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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
BOARD OF REGENTS OF 


THE SMITHSONIAN 
INSTITUTION 


SHOWING THE 


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


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cP 
Ls APR pai 1920 1 


a 27 0344 


NITIONAL Nv 


(Publication 2758) 


WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1925 


rid 


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4° 


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LETTER 


FROM THE 


ACTING SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


SUBMITTING 


THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE 
INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1923 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 
Washington, June 21, 1924. 
To the Congress of the United States: 

In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents, 
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- 
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 
ending June 30, 1923. I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
C. G. Asgor, 
Acting Secretary. 


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Letter from 


CONTENTS 


the acting secretary, submitting the annual report of the 


PRC CENES LOY CONT ORS ee eee a a ewe ee ee ed ee ee ee 
CHPIT SPRUE CT eS EGGS es) DLO) el Fes 2 ec ee al i Ae pie, le Me ale Ag MSN ea EAD RLS 
SE sop) en CS eee ene ee i Eee i ee ee See oe 
Generalesnbjects of the annual Treport=-— ee 
QOficials/of the institution and its’ branches_._=— 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


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PER eSbap LH ShmeMts So 4 Ares een BS tN ee 2 
ES RLS #0 y OSU Ow, RCL NN GS ee lt ee ate 


General 
Finances 


CONST GOA TION Set peo ee he i By et 


Reseurchesand <CxplOwa tin seec = aa a 


Geol 


ogical explorations in the Canadian Rockies______________ 


Paleontological field-work in Tennessee_______________________ 
Expedition to examine the North Pacific fur seal islands_______ 
Botanicaljexplorationin® Colombia_— = — + 5) ee 
Exploration of the paleolithic regions of France and Spain_____ 
Centenary of the birth of Spencer Fullerton Baird________________ 
Presentation. of; bust: of..deanne,d) Ar@:. 2. tate Sk 
IEfamilionmiind lecture: 42500) tage ke ee 


District 


of Columbia nature study exhibit________________________ 


Twentieth International Congress of Americanists________________ 
JES ICC R AVG pee Oe eos Se ees een ea eer ny eee 


Library_ 


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INeriion alia Se mise 2 py sy ea Bo neh ee 
Memon MNeTYy.: OF MATE e.g oe ao te Be 
LTR rey i Gee CY Coy He, ee ee SRN Ne Dee ee eee ey ener 
Rureauvel, American, Ethnology -— = ee ee 


International 
National Zoo 


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[Layer ots 1 WEY £725 ol a Rae ess soaks epee eeeeeen we CMO p Ena y Seer Meeyee eee eye Veer a 


NBELOUIEV ACH MODSELVACORY 2.2 eo a tes 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature______________________ es 
Ta CEP) Cas ae ee Ce ire oe a eee ee een er et 


Appendix 1. 


ONrAmrROD! 


Report on the United States National Museum____________ 


. Report on the National Gallery of Art_____-______________ 
. Report on the Freer Gallery of Art_______._.____________ 


Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology____________ 
Report on the International Exchanges___________________ 


. Report on the National Zoological Park _________________ 
. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory_______________ os 
. Report on the International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- 


GR Tee ee Ra mee a ae te ek ae 


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105 


VI CONTENTS 


GENERAL APPENDIX 


The constitution and evolution of the stars, by Henry Norris Russell__ 
The sun and sunspots, 1820—1920, by E. Walter Maunder__________ 
Joining the electric wave and heat wave spectra, by E. F. Nichols and 


The possibilities of instrumental development, by George HE. Hale_____ 
The borderland of astronomy and geology, by Prof. A. S. Eddington____ 
Atmospheric nitrogen fixation, by Bric A. Loft. 32 eee 
The place of proteins in the diet in the light of the newer knowledge of 
Nutrition: DY: “HL. EL: Mitehellls 2 es ee eee 
The story of the production and uses of ductile tantalum, by Clar- 
ence’ Wi Balke 5-5 so ee ee 
The composition of the earth’s interior, by L. H. Adams and EK. D. 
Walia misono ee ee 


Recent progress and trends in vertebrate paleontology, by W. D. Matthew 
Animals in the National Zoological Park, by N. Hollister_______________ 
The burrowing rodents of California as agents in soil formation, by 

Joseph-Grinnells=26-+. 24s = eas ee ee 
The natural history of China, by A. deC. Sowerby__-________________ 
life: inthe -ceean;-by Austin Ee" Olark: =) 2 ene Se eee 
A study .of the flight ‘of ‘sea ‘gulls; by ‘R. “C: Miller.2 es 
Insect musicians and their instruments, by R. BE. Snodgrass__________~- 
The gardens of ancient Mexico, by Zelia Nuttall______-________________ 
The Hovenweep National Monument, by J. Walter Fewkes______--_-__--_ 
The origin and antiquity of the American Indian, by A. Hrdli¢ka___--___ 
The anthropological work of Prince Albert I of Monaco, and recent 

progress in human paleontology in France, by Marcellin Boule____--~ 
Ruined cities of Palestine, east and west of the Jordan, by Arthur 

Ws Satton ae 2 er ee i ee ee ee ee 
The. utilization -of- volcanic «steam ain italy <2" 2s 
Proposed tidal hydroelectric power development of Petitcodiac and Mem- 

ramcook Rivers; by “W;-Rupert: Lurnbulle <2) ee eee 
Sir James Dewar, by Sir James Crichton-Browne__-____——__-__-___- 
J>'C; Kapteyn; by “A> Van-Maaten:=:2-= 2 = eee ee 
Julius Von: Hann; ‘by G.«C::Simpson<2:-->-=>- = eee 


LIST OF PLATES 


Facing 

The Sun and Sunspots (Maunder) : page 

De UE va Spgs Eg IN a to Bee A aE HG ak EL eR Rg OE os Fe Eee Od 174 
Hlectric Wave and Heat Wave Spectra (Nichols and Tear) : 

TENA SS) LS) DA ek ea alee ere Nn aie eee ee tS 180 
Nitrogen Fixation (Lof) : 

TEED WEIS) Las 1 REF ONES oe BUR UE EN eR Ss ANS Cea OCR SD 222 
Diamond-Bearing Peridotite (Miser and Ross) : 

IPINtES Biotech kere cece ae SY oe eas Oe Oe 272 
National Zoological Park (Hollister) : 
«ESIGN ey SS aa I ee ACO AT Re NE aU “6 SR a Ie ore 290 
PEG TSS YS Sa aS ea RS ae eas OS Ee 1s ees Sao 294 
PETA GEN meet ed in ea PET Se rei eee cee AL eA AP OPA, 2 Tar a 308 
PESTS GG i cede icy Sees cae Scene Sun Le) ee 324 
EMG ey OS bases pag ahi eath ats ped Rl ILO 2 Sa aeteal i PY 2 repens eas eae AD 336 
Burrowing Rodents in Soil Formation (Grinnell) : 

ESLER al sey ees ee i ee SE et AW AE ee a 350 
Natural History of China (Sowerby) : 

Ve CP SVS 0 LS a a ee fee fee ein ee SES eeige oe Smear ge aR MO Pome yer ee 368 
Flight of Sea Gulls (Miller) : 

TEL WaS)o baat ba een net kt ee ated SNe ae Se Se Oe ee eg Re ee 398 
Gardens of Ancient Mexico (Nuttall) : 

PLAS atl aaa eey eee tS Roe) epee Sad” EN ees hoe Fe rey eee ch whale pe 460 
Hovenweep National Monument (Fewkes) : 

12 TSS] EST 25 5 (RE anes oe ee tee, (Ee ee eee See eS a 480 
Origin of American Indian (Hrdlicka) : 

ETS SS a A Mm a een i ER Aa Ral hace ehcp 5 PRR dd ol 482 

HOMAGE Reyer ek Meee hk ELE STs op eee Re ae Pe A 486 

PEN Pex 0 Sg ewe gt ee SE EE RE Ee cme Be Tie oe SESS Sc ati ty ees a AE 2) 490 

TES PSS) 9 UB Ly (gar Ne San oe 0 an ne nd SIPS ein  OONiDesl op Re) em Ee Oe 494 
Ruined Cities of Palestine (Sutton) : 

PTAA Sel ame rea es oon ek ee A A eo ee 512 

Te Vea eS tee eee te a ee ee 518 
Volcanic Steam: 

SUSU Gig nn corer ec cn Nae ee re See A ee a ee 520 
Tidal Power (Turnbull) : 

VENI Bp a a eG NF Sl hs en a ee Pe UTE SBT 523 
Sir James Dewar (Crichton-Browne) : 

PEATE pee eee rece oe nae ce ire Ree ER RL eRe ec he a 5AT 
J. C. Kapteyn (Van Maanen): | 

PS Lee eg eee eee 2 See eee ee Se ine ee ee eee 55D 


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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN 
INSTITUTION? FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1923 


SUBJECTS 


1. Annual report of the secretary, giving an account of the opera- 
tions and condition of the Institution for the year ending June 30, 
1923, with statistics of exchanges, etc. 

2. Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents, 
exhibiting the financial affairs of the Institution, including a state- 
ment of the Smithsonian fund, and receipts and expenditures for the 
year ending June 380, 1923. 

3. Proceedings of the Board of Regents for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1923. 

4, General appendix, comprising a selection of miscellaneous me- 
moirs of interest to collaborators and correspondents of the Insti- 
tution, teachers, and others engaged in the promotion of knowledge. 
These memoirs relate chiefly to the calendar year 1923. 


Ix 
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THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


June 80, 1923 


Presiding officer ex officio—WaARrEN G. HARDING, President of the United States. 
Chancellor.—CALvINn CooLincE, Vice President of the United States. 
Members of the Institution: 
WARREN G. HARDING, President of the United States. 
CALVIN CooLipGE, Vice President of the United States. 
WILLIAM Howarp Tart, Chief Justice of the United States. 
CHARLES EvAns HucuHEs, Secretary of State. 
ANDREW W. MELLON, Secretary of the Treasury. 
JOHN WINGATE WEEKS, Secretary of War. 
Harry M. DAvuGHERTY, Attorney General. 
Harry 8. New, Postmaster General. 
EpWIN DENBY, Secretary of the Navy. 
HUBERT WoRK, Secretary of the Interior. 
HENRY CANTWELL WALLACE, Secretary of Agriculture. 
HERBERT CLARK Hoover, Secretary of Commerce. 
JAMES JOHN DaAvis, Secretary of Labor. 
Regents of the Institution: 
CALVIN CooLipGE, Vice President of the United States, Chancellor. 
Witt1AmM Howanrp Tart, Chief Justice of the United States. 
Henry CAasot Lopce, Member of the Senate. 
A. OWSLEY STANLEY, Member of the Senate. 
Mepitt McCormick, Member of the Senate. 
ALBERT JOHNSON, Member of the House of Representatives. 
R. WALTON Moore, Member of the House of Representatives. 
GEORGE GRAY, citizen of Delaware. 
CHARLES F’. CHOATE, Jr., citizen of Massachusetts. 
Henry WHITE, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
Rosert §. BROOKINGS, citizen of Missouri. 
Irwin B. LAUGHLIN, citizen of Pennsylvania. 
FREDERICK A. DELANO, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
Hazecutive committee —GkrEorGE GRAY, HENRY WHITE, F'REDERIC A. DELANO. 
Secretary of the Institution. CHARLES D. WALCOTT. 
Assistant Secretary.—C. G. ABBOT. 
Chief Clerk.—HArry W. Dorsey. 
Accounting and disbursing agent.—W. I. ADAMS. 
Editor.—W. P. TRUE. 
Assistant librarian.—PAvL BROCKETT. 
Property clerk.—J. H. Hix. 


XII ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 . 


THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 


Keeper ex officio.—CuHartes D. Watcort, Secretary of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution. 

Administrative assistant to the Secretary, in charge.—W. DE C. RAVENEL. 

Head curators.—WaLTER HouGH, LEONARD STEJNEGER, GEORGE P. MERRILL. 

Curators.—PAvuL BartscH, R. S. BAasster, T. T. BELoTE, AUSTIN H. CLARK, 
F. W. Crarke, F. V. Covitte, W. H. Dati, C. W. GitmMorE, WALTER HovueH, 
L. O. Howarp, ALES HrpriéKA, Nem. M. Jupp, FrReDERIcK L. LeEwTon, GEORGE 
P. Merritt, Gerrit S. Miter, Jr., CARL W. MITMAN, Ropert RIpDGwAy, WALDO 
L. ScHMitTT, LEONHARD STEJNEGER. 

Associate curators.—J. M. AtpricH, W. R. Maxon, C. E. Resser, CHARLES W. 
RicHMonD, J. N. Ross, P. C. STANDLEY, DAaviD WHITE. 

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

Disbursing agent.—W. I. ADAMS. 

Superintendent of buildings and labor.—J. S. GoLDSMITH. 

Editor.—Marcus BENJAMIN. 

Assistant librarian.—N. P. ScuppDER. 

Photographer.—ARTHUR J. OLMSTED. 

Property clerk.—W. A. KNOWLES. 

Engineer.—C. R. DENMARK. 

Shipper.—L. E. Perry. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 
Director.—WiLu1AM H. HoLMEs. 
FREER GALLERY OF ART 


Curator.—JOHN ELLERTON LODGE. 

Associate curator.—CaRkL WHITING BISHOP. 
Assistant curator.—GRAcE DUNHAM GUEST. 
Associate.—KATHARINE NASH RHOADES. 
Superintendent.— JOHN BUNDY. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Chief.—J. WALTER FEWKES. 

Ethnologists—JoHN P. Harrineton, J. N. B. Hewitt, Francis La FLEScHE, 
TRUMAN MICHELSON, JOHN R. SWANTON. 

Editor.—StTaANLEY SEARLES. 

Librarian.—Ewia LEARY. 

Ilustrator.—Dr LANcEY GILL, 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES 
Chief Clerk.—C. W. SHOEMAKER. 
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


Superintendent.—NrEp HOLuIsTER. 
Assistant Superintendent.—A. B. BAKER. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


Director.—C. G. ABBOT. 
Aid.—F.. E. Fow ez, Jr. 
Assistant.—L. B. ALpRIcH. 


REGIONAL BUREAU FOR THE UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL 
CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE 


Assistant in charge.—LEoNARD C. GUNNELL. 


REPORT 


OF THE 
SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
CuarLes D. WALcoTT 


FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1923 


Z'o the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith the customary 
annual report showing the activities and condition of the Smith- 
sonian Institution and its branches during the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1923. The first 26 pages of the report contain an account 
of the affairs of the Institution proper, with brief abstracts of the 
work carried on by the various branches of the Institution, while 
Appendixes 1 to 10 give more detailed reports of the operations of 
the United States National Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the 
Freer Gallery of Art, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the 
International Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the 
Astrophysical Observatory, the United States Regional Bureau of 
the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, the Smith- 
gonian Library, and of the publications of the Institution and its 
branches. 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


THE ESTABLISHMENT 


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


the executive departments.” 
1 


# 


2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


THE BOARD OF REGENTS 


The affairs of the Institution are administered by a Board of 
Regents whose membership consists of “ the Vice President, the Chief 
Justice, three Members of the Senate, and three Members of the 
House of Representatives, together with six other persons other than 
Members of Congress, two of whom shall be resident in the City 
of Washington and the other four shall be inhabitants of some State, 
but no two of them of the same State.” One of the Regents is 
elected chancellor by the board; in the past the selection has fallen 
upon the Vice President or the Chief Justice; and a suitable person 
is chosen by them as secretary of the Institution, who is also secre- 
tary of the Board of Regents and the executive officer directly in 
charge of the Institution’s activities. 

In regard to the personnel of the board, the following changes 
occurred during the year: Robert Walton Moore, Member of the 
House of Representatives from Virginia, was appointed a Regent 
by the Speaker of the House, to succeed the late Lemuel P. Padgett. 
Mr. Henry White was reappointed by joint resolution of Congress, 
Mr. Irwin B. Laughlin, of Pennsylvania, was appointed to succeed 
the late Dr. A. Graham Bell, and Mr. Frederic A. Delano, of the 
District of Columbia, to succeed Mr. John B. Henderson, who died 
during the year. The election of Representative Frank L. Greene 
to the Senate on March 4, 1923, automatically terminated his term 
as a Regent. 

The roll of Regents at the close of the fiscal year was as follows: 
Calvin Coolidge, Vice President of the United States, Chancellor; 
William H. Taft, Chief Justice of the United States; Henry Cabot 
Lodge, Member of the Senate; A. Owsley Stanley, Member of the 
Senate; Medill McCormick, Member of the Senate; Albert Johnson, 
Member of the House of Representatives; R. Walton Moore, Member 
of the House of Representatives; George Gray, citizen of Delaware; 
Charles F. Choate, jr., citizen of Massachusetts; Henry White, citi- 
zen of Washington, D. C.; Robert S. Brookings, citizen of Missouri; 
Irwin B. Laughlin, citizen of Pennsylvania; and Frederic A. Delano, 
citizen of the District of Columbia. 


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 


A systematic campaign was begun during the year to increase the 
endowment of the Institution to more adequate preportions though 
at the close of the year this has had no material success. It is felt 
that there is considerable misunderstanding throughout the country 
regarding the resources of the Smithsonian Institution, many per- 
sons believing that it is supported, at least to some extent, by the 
Government. As a matter of fact, though the Congress appropriates 
funds annually for the maintenance of the various bureaus which 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 3 


have grown up around the Institution and are administered by it, not 
one cent from these appropriations can be used by the Institution 
proper for the purpose for which “ pes created, “ the i mnerease and 
diffusion of knowledge among men.’ 

These purposes, which are carried out through research, explora- 
tion, and publication, must be supported by the funds of the Institu- 
tion itself or by money contributed for special purposes by the friends 
of the Institution. As the endowed funds of the Institution, con- 
sisting of the original bequest to the Nation of James Smithson 
and subsequent gifts and bequests, amount to only a little over a mil- 
lion dollars, yielding an available annual income of approximately 
$60,000 from which the administrative costs of the Institution and of 
the general direction of its seven branches must be paid, it will be 
readily apparent that but little remains each year for research and 
exploration. It is believed that if the financial situation of the 
Smithsonian Institution and its excellent position for carrying on 
needed scientific work were more fully understood, there would be 
ready response to its plea for a larger endowment, and its program 
of scientific research and exploration could then be expanded and 
pushed vigorously, to the ultimate benefit of mankind. 

An outstanding event of the year was the formal opening on May 
2, 1923, of the Freer Gallery of Art, the culmination of Mr. Charles 
L. Freer’s splendid gift to the Nation, through the Smithsonian In- 
stitution, of his unrivalled collections of American and Oriental art 
and a beautiful building to house them. The opening was well 
attended and was the cause of favorable comment in art circles 
throughout the country, many of the leading art journals carrying 
full accounts of the gallery and its contents. The building is now 
open to the public daily except Mondays. 


FINANCES 
The permanent investments of the Institution consist of the 
following: 
Deposited in the Treasury of the United States___.._....--------- $1, 000, 000 
CONSOLIDATED FUND 


Miscellaneous securities carried at cost of $192,770.28, either purchased or 
acquired by gift, and constituting the consolidated fund, namely: 
West Shore Railroad Co. guaranteed 4 per cent first-mortgage bonds, 


Ri eet ee SR be ea ts Sy a an a ow i a nr re $42, 000 
Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. first-mortgage 5 per cent gold 

es, GQuCMti O09 2 80. 88 ee cen cneasa bane 10, 000 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. 4 per cent general mortgage 

pee hg) Se Cange bo og paeedlng alpen. eo 2 Lele = arempal ple ateaed Pops pened apap, Mi on 2, 000 
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Co. first consolidated mortgage 5 per cent 

OSU 5 2 | ane eee pe eS 2, 000 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. 5 per cent refunding general mortgage 

bonds, due in 1995, gift_._........__.0Be see eet atk 5, 000 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


CONSOLIDATED FUND—continued 


P. Lorillard Co. 7 per cent gold bonds, due in 1944, gift_____-_-_-_--- 
Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. 7 per cent gold bonds, due in 1944, gift__ 
New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Co. 4 per cent gold de- 
benture bonds, duern 1984.42 . 220: a Meee ae eee ee 
Dominion of Canada 5 per cent gold bonds, due May 1, 1952 
Province of Ontario debenture bonds, due in 1952___-____----------- 
Norman P. Scala 3-year note on 140 East Capitol Street, due November 
20, 1925, at 6 per cent 
Northern Pacific Railway Co. refunding and improvement 5 per cent 
BOnds, GUueI202 (25 28 2a ee ee ee nets mae. Sait eh ee ee 
Real estate 7 per cent trust notes on improved property in the District 
of Columbia, due bOBhasuiw. ive, SO Ce SLE ee ee 
Northern Pacific Railway Co. 6 per cent bonds, due 2047____-------- 
New York Central Railroad Co. refunding and improvement 5 per 
Bent PONCE Ne te BOs a8 oa eS oe aa ee eee a 
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. 5 per cent secured gold notes (in course 
Ohadiustmentyel. esos. ebb. se se ee 2 
United; States-first; Liberty loan 2cu0 Le ous- adi -bece celts icbett iase 
United States second Liberty loan 
United States third Liberty loan 
Unied putes. 10urtn ‘Laberty oan 22° 22. 22 o> ee eee 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. 5 per cent preferred stock, 


Stang oe. se eet _ Be Slat hee Ae OE ee shares_- 
American Smelting & Refining Co. 7 per cent preferred stock, gift 
ee ep Nite ig ee ee ee on eee shares _- 


Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. 4 per cent preferred stock, gift__do-_--- 
California Electric Generating Co. 6 per cent preferred stock, gift 
shares_- 
dovzse 


125 


60 
125 


100 
20 


The sums invested for each specific fund or securities acquired by 


gift are described as follows: 


United Consoli- 
Fund States dated 
Treasury fund 

Avery find: 3225. Ae* Js. Seite ae Soe 5 Seta eee eee $14, 000. 00 $27, 689. 80 
Virginia, Purdy, Bacon Mind. «ooo. oecticeneec acess scabewenes ance aeeaceerse 48, 300. 00 
ROTEL 8 Dag CVs iy 1s ee er EE Eppes SE ee | OR er 1, 285. 58 
@Ghamberlain fans oe coo eo a ck ene oeet a eeeeea=e 35, 000. 00 
Piabel find’: £26. 3. see ce he se dc acne eee beet BOON00 Sees. es 
I RIFIDOD I EING soonest hen eee a oe et ee 2, 500. 00 500. 00 
@aroline Henry fand = fcc Soo. Su. eee tee eawsceena 1, 023. 00 
Hodglkcins'genoral fund so 2o 2 6 cas ween tes oom annosaseee 116, 000. 00 37, 275. 00 
Hodgkins speciic and... 4. teeta tence cee eeuneeenae TOO O00 GO" -cecncocaceae = 
Broce Hughes fund..-; 20868 ie en Ek | eee 11, 194. 76 
Morris Loeb fond sock asco sen sede eee it bbe ee eee 2, 390. 00 
Lucy T. and George W. Poore fund--.-_......-...---.-------- 26, 670. 00 10, 055. 00 
RAGISON et ROG SUMS Ce ete ene as eee ce en ces seen eee 11, 000. 00 4, 419. 00 
Rhees fund 365-4 ose eee ee, eee ee ee 590. 00 238. 00 
Géormeuss Sanford fund 3c. ocacceocdaceweeote eects eee 1, 100. 00 451. 00 
Smithson fund jcc fescce- fA oks ee e eESS 727, 640. 00 1, 429, 14 
Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott research fund_._-_......-|-------------- 11, 520. 00 

| Wa RIE sh Ae Ap i ee nese ein 1, 000, 000. 00 192, 770. 28 


expected that the conversion will be made very soon. 


Total 


1, 192, 770. 28 


1 Terms have been agreed upon for reconverting the notes of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co., and it is 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 5 


Mr. B, H. Swales, honorary assistant curator, division of birds, 
has continued his contributions during the past year for the pur- 
chase of specimens for the division of birds. This year his contribu- 
tions have amounted to $400. 

Dr. William L. Abbott has contributed $4,000 during the past year 
for the purpose of continuing his researches in natural history and 
the collection of specimens in China. With the unexpended sum of 
$3,173.58, the balance remaining from the work in Australia, the 
total sum available for work in China has amounted to $7,173.58. 

The Institution is indebted to Mr. John A. Roebling for a further 
contribution of $28,288.19 toward continuing researches in astro- 
physics by aiding the solar observing stations in Chile and the 
United States, and providing for publication of scientific papers, 
and for making meteorological investigations elsewhere. 

Freer Gallery of Art.—A stock dividend of 100 per cént was de- 
clared by Parke, Davis & Co., as of record of December 18, 1922, 
which gives the Smithsonian Institution a total number of shares 
of the stock of that company aggregating 40,930, making a total for 
each classification as follows: 


Shares 
Cnravor stand, Freer Gallery. of Art.-2- 28-42 k> 2) on ee wee 3, 484 
Court and grounds fund, Freer Gallery of Art________________________ 3, 484 
Court and grounds, maintenance fund, Freer Gallery of Art-___________ 870 
Residuary.lesacy,; reer. Gallery- of Artes22 322246022 FR DE 33, 092 


The Institution, as residuary legatee, also holds the following 
securities, acquired in settlement of the Freer estate: 


Detroit Country Club, first mortgage 5 per cent bond, due January 1, 


DO see ee eR a ee) UG ek Pee Se $1, 000 
University Club, Detroit, first mortgage 5 per cent bonds, due 1923 

ROG KS pes PR See Se et 2 Oe SO 2) Oe SO eS SER Oa Oe oe Eee ere 2, 000 
Great Lakes Engineering Works, first mortgage, 7 per cent bonds, due 

EM ep Co GaN Cs Des SUEN CL Ors Up fea cw eg Se nn eee 20, 000 


In my last report, I mentioned a loan which the Institution was 
compelled to make for the purpose of paying certain taxes. The 
loan has been paid during the year. The building fund is now ex- 
hausted. 

The practice of depositing on time, in local trust companies, such 
revenues as may be spared temporarily has been continued during 
the past year, and interest on these deposits has amounted to $1,732.50. 
The income during the year for current expenses, consisting of inter- 
est on permanent investments and other miscellaneous sources, in- 
cluding cash balance at the beginning of the year, amounted to 
$67,484.16. Revenues and principal of funds for specific purposes, 
except the Freer bequest, amounted to $69,756.48. Revenues on 


6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


account of Freer bequest amounted to $304,436.26; aggregating a 
total of $441,676.90. 

The disbursements, described more fully in the annual report of 
the executive committee, were classed as follows: General objects of 
the Institution, $64,138.85; for specific purposes (except the Freer 
bequest), $44,291.25; temporary advances for field expenses, etc., in 
excess of repayments, $12,769.17; expenditures pertaining to the 
Charles L. Freer bequest, $251,446; cash deposited on time, $57,500 ; 
and cash balance on hand. June 30, "1998, $11,531.63. 

The following appropriations were intrusted by Congress to the 
care of the Smithsonian Institution for the fiscal year 1923: 


Inverndtional lo xchbances's oe eee eee See ee ee ene eee $45, 000 
American’ ithnology £0 {ts Ree ee ee ee ek 44, 000 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature___________________ 7, 500 
AStrophbysicaly Observatory = 4-6 sk ee ee ee 15, 500 
National Museum: 
POGOe ANNO DH NOS aoe ee en eee ee ee ee $20, 000 
MICA ANG ARG es ee ee ee ee eee eee 73, 000 
Preservation ‘of collections: 2UlJB yer Bree ee 312, 620 
Building Trepales.— = ee ee ee 10, 000 
1 AO 0) 24 dll ai Nine ARNIS at AOD SE 5 late att UY TG 
ROSTAS C= aS eek eee ae 500 
418, 120 
National: Gallery: of, Art- 9 cs 5-.2) o> 5h he ee ee 15, 000 
Nacional Zoological: Parka. 250) oo a oe se de ee 125, 000 
TNCLEASS (OL | COMPOUSA LON oo ee ee 109, 044 
Banger and. bindings ase. srke ger ee el ee er een eee ne ee 77, 400 
NOGA oak ey RNA Rd © Oe nD a ARS nS SD Ss vg ee 856, 564 


RESEARCHES AND EXPLORATIONS 


In the Institution’s work in the “ increase and diffusion of knowl- 
edge,” scientific exploration and research expeditions in the field play 
an important part. There has been even more than the usual activity 
in this phase of the work during the past year, the Institution and 
its branches having initiated or taken part in 22 separate expeditions 
in widely scattered parts of the earth, representing many branches 
of science. The very limited funds of the Institution available for 
this important work make it necessary each year to forego oppor- 
tunities to send out or join forces with other scientific organizations 
in expeditions which would result in valuable information and ma- 
terial for study and exhibition to the public in the National Museum. 
I will mention here only a few of the expeditions in the field during 
the past year, in order to show the nature and scope of the work, 
referring to the appended reports on the National Museum, Bureau 
of American Ethnology, and other branches of the Institution for 
accounts of the explorations undertaken by them. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY t 
GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 


My geological field work in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, de- 
seribed in previous reports, was continued during the past year, 
special attention being given to securing evidence bearing on the 
pre-Devonian formations north of the Bow Valley, Alberta, and 
south along the new Banff-Windermere motor road. Difficulties were 
encountered during the first part of the season, owing to dense 
forest-fire smoke and unsatisfactory trail men, but during August 
and September conditions were greatly improved and the work was 
pushed vigorously. 

A fine section of pre-Devonian strata was studied and measured 
in the upper part of Douglas Lake Canyon Valley, and many pho- 
tographs were secured. The measured geologic section was from the 
base of the Devonian, above Lake Gwendolyn, across the canyon to 
the deep cirque below Halstead Pass, where the great Lyell lime- 
stone forms the crest of the ridge. The section includes the Ozarkian 
Mons formation down to the Lyell formation of the upper Cambrian. 

Going south from the Bow Valley, camp was next made on the 
Kootenay River, about 6 miles below the mouth of the Vermilion 
River. The Kootenay Valley is broad and deep, with the high 
ridges of the Mitchell Range on the east and the Brisco Range on 
the west. The limestones and shales of both ranges are upturned and 
sheared and faulted, making it very difficult to work out the structure 
and the complete stratigraphic succession of the various formations. 
The Silurian limestones, with their fossil coral beds above the white 
quartzite of the Richmond transgression, were found in the upper 
portion of Sinclair Canyon, and not far away black shales full of 
Silurian graptolites. Lower down the canyon thin-bedded gray 
limestone yielded fossils of the Mons formation. 

It is evident that in the ancient and narrow Cordilleran Sea, that 
extended from the Arctic Ocean 2,000 miles (3,218 km.) or more 
south, between the coast ranges of the time and the uplands of the 
central portion of the North American continent, there was a sim- 
ilarity of Lower Paleozoic marine life along the shores and its shal- 
low waters. Evidences of this and of strong currents and persistent 
wave action occur all the way from central Nevada to Mount Robson, 
in British Columbia. The record of the marine life and deposits 
of mud and sand is most complete. 


PALEONTOLOGICAL FIELD WORK IN TENNESSEE 


Dr. R. S. Bassler, curator, division of paleontology of the United 
States National Museum, spent six weeks in June and July in a con- 
tinuation of stratigraphic and paleontologic studies begun a year 
before in the central basin of Tennessee, in collaboration with the 


8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Tennessee State survey. In 1921 the study and mapping of the 
Franklin quadrangle, an area of about 250 square miles just south 
of Nashville, was well advanced, and this year it was brought to com- 
pletion and data secured for the preparation of a geological report 
upon the area, to be published by the State. Stratigraphic studies 
were then undertaken in contiguous areas, in which Doctor Bassler 
was joined by Doctors Ulrich and Mesler. The classic section at 
Nashville, in which the proper delimitation of the formations has 
long been in dispute, was studied with especial care, and large col- 
lections of fossils were secured to verify the stratigraphic results. 

Regarding this section, Doctor Bassler says: 

The deep-sea origin of all limestones has long been taught in spite of the 
trend of evidence that many limestone formations were laid down in shallow 
seas. The shallow-water origin of limestone is well illustrated in the sec- 
tion of Ordovician strata exposed near the blind asylum at Nashville, which 
has been studied by several generations of geologists. At the base of this 
section is the Hermitage formation, which was evidently formed along ancient 
shore lines because it is composed of beach-worn fragments of shells and other 
fossils. Above this comes the Bigby limestone, the source of much of the 
Tennessee brown phosphate, and which also is made up almost entirely of the 
comminuted remains of fossils. Next is the Dove limestone, an almost pure, 
dove-colored, lithographic-like limestone which shows its shallow-water origin 
in the worm tubes penetrating it and its sun-cracked upper surface. A slab 
of this limestone a foot thick, now on exhibition in the National Museum, 
well illustrates the polygonal upper surface and the penetrating worm tubes, 
both features indicative of the origin of the rock on old mud flats which were 
periodically above water and thus became sun cracked. The succeeding Ward 
limestone is of the more typical blue variety, but here the rock is filled with 
millions of fossil shells which, under the influence of weathering, are changed 
to silica and are left free in great numbers in the soil. This section is only 
a portion of the entire geological sequence at Nashville, but it well illustrates 
the various types of limestone outcropping throughout the central basin. 


EXPEDITION TO EXAMINE THE NORTH PACIFIC FUR SEAL ISLANDS 


Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, head curator of biology in the United 
States National Museum, was detailed at the request of the Depart- 
ment of Commerce, to accompany an expedition to Alaska and 
adjacent regions during the summer of 1922 to ascertain the status 
of the fur seal herds in the North Pacific Ocean since their protection 
through the treaty of 1911 between the United States, Russia, Japan, 
and Great Britain. The first seal rookeries visited were those of the 
Pribilofs, where the increase in number of seals on the beaches is 
very remarkable, and Doctor Stejneger predicts a complete resti- 
tution of the fur seal herd to its former maximum for the not dis- 
tant future. A new method of stripping the skin from the dead seal 
and subsequent cleaning of the skin was being adopted on an ex- 
tensive scale and was found to be a great improvement over the old 
method. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 9 


On Bering Island of the Commander Islands, the next stop of the 
expedition, conditions were quite the reverse of those on the Pribi- 
lofs. The south rookery had long since ceased to exist and the great 
north rookery had been greatly reduced. On his last visit to this 
rookery in 1879, Stejneger had estimated the number of breeding 
seals there at 30,000. At the time of the present visit, there were 
scarcely 2,000 left. 

The expedition next visited the Japanese fur seal island usually 
known as Robben Island in the Okhotsk Sea. Here the number of 
fur seals has gradually increased until now they occupy not only the 
entire eastern beach but are extending the rookery at both ends on 
to the west side of the island. The Japanese have followed closely 
the methods employed in managing the American seal herd on the 
Pribilofs, and the result is most instructive in showing conclusively 
that “protection does protect.” Important information regarding 
the Russian fur seal islands was obtained from Mr. Koltanovski and 
Colonel Sokolnikof, and from Yokohama Doctor Stejneger took 
passage back to the United States, having completed the inspection 
of the fur seal rookeries. 


BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN COLOMBIA 


From April to October, 1922, Dr. Francis W. Pennell, of the Phil- 
adelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and Mr. Ellsworth P. Killip, 
of the National Museum, carried on botanical exploration in the 
Republic of Colombia. The expedition was organized by several 
institutions as part of a general plan for the botanical study of 
northern South America. Financial assistance was also given by 
Mr. Oakes Ames, who was especially interested in the orchids of the 
region. 

Entering the country at Buenaventura on the Pacific side, the 
expedition established headquarters at La Cumbre in the Western 
Cordillera, for the purpose of studying the vegetation of the central 
part of this range. Descending to the city of Cali, the party pro- 
ceeded up the Cauca Valley to Popayan, and from this point explored 
the southern portions of both the central and western Cordilleras. 
Later the expedition visited Salento, in the northern part of the Cen- 
tral Range, and Ibagué and Bogota, collecting material at historic 
localities along the Quindiu Trail. Approximately 7,200 members 
were collected, sufficient material being secured to make up equal 
sets for each of the institutions represented in the expedition. 

In his report on the work, Mr. Killip says: 

As might be expected from its physiography, the vegetation of Colombia is 
extremely diverse. Within a few miles may occur a luxuriant tropical flora, 
the more open woods of the temperate zone, and the low alpine growth familiar 


on our American mountain tops. Again, as in the Dagua Valley, one may ride 
through a dense rain forest, filled with ferns, mosses, and aroids, to emerge 


10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


suddenly in an arid desert-like region, where cacti and acacias are the con- 
spicuous plants. - 

So inadequately known is the flora of Colombia that even along the regular 
routes of travel many species are found that are either new, unrepresented in 
American herbaria, or known only from specimens preserved in European 
collections. 


The botanical collection resulting from this expedition is one of 
the largest and most important ever obtained in Colombia. 


EXPLORATION OF THE PALEOLITHIC REGIONS OF FRANCE AND SPAIN 


During September, 1922, Mr. M. W. Stirling, of the National 
Museum, explored the paleolithic regions of southern France and 
northern Spain. Besides visiting all of the important sites where 
remains of ancient man have been discovered, the expedition entered — 
a great many caves previously unknown to science. Regarding the 
great promise of the region for archeological work, Mr. Stirling 
reports as follows: 


The idea has become prevalent in America that this region has been practi- 
cally exhausted archeologically. Although the previous existence of paleo- 
lithic man in this locality has been known for half a century, it may be truly 
said that the work of exploration has hardly begun. 

The habitations of the Stone Age are closely linked with the limestone forma- 
tion which overlies large areas in this part of Europe. These may be said to 
fall into two classes, i. e., rock shelters and caverns. The former are under- 
cuts in the limestone made by the rivers in the early Pleistocene or late Plio- 
cene. A general elevation of the land has caused the streams to*deepen their 
channels, thus leaving the undercuts well above the surface of the water. 
These were utilized as dwelling places by paleolithic man and in many instances 
were artificially modified. There are literally miles of relic-bearing deposits 
of this class that have not yet been touched. The possibilities in this field are 
very great. 

The caverns of the Dordogne region are for the most part comparatively 
small, while those in the department of Arriege are immense caves of a most 
spectacular nature. Of the former class are the grottoes of Font du Gaume, 
Combarelles, La Mouthe, Marsoulas, Montesquieu, and others. Of the latter 
class are the immense caves in the neighborhood of Foix, as for example, Salig- 
nac, Ussat, and Niaux. The tunnel of Mas d’Azil is the remnant of such a cave. 

Many of these caverns have become blocked with sediment owing to the fact 
that they frequently slope downward from the entrance. Messrs. Stirling and 
Patton entered at least a dozen such caves which had become sealed at varying 
distances from their mouths. The opening of such caves has heretofore been 
left entirely to chance. Scientific endeavor at this work should produce most 
fruitful results. The sealing of these caves has been a fortunate accident of 
nature, since the contents are by this means preserved intact. 

Of the regions visited, that in the neighborhood of Altamira, in Spain, and 
Ussat, in France, give most promise of rich returns to the archeologist. 


CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 


A meeting was held in the auditorium of the National Museum 
on the evening of February 3, 1923, to celebrate the centenary of the 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY lal 


birth of Spencer Fullerton Baird, second secretary of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, the virtual founder of the United States National 
Museum, the creator and head of the United States Fish Commis- 
sion, and a prime mover in the establishment of the United States 
Geological Survey and the Bureau of American Ethnology. The 
meeting was presided over by Representative Frank L. Greene, a 
member of the Board of Regents of the Institution, and the following 
addresses were delivered: “ Baird, the man,” by Dr. William Healey 
Dall; “Baird and the Smithsonian Institution and its branches,” 
by Dr. Charles G. Abbot; “ Baird at Woods Hole,” by Prof. Edwin 
Linton; “ Baird and the Fisheries,” by Prof. David Starr Jordan; 
and “ Baird, the Naturalist,” by Dr. C. Hart Merriam. 

In the afternoon, preceding the formal celebration, the National 
Baird Memorial Committee met in the National Museum to decide 
upon the form of the memorial or memorials to Baird. The com- 
mittee was composed of delegates appointed by 54 scientific societies 
and institutions from various parts of the country, with the follow- 
ing officers: 

Honorary president, Dr. William H. Dall; president, Dr. Charles 
D. Walcott; vice presidents, Mr. George R. Agassiz, Dr. Alexander 
Graham Bell (deceased), Prof. Frank W. Clarke, Prof. Stephen 
A. Forbes; Prof. David Starr Jordan, Prof. Edwin Linton, Prof. 
Edward S. Morse, Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn, Prof. Addison 
KE. Verrill, and Dr. Robert S. Woodward; secretary, Dr. Paul 
Bartsch. At this afternoon meeting it was announced that appro- 
priate exercises were held during the morning, when wreaths were 
placed on the grave of Baird in Oak Hill Cemetery, the bust of 
Baird in the American Museum of Natural History, the Baird 
memorial bowlder of the American Fisheries Society at Woods 
Hole, and the Baird memorial tablet at the Bureau of Fisheries 
Building in Washington, and that the mayor of Reading, Pa., had 
been requested to decorate the house in which Baird was born. 

The report of the national committee, announced at the evening 
meeting, is as follows: 

1. That Congress be memorialized to establish in the city of 
Washington a museum of fisheries and oceanography, with labora- 
tories and a public aquarium, as a memorial to Spencer Fullerton 
Baird. 

9. That there be established a fund for the encouragement of 
research and exploration in the directions in which Spencer Fuller- 
ton Baird was a leader. 

3. It was the sense of the meeting that the name of Baird be given 
- to the laboratory of the Bureau of Fisheries at Woods Hole, Mass. 


12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
PRESENTATION OF BUST OF JEANNE D’ARC 


On February 23, 1923, there was presented to the Smithsonian 
Institution for the American people a bronze bust of Jeanne d’Arc 
by Madame Berthe Girardet, of Neuilly, France. This bust, accepted 
by your secretary on behalf of the Board of Regents of the Institu- 
tion, is a gift from the sculptress through Mrs. Grace Whitney Hoff, 
“in memory of what the American soldiers did in France at a 
crucial time of need—in gratitude to the mothers, to the wives, to 
the sisters and sweethearts, and to all those who gave their dear 
ones whose blood has mingled with the soil of France.” The bust 
is installed in the National Gallery of Art. 


HAMILTON FUND LECTURE 


The Rev. James Hamilton, in 1875, placed under the administra- 
tion of the Smithsonian Institution a sum of money, designated as 
the Hamilton fund, the interest from which is to be used for “lec- 
tures on scientific or useful subjects.” Under the auspices of this 
fund there was delivered on April 18, 1923, an interesting lecture 
by Dr. Sven Hedin, the noted Swedish explorer, on his discoveries 
of ancient cities and manuscripts in eastern Turkestan and his latest 
explorations in southern Tibet. The lecture was profusely illus- 
trated with lantern slides, and Doctor Hedin described graphically 
the dangers and hardships incident to a journey through the great 
desert regions in which he worked. The lecture, to which the Wash- 
ington public was invited, had a large attendance. 


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATURE STUDY EXHIBIT 


Four of the foyer rooms in the New National Museum have been 
set aside for a local exhibit, which, it is hoped, will meet a long-felt 
want of teachers and students and people generally interested in the 
fauna and flora of the District of Columbia and its immediate 
vicinity. 

Two of the rooms are devoted to the birds and it is intended to 
install a complete representation of all species reported for the Dis- 
trict. A third room is devoted to the mammals, reptiles, batrachians, 
and fish of the District, while the fourth room has the commoner in- 
sects—butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, etc——and swinging frames 
containing beautifully pressed specimens of local plants. It is in- 
tended to change the contents of these frames as the season advances, 
so that anyone wishing to know what is in flower at the particular 
time in question will find the specimen represented in the frame in 
its regular systematic position, as well as a photograph of the habitat 
and some detail pictures. Here, too, is installed a stereomotorgraph 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 13 


which alternately shows series of pictures of plants and birds, the 
plants as they come into flower and the birds about their nest, feed- 
ing stations, or bird baths. 

Judging from the attendance which these exhibits have already 
called forth and the numbers of inquiries which have been made by 
teachers and persons interested, there is no question about the ad- 
visability of having furnished the school system and nature lovers 
of Washington these aids to visual education. 


TWENTIETH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICANISTS 


The twentieth meeting of the International Congress of Ameri- 
canists, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August, 1922, was attend- 
ed by Dr. Walter Hough and Dr. Ales Hrdlitka, of the National 
Museum, who represented the Smithsonian Institution and were also 
designated by the State Department to represent the United States. 
Means were provided to repay the expenses of the delegates by the 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A great many papers 
of scientific value were presented in several languages at the Con- 
gress, and the delegates feel that a great stimulus was given to the 
promotion of anthropological science, especially in Brazil. 


PUBLICATIONS 


The Institution and its branches issued during the year a total of 
100 volumes and pamphlets, of which there were distributed 139,666 
copies, including 130 volumes and separates of the Smithsonian Con- 
tributions to Knowledge, 18,801 volumes and separates of the Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous Collections, 25,229 volumes and separates of 
the Smithsonian Annual Reports, 3,016 Smithsonian special publica- 
tions, 72,529 volumes and separates of the publications of the Na- 
tional Museum, 17,694 publications of the Bureau of American Eth- 
nology, 816 publications of the National Gallery of Art, 1,309 vol- 
umes of the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, 31 reports 
on the Harriman Alaska Expedition, and 74 reports of the American 
Historical Association. 

Through its publications the Institution carries out one of its 
primary functions, the “ diffusion of knowledge among men.” Many 
of its publications are the results of scientific researches conducted 
by members of the staff, others are prepared by outside scientists 
who have carried on special investigations on the collections of the 
National Museum and still others are intended for the general reader 
who takes an interest in the progress of science but is not benefited 
by the more technical papers mentioned above. In this last class 
‘comes the General Appendix to the Smithsonian Annual Report, 
which consists of a series of articles by authorities in the matters 
treated, outlining the more noteworthy and interesting advances in 


14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


many lines of scientific work, including physics, chemistry, astro- 
physics, geology, biology, and anthropology. These are written in a 
style to attract the average intelligent reader, and there is a very gen- 
eral demand for the reports. A cataloguer in the office of the Super- 
intendent of Documents, where all public documents are distributed, 
has placed the Smithsonian report first in point of number of re- 
quests from libraries to receive this publication. 

The publications of the National Museum and of the Bureau of 
American Ethnology are mentioned in detail in the report on pub- 
lications, appended hereto. 

Nine papers were issued during the year in the series of Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous Collections, among which may be mentioned 
one by your secretary resulting from his geological field work in the 
Canadian Rocky Mountains; a timely paper by Mr. Mitman, of the 
Museum staff, on “Some Practical Aspects of Fuel Economy ”; 
and a contribution from Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, chief of the Bureau 
of American Ethnology, on the “ Designs on Prehistoric Pottery 
from the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico,” which was fully illus- 
trated with striking Indian designs. 

Allotments for printing.—The congressional allotments for the 
printing of the Smithsonian reports and the various publications of 
the branches of the institution were practically used up at the close 
of the year. The appropriation for the coming year ending June 
30, 1924, totals $77,400, allotted as follows: 

For printing and binding the Annual Reports of the Board of Regents, 

with general appendixes, the editions of which shall not exceed 

DCU Peg es ene eee 
Under the Smithsonian Institution: For the annual reports of the 

National Museum, with general appendixes, and for printing labels 

and blanks, and for the bulletins and proceedings of the National 

Museum, the editions of which shall not exceed 4,000 copies, and 

binding, in half morocco or material not more expensive, scientific 

books and pamphlets presented to or acquired by the National 

Museum’. Wibranyesteset 2b urs rat ety ob wee ha ereeere 37, 500 
For the annual reports and bulletins of the Bureau of American 

Ethnology, and for miscellaneous printing and binding for the bureau_ 21,000 
For the annual report of the National Gallery of Art and for printing 


catalogues, labels, and planks= <2. tS ee 1, 000 

For miscellaneous printing and binding: 
Thesintemational™ Wxchanses! S72 203 <i | ee ees 200 
The International Catalogue of Scientific Literature_____________ 100 
The: National, Zoolosical, Parke 22-4. ses) ees 300 
he : Astrophysical (Observatory = 2. 2.2 ee ee 300 
For the annual report of the American Historical Association___----~ 7, 000 
77, 400 


Provided, That the expenditure of this sum shall not be restricted to a pro 
rata amount in any period of the fiscal year. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 15 


Committee on printing and publication—The function of the 
Smithsonian advisory committee on printing and publication is to 
make recommendations to the secretary regarding the technical merit 
and suitability of all manuscripts submitted for publication by the 
Smithsonian Institution or its branches, and also to consider all 
other matters relating to printing and binding under the institution. 
During the past year seven meetings were held and 104 manuscripts 
acted upon. The membership of the committee is as follows: Dr. 
Leonhard Stejneger, head curator of biology, National Museum, 
chairman; Dr. George P. Merrill, head curator of geology, National 
Museum; Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, chief, Bureau of American Eth- 
nology; Mr. N. Hollister, superintendent, National Zoological Park; 
and Mr. W. P. True, editor of the Smithsonian Institution, secre- 
tary. 

LIBRARY 


Much has been accomplished during the year toward better 
library service. The number of publications loaned during the year 
reached a total of 12,076, and fully as many were consulted without 
being taken out. A list has been prepared each day of the principal 
contents of scientific and technical periodicals received for the Smith- 
sonian Deposit at the Library of Congress, and copies are circulated 
among the heads of scientific bureaus under the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution. The subject catalogue of the Museum library has been 
increased by 4,400 cards, and progress has been made in the arrange- 
ment of cards of the Concilium Bibliographicum, received since the 
close of the war. 

The third volume of the “ Bibliography of Aeronautics,” covering 
the years 1917 to 1919, inclusive, compiled by the assistant librarian 
of the Smithsonian Institution, Mr. Paul Brockett, was issued dur- 
ing the year by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. 

Of the 10,938 volumes and other publications added to the library, 
5,719 were for the Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress, 
4,285 for the National Museum, and the others for the remaining 
libraries administered under the Smithsonian Institution. 


NATIONAL MUSEUM 


While without increased financial resources it has been impossible 
for the Museum during the year to increase the scope of its exhibits 
and of their usefulness to the public, nevertheless much has been 
accomplished along the lines of filling in gaps in existing collections 
and of increasing their value through classification and arrangement. 
.The Museum has been fortunate in being able to keep together most 
of its scientific staff. Im many cases this has been possible only 
because of the devotion of the persons and their willingness to accept 


16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


employment in what should be their leisure hours in order to meet 
living expenses. Better conditions are expected to result, however, 
from the passage by Congress of the reclassification act of 1923, 
which becomes effective July 1, 1924. 

The Museum acquired during the year a total of 217,611 specimens. 
While numerically this is only 60 per cent as many as received during 
the previous year, many of the accessions are of exceptional value, 
either intrinsically or from a scientific point of view. The distri- 
bution of duplicate specimens, mainly to educational institutions, 
totaled 9,131 specimens, classified and labeled. About one-half of 
these were in regular sets already prepared for shipment, and the 
other half were specially selected to meet particular needs. Nearly 
35,000 duplicates, chiefly relating to botany and geology, were sent 
out in exchange, resulting in the acquisition of much desirable mate- 
rial. Over 12,000 specimens were lent to specialists for study pur- 
poses. The material received by the Museum during the year is 
described somewhat fully in the report of the administrative assist- 
ant in charge, appended to this report, but it may be well to here 
mention briefly some of the outstanding accessions. Among much 
material in anthropology, there may be mentioned an expressive 
carved stone figure from the Makah Indians; casts of the famous 
La Quina and Obercassel skulls and skeleton; a series of archeo- 
logical specimens from Haiti; an ethnological collection from For- 
mosa; and casts of the busts of the heretic Pharaoh, Amenophis IV, 
and his queen. 

The biological specimens received during the year, while fewer in 
number, compare favorably in scientific value with those of previous 
years and probably are above the average. Perhaps the outstanding 
accession in biology was the Evezard collection of recent mollusks 
presented by the late John B. Henderson, while another of great 
scientific interest is the series of Opalinid ciliate infusorians pre- 
pared by Prof. Maynard M. Metcalf. A significant feature of the 
year’s accessions is the fact that some of the most important are from 
China as a result of a deliberate effort to improve systematically the 
study material from the Palearctic region which is of fundamental 
importance for a full understanding of our North American fauna. 
Several expeditions from which biological material may be expected 
to come to the Museum are now in the field in China. A number of 
other expeditions to South America and elsewhere during the year 
have resulted in much valuable material, the National Herbarium 
especially being enriched. Striking new exhibits in the department 
of biology include several species of Australian mammals, a Malay 
tapir, and a gorilla collected in French Congo by Mr. Aschemeier, 
of the Museum staff. The scientific staff has continued to carry on 
research work on the study collections, resulting in the publication 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 17 


of many papers in the various Museum series. The total number of 
specimens of animals and plants now in the Museum collections is 
estimated to exceed 7,000,000. 

Among the important accessions in the department of geology may 
be mentioned the valuable paleontological collection of the late 
Orestes St. John, consisting principally of fossil fishes, donated by 
Dr. Frank Springer, and a collection of not less than 10,000 speci- 
mens, mainly fossil plants, presented by the heirs of the late R. D. 
Lacoe, of Pittston, Pa. The residuary portion of the meteorite col- 
lection of the late Prof. H. A. Ward was presented by Mrs. Coonley 
Ward, and 18 additional accessions of meteorites were received. A 
number of important mineralogical specimens were acquired, largely 
through exchanges, including a portion of a large boulder of jade 
received from Col. W. B. Thompson and a fine specimen of crystal- 
lized descloizite from southwest Africa. Several unusual cut gems 
were purchased through the Chamberlain endowment fund. An 
important phase of the work of the department of geology consists 
in furnishing assistance to schools and students, chiefly through the 
distribution of materials needed in their studies. Eighty-one educa- 
tional institutions were thus aided during the year. 

The collections of textiles, wood technology, organic chemistry, 
foods, and medicine, all under the supervision of the curator of 
textiles, received many valuable specimens, numbering over 2,000. 
Among the most important of these are a large series of specimens 
of pyralin, bakelite, condensite, and cellulose acetate, all substitutes 
for natural raw materials, such as ivory, bone, horn, tortoise shell, 
amber, etc., the supplies of which are growing scarcer every year; 
beautiful specimens of silks, woolen fabrics, and mohair upholstery 
textiles; an exhibit showing the process of manufacture of double- 
tipped matches; and specimens showing the use of chaulmoogra oil 
derivatives in the treatment of leprosy in Hawaii. 

In the divisions of mineral and mechanical technology, graphic 
arts, and history, an unusually large and valuable series of objects 
has been accessioned during the year. The divisions of mineral and 
mechanical technology, in their conservation program, cooperated 
with Mr. S. S. Wyer in preparing a work under the title “The 
Smithsonian Institution’s Study of Natural Resources Applied to 
Pennsylvania’s Resources,” which was distributed free to school 
teachers throughout Pennsylvania and used in certain courses in the 
grade schools. Seven loan exhibits shown in the division of graphic 
arts brought the division prominently before the local public, and two 
traveling exhibits prepared in the division were shown in various 
cities. The division of history received, besides several other im- 
portant accessions of military, naval and antiquarian material, the 


18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


entire collection of numismatic material formerly exhibited in the 
United States mint in Philadelphia, transferred to the Museum 
owing to the closing of the mint to the public. 

A number of field expeditions in which the Museum was interested 
resulted in greatly enriching the collections in all departments, 
though mainly in biology and geology. These expeditions are de- 
scribed in the report on the Museum appended hereto. The usual 
large number of meetings, congresses, and receptions were held in 
the auditorium and rooms of the Natural History Building. Visitors 
to the Natural History Building totaled 508,518, to the Arts and 
Industries Building, 259,542, to the Smithsonian Building, 95,168, 
and to the Aircraft Building, 42,904. The Museum published dur- 
ing the year 10 volumes and 42 separate papers, of which there were 
distributed a total of 72,529 copies. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 


In the National Gallery, the year has seen substantial advance in 
a number of directions, although additions to the art collections have 
not been so numerous as in several previous years. The time of the 
staff has been devoted largely to the receipt, installation, and care 
of the collections; to completing the records and labeling; and to the 
preparation of matter for publication for the purpose of arousing 
interest in the National Gallery, especially in its vital need of a 
gallery building. A recent act of Congress authorizes the raising 
of funds for a National Gallery Building and provides a site in the 
Smithsonian Park for its erection, and the gallery has made every 
effort during the year to bring forcibly to the attention of the public 
the urgency of providing a suitable building to take care of the grow- 
ing national art collection and to offer better inducements to pro- 
spective donors to the Nation of valued art material. Furthermore, 
there must be in America a National Gallery of Art Building if we 
are to take a respectable place among the civilized nations of the 
world in the field of art, and the director of the gallery has en- 
deavored in several published articles to make known this national 
shortcoming and to stir the pride of a people not accustomed to take 
a second or third place in any field worthy of their ambition. 

The National Gallery Commission held its second annual meet- 
ing on December 12, and numerous important problems connected 
with the work of the gallery and with its future were considered. 
Following the reports of committees, a new committee was appointed 
to look after the gallery’s interests in the final disposition of pur- 
chases made from the Ranger bequest fund. 

The 21 portraits of distinguished leaders of America and other 
allied nations in the war with Germany, painted by a number of 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY : 19 


leading American pairiters under the auspices of the National Art 
Committee, have now returned to the National Gallery and will re- 
main on permanent exhibition, after having been displayed in 25 
of the larger cities through the offices of the American Federation of 
Arts. 

The gallery received by gift during the year a number of paintings 
and other art works, and several interesting collections were loaned, 
among them the famous McFadden Collection of 43 portraits and 
landscapes of the British School, which is deposited in the gallery 
pending its permanent housing by the city of Philadelphia. Several 
special exhibitions were held in the gallery, including an exhibition 
of American Handicrafts assembled and circulated by the American 
Federation of Arts, and a collection of antique Etruscan, Greco- 
Roman, and Byzantine jewelry, ancient glassware, and pottery ex- 
hibited under the auspices of the Archeological Society of Wash- 
ington. 

The first catalogue of collections to be issued since the establish- 
ment of the gallery as a separate unit appeared during the year. 
The catalogue contains an account of the development of the art 
interests of the Smithsonian Institution and an outline of the or- 
ganization of the gallery, followed by a list of the art works with 
brief biographies of the artists, and is illustrated with 25 plates of 
certain of the most noteworthy paintings and sculptures in the 
gallery. 


FREER GALLERY OF ART 


The examination, classification, and preliminary cataloguing of 
Chinese and Japanese stone sculptures and jades, begun in 1922, was 
completed during the year. New work begun includes the prelimi- 
nary cataloguing and final storage of Chinese and Japanese bronzes, 
lacquers, and wood sculptures, Near Eastern and Egyptian pottery, 
and miscellaneous objects of bone, ivory, metal, glass, etc. The 
autumn, winter, and early spring were largely devoted to the installa- 
tion of exhibits and preparations for the formal opening of the 
gallery to the public on May 2, 1923. 

For the opening week, there were issued 3,300 invitations, and the 
gallery was then opened to the public. From May 9 until the 
end of the period covered by the report of the gallery, June 30, the 
tota attendance was 32,648. Beginning June 11, the building was 
closed on Mondays, making the exhibitions available on Sundays to 
many people who are unable to come on week days. 

The field work of the gallery included a trip to Europe by Miss 
Guest to attend as a delegate from the gallery the the meetings of the 
Société Asiatique de Paris, held in Paris from July 10 to 18, follow- 


20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ing which she devoted two months to a study of various collections 
of Oriental art in France, England, and Germany. On February 12, 
Mr. Bishop, of the gallery staff, left for China, in charge of an ar- 
cheological expedition sent out under the joint auspices of the Freer 
Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Up to the 
close of the year, Mr. Bishop’s chief concern was with matters of 
organization, which he has now settled very successfully. He also 
visited several sites of great archeological interest and made observa- 
tions of importance to the future work of the expedition. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


The chief has endeavored to expend in the most economical man- 
ner the funds appropriated by Congress for “ continuing ethnological 
researches among the American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, 
etc.,” although considerable difficulty has been encountered owing 
to the greatly increased cost of field work and maintenance. There 
has been a great awakening of interest in matters concerning the 
aboriginal inhabitants of America, and never before has there been 
such a general demand for the published works of the bureau. The 
great archeological discoveries in Egypt have created a new popular 
interest in the Science of Man, and the chief is endeavoring to meet 
this situation by increasing the output of the bureau in the form of 
popular publications in addition to the usual technical works. The 
past year’s work includes archeological and historical study of the 
Indians as well as work on documentary history. Somewhat detailed 
accounts of the various researches carried on during the year are con- 
tained in the report of the chief of the bureau, Appendix 4 of this 
report, so that it will here be necessary only to indicate the character 
and scope of the work. 

From July to September, 1922, the chief completed the excavation 
and repair of Pipe Shrine House on the Mesa Verde National Park, 
Colorado, begun the previous year. This exceptional ruin is now 
open for the inspection of visitors to the park. He also excavated 
and repaired Far View Tower, an instructive circular ruin with three 
subterranean kivas, probably an outlook for observation of the sun 
and ceremonies connected with the sky god. In June, 1923, the chief 
visited various localities in the neighborhood of Deming, southern 
New Mexico, for the purpose of examining and obtaining speci- 
mens of a beautiful form of prehistoric Indian pottery which had 
been discovered in that region. The remarkable pictures on this 
pottery throw considerable light on the ethnology of an ancient 
people of whom we would otherwise have practically no knowledge. 

Dr. John R. Swanton completed three manuscripts for publica- 
tion during the year, besides carrying on important linguistic and 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 21 


ethnological researches in the office. Dr. Truman Michelson began 
the year conducting ethnological researches among the Fox Indians 
of Iowa, where he collected sufficient material for a manuscript on 
the origin of one of the Fox societies. Tribal dissensions cut short 
Doctor Michelson’s stay among the Fox and he undertook a recon- 
naissance among the Potawatomi of Wisconsin, the Chippewa at 
Reserve in the same State, the Ottawa of Michigan, the Delaware- 
Munsee of Lower Canada, and the Montagnais of Lake St. John. 
In May, 1923, he left for the field to make a reconnaissance of the 
Algonquian tribes of eastern United States and Canada, including 
the Labrador peninsula. 

Mr. John P. Harrington prepared several manuscripts for pub- 
lication during the year, and carried out linguistic researches with 
Mr. Cipriano Alvarado, a Quiché Indian of Guatemala. In May, 
1923, Mr. Harrington went to Santa Barbara, Calif., for the pur- 
pose of continuing his researches on the Indians of that State. He 
secured a large quantity of manuscript material bearing on myths, 
place names, historical notes, early life and customs, genealogies, and 
Indian songs. He also participated in the excavation of the famous 
Burton Mound on the beach at Santa Barbara, which resulted in the 
discovery of a great mass of Indian skeletons, trinkets, and utensils. 
Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt completed two manuscripts for publication, 
and in May, 1923, left for ethnological field work among the Six 
Nations of Iroquois near Brantford, Ontario, Canada, where he 
elaborated and revised texts recorded there previously and also 
recorded much valuable information relating to the institutions of 
the league. Later he visited the Onondaga Reservation near Syra- 
cuse, N. Y. Mr. Francis La Flesche was engaged during most 
of the year in assembling his notes for the third volume of his work 
on the Osage Tribe. 

The report on the bureau then discusses, under special researches, 
the work of Miss Frances Densmore on the Indian music of the 
Yuma, Mohave, and Papago Tribes; the archeological investigations 
by Mr. W. E. Myer of ancient Indian mounds in central Tennessee ; 
archeological work on the Stratman cave in Maries County, Mo., 
by Mr. Gerard Fowke; and field studies by Mr. John L. Baer on 
the banner stones and pictographs in the Susquehanna River region, 
Pennsylvania. 

The bureau published during the year two annual reports with 
lengthy accompanying papers and two bulletins. Several other 
publications were in press at the close of the year. Of the bureau 
series, there were distributed during the year a total of 17,694 
copies. 

145425 3 


22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES 


The total number of packages of scientific and governmental 
publications sent abroad and received from foreign agencies for dis- 
tribution in this country during the year was 377,826, weighing 
492.816 pounds. This is a decrease in number of packages and in 
weight from the previous year, owing partly to the smaller size 
of the publications handled this year. These publications were for- 
warded in 2,223 boxes, in addition to which 40,000 packages were 
sent direct to their destinations by mail whenever a sufficient quan- 
tity for box shipments had not accumulated when the regular 
monthly consignments were forwarded. 

Exchange relations were resumed with Roumania during the year, 
the Institutul Meteorologic Central at Bucharest acting as the official 
Roumanian exchange bureau. Conditions in Russia and Turkey had 
not sufficiently improved at the close of the year to warrant the 
establishment of official exchange bureaus in those countries, but 
the Institution has arranged with the American Friends Service 
Committee to forward to Russia the large accumulation of exchange 
material for correspondents in that country. Seventy boxes were 
thus forwarded to Russia during the year. The State Library 
(Riigiraamatukogu), Reval, was designated as the exchange agency 
for Esthonia. 

There were sent to depositories abroad during the year 57 ful] 
sets of United States official documents and 38 partial sets, and the 
Congressional Record was exchanged with 44 establishments abroad. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


The actual number of animals on exhibition at the close of the 
year was greater than in any previous year, and the scientific value 
of the collection is greater than ever before. For the fourth suc- 
cessive year the number of visitors to the park has exceeded 2,000,000, 
and its value in natural history instruction is again shown by the 
fact that 171 schools, classes, and other organizations visited the park 
during the year, with a total of 14,185 individuals. Friends of the 
park have been even more than usually generous in presenting 
animals, 266 specimens having been thus added during the year. 
Of special interest among these may be mentioned a number of 
desirable animals presented by Mr. Victor J. Evans, including 
specimens of the frog-mouth and New Guinea fruit pigeon; valuable 
collections of South American animals contributed by Hon. Henry D. 
Baker and Mr. William J. LaVarre; a collection of animals pre- 
sented by Mr. Gordon MacCreagh, including the rare red ouakari 
monkey and the matamata turtle; and a number of interesting 
animals from southern Mexico collected by Dr. William M. Mann. 


REPORI OF THE SECRETARY 93 


At the close of the year there were in the collections a total of 
1,768 animals, an increase of 87 over the previous year. This total 
represents 498 different species, including 184 species of mammals, 
271 of birds, and 48 of reptiles. There were born or hatched in the 
park during the year 80 mammals and birds, while the death rate 
has again been kept at a very low mark. Sixty-six surplus mam- 
mals and birds were sent away in exchange to other zoological 
gardens, which resulted in securing some-very desirable specimens 
for the park. 

Among the improvements undertaken during the year the super- 
intendent’s report mentions the complete reconstruction of the wolf 
and fox dens below the sea-lion pool, making the quarters for these 
animals much more comfortable and sanitary and greatly improved 
in appearance. The principal construction during the year was 
the continuation of the grading of the area left vacant through the 
changing of the main automobile road through the park. Here will 
soon be available a large area of flat ground, on which paddocks are 
being completed for Rocky Mountain goats, red deer, barasingha 
deer, and Japanese deer, Indian buffaloes, tahr goats, aoudads, axis 
deer, and similar species. The outdoor cages for rhesus and other 
monkeys were all repaired, repairs to the ostrich inclosure were 
made, and safety guards placed along the fence in front of the main 
bear dens. The principal needs of the park, as enumerated by the 
superintendent, are a suitable restaurant building, which has been 
urged for many years, a new bird house to replace the old temporary 
one, which is far too small and in very bad condition, and the es- 
tablishment of a reasonable fund to enable the park to grasp the 
occasional opportunities offered to secure rare and desirable animals 
which otherwise it is impossible to obtain. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


The observatory now occupies a number of frame structures south 
of the Smithsonian Building, at Washington; a cement observing 
station and frame cottage for observers on Mount Wilson, Calif.; 
an observing station at Montezuma, Chile; and a new observing 
station on Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz.; the last erected from funds 
donated for the purpose by Mr. John A. Roebling, of New Jersey. 
At Washington no observations were attempted, but as much time 
as possible was devoted to computations necessary to the following: 

(1) The search for systematic errors in the work of Mount Harqua Hala, 
Ariz., and the application of carefully determined eorrections thereto. 

(2) The publication of a comparison of two years of observations at Mount 
Harqua Hala, Ariz., and Mount Montezuma, Chile. 

(3) The preparation of a new set of curves for use from January 1, 1923, 
in the short method of solar constant determination at Montezuma, Chile. 


24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


(4) The search for systematic errors and the application of carefully de- 
termined corrections to Montezuma results on the new basis. 

(5) The reductions of observations made at Mount Wilson in 1922 on the 
form of the solar spectrum energy curve and on the spectrum energy curves 
of 10 of the brighter stars. 

This large computing program has resulted in putting the two 
stations on an equal footing in every possible way. 

At Mount Wilson the director and Mr. Aldrich redetermined the 
form of the solar spectrum energy curve, varying the procedure as 
far as possible so as to get several independent checks on the results. 
They also accomplished the difficult task of the observation of the 
prismatic energy spectrum of 10 of the brighter stars in the focus 
of the 100-inch reflector on Mount Wilson. The results of both 
of these researches were published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous 
Collections, volume 74, No. 7, 1923. 

The two observing stations at Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., and 
Mount Montezuma, Chile, have continued in operation throughout 
the year, and the results have been very numerous. They had not 
been critically compared at the close of the year. 

The work on solar radiation, begun in 1903, has been steadily im- 
proved, until with the continuous year-round occupation for two 
years of two first-rate observing stations the decisive test has been 
made, proving the substantial character of solar variation. In short, 
the director believes that there is no longer a reasonable doubt that 
the sun varies or that the observations can reveal these variations 
satisfactorily. It is now a question for meteorologists whether these 
variations are of importance in weather forecasting. 

Just after the close of the fiscal year some preliminary observa- 
tions were made on changes in the appearance of the sun accom- 
panying changes in the output of radiation. Two years of record 
prints from direct photographs and spectroheliograms of the sun 
made at the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory were compared with 
the corresponding two-year records of solar radiation, and there 
were established four general rules or principles connecting the 
solar radiation with the sun’s visible appearance. 


INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LIT- 
ERATURE 


In the report of the Regional Bureau of the International Cata- 
logue of Scientific Literature for 1922 attention was called to an 
international convention to be held at Brussels during July, 1922, 
to consider the affairs of the catalogue and to the proposals to be 
submitted by the Smithsonian Institution. It is satisfactory to be 
able to report that at this convention these proposals formed the 
basis of the resolution whereby all the countries represented agreed 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 25 


to keep alive the various regional bureaus until international affairs 
would allow reorganization and resumption of publication. There 
‘appears to be no question of the need of an international bib- 
liography of science and of international cooperation in its pro- 
duction; therefore as the International Catalogue of Scientific Lit- 
erature is the only such organization in existence it is the logical 
foundation on which to base future operations, whether these opera- 
tions are to be aided through private endowments or official 
guarantees. 


NECROLOGY 


ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL 


Alexander Graham Bell, a regent of the Smithsonian Institution 
from 1898 to 1922, died at his summer home in Nova Scotia on 
August 2, 1922. Doctor Bell, best known for his invention of the 
telephone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1847, and was edu- 
cated at Edinburgh and London universities. He later received 
many honorary degrees from universities in this country and abroad. 
A patent was granted on March 17, 1876, for his invention of the 
telephone, and in 1883, with C. A. Bell and Sumner Taintor, he in- 
vented the graphophone. His many other notable inventions for 
the benefit of mankind include the photophone, induction balance, 
and telephone probe for painless detection of bullets in the human 
body. 

He was deeply interested in the subject of deafness and its cor- 
rection, and founded and endowed in 1887 the Volta Bureau for the 
increase of knowledge relating to the deaf. He was the author of 
many scientific and educational monographs. 

Doctor Bell occupied a prominent place in the affairs of the 
Smithsonian Institution during the 24 years of his membership on 
the board of regents, serving continuously from the time of his 
appointment to the board as a member of its executive committee. 

The loss of his active interest and sound advice will be deeply 
felt by the institution. 


JOHN BROOKS HENDERSON 


John Brooks Henderson, regent of the Smithsonian Institution 
since 1911, died January 4, 1923, at the age of 53. Mr. Henderson 
was early attracted to scientific work and shortly after his graduation 
from Harvard undertook his first expedition to the West Indies in 
quest of land mollusks. These, together with marine mollusks, he 
made his special study, and in the course of his work he made many 
collecting trips to the Greater and Lesser Antilles. His first paper on 
mollusks was published in 1894, and in the succeeding years his con- 


26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


tributions on this subject appeared in various journals and in the 
publications of the United States National Museum. As a result of 
his expeditions many thousands of valuable specimens have been * 
added to the museum collections. 

As a regent of the institution, Mr. Henderson took a keen and 
active interest in all its affairs. During the year preceding his 
death he served on the executive committee of the board of regents. 


HENRY N. SPOTTSWOOD 


Henry N. Spottswood, employed by the institution in various 
capacities since 1889, died on December 1, 1922. Coming to the 
institution as copyist in the National Museum and promoted through 
various grades to clerk in the international exchange service, Mr. 
Spottswood served the institution efficiently for over 33 years. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Cuartes D. Watcort, Secretary. 


APPENDIX I 
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the United States National Museum for the fiscal year end- 
ing June 30, 1923. 

Much has been accomplished this year along long- cent eee lines 
of endeavor. Without increased financial resources to grasp the 
many opportunities for widening the scope of the exhibits and of 
their usefulness to the public, efforts were mainly concentrated on 
filling gaps in existing collections and on increasing their value and 
usefulness through classification and arrangement, the two primary 
objects of the Museum as given in the fundamental act. The 
Museum has continued, as in the past, to be greatly aided in this 
work by workers in other governmental departments. For instance, 
the Museum pays for the services of but three persons in connection 

with the vast insect collection. However, this collection has had 
during the year most of the time of 15 entomologists and a fluctuat- 
ing number of preparators—usually about 25 persons in all. With 
so many workers great progress has been made in studying and 
arranging the collection. Here, as elsewhere in the Museum, prog- 
ress was retarded tc a certain extent by lack of supplies, which the 
Museum is unable to furnish with its very limited maintenance fund. 

The organization of the Museum has been but slightly changed. 
In August, 1922, the old collections of animal and vegetable products 
were combined in a new section of organic chemistry in the depart- 
ment of arts and industries, and an aid for that section was added to 
the scientific staff. 

An exchange of collections was made between two divisions of the 
Museum on July 1, 1922, by which the division of history took over 
the custody of tke small arms collection in the northwest court of 
the Arts and Industries Building, which has been built up by the 
division of mechanical technology, and the latter relieved the divi- 
sion of history of the aircraft collection exhibited in the Aircraft 
Building. 

Great difficulty has been experienced in maintaining the quota of 
watchmen necessary for guarding the buildings. The conditions 
under which the watchmen are required to work here are more 
onerous and exacting than in any other bureau of the Government. 


27 


28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


With the funds at present available it has not been possible, especi- 
ally since the Natural History Building has been opened on Sundays, 
to grant the watchmen time off in lieu of Sundays and holidays. This 
is done in some of the Government departments and every effort is 
being made to secure the additional funds needed to make the watch 
service in the Museum as attractive as elsewhere. 

The Museum has, however, been fortunate in being able to keep 
together most of its trained workers on the scientific staff. In a 
number of instances this has been possible only because of the devo- 
tion of the persons and their willingness to accept employment in 
what should bé their leisure hours, in order to meet their current 
expenses. This spirit of loyalty and devotion to the Museum is 
appreciated. 

A better era is anticipated. Nothing in the past has had a more 
vital relation to the work ofthe Museum than the enactment by Con- 
gress, on March 4, 1923, of the classification act of 1928, for a more 
adequate pay schedule for the civilian employees of the Government, 
with provisions for equal pay for equal services regardless of the 
department in which the service is rendered. This reclassification 
becomes effective on July 1, 1924, before which date much preliminary 
work has to be completed. The writer was appointed liaison officer 
for the Government bureaus under the institution. Tentative alloca- 
tions of all the positions under the institution were made during the 
latter part of the year and submitted to the personnel classification 
board created to care for the matter. 

The year just closed was the second under the operation of the 
Budget system of estimates and appropriations, and necessarily in- 
volved changes in many methods of planning and keeping accounts. 
Operating as it has had to do on practically the same appropriations 
for the past 10 or 15 years, the Museum has difficulty in making ends 
meet, and it is only by rigid economy and by the omission of many 
things that should be done that the year ends without a deficit. 

The function of the National Museum as the depository of the col- 
lections belonging to the United States is being recognized more, and 
more, resulting, near the close of the fiscal year, in the transfer to 
the Museum by the Treasury Department of the entire collection of 
numismatic materials which the Government, up to a few years ago, 
exhibited at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. Congress also 
reaffirmed this function of the Museum in accepting the sword of 
Maj. Gen. Richard Montgomery of the Continental Army, given to 
the Nation by Miss Julia Barton Hunt, by directing that it be 
deposited in the National Museum. 

At the annual meeting of the American Association of Museums 
in Charleston in April, 1923, the financial prospects were such that 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 29 


arrangements were made for the establishment of headquarters in 
the National Capital, with a salaried director and secretary, Prof. 
Charles R. Richards and Mr. Laurence Vail Coleman, respectively. 
The National Museum gave support to the movement by permitting 
the association to have its offices in the Arts and Industries Build- 
ing. Toward the end of the year headquarters of the association 
were accordingly established on the third floor of the northwest 
pavilion of that building. Professor Richards is spending his first 
year on leave in order to make a survey of European museums, and 
Mr. Coleman is in charge as acting director. 

Three small rooms off the foyer in the Natural History Building, 
which have been held exclusively for use of temporary loan ex- 
_ hibits—usually in connection with gatherings in the auditorium— 
were this year assigned to the department of biology for the display 
of the animals of the District of Columbia. These collections, which 
for lack of room had been scattered in various halls or stored away, 
are now brought together and made available for students, amateurs, 
and school children of Washington. 

In the Arts and Industries Building a new exhibition hall was 
prepared and opened to the public during the year, being a small 
room on the second floor of the southeast range. Here is shown an 
attractive display of historical relics received from the Military 
Service Institution, including the famous horse owned by Gen. Phil 
Sheridan. 

BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 


The National Museum, in its own buildings and in the Smithsonian 
Building, occupies an aggregate floor space of over 670,000 square 
feet, or over 1514 acres, with roof area of approximately 534 acres, 
and some 2,000 windows. The upkeep is necessarily considerable, 
especially when it is recalled that the Smithsonian Building has been 
erected nearly 70 years, the Arts and Industries Building about 43 
years, and the so-called South Shed about 25 years. The other 
structures are more recent, the Natural History Building being about 
14 years old and the Aircraft Building about 6. Most of the space 
is used for exhibition. purposes and must at all times be kept in good 
repair and in sightly condition. Constant vigilance is necessary to 
properly maintain these buildings within the appropriation allotted 
for the purpose, and it is only by strict economy that the present sat- 
isfactory results are accomplished. 

Early in the year an emergency arose, namely, the falling of large 
pieces of plaster from the ceiling under the dome of the rotunda in 
the Arts and Industries Building, which necessitated the expenditure 
of 40 per cent of the entire appropriation provided for the mainte- 
nance of the buildings. 

1454—25—_4 


30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


In the Natural History Building the most extensive repairs con- 
sisted of painting the east and west hall attics, the watchmen’s room 
on the first floor, and tin gutters of roof, and the replacing of worn- 
out down spouts. The water table outside this building and the road- 
ways on the south, east, and west sides of it were repaired. Meas- 
urements made this year show that the movement of the keystones of 
the stone arches in the rotunda has been but very slight. Observa- 
tions and measurements will, however, continue to be made at inter- 
vals of a few months. The most important item in the Smithsonian 
Building was the repairing of a broken metal finial on top of the 
tower at the northwest corner of the main building. ad 

Through the courtesy of the Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia and the cooperation of the fire department, the exterior 
walls of the Natural History Building were thoroughly washed in 
August, 1922, materially improving the appearance of the building. 
In attempting to get water for this purpose, the fire department dis- 
covered that all of the fire hydrants in the Smithsonian Park were 
in bad condition and of an antiquated type, leaving the buildings 
practically unprotected in case of fire. The District Commissioners 
called the attention of the Institution to the necessity of installing 
new hydrants and of adding to their number. An estimate to cover 
the installation of four new fire plugs in the Smithsonian Park was 
included in the estimates submitted by the Institution to the Bureau 
of the Budget in September, 1922. The estimate failed to receive 
favorable action, but will be again submitted for consideration. The 
fire plugs in all the buildings and the fire hose are tested regularly. 

As usual, the power plant was not operated during the summer, 
a commercial company supplying the light and power required. 
While the plant was shut down the old feed-water heater, which 
had been in use ever since the plant was first put in operation, was 
replaced by a new Cochran open feed-water heater and meter. 
effecting a marked saving in the consumption of fuel. During the 
year 8,052 tons of bituminous and 15.5 tons of stove coal were con- 
sumed. Heat was supplied the buildings in the Smithsonian group, 
including the Freer Building, from October 9, 1922, until May 19, 
1923. The total electric current generated was 376,293 kilowatt- 
hours. The electric load was greatly increased by the opening of the 
Freer Building to the public, near the close of the year, so that on 
dark and cloudy days it is greater than can be safely carried on 
the cables leading into the Natural History Building from the lines 
of the Potomac Electric Power Co. Additional cables will have to be 
installed to take care of this increase. The ventilation plant in the 
Freer Building was operated in the usual manner during the winter 
and up to the time the building was opened to the public, since 
which time the speed of the fans has been materially increased, to 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 31 


provide the additional air necessary for properly ventilating the 
galleries. The result obtained by the system has been more satis- 
factory than was anticipated. While the temperature of the gal- 
leries has been somewhat high on extremely hot days, the circula- 
tion of air was sufficient to produce the necessary cooling effect in 
spite of the fact that no help was gained from the air washers. 

The ice machine in the Natural History Building produced 279.6 
tons of ice. The plant is gradually growing less efficient from year 
to year. An item covering the purchase of a new ice machine 
was included in the estimates for appropriations submitted to the 
Bureau of the Budget. 

COLLECTIONS 


The total number of specimens acquired by the Museum during 
the year was approximately 217,611, about 60 per cent as many as 
received during the preceding year. The value of the yearly incre- 
ment can not, however, be appraised from numbers only. Many of 
the acquisitions this year are exceptionally valuable, either scien- 
tifically, as types and as representatives of new species and new 
localities, or because of great intrinsic worth. Additional material 
to the extent of 1,155 lots, mainly geological, was received during the 
year for special examination and report, a service of which the 
practical value was demonstrated during the World War. 

The distribution of duplicates, mainly to schools and colleges for 
educational purposes, aggregated 9,131 specimens properly classified 
and labeled and 100 pounds of material suitable for blow-pipe 
analysis. These distributions were about equally divided between 
the regular sets of specimens previously prepared for shipment and 
those specially selected to meet particular needs. Nearly 35,000 
duplicate specimens, mainly botanical and geological, were sent out 
in exchange, in return for which much desirable material was re- 
ceived. Over 12,000 specimens were lent to specialists for study on 
behalf of the Museum and otherwise. 

Anthropology.—In anthropology the more important additions 
were a carved stone figure from the Makah Indians, showing a 
mastery of expression by the artist; casts of the La Quina and Ober- 
cassel skulls and skeleton; a noteworthy Chinese harvest bell of gilt 
bronze; a superior stone collar from Porto Rico; a series of archeo- 
logical specimens from Haiti; an ethnological collection from For- 
mosa; an ancient stone pipe from Kentucky with remarkable incised 
decorations; and casts of the busts of the heretic Pharaoh, Ameno- 
phis IV and his queen, and a statuette of the latter. 

Biology.—While the number of biological specimens received dur- 
ing the past fiscal year falls short of that of some of the previous 
years, there is no cause for alarm, as the scientific value of the col- 


32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lections compares favorably with and probably exceeds that of the 
average. . 

No single collection stands out prominently, except perhaps the 
Evezard collection of recent mollusks, which was purchased and 
presented to the Museum by the late John B. Henderson. Another 
collection of great scientific interest is the series of Opalinid ciliate 
infusorians prepared by Professor Maynard M. Metcalf, of Oberlin, 
Ohio, which forms the basis of his monograph published during the 
year by the Museum as its Bulletin No. 120. The most significant 
feature of the year’s accessions is the fact that some of the more im- 
portant ones are from China, as a result of deliberate efforts at im- 
proving systematically the study material from the Palearctic region 
which is of such a fundamental importance for a full understanding 
of our North American fauna. 

This tendency toward a more conscious development of the weak 
portions of our collections was made possible by the explorations 
now on the way in China undertaken by friends of the Museum, such 
as Mr. Charles M. Hoy’s trip financed by Dr. W. L. Abbott, and Mr. 
A. de C. Sowerby’s by Col. Robert S. Clark. Rev. D. C. Graham’s 
explorations in the Province of Szechuen were also fruitful of scien- 
tifically valuable material, while an expedition recently sent into the 
field by the National Geographic Society under the leadership of Mr. 
Frederick R. Wulsin holds great promise for the future. Many im- 
portant gaps in our South American collections were also filled by 
Dr. Hugh M. Smith as a result of his expedition to Uruguay. Dr. 
W. L. Abbott’s visit to the Dominican Republic added materially 
to our botanical and herpetological series. Secretary Walcott’s ex- 
plorations in the Canadian Rockies, as well as Dr. Paul Bartsch’s 
trip to the West Indies, and that of Dr. Leonard Stejneger to the 
Commander Islands were also productive of desirable material. The 
botanical expedition to Colombia by Dr. F. W. Pennell and Mr. 
Ellsworth P. Killip, undertaken in cooperation with the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the New York Botanical 
Garden, and the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, brought 
home one of the largest and most important plant collections ever 
obtained in that country. Dr. William R. Maxon had not returned 
from Central America at the end of the fiscal year. 

The Australian mammal exhibit has been further strengthened by 
the addition of several species, and a Malay tapir was incorporated 
in the Oriental region exhibit. Several other large mammals were 
likewise mounted and placed on exhibition, among which the gorilla 
mounted by Brown and Aschemeier from a specimen collected by the 
latter a few years ago while attached to the Collins-Garner Expe- 
dition to French Congo, deserves special mention. Good progress 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 83 


was made in the arrangement and cataloguing of the study series, 
which are described as in excellent condition. 

The research work of the staff has continued unabated and several 
important manuscripts were brought to a close or nearly finished 
during the year. A large number of smaller papers were published 
as a result of the year’s work, but the great majority of the published 
results date further back, partly due to the difficulties in obtaining 
speedy publication, partly because their preparation extends over a 
period of years. Some very important systematic works done by 
scientists not members of the staff, but based on Museum material, 
were published during the year as Bulletins No. 100, vol. 5, and 
Nos. 120 and 123. 

Loans of specimens to scientific institutions and individual investi- 
gators have been made on the usual liberal scale. Duplicates dis- 
tributed to high schools, colleges, institutions, etc., aggregated 3,545 
specimens, of which 1,490 consisted of mollusks in 10 prepared sets 
and 608 fishes in 8 sets. Exchanges to the number of 28,693 were 
sent out, of which 2,491 were zoological and 26,202 botanical. 

The total number of specimens of animals and plants now in the 
national collection is estimated to exceed 7,000,000, of which 1,150,000 
are plants. 

Geology.—Although accessions in the department of geology are 
smaller in number than in the year previous, a considerable increase 
in individual specimens and in their scientific value is to be noted. 

The paleontological collection of the late Orestes St. John, consist- 
ing principally of fossil fishes, many of them types, adds material 
of incalculable value to the specialist who may take up the study of 
this group, and Dr. Frank Springer, who made this donation, has 
earned the thanks of future workers in thus placing it where it will 
always be available. Another most notable accession is the residu- 
ary portion of the collection of the late R. D. Lacoe, of Pittston, Pa., 
presented by his heirs. This is estimated to contain not less than 
10,000 specimens, mainly fossil plants, with some invertebrates and 
vertebrates, from many localities in this and foreign countries, and 
from various geological horizons. Supplementing the collection is 
Mr. Lacoe’s paleontological library comprising, it is estimated, at 
least 2,000 volumes and an equal number of pamphlets. Mrs. Coon- 
ley Ward generously donated the residuary portion of the meteorite 
collection of her husband, the late Prof. H. A. Ward. This is of 
value not so much in adding new meteorites as in furnishing mate- 
rial for study and exchange. Thirteen additional accessions of 
meteorites, mostly new to the collections, are recorded, received 
chiefly through exchanges. 


34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Continued activities of Mr. Victor C. Heikes have resulted in the 
acquisition of the most interesting of the recent additions to the 
economic collections. 

The division of mineralogy has benefited largely through ex- 
changes. A most important acquisition is a portion of a large 
boulder of jade received from Col. W. B. Thompson, and an un- 
usually fine specimen of crystallized descloizite from southwest 
Africa, acquired through Ward’s Natural Science Establishment. 
Other exchanges resulted in adding upward of 60 pieces new to 
the collection. Several cut gems of unusual quality and size were 
purchased through the Chamberlain endowment fund. 

The continued acquisition of foreign paleontological material is 
to be noted. Chief among the contributors are Dr. E. O. Ulrich, 
who made collections in northern Europe; Mr. Stephen R. Capps, 
in Palestine; various oil companies and private collectors in Mexico, 
Central and South America; Mr. Edwin A. Walford, of Banbury, 
England; and various universities and institutions in Europe. 

Research work has formed an important part of the department’s 
activities during the year, and assistance has been furnished to 
numerous schools and students, chiefly through the distribution of 
materials needed in their studies. The records show that 81 educa- 
tional institutions, chiefly high schools and small colleges, have been 
given such assistance. 

Textiles, wood technology, organic chemistry, foods, and medi- 
cine.—The collections under the supervision of the curator of tex- 
tiles, which, besides textiles, embrace wood technology, foods, organic 
chemistry, and medicine, were increased by many gifts and by 
transfer and loan of property from other Government bureaus, 
amounting to over 2,000 objects. The most important of these are 
as follows: 

A large series of specimens of pyralin, bakelite, condensite, and 
cellulose acetate, showing the manufacture and use of these products 
of modern chemical industry as substitutes for such natural raw 
materials as ivory, bone, horn, tortoise shell, amber, etc., the sup- 
plies of which are growing scarcer every year; and a set of pneu- 
matic bicycle tires made in 1891 and believed to belong to one of 
the earliest types used. There were added by gift beautiful speci- 
mens of silks, woolen fabrics, and mohair upholstery textiles con- 
tributed by American manufacturers to show the progress of textile 
industries in this country. 

To the collections arranged to show the importance of wood and 
the industries based upon the use of that raw material, there were 
added wonderfully well preserved specimens of the ancient cypress 
wood brought to the surface during the excavation for the founda- 
tion and basement of the new Walker Hotel, Washington, and be- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 85 


lieved to be over 30,000 years old; an exhibit showing the manufac- 
ture of double-tipped matches; and another pointing out the ravages 
of the white pine blister rust and methods for its control. 

The collections in the division of medicine were enlarged by a 
large collection of Italian hospital supplies of the type used in the 
World War ‘and carried as field equipment by the Italian troops; 
specimens showing the use of chaulmoogra oil derivatives in the 
treatment of leprosy in the leper settlement of Molokai, Hawaii; 
several ancient surgical instruments and medical manuscripts; and 
a portrait in oil of Dr. Crawford W. Long. 

Mineral and Mechanical Technology.—The divisions of mineral 
and mechanical technology had the experience of adding more objects 
to their collections within the year than in any single year since 
their inception and almost wholly as a result of their uwn efforts. 
Practically every section within the divisions shared in this incre- 
ment, but chiefly the sections devoted to mechanical communication, 
general mechanical engineering, coal-products industries, land trans- 
portation, and aerial transportation. The objects acquired for the 
section of communication will now make it possible to visualize the 
developments of methods of communication from those of smoke and 
fire to those of wireless telegraphy, with all of the essential inter- 
mediate steps. To the mechanical engineering collection there was 
added a series of models made in the divisions’ workshops illustrating 
mechanical principles and the fundamental elements and devices 
used in machines. The subject is by no means covered by this 
series, which represents simply the beginning of a new activity 
possessing valuable educational possibilities. To the coal products 
industries section there was added a model illustrating the manu- 
facture of coal gas and carburetted water gas. With this addition * 
the divisions have covered fairly completely the fuel situation both 
in the home and in industry. In other sections of the divisions the 
additions to the collections tend toward a rounding out of individual 
subjects. Thus there were added several models of aircraft; a loco- 
motive model; a boat model, and an automobile. The electrical 
engineering collections were enhanced by a working model of the 
Ford automobile ignition system which admirably illustrates the 
principle of induction as applied to electric current generation, a 
principle which Joseph Henry independently observed and an- 
nounced about the same time as the accredited discoverer, Faraday. 

The divisions’ cooperative educational work, particularly that with 
the State of Pennsylvania, became more firmly established through 
‘the preparation by Mr. S. S. Wyer, associate in mineral technology, 
of the book “ The Smithsonian Institution’s Study of Natural Re- 
sources Applied to Pennsylvania’s Resources.” Copies of the book 
were distributed free to school teachers throughout Pennsylvania 


36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


designated by the board of education and used in certain fitting 
courses of the grade schools. One of the interesting reactions re- 
sulting from this work was the assistance rendered by Mr. Wyer to 
the city of Erie, Pa., in an intensive educational campaign organized 
by the local chamber of commerce in an endeavor to conserve the 
city’s natural gas supply, which is rapidly declining, due largely to 
preventable wastage. 

Graphic Arts—The 1,146 specimens assigned to this division 
covered a wide range, materially exceeded in number those received 
the preceding year, and brought the total number of specimens in 
the division up to 22,936. Almost the beginning and the latest de- 
velopment of type composition were represented in the year’s acces- 
sions by a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, one of the first books to be 
printed from movable type, and examples of the monotype system 
of composing and casting justified lines of single type. Other im- 
portant acquisitions included a newspaper exhibit; specimens of 
bookbinding; a unitype typesetting machine, wood-block prints and 
etchings by Helen Hyde; 50 proofs of etchings, aquatints, wood- 
block prints, lithographs, etc., the gift of 24 contemporary artists; 
Woodville Latham’s motion picture projector of 1895; notable addi- 
tions of pictorial photographic prints and color collections in pho- 
tography; and many additions supplementing and completing ex- 
isting exhibits. 

Seven loan exhibits, five in the graphic arts halls and two in the 
gallery devoted to the photographic section, brought the Museum 
collections in these lines prominently before the local and visting 
public. Two collections of pictorial photographs were lent for exhi- 
bition elsewhere and, in furthering publicity outside of Washington, 
*two traveling exhibits of about 100 specimens each were prepared 
illustrating the principal processes of the graphic arts. The first of 
these was shown in seven different cities and the second, prepared 
later in the year, was exhibited only in one city. 

History.—During the past fiscal year the historical collections re- 
ceived, in addition to the normal increase along this line, two acces- 
sions of unusual size and importance and one of unparalleled in- 
trinsic and scientific value. The first of these includes the large 
ageregation of antiquarian, costume, military, naval, and miscella- 
neous materials collected by Mrs. Julian James during a long period 
for deposit in the National Museum, which by the terms of her will 
have now become the permanent property of the Institution. This 
collection has already been described in previous reports, but its 
permanent acquirement by the Museum is worthy of special note. 
The second accession of unusual significance is a large collection of 
historical military materials deposited in the Museum by the Mili- 
tary Service Institution. The collection was assembled by this 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY ov 


society beginning at the time of its organization in 1878, and con- 
sists for the most part of swords, guns, pistols, flags, and miscella- 
neous relics of the period of the Civil War, but includes also relics of 
the former wars in which the United States has participated. 
Among the most notable objects in the collection are a bronze can- 
non captured from the British troops commanded by Maj. Gen. 
John Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777; a mortar made by D. King of 
Philadelphia; a sword owned by Commodore Stephen Decatur, 
United States Navy, and the mounted figure of the war horse of 
Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. 

The accession of unparalleled importance is one including the en- 
tire collection ‘of numismatic material formerly exhibited in the 
United States Mint in Philadelphia, which, owing to the closing of 
this mint to the public, was transferred to the Museum by the Treas- 
ury Department in June, 1923. This collection includes a large num- 
ber of ancient coins, a fair representation of medieval European 
coins, a very complete aggregation of modern European coins and 
commemorative medals, a large collection of the temporary coins of 
the period of the World War, and an exceptionally fine and large 
collection of United States coins, medals, and paper currency. While 
the acquirement of this collection by the Museum is most gratifying 
in that it adds such an aggregation of intrinsically valuable matter 
to the Museum collection, the most essential fact in connection with 
the transaction is the basis which it offers for the future develop- 
ment of the collection and the encouragement of the science of numis- 
matics in the United States. 


EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 


It is hoped that the falling off in biological exploration noted in 
recent reports has reached its lowest ebb during the present year, 
and that from now ou a turn of the tide may be expected. With 
this possibility in view plans and problems for future biological 
explorations and expeditions have been outlined, preparing the 
Museum to take the greatest possible advantage of the hoped-for 
improved conditions. The central idea proceeds from the fact that 
the early biological problems and research of the Museum naturally 
related to the fauna and flora of North America, especially that part 
opened up by the War with Mexico and the explorations for rail- 
road lines to the Pacific coast. The necessity of working up this 
‘material was naturally paramount. With the purchase of Alaska a 
hitherto unexplored territory on this continent naturally attracted 
the attention of the National Museum, especially since the early ac- 
tivities in Alaska were almost exclusively investigated by the Federal 
Government with the result that nearly all the material collected 


38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


there came to Washington. So intensive was this study of the 
native fauna, especially that of the vertebrates, that within a com- 
paratively short time North America, from a taxonomic point of 
view, was better explored and better known than any other part of 
the world, Europe itself not excepted. At the time these intensive 
studies began North America was regarded as one of the primary 
zoogeographical divisions of the world, coequal with South America, 
the oriental region, Africa, and the Europe-North Asian region, also 
known as the palearctic region. Later on considerable collections 
from the Pacific coasts of northern Asia and from Europe found 
their way into the National Museum. It was then seen that the 
North American fauna, at least that part which occupied the more 
temperate portions of the continent northward, is most closely re- 
lated to the palearctic fauna of temperate Asia and northward, and 
it was realized that the dominant constituency of the North Ameri- 
can fauna actually had its origin in the Old World. Here then is a 
whole series of closely related problems seeking solution in Asia and 
Europe. The circumstance that the United States Biological Sur- 
vey has gradually taken over to a great extent the restricted North 
American field for still more refined cultivation serves to stimulate 
the interest of certain of the larger divisions of the National 
Museum in the palearctic region. The Museum has already made a 
good start in that direction. It has excellent collections in many 
lines of the palearctic fauna. Its collection of European mammals 
is one of the most comprehensive extent. It has excellent series of 
birds, reptiles, and batrachians from Japan, Korea, and Kamchatka 
in eastern Asia, besides a respectable representation in other classes. 
It has also important material collected by the Lyman-Hollister 
expedition to the Altai region some years ago, and the Koren-Avery 
expedition to the mouth of the Kolyma. 

It is, therefore, with special gratification that attention is called to 
the work now in preparation and partly in progress for the biological 
exploration of China in the interest of the National Museum. The 
field work by Arthur de C. Sowerby, the expense of which is most 
generously met by Robert S. Clark, which was started in the fall 
of 1921, has continued during the present fiscal year, and very ma- 
terial additions to our vertebrate collections have already resulted. 

Of equal significance is the fact that Dr. W. L. Abbott, after the 
return of Mr. Charles M. Hoy from Australia, decided to send him 
to China to collect for the Museum. Mr. Hoy departed for his. 
new field on December 15, 1922. Thus far no collections have been 
received, due to difficulties of transportation and the political situa- 
tion which has placed obstacles in the way of reaching the final 
destination, but recent letters indicate that we may soon see tangible 
results of his efforts. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 39 


A third expedition in China, from which the National Museum is 
expected to derive great benefit, is that of the National Geographic 
Society, under the leadership of Mr. Frederick R. Wulsin who ‘is 
already in the field. 

In this connection should be mentioned the activities of Rev. D. C. 
Graham, who, located at Suifu in the Province of Szechuen, China, 
undertook an expedition to Mount Omei, from which the Museum 
received very important collections, especially insects, birds, and rep- 
tiles. He is planning to make an expedition to Tatsienlu, and pos- 
sibly to Mupin, during the present summer, both localities of great 
zoological interest. 

Dr. W. L. Abbott revisited the Dominican Republic in February 
and March, 1923, continuing his biological explorations of, recent 
years. As his permit to collect birds was delayed until he was about 
to leave the country he only obtained the skin of one bird and saved 
its body in alcohol. His. collections of reptiles and amphibians, 
however, were highly important, obtaining as he did a new species 
of frog, recently described by Miss Cochran as Leptodactylus abbotti 
from the specimen collected by him. It is nearly related to the one 
from Porto Rico and establishes the genus as one definitely belong- 
ing to the Antillean fauna. He also collected about 600 plants in 
the southern part of the Samana Peninsula, which will doubtless 
prove as interesting as the previous collections obtained in the same 
region by Doctor Abbott, which have yielded a large number of new 
species. 

In connection with the heredity experiments conducted by Dr. 
Paul Bartsch, under the joint auspices of the Smithsonian and Carne- 
gie Institutions, it was found desirable to add several species of 
Cerions in order to exhaust the apparent possibilities that this group 
presents. For that reason Doctor Bartsch visited Porto Rico in 
May, obtaining a large number of specimens of the desired Cerion, 
as well as a large series of additional species. About 15,000 speci- 
mens were added to the Museum collection as the result of the trip. 

Dr. Hugh M. Smith, associate curator in zoology, spent several 
months in South America, primarily for the study of the fur-seal 
and other fisheries of Uruguay, during which time he made extensive 
collections for the Museum in all branches, especially fishes, reptiles, 
and marine invertebrates. He sailed from New York on September 
23, 1922, returning in January, 1928. The opportunity to collect 
in Brazil when the steamer stopped was improved, but the main 
collections were made in Uruguay, especially at the Lobos Islands. 
The collections form a most welcome addition to the Museum series, 
which were very deficient in material from the region visited. 

During the spring of 1923 Mr. C. R. Aschemeier, one of the taxi- 
dermists, was given permission to accompany Mr. A. H. Fisher on an 
expedition to the lower Amazon River, Brazil, the understanding 


40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


being that Mr. Aschemeier should devote his time to making collec- 
tions of the vertebrates for the National Museum, with particular 
reference to river dolphins and seacows. He left New York late in 
April and no collections have been received as yet. 

Dr. William M. Mann, assistant custodian, section of Hymenoptera, 
undertook for the Department of Agriculture a trip to Mexico be- 
tween January 19 and June 7, 1923, at the purpose of collecting and 
studying certain fruit flies. the far as possible general collections of 
insects were made and some reptiles and a few ethnological speci- 
mens secured. The material has not as yet been accessioned, but 
enough is known of it to prove its value, although owing to the 
_extreme dryness of the season collecting was very poor. From 
Nogales he went down the west coast of Mexico as far as Tepic, 
making a 10-day side trip to Lower California in the district between 
Loreto and Comondu. Afterwards the States of Jalisco and Colima 
were visited and then a rather hurried trip was made to the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec and in Chiapas as far as Tapachula. He returned 
by way of Loredo, Tex. 

Secretary Charles D. Walcott’s expedition to the Canadian Rockies 
was productive of valuable additions to the mammal collection, as 
already mentioned. , 

The botanical explorations during the year have added materially 
to the collections of the National Herbarium. Dr. W: L. Abbott’s 
visit to the Dominican Republic has already been mentioned. 

Mrs. Agnes Chase visited Europe from March until July, 1922, for 
the purpose of studying the grass collections in the herbaria at 
Vienna, Munich, Florence, Pisa, Geneva, Berlin, Leiden, Brussels, 
Paris, and London, and many type specimens of American grasses 
were examined. A large number of valuable specimens of grasses 
also was obtained for deposit in the National Herbarium, including 
fragments of many types and duplicates of early South American 
collections. 

Dr. William R. Maxon, associate curator of the division of plants, 
left Washington in May, 1928, accompanying a party directed by 
Mr. O. F. Cook, of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
whose purpose is to investigate the rubber resources of Central 
America. At the time of preparation of this report the party was 
in Panama and it was expected that two months additional would 
be spent in Central America. 

Dr. A. 8. Hitchcock, custodian of the grass herbarium, left Wash- 
ington in May, 1923, with the expectation of spending six months in 
Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, where he intends to devote particular 
attention to the study of grasses, but will also make collections of 
other groups of plants. The expedition is supported jointly by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, New York Botanical 
Garden, and Gray Herbarium. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 41 


Dr. Charles E. Resser, under the auspices of the United States 
Geological Survey, accompanied Dr. E. O. Ulrich in an investiga- 
tion of the Cambrian and Ordovician rocks of the Valley of Vir- 
ginia during May, 1923, and secured important stratigraphic col- 
lections. Dr. Ulrich with his assistant, Mr. R. D. Mesler, continued 
field researches during the month of June, studying various sections 
of the Appalachian Valley in eastern Tennessee. During his trip 
to the International Geological Congress at Brussels in the summer 
of 1922, Doctor Ulrich visited important Paleozoic localities in va- 
rious European countries and presented to the Museum all of the 
material collected. 

While traveling in Europe in the summer of 1922, Miss Jessie G. 
Beach was detailed to study collections in various museums, and to 
consult with European scientists regarding matters of interest to the 
Museum. Miss Beach visited museums in France, Italy, Germany, 
Belgium, England, and Scotland, listing and sketching various type 
specimens of unusual interest, and studying methods of installation 
and labeling. 

Mr. C. W. Gilmore, under the auspices of the Museum, made a 
trip to Roy, N. Mex., to investigate a reported discovery of elephas 
remains. The specimen proved to be valueless for museum purposes, 
and from that standpoint the trip was a failure. Mr. N. H. Boss 
made several short collecting trips to the Miocene deposits along 
Chesapeake Bay in search of fossil remains. As in previous years 
these trips were productive in the recovery of well-preserved ceta- 
cean remains. 

Late in the fiscal year Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Boss were detailed to 
excavate remains of dinosaurs in the Dinosaur National Monument, 
Utah, an undertaking which has long been awaiting a favorable op- 
portunity for its consummation. 

Assistant curators Foshag and Shannon on their own initiative 
made a brief trip to old copper mines in Carroll County, Md., a 
district which despite its proximity to Washington was practically 
unrepresented in the collections. A large suite of copper and iron 
ores and associations was secured. A day was likewise spent at the 
diabase quarry near Belmont Park, Va. So much material of interest 
was found that Mr. Shannon conducted the Washington Mineralogi- 
cal Society over the ground on their annual field trip. The speci- 
mens collected have been turned over to the Museum. The limestone 
quarry at Leesburg, Va., was also visited and interesting mineralogi- 
cal material secured. 

Investigations by Miss Frances Densmore among the Yuma In- 
dians of Arizona and some tribes in northern Mexico for the Bureau 


42 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of American Ethnology brought to the Museum a collection of 
desirable ethnologica. 

The third year of the exploration of ancient Pueblo Bonito, to 
which the National Geographic Society has devoted $75,000, under 
Neil M. Judd, the curator of American archeology, was productive 
of a number of specimens now deposited in the Museum. The jour- 
neys of Dr. Ale’ Hrdlicka to Brazil and Europe resulted in enriching 
the collections of the division of physical anthropology. In June 
Mr. Matthew W. Stirling, of the division of ethnology, carried on an 
exploration of several ancient villages at Mobridge, S. Dak., and 
collected a valuable series of material for the Museum. 

For several other important expeditions in which the Museum was 
interested see under Researches and Explorations in the report of the 
secretary, page 6. 


MEETINGS, CONGRESSES, AND RECEPTIONS 


The auditorium and adjacent council rooms afforded accommoda- 
tions during the year for 145 meetings, covering a wide range of 
subjects. An innovation this year was a series of free Sunday after- 
noon lectures arranged by the Woman’s Welfare Association. Here- 
tofore the auditorium has not been used on that day. 

The governmental agencies taking advantage of the meeting 
accommodations, besides, of course, the Smithsonian Institution and 
its branches, included the Budget Bureau and the Public Health 
Service of the Treasury Department; the War Department and its 
Army Medical School; the Women’s Bureau of the Department of 
Labor; the Bureau of Entomology, the Forest Service, and the 
Federal Horticultural Board of the Department of Agriculture. 
The scientific and other groups included the National Academy of 
Sciences, the National Association of Postmasters of the United 
States, the National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor, the 
National Association of Travelers Aid Societies, the National Con- 
ference of Social Work, the National Consumers’ League, National 
Amateur Athletic Federation of America, the National Medical 
Association, the National Baird Memorial Committee, the Garden 
Club of America, the Girl Scouts, World’s Dairy Congress Associa- 
tion, the American Association of Museums, Women’s Welfare Asso- 
ciation, the American Horticultural Society, the Anthropological 
Society of Washington, the Archaeological Society of Washington, 
the Art and Archaeological League of Washington, the Audubon 
Society of the District of Columbia, the Washington (D. C.) Chap- 
ter of the Wild Flower Preservation Society of America, the Ento- 
mological Society of Washington, the Federal Photographic Society, 
the Shakespeare Society of Washington, the School of Foreign Serv- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 43 


Ice of Georgetown University, the American University, Howard 
University, the Garden Club of Washington, the Southern Society 
of Washington, and the Reserve Officers’ Association of the District 
of Columbia. 

At the Twentieth International Congress of Americanists at Rio 
de Janeiro, Brazil, August 20 to September 3, 1922, the Institution 
was represented by Dr. Walter Hough, head curator of anthropology 
in the Museum, and Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthro- 
pology in the Museum, who served also as delegates on the part of 
the United States Government. Another member of the Museum 
staff, Dr. E. O. Ulrich, associate in paleontology, represented the 
Institution at the Thirteenth International Geological Congress meet- 
ing in Brussels, Belgium, August 10 to 19,1922. The Museum was also 
represented at the eighteenth annual meeting of the American Asso- 
ciation of Museums, held in Charleston, S. C., April 4 to 7, Mr. 
F. L. Lewton and the writer serving as delegates. 

The Museum was the scene of several receptions. On the evening 
of December 19 the halls of the Museum assigned to the National 
Gallery of Art were opened for a reception following a lecture in the 
auditorium under the auspices of the Anthropological Society of 
Washington and the Archaeological Society of Washington. Oppor- 
tunity was thus afforded for inspecting the collection of Chihuahua 
pottery belonging to the latter society. On January 9 the Archaeo- 
logical Society and the Art and Archaeological League of Washing- 
ton held a reception in the National Gallery of Art following an 
evening lecture by Count Byron Kuhn de Prorok, with a first view 
of a rare collection of antique jewelry recently lent to the society by 
one of its members, Mr. Kurt Walter Bachstitz, of The Hague. 
Another large reception was that to the National Academy of 
Sciences on the evening of April 23, in honor of Dr. W. W. Camp- 
bell. This followed a lecture in the auditorium by Doctor Campbell. 

The exhibition halls on the first floor of the Natural History 
Building were the setting for a conversazione on the evening of 
February 3, as a part of the program in celebration of the centenary 
of the birth of Spencer Fullerton Baird, the second secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution. The Marine Band furnished music during 
the evening. A meeting of Girl Scout leaders in the auditorium on 
the evening of April 25 was the occasion for opening all the exhibi- 
tion halls in the building from 6.30 to 11 p. m. to enable the Girl 
Scouts, their leaders, parents, and friends to view the collections. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


The number of visitors to the Natural History Building during 
the year aggregated 508,518; to the Arts and Industries Building, 
259,542: to the Smithsonian Building, 95,168; and to the Aircraft 


44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Building, 42,904. The national collections in the Natural History 
Building are accessible to the public every day in the year, Sundays 
as well as week days. Owing, however, to the limited appropriations 
for the maintenance of the Museum, the other buildings are not epen 
on Sundays. 

The Museum published during the year 10 volumes and 42 separate 
papers. The former comprised the Annual Report of the Museum 
for 1922; volumes 60 and 61 of the Proceedings; Bulletin 100, volume 
5; Bulletins 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, and 126. The separates included 
1 bulletin article; 4 papers in the series, Contributions from the 
United States National Herbarium; 5 papers from volume 61, 21 
papers from volume 62, and 11 papers from volume 63 of the Pro- 
ceedings. The distribution of volumes and separates to libraries 
and individuals on the regular mailing list aggregated 63,869 copies 
besides 8,660 copies supplied in response to special applications. 

The Museum library, as one of the libraries administered under the 
direction of the Smithsonian Institution, enjoys the close coopera- 
tion of its associated libraries and in turn contributes substantially 
toward the general library activities. Much has been accomplished 
during the year toward better library service. The long-needed 
subject catalogue has been started, and at the close of the year 4,400 
cards had been made and arranged. The arrangement of cards from 
the Concilium Bibliographicum distributed since the World War is 
well under way, and progress is being made in the reclassification 
and shelving of the technological collections. Work has, however, 
suffered from a lack of funds for binding and renovating and from 
a vacancy in the staff during eight months of the year. The receipts 
for the year numbered 1,489 volumes and 2,796 pamphlets, bringing 
up the total of books and other material in the library to 160,560 
titles. The number of loans made was 9,220, of which 5,191 were to 
the sectional libraries. 

The death of John B. Henderson, a Regent of the Smithsonian 
Institution, on January 4, 1923, deprived the Museum of a valued 
friend, a constant contributor and an indefatigable worker on its 
collections. The members of the scientific staff and other employees 
of the Museum and Institution gathered in the auditorium on Janu- 
ary 8, 1923, to pay respect to their colleague and adopted resolu- 
tions expressing their deep sense of loss. Doctor Walcott presided 
and brief addresses were made by Doctor Walcott, Dr. W. H. Dall, 
Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, and Dr. Paul Bartsch. 


Respectfully submitted. 
W. ve C. Ravenet, 


Administrative Assistant to the Secretary in charge, 
United States National Museum. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


AEE NLA. 2 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 


Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the report on the activi- 
ties of the National Gallery of Art for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1923. 

The third year of the existence of the National Gallery as a sep- 
arate administrative unit of the Smithsonian Institution has wit- 
nessed substantial advance in a number of directions, although addi- 
tions to the art collections have fallen below those of several pre- 
vious years. The activities of the gallery continued in most respects 
in directions corresponding with those of the two preceding years, 
the energies of the limited staff being devoted largely to the receipt, 
installation, and care of the collections; to completing the records 
and labeling; and to the preparation and publication of matter 
intended to aid in awakening an interest in the welfare of the 
gallery, and more especially in making known the vital importance 
of a gallery building. 

An illustrated lecture prepared by the director, with the purpose 
of making the gallery and its needs better known to the public, has 
been widely presented. One copy with 75 lantern views, illustrating 
the gallery’s collections, is in the hands of Mrs. J. W. Summers, of 
Walla Walla, Wash., who has associated with her Mrs. Henry 
Osterman, and has been utilized largely under the auspices of the 
Federation of Women’s Clubs, principally in the State of Wash- 
ington. A second copy (with seven additional slides), intrusted to 
Miss Leila Mechlin, secretary of the American Federation of Arts, 
and utilized under the auspices of that important organization, is 
being very generally presented in the smaller cities and towns of the 
United States; and a third copy (with 83 slides), placed in the 
hands of Mrs. Rose V. S. Berry, chairman of the fine arts depart- 
ment of the Federation of Woman’s Clubs, is being featured at the 
meetings of that club throughout the country. 

A recent act of Congress authorizes the raising of funds for the 
erection of a national gallery building in the following language: 
“'The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution are authorized to pre- 
pare preliminary plans for a suitable fireproof building with granite 
fronts for the National Gallery of Art, including the National Por- 
trait Gallery and the history collections of the United States National 


45 


46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Museum, said building to be erected when funds from gifts or 
bequests are in the possession of the said Regents, in sections or com- 
pletely on the north side of the Mall between the Natural History 
Building, United States National Museum, and Seventh Street, leav- 
ing a space between it and the latter of not less than one hundred 
feet and a space of not less than one hundred feet between it and 
Seventh Street, with its south front on a line with the south front 
of the said Natural History Building. 

A two-page leaflet on the national gallery has been issued, which, 
like the recent leaflets on the Smithsonian Institution, is to have 
a wide distribution. It is intended to bring forcibly to the atten- 
tion of the public the great need for a separate building to house 
the national art collections. 

Detailed information regarding the growth of the gallery within 
the institution and as a feature of the United States National 
Museum may be found in Bulletin 70 of the National Museum, and 
its subsequent activities are recorded in the annual reports of the 
institution and Musuem and in the annual reports of the gallery for 
the years 1921 and 1922. 

In two articles prepared by the director and published in art 
journals during the year attention is called to the growth of the 
national gallery and to the great need for a gallery building. The 
first, under the title “The Story of the National Gallery of Art,” 
appeared in Art and Archeology for June, 1923. The story of the 
National Gallery of Art from its beginning nearly a century ago 
is the record of the prolonged struggle of the art idea for national 
recognition for a place in the serious consideration of the American 
people, and it is to be regetted that to-day, although art institu- 
tions are springing up on all hands, art has slight national recogni- 
tion beyond the attention necessary to the care and display of the 
art treasures acquired by gift and bequest. For nearly a century 
the Smithsonian Institution has harbored the dream of a gallery of 
art, but art has been in the shadow of diversified scientific activities 
and in the deeper shadow of the all-absorbing material interests of 
a rapidly developing Nation. To-day the conditions are far from 
satisfactory. Growth of the collections through gratuitous contri- 
butions, even, is embarrassed by the almost complete exhaustion of 
space for the reception and display of all save accessions of very 
limited extent, and the problem before the institution, and certainly 
with equal insistence before the American people, is “ Shall America 
have a National Gallery of Art, or a National Museum of Art, that 
will give us a respectable place among the cultured nations of the 
world?” The story of the vicissitudes of the incipient, struggling 
national gallery is here presented with the view of making known a 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 47 


great national shortcoming and stirring the pride of a people not 
accustomed to take a second or a third place in any field worthy of 
their ambition. 

The second, with the title “Shall America Have a National 
Gallery of Art?” was published in The American Magazine of 
Art for July, 1923. This article is a plea for recognition of the 
claims of the incipient national gallery upon the American people 
and seeks to determine and enlist the agencies that may be brought 
to bear upon the erection of a gallery building. 

The great importance of prompt action becomes apparent when 
it is recalled that the failure to provide housing for possible ad- 
ditions to the national collections means a great annual loss to the 
national gallery—to the Nation. The yearly addition of art works 
between 1905 and 1920, the latter the date of the complete ex- 
haustion of gallery space in Museum buildings, averaged upward 
of half a million a year, while the entire increase per year for the 
three years since the latter date has fallen below $40,000. The loss 
to the gallery and to the Nation at this rate, would, in a score of 
years, amount to a sum equal to the erection of a building worthy 
of the name, and there can be little doubt that if a gallery building 
worthy of the name awaited the inflow of gifts and bequests, 
accessions would reach the substantial figure of half a million per 
year, as heretofore, or who shall say not twice that figure? Private 
owners, seeking a final resting place for their treasures, would 
doubtless, in many cases, prefer to be represented in a gallery be- 
longing to the Nation, to all the people alike, than in any other. 
Our plea, then, the plea of the Smithsonian Institution, is not only 
a worthy but an urgent one, and is now made to all the people of 
the Nation, and for all the people of the Nation. 


THE GALLERY COMMISSION 


In 1921, the Regents of the Institution organized a commission 
which should devote its attention to the promotion of the gallery’s 
interests in various directions, and the second annual meeting of 
this commission was held in the Regents’ room of the Institution 
on December 12, 1922. The members present were: Daniel Chester 
French, chairman; W. K. Bixby; William H. Holmes, secretary 
ex Officio; Gari Melchers; Charles Moore; James Parmelee; Edward 
W. Redfield; Charles D. Walcott, ex officio. At this meeting numer- 
ous important problems were considered and steps were taken to 
enlist national interest in the gallery and its development as an in- 
dispensable national institution. 

The report of the secretary of*the commission for the year was 
followed by reports of the standing, special, and subcommittees, 


48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Attention was given to the previously much-discussed project of an 
important exhibition of portraits, official and lay, to be held in the 
gallery, but satisfactory arrangements for holding the exhibit in 
1923 could not be made. The question of appealing to Congress 
for a building for art and history was considered and discussion 
took place as to the feasibility of having the building project in- 
cluded in the program being formulated by Congress for prospective 
public buildings. Secretary Walcott brought to the attention of the 
commission the question of the advisability of an appeal to American 
institutions and to the American people for aid in the building 
project. Following a discussion of the Ranger bequest fund and its 
administration, the commission appointed a committee of three— 
Messrs. E. W. Redfield, Gari Melchers, W. H. Holmes—to look after 
the gallery’s interests in the final disposition of the purchases made 
from this fund by the National Academy of Design. 

With this meeting, the inital one year terms of three members of 
the commission—Herbert Adams, Gari Melchers, Charles Moore— 
expired, and the Board of Regents at its annual meeting, December 
14, 1922, elected these persons to succeed themselves for the full term 
of four years. 

The art advisory committee appointed at the last meeting of the 
Board of Regents, examined the several paintings and other works 
offered to the gallery as permanent accessions. The following were 
accepted : 

“ Signing of the Treaty of Ghent,” an oil painting by Sir A. Forestier, 1914. 
Presented by the Sulgrave Institution. 

A cameo-cutter’s outfit, consisting of wheel, dies, tools, etc., which formerly 


belonged to and was used by Louis Bonet, an engraver on fine stone. Pre- 
sented by Paul W. Bartlett. 


THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT COLLECTION 


As announced in the report for last year, a number of influential 
citizens, desiring to preserve some pictorial record of the World War, 
organized a National Art Committee immediately after the close of 
the war, and arranged with a number of our leading artists to 
paint portraits of certain distinguished leaders of America and other 
allied nations in the war with Germany. The members of the com- 
mittee as organized are: Hon. Henry White (chairman) ; Herbert 
L. Pratt (secretary and treasurer) ; Mrs. W. H. Crocker, Robert W. 
de Forest, Abram Garfield, Mrs. E. H. Harriman, Arthur W. 
Meeker, J. Pierpont Morgan, Charles P. Taft, Charles D. Walcott, 
and Henry C. Frick (since deceased). 

Under this arrangement, 21 portraits were painted and assembled 
in the national walter y during the “month of May, 1921. Later these 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 49 


were turned over to the American Federation of Arts for purposes 
of public exhibition. Before their final return to their place in the 
national portrait gallery, they were exhibited as follows: 


1920-21: 
Providence; ho. Wncis! tet sab. oes, Rhode Island School of Design. 
Pnisdelphia,, Pas sess eye So) Pennsylvania Academy. 
Weashinston, D.. Caer. oy tess National Gallery of Art. 
Princeton, Neg dae tis sa twelt Pretty t.. Princeton University. 
N@wirHlaven, Conns> 2feiot olstt 1s Yale University. 
Boston, Mass_=~ Piri fi ee hei ap, Boston Museum. 

1921-22: 
Rochester INDY 2-2 9s 1 ae pepe Memorial Art Gallery. 
Cleveland, (Ohio: 44h wa 2 ror Se oe Cleveland Museum. 
Williamstown, Masso. +404. ees; Williams College. 
Amherst, Miss. esse tab? ten Avetal at’ Amherst College. 
Buitalo py Yee 2228 bss eel Ab The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. 
Cincinnati} ‘Oi. =A. Ee Cincinnati Museum. 
Ingianapolis;sInds: 53. wnt. np oe; John Herron Art Institute. 
Pat tSb Urey sP AS 2 arnt 9 Ped 2b tect Carnegie Institute. 
Wego: Wiehe = a ea Detroit Museum. 
Youngstown, Ohiozs 2-2 == 2 The Butler Art Institute. 
MemipNis! Seen senate ae ee: Brooks Memorial Art Gallery. 
StS wis} (Mosig iene Bi. a) Oe aires City Art Museum. 

1922-23 : 
Grand Rapids, Mich: .23. 2 8S. The Grand Rapids Public Library. 
Avi iN S| ee) 60) ia 4 GC 0 Hae gt a a pee The Ann Arbor Art Association. 
OME ICH MMIC AIS 8 as ce eae Art Department, Washburn College. 
MEACISON] WIS) een bee eS eS The Madison Art Association. 
Sait ranciscon Calin. 22 oe earls San Francisco Musewm. 
SHEEAIMOULOA COAL ep te eee ete Kingsley Art Club. 
eaeimore Wg = eee 8 Ee Baltimore Museum of Art. 


That the gift of these portraits might be distinctly national in 
character, it was decided that a group of two or more, financed by 
the art patrons of any city, should be inscribed as presented to the 
Nation by that city and that a representative of that city should be- 
come an honorary member of the National Art Committee. It was 
further decided that a tablet or other permanent record in the gallery 
should bear the names of the National Art Committee, including the 
chairmen of all local committees, and that there should be a record 
of the name of each subscriber to the purchase fund. 

The cities which, to date, have made presentations are as follows: 
Chicago—Portraits by John C. Johansen, N. A. (1876— a 

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander in chief of the British Army 
on the Western Front, 1915-1919. 

Marshal Joseph Joffre, commander in chief of the French Armies, 1915- 
1917. O. M. 1919. 


General Amando Diaz, commander in chief of the Italian Armies, 
1917- 


50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Cincinnati—Portraits by Douglas Volk, N. A. (1856— yas 
His Majesty Albert I (Leopold-Clement-Marie-Meinrad), King of the Bel- 
gians, 1909- , and commander in chief of the Belgian Armies. 
Right Honorable David Lloyd George, Prime Minister and First Lord of 
the Treasury of Great Britain, 1916-1922 
General John Joseph Pershing, commander in chief of the American Ex- 
peditionary Forces in Europe, 1917-1919. 
New York—Portraits by Edmund C. Tarbell, N. A. (1862— te 
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, 1918-1921. 
General Georges Leman (Gerard Mathieu Joseph Georges), commander of 
the fortified town of Liege (its defender in 1914). 
Marshal Ferdinand Foch, commander in chief of the French Armies, 
1917- ; of the Allied forces, 1918- 
“Signing of the Peace Treaty, June 28, 1919,” by John C. Joharfsen, N. A. 
San Francisco—Portraits by Cecilia Beaux, N. A.: 
Cardinal Desiré Josph Mercier, Archbishop of Malines, 1906- 
Admiral Sir David Beatty, commander of the fleet and First Sea Lord 
of Great Britain; created First Earl Beatty, 1919. 
Georges Clemenceau (Georges Eugene Benjamin), President, Council of 
Ministers of the French Republic, Prime Minister and Minister of War 
of France, 1917-1920. 


The following portraits are still available for presentation by 
other cities. In case offers are not made it is assumed that the com- 
mittee remains responsible for their final disposition : 


Joan J. C. Bratiano (Bratianu), Prime Minister of Roumania and delegate 
to the Peace Conference, 1919, by Charles Hopkinson. 

Nikola Pashich (Pasic), Prime Minister of Serbia and delegate from 
Yugoslavia to the Peace Conference, 1919, by Charles Hopkinson. 

Prince Kimmochi Saionji, delegate from Japan to the Peace Conference 
at Paris, 1919, by Charles Hopkinson. 

Right Honorable Sir Robert Laird Borden, Prime Minister of Canada, 
1911-1920, by Joseph de Camp. 

General Sir Arthur William Currie, commander of the Canadian Forces 
in France, 1917-1919, by Joseph de Camp. 

Admiral William Snowden Simms, commander of the American naval 
operations in European waters, 1917-1919, by Irving R. Wiles, N. A. 

Herbert Clark Hoover, United States Food Administrator, 1917-1919; 
chairman of the Supreme Economie Council, Paris, 1919. 

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, president of the Council of Ministers of 
Italy, 1917-1919. F 


The collection of 21 portraits was returned to the gallery by the 
American Federation of Arts on June 12, 1923, and was hung in the 
central hall of the ground floor in direct connection with the great 
body of exhibits pertaining to the war with Germany. On its return 
to Washington the collection was enriched by the three-quarter 
length portrait of Her Majesty Elizabeth, Queen of the Belgians, by 
Jean McLean (Mrs. John C. Johnaaenhs the completion of which 
had been delayed. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 51 


ART WORKS ADDED DURING THE YEAR 
GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 


Portrait of Miss Elizabeth Ellery Burge, by Thomas Mathewson. 
and portrait of Miss Jessie Jay Burge, by Abbott Handerson Thayer 
(1849-1921). “Permanent loan” (stipulated term), from the Misses 
Marie Louise and Jessie Jay Burge, of Warsaw, N. Y. 

Two oil paintings: “Une Brave” and “An Alsatian Girl,” by 
Miss Lucie Louise Fery. Bequests of the artist, through Mr. George 
H. Moffett, executor, Charleston, S. C. 

“ Wharf Scene” (oil), by Bertha E. Perrie. Gift of Miss Maude 
Burr Morris, Washington, D. C. 

Mantel of carved white holly wood, with fireplace of pink Numi- 
dian marble, from the recently demolished residence of the late Ben- 
jamin H. Warder, 1515 K Street, Washington, D. C., Henry Hobson 
Richardson, architect (1838-1886). Gift of William White Wilson 
Parker, of Washington, D. C., and Mifflintown, Pa. 

“Roosevelt Haunts, Early Autumn” (oil), by Emile Walters 
(1893- ); awarded the William O. Goodman prize by the Art 
Institute of Chicago, 1921. Presented by an art collector, through 
Mr. A. Lawrence Kocher, of the Pennsylvania State College. 

_A list of the portraits presented by various cities through the 
National Art Committee, Hon. Henry White, chairman, to the Na- 
tional Portrait Gallery is given on page 49. 

Portraits deposited by the National Art Committee and available 
for presentation by other cities are listed on page 50. 

A Chinese carved ivory screen and 141 pieces of antique and 
modern porcelain, made in Saxony, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Ger- 
many, France, and Great Britain between 1790 and 1860, were added 
to his collection by the Rey. Alfred Duane Pell, D. D., of New York. 


DEPOSIT BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


Bronze bust of Jeanne d’Arc, by Madame Berthe Girardet, gold 
medalist, Neuilly, France. Gift of Madame Girardet, the sculptor, 
through Mrs. John Jacob Hoff (Mrs. Grace Whitney Hoff), “to the 
American people in memory of what our soldier boys have done in 
France at a crucial time of need.” Accepted by the Smithsonian 
Institution for deposit in the gallery. 

The collection of 22 framed individual portraits and portrait 
groups in pastel, 70 portraits in all, of Federal and Confederate 
Veterans of the Civil War, painted by Walter Beck (1864- rn! 
years after the battle of Appomattox, lent to the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution on May 1, 1922, for a period of one year, through the agency 
of Mr. Walter Grant, became tne property of the Nation by gift of 


52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the artist at the expiration of the year, “to be cared for by the Na- 
tional Gallery of Art.” A complete list of these portraits was given 
in last year’s report. 

Portrait in oil of Edwin McMasters Stanton (1814-1859), Sec- 
retary of War under President Lincoln’s administration, by Henry 
Ulke (1821-1910). Presented to the institution by his grand- 
daughter, Miss Sophy Stanton. 


LOANS 


The John Howard McFadden collection of 48 portraits and land- 
scapes of the British school, left in trust to the city of Philadelphia; 
lent to the gallery by the trustees of the collection, Chief Justice 
Robert Von Moschzisker, of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Hon. 
George Wharton Pepper, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 
and Justice Jasper Yates Brinton, court of appeals, mixed tribunals 
of Egypt. The will of Mr. McFadden directs that the trustees shall, 
pending the permanent housing of the collection by the city of 
Philadelphia, intrust the works to the Metropolitan Museum in New 
York or to a gallery of equal dignity. A catalogue of the McFadden 
collection, prepared by Harvey M. Watts, was published by the 
J. P. Lippincott Co. during the year. The artists represented, with 
titles of the paintings received, are as follows: 


Richard Parks Bonington (1801-1828). 
A Coast Scene, Normandy. 
John Constable, R. 4. (1776-1837). 
The Lock. 
Hampstead Heath: Storm Coming Up. 
‘The Dell in Helmingham Park. 
David Cox (1783-1859). 
Going to the Hayfield, 1849. 

John Crome (“Old Crome”) (1769-1821). 
Blacksmith Shop, near Hingham, Norfolk. 
Woody Landscape, at Colney. 

Thomas Gainsborough, R. A. (1727-1788). 
Henrietta, Lady Rodney. 

A Classical Landscape. 
George Henry Harlow (1787-1819). 
The Misses Leader. 
The Leader Children. 
Mrs. Weddell and Children. 
William Hogarth (1697-1764). 
The Assembly at Wanstead House. 
The Fountaine Family. 
John Hoppner, R. A. (1758-1810). 
Mrs. Hoppner. 
Sir Thomas Lawrence, P. R. A. (1769-1830). 
Miss West (afterwards Mrs. William Woodgate). 


_ REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 58 


John Linnell, Sen. (1792-1882). 
The Refuge (or, The Storm), 1853. 
George Morland (1763-1804). 
Old Coaching Days. 
The Fruits of Early Industry. 
The Happy Cottagers. 
Sir Henry Raeburn, R. A. (1756-1823). 
Lady Belhaven. 
Master Thomas Bissland. 
Master John Campbell of Saddell. “ 
Colonel Charles Christie. 
Lady Elibank. 
Mr. Lawrie, of Woodlea, Castle Douglas. 
Alexander Shaw. 
Portrait: of a Gentleman. 
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (1723-1792). 
Master Bunbury. 
The Right Hon. Edmund P. Burke, M. P. 
George Romney (1734-1802). 
Mrs. Crouch. 
Mrs. De Crespigny. 
Mrs. Finch. 
Lady Grantham. 
Lady Hamilton (Study Head). 
Mrs. Tickell. 
Rev. John Wesley. 
Little Bo-Peep. 
James Stark (1794-1859). 
Landscape with Cattle. 
George Stubbs, R. A. (1724-1806). 
Labourers; The Brick Cart, 1767. 
J. M. W. Turner, R. A. (1775-1851). 
Burning of the Houses of Parliamen*. 
Sir John Watson-Gordon, R. A. (1790-1864). 
Sir Walter Scott, Bart. 
Richard Wilson, R. A. (1714-1782). 
View on the Thames. 


Coliection of 14 British and Dutch masters, lent by Henry Cleve- 
land Perkins, Esq., of Washington and New York, as follows: 


Sir William Beechey, R. A. (1753-1839). 
Portrait of a Gentleman. 

John Hoppner, R. A. (1758-1810). 
Portrait of a Boy. 

Sir Thomas Lawrence, P. R. A. (1769-1830). 
Henry, First Earl of Mulgrave. 

Ladbrooke. 
A Cottage Scene. 

Michael Jansen Miereveit (1567-1641). 
Portrait of a Dutch Lady. 

* John Opie, R. A. (1761-1807). 

Portrait of a Girl. 


1454—25—_5 


54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (1723-1792). 
Frances, Countess of Clermont. (From collection of the Earl of Car- 
lisle). 
Salomon Ruysdael (1600-1670). 
The Windmill. 
Richard Wilson, R. A. (1714-1782). 
Study of Ruins. 
Study of Ruins. 
Landscape. 
Artist unknown. 
Landscape with Cottage. 
Attributed to Van Dyck. : 
Madonna and Child. (From the Duchess of Montrose Collection, Eng.). 
Jan Victoors (1620-1672). 
Portrait of a Dutch Girl. (Collection of the Princess Mathilde.) - 


Three oil paintings by E. Hodgson Smart (1873- 1 Eada 
Portrait of my Mother,” 1915; “The Madonna of the Blue Veil,” 
1918; and portrait of James A. Stearman, 1917. Lent by the artist; 
withdrawn before close of the fiscal year. 

“The Sphinx” (oil painting), by Colonel George Raum, C. S. A.., 
as it appeared when excavated by him in 1896. Lent by the artist, 
Berkeley, Calif. 

Three oil paintings: “The Fortune Teller,” by Antonio Allegri 
da Correggio (1494-1534) ; “The Queen,” by Jacobo Robusti (Il 
Tintoretto) (1512-8 to 1594) ; “ Death of Lucretia,” by Guido Reni 
(called Guido) (1575-1642). Acquired by the late Hon. Hannis 
Taylor in 1887, during his sojourn in Spain as United States min- 
ister, and lent by Mrs. Hannis Taylor, Washington, D. C. 

“Spectres of the North (Icebergs),” and “Shoshone Falls of 
Snake River, Idaho,” by Thomas Moran (1837- ). Lent by the 
artist, Santa Barbara, Calif. 

Self portrait by the artist, James DeVeaux, of Charleston, S. C. 
(1812-1844), painted in Paris, 1836. Lent by Mr. Porter F. Cope, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 

Main entrance to the Benjamin H. Warder residence designed 
by H. H. Richardson, from the Benjamin H. Warder residence, 
1515 K Street NW., removed to make room for a modern office 
building. The stone is of Numidian marble and the wood white 
holly. Carving of the holly is by skilled workmen, assisted by 
students from Richardson’s Boston office. Erected in 1885, and 
among the last houses designed by Richardson. Other houses by 
this master architect are the John Hay, the Henry Adams, and the 
N. L. Anderson residences in Washington. Richardson was born 
in New Orleans, the son of a southern planter; educated at Harvard 
and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris; died 1886, aged 47 years. Let 
by the Architects’ Advisory Council, Horace W. Peasley, chairman. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 55 


Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
P. R. A. (1723-1792) ; lent by Ralph Cross Johnson, Esq. 

Five paintings: Portrait of Admiral Holding Stevens, 2d, by 
Robert Hinckley; portrait of Mrs. Thomas Holding Stevens, his 
wife, artist unknown; portrait of Hon. Eben Sage, of Middletown, 
Conn., by Chester Harding; “Madonna,” by Honario Mariari, 
favorite pupil of Carlo Dulci; “ Madonna,” by Carlo Mahratta. 
Lent by Mrs. Pierre C. Stevens, through Mrs. Frederick C. Hicks, 
Port Washington, Long Island, N. Y.  — 

Portrait of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States, 

1921-1923; by E. Hodgson Smart (1873- ). Lent by the artist. 


DISTRIBUTIONS 


Loans have been withdrawn by their owners, as follows: “ Christ 
in the Temple,” by J. B. Tiepolo; “The Doctor’s Visit,” by Jan 
Steen; and “A Young Dutch Girl,” by N. Drost; withdrawn by 
Ralph Johnson, Esq. 

Portrait of George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, and por- 
trait of John V. L. Pruyn, by Charles L. Elliott; withdrawn by 
Hon. Charles S. Hamlin. (The Washington was returned before 
close of the year.) 

Portrait of Henry Clay Ide, by Ossip Perelma; turned over to 
Mrs. W. Bourke Cockran by direction of Mr. Perelma. 

Portrait of Dr. George F. Becker and of Mrs. Florence Becker, by 
Fedor Encke; portrait of Mrs. Sarah Carey Becker, by Waring; 
painting by a Japanese artist; “A Woodland Stydy” and “ The 
Placid Potomac,” by W. H. Holmes; “'The Deer Pass” (steel en- 
graving), by Landseer, and a bas-relief; withdrawn by Mrs. Flor- 
ence Becker Forrester. 

“Landscape,” by N. Diaz; withdrawn by Dr. C. C. Galloway. 

“The Madonna of the Blue Veil,” “ Portrait of My Mother,” and 
portrait of James A. Stearman, by E. Hodgson Smart; withdrawn 
by Mr. Smart. 

Don Giovanni Rilgas, attributed to Cimabue; withdrawn by Capt. 
Edgar Thompson, United States Navy. 


LOANS BY THE GALLERY 


The painting recently received through the Ranger fund, entitled 
“ Tohickon,” by Daniel Garber, N. A., was lent to the Art Institute 
of Chicago, to be shown at their annual exhibition, November 2 to 
December 1, 1922. It has been returned to the gallery. 

The portrait of Miss Ellen Day Hale, by Mrs. Margaret Lesley 
Bush-Brown, presented to the gallery by Mr. Arthur Hale, was lent 
to Mrs. Bush-Brown to be exhibited at the Art Alliance of Phila- 


56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


delphia from January 3 to 16, 1923. It has been returned to the 
gallery. 

The portrait of Sir James J. Shannon, R. A., painted in London 
in Sir James’s studio by Orland Rouland (1871- ), was lent 
to Mr. Rouland to be included in an exhibit of his paintings in New 
York City, April 15-25, 1923. The painting has been returned to 
the gallery. 

The portrait of Gen. George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, 
belonging to Hon. and Mrs. Charles 8. Hamlin, and the portrait of 
George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, the property of 
Mr. John S. Beck, and recorded as loans to the gallery, were lent, 
by permission of their respective owners, to the Pennsylvania Acad- 
emy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pa., to be shown at the academy’s 
exhibition of portraits by Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, 
and James Peale, April 11 to May 9, 1923. These paintings have 
been returned to their places in the loan collection. 


SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS 


An exhibition of American handicrafts assembled and circulated 
by the American Federation of Arts was held in the gallery from 
November 1 to 25, 1922. It included jewelry, enamels, carved ivory, 
silver, pewter, iron, pottery, decorated china, batik and block-printed 
textiles, weavings, needlework, bookbinding, illuminations, book 
plates, designs for advertising, stained glass, wood carving, and 
- lacquer, and consisted of 212 items, as shown by the catalogue pre- 
pared by Miss Zlizabeth Neat and printed privately. The regents 
and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution extended invitations to 
an opening private view of the exhibit on the afternoon of Wednes- 
day, November 1, and many persons attended. 

A collection of antique Etruscan, Greco-Roman, and Byzantine 
jewelry, and ancient glassware, pottery, and a bronze statuette of 
Nyx (Night), dating from the seventh century B. C. to the eleventh 
century A. D., was exhibited in the gallery under the auspices of 
the Archaeological Society of Washington, Dr. Mitchell Carroll, 
secretary, from January 10 to April 23, 1923. This collection is the 
property of Mr. Kurt W. Bachstitz, of The Hague, Holland, by 
whom it was lent to the Archaeological Society. A reception by the 
society was held on the evening of January 9, when the members 
and friends assembled to hear the lecture by Count Byron Kuhn de 
Prorok on his recent excavations at Carthage viewed the collection. 

The Chicago Tribune exhibit of 90 original architectural draw- 
ings, selected from over 200 designs submitted in the Chicago Tri- 
bune’s $100,000 architectural competition for their new $7,000,000 
administration building was held in the gallery April 19 to 21. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 57 


This competition engaged the talents of the best men in the archi- 
tectural profession throughout the world, 22 nations being repre- 
sented, and not only the prize design, by John M. Howells and 
Raymond M. Hood, associates, of New York (who became the 
architects of the building), but also those receiving other prizes 
and honorable mentions, were shown. The exhibit was placed on 
view by the Chicago Tribune in cities throughout the country at 
the chapters of the American Institute of Architects, fine art societies 
and art institutions, architectural schools, and universities, and was 
procured for the national gallery through the efforts of the Hon. 
Frederic A. Delano, Regent of the Smithsonian Institution. 


THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND 


The paintings purchased during the year by the council of the 
National Academy of Design from the fund provided by the Henry 
Ward Ranger bequest, with the names of the institutions to which 
they have been assigned, are as follows: 


Title Artist Date sue Assigned 
20; The High Seas_-__--- Gordon Grant ---_---..- Dec. 4,1922 | Art Association of Richmond, Ind. 
21, A Morning in Sum- | Leonard Ochtman, |-_-___- do_....--| Albany Institute and Historical and 
mer. N. A. Art Society, Albany, N,Y. 
22. The Quiet Valley...| Guy Wiggins, A. N. A-|__--- do__.-....| Rhode Island School of Design, Provi- 
dence, R. I. 
23, The Maumee River_| Carlton T. Chapman, |__-_.- Worse. o The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 
N. A. Ohio. 
24. Winds of Destiny...) Elliot Clark, A. N. A--|__--- do__.....| The Dayton Museum of Arts, Dayton, 
Ohio. 
25. (BIRO ais came eae Leon Kroll, A. N. A.--|..--- do_._.-..| The City Art Museum of St. Louis, Mo. 
26. By the Upper Lock.| John F. Follinsbee, A. | Apr. 17,1923 | Grand Rapids Art Association, Grand 
N.A. Rapids, Mich. 
ae ee Gift os2 22s - Ernest L. Blumen- |____. do__..---! Fort Worth Museum of Art, Fort 
schein, A. N. A. Worth, Tex. 
28; Brooding Silence__..| John F. Carlson, A. |_---- do__.-..-| Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 
N.A. Md. 
29; Smugglers’ Notch, | Chauncey F. Ryder, |_---- dors 2725 Memorial Art Gallery, University of 
Stowe, Vt. N.A. Rochester, N. Y. 
30. Falling Snow, New | Everett L. Warner, |......-....---- Carolina Art Association, Charleston, 
York. A.N, A. S.C. 


“The Fall Round Up,” by Carl Rungius, N. A. (No. 11 in the 
1922 report), recorded as assigned to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 
has been transferred to the Bruce Art Museum, Greenwich, Conn.; 
and “ Repose of Evening,” by Ben Foster (No. 12 in the 1922 report), 
recorded as assigned to the San Francisco Museum of Art, has been 
transferred to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. 

It may be mentioned in this place that, as provided by the terms 
of the bequest, all works purchased by the Ranger fund are later 
subject to transfer to the National Gallery, as directed in the fol- 


58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lowing extract from the last will and testament of Henry Ward 
Ranger: 


All pictures So purchased are to be given by the council to art institutions 
in America, or to any library or other institutions in America maintaining a 
gallery open to the public, all such gifts to be upon the express condition 
that the National Gallery at Washington, administered by the Smithsonian 
Institute shall have the option and right, without cost, to take, reclaim, and 
Gwh any picture for their collection, provided they exercise such option and 
right at any time during the five year period beginning ten years after the 
artist’s death and ending fifteen years after his death, and, if such option 
and right is not exercised during such period, the picture shall remain and 
be the property of the institution to which it was first given. 


NATIONAL GALLERY LIBRARY 


Accessions to the gallery library Nos. 1-325 have been recorded 
from various sources as gifts, purchases, and exchanges, and include 
bound and unbound volumes and pamphlets. 


PUBLICATIONS 


Holmes, W. H. Catalogue of collections, I, National Gallery of Art. Govern- 
ment Printing Office, 1922. 8vo, pp. i-vi; 1-98, 25 plates and 1 ground plan. 
This is the first number of the catalogue series of the gallery which is to 
be issued from time to time as conditions warrant. It follows in general the 
form of the catalogues of the art collections of the National Museum pre- 
pared by former Assistant Secretary Rathbun (Bull. 70, U. S. N. M., 1916), 
which was published, however, before the gallery became a separate de- 
partment of the Institution. It contains an introduction by the director, 
giving a brief account of the development of the art interests of the Institu- 
tion and an outline of the organization of the gallery. This is followed by a 
list of the art works acquired previous to November, 1921, with brief biog- 
raphies of the artists. It is illustrated with a ground plan and full page 
halftone plates of 25 of the most noteworthy of paintings and sculptures in 
the gallery. 

—— Report on the National Gallery of Art for the year ending June 380, 1922. 
Appendix 2, Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Wash- 
ington, Government Printing Office, 1922, pp. 42-54. Separate. 

A two-page leaflet on the National Gallery has also been issued which, like 
the recent leaflets on the Smithsonian Institution previously issued, is to have 
wide distribution. It is intended to bring forcibly to the attention of the 
public the great need of a separate building to house the national art collec- 
tions. 


Respectfully submitted. 
W. H. Hoimzgs, 
Director, National Gallery of Art. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 3 
REPORT ON THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the third annual report on the 
Freer Gallery of Art for the year ending June 30, 1923. 


THE COLLECTION 


Work completed during the year includes the examination, classi- 
fication, and preliminary cataloguing of Chinese and Japanese stone 
sculptures and jades begun in 1922. New work undertaken includes 
the preliminary cataloguing and final. storage of Chinese and Japa- 
nese bronzes, lacquers and wood sculptures, Near Eastern and 
Egyptian pottery, and miscellaneous objects of bone, ivory, metal, 
glass, etc., from various sources. Much additional work has been 
done on the preservation of oil paintings, and one Chinese kakemono 
has been remounted in panel form. The autumn, winter, and early 
spring were largely devoted to the installation of exhibits and to 
other preparations for the opening of the gallery to the public on 
May 2, involving the construction of cases according to designs pre- 
viously made, the designing of pedestals, special stands, mounts. 
and easels and the execution of these under direct supervision of the 
curator and the superintendent, the choice, exhibition, and labeling 
of objects, the transfer of books to shelves provided for them in the 
east study room, and the preparation of a brief pamphlet setting 
forth the history of the Freer collection, together with necessary in- 
formation regarding the purpose and use of the building and col- 
lection. This pamphlet was given to visitors during the opening 
week and has since been sold for 5 cents a copy, having reached a 
second printing of 3,000 copies. In June the making of identifica- 
tion photographs for the catalogue cards was begun. 


BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT 


Work accomplished during the year includes the completion of 
several undertakings mentioned in the second annual report, such 
as finishing gallery walls and floors, picture frames and screen boxes, 
as well as many new tasks completed or begun and the inevitable re- 


59 


~ 


60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


pairs due to normal settling of the building and to ordinary wear 
and tear. For the exhibition galleries, the workshop has turned out 
52 cases, and has 12 others “in work” ; also 9 easels, 22 pedestals, 15 
special stands, 40 block plinths, 5 large frames for screens, stone 
sculptures and tiles, 100 reeded frames for etchings, 3 molded com- 
position bases for stone sculptures, and 5 sets of barricade stands 
have been made; while 6 walnut panels for the exhibition of scrolls 
and 19 benches were contracted for and built outside. On the ground 
floor, the east study room has been furnished with cork flooring, 
bookcases, and a desk, the latter made in the workshop. The offices, 
storage rooms, workrooms, and lavatories have received additional 
equipment, including desk lights with necessary floor outlets, metal 
shelving, cupboards, a set of portable shelves for photographic work, 
glass door panels, extra locks, electric fans, etc. The fan room floor 
has been painted, and in the attic blue size has been applied to the 
skylights and cotton curtains have been hung above the ceiling lights 
for the purpose of modifying both light and heat. In the cellar 
two columns have been constructed under the partition wall between 
two rooms in the northwest corner of the building. To the equip- 
ment of the court fresh soil and a few trees have been added, as 
well as three peafowl from the National Zoological Park and a 
supply of goldfish from the Fish Commission. Indebtedness to these 
two organizations is gratefully acknowledged. 


OPENING AND ATTENDANCE 


The formal opening of the gallery took place during the week of 
May 2 to 8, inclusive. It was preceded by a “press view” on the 
morning of May 1, and a private view for the Establishment and 
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution on the afternoon of the same 
day. For the opening week 3,300 invitations were issued. 

Total attendance for May, 19,274. 

Largest attendance on Sundays, averaging 1,022. 

Smallest attendance on Mondays, averaging 406. 

Total attendance for June, 13,474. 

Largest attendance during the week of the Shriners’ convention, 
1,158 and 1,202 on June 6 and 7, respectively, with an average attend- 
ance of 548 on other days. Barns the rest of the month the largest 
attendance was on Sundays, with an average of 490, and the smallest 
on Mondays, with an average of 211. 

Attendance in the study rooms for May and June, 186 persons, of 
whom 4 brought in objects for examination and 11 received permis- 
sion to copy. 

Total attendance for May and June, 32, 648. 

After June 11 a new regulation went into effect, namely, that the 
building should be open from 9 until 4.30 every day of the week 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 61 


except Monday, when it should be closed all day. This serves a 
double purpose in that it not only makes the exhibitions available to 
many people who are unable to come on week days, but also gives 
opportunities for necessary work which can not be so well undertaken 
when the building is open to visitors. 


FIELD WORK 
IN EUROPE 


The months of July and August were spent by Miss Guest in 
Europe and were devoted to a study of various collections of Oriental 
art, following her attendance as delegate from this gallery to the 
meetings of the Société Asiatique de Paris, held in Paris from July 
10 to 18, in celebration of the centenary of Champollion. somone the 
most important groups of objects studied were: 

The collections of the Mission Pelliot, exhibited in the Musée 
Guimet and the Musée du Louvre. 

The partly dismantled but important loan exhibition of Oriental 
pottery and stone sculpture at the Musée Cernuschi. 

The collections of M. Raymond Koechlin and M. Calmann. 

The Central Asian paintings collected by Sir Aurel Stein and de- 
posited in the British Museum. 

The objects from Turfan collected by Professor Von le Coq and 
now stored in the Vélkerkunde Museum, and those from Samarra 
collected by Dr. Friedrich Sarre and now exhibited in the Kaiser 
Friedrich Museum, Berlin. 

Miss Guest spent several days also in the pottery works of Staf- 
fordshire, England, where she was given every facility for examining 
materials and processes of manufacture. 

Miss Guest’s more detailed account of her field activities accom- 
panies this report as Appendix A (not printed). 


IN CHINA 


On February 12, Mr. Bishop left here for China, in charge of an 
archeological expedition sent out under the joint auspices of the 
Freer Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Work- 
ing in accordance with instructions, but of necessity largely at his - 
own discretion, Mr. Bishop’s chief concern so far has been with mat- 
ters of organization, which he has managed and now settled more 
successfully than might reasonably have been expected. He has also 
visited several sites of great archeological interest and made observa- 
tions of importance to the future work of the expedition. 

Mr. Bishop’s detailed account of his field activities accompanies 
this report as Appendix B (not printed). 

1454256 


62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
PERSONNEL 


Katharine Nash Rhoades was appointed associate, her appointment 
to take effect July 1. 

Kwang-zung Tung was appointed field assistant, his appointment 
to take effect July 1. 

Archibald Gibson Wenley was appointed field assistant on June 1. 

Ruth L. Walker, stenographer, handed in her resignation, to take 
effect July 1. 

Respectfully submitted. 

J.E. Lover, Curator. 
Dr. Caartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 4 
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Sir: In response to your request I have the honor to submit the 
following report on the field researches, office work, and other opera- 
tions of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1923, conducted in accordance with the act of Con- 
gress approved June 12, 1923. The act referred to contains the fol- 
lowing item: 

American ethnology: For continuing ethnological researches among the 
American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, including the excavation and 
preservation of archeologic remains, under the direction of the Smithsonian 
Institution, including the necessary employees and the purchase of necessary 
books and periodicals, $44,000. 

The chief has endeavored to expend the sum of money allotted 
in as conservative and economical a manner as possible, although 
confronted with many difficulties, among which is the increased cost 
of field work. Since the bureau was first organized expenses for its 
maintenance have greatly increased, and have doubled within the 
last 10 years. Several other tendencies of the times have limited 
the production of results. There has been a great awakening of 
interest in the treatment of certain Indian tribes by Government 
officials which has led to a corresponding increase in requests for our 
publications. Never before was there a greater demand for the 
published reports and bulletins of the bureau. The epoch-making 
discoveries in the Valley of the Tombs in Egypt have very greatly 
increased interest in the Science of Man and the desire for more 
accurate knowledge of prehistoric man in American is very keen. 
Newspapers, magazines, and: other periodicals have done much to 
increase this interest and, as may be said with regret, many fake dis- 
coveries have been foisted on the public. Never before have accurate 
accounts of Indian life like those published by the Bureau of Ameri- 
can Ethnology been more in demand than at the present time. 

Several wealthy institutions have been led to give more money to 
American anthropology. Plans for archeological work in Yucatan 
and Central America costing many thousands of dollars a year are 
mentioned in some quarters, and many thousands are annually ex- 
pended by another institution on pueblo archeology. For lack of 
adequate funds, the bureau is unable to carry on extensive work of 
this magnitude and it remains for the bureau to continue its work 


63 


64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


along the lines already successfully followed—by researches and pub- 
lication of the results of less ambitious plans. It can not be expected 
that the quantity of field work with this handicap can be as great 
as it was when the field was almost untilled, but the chief is striving 
to keep the quality up to the past. For years to come as the culture 
of our aborigines fades into the past there will be plenty of work to 
do in gathering survivals and publishing reports to meet increased 
demand for authoritative literature on our aborigines. As the work 
of the bureau calls for increased popularization, in the judgment 
of the chief, the bureau should enlarge the number of popular 
articles which it publishes from time to time without decreasing 
strictly technical discoveries. The pages of our reports are full of 
the records of discoveries which are little known and at present 
interest only a few persons because of that fact. This should be 
obviated by putting into published form, suitable for the layman 
or for students in schools and colleges, the vast stores of knowledge 
which have been made by the staff of the bureau and its collabo- 
rators. The great success of the Handbook of American Indians 
clearly indicates the desire of the people for popular information on 
our aborigines and the bureau with an enlarged appropriation would 
be able to continue work of this nature. 

In compliance with the act of Congress above mentioned the Bu- 
reau of American Ethnology has continued its field and office re- 
searches on the American Indians including the ethnology of the 
Hawaiian Islands, and the inhabitants of Porto Rico and the Virgin 
Islands. Later in this report is a list of the annual publications. 
The high cost of printing has somewhat reduced the quantity but the 
quality has been maintained. 

The rapid modification in aboriginal culture perceptible year by 
year in Indian manners, customs, and languages has led the chief 
of the bureau to encourage archeological and historical study of the 
Indians. Extensive researches have been carried on in Colorado, 
in the Harpeth Valley, Tenn., in the Ozarks, Mo., and on the 
Atlantic seaboard. In addition to archeological research consider- 
able work has been done on documentary history, especially of the 
Creeks, Choctaws, and other Muskhogean tribes. 

Although the bureau has hitherto published many memoirs on the 
Indians of the northwest coast, there still remains much ethnologi- 
_ cal work awaiting investigation in this territory. A very promising 
beginning was made in the study of the totem poles of this region 
by Dr. T. T. Waterman, a temporary assistant on the staff of the 
bureau who made a special trip to Alaska for that purpose. He not 
only collected considerable new material on totem poles but also on 
legends connected with them. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 65 


The intention of the chief is to continue the work thus inaugurated 
in Alaska, and to repair one of the old Indian villages for educa- 
tional purposes. The former houses of the Alaska natives are now 
rapidly going to destruction; Kasaan, one of the largest, was de- 
serted and has been made a national monument but is suffering for 
want of care. It is proposed to begin cleaning up this village, re- 
pair it, in order to minimize the dangers from fire and vandals, and 
put it in a condition to afford the greatest educational value to 
future students and tourists. 

The first duty of the chief being administrative in nature much of 
his time is taken up by details of office work, in which, unless assisted 
by the members of the bureau, he would be greatly handicapped. 
The work of answering letters has greatly increased in the last five 
years, and the demands on the time of those engaged in it have been 
greatly multipled. This has affected all members of the staff, but 
it is very satisfactory to record that the letters in reply to inquiries 
are treated with the greatest respect and are looked upon as authori- 
tative by the recipients. 

When in Washington the chief has attended all meetings of the ad- 
visory committee on publications and one or two other committees to 
which he has been appointed. He has likewise accepted the welcome ~ 
duty of keeping in touch with all the archeological expeditions from 
different institutions working on ruins in the area of the United 
States in order that he might intelligently advise action to the sec- 
retary on the requests for permits to carry on archeological excava- 
tions, which each year are increasing in numbers. 

The chief has made strenuous efforts to continue his studies of 
previous summers on the Mesa Verde National Park in cooperation 
with the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior. 
In July, August, and a part of September he was absent from Wash- 
ington and completed the excavation of Pipe Shrine House, a build- 
ing in the Mummy Lake group of mounds. An account of the initia- 
tion of this work appeared in the report for last year. This excep- 
tional ruin was completely repaired and is now open for inspection 
of visitors. 

The excavation and repair of a circular tower situated 300 feet 
from Far View House also engaged his attention from the middle 
of July until the close of the season. The mound of stones cover- 
ing this ruin was known as far back as 1915, but its hidden building 
was not revealed until the close of June of the summer of 1922, when 
it was found to be a tower with three subterranean rooms, called 
kivas, which were evidently used for ceremonial purposes. Around 
these rooms was formerly a crowded cemetery, of ancient date, 
which led him to regard the whole area as a necropolis. The number 


66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of interments was too large for the number of dwellings. The three 
kivas belong to the highest type of these structures characteristic of 
the Mesa Verde. In one of them there was a well-made wall of 
secondary construction showing a secondary occupation and ruder 
masonry. This kiva showed signs of having been abandoned and 
later reoccupied, but how many years elapsed between the two occu- 
pations was not evident from data available. 

The excavation of this Mesa Verde tower led to new ideas of the 
structure and use of these remains, hundreds of which are found 
scattered in the canyons and on the mesas of the northern tributaries 
of the upper San Juan River. This tower is a fair example of the 
type of these buildings. It was probably an outlook for observations 
of the sun and ceremonies connected with the sky god. 

The first type of tower recognized in the Mesa Verde is a simple 
lookout situated naturally on the summit of a hill or high elevation, 
but unaccompanied by any other building; the second type has basal 
rooms which apparently are used for storage of food or possibly 
for habitation. Far View Tower is classified in a third type, in 
which we have a tower rising from basal subterranean kivas, 
granaries, and dwellings. The purpose of this type of tower is the 
same as Pipe Shrine House. 

During the greater part of August the tops of the walls of Far 
View House were covered with cement to protect them from the 
elements, and it is believed the protected walls will remain upright 
for several years without further repair. The permanent protection 
of these open ruins is always difficult and costly, but necessary. 
There still remain many unsolved problems on the Mesa Verde 
awaiting attention, but with small appropriations new ruins can not 
be opened and those already opened can not be repaired. 

Some distance north of Far View Tower is the depression long 
ago christened Mummy Lake. Its true nature is unknown, though 
it may have been a reservoir; but no mummies have ever been found 
in its vicinity. In the thick cedars about it, situated on the right 
hand of the road, there are several small mounds indicating ruins. 
generally habitations, surrounding kivas. In one of these there are 
walls made of large stones set on edge, standing above ground. 
These stones project 4 feet above the surface, and their size has led 
to the ruin being called Megalithic House. Excavation work on 
this ruin was begun but not completed before the appropriation was 
exhausted. 

About every other night during the five months the chief worked 
on the Mesa Verde he gave camp-fire talks to visitors and spent 
considerable time daily in explaining the signification of the excava- 
tions while they were in progress. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 67 


In June, 1928, the chief made a trip to Deming, southern New 
Mexico, and visited different localities, Fort Bayard, Central, Silver 
City, and Pinos Altos, where pictured food bowls have been found. 
He purchased a beautiful collection of pottery from the Mimbres 
Valley, which supplements that already installed in the Museum. 

In 1914 the chief first pointed out that the Mimbres Valley, in 
which this pottery is found, was inhabited in prehistoric times by 
a people who excelled all other pueblos in painting realistic figures 
on pottery. The scientific value of these pictures is very great from 
the fact that the prehistoric dwellers in the Mimbres Valley in this 
way left a reliable and permanent record of certain occupations 
(hunting, fishing, gambling), as well as wonderful representations 
of mythological animals of all varieties. If we could truthfully 
interpret these figures, our knowledge of the prehistoric mythology 
of a people of whose history, language, and relationship we know 
nothirig from documentary sources would be greatly increased. 

Not far from the close of the fiscal year, President Harding issued 
a proclamation declaring three’ groups of towers in southwestern 
Colorado and southeastern Utah to be a national monument. This 
announcement was particularly gratifying to the chief, not only 
because it preserved for future generations good examples of unique 
types of ancient buildings in our southwest but also because the idea 
of the reservation of Hovenweep National Monument originated in 
the Bureau of American Ethnology. The three groups composing 
this monument lie within a few miles of each other and are locally 
called Ruin Canyon group, Holly Canyon group, and the Tejon 
Mesa group. 

During the fiscal year Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, has com- 
pleted the following manuscripts: “ Social Organization and Social 
Usages of the Indians of the Creek Confederacy ”; “ Religious Be- 
liefs and Medical Practices of the Creek Indians”; and “A Gram- 
matical Sketch of the Alabama Language.” 

Doctor Swanton also completed a card catalogue, arranged under 
stems, of all of the linguistic material contained in the Arte de la 
Lengua Timuquana, by Francisco Pareja, and an English-Indian 
index for the same; and initiated a report on the stories of the south- 
eastern Indians. By July 1 he had completed translations of stories 
in the Koasati language and made a beginning on those in Alabama. 
Material was added to his collection of references bearing on the 
economic basis of American Indian life, and some map work was 
done in connection with this phase of Indian life. 

The ist of July, 1923, found Dr. Truman Michelson, ethnologist, 
at work among the Fox Indians of Iowa. He collected sufficient 
material for a manuscript entitled “ The traditional origin of the 


68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Fox Society, known as ‘They who go about singing’ (singing- 
around rite).” This material will be published in the Fortieth 
Annual Report of the bureau. A good beginning was also made on 
the ceremonial “runners” and attendants. ‘Tribal dissensions at 
Tama cut short Doctor Michelson’s stay among the Fox Indians and 
he made a reconnaissance among the Potawatomi of Wisconsin, the 
Chippewa at Reserve in the same State, the Ottawa of Michigan, the _ 
Delaware-Munsee of Lower Canada, and the Montagnais of Lake 
St. John, returning to Washington near the 1st of October. He 
definitely determined that there are several different Delaware dia- 
lects spoken in Canada and the United States, and that some of these 
dialects are not clearly related; so that the word Delaware is merely 
a “catch all” term. 

After returning to Washington Doctor Michelson devoted his time 
to elaborating the paper above mentioned on “ The traditional origin 
of the Fox Society, known as ‘ The Singing-around rite ’,” complet- 
ing it for publication. 

About the middle of May Doctor Michelson left for the field to 
make a reconnaissance of the Algonquin tribes of eastern United 
States and Canada, including the Labrador Peninsula. His obser- 
vations lead him to conclude that the aboriginal culture of the 
Penobscots at Old Town, Me., is disintegrating. None of the young 
people speak the language, and with the constant intermarrying 
with whites it will be but a short time when ethnology and folklore, 
which are both well remembered, will be a thing of the past. The 
Malecites living at the “village,” about 12 miles from Fredericton, 
New Brunswick, cling tenaciously to the language, which is spoken 
universally, though practically everyone also has a good command 
of English. Their ethnology, on the other hand, is fast disappear- 
ing. During his short visit with the Penobscots and Malecites, 
Doctor Michelson determined a number of peculiar morphological 
traits of the language as compared with central Algonquian. He 
finds the phonetics of both languages extremely difficult, and on the 
whole it may be said that neither language is archaic in type. On 
June 13 Doctor Michelson arrived in Sydney Cape Breton, Nova 
Scotia, en route to Labrador. 

The beginning of the fiscal year found Mr. John P. Harrington, 
ethnologist, engaged in the preparation for publication of his recent 
field notes on the Picuris and Taos tribes of New Mexico and the 
Mission Indians of California. All the notes on the Taos Indians 
collected by the late Mrs. M. C. Stevenson were copied and arranged 
for publication. 

Mr. Harrington also prepared for publication a paper entitled 
“ Picuris Children’s Stories with Texts and Songs.” This manu- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 69 


script embraces Picuris stories in native text such as are told to the 
Indian children on winter evenings in their little isolated village in 
northern New Mexico. The stories have high literary quality, and 
many of them hold the attention of child or adult throughout. The 
volume is thought to be practical for school use. The 12 songs ac- 
companying the stories are beautifully rendered by Mr. Rosendo 
Vargas, and are transcribed into musical notation by Miss H. H. 
Roberts. 

Mr. Harrington also prepared an article on “ How the World 
Grew,” which is an account of origins corresponding to the book of 
Genesis of the Bible obtained from the Mission Indians of California. 

Mr. Cipriano Alvarado, a Quiché Indian of the highlands of 
Guatemala, was brought to this country for the purpose of ling?fstic 
study by Mr. William Gates, who kindly allowed Mr. Harrington to 
obtain from him a large amount of text material in this language. 
The Quiché is the direct descendant of the tongue of the ancient 
temple builders of the Central American jungles. In working with 
Mr. Alvarado with the kymograph, Mr. Harrington discovered that 
the Quiché and other Mayan dialects possess tones exactly like those 
of Chinese, and that these tones, as in the latter language, are often 
the sole means of distinguishing words that are otherwise pho- 
netically identical. Work was also done with Mr. Alvarado and 
Mr. Gates on the pallophotophone, a machine recently invented by 
Professor Hoxie, of the General Electric Co. The pallophotophone 
proved of the greatest value for the study of tones in Indian and 
other languages, and its reproduction of the voice is true for all the 
sounds, even including s, h, and those of like timbre which are im- 
perfectly rendered on the phonograph. 

On May 3 Mr. Harrington proceeded to Santa Barbara, Calif., for 
the purpose of continuing his researches on the Indians of that State. 
He succeeded in finding good informants for Indian songs as well as 
stories and place names and obtained a large quantity of manuscript 
material. This material consists of myths, place names, historical 
notes, accounts of early life and customs, genealogies, and Indian 
songs. 

The Bureau of American Ethnology is doing cooperative work 
with the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, of New 
York City, which obtained permission from the Hotel Ambassador 
Corporation to excavate the famous Burton Mound on the beach at 
Santa Barbara. This mound has always been known as the site of 
the principal rancheria of the Santa Barbara Indians, but former 
owners of the property refused permission to excavate it, and when 
the Potter Hotel was erected in 1901 hope of archaeological investi- 
gation seemed forever lost. The site was unexpectedly made again 


- - 
70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


available for study on account of the burning of the hotel a few 
years ago. 

The excavations began early in May and the Indian cemetery was 
located on the slope of the mound toward the beach. The graves 
that were opened were crowded with human bodies, trinkets, and a 
great variety of utensils. Among the specimens are a fragment of a 
soapstone canoe, soapstone pipes, fishhooks of abalone and bone, 
sinker stones, arrowheads of great variety, spear heads, about 40 
mortars, pestles, including some very long ones, beads of many kinds, 
pendants, daggers, bowls and kettles of soapstone, native paint, ete. 

Mr. Harrington has prepared for publication during the fiscal 
year approximately 1,900 pages of manuscript. 

Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnologist, completed during the fiscal year 
the second part of his Iroquoian Cosmology, the first part having 
appeared in the Twenty-first Annual Report of the bureau. ; 

During the year Mr. Hewitt spent some time editing a manu- 
script entitled “ Report on the Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri,” 
by Mr. Edwin Thompson Denig, to the Hon. Isaac Stevens, Governor 
of Washington Territory in 1854 (?), which has been submitted for 
publication. 

Mr. Hewitt devoted much time and research in the preparation of 
data for official replies to correspondents of the bureau. These in- 
quiries in their scope touch almost the entire range of human interest, 
very often seeking information quite outside of the specific field of 
research belonging to this bureau. About 100 such replies were pre- 
pared, although some of them required more than a day’s work in 
preparation. 

Mr. Hewitt also acted as the representative of the Smithsonian 
Institution on the United States Board of Geographic Names. 

On May 18, 1923, Mr. Hewitt left Washington on field duty. His 
destination was the Grand River Grant to the Six Nations of Iro- 
quois dwelling near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. At this place 
Mr. Hewitt made an intensive study and revision and fuller inter- 
pretation of his voluminous texts—texts which he had recorded so 
fortunately in previous visits to this place. These texts embody the 
traditions of the founding of the League or Confederation of the 
Five Tribes of the Iroquois in the closing decades of the sixteenth 
century. They contain also the principles and laws upon which it 
was established, as well as the complete rituals and chants of the 
Council of Condolence and Installation of the Federal Government, 


was established, as well as the complete rituals and chants of the 
kindreds composing the tribal members of the league. 


He was also fortunate in recovering enough data relating to the 
Federal and tribal chieftainesses to enable him to affirm the former 
existence of a set of official names for every one of these women 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 71 


magistrates. He also recorded much valuable information relating 
to the several institutions of the league. 

On June 24, Mr. Hewitt made a short visit to the Onondaga 
Reservation, lying about 8 miles south of Syracuse, N. Y. He de- 
voted his time on this reservation to a comparison of the limited 
knowledge possessed by the only two men who had any definite 
information of the various institutions and laws and installation 
rituals of the Iroquois Confederation, with the records which he 
possesses. The object was to ascertain, if still possible, how much 
of his Canadian material, if any, could be said to be recent, or 
whether the differences in the content were due merely to the break- 
down of the traditions of the New York Onondaga. He convinced 
himself that the latter was the sole cause. 

Mr. Francis La Flesche, ethnologist, was engaged most of the time 
during the fiscal year in assembling his notes for the third volume 
of his work on The Osage Tribe. In this volume are recorded 
two rituals of the Osage tribal rites. One is entitled Wa-xo’-be 
A-wa-tho*, Singing of the Wa-xo’-be Songs, and the other, Ca Tha-ce 
Ga-xe, Weaving of the Rush. 


SPECIAL RESEARCHES 


In her studies of Indian music during the fiscal year Miss Frances 
Densmore has included the songs of three tribes living in Arizona, 
near the Mexican border. These tribes are the Yuma, Mohave, and 
Papago. One of the manuscripts submitted this year deals with the 
cremation ceremony of the Yuma, witnessed by Miss Densmore in 
1922. The ceremonial songs of this rite were recorded and informa- 
tion given by the oldest man, who has the hereditary right to sing 
these songs. It is the custom of the Yuma Indians to hold a 
memorial ceremony within a year after a death, at which an image 
of the deceased is burned. After this ceremony the name of the 
dead is never spoken. A full description of this ceremony was sub- 
mitted, together with transcriptions of its songs. 

The treatment of the sick by these tribes was also studied and 
healing songs of each tribe were submitted. Among these were the 
songs of a Yuma medicine man, who claims the power to cure per- 
sons suffering from wounds in the chest, accompanied by hemor- 
rhage. This shaman said that he did this by the aid of four insects 
and birds, one of which has power over the fluids of the body. His 
songs are cheerful and soothing in character, and it is interesting 
to note that he forbade the people to weep during his treatment, 
requiring that they “appear cheerful and act in a natural manner.” 

Four manuscripts were submitted by Miss Densmore during the 
year, bearing the following titles: “ Papago medicine and dancing 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


songs,” “ Dream and war songs of the Papago Indians,” “ Cremation 
and memorial ceremonies of the Yuma Indians, with related songs,” 
and “Lightning and medicine songs of the Yuma and Mohave In- 
dians.” This material comprised 93 pages of manuscript and 84 
transcriptions of songs, together with the original phonographic 
records and tabulated and descriptive analyses of the songs. The 
two most interesting musical discoveries made in this work are the 
presence in these tribes of songs which may be termd “ pure melody 
without tonality,” and the independent and elaborated rhythm of 
the accompanying instrument, either a gourd rattle or a basket drum. 
In many instances the accompanying instrument is transcribed sep- 
arately from the melody in order to show its peculiarities. 

During the summer of 1922 Miss Densmore visited the Chippewa 
reservations at Lac Court Oreilles, Wis., and Leech Lake and Mille 
Lac, Minn., collecting additional specimens of plants used in treating 
the sick, and other data. 

In the spring of 1923 Mr. W. E. Myer, special archeologist, spent 
several months investigating archeological remains in central Ten- 
nessee. He visited the ancient mound group of the Banks Link farm 
on Duck River, in Humphreys County, Tenn., where was found the 
celebrated cache of fine, long flint blades and other flint objects now 
the pride of the collection of the Missouri Historical Society. He 
made a map of this group and obtained additional information in 
regard to these masterpieces of the ancient flint-chipper’s art. 

Through the active aid of several citizens of Lincoln County he 
was enabled to visit and study an important arid hitherto undescribed 
mound group on Elk River, at the junction of Lincoln, Moore, and 
Franklin Counties. He also obtained the definite location of over 
75 unrecorded sites on which ancient man had lived in Lincoln 
County. 

He explored a small burial mound and other vestiges of an ancient 
Indian village on the lands of Mr. L. W. Denny, Goodlettsville, 
Davidson County, Tenn., where he found 20 skeletons. There was 
evidence that two different tribes had occupied this site at separate 
times in the past, and the mound yielded a number of fine artifacts 
which throw light on the life of the people. 

Mr. Myer spent two months exploring the remains of a great pre- 
historic fortified Indian town in Cheatham County, Tenn., known as 
the Great Mound Group on account of its great central mound. 
With the assistance of Mr. Wilbur Nelson, State geologist of Tennes- 
see, an excellent topographical map was made, and through the re- 
peated efforts of Lieut. Norman McEwen, of the 136th Air Squadron, 
Tennessee National Guard, some good airplane photographs of the 
mound on the Harpeth River, near Kingston Springs, were secured. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 73 


These remains cover approximately 500 acres in two bends of the 
river. In one bend he found a bold projecting hill which had been 
artificially shaped from bottom to top. Three wide terraces had been 
formed along the side of this hill. The original rounded summit had 
been leveled until a great plaza or public square, about 1,000 feet in 
length and 500 feet in breadth, had been formed. Upon the sides 
of this level plaza one very large mound and two smaller ones had 
been erected. This section of the ancient town was protected on the 
water side by the perpendicular cliffs of the Harpeth River. On 
the land side it was defended by an earthen embankment or breast- 
works surmounted by a wooden wall, from which at intervals semi- 
circular wooden towers projected. These earthen breastworks, which 
had formerly supported this wooden wall, were still to be found in 
the undisturbed woodlands, where they yet extend about 114 miles, 
and there is evidence that they originally ran much farther. Wooden 
palisades, consisting of small tree trunks, had been driven into the 
ground side by side and wedged together and the soil thrown against _ 
them until they were by this means firmly embedded in these earthen 
embankments or breastworks. These palisades, bound closely 
together and strongly braced, formed a wooden wall which had been 
plastered on the outside in order to make scaling by an enemy 
difficult. Earthen bastions projecting beyond this line of wall at 
intervals of about 150 yards were still to be found. These had 
formerly supported the semicircular wooden towers. The enemy 
advancing to attack was therefore subjected to fire from the de- 
fenders through portholes along the main wall and also to a flanking 
fire from the warriors in the towers on these bastions. Faint traces 
of some of the timbers of these palisades and wooden towers were 
found in the soil of these embankments. 

While the great central mount and terraced hill formed the most 
striking feature of this ancient town, there were in the inclosure four 
other eminences whose summits had likewise been leveled into plazas. 
All these plazas yielded traces of earth lodges and other evidences of 
former buildings. The earth lodges of the common people were 
situated on the edges of the terraces. The larger mounds had prob- 
ably supported important public buildings and the lodges of leading 
personages. This grouping of important buildings around five sep- 
arate plazas and in different parts of the town very probably indi- 
cates that the population was made up of what had once been 
four or five separate autonomous groups of kindred peoples. Here in 
their later home each group had gathered around their own public 
square in their own section of the town and thus preserved at least 
some of their old ceremonials and held together in some fashion their 
old organization. 


74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


It is impossible to determine even approximately the number of 
inhabitants, but the large number of the buildings and the long ex- 
tent of the walls indicate a population of several thousand. All the 
buildings whose traces were uncovered appear to have been burned. 
Below the fallen-in wall of an important building the charred re- 
mains of the woven reed tapestry which had formerly hung upon 
the wall were secured for the National Museum. 

It is not as yet possible to determine the age of these remains. 
Beyond all question this town had been destroyed long before the 
coming of the whites. No object of white man’s manufacture was 
found on this site. 

Mr. Gerard Fowke carried on archeological investigations in the 
Stratman Cave in Maries County, Mo. This cave, which is situated 
a little more than 2 miles south of Gascondy, the point at which the 
Rock Island Railroad crosses Gasconade River, has an opening on 
the side of a hill about 150 feet high. The approach to the cave on 
the river side is very steep, but from the top of the hill it is less 
difficult. Mr. Fowke opened a trench on the outside slope of the 
talus at a point 30 feet from the entrance of the cave and 16 feet 
below the fioor level. He found most of the evidences of human 
occupation in superficial black earth, scattered throughout which 
from bottom to top were fragments of pottery, parts of vessels of 
varying capacity and thickness; chert knives or spearheads, none 
highly finished; hundreds of thousands of mussel shells more or less 
decayed; and other objects so abundantly found on the numerous 
camp sites and village sites along the Gasconade River. The arti- 
facts were few in number and scattered throughout the mass, 
nowhere more than a few pieces in a cubic foot of earth. This 
denotes temporary occupation, at irregular intervals, over a long 
period of time. Yet the cave was not altogether merely a resort for 
temporary hunters or war parties. In addition to the pottery, which 
shows at least occasional sojourning in the cave, there were frag- 
mentary bones,.too fragile to preserve, of a child 2 or 3 years old, 
of another somewhat older, and a small adult, possibly a woman. 
These bones were found in different places but near the surface; 
there were no other indications of burials. The only specimens 
found worthy of note were a small hammer made of a chert twin- 
concretion and bearing evidence of long service; a pebble, used for 
sharpening small bone implements and for smoothing leather or 
rawhide strings; and a double concave discoidal with V-shaped 
margin. 

While the results of the work at Stratman Cave contributed 
little to the antiquity of man in Missouri, Mr. Fowke’s studies, which 
are accompanied by a small collection, are valuable in a comparative 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY TA 


way. The Ozark region in Missouri is yielding many surprises to 
the archeologist and it is believed that there still remains much 
field work to be done here-and in the neighborhood before the char- 
acter and antiquity of the ®ndians of that region are definitely 
determined. 

With a small appropriation Mr. John L. Baer carried on instruc- 
tive field studies on the banner stones in the Susquehanna River 
region, and was able to make a good series reaching from the imper- 
fect form into the more symmetrical objects. He also investigated 
the pictographs found near Delta, Pa. 


EDITORIAL WORK AND PUBLICATIONS 


The editing of the publications of the bureau was continued 
through the year by Mr. Stanley Searles, editor, assisted by Mrs. 
Frances S. Nichols, editorial assistant. The status of the publica- 
tions is presented in the following summary: 


PUBLICATIONS ISSUED 


Thirty-fourth Annual Report. Accompanying paper: A Prehistoric Island Cul- 
ture Area of America (Fewkes). 281 pp., 120 pls., 69 figs. 

Thirty-seventh Annual Report. Accompanying paper: The Winnebago Tribe 
(Radin). 560 pp., 58 pls., 38 figs. 

Bulletin 76. Archeological Investigations (Fowke). 204 pp., 45 pls., 37 figs. 

Bulletin 77. Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes west of 
the Mississippi (Bushnell). 211 pp., 55 pls., 12 figs. 


PUBLICATIONS IN PRESS OR IN PREPARATION 


Thirty-eighth Annual Report. Accompanying paper: An Introductory Study of 
the Arts, Crafts, and Customs of the Guiana Indians (Roth). 

Thirty-ninth Annual Report. Accompanying paper: The Osage Tribe: The Rite 
of Vigil (La Flesche). 

Fortieth Annual Report. Accompanying papers: The Mythical Origin of the 
White Buffalo Dance of the Fox Indians; The Autobiography of a Fox 
Indian Woman; Notes on Fox Mortuary Customs and Beliefs; Notes on the 
Fox Society known as “Those Who Worship the Little Spotted Buffalo”; 
The Traditional Origin of the Fox Society known as “ The Singing-Around 
Rite” (Michelson). 

Yorty-first Annual Report. Accompanying paper: Social Organization and 
Social Usages of the Indians of the Creek Confederacy (Swanton). 

Bulletin 78. Handbook of the Indians of California (Kroeber). 

Bulletin 79. Blood Revenge, War, and Victory Feasts among the Jibaro In- 
dians of Hastern Ecuador (Karsten). 

Bulletin 80. Mandan and Hidatsa Music (Densmore). 

Bulletin 81. Excavations in the Chama Valley, New Mexico (Jeancon). 

Bulletin 82. Fewkes and Gordon Groups of Mounds in Middle Tennessee 
(Myer). : 


76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLICATIONS 


The distribution of publications has been continued under the 
immediate charge of Miss Helen Mynroe, assisted by Miss Emma 
B. Powers. Publications were distributed as follows: 


Annual reports,.and separates 2s. +t 2 88 6 eee a ee 5, 363 
Bulletins’ and separates 22 ee ee 11, 787 
Contributions to North American Ethnology_________________________- 10 
APLEROWU CULO See = aoe ee ae ee ee ee ee 3 
Miscellanicons ‘publications: 2s save Cpe ee eee 531 

17, 694, 


As compared with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1922, there was 
an increase of 3,479 publications distributed. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mr. DeLancey Gill, illustrator, with the assistance of Mr. Albert 
E. Sweeney, continued the preparation of the illustrations of the 
bureau. A summary of this work follows: 


Drawings for publications 22202. 235 eS on Se Nee ee 32 
Photographs retouched ‘for .engravings422022. ee eee eee 78 
Illustration copy made ready for engraving__-_-_-_____________-_------- 319 
hlwstrative: provt ‘editedtetist sult eee Me EAs SEES eee 302 
Editions of colored plates examined at Government Printing Office___ 160, 000 
Neratives prepared 2.2 i av wert) sto be Sete 232 
Hilms" developed ‘from’ field’ exposuresiei0 222520082 ath Sees 240 
Prints: for distribution. and ‘office, kes. 2 ee eee 1117 


In November of last year Mr. Gill began to reclassify the large 
collection of ethnologic and archeologic negatives with a view of 
preparing a comprehensive catalogue of the linguistic families and 
tribes with such historic data as is available. He has made good — 
progress in this work. About 5,000 negatives have already been 
catalogued. 

LIBRARY 


The reference library continued under the immediate care of Miss 
Ella Leary, librarian, assisted by Mr. Roderick McPherson and later 
by Mr. Thomas Blackwell. 

During the year 500 books were accessioned. Of these 70 were 
acquired by purchase, 130 by gift and exchange, and 300 by binding 
of periodicals. The current periodicals annually received number 
about 925, of which 35 are by subscription, the remainder being 
obtained through exchange. The bureau has also received 200 
pamphlets. The aggregate number of volumes in the library at the 
close of the year was 25,061; of pamphlets about 15,100.. Satisfactory 
progress was made toward the completion of the new subject cata- 
logue from the old imperfect author’s catalogue. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY , fut 


The most pressing need which confronts the library is shelving 
for the ever increasing accumulations of books. Extensive shift- 
ings and readjustments have been necessary during the year in order 
to make space available where it is most needed, but the library is 
totally lacking in facilities to allow for its expansion. 


COLLECTIONS 


The following collections, acquired by members of the bureau or 
by those detailed in connection with its researches, have been trans- 
ferred to the United States National Museum: 

69367. Archeological objects from Alaska collected by Dr. T. T. Waterman in the 

spring of 1922. (5 specimens.) 

69530. Stone collar from Mayaguez, Porto Rico. 

69660. Two incense burners found in a cave in southern Yucatan and presented 
to the bureau by Maj. E. H. Ropes, United States Army. 

69881. Archeological specimens collected along the Susquehanna River (Mary- 
land and Pennsylvania) in October, 1922, by John L. Baer. (174 
specimens. ) 

69885. Two stone pestles from the Isle of Pines. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Clerical_—The correspondence and other clerical work of the office 
has been conducted by Miss May S. Clark, clerk to the chief. Mr. 
Anthony W. Wilding served as messenger and typist to the chief. 

Mr. Roderick McPherson, messenger in the library, resigned March 
31, 1928, and Mr. Thomas Blackwell, minor clerk, was appointed 
May 1 to fill the vacancy. 

Respectfully submitted. 

J. WALTER FEWKES, 
Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology. 
Dr. Cuarues: D. WaLcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 5 
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1923: 

The work of the service having returned to a normal basis, an 
estimate of $45,000 was submitted for carrying on the exchanges 
during the year, which is $5,000 less than that appropriated for the 
fiscal year 1922. This appropriation was made by Congress and in 
addition $200 was allowed for printing and binding. The repay- 
ments from departmental and other establishments amounted to 
$5,263.66, making the total resources available during the year, 
$50,463.66. ; 

The total number of packages handled during the past 12 months 
was 377,826, a decrease from the number for the preceding year of 
5,831. The total weight of these packages was 492,816 pounds, a 
decrease of 99,784. This large decrease in the weight was due to 
the fact that many of the packages sent abroad contained small 
publications. 

The number and weight of the packages of different classes are 
indicated in the following table: 


Packages Weight 
Sent | Received; Sent Received 
Pounds | Pounds 

United States parliamentary documents sent abroad--_-...-.---- 141, 884 |_.....-.-- U3,» ee 
Publications received in return for parliamentary documents-_--|.-.-.----- 2 667) | cee 12, 511 

United States departmental documents sent abroad-_..---..---- 190) 008) jooo5 cece 162,169) }....=-=-~< 

Publications received in return for departmental documents- - -|.-..-..---- § 850.1. 52. keen 18,117 

Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent abroad_._| 77,461 |.--------- 154, 487°|5.-=25.5-= 

Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications received from 
abroad for distribution in the United States_.....-......-...-|---------- 20: O70) ) 2 -c2see. 92, 257 
PPotels ee. 2 be eee A ee ee ee ee 339, 438 38,388 | 369, 931 122, 885 


Grand titele) 2. ee ee a ee 377, 826 492, 816 


Although it is true that the United States Government sends 
abroad more publications than it receives in exchange, the disparity 
is not so great as appears in the table, for many foreign publica- 
tions are forwarded by mail to the addresses in this country without 
passing through the exchanges. 


78 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 719 


It was stated in the last report that the Government of Rumania 
had been approached with a view to the reopening of exchange re- 
lations with that country, and further that the Institution had ar- 
ranged directly with the Institutul Meteorologic Central, at Buk- 
harest, to take charge of the forwarding and distributing of exchange 
consignments. During the past year a communication has been re- 
ceived through the Department of State from the Government of 
Rumania to the effect that the above-mentioned institute had been 
designated as the official Rumanian Exchange Bureau. <A note was 
received from Rumania, through the Relgian Government, stating 
that under date of June 5, 1923, the Rumanian Government had 
declared its adherence to the Brussels Conventions of 1886, pro- 
viding for the exchange of official documents and scientific and lit- 
erary publications and the immediate exchange of the official journal. 
For a number of years the exchange of official documents has been 
conducted with Rumania, although that country has only recently 
given its formal adherence to the conventions. 

The conditions in Russia ‘and Turkey have not yet improved 
sufficiently to warrant the Institution in taking steps to establish 
official exchange bureaus in those countries. The Institution has, 
however, arranged with the American Friends Service Committee 
to forward to Russia the large accumulations of scientific and literary 
publications for correspondents in that country. Two consignments, 
comprising a total of 70 boxes, have thus far been forwarded to 
Russia in this way. The Academy of Sciences in Petrograd is act- 
ing as the distributing agency. 

There were shipped abroad during the year 2,223 boxes, being a 
decrease of 995 from the number for the preceding 12 months. This 
decrease in the number of boxes forwarded abroad, in comparison 
with the number shipped during the previous year, is due partly 
to the smaller size of many of the publications, to which reference 
has already been made, and partly to the fact that the number of 

boxes sent abroad last year was the largest in the history of the 
' service, the usual number being about 2,400 annually. Moreover, 
packages for certain countries were sent direct to their destination by 
mail, owing to the fact that a suflicient number had not accumulated 
to make box shipments when the regular monthly consignments 
would have been forwarded. About 40,000 packages were forwarded 
in this manner during the year. 

Of the total number of boxes sent abroad 214 contained full sets 
of. United States official documents for foreign depositories and 2,009 
included departmental and other publications for the depositories 
of partial sets and for miscellaneous correspondents. 


80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The number of boxes sent to each country is given in the following 
table: 


Consignments of exchanges for foreign countries 


Country = Country al areal 

ie 1G | m7 Spat Cal aa ie aie bata Sites te oe al rg ah ee Ree oe eee Bie ek Seeley fh ey os 2 
FW E | es eo ee aS SO eee eS | SO); duilthaanig: oo >. ee ey Oe eee oe if 
HT ie ee eee See a 9 69°) WMleriog< 2) < e gen Se 4 
tan eee eee ee ee eee aN ai 41d CV Co | tant i I Aa a 68 
ricisinG@oloniess 25 i25s Sees) eee 4) || New South Wales:ic fete). seeees 35 
LTTE 7a he SS Sa ES or SES DERE end LB. Pewecenlind 2s pee ee 19 
CORE serra ee ane 22 hes ee ee 23 || Nicaragua_....._._- ee eee ae 2 
Ching’s. os 2. 2. eee ee eek. FO Norway s..f25. - see ee eee 33 
LOFUITTI 5 eee A Se ery 06 i) Paragus yin oo eee oe ee 2 
OURLA UC e ee ot nee eee ae eee TO PNPOr We. see ee eee ee eee 12 
Caines 5. § eres, 278 bg pee ge 0 Al) Polands<¢ 0.2 $ bys) te a Borie bes cg 40 
ePECOORIOVAIIA. = tee BO UU eo een ne ee 16 
erg ese Neen! See a a eee @ | M@UeBNSINNO = 228th Se ee See 12 
Menmarines 2 eet on ct Stk setae eA | SOW eRimania.. 224 vee hes ery Bead 19 
1D) Sat) ee eis pa ei rier Pleas oN Do RRR ee ee ee 70 
MET AEePe se, oo otk eee O7\"SO0ULD AUSITANA ~o cae peer e eee 18 
Far Eastern Republic_......-...-.------ 2: |) pain 2 cme es es. aes ee bere ree 30 
TET 17 Iyope Sel ee ga a te one PD. eek 12" wedaie 28 eee eee eee ee eee 74 
Manco. tere 5 = Soe Seon hee add bt Aad = £70' |} :ivitrerland2t?» 22 8e2 2 20k hehe Sen 64 
Germbny. sees 2 Pt Bh es 205 jiasmania: 2 ssseesee re) -5e2 ee 5 
Great Britain and Ireland_______.--____- 333 || Union of South Africa.--..--.-.-....--- 13 
Garecac abet ete les 2 eek Ci ee @: *Ordeuay =s<. 3928 £0 oie esters See oe 30 
125 [OMe Pe Le SS SE Pee ee wee 2:1), Venesuelarcs 2nd + open ss ok Bee 7 
SEU Stee se ee a ee ee SL" WICtOrintas +. tassel eee 8 eee ee 39 
Biiainezsiet eat tie be eas 52-||" Western Australia +> *--__2-.4_ Sek 5 
ici! 25 a eo ae eee ery 06 4) Yugoslayia{2°. 2:-. $532 - so) eee 18 
ALD YO) 1 Vana DU Mak eid a tel ag MONT i BoA ra apa a. 23 65 

2, 223 


FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENTAL 
DOCUMENTS 


In accordance with the terms of a convention concluded at 
Brussels, March 15, 1886, and under authority granted by Congress 
in resolutions approved March 2, 1867, and March 2, 1901, there are 
now sent through exchange channels regularly to depositories abroad 
57 full sets of United States official documents and 88 partial sets. 


DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS 


ARGENTINA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Buenos Aires. 

AUSTRALIA: Library of the Commonwealth Parliament, Melbourne. 

AUSTRIA: Bundesamt fiir Statistik, Schwarzenbergstrasse 5, Vienna I, 

BADEN: Uniyersitits-Bibliothek, Freiburg. (Depository of the State of Baden.) 

Bavagia: Staats-Bibliothek, Munich. 

BreteIumM: Bibliothéque Royale, Brussels. 

Brazit: Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 

Buenos AtrRES: Biblioteca de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata. (Deposi- 
tory of the Province of Buenos Aires.) 

CANADA: Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 

CHILE: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Santiago. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 81 

CuiInA: American-Chinese Publication Exchange Department, Shanghai Bu- 
reau of Foreign Affairs, Shanghai. 

CoLoMBIA: Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Oficina de Depésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 
José. 

CusA: Secretaria de Estado (Asuntos Generales y Canje Internacional), 
Habana. 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague. 

DENMARK: Kongelige Bibliotheket, Copenhagen. 

ENGLAND: British Museum, London. 

FRANCE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. 

GERMANY: Deutsche Reichstags-Bibliothek, Berlin. 

GuAscow: City Librarian, Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 

GREECE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Athens. 

Harti: Secrétaire d’Etat des Relations Extérieures, Port au Prince. 

Hungary: Hungarian House of Delegates, Budapest. 

Inp1A: Imperial Library, Calcutta. 

IRELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin. 

ITaty: Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele, Rome. 

JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo. 

Lonpon: London School of Economics and Political Science. (Depository of 
the London County Council.) 

MAnNIToBA: Provincial Library, Winnipeg. 

Mexico: Instituto Bibliogréfico, Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico. 

NETHERLANDS: Bibliotheek van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, The 
Hague. 

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

NEw ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

Norway: Storthingets Bibliothek, Christiania. 

OnTARIO: Legislative Library, Toronto. 

Paris: Préfecture de la Seine. 

Peru: Biblioteca Nacional, Lima. 

Potanp: Bibliothéque du Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Warsaw. 

PorTUGAL: Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon. 

Prussia: Preussische Staatsbibliothek, Berlin, N. W. 7. 

QueEsBEc: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec, Quebec. 

QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane. 

Russt1A: Shipments temporarily suspended. 

Saxony: Landesbibliothek, Dresden-N. 

SoutH AUSTRALIA: Parliamentary Library, Adelaide. 

Spain: Servicio del Cambia Internacional de Publicaciones, Cuerpo Faculta- 
tivo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arquedlogos, Madrid. 

SwEDEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 

SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque Fédérale Centrale, Berne. 

TASMANIA: Parliamentary Library,. Hobart. 

TurRKEY: Shipments temporarily suspended. 

UNIon oF SoutH Arrica: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Uruguay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo. 

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 

Victor1A: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

WURTTEMBERG: Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. 

YuGosLAvIA: Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Belgrade. 


82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
Ad 


DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS 


ALBERTA: Provincial Library, Edmonton. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE: Bibliothéque Universitaire et Régionale de Strasbourg, 
Strasbourg. 

Botiv1A: Ministerio de Colonizaci6n y Agricultura, La Paz. 

Brazit: Bibliotheca da Assemblea Legislativa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 
Nictheroy. 

BREMEN: Senatskommission fiir Reichs- und Auswiartige Angelegenheiten. 

BriTIsH CoLuMBIA: Legislative Library, Victoria. 

BRITISH GUIANA: Government Secretary’s Gflice, Georgetown, Demerara. 

BuLcgaRIA: Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Sofia. 

Cryton: Colonial Secretary’s Office (Record Department of the Library), 
Colombo. 

Ecuapor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito. 

Eeyet: Bibliothéque Khédiviale, Cairo. 

FINLAND: Central Library of the State, Helsingfors. 

GUATEMALA: Secretary of the Government, Guatemala. 

HampBure: Senatskommission fiir die Reichs- und Auswirtigen Angelegen- 
heiten. : 

Hesse: Landesbibliothek, Darmstadt. 

Honpuras: Secretary of the Government, Tegucigalpa. 

JAMAICA: Colonial Secretary, Kingston. 

LATvIA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga. 

LIBERIA: Department of State, Monrovia. 

LourENcO MARQUEZ: Government Library, Lourenco Marquez. 

Ltpeck: President of the Senate. 

MApDRAS, PROVINCE oF: Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, Public 
Department, Madras. 

Matta: Lieutenant Governor, Valetta. 

New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton. 

NEWFOUNDLAND: Colonial Secretary, St. John’s. 

Nicaragua: Superintendente de Archivos Nacionales, Managua. 

Nova Scorta: Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, Halifax. 

PANAMA: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama. 

PaRAGuAy: Oficina General de Inmigracion, Asuncion. 

PRINCE EpwarpD ISLAND: Legislative Library, Charlottetown. 

RuMaAntIA: Academia Romana, Bukharest. 

SALVADOR: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 

SASKATCHEWAN: Government Library, Regina. 

Sram: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok. 

Straits SETTLEMENTS: Colonial Secretary, Singapore. 

SWITZERLAND: Library of the League of Nations, Palace of Nations, Quai 
de Leman, Geneva. 

UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OvuDH: Undersecretary to Government, Alla- 
habad. 

Vienna: Biirgermeister-Amt der Stadt Wien. 


o 


INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF OFFICIAL JOURNALS 


The interparliamentary exchange is carried on by this institution 
in behalf of the United States Government in accordance with 
authority granted in a congressional resolution approved March 4. 
1909, the purpose of that resolution being to carry into effect the 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 83 


provisions of the second convention concluded at Brussels, March 
15, 1886, providing for the immediate exchange of the Official 
Journal, as well as of the parliamentary annals and documents, to 
which the United States was one of the signatories. 

A complete list of the countries now taking part in this exchange 
is given below, together with the names of the establishments to 
which the daily issue of the Congressional Record is mailed: 


ARGENTINA: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Buenos Aires. 
AUSTRALIA: Library of the Commonwealth Parliament, Melbourne. 
AUSTRIA: Bibliothek des Nationalrates, Wien I. 
BADEN: Universitits-Bibliothek, Heidelberg. 
BeEtcIuM: Bibliothéque de la Chambre des Représentants, Brussels. 
Botivia: Cimara de Diputados, Congreso Nacional, La Paz. 
BraziL: Bibliotheca do Congresso Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 
BueNos ArREs: Biblioteca del Senado de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, La 
Plata. 
CANADA: 
Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 
Clerk of the Senate, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa. 
Costa Rica: Oficina de Depésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 
José, 
Cusa: 
Biblioteca de la CAmara de Representantes, Habana. 
Biblioteca del Senado, Habana. 
CzCHOSLOVAKIA: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague. 
DENMARK: Rigsdagens Bureau, K¢benhavn. 
EstHontiA: Riigiraamatukogu, Reval. 
FRANCE: 
Bibliothéque de la Chambre des Députés, au Palais Bourbon, Paris. 
Bibliothéque du Sénat, au Palais du Luxembourg, Paris. 
GREAT BRITIAN: Library of the Foreign Office, Downing Street, London, 
S. W. 1. 
GREECE: Library of Parliament, Athens. 
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca de la Oficina Internacional Centro-Americana, 8a 
Calle Poniente No. 1, Ciudad de Guatemala. 
HonpDvuRAS: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Tegucigalpa. 
Huneary: Bibliothek des Abgeordnetenhauses, Budapest. 
ITALY: 
Biblioteca della Camera dei Deputati, Palazzo di Monte Citorio, Rome. 
Biblioteca del Senato del Regno, Palazzo Madama, Rome. 
LIBERIA: Department of State, Monrovia. 
New SoutH WALES: Library of Parliament, Sydney. 
NEw ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 
Peru: Camara de Diputados, Congreso Nacional, Lima. 
PoLAND: Monsieur le Ministre des Affaires Etrangéres, Warsaw. 
PorTuGAL: Bibliotheca do Congresso da Republica, Lisbon. 
Prussia: Bibliothek des Abgeordnetenhauses, Prinz-Albrechtstrasse 5, Berlin, 
S. W. 11. 
QUEENSLAND: The Chief Secretary’s Office, Brisbane. 
RuMANIA: Bibliothéque de la Chambre des Députés, Bukharest. 
Russia: Sendings temporarily suspended. 


84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


SPAIN: 

Biblioteca del Congreso de los Diputados, Madrid. 

Biblioteca del Senado, Madrid. 
SWITZERLAND: 

Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Fédérale Suisse, Berne. 

Library of the League of Nations, Geneva. 
TRANSVAAL: State Library, Pretoria. 
Union or SoutH Arrica: Library of Parliament, Cape Town. 
UruGuaAy: Biblioteca de la Camara de Representantes, Montevideo. 
VENEZUELA: Cimara de Diputados, Congreso Nacional, Caracas. 
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Library of Parliament of Western Australia, Perth. 
YuGostAviA: Library of the Skupshtina, Belgrade. 


The total number of copies of daily Congressional Record set 
aside by law for exchange with foreign legislative bodies is 100. 
This exchange is at present conducted with 44 establishments. 


FOREIGN EXCHANGE AGENCIES 


The State Library (Riigiraamatukogu), Reval, has been desig- 
nated as the exchange agency for Esthonia. 

A complete list of the foreign exchange agencies or bureaus will 
be found below: 


ALGERIA, via France. 

ANGOLA, via Portugal. 

ARGENTINA: Comisién Protectora de Bibliotecas Populares, Calle Cordoba 931, 
Buenos Aires, 

AUSTRIA: Bundesamt fiir Statistik Schwarzenbergstrasse 5, Vienna I. 

AZORES, via Portugal. 


Bextarum: Service Belge des Echanges Internationaux, Rue des Longs-Chariots 
46, Brussels. 

BottviA: Oficina Nacional de Estadistica, La Paz. 

Brazit: Servico de Permutacdes Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de 
Janeiro. 

BRITISH CoLONIES: Crown Agents for the Colonies, London. 

BriTIsH GUIANA: Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society, Georgetown. 

BritisH Honpuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize. 

BuLGARIA: Institutions Scientifiques de S. M. le Roi de Bulgarie, Sofia. 

CANARY ISLANDS, via Spain. 

CHILE: Servicio de Canjes Internacionales, Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago. 

CuHinA: American-Chinese Publication Exchange Department, Shanghai Bureau 
of Foreign Affairs, Shanghai. 

CHOSEN: Government General, Keijo. 

CoLtomBIA: Oficina de Canjes Intern@cionales y Reparto, Biblioteca Nacional, 
Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Oficina de Depésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 
José. 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Service Tchécoslovaque des Eehanges Internationaux, Biblio- 
théque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague 1-79. 

Danzig: Stadtbliothek, Danzig. 

DENMARK: Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen. 

DutcH GuIANA: Surinaamsche Koloniale Bibliotheek, Paramaribo. 

Ecuapor: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Quito. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 85 


Ecyer: Government Publications Office, Printing Department, Bulaq, Cairo. 

EstHonriA: State Library, Reval. 

FAR HASTERN REPUBLIC: Teachers’ College of the Far Eastern Republic, Vladi- 
vostok. 

FINLAND: Delegation of the Scientific Societies of Finland, Helsingfors. 

France: Service Frangais des Kchanges Internationaux, 110 Rue de Grenelle, 
Paris. 

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

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley, 2, 3, and 4 Arthur St., 
New Oxford St., London, W. C. 2. 

GREECE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Athens. 

GREENLAND, via Denmark. 

GUATEMALA: Instituto Nacional de Varones, Guatemala. 

Haiti: Secrétaire d’Htat des Relations Extérieures, Port au Prince. 

Honpvuras: Biblioteca Nacional, Tegucigalpa. 

Huneary: Dr. Julius Pikler, Févarosi Telekértéknyilvantart6 Hivatal (City 
Land Valuation Office), K6ézponti Varoshaz, Budapest IV. 

IcELAND, via. Denmark. 

InpIA: Superintendent of Stationery, Bombay. 

ITAty: Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio 
Emanuele, Rome. 

JAMAICA: Institute of Jamaica, Kingston. 

JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo. 

’ JAvA, via Netherlands. 

Latvia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga. 

LIBERIA: Bureau of Exchanges, Department of State, Monrovia. 

LITHUANIA: Sent by mail. 

LovuRENcO MARQUEZ, via Portugal. 

LUxEMBURG, via Belgium. 

MADAGASCAR, via France. 

Maperra, via Portugal. 

MozAMBIQUE, via Portugal. 

NETHERLANDS: Bureau Scientifique Central Néerlandais, Bibliothéque de l’Aca- 
démie technique, Delft. 

New Sovuru Wates: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 

New ZEALAND: Dominion Museum, Wellington. 

NicAaraGcua: Ministerio de Relaciones Hxteriores, Managua. 

Norway: Kongelige Norske Frederiks Universitet, Bibliotheket, Christiania. 

Panama: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama. 

Paraauay: Servicio de Canje Internacional de publicaciones, Seccién Consular 
y de Comercio, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Asuncion. 

Peru: Oficina de Reparto, Depédsito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones. 
Ministerio de Fomento, Lima. 

PoLAND: Bibliothéque du Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Warsaw. 

PortuGaL: Seceio de Trocas Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon. 

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

RouMANIA: Institutul Meteorologic Central, Ministerul Agriculturei, Bukharest. 

Russta: Academy of Sciences, Petrograd. 

Satvapor: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 

Sram: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok. 

SoutH AUSTRALIA: Public Library of South Australia, Adelaide. 


1454—25——_7 


86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Spain: Servicio del Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Cuerpo Facultativo 
de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arquedélogos, Madrid. 

SuMATRA, via Netherlands. 

SWEDEN: Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien, Stockholm. 

SwirzeERLAND: Service des Hchanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Fédérale Cen- 
trale, Berne. 

Syrra: American University of Beirut. 

TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart. 

TRINIDAD: Royal Victoria Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain. 

TuNIs, via France. 

TurkKEy: Shipments temporarily suspended. 

UNION oF SouTH AFRICA: Government Printing Works, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Urvueuay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo. 

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 

Victorta: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

YuGostAv1a: Académie Royal Serbe des Sciences et des Arts, Belgrade. 


Mr. Henry A. Parker and Mr. John S. Pollock were retired August 
20, 1922, under the provisions of the governmental retirement act. 
Mr. Parker was connected with the Institution for 42 years and Mr. 
Pollock, 44 years. 

Respectfully submitted. 

C. G. Axpsor, 
Assistant Secretary, 
In Charge of Library and Exchanges. 

Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 6 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1923: 

Since the expenses of the National Zoological Park, like those 
of some other activities of the Federal Government, are borne in 
part by the District of Columbia, the Bureau of the Budget has, 
with the initiation of the budget law and for purposes of accounting, 
included the estimates of the park within the District bill. The 
act making appropriations for the Government of the District 
of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole or in part 
against the revenue of such District, approved June 29, 1922, con- 
tained an item of $125,000 for the regular maintenance of the park. 
As an addition to the continuing appropriations available from 
former years for the purchase of land near the Adams Mill Road 
entrance, there was appropriated by Congress in the second defi- 
ciency bill approved January 22, 1923, the sum of $3,096.34 to 
complete the sum of $8,000 necessary for the termination of this 
purchase. The bill providing for printing and binding, Smithsonian 
Institution, contained an allotment of $300 for the National Zoologi- 
cal Park. This was an increase of $100 over former allotments, 
which had, during recent years, been insufficient for the needs of the 
park. 

Considerable progress has been made during the year in the work 
of preparing for use the area between the great flight cage and the 
main road in the western part of the park. This work was begun 
* seven years ago but was discontinued during the war. Other minor 
repairs and improvements have been made, and much effort has been 
expended in beautifying the grounds, particularly in the parts of 
the park most used by the public. The value of the collection is 
greater than ever before; more species of animals are on exhibition 
and the actual number of specimens of all kinds is greater than in 
any previous year. Attendance records, for the fourth successive 
year, have exceeded 2,000,000 visitors. 


ACCESSIONS 


Gifts—The number of animals presented by friends of the park 
shows continued and gratifying increase from year to year. During 
the past year 266 specimens were thus added to the collection. Many 

87 


88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of these are of particular value and, as in the previous year, special 
mention should be made of important contributions from tropical 
America. 

Hon. Henry D. Baker, American consul at Trinidad, West Indies, 
and Mr. William J. La Varre, of Georgetown, British Guiana, both 
continued their gifts of South American animals. Interesting birds, 
mammals, and reptiles were received from Mr. Baker, and included 
in the collections made by Mr. La Varre were two fine specimens of 
the dusky parrot (Pionus fuscus), a species of special interest to 
the park. Mr. Gordon MacCreagh, of New York City, collected 
and presented a specimen of the Brazilian red ouakari monkey 
(Cacajao yubicundus), a species rarely seen in captivity and never 
before represented, apparently, in any zoological garden in the 
United States. Like the other members of its genus this monkey 
is very difficult to keep, but this specimen presented by Mr. Mac- 
Creagh lived in the park from August 25, 1922, until April 24, 1923. 
a period of eight months. Among other animals from Mr. Mac- 
Creagh was a specimen of the matamata turtle (Chelys fimbriata). 

Dr. William M. Mann, of the Bureau of Entomology, while en- 
gaged in work in southern Mexico, collected for the park a number of 
interesting animals. Of special interest in Doctor Mann’s collec- 
tion are two Mexican spider monkeys, four Maw’s turtles, and eight 
specimens of Petz’s paroquet. The turtle and the paroquet are 
species new to the park records. Dr. C. Bonne, of Moengo, Surinam, 
presented to the park a fine young tapir; and Mr. C. E. Bergman, of 
Norfolk, Va., contributed a specimen of the Magellan fox from 
Chile, a species not before shown in the park. 

The Canadian Government, through Hon. J. B. Harkin, Com- 
missioner of Dominion Parks, presented five Rocky Mountain goats 
from the preserves at Banff, Alberta, and six young great black- 
backed gulls from Nova Scotia. The Department of Conservation, 
State of Michigan, through Mr. W. H. Rowett, State warden, con- 
tributed a female timber wolf from the Porcupine Mountains, Goge- 
bic County, Mich. . 

Mr. Victor J. Evans, of Washington, D. C., continuing his active 
interest in the collection, contributed a number of desirable animals, 
among them being specimens of the frogmouth (Podargus strigotdes) 
and New Guinea fruit pigeon (Zamprotreron superba). 

Ninety-nine individual donors contributed to the collection during 
the year. The complete list is as follows: 

Miss Ella Abbott, Lansing, Mich., Florida gallinule. 

Dr. Arthur A. Allen, Ithaca, N. Y., 8 canvasbacks. 


Mr. Frank Amorosa, Washington, D. C., 5 sparrow hawks. 
Mr. H. M. Atherton, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 89 


Hon. Henry D. Baker, Trinidad, B. W. I., douroucouli, curassow, snowy egret, 
2 American egrets, and 2 South American tortoises. 

Mrs. L. B. Batkins, South Richmond, Va., racoon. 

Mr. Walter M. Bauman, Washington, D. C., woodchuck. 

Mr. C. E. Bergman, Norfolk, Va., Magellan fox. 

Mrs. V. L. Blankenship, Richmond, Va., great horned owl. 

Dr. C. Bonne, Moengo, Surinam, Brazilian tapir. 

Mr. Maurice K. Brady, Washington, D. C., 4 spreading adders. 

Dr. E. W. Brandes, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., scarlet 
king snake. 

Mr. H. O. Breeden, Radford, Va., barn owl. 

Mr. Colvin B. Brown, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Canadian Government, through Hon. J. B. Harkin, 5 Rocky Mountain goats 
and 6 great black-backed gulls. 

Mrs. A. J. Clapp, Washington, D. C., canary. 

Miss May S. Clark, Washington, D. C., horned toad. 

Mr. Samuel Hopkins Clark, Ellicott City, Md., red fox. 

Mr. A. W. Claver, Laurel, Md., golden eagle. 

Mr. C. E. Conner, Lewisburg, W. Va., golden eagle. 

Mr. W. C. Cox, Washington, D. C., box-turtle. 

Rev. Philip Ayers Dales, Washington, D. C., horned toad. 

Mrs. Edward R. Davis, Mountain Lake Park, Md., red fox. 

Mr. C. Dowling, Washington, D. C., tayra and two boa constrictors. 

Seret. J. J. Doyle, Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C., great horned owl. 

Mr. William Driesbach, Washington, D. C., Virginia opossum. 

Mr. George Duquette, Belleview, Md., coyote. 

Mr. George Hastment, Washington, D. C., canary. 

Mr. Henry Parsons Hrwin, Washington, D. C., 2 alligators. 

Mr. Victor J. Evans, Washington, D. C., ruffed lemur, Arabian baboon, 2 
zebra-ass hybrids, 2 gray spider monkeys, 2 Gould’s monitors, 2 western dia- 
mond rattlers, fruit pigeon, frogmouth, screech owl, ostrich, American egret, 
2 shining starlings, and 5 great white herons. 

Dr. N. S. Ferris, Washington, D. C., cardinal. 

Mr. B. M. Fookes, Washington, D. C., horned toad. 

Mrs. Edw. J. Gardiner, Washington, D. C., double yellow-head parrot. 

Mr. W. G. Gossom, Haymarket, Va., banded rattlesnake. 

Mrs. E. 8S. Grimsley, Washington, D. C., canary. 

Mrs. J. B. Harding, Washington, D. C., 3 painted turtles. 

Hon. Warren G. Harding, White House, Washington, D. C., Virginia opossum. 

Mrs. Nannie M. Hawkins, Washington, D. C., Virginia opossum. 

Prof. A. L. Herrera, Mexico, D. F., Mexico, tree iguana and Mexican gopher 
tortoise. 

Mr. Otis B. Hinnant, Wilmington, N. C., 6 diamond-back rattlers. 

Mrs. John S. Hord, Washington, D. C., black-faced Gouldian finch and 2 
Java sparrows. 

Mr. Worthington Houghton, Washington, D. C., horned toad. 

Commander J. C. Hunsaker, Washington, D. C., 2 Florida raccoons. 

Mr. J. Roland Johnston, Betheseda, Md., diamond-back rattler. 

Mrs. J. R. Ketner, Washington, D. C., 2 canaries. 

Mrs. Sam Kite, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mr. C. Hubert Kreh, Frederick, Md., copperhead. 

Mr. R. R. Lambert, Washington, D. C., muscovy duck. 


90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Mr. W. J. La Varre, jr., Georgetown, British Guiana, coatimundi, 2 capy- 
baras, 2 weeping capuchins, 6 titi monkeys, blue-and-yellow macaw, 2 dusky 
parrots, and 50 blue-winged parrotlets. 

Hon. Gordon Lee, Washington, D. C., barn owl. 

Mr. Manoel de Oliveira Lima, Washington, D. C., curi6 and white-bellied 
seedeater. 

Mrs. F. S. Lincoln, Washington, D. C., 2 alligators. 

Mr. H. J. Long, Fallon, Nev., 2 golden eagles. 

Mrs. Dangerfield Love, Washington, D. C., 2 strawberry finches. 

Mrs. W. D. Lynham, Washington, D. C., canary. 

Mr. Gordon MacCreagh, New York City, red ouakari monkey, matamata 
turtle, and South American tortoise. 

Dr. William M. Mann, Washington, D. C., tree porcupine, 2 spider monkeys, 
4 Maw’s turtles, 4 Central American cooters, lesser white-fronted parrot, 2 
San Lucas house finches, and 8 Petz’s paroquets. 

Dr. C. B. Masson, Washington, D. C., copperhead. 

Mr. William Matthews, Washington, D. C., canary. 

Mrs. L. E. McLaren, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mr. R. Mehrlich, Washington, D. C., chameleon. 

Mr. John A. Meyers, Washington, D. C., 2 red-shouldered hawks. 

Dr. James F. Mitchell, Washington, D. C., marine iguana. 

Dr. MacD. Moore, Washington, D. C., black snake. 

Mrs. R. L. Myers, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

New York Zoological Society, Bronx Park, N. Y., ground hornbill. 

North Dakota Fish and Game Commission, through Mr. BE. T. Judd, Cando, 
N. Dak., two Canada geese. 

Mr. J. R. Page, jr., Aberdeen, N. C., two spreading adders. 

Dr. Theophilus 8. Painter, Austin, Tex., two armadillos. 

Mr. J. E. Pankin, Washington, D. C., gray parrot. 

Mr. H. W. Peck, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mr. C. Roberts Perkins, Elkton, Md., alligator. 

Mrs. Rose Las Pinas, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk. 

Miss Appolonia Ramicy, Washington, D. C., two canaries. 

Mr. Harwood E. Reed, Washington, D. C., Java finch. 

Mr. Earl D. Reid, Washington, D. C., pilot black snake. 

Mr. F. H. Riley, Washington, D. C., great horned owl. 

Mr. H. L. Robinson, Washington, D. C., two Cuban parrots. 

Mr. W. H. Rowett, Bessemer, Mich., timber wolf. 

Lieut. H. Herman Rudolph, Washington, D. C., two ring-necked pheasants. 

Mrs. Whitefield Sammis, Washington, D. C., yellow-naped parrot. 

Maj. C. R. Sanderson, Washington, D. C., red-and-blue-and-yellow macaw. 

Mrs. Samuel Saylor, Washington, D. C., barn owl. 

Mrs. N. Scanland, Ballston, Va., American crow. 

Mr. William Scheible, Washington, D. C., wood duck. 

Capt. T. A. Secor, U. S. M. C., Washington, D. C., Panama titi monkey. 

Mr. George Shelton, Indian Head, Md., bald eagle. 

Dr. R. W. Shufeldt and Mr. Maurice K. Brady, Washington, D. C., painted 
turtle, musk turtle, and 2 Pennsylvania musk turtles. 

Mr. Maynard Simmons, Washington, D. C., horned toad. 

Mr. W. N. Slye, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mr. Ernest Smoot, Washington, D. C., ring-necked pheasant. 

Mrs. Anna P. Stewart, Washington, D. C., 2 canaries. 

Mr. P. J. Talbot, Washington, D. C., yellow-naped parrot. 


REPORT OF THE SHCRETARY 91 


Messrs. Thourez and Smith, Los Angeles, Calif., green guenon. 

Mr. Clarence Turner, Latonia, Ky., black bear. 

Mr. J. S. Warmbath, Washington, D. C., red-tailed hawk. 

Dr. David White, Washington, D. C., alligator. 

Mr. C. H. Wilson, Washington, D. C., barred owl. 

Mr. Charles H. Zier, Washington, D. C., Virginia opossum. 

Births—During the year 51 mammals were born and 29 birds 
were hatched in the park. ‘These records include only such as are 
reared to a reasonable age, no account being made in these published 
statistics of young that live only a few days. Mammals born include: 
European bear, 3; lion, 3; dingo, 3; gray wolf, 4; raccoon, 2; moun- 
tain goat, 1; tahr, 1; bison, 2; Indian buffalo, 1; guanaco, 2; llama, 
2; red deer, 7; American elk, 2; barasingha, 1; Japanese deer, 6; 
hog deer, 1; Virginia deer, 2; Trinidad agouti, 1; rhesus monkey, 2; 
mona, 1; rufus-bellied wallaby, 3; great red kangaroo, 1. Birds 
hatched were of the following species: Mallard, black duck, wood 
duck, silver pheasant, peafowl, and black-crowned night heron. 

Exchanges.—Specimens received in exchange for surplus stock 
include 27 mammals and 21 birds. Special mention should be made of 
two Greenland musk oxen imported by way of Norway, the first ever 
to be shown in the park; two mouflions, the wild sheep of Corsica and 
Sardinia; a fine male nilgai from India; a clouded leopard, marbled 
cat (Felis marmorata), and fire cat (Adlurin planiceps) from Su- 
matra; a male panda from India; 2 black and 2 fulvous lemurs; and 
a two-toed sloth. Birds received in exchange include, besides other 
more common species, 3 kagus, 2 Victoria crowned pigeons, 3 black- 
head ibises, 2 faleated ducks, and 2 eagle owls. 

Purchases.—Among the mammals purchased during the year were 
2 Alaska Peninsula bear cubs, 2 Alaskan black-tailed deer, an 
ocelot, and 2 otters. Birds purchased include some very desirable 
specimens: 2 Marquesan doves, 2 red-breasted mergansers, 2 sooty 
shearwaters, 4 wood ibises, and a gannet. A number of more common 
water birds, cage birds, eagles, and owls, as well as a number of 
reptiles, were also acquired by purchase. 

Transfers—Among the animals received by transfer from other 
Government departments special mention should be made of a ship- 
ment of 36 specimens of the Laysan finch, collected by Dr. Alexander 
Wetmore while engaged in work for the Biological Survey, Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, on the island bird reservations west of Hawaii. 
The Laysan “finch” (Zelespyza cantans) is a member of an inter- 
esting family of birds that is restricted to the Hawaiian Islands. 
The specimens sent by Doctor Wetmore were all collected on Midway 
Island. Some wood ducks, canvasbacks, and a collared lizard were 
#lso received by transfer from the Biological Survey. 


92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The Bureau of Fisheries, Department of Commerce, donated a 
collection of 18 snakes of 5 species that were collected by Mr. F. E. 
Hare at the biological station, Manchester, Iowa. 


REMOVALS 


Surplus mammals and birds to the number of 66 were sent away 
during the year in exchange to other zoological gardens. Among 
these were the following mammals that had been born and reared in 
the park: Siberian tiger, 4; dingo, 1; red deer, 8; barasingha, 3; 
hog deer, 2; Rocky Mountain sheep, 1; bison, 1; hippopotamus, 1; 
Trinidad agouti, 2; rhesus monkey, 1. 

A number of animals on deposit were returned to owners. 

The death rate has again been kept at a very low mark. Except 
for the loss of nine kangaroos from necrobacillosis, there has been no 
evidence of contagion among the animals. Some of the losses of 
animals long in the collection are as follows: A sandhill crane 
(Grus mexicana) received January 30, 1899, died April 17, 1923, 
from enteritis, after 24 years, 2 months, and 18 days in the park. 
The great black-backed gull, “ Billy,” well known to thousands of 
park visitors because of his long residence and sociable nature, died 
April 18, 1923. “ Billy” came to the park from Labrador on No- 
vember 22, 1905, and had thus been on exhibition for 17 years, 4 
months, and 22 days. A male of the northern wild cat (Lynx uinta) 
received September 3, 1907, died of old age on December 30, 1922, 
15 years, 3 months, and 27 days after his arrival. A female guanaco 
received January 20, 1908, died of disseminated tumors, after 14 
years, 8 months, and 26 days in the park, on October 16, 1922. The 
South American condor, male, received October 31, 1908, died June 
15, 1923, 14 years, 7 months, and 15 days after arrival. The cause 
of death, apparently, was lead poisoning, the bird having in some 
manner swallowed a piece of lead of considerable size. A female 
llama received March 14, 1908, died of anemia, July 25, 1922, after a 
life of 14 years, 4 months, and 11 days in the park. A male 
barasingha deer (Cervus duvaucelii) received October 1, 1908, died 
January 10, 1923, 14 years, 3 months, and 9 days after arrival. A 
female rhea (Rhea americana) received October 8, 1909, died May 
1, 19238, after 13 years, 6 months, and 23 days in the collection. A 
female brown macaque (J/acaca speciosa) received July 30, 1910, 
died May 26, 1923, of broncho-pneumonia, after a life in the park of 
12 years, 9 months, and 26 days. A boatbill heron (Cochlearius 
cochlearius) received September 28, 1910, died from congestion of 
the lungs, 12 years, 6 months, and 18 days later, on April 15, 1923. 
The mate of this bird, received with it, is still living. A female 
Woodhouse’s wolf (Canis frustror), born in the park April 17, 1911, 
died at an age of 11 years, 8 months, and 15 days, on August 1, 1922. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 93 


Two male Madagascar weavers (Youdia madagascariensis) , received 
June 28, 1912, died on September 9 and October 14, 1922, respec- 
tively; a record of 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days, for one of the 
birds. 

One of the most serious losses of the year was that of the female 
whooping crane (Grus americanus), which died of aspergillosis on 
April 16, 1923. The bird had always appeared in good health up 
to shortly before its death; it was still comparatively young, and 
had been in the collection since April 13, 1914, a period of nine years 
and three days. It is perhaps doubtful if this rare species will 
ever again be on exhibition in the park. Other serious losses in- 
clude a female Rocky Mountain goat, June 13, 1923, metritis; 
giant anteater, October 29, 1922; red ouakari monkey (Cacajao rubi- 
cundus), April 24, 1923; frogmouth, November 1, 1922, tapeworm 
infestation; and the Indian jabiru, March 29, 1923, from gastro- 
enteritis. 

As heretofore, postmortem examinations were made in most cases 
by the pathological division of the Bureau of Animal Industry. 
Fifteenth examinations were made by Dr. Adolph H. Schultz, of the 
Carnegie Institution, Laboratory of Embryology, and one by spe- 
cialists at St. Elizabeths Hospital, Department of the Interior. 
The following list shows the results of autopsies, the cases being 
arranged by groups: 

CAUSES OF DEATH 
MAMMALS 

Marsupialia: Gastritis, 1; gastroenteritis, 1; necrobacillosis, 9; accident, 2. 

Carnivora: Pneumonia, 1; enteritis, 3; gastroenteritis and parasitism, 1; 
internal hemorrhage, 1; goitre and internal hemorrhage, 1; no cause found, 1. 

Rodentia: Hypernephroma, 1; disseminated tumor, 1. 

Primates: Broncho-pneumonia, 1; tuberculosis, 1; enteritis, 2; streptococcus 
_infection, 1; internal hemorrhage, 1; congestive apoplexy, 1; cage paralysis, 1; 
inanition, 1. 

Artiodactyla: Pneumonia and metritis, 1; tuberculosis, 3; pleurisy, 1; en- 
teritis, 1; gastroenteritis, 2; disseminated tumor, 1; malnutrition, 1; anemia, 
1; accident, 1. 

Edentata: Pneumonia, 1; pericarditis, 1. 

BIRDS 

Ratite: Enteritis, 1; accident, 2. 

Ciconiiformes: Congestion of lungs, 1; enteritis, 1; gastroenteritis, 1; no 
cause found, 3. 

Anseriformes: Tuberculosis, 1; gastritis, 1; enteritis, 1; inflammation of 
ceca, 1; no cause found, 4. 

Falconiformes: Lead poisoning, 1; no cause found, 1. 

Galliformes: No cause found, 1. 

Gruiformes: Aspergillosis, 2; enteritis, 2. 

Charadriiformes: Tuberculosis, 1; enteritis, 1; no cause found, 1. 

Psittaciformes: Enteritis, 1. 

Coraciiformes: Aspergillosis, 1; tapeworm infestation, 1. 

Passeriformes: No cause found, 1. 

1454—25—_8 


94 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


A total of 48 specimens—11 mammals, 20 birds, and 17 reptiles— 
of special scientific value, were Fe sei death to the 
United States National Museum. A number of eggs of rare birds 
were also transferred to the Museum. At the request of the Car- 
negie Laboratory of Embryology, Johns Hopkins Medical School, 
Baltimore, 27 specimens, mostly mammals, were delivered to that 


institution for anatomical purposes. 


One mammal was sent to 


St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D. C., for special study of 
the brain. A few skins of cage birds were saved for the reference 


collection at the park. 


ANIMALS IN THE COLLECTION JUNE 30, 1923 


MAMMALS 
MARSUPIALIA CARNIVORA—continued 

Virginia opossum (Didelphis  vir- Florida raccoon (Procyon lotor elu- 
Gertits) LATS 2 de 2h tee 4 ON8) Bath <n - 33s a eae 
oe opossum (Trichosurus vul- Gray coatimundi (Nasua narica) ----_— 
SSR nOee: ec ae ee 2 Red coatimundi (Nasua nasua)-—----- 
Flying phalanger (Petaurus brevi- Kinkajou (Potos flavus)_-------~---- 
FAN Wek, il ES ee g | Mexican kinkajou (Potos flavus az- 
Brush-tailed rock wallaby (Petrogale COLI) ee Oe er eee 
penciiatayiiui sel ee 3k 9 | Tayra (Tayra barbara) __-------_--- 
Rufous-bellied wallaby (Macropus bil- American badger (Tawidea tawus) ____ 
eee ees OS eee CS ee eS 9 | Florida spotted skunk (Spilogale wmn- 
Black-faced kangaroo (Macropus mela- borvalis)225- 2-222 32- _  - 
“hitb Ee ee TA es 2 | Florida otter (Lutra canadensis 
Wallaroo (Macropus robustus)~—-_-_~ 2 11) |e ae ey Sere Tee 
Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) _----~- 6 | Palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphro- 
Wombat (Phascolomys mitchelli)__-_ 1 ditus) -_----=---_--_------------ 
Wahlberg’s mongoose (Helogale par- 
CARNIVORA eit) 
Kadiak bear (Ursus middendorffi) ---- 9 | Aard-wolf (Proteles cristatus) —----- 
Alaska Peninsula bear (Ursus gyas).-_ 4 | Spotted hyena (Orocuta crocuta) ___- 
Yakutat bear (Ursus dalli)___------- 1 | Stripped hyena (Hyena hyena) __--. 
Kidder’s bear (Ursus kidderi)-_---~~- » | African cheetah (Acinonyw jubatus) - 
European bear (Ursus arctos)_----- 5 | Lion (Felis leo)------------------- 
Grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis)______ 1 | Bengal tiger (Felis tigris)---------- 
Apache grizzly (Ursus apache) _—___-_ 1 Manchurian tiger (Felis tigris longi- 
Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus)_. 1 Lt) a eae = See a Se 
Black bear (Ursus americanus) —--_-- 3g | Leopard (Felis pardus)-----------_- 
Cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus cin- East African leopard (Felis pardus 
mcnvomunii)). ibe es th os wo hs Sere 2 suaheloa) ix — a3 ee 
Florida bear (Ursus floridanus) ------ 1 | Jaguar (Felis onca)-----_--_--___-- 
Glacier bear (Ursus emmonsii) ______ 4 | Brazilian ocelot (Felis pardalis brasil- 
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) ----- 1 iensis) ____-_---_--------—-~--~_- 
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) -----~- 1 | Snow leopard (Felis uncia)~-__-~-_- 
Polar bear (Thalarctos maritimus)___ 2 | Mexican puma (Felis azteca) ta 
Dingo (Canis dingo) -------------- 3 | Mountain lion (Felis hippolestes) —__~ 
Eskimo dog (Canis familiaris) ___--~ 2 | Canada lynx (Lyn@ canadensis) ---__- 
Gray wolf (Canis nubilus) ____------ g | Northern wild cat (Lyna winta)---~- 
Timber wolf (Canis occidentalis) __-_- 1 | Bay lynx (Lyn@ rufus) --.---------- 
Texas red wolf (Canis rufus) ---____ 1 | Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) __ 

Coyote (Canis Myra) 2 s— a PINNIPEDIA 
an i yt orn ag aie Rep -s California sea-lion (Zalophus  cali- 
Great-eared fox (Octocyon megalotis). 1 fornianus) ---------------------- 

neat alg fox (Cerdocyon magellani- yy RODENTIA 
Gray. fox (Urocyon cincreoargentcus)_ 3 | Woodchuck (Marmota mona@)-__----- 
Cacomistle (Bassariscus astutus)———- 1 | Dusky marmot (Marmota flaviventris 
Panda (Ailurus fulgens)--_-__-_---- 2 OO0S8SCUFG). = eee 
Raccoon (Procyon lotor)____-------- 19 | Prairie-dog (Oynomys ludovicianus) _- 


KON ee ee 


HK ONyDHPEND ED 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


MAMMALS—continued 


RODENTIA— continued 


Antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus 
TCROUIUR nn 
Chipmunk (EHutamias neglectus)_~-_- 
Albino squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) — 
Dusky pocket mouse (Perognathus 
jlavescens perniger) _---_--— 
Bailey’s pocket mouse (Perognathus 
(EGR te ll need pee ¢ Bete aint By SA ES 
Kangaroo rat (Dipodomys_ specta- 
TRO EAD a PE ei es tp, ll ee Re 
Ord’s kangaroo rat (Perodipus ordii)— 
Montana white-footed mouse (Pero- 
myscus leucopus aridulus)_-___--~ 
Grasshopper mouse (Onychomys Icu- 
DUNC G eS SE Ri ee Se 
African poreupine (Hystrir africe- 
LCA BA pe I a Sb a tren A ee cal Po ceed Reel 
Malay porcupine (Acanthion brachy- 
CURT 1) olay te A pce rae np Sel eae ape 
Tree porcupine (Ooendou mewxicanum) — 
Coypu (Myocastor coypus)_--_---__--_ 


Central American paca (Cuniculas 
paca eugarisy .-— 2 ee 
Mexican agouti (Dasyprocta wmezi- 
CRONIES ee ee te Seen ee 
Sooty agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa) — 
Speckled agouti (Dasyprocta punc- 
LUD ee = eS ee ee 


Panama agouti (Dasyprocta punciata 

SUE Ty Naps a a 
Azara’s agouti (Dasyprocta azare@)__~ 
Trinidad agouti (Dasyprocta rubrata) _ 
Crested agouti (Dasyprocta cristata) _ 
Yellow-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta 

lucifer \cayenn@) 2auee ee este 
Peruvian guinea pig (Gavia tschudii 

pullidior)...cebeeedeeisla abu bh) tes 
Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)__--____ 
Capybara (Hydrocherus hydrocheris) — 


LAGOMORPHA 


Domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cunicu- 
lus) 


EDENTATA 
Two-toed sloth (Cholepus didactylus) — 
PRIMATES 


Black lemur (Lemur macaco) ____~--~- 
Fulvous lemur (Lemur fulvus)__---- 
Gray spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyt)-_ 
Mexican spider monkey (Ateles neg- 


Three-banded douroucouli (Aotus trt- 
WUTGCUS) aaa eSeaeest tit tsnh4 
Brown wooly monkey (Lagothrin in- 


White-throated capuchin (Cebus capu- 


Oinge) a 2enSe3 tes Mh tee ses 
Pale capuchin (Cebus unicolor)__--_~ 


Weeping capuchin (Cebus apella)_-__- 
Brown capuchin (Oebus fatuellus) ~~ 
Azara’s capuchin (Oebus azar@)_____ 
Titi monkey (Saimiri sciureus) —---~- 
Chaema (Papio porcarius) —--~..---- 


* 


b 


PRIMATES—continued 


Anubis baboon (Papio cynocephalus) — 
East African baboon (Papio ibeanus) _— 
Mandrill. (Papio. sphing) ___._._._____- 2 === 
Drill (Papio leucopheus)_-_------~- 
Moor macaque (Oynopithecus maurus) _ 
Barbary ape (Simia sylvanus) —~-----__ 
Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) — 
Pig-tailed monkey (Macaca nemes- 

tring) ===. fase hE eed 


Bonnet monkey (Macaca sinica)_--_- 
Crab-eating macaque (Macaca irus)—_ 
Javan macaque (Macaca mordaq@) _-__- 
Black mangabey (Cercocebus aterri- 

U8) 2520S eS 

SUB) ee ee oe ee 
Hagenbeck’s mangabey (Cercocebus ha- 

WEMUCCKA) . 28 2 =. 3s ee ne ; 
White-collared mangabey (Cercocebus 

COTO a ee ee 
Green guenon (Lasiopyga callitrichus) — 
Vervet guenon (Lasiopyga pygerythra) _— 
Mona (Lasiopyga mona) ——______-____ 
Roloway gucnon (Lasiopyga roloway) — 
Chimpanzee (Pan satyrus) 


Orang-utan (Pongo pygme@us) ——------~ 


ARTIODACTYLA 


Wild) ‘boar.(Suer scrofa) 2.2 hee 
Wart-hog (Phacocherus ethiopicus) __ 
Collared peccary (Pecari angulatus) __ 
Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus am- 

phiitiue) 22232. £0 veers 
Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) — 
Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) — 
Guanaco (Lama guanicoe)_-----_--_-- 
Liama (Lama glamea) ——————-__=—_-—— 
Fallow deer (Dama dama) __--------~-- 
Axis deer (Agia ate) ..2----~=—~ 
Hog deer (Hyelaphus porcinus) —~-__~~ 
Sambar (Rusa unicolor) ____---__-__-- 
Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) __--~ 
Burmese deer (Rucervus cldii) _----_- 
Japanese deer (Sika nippon)_—------- 
Red deer (Cervus elaphus)_--~-----~- 
Kashmir deer (Cervus hanglu)_----~~ 
Bedford deer (Oervas canthopygus) —- 
American elk (Cervus canadensis) —--~ 
Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus) _ 
Panama deer (Odocoileus chiriquensis) — 
Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus colwm- 

OS TRIER) rt ety ep 
Blesbok (Damaliscus albifrons) ~_---~ 
White-tailed gnu (Connochetes gnou) — 
Brindled gnu (Connochetes taurinus) — 
Lechwe (Onotragus leche) _--------__- 
Sable antelope (Hgocerus niger) ~--~ 
Indian antelope (Antilope cervicapra) — 
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) ~~ 
East African eland (Taurotragus ory@# 

WUINDELONIN) a= ee 


are 


DRH 


He 
KON ANNOHANAWOANwWHENYD 


woe eee bo bo 


i) 


to 


96 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


MAMMALS—continued 


ARTIODACTYLA—continued 


Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) _----~- 
Mountain goat (Oreamnos~ ameri- 

CONS) ae re Se ee ee 
Aoudad (Ammotragus lervia)__--___~- 
Rocky Mountain sheep (Ovis canaden- 

BEE) ee ee ES 
Arizona mountain sheep (Ovis cana- 

densta*gaillardi) = 2 oes eee 
Mouflon (Ovis musimon) —_-----------_- 
Barbados sheep (Ovis aries) --------_- 
Greenland musk ox (Ovibos moschatus 


Zebu .(Bos tndieys) 222252 2 eee 
Yak (Poéphagus grunniens) __-------- 
American bison (Bison bison) ~-__-_-- 
Indian buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)__-_~- 


RATITAD 


South African ostrich (Struthio aus- 
BYTE ee en es ee he 
Somaliland ostrich (Struthio molyb- 
CTD TOR) as a ee 
Nubian ostrich (Struthio camelus) ~~~ 
Rhea (Rhea americana) —_.______-_-__-- 
Sclater’s cassowary (Cdasuarius phil- 
C01) (as etree ie ea eS ee Sees 
Emu (Dromiceius novehollandie) ___- 


PROCELLARIIFORMES 


Sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) __- 


CICONIIFORMES 
American white pelican (Pelecanus 
CVytnrornyncnos) —— 
European white pelican (Pelecanus 
DILOCTOURNIR) orn ee 
Roseate pelican (Pelecanus roseus) __- 
Australian pelican (Pelecanus  con- 
BDICIOtUS) ~~ ee 
Brown pelican (Pelecanus  occiden- 
CELE) ee eee ae eee 


Water-turkey (Anhinga anhinga) ----~- 
Florida cormorant (Phalacrocorag au- 

mtus foridggnus) ———~—— 
Gannet (Sula bassana) _-_-_____-___-_- 
Great white heron (Ardea _ occi- 

TUOTE DOCU ES orn eee en 
Goliath heron (Ardea goliath) _-_____- 
American egret (Casmerodius egretta) _ 
Snowy egret (Zgretta candidissima) __ 
Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorar 

nycticoram nevus) —— = =~ 
Boatbill (Cochlearius cochlearius) —-__ 
White stork (Ciconia ciconia) __----__ 
Black stork (Ciconia nigra) ~-------- 
Lesser adjutant (Leptoptilus javani- 

CUS) a ete ee ee eee 
Wood ibis (Mycteria americana) __-_--- 
Straw-necked ibis (Carphibis spinicol- 


on 


ho Ct 


hoe Hq 


oe bo lo 


a 
vs. Oo 


PERISSODACTYLA 


Malay tapir (Tapirus indicus) ~~ _-~~- 
Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) _- 
Grant’s zebra (Hquus quagga granti) — 
Grevy’s zebra (Hquus grevyi)-____--_ 
Zebra-horse hybrid (Equus grevyi ca- 

OCT oe oe hee 
Zebra-ass hybrid (Equus grevyi- 

OSHS) Rm — 5 


PROBOSCIDEA 


Abyssinian elephant (Lowxodonta afri- 
Cana bUyots) — =~ =e eee 
Sumatran elephant (Hlephas suwma- 
CT OIE) yo er 


BIRDS 


_ 


CICONIIFORMBS—continued 


Sacred ibis (Threskiornis ethiopicus) — 
Black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melan- 

OCCDRAINS) ci i ee ee 
Australian ibis (threskiornis stricti- 

Dennks)) oa a ee es 
White ibis (Guara alba) -~-___-__-__ 
Searlet ibis (Guara rubra) _------_- 
Roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) 
European flamingo 
* roseus) 


(Phenicopterus 


ANSERIFORMES 


Red-breasted merganser (Mergus ser- 

TOE ) ots 2 SR AESE ete Sabet ae 
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)—~__~--~~ 
Black duck (Anas rubripes) ~-------~-~ 
Australian black duck (Anas supercili- 

080) 224: Se ee eae SS 
Gadwall (Chaulelasmus streperus) —_-~- 
Falecated duck (EHunetta falcata) __-~ 
European wigeon (Mareca penelope) - 
Baldpate (Mareca americana) —~---~-~-~- 
Green-winged teal (Nettion carolinense) 
European teal (Nettion crecca)__--~_ 
Baikal teal (Nettion formosum)__-_- 
Blue-winged teal (Querquedula dis- 

cors).t4252 42 ee 
Garganey (Querquedula querquedula) — 
Cinnamon teal (Querquedula cyanop- 

teraye 22228 52 eee 
Shoveller (Spatula clypeata)—------~- 
Pintail) (Dajfilu aetta) 222 
Wood duck (Aig sponsa)—---------- 
Mandarin duck (Dendronessa galeri- 

culat@) asa oas here assesses USE 
Canvas-back (Marila valisineria) __-~- 
European pochard (Marila ferina) —--- 
Redhead (Marila americana) __--_--_~- 
Ring-necked duck (Marila collaris) —_- 
Tufted duck (Marila fuligula)_-__-~-~- 
Lesser scaup duck (Marila affinis) —_- 
Greater scaup duck (Marila marila) -- 
White-eyed duck (Marila nyroca) ---- 


pa ee ro 


_ 
i el 


= 


= 
acu onwwh 


ao 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


BIRDS—continued 


ANSERIFORMBS—continued 


Rosy-billed pochard (Metopiana pepo- 
saca) 


Upland goose (Chloéphaga leucoptera) — 
Hawaiian goose (Nesochen sandvicen- 


Snow goose (Ohen hyperboreus) —-_-~ 
Greater snow goose (Chen hyperboreus 


Blue goose (Chen cerulescens) __--__~ 
White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) _ 
American white-fronted goose (Anser 

albifrons gambeli) =~ ---_-_ = -_ = 
Bean goose (Anser fabalis)__-----~-~_ 
Bar-headed goose (Hulabeia indica) __ 
Canada goose (Branta canadensis) —__~ 
Hutchins’s goose (Branta canadensis 

RUC) oes eS eS ee 
Cackling goose (Branta canadensis 

CTI LLLETS Iga fl a NE ih Sl 
Brant (Branta bernicla glaucogastra) — 
Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) —_- 
Spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gam- 

TR CIE SASS) ors ee ef a 
Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) ____ 
Pied goose (Anseranas semipalmata) — 
Black-bellied tree duck (Dendrocygna 

CATA TAS)) ee 8 ty 
Eyton’s tree duck 


White-faced tree duck (Dendrocygna 

LATS TAC LT) epi ad AAS Bei al 1A RGR SS MiB aly 
Mute swan. (Cygnus gibbus)_______-_ 
Whistling swan (Olor columbianus) __ 
Black swan (Chenopis atrata) 


FALCONIFORMES 


California condor (Gymnogyps cali- 
TOUMIMUTSES nn ek 1d ah es 
Turkey vulture (Cathartes awra)____ 
Black vulture (Coragyps urubu)—_~__ 
King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) _—- 
Secretary bird (Sagittarius  serpen- 
Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)_-_____ 
African black vulture (Torgos trache- 
GROLIER Pree a yes ANI 
Cinereous vulture (Aegypius mona- 
Caracara (Polyborus cheriway)__-__- 
Wedge-tailed eagle (Uroaétus audagw)_ 
Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaétos)____ 
White-bellied sea eagle (Cuncwma leu- 
EOE AZ) ES NAS BT METIS 
Bald eagle (Haliwetus leucocephalus) _— 
Alaskan bald eagle (Haliwetus leuco- 
cephalus alascanus) ___..._--______ 
Broad-winged hawk (Buteo platyp- 
LCT A) ee NS ge CES OE eee 
Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo  line- 
TET) inane eos peavey ae aie eres 

» Red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis) __--~ 
Sparrow hawk (Falco sparverius)_—_- 


AG ve 


GALLIFORMES 


Curassow (Craw daubentoni)________ 
Razor-billed curassow (Mitu mitu)_—_— 
Penelope (Penelope boliviana) 
Guan (Ortalis albiventris)___________ 
Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula)________ 
Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)__~_________ 
Peacock pheasant (Polyplectron bical- 

caratum) 
Silver 


pheasant (Genneus nycthe- 


Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus tor- 

quatus)! SaSiwet re SI eps Tes 
Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) —-___~ 
Gambel’s quail (Lophortyw gambelii) — 
Valley quail (Lophortyx californica 


XE AG 1 chee war! Saeed nce a i oe eal a TD 
GRUIFORMES 

Kast Indian gallinule (Porphyrio 

COCO) ee ee nee eee 


Black-tailed moor-hen (WMicrotribonya 

UC TUCR DUES ee er a ee en, ae 
American coot (Fulica americana) ——~ 
South Island weka rail (Ocydromus 

CEL SET LTS) oe ea ee ee eee ee 
Short-winged weka (Ocydromus brachy- 

ECTS ret ee te ee eg ee ae 
Harl’s weka (Ocydromus earli)_____~ 
Sandhill crane (Grus megvicana) ___-~ 
Little brown crane (Grus canadensis) — 
White-necked crane (@rus_ leucau- 


TUS) ee et ee ee a ee 
Lilford’s crane (@rus lilfordi)_______ 
Sarus crane (@rus collaris)_________ 
Australian crane (@Grus rubicunda)___ 
Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) — 
Crowned crane (Balearica pavonina)_ 
White-backed trumpeter (Psophia leu- 

COD CET ees ees ear eee eee ee 
Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus)_________ 


CHARADRIIFORMES 


Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)_________ 
Yellow-wattled lapwing (Lobivanellus 

ANTICS RE Ropes see A= 8 ete een 
Pacific gull (Gabianus pacificus) ____ 
Great black-backed gull (Larus mari- 


Herring gull (Larus argentatus) _____ 
Silver gull (Larus novehollandie) ____ 
Laughing gull (Larus atricilla)______ 
Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura vic- 
CORI G es ee a see = a a 
Australian crested pigeon (Ocyphaps 
lophotesyas os . tos. t rt era ee 
Bronze-wing pigeon (Phaps chalcop- 
Cate) t Le Bee es eh ee Ae 
Marquesan dove (Gallicolumba rubes- 
CTS ie eae ERPS) SS ee Le 
Wonga-wonga pigeon (Leucosarcia pi- 
CULE) Bete es} ee ieee 
Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) ——— 
Mourning dove (Zenaidura macroura)_ 


fl 


I bo 


iv\) 


oe e bo 


= 


eR De 1 be 


Hm bo 


wa 


98 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


BIRDS—continued 


CHARADRIIFORMES—continued 


Necklaced dove (Spilopelia tigrina) —~ 
Zebra dove (Gecopelia striata) _______ 
Bar-shouldered dove (Geopelia humer- 


Inca dove (Scardafella inca)_------- 
Cuban ground dove (Chemepelia pas- 
ecring :aflavida) 225-) > eee ee 
Green-winged dove (Chalcophaps in- 
W0n), Boo Ses SB . 5 Se 
New Guinea green dove (Chalcophaps 
Cchrysochtlora) | 225— 324223 3S). 2 Se3 
Ringed turtle-dove (Streptopelia ri- 
BONNIE) sei aewess testis Site 
Fruit pigeon (Lamprotreron superba) — 


CUCULIFORMES 


Road runner (Geococcyz californianus) — 
PSITTACIFORMES 


Kea (Nestor notabilis)_____-___-___-- 
Cockateel (Calopsitta novehollandie) — 


Roseate cockatoo (Kakatoe roseica- 
UE) ee ; 
Bare-eyed cockatoo (Kakatoe gymno- 
10) El eee th, SS ot a ae PE A oT 
Leadbeater’s cockatoo (Kakatoe lead- 
DOULA en ee ee ne ee 


White cockatoo (Kakatoe alba)----_-- 
Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Kakatoe ga- 

ROTATE) ee ee 
Great red-crested cockatoo (Kakatoe 

STO UICCOINSER \ ne ee 
Cassin’s macaw (Ara awricollis)__--- 
Mexican green macaw (Ara mexicana) — 


Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara _  ara- 
CXS) i oe 
Red-and-blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara 
RTECS) ee oe 


Hahn’s macaw (Diopsittaca hahni)-_—_~ 
White-eyed paréquet (Aratinga leu- 
CODIGENGUNUS) = Se oe ee 
Petz’s paroquet (Bupstittula canicu- 
iy GY Sc 5 a fe ES 
Golden-crowned paroquet (Hupsittula 
UF OR) Bs ES 
Weddell’s paroquet (Eupsittula wed- 
LOUTA) ects se tenes oe 
Blue-winged parrotlet (Psittacula pas- 
Berta) 202282 bee eee 
Yellow-winged paroquet (Tirica vires- 
Cens pat ee SEM ee 
Golden paroquet (Brotogeris chrys- 
OSEMG) 2 ASSES See 2 eS 
Tovi paroquet (Brotogeris jugularis) — 
Orange-winged paroquet (Brotogeris 
CT) Ake CESS oo ene} 
Yellow-naped parrot (Amazona auro- 
pater wy ey PL. eA 2 BRE 
Mealy parrot (Amazgona farinosa)_-_-~ 
Orange-winged parrot (Amazona ama- 
PONICD) | 2 dak RABE Foe cers SET 
Blue-fronted parrot (Amazona estiva)_— 
Red-crowned parrot (Amazona viridi- 
Tenalig) tees eee eae 


PSITTACIFORMES—contind@d 


Double yellow-head parrot (Amazona 
lonatrin) 3 ess a ee 
Yellow-headed parrot (Amazona ochro- 
cephala): =. 23544 33 Se ee 
Festive parrot (Amazona festiva) ~~~ 
Lesser white-fronted parrot (Amazona 
albtfrons, nana), .—_—.-—--=.——-== 45 


Santo Domingo parrot (Amazona 
VENETAUS) ete er RL ee ee es 
Cuban parrot (Amazona leucoce- 
phald@).. te Senter 4 Se gan 


Maximilian’s parrot (Pionus mawimil- 


Dusky parrot (Pionus fuscus)_------- 
Glue-headed parrot (Pionus men- 

etruuse) 2s5 st Se 4 = ee See 
Amazonian caique (Pionites cwanthome- 

110), acieme we maces se5e5—stseh 
Short-tailed parrot (Graydidascalus 

OTACRYUTUS), = nest ee ee 
Gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus)_--__ 
Lesser vasa parrot (Coracopsis nigra) -~ 
Greater vasa parrot (Coracopsis vasa) — 
Pennant’s paroquet (Platycercus ele- 


GOnay en nn ee 
Rosella paroquet (Platycercus eai- 
TAG hoe SS aa en 
Black-tailed paroquet (Polytelis mela- 
narG) 220 Le eee ae Se 


King paroquet (Aprosmictus cyanopy- 
918 twee a ee 
Ring-necked paroquet (Conurus torqua- 
18) once St aes See 
Nepalese paroquet (Conurus nepalen- 
840) nme ee eee 
Grass paroquet (Melopsittacus undula- 
tU8) — 22 We eee ee 
CORACIIFORMES 


Giant kingfisher (Dacelo gigas) ------ 
Yellow-billed hornbill (Lophoceros leu- 

comelas) ere eae nero Fs 
Barred owl (Striz varia) ------------ 
Snowy owl (Nyctea nyctea) -_--------- 
Screech owl (Otus asio) ~--_-_-_---_-- 
Choliba sereech owl (Otus choliba) —-~ 
Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) — 
Bagle owl (Bubo bubo)--_----------- 
American barn owl (Zyto perlata pra- 

HncolG) +. ee eee 
Ariel toucan (Ramphastos ariel) —----- 

PASSERIFORMES 


Cock of the rock (Rupicola rupicola) —_ 
Silver-eared hill-tit (Mesia argentau- 


Red-billed hill-tit (Liothrix luteus) —_- 
Black-gorgeted laughing-thrush (Gar- 
fUlAD DECOTONS) gn ae eee 
White-eared bulbul (Otocompsa leu- 
OL pp x eta ac ti A os 
European blackbird (Jurdus merula) — 
Piping crow-shrike (Gymnorhina tibi- 
COR eS ee eee eee 
Satin bower-bird (Ptilonorhynchus vio- 
1laCeusy eplib pe See Re 


eee 


FoR DHAN 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


BIRDS—continued 


PASSERIFORMES—continued 


European raven (Corvus corar) ~~~ 
Australian crow (Corvus coronoides) —- 
American crow (Corvus brachyrhyn- 

IS See SS ee eee eet 
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) —-_-----~ 
Yucatan jay (Cissilopha yucatanica) ~~ 
Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) __---~~- 
Green jay (Xanthoura luxuosa) —_—--~-_- 
Australian gray jumper (Struthidea 

WIM ORE Fano Bs oe BN 
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) ---------- 
Shining starling (Lamprocorax metal- 

HATS) = RS eS eet eee 
Laysan finch (Telespyza cantans) -___ 
Crimson tanager (Ramphocelus dimi- 

CITED) Be ai SR TES eS ee oe aaa ee 
Blue tanager (Thraupis cana) _-------~ 
Paradise whydah (Steganura para- 

IR GI) tea ee ee SS 
Shaft-tailed whydah (Tetrenura regia) — 
Napoleon weaver (Pyromelana afra) ~~ 
Red-billed weaver (Quelea quelea) —_--~ 
Madagascar weaver (Foudia madagas- 

COPENSIS) -VSee Sse Se So es 
Fire finch (Lagonosticta senegala) ---- 
Strawberry finch (Amandava aman- 

GEOG are ness Se SE Bae 
Nutmeg finch (Munia punctulata) ---_ 
White-headed nun (Munia maja) —---- 
Black-headed nun (Munia atricapilla) — 
Java finch (Munia oryzivora) ~_-----~ 
White Java finch (Munia oryzivora) __ 
Masked grassfinch (Poéphila perso 


MEO) te Se ee 
Black-faced Gouldian finch (Poéphila 
Mouliig ) terete i) 2 teases. es 
Red-faced Gouldian finch (Poéphila 
WAVES) te oe ee 


Diamond finch (Steganopleura guttata) _ 
Zebra finch (T@niopygia castanotis) __ 
Cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata) __ 
Vera Cruz red-wing (Agelaius pheni- 

CEUs SACMONG) = Soe 
Purple grackle (Quwiscalus quiscula) —-_ 
Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) _-__-_-_---_~ 
European goldfinch (Oarduelis car- 

CHES) ree ee EL ce! STS 
Bramblefinch (Fringilla montifringilla) — 
European siskin (Spinus spinus)---__~ 
Mexican goldfinch (Astragalinus psal- 

trig mericanusy 2s 22 Sse eS 
House finch (Carpodacus mevricanus 

frontalis) 
San Lucas house finch (Oarpodacus 

mericanus ruberrimus) —_.___-_______ 
Canary (Serinus canarius)——~__-______ 
Green singing finch (Serinus icterus) _~ 
Slate-colored junco (Junco hyemalis) —— 
White-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia 

albicollis) 
Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) ____ 
San Diego song sparrow (Melospiza 

melodia cooperi) 
Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola)_______ 


be 


bet OD bt et 


Ou 


PASSERIFORMES—continued 


Seed-eater (Sporophila gutturalis) ____ 
Nonpareil (Passerina ciris)_.________ 
Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)______ 


REPTILES 


Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) — 
Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cris- 

COEUR) MS ee Se. eed 
Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) — 
Gould’s monitor (Varanus gouldii) ___ 
Rock python (Python molurus)—-____- 
Regal python (Python reticulatus)____ 
Diamond python (Python spilotes) ____ 
Anaconda (Hunectes murinus) 
Boa constrictor (Qonstrictor constric- 

CON) nee ee ee Ae 
Spreading adder (Heterodon contor- 

O91) ee SS _ eee ees 
Blacksnake (Coluber constrictor) _____ 
Blue racer (Coluber constrictor flavi- 

UCN UIE) = ee en ee 
Chicken snake (Hlaphe quadrivittata) — 
Corn snake (Hlaphe guttata)________ 
Pilot blacksnake (Hlaphe obsoleta) ___ 
Pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) — 
Bull-snake (Pituophis sayi) _________ 
Water snake (Natriz sipedon)________ 
Western water snake (Natrix sipedon 

fasciata) 
Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) ___ 
Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) —__ 
Copperhead (Agkistrodon mokasen) __— 
Banded rattlesnake (Orotalus horridus) — 
Diamond-back rattler (Crotalus ada- 

MONTEUS) 2 AS nn ees re 
Snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)— 
Rossignon’s snapping turtle (Chelydra 

rossignontt)-3 =i) fs) toe ees 
Maw’s turtle (Dermatemys mawii)__~ 
Musk-turtle (Kinosternon odoratum) __ 
South American musk-turtle (Kino- 

sternon scorpiotdes)— == -=-- 4 
Pennsylvania musk-turtle (Kinosternon 

Subrubrim )) Sass ek ieee ee 
Wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta)—_~ 
South American terrapin (Nicoria 

ipunctularigysss sae see 
Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) ____ 
Cooter (Pseudemys scripta) __________ 
Central American cooter (Pseudemys 

ornata) 
Box-tortoise (Terrapene carolina) _____ 
Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) _ 
Mexican gopher tortoise (Gopherus 

Deniondient) == n= 22S— = * = = eee Fe 
Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) __ 
Duncan Island tortoise (Testudo ephip- 


RUT) 2 2 ek eS eee So ee ee 
Indefatigable Island tortoise (Testudo 
DOTPOR) Roa BE ee - Bl eae ol eee BEI: 
Albemarle Island tortoise (Testudo 
PACING) Ss SE 8 gee bee © nee 
South American tortoise (J'estudo 
GENACMMOTE) =o Sn nee ee eee ak 


99 


m Ol bo 


far) 
wNorRRFN WO eo 


ol 


i 
PRR Aw HNN oD BRO RHE ee Q AY 


oO 


100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 f 


STATEMENT OF THE COLLECTION 


Accessions during the year 


Mammals} Birds | Reptiles; Total 
(PTOSOIC Be. atest oe en ee ie Se 47 153 66 266 
Born and hatched in National Zoological Park__--___-----_--- 51 oe a eS 80 
Received in exenanpe Suis iss mate eon eR nae 27 7A eres SS ae 48 
LEO: ea aS ae a ee oe ESS See ae, eee 15 66 27 108 
Transferred from other Government departments---_-.-.-.----|_---------- 40 19 59 
pve tir tiers LES a EES VE 2 ee ead Se 2 eee ee SO ee Se ee 1 1 
Weposited 9 £8 stele 2 ASS SS ey ee ee 12 6 32 50 
otal 353 sissy eel. onl ta bree Be Bo 152 315 145 612 

SUMMARY 

Animals on hand July PAlg22 200282) Se Seen or Re eee ee 1, 681 
ACCESHIONA GUTINE Ghe yeak Ph Pe ee ee 612 
“TOUR Snimals Named 20 2 Rie _ es ee eee ee eee 2, 293 
Deduct loss (by exchange, death, and return of animals on deposit) - - - - - 525 
Animals on: band .ness0;, 19238. Sp oe ee eee 1, 768 
Class | Species | Individuals 
AViWTINie let ee oe ne a ees See ee ee ea a ee ee 184 493 
SN Ta chs 2.272 pete als Reisen eet ARS ot i olen eek eS UMS Ea! A -271 1, 081 
1 FV 0) 6 (ea i i ale A aah Rss ht i Ce OD Se ee BLT | 43 194 
ogtalJnn6, 30 k0lss2) ees tte t PAG pied... ee See at & | 498 1, 768 


The number of species on exhibition on June 30 is 16 more, and the 
total number of animals is 87 more than in any previous year. 


VISITORS 


The total number of visitors to the park, for the fiscal year, as 
determined by count and estimate, was 2,393,428. This is 229,174 
above the official record for 1922, and makes the fourth year in suc- 
cession that the attendance has exceeded 2,000,000. The greatest 
attendance in any one month was 330,700 in May, 1923. 


The attendance by months was as follows: * 
1922 1923 
UIE Pp Mita ti tae yn Sri go 192, 400: January ves s tks eee 57, 452 
AaIBOSG ot ee | RU Ie ee ee 80, 558 
Septemberisn. st vetqob) . sist Pip BOD | Misr en tee gee 232, 715 
Oebaben? 2 oes 5 Aelolqgs BoRy 215;600 | Aprils: meuibs ownieie). geek aot 275, 052 
iepentiner: "on es 128200) “Misys Ree Dene bt Vos 330, 700 
December’. 2 =O ee Be Oy eI ae cree en ne eee 304, 900 


Schools, classes, and other organizations visiting the park during 
the year numbered 171, with a total of 14,185 individuals. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 101 
IMPROVEMENTS 


The complete reconstruction of the wolf and fox dens below the 
sea lion pool was finished early in the year. The quarters for these 
animals are now much more comfortable and sanitary than before 
and immensely improved in appearance. The outdoor cages for 
rhesus and other monkeys were all repaired, covered with new wire, 
provided with suitable water and sewer facilities, and generally put 
into first-class condition. Repairs were made to the ostrich en- 
closure, safety guards of electrically welded wire were placed along 
the fence bordering the walk in front of the main bear dens, and 
numerous minor repairs were made to cages and enclosures. In so 
far as was possible with the limited funds, necessary painting was 
done. 

The principal construction for the year, however, has been the 
continuation of work on the recently graded area in the west-central 
part of the park, between the great flight cage and the hospital 
building. This work was commenced seven years ago, but was dis- 
continued during the war. It is greatly to be hoped that it may be 
completed during the current year. After building a new road 
from the hospital to the scales, near the Rocky Mountain sheep 
inclosure, over the edge of the fill previously made, the old winding 
road was abandoned and there was available a large area of flat 
ground suitable for paddocks. Four extra large yards were designed 
along the automobile road, where species commonly kept in breed- 
ing herds may be shown. One yard has been especially designed for 
Rocky Mountain goats and a miniature mountain of flint bowlders 
has been constructed within it. The other large yards bordering the 
automobile road have been prepared for red deer, barasingha deer, 
and Japanese deer. On the south side, bordering the walk passing 
the great flight cage for birds, are seven paddocks with shelters, 
designed especially for Indian buffaloes, tahr goats, aoudads, axis 
deer, and similar species. The water-buffalo yard has been provided 
with a large tank for bathing, and the tahr and aoudad yards with 
large rock piles. The axis deer shelter includes a closed room of 
commodious size for breeding females, as this species commonly 
brings forth the young in winter, when the weather out of doors 
is unfavorable for young fawns. Passing directly through the center 
of this system of yards from east to west is a service road along 
which all of the shelter houses have been built. This system places 
the retreats for animals at the rear of each yard, away from the 
public, and, after proper planting, makes the buildings compara- 
tively inconspicuous. It also simplifies care and the shifting or 
transfer of animals without actual capture. At the end of the 


102 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


year the yards and shelters were practically completed; the principal 
work remaining undone includes sidewalks, parking space, tree 
boxes, guard rails, and other minor accessories. 


ALTERATIONS OF BOUNDARIES 


With the approval on January 23, 1923, of the second deficiency 
bill, there was available $8,000 for the purchase of the strip of land 
between the park and Adams Mill Road between Ontario Road and 
Clydesdale Place. The completion of this purchase adds about 8,000 
feet of land to the area of the park and protects the entrance at 
Adams Mill Road from unsightly development on one side. A new 
danger that threatens the beauty of this entrance way to the park 
has, however, most unexpectedly arisen. On March 4, 1923, an act 
of Congress was passed and approved dissolving the cemetery asso- 
ciation controlling the burial ground bordering the Zoological Park 
on the south between Adams Mill Road and Rock Creek. The 
trustees named in the bill are authorized to transfer the bodies in- 
terred in this old cemetery and to sell the land. The permanent 
highways plan of the District of Columbia shows a proposed road 
across this property from Adams Mill Road to Calvert Street Bridge. 
It will be necessary in order to protect this section of the park, 
especially the beautiful roadway leading down from the Adams 
Mill Road entrance, to acquire that portion of the cemetery lying 
between this proposed roadway and the park boundary. It has been 
suggested that the permanent highways plan be modified, and that 
the proposed road across the old cemetery be made from Adams Mill 
Road at the corner of the Zoological Park to join Waterside Drive 
at Calvert Street Bridge. This would greatly reduce the area to be 
purchased for park purposes and amply protect the interests of the 


public. 
IMPORTANT NEEDS 


Restaurant.—As pointed out in recent reports, a suitable restau- 
rant building remains the most urgent need of the park. The old 
refreshment stand was constructed many years ago of the cheapest 
materials. At the present time it is in a bad condition and is wholly 
inadequate to serve the needs of the public. The refreshment booth 
at Connecticut Avenue, on land recently transferred to the Govern- 
ment, should also be replaced by a new and more sightly structure. 
The increased income from rental of these two concessions will well 
repay for the construction of buildings adequate for the service of 
the constantly increasing number of visitors. 

Bird house-—The valuable collection of rare and interesting birds 
now the property of the Government remains poorly housed for ex- 
hibition purposes. Because of the great interest taken in this divi- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 103 


sion of the collection and the numbers of beautiful and curious birds 
from all parts of the world that are presented to the park, the col- 
lection is constantly growing. The old bird house was built as a 
temporary structure many years ago and, in addition to being in a 
bad condition, is entirely too small either to accommodate the crowds 
of interested visitors or to show to advantage the birds. Many rare 
specimens, as a matter of fact, can not regularly be placed on ex- 
hibition because of lack of room. It is greatly to be hoped that a 
new bird house may be provided for in the near future. 

Funds for purchase of animals.—The park has never had sufficient 
funds for the purchase of animals. Rare specimens are from time to 

-time offered for sale that would fill distinct gaps in the collection, 

but because of lack of funds for their purchase these are frequently 
lost to the park. Two conspicuous forms of mammal life—the In- 
dian rhinoceros and giraffe—may be mentioned as examples. Oppor- 
tunities to purchase good specimens of these spectacular species do 
not often come, but because of lack of money for their purchase the 
park has had to decline the few offered in recent years. In order that 
special opportunities may be taken advantage of promptly, there 
should be available from year to year a reasonable sum for the pur- 
chase and transportation of animals. 

Respectfully submitted. 

N. Houutster, Superintendent. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, 


APPENDIX 7 
REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


Str: The Astrophysical Observatory was conducted under the fol- 
lowing passage of the independent offices appropriation act approved 
June 12, 1922: 

Astrophysical Observatory: For maintenance of the Astrophysical Observ- 
atory, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, including assist- 
ants, purchase of necessary books and periodicals, apparatus, making necessary 
observations in high altitudes, repairs and alterations of buildings, and miscel- 
laneous expenses, $15,500. 

The observatory occupies a number of frame structures within an 
inclosure of about 16,000 square feet south of the Smithsonian ad- 
ministration building at Washington, and also a cement observing 
station and frame cottage for observers on a plot of 10,000 square 
feet leased from the Carnegie Solar Observatory, on Mount Wilson, 
Calif. 

A new solar observing station on Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., was 
erected in July, 1920, at the expense of funds donated for the purpose 
by Mr. John A. Roebling, of Bernardsville, N. J., and this station 
has been occupied as a solar radiation observing station by the Astro- 
physical Observatory since October, 1920. 

The present value of the buildings and equipment for the Astro- 
physical Observatory, owned by the Government, is estimated at 
$50,000. This estimate contemplates the cost required to replace the 
outfit for the purposes of the investigation. 

Work at Washington.—No observations were attempted at Wash- 
ington. Mr. Fowle, Mrs. Bond, and the director, as much of his time 
as possible, were engaged in computations necessary (1) to the search 
for systematic errors in the work of Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., and 
the application of carefully determined corrections thereto; (2) to 
the publication of a comparison of two years of observations at 
Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., and Mount Montezuma, Chile (see 
Monthly Weather Review, February, 1923); (8) to the preparation 
of a new set of curves for use from January 1, 1923, in the short 
method of solar constant determination at Montezuma, Chile; (4) to 
the search for systematic errors and the application of carefully de- 
termined corrections to Montezuma results on the new basis; (5) to 


104 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 105 


the reduction of observations made at Mount Wilson in 1922 on the 
form of the solar spectrum energy curve and on the spectrum energy 
curves of ten of the brighter stars. 

It was apparent from the comparison just referred to between 
the results of the two field stations that they were in close accord on 
the sun’s variation. But the Chile station was employing in its 
reductions the results of work prior to 1913 on the distribution of 
radiation in the solar energy spectrum; while the Arizona station 
was employing results of 1920. Moreover, the pyranometer in use 
in Chile was of an old type unsuitable to the work. Furthermore, the 
sharpness of definition of the spectrum employed at Mount Harqua 
Hala was inferior to that employed at Montezuma. It seemed prob- 
able that to remedy these defects and put the two stations on equality 
in all respects would lead to even closer harmony in their results, 
although it meant a revision of the whole scheme of reductions at 
both stations, with a redetermination of the systematic errors at each. 
This is very important, for the solar variations rarely exceed 5 per 
cent, and are mainly less than 2 per cent. It taxes the best observing 
to reveal them. These were the circumstances which led to the large 
computing program stated in the preceding paragraph. It has re- 
sulted in putting the two stations on equal footing in every possible 
way. They are now capable of turning out jointly the best results 
on the solar variation that our experience can suggest a means to 
attain. 

The instrument maker, Mr. Kramer, has been on detached service 
for almost the entire year, engaged in the preparation, according 
to plans of the director, of two solar radiation outfits ordered, 
respectively, by a committee of interested gentlemen in Australia 
and by the Government of Argentina. The Australian outfit was 
finished and sent forward in June, 1923. The Argentine outfit will 
go forward about December, 1923. 

Field work at Mount Wilson.—Messrs. Abbot and Aldrich ob- 
served on Mount Wilson in the months of July, August, and the 
fore part of September, 1922. They redetermined the form of the 
solar spectrum energy curve. For this investigation they employed 
several different prisms, including two of rock salt. Their object in 
this course was to vary the procedure, as far as possible, so as to 
get several independent checks on the results. Upon reduction, all 
of the results of 1922 came into good accord with one another, and 
confirmed the work of 1920 very satisfactorily. It now appears 
that a large part of the earlier work, on which results published in 
Volumes III and IV of the Annals were based, was injured in ac- 
curacy by the employment of a quartz prism of inferior transparency. 
If this quartz prism work is rejected, the remaining early work is 


106 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


in fair accord with that of 1920 and 1922. The new results, therefore, 
now are accepted, and were published immediately after their com- 
pletion. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 74, No. 7, 
1923.) 

In the course of this solar energy spectrum work, the observers 
made solar energy curves with rock-salt prisms at different hours 
of the day, extending as far down the spectrum as to wave-length 
14 microns. As yet these observations are not reduced. 

A long and difficult task was undertaken in the observation of the 
prismatic energy spectra of 10 of the brighter stars in the focus of 
the 100-inch reflector on Mount Wilson. After much discourage- 
ment in preparation of apparatus and preliminary trials, successful 
results were obtained on three nights. The apparatus included a 
special bolometer and a special galvanometer. Changes of tem- 
perature of about one one-hundred-millionth of a degree Centigrade 
were observable, and electric currents of about 10-?* amperes were 
read with the galvanometer of 10 ohms resistance. So sensitive was 
the device that it was affected to an almost incredible extent by 
electromagnetic induction. It even appeared that the operation of 
electric power in Pasadena and Los Angeles was effective to cause 
disturbance through the transmission lines up the mountain though 
cut off at the power house a thousand feet away from the telescope. 
Accordingly, best observations were made after 2 o’clock in the 
morning. The results are given in the paper just cited. 

Field work in Arizona and Chile-—The Mount Harqua Hala sta- 
tion observed solar variation throughout the year under the efficient 
direction of Mr. A. F. Moore, assisted until April, 1923, by Mr. F. A. 
Greeley. Mr. P. E. Greeley, who had been at Montezuma, exchanged 
places with his brother and reported at Harqua Hala about June 
8, 1923. 

Mr. L. B. Aldrich assumed the directorship at Montezuma about 
December 20, 1922, succeeding Mr. L. H. Abbot. At both stations 
the results of 1923 have been very numerous. They had not yet been 
critically compared at the close of the period covered by this report. 


RESULTS OF THE WORK ON SOLAR RADIATION 


As long ago as 1903, we found in the observations then being con- 
ducted in Washington some indieation of a variation of the sun’s 
output of radiation. These indications were pursued for several 
years at Mount Wilson and Mount Whitney, and became so strong 
that, in 1911 and 1912, expeditions were maintained in Algeria, 
coincident with one at Mount Wilson, to test whether the supposed 
solar variations were really of local character. The results seemed 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 107 


confirmatory of real solar changes. The work went on in summer 
months at Mount Wilson, with gradual improvements up to 1920. 

In the meantime Mr. H. H. Clayton, forecaster of the meteoro- 
logical service of Argentina, had communicated evidence, at first by 
letter and later in two Smithsonian publications (Effect of Short 
Period Variations of Solar Radiation on the Earth’s Atmosphere, 
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 68, No. 8, 1917; and 
Variation in Solar Radiation and the Weather, Smithsonian Mis- 
cellaneous Collections, Vol. 71, No. 3, 1920), showing dependence of 
the weather of various parts of the world on fluctuations-of solar 
radiation. These indications he has now amplified and recently 
elaborately published (H. H. Clayton, “ World Weather,” Macmillan 
Co., New York, 1923). But even at the beginning, to one trained 
by the late Secretary S. P. Langley to hope that some time some con- 
nection would appear between solar and terrestrial changes, Mr. 
Clayton’s work was very interesting. 

At the writer’s suggestion, Secretary Walcott approved the ex- 
penditure of accrued interest from the Hodgkins Fund to undertake 
all-year-round observations of solar variation in a cloudless climate. 
The Great War hindered the expedition, but it went forward in 1918 
to Calama, Chile, a station chosen on the advice and extensive manu- 
script data furnished by Dr. Walter Knoche, formerly in charge of 
the weather service of Chile. 

By that time Mr. Clayton’s researches had led him to believe that 
actual forecasts might advantageously be based on solar radiation 
work. Accordingly, soon after the establishment of the Chile sta- 
tion, arrangements were made to telegraph its results to Buenos 
Aires, and a system of forecasting based thereon has actually been in 
use in Argentina for several years. Some of its results are quoted in 
the book of Mr. Clayton, just cited. 

The work almost immediately attracted the favorable attention 
of Mr. John A. Roebling. By his advice and financial assistance, 
the Mount Wilson work was transferred to a more cloudless locality 
for all-year-round observing at Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., and also 
the Calama work was transferred to a higher station, Montezuma, 
outside the dust and smoke of Calama and Chuquicamata, which 
had been serious inconveniences. 

During these many years we had plodded on in hope of a satis- 
fying fruition of our labors. Many signs there were that the solar 
radiation varies sufficiently to be of importance in terrestrial con- 
cerns. But they were of the nature of incompletely verified evi- 
dences of various sorts, all pointing the same way, but none in itself 
conclusive. With the continuous all-year-round occupation of the 
two first-rate stations, made possible by Mr. Roebling’s generosity, 


108 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the matter could be put, for the first time, to a rigorous test. And 
now we have made this test. It is conclusive and proves the sub- 
stantial character of solar variation. Hereafter we walk by sight 
where hitherto we walked by faith. 

In the publication cited (Monthly Weather Review, February, 
1923) -we show that in over 100 days, when results were obtained at 
both Arizona and Chile, the average deviation of one station fromm 
the other is 0.68 per cent, thus indicating a probable error of one 
day’s observation at one station of 0.41 per cent. The average devia- 
tion for two years of monthly mean values between the two stations 
is 0.38 per cent, and this small value would doubtless be considerably 
smaller if the individual days of the several months had always been 
coincident. Although in opposite hemispheres, where winter at one 
station falls in summer at the other station, there is no evidence of 
seasonal divergence between the two stations. They unite in show- 
ing solar variation. Indeed the march of the monthly mean values 
from November, 1921, to September, 1922, in which they agree closely, 
gives the most conspicuous instance of long-continued solar change 
in a given direction which we have ever noted. The reader may 
compare it with the four years of monthly means curve given at the 
top of the illustration. 

In short, there can not be, we think, any longer a reasonable ques- 
tion that the sun varies, or that our observations can reveal these 
variations satisfactorily. It is now a question for meteorologists 
whether these variations are of importance in weather forecasting. 
As we report these satisfying conclusions, it ought to be reported at 
the same time that the financial support furnished the Astrophysical 
Observatory by the Government would not have sufficed to obtain 
these results without the aid of the Hodgkins fund of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, and the generous financial support and wise 
counsel of Mr. John A. Roebling. 

Although done a few days after the close of the period covered by 
this report, it will be fitting in this connection to mention some pre- 
liminary observations on changes of the appearance of the sun accom- 
panying changes in its output of radiation. Being at Pasadena in 
July, 1923, the director availed himself of permission given by 
Director Adams to examine two years of record prints from direct 
photographs and hydrogen (H«) spectroheliograms of the sun made 
at the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory. Four general rules or 
principles seemed to be well established by the comparisons made. 

1. When increased sun-spot activity appears, either by new spot 
groups forming on the visible solar disk, by the growth of spots 
already present, or by the coming on of a new group due to the 
solar rotation, then on that very day the solar constant value in- 
creases. : 


b] 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY . 109 


2. When a sun-spot group is carried by the solar rotation across 
the central diameter of the visible disk, then the solar constant 
value declines, and usually has a minimum on the day following 
such central transit. 

3. When many spot groups, faculae, or long strings of dark 
hydrogen flocculi indicate that great solar activity is prevailing, the 
solar constant is high. 

4, When a long quiescent period occurs in solar activity, the solar 
constant values steadily decline. 

These rules connecting the solar radiation with the sun’s visible 
appearance seem to hold some promise of quantitative development. 
Possibly there may be found some formula for computing solar 
constant values by the aid of direct solar photographs and hydrogen 
and calcium spectroheliograms, which may enable the solar radiation 
values to be expressed with fair approximation for the past quarter 
of a century. If so, it will be of great advantage. 


PERSONNEL 


In addition to the changes of personnel above mentioned, Mr. 
William H. Hoover was temporarily engaged as assistant beginning 
March 12, 1923. He is in training to be director of the proposed 
solar radiation observatory of the Argentine Government at La 
Quiaca, Argentina. Mr. Hoover spent some time in Washington 
and some upon Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz. Mrs. Arline Leary 
served as temporary computer, beginning April 16, 1923. Both of 
these assistants were paid from funds given for the purpose by 
Mr. John A. Roebling. 


SUMMARY 


A comparison of two years of results on the variation of solar 
radiation observed at Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., and Montezuma, 
Chile, shows close accord between the stations and agreement be- 
tween them in showing forth solar changes of both long and short 
interval types. -Monthly mean values of both stations indicate a 
long continued decline of the output of solar radiation beginning in 
November, 1921, and continuing at least until September, 1922. 
This is in some respects the most remarkable solar change on record. 
Great improvements have been made at both stations, and their ob- 
servations have been put as far as possible on exactly equal footing. 
It is believed that beginning January 1, 1924, there will be still 
closer accord in their reuslts. Definite correspondences have been 
observed between the variation of the sun’s radiation and the varia- 
tion of the most marked of its visible features. Several new deter- 
minations of the form of the sun’s energy spectrum distribution 


110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


curve confirm the similar work of 1920, and lead to a revision of the 
results of earlier work published in Volumes III and IV of the 
Observatory Annals. Energy spectra of 10 of the brighter stars 
were observed at the focus of the 100-inch telescope on Mount Wil- 
son by means of a special spectrobolometric apparatus. Tempera- 
ture differences of approximately one one-hundred-millionth of a 
degree centigrade were measured in this investigation. Solar radia- 
tion outfits have been prepared for Australia and Argentina, to be 
installed in the year 1923. 
Respectfully submitted. 
C. G. Assor, Director. 
Dr. Cuartrs D. Watcort, Y 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 8 


REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF 
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the United States Regional Bureau of the International 
Catalogue of Scientific Literature for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1923. 

As the success of this international enterprise, in common with all 
undertakings dependent on international cooperation, is necessarily 
controlled by world politics, it has been the hope of all interested in 
the International Catalogue that each year conditions would develop 
which would make reorganization possible and justify resumption of 
publication. As international affairs, both political and financial, 
are apparently still far removed from normalcy, the affairs of the 
catalogue are practically in the same condition as they were in 1922. 
As was noted in the last annual report, the Smithsonian Institution 
submitted a statement of its position to an international convention 
held in Brussels in July, 1922, to consider the affairs of the catalogue. 
This statement carried with it a suggestion whose object was to keep 
the international organization in existence, it being generally con- 
ceded that should the countries who are now and have been for the 
past 22 years officially cooperating in the support of the enterprise 
be for any reason disunited it would be practically impossible to 
ever regain their interest and support. Though these suggestions 
were printed in the last report of this bureau, they are in part 
reprinted here, as on them were based the resolutions to continue the 
regional bureaus until reorganization could be accomplished: 


It is the belief of the Smithsonian Institution 

1. That a classified subject and author index to the literature of science is 
needed. 

2. That no better means exists of attaining the end sought than by carrying 
out the original plan of the International Catalogue based on international 
cooperation, guided by uniform rules and schedules modified to meet changes 
in the several sciences, and, when possible, broadened in scope to include the 
allied technical branches of these sciences. 

8. That every effort should be made to cooperate with all similar enterprises. 
including abstracting agencies, existing or projected, not only to prevent dupli- 
cation of labor, but also to better serve the demands of those in need of 
bibliographic aid. 


111 


112 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


4, That on account of abnormal conditions still controlling publishing costs 
and monetary exchange, it is probable that actual publication can not be at 
present resumed unless financial aid is had from some source outside the pres- 
ent organization ; however, it is believed, 

5. That the international organization should be kept in being through mu- 
tual agreement to continue the work of the regional bureaus until such time 
as it may be economically possible to resume publication. When that time ar- 
rives the stock of complete sets already published should be advertised for sale 
at a price within the reach of the smaller libraries and institutions, many of 
whom, although desiring this unique reference work, were prevented from 
subscribing on account of the high original cost. 

Were the price reduced even to one-fourth of the original, stock in hand at 
that figure represents a sufficient sum to meet all outstanding obligations and 
leave a surplus for working capital. 


This statement was read at the opening meeting of the conven- 


tion and after a short discussion the following resolutions were 
adopted : 


That the convention is of opinion that the international organization should 
be kept in being through mutual agreement to continue as far as possible the 
work of the regional bureaus until such time as it may be economically possible 
to resume publication. 

That it be referred to the executive committee to consider and after full con- 
sultation with interested bodies to make proposals as to the form of future 
publication and to report with Some definite scheme to a meeting of the inter- 
national council to be summoned as soon as it appears possible that the publi- 
cation can be resumed. 


The executive committee referred to consists of one representative 
from each of the following-named countries; England, France, 
Italy, Japan, Holland, Denmark, and the United States. 

At this convention Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, chairman of the 
executive committee, who is the only one of the founders of the cata- 
logue remaining in the organization, submitted a report from which 
the following items have been copied: 


At the outset there was great enthusiasm for the work among those who 
were its promoters in the different countries and great care was taken in the 
preparation of the scheme; the organization that has been developed, in con- 
sequence, has worked with remarkable smoothness. Bureaus have been estab- 
lished in 32 countries, and the relations between these and the central office in 
London have always been of the most harmonious character possible. 

Most convincing proof has been obtained that international cooperation to 
such an end is not merely possible but may be made most effective. That all 
that was aimed at has been accomplished need not be contended; but the 
obvious shortcomings of the catalogue have been almost entirely due to lack 
of funds. To have established a system so widespread in its operations is no 
small achievement in itself. 

I am profoundly convinced that the principles underlying the preparation of 
the catalogue are sound and that an international system of cataloguing 
scientific literature is proved to be feasible and that its advantages are in- 
contestable. - 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 113 


- 


It is the first work of the kind to be carried out in such detail and over 
so long a period—more than 20 years. To abandon the enterprise after so 
satisfactory a foundation has been laid would be to sacrifice an unique ex- 
perience gained at the expense of great labor. 

From the foregoing facts and opinions and from the experience 
of all who have occasion to use bibliographical aids, in matters 
relating to science and all its branches, it is apparent— 

1. That there is a need for recording for the purpose of present and future 
reference the published results of scientific achievements. 

2. That such a record to be comprehensive and complete must be interna- 
tional in its scope and therefore must necessarily be prepared through inter- 
national cooperation. 

3. That excepting for the organization known as the International Catalogue 
of Scientific Literature, no such agency exists. 

4. That, though not claiming perfection, the International Catalogue up to 
the beginning of the late war was and had been for some 14 years answering 
the demands and requirements of an international authors’ list and classified 
subject index to the world’s literature of science. 

5. That the principal defects of the International Catalogue were lack of 
capital; lack of complete cooperation with enterprises similar in nature though 
more limited in scope. 

All of these defects had been recognized and their correction pro- 
vided for by authority vested in the executive committee, whose plans 
were frustrated by the beginning of war and consequent financial 
collapse. It is believed and maintained by the advocates of the 
International Catalogue that the foundation as it at present exists, 
in spite of its financial difficulties, is the best and only one in existence 
on which to build a new and more far-reaching organization, tres- 
passing on no occupied fields, though cooperating for the common 
good with all enterprises having the same or similar objects in view. 

While many projects have been proposed and are now being advo- 
cated, none either in plan or scope compare with the International 
Catalogue and none have the international recognition and official 
support necessary for success. The capital needed to refinance the 
enterprise is so small in comparison with the results to be attained 
that it would be strange indeed if in this day of large ideas and large 
financial outlays this most promising bond between and aid for the 
thinkers and workers of all nations should be allowed to remain so 
crippled that its wealth of information must continue to be inacces- 
sible because unpublished. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Leonarp C. GUNNELL, 
Assistant in Charge. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 9 
REPORT ON THE LIBRARY 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the 
activities of the library of the Smithsonian Institution for the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1923. 

Much has been accomplished, it is felt, toward better library serv- 
ice. Principal original articles, appearing in scientific and technical 
periodicals received for the Smithsonian deposit, have been brought 
to the attention of members of the staff, through the continued 
preparation of a daily list, circulated among heads of scientific bu- 
reaus under the Smithsonian Institution. Books in the employees’ 
library have been rendered more accessible by their transfer to the 
present quarters. Better protection has been provided for the older 
accession books and other records by their removal to darker and less 
frequented quarters, and congestion has thus been relieved in the 
receiving room and in the filing cases. The number of publications 
loaned during the year reached a total of 12,076, and fully as many 
were consulted without being taken out. 

Many rare volumes that otherwise would have required purchase 
at great expense have been received in exchange or by gift. Back 
numbers of publications required to complete sets have been re- 
quested in exchange from societies and organizations abroad, and 
many have generously responded during the year by presenting 
valuable material, hitherto not available in American libraries. Spe- 
cial attention has been given to the transmittal of Smithsonian pub- 
lications in exchange. 


FOREIGN PERIODICALS 


A classified list has been prepared during the year of foreign 
periodicals, exclusive of annuals and irregular serials, and the fol- 
lowing table of subjects and languages is submitted: 


114 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 115 


Subject English French Germanic Italian Spanish 

PTE ieee ens Sere nee Lv Ue ee 4 a 4 1 3 
PA PCICHILUEG 22 -- 2 ~ ec eae Sie Ss 19 19 4 6 ll 
AnbIMNOpOlORY 2 -).--. ee L 17 9 6 2 1 
LATE Ga joe SE eee ee eee 10 15 1 3 3 
YA; os Ds A et SEs Se Se 2 ea 2! 5 5 tof | ma ne 3 1 
ACS LCL eS ee er a See, Oars 10 4 4 1 4 
Bipllugrapn yess... 204. Sis SEE 7 8 4 2 14 
Biology—peneral’. (5-22.25 es ese 13 5 1 1 2 
Poin yee:<- ee SS ee 9 9 6 3 1 
GHEMVISERY 2 22+ Cee Th 2 LS Ee 7 7 yg see wk a2 BE eee S 
RIGO MICS. = = 22 OES Th sep he ae Se 10 7 4 1 5 
LONE AGT, OS ee eR Se Sa Se 8 5 i Se ete ne 17 
Teimaienrinipe 2s ee SIGE PLES 38 11 6 3 il 
Mmtenmiplegy. ests 5 Pt bree 5 4 i 1 1 
CHOTA: oe ee es a 18 15 9 2 2 
OCT LL a eee ae pe Rt RE Ria ale onc ie Rial 10 13 3 2 4 
Story: ase Lire a te EL ae S Le. aS 6 5 8 5 5 
[NG Ei r12 051.0 ones Ae anal eet rane 3 1 3 5 8) cpa see ee oe 
Niatheniation peer et. oe sry per fe! 3 3 3 Byes ae e ess 
Medicalisciences.._..-=..284.22-..-....- 8 15 8 4 10 
IVES Dee OD Mere sees ee oe Se EU 11 4 4 4 3 
Navigation _-___- sone? EET. BS op 52 Ee ae Ee 4 1 2 1 2 
Ornithologyii2s: seeks 5 he eS oy Fons 4 4 6 1 1 
TELS CA bees Gein anna a “taht. pageant dine 1 F fl 2 1 
Bhwaiese fly tater etsy ethyl 3 3 12 1 1 
Seience—vorieral: 3 esse oes ki 25 27 15 13 16 
FOOLY SeOneTAl. == ae eee 5 8 i i || Re ead 

LG a Se See 1 See eee 263 217 143 69 119 


BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESEARCHES 


The third volume of the “ Bibliography of Aeronautics,” covering 
the years 1917 to 1919, inclusive, compiled by the assistant librarian 
of the Smithsonian Institution, Paul Brockett, was issued during 
the year by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The 
first volume of this bibliography was issued in 1910 as volume 55 
of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 

Efforts have been made for a number of years to compile a cata- 
logue of the Watts de Peyster collection, Napoleon Bonaparte, and 
a bibliography of scientific and technical periodicals, but up to the 
past few years it has not been possible to devote much time to 
these projects. During the past year, however, Mr. Condit has been _ 
able to bring together a catalogue of the rarer historical works in 
the Watts de Peyster collection, and to prepare a classified list of 
current foreign periodicals received for the library. The latter work 
should not be confused with the larger plan, under way for many 
years, for the compilation of a list of publications of learned societies 
of the world in libraries throughout the United States. The com- 
pletion of this project does not seem possible without the expen- 
diture of a large sum of money, which is not at present available. 


116 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


In the following reports of libraries administered under the 
Smithsonian Institution, a decrease will be noted in accessions, the 
natural consequence of the decline in publication abroad and the fact 
that war accumulations were taken care of last year. 


SMITHSONIAN MAIN LIBRARY 


The additions to the main library, numbering 5,719, have been 
transmitted to the Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress, 
where they are made available to the public. Documents of for- 
eign Governments, received in exchange for Smithsonian publica- 
tions, have been transmitted in accordance with the established 
practice, without stamping or recording. The number of publica- 
tions accessioned has now reached 893,307. 

Theses were received from universities and institutes of technology 
abroad located at the following places: Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, 
Bern, Bonn, Breslau, Clermont, Copenhagen, Delft, Dresden, Frei- 
burg, Ghent, Giessen, Halle, Helsingfors, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Konigs- 
berg, Leipzig, Lund, Rostock, Tokyo, Tiibingen, Utrecht, Ziirich. 

A number of universities have temporarily discontinued the prac- 
tice of sending the complete thesis, owing to the increased cost of 
printing, and are now submitting them in abstract only. 

Missing parts of incomplete sets were requested in exchange, as 
in previous years, with an increased percentage secured, although 
there was a decline both in wants requested and in wants secured. 
Of 2,174 publications requested, 921 were secured, a percentage of 
43.2 as against 39.1 for last year. 


SMITHSONIAN OFFICE LIBRARY 


The number of publications loaned from the office library was 
2,756. The accessions numbered 378, of which 347 were volumes and 
the remainder parts and pamphlets. Attention should be called to 
the fact that no binding has been done for the office library during 
the last six years, owing to lack of funds. 

The progress of the cataloguing in the general library catalogue 
of the Smithsonian Institution, kept in the office library, is shown 


by the following statistics: 
1922-1923 1921-1922 


Volumes | catalogned_ 22. (8 ee eee 6, 341 6, 502 
Volumes=recstalocued = 0°! huts Sh ee eee eee 109 55 
Charts’ catalosued T2201) -U et sore, eee eee 198 160 
Typed eardsatcy2s) 32> weer tens clones be, Bel oe Bee epee tl ee re 3, 870 4, 243 
Library.of ;Congresseards filed..-. 4 ee 858 592 
New ‘titles added to. author: catalocue_- >= ee 2, 299 1, 614 


Of the special collections in the office library, mention has been 
previously made of activities in connection with the aeronautical col- 
lection, the Watts de Peyster collection, and the employees’ library. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 117 


Mention should also be made of the collection deposited by Mrs. 
Charles D. Walcott, who has kindly extended the period of deposit. 
It is frequently consulted by employees of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution. 

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


The widespread interest of members of the staff and friends 
of the museum is shown by the material donated during the year. 
Among the donors are Messrs. H. E. Boving, A..H. Clark, F. W. 
Clarke, W. H. Dall, Whitman Cross, C. G. Gilbert, O. P. Hay, 
A. D. Hopkins, Ale’ Hrdli¢ka, Emmanuel de Margerie, W. R. 
Maxon, W. de C. Ravenel, C. W. Richmond, 8. A. Rohwer, W. 
Schaus, and Charles D. Walcott. The gifts of Doctor Dall to the 
sectional library of mollusks numbered 168 titles. 

Valuable material has continued to come in exchange from mu- 
seums, research organizations, and scientific societies at home and 
abroad. 

The receipts of the year numbered 1,489 volumes and 2,796 pam- 
phlets, bringing the total of books and other material in the library 
up to 160,560. Of these there are 62,170 accessioned volumes. New 
entry cards were made for 239 periodicals, and 138,314 parts were 
entered. 

Much of the library’s reference service is rendered through the 
sectional libraries, under the immediate custody of members of the 
scientific and administrative staff, located as follows: 


NATURAL HISTORY BUILDING 


American archeology. Mollusks. 

Anthropology. Old World archeology. 
Birds. Paleobotany. 

Fishes, Physical anthropology. 
Geology. Property clerk’s office. 
Invertebrate paleontology. Reptiles and batrachians. 
Mammals. Superintendent’s office. 
Marine invertebrates. Vertebrate paleontology. 
Minerals. 


ARTS AND INDUSTRIES BUILDING 


Administration. Medicine. 
Administrative assistant’s office. Mineral technology. 
Foods. Photography. 
History. Textiles. 
Mechanical technology. Wood technology. 


SMITHSONIAN BUILDING AND ANNEX 


Botany. Taxidermy. 
Editor’s office. War library. 
Graphic arts. 


1454—25——_9 


118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


It will be seen that the use of the library can not be estimated upon 
the basis of its loans alone. Many volumes are consulted in the 
general library, the technological library, and the various sectional 
libraries without being taken out. References are frequently re- 
quested over the telephone by members of the staff of the Museum 
and other Government bureaus, and every effort is made to comply 
with these requests. Of the 9,220 loans made during the year, 5,191 
were to the sectional libraries and 1,929 were borrowed from other 
libraries. 

The subject catalogue of the library has been increased by 4,400 
cards. The arrangement of accumulated cards from the Concilium 
Bibliographicum, received since the close of the war, has been 
progressing and is well under way. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY LIBRARY 


The requirements of the staff of the Astrophysical Observatory, 
both in Washington and at the various stations, in the way of ref- 
erence service, are met through the Astrophysical Observatory 
Library. Loans are made through the Smithsonian Office Library. 
There were added during the year 113 volumes, 27 parts of volumes, 
and 54 pamphlets. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY LIBRARY 


The activities of the Bureau of American Ethnology Library are 
covered in the report of the chief of that bureau. The library is 
administered under his immediate direction. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK LIBRARY 


The library of the National Zoological Park, located three miles 
distant from the Smithsonian building, contains supplemental ma- 
terial of importance in the fields of zoology and park administration. 
The increase for the year, as shown by accessions, was six volumes 
and four parts. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART LIBRARY 


The National Gallery of Art Library is rapidly growing. Since 
the gallery has begun the issuance of a separate series of publications 
there has been a noteworthy increase in the material that has been 
received in exchange. There were accessioned 128 volumes and 213 
periodicals. Periodical parts numbered 740. The gift of the year 
most worthy of mention is the large, handsomely illustrated volume 
of paintings in the Bachstitz Gallery at The Hague. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 119 
FREER GALLERY OF ART LIBRARY 


In connection with the art collections in the Freer building, a 
large library was brought together by Mr. Freer. A catalogue of the 
works contained in it has not been incorporated in the general library 
of the Institution. There have been, however, 187 accessions in the 
library, and 10 of these were added during the year. Many other 
volumes belonging to the Smithsonian Institution have been depos- 
ited in that building, to be retained indefinitely, most of these being 
reference works and volumes relating to Oriental art. 


SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS AND ACCESSIONS 


The number of pieces of mail received during the year was 25,553, 
of which 6,272 publications were Government documents, and were 
sent to the Library of Congress, in accordance with the established 
practice. Additions to the library, as shown by the accession records, 
‘are given below. 


: Other pub- 
Library Volumes lieatigas Total 

ASiTopuySicaliO bservatory2o2s_5. - ---2P ete ery cee te ee be = eres te 113 81 194 
TRerM Gey GMAT a2 5. 2. 7. FO eS od eh eet ie 10 1 ll 
be ATTEN DCG Te LTA tal ig Rec = pelle ae AIR AS Stl lO naa 128 213 341 
NawonslAnolocical Park: 14 7255. “yes Sree eds ery ey see & 6 4 10 
ETIRO UAT EEDA Ge cargo Son ae eee ge 4, 461 1, 258 5, 719 
‘D/P ene HE ECHO EC Tepe ee Ret NM al ee gh ely ATR i oh fe 347 31 378 
United States National Museum_-_____._____1_-_-_---_-_-2---_- ee 1, 489 2, 796 4, 285 

LU) Lee eee ee SR seal lh ac el len th A cl heat sein 6, 554 4, 384 10, 938 


Respectfully submitted. 
Pavu Brockett, 
Assistant Librarian. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 10 
REPORT ON THE PUBLICATIONS 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the pub- 
lications of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches during the 
year ending June 30, 1923: 

The Institution proper published during the year 9 papers in 
the series of Miscellaneous Collections, 1 annual report and pam- 
phlet copies of 30 articles in the general appendix to this report, 
and 3 special publications. The Bureau of American Ethnology 
published 2 bulletins and 2 annual reports. The United States 
National Museum issued 1 annual report, 2 volumes of proceed- 
ings, 387 separates from the proceedings, 6 bulletins, 2 parts of 
bulletins, and 4 parts of volumes in the series of Contributions 
from the United States National Herbarium. The National Gallery 
of Art issued 1 volume in the series of Catalogues of Collections. 

Of these publications there were distributed during the year 139,- 
666 copies, which includes 130 volumes and separates of the Smith- 
sonian Contributions to Knowledge, 18,801 volumes and separates 
of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 25,229 volumes and 
separates of the Smithsonian annual reports, 3,016 Smithsonian 
special publications, 72,529 volumes and separates of the various 
series of National Museum publications, 17,694 publications of the 
Bureau of American Ethnology, 816 publications of the National 
Gallery of Art, 1,309 volumes of the Annals of the Astrophysical 
Observatory, 31 reports on the Harriman Alaska expedition, 74 re- 
ports of the American Historical Association, and 37 publications 
presented to but not issued directly by the Smithsonian Institution 
or its branches. 


SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 


Of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 56, 1 paper 
was issued; volume 67, 1 paper; volume 74, 6 papers; volume 76, 1 
paper; in all, 9 papers, as follows: 


VOLUME 56 


No. 19. The Silver Disk Pyrheliometer (Reprint, revised). By C. G. Abbot. 
July 10, 1922. 10 pp., 1 pl. (Publ. 2008.) . 


120 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY Lor 


VOLUME 67 


No. 8. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology. IV, No. 8. Nomenclature of 
Some Post Cambrian and Cambrian Cordilleran Formations (2). By Charles D. 
Walcott. March 5, 1923. pp. 457-476. (Publ. 2673.) 


VOLUME 74 


No. 2. New Timaline Birds from the East Indies. By Harry C. Oberholser. 
September 27, 1922. 13 pp. (Publ. 2674.) 

No. 3. Remains of Mammals from Caves in the Republic of Haiti. By 
Gerrit S. Miller, jr. October 16, 1922. 8 pp. (Publ. 2707.) 

No. 4. Remains of Birds from Caves in the Republic of Haiti. By Alexander 
Wetmore. October 17, 1922. 4 pp. (Publ. 2708.) 

No. 5. Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1922. 
May 4, 1923. 153 pp., 145 figs. (Publ. 2711.) 

No. 6. Designs on Prehistoric Pottery from the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico. 
By J. Walter Fewkes. May 29, 1923. 47 pp., 140 figs. (Publ. 2713.) 

No. 7. The Distribution of Energy in the Spectra of the Sun and Stars. By 
C. G. Abbot, F. BE. Fowle, and L. B. Aldrich. June 4, 1923. 30 pp. (Publ. 2714.) 


VOLUME 76 


No. 1. Some Practical Aspects of Fuel Economy. By Carl W. Mitman. June 
2, 1923. 19 pp. (Publ. 2715.) 


In press at close of year 
VOLUME 76 


No. 2. History of Electric Light. By Henry Schroeder. (Publ. 2717.) 

No. 3. On the Fossil Crinoid Family Catillocrinidae. By Frank Springer. 
(Publ. 2718.) : 

No. 4. Report on Cooperative Educational and Research Work Carried on by 
the Smithsonian Institution and its Branches. (Publ. 2719.) 

No. 5. The Telescoping of the Cetacean Skull. By Gerrit S. Miller, jr. (Publ. 
2720.) 

No. 6. Descriptions of New East Indian Birds of the Families Turdidae, 
Sylviidae, Pycnonotidae, and Muscicapidae. By Harry C. Oberholser. (Publ. 
2721.) 

No. 7. Description of an Apparently New Toothed Cetacean from South 
Carolina. By Remington Kellogg. (Publ. 2723.) 


SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORTS 


REPORT FOR 1921 


The Annual Report of the Board of Regents for 1921 was received 
from the Public Printer in June, 1923. 


Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, show- 
ing operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year 
ending June 30, 1921. xi+638 pp., 113 pls. (Publ. 2675.) 


The general appendix to this report contains the following papers: 


The daily influence of astronomy, by W. W. Campbell. 
Cosmogony and stellar evolution, by J. H. Jeans. 


122 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The diameters of the stars, by A. Danjon. 

Isotopes and atomic weights, by F. W. Aston. 

Modifying our ideas of nature: The Hinstein theory of relativity, by Henry 
Norris Russell. 

The alkali problem in irrigation, by Carl S. Scofield. 

An outline of geophysical-chemical problems, by Robert B. Sosman. 

The yielding of the earth’s crust, by William Bowie. 

The age of earth, by the Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, W. J. Sollas, J. W. 
Gregory, and Harold Jeffreys. 

The department of geology of the U. S. National Museum, by George P. Merrill. 

Some observations on the natural history of Costa Rica, by Robert Ridgway. 

The historic development of the evolutionary idea, by Branislav Petronievics. 

The heredity of acquired characters, by L. Cuénot. 

Breeding habits, development, and birth of the opossum, by Carl Hartman. 

Some preliminary remarks on the velocity of migratory flight among birds, 
with special reference to the Palaearctic region, by R. Meinertzhagen. 

A botanical reconnaissance in southeastern Asia, by A. 8S. Hitchcock. 

Ant acacias and acacia ants of Mexico and Central America, by W. H. Safford. 

The fall webworm, by R. E. Snodgrass. F 

Collecting insects on Mount Rainier, by A. L. Melander. 

The science of man: Its needs and prospects, by Karl Pearson. 

Pigmentation in the old Americans, with notes on graying and loss of hair, 
by AleS Hrdlitka. 

Ancestor worship of the Hopi Indians, by J. Walter Fewkes. 

The Indian in literature, by Herman F, C. Ten Kate. 

Leopard men in the Naga Hills, by J. H. Hutton. 

A new era in Palestine exploration, by Elihu Grant. 

The alimentary education of children, by Marcel Labbé. 

A fifty-year sketch history of medical entomology, by L. O. Howard. 

Laid and wove, by Dard Hunter. 

Lead, by Carl W. Mitman. 

William Crawford Gorgas, by Robert E. Noble. 


REPORT FOR 1922 


The report of the executive committee and proceedings of the 
Board of Regents of the Institution, and the report of the secretary, 
both forming part of the annual report of the Board of Regents to 
Congress, were issued in pamphlet form in December, 1922. 

Report of the executive committee and proceedings of the Board of Regents 
of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1922. 10 pp. 
(Publ. 2710.) 

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending 
June 30, 1922. 125 pp. (Publ. 2709.) 


The general appendix to this report, the manuscript of which 
went to the Government Printing Office a few days after the close 
of the fiscal year, contains the following articles: 

Who will promote science? by C. G. Abbot. 

Recent discoveries and theories relating to the structure of matter, by Karl 
Taylor Compton. 

The architecture of atoms and a universe built of atoms, by C. G. Abbot. 

Aeronautic research, by Joseph S. Ames. 

Photosynthesis and the possible use of solar energy, by H. A. Spoehr. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY i BSS 


Fogs and clouds, by W. J. Humphreys. 

Some aspects of the use of the annual rings of trees in climatic study, by 
Prof. A. E. Douglass. 

The age of the earth, by T. C. Chamberlin and others. 

How deep is the ocean? by C. G. Abbot. 

Two decades of genetic progress, by BH. M. Hast. 

Observations on a Montana beaver canal, by S. Stillman Berry. 

The Republic of Salvador, by Paul C. Standley. 

The tent caterpillar, by R. HB. Snodgrass. 

The life history and habits of the solitary wasp, Philanthus gibbosus, 
by Edward G. Reinhard. 

The use of idols in Hopi worship, by J. Walter Fewkes. 

Two Chaco Canyon pit houses, by Neil M. Judd. 

Collections of Old World archeology in the United States National Museum, 
by I. M. Casanowicz. 

The “ Shake Religion” of Puget Sound, by T. T. Waterman. 

Excavations at Askalon, by Prof. J. Garstang. 

National efforts at home making, by F. H. Newell. 

Ideals of the telephone service, by John J. Carty. 


SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS 


The Smithsonian Institution (descriptive pamphlet), 7 pp. 

Title page and contents of Volume 62, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 
tions. (Publ.- 2716.) 

Title page and contents of Volume 72, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 
tions. (Publ. 2706.) 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


The publications of the National Museum are: (a) The annual 
report, (b) the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 
and (¢c) the Bulletin of the United States National Museum, which 
includes the Contributions from the United States National Her- 
barium. The editorship of these publications is vested in Dr. Mar- 
cus Benjamin. 

During the year ending June 30, 1923, the Museum published 
1 annual report, 2 volumes of proceedings, 6 complete bulletins, 2 
parts of bulletins, 4 parts of volumes in the series Contributions 
from the United States National Herbarium, and 37 separates from 
the proceedings. 

The issues of the bulletin were as follows: 

Bulletin 100, volume 5. Contributions to the biology in the Philippine Archipel- 
ago and adjacent regions.—Ophiurans of the Philippine seas and adjacent 
waters. By Rene Koehler. 

Bulletin 120. The opalinid ciliate infusorians. By Maynard M. Metcalf. 

Bulletin 121. Life histories of North American petrels and pelicans and their 
allies—Order Tubinares and order Steganopodes. By Arthur Cleveland 
Bent. 

Bulletin 122. A monograph of the American shipworms. By Paul Bartsch. 

Bulletin 123. Revision of the North American moths of the subfamily Eucos- 
minae of the family Olethreutidae. By Carl Heinrich, 


124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Bulletin 124. The type species of the genera of Chalcidoidea or Chalcid-flies. 
By A. B. Gahan and Margaret M. Fagan. 

Bulletin 126. Life histories of North American wild fowl—Order Anseres 
(part). By Arthur Cleveland Bent. 


Of the separate papers of the Contributions from the United 
States National Herbarium, the following were issued: 


Volume 23, part 2. Trees and Shrubs of Mexico. (Fagaceae-Fabaceae). By 
Paul C. Standley. 

Volume 24, part 2. Studies of tropical American ferns, No. 7. By William R. 
Maxon. 

Volume 24, part 38. Key to the Genus Diplostephium, with Descriptions of New 
Species. By S. F. Blake. 

Volume 24, part 4. Native Names and Uses of Some Plants of Eastern Guate- 
mala and Honduras. By S. F. Blake. 


Of the separates from the proceedings, 5 were from volume 61, 
21 from volume 62, and 11 from volume 63. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


The editorial work of the Bureau of American Ethnology is 
under the direction of Mr. Stanley Searles, editor. During the 
year there were published two annual reports and two bulletins, as 
follows: 


Thirty-fourth Annual Report. Accompanying papers: A Prehistoric Island 
Culture Area of America (Fewkes). 281 pp., 120 pls., 69 figs. 

Thirty-seventh Annual Report. Accompanying paper: The Winnebago Tribe 
(Radin). 560 pp., 58 pls., 38 figs. 

Bulletin 76. Archeological Investigations (Fowke). 204 pp., 45 pls., 37 figs. 

Bulletin 77. Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes west 
of the Mississippi (Bushnell). 211 pp., 55 pls., 12 figs. 


There were in press or in preparation at the close of the year 4 
annual reports and 5 bulletins, as follows: 


Thirty-eighth Annual Report. Accompanying paper: An Introductory Study 
of the Arts, Crafts, and Customs of the Guiana Indians (Roth). 

Thirty-ninth Annual Report. Accompanying paper: The Osage Tribe: The 
Rite of Vigil (La Flesche). 

Fortieth Annual Report. Accompanying papers: The Mythical Origin of the 
White Buffalo Dance of the Fox Indians; The Autobiography of a Fox Indian 
Woman; Notes on Fox Mortuary Customs and Beliefs; Notes on the Fox 
Society know as “Those Who Worship the Little Spotted Buffalo”; The 
Traditional Origin of the Fox Society known as “ The Singing-Around Rite” 
(Michelson). 

Forty-first Annual Report. Accompanying paper: Social Organization and 
Social Usages of the Indians of the Creek Confederacy (Swanton). 

Bulletin 78. Haudbook of the Indians of California (Kroeber). 

Bulletin 79. Blood Revenge, War, and Victory Feasts among the Jibaro In- 
dians of Eastern Eucuador (Karsten). 

Bulletin 80. Mandan and Hidatsa Music (Densmore). 

Bulletin 81. Excavations in the Chama Valley, New Mexico (Jeancon). 

Bulletin 82. Fewkes and Gordon Groups of Mounds in Middle Tennessee. 
(Myer). 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 125 
REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 


The annual reports of the American Historical Association are 
transmitted by the association to the secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution, and by him are communicated to Congress under pro- 
visions of the act of incorporation of the association. 

The annual report for 1919 was still in press at the close of the 
year, and there were also in press the supplemental volumes entitled 
“ Writings in American History,” to the reports for 1919, 1920, and 
1921. 


REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERI- 
CAN REVOLUTION 


The manuscript of the Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the National 
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution was transmitted to 
Congress according to law on December 28, 1922. 


THE SMITHSONIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PRINTING AND 
PUBLICATION 


The editor has continued to serve as secretary of the Smithsonian 
advisory committee on printing and publication. To this committee 
are referred for consideration and recommendation all manuscripts 
offered for publication by the Smithsonian Institution and its 
branches, and it also considers routine forms and other matters re- 
lating to printing and publication. Seven meetings were held during 
the year and 104 manuscripts were acted upon. 

Respectfully submitted. 

W. P. True, Editor. 

Dr. CHarites D. Watcort, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


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REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF 
REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE 
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1928 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following re- 
port in relation to the funds, receipts, and disbursements of the Insti- 
tution and a statement of the appropriations by Congress for the 
National Museum, the International Exchanges, the Bureau of Amer- 
ican Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical 
Observatory, the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 
and the National Gallery of Art, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 
1923: 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


Condition of the fund July 1, 1923 


The sum of $1,000,000 deposited in the Treasury of the United 
States under act of Congress is a permanent fund, having been ac- 
cumulated by the deposit of savings and bequests from time to time. 
Subsequent bequests and gifts and the income therefrom, when so 
required, are invested in approved securities. The several specific 
funds so invested are now constituted as follows and classed as the 
consolidated fund: 


Ee NOs ed Fe ST sige veri bay, fay $27, 689. 80 
Wireuuemrurdyvurma comand 42.08 Ser nh 48, 300. 00 
Eaey MerBairdcen dies 20a Tai see or le yy taper aetiyt i139 1, 285. 58 
ROMY TALE) CEUEPLG 22 8 Serer eee ok, ey ae Sees fy atte 85, 000. 00 
ISIN iru oT.) gph eee eats) aa eras a cee a eee ee ene. 5 500. 00 
WOES Nae 8 YONA Er gob eV) ks Gece at ee oa eS nO RN S557 1, 023. 00 
hoe isms een ere lS Fm pe Ep WS op rte 37, 275. 00 
LeU LL 2 21S RECITES 2100) eee ee 2a ee eons re em: wit le wh: | — 11,194. 76 
Morris Loeb fund - =. Seo ab if Detepina ent jfiur esti ih y 2, 390. 00 
Mucy rand Georse W..Poore fim 2 ee a ee eee 10, 055. 00 
PCG GEES STIS MOSS 272 5 185 by 10 6 (Ce ee ee ee en nega oF a ee Re 4, 419. 00 
TEATS SSL 10 0 (ke SS I a a MOO roe ER ee OO Sa 238. 00 
EEE Eey sd SES Pa TCO 1 Go 9 Pio a ea mS ES ey cae cate ev 451. 00 
RTE GRO kis Te ean en ek A Ee ee 1, 429. 14 
Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott research fund_______________ == 49520500 

Wotlk cousGlidated tung s2- — eee oe ee 192, 770. 28 


127 


128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


A piece of improved real estate, at 140 East Capitol Street, Wash- 
ington, D. C., forming a part of the original bequest of the late 
Robert Stanton Avery, has been sold. Payment in part was made in 
cash and the balance by note. ; 

The total amount of dividends and interest received by the Insti- 
tution from the Freer estate during the year for all purposes was 
$304,436.26. The increase in revenue was partly due to the settle- 
ment of the estate by the administrators and also to the fact that 
Parke, Davis & Co. declared a 100 per cent stock dividend to holders 
of record December 18, 1922. 

The itemized report of the auditor is filed in the office of the 


secretary. 
Detailed survey of financial operations 


Ordinary receipts: 


Olish: Dalance: On WANG sly Wee eee ea ee ee $6, 364. 15 
Income from miscellaneous sources available for general pur- 

poses, 2. 1 Sha ies. SEO ee 55, 856. 35 
International Exchanges, repayments to the Institution for 

SPEGINC DUNDOSCS. 20 = Se eee 5, 263. 66 


Total resources for ordinary purposes___-__-__________ 67, 484. 16 


Ordinary expenditures: 


Care and srepair. of ‘buildings <= a ee 8, 013. 08 
MBIT IATEUITS, UTIL” CUR CUS oo See eA ee, eee 1, 535. 34 
General HOMIMIStCAbLOM ace eo ee ee 24, 766. 39 
iprary es aU As Bese ie OL SM oe 2 Oe ee ee 3, 197. 67 
Publications (comprising preparation, printing, and distri- 

DUH OR) ese ne net the ee Se a to ee 13, 463. 27 
Researches and explorations. 22. - Le a ee 5, 135. 55 
International Hixchanges =o. ee eat eee 8, 027. 55 

Tofalsoraina ry, Gx pene iii: oe ee 64, 138. 85 


Advances and repayments for field expenses and other temporary 
transactions during the year: 


PANU VeATIGOS 5 Siu cr ha Ee a 37, 984. 05 
Jove) 0 Fatale 11) to er nae een ee ee ee 25, 214. 88 
Tieton = Os uy )( 125 FOO, 2T 


The above difference will be adjusted in due course. 


Receipts : 


Avery fund 
Harriman trust fund 
Hodgkins fund 
Hamilton fund 


REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES FOR SPECIFIC OBJECTS 


PRRs aed CET Cee a a eT EE 8 Me ol Sar ert 


Addison T. Reid fund 
Lucy T. and George W. Poore fund 
George H. Sanford fund 
Bruce Hughes fund 
Swales fund 
Caroline Henry Fund 
Morris Loeb fund 
Dr. W. L. Abbott research fund 
John A. Roebling solar research fund 
Frances Lea Chamberlain fund 


J G0 Vek aoe Chg Bt) Velo Ms e100 Pe ee ES eee een ae eye eee en 
Marna ULM y  esCOr hme oer ae eee 


Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott fund 


Hxpenditures: 


John A. Roebling fund, for solar research 


Swales fund, for specimens________________ 


Chamberlain fund, for specimens 
Hodgkins fund, for solar research 
Harriman trust fund, for researches and specimens 
Rhees fund, invested 


Aer (acl VEShC User eee on et eg oe Nees ee ee we 


Addison T. Reid fund, invested 


Lucy T. and George W. Poore fund, invested 


Lucy T. and George W. Poore fund, taxes 
George H. Sanford fund, invested 
Bruce Hughes fund, invested 
Virginia Purdy Bacon fund, invested 
Caroline Henry fund, invested 
Lucy H. Baird fund, invested 
Morris Loeb fund, expended 
Morris Loeb fund, invested 
Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott fund, expended 
Hamilton fund, expended 


ALLEY ET (Es ed YN ET Ore OS oun, LEY se leek AY eM) LT Sy 


129 


$3, 919. 72 
12, 500. 00 
6, 000. 60 
175. 00 
47. 00 
845. 00 

2, 210. 15 
87. 90 
509. 74 
400. 00 
51. 00 

5, 882. 50 
4, 000. 00 
28, 288. 19 
1,750. 00 
64. 28 

2, 400. 00 
576. 00 


69, 756. 48 


15, 156. 36 
170. 94 

1, 176. 03 
5, 333. 82 
10, 136. 52 
39. 00 

3, 200. 00 
740. 00 

1, 611. 00 
313. 60 
77. 00 

1, 300. 00 
1,400. 00 
23. 00 

25. 00 
247.18 

2, 390. 00 
576. 00 
375. 80 


44, 291. 25 


130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES PERTAINING TO THE CHARLES L. FREER BEQUEST 


Receipts: 
Interest, dividends, and miscellaneous receipts, including in- 
stallments on Great Lakes engineering works, in liquida- 


PGi 0 oe Se Se ea ee eo ee —_ $304, 436. 26 
Expenditures: 
Final payment of temporary loan to settle Freer estate_______ 173, 640. 99 
Purchase of art objects and other miscellaneous expenditures. 45, 704. 84 
Paine Sam ee ee ee ee ee ee eee 32, 100. 17 
Total. axXpeng Hires 222 se oe ea 251, 446. 00 
SUMMARY 
Receipts: 
Ordinary income for general objects, including cash balance 
ai Det inning Of years: 4-2 ee NS ee eee $67, 484. 16 
Revenue and principal of funds conveyed for specific purposes, 
except thesh reer bequest = EE a ee 69, 756. 48 
POT, DECUCS tee saa ee eS a ee ee 304, 486. 26 
SLO Gel ee note ae OS AS Se a — 441, 676. 90 
Expenditures: 
General objects*of the -Instiquilon =. 2 7S ae ee 64, 188. 85 
Expenditures for specific purposes, except the Freer bequest-__ 44, 291. 25 
Advances for Held expenses —— = Ss eS ee 12, 769. 17 
FERCEr  DECUICS te eer ee —_ 251, 446. 00 
Cash’ deposited"on time*at' sper cent ee 57, 500. 00 
Cash balance Jane 301925.) eee 11, 531. 63 
MPO ba Rte note eee ie eee ee OS ee 441, 676. 90 


All payments are made by check, signed by the Secretary of the 
Institution, on the Treasurer of the United States, and all revenues 
are deposited to the credit of the same account, except in some 
instances small deposits are placed in bank for convenience of col- 
lection and later are withdrawn in round amounts and deposited in 
the Treasury. 

The practice of investing temporarily idle funds in time deposits 
has proven satisfactory. During the year the interest derived from 
this source, together with other similar items, has resulted in a 
total of $1,732.50. 


REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 132 


The following appropriations were intrusted by Congress to the 
care of the Smithsonian Institution for the fiscal year 1923: 


Bureau: . Appropriation 
PELE AR ONO EXC O ATION oe hen bee, ca gare eee eyes es en a $45, 000 
AHO TIGH TY CATO LO Lye ee et Oe a ee ee eee Pe ee 44, 000 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature__________________ 7, 500 
AStrOpnysical! ODSEL Vat Or yi eee a ee ee 15, 500 
National Museum— 

Harnicurevang: fixpubeseors eos ae ee ee $20, 000 

Heatinevand hiehtinge 9 02 ts 2 ae ry 2 73, 000 

IPPeSeryatiOn OL COMeECTIONS=(2s 222s ee ee se 312, 620 

J BVI S WN OYE en He) OFF ISB ae ah lp i i el Matt eT ad 10, 000 

USO KN eee ee IOs AR eee Eyre eens Se A 2, 000 

IRON age seri’ Eats eee = ee 8 ee. 8 500 
418, 120 
Naira Galley cop cA RE x se eo 6 ean Ne a ee ee 15, 000 
INGO rel emOOlOZICAl sbatice vere: see oe ee Se ee 125, 000 
[NErEASe OL -COMPeNnsatione 2 2o 2. 2 Se ee et Es 109, 044 
LL er E200 IR ata Sa Sg ele a a RE an Pe 77, 400 
ES) f:s3 Nee ses aa a ene ae ie ce es i A a Sl 856, 564 


Respectfully submitted. 
Guo. Gray, 
Henry Waite, 
Frepertc A. DELANo, 
Executwe Committee. 


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PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITH- 
SONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 
30, 1923 


ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 14, 1922 


Present: The Hon. Calvin Coolidge, Vice President of the United 
States, chancellor, in the chair; Chief Justice William H. Taft; 
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Representative Frank L. Greene; Rep- 
resentative Albert Johnson; Mr. Charles F. Choate, jr.; Mr. John 
B. Henderson; Mr. Henry White; Mr. Robert S. Brookings; and the 
secretary, Dr. Charles D. Walcott. 


DEATH OF REGENTS 


The secretary announced the death, since the last annual meeting, 
of Representative John A. Elston. 
On motion of Mr. Johnson, the following resolution was adopted: 


Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution having learned 
of the death, in December, 1921, of the Honorable John A. Elston, a Member 
of the House of Representatives, and a regent of the Institution since January 
9, 1920: Therefore be it 

Resolved, That the board desire here to record their sorrow at the loss of a 
colleague whose untimely death terminated a career filled with promise, and 
whose interest in the affairs of the Institution made him a valued member of 
the board. 

The secretary also announced the death of the Hon. Lemuel P. 
Padgett, who had been reappointed a regent by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives on January 4, 1922. 

On motion of Mr. Greene, the following resolution was adopted: 

Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution having learned 
of the death, on August 2, 1922, of the Honorable Lemuel P. Padgett, a Mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives, and a regent of the Institution since 
December 15, 1917: Therefore be it 

Resolved, That the board here place on record their deep sense of loss at 
the passing away of their associate, whose career as citizen and statesman 
was distinguished by lofty purpose and fulfillment, and whose wise counsel in 
the deliberations of the board will be greatly missed. 


DEATH OF FORMER REGENT 


The secretary stated that Dr. A. Graham Bell attended the last 
annual meeting of the board, although not in robust health; that 
his fourth term as a regent expired on February 20, 1922, thus 
completing 24 years of service; and that he had decided not to 


133 


134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


accept another term. Doctor Bell’s illness terminated fatally on 
August 2 at his home in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. 

In view of Doctor Bell’s long service as a regent, it was suggested 
that there be included in the records of the board a suitable brief 
memorial of his life and work. 

The Chief Justice then presented the following resolution, which 
was adopted: 

Resolved, That the executive committee be requested to prepare a memorial 
commemorative of the life and work of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, regent 


of the Smithsonian Institution from 1898 to 1922, said memorial to be pre- 
sented at the next annual meeting of the board. 


NEW REGENTS 


The secretary announced the following appointments of regents 
by the Speaker of the House of Representatives: 

On January 4, 1922, the Hon. Frank L. Greene, of Vermont; 
reappointment. 

On January 4, 1922, the Hon. Albert Johnson, of the State of 
Washington, to succeed the late John A. Elston. 

On December 7, 1922, the Hon. Robert Walton Moore, of Virginia, 
to succeed the late Lemuel P. Padgett. 

A joint resolution providing for the appointment of Mr. John A. 
Roebling, of New Jersey, to fill the vacancy created by the expira- 
tion of Doctor Bell’s term, had been passed by the Senate and re- 
ferred to the House of Representatives, but Mr. Roebling declined 
the appointment on account of poor health. 


VACANCY IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


The secretary stated that the expiration of Doctor Bell’s term as a 
regent had caused a vacancy in the membership of the executive 
committee, and that, under a resolution of the board of regents, 
adopted December 10, 1914, the chancellor had appointed Mr. John 
B. Henderson to fill the vacancy “until the next regular meeting 
of the board.” 

On motion of Mr. White, the following resolution was adopted: 

Resolved, That the temporary appointment of Mr. John B. Henderson as a 
member of the executive committee be approved and continued until the expira- 
tion of his term as regent. 


RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO INCOME AND EXPENDITURE 


Mr. White, as acting chairman of the executive committee, sub- 
mitted the following resolution, which was adopted : 

Resolved, That the income of the Institution for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1924, be appropriated for the service of the Institution, to be expended by 
the secretary with the advice of the executive committee, with full discretion 
on the part of the secretary as to items. 


PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS . 135 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


= 
The annual report of the executive committee for the fiscal year 
-ending June 80, 1922, in printed form, was submitted by the secre- 


tary. 
On motion, the report was accepted. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PERMANENT COMMITTER 


This report was read by the secretary, as follows: 


Hodgkins fund.—As stated in previous reports, $5,000 is allotted annually 
from the Hodgkins specific fund for the maintenance of an astrophysical station 
on the Montezuma Mountain, in Chile, where studies in solar radiation are 
being carried on continuously. The work is under the direction of Dr. Charles 
G. Abbot, Assistant Secretary of the Institution and Director of the Astrophysi- 
cal Observatory. 

Roebling contribution.—Mr. John A. Roebling, of New Jersey, has contributed 
further funds to advance the work of solar research stations in Chile and 
Arizona and the publication of results there attained. The contributions of 
Mr. Roebling to date for this work aggregate more than $40,000. 

Avery bequest.—All the real estate covered by this bequest has been sold. 
The Avery fund now amounts to $41,283. 

Poore bequest.—This bequest has reached the sum of $36,025. Under the 
testator’s will, the fund must total $250,000 before its income shall be available. 
Several lots of land in the city of Lowell remain undisposed of, but will be sold 
as opportunity offers. A request has been made that the taxes on this property 
be abated, but it has not yet been acted upon. 

Freer bequest.—A note for $200,000 given for the purpose of liquidating 
Federal and inheritance taxes against the estate has been reduced to $79,250. 
A balance of $28,051.05 remains under the building fund and there are several 
specific accounts with balances sufficient to meet current requirements. 

Virginia Purdy Bacon bequest.—This bequest was given to establish the 
Walter Rathbone Bacon (traveling) scholarship for the study of the fauna of 
“countries other than the United States.” The invested fund now amounts to 
$48,300. 

Bruce Hughes bequest.—This bequest, which was given to establish the 
Hughes alcove, has been settled and amounts to $11,604.53. 

Frances Lea Chamberlain fund.—Founded by Dr. Leander T. Chamberlain 
as a memorial to his wife, Frances Lea. It amounts to $35,000, and the in- 
come is expended in the improvement and increase of the Isaac Lea collections 
of ‘“ Mollusks ” and of ‘‘ Gems and gem material,” both in the National Museum. 

Walcott fund.—The income of this fund, established by Charles D. and Mary 
Vaux Walcott, is to be used for research and publication, and as time goes 
on for such purposes aS may be designated by the Board of Regents. The 
present market value of the securities deposited amounts to $10,460. 

Addison T. Reid bequest.—This bequest, which is to found a chair in 
biology aS a memorial to the testator’s grandfather, Asher Tunis, now amounts 
to $15,079. The bequest was subject to the condition that the income was to 
be paid in three shares to certain named beneficiaries until their death. Two 
of these shares have been received and the remaining share will represent 
approximately $5,000. 


136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Residual bequests—No change has occurred in the status of the following 
estates, of which the Institution will become the residuary legatee, subject 
to the death of certain specified beneficiaries: 

The Joseph White Sprague bequest. 
The Lucy Hunter Baird bequest. 
The Riter Fitzgerald bequest. 

The Caroline Henry bequest. 

Consolidated fund.—This fund is composed of miscellaneous bequests and 
moneys received in excess of $1,000,000, deposited in the United States Treasury 
under the authority of the organic act. During the year several small bequests 
have been added to the consolidated fund, which now aggregates $179,390.28. 


On motion of Mr. Johnson, the following resolution was adopted: 


Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution accepts 
the annual report of the permanent committee just read and approves and 
ratifies the actions taken by the committee since the last annual meeting. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 


In submitting his annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
1922, the secretary stated that since the last annual meeting of the 
Regents 131 publications, comprising 7,785 pages, have been issued 
by the Institution and its branches. The general appendix to the 
annual report of the board to Congress contains a selection of pop- 
ular illustrated articles describing recent advances in nearly every 
branch of science, and the demand for the report soon exhausts the 
edition of 10,000 copies. 

On motion, the secretary’s report was accepted. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART COMMISSION 


The annual meeting of the commission was held December 12, 
1922, at which it was voted to recommend to the Board of Regents 
the appointment for a full term of four years of Messrs. Herbert 
Adams, Gari Melchers, and Charles Moore, their one-year terms hav- 
ing expired. Messrs. Moore, Adams, and Parmelee were elected by 
the commission to succeed themselves as members of the executive 
committee. 

The report of the National Gallery of Art for the year was sub- 
mitted, as were also reports of the standing, special, and subcom- 
mittees. 

Messrs. E. W. Redfield, W. H. Holmes, and Gari Melchers were 
appointed a committee to look after the interests of the National 
Gallery in connection with the final disposition of purchases by the 
National Academy of Design to be made under the Ranger bequest 
fund. 

The urgent need of a National Gallery building was emphasized 
and discussion took place as to the advisability of applying to Con- 


PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS 187 


gress for legislation to have the building project included in the 
program now being formulated for prospective buildings. 

On motion the report was accepted. 

Senator Lodge offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby 
elects Messrs. Herbert Adams, Gari Melchers, and Charles Moore as members 


of the National Gallery of Art Commission for the full term of four years, 
their present one-year terms having expired December 14, 1922. 


NEW BUILDING 


The secretary spoke of the need of-space for the proper installa- 
tion and exhibit of the Institution’s art and history collections, 
and expressed the hope that a new building would be provided to 
meet this need. No formal action was asked. 


FREER GALLERY OF ART 


ad 
Work is being pushed as rapidly as possible in preparing the 
collections, which it is hoped will be opened to the public in the 
coming spring. 
EXPEDITIONS 


Through the generosity of Dr. W. L. Abbott, of Philadelphia, 
Pa., Mr. Charles M. Hoy continued his work of collecting for the 
Museum specimens of the very interesting fauna of Australia. The 
work was terminated during the winter and Mr. Hoy returned to 
the United States in May, 1922. The specimens received during the 
year bring the total up to 1,179 mammals, including series of 
skeletal and embryological material; 928 birds with 41 additional 
examples in alcohol, and smaller collections of reptiles, amphibians. 
insects, marine specimens, etc. 

Dr. Abbott’s unfailing interest in the national collections is shown 
by the fact that he has now arranged to send Mr. Hoy to China for 
the purpose of obtaining vertebrates from certain especially im- 
portant localities in the Yangtze Valley, a region with which Mr. 
Hoy has been familiar for many yéars. 

Acknowledgment is made of Doctor Abbott’s generosity in financ- 
ing previous explorations, and it is thought proper to state that up 
to date he has contributed $31,500 for the expenditions to Borneo, 
Celibes, Australia, and China, in addition to which he has con- 
tributed largely from the results of his personal efforts in Haiti and 
elsewhere. 

In the summer of 1921 Mr. A. de C. Sowerby returned to China 
to continue the work of exploration interrupted by the war. This 


138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


work, which is made possible by the generosity of Mr. Robert S. 
Clark, of New York, will now be carried on in the region south of 
the Yangtze, and the zoological results will come to the National 
Museum. 

Secretary Walcott, accompanied by Mrs. Walcott, continued his 
geological work in the Canadian Rockies. Notwithstanding bad 
weather and forest fires, the season was very successful. 


THE SECRETARY’S SUPPLEMENTAL STATEMENT 


The secretary presented a supplemental statement covering the 
activities of the various branches of the Institution since the print- 
ing of the annual report of June 30, 1922. These will be described 
in detail in the annual report for 1923. 


REGULAR MEETIN G, FEBRUARY 8, 1923 


Present: The Hon. Calvin Coolidge, Vice President of the United 
States, chancellor, in the chair; the Hon. William H. Taft, Chief 
Justice of the United States; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Senator 
Medill McCormick; Senator A. Owsley Stanley; Representative 
Frank L. Greene; Representative Albert Johnson; Representative 
R. Walton Moore; Mr. Irwin B. Laughlin; and the secretary, Dr. 
Charles D. Walcott. 


DEATH OF REGENT 


The secretary announced the sudden death of Mr. John B. Hender- 
son, who had attended the last meeting of the board. 

Senator Lodge offered the following resolutions, which were 
adopted : 

Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution having learned 
of the death, on January 4, 1923, of John Brooks Henderson, a regent since 
March 1, 1911, and since May last a member of the executive committee: 

Resolved, That the board desire here to record that in the passing away of 
their colleague biological science has lost an earnest worker, the Institution 
a generous donor and ardent well-wisher, and the members of this board a 
valued adviser and lovable friend. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be made a part of the records of the board, 
and that a copy thereof be transmitted to the family of Mr. Henderson as an 
expression of the profound sorrow felt at his untimely death. 


APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS 


The secretary stated that the President, on January 22, 1923, had 
approved a joint resolution reappointing Mr. Henry White; and 
another appointing Mr. Irwin B. Laughlin, of Pennsylvania, in 
place of Dr. A. Graham Bell, and Mr Frederic A. Delano, of the 
District. of Columbia, to succeed Mr. John B. Henderson, deceased. 


PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS 1389 


VACANCIES ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


The secretary stated that the expiration of Mr. White’s term as 
a Regent and the death of Mr. Henderson had caused two vacancies 
in the executive committee, and that under a resolution adopted De- 
cember 10, 1914, the chancellor had appointed Mr. White and Mr. 
Delano to serve “ until the next regular meeting of the board.” These 
temporary appointments terminated with this meeting, and it was 
necessary that the board take action to fill the vacancies permanently. 

Mr. Greene then’ offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted: 

Resolved, That the temporary appointments by the chancellor of Mr. White 
and Mr. Delano as members of the executive committee be approved, and that 


their membership on said committee be continued until the expiration of their 
terms as Regents. 


FINANCES OF THE INSTITUTION 


The secretary placed before the board a number of financial tables 
showing the resources of the Institution and the allotments for 
carrying on its work; and urged the necessity for an increase of the 
appropriations and of the Parent fund in order to provide for the 
necessary extension of the Institution’s activities. 


REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE 


Senator Lodge, chairman, presented the report of a special com- 
mittee approving drafts of a folder and a pamphlet intended for 
wide distribution outlining the origin and purposes of the Institu- 
tion, its various activities and resources, and its needs for the exten- 
sion of its work. The report also contained a recommendation on 
the question of the proposed recognition of the Institution’s bene- 
factors and patrons. 

The report was adopted. 


NEW BUILDING FOR ART AND HISTORY COLLECTIONS 


The secretary reminded the board that at the December meeting 
he had called attention to the need for another museum building for 
the exhibition of the Institution’s art and history collections. He 
stated that he had taken this matter up with the congressional mem- 
bers of the board, and that through their efforts an amendment had 
been attached to the appropriations for the bureaus under the Insti- 
tution, setting aside a site in the northeast corner of the Smithsonian 
grounds. The act as passed by the House and Senate is as follows: 

The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution are authorized to prepare pre- 
- liminary plans for a suitable fireproof building with granite fronts for the 


National Gallery of Art, including the National Portrait Gallery and the his- 
tory collections of the United States National Museum, said building to be 


140 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


erected when funds from gifts or bequests are in the possession of the said 
Regents, in sections or completely, on the north side of the Mall between the 
Natural History Building, United States National Museum, and Seventh Street, 
leaving a space between it and the latter of not less than one hundred feet 
and a space of not less than one hundred feet between it and Seventh Street, 
with its south front on a line with the south front of the said Natural History 
Building. 

The secretary added that it was his hope that the more progressive 
American people would become interested in the development of the 
National Gallery of Art and the history collections and in the pro- 
vision of a suitable building to be erected on the site granted by 
Congress. 

HAMILTON FUND 


The secretary stated that on January 23, 1895, the Board of 
Regents adopted a resolution increasing the Hamilton fund from 
$1,000 to $2,000 by the addition of accrued interest. He explained 
that the increased fund yielded only a small income, and that it was 
difficult to secure the services of suitable persons to give lectures 
worth publishing, and also that there was another $1,000 in accrued 
interest, and he recommended that the fund be increased from $2,000 
to $3,000 by the addition of this sum. 

Senator Lodge offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the secretary be authorized to increase the Hamilton fund 
from two thousand to three thousand dollars by the addition of accrued 
interest. 

Other matters of interest and importance to the Institution were 
considered and acted upon. 


PROPOSED MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE 


Senator Lodge brought before the board a letter from Mr. Horace 
W. Peaslee, chairman of the Architects’ Advisory Council, on the 
subject of a proposed museum where examples of the best archi- 
tectural work of past generations could be preserved and urging that 
the Smithsonian Institution should provide for such exhibits. 

The secretary said that the matter had already been brought to 
his attention but that the lack of funds would preclude any extended 
arrangement at present. 

After some discussion, Senator Lodge offered the following resolu- 
tion, which was adopted: 

Resolved, That the matter of the proposed museum of architecture be re- 
ferred to the National Gallery of Art Commission for consideration and recom- 


mendation at the annual meeting of the Board of Regents to be held December 
13, 19238. 


GENERAL APPENDIX 


TO THE 


SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1923 


141 


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ADVERTISEMENT 


The object of the Gmnrrat Appenprx to the Annual Report of the 
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific dis- 
covery in particular directions; reports of investigations made by 
collaborators of the Institution; and memoirs of a general character 
or on special topics that are of interest or value to the numerous 
correspondents of the Institution. 

It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution from a very early date to enrich the annual 
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more 
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological 
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations 
of the Institution; and, during the greater part of its history, this 
purpose has been carried out largely by the publication of such 
papers as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific 
progress. 

In 1880, induced in part by the discontinuance of an annual sum- 
mary of progress which for 30 years previous had been issued by 
well-known private publishing firms, the secretary had a series of 
abstracts prepared by competent collaborators, showing concisely the 
prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geol- 
ogy, meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, 
and anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not alto- 
gether satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888. 

In the report for 1889 a return was made to the earlier method of 
presenting a miscellaneous selection of papers (some of them original) 
embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and discus- 
sion. This method has been continued in the present report for 1923. 


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THE CONSTITUTION AND EVOLUTION OF THE STARS? 


By Henry Norris RUSSELL 


The preceding lectures have, I hope, presented to you a picture— 
drawn rather in outline, owing to the limitations of time—of the 
stars as they are known at present, their dimensions, masses, densi- 
ties, surface brightness, and the like. It remains to speak of what 
has been done to correlate these facts into a theory of the constitution 
of the stars, and their probable evolution and age. 

What makes this problem tractable, in spite of the limitations im- 
posed by the remoteness of the stars in space, and our ephemeral du- 
ration in time, is that we have to deal only with the simpler and 
more general properties of matter. The vast variety of the forms of 
rock and mountain depends upon the solidity of their materials; the 
still greater diversity of the forms of organic life is based on the 
presence of chemical compounds of great complexity—and neither 
of these conditions can exist at all in bodies as hot as even the 
coolest stars. In the stars all matter must be gaseous, and the laws 
of gases are among the simplest known to physics. Add to them the 
still more general laws that govern gravitation, radiation, and the 
structure of atoms, and we have the controlling factors in the evo- 
lution of the stars. 

Considering a star, then, as a mass of gas, isolated in space, we 
notice first that it must be in internal equilibrium under its own 
gravitation. The weight of the overlying layers produces a pres- 
sure, increasing steadily from the surface to the center, which must 
at any point be balanced by the expansive tendency of the gas, arising 
from its high temperature. The temperature, too, is greatest at 
the center, and decreases toward the surface. Hence, heat must flow 
continually through the star’s substance, down the temperature 
gradient, till it escapes by radiation at the surface. The supply of 
heat must be kept up in some way; and one obvious process, as 
Helmholtz suggested long ago, is the slow contraction of the star. 
The work done by the gravitational forces in pulling the outer parts 
of the star toward the center reappears as heat produced by the 
compression, and maintains the star as a going concern. As the 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Rice Institute Pamphlet, Vol. IX, No. 2, April, 1922 
This is the last of a series of three lectures delivered by Doctor Russell at the Rice 
Institute. 


145 


146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


star contracts, its density must increase; and the pressure will in- 
crease too, for the various parts of the mass are nearer one an- 
other, and attract one another more strongly. When the star has 
shrunk to half its original diameter, the mean density will be eight 
times as great. 

If the star, after contraction, continues to be “ built on the same 
model,” so to speak—that is, if the law according to which the 
density increases proportionally toward the center remains the same, 
except for the altered scale of miles provided by the shortened 
radius, the density at any point, after contraction, will also be eight 
times the original density at the corresponding point (distant fro 
the center by the same fraction of the radius). : 

How will the pressures at the two points compare? The portion 
of the star nearer the center than the point under consideration is 
compressed by the weight of the overlying portions. After the 
contraction, every part of these is twice as near the center as be- 
fore, and will, therefore, be attracted four times more strongly. 
The whole compressive force will, therefore, be four times as great 
as at first; but the area over which this force is distributed will 
have shrunk to one-fourth of its former amount. Hence the pres- 
sure per unit of area will increase sixteenfold, as against an eight- 
fold increase of density. Applying the familiar laws of gases, we 
find that the temperature of the gas, after contraction, must be 
twice its original value in order that equilibrium shall still exist 
when the star has shrunk to half its former size. More generally, 
during the whole process of contraction, the temperatures at cor- 
responding points will be inversely proportional to the star’s 
radius—so long, indeed, as the star continues to be built on the same 
model, and the simple gas laws hold good. This proportion was 
first proved by Lane of Washington, in 1870, and is known as 
Lane’s law. 

It appears at first sight paradoxical that a star may grow hotter 
by losing heat; but the difficulty disappears when it is realized that 
the heat produced by the contraction exceeds the amount which is 
required to raise the temperature of the mass to the extent de- 
manded by Lane’s law. The remainder is available for radiation. 
and it is only as it is gradually lost into space that the process of 
contraction can take place. The manner in which the surface tem- 
perature of a star, which determines its color and spectral type, 
will vary as it contracts is somewhat different. As has already been 
shown, the light from the far interior of a star stands no chance 
of getting out to the surface, but practically all of it will be scattered 
away by the gases through which it passes, and remain inside the 
star. Light can only reach us directly from a relatively shallow 
layer close to the surface, and it is a certain sort of average of the 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL 147 
~ 


temperatures throughout this layer that gives the effective surface 
temperature. As the density of the star varies, the depth of this 
layer will alter, and in such a way that it always contains the same 
number of tons of material per square foot, since it is upon this 
quantity that the amount of scattering of light passing through the 
layer depends. As the star contracts, the total quantity of matter 
in this superficial radiating layer will therefore diminish propor- 
tionally to the surface area; that is, the radiating layer will form 
an ever decreasing part of the whole mass of the star, and its depth 
will be a smaller fraction of the star’s radius. If the depth were a 
fixed fraction of the radius, we could apply the law of correspond- 
ing points and say that the temperature would vary inversely as 
the radius; but, in fact, after contraction the new radiating layer 
will form only the upper portion of the layer which “ corresponds ” 
to the old radiating layer, and its average temperature will be lower 
than that of the “ corresponding ” layer. On any reasonable assump- 
tions regarding the way in which the temperature varies in the 
outer part of the star, it is found that the effective temperature of 
the surface will increase as it contracts, but much more slowly than 
the central temperature. 

All these conclusions are based upon the fundamental assumption 
that the simple gas laws hold good throughout the star. This may 
safely be assumed if the density is low—say, not more than 20 times 
that of air—but when the density begins to approach that of water, 
it will certainly be very far from the truth. As the density in- 
creases, the compressibility diminishes, so that, at the same tem- 
perature, it takes a greater increase of pressure to produce a further 
increase of density than would be necessary in a perfect gas. In 
other words, the material is better able than a perfect gas to stand 
up under pressure. Hence, referring to the argument by which 
Lane’s law was proved, we see that a smaller increase of temperature 
than is demanded by this law will enable it to meet the changing 
conditions resulting from contraction. Indeed, a point will in time 
be reached when no further rise of temperature at all is needed, the 
decreased compressibility of the dense gas taking the whole load. 
Beyond this the increased pressure due to contraction acting alone 
will be insufficient to produce the necessary increase in density, and a 
fall in temperature must complete the adjustment. 

We see, therefore, that a sphere of real gas, contracting under 
its own gravitation, will follow Lane’s law only while its density 
is small. As it contracts further its temperature will rise more 
slowly than this law indicates, reach a maximum, and then gradu- 
ally diminish. During this long process, the model upon which 
the mass is built will itself gradually change—the increase of density 
toward the center diminishing—but this will not alter the general 


148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


character of the phenomena. We may at least say with confidence 
that the surface temperature, as well as that in the interior, will 
reach a maximum and then diminish, until at last the mass will 
shrink nearly to the greatest density which it can possibly attain, 
and end by cooling off almost like a solid body. During the early 
stages, while the temperature is rising, the body will be of large 
diameter. As it contracts its surface will diminish, but its surface 
brightness will increase, so that the amount of light which it gives 
out will not change much. It will, however, grow whiter as it 
gets hotter, until it reaches its maximum attainable temperature. 
By this time it will be much smaller in diameter than at the start, 
but only a little fainter. But after it begins to fall in temperature, 
while still contracting, the situation is different. There are now 
fewer square miles in its surface, and less light given out per square 
mile, so that its light will fall off rapidly, and it will grow fainter 
and redder until at last it disappears. 

During its history, therefore, it will pass through any surface 
temperature lower than the maximum twice—once when of large 
diameter, low density, great luminosity, and rising temperature, and 
again when its diameter is small, density high, luminosity low, and 
temperature falling. It is obvious that these contrasted groups of 
characteristics are exactly those which differentiate the giant and 
dwarf stars. The theoretical and observed pictures, indeed, agree 
not merely in their general outlines, but in every detail. For ex- 
ample, the lower the temperature selected for study, the greater will 
be the theoretical difference between the groups of stars of rising 
and falling temperature, and the greater is the actual difference be- 
tween the giant and dwarf stars. The approximate equality in 
brightness among the giant stars of the various spectral classes, and 
the great differences among the dwarfs, find also a complete expla- 
nation. 

Stars of large mass, as can easily be shown, should attain a greater 
maximum temperature than those whose mass is smaller, and should 
be more luminous than the latter, for the same surface temperature, 
especially in the giant stages. The great masses and luminosities of 
the B stars are thus accounted for. They are not massive because 
they are hot, but hot because they are massive. Lesser masses never 
attain the B stage of temperature, but stop at A; and still smaller 
ones may not get beyond class F, or even G. ‘As we go down the 
spectral series, therefore, we are continually adding to our list stars 
of mass too small to get into any of our earlier groups at all—so it 
is no wonder that the average mass decreases for the redder stars. 
The fact that the masses of the giants average high, whatever their 
spectral type, is probably an effect of observational selection. We 
have picked them from a list of naked-eye stars, and hence from one 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL 149 


in which the brighter stars have an egregious preference, and it has 
already been seen that, in these stages, great brightness means large 
mass. 

A more searching test is found in the densities of stars of the vari- 
ous sorts; for here we can make our comparison quantitative in- 
stead of merely qualitative. The stars of increasing temperature 
should have densities at which the simple gas laws can be trusted 
to apply, at least approximately; the dwarfs should be so dense that 
we can be sure that these laws fail of application; while the hottest 
stars should have an intermediate density corresponding to the 
region in which the gas laws are strikingly at work. From a general 
knowledge of the properties of matter, we can say with certainty 
that a density less than ten times that of air falls in the first class, 
one greater than that of water in the second, while the “ twilight 
zone ” between corresponds to densities in the neighborhood of one- 
tenth to one-quarter that of water, and perhaps a little higher. Now 
we have already seen that the redder giant stars are less dense than 
air—the whiter ones being probably from ten to fifty times denser; 
that the average density of the A stars is one-fifth that of the sun, 
or one-third that of water, while their individual densities range 
from about fifty times that of air to that of water, and that the 
dwarf stars have densities running from about that of water up 
to four or five times as much. The agreement is perfect throughout 
and there can be no remaining doubt that the proposed physical 
model represents what actually happens in the stars. 

This theory of stellar evolution was first propounded by Sir Nor- 
man Lockyer, who outlines clearly the physical processes involved. 
His criteria for distinguishing between stars of rising and falling 
temperature were spectroscopic, and chosen in a rather arbitrary 
way, with little explanation (though they were not very far fron. 
anticipating Adams’ later discovery), and his views failed of 
general acceptance. It fell to the speaker’s lot, some years later, tc 
revive the theory, and point out the importance of the absolute 
magnitudes, which, indeed, furnish the key to the whole problem. 
This invaluable aid was not available when Lockyer began his 
work—for in those days little indeed was known of stellar paral- 
laxes—so that it is not surprising that his individual assignments 
of stars to the classes of rising and falling temperature are ofter 
erroneous. With the wealth of material now available, it is an easy 
matter to point out stars in every successive stage of evolution, and 
to assign the large majority of those for which we have data to 
their place in its sequence. Mention should again be made, how- 
ever, of the few, faint, but perplexing white stars of low luminosity. 


1454—25——11 


150 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


These do not fit into the scheme at all, and they present such an 
extraordinary combination of high temperature, small luminosity, 
and considerable mass that it is very difficult to form any consistent 
idea of the physical conditions which exist on their surfaces. ‘There 
are indeed more worlds for theory to conquer—and some of them 
look as if it would take hard fighting. 

But there are other ways in which our knowledge of the properties 
of matter may be applied to the stars. A simple calculation shows 
that the gravitational pressure at the center of the sun must be some- 
thing like a hundred million tons per square inch. The pressures 
in other dwarf stars are of the same order of magnitude. Those in 
giant stars are smaller, but are usually measurable in thousands of 
tons per square inch, even when the density can not be many times 
greater than that of air. To withstand such a pressure, at this 
density, the gas must have a temperature of many millions of 
degrees. 

What can we say of the properties which matter would exhibit 
at these temperatures? Twenty years ago the only answer would 
have been, “ Very little”; but now, with our knowledge of atomic 
structure, we can say a good deal. The extreme violence of the 
collisions between the atoms would knock off all the electrons of 
the outer shells, and keep them off. The lighter atoms—perhaps as 
far as sodium or even beyond—would lose all their electrons, and 
be reduced to bare nuclei. The heavier ones would retain their 
innermost one or two rings or shells of electrons, but lose the outer 
ones, which contain a considerable majority of the whole number 
of electrons originally present. We can be certain, however, that 
the nuclei themselves would emerge quite unscathed from these col- 
lisions, and that if an isolated nucleus, or the battered fragment of 
a heavier atom, had a brief interval of relative quiet it would begin 
to pick up electrons again from those which passed by slowly enough, 
and to reconstitute the atomic structure. Could we remove a por- 
tion of the matter in this strange state and let it cool, the familiar 
atoms would thereupon rebuild themselves, bit by bit, and at the 
end they would be the same as ever. 

The principal differences at the high temperature, from our 
present standpoint, are, first, there would be a vast multitude of 
free electrons flying about, as well as the far heavier atomic nuclei, 
so that the average “molecular weight”—in determining which 
every free-moving particle in the gas counts as much as any other— 
would be much diminished: Secondly, the gas at this temperature 
would emit a tremendous flood of radiation, most of it of such short 
wave length that it would resemble X rays rather than ordinary 
light. This radiation would not go very far before it was scattered 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL 151 


in all directions by the electrons, or absorbed in detaching some 
fast-knit electron from the remnant of an atom, only to be re- 
emitted when recombination took place. In either case the energy 
would be relayed back and forth from atom to atom, now in this 
direction, again in that, until in the lapse of ages it leaked gradually 
outward to the cooler parts of the star, on its way to the surface. 

Jeans was, I believe, the first to call attention to this extraordinary 
state of things, and Schwarzschild to point out the fundamental im- 
portance of the exchange of radiation in determining the conditions 
of equilibrium within a star; but the general solution of the problem 
came later, from Eddington, who was the first to appreciate one of 
its most fundamental features. 

The flood of entrapped radiation, in its attempts to escape, exerts 
a pressure outward in all directions, just as a compressed gas would 
do. The existence of this radiation pressure was pointed out long 
ago by Maxwell’s theory of light. With any light obtainable on | 
earth, even full sunlight, it is so minute that apparatus of the most. 
delicate sort is required to indicate its existence; but at the tempera- 
tures which prevail inside the stars it may amount (as Eddington 
pointed out) to hundreds of tons per square inch and be an important 
factor in preventing the collapse of the star’s interior under the 
weight of the outer parts. Indeed, under some conditions, it may do 
more than the gas pressure due to the motions of the atoms and 
electrons, huge as the latter is. Following this lead, and working out 
the laws of flow of energy outward down the temperature gradient, 
he showed that certain simple and probable assumptions about the 
opacity of the medium led to the conclusion that, all through the 
star, the gravitational pressure would be proportional to the fourth 
power of the temperature, and that the shares of this pressure which 
were sustained by the gas pressure and the radiation pressure would 
be everywhere in the same ratio. These conditions, combined with the 
law of gravitation and the gas laws, suffice to determine completely 
the model upon which the star is built, and to tell us practically all 
that we need to know about it. 

For the case where the simple gas laws hold, the mathematical 
work had already been done by Emden, who found that the outer 
regions of the star were of very low density, while there was a rapid 
concentration toward the center, where the density reaches fifty-four 
times the mean density. The central temperature of such a star 
obeys Lane’s law, while the surface brightness varies inversely in the 
square root of the radius. This means that the whole amount of 
energy radiated from the star’s surface will be independent of its 
size—the increase in surface brightness and decrease in area, as it 
contracts, balancing one another exactly. The amount of the star’s 
radiation depends upon the opacity of its material—diminishing as 


152 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


this increases—and is also proportional to the ratio which the radia- 
tion pressure bears to the total pressure at any part inside the star. 
This ratio increases rapidly with the star’s mass, and the brightness 
should do the same. 

These conclusions form a theory of giant stars. To extend it to 
dwarf stars Eddington repeated his calculations, taking into ac- 
count the manner in which the compressibility of a gas decreases 
with increasing density, and obtained a theoretical table which rep- 
resents the way in which the absolute magnitude and temperature 
of a star should depend upon its mass and density throughout the 
whole range of these quantities. This table reproduces the actual 
characteristics.of the dwarf stars and those of maximum tempera- 
ture, as well as the giants, with a fidelity which is almost uncanny, 
and far more than justifies its author’s modest claim that the theory 
upon which it is based “ gives a fair approximation to the facts.” 

But Eddington’s theory goes beyond this. It actually shows us 
why the masses of the stars are so much alike, and why they are of 
their actual order of magnitude. If @ is the fraction of the whole 
pressure within the star which is balanced by the gas pressure, leav- 
ing the fraction 1—§ for the radiation pressure, he derives by reason- 
ing of a very general character, the equation 


“Fe = 4.6 X 10-8 M? 

where J/ is the mass of the star in grams. The extraordinarily small 
numerical coefficient depends only upon a few very fundamental 
natural constants—the gravitational constant, the quantum, and the 
average mass of one of the “molecules” in the star (including in 
this term atoms, nuclei, and free electrons). The numerical value 
here given depends on the assumption that the last quantity is 2.8 
times the mass of a hydrogen atom, an estimate which must be nearly 
correct if the atoms are dissociated into nuclei and electrons to the 
degree which has been described. 

Now, following Eddington’s argument, we may imagine a set of 
spheres-of gas, each isolated in space and in equilibrium under its 
own gravitation and radiation, the first mass of 10 grams, the next 
100 grams, the third 1,000 grams, and so on. Then, by means of his 
equation, we find that the proportion which the radiation pressure 
bears to the whole will be quite negligible in all the spheres up to 
No. 32, will increase rapidly for Nos. 33 and 34; while for sphere 
35 and all those beyond it the radiation pressure will be the dom- 
inant partner, leaving little for the gas pressure to do. 

Upon this long line of spheres, therefore, we find a small region 
in which a certain natural factor changes from an insignificant to a 
controlling réle. On general physical principles, therefore, as Ed- 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL 153 


dington puts it, we would expect “something to happen” in this 
critical interval, and “ what happens is the stars.” It is only when 
the radiation pressure and the gas pressure share the gravitational 
food that we get anything that can fairly be called a star. Smaller 
masses do not give out light enough to make them visible at inter- 
stellar distances, while the great ones, in which the radiation pres- 
sure is almost sufficient to counteract gravitation, would be in an 
almost unstable condition, so that a small disturbance, such as might 
be produced by a moderate rotation, would cause them to break up 
into parts. Hence smaller masses do not shine, and bigger ones 
break up, and only those in the critical intervening range of mass 
remain as luminous stars. We have seen that this should occur for 
masses comparable with those of spheres 83 and 34 of the series. 
Now the first of these is of half the mass of the sun, and the second 
has five times the sun’s mass, so that the actual masses of the stars 
fall very exactly into the range indicated by the theory. Since the 
constants of this theory are derived from those which are the most 
fundamental in modern physics, we may truthfully say that the 
masses, and hence the sizes and brightness of the stars are deter- 
mined directly by the fundamental properties of the very atoms 
of which they are composed. It may be shown, for example, from 
Eddington’s equation, that a mass of gas will shine as a giant star 
when, and only when, the ratio of the diameter of the star to the 
average distance between the atoms which compose it is about 20 
times'the ratio between the charge of an electron and the average 
mass of an atom (provided that this mass is measured, not in the 
ordinary way, but, as in the electrical case, by its power of attract- 
ing a similar mass at a given distance). The latter ratio is very 
large, about 410’, so that the number of atoms in the star is enor- 
mous, and the star itself a very large mass. 

One of the most impressive consequences of the whole theory is 
that the masses of the stars are determined by the interplay of 
the two forces, gravitation and radiation pressure, which, among all 
those in nature, are so feeble, under the conditions of ordinary ex- 
periment, that it taxes the skill of the experimenter to build an 
apparatus delicate enough to measure the effects of either one. Were 
we confined to experiments in enclosed laboratories, isolated in space, 
without the earth’s attraction to prove to us the existence of gravi- 
tation, it would probably have been long before the very existence 
of either of these forces would have been suspected; yet these forces, 
and these alone, when working on the grand scale, are powerful 
enough to shape the stars. 

One question still remains. How long a time is required for 
this sequence of evolutionary changes? What is the life of a star? 


154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Here, again, the answer which we would now give depends upon 
knowledge which has come within the last decade or two. We have, 
even now, no direct evidence regarding the age of the stars, or the 
sun; but we have information about the age of the earth that has 
magnified our conception of the duration of the universe in time, in 
as startling a fashion as the study of the globular clusters has en- 
larged our idea of its extension in space. 

The new method of measuring time is really very simple. Ura- 
nium is radioactive, and slowly “decays.” One by one its atoms 
eject a part of their nuclei, and change into atoms of a different 
element. These again break up, and so on through a long and 
wonderful series of transformations, in which radium is one step. 
The particle ejected from the nucleus is sometimes an electron, but 
oftener an alpha particle, identical with the nucleus of a helium 
atom. Finally, at the end of the list, there remains a stable atom of 
lead—but not of ordinary lead, for its atomic weight is 206, instead 
of 207 as usual. In the course of ages, this radio-lead must accumu- 
late in all uranium minerals. The rate of accumulation is accurately 
known, from a study of radioactive phenomena and we can be sure 
that the weight of lead produced in a million years is one eight- 
thousandth of that of the uranium which is present. By determin- 
ing the percentages of uranium and lead now present in a mineral, 
and applying this principle, we can find out how old the mineral 
is—provided, of course, that it contained no lead when it was origi- 
nally formed by crystallization in the molten rock mass. Such 
primitive lead would, however, be ordinary lead, of higher atomic 
weight, and a determination of the atomic weight of the lead de- 
rived from our specimen will enable us to tell how much of it was 
there when the mineral formed, and how much has been produced by 
radioactivity since this time. 

In this way reliable values can be obtained for the ages of various 
minerals, and the dates of the eruption of the rocks in which they 
occur. The latter can often be defined in geological terms, and 
hence we can date the various geologic periods, finding a good 
general agreement with the geological order of succession. The 
oldest minerals so far studied are found in rocks of Middle Pre- 
Cambrian age. Specimens from Europe. Africa, and America agree 
in giving ages of between 1,000 and 1,200 millions of years. These 
individual crystals have been in the rocks for all this time. The 
earth, as a planet, must be older. The speaker, from consideration 
of the whole amount of uranium and lead in the earth’s crust, showed 
last year that its age is apparently less than eight billions of years, 
and probably something like 4 billions. If, as seems most probable, 
the planets were produced by eruptions from the sun, under the tidal 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL 155 


influence of a passing star, the sun itself must have been already 
formed at that remote epoch. 

But we may go further. Life already existed on the earth in 
Cambrian times, and it is a moderate estimate to say that the process 
of organic evolution has lasted for a billion years. During all this 
time the sun can never have been one stellar magnitude brighter 
or fainter than it is now; for in the first case, its heat would have 
raised the oceans to the boiling point, and, in the second, they would 
have frozen solid—and either of these catastrophes would have put 
an end to evolution and to all terrestrial life. Now the sun is a 
typical dwarf star, and there is good reason to believe that it is now 
well advanced in cooling and was once much brighter and hotter 
than it is now—of class F, at least, though perhaps not of class A. 
At such a time it must have been at least two magnitudes brighter 
than at present. Yet in the whole of geological time it has probably 
decreased half a magnitude or less. We may, therefore, say, with 
considerable confidence, that the life of the sun, and doubtless also 
of the stars in general, must extend over many billions of years. 

But here we meet with a serious difficulty. We know the rate 
at which the sun is radiating energy to the earth, and, from con- 
sideration of the way in which the earth in turn radiates this energy 
into space, we can be sure that the sun is also sending out an equal 
amount of heat into space in every direction. The total output is 
so great that it would exhaust the whole huge fund of energy which 
would be made available by the sun’s contraction from an indefinitely 
extended size, in about twenty million years, as Lord Kelvin showed 
long ago. When we allow for the fact that some of this heat is 
still stored in the sun’s interior, and that it was probably much 
brighter in its earlier stages of evolution than at present, we see 
that, if gravitational energy alone was available as the source of its 
radiation, the sun’s past life as a star must have occupied but a very 
few million years. In view of the geological and radioactive evi- 
dence, there seems to be no escape from the conclusion that the sun 
must have some other, and far greater, store of internal energy upon 
which to draw. 

Further evidence in favor of this view has been found by Edding- 
ton in the behavior of the star Delta Cephei. This is a typical giant 
star, about eight hundred times as bright as the sun. Eddington has 
given good reason to believe that the cause of its variation in light 
is a periodic expansion and contraction of the whole star by about 
10 per cent on each side of the mean. The period of this change 
would depend on the density of the star, and diminish if this im- 
creased. Hence, if the mean diameter was gradually contracting, 
the period should shorten. Eddington calculates that, if the radia- 
tion is supplied by gravitational contraction alone, the period should 


156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


decrease by about 40 seconds per year. The observations, which 
cover more than a century, show indeed a decrease of period, but 
at the rate of about a second in 12 years—five hundred times slower 
than the previous theory would demand. Here again we have evi- 
dence that the rate of stellar evolution—in a giant star this time—is 
many hundreds of times slower than it would be if there was not 
some internal store of energy to draw upon. 

It is certain that no corresponding evolution of heat from any 
source occurs within the earth, and we must therefore suppose that 
energy from the “unknown source” becomes available only at 
exceedingly high temperatures, such as prevail inside the stars. But 
if this is the case, and a star, in contracting, gets hot enough inside 
to start this process going, why does this not make the interior 
still hotter, and so cause a still more rapid transformation of the 
unknown energy into heat, till the process ends in an explosion on 
wu colossal scale? I mulled over this idea for a couple of years 
before I saw the simple answer. If heat energy is supplied to the 
interior of a giant star, the star will have to expand, and if it ex- 
pands, it must grow cooler. The process is the exact reverse of 
that by which contraction makes the star hotter, and at the same 
time compels the escape of heat from the surface into space. Hence, 
if too much heat is supplied from the unknown source, the star 
will expand and cool, shutting off further supplies. It is easy to 
see that we have here a self-regulating process, which, in the long 
run, will automatically adjust the supply of heat in the interior 
so that it just makes up the loss due to leakage toward the surface 
and radiation into space. In the short run, we might find alternate 
overproduction, leading to expansion of the star and cooling, and 
underproduction, permitting contraction and heating; and oscilla- 
tions of just this sort appear to happen in the Cepheid variables. 
Though the star may thus be kept shining for a very long time, it 
can not go on forever, for the store of internal energy, however 
vast, must be finite, and will gradually be used up. As this hap- 
pens, the star will contract, although very slowly, and ultimately pass 
through the various giant and dwarf stages, in substantially the man- 
ner which was described earlier. 

Such a store of available energy will account for the facts; but 
how shall we attempt to account for the store of energy itself? One 
thing is clear at the start. The only places small enough to contain 
so huge an accumulation are the nuclei of the atoms. I say “small” 
advisedly, for it is only when the constituent parts of which the 
atoms are built come exceedingly close together that the forces be- 
tween them can become great enough to account for their possession 
of such an amount of energy. Radioactive energy, which comes 


CONSTITUTION OF THE STARS—RUSSELL t57 


trom atomic nuclei, represents indeed one such gigantic store. But 
the amount of energy which must once have been stored in each 
gram of the sun’s mass, to account for its past radiation of heat, is 
even greater than that contained in uranium. We can not do more 
than guess where it may have been hidden; but one verv recent piece 
of work affords a possible clue. 

Aston, in one of the brilliant researches which we have learned 
to associate with the Cavandish Laboratory at Cambridge, has in- 
vented a beautiful apparatus which sorts atoms, by giving them elec- 
trical charges and shooting them through a vacuum under the in- 
fluence of electric and magnetic fields. The resulting forces deflect 
atoms of different weights in different directions, and bring each 
kind to a separate focus upon a photographic plate, producing 
images when the plate is developed. By measuring these plates the 
atomic weights may be determined; and Aston has found that, in 
every case but one, the true atomic weights are exact integers, 
within the accuracy of measurement, which is about 1 part in 1,000. 
When the chemist finds an atomic weight which is not an integer, 
such as 35.46 for chlorine, this is really the average for two different 
kinds of atoms of the same chemical properties, but different weights, 
both of which are integers—35 and 37 in this case. The one ex- 
ception is hydrogen, for which the chemist’s determination 1.008 is 
exactly confirmed. 

Now it is more than a century since Prout suggested that, since 
the atomic weights are so nearly integers, the atoms themselves are 
built up out of simple units. We now transfer this idea to the 
atomic nuclei, which contain practically all the mass, and Aston’s 
beautiful researches practically compel belief. The hydrogen nucleus, 
or “ proton,” is the lightest of all, and we would naturally look 
to it as the fundamental unit. Rutherford’s success in knocking 
the nuclei of elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and sodium to bits, 
by collision with fast-moving alpha particles, has furnished a 
definite proof that protons, and alpha particles as well, are actual 
constitutents of these nuclei. Many nuclei must also contain elec- 
trons, which prevent the net electric charge from getting too high. 
It looks, for example, as if an alpha particle was built of four 
protons and two electrons, held together by forces of whose nature 
we are ignorant. This would give exactly the right electric charge; 
but the mass of the four protons would be greater than that of 
the alpha particle by 1 part in 130. (The electrons weigh next to 
nothing.) This seems to spoil the explanation altogether, but an 
escape is found in that great resolver of otherwise intractable dif- 
ficulties, the principle of relativity. According to this, all energy 
has mass, and all mass is equivalent to energy. The loss of mass in 


1454—25——_12 


158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the formation of the alpha particle would mean that, in forming it, 
energy would be liberated, which would have to be put back into 
it again in order to separate the parts. The calculated amount of 
energy is so enormously great that it is not at all surprising that the 
alpha particle is so stable. Even in the collisions with other atomic 
nuclei which shatter the latter into fragments, the forces (which can 
be roughly calculated) are not nearly strong enough to disintegrate 
it. 

We may now suppose that, in the interior of the stars, and by 
some process the details of which are still quite unknown, the atoms 
of hydrogen are taken apart, and the pieces—protons and electrons— 
built up into the nuclei of heavier atoms, with just enough elec- 
trons left over to build the outer parts of these. We can not be 
sure, of course, that such a thing actually happens; but if it does, 
the energy liberated will suffice for the present demands of astro- 
physics. If the sun, for example, was originally all hydrogen, 
which was transformed in this fashion into other elements, the 
energy which would be set free as a by-product would keep it 
shining at the present rate for about 120 billions of years. 

Such is our present conception of the stars, their distance, their 
age, their nature, and their life history. In the grandeur of its 
sweep in space and time, and the beauty and simplicity of the re- 
lations which it discloses between the greatest and the smallest 
things of which we know, it reveals as perhaps nothing else does, 
the majesty of the order about us which we call nature, and, as I 
believe, of that Power behind the order, of which it is but a passing 
shadow. 


——7 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS, 1820-1920? 


By E. WALTER MAUNDER 


[With 7 plates] 


The Royal Astronomical Society was founded in 1820. At that 
date it was known that there was a sun, that sometimes there were 
spots upon its surface, and that the sun rotated on its axis. Prac- 
tically that was all. 

In 1826, the systematic study of the sun’s surface was commenced 
by Schwabe, and it has been continued up to the present time. 
Schwabe presented his drawings to the Royal Astronomical Society ; 
and as it also possesses those of some of his predecessors in the same 
field, this society now holds records of one kind or another showing 
the changes that have taken place upon the solar surface from the 
year 1820, and so continuously to the present date. 

The question before us this evening is: What views do we now hold 
of the constitution of the sun and the relationships of its spots, and 
upon what facts do we base them? 

A quarter of an hour is a short time in which to review the scien- 
tific evolution of a century, even when the inquiry is restricted to a 
single department of astronomy, so confined that it deals only with 
sunspots as drawn at the telescope, or impressed upon the photo- 
graph plate. 

My first illustration (fig. 1) deals with the annual percentages of 
spotless days, 1826-1923, and is an extension of that appearing in the 
Monthly Notices, 74, Plate 4, between pages 114 and 115. It is based 
upon Schwabe’s persistent daily count of sunspots. In itself, his 
work was very simple and straightforward, but it was carried on 
systematically and with the utmost patience. These qualities made 
it great and epoch making, and they were acknowledged by the 
award to him, in 1857, of the gold medal of this society. 

The diagram is deduced, partly from the observations of Schwabe; 
partly from those of R. Wolf; and from 1885 to the present time 
from the Greenwich Photoheliographic Results. It exhibits for each 


1 An address given on the evening of Monday, May 29, 1922, at the conversazione held 
in connection with the centenary of the Royal Astronomical Society. Reprinted by per-. 
mission from Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. LXXXII, No. 9. 
With additions. 

159 


160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


year from 1826 to 1923 the percentage of the days of observation 
upon which the sun appeared to be free from spots. It shows clearly 
that all years are not equally prolific as to sunspots. Confining 
ourselves to the years represented, it appears that there were eight 
cycles completed when there was a most marked absence of spots; a 
ninth cycle being now nearly completed. The dates of such absences 
are very clearly defined and are marked by the actual year inserted 
just above the apices. In the ninety-eight years represented there 
is in no case any doubt as to the year of the greatest solar quiescence, 
and a simple examination of the curve demonstrates that the average 
length of the interval, from one year of greatest quiescence to the 
next, was nearly 111% years, and that the range in length of that in- 
terval was from 10 to 13 years. 


Pag ads a, . * sh veoh sash 


eee of 4: 79 rae 


80 
60 1889 
1835 
0 1843 
20 
10 t 
0 


1850 18,40 8,80 tinal “ if nt i 1920 


Fic. 1.—Annual percentages of spotless days, 1826-1923 


Percentages 
Percentages 


This interval is often spoken of as “the sun-spot period.” The use 
_of the word “ period” has been unfortunate, for it has given rise to 
an impression which is not in accord with the facts of the case. 
Let us speak of it in future as “the sun-spot cycle.” A series of 
events may be, and often is, “cyclical” without being in the usual 
mathematical sense “ periodic”; but we are not, at present, justified 
in applying the term “ period,” in its strictest mathematical sense, 
to the interval that occurs between one sun-spot minimum and the 
next. 

The second illustration (fig. 2) gives a somewhat fuller study, 
derived from the measures of the areas of sunspots made at Green- 
wich Observatory on the photographs of the sun, taken during the 
years 1874-1923; it is an extension of a similar diagram given in the 
Monthly Notices, 64, page 748. It exhibits the mean daily spotted 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 161 


area of the sun; the total mean spotted area of the northern 
hemisphere being shown separately from that of the southern. 
The principal feature of the diagram therefore is the comparison of 
the sun-spot areas in the two hemispheres. From this point of 
view the diagram is worth careful consideration. Just as the first 
illustration showed that during the years represented there was only 
one sun-spot cycle—a cycle having a mean duration of about 1114 
years—so the present diagram shows that the cycle holds good for 
each hemisphere, as well as for both together. The solar cycle is one. 
There is no question of the existence of submultiple cycles, or of 
incommensurable cycles of greater length. 


Northern Spotted Area 


Scuthern Spotted Area 


Mean Daily Spotted Ares 
Mean Daily Spotted Area 


Fig. 2.—Mean daily spotted area, north and south, 1874—1923 


Further examination of the diagram shows that the maximum 
activity in any particular cycle does not necessarily fall at the same 
epoch for the two hemispheres; rather, a divergency appears between 
them. In each of the four cycles represented, the northern activity 
was developed before the southern; in each of them the curve in one 
hemisphere attained a single crest, while in the other it attained a 
double one; or, to put it in other words, the form of the curve was 
not the same in the two hemispheres. We have therefore here a 
solar dichotomy displayed. Had the results of the whole century 
been presented in a like form, other peculiarities would have been 
seen, but these would have strengthened, not weakened, the case 
for the solar dichotomy. The solar cycle is one; its manifestations 
in the two hemispheres, north and south, are different. 


162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The third diagram (fig. 8) is an extension of that appearing in 
the Monthly Notices, 74, Plate 3, between pages 114 and 115, and 
brings out another relation. The solar dichotomy is not illustrated 
here; we are dealing with the whole of the sun’s disk as we see it. 
The points set forth are the variations in the area covered by sun- 
spots, and the variations in the mean distance from the equator of 
the sun of all spots. Area and latitude are the two factors brought 
into notice. The period covered by the diagram is 1854-1923. The 
statistics for the first two cycles are derived from the work of the 
late Professor Spoerer; for the last four, from the Greenwich 
Photoheliographic Results. 

The continuous line shows the variation in the total daily spotted 
area of the sun during the progress of each cycle; the dotted line 


1880 


Latitude 
Area 


Mean Daily Spotted Area in Millionth’s of the Sun's Hemispnere 
Mean Latitude of Spotted Area 


Fic. 3.—Mean latitude and mean spotted area, 1854-1923 


shows the changing distance from the solar equator of the center of 
gravity of the sun-spot zones. In this latter curve, we have the 
fact that the solar cycle is one, and one only, brought out in a most 
unmistakable fashion; each cycle begins with an activity in high 
latitude ; each cycle ends with the last remnants of activity transferred 
to a low one; but, as the new cycle begins before the old cycle has 
completed its course, the two overlap for a short time. This is what 
is known as “Spoerer’s law of zones.” Broadly speaking, we may 
say that the approach toward the equator is continuous from the 
beginning of the cycle to its end. The distinction between the forms 
of the two curves is emphatic. The area curve is continuous; it 
begins practically at zero; it increases up to a certain point; it then 
diminishes again to the next zero; and soon. Flow and ebb, flow and 
ebb, follow each other continuously. But the latitude curve is dis- 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 163 


continuous. It always starts from high latitude; when it has reached 
low latitudes it is cut off; there is no gradual return to the high 
latitudes. The reappearance of spots in high latitudes is sudden. 

There are now three facts before us. There is one solar cycie, 
shown differently, in time and form of the curve, in the two hemi- 
spheres, and now in two manifestations of quite separate character ; 
one in area, a complete pulsation, and one in latitude, which moves 
in one direction only; i. e., from high solar latitudes to low. 

The fourth illustration (fig. 4) appeared in the Monthly Notices, 
74, Plate 2, between pages 114 and 115. It deals only with the 
distribution of spots in latitude, nothing being shown concerning the 
areas of spots. The materials are drawn entirely from the Green- 
wich Photoheliographic Results, and extend over the years 1874-1913. 
Seven thousand spots are represented, but the short straight line 
which indicates the latitude of a spot is drawn just as long and 
as heavy for a small spot as for a large one; for one spot as for a 
dozen. All spots occurring during the same rotation of the sun are 
represented in the same vertical line. The diagram is concerned 
only with the distribution of spot centers in heliographic latitude. 

This diagram has been familiarly called “the butterfly diagram,” 
as it seems to suggest three butterflies pinned down to a board with 
their wings extended. Heads, bodies, and legs have disappeared, 
but the outstretched wings remain. Each pair of wings is distinct 
from the next; there is a clear V-shaped gap between each of the 
three specimens. Here again the first deduction is reinforced from 
an altogether different set of facts. The solar cycle is one. 

This diagram further suggests that the origin of the solar spots 
lies within the sun, not without. They come from below the sur- 
face; they are not impressed upon the surface by some exterior 
influence; neither by planets nor by meteors. No exterior influence 
could invariably begin a fresh disturbance in a high latitude simul- 
taneously on both sides of the Equator. 

If we take a card with a narrow slit in it, parallel to the sun’s 
equator, and move it up and down over the diagram, then, wherever 
that slit is placed within the range of the sun-spot zones, the three 
sun-spot cycles will be brought out clearly and unmistakably. Our 
first conclusion, that the sun-spot cycle is one, is now extended; it is 
true not merely for sunspots in general, but for the spots of any 
special zone in particular. This conclusion goes deeper than our first, 
which was merely that the sun-spot cycle, on the average, lasted for 
about 1114 years. The sun as a whole is under the law of that cycle, 
and edth individual zone has its own particular part to play in it. 
But the sun as a whole is a unit, no matter how distinct its dichotomy 
into two hemispheres, no matter how distinct may be the action in 
any particular zone. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


164 


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Wig. 4.—Distribution of spot-centers in heliographic latitudes 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 165 


Another feature is suggested by this diagram, but will be better 
brought out in a different connection. It is that the southern hemi- 
sphere appears to encroach slightly on the northern at the equator, 
or at about the time of the close of one cycle and the beginning of the 
next. The southern influence seems to cross the equator. 

Since the origin of the solar spots les within the sun, and the 
northern and southern spots show differences in their behavior, we 
must conclude that the sun is not symmetrical in the constitution of 
its interior. If then we assume, as the basis of any investigation, 
that the sun is symmetrical in its internal constitution, we are making 
an assumption contrary te the evidence supplied by the behavior of 
1ts surface. 

If there be this clear distinction between the two hemispheres, is it 
possible that one of them might go out of action for a time, and if so, 
what would follow? 

This is not a mere oratorical question; the event supposed has 
actually occurred. Dr. Rudolf Wolf, of Zurich, demonstrated, and 
Spoerer developed that demonstration further, that in the latter part 
of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth the 
northern hemisphere of the sun failed for many years to produce a 
single recorded spot. 

Was there any effect during that same period recognized here on 
the earth that could be plausibly associated with this failure in spot 
production in the sun’s northern hemisphere? 

It is suggestive that, while the northern hemisphere was thus en- 
tirely barren, the southern hemisphere of the sun had some spots, but 
only few, and for nearly 70 years the sun showed a prolonged spot 
minimum. ‘The failure in spot activity of the northern hemisphere 
was not compensated by an increased activity in the southern. 
Further, as Miss Agnes Clerke pointed out in Knowledge for Sep- 
tember, 1894, no aurore were reported during these years; from 
which we may infer that there were no great magnetic disturbances 
taking place on the earth. It is also suggestive that Prof. A. E. 
Douglass, who has been studying with great particularity the annual 
rings of trees in relation to climate and the solar activity (Climatic 
Cycles and Tree Growths), found that this same period “ was the 
interval in the yellow pines” (i. e. of northern Arizona) “ which 
gave me more trouble than any other in trying to work out the action 
of the sun-spot cycle” (Journal of the British Astronomical Asso- 
ciation, 32, 223). Professor Douglass added that it seemed to him 
“a very important corroboration of the relationship between solar 
activity and terrestrial conditions, for I presume that these tree 
variations are related directly to the weather.” 


166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Sunspots, if looked at casually, appear to differ widely in their 
form and behavior, but a little systematic observation shows that, for 
the most part, they conform in their history to a single type. As an 
illustration we may take the group which attained its maximum de- 
velopment in March, 1920, and of which the Rev. A. L. Cortie has 
summarized the life history in the Monthly Notices, 80, 574-578, 
where it is accompanied by seven drawings of its appearance. This 
type is that of a more or less regular stream, of which the first and 
last spots are usually the largest, best defined, and the most stable. 
The straight line joiming the two chief spots—sometimes distin- 
guished as the “leader” and “ trailer ”—was in this case parallel to 
the sun’s equator. 

Professor Hale has shown that all spots contain magnetic fields, 
and that the strength of this field (up to a certain maximum) in- 
creases with the diameter of the spot; and that the polarities in any 
one cycle follow a definite law with respect to the position of the 
spot on the sun according as it is north or south of the equator. If 
the sign of the dominant charge remains always the same, then 
opposite polarities may be regarded as representing opposite direc- 
tions of whirl. Now in streams in which the “leader” and the 
“trailer” are dominant, Professor Hale has pointed out that these 
two are of opposite polarities; that is, of opposite directions of 
whirl. Where, then, we have two “ bipolar ” streams, one north and 
one south of the solar equator, we find that the two leaders have 
whirls in directions opposite to each other, and, similarly, the two 
“trailers” have whirls opposite. Further, during the cycle ending 
in 1918, the leader spots in the northern and the trailer spots in the 
southern hemisphere were of negative polarity; the sign of the 
polarity being positive for the southern leaders and northern trailers. 
But during the cycle after 1914, these relative whirls were inter- 
changed, the northern leaders and southern trailers becoming positive 
and the southern leaders and northern trailers negative, until June 
24, 1922, when a small single spot (probably a leading spot whose 
trailer had become invisible) in north latitude 31°, was found to have 
south or negative polarity. This was the first indication that the 
new cycle just beginning was again experiencing a general reversal 
of polarities. 

Thus during the minimum years of 1913-14 and of 1922-24, we 
have not only the high latitude spots of the new cycle overlapping the 
low latitude spots of the old, but also four spot zones, characterized 
by distinct magnetic polarities coexisting together. But the general 
magnetic field of the sun shows no reversal of polarity. 

Professor Hale also points out (Contributions from Mount Wilson 
Solar Observatory, No. 165) that the inclination of the axis of the 
spot stream, which is in general represented by the line joining the 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 167 


“leader” and the “trailer,” bears a definite relation to the latitude 
at which it occurs. The “trailer” tends to be further from the 
equator than the “leader,” and “in low latitudes the axes are nearly 
parallel to the sun’s equator; but with increasing latitude the mean 
inclination increases to a maximum of about 11°” in the region of 
latitude 30° to 35°. 

To go back in the history nearly 60 years, one of the most notable 
contributions to the answer to the question “ What is a sun?” was 
supplied by the Redhill Observations of Sunspots made by R. C. 


To illustrate the relative movements in longitude of Spots 


in different Solar latitudes in one rotation of the Sun. 
Fie. 5 


Carrington in the years 1853-1861, in which he redetermined the posi- 
tion of the sun’s axis and the rotation period of the sun. In par- 
ticular, he showed that each different zone of latitude, north and 
south, has its own rotation period. The annexed diagram (fig. 5) 
will roughly illustrate the general effect. It is drawn on the assump- 
tion that there is a spot in every fifth degree of latitude, and that at 
a given moment these 17 spots were all observed to be on the central 
meridian of the sun’s apparent disk. If, then, each spot traveled 
westward with the average speed of apparent motion appropriate to 
its own particular latitude, then in 27% days the spots would be 
found in the positions indicated on the curved line. 


168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lieferring again to “the butterfly diagram,” the shift of the 
habitat of spot groups during the progress of the solar cycle shown 
therein would appear to be a sort of surface ripple on the sun, mov- 
ing in both hemispheres from high latitudes to low, as each cycle 
proceeds from its beginning to its close. The case of the Cepheid 
variables has made us familiar in recent years with the idea of stars 
which change their volume—stars with pulsating photospheres. In 
the sun we have, as yet, no proof of a general pulsation of the photo- 
sphere; only of this ripple of disturbance on its surface. But, since 
the rotation period, as indicated by sunspots, is shorter as the 
equator is approached, it follows that the mean rotation period of the 
sun is quicker before minimum than after. 

But the above diagram puts the fact of the difference in the rota- 
tion periods of different latitudes in much too crude a form. A 
paper on “ The solar rotation period from Greenwich sun-spot meas- 
ures, 1879-1901,” appeared in the Monthly Notices, 65, and on page 
817 a table was given (Table IL) which was intended to show how 
wide are the differences of rotation period, as derived from different 
spot groups even in the same latitude. Every group has a proper 
motion of its own; even within the same group there are internal 
movements. The leader spot in the early days of a group tends to 
rush forward over the surface; in the group’s later history to slacken 
speed and return on its track.? Also the groups which live the 
longest, returning two or more times to the visible hemisphere of the 
sun, move more slowly on the whole than short-lived spots, and yield 
different rotation periods during their successive apparitions. 

One remarkable peculiarity is common to both the cycles, 1879- 
1891 and 1891-1901, and since it was brought out by Carrington’s 
inquiry two cycles earlier it is probable that it expresses a real pecu- 
liarity of the solar rotation. In spite of the great irregularity in 
the rotation periods given by the spots in any particular zone, there 
does appear to be a distinct tendency for the shortest mean period to 
be given, not at the equator, but slightly to the north of it. The curve 
given by the different rotation periods is not precisely symmetrical 
with respect to the equator, and, on the whole, there appears to be a 
tendency for the periods in the northern latitudes to lengthen more 
rapidly with distance from the equator than with those of the southern. 
A similar feature was suggested in “ the butterfly diagram,” wherein 
the southern hemisphere appeared to encroach slightly on the northern 
at the equator. The equator of rotation would appear not to coincide 
with the equator of figure, but to lie slightly to the north of it.* 


2“ Notes on some of the spot groups measured at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, on 
photographs of the sun taken in the year 1915,’’ Monthly Notices, 79, 451. 

8’ See a paper communicated to the British Astronomical Association on ‘“ Rotation 
periods of the sun as determined from flocculi and from sunspots” (Journal of the 
British Astronomical Association, 32, 104-107): “We thus infer a state of strain not 
only between the southern and northern solar hemispheres, but also between the higher 
and lower strata in those hemispheres”; p. 106. 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—-MAUNDER 169 


The different rotation periods given by long-lived spot groups dur- 
ing their successive apparitions are illustrated in figure 6, which 
exhibits the distribution in longitude of all groups lasting through 
three or more successive rotations during the years 1891-1894. ‘The 
recurrent groups north of the Equator are marked N, those south of 
it S. It may be assumed that the greater the depth below the surface 
of the place of origin of a given spot group, the greater will be the 


Distribution of Spol-Groups of Long Duration in the Years 1891 to 1894 
in Heliographic Longitude. 


eS Sue awd aE ES wes Seren Seem ewer seme ere See 


We a ee ee ee ee eae eee 
4 The dots indicate the Heliographic Longitude of each Group of Spots when on the Central 184% 
Meridian of the Sun's Disc. 


Fic. 6 


difference of its observed rate of motion from the general surface 
drift. 

The seventh diagram is drawn upon precisely the same scale as 
figure 6, and shows the distribution of certain solar longitudes. But 
these are not longitudes of spots on the sun, but of the center of the 
sun’s disk at the moment when a magnetic storm began to be felt upon 
the earth. In this case every magnetic storm is recorded. It will be 
seen how similar is the character of the associated dots in the two 
figures; even though no spots are given in figure 6 that made only 


170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


one appearance. If the single appearances in figure 7 had been 
omitted, the resemblance between the two diagrams would have been 
much increased. In other words, the intervals between the successive 
returns of a group of spots to the center of the sun’s disk, as seen 
from the earth, are strictly comparable with the intervals between 
the recurrences of a magnetic storm. Magnetic storms obey the law 
of the sun’s rotation. 


Distribution of MAGNETIC STORMS, 1862 to 1866, 
fer each Rotation of the Syn. 


Note.The dots indicate the Helvographic Longitude of the Centre of the Sun's Dise at the time 
of the commencement of cach of the Magnetic Storms. 


Hie. 7 


This could not be so if the influence that brings about our magnetic 
storms proceeded equally from every part of the solar surface and 
was radiated from it equally in all directions. It follows that mag- 
netic storms are brought about by an influence which arises from 
restricted areas of the sun’s surface, and is discharged from such areas 
in restricted directions. Thus Mr. Gavin Burns has tabulated his 
records of aurorz (Memoirs of the British Astronomical Association, 
23, Part I., “ Report of the section for the observation of aurore 
and the zodiacal light, 1916-1919”) in recent years in accordance 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 171 


with the solar rotation, and the tables show at a glance that the 
greatest displays synchronized with the return of certain special 
meridians to the center of the sun’s disk; other meridians on the sun 
appear to leave our atmosphere quite undisturbed. The sun is struc- 
tured, not only as between the northern and southern hemispheres, 
and as between different latitudes, but—as regards its emanations— 
as between some of its longitudes also. 

There are such influences proceeding from the sun, and the outer 
corona is built up in obedience to them. This has been clearly seen in 
the photographs which have been secured of the corona on many 
occasions; as, for example, in the eclipse of December 12, 1871, photo- 
graphed at Baikul by Lord Lindsay’s assistant, Mr. Davis, and shown 
in the Memoirs of the R. A. S., 41, Plates 7 and 8. The chief feature 
of the corona of this eclipse was the massing of its greater portion 
into petal-shaped formations, which were called at that time “syn- 
clinal groups.” In Plate 7 the synclinal group in the south-southeast 
rises above a bright semicircular arc, and much fainter arches can be 
discerned rising above the lowest one. Above the highest of these 
the sides of the structure curve as if to meet; in Plate 8 they very 
nearly meet. Several similar synclinal groups were yet more distinctly 
shown.in the photographs obtained by Sir W. H. M. Christie in the 
eclipse of 1898 at Sahdol in India, and again in the eclipse of 1901, by 
the members of the British expeditions to Sumatra and Mauritius. 

But it was in the eclipse of 1898 that the structure of the outermost 
corona was photographed; and the synclinal groups, so beautifully 
shown on Sir W. H. M. Christie’s negatives, were seen on photographs 
taken at Talni, with a Dallmeyer astigmatic lens of 114 inches aper- 
ture and 9 inches focus, to terminate in long narrow straight beams, 
the apex of the highest arch in each of the groups being, as it were, 
blown out, and driven away in a straight line into space. The longest 
beam was traced for at least 6,000,000 miles.‘ - 

From photographs taken in these and other eclipses, it would ap- 
pear that over certain disturbed areas of the solar surface leaf-shaped 
structures are built up, from the apices of which matter seems to be 
driven away in long straight rod-like beams. Such beams, driven 
forth into space and continually replenished from beneath, would, if 
in the right direction, from time to time overtake the earth in its orbit, 
and strike it on the sunset arc. Remembering that in a hot gaseous 
body like the sun, electrified particles, both positively and negatively 
charged, must occur in great numbers, we can understand how the 
same disturbed area may be fed with particles of different sign, which, 
by their mutual attraction, give rise to the rod-like beams that issue 
from it. These cross the space that separates the earth from the sun, 
and reveal their arrival here by means of magnetic storms and aurore. 


+ Knowledge, for May, 1898, pp. 107-109. 


172 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Thus it is evident that the disturbed state of the sun’s surface 
affects the earth. But there is also some evidence that the earth ap- 
pears to affect the sun’s surface. This appears in a slight, but dis- 
tinct, dissymmetry between the eastern and western halves of the 
apparent disk of the sun, with respect to three orders of solar phe- 
nomena: the numbers of prominences; the areas of facule; and the 
numbers and areas of spot groups. There is some evidence that the 
amount and the sign of this dissymmetry vary in the course of the 
solar cycle. A complete explanation is still to seek.® 

These conclusions and suggestions have been derived, during the 
century of the history of this Society, from observations of the 
changes, real and apparent, of the areas of sunspots and of their 
distributions in longitude and latitude. 


APPENDIX ° 


In the two years since the writing of the original paper, several 
expressions for the rotation period of the sun, varying with the 
latitude, have been found for facule and flocculi, phenomena which 
differ in character from sunspots and from each other. Comparing 
the zones, 5° in breadth, of greatest activity (those with their cen- 
ters at 1214° on either side of the Equator) for five of these investi- 
gations, we have the following result: 


TABLE I 
P Mean 
Daily : 
Authority sidereal sees 
motion r 
period 
Spots observed from’6'to.14 days.) 23.22. -- = Maunder..2) =". 22 14045 26974 
Maculerr cts ct 8 oo ren prey eter pees | Ser beep pre tee ae a Newtons: 2-2229e ts 14, 42 26. 79 
BUIO COUR hearer eet een re Sees 1) ENS SSI 14. 38 26. 89 
IRacnrent. Spots) oe ee ee eee Winner se eee 14, 34 26. 95 
Nacnltsisse. sus. 22- see a ere tes serge eter te Chevalier. cceee eet eee 14. 33 26. 98 


It will be seen that the extreme difference from the mean is only 
0.12 of a day. 

But these are all mean values for the zone; the scattering shown by 
the individual objects in any zone is as marked and significant as 
is the crowding round the mean rotation period in that zone. For 
example, for spots observed from 6 to 14 days the most active zones 
have synodic periods ranging from 2334 to 3090 and facule and floc- 
culi both show a scattering of about the same order. 


5 Monthly Notices, 47, 451: “An apparent influence of the earth on the numbers and 
areas of sunspots in the cycle 1889-1901”; and Memoirs of the British Astronomical 
Association, 23, Part II, “Report of the section for the observation of the sun, 
1910-1919 ”; “‘ The distribution of facule between the four quadrants of the sun’s appar- 
“ent disk,” p. 46. 

6 Added Jne 17, 1924. 


THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS—MAUNDER 173 


This fact has a bearing on the rotation periods of the sun given 
by magnetic storms. It implies that it is not possible to determine 
with any degree of certainty the particular zone of solar latitude, 
from whence a pair of magnetic storms have arisen, merely by notic- 
ing the interval in time that has occurred between them. Thus 
Table II gives for 190 pairs of storms occurring between 1848 and 
1918, and for spots from 1879 to 1901, the degrees of favor shown 
for the various synodic periods. 


TABLE IT - 
| 
Synodic | Northern| Magnetic] Southern 
eine Hawes Suna spots | 41! spots 

d 

23.5 0 0 1 1 
23.9 0 0 4 rs 
24.3 5 0 9 14 
24.7 12 0 15 22 
25. 1 29 0 32 61 
25. 5 43 1 46 83 
25. 9 82 10 77 159 
26.3 119 16 137 256 
26.7 151 27 177 328 
27.1 191 62 242 433 
27.5 117 20 144 261 
27.9 50 33 68 118 
28.3 25 13 40 65 
28.7 10 8 16 26 
29,1 6 0 6 12 
29.5 1 0 2 3 


It is evident that both spots and magnetic storms concentrate 
sharply upon a synodic period of 27.1 days. 

The representations of the corona, shown in Plates 1-7, are draw-. 
ings made from photographs taken by Mrs. Maunder in 1898 in 
India, and in 1901 in Mauritius. A drawing of the former was 
made by the late Mr. W. H. Wesley; the drawings from the Mauritius 
eclipse were made by Miss Beatrice Handler. In the latter it will be 
seen that there are two leaflike formations, each covering a very 
disturbed are of about 60°. In the complete corona of longer ex- 
posure, the apex of each leaf is shown, but while that of the more . 
northern is prolonged radially out into a beam, the apex of the more 
southern is directed somewhat toward the equator, so that the beam 
as a whole is inclined to the normal. In the small-scale photo- 
graph, that taken in India in 1898, we see one of the beams pro- 
longed into a straight rodlike ray; straight to as great a distance 
as it can be distinguished upon the photograph. A recent paper by 
Mr. E. A. Milne on “The average life of an excited calcium atom ” 
(Monthly Notices, 84, March, 1924) gives some idea of the way 
in which such rays arise in the disturbed sun-spot zones and how 
their particles escape outward from the sun. 


174 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Lately, Doctor Abbot has shown that these rodlike rays, which 
are streams of particles, restricted as to the areas from whence they 
arise, and in the directions in which they are emitted, affect another 
planet of the solar system. In the Proceedings of the National 
Academy of Sciences for October, 1923, Doctor Abbot points out 
that “when sunspots transit across the central diameter of the 
visible disk, lower radiation values occur, and usually reach a 
minimum on the day following the transit,” and to explain this, 
quotes the observations of Guthnick on the brightness of Saturn, 
which indicated certain small fluctuations. These fluctuations 
agreed in percentage with the variations of the solar constant, pro- 
vided a time allowance was made to take account of the rotation of 
the sun from a position facing the earth to one facing Saturn. “It 
seemed, in short, as if rays of a certain intensity of radiation, going 
out from the sun, rotated along with it, and so affected the dif- 
ferent planets in the order of their heliographic longitudes.” He 
finds such ragged, unequal rays in the solar corona, and it is evident 
that this lower radiation, about a day after a spot transit over the 
central meridian, and a magnetic storm are both due—directly or 
indirectly—to the same rays, for in the cases of the magnetic storms, 
which accompanied the spots 9127 and 9143 (of the Greenwich 
series) in February and March, 1920, the lower solar constant in each 
case occurred about the time of greatest height of the magnetic storm. 
The latter is due to the disturbance of the earth’s magnetism by 
the solar ray; the lower solar constant is attributed by Doctor 
Abbot, to the diminished transparency of the enveloping ray itself. 

We therefore now recognize two distinct methods of radiation 
from the sun; the first, general, from the entire surface and in all 
directions; the second, special, arising from certain districts in 
certain zones, and emitted in restricted directions only. 

Indications of variations in the general radiation have been found 
by Doctor Abbot by higher values of the solar constant here on 
earth, when sunspots form, or are increasing, or are brought by 
the solar rotation into view at the east limb of the sun, and when- 
ever the solar surface is shown by the Ha spectroheliograms to be 
much disturbed. ‘“ When a period of quiescence in solar activity 
occurs, the radiation values tend to fall continually until some new 
outbreak of activity is observed.” An agreement has also been es- 
tablished between the rate of the melting of the white polar caps 
of Mars and the progress of the solar cycle. Thus, in 1916 
(Monthly Notices, 76, No. 8), E. M. Antoniadi recorded that “ out 
of 21 cases of observed melting of the caps between 1862 and 1914, 
inclusive, there are four more or less unfavorable and seventeen fa- 
vorable to the agreement in question.” 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE | 


THE CORONA OF I90I, MAY 18 


Mrs. Walter Maunder’s expedition to Mauritius. (Long. 3h. 50m. 12.6s. E.; Lat. 20° 6’ S.) 


Drawing by Miss Beatrice Handler from a photograph taken 7 seconds after the commence- 
ment of totality, with the ‘‘Newbegin”’ telescope of 414 inches aperture, and 71 inches focal 
length. Exposure 4 second. Plate, Lumiere, ‘‘Series A.’’ 

The letters N. S., E. W., indicate approximately the direction in which the sun’s axis and 
equator, respectively, lie. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 2 


THE CORONA OF I90I, MAy I8& 
Mrs. Walter Maunder’s expedition to Mauritius. (Long. 3h. 50m. 12.6s. E.; Lat. 20° 6’ 8.) 


Drawing by Miss Beatrice Handler from a photograph taken 144 seconds after the commence- 
ment of totality, with the ‘‘ Newhbegin”’ telescope of 414 inches aperture, and 71 inches focal 
length. Exposure 8 seconds. Plate, Imperial, *‘ Fine Grain Ordinary.” 

The letters NS., E. W., indicate approximately the direction in which the sun’s axis and 
equator, respectively, lie. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 3 


DISTURBED EASTERN LIMB 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 4 


SOUTH POLAR ‘‘PLUMES”’ 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 5 


NORTH-EAST SYNCLINAL WING 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 6 


NorTH POLAR “ PLUMES’”’ 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Maunder PLATE 7 


DRAWING BY W. H. WESLEY OF THE 1898 ECLIPSE 
Published in Knowledge, May, 1898 


JOINING THE ELECTRIC WAVE AND HEAT WAVE 
SPECTRA 


By E. F. Nicuots and J. D. Tear 


[With 2 plates] 
HISTORICAL 


There are few if any more fascinating chapters in the history 
of science than those dealing with the development of our present 
theory of light and the growth of our knowledge gained by careful 
experiment upon which any acceptable theory must rest. For cen- 
turies there was strife among “ natural philosophers” as to whether 
light was due to countless myriads of minute imponderable particles 
called corpuscles, shot out along straight lines in every direction 
from the source of light, or whether light was an orderly wave 
motion spreading out equally and radially in all directions in a 
universal imponderable medium called the ether. 

Some of the most recent fundamental discoveries in radiation and 
‘the newer conceptions of atomic structure and discreet energy 
quanta to which these discoveries have given rise have raised new 
questions concerning some of the hard and fast details of the estab- 
lished wave theory with the likelihood that a partial compromise 
between these two age-old hypotheses may sooner or later develop. 
Many physicists are already prepared for a wave disturbance theory 
of light not quite so harmonious and simply geometric as the 
smoothly and evenly spreading wave front nor yet so crudely mate- 
rial and projectilelike as the older corpuscular theory. Much more, 
however, must be known and done before a new agreement covering 
all details can be arrived at. 

Historically, Young’s discovery of the interference of two beams 
of light, made in the first year of the last century, was a decisive 
experiment in favor of a wave theory as opposed to a corpuscular 
theory, and it would doubtless promptly have convinced all physi- 
cists had it not been for the very great authority of Sir Isaac New- 
ton which had come down through more than a century. Newton in 
his day had vacillated between a wave theory which had recently 
been quite elaborately worked out by the Dutch philosopher Huy- 


175 


176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


gens, on the one hand, and the older and more widely favored cor- 
puscular theory, on the other. Finally Newton definitely adopted the 
corpuscular theory of light, but still thought that heat radiation 
might be due to a wave motion. Newton was beyond question one 
of the greatest and most progressive thinkers of all time and, had 
he been alive, would have been among the first to recognize the con- 
vineing evidence of Young’s experiment, but Newton dead proved 
a most formidable obstacle to progress. 

Young not only proved the wave theory but actually measured 
the wave lengths of different colored light and showed a progres- 
sive increase in wave length as we go from violet through blue, 
green, and yellow to the extreme red. Thus the wave length of 
yellow light situated about midway in the orderly spaced band of 
colors which we call the normal spectrum is approximately 0.00059 
mm. or one fifty-thousandth of an inch. From this time on to 
the middle of the nineteenth century, increasing and more convinc- 
ing evidence of the wave theory slowly accumulated until Foucault 
actually measured the velocity of light in water and found it less 
than in air by an amount in exact accordance with the requirements 
of the wave theory, while the corpuscular theory required just the 
reverse; i. e., a greater velocity in water than in air. Thus a wave 
disturbance theory was finally established. 

Fifteen years later Maxwell proposed a new theory of the nature 
of light waves which he based on Faraday’s experiments. Maxwell’s 
theory at the time it was proposed proved as abstruse and baffling . 
for physicists of his day as we find Einstein’s generalized theory of 
relativity in ours. In fact, Maxwell was the Einstein of his gen- 
eration, and he succeeded in puzzling everybody. Maxwell’s theory 
asserts that light is an electric wave disturbance in the ether caused 
by astoundingly rapid oscillations of minute electric charges in the 
source of light. But nobody then knew anything about rapidly oscil- 
lating electric charges in light sources, and another outstanding 
difficulty in believing that light waves were electric waves was that 
nobody had discovered any electric waves with which to compare 
them, nor was there any clearly recognized indication that electric 
waves were possible. 

In the following decade the Berlin Academy of Sciences became 
interested in Maxwell’s theory and offered a prize to anyone who 
would give experimental proof of its fundamental assumption. Not 
long after this prize was offered, von Helmholtz called the attention 
of one of his most promising students to it. That student was Hein- 
rich Hertz, who later not only obtained electric waves some 2 feet 
long in the laboratory but went further and performed a number of 
experiments demonstrating that these waves, like light, were reflected 


. 


ELECTRIC AND HEAT WAVES—NICHOLS AND TEAR 177 


from surfaces, bent from their course by prisms, and that they trav- 
eled through space with the velocity of light. 

Hertz’s successors worked in two different directions. Righi, 
the Italian, and a number of other physicists worked toward shorter 
and shorter electric waves and repeated with them more and more 
of the classical experiments with light. Sir Oliver Lodge, Guglielmo 
Marconi, a brilliant young Italian experimenter, Branly, Fleming, 
and Braun were inspired by the idea of making electric waves a 
means of signaling and communication. These men, working in- 
dividually, pushed toward longer and longer waves, because long 
electric waves carry farther and are not so easily scattered by 
obstacles as short ones. As we know, Marconi won in the contest 
of perfecting a practical means of communication without wires, 
and from his success we now have radiotelegraphy, and with the 
advent of the vacuum tube amplifier we have the greater marvel of 
radiotelephony. Thus Hertz worked indefatigably to discover elec- 
tric waves in order to prove that Maxwell was right in maintaining 
that light waves were electric waves. Hertz’s discovery, with its 
consequences, is but one of an accumulating number of instances in 
which astoundingly practical results have followed directly from the 
most abstruse workings of.the scientific imagination. 

Contemporaneously with the discovery and development of elec- 
tric waves, great progress was also being made in the investigation 
of light and heat waves. Explorers were pushing out into the dark 
spectrum below the longest visible red waves. Among the earlier 
of these pioneers, and the most brilliant and successful one, was our 
illustrious countryman, Prof. S. P. Langley, who began his re- 
searches in 1883, using his newly perfected bolometer. He extended 
the known spectrum and accurately measured wave lengths down to 
5.34, nearly 10 times the length of yellow light waves. By his 
researches he not only determined the distribution of energy in the 
solar radiation but laid experimental foundations for the develop- 
ment of our present general laws of radiation. A decade later a 
new method for sifting out and isolating certain long wave radia- 
tions from the total output of hot bodies, such as a candle flame or a 
Welsbach gas mantle, was discovered by Rubens and Nichols. This 
method lead to an extension of our knowledge of long wave lengths 
and their measurement to waves more than 25 times the longest 
actually measured by Langley. Another twofold extension was ac- 
complished by a further advance in method due to Rubens and 
Wood, and finally, in 1911, heat waves 0.324 mm., or one seventy- 
fifth of an inch, in length, were successfully isolated, measured, 
and their properties studied. 

There was, however, still an unbridged gulf between the shortest 
known electric waves and the longest measured heat waves, for the 


178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


followers of Hertz and Righi had been stopped in their progress 
toward short waves about 1 cm., or two-fifths of an inch, in length. 

In some experiments still in progress at the Nela Research Labo- 
oratory of the National Lamp Works, at Cleveland, the writers, by 
devising new and improved instruments and methods of experi- 
mentation, have succeeded in generating and working with electric 
waves as short as 0.220 mm., or one one-hundredth of an inch—waves 
considerably shorter than Ruben’s and von Baeyer’s 0.324 mm., heat 
waves. 


DESCRIPTION OF SENDING AND RECEIVING APPARATUS 


The arrangement of apparatus used in the new experiments is 
shown in Plate 1. The Hertzian oscillator or sender is contained in 
a brass box, O. The oscillator is a point source, and the diverging 
pencil of electric wave radiation emerging from it is formed into 
a parallel beam by a lens of paraffin wax. At R,, with a similar 
lens in front of it, is a check receiver. Waves emitted by the sender 
first fall on the reflecting screen, G, which is usually of ebonite, and 
are partially reflected into the check receiver. The remaining por- 
tion passes through the screen and falls upon the reflecting echelon 
analyzer, a flight of exactly equal brass steps, S. From the face of 
the echelon, the beam of electric waves is reflected to the main re- 
ceiver, R,. A motor-driven vacuum pump for exhausting the two 
receivers is seen in the background. The check receiver, R, , serves 
simply as a control on the intensity of the beam emitted by the 
oscillator, so that any erratic changes of intensity of the emitted 
radiation may be recognized and corrected for. 

The oscillator—In a sectional diagram of the oscillator or send- 
ing apparatus shown in Figure 1, in which interior parts appear very 
much magnified, B is a brass case containing kerosene. T, and T, 
are glass tubes in which very small cylinders of tungsten, H, and H,, 
are sealed. These tungsten cylinders, separated by a short spark 
gap in kerosene, form the Hertzian doublet which emits the short 
wave radiation. High potential leads, V, and V., from an induc- 
tion coil charge H, and H, by leakage across air gaps, G, and G., 
until H, and H, build up a sufficiently high potential difference to 
break down the kerosene insulation in the spark gap, G. The en- 
suing electrical oscillations between H, and H, are the source of the 
electric waves. Radiation emerging from the oscillator case passes 
through the thin circular mica window, W, falls on the paraffin lens, 
P, and is formed into a parallel beam. M is a concave metal mirror 
behind the doublet to reenforce the issuing beam by reflecting the 
backward emission of the oscillator. For simplicity many necessary 
details, such as fine adjustments for regulating the spark gap, etc.. 


ELECTRIC AND HEAT WAVES—NICHOLS AND TEAR 179 


are omitted from the diagram. The wave lengths sent out by the 
oscillator depend on the length and diameter of the tungsten cylin- 
ders, H, and H,. For the shortest waves generated, these cylinders 
were 0.1 mm. long by 0.1 mm. diameter (0.004 by 0.004 in.). In 
use these small tungsten cylinders are rapidly worn away by the spark. 
For single observations, therefore, the oscillator was in most in- 
stances operated for periods of less than half a second. 

The recewer.—The type of electric wave receiver employed was 
a newly designed modification of the Nichols radiometer, which 
makes use of the curious temperature effect in rarified gases dis- 


TO INDUCTION COIL 


Fic. 1.—Schematic sketch of Hertzian oscillator unit 


covered 50 years ago by Sir William Crookes. He found that if 
a thin plate, warmer on one face than on the other, is mounted 
in an inclosure from which the air has been pumped out until only 
about 0.0015 part remains, the residual gas exerts a very slight ex- 
cess pressure on the warmer side of the plate. To illustrate this 
effect, Crookes designed the little radiometers or light mills often 
seen revolving in optician’s windows. 

To utilize this effect in a very sensitive electric wave receiver, the 
instrument shown in the cross-sectional diagram, Figure 2, was con- 
structed. A greatly enlarged diagram of the suspended receiver 
system is shown at A. D is a very thin whip of drawn glass bear- 
ing two similar cross arms, EE. To these are attached two very 


180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


thin, narrow, mica strips, V,, V,. Immediately in front of V, 
and directly behind V, are mounted still narrower mica strips, P, 
coated with very thin deposits of metallic platinum. When electric 
waves fall on metal conductors, they cause very small oscillatory 
currents in the surface layer of the metal. Such thin metal coatings 
as P possess high electrical resistance. Hence these oscillatory 
currents generate minute quantities of heat, which in these experi- 


TO VACUUM 
GAUGE 
oo 


Fic. 2.—Sketch of electric wave receiver 


ments raise the temperature of P by amounts roughly of the order of 
one-millionth of a degree. The resulting increased gas pressure on 
the warmed metal sides of the vanes V, and V, tend to rotate the 
system in the direction shown by the arrows. The suspension also 
carries a very thin glass silvered mirror, M, by which the amount 
of the rotation of the system can be accurately measured. This 
suspension complete weighing usually less than 1 mg. (about one- 
thirty thousandth part of the weight of a 2-cent letter) is hung on a 
very fine fiber of spun quartz, F, from a central stem in the double- 


SNLVYVddY SAVM 91410415 LYOHS AO HdVYSOLOHd 


| S3LW1d 4ea] pue s|JOYSIN—EZ6L ‘Wodey uvluosYzWS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Nichols and Tear PLATE 2 


I. THE BOLTZMANN MIRROR INTERFEROMETER 


2. PHOTOGRAPH OF REFLECTING ECHELON 


ELECTRIC AND HEAT WAVES—NICHOLS AND TEAR 181 


walled brass case C and B. From the inner case, C, the air can be 
exhausted through the tube T. This case has two window openings, 
one covered by the quartz plate, Q, admitting the electric waves, 
and the other, O, through which the rotation of the suspension can 
be measured, covered by glass. The outer protecting case, B, has 
corresponding openings, and the beam of the electric waves is 
focused on the vanes, V, and V., of the suspension by the paraffin 
lens L. The forces due to the resistance heating of the electric 


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Fic. 3.—Interference curves taken with the Boltzmann mirrors 


waves which rotate the suspension are opposed by the resulting twist 
of the quartz fiber F. The angle of twist of the fiber under proper 
conditions is found to be proportional to the intensity of the electric 
wave radiation, and thus quantitative measurements of wave in- 
tensity are easily made. 

Wave-length measurements.—Wave-length measurements of the 
radiation received from the electric oscillator were made with two 
types of analyzers. The first, shown in Plate 2, Figure 1, is the in- 
terferometer, due to Boltzmann, consisting of two parallel mirrors, 
M, and M,, of which M, can be displaced backward or forward with- 

1454—25——-13 


182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


out rotation. When M, is slightly behind M,, as shown, a wave train 
reflected from the upper mirror has a longer path to follow from 
sender to receiver than the other half of the same train reflected by 
the lower mirror. It is thus delayed, and when the two halves of the 
beam are reunited at the receiver, the separated wave trains may no 
longer match. By varying the distance by which the plane of the 
mirror M, is behind that of the mirror M,, wave crests in one beam 
can be made to fall on the earlier wave crests of the other, and thus 


Fig. 4.—Sketch illustrating the formation of a relatively long wave train from a short 
electromagnetic pulse 


the two beams reenforce each other. On the other hand, wave crests 
of one can be brought together with the wave troughs of the other, 
and the two made to weaken each other. Observed positions of the 
mirror M, for reenforcements and neutralizations thus give a direct 
means for measuring the wave length of the radiation. 

When oscillator and receiver are strictly in tune, interference 
curves like those shown in Figure 8 are obtained. In these wave 
diagrams, vertical distances from 0 to 100 represent radiant inten- 
sities as shown by the receiver. Horizontal distances to the right 


ELECTRIC AND HEAT WAVES—-NICHOLS AND TEAR 183 


indicate differences in the length of path of the two beams reflected 
by the two mirrors M,,M,. This path difference equals twice the dis: 
placement of the movable mirror. 

A more complete knowledge of the form of wave trains sent out 
by the oscillator is obtained by the newly designed reflecting echelon 
analyzer shown in Plate 2, Figure 2. This instrument is in the 
form of a staircase made of 10 exactly equal brass blocks, the lower 
back edges of which rest against a slanting plate of glass. The 
tilt of this glass plate and consequently the width of tread of the 
steps can be controlled and measured by the micrometer screw seen 
at the top of the apparatus. The way a single wave from the oscil- 
lator is divided up after reflection from the rises of the steps is 
shown diagrammatically in Figure 4, B. A shows the outline of 
the steps and C is the wave form obtained when the short individual 
wave trains are brought together again at the receiver. By vary- 
ing the width of the steps, this instrument gives a complete analysis 
of the wave trains, showing both wave length and form. 

The simplicity of the principles involved in these experiments 
and the homely character of the apparatus used may easily conceal 
the almost vanishing smallness of the quantities measured and the 
great experimental difficulties which had to be overcome. 

The extended electric wave spectrum.—With the instruments and . 
methods indicated we have not only artificially manufactured and 
measured electric waves 220y (one one-hundredth inch) long but 
have used our electric wave receiver in two different forms to detect 
and remeasure the 324 (one seventy-fifth inch) heat waves obtained 
from hot bodies. Thus, for the first time, waves from hot bodies 
and artificially generated electric waves of the same length have 
been obtained, compared, and found identical in character. These 
experiments thus supply the last link in a long chain of experi- 
mental evidence connecting light with electric waves and furnish 
a final proof of Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory of light. 

That not only radiation emitted by highly heated bodies, including 
infra-red, visible, and ultra-violet rays are electric waves, but so also 
are X ray and gamma rays from radium, can no longer be questioned. 
Thus the true electric wave spectrum is expanded by an enormous 
extent, for a 20,000-meter radio wave is over 20,000,000 billion times 
as long as a short gamma or X ray. 

Of many things thus brought to notice, nothing is more surpris- 
ing than the very narrow limitations of the eye in perceiving electric 
waves as light. Our entire range of vision from the farthest violet 
to the deepest red is only from a wave length of about 0.39 to 
0.78u. It is not possible to show such small detail and such vast, 
extent as is embodied in the electric wave spectrum by any chart 


184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


laid out in simple proportion, for if we represent the length of the 
visible spectrum by one-quarter inch space, then the whole ultra- 


o WAVE-LENGTH(CM) HOW MBASURED 
ye - ~~ - --900,000,Q00,2 
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CAMMA RAYS } ae 
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ae: 60 (itté«éd .000,000,013,7 | REFLECTION 
X RAYS 
ie is ato «O00 O00 22F = 
UNZEASURED QUANTUM 
RELATION 
EN seater -000,001,36__ _ 
GRATING 
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VISIBLE at ate EE ligt PRIS 
bese ees 0200 OTB = a5 
INTERPERONETER 
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; giao Josh: ce ies 5 
he ae GEMER setae tes nee 
NEW ELECTRIC 
WAVE REGION 
; Fee eee 1, 
ELECTRICAL 
RESONANCE 
RARLIER SHORT 
ELECTRIC WAVES 
~ . . 52000. 
RADIO 
_2,000,000, 


Fie. 5.—Chart of the electromagnetic spectrum 


violet, X ray, and gamma ray spectra are crowded into another one- 
quarter inch at the left, while on the right the infra-red spectrum 


ELECTRIC AND HEAT WAVES——-NICHOLS AND TEAR 185 


reaches out to the longer electric waves which extend to long radio 
waves which lie at a distance on our scale of a 100,000 miles to the 
right—surely an unwieldly chart! 

A more convenient and adequate method of charting the whole 
sweep of this comprehensive spectrum is by using geometric inter- 
vals such as the ascending powers of 2 used in laying off a piano 
keyboard, on which the wave length of two notes an octave apart are 
to each other as 2 to 1. Such a spectrum chart is shown in Figure 
5. On the left are the usual names given to the division of the 
spectrum. These names are historical in character and belong to 
the time when the identity of the spectrum as a whole was not 
realized. To these historic divisions, braces are attached to show 
approximately their extent on the black strip representing the 
spectrum. Beyond is shown the number of octaves embraced in 
each division, and farthest to the right the wave lengths roughly 
corresponding to these regional boundaries. Of the 53 octaves of 
the spectrum shown in Figure 8, only 1 octave contains wave lengths 
visible to the eye, and there is but one remaining region of 3.3 
octaves between the ultra-violet and X ray spectra in which actual 
wave-length measurements have not been made. Waves lying in this 
interval and also radiations beyond the shortest measured X rays and 
gamma rays indicated have been observed, and the recently dis- 
covered “quantum” relationships give a sound theoretical basis for 
calculating these wave lengths, but no interference or diffraction 
measurements have thus far been carried out in these limited regions. 

Matter under the action of heat is capable of giving off radiations 
in the so-called infra-red, visible, and ultra-violet spectra; gamma 
rays are the natural accompaniment of radioactive transformations, 
and there are various static electric phenomena in the atmosphere 
which give rise to disturbances resembling fragments of very long 
electric waves, but X rays and the old and new short electric waves 
we may still regard as artificial or purely products of laboratory 
manufacture. 


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TITE POSSIBILITIES OF INSTRUMENTAL DEVELOP- 
MENT? 


By Grorcre H. HALe 


Nothing is more encouraging to the scientific investigator than the 
rapid multiplication in recent years of the possibilities of in- 
strumental development. In astronomy the opportunities for ad- 
vance have been vastly enlarged by the remarkable progress of 
physics and chemistry, and the many new instruments and methods 
thus rendered available. To appreciate our advantages, we have 
only to glance rapidly over the history of science and contrast present 
possibilities with those of the past. 

The beginning of the new year, practically coinciding with the 
annual inundation of the Nile, was fixed by observations of the helia- 
cal rising of Sirius before 4000 B.C. Throughout their entire history 
the Egyptian priests were astronomers, yet their sundials, water 
clocks, and the crude “ Merkhet,” a measuring instrument for de- 
termining the time from observations of stars near the meridian, 
apparently underwent no important improvement down to the Greek 
occupation of Egypt. The Babylonians, although much more ef- 
fective observers than the Egyptians, have left us no instruments, 
unless the “ astrolabe ” found in the palace of Assurbanipal may be 
thus classed. The Greeks invented several instruments, which are 
described by Ptolemy in the Almagest. Most of these consist es- 
sentially of a graduated arc of a circle, provided with adjustable 
sights and supported in the plane of observation. So completely did 
these instruments embody the ingenuity of the Greeks that they were 
adopted without important change by the Arabs, Hindus, and 
Chinese, and served for the equipment of Tycho Brahe’s great obsery- 
atory in the period of revival of the sixteenth century. Tycho de- 
voted special attention to the improvement of instruments, which 
he constructed in his own shops. But though spectacles had been 
worn since the end of the thirteenth century, he little suspected the 
great opportunity they placed within his grasp. 

The history of lenses is full of interest. It is very improbable that 
the disk of rock crystal, oval in shape and roughly ground to a plano- 


1 Reprinted by permission from Popular Astronomy, Vol. XXXI, No. 9, November, 1923. 
187 


188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


convex form, which was found by Layard in Sargon’s palace at Nim- 
roud, was actually intended for use as a lens, in spite of Sir David 
Brewster’s contrary opinion. Nor canitbe safely affirmed from their 
minuteness of detail and perfection of execution that the finely en- 
graved gems of antiquity were cut under lenses. Pliny the elder 
and others state that globes filled with water were used as burning 
glasses, and Seneca remarks that “letters though small and in- 
distinct are seen enlarged and more distinct through a globe of glass 
filled with water.” Yet while defects of vision were frequently dis- 
cussed by many classic authors, they made no reference to the 
simplest optical aids, and myopia was repeatedly declared to be in- 
curable down to the end of the thirteenth century, when spectacles 
first came into use. 

Roger Bacon and his teacher, Grossteste, undoubtedly understood 
some of the properties of lenses and concave mirrors, but the evidence 
advanced to support the opinion that Bacon used telescopes for astro- 
nomical observations is not convincing. The early history of the 
telescope remains rather obscure, but from our point of view the 
most important fact is its application in astronomy by Galileo and 
the revolution in human thought effected by his discoveries. His 
sudden recognition and utilization of a principle which had certainly 
been applied in the case of spectacles for 300 years quickly trans- 
formed the equipment of the observatory and laid the foundation of 
astrophysical research. In 1630 Francesco Generini saw the feasibil- 
ity of using the telescope for increased precision in pointing, pre- 
sumably by introducing threads into the focal plane of the eyepiece. 
About 10 years later the inventor of the micrometer undoubtedly 
used this method. The modern period of astronomical measure- 
ment was thus begun. 

As for the telescope itself, it was first improved by the invention 
of the Keplerian eyepiece and then increased in focal length to over- 
come the troublesome effects of aberration. Rayleigh has shown that 
a single lens of 1.7-inch aperture is as good as an achromatic when 
its focus is 66 feet. Huygens, who worked out the theory of aber- 
ration, consequently greatly increased the aperture and focal length 
of his telescopes. He also devised the Huygenian eyepiece and was 
rewarded for his efforts by the discovery of the true nature of the 
rings of Saturn. Three of his objectives, with focal lengths of 122, 
170, and 210 feet, respectively, are still in the possession of the Royal 
Society. Telescopes up to 600 feet in length were made in this 
period, but the difficulty of finding and following the celestial object 
seriously affected their value. Obviously, they could not be carried 
on equatorial mountings, first described for telescopic purposes in 
Scheiner’s Rosa Ursina, but really not different in principle from 
the equatorial armilla of Tycho Brahe. An accessory of the highest 


INSTRUMENTAL DEVELOPMENT—HALE 189 


importance developed at this time was the pendulum clock, devised 
by Huygens following Galileo’s discovery of isochronism. 

Two steps taken for the purpose of overcoming chromatic aberra- 
tion ultimately proved successful. The reflecting telescope, intro- 
duced by Gregory and Newton, reached apertures of 4 feet in the 
hands of Herschel and 6 feet in those of Lord Rosse. The invention 
of the achromatic objective, followed by the production of optical 
glass in larger and larger disks, made way for the great refractors 
of the present day. Their high perfection, like that of the modern 
reflector, is the result of successive advances in the art of the glass 
maker, the metallurgist, the mechanical engineer, and the optician, 
and the development of modern machine tools, which Lord Rosse 
did not possess. Even if the photographic plate had then been per- 
fected, the absence of an accurately driven equatorial mounting 
would have rendered it useless with his 6-foot reflector. The refine- 
ment and precision of the modern meridian circle, with its nearly 
perfect pivots and beautifully graduated circles, is another result of 
the improved art of the instrument maker, which is also illustrated 
in such valuable accessories as the latest types of clocks, the record- 
ing chronograph, and the moving wire micrometer. 

The first telescopes collected about 80 times as much light as the 
unaided eye, and this light-gathering power has now been increased 
to about 200,000 times that of the eye. As the quality of the atmos- 
phere and the optical and mechanical perfection of the best modern 
instruments are sufficiently good to permit all of this light (barring 
losses by reflection) to be concentrated and held in a very small 
image, the gain thus effected is enormous. But the advantages de- 
rived from the introduction and improvement of the photographic 
plate, and the development of many auxiliary instruments and 
methods, are still more important. 

When Newton decomposed sunlight with a prism in 1672, he took 
the first great step in the initiation of spectroscopy. It was not until 
1803, however, that Wollaston, using a narrow slit instead of New- 
ton’s wider one, detected the principal dark lines in the solar spec- 
trum, nearly 600 of which were measured by Fraunhofer in 1814. 
Their interpretation by Stokes, who, in 1852, recognized that the 
double D line is due to sodium vapor, which absorbs the same radia- 
tions that it emits, and later by Kirchhoff and Bunsen, who, in 1859, 
identified many terrestrial elements in the sun, provided the means 
of determining the chemical composition of celestial objects. 

The study of stellar evolution, foreshadowed by Herschel and by 
Laplace in the nebular hypothesis, was thus rendered possible in the 
very year of the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species. 
This was a tremendous advance, even when only the classification 
of stellar spectra, at once undertaken by Secchi and Huggins, and 


1454—25——_14 


190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the apparent variation of chemical composition with stellar evolu- 
tional progress, are considered. But the chief significance of the 
adoption of the spectroscope in the observatory lies in the extraord- 
inary versatility of this instrument, and the possibilities it affords 
of utilizing in astronomy the widest variety of physical and chemi- 
cal discoveries. 

In 1842 Doppler tried to prove that the color of a star depends 
upon its velocity. If a star radiated monochromatic light and its 
velocity were great enough, his conclusion would be correct. Rightly 
applied with the spectroscope, his principle has given us the means 
of measuring the motions of gases in the solar atmosphere; the rota- 
tion of the sun, planets, and nebule; the orbital velocity of close 
double stars discoverable only by this method; and the velocity in 
the line of sight of various celestial objects. 

I wish that time permitted me to dwell on the extraordinary har- 
vest which has resulted from the skillful application of this and 
other principles of physics, but I can only recall a few of them. 
The shift toward red or violet of spectral lines by pressure affords 
a means of measuring the pressure in stellar atmospheres, after 
other effects have been allowed for. The variation of the relative 
intensities of lines with temperature gives one clue to stellar tem- 
peratures, and has also led indirectly to Adams’ beautiful method of 
deriving absolute magnitudes and parallaxes from stellar spectra. 
Reduced to a sound scientific basis through the recent advances of 
physics, the study of line intensities has also become one of our most 
powerful guides, not only to the nature of stars but to the structure 
of the atom itself. The shift of the maximum of intensity in the 
spectrum as a function of the temperature, the influence of magnetic 
and electric fields on radiation, the phenomena of polarization, of 
anomalous dispersion, and of optical resonance are also among the 
numerous discoveries of the physicist which the astronomer has al- 
ready utilized, with important positive or negative results. 

In addition to the spectroscope, the astronomer has derived from 
the physical laboratory a long line of other valuable instruments. 
The photometer, now powerfully supplemented and largely dis- 
placed by photographic methods, has given us the magnitudes of tens 
of thousands of stars. The thermopile, bolometer, and radiometer 
have led to remarkable advances in our knowledge of the infra-red 
spectrum, the precise measurement of the varying intensity of the 
solar radiation, the determination of the heat radiation of stars as 
faint as the thirteenth magnitude, and even to studies of the energy 
spectra of some of the brighter stars: The photo-electric cell has 
yielded stellar photometric measures of surprising precision. The 
radiometer, which gave the first actual measure of the pressure of 
radiation, now known to play such a dominant part in the massive 


INSTRUMENTAL DEVELOPMENT—HALE 191 


stars, has recently provided the means of detecting the last wave 
lengths missing in the long range from the gamma rays of radium to 
radio waves 20,000 meters in length. The interferometer, springing 
from Young’s famous interference experiment of more than a century 
ago, has served for scores of brilliant successes, recently culminating 
in the determination of the angular diameters of giant stars. 

Without attempting to enumerate more of the astronomer’s long 
list of debts to the physicist and chemist, let us look for a moment at 
the increase in the precision of measurement effected by instrumental 
advances. The star places of the Greek were given to the nearest 10’ 
of arc, one-third the diameter of the moon. Tycho succeeded in 
reducing the probable error of a single measure of the distance be- 
tween two neighboring stars to 57’’.. In double star observations the 
probable errors of the best micrometric measures are about 0’’.1._ In 
modern photographic parallax determinations the probable error is 
about 0’’.005 to 0’’.010. With the interferometer, the probable error 
of a single measure of the separation of the components of Capella 
is 0’’.001. The diameter of Arcturus, 0’’.019, can be similarly meas- 
ured with a probable error of about the same amount. 

The advantages to be gained by the early utilization of the rapid 
progress of the physicist and chemist are obvious. Almost any dis- 
covery may help us directly or indirectly. We are interested in new 
organic dyes because they may improve the sensitiveness of our plates 
in various regions, especially in the infra-red, a most promising field 
for future research. We earnestly hope for a reduction in the size of 
the grain of the most rapid photographic plates, which would be 
equivalent to a marked increase in the aperture of our telescopes. We 
keenly watch for the appearance of new alloys, perhaps suitable for 
telescope mirrors or for the special needs of optical gratings; pro- 
gress in the manufacture of optical glass; the production of large 
masses of clear fused quartz for prisms or mirrors—every technical 
advance, in fact, that we can learn to utilize. And we are equally 
anxious to benefit by the constant improvement of high-tension trans- 
formers, electric furnaces, vacuum tubes, electromagnets, and the 
many other devices on which we depend for the imitation and inter- 
pretation of celestial phenomena. 

These illustrations of the increasing possibilities of instrumental 
development have not been enumerated in strict chronological se- 
quence, but a glance at this partial list will show how rapidly the 
opportunities of the astronomer have multiplied in recent years. 
Another point should be noted: The obvious chance is not always 
the most important one, and the greatest advances may come from the 
recognition of possibilities that are not immediately apparent. 
Hence the astronomer can not watch too intently the progress of re- 
lated sciences, and especially the numerous devices and methods 


192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


which are constantly arising in various fields. Such beautiful new 
instruments as the X-ray spectrograph or the mass spectrograph of 
Aston, while perhaps not directly applicable in astronomy, may con- 
tain hints, and also yield results, which can be used to advantage. 

The above considerations will help to explain the somewhat un- 
orthodox equipment and policy of the Mount Wilson Observatory. 
We have tried from the outset, with the valuable cooperation of our 
research associates, to at least utilize the more obvious possibilities 
offered by the progress of physics and chemistry, and to gain such 
advantages as laboratory conditions and methods placed at our dis- 
posal. Hence the design of the Snow and tower telescopes, equipped 
for solar research; the coudé principle and constant temperature 
laboratories of the 60-inch and 100-inch reflectorss arranged for the 
photography of stellar spectra under high dispersion, and for in- 
vestigations like those with the thermopile, bolometer, and radio- 
meter on stellar radiation and energy spectra; the exceptional care 
taken to secure smooth rotation of the 100-inch dome in order to 
diminish the vibration of the high dispersion stellar spectograph 
(soon to be mounted on its pier) during exposures continued for 
several nights; the construction of the ruling machine, one of the 
prime purposes of which is to permit such experiments as have just 
rendered possible the concentration of most of the incident light in 
any desired order of spectrum; the development of the stellar inter- 
ferometer, first in conjunction with the 100-inch telescope and now 
as a separate instrument. Hence the provision of machine and 
optical shops adequate for a wide range of constructional work and 
a physical laboratory in which to conduct researches required for the 
interpretation of celestial phenomena. Hence also our close coopera- 
tion with the California Institute of Technology, the recent growth 
of which as a research institution is so advantageous to the observa- 
tory. 

Looking ahead, and speculating on the possibilities of future in- 
struments, it may be mentioned that comparative tests of the 60-inch 
and 100-inch telescopes promise well for larger apertures. Their 
practicability, so far as this depends upon atmospheric limitations, 
can be fairly well tested by observations of the united star images 
given by the two mirrors of a stellar interferometer at increasing 
separations. The production of large mirror disks is another prob- 
lem. Fused quartz mirrors, if they can be made of sufficient dimen- 
sions, will be extremely valuable for solar telescopes and large re- 
flectors because of their low coefficient of expansion, but for moderate 
apertures pyrex glass has already proved a fairly effective substi- 
tute. As for the stellar interferometer, I believe it will ultimately 
attain apertures of 100 feet or more, possibly in some fixed form, 


INSTRUMENTAL DEVELOPMENT—HALE 193 


with accurately controlled coelostats. Fixed telescopes and spectro- 
graphs for solar work, whether horizontal or vertical, can be short- 
ened if desirable by the use of telephoto lenses or by combinations 
of mirrors. Both the ultra-violet and the less refrangible part of 
solar and stellar spectra deserve more consideration than they have 
received, and here especially improvements in the photographic 
process, as well as in prisms and reflecting surfaces for the ultra- 
violet, are greatly to be desired. No increase in the resolving power 
of the grating is required for astronomical purposes, but more light, 
obtainable from greater area of ruled surface, with concentration in 
a single order, is- still needed for various researches. 

I shall not attempt in this paper to deal with less obvious possi- 
bilities, or to discuss particular problems. Let me conclude with 
the reminder that if instruments are important, “the man at the 
eye end ” is more important by far. In the Hindu treatise Siddhanta 
Siromani, the astronomer Bhaskara, after describing a new form of 
instrument, exclaims: “ But what does a man of genius want with 
instruments, about which numerous works have treated? Let him 
only take a staff in his hand and look at any object along it, 
casting his eye from its end to the top, there is:nothing of which 
he will not then tell its altitude, dimensions, etc.” If we can not 
afford the sacrifice of precision which is here so lightly recommended, 
we may at least remember that the mathematician embodies in him- 
self the most powerful of all instruments for the solution of celestial 
problems, and we may also find encouragement in the simple means 
that have served in many classical researches. When Young laid the 
foundations of the wave theory of light, and discovered the principle 
of the interferometer, his*instruments were limited to a small mir- 
ror, a few bits of paper and cardboard, some fine hairs, and a couple 
of knife blades. If we are not mathematicians or experimental 
physicists, and do not share in the use of large telescopes, we may 
still find ample encouragement in the history of astronomical 
progress. We have only to recall the splendid results obtained by 
systematic observation with small telescopes by such men as Burn- 
ham, Barnard, and Carrington, or those derived, also with small in- 
struments, by men like Huggins, Secchi, and the pioneers in astro- 
nomical photography, from the prompt and intelligent application of 
methods and devices borrowed from the laboratory. 


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THE BORDERLAND OF ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY? 


By Prof. A. S. EpprneTon, F.R.S8. 


The region in which geology and astronomy most conspicuously 
overlap is in the theories of the origin of our planet. We have, in 
fact, two main theories—one due originally to an astronomer, La- 
place, and the other to a geologist, Chamberlin. 

In the last century the evolution of a star seems often to have 
been regarded as something quite detached from the evolution of 
the stellar universe. Just as the birth and death of a man is an 
incident which can occur at any time in the rise and decline of 
the human race, so it was thought that the birth and extinction of 
a particular star formed merely a detached incident in the course 
of progress of the stellar universe—if, indeed, the universe was 
progressing in any particular direction. Thus it was a natural be- 
lief that the stars died out and were re-formed by collisions of ex- 
tinct stars; and that the matter which now forms the sun had 
undergone many alternations of incandescence and extinction since 
things first began. But this view is quite at variance with the 
general tendency of sidereal astronomy in the present century. We 
have come to recognize that the stellar system is one great organiza- 
tion, and that the stars which are shining now are more or less 
coeval with one another. Everyone would admit that Mars and 
Jupiter were formed as parts of one process of evolution—not nec- 
essarily at the same moment, but each formed as the process reached 
the appropriate stage; and similarly we now believe that it was 
one process of evolution sweeping across the primordial matter 
which caused it to form itself into stars; and these original stars 
are the actual stars which we see shining now. No doubt the 
evolution did not develop at the same rate in all parts of the 
universe, and there are probably places where stars are still being 
formed; but you will see that this view is entirely different from 
the other view that stars were being formed individually by hap- 
hazard collisions of dark stars, so that each was an independent 
formation, having no time connection with other stars. 

This view has been forced on us partly by direct evidence of 
organization among the stars, pointing to a common origin for 
large groups of stars. We notice scattered groups such as the 
Hyades, which have almost exactly equal and parallel motions. 


1A lecture delivered before the Geological Society of London on November 21, 1922. 
Reprinted by permission from Nature, January 6, 1923. 


195 


196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Clearly it would be impossible to form such a group if each star 
were the product of an accidental collision. The only way in which 
a common motion like this can arise is by associated development 
from some nebula or other diffuse distribution of matter. The 
connection is clearly a connection of common origin. Again, prac- 
tically all the bright stars of Orion form a similar group, having 
common motion; and, moreover, they have all reached a similar 
stage of evolution. They are connected with the great Orion nebula, 
the faint extensions of which fill up nearly the whole constellation. 
It is obvious that here we have to deal with a single evolutionary 
development. But another point which militates against a collision 
theory is the extreme rarity of collisions and close approaches. The 
distances separating the stars are enormous compared with their 
own dimensions. Sir Frank Dyson once used the illustration of 
20 tennis balls, distributed at random throughout the whole interior 
of the earth, to give a model of the density of distribution of the 
stars. It has sometimes been objected that we do not know how 
many extinct stars may be wandering about and colliding. Dyson’s 
20 tennis balls represent only the dwminous stars; there may, for 
all we know, be millions of dark bodies ready to be fired into in- 
candescence by collision. I think, however, that there is now good 
evidence, based on the dynamics of stellar motions, that the dark 
stars can not greatly outnumber the luminous stars—probably not 
ten times and certainly not a hundred times. (If they were more 
numerous than that, the average velocities of stars would, owing 
to the gravitational attraction, be much higher than is observed.) 
That argument, then, is no longer valid. Taking a very liberal view 
of the kind of approach that can be held to constitute a collision it is 
estimated that a star would only suffer collision once in 10** years. 

Thus the astronomer is not predisposed to look favorably on a 
hypothesis of the origin of the solar system which postulates any- 
thing of the nature of a collision. He has the conception of an 
orderly development of the stars crystallizing out of the primordial 
material, and, unless perhaps in exceptional cases, following an 
undisturbed course of development. We hope for a theory that 
will show us the star after its first isolation from surrounding 
material spontaneously developing the system of planets. 

It now appears almost certain that, whether the original matter 
was gaseous or whether it was composed of meteors, it must at 
an early stage in the star’s history have been completely volatilized 
into gas. This was while the star was extremely diffuse, and, for 
example, before the planets separated from it. This means that 
the material now forming a planet has at one time passed through 
the furnace, and has cooled down from a gaseous stage. How far 


ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY——-EDDINGTON 197 


that has a direct bearing on geology I can not say, since I have 
nothing to guide me as to the course of its subsequent checkered 
history. I do not say that the earth was a gaseous body when it first 
became recognizable as an independent planet, but I am convinced that 
its material was at one time merged in a completely gaseous sun. 

It may be of interest to indicate why it seems so probable that 
a star in its early diffuse state is gaseous and not meteoric. The 
stars are known to be of closely similar mass. There are occasional 
exceptions, but probably 90 per cent of them are between one-half 
and five times the sun’s mass. We have no explanation of this 
uniformity if they are initially merely aggregations of solid meteors; 
but we have a very exact explanation if they are gaseous. In 
fact this critical mass round which the actual masses of the stars 
cluster so closely is predicted by the theory of equilibrium of 
spheres of gas, using only well-known physical constants deter- 
mined in the laboratory. The crucial factor is radiation pressure, 
which is inappreciable in smaller masses, and almost suddenly 
takes control between one-half and five times the sun’s mass. There 
can be little doubt that large radiation pressure, tending to overcome 
gravity, conduces to instability, so that larger masses have small 
chance of survival. Somewhere about one-half the sun’s mass the 
radiation pressure no longer counts seriously, so that there is no 
tendency for the primitive material to break into smaller units. 

The existence of radioactive minerals on the earth seems to supply 
another reason for believing that its material was originally sub- 
jected to high temperature or to physical conditions of a different 
order from those now prevailing. In radioactivity we see a mecha- 
nism running down which must at some time have been wound up. 
Without entering into any details, it would seem clear that the 
winding-up process must have occurred under physical conditions 
vastly different from those in which we now observe only a running 
down. The only possible guess seems to be that the winding- 
up is part of the general brewing of material which occurs under 
the intense heat in the interior of the stars. 

The trend of this argument has been against the Chamberlin- 
Moulton hypothesis, and in favor of some form.of nebular orgin 
of the solar system. It is, of course, accepted that the details of 
the original nebular hypothesis of Laplace require modification. 
Also the word nebula is meant to signify diffuse gaseous materiai 
in general, and has no immediate connection with those objects 
which we see in the sky, and call nebule more particularly. There 
is still controversy as to what process of evolution is represented by 
the spiral nebule which are seen in such numbers—what they will 
ultimately turn into; but the controversy is whether the spiral 


198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


nebula will give rise to a cluster of a few hundred stars, or whether 
it will turn into a stellar universe on the same scale as the great 
system of some thousands of millions of stars which forms our 
galactic system. There is now no suggestion that it has anything 
to do with the formation of so insignificant a system as the solar 
system. But in preferring the nebular hypothesis to that of Cham- 
berlin and Moulton, it is necessary to make a certain reservation. 
We have hitherto taken it for granted that the formation of a sys- 
tem of planets is a normal feature of the evolution of a star. Most 
of my arguments have referred to the development of stars in gen- 
eral, and would become irrelevant if it could be admitted that the solar 
system were an exceptional formation violating ordinary expectation. 

We know that at least a third of the stars are double stars, and 
I do not think there is any reason to think that planetary systems 
would be formed when the evolution takes that course; but until 
recently it was taken for granted that the remaining single stars 
would generally (or at least frequently) be the rulers of systems 
of planets. Jeans has recently pitched a bombshell into the camp, 
suggesting that the solar system is a freak system—the result of a 
rare accident, which could only happen to one star out of a very 
large number. He found no way of accounting for it as a normal 
process. I have not the specialist knowledge necessary to criticize 
the details of the working of the nebular or of the planetismal theory 
of development, but before regarding Jeans’ argument as conclusive 
(he himself makes reservations) I should be more satisfied if the 
effect of radiation pressure had been taken into account. It is fairly 
clear that radiation pressure plays a great part in the separation of 
nebulous matter into stars, and although I have no definite reason 
to think that it can account for the separation of planets from the 
sun, I do not feel satisfied that we have got at the whole truth until 
that point has been duly examined. 

Supposing, however, that we are forced to accept Jeans’ sugges- 
tion that the solar system is a freak system, some of my objections 
to the Chamberlin-Moulton hypothesis are removed. I can not ad- 
mit that the conditions of collision which that hypothesis requires 
are normal features in the formation of stars; but they might have 
happened occasionally in the history of the universe, and produced 
the solar system, the sun being thus an exceptional star born out 
of due time. But if my arguments against Chamberlin’s hypothesis 
fall to the ground, there are probably other astronomers prepared 
to attack it in other directions. 

The new views as to the age of the earth are now pretty well 
known to geologists. I may sum them up briefly in the statement 
that Lord Kelvin’s estimate of the extent of geological time need not 
now be taken any more seriously than Archbishop Ussher’s, and 


ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY—-EDDINGTON 199 


that the geologist may claim anything up to 10,000 million years 
without provoking a murmur from astronomers. Although there 
may still be some difficulties about the exact source from which the 
vast heat energy the stars pour out into space is derived, it is now 
clear that the Helmholtz contraction theory is inadequate to give the 
necessary supply. The astronomer has no such precise means of 
measuring geological time as the physicist has now discovered by the 
analysis of radioactive minerals; but he can add his contributory 
evidence that the sun, and presumably therefore the earth, is much 
older than Lord Kelvin allowed: In the Cepheid variable stars it 
seems possible to measure the actual rate at which evolution is pro- 
ceeding—the rate at which the star is condensing from a diffysed 
state to a denser state. The star is believed to be pulsating, and as 
it expands and contracts the light varies in quantity and character. 
In a pulsating gravitating mass the period is proportional to the in- 
verse square root of the density, so that by observing the rate at 
which the period is changing we can deduce the rate at which the 
density is changing. I may add that the law that the period depends 
on the inverse square root of the density is very closely confirmed by 
comparing the values for the various Cepheids. In this way we 
find that for the best observed of these stars, 8 Cephei, the density is 
changing 500 times slower than the contraction hypothesis assumes. 
It would, of course, be risky to assume that the same proportion 
holds at all stages of the evolution of a star; but it suggests that 
Lord Kelvin’s estimate of 20 million years for the age of the sun 
might well be multiplied by 500 to give 10,000 million years. At 
any rate, the Cepheid observations show that the stars must have 
some other source of energy besides contraction. 

I suppose it must be a matter of interest to geologists whether the 
intensity of the sun’s heat has been constant or whether it was at one 
time hotter than now. I think we can say fairly definitely that the 
sun was formerly much hotter.2. There must have been a time when 
the sun’s heat was from 20 to 50 times more intense than it is now. 
That would no doubt have made a great difference to many geolog- 
ical processes. Unfortunately, I can not say whether it occurred in 
known geological epochs. It must have occurred after the earth 
had begun to exist as a separate planet; but whether it was before or 
after the sequence of geological strata began to be laid down I have no 
idea. It would not be unreasonable, however, to expect that in the early 
geological times the sun was several times hotter than it is at present. 

After the evolution of the solar system, we naturally turn to con- 
sider the evolution of the earth-moon system. My impression is that 

2 New facts have emerged since this was written. I think we can now say “fairly defi- 


nitely ’”’ that the sun’s heat has not altered appreciably during the last 10,000 million 
years. (November, 1924.) 


200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


nothing in recent progress suggests any doubt that the beautiful 
theory of Sir George Darwin is substantially correct. The main 
features are that the moon at one time formed part of the earth, and 
broke away. At that time the rotation period of the earth was be- 
tween 3 and 4 hours, and the cause of the fracture was that the solar 
tidal force synchronized with a free period of natural vibration of 
the earth; owing to resonance the tidal deformation of the earth 
continually increased until rupture occurred. The earth’s period of 
rotation has since lengthened to 24 hours, owing to frictional dissi- 
pation of energy by lunar and solar tides; and the back reaction of the 
lunar tides on the moon has caused the moon to recede to its present 
considerable distance. All this has well stood the test of searching criti- 
cism, and must be considered as extremely probable. Modern research 
has added two contributions; it enables us to calculate the magnitude 
of this tidal friction at the present time, and it enables us to locate 
more exactly the region where the frictional dissipation is occurring. 

I believe it was Darwin’s view that the tides most potent in wast- 
ing energy were not water tides but tides in the solid earth; that is 
to say, we have to do with deformations of the whole earth under 
the tide-raising force of the moon’s attraction. Undoubtedly these 
deformations of the earth occur, but everything turns on whether 
the process of deformation is attended with serious friction. H. 
Jefireys has pointed out that the phenomenon of latitude variation 
is accompanied by similar deformations of the earth; and in this case 
it is clear that the friction is inconsiderable, for otherwise the devia- 
tions of the pole from the symmetrical position would be damped 
out almost at once. It seems, therefore, very unlikely that the solid 
tides can have had much effect in the process of tidal evolution of 
the earth-moon system. Ocean tides are likewise of small effect, as 
Darwin himself had seen. The modern conclusion is a very curious 
one; it is in the landlocked shallow seas that nearly all the mischief 
occurs. This was discovered by G. I. Taylor, who found that the 
Trish Sea alone is responsible for one-fiftieth of the whole amount 
required by observation. The remaining landlocked basins on the 
earth are probably capable of making up the necessary total. 

The actual rate at which the earth’s rotation is being slowed down 
at the present era can probably be deduced with fair accuracy from 
the records of ancient eclipses. The day is lengthening about one- 
thousandth of a second per century or 1 minute in 6,000,000 years. 
At this rate we should have to go back more than 10,000 million years 
to the time when the day was between 3 and 4 hours and the moon was 
born. Since the rate depends on the accidental circumstance of occur- 
ence of shallow seas, no definite prediction can be made; but allowing 
for the much greater effect of the tides when the moon was nearer to 
us, it is difficult to date the birth later than 1,000 million years ago. 


ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY——-EDDINGTON 201 


Had the earth a solid crust at the time the catalysm happened? 
I cannot tell at all. But, if it suits geological theories, I can see | 
no objection whatever to the hypothesis that the earth had a solid 
crust at the time. No cohesion of the crust would seriously resist 
the enormous forces involved when the resonant vibration got 
started. It would not be appreciably more difficult than the dis- 
ruption of a molten earth. The view that the Pacific Ocean is the 
hollow left at the place where the moon broke off seems tenable 
unless geologists find objection to it; and in that case we may sup- 
pose that the water now collected in the hollow formerly covered 
the earth—or most of it. This change of condition of the earth may 
(or may not) have happened within geological times. When the 
earth was covered with water there would be no landlocked seas 
and no appreciable tidal friction from the sun (the moon being not 
yet born), so that we can allow a long previous history during which 
the length of day was nearly constant at 3 or 4 hours. That rather 
helps to make the whole theory self-consistent. 

These speculations stand very much as they did when Darwin put 
forward his theory. But I am tempted to add further speculations 
arising out of the location of the frictional dissipation. (I am 
taking advantage of the great opportunity for speculation which 
this address affords. Ordinarily I am restrained, because people 
would ask, What facts can you produce in support of your specula- 
tions? But here I am asking the question, Have you any facts 
which seem to support them? If not, by all means let them drop.) 
The frictional dissipation acts as a brake on the earth’s rotation, 
and we now feel confident that the brake is a surface brake applied 
at certain points on the earth’s surface where the favorable condi- 
tions exist. The retarding force is transmitted to the earth’s in- 
terior, and so delays the rotation as a whole; but unless the material 
is entirely nonplastic there will be a tendency for the outer layers 
to slip on the inner layers. I do not know how much the material 
a few hundred miles below the surface would be expected to give 
under the strain; it may be inappreciable, but I will assume that 
though small it has some effect. 

We have then the whole crust slipping from east to west over the 
main part of the interior. Probably it would go very stickily, some- 
times arrested by a jamming which would hinder it for a time and 
then going on more easily. That is helpful in explaining certain 
astronomical observations. There are irregularities in the motions 
of heavenly bodies, noticed particularly in the swift moving moon, 
but shown also on a smaHler scale in the sun and planets, which 
appear to indicate that our standard timekeeper, the earth, is a 
little irregular. Now, of course,-it is the rotation of the surface 
of the earth which determines our standard time. I find it diffi- 
cult to believe that there can be irregular variations in the angular 


902 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


velocity of the earth as a whole; but it seems less difficult if the 
variations are merely superficial, due to the crust sliding non- 
uniformly on the interior. I have even entertained the wild idea that 
the motion of the magnetic poles might be due to this cause; the mag- 
netism being constant in the interior but with the axis emerging at 
changing points of the crust as the crust slips over the inner magnet. 
Unfortunately, so little seems to be known about the motion of the 
magnetic poles that I have not even been able to make out whether 
the motion is from west to east, as this theory definitely requires. 

What interests the geologist more nearly is that the brake is applied 
only at certain areas on the surface, so that there would be a tendency 
to crumple the crust more particularly to the west of these areas? It 
is unfortunate that shallow seas are necessarily the least permanent 
features of the earth; otherwise I would have asked whether the 
geologists had evidence of special crumpling in such areas. 

I have regarded the crust as fairly mobile from east to west. I sup- 
pose the geologists would also like it mobile from north to south in 
order to have glacial periods in those portions which are now near 
the Equator. It is not possible to hold out much encouragement for 
such an idea, because we can not imagine any force acting from north 
to south. Still if the crust, which is being urged by the east-west 
force of tidal friction, is resisted by obstacles it may be deflected, 
finding that, say, a southwest track offers less resistance. In a long 
enough time almost any displacement may have happened, granting 
my hypothesis that the connection of the crust to the interior is 
reasonably plastic. So I can not forbid this possible interpretation 
of glacial periods in the earlier geological times. 

I am sure that it will not be supposed that, in presenting the 
astronomical side of these questions which belong both to geology and 
astronomy, I have any intention of laying down the law. The time 
has gone by when the physicist prescribed dictatorially what theories 
the geologist might be permitted to consider. You have your own 
clues to follow out to elucidate these problems, and your clues may 
be better than ours for leading toward the truth. We both recognize 
that we are adventuring in regions of extreme uncertainty where 
future discoveries will probably lead to various modifications of ideas. 
Where, as in the new views of the age of the earth, physics, biology. 
geology, astronomy, all seem to be leading in the same direction, and 
producing evidence for a greatly extended time scale, we may feel 
more confidence that a permanent advance is being made. Where our 
clues seem to be opposed, it is not for one of us to dictate to the other, 
but to accept with thankfulness the warning from a neighboring 
science that all may not be so certain and straightforward as our own 
one-sided view seemed to indicate. 


8T am not sure whether I am right in assuming here that the frictional brake is applied 
at the same points of the earth’s surface where the dissipation of energy occurs. 


ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN FIXATION? 


By Eric A. Lor 


Formerly with the Power and Mining Engineering Department, General Elec- 
tric Co.; now with the American Cyanamid Co. 


[With 4 plates] 


The three essential food constituents of living matter are carbo- 
hydrates, fats, and proteins; the two former chiefly for the produc- 
tion and storage of energy and the latter for building up the body 
substance. They are alike in the respect that they all contain the 
three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but differ in that pro- 
tein also contains nitrogen, which, therefore, becomes one of the in- 
dispensable substances of life. 

Nitrogen is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless gas, slightly lighter 
than air. It comprises about four-fifths of the volume of the atmos- 
phere, where it occurs in a free state mechanically mixed with 
oxygen. In this free state, it is an exceedingly inert element and 
combines only with difficulty with certain other elements as will be 
explained later. In combined form, it is found chiefly in certain 
natural nitrate deposits, and natural manures such as guano also 
contain large quantities of nitrogen compounds. 


FREE NITROGEN 


The atmosphere is the inexhaustible source for our nitrogen sup- 
ply, and every bit of nitrogen in plants, animals, and the soil has 
originated from free atmospheric nitrogen. Arrhenius estimates 
that no less than 400,000,000 tons of nitrogen are annually with- 
drawn from the atmosphere; and as nitrogen does not accumulate 
to any great extent in the soil, this enormous quantity must again be 
set free as inert nitrogen gas by the decomposition of organic matter 
and restored to the atmosphere. An immense and endless circulation 
of nitrogen is therefore continually going on, as shown in the ac- 
companying diagram. __ 


1 Reprinted by permission from the General Hlectric Review for March and April, 1923. 
203 


204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Through the action of electrical discharges of thunderstorms, 
which continually go on in the atmosphere, appreciable amounts of 
free nitrogen in the air are converted into oxides of nitrogen which 
are absorbed by falling rain water and enter the soil in the form 
of nitric acid. This nitric acid then combines with the bases in the 
soil, such as potassium, calcium, etc., and forms the corresponding 
nitrates in which form they are taken up by the plants and 
metabolized into protein. 

Through the action of bacteria in their root nodules, certain 
legumes, such as peas, beans, and clover, also possess the capacity of 
directly absorbing free nitro- 
gen from the air during 
their growth and converting 
it into protein. 

It has thus been shown 
how the nitrogen is supplied 
to the plants and protein 
metabolized which serves 
not only as their own food 
supply but also as reserve 
food for the plants’ off- 
spring. This now becomes 
animal food and, for vege- 
table eating animals, it is the 
sole source of the nitrogen 
for animal protein. 

Part of the nitrogen which 


PLANT 
PROTEIN. 
is not used for maintaining 


ROTEIN. : 
: the body substance of ani- 


Fic. 1.—Elementary diagram of nature’s nitro- mals is eliminated as urea 
gen cycle 


ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN. 


ELECTRIC DISCHARGE. 


NITRIC OXIDE, 
FREE “ 
FREE NITROGEN NITROGEN. PEROXIDE. 


1 
PON DATA. 
AMMO 
ORGANIC NITROGEN, 
UREAa DEAD PROTEIN 
‘ | ) REDUCING 
pate BACTERIA: 
AMMONIA 


RAIN. 
OXYGEN# BACTERIA. 


NITRIC ACIO 


NITRIC ACID 


POTASSIUM, CALCIUM re, POTASTIUM, CALCIUM, «ve 


NITRITE aNITRATE, 


NITRITE a NITRATE 


LEGUMES 
BACTERIA. 


“DEAD PROTEIN. 


and hippuric acid, and from 
the urea much nitrogen is set free by the action of nitrous acid. 
This urea and hippuric acid together with decayed vegetable and 
animal matter—that is, dead protein—is then with the aid of 
. bacteria converted into ammonia. Part of this is by means of 
oxidizing bacteria converted into nitric acid and nitrate in which 
form it again is partly assimilated by the plants. Part of this 
nitrate is, however, dinitrified by bacteria, one portion reverting 
into free nitrogen which goes back to the atmosphere, the other 
being converted into ammonia which fails to oxidize and is volatil- 
ized as a gas, which is absorbed by rain and again returned to the 
soil. Part of the ammonia is also taken up directly by the plants 
from the soil. 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 205 
++ 
NEED FOR FERTILIZERS 


The fertility of the soil would thus remain practically unchanged 
if all the ingredients removed in the various farm products were 
returned to the land where they come from. This is to some extent 
accomplished by feeding the crops grown on the farm to animals, 
carefully saving the manure and returning it to the soil. A care- 
ful study of the present conditions of farming indicates, however, 
that as a rule the manure produced on the farm is far from suffi- 
cient to maintain its 
fertility, and artifi- 
cial fertilizers must 
be resorted to. 

It has been esti- 
mated that the 
yearly loss of nitro- 
gen from soils under 
cultivation in this 
country by grain 


crops alone amounts 


to over 2,000,000 tons Fie. 2.—Inorganic nitrogen consumption in United States 

. a as given by Nitrate Division of the United States Ord- 

per year. Of this, nance Department. Black portions represent inorganic 

not over 3 per cent nitrogen used in agriculture. White portions represent 
nitrogen used in industries and for explosives 


is at present being 
supplied from organic fertilizer sources, such as tankage, cottonseed, 
ete., and this supply is constantly diminishing. The remainder must, 
therefore, come from inorganic materials. It would, of course, not 
pay to fertilize to the above extent immediately, but it merely indi- 
cates the extent to which nitrogen is needed for fertilizer purposes. 

With our constantly increasing population, an increased food sup- 
ply must be provided, and this can only be assured by increased 
cultivation and fertilization of the soil. How far behind we lag in 
this respect as compared with certain European countries, which of 
necessity have been forced to an intensive use of fertilizer, is shown 
by the following table: 


Pounds 
fertilizer Average os {in paalele per acre, 


Country Spee A ied 


vated 
apne Wheat Rye Oats Potatoes 


MEMEO VALOR eee Bee et ee ata n teen e in adeke 37 14.6 16.0 29. 5 95. 0 
Wy ccioly pC Seve Ge wee CB CRU SO he RL eel eat e 111 20, 2 16.9 30.6 130.7 
(CPigta lh: pee Gee ee Se OS aha See, Se ee 207 30.9 27.4 53. 6 204. 8 
RERUN Meson ved au ee ce sen wanna sencauwes 244 33. 4 29.1 43. 5 211.7 


epiptiemri 5s 3 Se eee ee eerie 495 37.0 34.7 71.5 306. 0 


206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
a 


Prior to the increased use of fertilizer in these countries, the pro- 
ductivity of their soil was similar to our own, and the increase in 
their food supply, without additional labor and at a cost wholly in- 
commensurate with the gains, has grown in direct proportion to the 
amount of fertilizer used. 

Besides fertilizers, large amounts of nitrogen are also needed for 
industrial purposes, and the requirements to meet this demand are 
also steadily increasing. 

Nitrate is one of the main ingredients in high explosives and gun 
powder, and nitration, that is, the treatment of substances with nitric 
acid, is the fundamental chemical operation in the production of 
gun cotton for making smokeless powder, celluloid, or other pyroxylin 
plastics from cotton or paper such as artificial ivory, etc. The dye 
industry is also to a great extent based on nitration, and numerous 
drugs, perfumes, and flavoring extracts are also being made in this 
manner from the coal tar bases, benzol, toluol, and naphthalene. 

It is difficult to predict with accuracy to what extent the nitrogen 
fixation in this country will increase in the future. From statistics 
presented at a hearing before Congress in 1920, it was estimated that 
the possible consumption of fixed inorganic nitrogen would be as 
follows: 


1925 1930 

Tons Tons 
PA RICUITELITOS ooo Se ee ee re te nie ora tt naar eee anne See ee ee eee eet! 190, 000 290, 000 
Tnidustniesee !< ce oe eteeee treet eceser ts tb Sree yecsec see eet eee 130, 000 150, 000 
Mir LS Le as ane RE D2 he Os OR FE a ht me Ee tt ae eel 320, 000 440, 000 


To supply this need, it is further estimated that the available 
production from by-product coke ovens will be, in 1925, 130,000 
tons; in 1930, 160,000 tons. 

The difference would then have to be supplied by importation of 
Chile saltpeter or by increased products from atmospheric nitrogen 
fixation plants. For this latter purpose, there are now three plants 
in this country which with certain modifications would be available 
and with a combined yearly production capacity equivalent to about 
45,000 tons of fixed nitrogen per year. At present only one of these 
plants is in operation, with a yearly output of only a few thousand 
tons. 

From these figures, it is obvious that we will have to continue to 
rely to a great extent on the importation of Chile saltpeter, unless 
steps are taken for providing increased facilities for fixation of 
atmospheric nitrogen. It is the purpose of this article to describe 
the different processes which at present are available for this pur- 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 207 


pose, but, first, a brief reference will be made to the other two 
sources of inorganic nitrogen, viz, Chile saltpeter and by-product 
ammonium sulphate. 


CHILE SALTPETER 


Chile saltpeter is chemically known as sodium nitrate (NaNO,), 
the commercial product containing about 95 per cent nitrate, of 
which 1514 per cent is nitrogen. Like the potash deposits in Ger- 
many, there are few natural deposits like the saltpeter deposits in 
Chile on the west coast of South America. These deposits were 
discovered by Indians about 1809, who, when lighting a fire, noticed 
that the ground began to ignite in various directions. They at- 
tributed this to evil spirits and consulted a priest, who caused the 
earth to be examined, thus revealing the presence of nitrate of soda. 

The nitrate deposits are located, at altitudes ranging from 2,000 
to 6,000 feet, in the desert regions between the 12° and 26° latitudes, 
a distance of about 500 miles, and perhaps the driest country in 
the world, with no vegetation whatever. 

The nitrate beds generally form horizontal layers covered by 
three distinct layers or strata of silica, calcium sulphate, and other 
minerals, the thickness of these layers ranging from 2 to several 
feet. The nitrate as mined goes under the name “ caliche,” and the 
deposits vary in thickness from a few inches to 4 or 5 feet or more. 
It is like a cemented gravel, the cementing material being the so- 
dium nitrate and sodium chloride and other salts which accompany 
it. The caliche treated runs from 14 per cent nitrate up to as high 
as 30 per cent or more, and it does not as yet pay to mine materials 
with less than 13 to 14 per cent nitrate. 

There are many theories advanced regarding the origin of these 
natural nitrate deposits. Some think that they are original guano 
deposits; others ascribe their origin to seaweed, because the caliche 
contains considerable amounts of iodine, and fish skeletons are often 
found embedded in the strata. Recent theories are that it has its 
origin in volcanic actions. 


PREPARATION OF THE NITRATE 


The production of Chile saltpeter comes under two divisions— 
the mining of the caliche and the refining. The caliche is extracted 
from the ground by blasting and hand picking, after which it is 
loaded in carts or light railroad cars and hauled to the refining 
plants, called “ oficinas,” by mules or small locomotives. At the plant 
it is crushed and leached with boiling water, when, due to the dif- 
ferent solubility of the nitrate and chloride salts, practically all the 


208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


nitrate will be dissolved while the other salts, if already in solution, 
will be precipitated. The solution is then allowed to cool and, due 
to the solubility characteristics mentioned above, the nitrate crytal- 
lizes out first while the other salts remain in the solution, which is 
drained off. The nitrate, now in solid form, is placed in drying pans 
to allow the remaining water to evaporate, and when entirely dry it 
is packed in bags of about 200 pounds each and shipped by rail down 
to the different harbors for export. 

Most of the Chile saltpeter is used for fertilizer purposes, the nitro- 
gen contained therein being extremely soluble and readily available 
as food for plants. The nitrogen in this form is thus directly and 
immediately available and no further changes are necessary. 

Considerable amounts of Chile saltpeter are also used for industrial 
purposes, in which case it must be converted in some other form, the 
starting point as a rule being nitric acid. This conversion is ac- 
complished by treating the sodium nitrate with sulphuric acid, when 
a violent reaction takes place, with the result of the formation of 
nitric acid which is given off as a gas. This passes into condensers 
where it is condensed to liquid acid. The reaction takes place accord- 
ing to the formula: 


NaNO,+H,SO,=HNO,+NaHSO, 
STATISTICS 


Chile saltpeter was first exported from Chile in 1830, but the 
amount was small, only a few thousand tons per year. Since then it 


Export to United States 
He el Ox Saad Ghee LL 
ear port in Tons 

tons Tons Fi ; 
n equivalent 

nitrate | “nitrogen 
TIC) Ky ulate 2 tate deltee RaptatediBeal 35 Sees hee hts in dia Ae aan endian 3, 000, 000 650, 000 100, 000 
LOPRS SC ECU, PU EE Se eh EEE ae SAE eae ay eee 2, 100, 000 620, 000 96, 000 
DEPRES a Nee se ek 0 | ee a Sta ee. Pee oe 2, 200, 000 950, 000 147, 000 
LET (Ses ap eae ie, cae AR RES Ma te bases nao piety ee Meipes dor Oe 3, 300,000 | 1,450, 000 225, 000 
LULL Antal, Seelneerne ary ie ena y mate hal aac RS ST Toni Nee oF epi ote 8,000, 000 | 1, 750, 000 270, 000 
DRS EE eos aan oe Sse ee ee eee ee 3, 200,000 | 2, 200, 000 340, 000 
AUD Lee Ps ee RE a SE ey eee Se Set See tn ee S52 900, 000 330, 000 51, 000 


7 | as ens Saale ee aes SS a See Lae en Ose eee 3,000,000 | 1,350, 000 195, 000 


has, however, constantly increased as seen from the foregoing tabula- 
tion, which also gives the export to the United States and its equiva- 
lent nitrogen content in net tons. 

It is interesting to note how the export dropped in 1915, when the 
supply of the Central powers in Europe was cut off, and how it 
since steadily increased until the end of the war, when it again took 
a big drop. 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 209 


The proceeds obtained from the export duty imposed by the Chile 
Government amounts to about 40 per cent of that country’s yearly 
revenue. 

The question is often asked: How long will the Chile deposits 
last? There is quite a difference of opinion in regard to this. It is 
estimated that the contents of the surveyed areas contained about 
300,000,000 tons of nitrate of which about 50,000,000 tons have been 
mined, leaving about 250,000,000 tons untouched. At the present 
rate of production this would last about 100 years. It is claimed 
that the unsurveyed areas are some thirty times larger than the 
surveyed ones, but undoubtedly of a much lower nitrate content, and 
it is quite safe to assert that the deposits would last another 250 or 
300 years. On the other hand, it is almost certain that long before 
that time new artificial nitrogen fixation processes will have been 
developed, by means of which it will be possible to manufacture 
nitrogen compounds at a much lower cost than the cost of Chile salt- 
peter, so that the mining of Chile saltpeter will undoubtedly be very 
materially curtailed long before these deposits are exhausted. 


BY-PRODUCT AMMONIA 


The by-product coke-oven industry now occupies a vital place 
for the supply of nitrogen in the form of ammonia. Besides am- 
monia, the carbonization of the coal in these ovens gives us many 
other valuable by-products such as benzol, toluol, and napthalene. 


Production in United States 


ionr By-product coke Beehive coke 
mons | Pehent| tone | Her cant 
ee ea ee ene ie ee ae ee ee See ae 1, 180, 000 5 20, 615, 000 95 
TOUT Ae SE De neal es te EE DEA SE ap Ac SE, SS RNES SEE 5, 610, 000 14 35, 170, 000 86 
VEN 6 ET? BO et OS ee ee eee 12, 715, 000 28 33, 585, 000 72 
OS Oe Se | ee a eee eee ae eee 19, 070, 000 35 35, 465, 000 65 
10 a ER SE EE SS Ee eee rene ete Serena aS Caner 26, 000, 000 46 30, 480, 000 54 
TREACY SOS pie Reve Ae ae Se Se | at Se Sie ak Se See 25, 170, 000 56 19, 650, 000 44 
Le OS es 8 ae aes eS ae A OR Me ee Se See Ape oh 30, 835, 000 60 20, 510, 000 40 
er ee ee on Seah eta a welts etme oes 19, 920, 000 73 5, 560, 000 22 


It is interesting to watch how these modern by-product coke plants 
rapidly supersede the old-fashioned beehive ovens, as may be seen 
from the foregoing tabulation. 

A by-product coke oven is a rather complicated structure, but 
briefly it consists of a large number of parallel chambers or ovens in 
which the bituminous coal is heated out of contact with the air. 


210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The ovens are separated by flues in which part of the gas generated 
by the distillation is burned to provide the heat necessary for the 
coking. 

It is from the volatile matter in the coal given off that the by- 
products are obtained. The ammonia is thus the result of the union 
of nitrogen and hydrogen, according to some reaction which is 
not fully known. 

The coal contains from 1 to 114 per cent nitrogen, and of this only 
about 15 per cent is recovered in the form of ammonia. This means 
that we only get about 7 pounds of ammonia per ton of coke. 
The hot gases from the ovens containing the ammonia are cooled 
and scrubbed with water to remove the tar. They then go to 
saturators filled with sulphuric acid, and when the gas bubbles 
through this acid an intimate contact is established between the two 
and ammonium sulphate is precipitated as a solid salt according to 
the reaction 2 NH,+H,SO,=(NH,).SO,. 

The ammonium sulphate thus formed in the saturators is then 
drained and dried in centrifugal driers, after which it is ready for 
sale. It then contains 24 per cent of ammonia equivalent to about 
20 per cent of nitrogen. 

The remainder of the gas, now freed from ammonia, after leav- 
ing the saturators may then be further scrubbed with absorbent oils 
for recovery of other by-products, and if the gas is to be used for 
municipal purposes it must be further purified by removing any 
sulphur that it may contain. 


PRODUCTION CAPACITY 


The annual productive capacity of the country’s existing by- 


| 


Coke-oven Coke-oven 
ammonium , ammonium 
sulphate anivalend sulphate Houivalant 
Year production INSEE Year production et eee 
in Unitea | Mitrogen in Unitea | Ditrogen 
States in States in 
tons tons 
BOLO Saat eset 116, 000 23, 000 . 1916: 2:<2-. oe eee eee 288, 000 59, 000 
iL) | eee te ey See ee 127, 000 25, OOO STOUT See a. eee 370, 000 74, 000 
: O) be ee a eee ae 165, 000 33, 000'}| DOTS a aa eee ee 388, 000 78, 000 
IDES Sos ee esses etomelae 195, 000 39, ;D00)|| ROTGES Fees see cece 423, 000 85, 000 
x i SO RE Pee Tee 183, 000 OTE ODO [hgh epee ee ree 503, 000 100, 000 
TY) ba ga Pe ee ee HSE OE ad 250, 000 0; OOO MAORI AEsS. Fee Betas tse es 346, 000 69, 000 


product coke oven plants is said to be about 35,000,000 tons of coke, 
which would correspond to a maximum ammonium sulphate output 
of about 550,000 tons, equivalent to 110,000 tons of combined 
nitrogen. 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF Od 


The ammonium sulphate production is, however, closely related 
to the steel-mill business, and the recent slack in this industry was 
clearly reflected in the coke production, and naturally also the am- 
monium sulphate output, as shown in the foregoing tabulation. 


THE ARC PROCESS 


The principle underlying this process is the possibility of chemic- 
ally uniting part of the free nitrogen and oxygen in the air at such 
high temperatures as only the electric arc is capable of producing, 
this being around 5,000° to 6,000° F. 

Air, which is-only a mechanical mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. 
is thus passed through an electric are furnace, when a small part 
(about 2 per cent) of these elements combine chemically and form 
nitric oxide, NO. This gas, when leaving the furnace, has a tem- 
perature of around 1,500° to 1,800° F., and in order to prevent the 
NO from dissociating or breaking up, it must be rapidly cooled to 
a temperature around 100° F., which is done in two steps. The hot 
gas is first passed through ordinary steam boilers, which thus serve as 
coolers, with recovery of heat in the form of steam for use in other 
parts of the process. The temperature of the gas is lowered to about 
300° F. by these boilers, but below this point it becomes necessary to 
carry out the further cooling in aluminum coolers through which 
water circulates, without, of course, coming in direct contact with 
the gas. The reason for this is the fact that nitric oxide at these low 
temperatures, in the presence of moisture in the gas from water leak- 
ing through the tubes, begins to oxidize to nitric acid, which cor- 
rodes iron but not aluminum. 

From the aluminum coolers the gas mixture is now conveyed to an 
oxidation chamber, a big sheet-steel tank lined with fire brick. The 
purpose of this oxidation tank is to give the gas sufficient time to 
oxidize the nitric oxide NO to nitrogen peroxide, NO, or N,O,, this 
being desirable for the absorption of the gas which is to follow. 

From the oxidation tank the gas is carried through an absorption 
system consisting of several groups of absorption towers, usually 
five towers in series per group. These towers are of enormous size, 
the inside being filled with lumps of quartz or other materials which 
the acid will not attack. Water is admitted to the top of the third 
tower, and when it trickles down over the quartz filling it meets the 
ascending gas and is converted into a weak nitric acid. This acid is 
then pumped to the top of the second tower, where it is used as the 
absorption liquid, and similarly the acid from the second tower is 
used for absorption in the first tower, thus gradually increasing in 
strength. After having thus passed the third tower, about 80 per 
cent of the NO, gas has been absorbed, and this is about all that can 


219 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


be absorbed by water, the resulting acid from the first tower having 
a strength of 30 per cent, this being known as weak nitric acid. 

The reaction which thus has taken place in the three first towers 
is as follows: 3 NO,+H,O=2 HNO,+NO. 

The liberated nitric oxide, in the presence of oxygen and water, is 
again converted into nitrogen peroxide and nitric acid. 

The remaining 20 per cent of the gas leaving the third tower is now 
so weak that another solution than water must be provided for its 
absorption. An alkali solution such as soda ash is used for this pur- 
pose in towers 4 and 5, the resulting product being a mixture of 
sodium nitrate and sodium. nitrite, which is evaporated and may be 
used directly as a fertilizer. If only sodium nitrite is desired the gas 
is passed into a solution of caustic soda. 

The weak acid from the first tower is, however, the main product; 
but as such a weak acid can not be economically transported, it must 
be converted into some neutral salt or changed into concentrated acid 
of 95 per cent strength, which can be shipped in aluminum tank cars. 
The concentration is accomplished by means of sulphuric acid, which 
has a greater affinity for the water in the weak nitric acid, thus ab- 
sorbing it, leaving the nitric acid in concentrated form. 

The neutral salt, generally produced from the weak acid, is cal- 
cium nitrate, also known as nitrate of lime or Norway saltpeter, 
because it is the main product of the large nitrate plants in Nor- 
way. The calcium nitrate Ca(NO,),, is thus produced by treating 
ordinary limestone with the weak acid, the reaction being as fol- 
lows: CaCO,+2 HNO,=Ca(NO,),+H,O0+CO,. 

The resulting solution is evaporated by the waste heat from the 
steam boilers before mentioned, and the product is then ready for the 
market. 

This calcium nitrate contains 13 per cent of fixed nitrogen, and 
is, like Chile saltpeter, an excellent fertilizer, although somewhat 
hygroscopic. It is, as stated, the main product of the large Rjukan 
nitrate plants in Norway, which have an annual productive capacity 
of about 200,000 tons of nitrate, equivalent to about 26,000 tons of 
fixed nitrogen. Over 300,000 electrical horsepower are used for 
this, generated in magnificent high-head water-power plants. The 
power requirements with this process are thus about 12 horsepower | 
years per ton nitrogen fixed, and from this high rate of consump- 
tion it follows that the price of the power must be very low in order 
to make the process an economic success. 

The majority of the furnaces used at Rjukan are of the Birke- 
land-Eyde type, the latest designs having a capacity of 4,000 to 
5,000 horsepower each. There are also some Schoenherr furnaces of 
1,000 horsepower capacity each. Numerous other types of furnaces 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF Zio 


have been proposed and patented, but none except the above-men- 
tioned types have come into any general use. With the exception of 
the above-mentioned large plants in Norway, the process has had a 
very limited use. One plant of moderate size has been in operation 
in France, and the activities in this country have so far been con- 
fined to two smal] installations, one in the West and one in the South. 


THE CYANAMID PROCESS 


The cyanamid process is based on the ability of calcium carbide 
to absorb free nitrogen, forming a nitrogen compound known as 
calcium cyanamid, or more generally under its commercial name of 
simply cyanamid. 

The calcium carbide is produced in huge electric electrode fur- 
naces in capacities up to as high as 20,000 electrical horsepower each. 
The furnaces are kept filled with a mixtuft of calcined lime and coke, 
and the electric current passing through the mixture between the 
electrodes melts the lime to a liquid which then combines with the 
coke in the interior of the furnace, forming calcium carbide, the 
reaction being as follows: CaO-+-3C=CaC,+CO. 

The furnace is tapped every 15 to 20 minutes into chill cars, the 
carbide when leaving the furnace having a temperature of about 
4,000° F. 

A supply of pure nitrogen free from oxygen is essential with the 
cyanamid process. It is obtained by liquefying air under intense 
cooling and high pressure. Such liquid air machines work under 
pressures of 500 pounds per square inch, and with cooling by ex- 
pansion the air is reduced to liquid form at 380° F. below zero. By 
then allowing this liquid air to warm up slightly, pure nitrogen gas 
boils off first, leaving the oxygen behind in the liquid. The nitrogen 
is then pumped to the fixation building. 

After the carbide has cooled in the cars, it is crushed and pow- 
dered. It is then placed in cylindrical perforated paper cylinders in 
the fixation ovens, and nitrogen from the liquid-air plant is ad- 
mitted. The ovens are then heated by passing an electric current 
through a carbon rod which extends through the center of the charge. 
Due to this heat and the heat from the exothermic reaction, a tem- 
perature of about 2,000° F. is reached in the ovens. The carbide 
absorbs the nitrogen, forming a new chemical compound, calcium 
cyanamid. The nitrogen fixation is represented by the equation: 
CaC,+N,=CaCN,+C. 

When the absorption is complete, the charge is removed from the 
oven, allowed to cool, and crushed to a powder. It is then hydrated 
or treated with a small quantity of water to remove the last traces 


1454—25——_15 


214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of carbide and to slake any free lime present. Sometimes it is also 
treated with a small amount of oil to prevent dusting. It is then 
known by the trade name “ Cyanamid,” and has a nitrogen content of 
about 19 to 21 per cent. 

Cyanamid is extensively used as an ingredient in mixed fertilizers, 
but during the past few years it has also been used to a great extent 
as a source of nitrogen for making other products such as ammonia, 
various ammonium compounds, nitric acid, etc. The next step for 
either of these is the production of ammonia, which is obtained by 
heating cyanamid with steam under pressure in so-called autoclaves, 
when the nitrogen is given off as ammonia gas. This gas may be 
absorbed in water, producing aqua ammonia, which is used in large 
quantities for refrigeration and for many general chemical purposes. 
It may also be used for producing anhydrous ammonia by drying 
the gas and compressing it, Such ammonia is also used extensively 
for refrigeration purposes. 

By absorbing the ammonia gas in sulphuric acid, sulphate of 
ammonia is formed, which is separated out by crystallization in the 
same manner as previously explained under the by-product coke oven 
process. 

Similarly, by absorbing the ammonia gas in nitric acid, ammonium 
nitrate is formed, which is used to a Jarge extent in high explosives. 
The nitric acid required for this product may also be obtained from 
the ammonia gas by oxidation of the ammonia in the presence of a 
heated catalyst, usually platinum, according to the following reaction: 
4NH,+50,=4NO-+6H,0. 

A mixture of about 10 volumes of ammonia gas and 90 volumes of 
air is passed over a spongy platinum screen of very fine mesh, 
heated electrically to a dull red heat, the temperature with the gas 
passing over it being about 1,000° F. The gas velocity must be very 
high so as to cut down the time of contact between the gas and the 
catalyzer to about one one-hundredth of a second. The efficiency of 
conversion is quite high, about 90 per cent, and the resulting strength 
of the nitric oxide gas about 8 to 9 per cent, as compared to 2 per cent 
with the are process. 

The nitric oxide after leaving the catalytic burners is thereafter 
treated in the same manner as with the are process; that is, it is 
passed through oxidation tanks, steam boilers, and aJuminum coolers 
and finally to the absorption towers. The absorption system is, how- 
ever, much smaller than with the are process, due to the much higher 
concentration of the nitric oxide, and for the same reason the weak 
acid will have.a strength of about 45 per cent instead of 30 per cent 
as with the are process. 

There are a large number of cyanamid plants throughout the 
world, their total annual productive capacity being possibly in the 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 215 


neighborhood of 1,250,000 tons of cyanamid, equivalent to a fixed 
nitrogen content of about 250,000 tons. Based on a power require- 
ment corresponding to 214 tons of cyanamid per electrical horse- 


G ON JUBId 2}BI}IN S3}¥}1g pejIUQ Jo qnofkBy] [elotey—'S “pra 


@taecrasc Sevircn Aovsé 


EE 


CnRaeE FURNACE F204 


Cont Oxvar A406. 


ae Coat (itt BteG, 


2079 NI THIF 


QWlaTIAg He Anaz 


a 
SPIMEL NVLEVOSEY 


OCcooC000 
SHS ONIILAES NE 


SPIICCD BD samme worsraxo | 


power year, or 2 horsepower years per ton nitrogen fixed as cyanamid, 
the power for this total output would be no less than one-half mil- 
lion horsepower years. As compared to the arc process, the relative 
power consumption for the cyanamid process per ton fixed nitrogen 
is only one-sixth of what it is for the arc process. 


216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The large Government nitrate plant at Muscle Shoals, Ala., built 
according to the cyanamid process, is generally known under the 
name of United States Nitrate Plant No. 2, and was built for the 
Government in 1918 for the production of ammonium nitrate for 
military explosives, the productive capacity of the plant being 110,- 
000 tons of this product per year. The plant was constructed by the 
Air Nitrates Corporation, a subsidiary to the American Cyanamid 
Co., whose process was followed. Incidentally, it might be stated 
that the plant was completed shortly after the armistice, and one unit 
(one-fifth the plant capacity) was thereafter put through a two 
weeks’ complete test operation, which thoroughly demonstrated the 
technical success of the undertaking. 


THE CYANIDE PROCESS 


The fixation of nitrogen in the form of alkali cyanides has not 
reached any commercial importance, although considerable research 
work has been done along these lines and a few small plants actually 
constructed. One of these plants was built by the Government dur- 
ing the war at Saltville, Va. Its capacity was very small, only 10 
tons of sodium cyanide per day, the plans being to convert this cya- 
nide into the highly poisonous gas, hydrocyanic acid, for the war. 

The process of fixation on which the Saltville plant was based is 
known as the Bucher process, the reaction involved therein being as 
follows: Na,CO,+4C--N,=2NaCN+3CoO. 

The raw materials are soda ash and coke in pulverized form to 
which iron, also in powdered form, is added, its action, however, be- 
ing purely catalytic. This material is formed into briquettes, thor- 
oughly dried, and then heated in retorts at a temperature around 
1,500° F., while nitrogen is passed through the mass. As high as 
i8 per cent of nitrogen has thus been fixed in the form of cyanide. 

When sodium cyanide is once formed it can be converted into am- 
monia like cyanamid, and the process has the advantage that in this 
conversion the soda ash can be recovered and used over again. 
The iron can also be repeatedly used. 

A cyanide process has also quite recently been invented in Sweden. 
A moderate size plant was built and operated for some time, but is 
now closed down, and the opinions of specialists seem to be divided 
as to the commercial success of the process. 

The process is of the continuously operated type, the materials be- 
ing kept in continuous circulation in such a manner that the nitrified 
portions are decomposed into ammonia, leaving a solid residue which 
is returned to the nitrification building with the addition of some 
fresh material. 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 217 


The raw material, consisting of anthracite, sodium carbonate, and 
iron sponge, is formed into small balls, in which shape they are fed 
into the furnaces. These are of the shaft type, the material resting 
on grates which are intermittently turned in order to facilitate dis- 
charging and to avoid baking. The furnaces are further of the elec- 
trode type, operating on the resistance principle, the balls themselves 
conducting the electric current from one electrode to the other and 
becoming in this way heated to the temperature required for the re- 
action, which is around 1,700° F. The nitrogen, under pressure, is 
admitted directly at the bottom of the furnace, and the gases are 
given off at the top. They contain principally hydrogen and carbon 
oxide, which are afterwards used as fuel gas for the nitrogen ovens 
and for drying purposes, etc. The bottom of the furnace is connected 
to an air-tight conveying system for transporting the cyanide to 
the ammonium-sulphate building. 

A large surplus quantity of nitrogen is needed for the fixation, 
and a method has been worked out for its production at a very low 
cost. The process is chemical, the oxygen of the air being bound by 
an alkali iron to Fe,O,, setting the nitrogen free. This ferric oxide 
is then reduced by the above-mentioned waste gas from the furnaces 
and the iron used over again. In practice, air is not used in the 
manufacture of the nitrogen, but the waste gases from the sulphuric 
acid factory, as these gases contain only a few per cent of oxygen, 
thus materially reducing the energy required for binding the oxygen. 

The cyanide from the furnaces is, as mentioned, conveyed to the 
ammonia department where ammonium sulphate is produced in the 
same manner as for cyanamid, with the exception that the sludge left 
in the autoclaves after. proper treatment is used again as raw ma- 
terial for the furnace charge. 

The power consumption with this process is claimed to be about 
114 horsepower years per ton nitrogen fixed as cyanide. 

Sodium cyanide is also made by fusing cyanamid with ordinary 
salt in an, electric furnace. This product is extensively used for 
case-hardening of steel, for the separation of gold from its ore, and 
for the manufacture of hydrocyanic acid for fumigation of fruit 
trees. Large quantities of such cyanide is manufactured by the 
American Cyanamid Co. at their Niagara Falls plant. 


THE NITRIDE PROCESS 


The fundamental principle underlying this process is the combina- 
tion of nitrogen with metals, such as aluminum, titanium, lithium, 
etc., to form nitrides from which ammonia can readily be obtained 
by decomposition. 


218 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The best-developed process of this type is the so-called Serpek 
process for making aluminum nitride from bauxite (aluminum ox- 
ide), coke, and nitrogen according to the reaction: Al,O,-+38C-L-N, 
—2AIN+3 CO. 

Bauxite mixed with carbon is fed into the upper end of an in- 
clined revolving kiln, the necessary heat for heating the mixture to 
the required reaction temperature of around 3,200° F., being sup- 
plied by electric current. Producer gas, containing about 30 per 
cent CO and 70 per cent N,, enters the lower end of the kiln and 
passes through the same in a direction opposite to that of the de- 
scending charge, and in the electrically heated zone the nitrogen re- 
acts with the alumina-carbon mixture and forms aluminum nitride, 
containing about 26 per cent of fixed nitrogen. The carbon mon- 
oxide also formed by the reaction is being used for preheating the 
charge before it enters the kiln. 

Ammonia is then formed by treating the aluminum nitride in 
autoclaves, this reaction being as follows: AIN+3H,O—Al1 (OH), 
+NH,. . 

In addition to the ammonia, a very pure alumina is obtained, 
which can be used for metallic aluminum production. The power 
required is approximately the same as for the cyanamid process; 
that is, about 2 horsepower years per ton nitrogen fixed as nitride. 

Like the cyanide process, the nitride process has not been of any 
great importance in connection with the nitrogen-fixation problem. 
A few moderate-size plants have been built in this country and 
abroad, but it can hardly be said that the process has as yet been 
fully developed. 

THE HABER PROCESS 


This process, named after its inventor, Prof. Fritz Haber, of Ger- 
many, was introduced there shortly before the war, and was one of 
the most important factors of insuring Germany of an ample supply 
of nitrogen during the war, and this with a much lower power re- 
quirement than any of the synthetic processes previously described. 
Germany now possesses two enormous Haber plants at Oppau and at 
Merseburg. The former, where the terrible explosion occurred in 1921, 
has a productive capacity equivalent to 100,000 tons of fixed nitrogen 
per year, and the Merseburg plant twice this; thus a total of 300,000 
tons nitrogen per year. Two plants, but of comparatively small 
capacity, have been built in this country. One of these was built 
by the Government at Sheffield, Ala., during the war, but has never 
been in actual operation, except what might be termed experimental 
operation. The other plant was built in 1921 by the Semet-Solvay 
Co. at Syracuse, N. Y. The process of these two plants is a modi- © 
fication of the German Haber process developed by the General 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 919 


Chemical Co., the operating pressure being only about one-half that 
which is used in Germany. 

The Haber process consists, briefly, in passing a mixture of 1 
volume of nitrogen and 8 volumes of hydrogen (the constituents of 
ammonia) at a pressure of from 100 to 200 atmospheres over a suit- 
able catalyzer at a temperature of some 900° to 1,000° F. - The nitro- 
gen and hydrogen will then combine and form ammonia according 
to the reaction: N,+3H,—2NH,. 

A single passage of the gas mixture through the catalytic cham- 
ber causes a conversion of about 6 to 8 per cent (by volume) of the 
nitrogen-hydrogen mixture to ammonia, this being recovered either 
by refrigeration and condensation to anhydrous ammonia or by ab- 
sorption in water to aqua ammonia, which can again be converted 
into gaseous form by distillation. The unconverted nitrogen and 
hydrogen mixture, still under the above pressure, is replenished with 
a fresh gas mixture corresponding to the separated ammonia, after 
which it is reheated and returned to the catalytic chamber, thus re- 
peating the cycle. . 

Besides the mechanical difficulties due to the high pressures at 
which the process is operated, the solution of the very complicated 
chemical problems which are involved has required an enormous 
amount of experimental and research work. It is absolutely essen- 
tial that the two gases, nitrogen and hydrogen be in a very pure 
state, as even minute quantities of impurities such as carbon mon- 
oxide will be poisonous to the catalytic material and the two gases 
will refuse to combine, or do so at a very reduced rate. It is this 
preparation and purification of the nitrogen and hydrogen, and espe- 
cially the latter, which comprises the chief items of cost in the Haber 
process. 

The problem of providing a durable and suitable catalyst has also 
been a difficult one. The reaction when the two gases combine to 
form ammonia can only take place in the presence of what is known 
as “catalytic” metals. A catalyst, therefore, is simply a substance 
which promotes the union of two elements with each other, without 
itself entering into the combination. 

Water is naturally the source from which hydrogen is produced, 
either chemically or by electrolysis. In the former method, water 
gas is first generated in a gas producer in the ordinary way by pass- 
ing steam over incandescent coke. This gas consists of one-half 
volume of hydrogen, the other one-half being chiefly carbon monox- 
ide, as seen from the following equation: C-+-H,O=CO-+H,,. 

In order to remove this carbon monoxide it is found desirable 
to convert it into carbon dioxide, which can readily be separated 
by water scrubbing at a pressure of around 25 to 30 atmospheres. 


220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The equation for the reaction is CO+H,+H,O=CO,+2H,, and it 
is caused by letting an additional quantity of steam react on the gas 
in a special converter, also with the help of a suitable catalyst. The 
advantage of this method is obviously that twice the amount of 
hydrogen is obtained with the same gas producer. The pressure is 
obtained with no extra cost because the gas must sooner or later, 
anyhow, be compressed to a still higher pressure, as previously stated. 

Pure hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis of water, but in 
order that this method shall be commercially feasible cheap power 
is essential. 

The process used at the Government Synthetic Ammonia Plant at 
Sheffield, Ala., was a modified water-gas process by which the hydro- 
gen and the nitrogen is produced simultaneously. It is thus possible 
to directly provide a mixture in the right proportions, if instead of 
steam, a mixture of air and steam is passed over the incandescent 
coke in the gas producer; or, in other words, if instead of water gas, 
a semiwater gas is produced consisting of 5 volumes of hydrogen, 
7 volumes of carbon monoxide, and 4 volumes of nitrogen. After 
the 7 volumes of carbon monoxide have been converted into 7 vol- 
umes of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, in the manner previously 
explained, and the gas freed from carbon dioxide, then it contains 
evidently 12 volumes of hydrogen and 4 volumes of nitrogen or 
hydrogen and nitrogen in the correct proportions, 3:1, for ammonia. 
The following equations will possibly make this clearer: 

Steam Air 
5H,0+7C+4N,+0,=5H.,+7C0-4N, 
7CO+7H,O0=7CO,-+-7H, 


Adding the hydrogen and nitrogen values from the right-hand 
side of these two equations, we thus get 5H,+7H,+4N,=12H,+ 
4N,—=8NH,. In the German Haber plants the hydrogen is produced 
by the water-gas method and the nitrogen by separate lean-gas 
producers. Some free nitrogen is also required around the plant 
for various purposes, especially for adjusting the hydrogen-nitrogen 
mixture before it enters the synthetic reaction chamber. This nitro- 
gen is made by the liquid-air distillation method. This process 
could, of course, be used for manufacturing all the nitrogen re- 
quired, but it is a question whether it will be economical unless 
cheap power can be obtained for driving the refrigerating com- 
pressors. 

The gases, after leaving the respective producers, are first thor- 
oughly washed by water separately. The main purification, however, 
is done after the gases have been mixed, and consists in first wash- 
ing the gas with water under a pressure of around 25 atmospheres 
for removing the bulk of the carbon dioxide. After this the gas is 


NITROGEN FIXATION—LOF 221 


brought up to the final process pressure of 100 to 200 atmospheres 

and washed with chemical solutions for removing the final traces 
of CO and CO.,, after which it is passed through the catalytic am- 
monia reaction chamber. In the Sheffield plant the gas mixture is 
brought up to its final pressure of 100 atmospheres in one step, and 
the water scrubbing for removing the carbon dioxide is done at 
this pressure. 

The gases which have been converted to ammonia in the catalytic 
chamber are removed by means of refrigeration or water absorption 
and the uncombined gases returned to the system to be passed 
through the catalyzer chamber again until finally combined. The 
ammonia may be sold as anhydrous or aqua, or absorbed in sulphuric 
acid or phosphoric acid to produce ammonium sulphate or ammo- 
nium phosphate, the same as with the other processes, or a portion 
may be oxidized and absorbed to form nitric acid, in which the re- 
maining portion of the ammonia may be absorbed to form am- 
monium nitrate. 

In producing hydrogen for synthetic ammonia by the water-gas 
method, it has been shown how large quantities of carbon dioxide 
have to be eliminated in the purification. As in the Solvay soda 
process thousands of tons of carbon dioxide are used each year for 
which large quantities of limestone are burned, it follows at once 
that the two processes can advantageously be worked together. 

The ammonia gas and the carbon dioxide are passed into a brine 
solution, and the products-obtained are sodium bicarbonate and am- 
monium chloride, NaCl+H,O0+CO,+NH,=NaHCO,+NH,Cl. The 
sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO,, is readily converted into soda ash, 
Na,CO,, by heating when it loses all its water and part of its carbon 
dioxide gas, 2NaHCO,=Na,CO,+CO,+H,O- Soda ash or sodium 
carbonate is extensively used in the glass, soap, paper, textile, and 
numerous other industries. 

The ammonium chloride, NH,Cl, after proper concentration and 
drying, is at once ready for the market. It is claimed, but not sub- 
stantiated, that ammonium chloride, which is a more concentrated 
nitrogen product than the sulphate and meets the other require- 
ments also, is equal to the sulphate in fertilizer properties, just as 
potassium chloride is as available for crops as potassium sulphate. 

The power requirements for the Haber process are very low unless 
the hydrogen should be produced by electrolysis and the nitrogen 
by liquid-air distillation. The reason for this is, of course, the fact 
that electricity does not enter into any of the reactions but is chiefly 
used for motive power. 

Where the nitrogen and hydrogen are provided by the gas producer 
method the power requirements will amount to about one-half horse- 


1454—25——_16 


222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


power years per ton nitrogen fixed as ammonia, while if electrolytic 
hydrogen and liquid-air nitrogen is produced the corresponding fig- 
ure would be around 234 horsepower years. 


THE CLAUDE PROCESS 


This process, the invention of M. Claude, of France, is a modifi- 
cation of the Haber process. It is as yet more or less in the experi- 
mental stage, but seems to offer great possibilities. Claude thus 
works with a pressure of 900 atmospheres as compared to 200 with 
the Haber process. By means of this high pressure about 40 per 
cent ammonia conversion is obtained per catalyzer unit, and the 
endothermic reaction will raise the temperature of the catalyst to 
the required temperature of 900° to 1,000° F. with only a slight pre- 
heating, which is readily provided by simply passing the gas through 
an outer passage in the catalytic chamber. By using three catalyzer 
units in series, 80 per cent of the gases is converted into ammonia 
and only 20 per cent needs to be recirculated. The ammonia is 
readily removed by simply cooling it in a coil submerged in water, 
when practically all the ammonia will liquefy. 

The hydrogen and nitrogen may be obtained in the same manner 
as with the Haber process previously described. It is claimed, how- 
ever, that the hydrogen from producer gas can be very efficiently 
purified at this super pressure. The compressed gas is passed 
through ether at a low temperature, when all the gases but the hydro- 
gen are dissolved by the ether. The solvent with the gases in solu- 
tion is drained off, and when expanding to atmospheric pressure the 
dissolved gases escape, leaving the solvent ready for reuse. 


THE CASALE PROCESS? 


This is also a synthetic ammonia process which has been developed 
in Italy, where it is said to be used in one or two plants. It operates 
at a pressure around 600 atmospheres, or considerably higher than 
the Haber process, for which reason a higher ammonia conversion 
should be expected. It is also claimed that a very satisfactory 
catalyzer has been found which is less affected by impurities in the 
hydrogen and nitrogen gases. 


*Since this article was written several Casale plants have been put in operation in 
Japan, France, and at Niagara Falls, 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Lof PLATE | 


|. TYPICAL NITRATE BEDS IN CHILE 


2. ByY-PRODUCT COKE OVENS, SHOWING THE COKE BEING REMOVED 
FROM AN OVEN TO THE QUENCHING CAR 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Lof PLATE 2 


|. GRouP oF 4,000 KW. BIRKELAND-EYDE ARC FURNACES AT THE 
RuUKAN NITROGEN WORKS IN NORWAY 


2. GENERAL VIEW OF THE RJUKAN NITROGEN WoRKS IN NORWAY 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Lof PLATE 3 


|. MotorR-DRIVEN ROTARY LIMEKILNS AT THE UNITED STATES 
NITRATE PLANT No. 2 


2. SYNCHRONOUS MoTOR-DRIVEN AIR COMPRESSORS IN THE LIQUID- 
AIR BUILDING AT THE UNITED STATES NITRATE PLANT No. 2 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Lof PLATE 4 


|. CATALYTIC PLATINUM BURNERS IN THE AMMONIA OXIDATION BUILD- 
ING AT THE UNITED STATES NITRATE PLANT No. 2 


AIRPLANE VIEW OF THE HABER SYNTHETIC AMMONIA PLANT AT 
OPPAU, GERMANY, AFTER THE EXPLOSION IN 192] 


THE PLACE OF PROTEINS IN THE DIET IN THE LIGHT 
OF THE NEWER KNOWLEDGE OF NUTRITION * 


H. H. MircwHett, Ph. D. 
Associate professor of animal nutrition, University of Illinois 


The functions of food in the animal body include, first, the fur- 
nishing of fuel for conversion into the various forms of energy that 
characterize living matter, and, second, the furnishing of material 
for the growth aide upkeep of the body itself. From the fact that 
the solid matter of the active tissues of the body is so largely com- 
posed of protein, it is obvious that dietary protein is of the utmost 
importance in serving this second function of food. 

In the utilization of food protein by animals, just as in the utiliza- 

-tion of food energy, a certain wastage of material seems to be in- 
evitable. The first wastage is due to incomplete digestibility. There 
is a marked difference in the digestibility of the proteins of different 
foods. The animal proteins in particular seem to be completely 
digested, or very nearly so, when not dried or overcooked, the white 
of egg constituting an exception to this statement. The proteins of 
cereals, vegetables, and fruits occupy an intermediate position, being 
only about 85 per cent digestible. Egg albumin is also of about this 
digestibility. The proteins of the legumes possess digestion coeffi- 
cients of 80 or less. 

However, these differences in the digestibility of proteins do not in 
the main depend upon chemical differences existing between them, 
but rather upon the presence in the food of indigestible carbohyd- 
rates, such as celluloses, hemicelluloses, and pentosans. Mendel and 
Fine have shown? (1) some years ago that these differences largely 
disappear when the vegetable proteins are fed in a more nearly pure 
condition. They found that the proteins of wheat were as well uti- 
lized as the proteins of meat, and that the proteins of barley and of 
corn were also probably as well digested. With regard to the pro- 
teins of soy beans, navy beans, and peas, they concluded that the 
presence of indigestible nonnitrogenous materials can not entirely 

1 Read before the Food and Drugs Section of the American Public Health Association at 
the fifty-first annual meeting, Cleveland, Oct. 17, 1922. Reprinted by permission from the 


American Journal of Public Health, January, 1923. 
2 References are to notes at end of paper. 


223 


224 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


account for their low coefficients of digestion. These proteins ap- 
peared to be less readily and completely disintegrated by the diges- 
tive processes than the cereal proteins. This resistance to enzyme 
hydrolysis was even more pronounced with cottonseed proteins. 

An interesting light has been thrown upon the digestibility of the 
proteins of many of the legumes by recent investigations by Jones 
and his associates in the Bureau of Chemistry (2). In these studies 
it has been shown that the digestibility of the proteins from certain 
legumes, including the white bean, the lima bean, and the Chinese 
and Georgia velvet beans, is much improved by cooking. The value 
of these proteins in growth experiments on rats in large part de- 
pended upon whether or not the proteins were cooked or uncooked. 
No explanation of this effect of cooking has been given, since it is 
not predictable from any of the known properties of proteins. About 
the same time Langworthy (3) and associates reported experiments 
on men indicating that with most starches cooking is not essential 
to complete digestibility, though from what is known of the solu- 
bility of starch and its physical condition as deposited in plant 
tissues, it has been widely taught that raw starch is very poorly 
utilized in digestion. The improvement in the digestibility of raw 
egg white by cooking is well known, though an unaccountable dis- 
crepancy exists among the published reports of experiments con- 
cerned with this question. 

While the wastage of protein in digestion thus seems to be largely 
unrelated to its chemical structure and composition, the wastage of 
protein in metabolism in covering the protein requirements of the 
body is generally ascribed entirely to the chemical structure of the 
food protein. From our knowledge of the amino acid make-up of 
proteins, and of the marked differences in this particular among food 
proteins, it is readily understandable that the chemical structure of 
a protein may seriously limit its usefulness to the body. The value 
of the digestible protein of a food in meeting the protein require- 
ments of the body, allowance being made for this wastage of protein 
in metabolism, is known as the biological value. 

Prominent among investigations of the biological values of pro- 
teins, is the work of Thomas (4), reported 13 years ago, and still 
the most complete study of its kind. Thomas’ results are based 
upon nitrogen balance studies upon himself, and his biological values 
of the proteins tested express the number of parts of body protein 
replacable by 100 parts of digestible food protein. This method, 
therefore, measures the capacity of food proteins in replacing the 
nitrogenous constituents of the tissues disintegrated and lost in the 
so-called “ wear and tear” processes of the body, or, in the terms of 


PROTBINS IN THE DIET—MITCHELL 225 


Folin’s theory, the endogenous catabolism. Thomas has given to 
meat, milk, and fish, values approximating 100, indicating complete 
utilization of the absorbed nitrogen. On the other hand, to the pro- 
teins of corn and wheat have been given values of 30 and 40, 
respectively, while the proteins of rice, potatoes, and peas are graded 
88, 79, and 56, in order. Thus, according to Thomas, animal proteins 
are two to three times more valuable in adult nutrition than the 
cereal proteins. Attempts to confirm Thomas’ results have not been 
particularly successful, and several flaws can be found in the plan- 
ning of his experiments and in his method of selecting some results 
and discarding others in computing average biological values. The 
selection of some experimental results in preference to others is al- 
ways a hazardous undertaking. 

More recent determinations of the biological values of proteins 
have in general indicated smaller differences between animal and 
vegetable proteins than those shown by the results of Thomas. Mar- 
tin and Robison (5) in a recent report have given to wheat proteins 
a value of 35 and to milk proteins a value of only 51. In analogous 
experiments on pigs, McCollum (6) has found that at low levels of 
intake the nitrogen of corn, oats, and wheat seemed to be entirely 
utilized in the processes of repair. In later experiments (7) on 
growing pigs at higher levels of intake, results were obtained which, 
when recalculated according to the method of Thomas, give values 
of 42 to 48 for the proteins of corn, oats, and wheat, a value of 67 
for casein, and a value of 80 for the proteins of milk. Thus, ac- 
cording to these values, the cereal proteins do not seem to be so 
greatly inferior to milk proteins, even in growing animals, as the 
values of Thomas would indicate. The evidence obtained by Sher- 
man (8) in his experiments on the efficiency of diets consisting 
essentially of wheat bread or of corn meal or oatmeal supplemented 
by only small amounts of milk, also indicate a higher value for these 
proteins in adult nutrition than have generally been assigned to them. 

The work of Osborne and Mendel (9), using an entirely different 
method, also assigns to the cereal proteins values much nearer those 
of animal proteins than the work of Thomas. In work on growing 
rats, using rations complete in every respect except for the protein 
contained in them, they have expressed the relative values for growth 
of the proteins tested as the increase in weight (in a four or eight 
week period) per gram of protein consumed. For the proteins of 
barley, rye, oats, and wheat, average values of 1.4 to 1.9 grams of 
gain per gram of protein consumed were obtained. These values 
may be compared with values of 2.3 and 1.7 obtained for lactalbumin 
and casein, respectively, in eight-week feeding periods with rats of 


226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


comparable weight. Lactalbumin, when fed with certain nonprotein 
constituents of milk, as in these trials, has been found to be the 
most efficient protein of all those tested. On the other hand, for the 
endosperm proteins of wheat contained in patent white flour, the low 
value of 0.5 gram of gain per gram of protein consumed was ob- 
tained. In covering the maintenance requirement of the rat, however, 
these investigators (10) have shown that the endosperm proteins are 
just about as efficient as the proteins of the entire grain. 

In the last five years, at the Annual Nutrition Laboratory of the 
University of Illinois, we have conducted a large number of nitrogen 
balance studies on rats, designed to test the comparative value of 
the proteins from a number of foods. The results obtained have 
been used in the calculation of biological values entirely analogous 
to those of Thomas. We have found that when proteins are fed 
at a low level, 5 per cent or less of the ration, the utilization of the 
absorbed nitrogen is in general good regardless of the type of 
protein fed. The following values represent the average utiliza- 
tion of the absorbed nitrogen of different proteins in covering the 
nitrogenous requirements of the body when fed at a level permitting 
little or no growth. 


The biological value of proteins fed at a 5 per cent level 


Vea eve tee ew vg re el Td Ferd ba 97 ri Cotontt zas52 Fret pti! ooeey ee 77 
AYE ey AWA St els peat ee, Ba cies i eldeleee gee ee 03>), COMNT 22 a8%. es ee ee 72 
Je (oyety eBid CAS eo at A RS SLUT bie tes G2 Soy. Deane oe oe ee a ee 73 
Ricesttd 3’ sib cere Fe Sept tees 86 ‘{jCasein't 4 ore) wy (p fare gy oer ees (gl 
PEIN ys eee ee ee ee ee 80 | POtCHIG. 22 te Pee eee 68 
ees ee eee) MS oy a sees 79 | Navy bean (cooked) ______-__.___ 29 


These figures may be taken as representing the values of the 
digestible nitrogen from the different foods in repairing the damages 
that the tissues sustain in the course of their endogenous catabolism, 
whatever the nature and purpose of that process may be. Too much 
significance, of course, should not be attached to the small differences 
between adjacent figures in the table, although differences of 10 or 
more are probably significant. Each figure is the average of dupli- 
cate determinations (seven-day balance periods) on four or more rats. 
With the exception of the proteins of the white or navy bean, the 
proteins of the foods examined all seemed to be fairly well utilized. 
The superiority of the proteins of milk and beef was to be expected. 
though the high value of the proteins of rice and oats was a matter 
of surprise. In some individual tests the proteins of rice (brown, 
unpolished) seemed to be completely utilized. The relative in- 
feriority of casein depends upon its low cystine content, since, by 
the addition of cystine, its utilization could be raised above 95 per 
cent. 


PROTEINS IN THE DIET—MITCHELL 227 


When fed at a level of 8 to 10 per cent, thus permitting a more 
or less rapid growth, the proteins of the feeds examined arrange 
themselves in the following order: 


The biological value of proteins fed at a level of 8 to 10 per cent 


\iGiilt Senet ets # Se Quests erm rte ate Lae Sas i Oatebatee pt hte rrp es ee he See S 
1, | ga eS ae rea eee oe 85. Soy. Weal 2. aw oo = oe a 64 
Beef : POtdat0s ee eee de “os eh mS 67 

Se pericenitil ee firs maarres aes =* (GSP. |p Alfeltn (cect Se oben ee a he we ae 62 

TOs Der: Ceney 2 GS. Corte s28o 5 2s ee a ee Se 60 
Rice. Draws See ee se Ci" COCONUG Hare ee eee 58 
Wen Sta RoCts 200 periss <tr, Bett ee 67 | Navy bean (cooked) ~---—~------~- 38 
COnOn SCC Cet es a GGoU Tanke 2 Cals ta ae ee 31 


Even at this level the differences in nutritive value of proteins do 
not seem to be extreme, if the proteins of the navy bean and of the 
packing house by-product known as tankage are disregarded. The 
differences among the biological values of these 13 protein mix- 
tures are no wider than differences in their digestibility. ‘The 
rather distinct drop in the value of beef proteins between the 8 and 
10 per cent level, we can not explain. Our work with veal seems 
to indicate a slight superiority of its proteins over those of beet, 
beth for maintenance and growth. We are at present extending 
this study to the proteins of pork and mutton. Results on two rats 
with rice proteins at a level of 8 per cent, for two seven-day periods 
each, consistently indicated a utilization of 85, but until further work 
has been done on this cereal, we do not feel sufficient confidence in 
this figure to include it with the others in the table. Unfortunately 
no tests have been made upon the proteins of wheat as yet, though 
experiments are now under way to supply this deficiency. 

The experimental work just reviewed indicates rather definitely 
the superiority of meat and milk proteins over vegetable proteins. 
However, the differences between the two class of proteins are not so 
great as to constitute a weighty argument favoring animal foods, 
nor, with few exceptions, are the differences between the vegetable 
proteins studied of any great moment. The tendency of this in- 
vestigation, and of others of recent date, is to minimize the dif- 
ferences existing among the protein values of the staple foods of tha 
American diet. However, the biological value of the proteins of 
the milled flours in promoting growth is undoubtedly distinctly 
lower than that of the entire grains. 

An extensive investigation of the biological values of the proteins 
of foods has recently been published by McCollum and associates 
(11), using a method worked out at Johns Hopkins University. In 
this investigation the food studied was fed in a ration satisfactory 
in respect to all food factors known, except for a possible deficiency 
of protein, which was entirely supplied by the food in question. 


228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The protein concentration of the rations was presumably sub- 
optimal in all cases, so that, except for protein mixtures of good 
quality, the growth curve of the rats, serving as experimental sub- 
jects, was submaximal. ‘Thus, the extent of retardation of growth 
was taken as an index to the extent to which the quality of any 
mixture of proteins fell below that of the best combinations previ- 
ously discovered. This information was supplemented by observa- 
tions of the animals throughout their reproductive period relative 
to fertility, infant mortality, and the appearance of senility, as 
weil as observations of successive generations on the same diet. These 
observations on the maternal functions figured largely in the final 
judgment of the relative values of the proteins studied. 

According to these experiments, the foods studied arrange them- 
selves in decreasing order of the biological value of their proteins 
according to the following scheme: (1) Beef kidney; (2) wheat; 
(3) milk, beef liver; (4) beef muscle, barley, rye; (5) corn, oats; 
(6) soy beans, navy beans, peas. 

It will be observed that the proteins of wheat are assigned a higher 
value than the proteins of milk or of meat, while the proteins of 
barley and rye are placed on a par with the proteins of meat. These 
relations are quite contrary to those indicated by other less compre- 
hensive methods of research. One naturally raises the question 
whether the method used by McCollum is entirely equivalent to the 
methods previously used. To us there is little doubt but that 
simple growth experiments and nitrogen balance studies, conducted 
under proper conditions, can give reliable information of the 
chemical adequacy of proteins for the purposes of maintenance and 
of growth. To account for failures in the proper performance of 
the maternal functions, and for nutritive failures in the second and 
third generations, by reference solely to the source of protein in 
the diet, no matter how complete the diet may seem to be in other 
factors, is, we believe, equivalent to assuming that our present knowl- 
edge of nutritive requirements is complete. I doubt whether such 
an assumption is entirely justified. The more favorable results ob- 
tained with the wheat ration than with the milk or meat rations, 
may be related to the amount of food consumed rather than to its 
composition. 

The measurements of the biological values of proteins may be 
combined with the measurements of protein digestibility to give 
what may be called the “net” protein content of a food. For ex- 
ample, if a cut of beef contains 20 per cent of protein of which 95 
per cent is digestible, it would contain 19 per cent of digestible pro- 
tein. Now if only 80 per cent of the digestible protein could be 


PROTEINS IN THE DIET—MITCHELL 229 


used to cover the protein requirements of the body, at ordinary 
levels of protein intake, then the meat could be said to contain 19 
.80=15.2 per cent of “net protein.” Similarly with corn contain- 
ing 10 per cent of protein, of which 85 per cent is digestible, 58 
per cent of the digestible protein being utilizable for structural 
purposes, the “net protein” content would be 10.85x.58=4.93 
per cent. Navy beans with 22 per cent of protein, of which 80 
per cent is digestible, and of the latter only 38 per cent is available 
for the repair and growth of the protein tissues, would contain 
only 6.69 per cent of net protein. Navy beans, therefore, are not 
as valuable a source of protein as their high content in this nutrient 
would lead one to expect. 

Unfortunately, in the balancing of dietaries, the protein factor 
can not be so simply assessed, because of the supplementary action 
of one protein upon another. The value of a protein in the diet 
depends not only upon its own inherent value, but upon its ability 
to enhance the value of other proteins. Several proteins have been 
shown to possess the property of correcting the chemical deficiencies 
of other proteins, so that a mixture of two proteins may have a 
greater biological value than the mean value of the proteins them- 
selves. As an illustration of this supplementing effect of proteins, 
we may cite an experiment on corn proteins, skim’ milk proteins, 
and a mixture of the two in the proportion of 3 of corn protein to 
1 of milk protein. The average biological value of the corn pro- 
tein was 61, of the milk proteins 84, and of the mixture, 75, all 
rations containing 10 per cent of protein. Now the weighted mean 
of the values for corn and milk in the ratio of 3 to 1 is 67. The 
difference between the mean value, 67, and the value actually ob- 
tained, 75, represents the supplementing action of the milk proteins. 
A more striking instance yet is afforded by a mixture of corn pro- 
teins and tankage proteins. Alone, these proteins were found to 
have values of 61 and 33, respectively. Fed in the proportion of 
3 to 1, the mixture was found to have a value of 65, higher than 
that for corn proteins alone. 

Recent work indicates that while vegetable proteins do not in 
general supplement each other effectively, the proteins of milk, 
meat, and eggs do exhibit marked supplementary properties, thus 
giving to animal foods a twofold importance in dietetics. When 
it is considered in this connection that on the average some 48 per 
cent of the protein of the American diet is derived from milled 
cereals, and almost 9 per cent from legumes, making 52 per cent 
of proteins of exceptionally low biological value for growth, the 
importance of animal proteins in the diet is obvious, particularly 


230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19238 


for children and convalescents. It is perhaps no exaggeration to 
say that the importance of animal proteins in the diet resides as 
much in their capacity of supplementing cereal and legume proteins 
as in their own excellence. 

As mentioned above, our nitrogen balance data indicate a better 
utilization of protein the lower the level at which it is fed, until at 
the maintenance level proteins, with few exceptions, are all well 
utilized. Confirmation of this view may be found in the work of 
Osborne and Mendel. A practical corollary following from this 
statement is that with adult animals, to which high protein diets 
are not essential, the kind of protein consumed would seem to be 
largely a matter of indifference. For men, the protein minimum is 
something like 30 grams per day for a man of average weight. 
Such a man consumes, however, close to 100 grams of protein per 
day, so that even though the digestibility and the quality of the 
dietary protein were relatively poor, there would be little danger of 
a protein deficiency if the values given above are correct. If the 
man were consuming even much less protein than 100 grams, there 
would be a tendency for the smaller amounts to be digested more 
completely and subsequently utilized more completely in metabolism, 
so that here also the danger of a protein deficiency would seem to 
be remote. The theory that pellagra is a disease involving pri- 
marily a deficiency of protein, therefore, finds no support from 
such considerations. These statements assume, of course, that the 
satisfaction of protein requirements is simply a matter involving 
the chemical adequacy of the dietary proteins and the amount 
consumed. 

Obviously, with growing children and nursing mothers, the qual- 
ity and quantity of protein consumed is a matter of far greater 
moment, and until reliable information as to protein requirements 
in such cases is at hand, the safe procedure would be to provide 
liberally with proteins of good quality and of good supplementing 
capacities. Such proteins are contained in milk, meat, fish, and 
eggs. The presence of these foods in the diet will permit the use 
of considerable amounts of other foods whose proteins are poor in 
quality and low in concentration, without reducing the net value of 
the mixed proteins of the diet to the danger point. The legumes, 
with the exception of soy beans, while high in protein, are not suit- 
able foods for this purpose, on account of the relatively low value 
of their proteins, both as regards digestibility and subsequent utiliza- 
tion. With beans, again excepting the soy bean, the amino acid 
cystine seems to be the factor limiting the biological value. One 
would expect, therefore, that meat proteins or egg proteins, com- 


PROTEINS IN THE DIET—MITCHELL yop 


paratively rich in sulphur, would supplement the proteins of beans 
better than milk proteins, since casein, the main protein of milk, is 
known to be very poor in respect to its content of cystine. Recently 
the value of the proteins of nuts has been demonstrated (12). Their 
high content of protein, of fairly high digestibility and apparently 
of good biological value, should commend them as a good source of 
dietary protein. 

Any complete survey of the place of proteins in the diet must 
include some consideration of the conclusion so frequently expressed, 
that protein consumed in amounts much above the actual require- 
ments of the body may exert harmful physiological effects. In sup- 
port of this conclusion, reference is often made to the well-known 
work of Chittenden on the low protein dietary. However, in these 
classical experiments, the absence of control groups maintained upon 
the usual level of protein renders questionable the deduction that the 
observed benefits of the low protein dietaries adopted were due 
solely, if at all, to the reduction in protein intake. In fact, the 
recent success of McCollum in raising rats on diets containing as 
high as 70 per cent of protein certainly is a strong argument against 
ascribing to protein deleterious physiological effects when fed even 
in great excess. Several instances in recorded human experience 
may be cited to the same purpose. However, while it is probably 
true that protein may be indulged in to great excess without any 
immediate ill effects, or even with no pronounced ill effects at all, 
the wisdom of so doing may be questioned. The comfort of an in- 
dividual, as well as his mental and physical efficiency, are undoubt- 
edly adversely affected under certain conditions by a high-protein 
dietary. The degree and type of activity of the individual should 
- be considered, and the protein intake graded in direct proportion to 
the muscular activity. The well-known stimulating action of pro- 
tein foods on metabolism probably is related to vitality and stamina, 
and should be numbered among the favorable effects of protein as 
a nutrient. At the same time the pronounced heating effect of pro- 
tein, associated with its stimulating action on metabolism, will 
naturally and rightly lead to a seasonal variation in the popularity 
of protein-rich foods. 

This abbreviated consideration of the importance of protein in 
the dietary, involving a study of the waste incidental to its utiliza- 
tion by the body, its proper function in the body, and its physiologi- 
cal effects, illustrates how complicated the problem of protein re- 
quirements has become and how difficult it is to make hard and fast 
recommendations. In pedagogy the subject of protein requirements 
is still the despair of the teacher of the physiology of nutrition. 


232 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


REFERENCES 


1. J. Biol. Chem., 1911, x, 303, 339, 345, 433; ibid, 1912 xi, 1, 5. 
ai J. Biol. Chem., 1921, xlvi, 9; ibid, xlvii, 285; Amer. J. Physiol., 1921, lvi, 
205. 
. J. Biol. Chem., 1920, xlii, 27; ibid, 1922, lii, 251. 
. Arch., Anat. u. Physiol., Physiol. Abt., 1909, 219. 
. Biochem, J., 1922, xvi, 407. 
. Amer. J. Physiol., 1911, xxix, 210. 
. J. Biol. Chem., 1914, xix, 323. 
. J. Biol. Chem., 1920, xli, 97. 
. J. Biol. Chem., 1920, xli, 275. 
10. J. Biol. Chem., 1919, xxxvii, 557. 
11. J. Biol. Chem., 1921, xlvii, 11, 189, 175, 207, and 235. 
12. J. Biol. Chem., 1920, xliii, 583; ibid, 1921, xlix, 389; J. Home Ecom., 
1918, x, 304. 


(OAD OP OO 


THE STORY OF THE PRODUCTION AND USES OF 
DUCTILE TANTALUM? 


By CLARENCE W. BALKE 
Fansteel Products Co. (Inc.) 


In the year 1801, Hatchett discovered the oxide of a new metal in 
a black mineral which he obtained from the British Museum. He 
named the metal columbium and the mineral columbite, because the 
mineral originally came from Massachusetts. A year later Eckeberg 
made a similar discovery while working with some new minerals from 
Sweden, and he named the new metal which he discovered tantalum. 
Subsequently, a number of other investigators announced the discov- 
ery of new metals in tantalum- and columbium-bearing ores which 
were all shown to be mixtures of these two, and in 1866 Marignac de- 
veloped his classical method for their separation, which depends upon 
the difference in solubility of their double fluorides with potassium. 

The first mention of tantalum in the metallic form is that obtained 
by Berzelius. In 1824 he obtained a very impure product, containing 
not over 60 per cent of metal and having a specific gravity of 10, 
by reducing potassium tantalum fluoride with potassium. In 1902, 
Moissan produced a very hard and brittle form of tantalum high 
in carbon and having a specific gravity of about 12.8. In 1903, Dr. 
W. von Bolton, working in Germany, developed a process for the pro- 
duction of tantalum of sufficient purity to make it possible to produce 
drawn filament wire for incandescent lamps, and during the years 
1905 to 1911 probably over 100,000,000 of these lamps were produced. 
This material as a filament wire was then replaced by tungsten. 

About 20 years ago the writer became interested in these elements and 
devoted a number of years to the study of their various compounds 
and to the determination of their atomic weights. More recently, be- 
lieving in the commercial value of this metal, an investigation was 
befun with the idea of producing the metal in commercial quantities. 
During the present year this investigation was brought to a successful 
conclusion, and it is now possible to produce tantalum characterized 
by high purity and capable of being worked into sheet, rod, or wire. 


OCCURRENCE OF TANTALUM 


The elements tantalum and columbium are usually found associated 
with each other in their ores. The most important minerals contain- 
ing these elements are columbite and tantalite, which are really 


1Paper, slightly abridged, presented at the Richmond meeting of the American In- 
stitute of Chemical Engineers, Dec. 6—9, 1922. Reprinted by permission from Chemical 
and Metallurgical Engineering, Dec. 27, 1922. 


233 


234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


iron salts of columbic and tantalic acids. Usually a part of the iron 
is replaced by manganese, and small amounts of titanium, tin, and 
tungsten are almost always present. To lesser extent it occurs with 
rare earths in samarskite and other minerals. ‘ 

For the production of metallic tantalum, tantalite is the most 
desirable ore and should contain at least 60 per cent of the oxide 
and only a few per cent of columbium oxide. 

The first step involved in the production of metallic tantalum is the 
extraction of pure compounds of tantalum from the mineral tantalite. 
This involves the separation of the columbium which may be present. 

There are a number of methods available with which to attack 
this ore. As the most suitable method for the separation of tantalum 
from columbium is through the difference in solubility of the potas- 
sium double fluorides, the method employed should be directed to- 
ward the easiest method of: production of these compounds. The 
pulverized ore may be fused with potassium bisulphate. On leach- 
ing this fusion, the acids of tantalum and columbium remain insolu- 
ble and can be dissolved in hydrofluoric acid and treated with potas- 
sium fluoride, or the mineral may be fused with acid ammonium 
fluoride and the tantalum precipitated from the solution of the melt 
by means of potassium fluoride. 

A method which is more easily carried out on a large scale is the 
fusion of the finely pulverized ore with potassium hydroxide, which 
converts the tantalum and columbium into soluble columbates and 
tantalates. The filtered solution containing these salts may be 
treated with a mineral acid, preferably nitric or sulphuric acid, 
which precipitates the insoluble acids of tantalum and columbium. 
After washing, these are dissolved in hydrofluoric acid and the solu- 
tion is treated with sufficient potassium fluoride to produce the 
double fluorides K,TaF, and K,CbOF;H,O. These two salts are 
readily separated by crystallization, inasmuch as the columbium salt 
is about 12 times as soluble as the tantalum double fluoride. 

The oxide of tantalum can be produced from this double fluoride 
by treating the solution of the salt with ammonia, and precipitating 
the acid, which can be washed and then ignited to oxide. 


PRODUCTION OF METALLIC TANTALUM 


It is perfectly evident at the present time that the early attempts 
to produce metallic tantalum, involving such methods as the reduc- 
tion of the oxide with carbon in an electric furnace, the reduction 
of tantalum oxide with aluminum by the Thermit process, or the 
reduction of the oxide by means of misch metal (mixed cerium earth 
metal), could not have given a product characterized by any degree 
of purity, and most certainly a metal which could not be subjected 
to any mechanical working. 


TANTALUM—BALKE Dib 


Metallic tantalum powder can be produced by the reduction of the 
double fluoride with metallic sodium or potassium. It is impossible 
by this process to produce a powder characterized by high purity. 
For best results by this method the reaction should be carried out 
in a vacuum, the boats or crucibles containing the mixture of 
double fluoride and metallic sodium or potassium being placed in 
a tube or furnace which can be evacuated before the mixture is raised 
to the reaction temperature. 

The product from this reaction can be treated with water and 
mineral acids in order to free the metal powder as completely as 
possible from adhering salt and other impurities. This powder is 
then compressed into bars and subjected to heat treatment and 
_ finally fusion in a vacuum furnace, the high temperature of fusion 
eliminating the impurities which may be present. If this process 
has been completely successful, the fused metal will be found to be 
ductile and susceptible to mechanical working. 

The most characteristic chemical property of tantalum is its un- 
usual resistance to chemical corrosion. It is not attacked by hydro- 
chloric or nitric acids or by aqua regia, either hot or cold. It is not 
attacked by dilute sulphuric acid at ordinary or more elevated tem- 
peratures, but appears to be slowly attacked by boiling concentrated 
sulphuric acid. Solutions of caustic alkalis do not attack the metal. 
Hydrofluoric acid seems to be the only chemical agent which will 
attack it, and in the case of very pure metal and very pure hydro- 
fluoric acid the action is very slow. A mixture of hydrofluoric and 
nitric acids will attack the metal with avidity, causing it to go into 
solution as tantalum fluoride. 

If tantalum is heated in the air, the surface becomes blue at a 
temperature of about 400° C., and at a somewhat higher temperature 
nearly black. Above a dull red heat the white oxide is produced and 
the metal gradually burns. This metal combines with avidity 
with hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen. It will take up seven hundred 
and forty times its own volume of hydrogen, producing a very coarse- 
grained brittle product. 

Tantalum containing dissolved gases will be harder than the pure 
metal, and if their quantity is appreciable the metal may even be 
brittle, so that all annealing or heating operations with tantalum 
must be carried out in a vacuum. Tantalum burns readily when 
heated in chlorine gas, producing the volatile pentachloride. Solu- 
tions of chlorine, however, are without any action on the metal. 
Tantalum is not affected by any of the chemicals or antiseptics used 
in dentistry or surgery, probably without exception. 


PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TANTALUM 


It has been possible to produce metallic tantalum of an exceedingly 
high degree of purity, and to produce it in commercial quantities, 


236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


having a purity of at least 99.5. The pure worked material resem- 
bles platinum very much in color and appearance. Its melting point 
may at present be taken as 2,850° C. The specific gravity of the 
worked metal is 16.6. The pure metal is characterized by toughness 
and by its great ductility and malleability. 

It has been found possible to reduce a bar of tantalum about three- 
eighths inch in diameter to wire of only a few mils in diameter 
without any intermediate heating to the annealing or equiaxing 
temperature, although the material is subject to strain hardening, re- 
sembling the more common metals such as silver or copper in this 
respect. Tantalum, however, resembles tungsten and molybdenum 
in that they may all be worked severely at temperatures below their 
equiaxing temperatures. Copper and silver may be worked at room 
temperature, but these metals become quite rapidly strain-hardened 
so that a further reduction makes it necessary to anneal the metal. 
Tungsten and molybdenum must be worked at elevated temperatures 
in the early stages, and if they are to be worked at room tempera-_ 
ture in the finer sizes any operation corresponding to ordinary an- 
nealing must be avoided. Tantalum may be worked at room tem- 
perature to a remarkable extent without annealing. 

The tensile strength of drawn tantalum wire may reach 130,000 
pounds, which is considerably more than that of hard drawn copper, 
nickel, or platinum, but less than that of molybdenum or tungsten. 

The linear coefficient of expansion is more than that of molybde- 
num or tungsten and only slightly less than platinum. For this 
reason it is possible to seal tantalum into glass. 


Tungsten | Tantalum a Platinum | Copper Nickel 
DDensitves 2 oboe oe es 19.6 16.6 10.2 21.4 8.80 8. 84 
Atomic value. _- 2-2 -—------ 9.4 10.9 SL ie Soma ra ee a Rene antes ee 


Tensile strength, lb. per sq. in- 490, 000 130, 000 260, 000 | 
Compressibility, kg. per sq. 


ern! Ree ss He Pee Sear 0. 2810-6 | 0.50X10-6 | 0.47X10-8 |______---_-- 076X100; Poa ee es 
Young’s modulus of elasticity, 

Ker por sd. Mil 2.2 cesses = 42, 000 19,000 [6222 hence ane ae teeter ens 22, 000 
Melting point, deg. C-_-------- 3, 350 2, 770 2, 550 1, 755 1, 083 1, 452 
Bolling point; dees © 22225 2. ee eS ee ee ee 3, 617 3, 907 2310) |. 2 eee 
Specific heat, cal. per gram per 

dept 2: Ste ae ost es 0. 034 0. 0365 0. 072 0. 0323 0. 0936 0. 1084 
Linear coefficient of expansion 

Derdep, Os-cosose nce. see ee 4.3X10-6 | 7.910 | 5. 1510-8 | 8.84106 |_______-___- 1310-4 
Thermal cond. in cal. per ec_-- 0. 35 0. 130 0. 346 0. 1664 0. 7198 0. 140 
Temp. coefficient of expansion. 0. 0051 0. 00335 0. 005 0. 0039 0. 00393 0. 0066 
Electric resistance, microhm 

per cc. at 25 deg. annealed__- 5.2 14.6 4.8 9. 97 1, 87 6.4 


1 Hard. 2 Annealed. 


TANTALUM—BALKE 237 


The electrical resistance is quite high, about eight times that of 
copper and about three time that of tungsten. The accompanying 
table gives the physical properties of tantalum as far as they are 
at present known, and also those of a number of other metals in com- 
parison. 


HIGH CHEMICAL RESISTIVITY GIVES IT MANY USES 


In considering the possible uses for this metal we must take into 
account its high melting point, its resistance to chemical corrosion, 
and its tendency to absorb all of the common gases. We must also 
remember that we are limited by its relatively low temperature of 
oxidation. Tantalum seems to be a very desirable metal for the 
manufacture of certain dental instruments and dental spatulas, and 
undoubtedly for other dental and surgical tools or instruments. The 
metal is not attacked by any of the antiseptics or chemicals used 
and can be readily sterilized by heat. A surface film of hard ma- 
terial about as hard as agate can be produced on the metal by proper 
heat treatment. It will probably be found possible to harden the 
material throughout, thus combining all the advantages of tem- 
pered steel with absolute chemical inertness. 

It has been suggested for use in the manufacture of pens and 
analytical weights. Its use in chemical laboratories and in the 
chemical industries as containers, parts of pumps, and other equip- 
ment will undoubtedly depend upon the cost at which the metal can 
ultimately be produced. 

Tantalum is suitable for cathodes in electrochemical analysis. In 
some respects it is more suitable than platinum. For instance, zinc 
may be plated directly upon the tantalum, as it does not alloy with 
the metal. Gold or platinum can be deposited upon the metal, as 
they can be removed by aqua regia without attacking the electrode. 

Undoubtedly tantalum in the form of sheet, wire, or ribbon will 
find application in the manufacture of radio sending and receiving 
tubes. The property of tantalum of absorbing gases would seem 
to make the metal its own “ getter ” in vacuum tubes, and would tend 
to maintain the high vacuum required, particularly in the sending 
tubes. It would seem that some part of the lamp made of tantalum 
could be so constructed that at all times a portion of the metal 
would be at the proper temperature to absorb gas and would, there- 
fore, tend to maintain a vacuum equilibrium within the bulb. 


USE OF TANTALUM AS AN ELECTROLYTIC VALVE 


Tantalum has interesting possibilities on account of its property 
of acting as an electrolytic valve. 

If two plates of bright tantalum metal are placed in an electro- 
lyte and the two plates connected to an electric battery, there is an 


938 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


instantaneous flow of current similar to that between plates of the 
better known metals. Within a few seconds the current flow will 
drop to a very small comparative value, providing the battery volt- 
age is not too high. The order of the current flow will become that 
of 1 milliampere and less with impressed direct current voltage up to 
75 volts, when sulphuric acid of the strength ordinarily used for stor- 
age batteries is the electrolyte. This drop in current flow will be 
accompanied by the formation of a film on the tantalum anode, pre- 
sumably of tantalum oxide. This film often shows beautiful irides- 
cent colors. 

Tf a tantalum plate and a lead plate are placed in an electrolyte and 
a source of alternating current of the usual commercial frequency is 
connected to the tantalum and lead plates, the current flow in one 
direction will be almost entirely shut off and a pulsating direct cur- 
rent will be obtained. In such a set-up this flow of current is ac- 
companied by electrolytic action with evolution of hydrogen gas at 
the tantalum and oxygen at the lead. The action of the tantalum 
is, therefore, such that electrons are permitted to flow from the tan- 
talum to release hydrogen ions but are prevented from passing from 
oxygen ions into the tantalum. 

The current derived from this apparatus may be utilized for charg- 
ing storage batteries, for the electro-deposition of metals, and vari- 
ous other electrochemical actions requiring a direct current. 

It is possible, by using two tantalum electrodes in a single cell, 
so to rectify the current that both half waves of alternating current 
pass in the same direction. This current may be smoothed out by 
a suitable series of inductances and capacities to give what is prac- 
tically a constant direct current. 

The efficiency of tantalum as a valve with respect to leakage of the 
current varies with the impressed voltage, with the electrolyte, cur- 
rent density, etc. Due to the fact that tantalum is very inert toward 
the chemical action of solutions, there is a wide choice of electrolytes 
and the life of the tantalum appears practically unlimited. 

For a charging set-up with a 6 to 8 volt battery the energy effi- 
ciency is approximately 3314 per cent, which compares favorably 
with rectifiers of the hot and cold electrode type and the mechanically 
vibrating rectifiers. 

The tantalum battery charging rectifier is noiseless in operation, 
has no moving parts, and requires attention in only one matter, which 
it has in common with the storage battery itself—that of distilled 
water being added to replace evaporated and decomposed water of 
the electrolyte. 

In addition to functioning directly as a rectifier for obtaining con- 
tinuous current, apparatus built along similar principles may be 


—_— see 


TANTALUM—BALKE 239 


used for electrolytic condensers and electrolytic detectors and pos- 
sibly lightning arresters. 

Among other metals which have this property of valve action 
more or less in common with tantalum are magnesium and aluminum. 
However, owing to the ready susceptibility of both these metals to 
chemical corrosion, they have not proved very suitable as sources 
of direct current. Condensers and lightning arresters for high po- 
tential transmission lines are commercially used with aluminum 
plates. 


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THE COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH’S INTERIOR’ 


By L. H. ApAms and HE. D. WILLIAMSON 
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington 


Curiosity is one of the dominant characteristics of man. From 
early childhood he seems impelled to examine every object within 
his reach and when possible to open it up to see what makes the 
wheels go ’round. But the urge which led Pandora so deeply 
into trouble is, in another aspect, called science, and provides the 
mainspring for the procurement and classification of facts. Scien- 
tific investigation is merely a manifestation of curiosity concerning 
those things which we see or know about but do not understand. 

It is only natural that the internal constitution of the globe 
upon which we live should excite our curiosity. Although the 
diameter of the earth is 8,000 miles, the deepest borings have pene- 
trated down to a depth of little more than 1 mile; it is as if a sphere 
the size of an orange were inhabited by diminutive beings who 
had explored their globe only at the surface and to a depth of 
one-fourth the thickness of the paper on which these words are 
written. The inaccessibility of the earth’s interior, and the appar- 
ently insuperable difficulties which are presented, only serve to 
sharpen our zeal for finding out something about it. Nowadays we 
are becoming more accustomed to investigate things which can 
not be seen, and in this paper it is hoped to show what can be 
learned of the earth’s interior, even though it be beyond the reach 
of direct observation. 

The principal sources of information concerning the interior of 
the earth are as follows: (1) The constant of gravitation, from 
which the total mass and average density of the earth are deter- 
mined; (2) the constant of precession and other astronomic and 
geodetic data from which the moments of inertia of the earth may 
be calculated, the moment of inertia allowing important inferences 
to be drawn concerning the density distribution within the earth; 
(3) the known flattening of the earth, as determined from the 
data of geodesy, with which any assumed distribution of mate- 


1The substance of this paper appeared, under the title ‘“‘ Density distribution in the 
earth,” in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences (vol» 13, 413-428, 1923) 
just before Mr. Williamson’s death. The paper is now being republished, with slight 
rearrangement and with minor additions. 


241 


242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


rials must harmonize; and (4) seismologic data from which the 
elastic constants of the materials in the interior may be computed. 
These facts, together with the elastic constants of various rocks as 
measured by the authors,? provide the basis for the present estimate 
of the density and composition of the earth at various depths. 

The bearing of the above classes of data on the constitution of 
the earth’s interior will first be discussed briefly. 


MEAN DENSITY OF THE EARTH 


The constant of gravitation from direct experimental observation 
is known to be 6.66 X10—® cm/g.-sec.?._ This fixes the average density 
of the earth at 5.52; that is, the earth is five and one-half times as 
heavy as an equal bulk of water. This fact alone allows certain 
qualitative inferences to be drawn concerning the interior. The 
average density of the surface rocks is about 2.7 and no ordinary 
rock has a dénsity much above 8; therefore in all probability the 
density near the center must be considerably higher than 5.5 in order 
that the average density of the whole earth may have the correct 
value. The precise manner in which the density varies with depth 
and the magnitude of the central density are questions which long ago 
attracted the attention of geophysicists. Several empirical laws have 
been proposed for representing the density at a given distance from 
the center of the Earth. Among the best known are those of 
Laplace * and of Roche,‘ either of which, with an assumed surface 
density 2.7, indicates that the central density is somewhat above 10. 
These empirical “ laws,” of course, can not be expected to give a true 
representation of density in the interior; the supposed continuity of 
density change from the surface to the center, and the magnitudes 
of the densities at various depths, rest upon insecure hypotheses. 
Yet it is an interesting circumstance that either law, as will be 
shown later, affords a rough qualitative indication of the earth’s 
density at various depths. 

The high density at the center obviously may be due either to the 
presence of heavier material, presumably iron or nickel-iron, or to 
a diminution of volume by the tremendous pressure existing at 
great depths—or both factors may enter. It has often been as- 
sumed that the increase of density with depth is merely the result 
of the compressibility of the homogenous material. If this were true, 
Laplace’s law, for example, could be used to calculate the compressi- 


2 Journ. Franklin Inst. 195, 475-529. 1923. 
x in which p is the density at 
any distance r from the center, po is the central density, and g is a constant determined by the known total 
mass of the earth. ba 

‘ The law of Roche is p=po (1—kr?), in which k is a constant which also can be determined from the earth’s 
total mass or mean density. 


3 Laplace’s equation, also derived independently by Legendre, is p=po 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—-ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 243 


bility of the earth at the surface and in the interior, and there would 
be no need to postulate a heavy material at the center, the earth, on 
this basis, consisting throughout of silicate rock like that found at 
the surface. There is no a priori reason why this could not be so, 
but clearly other lines of evidence must be examined before an 
answer to this question can be secured. 


MOMENT OF INERTIA OF THE EARTH 


It is obvious that for a given mass (or for a given mean density) 
the moment of inertia depends on the distribution of density *; e. g., 
if there is heavy material at the center and light material at the 
surface the moment of inertia would be considerably less than if the 
central density were smaller than that of the surface. 

It is interesting in this connection to recall the old puzzle “ How to 
distinguish between two hollow shells, one of gold, the other of silver, 
if their diameters and masses be alike, and both pairited.”* Since 
gold is denser than silver, the volume of the gold shell is less than 
that of the silver shell, and therefore, on the whole, its mass is 
farther from the center and its moment of inertia greater. Hence 
to decide which is the gold and which the silver sphere, it suffices 
to compare their moments of inertia. This may be done by allowing 
them to roll down a rough plane, whereupon the gold sphere will 
move at the slower speed. In an analogous manner, the moment of 
inertia of the earth may be used to decide which of two proposed 
distributions of matter within the earth is the more plausible. The 
moment of inertia itself is not sufficient to fix the density distribu- 
tion; it can be used, however, as an important check on a density 
curve deduced from other considerations. The moment of inertia of 
the earth about the polar axis is known to be close to 8.0610" 
g.-cm?. Since the moment about the equatorial axis differs from 
that about the polar axis by only one-third of 1 per cent, very little 
error is introduced by dealing with a sphere of radius equal to the 
mean radius of the earth and having a moment of inertia equal to the 
value just mentioned. 

The moment of inertia of the earth if of uniform density from 
surface to center would be 9.710“, significantly higher than the true 
value. In other terms, the moment of inertia of the earth is that 
of a homogeneous sphere of density 4.6. From this fact, also, fol- 
lows the qualitative conclusion that in general the density must in- 

6 The moment of inertia of a sphere with its mass symetrically distributed about the center is 
| O=Te f oar) 
in which p is the density at distance r from the center. For a homogeneous sphere this becomes 


Cet prs=0.4 Mr 
M being the total mass. 
6 See P. G. Tait, Dynamics, London, 1895, 


244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


crease toward the center, in harmony with the inference already 
drawn from the high density of the earth as a whole. 


THE ELLIPTICITY OF THE EARTH 


‘I'he earth, as is well known, is not a true sphere, but is flattened at 
{he poles, approximating very closely to an ellipsoid of revolution. 
The ellipticity, or flattening, is about 1/297; that is, the polar diame- 
ter is 1/297 less than the equatorial diameter. Now the amount of 
of this flattening depends upon the way in which the density varies 
within the earth. Thus, if the earth were of uniform density the 
flattening would be 1/232. But although it might seem that the 
flattening would provide an independent means for determining the 
density distribution within the earth, it so happens that a distribu- 
tion which will satisfy the moments of inertia about the two axes 
will yield almost exactly the right value for the ellipticity.’ 


TRANSMISSION OF EARTHQUAKE WAVES 


Perhaps the most useful source of information concerning the 
earth’s interior is furnished by the velocities with which earthquake 
shocks are transmitted through the earth. It has been shown from 
the theory of elasticity that any disturbance in a sphere of elastic 
isotropic material should give rise to various kinds of waves travel- 
ing with velocities depending only on the density and elastic con- 
stants of the material at each point. Waves of two of these kinds 
would pass through the sphere, while the others, which are less 
simple to analyze, would travel over the surface. A seismograph 
recording the time of arrival of the various waves at some other 
point would show the arrival first of the two waves passing through 
the earth and later that of the various surface ones. One of the 
“through waves” consists of transverse vibrations, while the other 
consists of longitudinal vibrations and travels with a higher ve- 
locity.« These through waves should theoretically be easily dis- 
tinguished from the surface waves by the circumstance that their 
apparent velocity (i. e., the velocity obtained by comparing their 
times of arrival at various points on the surface with the corre- 
ponding distances from the origin) should vary with the distance, 
whereas the velocity of the surface waves should be constant. The 
records of earthquakes as obtained by sensitive seismographs reveal 
these expected features, and we may with considerable confidence 
use the theoretical relations between velocities and elastic constants 
to calculate the rigidity and the compressibility of the material 


7Of. W. D. Lambert, The internal constitution of the earth. Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci., 10,127. 1920. 
8The velocities of the transverse and longitudinal waves are respectively: Vs=VRip and Ve= 
V(E+4R93)/p, p being the density, F the rigidity, and K the bulk modulus. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—-ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 245 


far within the earth. The data obtained from seismograms, more- 
over, indicate that the material of the earth, except at the surface, 
may be treated as (megascopically) isotropic. It is fortunate that 
this is the case, since otherwise the mathematical treatment of seismo- 
logic data would be extremely difficult. 

Starting from the time-distance curve—that is, the times of arrival 
of a disturbance at given distances along the surface—by a compara- 
tively simple process one can calculate the elastic constants of the 
material of the earth at various depths. The steps in the process are 
as follows: (a) From the slopes of the time-distance curves the 


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Fic. 1.—The velocities of longitudinal and transverse earthquake waves at various depths 
below the surface of the earth as calculated from seismologic data 


apparent surface velccities of each of the varieties of through waves 
is obtained; (6) by graphical integration of a certain function of the 
surface velocity there is obtained the maximum depth for a wave 
traveling between two points separated by a specified distance; (c) 
from a very simple relation the true velocity at this depth is de- 
termined; (d@) and finally, the bulk modulus A and the rigidity R 
are calculated from the equations connecting these quantities with 
the velocities.® | 

With the time-distance curve given by Turner * the velocity-depth 
curve shown in Figure 1 was obtained. In this figure the abscisse 
represent depth in kilometers and the ordinates the velocity, in 
km./sec. This curve closely resembles that obtained by Wiechert ” 


‘ *Viz: R/p=v,3, and K/p=v,!—4v,?/3 which are obtained directly from the equations in the preceding 
ootnote. 


108ee Davison, Manual of Seismology, p. 145. 
11 Nachr. Kgl. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen, 1907, pp. 415-549. 


1454—23——17 


946 _ ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and by Knott.'* The velocity of both kinds of waves increases rap- 
idly at first, and then steadily and almost linearly until a depth of 
1,600 km. is reached, after which the velocity, although nearly con- 
stant, shows a tendency to fall off, especially at about 3,000 km. As 
will be shown below, when the density at various depths is known, 
these curves can be converted into compressibility-depth and rigidity- 
depth curves. 


DENSITY CHANGE DUE TO COMPRESSION 


We shall next use the above results to determine to what extent 
the higher density of the interior of the earth may be due to com- 
pression alone. The decrease in volume caused by pressure at great 
depths can not be calculated from the measured compressibility of 
rocks, even if the pressure were known, because the compressibility 
decreases with the pressure, which at a depth of only a few hundred 
kilometers is far beyond the range of laboratory measurement, But 
fortunately, the velocity of transmission of earthquake waves yields 
information as to the variation of compressibility (1/4) with depth. 
The values of H/p at various depths have been calculated from the 
earthquake velocities (see footnote on p. 245), and the results shown 
in column 4 of Table 1. Now, it is reasonable to suppose that from 
this information concerning compressibility it would be possible to 
determine the aggregate diminution in volume at a given depth 
on the supposition of a homogeneous earth whose central density 
is made high by compression and not by a change of composition. 
An equation connecting these quantities has been derived,* and used 


2 Proc. Roy. So¢. Edinburgh, 39, 167. 1918. 
18 The equation is derived as follows: 


In general, 
dp 6.66X10-%mp 
qr a= near Vaan 
where g is the acceleration of gravity and p is the pressure at distance r from the center; and m, the 
mass of the sphere of radius r, is obtained from the relation 
r 


m=4r fi pr’dr A 
0 


Now the first equation may be written A " 5 a ee O-*mp 


but, on the assumption of homogeneity, @_x, by definition. 


A 
Therefore, by division 
din P_ __ 6.66% 10-*mp 
dr nk 


or, r being the mean radius of the earth and pr the surface density, 


—{+— dr, which is the desired expression. B 


r 
ee feexicne 
Be J ric 
r 


The density-depth relation is obtained from this equation by approximation and re- 
peated graphical integration. First, the density at various levels is assumed (consistent, 
of course, with the known average density of the earth). The quantity, p 17, is then 
plotted against r, and m found by graphical integration of equation A. Next, the quan- 
tity, mp/rkK, is plotted against r, and pas a function of r determined according to equa- 
tion B by another graphical integration. This first approximation for p is used to 
calculate a new curve for m, which in turn yields a second approximation for p. It 


turns out that the convergence is very rapid, so that with almost any initially assumed 
values of the density three successive integrations are sufficient. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—-ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 947 


to calculate the increase of density with the earth due to compres- 
sion alone. In the calculation of density changes by this equation 
the principal uncertainty lies in the choice of the surface density. 


TABLE 1.—First step in calculation of the change of density due to pressure at 
various depths 


‘ P 2 ant A il ; 
10°cm.| Laplace |10?’ gram (=) Xe 1012 ar R 
6.37 3.00 5. 98 0. 299 2. 86 0 3. 00 
6. 00 3. 61 5.39 0. 446 2. 24 0. 102 3.32 
5. 50 4.44 4. 56 0. 651 1, 54 0. 191 3. 63 
5. 00 5.27 3. 86 0. 901 1,14 0. 261 3.89 
4, 50 6. 08 2. 92 1,001 0. 96 0. 313 4.10 
4,00 6. 86 2.18 1, 001 0. 91 0. 359 4, 29 
3. 50 7. 58 1. 55 1. 001 0. 84 0. 402 4.48 
3. 00 8. 25 1. 02 0. 890 0. 85 0. 444 4. 68 


: sin 3.726X10°r 
The values in column 2 are obtained from the equation p =10.25 3.727X10% — 


The values in column 3 are obtained by integration of equation A, footnote 13, using the above 
values for p. 


E/p in column 4 equals 0.01 (024-0). 


6.66X10-8m, 
A equals Oe 107 using the values in the previous columns. 


The sixth column is obtained from the fifth by integration of equation B, footnote 13, and yields the 
values of p’ in the last column. 


Table 1 shows the first step of such a calculation, the initially as- 
sumed values of ¢ being those given by Laplace’s law, with a surface 
density 3. From this first step alone it is evident that Laplace’s dis- 
tribution of density is impossible if the condition of homogeneity 
were fulfilled. In other words, the density according to Laplace in- 
creases faster than can be accounted for by compression alone. 

The final density curves for two different assumed surface densities 
(3 and 3.5) are shown in Figure 2. The proper value to take for 
the initial density (i. e., for the effective surface density) is difficult 
to determine. It has been placed all the way from 2.7 to 3.7 by vari- 
ous investigators. It is generally agreed that although the average 
density of surface rocks is from 2.7 to 2.8, corresponding to granite 
or granodiorite, nevertheless the granitic layer is relatively few miles 
deep (say 5 to 20); and that underneath this very thin skin of grani- 
tic (and sedimentary) rocks lies a more basic material such as gab- 
bro or even pyroxenite or peridotite. 

For the moment it will be sufficient to note in figure 2 the density 
curves with two initial densities, 8 and 3.5, corresponding respectively 
to average gabbro and to dense peridotite. Although the calculation 
was carried only to a depth of 3,400 km., this limit being set by the 
seismologic data, it is clearly evident that the density is not increas- 
ing fast enough to make the mean density of the earth equal to 5.5. 


248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


For the two assumed surface densities the average density below 
3,400 km. would be 15 and 20, respectively—obviously much too 
high to be reached by any reasonable extrapolation of the density 
curves. The high central density demanded by the comparatively 
low density shown in Figure 2 may be considered a consequence of 
the fact that the core of radius 3,000 km., has only one-ninth of the 
volume of the earth, whereas 0.3 to 0.4 of the mass remains to be 
accounted for. 

It is therefore zmpossible to explain the high density of the earth 
on the basis of compressibility alone. The dense interior can not 


6. 
SS 


50 


Jon 400 800 /200 /600 £000 2400 £400 3200 3600 
Depts in Nilometers 


lic. 2.—For two initial densities, 3.0 and 3.5, these curves show the change of density 
due to compression alone. The values are obtained from the variation of compressi- 
bility, which in turn is determined from the earthquake velocity-depth curve 


consist of ordinary rocks compressed to a small volume. We must, 
as a consequence, fall back upon the only reasonable alternative, 
namely, the presence of a heavier material, presumably some metal, 
which, to judge from its abundance in the earth’s crust, in 
meteorites, and in the sun, is probably iron. We thus arrive at the 
conclusion accepted by the majority of geophysicists, but, in addi- 
tion, we have here (1) a quantitative estimate of the increase of 
density due to compression alone, and (2) direct evidence of the 
presence in the interior of the earth of a dense material such as iron. 


EARTH ’S INTERIOR—-ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 249 
THE ELASTIC CONSTANTS OF TYPICAL ROCKS 


The elastic properties of a series of rock types are shown in Table 
2, which is taken (with slight changes) from a previous paper by 
the authors.1* The compressibilities are based on direct measure- 
ments in the laboratory. From the compressibility is*calculated the 
rigidity, and also the velocities with which earthquake waves are 
transmitted through the given kind of rock. 


EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE 


This is a disturbing and uncertain factor. From the known tem- 
perature gradient at the surface it follows that the temperature at 
100 km. depth must be considerably above the melting point of 
ordinary rocks; and it seems unlikely that the central temperature 
can be less than several thousand degrees. The effect of this high 
temperature.on the density is not easily estimated, and might con- 
ceivably be very large, but it so happens that the problem is 
simplified by the fact that at high pressures the expansion coefti- 
cient becomes less than at low pressures. Now, the pressure halfway 
down to the center of the earth is more than a million atmospheres, 
and it is not at all improbable that at this pressure the total thermal 
expansion and the effect of temperature on elastic constants would be 
relatively small. For the present, at any rate, we shall ignore the 
effect of temperature, but with the belief that it is a minor factor. 


1% Adams and Williamson. Journ. Franklin Inst., 195, 520. 1923. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


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EARTH ’S INTERIOR—ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 251 
PREVIOUS THEORIES OF DENSITY DISTRIBUTION IN THE EARTH 


Laplace’s distribution, already mentioned, should perhaps best be 
regarded as an empirical relation connecting density with depth, 
and should not be taken to imply anything concerning the cause of 
the increased density. The law of Laplace has been criticized be- 
cause it requires too low a surface density in order to yield the cor- 
rect value for the moment of inertia. Darwin? suggested a differ- 
ent density law with a surface density of 3.7. He held that the 
ordinary rocks on the outside of the earth were a mere shell, to 
be considered separately, and that the density immediately heneath 
should be taken as the starting point. 

The earlier pictures of the earth’s interior involved the tacit 
assumption that the composition of the deeper parts was the same, 
or practically the same, as at the surface. According to this view, 
the earth was a huge ball of granite, chemically homogeneous, 
although possibly molten at the center. But following what might 
be called the granitic era of geophysics, the belief arose that the 
center of the earth might be quite unlike the rocks which we find 
at the surface and in our shallow excavations. More than 50 years 
ago Dana?® discussed the possibility of the earth being made up 
of a central iron core surrounded by silicate rock. Later, 
Weichert 1? elaborated this hypothesis and postulated a core of 
density 8.4 within a stony shell 1,500 km. thick and of density 3.4. 
His arrangement *® fits both the mass and moment of inertia of 
the earth very well, and the transition point from rock to metal at 
1,500 km. is in fair agreement with the sudden change of direction 
of the curve of earthquake velocities shown in Figure 1; but it 
takes no account of the density due to compression, and fails to 
explain why there should not be an actual discontinuity at the transi- 
tion point. At moderate pressures.the velocity in basic rocks is 
notably higher than in iron,’® and at very high pressures this differ- 
ence will probably increase rather than decrease. Moreover, as may 
be seen in Figure 1, the velocity beyond 1,600 km. changes very 
little—contrary to what might be expected of a homogeneous mate- 


1°G. H. Darwin. Proc. Roy. Soc. 1883. 

1%J, D. Dana. Manual of Geology. 1873. 

1 Nachr. Kgl. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen. 1897, p. 221. Phys. Z. 11, 294. 1910. 

18 Tt may be noted that on the assumption of a core and a shell each of uniform density 
the radius and density of the core may be calculated from the known mass and moment 
of inertia and an assumed outer density by the two equations: 

Pa — pi = 23 (p1 — pa) 

Pm — p2= 25 (p1 — 03) 
in which pe is the mean density, pm is the density of a homogeneous sphere of moment 
of inertia equal to that of the earth, 1 is the density of the core, p: that of the shell, 
and @ the ratio of the radius of the core to that of the earth. Thus, if the density of the 
outer layer is 3.00, its thickness must be 1,300 km. and the density of the core is 8.03; 
and if the outer density is 3.40, the thickness of the shell would be 1,600 km. and the 
central density 8.45. 

19 See Table 2. 


252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


rial under a constantly increasing pressure. It may be argued that 
the effect of temperature in this region may decrease the elastic 
constants and hence also the velocity. But on any hypothesis the 
temperature is not increasing rapidly as far down as this, and it 
seems highly improbable that increasing temperature would have 
sufficient effect on both the rigidity and the bulk modulus so that 
with increasing depth the two velocities would remain nearly con- 
stant over a range of 1,400 km. The constancy of the velocities is 
truly a remarkable feature and, as will appear below, furnishes an 
important clue for the solution of the problem of the earth’s interior. 
In recent times Goldschmidt ?° has postulated an arrangement of 
the matter within the earth as follows: (1) An outer silicate layer 
120 km. thick and of density 2.8; (2) a layer of dense silicates 
(eclogite) extending to 1,200 km. depth with density varying from 
3.6 to 4; (3) an intermediate zone of sulphides and oxides of density 
5.6 and extending to 2,900 km.; and (4) a central core of nickel- 
iron having a density about 8. The average density of this arrange- 
ment is very close to the accepted value, and the moment of inertia, 
although 3 per cent too low, can be considered in fair agreement. 
Zoeppritz, Geiger, and Gutenberg,”* and Mohorovi¢ié,” and others, 
have adduced evidence in favor of the existence of various shells 
or layers in the earth, but the arrangement which most nearly 
resembles that which we shall describe in the next section is that 
given by Gutenberg ** in a paper which came to our attention after 
our paper was written. He obtains a density-depth curve which, 
like ours, consists of four parts. The starting point of his deriva- 
tion is the assumption that the core is of constant density 2.3 times 
that of the layer above it, which also is of constant density. He 
concludes that the density of the layer extending from 60 km. to 
1,200 km. depth varies from 314 at the top to 434 at the bottom. In 
this respect his estimate of the density change within the earth is 
strikingly like that which we shall now describe, although ours 
is based on the change of density due to compressibility and involves 
assumptions quite different from those of Gutenberg. 


PROPOSED DISTRIBUTION OF MATTER WITHIN THE EARTH 


OUTERMOST LAYER 


The average density of the igneous rocks * at the surface is about 
2.8. Allowing for a small amount of sedimentary rock, let us take 
the surface density as 2.7- The density and basicity of the rocks 


2 VY. M. Goldschmidt. Z. Elektrochem., 28, 411. 1922. 

2 Nachr. Kgl. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen. 1912, p. 121. 

2 §. Mohoroviti¢é. Beitr. z» Geophysik, 13, 217-240. 1913; 14, 188-198. 1914. 
*%B. Gutenberg. Phys. Zeit., 24, 296-299. 1923. 

* H. S. Washington. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 33, 388. 1922. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 353 


must increase with depth, although the increase is not neces- 
sarily regular. Probably the outer 10 to 20 km. has the average com- 
position of a granite or a granodiorite. From the seismographic rec- 
ords of the Oppau explosion, Wrinch and Jeffreys” find the velocity 
of the longitudinal waves to be 5.4 km./sec., and Mohorovi¢ié?* by 
analysis of the records of near earthquakes concludes that the velocity 
from the surface to a depth of 60 km. is nearly constant and equal to 
5.8 km./sec. The data given in Table 2 enable us to use these observa- 
tions to determine the composition of the outermost layer and to com- 
pare it with the thin surface film accessible to direct examination. 
Theoretically the surface velocity can be obtained from the initial 
slope of the ordinary time-distance curve, but on account of the - 
searcity of reliable observations for near earthquakes the extrapola- 
tion of the surface velocity back to zero distance is unsatisfactory, and, 
moreover, as emphasized by Wrinch and Jeffreys, the usual uncer- 
tainty regarding the depth of focus would vitiate the results at short 
distances. From Turner’s table the “surface” velocity of the longi- 
. tudinal waves seems to be about 7.1 km./sec.—between the values for 
pyroxenite (7) and for peridotite (7.2), and distinctly higher than 
that for gabbro (6.9). According to Mohorovitié, the velocity of 
the longitudinal waves suddenly changes from 5.8 to 7.9 km./sec. 
at a depth of 60 km. From Table 2 it may be seen that the velocity 
in granite is 5.6 km./sec. The seismologic data, therefore, although 
none too satisfactory, seem clearly to indicate that the crust of the 
earth is largely granitic in character, but that at a depth of 100 km. 
or less, basic material becomes predominant. 

We propose, somewhat arbitrarily, to take 60 km. for the thick- 
ness of the layer in which the rocks change from acid to basic. 
Whether or not the change is gradual is a question to be decided 
at some future time. The lower limit of this layer may. or may not 
be identical with the depth of isostatic compensation. From gravity 
measurements in mountainous regions this depth is placed by 
Bowie ”’ at 96 km., but from the data over the whole United States 
he places it at 60 km. Washington,?* moreover, finds the average 
density of various regions on the earth to harmonize with the aver- 
age elevation on the basis of isostatic compensation at a depth of 
59 km. In any case this layer has a volume of only a few per cent 
of the total volume of the earth, and its thickness has little effect 
on the density distribution of the earth as a whole. The basaltic 
substratum, postulated by Daly, Wegener, and others, and of great 

*5 Dorothy Wrinch and Harold Jeffreys. Roy. Astr. Soc., M. N., Geophys. Suppl. 1, pp. 
15-22. 1923. 

% Loc. cit. 


7 W. Bowie. U.S. Coast and Geod. Survey, Sp. Publ. No. 40, 133. 1917. 
°8H. S. Washington. Op. cit., p. 405. 


1454—25——-18 


254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


importance in interpreting the geology of the earth’s crust, is here 
merely an incidental feature in the transition from granitic to ultra- 
basic material. 

BASIC LAYER 


Referring again to Figure 1, one may note that the earthquake 
velocity curves run regularly and almost linearly from near the sur- 
face to about 1,600 km. depth. It is natural to assume that this 
region then is a more or less homogeneous material, the bulk modulus 
and rigidity of which increase regularly with pressure. From 
reasons given below it is probable that the normal density (i. e., 
the density at low pressures) of this material is 3.3, which corre- 
sponds to 3.35 at a depth of 60 km. The density at other depths may 
be obtained by interpolation between the two curves of Figure 2. 
Thus, at 1,600 km. depth the density has increased by compression 
to 4.35. The normal density 3.3 corresponds to a pyroxenite or a 
peridotite. Throughout this whole region the temperature must be 
very high, and it is possible that a part of this layer is at a temper- 
ature above its melting point, its high rigidity being maintained by 
pressure.”® Both the density and the earthquake velocity will prob- 
ably be somewhat smaller in such a glassy material than in a crystal- 
line layer of the same composition, but the difference can hardly be 
great enough to nullify the evidence in favor of an ultrabasic layer. 

It has been suggested that meteorites should have the same average 
composition as that of the earth or of any other part of the solar 
system. Now this average composition *° (due account being taken 
of the proportion in which stony and metallic meteorites are seen to 
fall) corresponds to: Olivine, 35; pyroxene, 42; anorthite, 4; 
troilite, 5; nickel-iron, 18. The silicate portion is principally an 
olivine-pyroxene mixture and thus is essentially a peridotite, and 
should have nearly the same density and compressibility as that 
postulated for the basic layer. 


PALLASITE LAYER 


As already noted, a remarkable feature of the earthquake velocity 
curves (fig. 1) is the small amount of change beyond a depth of 
1,600 km. From compressibility measurements the velocity of the 
longitudinal waves in iron at moderate pressures is 6.1 km./sec., 
whereas the velocity in peridotite is 7.2. At high pressures the 
difference will probably be greater. This circumstance immediately 
suggests that the nearly constant velocity below 1,600 km. may be 


2» Cf. R. A. Daly. Igneous Rocks and their Origin. (New York, 1914.) p. 172. Am. 
Journ. Sci., 5, 349-371. 1923. 1 

3% Cf, O. C. Farrington. Field Columbian Museum, Geol. Ser., Vol. 3, Publ. No. 120: 
211-138. 1911. W. D. Harkins. Journ. Am. Chem. Soc. 39: 864. 1917. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 955 


due to a gradually increasing amount of metallic iron mixed with 
the siliceous rock. The normal tendency for pressure, and hence 
depth, to increase the velocity is thus offset by the admixture, in 
gradually increasing amount, of iron (or nickel-iron). 

The material in this region may be thought of as resembling cer- 
tain meteorites consisting of a heterogeneous mixture of silicates and 
metallic iron, which is called pallasite. The lower limit of this zone 
of incomplete segregation is thought to lie at about 3,000 km. depth 
where the velocity shows distinct evidence of falling off. 


CENTRAL METALLIC CORE 


The remaining part of the earth consists, beyond reasonable doubt, 
mainly of iron or nickel-iron with density appropriate to the con- 
ditions of pressure (and of temperature) existing in the central 
region. This density should increase toward the center, but by a 
relatively small amount. 

Now, if we assume (a) that the density in the surface layer 
varies linearly with depth from 2.7 to some chosen density p, at the 
top of the basic layer, (0) that in this basic layer the density change 
can be calculated by interpolation between the two curves of figure 
2, (c) that in the pallasite layer the density changes linearly with 
depth (the simplest assumption), and (d@) that in the central core 
the density changes parabolically,** the fact that the distribution 
must satisfy the known mass and moment of inertia of the whole 
earth allows us to solve two simultaneous equations and find the 
density distribution in the pallasite layer and in the central core. 
If this calculation be carried out for various values of p,, it is found 
that p, must be close to 3.35 in order to yield a reasonable density 
variation in the central core. The value 3.45 demands that in the 
core the density decrease with depth. On the other hand, the value 
3.25 leads to an unreasonably high density at the center. For this 
reason the density at the top of the basic layer has been taken as 
3.35, corresponding, as stated above, to a normal density 3.3 and to a 
density 4.35 at 1,600 km. The density of the iron would then be 
9.5 at 3,000 km. and 10.7 at the center. 

These various considerations lead us to adopt more or less tenta- 
tively, the following arrangement of material within the earth: 
(1) An outer layer 60 km. (about 35 miles) thick ** in which the mate- 


1 That is, according to the relation: p= k, + ker®, k, and ke being constants. This is the 
simplest assumption compatible with the necessary condition that the rate of change of 
pressure with distance is zero at the center. 

This applies more particularly.to continental areas. In the Atlantic Ocean, and 
especially in the Pacific Ocean, the thickness of the outer layer is probably much less than 
60 km, 


256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


rial changes more or less gradually from granitic to something more 
basic than a gabbro; (2) a shell extending to a depth of 1,600 km., 
consisting of peridotite, that is, mainly of iron-magnesium silicates 
and having a normal density 3.3 and a density at 1,600 km. of 4.35; 
(3) a shell of pallasite reaching to 3,000 km. below the surface, in 
_ which silicate rock is gradually replaced by metallic iron (or nickel- 
iron) not yet completely segregated, the density in this shell chang- 
ing gradually from 4.35 to 9.5; and (4) below this layer of pallasite 
a central core of nickel-iron of nearly constant density—varying 
from a little below to a little above 10. The existence of other lay- 


EN a 
Gh NS 2 
Se eg ese 


g 

ee ee ee 
HO Reid Fah Wade aoe etre 
Dig aif ap ll 
. peeae 
pba d bes 

f et i 

: lars 

ESA 

la 


Oo 64700 
Depr> tr. Nrloemesers 


Fie. 3.—The density of the earth at various depths according to the present estimate 
(full-line curve). For comparison Goldschmidt’s distribution (dotted lines), and the 
density law of Laplace (broken line) are included 


ers or of other discontinuities is neither affirmed nor denied. The 
proposed distribution of material merely attempts to harmonize 
certain known facts regarding the mass and moment of inertia of 
the earth, the velocities of earthquake waves, and the compressi- 
bilities of rocks. It is put forth more as a basis for future specula- 
tion than as a definite and final arrangement. 

The distribution here described is shown graphically in Figure 3 
(full-line curve). At the boundary between the various zones the 
corners are arbitrarily slightly rounded. This diagram also con- 
tains, for comparison, a plot of Goldschmidt’s distribution (dotted 
lines), and the density according to Laplace’s law (dashed line) 
with surface density 2.7. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 257 


It is truly remarkable that Laplace’s equation, which can be re- 
garded merely as an empirical relation, should yield values of the 
density so close to those obtained in what we believe is a more ra- 
tional way. The fact that Laplace’s law leads to the right moment 
of inertia, of course, indicates that the densities obtained by it may 
be correct to at least a rough approximation, and accounts for its 
general use among geophysicists. The assumption involved in its 
derivation is, however, by no means warranted. 

Figure 4 is intended to illustrate the segregation of iron toward 
the center and the fringe of pallasite surrounding the iron core. 


. 


Fic. 4.—Diagram intended to suggest the segregation of metallic iron toward the center, 
and the zone of pallasite (mixture of iron and silicates) surrounding the central core 


The depth of the surface layer—60 km.—is shown to scale by the 
thickness of the outer circular line. 


COMPRESSIBILITY, RIGIDITY, AND BULK MODULUS 


By combining the earthquake velocities given in Figure 1 with 
the densities given in Figure 3, the elastic constants of the materia) 
within the earth at various depths may readily be obtained.** The 
values of the rigidity and bulk modulus have been calculated and are 
shown graphically in Figure 5. It is very interesting that these 
curves are comparatively smooth; they show no pronounced irregu- 
larities or sudden changes of direction, such as are shown by the 


33 The equations used are: R=pvs!, K=p(v,?—405?/3). 


258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


density and velocity curves from which they are derived. This 
means that from the surface to a depth at least halfway down to the 
center the elasticity of the material increases regularly and steadily 
in spite of the fact that the material changes in character, being 
silicate rock near the surface and metallic iron farther down. 

At great depths the bulk modulus is very great, and therefore the 
compressibility, which is the reciprocal of the bulk modulus, is very 
small. Thus at a depth of 1,600 km. the silicate is nearly as incom- 
pressible as diamond, which is the least compressible of any known 
substance. 


FP/G/DITY AND BULK MODULUS, 0° NEGABARS 


00 4/300 4600 
DEPTH /N KILOMETERS 


Iie. 5—The rigidity and bulk modulus at various depths below the surface as calcu- 
lated from the densities and earthquake velocities. The rigidity is the resistance to 
deformation, and the bulk modulus is the resistance to compression and is also the 
reciprocal of the compressibility 


The rigidity also is very high in the interior of the earth. From 
the fact that the rigidity of steel is about 0.9 in the units used in 
Figure 5, it may be seen that except near the surface the rigidity of 
the earth is greater than that of steel. The rigidity is equal to 0.9 
at about 400 km. depth and rises to five times this amount at 3,000 
km. depth. Measurements*t based on the tidal deformation of 
the earth indicate that the effective rigidity of the earth for such 
deformations is 0.86, which according to Figure 5 is the average 
rigidity of the outer 800 km., or 500 miles. If, then, it be the outer 
800 km. which takes part in tidal deformations, the agreement be- 
tween the two entirely different methods of determining rigidity 
would be complete. 


“A, A, Michelson. Astrophys. Journ. 39, 105-138. 1914. 


EARTH’S INTERIOR—ADAMS AND WILLIAMSON 959 


. PRESSURE IN THE EARTH 


The pressures corresponding to the present density distribution 
were obtained by graphical integration ** from the densities shown 
by the full line in Figure 3. A graph of the pressure at various 
depths within the earth is shown in Figure 6. At the center the 
pressure is 3.18 millions of megabars (practically 3 million atmos- 
pheres), and is remarkably close to the value 3.08 million megabars, 
obtained from Laplace’s equation with a surface density 2.7. 


Fressure, /jillions of (Jaga hors 


7) 3200 4000 4§0. 6900 
Dep/h ‘7 Kilomerers 


Fic, 6.—Pressure as a function of depth, derived from the full line curve of Figure 3. 
A megabar is about one atmosphere. More exactly, 1 megabar—=0.987 atm. 


CONCLUDING REMARKS 


_ In conclusion we refer to the following passage from the Annual 
Report of the Director of the Geophysical Laboratory : ** 


Both science and story have left the interior of the earth virtually a closed 
book. Imaginative writers have forecast many of the conquests of the sea 
and of the air and of the regions beyond, but the interior of the earth remains 
inaccessible to them; scientific effort has often been consciously and even 
eagerly directed toward it, but has revealed scarcely more. The distance 


*% The equation is: ie 
= 
6.66 10-8m, 
p= if 3S fat 
Tr 


in which m is obtained by another graphical integration of the equation: 
r 


m=4r f pridr 


: ° 
%° Dr. Arthur L. Day, director. The report appears in the Year Book of the Carnegie 
Institution of Washington, No. 22 (1923). 


260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


from the surface to the center of the earth is some 4,000 miles, of which hardly 
more than a mile has been actually explored. What properties or what sub- 
stances even a few more miles might reveal is a matter for inference alone, 
inference for the most part with a very inadequate if not an insecure founda- 
tion of fact. 

The physical properties and the chemical composition of the in- 
terior of the earth are not yet amenable to precise measurement. 
But, starting from recent determinations of the compressibility of 
rocks, in conjunction with the known velocities at which earthquake 
shocks are transmitted through the earth, it is possible to draw im- 
portant conclusions concerning the nature of the material far within 
the earth. For example, we can estimate the pressure at a given 
depth, and we can tell approximately the amount by which the 
density of rocks is raised by these enormous pressures. We know 
definitely that rocks can not be squeezed into a volume so small that 
their density would be sufficient to account for the high density of 
the earth as a whole. Beyond reasonable doubt, the earth has a 
metallic core of iron, or nickel-iron, the diameter of this core being 
about one-half that of the earth. Bordering the iron core, more- 
over, there is a fringe of mixed iron and silicate, and surrounding 
this is a silicate shell. We can determine with fair accuracy the 
rigidity of the material at a given depth within the earth, and can 
assure ourselves that, except near the surface, the rigidity is con- 
siderably greater than that of steel. Finally, as to chemical com- 
position, the earth, except for the surface layer—which in compari- 
son with the whole earth is of negligible volume—is composed mainly 
of metallic iron and iron-magnesium silicates. Accordingly, the 
earth consists almost entirely of four elements: Iron, magnesium, 
silicon, and oxygen. 


DIAMOND-BEARING PERIDOTITE IN PIKE COUNTY, 
ARKANSAS? 


By HucuH D. Miser and CLARENCE §. Ross 
Geologists, United States Geological Survey 


[With 3 plates] 
INTRODUCTION 


The diamond mines of Arkansas, which have produced several 
thousand stones, are the only such mines on the North American 
continent, though a few diamonds have been found from time to 
time at other places in the United States and at some places in 
Canada. 

Most of the diamonds found in North America outside of Arkansas 
have been obtained from gold placers in the Piedmont region of 
the Carolinas and Georgia, from placers in the Western States, es- 
pecially California, and from glacial deposits in regions as widely 
separated as Nova Scotia and Wisconsin. All these stones were 
found far from their sources, for placers are composed of stream- 
transported material and glacial deposits consist of ice-transported 
rock débris. The material in the placers has been carried from 
rather well-known regions in which it seems unlikely that rich 
diamond-bearing rocks occur. The diamonds found in these placers 
were probably derived from dunite or serpentine, rocks that are 
related to diamond-bearing peridotites but that contain very few 
if any diamonds. The diamonds found in the glacial deposits, like 
the granitic boulders, were carried from their parent ledges in 
Canada by the continental glaciers that advanced southward into 
the northern United States. It has therefore been surmised that the 
rocks at some places in Canada might be rich in diamonds, but if 
such a diamond deposit exists it is lost in the vast barren lands of 
the North—more hoplessly lost than the most fanciful “lost gold 
mine” of our own great West. 

The diamond deposits of the world may be grouped into two 
principal classes. Those in Brazil, India, and Australia and some 
of those in Africa are in placers, where the stones have been more 
or less concentrated by wind and water; but the largest deposits in 


1 Abstracted and reprinted by permission from Economic Geology, vol. 17, December. 
1922. 
261 


262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


South Africa and those in Arkansas are in solid rock or in soft 
residual material overlying it. All such rocks in both South Africa 
and Arkansas belong to the variety known as peridotite, which in 
both regions fills narrow volcanic craters and necks. 

Peridotite contains comparatively small proportions of silica and 
alumina but much magnesium and iron. It invariably contains the 
mineral olivine, but usually includes a rather large proportion of 
brown mica and small proportions of other minerals. It is the only 
rock that is known to be the original source of paying quantities of 
diamonds. 

The peculiar type of diamond-bearing peridotite that occurs in 
South Africa has been called kimberlite, after the famous Kimberley 
mine. The diamond-bearing rock of Arkansas, which is similar, is 
also known as kimberlite. 


DISCOVERY 


On August 1, 1906, John W. Huddleston discovered diamonds on 
his property on Prairie Creek, 2144 miles south-southeast of Mur- 
freesboro, Ark. One stone was submitted to the Mermod, Jaccard & 
King Jewelry Co., of St. Louis, and a little later other stones were 
examined by George F. Kunz, a gem expert, of New York. The 
stones came from an area of weathered peridotite that had long been 
recognized by geologists as similar to the diamond-bearing peridotite 
of South Africa, so it was evident that an original source of diamonds 
had been discovered in North America. 

The existence of peridotite in this part of Arkansas was known 
as early as 1842. The first detailed report describing the geologic 
relations and nature of the peridotite was published in 1889 by John 
C. Branner, State geologist of Arkansas, and R. N. Brackett. 
Branner, in an article published in 1909, states that at the time of his 
field examination, in the late eighties, he recognized the peridotite 
as the kind of rock in which diamonds occur in South Africa. He 
spent many hours on his hands and knees looking for diamonds in 
the gullies and over the bare surfaces of the decomposed rock, but 
he did not dare mention at that time his suspicion that diamonds 
might be found in that region, because any such suggestion would 
have added fuel to the wild mining excitement that was then raging 
farther north in Arkansas. 

The finding of the diamonds by Huddleston led to a search which 
resulted in the discovery of three other exposures of peridotite. 


LOCATION 


Peridotite 1s exposed in four areas, all near Murfreesboro, Pike 
County, Ark., three of which have produced diamonds. The ex- 
posure first discovered lies 214 miles south-southeast of Murfrees- 


DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS—MISER AND ROSS 968 


boro, near the confluence of Prairie Creek with Little Missouri 
River, and is known as the Prairie Creek peridotite area. Several 
thousand stones, ranging in weight fromasmall fraction of a carat to 
40.23 carats, have been found, most of them coming from the Ozark, 
Mauney, and Arkansas mines. The other exposures of peridotite 
are all within an area of 1 square mile, about 2 miles northeast of 
the Prairie Creek locality and 3 miles 8S. 75° E. of Murfreesboro. 
Two of these exposures, the Kimberlite and American areas, so named 
for the Kimberlite and American mines located on them, are in sec. 
14, T. 8 S., R. 25 W.; the third, the Black Lick area, is near a locality 
known as the Black Lick, in the northwest corner of sec. 23, T. 8 S., 
R. 25 W. The Kimberlite and American areas have been prospected 
for diamonds and each has produced a small number of stones. The 
Black Lick area has been prospected less than any of the others and 
has thus far produced no diamonds. 

These known areas of diamond-bearing peridotite are in the Gulf 
Coastal Plain, only a few miles south of its northern margin, be- 
yond which lies the Ouachita Mountain region. The Ouachita re- 
gion, which is 50 to 60 miles wide, extends from Little Rock, Ark., to 
Atoka, Okla., a distance of 200 miles. It contains numerous nearly 
eastward trending ridges, several intermontane basins, and a dis- 
sected Piedmont Plateau known as the Athens Plateau, which is 15 
miles wide, lying between the Coastal Plain and the Ouachita Moun- 
tains. The surface features and also the geologic structure of this 
part of Arkansas are therefore very similar to those of the Central 
and South Atlantic States. The Gulf Coastal Plain, which corre- 
sponds to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, is bordered on the north by 
the Athens Plateau, which corresponds to the Piedmont Plateau. 
North of the Athens Plateau there are closely spaced parallel ridges 
of the Ouachita Mountains, which correspond in appearance and 
relative position to the Appalachian Mountains between eastern 
Pennsylvania and northern Alabama. 

The Kimberlite, American, and Black Lick areas of peridotite are 
on a deeply channeled plateau that lies east of Little Missouri River. 
The Prairie Creek area adjoins the bottom lands of Little Missouri 
River and Prairie Creek. 

The region in which the diamond deposits occur is sparsely popu- 
lated, except in the leVel or gently rolling upland and valley areas, 
where most of the tillable land occurs. 


ROCKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERIDOTITE 


The rocks associated with the peridotite are sedimentary and 
are of Carboniferous, Lower Cretaceous, Upper Cretaceous, and 
Quaternary ages. The Carboniferous rocks are shales and sand- 


264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


stones, which were compressed into close east-west folds near the 
middle of the Pennsylvanian epoch. Between this epoch and the 
Lower Cretaceous epoch they were greatly eroded and a peneplain 
was formed which beveled their upturned edges. This peneplain 
was submerged near Murfreesboro as well as in other areas during 
the Lower Cretaceous epoch, and upon it several hundred feet of 
gravel, sand, clay, and limestone, which comprise the Trinity forma- 
tion, was laid down. Another period of erosion followed the Lower 
Cretaceous epoch. In consequence of this the next younger strata, 
the volcanic tuffs, gravels, sands, and clays of the Bingen formation, 
of Upper Cretaceous age, rest unconformably upon the Trinity 
formation. Both the Trinity and the Bingen have a dip of about 
100 feet to the mile toward the south. Terrace and alluvial deposits 
of Quaternary age which consist of gravels and silts 25 feet thick 
or less occur along Little Missouri River and its larger tributaries. 
Peridotite was intruded into the Carboniferous rocks and the 
Trinity formation. The Carboniferous sandstones have been 
changed to quartzites at places, and the clays of the Trinity forma- 
tion have been vitrified for a few feet away from the peridotite. 


CHARACTER OF THE PERIDOTITE 


The peridotite in each of the four separate areas is similar. The 
area of peridotite near the mouth of Prairie Creek, which so far 
as known is larger than the others, presents much the best rock ex- 
posures and has produced practically all of the diamonds found 
up to the present time in Arkansas. Although this area comprises 
about 73 acres, the exposures of the hard unweathered rock cover 
not more than 12 acres, for the peridotite has weathered to a soft 
earth at many places and to a fairly soft rock at others. (See 
Pls. 1, 2, and 3.) The depth of the altered peridotite has not been 
fully determined, though drill holes have shown that it is at some 
places at least 205 feet. The surface soil that overlies it to a depth 
of 1 to 4 feet is black from the presence of organic matter and is 
known as “black ground.” 

The peridotite is divisible into three rather distinct types. One 
is a massive little-weathered rock that the miners call “ hardebank,” 
which was intruded and which solidified in place. Another is vol- 
canic breccia that was blown out of the craters by violent explosive 
outbursts of volcanic activity. The third is a volcanic tuff of finer 
grained material that was deposited in about the same way as the 
breccia. 

The hard unweathered massive rock, the “ hardebank,” is a por- 
phyry containing large crystals of olivine (now partly altered to ser- 
pentine) and brown mica, inclosed in a finer grained groundmass 


DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS—MISER AND ROSS 265 


of brown mica, augite, and a small quantity of pervoskite, magnetite, 
and chromite. ; 

The volcanic breccia is a consolidated aggregate composed of vol- 
canic fragments ranging from dustlike material up to pebbles half 
an inch or more in diameter. The original minerals have been 
largely altered to serpentine, but the breccia is essentially similar 
in mineral composition to the “hardebank.” The breccia is, how- 
ever, diamond bearing, whereas the “ hardebank” and the volcanic 
tuff appear to contain few if any diamonds. The diamonds con- 
stitute a remarkably small proportion of even the most productive 
rock. It is interesting to note that at the great Premier mine, in 
South Africa, where the yield is very accurately known, diamonds 
constitute less than 1 part in 12,000,000 of the peridotite. The 
breccia, being fragmenta], has been much more thoroughly weathered 
than the massive “ hardebank,” and the products of the weathering 
are at most places a soft earth and at others a fairly soft rock. 
These weathered materials show many shades of green, blue, and 
yellow, and are known by the miners as “ green ground,” “blue 
ground,” and “ yellow ground.” 

The volcanic tuff was probably formed in the same way as the 
breccia, and the original minerals were probably similar. It has, 
however, undergone a different type of alteration; and though the 
breccia is now largely serpentine, the tuff contains much chlorite, 
which gives a distinctly blue color. 

The volcanic eruptions that brought about the formation of the 
diamond-bearing beds differed from the more familiar type of 
volcanic eruption in that there was probably little extrusion of lavas, 
but the explosive force must have been stupendous. A pipelike cra- 
ter was blasted through older rocks, and fragments of these rocks 
were mixed with the shattered peridotite, thus forming the volcanic 
breccia. The massive “hardebank” probably welled up into the 
throat of the crater and cooled there without producing notable 
flows. 


RELATION OF THE PERIDOTITE TO THE OTHER IGNEOUS ROCKS 
OF ARKANSAS 


The peridotite in Pike County is of the same age or nearly the 
same age as the other igneous rocks of Arkansas, which consist of 
nephelite, syenite, pulaskite, and related types of intrusive rocks and 
which occur in four small separate areas in the eastern part of the 
Ouachita Mountain region and in the northwest border of the Gulf 
Coastal Plain. One of these areas is in the Fourche Mountain region 
near Little Rock, Pulaski County, where the igneous rocks have 
yielded bauxite deposits; a second is near Bauxite, Saline County, 


266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


where there are other bauxite deposits; a third is at Magnet Cove, 
Hot Spring County, from which beautiful mineral specimens have 
found their way into most of the museums of the world; and a 
fourth is at Potash Sulphur Springs, Garland County. In addition 
to these areas, hundreds of dikes of igneous rock are found here and 
there through much of the eastern half of the Ouachita Mountain 
region. 
AGE OF THE PERIDOTITE 


The intrusion of the peridotite probably accompanied the dias- 

trophic movements that produced the down warping of the Mis- 
sissippi embayment early in Upper Cretaceous time. 
_ Although the rocks of the four different exposures mentioned are 
not connected at the surface, the similarity of the material makes it 
seem very probable that they are of common origin. The three types 
of peridotite were apparently formed by three distinct volcanic out- 
bursts, but they are so closely related that they probably mark suc- 
cessive stages in a single period of volcanic activity. The evidence 
so far obtained indicates that the igneous history of the region was 
probably as follows: 

First, the massive peridotite, probably accompanied by explosions, 
was intruded into the Carboniferous and Lower Cretaceous rocks. 
Next, volcanic explosions broke into small fragments not only much 
of the massive peridotite but some of the Carboniferous shale and 
sandstone. In the area of peridotite near Prairie Creek the frag- 
ments ejected into the air were deposited in inclined layers which, 
in hardening, have formed a breccia. The layers dip 30° W. in the 
Ozark mine (pl. 2, fig. 2), 20°-30° SW. at the apex of the Mauney 
mine, and 50° or more toward the north near the south side of the 
Arkansas mine. The fact that the layers thus dip toward the center 
of the exposure of peridotite near Prairie Creek strongly suggests 
that the vent or vents from which the fragments were ejected were 
near the center of the Prairie Creek area and that the fragments 
were deposited within the crater of a volcano. 

A second group of explosions probably formed the tuffs of the 
area near Prairie Creek. 

The peridotite is younger than the Trinity formation, which is 
of Lower Cretaceous age, as is shown by the high dip of the contacts 
between the peridotite and the nearly horizontal beds of the Trinity, 
by the metamorphism of the clay of the Trinity adjacent to its 
contact with the peridotite, and by the occurrence in the peridotite 
of fragments of clay and pebbles derived from the Trinity. 

The peridotite is probably of the same age as the Bingen forma- 
tion (Upper Cretaceous), though it may be older. This is shown 
by the fact that the lower beds of the Bingen contain at places 


DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS—MISER AND ROSS 267 


altered grains of serpentine and fragments of peridotite. That the 
peridotite is not younger than the Bingen is shown by the fact that 
the Bingen rests upon the peridotite at the American mine and at 
the Black Lick. 


COMPARISON OF ARKANSAS AND SOUTH AFRICAN ROCKS 


The peridotite of Arkansas is generally believed to be similar in 
character and mode of occurrence to that of South Africa, but the 
exact points of similarity have not been recorded. Wagner,? who 
has carefully studied the South African diamond deposits, says of 
them: 


The pipes represent deeply eroded, funnel-shaped volcanic necks of the 
Maar type, which appear to have been formed by the violent explosive libera- 
tion at the earth’s surface of highly compressed vapors and gases, emanating 
from a deep-seated, ultrabasic magma. They are occupied, as a rule, by 
nonyolcanie detritus derived from the shattering and comminution of the 
rocks pierced by the explosions, by fragmentary material derived from tritura- 
tion of kimberlite [peridotite], and at greater depths by solid plugs of the 
later rock.’ 

Dealing first with the relationship of pipes to fissures, we have learned that 
the magma in its ascent appears invariably to have been guided to within a 
greater or less distance of the original surface by planes of structural weak- 
ness in the earth’s crust. * * * The earliest eruptions appear to have been 
in the nature of mighty explosions, which resulted in blowing out of funnel- 
shaped apertures. The bulk of the material forcibly ejected during these out- 
bursts no doubt fell back into the vents, which at one stage of their history 
may thus have been more or less completely occupied by nonvolcanic detritus. 
The relief of pressure occasioned by these earlier explosions must be assumed 
to have led to the ascent of the magma into the pipes, where it appears, as a 
rule, to have given rise, by successive eruptions, to a number of distinct 
columns of kimberlite [peridotite] and kimberlite tuff.‘ 


The material that occupies the vents Wagner describes as follows: 


It has been pointed out that in so far as the pipe filling is concerned, the 
rocks pierced by the explosions, the kimberlite magma, and the atmosphere 
have all contributed.® 

We may divide * * * the foreign matter of the pipes into three principal 
groups—rock fragments derived from the adjacent pipe walls; xenoliths [in- 
cluded fragments] of rock which have been brought up from below; masses 
of rock which, to attain the position in which we now find them, must have 
fallen into the pipes from above.® 

The pipe rock proper consists of kimberlite and of material derived from 
its brecciation, comminution, and decomposition.” 

The microscope reveals the fact that among the products comprehended 
under the general term of blue ground three main varieties may be distin- 


2 Wagner, P. A., “ The diamond fields of southern Africa,” 1914. 
8 Op. cit. p. 5. 

“Op. cit., p. 41. 

5 Op. cit. p. 18. 

6 Op. cit., p. 20. 

7Op. cit., p. 24. 


268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


guished. These are the true kimberlite tuff or kimberlite breccia, injection 
breccia, and decomposed kimberlite. * * * As greater depths are attained 
in the mines the products we have hitherto been dealing with, as one would 
naturally expect, are replaced in increasing measure by “hardebank,” or kim- 
berlite, the parent rock, to the trituration and decomposition of which they 
owe their origin.® 

Wagner divides the diamond-bearing rocks of South Africa into 
two types, both of which occur as intrusives and as volcanic breccias. 
One of these is a “basaltic kimberlite,” rich in olivine and poor in 
mica, and the other is a “ mica peridotite.” Both types are diamond- 
bearing in South Africa, but the first has produced most of the 
diamonds. 

The quotations and abstracts given above, which outline very 
briefly the type of eruption and describe the diamond-bearing rocks 
of South Africa, serve as a basis for comparison with the diamond- 
bearing rocks of Arkansas. In South Africa work has proceeded to 
great depths—8,601 feet in the Kimberley mine—and the geologic 
relations are known in considerable detail, whereas in Arkansas only 
the surface of the ground has been scratched. Nevertheless rather 
striking points of similarity between the diamond-bearing rocks of 
South Africa and of Arkansas are evident. 

The violence of the volcanic explosions by which the South 
African vents were produced and the extent to which the kimberlite 
and country rock were shattered and mixed together in the vents 
have been emphasized. In Arkansas the peridotite was evidently 
much shattered and the explosive violence brought to the surface 
Paleozoic rocks that lay far beneath the surface. Injection breccias 
that are composed of shattered country rock mixed with a small 
proportion of volcanic material and that have the characteristics of 
dikes have been identified in both areas. 

In many of the South African vents recurring volcanic activity 
produced compound pipes that are formed of slightly different rocks 
and that even bear diamonds of dissimilar character. Petrographic 
studies have shown that in Arkansas there are at least three types 
of rock, only one of which carries diamonds in considerable quantity. 


DIAMONDS 


Nearly all the diamonds obtained from Arkansas have been found 
within the exposures of peridotite in the area near Prairie Creek and 
at the Kimberlite and American mines near by, though a very few 
diamonds have been found along streams that have washed them 
from these areas. The mines that have produced diamonds are the 
Ozark, Mauney, Arkansas, Kimberlite, and American. Although 
most of the diamonds at these mines have been found on or near 
the surface, others have been found at depths of as much as 20 feet. 


8 Op. cit., pp. 27-28. 


DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS—MISER AND ROSS 269 


How much deeper the diamonds may lie is not known, but they 
probably extend to depths much greater than that to which mining 
can be carried. 

The yield of diamonds in carats per load of diamond-bearing 
material differs at different places in the mines and also at different 
depths. This yield, as it has been determined from the great amount 
of work at one mine, is 1 carat for 8 loads (16 cubic feet) of diamond- 
bearing material. In South Africa the yield of diamonds ranges 
from 6 to 42 carats from 100 loads. 

Most of the diamonds from the Ozark, Mauney, and Arkansas 
mines have been obtained within the areas in which the volcanic 
breccia is exposed. Austin Q. Millar, one of the operators, states that 
the soft, decomposed peridotite overlying the “ hardebank” (massive 
intrusive peridotite) in the north part of the Mauney mine is nearly 
or entirely barren of diamonds, and that the soft blue, somewhat 
banded earth (altered peridotite tuff) that covers a small area on 
the Ozark mine is barren of diamonds. 

The diamonds have probably been concentrated on and near the 
surface by weathering and erosion. The great amount of erosion 
that the peridotite has undergone has removed from the outcrop of 
the peridotite much of the clay and other minerals having a low 
specific gravity leaving perhaps most of the diamonds and other 
heavier minerals. The heavier minerals thus concentrated are in 
the black ground. Mr. Miser has shown, by panning samples of 
black ground and of the underlying green and blue grounds, that the 
quantity of heavier minerals to the cubic foot is many times greater 
in the black ground than in the underlying material. The supposi- 
tion that there has been a surficial concentration of diamonds is also 
-apparently supported by the results of washing done by the Ozark 
Diamond Mines Corporation, which obtained a larger yield of dia- 
monds from surface material than from the underlying disintegrated 
rock. 

The number of diamonds that have been found near Murfreesboro, 
Ark., since their discovery in 1906 is only known in part, for the 
mining companies have withheld from publication the figures show- 
ing complete production. So far as the authors know, however, the 
output to date amounts to at least 10,000 diamonds. 

Most of the diamonds from the mines near Murfreesboro have been 
held by the mining companies, though some uncut stones have been 
sold. The first cut stones were offered for sale in 1921 by Tiffany 
& Co., of New York City, and by the Chas. S. Stifft Co., of Little 
Rock, Ark. 

The diamonds that have been found range in weight from a very 
small fraction of a carat to many carats. Some are so small that 
250 of them would be required to weigh 1 carat. The largest 


270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


diamond, which was found in the Arkansas mine in the summer of 
1924, weighed 40.23 carats; one weighing 20.25 carats was found in 
the Arkansas mine in September, 1921, and one weighing 17.86 carats 
was found in the same mine in May, 1917. The average weight of 
the 3,000 diamonds that had been produced by the Arkansas mine at 
the end of 1920 was about 0.4 carat, but the average weight of the 
diamonds that make up the entire product of all the mines is 
probably between 0.3 and 0.4 carat. 

Most of the diamonds are white, brown, or yellow. According 
to Kunz and Washington, there is a large proportion of white 
stones, most of them of a high grade in color, brilliancy, and freedom 
from flaws. These authors also say that many of the stones are as 
fine as any that have been found elsewhere, and that some of the 
yellow ones are of exceptional quality and color. In describing 
several yellow, brown, and white stones from the Arkansas mine 
Kunz says: “ These are absolutely perfect and are equal to the finest 
stones found at the Jagersfontein mine, or that were ever found in 
India.” 

Mr. Millar states that the white stones comprise 40 per cent of 
the mine run yield from the Mauney and Ozark mines, that the yel- 
low stones comprise 22 per cent, the brown stones 37 per cent, and 
bort 1 per cent. Stones having a blue or pink tinge have been found 
and occasionally a “ frosted ” or etched white stone is found. Most 
of the diamonds are crystals, and the most common forms are 
trisoctahedrons and hexoctahedrons, though some octahedrons and 
dodecahedrons are found. Crystals with sharp angular faces are 
rare; rounded surfaces greatly predominate. Fragments and frac- 
tures are much more numerous among stones recovered from surface 
material than they are in stones taken from slight depths in the 
volcanic ground. 

The diamonds shown on Plate 2, Figure 1, are all crystals and are 
described by W. T. Schaller as follows: 


The crystals seem to be rounded and distorted hexoctahedrons; the bound- 
ing faces are not typical crystal faces but are end forms toward which the 
curved faces tend. 

Crystal No. 1: Slightly smoky or brownish in color; probably a flattened 
and distorted octahedron or hexoctahedron with possibly additional forms. 
Several of the rounded faces have parallel octahedral-like “etch hills” or 
“ridges”’ on them. 

Crystals Nos. 2 and 3: Colorless; probably distorted flattened” hexoctahe- 
drons. 

Crystal No. 4: Brownish; elongated crystal with ends not complete; a 
different phase of distortion. 

Crystal No. 5: Yellow; very little distorted; essentially a rounded octahe- 
dron, the octahedral faces being replaced by the rounded faces of a hexoctahe- 
dron. Shows several solution “ pits,” one quite deep, in the position of the cube. 


DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS—MISER AND ROSS 271 


Crystal No. 6: Colorless; suggestion of a flattened octahedral twin but may 
be only a distorted form like the others. 

Crystals Nos. 7 and 8: Yellow; like crystal No. 5. 

Crystals Nos. 9 and 10: Colorless; rounded, flattened, and distorted hexocta- 
hedrons. 


MINING AND TREATMENT OF DIAMOND-BEARING MATERIAL 


Probably several hundred diamonds have been picked up by 
miners from the surface of the peridotite areas, especially the Prairie 
Creek area, but most of the diamonds have been obtained by wash- 
ing the diamond-bearing material. Different methods of mining 
and washing have been employed, in part because of the diverse 
character of the diamond-bearing material which differs not only 
from one locality to another but also at different depths. 

Much of the decomposed peridotite, including the surficial black 
soil called “black ground” and also a large part of the underlying 
“blue ground,” “ yellow ground,” and “ green ground,” is soft enough 
to be washed for the recovery of the diamonds without being crushed 
or weathered first. Most of the black ground is very sticky, like 
gumbo, when it is wet, so that it disintegrates with some difficulty in 
the washing plants. Experiments are said to show that when thor- 
oughly dried and then washed it absorbs water rapidly, swells, and 
finally slacks to a thin mud. Much of the diamond-bearing mate- 
rial, especially that of some of the “blue ground” and “green 
ground,” is fairly hard and requires crushing, exposure to weather- 
ing, or other treatment for the recovery of diamonds. The unaltered 
peridotite, called “ hardebank,” and the unaltered peridotite breccia 
are so hard and tough that they probably can not be treated in any 
way for the extraction of diamonds except by crushing, which would 
doubtless fracture some of the diamonds. 

All the mining has been done in shallow open cuts. Some 
hydraulic mining has been done (pl. 3, fig. 1), but most of the mate- 
rial mined has been removed by hand and by means of plows and 
scrapers, and hauled to washing plants in tram cars which have a 
capacity of 16 cubic feet each. 

In hydraulic mining the water carries the disintegrated diamond- 
bearing material through a sluice trough, from which the sluiced 
materials are washed into small plants, where they are sized and 
jigged. Then the concentrates are placed on smooth sheets of metal 
and carefully searched for diamonds. 

A log washer was used for a short time in the Ozark washing 
plant, but it was not successful on account of the stickiness of the 
“black ground ” that was washed in it. 

Washing pans of the type common in the South African diamond 
fields have been successfully used. Such a pan is circular, has a 


272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


flat bottom, and rests in a horizontal position. At its center there 
is a vertical revolving shaft to which radiating arms are attached. 
On these arms are metal teeth that revolve in the pan and thus 
stir the diamond-bearing material that is fed into the pan. Dur- 
ing this stirring the diamonds and associated heavy minerals gradu- 
ally settle to the bottom of the pan, while the clay and other light 
minerals rise to the surface and flow out of the pan near its center. 
The concentrates thus obtained in the bottom of the pan are then 
sized and nextjigged. Thejigged concentrates are carefully searched 
for diamonds on metal-covered tables or are washed by water over a 
table which is covered with a thick film of grease and which is 
shaken rapidly from side to side by an eccentric. While the con- 
centrates are washed across the table the grease sticks to the dia- 
monds and holds them, whereas it does not stick to the other min- 
erals, most of which are therefore washed off the table. The grease 
and the diamonds and other minerals embedded in it are removed 
from the tables from time to time. The diamonds are then freed 
from the grease by converting it into soap or by putting it into 
boiling water. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miser and Ross PLATE | 


|. THE ARKANSAS DIAMOND MINE, NEAR MURFREESBORO, ARKANSAS 


Deeply weathered peridotite underlies all the treeless area and has been mined by means of a 
drag-line scraper 


2. TRENCH IN SOFT DECOMPOSED PERIDOTITE ON THE ARKANSAS MINE 


Lee Wagner, the man standing in the picture, has found more North American diamonds than 
any other man on the continent 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miser and Ross PLATE 2 


1. DIAMONDS FROM THE ARKANSAS MINE, PIKE COUNTY, ARKANSAS. 
NATURAL SIZE 


The diamonds shown in the picture are owned by Col. Washington A. Roebling, Trenton, New 
Jersey. They are crystals, with the following weights: No. 1, 11.21 carats; No. 2, 6.83 carats; 
No. 3, 3.30 carats; No. 4, 2.77 carats; No. 5, 17.86 carats; No. 6, 4.40 carats; No. 7, 1.19 carats; 
No. 8, 0.91 carat; No. 9, 2.50 carats; and No. 10, 1.40 carats. Other information concerning the 
crystals is given on pages — and —. 


2. ALTERED VOLCANIC BRECCIA (‘‘SBLUE GROUND’’) IN CUT OF OZARK MINE, 
NEAR MURFREESBORO, PIKE COUNTY, ARKANSAS 


The bedding dips about 30° W. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miser and Ross PLATE 3 


|. DIAMONDS ARE BEING MINED AT THE ARKANSAS MINE BY MEANS OF A 
POWERFUL JET OF WATER AND THEN CARRIED THROUGH A SLUICE TO 
THE PLANT PICTURED BELOW 


2. DIAMOND PLANT AT THE ARKANSAS MINE 


Here the sluiced material is sized and jigged. Then the concentrates, after being placed on 
smooth sheets of metal, are carefully searched for stones 


._ RECENT PROGRESS AND TRENDS IN VERTEBRATE 
PALEONTOLOGY 2 


By W. D. MATTHEW 


INTRODUCTION 


In science, as in our business and personal affairs, it is profitable 
from time to time to look over the ground and see how much we have 
accomplished in recent years. The present occasion would seem to be 
a suitable one in which to render an account of recent progress in 
that branch of paleontology with which I am principally acquainted. 
It is not a catalogue of recent publications, nor a summary of their 
contents that is presented in this address, but rather a report of 
progress, with some suggestions as to where this progress seems to 
be leading us. 

The foundations of paleontology, the documents on which our re- 
searches are based, consist of the collections of fossils, which are our 
record of the past history of life. The breadth and solidity of those 
foundations must determine both the size and the permanence of the 
structure that we may erect thereon. It is no small part of our duty 
as architects thereof to examine carefully from time to time into the 
adequacy of these foundations, to condemn and sweep away such 
parts of our structure as appear to be insufficiently supported, flimsy, 
or outworn. They may have served their purpose in the past as tem- 
porary outworks, trial sketches or models, or provisional scaffolding 
to aid in the erection of our more permanent structures; but they 
should not be confused with sclid and stable additions, nor should 
they be allowed to outlive their usefulness. A critical review of our 
foundations and of their recent extension is the foremost and most 
important matter before us. 

In the early days of paleontology fossil vertebrates were known 
from few and mostly very fragmentary specimens. Our concepts of 
extinct animals were built up from the study and correlation of 
numerous fragments, supplemented largely by the analogy of living 
relatives of the extinct animals. The correlations were sometimes 
incorrect, the analogies were always inexact and often misleading. 
Of the theories and conclusions based by our predecessors on these 
relatively scanty foundations, some have been swept away and for- 


1 Presidential address delivered before the Paleontological Society Dec. 29, 1922. 
Reprinted by permission from the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, vol. 34, 
Sept. 30, 1923. 


273 


274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


gotten, some have been modified in varying degree, some have been 
confirmed and vindicated by subsequent discovery. 

The more intensive collecting of recent years, and especially the 
technique devised by Hatcher and Wortman for the purpose of 
preserving the whole of a fossil skull or skeleton, have brought in 
year by year a larger proportion of complete specimens of fossil ver- 
tebrates. The leading American museums are to-day peculiarly rich 
in complete and well-preserved material, and the more progressive 
museums of Europe have likewise adopted these methods, greatly to 
the improvement of their collections. 

It is difficult to find any basis for a quantitative estimate of the in- 
crease in our collections, or even of any particular portion of them. 
So far as the American Museum collections go, the Cope collection, 
gathered between 1872 and 1896, covers about 25 per cent of the 
catalogue numbers, but is not in reality over 10 per cent of the collec- 
tions in this department, as in former years many specimens were 
separately catalogued that would not now be considered worth indi- 
vidual record. The other 90 per cent was gathered during the last 30 
years, and progressively more during the later decades. Perhaps it 
would be fair to say that 20 per cent was gathered from 1892-1902, 
30 per cent from 1902-1912, and 40 per cent from 1912-1922. Other 
institutions would have proportions different from these. Probably 
in Yale University or the National Museum the proportion of ma- 
terial collected and prepared over 30 years ago would be higher; on 
the other hand, in the newer institutions all the material is relatively 
recent. It is reasonable to regard the American Museum as fairly 
representative in this matter and to conclude that, so far as American 
collections go, nine-tenths of them have been obtained during the last 
30 years and nearly half during the last 12 years. 

Progress in foreign museums has not been so rapid, especially in 
Europe, where the earlier collections were more important and the 
World War seriously curtailed, if it did not eliminate, all scientific 
activities. Yet even in Europe large additions have been made since 
the beginning of the century and some important ones within the 
last decade. Judging from what I saw of the principal European 
museums in 1900 and again two years ago, it would, perhaps, strike 
a fair average to estimate that their collections have been nearly 
doubled since 1900. 

I will try to specify the more important points in the progress of 
the last 10 or 12 years. 


PALEOZOIC REPTILES, PERMIAN OF TEXAS AND SOUTH AFRICA 


On the origin of land vertebrates there is little to report in the 
way of new discoveries, although the researches of Gregory and 
Watson in respect to the relations of the earliest land vertebrates to 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—-MATTHEW 2715 


the fringe-finned fishes have advanced our understanding of the 
problem; nor have any important new collections been made among 
the earliest land vertebrate faunas of the Pennsylvanian period. 
Moodie’s monographic revision of the Coal Measures amphibia and 
reptiles? affords a most valuable compendium of what is known up 
to the present time. 

In the Permian faunas, both in Texas and South Africa, there has 
been a great advance, both in collecting and research, continuing the 
activity of the previous decade. Professor Case,’ of Michigan Uni- 
versity, and the late Doctor Williston,‘ at the University of Chicago, 
have been the leaders in this country, and have secured and described 
large collections from Texas and Oklahoma and greatly increased 
our knowledge of this ancient vertebrate fauna. The Cope Permian 
collections at the American Museum have been studied and com- 
pared with the South African faunas by Case, Gregory,’ Broom,é 
Watson,’ and von Huene,* and important collections from the Texas 
Permian have been obtained for the Tiibingen and Munich museums 
in Germany. There shall be noted, also, the fine skeleton of the fin- 
back reptile Dimetrodon, recently mounted in the National Museum.® 
The South African Permian has also been vigorously exploited by 
Broom, Watson, Haughton,’° and Van Hoepen”™ and large collec- 
tions made, including many finely preserved skulls and skeletons. 
This fauna is of peculiar interest as containing apparently the be- 
ginnings of the evolution of mammals, birds, and dinosaurs. It is 
significant that it is regarded as the fauna of an arid or desert region, 


2R. L. Moodie (1916): The Coal Measures amphibia of North America. Carnegie 
Inst. Pub. No. 238. 

8B. C. Case (1907): Revision of the Pelycosauria. Carnegie Inst. Pub. 55; 1910, 
articles in Amer. Mus. Bull., vol. xxviii; 1911, Revision of the Cotylosauria, Amphibia, 
and Pisces of the Permian of North America. Carnegie Inst. Pub., nos. 145, 146; 1913, 
Permocarboniferous vertebrates from New Mexico. Idem., no. 181; 1915, Permocarbon- 
iferous Red Beds of North America, etc. Idem., no. 207; 1919, Environment of verte- 
brate life in the late Paleozoic of North America. Idem., no. 283. 

4S. W. Williston (1911): American Permian vertebrates. Univ. Chicago Press; and 
various articles, mostly in the Journal of Geology, 1908 to 1918. 

5 Ww. K. Gregory: Various articles in Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1908 to 1922; 1913, 
Journal of Morphology. 

®R. Broom (1908-1922): Numerous articles in Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Proc. 
Zool. Soc. London, Ann. South African Museum, ete. 

7D. M. S. Watson (1912-1922): Numerous articles in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Proc. 
Zool. Soc. London, Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Geol. Mag., etc. 

5I’. Von Huene (1922): Osteologie des Dicynodon Schidels, Pal. Zeitsch., V, 58-71; 
1913, Skull elements of Permian Tetrapoda, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxxii. 
315-386 ; 1912-18, Anatomischer Anzeiger, 42 Bd., s. 98, 472; 43 Bd., s. 389, 519. 

°C, W. Gilmore (1919): A mounted skeleton of Dimetrodon gigas. Proc. U. S. Nat. 
Mus., vol. 56, pp. 525-539, pls. 70-73. 

0S. H. Haughton (1915-1918): Ann. S. African Mus., vol. xil, containing descrip- 
tions of the paleontological material of the S. African Museum and Geol. Surv. 8. Africa; 
1919, Review of the reptilian fauna of the Karroo system of South Africa. Trans. Geol. 
Soc. 8. Afr., vol. xxii, pp. 1-26; 1920, On the genus Ictidopsis. Ann. Durb. Mus., vol. ii, 
part v; 1921, On the reptilian genera Huparkeria Broom and Mesosuchus Watson. ‘Trans.., 
Roy. Soc. S. Afr., vol. x, pp. 81-88. 

“Van Hoepen (1915); Ann, Transvaal Mus., vol, v, nos. 1, 2. 


2 


276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


rather in contrast to the fluviatile or littoral facies represented by 
the Texas Permian. 

The third great area for Permian vertebrates, the Dvina River, in 
Poland, has not, so far as I know, been seriously exploited since the 
work of Amalitzky, 20 years ago, nor has anything been added to 
Fritsch’s pioneer work in Bohemia. 

With all that has been done, we really know very little as yet of 
the Permian land animals. The period was a most important and 
critical one in the evolution of land life, for it witnessed the first 
great expansion of land vertebrates, and the origin, probably, of 
mammals, birds, and the principal orders of reptiles, including 
dinosaurs. What we know best is the river-delta fauna of the Lower 
Permian in Texas, a series of plains or desert faune of Upper Per- 
mian age in South Africa, and probably a similar facies in Poland; 
asmall Permian swamp fauna in Bohemia, and a few items from other 
regions. These must represent but a small proportion of the variety 
and scope of land life of the Permian world. How imperfect a pic- 
ture it gives may be judged by supposing that our knowledge 
of the modern land vertebrates were similarly limited to the animals 
of a South African desert, a Texas delta, and a swamp in central 
Europe, with a few odds and ends from elsewhere. The zoogeo- 
grapher would be bold indeed who propounded theories of distri- 
bution and migration based on data so limited, and it is to be feared 
that his conclusions would bear but little relation to the realities. 
While it is thus necessary to emphasize the limitations of our knowl- 
edge, it is but fair to say that it is vastly greater than it was a 
decade or two ago. The number of genera on record is not so greatly 
increased, but our systematic and anatomical acquaintance with the 
characteristic types is more than doubled. 


TRIASSIC REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF GERMANY 


Turning to the age of reptiles, we have in the Triassic the least 
known chapter, so far as America is concerned, and very little has 
been added to this chapter in the last decade. What little has been 
accomplished in this direction is due to the energetic prospecting 
of Doctor Case, and contains promising prospect for the future as 
well as a few but very interesting additions to the Triassic faune.?? 
In Europe, however, the recent discoveries of Triassic dinosaurs 
at Halberstadt and Trossingen in Germany and the discovery of a 
complete skeleton of a South African Triassic dinosaur have given 
an adequate basis for the study of these primitive dinosaurs and 
appreciation of their real relations to the specialized dinosaurs of 
the later geologic periods. Especially is the discovery by von Huene, 


2H. C. Case (1922): Carnegie Inst. Pub. no. 321. > 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW O77 


in new excavations at Trossingen during the past two seasons, of a 
series of a dozen or so more or less complete dinosaur skeletons likely 
to be of great scientific value. Scarcely less important is a large 
quarry of skulls and skeletons of the great Triassic labyrinthodont 
Mastodonsaurus, in the Black Forest region by Professor Wepfner, 
and the discovery of complete skeletons of the very peculiar reptile 
Placodus, whose teeth were found long ago in Germany and supposed 
to be the pavement-teeth of a fish allied to the rays. This fine skele- 
ton is being studied by Doctor Drevermann, of the Senckenberg 
Museum. 


JURASSIC DINOSAURS OF UTAH AND EAST AFRICA 


The two outstanding features of progress in Jurassic land reptiles 
are the great dinosaur quarry worked by the Carnegie Museum near 
Jensen, in the Vernal Valley, Utah, and the Tendaguru dinosaur 
collections from German East Africa secured for the Berlin Museum. 
So far as I can judge from the record maps of the Jensen quarry, 
which I had the privilege of inspecting through the courtesy of Mr. 
Douglass, the material secured there is greater in quantity and 
finer in quality than the sum of all that has been obtained hitherto 
in America. The preparation of this huge collection will be a labor 
of many years, however it be arranged; but as a result we may look 
forward confidently to more than doubling our present knowledge 
of Morrison dinosaurs. 

The memoirs by Gilmore ** on the carnivorous and armored dino- 
saurs in the National Museum, chiefly of the Morrison fauna, are of 
the highest authority and importance, and his restudy of the Potomac 
fauna '* of Lower Cretaceous age shows that it is not the Morrison, 
‘as formerly supposed, but of decidedly later age. The Tendaguru 
collection is likewise an immense task in preparation, and when I 
saw it in Berlin, 2 years ago, it was far from being completed, after 
more than 10 years’ work. It provides a fairly complete skeletal 
knowledge of some half dozen types of dinosaurs** and fragments 
of a few others, representing a fauna similar in broad lines to the 


133¢C, W. Gilmore (1920): Osteology of the carnivorous dinosauria in the U. 8. Nat. 
Mus., Bull. 110, U. S. Nat. Mus.; 1914, Osteology of the armored dinosauria in the U. 8S. 
Nat. Mus., Bull. 89, U. S. Nat. Mus.; see also 1909, Osteology of Camptosaurus; 1913, 
Osteology of Thescelosaurus, and other articles in Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. 

144C, W. Gilmore (1921): Fauna of the Arundel formation of Maryland. Proc. U. 8. 
Nat. Mus., vol. lix, pp. 581-594, pls. ex—exiv. 

1% W. Janensch (1914): Ubersicht ueber die Wirbelthierfauna der Tendaguru-Schich- 
ten. Archiv. f. Biontologie, III, 79-110; also pp. 217-261. Ueber Hlaphrosaurus u. s. w., 
Sitzber. Gesell. naturf. Freunde, 1920, pp. 225-235. 

W. Branca (1914): Die Riesengrébe sauropoder Dinosaurier vom Tendaguru, u. s. w., 
Archiv. f. Biontologie, vol. iii, pp. 71-78. 

Pompeckj (1920-23) : Personal communications. 

BE. Hennig (1912): Am Tendaguru; also various articles in Sitzber. Gesell. naturf. 
Freunde, 1912-1922. ; 


1454—25——_19 


al 


278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Morrison fauna, nearly similar in its adaptive facies, and approxi- 
mately of the same age, but inhabiting a different continent, and of 
the highest importance in giving some really adequate data as to 
the faunal distribution at that epoch. It is too early yet to draw 
conclusions, but my impression from a superficial review was that 
the Tendaguru and Morrison faunas showed a very close adaptive 
similarity, but were not so closely related as they seemed. It is, 
fortunately, possible to correlate the Tendaguru dinosaurs exactly 
through marine faunas in interdigitating formations. This in turn 
aids greatly in the correlation of the Morrison fauna, and Schuchert 
has shown’® that there is strong reason to place it rather at the 
end of the Jurassic than at the beginning of the Cretaceous. This 
conclusion is further supported by Gilmore’s new evidence as to the 
relations of the Potomac fauna. 


CRETACEOUS DINOSAURS OF ALBERTA, MONTANA, AND NEW 
MEXICO 


It is in the Cretaceous dinosaurs that we can record the greatest 
progress in the last 10 or 15 years. It is not so long ago that our 
practical knowledge of Cretaceous dinosaurian faunas was almost 
confined to one horizon and to one small area. Substantially, it was 
the Lance fauna that we knew, and to what extent the fragmentary 
fossils recorded from other formations and other areas were really 
distinguishable from those of the Lance was a subject of acrimonious 
debate. To-day we have extended the scope of our geographic 
knowledge as far as central Alberta to the north and New Mexico 
to the south, and have been able to distinguish four well separated 
geologic zones, each represented by a fauna known from a series 
of more or less complete skeletons. The earliest of these faunal 
zones is the St. Mary’s of the Milk River district in Montana; the 
second and best known is the Belly River of the Red Deer River 
in Alberta; the third is the Edmonton of the same region, and the 
fourth, the Lance of Wyoming and Montana. The great collections 
secured from the Belly River by the American Museum, the Ottawa, 
Toronto, and Edmonton museums in Canada, and the Field Museum 
in Chicago are still being prepared and studied, but it is already 
evident that it was a surprisingly large and varied fauna, of which 
the Lance was but a remnant, consisting of a few highly specialized 
survivors.?” 


16 C, Schuchert (1918): Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. 29, pp. 245-280. 

17B. Brown (1912-1917): A series of papers in Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

H. F. Osborn (1917): Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat Hist., vol. xxxv, pp. 733-771. 

L. Lambe (1914-1920): Numerous articles in Mem. Geol. Surv. Canada, Ottawa 
Naturalist, Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, ete. 

W. A. Parks (1919-1922): Series of articles in Univ. Toronto Studies, Trans. Roy. 
Soc. Canada, etc. 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW 279 


Another interesting phase of recent progress in this group is the 
probable difference in faunas widely apart geographically and in 
different climatic zones. The splendid specimens secured by Charles 
H. Sternberg in the last two seasons in the San Juan basin of New 
Mexico appear to represent a fauna clearly distinct from any of the 
three great northern faunas. Their true correlation has yet to be 
determined by a more exact study of the fauna and stratigraphy. 
but Mr. Sternberg’s latest work, performed under heavy handicaps 
opens up an important new field for dinosaur collecting and is the 
last of a long series of important finds made by him during the 
last 50 years. A fine skull and much of the skeleton of a gigantic 
Ceratopsian has been secured by the American Museum; other im- 
portant specimens are still in his hands and in the Upsala Museum 
in Sweden. 


THE DINOSAURS NOT A NATURAL ORDER 


The dinosaurs are now generally recognized as not a natural order 
of reptiles, but a composite group, including two distinct and rather 
distantly related orders. Dinosaurs correspond in a way to pachy- 
derms among mammals, once considered a natural order, but now 
recognized as an assemblage of animals superficially alike, owing 
to parallel adaptation, but not really related. It is in this sense 
that the term “dinosaurs” should henceforth be used and not as a 
natural order of reptiles. The two orders are the Saurischia, in- 
cluding Marsh’s two groups of Sauropoda and Theropoda, and the 
Ornithischia, or Orthopoda, the Predentata of Marsh. The first 
group includes the gigantic amphibious dinosaurs, the great carnivor- 
ous dinosaurs, and their slender, swift-running allies, and the more 
primitive Triassic dinosaurs. Orthopoda include the iguanodonts 
and duck-billed dinosaurs, the horned dinosaurs, and the armored 
dinosaurs. All these are distinguished by a horny beak or bill and 
a more birdlike arrangement of the pelvic bones, and have a cer- 
tain degree of affinity to primitive birds, whereas the Saurischian 
order has a corresponding relation to primitive crocodiles. The fine 
memoirs by von Huene on various Triassic reptilia,® by Gilmore ”° 
on the carnivorous and armored dinosaurs, by Osborn on Camara- 


%F, Von Huene (1909): Skizze zu einer Systematik und Stammesgeschichte der 
Dinosaurier, Centralbi. f. Min. Geol. u. Pal., J’g., 1909, s, 12-22; 1914. Nattirliche Sys- 
tem der Saurischia, idem, 1914, s. 154-158; 1914, Ueber die Zweistiimmigkeit der Dino- 
saurier u. s. w., Neues Jabrb., B. B. xxxvii, s. 577-589. 

1% Von Huene (1912-1916) : Series of memoirs and shorter articles chiefly in Palxos- 
tographica ; 1910-1914, Geol. u. Pal. Abhandl.; 1920-1922, Acta Zoologica; 1909-1922, 
NeuesJahrbuch and Centralbl. f. Min. Geol. u. Pal., etc. 

2 See p. 277, footnote 13. 


280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


saurus,2: and a series of descriptive papers by Brown, Lambe, Parks, 
and others are the most important published contributions in this 


field. 
CENOZOIC MAMMALS OF WESTERN AMERICA 


In the field of Tertiary mammals progress has been made at many 
points. The great series of Tertiary faunas in this country has 
been improved all along the line. Collections from each horizon 
have been greatly increased; many new or little known species are 
now represented by complete skulls and skeletons. Careful in- 
tensive stratigraphic work in the fossil fields and more exact records 
of all specimens enable us to define more accurately the limits and 
succession of faunas and evolution of phyla. A great advance has 
been made in the Lower Eocene and Paleocene faunas, the former 
representing, as I see it, the true beginnings of the Tertiary mam- 
malian succession in this country, while the latter, whatever its 
precise geologic position may prove to be, is essentially the culmina- 
tion and close of a Cretaceous mammal fauna whose earlier evolu- 
tionary stages are wholly unknown to us, either because they in- 
habited upland areas, where their remains were not preserved, or 
because they lived in some other region whose Cretaceous land 
faunas have not yet been discovered.” 

In the Lower Eocene the most remarkable discovery is the Diat- 
ryma, a gigantic ground bird resembling the Phororhachos of the 
South American Miocene, but not related to it and standing apart 
in a group by itself.”* 

In the Oligocene, Sinclair? has inaugurated an intensive strati- 
graphic-faunal study of the typical White River bad-lands that will 
serve as a foundation for comparison and correlation much more 
exact and accurate than has been possible hitherto. A remarkable 
fossil quarry opened by the Denver Museum ** in the Chadron forma- 
ton of Colorado has yielded already a large series of well preserved 
skeletons and appears to contain still vast numbers. 

In the Lower Miocene the great collections of the Carnegie Mu- 
seum from the Agate fossil quarry have been described by Holland 


2H. F. Osborn and C. C. Mook (1921): Camarasaurus, Amphicelias and other 
Sauropods of Cope. Mem. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., n. s., vol. iil, pp. 247-387, pls. Ix—Ixxxv. 

2W. D. Matthew (1913, 1917): Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxxii, p. 307; vol. 
xxxvil, pp. 569, 831; 1914, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., vol. 25, p. 381; 1921, Am. Jour. Sci., 
vol. ii, p. 209. 

72 W. D. Matthew and W. Granger (1917): The skeleton of Diatryma. Bull. Amer. 
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxxvii, pp. 307-326. 

*W. J. Sinclair (1921-1922) : Four articles in Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., vols. Ix and Ixi. 

J. D. Figgins (1921): Ann. Rep. Colorado Mus, Nat. Hist., p. 16. 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW 281 


and Peterson in three fine memoirs,2* and the excellent series of 
Moropus skeletons obtained by the American Museum from the same 
quarry provide a complete knowledge of this extraordinary animal. 
Large collections have also been obtained from the Lower Miocene 
for the Yale, Amherst, and Field museums. 

The later Miocene and Pliocene faunas are represented in the 
Snake Creek quarries in Sioux County, Nebr., which have been 
worked chiefly by the American Museum.?” While the two great 
fossil quarries mentioned above contain complete skulls and skeletons 
of a limited number of large animals—-three or four kinds in each— 
the Snake Creek quarries contain chiefly fragmentary material of a 
great variety of animals, no less than 50 genera being on my list at 
present. They are river-channel pockets and are now known to 
belong to three distinct faunal zones. 

Perhaps the most interesting out of a multitude of new forms 
from these quarries are the upper tooth of an anthropoid primate, 
Hesperopithecus, the first of this group from the American Tertiary, 
and the complete skeleton of Pliohippus, the earliest one-toed stage 
in the evolution of the horse. Discovery by Troxell of fine skeletons 
of Pliohippus** and of a Tertiary type of mastodon in the Pliocene 
of South Dakota, and by Gidley of a large Pliocene fauna in Ari- 
zona, should also be mentioned. 

The series of later Tertiary faunas discovered by exploring parties 
from the University of California, on the Pacific coast and in the 
Great Basin provinces, are a most important addition, as they are 
almost wholly new fossil fields.2? The material as yet discovered 
is largely fragmentary, but a considerable series of faunas has been 
differentiated. 

In the Pleistocene the great outstanding discovery is the La Brea 
asphalt quarries near Los Angeles, remarkable for the numbers, the 
variety, and the fine preservation of the specimens. The discovery 
of this unique series makes it possible to describe the more character- 


*O. A. Peterson (1909): Revision of the Entelodontide. Mem. Carnegie Mus., vol. 
iv, pp. 41-158, pls. liv-lxii; 1910, Description of new carnivores from the Miocene of 
western Nebraska, ibid., pp. 205-278, pls. Ixxiv-Ixxxv; 1920, The American Diceratheres. 
ibid., vol. vii, pp. 399-476, pls. lvii—Ixvi. 

W. J. Holland and. O. A. Peterson (1914): Osteology of the Chalicotheroidea. 
Mem. Carnegie Mus., vol. iii, pp. 189-406, pls. xlviii—lxxvii. 

27W. D. Matthew and H. J. Cook (1909): Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxvi, 
pp. 361-415. 

W. J. Sinclair (1915): Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. liv, pp. 73-95. 

W., D. Matthew (1918): Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxxviii, pp. 183-229. 

H. F. Osborn (1918): Mem. Amer. Mus, Nat. Hist., n. s., vol. ii, p. 28; Amer. Mus. 
Novitates, no. 37. ; 

78H. L. Troxell (1916) : Am. Jour. Sci., vol. xii, pp. 335-348. 

H. F. Osborn (1918): Equide of the Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene of North 
America, iconographic type revision. Mem. Amer, Mus. Nat. Hist., n. s., vol. il, p. 162, 
pls. xxviii-xxx. 

‘i J. C. Merriam and others (1910-1922) : Univ Calif. Geol. Publ., numerous contribu- 
ions. 


282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


istic forms from series of dozens, or even hundreds, of complete 
skulls with proportionate numbers of skeleton bones.*° 


PRIMATES AND MAN 


The most widely interesting field of paleontological research is that 
which deals with the geologic history and evolution of our own race, 
and in this field there have been a series of discoveries and re- 
searches in recent years of the highest importance.** 

First among these I may place the discovery of complete skeletons 
of Neanderthal man; the skeleton of Chapelle-aux-Saints, so admir- 
ably described by Marcellin Boule; ** the two skeletons of La Fer- 
rassie, soon to be described fully by the same distinguished authority, 
and a series of less complete but important finds in Germany and 
other central European States. These discoveries have given a very 
clear and definite concept of the Neanderthal race, as a species clearly 
distinct from our own, characterized by a series of well-defined 
physical peculiarities, nearer in many particulars to the anthropoid 
apes, but clearly not a direct ancestor of our own species. 

The fragmentary skull and jaw found m 1911 near Piltdown, in 
Sussex, likewise represents an extinct species of man, as different 
from the Neanderthal man as from our own race. Although corre- 
sponding in its nearer approach to the anthropoid apes, it probably 
is not directly ancestral.** 

Another remarkable skull, discovered at Broken Hill, in Rhodesia, 
while not of high antiquity, is regarded as representing a survival of 
the Neanderthal race in South Africa. The Talgai skull from 
Queensland, rather doubtfully associated with the Pleistocene fauna 
of Australia, is considered as representing a proto-Australian type 
of man. 


3%. S. Daggett (1918): Notes on Pleistocene fossils from Rancho La Brea, Los 
Angeles Co. Mus. Hist., Sci., and Art; Dept. Nat. Sci., Mise. Publ. 

J. C. Merriam and others: Ut supra. 

W. D. Matthew (1913): Amer. Mus. Jour., vol. xili, p. 291; 1916, ibid., vol. xvi, 
pp. 45, 469. 

%1 The literature on fossil primates and the evolution of man is very voluminous. A 
number of excellent critical reviews of the subject by Osborn, Gregory, Boule, Keith, 
Sollas, Giuffreda-Ruggeri, Leche, Arldt, and others cite and discuss the chief contributions. 
The most important recent, contributions on Tertiary primates are the following: 

W. K. Gregory (1920): Structure and relationships of Notharctus. Mem, Amer. Mus. 
Nat. Hist., n. s., vol. iii, pp. 49-243, pls. xxiii—lix. 

H. G. Stehlin (1912-1916): Saiigethiere der schweiz. Eocens, 7 Teil. Abh. schweiz. 
paliont. Ges., vols. xxxviii and xli. 

G. E. Pilgrim (1915) : New Siwalik primates and their bearing on the question of the 
evolution of man and the Anthropoidea. Rec. Geol. Surv. India, vol. xlv, pp. 1-74, 
pls. i-iv. k 

W. K. Gregory (1916): Studies on the evolution of the primates. Bull. Amer. Mus. 
Nat. Hist., vol. xxxv, 1921, pp. 239-355; Origin and evolution of the human dentition, 
Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins. 

2M. Boule (1911-1913) : L’Homme Fossile de Chapelle-aux-Saints, Ann. de Paléont., 
vols. vi-viii; 1921, Les Hommes Fossiles. 

3A, S. Woodward, G. Elliott Smith, Arthur Keith, G. S. Miller, W. P. Pycraft, and 
others, on Piltdown skuil. 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW 283 


The sum of these discoveries is to impress strongly on the mind 
the probability that our own species is but one out of several human 
species which lived and flourished and competed one with another 
during the Pleistocene period; our own species, perhaps through its 
higher social adaptability, being at last supreme, and sole survivor 
at the present day. Yet it appears probable that through crossing 
and intermixture some of the blood of one or more of these extinct 
ypecies of man still survives here and there among our own race 
and may yet be recognizable when the application of Mendelism to 
systematic osteology and paleontology is more fully understood and 
applied, and also when our collections of the remains of fossil man 
are so extensive as to admit of such applications. Whatever may be 
the prospects of getting anywhere along this line, it is quite clearly 
demonstrated by these recent discoveries that the problem of the 
ancestry of our race—of the evolution of man—is in reality a much 
more complex and difficult one than had been assumed either by the 
exponents or opponents of evolution. It is not one missing link that 
we have to find, but many. Each of the discoveries I have cited is a 
“missing link”; but we can not be satisfied with merely answering 
the challenge of the ignorant, and each discovery serves as a spur to 
further search. 

A remarkable recent discovery is that of a true anthropoid primate 
in the Lower Pliocene of this country. While the single upper molar 
which Osborn has named Hesperopithecus ** does not prove the pre- 
cise affinities of the animal, there is no reasonable doubt in the minds 
of those who have studied the original specimen that it is one of the 
higher Anthropoidea. The discovery of such a type was not wholly 
unexpected, as the writer and Mr. H. C. Cook, in describing the 
Snake Creek fauna in 1909, pointed out that certain badly preserved 
teeth might perhaps be anthropoid, and that the character of the 
associated fauna made such a discovery reasonably possible. Never- 
theless it was not considered likely, as the formation had been dili- 
gently and repeatedly prospected in subsequent years without success. 


FOREIGN RESEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES, MISCELLANEOUS 
CONTRIBUTIONS 


Paleontological research in other parts of the world is much less 
advanced than in North America and Europe, but, in addition to the 
few discoveries already mentioned, several other important results of 
exploration have already been secured. In the West Indies a more 
or less systematic search for fossil vertebrates has been made by the 
American Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the 


*H. F. Osborn (1922): Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 37. 
W. K. Gregory and Milo Hellman (1923): Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 53. 


284 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


National Museum,** and considerable well-preserved material secured 
from the Pleistocene of Cuba and Porto Rico, with fragmentary data 
on the Pleistocene fauna of Hispaniola and Jamaica. The especial 
interest of these insular faunas lies in their source and paleogeo- 
graphic bearings. South America affords an immense field for ex- 
ploration, but since the death of Florentino Ameghino there is but 
little progress to record. The explorations begun by the Field 
Museum will, it is hoped, initiate a new period of advance ix our 
knowledge of the paleontologic history of this continent. 

In Africa considerable reconnaissance work has been done at 
yarious points, but beyond the Tendaguru and Karroo discoveries 
already noted, the only finds which can be noted here are the Cre- 
taceous dinosaurs discovered by Strémer in the Libyan desert.%° 
These are of quite a remarkable type—Sauropods and a peculiar car- 
nivorous genus—the fauna possibly having descended from the 
Wealden fauna; but careful comparative study is still needed. 

In India Doctor Matley has obtained an interesting Cretaceous 
dinosaur fauna from the Deccan, but only preliminary notices of it 
have as yet been published.*? The chief advance in Indian paleon- 
tology is the admirable stratigraphic and faunal work of Pilgrim 
in sorting out and correlating the heterogeneous group of faunas 
hitherto known as the Siwalik fauna.** The splendid collections of 
these faunas recently secured by Barnum Brown for the American 
Museum deserve special mention, as also the discovery of Oligocene 
and Eocene faunas in Baluchistan and Burma by Cooper, Pilgrim, 
and Cotter. The gigantic “ Baluchitherium,’ of which parts of the 
skeleton were discovered by Cooper,*® is perhaps the largest known 
land mammal. Borissiak has reported what seems to be the same 
animal in Russia, under the name of /ndricotherium,* and last sum- 
mer the American Museum secured a complete skull, nearly five 
feet in length, in Mongolia.* 

The results of the American Museum explorations in Mongolia are 
probably the most important discovery of the last decade. Central 


3% W. D. Matthew (1919): Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. xviii, pp. 161-181. 

H. E. Anthony (1918): Mem. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., n. s., vol. ii, pp. 331-435, pls. 
lv—] xxiv. 

G. S. Miller (1916) : Smithsonian Misc. Coll., voi. 66, no. 12; 1922, idem, vol. 74, no. 3. 

36}, Strémer (1914, 1917) : Wirbelthier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe. Abh. Kgl. Bay. Akad. 
Wiss., xxvii, 3® Abh.; xxviii, 3° u. 8¢ Abh, 

8s7C, A. Matley (1922): Personal communications. B. Brown (1920-1923.) Ab lit. 

3G. E. Pilgrim (1912): Vert. Fauna of the Gaj Series. Mem, Geol. Surv. India, vol. 
iv, no. 2, pp. 1-84, pls. i-xxx; 1918, Correlation of the Siwaliks with Mammal Horizons 
of Europe. Rec. Geol. Survey. India, vol. xliii, pp. 264-326, pls. xxvi—xxviii. 

% C, Forster Cooper (1911): Paraceratherium bugtiense, a new genus of Rhinocerotide. 
Amer. Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. viii, pp. 711-716, pl. x; 1913, Thaumastotherium [corr. to 
Baluchitherium] osborni, a new genus of Perissodactyles. Ibid., vol. xii, pp. 376-381. 

40 A, Borissiak (1915) : Rhinoceros de la Taille d’un Mammoth. (Indricotherium, new 
genus.) Geological Messenger, vol. 1, pp. 181-134 (Russian text only). 

« H. F. Osborn (1923): Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. —. (In press.) 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—-MATTHEW 285 


Asia has hitherto been a terra incognita to the vertebrate paleon- 
tologist, and the finding of rich and extensive fossil fields in the 
Gobi Desert with Cretaceous, Eocene, Oligocene, and Pliocene for- 
mations, each yielding considerable faunas and finely preserved 
specimens, in the first season’s exploration, promises to open up a 
completely new field in vertebrate paleontology.*? Other fossiliferous 
horizons will probably be discovered by further explorations, and 
the history of the land vertebrates of the great central Asiatic con- 
tinent in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras will be placed on record 
in considerable detail. 

In the cellars and storage racks of many museums, both in this 
country and abroad, are important collections of fossil vertebrates 
acquired many years ago, but never prepared or described. The 
labor and expense of preparing, studying, and describing this ma- 
terial to make it of use to science is as valuable a contribution as 
though it were fresh from the field. A considerable part of the 
work in the National Museum and some in the American Museum 
has dealt with specimens collected long ago for Marsh and Cope. 
Recently the Yale Museum has made a vigorous and highly successful 
campaign to prepare and describe the great fossil collections left to 
that institution by Professor Marsh. A series of articles by Lull, 
Troxell, and Thorpe in the American Journal of Science testifies 
to the importance of these additions to our knowledge. 

Two very valuable and authoritative memoirs by Doctor Teilhard 
de Chardin should be noted in this connection. In one the classic 
Cernaysian fauna at the base of the French Eocene is admirably 
described and illustrated from the collections in the Paris Museum.‘ 
The relations of this fauna and correlation with the Paleocene 
faunas of this country are now at last based on adequate data. Of 
scarcely less importance is Pére Teilhard’s memoir on the carnivora 
of the Phosphorite fauna, also based on the unrivaled collections 
in the museum at Paris.** 

A third important memoir from the Paris Museum, sumptuously 
illustrated and admirably presented by the director, Marcellin 
Boule,*® describes the fine collections from the Pleistocene of the 
Tarija Valley in Bolivia, in the Paris Museum. 

Finally, I must not omit to mention a series of great synthetic 
studies by Osborn, dealing with the later Tertiary Equide, now pub- 


“@W. Granger and C. P. Berkey (1922): Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 42; 1923, ibid., 
no. 77. 

48 P. de Chardin Teilhard (1921): Mammiferes de |’Eocene inferiur francais. Annales 
de Paléont., x, pp. 171-176; xi, pp. 1-108, pls. i—viii. 

44 Teilhard (1915): Les Carnassiers des phosphorites de Quercy. Annales de Paléont., 
ix, pp. 100-195, pls. xii-xx; 1920, Sur quelques primates des phosphorites de Quercy. 
Idem., x, pp. 2-20. 

46M. Boule and A. Thevenin (1920): Mammiferes Fossiles de Tarija, Mission Scien- 
tifique Crequi-Montfort. Soudier, Paris. 


1454—25——_20 


286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lished; *® the evolution of the Titanotheres, completed but not yet 
published, and the evolution of the Proboscidea, still in progress; 
the practical completion of the splendid monographs on the Santa 
Cruz Miocene faunas by Scott;*7 Winge’s monograph on the Bra- 
zilian Edentata;** and a remarkable series of brilliant textbooks by 
Othenio Abel, of Vienna.*® There are several other excellent text- 
books that deserve particular notice, but time will not allow even a 
mention of them here. 


CONCLUSIONS AS TO PROGRESS OF RECENT YEARS 


In the foregoing outline of progress I have been concerned chiefly 
with discoveries of new material, of new records, because it is the 
scanty and fragmentary nature of the evidence that is the chief limit 
to research in vertebrate paleontology and the chief source of error 
in our conclusions. In the phrase of a French reviewer, vast floods of 
ink have been spilled on problems of correlation, of phylogeny, of 
paleogeography, where a few questionable fragments of fossil ver- 
tebrates formed the salient points of evidence. When in some in- 
stances an adequate fauna was discovered, the problem was promptly 
and conclusively settled, the flood of ink suddenly ceased to flow, and 
deep calm settled over the controversy. 

The fundamental progress achieved appears, therefore, to be 
measurable better in terms of collections than of researches. I do not 
altogether agree with a distinguished Columbia professor who de- 
clared not long ago that paleontologists had no business to reason on 
or draw conclusions from their specimens, but should content them- 
selves with describing and illustrating them.®® Nevertheless, I do 
think we should distinguish far more sharply between provisional 
and tentative conclusions based on scanty and fragmentary data and 
those which are really proven by adequate evidence. 

So far as the older and better known fields of vertebrate paleon 
tology are concerned, the progress of the past few years has been in 
the way of consolidating and confirming what had been tentatively 
sketched out by earlier workers. In the newer fields we are reaching 


40H. F. Osborn (1918): Equide of the Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene. Amer. Mus. 
Mem., n. s., vol. ii, pp. 1-217, pls. i-liii. ‘ 

47W. B. Scott and W. J. Sinclair (1903-1912): Rep. Prine. Exped. Patagonia, vols. 
iv—vi. 

482A. H. Winge (1915): Jerdfundne og nulevende Gumlere fra Lagoa Santa. BE. Museo 
Lundii, Kjébenhayn, 1915. 

#0. Abel (1909): Bau und Geschichte der Erde; Das Zeitalter der Reptilien Herr- 
schaft, Vienna: 1912, Grundziige der Palxobiologie der Wirbelthiere, Schweitzerbart. 
Stuttgart; 1914, Die Vorzeitlichen Saiigethiere, Fischer, Jena; 1919, Die Stiimme der 
Wirbelthiere, Ver. wiss. Verleger, Berlin-Leipzig; 1920, Lehrbuch der Palxozodlogie. 
Fischer, Jena; Methoden der paliobiol. Forschung Urb. u. Schwarzenberg, Berlin-Wien : 
1922, Lebensbilder aus der Tierwelt der Vorzeit, Fischer, Jena. 

5 T. H. Morgan (1916): A critique of the theory of evolution, pp. 24—27. 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW 287 


out and securing the first fruits of exploration—the evidence which 
will confirm or disprove hypotheses and guesses that hitherto have 


had free rein. 
SOME TRENDS OF MODERN WORK 


In the field of paleogeography I may call attention to three pub- 
lications treating the subject from diverse or opposite viewpoints: 

Matthew: Climate and evolution, an essay of some 318 pages. 

Arldt: Paleogeographie, a treatise of 2 ponderous tomes. 

Case: Paleogeography of the Permian, a quarto volume of moder- 
ate dimensions. 

It is commonly said that paleogeographic problems should be de- 
cided only after marshaling all the evidence in every branch of 
zoology, past and present, as well as of geology and physiography, 
that can be brought to bear on it. This is what Doctor Arldt has 
endeavored to do in his great treatise. I do not hold that view, for 
it appears to me that unless evidence is thoroughly understood and 
critically sifted as to its weight and its real significance, it is of no 
value; and it is obviously impossible for human intelligence to attain 
a thoroughly critical grasp of so vast a field. On the other hand, the 
evidence in any one branch, if interpreted rightly, will lead to cor- 
rect conclusions, and if the conclusions drawn in one field conflict with 
those drawn in another, it can only be because one or the other is 
wrongly interpreted. It is not a question of balancing the evidence. 
If it does not alZ point one way, then there is some mistake in the in- 
terpretations placed on the facts. The problem then lies in finding 
out what is the fallacy and in which field it lies, and whether the 
evidence in several fields has been vitiated by the same fallacy. It 
is only thus that one can arrive at true conclusions in problems of 
this sort. To attempt to decide them by the balance of evidence, 
as one would settle a problem in taxonomy, is more likely to put one 
wrong than right. 

Doctor Case’s volume is of interest as placing a novel and much 
broader significance on the term paleogeography, making it almost 
equivalent to what might be called paleoecology. He has little to 
say in this volume as to the question of continental outlines, so com- 
monly discussed as though it were the whole of the subject, but is con- 
cerned chiefly with the habitat of the animals, its nature and changes, 
and the physical geography of Permian North America. 

There has been for the past two decades a tendency among verte- 
bratists to keep more closely in touch with stratigraphic geology. 
The comparative anatomist, especially in setting forth the evolution 
and specialization of structures, tends to arrange his material in 
categories and sequences that show the evolution of structures and 
organs, but are of course structural and not genetic sequences, as the 


288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


animals are all contemporaneous. The paleontologist, however, is 
dealing with true genetic sequences, exact or approximate; with the 
evolution of species and genera of animals, not merely with illustra- 
tions of how certain structures may have evolved. The time relations 
of his specimens must be known exactly and carefully considered. 
This has been always to the forefront in invertebrate paleontology. 
Much of the early research in vertebrate paleontology, however, was 
by men who were comparative anatomists rather than geologists, and 
the fragmentary material with which they had to deal made a 
thorough practical acquaintance with comparative osteology the first 
essential. to its correct identification and study. It is no less import- 
ant to-day on account of the complex structure of the vertebrate 
skeleton; but an inevitable consequence is a certain tendency to take 
the anatomist’s viewpoint and study too much the evolution of struc- 
tures and not enough the actual sequence in time of the animals them- 
selves. The corrective of this tendency is a closer union with the 
geologists, and in the founding of our society it was hoped and ex- 
pected that this would result. So far as I can see, the course of 
American paleontology in the past two decades has demonstrated 
the wisdom of this action. The exact records of specimens and more 
careful stratigraphic studies have enabled us to define horizons and 
differentiate faunas in much more precise and correct detail; and, 
with the far larger collections and more complete specimens, the 
records are adequate to trace in many cases the evolution of species 
and not merely of structures. The earlier writers on evolution did 
not attempt this. Gaudry and Heckel, Riitimeyer and Kowalewsky, 
Huxley, and Cope demonstrated from the paleontologic record the 
evolution of structure. Depéret and Schlosser, Osborn and Scott, 
and many others have perceived and pointed out this weakness in 
our evidence and have attempted to trace the true phyla. But it is 
only recently that the evidence has been adequate to place such at- 
tempts on a really sound and permanent basis, and indeed most of 
our work in this line is still tentative and provisional. Neverthe- 
less, we may expect to see these beginnings extended year by year, 
and the old structural phylogenies elaborated by the previous gen- 
eration, and scoffed at with some justice by critics as a vast “ schwin- 
delbau,” replaced by the veritable records of the phyletic history of 
races of animals. In so far as this is accomplished, Professor Mor- 
gan’s strictures on paleontological evolution,®! which are aimed 
really at the old methods, not at our modern standards, will be no 
longer justified. Paleontologists, with the facts before them as to 
what actually did take place in the evolution of a race of animals, 
may claim the right to reason and draw conclusions from these data 
as to the methods and causes of the transmutation of species. 


51 See footnote 50, 


VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY—MATTHEW 289 


On the anatomical side of paleontology, the far greater complete- 
ness of our material in recent years has stimulated comparative re- 
searches of high quality, apparent in many of the memoirs I have 
cited and in a series of memoirs by Gregory, Watson, Broom, Willis- 
ton, Case, and many others. 

Taxonomic researches and revisions have by no means been ne- 
glected, but I can mention only one of the many completed or in 
progress, the revision by Miller and Gidley of the supergeneric 
groups of rodents, in which, for the first time, the fossil representa- 
tives of this order have received adequate treatment in a comprehen- 
sive revision. 

In looking over the apparent trend of recent advances I am im- 
pressed with the honest and conscientious endeavor everywhere ap- 
parent to provide a broader and more secure foundation of evidence 
for our researches by much more extensive collections, more complete 
specimens, and more exact records. We have tried to get into 
closer touch with stratigraphic geology on one side, with compara- 
tive anatomy and zoology on the other. We have, on the whole, I 
think, kept fairly clear, considering the great increase in our collec- 
tions, of the temptation to multiply species correspondingly, the be- 
setting sin of the systematist; and, although the Mendelian school of 
zoologists will have naught to do with us, we have succeeded, I 
think, in making very good use of the data and viewpoints that they 
have emphasized and incorporating them satisfactorily into our own 
scheme of things. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE | 


CHIMPANZEE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 2 


DAM BUILT BY BEAVERS IN THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


, ANIMALS IN THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


By N. HOoLuisTEr 


[With 29 plates] 


The National Zoological Park, in the city of Washington, was 
established by an act of Congress approved April 30, 1890, “ for the 
advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the 
people,” and was placed under the direction of the Smithsonian 
Institution. Some changes have been made in the original boundary 
line, and the area now included within the park comprises 175 acres. 
The park is located in Rock Creek Valley, a district admirably and 
peculiarly suited for the purposes for which it was selected. 

At the time of its establishment the park was some distance from 
the city proper, but now it is well within the residential district of 
northwest Washington, almost surrounded by dwellings, and is easily 
accessible from the heart of the city. No more beautiful site for a 
zoological park could be desired, and within the fences of this pictur- 
esque tract may be found conditions suitable for many of the forms of 
animal life. The borders of the valley are heavily wooded, and the 
vegetation in summer almost entirely shuts off the view of the sur- 
rounding country. The more open hills and rolling slopes of the 
interior, where most of the exhibition buildings are placed, are 
covered with firm sod and excellent lawns, and winding through the 
length of the valley is picturesque Rock Creek, an affluent of the 
Potomac River. Systems of automobile roads and bridle paths are 
maintained throughout the park and walks traverse its most fre- 
quented parts. 

A collection of about 1,750 living animals is, of course, the feature 
of the park. There are numerous paddocks and ranges for buffalo, 
deer, and other large mammals; lakes and pools for waterfowl, seals, 
beavers, and other aquatic species; outdoor cages, some of large size, 
for hardy birds and mammals; and houses and shelters for species 
requiring special care or heated quarters during the winter months. 
The lion house, near the center of the collection, is at the summit of 
what is generally known as “lion house hill.” In this building are 
most of the larger cats, the hyenas, the hippopotamuses, and some 


291 


2992 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


tropical mammals. Here also are most of the reptiles. Near by are 
the monkey house and the bird house, and to the north the antelope 
house, elephant house, and zebra house. Outdoor yards and cages 
are placed throughout the park in situations favorable to the comfort 
and health of the various species exhibited. 

The interest of the public in the National Zoological Park is at- 
tested by the number of visitors. Over two millions of people now 
visit the park annually. In 1923 the attendance was 2,393,428, a 
daily average of 6,558. A large share of the enormous number of 
tourists to Washington visit the zoo and the sight-seeing cars now 
regularly include the park in their itineraries. Many people are 
attracted to the park on account of its walks and drives, and as the 
entire area is a carefully protected sanctuary for wild birds and 
flowers, many nature classes from the schools visit it on their field 
excursions. 

Three great classes of animals—mammals, birds, and reptiles— 
are represented in the collections maintained in the National Zoo- 
logical Park. 


MAMMALS 


The mammals (class Mammalia) comprise those creatures com- 
monly known as “animals.” ‘They are usually distinguishable from 
other vertebrates by numerous well-known superficial characters and 
are briefly defined technically as warm-blooded vertebrates with 
hair, and with glands in the female for the secretion of milk for the 
nourishment of the young. Mammals offer a great range of variety 
in size, general appearance, and mode of life. The elephant, whale, 
mouse, shrew, and bat present examples showing extremes in bulk 
and habit. The vast majority of the mammals usually exhibited in 
zoological gardens belong to the subdivisions of the class known as 
the ungulates (hoofed mammals), primates (apes, monkeys, and 
lemurs), rodents (gnawing mammals), carnivores (flesh eaters), and 
marsupials (pouched mammals). In the National Zoological Park 
good collections of numerous species of these groups of mimmals 
may be seen and studied to advantage. ey 


THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 


Modern systematic mammalogists divide the existing “ hoofed ani- 
mals” into four orders—the Proboscidea (elephants), Hyracoidea 
(hyraxes), Perissodactyla (horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses), and the 
Artiodactyla (cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer, camels, swine, and hip- 
popotamuses). The Perissodactyla are called the “odd-toed” un- 
gulates, and usually have an uneven number of toes; as the existing 
horse with one functional toe, and the rhinoceros with three. The 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—-HOLLISTER 293 


main axis of the foot passes through the third digit. The tapirs, 
although having four toes on the forelimb, have only three behind. 
The Artiodactyla are known as “even-toed” ungulates and have 
either two or four toes on each foot. These include the true “ cloven- 
hoofed ” animals. 

The ungulates are important and popular mammals in zoological 
parks and are peculiarly suitable for exhibition purposes because 
many species can be shown in open yards or paddocks which ap- 
proximate in many instances the natural surroundings inhabited 
by the animals. No less than 50 species are usually shown in the 
National Zoological Park, many of which are represented by small 
breeding herds. 


THE ELEPHANTS 


There are many points of difference between the Indian elephant 
(Llephas maximus) and the African elephant (Lowxodonta africana), 
but the most conspicuous mark to separate them is the considerable 
diversity in the size and shape of the ear, that of the African ele- 
phant being much larger than the ear of the Asiatic species. Both 
kinds are divisible into a number of forms, no less than 11 sub- 
species of the African elephant having been recognized by one 
authority. African elephants attain a greater bulk than their Asiatic 
kindred, but are not commonly seen in shows or parks, almost all 
the elephants exhibited in circuses being of the Indian species. 

Closely allied to the elephant of British India is the elephant 
of Sumatra (Hlephas sumatranus). Two young animals of this 
species were purchased in 1919 by a number of the friends of the 
children of Washington and donated to the Smithsonian Institution 
for deposit in the park. At the time of their arrival they were 2 
and 21% years old and were 42 and 45 inches high. They are 
growing rapidly and are already great favorites with the children, 
to whom they are known by their Malayan names of “ Hitam” 
(black) and “ Kechil” (small). 

The African elephant now on exhibition in the park was brought 
from the Government Zoological Garden at Giza, Egypt, by head 
keeper Blackburne in 1918. At the time of her arrival she weighed 
875 pounds and measured only 4 feet 3 inches in height at the 
shoulder. In 1923 the same measurement was 7 feet 6 inches. She 
is known as “ Jumbina.” She was captured in the region of the 
Blue Nile and is of the geographical race known as the Abyssinian 
elephant (Loxodonta africana oxyotis). In “ Jumbina’s” house 
will be seen a picture of the famous African elephant “ Jumbo,” 
probably the largest elephant ever shown in capitivity, and a rep- 
resentative of this same Abyssinian race. Near the picture is a 


294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


marked pole which shows graphically the great height of that enor- 
mous elephant—nearly 11 feet at the shoulder. There are, however, 
authentic records of wild African elephants of greater size than 
Jumbo; the highest reliable record is of one which measured 11 
feet 614 inches. 

The tusks of elephants are: the incisor teeth and are the chief 
source of commercial ivory. Some of the extinct elephants, as 
the mastodon, had tusks in the lower as well as the upper jaws. 
A single tusk of an East African bull elephant has been known to 
weigh 235 pounds, but this, of course, is far in excess of the normal 
weight even for a large animal. Heller says the average tusk 
weight to-day for old wild bull elephants is not more than 40 pounds 
for each tusk; but before the biggest males were shot off by the 
professional ivory hunters the average was probably about 80 pounds. 
Tusks of female elephants are much smaller and more slender than 
those of males, but sometimes grow to a great length. 


THE TAPIRS 


The Brazilian tapir (Zapirus terrestris) has been most success- 
fully kept in the Zoological Park and no less than nine young have 
been reared from a single pair that lived here for many years. 
Strange to say, this tapir lives equally as well in outdoor yards 
with warm but unheated quarters as in heated buildings. One 
fine specimen has withstood the winter weather of Washington since 
1911, appears quite unmindful of the cold, and is in perfect condi- 
tion. It is not at all unusual in winter to see him out enjoying him- 
self in the snow when other animals, even those from temperate or 
colder climates, have retired to their shelters. 

The Malay, or saddle-backed tapir (Zapirus indicus) is a strik- 
ingly marked species native to the Malay Peninsula, Java, and 
Sumatra. The back and sides are whitish, sharply set off from the 
otherwise blackish body. This apparently conspicuous marking is 
said to have great protective value, since the animal inhabits gray- 
boulder-strewn wooded regions where the tiger is often its most 
persistent foe. When lying quietly it is easily overlooked among the 
boulders. 

Young tapirs are pretty little creatures with stripes and spots of 
yellowish white which gradually disappear during the first eight 
months after birth. 

Other species of tapir are found in the forests of western South 
America and in Central America north to southern Mexico. The 
Brazilian species is especially fond of water and spends much of its 
time in marshy places. 


PLATE 3 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister 


es me ns. 


YOUNG SUMATRAN ELEPHANTS 


in 


rie ate 2 


1 


AFRICAN ELEPHANT 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 4 


GRANT’S ZEBRA 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 5 


HIPPOPOTAMUS AND YOUNG 


intiticum: oe 


ory 
a/b 


COLLARED PECCARY 


PLATE 6 


Hollister 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


ARABIAN CAMEL 


BACTRIAN CAMEL 


PLATE 7 


Hollister 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


RED DEER WITH ANTLERS IN VELVET 


AMERICAN ELK 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 8 


FALLOW DEER 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister 


PLATE 9 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 10 


LECHWE ANTELOPE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE I] 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOATS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 12 


‘IMERICAN BISON 


INDIAN WATER BUFFALO 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 995 


THE HORSE AND HIS KINDRED 


The Przewalski’s horse (E'quus przewalskiz) is the only living 
species of truly wild horse. It inhabits the Gobi Desert region of 
central Asia where living specimens were captured by an expedition 
organized by Hagenbeck in 1900. The descendants of this stock are 
now exhibited in zoological gardens in many parts of the world. In 
his long shaggy winter coat this horse is a creature of striking ap- 
pearance. On the outlying borders of the Gobi many of the horses 
owned by the Kirghiz tribes are apparently mixed with the blood 
of wild stock. 

The specimen of the common East African zebra (Hquus quagga 
granti) was brought from Nairobi, British East Africa, in 1909 by 
Mr. A. B. Baker. He was then a young animal about 18 months old. 
Zebras are found over much of southern and eastern Africa and in 
certain localities are very abundant, living in great herds and ming- 
ling freely with various species of antelopes and other game. They 
are much preyed upon by the lion and are a favorite food of the 
natives. 

Grevy’s zebra (H'quus grevyz), a considerably larger and more 
closely striped species than the common zebra, is confined to the 
more arid parts of northeastern Africa, es ,ecially Abyssinia, Somali- 
land, and northern British East Africa. It has a much longer and 
narrower head than the common zebra and is a more handsome 
animal. The male in the park weighs 880 pounds. The first speci- 
men to reach the park was presented to President Roosevelt by 
Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia in 1904. 


THE RHINOCEROS 


Of the five existing species of rhinoceros, three are confined to 
southern Asia, including some of the larger islands, and two to 
Africa. The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), which is the spe- 
cies on exhibition in the park, is found in Ethiopian Africa. The 
young example shown came from Rhodesia in 1923, and was then 
about 1 year old. The horns of rhinoceroses are not comparable to 
the horns of deer, sheep, and other ruminants, but are outgrowths 
of the skin and are not definitely connected with the bones of the 
skull. Rhinoceroses grow to great size; a specimen of the black spe- 
cies shot in Africa by Roosevelt measured 12 feet 3 inches in length. 
of head and body, with the tail 30 inches long. The white rhinoceros 
of Africa and one of the Indian species are known to exceed these 
measurements. 


THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 


Remains of fossil hippopotamuses are found in various parts of 
Asia and Europe, even in England, but the existing species are 


296 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


confined to Africa. In addition to the several geographic races of 
the common species (/Zippopotamus amphibius), a smaller kind, the 
pigmy hippo, is known. This latter is confined to western Africa 
and is very rare in collections. Hippos are essentially aquatic ani- 
mals and swim with ease. It is said that they remain beneath the 
surface of the water for so long a time as 10 minutes. On several 
occasions the introduction of the hippopotamus into the rivers and 
lakes of the southern United States has been advocated with the 
expectation that the animal would successfully rid the waters of 
the congested aquatic vegetation. In view of the serious depredations 
upon planters’ crops which might well be expected, the advisability 
of such an experiment is questionable. 

Of the hippos living in the park, the female and older animal 
was obtained from British East Africa in 1911. She was then 
about 2 years old and weighed 800 pounds. She has grown greatly 
since her arrival and now weighs about 5,000 pounds. She is gentle 
and loves attention from her keepers. The male hippo came from 
German East Africa in 1914 and is a much less perfectly tempered 
animal. He is active and remarkably agile for a beast of his great 
bulk and can turn and charge with great speed. Three young have 
been successfully reared from this pair. At birth they weigh 
about 45 pounds and are expert swimmers. The hippos are quartered 
in the lion house, where they have access in summer to large out- 
door yards and a tank. In winter they are furnished with heated 
water for their bath and frequently cause great commotion by their 
vigorous splashing. 


THE WILD SWINE 


The wild boar of Europe (Sus scrofa) typifies the family of 
swine. It is presumably the ancestral form of the domestic races. 
A fine example is shown in a yard near the elephant house. The 
wart hog of Africa (Phacocherus ethiopicus) is famous for his 
ugly appearance and huge tusks. 

The American representatives of the pig family, the peccaries, 
are found wild from Texas southward over much of Middle and 
South America. Two general types are distinguished, the white- 
lipped and the collared peccaries. The latter ranges farther to the 
north than the larger white-lipped group and was formerly common 
in the United States along the Mexican border. Although peccaries 
are doubtless at times, especially when roving in large packs, dan- 
gerous beasts to encounter, the stories told of their ferocity are often 
greatly exaggerated. The collared peccary of Texas (Pecari angula- 
tus) has frequently bred in the National Zoological Park. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 297 


THE CAMEL TRIBE 


Whether any of the wild camels of Central Asia are really native 
wild animals or not is a moot question. Many naturalists believe 
that the Bactrian or two-humped camels now found in a wild state 
in remote parts are merely the feral descendants of stray domestic 
animals, after the manner of the wild Spanish horses formerly 
occurring in the southwestern United States. Camels are popularly. 
associated with hot barren deserts, but the two-humped camel 
(Camelus bactrianus) is used in great numbers on the bleak steppes 
of Siberia, where the temperature at times is anything but moderate. 
Great caravans of these famous beasts of burden carry the rough 
felt and other products of the desert tribes and Mongolians north- 
ward to the Siberian Railway. The specimens of this species kept 
in the park are much more hardy than the Arabian camels. 

The dromedary, or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), 1s the 
species so much used as a pack and saddle animal in northern Africa. 
A drove of 75 camels of this species was introduced by the United 
States Government from Smyrna into the Southwestern States in 
1856, and others were obtained 10 years later. Escaped animals 
from these introductions frequented the Arizona deserts in a wild 
state up to about 1893, when the last survivors were killed. Both 
species of camels have bred in the park. 

From the evidence provided by fossil remains, America was at 
one time inhabited by many camels and camel-like animals, which 
occupied the country even so far to the north as the arctic portions 
of Alaska. The sole remaining species are the forms of the genus 
Lama found in South America. 

The wild llama, or guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is found in herds 
from Ecuador to southern South America and ranges from sea level 
in Patagonia to high altitudes in the Andes. It differs conspicuously 
from the Old World camels in its small size and the absence of 
humps on the back. It was early domesticated by the natives of 
South America and two general types or breeds have been evolved— 
the domestic llama, kept chiefly as a beast of burden; and the alpaca, 
bred for its wool-like coat. The wild guanacos are of uniform 
coloration, but the domestic llama and alpaca are variegated brown, 
white, and black, or of solid colors. 

All of the forms of the llama breed freely in the National Zoologi- 
cal Park, and the young are graceful, attractive animals, much ad- 
mired by visitors. « 

The vicufia (Zama vicugna) is a smaller species than the guanaco, 
with a distribution limited to the higher Andes of Bolivia, Ecuador, 
and Peru. It has never been domesticated, but the animals in the 
park have been gentle and do not seem to suffer from confinement 


298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


in small yards. With the llama already in use and bred into differ- 
ent varieties, there was little reason for special effort by the natives 
to add this high mountain species to their list of domestic stock. 


THE DEER PADDOCKS 


No less than 15 species of the deer family (Cervide) are usually 
shown in the National Zoological Park. Deer are attractive exhibi- 
tion animals and with proper care do very well in captivity. It is 
often possible to show small breeding herds in large open paddocks, 
where the animals present a natural and pleasing appearance. 

The members of the deer family are of special interest to sports- 
men, and to the average visitor are a never ceasing source of wonder 
on account of the annual shedding of the antlers. These antlers are 
present in the males of most of the species of true Cervide, and are 
well developed in the females of the caribou and reindeer. They are 
dropped annually after the rutting season, and during renewal are 
covered with the “ velvet ” which is later worn off when the antlers 
are polished by the animals’ rubbing them against trees and rocks. 
The growth of the new antlers is astonishingly rapid, and in Siberia 
the maral, or native elk, is kept in large numbers for the antlers 
alone. These are sawed off while in the velvet and shipped in great 
quantities to Mongolia and China, where they bring good prices for 
medicinal purposes. 

The most stately and conspicuous of the American deer is the 
wapiti, or American elk (Cervus canadensis). Although less in size 
than the moose, he is of more graceful and handsome proportions. 
This fine animal once ranged over much of the United States, but 
is now restricted to a few localities where the species has been care- 
fully preserved. The greatest numbers are to be found in the 
Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding country, whence 
numbers have in recent years been shipped into several Eastern 
States which were, years ago, inhabited by the species. The elk 
range in the Zoological Park is situated along the eastern border, 
between Rock Creek and the boundary fence. The animals breed 
freely in this place and are maintained in splendid condition. 

Near relatives of the American elk are the Bedford, or Manchu- 
rian stag (Cervus wanthopygus), the Kashmir deer (C. hanglu), 
and the red deer of Europe (C. elaphus). These are all represented 
in the park by fine breeding herds. The Bedford deer and the Kash- 
mir deer were presented to the park by the Duke of Bedford from his 
herds at Woburn Abbey, England. 

The common white-tailed, or Virginia deer (Odocotleus virgini- 
anus), the mule deer (O. hemionus) of the Rocky Mountain region 
and the black-tailed deer of the Pacific coast (O. columbianus) all do 
well in the park, and breeding herds are shown in large, open yards. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 299 


The Virginia deer is probably the best known big game animal in 
the United States. It ranges, in some of its geographical forms, from 
New Brunswick to South America. In addition to the common form 
of the eastern United States, one of the tropical species, the beautiful 
Panama deer (O. chiriquensis), is on exhibition. It is greatly to be 
regretted that the quarantine regulations now in force against hoofed 
mammals from South America make it virtually impossible to import 
and exhibit any of the remarkable and characteristic species of deer 
native to that country. These are of types very different from the 
deer of other lands and should be shown in the park. 

Among the Old World kinds none are more beautiful and attrac- 
tive than the fallow deer (Dama dama). These deer are spotted in 
summer, but the winter coat is of uniform color; the antlers are 
comparatively large and somewhat flattened or palmate. This species 
is a native of the Mediterranean region, but has long been introduced 
in western Europe where it lives in a wild or semidomestic state. 
Blackish and light colored varieties have been bred, and specimens 
of the former are usually to be seen in the park herd. 

The axis deer or chital (Aas axis) is spotted at all seasons. It 
is a native of India and a closely related form is known from Ceylon. 
The antlers of this deer are long, slender, and of three tines—a 
prominent brow tine and one fork above. Another spotted oriental 
species shown is the hog deer (Hyelaphus porcinus). 'This is a more 
sturdy species than the axis, but is only about 26 inches high at the 
shoulder. 

The large group of oriental deer known as the rusine species is 
represented in the park by the sambar (Husa unicolor). Numerous 
species of Husa occur throughout southeastern Asia and on many of 
the East Indian Islands. Most of the larger islands of the Philip- 
pine Archipelago have their distinct species, sometimes two. The 
antlers are normally stout and of three tines, but in some species are 
very small and with elongated pedicles. 

The park possesses a fine herd of the barasingha, or swamp deer of 
India (Rucervus dwvaucelit). This striking species thrives in the 
large paddocks provided for it. Its antlers are large, sweeping, and 
many-tined. A near relative is the Burmese deer (2. eldii). The 
little Japanese deer (Sika nippon), one of the most satisfactory 
species for park purposes, also is shown. 

A small herd of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), imported from 
Norway, may be seen in a large paddock near the buffalo range. 
These deer are particularly interesting because of the fact that both 
sexes grow antlers. ‘The American representative of the reindeer is 
the caribou, found in the northern parts of the continent. 


300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
THE ANTELOPES 


Asia. and Africa are the present-day homes of a great group of 
bovine animals known as the antelopes. In Africa, especially, this 
group offers the most astonishing diversity and the species range in 
size from the tiny dik-dik to the giant eland. There are brilliantly 
colored forest species and plain colored desert forms; solitary species 
and others which graze in great herds. Frequently these herds are 
composed of animals representing a number of distinct genera. The 
true antelopes, like the cattle, have hollow horns which grow and are 
retained throughout life—as opposed to the solid, deciduous antlers 
of the members of the deer family. 

Among the African antelopes in the park are the great, gentlefaced 
Kast African eland (Zaurotragus oryx livingstonit), first presented 
by the Duke of Bedford, and now regularly breeding; the sable ante- 
lope (Z'gocerus niger), with his long, bowed horns, and the beautiful 
blesbok (Damaliscus albifrons), both of South Africa; the lechwe 
(Onotragus leche), related to the water buck; the rather spectacular 
and very noisy wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochetes gnou), 
and his much rarer relative, the brindled gnu (C. taurinus). With 
the exception of the elands, which have large paddocks to the north 
of the elephants, all of these African species are kept in the antelope 
house, where such as need them have heated quarters in winter and 
all have pleasant yards for summer range. 

The Asiatic antelopes shown include the fine, large species known 
as the nilgai (Boselaphus traqgocamelus) and the small black buck 
(Antilope cervicapra). Both of these species are restricted to pen- 
insular India. The females of each are without horns and differ 
markedly in color from the males. The black bucks thrive in the 
National Zoological Park in outdoor paddocks with unheated shelter, 
and both species regularly breed. 

The American antelope or pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) 
belongs to a separate family. It was formerly abundant on the west- 
ern plains, but is now found in only a few scattered localities. ‘This 
animal differs considerably from the true antelopes. The horns are 
shed annually, only the bony core persisting throughout life. 'The 
pronghorn is especially hard to keep in eastern zoological gardens 
and specimens are not always on exhibition in Washington. It is a 
matter of great satisfaction that one example was kept in the park 
for so long a period as five years. 


GOATS AND SHEEP 


Goats and sheep are native to many sections of the northern parts 
of both hemispheres, and many and diverse wild species are known. 
They are closely related, and forms of each have long been domesti- 
cated and bred along lines of most utility. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 801 


The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) was formerly common in the 
mountainous parts of central Europe, but is now rare over much of 
its former range. Related forms are found in the mountains of 
Spain, northern Africa, and eastward to central Asia. 

The tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) of the Himalayas and the 
aoudad, or Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) of northern Africa, 
are species which connect in many features the true goats with the 
sheep and make it difficult to draw a sharp distinction between the 
groups. The male tahr is an animal of striking appearance, with his 
heavy collar and mane of long, shaggy hair reaching to his knees. 
He is an animal of the forested mountains and an exceptional climber 
and jumper. The aoudad is another animal that attracts great at- 
tention in the Zoo. Although lacking the regular beard of the goat, 
he has extraordinarily developed hair on the neck and fore limbs, 
and an upright mane extending to near the middle of his back. 
The aoudad is also at home on the steep slopes that are included 
within his paddocks. 

The Rocky Mountain sheep, or bighorn, which is known in some 
of its geographical forms in western North America from Alaska 
to Mexico is well represented in the park by five specimens of the 
typical form (Ovis canadensis) received from the Dominion parks 
branch of the Canadian Government. These sheep came from the 
protected area included wit’1in the Rocky Mountains Park and were 
shipped from Banff, Alberta. Several young have been reared. The 
Arizona race (0. c. gaillardi) is also shown. 

One of the most beautiful of wild sheep on exhibition is the 
mouflon (O. musimon), native to Corsica and Sardinia. It is much 
smaller than the American wild sheep and is even smaller than a 
good-sized domestic sheep, but it is a trim creature and is handsomely 
marked. 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT 


The Rocky Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), which is still 
common in parts of Alberta and British Columbia, was formerly 
abundant in the rugged mountains from Alaska to Washington, 
Idaho, and Montana. It is one of the most peculiar of American 
big game animals and has no nearer living relatives than the 
chamois, serow, goral, and takin, all found in the Old World. The 
hair is white or creamy white, and in the winter grows long and 
shaggy. The horns, which average longest in the female, are shiny 
black with smooth, sharp tips. Mountain goats are not especially 
alert, and are easily stalked, but their natural range is in the most 
difficult mountains and a successful hunt usually requires time and 
endurance. The mountain goats on exhibition were presented by 


3802 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the Canadian Government and came from Banff, Alberta. Several 
young have been born in the park. 


THE MUSK OX 


Specimens of the Greenland musk ox (Ovibos moschatus wardt) 
were first received at the National Zoological Park in 1922. The 
musk ox is now found only in the barren Canadian Arctic and in 
Greenland, but, as shown by its fossil and sub-fossil remains, it 
formerly inhabited Alaska and northern Europe and Asia. Its 
range has been greatly restricted within historic times, great num- 
bers of the animals having been killed by explorers of the North. 
Present-day protection by the Canadian and Danish Governments 
will doubtless save the species from actual extermination, and plans 
are even being made to attempt the semidomestication of some of 
the remaining herds*for commercial purposes. Owing to the nature 
of the animal its protection should not be difficult, and it should 
prove a valuable addition to the domestic animals of the northern 
treeless wastes. The musk ox is usually considered the only repre- 
sentative of a special subfamily of bovine animals. 


BISON, YAK, AND THEIR ALLIES 


The herd of American bison (Bison bison) maintained in the 
National Zoological Park has been brought together from various 
sources. It is now kept at approximately 17 head, and the surplus 
stock is exchanged to other parks and bison reservations. There are 
now many places where bison herds are kept and carefully protected 
and bred so that all danger of the extinction of this famous Ameri- 
can ruminant is past. The number of animals is increasing yearly 
under the direction of the American and Canadian Governments 
and the American Bison Society; new herds and reservations to 
accommodate the surplus animals have been created. 

The yak (Poéphagus grunniens) is found in a wild state in the 
very high mountains of central Asia, in Ladak, Tibet, and Kan-su, 
where it lives at altitudes varying from 14,000 to 20,000 feet. The 
color of the wild stock is a blackish brown. Tame, semiwild, and 
feral herds ranging northward into the Altai Mountains at much 
lower altitudes, even to the Siberian slopes of the Little Altai, are 
of mixed colors, black, brown, gray, and white. Both sexes nor- 
mally have horns; those of the male ofttimes are of great length. 
The natives of central Asia say that the yak is not successfully 
kept below 4,000 feet in that region. The animals in the Zoological 
Park, at what is practically sea level, do not seem to suffer from the 
low altitude, and frequently breed. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 303 


The Indian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) has been domesticated 
and introduced into southern Europe, parts of Africa, eastern Asia, 
and many of the East Indian islands. The examples on exhibition 
came from the Philippine Islands, where the animal is called the 
carabao, and is in quite general use. This buffalo sometimes grows 
to an immense size, and specimens have been reported that were as 
high at 614 feet at the shoulder. The horns vary in the several wild 
races and domestic breeds and are sometimes very large, curved in 
a crescentic form, or directed widely outward, when they may meas- 
ure nearly 6 feet from tip to tip. In the British Museum is a pair 
of horns which measure 77% inches in length. Smaller related spe- 
cies are native to Celebes and Mindoro. 


THE PRIMATES 


The order of mammals known as the Primates includes the lemurs, 
monkeys, apes, and man. The lemurs are mostly nocturnal animals 
and are, so far as living forms are concerned, not closely related to 
the other Primates. In some species the tail is very long; in others 
it is wanting entirely. In the present age the lemurs are confined to 
Africa, the oriental region, and to Madagascar and neighboring | 
islands. Many of the species are confined to the latter region. 

The other Primates are usually divided into several families. The 
principal groups are the marmosets, small species often of brilliant 
coloration and silky coat, confined to tropical America; the remain- 
ing American monkeys, of great variety in size and characteristics, 
and of an uncertain number of families; the Old World monkeys, all 
rather closely related as compared with the great diversity shown by 
the American species; the anthropoid apes, including the gorilla, 
orang-utan, chimpanzee, and gibbon; and finally man. 

While the majority of the Primates kept in the park are exhibited 
in the monkey house, several outdoor yards and shelters are pro- 
vided for such species as endure our winters without heated quar- 
ters, and the chimpanzee and the orang-utan make their winter 
homes in a specially prepared corner of the lion house. 


THE GREAT APES 


Of the four anthropoid apes, gorilla, chimpanzee, orang-utan, and 
gibbon, all but the first named have been represented in the park 
collection. No animal in the park attracts more attention from 
visitors than “Soko,” the chimpanzee (Pan satyrus). “Soko” 
reached the park in September, 1915, from the forests of the French 
Kongo. He was then about 314 years old and weighed only 38 
pounds. During the autumn of 1916, or when about 414 years old, 
he lost his milk teeth, and since the permanent teeth have developed 


304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


his growth has been much more rapid than before. On September 
1, 1918, he weighed 85 pounds, and in 1923 his weight was about 120 
pounds. While still a young animal he was taught by his keepers 
to take his formal meals seated at a table, and this he did daily up 
to recently, much to the joy of the children who crowded about his 
cage. Although still very good tempered, he has grown too power- 
ful to be trusted with safety and his training has been discontinued. 
“Soko” does all sorts of unexpected tricks and is a creature of 
extreme moods. At times he is very grave and serious, and again, 
especially if he has an appreciative audience, he is bubbling over 
with the joy of life and spins round and round on his back and 
shoulders or turns somersaults repeatedly. The chimpanzee is 
found only in the forested areas of Central Africa, from the western 
coast eastward to the region of the great lakes. A number of dif- 
ferent forms are recognized by naturalists. 


OLD WORLD MONKEYS 


With few exceptions the Old World monkeys are all exhibited in 
the building known as the monkey house. The exceptions are hardy 
species which seem unmindful of our coldest winter weather and 
thrive in unheated outdoor cages, where they are provided of course 
with snug and comfortable sleeping quarters. These “ fresh-air” 
monkeys include the Barbary ape (Stmia sylvanus) of northern 
Africa and Gibraltar; the rhesus monkey (Macaca rhesus), a social 
species of northern India; the brown macaque (Jfacaca speciosa), of 
Upper Burma and Cochin China, in which the tail is nearly obso- 
lete; the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata), a long-furred, naked- 
face, short-tailed species; and the chacma (Papio porcarius), a 
South African baboon of large size and great strength. A full 
grown male of this powerful baboon is said to be a match for a 
leopard; and as the animals usually live in troops, so great a num- 
ber as 100 being sometimes associated in this manner, they at times 
are responsible for great depredations to crops, and have been known 
to kill lambs and other stock. 

In the monkey house and the annexed outdoor yards for summer 
use are shown a variety of the Old World species. A number of 
forms of macaques, related to those mentioned above, are usually 
here. These include the bonnet monkey (A/acaca sinica), a native 
of southern India; the pig-tailed monkey (/. nemestrina) of the 
Malay region; the Burmese macaque (J/. andamanensis) ; the Moor 
macaque (Cynopithecus maurus) from Celebes; and others. The 
mangabeys, a tropical African group of long-tailed, forest-loving 
monkeys, are represented by the sooty mangabey (Cercocebus fuli- 
ginosus), an obscurely colored but very active species; the black 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISPER 305 


mangabey (C. aterrimus) ; Hagenbeck’s mangabey (C. hagenbecki) ; 
and the white-collared species (C. torquatus). 

The guenons form the largest group of the Primates and exhibit 
remarkable diversity in coloration and color pattern. They are 
attractive and very interesting monkeys with slender bodies and 
long limbs and tails. Some of the species are oddly and brilliantly 
colored. The group includes about 80 forms and is native to Africa; 
but two species (the mona and the green guenon) have been intro- 
duced into the West Indies and are perfectly established on some 
of the islands. Attractive species of this genus shown in the monkey 
house are the mona (Lasiopyga mona), the vervet (L. pygerythra), 
the green monkey (ZL. callitrichus), and the roloway (L. roloway), 
the latter an especially beautiful form with glossy, blackish coat and 
a long, white beard. The patas monkeys (Z'rythrocebus patas) are 
near relatives of the guenons but are larger animals, more at home 
on the open country than in the forests. The general coloration is 
red. 

Baboons shown, in addition to the chacma, mentioned above, are the 
yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) of northern Africa; the Hama- 
dryas baboon (P. hamadryas), a large, powerful Abyssinian species 
which lives in herds of up to 300 in number in the rocky, waste 
country; the mandrill (P. sphinw), a West African species with an 
enormous head and long snout; and the drill (P. leucophwus) of 
Cameroon. An albino specimen of the East African baboon (P. 
ibeanus) attracts great attention. It was purchased in Mombasa in 
1914 by Mr. H. N. Sclater, who presented it to the park. 


AMERICAN MONKEYS 


The American monkeys and marmosets are of great variety and 
are found throughout most of tropical America, north into Mexico. 
In parts of equatorial South America many species occur in the 
heavily forested river valleys. They are, unfortunately, much more 
difficult to keep in captivity than are most of the Old World 
monkeys, and only a few species are successfully maintained in 
zoological gardens. The capuchins, the exception to the rule, are the 
commonest hand-organ monkeys and are familiar to all. Three 
species of these are regularly shown, the white-throated capuchin 
(Cebus capucinus), the brown capuchin (C. fatuellus), and the 
weeping capuchin (C@. apella). Geographical races of the first range 
northward into Nicaragua. Among the many rare and unusual ani- 
mals collected by the Mulford Biological Explorations of the Ama- 
zon Basin, and presented to the park in 1922, are two additional 
species, the pale capuchin (C@. wnicolor) and Azara’s capuchin (C. 
azare@), both from Bolivia. 


806 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The spider monkeys are remarkable for the highly developed pre- 
hensile tail, which is constantly used as a fifth hand. They are 
among the most perfectly arboreal of mammals and exhibit the great- 
est agility in their movements throughout the tree tops. Numerous 
species are known and the range of the genus extends northward 
well into Mexico. The species most commonly exhibited in the park 
is the gray spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyt). Various species of 
squirrel monkeys and marmosets are shown from time to time. 


THE LEMURS 


Although several groups of lemurs are known from Africa and 
the oriental region, the species included within the typical genus 
Lemur, and known as “true lemurs,” are confined to Madagascar 
and neighboring islands. They have a foxlike face and muzzle and 
a long tail. The numerous species are essentially arboreal and many 
of them are strikingly colored. The mongoose lemur (Lemur 
mongoz) is a noisy, gregarious species, noted for its agility in trees. 
In addition to this species, the black lemur (Lemur macaco) and 
the fulvous lemur (Z. fulvus) are shown. 


THE GNAWING MAMMALS 


Among the gnawing mammals are included two very distinct 
orders—the Rodentia and the Lagomorpha. The latter order is made 
up of the hares, rabbits, and pikas, while all the other existing rodent- 
like forms are members of the order Rodentia. The vast majority 
of rodents are small creatures, like the mice, rats, and squirrels; but 
the order includes some very sizable living animals—the porcupine, 
beaver, and capybara, while an extinct South American member of 
the group was as large as a hippopotamus. The most characteristic 
features of the Rodentia are the complete absence of canine teeth and 
the great development of the incisors which, owing to their per- 
sistent growth and the presence of hard enamel chiefly on the an- 
terior surface, are worn by use to a chisel-like edge. There is always 
a considerable space on the jaw between these cutting teeth and the 
molariform grinders. 

Until some special means for the exhibition of living examples of 
the smaller rodents and lagomorphs can be devised, the collection 
must be mainly restricted to the larger forms. The common gray 
squirrel and the cottontail rabbit roam wild within the borders of 
the park. Among the gray squirrels will be seen numerous black or 
blackish examples. These are descendants of black squirrel stock in- 
troduced in the park a number of years ago from southern Ontario. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 307 


Other members of the squirrel family shown are the prairie dog 
(Cynomys ludovicianus) and various species of ground squirrels and 
marmots. The prairie dogs have an inclosed area near the eland 
yards where they live the social village life so characteristic of the 
species. Numbers of young are born and reared each year. During 
the coldest winter weather the prairie dogs hibernate, but in nice 
weather they are always to be seen about the “ dog town.” 

Two aquatic rodents, the American beaver (Castor canadensis) and 
the coypu (Myocastor coypus) of South America enjoy the running 
stream above the sea lion pool. The beavers have an extensive yard 
and have dammed the stream in true beaver fashion so that the 
resulting lake offers them the most natural surroundings. They are 
best seen in the late afternoon. The coypu, or nutria, is thoroughly 
at home in the water, and the teats of the female are placed high 
on the side of the back so that the young are able to nurse without 
diving. The fur is valuable for many purposes but is chiefly cut and 
used in the manufacture of hats. As many as 500,000 skins have been 
exported from South America within a single year. 

The African porcupine (Hystrix africwaustralis) and the Malay 
porcupine (Acanthion brachyurum) are splendid species with quills 
_ far longer than those of the American porcupines. 

Among the attractive rodents found only in tropical America 
are the families Caviide, Dasyproctide, and Chinchillide. Many 
species are peculiarly adapted to zoological park life, are showy 
animals, and breed regularly in captivity. The guinea pig (Cavia 
porcellus), so familiar to children, is bred in large numbers. The 
paca (Cuniculus paca), one of the larger rodents, has a brown body 
well marked with whitish spots. He is related to the agouti 
(Dasyprocta) of which a number of species are regularly kept. 
Some of the species of agouti are brilliantly marked; a most strik- 
ing species is the hairy-rumped agouti (D. prymnolopha). One of 
the most beautiful forms, the Trinidad agouti (D. rubrata), first re- 
ceived from Hon. Henry D. Baker, has twice bred in the park. 
Agoutis range north into Mexico and on several of the West Indian 
islands. They are hunted with dogs by the natives, and are said 
to be almost as cunning as a fox. Eight species of agouti were on 
exhibition at one time in 1923. 

The capybara (Hydrocherus hydrocheris) is a native of South 
America, north to Panama. This species is very fond of marshy 
tracts and is an expert swimmer. The specimens now on exhibition 
were received from Venezuela and British Guiana. Capybaras 
sometimes grow to more than 4 feet in length; they are thick-set ani- 
mals and although easily the largest of the existing rodents are 
gentle, inoffensive, and easily tamed. 


308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
THE CARNIVOROUS MAMMALS 


Two distinct orders of this group are now recognized by mam- 
malogists. The Carnivora proper, or Fissipedia, include the 
families of cats, civets, hyenas, dogs, raccoons, weasels, and bears, 
with their allies. The order Pinnipedia is comprised of the seals, 
sea lions, and walrus. While there is immense variety in the denti- 
tion of carnivorous mammals, as a rule the teeth are highly devel- ° 
oped for the process of tearing and cutting flesh or the crushing 
of bone. Some species are far from “carnivorous,” and subsist 
chiefly upon fruits and insects. The black and brown bears are good 
examples of this latter type, but most carnivores do at times eat more 
or less of vegetable food. Some of the smaller species are largely 
insectivorous. 

The largest of living carnivores is the great brown bear of Kadiak 
Island, Alaska; the smallest, the least weasel of the boreal regions 
of both continents. 

The Pinnipedia are readily divided into groups typified by the 
hair seals or harbor seals, the sea lions, and the walrus. The hair 
seals have no external ears and the hind limbs are so placed and 
modified as to be useless for walking on land. The feet, or hind 
“ flippers,” protrude backward and are used in the nature of a tail 
in swimming. The common harbor seals of both coasts belong to 
this group. The sea lions, or sea bears, have external ears, and the 
hind limbs are functional for walking on land. This group includes 
the famous fur seal as well as the species of sea lions. Peculiarities 
of the skeleton point to a very ancient separation of these two groups 
of seals, and they are not so closely related as would appear from 
their external appearance and habits. 


THE CATS 


Specimens of the larger members of the cat tribe are usually kept 
in all menageries and are favorite animals with the public. The 
collection in the National Zoological Park includes beautiful exam- 
ples of many of the most interesting and showy species. The larger 
kinds are shown in the lion house. 

The African lion (Felis leo) ranks foremost in popular interest. 
The adult male is a magnificent beast with massive head, a full mane, 
and a long tufted tail; he presents a most imposing appearance. 
Lions thrive in captivity and develop much finer manes of softer, 
more luxuriant hair on the neck and shoulders than is usual in wild 
animals. Lions broaght from the high and comparatively dry 
plateaus of East Africa develop much darker coats in the Zoological 
Park than in a natural state, This is supposed to be due to the more 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 13 


WOOLLY MONKEY 


ORANG-UTAN 


PLATE 14 


Hollister 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


TaeeS 


v 


Sooty AGouTI 


LION 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—-Hollister PLATE I5 


MANCHURIAN TIGER 


LEOPARD 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister 


AFRICAN CHEETAH 


PLATE I6 


fii 


nn 
Kt 
a i 


od. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE I7 


GREAT-EARED FOX 


PLATE 18 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.— Hollister 


IN THE RACCOON TREE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 19 


OTTER 


EUROPEAN BROWN BEAR AND CUBS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 20 


CALIFORNIA SEA LION 


KANGAROO WITH YOUNG IN POUCH 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK——HOLLISTER 3809 


humid atmosphere of Washington. The mane of the lion is not 
fully developed until the animal has reached a very mature age, 
and the numerous “adult” lons without manes shot by sportsmen 
prove to be in reality fully grown but immature animals. In the 
series of over 100 lions preserved in the National Museum the full- 
sized but maneless males are invariably the younger ones, as shown 
by the condition of the sutures of the skull and the condition of the 
teeth. The mane grows much more rapidly in park specimens and 
appears fully developed at an age when wild lions would still be 
““maneless.” Numerous geographical races of the lion are known, 
and the range of the animal extends into western India. Within 
historic times the species was wild in southeastern Europe. 

The tiger, the lion’s rival in size, strength, and popular interest, 
is an inhabitant of Asia, where it ranges through its various forms 
from southern Siberia to Java and Bali, and westward to Persia. 
It is absent from the greater part of the highlands of the central 
parts of the continent but has been killed so far north as Sakhalin 
Island on the coast and the northern slopes of the Altai in central 
southern Siberia. It is best known from Korea and Manchuria, 
the Amoy region of eastern China, Malaya, and India, each region 
furnishing a special type. The Bengal tiger (els tigris) is the 
best known form in menageries. It has a short coat and is a very 
inferior animal to the splendid Manchurian tiger of the north (Felis 
tigris longipilis). 'The Manchurian tiger is common in parts of 
Korea where it is usually hunted on the snow in winter. Both the 
Bengal and Manchurian tigers are represented in the Zoological 
Park collection of the great cats, and the numerous points of differ- 
ence between these two forms are readily seen. The most beautiful 
of all the tigers, the Amoy species, has never been shown; although 
skins regularly reach the market, living specimens are rarely ob- 
tainable. The same may be said of the very distinct Persian form. 
The Malay and Sumatra tigers are frequently seen in zoological 
gardens and specimens of the former lived for many years in the 
National Zoological Park. 

The leopard (Felis pardus) of Asia and Africa and the jaguar 
(Felis onca) of America are spotted cats with many superficial 
points of resemblance. The leopard is a less stocky animal than the 
jaguar, though he exceeds in size many of the smaller specimens of 
the American species. Like the lion and the tiger the leopard is 
divided into several subspecies or geographical races. Both the 
African and Asiatic forms are kept in the park. The jaguar ranges 
from Argentina northward to Mexico, and is sometimes killed in 
the wilder parts of Texas and New Mexico. Unlike the puma, or 
mountain lion, it is at times very destructive to cattle. The smallest 


1454—25——21 


310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


jaguars come from northern South America and the largest form 
inhabits Paraguay and southern Brazil. The great difference in 
size between specimens from these two regions is remarkable. Skulls 
of adult male specimens of the Paraguay jaguar exceed in measure- 
ments the skull of the largest Korean tigress recorded. _ 

The snow leopard (felis uncia) is one of the most beautiful of 
the larger cats. It inhabits the mountains of central Asia. The 
specimen on exhibition in the park lives without artificial heat the 
year around and enjoys the colder winter weather. 

The puma, known in the Western States as the mountain lion 
and in the south as the panther, has an extensive distribution from 
British Columbia to Patagonia. It was formerly common in the 
Eastern States, but is now exterminated over much of its original 
range. In parts of Florida and especially in the canebrake regions 
of Louisiana, panthers are still found. In the Bear Lake cane of 
northeastern Louisiana the animal was almost common a few years 
ago and doubtless is frequently found to this day. The mountain 
lion of the Rockies (Felis hippolestes) and the paler colored form 
from Arizona (Felis azteca) are both exhibited in the park. In 
parts of the West and Southwest the mountain lion is still found 
in numbers, and in particular localities is so destructive to colts that 
it is almost impossible to raise horses on the open range. ‘There are 
several authentic instances of the mountain lion’s attacking man 
without the slightest provocation; but considering the wide distribu- 
tion of the animal and its comparative abundance, these must be 
considered exceptional traits of habit. 

The ocelot (Felis pardalis) is a smaller spotted and blotched 
American cat, common in the Tropics and regularly found in south- 
eastern Texas. It is a handsome species which varies greatly in color 
and markings. The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a larger, 
tufted-eared relative of the common bobcat, or wildcat, of the 
United States. It is found over much of the wooded parts of 
British America and Alaska and into the Northern States and 
Rocky Mountain region of the West. It is much sought by the 
trapper and during the periodical abundance of the northern hare 
becomes very plentiful, so that large numbers are captured. 

The bay lynx, or bobcat (Lynx rufus), is the wildcat com- 
monly found in unsettled portions of the United States. Like other 
species of wide distribution it is divisible into numerous geographical 
forms. One of the handsomest of these is a richly colored race from 
the humid coast region of the Northwestern States. 

The clouded leopard (NVeofelis nebulosa) is another of the more 
handsome cats. It is smaller than the snow leopard, but is quite as 
beautifully marked. It lacks the fine form of the head and face of 
the snow leopard, however, and belongs in a separate genus. The 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK——-HOLLISTER Wa 


canine teeth are exceptionally long. The clouded leopard has quite 
an extensive distribution and is found from the mountains of 
northern India to the islands of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. 

The cheetah, known also as the “ hunting leopard,” is sometimes 
trained to hunt the antelope and other game. Long limbed and 
slender, with high rounded head, and with claws less retractile than 
in the other cats, he has many points of resemblance with the dog; 
this resemblance is not confined to external appearance, but is found 
also in the muscles. <A pair of African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) 
was brought over in 1913 by the head keeper of the park from the 
Government Zoological Garden, Giza, Egypt. They have developed 
splendidly here and may be considered one of the most important 
exhibits. 

CIVETS AND HYENAS 


The civet cats and their allies, the mongooses, genets, and palm 
civets comprise the family Viverride. They are of diverse types 
and are native to the Old World, but one species of mongoose has 
been introduced in some of the West Indian Islands where it has 
nearly exterminated many of the native species of birds. Regula- 
tions against the introduction of this pest into the United States are 
rigidly enforced, but a specimen was, nevertheless, killed in Ken- 
tucky in 1920. How the animal came to be there is not known. It 
is greatly to be hoped that the mongoose will never get a foothold 
in any part of the United States, as the practical extermination of 
many of our finest ground-nesting game birds would surely follow 
its introduction. 

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is the commonest African 
species of the family Hywnide. He is a large, powerful brute with 
jaws and teeth specially developed for crushing bones. The speci- 
men kept in the lion house is a great pet and is excited to supreme 
content by a little attention. Unlike the great cats, he pays not 
the slightest attention to bones in the meat fed to him, but crushes 
even the largest as easily and rapidly as if he were eating much 
softer food. A smaller species, the striped hyena, inhabits India 
and northern Africa, and a much rarer kind, the browm hyena, or 
“strand wolf” (Hyawna brunnea), is confined to parts of Africa. 
Hyenas are essentially carrion eaters and are largely nocturnal in 
habits. 

The aard-wolf (Proteles cristatus) is related to the hyenas, but is 
a much smaller animal with much less powerful teeth. The teeth, 
in fact, are so reduced and simplified as to be of very little use, 
and the animal feeds very largely upon termites and other insects. 
The aard-wolf inhabits Africa from Nubia to the Cape. It is very 
rarely seen in collections of living animals. The specimen in the 
National Zoological Park is on exhibition in the antelope house. 


312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 
THE DOG FAMILY 


This interesting group of mammals includes the dog, wolf, fox, 
jackal, and their numerous relatives. It is one of the best-known 
families in a popular way, but the exact limits of the genera and 
species are matters not yet thoroughly worked out by any zoologist. 

The true wolves were formerly abundant animals over much of 
the Northern Hemisphere, and, although exterminated by man in 
many regions, still persist in numbers in some well-inhabited areas. 
Although long since gone from the British Islands, they are found 
to this day in numerous parts of continental Europe and are abund- 
ant in the less settled portions of central Asia. In North America 
wolves formerly roamed in large packs over the great game fields 
and were especially numerous throughout the bison country. The 
northern “ timber wolf” and the “ buffalo wolf” of the great plains 
are powerful beasts and are able to take down our largest animals. 
The wolves of the Southern States are of less bulk and some species 
are barely larger than the coyote. 

The wolf of the northern Rocky Mountain States (Canis nubilus) 
varies greatly in color, as usual with the American species. Among 
the specimens in the park are some of the typical “ gray wolves” 
and some very dark, almost blackish examples. Many young wolves 
of this species have been reared in the park. A specimen of the 
timber wolf (C. occidentalis) from the upper peninsula of Michigan 
is also shown. This is the wolf of the great forests of northern 
United States and Canada. 

The coyote of the northern plains (Canis latrans) is a large 
species approximating some of the smaller wolves in size. It ranges 
east to Wisconsin and western Indiana, where it is frequently con- 
founded with the timber wolf; old hunters and trappers often fail 
to distinguish between the animals. In some localities it is called 
the brush wolf by those who recognize the difference between it and 
its larger and more powerful relative. Numerous other species and 
subspecies of the coyote are found in the Western States and in 
Mexico. The coyote is structurally closer to the Old World jackal 
than to the big wolves, and takes the place of the jackal in the 
American fauna. 

The red fox (Vulpes fulva) is very common in parts of the North, 
but is rare in many of the Southern States. In the boreal regions of 
Canada and the northern United States it takes on a splendid coat 
and the fur is of considerable value. The cross fox and the black 
or silver fox are color phases of this species and examples of each are 
sometimes found in litters of red foxes. Both phases occur most fre- 
quently in definite geographic areas, however, and in some western 
localities the cross fox coloration is the common condition. Silver 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 813 


foxes are now bred in confinement and the skins frequently bring 
enormous prices in the fur market. 

The swift, or kit fox (Vulpes velov) is an inhabitant of the open 
areas of the West and is found in many of the most arid deserts. A 
number of species and races are recognized by mammalogists. The 
fur has no real value. 

The common gray fox abounds in many parts of the United States 
and Middle America. Unlike the red fox, it is a good climber and if 
pursued by dogs readily takes to trees. The common eastern species 
(Urocyon cinereoargenteus) maintains itself in well-settled com- 
munities and is sometimes known by the misnomer of “ silver-gray 
fox.” In localities where it is not often taken, the capture of a speci- 
inen frequently excites the trapper to the belief that he has a speci- 
men of the real prized and valuable silver fox. The genuine silver 
fox, mentioned above as a color phase of the red fox, is chiefly black, 
with more or less white hair mixed in the pelage; whereas the gray 
fox is always gray and rufous, with a blackish stripe along the upper 
surface of the tail. The fur of the gray fox is comparatively short 
and coarse, but is of real beauty and is considerably used by the 
trade. Its value is much less than the fur of the red fox. 

A most interesting member of this group is the great-eared fox 
(Otocyon megalotis) of South Africa. What is probably the first 
specimen of this species ever exhibited alive in America was pre- 
sented to the park by Mr. Victor J. Evans, of Washington. The as- 
tonishing development of the ears is the chief characteristic of this 
rare fox. 

The Eskimo dog is a variety of the common domestic animal 
(Canis familiaris) and, contrary to general belief, apparently is 
not a direct and scarcely modified descendant of the wolf now 
found wild in the northern regions. Examination of dozens of 
skulls of dogs from the ancient Eskimo dwelling sites of north- 
eastern Siberia and from more recent Eskimo tribes fails to disclose 
any more wolflike characteristics in the bones or teeth than are 
found in all large domestic dogs. The primitive Eskimo dog skulls 
are almost counterparts in all characters of the dog skulls found 
in ancient Egyptian burials and in the pre-Columbian graves of 
Peru. Domestic dogs have the general wolf type of skull and teeth 
without admixture of characters derived from jackal, coyote, or any 
South American member of the dog family; but the animal is of 
very ancient origin and its actual wolflike ancestor is not for a 
certainty known. 

Another very interesting dog is the dingo (Canis dingo) of Aus- 
tralia. It is found in a wild state, and also, it is said, in a semi- 
domesticated state among the natives of that country. It has been 
generally believed that the dingo was introduced by man into Aus- 


314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


tralia at some early time, but there is some evidence, furnished by 
fossil remains, that it existed there with some of the extinct mar- 
supials at a period earlier than man is surely known in that region. 
In color the dingo is usually reddish or rufous-tawny, although 
individuals lighter or darker in color than the average specimens 
are known to occur in an apparently wild state. Whatever the true 
origin of the dingo, it is certainly as truly a wild animal in Australia 
in modern times as any of the native marsupials or the ratlike 
rodents. 
RACCOONS AND THEIR ALLIES 


The common raccoon (Procyon lotorv) has a special yard near the 
elephant houses, with a fine tree in which the animals of the colony 
may be seen sunning themselves in the topmost branches. South 
American representatives of the coon family, the kinkajou (Potos 
flavus) and the coati-mundi (Vasua narica) are also kept in the park. 
Both of these animals occur northward throughout much of Central 
America and Mexico, and the coati-mundi has been captured in south- 
ern Arizona. 

The panda (Adlurus fulgens), of the high Himalaya Mountains, 
is interesting, not only because of its peculiar red, white, and black 
coloration, but also because it is the only Old World representative 
of the raccoon family. It is very fond of bamboo, which is provided 
as a regular part of its diet. 

The cacomistle (Bassariscus astutus) is a beautiful little animal 
often called the “ ring-tailed cat,” “coon cat,” or “civet.” It is com- 
mon along the Pacific coast of the United States and southward into 
the Tropics. It has many structural characters of the dogs and, al- 
though usually classified with the raccoons, has been made the type 
of a distinct family. The fur at times becomes fashionable and many 
skins are placed on the market. 


HE WEASEL FAMILY 


This group of highly bloodthirsty mammals includes such diverse 
types as the weasel, badger, skunk, marten, and otter. The family 
has an extensive distribution and species are found in most parts of 
the globe with the exception of Australia and Madagascar. 

The American badgers (Za«idea taxus) have a fine yard in the 
park where they can usually be seen in their characteristic occupa- 
tion of digging in the soil. So active are they in this work that 
the dirt within the inclosure is constantly turned over and always 
presents the appearance of a newly spaded garden. The European 
badgers (Meles meles), on the contrary, are rarely seen, as they 
spend almost the entire day asleep under the straw in a corner of 
their quarters. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 315 


The common skunk of the Eastern States (Afemphitis nigra), the 
marten (Martes americana), the fisher (Martes pennanti), and the 
mink (Mustela vison) are all American species which are essentially 
nocturnal and attract little attention in their cages from visitors to 
the park. The neotropical tayra (Z'ayra barbara), on the con- 
trary, is a friendly, active animal always ready to show himself to 
visitors. 

The otter pens, along the stream above the beaver and sea lion 
pools, offer an attractive show of the home life of animals. Here 
a pair of American otters (Lutra canadensis) have reared their 
young and the mother with her family can be seen. Otters are 
very intelligent and playful animals and may easily be made at- 
tractive pets. Moreover, since it is practicable to rear them in 
captivity, the breeding of otters may be made a very pleasant and 
profitable occupation, as the skins command a fine price in the fur 
market. 

THE BEAR DENS 


The park maintains a splendid collection of bears and few animals 
attract so much attention from the public as do these interesting 
creatures. The dens are conveniently and pleasantly located on the 
west side of the main highway through the park where the animals 
have ideal conditions for comfort and health. 

The polar bears (7'halarctos maritimus) are confined to the Arctic 
regions. On the Atlantic coast of America they formerly occurred 
regularly south to Labrador. White at all seasons, active in the cages 
and pool, and expert swimmers, the polar bears are great favorites in 
the park. Contrary to general belief, the polar bears do not. parti- 
cularly suffer from the summer heat of Washington. It is to be 
remembered that there are many warm days in summer in their 
native home and that during this season the bears commonly go 
ashore and subsist for periods almost wholly upon a vegetable diet. 
During most of the remainder of the year the food of the polar bear 
consists mainly of the flesh of seals. A polar bear in the park at 
one time weighed 760 pounds. 

The European brown bear (Ursus arctos) is the bear usually 
seen accompanying itinerant street exhibitions. It naturally stands 
erect on its hind feet much more than do the other bears and is, 
consequently, much more readily trained for such purposes. Many 
young of this species have been reared in the park. 

The great and confusing variety of bears found in northwestern 
America has puzzled naturalists since the first discovery of those 
huge beasts. Some of the brown bears of Alaska, notably those of 
the Alaskan Peninsula and Kadiak Island, are the largest of all 
living species and appear to be intimately related to the brown bears 


316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of eastern Asia and to the extinct. cave bears of Europe. Several 
species of the great Alaskan brown bears are shown in the park. One 
kept for several years weighed at one time 1,160 pounds. 

There are splendid examples of the Kadiak bear (Ursus midden- 
dorffii) ; the Peninsula bear (U. gyas); the Yakutat bear (U. dalli), 
and Kidder’s bear (U. kidderi) of Cook Inlet. 

The grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis) is perhaps the most cele- 
brated of all the bears and has the greatest reputation for strength 
and ferocity. In the early days of the West the grizzly was very 
plentiful, and no story of adventure in that region was complete 
unless it introduced the “ silver tip” at some point in the tale. Nowa- 
days grizzly bears are rare or completely exterminated over most of 
their former range in the United States, but are still found in the 
Yellowstone National Park, from which place most of our specimens 
come. In the Rocky Mountains of Canada, and particularly in 
British Columbia, grizzly bears are commonly found. Numerous 
species and subspecies of grizzlies are now recognized. 

The common black bear of North America (Ursus americanus) 
has a very extensive distribution from Alaska to Florida; a-number 
of geographical races are recognized within this area. This animal 
has persistently held its own in some of the more settled States, and, 
like the white-tailed deer, with proper protection is in little danger 
of extermination. The cinnamon bear, a color phase of the black 
bear, is of most frequent occurrence in certain parts of the West where 
a geographical race of the common bear is recognized as Ursus 
americanus cinnamomum. 

One of the rarest of all the bears is the glacier bear, or blue bear 
(Ursus emmonsiz) of the Mount St. Elias Alps, Alaska. It has a 
beautiful coat of a blue-gray color. The first living specimen of 
this interesting American mammal ever exhibited in any zoological 
garden was received at the National Zoological Park in 1917 as a 
gift from Mr. Victor J. Evans, of Washington, District of Columbia, 
who secured it from a resident of Yakutat, Alaska. It was captured 
as a small cub by Indians about the middle of May, 1916, at the 
head of Disenchantment Bay. The only specimens ever received be- 
fore this time were a few skins, mostly obtained by fur traders, and 
several skulls which have found their way into museums. 

The Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus), the sloth bear (A/elursus 
ursinus), and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are among the 
foreign bears exhibited. 


SEALS AND SEA LIONS 


The common harbor seal of the Atlantic coast (Phoca vitulina) 
is the typical species of a large group of “ hair seals ” inhabiting the 
ocean of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a wide distribution and is 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK——-HOLLISTER aly 


found on both shores of the Atlantic, ranging well down the coast of 
the United States. Near relatives are found in the northern Pacific 
Ocean, in the Caspian Sea, and in Lake Baikal, Siberia. The har- 
bor seal is an interesting creature, spotted in coat, with a little 
round head, and an inquisitive face. 

The sea lion pool, just west of the bear dens, is a popular show 
place with the public. In it are kept the California sea lions 
(Zalophus californianus). This species, so familiar to visitors to the 
Pacific coast, is the animal usually seen in shows of trained sea 
lions. It is a noisy animal, and the bark of the male can be heard 
for a considerable distance. 

Feeding time at the sea lion pool is an exciting occasion. The 
animals are fed fish, some of considerable size, which are handed 
or thrown to them by the keeper from the high rocky den at the end 
of the pool. It is at this time that visitors can best see for themselves 
what expert and exceedingly rapid swimmers these animals are. A 
fish thrown anywhere within reasonable distance of one of the sea 
lions rarely strikes the water, so expert are the animals in catching 
them. 

THE MARSUPIALS, OR POUCHED MAMMALS 


These interesting creatures, although in former periods of time 
having a wide distribution over the earth, are now confined to 
Australia and America. They are separated from all the other 
living mammals by many structural characters. The most interest- 
ing point from a popular view is the fact that the young are born 
at a much earlier stage of development than in other mammals, and 
spend a long period of growth in the marsupium, or abdominal 
pouch of the mother, where they are firmly attached to the teats. 
The newly born young of the larger kangaroos are no larger than a 
baby mouse, but by the time they first look out of the opening 
of the pouch, some weeks later, they are grown to a point compar- 
able to the ordinary mammals at birth. 

The marsupials in America are all opossums or ratlike forms, 
but in Australia and Tasmania there are marsupials to represent 
many of the variations found in the mammals of the world—wolf, 
bear, squirrel, flying squirrel, cat, marmot, rat, rabbit, lemur, ant- 
eater, and mole are all imitated in superficial points of structure 
and mode of life. 

Marsupials most often seen in collections of living animals are 
the various species of kangaroos, wallaby, and wallaroo; the phal- 
angers, Tasmanian devil, wombat, and opossums. 

The larger species, the great gray kangaroo (Macropus gigan- 
teus), the red kangaroo (M. rufus), and the wallaroo (d/. robustus) 
naturally attract the most attention. They are showy, breed well in 


1454—25——22 


318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


2 

captivity, and the young animals, in and out of the pouch, are a 
never-ceasing wonder to visitors. From the time when the young 
are first noted moving in the pouch, it is about three months, with 
these large kangaroos, before the little animal first puts his head 
out of the opening. Then follows a very interesting and amusing 
few weeks during which the young is in or out of the marsupium at 
his pleasure; sometimes with foot or head out in the most grotesque 
positions. Finally the mother, when the young animal has grown 
to a considerable size, refuses it further admission to the pouch. 
These kangaroos sometimes attain a size of over 5 feet for the head. 
and body alone; the added length of the great tail makes the animal 
appear much larger. 

Several smaller species of kangaroos are usually kept in the an- 
telope house. Among the most interesting at the present time are 
the rufous-bellied wallaby (J. billardierii) and the brush-tailed 
rock kangaroo (Petrogale penicillata). The rock kangaroos are at 
home in rough country rather than in level areas; the tail is less 
robust than in the other species and is not used as a ground rest 
when the animal stands erect. 

The phalanger (7'7ichosurus vulpecula) is another Australian 
species, largely nocturnal, and with the habit of playing “ ’pos- 
sum ” like its American relative. It is not active in the cages and 
is rather uninteresting in the zoo. The wombat (Phascolomys 
mitchellt) is a powerful, heavy-set brute, with large head and only 
au short stump of a tail. It is a burrowing animal and is said to 
live in small colonies. This is an Australian species, but a closely 
related form inhabits Tasmania. 

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is as ugly disposi- 
tioned a beast as he is displeasing to the eye. Naturally of nocturnal 
habits he is not often active in the cage. The Virginia opossum 
(Didelphis virginiana) is likewise of such retiring disposition that 
he is seldom seen. A small relative, called the murine opossum 
(Marmosa murina), is a native of tropical America and occasionally 
finds its way into the United States as a stowaway in a bunch of 
bananas. . 

BIRDS 


Birds (class Aves) are often defined as “ animals with feathers,” 
and this diagnosis answers every purpose for popular use, since all 
birds have feathers and no other animals possess them. No class 
of animals has received so much popular attention and few so much 
scientific study as have the birds. Almost any single locality offers a 
large list of species, and the variety to be found during the spring 
and fall migration makes a study of the birds of any vicinity an 
interesting and exciting occupation. On account of their great 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 319 


beauty, interesting characteristics, peculiar coloration, or grotesque 
appearance, most birds are popular as cage pets and the collections 
in the Zoological Park are great attractions to the public. The 
great flight cage near the west entrance, the bird house, the water- 
fowl lakes, the eagle cage, and numerous smaller inclosures are used 
to exhibit the birds to best advantage. Each variety is given so 
far as possible the best conditions afforded by the natural features 
of the park or the resources available for improvements. No com- 
plete systematic arrangement of the birds is, therefore, practicable, 
but so far as is convenient related birds are grouped together. 
Twelve or more distinct orders of birds, according to recent schemes 
of classification, are commonly represented in the park by numerous 
species, and some of the most conspicuous or interesting varieties 
of each group will be mentioned here in proper sequence. 


OSTRICH-LIKE BIRDS 


The existing members of this group (Ratite) are, with the excep- 
tion of the kiwis of New Zealand, all large birds. They are in- 
capable of flight, but are swift of foot and exceedingly wary, and 
are, moreover, able to defend themselves vigorously with beak and 
foot. They are keen of sight and, except the cassowary, are in- 
habitants of open country. 

The ostriches are of maximum size for existing birds, a full- 
grown male sometimes measuring more than 8 feet in height. They 
are distinguished from all other birds by having only two toes - 
on each foot. The true ostriches are now confined to Africa and 
the adjacent portions of southwestern Asia, where several species 
occur. Three of these forms are shown in the park. A specimen 
of the great Somaliland ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) was pre- 
sented to President Roosevelt by Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia, 
and is a magnificient example of this fine bird. A somewhat similar 
species is the Nubian ostrich (S. camelus). The South African 
ostrich (S. australis) is the species most commonly kept on the 
ostrich farms in the Southwest, where the bird is reared for its 
feathers. The adult male ostrich is a splendid bird in his black and 
white plumage, but the females and young males are of a dull 
grayish-brown coloration. 

The ostrich is represented in South America by the rhea, one 
species of which (hea americana) is kept in the park. This is a 
bird of considerably less size than the ostrich; it has three toes, 
and its feathers are of less commercial importance. Like its African 
relative, it is an inhabitant of the open country and is found on the 
pampas of Argentina and on the great plains of southern Brazil 
and Bolivia. 


320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Australia and the neighboring islands are the homes of a number 
of ostrichlike birds. The park possesses examples of two of these 
peculiar types: The common cassowary (Casuarius galeatus) is a 
native of Ceram, but closely related forms occur in New Guinea, 
Australia, and on other islands. The emu (Dromiceius novehol- 
landtee) comes from Australia. The birds kept in the park have laid 
many of the beautiful and characteristic dark green eggs, about 10 
of which constitute the usual clutch. : 

The kiwi, or apteryx, is the smallest of the ratite birds. Several 
species are known, all of which inhabit New Zealand, where they 
are now becoming rare. The species on exhibition in the bird house 
is Apterye mantelli, confined to North Island. The plumage is 
hair-lhke. Kiwis are shy, retiring birds; they feed principally upon 
worms, for which they probe the earth with the long bill. 


THE STORKS AND THEIR RELATIVES 


~ This group (Ciconiiformes) of water birds includes, among other 
families, the pelicans, cormorants, snakebirds, herons, storks, ibises, 
and flamingoes. Most of the species are essentially aquatic and some 
are among the most expert of swimmers. Other kinds are primarily 
waders, with long legs and with the feet imperfectly webbed. There 
is likewise great variation in the power of flight and among the 
diverse species are found some of the swiftest and most graceful as 
well as the most sluggish of water birds awing. 


PELICANS AND CORMORANTS 


The members of the section of ciconiid birds which includes the 
pelicans, cormorants, and darters are distinguished from the storks 
and herons by their very short legs and the completely webbed feet; 
even the hind toe, which is in reality turned sharply inward, is con- 
nected by a web. 

The American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are 
graceful birds on the wing or in the water and very clumsy ashore. 
In the breeding season a curious horny knob appears on the bill of 
the adult bird. These pelicans are common in the interior of 
western North America; the specimens inhabiting the “ pelican 
pond” came from Wyoming. The brown pelican of the Southern 
States (P. occidentalis) and several exotic species are exhibited*in 
summer in the big flight cage. 

Pelicans are fascinating birds to watch and frequently reward the 
observer with some queer antics. On one occasion the flock of Amer- 
ican white pelicans in the park was seen to form a circle in the water, 
all the birds intent, toward the center, with bills frequently sub- 
merged. Suddenly the cause of the commotion was apparent, for 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 321 


one of them seized a water snake about 214 feet long and tossed it 
some distance in the air. ‘This act was quickly repeated a number 
of times by different birds until one of the pelicans swallowed the 
unfortunate snake. He attempted to keep his prey down by holding 
his bill close to the body, but his efforts were unavailing, for the 
snake wrggled up into the gular pouch and eventually forced his 
way out of the pelican’s mouth and escaped. One of the pelicans 
once swallowed a black-bellied tree duck and retained the bird in 
‘his stomach for 60 hours, but finally disgorged it, only partially 
digested. Various unusual objects have been swallowed at different 
times by the pelicans; a sharp bamboo cutting about 6 inches long 
worked its way out of one bird’s stomach and was removed after it 
had pierced the lower body. This pelican did not seem to suffer in 
the least from his experience and did not miss a meal. An American 
white pelican received at the park October 7, 1897, is still living in 
good health. 

Numbers of cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus floridanus) reg- 
ularly breed in the flight cage, constructing their nests of sticks in 
the branches of the larger trees within the inclosure. That these 
birds are well satisfied with their home is proved by the fact that 
one which escaped and remained away for more than a day returned 
to the cage; the keeper found him near the door waiting to be let in. 


HERONS AND STORKS 


Several species of stork-like birds are regularly kept in the big 
light cage; some hardy kinds like the black-crowned night herons 
(Nycticorax nycticorax nevius) and the great blue herons (Ardea 
herodias) remain out throughout the year. The night herons breed 
within the inclosure, and wild birds of the same species build their 
nests on top of the great cage and in the neighboring tree tops. More 
delicate species, including the snowy egret (Y'gretta candidissima) , 
nearly exterminated in the Southern States for the millinery trade, 
the curious boatbill (Cochleartus cochlearius), and the beautiful 
scarlet ibis (Guara rubra), all from South America, have permanent 
quarters in the bird house. The roseate spoonbills (Ajaia ajaja) and 
- several species of ibis summer in the open flight cage, but are kept in 
the bird house in winter. 

The storks, typical members of this group of birds, are represented 
by several species, including an American form, the wood ibis 
(Mycteria americana) which is regularly found in the Southern 
States and in tropical America. The marabou stork, or adjutant 
(Leptoptilos dubius) is a striking bird with a naked head and neck, 
a powerful beak, and a white ruff above his shoulders; he is native 
to the Indian region. The common stork of Europe (Ciconia 
ciconia) and the black stork (C. nigra) are both shown. The latter 


322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


is an especially attractive species; shiny black in color, with a white 
breast and belly, and bright red bill and feet. The white storks 
have several times nested in the great flight cage. 


THE FLAMINGOES 


These pinkish birds with long legs and neck and angular beak are 
in many ways connecting links between the storklike birds and the 
ducks and geese. Several species are found in parts of tropical 
America and one formerly occurred in Florida, but the species living 
in the pelican pond is one of the Old World forms, the European 
flamingo (Phenicopterus roseus). The birds thrive in this place, 
but during the colder months when confined in the bird house they 
are difficult to keep in good condition. 


DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 


The most picturesque and ornamental of all the birds for outdoor 
exhibition in zoological gardens are the true water-fowl, the game 
birds known as ducks, geese, and swans. Numerous showy species 
have been domesticated or brought to a condition of semidomestica- 
tion and other more unusual species are successfully kept in captivity 
under proper conditions. The group is cosmopolitan in distribution, 
and no less than 67 species and subspecies are known from North 
America north of the Mexican border. The order (Anseriformes) 
includes besides the typical family of waterfowl a small group 
of South American birds known as the screamers. 


THE NORTH AMERICAN WATERFOWL LAKE 


In the southeastern side of the park advantage has been taken 
of the natural topography to repreduce in a measure one of the 
waterfowl breeding lakes formerly so numerous in the Northern 
States. For educational purposes, the birds kept in this lake have 
been restricted to those species known to occur in North America, 
as enumerated in the check list of North American birds. Border- 
ing the lake on three sides is a tract of land sufficient in size to 
furnish retired nesting places for the birds and suitable for their 
varied requirements—woods, thickets, open brushy areas, cane, and 
marshes. The whole tract is inclosed by a vermin-proof fence so 
that the birds may nest and rear their young in safety. It is the 
intention to show in this lake as many of the 67 species of North 
American ducks, geese, and swans as possible, and a good beginning 
has been made in collecting the birds. At the present time no less 
than 250 waterfowl are on exhibition in the North American lake, 
including 33 different species. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—-HOLLISTER 8238 


EXOTIC WATERFOWL 


Numerous interesting and beautiful exotic waterfowl are on exhi- 
bition in the pelican pond, in the flight cage, and in special inclosures 
in suitable places throughout the park. Specimens of the graceful — 
mute swan (Cygnus gibbus) enjoy the freedom of Rock Creek and 
nest along its banks. The strange black swan of Australia (Che- 
nopis atrata), the pied goose (Anseranas semipalmata) from the 
same region, the bar-head goose (Anser indicus) from India, the 
rosy-billed pochard (MMetopiana peposaca) and the upland goose 
(Chloéphaga leucoptera) of South America are examples of the 
variety shown. A large flock of the most strikingly ornamental 
and curiously colored mandarin duck (Dendronessa galericulata) 
is maintained. This species is native to eastern Asia, particularly 
China and Japan. 

Of particular interest among the waterfowl is the Hawaiian goose 
(Nesochen sandvicensis). The park is very fortunate in possessing 
specimens of this fine goose, which is now all but exterminated. The 
Hawaiian goose is confined to the island of Hawaii, where it for- 
merly inhabited the crater meadows and, during the breeding season, 
the lava beds near sea level. 


BIRDS OF PREY 


The hawks, eagles, and vultures, commonly known as birds of 
prey, form a natural and well-defined order, the Falconiformes. The 
group contains the largest of flying birds and most of the species 
are of good size, but some of the falcons are barely larger than spar- 
rows. The owls were formerly placed in this order, but are now 
known to be nearer in structural characters to the goatsucker family, 
a widely different group represented in the United States by the 
whippoorwill and related birds. 


THE EAGLES’ CAGE 


The large open flight cage near the bird house is devoted to such 
larger members of this group as will endure our winter climate and 
live peacefully together. Here may be seen magnificent specimens 
of our national bird, the bald eagle (Haliwetus leucocephalus) , show- 
ing the transition plumages from the younger blackish specimens to 
the fully plumaged adult with white head and tail. The largest 
specimens of this bird come from Alaska and the Northwest, while 
the eagles from Florida and other Southern States are very inferior 
in size. Another eagle found in the United States, but with an ex- 
tensive Old World distribution as well, is the golden eagle (Aquila 
chrysaétos). It is a fine species, distinguished from the bald eagle 
in any plumage by the feathered legs. 


824 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


A number of exotic eagles and vultures, some of which are of 
great size, share this cage with the American eagles. The lammer- 
geier (Gypaétus barbatus), or bearded vulture, is a large species 
connecting in many features the eagles with the vultures. It is a 
native of the higher mountains of Europe, north Africa, and Asia, 
and many tales of its boldness and strength have been told. The 
griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) and the cinereous vulture (Aegypius 
monachus) are two conspicuous Old World species kept in this cage. 
During the early spring months the griffon vultures become very 
savage and sometimes attack their cage mates—even the eagles are 
made to suffer on these occasions unless the griffons are removed 
from the cage. Two specimens of the handsome wedge-tailed eagle 
(Uroaétus audax) of Australia are kept in this cage. Because it 
eats the poisoned meat-baits thrown out by the ranchers to destroy 
the wild dogs, this characteristic Australian bird is said to be rapidly 
diminishing in numbers, and is in danger of extermination. 


INTERESTING RAPTORES IN THE BIRD HOUSE 


Several interesting specimens of eagles and vultures are to be seen 
in the bird house. The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is 
a peculiar African type with long legs, tail, and wings, and a crest 
of elongated feathers at the back of the head. In appearance it is 
very cranelike, and is expert in the killing of snakes, lizards, and small 
mammals. 

The harpy eagle (7hrasaétos harpyia) is a tropical American 
species famous for its strength and spectacular appearance. It is a 
large species with a long, barred tail, a fine crest, an enormous beak, 
and powerful feet. It is said to kill fawns, monkeys, and peccaries. 
The park is proud of its record in having kept a fine specimen of this 
bird for 18 years. 

The caracara (Polyborus cheriway) or “carrion hawk” is com- 
mon in parts of tropical America and ranges northward to Florida. 
Other related species are known from South America. 

Various North American and exotic hawks are also on exhibition. 
‘The red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis) is one of the common species 
of the United States which, with other kinds, is much persecuted as 
a “chicken hawk.” Asa matter of fact this bird rarely kills chickens 
and is an industrious destroyer of noxious rodents. One of the 
smaller species shown is the sparrow hawk (Falco sparverius), a 
pretty and valuable species which eats many grasshoppers, mice, and 
other pests of the farmer. Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter coopert), an- 
other of the smaller species of America, is more destructive to poultry 
and birds. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 2l 


OSTRICHES 


AMERICAN EGRET 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 22 


jee as 
ee tia > Ase 


as - 


»~ BZ 


es. 


EUROPEAN AND ROSEATE PELICANS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 23 


HAWAIIAN GEESE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister 


a ee 


~aa 
™ cial 


AFRICAN BLACK VULTURE 


PLATE 24 


De ere 


PLATE 25 


Hollister 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


KING VULTURE 


RAZOR-BILLED CURASSOW 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister 


PLATE 26 


SARUS CRANE 


PLATE 27 


Hollister 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


WHITE-BACKED TRUMPETER 


KAGU 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 28 


SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO 


TOUCAN 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 825 
AMERICAN VULTURES 


A group of raptorial birds peculiar to America includes our com- 
mon turkey vulture or “ buzzard,” the carrion crow, and the condors. 
There is little necessity for showing specimens of the turkey vulture 
(Cathartes aura) in cages, since many wild birds of this species 
make the park their permanent home. The retired wooded slopes 
bordering the Zoo offer ideal congregating and roosting places for 
all the “buzzards” of the surrounding country. The birds are en- 
couraged to remain here as an added attraction to the park, and many 
visitors from Northern States to whom the “buzzard” is an un- 
familiar sight are delighted to see them at such close quarters and to 
watch their graceful flight. 

The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) formerly 
ranged northward along the Pacific coast to the Columbia River 
and was an abundant bird in southern California. It is now rarely 
seen, great numbers having been poisoned by the ranchers in efforts’ 
to exterminate the carnivorous animals. A few linger in parts of 
southern California and in the San Pedro Martir Mountains of 
Lower California, Mexico. It is deplorable that so fine a member 
of our avifauna should disappear, but the same fate is in store for 
other less notable species—even the exceedingly beneficial turkey 
vulture, after long years of protection, is now under the ban of 
mistaken legislation and is becoming greatly reduced in numbers in 
many of our Southern States. Three splendid spetimens of the 
California condor are shown in an outside cage west of lion-house 
hill. 

Another striking bird of this group is the king vulture (Sarco- 
ramphus papa), also of South America. It is a beautifully colored 
species which has a habit of strutting or dancing with the body held 
rigidly erect, the wings partially spread, and the head thrown for- 
ward against the breast. 


GALLINACEOUS BIRDS 


This order includes all of the true “fowls,” domestic poultry, 
and the various species of pheasants, quail, and grouse. It is a group 
of birds of special interest to the sportsman, since almost all of the 
so-called upland game birds are members of the order. Many species 
of gallinaceous birds are of great beauty and are kept purely for 
show purposes, while others are easily reared in sufficient numbers to 
stock depleted covers and provide recreation for lovers of outdoor 
sports. Game keepers have paid much attention in late years to 
breeding the more hardy and easily kept species and are now turn- 


326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ing their attention to experimental work in the hatching and rearing 
of the more difficult native varieties. 

Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and bobwhite quail (Colinus virgini- 
anus) roam at large and nest within the borders of the park, but 
until a suitable pheasantry can be established the exhibition of 
gallinaceous birds must necessarily be restricted to such species as 
are easily kept under ordinary conditions. A few showy pheasants 
and several American forms of quail or partridge are kept in the 
bird house. 

The curassows are fine, large gallinaceous birds found from 
Mexico to South America. There are a number of species, two of 
which are shown—the razor-billed (Mitu mitu) and Daubenton’s 
curassow (Crax daubentont). Unlike most of the forms of this 
group of birds, the curassows are largely arboreal in habit and nest 
in trees. The feathers of the back and rump are always soft and 
downy, unlike those of the other gallinaceous game birds. 

Closely related are the penelopes and guans, of which the chacha- 
laca (Ortalis vetula), ranging north into Texas, is an example. 
Several South American forms are on exhibition, the finest of which 
is the Bolivian penelope (Penelope boliwiana). These large galli- 
naceous birds are very attractive pets and become most tame and 
confiding. 


CRANES AND THEIR ALLIES 


This group x Gruiformes) includes the cranes, rails, cariamas, and 
bustards, as well as some lesser known forms. It has a wide distri- 
bution, and as its members are frequently classed as “ game birds,” 
it has a great popular interest. The cranes comprise some of the 
most showy of zoological park avian exhibits and are now much 
sought by private collectors of living birds. The remaining families 
within the order are less often seen in zoological gardens, but are, 
nevertheless, all birds of more than ordinary interest to the orni- 
thologist. 

One of the finest species, the great whooping crane (@rus ameri- 
cana) is bordering upon extinction. It bred formerly from north- 
ern Mackenzie south to Illinois and Iowa and occurred commonly in 
migrations through the Central and Southern States. It is a splen- 
did bird; white, with black primaries and primary coverts. Natur- 
ally a wild and wary creature, it rapidly became scarce after its 
breeding grounds were settled by man, and it is now virtually im- 
possible to obtain specimens. 

The sand-hill crane (Grus mexicana) is another American species, 
still common in parts of Florida and in the Western States. Like 
the white crane, it is a shy bird and difficult to secure, and the rapid 
settlement of its range has naturally greatly reduced its numbers. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 827 


In parts of the upper Mississippi Valley, where it formerly bred but 
now occurs only in migration, it is a bird of the prairies and corn- 
fields, where its habits are much the same as those of the Canada 
goose. Small flocks flying low over the prairies, to and from the 
feeding grounds, are easily mistaken for geese, but when the birds are 
migrating, in great circles high in the air, there is no cause for mis- 
identification. At reasonable range, flying cranes are readily dis- 
tinguished from geese by the long legs, extending backward; and may 
be instantly known from the blue heron (often erroneously called 
blue crane) by the long neck, which is held extended forward and 
never folded back as with the herons. 

The little brown crane (Grus canadensis), much like the sand-hill 
crane but smaller, is still common in the West. It breeds in Alaska 
and northern Canada and winters in Texas, California, and Mexico. 

A number of exotic cranes, some of striking appearance, are reg- 
ularly kept in the park. Of the genus Grus a number of Asiatic 
species are shown, including the large sarus crane (Grus Gollaris), 
the white-necked crane (@’. leucauchen) so often pictured in Japanese 
drawings; the Indian white crane (G. lewcogeranus) ; and Lilford’s 
crane (G. lilfordi), which represents the common European crane 
in eastern Siberia. A fine Australian species (G. rubicunda) is often 
called the “ native companion.” 

The demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) of southern Europe 
and Asia and northern Africa is a pretty little species with white 
ear tufts; and the crowned crane of Africa (Balearica pavonina) 
is a still more handsome form supporting an erect occipital tuft 
which is decidedly showy. 

Specimens of the American coot (Fulica americana), representing 
the rail family, may be seen in the North American waterfowl lake. 
This bird, often called the “ mud hen,” or “ crow duck,” has a wide 
distribution in North America. It breeds from central Canadian 
Provinces south to Texas, Tennessee, and New Jersey; and winters 
from the Central States to northern South America. In many places 
the coot is classed as a game bird, and properly cooked it provides 
a very palatable food. Several exotic relatives are always on - 
exhibition. 

An interesting flightless rail from New Zealand, known as the 
weka, differs greatly from our common members of the family in 
habits, as it is a bird of the forest and scrub rather than of wet 
marshes or lakes. Although the wekas have imperfectly developed 
wings, and are incapable of flight, they are expert climbers, and the 
inclosure in which they are kept must be covered completely. They 
are of the size of a well-grown pullet and are quarrelsome and mis- 
chievous, even among others of their own kind. Three species 


328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


(Ocydromus australis, O. brachypterus, and O. earli), all from South 
Island, are on exhibition. They were received as a gift from the 
New Zealand Government. 

The white-backed trumpeter (Psophia leucoptera) represents a 
group of South American birds related to the cranes and rails. 
The trumpeters are forest birds and are sometimes found in con- 
siderable flocks. They are easily tamed and are often kept by the 
natives to protect domestic poultry, much as our farmers keep the 
guinea fowl for the same purpose. The loud call must be particu- 
larly impressive when heard in a dark jungle. 

Another member of the crane assemblage is the kagu (Rhynoche- 
tos jubatus), a rare bird found only on the island of New Caledonia, 
east of Australia. It represents an ancient type, with no existing 
near relatives. The kagu is about the size and general form of a 
night heron. Several specimens of this unusual bird are on exhi- 
bition. 

- SHORE BIRDS, GULLS, AND PIGEONS 


In most modern systems for the classification of birds, the snipes 
and plovers, gulls and terns, auks, and pigeons are grouped together 
in a single order (Charadriiformes), which takes its name from 
the typical family, the plovers (Charadriide). A few species of 
“ shore birds,” as the plovers and snipes are usually called, and some 
gulls, are regularly kept on exhibition; but the chief interest in the 
order, so far as zoological gardens are concerned, is concentrated on 
the sub-order Columbe, the pigeons and doves. 

The shore birds are difficult to keep without the specially pre- 
pared quarters which it is hoped the park can sometime arrange; 
‘mut from the fact that a specimen of the ruff (Philomachus pugnaz) 
was on exhibition in the bird house for over 10 years, the outlook 
seems encouraging for success with other species of this interesting 
family. Avocets, stilts, plovers, curlews, and many of the larger 
snipes should be as easily kept as the ruff. Two species of lapwings 
are now shown. 

Certain members of the gull family are to be seen in the big flight 
cage. These include the large herring gull (Larus argentatus), a 
species common to the northern parts of both Europe and America 
which has nested here; the more tropical laughing gull (ZL. atricilla), 
a smaller, more graceful species sometimes called. the “ black- 
headed gull”; the beautiful little silver gull (ZL. novehollandie) of 
Australia; and the large Pacific gull (Gabianus pacificus). 'The fin- 
est of all the American species, the great black-backed gull (Larus 
marinus), is so destructive to smaller birds in the same inclosure 
that the specimens in the park must be exhibited only with large 
geese, swans, and pelicans, or kept in separate yards. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 329 


PIGEONS 


Numerous species of doves and pigeons are kept in the larger cages 
of the bird house. These include representatives of the group from 
many parts of the world, and form a very attractive exhibit. The 
soft colors and beautiful forms of the various species, as well as 
their pleasing notes, make them great favorites with all. Among 
the larger and more showy forms are the great, plump wonga- 
wonga (Leucosarcia picata) of Australia, curiously marked with 
white forehead and pectoral bands; the European wood pigeon 
(Columbia palumbus) ; the handsome bronze-wing (Phaps chalecop- 
tera) ; and the green doves (Chalcophaps) of India and New Guinea. 

Opposed to these larger species are some groups of small doves, 
found in both the Old World and in the warmer parts of America 
which are particularly noticeable on account of their diminutive_ 
size. These include the Australian and East Indian members of the 
genus Geopelia known as the peaceful and zebra doves, and the 
little ground doves (Chaemepelia) and Inca doves (Scardafella) of 
the southern United States and tropical America. 

The Australian crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) has a long 
black crest which it frequently erects, at the same time elevating the 
tail until the two almost meet. 

The New Guinea fruit pigeon (Péilopus superbus) and the Mar- 
quesas Island dove (Gallicolumba rubescens) are among the rarer 
species on exhibition. The latter was first made known in 1814, 
but was never rediscovered until 1922. 

The gigantic crowned pigeons, or gouras, are the most spectacular 
of all the group. They are found only in New Guinea and on some 
of the neighboring islands, and are from 25 to nearly 34 inches in 
length. They are beautifully colored and are further ornamented 
by large fan-shaped crests. The species on exhibition, the Victoria 
crowned pigeon (Goura victoria), inhabits the islands of Jobi and 
Mysori. 

CUCKOOS AND PARROTS 


The cuckoos and plantain eaters and the great tribe of parrots, 
macaws, and cockatoos form the order Cuculiformes. The first 
group is poorly represented in the average zoological park col- 
lection, but the parrots and their kindred usually form not a small 
proportion of any exhibition, and certain species. are almost as 
familiar to the average person as is the common canary. 

Over 500 species of parrots and their allies are recognized and 
these are distributed throughout the tropical countries of both the 
Old World and America. Parrots are not confined to the Tropics, 
however, since Australia and New Zealand support many species, 


330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and in North America the Carolina parakeet formerly ranged north- 
ward to Wisconsin. Australia, New Guinea, and South America 
are especially rich in members of the parrot tribe. 

There is always a good representation of these birds in the pe 
tional Zoological Park. With the exception of a few hardy species, 
all are exhibited in the bird house. In one outdoor cage may be 
seen several species of cockatoos, including the bare-eyed (Hakatoe 
gymnopis), the beautiful roseate (XH. rosetcapilla), and the sulphur- 
crested (X. galerita), and the red-and-yellow-and-blue macaw (Ara 
macao). The cockatoos are native to the Australian region and the 
Philippine Islands. They are handsome birds, but their shrill 
shrieks are unpleasant to hear. Several other species are shown in 
the bird house, including the white (ZX. alba), the great red-crested 
(KX. moluccensis), and the beautiful rosy-tinted Leadbeater’s cocka- 
too (XK. leadbeateri). 

The macaws are tropical American birds, mostly of large size and 
gaudy plumage. In addition to those in the outside cage, other 
species, including the yellow-and-blue (Ara ararauna), the Mexican 
green (A. mewxicana), the severe (A. severa), and Cassin’s (A. auri- 
collis), may be seen in the bird house. The latter is a very rare 
species, our specimen of which was collected in 1922 by the Mulford 
Biological Explorations of the Amazon Basin, in Bolivia. A dimin- 
utive species is Hahn’s macaw (Diopsittaca hahni). 

The thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) is the only 
member of the parrot group, excepting the almost extinct Carolina 
parakeet, known to occur in the United States. At intervals a num- 
ber of years apart, flights of these birds arrive in the mountains of 
southern Arizona, coming out of Mexico. 

A group of parrots known as the Amazons occur in tropical Amer- 
ica. There are about 50 species known, the greater part of which 
are green with red markings in some part of the plumage. They 
are common cage species and include some of the best of “ talkers.” 
Unlike the macaws, all have short tails. The collection now contains 
14 species of this group. 

An African species which is considered to be fully equal to some 
of the Amazons as a talker is the gray parrot (Pstttacus erithacus). 
It is an ashy gray in color, with black wing feathers and red tail. 
A very attractive group of parrots, many species of which are 
popular as cage birds, is the group known as the parakeets. These 
are all small birds, some of them actually diminutive. One of the 
commonest forms kept as a pet is the shell parakeet, or Australian 
grass parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus). This species breeds in 
captivity, nesting in a small box placed within its inclosure. In a 
wild state it is said to flock by thousands and spends a considerable 
portion of the time on the ground, feeding upon the seeds of grasses. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER aol 


The love bird (Agapornis pullaria) belongs to an African section 
of the parakeet tribe and is also popular as a cage pet. The park 
is fortunate in the possession of a splendid specimen of the black- 
tailed parakeet (Polytelés melanura), a handsome Australian species 
now very rare. 

Small American species on exhibition include the white-eyed 
paroquet (Aratinga leucophthalmus) ; a number of species of the 
genera Brotogeris and Tirica, including the favorite Tovi; H'upsi- 
tula, including the golden-crowned, Petz’s, and Weddell’s paroquets, 
and the peculiar short-tailed parrot (Graydidascalus brachyurus) , 
a species rare in captivity. One of the most attractive exhibits is a 
cage containing a number of specimens of the curiously marked and 
very entertaining caiques (Pionites xanthomeria) from the Rio Beni, 
Bolivia. These are rarely obtained. 

The Australian region is inhabited by a group of beautiful parrots 
known as lories, several species of which are usually exhibited. 

One of the most remarkable of all the parrot tribe is the kea, 
or mountain parrot (Nestor notabilis), confined to the South Island 
of New Zealand. This bird was formerly abundant in the moun- 
tainous parts of this region, but owing to its acquired habit of kill- 
ing sheep has been so reduced in numbers that specimens are now 
very difficult to obtain. The flock exhibited in an outdoor aviary 
near the bird house was received as a gift from the New Zealand 
Government. It was more than 10 years after the kea was first 
discovered in 1856 before it was suspected that this bird had de- 
veloped the habit of killing sheep, and there was considerable doubt 
expressed for a number of years. It has been definitely proven 
since that although all the individuals of the species have not ac- 
quired this remarkable change of habit, many of the birds do really 
kill full-grown sheep. The kea lights on the rump of the sheep, 
clinging to the wool, and drives his sharp beak into the unfortunate 
animal’s back. The fat, flesh, and intestines of the sheep are eaten 
by the birds, who frequently go in large flocks. 


KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND OWLS 


The kingfishers, hornbills, and owls are members of an order of 
birds (Coraciiformes) which includes other seemingly unrelated 
families—as the woodpeckers, hummingbirds, goatsuckers, and 
swifts. It is what Coues calls a “ miscellaneous assortment, grouped 
together more because they differ from other birds in one way or 
another, than on account of their resemblance to one another.” Re- 
cent anatomical studies have, however, shown the actual relationships 
in many cases. 


332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Passing through the bird house one may be suddenly startled by 
a loud, rapidly executed, and prolonged cackling laugh. This is 
from the throat of the giant kingfisher, or laughing jackass (Dacelo 
gigas), an Australian bird related to our common American king- 
fisher, but of a decidedly greater size. Near by are representatives of 
the hornbill family, found in the forests of Africa, India, and many 
of the eastern islands, where they are hunted for food by the natives 
of some districts. In many regions, however, these grotesque birds 
are regarded with considerable superstitution and are rarely mo- 
lested. These remarkable birds have a most curious nesting habit. 
A large cavity in a tree is selected for the nest and the female horn- 
bill is confined therein by a plaster wall, both birds apparently tak- 
ing part in the process of masonry, which makes her a prisoner until 
the young are hatched. During the incubation period she is fed by 
the male through a small hole left in the wali, but is said to come 
forth in a much emaciated and dung-bespattered condition. 

In an inclosure near the big flight cage are some 15 specimens 
of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), one of the largest of 
the American birds of prey, as well as one of the most destructive 
to smaller birds. Other owls, including the highly beneficial species 
known as the screech owl (Otus asio), the barred owl (Striv varia), 
and the barn owl (7Z'yto perlata pratincola) are also shown in large 
cages. One of the handsomest of all owls is the great white, or 
snowy owl (Vyctea nyctea). This is a diurnal species of the far 
North, where it inhabits the open country of both continents. It 
is expert in catching fish and feeds also on birds and mammals. 
The snowy owl spends much of its time on the ground. During 
severe winters numbers of snowy owls visit the northern United 
States. 

The toucans, large and sometimes brilliantly colored birds of 
tropical America, are remarkable for their large bills. These are 
not at all unwigldy, however, since they are very light in structure. 
Toucans feed chiefly upon fruits, but also eat insects and the eggs 
and young of other birds. Numerous species are known, some of the 
most showy of which often reach the bird dealers, since toucans are 
commonly taken by the natives as pets. 


THE PERCHING BIRDS 


More than half of all the species of birds known in the world be- 
long to the order Passeriformes, frequently called the “ perching 
birds,” and typified by the sparrows. There are numerous families 
and the vast majority of species are small or medium sized birds; 
the largest North American species are the crow and raven. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—-HOLLISTER B33 


In some of the larger cages of the bird house numerous species of 
this order of birds are shown. There will be seen many of the more 
familiar native species as well as rare and beautiful exotics. In 
near-by cages are some of the larger representatives of the order. 
including ravens, crows, magpies, and starlings from various cor- 
ners of the earth. Among the most attractive of the smaller birds 
are the numerous species of the finch or sparrow family, of which 
the common canary (Serénus canarius) is a familiar member. 

The weaver birds, native to Australia, India, and Africa, attract 
a great deal of attention; this is especially true of the species known 
as the paradise weaver (Steganura paradisea), which grows tail 
feathers of great length in the breeding season. 

The satin bower-bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) and the Aus- 
tralian catbird (Adluredus viridis) are interesting forms belonging 
to the family of birds-of-paradise, which is not distantly related 
to the crows. One of the most showy of all the perching birds ex- 
hibited in the park is the cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola), a 
bright orange species of tropical South America. 


REPTILES 


Reptiles (class Reptilia), as distinguished from mammals and 
birds, are “ cold blooded.” The temperature of the animal is greatly 
influenced or even regulated by that of the surrounding air, or of 
the water in which it lives. 

Three orders of reptiles are represented in the park collections. 
These are the turtles and tortoises (Testudinata), alligators and 
crocodiles (Loricata), and the lizards and snakes (Squamata). 
One of the urgent requirements of the National Zoological Park is 
a suitable reptile house, where larger collections of these interesting 
creatures may be exhibited. At present the reptiles are kept in 
quarters in the lion house. 


TURTLES 


Those turtles living entirely on land are often arbitrarily distin- 
guished from the aquatic species (true turtles) and the semiaquatic 
forms (terrapins) under the name tortoise. Some of the tortoises 
are small in size, like our common box turtle of the Eastern States; 
while others, particularly some of the island species, grow to an 
immense size and are supposed to live to a greater age than any other 
animals. These giant tortoises are now known only from a few 
islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, on some of which they were 
excessively abundant up to comparatively recent years. Visiting 
ships have now so greatly reduced their numbers that on most of 
the islands they are completely or almost exterminated. On certain 


334 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of the Galapagos Islands, some 500 miles off the coast of Ecuador, 
giant tortoises were found in great numbers within the last century, 
and on certain of the islands were fairly common less than 25 years 
ago. In addition to the thousands carried away by vessels as food 
for the crews, great numbers have been killed for the oil alone. 

A number of species of giant tortoises have been described from 
the Galapagos, and it is believed that most of the islands of the 
archipelago have developed separate forms; and on at least one 
island two distinct species were found, separated by a natural bar- 
rier. The food of these curious creatures is chiefly grass, although 
at certain seasons a great quantity of cactus is eaten. Mr. Edmund 
Heller, who visited the Galapagos Islands in 1898 and 1899, collected 
one specimen which had the whole palate and pharynx bristling with 
cactus spines, and noted that the tortoises eagerly devoured the stems 
and fruit of the cactus quite unmindful of the spines and apparently 
without suffering. Heller states that the tortoises are quite active, 
and though slow are so persistent, in their journeys that they cover 
several miles a day. 

Specimens of two species of Galapagos tortoises were obtained for 
the park collection from the material collected by the Rothschild 
expedition to the islands in 1897. The Albemarle Island tortoise 
(Testudo vicint) is perhaps the largest living tortoise, and speci- 
mens have been known which were over 4 feet in length and probably 
weighed nearly 400 pounds. The Duncan Island tortoise (7. ephip- 
pium) is somewhat smaller. <A third species of the giant Galapagos 
Island tortoises from Indefatigable Island (7. porter?) was more 
recently received through the interest of Dr. Frederic W. Goding, 
consul general at Guayaquil, Ecuador. A smaller related tortoise 
(7. denticulata) is from the continent of South America. 

In the pine barrens of the Southern States, a comparatively large 
tortoise, curious for its burrowing habits, is known as the gopher. 
This species (Gopherus polyphemus) grows to a length of 15 inches 
and a specimen almost of that size from peninsular Florida is on 
exhibition. Like the giant tortoises, this species is herbivorous and 
is particularly fond of fruits of various kinds. Related species 
shown are found in the arid regions of the Southwest and other parts 
of the world. 

The common eastern tortoise or box turtle (Z'errapene carolina) 
is found wild within the park. It is a smaller species than the 
gopher, and the plastron or lower shell is so hinged as to permit the 
animal when alarmed to close itself completely within its armor. 

Specimens of the common native snapping turtle are sometimes 
captured within the park. One of these reptiles caused considerable 
damage among the waterfowl in the beaver pond before he was 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 335 


finally caught by the keepers. The large specimen of a related, but 
much rarer, species from Central America (Chelydra rossignonii) 
was collected by Dr. Wm. M. Mann in Honduras. 


ALLIGATORS 


The common alligator of the Southern States (Alligator missis- 
sippiensis) is well known to a large proportion of our people; thou- 
sands of the young have been carried by tourists from Florida to all 
parts of the United States. The species formerly was abundant in 
fresh-water streams and swamps throughout its range—north to 
North Carolina and west through the humid portions of Texas. In 
all of the more accessible and settled portions this reptile has suffered 
greatly from hunters, professional and amateur; and in most parts 
of its former range it is now a rare thing to see an alligator of any 
size. In some of the streams and swamps of the wilder places within 
the Gulf States, however, it is still possible to find alligators from 
6 to 8 or 9 feet in length; but the 10 to 16 foot reptiles are practically 
gone. 

The nest of the alligator has frequently been described to me by 
old residents in Florida as resembling the nests made by the wild 
“razorback” hogs of that country. It is a great mound of muck, 
grass, moss, and sticks; placed in a retired spot, and is said sometimes 
to be carefully guarded by the ‘female. The numerous eggs are _ 
hatched by heat generated by the rotting vegetation. 


THE LIZARDS 


Most of the American lizards are graceful and innocent creatures. 
and many are beautifully colored. They are as much a delight to 
students of reptiles as our warblers are to the ornithologists. There 
are, however, two large species found in the Southwest and in Mex- 
ico which are dangerous reptiles. They are known as the beaded 
or tuberculated lizards, are sluggish creatures inhabiting arid situ- 
ations, and are the only known poisonous lizards. 

The Gila monster* (Heloderma suspectwm) is known only from 
portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and southern Nevada. It 
is a comparatively large species, growing to 20 inches or more in 
length. In color it is brown or blackish, marked with numerous 
rings and blotches of yellow or orange. The upper parts are heavily 
beaded or tuberculated; the tail is fat and stumpy, and the reptile 
presents altogether a dangerous and terrifying appearance. On ac- 
count of his notorious disposition and because of his poisonous bite, 
the Gila monster is much dreaded by residents of the region in which 
he lives, and the several specimens on exhibition attract great at- 
tention. The poison glands are situated on the outer side of the 


336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lower jaw near the tip. When biting the Gila monster holds on like 
a bulldog so that the poison may have time to become absorbed in 
the wound. No specific antidote is known. 

Several species of the commoner lizards of small size, native to 
the Southeastern States, are usually shown. The glossy blue-tailed 
skink (Humeces quinquelineatus) is one of the most handsome of 
the eastern forms. It is common in pine woods, especially in the 
South. The rough-scaled species, known as the swift (Sceloporus 
undulatus), and the little lizard, called the “ chameleon” (Anolis 
carolinensis), are both abundant in favorable localities in many parts 
of our Southern States. The latter species has the habit of changing 
color and may be at times gray, green, or its normal shade of dull 
brown. 

The largest known lizards are the monitors, of Africa, Asia, and 
Australia. They differ from other lizards in having the tongue 
forked like a snake. Specimens of one species, Gould’s monitor 
(Varanus gouldii) from Australia may be seen in the lion house. 
This monitor grows to a length of nearly 6 feet and has a voracious 
appetite; it eats eggs, chickens, and small mammals. 


“ SNAKES 


While it is probably true that the great majority of people dis- 
like snakes, it is also true that a collection of these reptiles attracts 
extraordinary attention and adds greatly to the interest in a zoolo- 
gical park. The larger snakes in particular are a never-ceasing 
source of wonder to visitors, and the more spectacular of the lesser 
species, like the rattlesnakes, are almost as popular an exhibit. 

One of the prize specimens in the snake department of the National 
Zoological Park is a fine example of the anaconda (Hwnectes mu- 
rinus), or water boa, of South America. The anaconda is the largest 
of the American snakes and sometimes attains a length of over 20 
feet. In color it is a yellowish green, marked with blackish spots. 
Anacondas are essentially aquatic and spend much time in the water, 
although they are perfectly at home in trees and are expert climbers. 
The numerous young are born alive. The largest specimen in the 
park collection has been here since August 17, 1899, and was a gift 
from the governor of the State of Para, Brazil. 

In a near-by cage are three specimens of the Indian python (Py- 
thon molurus), native to India, the Malay Peninsula, and Java. 
The largest snakes known are of a related species (P. reticulatus) ; 
there are apparently reliable records of individuals over 30 feet in 
length. A specimen 25 feet long is by far the largest snake on 
exhibition in the National Zoological Park. This python feeds al- 
most entirely on pigs, and sometimes, after a fast of six weeks, eats, 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hollister PLATE 29 


GIANT GALAPAGOS TORTOISE 


GILA MONSTER 


BULL SNAKE AND EaaGs 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—HOLLISTER 3837 


within a few days, three young pigs weighing from 12 to 16 pounds 
each. The reticulated python inhabits the Malay region and the 
Philippines. Pythons, like the boas, are constrictors, and kill their 
prey by crushing. The pythons lay eggs, which are hatched by the 
mother who coils arounds them. The eggs number from 50 to 100. 
These snakes are particularly fond of climbing, and the specimens in 
the park collection spend much time coiled in the tops of the small 
trees within their inclosure. The diamond snake (Python spilotes), 
found only near the east coast of Australia, is blackish with a yellow 
spot in the center of each scale. It is one of the most attractive of 
the pythons in captivity and the specimens in the collection are much 
more active than is usual with large snakes. A closely related form 
known as the carpet snake hasa much wider distribution in Australia. 

The common boa, or boa constrictor (Constrictor constrictor) is a 
tropical American species of large size, but considerably smaller than » 
the anaconda and the larger pythons. It is said rarely to reach a 
length of 12 feet. Several examples are shown, the largest of which 
came from Trinidad and is about 10 feet in length. A small specimen 
of the boa was found in the Washington Market packed with a 
bunch of bananas, and was sent to the park. This involuntary stowa- 
way is doing nicely in his new home. Other species of boas are found 
in South America, the West Indies, and, strangely enough, in 
Madagascar. 

Many species of North American snakes are usually on exhibition. 
Most of these are of comparatively small size, but some of them 
are of great beauty and others are interesting because of their terri- 
ble appearance and deadly poison. In the latter class may be men- 
tioned the rattlesnakes, copperheads, and moccasins. 

The rattlesnakes are confined to America, where many species 
are known, the majority of which are found in the western United 
States. The common or banded rattler (Crotalus horridus) was 
formerly found in many parts of the Eastern States, north into 
Maine, but has now disappeared from much of its former range. 
It sometimes grows to 5 feet or more in length. The largest rattler 
is the diamond back (C. adamanteus), which in its typical form 
in the Southern States reaches an immense size. Many specimens 
are on record from Florida which measured over 6 feet in length, 
and there are apparently authentic accounts of diamond backs of 
between 8 and 9 feet. The bite of one of these large rattlers is very 
likely to prove fatal. 

Closely related to the rattlesnakes are the moccasin (Agkistrodon 
piscivorus) and the copperhead (A. mokasen). Both are poisonous 
species. The copperhead is one of the most dangerous snakes in 
the Eastern and Southern States because he holds his own in thickly 
settled communities; they are not uncommon about Washington, 


338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


especially along the upper Potomac above the city. Adult speci- 


mens are commonly from 24 to 30 inches long. In color, the copper- 
head is hazel brown, with a series of hourglass-shaped darker 
blotches along the back. Equally venomous is the mocassin, or 
cotton mouth, but he is an aquatic species and does not range so 
far to the north as does thg copperhead. 

The common water snake (Natrix sipedon) and the southern 
water snake (JV. taxispilotus) are often mistaken for the moccasin; 
they are ill-tempered snakes but harmless, and on close examination 
may be distinguished from the moccasin and copperhead by the 
absence of the deep “ pit” between the eye and nostril, a charac- 
teristic feature of those venomous species and the rattlesnakes. 

Other harmless American snakes kept in the collection are the 
black snake (Coluber constrictor) sometimes called the “ blue racer,” 
and his near relative, the coachwhip snake (CC. flagellum), both of 
which sometimes attain a length of 5 feet. Several species of the 
pretty little garter snakes, as well as the king snake, the pine snake, 
chicken snake, bull snake, gopher snake, and others are commonly 
shown. 


THE BURROWING RODENTS OF CALIFORNIA AS 
AGENTS IN SOIL FORMATION? 


By JoSEPH GRINNELL 


[With 3 plates] 


The interrelations between vertebrate animals and their environ- 
ments are exceedingly variable and far-reaching. ‘To base any con- 
clusion upon a contrary assumption has proven dangerous, for in 
specific cases such procedure has led people to expend effort and sub- 
stance not only needlessly but definitely against their own best inter- 
ests. An inference as to the relationships between some certain wild 
mammal and human affairs may at first thought look to be perfectly 
obvious and unquestionable. Extended examination, howéver, may 
show that many factors previously overlooked are concerned, and 
the comprehension of these may lead to an entirely different view. 

The species and subspecies of mammals occurring in California, so 
far as known at the present moment, number 410; 227 of these belong 
to the order Rodentia. Of these, 109 are essentially burrowing ro- 
dents; that is, they have their breeding quarters, at least, beneath 
the surface of the ground, this circumstance entailing more or less 
digging, and some of them spend practically all of their time within 
their subterranean tunnels. These rodents of essentially burrowing 
habit include the following groups: The ground squirrels, with 18 
species; the kangaroo mice, with 2 species; the pocket mice, with 23 
species; the kangaroo rats, with 33 species; and the pocket gophers, 
with 33 species. 

To express the above facts in more general terms: Of the total 
number of species of mammals living within the confines of the 
State, more than one-half are rodents, and of the rodents alone, just 
one-half are of the burrowing category; rodents that burrow consti- 
tute, by species, one-fourth of all the mammals in California. It 
may further be observed that rodents which burrow are more or less 
plentiful throughout the West. And here is another surprising fact, 
namely, that only one of the seven genera of mammals to which our 
burrowers belong is represented in the United States east of the 


1 Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California. 
Read at meeting of California Chapter of Sigma Xi, Oct. 12, 1921. Reprinted hy permis- 
sion from Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 4, No. 3, August, 1928. 


339 


340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Mississippi River. (The genus C2tellus of ground squirrels furnishes 
the exception; two species of that genus go as far east as Indiana.) 
From a possibly economic bearing, with respect to digging, moles 
and earthworms, though ecologically not at all homologous, seem to 
take the place in the far eastern States that the burrowing rodents 
take here. 

The line of demarcation, eastward of which the burrowing type of 
rodent begins to disappear, is, approximately, the one-hundredth 
meridian. In other words, there is a north and south line of transi- 
tion between two major faunal regions which roughly coincides with 
this meridian. The limitations of the animals in question undoubt- 
edly have to do with the physical peculiarities of the regions east 
and west of the one-hundredth meridian. These peculiarities involve 
differences in atmospheric humidity, in rainfall, and, of seeming 
major importance, the sharp alternation of dry and wet season which 
occurs to the westward. Linked up with these conditions, there is, 
probably, in the West a relatively greater abundance of plants with 
nutritious roots or thickened underground stems (corms, rootstocks) . 

With regard to abundance of mammals in California by indi- 
viduals, I have made numerous estimates. It proves to be highly 
variable, all the way from zero per acre, as on parts of the floor of 
Death Valley, up to 120 per acre, as in certain parts of the San 
Diegan district. I have figured a conservative average throughout 
the entire State to be 20 mammals of all sorts per acre, so that the 
total mammal population in California, at the period of the year 
just before the breeding season, when the population is at its lowest 
ebb, is 2,000,000,000. Estimating further, on the basis of the results 
of trapping and of field observation in different parts of the State, 
I find that the populatton of burrowing rodents is at the very mini- 
mum one-half that of a77 the mammals, which would thus be in the 
ageregate about 1,000,000,000. 

Even cursory observation suffices to establish to one’s satisfaction the 
relative abundance of such burrowing types of mammals as ground 
squirrels, pocket gophers, and kangaroo rats. Along any of the 
railroads or highways, interminable stretches of the right of way, 
or of the adjacent plains or mountain slopes, show a profusion of 
the so-called “ workings” of these animals—mounds, trails, mouths 
of burrows (open or closed), caved-in burrows, winter earth cores, 
and the like. If a person starts out on foot, he will inevitably “ fall 
into” subterranean runways: every little while he steps through 
into some tunnel or cavern. The surface of the ground is seen to 
be nearly covered with disturbed soil showing footprints of these 
animals, especially if the season be the dry one. The vegetation 
will show abundant evidence of having been foraged upon by ro- 
dents. 


RODENTS IN SOIL FORMATION—GRINNELL 841 


Of the five types of burrowing rodents in California, the most 
widespread, in the aggregate the most abundant, and certainly the 
most effective in its equipment for turning over the soil, is the pocket 
gopher (Z’homomys) ; and upon this type I propose chiefly to dwell. 
An examination of a pocket gopher shows its structure throughout 
to be remarkably specialized for burrowing into and through the 
ground. A study of its habits shows that in all probability a pocket 
gopher spends at least ninety-nine one-hundredths of its existence 
below ground. Its world is limited by the earthen walls of a cylin- 
der. In one direction this cylinder brings safety from enemies; at 
the other end it brings accessibility to food. We find that the gopher 
is deficient relatively to other rodents with respect to eyesight. Its 
hearing is likewise below the average and seems to be keenest for 
sounds of very low rate of vibration, such as jarrings of the ground. 
Its sense of touch is localized not only in the nose and surrounding 
vibrissee, but also at the tip of the tail. The animal moves quite as 
well backward in its burrow as forward: it needs to be apprised of 
conditions in both directions. 

The body as a whole is short, thick through, with a notable mas- 
siveness anteriorly—just the opposite of the litheness of structure 
characteristic of, say, the squirrels. The head of a pocket gopher 
is larger in proportion to its body than is that of any other land 
mammal in California. The head is joined to the body without any 
obvious neck constriction, and the shoulders are broad. ‘The bigness 
of the head is accounted for both by the thicker and more ridged bones 
of the skull and by the greater mass of the muscles attached to them. 
These are correlated with the structure, position, and operation of 
the relatively huge incisor teeth. 

The mouth is a vertical slit, guarded by furry lips which are ap- 
pressed so as to keep out, the earth loosened by the projecting incisor 
teeth or pushed ahead of the animal by means of the face and fore- 
feet. The pocket gopher is our only mammal in which the incisor 
teeth can not be concealed within the lips. 

Comparison of the pocket gopher, as an extreme type of digger, 
with the California ground squirrel, which is also a digger but to a 
far less degree, shows some significant differences. An average adult 
California ground squirrel weighs 681 grams; an average adult male 
pocket gopher weighs 170 grams, close to one-fourth as much. But 
the weight of the skull of the ground squirrel is 7.8 grams, while 
that of the gopher is 7.2 grams, practically the same. In other 
words, the skull of a gopher is. four times as heavy as that of a 
ground squirrel, total weights considered. The brain case, however, 
seems to have relatively about the same capacity in the two animals. 
The skull and teeth of the pocket gopher, together with the muscula- 


1454—25——_23 


342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ture connected with them, comprise the chief engine of digging. Its 
operation results in cutting away, and in part transporting, the 
earth, as the animal extends its underground system of passageways. 
But there are also supplementary digging structures. Instead of the 
hind feet being larger than the forefeet, as in most mammals, the 
reverse is the case in the pocket gopher. We find the forefeet are 
larger and provided with long stout curved claws; and the forearm 
and shoulder are heavily muscled. Through and through, the adap- 
tations of the pocket gopher are seen to be concentrated for the 
digging function. 

I have excavated several tunnel systems of gophers and have re- 
corded the diameters in various portions of their courses, and the 
volumes of the earth removed. I will not take space to give the 
figures here. Suffice it to say that the ordinary runs maintain a 
remarkably uniform diameter and depth below the surface of the 
ground. The depth varies from 4 to 8 inches, depending upon the 
consistency of the soil—clayey and coherent, or sandy and loose. 
The deeper extensions of the burrows, down to a depth of 20 inches, 
lead to the breeding chambers where the nests are located. 

As already intimated, pocket gopheis appear above ground rather 
seldom; they do so, as a rule, only as necessary to push out surplus 
earth loosened in the extension of their tunnels or to forage in the 
near vicinity of the open burrows. While gophers are active 
throughout the entire 24 hours of the day, new surface workings, 
marked by dark damp soil, are to be found chiefly in the morning. 

The typical mound is of a fan shape, the opening of the burrow 
from which the earth was pushed, although closed, being clearly 
indicated at the base of the fan. The upraised surface of the fan 
is marked by more or less sharply indicated concentric “ moraines,” 
each registering the terminus of an operation from the mouth of 
the burrow. The rim of the mound is often irregular, the earth 
having been pushed farther out at some points on the periphery than 
at others. The mouth of the burrow is plainly outlined in a perfect 
circle of raised earth 2 to 3 inches in diameter, but this small 
circle is always lower than the preponderance of the heap. 

However, a great deal of the gophers’ activity at the surface of 
the ground is not marked by the presence of mounds. Especially 
during the dry season, one will find at frequent intervals circular 
openings in the ground which have been filled with loose earth, nearly 
or quite to the level of the surrounding surface. Examination will 
show that these burrows have been used as exits from short side 
branches of the main tunnels. They are used for the purpose of 
exploring the immediately adjacent surface for food. 

A gopher is loath to leave its shelter and ordinarily does not 
venture as far even as the length of its body from the open mouth 


RODENTS IN SOIL FORMATION—GRINNELL 343 


of its burrow. As an evident result of this timidity, each feeding 
exit is the center of a small circle, shorn of vegetation, the radius 
of which is less than the body length of the gopher. The haunches 
of the animal, when it forages, remain in contact with the orifice 
of the burrow, as a sort of anchor by means of which the gopher 
can pull itself back into safety at an instant’s warning. It is well 
known to gardeners that a gopher will burrow underground to 
some near-by plant, rather than risk capture by venturing forth 
on the open surface. Many times gophers tunnel toward the sur- 
face beneath plants and cut off roots and even main stems, without 
any disturbance being evident above ground, until the plants begin to 
wither and die, if they do not topple over before by reason of inse- 
curity at the base. 

In digging, the earth loosened by the strong incisor teeth and 
stout front claws is swept back underneath the body until a con- 
siderable amount has accumulated. The animal then turns around 
(being able to do so apparently almost within the diameter of its 
own body, which is the diameter also of its burrow), and pushes the 
earth along the tunnel to the surface opening where it is shoved out 
on top of the ground or into some other part of the burrow system 
no longer of use. Only the fore feet, in conjunction with the broad 
furry face below the level of the nose, are used in moving the earth. 
The outside-opening, fur-lined, cheek pouches, with which the animal 
is provided, and which are situated at each side of the mouth, are 
not used to carry earth, but solely to carry clean food materials. 
Most of the surface openings are at the ends of side tunnels and 
are but a few inches in length. After excavation has proceeded a 
few inches beyond one surface opening, this opening is closed and 
a new one is made at a more convenient location—nearer the point 
where the earth is being removed. 

As already intimated, gophers occur very widely. In fact, in Cali- 
fornia, we find them existing under the most extreme conditions of 
climate, though different species are represented under the different 
combinations of conditions. There are pocket gophers in abundance 
in the vicinity of Yuma, and at Eureka; at Monterey, and around 
Goose Lake; at Fresno, and up to the limit of plentiful plant growth, 
11,500 feet, on the slopes of Mount Whitney. 

I will now give some facts and information relative to the gophers 
in the Yosemite National Park, where Mr. Tracy Irwin Storer and 
myself have made definite studies of their habits. 

The pocket gopher? is one of the few Sierran rodents that carry 
on active existence throughout the entire year. It does not hibernate, 


2The species here concerned is Thomomys monticola. 


344 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


so far as we know, even at the highest altitudes. There is good evi- 
dence of the continued work of gophers there, beneath the snow, 
however deep this may become. During the winter and spring in the 
high country, where the snow lies deep, they are led to adopt a some- 
what different method in extending their tunnel systems than during 
the summer months. The tunnels are then made in the snow itself, 
a greater or less distance above, and in most of their courses more or 
less parallel with, the surface of the ground. These snow tunnels are 
usually greater in diameter than the subterranean runs, perhaps be- 
cause of the loose texture of the snow as compared with that of the 
soil beneath; they serve the purpose of allowing the gophers to reach 
plants which are embedded in the snow. Many of them are used also 
in extending the subterranean systems. The earth from below ground 
is carried up and packed in the snow tunnels previously dug, thereby 
forming solid earth cores above the level of the ground. When the 
snow melts in the spring, these cores are lowered intact onto the sur- 
face of the ground, where they often remain more or less recognizable 
for several months, despite the winds and summer thundershowers. 

The height to which the snow tunnels extend above the ground 
depends upon the depth of the snow-fall; but there is reason to 
believe that their general course is modified by the position of the 
above-ground vegetation encountered. After the snow has gone, in 
early spring, we have found portions of earth cores lying on top of 
flattened branches of snowbush, on fallen tree branches, on logs and 
rocks, indicating that the animals had pursued courses in the snow 
well above these objects. When active right after a light fall of 
snow, the gophers run their tunnels directly upon the surface of the 
ground, appropriating to their uses as they go the stems of grasses 
and other plants. 

Very often the earth composing both the winter cores and the 
summer mounds is quite different in appearance from that of the 
superficial layer of the ground immediately underneath them. This 
makes such “ workings” very conspicuous, as they are, with reference 
to the ground on which they lie, in the relation of a geological un- 
conformity. 

Rather than being a drawback to the interests of the pocket gopher, 
the snow seems to be of real benefit. Two factors are here involved. 
I have referred to the timidity of the animal, and this is doubtless 
due to the relentless pursuit of it by certain carnivorous mammals 
and birds with the resultant precautions necessary on the part of 
the gopher to keep out of sight and reach. The snow provides cover 
which conceals the rodent effectually from certain of its enemies. At 
the same time, the vertical range of accessible food sources is greatly 


RODENTS IN SOIL FORMATION——GRINNELL 345 


increased; for the gopher is able to reach plant stems and leaves en- 
veloped in the snow mantle, many inches and even feet above the 
ground surface. All this is subject to confirmation through study of 
the winter workings uncovered at the time of the spring thaw. 

Some estimates made by us while carrying on field work near Por- 
cupine Flat, Yosemite Park, will serve to indicate the amount of 
work done by pocket gophers. It was found that the average amount 
of earth put up in the form of winter cores was, on a selected area, 
1.64 pounds per square yard. Assuming that, on the average, gopher 
workings covered only one-tenth per cent of the land surface, there 
would be 3.6 tons of earth put up per square mile, or 4,132 tons over 
the whole park. This is for a single winter! It will be recalled that 
there are many square miles of either solid rock or slide rock in the 
park, where gophers can not work. On the other hand, in favorable 
localities workings occur on every square yard of surface; so that it is 
believed that the average of one-tenth per cent is conservative for 
the park as a whole. In summer the amount of material excavated 
is probably at least as great as that in winter—exactly how much has 
not yet been determined. For the year, Mr. Storer and myself feel 
safe in doubling the total figure just given, which, in another unit of 
measure, would be close to 160 carloads of 50 tons each. We estimate 
further that the earth to the above amount is lifted by the gophers 
an average distance of about 8 inches; 5,500 foot-tons of energy 
are expended by these little animals in Yosemite Park during a single 
year. 

The question then presents itself as to the general effect of all this 
' work upon the terrain at large, and further upon the vegetation and 
even upon the animal life of the region. I will proceed to enumerate 
some of these relations which seem to be borne by pocket gophers to 
their environment. 

(1) The weathering of the substratum is hastened by the burrow 
systems carrying the air and the water and contained solvents to the . 
subsoil particles and rock masses below. 

(2) The subsoil is comminuted and brought to the surface where 
it is exposed to further, and increased rate of, weathering. 

(3) The loose earth brought up and piled on the surface of the 
ground thereby becomes available for transportation by wind and 
water; rain and melted snow carry it from the slopes down to fill up 
glacial depressions and to make meadows of them; and when these are 
full, the sediment is carried on still farther by the gathering streams 
to contribute to the upbuilding of the great and fertile valleys beyond 
the foothills. 

(4) Water is conserved for the reason that snow melts more 
slowly on porous ground than on hard-packed soil or bare rock, so 


846 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


that the spring run-off is retarded and the supply to the streams below 
is distributed over a longer period of time; furthermore, the porous 
soil retains the water longer than packed ground and gives it up with 
corresponding slowness. Spring floods are less lable to occur and a 
more regular water supply is insured to the lowlands. . 

(5) A porous, moist soil produces a fuller vegetational cover— 
forest, brushland and meadow—and this again favors water con- 
servation. 

(6) The ground is rendered more fertile through the loosening of 
the soil as well as through the permeation of it by the tunnels them- 
selves, thereby admitting both air and water to the roots of the 
plants; the mineral constituents of the soil become more readily 
available, and the rootlets are better able to penetrate the earth. 

(7) The accumulated vegetational débris on the surface of the 
ground is eventually buried by the soil brought from below by the 
gophers, and becomes incorporated to form the humus content so 
favorable for the successful growth of most kinds of plants. 

My readers will have been reminded by a portion of the above 
considerations of Darwin’s classical study of the relation of earth- 
worms to soil formation. There is undoubtedly a parallel here, the 

more significant in that the earthworm is a relatively rare animal in 
' California; and what earthworms are here are of small size and 
of relative inconsequence in effect upon the soil. The pocket gopher 
is wonderfully equipped to handle the refractory young soils of the 
semiarid Sierran slopes, and his réle here is, in a way, that of Dar- 
win’s earthworm in England. 

The greatest of all agencies of erosion in the Sierra Nevada, the 
glaciers, so stressed by John Muir, have now ceased to operate, and 
the less obvious agencies come into prominence. The element of time 
granted, we are able to conceive of vast accomplishments on the part 
of even so humble a contributor as the pocket gopher. Gophers have 
been at work as gophers of modern type since Miocene times. Prof. 
Andrew C. Lawson thinks that the Sierran block had not begun 
to uptilt until early Pliocene. Gophers have probably been at work 
on at least the lower slopes a good share of the entire time occupied in 
the uplift of the Sierra Nevada. 

As in the case of Darwin’s earthworms, there is plentiful evidence 
in California as to the function of burrowing rodents in burying 
large objects, such as rocks and logs. Ground squirrels and pocket 
gophers both show an inclination toward placing their nesting cham- 
bers beneath objects that will protect them from being dug out by 
burrowing enemies, such as badgers and coyotes. The earth is taken 
out from beneath a rock or a boulder by the rodents and deposited 


RODENTS IN SOIL FORMATION—GRINNELL 347 


around the margin of the object, which thus, as the years go by, 
gradually disappears, as a result of the process of undermining and 
settling plus that of the building up of the ground roundabout. The 
seeker need not go far to find good cases of this kind. Mr. Joseph 
Dixon cites the case of a rock pile on one corner of his ranch which 
was half buried in 10 years. One certain rock settled 6 inches in 
comparison with the general land level during a period of 10 years. 

Some idea of the extent of the work which gophers have ac- 
complished through time may be gained from the following consid- 
erations. There are 33 species and subspecies of this type of bur- 
rowing rodent now in existence in California; these are all in a 
general way similar to one another, but each has distinctive charac- 
ters which involve not only external features of color and quality - 
of pelage but also internal structures, more especially those of the 
skull and teeth. These latter features, it will be observed, have to 
do with the digging equipment which to the gopher is of such vital 
importance. These characters of skull and teeth are the ones chiefly 
depended upon by systematic students in determining species. A 
remarkable thing is that no two of the 33 species occurring in Cali- 
fornia exist in any one locality. Just one kind lives in a place, to the 
exclusion of all other kinds. There is probably close correlation of 
structure with peculiarities of the terrain, as, for instance, those 
shown by loamy, sandy, and rocky soils. 

Now the remains of gophers’ skulls are found in abundance in the 
Rancho La Brea deposits near Los Angeles. The exact horizon in 
which they are found is that in which are also found the saber-toothed 
tiger, the ground sloth, camels, mastodons, and dire wolves. That 
horizon has been assigned to the Pleistocene epoch; and geologists 
have estimated that the time elapsed since the deposit of the materials 
representative of that horizon is to be computed in “ tens and even 
hundreds of thousands of years.” A remarkable thing is that a study 
I have just made of the gophers of Rancho La Brea, in comparison 
with the species existing in the same vicinity to-day, shows they are 
identical in every respect. In, say, 200,000 years there has been no 
modification of the same structures which at the present day vary 
from place to place to such an extent as to have led this group to 
be characterized by some zoologists as extraordinarily “ plastic.” 
The true inference here is that the processes of divergent evolution, 
as well as of monotypic evolution, have been exceedingly slow. This, 
however, is somewhat beside the issue. 

If we are to grant that gophers have been in existence, carrying on 
their digging operations for so short a time, geologically, as 200,000 


°The species and subspecies is Zhomomys botte pallescens. 


348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


years, even then the total amount of turnover of the ground has 
been enormous. At the rate determined on one tract of land to 
be one-tenth of an inch per year, it would in that period of time have 
amounted to 1,700 feet. This is equivalent to 3,400 plowings to a 
depth of 6 inches. 

Computations of this sort may be carried on endlessly, and it is 
rather good fun to do so for a while; but beyond certain limits, they 
are not particularly profitable In this case, especially, there is a wide 
margin of inaccuracy when an attempt is made to apply the initial 
figure over large areas. 

Interestingly enough, our studies have shown that the average 
depth at which pocket gophers run their burrows beneath the sur- 
face of the ground is 6 inches. And this, I am informed by Prof. 
John S. Burd, is the usual depth reached by the farmer of California 
when he plows the land for his crops. Not only does the gopher 
bring raw soil to the surface to be further weathered, thus releasing 
the mineral food that the plants require, but it is continually bury- 
ing vegetation beneath the earth which it throws up at the mouths 
of its burrows; and furthermore, vegetation is cut into pieces and 
carried below ground in large quantities by gophers, much of which 
is not eaten but remains there, just as does the vegetation which is 
turned under by the plow, to add to the humus content of the soil. 
All the excreta of a pocket gopher are deposited underground in 
special branches of its tunnel system, also at about the same critical 
depth—6 inches. The nitrogenous supply from this animal is thus 
not wasted in any such proportion as it is in the case of those her- 
bivores which live altogether on the surface of the ground. It must 
be emphasized that it is on wé/d land, land that is untouched by the 
farmer, that the gophers thus serve in a valuable way as enrichers of 
the soil. 

While the gopher and ground squirrel when they eat grass admit- 
tedly come into direct competition with horses, cattle, and sheep, the 
story does not stop there. An important function, it seems to me, 
performed by burrowing animals is that of counteracting the pack- 
ing effect of large mammals on uncultivated grazing lands. The 
impact of heavy feet on the soil, especially when wet, crowds the 
particles together and renders the earth less suitable for plant 
growth. Close tamping tends to exclude the air and hence to sufto- 
cate the plant roots, to which oxygen is as essential as it is to animal 
life. One has but to observe the conditions on mountain meadows 
outside the limits of national parks to appreciate the point here 
made. Often where the countrv has been overstocked with cattle or 


RODENTS IN SOIL FORMATION—GRINNELL 849 


domestic sheep, the grasslands have become poor—the crop of grass 
is serawny—eacept where gopher workings occur; the sites of these 
are marked by patches of vivid green. Indeed, on ordinary hill 
slopes I have repeatedly noted the rejuvenation of the plant cover 
here and there, traceable directly and obviously to the activity of 
burrowing rodents. Before the advent of the white man with his 
cattle and horses a similar service was rendered, though in lesser 
degree, perhaps, because of the less need for it, when the deer, moun- 
tain sheep, and bears frequented the same areas. 

The question of damage-to forests under natural conditions, for 
example, injury to young trees, is one that has been raised by for- 
esters. There is no doubt but that gophers and squirrels do girdle 
or cut off the stems of many seedlings and thus terminate the exist- 
ence of numerous individual trees. But the great number of seed- 
lings observable on parts of any forest floor, vastly more than could 
ever reach maturity, would seem to indicate that an adjustment in 
this direction had been reached long ages ago. Plants in general 
provide for a rate of replacement sufficient to meet the maximum 
probabilities of casualty, this involving all stages from the seed to 
the mature fruiting plant. 

In the arable lowlands of California the pocket gopher is well- 
nigh universally, and of course there rightly, condemned for pur- 
suing his activities, in making his living, on lands that have been 
appropriated and cultivated by man. There, man has disturbed the 
original balance of natural relations between plants and animals; 
he aims to make the land produce crops of selected plants in the 
largest measure possible, and to that end he cultivates the ground 
himself by very effective “artificial” means. He naturally resents 
the levy upon the land and its products by any other animal. Most 
of the original quota of herbivorous mammals has been crowded out 
by his methods; but the gopher and eround squirrel have been able 
to persist ie the changed conditions. Man’s crops have even in- 
creased their food resources; and they have been able to cape with 
the other changes. It is clear that we have here, most surely, a 
reversal of the relationships obtaining in the wild. On wild land 
there zs no cultivation in the “ artificial” sense. The crops of wild 
plants—grasses, herbs, shrubs, and even trees—depend upon what- 
ever favorable agencies operate in natural ways. The happy rela- 
tion found by our pioneers was the result of eons of adjustment 
among all of the elements concerned. 

We grant that the farmer must combat the gopher and ground 
squirrel in his fields and gardens; we sympathize with him for 
yearning for the total eradication of the rodents there; and we will 


1454—25-——_24 


350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


help him in every conceivable way to control them. But we do not 
agree with the policy of wholesale extermination advocated by some 
persons for all areas alike. We hold that our native plant life, on 
hill and mountainside, in canyon and mountain meadow, would soon 
begin to depreciate, were the gopher population completely de- 
stroyed. Not that such a thing is at all possible; but that it should 
not be thought of, even, by any intelligent person who seeks to in- 
terpret nature correctly. Much less should public money be spent 
for such a purpose. On wild land the burrowing rodent is one of © 
the necessary factors in the system of natural well-being. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Grinnell PLATE I 


|. ILLUSTRATES EXTENT TO WHICH THE GROUND MAY BE WoRKED OVER 
AND PERFORATED BY BURROWING RODENTS (IN THIS CASE DIPODOMYS 
AND PEROGNATHUS) 


Photo taken by J. Grinnell May 4, 1911, near Earlimart, Tulare County, California 


2. A POCKET GOPHER, THOMOMYS BOTTAE PASCALIS, PHOTOGRAPHED FROM 
FRESHLY TAKEN SPECIMEN TO SHOW CERTAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES; 
FOR INSTANCE, UPPER INCISORS PROJECTING BEYOND FURRY ORIFICE 
OF MouTH. 


Snelling, Merced County, California, May 28, 1915. Photo by C. D. Holliger 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Grinnell PLATE 2 


|. ILLUSTRATES THE WAY IN WHICH THE BURROWING RODENTS TURN OVER 
THE SOIL; A LIGHT-COLORED SAND FROM BELOW IS DEPOSITED, UNCON- 
FORMABLY, ON TOP OF THE DARK-COLORED SURFACE STRATUM. THE 
POCKET GOPHER HERE CONCERNED WAS THOMOMYS PERPALLIDUS PERPES 


Photo taken by J. Grinnell June 21, 1911, near Onyx, Kern County, California 


2. IN THIS CASE A STONY SUBSTRATUM IS BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE WHERE 
ITs RATE OF WEATHERING WILL BE HASTENED; IN OTHER WORDS, THE 
PRESENCE OF BURROWING RODENTS IS ACCELERATING THE PROCESS OF 
SOIL FORMATION AND THIS, IN COURSE OF TIME, WILL MEAN IMPROVE- 
MENT IN THE CROP OF NATIVE GRASSES OR OTHER PLANT GROWTHS. 
THE POCKET GOPHER RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WORK WAS THOMOMYS 


BOTTAE MINOR 
Photo taken by J. Dixon December 12, 1917, near Gualala, Mendocino County, California 


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THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA? 
By ARTHUR DE CABLE Sowersy, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. 


[With 4 plates] 


The subject we have before us is a very big one, far too big for 
anything approaching justice to be done to it in the time at our 
disposal. It may even be argued that the time is not ripe for any- 
one to attempt to deal with the natural history of China as a whole; 
that our knowledge of the subject is still too fragmentary ; that it is 
both unsafe and unwise to try and form any far-reaching theories 
as to the origin, distribution, past and present, and the present status 
of the animals that inhabit this part of the great Asiatic land mass; 
in short, that a great deal more research work has to be done, both 
in the field and laboratory, before a general survey of the fauna 
of this ancient land can be brought within the compass of a single 
discussion. 

This, to a certain extent, is true, for there undoubtedly remains a 
vast amount of work to be done in China before it may be said 
that even the vertebrates are all known; while a much greater time 
must elapse before the invertebrate fauna has been thoroughly ex- 
plored. Nevertheless it is utterly erroneous, not to say unfair to 
past workers in this wide field of research, to say, as has been done 
recently, that the natural history of China is practically unknown. 
It is true that in certain groups of animals, for the most part orders 
or families of invertebrates, the Chinese representatives are un- 
known, but our knowledge of others, birds for instance, is actually 
nearing completion, and it is hoped to show here that this knowl- 
edge, coupled with what we know of the faunas of other countries 
and their distribution throughout the ages, is amply sufficient to en- 
able us to draw conclusions and put forward theories, tentative 
though they be, in regard to that of China. 

China is a very big country and comprises within her boundaries 
a very varied topography and many kinds of climates. In the west 
mighty mountains rise to heights far above the snow line; in the 
northeast lie immense alluvial plains; in the south and southeast 
the country is all broken up by irregular systems of hills and low 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal 
Asiatic Society, Vol, LIII, 1922, 


351 


352 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


mountains. Mighty rivers traverse the land from end to end, cutting 
through mountain ranges to form deep gorges, or widening their 
beds to form great valleys. In the north a temperate climate pre- 
vails, a warm summer being followed by a bitterly cold winter, while 
in the south tropical conditions are met with. The climate of the 
north may be characterized as dry, that of central China as humid, 
that of the southwest as distinctly wet. The result of all this is the 
presence of an extremely varied fauna, not only in regard to the 
species and genera of the families and orders represented, but in 
those families and orders themselves. 

Another factor which helps to bring about this wonderful variety 
in the fauna of China is the age of the country. It is customary, 
when discussing the Chinese, to credit them with a very ancient 
civilization, but geologists tell us that the antiquity of China’s civili- 
zation pales into insignificance as a world wonder when compared 
with that of her rock formations: It is not meant to suggest by 
this that the animals found in the ancient rocks have survived to 
the present time, but that in China we find animals still living that 
belong to very old groups. Even in the case of warm-blooded verte- 
brates, which, geologically speaking, are very recent, we find species 
belonging to a bygone age, an age that we call prehistoric. We 
find animals that belong to an age when man used only stone imple- 
ments, and lived in cave shelters, the Paleolithic age. Such animals 
have only survived in these regions by taking shelter in the highest 
mountain ranges. The famous takin (Budorcas) is one of these, 
the giant panda, or cat-bear (Adluropus melanoleucus) another. 
The lagomorphs—pikas and hares—belong to this group, as also do 
certain of the rodents, such as the allactaga, or jumping rat, and 
some of the voles. 

Thus it has become customary for naturalists in the museums of 
Europe and America to look for and expect all kinds of remark- 
able forms of animals from China, and, periodically, some such ani- 
mal is discovered. This happens in all branches of animal life. A 
typical example is that of two species of flea. A rat was caught 
somewhere in South China, and it was found to contain specimens of 
a peculiar jigger flea in its ears. These specimens were lost, and 
never again have similar ones been found. Quite by accident some 
white maggotlike creatures were found in the nostrils of a roe deer 
that I shot while on the Clark Expedition in Shensi. These were kept 
and later were examined at the British Museum, when it was found 
that they were enormously swollen females of a small black flea 
that infested the coat of the deer upon which they were found. The 
species has not since been secured. Other peculiar Chinese animals 
will be mentioned later; for the present let us continue for a moment 


eS a 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—-SOWERBY 353 


to consider the paleontological side of our subject, since this bears 
so strongly upon the present distribution of the animals of China. 

It may be taken that a fair amount is known about the fossils 
that occur in the older formations, since several able paleontologists 
have been devoting their time to this branch of study. A geological 
museum has been started in Peking, as well as a geological survey 
of the whole of China, and already a considerable amount of valuable 
material upon which experts are now working has been gathered. 
It is the more recent formations, however, that most interest us here, 
since it is from them that we may find out when the animals we 
now know to exist in the country arrived there, and also what forms 
immediately preceded them. Unfortunately these recent deposits 
have not as yet been well worked or explored, though some inter- 
esting results have already been obtained. Thus we learn that the 
porcupine, now not known to occur north of the Yangtse Valley, 
once inhabited the province of Chihli, numerous remains of the 
animal having been found in recent deposits round Peking. Such 
a discovery is significant, for it shows that at no very distant date, 
geologically speaking, that part of China had a very much warmer 
climate than it has now. Couple with this fact my recent discovery 
in the imperial hunting grounds of northeastern Chihli, of a species 
of squirrel (Z'amiops), which belongs to a genus that does not occur 
elsewhere in China north of Ssuchuan in the west and Chekiang in 
the east, and it becomes obvious that the forests of west, central, 
southwest, and northeast China were at one time connected, a belt 
of heavy vegetation and trees probably extending all the way from 
Indo-China to the borders of Manchuria. 

While exploring in Manchuria, I secured a specimen of a large 
bear that could not be classed either with the brown or the black 
bears of Asia. It was undoubtedly a grizzly, but up to that time 
the living grizzlies were supposed to be confined to North America. 
I was able to show that this bear was indeed a true grizzly, and also 
that there were other grizzlies in Asia. This very clearly shows 
how the grizzlies came to be present in North America, for these 
Asiatic forms are undoubtedly connecting links between the pre- 
historic grizzlies or cave bears of England and western Europe, 
which became extinct only after the fourth glaciation, and the 
living grizzlies of North America. The only way in which the 
latter could have acquired their present distribution was by the mi- 
gration or, perhaps it would be better to say, the gradual spread, 
of their ancestors from Europe across Siberia or central Asia to 
the American continent by way of the land bridge that once existed 
where the Bering Sea now lies. 

This land bridge was a very important factor in the present 
distribution of the animals of both America and the Eurasian land 


354 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


mass. By its means such animals as the camel and the horse, both 
of which first developed in North America, and subsequently be- 
came extinct in that continent, arrived in Asia, the horse passing on 
to Europe, where it became the servant of man, and was subse- 
quently reintroduced into America by him. 

When we come to examine the distribution of the cold-blooded 
vertebrates, such as reptiles and fishes, we have to go further back 
in the geological history of the country in order to understand its 
significance, and it is here that our want of knowledge is most keenly 
felt. Nevertheless, a few interesting facts may be culled from what 
we already know, facts which throw a certain amount of light upon 
the subject. 

An examination of the map of the Old World will reveal the fact 
that a desert belt stretches from Morocco in North Africa right 
across Asia to the borders of Manchuria, where it stops within a 
hundred miles or so of the sea. It has been suggested that it was 
this desert belt, known to be of considerable age, that prevented the 
Urodela, or tailed amphibians, from spreading south from Europe 
and north Asia into Africa and India. Force is given to this con- 
tention by the fact that it is only in the extreme eastern part of 
their range in Eurasia that they occur south of the desert belt in 
question, for there they found a stretch of humid country by 
means of which they could spread southward with safety. It is 
easy to see how such animals as newts and salamanders, which de- 
pend entirely upon the presence of ponds, streams, or lakes, wherein 
to lay their eggs and where their young develop, and which them- 
selves can not exist in any but a humid environment, would find it 
utterly impossible to cross a stretch of dry, sandy desert. 

Incidentally it may be mentioned that another animal that appears 
to have been influenced in its distribution by this desert belt is 
the roedeer (Capreolus), whose range extends from the extreme west 
of Europe throughout that continent, central Asia, north of the 
deserts, and Siberia into Manchuria. Thence it turns south and west, 
extending into north China and on into eastern Tibet. This deer 
does not occur in central or south China, its range being bounded 
in this direction by the Tsing Ling Mountains. 

Reptiles represent a very old group of animals. One instance in 
connection with their ancestry and distribution may be mentioned 
here. It is that of the little Yangtse alligator. The Crocodilide 
represent almost the very oldest living group of reptiles, and they 
ucquired their distribution upon the face of the earth a very long 
time ago. It is believed that they originated in the Old World, 
spreading into the New World at a very remote period. These 
New World members of the group are mainly alligators or caimens, 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 355 


though true crocodiles are also found in American waters. Since, 
however, there is one alligator to be found in the Old World, that 
from the Yangtse, it is obvious that at one time this genus enjoyed 
a very wide distribution in both the Old and the New Worlds, and 
that in some way the Old and the New Worlds were connected at that 
time. 

Paleontology has proved of the utmost assistance in determin- 
ing how the distribution of fishes, both marine and fresh-water, 
came about, though as yet nothing very important in the way of 
fossil remains of this type of cold-blooded vertebrate has been found 
in Chinese strata. Nevertheless, it is believed that China formed a 
center of dispersal for the great carp family (Cyprindde), receiv- 
ing at the same time an influx of Silurids, or catfishes, from the 
region of the Indian Ocean. 

We may next consider for a while the question of the faunistic 
areas that occur in China, or to which parts of China belong. Many 
years ago a distinguished naturalist divided the globe up into great. 
faunistic regions such as the Palearctic, including practically the 
whole of Europe, and central and northern Asia, the Ethiopian, in- 
cluding Africa south of the Sahara, the Oriental, including India 
and Malay, and the Nearctic, including North America. Since that 
time it has become customary to go on dividing up these regions into 
subregions or faunistic provinces, often, it must be admitted, with 
but poor success. Notwithstanding this fact, we may make some 
such attempt in the case of China, for, even if certain groups of 
animals are not amenable to such a treatment, others undoubtedly 
are, and it will greatly assist us in our examination of the Chinese 
animals if we can discover the presence of such faunistic areas. 

As a matter of fact the task is not a difficult one, for some very 
striking faunistic barriers occur in China. One of these is the great 
Tsing Ling divide that extends from the highlands of the Tibetan 
border through southern Kansu, and southern Shensi into Honan. 
North .of this divide we have one group of animals, south of it 
another. It forms the boundary line of the ranges of a large number 
of both mammals and reptiles. For instance, we have already seen 
how it marks the southerly limits of the range of the roe deer. At 
the same time it forms the northerly limit of the range of the 
muntjac, another small deer, and the porcupine. To the north of it 
the animals are Tartarian in their affinities, to the south they are 
oriental. In the Provinces of Kansu, north Shensi, Shansi, Chihli, 
and Fengtien, the westernmost Province of Manchuria, we find such 
animals as the allactaga, the suslik, the gazelle, the wild sheep, 
animals which denote the intrusion of a Steppe fauna. At the same 
time we have the roe deer, the wapiti, or red deer, the wild boar. 


856 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and the fur squirrel, which suggest a forest fauna, and connect this 
part of the country, faunistically, with Europe by way of Manchuria 
and Siberia. 

Central China, which may be taken as coinciding roughly with the 
basin of the Yang-tse-Kiang, is again characterized by the presence 
of certain forms, while when we come to the extreme south we find 
typically Indian or Malayan animals appearing. The animals of 
central China seem to have spread eastward and northward to a 
certain extent, which accounts for an intrusion of oriental species 
into Manchuria, as for instance the black bear and the sika deer. 
These may, however, have arrived in Manchuria from south China 
by way of the low-lying coastal provinces of the east. In any case 
we are fairly safe in dividing China up into three main faunistic 
areas, north, central, and south, noting that the northern animals 
are partially Tartarian, or Mongolian, the animals of central China 
being typically Chinese, and those of the south being partially Indian 
or Malayan. And there we may leave the matter, since nothing is 
to be gained by stressing the point too far. 

Before making a rapid survey of the more prominent and interest- 
ing orders, families, genera, and species of animals occurring in China, 
it would be well to consider briefly the work done upon our subject 
by past field naturalists, experts in the museums of Europe and 
America, and others, at the same time taking note of the literature 
that is extant. The names of men like Pére David, a Jesuit mis- 
sionary who traveled over a great part of China studying the fauna 
and making collections which were sent to the Paris Museum, and 
Robert Swinhoe, a British consul, who also was a keen student and 
collector, stand foremost in the annals of the zoology of this coun- 
try. David’s material was worked out, as regards the mammals, by 
Milne-Edwards, the results being published in a fine tome called 
‘“‘ Recherches sur les Mammiferes,” and, as regards the birds, by him- 
self and Oustalet in their “Les Oiseaux de la Chine.” Swinhoe’s 
writings appeared for the most part in the Ibis, the organ of the 
British Ornithologists’ Union, sometimes in the Proceedings of the 
Zoological Society of London. Since their time very little sound 
work was done upon the mammals till about the year 1907, when 
Mr. Malcolm P. Anderson, working for the British Museum, came 
to China and commenced a series of explorations, making magnificent 
collections, which were worked out by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, of that 
institution, who published numerous papers in the P. Z. S. and the 
Annals and Magazine of Natural History. The birds, on the 
other hand, have claimed many devoted students, amongst the most 
famous of whom are C. B. Rickett, J. D. de La Touche, and F. W. 
Styan. These ornithologists have contributed very considerably to 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 357 


our knowledge of the birds of China, their published papers appear- 
ing usually either in the Ibis or the Bulletin of the British Ornithol- 
ogists’ Club. 

A naturalist whose name must be mentioned was Pére P. M. Heude, 
founder and first curator of the Zikawei Museum of Natural History. 
He managed to get together a very fine collection of Chinese animals, 
and published extensively upon the material that he gathered round 
him in the museum. Unfortunately he entertained somewhat peculiar 
views upon what constitutes a species, which led him to describe an 
enormous number of new forms on grounds that no modern naturalist 
can accept. Thus the value of his writings was seriously impaired, 
though the fine series of specimens in the museum remain a monu- 
ment to his zeal as a curator and collector. His principal publication 
was his “Memoires concernant l’Histoire Naturelle de Empire 
Chinois,” and he dealt mainly with mammals, though birds, certain 
reptiles, and certain fresh-water mollusks were also touched upon. 

As regards the cold-blooded vertebrates of China, the most im- 
portant names are those of G. A. Boulenger and C. Tate Regan, of 
the British Museum, and L. Stejneger, of tle United States National 
Museum, whose writings upon the fresh-water fish, amphibians, and 
reptiles are to be found scattered through numerous scientific jour- 
nals. The earlier workers upon the reptiles and batrachians were 
Cantor and Giinther, and upon the fishes Giinther, Valenciennes, 
Bleeker, Basilewsky, and Richardson. 

Besides all these naturalists, there are a great number who have 
contributed to the literature upon the zoology of China, but it is 
impossible here to give all their names, or even an adequate idea of 
the vastness of that literature. A partial bibliography of the orni- 
thology of China, which Doctor Richmond, of the United States Na- 
tional Museum, very kindly prepared at my request, contains the 
titles of over 700 publications, which are scattered throughout numer- 
ous journals, or have appeared in book form. It is almost certain 
that no library in the world contains a complete set of all the pub- 
lications upon the fauna of China, though that of the Natural His- 
tory Museum at South Kensington (British Museum) is remarkably 
replete with this form of literature. The libraries in China, alas, 
contain very little in this line, far too little to enable anything serious 
in the way of research work to be done. The geological department 
in Peking is trying to form a good working library, while the Zikawei 
Museum has a fairly useful one. The library of the late Dr. G. E. 
Morrison, of Peking, contained a good collection of zoological works 
on China, but it was sold and taken away to Japan. This lack of 
the literature upon the subject is a very serious handicap to anyone 
trying to do original research in the country, while another serious 


358 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


handicap is the lack of collected material in the way of good series 
of properly labeled specimens for purposes of comparison. I should 
like to see an awakening of the interests of the members of the Royal 
Asiatic Society (north China’branch) in regard to this matter, for 
this institution is obviously the one to lead the way, in this part of 
China at least, in the study of the zoology of the country, and all 
that is needed are adequate funds for the purchase of books and 
papers and to send collectors out into the field to gather more ma- 
terial. The society’s museum already has a considerable amount of 
valuable material, but much more is needed before it can be con- 
sidered as a genuine working museum rather than a show place. 


MAMMALS 


The mammalia of China is a comparatively large and varied one. 
It contains representatives of numerous families and genera, some 
of them unique, and most of them extremely interesting. Probably 
the great order Rodentia is most fully represented, though the Car- 
nivora are extremely abundant, especially in some localities. The 
Ungulata, or hoofed animals, on the other hand, are less plentiful, 
a fact due doubtless to their value as food. The Chinese are not to 
be classed among the world’s best hunters; but by reason of their 
numbers, and the fact that they never lose an opportunity to turn 
an honest penny, they soon destroy the big game in any district 
where such occur and they are allowed to hunt it. At the present 
time it is only in remote mountainous areas, more or less inaccessible 
to the outside world, that any of the larger ungulates are to be found 
in a wild state, and even these are being assidulously hunted by local 
natives, who are gradually acquiring modern rifles, and so threaten- 
‘ing them with extermination. To this category belong the Asiatic 
wapiti, or red deer, several forms of which occur in the country, 
the wild sheep, the takin, the serow, the sika deer, and the goral. 
The large deer are hunted for the sake of their horns when in velvet. 
the Chinese believing in this commodity as an excellent tonic and 
rejuvenator. Thus the spotted deer, or sika, have become extremely 
rare, and are now only to be found in a few isolated areas. The 
sika deer form an interesting genus that is confined to the south- 
eastern part of the Asiatic land mass and adjacent islands. There 
are two distinct subgroups within the genus, one containing the large 
animals of north China and Manchuria, and the other small animals, 
typified by the little Japanese deer. In the extreme southwest of 
China we find an Indian form of deer, the sambhur, while in the 
Yangtse Valley occurs the remarkable little river deer (Hydropotes 
inermis), which has no horns, but well developed tusks in the male. 
Muntjacs, musk, mouse deer, and roe deer complete the list of cervine 
ungulates that occur in China, the roe being confined to the north, 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 859 


the musk to the north and west, and the others to the central and 
southern parts. The famous David’s deer (Hlaphurus davidianus), 
known to the Chinese as the Mei, or Ssu-puhsiang, meaning the 
“ four unlikes,” has become extinct, at least in a wild state. This 
and the river deer are purely Chinese forms, the wapiti being Euro- 
pean and North American in its affinities, the musk Himalayan, and 
the sika, the muntjacs, and the mouse deer oriental. 

Wild swine of the Sus scrofa type are almost universally distrib- 
uted throughout the country. Antelopes and wild sheep belong to 
the north, the serows and gorals to the highlands, where such occur, 
and the takins to the highest mountain ranges of central and west 
China. The yak occurs in a wild state in the highlands on the 
Tibetan border, and the wild ass in Chinese Turkestan. 

The Carnivora are represented by several important groups, 
namely, the Ursidae, or bears; the Canidae, wolves, foxes, and dogs; 
the Mustelidae, or weasels and their relations; and the Felidae, or 
cats. It would be interesting to follow out the various branches of 
this order, but neither time nor space will permit of it. Sufficient it 
is to note that in this group of mammals, as in the last, China 
possesses some remarkable forms all her own. Such an animal is 
the great panda, or cat bear (Adluropus melanolecus) of the Tibetan 
borders. The small panda (Azlurus fulgens) is another. The tiger 
was at one time, as the leopard is to-day, almost universally dis- 
tribfted, but now it is only rarely found in the north and central 
regions, though one form is common in the south and southeast, 
while the Manchurian forests contain numbers of the great woolly 
tiger. Small cats and civets are extremely abundant in the south- 
east; less so in other parts. 

Of the Chinese rodents the most interesting are some of the voles 
and their not very distant relations the molerats (Myospalax) and 
the bamboo rat (Aisomys). It is perfectly obvious from a com- 
parison of the two forms that the molerat is a development from the 
bamboo rat, it having carried the specializations of the latter for a 
subterranean life a considerable step further. The bamboo rat, living 
in the dense jungle where it burrows for its food, the roots and 
shoots of the sword-grass, frequently stays above ground since it is 
well protected by the heavy vegetation. The molerat, on the other 
hand, having pushed northward, where vegetation is very much 
more scarce, has been forced to become almost exclusively subter- 
ranean in its habits and mode of life, and thus has become even more 
molelike than the bamboo rat, developing larger burrowing claws in 
the forepaws, and almost losing the external ear and the eye. In 
central, south, and west China all kinds of rats, more or less related 
to the common rat, predominate, but in the north we have an intru- 
sion of Mongolian or Steppe forms, such as the jumping rats, Dipus 


360 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and Allactaga, the gerbils (Meriones), and the ground squirrel 
(Oitellus). Here also are to be found the various members of the 
hamster family, rats characterized by the presence of large cheek 
pouches. Squirrels are universally distributed, characteristic forms 
being the huge flying squirrels, David’s squirrel, the fur squirrels, 
and the chipmunks. The largest rodent in the country is the porcu- 
pine (Hystrix), which occurs throughout the Yangtse Valley and in 
south and west China. 

Closely related to the rodents are the lagomorphs, or hares and 
pikas. These used to be classed with the rodents, but are now looked 
upon as belonging to a different order, whose development was, 
nevertheless, closely parallel. There are numerous subspecies of the 
common hare (Lepus swinhoei) in China north of the Yangtse. 
South of that river occurs a totally different animal, namely the 
Chinese hare (ZL. sénensis). This is a rather unique distribution and 
division of habitats, since the rim of the Yangtse basin and not the 
river itself usually forms the boundary line between the ranges of 
any two forms of animal in China. Apparently the Yangtse River 
has proved sufficient of a barrier to keep the one form to the south 
and the other to the north, and this in spite of the fact that hares 
are well known to be expert swimmers. 

The pikas (Ochotona) are really small hares or rabbits, and they 
are confined to the north and the higher regions of the center and 
west. Strangely enough they occur on the flat plains of Mongolia, 
in the lowest ravines of Shensi and Kansu, in the forested areas 
of Shansi, and also at the very summits of the highest mountain 
ranges. This is evidently because they belong to a very old group 
of mammals, and so have had a long period in the country in which 
to spread and adapt themselves to all kinds of environment. They 
once inhabited Europe, but became extinct there along with all the 
other “steppe” animals. Now they are confined to certain parts 
of Asia and North America. 

The bats and insectivores are two other groups of mammals that 
are well represented in China, some very remarkable forms of the 
latter occurring in the west. In the north hedgehogs and shrews 
are fairly common, as also are certain forms of mole. One of the 
most interesting of the Chinese insectivores is the peculiar Veote- 
tracus sinensis from the west, which combines the characters of the 
shrews and the hedgehogs. + 

Of apes and monkeys China does not boast a large number or 
variety, though it is interesting to note that the most northerly repre- 
sentatives of this great group of mammals in the world to-day are 
to be met with in this country. Im the area to the northeast of 
Peking, known as the Tung Ling, the fine Chihli macaque still 
occurs. In Ssuchuan the famous golden-haired monkey (/hini- 


—— oe 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 361 


pithecus roxellanae), one of the only two known monkeys that 
possess a nasal appendage, is found. This is a very large animal 
with a long tail and sometimes a long mane of golden hair down 
the back. In the southwest of Yunnan, on the Burmese border, sev- 
eral species of ape and monkey occur, while in the south and south- 
east others are to be met with. 

While discussing the mammals mention should be made of the 
remarkable scaled ant eater (Jfanis), also called the pangolin. This 
creature is highly valued for its supposed medicinal properties. In 
fact, in certain parts of China every wild animal that is at all un- 
common is credited with medicinal properties, and fetches good 
prices in the market. Thus the blood of the serow is considered 
very valuable, as also are the blood, bones, and claws of a tiger, the 
horns of the serow and goral, and the antlers of the stag. The 
pangolin is confined to the south and southeast. 

In the matter of marine mammals, the seas that wash the shores 
of China are not very rich. Sea lions and common seals occur round 
the coast, while various kinds of whales and dolphins are to be met 
with further from land. Some extremely interesting river dolphins 
occur in the waters of the Yangtse basin. Some of these have not 
yet been identified. Certain lake forms suggest that at one time this 
part of China was under the sea, the dolphins being left behind in 
lakes when elevation of the land took place. 


BIRDS 


The birds of China are better known than any other branch of her 
fauna, apparently for the reason that they have attracted more at- 
tention from competent naturalists. It is probable that birds, in- 
sects, especially butterflies, and shell-bearing mollusks the world 
over have received more attention than other animals for the reason 
that they are more attractive. Whatever the cause, the fact remains 
that there is little to be expected in the way of new species of birds 
to be discovered in this country, though a great deal of work still 
remains for the ornithologist to do. For instance, the problems of 
migration in this country have scarcely been studied as yet, while the 
exact ranges of the indigenous forms of bird that occur have yet to 
be determined. No country in the world offers a better field for re- 
search to the ornithologist than does China. This country is the 
headquarters of the great pheasant family, while its great variety 
of topography offers the opportunity of studying its avi-fauna under 
all kinds of conditions from open desert to dense forest, high moun- 
tain ranges to swamps and flat lands. Breeding operations may be 
watched, nesting haunts and conditions noted. Bird life is so abun- 
dant that the student of nature need never be at a loss, unless it be 
through an embarras de richesse, 


362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


I have heard it stated that there are some 1,200 descriptions of 
birds from China. Whether this be the case or not, it is probably not 
very wide of the mark to set the number of distinct forms known to 
occur in the country at well over 600. In a list of birds that are 
known to occur in Manchuria and the neighboring region, which I 
have prepared with the help of various experts, there are some 500 
forms. Most of these occur at least in some part of China proper, 
and it is certain that the indigenous birds of the more westerly re- 
gions must number considerably over 100 more. 

The avi-fauna of China may be characterized as typically Palearce- 
tic with a strong intrusion of Oriental species in the southern parts 
of the country. At the same time the palearctic element may be 
further described as being Tartarian in its affinities in the north and 
northwest, and Himalayan in the highlarids of the west and central 
areas. The importance of this Himalayan intrusion should not be 
overlooked, for it will often explain the remarkable occurrence of 
some species in an unexpected area. Botanists tell us that in the 
higher parts of this country the flora is often distinctly Himalayan, 
and this is to be explained by the fact that the Tsing Ling and other 
high mountain ranges of central and west China.are apparently off- 
shoots of the great Himalayan massif. We thus find that faunistic 
areas or zones occur in a perpendicular direction as well as a horizon- 
tal one, a fact first pointed out, I think it was, by Elwes, an orni- 
thologist of considerable repute in England. 

As regards migrant species in China, it may be pointed out that 
the country receives infiuxes of birds from India as well as the 
islands of the Indian-Pacific Oceans. Species that winter in the 
Philippines, for instance, are commonly found breeding in the 
mountains of north China. The whole of the China coast during 
the migration season forms an immense highway for transient 
visitors, which are on their way to Siberia to breed, and it is due to 
this fact that we know as much as we do about the number and kinds 
of birds that pass through China. It has been possible for observers 
who have been employed either in some European firm at the coast 
or in the customs service to devote their spare time to this fascinat- 
ing subject, usually with very valuable results. 

It is impossible here to go into details concerning the various 
families, genera, and species of birds to be met with in the country. 
The subject is too vast. Besides it would be superfluous, for there 
are numerous excellent lists of such birds extant, not to mention 
expansive works such as Gould’s “ Birds of Asia.” The museum of 
this society contains a very fine collection of Chinese birds, and any- 
one wishing to take up the subject will find that the specimens have 
all been identified and labeled. 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 868 


It has already been stated that China is the headquarters of the 
pheasant family, and if any one point more than another character- 
izes the avi-fauna of the country it is this. Perhaps another char- 
acteristic that may be mentioned here is the number and variety of 
the timaline birds—babblers, laughing thrushes, and the lke—that 
occur. In the southern provinces we have such remarkable birds as 
the crow-pheasant, crow tits, and trogons, nor should we neglect to 
mention the numerous and beautiful flycatchers that inhabit this part 
of the earth. 

The birds of northeast China, Corea, and Manchuria are remark- 
ably similar to those of Europe and the British Isles, and a study of 
the subject reveals the fact that closely related forms, each grading 
into the next, occur all the way from western Europe through Siberia 
to these easterly regions. 


REPTILES 


In dealing with the reptiles and amphibians, or batrachians, of the 
country we are confronted with a rather remarkable fact. North of 
the Yangtse Valley these forms of animal life are very poorly repre- 
sented, if not in numbers of individuals at least in variety of species, 
while south of it there is a great abundance of both. The explanation 
is not far to seek, and it lies in the climatic conditions to be encount- 
ered in the two areas. These cold-blooded vertebrates are a weak rem- 
nant of the great reptiles that lived in the days when the earth was 
much warmer than it is to-day, when the climate was far more humid 
and vegetation infinitely more luxurious and prevalent. Life for these 
great saurians was comparatively easy, and so they did not evolve 
any means of protecting themselves against the less favorable con- 
ditions that followed the Carboniferous and Cretaceous periods of 
the earth’s history. Their descendants survived, but, with the excep- 
tion of the crocodiles and alligators, only as very small replicas of 
the great monsters that once swarmed. And these survivors can no 
more withstand severe climatic conditions than could their ancestors. 
Only a comparatively few reptiles have been able to adapt themselves 
to a desert environment, and, even so, usually in warm countries. 
The bitter cold of the north China winter is too much for them. 
Similarly amphibians originated in the dense tropical jungles, 
swamps, and forests of the Carboniferous age, where their particular 
mode of reproduction and development from an egg laid in the water 
through an aquatic stage to a land animal was evolved. This they 
have retained, but they, too, have become greatly reduced in size and 
can only live where a congenial environment is to be found. Thus the 
dryness of the north China climate is inimical to them. Central 
China, on the other hand, offers much more favorable conditions to 
both reptiles and amphibians, and so we have a corresponding increase 


364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


in the number and variety of the species that occur there. But it is 
in south China that we find ideal conditions for the cold-blooded 
land vertebrates, and here these animals swarm. The museum of this 
society contains a very fine herpetological collection, thanks to the 
energy and enthusiasm of Dr. Arthur Stanley, the recent curator. 
But it is interesting to note that the greater part of the collection was 
made in the Province of Fukien, where semitropical conditions pre- 
vail, vegetation is extraordinarily thick, and plenty of permanent 
streams occur. In a valuable paper by Doctor Stanley upon the 
Chinese reptiles in the museum, some 72 species are listed, of which 
49 have Fukien against their names. This does not mean, however, 
that they are confined to that Province, for specimens of many of 
them have been obtained elsewhere as well. 

A glance at this list reveals the fact that of the various forms of 
reptiles represented in this country, snakes predominate. Fifty-one 
of the seventy-two species listed are snakes. These snakes range from 
the monster python, a specimen of which from Fukien measures 20 
feet, down to the tiny blind snake. The majority of the species are 
nonpoisonous, but several very deadly forms occur. Amongst the 
latter are the black cobra, recorded from Chekiang and Fukien, and 
the terrible Chinese viper (Ancistrodon acutus), whose poison fangs 
are enormous. Other poisonous snakes occuring in our region are 
the sea snakes, which are only to be found in the sea, and have 
become adapted to a marine pelagic existence by a lateral compres- 
sion of the posterior part of the body and tail. The nonpoisonous 
snakes are mostly what are called colubers—grass snakes and water 
snakes—and are easily recognized by the usually slender bodies and 
heads. 

Lizards of various kinds are fairly common, amongst the com- 
monest in the north being the spotted lizard (Hremias argus) and 
the little gecko, the latter inhabiting the dwellings of man. In the 
south occur the blue-tailed skink (Hwmeces chinensis) and its near 
relative, the elegant skink (Z. eleyans). Another fairly common 
form is the long-tailed lizard (Tachydromus septentrionalis) . 

Of the turtle family China contains several forms, including the 
mud turtle, some terrapins, and tortoises. Marine turtles are to be 
taken at times in the China seas, or are washed ashore occasionally 
on the southern coasts. 

There is no need to do more than mention the little Yangtse alli- 
gator here, as we have already referred to it. The only other mem- 
ber of this family, the Crocodilide, which occurs in China, is the 
estuarine crocodile, which is to be found in the rivers of the extreme 
south. Its scientific name is Crocodilus porosus. The difference 
between the alligators and the crocodiles, externally, is twofold. 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 865 


The alligator has a much broader snout than the crocodile, while its 
fourth tooth from the front in the lower jaw fits into a pit in the 
upper jaw; that of the crocodile into a notch. 

The amphibians in China are represented by numerous species of 
frogs and toads, or tailless batrachians, as they are usually called, 
as well as by a few newts and salamanders. ‘The tailless batrachians 
greatly predominate, however. Remarkable forms are the little fire- 
bellied toads (Bombina), the little tree toads (Hyla), and the 
great tree frog (Rhacophorus), which is as large as a good-sized 
toad and has its long toes webbed and knobbed at the tips, 
thus enabling it to climb with agility. In the hills and mountains 
of Fukien and Chekiang a huge frog, not unlike a bullfrog, occurs 
amongst the damp rocks at the very summits of the ridges aad peaks. 
Everywhere the edible frog, the smaller brown frogs, and the Asiatic 
common toad are to be found. In the north Radde’s toad, a beauti- 
fully marked species, is very common. 

The commonest of the Urodela, or amphibians with tails, is the 
Chinese newt (Diemictylus orientalis). A very handsome spotted 
salamander also occurs, 

Mention should be made of the remarkable giant salamander 
(Megalobatrachus davidi), which, with the Japanese form, J. 
japonicus, is the largest of the present day amphibians. This crea- 
ture has been recorded from central China, a closely related form 
occuring in the east. Both are very rare, at least in collections. The 
Japanese form is more common, live specimens being frequently ex- 
hibited in collections in Kurope and America. 


FISHES 


The subject of the fish, marine and fresh-water, of China is one of 
extreme interest and importance. Its importance lies in the fact that 
the Chinese depend so largely upon fish to supply them with the 
necessary animal matter in their food. Of course the Chinese are 
not unique in this, but owing to the numerous fine waterways and 
large lakes that the country contains and her immense seaboard, 
with a resultant magnificent supply of fish food at hand, they have 
become fish eaters, in places to the exclusion almost of any other kind 
of animal food. Thus the fishing industry of the country is of great 
unportance, which in turn means that a thorough knowledge of her 
finny inhabitants is vital to the future welfare of her people. As a 
matter of fact the fishes of China are rather well known, though it 
is obvious that there are many new discoveries to be made in this 
branch of the country’s zoology. 

The marine fish of China, that is to say, those occurring in the 
China seas, are closely related to those of Japan, which means that 
they are well known, for the Japanese and American scientists have 


366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


made a very thorough study of this subject. Many of the forms that 
are taken in China seas are of very wide distribution, others very 
local. The Clupeide, or herring family, is represented by a number 
of species, but it is not a very important group. The same may be 
said of the Gadide, or cod family, and the Pleuronectide, or flat 
fishes, families that are very important in the European and North 
American fisheries. The Perciforms, fishes that conform to the gen- 
eral characteristics of the perches, such as basses, maigres, rockfishes, 
sea breams, and the like, are of the utmost importance. One fish 
that should be specially mentioned is the hairtail (7'richiwrus), the 
long, silvery, ribbonlike fish that one sees so frequently for sale, 
either in the dried form or fresh, in China. It is taken some little 
distance out at sea, apparently in large numbers, and is a great 
favorite with the Chinese. As one works northward along the east 
coast of Corea toward that of the Primorsk and the Okhotsk Sea 
the marine fish fauna undergoes a profound change in its composi- 
tion. Flat fishes, herrings, gadoids, or cods and their relations, be- 
come the important elements, while there is a remarkable increase 
of members of such groups as the liparids, blennies, cottoids, and 
agonids. At the same time we find the Pacific salmonoids appear- 
ing, and running up the rivers to spawn, in exactly the same way as 
they do on the coasts of Alaska, British Columbia, and the north 
Pacific Coast States of America. In other words, the marine fishes 
of the Manchurian region show strong affinities with those of North 
America. 

The fresh-water fishes of China are in many ways unique, or, per- 
haps it would be better to say, China possesses a somewhat unique 
fresh-water fish fauna. It is overwhelmingly cyprinid in its com- 
position, the carp family having reached a high stage of develop- 
ment in these parts. It is impossible to give a list of the peculiar 
cyprinids that occur in Chinese waters, but a few forms may be 
mentioned. The gigantic H'lopichthys bambusa, which resembles in 
its external characteristics a salmon, and reaches a length of 4 or 5 
feet, and a weight of over 100 catties, is one. The peculiar Hypoph- 
thalmichthys molitrix, whose generic name means the fish with the 
eyes on the under side, is another. This species also attains a great 
size. China also possesses some very remarkable gudgeons, one of 
which is very long and slender in the body, and has a long snout, 
which gives it the appearance of a sturgeon. Breams, chubs, carps, 
culters, bitterlings, minnows, and loaches are all represented, many 
of them by genera purely Chinese. It is maintained that China was 
one of the centers of development and dispersal of the ciprinids, or 
carp family, and from a survey of its fish one might well believe this 
to be true. 


NATURAL HISTORY OF CHINA—SOWERBY 367 


Next to the carps come the catfishes, or Siluride. Here again 
China contains a great variety of species, though, taken as a whole, 
they have nothing like the economic value of the carps. 

Other groups of importance are the so-called Chinese perches, 
which are in reality basses, certain cottoids, or bullheads, and the 
serpent heads. 

Of isolated species the little Polyacanthus opercularis, from 
which the Chinese have bred the paradise fish, and the peculiar 
ganoid Psephurus gladius, which inhabits the Yangtse and the Yel- 
low River, and whose only other near relation is confined to the 
Mississippi, are worthy of mention. The distribution of the latter 
species and its near relation is interesting, as it is exactly that of the 
alligators, of which we noted that one form occurs in the Yangtse 
and the other in the Mississippi basin. It may further be noted that 
the ganoids, like the alligators, belong to a very ancient type. 

In connection with the fishes of China I should like to point out 
to the members of the Royal Asiatic Society that the museum con- 
tains practically no specimens of these forms of cold-blooded ver- 
tebrates, and though the present acting curator, Dr. Noel Davis, and 
I are trying to remedy this defect, it would be a splendid as if 
some one would undertake to look after this branch, for of all the 
things the Shanghai Museum ought to have, a good collection of fish, 
bail. marine and fresh-water, is one of the most important. In this 
branch, if in no other, lies a fine field of research, for it has an 
economic as well as a scientific importance that none can deny. 


INVERTEBRATES 


We may now consider for a brief space the invertebrates of China. 
Had my line of research in China been more in the direction of the 
invertebrates, this lecture would have been devoted almost entirely 
to them, for, important as the vertebrates are, they pale into insig- 
nificance when compared with the lower forms of life. Yet, sad to 
relate, the latter have been very much neglected. Zoologists have 
almost invariably gone after the higher types of animal life, treating 
the lower forms more or less as unimportant side lines. This is a 
great pity, for the country is particularly rich in its invertebrate 
fauna, and would well repay work done in this direction. It is true 
that one or two branches of invertebrates have been well worked, 
notably in the case of the lepidopterous insects and seashells. Other 
branches of insect life, however, have been badly neglected, while 
almost nothing, or, at least, very little, is known about the terrestrial 
mollusks. What little is known shows that the land snails of China 
are of vital importance in the matter of determining how the fauna 
of these parts acquired its present distribution. Here, then, is 
another field of research open to some enthusiast. 


368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


One other very interesting branch of zoological study that the 
country offers is that of the marine and littoral invertebrate fauna. 
This is a branch that many of the members of this society, and of 
the whole Shanghai community, for that matter, might take up 
without undue expense or exertion, for most people spend some of 
their holidays at the seaside, where marine forms of life are thrust 
upon one’s notice. The museum has some good material in this line, 
but what is wanted is some one to take up this branch and go into 
it thoroughly, and I can promise that person that he or she will be 
amply rewarded. Museums at home are crying for such material, 
and it would be a very easy matter to work in cooperation with ex- 
perts in America and Europe, and so hasten the day when we can 
say that the natural history of China is an open book for all who 
will to study and enjoy. May that day soon come, and may the 
north China branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, as practically the 
only scientific society in the country, do its part. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sowerby PLATE I 


YOUNG MANCHURIAN TIGER. KIRIN FOREST 


A FINE RAM OF THE MANED SHEEP OF NORTH SHANSI AND SOUTH MON- 
GOLIA, SHOT BY A. DE C. SOWERBY 


PLATE 2 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sowerby 


YOUNG MANCHURIAN BLACK BEAR 


THE MANCHURIAN CHIPMUNK 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sowerby PLATE 3 


THE MANCHURIAN BLACK WATER SNAKE, OVER FIVE FEET IN LENGTH, 
AND OF A BRILLIANT YELLOW AND BLACK COLOR 


THE CHINESE PANGOLIN OR SCALY ANTEATER, FUKIEN PROVINCE, SOUTH- 
EAST CHINA 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sowerby 


SOME YALU FISHES 


, Herzenstein’s catfish. Center, the Pike Gudgeon. Below, the Beaked Carp 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN! 
By Austin H. CLharkK 


PREFACE 


A comparison of the animals living in the sea with those inhabit- 
ing the land brings out at once a most extraordinary paradox. 

About three-fourths of all known kinds of animals live on the 
land; but this formidable array represents only a few of the major 
types. The most numerous land creatures are the insects, of about 
half a million sorts. Equal in importance, much larger, but much 
fewer both in kinds and numbers, are the vertebrates. Next in sig- 
nificance are the nematodes. Of much less importance are the mol- 
lusks—snails and slugs—and the annelids—earthworms, land leeches, 
and onychophores. The representatives of the other major types 
found on the land, planarians and nemerteans, are not of much im- 
portance in the picture as a whole. 

While in the sea there live less than one-fourth of all the animals 
that so far have been described, these are widely distributed among 
about three times as many major types as are those inhabiting the 
land. 

Certain marine types, like sponges, celenterates,and polyzoans, 
and some groups of annelids, are sparsely represented in fresh water, 
which also has some types, like gastrotrichas and the rotifers, quite 
or almost wholly restricted to it. But of the major animal types no 
less than 10 (priapulids, sipunculids, phoronids, brachiopods, che- 
tognaths, echinoderms, enteropneusts, tunicates, and cephalochor- 
dates), nearly half again as many as all land-living types together, 
are exclusively marine. 

On land different localities and situations are extremely variable 
as regards the physical conditions. We find hot, temperate, and 
cold, and uniform and changing, regions; dry, damp, and wet areas, 
permanent or changeable. All these features, together with the 
chemical variability of the soil, are reflected in the flora of the land, 
and all these features plus the superadded features of the flora, affect 


1 Reprinted, slightly abridged, by permission of the publishers, from Animal Life of Sea 
and Land, D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1924. 
369 


370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the animals. In consequence land animals have become subdivided 
into an indefinite number of different forms or minor types each 
most efficient within a small range of conditions. 

But all land animals have one thing in common; they must seek 
‘their food; it will not come to them. Therefore land animals are 
almost wholly of those types, arthropods and vertebrates, best fitted 
for locomotion, with representatives of some other types of fair loco- 
motor powers. 

In the sea conditions are quite different. The temperature range 
is small. At no place temperatures of less than 28.4° are found, 
while high temperatures, even in the Tropics, are confined to a thin 
superficial layer. The great bulk of sea water ranges in temperature 
between 35° and 60°. The chemical conditions are only slightly 
variable. The salinity varies somewhat, but the different salts are 
everywhere present in about the same proportion. Motion affects 
only the surface waters, and is negligible except along the shores. 

In the sea, food substances float everywhere suspended in the 
water, drifting back and forth and up and down; abundant food lies 
also on the bottom. ‘While useful, powers of locomotion are not 
necessary for the creatures in the sea; if they can not seek their 
food it will be brought to them. 

Thus in the sea the food relations of the animals are of three 
kinds; some go after it, as do the animals on land; some attach them- 
selves or burrow in the bottom and let the water do the work of 
bringing food to them; and some float suspended in their food 
supply. 

Three possible ways of obtaining food instead of one mean a cor- 
responding diversity in the fundamental structure of the animals 
involved; but the relative uniformity of the physical and chemical 
conditions in the sea permit the existence of these major types with 
relatively slight subdivision. 


THE BASIS OF LIFE IN THE SEA 


What is the biological significance of a large whale? The im- 
mediate answer is that the largest whale, the blue or sulphur-bottom, 
is the largest animal known, living or extinct, reaching a length of 
90 feet. The weight of such a monster has not been determined; 
but a torpedo boat of the same Jength with approximately the same 
underwater contour would displace 32 tons. If we assume a weight 
of 30 tons for the largest whale we shall not be far out of the way. 

All whales are carnivorous; but all the fishes, cuttle-fish and 
smaller creatures upon which they feed, are dependent ultimately 
upon plant life for their existence. How much vegetable material 
does it take to support a whale? 


* 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 371 


If the 30 tons represented by a very large whale were incorporated 
in the bodies of cattle, these cattle would require for their support 
each day the amount of fats and carbohydrates present in the hay 
yielded by an acre of good meadow land in a whole season’s growth. 
A whale requires much less food than its equivalent in cows, since 
it is entirely supported by the water and is much less active. On 
the other hand, consuming only other animals, many of which them- 
selves are two or three or more steps removed from a vegetable diet, 
there is a very large wastage in the nutritive matter in the sea plants 
before it enters the whale. We shall assume that the latter offsets the 
former. 

The State of Rhode Island has an area of 1,250 square miles. If 
this State were wholly planted in grass and yielded as much hay 
per acre as the average meadow, enough food would be produced in 
the course of a summer to support a maximum of about 2,150 of 
these great whales for a year; the District of Columbia could support 
less than 125. 

Yet whales are abundant in certain regions. I have myself seen 
on the Pacific more than 100 at one time, though these were of a 
kind much smaller than the blue whale. At the height of the whale 
fishery at Spitzbergen the catch averaged slightly over 1,000 whales 
a year, all large ones. The food of those that were killed, not con- 
sidering those left alive, would represent the annual grass crop from 
an area eight times the size of the District of Columbia. 

These rough calculations are sufficient to show that the pastures 
of the sea must be very rich, for not only do the marine pastures sup- 
port numerous whales of all sizes, but in addition various large 
sharks, a number over 40 and one over 50, and said to reach 70, feet 
in length, and other huge fishes which are not eaten by whales and 
therefore compete with them for the food supply. And then there 
are the seals and the sea birds and hosts of bottom-living animals 
in many places forming living carpets for miles and miles, all 
browsing, so to speak, directly, or mostly indirectly, on the same 
pastures. 

It has been said that the marine pastures are richer than the 
pastures of the land, and on occasion this certainly seems true; but 
close comparison between the two is difficult. In the first place 
sea animals require much less nutriment than those on land so that 
comparison bulk for bulk between the two means little. Further- 
more many whales and many of the larger fishes, like the mackerel 
and the herring, are migratory creatures, wandering regularly, or 
more or less irregularly, from place to place. On land the growth 
of vegetation with us ceases in the winter, and in the Tropics is 
much reduced in the dry season; nowhere is it uniform throughout 


372 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the year. In the sea the growth of vegetation also varies at different 
times or seasons quite as much as on the land. 

On land all vegetation grows on the ground, or on some support ° 
fixed to the ground, and all animals live on or in the ground or 
among the plants growing upon it. Such animals as traverse the 
air do so only as a means of getting from place to place or, a very 
few, to feed upon others so engaged. The air, for all practical pur- 
poses, is a sterile medium. Potentially, however, conditions are 
quite otherwise. 

In the city of Caracas, I was always greatly interested by the 
sight of festoons of plants, especially “wild pineapples” or 
bromelias, growing on the electric-light cables high in air and 
nourished only by substances extracted from the air. What does 
this signify? It proclaims the fact that wherever a plant can find 
support it can grow in the air just as well as on the ground, and 
suggests that if plants could only hover in the air like humming 
birds the atmosphere in the warmer regions would soon be converted 
into a dense jungle. Such a calamity is averted by the great weight 
of plant tissues as compared to air, which forces all plants to grow 
attached directly or indirectly to the ground. 

Now water is 814 times as heavy as air, almost as heavy as 
protoplasm, the living substance of which both animals and plants 
are composed. Only the very slightest modifications are necessary 
to enable plants and animals to float about suspended at any depth 
in sea water, like the particles of mud in a muddy river. 

The only plants we see in the ocean are along the shores attached 
to the rocks, like the devil’s aprons or laminarias, the rockweeds, 
the sea lettuces, etc., or rooted in the mud like the eelgrass. The 
gulfweed or sargassum, so frequently seen floating in large patches. 
on the north Atlantic, is in reality a rockweed from the Caribbean 
region growing feebly but never fruiting, and finally dying and 
going to the bottom, exactly as so many willow twigs would do float- 
ing on the surface of a lake. 

Quite a number of creatures browse upon these plants along the 
shores, the largest of these being the manatees when in the sea, the 
sea cows and the dugongs. But it is obvious that the narrow fringe 
of seaweeds along the coasts can not supply the food of all the 
creatures upon which the whales subsist, much less the basic food 
of the myriads and myriads of other creatures with which the 
open ocean is populated. It is true that some of the brown seaweeds 
are very abundant, like the kelps on our New England and our 
western coasts, and some are of very considerable size, reaching 300, 
400, or even 700 feet in length; but their actual mass when con- 
sidered in relation to the food requirements of the sea animals is 
almost infinitesimal, 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 373 


On pools and ponds and in quiet backwaters from lakes and rivers 
in the summer time the water is often quite hidden from view by the 
little floating plants called duckweeds or lemnas. Why do we never 
find floating seaweeds living in the same way? On a pond or lake, 
if the duckweeds are blown about by the winds, it does not much 
matter where they go; the conditions are about the same everywhere 
and some at least will eventually be washed into a backwater like 
the one from which they came. In the sea a floating plant, if not 
washed up on some beach, would sooner or later be carried to a 
region with a different temperature or with different chemical con- 
ditions where it would eventually die, just as the sargassum does. 
Large free-floating plants, requiring a large amount of nutritive 
matter and of sunlight and a more or less constant temperature, at 
least for considerable periods each year, such as are often so abund- 
ant in fresh waters, can not exist in the sea because of the certainty 
of eventual destruction through the impossibility of remaining 
continually within the narrow range of conditions under which alone 
their existence can be maintained. : 

But suppose the bulk of a 400-foot seaweed were distributed 
among several billions of microscopic plants. These would soon 
separate in all directions; some would sink to all depths below the 
surface, and those at the surface would be widely scattered by the 
winds and waves. Millions might be swept away and lost, but other 
millions would always be present constantly bringing forth millions 
of young. If small enough and distributed from the surface of the 
sea down to the limit of effective light penetration, about 650 feet 
as a maximum, and capable of rapid reproduction, such plants would 
be unloseable, so to speak, and always permanently present in any 
given locality. 

This is exactly what occurs in the ocean. The great bulk of ma- 
rine vegetation we can not see. It is composed mainly of plants 
called diatoms, especially prolific in cold regions and at cold seasons, 
of peridineans in the Tropics and at warm seasons, of the exceed- 
ingly small coccolithophorids, the very minute flagellates, and of 
other types. 

The numbers of these little plants can only be imagined, not really 
appreciated. It has been calculated that in the water of Kiel Bay 
there are 6,336,000 diatoms alone per quart—or were at the time the 
calculation was made. If there are 6,336,000 diatoms in a quart of 
water, how many would there be in an area of the ocean the size of 
the State of Rhode Island, that is, 1,250 square miles, down to a 
depth of 650 feet, the depth to which at least they may be assumed 
to live? | 

1454—25——_25 


374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Of course many regions are much poorer in diatoms than Kiel 
Bay, while many are richer; in the Arctic and in the Antarctic they 
may be so abundant at times as to color the water for miles and to 
give it a slight, but noticeable, “ smooth ” feeling. 

The preceding paragraphs would seem to imply a static condition 
in the oceanic flora, which is quite the reverse of the real condition. 
The calculation given for Kiel Bay is for a single season only. In 
a given spot at times the sea may swarm with microscopic plants, 
while at other times it may be practically barren. In some places 
the difference in productivity at different seasons is almost as great 
as the difference in the productivity of your garden between mid- 
summer and midwinter. Usually the difference at different times 
is less than this, but the amount of plant life present in any given 
region of the sea is always very variable. 

What are the diatoms? The diatoms are very minute plants which 
occur wherever there is moisture and light, in fresh, brackish, and 
salt water, on the moist surfaces of rocks, etc. The fresh-water 
forms all differ from those in the sea or in brackish water. Many 
kinds live attached, but many others float about suspended in the 
water, often in incredible numbers. The attached forms usually 
form a brownish stratum or a furry covering over plants and other 
objects in the water. In the Arctic the beginning of spring is fore- 
shadowed by the brownish discoloration of the under surface of the 
ice due to a scum of bottom-living diatoms which have risen up and 
become attached to it. 

The body of the diatom is inclosed within two lids or valves which 
fit together somewhat like the bottom and cover of a pill box. 
These are fashioned of silica, and are of the most exquisite beauty, 
often highly ornamented, and of various shapes, oval, crescentic, 
S shaped, linear, or wedge shaped, though most of them are navi- 
culoid or canoe shaped. Most of the important pelagic diatoms form 
chains. Of a medium-sized species it would take 200 individuals 
in a row to make an inch; while a few are larger than this, many 
are much smaller. 

Diatoms reproduce mainly by simple division into two, each of 
which in its turn divides into two, making four, and so on. The 
capabilities of this process may be appreciated when it is realized 
that if one diatom should divide into two in 24 hours, and its 
progeny do the same, in the course of a single month 1,000,000,000 
would be produced. 

So far as I am aware, the rapidity of multiplication of the marine 
diatoms under optimum conditions has never been satisfactorily 
determined. But it has been calculated that a single diatom may 
give rise to 1,000,000,000 in a month. With 6,000,000 diatoms, more 
or less, to a quart of water in such a locality as Kiel Bay, each one 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 375 


with a reproductive capacity of roughly 1,000,000,000 per month, 
all of the diatoms could be destroyed except for a single one to each 
166 quarts of water, yet in a month the full number would be again 
restored. This shows clearly the immense advantage the minute 
diatoms have over larger plants as floating organisms in the sea, 
and why it is that the marine vegetation, except along the shores, 
is all microscopic, and not only microscopic but extremely small. 

The peridineans, coccolithophorids, flagellates, etc., while very 
different from the diatoms in bodily form and structure, are more or 
less similar to them in their relations to the marine world, so that it 
will not be necessary to consider them in detail. 

While these little plants are able to increase at a most amazing 
speed and at times occur in incredible abundance, this only takes 
place under a small range of conditions, occurring for the most part 
at certain limited seasons. On land in many regions when the 
drought is broken by the rains, grasses and many other plants im- 
mediately appear in great abundance. Each grass blade is the equiv- 
alent in dry nutritive material of many million diatoms, and the 
synthesis or formation of nutritive material under these conditions 
is probably at least as rapid as it ever is at sea. 

We live on land and are accustomed to strike an annual average 
of the conditions on our farms. The study of the sea is in its in- 
fancy, and we know it mostly from investigations in the spring 
and summer months. Until we know our seas throughout the year 
in detail we can not compare its potential productivity with that 
of our land areas. 


THE INTERMEDIATE FOODS OF THE SEA 


These floating, very small, sea plants occur in all] localities, but 
they are naturally much more abundant in some places than in 
others. They are subject to great seasonal fluctuations in their num- 
bers, and they become less common, many of them entirely disap- 
pearing, toward midocean. 

They are so very small that, although their presence may con- 
vert the sea water into a thin living-vegetable soup, special adapta- 
tions are necessary to enable animals to feed upon them. 

These adaptations are along three main lines. 

Many animals of a structure very similar to that of these plants, 
some almost as small but others larger, live among them, entangling 
them in networks of slender sticky threads projected from their 
bodies. Such are the oceanic foraminifera and the radiolarians. 
Some of the peridineans, too, are incapable of synthesizing inor- 
ganic into organic substances, and therefore live upon the other 
little floating plants in the same way that rusts and blights live 
upon the leaves of plants on land. ° 


376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Some animal types have given rise to very small forms which are 
able to pick out the little clusters of minute plants from the sea 
water. It is rather curious that the two animal groups to which, 
outside of the vertebrates, all the giants of the sea belong, the crus- 
taceans and the mollusks, should have been the ones to produce the 
vast bulk of small creatures which feed upon the little plants. 

Most numerous in kinds and numbers are the very small crus- 
taceans of many different sorts which at certain places and at certain 
seasons occur in myriads and are present in greater or lesser abun- 
dance almost everywhere, and the very young stages of many of the 
larger ones—crabs, ‘lobsters, shrimps, ete. Just as on land the 
insects are the chief intermediates through whose services plant sub- 
stance is made available for spiders, scorpions, predaceous insects, 
and most vertebrates that are not plant feeders, so their close rela- 
tives, the crustaceans, are the main factors in the conversion of the 
microsopic plants in the ocean into a form in which their substance 
can be used by other invertebrates and by fish and whales. 

Of these little crustaceans, the copepods are the most important, 
occurring in very great variety and in enormous numbers. Some- 
times they are so very abundant as to give a pinkish or a red color 
to the sea for many miles, when they become important as a food 
for certain whalebone whales. The euphausians also, small deli- 
cate shrimplike creatures showing little variety, also feed on these 
small plants, and may be as abundant in bulk, though not in numbers, 
as the copepods. One of these, which in the springtime swarms in the 
fjords of northwestern Europe, then forms the exclusive food of the 
giant Blue whale in that region. The common rorqual, closely re- 
lated to this monster and reaching a length of 70 feet, feeds partly on 
fish and is frequently seen feasting among shoals of herring which 
themselves are feeding upon the copepods and other small crusta- 
ceans which consume the plants. 

Before leaving the copepods it should be mentioned that of all 
sea creatures they have shown themselves the most versatile in mak- 
ing use of reserves of food material. Besides the free-swimming 
ones, and the more numerous kinds of bottom-living ones, there are 
many that live in the food-collecting apparatus of the sea squirts, 
stealing the food gathered by them, in the digestive canal of crinoids, 
and in similar situations, while others become parasitic and often 
very large, and as “fish lice” prey upon the very creatures which, 
directly or indirectly, are feeding upon their plant-eating relatives, 
just as the bird bot flies live on the blood of insect-eating birds. 
One of these, in fresh water, lives upon the gums of the crocodile, 
which is relieved of its unwelcome presence through the attentions 
of the crocodile bird. 


*. 


“LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 3877 


Besides the very small crustaceans, the chief plant eaters of the 
open ocean are curious and delicate little mollusks, the “sea butter- 
flies,” or pteropods, and their allies. But while some forms of these 
eat plants, most of them live upon minute plant-eating animals, 
mostly small crustaceans and other mollusks. There are, as com- 
pared with the crustaceans, relatively few kinds; but some of them 
occur in incredible numbers, and in the seas about Greenland and in 
other places they form an important part of the food of the whale- 
bone whales. So abundant are some of the shell-bearing species that 
“ in various parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Bay 
of Biscay, and elsewhere the sea bottom is more or less exclusively 
composed of their dead remains, just as in other places it is almost 
entirely composed of the shells of the foraminifera or the frustules 
of diatoms. 

The third method of devouring the minute oceanic plants is by 
filtering them from the water and thus concentrating them. The 
only oceanic animals that have recourse to this process are the salps 
and the appendicularians, queer creatures allied to the sea squirts, 
and certain of the smaller fishes, like the menhaden. Their strain- 
ing apparatus is most wonderfully efficient, and it is surprising to 
learn, from looking at the contents of their stomachs through a mi- 
croscope, how small is the size of some of the organisms they capture. 


THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE OPEN SHA 


In the bodies of the small crustaceans, the pteropods and allied 
mollusks, the salps and their relatives, the foraminifera, and a few 
other types, the nutritive matter represented by the microscopic 
plants is reassembled into units of appreciable size. Upon these 
units, for the most part upon the crustaceans which represent the 
most abundant and most generally distributed of these units, feed 
all the other creatures of the open ocean, directly or indirectly. 

Consuming these directly are larger crustaceans and mollusks, 
numerous fishes, the herring and herringlike fishes, flying fishes, the 
young of all, or nearly all, other marine fishes, etc., the larger salps, 
the jointed or annelidan worms, the nemerteans, the arrow worms or 
cheetognaths, the whalebone whales, the smaller jellyfishes, the cteno- 
phores, and the very few pelagic echinoderms. 

Upon these larger animals, but especially upon the fishes, live 
very large and formidable jellyfishes, many kinds of fishes ranging 
in size up to the basking-, whale-, and other giant sharks, reaching a 
length of from 40 to 70 feet, the smaller members of the whale tribe, 
the porpoises, dolphins, etc., and the squids and cuttlefish, some of 
which are very large, one reaching a length of 55 feet. The squids 
and cuttles form almost the entire food of the great sperm whale, 
the bottlenose, and the other toothed whales. 


378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The fishes are the most omnivorous of all sea creatures, some kind 
or other eating every sort of oceanic creature, and every other prod- 
uct of the sea. 

Jellyfishes are sometimes of enormous size, ranking with the larg- 
est of sea animals. At Nahant, Mass., Prof. Louis Agassiz measured 
one in which the bell was 714 feet across and the tentacles more than 
120 feet in length; this was one of those reddish ones frequently seen 
on the New England coast in the late summer. 

On and above the surface of the sea, especially in the cooler regions 
where life is most abundant, live great numbers of birds which are © 
truly oceanic and never visit land except to nest. These are mostly 
of the tube-nosed tribe, albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels, diving pet- 
rels, etc., and some at least are familiar to everyone who has ever 
been anywhere at sea. Where ocean life is especially abundant there 
are multitudes of auks, puffins, murres, etc., in the northern regions, 
and of penguins in the southern. Some terns are almost pelagic in 
habit, like the noddy and the black-backed, and I have seen tropic 
birds hundreds of miles from land both in the Atlantic and in the 
Pacific. 

These birds feed chiefly upon small crustaceans, since these are 
offered most abundantly. The albatrosses and similar large sea birds, 
however, eat mostly squid which they catch at night, and the other 
larger birds eat squid and fish when they can get them, especially 
the terns and tropic birds. But nearly all these birds will eat any sea 
animal of suitable size, or if divided or divisible into fragments of 
suitable size, and the fioating carcass of a giant squid or whale affords 
a feast for thousands of them. 

The only oceanic insect is a little water strider, related to the water 
striders of our ponds, which picks the small crustaceans from the 
sea and sucks their juices. Though small and inconspicuous, they 
are not rare, and I have collected many of them both in the China 
Sea and in the Caribbean. 

But as yet the story of pelagic life is only half complete. The 
crustaceans for the most part are the intermediates through which 
the organic material synthesized by the minute plants is made avail- 
able for the use of the oceanic animals. Each of the larger oceanic 
animals represents in itself an important reservoir of food for other 
animals. Besides the predaceous types, there are many creatures, 
especially crustaceans, that live within the stomachs of other animals, 
eating the food they swallow, and within the filter of the salps con- 
suming the minute organisms they are concentrating for themselves. 
And in addition there are bizarre misshapen forms of very numerous 
sorts which live within the bodies of practically all the larger crusta- 
ceans, feasting on their jr''ces, with sometimes others living in the 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 379 


same way within them; while many, equally uncanny and deformed, 
live like lice sucking the blood of fishes, and others bore deep into 
the skin of whales. 

Within the digestive tube of the fishes, whales, and sea birds live 
certain creatures not found elsewhere, except that some have been 
found to exist as larve within the bodies of crustaceans. These are 
the tapeworms, echinorhynchs, etc., which have no stomachs but ab- 
sorb through their skin the nutritive fluids in the alimentary canals 
of their hosts. 

In the middle of the day in the Tropics and in the height of the 
summer in the temperate regions most animals seek the shade and 
become more or less inactive; animal life is most in evidence early 
in the morning and again toward evening. At sea most animals, es- 
pecially in low latitudes and where the sea is clear, seek the shade 
in just the same way, retreating far below the surface to the twilight 
zone in the daytime, reappearing at or soon after dark. 

Midway between Bermuda and St. Kitts I have watched the sea 
for hour after hour without detecting a single living thing. But 
on one trip we stopped to pick up a buoy that had broken away 
from its moorings off New Orleans some years previously. Scarcely 
had the speed begun to slacken before all sorts of creatures began 
to appear in the shadow of the ship. A small light speck deep down 
slowly increased in size and was finally revealed as a 15-foot shark, 
which insisted, in spite of all discouragement on the part of the 
sailors, in accompanying the small boat sent out to attach a line to 
the buoy. Other smaller sharks appeared, together with the inevit- 
able pilot fish, and a troop of those magnificiently colored fish called 
by sailors dolphins, though in no way like true dolphins, which are 
small fish-eating whales. When the buoy was brought up to the 
ship the underside was seen to be festooned with growths, about 
which played many little fishes, and on being hoisted on board many 
kinds of animals were found among the “ weeds.” Almost as soon 
as the steamer got under way again everything vanished, and the 
sea became as deserted as before. But about a score of small sharks 
and as many pilot fish lay on the fore deck, evidence of the prowess 
of some of the Chinese women in the steerage. 

On the Pacific in low latitudes we found that we were most 
successful in finding oceanic life in the daytime if we lowered our 
tow-nets to about 600 feet beneath the surface. In this region there 
is twilight even on the brightest day at noon, and it is at this or 
somewhat lesser depths that the sea animals for the most part seek 
refuge from the light. 

The animals taken in a haul 600 feet or more below the surface 
in the daytime and in another haul in the same place taken on the 


3880 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


surface at 9 or 10 o’clock at night are fot quite alike. Most of 
them are the same, but in the deeper haul there are to be found 
various large shrimplike crustaceans, mostly bright red in color, 
strange jellyfishes of a deep red, and different sorts of sooty black 
fishes, some armed with enormous teeth and most ferocious in ap- 
pearance, others long and eellike, with snipelike jaws, and others 
looking more like ordinary fishes but with rows of brilliant phos- 
phorescent lights along their sides; quite commonly there are also 
little distorted silvery fishes, also with lights, and sometimes little 
black sharks from 6 or 8 inches to a foot in length. 

These creatures are representatives of the deep oceanic fauna 
which remains below the illuminated upper layers of the sea, feed- 
ing upon the surface animals when these descend in the daytime 
to escape the sunlight, and upon the smaller animals about them. 

The oceanic plants can only live to a maximum depth of about 
650 feet, and at that depth only in the most transparent water; 
but the animals which feed upon them form the food of other 
animals which live deeper, in perpetual shade, and these again 
furnish food for other, though fewer, animals which live still farther 
down, in perpetual night. The oceanic animals, largest as well as 
smallest at the surface, extend downward for an indefinite distance, 
becoming less and less varied and gradually scarcer and more uni- 
form in size; probably, indeed, no level of the sea is entirely with- 
out them. 

Well out of sight, but probably in the twilight zone where food 
is most abundant and conditions are practically the same in all 
the oceans except in the extreme north and south, live giant squids 
and cuttles of several kinds, the largest, occasionally found floating 
in a dying or dead condition in the autumn on the fishing banks 
and sometimes in other parts of the sea, reaching a total length 
of at least 55 feet, with the body 20 feet long and 12 feet in circum- 
ference and the eye opening 7 by 9 inches; in one individual meas- 
ured the tentacular arms were 37 feet in length. In October, 1875, 
between 25 and 30 of these giant squid were found by the vessels 
of the Gloucester fishing fleet on the Grand Banks and cut up and 
used for bait. The schooner Howard, Capt. J. W. Collins, alone 
secured 5 of these, which were mostly from 10 to 15 feet in length, 
not including the arms. The schooner 7'’ragabigzanda, Captain Mal- 
lory, secured 3 from 8 to 12 feet long in one afternoon. Probably 
as many were found by the ships from other towns as by those 
from Gloucester. 

The famous sea serpent can from most accounts be identified as 
one of these great squid in a dying condition, somewhat distorted 
by an active imagination. The head with the frilled neck, so com- 
monly described, is the tail of the squid lifted above the water. 


' LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 381 


The long slender snakelike sea serpents are the writhing arms of 
which the expanded ends look something like a head. | 

Another common sea serpent on the New England coast is a com- 
posite picture of two basking-sharks which, swimming one behind 
the other, sometimes appear as a single creature nearly 100 feet in 
length. Still other sea serpents are based on porpoises or dolphins, 
and on large tropical fishes. 

Other inhabitants of the twilight zone are strange fishes, espe- 
cially the ribbon fishes, which may reach a length of over 20 feet 
with a height of a foot or less and a thickness of only an inch or 
two at the broadest part. Ribbon fishes and their close relatives, 
the oar fishes, are found floating dead or washed up on the beaches 
in all parts of the world, and seem not to vary from one locality 
to another. Very young ones, queer looking things, are sometimes 
taken in tow-nets. 


THE OCEAN AND THE LAND 


On land there is vegetation everywhere except in the most arid 
regions, and even there a heavy rain is immediately followed by the 
appearance of plants of many kinds. The plants are always the 
most conspicuous living features of every landscape; but they grow 
only on the surface of the land, rooted in the soil or, more rarely, 
attached to some support or floating in the water. 

In the open sea no plants are ever visible, save for an occasional 
dying rockweed torn from its moorings, though sometimes streaks 
and clouds indicate masses of diatoms or other minute plants in- 
dividually invisible to the unaided eye. The visible life of the sea 
is entirely animal; but the microscopic plants, all of which drift 
freely about, exist in incredible numbers and occupy a broad stratum 
reaching a maximum of about 650 feet in thickness in the clearest 
waters of the Tropic seas, but decreasing to a much lesser thickness 
north and south where the water is less transparent and where the 
light is less. 

Very few animals feed directly upon the sea plants, and of these 
only the minute crustaceans are of first importance. These, pos- 
sessed of only feeble swimming powers, drift aimlessly about and 
may be said to furnish the chief, though a purely secondary, basis 
of marine life; though animals, they are to the ocean what the green 
plants are to the land. 

In contrast to land animals, most of the smaller and many of the 
fairly large marine animals, such as the jellyfishes and the younger 
stages of such fishes as the ribbon fishes and the eels, are more or less 
transparent, some quite so, looking like glass models of themselves. 

Never put your fingers into the catch of a tow-net haul without 
first knowing what is there. Once I was trying to catch a paper 

1454—25——26 


382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


nautilus without a shell, which was swimming about in a bowl of 
water containing material from a haul off south Japan, when my 
finger was violently seized by something. Exploration with a glass 
rod and a pair of forceps revealed the presence of a large and ugly 
amphipod an inch or so in length, entirely transparent, though as 
tough as any other. 

From the surface of the ocean down to great depths animals exist, 
but the number of major groups and of species rapidly decreases 
and their size becomes more nearly uniform below the limit of light, 
until in the deeper layers only grotesque fishes, cuttle fishes, jelly- 
fishes, crustaceans, nemerteans, and echinoderms, all feeding on each 
other, are found. 


THE SEA SHORES 


The shores of the sea are bathed by the water from the open 
ocean, charged with microscopic plants and small crustaceans, and 
with such of the creatures feeding on these as are able to support 
the light of day. But because of the fact that the rocks and stones 
and mud, and to a lesser degree the sand, offer facilities for attach- 
ment, conditions here are entirely different from what they are in 
the open sea. 

Along the shores an attached plant, as a result of the movement of 
the water about it, has constantly delivered to it a fresh supply of 
the dissolved substances necessary for its growth, and it is main- 
tained permanently under conditions most suitable for its existence. 
Hence the enormous development of the brown, green, and red alge, 
or “seaweeds.” Some of the flowering plants, too, have become 
adapted to marine conditions, and one of these, the eelgrass, belong- 
ing to the pondweed family, forms extensive beds in suitable lo- 
calities. 

These plants are important in providing shade and hiding places 
for the animals found among them, and when alive they are eaten 
by a few mollusks, like the periwinkle, by a few crustaceans and 
fish, mostly under stress of hunger, by some sea urchins and, where 
these occur, by sea cows, manatees, and dugongs, by some turtles, 
and by a single lizard. When they die their leaves or fronds break 
up and the fragments form the vegetable detritus so very important 
as the basic food of the marine animals along the shores. 

In the open sea the animals can avoid the dangers attending too 
violent wave action by simply descending to the quiet depths. Along 
the shores there is no escape from the constant movement of the 
water. This incessant turmoil on the shore line, however, is easily 
translated from a menace into a distinct advantage; animals simply 
attach themselves firmly to seaweeds, stones, or other objects, and 
let the water do the work of bringing food to them. 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 383 


On land the most successful plants are the flowering plants, which 
grow by forming a series of units one above the other called phytons, 
by the multiplication of these units producing a rosette of leaves 
or a tall or branching leafy stem and thus exposing the maximum 
green surface to the sunlight and the air. 

The sea water being charged with nutrient particles throughout, 
it is obvious that in the shallow regions any animals which are able 
to attach themselves and to produce in the same way as do the flower- 
ing plants an indefinite series of reduplicated units each more or less 
perfect in itself would be able to avail themselves to best advantage 
of the food materials drifting here and there and all around about 
them. 

Attached animals, particularly animals that grow and look like 
plants, are especially characteristic of the sea shores. The so-called 
colonial animals along the coasts which, plantlike in their growth 
though in no other way, live firmly fastened and secure their food 
from the restless water as it washes back and forth, are the sponges, 
certain cclenterates, including the hydroids, the corals, the sea 
fans or gorgonians, the millepores, the sea pens or pennatulids, the 
umbellularians, the alcyonarians, the antipatharians, the colonial 
anemones, and some other types, the polyzoans, the phoronids, the 
rhabdopleurids, the cephalodiscids, and the colonial tunicates or 
sea squirts. 

The sponges, all of which when alive possess a strong odor dis- 
agreeable to us, though it may be attractive to the little things on 
which they live, have the general mass (it can scarcely be called a 
body) pierced by numberless small holes leading into small tubes 
lined with extremely delicate hairlike structures, called cilia, beating 
inward. These small tubes lead into larger ones, and these finally 
into an opening leading to the exterior, through which a constant 
stream of water, impelled by the ceaseless action of the cilia in the 
small tubes, pours outward. On its journey through the canals of 
the sponge this water has lost a considerable portion of the nutritive 
particles which originally it contained. - One does not think of 
muscular power in connection with the apparently motionless 
sponges. Yet on the reefs at Bermuda at low tide I have frequently 
seen the calm surface of the sea much agitated by a stream of water 
coming from below which investigation showed originated from the 
outlet of a large sponge. 

This food-collecting system of the sponges is very efficient, and 
other animals take advantage of it. Jointed worms of many kinds, 
one a much-branched creature with a head on the end of every branch. 
live within the canals, as do various small crustaceans and brittle 
stars. Barnacles, embedded in the outer layers, and some crustaceans 


384 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


with similar boring habits, as well as comatulids attached to the sur- 
face, all take advantage of the indraft of water into the small canals. 

The polyzoans, phoronids, rhabdopleurids, and cephalodiscids are 
all provided with a tentacular apparatus, the tentacles being abun- 
dantly supplied with cilia which pick the food particles from the 
water and pass them downward along their inner side toward the 
mouth. The polyzoans, common everywhere, are leaflike or encrust- 
ing growths on seaweeds, etc.; the individual animals in the colonies 
are minute, but very numerous, and are often divided into various 
types, each suited to perform a special function: A few polyzoans 
are solitary, or occur in small colonies. The representatives of the 
other three groups mentioned above are mostly uncommon, local, or 
inhabiting rather deep water. In the phoronids and cephalodiscids 
the individual animals in the colony, though they all arise by bud- 
ding from the same original individual and all live together in the 
same mass of tubes, are not connected with each other as in the poly- 
zoans and rhabdopleurids. 

The colonial tunicates or sea squirts form thick incrustations on a 
usually rocky base. They are provided with an exceedingly fine 
sieve through which they draw the water, separating out from it 
the food particles. 

The colonial ccelenterates are very diverse in size and shape. The 
most familiar are the corals, millepores, red corals, and sea fans or 
gorgonians of the warmer seas, and on our coasts numerous kinds 
of hydroids, forming mossy or feathery plumes on seaweeds or on 
other objects. One of the last, dried, stained green, and placed in a 
flower pot, is the common “Japanese air plant ” sometimes seen of- 
fered for sale. Other sorts of ccelenterates are the sea pens and sea 
feathers, dead men’s fingers and other alcyonarians, horny corals 
or antipatharians, and the colonial anemones. All of the sea anem- 
ones and jellyfishes belong to this group, and indeed many of tlie 
smaller of the latter are nothing more than the sexual units which 
have been liberated from hydroids. 

The stony corals are important in assisting to a greater or lesser 
extent in the formation of the immense coral reefs which are such a 
conspicuous feature in many parts of the tropical seas. Some of 
them grow to a huge size, though the living portion consists only of 
a relatively thin superficial layer. The stony axis of the red coral 
is familiar to all because of its use in jewelry. Some ceelenterates 
reach a very large size, certain gorgonians attaining a height of 15 
feet, some sea pens being 6 or 7 feet or more in length, and some 
umbellularians more than 8 feet tall. 

The colonial ccelenterates consist of a great number of sacklike 
units which have about the opening a row of 6 or 8 or more ten- 
tacles armed with formidable stinging organs, or of such units 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 885 


intermixed with other types modified from them, borne upon a flat- 
tened, wandlike or treelike support. The units vary from very 
small, in the hydroids and millepores, to an inch or so in diameter; 
in the noncolonial forms they may be more than a foot across. The 
stinging organs, which paralyze as well as sting the prey, enable the 
celenterates to use as food much larger and stronger creatures than 
do any other of the animals which feed in this way, and they are 
wholly carnivorous. 

The ccelenterates support many parasites, especially crustaceans, 
which live within their bodies or travel up and down their stems 
appropriating the food which they have collected, and brittle stars, 
especially adapted for clinging to them, while many animals attach 
themselves to them which are known to live nowhere else, yet which 
do not feed upon them, like certain anemones. Many small fishes 
and other creatures live among their branches, protected from their 
enemies by their stinging tentacles, while a wealth of different types, 
especially worms and mollusks, hide themselves away in the stony 
bases of the large corals. 

A group of colonial ccelenterates, the so-called siphonophores, in- 
cluding the Portuguese man-of-war, one of the most formidable of 
all the jellyfishes on account of its unusually developed stinging 
powers, and a group of colonial tunicates, have adopted an oceanic 
life, and all the species drift about as true elements of the oceanic 
fauna. 

Besides these colonial attached animals, there are many others 
which live attached, but never form colonies, though many are highly 
social. 

The most familiar of these are, perhaps, the barnacles, some of 
which, like acorn barnacles, live closely appressed to rocks, piles, the 
carapaces of sea turtles, etc., while others, like the goose barnacles, 
formerly supposed to be the young of the barnacle goose, are stalked 
and are most frequently seen on floating bits of wood, on the bottoms 
of ships, and about the mouths of whales. 

The barnacles have several pairs of curved feathery appendages 
with which they sweep small animals from the sea water. These 
featherlike structures, together with the color, which resembles that 
of a barnacle goose, taken in connection with the fact that this goose 
was not known ever to lay eggs—its nests have only recently been dis- 
covered in, for a goose, most unlikely places—gave rise to the idea of 
the connection between the two. The barnacles are crustaceans re- 
lated to the copepods. In their young stages they are quite like other 
young crustaceans, but they undergo profound changes during 
growth. Some barnacles, which live on whales, bore deep into their 
skin to attain a better anchorage. Others bury themselves in the 
outer layers of sponges. Many others, become parasitic, when 
young bore into crabs and other large crustaceans and, losing all 


386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


semblance to others of their kind, develop a mass of roots through 
which, plantlike, they absorb the juices of their host. 

The seapeaches and other large sea squirts are familiar to all 
fishermen on our coasts. They have a sieve inside of them by means 
of which they strain small organisms from the water, after the man- 
ner of the salps. 

The brachiopods, which look like bivalve mollusks but are really 
very different, mostly live attached, though a few burrow into mud. 
Their food-collecting mechanism is in general similar to that of 
the polyzoans and phoronids, to which they are supposed to be re- 
lated. One of them, called the snake’s head, is very common in 
suitable localities on the New England coast below the low-tide mark. 

Some bivalve mollusks live attached to firm supports, like the 
oysters of our shores, while many others, like the clams and razors, 
live buried in the mud. Some, like the mussels, attach themselves 
with slender silken threads, as all do when very young. The qua- 
hogs or hard-shelled clams, from which the Indians used to make 
their wampum, and other forms lie exposed in quiet places on the 
bottom. A few, like the sea dates or pholids, bore into rock and 
sometimes in great numbers into breakwaters, while the shipworms 
or teredos, which are not worms at all but mollusks, tunnel into 
wood and feed upon it, like the larve of boring insects in the for- 
est trees. Most of the unattached bivalves can move about, though 
rather slowly; a few are quite active, like the razor shells, and the 
scallops are more active still, and can even swim. 

Many worms, while not attached themselves, live in tubes of their 
own construction attached to other objects or partly rooted in the 
mud. 

Of animals which live wholly exposed or hiding away in burrows, 
holes, and crevices and among the roots of plants, there are multi- 
tudes of conchs, whelks, drills, periwinkles, and other snaillike crea- 
tures, of crustaceans of very many sorts, and jointed worms of many 
different types, together with nemerteans, some of which are very 
large, priapulids, sipunculids, and flatworms. Fishes, of course, are 
every where. 

Besides the abundance of attached animals, especially of the colo- 
nial types, the coastal regions are mainly characterized by the great 
development of three groups of animals which are almost or quite 
unrepresented in the open sea. These are the bivalve, the gastropod 
or snaillike mollusks, and the echinoderms, including the starfishes, 
the brittlestars, the sea urchins, the sea cucumbers or holothurians, 
and the crinoids. The first two are most abundant along the shore, 
becoming much less common in deeper water, while the echinoderms 
rapidly increase in relative abundance with increasing depth. Prac- 
tically all the members of these three groups are sluggish animals, 
most of them able only to crawl slowly, though a few bivalves and 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 387 


starfishes and the comatulids can swim freely for short distances; 
some, like oysters and most stalked crinoids, live permanently at- 
tached to other objects. 

To mention in detail the economic interrelationships of all these 
creatures would be an overwhelming task; and, indeed, very little is 
known about them. But let us consider one or two examples. 

The common mussel, like oysters and other bivalves, is preyed upon 
by the common starfish, which is often most terribly destructive, 
moving back and forth across the mussel beds in swarms and up and 
down the piles where mussels grow. We have no figures on the dam- 
age done the mussels, but in 1888, on the Connecticut coast alone, this 
starfish destroyed $631,500 worth of oysters, after not less than 
42,000 bushels of them had been taken from the beds. Mussels are 
preferred to oysters by the starfish, and some beds have been entirely 
destroyed by them. Various gastropods, oysterdrills, dogwelks, 
winkles, conchs, and others eat vast quantities, while killifish, cunners, 
scup, tautog, squeteague, flounders, and cod are very fond of them. 
In fact, mussels are excellent bait for fish. The walrus in the Green- 
land seas feeds exclusively on mussels, though the seals, like dolphins, 
feed on fish and squid. On our coasts mussels are eaten by rats and 
by such birds as large gulls, ravens, crows, and ducks. 

Within the shells of oysters, pinnas, and the other larger bivalves 
live flatworms, known as “wafers,” little crabs, small shrimps, and 
sometimes other things, most of which, except the first, are harm- 
less, or at least do no more than steal the food that they collect. 

The very bony crinoids would seem to offer little in the way of 
food for parasites, yet nearly 150 parasitic or semiparasitic forms 
have been described from them. A little groove runs down the 
middle of the upper side of the pinnules and the arms of crinoids, 
and the five grooves from the five rays converge to the central 
mouth. The minute creatures taken from the water are passed 
down along these grooves in a constant stream, which becomes 
richer and richer as more and more of the victims are delivered 
to it by the side branches, and at the mouth forms a rich plankton 
soup. Most of the crinoids’ parasites are simply grafters, camp- 
ing along the sides of this stream and sucking up the soup. About 
two-thirds of these belong to a curious type of worm, called my- 
zostomes, which, except for three sorts, internal parasites in star- 
fishes or brittle stars, are entirely confined to them. Crinoids sup- 
port about two dozen kinds of crustaceans of several different types, 
a few of which bore into the soft parts, but most of which ap- 
propriate the food material they collect, either from their ambulacral 
grooves or from their stomachs. Nearly a dozen kinds of brittle 
stars have never been found except upon them, about a dozen kinds 
of small gastropods bore into them and suck their juices, and they 
support at least one internal worm and many protozoans. Barnacles, 


388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


hydroids, sponges, foraminifera, corals, rhabdopleurids, tunicates 
and bivalves, and curious polyzoans grow upon them, using them as 
a support to maintain themselves above the mud or sand. But 
crinoids have one distinct advantage over mussels in that fishes 
never eat them. 

All sea animals are undoubtedly as complicated in their relation- 
ships to others as are the mussels and the crinoids; each feeds upon 
a more or less extensive list of organisms, and in its turn serves 
as a source of food for many others. 

The enemies of the smaller animals are mostly the larger and pre- 
dacious ones. The enemies of the plantlike types are chiefly the graf- 
ters and the food stealers. The enemies of the larger creatures, as 
the sharks and whales, are the much smaller blood-sucking or in- 
ternal parasites which, though much less conspicuous, are very 
numerous and just as dangerous. 

The birds of the seashores call for brief enumeration. The gulls, 
very numerous in northern regions, are chiefly scavengers, feeding 
upon whatever is cast up on the beaches or they are able to find upon 
the flats when the tide is out; ravens and crows compete with them 
along the shores, but are never very numerous, and are very much 
less agile on the wing; both these last two prefer to consume their 
booty in the woods, and often carry shells, starfish, and urchins for 
some distance inland. Terns and skimmers eat crustaceans and small 
fish, and fish and sometimes squid form the diet of the cormorants, 
pelicans, bobies, frigate birds, tropic birds, and gannets. The reef 
and night herons catch fish and various of the larger crustaceans, 
while the very numerous shore birds eat aquatic insects, crustaceans, 
marine worms, and small mollusks which they catch along the 
water’s edge or on the rocks and beaches, some, like the phalaropes, 
also on the surface of the sea. Interesting, but relatively unimport- 
ant and not numerous in species, are the fish-consuming hawks, 
eagles, kites, and vultures. The osprey is known to almost every- 
one; so is the bald eagle, which often robs him of his prey as the 
parasitic skuas and jegers do the gulls and terns. In the Aleutian 
Islands this eagle is one of the most abundant land birds along the 
shores, and is much easier to shoot than the small birds, which here 
are very shy. In the harbors of the East the kites, soaring over the 
water on the watch for scraps, look strange to us, accustomed as we 
are to gulls alone. The condor and the California vulture frequent 
the beaches more or less, and the nests of the latter often contain 
mussel shells. Two of the cormorants, one, now extinct, but form- 
erly common in the Commander Islands, the other living in the 
Galapagos group, one auk, formerly abundant on the north Atlantic 
coasts but now extinct, and all the penguins, are flightless. 

Of other seacoast creatures there are the seals, which live on fish, 
the walrus, which live on mussels, and the sea otter, now very rare 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 389 


and local, which eats largely, if not mainly, sea urchins. The sea 
snakes, true snakes and poisonous, yet true sea animals, most of 
them more helpless on land than eels, the seaweed eating iguanas of 
the Galapagos, and the coypu of the inlets of southwestern South 
America also deserve mention. But the most curious of all the 
seacoast creatures is the large fish-eating bat of the Caribbean re- 
gion, which smells strongly of musky fish oil and is abundant at 
St. Vincent, where it spends the day in chinks and crevices in the 
sea cliffs which one would think much too small for it. 

What is the vegetable basis of this abundant coastal life? 

On our north Atlantic coasts and on the coasts of Europe this 
comes from four main sources. 

1. Vegetable detritus, or the more or less decayed fragments of 
the plants growing on the bottom, the seaweeds and the eelgrass, 
suspended or dissolved in the water, lying on the bottom, or mixed 
with the bottom mud. 

According to very careful investigations which have been carried 
on in Denmark all the bivalve mollusks, two snails, all the sea 
cucumbers, sipunculids, cumaceans, sea squirts, ostracods, polyzoans, 
sponges, and foraminifera, and the balanoglossids and cephalochor- 
dates, as well as the beach-fly larvee, are purely detritus feeders; 
the great mass of material in their alimentary tracts when analyzed 
corresponds to the detritus on the ocean floor, and the free-floating 
plants are only incidentally present. In the deepest water the 
organic matter is probably chiefly derived from the free swimming 
organisms which die and fall to the bottom, and in places from 
the Sargassum and other rock weeds which have been torn from 
their moorings and have perished far from land. 

2. Plants growing on the bottom, chiefly eelgrass where that occurs, 
upon which browse certain snails, like the periwinkles, a few echino- 
derms, and some crustaceans. The Danish naturalists have found 
that as a basis for the support of the shore-living animals these 
plants (especially the eelgrass, the most abundant on the. Danish 
coasts) are next in importance to detritus. 

3. Free swimming microscopic plants, similar to those of the open 
ocean. The Danes have found that these are of almost no importance 
on their coasts; their slight value is indirect, through the medium 
of the free swimming copepods. But probably elsewhere, especially 
in Arctic and Antarctic regions where there is no eelgrass and they 
are enormously abundant, they become of much significance. 

4. Driftwood, floating or stranded in the water, and wooden struc- 
tures, such as piles and wharves. ‘These, essentially vegetable 
detritus, form the food of curious aberrant bivalves called ship- 
worms or teredos, which bore into them and often cause enormous 
damage. Other bivalves and various crustaceans, such as the gribble, 


390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


bore into wood and are often quite destructive, but the teredo is 
the only creature known actually to live upon it. 


THE DEEP SEA ANIMALS 


In the open ocean there is abundant plant life at the surface, 
almost entirely composed of microscopic types upon which feed 
minute animals endowed with remarkable reproductive powers 
through which the organic matter is passed on to larger creatures. 
There are also floating seaweeds torn from the rocks and drifting 
with the currents, growing more or less, though never fruiting, 
which serve to some extent to feed the smallerreatures. The gulf- 
weed or Sargassum, so common in the north Atlantic, is the most 
familiar and important type. 

Far below the surface in the twilight zone, where the daylight 
gradually fades to darkness and plant life disappears, in the levels 
to which most of the surface animals, at least in the clearer and more 
sunlit portions of the seas, retreat during the day, lurk many pre- 
daceous forms which never rise above it. Still farther down, in the 
cold perpetual night where the motion of the waves is never felt, 
the creatures of the twilight zone pass over into other types, all of 
medium size or rather small, all good swimmers, and all or nearly 
all with phosphorescent lights, like fireflies—strange fishes, squids, 
crustaceans, jellyfishes, etc.—which, becoming fewer and fewer, 
reach probably to the bottom, those of each level feeding upon the 
animals from the zone above, and all being supported by the crea- 
tures of the twilight zone which at night feed upon the plants. In 
the north and in the south where the cold water, filled with living 
particles, is less transparent, and the sun’s rays strike it at an angle 
and do not penetrate so deeply, the twilight zone comes almost to 
the surface and there is little difference between night and day 
conditions. 

Along the shores there is a greater or lesser abundance of large 
alge or seaweeds of many sorts and of flowering plants living 
fastened to the bottom. These are constantly dying and, partially 
decaying, breaking up ‘into fine particles, this detritus floating about 
in the water and finally coming to rest in the mud or sand. The’ 
microscopic plants of the open ocean, of course, exist here also, while 
many kinds of diatoms and similar types live on the bottom and 
clinging to the weeds. While a few animals here live by browsing 
on the seaweeds and the eelgrass, the dominant animal types are 
sluggish or sessile, or attached and usually arborescent plantlike 
animals, living on the bottom or traveling over it, consuming the 
detritus, with the more active animals consuming them, especially 
the shellfish, crustaceans, and echinoderms. 

What happens as the sea floor sinks farther and farther from the 
surface ? 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 391 


The light gradually diminishes so that in the clearest and most 
sunlit seas, at about 650 feet, there is only a pale moonlight at 
noon on the brightest day, while at greater depths there is no light 
at all. Wave motion dies away, and not far below the surface there 
is perpetual quiet even in the fiercest hurricane. The temperature 
declines, rapidly at first and then more slowly; in the abysses it is 
mostly a few degrees above the freezing point—below it in some 
places. The pressure increases so that at 15,000 feet it is about 214 
tons to the square inch. 

The number of kinds of animals found between tide marks, in 
rock pools, on the beaches, or on piling, is relatively small, rapidly 
increasing from the high to the low matric mark. Below ithe low- 
tide mark the variety of animal life is markedly increased. Beyond 
a slight depth, 50 feet or so, but varying in different places, within 
which there are often well-marked zones, some of the shore forms 
disappear, but other creatures take their places and still others con- 
stantly appear at greater depths. The maximum variety of marine 
animal types is found on bottoms between about 600 and 1,200 feet, 
where the light is dim to almost absent, the water is cool and very 
still, and there is abundant food provided by the shore detritus and 
the sea above. 

Within this zone there are many animals of large size, crabs 11 
feet or more from claw to claw, huge urchins and starfish, great 
plantlike things looking like small apple trees (Primnoa, etc.), 
masses of large crinoids, stalked and unstalked, and other creatures, 
and probably in certain places swimming about the giant squid and 
cuttles. 

Below this zone the stillness of the water and the increasing pres- 
sure favor the deposit of the finest silt, and the bottoms are chiefly 
of fine mud, passing into the so-called oozes made up of the shells 
of the millions and millions of small creatures constantly dying in 
the layers above. The greater part of the sea bottom beyond the 
coastal muds is formed of globigerina ooze, consisting of the shells 
of minute shelled animals, the oceanic foraminifera, largely globi- 
gerinas, with some bottom-living types and a few other things. 
Less common are the pteropod oozes, made up of the shells of oceanic 
mollusks, the radiolarian oozes, and the diatom oozes. Toward the 
middle of the oceans the oozes gradually pass into an excessively 
fine red mud, which is the typical bottom of all the abysses far from 
land. 

On the red mud everywhere and sometimes on the oozes lie scat- 
tered the ear bones of whales and the teeth of sharks, the only por- 
tions of these animals that will persist indefinitely. Some of the 
sharks’ teeth on the red mud are of gigantic size, several inches in 
length, and came from species long extinct but known as fossils else- 


392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


where. On the ear bones and the teeth manganese slowly collects, 
in time inclosing them in characteristic nodules of various sizes. As 
over the red mud oceanic life is so very scanty as to be practically 
nonexistent, these nodules for the most part probably represent the 
remains of decrepit sharks and whales which have strayed out here 
and died. 

Below the twilight zone the variety of animal life rapidly lessens, 
and, on account of the uniformity of conditions in all oceans at these 
levels, becomes practically the same everywhere. 

The basic food here consists of detritus from the plants along the 
shores, decreasing rapidly in amount with distance from the land, 
and a correspondingly increasing amount of organic matter derived 
from the bodies of the creatures in the layers above which, dying, 
sink gradually to the bottom, where further decay is arrested by the 
‘perpetual cold and the great pressure which prevent, or at least 
inhibit, the action of bacteria. The foraminifera, pteropods, di- 
atoms, etc., and the Sargassum and other floating seaweeds dying 
and going to the bottom carry there at least a portion of their or- 
ganic substance, which mixes with the mud. This bottom ooze or 
mud when brought on deck seems absolutely clean, but in the warm 
air it soon gives forth a most offensive smell, proclaiming the organic 
matter it contains. 

This mud is swallowed by many of the bottom animals, particu- 
larly by all of the numerous echinoderms, except the crinoids, and 
by many of the crustaceans, which digest the organic matter out of 
it, living in the same way that some of their relatives do along the 
shores and the earthworms do on land. For the other animals, such 
as the sponges, sea squirts, stalked crinoids, and cceelenterates, inter- 
mediates are necessary to make this food available, and these inter- 
mediates seem to be the numerous forms of radiolarians and related 
types which, judging from the long stalks of the attached animals, 
must in some places form a thin mist for some distance above the 
sea floor. 

Deep-sea animals are much more common near land off precipit- 
ous coasts than at the same depths farther out, in correspondence 
with the greater density of life in the layers above, and also under 
cold surface water. They are, after all, only littoral types with 
sufficiently adaptable natures to enable them to descend to the 
greatest depths, and fundamentally they differ very much less from 
the shore types than would be supposed. In the Tropics the dif- 
ference between the littoral and the abyssal animals is great, and the 
change from one sort to the other rather abrupt, but in the cold 
regions many of the deep-sea types come up into shallow water. 

The reasons why all sea animals are most abundant near the 
land and gradually decrease in abundance and in size with increas- 


LIFE IN THE OCEAN—CLARK 393 


ing distance from the shores is that the nutritive material brought 
to the sea by rivers and washed from the land by rain upon which 
the plants subsist is most abundant here. On very precipitous 
coasts the detritus from the seaweeds falls into deep water and adds 
to the food supply of the deep-sea creatures, which elsewhere is 
derived only from the remains of oceanic organisms. 

The ocean’s deepest spot is 40 miles east of Mindanao, in the 
Philippines, where a depth of 6.08 miles (32,113 feet, or 5,352 
fathoms) has been determined. 

No animal life is known from such a depth as this. The animal 
from the greatest depth so far recorded is a fish (Grimaldichthys 
profondissimus) which was brought up from 19,806 feet, or 334 
miles, beneath the surface in the north Atlantic by the late Prince of 
Monaco. Many other things, of course, must live at this depth also 
for this fish to feed upon. It is perhaps worthy of remark that a 
fish of the same type, a so-called brotulid, lives in fresh water in 
the caves of Cuba. 

It was once thought that the abysses would contain many relics 
of past ages which had become extinct along the shores. But sur- 
prisingly few such relic types have come to light, and there are not 
nearly so many of them in the deep seas as are to be found along the 
shores and in fresh water. 

Of all the animals of the ocean floors the mud-swallowing echino- 
derms are perhaps the most abundant and diversified and the most 
generally distributed; but all the groups represented also occur 
in shallow water except for a small number of minor types. The 
most conspicuous of these echinoderms, because most strange to us, 
are bizarre sea-cucumbers and starfish, and soft and flexible shelled 
urchins. Stalked crinoids rooted in the ooze or firmly attached 
to stones or other objects are characteristic of the deeps, but all the 
groups represented, like all of those to which the more abundant un- 
stalked forms belong, come up into shallow water, with possibly one 
exception. The crinoids most important from the paleontological 
viewpoint, the Pentacrinus of our textbooks, and the curious Holo- 
pus, so far from being deep-sea animals, live, at Barbados, in 30 
feet or less, so that they can be seen from the surface with a water 
glass. 

Sponges with silicious skeletons are often very abundant in the 
deeps, especially near land. One of the chief trials of a deep-sea 
naturalist is sorting over a catch with these thingsin the mud. Their 
spicules are sharp as needles, glassy, and transparent, and scattered 
everywhere, so that the sight of sponges always means sore hands. 

1On September 1, 1924, a new “ deep” was reported 145 miles southeast of Tokyo. A 


sounding here by the Japanese steamer Manshu gave 6.18 miles (32,636 feet, or 5,439 
fathoms), 


394 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Sailors, no matter how callous they may be toward other forms of 
life, quickly learn to recognize silicious sponges. 

The celenterates are the only group of animals of which a large 
proportion of the types are confined to deep water. They are 
abundant here, and of many different sorts. Especially characteristic 
are the sea-pens and umbellularians and the curious anemones. There 
are many corals, largely solitary ones, but no massive types, and 
numerous alcyonarians and allied creatures. 

Various sea squirts occur, both simple and compound. 

Crustaceans are abundant, of all the principal marine groups ex- 
cept the king crabs and the squillas, though barnacles are poorly 
represented. They are mostly blind and spiny. There are a few 
sea spiders or pycnogonids, some of which are very large; one single 
kind lives all the way from the shore line down to 13,350 feet below 
the surface. 

Mollusks of all the principal groups except the pelagic occur; one 
type, called solenogaster, a wormlike thing living on gorgonians and 
apparently parasitic on them, is most abundant in deep water. 
The gastropods or snails, though there are no remarkable forms in 
the deep sea, are interesting in ranging from at least 16,000 feet 
below the surface uninterruptedly to above the snow line in the 
Himalayas. 

The fishes are practically all of the bony or teleostean type, and 
chiefly represent modifications of forms represented at or near the 
surface in the cold and temperate zones, or which appear as nocturnal 
oceanic forms. They are small, mostly black or dark sooty brown, 
sometimes albinistic, blind or with large eyes, and often with long 
filamentous processes. 

Of the remaining animals there may be mentioned the few brachio- 
pods, less interesting geologically than the littoral ones, some sipun- 
culids, the few annelid worms, mostly living in calcareous or quill- 
like tubes, the numerous radiolarians, and the foraminifera. 

From this catalogue one might, perhaps gather the impression 
that animal life in the abysses is abundant, which is far from true. 
A net dragged for two or more hours over the sea floor, an operation 
consuming almost an entire day, may bring up less than a handful 
of animals, or even none at all. Rarely, and usually near shore off 
precipitous coasts, are rich hauls made. 

Like their relatives in shallow water, the deep-sea animals, es- 
pecially the echinoderms and sponges and pennatulids, tend to live in 
colonies. with various crustaceans, worms, etc., associated with them. 
Sometimes the dredge brings up only the dead remains of such a 
colony which has died from the exhaustion of the meager food sup- 
ply, or from old age or other cause, 


A STUDY OF THE FLIGHT OF SEA GULLS? 


By Rosert C. MILLER 


[With 4 plates] 


No one who has traveled on the ferries which ply across San 
Francisco Bay can have failed to note the sea gulls which follow 
constantly in their wake. Hour after hour, day by day, sometimes 
at night even, they may be seen winging tirelessly after the cumbrous 
boats, sailing high like paper kites, or sporting in the currents of 
air about the stern, or scuffling noisily for bits of food thrown over- 
board by the passengers. In the earliest dawn they are on duty, 
looking like gray specters in the morning mists, and on moonlit 
nights they are abroad at least until midnight, flapping along like 
giant bats in the semidarkness. 

Of the many thousands of people who have watched the gulls on 
the bay and admired their beauty, probably most have thought of 
their graceful evolutions only as a part of nature’s artistry. But 
for the ornithologist, the esthetic is not the sole nor even the prin- 
cipal interest which attaches to them. Rather does he remark the 
marvelous powers of flight which enable so large a bird to keep 
aloft for long periods of time without fatigue, and the rapid coor- 
dination which permits it to take advantage of every current of the 
shifting air, and to maintain its equilibrium under the most adverse 
circumstances of wind and weather. 

On account of their large size, easy flight, and relatively slow wing 
movements the gulls have long been looked upon as peculiarly favor- 
able subjects for studies of avian aeronautics. However, although 
our knowledge of their flight is rather extensive, as yet it is far from 
complete. The data assembled by different observers are frequently 
not in agreement, and, as Hankin (1913, p. 253) has pointed out, 
two authorities as competent as Maxim and Headley have published 
statements diametrically opposed. Such contradictory ideas must, 
in most cases, indicate not that the observations on which they rest 
are incorrect but only that they are inadequate; a type of behavior 
which is observed on one or two occasions may be entirely lacking 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Condor, Vol. XXV, January, 1923. The writer of 
this essay was awarded the Cooper prize in ornithology offered at the University of Cali- 
fornia in 1921-22 for the best study of any subject concerned with birds. 


395 


396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


under other circumstances, and it would be a mistake to assume that 
modes and methods of flight adapted to some particular set of condi- 
tions hold true for all. 

The writer became interested in some of these problems by watch- 
ing the maneuvers of gulls about the ferryboats, and he began ac- 
cordingly to take notes on their behavior with reference to the 
speed and direction of the wind and other factors, as he had oc- 
casion to cross the bay from time to time. The present paper is 
based on a series of observations covering a period of about nine 
months, from July, 1921, to March, 1922, during which time the 
writer has on occasion laid himself open to suspicion of mental 
aberration by rushing about on the deck of a ferryboat, gazing 
seaward and skyward, and jotting down notes in a small black book. 

The machinery of flight—the structure of wings and feathers and 
the nice musculature which controls them—has been dealt with in 
much detail by Headley (1895 and 1912), Hankin (1913), and 
others. It is sufficient here to note that the wings are strong, rigid, 
and light, that they are curved to offer the maximum resistance on 
the downward and the minimum on the upward stroke, and that 
the great wing feathers, by their shape, contribute materially to 
the action of the muscles and relieve unnecessary strain. It is gener- 
ally agreed that the muscles and tendons of the wing are so arranged 
as to operate automatically, the motion which extends the humerus 
mechanically extending the other units of the wing, even to spread- 
ing the flight feathers. (This view has been objected to by Beet- 
ham, 1911, p. 435.) It is important also to note that the tips of the 
flexible flight feathers bend upward under the strain of any sudden 
gust (pl. 2, F), thus allowing the wind to “slide off” from the under 
surface of the wing and contributing automatically to the main- 
tenance of equilibrium. 

Having in mind these few notes on the mechanics of flight, we 
may go on to consider the bird in action, which has been the major 
object of these studies. Nothing appears more leisurely and effort- 
less than the flight of gulls. The exertion by which they keep pace 
with a steamer seems to be little more than an idle flapping, when 
indeed they are not soaring on almost motionless wings above the 
boat. But when we come to study more closely just what is taking 
place, and particularly when we record photographically certain 
movements that are too quick for the eye, we discover that more 
energy is being expended than at first seemed to be the case. 

The first point to be noticed is that the stroke of the wings is con- 
siderably longer than appears to the eye; indeed, each time the pin- 
ions are raised the inner segments almost meet above the body, and on 
the downward beat the outer segments approach the perpendicular 
beneath it. This can partially be seen when a bird passes directly on 


— i; - 


FLIGHT OF SEA GULLS—MILLER 397 


a level with the eye, but can be fully demonstrated only by photo- 
graphs which catch the wings at their highest and their lowest points. 
The full sweep of the wings can be seen by a comparison of Plate 2, 
A and B, which indicate respectively the beginning and the com- 
pletion of a stroke. This is illustrated a little less perfectly by the 
two birds in Plate 2, C; and in Plate 2, D, by a happy chance, five 
(different phases of the stroke are represented, although neither the 
full upward nor the full downward extension of the wings is shown. 
It will be noted by studying the lowest bird in this figure that, on 
the down stroke, the wing is sharply flexed at the wrist, the forearm 
being nearly horizontal. 

It should be remarked, however, that while the eye tends to un- 
derestimate the length of the stroke, the camera somewhat ex- 
aggerates it. The wing does not actually describe an arc of nearly 
180°, as might be thought from its extreme upward and downward 
extensions. It is to be remembered that the body of the bird is not 
moving on a fixed plane, but undulates with each beat of the wings, 
rising on the downward stroke and falling a little as the wings are 
raised. This up and down motion appears from Marey’s figures 
(1895, p. 287) to be about equal to the thickness of the body of the 
bird. Thus when the wings move from the highest to the lowest 
position of a beat, their tips describe a shorter arc than if the body 
were fixed. The undulating motion of the body is usually concealed 
from the observer for lack of a point of reference, or because it is 
masked by the greater motion of the wings. 

From the fact that the wing stroke is as long as we have de- 
scribed, it follows that the beat must also be more rapid than it 
gives the impression of being. This is found to be true when we un- 
dertake to photograph a gull in action. The seemingly leisurely 
flapping of the wings can rarely be caught by an exposure of less 
than one two-hundredth of a second, and often shows movement at 
even higher speeds than this (pl. 2, EK). 

In ordinary flight a gull will average about 120 strokes per minute. 
This involves a rather slow movement near the shoulder, but one 
which becomes exceedingly rapid toward the tip of a long wing, 
as we see in Plate 2, EK, and in the case of the lower right-hand bird 
in Plate 2, F, where the humeri are sharply recorded, but the more 
rapidly moving tips are blurred. 

It is the rapidity of the wing stroke which is the secret of flight, 
not of gulls alone, but of birds in general. The quick stroke suddenly 
compresses the resilient air beneath the wing, and this has usually 
been assumed by theorists to be the means by which the bird is sup- 
ported; it rides on successive columns of compressed air. Rather, 
however, should be emphasized the reciprocal of this; that is, that on 
the downward stroke a momentary vacuum is left above the wing. 


398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


In other words, the air pressure is removed above but maintainea 
beneath the pinion, so that it is supported theoretically by a force 
approaching 14.7 pounds per square inch of surface. Of course, this 
vacuum is by no means complete and is of very brief duration, but 
it is obvious that the lifting power of the air beneath is ample to 
support a much larger bird than a gull on the same wing area. 

The displaced air can not rush in so quickly in the wake of a 
large wing as in the wake of a small one. This explains why a gull 
is able to support itself in the air with only two strokes per second, 
while a sparrow, which really has a greater wing expanse in pro- 
portion to its weight than a gull, must take 13 strokes per second 
(Marey, 1890, p. 100). A large wing is intrinsically a more efficient 
instrument of flight than a small wing, without reference to the 
weight of the bird to be supported. 

During the beat of the wings there is a certain forward and back- 
ward, as well as up and down, motion, so that the wing tip describes 


Fic. 1.—Theoretical trajectory of the wing tip, on a somewhat shortened horizontal scale 


an ellipse with reference to the body of the bird, or, owing to the 
forward movement of the bird, a series of loops (fig. 1), which be- 
come more and more nearly closed with increasing acceleration of 
flight. It is possible even that the trajectory of the wing tip is a 
sort of figure 8, as Pettigrew (1847, pp. 15ff.) has insisted, and 
Marey (1890, p. 140) has described for the crow; but the presence 
of a secondary loop can not be determined by observation, and seems 
rather doubtful. 

Two phases of the loop described by the wing are to be seen in 
Plate 2,C. The upper bird shows the wings advanced on the down 
stroke (position A, fig. 1), while the lower bird has them retired on 
the up stroke (position B, fig. 1). Plate 2, B, shows the wings with 
the front margins almost vertical, as they would appear at position 
C, Figure 1. 

The effect of advancing the wings farther than normal is to ro- 
tate the front margins upward, so that the ventral surface is directed 
anteriorly, thus retarding forward flight. This is well shown in 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miller PLATE | 


CALIFORNIA GULLS IN SOARING FLIGHT 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miller PLATE 2 


BNL 


87 


Be eee a ee 


: 
f 
f 


4 
a 
i 

‘| 


A. THE BEGINNING OF THE STROKE 

B. THE COMPLETION OF THE STROKE 

C. WINGS ADVANCED ON THE DOWNSTROKE (LEFT) AND RETIRED ON THE 
UPSTROKE (RIGHT) 

D. FivE DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE STROKE 

E. RAPID MOVEMENT OF THE WING TIP 

F. THE USE OF FEET AND TAIL FOR RETARDING FLIGHT 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miller PLATE 3 


|. HOVERING OVER THE WATER WITH ALMost No FORWARD MOVEMENT. 
NoTE ADVANCED POSITION OF THE WINGS 


2. RISING FROM THE WATER. OBSERVE POSITIONS OF FEET 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Miller PLATE 4 


|. TYPICAL SOARING POSITIONS 


2. SHORTENING SAIL BY BENDING WINGS AT WRIST 


FLIGHT OF SEA GULLS—MILLER 399 


Plate 3, Figure 1. These gulls were hovering with almost no forward 
motion, picking up bits of food from the water without alighting. 
The advanced wings, depressed tail, and lowered feet indicate the 
efforts to check forward flight. 

The feet are ordinarily held close against the under tail coverts in 
flight (pl. 2, A, C, and E), but may be lowered and even the webs 
spread out to act as “ brakes ” in retarding flight. The coordinated 
use of feet and tail for this purpose is admirably shown in Plate 2, F, 
especially in the bird only partly included at the top of the photo- 
graph. 

In rising from the water a further use of the feet becomes evident 
(pl. 3, fig. 2). A certain forward momentum is necessary before the 
bird can rise, and a gull may often be seen contributing to the efforts 
of its wings by kicking vigorously as it leaves the water. 

However complicated may be the process of flapping flight, so 
long as a bird’s wings are in motion we are able to understand, at 
least in a measure, how it keeps aloft; but what are we to say when 
we witness a large bird sailing for great distances on almost motion- 
less pinions without loss of altitude, or even steadily gaining altitude 
with no more effort than the occasional twitch of a wing in making 
an adjustment to some sudden gust? ‘This is the phenomenon re- 
ferred to as soaring flight, which has ever been a source of wonder- 
ment to layman and scientist alike. 

While the gulls are not masters of this type of aerial navigation 
to quite the same extent as the larger hawks and vultures, neverthe- 
less they often give remarkable exhibitions of their powers along this 
line. It is a common sight to observe a gull travel several miles at 
a speed of from 12 to 18 knots per hour without a single flap of the 
wings; and I think it probable that much higher speeds than this 
would be recorded if there were faster steamers on the bay to 
serve as a basis of comparison. 

Various theories have been proposed from time to time to account 
for soaring flight, some of which are plausible, while others are 
rather obviously at variance with the facts. 

It has been commonly urged that a soaring bird has gotten into an 
upward current of air, in which it has only to maintain itself by 
proper adjustments, retaining its height or ascending according to 
the force of the rising current and the angle of its wings. In other 
words, soaring flight is simply a downward glide in an ascending 
column of air. 

It has been objected to this that birds are often seen to soar in the 
absence of any ascending current, so far as can be detected, and 
even that they studiously avoid such currents (Hankin, 1913, pp. 
19, 63, etc.). 


400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Lilienthal (1911, p. 78) advanced the somewhat surprising theory 
that the general trend of the wind everywhere is upward at an angle 
3° to 4° to the horizon. The logical difficulties of such a theory 
are rather obvious, as at this rate we should shortly be living in 
a vacuum; and Headley (1895, p. 238) has comfortingly demon- 
strated that the direction of a wind over a level plain is horizontal, 
although a very slight obstruction may cause a pronounced upward 
draft. 

Opponents of the ascending current theory have proposed numer- 
ous other, and often less adequate, hypotheses to account for soar- 
ing flight. 

Some have postulated a wavelike or pulselike motion of the air; 
according to this theory, the bird gains momentum by gliding with 
the wind in the interim between gusts, and gains altitude by turn- 
ing to face each freshening breeze (Headley, 1895, p. 246). Others 
have maintained that small eddies or whirlpools in the air are taken 
advantage of, the bird meeting them and gaining energy by ex- 
tinguishing their motion (Hankin, 1913, p. 62). A few have even 
urged that soaring flight is an illusion, the wings really being in 
motion, slight, but sufficient to keep the bird aloft. This rather 
strained hypothesis has probably been suggested by the occasional 
balancing movements which soaring birds are seen to make. 

In the American Naturalist for 1886 we find a very remarkable 
theory advanced by I. Lancaster, which, stated briefly, is this: A 
properly constructed glider will move in a horizontal direction much 
more rapidly than it descends vertically. ‘The more the wings are 
inclined, the greater becomes the horizontal motion relative to the 
vertical. If the wings are sufficiently inclined, as he assumes to 
be the case in the soaring bird, theoretically (?) the vertical motion 
should entirely cease, the pull of gravity causing only horizontal 
motion. This seems to be a roundabout way of stating that a soar- 
ing bird is really held up by the force of gravity! 

A curious consequence of this theory was that Professor Hendricks 
(1886) thought it necessary to reply in a subsequent issue of the same 
journal with several pages of complicated mathematical disproof, 
demonstrating by various formule that the effect of gravity would 
actually be, not to support a soaring bird, but rather to bring it to 
earth! 

A more recent investigator (Hankin, 1913) has discarded all 
theories having a basis in any known physical laws, and insists, on 
the grounds, be it said, of much excellent observation, that soaring 
flight must be referred to some entirely unknown quality of the 
atmosphere, which he terms “soarability.” Of this he postulates 
two kinds, “sun soarability”” and “wind soarability.” Neither of 


FLIGHT OF SEA GULLS—MILLER 401 


these depends upon ascending currents, but rather upon some mys- 
terious transfer of sun (pp. 98, 105, 206) or wind (pp. 278 ff.) 
“energy ” to the soaring bird. Such a theory can hardly be looked 
upon as doing aught but removing the phenomenon from the realm 
of possible explanation to that of pure mystery. 

It seems at present that the earliest and simplest of these theories, 
that of ascending currents, is the most plausible. So far as the 
writer has been able to observe, it is entirely adequate to explain 
the soaring of gulls. The following extracts from my notes will 
indicate the basis of this statement: 


August 17, 2.20 p. m.—Clear, bright day; stiff west wind. Several gulls ob- 
served sporting in current of air deflected upward by ferry slip at Oakland 
Mole. Would glide west some yards on motionless 
wings, gradually losing altitude, then rotate wings so as xX 
to be caught by breeze and swept back into ascending 
current, in which they would speedily rise with no 
visible effort and repeat the performance. This con- 
tinued about five minutes, until birds were disturbed 
by coming of a boat. 

August 13, 5.30 p. m.—Stiff west wind; several x 
gulls soaring a few yards above and slightly to the 
leeward of the highest point on Goat Island. 

July 29, 10.50 a. m—Ferry traveling against stiff 
west wind. Gulls observed at points S, XX, and Y 
(fig. 2). Those at XX flapped continually. Those at Y 
took a zig-zag course, alternately flapping and sailing; 
they would gain momentum by flapping vigorously 
while in the shelter of the stern, then dive to one side iy // 
into the wind and sail a moment, quickly losing mo- 
mentum but gaining altitude. Then, from this increased | 


height, they would dive back into the shelter of the 

stern, usually adding to their momentum by flapping, 

and continued across into the wind on the other side, Fic. 2—Diagram of po- 

where they would again gain altitude with the loss sitions of gulls about 

of momentum. This was repeated indefinitely, like Bre eae oreiore 
’ against the wind 

a sort of play. 

Several gulls were soaring without effort just above the forward pilot 
house. There was scarcely a visible wing movement so long as they re- 
mained in the area S (upward draft from bow), but they had to resort to 
flapping whenever they drifted to one side or the other of this area. (On 
several occasions a gull has been observed very distinctly to fall off this up- 
ward current, and drop suddenly somewhat laterally for 10 or 15 feet before 
righting itself. : 

July 30, 11.40 a. m.—Ferry going west against light breeze. Three gulls 
soared smoothly just above forward pilot house, balancing by occasional flick 
of wing tips. 

7.30 p. m.—Ferry going east, with light wind from stern. Several gulls fol- 
lowed, flapping, at a distance. No soaring was attempted. 

August 1, 3.20 p. m.—Ferry going west against very stiff wind. Very little 
soaring attempted, and only for a few moments at atime. One bird, alternately 
flapping and sailing, was caught by a sudden gust, almost capsized, and turned 


402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


completely around. In two or three seconds it righted and began following 
boat again. 

November 6, 2.30 p. m.—Ierry going west; fair wind from starboard. A 
number of gulls soared over windward side, moving sidewise and forward, with 
left wing advanced (pl. 4, figs. 1 and 2) ; that is, the birds were moving with the 
boat, while facing a point halfway between the course of the boat and the 
direction of the wind. 

3.40 p. m.—Ferry going east; wind from port. Birds soared as before, on 
windward side, but with right wing advanced, as would be expected from 
reversed direction of flight. 

Their method of soaring was carefully observed. They would rise in the 
upward current at windward side until at a considerable height, then drift 
forward and laterally, to right or left, with gradual loss of altitude, until 
they circled back into the ascending current and rose again. Thus their flight 
was a series of circlings in and out of the ascending column of air, with a 
steady forward glide to keep pace with the boat. The wings were held nearly 
motionless, and slightly flexed (pl. 1) to derive the maximum lifting power of 
the wind. 

The chronological order of these excerpts has been intentionally 
disturbed, in order that they may furnish illustrations respectively 
of the following points: 

1. That gulls take advantage of the air currents deflected upward 
from buildings, steamers, hillsides, etc., to indulge in soaring flight. 

2. That they have not been observed to soar in the absence of such 
currents. 

3. That the most favorable conditions for soaring about a steamer 
occur with a moderately brisk wind from the bow, or either side. 

4. That a very stiff wind is not favorable to soaring. 

5. That the “soarable” position varies with the direction and speed 
of the wind, and the nature of the object causing the upward draft. 
Thus, in a moderate wind from starboard, the gulls soared over the 
windward side of the boat, while in a stiff breeze over the crest of Goat 
Island they soared to the leeward of the island. It has been observed 
also that, with increasing briskness of the wind about the ferryboats, 
the soarable area tends to move more and more to the leeward. This 
may explain the confusion which has existed upon the point (Han- 
kin, 1913, p. 253), some observers reporting that gulls soar on the 
windward, others that they soar on the leeward side of steamers. 

In conclusion it should be stated that these data are not intended 
to furnish an adequate explanation of soaring flight in general, but 
only of that of the gulls as I have observed it. It is entirely possible 
that, in the magnificent soaring of eagles and vultures, particularly 
as seen in the tropics, other factors may enter. Conditions at a 
height of 1 or 2 miles must be very different. from what they are at 
the relatively small heights to which gulls attain. 

But if, as some maintain, birds are able to soar in the absence of 
any noticeable upward movement of the air, it is yet entirely pos- 


FLIGHT OF SEA GULLS—MILLER 403 


sible that such currents may be in operation, due to convection or 
other causes of atmospheric disturbance with which aeronauts are 
unpleasantly familiar. The wing of a bird, particularly of a large 
bird, is, as we have shown above, an extremely efficient instrument, 
capable of immediate adjustment to derive the maximum advantage 
from every movement of the air, so that a very slight upward draft 
may yield it considerable lift. 

In any case, it seems wiser to go as far as we can with explana- 
tions in terms of known physical laws, rather than to postulate 
forces of which we know nothing, and which, if they exist, we have 
little chance of discovering. 


LITERATURE CITED 
BretTHAM, B. 
1911. On positions assumed by birds in flight. Smithsonian Ann. Rept., 
1911, pp. 483-439, 8 pls. 
HANKIN, FE. H. 
1913. Animal flight. (London, Iliffe & Sons, Ltd.), 405 pp., 98 text figs. 
Heraptey, F. W. 
1895. The structure and life of birds. (London, Macmillan), xx-+412 
pp., 78 illus. 
1912. The flight of birds. (London, Witherby & Co.), x+163 pp., 16 
pls., 27 text figs. 
Hewnpricks, J. E. 
1886. The mechanics of soaring. Am. Nat., 20, pp. 532-534. 
LANCASTER, I. 
1886. The mechanics of soaring. Am. Nat., 20, pp. 326-333. 
LILIENTHAL, O. 
1911. Birdflight as the basis of aviation. (Isenthal trans., London, Long- 
mans, Green & Co.), xxiv-+142 pp., 8 pls., 94 text illus. (German 
ed., 1889). 
Marry, FE. J. 
1890. Le vol de oiseaux. (Paris, Libraire de l’Académie de Medecine), 
xvi+394 pp., 1 pl., 164 figs. in text. 
1895. Movement. (Pritchard trans, New York, D. Appleton Co.), 
xv+323 pp., 200 illus. 
PETTIGREW, J. B. 
1874. Animal locomotion. (New York, D. Appleton Co.), xiii+264 pp., 
130 illus. 


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INSECT MUSICIANS, THEIR MUSIC, AND THEIR 
INSTRUMENTS 


By R. E. SNopeRrAss 


Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture 


THE SEASON’S PROGRAM 


There is something peculiarly quiet about the evenings of spring 
and early summer in any country place sufficiently removed from 
the highways of human traffic, and from frog ponds. Robins may 
be warbling fragments of their song, or more commonly uttering 
that loud clatter with which they accompany their short flights from 
place to place, a song sparrow in the distance sings his bedtime 
melodies, a catbird is mewing from the hedge, a thrasher practices 
a few of his borrowed notes, a nighthawk makes a sudden swoop 
from overhead. As the shadows deepen, however, and the line of dis- 
tant trees fades against the sobering sky, bird voices cease and 
the darkness brings silence, silence broken only at times by the 
song of some irrepressible mocker that continues his effervescence 
to uncertain hours, by the hoot of an owl, or by that long trill of 
the chipping sparrow which occasionally, in moonlight, rises at dead 
of night from somewhere in the fantastic, hazy distance. 

But, on one of those first warm evenings toward the end of May, 
when the air is motionless though not yet sultry in southern Mary- 
land, as the sun’s fiery tints on the fleecy lining of sky give way to 
the paler tones of moonlight, there comes from somewhere on the 
lawn the first heralding of that troupe of insect choristers that later 
will make the night air ring from dusk to dawn with the strident 
music of their serenades. The announcement is a cheerful chzrp, 
chirp, chirp, strong and clear but vibratory, the unmistakable notes 
of Gryllus, the common black cricket. These early arrivals belong 
to a group just now maturing that hatched the preceeding summer 
and wintered in a half-grown stage. For a month or more their 
vigorous chirps are heard in town and country, and then again there 
is silence, an interlude before the regular concert begins. 

The season advances, the hot nights of July arrive, thunder- 
storms come and go, each leaving in its wake that oppressive evening 


1454—25——27 405 


406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1928 


stillness reeking with moisture. On such a night, perhaps, toward 
the middle of July, as you may be meditating on nature’s mightier 
forces, suddenly, from a near-by tree or shrub, you hear a voice, 
or the semblance of one, which says: treat, treat, treat, treat, regular 
repetitions of the one note 140 times a minute. Over there it is 
echoed by another, and over yonder by another. The next night still 
more join in, and soon the very atmosphere vibrates to that monoto- 
nously measured beat. This is the music of the snowy tree cricket, 
first of the summer chorus to arrive upon the stage. 

A few nights later another sound cuts across the rhythmic concert, 
a longer, purring note, sad and melancholy in tone as if from some 
complaining spirit of the night, a soft burr-r-r, prolonged about two 
seconds and repeated at intervals of equal length. This is the song 
of the narrow-winged tree cricket, a cousin of the snowy. Repre- 
sentatives of his species likewise come on in greater numbers every 
evening till soon the nightly chorus is a blend of treats and burrs. 

Then, to add to the confusion, several other bands arrive that 
strike up long unbroken trills, continued for many seconds or several 
minutes and immediately begun again. The chorus of the snowy 
and the narrow-winged now falls into the background and individual 
voices are lost as the entire concert becomes a ringing and shrilling 
arising at twilight, increasing with darkness, so invisibly linked 
with the oncoming shadows that it seems almost to be an emanation 
from the night itself. The trillers are also tree crickets, relations 
of the snowy and the narrow-winged, all members of the genus called 
Oecanthus. One of them is distinguished as the black-horned or 
striped tree cricket, another as the four-spotted, and a third as the 
broad-winged. The last is the loudest singer of them all. 

As the hot weather waxes and the steamy nights of midsummer 
close in, some evening there will be heard from the lower branches 
of a tree just outside the door or from the vines about the porch a 
sharp tzcet, tzeet, tzeet, shrill notes quickly repeated perhaps a dozen 
times in succession but less rapidly and less sharply toward the end 
of the series. This is the song of the angular-winged katydid, not 
the true katydid, not that great singer of the forests, but a relation 
of his of larger stature, though of lesser talent. 

Along with the angular-winged katydids come other members of 
the katydid family. Amongst them are the coneheads, sharp-headed, 
grasshopperlike insects, one of which, common in Maryland, makes a 
long continuous whirr of a very shrill tone and in a key so high that 
some human ears are not attuned to hear it at its highest pitch. An- 
other utters a series of little notes like tic, tic, tic, repeated indefinitely. 
There is also another who is one of the noisiest of all American insect 
singers, his song being an extremely loud, shrill buzz of such volume 
that it ean be heard from long distances. But this artist is so partial 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 407 


to sandy fields near the seacoast that he is seldom heard by inland 
audiences. Most of the other actors on the stage at this season sing 
in tones so modest and subdued that their notes are generally lost in 
the all-pervading din of the crickets and other louder voiced per- 
formers. All save one, and this one is that star of the insect opera, 
the famous katydid. 

To hear the true katydid you must ordinarily go to the deep woods, 
to the lonesome places of the night, for this virtuoso is no common 
dooryard singer. High in the oaks and hickories he dwells and there 
he and his troupe give their nightly serenades of katy-did’, katy-did’, 
katy-she-did’, and sometimes katy-didn’t, a sound unmistakable and 
one never forgotten when once heard. The performance lasts all 
night and subsides only with the coming of dawn when insect concerts 
close. 

About the middle of August, Gryllus, the black cricket, comes on 
the stage again, this time represented by more numerous individuals 
that hatched in spring from overwintering eggs. From now on his 
chirp is to be heard everywhere from lawn, garden, and field, both 
by day and by night, a sound always cheerful and always to be 
recognized by its vibratory quality. Associated with Gryllus is an- 
other smaller cricket of the turf, a very little fellow called Nemobius, 
with a very little voice, and one so delicate that you must bend low 
to catch his elfin notes, a silvery, twittering trill, rising like the music 
of some unseen pygmy from the grass. 

Shortly after the advent of the second Gryllus band a new note 
breaks out, a loud, piping chirp inflected upward at the end, a sound 
easily mistaken for that of some little tree toad. The notes are hard 
to locate precisely, they seem to come from here, from there, from 
over yonder, and from back here again, but always singly. Their 
clear tones stand out distinctly above the general ring of mingled 
voices now at the peak of intensity, and, as nightly they become more 
numerous, they soon preempt the stage. They are the song of another 
cricket, the jumping bush cricket, more dignified by his scientific name 
of Orocharis. 

Of course, the reader must understand that this program does not 
apply to all places alike. It is written for the neighborhood of Wash- 
ington, D.C. Orocharis, for example, is abundant in Maryland but 
would be seldom heard in New England. Likewise, in New England 
the trilling tree crickets are less common, and consequently there the 
notes of the snowy and the narrow-winged have greater prominence. 
The katydids of New England also are less melodious than are those 
along the Potomac. In the South, especially in Florida, there are 
other singers that do not reach the latitude of Washington; while 
few of our common eastern favorites are to be heard in California. 


408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


But the insect musicians are not all minstrels of the night; there 
are daytime concerts, too, and the bill includes, besides the strictly 
daylight performers, some of the nocturnal singers. Gryllus, for 
example, sings at all hours, and the black-horned tree cricket makes 
the waysides ring with his shrill notes on warm bright afternoons 
of fall. Others of too little consequence to mention here will be de- 
scribed later. The great artist of the day is the cicada, an insect 
whose individuality sets him apart from all others. His song is 
that familiar, long, loud, buzzing hum which floats from the trees 
in undulous tones during the hot weather of August and September. 
Unfortunately, we commonly call the cicada a “locust,” a name 
which properly belongs to the grasshoppers. The famous 17-year 
locust is a cicada that comes only periodically on the stage, but then 
often in vast numbers, and his grand concerts are notable events 
long remembered and discussed. 

Orocharis is the last performer to appear on the nocturnal pro- 
gram. No other new notes after his are to be heard, though the 
voices of the others will change. As the cold of fall increases, the 
clear treat, treat, treat of the snowy cricket becomes a broken rattle, 
the sonorous purr of the narrow-winged changes to a long hoarse 
rasp, the notes of the trillers become weak and subdued, the cheerful 
chirps of Gryllus feeble and shaky, the notes of Orocharis dulled and 
tremulous. Yet on a cold wet night, such as those that so frequently 
mar the autumn season in southern New England, when the whole 
world seems blanketed in a dismal, cold, and penetrating mist, wetter 
than rain itself, it is marvelous to hear the insects still painfully 
proceeding with their concerts under circumstances that would 
stiffen the limbs and deaden the vital forces of many a stronger crea- 
ture. The little tree crickets, themselves the very essence of frailty, 
not only keep their fires burning amidst their sodden environment, 
but still have emotions that must be expressed in song. And how 
gay and cheerful they seem again when the weather moderates, and 
how hopeful their voices sound on those last warm nights of fall. 
But at last the killing frosts arrive, insect voices are stilled, and the 
season’s concert series ends. 

The preceding is just a résumé of what there is to be heard on 
the insect stage day and night through the musical season. The con- 
certs are all free and open to the public, but whoever would make 
acquaintance with the musicians themselves will find that this is 
not to be done by merely attending their performances, for condi- 
tions are quite different on the insect stage from what they are on our 
own. In the first place there is no conductor and all the artists, 
soloists and choristers alike, insist on coming on at the same time, 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 409 


with a consequent medley of voices quite confusing to the uninformed 
listener. Then, too, the daylight performers usually sing from be- 
hind the scenes, while the stage at night is never illuminated, ex- 
cept by natural moonlight. Finally, the actors are bashful, avoid 
publicity, and most of them refuse to perform in limelight—interest- 
ing data for the student of comparative psychology. But there 
are no reserved seats in the theater, and the front rows are never 
crowded, consequently any interested member of the audience, 
by using sufficient caution, may get close enough to an individual 
singer to throw on him a quick flash from a lantern and catch a 
glimpse of him as he performs. Furthermore, with a little dexterity, 
the artist may be caught uninjured in a jar and taken home. If 
treated well, given leaves or whatever food he requires, and espe- 
cially fresh drinking water every morning in the form of artificial 
dew made by sprinkling water on the foliage in his cage, the captive 
soon becomes accustomed to human surroundings and will often give 
private rehearsals, even sometimes in the glare of electric lights. 

The rest of this paper is occupied mostly with the characteristics 
and personalities of our best known American insect singers, those 
of the eastern half of the Northern States. They all belong to four 
families, three being families of the order Orthoptera, including the 
grasshoppers, the katydids, and the crickets, and the other a family 
of the order Hemiptera, or sucking insects, which comprises the 
cicadas. The great majority of insects do not make any sounds at 
all audible to our ears. A few besides those just mentioned, such as 
some beetles, certain ants, and the queen bee produce squeaking or 
rasping sounds of various sorts, but they are seldom noted by human 
observers other than professional entomologists. 

The reader may find interesting accounts of the habits and songs 
of American Orthoptera in the works of Allard, Blatchley, McNeill, 
Parrott and Fulton, Piers, Rehn and Hebberd, Scudder, Somes, 
Walker, and others. Butt the numerous papers by these writers are 
scattered through many entomological publications, and the student 
will obtain easiest reference to all of them and abstracts from most 
of them, as well as almost all that is known of our eastern grass- 
hoppers, katydids, crickets, and their relations in Blatchley’s Or- 
thoptera of Northeastern America. Scudder has given interpreta- 
tions of the songs of the Orthoptera expressed in conventional musi- 
cal notation, but the present writer knows nothing of the technique of 
music and can present the insect notes only by the usual approximate 
phonetic translations. 

The critical reader has probably already made note of some mix- 
ing of metaphors. Therefore, before going further, it must be 


410 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


clearly stated that insects really do not sing; that is, not if the verb 
“to sing” is to be used to refer only to the production of sounds 
by the breath on vocal chords. Zhe music of insects is all instru- 
mental; but it has always been described as “ singing,” even by the 
best entomologists, and we shall not here discard a term so conven- 
ient, especially since the dictionaries allow its more liberal usage. If 
then it is permitted to refer to an insect’s music as its “song,” by 
_the same license we may speak of its “ voice,” though no insect makes 
truly vocal sounds. Likewise the word “note” is commonly used in 
zoology to mean the sound produced by a bird or insect, and in 
such connection does not signify a note on a musical scale. In strict- 
ly technical writing, the sounds or notes made by insects are called 
stridulations, from the Latin word stridere, meaning “to creak.” 
They are made by special stridulating organs. These organs mostly 
correspond with the drum type of musical instruments in that they 
consist of membranes (tympana) or other broad surfaces that give 
forth sound by being set into rapid vibration. But there are two 
methods of producing the vibration, one by the rubbing of one sur- 
face on another, which may be likened to fiddling, and the other by the 
direct action of muscles attached to the vibratory surface, a method 
which has no counterpart in human organs or instruments. Finally, 
with very few exceptions, it is only the males among insects that 
sing or that have stridulating organs. This affords a suggestive 
theme for comparative comment, but it is one already too much 
dwelt upon by human writers, of the male sex, and we shall proceed 
now with the special descriptions of our musicians, their music, and 
their instruments. 


THE GRASSHOPPER FAMILY 


The grasshoppers belong to the family Acridide of the order 
Orthoptera. They are also designated the shorthorn grasshoppers 
to distinguish them from grasshopperlike members of the katydid 
family, or the longhorn grasshoppers, but they are more distinctively 
called locusts, though this name is applied mostly to certain mi- 
gratory species. In the United States, however, the term “ locust ” 
has been given to the cicadas, resulting in much popular confusion 
of identities. For example, those destructive insects called locusts 
in the Bible are grasshoppers, related to our Rocky Mountain locust, 
but in no way related to the insects we commonly call the 17-year 
locusts, or to any other of the cicadas. 

Not many of the grasshoppers are musical. They are mostly sedate 
creatures that conceal their sentiments if they have any; they are 
awake in the daytime and they sleep at night—commendable habits, 
but habits that seldom beget much in the way of artistic attainment. 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 411 


Yet a few of the grasshoppers make sounds that are perhaps music 
in their own ears. One such is an unpretentious little brown species 
(fig. 1) about seven-eighths of an inch in length, marked by a large 
black spot on each side of the saddlelike shield that covers his back 
between the head and the wings. He has no other name than his 
scientific one of Chlocaltis conspersa, for he is not widely known, 
since his music is of a very feeble sort. According to Scudder, his 
only notes resemble tsikh-tsikk-tsikk, repeated 10 or 12 times in about 
three seconds in the sun, but at a slightly slower rate in the shade. 
Chloealtis is a fiddler and plays two instruments at once. The fiddles 
are his front wings and the bows his hind legs. On the inner surface 
of each hind thigh or femur there is a row of minute teeth (fig. 1, 
B, a), shown more magnified at C. When the thighs are scraped over 
the edges of the wings their teeth scrape on a sharp-edged vein indi- 


Fig. 1.—A grasshopper that makes a sound by scraping its toothed hind thigh over a 
sharp-edged vein (0b) on the wing. (Chlocaltis conspersa.) A, the male grasshopper 
(twice natural size), showing stridulating vein (b) of left wing. B, inner surface of 
right hind thigh, showing row of teeth at a. C, the teeth more enlarged 


cated by 6. This produces the ¢sikk-sound just mentioned. Such 
fiotes contain little music to.us, but Scudder says he has seen three 
males singing to one female at the same time. This female, however, 
was busy laying her eggs in a near-by stump, and there is no evidence 
given to show that even she appreciated the efforts of her serenaders. 

Several other little grasshoppers fiddle after the manner of Chloe- 
altis; but another, Mecostethus gracilis by name (fig. 2), instead of 
having the rasping points on the legs, has on each fore wing one of 
the veins (B, 7) and its branches provided with many small teeth, 
shown enlarged at C, upon which it scrapes a sharp ridge on the inner 
surface of the hind thigh. 

In another group of grasshoppers there are certain species that 
make a noise as they fly, a crackling sound apparently produced in 
some way by the wings themselves. One of these, common through 
the Northern States, is known as the cracker locust, Circotettia ver- 


412 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ruculatus, on account of the loud snapping notes it emits. Several 
other members of the same genus are also cracklers, the noisiest be- 
ing a western species called C. carlingianus. Scudder says he has 
had his attention drawn to this grasshopper “by its obstreperous 
crackle more than a quarter of a mile away. In the arid parts of 
the West it has a great fondness for rocky hillsides and the hot 
vicinity of abrupt cliffs in the full exposure to the sun, where its 
clattering rattle reechoes from the walls.” 

One of the commonest of our larger grasshoppers is the Carolina 
locust, Dissosteira carolina. Its exposed colors are mottled to match 


fIe, 2.—A grasshopper that makes a sound by scraping a sharp ridge on the inner surface 
of the hind thigh against a toothed vein on the wing. (Mecostethus gracilis.) A, the 
male grasshopper (twice natural size). B, left front wing; the toothed vein is the 
intercalary vein (J) and its branches, between the cubitus (Cu) and the media (M). 
C, part of intercalary vein and branches, more enlarged, showing rows of teeth 


the tones of the ground, but when it flies it unfolds a striking dis- 
play of black bordered with yellow on its fanlike hind wings 
(fig. 8). This locust is a strong flier and when flushed sails away 
in the air on an undulating course over the tops of weeds, over bushes, 
and sometimes over the tops of small trees, but always swerving this 
way and that as if undecided where to alight. At times it has a 
habit of hovering several feet up in the air over a certain spot on the 
ground and of making a subdued crackling with the wings. 
Various observers have noted these hovering flights of the Carolina 
focust, performed always by the males as if they were holding some 
sort of a contest in aeronautics. Townsend, seeing a male alight on 
the ground after hovering for some time, noted in a few minutes 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 413 


another male, “ which had witnessed the performance at a short dis- 
tance,” fly quickly over and alight by the side of the first performer. 
He says, “they ran by each other several times, occasionally touching 
each other, but did not make any further manifestations, and finally 
the last one flew away, leaving the other motionless in the grass.” 
Townsend thinks it probable that the females are attracted by these 
performances of the males, and that the males vie with one another 
in their exhibitions and are inclined to fight from a feeling of rivalry, 
the one that flies away having been beaten. He says “there is little 
doubt that in some instances the males actually clasp and fight” 
(though no instance is given), “but that more often one of them 
admits his defeat without recourse to blows.” Finally, he concludes, 


\ 


> 
Y 
se 


HAKAN 
\} Prine 


as 


Fic. 3.—The Carolina locust, Dissosteira carolina, with wings spread, and in position 
at rest 

“the females doubtless are in waiting in convenient spots, from 
which they witness these scenes, and ultimately accept the males 
whose superior intimidating powers have resulted in their being left 
in undisputed possession.” This passage would be more convincing 
if it were not for that word “ doubtless.” On the other hand, Somes, 
another observer of the hovering performances of the same locust, 
suggests that they are merely games of sport between the males, 
“possibly akin to the jumping contests of small boys.” All of which 
shows how diffcult it is for us to interpret the behavior of insects. 

The grasshoppers have a pair of eardrumlike membranes sunken in 
large cavities on the sides of the body beneath the bases of the wings 
(fig. 32, ¢), which are supposed to be hearing organs, the detail 
structure of which will be described in the last section of this paper. 


1454—25——28 


414 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


THE KATYDID FAMILY 


While the grasshoppers give examples of the more primitive at- 
tempts of insects at musical production, and may be compared in 
this respect to the more primitive of human races, the katydids show 
the highest development of the art attained by insects. But, just as 
the accomplishments of one member of a human family may give 
prestige to all his relations and descendents, so the talent of one 
noted member of the katydid family has given notoriety to all his 
congeners, and his justly deserved name has come to be applied by 
the undiscriminating public to a whole tribe of singers of lesser or 
very mediocre talent whose only claim 
to the name of katydid is that of family 
relationship. 

In Europe the true katydid is un- 
Known, and there his family is called 
simply the longhorn grasshoppers. In 
entomology the family is now the Tet- 
tigoniide, though it had long been. 
B known as the Locustide. 

The katydids in general are most easily 
distinguished from the locusts or short- 
horn grasshoppers by the great length 
of their antennae, those delicate, sensi- 
tive, tapering threads projecting from the 


Fic. 4.—Distinctive characters 
in the feet of the three fami- 


lies of singing Orthoptera. 

A, the hind foot of a grasshop- 
per (Dissosteira carolina). B, the 
hind foot of a katydid (Micro- 
centrum rhombifolium). C, the 
hind foot of a cricket (Gryllus 
assimilis ) 


forehead. But the two families differ 
also in the number of joints in their feet, 
the grasshoppers having three (fig. 4, A) 
and the katydids four (B). The grass- 
hoppers place the entire foot on the 


ground, while the katydids ordinarily walk on the three basal seg- 
ments only, carrying the long terminal joint elevated. The basal 
segments have pads on their under sides that adhere to any smooth 
surface such as that of a leaf, but the terminal joint bears a pair of 
claws, used when it is necessary to grasp the edge of a support. The 
katydids are mostly creatures of the night and, though usually plain 
green in color, many of them have elegant forms. Their attitudes 
and general comportment suggest much more refinement and a higher 
breeding than that of the heavy-bodied locusts. ‘Though some mem- 
bers of the katydid family live in the fields and are very grasshop- 
perlike or even cricketlike in form and manners, the characteristic 
species are seclusive inhabitants of shrubbery or trees. These are 
the true aristocrats of the Orthoptera. 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 


415 


The musical instruments of the katydids are quite different from 
those of the grasshoppers, being situated on the overlapping bases of 


the front wings or tegmina. 


On this account the front wings of 


the males are always different from those of the females, the latter 


retaining the usual or primitive structure. 


The right wing of a 


female of one of the more grasshopperlike species, Orchelumum 


laticauda (fig. 16), is shown 
at C of Figure 5. The wing 
is traversed by four prin- 
cipal veins springing from 
the base. The one nearest 
the inner edge is called the 
cubitus (Cu) and the space 
between it and this margin 
of the wing is filled with 
a network of small veins 
having no particular ar- 
rangement. In the wings 
of the male, however, 
shown at A of the same 
figure, this inner basal field 
is much enlarged and con- 
sists of a thin, crisp mem- 
brane (7m), braced by a 
number of veins branching 
from the cubitus (Cu). 
One of these (fv), running 
crosswise through the mem- 
brane, is very thick on the 
left wing, and when the 
wing is turned over (#) it 
is seen to have a close series 
of small cross ridges on its 
under surface which con- 
vert it into a veritable file 
(f). On the right wing 
this same vein is much 


<8, 


Q 
Gc 


y a6 N 

Q eS) 
RN SN 
Me peal 


ass 


Ny 
‘) 


a 
SK 
- EOS 
ro NA 
A ieee se 


=o 
\ Zax 


Fic. 5.—The front wings or tegmina of a meadow 


grasshopper (Orchelimum laticauda), illustrat- 
ing the sound-making organs typical of the katy- 
did family. A, left front wing and basal part 
of right wing of male, showing the four main 
veins, subcosta (Sc), radius (R), media (M), and 
eubitus (Cu), also the enlarged basal, vibrating 
area or tympanum (7'm) of each wing, the thick 
file vein (fv) on the left, and the scraper (8) on 
the right. B, lower surface of base of left wing 
of male, showing the file (f) on under side of the 
file vein (A, fv). C, right front wing of female, 
which has no sound-making organs, showing sim- 
ple, normal venation. 


more slender and its file is very weak, but on the basal angle of 
this wing there is a stiff ridge (s) not developed on the other. The 
katydids always fold the wings with the left overlapping the right, 
and in this position the file of the former lies above the ridge 


(s) of the latter. 


If now the wings are moved sideways, the file 


grating on the ridge or scraper causes a rasping sound, and this is 


the way the katydid makes the notes of its music. 


The tone and 


416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


volume of the sound, however, are probably in large part due to 
the vibration of the thin basal membranes of the wings, which are 
called the tympana (7Z’m). 

The instruments of different players differ somewhat in the details 
of their structure. There are variations in the form and size of 
the file and the scraper on the wings of different species, and 
differences in the veins supporting the tympanal areas, as shown in 
the drawings of these parts from a conehead (fig. 13) given at A, B. 
and C, of Figure 6. In the 
true katydid, the greatest 
singer of the family, the 
file, the scraper, the tym- 
pana, and the wings them- 
selves (fig. 12) are all very 
highly developed to form 
an instrument of great effi- 
ciency. But, in general, the 
instruments of different 
species do not differ nearly 
so much as do the notes 
produced from them by 
their owners. An endless 
number of tunes may be 
played upon the same 
fiddle. With the insects 
each musician knows only 
one tune, or a few simple 

f- variations of it, and this he 
Fig. 6.—Sound-making organs and the “ears” of 


a conehead grasshopper (Neoconocephalus en- inherited from his ances- 


siger), another member of the katydid family. = is. ais 
A, B, right and left front wings, showing the tors along with a knowl 


scraper (s) on the right wing and the file vein edge of how to play it on 

(fo) on the Ite epaer metas of fle 82, ig inherited instrument. 

slits (¢) opening into pockets containing the The stridulating organs are 

“ears.” (See fig. 35, A) 

not functionally developed 
until maturity, and then the insect forthwith plays his native air. He 
never disturbed the neighbors with doleful notes by practicing. 

Very curiously none of the katydids nor any members of their 
family have the earlike organs on the sides of the body possessed 
by the locusts. What are commonly supposed to be their organs of 
hearing are located in their front legs, as are the similar organs of 
the crickets. Two vertical slits on the upper parts of the shins or 
tibiz (fig. 6, D, ¢) open each into a small pocket with a tympanum- 
like membrane stretched across its inner wall. Between the mem- 
branes are air tubes and other structures, to be described later along 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 417 


with the “ears” of the grasshopper. No one can state positively that 
any of these organs are ears, the principal reasoning in favor of 
their auditory nature being “if they are not ears, what are they?” 


THE ROUND-HEADED KATYDIDS 


The members of this first group of the katydid family are char- 
acterized by having large wings and a smooth round forehead. They 
compose the subfamily Phaneropterinz, which includes species that 
attain the acme of grace, elegance, and refinement to be found in 
the entire Orthopteran order. Nearly all of the round-headed katy- 
dids are musical to some degree, but their productions are not of a 


Fic. 7.—A bush katydid (Scudderia furcata). Upper figure a male; lower a female in 
act of cleaning a hind foot 


high order. On the other hand, though their notes are in a high 
key, they are usually not loud and not of the kind that keep you 
‘awake at night. 

Amongst this group are the bush katydids, species of medium size 
with slenderer wings than the others, comprised in the genus usually 
known as Scudderia but also called Phaneroptera. They have ac- 
quired the name of bush katydids because they are usually found 
on low shrubbery, particularly along the edges of moist meadows, 
though they inhabit other places too and their notes are often heard 
at night about the house. Our commonest species, and one that 
occurs over most of the United States, is the fork-tailed bush katydid 
(Scudderia furcata). Figure 7 shows a male and a female, the 
female in the act of cleaning the pads on one of her hind feet. 


” 
418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The katydids are all very particular about keeping their feet clean, 
for it is quite necessary to have their adhesive pads always in perfect 
working order, but they are so continually stopping whatever they 
may be doing to lick one foot or another, like a dog scratching fleas, 
that it looks more like an ingrown habit with them than a necessary 
act of cleanliness. The fork-tailed katydid is a very unpretentious 
singer and has only one note, a high pitched zeep reiterated several 
times in succession. But it does not repeat the series continuously 
as most other singers do, and its music is likely to be lost to human 
ears in the general din from the jazzing bands of crickets. Yet 
occasionally its soft zeep, zeep, zeep may be heard from a near-by 
bush or from the lower branches of a tree. 


Fie. 8.—The oblong-winged katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, male 


The notes of other species have been described as 2ikkh, zikk. zikk, 
or zeet, zeet, zeet, and some observers have recorded two notes for 
the same species. Thus Scudder says that the day notes and thee 
night notes of Scudderia curvicauda differ considerably, the day 
note being represented by bz7wi, the night note, which is only half as 
long as the other, by tchw. (With a little practice the reader should 
be able to give a good imitation of this katydid.) Scudder further- 
more says that they change from the day note to the night note when 
a cloud passes over the sun as they are singing by day. 

The genus Amblycorypha includes a group of species having wider 
wings than those of the bush katydids._ Most of them are indifferent 
singers; but one, the oblong-winged katydid (A. oblongifolia), 
found over all the eastern half of the United States and southern 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 419 


Canada, is noted for its large size and dignified manners. A male 
(fig. 8), kept by the writer one summer in a cage, never once lost 
his decorum by the humiliation of confinement. He lived apparently 
a natural and contented life, feeding on grape leaves and on ripe 
grapes, obtaining the pulp of the latter by gnawing holes through 
the skin. He was always sedate, always composed, his motions 
always slow and deliberate. In walking he carefully lifted each foot 
and brought the leg forward with a steady movement to the new 
position, where the foot was carefully set down again. Only in the 
act of jumping did he ever make a quick movement of any sort. 
But his preparations for the leap were as calm and unhurried as his 
other acts: Pointing the head upward, dipping the abdomen slowly 
downward, the two long hind legs bending up in a sharp inverted 
V on each side of the body, one would think he was deliberately 
preparing to sit down on a tack, but all at once a catch seems to be 
released somewhere as he suddenly springs upward into the leaves 
overhead, at which he had taking such long and careful aim. 

For a long time the aristocratic prisoner uttered no sound, but at 
last one evening he repeated three times a squeaking note resembling 
shriek with the s much aspirated and with a prolonged vibration 
on the ze. The next evening he played again, making at first a weak 
swish, swish, swish, with the s very sibilant and the 7 very vibratory. 
But after giving this as a prelude he began a shrill shrve-e-e-e-k, 
shrie-e-e-e-k, repeated about six times, a loud sound described by 
Blatchley as a “creaking squawk—like the noise made by drawing 
a fine-toothed comb over a taut string.” 

The best known members of the round-headed katydids, and per- 
haps of the whole family, are the angular-winged katydids (fig. 9). 
These are large, maple-leaf green insects, much flattened from side 
to side, with the leaflike wings folded high over the back and 
abruptly bent on their upper margins, giving the creatures the hump- 
backed appearance from which they get their name of angular- 
winged katydids. The sloping surface of the back in front of the 
hump makes a large flat triangle, plain in the female, but in the 
male corrugated and roughened by the veins of the musical apparatus. 

There are two species of the angular-winged katydids in the 
United States, both belonging to the genus Alicrocentrwm, one dis- 
tinguished as the larger angular-winged katydid, M/. rhombifoliwm, 
and the other as the smaller angular-winged katydid, J/. retinerve. 
The females of the larger species (fig. 9), which is the more common 
one, reach a length of 234 inches measured to the tips of the wings. 
They lay flat, oval eggs, stuck in rows overlapping like scales along 
the surface of some twig or on the edge of a leaf. 

These katydids are attracted to lights and may frequently be 
found on warm summer nights in the shrubbery about the house, 


420 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


or even on the porch and the screen doors. They usually make 
their presence known by their soft but high-pitched notes resembling 
tzeet uttered in short series, the first notes repeated rapidly, the 
others successively more slowly as the tone becomes also less sharp 
and piercing. This is the song of the larger species and may be 


. : . . 


Fie, 9.—The larger angular-winged katydid, Microcentrum rhombifolium (one-fourth 
larger than natural size). Upper, a male; lower, a female 
written. tzeet-tzeet-tzeet-tzeet-tzek-tzek-tzek-tzuk-tzuk, though the 
high key and shrill tones of the notes must be imagined. Riley de- 
scribes the song as a series of raspings “as of a stiff quill drawn 
across a coarse file,” and Allard says the notes “are sharp, snapping 
crepitations and sound like the slow snapping of the teeth of a 
stiff comb as some object is slowly drawn across it.” He represents 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 421 


them thus: tek-ek-ek-eh-eh-ek-ek-ek-ek-ek-ch-tzip. But, however the 
song of Microcentrum is to be translated into English, it contains 
no suggestion of the notes of his famous cousin, the true katydid. 
Yet most people confuse the two species, or, rather, hearing the one 
and seeing the other, they draw the obvious conclusion that the 
one seen makes the sounds that are heard. 

The angular-winged katydids are very gentle and unsuspicious 
creatures, allowing themselves to be picked up without any attempt 
at escaping. But they are good fliers, and when launched into the 
air sail about like miniature airplanes, with their large wings spread 
out straight on each side. When at rest they have a comical habit 
of leaning over sideways as if their tall, flat forms were top-heavy. 


THE TRUE KATYDID 


We now come to that artist who bears by right the name of 
“katydid,” the insect (fig. 10) known to science as Pterophylla 


Fic. 10.—The true katydid, Pterophylla camellifolia, male (one-fourth larger than 
natural size) 


camellifolia, and to the American public as the greatest of insect 
singers. Whether the katydid is really a great musician or not, of 
course, depends upon the critic, but of his fame there can be no 
question, for his name is a household term as familiar as that of any 
of our own great artists, notwithstanding that there is no phono- 
graphic record of his music. To be sure, the cicada has more of a 
world-wide reputation than the katydid, for he has representatives 
in many lands, hut he has not put his song into words the public can 
understand. And if simplicity be the test of true art, the song of 
the katydid stands the test, for nothing could be simpler than 
merely katy-did, or its easy variations, such as katy, katy-she-did 
and katy-didn’t. 

Yet though the music of the katydid is known by ear or by repu- 
tation to almost every native American, but few of us are acquainted 


422 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 . 


with the musician himself. This is because he almost invariably - 
chooses the tops of the tallest trees for his stage and seldom descends 
from it. His lofty platform, moreover, is also his studiq, his home, 


Fic. 11.—The katydid in various attitudes. . 


A, usual position of male while singing. B, attitude while running rapidly on a 
smooth surface. C, preparing to leap from a vertical surface. D, a male seen from 
above. EH, a female showing the wide flat ovipositor 


and his world, and the reporter who would have a personal interview 
must be efficient in tree climbing. Occasionally, though, it happens 
that a singer may be located in a smaller tree where access to him 
is easier or from which he may be dislodged by shaking. The writer 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 423 


obtained one specimen, secured in this way on August 12, that lived 
till the 18th of October and furnished the following notes: 

The physical characters of the captive and some of his attitudes 
are shown in Figures 10 and 11. His length is 184 inches from the 
forehead to the tips of the folded wings, the front legs are longer 
and thicker than in most other members of the family, while the 
hind legs are unusually short. ‘The antenne, though, are extremely 
long, slender and very delicate filaments, 24% inches in length. 
Between the bases of the antennz on the forehead ther is a small 
conical projection, a physical character which separates the true 
katydid from the round-headed katydids and assigns him to the sub- 
family called the Pseudophyllinz, which includes, besides our species, 
many others that live mostly in the Tropics. The rear margins of 
the wings are evenly rounded and their sides strongly bulged out- 
ward as if to cover a very plump body, but the space between them 
is mostly empty and probably forms a resonance chamber to give 
tone and volume to the sound produced by the stridulating parts. 
What might be the katydid’s waistcoat, the part of the body ex- 
posed beneath the wings, has a row of prominent buttonlike swell- 
ings along the middle which rhythmically heave and sink with each 
respiratory movement. All the katydids are deep, abdominal 
breathers. 

The color of the katydid is plain green, with a conspicuous dark- 
brown triangle on the back covering the stridulating area of the 
wings. ‘The tips of the mouth parts are yellowish. The eyes are of 
a pale transparent green, but each has a dark center that, like the 
pupil of a painting, is always fixed upon you from whatever angle 
you retreat. 

The movements of the captive individual are slow, though in the 
open he can run rather rapidly, and when he is in a hurry he often 
takes the rather absurd attitude shown at B of Figure 11, with the 
head down and the wings and body elevated. He never flies and was 
never seen to spread his wings, but when making short leaps the 
wings are slightly fluttered. In preparing for a leap, if only one of 
a few inches or a foot, he makes very careful preparations, scrutiniz- 
ing the proposed landing place long and closely, though perhaps 
he sees better in the dark and acts then with more agility. If the 
leap is to be made from a horizontal surface he slowly crouches 
with the legs drawn together, assuming an attitude more familiar 
in a cat; but if the jump is to be from a vertical support he raises 
on his long front legs as at C of Figure 11, suggesting a camel 
browsing on the leaves of a tree. He sparingly eats leaves of oak 
and maple supplied to him in his cage, but appears to prefer fresh 
fruit and grapes and relishes bread soaked in water. He drinks 
rather less than most Orthopterans. 


424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


When the katydids are singing at night in the woods they appear 
to be most wary of disturbance, and often the voice of a person ap- 
proaching or a crackle under foot is sufficient to quiet a singer far 
overhead. The male in the cage never utters a note until he has been 
in darkness and quietness for a considerable time. But when he 
seems to be assured of solitude he starts his music, a sound of 
tremendous volume in a room, the tones incredibly harsh and rasping 
at close range, lacking entirely that melody they acquire with space 
and distance. It is only by extreme caution that the performer may 
be approached while singing, and even then the brief flash of a light 
is usually enough to silence those stentorian notes. Yet occasionally 
a glimpse may be had of the musician as he plays, most frequently 
standing head downward, the body braced rather stiffly on the legs, 
the front wings only slightly elevated, the tips of the hind wings 
projecting a little from between 
them, the abdomen depressed and 
breathing strongly, the long an- 
tennal threads waving about in 
all directions. Each syllable ap- 
pears to be produced by a separate 
series of vibrations made by a 


i, 


Art 


Soe 


(( 77 


O 


CC ((7 


i (| rapid shuffling of the wings, the 
PRR al middle one being more hurried 
FY ‘| and the last more conclusively 


[i 


stressed, thus producing the sound 
so suggestive of ka-ty-did’, ka-ty- 
did’, which is repeated regularly 
about 60 times a minute on warm 
nights. Usually at the start and 
often for some time only two 
notes are uttered, ka-ty, as if the 
player has difficulty in falling 
at once into the full swing of 
ka-ty-did. 

Fig. 12,—Wings and sound-making organs The structure of the wings and 
of the male katydid. A, left front wing the details of the stridulating 
showing the reutiy enlarged tymvenel parts are shown in Figure 12. 
B, base of right wing with large scraper The wings (A, B) fold vertically 
smal fle vein. C, under surface of ale against the sides of the body, but 
vein of left wing, showing large, flat, their inner basal parts form wide, 
coarse file (f) . : : 

stiff, horizontal, triangular flaps 
that overlap, the left on top of the right. A thick, sunken crosswise 
vein (fv) at the base of the left tympanum (7’m) is the file vein. It 
is shown from below at C where the broad, heavy file (f) is seen with 


INSECT MUSICIANS—-SNODGRASS 425 


its row of extremely coarse rasping ridges. The same vein on the 
right wing (B) is much smaller and has no file, but the inner basal 
angle of the tympanum is produced into a large lobe bearing a strong 
scraper (s) on its margin. 

The writer has listened to the katydids out of doors in Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and <Indiana. While 
the notes of the Hoosiers are not distinctly recalled, it is very notice- 
able that the song of the katydids about Washington is much less 
harsh and grating in tone than is that of the New Englanders. 
The katydids heard near Amherst, Mass., and near Wallingford, 
Conn., uttered always two syllables much more commonly than three, 
and the sounds can be represented only as a harsh sqgud-wak’, squa- 
wak’, squad-wak’, the second syllable a little longer than the first. 
This is not the case with those that say ka-ty. When there are three 
syllables the series is sgud-wd-wak’. If all New England katydids 
sing thus it is not surprising that some New England writers have 
failed to see how the insects ever got the name of “ katydid.” Scud- 
der says “their notes have a shocking lack of melody” and he 
represents the sound by wr. He attended a katydid concert at 
Springfield, Mass., and records that the song is usually of only two 
syllables: “ that is,” he says, “ they rasp their fore wings twice rather 
than thrice; these two notes are of equal (and extraordinary) em- 
phasis, the latter about one-quarter longer than the former; or if 
three notes are given, the first and second are alike and a little 
shorter than the last.” 

The katydids in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., certainly say 
“katy-did ” as plainly as any insect could. Of course the sound is 
more literally to be represented as ka hi-kak’, accented on the last 
syllable. When only two syllables are pronounced they are always 
the first two and the couplet sounds quite different from the squawk- 
ing sgud-wak’ of the New England katydids. Sometimes an indi- 
vidual in a band utters four syllables, “ katy-she-did” or ka ki-ka- 
kak’, and again a whole band is heard singing in four notes with 
only an occasional singer giving three. It is said that in certain 
parts of the South the katydid is called a “ cackle-jack,” a name 
which, it must be admitted, is a very literal translation of its notes, 
but one lacking in sentiment and unbefitting an artist of such repute. 
_ When we listen to insects singing, the question always arises of 
why they do it, and we might as well admit that we do not know what 
motive impels them. It is probably an instinct with the males to use 
their stridulating organs, but in many cases the tones emitted are 
clearly modified by the physical or emotional state of the player. 
The music seems in some way to be connected with the mating of 
the sexes, and the usual idea is that the sounds are attractive to the 
females. With many of the crickets, however, the real attraction that 


426 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the male has for the female is a liquid exuded on his back, the song 
apparently being a mere advertisement of his wares. In any case 
the ecstasies of love and passion ascribed to male insects in con- 
nection with their music are probably more fanciful than real. The 
subject is an enchanted field where the scientist has most often 
weakened and wandered from the narrow path of observed facts, 
where he has indulged in a freedom of imagination comparable only 
with that of a newspaper reporter chronicling some event of the 
daily news. Thus Blatchley, in describing the singing and wooing 
of the katydids in Indiana, says: 

“One idea alone possessed the minds of the male musicians. That 
idea was love passion— that greatest thing in the universe.’ Long 
and loud the cymbals sounded, each shuffle, each note, doubtless ac- 
companied by the wish that the next would call from the skies, from 
the branches above or about them—from anywhere, it mattered not— 
one of their form and kind.” The serenade, he further says, “ con- 
tinued almost unbroken from dark till dawn. A serenade it was in 
truth—a song of love—of passion, poured out in the listening ears 
of the other sex. At times a single player dropped out of the 
chorus. His work, his love calls had not been in vain. From some 
leafy retreat, where she had been hidden by day, a lady katydid 
slowly emerged, and, entranced by the song—by, to her ears, the 
tender wooing notes—drew nearer and nearer unto the charmed cir- 
cle whence the cymbals clanged and shuffled. Their notes became 
less vigorous. More softly they fell upon the ear, until finally as 
she coyly advanced they ceased and the caresses of antennee took their 
place.” 

The details in this report are too unconvincing and arouse sus- 
picion that much of the very interesting performance took place 
in Mr. Blatchley’s imagination as he “listened for hours” that 
August night in Indiana to the katydids’ serenade. We must suspect 
that the balmy midnight air, a silvery moon perhaps, and the me- 
lodious “clang and shuffle” of the eymbals also produced effects, 
and that the next morning there were many things interwoven in 
the memory of the listener that crept into the pleasing story he re- 
counts. 

Or also we may read from Riley: “ To the mind of the naturalist, 
trained in deciphering nature’s hieroglyphics, the chattering song is 
very plainly inspired by love. The male katydid doubtless feels 
something of the same satisfaction in playing to his companions, 
and especially to Katy, as a prima donna does in singing to an andi- 
ence. There is a pleasure in the act which is the outcome of its 
being; and the fact that the males are principally the players shows 
that the gift is not only a source of pleasure but one of much im- 
portance to the species; for the rivalry among the males is as great 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 427 


as among higher animals, and a good instrument becomes, in this 
light, most important to the individual and to the species. The best 
player wins his coveted love, while the feeble and the cripples stand 
no chance to impair the vigor of the race.” All such ideas need 
to be substantiated by more facts than are at hand at present on 
this interesting subject. 


THE CONEHEADS 


This group of the katydid family contains slender, grasshopper- 
like insects that have the forehead produced into a large cone and 
the face strongly receding, but which also possess long slender an- 
tenne that distinguish them from the true or shorthorn grasshop- 
pers. They constitute the subfamily Copiphorine. 


Fie. 13.—A conebead grasshopper (Neoconocephalus retusus). Upper, a male; lower, a 
female, with extremely long ovipositor 


One of the commonest and most widely distributed of the larger 
coneheads is the species known as Neoconocephalus ensiger, or the 
sword-bearing conehead. It is the female, however, that carries the 
sword; and it is not a sword either, but merely the immensely long 
egg-laying instrument properly called the ovipositor. The female 
conehead shown at B of Figure 13 has a similar organ, though she 
belongs to a species called retusus. The two species are very similar 
in all respects except for slight differences in the shape of the cone on 
the head. They look like slim, sharp-headed grasshoppers, 114 to 
184 inches in length, usually bright green in color, though some- 
times brown. 

The song of ensiger sounds like the noise of a miniature sewing 
machine, consisting merely of a long series of one note, tick, tick, 


428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


tick, tick, etc., repeated indefinitely. Scudder says ensiger begins 
with a note like b7w, then pauses an instant and immediately emits 
a rapid succession of sounds like chwé at the rate of about five per 
second and continues them an unlimited time. McNeil represents 


Fie. 14.—The robust cone- 
head, Neoconocephalus ro- 
bustus, in position of sing- 
ing, with fore wings sepa- 
rated and somewhat ele- 
vated, and head downward 


the notes as zip, zip, zip; Davis expresses 
them as ik, ik, ik; and Allard hears them as 
tsip, tsip, tsip. The song of retusus (fig. 13) 
is quite different. It consists of a long shrill 
whirr which Rehn and Hebberd describe as 
a continuous zeeeceeceee. The sound is not 
loud but is of a very high key, and rises in 
pitch as the player gains speed in his wing 
movements, till to some human ears it be- 
comes almost inaudible, though to others it 
is a plain and distinct screech. 

A large conehead and one with a much 
stronger instrument is the robust conehead, 
Neoconocephalus robustus (fig. 14). He is 
one of the loudest singers of American Or- 
thoptera, his song being an intense, continu- 
ous buzz, somewhat resembling that of a 
cicada. A caged specimen singing in a 
room makes a deafening noise. The prin- 
cipal buzzing sound is accompanied by a 
lower, droning hum, the origin of which is 
not clear but which is probably some second- 
ary vibration of the wings. The player 
always sits head downward while perform- 
ing, and the breathing motions of the abdo- 
men are very deep and rapid. The robust 
conehead is an inhabitant of dry sandy 
places along the Atlantic coast from Massa- 
chusetts to Virginia and, according to 
Blatchley, of similar places near the shore 
of Lake Michigan in Indiana. The writer 
made its acquaintance in Connecticut on the 
sandy flats of the Quinnepiac Valley, north 
of New Haven, where its shrill song may be 
heard on summer nights from long distances. 


THE MEADOW GRASSHOPPERS 


These are trim, slim little grasshopperlike insects, active by day, 
that live in moist meadows where the vegetation is always fresh and 
juicy. They constitute the subfamily Conocephaline of the katydid 
family, having conical heads like the last group, but being mostly 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 429 


of smaller size. There are numerous species of the meadow grass- 
hoppers, but most of them in the eastern part of the United States 
belong to two genera known as Orchelimum and Conocephalus. The 
most abundant and most widely distributed member of the first is 
the common meadow grasshopper, Orchelimum vulgare. A male is 
shown in Figure 15. He is a little over an inch in length, with head 
rather large for his size, and with big eyes of a bright orange color. 
The ground color of his body is greenish, but the top of the head 
and thoracic shield is occupied by a long triangular dark brown 
patch, while the stridulating area of the wings is marked by a brown 
spot at each corner. These little grasshoppers readily sing in con- 
finement, both in the day and at night. Their music is very un- 
pretentious and might easily be lost out of doors, consisting mostly 
of a soft, rustling buzz lasting two or three seconds. Often the buzz 
is preceded or followed by a series of clicks made by a slower move- 
ment of the wings. Frequently the player opens the wings for the 
start of the song with a single click, then proceeds with the buzz, 


Fig. 15——The common meadow grasshopper, Orchelimum vulgare, a member of the 
katydid family 


and finally closes with a few slow movements that produce the con- 
cluding series of clicks. But very commonly he gives only the buzz 
without prelude or staccato ending. 

Another common member of the genus is the agile meadow grass- 
hopper, Orchelimum agile. Its music is said to be a long zip, zip, 
zip, zee-e-e-¢, with the z¢p syllable repeated many times. These two 
elements, the zp and the zee, are characteristic of the songs of all 
the Orchelimums, some giving more stress to the first and others 
to the second, and sometimes either one or the other is omitted. 
A very pretty species of the genus is the handsome meadow grass- 
hopper, Orchelimum laticauda (or pulchellum) shown in Figure 16. 
When at rest both males and females usually sit close to a stem or 
leaf with the middle of the body in contact with the support and 
the long hind legs stretched out behind. Davis says the song of 
this species is a zip, zip, zip, 2, 2, 2, quite distinguishable from that 
of O. vulgare. 

Still smaller meadow grasshoppers belong to the genus Cono- 
cephalus, more commonly called Xiphidiwm. One of the commonest 


430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


species, the slender meadow grasshopper, C’. fasciatus, is shown 
in Figure 17. It is less than an inch in length, the body is 
green, the back of the thorax dark brown, 
the wings reddish-brown, and the back 
of the abdomen marked with a_ broad 
brown stripe. Allard says the song of 
this little meadow grasshopper may be 
expressed as tip, tip, tip, tseeeeeccececeec, 
but that the entire song is so faint as almost 
to escape the hearing. Piers describes 
it as plee-e-e-e-e-e-, tzit, tzit, teit, tet. 
Like the song of Orchelimum vulgare it 
apparently may either begin or end with 
staccato notes. 


THE SHIELD BEARERS 


Another large group of the katydid 
family is the subfamily Decticine, mostly 
cricketlike insects that live on the ground; 
but they have wings so short (fig. 18) 
that they are poor musicians and can 
claim but passing notice here. They 
are called “shield bearers” because the 
large back plate of the 
first body segment is more 
or less prolonged like a 
shield over the back. Most 
of the species live in the 
ere ee western parts of the United 

Orchelimum. laticauda. States where the indi- 

Upper, a male; lower, a yjduals sometimes become 

female 

so abundant as to form 
large and very destructive bands. One such 
species is the Mormon cricket, Anabrus simplex, 
and another is the Coulee cricket, Peranabrus 
scabricollis (fig. 18), of the dry central region ric. 17—The slen- 
of the State of Washington. The females of der meadow grass- 
° 5 hopper, Cono- 
these species are commonly wingless, but the — cepnaws fasci- 
males have short stubs of front wings that tus, one of the 
° . . smallest members 
retain the stridulating organs and enable them of the katydid 
to sing with a brisk chirp. tomb 

Still another large subfamily of the Tettigoniide is the Rhadopho- 
rine, including the insects known as camel crickets. But these are 
all wingless, and therefore silent. 


INSECT MUSICIANS——SNODGRASS 431 
THE CRICKET FAMILY 


The chirp of the cricket is probably the most familiar note of all 
Orthopteran music. But the only cricket commonly known to the 
public is the black field cricket, the lively chirper of our yards and 
gardens. His European cousin, the house cricket, is famous as the 
“cricket on the hearth” on account of his fondness for fireside 
warmth which so stimulates him that he must express his animation 
in song. This house cricket has been known as Gryllus since the 
time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and his name has been 
made the basis for the name of his family, the Gryllide, for there 
are numerous other crickets, some that live in trees, some in shrub- 
bery, some on the ground, and others in the earth. 


Wie. 18.—The Coulee cricket, Peranabrus scabricollis, male and female, an example of 
a cricket-like member of the katydid family 


The crickets have long slender antenne like those of the katydids, 
and also stridulating organs on the bases of the wings, and ears in 
their front legs. But they differ from the katydids in having only 
three joints in their feet (fig. 4,C). The cricket’s foot in this respect 
resembles the foot of the grasshopper (A), but usually differs from 
that of the grasshopper in having the basal joint smooth or hairy 
all around or with only one pad on the under surface. In most 
crickets also the second joint is very small. Some crickets have 
large wings, others have small wings, some no wings at all. The 
females are provided with long ovipositors for placing their eggs 
in twigs of trees or in the ground (figs. 21, 22). 

The musical or stridulating organs of the crickets are similar to 
those of the katydids, being formed from the veins of the bases of 
the front wings. But in the crickets the parts are equally developed 
on each wing, and it looks as if the crickets could play with either 
wing uppermost. Yet most of them consistently keep the right wing 
on top and use the file of this wing and the scraper of the left, just 
the reverse of the custom amongst the katydids. Yet there are 
exceptions to the rule amongst the crickets. It has been shown by 
Lutz that 2 per cent of a large number of individuals of the black 
field cricket, Gryllus assimilis, that he examined had the left wing 


432 . ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


uppermost. He found also that they keep the wings through life 
in whatever position they have at maturity, but that if the wings 
are changed artificially at the last molt before they become dry and 
stiff the crickets kept them in this altered position and when mature 
sing as well as any of the others. Amongst the females a larger 
percentage have the left wing normally on top. 

The front wings of male crickets are usually very broad and have 
the outer edges turned down in a wide flap that folds over the sides 
of the body when the wings are closed. The wings of the females 
are simpler and usually smaller. The differences between the front 


CST TS or BN 
htt 7 en 
LOL SOT 


Fic. 19.—The wings of a tree cricket. A, right front wing of an immature female, show- 
ing normal arrangements of veins: Sc, subcosta; R, radius; M, media; Cw, first branch 
of cubitus; Cus, second branch of cubitus; 1A, first anal. (From Comstock and Need- 
ham.) B, front wing of an adult female of the narrow-winged tree cricket. C, front 
wing of an immature male, showing widening of inner half to form vibrating area or 
tympanum, and modification of veins in this area. (From Comstock and Needham.) 
D, right front wing of adult male of the narrow-winged tree cricket, with veins iden- 
tified according to Comstock and Needham. The second branch of cubitus (Cuz) be- 
comes the curved file vein (fv). s, the scraper 


wings in the male and the female of one of the tree crickets (fig. 23) 
is shown at B and D of Figure 19. The inner half of the wing (or 
the rear half when the wing is extended) is very large in the male 
(D) and has only a few veins, which brace or stiffen the wide mem- 
branous vibratory area or tympanum. The inner basal part or anal 
area of the male wing is also larger than in the female and contains 
a prominent vein (Cw,) which makes a sharp curve toward the edge 
of the wing. This vein has the stridulating file on its under surface. 
The veins in the wing of an adult female (B) are comparatively 
simple, and those of a young female cricket (A) are more so. But 
the complicated venation of the male wing has been developed from 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 433 


the simple type of the female, which is that common to insects in 
general, as has been shown by Comstock and Needham. The wing 
of a young male (C) is not so different from that of a young female 
(A) but that the corresponding veins can be identified, as shown 
by the lettering. Going next to the wing of the adult male (D) it 
is an easy matter to determine what the veins are that have been 
so distorted to produce the stridulating apparatus. As Comstock 
says (Introduction to Entomology, p. 85): “It can be easily seen 
that the file is on that part of Cu, that is bent back toward the inner 
margin of the wing; the tympana are formed between the branches 
of cubitus (Cu,, Cu,); and the scraper (s) is formed at the outer 
end of the anal area.” When the tree crickets sing they elevate the 
wings above the back like two broad fans (figs. 23, 26) and move them 
sidewise so that the file of the right rubs over the scraper of the left. 


THE MOLE CRICKETS 


The mole crickets (fig. 20) are solemn crea- 
tures of the earth. They live like true moles 
in burrows underground, usually in wet fields 
or along streams. Their forefeet are broad and 
turned outward for digging like the front feet 
of moles. But the mole crickets differ from real 
moles in having wings, and sometimes they leave 
their burrows at night and fly about, being oc- 
casionally attracted to lights. Their front wings 
are short and lie flat on the back over the 
base of the abdomen, but the long hind wings py¢.. 20._A mole 
are folded lengthwise over the back and project ach alaaliae 
beyond the tip of the body. . 

Notwithstanding the gloomy nature of their habitat the male mole 
crickets sing. Their music, however, is solemn and monotonous, 
being always a series of loud, deep-toned chirps, like churp, churp, 
churp, repeated very regularly about a hundred times a minute and 
continued indefinitely if the singer is not disturbed. Since the notes 
are most frequently heard coming from a marshy field or from the 
edge of a stream, they might be supposed to be those of a small 
frog. It is difficult to capture a mole cricket in the act of singing 
for he is most likely standing at an opening in his burrow, into 
which he retreats before he is discovered. 

There are several species of mole crickets in the United States. 
The European one, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, has been introduced at 
a few places in the East. The common American species is Gryllo- 
talpa or Neocurtilla hexadactyla (fig. 20), while a larger species, 
XN. major, is known from the Middle West. 


434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


THE FIELD CRICKETS 


This group of crickets includes Gryllus as its typical member, but 
entomologists give first place to a smaller brown cricket called 
Nemobius. There are numerous species of the genus, but a widely 


Wine 


Wig = 
6 aS 


7 EN 
an ee 
\ 

lees 
\ LIFES Tro 


—— 


Fic. 21.—The striped ground cricket, Nemobius fasciatus. A,-B, females. C, a male. 
D, a female in the act of thrusting her ovipositor into the ground. E, a female with - 
ovipositor full length in the ground and extruding an egg from its tip. F, an egg 
in-the ground ; 


distributed one is V. vittatus, the striped ground cricket. This is a 
little cricket, about three-eighths of an inch in length, brownish in 
color, with three darker stripes on the abdomen, common in fields 
and dooryards (fig. 21). In the fall the females lay their eggs in 


INSECT MUSICIANS—-SNODGRASS 435 


the ground with their slender ovipositors (D, E) and the eggs (F) 
hatch the following summer. 

The song of the male Nemobius is a continuous twittering trill so 
faint that you must listen attentively to hear it. In singing the male 
raises his wings at an angle of about 45°. The stridulating vein is 
set with such fine ridges that they would seem incapable of produc- 
ing even those whispering Nemobius notes. Most of the musical in- 
struments of insects can be made to produce a swish, a creak, or a 
grating noise of some sort when handled with our clumsy fingers or 
with a pair of forceps, but only the skill of the living insect can bring 
from them the tones and the volume of sound they are capable of 
producing. 

We now come to our friend Gryllus, the black cricket (Fig. 22) so 
common everywhere in fields and yards and occasionally entering 
houses. The true house cricket of Europe, Gryllus domesticus, has 
become naturalized in this country and occurs in small numbers 
through the Eastern States. But our common native species is G'ryl- 
lus assimilis. Entomologists distinguish several varieties, though 
they are inclined to regard them all as belonging to the one species. 

Mature individuals of Gryllus are particularly abundant in the 
fall; in southern New England they appear every year at this season 
by the millions, swarming everywhere, hopping across the country 
roads in such numbers that it is impossible to ride or walk without 
crushing them. Most of the females lay their eggs in September and 
October, depositing them singly in the ground (Fig. 22, D, E) in the 
same way that Nemobius does. These eggs hatch about the 1st of 
June the following year. But at this same time another group of in- 
dividuals reaches maturity, a group that hatched in midsummer of 
the preceding year and passed the winter in an immature condition. 
The males of these begin singing at Washington during the last part 
of May, in Connecticut the 1st of June, and may be heard until the 
end of June. Then there is seldom any sound of Gryllus until the 
middle of August, when the males of the spring group begin to ma- 
ture. From now on their notes become more and more common and 
by early fall they are to be heard almost continuously day and night 
until frost. 

The notes of Gryllus are always vivacious, usually cheerful, some: 
times angry intone. They are merely chirps and may be known from 
all others by a broken or vibratory sound. There is little music in 
them but the player has enough conceit to make up for this lack. Two 
vigorous males that were kept in a cage together with several females 
gave each other little peace. Whenever one began to play his fiddle 
the other started up, to the plain disgust oP dis first one, and either 
was always greatly annoyed and provoked to. anger if any of the 


436 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


females happened to run into him while he was playing. If one male 
was fiddling alone and the other approached him, the first dashed 
at the intruder with jaws open, increasing the speed of his strokes at 


Fig. 22.—The common black cricket, Gryllus assimilis. A, male with wings raised in 
attitude of singing. B, female. C, young crickets recently hatched (enlarged three 
times). D, a female beginning to insert her ovipositor into the ground. HEH, female 
with ovipositor buried full length in ground 


the same time till the notes became almost a shrill whistle. The other 
male usually retaliated by playing too, in an apparent attempt to 
outfiddle the first. The chirps from both sides now came quicker and 


quicker, their pitch mounting higher and higher till each player 
reached his limit. Then both would stop and #egin over again. 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 437 


Neither male ever inflicted any actual damage on his rival, and in 
spite of their savage threats, neither was ever seen really to grasp 
any part of the other with his jaws. Either would dash madly 
at a female that happened to disturb him while fiddling, but neither 
was ever seen to threaten a female with open jaws. 

The weather has much influence on the spirits of the males; their 
chirps are always loudest and their rivalry keenest when it is bright 
and warm. Setting their cage in the sun on cold days always started 
the two males at once to singing. Out of doors, though the crickets 
sing in all weather and at all hours, variations of their notes in tone 
and strength according to the temperature are very noticeable. This 
is not due to any effect of humidity on their instruments, for the 
two belligerent males kept in the house never had the temper on 
cold and gloomy days that characterized their actions and their song 
on days that were warm and bright. This, in connection with the 
fact that their music is usually aimed at each other in a spirit clearly 
suggestive of vindictiveness and anger, is all good evidence that 
Gryllus sings to express himself and not to “charm the females.” 
‘In fact, it is often hard to feel certain whether he is singing or 
swearing. If we could understand the words we might be shocked 
at the awful language he is hurling at his rival. However, swearing 
is only a form of emotional expression, and singing is another. 
Gryllus, like an opera singer, simply expresses a// his emotions in 
music, and, whether we can understand the words or not, we under- 
stand the sentiment. 

At last one of the two caged rivals died; whether from natural 
causes or by foul means was never ascertained. He was alive early 
on the day of his demise but apparently weak, though still intact. 
In the middle of the afternoon, however, he lay on his back, his 
hind legs stretched out straight and stiff; only a few movements of 
the front legs showed that life was not yet quite extinct. One antenna 
was lacking and the upper lip and adjoining parts of the face were 
gone, evidently chewed off. But this is not necessarily evidence that 
death had followed violence, for in cricketdom violence more com- 
monly follows death; that is, cannibalism is substituted for inter- 
ment. A few days before, a dead female in the cage had been de- 
voured quickly, all but the skull. After the death of the male the 
remaining one no longer fiddled so often, nor with the same sharp 
challenging tone as before. Yet this could not be attributed to sad- 
ness; he had despised his rival and had clearly desired to be rid of 
him; his change was due rather to the lack of any special stimulus 
for expression. 


1454—25——_29 


438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


THE TREE CRICKETS 


The unceasing ringing that always rises on summer evenings as 
soon as the shadows begin to darken, that shrill melody of sound that 
seems to come from nothing but from everywhere out of doors, is 
mostly the chorus of the tree crickets, the blend of notes from in- 
numerable harpists playing unseen in the darkness. This sound must 
be the most familiar of alt insect sounds, but the musicians them- 
selves are but little known to the general public. And when one 


Fic. 23.—The snowy tree cricket, Oecanthus. niveus. Two upper figures males, the one 
on right with wings raised vertically in attitude of singing; below a female, with 
narrow wings folded close to body 


of them happens to come to the window or into the house and plays 
in solo the sound is so surprisingly loud that the player is not sus- 
pected of being one of that band whose mingled notes are heard 
outside softened by distance and muffled by screens of foliage. 

Out of doors the music of an individual cricket is so elusive that 
even when you think you have located the exact bush or vine from 
which it comes, the notes seem to shift and dodge—surely you think 
the player must be under that leaf, but when you approach your ear 
to it the sound as certainly comes from another over yonder, but 
here you are equally convinced again that it comes from still another 
place farther off. Finally, though, it strikes the ear with such in- 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 439 


tensity that there can be no mistaking the source of its origin, and 
right there in plain sight on a leaf sits a little, delicate, slim-legged, 
pale green insect with hazy transparent sails outspread above its 
back. But can such an insignificant creature be making such a 
deafening sound! It has required very cautious tactics to have ap- 
proached thus close without stopping the music, and it needs but 
a touch on stem or leaf to make it cease. But now those gauzy 
sails that before were a blurred vignette have acquired a definite 
outline, and a little more disturbance may cause them to be lowered 
and spread flat on the creature’s back. The music will not begin 
anew until you have passed a period of silent waiting. Then sud- 
denly those lacy films go up, once more their outlines blurr, and that 
intense scream again pierces your ear. In short, you are witness- 
ing a private performance of the broad-winged tree cricket, 
Ocecanthus latipennis. 

But if you pay attention to the notes of other singers you will 
observe that there is a variety of airs in the medley going on. 
Many others are long trills like the one just identified, lasting in- 
definitely, but others are softer, purring notes about two seconds 
in length, while still others are short beats repeated regularly a 
hundred or more times every minute. The last are the notes of the 
snowy tree cricket, Oecanthus niveus, so-called on account of his 
paleness. He is really green in color, but a green of such a very 
pale shade that he looks almost white in the dark. The male (fig. 
23) is a little longer than half an inch, his wings are wide and flat, 
overlapping when folded on the back, with the edges turned down 
against the sides of the body. The female is heavier bodied than 
the male, but her wings are narrow and when folded are furled 
along the back. She has a long ovipositor for inserting her eggs into 
the bark of trees. 

The males of the snowy cricket reach maturity and begin to sing 
about the middle of July. The singer raises his wings vertically 
above the back and vibrates them sideways so rapidly that they are 
momentarily blurred with each note. The sound is that treat, treat, 
treat, treat already described, repeated regularly, rhythmically, and 
monotonously all through the night. At the first of the season there 
may be about 125 beats every minute, but later, on hot nights, the 
strokes become more rapid and mount to 160 a minute. In the fall 
again the rate decreases on cool evenings to perhaps a 100. And 
finally, at the end of the season, when the players are benumbed 
with cold, the notes become hoarse bleats repeated slowly and ir- 
regularly as if produced with pain and difficulty. 

The several species of tree crickets belonging to the genus Oecan- 
thus are similar in appearance, though the males differ somewhat 
in the width of the wings and some species are more or less diffused 


440 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


with a brownish color. But on their antenne most species bear dis- 
tinctive marks (fig. 24) by which they may be easily identified. The 
snowy cricket, for example, has a single oval spot of black on the 
under side of each of the two basal antennal joints (fig. 24,C). An- 
other, the narrow-winged tree cricket, has a spot on the second joint 
and a black J on the first (A, B). A third, the four-spotted cricket 
(D), has a dash and dot side by side on each joint- A fourth, the 
black-horned or striped tree cricket (E), has two spots on each joint 
more or less run together, or sometimes has the whole base of the 
antenna blackish, while the color may also spread over the fore 
parts of the body and, on some individuals, form stripes along the 
back. <A fifth species, the broad-winged (F), has no marks on the 
antennee, which are uniformly brownish. 

The narrow-winged tree cricket is almost everywhere associated 
with the snowy, but its notes are very easily distinguished. They con- 


Fic. 24.—Marks on two basal segments of antenne distinguishing different species of 
tree crickets 
A, B, Oencanthus angustipennis. C, nireus. D, quadripunctatus. B, nigricornis. F, 
latipennis. 


sist of slower, purring sounds usually prolonged about two seconds 
and separated by intervals of the same length, but as fall approaches 
they become slower and longer. Always they are sad in tone and 
sound far off. 

The three other common tree crickets, the black-horned or striped 
cricket, Oecanthus nigricornis, the four spotted, O. nigricornis quad- 
ripunctatus, and the broad-winged, O. latipennis, are all trillers; 
that is, their music consists of a long, shrill whirr kept up indefi- 
nitely. Of these the broad-winged cricket makes the loudest sound 
and the one predominant near Washington. The black-horned is 
the common triller farther north, and is particularly a daylight 
singer. In Connecticut his shrill note rings everywhere along the 
roadsides on warm bright afternoons of September and October as 
the player sits on leaf or twig fully exposed to the sun. At this 
season also both the snowy and the narrow-winged sing by day, but 
usually later in the afternoon and generally from more concealed 
places. 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 441 


We should naturally like to know why these little creatures are 
such persistent singers and of what use their music is to them. Do 
the males really sing .to charm and attract the females as is usually 
presumed? We do not know; but sometimes as a male sings a 
female approaches him from behind, noses about on his back and 
soon finds there a deep basin-like cavity situated just behind the 
bases of the elevated wings. This basin contains a clear liquid 
which the female proceeds to lap up very eagerly as the male re- 
mains quiet with wings upraised though he has ceased to play 
(fig. 25). We must suspect, then, that in this case the female has 
been attracted to the male rather by his confectionery offering than 


AY) 
y 


fY Ky 4 
NAN 
vA 
‘ 


Fic. 25.—A female tree cricket feeding on the liquid exuded from the back of the male 
while the latter holds his wings elevated in attitude of singing. (Oecanthus angusti- 
pennis, enlarged 3% times) 


by his music. The purpose of the latter, therefore, would appear 
to be to advertise to the female the whereabouts of the male, who 
she knows has sweets to offer, or if the liquid is sour or bitter it is 
all the same, the female likes it and comes after it. If, now, this 
luring of the female sometimes ends in marriage we may see here 
the real reason for the male’s possessing his music-making organs 
and his instinct to play them so continuously. 

A male cricket with his front wings raised and seen from above 
and behind as he might look to a female is shown in Figure 26. 
The basin (B) on his back is a deep cavity on the dorsal plate of 
the third thoracic segment. Two deeper pits in the bottom are 
covered with fringes of long hairs, which Parrott and Fulton say 
are glandular. But also a pair of large branching glands (fig. 
27, Gl) within the body open just inside the rear lip of the basin, 


4492 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and these glands must furnish the bulk of the liquid that the female 


obtains. 


There is another kind of tree cricket belonging to another genus, 
Neowabia, called the two-spotted tree cricket, V. bipunctata, on ac- 


count of two pairs of dark spots on the 
wings of the female. This cricket is 
larger than any of the species of Oencan- 
thus and is of a pinkish-brown color. It 
is widely distributed over the eastern half 
of the United States, but is compara- 
tively rare and seldom met with. Allard 
says its notes are low, deep, mellow trills 
continued for a few seconds and separated 
by short intervals, as are the notes of 
the narrow-winged Oecanthus, but that 
their tone more resembles that of the 


Fie. 26.—A male of the broad- 
winged tree cricket with 
wings elevated in position of 
singing, seen from above and 
behind, showing the basin 
(B) on his back into which 
the liquid is exuded that at- 
tracts the female 


4, B). 


notes of the broad-winged. 
THE BUSH CRICKETS 


The bush crickets differ from the other 
crickets in having the middle joint in the 
foot larger and shaped more like the 
third joint in the foot of a katydid (fig. 
Amongst the bush crickets there 


is one notable singer very common in the neighborhood of Washing- 
ton. This is the jumping bush cricket, Ovocharis saltator, who comes 


on the stage late in the season, about the 
middle of August or shortly after. His 
notes are loud, clear, piping chirps with 
a rising inflection toward the end, sug- 
gestive of the notes of a small tree toad, 
and they at once strike the listener as 
something new and different in the insect 
program. The players, however, are at 
first very hard to locate, for they do not 
perform continuously—one note seems to 
come from here, a second from over there, 
and a third from a different angle, so that 
it is almost impossible to place any one of 
them. But after a week or so the crickets 


Fic. 27.—The back of the third 


thoracic segment of the 
broad-winged tree cricket, 
with its basin (B) that re- 
ceives the secretion from the 
glands (Gl) inside the body 


become more numerous and each player more persistent till soon the 
notes are the predominant sounds in the nightly concerts, standing 
out loud and clear against the whole tree cricket chorus. As Riley 
says, this chirp “is so distinctive that when once studied it is never 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 448 


Jost amid the louder racket of the katydids and other night 
choristers.” 

After the 1st of September it is not hard to locate one of the per- 
formers, and when discovered with a flash light, he is found to be a 
medium-sized, brown, short-legged cricket, built somewhat on the 
style of Gryllus but smaller (fig. 28). The male, however, while 
singing raises his wings straight up, after the manner of the tree 
crickets, and he too carries a basin of liquid on his back much 
sought after by the female. In fact the liquid is so attractive to 
her that, at least in a cage, she is sometimes so persistent in her 
efforts to obtain it that the male is clearly annoyed and tries to 
avoid her. One male was observed to say very distinctly by his 
actions as he repeatedly tried 
to escape the nibbling of a 
female, presumably his wife 
since she was taken with him 
when captured, “I do wish 
you would quit pestering me 
and let me sing!” MHere is 
another piece of evidence sug- 
gesting that the male cricket 
sings to express his own emo- 
tions, whatever they may be, 
and not primarily to attract 
the female. But if, as in the 
case of the tree crickets, his 
music tells the female where 
she may find her favorite con- 
fection and this in turn leads F'¢. 28.—The jumping bush cricket, Oro- 

: charis saltator. Male above, female below 
to matrimony, when the male 
is in the proper mood, it suggests a practical use and a reason for 
the stridulating apparatus of the male. 


THE CICADA FAMILY 


The cicada (fig. 29) needs but little introduction when it is 
explained that he is the insect popularly though incorrectly known 
as the “locust.” The loud song of those species that come every 
year is always a feature of the season’s daytime program from 
midsummer till early fall, while the chorus of the 17-year species 
is a special event of early summer wherever and whenever a brood 
appears. 

The ancient Greeks knew the cicada, but called him Tettix. 
They appreciated his music to such an extent that they kept him 
captive in cages to hear him sing. sop, however, who always 


444 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


found the weak spot in everybody’s character, wrote a fable about 
the Tettix and the ant in which the Tettix, or cicada, after having 
sung all summer, asked a bit of food from the ant when the chill 
winds of coming winter struck him unprovided. But the prac- 
tical ant replied: “ Well, now you can dance.” This is a very 
unjust piece of satire, because the moral is drawn in favor of the 
ant. Human musicians have learned their lesson and sign their 
contracts with the box-office management in advance. But the whole 
story about the cicada and the ant is a very improbable tale, because 
the cicada can eat only liquid food and the common ant keeps only 
solid provender in his cellar. All the cicadas have a long beak 


Fig, 29.—One of the cicadas that are heard every year, Tibicen pruinosa (a little larger 
than natural size) 


through which they extract sap from the twigs of trees, if they 
take any food at all (see pp. 393 to 396 of Smithsonian Report for 
1919), and the cicada of the fable would have starved on anything 
the ant might have offered. 

There are a number of species of cicadas that come every year. 
They are known as locusts, harvest flies, and dog-day cicadas, and 
are the insects that sit in the trees on warm afternoons and make 
those long, shrill sounds so suggestive of hot weather. Some give 
a rising and falling tone to their song, like zwing, zwing, zwing, 
zwing, others a rattling sound, and still others make just a continuous 
whistling buzz. Then there is the 17-year species that appears in 
large swarms somewhere every few years. Each individual lives in 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 445 


the earth for most of 17 years in immature stages, but there are 
many broods and each brood has its emergence year independent of 
the others. In the South there is a 13-year race of this same species. 
Any large brood of the periodical cicada creates a great disturbance 
when it issues and the matured adults begin their daily choruses 
in the trees. The first notes are soft purring sounds, generally heard 
from individuals sitting low in the bushes, probably those that have 
but recently emerged from the ground. The next is a longer note, 
characterized by a rougher or burr sound lasting about five seconds, 
always with a falling inflection at the end. This song is popularly 
known as the “ Pharaoh” note. Finally, when the swarm is collected 
in the trees, there is the grand concert of long burr-r-r-r-like notes, 
repeated all day and day after day till the middle of June, by which 
time the females have deposited the eggs for the next generation, and 
the concerts end with the 
death of the performers. 


SS 7; 
The cicadas belong to LG 
a different order of in- Se Cea) gan, 


sects from that of the ates <> 
grasshoppers, katy dids, wae SS 
and crickets, being mem- mee eN 
bers of the Hemiptera, all rman, ee 

é els [—] . 
of which have sucking in- —— 
stead of biting mouth Sy 


parts. The cicadas, more- 
S . 4 Fie. 30.—A male of the 17-year cicada (Tibicina 
over, produce their music septendecim), with wings elevated to show the 


by a quite different meth- sound-producing drums or tympana (7'’m) on the 
% sides of the first abdominal segment 

od from that used by any 

of the Orthoptera. Just back of the base of each hind wing, in the 
position of the ear of the grasshopper, there is an oval membrane 
like the head of a drum set into a solid rim of the body wall. In 
the periodical cicada the drums are exposed and are easily seen when 
the wings are lifted (fig. 30, 7m). In most of the other species they 
are covered by a flap of the body wall. The cicada, however, does 
not beat his drums; the drum heads are set into vibration by a 
pair of great muscles attached to them inside the body (fig. 31, A, B, 
TmMcl). Each drum or tympanum (7’m) is ribbed, the number of 
ribs varying with different species. 

A membrane or thin sheet of any material which produces a sound 
by vibrating must have air of equal pressure on both sides of it 
and air free to respond to any changes of pressure. The drum head 
of the cicada thus could produce no sound if its inner face were in 
contact with the viscera or blood of the body cavity, and between 
the two tympana there is actually a great air cavity which extends 


1454—25——30 


446 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


far back into the abdomen (fig. 31, A, Air Sc). Its walls are very 
thin and are closely applied to the inner faces of the tympana. The 
whole abdomen of the cicada is, therefore, virtually a drum. Besides 
the drum heads themselves there are two other pairs of large mem- 
branes in the body wall below them, likewise covered internally by 
the walls of the airsac. One pair of these membranes is particularly 
thin and tense and must act as secondary resounding boards to give 
added resonance to the sound produced by the drums. These lower 
membranes are concealed above valvelike flaps of the body wall 
projecting backward below them, but when the cicada begins to play 
his drums he elevates the abdomen a little and thus opens the space 


Fig. 31.—The abdomen and sound-making organs of the 17-year cicada. A, the abdo- 
men cut open from above to show the large air sac (AirSé) it contains, and the great 
tympanal muscles (7’mMcl) that vibrate the drums or tympana (7m). Noe, the back of 
the third thoracic segment carrying the hind wings (Ws) cut off near their bases. 
The arrows indicate the position of the air holes or spiracles on the sides that open 
into the air sac. B, inner view of right side of first two segments of abdomen, show- 
ing the right tympanal muscle (TmMcl) attached to the tympanum (7m) and the 
Spiracle (ISp) of the first segment; IT—JIIT, IS—IIIS, dorsal and ventral plates of 
first three abdominal segments; DMcl, VMcl, dorsal and ventral longitudinal muscles; 
n, hinge between abdomen and thorax; wu, supporting plate of tympanal muscles 


between the membranes and their coverings. At the end of the song 
the abdomen drops down again. 

It has generally been supposed that the air chamber of the 
cicada’s body is a part of the tracheal or respiratory system, cor- 
responding with the smaller air sacs of other insects; but a recent 
investigator, L. M. Hickernell, claims that it is a part of the ali- 
mentary canal. The present writer described and figured it in a 
former paper (p. 403, Smithsonian Report for 1919) as a tracheal 
air sac receiving its air through the first spiracles or breathing 
pores of the abdomen. Since then he has examined other species 
and finds these spiracles always opening directly into the sac, as 
indicated by the arrows on Figure 31, A. In freshly emerged in- 
dividuals of one species the sac is clearly double, being divided 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 447 


lengthwise by a medium septum. It is present in the females, 
which shows that it is not necessarily an accessory of the sound-pro- 
ducing apparatus, though it has become a necessary part of this 
organ in the male. If it is a part of the alimentary canal it is dif- 
ficult to explain how it is always full of gas, and if this gas does not 
communicate with the exterior air, as does the air in an ordinary 
musical drum, it is difficult to see why it should not impede the 
vibration of the tympana. The anatomy of these parts needs yet 
further investigation. 

A well-known writer of popular fiction says this of the cicada: 
“These wing shields” (meaning the front wings) “are divided 
into several sections by the veins that hold the transparent parts 
securely, and the outer edge has a stout rim. Using these rims for 
the strings, the crisp space for sounding boards, and the femur of 
the hind legs for bows, the locust amazed us by not singing at all, 
for he fiddled away gayly as he led the insect orchestra.” This is 
bad enough, but the paragraph ends thus, “and they even played in 
flight. I could not see how they fiew, and fiddled on the wing 
shields at the same time, but repeatedly I saw them do it.” An ac- 
companying photograph leaves no doubt of the identity of the in- 
sect described—it is the 17-year locust or cicada. No particular 
harm is done when a scientist makes a mistake and writes something 
that is not true, because his works are read by few except other 
scientists, and they soon take him to account for his error; but 
it is deplorable when a popular writer becomes careless of the facts, 
because his or her statements are read by the multitude uneducated 
in matters of natural history and are widely accepted as the truth. 


THE SUPPOSED HEARING ORGANS OF INSECTS 


After seeing how well provided some insects are with sound-pro- 
ducing organs, our curiosity is aroused to know what sound-receiv- 
ing apparatus they possess. But here at once we are confronted by 
that gulf which separates the external from the internal, the 
physical from the psychic. If by some magic one of us could be 
transformed for a day into an insect and thus be permitted to think 
with its brain, feel with its nerves, and perceive with its sense 
organs, we should know much more about insect psychology than 
we probably ever shall know by our methods of dissection and ex- 
perimentation. Insect sense organs are so different from our own 
that even an accurate knowledge of their structure gives us no cer- 
tain index of their use, and conclusive experiments on their func- 
tions are so difficult to devise and so difficult to conduct that there 
is yet little unanimity of opinion on any of the senses of insects 
except that of sight. 


448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


As to organs of hearing, everyone knows that insects do not have 
ears such as ours on the sides of their heads, yet it is surprising 
to most people to learn that some of them may have auditory organs 
on the sides of the body or in the legs. The grasshopper, for example, 


Wig. 32.—The Carolina locust, a grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina), with front wing 
elevated to show the large “ear” (¢) on side of first abdominal segment. (1% times 
natural size) 


has a large cavity on each side of its first abdominal segment which 
has a tense eardrumlike membrane or tympanum stretched over its 
inner surface (fig. 32, ¢). Air sacs lie against the inside face of the 


Fic. 33.—Details of the ‘‘ear” of the Carolina locust (greatly enlarged). A, external 
view of the ear in surrounding part of first abdominal segment (J7'). d, upper sup- 
porting arm of internal peg (B, Pg) of tympanum; ZW, wall of external ear cavity; 
P, pear-shaped thickening of tympunum; Pt, external pit of tympanum forming the 
internal peg (B, Pg); Sp, first abdominal spiracle s* Tm, tympanum; v, lower support- 
ing arm of the tympanal peg. B, inner view of the wall of the ear cavity (EW), the 
tympanum (7m) and other parts shown in A. The external pit (A, Pt) forms a large 
internal peg (Pg) to which is attached the sense body or Miiller’s organ (SB) which 
receives the auditory nerve (Nv). Mcl, the tensor muscle of the tympanum 


membrane, which would seem to furnish the proper statical condi- 
tion to allow it to vibrate freely with sound waves of the air. At- 
tached to the inner surface of the tympanum, moreover, there is a 


complicated sensory apparatus (fig. 33, B). This consists of a 
cellular body (S&) known as Miiller’s organ, which is continuous 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 449 


at its outer end with the hypodermis or cellular layer of the body 
wall and at its inner end with a nerve (Vv) from one of the ventral 
ganglia. The organ consists of a main body and a slender branch. 
The former is attached by a wide base to a hollow peglike ingrowth 
of the tympanum (Pg), formed by a pit on the external surface 


Fic. 34.—Details of sensory structures of the grasshopper’s ear. A, the tympanal sense 
body or Miiller’s organ (SB) of Dissosteira carolina, attached to the peg (Pg) and the 
pear-shaped thickening (P) of the tympanum. d, v, thickenings of the tympanum 
forming dorsal and ventral arms supporting the peg (Pg). B, the same more enlarged 
and showing internal structure of the sense body, which has two divisions, the larger 
attached to the peg (Pg), the other attached to the pear-shaped support (P). CCl, 
cap cells; d, dorsal arm of peg; Nw, nucleus of enclosing membrane; Nv, nerve; P, 
pear-shaped support of branch of sense body; Pg, peg supporting main part of sense 
body; SCls, sense cells; Sco, scolopala; v, ventral arm of peg. C, a scolopala and its 
axial fiber (Ff), greatly enlarged. D, a single series of cells from the sense body of 
Acridium aegytpticum (from Schwabe), consisting of a cap cell (CCl), an enveloping 
cell (HCl), and a sense cell (Scl). The enveloping cell contains a scolopala (Sco) and 
a vacuole (Vac), both traversed by a fiber (Ff) from the sense cell. E, details of an 
enclosing cell and scolopala (from Schwabe). fF, surface view of a scolopala, greatly 
magnified; G, optical section of the same (from Schwabe). 


(A, Pt). The peg is supported by two arms or thickenings of the 
tympanum (d,v) that make a wide angle with each other. The 
branch of the sense body is attached to a pear-shaped thickening (P) 
of the tympanum. 

The sense body itself consists of a mass of cells arranged in two 
groups (fig. 34, B), one forming the main part of the body connected 
with the peg (Py), and the other prolonged into the branch sup- 


450 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ported by the pear-shaped nodule (P) of the tympanum. The cells 
directly attached to the peg form a thick outermost layer of large 
cells called the cap cells (CCl). Internal to them is a region of 
slenderer cells containing minute, brownish, peg-shaped rods known 
as the scolopale (Sco). The basal part of the organ consists of a 
mass of oval cells called the sense cells (SC7s) because their inner 
ends are in direct continuity with fibers of the nerve (Vv). The 
branch of the sense body swells at its middle to a spindle-shaped 
thickening containing the same elements as the other part, viz. long- 


Fic. 35.—The “auditory organ.” of the front leg of Decticus, a member of the katydid 
family (simplified from Schwabe). A, cross-section of the leg through the auditory 
organ, showing the ear slits (e) leading into the large ear cavities (H, H) with the 
tympana (7m, 7m) on their inner faces. Between the tympana are two trachee (Tra, 
Tra) dividing the leg cavity into an upper and a lower channel (BC, BC). The 
sensory apparatus forms a crest on the outer surface of the inner trachea, each ele- 
ment consisting of a cap cell (CCl), an enveloping cell (HCl) containing a scolopala 
(Sco), and a sense cell (Scl). Ct, the thick cuticula forming the hard wall of the leg. 
B, surface view of the “crest” of the trachea, showing the sensilla graded in size 
from above downward. The sense cells (Scl) are attached to the nerve (Nv) along 
the inner side of the leg 


necked cap cells (CCl) attached to the support (P), and proximal 
cells containing scolopale (Sco) and prolonged basally to the sense 
cells. 

It is evident that the essential parts of this organ must be the sco- 
lopale since they are the only distinctive structures in it. These 
rods may be separated from the enveloping cells by gently dissect- 
ing and crushing the sense body, and one so isolated is shown at 
C of Figure 34. The detail structure of a scolopala and its inclos- 
ing cells, as described by Schwabe, is shown at D, E, F, and G. 
The scolopale (D, Sco) and a large vacuole (Vac) at its base are 
contained in the enveloping cell (#'C7). The vacuole, according to 


INSECT MUSICIANS—SNODGRASS 451 


Schwabe, contains a transparent liquid, and both vacuole and sco- 
lopala are traversed by a fine fiber (/) from the sense cell, which 
ends in a dark body occupying the tip of the scolopala ((). 

Since no two investigators have described the scolopale or their 
enveloping cells exactly alike, too much reliance should not be placed 
on the details as given by any particular writer; but scolopale in 
similar combinations of cells are found widely distributed in special 
organs of many insects. The so-called “ear” in the front leg of a 
cricket or katydid has a structure essentially the same as that of the 
abdominal organ of the grasshopper... There is an oval tympanum 
on each side of the tibia near its upper end, and between the two 
there are tracheal air tubes apparently giving a balanced air pres- 
sure on both surfaces. In the crickets the tympana are exposed on 
the surface of the leg; in the katydids they are concealed in pockets 
(fig. 85, #’, #') opening by narrow slits on the surface (figs. 6, D, and 
35, A,e). On the outer face of the inner trachea of the two between 
the tympana there is a long crest, a cellular mass consisting of ex- 
ternal cap cells (fig. 85, A, CC7), and of internal enveloping cells 
(#Cl) containing short scolopale (Sco) and connected with a series 
of sense cells (SCl) that receive branches from a nerve (B, Vw) 
lying along the inner edge of the trachea. The scolopale and their 
containing cells in this organ decrease in size from above downward, 
as shown at B of Figure 35, and this has suggested that they are 
sound-receiving organs graded to respond to different notes. There 
are other sensory cell groups associated with this structure in the 
crickets and katydids which make the tibial organs of these insects 
somewhat more complicated than shown in the figure. 

The connection of the scolopala-containing cells with eardrumlike 
membranes in the Orthoptera is the principal evidence in favor of the 
idea that they are auditory organs. But similar structures occur in 
other insects that have no vibratory surfaces. In the legs of the 
honeybee, as described by McIndoo, and in other Hymenoptera there 
are groups of cells containing scolopale. These are connected at one 
end with the hypodermis and at the other with a nerve and have the 
same essential structure as the tympanal sense body of the grass- 
hopper, except for the lack of the tympanum. Likewise some insect 
larvee have similar cell structures in the sides of the body segments, 
but these are suspended by cords and have received the name of 
chordotonal organs. 

Experimental evidence of the hearing powers of insects is at pres- 
ent very meager, but it would be surprising if insects do not hear the 
sounds they themselves produce. Many insects have sense organs in 
the second joint of the antenna, which are most highly developed in 


452 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the gnats and mosquitoes, and in these forms have been described 
as containing rods similar to the scolopale. Some writers believe 
that these are organs of hearing. 

Our ignorance or lack of exact knowledge of the senses of insects 
in general suggests that the next important line of investigation in 
entomology should be in the direction of a study of their psychic 
activities, call them tropisms, or what you will. A more intimate 
understanding of the senses and perceptive powers of insects: is 
important scientifically and practically as leading to a more intel- 
ligent development of methods for combating those species that are 
inimical to us. 


THE GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO? 


By ZELIA NUTTALL 


[With 4 plates] 


As a preliminary to a description of the gardens of ancient Mexico 
it should be mentioned here that in the language of the Nahuas are 
found names descriptive of different kinds of gardens, a significant 
fact from which a prolonged familiarity with horticulture may be 
inferred. The name for a garden in general was xochitla, it.= 
flower place; a variant being xoxochitla=place of many flowers. A 
walled garden was xochitepanyo. The pleasure gardens of the rul- 
ing class were designated as xochitecpancalli, lit.=the palace of 
flowers. The humble garden of the Indian was and is a xochichinan- 
calli, lit.=flower place inclosed by a fence made of cane or reeds. 

These words reveal that the native conception of a garden was a 
flowery “ hortus inclusus,” which brings the ancient Mexican garden 
lovers very close to us. For a knowledge of the lordly pleasances 
which delighted their owners at the time of the Conquest we have to 
rely upon the descriptions of Spanish eyewitnesses, which, exag- 
gerated as they may seem, are fully corroborated by the native his- 
torians, and in the case of the Texcocan gardens by archeological 
remains. The most detailed description of a native garden is that 
written by Cortés in his second letter to the Emperor Charles V, in 
1520, in the portion referring to his arrival at Iztapalapa, a town 7 
miles distant from Mexico on the shore of the salt lagoon. He 
writes: “Its lord or chief has some new houses which, though still 
unfinished, are as good as the best in Spain; I mean as large and well 
constructed, not only in the stonework but also in the woodwork, and 
all arrangements for every kind of household service, all except the 
relief work and other rich details which are used in Spanish houses 
but are not found here. There are both upper and lower rooms and 
very refreshing gardens with many trees and sweet-scented flowers, 
bathing places of fresh water, well constructed and having steps 
leading down to the bottom. He also has a large orchard near the 
house, overlooked by a high terrace with many beautiful corridors 
and rooms. Within the orchard is a great square pool of fresh 
water, very well constructed, with sides of handsome masonry, 
around which runs a walk with a well-laid pavement of tiles, so wide 
that four persons can walk abreast on it, and 400 paces square, mak- 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Journal of the International Garden Club, December, 


1922. 
453 


454 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


ing in all 1,600 paces. On the other side of this promenade toward 
the wall of the garden are hedges of lattice work made of cane, 
behind which are all sorts of plantations of trees and aromatic 


herbs. The pool contains many fish and different kinds of water- 
fowmles®ric? anh? 


The observant Bernal Diaz, who accompanied Cortés, wrote enthu- 
siastically about Iztapalapa as follows: 


The garden and orchard are most admirable. I saw and walked about in 
them and could not satiate myself sufficiently looking at the many kinds of 
trees and enjoying the perfume of each. And there were walks bordered with 
the roses of this country and flowers and many fruit trees and flowering 
shrubs; also a pool of fresh water. There was another thing worth seeing, 
namely, that large canoes could enter into the flower garden from the lagoon 
through an entrance they had made of many kinds of stone covered with pol- 
ished stucco and painted, which gave one much to think about. * * #* 
Again I say that I do not believe that in the whole world there are other 
countries known to compare with this one. 


It may well be that the gardens of Iztapalapa were in his mind 
when, 30 years after the Conquest, he wrote how he and his com- 
panions “ had been filled with wonder at what they saw and said to 
each other that all seemed to be like the enchantments written about 
in Amadis of Gaul * * *, for the things they were seeing never 
had been seen, heard, or ever dreamed of.” It is interesting to learn, 
through Hernandez, that “ many trees of a kind of cypress had been 
raised from seed at Iztapalapa by one of its lords who took infinite 
pains to have them cultivated for his enjoyment.” 

In a chapter entitled “ Of the gardens in which Montezuma went 
for recreation” the scholarly Dr. Cervantes de Salazar, who wrote 
his famous and long-lost Chronicle in Mexico in 1565 and derived 
his information from the most reliable sources, records as follows: 


This great monarch had many pleasances and spacious gardens with paths 
and channels for irrigation. These gardens contained only medicinal and aro- 
matic herbs, flowers, native roses, and trees with fragrant blossoms, of which 
there are many kinds. He ordered his physicians to make experiments with 
the medicinal herbs and to employ those best known and tried as remedies in 
healing the ills of the lords of his court. These gardens gave great pleasure 
to all who visited them on account of the flowers and roses they contained and 
of the fragrance they gave forth, especially in the mornings and evenings. It 
was well worth seeing with how much art and delicacy a thousand figures of 
persons were made by means of leaves and flowers, also the seats, chapels, and 
the other constructions which so greatly adorned these places. 

In these flower gardens Montezuma did not allow any vegetables or fruit to 
be grown, saying that it was not kingly to cultivate plants for utility or profit 
in his pleasance. He said that vegetable gardens and orchards were for slaves 
or merchants. At the same time he owned such, but they were at a distance, 
and he seldom visited them. 

Outside the City of Mexico he had houses in extensive groves of trees 
surrounded by water so that the game could not escape and he could be cer- 
tain of his quarry. In these woods there were fountains, rivers, tanks with 
fish, rabbit warrens, steep high rocks among which were stags, fallow deer, 


GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO——NUTTALL 455 


hares, foxes, wolves, and other similar animals which the Mexican lords 
hunted much and very often. 

Cervantes de Salazar also gives a description of a hunt that the 
Mexican ruler watched from his richly adorned litter which rested 
meanwhile on the shoulders of its bearers. It was no doubt thus 
that he was often carried from his summer palace at the base of the 
hill of Chapultepec, which was surrounded by a grove of beauti- 
ful “ahuehuetes” or swamp cypress, past the bas-relief portraits 
of himself and his predecessors, carved on the rocks, up a broad, 
winding flight of steps to its summit. From this he could com- 
mand a panoramic view of incomparable beauty embracing the whole 
valley of Mexico with its lakes and the snow-capped volcanoes 
beyond. In 1554 Salazar, in his “ Dialogues,” relates that on the 
top of the hill Montezuma had cultivated trees as though it were 
a garden and that on its steep sides were terraces with other 
groves of trees and hanging gardens. He explains the choice of 
such a site for the cultivation of ornamental trees and flowers with 
the dictum that “Indians preferred hills to plains”; but an im- 
portant reason was doubtless that the native gardeners had learnt 
from long experience that many plants thrive best among rocks 
which not only preserve moisture but also the heat of the sun, which 
counteracts the chilliness of the night temperature in this high 
altitude. aa 

The fact, however, that not only Montezuma but, as we shall see, 
the Lord of Texcoco and the Tarascan rulers built their pleasure 
gardens on high hills commanding admirable views indicates that 
they had a fine taste and a true love of nature in all of its mani- 
festations. In this connection it is interesting to recall here that 
being a high priest as well as “king,” it was one of Montezuma’s 
duties to “arise at midnight to observe the north star and its 
wheel” (the revolving circumpolar constellations), also the Plei- 
ades and other constellations. From their hill gardens the ancient 
astronomer priests and rulers of Mexico no doubt often contem- 
plated the heavens, watching for the periodical reappearance of 
the planets and particularly of the planet Venus, which was 
celebrated by a solemn festival. 

There is a deep pathos in the fact that during his captivity 
Montezuma several times besought Cortés to give him permission 
to visit those of his pleasances which were situated within 1 or 2 
leagues of his capital, which naturally included the hill garden of 
Chapultepec. The Conqueror wrote to his Emperor that the per- 
mission was never denied; that Montezuma went accompanied by a 
number of his nobles and lords whom he entertained with banquets 
and feasting and that he always returned “very gaily and con- 
tentedly ” to the apartment assigned to him by his captor—an asser- 


456 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


tion one may be permitted to doubt. Forming a part of Monte- 
zuma’s city residence was what Cortés describes as “a house less 
handsome than his palace where he had a very beautiful garden, 
overlooked by certain balconies or watch towers, the stone facings and — 
floorings of which were of jasper, very finely worked * * *.” 

We also know that in the temple precincts flowers were cultivated 
and that there were “exquisite flower gardens of different kinds 
on the upper as well as on the lower stories ” of the houses of those 
inhabitants, whom Cortés describes as “vassal lords” and the 
“ wealthy citizens” of the capital. At the Pefion, a rocky hill north 
of the city where a hot spring wells up, Montezuma had another 
pleasance. The orchard he owned near Coyoacan was given later 
by Cortés to Dofia Marina, who had acted as interpreter for the 
conquerors. 

The most wonderful of all Montezuma’s gardens, however, was 
the tropical one at Huaxtepec, which he had inherited from his 
predecessor and namesake, Montezuma the Elder. The native his- 
torians relate that the latter, soon after his accession to power 
about 1450, was reminded by his brother of the garden of their 
ancestors at Huaxtepec in the tropical region south of the Valley 
of Mexico, “where there were rocks with carved effigies of his 
forefathers, rocks, fountains, gardens, trees with flowers, and trees 
yielding fruit.” He thereupon sent thither his principal overseer, 
naméd Pinotetl, with orders to inspect and restore the fountains 
and springs, the streams, reservoirs, and irrigation system. Simul- 
taneously he dispatched messengers to the tropical coast region 
with a request to the Lord of Cuetlaxtla for plants with roots of 
the vanilla orchid, of the cacao and magnolia trees, and other valu- 
able vegetable products. With foresight he also asked that these be 
brought carefully by native gardeners from the same region, capa- 
ble of replanting them at the proper season and tending them in 
the customary way. On receiving his message the Lord of Cuet- 
laxtla immediately gave orders to have a number of all kinds of 
plants dug up with their roots inclosed in earth, and with exquisite 
courtesy he had these bundles wrapped in beautiful woven mantles 
and dispatched to Mexico. The ceremonial observed by the gardeners 
who accompanied them before planting the trees, etc., “around the 
fountains in the garden” is worth recording here. They fasted 
for eight days and, drawing blood from the helix of their ears, they 
anointed the plants therewith. Asking Pinotetl for a quantity of 
incense, rubber, and paper, they also made a great sacrifice to the 
god of flowers, offering him many dead quail after having sprinkled 
the plants and the soil around them with their blood. They assured 
the people that after observing these ceremonies none of the plants 
would be lost and that they would soon bear flowers and fruits. 


GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO—NUTTALL 457 


Their prediction was fulfilled and before three years had passed 
all of their charges blossomed so luxuriantly that the gardeners from 
Cuetlaxtla were amazed and said that even in their native soil such 
plants never flowered so soon. They concluded therefore that the 
Huaxtepec region suited these valuable plants better than their origi- 
nal home. It is interesting to learn that “then Montezuma lifted 
his hands to heaven and thanked the God of all creation for these 
blessings and he and his brothers shed tears of joy at the success of 
their experiment. For they esteemed as a special mercy and benefit 
bestowed upon them by the Lord of the Heavens, of the Day and 
Night, that they could now bequeath to the Mexican people and to all 
the inhabitants of the Province of Huaxtepec the joy of possessing the 
precious plants they had been obliged to do without until then.” 

It was of the Huaxtepec garden that in his letter to Charles V, 
dated May 15, 1522, Cortés wrote that “it was the finest, pleasantest, 
and largest that ever was seen, having a circumference of 2 leagues.” 
Headds: “A very pretty rivulet with high banks ran through it from 
one end to the other. For the distance of two shots from a crossbow 
there were arbors and refreshing gardens and an infinite number of 
different kinds of fruit trees; many herbs and sweet-scented flowers. 
It certainly filled one with admiration to see the grandeur and ex- 
quisite beauty of this entire orchard.” Other Conquistadores were 
equally enthusiastic. In his account of Cortés’s second expedition, 
Bernal Diaz wrote: “We went * * * to Huaxtepec where is the 
pleasure garden * * * which is the finest I have seen in all my 
life. When Cortés and the Treasurer Alderete saw it and promenaded 
in it for a while they were filled with admiration and said that even 
in Spain they had never seen a finer kind of pleasure garden.” 

Bernal Diaz also records that on his expedition to the hot lands 
Capt. Gonzalo de Sandoval rested and slept overnight in the Huaxte- 
pec orchard and pronounced it to be “the most beautiful he had 
seen in New Spain. It contained a greater number of buildings and 
many more admirable sights than any other garden. Although he 
had not finished exploring all of it, as it was more than a quarter of 
a league in length, he considered it certainly to be a pleasure garden 
worthy of a great prince.” 

The historian Torquemada, quoting from original sources, sup- 
plements the foregoing descriptions by the information that besides 
groves of trees, rest houses, and gardens full of flowers, fruit, and 
game there were also plantations and fountains and “several large 
rocks on which were bowers and oratories and observatories, with 
the steps leading to them cut in the solid rock.” 

Doctor Hernandez, the Spanish physician who visited “the royal 
gardens at Huaxtepec” between 1570 and 1577, mentions two valu- 
able medicinal trees he had seen there, namely the “ Brazilwood” 
(Casalpinia crista), which had been brought thither from Panuco 


458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


on the Gulf of Mexico, and a tree belonging to the Bombacacee, 
which was evidently the curious macpalxochitlquauitl, or hand-flower 
tree (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon) which has always been 
prized by the Mexicans for the uncanny simulacrum of a small red 
hand produced by the union at the base of its five protruding stamens, 
and for its tonic effect on the heart. 

At the present day it shares the popularity of the yoloxochitl, or 
heart flower (Z'alauma mexicana) as a sovereign heart remedy, and 
both figure in the “ Farmacopea Mexicana” and can be bought in a 
dried condition in every market place. The fruit trees which flour- 
ished in the famous tropical orchard were probably different kinds 
of the ahuacatl = avocado (Persea americana) ; of the tzapotl (Calo- 
carpum mammosum) ; the texocotl (Crataegus), a species of medlar 
which makes delicious preserves; the xalxocotl = guava; the macaxo- 
cot] (Spondias mombin, the “ hog plum”) ; and the capolin (Prunus 
capuli). Among the ornamental trees and shrubs were doubtless the 
tree now known to botanists as Bombawx ellipticum and other species 
of the family; the two poinsettias; the Gynandropsis speciosa; the 
fragrant Turpinia insignis; and several acacias, to say nothing of 
aralias, yuccas, and tree ferns and palms. 

Among the showy flowers were the Tigridias, the bulbs of which 
yield a farinaceous food; marigolds (Zagetes) of many kinds, and 
various species of the orchid, zinnia, cactus, amaryllis, bouvardia, 
solanum, lantana, bromelia, convolvulus, salvia, and dahlia families; 
the Hibiscus spiralis, the Solandra guttata with countless creepers; 
possibly the tall showy huauhtli (Amaranthus leucocarpus) and the 
Chenopodium nuttalliae, the seeds of both of which furnished favorite 
foods. 

After reading the authentic evidence that has been presented one 
can but reecho the conclusion expressed shortly after the Conquest 
by Salazar, then residing in Mexico, namely, that “few princes and 
perhaps not one ever possessed pleasure gardens that equaled those 
of the great lord Montezuma.” From his delightful hill garden at 
Chapultepec, commanding one of the most beautiful views of the 
world, this flower lover could visit the Iztapalapa pleasance as he 
traveled in his litter, by easy stages, to the terrestrial paradise at 
Huaxtepec, containing the choicest products of tropical vegetation 
in full magnificence and luxuriance, brought together by the un- 
remitting efforts of his forefathers and his own. It is pitiful to re- 
late that at the present day, with the exception of some grand old 
ahuehuetes and the perennial springs of clear water, nothing remains 
to testify of the former beauty and grandeur of the first tropical 
botanical garden on the American Continent. 

Returning to the valley of Mexico, we will now review what has 
been written about the gardens at Texcoco, the ancient seat of native 


GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO—NUTTALL 459 


culture which has been termed “The Athens of America,” and was 
the residence of the most interesting personality in the history of 
ancient Mexico, whose name would be voiced oftener if it were not 
generally considered as so unpronounceable. Nezahualcoyotl, the 
law giver, philosopher, and poet king of Texcoco was born in 1403 
and died at the age of 71, after a reign of 50 years. Referring the 
reader to the works of Prescott and Bancroft for the history of his 
life and an account of the remarkable code of laws he formulated, 
attention is drawn here only to the interesting fact that, in order to 
prevent the destruction of forests and woods he prescribed certain 
limits to the hewers of trees and severely punished their transgres- 
sion. 

A descendent of his, Ixtlilxochitl, relates that Nezahualcoyotl 
possessed many kinds of gardens, for he had inherited those which 
pertained to the palaces of his grandfather and father and had also 
created no less than eight groves and gardens. “These contained 
sumptuous palaces beside fountains, canals, drains, tanks, baths, and 
other intricate waterworks; and were planted with many strange 
and wonderful varieties of flowers and all sorts of trees, brought 
thither from remote places. He also had five pieces of land near 
the lake where food plants were cultivated and he always personally 
superintended their harvest. Each garden was under the special 
care of men from one of eight provinces, whose services were ren- 
dered as a tribute.” Another tribute consisted of the tropical flowers 
required for the use of the palace, which were sent daily from Cuer- 
navaca, at that time subjected to Texcoco. 

Doctor Hernandez, writing between 1570 and 1577, records that 
Nezahualcoyot] had devoted himself to the study of plants and 
animals and, being unable to have living specimens of many of 
the tropical species, had pictures of them painted from nature 
and copied on the walls of his palace. The drawings of exotic 
plants were so excellent that the Spanish botanist was able to 
make use of them. He also mentions seeing the remains of the 
new palaces, gardens, and groves of trees planted by the poet king. 

Writing in the middle of the sixteenth century, Friar Motilinia 
describes as particularly worth seeing the ruins of Nezahualcoyotl’s 
palace “with its inclosed garden containing more than a thousand 
very large and very beautiful cedar (cypress) trees”; and a second 
palace with “ many gardens and an immense tank or pool, * * *” 

In 1850 the American diplomat, Brantz Mayer, in, his work on 
Mexico, described the same ancient grove of cypresses, standing in 
the level plain northwest of Texcoco as “one of the most remark- 
able relics of the princes and people of the Texcocan monarchy,” 
and gave the following details: “The grove is formed by double 
rows of gigantic cypresses, about 500 in number, arranged in a 


460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


square corresponding with the points of the compass and inclosing 
an area of about 10 acres. At the northwestern point of this 
quadrangle another double row of lordly cypresses runs westwardly 
toward a dyke north of which there is a deep oblong tank neatly 
walled and filled with water * * *. Along the raised banks 
and beneath the double line of the majestic trees were the walks 
and orchards in which Nezahualcoyotl and his courtiers amused 
themselves * * *.” In his charming book “ Anahuac,” Prof. 
E. B. Tylor, who visited Mexico in 1856, wrote of the grove (then 
called the “ Bosque del Contador”): “This is a grand square, 
looking toward the cardinal points and composed of ahuehuetes, 
grand old deciduous cypresses, ayaa of them 40 feet around and 
older than the discovery of America.” 

In her book on Mexico, Miss Susan Hale mentions having seen in 
1891 “a magnificent grove of lofty ahuehuetes surrounding a large 
quadrangle.” At the present day, although their ranks are steidlen 
thinned, many of the superb old historical trees exist, furnishing 
living proof of the grand scale on which the Texcocan king planned 
his pleasure gardens. A sixteenth century map reveals that at that 
time not far from the above quadrangle there was another grove 
in a large circular inclosure. It may have been in imitation of this 
or in accordance with the native mystical ideas associated with the 
circle that the king of Atzcapotzalco laid out the beautiful circular 
grove of ahuehuetes which still exists, marking the site of another 
bygone pleasance. 

The most famous of Nezahualcoyotl’s pleasances was that on 
the high conical hill named Texcotzinco, which overlooks a pano- 
ramic view of exquisite beauty with the Lake of Texcoco, lying 
between the verdant plains and the distant mountains beyond it. 
Pomar relates that here the king had “many different kinds of 
plants of variegated colors and singular odors; not only those that 
grow on the spot but also others brought from the Temperate 
and Tropical Zones.” Here again archeological remains corroborate 
the truth of the native accounts of former splendor, and reveal 
how, by means of an ingeniously constructed aqueduct and the 
filling in of an intervening ravine by means of a colossal solid con- 
struction, an abundance of water was brought from the neighboring 
heights, about 3 leagues distant, to a reservoir with walls more than 
8 feet high, on the top of the hill, whence it was distributed in all 
directions by means of stuccoed channels. In 1850 Brantz Mayer 
verified that “the hill of Texcotzinco is connected with another 
hill on the east by a tall embankment about 200 feet high, upon 
whose level tops, which may be crossed by three persons on horseback 
abreast, are the remains of an ancient aqueduct built of baked clay, 
the pipes of which are now as perfect as the day they were first laid.” 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Nuttall PLATE | 


|. GROVE OF ANCIENT AHUEHUETES AT ATZCAPOTZALCO 


2. PART OF REMAINING ROW OF AHUEHUETES AT THE “BOSQUE DEL CON- 
TADOR’’ PLANTED BY NEZAHUALCOYOTL ABOUT 1450 


AYLNNOD DNIGNNOYYNS 4O M3IA ANY OONIZLOOXSL 4AO TIIH NO IWNVD NOILVOINY| G10 


@ aLWid IPANN—EZ6l ‘Hoday uBjUOsYyWWS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Nuttall PLATE 3 


VIEW OF TEXCOTZINCO SHOWING PRESENT CONDITION AND REMAINS OF 
STAIRS CUT IN SOLID Rock 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Nuttall PLATE 4 


VIEW OF XOCHIMILCO CORNFIELDS IN CHINAMPAS 


GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO—NUTTALL 461 


The hill is approached by a gentle slope from the south. Its 
‘north side ends abruptly in a precipice which resembles a high 

wall of rose-colored porphyry. On the crest of the hill are the 
remains of a small palace and of an edifice with flights of steps 
which may have led to the famous nine-storied tower described 
by native historians. There are also vestiges of a building with a 
well-preserved niche and a platform which may have been an out- 
door theater such as those of Tlatelolco and Cholula, described 
by Spaniards as being of masonry, 13 feet high and 30 paces 
square, on which arches made of flowers and feathers were erected 
when performances took place. As during what has been termed 
“the Golden Age” of “the Athens of America,” the poet king had 
constituted a council of music whose members. held sessions and 
bestowed prizes on the best songs and poems, it is obvious that some 
suitable stage for the presentation and audition of these must have 
been provided. 

Extremely well preserved are a large circular bathing tank near 
a stone seat with a high sloping back and a small circular fountain 
on a platform at the base of a flight of steps, all most skillfully 
hewn out of the solid and extremely hard rock. 

The most remarkable feature of the ruins consists, however, of a 
circular basin carved in an enormous block of porphyry which pro- 
jects into space and has been aptly described by the English traveler, 
W. Bullock, as “standing out like a martin’s nest from the side of a 
house” (see photograph, pl. 3). He also goes on to say: “It is not 
only an extraordinary bath, but still more extraordinarily placed. 
It is a beautiful basin about 12 feet long by 8 wide, having a well 
5 feet by 4 deep in the center, surrounded by a parapet or rim 2 feet 
6 inches high with a throne or chair such as is represented in ancient 
pictures to have been used by kings. There are steps to descend 
into the basin or bath, the whole cut out of the living porphyry rock 
with the most mathematical precision and polished in the most beau- 
tiful manner.” From the poet king’s throne the view is one of sur- 
passing loveliness and includes a view of the City of Mexico 30 miles 
distant on the opposite shore of the lake. A descendant of 
Nezahualcoyotl tells of a similar reservoir on the hill from which 
a stream of water was projected into space and, forming a fine spray, 
descended like rain on a garden at the base of the hill filled with all 
kinds of fragrant tropical flowers. <A steep flight of steps, now 
partly preserved, led from the projecting rock to the base of the hill 
which was “surrounded by a garden in which was planted a diver- 
sity of trees and scented flowers. It also contained a number of 
different kinds of birds beside those the king had in cages brought 
from distant places, whose songs were so loud that people could not 
hear each other talk.” 


462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


It is recorded that the poet king, who had the gift of friendship, 
not only composed an ode on the death of one of his relatives but » 
had an inscription carved on the breastwork of the stone steps to 
commemorate the hour, day, month, and year in which the news of 
the death of the Lord of Huexotzinco, “ whom he loved dearly,” 
was brought to him while he was superintending the engineering 
work on the hill of Texcotzinco. This inscription in hieroglyphics 
and a number of notable statues and bas-reliefs representing the 
most important events of the poet king’s life were entirely destroyed 
by order of Archbishop Zumarraga. A richly decorated clay spin- 
dle whorl adorned with a swastika, which I found on the hill during 
my last visit, conjured up visions of the gentle native women who 
shared the poet’s life and his enjoyment of his earthly paradise with 
its enchanting views, murmuring waters, songs of birds, and all 
pervading beauty of color and perfume. 

In conclusion, an account of the history and true nature of the 
famous chinampas, or “ floating gardens,” must be given in order to 
dispel some of the erroneous ideas concerning them which were first 
promulgated by the historian Clavijero and have since flourished 
with a well-known exuberant vitality of error. 

In the “ Cronica Mexicana” of the native historian Tezozomoc, 
it is related how at a remote period, after the migratory Nahuas had 
left Tula, they went southward and reached Tequixquiac. There 
they manufactured beds (for cultivating food plants), giving them 
the name of chinamitl. This work signifies literally “an inclosed 
bed surrounded by a fence made of cane or stakes.” the name chi- 
nampa is therefore composed of the word for inclosure and the affix 
pan-pani, which conveys the meaning that the inclosed bed was a 
raised one, being “on or above the surface.” It would seem that 
these first chinampas were made in a plain, for Tezozomoc makes 
special mention of the fact that later, when they reached Xaltocan, 
they “made beds in the lagoon and planted seeds of maize, beans, 
huauhtli (Amaranthus), squashes, tomatoes, and chile peppers.” 

Years later, having reached the valley of Mexico, they selected a 
site in the shallow fresh-water lagoon, and under the direction of 
their high priest cut sods of the reeds and other grasses growing in 
the water and used these to make a foundation for the mud beds they 
built up, inside of a staked-off inclosure, by means of layer after 
layer of the muddy sediment at the bottom of the lake. It is exactly 
in the same way that new chinampas are made nowadays in the 
Lake of Xochimilco by the descendants of the ancient agriculturalists 
who, on account of their use of such beds, were and are known as 
chinampanecas = “chinampa people.” 

From time immemorial, however, their oblong raised plots, the size 
of which varies between 20 to 100 feet in length and 7 to 40 feet in 


GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO—NUTTALL 463 


width, have not only been staked off with the thick native cane but 
have been surrounded by rows of a species of willow the growth of 
which resembles that of a Lombardy poplar. These willows, being 
‘constantly pruned, give little or no shade, and their root growth is 
phenomenal. With a certain amount of training their interlacing 
roots form a sort of basketwork which retains the banks of the 
“chinampas,” the age of which can be estimated by their height, 
which varies between 2 and 8 feet. 

Since the water hyacinth (Z%chhornia crassipes) has been intro- 
duced in comparatively recent times, it has been found very useful 
in building up the chinampas, being spread in thick layers which 
are allowed to partly dry and partly decay and are then covered 
with layers of mud. Every year the process of raising the surface 
of the bed is repeated in order to counteract the erosion produced 
by the torrential rains in the wet season. By means of a canvas 
scoop fastened to the crossed end of a pole mud is dredged and cast 
upon the beds from the bottom of the innumerable small canals which 
lie between the “ chinampas” and have also to be kept in a navigable 
condition. The same scoops are used by the Indians standing in 
their punts to cast water in the high, narrow “chinampas” when 
irrigation is required. The low “chinampas” need no irrigation, but 
in the wet season run the risk of inundation. 

For countless centuries the inhabitants of the capital have been 
almost entirely supplied with vegetables, maize, and flowers by the 
industrious “chinampa” gardeners, who manage generally to raise 
in a year several different successive crops on their artificial plots 
of land.’ 

The foregoing data will suffice to establish that it is erroneous to 
refer to chinampas as “ floating gardens.” 

Ancient Mexican history furnishes, however, instances of true 
“floating gardens” having actually been made and conveyed from 
one place to another. The old native accounts of these repeated by 
Spanish and other historians gave rise to the mistaken idea that it 
was and is customary for the Mexicans to make and cultivate crops 
on movable rafts; a method which the shallowness of the water 
would render impracticable, all water traffic in the canals being 
carried on by means of punts and small dugout canoes. 

In the native chronicles several versions are given of how, during 
a period corresponding to A. D. 1350-1400, the King of Atzcapot- 
zalco and his confederates permitted the newly arrived Nahuas, or 
Mexicans, to establish themselves in the lagoon and to make and 


2 An important item of sale is that of young plants of annuals which are raised in a 
peculiar way. Inside of a raised rim, on a substratum of decayed vegetation, a layer of 
liquid mud, between 6 and 7 inches deep, is poured and allowed to dry partially. Seed- 
lings are transplanted and set out at equal distances in this bed. When well rooted and 
grown the bed is well watered and divided into equal squares by cutting lines in the mud 
with a knife. When half dry each square, with its single plant, whose roots are securely 
encased in the mud, is lifted out, the compact neat block being easily handled and packed 
and buried in the garden beds, where the plants flourish rapidly. 


464 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


cultivate their “chinampas.” They exacted from them, however, 
“as a token of gratitude and subjection, a tribute of vegetables, fish, 
frogs, and other products of the lagoon.” After some years, angered 
because the newcomers had presumed to elect a ruler of their own, 
the King of Atzcapotzalco decided to demand an additional tribute, 
the rendering of which he thought well-nigh impossible. 

His messengers informed the settlers that beside the customary 
tribute they were henceforth to furnish, firstly, grown willow and 
juniper trees for planting inhis capital as an embellishment. 
Secondly, they were to manufacture a raft on top of which they were 
to plant all native vegetables and then bring it by water to Atzcap- 
otzalco. The chronicle records that the Mexicans were filled with 
consternation and grief at so unheard of a demand, but during the 
night their tribal god appeared to one of their elders and told him 
to be of good cheer for he would lend aid in making the raft. To 
the amazement of the King of Atzcapotzalco, who declared the feat 
“almost supernatural,” they actually delivered not only the trees but 
the floating raft garden full of flourishing food plants and flowers. 

Summoning the Mexicans to his palace, he addressed them as fol- 
lows: “ Brethren, it appears to me that you are powerful and that 
all things are easy to you. It is therefore my wish that in future 
when you pay your tribute you are to bring on the raft, among the 
growing vegetables, which are to be in perfect condition, a duck and 
a heron, each sitting on her eggs. You are to time it so that on ar- 
riving here the eggs will hatch. If these conditions are not ful- 
filled the penalty will be death.” 

Again the tribal god came to the rescue and the extraordinary 
tribute was punctually delivered for 50 years, by the end of which 
time the Mexicans had become powerful enough to cast off their yoke 
and bondage. From the foregoing it is evident that, as another native 
historian remarks, the making of “floating gardens” was always 
considered “an almost impossible and most laborious performance” 
and was entirely exceptional. The memory of the tyranically ex- 
acted tribute and its payment has, however, been kept alive through 
the intervening centuries, and as a feature of the water pageants and 
festivals held on the Viga Canal in viceregal and modern times has 
often been a simulacrum of a “ floating garden,” countenance has been 
lent to the popular, absurd, idea that the chinampas were also “ float- 
ing” and could be towed at will from place to place. 

After reading in the preceding pages of the beauty of the vanished 
gardens of ancient Mexico, the reader will doubtless share the writer’s 
regret that, at the present time, there is no botanical garden in Mexico 
or elsewhere containing a representative collection of the wonderful 
native flora which furnished so much delight to countless generations 
of the earliest American flower garden lovers. 


THE HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


By J. WALTER FEWKES 


Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology 


[With 10 plates] 
INTRODUCTION 


There is one and only one locality in the Union where four States 
come together at a common point. That locality is known as Four 
Corners, and the four States that adjoin are Colorado, Utah, New 
Mexico, and Arizona. It is situated in one of the most instructive 
areas, archeologically speaking, in the Union, for taking it as a 
center, a circle drawn from it 100 miles in diameter includes some 
of the largest and most attractive ruins of pre-Columbian United 
States. Four Corners is situated geographically nearest the heart 
of that area from which the pueblos sprung, the land of the mythic 
Sipapu. The massive pueblos of the Chaco Canyon, the cliff dwell- 
ings of the Mesa Verde, and the mysterious habitations of the 
Canyon de Tsay (Chelly) are within this region. The adjoining 
areas of southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah are dotted 
with most interesting relics of a people that has disappeared, and 
almost everywhere one turns are monumental indications of a pre- 
Columbian civilization antedating the advent of white men and 
reaching back to a time before documentary history began. 

The zealous Catholic missionaries, Escalante and Dominguez, the 
first explorers of Colorado, passed through this region in 1776, in 
their trip from Santa Fe into the untrodden north country, far 
west of the present city of Dolores, after crossing the river which 
even then bore that name. They knew nothing of the great ruins 
on the Mesa Verde, but made a brief reference to one of the ruins 
in southwestern Colorado. These mounds remained a century longer 
before they were made known to science by Prof. W. H. Holmes and 
Mr. W. H. Jackson, members of the Hayden expedition. In 1876 
they announced the discovery of towers in the McE]mo and Yellow- 
jacket Canyons, and thus opened a new page in our history. At 
that time there were few white settlers in this region; the Ute In- 
dians were in possession, and towns like Mancos, Cortez, and Dolores 
were not settled. Even then the most magnificent of all our cliff 
dwellings were unknown. Of those on the Mesa Verde, Cliff Palace 


465 


466 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and Spruce-tree House were discovered in 1883, and Sun Temple 
was first made known in 1915 and Fire House a few years later. 
The settlement of the Montezuma Valley by a white population 
revealed many other monuments of the past in this region, not the 
least striking of which were towers and great houses along the 
McElmo and the tributaries of the Yellowjacket, and finally the 
more instructive of these, preserved and protected, were called the 
Hovenweep National Monument. 


ITINERARY 


This monument is at present more or less isolated and difficult 
to approach, as the roads are not of the best. Two roads are 
available to visit it, one from Dolores, the other from Mancos, Colo., 
by way of Cortez. The Dolores road crosses the Dolores River 
shortly after leaving that city and continues westward, following 
approximately the old Spanish trail past a modern reservoir, 
Siguaro, a large pile of stones marking the oldest described pueblo 
of the region. The course of the road is to Dove Creek and Monti- 
cello, but at Sandstone post office a branch to the left, known as the 
Old Bluff City road, but little used, leads to the reserve called the 
Hovenweep Monument. One advantage of this road over another 
to the south by way of Cortez is that there are no streams to cross 
and no quicksands to endanger the traveler. The distance from Do- 
lores is about 45 miles, and that by the McElmo Canyon road a 
little longer. The Yellowjacket is a treacherous stream, especially 
after rains, and is avoided by wise travelers in the rainy season. 
There is no regular hotel on either route, but water is found along 
the McE]mo, and a place to sleep at a store called the McElmo post 
office. Prosperous farmers are settled along both routes, and the 
melons, cantaloupes, and fruit of the McE]mo have a wide reputation. 

To the Hovenweep and back is a strenuous trip for one day, but 


- it can be made. Should the tourist decide to visit Cannon Ball 


Ruin he will find it best to sleep at McEImo post office, where meals 
are served. 

The road to the Hovenweep Monument through the McElmo 
Canyon is more picturesque than that from Dolores. The two 
roads have a common terminus, and it is better to go by one route 
and return by the other. The McElmo or southern route takes one 
from Mancos, Colo., to Cortez, part of the way the same as that 
to the Mesa Verde National Park, the branch to which is indicated 
by a conspicuous signboard. For several miles the Mesa Verde is 
visible on the left and the road climbing the precipitous cliff is 
observed very plainly. 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 467 
THE HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT* 


On March 2, 1923, the late President Harding issued a proclama- 
tion creating a new monument in southwestern Colorado and south- 
eastern Utah. Like several others, this reserve was created for the 
preservation of its antiquities which, although having the same 
general character as those of the adjacent Mesa Verde National 
Park, are somewhat different. The special kind of ruins character- 
istic of the Hovenweep monument are well preserved towers, similar 
to those which are found in the Mesa Verde National Park, and are 
most abundant and varied in the country west of that plateau far 
into Utah. Archeologically speaking this monument supplements 
the Mesa Verde National Park and the structure of its towers and 
other buildings explains some of the enigmas of ruins in the park. 
As this new reservation was created to preserve its numerous towers, 
a brief notice of a few buildings of the same type would be a fitting 
introduction to those of the new national monument. Fortunately 
the author’s field work during the summer of 1922 renders it possible 
to interpret some of the architectural features of the new monu- 
ment. 

There are several towers on the Mesa Verde that are like those of 
the new monument, showing that the prehistoric people of the 
Hovenweep resembled those of the Mesa Verde. 

Three types of prehistoric towers are found in our Southwest: 
(1) Square, circular, or semicircular towers without surrounding 
rooms; (2) towers accompanied with basal subterranean ceremonial 
rooms or kivas; (3) towers rising from pueblos or cliff dwellings. 
The first type of tower is generally mounted on top of a pinnacle of 
rock or on the rim of acanyon. The second type is situated on level 
ground or earth that allows excavation of basal kivas, and the third 

“rises from a pueblo or cliff house in which there are both kivas and 
living rooms. The relatively greater abundance of the second type, 
or a tower with a basal ceremonial room and no dwellings, would 
seem to indicate that the tower was connected with ceremonies, and 
if this be true it also seems likely that when associated with a num- 
ber of rooms, as in a large ruin like Cliff Palace, it preserved the 
same character. 

Several theories have been suggested to explain the function of 
southwestern towers. They have been regarded as observatories, 
forts, bins for the storage of grain, especially corn, and as in- 
closures for the performance of religious rites. There are indi- 


* Reprinted by permission from the American Anthropologist, Vol. 25, No. 2, April-June, 
923. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


468 


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HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 469 


cations that they were built by an agricultural people, one of the 
primal necessities of whom is to determine the time for planting. 
This can be obtained by observations of the sun’s rising and setting, 
and a tower affords the elevation necessary for that purpose; hence 
the theory that southwestern towers were in part used for sun 
houses or observatories. A building from which the aboriginal 
priests determined calendric events by solar observations very 
naturally became a room for sun worship or for the worship of the 
power of the sky. 

The presence of circular subterranean rooms, which almost always 
occur with towers, also indicates religious rites. As the tower may 
have been devoted to the worship of father sun or the sky god, in 
the underground kiva may have been celebrated the rites of mother 
earth. The rooms at the base of the tower in which kivas are em- 
bedded, in towers of the third type, indicate habitations and neces- 
sary granaries, as well as rooms for ceremonials. In support of 
the interpretation that some of these rooms are granaries, we find 
rows of vases in which corn is stored still standing in them. 

Pipe Shrine House, on Mesa Verde, excavated by the author 
during the summer of 1922, presents a good example of the third 
type, for in it we have the tower, the sunken kiva, and the rec- 
tangular basal rooms. The ceremonial character of this building 
is shown not only by the tower and kiva, but also by many shrines 
in which formerly stood stone idols of the serpent, the mountain 
lion, the mountain sheep, or other objects of worship. On the 
northeast corner of the ruin near an inclosure there was found a 
stone slab on which the sun was depicted, indicating that this 
building may have been used for sun-worship rites, and a coiled 
pictograph of a large serpent carved on the south wall likewise 
points to this worship. The evidence indicates that this building 
was constructed for rites and ceremonies of the sun and earth 
deities, and the tower and its accompanying subterranean room in 
cliff houses indicate that the ancient priests of Mesa Verde wor- 
shipped the two great nature principles, father sky and mother 
earth, which dominate the ritual of every agricultural people. 

The new reservation, called the Hovenweep? National Monument 
(fig. 1), contains several towers in a much better state of preservation 
than any in the Mesa Verde, a condition which indicates that they 
were constructed later. The ruined castles and towers of this 
monument are among the best preserved aboriginal buildings in the 


2The name Hovenweep, which has been given to this monument, is taken from the Ute 
language and has been translated “‘ Deserted Valley.” It is now applied to a tributary of 
the Yellowjacket, but was originally the name of the main canyon. 


1454—25 od 


470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Southwest. The reservation (fig. 2) includes four groups of ruins, 
now called Ruin Canyon, Keeley, Hackberry, and Cajon. 

There are 13 ruins in the Ruin Canyon group, over half of which 
are towers of the second type, which have kivas at their bases. One 
of the largest ruins is in Square Tower Canyon and stands at the 
head of the canyon, rising from the very rim. Although sections 
of the walls of this building have fallen, the remains of a large semi- 


C3 National Monument? Areas 
Embracing 285 8 acres 


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HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


Fic. 2.—Hovenweep National Monument 


circular house are conspicuous for some distance. This ruin also 
has buried kivas surrounded by square or rectangular rooms. In 
the midst of walls there formerly rose a conspicuous multichambered 
tower, whose foundation is D-shaped, its straight wall measuring 23 
and the curved 56 feet. The northeast corner rises 15 feet high, and 
the walls of the northwest angle of the ruin are still higher. This 
ruin, called Hovenweep House, resembles somewhat Far View House 
on the Mesa Verde National Park. 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 471 
HOVENWEEP HOUSE 


This building (pl. 1, fig. 1) was a pueblo that stood on the can- 
yon rim at the head of Square Tower Canyon. Most of its 
walls have now fallen into the canyon and are strewn around on 
the mesa, forming an unsightly mound; but there still remain sec- 
tions of standing walls of fine masonry rising out of the mound, 
which are visible as conspicuous structures as one approaches the 
cluster of prehistoric dwellings that compose a part of Hovenweep 
House. Under the cliff below it are remains of a very large cliff 
dwelling, the walls of which are dilapidated, although still pre- 
serving certain architectural features. These walls could be pro- 
tected at very small expense and would present a fine type of cliff- 
dwellers’ masonry. Near by, below Square Tower, stands another 
tower, one of the best examples of this type of building in the 
Southwest. It rises from the top of a pinnacle, on a well-preserved 
foundation on all four sides. This building has given the name 
of Square Tower Canyon to the southern fork of Ruin Canyon. 
Although tall, its summit is not high enough to afford a view very 
far down the canyon. The north and south forks of Ruin Canyon 
are separated from each other by a tongue of land ending in a preci- 
pice, on which are remnants of a tower having a magnificent out- 
look. This structure presents some of the best masonry in the South- 
west. At the base of the precipice, as if guarding its entrance to 
Square Tower Canyon from the approach of hostile people, are ruins 
5 and 6, which are worthy of’exploration by the archeologist. Ruin 5 
stands on a large angular bowlder, with what appears to be an 
opening or doorway on the north side. An instructive architectural 
feature of tower 5 consists of two parallel walls, apparently char- 
acteristic of this small ruin, one on each side of this doorway. 

There are situated on the north rim of Ruin Canyon three inter- 
esting structures. One of these is known as Unit Type House (pl. 
1, fig. 2) from the fact that it consists of a single circular kiva of 
well-made masonry around which are arranged six rooms. The 
southern wall of this ruin is more or less broken down, and the east- 
ern portion also shows signs of destruction, but on the northeast 
corner there is a remnant of a room so dilapidated that it can not 
well be made out. Ruin 11 is composed of a cluster of small build- 
ings, and ruin 13, called Stronghold House (pl. 2, fig. 2), is one 
of the most picturesque ruins of the monument. The best ruins in 
Ruin Canyon, however, are on the south rim, numbered 8 and 9 
on the accompanying map. Number 7, known as Eroded Bowlder 
House (pl. 3, fig. 1), is mainly remarkable for its site. Perched 
on top of an eroded bowlder, there stands a tower, while the rooms 


472 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


are on the northeastern side. The mortar is fresh in the walls of 
the latter, and the marks of human hands can readily be seen. 
There are one or two places in which a corncob is still found 
embedded in the adobe, and indentations of corncobs used by the 
plasterers are still visible. At the base of Bowlder House there 
are many fallen walls extending down the canyon. Ruin 9 (pl. 2, 
fig. 1), the ground plan of which is rectangular, stands about 11 
feet high on the south rim of the canyon. A doorway opens in the 
middle of its north wall and is so arranged as to make it difficult 
to enter. The masonry in ruin 9 is rough, and projecting ends of 
rafters indicate that it was formerly two stories high. A short 
distance from the foundation is a stone cairn which was once used 
as a shrine. 

Perhaps the most remarkable ruins in Ruin Canyon are the so- 
called Twin Towers (pl. 3, fig. 2), which are so closely approxi- 
mated that from certain points they look like one ruin. They are 
situated on the south side of the canyon, covering the top of a 
rock isolated from the rim of the mesa by a deep cleft. The founda- 
tion of the larger of the twins is oval and in the southwest corner 
is a doorway; the smaller tower is horseshoe shaped. The arrange- 
ment of rooms inside both towers, as shown in the ground plan, is 
regular, one wall conforming to the outline of the towers. The 
walled-up caves below the bases of these towers are small and ap- 
parently used for storage. The Square Tower cluster and a few 
smaller ruins near it are designated on, the map by the name Ruin 
Canyon Group. These towers are situated in Utah, not far from the 
boundary between San Juan County and Montezuma County. There 
is no water near this cluster. One or two additional towers may 
be seen by following down the canyon, which eventually discharges 
its water into the Yellowjacket. i 

Most of the walls of the Keeley group of ruins are well preserved. 
The cluster is situated about a small canyon and is approached 
on foot from Keeley Camp, where there is a constant spring of good 
water. Two of the Keeley ruins belong to the tower type and are 
built on bowlders. 

The largest ruin in this vicinity, called Hackberry Castle, is rec- 
tangular in form and stands on the edge of the canyon. There are 
rafters in the wall at a level about 12 feet above the base. A second 
ruin, a short distance north of Hackberry Castle, also rises from the 
rim of the canyon. Its walls are well preserved and the outline of the 
base about square, with corners rounded. There are indications that 
the entrance to this room was through the floor. 

Two other towers in the bottom of the canyon show some of the 
finest masonry of this region. Their foundations cover the top of 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 473 


fallen bowlders, which rise to a considerable height. The well-made 
doorways are wide above and narrow below. The approach at pres- 
ent is difficult on account of the height of the basal rock on which the 
ruin stands. There are evidences that the former inhabitants used 
foot holes cut in the base in order to enter this building. 

The third group of ruins, known as the Hackberry group, has 
several well-preserved prehistoric stone buildings. Hackberry Can- 
yon is one of the terminal spurs of Bridge Canyon. The main ruin 
in this cluster is called, from its ground plan, the Horseshoe House 
(pl. 4, fig. 1). It is particularly instructive from the fact that it has 
a central circular tower which is for two-thirds of its circumference 
concentric with the outer wall, to which it is united by radial parti- 
tions. It is situated on the north edge of the canyon, with its straight 
wall on the south side. The northeastern corner of Horseshoe House 
stands several feet higher than the southeast, which corner rests on - 
a projecting rock, reminding one of the cornerstone of Sun Temple. 
The masonry of most of the southern segment of the inclosed cir- 
cular inner wall has fallen down the cliff. There apparently was no 
doorway on this south side, as the line of wall is so near the cliff. 
The ruin is not large, the south wall being about 30 feet in length 
and the highest wall about 12 feet. A short distance north of Horse- 
shoe House there are two large pueblos in a ruined tower rising from 
an extensive pueblo whose walls have fallen. At the foot of the 
cliff on which Horseshoe House stands is a cliff house with a single 
kiva (pl. 4, fig. 2). 

The best preserved building in the Hovenweep National Monu- 
ment, called Hovenweep Castle (pl. 5, fig. 1), is divided into two 
sections, western and southern, imparting to the ground plan of 
the ruin the shape of the letter L. It has towers and kivas arranged 
about rectangular rooms; and the western end is composed of a 
massive-walled semicircular tower and well-preserved rooms with 
high walls. 

The eastern section, like the western, has a tower and circular 
depressions or kivas. On the north and south ends this section rises 
into high walls inclosing rectangular rooms, those at the north end 
being better constructed, and standing as high as the walls of the 
western tower. The corners of these buildings, as is generally the 
case, are not well preserved, due to lack of properly tying or bind- 
ing the courses of masonry. Much débris has accumulated in and 
around the kivas, filling their cavities; it is evident that these cere- 
monial rooms were formerly one-storied, and practically are sub- 
terranean on account of the height of surrounding rooms. Frag- 
ments of standing walls project out of the accumulated débris, indi- 
cating rooms at the junction of the eastern and western sections of 


474 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the ruin, but the form and arrangement of walls at that junction 
are not evident. The walls of one of the kivas show evidences of 
mural pilasters and banquettes like those of cliff dwellings. 

The fourth group of ruins in the Hovenweep Monument is situ- 
ated at the head of a small canyon on the Cajon Mesa a few miles 
west of those already described. 'To the largest ruin of this group, 
the author has given the name Cool Spring House (pl. 5, fig. 2), on 
account of the fine drinking water in the canyon below it. This ruin 
would well repay extensive study and contains features not yet 
described in other ruins.‘ 


POTTERY AND OTHER OBJECTS 


Through the kindness of Mr. Williamson, cashier of the national 
bank at Dolores, the author is able to give a brief chapter on pot- 
tery and other objects from the neighborhood of Hovenweep Na- 
tional Monument. In a general way the architecture of the build- 
ings in the Hovenweep National Monument is identical with that 
of the buildings on top of the Mesa Verde and likewise the build- 
ings in the intervening areas separating the two. The large mounds 
in the Montezuma Valley west of the Mesa Verde have such 
a tlose likeness to those in the Mummy Lake group and elsewhere 
on the surface of the Mesa Verde Park that we may suppose their 
former buildings identical in culture. Wherever we find true cliff 
dwellings in this vast area we have evidence of cultural similarities. 
In other words the architectural types of the Mesa are practically 
duplications of those in the neighboring valleys, and the conclu- 
sion is evident that all this neighborhood was formerly inhabited by 
a widespread people in a similar stage of development. The extent 
of the distribution of these similarities, north, west, south, and east, 
is a most interesting problem for the archeologist to solve, for it 
indicates the horizontal spread of a characteristic culture. 

But similarity in architectural features is only one means by 
which the archeologist recognizes the extension of culture; another 
is the similarity in form, colors, and designs of pottery. An exam- 
ination of ceramic objects reveals the fact that there is no radical 
difference in pottery throughout this area and we find by comparison 
that pottery from the Hovenweep National Monument is so similar 
to that from the Mesa Verde that one may say it is identical, and 
is the product of people in the same cultural stage. The ceramic 
evidence thus supports the architectural that the former inhabitants 
of the Hovenweep National Monument were the same as those of 
the Mesa Verde. But it must be borne in mind that we are handi- 
capped by the paucity of specimens from the two regions for com- 


4For further details of Bull, 70, Bur. Amer. Ethn., and Smithsonian Misc. Coll., Vol. 
68, No. 1, 1917. 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 475 


parative purposes and uncertainty as to the localities from which 
individual specimens were taken. We know that the pottery figured 
in the following pages came from the valleys adjoining the Mesa 
Verde on the west, far enough down the San Juan River to establish 
the fact that the area peopled by Indians who made the same pottery 
was a large one. 

There are only a few collections from the area we are now con- 
sidering and nothing of note from the Hovenweep National Mon- 
ument, but the author had the good fortune to examine-a few small 
collections found in the McEImo and tributary canyons and in the 
ruins in Montezuma Valley, the majority of which were found 
in the neighborhood of the Hovenweep National Monument and 
in mounds situated in Montezuma County. A collection known as 
the Williamson collection, gathered in this area, was exhibited for 
many years in the First National Bank at Dolores, and through 
the kindness of Mr. Williamson the author was able to take pho- 
tographs and make a few drawings of the most striking specimens. 
There are many relics besides pottery, but the most abundant type 
belongs to the ceramic group called black and white or gray ware 
with black designs. This ware belongs to the most flourishing 
epoch of cliff dwellers. Figures of typical forms are shown in the 
following illustrations: 

Plate 6, Figures 1 and 2, represent drinking mugs, the former 
specimen closely allied to those from the Montezuma Valley and the 
Mesa Verde. The essential character of mugs from the Mesa Verde 
area, both on the plateau and the valley at its base, is the enlarged 
base, which always has a greater diameter than the opening. The 
decoration on this mug (pl. 6, fig. 1) is made up of black triangles 
arranged in four series and divided into pairs separated by an 
encircling band. The handle extends from the lip to the base—a 
characteristic design—but in this particular specimen has no deco- 
_ration. This mug was found at the source of the McElmo® Canyon, 
possibly at the three-walled tower at Mud Creek. Another mug 
(pl. 6, fig. 2), in which the diameters of the lip and the base are 
about equal, has its surface decorated in two zones separated by an 
encircling band. The decorations in these two bands consist of 
terraced figures separated by a zigzag white line shown in Plate 
6, Figure 2. There were several other mugs in the collection, but 
all have the same general character. The remarkable similarity 
of. these mugs to those found in the Mesa Verde cliff houses is 
strong evidence that the culture of the Indians who lived in the 


5A settler calls this the McElmen Canyon, from an old resident of that name, 


476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


cliff houses and in the pueblos or open villages in the plain was 
indentical. 

Two specimens of jugs made of black and white ware are figured 
in Plate 6, Figures 3, 4. ‘These specimens are made of rough ware 
ornamented by the simplest geometrical patterns; one of these has 
simply encircling black bands. The handle arises above the neck 
and continues to the middle of the jug. These objects are flattened 
at the base, but otherwise similar to those from the Mesa Verde 
region so often described. 

Plate 6, Figures 5 and 6, and Plate 7, Figure 2, show globular vases 
with small mouth openings. They belong to the group of white or 
gray ware decorated with black designs. The two lugs suggest that 
these objects are canteens, having at the base of the neck two knobs 
or mounted disks which no doubt served for the adjustment, to which 
were attached strings by means of which they could be carried over 
the shoulder. The two figures represent the same canteen from 
different sides. 

One of the most remarkable globular jugs (pl. 7, fig. 1) in the 
Williamson collection is four-lobed at the base and decorated with 
hatchure and circles each with a central black spot. The handle of 
this jug is marked with parallel black lines. 

There is in the Williamson collection an effigy bow] in the form of 
a bird, here shown (pl. 7, figs. 3 and 4) from side and top. One 
interesting feature brought out in this effigy bowl is the T-shaped 
opening on the back and the striated representation of the wings. 

Another type, approaching in form the bird effigy already con- 
sidered, is a clipper-shaped vessel shown in Plate 7, Figure 5, which 
has no indication of a head or wings but should be classified near the 
bird effigies. 

Plate 7, Figure 7, represents a duck-shaped effigy vase with lateral 
ridges indicating the position of wings. The handle has been broken. 
This object is made of rough ware, unornamented. 

In 1922 the author found at Pipe Shrine House, in the Mesa Verde 
National Park, a similar bird effigy to that figured in Plate 7, Figures 
3 and 4, which also has a well-made head and a T-shaped opening in 
the back. 

An exceptional form of ceramic ware which was found at the 
crossing of the river at Dolores is shown in Plate 7, Figure 6. This 
object is a globular, undecorated vessel, unlike any form that has 
thus far been recorded from the Mesa Verde. 

Plate 7, Figures 8 and 9, represents a clay specimen of three cups 
united. It belongs to the gray ware; the bottoms of all are flat; 
sides rounded. 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 477 


The remarkable triangular vase shown in Plate 8, Figure 7, has 
two extensions, one on each side of the terminal opening. The sur- 
face of this strange form, whose use is unknown, is decorated with 
parallel lines arranged symmetrically. 

Among the modern Hopi the feather plays such an important 
part in their ceremonial system that it is customary for every priest 
to have a box for feathers, which in old times was made of a root 
of the cottonwood. The object (pl. 8, figs. 2 and 4) indicates that the 
ancients of the Montezuma Valley also had a feather box of similar 
shape but made of clay. Although this receptacle is much smaller 
than the feather box of the modern Hopi, it served an identical 
purpose. 

Food basins (pl. 8, figs. 5 and 6) in the Williamson collection from 
the area in which Hovenweep Monument is situated are very rudely 
decorated with geometrical figures and mainly belong to the black 
and white ware. They resemble those of the Mesa Verde National 
Park. Plate 8, Figure 6, has the rim decorated. 

Thus far very few fetishes have been found in the Mesa Verde 
region, but two good specimens from the valley are shown in Plate 
8, Figures 1 and 3, side and front views. These objects are made 
of marble and are perforated, suggesting that they were worn on 
the person as pendants of necklaces or other ornaments. It is 
possible that they were used as fetishes for aid in hunting, much as 
the Pueblos employ similar figurines at the present day. 

The most exceptional form of pottery is shown in Plate 9, Fig- 
ures 1 and 2. This is a double vase consisting of two almost globu- 
lar vessels united by a rude effigy of an unknown animal. This 
twin vessel is made of white ware with a simple geometrical decora- 
tion in black. It was evidently a ceremonial object in which pos- 
sibly sacred water was carried. 


CONCLUSIONS 


It is almost impossible to traverse the country surrounding the 
Hovenweep Monument without observing mounds and other rem- 
nants of the former housebuilders. The remarkable similarity of 
these remains is everywhere apparent. It is unnecessary to exca- 
vate any considerable number of these mounds to prove the identity 
of the builders. Neither is it desirable or necessary to reserve the 
extensive tracts of land upon which they stand to preserve the type 
of buildings characteristic of the extensive culture area to which 
they belong. The Hovenweep National Monument contains build- 
ings typical of an extended area in southwestern Colorado, south- 
eastern Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. Similar buildings of the 
same type are found as far north as the Dinosaur beds of Utah and 


1454—25 32 


478 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


follow down the San Juan to an indefinite horizon. In the south the 
culture they represent merges into the Chaco Canyon region and 
that of the pueblos on the Rio Grande. 

The relationship of Hovenweep buildings to those on the Mesa 
Verde is practically identical, but there are forms of buildings 
in the Hovenweep country which have not yet been found on the 
Mesa Verde. The massive character of the walls of several typical 
buildings of the Hovenweep suggests solidity and construction 
necessary for defense, and these buildings are ordinarily situated 
on the edges of great canyons and may have been so placed to se- 
cure distance views down the canyons or extensive vistas over the 
waterless plains. Plate 10 shows a tower on a projecting rock which 
has fallen and probably buried a cave dwelling. The masonry of the 
great houses is the most massive of all those made by the inhabitants 
of the San Juan drainage. In addition to this feature, attention 
may be called to the predominance of the tower element, which is 
likewise a Mesa Verde characteristic. They are condensed in form, 
not spread over a large area. The closest of the Hovenweep like- 
nesses to the Mesa Verde buildings is the ceremonial rooms known 
as kivas, which are seen in Unit Type House, wherein we have a 
single central circular room surrounded by square rooms, very 
similar to the One Clan House near the road from Mancos to Spruce- 
tree House. The terraced form of building so common among mod- 
ern pueblos and so well illustrated in Far View House on the Mesa 
Verde has not thus far been made out clearly in pueblos of the 
Hovenweep Monument, nor do we find clusters of disjoined small 
buildings indicating a pueblo in process of formation so common 
in Hovenweep Monument as at Mesa Verde. This indicates to the 
writer’s mind that the unconsolidated units of the Mesa Verde 
pueblos are older than the more closely amalgamated pueblos of the 
Hovenweep or the still more compact Chaco pueblos. It is apparent, 
as no evidence of white habitation has been found, that all are strictly 
pre-Columbian buildings; and their fine preservation would indicate 
that they are more modern than the mounds which conceal similar 
buildings on the Mesa Verde. 

As we go west from Hovenweep there is a gradual change in archi- 
tectural types and a corresponding change in relative age of the monu- 
mental remains. While stone houses whose walls are not very unlike 
those of the Hovenweep occur in this far western region, there is an 
older appearance to the ruins and a closer affinity to a prepuebloan 
type which on the Mesa Verde underlies the puebloan. In the Hoven- 
weep Monument there are evidences of two epochs of culture, an early 
earth lodge or pit dwelling culture and a later epoch, the buildings of 
which were constructed upon the more ancient. This underlying 


HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT—FEWKES 479 


prepuebloan culture, generally extinct or submerged by a new influx 
of pueblo buildings, may have been an early stage in the evolution or 
a local development. The later or pueblo form, being more complex, 
varies more in different regions, although derived from an almost 
identical prepuebloan type. It is not possible from our limited 
knowledge to make any final statement regarding the age of these 
two types of culture or the causes that led to the final abandonment 
of these buildings. The same reasons that have been advanced for 
the desertion of the Mesa Verde habitations are no doubt valid for 
those of the Hovenweep; migrations due to pressure produced by in- 
roads of hostiles; desire for better farms and more water; changes of 
climate, perhaps; even growth of local feuds among different settle- 
ments, due to congestion of population, may have contributed to the 
migration of the Hovenweep people. The traces of direction of mi- 
gration shown by the distribution of buildings suggest a southern 
migration or toward the sun, where farming conditions were more 
favorable and inroads of hostile people less frequent. Legends cur- 
rent among the pueblos support this conclusion. The population of 
this region was fairly large, or at any rate the size of the houses, 
with a few notable exceptions, indicate this. The people could not 
have had very extensive knowledge of where they were going, and 
there is no evidence of their possessing beasts of burden or other 
modes’ of transportation over long distances. Their struggle for 
physical existence was fierce, their migratory movement slow, and the 
evidences are that they harvested fairly good crops for a limited time 
as they spread over the country. The desire to improve their condi- 
tion was intensified by the growth of population. Of necessity they 
sought the river valleys where water was constant and always avail- 
able, and those unoccupied fields that were fertile were more extensive 
than any that could be found in a rocky environment. 

Absolutely nothing of the speech of these people is known with 
certainty. Their language may have been assimilated with some 
pueblo stock to the south, but with which group we have no means 
of knowing. Not a single one of their place names survives, so far 
as researches have gone. No systematic study of somatological data 
is available to teach the affinities of these people. Their age is un- 
known and the explanation of why they left their homes is merged 
into the general history of the conquests of sedentary people in our 
Southwest and that of our more vigorous incoming tribes. The 
Tanoan Indians have several place names, which are mentioned by 
Harrington and others. 

The most important conclusions arrived at by a comparative 
study of architecture and material culture is that the Hovenweep 
people were of the same race as those that built the great houses and 


480 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


towers of the Mesa Verde. Within the area in which lie these two 
Government reservations we find evidences of two distinct modes 
of life; a simple one in which there was one clan in one house, and 
another in which multiple clans inhabited one or more united houses; 
the one an earth-lodge people, the other a pueblo people. The 
pueblo phase of house construction was of local growth; the earth 
lodge, having a wider distribution, would appear to have been ante- 
cedent to this local differentiation into multiroom pueblos, and hence 
is called the prepuebloan, but is supposed to survive in so far as 
architecture goes among nonpueblo tribes like the Navajos in the 
pueblo area. 

The Hovenweep National Monument thus gives us an example of 
typical prehistoric stone buildings situated west of the Mesa Verde 
having an allied culture, but showing certain variations that are 
significant. None of the towers shows any signs of having been 
made or used by the white man. 


PLATE | 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes 


I. HOVENWEEP HOUSE AND HOVENWEEP CASTLE, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL 
MONUMENT 


eer Saher Guxiecemeel 


ro 
2 
4 


2. UNIT TYPE HOUSE, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


PLATE 2 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes 


2. STRONGHOLD HOUSE 


|. RUIN 9 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes PLATE 3 


|. ERODED BOWLDER HOusE (INDICATED BY ARROW). UNIT TYPE HOUSE 
Is SHOWN ON THE RIGHT AND TWIN TOWERS ON THE LEFT 


Courtesy of Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. G. L. Beam, photographer 


en 


ia 52, 


2. TWIN TOWERS, FROM CANYON, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes PLATE 


1. HORSESHOE HOUSE, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


2. CLIFF HOUSE UNDER HORSESHOE HOUSE, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL 
MONUMENT 


(Wirsula, photographer) 


—E——————— 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes PLATE 5 


|. HOVENWEEP CASTLE, RUIN CANYON GROUP, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL 
MONUMENT 


2. COOL SPRING HOUSE, CAJON GROUP, HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes 


BE 
=& 
a 


CERAMIC OBJECTS FOUND NEAR DOLORES, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO. 
BLACK AND WHITE WARE. WILLIAMSON COLLECTION 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes PLATE 7 


CERAMIC OBJECTS FOUND NEAR DOLORES, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO. 
WILLIAMSON COLLECTION. |, LOBULAR VESSEL: 2, SMALL VASE; 3, 4, 
BIRD-SHAPED VESSEL; 5, 6, 7, BIRD EFFIGY VESSELS; 8, 9, SMALL POTTERY 
OBJECT WITH THREE COMPARTMENTS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes 


2 


AMULETS AND POTTERY FROM SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO, FOUND NEAR 
DoLorRes. |, 3, DIFFERENT VIEWS OF STONE FETISHES; 2, 4, POTTERY 
FEATHER Box; 5-8, POTTERY OBJECTS OF BLACK AND WHITE WARE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Fewkes PLATE 9 


VL 


DOUBLE-BOWLED CEREMONIAL VESSEL IN FORM OF A COMPOSITE ANIMAL. 
BLACK AND WHITE WARE. FROM SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO, NEAR 
DOLORES 


Joydviz0j0yd ‘mevog "1 *H ‘“peos[ey epueip Ory zp JOA Jo Asoyinog 
NOANVYO ATIOH ‘YSMOL GNV O1985Nd HLIM %00Y NATIVSA 


Ol 3LV1d seymMej—'€Z6l ‘WOday uelUOSY}IWS 


THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE AMERICAN 
INDIAN? 


By ALes HrbpricKa 


[With 17 plates] 


The great problem of American prehistory is that of the 
genesis of the Indians, who when first seen by white men were al- 
ready spread over the entire American continent as well as all its 
habitable islands. 

Without discussing the many older speculations on the subject, 
we will approach directly the several concrete questions into which 
this problem resolves itself. The foremost of these is that of the 
race unity or plurality of the Indians. 

It is known that the aboriginal population of America was divided _ 
into many tribes, and even a number of what might be called nations, 
often hostile to one another ; we have learned that there were many dif- 
ferent languages and dialects, remarkable differences in culture and 
the material results of culture, and also marked differences in the 
physiognomy, color, stature, head form, details of physique, and in 
the general behavior of the different groups of Indians—all of which 
would seem to indicate that there might have existed here some, if not 
considerable, racial diversity. 

But if these matters are subjected to careful and comprehensive 
scrutiny, we find that the various differences presented by the In- 
dians are often more apparent than real; that actual and important 
differences are in no case of sufficient weight to permit of any radical 
dissociation on that basis; and that the more substantial differences 
which exist between the tribes are everywhere underlaid by funda- 
mental similarities and identities that outweigh them and that speak 
strongly not only against any plurality of race on the American con- 
tinent, taking the term race in its fullest meaning, but for the general 
original unity of the Indians. 

We thus see that the American languages, while not infrequently 
differing greatly in phonetics, vocabulary, and even structure, be- 
long nevertheless to one fundamental large class—the polysyn- 
thetic—and present other important resemblances in their com- 


1 Rewritten for the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution from ‘‘ The Genesis 
of the American Indian,” Proc. XIX Intern. Cong. Americanists, Washington, 1917, 
559-568. 


481 


482 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


plexity of grammar, ideas of gender, formation of numerals, modes 
of plurality, formation and réle of prefixes and suffixes, relative 
values of the pronoun, dialectic differences in the two sexes, etc., 
which, taken together, speak for one and the same (though doubt- 
less ancient and probably extra-American) broad parentage. 

In a similar way we find that, notwithstanding numerous more 
or less pronounced local differences in detail, there are in all tribes 
many deep-seated and significant evidences of a similar culture. 
They exist in the stone, clay, wood, and bone technique; in weaving 
and basketry; in methods of housing, of fire making; in clothing 
and the limited household furniture; in agriculture; in games; in 
all that relates to medicine, religion, conceptions of nature; in folk- 
lore; in social organizations; in the usages of war; and in still other 
important and intimate phases of Indian life. 

Going still further, there are found essential resemblances in the 
mind and behavior of the Indians throughout the two continents. 
One who has become well acquainted with the mentality of the 
natives in any region of either North America or South America, 
will find, on eliminating the local environmental peculiarities, 
faithful counterparts in all other regions; and the behavior of the 
Indian is in substance much the same everywhere in his family and 
tribal relations, in the care of the young, in all his functions, in his 
ceremonies, songs, warfare, in his peculiarities. 

The constitution of the Indian, using the term in its modern 
medical sense, is also much the same throughout the two continents. 
He is everywhere readily affected by, and falls an easy prey to alcohol; 
he is physically enduring, without in general being actually exception- 
ally strong; he is little if at all, subject to various degenerating and 
constitutional diseases such as cretinism, rachitis, cancer, insanity, 
etc., but is everywhere readily affected by tuberculosis, trachoma, 
measles, smallpox, and syphilis. 

Last, but not least, there are, notwithstanding certain differences, 
the basic resemblances and identities of his body and skeleton. 
Some of these features are: 

1. The Indian’s color differs, according to localities and habits, 
from dusky yellowish, or brownish yellow, through all shades of 
brown, to that of solid chocolate; but the fundamental color is 
moderate brown, or yellowish-brown. 

2. The hair, as a rule, is black (to reddish-black after exposure) ; 
it ranges about to above medium in coarseness, being never fine; 
and it is straight, except in the old or unkept, where there may 
be slight irregular waviness, and in the men who wear longer hair, 
where the ends may show some tendency to turn upward or wave. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka PLATE | 


KALMUCK 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdli¢ka PLATE 2 


A JURAK-SAMOYED MAN 


(After Szombathy) 


PLATE 3 


v 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka 


2 


pad 


er 


is 


each a aint 


Seay 


Two “TUNGHUZ,” SIBERIA 


(Russ. Anthrop. Jour.) 


(31nqs190}9g “19 


‘geay oy] Jojed Jo Uinesny [eo{sojodo1yjuy pues [eo1ydeiz0uqI gq eq} WOT 9 


3 


MeyOXe Y 


Snoiyq} WINesnyY [euONeN 


SHVILSO ISSINSA JO ATIWVS V 


p alVid 


Seq} £q pouyeyqo ydesZ0,0q4 ) 


eyI|PIH— "EZ! ‘Wodey uBiUOSYyWWS 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN—HRDLICKA 488 


The beard is more or less scanty, on the sides of the face completely 
absent, and never long. On the body there is usually no visible 
hair except perhaps a little in the axille, with more on the pubis, 
though even there it is frequently sparse. 

3. The Indian is free from special characteristic odor appreciable 
tothe white man. His normal heart-beat is slow. His other physio- 
logical functions are everywhere much alike. The size of the head 
and of the brain cavity, though differing considerably in individuals 
and with the mean stature, averages on the whole slightly less 
than that of white men and women of similar height. The skull is 
in general slightly thicker and presents many features of the base, 
etc., that are of the same class all over the continent. 

4. Indians’ eyes, as a rule, are above medium to dark brown in 
color, with decidedly bluish conjunctiva in younger children, pearly 
white in older subjects, dirty-yellowish in adults; and the eye slits 
show a prevailing tendency, more or less noticeable in different 
tribes, to a slight or moderate upward slant; that is, the external 
canthi are frequently more or less appreciably higher than the 
internal. 

5. The nasal bridge is only moderately to fairly well arched; 
the nose is frequently strongly developed in the males and often 
convex (“aquiline”) in shape, but is lower, shorter, and more 
commonly straight or even concave in the females. It is never very 
high nor so fine or slender as in whites, nor again so flat and thick and 
broad as in the negro; and its relative proportions in the living as 
well as in the skull (barring individual and some localized ex- 
ceptions) are prevalently medium or mesorhinic. The malar regions 
are, as a rule, rather large or prominent. The suborbital or canine 
forse are in general more shallow than in whites. AIl of which is 
true throughout the tribes. 

6. The mouth is generally fairly large to large, and the same may 
be said of the palate. The lips average from medium to somewhat 
fuller than in whites, are never thin (except after loss of front teeth 
and after alveolar absorption), and never so thick as in the negro; 
and the lower facial region shows in general a medium degree of 
prognathism, standing, like the relative proportions of the nose and 
many other features, about midway between those in the whites and 
those characteristic of the negroes, though on the whole rather closer 
to the white. The chin is well developed, but on the average some- 
what more voluminous and less prominent than in whites, and is not 
seldom square. The entire lower jaw is on the average somewhat 
larger than in whites. The teeth are from medium to above medium 
size when compared with those of primitive man in general, but per- 
ceptibly larger when contrasted with those of the cultured white 


484 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


American or European; the upper incisors of the Indian present 
throughout, with infrequent individual exceptions, an especially im- 
portant feature: They are on the inside, or lingually, characteris- 
tically shovel-shaped, that is, deeply and peculiarly concave, with a 
marked border surrounding the concavity.” The ears are rather large. 

7. The neck, as a rule, is of only medium length and never thin in 
health; the chest is mostly somewhat deeper than in average whites; 
the breasts of the women are of medium size to somewhat above 
medium, and often more or less conical in form, the true hemispheri- 
cal type being a rarity. In the females, the éisproportion. between 
the pelvic region and the shoulders is less marked than in American 
whites. There is an absence of steatopygy; the lumbar curve is 
moderate. The lower limbs are somewhat less shapely and generally 
less full than in whites; the calf in the majority is rather slender, 
more so than in the average whites or negroes. 

8. The hands and feet, as a rule, are of relatively moderate di- 
mensions, and what is among the most important distinguishing fea- 
tures of the Indian, the relative proportions of his forearms to arms 
and those of the distal parts of the lower lhmbs to the proximal 
(or, in the skeleton, the radio-humeral and tibio-femoral indices), 
are in general throughout the two parts of the continent of similar 
average value, which differs from that of both the whites and the 
negroes, standing again more or less in an intermediary position. 

9. In the Indian skeleton, from Canada to Tierra del Fuego, be- 
sides the characteristics hitherto mentioned, point after point of 
important resemblance or identity are met with which mark une- 
quivocally the many distinct tribes as descendants of one and the 
same older group of humanity or ancestral stock, and serve to dis- 
tinguish them from other peoples except those with which they have 
a common prehistoric origin. Such features include, besides those 
relating to the skull, such highly distinctive traits as general platy- 
brachy in the humerus, frequent platymery in the femur, and fre- 
quent platycnemy in the tibia; high frequency of perforation of 
the septum in the humerus; great rarity of the supracondyloid 
process in any form; and many other conditions. There are tribal 
or local differences in these respects, but on the whole the similarity 
of the skeletal parts throughout the continent is such that a classifica- 
tion of the Indians into more than one original race is quite im- 
possible. 

- Taking all the above facts into consideration, and remembering 
that whatever differences are observable in the Indians in any di- 
rection are equaled if not exceeded in other large fundamental 


* See “ Shovel-Shaped Teeth.” Am. Jour. Phys. Anthrop., Washington, 1920, III, No. 4. 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN—HRDLICKA 485 


groups of humanity, such as the whites, the Asiatic yellow-browns, 
and others, there appears the possibility of only one conclusion, 
which is that the Indians throughout the American continent repre- 
sent but one strain of humanity, one main race; and that the varia- 
tions observable in the great group are intraracial fluctuations and 
developments, of more or less remote, frequently perhaps of pre- 
American, origin. These variations in some instances may constitute 
types or subraces, but they go no further, for even in such more 
specialized strains the majority of the physical as well as the physi- 
ological characteristics remain still intimately connected with those 
of the remainder of the Indians. 

Having thus reached the important conclusion of the fundamental 
unity of the American race, we may now approach the second great 
question regarding the American aborigines; namely, the antiquity 
of the race on this continent. 

The solution of this part of the problem may be approached in 
two ways: (@) By critical reasoning; and (0) through material 
evidence. 

(a) Can the Indian possibly be regarded as a true autocthon of 
America? In other words, could he have evolved from lower forms 
on this continent? There have been those (and they included men 
of science such as Morton and, more recently, Ameghino) who were 
inclined to adopt or who actually proclaimed this view. But in the 
present state of our knowledge it is easy enough to dispose of this 
hypothesis. The anthropologist of to-day knows definitely that man 
evolved from the nearer Primates; there is abundant material evi- 
dence to that effect, regardless of other considerations. These Pri- 
mates must naturally have approached man in all important respects, 
a condition that could be realized only by the most advanced anthro- 
poid apes; but the existence of such forms in America is very doubt- 
ful. There were on this continent Eocene and Oligocene lemurs 
and other primitive forms, and ultimately the ordinary American 
monkeys, but nothing so far as known of any advanced type that 
could possibly be included in the more proximate ancestry of man, 
unless it was the recently described (Osborn, Gregory *) Hesperopi- 
thecus, which, however, is still represented by an imperfect and badly 
worn tooth, with another specimen in still worse condition, the 
identification of which as teeth of a higher anthropoid it is difficult 
to accept as conclusive. These facts alone suffice to render an Ameri- 
can origin of the Indian extremely improbable. 

2 Osborn (H. F.) Hesperopithecus, etc. Am. Mus. Novitates, No. 37, 1922. 


Gregory (Wm. K.) and Milo Hellman. Notes on the molars of Hesperopithecus and 
of Pithecanthropus. Bull. Am. Nat. Hist., 1923, XLVIII, Art. 13. 


486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


But there are other logical and decisive proofs that such origin 
was impossible. The two main are as follows: 

1. ‘The Indians, notwithstanding their diverse special character- 
istics, are on the whole exceedingly like the rest of mankind in every 
important feature, so that if we should accept the view that they 
originated in America we would practically be obliged to conclude 
that all mankind originated here—a theory that has actually been 
advocated but which at the present time would probably seem mon- 
strous even to those who would otherwise be disposed to believe in 
an American origin of the Indians. For it is well known that all the 
really known Primate species that come or ever came near to man 
live or lived in parts of the Old World, and that the earliest known 
forms of humanity belong equally to the Old World. It is to the 
warmer regions of the Old World that the best scientific evidence 
leads us to look for man’s origin, and the rest of the earth could have 
been peopled only through the gradual dispersion of mankind, or of a 
form that eventually led to mankind, from the Old World center or 
centers of development. 

2. Secondly, we know that a very early and physically as well as 
_ culturally very primitive form of humanity had reached the central 
part of western Kurope somewhere before, probably much before, the 
middle of the Quaternary or Glacial Epoch, and we would look in 
vain for any feasible mode of bringing such primitive beings at that 
time from America to what is now southwestern Germany, Belgium, 
France, Spain, and England. 

All these reasonings, nevertheless, would perforce be subverted if, 
as has happened so frequently within the last few decades in Europe, 
there were discovered on the American continent unquestionable 
skeletal or cultural remains of geologically ancient man. As might 
be expected from the great interest in such remains aroused by the 
European discoveries, with human credulity and especially the gen- 
eral inclination of less disciplined or trained minds toward the won- 
derful, with its dwarfs, giants, and beings of mysterious power or of 
great antiquity, and also as a result the many possibilities of acci- 
dental inclusion of human artifacts or remains in old strata, the 
occasional rapid fossilization of human bones, and a possible com- 
mingling of such bones or other vestiges of man with the bones of 
ancient animals—claims to discoveries of skeletal or other remains 
of early American man have not been wanting and will not be want- 
ing as time goes on. Announcements of such discoveries have ap- 
peared repeatedly both in North America and in South America, 
and have given rise to much speculation. On being subjected to 
thorough scientific scrutiny, however, the antiquity of the majority 
of the finds on which the structure of man’s antiquity in America 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka PLATE 5 


SIBERIAN NATIVES. THE BABY IS HALF WHITE 


OrRoCZ!I, KONI RIVER, SIBERIA 


(ZI6L ‘BxQUPIH) 
VOUN JO HLYON ‘VLYNA HISHJ 4O LNOY4 NI AOG V HLIM NAWOM TIOSNOW OML 


9 alW1d ®491|PIH—'EZ6| ‘HOdey uxjuosy}Ws 


PEATEs 


Hrdlicka 


Smithsonian Report, 1923. 


MONGOLIAN MAN 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka PLATE 8 


A MONGOL, URGA_ 
(Hrdlitka, 1912) 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN—HRDLICKA 487 


was or is to be reared vanish as evidence, and the residue is supported 
by testimony so indecisive that no conclusion of geological age of 
the remains can legitimately be based thereon.* Impartially weighed, 
the probabilities are in every instance against rather than for geo- 
logic antiquity. So far, then, the subject may be summarized by the 
statement that, while we now possess numerous and in seme instances 
great anthropological collections from this continent, and while 
many old caves, rock shelters, and other sites, some of which have 
yielded remains of Quarternary or earlier animals, have been care- 
fully explored, there is to this day not a single American human 
bone in existence or on record the geological antiquity of which can 
be demonstrated beyond doubt. It is in fact impossible for us to 
produce, though they might reasonably be expected, any specimens 
that can demonstrably compare in antiquity with the remains of, for 
instance, the predynastic Egyptians, unless it is the most recently 
found but not yet definitely determined bones of Los Angeles.’ 

As the question stands, therefore, even if we were inclined to accept 
man’s geological antiquity on this continent on the basis of some 
a priori consideration (for which, however, there is no adequate 
ground), we should seek in vain for support of the theory from mate- 
rial evidence; and we can not possibly have recourse to the personal 
opinions of those who, because of religious beliefs, temperamental 
inclination, other bias, or imperfect observation, have claimed and 
in some instances still claim the presence of man here in times far 
antedating the recent or even the Glacial period. 

It stands to reason that if man had originated in America and 
spread thence to other continents, or if he had come here hundreds 
or even scores of thousands of years ago, we should by this time 
have found some evidence of his great local antiquity which could 
be freely acceptable to all of us, as are the remains of Kuropean 
early man. Wherever man has lived for any length of time, he has 
invariably left behind him implements, utensils, and refuse con- 
taining shells and bones of contemporaneous mollusks, fish, birds, 
and mammals, with remains of fire. If there is no such evidence, 
or at least none that the most thorough students of the subject can 
conscientiously accept, then assuredly we are not justified at the 
present time in accepting the theory of any geological antiquity of 
the American race. 


4 Detailed treatment of this question from various aspects will be found in Bulletins 
33, 52, and 66, of the Bureau of American Ethnology. By “ Geological age’ is meant 
age greater than that of the recent or postglacial period. 

5In a preliminary report on these remains before the National Academy of Science by 
Dr. John C. Merriam (Apr. 29, 1924), it was shown that they also probably are postglacial 
and that their age, while doubtless considerable, is to be estimated in thousands, rather 
than in tens of thousands of years. See Science, July 4, 1924. 


488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Having reached the only possible conclusions on the two important 
questions thus far considered, namely, that the American aborigines 
represent a single race, and that the presence of this race on this 
continent is of no demonstrated geological antiquity, we reach the 
third and final complex of questions involved in the problem of the 
genesis of the American Indians—the whence, when, and how of his 
occupancy of the New World. 

Considering the primitive means of transportation of prehistoric 
man, it will be agreed, I think, that he could have come only from 
those parts of the Old World that lie nearest to America. ‘These 
portions are the western coast of northern Africa, northwestern 
Europe, and particularly the northeastern parts of Asia; and geology 
shows that there were no nearer lands or other than perhaps a far 
northern (north of Bering Strait) Asiatic-American land connec- 
tion, within the period that can be assigned to man’s existence. 

Between Africa and South America, however, at their nearest 
approach, there are nearly 2,000 miles of distance, and the separation 
between the nearest points of North America and Europe is even 
much greater. It is not at all likely, to say the least, that man 
reached the American continent from either of these directions 
except since protohistoric times, after he had sufficiently developed 
a means of navigation, with those of prolonged self-sustenance; and 
this likelihood would hold equally true if he had come by way of Ice- 
land or Greenland, for even there the ocean stretches are very con- 
siderable. 

But, turning to the Asiatic continent, we find no such insuperable 
difficulties. Only about 30 miles separates the two continents at 
Bering Strait, and in clear weather American land is visible from 
the hills of the East Cape of Asia. North of Bering Strait there 
may have existed until relatively recent times an actual land connec- 
tion over which many animals possibly reached the New World and 
which could have served as a direct bridge for man, but as yet no 
direct evidence has been obtained that man could have come at that 
time. The Bering Sea itself, however, could have been crossed, by 
way of St. Lawrence Island or even over the open. And much far- 
ther south there is the long semilunar chain of the Aleutians which 
reach to within 400 miles of Kamchatka, and even that distance 
is broken nearly into halves by the Commander Islands. It is true 
that the sea here is rough, and fogs prevail, but from what we know 
of the achievements in navigation by the natives of the northern 
Pacific coasts, in skin boats, in recent times, it is within the range 
of possibility that these conditions could have been overcome and 
the distance covered by men of earlier times. Here, then, we have 
several practicable routes by which the Asiatics could have reached 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN—-HRDLICKA 489 


America, and their presence, with the absence of other such routes ° 
elsewhere, gives strong support to the view that those who eventually 
became the American aborigines reached this continent from north- 
eastern Asia. 

Let us now turn to racial evidence. We have passed above in 
brief review the principal physical and physiological characteristics 
that distinguish the American aborigines. Where, in the Old World, 
are there or ever were there people who approach this type most 
closely ? 

This was surely not in Africa, for there is liftle in common be- 
tween the Negro and the Indian. It was not in historic Europe, 
which, during that time and barring a few Asiatic incursions, was 
peopled only by the white race. If we turn to Asia, however, we 
see that large parts of Siberia and the eastern coast of the continent, 
with much of Malaysia and even Polynesia, were and still are peo- 
pled by nations and tribes which differ more or less from one an- 
other, owing to admixtures and local differentiation, but which on 
the whole are of a type that in most of its essentials resembles, or 
is practically identical with, that of the Indian. This type persists 
to this day with particular purity in certain parts of the Philippine 
Islands (such as among the Igorrots), in Formosa, in portions of 
Tibet, in parts of western China, in Mongolia, and over many parts 
of Siberia. It can frequently be met with in China proper, in Korea, 
and in Japan. It is a type which is characterized by the same range 
of color, as well as the quality and peculiarities of distribution of 
the hair; by the same dark-brown eyes with yellowish conjunctiva 
and slight to moderate slant; by similar prominence of the cheek 
bones and characteristics of other parts of the face; by similar fre- 
quency of the hollowed-out upper front teeth; by close resemblance 
in the rest of the body; and, in addition, by similar mentality 
and behavior, with close affinities in other functions, as well as in 
numerous habits and customs. The physical resemblances between 
some members of the Asiatic groups and the average American 
Indian are such that if a member of one or the other were trans- 
planted and his body and hair dressed like those of the tribe in the 
midst of which he was placed, he could not possibly be distinguished 
physically by any means at the command of even a scientific observer. 

Such resemblances can not possibly be fortuitous. They show that 
eastern Asia has been and in large measure still is peopled by a type 
of humanity which, while no more homogenous than for example 
the white race, stands nevertheless on the whole nearest of all the 
human types to that of the American aborigines. Given the close 
proximity of the two continents, which would permit the passage 
from one to the other of people even in a relatively primitive state 


490 ANNUAL REPORT SMMMHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


of culture; and finding that, outside of heterogeneous immigrants and 
mixtures, the two regions are peopled to this day by radically the 
same type of humanity, there is the strongest possible argument for 
the unity of origin of the eastern Asiatics and the American Indians. 
And as man can scarcely be assumed to have originated in America 
and to have migrated to Asia, there remains the one possible conclu- 
sion that the American aborigines were derived from the Asiatic 
continent; and they must have come by the northern routes, which 
were not only the most practicable but were the only ones that would 
enable man in the earlier stages of culture to reach the New World. 
The Pacific islands were not peopled until relatively recent times, 
later than America itself, and hence need not be considered in this 
connection any more than historic Europe or Africa. If any parties 
of these islanders ever reached the American continent, which is not 
impossible, they could have come only after the Indians had spread 
over it and were well established, and while such parties could have 
introduced perhaps a few cultural peculiarities, they could not ma- 
terially have affected the population. 

Granting, on the basis of the above considerations, that the Ameri- 
can aborigines came originally from Asia, we are still confronted by 
the two important questions as to when and how this immigration 
could have been effected. 

As to the time, there is no direct evidence and none can be hoped 
for. Yet it seems that in an indirect way we may approach a solution 
of this mooted question. 

It is self-evident that before man could have migrated from Asia 
he must have peopled that continent; and he must have peopled it 
in relatively large numbers, for only that would have enabled him to 
overrun such an immense territory. Man does not migrate like 
birds—he spreads. He is gregarious, and he is a creature of habits, 
one of the strongest of which is attachment to his home, whether the 
limited site of a sedentary community or the larger territory of a 
nomad tribe. He will move only because of compulsion, such as 
may be caused by enemies, some calamity, or the exhaustion of re- 
sources; or because of better prospects ahead in the way of climate 
or food. He can not be supposed to have reached the colder north- 
eastern limits of Asia before the warmer, richer, or more available 
parts of that continent were settled or hunted over; and he could not 
have reached America, of course, before all this took place. We are 
able then to establish one definite Jandmark in reference to the time 
of the beginning of the peopling of America; it could only have 
followed that of Asia. 

This leads to the second step in our quest, namely, the peopling 
of Asia itself, and more particularly of its northern portions. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka PLATE 9 


A MONGOL, URGA 
(Hrdli¢ka, 1912) 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka PLATE 10 


A MONGOL, URGA 
(Hrdliéka, 1912) 


PLATE II 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdli¢ka 


A BUNUN MAN OF FoRMoSA 


VSOWHO4 JO NAW NANNG 


31 3Lvid Bx12IPIH—'EZOL ‘Hodey uBjuosyWS 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN—HRDLIGKA 491 


Archeological researches in northern Asia, including Japan and 
China, are still in their beginning, nevertheless they indicate the 
presence, over a wide territory, of many remains of human occupancy, 
in the form of burial mounds and of ruins, with other signs of man’s 
activity. The great majority of these remains are known to be of 
no great antiquity, dating from historic or late prehistoric times; 
but there are also older mounds, cave remains, and dwelling sites 
which yield only stone and bone implements, and primitive pottery. 
These latter remains are the earliest in eastern and northeastern 
Asia thus far discovered, and the culture they represent corresponds 
generally to that of parts of the Neolithic epoch of Europe. And what 
is true of cultural applies also to the skeletal remains from these 
sites—they show relatively modern forms, much like those that 
existed in the Old World during the neolithic age. We have there- 
fore no evidence, or even a promise of evidence, so far, that these 
farther portions of the Asiatic continent were peopled except at a 
relatively recent period. It is true'that Paleolithic implements occur 
in a certain region along the Yenisei River in Siberia, and that 
others have been found lately in northwestern China, but these finds, 
even if they should prove to represent a fairly ancient man, are 
thousands of miles away from where man could have eventually 
crossed over to America. Al] this leads to the strong presumption 
that the beginning of migration into America did not take place be- 
fore the time of the European late Paleolithic or earlier Neolithic 
period, which, reduced to years, would be somewhere between pos- 
sibly ten or at most fifteen thousands of years ago and the dawn of 
the proto-historic period in.the Old World. 

Here, however, the claim might be urged that perhaps northern 
Asiatic man had a different origin from the European Neolithic 
population, and may have reached the northern confines of Asia be- 
fore the more westerly branch or branches of humanity peopled most 
of Europe. To this it may be answered that it would be merely a 
hypothesis unsupported by any material evidence. The northern 
Asiatic man of all periods is too near in every important respect to 
the white man to be regarded as a distant relative, much less as a 
different species, as he would necessarily be if he had a separate 
origin; and there is nothing that would even suggest his presence 
in northeastern Asia before the existence of late Paleolithic or Neo- 
lithic man of Europe. It seems much more justifiable to accept the 
view that he was derived from the same stock as the European Pre- 
neolithic and Neolithic population, and that he peopled Asia through 
migration by the central and southern routes. But granting, for 
the sake of argument, the wholly improbable supposition that he had 
developed apart in or to the south of Asia, we would still have to as- 


492 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


sume that, having reached a physical and cultural status practically 
identical with the later prehistoric European, and having spread 
over about as much territory.as he would have covered in coming 
from Europe or Asia Minor, and that really in the face of greater 
obstacles, his advent in the northeastern limits of the Asiatic conti- 
nent could not have been any earlier than it would have been had 
he started from the west and passed over the great central steppes. 
The assumption, therefore, of a separate origin of the north Asiatic 
and consequently the American man from that of the European, 
would not make the Indian any more ancient. 

Thus, from whatsoever aspect we take the question, the when of 
the peopling of America does not yield to answer except in terms of 
moderate antiquity corresponding in all probability with that of the 
late Paleolithic to Neolithic Europeans.® 

It remains for us to give thought to the mode or modes of man’s 
advent into the New World and his subsequent spread and multipli- 
cation on this continent. 

Here it is necessary, in the first place, to free ourselves from all 
notion of mass migration. The northeastern portions of the Asiatic 
Continent were never fit within man’s time either to harbor or to 
permit the migration of any large number of human beings at one 
time. ; 

The only rational conclusion in this connection seems to be the 
following: The northeastern Asiatic man in relatively small nomadic 
or seminomadic groups hunted and fished along the rivers and sea- 
coast, living in proximity. As game diminished through this hunt- 
ing or from other causes, he followed it, not southward, where other 
tribes were doubtless already established, but farther northward and 
eastward, in the direction of least resistance and of greater abun- 
dance, until he reached the Kuriles, Kamchatka, and finally the 
northeastern extremity of Asia. Before arriving at the limits of the 
mainland he was doubtless already well provided with and expert 
in the use of boats capable under favorable circumstances of making 
prolonged sea voyages. Some party then may have struck out or 
was driven eastward, reaching the Aleutian chain. Once discovered, 
these islands would serve as a natural bridge, over which in the 
course of time groups of Siberian natives could reach Alaska and 
the American Continent. Or a party first crossed by way of Bering 
Strait, or possibly by the still more northerly land connection, 
if it existed. Doubtless in the course of time the Asiatic native 
utilized all the practicable means of ingress to the New World. 
Once on the American Continent, of better climate, full of game, and 


° Compare writer’s ‘“‘The Veopling of Asia.” Proc. Am, Philos. Soc., 1921, LX, 53h, 
et seq. 


ORIGIN OF AMERICAN INDIAN-—HRDLICGKA 493 


free of people, they would not turn back, unless to bring their fami- 
lies and fellows, but would follow the game, spread rapidly and 
multiply rapidly, and under favoring conditions it would not have 
taken a great many centuries to people both North America and 
South America, 

At all events, whatever the exact circumstances of the first peopling 
of the American Continent may have been, it may be safely assumed 
that only relatively small parties reached the new land at one time, 
and that there was no migration in mass, no flow of whole peoples. 
But such comings were doubtless repeated; the news of the new land 
must have reached those left behind and farther, so that the first 
parties would be followed soon by others, irregularly in all proba- 
bility, and on the whole very slowly, but interminably. Quite likely 
there were even various rediscoveries of the New World in different 
parts of its northwestern limits, and the dribbling over may be 
assumed to have continued from the time the first Asiatic parties 
reached the new land to the historic period, when parties of Eskimo 
were found to trade across St. Lawrence Island and Bering Strait. 

The newcomers, though all belonging to the same main race, were 
evidently not strictly homogeneous, but represented several distinct 
subtypes of the yellow-brown people, with differences in culture and 
language. 

The first of these subtypes to come over was, according to many 
indications, the dolichocephalic Indian, represented in North Amer- 
ica to-day by the great Algonquian, Iroquois, Siouan, and Sho- 
shonean stocks; farther south by the Piman-Aztec Tribes; and in 
South America by many branches extending over large parts of that 
continent from Venezuela and the coast of Brazil to Tierra del 
Fuego. The so-called “Lagoa Santa race” were merely Indians of 
this type. 

Next came, it seems, what Morton called the “ Toltec” type, quite 
as Indian as the other, but marked by brachycephaly. This type 
settled along the northwest coast, in the central and eastern mound 
region, the Antilles, Mexico (including Yucatan), in the Gulf States, 
over much of Central America, reaching finally the coast of Peru 
and other parts of northern South America. 

Still later, and when America was already well peopled, there 
came, according to all indications, the Eskimo and the Athapascan 
Indians. The former, finding resistance in the south which he could 
not overcome, remained in and spread over the far-north land, de- 
veloping various environmental physical modifications that have 
removed him, on the whole, farther from the Indians than is the case 
with any other branch of the yellow-brown people. The Athapas- 
cans, a virile brachycephalic type, on the one side closely allied 


494 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


physically to the prevailing Mongolian type of northeastern Asia 
and on the other to the earlier American brachycephals,’ may have 
reached the continent before the Eskimo. However this may be, 
their progress southward was evidently also blocked, compelling the 
body of the enlarging tribe to remain in Alaska and northwestern 
Canada; but along the western coast some contingents succeeded in 
penetrating as far as California, where they left the Hupa, and to 
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of northern Mexico, where 
we know them as the Apache. 

This, in brief, seems to be the story of the genesis of the American 
indians as derived from the present and generally acceptable anthro- 
pological evidence. There are still many obscure spots which future 
knowledge may illuminate. The subject calls for continued research, 
especially in the American Northwest and in northeastern Asia. But 
the main facts appear now to be well established. ; 

The peopling of America must have been one of the greatest 
romances of man’s history—even though the beings coming over were 
no giants or dwarfs, as sometimes imagined, nor any very ancient 
form of man, but just ordinary “Indians.” 


7 See “ Catalogue of Human Crania in the U. 8S. National Museum Collection,” Proc. 
U. S. Nat. Mus., 1924, UXIITI,. art. 12. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdli¢ka PLATE 13 


IGORROTE GIRL CARRYING CHILD 


SGNV1S] ANIddITIHd ‘SSLOYHOD] 


vl ALv1d 


BHOIIPAH—'EZ6L ‘Hodey uBjuosyyWS 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Hrdlicka 


A TINGUIAN MAN, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 


PLATE 


15 


(oqqy “TM “Ad 4q sydessoj0y4) 
OANYOg YVAN ‘SGNV1S] 1D9Vd JO SSAILVN 


9| ALv1d BHOIIPIH—'EZOL ‘HodaY uBUOSYWS 


(0aqV “I *M “Id Aq sqdess0,044) 
VISAVIVIA| ‘SGNV1S] IDVd-IDvd WOY¥4 AOg Vv 


LI alvid B491|PIH—'EZ6L ‘Hodey uBjUuosYWS 


THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORK OF PRINCE ALBERT i 
OF MONACO, AND THE RECENT PROGRESS OF HUMAN 
PALEONTOLOGY IN FRANCE? 


(The Huxley Memorial Lecture for 1922) 


By MAR&cELLIN BOULE 


Professor in the Muséum national @ Histoire naturelle, Director of the Institut 
de Paléontologie humaine 


* * * * * * * 


I have hesitated long over the choice of a subject to discuss before 
you. I am not an anthropologist in the strict sense of the term. 
My scientific equipment is rather in the domain of geology and of 
paleontology. It is through these two sciences that I have been led 
to take up anthropology. Since man is known in the fossil state, his 
earliest history will be revealed necessarily and directly through 
geology and paleontology, and will be revealed only through them. 

It is your illustrious predecessors, Lyell, Prestwich, Falconer, 
Huxley, John Evans, who, following in the train of, and so to speak, 
coming to the aid of our great precursors, Tournal, Boucher de 
Perthes, Noulet, Lartet, have placed the problem of fossil man in its 
true perspective; it is their work which has thrown the first light on 
the great problems of geology and quaternary paleontology. The 
geological observations of Lyell and of Prestwich, the paleontological 
discussions of Falconer and of Mr. Boyd Dawkins, the anatomical 
and philosophical observations of Huxley, and the archeological 
speculations of Lubbock and of John Evans have lost nothing of 
their value, although the younger generations are showing too great 
a tendency to forget them. 

I should have liked to discuss the underlying reasons for the de- 
velopment of that fine group of British scientific men devoted to solv- 
ing the great problem of our origin by the most varied methods, a 
group whose ranks are still far from complete, as is shown by the 
discoveries and investigations of every kind accomplished by you and 
in your country in recent years. I feel that these are correlated, at 
least in large part, with the geographical and geological environment. 
All of the geological systems that are elsewhere isolated are found 


‘Translated, by permission, from the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of 
Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. LIT, July to December, 1922. 


495 


496 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


within your territory. From the geological point of view, your Plio- 
cene and Pleistocene formations are most varied; you have marine 
formations, glacial formations, alluvial formations, accretional de- 
posits, bone caverns, peat bogs, etc. The study of the stratigraphic 
relations of these diverse formations led you early to particularly 
interesting and accurate results. It is certain, for instance, that the 
early observations of Lyell and of Prestwich still remain of prime 
importance. 

From the paleontological point of view, you have, in your Pliocene 
outcrops of Norfolk, in the Pleistocene alluvial formations of your 
great valleys, in the refuse deposits of your caves, in your peat bogs, 
etc., an almost uninterrupted succession of fossil faunas whose study, 
connected with a stratigraphic study, is of a nature singularly 
adapted to the solution of chronological problems. 

From the archeological point of view, your situation is somewhat 
peculiar, but it is found that at different epochs, the connection of 
your country with the continent has provided access to it for the 
oldest populations of western Europe, so that you do not lack evidence 
bearing on the ethnography of these early men, and you are able 
also, perhaps better than elsewhere, to establish the most instructive 
relations between all the data of geology, of paleontology, and of pre- 
historic archeology. 

Such a subject would therefore have much attraction for me; but 
to treat it suitably before you, I should have had to devote to its 
preparation much more time that my professional duties will permit. 
I was still hesitating when there occurred a tragic event, the death of 
Prince Albert I of Monaco, whose name will live, as you know, as one 
of the greatest benefactors of science, and of whom I had the honor 
of being one of the closest collaborators. Everyone knows to-day 
the services which the prince has rendered to oceanography. Much 
less well known, though not less great, are the services which he has 
rendered to human paleontology. It seemed to me that I should be 
able to interest you in speaking to you of an illustrious and mourned 
benefactor of anthropology, and that I would fulfill a duty in paying 
to his memory, before a select audience, the homage which is due him. 
The anthropological work accomplished by the Prince or by his col- 
laborators is such that in describing it I shall be able at the same 
time to indicate to you the greater part of the progress recently made 
in France in the field of human paleontology. 

What I especially desire to explain to you is that the part played 
by the Prince of Monaco was not that of a mere amateur nor of a mere 
patron. He brought to the study of the great problem of the origin 
of the human race the enthusiasm, and especially the spirit of coopera- 
tion which he showed in his oceanographic investigations, in attack- 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO—BOULE 497 


ing the more general problem of the origin of life. In each case, he 
has given lavishly not only of his money but of himself. 

All tourists who have visited the Cote d’Azur, toward the French- 
Italian frontier, know the Baoussé-Roussé, or Red Rocks, whose es- 
carpments, terminating the chain of the Alps on this coast, drop per- - 
pendicularly to the sea, not far from Menton, but on Italian territory, 
below the ancient village of Grimaldi, once the property of the 
Princes of Monaco. 

These superb rocks, with their warm coloring perpetually flooded 
with bright sunlight, are honeycombed with caves which open broadly 
on the azure sea in an enchanting region. ‘These caves have long 
been well known as a result of the discoveries which have been made 
there at various times. It seems that it was a Prince of Monaco, 
Florestan I, grandfather of Albert I, who first realized their scien- 
tific interest. At some time prior to 1848 he sent to Paris a box of 
miscellaneous débris collected in these caves. I do not know what 
was done with these bones and fashioned flints in Paris, but from 
the fact that they were sent 10 years before the triumph of Boucher 
de Perthes, the inference is that they were not appreciated at their 
true value by the men of science to whom they were probably shown. 

The caverns of Menton were not long in becoming known and in 
receiving visits from various naturalists and archeologists. Some 
excavating, though only superficial work, had already been done 
there, when in 1870 a French physician, Emile Riviére, whose health 
forced him to live on the Céte d’Azur, undertook to explore the 
“caverns of Menton.” His investigations were shortly to achieve suc- 
cess. In 1872 he found a human skeleton in the cave called Cavillon, 
under a covering of stalagmite. This is the famous “ Menton man,” 
now on exhibition in the hall of anthropology of the Paris Museum. 
The following year, in a neighboring cavern, he uncovered the rem- 
nants of three other skeletons. In 1874 and 1875 he took two chil- 
dren’s skeletons from another cave, since called for this reason 
“Grotte des Enfants ”—the Children’s Cave. 

These discoveries were widely noticed. Certain features about 
them recalled those of the formations at Cro Magnon in the Depart- 
ment of the Dordogne, explored some years before by Louis Lartet. 
They attracted quite as much attention. For Riviére as for Louis 
Lartet it was a question of burials of the Paleolithic age; that is, the 
Pleistocene. But such great antiquity was doubted by the majority 
of anthropologists who could not bring themselves to project so far 
into the past the type of Homo sapiens. The most formidable of 
these adversaries was Gabriel de Mortillet, who rendered great serv- 
ice to prehistoric archeology, but who often obstructed the progress 
of this science by his preconceived ideas and his antireligious beliefs. 


498 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


It must be said that Riviére, whose recent death we mourn, had 
neither the scientific training nor the necessary genius to prove his 
case, although it was a worthy one. He was reproached with not 
having conducted his excavations methodically or with sufficient care, 
- with not having established the stratigraphy of his positions, with 
having confused the various levels, and with having relied upon the 
statements of his workmen. The great work which he published in 
1887 on The Antiquity of Man in the Maritime Alps, poorly planned 
and inaccurate on important points, was an insufficient reply to these 
criticisms, and the opinion of G. de Mortillet on the Neolithic age of 
all the skeletons was generally accepted, accompanied in certain 
minds, however, by distressing reservations. 

At this point there came upon the scene the Prince of Monaco, 
whose keen scientific spirit had already long been exercised in the 
domain of anthropology as well as in many other directions. From 
his youth, in fact, he had anticipated his later work and had pre- 
pared for it in the laboratories of Paris, discussing paleontology 
with Albert Gaudry, studying prehistoric archeology with G. de 
Mortillet, and working with Manouvrier on human skeletons. In 
1882 and 1883 he was engaged in exploring one of the finest caves 
of the Baoussé-Roussé, the Barma Grande, working himself with 
his own hands and scrupulously keeping in a notebook the record 
of his excavations. “The undertaking of the Prince of Monaco,” 
M. de Villeneuve tells us, “has this special characteristic: It con- 
templates less the assembling of a collection of prehistoric objects 
than the acquisition on the spot of facts with which in his opinion 
the laboratory study of the material may be correlated in such a 
way as to make all the results of an excavation available for science.” 

When he was obliged to be away, he charged his archivist, M. 
Saige, with continuing the investigations and gave him exact in- 
structions: “ No one shall work on the excavations except in your 
presence * * *. It is essential to establish as exactly as possible 
the levels in which the various fragments have been found in rela- 
tion to the absolute surface of the ground, and especially to estab- 
lish the relations of these different levels to each other. It is neces- 
sary also to note the thickness and the situation of the sterile 
strata—that is, those which produce nothing—for they indicate a 
period during which the cave was abandoned * * *. A diary 
must also be very carefully kept, so that when the cave has been 
completely excavated its history may be written.” And he indi- 
cated the manner of working by digging, first, a reconnaissance 
trench, by following this with horizontal trenches, by sifting the 
earth, etc. He did not hesitate to go into the most minute technical 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO-——BOULE 499 


detail.2, These are not, we see, the methods of a mere amateur but 
those of a true man of science. 

As a result of the various kinds of difficulties which he encoun- 
tered the Prince wrote from Paris on June 15, 1883, “I see, from the 
complications which our excavations are continually encountering, 
that we must abandon the caves for the time being.” But this 
proved only true in part. More and more desirous of achieving the 
solution of the important problems of prehistoric anthropology 
which presented themselves at the Baoussé-Roussé, the Prince de- 
cided in 1895 to take up again the work of systematic exploration, 
at first in a cave still nearly intact—the “ Grotte du Prince ”—then 
in some of the neighboring caves which already had been super- 
ficially excavated but whose deposits of refuse were still partly in 
place. 

These new excavations lasted nearly 10 years. They were con- 
ducted by M. le Chanoine de Villeneuve and his aid, M. Lorenzi, 
methodically, skillfully, and with devotion, as I am able to testify 
through my frequent and long stays in Monaco. They furnished 
valuable scientific results, which were presented in a large work 
published sumptuously under the auspices of the prince. I shall 
call your attention for a moment to the most important of these 
results. 

The “ Grotte du Prince ” is the largest of the group. The explora- 
tion work took out more than 4,000 cubic meters of the material, 
which filled it and permitted the study of two kinds of deposits: 

1. The lowest—that is, the oldest—represents an ancient coast 
line, with Mediterranean shells and without northern species; Seneg- 
alese forms, such as Strombus bubonius, indicate warmer water than 
at present. 

2. Over this marine formation are superimposed, more than 15 
meters in thickness, formations of subaerial origin in which are 
found fireplaces, or heaps of ashes, especially rich in bones of 
animals and corresponding to the successive periods of human occu- 
pation. Two groups of fireplaces can be distinguished. A lower 
group is characterized by mammals of the oldest period of Quater- 
nary time, and denoting a warm climate, such as the hippopotamus. 
The higher group contains the bones of “cold ” species, such as the 
reindeer. The superposition of these two faunas—one warm, the 
other cold—had not before been established in a country so far south. 


2See L. de Villeneuve, “‘ Les Grottes de Grimaldi, Historique et Description,” p. 31. 

3, de Villeneuve, M. Boule, R. Verneau, BH. Cartailhac, “ Les Grottes de Grimaldi,” 2 
vols., quarto. Monaco, 1906-1919. 

‘The reindeer is not: the only ‘‘ cold” species which I have observed for the first time 
in that region. Among the bones resulting from excavations recently carried on by M. 
- yaneyaye in a cave of Monaco, I had the pleasure of recognizing a skuH of Isatis 

ue fox). 


500 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The stratigraphic and paleontological study of the “Grotte du 
Prince ” has shown us that this succession should be admitted for the 
Cote d’ Azur as well as for the Pyrenees, the banks of the Seine, or 
those of the Thames. 

But there was an outcome even more unexpected. It is not the 
culture known as Chellean which was found in the lower levels with 
the warm fauna, the fauna of the lower Pleistocene, but rather the 
Mousterian culture, commonly associated in Europe with the mam- 
moth fauna. This fact caused surprise, I might almost say conster- 
nation, among the prehistoric archeologists, too prone to believe in 
the stability and the chronological infallibility of the various types 
of Paleolithic implements. They discussed it freely and interpreted 
it in various ways. Of the two conflicting methods—the geological 
and the archeological—I firmly believe that here the latter should 
give way to the former. The facts of a geological and paleontologi- 
cal nature have a more general signification and bearing than the 
ethnographic facts because they do not depend, as do the latter, on 
human action. I am able, moreover, to announce to you the very 
recent discovery by M. de Villeneuve, of a rude Chellean industry 
in the cave of “Observatoire,” located in Monaco itself, and in a 
stratigraphic level situated rather above than below the level of 
the warm fauna and the Mousterian industry of the “Grotte du 
Prince.” It is therefore not to be doubted that since the lower 
Pleistocene there have been different archeological facies in the sev- 
eral regions inhabited by men who might also have differed among 
themselves. 

The “Grotte du Prince” has taught us many other things. The 
exceptional fact of the existence, at the same place and in contact 
with each other, of a marine fauna and a fauna of Pleistocene mam- 
mals, has put a new light on the chronology of the changes during 
Quaternary time in the level of the ocean and in the configuration 
of the Mediterranean shores. I have attempted to establish the 
relation of these variations to glacial phenomena and to the phenom- 
ena of erosion and filling in of valleys, and in the light of all 
these facts, to explain the exchange of faunas between Africa and 
Europe. Moreover, the fine state of preservation of the innumer- 
able paleontological specimens collected in this cavern has enabled 
me to bring new facts to bear on the history and the geographical 
distribution of the Pleistocene mammals. 

But the “Grotte du Prince” did not yield the slightest trace of 
human remains, and this was most unfortunate, for we had counted 
on the integrity of the deposits of this fine locality to determine 
once for all the age of the various burials found in the neighboring 
caves, concerning which discussion was still going on. 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO—BOULE © 501 


The Prince decided then to move his workshop elsewhere. The 
“Grotte des Enfants” had been only partly excavated. There still 
remained nearly 8 meters in thickness of untouched deposits. Here 
the investigations achieved the greatest success from an anthropo- 
logical point of view: Four human skeletons were discovered at 
three different levels. The stratigraphic and paleontological ob- 
servations made it possible to solve definitely the problem of the 
age of the formerly and recently discovered human skeletons at the 
Baoussé-Roussé. 

The chief conclusion from these observations is that all of the 
skeletons are indeed Pleistocene. Those from the upper layers go 
back at most to the reindeer period. My learned colleague and 
friend, M. Verneau, who had already published interesting accounts 
of the skeletons of the Barma Grande, was invited by the Prince to 
make an anthropological study of them. He had no difficulty in 
showing that both belonged clearly to the Cro-Magnon race. It was 
the task of my dear friend Cartailhac, whom our science has mourned 
for a long time, to show in the archeological memoir, which he 
willingly undertook to prepare, that all of these burials, those of 
the Dordogne as well as those of the Cote d’Azur, were associated 
with the same accessories, pierced shells, objects of ornamentation. 
bone colored red, etc., and all bore witness to the same culture. 

The two skeletons from the lower level are of an earlier epoch, of 
an age difficult to determine exactly, but which I have every reason 
to believe Mousterian, or closely allied to Mousterian. They also 
constituted a burial, and you all know that after having made a 
careful study of them M. Verneau concluded that they belonged to a 
special race, presenting numerous negroid characters, which he called 
the “ Grimaldi race.” The fact is of prime importance for several 
reasons. First, because we are here in the presence of a human 
type of an age very near that of the Neanderthal, if not of 
the same age, and the coexistence in western Europe in the same 
geological epoch of two such different human forms gives us much 
to think about; also because the resemblances of this new type, show- 
ing many traits in common with certain African races of Homo 
sapiens, lead us to believe that the “statuettes of Menton,” with 
equally negroid and steatopygous characters, are rude effigies of 
this type. ; > 

The authenticity of these statuettes was discussed for a long time, 
especially because the exact circumstances of their discovery remained 
quite obscure, Riviére and G. de Mortillet considering them as the 
work of a clever forger who attempted to imitate the ivory figurines 
discovered by Piette 4 Brassempony in the Pyrenees. 


1454—25——33 


502 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Another objective of the excavations organized by the Prince was 
to clear up this mystery. In this respect also the results were note- 
worthy. Although no new statuettes were discovered, there was 
found in an Aurignacian fireplace of the “ Grotte du Prince,” a frag- 
ment of soft rock, or steatite, identical with the material of the first 
statuettes, which showed the beginnings of sculpture. If there was 
still needed additional proof of the authenticity and of the antiquity 
of these objects of primitive art, it was found in the uniformity of 
physiognomy and in the general similarity shown by all the works of 
the same class made in different countries quite distant from each 
other. Very recently, this summer in fact, M. and Mme. de Saint- 
Perier discovered in a cave in the Pyrenees, also in an Aurignacian 
stratum, a fine female statuette in ivory, one of the most beautiful 
objects which has been found so far in a Paleolithic deposit. The 
style of this statuette is very close to that of the Menton figurines. 
You will very shortly see photographic reproductions and a descrip- 
tion of it in “ L’Anthropologie.” 

These are the chief results of the work carried on under the direc- 
tion and at. the expense of the Prince of Monaco in the caves of Gri- 
maldi. The precious relics resulting from these excavations and 
brought to light after so many thousands of years constitute the most. 
venerable archives of humanity. They must be preserved as we pre- 
serve the archives of written history, and with this end in view the 
Prince organized the Anthropological Museum of Monaco, the direc- 
tion of which he entrusted to his learned and devoted collaborator, 
M. de Villeneuve. Here are exhibited methodically, in galleries 
lighted by great bays opening on the blue sea, an innumerable series 
of objects carefully arranged and labeled. Large specimens give an 
idea of the character and the composition of certain fossil-bearing 
strata. Vertical glass cases are filled with fine paleontological speci- 
mens. The human skeletons occupy the center of the main hall on 
the first floor. They are surrounded by archeological objects classified 
by levels. On the walls, plans and sections of the caverns of Baoussé- 
Roussé enable visitors to visualize the nature and the stratigraphy of 
the positions. The other halls contain, among other collections, the 
results of similar excavations carried on in various caves located in 
territory belonging to the principality, notably in the Neolithic caves 
of Bas-Mouliys and the Spélugues. All this material forms a whole 
which daily attracts many visitors and which keenly interested the 
members of the thirteenth session of the International Congress of 
Anthropology and Prehistoric Archeology held in Monaco in 1906. 

The Prince also rendered still another great service to our studies 
when he took this Congress, whose fate appeared at that time very 
doubtful, under his protection. And those among you who were 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO—BOULE 503 


present at the session at Monaco still recall the success of this gather- 
ing, enriched with all the delights of a truly princely hospitality. 
May I be permitted to here express regret that after the terribly 
sterile period of the Great War anthropologists have not recognized 
that instead of seeking to create a new more or less international 
organization they should devote themselves to reviving an institu- 
tion whose brilliant past should vouch for the future? 

The Prince, pleased with the results which he has thus obtained, 
looked only for a new opportunity to render further services to the 
study of human paleontology. Such an opportunity was not long in 
presenting itself. On all sides discoveries relative to Quaternary art 
were multiplying. Cartailhac returned from Altamira with port- 
folios full of photographs and crayon sketches cleverly drawn by M. 
Breuil. In his enthusiasm he had made magnificent chromolitho- 
graphic plates for the work which he intended to publish with his 
collaborator. But he soon perceived that the undertaking was too 
great and beyond his moderate financial means. With the help of 
that learned and lamented archivist of the Palace of Monaco, Gustave 
Saige, I had no difficulty in interesting the prince in the incom- 
pleted work. He generously took over all the expense of the publi- 
cation of this magnificent volume entitled “Altamira,” to-day in 
every large library in the world, which is only the beginning of the 
list of a series of magnificent volumes devoted to the description of 
the mural paintings and engravings of the Paleolithic caverns. 

M. Breuil was particularly adept in this new form of investigation. 
The prince gave him every facility for pursuing his work not only in 
France but also in Spain; and it is to this interest that the broad 
scope of prehistoric studies in the Iberian peninsula, a development 
of which we have been for some years the admiring witnesses, is due. 

This period of about 10 years immediately preceding the terrible 
phenomenon of human retrogression provoked by Germany in 1914, 
was in France truly a great period for human paleontology and pre- 
history. Investigators were numerous; they made valuable observa- 
tions and sometimes important discoveries in all parts of France. 
In the Pyrenees, already well known through the finds and the 
investigations of Piette, it was shown by Cartailhac, Breuil, and 
Begouen that many of the caves were real museums of Quaternary 
art whose masterpieces they hastened to make known to us through 
preliminary publications. In the Dordogne, Riviére, Capitan, 
Peyrony, Bouyssonie (I mention only the most able or the most 
fortunate workers) also made great discoveries. Doctor Lalanne 
revealed to us the superb frieze of sculptured horses and the bas- 
reliefs of human figures of Laussel. And, at the same time, MM. 
les Abbés Bardon and Bouyssonie exhumed the man of Chapelle- 


504 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


aux-Saints, MM. Capitan and Peyrony discovered in the deposits of 
la Ferrassie a whole series of skeletons of the same period and no less 
well preserved ; while not far from there, at La Quina, Dr. H. Martin 
made similar finds of equal interest. Thanks to all these important 
discoveries, it has been possible to study the Mousterian man of 
our country, the Homo neanderthalensis, in as complete a manner as 
possible, in all parts of his bony framework, which is to-day better 
known to us than that of many present-day savages. The multi- 
plicity of discoveries has enabled us to demonstrate the very in- 
teresting homogeneity of this archaic type. This constitutes a great 
step forward in the domain of human paleontology, and the mind 
of the Prince of Monaco was keenly alive to it. 

_ The first in chronological order of these discoveries, that of the 
man of La Chapelle-aux-Saints, caused a great stir. After its 
presentation in purely scientific publications, the press. made it 
known to the public, which evinced a keen interest in it. At this 
time innumerable visitors passed through my laboratory in the 
museum to see the skull which had already become famous, and 
these visitors came from every social and intellectual class of the 
capital. The Prince of Monaco himself joined this pilgrimage. 
He came to see me one summer afternoon. Greatly impressed by the 
sight of this venerable osteological specimen, he stayed for a long 
time contemplating it, examining it from all sides, studying the 
peculiar details of its morphology. Then evening came on; the 
setting sun flamed beyond the dome of the Panthéon and the more 
slender silhouettes of the other monuments of Mount Sainte-Gene- 
viéve. There, in this beautiful setting, the Prince made me a part 
of a new project which he had been considering for a long time and 
which he now decided to put into execution. He requested me to 
prepare for him a plan of organization for an institute of human 
paleontology. 

His mind had been keenly struck by the contrast recauted by 
the immense interest and the philosophical importance of our 
studies and the paucity of means of action heretofore put at the 
service of human paleontology, truly a French science, though 
almost ignored by the powers that be in the official, academic, and 
university circles of our country. And in his great generosity he 
wished to be the Prince Charming to this new Cinderella. He 
clearly defined his purpose in the first phrase of the letter which 
he wrote on November 23, 1910, to the Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion in announcing his intentions: 

“Tn the course of my busy life,” he said, “I have often regretted 
that in the intellectual movement of our time more prominence has 
not been given to the study of the mystery which envelops the 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO—BOULE 505 


origin of humanity. As my mind has been more and more en- 
lightened through scientific study, I have wished more and more 
ardently to see established on a methodical basis the investigations 
necessary to bring to light the fugitive traces which our ancestors 
have left in the bowels of the earth during an incalculable suc- 
cession of centuries. And I have thought that the philosophy and 
the morale of human societies would be less uncertain in the pres- 
ence of the history of generations written with their own dust.” 

Having thus resolved to create “a powerful center for studies 
based on methodical excavations,” the Prince of Monaco presented 
it with the building necessary for its establishment and with an 
endowment of 1,600,000 francs. On December 15, 1910, the Insti- 
tute of Human Paleontology was recognized as a public utility by 
the French Government. 

According to its plan of organization, the new establishment, 
placed under my direction, has for its purpose the progress of sci- 
ence on all questions relating to the origin and history of fossil man. 

The principal means of action are: (1) Laboratories where the 
results of excavations carried on by the personnel of the institute 
or by other workers under its direction are studied; (2) publica- 
tions to make known the results of the excavations and of scientific 
investigations; and (3) courses and lectures on human paleontology 
and prehistory. 

Without waiting for the construction of the building, which would 
require some time, Professors Breuil and Obermaier undertook in 
France, in Spain, and in central Europe extensive explorations and 
excavations, while some independent workers were through grants 
assisted in their investigations. 

The new edifice constructed by the architect Pontremoli was soon 
finished. To-day it adorns, with its beautiful facades, that part of 
the Boulevard Saint-Marcel recently occupied by the horse market. 
-Its fagades are the work of the clever chisel of M. Constant Roux, 
for which the theme was furnished by our founder himself. The 
Prince of Monaco desired, in fact, that his new institute should have 
an attractive exterior in a relevant as well as artistic style, reveal- 
ing at first glance, through the choice of the decorative motifs, all 
the interest of the studies which are carried on there. 

Large basements contain rooms for the unpacking and provi- 
sional classification of the results of excavations and workshops for 
preparation of material and for modeling. On the ground floor 
there are a large hall for lectures and exhibits, general adminis- 
trative offices and chemical laboratories, and the workrooms of the 
professors. 


506 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


The institute is not a museum, and its purpose is not to accu- 
mulate collections. But it should have for instruction and for 
study as complete a series as possible of objects for comparison in 
the various fields of prehistoric ethnography, anthropology, com- 
parative anatomy, and the paleontology of the late geological epochs. 
These series, of the greatest importance to-day, are arranged and 
classified in three rooms, called rooms for comparative studies, 
which encircle the first floor, and a large library which is comple- 
mentary to these, the objects to be studied near the books. The 
library, which has just been enriched by the fine collection of Emile 
Cartailhac, is also arranged as a workroom, and several offices on 
this same floor are reserved for distinguished scientists who wish 
to visit the institute. 

The material from the excavations, unpacked, sorted, cleaned, and 
prepared in the basement rooms, photographed on the ground floor, 
and studied on the second floor, may then form the subject of pub- 
lished memoirs. The third story contains besides a drafting room, 
compartments where the publications are stored. These serve to 
enrich the library of the institute through exchanges. Some copies 
are sold commercially through MM. Masson et Cie., publishers.® 

The institute was to have been opened at the end of 1914. The 
war played havoc with it as with all.other scientific establishments. 
Yor six years it was forced to live a stunted life. On December 23, 
1920, it was officially opened in the presence of M. Millerand, Presi- 
dent of the French Republic, and many guests, including members 
of the Government, and of the diplomatic corps, representatives of 
great scientific establishments, learned societies, the press, etc. 

One year later, on February 18, 1922, the Prince had the pleasure 
of presiding at the first public lecture, and of verifying the truly 
popular success of the undertaking he had recently inaugurated. 
In spite of a state of health which already caused keen anxiety 
among his friends, he delivered an address in which, as always, 
originality and richness of form clothed strong and noble thoughts, 
and of which each phrase bore witness to his respect for and love 
of science. “ You are here,” he said, “in a new temple which I 
have created in order that anthropology, supported by sound laws, 
can soar one day over the mysteries which surround us. I hope 
that it may bring to civilization the cooperation of the great forces 
contained in its bosom, which will purify our customs, our ideas, 


5 The principal publications are: “‘ Les Grottes de Grimaldi,’’ by MM. de Villeneuve, M. 
Boule, E. Cartailhac, R. Verneau, 2 vols., quarto, with 64 plates in heliogravure; the 
series, comprising 5 vols. in quarto, on the “ Peintures et gravures murales des cavernes 
paleolithiques,” with a total of 217 plates in black and in colors; “ Les anciens Pata- 
gons,” by Dr. R. Verneau, 1 vol. in quarto, with 15 plates; the 13th session of the “ Con- 
gres internationa! d’Anthropologie et d’Archeologie prehistoriques,’ Monaco, 1906, 2 vols.. 
octavo; and a little series of ‘‘ Rapports annuels,” by the director and the professors. 


PRINCE ALBERT I OF MONACO—BOULE 507 


our social relations, when humanity knows whence it came and 
understands where it is going.” The audience, which could not all 
be accommodated in the lecture hall, thanked him by long applause. 

This was his last visit to the establishment of which he was justly 
proud and for which he showed the affection of a father for his 
jast-born. Some weeks later, on his sick bed, he talked with me 
of the great future he foresaw for our science. And in an affection- 
ate tone which I shall never forget, he wished to thank once more 
his collaborators for the intellectual pleasures which they had pro- 
vided him, the pleasures to which this sovereign prince attached 
the greatest value. Some weeks later, on June 26 last, he succumbed. 
His will, drawn in terms of rare nobility, constitutes a final glowing 
testimonial of his devotion to the interests of science, the chief aim of 
a life wholly devoted to labor and to the progress of humanity. 

You have here, gentlemen and dear colleagues, an existence and 
a work which overstep, through their greatness and importance, 
the limits of geographical territory where they were begun. The 
eminent services rendered to science by Prince Albert I, of Monaco, 
were not exclusively in favor of that France of which he was always 
the faithful and devoted friend. The results accomplished, thanks 
to his influence and to his liberality, are to-day a part of the uni- 
versal patrimony. And his activity, from which my country was 
the first to benefit, was also beneficial to other countries, where it 
acted as a sort of catalytic force, inciting great activity in the 
field of our studies and inducing emulation everywhere. It is, 
therefore, not alone the progress in France in the course of these 
last 20 years in the domain of human paleontology which resulted 
in great part from the anthropological work of Prince Albert; the 
progress made nearly everywhere also depended on it in a more or 
less direct way. 

Jt was through the unlimited realization of progress of this kind 
that this “ prince of science and art,” this “useful prince,” foresaw 
for humanity better days, as shown by this phrase written by him: 
“TT have cultivated science because it diffuses knowledge, and knowl- 
edge engenders justice.” 


ove Bw rob siniganen 
& ey (y 2endosf she | . 
_ - ghefomaiks perro ib yds boos 2 
. Mie dsiaceliad ike. each gai 3 nish. rie Ses 
' _ ontieite ax. Aided coxgpnsion. two TOR GRAIG 
Rae ery Aenddo¥ hadaiw, ort weyohmay dd Ug 
estat faves! tuys, gai cher, egtiteaala ile tiposilosns girionis m0 
bids dunhig, sangignn 708: aidtidoidat, ot} iwortieeale iA ih 440 
shadatiioun sa iad Whore ito pratal a aowrngtoc:: «wuld - 
Siar: ints adit, & zadtitenos., ccitidod’ mass ty beh od. hi a8 9 ‘ 
ee tie caido | iikisoggioe Lo steatalat adi o3 noitoveb aid tol 
fe ‘ake tuisl to exocgouspadot bate angel: ‘ad betov al, ya 
“3 brag: opiate ina an jeempenlfooomaal bem, sro sory, omnes an 
_ + emicerioged thes -eeandeote spiasl ty: dgudsds qsteie os 


eri: r 


‘ba errand lahat iit‘ 3 Serine Ladickigiayy * | 
pamanss ohh: hs eee . dvadih a en oR: whe oaispioa Per i bertabgert AY 
wemube' anve sit tsicivé Tacoomerttadd Io: MY ah: ict ulorcieash 
aabesadtts twulatizyousode Sirrews bd) highinkn bajo ei bray; 
Py ithe daetors taper mdb bond yqaerodil! aed ob: bow ean 
0s: Re Tein aa ‘ahi arertt is Yiivitos , aid binhzy ‘psa 
ee onihy «nites 1g babies Otek { dtemonard: orkn: dave. 5 itsnotba ¢ 
ARO ce eter idhe itherg ygnsiioui jurtoledtelataatot thitee-y " 
Bi 3} IO TISVD rede. inet ahieaslet rise -eoidbakded ings 
bile Tofeeuonced) atised st off temo att: auteltrd ont / 


Ast R . 54 e a5 f P of 
 : ietiiveoubighe eppeseiuiosisg pestis fo arkitteb, atls aire AAD 


aft! prrechA 3 wert: te vrcorwe ches rok qiria ter ih sasaki 
‘of iamesty) Gurtedi ite Peistiaceb a Sot Zea oy, tinea rryats q 
at Phe 2 ° A a 1 ot wae _ 


“Byithieid so west gosqp td cotiiathier be Livni he As wads aur ee 
- tenpaecnts “sdinge las bess Adis Sie basi dasa ctorsial ici 4 ala a awd ‘ 
eeunbydowattita oul t atildorch iw dtaBataiab authod: qaist | 
igoudl bias lonlabvead edith i stents oiini ge min ENN v 
m . | id MS soitie saliaopld 4 


THE RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE, EAST AND WEST 
OF THE JORDAN’ 


By ArtHur W. Sutton, Esq., J. P., F. L. 8. 


[With 8 plates] 


The view of Beirut as we enter the harbor is most beautiful. 
The foreshore, covered with red-tiled houses, is backed by groves of 
mulberry and pomegranite trees; and behind these are the sloping 
hillsides terraced with the cultivation of vines and olives, with the 
mountains of Lebanon in the distance covered with snow. 

After crossing for some miles very soft plains, once vineyards 
and olive yards, but now a sandy desert with a few pines, planted a 
hundred years ago by the governor of Beirut to consolidate the soil, 
we come to the River Damur and then to the orange groves round 
Sidon, second only to those at Jaffa. Sidon is not only the most 
ancient city of Pheenicia, but one of the oldest of the known cities 
of the world, and is said by Josephus to have been built by Sidon, 
the eldest son of Canaan, and is mentioned with high praise by 
Homer in the /iad, where he says that as early as the Trojan war 
the Sidonian mariners, having provoked the enmity of the Trojans, 
were by them despoiled of the gorgeous robes manufactured by 
Sidon’s daughters, these being considered so valuable and precious 
as to propitiate the goddess of war in their favor. Sidon was re- 
nowned for its skill in arts, science, and literature, maritime com- 
merce and architecture; and according to Strabo the Sidonians were 
celebrated for astronomy, geometry, navigation, and philosophy. 

Sidon was captured by Shalmaneser in 720 B. C., and it was 
again taken in 350 B. C. by Artaxerxes Ochus. It fell to Alexander 
the Great without a struggle, and afterwards came into possession 
successively of the Seleucide and the Ptolemies. During the time 
of the Crusaders Sidon was four times taken, plundered, and dis- 
mantled. Excavations have revealed several rock-hewn tombs, with 
elaborately carved sarcophagi. The most celebrated is the sar- 
cophagus of Alexander, which before the war was in the mosque 
at Constantinople. He was certainly never buried in it. A sar- 
cophagus was opened the other day at Sidon, full of fluid and con- 
taining a beautiful body in perfect preservation, but immediately it 
was lifted from the fluid it lost all shape. 

_ 1 Read before the Victoria Institute. Reprinted, by permission, from the Journal of the 


Transactions of the Victoria Institute, Vol. LII, 
1454—-25—_34 509 


510 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


At Zarephath we saw the churning of butter in a leather bag full 
of milk, which is swayed backwards and forwards until it is formed. 

This is the site of Sarepta, where Elijah raised the widow’s son 
to life (I Kings, xvii, 8-24); and near here, on the coasts of Tyre 
and Sidon, our Lord healed the daughter of the Canaanitish woman. 

We next approached Tyre, now called Sur, from which the name 
of Syria is derived—Syria really meaning the land of the Tyrians 
or Surians. The origin of Tyre is lost in the mist of centuries, 
and Isaiah says its “antiquity is of ancient days” (xxiil, 7). Her- 
odotus states it was founded about 2,300 years before his time, i. e., 
2750 B. C. William of Tyre declares it was called after the name 
of its founder, “Tyrus, who was the seventh son of Japhet, the 
son of Noah.” Strabo spoke of it as the most considerable city of 
all Phoenicia. Sidon was certainly the more ancient city of the 
two, but Tyre by far the more celebrated and one of the greatest 
cities of antiquity. It was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar for 30 
years. The siege of the city by Alexander the Great in 332 B. C. 
was the most remarkable and disastrous episode in the history of 
Tyre. The island city held out for seven months, but was finally 
captured by being united to the mainland by a mole formed of the 
stones, timber, and rubbish of old Tyre on the shore, which were 
conveyed into position by the Grecian army. Then the island was 
made a peninsula, in which form it exists at the present day. This 
siege was so remarkable a fulfilment of the prophesies of Ezekiel 
that the words of the Hebrew prophet read more like a history than 
a prediction. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am 
against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against 
thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall 
destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also 
scrape her dust from her and make her a bare rock. She shall 
be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I 
have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and she shall become a spoil 
to the nations * * * and they shall make a spoil of thy riches, 
and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down 
thy walls and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy 
stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the waters” 
(Ezekiel, xxvi, 3-5, 12). 

In more modern times the city was taken by the Mohammedans, 
the lives and property of the inhabitants being spared on condition 
that there should be “no building of new churches, no ringing of 
bells, no riding on horseback, and no insults to the Moslem religion.” 
Tyre was retaken-by the Christians in 1124, but once more fell 
into Moslem hands at the final collapse of the Crusades in 1291. 
It was then almost entirely destroyed, and the place has never since 
recovered, though of late years there have been signs of a slight 


RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE—SUTTON it 


revival of commerce, and the city is gradually becoming more popu- 
lous. In the middle of the last century it had fallen so low that 
Hasselquist, a traveler, found but 10 inhabitants in the place. 

The ruins which are now found in the peninsula are those of 
Crusaders’ or Saracenic work. The city of the Crusaders lies 
several feet beneath the débris, and below that are the remains 
of the Mohammedan and early Christian Tyre. The ancient capital 
of the Pheenicians lies far, far down beneath the superincumbent 
ruins. 

The ancient glory of Tyre has been described in Ezekiel with a 
graphic power of description and minute accuracy of detail which 
is scarcely equaled in the annals of literature. Strabo ascribes the 
prosperity of Tyre to two causes—“ partly to navigation, in which 
the Pheeenicians have at all times surpassed other nations, and 
partly to their purple, for the Tyrian purple is acknowledged to 
be the best; the fishing for this purpose is carried on not far off.” 
The far-famed Tyrian dye was extracted from the glands of a pe- 
culiar species of shellfish (Afurex trunculus). Pliny says that the 
reason why Tyre was so famous in ancient times was “ for its off- 
spring, the cities to which it gave birth.” 

Nearly the whole of ancient Tyre now lies buried fathoms deep 
beneath the surface of the sea, the only thing remaining visible 
now of the ancient city being an enormous mass of magnificent 
granite and marble columns and ruins, which lie in the northern 
harbor, submerged by the sea, but distinctly visible when the wate 
is clear. Thus literally have Tyre’s stones and dust been hid 
“in the midst of the waters.” “ What city is like Tyrus, like the 
destroyed in the midst of the sea?” (Ezekiel, xxvii, 32.) 

Passing up the Wady Ashur, one of the most picturesque and 
interesting ravines in Syria, we find ourselves in the region of the 
wonderful Pheenician rock sculptures and tombs, and camp at 
Tibnin, whose fine large castle has been the chief feature of the 
landscape for some two hours before we arrive. The castle was 
founded by Hugh de St. Omer, Count of Tiberias, about 1104. 

The second day’s ride from Zarephath, where we had camped 
_ for our visit to Tyre, brings us to Safed, one of the four sacred 
cities of the Jews, occupying a conspicuous position on the sum- 
mit and slopes of a lofty mountain, and supposed to be the place 
referred to when our Lord said “A city that is set on a hill can not 
be hid” (Matthew, v. 14). To-day it contains about 15,000 in- 
habitants—9,000 Jews, 6,000 Moslems, and a few Christians. Like 
many other towns of Palestine, it is filthy beyond description. It 
was almost entirely destroyed by the great earthquake of 1837, 
when great numbers of the inhabitants perished. Baldwin III 
fled here after his defeat in 1157, and Saladin captured it after 
the Battle of Hattin in 1187. 


512 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


We now reach Tiberias. It has a population of about 6,000, 
of whom 4,000 are Jews, 300 Christians, and the rest Moslems, 
and is one of the four sacred cities of the Jews in Palestine. The 
earlier city of Tiberias was spoken of by Joshua (xix, 35) under 
the name of Rakkath. The Roman city was built by Herod Anti- 
pas, and dedicated by him to the Emperor Tiberias (A. D. 16). 
After the Battle of Hattin, 1187, Tiberias fell into the hands of 
Saladin. 

The Hammam or hot baths (temperature 144° F.) are to the 
south of the city, and are visited by people from all parts of the 
country. ‘They occupy the site of Hammath, spoken of by Joshua 
(xix, 35) and by Pliny. Our Lord never entered Tiberias, as, 
according to early tradition, it was built on an ancient cemetery. 

We now proceed round the foot of the lake and up the gorge 
of the Yarmuk, from Tiberias to Deraa. Following the caravan 
road down the western side of the lake we come to an old ruined 
bridge over the Jordan, about a mile south of where it flows out 
of the Sea of Galilee, and ford the river on horseback; and after 
crossing the railway from Haifa to Deraa and Damascus at the 
station of Semakh, we follow the railway up the gorge of the River 
Yarmuk to the hot springs of Amatha. These springs are eight 
in number, some of them several miles up the valley, but the principal 
ones are close to a place called El Hamma. Their temperatures 
are 115°, 103°, 92°, and 83° F., respectively. The principal spring 
is in a basin about 40 feet in circumference and 5 feet deep. The 
water is so hot that the hand can not be kept in it for any length of 
time, and is considered by the Arabs to be a sovereign cure for 
many disorders. Herod is supposed to have come here to be cured, 
and the Baths of Amatha were considered by the Romans as second 
only to those of Bais, and were much extolled by Eusebius and 
other ancient writers. 

From the hot springs we climb up by a very steep pathway by 
the side of the gorge to Gadara, occupying a magnificent site on 
the western promontory of the plateau overlooking the Lake of 
Tiberias. Captured by Antiochus the Great, 218 B. C., it was, 20 
years afterwards, taken from the Syrians by Alexander Jannzus 
after a siege of 10 months. The Jews retained possession of it for 
some time, but, the city having been destroyed during their civil 
wars, it was rebuilt by Pompey to gratify the desire of one of his 
freedmen, who was a Gadarene. It was surrendered to Vespasian 
in the Jewish war. It was one of the most important cities east of 
the Jordan and called by Josephus the capital of Perea, and was 
subsequently the seat of the bishopric Palestina Secunda. 

The ruins of the two open-air theaters still exist, one with a full 
view of the Lake of Galilee in the distance below. There are enor- 
mous quantities of tombs everywhere, by which the neighborhood 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE | 


SIDON FROM THE SHORE 


APPROACH TO TYRE 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 2 . 


MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS LYING IN A FIELD AT BEIT-ER-RAS 


ENTRANCE TO UNDERGROUND CITY OF DERAA 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 3 


JERASH. ““THE TRIBUNE” 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 4 


GREAT TEMPLE OF THE SUN, JERASH 


JERASH. FORUM IN FOREGROUND. STREET OF COLUMNS 


RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE—SUTTON 513 


is honeycombed, many of these having massive basalt doors which 
still swing on their hinges. More than 200 stone sarcophagi have 
been taken out of these tombs, and now lie scattered among the ruins 
of the city. 

At Beit er-Ras we come on very extensive ruins—arches of great 
size, columns, Corinthian and Ionic capitals, chiefly composed of 
basalt; a vast subterranean ruin, with several fine arches under- 
ground. Inscriptions, chiefly Nabathean, are to be found among 
the ruins. This was a city of great importance in the Roman Em- 
pire, and has been identified withh Capitolias, one of the cities of 
the Decapolis. 

We now reach Deraa or Dera’a (old Edrei), which to-day is a 
junction where passengers dine on the railway journey to Damascus; 
it is a remarkable place, for at least four cities exist here one above 
another. The present Arab buildings are on the top of a Greco- 
Roman city, and this again stands on the remains of one still older, 
in which beveled stones are used. Beneath this again is a troglo- 
dyte city entirely excavated in the rock on which the upper cities 
stand, the subterranean residence of King Og. The following pas- 
sages of Scripture refer to Edrei: 

“Og, the King of Bashan, went out against them, he and all his 
people, to battle at Edrei” (Numbers xxi, 33). “Moses * * * 
after he had smitten * * * Og the King of Bashan which - 
dwelt in Ashtaroth at Edrei” (Deuteronomy, i, 4). “ Salecah and 
Edrei, cities of the Kingdom of Og” (Deuteronomy, iii, 10). 

The most prominent of the ruins, covering a circuit of 2 miles, 
are those of a large reservoir of Roman times, fed by a great aque- 
duct. There is a building, 44 by 31 yards, with a double colonnade, 
evidently a Christian cathedral, but now a mosque. The most nota- 
ble remains, however, are the caves beneath the citadel. They form 
a subterranean city, a labyrinth of streets with shops and houses, 
and a market place. This probably dates in its present elaborate 
form from Greek times, but such refuges must always have been the 
feature of a land so swept by Arab Tribes. The Crusaders who 
besieged it called it Adratum (Encyclopedia Biblica). 

Merril writes: “When King Baldwin III (1144-1162) and his 
Crusaders made their wild chase to Bosrah, they went by way of 
Dra’a. The weather was hot, and the army was suffering terribly 
for want of water, but as often as they let down their buckets by 
means of ropes into the cisterns, men concealed on the inside of the 
cisterns would cut the ropes and thus defeat their efforts.” Probably 
the underground city has connection with all the important cisterns 
of the place. 

From Edrei we travel to Jerash, or Gerasa, which is a city of 
stupendous ruins, second only to Palmyra in size and importance, 


* 


514 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


and second only to Baalbec in beauty of architecture. In many 
respects it surpasses them both, and as a perfect specimen of an 
ancient Grecian city it has no equal. These ruins, says Doctor 
Tristran, “in number, in beauty of situation, and in isolation, were 
by far the most striking and interesting I had yet seen in Syria.” 
The later name, Philadelphia, was given to the city by Ptolemy II 
(Philadelphus), King of Egypt, who rebuilt the city in the third 
century B. C. Greek immigration flowed into Syria after the con- 
quest of Alexander the Great. The Greeks gradually extended 
beyond Jordan, sometimes occupying the old sites and sometimes 
building new cities, as at Jerash. 

According to Pliny, Gerasa was one of the original 10 cities 
of the Decapolis. It is mentioned by Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny, and 
other Greek and Roman writers, but no details are given of its 
history. We are informed that it was noted for its men of learning, 
and that it was the “ Alexandria of Decapolis.” It does not seem 
to correspond to any Old Testament site. The Crusaders made a 
campaign against it, in trying to form an eastern frontier for the 
Holy Land. 

Exactly how or when the city was destroyed is not known. After 
going down in the Mohammedan invasion, it was probably left 
deserted for hundreds of years, because the state of the ruins after 
700 years points clearly to the action of an earthquake and not 
the hand of man. An Arabian geographer, at the beginning of the 
thirteenth century, describes Gerasa as deserted. Hence we have 
here a Greek or Roman town standing as it was left 700, if not 1,200, 
years ago. 

High above the Peribolos or Forum, on a rocky knoll, supported 
and surrounded by a massive substructure, stands the ruin of a great 
temple, whose superb situation commands the whole town and looks 
straight north along the colonnaded street. The walls of this tem- 
ple are 71% feet thick. 

Outside the city, says Doctor Green, there are the remains of a 
naumachia or theater, for the representation of naval spectacles, 
consisting of a vast stone reservoir 700 feet by 300 feet, surrounded 
by tiers of seats and supplied by conduits. 

Not very far off is the site of the great and important city of 
Rabbath-Ammon, the ancient capital of the Ammonites, who, with 
the Moabites, are said to have been descended from Lot. These 
two nations drove out the gigantic aboriginal inhabitants east of 
the Dead Sea and the Jordan. Rabbath-Ammon is first mentioned 
in Deuteronomy III, 11, as the place where the “iron bedstead” of 
the giant King of Bashan was deposited; but it is celebrated chiefly 
for the siege against it by the Israelites under Joab, when Uriah 
the Hittite was slain—the blackest spot in David’s history. 


RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE—SUTTON 515 


There are the ruins of a theater in good preservation, with 48 
tiers of seats calculated to hold 6,000 people, and so admirably 
arranged that, as may be tested to this day, ordinary conversation 
on the stage could be distinctly heard on the topmost semicircle. 

Joab first took “the city of the waters”—that is, evidently, the 
lower town, along the banks of the river. But the citadel still 
held out, therefore messengers were sent to David asking for a 
reinforcement and the presence of the King himself, in consequence 
of which David went in person and captured the citadel, with an 
immense quantity of spoil. In the third century B. C. the city was 
rebuilt by Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt, and called Phil- 
adelphia, under which name it is frequently mentioned by Greek 
and Roman writers. There are the remains of a large Christian 
church in the lower city. 

The exterior walls of the citadel are constructed of large stones 
closely jointed, without cement, bearing in places the marks of 
high antiquity. The most interesting building on the citadel hill 
appears to be a specimen of the Sassanian architecture of Persia, 
probably dating from the same period as the Dome of the Rock at 
Jerusalem. The paneling and scrollwork on the walls is very beau- 
tiful and perfect, closely allied to Assyrian work. These buildings 
form a link between the Byzantine architecture and that of Persia. 

We next reach what is evidently the site of Medaba, a city of the 
Moabites, taken by Joshua and given, with its plain, to the tribe of 
Reuben (Numbers, xxi, 30; Joshua, xiii, 9,16). It was on the plain 
east of the city that Joab defeated the combined forces of Ammon 
and Syria, avenging the insult offered to the ambassadors of King 
David (I Chronicles, xix). 

Madeba was recaptured by the Moabites at the Captivity and is 
therefore included in the prophetic curse pronounced upon Moab in 
Isaiah, xv, 2. It was an important fortress during the rule of the 
Maccabees and it became an episcopal city in the early centuries of 
our era. Here was discovered a large tesselated map of Palestine. 

_Not far from Madeba is Dibon, which is now nothing more than 
a shapeless mass of ruins, but obtained a new celebrity in 1868 by 
the discovery of the Moabite Stone, containing a long inscription 
in which is recorded some of the acts of that King Mesha who is 
mentioned in II Kings, iii. The inscription is in the old Phoenician 
character and appears to be of the age of Mesha. The stone was 
unfortunately broken by the Arabs, but most of the fragments are 
now in the Louvre. 

Mount Nebo runs out westward from the plateau with a narrow 
ridge, at trend of which is the summit, Pisgah, and the ascent to 
this ridge is Sufa or Zophim. Here we stand on a sitc rendered 
memorable by two important events connected with the history of 


ea 


516 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1928 


the Israelitish occupation of Canaan. Hither Balak brought Balaam 
to curse the people (Numbers, xxli-xxiv), and hence Moses viewed the 
Promised Land (Deuteronomy xxxiv, 1). But toward the west, in 
the direction which Moses surveyed, there is a very wide and exten- 
sive view. The mountain ranges of Judea lie straight before us, ° 
with Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Frank Mountain clearly visible. 
The Russian Tower on the Mount of Olives and the summit of 
Neby Samwil are conspicuous objects in their midst. To the south- 
west is seen the ridge of Beni N’aim, near Hebron, whence Abraham 
beheld the smoke of the burning cities of the plain, whilst north of 
Olivet is seen the cone-shaped hill of Ophrah. The hills of Samaria 
are yet farther to the right, with Tell’Asur—the ancient Baal- 
Hazor—Ebal, Gerizim, and Bezek prominent amongst them. Gilboa, 
Tabor, and the heights beyond Beisan are visible on a clear day; but 
Carmel and Hermon are hidden from view, the former by the inter- 
vening heights of Jebel Hazkin, on which stands Bezek, and the lat- 
ter by Neby Osh’a. The whole of the Jordan Valley, with the river 
itself meandering in serpentlike curves in its midst, lies outspread 
like a map at our feet, bathed in sunny verdure in early spring, at 
which time of the year Moses appears to have viewed it. From 
north to south “ the land of Gilead toward Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim, 
and Manasseh—all the land of Judah, toward the utmost sea (the 
Mediterranean), the southern hills, and the plain of Jericho” (Deu- 
teronomy, xxxiv, 1-3)—all these the aged “servant of God” could 
embrace within the compass of his vision without the aid of any 
miraculous powers. 

Hebron, which we next reach after crossing the Jordan and pass- 
ing south by Bethany and Jerusalem, is one of the oldest cities of 
the world. It was known at the time of its capture by the Israelites 
under Joshua as Kirjath-Arba, which means the “ Fourfold City.” 
Probably, like Jerusalem at the present day, it was divided into four 
quarters, inhabited respectively by different races of people. The 
Septuagint describes it as the “ metropolis of the Anakim.” 

It is known as “City of Abraham, the friend of God,” to the 
Arabs, who have abbreviated the name to E] Khalif—* The Friend” 
or “The Beloved.” It is one of the four sacred cities of the 
Moslems. 

Haram: Cave of Machpelah. Travelers are not admitted within 
the precincts of this mosque, though a few royal European visitors 
have been privileged to enter this most cherished Moslem sanctuary 
by special Irade of the Sultan. This is one of the “Sacred Sites” of 
Palestine, about the genuineness of which there can be little or no 
doubt. It is almost certain that the mosque stands over the original 
Cave of Machpelah, which was the burial place of Abraham and 
Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. The mosque itself was 


* 


RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE—-SUTTON 517 


originally a Christian church founded by Justinian in the sixth cen- 
tury and completed by the Crusaders. It has, however, been con- 
siderably altered by the Moslems. There are six monuments, said to 
stand over the spots where the tombs of the six male and female 
patriarchs are located in the cave below. The Crusaders, impressed 
by the veneration accorded to the Cave of Machpelah by the Arabs, 
who claim to be the sons of Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, 
called the place the Castle of St. Abraham. 

Hebron was at one time the capital of King David. He made it 
the base of his operations against Jerusalem, which in turn became 
his royal city. Absalom made it the headquarters of the unsuccess- 
ful rebellion against his father. Hebron lost importance after the 
Captivity, and in the time of the Romans it was hardly reckoned 
as being a Jewish town. The large square stone reservoir, now called 
the # Sultan’s Reservoir,” is the Pool of Hebron, where Rechab and 
Baanah, the murderers of Ishbosheth, were hanged by David (II 
Samuel, iv, 12). There is little else to see in Hebron, with the excep- 
tion of the glassworks. 

Beit-Jibrin (House of Gabriel) was in the much contested border- 
land between the Hebrews and the Philistines. It was known to 
the Israelites as Mareshah and was fortified by Rehoboam, who 
“built cities for defense, Gath and Mareshah ” (II Chronicles, xi, 8) : 

This district was at some time inhabited by people who devoted 
an almost incalculable amount of time and trouble to the forma- 
tion of great artificial caves. The result of this energy is concen- 
trated as in a nucleus in the immediate neighborhood of Beit- 
Jibrin. It is difficult to give an account of the principal excava- 
tions of this type without appearing to use the language of exag- 
geration. Except for their immense size, the Beit-Jibrin caves are 
of comparatively small interest. Prof. G. A. Smith (see his en- 
trancing volume on the Historical Geography of the Holy Land) 
and others adopted the view that the caves as we see them are the 
work of the early Christian inhabitants of Palestine, because of 
the destruction of Jewish tombs in the course of cutting out the 
caves, the various Kufic and Christian inscriptions on the walls, 
etc. It was the seat of a Christian bishop as early as the fourth 
century. The Crusaders, who were powerfully established at Beit- 
Jibrin, which they called Gibelin, beautified one cave by a hand- 
some Romanesque doorway. 

To sum up the subject of the “ Riddle of the Caves” in the dis- 
trict round Beit-Jibrin, there is an innumerable number of artificial 
caves. The date of a few of these is later than the Jewish period; 
a few others are demonstrably earlier than the end of the Jewish 


518 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


monarchy, and there is Scriptural evidence that similar caves exist- 
ed at an earlier date still (Judges, vi. 2): “ Because of Midian the 
Children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains 
ancé the caves and the strongholds.” ‘This shows that such artificial 
caves were made in the times of the Judges for refuges. Certain 
chambers were prepared as cisterns, store chambers, etc. There 
is no means of dating such chambers. Other chambers were used 
for religious rites, filters, prisons, quarries, traps for wild beasts, 
ete. 

We next reach Gezer. The site of this famous ancient city had 
been forgotten in modern times until about 1870, when Professor 
Clermont-Ganneau commenced his research. Biblical records of 
the city commence with the time of Joshua. Its king, Horam, helped 
Lachish against Joshua’s attack, and he and his army were utterly 
annihilated (Joshua x, 33). Gezer was allotted to Ephraim who, 
however, failed to drive the Canaanites out (Judges, i, 29). Other 
historical sources carry us back to the time of Thothmes III, who 
captured it about 1500 B. C., though the excavations prove the 
history of Geazer to go hack a further 1,500 years, of which there 
is no written history. 

Canaanites, Israelites, Arabs, all have successively inhabited the 
mound through the centuries. We read in I Chronicles, xx, 4, of 
Philistine giants whom David’s men slew at Gezer. The Cansgn 
ites lingered on in Gezer until the reign of Solomon. When Solo- 
mon celebrated his marriage with the daughter of the King of 
Egypt, the Pharaoh “ went up and took Gezer and burnt it with 
fire and slew the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and gave it 
for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife” (1 Kings, ix, 16). 

Two tables which have lately been found give evidence of an 
Assyrian occupation of Gezer. Gezer had varying fortunes during 
the wars of the Jews and the Syrians. About 160 B. C. it was 
captured by the Syrians and afterwards recaptured by Simon Mac- 
cabzeus, the great high priest, who fortified it, and built himself a 
dwelling place, which has lately been discovered. The history of 
Gezer stretches on through Roman, Crusader, and Arab periods. 

From the excavations we get an idea of the primitive religious 
customs which Israel met with, on their entry into Palestine, the 
idolatry and the moral abominations, and from the discoveries made 
it is easy to see why the worship of the High Place was so fiercely 
denounced. The evidence of the wholesale sacrifice of children, the 
images found testifying to the licentiousness pervading the whole 
worship, the evidences of bodies sawn asunder, and other savageries, 
all throw a lurid light on the “iniquity of the Amorite.” 

We next reach Jatfa, whence we embark on our way to England. 
and thus our delightful tour is brought to an end. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 5 


JERASH. STREET OF COLUMNS 


AMMAN FROM CITADEL 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 6 


AMMAN. THE AMPHITHEATER 


RUINS OF OLD CHURCH AT AMMAN 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 7 


OLD Mosque AT AMMAN 


HEBRON FROM THE NORTHWEST 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Sutton PLATE 8 


BEIT JIBRIN. CHURCH OF ST. ANNA 


THE UTILIZATION OF VOLCANIC STEAM IN ITALY? 


[With 2 plates] 


The increased desire for economic independence that accom- 
panied the growth of national sentiment during the war has been 
shown very clearly in the intensified study and exploitation of nat- 
ural resources; and the welkin is still ringing with cries of “ increase 
production,” “ back to the land,” and “ keep the home fires burning.” 
Examples of this world tendency are apparent everywhere; in cen- 
tral Europe, particularly, brown coal, water power, and minerals 
have been greatly developed; in tropical countries useful vegetable 
products have been increasingly exploited; and in many lands the 
rush for petroleum has gathered momentum. Very little, however, 
has been heard as yet of attempts to utilize the interior heat of the 
earth, which many believe to be one of the most important potential 
sources of energy. Only in Italy has a definite and successful effort 
been made in this direction, namely, by utilizing the natural steam 
which emerges from the earth in volcanic districts. The jets of steam 
(“soffioni”) and the pools of water, formed in small craters and 
maintained at boiling temperature by natural steam (“lagoni”), 
have been known for centuries, but for long were regarded by the 
peasants as manifestations of unseen and unfriendly powers. The 
discovery in them of boric acid in 1790, the extraction of this acid on 
a commercial scale since 1818, and in particular the recent pioneer 
work of Prince Ginori Conti, in association with the Societa Boraci- 
fera di Larderello, have completely transformed the picture, and re- 
vealed a source of wealth which may play an important part, not only 
in the future industrial development of Italy, but also in that of 
other countries that are blessed—and at times cursed—with volcanic 
activity. 

The district which has been selected for study and exploitation 
forms, roughly, an elliptical area of about 2.5 square miles, lying 
south of Volterra and from 40 to 50 miles south-southwest of Flor- 
ence. In this part of Tuscany works for generating electrical power 
and for producing boric acid and other chemicals have been erected at 
Larderello, Castelnuovo, Sasso, Monterotundo, Lago, Lustignano, 
Sarrazzano, and to the eastward at Travale. The works are situated 
at the bases of hills dividing the valleys of the rivers Cecina and Cor- 


1 Reprinted, by permission, from Nature, Jan. 12, 1924. 
519 


520 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


nia, and the roads are good, though winding. The volcanic nature 
of this district is shown by stretches of arid soil, the presence of many 
“ soffioni ” and “ lagoni,” and by the occurrence in their vicinity of 
sulphur, crystals of calcium carbonate, with pseudomorphous growths 
of gypsum, larderellite (ammonium borate), and sassolinite (ortho- 
boric acid). 

For industrial utilization the supply of steam from “ soffioni” is 
not sufficient, and hence bore holes, 16 inches in diameter and from 
200 to 500 feet deep, are sunk and protected from caving by iron tub- 
ing. The steam issues at an average pressure of 2 absolute atmos- 
pheres, and at a temperature varying from 100° to 190° C., friction 
against the walls of the bore causing much of the superheat. Recent 
drillings have released steam at a considerably higher pressure, and 
in quantities up to 60,000 kilograms (59 tons) per hour. At Larde- 
rello the actual available output is above 150,000 kilograms per hour 
from 135 bore holes, and generally there is abundant evidence of 
enormous untapped supplies. The steam, which Prof. R. Nasini has 
shown to be radio-active, contains an average of 0.06 per cent of boric 
acid, with a maximum of 0.1 per cent, and about 4 to 6 per cent by 
weight of gases, mainly carbon dioxide (over 90 per cent), but also 
hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen, methane, oxygen, nitrogen, ammonia, 
argon, and helium. 

The first attempt to produce power from natural steam was made 
in 1897 by using it to heat water in a boiler and feeding a recipro- 
cating engine with the pure steam. In 1905, Prince Conti fed steam 
direct from a “soffione ” into a piston engine, and the result was so 
successful that in the following year a larger engine was used, and 
the steam generated was made to drive a dynamo for lighting the 
works. In 1912 it was decided to erect a 250-kilowatt turbo-generator 
to be worked with natural steam, but owing to fear of corrosion of 
the turbine blades, and the difficulty of obtaining a good vacuum in 
the condensers, on account of the presence of the gases mentioned 
above, this intention was abandoned. Intermediate boilers or 
evaporators were therefore constructed and used. 

The present large power plant at Larderello was first operated in 
1916, and comprises evaporators, turbo-generators, condensers, and 
transformers. The evaporators employed, until recently, consisted of 
vertical aluminum tubes inclosed in a shell of sheet iron; natural 
steam circulated round them and the water to be evaporated through 
them, this water being taken from the condensers or from that 
formed by condensation of the natural steam. 

According to a paper which was read by Prince Conti at the 
Catania meeting on April 5-11, 1923, of the Italian Association for 
the Advancement of Science, this type of evaporator has been re- 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Volcanic Steam Bwancel 


GENERAL VIEW OF LARDERELLO 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Volcanic Steam PLATE 2 


|. THE WORKS AT LARDERELLO: POWER STATION AND COLLECTING TANKS 


2. A POWERFUL JET OF NATURAL STEAM (‘‘SOFFIONE’’) 


VOLCANIC STEAM IN ITALY . 521 


placed by another, invented by Signor P. Bringhenti, in which the 
dissolved gases (v. s.) are separated from the natural steam, thus 
increasing the efficiency of the condensers. The pure steam, super- 
heated with the aid of natural steam, is fed at a pressure of 1.25 
atmospheres absolute into 3,000-kilowatt turbo-generators of the 
Parsons type, of which two are in use and one is kept in reserve. 
Each unit has a net efficiency of 2,500 kilowatts, and generates a 
3-phase current at 4,000 volts, 50 periods. Step-up transformers of 
the self-cooling oil type raise this voltage to 16,000 for distribution to 
the various works, and to 32,000 to 38,000 for transmission to Siena 
and Florence, Leghorn, Piombino, for use in iron and steel works, 
and to the pyrites mines at Massa. The condensers, each with a 
cooling area of 11,300 square feet, are placed below the turbines; the 
cooling water is driven through the tubes by centrifugal pumps and 
thence to the refrigerating towers. Two hydraulic ejectors are 
fitted to each condenser, and the condensate is removed by centrifu- 
gal pumps. A second power station has recently been erected at 
the Lago works for experimental purposes, including work on the 
new type of evaporator. 

The water containing boric acid is evaporated by natural steam 
in shallow lead-lined basins arranged on a slightly inclined plane 
and operated on the counter-current principle. When the boric-acid 
content has increased to about 8 per cent, the liquid is cooled and 
the crude acid, up to 99 per cent purity, is crystallized out. This 
acid is then purified by recrystallization. At Larderello there is a 
small production of borax from boric acid and sodium carbonate, and 
at the Castelnuovo works an output of about 10 tons per day of 
ammonium carbonate. 

Looking to the future, it appears more than probable that the pro- 
duction of power and chemicals with the aid of natural steam will not 
long be confined to Tuscany. Already the volcanic districts of 
Vesuvius, Etna, and the islands of Eolie (Lipari) are being studied. 
Outside Italy like investigations are being pursued in America on 
the steam springs of California, Chile, and Bolivia; and attention 
will doubtless be given to similar fields in Alaska, New Zealand, and 
especially Japan, where such volcanic manifestations are numerous. 
To Italy, however, will belong the credit of having initiated this 
method of tapping a supply of energy which, in spite of the atten- 
tion it has attracted, has been running to waste for centuries, and 
thus providing yet another method of “ utilizing the forces of nature 
for the benefit of mankind.” 


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hemorod edt ned'N  .olqiontig Aserreo-19tanes.6dt no Satazene Bs 
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a. id ted abi aks tg mott ston atssqie ti s1iut od} of anlgay 
u we fascia fetsies to bin alt dtiw eleoracdo baa tomomp Tom 
hkttai’ sinsoiow oii vbadrbA .canen'h ot Deafstoo: od 9 
; dba ei 3c! re (bry anhy asfodk, te Stl mip ban Pocecee si no 
as Hair si-holtedine anisd are cadldigdeer at, of ate: 
“ AGETASHT Shien: arvilect hits ainky initttor Lie! hn dunk a4 
Vine ite g Snake rs” Wat. saletL Anat abled eaten} nieriig-ad ade ook a a 


ee pA gar enolate irtncre: Spree hatteloue oh der watel ¢t 
sens alah apes thes migeatt. Sec Harpist Jguoled Hier psavewotb ge 
nh ee rostK aa, tc. avige af, stot oF Rice) tonguqne # aes te Ss) 
faa bee BOR, ayes ial: Ak ea: ‘path Glee “nad: aad ahs beeen > ni 
‘ > nei te a0 pads Malate te, fastied Rie at 

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Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Turnbull 


Fic. |. NEW WHARF, HOPEWELL. 


HIGH WATER 


Fic. |A. NEW WHARF, HOPEWELL. 


LOW WATER 


PROPOSED TIDAL HYDROELECTRIC POWER DEVELOP- 
MENT OF THE PETITCODIAC AND MEMRAMCOOK 
RIVERS? 


By W. Rupert TURNBULL, F. R. Ae. 8. 


Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada 


[With 1 plate] 
HISTORICAL 


We should run over first and in a brief manner the tidal develop- 
ments and proposals of the past, so that you will be led, as I have 
been, to think that the first large tidal development in the world 
will probably be carried out at Hopewell, the little village that lies 
closest. to the tidal estuaries, the Petitcodiac and Memramcook, 
where nature has formed two great natural reservoirs, with the ex- 
ception of the dams that must be built to complete them. 

Old charters show that tidal power was used in England for 
grinding corn as early as the eleventh century and tidal mills have 
been in operation for the same purpose from that time to the 
present day. 


The following extracts are taken from an excellent article by 
W. C. Horsnaill that appeared in The Engineer, London: 


No record exists showing how the earliest tide wheels were arranged, but. 
particulars are available of several mills which were erected in the eighteenth 
and nineteenth centuries. In the earlier historic mills no attempts were 
made to produce a fall, the power being obtained from the flow of the water 
into and out of the pound. To develop power in this way a wheel similar 
to the paddlewheels of steamships was used, but with a reversed action; that 
is to say, the flow of water drove the wheel. This arrangement entailed the 
raising and lowering of the wheel to sait the rise and fall of the tide, as only 
the bottom floats could be immersed if the best results were to be obtained. 

A corn mill at one time existed at East Greenwich which was driven by 
tidal power in the way we have described. The pound had an area of about 
4 acres and the wheel measured 11 feet in diameter by 12 feet long. The 
power was transmitted by a bevel gear at either end of the water-wheel 
shaft, the pinions being free to slide up and down two square vertical 
spindles. The water wheel and bevel gears were mounted upon a frame 


1Revision of paper read at the professional meeting of the Engineering Institute of 
Canada, St. John, New Brunswick, Sept. 11, 1919. Reprinted by permission from the 
Journal of the Engineering Institute of Canada, October, 1919. 
523 


524 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


which was caused to rise and fall to suit the tides, and the power was trans- 
mitted by either bevel wheel according to which way the water wheel was 
running, the other bevel pinion being thrown out of gear. By these means the 
machinery in the mill was always driven in one direction, in spite of the 
reversal of the water wheel at each turn of the tide. 

The movable frame, with the water wheel and gear, weighed some 20 tons 
and the bottom of it was extended to form a kind of shutter, which filled 
up the opening underneath the wheel race, all the water flowing into or out 
of the pound being thus compelled to pass through the wheel. 

Another type of wheel was devised to overcome the drawback of having 
to move up and down with the tide. This wheel was fitted with hinged 
floats, which arranged themselves across the stream at the bottom of the 
periphery, while they traveled through the water edgeways during the re- 
mainder of each revolution. With floats of this type the wheel was fixed, 
and the tide gradually rose over it until in some cases complete immersion 
took place. 

An arrangement of the sluices was also adopted to compel the water to pass 
through the wheel in the same direction, whether flowing in or out of the 
pound, thus doing away with the need for reversing gear between the water 
wheel and the machinery to be driven. 

These wheels must have been very inefficient, as the loss of power caused 
by the drag of the upper portion when covered was serious, and the design 
was soon discarded. 

Following these earlier mills came the more recent examples, many ot 
which are still in existence, while a few of them may be seen in operation. 
The older mills aimed at using the current of water caused by tidal action 
and advantage was taken of the flow in either direction. The more modern tide 
wheel is arranged to operate with considerable fall, and only develops power 
when the water is flowing out of the pound. 

The undershot wheel with straight radial floats is usually adopted, and the 
mill is started at half ebb or a little later, work being continued for about 
five hours, or until the water rises under the wheel and chokes the tail race. 
These arrangements give only five hours of working during each tide. 


Listing the tidal mills that actually exist, we have a mill at 
Woodbridge of 10 to 12 horsepower, one at St. Osyth of 20 horse- 
power, and one at Walton-on-the-Naze of 85 horsepower. These 
are all small powers, working on a low range of tide and with 
only a single, small, natural reservoir that allows of only a partial 
use of the tidal power for a comparatively short period of time, 
but Mr. Horsnaill shows that if modern turbines were installed at 
the plant at Walton-on-the-Naze and the power was used to develop 
electricity, instead of grinding corn, it would show up as a com- 
mercial development somewhat better than gas power, in spite of 
the heavy outlay for storage batteries which would be necessary 
at. a plant situated as Walton is. 

The number of proposals for tidal plants is very considerable, 
and while I think I should not take up your time by discussing all 
of them, it is worth while to examine a few of the more serious 
ones, 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 525 


Mr. James Saunders discussed, in the Engineering Review of 
London, three great plants for developments in England, viz, at 
Chichester Harbor, at the Menai Straits, and in the Bristol Channel. 
But in each case either the head of the water was too low or the 
cost of forming the artificial reservoirs was too great to make the 
proposals commercial at the present time. His most promising 
scheme is that for the Bristol Channel, where the tidal head is 
quite sufficient for successful operation, but where the cost of form- 
ing the great artificial reservoirs that would be here required is 
prohibitive in view of the power obtained. The total cost of the 
plant figured out at $47,000,000 and the horsepower at 240,000, so 
the cost per horsepower would be $196. 

C. A. Battiscombe, before London Society of Engineers, also 
made a tidal proposal for the Bristol Channel, but his cost works 
out at $237 per horsepower; and while neither of these figures 
would be too high for commercial developments in some localities, 
they are too high to interest English capital, for England is still 
a country of cheap coal and in examining any hydroelectric de- 
velopment we must constantly keep in mind the cost of power from 
other sources. 

Mr. Boving has proposed a tidal plant for the River Dee, but no 
estimates of costs are given; and coming nearer home, there have 
been numerous proposals for obtaining power from the tides at Sack- 
ville, at Cape Split, and at the Reversible Falls of St. John. 

Now to get continuous power at any of these sites, it would be neces- 
sary to form large artificial reservoirs, and the formation of such 
reservoirs is so costly that these proposals are not, at present, com- 
mercially feasible. 


DESIDERATA FOR A TIDAL PLANT 


The three great desiderata for a tidal plant are: First, that there 
should be sufficient height of tide to obtain a good head; second, that 
there should be two natural reservoirs of large size so that continuous 
power can be obtained; and, third, that the power plant should be © 
central to the population that would be seryed. 

And it is these three desiderata that lead us to suppose that the first 
great tidal development in the world will take place at Hopewell. 
Here we have two large reservoirs almost completely formed by 
nature, we have a tide which is exceedingly regular and that ranks 
among the highest tides in the world, with a spring rise of 45 feet, 
a neap rise of 38 feet, and a normal neap range of 32 feet, and we 
have this power centrally located to a present population of 250,000 
who are literally starving for cheap electric power, with no other 
hydroelectric developments in sight, except small ones and those that 


526 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


are too distant from the centers of population to make their develop- 
ment commercial at the present time. 

I have examined many other sites for tidal power, in those parts 
of the world where the tides are sufficiently high to make tidal power 
at all possible, and I am firmly convinced that we have at Hopewell, 
the site that is most promising at the present time, from a commercial 
standpoint. 

HOPEWELL PLANT 


To give you some idea of the height of the tide at Hopewell, I will 
show some photographs (pl. 1, figs. 1 and 1a) that were taken this 
summer of the Government Wharf at Hopewell at high water and at 
low water. This wharf, which is 55 feet high, is the only one to reach 
low water at ordinary and subnormal neap tides; it does not reach to 
low water at spring tides, and all other wharves in the neighborhood 
are high-water wharves, and are only reached by the water when the 
tide has risen about half its height. 

We will now discuss the principle which I have proposed for ob- 
taining continuous power from these great tides, and I will draw 
your attention to this map of the two tidal estuaries, the Petitcodiac 
and the Memramcook rivers (fig. 2). This map shows the general 
trend of these rivers, and their confluence at Hopewell, and it also 
shows the fresh-water drainage areas of the two rivers—which, 
although a minor item as compared to the great volume of salt 
water that flows up and down these rivers, should still be borne in 
mind in reviewing this proposal. 

The dotted lines show the respective drainage areas approximately, 
and these have been calculated out to show a drainage basin for the 
Petitcodiac of 784 square miles and for the Memramcook of 134 
square miles or in the ratio of nearly 6 to1. (The heavy black line 
is a county boundary.) 

At present the flood tide makes up these rivers for approximately 
six hours and then turns and flows back into the bay for six and one- 
half hours, and this map also shows the approximate limits of this 
flow, above which points the streams are fresh water. 

The next (fig. 3) shows a scale chart of the confluence of these two 
rivers, at Hopewell, the proposed location of the dams that will be 
necessary to control the waters, the depths of water at low tide, etc. 

The western dam would be 4,900 feet long, the eastern dam 4,800 
feet long, and a wing dam of 900 feet would connect the two, and it 
would, of course, be part of the plan to have a highway and trolley 
line (operated by the plant) over the tops of these dams connecting 
up the two main shores and the long peninsula that makes down be- 
tween the two rivers. 


1454—25 


(Face p. 526.) 


“ay (hot werm-taleenthds 
rell ‘at hich weler and: 
4, 18 tony one. te reach 


ves in the quighberhoss 

d the water sawhen 
ato ; Bove propos 

xe GKES : tides 

> ; ais | x = Stuaries, ™ “pn ie: 1 


BS Beene — Sas map ahows the pend 
, 2 as moe ; = 


ul 


™ the two ri : ‘ chs 
© "great volume ‘of 
should still be: ’ i t 


18 STEAL AD Swunat - 
VUrsinage bmsin td 
1% Memramtook of 334 


-_ 
igen SF approximately 
<5 Se fie *_ ihe bay Tor six sad one 
fer ee vrosimaté limits of thy 
bh water. a aod 
» copflysure of these tq} 
< the Meas that wil? 
water at low tida, eter? 
~ Tit Suetern HAM tee 


CCRBSOC.g aoat} wot-eneb it 


tin thatwhalees dows tig. 
a) aN de 1. 


Ga I willie a 


t Hopewell, anduit hed 


‘ 
2 eee 2 he 


q cy, 
7 
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Veet i dugs tot ceach: 4 


dy 


1454—25 


= 
A 
a 
ie 
— 
— ee 
ae 
WERT. 
Fig. 2.—Map showing the watershed of the Petitcodiac and Memramcook Rivers 
(Face p. 526.) 


a chat wettest 
eli x high ale 
ip sen one i a 
Boers j de not veacl: t . 
ves. it pte sighhor! sok = 
Lb rhe water a het 


<0 
have prope - for obs ew, 
ides, Mad: ¢ will dig 
earies Lhe 
cape) we the: 
t Hopewell) and it 
“> jhe: tite ariy erg-which s ber 
é Aart volunis, ‘of bale} : 
shou sit es be borne io 

: ze 4 ae a 
: Uraingge bast ares 
¢ Memrameock of Ny 


‘The wees he ri 


i 
a 
ong 
ts 


ue wii pproximate 
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roximate linits of 
bh water, 
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4 the danis thiad! will Be ai 
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Paste Tam 2,500 
Race dente) OS 
ed highway and oe 
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cA 
we 2 
eS 
. ¥ "he anes «") =o 
“= a4 


TIDAL POWER—-TURNBULL 527 


This :ighway would only be a matter of local benefit, but it would 
be of i..mense benefit to the building up of this locality. At present 
Hopewell can only be reached from Coles Head by a little ferry that 
can onl, operate for a few hours near high tide; the Petitcodiac is 
only bridged at Moncton, 19 miles above Hopewell; the Memramcook 
was bridged at Upper Dorchester, 5 miles above Hopewell, but this 
bridge is now gone, and the Government is at present making bor- 
ings for a bridge to take its place that will cost about $1,000,000. 

At present Hopewell, Hillsborough, and the big peninsula are hard 
places to get into, and still harder places to get out of, and yet they 


==> 


ee ! 2 
Confluence of Petitcodiac y Memramcook Rivers 
Fie. 8 


are regions of great mineral resources that only require, but still 
await, development. The figure shows a lock in the western dam, 
through which vessels could be passed at any suitable time of the 
tide, on their way up and down the Petitcodiac, and Hillborough and 
Moncton would be provided with deep-water harbors instead of the 
mud flats which they at present enjoy at every low tide. The gates 
of the lock would naturally be swung by electric power furnished 
from the near-by power house. 

The proposal provides for making the Petitcodiac a high-level 
basin in which the water would always be high, and be replenished 
at every high tide, while the Memramcook River would be a low-level 


528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


basin to be partially filled from the high-level basin and be always 
emptied during the latter part of the ebb tide. This arrangement 
would also admirably suit local conditions, for the Memramcook is 
exclusively a farming district in which much time and money is at 
present expended in excluding the tides by means of dykes, and I have 
been informed by farmers of this valley that they would only wish 
to have the salt water flood their lands about once in 10 years for 
the purpose of fertilizing them. The navigation of this river is prac- 
tically nil, so it would hardly be necessary to provide any lock in the 
eastern dam—two or three times during a summer a small vessel will 


SHE PODY BAY 


TIDAL SOURCE 


iq. 4.—Illustration of principle for obtaining continuous power from the tides 


lie at the Dorchester Island wharf for the purpose of discharging 
goods, but these could be as well discharged below the dam and the 
power company could well afford to pay for the short extra haulage. 

I will now call your attention to the next figure (No. 4) which 
illustrates—in scheme but not to scale—the principle that I employ 
to get continuous power from the tides, with a varying head to be 
sure, but with the water always passing through the turbines in the 
same direction and always with a head sufficient to make turbine 
operation successful. The diagram shows the confluence of the two 
rivers, with the necessary dams and gates to control the flow—the 
gates J, J, etc., in the western dam would be automatic flap gates open- 
ing upstream, allowing the high-level basin (the Petitcodiac) to fill 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 529 


at every high tide and the gates H, H, etc., of the eastern dam would 
be automatic flap gates opening downstream, and allowing the low- 
level basin (the Memramcook) to empty on every ebb tide. 

The gates G, G, etc., and G1, G+, etc., would be of the nature of 
lock gates; they would be operated by electric motors, driven by the 
power plant itself, and be under the control of the attendants, who 
would open them and close them in accordance with the height of 
the external tide at stated times that can be fixed for months in 
advance directly from the tide tables. 


ofo RANGE 


3 q io 12 HOURS§ 


VELOCITY of CURRENT ~HOPEWELL- Frem Log Readings 


The power house is represented as a long building, with turbines 
T, T+, etc., extending diagonally from the wing dam to the western 
dam, and these turbines discharge continuously from the high-level 
basin into the common triangular tailrace. Let us now follow 
through a cycle of operations from low tide to the following low tide, 
remembering that the high-level basin was filled automatically at the 
last high tide and that the low-level basin has just been emptied 
during the ebb tide through the gates in the eastern dam. 


530 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


OPERATION 


Beginning with low tide, we may at first leave gates G, G, etc., 
open and allow the water from the tailrace to discharge directly into 
the tidal supply (Shepody Bay), but the head will gradually decrease 
as the tide rises, and at about 214 hours rise the attendants close 
gates G, G, etc., and open gates G', G’, etc., allowing the discharge 
from the tailrace to enter the low-level basin; into this the tailrace 
will continue to discharge for about 61% hours, or through the last 
314 hours of flood tide and through the first 3 hours of ebb tide, after 
which time the water in the low-level basin will have so risen, and 
the water of the tidal supply will have so dropped, that it will now 
be profitable to close gates G', G', etc., and open gates G, G, and 
once more allow the discharge to occur directly into the source of 
tidal supply and give the low-level basin time to again drain out on 
the ebbing tide. I think you will at once grasp from this the sim- 
plicity of the system itself, but in order that we should study more 
fully one of the engineering problems involved I will call your 
attention to the next figure (No. 5), the typical tidal cycle at Hope- 
well; this curve shows a copy, in per cent of range plotted against 
time, of an actual tidal record, obtained at the ordinary neap tides 
by the tide gauge established in 1919 at Hopewell by the Canadian 
Tidal Survey, and furnished to me by the courtesy of Mr. H. W. 
Jones, of that department. You will note how exceedingly regular 
the tide is and how little affected by estuary flow, and this is one of 
the great advantages of Bay of Fundy tides in general. At certain 
places in the world the diurnal inequality becomes so great that for 
several days there is only one tide in 24 hours, and at Southampton 
there is a second high water occurring about 2 hours after the first. 

In dealing with the question of tidal power at Hopewell we must 
remember that although the tide is regular in type, nevertheless the 
range of the tide and not the rise is the limiting factor of our power 
calculations, and it becomes necessary to establish and work on what 
might be called a “standard” range. For this purpose I have 
analyzed approximately the ranges that will occur in the course of 
a year. I call spring tides those whose range exceeds 42 feet; they 
occur about 15 per cent of the time, and I think no attempt should 
be made to utilize them especially; I call subnormal neap tides those 
whose range is less than 32 feet; they also occur about 15 per cent of 
the time, and some means, which are discussed later, would need to 
be employed to avoid the impairment of our “standard” amount 
of power. 

All other tides I call ordinary neap tides, with a range at Hopewell 
of 32 feet to 42 feet; they occur about 70 per cent of the time, and 
it is the lower range of 32 feet which I think we should adopt as our 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 5381 


“standard” range, and the curves and estimates that follow are 
based on this range of 32 feet. 

We will now return to the discussion of the principles involved in 
the proposed plant, and I will ask you to examine the next figure 
(No. 6), which shows a tidal cycle at a “standard” range of 32 feet, 
with an assumed drop in the high-level basin of 6 inches per hour, 
and the level changes that will occur in the two basins with the opera- 


Rance in Feet 


CORRESPONDING CHANGES IN Errective HEAD 


Fic. 6 


tion of the plant, as before described. If the conditions at Hopewell 
were better, the ratio of effective areas would be as 2 to 1 for the 
high and low level reservoirs, but unfortunately this is not the case, 
for the Petitcodiac contains an effective area of about 330,000,000 
square feet, while the Memramcook has only about 60,000,000 square 
feet, so that the ratio is about 514 to 1; thus while the water in the 
Petitcodiac is dropping 6 inches per hour the water in the Memram- 
cook is rising five and one-half times this, or 33 inches per hour, and 


532 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


these level changes are illustrated in the diagram, while the changes 
in effective head on the turbines is plotted immediately below. 

Full lines above show the level changes of the high-level basin; 
dotted lines below, those of the low-level basin. Starting at low 


oH 


aon 


Fie. 6a 


an.) ore 


ae 
& 


sensi ueaaitece 


a3see6 


H 
iit 


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water, you will note that for 2.35 hours the level of water in the low- 
level basin is unchanged, for the water from the tailrace is dis- 
charging into the tidal supply direct, but during this time the head is 
decreasing from 281% feet to 13814 feet when it becomes expedient to 
discharge into the low-level basin, when the head will at once rise to 
271% feet. 


TIDAL POWER—-TURNBULL joao 


After this for 614 hours the low-level basin will rise, but the high- 
level basin will also rise after 4.1 hours (as the flood tide will then 
be filling it for 1.9 hours) and we have the head decreasing from 2714 
feet to 22 feet, but afterwards increasing to 231% at 5.2 hours. 

After this the head will gradually decrease to 1314 feet at 9 
hours, when, the tide in the external bay having sufficiently ebbed, 
the water from the tailrace will be again discharged into it and the 
head will steadily rise to its previous maximum of 2814 feet at low 
tide, as shown by the curve of heads. 

The average head in this case from low tide to low tide works 
out at 221% feet. 

POWER AVAILABLE 


The selection of a 6-inch drop per hour in the high-level basin 
is merely for the purpose of an illustration, but other drops may 
be considered, and in order to ascertain the most suitable drop for 
the initial and final developments (which are referred to later) 
we must consider the limits of good turbine operation, with variable 
heads, and plot out the gross horsepower curves against various 
hourly drops under the conditions, first, of the initial development 
(here taken at 90,000 horsepower, and the present basin ratio of 
5.5:1) and second, of the final development (here taken at 200,000 
horsepower, and the improved basin ratio of 2:1). 

These data have been worked out (fig. 6a) for both basin ratios 
and the respective areas, and when we select an initial develop- 
ment of 90,000 horsepower (which is that indicated by the present 
population) we note that this corresponds to an hourly drop in the 
high-level basin of 4.4 inches, a minimum head, as per cent of maxi- 
mum, of 55 per cent, and a minimum head, as per cent of average, 
of 69 per cent. And for a final development of 200,000 horsepower, 
with basin ratio improved to 2:1, the hourly drop would be 1014 
inches, the minimum head, as per cent of maximum, 56.7 per cent, 
and a minimum head, as per cent of average, of 68 per cent. The 
actual heads in feet for the two developments are given in Figure 60, 
plotted against the time of a complete cycle, and we then have for 
a comparative table the following: 


Initial Final 


ment men 
90,000 200,000 
| horse horse 


JC REC TTC EM a CEG WE AS + ee eis ie OS ae eines a a Shae ae feet... - 29. 6 26.3 

Witminatr Heads Ss see cee es pose 8) bd SCR ee SE ER Oe doses 16, 25 14.9 

Abvemnee REAM. 6582. 5626 gee SN ae A a ce eens Beh 8 aod do-s 23. 55 21. 94 

Minniiay,. ds per Cont Or maximum. <5. 225 2 So os oe non nao So see nea per cent_- 55 56. 7 

Mastin) aa pen cent Of avernpe: ss... 5c8 5-2-5) eee Se ee do.__-| 69 68 
1454—25 35 


534 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


It will be noted from horsepower curves (fig. 6a) that up to cer- 
tain maxima (198,000 for the 5.5:1 basins and 290,000 for the 2:1 
basins) the available horsepower increases with an increase in the 
hourly drop allowed in the high-level basin, but it must be borne in 


ett! 
AGE 


é : q 
HOURS -LOW TIDE 7 Low TIDE 


Fie. 6b 


mind that as the hourly drop increases the maximum head decreases, 
and the minimum head decreases more rapidly still; and we must 
therefore select cases, such as has been done in the above table, that 
can be successfully met by turbine operation. 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 535 


TURBINES 


The best type of turbines to meet the constantly varying heads of 
a tidal plant is open to a considerable amount of discussion, and it 
is quite possible that special designs would be required to give really 
the best results. However, I have carried out correspondence with 


a 2 2 ~~ 


99 “DIA 


several turbine manufacturers, and I am assured by them that tur- 
bines can be supplied of present design and with high efficiency 
that can satisfactorily meet the conditions given in the above com- 
parative table. 

In correspondence with the I. P. Morris department, of William 
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, they have recommended a high-speed 


536 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


propeller-type turbine (Moody diagonal propeller type), and we 
consider this type here to afford a concrete example, the following 
data being supplied by the company with special reference to this 
particular type of turbine and the Hopewell conditions as to head, 
ete. : 


Item Initial 90,000 horsepower ers 
Moody diagonal propeller type: | 

IDIRMCLED Shoe A ae ee oe ee ee 15 feet 944 inches_____-..___- 16 feet 914 inches. 
Wnit pacing es 2 oO ee ee Bisa feet ere eae ee 51 feet. 
peed. ait) 2 2 ee ee Sones BO esac ctieca depen | res 
ating average ead 2s oe ake we ie Seren ay ce aires PAA Ss 6,450. 
Number of units, average head___----____----- b by Raa ee renee Sys INO NCERS Ft, Foe ol: 
Horsepower, maximum head---_---_-_-__----- bi) 1 Se SS Se Res eae 8,500. 
Horsepower, minimum head --_-----_--_------- BOT te Se eA ee 4,200. 
Number of units, minimum head _-_-_-_-_--_---_- NGS at TE ee 48. 


Curves of the horsepower (average head case) and efficiency of 
these turbines are given in Figure 6c, and it will be noted that the 
efficiency is high over a wide range of head, and that we might 
expect a very good average efficiency from this type of turbine. 

The above data are tentative, but give a good idea of what can be 
done by good low-head turbines, even over a wide range of head 
variation. | 


INITIAL AND FINAL DEVELOPMENTS 


The initial installation called for at the present time by the exist- 
ing population would be about 90,000 gross horsepower, and we 
note from Fig. 6a that this corresponds to an hourly drop of 4.4 
inches in the high-level basin. Now, while the population grew and 
the demand for electricity increased from 90,000 upwards, we could 
steadily be improving the ratio of the two basins, and thus greatly 
improve our power output, up to, say, 200,000 horsepower. 

To improve this basin ratio to a better condition, in which the 
Memramcook would have half the effective area of the Petitcodiac, I 
propose to use electric shovels and an electric tramway, both operated 
by surplus power from the initial installation, expropriate, by Goy- 
ernment charter, the low-lying farms of the Memramcook Valley 
at a fair and equitable rate, and shovel out the basin according to 
power requirements, removing the material by the electric railway 
and dumping it below the eastern dam, where it would be largely 
carried away by the tide, or could be formed into a useful embank- 
ment—wharf, railway terminal, or the like. 

A cheaper sioe of aiueuie the Memramcook basin might be 
to employ hydraulic excavation methods when this basin was being 
emptied, the water for this system being pumped when there was 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 5387 


surplus power from the plant to the high levels that exist on the 
peninsula (315 to 570 feet), there stored in reservoirs, and then used 
at suitable times, with these high heads, by means of a pipe line to the 
parts to be excavated. 


TYPE OF DAM 


The next figure (No. 7) shows the approximate profile of the 
western and eastern dams; since it would not be policy to attempt 
to get the extra power that spring tides would give, the western 
dam need only have the height of high water, ordinary neap tides, 
but the height of the eastern dam would have to be carried up beyond 
the highest probable spring tides to insure that the low level basin 
was never flooded at high tide. The figure shows this dam carried 
3 feet higher than the highest spring tide that occurred during a 
period of 15 years. As before mentioned, the tops of the dams 
could be utilized as highways and would thus be of invaluable local 
benefit, and a light steel structure is indicated on the western dam 
for this purpose. The masonry width called for by the calculations 
would not be sufficient for a roadway, but a light steel structure 
could be winged out on top of the dams and made of sufficient width 
to carry a good roadway, an electric tram, and the power-transmis- 
sion lines that would go both west to St. John and east to Halifax. 

The flap gates for filling the high-level basin and emptying the 
low-level basin are indicated in the sketch profile. They should 
present no engineering difficulties, but they should be designed of 
sufficient size to readily pass the full volume of water required by 
the final and maximum development. 

We now come to the question of the river bottom and the location 
of rock for a good dam foundation, and I regret that I can not give 
any exact data. In the summer of 1919 I went twice to Hopewell, 
but could only obtain indirect evidence as to the depth of the rock 
under the muddy beds of the two rivers. The full line of the pro- 
file shows the depth of the top of the mud, according to the Admir- 
alty chart, and there is strong presumptive evidence that the top of 
the rock does not lie more than 15 to 20 feet below this.° Where the 
“new wharf” was built at Hopewell the mud soon washed out for a 
depth of 12 feet, when hard bottom was reached, and the outcropping 
of ledge rock at the mouth of the Memramcook, as shown on the 
chart and profiles, indicates the rock bottom for a quarter of a mile 
is very near the surface. The shores at Hopewell, Fort Folly Point, 
and Coles Head are all rocky, and the nature of all rock in this 
locality is the same, viz, shaley sandstone to pure sandstone sufli- 
ciently sound for making grindstones.* 


2The water-power branch of the Dominion Government is to make borings and other 
investigations at the site of the proposed dam this coming summer (1924). 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


538 


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TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 539 


As to the best typé of dam to build at Hopewell, I feel that I 
should offer no opinion, for the question of dam design is an engi- 
neering specialty, and only an expert in this particular branch of en- 
gineering could decide the best type to adopt, and he only after a 
systematic line of borings were obtained along a proposed site. It 
has been suggested to me that a dam composed of hollow sections of 
concrete is a satisfactory and cheap type to build, the sections being 
built in a dry dock, floated into position, and then sunk by filling the 
interior with rock and gravel. However, I doubt if this is a well- 
proven system, and, as I say, the question of best type should ,be 
decided by an expert of long experience. Such estimates of cost that 
I have been able to make have been based on the cyclopean concrete 
type of dam. In considering the best type to build at Hopewell the 
question of the tidal currents would have to be considered, and while 
these currents are not very swift, when the great height of the tide 
is considered, nevertheless they should receive attention. From 
Figure 5 you will note some current measurements that I made by 
using a ship’s log attached to an anchored boat. When the tidal 
range was 388 feet the channel current reached a maximum of 4.2 
knots, and you will note that although the flood current soon dies 
out the ebb persists at near its maximum until almost the time for 
the next flood tide to begin. Out of the channel the current runs 
swiftly for much shorter periods, and the tidal current makessshore- 
ward as the shores are approached until we often have currents at 
right angles to the main stream. The dotted curve shows some meas- 
urements taken rather off the channel, with a tidal range of 28 feet, 
and the maximum under these conditions was 2.6 knots. 


SPECIAL PROBLEMS 


Before leaving the engineering problems that are presented by 
this novel plant, I will mention three other items that should _be 
considered. 

The question of subnormal neap tides requires especial attention, 
for while my calculations are based on the least range, viz, 32 feet 
of ordinary neap tides, nevertheless there are certain tides which 
occur sometimes three days a month, sometimes five days a month, 
and sometimes not at all in a month, which have a lower range than 
32 feet, and may sometimes have a range as low as 25 feet. 

Now, if our plant were built and running at full capacity, with 
a range of 32 feet, there would be an impairment of the regular 
capacity whenever these subnormal neaps occurred, which is about 
15 per cent of the time, and I think some provision should be made 
to deal with them adequately. One method might be to keep the 
turbines and generators well ahead of the normal demand and use 
these extra ones only during the subnormal neaps; another method 
would be to keep the Memramcook shoveled out, as already described, 


540 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


well ahead of the future requirements and thus improve the average 
head; and yet another method would be to build a fresh-water dam, 
say, just below Turtle Creek, about 5 miles west of Moncton, in 
which fresh water would be impounded and released only to make 
up the deficiency in head at subnormal neaps. Still another method 
would be to employ auxiliary steam power to assist the water power 
during the water deficiency. One of the last two devices is nearly 
always resorted to in the case of ordinary hydroelectric plants sit- 
uated on fresh-water rivers. In nearly all districts the amount of 
rainfall varies enormously during the different months of the year 
and the amount of run-off and discharge varies in a direct relation 
to the rainfall. As an example of this, the discharge at Grand Falls, 
on the St. John River, reached a maximum in May, 1909, fifty times 
greater than the maximum of October, 1909, and the mean discharge 
for the whole month of May was twenty times greater than the mean 
for October. In fresh-water rivers a certain power may run into 
thousands of horsepower in the spring, but be reduced to hundreds 
in the fall of the year, unless adequate means are resorted to to in- 
crease the deficiency of head. 

In this matter a tidal power scores heavily over a fresh-water 
power. In the case of the fresh-water power neither the time nor 
quantity of a head deficiency can be predicted, but with a tidal 
power both the time and the deficiency are predicted by the tide 
tables several years in advance, and it would thus be much easier to 
provide for our head deficiency, which only, after all, amounts to 35 
per cent in quantity and occurs only 15 per cent of the total time. 

The best means of making up the deficit in the case of the Hopewell 
tidal plant would be best figured out in the final estimates as that one 
which would maintain the normal output at a minimum of cost. 

The other two engineering items I wish to discuss are sediment 
and ice. 

At the present time the never-ceasing current flow up and down 
the two rivers keeps the river stirred up, and the waters of both 
rivers show a considerable amount of sediment, and one would at 
first jump to the conclusion that this muddy grit, fine though it is, 
would produce much unusual wear on the turbines. However, what 
will happen as soon as the mouth of the Petitcodiac is closed by a 
dam? The mud in the water above the dam will undoubtedly settle, 
for it will have time to do so, and the water of the Petitcodiae will 
become clear. At preserft the water is never still, but with a dam the 
rise and fall would be reduced to a few feet and the current would 
be sluggish. 

In a similar way the building of the dam would entirely alter the 
ice conditions. Once the dam was built, the whole river would freeze 
over in severe weather and the sheet of ice would rise and fall with 


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1454—25——36 


542 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


the water, just as it does in the St. John and similar rivers. Never- 
theless, while the building of the dam was in progress the question 
of large masses of ice moving with the current should be given every 
attention, and quite likely some special method of cushioning the 
blows from ice might have to be devised. 


POWER DISTRIBUTION 


We will now turn to a consideration of the method of distributing 
the power available at Hopewell, and I will ask you to examine the 
next figure (No. 8) and note how centrally Hopewell is placed with 
reference to the centers of population of both New Brunswick and 
Nova Scotia. 

The method of transmission carries with it no special problems, 
as we would undoubtedly use step-up transformers at the power 
house, transmit at about 66,000 volts with three-phase current, and 
use step-down transformers at the delivery points. All this system 
has been so thoroughly thrashed out, and is in daily use all over 
Canada and under Canadian winter conditions, that it has become 
practically “standard” and needs no special consideration here. 
The principal feature that should be considered in laying out the 
transmission lines would be one of expediency and proper return on 
the capital outlay of transmission lines and line losses. Undoubt- 
edly a main line should go west to St. John, with power for all inter- 
vening towns and villages of any size, and undoubtedly a main line 
should go east and south to Halifax with power for Sackville, 
Springhill, Amherst, Truro, etc.; and also undoubtedly branch lines 
should go to Moncton, New Glasgow, and Stellarton, as the present 
population would warrant this. The extension of branch lines to 
St. Stephen, Fredericton, Newcastle, and Chatham is somewhat 
doubtful at present, but there are railways that well might be eco- 
nomically electrified toward all these points, and I have therefore 
included them in the preliminary estimate. I have prepared a table 
of the population that would be served by these lines, and the total 
works out at 250,000 inhabitants. With this as a basis, we should 
now estimate the probable per capita use and thus obtain an estimate 
of the proper size of plant for the initial development at Hopewell. 


THE MARKET 


When I prepared my first report on this subject it was submitted 
to the well-known firm of Sanderson & Porter, of New York—a firm 
who specializes in the control and management of some 60 hydro- 
electric developments—and their condensed criticism was as follows: 


We think your proposal from an engineering standpoint is sound and it is 
the only scheme for utilizing tidal power that seems practical, but we are rather 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 543 


in doubt as to whether the population served is sufficiently large to warrant 
the capital expenditure. : 

Now, this was in 1914, and I presume Sanderson & Porter based 
their opinion on the per capita use of hydroelectric power in the 
United States, which works out at 0.10 horsepower per inhabitant, 
according to the textbooks. 

Since then, however, newer data have come to my hand, and if 
these data are accurate, as I presume they are, the complexion of 
affairs has changed and the Hopewell plant is a really good com- 
mercial proposition at the present time and needs only the govern- 
mental help accorded by a good charter. 

The data that I speak of were published in Saturday Night about 
February, 1919, and are contained in a very interesting table 
which shows the per capita use of hydroelectric power for every 
Province of Canada and for the Dominion as a whole. It shows that 
British Columbia uses 0.36 horsepower per capita; Ontario, 0.288; 
Quebec, 0.267; and the whole of Canada, 0.206, and these figures are 
for the total population, and they should be increased at least 30 per 
cent for the per capita use of population served. It will thus be 
seen that Ontario, per capita served, is using about 0.87 and Quebec 
about 0.35, and I think we may properly assume that 0.36 would be 
used by the inhabitant of the Maritime Provinces as soon as you 
could give him really cheap electricity.® 

On this basis, then, the population of 250,000 would require 90,000 
gross horsepower, or, say, 45,000 horsepower at the delivery points; 
and I think the initial development at Hopewell should be for 90,000 
horsepower,* with every provision made for increasing the output 
as already outlined in this paper up to 200,000 gross horsepower, as 
the population and demand increased, as they undoubtedly would 
when cheap power was available. | 


COSTS 


We now turn to the question of costs, and I have made an estimate 
of this as follows and in accordance with the textbooks on the 
subject: 


Dam cost in cyclopean concrete 
Western dam: 


730 lineal feet, at equivalent height of 38 feet and $210 per 


Hizi@al TOOb seth Sid Shh ith) See 2 ie id fea oe $153, 000 
4,100 lineal feet, at equivalent height of 65 feet and $480 per 
lineal Roots See eo an SY ee ke PR eS 1, 965, 000 


3The latest data show that since this was written (1919) the per capita use in 
Canada of hydropower has increased 22% per cent and it is steadily increasing. 

4Probably now 110,000 horsepower in view of the above noted increase in per capita 
use, 


544 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Dam cost in cyclopean concrete—Continued 
Eastern dam: 


2,800 lineal feet, at equivalent height of 65 feet and $480 per 


MINGa" TOO tte eee ee $1, 845, 000 
2,000 lineal feet, at equivalent height of 35 feet and $180 per 
linkal foatlssioiceh esi EP) pe «yes aly tine sigs gatas 360, 000 
Wing dam: 
900 lineal feet, at equivalent height of 30 feet and $141 per 
NiNeal LOO <a eee ae eee ree eos Sees eee ES 127, 000 
Total cost (40550. lines Tee) ee ee 3, 950, 000 


Since we will remain uncertain about the dam cost until borings 
are made, it will be best to allow $4,000,000 in our preliminary esti- 
mates.® 

The other items of cost can be more accurately estimated from the 
known cost of equipment in existing hydroelectric developments, and 
we have the following table of total estimated cost: 


Dams, .as;perjpreceding, estimate...3- 2.52.1 2s = 28-8 $4, 000, 000 
Lock. in-cwWesterns GAM S363 og ae pe aoe Ny Be eee 440, 000 
SUNT COS, Seen COS ee a a es 450, 000 
Power Douse OL steel and concrete. 22" see Me eee 950, 000 
Turbines, generators, etc., at $50 per gross horsepower___-_ -_..--.-_- 4, 506, 000 
Pransmission linés:wetele 2 maser: sor. yo ee el ot on ae ete SEY 1, 400, 000 
Preliminary/dredzing,.dam, trench, ete... ae 150, 000 
Promotion, engineering. fees, ete. -2 — = = 2 eee 750, 000 


Auxiliary plant to supply head deficiency at subnormal neap tides,say 1, 300, 000 
Total cost of initial development to produce 90,000 gross 
horsepower 22.222 ew. 2 DO Es a eee 13. 940, 000 


Cost per horsepower developed______~-----_--_-+---__---_-- 155 


The cost for subsequent development is much less, relatively, for in 
the initial development full allowance has had to be made for the 
final development in all items except turbines, generators, and trans- 
mission lines and the cost of a full development of 200,000 gross 
horsepower would work out at about $20,000,000, or $100 per gross 
horsepower. In this estimate for final development the cost of shov- 
eling and dredging the Memramcook farming lands—which would be 
necessary as previously shown—is not figured, for it would be un- 
doubtedly good policy to start this work as soon as the power house 
was in operation and take the necessary cost out of the annual income. 

To ascertain whether a hydro proposal is “commercial,” it is 
necessary, for any given locality, to compare the cost of developed 
horsepower with the cost of steam coal in the locality considered. 
and this relation for the Maritime Provinces is shown in Figure 9. 
In January, 1914, the wholesale price of steam coal was $4.50 per 
long ton (at St. John, New Brunswick), and at that time and rate per 
ton for coal it was a paying proposition to develop a water power 


5 Another method of obtaining approximate cost for dams was figured as follows: 
Approximate volume of all dams—465,000 cubic yards, less allowance for gates—=70,000 
eubic yards; net for dams=395,000 cubic yards. With concrete at $10.50 per cubic 
yard, total cost of dams—$4,150,000, 


TIDAL POWER—TURNBULL 545 


for $132 per horsepower (this is an average figure for-seven American 
developments)—at the present time the wholesale price of steam 
coal at St. John, New Brunswick, is $8.68 per long ton, and it would 
thereiore now be a paying proposition to develop a water power in 
this part of the world at the rate of $255 per developed horse power, 
as shown in Figure 9. 

According to my estimate of cost above, the initial development at 
Hopewell should be done for about $155 per horsepower, and the 
final development for about $100 per horsepower; and while the 
borings to be made this summer may determine the rock bottom at a 


Fic. 9 


somewhat lower level than that assumed for my estimate, neverthe- 
less the Hopewell plant should be a commercial one, even if the cost 
of the dams works out more than double my estimate. The other 
items of the estimates can be and have been taken direct from the 
data on standard fresh-water developments, and should therefore 
be approximately right, as given above. 

If the Maritime Provinces were blessed with great fresh-water 
powers, such as exist in Quebec and Ontario, the time might hardly 
be ripe for the development of this tidal plant, but, to quote from the 
Commission of Conservation’s book (1911), it says, in speaking of 
New Brunswick, “The larger rivers for the most part are long and 
their fall is gradual;” and again, “There are comparatively few 


546 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


lakes in the upper portions of the watersheds of the majority of the 
rivers, and hence little facility is offorded for the natural storage of 
waters for the purpose of equalizing the flow during the low-water 
periods.” ‘To emphasize this point I refer to the diagram, Figure 10, 
which shows the comparative power available at Hopewell, all fresh- 
water powers in New Brunswick, Grand Falls (the largest single 
fresh-water power), and Musquash (the first public development in 
the Province)—these are all on a 24-hour basis. 

Nova Scotia is similarly placed as regards fresh-water powers, and 
the total estimate for the Province is only 128,000 horsepower; there- 


Fic. 10 


fore the single plant at Hopewell would be almost equal to the com- 
bined fresh-water powers of the two Provinces. 

Were we able to harness the power that is daily wasted in the two 
great eastern arms of the Bay of Fundy we could have the use of 
3,500,000 horsepower, but this is a dream for the future and is not 
a practical proposition for to-day. The theory of the thing is the 
same as for the Hopewell plant, but the execution and cost would be 
impossible at present. 

The Hopewell plant is to-day a good commercial proposition. 
Special engineering problems are attached to it, but they are only 
those that attach to any special plant. The difficulties are small in 
comparison to many recent engineering works that have been success- 
fully carried out, and I trust that the near future will see this great 
plant in daily operation. 


Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Crichton-Browne PLATE | 


MISS OLIVE EDIS. F. R. P. S. 


SIR JAMES DEWAR, F.R.S., LL. D. 


SIR JAMES DEWAR, F.R.S., LL. Ds 
By Sir JAMES CricHTON-Browng, M. D., LL. D., F. R. S. 


[With 1 plate] 


A great man of science has passed away, resolved into that at- 
mosphere the secret of which he has done so much to disclose. Sir 
James Dewar died on March 27 at the Royal Institution in Albe- 
marle Street, which has been for 46 years the scene of his labors; 
and his remains were, by his express wish, cremated at Golder’s 
Green on the following Saturday. 

Born at Kincardine-on-Forth under the shadow of the Ochill 
Hills, and near Stirling with all its romantic historical associations, 
on September 20, 1842, Sir James Dewar was reared in a Presby- 
terian home and was early introduced to the austere theology in the 
Shorter Catechism. In his tenth year there occurred an incident 
which probably colored his hfe. While skating on a winter’s day he 
fell through the ice, and when rescued walked about in his wet clothes 
till they were dry, so that his family might not learn of his misad- 
venture. The result of that was that he had a severe attack of 
rheumatic fever, which crippled him for two years and left him with 
a damaged heart. The heart trouble incapacitated him for the 
active life to which he had been previously disposed and permanently 
cut him off from strenuous games and exercises, but in no degree 
impaired his constitutional energy, which remained intact and un- 
surpassable till his death. It was in these two years when he was 
laid aside, free from schooling, with only a modicum of private 
tuition and cut off from the companionship of other boys of his 
age, that his native gifts had a favorable opportunity of spontaneous 
growth. He browsed unconfined on the wholesome pastures of 
English and Scottish literature, drank deeply of Burns, and above 
all, began to think for himself and to create; and creation is the 
essence of all genius. Always devoted to music, he had before his 
illness attained to some degree of proficiency on the flute, but was 
now debarred from that instrument by breathlessness, and so turned 
to the violin. With the help of the village joiner he made for him- 
self several violins, one of which, wonderfully expressive in its tones, 
was played on at the celebration of his golden wedding in 1921. 


1 Reprinted, by permission, from Science Progress, July, 1923. 


547 


548 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1928 


When 12 years old Dewar, still a pale and delicate boy, went to 
the Dollar Academy, a Scottish secondary school of high repute, of 
which he always spoke very gratefully, and there he resumed the 
ordinary routine of the education of the period. It was a little 
incident at Dollar, the discovery in the garden of Mr. Lindsay, the 
master with whom he was boarded, of an old and half-buried sundial, 
in the erection and orientation of which he took some part, that in- 
oculated him with a taste for exact science; but it was not until he 
went to the University of Edinburgh, at the age of 17, that his ap- 
prenticeship to science really began. There he soon diverged from 
the accustomed literary course and plunged, as it were instinctively, 
into mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In this congenial element 
his ability was speedily recognized by two of his professors, Guthrie 
Tait and Lyon Playfair, the latter of whom made him his class as- 
sistant. There was great intellectual activity in Edinburgh while 
Dewar’s lot was cast there in the sixties of last century, and into that 
he entered with zest and with an acceptance not usually accorded to 
so young a man. His teaching power attracted large classes to his 
practical demonstrations, and the experimental tendencies, which 
were in the marrow of his bones, unmistakably displayed themselves, 
leading Lyon Playfair to suggest to him that he should accept an 
appointment for technical work in connection with the dyeing in- 
dustry with which his friend Crum Brown, who became Playfair’s 
successor, was, by family ties, associated. Had Dewar adopted this 
course Perkins might have been anticipated, but he preferred to re- 
main in Edinburgh to carry on his less circumscribed researches 
there, in the meantime, however, enlarging the scope of his studies 
by a sojourn at Ghent, where under Kekuli he gave special atten- 
tion to organic chemistry. 

Returning to Edinburgh as demonstrator of chemistry in the uni- 
versity, he engaged, with Guthrie Tait, in experiments with Crookes’s 
newly invented radiometer, and with McKendrick in an inquiry on 
the physiological action of light. From the university he passed to 
the Dick Veterinary College as professor of chemistry, and it was 
while diligently working there that an offer of promotion unex- 
pectedly came to him. There was a vacancy in the Jacksonian pro- 
fessorship at Cambridge, for which there were several candidates, 
and a selection was imminent, but at this moment the late Sir George 
Humphrey visited Edinburgh as an examiner in the medical faculty 
and was introduced to Dewar. With keen discernment he took his 
measure and immediately telegraphed to Doctor Porter, then tutor, 
afterwards master of Peterhouse, “ Hold your hand, I have found 
the man.” At the same time Guthrie Tait wrote to Cambridge in- 
dicating Dewar, and that settled the matter, and the post was of- 


SIR JAMES DEWAR—CRICHTON-BROWNE 549 


fered to him by telegram. He was busy and happy, a brilliant career 
in Edinburgh, almost inevitably culminating in a professorship, was 
opening out before him; but his young wife, with sure intuition, 
felt that he deserved a wider field than Scotland could afford, and so 
the die was cast, and the migration to Cambridge took place. 

It would not be correct to say that Dewar found himself in a 
congenial element in Cambridge at that time. His lectures were 
an unprecedented success; he made some lifelong friends, of whom 
one, Professor Liveing, much loved and venerated, still happily 
survives, but some bristles of the Scottish thistle adhered to him, 
and chemistry and physics had not then come to their own on the 
banks of the Cam. He had not even such facilities as he had en- 
joyed in the north. His laboratory was a small room, without a 
fireplace and badly hghted; apparatus was conspicuous by its 
absence; and his aspirations, very forcibly expressed, were not very 
sympathetically received. It was, therefore, with satisfaction that 
he found himself translated to a more elastic atmosphere when in 
1877 he was elected Fullerian professor of chemistry at the Royal 
Institution in succession to Dr. John Hall Gladstone. 

It was in the laboratories of the Royal Institution during his 
incumbency of the Fullerian professorship that all Dewar’s tri- 
umphs were achieved, more especially those in connection with 
the liquefaction of gases and the properties of matter at tempera- 
tures approaching the absolute zero. Faraday, the god of his 
idolatry in all scientific affairs, had led the way in this explora- 
tion and had by means of low temperature and pressure succeeded 
in liquefying all the then known gases except nitrogen, oxygen, 
and hydrogen, and the compound gases—carbonic oxide, marsh gas, 
and nitric oxide—and as early as 1874 Dewar was fascinated by the 
subject, as evidenced by his lecture before the British Association 
on “Latent heat of liquid gases.” In 1878 he showed Cailletet’s 
apparatus in operation in England. It was, however, the suc- 
cess of Wroblewski and Olsyewski, of Cracow, in liquefying oxygen 
in 1884 that withdrew him from his earlier preoccupation, with 
the heat of the sun, electrophotometry, and the chemistry of the 
electric arc, and supplied the stimulus to his more memorable dis- 
coveries. In 1885 he was able to show a profoundly moved audience 
at the Royal Institution the air we breathe made visible as a clear 
liquid, compressed to one eight-hundredth of its bulk and_pro- 
duced at a temperature of —192° C. In 1893 came oxygen in a 
solid state, an ultramarine ice produced at —216° C., and in 1897 
fluorine as a fluid. In the following year appeared liquid hydrogen, 
and in 1899, a crowning close of the century, that gas in a solid 
state at a temperature of —260°, or about 13° above the point of 


550 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


absolute zero, that unplumbed depth where molecular movement is 
no more. Helium alone remained unsubjugated by Dewar, and 
that he would unquestionably have liquefied had not Onnes, of 
Leyden, working on his lines, accomplished the feat while he was 
preparing for it. 

Now that liquid air is an article of commerce, Dewayr’s liquid- 
air work has become popular knowledge, but only an expert who 
has essayed such an enterprise can conceive the patience, the indus- 
try, the ingenuity, the constructive genius required in it. Dewar 
devoted to it years of unremitting toil and pursued it not without 
risk to life and limb, and sometimes embarrassed by the question 
of ways and means to carry on so costly a campaign. To obtain a 
degree of cold suflicierit to liquefy hydrogen by means of internal 
work done by the molecules while a gas was being forced through 
a porous plug, involved the building up of a machine capable of 
sustaining pressure in many tons to the square inch, even at a tem- 
perature of —260° C., and fitted together with a nicety and pre- 
cision of which even first-class engineering knows little. To pro- 
tect the liquid gases when produced against the influx of heat, 
special measures were necessary, and the search for these led to the 
invention of the vacuum bulb, the parent of the thermo flask which 
Dewar’s nimble brain devised, which must have brought him a 
huge fortune had he chosen to patent it, and which, if properly 
designated, should keep his name alive for ever, even amongst the 
masses of mankind. But the vacuum bulb, even when silvered, was 
not enough. In order to examine the liquefied gases in a static 
condition, and unevaporated for long periods, specially high vacua 
were needed, and these were procured by Dewar’s utilization of the 
absorptive power of carbon. “ The discovery of the marvelous power 
of charcoal to absorb gases at low temperature,” says Professor 
Armstrong, “ will render the period 1900 to 1907 ever memorable.” 

Dewar’s liquefied gases, thus obtained, became themselves instru- 
ments of research, and enabled him to conduct novel and illumina- 
tive investigations on electrical conductivity, thermo-electric powers, 
magnetic properties, and electric constants of metals and other sub- 
stances at low temperatures and on the effects of extreme cold on 
chemical and photographic action. Having established that chemi- 
cal changes are almost quite inhibited at temperatures about 300° F. 
below zero, Dewar, with the assistance of Professor Macfadyen, 
determined to test how far vital processes were affected by the same 
conditions. A typical series of bacteria was employed for the pur- 
pose, possessing varying degrees of resistance to external agents. 
The bacteria were first simultaneously exposed to the temperature 
of liquid air for 24 hours. In no instance could any impairment of 
their vitality be detected in either growth or functional activity. 


SIR JAMES DEWAR—CRICHTON-BROWNE 562 


This was strikingly illustrated in the case of the phosphorescent 
organisms. Their cells emit light which is apparently produced by 
chemical processes of intracellular oxidation, and the phenomenon 
ceases with the cessation of their activity. These organisms, there- 
fore, furnished a crucial test of the influence of low temperature 
on vital manifestations, and when cooled down in liquid air they 
immediately became nonluminous, but, on being thawed, the lumi- 
nosity as speedily returned. In further experiments the organisms 
were subjected to the temperature of liquid air for seven days. The 
results were again nil, for on thawing they renewed their life proc- 
esses with undiminished vigor. The organisms were next, exposed 
to the temperature of liquid hydrogen—only 28° above the absolute 
zero—and again the results were nil. The fact that life can continue 
to exist at a temperature at which, according to our present con- 
ception, molecular action ceases and the entire range of chemical 
and physical activities, with which we are acquainted, either ceases 
or enters on an entirely new phase, affords ground for reflection, as 
to whether, after all, life is dependent for its continuance on chemi- 
cal reactions. 

Dewar’s heroic attempts to reach the absolute zero of temperature, 
solving problems of supreme importance and intricacy by the way— 
time-and-strength-consuming though they were—did not exhaust 
his scientific energies or complete his conquests. As a member of the 
Explosives Commission in 1888, in conjunction with Sir Frederick 
Abel, he invented cordite, which became the standard smokeless 
powder, and during the war he contrived a light and portable ap- 
paratus for the conveyance of oxygen so that it might be available 
as a protection against mountain sickness for men going up in air- 
planes. He conjured up giant soap bubbles that survived for months, 
because the air inflating them was like Bonny Kilmenny, “as pure 
as pure can be,” and spread out films of extreme tenuity that in 
their stream lines and vortex motion yielded to his manipulations, 
assemblages of dancing rainbows of exquisite beauty. He took part 
in many inquiries bearing on the public health and especially on the 
safeguarding and improvement of our water supply, and was a 
much sought and inexorable witness before committees of Lords 
and Commons. Along with Professor Liveing, he conducted an 
elaborate series of studies on spectroscopy that have now been col- 
lected in a volume, and would by themselves place him in the first 
rank as a man of science. 

Besides doing his own work, Dewar was the cause of much work 
in others. He was eminently suggestive and freely helpful to all 
who sought his assistance. He did not suffer fools gladly, and was 
intolerant of pretentious mediocrity; but for the earnest student and 


552 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


honest worker he had unfailing sympathy and encouragement. The 
fruits of his experience and the seeds of his speculations—and_hy- 
potheses of the right sort are valuable commodities in science—were 
always at the service of those who consulted him. And it is certain 
that ideas which he thus flashed forth have afterwards, without 
acknowledgment, materialized in profitable inventions. 

Dewar identified himself with the Royal Institution and the Royal 
Institution became identified with him. He pervaded it so that 
many of its habitués entering it now feel as if the soul had gone out 
of it. The scene of his labors became the object of his affections, 
and he never spared himself in its service. Proud of its traditions, 
and conscious of the opportunities it had afforded him, he strove 
to enhance its reputation and extend its usefulness. He made liberal 
benefactions to its funds, and was wont to enlarge on the magnitude 
of its accomplishment with the very meager means at its disposal, 
pointing out that the fundamental ideas and experiments on which 
are based the stupendous chemical and electrical industries of to-day 
were worked out in its laboratories by Davy, Faraday, Tyndall, and 
himself at an average expenditure on research of £1,000 a year. 

During his period of office at the Royal Institution Dewar deliv- 
ered 238 lectures in all—49 Friday evening discourses, 48 Christmas 
lectures, and 151 afternoon lectures. As his lectures were no off- 
hand demonstrations, but carefully prepared expositions, every 
experiment being previously rehearsed, they entailed a heavy drain 
on his time and energy. In the 10 years—1884 to 1893—he delivered 
six of those Christmas courses of lectures to juveniles, which make 
peculiarly exacting demands on minute attention and lucid expres- 
sion, dealing with subjects as varied as “Alchemy,” “ Meteorites,” 
“ The air,” “ Clouds and cloudland,” “ Frost and fire,” “ Light and 
photography.” It was by the allurements held out by him that the 
late Dr. Ludwig Mond was induced to make to the Royal Institu- 
tion the munificent gift of the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory, 
which affords unique opportunities to those individual and inde- 
pendent investigators on whom Dewar’s hopes for the advancement 
of science were mainly fixed. 

Dewar had a singularly impressive and attractive personality. 
He had a head like Shakespeare, a countenance finely chiseled, ex- 
pressive of vivid intellect and abounding vim blended with good 
humor. He gave the world “assurance of a man,” a strong true 
man, open hearted and open minded, quick of temper perhaps, 
but genial and generous withal, a staunch friend, a delightful com- 
panion. With a proper endowment of the ingenitwm perfervidum 
Scotorum, he was sturdy in spirit, intrepid in manner, fearless, 
patriotic, and given to hospitality. No one could be more inimical 


SIR JAMES DEWAR—CRICHTON-BROWNE 553 


than he to the occult in all its phases, and yet the press has been 
not altogether wrong in ascribing to him a certain wizardry— the 
wizard of Albemarl Street” they have called him—for he was a 
wonder-worker and threw a spell over his audience. Bent on the 
pursuit of reality and on the control of nature through the advance- 
ment of knowledge, there was scope in the amplitude of his mind 
for ideal values. He had imagination, which is the forerunner of 
science, “the vision and the faculty divine,” and was a connoisseur 
in music and the fine arts. On the bookshelves in his study, within 
reach from his easy chair, were assembled well-worn copies of the 
essays of Montaigne, Elia, and Emerson; the poems of Hardy, Walt 
Whitman, Rossetti, and Meredith; Landor’s Imaginary Conver- 
sations; Carlyle’s Heroes; Sesame and Lilies, and the Cricket on 
the Hearth. 

Dewar was knighted in 1904, and that was the only and wholly 
inadequate recognition offered to him by his country, to which he 
brought honor and profit. But foreign countries and learned bodies 
were more appreciative of his merits than the dull-witted ministers 
at home. The royal and philosophical societies and academies of 
Rome, Belgium, New York, Philadelphia, Frankfort, Milan, and 
Copenhagen were proud to inscribe his name on their rolls, and all 
the four Scottish universities, as well as those of Oxford, Dublin, 
Brussels, and Christiania, conferred on him honorary degrees. The 
Royal Society awarded him its Copely, Rumford, and Davy medals, 
and he was president of the British Association in 1902. 

Sir James Dewar married in 1871, Helen Rose, daughter of Mr. 
William Banks, of Edinburgh, and she survives him. Never had 
savant a more propitious spouse. Lady Dewar entered keenly 
into all her husband’s interests, sustained him in his heavy 
tasks, and created the first scientific salon in London. There are 
few noted people in the world of science who have not attended 
the receptions in her drawing room at the Royal Institution after 
lectures there. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1923.—Van Maanen PLATE | 


J. C. KAPTEYN 
Photograph taken by F. Ellerman in 1919 during Kapteyn’s last visit to Mount Wilson 


J. C. KAPTEYN, 1851-1922 2 
By A. VAN MAANEN 


[With 1 plate] 


In Amsterdam, on June 18, Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn, since 
1921 retired professor of astronomy and director of the astronomical 
laboratory at Groningen, died at the age of 71 years. In him astron- 
omy loses one of its foremost pioneers. 

Kapteyn was born January 19, 1851, at Barneveld, a small village 
where his father had a well-known boarding school. Of the 15 
children of this family, several became leaders in the scientific world 
in Holland. From 1869 to 1875 Kapteyn was a student at the Uni- 
versity of Utrecht, where his principal teachers were Buys Ballot and 
Grinwis, so that it is no wonder that his doctoral thesis was in phy- 
sics: “ Onderzoek der Trillende Platte Vliezen.” Just at this time, 
however, the position of observer at the Leiden Observatory was 
vacant, and Kapteyn applied for and obtained the position. By this 
accidental circumstance astronomy secured the privilege of counting 
Kapteyn as one of its workers and before long as one of its foremost 
leaders. His ability was soon recognized, and at the age of 27, which 
for Holland is extremely young, he was appointed full professor in 
astronomy at the University of Groningen. On entering office, Feb- 
ruary 20, 1878, his opening address had as subject: “'The parallax of 
the fixed stars.” 7 

The problem of the stellar distances was naturally of first impor- 
tance to him, whose ideal was to throw some light on the structure 
of the universe. We do not know when this idea began to ripen in 
' Kapteyn’s mind, but it probably dates from the time that he decided 
to devote his life to astronomy. And no better man could be found 
to push astronomy ahead along these lines, because Kapteyn had 
two qualities which were needed for such investigations: He could 
grasp a great problem and at the same time both could and was 
willing to devote much time to essential details. These two qualities 
show up through all his life, and we see him, never losing view of the 
greatest of astronomical problems, the structure of the universe, and 
at the same time working with painstaking assiduity to develop and 
improve the methods of securing the necessary data. Of this part 
of his work no better example can be given than the succession of new 
methods that he developed to obtain stellar distances. In 1882 the 


iG by permission, from the Astrophysical Journal, Vol. LVI, No. 3, October, 
555 


? 


556 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


parallaxes of only 34 stars were known, the best results being due to 
heliometer observations, especially by Gill and Elkin at the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

When Kapteyn came to Groningén his appointment was to the 
professorship in astronomy, calculus of probabilities, and theoretical 
mechanics, but he found no observatory at his disposal. Good mathe- 
matician as Kapteyn was, his heart was drawn more toward the 
practical side of his science, and during the first years in Groningen 
he tried hard to secure funds for an observatory, with a 6-inch helio- 
meter as its principal instrument. In the beginning his efforts seemed 
to promise success, and ground for the observatory was bought a little 
outside of the city, but funds for the erection of the buildings were 
not forthcoming until many years later, by which time Kapteyn in his 
unique astronomical laboratory had founded an establishment which 
satisfied, better than an observatory could have done, the needs of 
this wonderful combination of the practical and the theoretical 
astronomer. 

Lack of an opportunity for observational work was, however, 
keenly felt by Kapteyn during the early years of his professorship, 
and he requested Prof. H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen to let him use 
the meridian circle of the Leiden Observatory during his vacations. 
The request was granted and Kapteyn planned a careful program for 
the observation of stellar parallaxes; he introduced the differential 
method of observations in right ascension, thus deriving parallaxes 
for 15 stars, which in accuracy competed with those yielded by the 
heliometer, while the observations required less time. His thorough 
discussion of the method and of these observations in Volume VII of 
the Annals of the Leiden Observatory is one of the many contributions 
from his hand which will be recorded among the classics of astronomy. 

But it was clear that for a solution of his great problem parallaxes 
must be determined more rapidly. In 1889, at the conference of 
the Carte du Ciel, Kapteyn outlined an ingenious scheme for meas- 
uring the parallaxes of a large number of stars by means of photog- 
raphy. The plan is extremely simple in theory: On the same plate 
three exposures are made at the epoch of maximum parallactic dis- 
placement; half a year later, at the minimum, six other exposures 
are made on the same plate, and three again at the following maxi- 
mum; after development the plate shows 12 images of each star 
which in practice are arranged as follows: 

a b 


(mma mmm, pe 


Max. Min. Max. 


Fic. 1—Arrangement of exposures for the determination of stellar parallaxes according 
to Kapteyn’s plan 


J. C. KAPTEYN—VAN MAANEN 557 


The distances @ and } are then measured and reduced by a simple 
process; and yield, with respect to the mean parallax of all the stars 
measured, the parallax of every star visible on the plates. The 
method was put into practice by Kapteyn and Donner and the first 
results were published in 1900 as No. 1 of the Publications of the 
Astronomical Laboratory at Groningen, a remarkable series of pub- 
lications which has contributed much to the development of astron- 
omy in the last 20 years. 

While similar results for different fields, mostly in collaboration 
with De Sitter, appear in the Groningen Publications, we soon per- 
ceive a change in his policy of attack on the general problem. ‘The 
change from parallaxes to proper motion, however, is more apparent 
than real, and is founded on the practical fact that by using the 
proper motions we can base the parallaxes on the ever-increasing 
base line of the sun’s motion through space, and on the theoretical 
fact that for the structure of the universe it is not at all necessary 
to know the distances of individual stars, but the mean distances of 
groups of stars for different magnitude, spectral type, and galactic 
latitude. The problem has two requirements: An accurate determi- 
nation of the sun’s motion through space and a knowledge of the dis- 
tribution of proper motion for an increasingly great number of 
fainter and fainter stars. Along both lines the Groningen Publica- 
tions reveal how much Kapteyn advanced our knowledge. And it 
is in just such work as this that Kapteyn’s double aptitude for recog- 
nizing great problems and at the same time perceiving the practical 
difficulties was of the greatest usefulness. Kapteyn would work out 
a new method which, with the proper material, would give the de- 
sired results; but he would at the same time also apply his method 
to the material available, even when it was scanty and likely to 
yield only defective results. This, however, had the advantage of 
showing at once where the method itself could be improved and what 
data would be most needed. We see him follow this means of attack 
in all his problems, by successive steps coming ever closer to the 
laws governing the structure of the universe. 

Incidentally, the investigations on proper motion led Kapteyn 
to his discovery of the two star streams, which, rightly, was recently 
selected by Eddington as one of the five greatest astronomical events 
of the last hundred years, a discovery which has revolutionized 
our ideas of the structure of the universe. In deriving the solar 
motion Kapteyn was struck by the divergency of the results of 
former investigators. In these researches it was usually assumed 
that the motus peculiaris of the stars was at random, a natural 
hypothesis, since with the enormous distances of the stars from one 
another it was difficult.to see why there should be any relation be- 
tween the individual motions of different stars. Yet stars moving 


558 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


together in pairs or even in large groups were known. As early 
as 1896, however, Kapteyn had noticed that the distribution of mo- 
tion was not at random, but it was not until 1904 that he showed 
that there is a fundamental peculiarity in these motions and that 
they are not moving even approximately in a haphazard way. In- 
stead of moving in all directions, as a random distribution would 
require, the stars tend to move in two preferential directions. That 
this tendency was so long overlooked by those who were working 
on a determination of the solar motion is principally due to the 
fact that they used the mean motions of all the stars in certain parts 
of the sky. Kapteyn, however, went to work in a different way, 
plotting the proper motions for limited regions of the sky. If for 
convenience sake we assume all the stars in a certain region to be 
located in the same point S of the sphere, then with a random dis- 
tribution of the motus peculiaris alone, we find about the same num- 
ber and about the same total motion in each direction. A motion 
of the observer, such as we have as a result of the sun’s motion 
through space, will add to each star a parallactic motion in the direc- 
tion of the antapex. While this of course will disturb the symmetry of 
the motions around the point 5, we still will have bilateral symmetry, 
the line of symmetry evidently passing through the point S and the 
apex. ‘This evident condition of bilateral symmetry would probably 
furnish the best means of determining the apex, as these lines of 
symmetry for the different parts of the sky must ail intersect in two 
points, the apex and the antapex. In applying this idea to the 
proper motions of about 2,400 Bradley stars, divided into 28 regions, 
Kapteyn derived the distribution of the proper motions correspond- 
ing to the center of the areas. The whole of the material was thus 
embodied in 28 figures, like those in Figure 2, each of which shows 
at a glance the distribution of the proper motions for one particular 
region of the sky. This figure 2 is the same as the one shown by 
Kapteyn at the Cape meeting of the British Association for the 
Advancement of Science in 1905. Not to overburden the plate, only 
10 of the 28 regions are included. If the hypothesis of random dis- 
tribution were true, all these figures should be symmetrical with 
respect to the line through the center of each field and the apex. 
It is clear that this is not the case; each figure shows two preferen- 
tial deviations. Kapteyn showed that the assymetry as shown in 
the figure can be explained neither by an uncertainty in the preces- 
sion, nor by systematic errors in the proper motions, nor by an erro- 
neous position of the apex. As all the lines of favored directions 
for the two sets seem to converge, approximately, to two points, 
some 140° apart, the one 7° south of « Orionis, the other a few de- 
grees south of » Sagittarii, Kapteyn came to the conclusion that we 


J. C. KAPTEYN—VAN MAANEN 559 


must have to do with two star streams, parallel to the lines joining 
our solar system and the two points mentioned. 

lt is evident that such a discovery as that of the star streams 
would revolutionize the ideas of the structure of the universe. But 
at the same time it pointed out the necessity of collecting an increas- 
ing amount of data, in order to secure more reliable measures and 
especially data for the fainter stars. It was clear that the desire 
for such data could be satisfied only by the thorough cooperation 
of several institutions according to a well-organized plan. Kapteyn 
certainly was the right man to start such an organization. Through 


Fig, 2.—Distribution of proper motion in different parts of the sky which led to Kapteyn’s 
discovery of the star streams 


his work he had come into contact with most of the leading astron- 
omers all over the world. His visits to America in 1904 and South 
Africa in 1905 gave splendid opportunity for discussing his plans 
with a number of eminent astronomers. In order to enable those 
who showed an interest in the matter to judge more thoroughly 
of the details, Kapteyn worked out a provisional plan; the result 
was a great deal of discussion and many useful suggestions. In 
1906 Kapteyn published his famous Plan of Selected Areas. This 
pamphlet gives briefly but clearly, as only Kapteyn could give 
it, a program for the further attack on the structure of the uni- 
verse. It includes not only the general plan but also in careful 


560 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


detail the methods of securing the necessary data: Magnitude, proper 
motion, parallax, class of spectrum, and radial velocities for the 
stars in 252 well-selected regions. In the first and second reports 
(1911) Kapteyn was able to announce the formation of a committee 
to share the responsibility of advancing this plan. Its membership 
included Gill, Pickering, Hale, Kiistner, Schwarzchild, Dyson, 
Adams, and Kapteyn, and it is sad to state that with Kapteyn 
one-half of its members have already gone forever. Yet the whole 
astronomical world is so convinced of the need of such a cooperative 
plan that it will undoubtedly be continued. 

Next to the motions of the stars, their distribution in space 
interested Kapteyn most keenly. In this connection he derived the 
two well-known laws: The density law and the luminosity law, 
the former giving the density of stars per unit of volume and the 
change in the density with distance from the sun, and the latter, 
the percentage of stars equal in luminosity to the sun, and of those 
ten times, one hundred times, etc., as bright or as faint. Both are 
statistical laws; they do not give the distance and brightness of the 
individual stars, but how many stars there are at a certain distance 
and of a certain brightness. By successive steps these researches 
led Kapteyn to a conception of the distribution of the stars in space; 
they indicate that the stars are contained in a nearly ellipsoidal uni- 
verse with an axial ratio of 5.1, with a decrease in the density away 
from the center and with the sun at a distance of about 650 parsecs 
from the center. In his last long paper on the subject, which with 
the modesty of the really great, was called “A first attempt at a 
theory of the arrangement and motion of the sidereal system,” Kap- 
teyn had the satisfaction of giving a beautiful exposition of his life 
work. If a longer life had been granted to him, undoubtedly we 
would have seen him elaborate his beloved subject; yet, as it is, it 
must have been a great satisfaction to him to reach this goal. 

At about the time Kapteyn was spending his vacations in Leiden 
for the purpose of making his determinations of stellar parallaxes, 
he became acquainted and was soon on terms of warm friendship 
with the man who was then the leader in practical astronomy, 
David Gill, director of the observatory at the Cape of: Good Hope. 
The story of the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung is well known 
to every astronomer. The difficulties met by Gill and Kapteyn 
would have disheartened most men. Kapteyn’s famous letter of 
1886 to Gill, offering his help in the following words, “ However, 
1 think my enthusiasm for the matter will be equal to (say) six 
or seven years of such work” has been widely quoted. It took 
about double that time, yet his enthusiasm did not fail, and the 
Cape Photographic Durchmusterung was completed with a thor- 


J. C. KAPTEYN—VAN MAANEN 561 


oughness and accuracy which could be obtained only by two such 
masters. If we had no other work from his hand, Kapteyn’s name 
would still take an honorable place in astronomical literature and 
would be mentioned with those of Argelander, Schénfeld, and 
Gould, names which every astronomer honors with gratitude. Yet 
in addition to this we have his discovery of the star streams, his 
plan of selected areas, his founding of the Groningen Astronomical 
Laboratory, now called “ Astronomical Laboratory Kapteyn,” which 
at the recent meeting of the International Astronomical Union, 
Baillaud duly called one of the three things which in his 50 years 
of astronomical life had revolutionized his science; and above all 
we have Kapteyn’s investigations on the structure of the universe. 

Truly Kapteyn belonged among the few really great men whose 
death creates a vacancy which can not be filled. 

J¢ seems superficial to enumerate here the many honors bestowed 
on him during his life. For completeness, however, we must men- 
tion them: Kapteyn received the honorary degree of D. Sc. from the 
Cape of Good Hope; of D. Sc. from Harvard University; of LL. D. 
from Edinburgh; he received the gold medal of the Royal Astro- 
nomical Society, the Watson and the Bruce medals and the Prix de 
Pontécoulant; he was chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France, of 
the Netherlands Lion; he had the order “ Pour le Mérite,” and was 
commander in the Dutch order of Oranje-Nassau. Kapteyn was 
elected a member or associate of the following academies: Royal 
Astronomical Society, American Philosophical Society, National 
Academy of Sciences, Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg, Royal 
Academy of Dublin, Royal Academy of Edinburgh, British Asso- 
ciation, Royal Swedish Academy, Royal Society of Sciences of 
Upsala, American Society, the Academy of Sciences in Paris, the 
Royal Society of London, the Academy of Sciences in Finland, and 
of the Royal Physical Association in Lund. 

All through his life Kapteyn made friends—when he was young, 
among the older people; when older, among each new generation 
with which he came in contact. It was not difficult to become his 
friend; he saw always the best qualities in every person; the rest 
did not exist for him. There was always an atmosphere of happi- 
ness around him, in his daily life as well as in the scientific assem- 
blies, where he was the center of gravity. His departure will be 
keenly felt in the astronomical world, but not there alone; many 
others will mourn the ending of this noble and happy life. 

Especially in America, Kapteyn had numerous friends. From 
1908 to 1914 he came to this country every summer to spend a few 
months at the Mount Wilson Observatory, of which institution he 
was research associate. Kapteyn and Mrs. Kapteyn thoroughly 


562 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


enjoyed their American trips, and these visits were no less appre- 
ciated by all with whom they came in contact. 

Mrs. Kapteyn was born Catharina Elisabeth Kalshoven, and they 
were married in 1879. Their married life was singularly happy, 
and she has been devoted to the welfare of her husband and chil- 
dren—two daughters and a son—Jacoba Cornelia, wife of Prof. W. 
Noordenbos, of Amsterdam; Henriette, wife of Prof. E. Hertz- 
sprung, of Leiden; and Gerrit Jacobus Kapteyn, who is a mining 
engineer. 

How truly are his characteristics described by his friend Huiz- 
enga in the July number of the Gids: “ When the right biographer 
for Kapteyn is found the ‘ Life of Kapteyn’ will be one of the most 
beautiful books that can be written.” 


JULIUS VON HANN? 


By G. C. Stimpson 


It is probably the lot of everyone to have had during life a regard 
for some person which amounts almost to personal and intimate 
friendship, although one may never have seen or even corresponded 
with the object of that regard. Sometimes it is an author, some- 
times a character in a book, and sometimes a historical personage, 
but in every case the feeling is very real and vivid. The scientist 
experiences this feeling quite as strongly as those of a more literary 
turn of mind, and to many of us Faraday, Maxwell, Kelvin are not 
mere names met with in textbooks, but real live men worthy of 
honor and devotion. 

To many meteorologists, certainly to all who can read German, 
Julius von Hann appealed in this way. One knew from his writings, 
seldom controversial, never militant, that he must be of a quiet re- 
tiring nature, a conclusion confirmed by all those who have had the 
pleasure of his acquaintance. One likes to picture him in his room in 
the Hohe Warte in Vienna searching, always searching, in likely, 
and more often in unlikely, places for any reference to weather con- 
ditions which could add to our knowledge of the atmosphere and its 
ways. 

And when Hann had once found a piece of weather information it 
could never again be lost to the world. Within a month or two of 
its discovery it was made known to all those whom it might concern 
in the pages of the Meteorologische Zeitschrift ; but that was not all, 
for Hann’s encyclopedic mind was able to see its relationship to other 
factors, and like a piece in a puzzle it was fitted into its place to 
make possible those masterly descriptions of climate found in his 
Klimatologie and those clear accounts of atmospheric processes which 
make up his Meteorologie. 

Hann started his life as a school-teacher, but at the age of 29 his 
natural-love of meteorology led him to enter the Central-Anstalt fiir 


1 Reprinted from the Meteorological Magazine, Vol. 56, No. 670, November, 1921, by 
permission of the controller of H. M. Stationery Office, London. 
563 


564 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 


Meteorologie in Vienna; six years later, in 1874, he became director 
and held that office until 1897, when at the age of 58 he retired. His 
retirement was only from official duties; from meteorology he could 
not retire until the very presence of death made further work im- 
possible. The first fruit of his relief from official duties was his 
Lehrbuch der Meteorologie, which was written between the autumn 
of 1898 and August, 1900, in the Physitealische Institut in Graz. 
This book, which was so different from any previous textbook of 
meteorology, became at once the recognized standard book of refer- 
ence, and from 1900 onwards practically no major piece of meteoro- 
logical work has been published which does not draw upon the 
Lehrbuch for facts and data. 

Hann’s Handbuch der Klimatologie, which had been written 
while he was still director of the Central-Anstalt, is probably better 
known to British meteorologists than the Lehrbuch, for the only 
reason that it has been published in an English translation. It is 
surprising how readable Hann has made this book, dealing, as it 
does, with little more than a mass of climatological statistics collected 
from all parts of the world. But that is one of the great charms of 
Hann’s writing, that he is able to present the driest of meteorological 
facts in a pleasing and enticing manner. In the Klimatologie this 
end has been reached by leaving in so much of the original work 
from which the information has been extracted. It helps even a 
meteorologist to enjoy the account of the climate of a place if he 
knows that the data were provided by a Livingstone, a Franklin, or 
a Scott. 

The Klimatologie and the Meteorologie are Hann’s largest indi- 
vidual works, but it is questionable whether the writing of these 
books is his most valuable contribution to meteorology. Probably 
science owes more to him for the mass of information he has rescued 
from oblivion and preserved in the Meteorologische Zeitschrift, of 
which he was the editor, or joint editor, from 1866 to 1920, the Zeit- 
schrift in the meantime undergoing several changes both in name 
and control. 

Hann has received many honors, national and international; 
probably of all of these, those which he most appreciated were the 
issue in 1906 of a special volume of the Zeitschrift called the Hann 
Band, to celebrate his 40 years of editorship, and the spontaneous 
exhibition of esteem which he received on his eightieth birthday 
from all parts of the world in spite of the disastrous effects of the 
war on international relationships. 

Hann was born on March 23, 1839, and died on Seiebee 1;-1994-— 
a long life, a full life, and a life Ae which every ii dtebeoln ees has 
cause to be grateful. 


INDEX 


. Page 
Abbot, Dr. C. G., assistant secretary of the Institution______.--------- [8 i 
XI, XII, 11, 24, 32, 86, 105, 110 
11 Se RR 2 (RR Sp 2 2 Ra cee Oa 106 
co OE AR DSR CLI: ee eR a a 5, 38, 39, 40, 106, 137 
Becesions., Niatinia! SOmMopicnl! Park... .—.-----. ioc s.2o 2 Loess 87 
ESGIOPENS TSUN SST Bean Co Dip pA SES ee ib Sed 9 48, 136 
Adams, L. H., and Williamson, E. D. (The composition of the earth’s 
EGU PESTA) Soy eA RS a UE a os a ne ed 2 241 
Oe te) Oe RR A a Sth yt RPh ap eI hc P.O Bp. i § 
Adams, Dr. W. S., director, Mount Wilson Solar Observatory___------- 108 
Administrative assistant to the secretary__-..._.------------- XII, 48, 44, 117 
eeSUR ERC Ee Be a on eo ce ae 11 
Agriculture, Secretary of (member of the Institution)_.____-_---------- XII 
Pere DATLINGNt Of 2. ca ee ee ee ee ee 41 
UE See R Se) Sek eee ee ee ee ee ee ee XII 
eet i Ege te 2k a ee OR Oe Sno XIT, 24, 105, 106 
Decttneh ie fOr Trini) Sere ee Se ee a 14 
Alterations of boundaries, National Zoological Park___-_------------- 102 
Alvarado, Cipriano_____-_--~- 2 LOS let aa EIGEN MT RS Ae ABI So Sn 21, 69 
MIneriCanwAssOclaviol Of WIGSCUINS= = =. 22 oo ee Le eS ee oe 28 
PIinCIIE RHEL COST AON ONFATUSS 2 eee ee ee ne ee ee eee 19, 49, 50 
American Friends Service Committee_.._..-_..--..-.------2.----<-<2 22, 79 
mancrigen Fuctorical, ABsociation, Teporis._-..-.-- =. 23-5 ee 18, 125 
American Indian, Museum of the, Heye Foundation______-_----------- 69 
American Indian, The origin and antiquity of the (Hrdliéka)____--_-- 481 
Americanists, Twentieth International Congress of_-_-.--------------- 43 
EN a Ss i ae es ae ee ee 9 
Animals in the collection June 30, 1923, National Zoological Park___-_-- 94 
Animals in the National Zoological Park (Hollister) _......------------ 291 
ania Lae Antropnysical Wibpervalory.... 2 ee 13 
Aamuel meeting of the board of regents___.....----.----2225---_--==._ 133 
Anthropological collections, National Museum_-_-_--_------------------ 31 
Anthropological work of Prince Albert I of Monaco, The, and the recent 
progress in human paleontology in France (Boule)_----_--.---------- 495 
Arcnsolopical Society of Washington... eee a ee 19 
Pepin ror Atenry Br = 20 a ae a ee ee ee 112 
Art and history collections, new building for___.-__-_--...--..--____-- 139 
Art works added during the year, National Gallery of Art___...---__--- 51 
PISENGHICTCE MUmm tee = os yer eae a oe oa 16, 32, 39, 40 
Assistant secretary of the Institution______- III, XI, XII, 11, 24, 32, 86, 105, 110 
Astronomy and geology, The borderland of (Eddington) --_.----------- 195 
Meron Veal Olen nity... soso eee aonb son 2 = XII, 1,.6, 23, 127 
meid-work in vAmemotenand, ONMe. Oe ee 106 
CUS area 2° > RRR a ee AEROS IO Ne 105 


1454—25——37 565 


566 INDEX 


Astrophysical Observatory—Continued. Page 
Paty eg Os ae eee ee ek ed oe ee ee 118 
OTR Oe ae ae See ha ase het OS ee a er 109 
TEPOMUS 2 Sank ee en ee ae ee ee ee ee ee ee ee 104 

SUMIN AP Ye) 2 of ee ee epee ae eae DO): ene ee 109 
results of the work:on solar radiations. 22. - 2225 sabe lel 2s ee 106 
work, pt Washing oe ee oe 104 

Atmospheric ‘nitropen fixation (0!) <4. 2st ee es se ee 203 

Attorney General of the United States (member of the Institution) _____ XI 

tS ie ALT (aa RA pe Do AN a Pi alain nl tse yg Ds a 4,127 
Moherumpanvon so 5 So eee Lae. Senge eas be ee eee 128 

B 

(ROAST 0 Fink pli de te dal alanintbalentonbdand xopbasd arin d. 2 forpntps Brenton eg ee Bo 56 

aA eEIaNEL, WAI EWN Yn co eee ee ee 4,127 

Beer WO Gi oa os Sr eae oot ee NE ge, Ee 21, 75 

Baird.gund. buey us 22 28sec eS ee eS eee 4,127 

Barn Memorial Committee, National. 2 Sooo = wee oe ee 11 

Baird, Spencer Fullerton, centenary of the birth of______._.__--_-__----- 10, 43 

Baker, A. B., assistant superintendent of the National Zoological Park... XII 

Baker (Hon:tLenry Does ee Pe ae ee ee eee 22, 88 

Balke, Clarence W. (The story of the production and uses of ductile 

LESH OLE ATCT) OM Se, SE A ear nue oe a. Rey ns Andy Sete hurler Sefer ohne elt yo aheetnliynds NiyPt a Be a 233 

LER LETTCL "ARN BT ges 2.1 RRO pepe el Reels detent eR eles Sad pd pee Ayer 1 XII, 11, 37, 39, 44 

PAP NREL EG EB Peo nepal x aime ae Se we eo eae eee ee XII, 7 

Bench. Wiss Jessie (ros ee ee ee eee 41 

Pee GBH Bott Coe Cole: ah IEG i ee ES ei eee eee 56 

BeacksnWealterer tig ie tant Roe Te eee ee ne 51 

1 B= LR pa ina a paring ek. ep eras apt eer t. Segel me 9 apa 25 

Belen: Alexander: Giri ail teas a ene ee oe 11, 25, 133, 138 

LE le nl eli Netti fs ign sl PR Ae eter ge a age pe XII 

Benjamin, Dr. Marcus, editor, National Museum_-_-___.____-_------ XII, 123 

Berpman, “Cy. Bred to st Oe “2 a os a _ ee ee ee eee 88 

RSID TUE ie SRONSR. Vo iP Pee ap so ins nee are et oe hese ens CEA a ee 45 

Bibliographic researches, Smithsonian library__.___._-_-._--------------- 115 

Brolovical collections, Nasional Muselin=— ee ern 31 

BagOpicm SULVCY, Ws IS. 2-5 oho ee ee es ee De 91 

Bishop, Carl Whiting, associate curator, Freer Gallery of Art___-_-- XII, 20, 61 

BRIGG ATW FUR See 2 es ae ee es cw ae eg one ms a ee 47 

Panel Ags Aen ns ee, ee ee eo ea ee 104 

1 B:Y030 9 0 sl BJ jah eae pan et sa aerated tps frat sag ayo eM em 88 

Botanical exploration in Colombia. oo =o oo ee eee 9 

Boule, Marcellin (The anthropological work of Prince Albert I of Monaco 

and the recent progress in human paleontology in France)_----------- 495 

ERMINE. Sain: Por ane neat eee en ae ee ee ee 117 

PrEntOn: ‘IUstlCe, JAHDEE BARON sanyo i ee me ee ee ee ee eee 52 

Brerkein, Fah. oo case Cee ee eae a eee ee XT, 15, 115, 119 

Brookings, ober 5, (refenp) 2 = Soo aE ee eee XI, 2, 133 

Bryant, Hsibeoe oT be oo ee 2 ee ee ee ee eee XII 

Buildings and equipment, Freer Gallery of Art___.__._._.____------------ 59 
PNG LULL IN UTRBSOUN a Spc See ory — tea Pa ae ee ee 29 

Bundy, John, superintendent, Freer Gallery of Art___.__.__-_----------- XII 

Burge, Riss Jessie Jay ooo ooo se ee ee 5a 


Ware hotise= 2203) 2. oe ee eee 51 


INDEX 567 


Page 
Burrowing rodents of California.as agents in soil formation (Grinnell)__-__ 339 
Burvon: Mound, Santa Barbaray Calit ose no eo SE 21, 69 
C 
ETS EN oS le pe i pan crag) Alyse Aen ~ Ro CEES 61 
CLEAR OT OVEN DG A a Casta tac ae em rele a8 Ak Se ae SR, I Ea a ee a Ay Oi 43 
xe wevep en sy 5 287 ee aoe: id BE 34 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace_._-_.-_-_.-.------------ 13 
Barsoie Pir Wittenell 3 ee ee et EE Sail 2 ies 56 
Catalogue of scientific literature, international, regional bureau for the 
Dnited States f- bas LA? dA ~ sete +S. ad wold dees XII, 1, 6, 24, 127 
TODOrhs bays eS seers so 'ys Si Byes ele) eehe ee bs gale gel 111 
Seperinte fii ee se 4, 17, 34, 127 
@haridelior of the Institution. _ -____..-. 2 seeeagss4ed teed ase 133, 138 
@imiges Mrs Agnes y~ 2... ..----=---2.5-4. 854-4 singed Janes 40 
Chicago Tribune exhibit of architectural drawings____.:...-.-.-------- 56, 57 
Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology_-._----.+-----+---+--+- XII, 14, 15, 20, 77 
Chief clerk of the Institution. — .2i ssa shas! sub bs sheln dole ~ V2 wees XI 
Chief Justice of the United States (member of the Institution)_...___.___ XI 
1, 2,183, 134, 138 
China, The natural history of (Sowerby) ------------ ahs tr ob eo eae 351 
Choate, Charles Firs (reeont) 2 4c 25-4. 4-4 XI, 2; 183 
OOS eel STU ap) 5 AE See ec ce econ eee ee ate ee Sane? et Tr ieee er pa XI, 117 
(leihesin’ the: :OGeaI) acer «oe 2 eg eee ea De ge ek ae 369 
Rint Ola RGRCT hxery to 2 oo 8 oo he ot Bae eee a 32, 38, 1388 
ROerer Ice ek Ole BIPIN WV 4 ters ee ey eo bg XII, 11, 38, 138 
ES a ee eee eee | een a One oe fermion Aer 2 107 
Pecuewn irs, bourke Ws oo rn a a ee ee 55 
eh ee ee ee ee ee eee emer ees wr pers Lae 39 
anne MIP EROC? V Hil! 27 Sn ons Fat eS SS Soe Ne Pos 2S ee OD 29 
Seen recor Galery Gf“ ATi lo 525 fo foo oc oa SY 59 
Collections, Bureau of American Ethnology--._.-_---...-.------------ ri 
PINCH ONMMIROUD SS o-oo a ee eee 31 
Collins-Garner expedition to the French Congo________--------------- 32 
Commerce, Secretary of (member of the Institution) _-_._.___._.-_--_--- XI 
Mammen Bub erADINCUM... 26 oe ee oe oe mies Ieee = 15 
OE Lie S112 aed cae a eng ie RAR Ps TES gS IN ls SP OR pe ND 115 
Seneowedied tund of the Institution... . <n a dee Se 3 
<2, a LCE Fy kya) Hepp ne ctr og ot SI pire hy Pas ith Sp a eee ser ee 127 
ot yp i ails NR A a i a te al ac at lag a Cee PL Als ae 40 
Coolidge, Calvin, Vice President of the United States (Chancellor and 
Mees PHC LNSULUNTION) oo. 2 ont ee lw a XI, 1, 2, 133, 138 
PES i ol aE ee TSR SA LTS ORS Seine ema Tenn? Sea 54 
OLE Sc eg A pl a lite BY SIO: 6 NE SAN ls RRS PR Beech XII 
Crichton-Browne, Sir James (Sir James Dewar)____..--_-_------------ 547 
OE al te ih, St 5 atelier: SARI HR gS 8 48 
rer TINE oo alec os Sr ee me he 117 
Rarator most waallery OL Art... x ste eh al et i A hor XII, 62 
urators ca tile National Museum... <c o melt te ec et int tee et XII 
D 
aller inary Henle ye fa Se PE ee, Ee XII, 44, 117 


Daugherty, Harry W., Attorney General (member of the Institution) --_- XI 
Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society, report___----- 125 


568 INDEX 


Page 
Davis, James John, Secretary of Labor (member of the Institution) ____- XI 
De Horest, Robert Wes 225222452225 26 5 2) ee ee ee 48 
Delano, Hon. Frederie A. (regent).-2.- 2.46 2-<2-ss2decsée XI, 2, 57, 131, 138 
Denby, Edwin, Secretary of the Navy (member of the Institution) -__-_- XI 
Benniark, 'C.. Ri so ne Sari oe oe reenter gee XIT 
IDENT j-Ds. Woe ee ee i teeta eee oF are 12 
Densmore,. Miss Frantes le 25 Ae ete tte ee 41, 71, 72 
Deposit by the Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art______-- 51 
We Prorok, Count: ByronsKuhhe 2... on eee ee he He . 438, 56 
Dewar, Sir James (Crichton-Browne) ---_.-..--..-------------------- 547 
Diamond-bearing peridotite in Pike County, Ark. (Miser and Ross) ----- 261 
Diet, The place of proteins in the, in the light of the newer knowledge of 
MuteiwonN eM Wiatehell) 2 cece s 2ek eee eee ee en een el 223 
Director, Astrophysical Observatory ._.=--=.-+-+-----.--=224-4---- XII, 110 
National- Gallery. of Artc4 2252242242 5s2242u082222 XII, 47, 48, 55, 58, 186 
Distribution of publications, Bureau of American Ethnology------------ 76 
District of Columbia nature study exhibit__.._........._..-..--.------ 12 
Dorsey, Harry W., chief clerk of the Institution__...._._......---------- XI 
Ductile tantalum, The story of the production and uses of (Balke) _----- 233 
E 
Earth’s interior, The composition of the (Adams and Williamson) _-_-__- 241 
Eddington, Prof. A. S. (The borderland of astronomy and geology) ------ 195 
Editorial work and publications, Bureau of American Ethnology-------- 75 
Editors of the Institution and branches_-_-_------- XT, XII, 15, 75, 123, 124, 125 
Electric wave and heat wave spectra, Joining the (Nichols and Tear)_--- 175 
Elston, Representative John A. (regent) _._...-..------------------ 133, 134 
Beaplistevent, “The Snirheontan=- 2-2 eee 1 
Bubnolopy, Bureau-or American. - 2 <= 22 ee ee eee 6, 20, 127 
Da edhe headpiece gt lh i ede Byed Aelita Saint naiagty on aby Sy aloe a eg XII, 14, 15, 20, 77 
CEI Cs G:F 241 edad elle al este len dae Beh eaal ners A “hee ptr Bae fo oa 77 
editerial work and publications. — 4h so See eee oe eens ee 75 
TINGEERRLOTS = =o Wa ey ese en See oe eee ee ee eee 76 
HT OV ei edad ak ali ly ale ong eka hp ere eal eet VO Ue a oR 76, 118 
RULED CSUR TIS = et et eee es ste tte ae ee ee ee Se 18, 14, 21, 124 
MISUNDMNONIOlt 2a nen] ee eee eee ee 76 
1 =) 010) F| Nee cel eet esd lh dete pat nn De ek Wu cy Mia Site train Habe k See tre too Noe 63 
BPeCIs eReRrC hes So. © 22 te ee ee ee ner th eee eee ee ee 71 
See eee ere a te ee Sen ee eee XII 
Evans: Victor. 2 see ee oe eee ee ee eee eee eee ee 22, 88 
‘zehanpen, THipereAlOnhle nn a eee ee a eeu eee KY, 6o2 > t27 
CUTE DS cn ne ee ee XII 
foreign depositories of United States governmental documents----_-- 80 
Toren, exchanree arencies. * <> => =.= fae tee es See eee eee 84 
interparliamentary exchange of official documents_____-_.___-------- 82 
DEOL oe oe ee ee ee Zk eee See Re ee See re 78 
Pizpedricua..- 2 ¢* Ss eNe ser eRe tas 2 ee ee ee eee ee 137 
Pxprorsuon in Colomibite, broteminen | (2 oe 9 
of the paleolithic regions of France and Spain____.--..------------ 10 
Explorations and field-work, National Museum-_-_-_-------------------- 37 
geological, in the Canadian Rockies... ......-.-ono2 se. eee 7 


researches A0@ 2). 250.6% 2 < map eeori= bene Se ee ee ee 6 


F Page 
Mererawnn ir Woltlen s Gilde = 22-2 oo neath tech esse eke a snge< 45 
ery NigiG h0tinGs = =e See eee en ee eee se ke eee 51 
Fewkes, Dr. J. Walter, Chief, Bureau of American Ethnology- XII, 14, 15, 20, 77 
(The Hovenweep National Monument) -_-..-._-------.---------- 465 
Field-work, Astrophysical Observatory, in Arizona and Chile_______-_-- 106 
SuViOUNLMISOUE ee een ee CL eee oes 105 
Peer Gullery-or ast, mGhinss eee eS 61 
pruuinanernne eer feet Ghe RET Erie Lee a ee 2 eee 61 
PecRHIUeIOMIenE ily LcnnGedsee ise soe os Se a v4 
RUE CS OF UNE ENS Loti ieee men eee ea ee ee ae 3, 127, 1389 
RIN EdS Se UR UA Re 2 oe Seo. Jee boe nee ee 39 
CT ire Ee esi a a 11 
Foreign depositories of United States governmental documents_-_---__--~-- 80 
Parca eeun nee arenes 5 2 805009. Tes ee oe ns eee eee 84 
Porciew periodicals, Smithsonian library—-—-- = nn = 114 
Mmipeiser. Cnire.. PLOreuce, DCCKOL Wo. oi ace eee ee te 55 
nse peer Celanese Set S38 aun eee eee eee ot ee 41 
perereree Mar eP rie ieee eee Oe nes Ae een ee eee eee 74 
BRD at bg ch 5 Seeley eo XII, 21, 104 
Pop T cS Es 4 abl lkaee a RaaaRR TSG Ren Ok cae SPER ER REE TLR DINER ya REEL aN 3 
Parner A ae oe oe le oe et one 1,3; 0; 19, tag 
pons ane euipment.. 23202550 oo ee ee ee ee eae 59 
EGMECEION Ruler eae Et eee eter ee te hn eer ee 59 
CST LOD Sees ee nee eee eee se eae he See ee ee XII, 62 
UG en ere a re ete 2 Se eS Se ee Se ae oe at pee 5 
Bpettip eel mubeMtanGe. = <a. o oS en eo oe ee 60 
RATER ERC eta es ee oe rs Pn ee hs 62 
CoE TL 15 eit scl a SB a SO RR ed eS ap ea aN SMe aS ey SS 59 
2 Se eed etd a oe teeta Pye aaah ae Cay ae Resse ge apN ky ACPI aL est XII 
ene eau! Cnet ee oe oe eae ae So ee 47 
Lif ble LSI CLD gag ioe peta age glee a Reese ioe bay meh aCe pea at ib Rp fo le Ry 48 
Fur seal islands, North Pacific, expedition to examine__----__----------- 8 
G 
eC carr enh re a ne re rere A MPD LAE I MS ge Se Na eae ee 55 
Gardens of ancient Mexico, The (Nuttall) _-._......-.-----------u---- 453 
ree eee ARIS N IAs fee terse ie mn LAER. EEL ne eee oa We ae 48 
renenre ar rilerviade) 2 eee ~ > 0 WO Bd SI ORL BRON S 40S et soe sees 69 
General considerations, Secretary’s report.___...-..-----=------------ 2 
Peremmrme Nations, -l- §: -BOand Of-+2+~ 262s or set te eee 70 
Geological collections, National Museum_-_-__..-_.-------------------- 33 
Congress, Thirteenth International__--...-.-------- eee 43 
Caplorations:in-the Canadian Rockies==22==-225=<5s--2--- 222 -L Se 7 
Geology, The borderland of astronomy and (Eddington) -_-_----------- 195 
NPE I Mi Pet othe! Aer ne 4 ee ee aie od Se 117 
Gill, DeLancey, illustrator, Bureau of American Ethnology_--_-_------ XII, 76 
PRI Wibusils = = 5 = eae hes 2a Seki s ewes sr ook an XII, 41 
Gararace, aiaisine berthess 2-52 2222 22sessl sees ris ss a scssc ttle 1 on 
Goldsmith, J. S., superintendent of buildings and labor, National Museum_ XII 
ai SECC vei Coe ae? 4) ENA) ee eee Tae I ee eae ns 32, 39 
Bere eG NNN eatin wt eine res ics 3 ee ee ee ee colt LS loess 51 
Graphic arts, collections in the division of, National Museum_-_-___--_--- 36 


Pray emyncetae (sagert)a2) SOS OPO 2) Jo Soe AKI, 2, 131 


570 INDEX 


Page 
luay terbarium of Harvard University....-. 2.2. j- 62 242 eee ee 31, 41 
Ceeeley, eo Mua SU Secale Se ee es ee edo ee 106 
Greene, Representative Frank L. (regent)-----_------- 2, 11, 133, 134, 138, 139 
Grinnell, Joseph (The burrowing rodents of California as agents in soil 
PORN st oe Ee ee ee ee Ue ee ee ee 339 
Gummell, Leonard... =... Siitod was code hs eee «ae XIT, 1138 
H 
Babel fii eee. ee a ee ea aed 4 
alert coe Se en ee re ee eee BS 
Hale, George E. (The possibilities of instrumental development) ____-__- 187 
Daaiinn “ney emeds ot ooo Ue be eee ey a ee ee 12 
Pintiitnneenene fund osuk Ie tae SE er ae ee es pers 4,12, 127, 140 
aces Cael 7 2 i, hn cr i a eae SMT NY Meee Sh ee - 55, 56 
Tami lus. VO: (OMMDAOR) OL se. cl ee ee ee Re eS oe 563 
Harding, Warren G., President of the United States (member of the 
esiitiiion) a. pi SIO CPS NSS So eee XI, 67 
ere Wow ve Ca RE Re ee 92 
Werk Tigh 0. a, 2 eee ee Led eee se 88 
Harriman Alaska expedition, reports on the.__._____.____._.---------- 13 
BA PET OR Cre, Pan We ae le ee 48 
ISRREOMIAINE, NIL Sr me ee en en eal et en XII, 21, 68, 69 
f 2 TRIES Bod 6 Dad ARN fee ieee EES NP MCA LEN REIS WS es TE SIUY Nitea iy 
Pen ir, Seen. oh. we doe hie Less, a ee DS ee eee ee 12 
DiAes oN ICHOE Va... ayes coloaa. sos. OF Se ee, ee 34 
Flondereon,; John Bs (regent) —* 2, 16, 25, 32, 44, 183, 134, 138 
Toney FUNG, AAPOUNG its aah sb als See LeeLee. 5 eee 4,127 
Ean Hse in Ra lel a NN: RP RP ES I SE MIL Zl. (0, i 
Midis sNird. PROGOriGH Grcc.555200. a 2k oe ee eee 55 
Hill, J. H., property clerk of the Institution... ee eee XI 
siorigaPCOueenone eee 36 
PeMDCOOEL ATION. Oe. ae eh ee 40 
InGOpKIing Tugd, G@oEnernl: 4) 62 ine ee oe a Se 4, 127 
SPOCHiC nes Lo 2 Set len eee et es SS eh ONL ee 4 
Hoff, Mrs. Jacob (Mrs. Grace Whitney Hoff)_.__...._.-__-2). 23-+<¢¢-+-s 12, 51 
Hollister, N., superintendent, National Zoological Park____._.---- XII, 15, 103 
(Animals in the National Zoological Park) _......--.------.------ 291 


Holmes, Dr. W. H., director, National,Gallery of Art___ XII, 47, 48, 55, 58, 136 
Hoover, Herbert Clark, Secretary of Commerce (member of the Institu- 


Ht010) ae ane Se ee ee eT See el oe Ea XI 
ipower, Walter ai. se I ee 109 
Mignone, As Tater oe ee ee tt My 
Bough ir Walter i) oo on ae eS te XII, 13, 43 
Hovenweep National Monument, The (Fewkes)___-_----------------- 465 
Howard. cbr: Leland s@ x. tops 28 sl, i Sn XII 
Texel rolenser a6) yt re a Sr ee 69 
ys Manresa. tan San ee ke oe Se er 32, 38, 137 
CRE ae A 2 nk ee os ek gaat er XII, 18, 42, 43, 117 

(The origin and antiquity of the American Indian) __.._-_--------- 481 
Hughes, Charles Evans, Secretary of State (member of the Institution) -- XI 
Heghes fund , Prvet. ct 2. soe% kee) Ri sopeeh o)s e oe 4, 127 


Human paleontology in France, the recent progress in, The anthropological 
work of Prince Albert I of Monaco, and (Boule) ___----------------- 495 


INDEX 571 


Page 
OSS EMS COTTE ML BIC 0 (Ran ee ae ne ee ne 28 
Peplenielen. 1.72.22. 2 Fe ch ian EE batten 36 
I 
Illustrations, Bureau of American Ethnology ------------------------- 76 
Important needs, National Zoological Park_____---------------------- 102 
Improvements, National Zoological Park_-.--.---------------------- 101 
Insect musicians, their music and their instruments (Snodgrass) - --__-_--- 405 
Instrumental development, The possibilities of (Hale)_--_---_-_-------- 187 
Interior, Secretary of the (member of the Institution) -__-_------------ XI 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, Regional Bureau for the 
COTTE EE TAS 21 TDL. A 2S spe RES oe eh RR CRENEERE <n XAT, 1 24, JE 
TB) TOT Sa, es i As A ease | 8 Tp en eRe De Pe So = 4 Ree fo? lil 
International Congress of Americanists, twentieth__--_---------------- 13 
Sntermabionnl eechanges:<........... == 2eeeesd- tees ese ML, 15 6) 22, 12% 
emetclerk:.. 2) 6220051. 5 AE il He apt apse be pipteda! pode HOE! Lt XII 
foreign depositories of United States governmental documents_ _-_----_ 80 
Toreien exehanpe acencies. 20 =o! eoikeeR eee th: grec eeeet ss 42 84 
interparliamentary exchange of official documents_____------------ 82 
reportww 3. 3. Sh hl eins phan PAR Nha 2 ar a We Meee A NA Ai Sed SN 78 
J 
Cre re UTA Se er arora is 36 
Jeanne d’Are, presentation of the bust of_____...__------------------ 12 
Johnson, Representative Albert (regent) _-____------- XI, 2, 133, 134, 186, 138 
wewaconnmwten Cross, Fisq. 2. eco e ose een eee = 8 eee tt 55 
Bemian ik Pent. (Dayid. Sisir.........<s.-+--=ihee Pa eet osshe 11 
CSS) a a eee aaa rrr ter we XII, 42 
mn K 
Driver, he Cl. CV, Marea a Si eR te ee 555 
MIINBEIMCQUAPE ES! 22 2c kt i ee 9, 32 
UTR ZL BSD PSS a a a SP” PS ae dee earn ee eeepc pe SOB a 107 
Knowles, W. A., property clerk, National Museum-_------------------- XII 
Le Ea Ee ee re a ee. an ee eeneeey Sa ere enpe pb aie 61 
OPT UDA an ea eee Se een POL Pen epee eye 61 
MI EMRICMUEMT SAVERS 2? 2 ot Ne Es Sais Se ie 9 
1 eg A a SN ae aT i Seen er ele OP SIRS hr BO 105 
L 
Labor, Secretary of (member of the Institution) _____----------------- XI 
[SE A Ee Deere et a Ler Se ee ee Oy ee er eee eee. ee 17, 33 
ee en CIG es oer ne ke ee aed XU, 21,41 
fe ES ae a an ors eae ee So) ee eS en en ee ee ed 107 
Reuchta,obewin ABadregent). 2. 6 scenes -bealendent-heeedesee XI, 2, 138 
Dan Vereoem J no ci ene no RE densité entaee 22, 88 
Beary, ewe Pa on) ate baer 2 eeeost Bose? ~S. SD -nen SS doce =} = 109 
Leary, Ella, librarian, Bureau of American Ethnology______---------- XII, 76 
LeiCocelaediaasbow a022 36s. 3: saline de ade see Be ee nler ed TO- 44-5523 61 
Pew pOnmirederichk iy fh le6 _ jv Leterrier pe bela Se XII, 43 
Libraries of the Institutions and branches___---.---------------- 1, 15, 58, 76 
accessions; summary of receipts and....___.....~..~ 2.45) 24<«-5+- 119 


Boteemaveical Observatory. libtaryns== 2532224 -~25 25 === = 3 = 118 


572 INDEX 


Libraries of the Institutions and branches—Continued. Page 
biblicpraphic researches.~~ 2~ > =o eee 115 
Bureau of - American Hiihnoloey =~ eee 76, 118 
FORGiené DeNnGCICAIE nee ee a ee ee 114 
Prooer: Gallery of Art lihracy <> 5)--..-i-.=.--+5-0e 44 -2e ee eee 119 
National. Gallery. of Art library {22 2U-U1 Luan ULh Seer 58, 118 
National. Museum. library... 20). tae ae ee 15, 44, 117 
National. Zoologieal Park library... 225. 12230008 Sani, Saeee 118 
office: library 24822 200) Sieotiritaiv: Afa8) Pye Mee Sieh caste eee 116 
reporti= usec ee EE EP UT SL ea re 114 
Smithsonian main library oe 02.221 3 veel) be a eee 116 

Library of Congress, Smithsonian deposit in____-_-------------------- 15 

Bile wieder moe (Clare ssa ree er eerie me 369 

LAT ch rea 923 23) Sed yo by ak ee eee ee a oy oe NEE A TG MN eal CR eta ce 11 

Loans by the National Gallery of Art__..._..-..._-_----------------- 52, 55 

Lodge, Senator Henry Cabot (regent) --__------------ XI, 2, 133, 138, 189, 140 

Lodge, John Ellerton, curator, Freer Gallery of Art___---.----------- XII, 62 

Hoeb fund, Meitis? 222 fit 2eusyie: seul, Deal Bete ees ee 4,127 

Lof, Eric A. (Atmospheric nitrogen fixation) _.__._._---.-------------- 203 

M 

Rasetorsneh, Naanien 9 oS re ee een eS Rs et eee 22, 88 

Matti, Dr away an ee Se Sl Se 8 eee teen oe eee 22, 40, 88 

Blargerie, -Emnigniel-de = - o.oo Re ee 117 

Matthew, W. D. (Recent progress and trends in vertebrate paleontology). 273 

Maunder, E. Walter (The sun and sunspots, 1820—-1920)______________- 159 

BAAxON 7 Lor.- Wallians R=. == 522 20d. SoS ek Week eRe eaete XII, 32, 40, 117 

McCormick, Senator Medill (regent) .............-.-LL/--L 260.8 XI, 2, 138 

MeHwen,- Lieut. NOPMan= 2-5 -Se sees ch asebeletuk ce eSee eee 72 

RMePanden, Jonn Howstd. "22° 2°22 22s. c2h5 ste es seen eee 52 
CONCRUIOM See Oe are eee eee ee ee Sanwa ae the 19, 52 

Mechlin, Leila, secretary, American Federation of Arts._______.-__----- 45 

Weeker: Arthiir Wo2322) eter ee eee 48 

Meetings, congresses and receptions, National Museum_-___-_-_----_--- 42 

Brelpers, Gell. 2 eee en ee eee ee ee eee 47, 48, 136 

Mellon, Andrew W., Secretary of the Treasury (member of the Institution) _ XI 

Members Of the mnstinouan 2 * <2 A Se ee eee XI 

TYAS rE Gi ed BF eel Gopal IE Pl ale ile <i RP cn Sy 19 

Oiler. OT MGeoree, bo ee ee re eee a once Se tes ae ee eee XII, 15 

MGHICE, Fe Oo Soke yee es CLL eee ee ae i eee 8, 41 

Piciualt terar. Winyvnasd (i222 252 Ue ose eee ee See eee 16, 32 

Mexico, The gardens of ancient (Nuttall) ______-_____--- te Jase see. 453 

Michelson; ~Dr-“Eruman-<)22 3 Ss ss 232555555525 2S ee XII, 21, 67, 68 

Miller, Gerrit, S., jrecsoe eo ek ee ee eee XII 

Miller, R. C. (A study of the flight of sea gulls)_........-.-...---.---- 395 

Mineral and mechanical technology, collections in the divisions of__-_---- 35 

Miscellaneous, National: Museum = 22-<-2i2is ue ee eee 43 

Miser, H. D. and Ross, C. S. (Diamond-bearing peridotite in Pike County, 

ANE Doo er ea RED, BROS Rn bea tk: oe eee 261 
‘Mitchell, H. H. (The place of proteins in the diet in the light of the newer 
“knowledge of nutrition) 2 = 22ices == 22523 cae ce sack a eee 223 

Mitman;' Carl We-=222-22222 2 222 See Lekt bot agetindbtapn) sd gae XII, 14 

Moffett, George H= =~ 22 -22.22-2:..-..-28S SUR eee ee 51 


Moore, Av FPo2 22 ee dec te eee eet eee eee 106 


INDEX 578 


Page 
Moore, ‘Charles. 47, 136 
Moore, Representative R. Walton (regent)._...--------------- XI, 2, 134, 138 
Mioran,- Thomas = 222 rr A et rr 2 nd 2 BS 54 
Morgan; J- Pierponuse 2s Si esac aie eto, col pee lS 48 
Morris,- Miss-Maude -Burrs- 2s eet e oe le ele 51 
Morse, “Prof. "Bdward 2 20_ 22a Shs Babe k2 Lt bees. Dive bid 11 
Munroe, Helen = = 2 er ree 76 
Museum. of architecture, proposed = 2222-22292. 222i es lee 140 
Museum’ of :Fine- Arts,- Boston Ulsee, 02 Feo ede Jeuieie. SOLU] Suuass 20, 61 
Byer, Ni Hi ee = LOE Ee 2) BUSOU ee LL) Be 21, 72 
N 

Wational Academy of Design. 2 err DDS SEELEY ee D 
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics_____--._--------------- 15 
Wational Art'Committee 2-22 s LO LU We ve 19, 49, 51 
National Baird Memorial Committee__..-.---.----------------+----- 11 
Wational Gallery of Art: ==:2=+-=:+2-:-2<ss2sesseeune Cll XII, 1, 6, 18, 127 
ert works acded uuring the yearss2 5 -bessscsl sSecceussessessiced 51 
Comittee = 2 ae ee as BE ee oie see ee Se eee dy fev 18, 47 
RC EOT Uso eee ee eee is fk ee ete ke elie a id wea 136 
deposit by the Smithsonian Institution____.-_--.----------------- 51 
Ey SS 1 aah pele lee oe Riel ey eee ee ee ee XII, 47, 48, 55, 58, 186 
Wr RUUUIEE Lh AL oe ee ee eS eet eh ee 55 
LCT ooh a Seepage see W Bpal “Tyate Skeln Ses , eae ere Ree Cae ee See eee 58, 118 
1 TESTEISia! 5 Qh 1k pall me elie eee tae ope ene, eee ee eee ae 52, 55 
Pa EMME ee Sh eS AN ee oe es ea ne ee i eee 137 
BPC OS ore es ee eee teen, 8 13, 120 
ESOT ry see em a ee ee ee el aie ee ee ee 45 
Bpeet ExaiihiGln > Teoh ok tee eee et eee ee 56 
eeseel Niuneun 22 oot 2h kee cee ewe ted eat a2 ee ee 1,15, 127 
burldiies sad equipmentes 2s. ee ie be) ea he Be 29 
GLO Nes C0) 01S oe ae ey eel ate eh ee Meer ee meray ven er 31 
REE ere OA te Oh ee ore 3 ee me es os le i oe 15, 44, 117 
TUBES APONSE Sct et oe oes 5 ee ee be oes, 43 
RIOR a a A dee ge A ay 13, 14, 44, 123 
Peel O OT rey eect 9 ETE eh ee ae ee te a eee ee es ae 27 
SS ee ENS eb eae ae ae ee er Le SR ely ene er oer XII 
OED ESS ee Se GE ge ee a a ny eae eae ed 18, 43 
waters Portrait Collection=. -<\ 22+ <= o: oe oe ee ee 48 
NL ny Oe eR See ee ee eee ee eee meee eee ee a ee 45, 51 
Namena. Zoological Parke os gots 2 3 ae ns ot tia XII, 1, 6, 22, 127 
mierions of boundaries). 5-2 20st ae eee pee eek 102 
minis tn fue collection: 58 bie senna weak oc een ce eee 94 
DOREY GIRTUERET Gy) TLCSCUUR 2 x Kes Sg oe a i ae ee 102 
OE” ea ae mpl eiay Pape ater fabene ye fii Hatt aa ee ee ee 101 
Lose E Tiina Se al ap np hese LORE IT NE ee eee ere anager Speers 118 
EPP SRReER eS 2. oe, ANE a eS eg sie Lh 92 
BERNE ee ee A tk 2 = ct Bw Ga wi Ma Neral Ane Bb le hg a 87 
National Zoological Park, Animals infthe (Hollister)...._.___.._...-___-- 291 
Natural history of China, The (Sowerby) .---=_-_-----s=-...--..---- 351 
Navy, Secretary of the (member of the Institution) ............------- XI 
Pee nee INIT TG rey reer eee ere eo 56 


Le de eS ee Ee oe oe oe ae 25 


574 INDEX 


Page 
Be ST MEAG 55 (NIE SPCR APE ee CRIES Re, ST Ye 72 
New building for art and history collections. _...__-._..__.____- ears = 139 
Matousl (Gallery oO: Arh 522 a ee oy aA 
New, Harry S., Postmaster General (member of the Institution) ________ XI 
Rew “York Botanical Gatien 22 eee ie ee 34, 41 
Nichols, E. F., and Tear, J. D. (Joining the electric wave and heat wave 
A ee ose et a 175 
Nitrogen fixation, Atmospheric .(Lof)_._----- Sdcogase-—scueesiidets Saas 203 
North Pacific fur seal islands, expedition to examineZthe______________- 8 
Nuttall, Zelia (The gardens of ancient Mexico)_._.______---__-__-____-__ 453 
O 
ecu, lave in the (lige) eo ee EB oe ee ee 369 
Olmsted, Arthur J., photographer, National Museum__-._______-_____- XII 
Opening and attendance, Freer Gallery of Art_-.._---------_--_______- 60 
@xborn) Prof. Henry Fairfield... aaddeeces 3-teceents-belgid fe 11 
Gevemune, Many Henry... ceccsewueseeesoueseec eh eee 45 
r 
Padgett, Representative Lemuel P. (regent) ..---_---------_- <n BIOS 2, 133, 134 
Paleolithic regions of France and Spain, exploration of the._..__-____-- 10 
Paleontological field-work in Tennessee___-.------------------------_- § 
Paleontology, vertebrate, Recent progress and trends in (Matthew) - --_-_ 275 
Palestine, Ruined cities of, east and west of the Jordan (Sutton) -______- 509 
Peamee; Dim ise ds Gg is Sh a eh a a OR EE 5, 127 
Parker, Penry Act ee ee eee 86 
Parser, 7 Willan Winte Wilson Pot soit a 51 
Pernice: James ott ah oS 47, 136 
Pesaley; Horate W220 220s eer eee 54 
Pell er: Adived ‘Dnané-2 eer ee ee 51, 140 
Penney ibr. Pranvie Woe Se as Oe eee 9, 32 
Pepper, Senator George Wharton --.--_----2---2----------2--- 2-22. 52 
Pergiiia® Ossipso soe ore een ee ae 55 
Peridotite, Diamond-bearing, in Pike County Ark. (Miser and Ross)_._-- 261 
Ponsa) tenryCleveland.“hsq- 2 eee 53 
BEI Y yA ee ee PRE ek on ee eee XII 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences: ~ _-~----~.-.-------------- 32 
Pollocu som Sieve eae eee ee ee 86 
Pooretand, ‘Lucy T: and George W2-2--2 eS ee eee 4,127 
Postmaster General of the United States (member of the Institution) ____ XI 
Power, tidal hydroelectric, development of the Petitcodiac and Memram- 

“cook @ivers; Proposed’ (Llurnbull 2 eae See 523 
Prat, dh erberte ee ee eee eee 48 
President of the United States (member of the Institution)____________- vl es | 
Prince Albert I of Monaco, The anthropological work of, and the recent 

progress in human paleontology in France (Boule)------------------ 495 
Posting, allotments ters ot a eee ee 14 
Proceedings of the board of regents of the Institution______---_-------- 133 
Prordk; Count Byrow ulin-de! See Se eS. eee 43 


Proteins in the diet, The place of, in the light of the newer knowledge of 
nutrition ((Mrtebel) = tes SS Se A A ae eee 223 


INDEX 575 


Page 
Publications of the Institution and branches__---------------- 1, 13, 44, 75, 76 
PE PO Ten eee ee ee oe ee ae SE Sep See se 120 
Bureau of Amenean Wihnology——..---~----------+—-~-4 13, 14, 21, 76, 124 
eel Guna) Wen I eee ee ee 13, 14, 44, 123 
R 

Banger fund, the Hengy, Wierd sot, saihee-ps eee bases see elss sees 57 
meer, Henry Wire. 2 eee a ee oa PE ese See 58 
epi SCOt ect pee ne ee ee ee te et seen 54 
Ravenel, W. deC., administrative assistant to the Secretary_..-_ XII, 43, 44, 117 
DE SUS Se RPS I! ae cree. soy 47, 48, 136 
Regents pt the Institution,- Board of___-----.-..--.aeiteles-esepiclese XI, 2 
executive committee, report... ..--.~------------_ axoblaskhe<le 127, 135 
mectime, mm ja.) S003 oSer-skecld- et siesiee toward} GL ol-see 133 
Remeyr fs Ss a eee er et a epee 138 
permanent committee, report... -—----=- ~--...-----—- -4enet- Abe 135 
PFOCCEOINGS ee ett) bate seas ee es oa ae be ah hese ee 133 
Bemiiund, seigow TE. 2°. Seer Es sees las ea Set o- ce 4,127 
Bemovals, National Zoological Park. i<é 2c veeatl Leseta¥t aes e es 92 
Mesearches and explorations: ~~~ casket szecics ak Go-basnee-cekesas 6 
Begcer, Dr (GhaFles: Bib etob. say seek Lovee Jaud-bee sew oistanls XII, 41 
Wee piste 2 a Le bak be Se YE See Bee 4,127 
Rhoades, Katherine Nash, associate, Freer Gallery of Art___---------- XII, 62 
eerie bree, Wales bo ooo" 262 ee ee 29 
Begun} Wr. Charles W_......-- > --- -Ginss yelast) 4 seteae AR, 117, 
adeweas, Wr. Hovert. eo ees XII 
Rodents of California, The burrowing, as agentsin soilformation (Grinnell) 339 
Macoling, John Av. 24. 3 55. 2u- bee idebse? seh te Hee: 5, 23, 104, 107, 108, 134 
Maer A BEL et 5 SBR ys ee a ee 117 
etre Tar Be SU 8 poh 8 ee, are Set, betes t= atl age XII 

Ross, C. 8., Miser, H. D. and (Diamond-bearing peridotite in Pike County, 

Se a ee A 261 
Menta, (Omang 92 dh Be abe ee 56 
OTT SR lS SRE cleanest en) any em NNER « <1) Baer 27. 88 
Ruined cities of Palestine, east and west of the Jordan (Sutton)_-_------ 509 
Russell, Henry Norris (The constitution and evolution of the stars) ----- 145 

NS) 
Sie debn, Orestes 2.2. .---.---.- Gen REL LAE ae IO MeN © OT 17, 33 
PeemerrenmeGeorpe Koo) oe ee A etek sth 4,127 
15 SORE ie) yh | eh ho a eee ST See ere eee rei ee 61 
RMT NS Mir a Bt 2 Lact cere ah i ek ie yb’ 
SRT ATMA) Wi sc ea a pale XII 
Sehtuligndess Adelnphe- $2. $353 <0- 2eld- de -ceideck told - bap wed -ceslii¥ 93 
Scudder, N. P., assistant librarian, National Museum___--------------- XII 
Sen culls, A.study of the flight of (Miller)uo. 2.022 -224-)-eoeeneee-o 395 
Searles, Stanley, editor, Bureau of American Ethnology - --------- XII, 75, 124 
Sercewmmor tue. lastitution...........--.__.-..-.....----wessll-ss XI, XII, 


11, 26, 32, 40, 44, 47, 48, 58, 62, 77, 86, 103, 107, 110, 113, 117, 
119, 125, 133, 138. 


SUDMIeIentalustatement-. 5 TE eed oe 8 ee 138 
Ne eee eg eenie wos vet A so aed 41 


576 INDEX 

Page 
Shoemaker, C. W., chief clerk, international exchanges___---_.--------- XII 
Simpson, G.-C. .(Julius Von Hann) 2222. 2-+ ~~ eee ete Ie 563 
Smart, H>Hodgson 2+ 2-ee eee + LEU De ee 54, 55 
Smithy Dr. Hugh Moo. oe eet ee ee de Ss 32, 39 
SUTcL SH UIICUNE 0: ead DS. Ps Ls Span ave pate ee RRR ee Gat Mele Tay Sha re 4,127 
Bauthsen; James) Cart 2.32 Lissette oleeieek tee ek See ae A, 3, 127 
Smithsonian advisory committee on printing and publication_.+______-_ 15, 125 
Smithsonian:annual reportes- 222: zee 2 -ceenscccaneann ee YOR 13, 121 
establishment,- Theo 2+ --us2s8 Let c tee eeeet See-- = STO 1 
MID LAtV A 2 fs a UIIGEO ae AE OF Seige 3 STU 1,15, 116, 120 
MOPOrts = 4 s-n- see ee hecec ee te tec eeeeedt eee ee eee 114 
miseellaneous-collections 2====2==2£--— 0. 01008_ J OLUIPe BAe 13, 14, 24 
special publications =... -tecee ee ET Oe ee Se 13 
Snodgrass, R. E. (Insect musicians, their music and their instruments)__ 405 
Société Asiatique de Paris, meetings of..._.._._......------------------ 19, 61 
Sokolnikoft,- Doctors 22a Lee ee ie FIGS Oe ee eee 9 
Solar radiation, results of work on, Astrophysica] Observatory _--------- 106 
Sowerby, A. deC. (The natural history of China)_...._..._.-.-.-------- 351 
Special exhibitions, National Gallery of Art_____..___.--------------- 56 
researches, Bureau of American Ethnology___._____-------------- ral 
Spectra, electric wave and heat wave, Joining the (Nichols and Tear)_--_ 175 
Spotiswood, Heary Ns = eee eee tek ceetteceee et ee 26 
Soxmger,. Dr rank. ..03/. 30 fi wis? Tost) 20 e CER COTO aA 17}'33 
Standley, Paul C.<--- oneness cee eee ete eeencc te coe eee XII 
Stanley, Senator A. Owsley: (regent) __..-.------+.+-+--+--4--- XI, 2, 33, 138 
Stanton, Miss Sophy < <.~~2~aseee peste tte ee PO 52 
Stars, the constitution and evolution of the (Russell)_____.____--_-_-=- 145 
State, Secretary of (member of the Institution) __._..______.._---------- XI 
Stein, Sir Aurel. << --2--222ecnceccsccceee a nent eet ete tat ee eee 61 
stemeger, Dr. deonhard. -- 2+ scicsscccccesceseessracs XII, 8, 9, 15, 32, 44 
Stevens;(Mrs> Pierre G22 2)2090 Batiee bout 1) DOR Ck TL Re ae 55 
Stevenson,- Mrs. Mi -O. - oa eee eee eee ELE eee 68 
Burling, Matthew. W- ~~ —--<~-eeeeeee eet ete ete 10, 42 
Summers, -Mirsiede: Wi2= =s2 > eossee eee tee eee ee | Sh: oe 45 
Sun and sunspots, The, 1820-1920 (Maunder) _-__-_--------------------- 159 
Superintendent National Zoological Park____.-...-.---------------- XII, 103 

Sutton, Arthur W. (Ruined cities of Palestine, east and west of the Jor- 

PoE AN Sp Ae lee ee RD nyt Ne emer NS eH 509 
Swales, B: H= =<: e+ -cnaneeecceoseewetisese ces se cee eect eee 5 
Swanton, .Dr..Jdohn- Roe is2224255senees004 0220s 2254-24. 9210 XII, 20, 67 

i 
Matt, Charles, P.~-<-susne-csnscstdsccsusstetcecusceteteneeee eee 48 
Taft, William Howard, Chief Justice of the United States (regent and 

member of-the Institution) 42226. 2200 2822 2a ere ce XI, 1, 2, 138, 134, 138 
Paintor, Sumner-==<-==.-s-62-2-neen {olin . 0 J Be OTe 2e 25 
Tantalum, ductile, The story of the production and uses of (Balke)------ 233 
Taylor, Mrs..Hannis- - = 2-25 +55 a ee ee 54 
Tear, J. D., Nichols, E. F., and (Joining the electric wave and heat wave 

SPOCtPa) a. = on Ses oe So win ees aa ee Se eg gre 15 
Textiles, collections in the division of._......------------------------ 34 
Thompson, Capt.-Edgar, U.S. Nz =<----.+----2e. dd See 55 


Thompson, Col. W; -Buws-2s=2.isccexceceededcceeecendadenee le eee 17, 34 


INDEX WA 


Page 
Tidal hydroelectric power, development of Petitcodiac and Memramcook 
emer Ee cOpused.( hur nnully) <<. nook oe at eae os aa ee 523 
nenny Micpariient, Ue is 3255.0 0 ee ee ee 37 
Secretary of the (member of the Institution) _---______--__---_--_-- XI 
ete AV.) kn, ecuor Of tbe MmBibUnOn.-.- 22-55-22. ee XI, 15, 125 
pan ON CURR AIOE ee Rae ple ma ie 62 
Turnbull, W. Rupert (Proposed tidal hydroelectric power development of 
the Petitcodiac and Memramcook Rivers) --...--.---------------.-- 523 
U 
Reet a he er et ae oe i ata eeosts 8, 34, 41, 42 
V 
apnea i. WCapbeyn) no ee ee ee es ee 555 
Deemer et AdInOny My. 2 ois et re eA ee ees Be 11 
Vertebrate paleontology, Recent progress and trends in (Matthew)__-__-_- 273 
Vice President of the United States (chancellor and member of the Insti- 
[HELE Ty iy See: 6 ee nr Ue ae a a Ce ON gee XT, 1, 2, 133, 138 
Reteerre Heer ONE MECU ES 2 Pu ee ean eee 43 
Volcanic steam in Italy, The utilization of ....................---...- 519 
(Ls Es LEAT) oR See Sean, Ad ka A ee RN PMR Sy ee ce 25 
ipa gherit Punts, (SIMIpBo ny. 2 oe ee eet oe 563 
Won Moschzisker, Chief Justice Robert—...............-22i2s2_-.. 52 
WwW 


Walcott, Dr. Charles D., secretary of the Institution._.. XI, XII, 1,11, 26, 32, 
40, 44, 47, 58, 62, 77, 86, 103, 107, 110, 113, 117, 119, 125, 133, 138 


Walcott, Mrs. Charles D. (Mary Vaux Walcott) ___......-.....-_.___-- 138 
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, research fund__________________- 4,127 
Wwieitord. WG wanvAs 22552 2 See oe ee apps er a oe = Se 34 
RM RNG a a oh ewe ee oe ea ee ee 62 


Wallace, Henry Cantwell, Secretary of Agriculture (member of the Insti- 


HUNTON) eS 2 Bs SO ag ES Mig nets IED OS. RR PN Pomc h ER ete NE yeaa Melee CLS XI 
War, Secretary of (member of the Institution)_..............._---__-- xI 
UUs II GES "Ltr 9) 72) a ae PR a yee St gE RE aR rare 17, 33 

LEANO pte Tad 8 Cet mee CS Se eI BA ings Sen eee MAL ee Oa ew OM er A Meee mE ge I, 30 
Nvard 5 Natural Science Establishment _.......-222.202.20.0.c2.5 5505 34 
EESTI TE ail UY SO ei aE rae IPD i, SU Ra ei tg Cal ee Oe 64 
gS Boa ees AN SRO RS? EES Re onde CRAY bE Ue OR ee Se RD Be Pa 52 
Weeks, John Wingate, Secretary of War (member of the Institution)____- XI 
epee EID IC CsI BOIL so ek a ee Te pa ee 62 
enna WES AION ANE GE < 2021 poet eS ete a DN ee ee ee 91 
DRIER MESON eS ceeds a a ee ok Se ee XII 
Witte print laenry (regent)_..2.220.202222 2020S XI, 2, 48, 51, 131, 134, 139 
Williamson, E. D., Adams, L. H., and (The composition of the earth’s in- 

TEN HKO TS) ah sc US SN eam est allie SM tN ae NIRS “ED EOE Soy 241 
iW ome NTO DET hie 2 se oe ae ee I ls Be 11 
Work at Washington, Astrophysical Observatory_.....__._....--.------- 104 
Work, Hubert, Secretary of the Interior (member of the Institution) ___-_- XI 
Dea es 2. eke ee ee eee See en oS 32, 39 


TS a eh a Nh al at ae Eh kde oS ae Ak Sa, SEL. any ae 17, 35 


578 INDEX 


Z Page 

Masenigpritea 2 tad t CMEURONIEA eet oe TS NS elas ae ae AIL 1,6; 22,000 
elicratinnton Aoummilanes Ke ee ee 102 
Sens in ie Penechon ee on a ee eee 94 
ERPS eget ALLIS = ec ek hn See sehen ee ae a 102 

PUN Tr rs CleeeesOn pS oF EN ee Se eee a rac at 101 
Pikes 30 Fee 5 FS NER IS TOA” OT Oe ee See ae 118 
haul! 72\\12 ERs hl od Sah ob Pedi, ania element doe eb arabten titan ea Ep? 92 

Ei 41 [12k po oe a i eat See ste ae Net fete mL peer 87 
Zoological Park, National, animals in the (Hollister)__...._.....______- 291 


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