NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE July 1, 1959 — June 30, 1960 LIBRARY New YORK botanical garden NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE MUSEUM BULLETIN NUMBER 385 The University of the State of New York The State Education Department Albany, 1961 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from IMLS LG-70-15-0138-15 https://archive.org/details/bulletinnewyorks3851newy 12 2d ANNUAL REPORT of the NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE July 1, 1959 — June 30, 1960 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE MUSEUM BULLETIN NUMBER 385 The University of the State of New York The State Education Department Albany, 1961 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Regents of the University With years when terms expire 1968 Edgar W. Couper. A.B., LL.D.. Chancellor ■ - - Binghamton 1967 Thad L. Collum. C.E.. Vice Chancellor - Syracuse 1963 Mrs. Caroline Werner Gannett. LL.D., L.H.D.. D.H. Rochester 1974 Dominick F. Maurillo. A.B., M.D.. LL.D.. Sc.D.. M. and S.D. Brooklyn 1964 Alexander J. Allan, Jr.. LL.D.. Litt.D. .... Troy 1966 George L. Hubbell, Jr.. A.B.. LL.B.. LL.D.. Litt.D. Garden City 1973 Charles W. Millard. Jr.. A.B. Buffalo 1970 Everett J. Penny, B.C.S., D.C.S. White Plains 1972 Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr., A.B.. M.B.A.. D.C.S. Purchase 1962 Edward M. M. Warburg. B.S.. L.H.D. New York 1971 J. Carlton Corwith. B.S. Water Mill 1969 Joseph W. McGovern. A.B.. LL.B.. L.H.D. - - - New York President of the University and Commissioner of Education James E. Allen, Jr., Ed.M., Ed.D.. LL.I)., Litt.D.. Pd.D.. L.H.D. Deputy Commissioner of Education Ewald B. Nyquist. B.S., LL.D.. Pd.D.. L.H.D.. D.C.L. Associate Commissioner for Cultural Education and Special Services Hugh M. Flick, Ph.D., LL.D. Assistant Commissioner for State Museum and Science Service William N. Fenton. A.B.. Ph.D. Assistant Di rector of State Museum Victor H. Cahalane, B.S., M.F. M460r— Ap 61—1300 Contents Page General Statement 7 Accomplishments of the Surveys 13 The Museum 31 Special Services 55 Publications 60 Appendixes 64 3 Museum Advisory Council 1960 Hardy L. Shirley Syracuse 1961 Arthur A. Davis Rochester 1962 Vincent J. Schaefer Schenectady 1963 W. Storrs Cole Ithaca 1964 Frederick J. Dockstader New York 4 The Staff State Museum and Science Service William N. Fenton, Assistant Commissioner Anthropological Survey William A. Ritchie State Archeologist, Associate Scientist Robert E. Funk Junior Scientist (Archeology) Biological Survey Donald L. Collins State Entomologist. Principal Scientist Donald P. Connola Senior Scientist (Entomology) Paul Connor Scientist (Zoology) Hugo Jamnback, Jr Senior Scientist (Entomology) Donald M. Lewis Junior Scientist 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 Leo M. Hall Scientist (Geology) (Temporary) Y. William Isachsen Associate Scientist (Geology) W. Lynn Kreidler Senior Scientist (Geology) Terry W. Offield Scientist (Geology) Lawrence W. Rickard Senior Scientist (Paleontology) Arthur M. Van Tyne Scientist (Geology) — Wellsville Office State Museum Victor H. Cahalane, Assistant Director Curatorial Roger L. Borst Senior Curator (Geology) Charles E. Gillette Associate Curator (Archeology) Clinton F. Kilfoyle Associate Curator (Paleontology) Edgar M. Reilly, Jr Associate Curator (Zoology) Stanley J. Smith Associate Curator (Botany) John A. Wilcox Associate Curator (Entomology) Vacant Associate Curator (Interpretation) 5 Exhibits Edith Fkoelich Museum Technician (Temporary) Lewis E. Kohler Museum Technician Louis J. Koster Senior Museum Technician Robin Rothman Museum Technical Apprentice (Temporary) Theodore P. Weyhe Museum Exhibits Designer School Services Judith A. Drumm Museum Instructor Mary Jane Stauch. Museum Instructor (Temporary) Janet L. Stone Museum Education Supervisor Library Eileen Coulston Librarian. Junior Scientist Clerical Margaret Bassotti Stenographer Marion B. Bender Clerk Joan A. Creech Stenographer Emily W. Dixon .Typist Joseph T. Killea Mail and Supply Helper Roselle Lithgow Clerk Marjorie R. Schmidt Principal Clerk Margaret Slater Senior Stenographer Mary C. Stearns Stenographer Eileen A. Wood Senior Stenographer Guards James Carroli Museum Guard John C. Cunningham Museum Guard Francis J. Lynch Museum Guard William C. Zimmer Museum Caretaker Photographer John Heller Museum Photographer Nelson D. Powers Maintenance Helper Jacob Smallenbroek Carpenter James Wiedemann Maintenance Man (Carpenter) (Temporary) 6 General Statement Ihave the honor to submit a report of the major activities and accomplishments of the New York State Museum and Science Service for the year ended June 30. 1960. The activities of the year covered by the 122d Annual Report are best expressed in the individual reports of the scientists and Museum curators, the exhibits and the educational staff. My own report of stewardship of these activities reiterates programs that I have proposed in staff conferences and accomplishments reported to the Commissioner. Because I believe that research museums such as ours are essentially communities of scholars, considerations of the staff take first precedence. As I have written elsewhere, it is the essential character of the research museum that collections accumulate as a byproduct and directly reflect the research interests of scientists. As the years go by and scientific collections grow, they then become a resource for research, the museum attracts scientists, and it attains stature proportionate to its resources and its publications. A public museum is, moreover, an outgrowth of its own services. Reputations of museums are ephemeral and must be con- stantly validated. As long as a museum maintains a research program and continues to publish, it will hold its staff and its reputation in the scientific community. It is important, therefore, that we give some con- sideration to the labor market for museum scientists. Salaries are rising for academic posts in universities having similar qualifications as curators in the State Museum and scientists in the Surveys of the State Science Service. We can no longer meet the com- petition for new personnel nor are we promoting seasoned scientists so rapidly as the universities. Recently, the directors of 22 leading science museums have urged the adoption of standards for classification and salaries of curatorial positions in research museums equivalent with academic grades and titles in nearby colleges and universities, so that curators equal full professors; associate curators, associate professors; and assistant curators, assistant professors. For two years a plan has been advanced to the Department requesting that our top professional positions be raised to meet the competition of full professors who are chairmen of departments in universities, and our top research scientists should equal the salary level of teaching professors. 7 The Establishment The Department has taken a long stride forward in providing new laboratories for the scientists of the State Science Service. The addition of the wing to the Education Department is. for the Museum, the first extension of its facilities since the Museum was originally opened in the present building. The new laboratories occupy the ninth floor of the wing and are connected to the fifth floor of the Education Building at the back of Biology Hall by a bridge. The arrangement of the labora- tories and offices is the work of a committee which was headed by Dr. John G. Broughton. State geologist, who spent a considerable part of three years in planning the laboratories and selecting suitable equip- ment. The laboratories which were nearing completion in June were entirely financed and furnished by the State of New York. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Deputy Commissioner E. B. Nyquist for advancing our claim and to the Division of the Budget for awarding the funds. Elsewhere in the report we express regret that a team from the National Science Foundation which looked over our facility did not make us an additional grant from its facilities fund to purchase cases for the collections that have been dislocated by the move and to provide subprofessional help for the curators. They did. however, express ad- miration and approval of what we had accomplished with our own resources. The Museum Attention is called to the report of the Museum which indicates that attendance has declined from a high of 175.000 last year by some 16 1/2 percent. Various theories have been advanced for this decline: It has been ascribed to a shift in statistical methods, it has been ascribed to a change in travel patterns of the American public, and it may be owing to other factors beyond our ken. One thing is certain: In the next year we must undertake a survey of our visitors to ascertain their origins, whether they come back repeatedly, what age groups of the population they represent and what sectors of the taxpayers are being served by the Museum as an educational facility. Visitors returning to the Museum after several years remark on the very real progress with exhibits. This section of the report speaks for itself. We are particularly proud of the new herbarium which was created at the rear of Biology Hall adjacent to the new wing. This gain in research space meant a loss of exhibit space, but it was accompanied by an im- provement in the bird and mammal exhibits. Although the workspace 8 may not be the botanists’ ideal, at least we have the only herbarium in the civilized world that has glass cases filled with domestic poultry visible to both guests in the exhibit halls and to botanists within the herbarium! State Museum Advisory Council The plight of cities is reflected in the inability of the present tax base to support educational programs of city museums over and above the need of the public schools, and the museums in our large metropolitan centers are serving wider audiences of school children than the narrow area of municipal tax support. This situation was called to the attention of the reading public last winter in a series of editorials in the New York T imes. At its spring meeting, the State Museum Advisory Council recog- nized this problem and recommended three things: a new set of regu- lations for chartering museums, a definition of “museum” to serve as the basis for new legislation to protect educational establishments from encroachment by the entertainment industry, and the establishment of a Commissioner’s Committee on Museum Resources. Simultaneously, the council and its invited guests, who were directors of representative muse- ums in all parts of the State, commenced a movement to form a New York State Association of Museums to seek these ends. State Science Service Within the next year we may look for a change in the kind of work that the Science Service will undertake in its new laboratories, equipped with the latest devices. Immediately, there will be a shift from 19th century methods of observation to quantitative research and the more accurate identification of materials with new instrumentation. Look also for increased visitation and use by scientists from nearby universities who have already applied to use the new facilities. In the future the museums will do more of the nation's research as universities fill up, teaching loads increase and professors have less time for work in their own laboratories. They will want permission to work in Museum labora- tories. We do have some available bench space. The work of the scientific surveys is detailed in the reports that follow. In 1956 we stimulated work on the Iroquoian languages of New York, and Dr. Wallace L. Chafe, who was then a graduate student at Yale University, undertook a study of the Seneca language. He has since gone on to join the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smith- sonian Institution, and has completed the work in the present year. To extend supervision and advisory services over a much wider area of the State, the State archeologist has been joined by a junior scientist to 9 work on highway salvage archeology. He will also work cooperatively with the Department of Public Works and the Federal Bureau of Roads. Biological research moved ahead on three fronts. After two and a half years of intensive study and trial, the State botanist has discovered a way of tagging ragweed pollen so that he can count it by the introduc- tion of radioisotopes into the sap stream. To do this, he has designed and constructed new pollen samplers which are perhaps the best in the world. In entomology, research is continuing on the white pine weevil which is the primary enemy of an important native tree. A report of these investigations has been completed for publication. In the Adiron- dacks punkies continue to he a nuisance insect, and attempts to control them in the past have failed for want of knowledge of their biology. With a grant of $7,000 from an anonymous donor, our entomologists have now worked out the life cycle of these insects and have some ideas about control. The State zoologist has completed editing the first volume of the Bird Handbook , a manuscript of over 1.000 pages for publication by the American Ornithologists" Union. A bulletin on the small mammals of Otsego and Schoharie Counties summarizes our participation in an interdepartmental project to investigate the disease rabies. The major effort of the Geological Survey during 1959-60 was directed toward the compilation of its new State Geological Map. This project is now in the compiling stage which has entailed a great deal of final fieldwork and use of the literature. Our oil and gas geologists in Albany and in the Wellsville office made two significant contributions to the industry by publishing two reports: Selected Deep Wells and Areas of Gas Production in Eastern and Central New York and Correlation of the Silurian Rocks of New York State. A third interesting development has been the participation of the State geologist in the work of the State Office of Atomic Development. Cooperation The Museum was host to the American Folklore Society in August, an event which gave the community pleasure and was the occasion of a special exhibit in the Museum for which we prepared a special brochure. Albany is a good community in which to hold meetings of small learned societies. With the new seminar rooms in our new laboratories, we are planning to bring meetings of 50 to 100 people in the several sciences which we represent in an effort to give leadership to hitherto uncoordi- nated efforts. It is always pleasant to go abroad to cooperate with one's colleagues in other museums. At the invitation of the Royal Ontario Museum, I 10 appeared on the CBC program “Who Knows?” on August 14, and visited an anthropological field party near Toronto. Our visitor of the year was our colleague, the director of the Ryks- museum, Amsterdam, Holland, Dr. T. H. Van Luttervelt, who accompanied an exhibit of Flemish paintings, a feature of the Hudson- Champlain Celebration, to the Albany Institute of History and Art. Because we believe that research in anthropology should carry over into the improvement of the quality of teaching in the social studies, we met and addressed the State supervisors of citizenship education at their Albany conference. We also cooperated in the preparation of an educational TV program that ran for two successive weeks on WPIX in New York. This effort entailed many hours of tutoring and planning with Harvey Zorbaugh, the teacher and script writer, and with David Reese of the State College of Education, Albany, who made the films. The classes of the air made a visit to the State Museum to view the life groups of Iroquois Indians as they lived in 1600; they were taken on a field trip to the Tonawanda Reservation, seeing Senecas as they were a generation ago ; and the camera took city viewers into integrated classes such as Indian children now attend in the Akron Central School; and the city children heard a panel of Indian parents discuss educational issues with their principal. We acknowledge our indebtedness to Edward E. Allen, supervising principal of the Akron Central School, to Chief Everett Parker and to our colleague, Francis E. Almstead. The Museum education staff made a further effort toward improving the teaching of social studies and natural history by assisting publishers to select pictures of the unique objects in the State collections for illus- trating books. An example resulting from this type of collaboration is the special edition for young readers of the American Indian by Oliver La Farge (Golden Press, New York, 1960). Permission was granted to York State Film Strips to include views and individual exhibits of the Museum in a series which aims to prepare classes for the visit to Albany. This medium promises to take the Museum and its collections to classrooms throughout the State and beyond. We helped edit and caption seven filmstrips on the People of the Longhouse which introduce the concepts of a culture and a society into the teaching of the Indian in the social studies curriculum. In such collaborative undertakings with media beyond our means and control, the policy is that production costs, including special photog- raphy, are borne by the producer; where original written contributions are required of specialists, they are undertaken out of hours on the writer’s option. 11 Some of us who have had a concern about the place of research museums in the national picture agreed to participate in a symposium on “The Role of the Research Museum in Science,” which was held at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Museums, Boston, May 27. Prior to that, the more important anthropological col- lections in the eastern United States were visited, curators and directors were interviewed, and the results were compiled in a paper on “The Museum and Anthropological research. ’1 There were a few staff changes during the reporting period. Terry W. Offield resigned as scientist (geology) September 9 and the position was filled provisionally January 14 with the appointment of Leo M. Hall. The position of assistant librarian (Mrs. Eileen Coulston, who has been so helpful to the scientific staff on reference work) was reclassified to junior scientist January 28. Robert E. Funk was appointed provisionally June 2 to the newly created position of junior scientist (archeology), and Janet L. Stone received permanent appointment as Museum education supervisor June 16. Having spent six years in getting our own house in order, we are now preparing to move ahead into a wider area of service, in research by the staff in new laboratories, and in enabling our sister institutions of the State to take a more vigorous role in the education of school children and in continuing education beyond the schools. William N. Fenton Assistant Commissioner for Slate Museum and Science Service 1 Curator, v. 3, No. 4, 1960, pp. 327-355 12 Accomplishments of the Surveys Anthropological Survey Field Research The state archeologist continued his studies of settlement pat- terns with major excavations centered in the Sackett site at Canan- daigua and the Maxon-Derby site near Jordan. Both sites belong to the prehistoric Owasco culture. Small, circular, single-family dwellings were indicated for the former, while on the latter were uncovered the ground plans of large, oval or rectanguloid communal dwellings, suggesting pos- sible longhouse prototypes. Four college student assistants aided in these investigations during July and most of August. In the late summer and early fall reconnaissance projects involving various amounts of excavation ranging in duration from one to ten days were undertaken in the follow- ing areas; Piffard, Livingston County; Jefferson County, especially on Grindstone Island and around Perch Lake; near Savannah, Cayuga County; Croton Point and George’s Island, Westchester County; Fulton and Washington Counties; and outside the State in Rutland County, Vt. In the spring of 1960 an important Archaic period site near Scotia, Schenectady County, was excavated for a two-week period, with the active cooperation of members of the Van Epps-Hartley Chapter, New York State Archeological Association. Artifacts of the Dorset and Sarqaq cultures in the eastern Arctic were studied at the Peabody Museums in Cambridge and Andover, and at the American Museum of Natural History in connection with the preparation of a paper for the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Laboratory Analysis Typological studies and formal descriptions of 25 projectile point types were prepared, and a manuscript covering more than 30 such types was completed under the title of A Typology and Nomenclature of New York State Projectile Points. It will be published as a Museum bulletin. Field notes were processed, maps were made, and data were analyzed from the excavations on the Sackett and Maxon-Derby sites. In addition, analyses were completed on borrowed site collections from Ketcham Island, Vt., and the Hoosic Valley in New York. Potsherd series were typed for several amateurs and colleagues. 13 14 A Science Service archeological field party uncovering house floor outlines (marked by stakes) at prehistoric Owasco culture site on Maxon-Derby farm , Jordan, A. . Office Activities and Administration The State archeologist wrote nine short articles and abstracts for American Antiquity , Teocentli, and other journals and papers for annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Eastern States Archeological Federation, and New York State Archeological Associa- tion. He interviewed 246 local or out-of-town visitors, including pro- fessional colleagues, students and amateur archeologists. Cooperative W ork The State archeologist served as chairman of local arrangements com- mittee for the annual meeting in Albany of Eastern States Archeological Federation and chaired one afternoon session. He also was chairman of a committee on chapters and membership. New York State Archeological Association, and brought one new chapter into the organization. Assistance was given to several university research fellows, advanced students and others with archeological problems and dissertations, and numerous nonprofessional archeologists were advised concerning site investigations, analysis and interpretation of their finds, and prepara- tion of reports. Manuscripts were read for several professional colleagues and one university press. Seven petitions for grants-in-aid were evaluated for the National Science Foundation, and data were prepared on New York archeological sites for the National Park Service. Human remains were identified for the New York State Police Labora- tory from five localities and for the curator of the Fort William Henry Museum. Under a cooperative arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Wallace L. Chafe, linguist of the Bureau of American Ethnology, during July and August completed fieldwork on the Seneca Indian lan- guage. This language is one of the most important survivors of the Iroquoian family, which is still spoken at Tonawanda, Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations in western New York. The publication terminates work begun under our aegis in 1956 when Chafe was then a graduate student at Yale. His completed reports are awaited with interest. His publishing plans include a grammar and dictionary of the Seneca lan- guage, to be submitted to the Smithsonian Institution press. He will also publish a glossary of the most common terms in Seneca for use by anthropologists, historians and teachers to appear as a bulletin of the State Museum and Science Service. In cooperation with The University of Buffalo and the Buffalo Museum of Science, and with support partly from the State Science Service, 15 Dr. Marian White continued field reconnaissance and excavation of early Iroquois sites in Erie County. A committee consisting of Wallace Chafe, Elizabeth Tooker and Marian White was appointed to plan and conduct the 12th Conference on Iroquois Research, which was held at Red House in October. Biological Survey With the continuing aid of research grants and other material assist- ance from outside sources in each of the Units of the Biological Survey, substantial progress was made on several projects. The first two months of this report period. July and August 1959, represented the active period of the second season of work on the tagging and sampling of ragweed pollen (a project supported by the National Institutes of Health) and the most active period of the first season of research on biology and control of “punkies,” a project made possible by a grant known as the Adirondack Entomology Research Fund. An important accomplishment was the sending to press of the first of five volumes of the Bird Handbook, a monumental work which is being compiled and edited by the State zoologist. The project receives its major outside support from the American Ornithologists’ Union. Also, during this period, the data from several years of a cooperative project with the State Conservation Department, the study of white weevil attack as related to soils in New York State plantations, were compiled and submitted for publication as a Museum bulletin. Field Research by Projects Botany Identification of aquatic plant fragments using anatomical characters. Eighty-four of the approximately 250 species of aquatic vascular plants in the State have been collected and their stems, rhizomes, roots, leaves and peduncles are in various stages in the process of pre- paring microscope slides. Survey of airborne pollen grains and fungus spores. Described in the last previous annual report as “completed, with a final report in press.” This report comprises Museum Bulletin No. 378, by E. C. Ogden and D. M. Lewis, entitled “Airborne Pollen and Fungus Spores of New York State,” issued in January 1960. Ragweed pollen content in the air in relation to w'eather conditions. The paper described in the last previous annual report as "ready for publication" was published in the Journal of Allergy for 16 July-August 1960 entitled “Field Evaluation of Ragweed Pollen Samplers” by E. C. Ogden and Gilbert S. Raynor. (It is not cited on p. 62 because it was not published until after the period covered by this annual report.) Pollen spectra of lake and bog sediments. The Crusoe Lake sta- tion was revisited, and samples were taken by D. M. Lewis and D. D. Cox from two levels for possible radiocarbon assay. Pollen diagrams for the three sites at this station were completed, and an outline of the find- ings has been prepared. A final report must await studies now being carried out by the State archeologist. The pollen of 30 species most rep- resented in our reference collections was obtained, and approximately 100 reference slides were prepared from previously collected material. Tagging and sampling ragweed pollen. This project is in co- operation with Brookhaven National Laboratory and is supported by a U.S. Public Health Service grant. A technique for labeling ragweed pollen in the anthers, so that its release to the air and its buoyancy are not modified, has now been perfected. It involves the use of radio- isotopes— radiosulfur or radiophosphorus. Pollen samples taken in the area are processed to produce autoradiographs which readily distinguish tagged and untagged pollen. Several new designs of pollen samplers were constructed and tested in and around a one-acre field of cultivated rag- weed and on two nearby meteorology towers. Still further modifications in samplers are being readied for the 1960 hay fever season. A wind tunnel has been constructed for sampler testing under controlled wind- speeds. A complex isokinetic sampler, to be used as a check, is nearly completed. Checklist of the grasses of New York State. In the course of exploring and collecting for vascular plants in general (see next project), an attempt was made to add to our knowledge of grasses. Eighty speci- mens were collected, representing 69 numbers, in addition to abundant records on common species and detailed observations on critical com- plexes, particularly in the genera Festuca and Agrostis. Three days were spent at the National Herbarium in Washington checking nomenclature and problems in the genus Panicum. Work on the checklist is 98 percent completed. General survey of the vascular flora of New York State. Exploration of the State for vascular plants was continued with special trips made to central New York and Long Island. Records (either sight or those supported by specimens) were made in the following counties: Albany, Cayuga. Columbia. Dutchess. Essex. Fulton, Greene. Herkimer, 17 Montgomery, Nassau. Oneida. Onondaga. Oswego, Rensselaer. Rockland. Saratoga. Schenectady, Schoharie. Suffolk. Ulster. Warren and Wayne. The work was assisted in the field by Gary Griffin, during the summer of 1959. Entomology Biology and control of Culicoides (punkies). This was the sec- ond season for the project, which is supported by the Adirondack En- tomology Research Fund. Studies made in 1959 indicated that Culicoides obsoletus was the only species that commonly attacked man in the Adirondacks. The breeding habitat of the species was unknown, and it was not located until the second season. Although conclusive data have not yet been compiled, the following observations were made: 1. Six percent DDT in a fuel oil solvent applied by mist blower to plots of 1 or 2 acres reduced biting populations to a low level for several days in each of five plots. 2. C. obsoletus adults were killed by an 8 percent DDT fog, and biting adults were almost entirely eliminated for the period from dusk to dark by fogging a strip 100 feet long. 3. Malathion emulsion (5.7 percent with corn syrup added as bait) applied by mist blower to a two-acre plot did not appreciably reduce the number of biting adults. 4. Solutions painted on window screens to affect punkies attempting to enter houses were tested, and some of them appeared to offer real promise. DDT did not kill fast enough, however, to prevent flies that entered from biting. Malathion gave better results, but further work is necessary to perfect and test different formulations. Eastern encephalitis vector studies. During the fall of 1959 the virus of eastern encephalitis (“EE”) was isolated from ducks on Long Island. At about the same time, in New Jersey several human cases oc- curred. and it was strongly indicated that mosquitoes were the vectors. In a survey conducted by the entomology office of the State Science Service, breeding places of the principal mosquito vector suspect, Culiseta melanura, were found in the area where duck farms were numerous. After a joint meeting with State Health Service and other agencies, the Biological Survey agreed to establish a field laboratory to determine the actual vectors of EE on Long Island, to study host relation- ships and to make other related biological and epidemiological studies. The Long Island Duck Research Laboratory (a unit of the State Uni- versity Veterinary College) furnished laboratory facilities at their estab- 18 lishment near Eastport. and the Suffolk County Mosquito Control Com- mission arranged to pay the salary of a temporary research expert during the summer. Both the duck laboratory and the State Health Department Division of Laboratories and Research arranged to process the vector samples to detect the virus. In addition, the site of the small mammal survey of the Museum and Science Service has been transferred to Suffolk County, partly so that the work can be associated with the encepha- litis studies. With these arrangements the eastern encephalitis vector survey began its activities toward the end of the present report period. Blackfly studies. One test of a suggested biological control agent ( Bacillus thuringiensies) was made. A commercially prepared powder (Thuricide) was applied to a stream over a 20-minute period at the rate of about 0.5 ppm. Blackfly larval populations, primarily Prosimulium hirtipes, were not affected. Beech scale studies. Collection of data in the fall of 1960 will com- plete a 10-year study of beech scale and its association with Nectria disease. Field observations in the study plots indicate that the scale- Nectria association can be very destructive to beech in the Catskill Mountains. It is hoped that data collected and their analyses may show under what conditions the scale and fungus are most destructive and, by inference, how they may be avoided. Gypsy moth experimental sprays. Experimental airplane sprays in 1959 and the spring of 1960 indicate that Sevin at 1 pound in 1 gallon per acre (in fuel oil) is as effective at pound DDT in 1 gallon per acre (in fuel oil). Gypsy moth biological studies. Biological studies of the gypsy moth carried on by Robert Campbell (temporary research expert) in the Glenville plots near Scotia were concluded, at least temporarily. White pine weevil spray. In 1959, in tests with a portable mist blower, 6 percent DDT and 4 percent lindane plus 4 percent aroclor in emulsion form gave satisfactory results when directed toward the leaders of white pine. The 1960 tests using 6 percent DDT and 6 percent DDT plus 1 percent aroclor at 3 gallons per acre look very promising. DDT was selected over lindane because of lower cost. Weevil counts after spraying showed a heavy reduction of adult weevils in the spray plots as compared to the check plot. The sprays in 1960 were applied to four rows of trees at one time as compared to one row at a time in the 1959 tests. In both years the spray was aimed at the leaders. 19 20 Specially constructed cages set up at a field station for study of diseases and parasites of the gypsy moth European pine shoot moth. In 1959, using the portable mist blower, tests were made with 6 percent DDT plus 6 percent Arochlor, 6 percent Sevin and 6 percent Arochlor and 2 percent Thiodan plus 2 per- cent Arochlor. Application was made when 73 percent of the moths had already emerged. One percent Thiodan was ineffective; the DDT gave a 63 percent reduction over the check and the Sevin a 78 percent reduc- tion. Thiodan (2 percent) was ineffective. In 1960, 6 percent DDT and 6 percent Sevin (both with 3 percent orthospray sticker) in water (y2 pound insecticide per gallon ) applied at the rate of 4 gallons per acre were applied to infested red pine. Results of tests will be analyzed this fall. Sprays were applied before moth emergence. Matsucoccus scale. A spot check survey of matsucoccus scale along the Hutchinson River Parkway and on Long Island showed that it had not spread easterly on Long Island beyond Commack, but westerly it has spread to the New York City line. In Westchester the scale is more widespread in the southern half of the county but has not made further progress north or east along the Hutchinson River Parkway. White pine weevil attack in relation to soils. The observations have been compiled and analyzed. A final draft of the proposed bulletin has been prepared. White pine weevil fertilizer tests. In tests with several fertilizer formulations, begun in the fall of 1958, no relationship between weevil attack and the nutritional factors associated with the fertilizer has been found. Observation in the fertilized plots will continue for another year. Forest tent caterpillar. In the spring of 1960 an infestation was discovered in the Catskills, and it is planned to use the sequential sampling plan in survey work next winter. (Sequential plan was described in New York State Museum Bulletin No. 366). Identification and classification of the leaf beetle, family Clirysomelidae. This work is a continuation of projects described in more detail in the annual report for 1957-58. The objectives are a re- vised taxonomy of the Clirysomelidae, a catalog of North American species, keys to the identification of American species and a bibliography. Manuscripts covering these projects are practically complete. However, considerable work has been done by other entomologists on the South American Chrysomelidae. Rather radical changes in taxonomy and many new genera have been added to the lists of Chrysomelidae. and it is felt that a more thorough study of the literature and an examination 21 of representatives of the neotropical fauna should be made before any extensive publication is issued on the North American insects. Biology of the gypsy moth and other forest pests. The work consisted of field observations and identification of insects. Many of the pests were identified in the State Museum; others, parasitic flies and wasps in particular, were sent to specialists for identification. Zoology Small mammal survey, Otsego County: Studies in an area sprayed with Sevin. Small mammal trapping and observations on other wildlife, begun in May 1959, was continued until July 16. 1959; a pre- vious report summarized the work. In this area in July, 115 mammals of all species were taken in live and snap traps (800 trap nights). Lewis County: Collecting on the Tug Hill Plateau. The move to the new area (headquarters near Lowvilie) was made early in the report period. Objectives included preparing specimens of Tug Hill small mammals, preserving parasites and accumulating ecological and bio- logical information on the mammals. Bird observations also were made in this little-known area. Trapping was conducted in all months except March; work on the plateau summit was slower, but continued, in mid- winter. Mouse and rat trap nights totaled about 10.000 by June 1960. Measurements, reproductive data etc. were recorded for about 700 mammals. During late winter laboratory analyses were made of many of the stomachs collected up to that time. Two caves were visited in Jefferson County but no bats found. James E. Brower, student, began work as summer assistant on this project on June 1, 1960. Handbook of North American Birds. Volume I went to press early in 1960. It consisted of 1.091 manuscript pages, 44 text figures, 80 range maps and 6 color plates. Twenty-four authors provided major contributions. Minor contributions and various forms of assistance from about 60 other people also went into the production of this volume. The curator of zoology made the distribution maps. Office Activities and Administration In all the offices the personnel took time to answer the usual profes- sional correspondence and correspondence with persons having problems with control of pests. In entomology, termites, stored products pests, mosquitoes and other biting flies appeared to cause the most concern. Requests for advice and for personal appearance of staff members to talk about mosquito control have increased until it is difficult to fit them into the program. 22 Geological Survey The immediate effort of the Geological Survey during 1959-60 was directed toward the compilation of its new State Geological Map. This involved correction of the base map mosaic, fieldwork during the summer of 1959, much analysis of the literature and the reduction of data to preliminary maps. In anticipation of the transfer to new offices and laboratories in the wing of the Education Building, a great deal of time was devoted to the analysis and choice of suitable laboratory equipment. An important increase in gas exploration and development led to equally increased activity for the Wellsville office of the Geological Sur- vey. A well-received contribution to the oil and gas industry was a com- plete compilation (with maps) entitled Selected Deep Wells and Areas of Gas Production in Eastern and Central New York (Bulletin No. 373). “Correlation of the Silurian Rocks of New York State'" initiated a newly established map and chart series and was the first of a contemplated sequence of correlation charts of the geologic periods of New York State. Another activity of unusual interest lay in the application of geology to problems of the atomic age: location of hardened industrial sites, storage of radioactive waste and the correlation of natural radioactive background to congenital malformations. Field Research Fieldwork of permanent employees was again concentrated on geo- logical mapping, both for the purposes of the State Geological Map and in greater detail in areas of particular interest. Investigations of mineral resources were also carried on. This work was done both by permanent staff members and by geologists temporarily employed for the summer months. Geological reconnaissance in the Adirondacks. The field season of 1959 was devoted to geological reconnaissance of the Old Forge and Big Moose 15' quadrangles as well as preliminary work in the West Canada Lakes quadrangle. These areas have been terra incognita, and knowledge of them was essential for the State Geological Map. Detailed studies of metamorphism in Dutchess County. In con- nection with a study of progressively metamorphosed shales, samples were systematically collected and selected rocks have been thin sectioned. This will develop into a major research program involving the bulk com- position and transfer of trace elements within these rocks of progressive metamorphic grade. 23 *0 ^ O Vi ■"***- V. © £ © ^ O cc -a a- © ^ ^ SC 5, .5 S 5 * £ e c • 2 5 p cT 4 ~ "Q 2 4) £ « ^ .s ? 2 « © .2 s ^ ® "5 - fel '■»* O) ^ ~ ^ £ S §■ § f •2 ^ "c "c e e S 2 -£ 4- >-. ^ 4- e -s; c "C 0 i» a, e .2 fc a, -2 £ S 4) Sr, 4)