of real fishes on the scene in Devonian times, the ostracoderms showed a rapid decline. Some of the earliest of these fishes were not unlike the ostracoderms in general appearance. They were heavily armored forms, without any paired fins at first. They HEAVILY ARMORED AND JAWLESS This creature, called Pteraspis, only about eight inches long, typifies the early fish-like vertebrates known as Ostracoderms. It lived about 350 million years ago. Redrawn from White by John Conrad Hansen, Museum Artist. also must have been poor swimmers, mostly bottom dwellers and feeders. FIRST PREDACEOUS FISHES But they had one important structural advantage. One of their front gill arches had bent around the enlarged mouth opening to form a pair of real jaws. With this biting mechanism developed, the Devonian period witnessed the evolution of many lines of fast-swimming, predaceous fishes, able to prey on ostracoderms as well as the numer- ous invertebrates that lived then in the streams and seas. The armor shield, no longer necessary for protection and in weight and stiffness a liability to a fast-swimming fish, was reduced or lost. Ostracoderms and early fishes, of which there were few in the Museum's collection, are now represented by a considerable variety, obtained by last summer's ex- pedition to the Rocky Mountain region. Samples of the earliest vertebrates were obtained from the Ordovician rocks of Canon City and elsewhere in Colorado. Ostraco- derms and primitive armored fishes were collected in Wyoming and Utah. Additional collections were made from Late Devonian rocks, whose faunas include a number of groups of fishes very similar in general appearance to those living today. Among the latter, in the lobe-finned fishes (or Crossopterygians), we can find our own remote ancestors. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between January 16 and Feb- ruary 13: Contributors Henry S. Dybas Associate Members Dr. W. F. Geittmann Sustaining Members Robert L. Burke Annual Members Robert S. Arthur, Mrs. W. R. Arthur, Gerald A. Barry, Dr. Therese Benedek, Miss Ruth Bishop, A. C. Boitel, B. T. Brennan, R. O. Byerrum, Charles A. Capek, T. R. Chadwick, James Chapman, Zarko Chirich, Paul C. Clovis, Miss Rose Ann Drago, John M. Faulhaber, Mrs. Charles C. Fitzmorris, Sr., Joseph G. Fuhry, Earl M. Garman, Dr. Samuel Garrick, Henry H. Haupt, Dr. Emil D. W. Hauser, James D. Head, H. G. Heller, Charles W. Hills, Dr. S. S. Hollender, Mrs. Frederick A. Ingalls, E. A. Krider, Jerome Kritchevsky, Sidney Landis, Maurice H. Lockwood, Charles M. Miller, Mrs. Kretschmar Mock, George A. Nikopoulos, Mrs. Henry Regnery, William F. Rowley, Edward P. Rubin, Charles F. Scully, A. L. Spear, Paul Stephens, H. B. Thoresen, John B. Ughetti, Dr. H. J. Urban, Allen M. Weary, Lyle S. Whitmore. March, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 Books (All books reviewed in the Bulletin are available in The Book Shop of the Museum. Mail orders accompanied by remittance are promptly filled — The Book Shop pays the postage on shipments.) TALKING ANIMALS. By Wilfrid D. Hambly. The Associated Publishers, Inc., Washington, D.C., 1949. 100 pages, illustrated by James A. Porter. Price $4. Dr. Wilfrid D. Hambly, Curator of African Ethnology at Chicago Natural History Museum, has the esteem of his colleagues in anthropology for his detailed and conscientious reports on native African cultures, and his valuable guides to the study of African ethnology and the collections of the Museum. As his recent books indicate, however, he acquired on his various expedi- tions not only a body of scientific data and thousands of specimens, but also a sensitive feeling for native modes of thinking and values, and the way these are reflected in their lore. Jamba, published some time ago, is a fictionalized biography of a member of the Ovimbundu tribe in Angola which com- bined, with a success that is very rare, creative imagination with authenticity of atmosphere and background. Talking Animals is a collection of West African animal stories gathered in the field by Dr. Hambly, some of them published before in a scientific report, retold here in simple fashion for children. Animal stories have a venerable tradition in this country. The city-child of our time may not know much of Brer Rabbit, with so many of his plots and so much of his flavor testifying to his African origins; yet the popularity of animal actors continues in cartoons, films, and in books written for children. Among the latter, there is a growing body of tales that stem from the traditional lore of preliterate peoples, and Talking Animals is a welcome addition. Animal stories are especially rich and varied on the African continent. They mirror realistic observa- tion of animal behavior, but they also em- body much commentary on social life and on human character traits, thinly disguised behind humor and the animal figures. No doubt they play an important role in the home education of the African child. Many of our stories show that the African parent, too, has to cope with numberless "why" questions. The reader or listener can learn here why Turtle's shell is cracked, how Baboon lost his long tail, or why cats do not work any more for hens, as they used to; but also that things like bullying, brag- ging, or thievery lead to no good end. The favorite heroes, Hare, Spider, and Turtle, outwit the large animals in numerous en- counters, and even Caterpillar has his day of bravery. But too much cunning or med- dling will get the hero into trouble too. Other stories are of interest because they are really riddles, for instance, why a hen can call a crocodile her brother. Talking Animals promises to be very pleasant entertainment for the audience for which it is intended. There is a useful and unpretentious commentary throwing light on the background of the stories and the way they are told in their native setting, and the illustrations add to the effectiveness and simple charm of this book. George Herzog Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University FIFTY YKAHS AGO A! THE MUSKUM MOVIES FOR CHILDREN SATURDAY MORNINGS Nine free programs of motion pictures for children will be given on Saturday mornings throughout March and April in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. This is the Spring Series of the James Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond Foundation. All of the programs begin at 10:30 a.m. On three of the programs the explorers who made the films will appear in person and tell the story of their adventures. Children may come alone, accompanied by adults, or in groups from schools, etc. No tickets are neeeded. Following is an outline of the programs: March 4 — SUMMER IN IDAHO Fishing, rodeo, flowers, and birds Talk by Arthur C. Twomey March 11 — We Live in Alaska The Robinson family in Alaska Talk by Karl Robinson March 18— The Cajun Country Life in the Louisiana swamps Talk by Alfred M. Bailey March 25 — Tales of the Woodlands Peter, Molly, and Angela go exploring April 1 — Animal Legends Also a cartoon April 8— Ancient Palestine 2,000 years ago April 15 — Arrival of Spring Also a cartoon April 22— China Today Also a cartoon April 29— Jungle Book Kipling's famous story LECTURE TOURS IN MARCH DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every after- noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER The bronze Roman bathtub that still has a conspicuous place in Stanley Field Hall was received in 1900 as a gift with other archaeological objects from Edward E. Ayer and friends of the Museum. The collection Ancient Roman bathtub that included the bathtub was from Bos- coreale at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. This material was reported on for the Museum publications by Herbert F. de Cou, who was later assassinated by Arabs at Cyrene, in North Africa, while engaged in archaeo- logical studies. Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Wed., Mar. 1 — Struggle for Existence — Plants and Animals (Miriam Wood). Frl., Mar. 3 — Life in the Water. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Jane Sharpe). Wed., Mar. 8 — Keeping Up with the Joneses — Entertaining for Prestige (Har- riet Smith). Fri., Mar. 10— The Earth Blows Her Top- Volcanoes. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Anne Stromquist). Wed., Mar. 15— "Be It Ever So Humble"— Housing Around the World (June Buch- wald). Fri., Mar. 17 — Snake Stories. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Lorain Farmer). Wed., Mar. 22 — Chicago's Prehistoric Past (Anne Stromquist). Fri., Mar. 24— The Gift of Green. Illus- trated introduction in Meeting Room (Marie Svoboda). Wed., Mar. 29— Plants with Romantic Stories (Marie Svoboda). Fri., Mar. 31 — Museums, Old and New — Purpose of Museums and How They Have Changed. Illustrated introduction in Meeting Room (Miriam Wood). Persons wishing to participate should apply at North Entrance. Tours are free. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN March, 1950 •PLEASE FORGIVE ME' By Isabelle de P. Hunt, Philadelphia. Honorable mention. 'TRIO-PERUVIAN LILY' By Grace Ballentine, Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Winner of first-prize silver medal. FIFTH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL NATURE PHOTO CONTEST AWARDS ANNOUNCED With the Fifth Chicago International Nature Photography Exhibition in Stanley Field Hall of the Museum just concluded, the Nature Camera Club of Chicago and the Museum as joint sponsors already have plans under way for next year's competition and exhibit. MEDAL WINNERS Black-and-WhIte Photo- graphs: Animal Life Section: H. Lou Gibson, Rochester, N.Y. — Cecropia Female. Plant Life Section: Grace Ballentine, Upper Montclair, N.J. — Trio- Peruvian Lily. General Section: Clif- ford E. Matteson, Buffalo — Winter Magic. Color Slides: Animal Life Section: Mrs. Lorena Medbery, Armington, 111. — Pinch Bugs. Plant Life Section: Rev. H. Bielenberg, Oil City, Pa. — Bittersweet. General Section: Warren Syverud, Rochester, N.Y. — Finger Lake Autumn. HONORABLE MENTIONS Black-and-WhIte Photo- graphs: Animal Life Section: Alfred Blyth, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Arthur E. Anderson, Chesterton, Ind.; Lionet E. Day, Westcliff-on- Sea, Essex, England; H. J. Ensenberger, Bloomington, 111.; H. Lou Gibson, Ro- chester, N.Y.; Ben Hall- berg, Brookneld, 111.; Edwin J. Howard, Oxford, O.; Isa- belle de P. Hunt, Philadel- phia; Clifford E. Matteson, Buffalo; G. Ronald Pryor, Sheffield, England; Louis Quitt, Buffalo; Roy Wolfe, Portland, Ore. Plant Life Section: Blanche H. Adams, Phoe- nix; Grace Ballentine, Upper Montclair, N.J.; Innocente Braga, Monza, Italy; Howard E. Foote, New York; Frank E. Fuller, Bloomington, III. ; H. Lou Gibson, Rochester, N.Y.; Betty Parker Henderson, Chicago; Charles Neidorf, New York; Harry R. Reich, North Tonawanda, N.Y.; Ruth Sage, Buffalo; George M. Bushman, Chicago. General Section: John Anderson, Chicago; Lome D. Beggs, Chicago; H. S. Burnside, Berwyn, 111.; Al- fred Blyth, Edmonton, Al- berta, Canada; Mary M. Fisher, Denver; C. L. Herold, Houston; Betty Parker Henderson, Chicago; Cora Ann Gruner, Chicago; Louise Broman Janson, Chicago; Walter L. Leach, Chicago; Roy E. Lindahl, Drayton Plains, Mich.; Carl Mansfield, Bloomingdale, O.; C. C. Ruchhoft, Cincinnati; T. H. Schuelke, Liverpool, N.Y. Color Slides: Animal Life Section: Edward A. Hill, Fleetwood, Pa.; Clifford E. Matteson, Buffalo; L. D. Hiett, Toledo; Pearl E. Schwartz, Chicago; Rev. H. Bielenberg, Oil City, Pa.; Arthur W. Papke, Western Springs, 111.; J. F. Madsen, Berkeley; Al Suter, Chicago; Gordon Pearsall, Honolulu, Hawaii; Bertha Townsend, Johns- town, Pa.; Herbert P. Burtch, Chicago; Barbara F. Palser, Chicago; Harry R. Reich, North Tonawanda, N.Y.; Cyril F. Smith, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Alfred Renfro, Bellevue, Wash.; Louis Quitt, Buffalo; A. Frank Purcell, Glendale, Calif.; Roland G. Aughin- baugh, Beverly Hills, Calif. Plant Life Section: Lowell Miller, Rochester, N.Y.; Winifred G. Stewart, San Geronimo, Calif.; Bruce R. Davis, Salt Lake City; Cyril F. Smith, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; C. S. Farr, Freeport, 111.; Louis Quitt, Buffalo; Ruth F. Sage, Buffalo; Hans Bothe, Riverside, Calif.; Dr. J. F. Burgess, Montreal, Canada; Agnes M. Hoist, Pittsburgh; Howard A. Wolf, Chicago; A. T. Guard, West Lafayette, Ind.; Dr. J. L. Schott, Sioux City, Iowa; Blanche H. Adams, Phoenix; Herman Postlethwait, Washington, D.C.; A. Stewart, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Raymond F. Ahern, Los Angeles; F. R. Bittman, Jamaica, N.Y.; Duis D. Bolinger, 'HUMMINGBIRD MOTHER AND CHILD' By Arthur E. Anderson, Chesterton, Indiana. Honorable mention. In the 1950 show, held February 1 to 28, there were shown 189 prints and 601 color slides sumitted by 623 contestants in all parts of the United States and 12 foreign countries. One of the silver-medal winners and several of the honorable-mention entries are reproduced in this Bulletin. The total number of entries in this year's event was 2,537 pictures. This is the largest number since the series of exhibits was begun in 1946. Of the total, 2,096 were color slides and 441 were black-and-white large-size prints and a few color prints. The number of persons submitting entries was 623 ; the entries accepted for exhibition represented the work of 421 of these persons. Following are lists of medal winners and awards of honorable mention: 'ALBERTA BADLANDS' By Alfred Blyth, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Honorable mention. Corvallis, Ore.; Ladislaus Cutak, St. Louis; Dr. Frank E. Rice, Chicago; Harry A. Sickels, San Francisco; R. Donald Sinish, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Constance M. Cole, Gardena, Calif.; Gordon Pearsall, Honolulu, Hawaii; Clarence D. Cook, Lakeside, Mich.; Helen B. Johnson, Brunswick, Maine; D. L. Rigden, Oakland, Calif.; I. W. Smith, Toronto, Canada; JoAnna B. Holloway, Los Angeles; J. L. Hill, Jr., Rochester, N.Y.; Perry Reynolds, Detroit; Clifford E. Matteson, Buffalo; Frank Proctor, Phoenix; L. C. Harvey, Byron, Ontario, Canada; Albert N. Brown, Chicago; Helen C. Manzer, New York; Everett W. Saggus, Elberton, Ga.; Gladys Diesing, Long Beach, Calif. General Section: Florence Arquin, Chicago; Odessa H. Barrett, Salt Lake City; Earl R. Belnap, Holladay, Utah; Jack Brennan, Salt Lake City; Clarence D. Cook, Lakeside, Mich.; E. L. Ergenbright, North Hollywood, Calif.; Merle S. Ewell, Los Angeles; Paul W. Headley, Salt Lake City; W. J. James, Chicago; J. G. Kincinas, Chicago; James L. Kirkland, Chicago; W. Scott Lewis, Los Angeles; Arthur E. Lowenthal, Rochester, N.Y.; Raymond A. Matz, Chicago; Nelson Merri field, Port Arthur, Canada; Edwin C. Minteer, Chicago; A. A. Pennock, Littleton, N. H.; W. W. Ratcliffe, Orem, Utah; Perry Reynolds, Detroit; Ethel Schroeder, Chicago; Lloyd Small, Port Arthur, Canada; Dr. S. Wayne Smith, Salt Lake City; R. W. Soper, Port Arthur, Canada; Harry L. Standley, Colorado Springs; George F. Steck, Oil City, Pa.; Julius Wolf, Chicago. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS ::*v' / , v ; *y i &gk If 4 F • «^ Mm* ^ - ^^fc H8- ' L^| Page 2 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN April, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Sewell L. Avery Wii. McCormick Blair Leopold K. Block BOARDIf AN CONOVER Walter J. Cummings Albert B. Dick, Jr. Howard W. Fenton Joseph N. Field Marshall Field John P. Marshall Field, Jr. Stanley Field Samuel Insull, Jr. Henry P. Isham Hughston M. McBain William H. Mitchell Clarence B. Randall George A. Richardson Solomon A. Smith Albert H. Wbtten Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr. Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smite Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. HARTB Public Relations Counsel Members are requested to inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. PAUL J. WARNER, 1881-1950 In the death of Paul J. Warner, Preparator, the members of the Department of Anthro- pology have suffered the loss of an invaluable worker and a friend. His knowledge of the collections was prodi- gious. In addition, his feeling for craftsman- ship and his knowledge of the ways in which an Indian would fash- ^K ^ . «*^^ ion and use his tools ^k ^ H were integral parts of ^k ■! ■ his expert mending ■■■» * and reconstruction of Indian specimens. In Hall 4, Indian Ameri- ca, may be seen numerous exhibits showing prehistoric knife blades and spear points on which he constructed handles and shafts. Mr. Warner was born in 1881 in New York City. He was brought to Chicago in childhood, and, as an 11-year-old boy, he haunted the Indian-village exhibits at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. His lifelong interest in the American Indian stemmed from that experience. This interest later led him to live on the reservations of the Iroquois, Osage, Pawnee, Chippewa, Winnebago, and Menominee. In addition, he visited all of the reservations in the United States except those along the West Coast. During this time he became familiar with the whole cultural pattern of PAUL J. WARNER many tribes, and he acquired a rare and practical knowledge of Indian materials. He even learned to think like an Indian. His personal qualities of quiet dignity, friendli- ness, sense of humor, and absolute integrity were the basis of an unusually "solid" relationship with the Indians. After he came to work for the Museum in 1937, his knowledge of materials from all over the world grew from week to week. He acquired an appreciative recognition of the cultural pattern and craftsmanship of the peoples of such diversified areas as China, the Pacific Islands, South America, and Africa. All members of the Department had the highest respect for his judgment concerning the quality of material, the workmanship, and the intrinsic value of all sorts of specimens. The loss of Mr. Warner, both as an in- dividual and as a worker who was well worthy of his hire, will continue to be felt deeply by the members of the Department. Agnes McNary Secretary, Department of Anthropology Museum Entomologist Wins Navy Citation Harry Hoogstraal, Field Associate in Zoology on the Museum staff, at present in Africa with United States Medical Re- search Unit No. 3, has received a citation from the Secretary of the Navy for "ex- ceptionally meritorious services as a civilian consultant in Mammalogy and Entomology with the U. S. Naval Medical Science Group of the University of California's Archaeo- logical Expedition in Africa from 15 January 1948 to 8 December 1948 For his in- ordinate patience and expertness in the handling of 100 elephant shrews, he is especially commended for having succeeded in the domestication of these animals for the first time. Among the parasites of animals which his group discovered there are a number of new species with great promise for future laboratory study. Pri- marily responsible for the collection of a large number of insects, mites, and ticks of medical importance and of a fine series of small mammals which act as the reservoir hosts of human disease, Mr. Hoogstraal's zeal and untiring efforts were in a high degree responsible for the unexcelled achieve- ment of the Naval Medical Science Group." Botany Project in Europe In April, Dr. Francis Drouet, Curator of Cryptogamic Botany, plans to leave for Europe to study original specimens of some 1,200 species of single- and few-celled algae on file in the larger herbaria there. Studies are expected to be made in several museums in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Nor- way, and Sweden. While in Stockholm, Dr. Drouet will represent the Museum at -THIS MONTH'S COVER- The spring scene on our cover is one that may be found in the countryside close to Chicago. It is also a miniature diorama com- pressed within the 24* x 22' x 7' dimensions of an N. W. Harris Public School Extension traveling natural-history exhibit, some 1,100 of which are circulated to all the schools of Chicago by the Museum. The rue anemones in the foreground begin to bloom in the Chicago area about the second week in April and continue until the second week in May. This wild flower is common all the way from New England to Minnesota to Florida. the Seventh International Botanical Con- gress to be held from July 12 to 20. He plans to return to the Museum early in August. This project has been made possible through the generosity of Elmer J. Richards, of Chicago. Peruvian Scientist Here Javier Ortiz de la Puente, zoologist at the Museo de Historia Natural "Javier Prado," Lima, Peru, is spending two months in Chicago studying this Museum's collec- tion of Peruvian mammals and birds. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between Feb. 14 and March 15: Associate Members Dr. Joseph A. Davis Annual Members C. R. Barker, Peter Bartoli, David Becker, Carl Burnap, Mrs. C. Casella, Gates W. Clancy, Dr. George M. Cummins, Jr., Percy W. Cump, Jr., J. I. DeLong, Mrs. Thomas Deuell, Miss Millian Dieckmann, Neal V. Diller, W. M. Dillon, John M. Drummond, Frank Flick, J. L. Friedman, Paul Gendel, Paul Gibson, Hayden A. Glatte, Mrs. Arthur Gordon, Edward Gordon, Leonard Gordon, Mrs. Harriet W. Grace, Dr. Charles M. Hausman, W. T. Herbert, Charles M. Hines, Charles R. Hodgman, Jr., Mrs. Charles E. Humm, Lambert Kampen, Harold L. Klagstad, Charles L. Leindecker, John G. Leiner, Sigmund W. Lewendowski, Charles P. Lind, Roy O. Meadors, John P. McCollum, Chester M. Miller, Fred H. Nesbitt, J. Louis Plocek, Willard L. Pollard, Dr. Robert F. Purinton, Walter E. Rogan, Master John Sanfilippo, C. E. Shreve, Henry E. Staffel, Dr. Joseph Stagman, Nathan Stagman, John Stamford, George A. Stevens, Leon Stolz, G. Truman Thomas, J. J. Topolinski, William W. Whitnell, Arthur E. Wilk, Edward H. Yoners, Jr., Ores E. Zehr. April, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN PageS BONANZA IN BIRDS: 17,000 SPECIMENS FROM EAST AFRICA By AUSTIN L. RAND CURATOR OP BIRDS The arrival of the van Someren bird collection at Chicago Natural History Mu- seum is an important event in the history of the Division of Birds. This new collec- tion, numbering about 17,000 specimens — study skins of birds — comes mostly from Kenya Colony and Uganda in eastern Africa and is a remarkably complete representation of the known avifauna. Rare as well as common species are present in series, and there are the historically important type specimens on which the original descriptions of at least 37 kinds of birds have been based. The collection was brought together by Dr. V. G. L. van Someren, who during a period of more than forty years has studied the natural history of East Africa. Dr. van Someren was born in Melbourne, Aus- tralia, in 1886. He was graduated in medicine and dental surgery from the Uni- versity of Edinburgh and, in 1911, was appointed medical officer in British East Africa (now called Kenya). But even before his appointment to Kenya he was interested in African birds. In 1906 Dr. van Someren and his brother R. A. L. van Someren started a collection of Uganda birds. The first small collection of 2,000 birds was reported on in The Ibis for April, 1916, and most of that collection went to the Edinburgh Natural History Museum. It was not until Dr. van Someren 's appoint- ment to British East Africa that he was able to undertake an active part in the field work. Then, realizing the complexity of the dis- tribution and variation of birds in the varied terrain of East Africa, he made plans for a thorough survey of Kenya and Uganda. COVERS VAST AREA With the help of trained native personnel and the co-operation of administrative officers he was able to gather material from the great area extending from the Ethiopian border and the Juba River south to the Tanganyika border and from the Indian Ocean west over the greater part of Uganda. About three decades ago, with a collection of 15,000 specimens, Dr. van Someren went to England, and at Lord Rothschild's private museum in Tring he studied his material and prepared a report on it. This was published in Novitales Zoologicae in 1922. Some 6,500 of the specimens he deposited in the Tring Museum (which went to the American Museum of Natural History in New York with the rest of the Rothschild collection), including all the types then in it. The rest of the collection he took back to East Africa with him. Since then the collection has been added to not only through van Someren's own efforts, but his son, G. R. C. van Someren, also made a notable addition from western Ruwenzori; C. W. Benson, another from Ethiopia; and J. P. Benson, another from Meru, Mount Kenya. More new birds were described from the collection, and specimens representing new records for Kenya and Uganda were accumulated. The getting together of this large collec- tion of bird skins for systematic study was only part of Dr. van Someren's scientific work. The study of mammals, birds, entomology, and botany he considered in- separable, and the ecology and the dis- tribution of the birds and their lives at their nests (he made a collection of more than 5,000 bird photographs from blinds) all received attention. The breadth of his A MAJOR EVENT IN THE DIVISION OF BIRDS AH hands were called out to help in unpacking the vast van Someren collection of 17,000 birds from eastern Africa. There was not room in the bird range; so the shipment was uncrated in the paint shop. DR. V.G.L. van SOMEREN Photograph taken on safari in eastern Africa where he has spent some 40 years studying birds, mam- mals, entomology, botany, and topography. interests is indicated by the fact that he is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and a member of the British Ornithologists' Union. He was also Hono- rary Curator of the Natural History Museum at Nairobi (1914-38) and Director of the Coryndon Memorial Museum, Nairobi (1938-40). His was the rare opportunity to live where he could discover the problems in taxonomy and gather material to solve them. And this is reflected in the collection. By 1949 the collection numbered some 17,000 speci- mens. More species and subspecies had been described from it so that there are at least 37 type specimens in it, and it is this collection that Chicago Natural History Museum has acquired. Though the collection was lent for some years to the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi, it has always been van Someren's private collection and since 1940 has been housed in van Someren's residence in Ngong, a suburb of Nairobi Its new home is to be in the study collections on the third and fourth floors of Chicago Natural History Museum in the bird ranges. Arranged in systematic series, from the most primitive birds, such as the ostriches, penguins, and albatrosses, to the most ad- vanced birds, such as the tanagers and sparrows, the specimens are laid in rows on paper-lined trays, and the trays are filed in dust- and insect-proof steel cases. Each species has its one special place in the (Continued on page 8, column 1 ) Page b CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN April, 1950 TREE DAMAGE BY ICE COSTS MILLIONS By JULIAN A. STEYERMARK ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM Winter in north-temperate parts of the United States takes a toll of many plants, especially trees and shrubs. Injury is caused in different ways. Temperatures below freezing kill outright many of the more tender types of plants, particularly those not native to northern latitudes. If high winds prevail while the ground is frozen and temperature during the day is much higher than that of the preceding night, "burning" of foliage of many ever- green trees and shrubs may take place. For this reason evergreens should be protected by windbreaks, cut evergreen branches, or temporary shelters of cloth, gunnysack, or the like. Further, such plants should go into the winter with their root systems thoroughly moistened so that the leaves may receive proper nourishment and moisture to tide them through adverse drying conditions in- duced by high winds and high temperatures before the ground has become frozen. The result of excessive loss of water from the leaves, while the ground is still frozen and the roots are inactive, is a "browning" of evergreen foliage on the sun or air-exposed sides that is frequently observed in pines, junipers, yews, rhododendrons, mountain laurels, hollies, and other evergreens. Heavy snows may weigh down branches of a number of woody plants and split them. Fungus, insect attacks, and various diseases may weaken or kill parts of the woody stem, causing decay, which eventually opens weak areas that become susceptible to winter attacks. While the winter months normally damage and kill many plants, the result is often not apparent until the following spring, particularly in the case of the winter "burn- ing" or "browning." ice storms' toll Most spectacular is the damage caused within a relatively short time by ice and heavy sleet storms. The load of ice clinging to all parts of the branches of woody plants, especially trees, adds an extra burden, often too great to be sustained. Eventually the branches snap and break off. When such ice storms occur, they usually come and go with such rapidity that within the short span of a day one may witness a striking change in the landscape. On January 1, 1948, an ice storm occurred around Chicago and suburbs that devastated trees, broke telephone poles, and snapped telephone and telegraph wires, thereby en- dangering many buildings. This year Chicago and its vicinity suffered great losses brought on by a similar damaging ice storm in the middle of February. The effects were sad to behold. The majority of elms care- fully planted along Lake Shore Drive were broken in one way or another. Throughout the city parks and in many other areas branches and large limbs were snapped or broken off under the strain of the ice. Losses in plantings amounted to millions of dollars. Here are a few observations made during and after the last storm as to type of tree damaged, location in which the tree grew, and relation between the tree's habit of growth and its resistance to breakage. First, it was noted the storm took its heaviest and most conspicuous toll of American elm and soft or silver maple trees. elms' weak point It is easy to understand why the American elm should fall prey so readily to ice damage. The trunk of this elm forks above the middle into two main parts. These forks, with their PARK CASUALTY Damage to an American elm during February ice storm in Chicago. subsequent growth giving rise to new twigs and branches developing in the direction of the two forks, are responsible for the ultimate fan-shaped or Y-shaped form of the tree, which gives it its stately and beautiful shape. Unfortunately, when these main forks and their subsidiary branches are weighted down with a heavy coat of ice, the strain sooner or later results in snapping off either or both of the forks above the main trunk. The trunk stands but the forks "give," much like the two prongs of the "wishbone" of a chicken when pulled. Thus the very growth-habit that makes the elm so attrac- tive often spells its death ^n time of ice storms. Soft or silver maples (Acer saccharinum) also are easily damaged by ice storms. So are brittle twigs of peach trees, linden, poplar, box-elder, and the like. On the other hand, tough sturdy oaks or hickories rarely succumb to ice damage. In contrast to the soft maples, the sugar and Norway maple of the hard maple group have tough wood and strong lateral branches that seldom if ever break. The sycamore, too, bears strong side branches. The location of the tree often plays an important role during a severe ice storm. Thus the American elms adjacent to the lake, being most exposed to wind, received the full force of the wintry blast. They were damaged more severely than many other American elms growing in more pro- tected sites in the city or in natural forests. In the forest preserves and in natural forested areas where the trees protect one another, they suffered much less damage. RESISTANCE FACTORS But what enables plants to resist adverse conditions? Although not all answers to this question are known, some comments regarding the internal composition of woody stems are of interest here. Naturally, without proper anchorage in- sured by a strong root system a tree or shrub would be unable to stand up. Equally im- portant is the structure of the tree that we see above the ground. The woody part of the tree consists of an outer covering, the bark, enveloping various tissues made up of billions of tiny cells that provide either mechanical support, function in the conduc- tion of water and conduction and storage of manufactured food, or cause increase in the size of the tree by growth in length and thickness. The two major tissues of the wood are the xylem, concerned mainly with mechanical support, and the phloem, concerned mainly with the conduction of manufactured food. The pith, which in soft-stemmed herbaceous plants, like corn, makes up the spongy central core of the stem, in older woody stems of trees dries up, collapses, and is replaced by tougher more resistant cells with firmer walls for support. The cells of the phloem and xylem of trees contain various types of reinforcements and strength- ening elements. Otherwise they would not be able to withstand strains and weights and the adversities of the weather to which they are subjected daily. Therefore we find such cells as phloem fibers, with very long and thick-walled cells, which serve as mechanical protection to the more weakly constructed but highly essential cells known as sieve tubes, the function of which is to transport foods from one part of the plant to another for storage or consumption. Then, in the xylem or true wood of the tree are also found cells that provide rigidity and strength and at the same time function in a conductive capacity. These are known as tracheids and are of two kinds: (1) wood fibers, which are heavy-walled, long cells with almost no cavity but with a high degree of mechanical strength, and (2) vessels or tracheal cells, which are much shorter cells with rather thin walls and wide cavities, having the important function of carrying ascending water in the stem. April, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 Moreover, other cells, elongated at right angles to the axis of the woody stem, are scattered among the woody cells in hori- zontal bands or ribbons running through the xylem like spokes of a wheel. These are known as wood rays and facilitate the horizontal transfer of materials in the stem or act as centers of food storage. Other types of cells are provided with spiral thick- enings or bands to furnish more elasticity for the bending and swaying daily exacted by winds on the aerial parts of a tree. AN INTRICATE SYSTEM The different cells in a woody stem are thus adapted in a variety of ways to the welfare of the tree to offer it mechanical support, elasticity, and flexibility. As the sap wood changes to heart wood, the cell walls of the heart wood become impregnated with tannin, resins, and other substances and the heart wood increases in hardness, thereby aiding the mechanical strength of the trunk. The heart wood also possesses, by means of these added chemicals in its cell walls, certain toxic properties that help keep the tree strong by preventing disinte- gration of the wood. Light woods possess more cell-cavity space than heavy woods and can be more easily entered by destruc- tive fungus plants. Although these woody elements are found in all woody plants, no two woody plants are alike. Actually trees can be identified by their internal wood structure, so inti- mately connected with their habits and growth. The very fact that the many species of native trees in the Chicago region have survived for thousands of years following the withdrawal of the last ice sheet is proof of their ability to survive. However, much remains to be learned regarding each species of tree and its particular relation of resist- ance to breaking by winds and ice. WYOMING 'MUMMY' MYSTERY SOLVED The mystery surrounding a so-called "dwarf mummy" found in a cave near Casper, Wyoming, was dispelled by investi- gations made by members of the scientific staff of this Museum last month. The specimen had had wide publicity in the newspapers and on the radio as a supposed representative of a hitherto unknown pre- historic race of men and was thought to be adult despite its stature of only 14 inches. It was brought to the Museum for study by its owner, Iva P. Goodman, of Casper, and Ray Henle, a commentator for the National Broadcasting Company. The study was conducted by Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles, and D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, who issued the following state- ment (with which Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology, concurred) : "X-ray photographs made at Chicago Natural History Museum reveal that the 14-inch dwarf 'mummy' said to have been unearthed in 1934 from a sealed granite cave near Casper, Wyoming, is the dried body of a human infant. The child was an anencephalus monster, the commonest of all congenital malformations in man. In anencephaly the brain and brain-case fail to develop, and such monsters rarely live for more than a few minutes after birth. The deformation gives a hideously non- human appearance to the head and neck, but the rest of the body is usually quite normal. "The X-rays show conclusively that the supposed 'dwarf cannot be an adult. The development of the bones is exactly like that of a child at birth. Photos of anence- phalic monsters can be seen in any textbook on the use of X-rays in embryology and obstetrics. "The 'mummy' is not a real mummy, but merely a dried body of an infant probably buried not more than 25 years. Suggestions that it is the body of a miniature pre- historic man are fantastic. It might have been a 'skeleton' from someone's family closet, surreptitiously deposited in the cave in which it was discovered. Because of its shriveled condition, it is impossible to tell whether the infant was an Indian or a white man." FIFTY YFARS AGO Al THE MUSFUM PALEONTOLOGY EXPEDITION BEGINS TEXAS WORK The Texas Paleontological Expedition will leave Chicago April 1. Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mammals, and Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles, plan to work in a large area surrounding the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, located in the northern part of the eastern Cretaceous belt of Texas. The expedition has two main objectives: (1) a careful investigation of the Early Cretaceous Trinity Sands in Montague County, where a reconnaisance party of the Museum discovered mammalian and frog remains last autumn, and (2) to search for similar deposits south of Montague County and for Late Cretaceous vertebrates mainly in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Taylor Marl (very few vertebrate localities are known in the latter formations). Investiga- tion of the Late Cretaceous deposits in Texas presents a continuation of our program of faunal study of the southern so-called Gulf Series of deposits of late Cretaceous age. Technical Publication Issued The following technical publication was issued by Chicago Natural History Museum last month: Fieldiana: Zoology Memoirs, Vol. 1. Si- phonaplera from Central America and Mexico. By Robert Traub. February 28, 1950. 127 pages, 54 zinc plates. $4. Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER The Museum's original habitat group of the polar bear was mounted for a four-sided case by the late Carl Akeley in 1900. The reinstallation of the group with a painted background necessitated a completely new The original group of polar bears in 1900 The present habitat group of polar bears in Hall 16 plan. The present group is in Richard T. Crane, Jr., Hall (American Mammals — Hall 16). "The work of collecting fossil dinosaurs was continued during the summer by an expedition made to Colorado by Assistant Curator Riggs and Preparator Menke. . . . One leg bone found, probably a humerus, was 6 feet 10 inches in length, exceeding by several inches any such bone ever found before and giving proof of the existence of an animal of the dinosaur type larger than was ever before described." I.asi of Audubon Lectures April 16 The fifth and final lecture in the current series of the Illinois Audubon Society will be given Sunday afternoon, April 16, at 2:30 o'clock in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. The lecture, "The Riddle of Migration," will be presented by Roger Tory Peterson, of New York, artist, scien- tist, and author of widely used field-guides to bird identification. Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN April, 1950 No Easter Rabbit . . . THE AFRICAN 'BUGS BUNNY,' A PICARESQUE CHARACTER By WILFRID D. HAMBI.Y CURATOR OP AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY UNDER the title of Bugs Bunny or Bugsy, the adventures of Hare are known to millions of American children and his exploits are appreciated in comic strips and on the screen. The American cartoon character is closely related to an African folklore prototype. To be sure, he is a rascal and full of guile — this may be said of either the American or African character. But withal he is a likable villain, the Kingfish of the animal world, a schemer who outwits in turn the courageous lion and the noble elephant. Occasionally, however, he overreaches himself. He is too smart and underrates the intelligence of his victim. Then the children hold their breath — surely he will be killed this time! No, his cunning and resource have again set him free and he bounds across country to the shelter of his "form," which is often a deep hole at the root of a tree. We have to be careful with respect to the African Hare not to say his "burrow"; neither must we call him a rabbit. There are no rabbits in Africa, but hares are widely distributed. Although Hare is a deceiver and a delin- quent he can boast a lineage stretching back over the centuries. The humor of his antics while running and fighting was the joy of Negro children in Africa long before the arrival of Europeans, and age-old folklore stories of the cunning of Hare were perhaps the sole consolation of miserable slaves on the dreary voyages from West Africa to America. Negro culture survived in the West Indies, the southern states, Brazil, and particularly in Dutch Guiana. There the jungle sheltered many Negro refugee slaves, and today these colonies remain as small islands of African race and culture now Cartoons by Gust at Dalstrom thousands of miles from their place of origin. Religion, magic, arts and handicrafts, myth- ology and folklore are still welded into a cultural pattern. Incidentally, Hare of African origin, sometimes in disguise of a rabbit, is the hero (or villain) of many American Negro tales. Very few attempts have been made by African Negroes to invent a script for writing their songs, tribal history, riddles, and folklore. But memories are good, and Negro languages are rich in vocabulary and metaphor; therefore the tales are passed verbally from one generation to another. We who are accustomed to so many pleasures and amusements perhaps find difficulty in understanding why so much satisfaction is derived from simple narra- tives. It is true that Negro children, and adults as well, have their singing, dancing, games, and musical instruments, but these do not meet all requirements. In fact, such pastimes are mainly an adjunct to literary expression. Folklore stories are acted with clever mimicry, and the antics of animals are the subject of games in which the crea- tures are made to think and act like human beings. A few animals, the crocodile, python, and leopard, have been reverenced. The first two have been the focus of a definite worship with attendant priesthood. The leopard has been the emblem of strong organizations of a social and political kind. Almost every animal has a legendary history and most of them have here or there been chosen as totemic creatures, the sacred animals whose names are symbols for the clan. The clansmen must not kill or eat their emblem animal. On the contrary, they should protect it, and, in turn, the creature is thought to protect them. In Negro tribes a hunter is (or was before European interference) the leading authority on animal life. He spent years of training under an expert, and his livelihood depended on an intimate knowledge of the habits of animals. All boys imitate the activities of hunters, and at an early age are expert with blunt wooden arrows. The stories are told therefore by hunters, by boys who have scoured the hillsides and forests for appetiz- ing morsels of fur and feather, by women who are the most awful chatterboxes while they pound their grain or work in the fields. Perhaps the popularity of Hare is due to the many facets of his character. We see him, in turn, kind and helpful or no better than a mean sneak-thief. In popular slang he is a "double-crosser" and a "show-off" without parallel in the animal world. In the story of his friendship with a cow and her calf, who are threatened daily by a lion, Hare figures as a protector of the weak. He hides in a cave with them, receives a small quantity of milk as a reward for discovering this refuge, then hatches a plot to frustrate the lion. Hare takes a little blood from the cow and holds it in a cup behind his back. When the lion appears at the entrance to the cave Hare quickly dashes the blood at him, saying, "Look! you are wounded in the side." The lion, totally lacking his legendary courage, flees the spot. The cow says in congratulation, "I never thought that one so small as Hare could be so kind and brave." A trickster is sure to make enemies, and Hare gives many a nervous glance around as he leaps along. There is the baboon who owes a grudge and is seeking a settlement. It happened in this way. Hare and the baboon were caught in a patch of flaming grass, but the latter made a quick exit, running as he does on all fours. Hare was so long emerging that the baboon had given up all hope of his survival. But Hare was quite unperturbed and, with a grandiose air, he said, "I see you are out of breath. Never run from the flames. I always just spit at the fire around me and put it out." As a matter of fact, Hare had hidden in a deep hole where he was safe until the fire had swept by. But the baboon was com- pletely deceived. He treasured this frag- ment of misinformation and, in trying to quench a fire as Hare suggested, nearly lost his life. The storyteller enjoys best of all the series of tales that leave Hare with ap- parently no loophole for escape. The narrator is a past master for introducing what modern novelists and writers of detective stories call "the element of sus- pense." And so we find Hare brought before Justice of Peace Lion. The offender is tried for theft and all kinds of mischief and is condemned to death. The narrator then draws the ashes of the fire together, folds his blanket, and prepares to retire. All this means "to be continued in our next issue," and the listeners are left to speculate just as modern and more sophisticated readers have to guess the fate of their hero. Sadly, Hare makes a last request before his execution. "Just let me dance and sing my favorite song," he pleads. The request is granted. Hare is no mean terpsichorean performer. He selects the most dusty piece of ground and starts a mad whirl. He leaps in the air, flings his legs, and is in a perfect frenzy. Then, leaping from the cloud of dust he has created, he gives a mocking laugh and races to the safety of the bush. April, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 REPORT FROM MICRONESIA BY ALEXANDER SPOEHR CURATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY In the northwest corner of Micronesia lie the Marianas Islands, discovered by Magel- lan in 1521 and from time immemorial the home of the Chamorros, as the native people are called. Although most of the islands of Micronesia are coral atolls, the Marianas are all high islands that extend northward from Guam in a long chain. Since November, 1949, the Museum's Micronesian Anthropological Expedition has been conducting work in the Marianas on a combined ethnological and archaeological project. The ethnological project is con- cerned with the present-day culture of the Chamorros and the changing trends that their culture exhibits. The Chamorros to- day live on Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and Alamagan, a small island in the northern part of the chain, while a group of Caroline Island natives, who migrated to the Marianas in the 19th century, live on Saipan and Agrihan. The work is centered among the approximately 6,000 Chamorros and Caro- linians on the islands north of Guam, for these people were formerly under Japanese domination and we know little about their present culture. In the Micronesian area as a whole, the native peoples present extremes of cultural contrast. In the more remote islands of the Carolines the natives follow the patterns of their life in much the same manner as in olden times, allowing for certain changes brought by missionary and trader. The Chamorros are at the other end of this spectrum of culture contrast. Guam, the principal center of population in the Chamorro world, was an important stopping place for the Spanish galleons making the long voyage from Mexico to the Philippines during the days of Spanish empire in the New World and in the Pacific. The natives intermarried with Spaniards and with Taga- logs brought from the Philippines and were converted to Catholicism by the Spanish padres. LANGUAGE PRESERVED Nevertheless, the Chamorro language con- tinues as the language of the peoples of the Marianas, while other cultural survivals remain as testimony of the old life. The Chamorros today are primarily a folk people, primitive in no sense of the word, yet in no way urban sophisticates. Of all the Micronesian islands, the Mari- anas probably suffered most during World War II. The houses and possessions of the natives were destroyed, and much of their farm land was rendered unusable by war- time base construction. Today the people are rebuilding their communities and the old cultural patterns are reasserting them- selves. Yet the war has wrought marked cultural change, not merely in the landscape but in the lives of the people as well. A primary objective of the expedition's work is to examine this recent cultural change, as seen against the long history of contact with the West and with Japan. The tech- niques of making a living, the economic organization that guides the work in the fields and the fishing offshore, the life that goes on within the family, the central position of the church among these devout people, and the organization of their political life are all points of interest in the investiga- tion. A subsidiary problem is offered by the presence of the Carolinian minority among the Chamorros. These people, of a different ethnic background, still maintain a cultural separateness from their Chamorro neighbors. Given more to fishing than to farming, they cling to many of their own customs while staying on equable terms with their fellow islanders, the Chamorros. The Marianas therefore offer to the ethnologist a series of problems in culture contact and change. PREHISTORY SOUGHT A second objective of the expedition is aimed at problems lying farther back in the Chamorro past. What was prehistoric Chamorro culture like and where did the Chamorros come from? Spanish accounts contain sufficient information on Chamorro culture at the time of first contact to provide a starting point for archaeological work. Some excavating has been done, mainly on Guam, so that there is a certain amount of knowledge of prehistoric Chamorro life. But no sequence of prehistoric cultures in the Marianas has ever been established by modern archaeological methods. Perhaps none exists, but the problem must be at- tacked if scientific advance is to be made in the prehistory of this part of the Pacific. Eventually we may be able to relate the prehistoric Chamorro materials to archaeo- logical data from the islands to the south- west, and even to early horizons in the Philippines. To date, the Museum expedition has com- pleted an archaeological survey of Saipan and a preliminary survey of Tinian. Exca- vations have also been commenced on Saipan and at a later date will be extended to other islands. The progress of the work will be described in future numbers of the Bulletin. The Museum has maintained a long-stand- ing interest in the anthropology of the Pacific area. At the present time, with most of Micronesia under American administra- tion, this interest is of wider importance than to a few scientists alone. Anthropo- logical research that throws light on con- temporary cultural change in Micronesia is of practical significance to the administrators who must govern the area. The solving of more academic problems regarding the pre- history of Micronesia contributes to a body of knowledge whose formulation must be primarily the responsibility of American research institutions. STAFF NOTES Karl P. Schmidt, Chief Curator of Zoology, will spend three months in Ger- many at the Senckenberg Museum and the University of Frankfort as a member of the currently organized University of Chicago faculty exchange team. He will leave in mid-April for New York from Rockport, Texas, where he is scheduled to give an address at the spring seminar of the Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission. Mr. Schmidt will engage in studies on am- phibians and reptiles in the Senckenberg Museum, where his stay will be an equivalent for the recent work in Chicago Natural History Museum of Dr. Robert Mertens, director of the Senckenberg Museum .... Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany, conducted a seminar at North- western University on "Divergent Mutation or Selection.". . . Dr. Julian A. Steyer- mark, Associate Curator of the Herbarium, has been re-elected president of the Bar- rington Natural History Society .... Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of Anthro- pology, Donald Collier, Curator of South American Ethnology and Archaeology, and George I. Quimby, Curator of Exhibits in Anthropology, represented the Museum at a symposium on evolution held at the Uni- versity of Chicago. Dr. Martin lectured and showed films of his archaeological ex- peditions recently before the Adventurers' Club and gave a radio talk over a National Broadcasting Company network on the Museum's solution of a "mummy mystery" (see page 5). Mr. Collier participated in the meeting of the Carbon-14 Committee at the Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago .... Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant in Archaeology, lec- tured for the Earth Scientists Club of Northern Illinois in Maywood. Expedition to Cuba Dr. B. E. Dahlgren, Curator Emeritus of Botany, and Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, left March 14 on a botanical expedition to Cuba. They will continue the collecting and research in which they have been engaged on that island for the past several years. Borneo Expedition Leaves The Borneo Expedition of the Museum emplaned for its first port-of-call, Singapore, March 19. Co-leaders of the expedition are D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, and Robert F. Inger, Assistant Curator of Fishes. After arrival at Sandakan the expedition will add native personnel for the work in the field, which is to take about six months. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN April, 1950 5 SATURDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES ON TRAVEL The annual Spring Course for adults of free illustrated lectures on travel and science will continue throughout April. The five remaining lectures will be presented each Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. Motion pictures in color will accompany all of the lectures except one, for which slides will be used. Limited accommodations make it necessary to restrict these lectures to adults. Members of the Museum are entitled to reserved seats on application. For children, free motion pictures will be presented on the mornings of the same Saturdays by the Raymond Foundation. Following are the dates, subjects, and lecturers: April 1— Gorilla Hunt R. Marlin Perkins April 8 — Alaska Wildlife Cecil E. Rhode April 15 — Travel Trails of the Andes Herbert Knapp April 22 — Aboriginal Australia F. M. Setzler April 29 — America Out-of-Doors Victor Coty Requests for reserved seats should be made in advance by telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in writing, and seats will be held in the Member's name until 2:30 o'clock on the lecture day. BONANZA IN BIRDS— (Continued from page S) biological classification and a corresponding one in our collection. The whole functions as a gigantic, self-indexing filing system, where any specimen can be consulted at any time and filed away again. The van Someren collection arrived in nine huge cases that came in bond to the Museum. There was not enough room in the bird range to open them and so we put them in the fourth-floor paint shop. There, under the watchful eyes of two United States customs officers, unpacking started. The paint shop hummed with activity. Interest extended far beyond the Division of Birds. Everyone vied for a crowbar, nail-puller, hammer, screw driver, or tin shears. As the lids came off and the protec- tive metal lining was sheared away, the beautifully packed collection began to emerge from the cases. Each specimen had been wrapped in cotton, in paper, or in both. The specimens lay side by side, row upon row, layer upon layer, and had arrived in perfect condition. We already have considerable African material from earlier expeditions and pur- chases. Notable additions in recent years include material such as that from Cameroon collected by A. I. Good, from Liberia col- lected by Harry A. Beatty, and from Kenya donated by Walther Buchen. All will be used together in studies on distribution and variation. A great many species are new to our collections but no species new to science are expected to emerge. However, there remains much to be done in the zoogeog- raphy, relationships, and taxonomy of African birds. PLEASE NOTIFY MUSEUM IF YOU'RE MOVING Members of the Museum who change residence are urged to notify the Museum so that the BULLETIN and other communi- cations may reach them promptly. Members going away for ex- tended periods may have Museum matter sent to their temporary addresses. LECTURE TOURS IN APRIL DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every after- noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Wed., April 5 — Bright Feathers — Bird Survey (Jane Sharpe). Fri., April 7— The Story of Mexico. Illus- trated introduction in Meeting Room (June Buchwald). Wed., April 12 — Spring in the Woodlands — The Earliest Flowers, Leaves, Birds, and Reptiles (Miriam Wood). Fri., April 14 — Amoeba to Ape. Illus- trated introduction in Meeting Room (Lorain Farmer). Wed., April 19 — Giants — Plants and Ani- mals (Marie Svoboda). Fri., April 21 — One Man's Meat — Unusual Food-Animals. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Harriet Smith). Wed., April 26 — Stone Age Man (Lorain Farmer). Fri., April 28— Weather Ways— Weather and Climate. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Anne Stromquist). Persons wishing to participate should apply at North Entrance. Tours are free. MOVIES FOR CHILDREN SATURDAY MORNINGS Five more free programs of motion pic- tures for children will be given on Saturday mornings in April in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. They are given under the auspices of the James Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond Foundation. All of the programs begin at 10:30 a.m. Children may come alone, accompanied by adults, or in groups from schools, etc. No tickets are neeeded. Following is an outline of the programs: April 1— Animal Legends Also a cartoon April 8 — Ancient Palestine 2,000 years ago April 15 — Arrival of Spring Also a cartoon April 22— China Today Also a cartoon April 29 — Jungle Book Kipling's famous story GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Botany: From: E. D. Merrill, Jamaica Plain, Mass. — a complete specimen of Cycas Wadei Merrill, Philippine Islands; Museo Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica — 366 herbarium speci- mens, Costa Rica; Universidad del Cuzco, Peru — 19 herbarium specimens and 26 ears of maize, Peru; Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. — 249 her- barium specimens, Brazil and Colombia; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia — 133 specimens of algae, Mexico. Department of Zoology: From: Alex K. Wyatt, Chicago — a cad- dice-fly and 16 specimens of flies, bees, wasps, and grasshoppers, Illinois and In- diana; Dr. Henry Van der Schalie, Ann Arbor, Mich. — 27 specimens of fresh-water mussels, Kansas; Eugene Ray, Chicago — 40 beetles and a beetle paratype, Cuba and the United States; Javier Ortiz de la Puente, Museo "Javier Prado," Lima, Peru — a lizard and a frog, Ecuador; William G. Hassler, Nashville, Tenn. — a salamander, Tennessee; W. E. Eigsti, Hastings Museum, Hastings, Neb. — 38 specimens of ecto-parasitic insects, Nebraska; Gordon Thurow, Chicago — 8 lizards, Bermuda; Merle L. Kuns, Lafayette, Ind. — a bat skull, Mexico. Library: From: Col. Clifford C. Gregg, Valparaiso, Ind.; Dr. Henry Field, Washington, D.C.; Art Institute of Chicago; Alex K. Wyatt, Chicago; Mayuyama and Co., Tokyo. If your Museum visit extends over several hours, there is a cafeteria to serve you. PRINTFD BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS Vol.21. No. ." - Mnv. 1050 Chicago Natural History Museum Paget CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN May, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshal:. Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Marshall Field, Jr. Sewell L. Avery Stanley Field Wji. McCormick Blair Samuel Insull, Jr. Leopold E. Block Henry P. Isham Boardman Conover Hughston M. McBain Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr. Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sh arat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel Members are requested to inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. A 'SECOND RETIREMENT Mrs. Emily M. Wilcoxson, former Li- brarian of the Museum, so loved her work and was so devoted to the Museum that when an oppor- tunity for official retirement came on June 30, 1946, she eagerly accepted an invitation to re- main for several more years as Li- brarian Emerita. On March 31 of this year she made a "second retire- ment," leaving the Museum for a long- due and well-earned rest at the home of her stepdaughter, Mrs. Frank S. (Mary W.) Baker, in Lombard, Illinois (Mrs. Baker, formerly employed at the Museum as Associate Librarian, retired in 1949). In all, Mrs. Wilcoxson faithfully served the Museum for almost forty-five years. She first joined the staff on August 1, 1905, as Assistant Librarian. On July 1, 1930, she was appointed Librarian, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of the late Miss Elsie Lippincott. During the years of Mrs. Wilcoxson's custodianship the Library of the Museum underwent great expansion, both in the growth of the collections of books and pamphlets on its shelves and in service to MRS. EMILY M. WILCOXSON the staff of the Museum, other scientists, and the general public. In this same period the physical quarters of the Library were enlarged, refitted, and rearranged in order to improve the facilities. In the period of her post-retirement services to the Mu- seum as Librarian Emerita, Mrs. Wilcoxson devoted herself to certain special projects of indexing and of completing bibliographies. Mrs. Wilcoxson's career in the Museum was marked by a spirit of extreme friendli- ness and kindliness, which endeared her to all members of the Museum staff and others using the Library. She set standards for service that are regarded as guides for the present Library staff. The administration and personnel of the Museum join in the hope that Mrs. Wilcoxson may now find her retirement one of many fruitful and en- joyable years. STAFF NOTES Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director of the Museum, recently spoke before the Chicago Junior Chamber of Commerce on "Chicago Natural History Museum and Its Services to the Public". . . Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, Associate Curator of the Her- barium, spoke in Barrington before the League of Women Voters on "Conservation of Natural Resources.". . . Donald Collier, Curator of South American Ethnology and Archaeology, presented a paper on "The Present Status of Carbon-14 Dating" at a symposium on "Techniques in Archaeology" sponsored by the Viking Fund, Inc., in New York. Curator Collier will attend the annual meeting of the Committee on Anthropology and Psychology of the National Research Council in Washington, D.C., May 12-13. He has been appointed a member of the Executive Committee of the anthropological body, to serve for one year from July 1 . . . . George I. Quimby, Curator of Exhibits in Anthropology, will attend the meetings, May 19-20, of the Society for American Archaeology and the Central States Branch of the American Anthropological Associa- tion. The meetings will be held at the Uni- versity of Oklahoma in Norman. Curator Quimby is secretary of the first organization and president of the second. County School Prize Winners Entertained at Museum On April 3 the Museum was host to some 380 boys and girls selected as the best pupils in the Cook County public grade- school system. They met in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum, where County Superintendent of Schools Edward B. Simons presented them with badges of membership in the Cook County Achieve- ment Club. -THIS MONTH'S COVER- Each year thousands of people \isit lakes and some spend con- siderable time enjoying their quiet beauty as well as swimming, boating, or fishing along the edges of their plant beds. But few people ever really see the part of the lake under water, a three- dimensional world of aquatic plants and animals. Such a scene as it appears viewed through a diving helmet is shown in a Mu- seum habitat group at the en- trance to the Hall of Fishes (Hall O), part of which is reproduced on our cover. It is typical of the Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana lakes frequented by resi- dents of the Chicago region. The fishes are the work of Leon L. Pray, former Staff Taxidermist. Background and installation are by the late Arthur G. Rueckert, former Staff Artist, and W. E. Eigsti, former Staff Taxidermist. On page 4 of this BULLETIN is an article on hearing in fishes. Photographers Visit Museum During the Chicago convention of the Photographic Society of America in April, a group of delegates made a "field trip," with picture-taking equipment, to Chicago Natural History Museum. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between March 16 and April 14: Associate Members Maurice S. Firsel, Mrs. Howard G. Kornblith, Mrs. Vincent Yager. Annual Members R. J. Bennett, Edward P. Brooks, J. Forbes Burns, E. E. Diehl, Dwight S. Dodson, Arnold F. Emch, Erwin G. Fred- rick, Dr. Marion Lee Gordon, Milton Gordon, Norman Gordon, Dr. Rex D. Hammond, Louis F. Haynes, Dr. Paul G. Hesse, Edward L. Hilton, Clarence L. Holmberg, Leonard O. Krez, Lewis Layton, Nobel W. Lee, John A. Leith, E. P. Lichty, Benson Littman, James Maurice McCal- lister, J. E. McWilliams, Oren Elmer Miller, Mrs. E. Harold Mohn, R. E. Nelson, Jr., Leonard B. Nice, Dr. F. M. Nicholson, Gustave Norman, Miss R. Palmerton, James A. Prindiville, Paul C. Raymond, Mrs. Hopewell L. Rogers, Miss Clara A. Scheiner, Edgar Stanton, Jr., Lyman J. Stuart, Lisle W. Sweet, Miss Maria P. Sylvester, S. A. VanDyk, W. Neal Water- street, Harold H. Webber, Mrs. Maurice Weigle, Charles S. Winston, Jr., John T. Woodside, Arthur F. Zitzewitz. May, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 3 EXPLORING MAN'S PAST IN ISLES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC By ALEXANDER SPOEHR CUKATOR OF OCEANIC ETHNOLOGY Centuries ago — just how long no one knows — man first ventured eastward from Asia into the Pacific. In time, all the major islands of the immense Pacific area were peopled by adventurous seafarers, many years before Magellan circumnavi- gated the globe. One group of these east- ward-moving peoples settled in the Marianas Islands, where the Museum's 1949-50 An- thropological Expedition to Micronesia is currently conducting field work. One phase of the work of the expedition consists of archaeological excavations on Saipan, next to Guam the largest island in the Marianas group. The purpose of the archaeological project is to throw light on the prehistory of man in the Marianas and to piece together the pattern of his ancient culture, at present known only through preliminary and incomplete, though valu- able, exploration. Unfortunately for the archaeologist, the invasion of Saipan during World War II and its subsequent use as a major base for operations against Japan destroyed most of the archaeological sites that once were very numerous on the island. Yet enough remain to make digging profitable. Begin- ning in February, the Museum commenced an excavation program at four type sites: a small house site, a large house site, a rock shelter, and a shell midden. REMAINS OF EARLY HOUSES SCANTY When the Spanish first established them- selves on Guam in the 16th century, they described the Chamorros — the name the natives go by — as living in villages of wood- and-thatch houses built on stone pillars. Today all that remains of these houses are the stone pillars or lattes, together with massive rice-grinding mortars that are usually to be found near-by. Each pillar consisted of two parts: a rectangular or trapezoidal stone column and a round stone capstone that surmounted the column. On Saipan all the capstones have fallen from the columns, and many of the columns have likewise collapsed, though in undisturbed sites they remain where they have fallen. The smaller of the two houses that the Museum has excavated proved to have only a shallow culture-bearing stratum of earth around and beneath it. This stratum con- tained broken pottery, shell adze-blades, shell fish-hooks, and other implements that the inhabitants used. The house site was undoubtedly occupied only once and prob- ably for not more than fifty years. For dating purposes, the most important find was an iron fish-spear point and a fragment of an iron knife blade. It is recorded that the Spanish were trading iron to the natives for rice as early as 1576. Furthermore, the natives of Saipan were moved to Guam by the Spanish in 1698, after a series of native. uprisings. The Chamorros did not return to Saipan until the middle of the 19th century, when they no longer constructed stone-pillared houses. So the small house dates from the 17th or latter part of the 16th century. CHRONOLOGICAL STUDY Although the archaeologist enjoys finding earlier remains than this, one of his main jobs is to establish a chronology of pre- away just above the base and had fallen to the ground, though the bases themselves had remained in place. The house itself was probably not much older than the first one because the pottery was much the same. But beneath the house was four feet of earth containing tools and pottery, evidence that the site had been used by previous dwellers. Located near a beach and fringing reef where the fishing is good, protected from serious storms by an adjacent limestone outcrop, close to fertile land, cool and pleas- EXCAVATING PREHISTORIC RUINS ON SAIPAN Dr. Alexander Spoehr, leader o( the Museum's Anthropological Expedition to Micronesia, and an assistant are excavating the (alien pillars of a Chamorro house erected long before the advent of the Spaniards in the Marianas Islands during the 16th century. historic culture growth and development. In so doing, he generally works from the known recent to the unknown past. So the small latte was just what we needed — a starting point for working on a chronology reaching backward into the prehistory of the islands. The second house was larger and more impressive. . Its ten stone pillars, arranged in two parallel rows, covered an area 50 feet long. Four of these pillars had eroded Visiting Hours Change May 1 Beginning May 1, summer visit- ing hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m ., will go into effect until September 4 (Labor Day). ant, the site must have caught the eye of generations of early inhabitants of Saipan as a desirable place to live. Although no burials were found at the first house, they were numerous at the second. The people who lived at the second house buried their dead in pits beneath the house. Curiously enough, and much to the surprise of the digging crew, a number of the skeletons found were without skulls. Whether these individuals lost their heads in head-hunting forays or whether the skulls were removed by the surviving relatives before the bodies were buried we do not know. The rock shelter proved to be a crema- torium and burial ground. The top stratum consisted solely of ashes, in which were (Continued on page 8, column 1 ) Pagei CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN May, 1950 WHAT AND HOW FISHES CAN HEAR, AS REVEALED IN TESTS By ROBERT F. INGER ASSISTANT CURATOR, DIVISION OF FISHES Before the turn of the last century most biologists did not believe that fishes could hear. The reasons for this disbelief were both theoretical and experimental. In the first place, the inner ear of fishes (Fig. 1) is not equipped with a cochlea — the snail- shaped seat of hearing of the higher verte- brates (Fig. £)— nor a basilar membrane, Semi-circular Canals / Utri cuius Sacculus FISH Fig. 1. The inner ear of a bony fish. the part of the cochlea bearing sensory cells. In the second place, it could not be demon- strated that fishes react to sound. Shortly after 1900, a number of experi- menters demonstrated that some fishes at least perceive sound. Some of the experi- ments tested the spontaneous reactions of fishes to sound vibrations. Zenneck in 1903 set off a bell in a stream and observed that minnows in the vicinity of the bell swam away from the source of the sound whenever the bell rang. Also in 1903, Parker was able to demonstrate that a top minnow (Fundulus) reacted to the sound of a tuning fork held against the aquarium wall. These experiments were both of the "spontaneous reaction" type. In this type of experiment an animal was exposed to sound; if the animal gave a discernible spontaneous reaction it was concluded that the animal perceived the sound. BELL-AND-FOOD TEST A second general type of experiment, one giving more control to the experimenter, was brought into play. These experiments involved conditioned reflexes or learned behavior. The first use of this type of experiment was reported by Meyer in 1908. A description of Meyer's work will also serve as a description of the conditioned reflex experiment. Using goldfish, Meyer rang a bell and then presented the fish with food. This procedure was repeated, the food being dropped at a particular point each time and the observer remaining out of sight of the fish. Eventually the fish came to the feeding point when the bell was rung whether or not food was presented. Inasmuch as the sound of the bell was the only stimulus that could have brought the goldfish to the feeding point, it was con- cluded that the fish could perceive sound vibrations. Similar experiments were carried out subsequent to 1908 in the United States, England, Germany, Holland, Hungary, and Austria on both fresh-water and marine fishes of various families. Another aspect of the hearing of fishes investigated by the same type of experiment was the limit of tone perception. It was discovered that the upper limit of pitch discernible by European minnows of the genus Phoxinus lay between the tones designated by musicians as d' and a5, that is, between 4,645 and 6,960 vibrations per second. Approximately the same upper limit was determined for several species of South American characins, a group of fresh- water fishes. The highest pitch to which any fish has been observed to react is gi?« (13,000 vibrations per second). This tone, to which a catfish reacted, is near the upper limit of man's hearing. The lower limit is more difficult to determine because low frequency vibrations may be picked up by the sense of touch, as anyone knows who has felt the vibrations of a kettledrum. Nevertheless, for the same European min- nows the lower limit was determined to lie approximately between one and two octaves below middle C (see Fig. S). TONE CHANGE RECOGNIZED The ability of fishes to differentiate be- tween tones has also been tested. Stetter in 1929 fed Phoxinus and Ameiurus (a North American catfish) after sounding a note. In a short while, the fishes were conditioned to giving the feeding reaction immediately after the sound by coming to the surface, snapping, and seeking food. Stetter then sounded a note two octaves higher. If the fishes gave a feeding reaction to this second sound they were tapped with a glass rod. The fishes finally learned to give the feeding reaction at the proper tone and hid at the "warning" sound. The next step was to reduce the pitch interval between the feed- ing and warning tones. The individual fish showing the finest tone discrimination could distinguish between gjf* (821 vibrations per second) and e2 (652 vibrations per second). A second fish could distinguish between d1 (290 vibrations per second) and f (345 vibrations per second). It is important to note that these tones were not given one after another or in any regular fashion, but instead both sequence and intervals were erratic. Stetter, among others, was interested in the sharpness of hearing in fishes. He was able to determine this quality for Phoxinus in an entertaining and ingenious fashion. The minnows were placed in an aquarium in a hall that was 400 feet long. The fish were trained to come for food at the sound of a horn. With human observers stationed at the tank, Stetter moved the source of the sound away, always sounding the horn with the same intensity. The fish gave the feeding reaction, that is they heard the sound, until the horn was moved 200 to 260 feet away. For the six human observers the sound was no longer audible when the horn was moved beyond 330 feet. Inasmuch as sound loses some of its in- tensity in moving from air to water, Stetter still did not have a good comparison between the acuity of hearing in fishes and that in man. Consequently the human observers were completely submerged in a tank. Under these conditions the sound was no longer audible to them when the horn was more than 165 feet away. The same type of experiment has shown that in the group of fresh- water fishes that includes the minnows, the catfishes, and the characins the in- dividual fish has approximately the same auditory acuity as man. No determinations of this aspect of hearing are available for other fishes. HEARING VS. FEELING All of the above experiments merely in- dicate that fishes are sensitive to sound vibrations. However, the question of whether fishes actually hear is not demon- strated by these experiments. Generally, in vertebrates by hearing is meant the Semi-circular Canals -7 Utriculus Sacculus Cochlea MAMMAL Fig. 2. The inner ear of a mammal (compare with Fig. 1). perception of sound vibrations by the inner ear with the nerve impulses to the brain traveling over the auditory or eighth cranial nerve. The distinction that must be made is between hearing a tone and feeling a vibration. The basic method of determining May, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 -APPROXIMATE LIMITS OF HEARING IN FISHES- MIDDLE C e2 g«2 III II III II III Mill II III I! Ill II III LIMITS OF PIANO KEYBOARD- Fig. 3. The limits of hearing of fishes relative to the piano keyboard. Drawings by Margaret G. Bradbury. whether or not fishes actually hear according to this definition involves experimental operations on parts of the inner ear. In any operation on animal subjects, shock is an important factor in the result. Before the result of any such experiments may be considered valid it is first necessary that the fishes survive in order to demonstrate that the results obtained were not due to shock. Bigelow in 1904 trained goldfish to react to a tone. He then cut the auditory nerve on both sides of the head, after which the fishes no longer reacted to the tone. To make sure that they were not suffering from shock, Bigelow drilled holes in the head of other goldfishes down to the position of the nerve. Goldfish so treated lived for weeks; they apparently suffered no shock. These fishes also reacted to sound. Bigelow then cut various other nerves without any change in the reaction to sound. He then cut the auditory nerve and immediately the reaction disappeared. Consequently Bigelow con- cluded that the fishes perceived the sound vibrations through the inner ear. Another series of operations, this time on the inner ear or labyrinth, discovered the part of the inner ear that was involved in the hearing of fishes. These experiments were conducted by von Frisch on the minnow Phonnus. It had been well estab- lished that the semicircular canals and the utriculus (shown in Fig. 1), together form- ing the pars superior of the inner ear, con- stitute the organ of equilibrium in all vertebrates. Von Frisch removed this pars superior. After the operation, his minnows were not able to maintain their balance but they could still be conditioned to sound. After they had lived for several months, thus proving that they did not suffer from shock, the fishes were autopsied to be sure that all of the pars superior had been re- moved. This experiment showed that the semicircular canals and the utriculus were not involved in the sense of hearing. FINAL RESULTS AFFIRMATIVE Next, von Frisch conditioned more min- nows to sound. He then removed the other parts of the inner ear, the sac-like sacculus and its adjacent lagena (see Fig. 1), from the same species but left the pars superior intact. The fishes were able to maintain their balance after the operation but no longer reacted to sounds of pitch higher than 145 vibrations per second. Vibrations of this low frequency are very likely picked up by the sense of touch, for it may be recalled that the same species normally has an upper pitch limit of around 4,645 vibrations per second. The fishes involved in these experiments lived as long as one and one-half years. Obviously the results obtained were not due to the shock of the operation. The conclusions to be derived from these operations on the labyrinth are that fishes do hear and that the seat of the sense of hearing is in the sacculus and lagena. In addition to the conclusions concerning hearing in fishes, two other general state- ments may be made on the basis of the experiments described: First, the erroneous impression of most 19th century biologists about this problem was the result of reliance upon anatomical observations for physio- logical conclusions. Although the study of the anatomy of an animal frequently gives clues to its physiology and behavior, such observations cannot take the place of properly designed and executed experiments. Secondly, biologists from a number of countries contributed to the final clarifica- tion of the problem of hearing in fishes. It is generally true, not only in science but in other fields as well, that advances in human knowledge are made by the efforts, some- times co-operative and sometimes inde- pendent, of men from all parts of the world. AFRICAN BIRD PAINTINGS BY LOUIS A. FUERTES A reprint of eight bird plates from the Album of Abyssinian Birds and Mammals, paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, has recently been placed on sale at THE BOOK SHOP of the Museum. Selected for their suitability for framing and printed from the original lithographic plates, the pictures retain the fine quality of color reproduction that made the first edition a noteworthy example of the printer's art. In the new printing, borders have been increased slightly to over-all dimensions of 12 by 14 inches so that further matting of the prints is unnecessary in framing. The subjects represented are: Pigmy Kingfisher, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Kite, Black-shouldered Kite, Helmet Shrike, Cape Teal, Narona Trogon, and Sand Grouse. The set is priced at $2. Individual pictures already framed in an attractive gray molding also are available at $5 each. The Album of Abyssinian Birds and Mam- mals was first published in 1930. Now completely out of print, this portfolio of accurate lithographic reproductions of paint- ings of birds and mammals made by the late Louis Agassiz Fuertes while he was a member of the Field Museum-Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition of 1926-27 is representative of the best work of this noted American artist. The original collection of 132 paintings was presented to the Museum by C. Suydam Cutting, Honorary Member, Contributor, Patron, and Corporate Member of the Museum, who was in the expedition party and whose further generosity made possible the publication of 32 of the paintings in portfolio form. Gem Students in Museum The Gemological Institute of America is holding a refresher course at the Museum in the identification and evaluation of pre- cious stones for those engaged in the jewelry trade and for apprentices and others con- sidering entering it. The course, in charge of Lester Benson and an assistant, has enrolled 18 students. ART STUDENTS' DRAWINGS DISPLAY MUSEUM MOTIFS Drawings by students in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who meet periodically for class work in Chicago Natural History Museum, will be shown in a special exhibit to be held in Stanley Field Hall, May 1 to 31, inclusive. The exhibited work was selected from drawings accumulated during tKe past year by two of the teachers, Miss Ethel Spears and Miss Bertha Lukens. The pictures, which include water colors, chalk drawings, block prints, and paper cut-outs, are based on material exhibited in the Museum and represent the work of students in two divisions of the School of the Art Institute. Part of the exhibit is by students of the Junior School, ranging in age from 10 to 17 years, who meet in the Museum each Saturday. The rest of the work is by first-year students in the general drawing classes of the School, from 18 to 40 years of age, who meet once a month in the Museum classroom and exhibition halls. Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN May, 1950 FROM PORTOLANO CHARTS TO MODERN SEA GUIDES By META P. HOWELL LIBRARIAN OF THE MUSEUM Charts and maps are the outcome of man's desire to give geographical expression to his knowledge concerning the nature and the distribution of the earth's surface features and to place them on record. It is from the Greeks that we have obtained our earliest knowledge of geographical maps, and it is a fact that all discovery and exploration led to map making. However, the origin of maps is clouded in as much obscurity as the in- On these navigators' charts, the coast lines were carefully drawn and the ports inserted, on which account they are known as Portolano or Portolan Charts. The early pilots or mariners who constructed the charts gave the outline of the coasts, the position of harbors, and every kind of in- formation that could be useful. The coast and geodetic survey maps now used as a basis in planning museum expeditions de- veloped from these charts. Cosmographers of that day cared little for the scientific WliVlWJimivwnvivm'*** EXAMPLE OF A PORTOLAN CHART PUBLISHED IN 1669 Australia and the East Indies, from Peter Goos's Sea Atlas, issued in Amsterdam. vention of letters. Much can be written about the maps of antiquity. But in the important function of collecting specimens for the Museum from the sea, we are most interested in early sea-charts, the forerunners of the modern coast and geodetic survey maps and the charts and sailing directions published today by the hydrographic offices of the various governments. These early charts are known as the Porto- lano Charts. They were drawn in the first years of the modern age primarily for mariners engaged in coastwise sailing, but they likewise served as a guide for the bolder navigators in the beginnings of the oceanic stage of modern European expansion, when by sea, rather than by land, the unknown world was beginning to be penetrated. They are the first modern sailors' charts, the first of modern charts scientifically con- structed and made by navigation. labors of the Arabs. They did not, in con- structing their nautical charts, avail them- selves of the longitudes and latitudes col- lected by the Arabs or construct their maps upon any mathematical or scientific basis. What they laid down upon their maps was what had been obtained from actual observa- tion. All information procured in this way was carefully collected and preserved, as is done today on the modern charts carried by museum staff members on their expeditions. In preparing the Portolano Chart, the care of the cosmographer was to give as accurately as possible outlines of coasts, to indicate the promontories, the dangerous points, the shallow places, the reefs, the curvatures of gulfs and bays, and the sinuosities of the shore, and to fix the distance of one position from another with some exactitude. In addition to this, the Portolano was annotated with other informa- tion useful to the mariner, and these Porto- lanos furnished the material for more general charts and maps of the world. The charts of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts form quite a distinct repre- sentation of geography. They antedate 1270 and are of surprising exactness, illustrating principally the Portolano or sailing direc- tions in use among the seamen on the Mediterranean. Materials available even in the days of Ptolemy are embodied in them. The charts are based upon estimated bear- ings and distances between the principal ports or capes, the intervening coastlines being filled in from more detailed surveys. The bearings were dependent upon the sea- men's observations of the heavens, for these charts were in use long before the compass had been introduced on board ship (as early as 1205, according to Ginot de Provins). COLORFUL CREATIONS The charts can be readily recognized by one of their most characteristic features: groups or systems of rhumb-lines (straight lines in the direction of different winds) radiating from a common center. The distances on the land or over the sea were laid down from certain fixed points and hence these maps are covered with a network of lines running in all directions from central points, called wind roses (Roses de Vente) or compass roses. These points of inter- section were created with great artistry of color and beauty. The central group was generally encircled by eight or sixteen satel- lite groups. The predominating colors used in the construction of the charts were red, yellow, blue, green, black, gold, and silver. Each chart was furnished with a scale of Portolano miles, whose length was 1,233 meters. Generally drawn on parchment or vellum, the charts have been preserved to us in two forms — either in single sheets produced in facsimile or in sheets bound together as an atlas. In the single-sheet chart, the size was determined by the size of the skin on which it was drawn, it being true in most cases that the entire skin was used, even the neck portion being retained, a fact that accounts for the peculiar and apparently unnecessary extension on the sheet, usually on the left. More than 100 of these charts antedating 1500 are extant. The most important of these are the Portolanos of the early 14th century. The oldest of these maps is the Pisan Chart or Carte Pisane. This famous chart, the work of a Genoese artist, de- lineates the coast of the Mediterranean with surprising accuracy. Its first copy dates from 1300 (Pisa) and it was copied over and over again with some modifications until 1620. So good was the chart that it was used for actual navigation for more than three centuries. MERCATOR'S CONTRIBUTION The expansion of Portolano Charts into maps of the world resembles the wheel maps May, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 of the earlier period. Gratiosus Benincasca was one of the most noted of Portolano chart or map makers, his works dating from A.D. 1435 to 1482. The Portolano charts were followed by many famous maps, such as the celebrated Catalan map of the world executed in 1375. This map is on parch- ment, beautifully colored and mounted to fold like a screen. It was extensively copied and reproduced in all the maritime cities of the Mediterranean for the use of mariners, and for a long time it was the map in use for all practical purposes. Among other outstanding maps are the Juan de la Cosa map of 1500 and the Ribaro map. These maps could be called charts rather than maps, as their emphasis is more on the sea than on the land. Mer- cator's World Map of 1569 is famous as the first map on Mercator's projection. When the fullness of its details is considered in connection with the new and scientific method upon which he projected it, Mercator is entitled to the appellation of "Father of Modern Cartography." The maps were then followed by a revival of Ptolemy's work after Jacobus Angelus de Scarparia had translated it into Latin in 1410. His version was printed in 1475 and it influenced the construction of maps by the addition of degree lines. FIRST ATLAS OF CHARTS The first atlas of charts is the Spiegel de Zeaveardt of Lucas J. Waghenaer, published in 1584. The Dutch were the leaders in chart-making during the 17th century. After the Neptune Francois of 1693, the best charts came from Paris. These in turn were eclipsed by London in the second half of the 18th century. The Royal Hydrographic Office was founded in 1795, and it is interesting to note that the British Admiralty has been one of the leading pro- ducers of charts the world over. For expeditionary planning in Chicago Natural History Museum, these old Admiralty charts are invaluable in showing the location of the old places where specimens were found, and it is interesting to note that the charts, because of their historical recordings, proved to be more valuable on the. Museum's Bermuda Expedition in 1948 than the more recent hydrographic office charts. From the middle to the end of the 19th century, Germany was considered the head- quarters of scientific cartography. Nurem- burg and Cologne were two prominent centers in the theory and practice of geographical science. Martin Waldseemuller, a cartog- rapher of note, was the scholar who gave America its name in his Cosmographiae In- troductio. His map of the world, "Uni- versalis Cosmographia," constructed as a globe in 1507, was an outstanding achieve- ment. Today, the geographical establish- ments in Germany, particularly that founded by Justus Perthes (1785) at Gotha, occupy high rank. The United States Coast Survey was founded in 1807 and was organized under Ferdinand Hassler, a Swiss cartographer. The first charts appeared in 1845, and since then charts of all the coasts of the United States and its dependencies have been produced. In 1878, the name of the office was changed to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, after the great transcontinental arc of triangles from Atlantic to Pacific was carried through. USE IN MUSEUM RESEARCH Modern sea charts, outgrowths of the old Portolano Charts, are distinct aids to scien- tific research. In planning an expedition for the purpose of collecting marine fauna, for example, they play a role of much con- sequence. A systematic study of the charts covering the area to be visited is made, and oceanographic and ecological data compiled. The exact localities where the wanted or unknown specimens may be found are decided upon, the charts furnishing the essential data by their graphic presentation of coast elevations, contours, banks, reefs, depths, etc. In deep-sea dredging, the chart is used for the 1,000-fathom contour by fixing the exact position and bearings from the locality of the lighthouses, as in the recent Bermuda expedition. An ex- amination of the chart determines how deep to set the traps or drag nets, whether the area is a closed-in bay or a reef in shallow water, whether the waters are too deep for the use of poison or too shallow to be good fishing grounds, whether a reef is exposed or what its coverage would be at low tide. It is important to know the temperature of the water, the fresh-water streams enter- ing the bay and where, and if there is a lake at the head of such streams. The maps are used for information relating to accurate soundings, the currents and depth of the water, as well as the nature of the bottom: whether shell, gravel coral, etc. The nautical terms recorded on the charts are useful as is the additional data in each section of a chart referring to the size of the nearest town or towns and the prevalent language. In planning a recent Museum ex- pedition to Florida, charts in the Library were studied to determine the character of the waters and the region where collecting was to be undertaken. Before departure, the charts were marked with all the places where Chicago Natural History Museum already had collected. While in the field, the charts again came into prominence, insuring the safe navigation of the coastal and intracoastal waters, the determination of geographical positions and elevations not only along the coasts but in the interior of the country, and providing fundamental data for the scientific investigations under- taken. They were in constant use, for all pertinent data discovered are recorded on the charts, which are later placed on file FLORIDA REPTILE COLLECTING A field trip to Florida and adjacent areas to obtain material for the exhibits of reptiles and amphibians got under way with the departure April 17 of Staff Taxidermist Leon L. Walters and Assistant Taxidermist Ronald J. Lambert. In addition to collect- ing, they will make in the field plaster molds of many of the specimens and take photo- graphs and color notes needed later for mak- ing plastic reproductions in the Museum laboratories. Among the specimens espe- cially to be sought are: alligator snapping- turtle, red-headed skink, rainbow snake, indigo snake, diamondback rattlesnake, blind lizard, Florida king snake, American alligator, and water moccasin and a number of frogs and salamanders. in the Museum Library and the Curators' offices not only as a valuable record but as part of the regular collection. Symbols are used in recording the necessary information, such as a circle to indicate the exact place where collecting is done and to show where the particular specimens come from. Later, smaller maps are redrawn from the large maps to show localities and to facilitate the work of future expeditions. The Museum Library receives regularly many of the publications issued by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. These publications, covering works on the surveying and charting of the United States and its possessions, geodetic control, and other activities, include the annual reports, gazetteers, and coast and general charts. Among the publications of the United States Hydrographic Office received in the Library are the gazetteers to maps and charts and the sailing directions and pilot guides covering many regions of the world. The United States Hydrographic Office publishes the International Code of Signals for the Use of All Nations, of which a copy is in the Library. It is now more than three centuries since Gerard Krehmer, better known to the world by the Latinizing of his name as Mercator, produced his large map of the world. The extent of the geographical knowledge of their time was graphically illustrated by the seamen in their Portolano Charts, and the beauty and technical perfection of their work has earned them the distinction of representing some of the finest examples of the science and art of that day. Since then, great progress has been made in the basic sciences stemming from these early documents, in astronomy, geology, and geography. The value of the Portolano Chart in its contribution to the interesting branches of the history of human progress and the growth of scientific research is almost unsurpassed. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN May, 1950 FIFTY YFARS AGO AF THF MUSFUM has made a start in establishing a chronology for the development of prehistoric culture in the Marianas and has added materially to our knowledge of the way of life of the ancient inhabitants of these Pacific islands. Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER The acquisition of the South Court (in the old Field Columbian Museum building) by the Department of Zoology gave room for an expansion of exhibition material, the demands for which had existed for some time. A fine group of the handsomest of THE GREATER KOODOO Now on exhibition in Carl E. Akeley Memorial Hall. horned animals, the greater koodoo, made its first appearance. The specimens were collected on the Field Museum African Expedition of 1896 by Carl E. Akeley, who also prepared the habitat group. The horns of these graceful creatures have been known to reach 48 inches in length. From tip to base, the horns of the old male in the group, which is now on exhibition in Carl E. Akeley Memorial Hall (Hall 22), measure 38 inches. MAN'S PAST IN S. PACIFIC— (Continued from page S) found charred fragments of human bones. The evidence indicates this stratum contains the remains of crematory pyres. Beneath the ash stratum was a layer of sandy soil mixed with pottery fragments, some of which are of a type heretofore not known to exist in the area. Below this stratum was found a series of deep burials made in neatly constructed pits. The burials had been covered with white beach sand. The teeth of a number of skeletons were a red brown, evidence that these early men chewed betel nut, which even today is widely used among the Chamorros and is the local version of chewing gum. The fourth site — a shell midden— is under excavation and what it contains will be reported later. To date, the expedition SEEKS RARE SALAMANDER OF ARKANSAS-OKLAHOMA A quest for an elusive and somewhat mysterious species of woodland salamander began April 13 with the departure of Clifford H. Pope, Curator of Amphibians and Rep- tiles, for the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The rare creature sought bears the scientific name Pklhodon ouachitae. The nearest relatives of this Ouachita species live in the southern Appalachians where Curator Pope has studied them intensively. "This brightly colored woodland sala- mander can be found only during protracted rainy spells. At other times it disappears, presumably into deep cavities of the forest floor," says Curator Pope. "One recent expedition failed to find a single specimen because of the adverse (clear) weather conditions encountered. "The aim of the present exploration will be to make a study of the western species in hope of unraveling something of the evolutionary history of the group. The Appalachian species of the salamander has already been intensively studied in Museum field work. The colors of these amphibians fade so rapidly at death that the specimens must be examined at the time of preserva- tion; hence it is necessary to study them at first-hand in the field rather than bring them preserved to the Museum laboratories." GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Botany: From: Dr. Ralph F. Palumbo, Seattle, Wash. — 7 specimens of marine algae, Bikini atoll; New York Botanical Garden, New York City — 51 herbarium specimens, Ecua- dor; Dr. Maxwell S. Doty, Evanston, 111. — 400 specimens of miscellaneous fungi and mosses; Dr. V. J. Chapman, Auckland, New Zealand — 6 specimens of algae, New Zea- land; Dr. Ben O. Osborn, San Angelo, Tex. — 2 specimens of algae, Oklahoma; Harold B. Lauderback, Argo, 111. — 4 specimens of marine algae, Florida; Sidney F. Glassman, Norman, Okla. — 24 cryptogamic herbarium specimens, Caroline Islands; Dr. Paul O. Schallert, Altamonte Springs, Fla. — 22 speci- mens of algae, Florida; Dr. Eula Whitehouse, Dallas, Tex. — 59 specimens of algae, Texas; University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, Chicago — 1,874 herbarium specimens, United States and Europe; Dr. Grace C. Madsen, Tallahassee, Fla. — 117 specimens of algae, Florida; Lillian A. Ross, Chicago — 11 cryptogams, Isle of Pines, Cuba; Herman LECTURE TOURS IN MAY, DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every afternoon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs- days, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Wed., May 3 — Steps to the Scientific Age — Early Sciences (Anne Stromquist). Fri., May 5 — Toys — Ancient and Primitive Playthings. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Harriet Smith). Wed., May 10 — Primitive Fraternities (June Buchwald). Fri., May 12 — Plants and Animals through the Ages. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Jane Sharpe). Wed., May 17 — Courtship in the Animal World (Lorain Farmer). Fri., May 19 — Wild Flowers of the Chicago Region. Illustrated introduction in meet- ing room (Miriam Wood). Wed., May 24 — Defense Weapons of Ani- mals (Jane Sharpe). Fri., May 26 — The Story of the Dunes. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Marie Svoboda). Wed., May 31 — Traveling Kits — How Primitive People Transport Their Belong- ings (Harriet Smith). Persons wishing to participate should apply at North Entrance. Tours are free. Silva, East Lansing, Mich. — 13 specimens of algae. Department of Geology : From: Dr. and Mrs. R. H. Whitfield and Jon Sharratt Whitfield, Evanston, 111.— 256 fossil plant specimens, Illinois. Department of Zoology: From: Boardman Conover, Chicago — 242 bird skins, Brazil; Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — a baby hippopota- mus and a bird skin; Dr. William C. Ohlen- dorf, Park Ridge, 111. — 257 miscellaneous bird skins, North America; Dr. Clarence J. Goodnight, Lafayette, Ind. — 2 phalangid paratypes, Mexico; R. E. Hildebrandt, Maywood, 111. — a mammal skull, Florida; C. A. Frost, Framingham, Mass. — a Histerid beetle, California; Harry Hoogstraal, Chi- cago— 119 reptiles and amphibians, 362 mammals, and 25 miscellaneous fresh-water fishes, Africa; Henry S. Dybas, Hazelcrest, 111. — 2,028 insects, mostly United States, Colombia, and Mexico; Dr. Sidney Camras, Chicago — 500 flies, United States; Bernard Benesh, Sunbright, Tenn. — 310 insects, Tennessee; John F. Kurfess, San Diego, Calif. — a bird skin, China. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS Ohicatfo Xalural Ilislorij Museum ■'. BfessaB«i?.s» "VfrSfW *?& * Page 2 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN June, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Stanley Field Sewell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr. Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham Leqpold E. Block Hughston M. McBain Walter J. Cummincs William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr. Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr. Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel Members are requested to Inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. BOA RDM AN CONOVER, 1892-1950 Through the death of Boardman Conover on May 5, 1950, at the age of 58 years, Chicago Natural History Museum lost one of its staunch supporters, its Board of Trustees a valued member, its Division of Birds an active worker, and its staff a warm friend. Mr. Conover was born in Chicago, January 19, 1892. He was graduated from Yale Sheffield Scientific School in 1912 and worked as a civil engineer with the U. S. Rec- lamation Service in New Mexico and with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was associated with the Stewart Manufacturing Company of Chicago for three years. He joined the armed services in 1917 and served overseas as an artillery lieutenant with the 86th Division of the U. S. Army. In 1920 he became associated with the Museum. He was an outstanding ornithologist, specializing in game birds. As Research Associate in the Bird Division of the Mu- seum he carried on an active research Boardman Conover program, built up a collection of his own, and helped to build up the Museum's collections as well. In recognition of his many services and contributions the Trustees had honored him by electing him, at various times, a Life Member, a Patron, a Con- tributor, and a Corporate Member of the Museum. In 1940 he was elected a member of the Board of Trustees. The Conover Collection of game birds was housed in his office and laboratory in the Museum and numbers more than 17,000 specimens. Certain groups, such as the francolins of Africa, are perhaps better represented in this collection than in any other museum in the world. Mr. Conover left no avenues unexplored in his efforts to make the collection as complete as possible. He participated in a number of expeditions himself. In 1920 he accompanied Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood, former Chief Curator of the Department of Zoology, on an expedi- tion to Venezuela, and in 1922 he took part in an expedition to Chile with Dr. Osgood and Colin C. Sanborn, now Curator of Mammals. Shortly after his return from Chile he made an expedition to Alaska. Mr. Conover's most important expedition was in 1926-27, when with R. H. Everard of Detroit he financed and led the Conover- Everard Central African Expedition of Field Museum. Accompanied by former Assistant Curator John T. Zimmer they collected birds and mammals in Tanganyika Territory, the Belgian Congo, and in Uganda. In addition to his own field work Mr. Conover financed collectors in many places — from Australia to Borneo, in southern Asia, South- west Africa, and Peru, and he purchased and exchanged material widely. Game birds were always sought in these collections but as general collections were received, he donated to the Museum the non-game species. As he once stated, he was pleased if 10 per cent of the collections he received were game birds for his own collection. His collection of game birds formed the basis of the material for his research. His interests were taxonomic — the naming and describing of the different kinds of birds and the arrangement of them in a sequence that would show their relationships. Mr. Conover's published papers are now some thirty-eight in number; certain revisions of South American tinamous are still in press. In addition to descriptions of new kinds of birds and revisions of groups, Mr. Conover participated in the preparation of the monu- mental Catalogue of Birds of the Americas. This great work, now complete in fifteen books, was started by Dr. Charles B. Cory, the first curator of ornithology in the Mu- seum, the first part being published in 1918. It was continued by Dr. Charles Hellmayr until 1944, and the last four parts were completed by Mr. Conover. The affiliations that Mr. Conover had with scientific societies included, among others, the American Ornithologists' Union of which he was a fellow, the British Orni- thologists' Union, the Biological Society of Washington, American Geographic Society, and the Chicago Zoological Society of which he was a trustee. The Board of Trustees of the Museum, at its meeting held May 22, adopted a resolu- tion of regret over the death of their fellow Trustee, Boardman Conover. The Board posthumously elected him a Benefactor of the Museum, thus assuring recognition in perpetuity of Mr. Conover's many important and valuable gifts both of collections and money, as well as the contribution of a major portion of his time and energy in research as a member of the Museum staff. The Board acted further to honor the memory of Mr. Conover by voting to name Hall 21, the hall housing the systematic bird collec- tions, Boardman Conover Hall. At the same meeting the Trustees post- humously elected the late Emil Eitel of Chicago as a Contributor (Contributors' names remain on the rolls in perpetuity in recognition of notable gifts to the Museum). -THIS MONTH'S COVER- The Sahara desert and Tibetan highlands are the only areas of Africa and Asia where the leopard is not found. The islands of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo are also occupied by this cat, everywhere respected for its strength and agility as a killer. When wounded or surprised it will not hesitate to attack man, and more than one expedition from this Museum has experienced brushes with leopards in Africa, none of them, fortu- nately, being fatal. There is only one species of spotted leopard but there are many local races based on differ- ences in size and color. A black or melanistic phase is common in southeast Asia. The leopard, like other cats, is nocturnal and carnivorous and preys on deer, antelopes, pigs, sheep, goats, monkeys, birds, and reptiles, and in a few instances individuals have been known to become man- eaters. The Museum exhibit shown on the cover portrays a leopard crouched in a fig tree in India, waiting for some animal to pass below it. The specimen was col- lected by the late Colonel J. C. Faunthorpe; the group was pre- pared by former Staff Taxidermist Leon L. Pray, assisted by Frank Letl. —CCS. June, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 3 MUSEUM ARCHAEOLOGISTS TO EXPLORE NEW MEXICO CAVES By PAUL S. MARTIN CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY Sometime toward the middle of June the writer and his associate, Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant in Archaeology, will begin the sixteenth season of archaeological work in western New Mexico. Each year as the time for departure from Chicago approaches, Rinaldo and I are busy checking lists and ordering tools, rope, photographic supplies, bags, cartons, and so on ad infinitum. Since it takes about a month for the expedition supplies to reach camp headquarters, every- thing must be securely packed and dis- patched from the Museum by the middle of May. As this deadline draws near, there is a last-minute bustle to finish. Each year the archaeologists find these tasks exciting because they are a prelude to a new season of archaeo- logical work with hope for fresh discoveries. What do the mem- bers of the expedition expect to accomplish this season? Before answering this question, it may be well to summarize what has been done in the preceding field seasons. The west-central part of New Mexico lies in the approxi- mate geographical center of the south- western United States. We realized that it was, in 1939, well nigh terra incognita. A new culture called Mogollon, named after near-by mountains and pronounced "Mog-ee-yoan," had been discovered in this geographical center by Harold S. Gladwin and Dr. Emil W. Haury but had not been well defined. Therefore the area posed an imperative archaeological challenge, and digging was consequently undertaken by the Museum. CENTURIES ROLLED BACK Since our shovels first broke earth in 1939 an amazing amount of new and im- portant data have been uncovered. When pieced together, the small bits of informa- tion form a mosaic that, although not yet complete, reveals a fairly clear picture of what the American Indians were doing in that part of the world from about 1500 B.C. to a.d. 1000. The first migrants to this part of New Mexico probably came from southern Arizona. They were ignorant of agriculture and pottery-making and eked out an exist- ence by collecting nuts, seeds, berries, and roots, supplemented by a little hunting. These first-comers to Pine Lawn Valley (the name given to the area in which the Museum expeditions have labored) are therefore called Food-Gatherers. Some time before the time of Christ, maize or corn agriculture was introduced into the area, and shortly afterward there appeared pottery and a type of house called a "pit house" (a hole in the ground with a roof over it), important traits that came from an unknown source. Thus it was that a revolution took place in the way these Indians lived. No longer did they have to depend on wild foods only. Life was ele- vated to a higher plane, and time for leisure PREHISTORIC CAVE HABITATION Type of site to be excavated this summer by the Museum's Archaeological Expedition to the Southwest. — and thus for inventions — was achieved. From the time of the introduction of these traits to about a.d. 1000, a gradual improve- ment in material culture took place: better- made and more beautifully decorated pottery vessels, more efficient tools of bone and stone, better-built houses. PROBLEM OF PERISHABLES This mosaic picture gives a fairly clear idea of the history of this region for about 2,500 years, that is, from about 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1000. But this picture shows only the part of the Mogollon culture that was durable and imperishable because the materials recovered are entirely of stone, pottery, and bone. Did the Mogollon Indians (our name for these ancient people) wear clothing, make baskets, weave sandals, work in wood and leather? If so, what did these things look like? In other words, what can be found out about the perishable objects of the material culture? If any information is forthcoming, it will add enormously to present knowledge, make possible deduc- tions concerning the life of those times, and give some clues concerning the fundamental laws of the formation of culture and changes in it. Therefore, before investigating the life of the Mogollon Indians after a.d. 1000, which can be put off to another season, the expedition will attempt this season to un- cover the perishable objects made and used by the Mogollon Indians. Why have these things not been found before? Because all digging so far has been confined to open sites in which, because of moisture and consequent decay, perishable objects have long ago totally disintegrated. But in caves — that is, in dry caves — there might be a chance to recover these precious materials. FOUR CAVES LOCATED Unremitting search in previous seasons had failed to locate dry caves. But in 1949, with extraordinary luck — and much of archaeology is luck, four caves were dis- covered. It is necessary to dig these caves quickly before relic hunters get in their destructive strokes. Cave-digging, then, will form a major part of the summer's work. Artificial light and special dust-masks and goggles will have to be used for this arduous work, for the dust in these caves has lain undisturbed for centuries. The slightest disturbance causes it to rise and remain in fine suspension for hours. Precautions are in order, too — even gasoline lanterns might cause an ex- plosion. So electric lights will be used. But always dangling before the eyes of the archaeologists will be the lure of possible finds of importance and value. All efforts and discomforts will seem as naught if the "digging is good!" Fossil Plant Collecting George Langford, Curator of Fossil Plants, and Dr. and Mrs. R. H. Whitfield, Associates in Fossil Plants, with Jon S. Whitfield, their son, went to Tennessee and Mississippi in the middle part of May to collect fossil plants from the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits of the Gulf Embayment of the Coastal Plain. Party to Collect Utah Fossils The Utah Paleontological Expedition is due to leave Chicago on June 15. Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, and William D. Turnbull, Preparator, plan to work in the Bear River Range in the northern part of the state. They will be accompanied for about three weeks by Bryan Patterson, Curator of Fossil Mammals. A thorough search will be made of the early Devonian limestones, in which last year's reconnaissance trip revealed an interesting variety of primitive armored fishes. Page i CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN June, 1950 VICIOUS CIRCLE OF MALARIA: MAN TO MOSQUITO TO MAN By RUPERT L. WENZEL ASSISTANT CURATOR OF INSECTS "In this march' from Natal, up from the coast and along the Jaguaribe valley nearly one hundred thousand people became infected with malaria, of whom about twenty thousand died. Like hordes of blood-thirsty Huns the mosquitoes advance, leaving always a trail of mourning and destruction in their wake." Such was the commentary of a Brazilian health official, writing on the 1938 epidemic of malaria that paralyzed the northeast of Brazil, an area of only several hundred thousand inhabitants. Perhaps one can better comprehend the devastating effect of the epidemic if it is explained that malaria is primarily a disease of rural areas; hence the larger cities were not as greatly affected. The devastation of the rural areas, however, was almost complete, with entire villages wiped out. The epidemic was spread by an African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, that accidentally was introduced in the neighborhood of Natal, Brazil, about 1930. Accounts such as the above help one understand why malaria is sometimes called the most important of all diseases of man. It is by far the most important of the parasitic diseases of man and of all the in- sect-borne diseases. Therefore, in develop- ing plans for an insect hall in the Museum, it was decided that of the exhibits that are to deal with the relation of insects to human welfare, one should be devoted solely to mosquitoes and malaria. This exhibit was completed and installed in Albert W. Harris Hall (Reptiles, Amphibians, and Insects — Hall 18) last month. The new exhibit essentially consists of two series of models. One series illustrates the life history of the most important malaria mosquito of North America (Anopheles quadrimaculatus) . The other series shows, diagrammatically, the manner in which malaria parasites are transmitted by mos- quito to man and from man to mosquito and the developmental changes that they undergo within each of these hosts. Also included in the exhibit are a map of the malarious areas of the world and a painting of a breeding place that is typical for many kinds of malaria mosquitoes. The models were executed by James E. Trott, formerly Artist-Preparator in the Department of Zoology. The map and paintings were prepared by Miss Margaret G. Bradbury, Illustrator in the Department of Zoology, who also installed the exhibit. WHAT IS MALARIA? There are many popular misconceptions about the nature of malaria and the manner in which it is transmitted. Until the latter part of the 19th century it was generally believed that malaria was contracted by breathing bad night air that arose from swamps. Hence the name malaria — mal (bad) plus aria (air). This belief, based on the observations of people over many cen- turies, was not illogical. Malaria mos- quitoes fly at night and many of them breed in swamps. Thus, a person who lived in the vicinity of swamps in a malarious area and at night ventured out of doors or left his windows open was apt to be exposed to the bites of infected mosquitoes. Toward the end of the 19th century, the studies of A. Laveran, Sir Patrick Manson, Chinese writers, and later Hippocrates, refer to at least two different kinds. References to malaria in the Roman literature by such writers as Virgil and Cicero are not infre- quent. The highly malarious Pontine marshes surrounding Rome have played an important role throughout the history of that city. In modern times malaria has affected the welfare of man perhaps more than any other disease. It takes an annual toll of millions of lives and is responsible for the economic decay and lack of development of large areas of the earth's surface. During World FINISHING TOUCHES Margaret G. Bradbury, Artist in the Department of Zoology, completes the installation of the malaria mosquito exhibit. 1 Of the mosquito, Anophtlrs gambiae. and Sir Ronald Ross, particularly, demon- strated that the disease is caused by infec- tion with one-celled animal parasites called Plasmodia (Genus Plasmodium) and that these parasites are transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes. Plasmodia belong to the same animal group (Phylum Protozoa) as does the well-known Amoeba. Four species are known to infect man. Thus malaria is a collective term applied to a group of related diseases that are caused by infection with any one of a group of closely related parasites. Such animals as birds, lizards, bats, rodents, buffaloes, shrews, and monkeys may be infected by distinctive species of Plasmodia. All Plasmodia are transmitted by female mosquitoes. Those that cause human malaria can be trans- mitted only through the bite of females of particular kinds called A nopheles mosquitoes. HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS Malaria may always have affected man. Certainly the parasites of human malaria are in nature found in no other animal, and the most closely related species of Plasmodia are found in other primates. Just when the disease was first mentioned in ancient writ- ings is difficult to determine, but early War I, the British, French, and German armies were virtually paralyzed by malaria on the Macedonian front. Following the war, mass population movements resulted in widespread epidemics in Europe. Russia suffered the worst malaria epidemic known in modern times. Other severe epidemics have taken place in recent years in Brazil and in Egypt. During World War II, malaria was one of the greatest hazards to military operations in the Pacific and the China-Burma-India theaters of operations. Some observers seriously believed that victory would belong to the side whose armies most successfully combated it. DISTRIBUTION OF MALARIA Human malaria is primarily a disease of the warm parts of the world, but one species of parasite (P. vivax) has successfully in- vaded large areas in the temperate zones. On the whole, however, climate limits the distribution of the disease. Figure 2 shows the areas of the world in which malaria is endemic or native. In North America malaria at one time extended as far north as Canada; it now occurs chiefly in the southern states. The time may not be far off when the disease will be relatively un- June, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 common in the United States, providing public-health safeguards are maintained. THE MALARIA CYCLE Malaria parasites must undergo a sepa- rate cycle of development in both man and the female anopheles mosquito. The mos- Figure 1 quito can become infected only by biting an infected person within whom the parasites have undergone certain developmental changes. A person, in turn, can become naturally2 infected only through the bite of 1 The disease can be directly transferred from man to man by blood transfusion. a female anopheles in which the parasites have undergone changes. This cycle of development and transmission is called the malaria cycle. It is shown in its simplest diagrammatic form in figure 1. Inasmuch as the anopheles mosquitoes are the link that can be most effectively attacked in order to break the malaria cycle, it is desirable to note briefly their life cycle, characteristics, and some of their habits. Most mos- quitoes belong to two large groups that are called Anophelinae and Culicinae. The latter group includes the greater number of described species, among them such familiar kinds as the common house mos- quito and the yellow- fever mosquito. The life cycle of all mosquitoes consists of four stages: (1) egg, (2) larva, (3) pupa, and (4) adult. The first three stages are aquatic. The four stages of anophelines and culicines are compared in figure 3. BREEDING PLACES One commonly thinks of mosquitoes as breeding in almost any kind of water ac- cumulation. However, most individual species have specific breeding requirements. The young of some species can tolerate a rather broad range of environmental con- ditions, for example, a wide range of acidity in the water; others are adapted to a very narrow range of conditions. Thus the early stages of some mosquitoes are confined to salt-water marshes; of others, to ponds or impounded water that has a certain amount of aquatic vegetation, a particular intensity of sunlight, and other characteristics. Anopheles barberi of North America Fig. 2. Map showing distribution of human malaria throughout the world. breeds only in water-holding treeholes. Anopheles bellalor, an important malaria mosquito of South America, breeds only in the water that gathers at the base of the leaf axils of epiphytic bromeliads, plants of the pineapple family that grow on the limbs of trees. In general, most anopheles breed in standing or very slowly flowing surface water, such as swamps, ponds, sluggish streams, and rice paddies. A few breed in rather rapidly running water. BITING HABITS The biting habits of anophelines also vary considerably. The females of some {Continued on page 8, column 1 ) CULEX EGGS- LARVA - PUPA- H <^? # *3 Floats ANOPHELES ADULT Fig. 3. Life stages of anopheline and culicine mosquitoes. Anopheles eggs have air floats and are never laid in rafts; the larvae lack an air tube and lie parallel to the water surface; the adults rest with the body at a marked angle instead of parallel to the biting surface. Drawings on this page by Margaret G. Bradbury. Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN June, 1950 THE SNAKE-BITE PROBLEM By CLIFFORD H. POPE CURATOR OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES . .' (TTTHAT should I do if a poisonous W snake bites me?" This is the question that the reptile man dreads more than any other because it is one question for which he has no ready answer. About the best he can do is to change the subject. Just why is this simple question such a dreaded one? Looking at the matter from the broadest point of view, there are three difficulties presented by the bite of a venomous snake: First, there is no way of telling how much venom has been injected (the necessity of knowing will be brought out herein). Second, snake venom, once mixed with the fluids of the body, cannot be separated from them by any known process. TREATMENT A RISK Third, every treatment for snake bite is of such a drastic nature that the victim must run considerable risk in subjecting himself to any one of them; his troubles are only initiated by the poison itself. Any treatment might almost be described as adding insult to injury or, better still, adding injury to injury. Now it becomes clear why it is so desirable to know how much venom has been injected: if the amount is small, the effects of it may well be preferable to those of the treatment. The first difficulty, that of being unable to determine the quantity of venom in- jected, has not been fully appreciated in the past because of the unjustified assump- tion that a snake discharges its full load whenever it bites. This is now known to be untrue. A large snake may bite and withold nearly all of its supply of poison, the process of biting being far from a completely auto- matic one. AVOID FUTILE MAYHEM The second difficulty, that of separating venom from body fluids, can also be disposed of quickly. One might think that a prompt cut at the site of the bite would cause the venom to flow out with the blood. However, the affinity of the body tissues for the venom is so great that the two become mixed instantaneously and the venom will not come out with any amount of bleeding. All the flesh surrounding the site of the bite would have to be cut out, and such mayhem is fraught with dangers. There is the story in point of the man who, bitten on one finger, seized a hatchet and cut the digit off at once. To his dismay he saw that, moving with such haste, he had hacked off two fingers instead of just one. The third difficulty, the drastic nature of the treatments so far devised, cannot be dealt with so briefly. Three scientific methods of treating snake poisoning have been developed, but no man can accurately say just what is the relative value of the three methods. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and each one calls for much further investigation. Two schools of thought have grown up, and adherents of one school are often intolerant of the methods of the other. This state of ' affairs makes impartial investigation hard to carry on. The three methods are correlated with three obvious ways of dealing with any 'DON'T STEP ON ME' Reproduction of a rattlesnake's head exhibited in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18). Poison is ejected by the long, hollow, curved, sharply pointed fangs. A series of growing fangs is always ready to replace those broken in use or shed. poison: preventing its spread, extracting it mechanically, and neutralizing it. Extract- ing the venom by incision and forced drain- ing and limiting its spread by a tourniquet are methods that may be almost as old as man. Neutralizing the venom is a recent scientific development based on medical knowledge that the ancients did not have. Immunization is not considered here because it would never have widespread use unless it could be achieved with great ease. Only those constantly exposed to danger from venomous snakes would need to be im- munized. TOURNIQUET HAS HAZARDS Preventing the spread of venom by a tourniquet is the simplest treatment and, used with discretion, it is very effective in dealing with some venoms. A tight tourni- quet kept on too long will cause local con- gestion and prompt death from shock after its release. If this dire result is escaped, serious infections may develop to cause a slower death. Experiments have shown that the tourniquet need not be tight, and there- fore the dangers from shock and infection can be avoided. Even so, the confinement of the venom in a limb for too great a period may cause loss of the limb. Again the im- portance of knowing how much venom has been injected comes to the fore, for it is certainly better to suffer the general effects of a sublethal dose of venom than it is to lose a limb by keeping the venom locked up in it with a tourniquet. Venoms of the New World poisonous snakes, with the exception of the coral snakes, are in general held in check by the tourniquet. The damage they do is mostly to the blood and blood vessels; the poison is carried about by the lymph, which courses slowly through the body and is readily checked in its flow by a tourniquet. Venoms of the cobras and their allies, which are Old World snakes, and of our coral snakes are predominantly neurotoxic or nerve-damaging substances that do not seem to be easily checked by tourniquets, but the evidence on this point is contradictory and it is far from certain that the tourniquet is not of some value in dealing with neurotoxic venoms. Application of a tourniquet, then, is an effective way of checking the spread of most New World venoms. The tourniquet should not be applied too tightly and it should be considered primarily a first-aid method to be used with discretion. THE INCISION METHOD Extracting the venom by making incisions at and around the site of the bite is a method that has been used to advantage in dealing with the same types of venom that the tourniquet checks so well. In fact, the two methods are often thought of as parts of a single one. As already explained, cutting is not simply a matter of letting the venom flow out immediately, and it is doubtful that incisions made over the actual fang punctures are of any more value than those made in the surrounding area. A great number of cuts must be made, pref- erably after some swelling has taken place. Before this there is little to cut and great danger of severing blood vessels, tendons, and nerves. The object of cutting is merely to drain off slowly the mixture of venom, blood serum, and certain waste products that accumulate to cause the swelling. In this way the amount of venom that eventu- ally reaches the blood stream via the lymph can be greatly reduced. But, as with use of the tourniquet, cutting is fraught with serious dangers in addition to the one already stated. The first of these to be encountered by the victim is the psychological difficulty of cutting. Many persons cannot cut themselves, or even a friend for that matter, and if they force themselves the strain is apt to bring on shock, or rather to increase the shock already brought on by fear. The use of local anaes- thesia would of course help, but it could not prevent the nausea brought on many individuals by the sight of blood. The second danger from cutting is the great chance of introducing infection. Some sort of mild suction must be applied over each cut for many hours, since the proper kind of drainage is a slow one. Anyone would realize that this incision treatment should June, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 be put in the hands of a competent phy- sician as soon as possible. DANGER IN ANTIVENINS The third method, neutralizing the venom after it has spread more or less widely through the victim, was thought, when first developed within the century, to be the final solution to the whole problem. Experi- ence of a few decades has slowly brought out the fact that grave dangers are associated with this method just as with the others. This serum, known as "antivenin," is made from the blood of immunized horses, and large quantities of it are required to neu- tralize appreciable amounts of venom. Many human beings react violently to antivenin, either by dying instantly or by suffering severely from serum sickness some days later. Just what the dangers from antivenin are can scarcely be estimated as long as the one school underestimates them while the opposing school exaggerates them. After a century of investigation, modern science remains unable to cope with snake poisoning. There is little doubt that if the snakes of this country, let us say, annually killed thousands instead of scores, the prob- lem would be solved in a very short time. It is hard to interest research physicians in a problem that does not exist in big cities where the institutions of medical research are concentrated. A real cure for snake bite might not save many lives but it would give tremendous mental relief to millions of persons living in the country and countless thousands of others who seek recreation in the wilds. AN EXHIBIT REJUVENATED By EMIL SELLA CURATOR OP EXHIBITS, BOTANY The recent installation of a large epiphytic aroid (Anthurium acaule), native of tropical America, is really a partial restoration. Completed in 1910, this particular reproduc- tion remained on exhibition until a short time ago. The species shown grows either as an airplant on branches of trees or on rocks. Its creeping stem produces large masses of aerial roots and its leaves often attain a length of four feet and a width of one foot or more. The flower spike is erect but be- comes pendent when the fruit develops. All in all, its total assemblage is indeed striking. In the course of rearranging the exhibits in Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29) to take greater ad- vantage of the recently introduced case lighting, we occasionally come across an individual specimen that requires something more than the usual cleaning and refreshing treatment. The anthurium was one of these; a close inspection of it revealed hidden damage to the leaves. This and the considerable darkening of the various pig- ments made it necessary to replace the foliage as well as some of the other parts in order to justify its remaining alongside the other reproductions. There were un- doubtedly other causes for this condition than the natural aging processes, such as an accidental blow at the time it was being moved from the old Museum building in Jackson Park or possible exposure to some oxidizing agents that may have been present in the exhibition case. Fortunately the necessary living material for these replacements could be obtained through the co-operation of the Garfield Park and Lincoln Park conservatories. Yet an unpredictable amount of time is always needed for the discriminating task of re- placing part of the T>ld with the new and matching the remainder so that one may not easily distinguish between them. This ANTHURIUM ACAULE Model of a tropical American aroid. This creeping or climbing perennial grows on trees or rocks. Exhibited in Hall 29. reconstruction, shown in the accompanying illustration, is the result of the combined efforts of Frank Boryca and Samuel H. Grove, Jr., Assistants in Plant Reproduction, and Artist-Preparator Milton Copulos. Australian 'Mountain Devil' The Museum has received a specimen of an Australian reptile, the Moloch lizard (Moloch horridus). The creature, resembling American spiny desert lizards, is known in Australia as "mountain devil." Specimens are difficult to find. The one received at the Museum is a gift from A. R. Main, of the Zoology Department at the University of Western Australia in Nedlands. The Moloch lizard, about 6 inches long, lives on a diet of ants. It looks somewhat like the horned toad. BIRDS FROM NEPAL The Museum recently had word that Dr. Robert L. Fleming is safely back from his successful bird-collecting trip to Nepal. Bird study and bird collecting have always been a hobby with Dr. Fleming, who is a teacher in the mission school Woodstock at Mussoorie in the United Provinces of India. He has visited the Museum staff when on vacation in Chicago, and he has long been one of our most valued correspondents. Last summer he broached the possibility of a bird-collecting trip in the little-known country of Nepal to Boardman Conover, Trustee of the Museum and Research Associate in Birds. Mr. Conover was en- thusiastic, for his own notable private col- lection of game birds would be enriched by collections from this region, which is remark- able for its wealth of pheasants. Nepal, lying just south of Tibet, has been a "for- bidden country" and our knowledge of its birds dates back over a century to the times of Sir Brian Hodgson, who was British resident there. The opportunity to learn more of its avifauna was too good to miss, and the costs of a three-month trip on behalf of the Museum were assumed by Mr. Conover. (Mr. Conover died last month — see page 2.) From Dr. Fleming's preliminary report we learn that a collection of some 700 bird skins was made during the three months spent in Nepal (November, 1949, through January, 1950). His glowing letters tell of climbing to 15,000 feet among the towering Himalayas, of travels by elephant in the tropical valleys and bird shooting from elephant-back, of his cordial reception by the administration, and of the friendliness of the people. We gain the impression of an outstanding success. The Museum col- lection will be notably augmented by the birds obtained by Dr. Fleming. Further re- port of the Nepal Expedition will be made on arrival of the collections. — A.L.R. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY FIELD TRIP The Museum's 1950 Mississippi Valley Field Trip left Chicago early in May. Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology, is in charge. Collections of the ores from three lead and zinc mining areas of the Mississippi River Valley will be made. The areas and their features are as follows: I. Wisconsin-Iowa-Illinois District: Lead and zinc mining activity has been partially rejuvenated in this area by recent geological investigations. II. Southeastern Missouri Lead Belt: Located in the Flat River area, this belt contains one of the most important lead deposits in the world. III. Southeastern Illinois: A new zinc- producing area is adjacent to the important Illinois fluorite deposits. Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN June, 1950 FIFTY YFARS AGO AF THF MUSFUM Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER One of the many skills of Carl E. Akeley in the fine art of taxidermy was his excep- tional talent for mounting horned and short- haired animals by means of his sculptural method. His artist's observation of the anatomy of these beasts is clearly shown in the life-like mounts of the Swayne's harte- SWAYNES HARTEBEEST On exhibition in Carl E. Akeley Memorial Hall. beest, now on exhibition in the hall com- memorated to him. (After fifty years of progress in taxidermy, visitors and pre- parators still comment on the skill with which Akeley caught the facial expression of these somewhat grotesque antelopes.) MALARIA MOSQUITO— (Continued from page 5) species ordinarily will feed on the blood of a wide variety of animals but may have definite preferences. Those that prefer the blood of animals other than man are called zoophilic; species that prefer the blood of man are called anthropophilic. Naturally, there are all degrees of anthropophily and zoophily. Anopheles gambiae, an African species that probably is the most dangerous carrier of malaria in the world, is a species that almost always feeds on the blood of man in preference to that of other animals. Male mosquitoes, of course, feed on plant juices and never take a blood meal. It is not likely that adult anopheles live longer than a couple of weeks, on the average. In the temperate zones, some species are known to live over the winter as adults; this is true for only a relatively few individuals of the species involved. The duration of the early stages varies, depending upon factors such as temperature, food supply, and species characteristics. On the whole, species that breed in special niches such as treeholes undergo a longer period of development than do those that live in swamps and ponds. A couple of hundred species of anopheles are known to science. Although experiments show that probably all or nearly all of them are capable of harboring and transmitting the parasites of human malaria, nevertheless only about two dozen species seem to be of any real importance in this respect. The place of man on an anopheles "food pref- erence list" may be very important in determining whether or not that mosquito will be a dangerous malaria carrier. On the other hand, a species that rates man very low may be so abundant in the vicinity of humans that it still may be an important carrier. Flight range and breeding habits may also be important. A very interesting factor, which is little understood, is the degree of compatibility between mosquito and parasite. Some anopheles are refractory to infection by the Plasmodia so that only a small percentage of individuals may become infected at all, and an even smaller percentage may become sufficiently heavily infected to insure trans- mission to humans. In some cases a par- ticular anopheles may vary in its refractori- ness to different species of malaria parasites or to different strains of the same species. Obviously the above are only a few of the many factors that determine the effective- ness of an anopheles as a malaria mosquito. STAFF IVOTES Dr. B. E. Dahlgren, Curator Emeritus of Botany, and Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Curator of Economic Botany, have returned to the Museum from the Cuba Botanical Expedi- tion .... Dr. Jose Cuatrecasas, Curator of Colombian Botany, has been appointed Corresponding Member of the Ecuadorian Institute of Natural Sciences (E. Instituto Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales). GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received during the last month: Department of Botany: From: Dr. Paul C. Silva, Berkeley, Calif. — 14 specimens of algae, California and Lower California; Dr. Hugh C. Cutler, Chicago — 73 cryptogams; Donald Richards, Chicago — 50 specimens of fungi and 284 cryptogams. Department of Zoology : From: Harry Hoogstraal, Chicago — 255 bird skins, Africa; Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, 111. — 2 mammals and 21 birds; Dr. Harald Sioli, Belem, Brazil— 131 specimens of land and fresh-water shells, Brazil; Nancy Traylor, Winnetka, 111. — a bird skin, Illinois; A. R. Main, Nedlands, Australia — a lizard, Australia; Laura Brodie, Chicago — a cottontail rabbit skeleton, South Carolina; Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, Green- wich, Conn. — 47 specimens of limpet shells; Ronald Goldman, Chicago — 16 bats (Myo- tis) Missouri. LECTURE TOURS IN JUNE DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS Tours of exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, are conducted every after- noon at 2 o'clock, except Sundays and certain holidays. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, general tours are given covering all departments. Special subjects are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays; a schedule of these follows: Fri., June 2 — Best Foot Forward — Foot- gear around the World. Illustrated in- troduction in meeting room (Harriet Smith). Wed., June 7 — What to Wear — Unusual Materials Used in Clothing (Marie Svoboda). Fri., June 9 — What's in a Name — Mis- nomers in Natural History. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (June Buch- wald). Wed., June 14 — Origins of Modern Dress (June Buehwald). Fri., June 16 — On the Rocks. Illustrated introduction in meeting room (Anne Stromquist). Wed., June 21 — Fragrant Plants— Per- fumes, Spices, Incense (Miriam Wood). Fri., June 23 — Animals of Fable and Legend. Illustrated introduction in meet- ing room (Lorain Farmer). Wed., June 28— Wisdom of the Wild- Special Habits of Animals (Jane Sharpe). Fri., June 30 — Summer Hobbies — Explor- ing the Out-of-Doors. Illustrated intro- duction in meeting room (Miriam Wood). Persons wishing to participate should apply at North Entrance. Tours are free. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between April 17 and May 15: Associate Members Mrs. Walter H. Jacobs, Glen A. Lloyd Annual Members William U. Bardwell, Myron M. Bennett, Eugene P. Berg, Mrs. Paul H. Bonfield, Mrs. Edward Earle Brice, David Dunning Brown, Miss Mary H. Burris, Alfred J. Cilella, Harry W. Clemenson, Roger W. Doderlein, Ralph O. Earlandson, Richard C. Frasier, L. Rene Gaiennie, Miss Blanche Gardner, Robert L. Grinnell, Thomas H. Hargreaves, W. C. Havelaar, Master Jonathan T. Howe, Sidney R. Johnson, Sievert Klefstad, John F. Mercer, C. H. Michael, Oscar W. Olsen, Miss Agnes M. Pearson, Alf F. Reid, P. F. Ryan, Harry H. Schraeder, Edward A. Slindee, Professor Julian J. Steen, Mrs. Florence S. Thompson, Edwin H. Wendt, Walter W. Wenholz, Hubert J. Wolfe. Detroit Newsboys Visit Museum Two hundred Detroit Times carrier boys visited the Museum recently. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS N Vol.21. Xo.7- July. H).">0 Chicago Natural /lis tori/ Museum Pages CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN July, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive. Chicago 5 Telephone: W A bash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Stanley Field Sewell L. Avery Samuel Insull. Jr. Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fbnton George A. Richardson- Joseph N. Field Solomon A. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President Marshall Field First Vice-President Albert B. Dick, Jr. Second Vice-President Samuel Insull, Jr. 7"*£rd Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary John R. Millar Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology Thbodor Just Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Karl P. Schmidt Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR H. B. Harte Public Relatione Counsel Members are requested to Inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. HENRY XV. NICHOLS, 1866-1950 The long and productive career of Henry Windsor Nichols came to an end peacefully on June 11, 1950. He was eighty-three years old. Surviving are his widow, Anna L. (Giles) Nichols, and a sister, Caroline Richards Nichols. It was his wife whose devotion and care brought him through the trying years when the load of his official duties in- creased and his health failed. Be- fore his retirement in 1944, Mr. Nichols had served the Museum faith- fully for a full half-century. He was successively Assistant Curator, Associate Curator, Curator, and Chief Curator of the Department of Geology. Mr. Nichols, son of the late Levi Lincoln and Ellen H. (Tower) Nichols, came from a pioneer New England stock. He was born on December 7, 1866, in Cohasset, Massachusetts, where his early interest in geology was fostered by his rambles over its rocky shores. Like a true New Englander, he was reticent about personal reminiscences. Seldom, if ever, did he make any reference to his early days, and none of his colleagues had any knowledge of his life in this period. HENRY W. NICHOLS In 1889, he entered Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology, graduating with dis- tinction in physical sciences with the class of 1893. After graduation, while teaching geology at his alma mater, he was called to the Museum, then known as the Field Columbian Museum, to fill a vacancy in the Department of Geology. This was in 1894, the same year that the Museum opened its doors to the public. Thus, with the passing of Mr. Nichols, the Museum not only lost its oldest staff member but one who had seen and taken an active part in the stu- pendous growth that had taken place since its inception. Soon after his appointment, Mr. Nichols made a survey of the collection in economic geology then on hand. Finding it un- balanced for a systematic display and in- adequate for study and realizing that the progress of the infant Department largely depended on field work and research, he prepared a long-range program for both and conducted some sixteen expeditions in North and South America, collecting a wide variety of material for study and exhibition. His last expedition was to the Zuni Moun- tains in New Mexico, where he went in 1929 to secure volcanic specimens for a case in physical geology, then being installed. His last papers, "Chemistry in Field Mu- seum" and "The Benld Meteorite," were published in 1939, when he was seventy- three years old. On the thirtieth anniversary of his gradua- tion with the class of 1893, he wrote to his alma mater: "Since coming here, I have been steadily occupied in building up a collection of ores and useful minerals, at- tempting to devise better means of exhibi- tion than have been heretofore employed, with the object of securing, if possible, the most useful and instructive exhibits of this kind in existence. Some opportunity for research has presented itself, and in this line, I have made detailed study of the ores and some of the rocks of Colombia; of the nature of concretions; of the origin of nitrates in cave earths; and have made chemical analyses of numerous meteorites. I have made trips, usually of several months' dura- tion, through the South Appalachian Moun- tains, the mountains of Arkansas, the lower Mississippi Valley, and parts of Wyoming and the Black Hills to study the ores and mining conditions there and to collect specimens. My amusement I take in a little gasolene launch on the Calumet River." Although primarily an economic geologist, his interest in analytical chemistry was deep and absorbing. He had a superb grasp and a most thorough understanding of the fundamentals and principles of the subject. It is not generally known that practically all of the chemical calculations and all of the analyses of meteorites contained in the numerous publications of his predecessor, the late Dr. Oliver Cummings Farrington, were the work of Mr. Nichols. Yet, but for a casual mention here and there, "Analysis by H. W. Nichols," his name rarely appeared in the pages of the publications. It was not that Dr. Farrington was reluctant to give Mr. Nichols the credit due him; it was Mr. Nichols who stubbornly refused to accept it. That a professional man would refuse recognition for his years of labor is most unusual, but Mr. Nichols was a most un- usual man and a brilliant man. Not only was he a brilliant man with a fund of knowledge that was encyclopedic and with peculiarities that are prerogatives of bril- liant men; he was also a kind and, indeed, a very generous man. His entire life was marked by utter simplicity and saintly honesty. He asked little of life and lived quietly, almost in obscurity, with good will to all, following the simple tenor of his ways. Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology -THIS MOtSTH'S COVER- Henry Ward Beecher is said to have once remarked that if men wore feathers and wings a very few of them would be clever enough to be crows. The two young crows in the picture on this month's BULLETIN cover are not long out of the nest. The world lies before them. Blessed with native in- telligence that is second to none in the bird world, young crows will profit from their own trial-and-error learning and from the example of their parents. Whether they will turn into good or bad citizens of the bird world, ornithologists do not agree. Some, pointing to the grain they may eat and the bird nests they may rob, will say they'll be bad. Others, pointing to the fact that much of the grain they will eat is waste grain and to the notable amounts of destructive insects they will devour, will say they'll be good. Probably the truth lies in between. Though the crow is black in plumage, his character is gray, with some black and some white in it. In any case, an old crow is a wise old bird, well able to take care of himself and get along without, nay in spite of, man's influence. The photograph, made by Carl Mansfield, of Bloomingdale, Ohio, was exhibited this year at the Museum in the Fifth Chicago International Nature Photography Exhibition held in co-operation with the_Nature Camera Club of Chicago. — A.L.R. July, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page S HAWTHORNS BEAUTIFUL BUT A HEADACHE TO TAXONOMISTS By JULIAN A. STEYERMARK ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM The hawthorns are conspicuous and showy native shrubs and small trees that dot the United States landscape, especially that of the eastern half of the country. Their habit of growth — low in stature, with dense foliage and branches massed together into a rounded or globular form — at once suggests the rounded low mimosa trees and bushes of some of the big-game country and veldt of South Africa. During spring and early summer showy masses of white, pink, or crimson-colored clusters of flowers cover all parts of the plant and give it a highly orna- mental aspect. While exceedingly attractive and com- monly planted for their showy flowers and distinctive habit of growth, the hawthorns as a group are notorious as probably the most difficult among flowering plants to classify. When presented with a specimen for naming, most plant taxonomists are glad to render their services. But let a specimen HAWTHORN ON MUSEUM LAWN A decorative group of P. mi's double scarlet variety (Crataegus Oxyacantha var. Paulii). Note low, round, symmetrical form, with dense foliage and crowded branches. many of these are distinct and valid as such is questionable. At the present time no botanist can definitely state that total. HUNDREDS NAMED At first a relatively small number of native species were described and recognized in the United States. As time went on and new workers became interested in the American hawthorns, many new species were described. In time, the late Professor Charles Sprague Sargent took a special in- terest in the group and gave new names to hundreds of hawthorns previously not recognized as distinct. At this point the situation became so critical and confused that other botanists, not having given the group special attention and study, were unable to place any confidence in the newly named species. Ernest J. Palmer, for many years a student of the genus, associated with Professor Sargent at the Arnold Arboretum, has devoted considerable time to the study of this group of plants. The results of his work, to be published shortly, will present the latest views to be expressed on the genus. For one thing, Mr. Palmer has not been able to recog- nize as many species as did Professor Sargent and thus has considerably reduced the total number of supposed species. In the United States the hawthorns are especially abundant and diversified in re- gions of limestone and rich soils, espe- cially in parts of the eastern and middle- western states. They are found in the tem- perate regions of the northern hemisphere, but are most abun- dant and reach their highest degree of vari- ation in the eastern half of the United States. One of the showiest and most ornamental of hawthorns is a com- monly cultivated one known as Paul's of a hawthorn reach their hands! The un- fortunate taxonomist, if he is at all honest about it, will admit that he is unable to name the specimen with any certainty. For the genus Crataegus, or hawthorn, comprises nearly a thousand named species. How double scarlet (Cra- taegus Oxyacantha var. Paulii). The ordi- nary form of the species (Crataegus Oxya- cantha) has white or pinkish single flowers with normal development of stamens. But in Paul's double scarlet hawthorn, although the petals themselves are rose-red in color, the stamens, instead of having the normal golden anthers and filaments, have developed into what resembles petals. The result is a flower that resembles a tiny rose in both form and color. When these double flowers (the FLOWERS OF HAWTHORN Close-up view of flowering branch of Paul's double scarlet hawthorn. The showy rose-like flowers are deep rose-red in color. term "double" applying to flowers in which most or all of the stamens have become petaloid) are aggregated into dense clusters, with thousands of blossoms on a single tree, the color effect is both beautiful and striking. ORNAMENTAL USE Because of its unusual ornamental ap- pearance, Paul's double scarlet hawthorn is frequently planted around homes and in parks. During late May and early June its showy masses of rose-colored flowers are resplendent in the Chicago region. The main shrub planting around Chicago Natural History Museum is dominated by this small tree, and during the time that it is in flower visitors to the Museum commonly inquire about the name of this spectacular plant. Annual Report on Way The Annual Report of the Director for the Year 1949 is now on the press and soon will be distributed to all Members of the Museum. Its publication has been delayed by priorities for various scientific publica- tions that for months past have been taxing the capacities of the Museum press. Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff. — Emerson Page b CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN July, 1950 SYMBIOSIS— ANIMALS LIVING IN MIXED HOUSEHOLDS By AUSTIN L. RAND CURATOR OF BIRDS SYMBIOSIS, a term from the Greek, is what the biologist uses to describe the living together of two dissimilar organisms. In a broad sense it includes such diverse relations as lice living on man and rats in his house, the union of an alga and a fungus to form a lichen, and the cross pollination of flowers by hummingbirds. The story of the burrowing owls of our western plains living in amity with prairie dogs and rattlesnakes as one happy family flvth JoU comes to mind as an example. But "foolish nonsense" is how the noted biographer of North American birds, A. C. Bent, charac- terizes such stories. He then goes on to quote evidence as to what actually happens, and one can see how the story originated. The prairie dogs, which are really plump, dumpy ground squirrels and not dogs at all, dig their burrows close to each other on the prairie in colonies that have come to be called prairie-dog towns, or "dog- towns" or simply "towns." Burrowing owls also take up their residence in these towns, probably because they find burrows ready made and do not have to dig their own (as they are quite able to do). MODERATELY PREDATORY The owls may make an occasional meal of a young prairie dog and a prairie dog may perhaps dine occasionally on owl eggs, but, on the whole, owls and dogs get along on terms of easy familiarity. Sometimes, when alarmed, both may scuttle into the same burrow for safety, but each has its own burrow. With the rattlesnake it is different. The rattlesnake may live in burrows in the dog-town, but when it is hungry it eats owl or dog as occasion offers. While the picture of a happy family of owl, dog, and snake is a myth, the symbiosis of owl and dog, at least, in the same colony is striking. In Africa there is a tiny falcon only about eight inches long, which is called the pygmy falcon. When Dr. Herbert Friedmann, of the United States National Museum, was studying the social weavers in South Africa, birds that nest in large colonies under a common roof made by themselves in a savanna tree, he found these falcons occupy- ing nest chambers in thriving weaver colonies. There was no friction between the weaver birds and the falcons, and they were sometimes seen to sit side by side. When Friedmann collected three of these falcons he found bird remains in their stomachs, but the remains were not those of the social weavers. Apparently the falcons were feeding largely on small birds, but they did not molest the weaver birds, which had made the nests the falcons were using. PARROT-DUCK-'POSSUM MENAGE We occasionally find a mallard nesting in a tree on an old crow or hawk nest, and there are ducks like the wood duck and the golden-eye that usually nest in holes in trees. It is more remarkable that a South American duck known as the tree teal habitually nests in a parrot's nest. The parrots, called monk parakeets, make their nests in com- pact colonies in the branches of trees, so close together that they form a single mass. The tree teal's usual manner of nesting is to lay its eggs in one of the chambers in this apartment-house colony. At first the eggs are laid on the rough twig floor of the nest, but as the eggs increase in number a lining of down, plucked from the breast of the bird, is added until it may even extend out through the entrance of the nest. Ap- parently parrot and duck both get along amicably in their pendant tree-top cradles. An opossum sometimes finds these parrot nests to its liking, though one wonders if it may not have a meal of young parrot or duck in mind. But be that as it may, in different chambers of a single communal nest of these parrots, a duck and an opossum as well as parrots have been found. On islets off the New Zealand coast lives a rather large-sized lizard-like reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon). It is rather well known by name at least, for it is one of those relics that are called living fossils because they are survivors of a formerly more widespread group. In the present connection we are interested in the fact that petrels swarm to these same islands to dig their burrows and lay their eggs in them, and it is in these same burrows that Sphenodon spends its daylight hours. Apparently the insect- eating Sphenodon and the ocean-feeding petrels share the burrows amicably. Malacologists' Meeting The American Malacological Union held its annual meeting in the Lecture Hall of the Museum on June 14, 15, and 16. Specialists in this field from all over the country at- tended. Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower Invertebrates at the Museum, was president of the organization. A NATURALIST'S EXCURSION IN SPESSART FOREST By KARL P. SCHMIDT* CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY The Natur-Museum of the Senckenberg- ische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main corresponds in scope to the Departments of Geology and Zoology in Chicago Natural History Museum. Though the building was badly damaged by bombing in World War II, the collections and library had been stored during the war. With repaired roof and an active program of rebuilding, the museum has again opened most of its exhibition halls to the public, and the scientific collections are being un- packed and brought into order. The prewar custom of an annual museum picnic, which had been of necessity sus- pended during the war and postwar economic stringencies, was resumed on May 20 this year in the form of an all-day "Ausflug," by omnibus, to the famous Spessart Forest, about 50 miles east of Frankfurt. The museum personnel, ranging from Director to night-watchman and janitress, with wives and older children, made up a party of fifty, including representation from the Board of Trustees. As newly appointed "Honorary Corresponding Member" I had the privilege of accompanying the group. STRIP FARMING Our route led through the farm land and farm villages along the Main river to the east and north, with repeated glimpses of the strip-agriculture characteristic of this part of Germany. Here the farm land has become subdivided and still more subdivided by inheritance, until the fields have become a patchwork of narrow rectangular strips, rarely with any two patches alike, planted to wheat, clover, oats, rape, and garden crops, and often with a row of fruit trees down the center. The owners of these strips of land live in villages usually much more than 500 years old, often with a thousand years of existence as communities behind them. Most striking to an American is the stall- feeding of cattle, with the careful hoarding of manure, though the barns and stalls and manure piles are here more usually in the courtyard behind the houses than toward the street itself, as is so often the custom elsewhere in Europe. Novel to us also is the use of cows as draft animals, both for cultivation of the fields and for drawing wagons and carts. As we left the flat and rich agricultural area along the Main, the low hills above us were crowned with forest, usually of beach or spruce in uniform stands but sometimes in mixture. The cultivated fields are carried * Chief Curator Schmidt is at Senckenberg Museum and University of Frankfort as a member of the Uni- versity of Chicago faculty exchange team. July, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 5 to a sharp boundary with the forests. As the road brought us into higher land the forest came more and more to predominate, though even when there is no longer plow- land, narrow strips of meadow are carried along the bottom lands of every mountain streamlet into the forest. These little trout- brook meadows, with the dark forest on each side, provide landscapes of extra- ordinary charm. RECALLS MIDDLE AGES The Spessart Forest itself is in part an oak forest. The predominance of oak is interpreted as resulting from the favoring of the oaks by man during the Middle Ages for production of acorns, valued as food for the droves of swine that were in those days herded in the forest much as are sheep on more open land. Led by the Chief Forester, we had a view of the well-kept 300-year-old stands of oak, with sometimes 40 or 50 feet of clear trunk, that are the pride of this forest. These oaks produce long, straight, and clear timbers and are of great value. A single one may bring hundreds and even thousands of dollars if it is suitable for furniture. Adjoining stands of timber have been set aside as nature reserves, and in these the largest oaks have been shown to be more than 600 years old. In these stands the oak is disappearing and being replaced by beech. Here one may see and hear a variety of small forest birds whose numbers compare favorably with those of a hardwood forest in the Chicago region. Most memorable of all their voices are perhaps the unmistakable resounding call of the cuckoo and the deep notes of the wood pigeon, which are almost owl-like in quality. At the Chief Forester's establishment we saw a few captive wild pigs and learned that these have become a plague in the forest region, raiding the neighboring fields to such an extent that strong communal pig-tight fences have had to be put up around the villages. The manager of a small iron works at the village of Laubach had invited the entire party to afternoon coffee in the workmen's community hall at the works. Mr. Dueker, our host, and his wife expressed themselves as endlessly indebted to the Senckenberg Museum for a large share of their education and regarded the entertainment of the museum personnel as a token of their gratitude. The bountiful coffee table with "Torten" and "Streuselkuchen" and endless cups of coffee was made still more "gemuet- lich" by the workmen's small orchestra, for which Mr. Dueker himself played an organ accompaniment. Chairs were cleared away and the younger couples, with not a few of the older ones, joined in dancing. KEPTILES COLLECTED Meanwhile, in the manager's auto, Direc- tor Mertens and I, with Mrs. Mertens and Miss Schirner, of the museum's reptile division, were whisked out to the head of one of the little mountain brooks, where a spring and dammed-up pool provided an unusually favorable station for amphibians and reptiles. Here we found (and collected for the museum in Chicago) seven species. The common European toad and the grass frog were both of interest for their relations with the Chinese frogs and toads recently studied in Chicago by our Research Asso- ciate Ch'eng-chao Liu. There were larvae of the fire-salamander at the spring; and the pond yielded not only the abundant mountain newt but two specimens of the extremely interesting thread-tailed newt, which is more properly an Alpine creature. A blind worm (the common limbless lizard of Europe) and a water snake rounded out our unexpected museum booty. Much of the interest of the trip lay in the frequent pauses at eating places, at a country "Wirtshaus" for second breakfast, with cold sausages and fresh rolls, a midday meal at the "Wirtshaus im Spessart," a name familiar in German literature from a book of stories with that title by Wilhelm Hauff, our surprise afternoon coffee at Laubach, and lastly a supper at Wasserloh, where huge pitchers of the local "national drink," apple cider, washed down the "Bratwurst." The final stretch of road in the dark was enlivened by group singing, and Frankfurt was reached by 11 o'clock, where we dispersed by train and streetcar to our homes. In such a communal picnic, not unlike our similar informal Department gatherings at home, we may see the roots of a genuine and native democratic spirit in Germany. FIFTY YFARS AGO Al II IF MUSFUM SUMMER LECTURE TOURS GIVEN TWICE A DAY During July and August, conducted tours of the exhibits, under the guidance of staff lecturers, will be given on a special schedule, as follows: Mondays: 11 a.m. — The Earth's Story (general survey of the geology exhibits); 2 p.m. — General Tour. Tuesdays: 11 a.m. — The World of Plants (general survey of the plant exhibits); 2 P.M. — General Tour. Wednesdays: 11 A.M. — The Animal King- dom (general survey of the animal ex- hibits) ; 2 p.m. — General Tour. Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — General Tours. Fridays: 11 A.M.— The Story of Man (general survey of the anthropology ex- hibits); 2 p.m. — General Tour. There are no tours on Saturdays and Sun- days, or on Monday and Tuesday, July 3 and July 4. Compiled by MARGARET J. BAUER "Through the generosity of Mr. W. J. Chalmers, funds were provided which en- abled the department [Geology] to prepare a collection of crystals of the United States minerals for exhibition at the Paris Exposi- tion. At the close of the exposition the collection will be returned to the Museum. It was awarded a silver medal." — Annual Report of the Director, 1900. [This collection may now be seen in Hall H. The crystals have been reinstalled in a new type of case with fluorescent lighting, each mineral being mounted on an individual plastic base. The collection includes a com- prehensive exhibit of the six main crystal systems.] * * * "The increase in the attendance must be considered gratifying; the figures showing an increase of 43,595 over 1899 in the total attendance [266,899] for the year [1900]. The visit of the members of the Grand Army of the Republic [5,813] helped this to an extent. The Museum prepared a framed directory of the museums, galleries and libraries of the city, which has been hung in the different hotels and other public places for the guidance of visitors to Chicago. It has been noted especially during the sum- mer just passed that a large number of people visiting the Museum were evidently strangers in the city, which leads one to the conclusion that the fame of the institu- tion is spreading, and that it is now regarded as one of the points of attraction to those who are transient in the city." — Annual Report of the Director, 1900. RARE FRENCH VOLUMES ON SCIENCE ACQUIRED In announcing the completion of the Museum's Library holdings of the Comptes Rendus of the Academie des Sciences, Paris, grateful acknowledgement is made to the Permanent Secretaries of the Academie, through whose courtesy and generosity the 100 volumes were made available. The Library of the Museum has endeavored over a long period to secure the volumes lacking in its set, and their acquisition as a gift is indeed fortunate. This important publication, covering the entire field of science in France, has become increasingly scarce and difficult to obtain. The numbers of the Comptes Rendus con- tributed by the Academie des Sciences, Paris, include Volumes 1 through 36, 45 through 105, and 121 through 123. The history of science is science itself. — Goethe Page 6 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN July, 1950 I LIVE IN HONDURAS BY PAUL C. STANDLEY CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM For the greater part of the past two years I have lived in Central America, in Hon- duras. I like Honduras. Most people of the United States who have never been in tropical America have an erroneous idea of it. They believe that the tropics are as a matter of course hot, and some of the m are. I do not live in that kind of tropics, and should not care to live there. People of the temperate United States also believe gen- erally that in the tropics it rains almost every day. That rarely if ever is true. Actually, in central Honduras it rains half the year, but seldom harder than in Chicago, while in the other six months there is no rain at all. There are many similar mis- conceptions of the nature of tropical lands. I have been extremely fortunate in having the opportunity to live in one of the parts of Central America that is ideal in many respects, at the Escuela Agricola Panameri- cana (Pan-American Agricultural School), located at El Zamorano, about 25 miles east of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. It is situated in the valley of the Rio Yeguare, at an elevation of 2,600 feet, with intensely blue mountains forming the sides of the valley. The school was developed and is maintained by the United Fruit Company, producer of most of the bananas that reach the North. Its director is Dr. Wilson Popenoe, eminent horticulturist and botanist. All expenses of the school are paid by the United Fruit Company, and the students, at present nearly 180, are given scholarships that cover all expenses for the three-year course. COLLECTING FOR MUSEUM During the past twenty months I have been engaged in collecting and studying plants in middle Central America under the auspices of Chicago Natural History Mu- seum, and the results have been highly satisfying. Only two countries have been visited during this Museum expedition, Honduras and Nicaragua, and most of the time has been spent in Honduras. During the past year a few months were spent in Nicaragua, most of the time in the eastern rain forest at El Recreo and Bluefields. This large region, little popu- lated, is unlike other parts of Central America in several respects. It is difficult of access except by plane, and within the area practically all transportation is by the large rivers that cross it. Most travel is in dugout canoes, which in spite of their apparent lack of reliability carry the most various kinds of articles long distances to and from the coast towns. While I was at El Recreo, the most common cargoes happened to be watermelons. This area is remarkable also for its great abundance of birds, especially toucans. One afternoon on the road to Chontales (which is passable only in the very brief dry season) there were thousands of large toucans visible at one time, almost every tree being filled with them, perched high on the branches. Plant collecting was successful about both El Recreo, on the Rio Mico, and Bluefields, the port of Atlantic Nicaragua and a most unusually attractive city for the Atlantic coast of Central America, where most towns are anything but delectable. Little botanical work has been done in eastern Nicaragua or, in fact, in the whole country. After returning to the "interior," as the ' Pacific slope of Nicaragua often is called, collecting was done first around Esteli at the beginning of the rainy season. The Esteli region, like numerous other parts of Nicaragua, is noted for its deep, heavy, black soil, often overgrown with calabash trees, which becomes a quagmire as soon as the rains start. On account of this, oxen and bulls are used during the wet months as riding animals, something unknown else- where in Central America. Esteli is arid in the dry months. The trees lose their leaves during the prolonged dry period, but with the advent of the rains they put forth bright new leaves that give the woods much the appearance of a forest of the United States in spring. STRANGE LOCAL PASTIME After leaving this place, only a short time was passed collecting about Condega, also in western Nicaragua. This small town was visited by Thomas Belt and described in his classic work, The Naturalist in Nicaragua, one of the best books ever published about Central America. Condega is famous for a unique festival celebrated there each year. During the preceding months all sorts of wild animals — mammals, birds, and snakes — are taken alive and dur- ing the feria are exhibited in cages. A? this time some of the animals, at least the snakes, are tortured and finally burned alive. The rather conspicuous cruelty to animals observed here probably has its origin in this celebration, which almost certainly descends from some ancient pagan custom of the locality. During my residence in Honduras I visited all but one of the departments. In several of them no botanical collections had been made previously. Particularly attrac- tive and botanically interesting was Olancho, a department larger than either El Salvador or Costa Rica. Until the development of air travel, which has progressed far in Hon- duras because of the poor highways, Olancho was isolated and the people had little con- tact with other parts of the country. Now, in a plane, the journey that required three days or more by horseback may be made in forty minutes. Because of its isolation, Olancho has retained many customs and traits of colonial days. Even the Spanish spoken shows many localisms, although this is not partic- ularly unusual in Central America. The olanchanos are noted also for the clarity of their speech. The region is devoted largely to the production of horses, mules, and cattle. Much gold has been obtained from the rivers, and some still is being washed there. From Juticalpa I moved to Catacamas in the same department, which was found to be rich in plants, especially on the steep slopes of the almost completely forested high peak that rises above the town. It was strange to find on these slopes, far from either coast, the same flora that characterizes the rain forest of the Atlantic lowlands. Peculiarly interesting was the abundance of black walnut trees along the small near-by river and well up on the mountain slopes. Never have I seen so many walnut trees in other areas of Central America. Ferns, too, abounded with many species, and along the stream banks were beautiful displays of pink-flowered begonias — one of them six feet tall or more — forming dense, pure stands. STRIPED PIGLETS Among the curious things observed in this part of Honduras were striped piglets, which I later saw, but in much reduced numbers, elsewhere in Honduras. About half the pigs born in this part of Olancho have conspicuous black longitudinal stripes, which disappear after one or two months, evidently an inheritance from some remote ancestor. I also saw some "zebra" horses, which were not such attractive animals as the little pigs. These horses are not too conspicuous and certainly not handsome. The two I saw one day had very fine vertical striping of sorrel or almost bay and white, which gave the effect of a corded fabric. Of botanical curiosities there is true pop- corn, which is much like that of the United States and pops almost equally well. True popcorn and sweet corn are exceedingly rare in Central America. Olancho, too, is noted for its palm wine, which was in season in March when I was there. Tall coyol palm trees are cut, the spiny leaves removed, and the trunks dragged to some central location and laid on the ground. A trough is cut along the upper side and covered with leaves. In a short while the trough is filled with the clear "wine," which is a favorite beverage with most people who know it. Slightly fermented when ready to drink, it would be much better if not heated by the sun, as usually it is. A short but profitable trip was made at the harvest season to the town of Pespire, near the Pacific coast of Honduras, and from there to the little village of San Antonio de Padua, perched high on a shelf of a mountain side. It had been reported that there grew wild at this locality the grass usually called teosinte, the only wild grass closely related to maize. This trip was made to verify the occurrence of the puzzling July, 1950 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN Page 7 plant, which was unknown previously in the wild south of Guatemala. Other trips in Honduras of varying length were to San Marcos de Colon near the Nicaraguan frontier, Choluteca, in the same department but at low elevation, to Danli, a delightful town also near the Nicaraguan border, to Comayagua, former capital of both Honduras and Central America, to the department of La Paz near by, and to Intibuca and Santa Rosa Copan (this is a quite different place from the famous Maya ruins of Copan). STAFF NOTES Gustaf Dalstrom, Artist in the Depart- ment of Anthropology, has been commis- sioned to paint a mural of the meteor crater in Arizona for Adler Planetarium. The work is being done in addition to his usual duties at this Museum. He was sent for a few days by the Planetarium authorities via air to Arizona to make sketches and aerial photographs .... Colin C. Sanborn, Curator of Mammals, last month attended the meetings of the American Society of Mammalogists at Yellowstone National Park .... Clifford H. Pope, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, is spending five weeks at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, where he is engaged in studies on African snakes .... Harry E. Changnon, Curator of Exhibits in Geology, Robert K. Wyant, Curator of Economic Geology, and Eugene S. Rich- ardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Invertebrates, attended technical sessions of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and affiliated societies that recently met in Chicago .... Dr. Austin L. Rand, Curator of Birds, recently spoke over radio station WJJD on "Bird Nests.". . . Colin C. San- born, Curator of Mammals, attended a meeting of the 5th Army Insect and Rodent Control Training Course at Fort Sheridan. Rupert L. Wenzel, Assistant Curator of Insects, also spoke before the meeting .... Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany, presented a paper on "Mesozoic Plant Microfossils and Their Geological Significance" at the symposium on applied paleobotany held as part of the recent pro- gram of the Society of Economic Paleo- botanists and Mineralogists in Chicago. STORIES IN HAIR AND FUR During the month of August and the first twenty days of September, a period when many women by a strange anachronism think about winter furs and shop for them, the Museum will display in Stanley Field Hall a special exhibit on the subject prepared by the Cranbrook Institute of Science. By means of specimens, some of which may be handled, photographs, and drawings, the 30 panels comprising the exhibit will give much enlightening information on the com- mercial treatment and uses of fur and hair. The exhibit is calculated to be of great general interest as well as of particular value to prospective purchasers of furs and those concerned with the economic aspects of the fur industry. BERMUDA ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION The 1950 Bermuda Zoological Expedition will leave July 5 for undersea work from the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc., on St. George's. Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator of Lower Invertebrates, will be the leader of the expedition, assisted by Joseph B. Krstolich, Artist in the Depart- ment of Zoology. Collecting and research will be conducted for a period of about two months. Dr. Haas will concentrate on the scientific angles, and Mr. Krstolich will do the technical work. Mr. Krstolich, provided with boats and complete diving equipment, will spend considerable time making under- sea color photographs and color notes for a proposed habitat group showing coral forma- tions as they appear under the water. Invertebrate Fossil Collecting Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Invertebrates, will leave Chicago on July 20 to collect fossils from several im- portant localities in western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho. NEW MEMBERS The following persons became Museum Members between May 16 and June 15: Benefactors Boardman Conover* Contributors Emil Eitel* Associate Members Egington Franklin, Adolf Marx, Ross D. Siragusa. Sustaining Members D. H. Wilson .Annual Members Mrs. Ivan Albright, George C. Anderson, J. H. Buchanan, Robert Davol Budlong, Francis J. Cuneo, J. Philip David, Howard Granger Earl, Preston H. Early, J. F. Ferguson, Rev. George A. Fowler, C. T. Gilchrist, G. B. Goble, Joseph G. Hagstrom, Philip Hampson, Robert E. Hattis, Harold F. Haubrich, Daniel T. Hayes, Dr. Rudolph J. Hennemeyer, Mrs. Willis W. Judd, Miss Ruth Loughead, Mrs. Victoria D. Mac- Donald, John J. O'Connor, George E. Phoenix, Mrs. Arthur C. Prince, O. R. Roach, Daniel B. Ryan, John P. Schrader, Paul Schulze, Jr., Oscar J. Smolka, William N. Spencer, Dr. I. Joshua Spiegel, William C. Wenninger. LOUIS B. BISHOP, 1865-1950 Dr. Louis B. Bishop, Research Associate of the Museum since 1939, died in his 85th year, at Pasadena, California, on April 3, 1950. Dr. Bishop was given the honorary appointment on the staff of the Museum as Research Asso- ciate in the Divi- sion of Birds when the Museum ac- quired from him "The Bishop Col- lection" of birds. LOUIS B. BISHOP * Deceased Dr. Bishop was born in New Haven, Connecti- cut, June 5, 1865. He was graduated from Yale Univer- sity and continued studies in medicine in the special field of pediatrics that he expected to follow professionally. However, his interest in birds led him to spend his life studying them and assembling the Bishop Collection. His expeditions took him to eastern Canada, the Middle West, to Yukon and Alaska. In these last areas he traveled with Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood, late Chief Curator of Zoology of the Mu- seum. In addition, Dr. Bishop had collec- tors in the field from Alaska to Mexico. Th i Bishop Collection was assembled in the period when large private collections, such as this and the William Brewster Collec- tion, now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Jonathan Dwight Collection, now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, rivaled in importance those of public institutions. The Bishop Collection totaled more than 50,000 birds, representing nearly all the known North American birds north of Mexico, and included in it were at least 19 type specimens and 33 skins of extinct birds. With its acquisition Chicago Natural History Museum became one of the im- portant centers for material on which the research on the evolution and variation of North American birds was based. After the Bishop Collection came to Chicago, Dr. Bishop, though residing in California, con- tinued to work on material he had retained for study and to have collectors add to it, so that we continued to receive material from him up until the present. With his passing is gone one of the last links with the old school of ornithologists, the men of the 19th century, many of whom studied medicine as their scientific training, who did much of the pioneer work of classi- fying and arranging the discoveries of the preceding era. They were the workers who presented the first comprehensive picture of the variation and distribution of North American birds. Austin L. Rand Curator of Birds Page 8 CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN July, 1950 Books (All books reviewed in the BULLETIN are available in The Book Shop of the Museum. Mail orders accompanied by remittance are promptly filled — The Book Shop pays the postage on shipments.) HUMAN ECOLOGY: A Theory of Com- munity Structure. By Amos H. Hawley. The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1950. xvi+456 pages, 44 figures, 58 tables. Price $5. Ecology is the systematic study of the interrelation between plants and animals and their physical and biotic environment (i.e., climate, soil, topography, and other plants and animals). The unit of study in ecology is the community, which is the plant-animal population of a particular time and place (locality or region). The growth during the past thirty years of the special field of human ecology, which may be defined as the study of the spatial patterns, form, and development of the community in human population, "has meant a logical extension of the system of thought and techniques of investigation developed in the study of the collective life of lower organisms to the study of man." Professor Hawley's book is a review of this development and a survey of the body of data and concepts that comprise the field of human ecology. The author, who is a sociologist, believes that the principles of general ecology can be applied fruitfully to man because "human behavior in all its complexity, is but a further manifestation of the tremendous potential for adjustment inherent in organic life" and "the difference between man and other forms of life is a matter of degree rather than of kind . . ." He recognizes the im- portance of culture but asserts ■ that this factor merely increases the complexity of organization but does not alter the general principles of ecological adjustment. Some other human ecologists feel that man's development of culture and his symbolic capacity (language, communication), by giving him enormous adaptability and power to alter his environment, set him apart from other organisms and create special problems in human ecology. Anthropologists support the importance of this distinction. Although anthropologists, geographers, students of population, and economic historians have long been interested in problems of human ecology, the recent and systematic development of the field has taken place in sociology. The concern has been primarily with the forms and develop- ment of community organization among Euro-American peoples and particularly in the city. A mass of data has been collected and analyzed concerning community inter- relationships, ecological zones, and ecological succession within the metropolis. Although human ecologists are "hampered by per- sistent disagreements concerning the nature of their data and the techniques of study amenable to them," the field has already produced results of practical value in the prediction of community and regional change. Such bodies as the National Re- sources Planning Board and the various «ity-planning commissions constantly make use of the concepts and data of human ecology, and as the data and concepts of human ecology are refined and systematized, city and regional planning will become more effective. This is not an easy or light book, but the wealth of material on Chicago concerning ecological zones, the growth and shifting of neighborhoods, and the vastly complex in- terrelationships within the metropolitan area should make it fascinating and instructive for any Chicagoan who is interested in the history and functioning of his city. Donald Collier Curator, South American Ethnology and Archaeology GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Following is a list of the principal gifts received recently: Department of Botany: From: Donald Richards, Chicago — 424 herbarium specimens, Finnish Lapland; E. J. Richards, Chicago — 500 specimens of mosses, Czechoslovakia; Isabel Kelly, Mexico City — 55 economic specimens of legume and Cucurbit, Mexico; Oliver Norvell, Stanford, Calif. — 58 economic specimens of legume and Cucurbit, Mexico and southwestern United States; Burpee Seed Co., Phila- delphia— 81 economic specimens of legume seeds. From: Dr. Warren Morrison, Chicago — 2 specimens of Chondria, Florida; Dr. L. J. Gier, Liberty, Mo. — S specimens of algae, Missouri; Dr. Walter Kiener, Lincoln, Neb. — 159 specimens of algae, chiefly Nebraska; Ralph A. Lewin, New Haven, Conn. — 3 specimens of algae; Dr. John L. Blum, Buffalo, N.Y. — 153 specimens of algae, New York; Dr. H. B. S. Womersley, Adelaide, Australia — 3 specimens of algae, northern Australia; Dr. Harold A. Senn, Ottawa, Canada — 18 specimens of algae, arctic Canada; Dr. Alton A. Lindsay, Lafayette, Ind. — 3 specimens of algae, New Mexico; School of Forestry, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. — 28 her- barium specimens, Brazil. Department of Zoology: From: Chicago Zoological Society, Brook- field, 111. — 4 mammals; Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, Greenwich, Conn. — 27 marine shells and 117 specimens of gastropods of the family Trochidae, including 2 paratypes; Ronald Goldman, Chicago — 2 bats, Mis- souri; the late Boardman Conover, Chicago — 81 bird skins, Perry River region in Arctic Canada; Dr. Clifford O. Berg, Delaware, Ohio — about 40 specimens of water mites, Michigan; John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chi- MOVIES FOR CHILDREN IN JULY AND AUGUST The annual summer series of free motion- picture programs for children will be given by the Raymond Foundation on Thursday mornings during July and August, beginning July 6. There will be two performances of each program, the first at 10:30 a.m. and the second at 11:30 a.m. The entertainments will be given in the James Simpson Theatre of the Museum. Children are invited to come alone, accom- panied by parents or other adults, or in groups from clubs and various centers. Admission is free. Following are the dates and titles of the films: July 6 — Elephant Boy Sabu, the elephant boy, in a story based on Kipling's "Toomai of the Elephants" (This program runs longer than normal and the second showing will start about 11:U5 A.M.) July 13 — Exploring the Woodlands Also a cartoon July 20— El Navajo Daily life of the Navajo Indians Also a cartoon July 27 — Wonders in the Country Also a cartoon August 3 — Beyond Bengal An expedition into the Malay jungles (This program runs longer than normal and the second showing will start about 11:1,5 A.M.) August 10— Adventures of Chico Story of a little Mexican boy cago — a fish, Florida; Dr. Hans Elias, Chicago — 5 marine eels, Florida; Companhia de Diamantes de Angola, Porto, Portugal — 100 bats, Angola, Africa; Leon R. Aboulafia, Tel- Aviv, Israel — a weasel, Israel; Richard Flohr — a trigger fish, Florida; Herbert Stoddard, Sr., Thomasville, Ga. — 2 young quail, Georgia; Susan Carpenter, Chicago — a tube of an annelid worm, Florida; A. J. Gorges, Eagleton, Ark. — a lizard, a turtle, and 3 snakes, Arkansas; Charles Reynolds and Leroy Williams, Eagleton, Ark. — a snake, Arkansas; Bert Windham, Eagleton, Ark. — a snake, Arkansas; Daniel G. Henson, Jr., Eagleton, Ark. — a snake, Arkansas; Dr. Kenneth W. Cooper, Princeton, N.J. — 320 insects, United States and Central America; Leslie Hubricht, Danville, Va. — 2 salamanders, Virginia. Library: From: Col. Clifford C. Gregg, Valparaiso, Ind.; Karl P. Schmidt, Homewood, 111.; Stewart J. Walpole, Mount Dora, Fla.; Academie des Sciences, Paris; Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Winnetka, 111.; George Langford, Lillian A. Ross, Mary Bostwick Day, Paul C. Standley, and Dr. Fritz Haas, all of Chicago. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS N Vol.21. No.8 -August. 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Special Fur Exhibit, August I— September 20 Paget CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN August, 1950 Chicago Natural History Museum Founded bt Marshall Field, 1893 Rooserelt Road and Lake Shore Drlre, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbasb 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour Stanley Field Sewell L. Avery Samuel Insull, Jr. Wm. McCormick Blair Henry P. Isham Leopold E. Block Hughston M. McBain Walter J. Cimmings William H. Mitchell Albert B. Dick, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Howard W. Fenton George A. Richardson- Joseph N. Field Solomon- a. Smith Marshall Field Albert H. Wetten Marshall Field, Jr. John P. Wilson OFFICERS Stanley Field President M»p