NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE
MUSEUM BULLETIN NUMBER 370
The University of the State of New York The State Education Department Albany, 1958
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119th ANNUAL REPORT
of the
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE
July 1, 1956 — June 30, 1957
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE
MUSEUM BULLETIN NUMBER 370
The University of the State of New York The State Education Department Albany, 1958
M444r-Mr58-1500
270
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Regents of the University With years when terms expire
1969 John F. Brosnan, A. M., LL. B., J. D., LL. D„ D. C. L„
D. C. S., Pd. D., Chancellor New York
1968 Edgar W. Couper. A. B., LL. D., Vice Chancellor - - - Binghamton
1963 Mrs. Caroline Werner Gannett. LL. D., L. H. D., D. H. Rochester
1961 Dominick F. Maurillo, A. B., M. D., LL. D. Brooklyn
1964 Alexander J. Allan, Jr., LL. D„ Litt. D. Troy
1967 Thad L. Collum, C. E. Syracuse
1966 Georce L. Hubbell, Jr.. A. B., LL. B., LL. D. Garden City
1971 T. Norman Hurd, B. S„ Ph. D. Ithaca
1960 Charles W. Millard, Jr.. A. B. Buffalo
1965 Chester H. Lang, A. B., LL. D. Schenectady
1970 Everett J. Penny, B. C. S. White Plains
1959 Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr., A. B., M. B. A. Purchase
1962 Edward M. M. Warburg, B. S., L. H. D. New York
President of the University and Commissioner of Education
James E. Allen, Jr., Ed. M., Ed. D., LL. D., Litt. D., Pd. D., L. H. D.
Deputy Commissioner of Education
Ewald B. Nyquist. B. S., LL. D., Pd. D.
Assistant Commissioner for State Museum and Science Service
William N. Fenton, A. B., Ph. D.
Assistant Director of State Museum
Victor H. Cahalane, A. M.
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Contents
PAGE
General Statement 7
Accomplishments of the Surveys 13
The Museum 32
Special Services 49
Publications 57
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Museum Advisory Council
1958 James L. Whitehead Staten Island
1959 Harry L. Shapiro Pine Plains
1960 Hardy L. Shirley Syracuse
1961 Arthur A. Davis Rochester
1962 Vincent J. Schaefer Schenectady
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The Staff
State Museum and Science Service
William N. Fenton, Assistant Commissioner
Anthropological Survey
William A. Ritchie.... State Archeologist, Associate Scientist
Biological Survey
Donald L. Collins....... ...State Entomologist, Principal Scientist
Donald P. Connola...... .....Senior Scientist (Entomology)
Paul Connor.......... ..........................Scientist (Zoology)
Hugo Jamnback, Jr............ .......Scientist (Entomology)
Eugene C. Ogden... State Botanist, Associate Scientist
Ralph S. Palmer State Zoologist, Associate Scientist
Geological Survey
John G. Broughton.......... .........State Geologist, Principal Scientist
Donald W. Fisher......... .....State Paleontologist, Associate Scientist
Wm. Lynn Kreidler..... .......Senior Scientist (Geology)
James N. Bowerman. ..Junior Scientist (Geology)
Lawrence V. Rickard .......................Senior Scientist (Paleontology)
Vacant ....Scientist (Geology)
Stale Museum
Victor H. Cahalane, Assistant Director Curatorial
Charles E. Gillette .............Associate Curator (Archeology)
Clnton F. Kilfoyle..... Associate Curator (Paleontology)
Edgar M. Reilly, Jr........ .............Associate Curator (Zoology)
Stanley J. Smith................................... ....Associate Curator (Botany)
John A. Wilcox Associate Curator (Entomology)
Kurt Servos ..........Senior Curator (Geology) (Resigned 6/19/57)
Exhibits
Walter J. Schoonmaker...... Museum Exhibits Planner
Louis J. Koster ........................................Senior Museum Technician
School Services
Ruth Rubin ..........Museum Education Supervisor
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At an evening reception for several hundred guests to preview the special exhibit, ‘‘‘‘The Four Kings of Canada,” Governor Averell Harriman greeted two delegates from the Six Nations, Mohawk Councilors Joseph Hill and George Buck of Brantford,
Ontario.
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General Statement
Ihave the honor TO submit a summary report of the major activities and accomplishments of the New York State Museum and Science Service for the year ended June 30, 1957. In line with the action of the Board of Regents in September 1955 on a proposed reorganization, reports of research accomplished are grouped under the Anthropo- logical, Biological and Geological Surveys, respectively, as are the related curatorial activities in the Museum, while the interpretive activ- ities in exhibits and education are reported under the Museum.
The year was marked by significant advances in research and by a noticeable speedup in the exhibits program. Our leadership in research was recognized by both private and public grants in aid of research in addition to regular Departmental funds. Mr. Ward Melville of Stony Brook, Long Island, made an initial grant for archeological exploration of a village site at Stony Brook, Long Island, and a subsequent grant for the publication of the report by the State Archeologist. Dr. Ritchie was also awarded a National Science Foundation grant in support of a study of aboriginal settlement patterns in the northeast for a period of three years. At the close of the year, the State Botanist received a substantial grant from the National Institutes of Health toward allergy studies, a field in which he has made significant contributions.
No single museum exhibit held in Albany in recent years has attracted wider notice than the exhibit on the “Four Kings of Canada” which was sponsored jointly by the State Museum and State Library in Sep- tember and October. The exhibition was staged in honor of the Interna- tional Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences which met that September for the first time in America and it coincided with International Museums Week of UNESCO. The happy combination of events enabled the two cultural institutions of the Department to assem- ble for the first time in Albany since 1712 objects of Indian manufacture left by Mohawk Indians in London, notices of their visit to the Court of Queen Anne, the silver plate which the Queen sent to commemorate their visit in 1710, the city’s portrait of Peter Schuyler, the first mayor of Albany, and living representatives of the Six Nations of Canada. Both the Governor and the Commissioner honored the opening which was marked by a reception in the Museum and the Library.
The permanent exhibition program made a bold advance in the removal of the mastodons from the Rotunda area to the east end of
8
For a special exhibit entitled , “ The Four Kings of Canada the Six Nations loaned the silver communion service which was presented to Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks by Queen Anne in 1712. Accompanying the silver from Brantford , Ontario, were (left to right, above) Councilor Ceorge Buck ( Split-water ), Chief Councilor Clifford Styres and Councilor Treas- urer Joseph Hill.
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Paleontology Hall, freeing a large area in which to greet visiting school groups. The new Orientation Hall is flanked by new exhibit cases, each of which will summarize a subject area in a larger hall. In the center of the room the school children’s old favorite, the relief map of New York, has been converted from an out-dated geological map to an up-to- date vegetational map of the State; and in the east end of the Hall of Ancient Life, Edwin W. Becker, Albany artist, has executed one of the largest mural paintings in Albany, depicting the end of the Ice Age in the Catskills where the mastodon roamed 10,000 years ago. Mr. Becker’s arresting mural was done after a water color rendering by Roy M. Mason, N. A., of Batavia, who donated his services.
The acceleration of the exhibits program followed a national survey of museums by the Assistant Director. In the previous year. Mr. Caha- lane had toured western museums, studying every phase of their activ- ities from the care of collections to their interpretation and observing the reactions of the visiting public to the exhibits. This year his note- books and photographic albums were opened to a broader field when he and the Assistant Commissioner visited museums in the southeastern United States, heeding especially the reaction of New York taxpayers to attractions outside their State.
This trip had two results: The first was a report with recommenda- tions which was first discussed at the meeting of the Museum Advisory Council on April 26, revised in the light of that discussion and com- mended to the appropriate committee of the Board of Regents for its attention. The same statement provided the foundation for drawing up program goals in cultural areas for the Commissioner’s staff conference at Cooperstown in June. The Assistant Commissioner wrote and deliv- ered the general statement as well as the statement on the Museum and Science Service.
Secondly, seeing other laboratories in museums, governmental estab- lishments and universities helped in planning laboratory space for the Science Surveys and enabled the Department to convince State officials that research laboratories require different space modules from adminis- trative offices. The scientists gratefully acknowledge the confidence of the Departmental building committee in awarding us the ninth floor of the Annex.1 These negotiations entailed numerous conferences here in the Department and with officials from the Department of Public Works. During the same year the State Architect’s office vetoed the proposed use of the light wells above the State Library for storage and exhibition pur- poses. Perhaps the most rewarding return of the survey was the chance to
1 The Annex refers to the projected 10-story addition to the State Education Building in Albany.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
discuss with professional colleagues the organization of museums, the conduct of research, the relation of research in the natural sciences to teaching in universities and to adult education generally.
Toward improving communication within the Department, the Assist- ant Commissioner held regular monthly staff meetings a week following the Commissioner's staff meetings. These sessions enabled the staff to meet Departmental officials, to report informally our research interests to the Division of Research, to improve our public relations and to bring the staff up-to-date on State travel regulations.
A number of staff changes occurred during the year. On October 15, Mrs. Marjorie Schmidt reported as principal clerk and steps were taken to organize the clerical and fiscal affairs on a more efficient basis with a view to facilitating communication with the business office. The Bio- logical Survey became a reality with the reclassification of Donald L. Collins to principal scientist (Biology), placing under his jurisdiction the scientific work in Botany, Entomology and Zoology. Two new line item positions were added to the staff, one in each area:
Scientific aide (Botany) Donald M. Lewis
Scientist (Entomology) Hugo Jamnback, Jr.
The employment problem in geology continued critical. The position of senior scientist (Geology) has remained vacant since John James Prucha resigned on June 1, 1956. He was followed by John A. Graham, scientist (Geology), who resigned January 3, 1957. The position of senior scientist (Paleontology) was filled August 16. 1956, by Lawrence V. Rickard, formerly of St. Lawrence University. The new position of senior curator (Geology) was occupied from September 27, 1956. until June 19, 1957, hy Kurt Servos, who came to us from Yale University and left to teach at Stanford. James M. Bowerman joined our staff in the Wellsville office Lebruary 14, 1957, as junior scientist (Geology). The full-time position of museum instructor was vacant until May 23, 1957, when it was filled provisionally by Miss Barbara Alberts.
The Assistant Commissioner gave a great deal of time to planning and design of research, to visiting field projects with supervisors and to reviewing research results. An innovation was achieved in planning and executing an ecological survey of the Allegheny Reservoir which represented the first integrated research by a team of scientists repre- senting several branches of the Service. It is anticipated that a report on the Allegheny Project will be helpful in formulating State policy on a public issue.
The archeological program of the Anthropological Survey reported below was expanded and supplemented with work on the Seneca lan-
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guage. The Geological Survey has given increased attention to compil- ing a new State geologic map which it is hoped for the first time in 50 years will meet a need expressed by geologists and engineers for infor- mation on vital resources. The work of the Biological Survey remains heavily concentrated in entomology. Some balance was achieved by expanding the work in zoology. The small mammal survey was started cooperatively with the Interdepartmental Committee on Rabies. The researches of the State Botanist on pollen were augmented by hiring temporary assistants.
The Assistant Commissioner’s role is largely administrative. He served the Department on the Management Advisory Council, chaired the Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Natural Sciences of the Interdepartmental Committee on Research, represented the Department on the Governor’s Committee on the Utilization of the Thomas Indian School which entailed making several trips to western New York and attending meetings in Albany. He also served on the Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Committee, securing a portrait for the Regents Room. His office conducted the Heart Fund drive for the Department.
In the course of a year the State Museum attracts some distinguished visitors. They came during the year 1956-57 from nine foreign countries including Africa and the U. S. S. R. From New Zealand and Africa three colleagues were sent to us by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
There was also the Monday when a bomb scare brought the State Police in numbers to our floor. Though the word “bomb” had been chalked on a switch box panel and the Police apprehended two suspects, some alert Boy Scouts had observed the writing on the previous Friday and were able to provide an alibi. And Monday is usually a dull day in the State Museum!
The Assistant Commissioner’s diary notes 12 major items of advice. These range from helping the Columbia Broadcasting Company and NBC’s program “Wide Wide World” to assisting the trustees of the Montgomery County Historical Society on the disposition of an Indian collection from historic Fort Johnson. A second list would include 17 talks given by the Assistant Commissioner to New York audiences, two on the program of the Museum and Science Service, and the rest on some phase of his specialty, the Indians of New York, to audiences ranging from the Girls Academy in Albany to the Graduate Anthropology Club of Columbia University. A professional responsibility which be brought to the State Museum was discharged toward the Vth International Con- gress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, of which he was secretary-general, when it met in Philadelphia in September. The Hiawatha wampum belt was adopted as the emblem of the Congress
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New York State Museum and Science Service
and an explanatory paper will be published in the Proceedings. Besides, he organized and chaired the 10th Conference on Iroquois Research at Red House and participated in the Department’s seminar on intergroup relations at Pawling.
It would be remiss not to mention the improved publications position of the State Museum as reflected in the bibliography of its staff. The Department's support has been a vital factor, but the steady flow of publishable manuscripts depends on the vigorous prosecution of a policy which holds that the taxpayer’s dollar is returned when the report of research accomplished is printed. Because no official press can possibly handle the writing of an alert staff of scientists, a Journal Series was instituted for releasing and officially recording articles pub- lished outside. Though not every man can publish in a given year and the titles listed by some would indicate that they are industrious, the larger works are a number of years in preparation and a productive scientist may appear silent on the record for a limited period. One scientist, for example, has been working steadily on a handbook of worldwide importance in his specialty.
William N. Fenton
Assistant Commissioner for
State Museum and Science Service
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Accomplishments of the Surveys
Anthropological Survey
Though smallest of the three surveys, the work in anthropology has aroused public interest and attracted the first outside support. The Ward Melville grants and the support by the National Science Foundation have enabled the State Archeologist to intensify exploration of prehistoric Indian settlements. To the work on prehistoric peoples has been added studies of their living descendants.
The State Archeologist reports on fieldwork accomplished: Major projects, undertaken and completed were confined to Long Island, where definitive work was done on two sites of the Orient culture (Stony Brook and Sugar Loaf Hill) and one site of the earlier Archaic period (Wading River) . A report combining the studies on all three sites (plus our 1953 work on the Orient culture site at Jamesport, Long Island) is in press.
Salvage excavations were undertaken at Honeoye and Brewerton. At the former, significant data were collected and a report compiled for subsequent publication.
Laboratory Analysis
The materials and other data from the following sites were analyzed and the results incorporated into reports for publication: Stony Brook, Wading River, Jamesport, Sugar Loaf Hill, South Cruger Island, Ban- nerman, Lotus Point, Van Orden, Greene Point.
A new set of archeological culture sequence and chronology charts for New York State was prepared.
Office Activities and Administration
One hundred sixteen local or out-of-town visitors, including 12 pro- fessional colleagues and 14 students, came with problems or for infor- mation for use in papers, 7 came for advice regarding a career in archeology or anthropology and 27 amateur archeologists sought help with techniques or interpretation of their sites.
Dr. Ritchie and the Assistant Commissioner conferred with officials of the Federal and State Highway Departments concerning a program for Highway Archeological Salvage and prepared draft of proposed antiquities law for New York State.
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Dr. Ritchie handled official correspondence and correspondence as president of National and State archeological societies; he supervised investigations of P. P. Pratt in Oneida Indian studies; furnished infor- mation to about 20 newspaper or other news agency communications; wrote two articles for “Notes and News,’’ an editorial, and a letter in tribute to Dr. E. A. Douglas for American Antiquity ; item for Teocentli, and an article on New York archeology for the American Peoples Ency- clopaedia Year Book.
Cooperative Work
Five groups of amateur archeologists heard lectures by the State Archeologist; officials of various organizations sought his help — Nichols Pond Association, Roberson Memorial Center, amateur archeological groups — regarding problems of research, exhibition and techniques. He identified two sets of human remains for New York State Police Laboratory.
Professional activities included presiding and giving a paper at annual meeting of Society for American Archeology at Madison, Wis., and the annual meeting of New York State Archeological Association at Rochester; giving a paper at annual meeting of American Associa- tion for Advancement of Science, New York City, at the annual meeting of Eastern States Archeological Federation in Trenton, N. J., and citing the Viking Fund Medalist, Society for American Archeology, New York City.
A study of the Seneca Indian language, an important dialect of the Iroquoian family still spoken in New York, was commenced by Wallace L. Chafe, a graduate student at Yale University under the direction of Prof. Floyd G. Lounsbury with a view to exploring the relations between first speaking an Indian language and progress in school. Beside working out the structure of the language with native informants, Mr. Chafe tested children in two Indian schools and prepared a report of his findings.
Cambridge University sent a graduate student, Mr. Merlin G. Myers, to the State Museum to prepare himself under our guidance for field- work on the political organization of the Six Nations Reserve in Canada, an investigation which enabled us to get comparative material on the same problem in New York. Likewise, Miss Cara B. Richards of Cornell University completed a study of health and education on the Onondaga Reservation and submitted two reports for use in the Department and in the Department of Health. Her fieldwork was supported by the Graduate Student Honorarium program.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
Biological Survey
EACH office of the Biological Survey engaged in one or two major activities on which relatively large amounts of time and effort were spent, and also carried on other projects on which less emphasis was placed.
In Botany, several aspects of the study of pollen received special attention, as described in greater detail below. In addition, the final steps were taken to activate a three-year project involving the radio- active tagging and sampling of ragweed pollen. Through the agency of the National Advisory Council on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a grant was made to the State Botanist for this purpose by the National Institutes of Health. The studies will be made at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
In Entomology, active fieldwork was in progress on nuisance insects and forest insects. In the former field, work on the salt-marsh green- head (a biting fly which attacks man) was brought to the point where a bulletin is being prepared to describe the findings in biology and control. At the same time, more intensive work on sandflies was begun, with the same cooperator, namely, the Suffolk County Mosquito Control Commission.
In the forest insect work, the white pine weevil and the gypsy moth continued to be the subject of special studies, and forest plantation insect problems in general came in for a large share of attention. These studies are made in active cooperation with the Bureau of Forest Pest Control of the Conservation Department.
In Zoology, work on a continuing, long-term project, a Handbook of North American Birds, to be published in five volumes, occupied the major portion of time of the State Zoologist. In addition, the Zoology office continued its small mammal survey, which includes the taking of data of special interest in the study of rabies.
Details of the projects mentioned, and of others, are given below.
Field Research by Projects
Botany Project No. 1. Aquatic plant fragments: their identification from anatomical characters.
Although tiny fragments of stems of water plants have diagnostic anatomical characters allowing their determination to genus and per- haps to species, they have never been investigated systematically despite
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potential value of the resulting knowledge to wildlife and fisheries management. Research in this field was started and about 75 samples were collected; they are now awaiting histological treatment. Each sample of fragments was matched by a herbarium sheet of correspond- ing origin. Both types of collection can be used for permanent reference.
Botany Project No. 2. Survey of airborne pollen grains and fungus
spores.
The pollen survey, begun in 1952, was completed and discontinued and the last of the 36 field stations was dismantled. Also, the last 6,000 or so of the 15,000 samples collected (which required 2,500,000 identi- fications) were processed. Now all the data are on IBM cards. The final processing is done by the Bureau of Statistical Services of the Education Department. More than half of the 80 graphs that will constitute the total have been made, about 20 having been done during the past year. Incidentally, it requires about a week to prepare one graph, including analysis of the work sheets. A preliminary report, covering the 1953 data has appeared (Ogden, 1957).
Botany Project No. 3. Ragweed pollen in the air, in relation to weather
conditions.
Growing out of the pollen survey, this project, begun in 1955, is being conducted in collaboration with the Meteorology Group, Reactor Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is designed to deter- mine the amounts of ragweed pollen in the air at different heights, at different times of day and under different weather conditions. Samplers were constructed and operated at different heights up to 355 feet on a 420-foot tower. A “standard” type of sampler (the Durham) was used and a modification of it was developed last year to overcome some of the objectionable features of the older one. The data thus far obtained seem to indicate less difference due to height than is commonly sup- posed, within the levels studied, but there are large variations due to wind velocity and orientation of the sampler. Work on two papers setting forth the results to date was begun.
Botany Project No. 4. Pollen spectra of bog and lake sediments.
What was the floristic and climatic history during the last 10,000 years? Can it be correlated with archeological culture studies? If so, we can supplement data gathered by geologists on relative ages of vari- ous glaciated areas and supply data to the Conservation Department on forest development.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
The studies have heen begun on a very modest scale to perfect and test the sampling equipment, which is being made at Philip Schuyler High School under the direction of Herbert M. Mapes, director of vocational education for the Albany Public Schools.
One hundred collections of known pollens, backed by herbarium vouchers, were added to the pollen file in anticipation of studies on lake sediment spectra and honey pollens.
Botany Project No. 5. Checklist of the grasses of New York.
Approximately 600 specimens were collected, with field notes giving a grand total of 625 new distribution records. The work on the checklist is 95 percent completed.
Botany Project No. 6. General survey of the vascular plants of New York State.
Observations and collections were made in 32 counties, yielding new records on approximately 1.500 species and subspecies of vascular plants. This project is about 75 percent completed.
Botany Project No. 7. Checklist of the mosses of New York State.
This checklist has heen in manuscript form for some time awaiting publication. The delay allowed time for the incorporation of a few records which had been added; the manuscript has been returned to the Department editor.
Botany Project No. 8. The Desmidaceae of the Susquehanna drainage in New Yok State.
Fieldwork has heen completed and identification of the collected specimens is in progress.
Entomology : Projects on forest insects.
The Entomology office has had work under way on a number of projects having to do with forest insects, most of which are carried on in cooperation with the New \ork State Conservation Department.
There are roughly three types of projects: (A) a study plot type project (biology and ecology) where conditions are noted each year during one or more definite seasonal periods to determine what condi- tions cause specific insects to spread or increase, or to die out or dis- appear; (B) survey type, where the distribution or relative abundance of certain insects, throughout the State, are reported and studied, and
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(C) control research studies, undertaken when an insect reaches out- break proportion in a wide area, or where a potentially or actively dangerous insect occurs in sufficient numbers in limited areas to make control necessary, or where the studies will furnish especially desired information.
The 11 principal projects on which data were obtained are as follows:
1. Beech scale. The sixth year in a 10-year program
2. European pine shoot moth. No further work except observation is contemplated on this insect in 1957.
3. Forest tent caterpillar. It is expected that the summer of 1957 will see the end of these studies, at least for the present.
4. Gypsy moth studies, (a) Control. Examinations were made of trees in a preseason airplane spray test plot, in which fish oil had been added to the DDT spray to determine whether the effects could be pro- longed, making earlier sprays feasible. This would avoid the residues on forage crops which might occur from late DDT sprays. Results were not favorable. Therefore, the following season (spring of 1957) malathion was tried, at half a pound and one pound per acre. On the basis of these tests, malathion appears quite promising as of the present writing, although all results are not yet available and a sufficiently com- prehensive range of dosages has not yet been tested.
( b ) Gypsy moth study plots. Data were collected from 12 gypsy moth study plots in the Lake George area in the summer of 1956. These data form the background and basis for studies that are now being made in more detailed fashion by a temporary science research expert assigned to the project. He began his observations on June 20, 1957. It is hoped to develop information that will assist in planning control measures that will avoid some of the dangers and other drawbacks of those that are currently employed.
5. Ips pini and log treatment tests
6. Red pine sawfly
7. Silvicultural practices in relation to insect attack in forest planta- tions
8. Soils and sites, their relation to tree health and susceptibility to insect attack. It is believed that many of our insect problems are a result of poor tree growth and poor vigor, originating from soil conditions.
9. Matsucoccus scale of red pine
10. Miscellaneous forest insects. Birch leaf miner
11. White pine weevil
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New York State Museum and Science Service
Entomology : Projects on nuisance insects and insects of public health
importance
12fl-13a. Tabanus (greenhead (lies) and Culicoides (sandflies) : (a) Rearing and identification. Larvae of both of these groups, in which there is much taxonomic and biological confusion, were collected and reared and keys were worked out.
126. Tabanus (greenhead fly) control. Two plots, of about 105 and 232 acres respectively, were treated by helicopter with 2.5 percent dieldrin granules at the rate of 0.3 pound technical material per acre. The larval population was greatly reduced in both plots. In the smaller plot, which consisted of an entire, isolated salt marsh, the larval reduc- tion was reflected in reduced adult populations. In the large plot, which was contiguous with untreated marsh, the adult population remained high.
Variations and improvements suggested by the work of the summer of 1956 were made and additional treatments were applied in the spring of 1957. As of July 1, 1957, these were being evaluated.
136. Culicoides (sandfly) control. Larval sampling methods were developed and small scale experimental control tests w'ere made. Studies of the seasonal abundance of the annoying adults were made. Effective work on control has had to await the solution of some of the biological and taxonomic problems (see above) and the development of sampling methods.
14. Blackfly control research. The blackfly work in 1956-57 included (1) several trips through the Adirondack blackfly areas prior to the first sprays in order to determine when the treatments should be made and (2) a trip between the first and second sprays to evaluate results in terms of larval control and (3) a trip after the last spray to evaluate practical blackfly abatement.
It was found that in spite of special attention to the Tahawus area, where we have had a collaborator taking detailed data, in both years there was a period of 3 or 4 days in June when the flies were objection- ably abundant. Special work is needed to determine the cause of this flaw in an otherwise good picture.
Zoology Project No. 1. Small mammal survey.
This project was carried on, as in the past, with the cooperation of the State Department of Health and the State Conservation Depart- ment. From June 20, 1956, to April 1, 1957, headquarters were main- tained in Otsego County. In the spring of 1957 headquarters were
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transferred to Richmondville, Schoharie County, another area of high rabies incidence.
Most of the collecting early in the period was done in Gilbert Lake State Park and in the vicinity of Otsego Lake, with other points of the county trapped less intensively. The Otsego County activities comprised a total of 15,302 trap nights. Of the 1,589 animals collected in the project through March 31, 1957, 1,450 were taken by trapping. These yielded 328 skins with skulls and 69 whole skeletons. In addition there were over 50 specimens preserved as separate skulls without skins.
Brains of over 800 specimens of shrews, moles, bats, squirrels and mice were removed, preserved and supplied to Dr. R. L. Parker in the continuing rabies study. In many instances stomach contents, parasites and other items were also preserved.
In addition to the above data, weights, measurements, reproductive data, ecological data and notes on animals other than those collected were recorded.
In the rabies studies made in connection with the small mammal survey, 890 specimens from 18 genera were used. No rabies was detected in any of these specimens.
After transferring the headquarters to Richmondville, a small trap- ping effort in Greene County yielded 69 specimens. Detailed data from Schoharie County have not yet been compiled.
Office Activities and Administration
Biological field projects are especially active in the early spring, through the summer and into early fall. Although they may appear to go into a period of relative dormancy through the winter, this “dor- mancy” is more apparent than real, for it is during this period that much of the laboratory work and office work is done, including the preparation of histological and museum material, the compilation of data, comparison of records and writing of manuscripts for publication. It is also the busy season for scientific meetings and planning for the next field season.
One of the major projects of the Biological Survey is the Bird Hand- book Project. It will require a number of years for completion. How- ever, tangible progress and accomplishment can be reported:
1. Assigning appropriate authors
2. Completing and publishing the color standard
3. Receipt of manuscripts
4. The establishing of deadlines
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New York State Museum and Science Service
Collaborating authors and agencies numbered some 50 names.
A noteworthy event was the loan from the Canadian Wildlife Service of 42 unpublished reports.
Laboratory W ork by Projects
Laboratory work was an essential feature of most of the field projects already described. Projects in which the laboratory work occupied an especially large share of the time included:
Botany No. 2. Microscope work to make identifications of material from the 15.000 field-collected pollen samples entailed 2.500.000 iden- tifications during four years.
Entomology No. 8. Soil samples were brought into the laboratory and studied to determine certain chemical and physical properties, to be correlated with field notes on conditions of trees with respect to general health and insect attack.
Entomology No. 12 and No. 13. The rearing of Tabanus and Culi- coides larvae. The mounting of specimens and parts of specimens, and the dissections and examinations, on which the keys were based, occupied a large part of the winter.
Conferences and Meetings
Dr. Ogden. Mr. Smith and the Assistant Director attended the meet- ings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Storrs, Conn., where Mr. Smith read “The Problem of Chromosome Numbers and Conservative Species” before the American Fern Society. The two Bot- anists participated in the second annual Mycological Foray at Croghan in October and the third annual Mycological Foray in the Huntington Forest, near Newcomb, in June. These forays are cooperative under- takings involving botanists from the State University colleges, the East- ern New' York Botanical Club and eastern Canadian institutions.
Mr. Smith directed a field trip to the Adirondacks for registrants at the Summer Institute for Teachers of Botany, a National Science Foundation Institute, sponsored by the Botanical Society of America, at Cornell University.
The entire scientific staff of the Entomology office attended the 10th International Congress of Entomology held at Montreal in August 1956. The work described in their papers has attracted worldwide attention. They also participated in the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in New York City in December.
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Other meetings attended were: (1) Society of American Foresters in Syracuse (Connola), (2) Northeastern Forest Pest Council in Boston, Mass. (Collins and Connola), (3) Northeastern Mosquito Control As- sociation, Providence, R. I. (Jamnback and Collins), (4) The American Mosquito Control Association in Miami, Fla. (Collins).
Dr. Jamnback was elected vice president of the Northeastern Mosquito Control Association. Dr. Collins continued as editor of Mosquito News , the journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.
The State Zoologist attended the annual meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society in Buffalo in April and the annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Storrs, Conn., in August. At a sectional meeting of the affiliated Ecological Society of America, he read a biographical account of the late Dr. C. C. Adams, onetime Director of the State Museum. In September he attended the annual meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union in Denver, Colo., to report to the Council on the Handbook of North American Birds. In November he attended the annual meeting of the National Audubon Society in New York City. Dr. Palmer and Dr. Reilly represented the organization at the opening of the new Ornithology Laboratory at Cornell University in May. On March 12, 1957, Dr. Palmer attended the annual meeting of the Linnaean Society of New York in New York City.
Student Honoraria
The following student honorarium recipients reported on their work:
B. Collette ($200) Life history of the swamp darter. (Zool.)
H. Klein ($300) (A renewal) Ecology of deermice. (Zool.)
J. New ($100) Marking small mammals with dyes. (Zool.)
R. Stein ($100) Biology of the alder flycatcher. (Zool.)
D. Cox ($200) Pollen spectra in New York State bogs. (Bot.)
Cooperative Work
Each office of the Survey deals directly with the public on matters within its purview. In Botany, telephone calls and correspondence in- cluded requests for information on pollen-free areas and weed control, as well as information on plants in general. In Entomology, calls and correspondence related chiefly to household insects, structural pests such as termites, insect pests of forest and shade trees, and numerous insects including blackflies and mosquitoes. Considerable time was saved by preparing in advance short, typed informational circulars, so that they
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New York State Museum and Science Service
could he sent out in answer to the questions. In some instances circulars from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and from the State University College of Forestry were sent out in answer to questions. The late spring apparently resulted in more birds and animals being seen by more people than usual, as evidenced by an increased number of telephone calls received in Zoology asking for information on the specimens seen. State agencies which frequently submitted specimens for identification and advice were the New York State Department of Health, the Con- servation Department, the Department of Agriculture and Markets and occasionally the Department of Public Works. Many specimens were brought into the Entomology office by Pest Control operators. In all, about 300 requests for information on insects were received and an- swered in the Entomology office.
Many of the Science Service projects depended upon the active partic- ipation of one or more collaborating agencies, as follows:
Pollen survey: Bureau of Statistical Services, New York State Edu- cation Department: Division of Laboratories and Research. New York State Department of Health.
Ragweed pollen in the air: Meteorology group, Reactor Department. Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Pollen spectra of bogs and lakes: Philip Schuyler High School, Voca- tional Education Department.
Forest Insect Projects: Bureau of Lorest Pest Control and other bureaus of the Division of Lands and Lorests, New York State Con- servation Department: American Cyanamid Company; United States Lorest Service; State University College of Lorestry at Syracuse; State University College of Agriculture at Cornell Llniversity; State University Agricultural and Technical Institute, Larmingdale, and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research.
Nuisance Insects and Insects of Public Health Importance: Suffolk County Mosquito Control Commission; Long Island State Park Com- mission; Town of Webb; National Lead Company; United States Lish and Wildlife Service; New York State Department of Health, Division of Laboratories and Research; Tuckahoe School District.
Bird Handbook Project: American Ornithologists’ Union; 50 orni- thologists and ornithological agencies.
Small Mammal Survey: New York State Department of Health, New York State Conservation Department, Gilbert Lake State Park Commission. The Larmers’ Museum, Cooperstown, State University Agricultural and Technical Institute at Cobleskill.
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Professional Activities of the Staff
During June and July, Dr, Ogden was on leave to teach at the Uni- versity of Minnesota summer session. He also lectured on the survey of airborne pollen before the Eastern New York Botanical Club and before the Sigma XI Society.
Dr, Collins and Mr. Connola, at the request of the Bureau of Forest Pest Control, Conservation Department, attended the annual meetings of the district foresters and fieldmen to answer questions.
Dr. Collins continued to act as editor of Mosquito News , the official journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. He also con- tinued on the advisory board of the Northeastern Mosquito Control Association and continued as a member of the Northeastern Forest Tree Improvement Committee and as a member of the Northeastern Forest Pest Council. Dr. Jamnback became vice president of the Northeastern Mosquito Control Association.
Mr. Wilcox conducted field classes in insect study for the fifth and sixth grades of East Greenbush school and lectured on the taxonomy of beetles at the State University College for Teachers at Albany.
Dr. Collins gave two lectures on garden insects to garden clubs, one in Loudonville, one in Ravena, and a lecture on ticks and other ecto- parasites in Amsterdam.
Dr. Palmer was elected to the Council of the American Ornithological Union, and continued as scientific adviser for the E. N. Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville and to the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs.
Dr. Reilly visited the American Museum of Natural History to identify and compare bones of pleistocene mammals uncovered in the State. He lectured on birds of New York before the White Plains Garden Club and made 14 appearances locally before schools and clubs to give talks on birds and animals. He also instructed two sessions of the Conserva- tion Department workshop, at Alps, N. Y., in September, and gave a talk on the biological sciences on “Career Day” at Chatham Central School.
Geological Survey
The past year has seen the published results of a number of re- search projects which were supported in the recent past. Manu- scripts have also been submitted for publication which summarize addi- tional researches.
Two major projects now completed deserve special mention. a. An eight-year study of the geology of the Paradox Lake, Ticon- deroga, Elizabethtown and Port Henry quadrangles by Matt
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New York State Museum and Science Service
W alton and John Rodgers of Yale University, was terminated. The maps have been completed and a report which is now being written will contribute greatly to the understanding of the origin of the rocks and ore deposits of the eastern Adirondacks.
b. Two reports have been submitted by Paul MacClintock of Prince- ton University, and associates, who were employed as temporary experts to study the glacial geology and surficial deposits of the St. Lawrence Valley and of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Projects. These preliminary reports have been in great demand by the authorities and engineering concerns engaged in construc- tion of these major engineering works, and the foresight which went into planning, undertaking and completing this research in time for its practical use has earned wide notice.
Field Research
Because the reporting period encompasses portions of two field sea- sons, it will he necessary to list these hv fiscal years.
1956—57
The survey of limestones in New York State was carried on at a re- duced scale. Two months’ fieldwork during the 1956 field season was carried on by John H. Johnsen of Vassar College, assisted by Samuel Stevens of Syracuse University. This field season saw the completion of geologic fieldwork in Jefferson County.
Matt Walton of Yale University completed the fieldwork of a four quadrangle (Paradox Lake, Ticonderoga. Elizabethtown and Port Henry) area in the Adirondacks. He was assisted by Benjamin Berry.
Paul MacClintock of Princeton University, though not employed by the State during the 1956-57 field season, was in the field through the courtesy of the engineering concerns working in the St. Lawrence area. During the winter of 1956-57, he and David P. Stewart of Miami Uni- versity reported on the Pleistocene geology of the St. Lawrence Valley and MacClintock reported on the engineering geology of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Projects.
Ernest Muller of Cornell University continued his investigation of the surficial geology of Chautauqua County assisted by Donald Noble.
Fieldwork supplemental to the State Geologic Map was carried on by paleontologists and stratigraphers during the 1956 field season. Irving H. Tesmer of Rutgers University extended Upper Devonian studies eastward from the Jamestown and Cherry Creek quadrangles. His report on 15-minute quadrangles in southwestern New York was received. Donald B. Potter of Hamilton College, assisted by Brian Davis,
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continued stratigraphic and structural studies in the Hoosick 15-minute quadrangle. The complexity of the geology will necessitate much more fieldwork. A preliminary report and map was submitted. One month in the field enabled W. A. Oliver, Jr. of Brown University to complete stratigraphic studies of the Onondaga limestone in western New York.
Three grants were made to student geologists under the New York State Museum and Science Service Honorarium program:
1. Willard Leutze of Ohio State University, Stratigraphy of the Camillus group east of Syracuse.
2. Thomas Talmadge of New York University, Structural and strati- graphic studies in the deformed Cambrian and Ordovician rocks near Old Chatham.
3. Robert Shumaker of Cornell University, Pleistocene mapping near Scipio and Union Springs.
All returned summary reports before April 1, 1957.
1957—58
John H. Johnsen continued to study the Ordovician limestones west of the Adirondacks, assisted by Charles Rockwell of Harpur College, State University of New York. The fieldwork is limited to the limestones of Lewis County, and special field checks are being made for rock con- tacts needed for the State Geologic Map.
Ernest Muller, assisted by Charles Ruth, is continuing investigations of the glacial geology into Cattaraugus County, especially in the Alle- gheny River watershed, where particular attention is being paid to the area of the proposed Allegheny Reservoir to be flooded by the Kinzua Dam.
Irving H. Tesmer was employed for a period of one month to in- vestigate the bedrock geology in the same area. His work was partially supported by a grant from the Geological Society of America.
Donald Potter, again assisted by Brian Davis, is mapping the Hoosick 15-minute quadrangle.
For several years past, we have planned a research program in the Upper Devonian rocks of central New York and in the Catskill Moun- tains of eastern New York. A long-term and difficult problem in stratig- raphy, paleontology and sedimentation is foreseen which, for the first time, will provide information on the succession of these rocks which millennia ago were deposited in a great delta similar to the present Mississippi Delta. Robert G. Sutton of the University of Rochester, assisted by Frederick Manley, began the research which will afford basic scientific data and will also yield information for oil and gas companies.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
Yi ith the advent of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a number of Lake Ontario ports will come into greater prominence. Port of Oswego will handle a much larger volume of lake traffic, especially with its rail connections to Syracuse and the Pennsylvania coalfields. Industrial construction in the Oswego area will increase. Much of this area is deeply buried hy glacial deposits. We, therefore, proposed to explore these deposits for water supply, engineering foundations and sources of construction material. Russell F. Kaiser of Syracuse University used a technique of mapping which involves geological interpretations of soil maps, concentrating on the area around Oswego.
Three grants were made to student geologists on the Honorarium program.
1. V il lard Leutze, Stratigraphy of the Camillus group in central New York.
2. Kenneth Kothe of Cornell University, Schunemunk 15-minute quadrangle.
3. Richard Berry of Yale University, Precambrian portion of the 15-minute Whitehall quadrangle.
Field Research of Permanent Employees
D. V . Fisher and L. V. Rickard spent some time making field checks for geologic contacts to he used in the State Geologic Map.
J. A. Graham spent a month in outcrop mapping of portions of the Peach Lake. Lake Carmel and Brewster 7^-minute sheets of the Carmel 15-minute quadrangle.
D. V . Fisher is completing fieldwork on the bedrock geology of the Plattsburgh and Rouses Point 15-minute quadrangles. He and Rickard have also made trips in connection with the State Geologic Map to the Taconic region of eastern New York, the St. Lawrence Valley and southwestern New York.
Laboratory W ork and Compilation
In 1956, J. G. Broughton began writing a text dealing with the geologic history and applications of geology in New York State. There has been no such summary in a generation for advanced high school students, college undergraduates and interested laymen. In view of the primary importance of the mantle rock in New York State, a discussion of the soil and glacial deposits will precede the section on the geological history of the older rocks.
D. W. Fisher has carried on extensive library research and laboratory studies of Tentaculitids. Hyolithids and other conical shells of unknown
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biologic affinities as his contribution toward the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, an encyclopedia of some 28 volumes on all described genera of fossils to date. This involves reading articles in foreign jour- nals and corresponding with paleontologists over the world. Fisher’s study of the bedrock geology of the Canajoharie, Fonda and Amsterdam 15-minute quadrangles has been completed.
The majority of Rickard’s time was directed toward the compilation of the Paleozoic portion of the New York Geologic Map. The latter part of 1956 was spent in a survey of existing knowledge and informa- tion and actual drafting was initiated in 1957 and is now about two- thirds complete. Some work has been done on manuscripts describing the stratigraphy of the Lower Devonian limestones in eastern and central New York and on the bedrock geology of the Richfield Springs quadrangles.
Four of the five maps showing the location and records of deep gas wells of New York State have been compiled by W. L. Kreidler, assisted by Bartz, Bowerman, Johns and former employees of the Wellsville office.
J. A. Graham, prior to his resignation, completed the editing and revision of a U. S. Geological Survey manuscript entitled “The Mineral Resources of New York State.”
Office Activities and Administration ; Conferences and Meetings
A large percentage of the State Geologist’s time was devoted to carry- ing the necessary load of activities which resulted from the vacancies in two scientific positions. Extensive correspondence and interviewing of candidates in connection with possible appointment to vacant posi- tions resulted in filling three of the four vacancies.
Two extensive memoranda were forwarded for the information of the Joint Legislative Committee on Interstate Cooperation: one dealing with the storage of petroleum products and wastes in underground rock formations of New York State, the other dealing with problems of production of oil and gas in the State, in general, and particularly in offshore waters.
At the request of the Governor’s office and Commissioner Allen, Broughton and J. R. Dunn, the latter of Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti- tute, went to Niagara Falls to inspect the damage caused by the disastrous rock fall at the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation plant and to consult with State, municipal and private officials. Later in the summer, Broughton, Fisher and Graham spent three days inspecting the Niagara cliff line from the falls to Lewiston. One serious danger
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New York State Museum and Science Service
point and several lesser ones were noted and called to the attention of the Niagara Frontier State Park Commission. As a result of this warn- ing. precautionary measures were taken.
Broughton and associates carried on the checking and correlation of individual mineral production statistics for the calendar year 1956. He also reviewed and edited the geological portion of manuscripts dealing with various drainage basins for the State Health Department; advised the Bureau of Environmental Sanitation with respect to under- ground disposal of chemical wastes from the Niagara Falls area; co- operated with the State Health Department in a study of congenital malformations which may have some correlation with areas in the State of slightly greater natural radioactivity than usual; advised the city of Batavia with respect to the effect on water supply of the establish- ment of a new railroad grade through the city.
Kreidler advised the Conservation Department on leasing of refor- estation lands. He also supplied data to the Public Service Commission. The staff cooperated with representatives of the oil and gas industry in the planning and preparation for the annual New York State Geo- logical Association meeting held at Wellsville.
Data were supplied to the New York State Conservation Department in connection with the water supply for their installation at Perch Lake in Jefferson County.
Broughton assisted in revising plans for laboratories of the State Science Service and of the Geological Survey in particular, in the pro- posed ninth floor of the Education Department Annex.
The Survey compiled and issued its 8th Annual News Letter.
Because the Geological Survey does not carry on any regulatory activities. Broughton resigned as a member of the Regulatory Practices Committee of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission. As chairman of the Mineral Resources Committee of the Interstate Commission on the Lake Champlain Basin, Broughton prepared a summary report for the annual meeting and delivered it for the committee.
The following conferences and conventions were attended by staff members for professional purposes:
Broughton
20th International Geological Congress. Mexico City
Second Nuclear Engineering and Scientific Congress. Philadelphia, Pa.
Northeastern Mining Branch Conference of American Institute of Mining Engineers, Hershey, Pa.
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Joint Legislative Committee on Interstate Cooperation Conference on Flood Waters and Disaster
New York-Vermont Interstate Commission on the Lake Champlain Basin, Basin Harbor, Vt.
New York State Geological Association, Wellsville, (entire staff) Friends of the Pleistocene, Massena Fisher and Rickard
Spring and fall meetings of the Paleontological Research Institution American Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, Trenton, N. J.
Kreidler
American Petroleum Institute meeting, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Servos
American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York City
Miscellaneous Service Activities of the Staff
All staff members, but especially Broughton and Fisher, made fre- quent trips to oversee the work of temporary geologists and students. Broughton made an investigation of purported tungsten occurrences in Rensselaer County and had chemical analyses made to support the work. He also made an extensive investigation of the relation of anortho- site to industrial sites in the Adirondacks for the Reynolds Metal Com- pany at the request of the New York State Department of Commerce.
All staff members consulted with uranium prospectors and made laboratory investigations and field visits to the reported occurrences.
Broughton prepared an opinion for the Governor’s office concerning the effect of industrial construction in Saratoga Springs near the site of one of the State wells.
Interest in deep drilling for gas in the Allegany State Park was increasing. A number of oil company geologists have spent extensive time in the office studying our well records and file of well cuttings.
Professional Activities
Broughton: Public Relations Committee of the American Geological Institution; a representative. Association of American State Geologists on Program Committee for the Second Nuclear Congress; secretary- treasurer, Industrial Minerals Division, A.I.M.E., and chairman of the By-Laws Committee.
Broughton attended the annual meeting of the Board of Visitors of the Geology Department of Union College.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
The Museum
Curatorial Activities
The care and preservation of collections, service to the inquiring public, assistance to the scientists, accessions and loans constitute the important duties of curators in a public natural history museum.
Archeology
The Curator of Archeology answered inquiries from 102 visitors to his office, predominantly requests for the identification of Indian artifacts or other anthropological data. Among these items were skele-
The skull of an aboriginal inhabitant of New York State in process of cleaning by the Curator of Archeology, prior to study and storage in the collections
tons excavated near Sprakers for Edward J. Sheehan of Fonda and advice on Iroquoian material culture to Thomas H. Benton for a mural in the St. Lawrence Seaway Office. The Curator opened the masks collection to Encyclopaedia Britannica Films. Other inquiries were an- swered by mail.
A substantial portion of the Curator's time was devoted to assisting the State Archeologist in research. These time-consuming duties which are properly those of a scientific aide included the systematic sorting
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of artifacts by reference to the catalog and their inventory; the identification of certain pieces illustrated on plates, and the identifica- tion of stones, shells and bones. Maps of two sites were drafted and a map of the Hudson Valley was keyed with site locations.
Routine duties of caring for the collections occupied the greater share of the Curator's time. The State Archeologist requested that a much more detailed type catalog should be maintained with each significant specimen receiving its own identification number. Collections are being checked and an item catalog made by types with each significant piece receiving a serial subnumber. Work has been com- pleted for the collections from Albany, Allegany, Broome and Cayuga Counties and is presently concerned with Chemung County.
Ethnological specimens which require protection against insects — primarily the Iroquois masks and the clothing — have been filed in four new cabinets. Boxing the archeological collections in dust-tight con- tainers with identifying labels has proceeded.
A number of collections came to the State Museum. The more impor- tant of these accessions included:
Heath Collection, Beloit, IT is. (selected items purchased) Museum, State University Teachers College at Potsdam (donated) Percy W. Dake, Saratoga Springs (pottery sherds)
Miss Maude M. Hinckel, Mechanicville (wooden ladle)
James A. Magee, Lake George (two chipped stone artifacts)
Roy Latham, Orient (charcoal samples)
St. Laurence University (stone artifacts)
Rubin Frodin, Albany (pair of leggings)
Chauncey P. Williams Collection Edward Brooks Collection
Archibald T. Shorey, Albany (three masks and a pipe fragment) Francis C. Kellogg, Santa Barbara, Calif, (bow and two arrows) H. V. Shiefer, Cleveland (flint samples from the Flint Ridge) Regent Roger W . Straus (string of Egyptian glass beads)
Foster Dysinger, Roberson Memorial Museum, Binghamton, (pot- tery sherds)
Staff activities produced collections from sites excavated at Stony Brook, Sugar Loaf Hill and Wading River on Long Island; the Dake site on Fish Creek in Saratoga County; the Morrow site on Honeoye Lake, and numerous articles from site surveys. These were accessioned.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
cleaned, repaired and cataloged. During the year 205 slides were cata- loged and added to the collections.
Ten loans of anthropological articles were made. Two loans were returned.
An open exchange was arranged with the United States National Museum. A series of representative Point Peninsula pottery sherds was donated to the Roberson Memorial Museum.
The New York State Museum exhibited at the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania during the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences at Philadelphia, and contributed to the special exhibit of Hopewell Art and Archeology of the Wisconsin State Historical Society during the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Botany
The backlog of routine preparation of specimens of all nonvascular plants was 75 percent completed. All of the nonvascular plants were sorted and about 1.000 specimens were prepared for the permanent and exchange collection. About 50 percent of the collection of Agarica- ceae was pest-proofed. The curator was aided from December 6 to December 31. 1956. by Mrs. Clara Schultz as an herbarium assistant.
Entomology
The transfer of insect specimens from the obsolete cardboard boxes to the National Museum type drawers was continued. Transfer of the Hymenoptera and Hemiptera was completed, and about half of the Coleoptera, totaling some 90.000 specimens.
Zoology
Specimens from the mammal survey were tagged, numbered, cata- loged and added to the general collections. (See also report on the Mammal Survey.)
Accessions etc.
Botany
The herbarium was enlarged by the collection of some 3.496 speci- mens, including 891 fungi, 1 alga. 1.106 mosses and liverworts and 1,498 vascular plants. Most of these plants were collected by the Curator. All but nine of these specimens were collected in New York State.
Under exchange arrangements, our collection received 16 specimens from the University of California and 35 specimens from the United
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States National Herbarium in Washington. Gifts of the specimens were made by 10 individuals. Including these gifts and exchanges, the total accessions numbered 4,961 specimens.
Entomology
Eight silkworm life cycle exhibit cases were given to the Museum by the New York Office of the Central Raw Silk Association of Japan. These will be used to loan to schools and smaller museums. Several thousand insect specimens were collected by the Curator on special collecting trips and by the personnel of the field projects.
Zoology
Accessions from the small mammal survey included about 333 skins with skulls, and 73 whole skeletons, as of March 31. There were also 50 skulls without skins. A number of additions were made after the headquarters were changed, but these have not yet been cataloged. A collection of birds’ eggs was donated by Mr. John Belknap of Gouv- erneur.
State Lists
The Curator of Botany was especially active in adding new records to county lists, with 773 new records of species and subspecies in 35 counties.
Two taxa of vascular plants were added to the State list. For the Checklist of Mosses, 38 additions to the records for different quadran- gles were made.
One new blaekfly record was made, and it is probable that the collec- tion of sandflies will also contain new records.
In the mammal survey, weights, measurements and reproductions data were recorded for 1,412 specimens of mammals.
Loans
Loans of biological material to responsible institutions and indi- viduals were made as follows:
Plants: 5 loans of types of fungi and related specimens; 1 to the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, 1 to the University of Iowa. 1 to the University of Michigan and 2 to the University of Tennessee, in all, comprising 34 specimens.
Insects: 95 Meloid beetles and 64 Tineid and Blastobasid moths to Dr. Richard Selander, Illinois Natural History Survey, for research studies.
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New York State Museum and Science Service
Nineteen Calliopsis bees to Dr. Charles Michener, University of Kansas, for research studies.
Three drawers of Forest Pest exhibit material to the Conservation Department for a foresters’ meeting.
One silkworm life cycle exhibit case to the Rensselaer Junior Museum, Troy.
Five insect exhibit cases for exhibition in schools in the East Green- bush Central School District.
Donations
Paratypes of the blackfly Cnephia loisae Jamnback were sent to Dr. Alan Stone as a donation to the collections of the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C.
Geology
In addition to accessioning some recently acquired specimens into the mineralogical collection, the Curator made an effort to acquire new specimens. Collections of specimens, some of them fine suites that are eminently suitable for display purposes, were acquired from:
Mr. Elmer B. Rowley, Glens Falls
Dr. A. C. Worth, Jr., Albany
Mr. Jerome F. Lapliam, Glens Falls
Mr. Robert A. Zullo, Albany
The Anaconda Company, Grants, N. Mex.
Idarado Mining, Company, Ouray, Colo.
New Jersey Zinc Company, Gilman, Colo.
Wyoming Uranium Corporation, Lander, Wyo. Commercialores, Inc., Clover, S. C.
Talacbe Mines, Inc., Boise, Idaho Prof. C. O. Hutton, Stanford, Calif.
Howe Sound Company, Holden, Wash.
Calumet & Hecla, Inc., Calumet, Mich.
Minerva Oil Company, Cave-in-Roek, 111.
Bell Minerals Company, West Paris, Maine The Anaconda Company, Butte, Mont.
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, Fallon, Nev.
Kennecott Copper Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah New Park Mining Company, Keetley, Utah Russel R. Schaefer, Crooked Creek, Alaska Pickands Mather Company, Duluth, Minn.
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In addition, a large collection of specimens donated by Mr. E. E. Davis, Norwich, in 1932, was unpacked and curated. The Curator collected specimens which were accessioned into the general collections from Tilly Foster Iron Mine and from the Shawangunk Zinc Mine.
In December 1956. the Capital District Mineral Club was founded with an initial membership of some 40 people which has now increased to more than 70. This club was sponsored by the New York State Museum and has an active program.
More than 50 mineral sets for classroom use, and individual minerals, were sent out.
After extensive correspondence with curators in other museums the Curator devised and executed a system for cataloging the specimens in the State Museum.
The Curator carried out several X-ray diffraction examinations on minerals for the State Museum in the laboratories of Yale University, and six radioassays were carried out on radioactive samples.
More than 30 collections of rocks and individual specimens were sent to the Museum for identification. The determinations varied in difficulty from megascopic sight identification to detailed X-ray diffrac- tion and microscopic determinations.
The Curator assisted other scientists on the staff by identifying min- eral and rock specimens.
Specimens of calcite from Sterlingbush were donated to the Geo- chronometric Laboratory, Yale University, for use as a standard in radiocarbon date determinations.
Service Activities
Service activities of the curators in connection with the Geological Survey include the following:
Paleontology. Assistance was rendered to a number of visiting scien- tists. William B. N. Berry of Harvard College visited the Museum for four days and was assisted in his study of graptolites. Professor Harlan Banks of Cornell University worked over fossil plant study material greatly reducing it. Erwin Stumm of the University of Michigan was assisted for several days in his study of fossil corals. In addition, data on fossil types and fossil localities were supplied to a number of other cooperating scientists and laymen.
Type numbers were changed from fractional number system to serial number system on 525 exhibit specimens. Fifty-three specimens were treated to stop or prevent disintegration. The contents (1,955 type specimens and 2,972 exhibit specimens) were removed from 51 Museum
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New York State Museum and Science Service
exhibit cases and the subgallery of fossil plants and most of the material was cataloged and stored. Collections containing 3,598 specimens were packed for shipment. Seventy-nine accession entries were made in the locality and accession records. One thousand four hundred and fifty- three specimens were ticketed with locality numbers. As usual, a con- siderable amount of time was spent in keeping type catalog card data up to date.
Important Accessions turned over to the Museum by scientists:
Paleontology :
a. One hundred and five fossil specimens from various formations and localities in Chautauqua County, New York by Mr. Irving H. Tesmer of Dunkirk.
b. Forty-seven fossil specimens from the Syracuse, New York area by Mr. Willard P. Leutze, Ohio State University, Colum- bus, Ohio.
c. A collection of 1,051 specimens from the Hoosick Falls area, New York-Vermont by Mr. Lawrence D. Bonham, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
d. Twenty mounted specimens of scolecodonts from the Devonian of Michigan were acquired in an exchange with Dr. E. R. Eller of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.
e. Two hundred and forty fossil ostracods (including 228 type specimens) by Mr. Lewis E. Stover, University of Rochester, Rochester.
Loans and Donations
Paleontology records eight loans. Among them The Arnold Collection of fossil echinii (approximately 3,494 specimens) from the Island of Jamaica was sent to the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, on an indefinite loan.
The Curator’s report records eight donations for teaching purposes to educators as far away as Truk, Caroline Islands and as near as Troy.
Professional Activities
Archeology
The Curator of Archeology carried on the correspondence and other duties of his position as secretary of the New York State Archeological Association. He attended the annual meetings of the Eastern States Archeological Federation and of several neighboring and local arche- ological societies.
119th Annual Report
39
Exhibits and Preparation Staff
The Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Director, Exhibits Planner, Exhibits Designer and both Preparators attended the Northeast Con- ference of the American Association of Museums held at Corning.
Museum Exhibits
The task of renovating and modernizing the extensive series of exhibits got under way. Considerable time was expended, particu- larly by the State Geologist, the State Paleontologist and the Curator of Archeology, in making plans for floor layouts and distribution of exhibit subjects. The Assistant Director concentrated on more detailed plans for exhibits on mastodons and mammoths and for an earth-struc- ture display in Orientation Hall. The Curator of Botany devoted many hours to laying out and supervising the painting of vegetation types on the large relief map of the State. He was assisted in outlining the types by Ralph H. Smith, ecologist, whose services were generously loaned for the purpose by the State Department of Conservation.
Seven alcoves, each containing a large exhibit case, were constructed in Orientation Hall, and a color scheme was drawn up for the floor. The hall was lighted from the ceiling by adapting the conventional type of “stove-pipe” fixture so that lamps can be changed from above with- out disturbing the fixed light-beam. The hall is clean, colorful, attractive and spacious, but as yet the display cases contain only temporary exhib- its. Eventually, this hall will give a summary of the entire Museum and will serve as a focal center for school classes and other visitors.
The renovation of the large relief map of New York State was one of the major projects brought to completion during the past year. Begun in February 1956, the work of repair, restoration, correction of detail and the entire recoloring and relettering of the map was completed on November 5, 1956. Since that date, it has been necessary to repair damages incurred during the installation of the new railing, and in April an extensive restoration and repair job was needed when a small child ran across the map and caved in a large part of Lake Erie. In May 1957, with the help of two of the maintenance staff, the entire map was cleaned, washed and once more put into presentable condition.
Work on the Beaver Group in Biology Hall progressed slowly due to the fact that the same few preparators must work on a variety of other projects at the same time. During the period covered by this report the canvas for the background painting was hung and primed in readiness for the artist, Matthew Kalmenoff. who arrived in Albany on August 6 and spent the following 15 days painting the background scene. The
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By April 1957, the background of the large mastodon exhibit had been painted and work on the foreground was beginning, A group of school children look at the Ice Age scene and the mastodon skeletons which were still in their supporting braces. (The latter were erected as precautions against damage in the move from the former Hall of Vertebrate Paleontology,
42
New York State Museum and Science Service
foreground structure was built and nearly all of the accessory material was made and assembled. Specimens of muskrat, short-tailed weasel, white-footed mouse, red-back mouse, wood turtle and painted turtle were prepared for this group, and foundations for modeling the two beavers were made.
Two specimens for a proposed Wolf Group were received in the flesh as donations from the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests. These specimens, a young female and a pup which arrived in January and August, respectively, brought our total of animals for this group up to four. Except for preparation of the animals for future mounting, no immediate progress on this project is possible for some time to come.
A considerable amount of time was devoted to building a new Mastodon Group in the Hall of Paleontology. Canvas was hung on the 20 feet by 40 feet curved background. The canvas was primed and marked off in 12-inch squares for the artist, Edwin Becker of Delmar, and a temporary base structure was built and covered with burlap. The mural, which depicts the southeastern Catskills and foothills in the late Pleistocene, was completed during the year. Tracks of animals contemporary with the mastodon were modeled and dies were cast from them with which to impress them in the foreground of the group. The tracks include caribou, giant beaver, black bear, wolf, peccary and whooping crane. A number of glacial boulders were also modeled and colored for this group. The foreground was under construction at the end of the year.
Plaster casts of new scale models of mastodon and mammoth made by Dr. James L. Clark were received and assembled for the two exhibit cases adjacent to the mastodon group. Molds were made of these models and three copies made of each. Two were colored as they may have appeared in life, two were finished in a dark color and the last pair was given an ivory finish. The natural colored models were incorpo- rated into “habitat" bases for exhibit and the remaining four copies were packed and stored. Another pair of casts were made and turned into a pair of relief models on bronze-finished wall plaques for the Education Section office. Preliminary studies and permanent back- ground paintings were made for both mastodon and mammoth miniature groups.
Three underwater scenes based on two Devonian and one Silurian existing groups were designed and modeled in miniature. Scale models of various sponges etc. were then made and colored to work out new arrangements for the renovation of these groups. Several wax models were removed from these groups and packed for shipment to the studio of Chris E. Olsen for reference in painting new background scenes
119th Annual Report
43
which were completed. The new groups will be constructed during the 1957-58 year, using additional animals modeled by Mr. Edward Buehler of the University of Buffalo. Temporarily, the old underwater groups were placed at openings in the wall of a storage room in Paleontology Hall and lighted from above. A new exhibit of trilobites and euryp- terids was built and installed near the entrance of Paleontology Hall to replace the many specimens of these animals which were removed from public view.
Plans for moving ethnological exhibits installed in the east mezzanine in the year 1955-56 to Myron H. Clark Hall are in process as are a number of exhibits which will complete the series. Thus, in one hall the life of the Iroquois People will be illustrated as a unit. Also in process are plans for a synoptic exhibit of the archeological history of New York. Based on cultural levels, these exhibits will be oriented toward the function of the artifacts that the archeologist recovers in his excava- tions. A series illustrating the processes of interpretation is also being planned. The Curator of Archeology is presently engaged in planning floor layouts, dismantling older exhibits in Morgan Hall, checking the articles which will be needed for new exhibits and in research of the literature covering these phases of Indian life and history.
A special exhibit honoring the “Four Kings of Canada" was planned and installed and proved very popular. The Curator of Archeology assumed responsibility for the safekeeping of the ethnological items borrowed from the Six Nations Council, Ontario, Canada; St. Peter’s Church, Albany; the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford. England; the Musee de L’Homme of Paris; the New-York Historical Society; the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the Albany Institute of History and Art and the Mohawk-Caughnawaga Museum of Fonda. When the State Historian’s office came into possession of a tomahawk attributed to Joseph Brant, the Curator of Archeology planned and installed a special exhibit of the life and time of the celebrated chief centering upon the tomahawk. A complete photographic record was made of both exhibits.
In connection with the return of the articles borrowed for the Four Kings exhibit, new exhibits were investigated and ethnological mate- rials inspected in the Heye Foundation and the American Museum of Natural History. Many ideas were observed which will be of use in our program.
A large number of “minor” projects were planned and/or executed for the exhibit halls. These projects ranged from a more presentable temporary barrier for “sidewalk superintendents” to iron-and-wood railing for permanent installation in front of exhibits. Numerous dis-
44
New York State Museum and Science Service
plays in Geology, Paleontology and Biology Halls were made more attractive by the use of paint and new7 labels. Considerable material was retired to storage in the first two halls, making them appear more spacious and inviting. It was necessary to build storage-workrooms in these tw7o halls in order to simplify the task of the curators and give the specimens safe repository.
Among the many smaller jobs which received attention were the following:
The Van Rensselaer cannon in the Hall of History was overhauled and repaired, all four wheels and tires being badly in need of attention. Exhibits used by various sections of the Museum for the 1954 Convo- cation were repaired and renovated. New compositions were worked out to make them fit the cases in Orientation Hall where they were installed. The sponge models in Paleontology Hall w7ere repaired as was the restoration of the Gilboa tree and the fossil slab of the Gilboa tree.
Seventeen frogs and 12 turtles of various species were received from the Conservation Department at the close of the State Fair. Molds and casts were made of these specimens for use in new habitat groups as well as for duplicate exhibit material wherever needed. A ruffed grouse was also mounted.
A considerable number of color photographs (35mm. transparencies) were made during the year for use in an automatic slide projector to be installed in Orientation Hall. The series of pictures, when complete, will be arranged in story-telling sequences on plants, animals, conserva- tion problems etc. in New York State.
Twelve special and temporary exhibits wTere set up and displayed during the year, as follows:
Original illustrations by Clayton Seagers, New York State Conservation Department
“The Four Kings of Canada.” Paintings, silver, wampum, Indian arti- facts etc.
Undersea paintings by Chris E. Olsen
“National Art Contest for the Handicapped.” Paintings
“Th is Is the American Earth.” Mostly photographs
Photographs of “Wild Animals and Scenery of Alaska,” by W. Scotti Steenlierg, McKinley National Park, Alaska
Photographs of National Parks and Monuments by Philip Hyde, Green- ville, Calif.
Watercolor paintings by members of the State Museum Sketch Group Animal drawings by Flora Burgess Parker, Bennington, Vt.
“Indian New Year.” Photographs by W. N. Fenton
119th Annual Report
45
Photographs by staff members of the Cranbrook Institute of Science,
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Photographs by Tan Seng Huat, Malaya
Loans of exhibits were made to other museums as follows:
“How To Photograph Wild Animals.” A series of photographs by W. j. Sehoonmaker. Loaned to the State University Teachers College at New Paltz, and to the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences.
“How Illustrations Are Made and Reproduced.” Original illustrations and reproductions from them by W. J. Sehoonmaker. Loaned to the State University Teachers College at New Paltz, and to the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Mass.
“Museums Look Ahead.” Photographs. Loaned to the Nebraska State Historical Society; Idaho Historical Society and to the Rochester Mu- seum of Arts and Sciences.
“Wild Animals and Scenery of Alaska.” Photographs by W. Scotti Steenberg, McKinley National Park, Alaska. Loaned to the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Cooperative Work
The Preparation Section furnished information and advice on mu- seum techniques and material to workers from the Conservation Depart- ment Wildlife Laboratory; the State University College for Teachers at Albany; staff members of the Kalamazoo, Mich., museum and repre- sentatives of the Rensselaer County Historical Association as well as the Rensselaer County Junior Museum.
The Curator of Entomology conducted field classes in insect study for the fifth and sixth grades of East Greenbush schools. The field trips were partly experimental in that methods of handling groups of young- sters on an “insect hunt” were explored.
He also taught taxonomy of the beetles during a laboratory-lecture period for the biology class at the State University College for Teachers at Albany.
The Public
For the first time in a number of years, a systematic check was obtained on attendance to the exhibit halls. Total counts were made by the guard staff on successive days of succeeding weeks; i. e. Monday of the first week, Tuesday of the second week etc. Visitors were tallied, therefore, on 51 days during the year, or lS1/^ percent of the days that the halls were open during the year. The annual attendance, based on
46
A visiting school group , with their teacher and the Museum s Education Supervisor, watch an exhibits preparator redecorate the State relief map in Orientation Hall. The map was converted from geological formations to principal vegetation types of New York State.
119th Annual Report
47
this sampling, was 111,560 persons. Although the sampling was restricted due to lack of manpower, we believe that it was a fair index to total attendance. As a result, the attendance figure for 1956-57 is lower than for several years preceding when general estimates were based on a few random (and generally high) counts.
Attendance on individual days, as revealed by the sampling, varied greatly, from a low of 125 to a high of 829 persons. This does not include the two-day Washington Birthday week-end when the Museum had a total of 1,920 visitors.
In addition to their usual routine duties of protection of the exhibits and visitors, answering inquiries and distributing or selling publica- tions, the guard staff performed a great variety of other tasks. Among these were: assisted the curators, exhibits staff and maintenance men to install and remove exhibits and move cases; repainted background of exhibits and worn areas on floors; acted as drivers for museum vehicles, and assisted in many ways not connected with their assigned duties to make the Museum of greatest service to the public.
48
119th Annual Report
49
Special Services
Program for Educational Groups
Attendance of persons in organized educational groups to the Museum increased from 27.989 in 1955-56 to 28.277 in 1956-57 (a 1 percent increase). A much more substantial gain was recorded in the number of guided tours which rose by 13 percent and in the tour attendance which increased by 9 percent. The table below shows group attendance and educational service for the past five years:
|
1952-53 |
1953-54 |
1954-55 |
1955-56 |
1956-57 |
|
|
Number of groups |
685 |
745 |
753 |
809 |
798 |
|
Total group attendance |
... 21,778 |
22,933 |
23,955 |
27,989 |
28,277 |
|
Number of tours |
485 |
540 |
569 |
577 |
650 |
|
Tour attendance |
... 10.170 |
10,664 |
11,644 |
12,960 |
14,106 |
|
Introductory talk attendance ... |
... 1,188 |
1,604 |
1,502 |
752 |
49 |
In the guided tour program this year, emphasis was continued on a museum lesson which correlates museum exhibits with the school cur- riculum and which meets the specific needs of each class. The content of the tour is selected by the teacher after consulting with the Education Supervisor. A tour is designed to obtain the best learning situation possible. Most classes are assigned two instructors in order that each child may be able to see the exhibits clearly. Questions and discussion between students and instructor are encouraged. When time allows, classes are given the opportunity to handle and examine selected Mu- seum specimens.
Whenever possible, a full guided tour was provided as a substitute for the 10-minute introductory talk. It has been found that a guided tour more adequately meets the needs of most groups.
The Scientists, Curators and Exhibits staff took part in the tour pro- gram when highly technical instruction was requested. Guides and number of guided tours are listed below:
NUMBER OF INTRO-
|
CUIDES |
NUMBER OF TOURS |
DUCTORY TALKS |
|
Rubin |
304 |
1 |
|
Jones |
277 |
1 |
|
Alberts |
37 |
— |
|
Servos |
8 |
— |
|
Fenton |
6 |
1 |
|
Reilly |
6 |
— . |
|
Gillette |
4 |
|
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New York State Museum and Science Service
GUIDES
Cahalane
Smith
Broughton
Fisher
Koster
Schoonmaker
NUMBER OF TOURS 2 2
1
1
1
1
NUMBER OF INTRO- DUCTORY TALKS
1
650 4
Of the 28,277 attendance of educational groups, 23,761 (84 percent) were from school classes and 4,516 (16 percent) from Scout groups, clubs, camps and other nonschool organizations. The following tables indicate the distribution by grades and services:
Nonschool Croup Analysis
TOURS INTRODUCTORY TALKS
|
NUMBER OF |
TOTAL |
ATTEND- |
ATTEND- |
|||
|
GROUPS |
ATTENDANCE |
NUMBER |
ANCE |
NUMBER |
ANCE |
|
|
Youth |
153 |
3,316 |
28 |
481 |
4 |
49 |
|
Adult |
23 |
1,200 |
17 |
464 |
— |
— |
176 4,516 45 945 4 49
School Group Analysis
TOURS INTRODUCTORY TALKS
|
GRADES |
ATTENDANCE |
NUMBER |
ATTENDANCE |
NUMBER ATTENDANCE |
|
K, 1-3 |
3,219 |
110 |
2,381 |
— — |
|
4-6 |
8,800 |
290 |
6,138 |
— — |
|
7-9 |
9,645 |
159 |
4,137 |
— — |
|
10-12 |
1,155 |
12 |
250 |
— — |
|
Multigraded |
45* |
23 |
23** |
— — |
|
Unclassified |
31 |
1 |
16 |
— — |
|
College |
866 |
10 |
216 |
— — |
|
Adult Educ. |
— |
— |
— |
— — |
|
23,761 |
605 |
13,161 |
— — |
^Teachers only; balance of attendance included in proper grade divisions. Multigraded refers to groups composed of a mixture of grades not fitting into one of the categories listed above.
**Teachers only; balance of attendance has been apportioned to proper grade divisions.
The Museum attracted school groups from 46 counties of New York State. Educational groups also came from: California, Connecticut. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont. The shaded areas on the ac- companying map show the county distribution of classes.
119th Annual Report
51
Related Activities
Guided tours were only one phase of the Education program. A great deal of time was spent counseling with teachers, scheduling tours, an- swering letters, studying source material, conferring with staff members in the preparation of museum lessons and reading popular scientific publications so that we could recommend the best of these to interested visitors.
Mrs. Rubin was a member of the Education Department’s Parking Committee. The committee was set up to recommend solutions to the employee and visitor parking problem. Mrs. Rubin prepared for the committee an estimate of the number of school buses visiting the Mu- seum during the year.
From January through April. Mrs. Rubin and Mrs. Jones attended a weekly seminar session on the American Indian. The meetings were led by Dr. Fenton and were also attended by Mr. Gillette and Mr. Smith.
A new descriptive folder, Here’s Your State Museum , was prepared. The old folder was almost completely revamped; new photographs, text and floor plan were used.
Problems
The problems encountered by the Education Section are many. Group attendance to the Museum rises sharply in the fall and spring. The breakdown from July 1956 to June 1957 follows:
|
TOTAL CROUP |
CROUP TOUR |
|
|
ATTENDANCE |
ATTENDANCE |
|
|
July |
462 |
84 |
|
August |
269 |
51 |
|
September |
503 |
151 |
|
October |
2,790 |
2,031 |
|
November |
2,827 |
1,775 |
|
December |
1,055 |
704 |
|
January |
868 |
675 |
|
February |
1,863 |
1,035 |
|
March |
3,684 |
1,520 |
|
April |
2,476 |
1,312 |
|
May |
7,671 |
2,754 |
|
June |
3,809 |
2,014 |
Because of this seasonal attendance, it was found that each instructor often gives five or six tours a day during October, November, May and June. Teachers have been asked to try to schedule their visits for other months, but weather and bus schedules are important factors in this peak attendance.
52
A television program on modern exhibit preparation and construction is given in Station WRGB by the Assistant Director, State Museum. The demonstration was one of a series of lectures which were contributed by staff members of the State Museum and Science Service to the program of the Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television.
119th Annual Report
53
The lack of adequate parking space for school buses is an important problem and results in classes arriving late and conflicting with other scheduled classes.
Within the Museum, more good exhibits constitute the greatest need. The Indian groups, new animal habitat groups and the mastodon ex- hibit are popular and effective for use with educational groups. Most of the other exhibits require enlargement and improved lighting. The ventilation and acoustics also require modernizing in the Museum halls to make improved teaching possible. The Museum is proceeding slowly to effect such modernizations.
With the increase in tours and with three people on the Education staff, the need for a separate classroom was felt much more strongly this year.
Public Lectures
Two special lectures on the Indian History of New York State were given by the Curator of Archeology to the Teachers Workshop of the Sixth Supervisory District at the Guilderland Central School; a similar talk was given to an adult group at the Third Reformed Church in Albany. In October, the Curator appeared on WRGB’s TV School- time at the request of Mrs. Nina T. Flierl and answered the request of Mr. Theodore Cassevant to speak to his Vocational Guidance Class at Philip Livingston Junior High School.
The Curator of Geology delivered talks on the geology and mineral resources of the State to school groups in the Ellenville High School and Philip Livingston Junior High School. He was invited to speak before the New Haven Mineral Club.
A trip was made by the Curator of Zoology to White Plains for a talk to the members of the White Plains Garden Club on birds of the State. Local trips were made, both during days and evenings to give talks on birds and animals to various schools and clubs of the region. A total of 14 such talks was given, the average audience size being about 50 people. Two sessions were taught at the Conservation Workshop, Alps, N. Y., during September. About 50 students attended each session. A talk on biological sciences was given during “Career Day’ at Chatham Central School.
A public lecture entitled “Wild Animal Photography,” illustrated with slides, was delivered by the Exhibits Planner to the Albany Camera Club.
The Senior Museum Technician gave a talk on the reproduction of accessory materials and on models of amphibians to a science group in Brubacher Hall at State University College for Teachers at Albany. A
54
New York State Museum and Science Service
group of 18 students from the Albany Academy for Girls visited the Preparation Laboratory for a talk on museum techniques.
Museum Library
f I ihe position OF museum librarian was vacant from August to December 1956. In consequence, considerable disorganization re- sulted from the lack of library service for nearly five months.
The task was to create some degree of order. This entailed a great amount of sorting, cataloging and filing. Many publications were fitted into gaps in the library accessions. Reprints and pamphlets of value to the staff were added to the file. Duplicate materials were taken to the New York State Library, Gift and Exchange Section. The former As- sistant Director’s personal files were stored in the State Library stacks where he was allotted space. Other material has been sorted by subject matter and will eventually be examined for choice by the professional staff.
Two charts, plus a key to the charts by James Hall, former State Geologist (1836-1882), were found standing between the stacks. Since these charts are valuable, a specially constructed case was made for them.
A routing procedure to the staff of periodicals received by the Mu- seum Library was instituted. A list of publications received was circu- lated to the staff and they indicated those which they desired to be sent to their offices. Weekly these periodicals are sent out from the Museum Library.
With the Assistant Commissioner’s bibliography on the American Indian, work was begun on the preparation of a checklist of the material found in the State Library. The original list was brought up to date by the addition of new publications. Considerable time was spent in re- cording the call numbers of such books as are in the State Library. The information has been assembled and will be published in the Edu- cational Leaflet Series under the title: “Selected Reading List of Books and Articles on the Indians of North America in the New York State Library.”
A great deal of the Librarian’s time has been spent in searching for reference material requested by the staff and in checking the State Library holdings of books and periodicals which are useful to them. This is a particularly valuable service to those engaged in research of any kind.
Two new reference books were acquired by the Museum Library. Through the New York State Library we were able to exchange our
119th Annual Report
55
old edition (1878-89) of the Encyclopaedia Britannica for a later edition (1942). We received American Men of Science , The Biological Sciences , 9th edition, volume 2.
An Honorarium report was received and added to our file. This re- port is “Till Texture Variation and Pleistocene Deposits of the Union Springs and Scipio Quadrangles, Cayuga County, New York,’ by Robert Clark Shumaker.
Photography
A total OF 128 approved requisitions were processed during the year. This work resulted in the following:
412 black and white photos taken directly 1,024 negatives processed from field photographs by other members of the staff
A total of 3,173 prints and enlargements made from the nega- tives mentioned above 169 color photos taken 106 projection slides prepared
77 special enlargements for TV shows and new exhibition material
The above work was distributed throughout various sections and in- cluded both field and office work. Field photography was requested by both Geology and Botany sections in addition to other work. Photo- graphic service was also provided to Archeology, Entomology, Zoology, Museum Education, Exhibits and Preparation Sections. The subject matter varied widely from photos of geologic features of extensive areas to photomicrographs of exceptionally small specimens. In addition, a considerable amount of copy work was undertaken on maps, charts and drawings for slide preparation or illustrations for forthcoming scientific reports.
Various nonroutine assignments throughout the year included work on photos for the new Information Folder and pictures of visitors and guests at the Museum. In addition, photographs were taken or processed for special projects being carried on by the Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Director, Commissioner of Education, Board of Regents and the Division of Archives and History.
Any report of the photographic section should also include the many activities which are present but seldom seen, as is the finished picture. Included in this area are checking and requesting of photo supplies, maintenance and minor repairs of cameras, enlargers and processing equipment.
56
New York State Museum and Science Service
The work of the special committee on negative files, headed by the Curator of Archeology, is now engaged in cataloging the negatives in the unified files and the Curator has answered several requests for negatives from these files. Several new entries were made in the site record files and maps, and the field negatives for 1956 were cataloged and added to the negative files.
119th Annual Report
57
Publications
State Museum and Science Service Series
Benton, A. H. & Krug, R. F.
1956 Mammals and siphonapterous parasites of Rensselaer County, New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 353. Sept. 1956.
22pp.
Chafe, W. L.
1956 Report on Seneca language test administered to children in the Cattaraugus and Red House Indian schools. Prepublication copy for informational use and for critical comment, mimeo. Oct. 1956. 9pp.
Connola, D. P., Collins, D. L., Risley, J. H. & Smith, W. E.
1956 Insect damage and its prevention in windthrown saw timber. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 352. July 1956. 36pp. 23 fig.
Crocker, D. W.
1957 The crayfishes of New York State. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 355. May 1957. 97pp. 7 fig. 5 pi.
Dietrich, R, V.
1957 Precambrian geology and mineral resources of the Brier Hill quadrangle, New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 354. March 1957. 121pp. 7 fig. 7 tab. 21 pi.
Friedman, G. M.
1956 The origin of spinel-emery deposits with particular reference to those of the Cortlandt complex. New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 351. June 1956. 68pp. 19 fig.
Ogden, E. C.
1957 Survey of airborne pollen and fungus spores of New York State. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 356. July 1957. 62pp.
Oliver, W. A., Jr.
1956 Biostromes and bioherms of the Onondaga limestone in eastern New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Cir. 45. April 1956. 23pp. 3 fig. 1 pi.
Postel, A. W.
1956 Silexite and pegmatite in the Lyon Mountain quadrangle, Clinton County, New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Cir. 44. March 1956. 23 pp. 11 fig.
58
New York State Museum and Science Service
Prucha, J. J.
1956 Geology of the Brewster magnetite district of southeastern New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Cir. 43. April 1956. 48pp. 3 fig. 3 tab. 3 pi.
1957 Pyrite deposits of St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties, New York. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 357. June 1957. 87pp. 3 fig. 1 tab. 17 pi.
Ritchie, W. A.
1956 Indian history of New York State, Part III— The Algonkian tribes. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Educ. Leaflet Ser. July 1956. 24pp.
1957 Traces of early man in the northeast. N. Y. State Mus. & Sci. Serv. Bull. 358. June 1957. 91pp. 2 fig. 1 tab. 18 pi.
In “ Outside ” Media
Broughton, J. G.
1956 Petrography of the bedrock. Sugar Loaf and St. Kevin mining districts. Lake County, Colorado, by Quentin D. Singewald. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1027E. pp. 291-297
Collins, D. L.
1957 Mosquito control for the small community. Pest control maga- zine. May 1957
Connor, P. F.
1957 A method of plant dispersal by a mammal. Ecology, v. 38 (1)
Fassett, N. C.
1957 A manual of aquatic plants; rev. by Eugene C. Ogden. Univ. of Wisconsin Press. 405pp.
Fenton, W. N.
1956 Some questions of classification, typology and style raised by Iroquois masks. Trans. New York Acad. Sci., Ser. (2) 18 (No. 4) : 347-357. Feb. 1956
1956 The science of anthropology and the Iroquois Indians. N. Y. State Archeol. Assn., Bull. 6:10-14. March 1956
1956 Toward the gradual civilization of the Indian natives: the missionary and linguistic work of Asher Wright (1803-1875) among the Senecas of western New York. Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., v. 100, No. 6. Dec. 1956. pp. 567-581
1957 American Indian and white relations to 1830: needs and op- portunities for study. The Institute of Early American History and Culture. Williamsburg, Va. Univ. of North Carolina Press. 1957. 138 pp.
119th Annual Report
59
Fisher, D, W.
1956 The Cambrian system of New York State. Symposium on Cam- brian system. 20th Internat. Geol. Cong. pp. 321-351
1956 Intricacy of applied stratigraphic nomenclature. The Jour, of Geol. v. 64, No. 6. Nov. 1956. pp. 617-627
Kreidler, W. L.
1957 Developments in New York in 1956. Bull, of the Amer. Assn, of Petrol. Geol., v. 41, No. 6. June 1957. pp. 1006-1009
1956 Oil and gas developments in New York during 1955 (a). Oil and gas field development in U. S. and Canada. Yr. Bk. 1956 (review of 1955). v. XXVI. Natl. Oil Scouts and Land- men’s Assn. pp. 581-584
1956 Petroleum — oil and gas developments in New York. Statistics of oil and gas development and production, v. 10. covering 1955. Petrol. Branch, Amer. Inst, of Min., Metal, and Petrol. Eng. pp. 12-13
Leutze, W. P.
1956 Faunal stratigraphy of Syracuse formation, Onondaga and Madison Counties, New York. Bull, of the Amer. Assn, of Petrol. Geol,, v. 40, No. 7. July 1956. pp, 1693-1698
Palmer, R. S.
1956 Dr. Charles C. Adams. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer. 37(4).
■& Reilly, E. M., Jr.
1956 A concise color standard. Amer. Ornith. Union Handbook Fund
Prucha, J. J.
1956 Nature and origin of the pyrite deposits of St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties, New York. Econ. Geol.. v. 51, No. 4. June- July 1956. pp. 333-354
1956 Stratigraphic relationships of the metamorphic rocks in south- eastern New York. Amer. Jour, of Sci., v. 254. Nov. 1956. pp. 672-684
Reilly, E. M.
1957 Salamanders and lizards of New York. N. Y. State Con- servationist. June- July
Ritchie, W. A.
1957 Archaeology: Western Hemisphere. Britannica Book of the Year 1957. Chicago, pp. 112-113
1956 Each to the other. American Antiquity, v. XXII, No. 2. p. 169
1957 Excavations in 1956 on archaic sites of Long Island. Eastern States Archeol. Fed. Bull., No. 16, Trenton, N. J. pp. 12-13
1956 Prehistoric settlement patterns in Northeastern North America. In Prehistoric settlement patterns in the New World; ed. by Gordon R. Willey. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, No. 23, New York. pp. 72-80
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Sweet, W. C. & Leutze, W. P.
1956 A restudy of the Silurian nautiloid genus Pristeroceras Ruede- mann. Jour, of Paleontol.. v. 30. No. 5. Sept. 1956. pp. 1159- 1164
Wilcox, J. A.
1956 Moths and butterflies of New York. N. Y. State Conservationist. June-July 1956
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