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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
BOARD OF REGENTS OF

THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION

SHOWING THE

OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND
CONDITION OF THE INSTITULION
FOR) tiie YEARS ENDED TUNE. <30

1950

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(Publication 4025)

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1951

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S$. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D.C. - Price $3.00 Cloth

Peete Or MR ANSM LET Ak

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, December 28, 1950.

To the Congress of the United States:

In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States, I have the honor, on 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 ended
June 30, 1950. I have the honor to be,

Respectfully,
A. Wetmore, Secretary.

It

CONTENTS

Page

VATESSS COSCON ETT NP a TEN IE ts CS ve ny Segoe ee Se Vv

Generalstatenlent sass oy 52 eee Rene Ln eee ee ee ee 1

“A RY oxE). J DEER FEN 6) BUSY oUr a YS) 0 eee, Pepe eae eee ek ea a ee ea 3

PROT DOALOMOL KeZENUS eet een ee eRe ae SEA a ee eee ee 3

IIMA CESS ee ere ere ee Ed TE OEE ANE Ene ee ere a oe 5

END DLO DTIA GIONS! oe sees Sate oo teenies Boab I ce a eis tee 5

NYT CO So es aE ee ag es ae el Ce ee a PEE 6

Seventeenth annual James Arthur lecture on the sun_____-___-_----_---- 6

Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution_______ 6

JENU| OVO REW Ta Cop US| tS ley 2s aga aa a a Si eR A a ae Be ifl

DEST OW age eee ODES ie at yaa ac A a as Poh pagel alae 12

Appendix 1. Report on the United States National Museum_-_---____-_--- 13

2-eReport on tue National Galleryrol Att 2-2 eee ee 23

3. Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts________-__-_- 36

4Reportom the Breer Gallery of Art] = "ot 22 sacs oe ee 42

5. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology_-_-_--__-_-_--- 48

6. Report on the International Exchange Service___________-- 73

i Reporton the National ZoologicalPark=" = 2. =_ 22 2222 2228 82

8. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory ______----_------ 116

9. Report on the National Air Museum_-_-_-__----__---------- 122

10. Report on the Canal Zone Biological Area___-_______------ 133

AIPIRECE DONE LOM Ge yl bo ea Tye ee ee ae ar ee ee oe 145

[2 Reporvion publications =~ sta wees se es ee LER Sine een 149

Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents_----_-----_-_- 156

GENERAL APPENDIX

Beyond the MilkyWay, by -Lhormton Pages 2. oes ees ees 165

The luminous surface and atmosphere of the sun, by Bertil Lindblad_____ 173

What is an elementary particle? by E. Schrédinger_-_-__---------------- 183

The composition of our universe, by Harrison Brown__----------------- 197

The Wright Brothers as aeronautical engineers, by M. P. Baker__------_- 209

Chemical achievement and hope for the future, by Linus C. Pauling- - - -- 225

Electroencephalography, by W. Grey Walter___-___-------------------- 243

Hnereyirom fossil fuels by Vi. wing -Mubbert. 2. —- =. 3222222 e eee 255

EGRIMArOstaiD Va RODCTb riers AC ka ee eas we ese ee ek see 273

Earthquakes in North America, by B. Gutenberg____--_--------------- 303
Wolf Creek meteorite crater, Western Australia, by D. J. Guppy and R. 8.

TIGA MGS CCY on ee tee e Bil ts Ue FAINT A aire IP oc 2 bP ee Ste, Rap Mane Fe ete ne era 317

Waturalshistory. im tceland. by, Julian. Huxley! o2o 2222202 ee 327
Praying mantids of the United States, native and introduced, by Ashley

TES oe GUID Cy epee ae eee Ul te Mina Mier ee eT nV Rael dma NUT ES 339

Man’s disorder of nature’s design in the Great Plains, by F. W. Albertson...._ 363

Tir

IV ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Page
Food shortages and the sea, by Daniel Merriman____--_--_-_-______-_- 3%3
Economic uses of lichens, by George A. Llano__-__-----_------_-_____-_ 385
The origin and antiquity of the Eskimo, by Henry B. Collins_.----__--__ 423

Archeology and ecology on the Arctic slope of Alaska, by Ralph S.Solecki. 469
Samuel Seymour: Pioneer artist of the Plains and the Rockies, by John
Krancis# McDermott soe sn Sm ee eee a ea pe eee ee cc 497

LIST OF PLATES

Secretary,s report, Plates bp 228 ee Le ec aa lel ee 42
Beyond the Milky Way (Page): Plates:1-4- 2. $22.22-522 20282252252. 166
Luminous surface and atmosphere of the sun (Lindblad): Plates 1-3_____ 182
Composition of our universe (Brown): Plate 1-.....---.---.----._---_- 198
Wright Brothers as aeronautical engineers (Baker): Plates 1-9__________ 214
Electroencephalography (Walter): Plate 1.-..-._-_-.--.-_=_---4---=-= 246
Permafrosti(Black). Bates ilo ue ee ea a eared clin (ce 278
Earthquakes in North America (Gutenberg): Plate 1_-_._.._..__________ 310
Wolf Creek meteorite crater (Guppy and Matheson): Plates 1, 2________ 326
Praying mantids of the United States (Gurney): Plates 1-9_____________ 358
Man’s disorder of nature’s design (Albertson): Plates 1-4____________-- 366
Food shortages and the sea (Merriman): Plates 1, 2-_--______-_-______- 374
Economic uses of lichens (Llano): Plates 1-8__....___________________-_ 422
Origin and antiquity of the Eskimo (Collins): Plates 1-4__.--_-_____- _ 438

Archeology and ecology of the Arctic slope of Alaska (Solecki): Plates 1-6. 486
Samuel Seymour (McDermott): Plates 1-16_____________--_---------- 502

THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

June 30, 1950

Presiding Officer ex officio.—Harry S. Truman, President of the United States.

Chancellor—FRrED M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States.
Members of the Institution:
Harry S. Truman, President of the United States.
ALBEN W. BaRKLEY, Vice President of the United States.
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States.
Dean C. Acueson, Secretary of State.
JoHun W. SNYDER, Secretary of the Treasury.
Louis Jounson, Secretary of Defense.
J. Howarp McGrata, Attorney General.
Jess—E M. Donaupson, Postmaster General.
Oscar CHAPMAN, Secretary of the Interior.
CHARLES F. Brannon, Secretary of Agriculture.
CHARLES SAWYER, Secretary of Commerce.
Maurice Tosin, Secretary of Labor.
Regents of the Institution:
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor.
ALBEN W. Bark LEY, Vice President of the United States.
WALTER F. Grorce, Member of the Senate.
Cuinton P. ANDERSON, Member of the Senate.
LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Member of the Senate.
CLARENCE CANNON, Member of the House of Representatives.
Joun M. Vorys, Member of the House of Representatives.
E. E. Cox, Member of the House of Representatives.
Harvey N. Davis, citizen of New Jersey.
ArtTHouR H. Compton, citizen of Missouri.
VANNEVAR Bus3, citizen of Washington, D. C.
Ropert V. FLEMING, citizen of Washington, D. C.
JeRoME C. HuNSAKER, citizen of Massachusetts.
Executive Committee—RoBert V. FLEMING, chairman, VANNEVAR
CLARENCE CANNON.
Secretarya— ALEXANDER WETMORE.
Assistant Secretary JoHN E. GRrar.
Assistant Secretary.—J. L. Keppy.
Administrative assistant to the Secretary — Mrs. Louise M. PEARSON.
Treasurer.—J. D. Howarp.
Chief, editorial division.—PavuL H. OnHsER.
Librarian.—Mrs. Leita F. Crark.
Administrative accountant.—THomAS F. CLark.
Superintendent of buildings and labor.—L. L. OutvER.
Assistant Superintendent of buildings and labor.—Cuar.Es C. SINCLAIR.
Personnel officer—Mnrs. B. T. CARWITHEN.
Chief, division of publications.—L. E. COMMERFORD.
Property, supply, and purchasing officer ANTHONY W. WILDING.
Photographer.—F. B. KestNER.

BusH,

VI ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Director.—A. REMINGTON KELLOGG.

Chief, office of correspondence and records.—HELENA M. WEIss.
Editor.—Pauut H. OnuseEr, acting.

Associate librarian — Mrs. EvisaBetH H. Gazin.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY:
Frank M. Setzler, head curator; A. J. Andrews, chief preparator; W. W.
Taylor, Jr., collaborator in anthropology.

Division of Archeology: Waldo R. Wedel, curator; Mrs. M. C. Blaker, museum
aide; J. Townsend Russell, Jr., honorary assistant curator of Old World
archeology.

Division of Ethnology: H. W. Krieger, curator; J. C. Ewers, associate curator;
C. M. Watkins, associate curator; R. A. Elder, Jr., assistant curator.

Division of Physical Anthropology: T. Dale Stewart, curator; M. T. Newman,
associate curator.

Associate in Anthropology: Neil M. Judd.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY:
Waldo L. Schmitt, head curator; W. L. Brown, chief taxidermist; Mrs.
Aime M. Awl, scientific illustrator.

Associates in Zoology: T. S. Palmer, W. B. Marshall, A. G. Béving, C. R.
Shoemaker, W. K. Fisher.

Collaborator in Zoology: R. 8. Clark.

Collaborator in Biology: D. C. Graham.

Division of Mammals: D. H. Johnson, associate curator; H. W. Setzer, asso-
ciate curator; N. M. Miller, museum aide; A. Brazier Howell, collaborator;
Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., associate.

Division of Birds: Herbert Friedmann, curator; H. G. Deignan, associate
curator; Alexander Wetmore, custodian of alcoholic and skeleton collec-
tions; Arthur C. Bent, collaborator.

Division of Reptiles and Amphibians: Doris M. Cochran, associate curator.

Division of Fishes: Leonard P. Schultz, curator; E. A. Lachner, associate
curator; W. T. Leapley, museum aide.

Division of Insects: Edward A. Chapin, curator; R. E. Blackwelder, asso-
ciate curator; W. D. Field, associate curator; O. L. Cartwright, associate
curator; Grace E. Glance, associate curator; W. L. Jellison, collaborator.

Section of Hymenoptera: 8. A. Rohwer, custodian; W. M. Mann, assist-
ant custodian; Robert A. Cushman, assistant custodian.

Section of Diptera: Charles T. Greene, assistant custodian.

Section of Coleoptera: L. L. Buchanan, specialist for Casey collection.

Division of Marine Invertebrates: F. A. Chace, Jr., curator; P. L. Illg, asso-
ciate curator; Frederick M. Bayer, assistant curator; Mrs. L. W. Peterson,
J.T. Willett, museum aides; Mrs. Harriet Richardson Searle, collaborator;
Max M. Ellis, collaborator; J. Perey Moore, collaborator; Mrs. M. S.
Wilson, collaborator in copepod Crustacea.

Division of Mollusks: Harald A. Rehder, curator; Joseph P. E. Morrison,
associate curator; R. Tucker Abbott, associate curator; W. J. Byas,
museum aide; Paul Bartsch, associate.

Section of Helminthological Collections: Benjamin Schwartz, collabo-
rator.

Division of Echinoderms: Austin H. Clark, curator.

SECRETARY’S REPORT VII

DEPARTMENT OF Botany (NATIONAL HERBARIUM):
E. P. Killip, head curator.

Division of Phanerogams: A. C. Smith, curator; E. C. Leonard, associate
curator; E. H. Walker, associate curator; Lyman B. Smith, associate
curator; Velva E. Rudd, assistant curator.

Division of Ferns: C. V. Morton, curator.

Division of Grasses: Jason R. Swallen, curator; Mrs. Agnes Chase, research
associate; F. A. McClure, research associate.

Division of Cryptogams: E. P. Killip, acting curator; Paul S. Conger, asso-
ciate curator; G. A. Llano, associate curator; John A. Stevenson, custodian
of C. G. Lloyd mycological collections; W. T. Swingle, custodian of Higher
Algae; David Fairchild, custodian of Lower Fungi.

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY:
W. F. Foshag, head curator; J. H. Benn, museum aide; Jessie G. Beach,
aid.

Division of Mineralogy and Petrology: W. F. Foshag, acting curator; E. P.
Henderson, associate curator; G. S. Switzer, associate curator; F. E.
Holden, museum technician; Frank L. Hess, custodian of rare metals and
rare earths.

Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany: Gustav A. Cooper,
curator; A. R. Loeblich, Jr., associate curator; David Nicol, associate
curator; W. T. Allen, museum aide; J. Brookes Knight, research associ-
ate in paleontology.

Section of Invertebrate Paleontology: T. W. Stanton, custodian of
Mesozoic collection; J. B. Reeside, Jr., custodian of Mesozoic collection.

Division of Vertebrate Paleontology: C. L. Gazin, curator; D. H. Dunkle, asso-
ciate curator; F. L. Pearce, exhibits preparator; W. D. Crockett, scientific
illustrator; A. C. Murray, exhibits preparator.

Associates in Mineralogy: W. T. Schaller, 8. H. Perry, J. P. Marble.

Associates in Paleontology: T. W. Vaughan, R. 8. Bassler.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES:
Frank A. Taylor, head curator.

Division of Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, acting curator.

Section of Civil and Mechanical Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, in charge.

Section of Marine Transportation: Frank A. Taylor, in charge.

Section of Electricity: K. M. Perry, associate curator.

Section of Physical Sciences and Measurement: Frank A. Taylor, in
charge.

Section of Land Transportation: S. H. Oliver, associate curator.

Division of Crafts and Industries: W. N. Watkins, curator; F. C. Reed,
associate curator; E. A. Avery, museum aide; F. L. Lewton, research
associate.

Section of Textiles: Grace L. Rogers, assistant curator.
Section of Wood Technology: William N. Watkins, in charge.
Section of Manufactures: F. C. Reed, in charge.
Section of Agricultural Industries: F. C. Reed, in charge.
Division of Medicine and Public Health: G. S. Thomas, associate curator.
Division of Graphic Arts: Jacob Kainen, curator; E. J. Fite, museum aide.
Section of Photography: A. J. Wedderburn, Jr., associate curator.

Vill ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

DEPARTMENT OF History:
Charles Carey, acting head curator.
Divisions of Military History and Naval History: M. L. Peterson, associate
curator; J. R. Sirlouis, assistant curator.
Division of Civil History: Margaret W. Brown, assistant curator.
Division of Numismatics: 8. M. Mosher, associate curator.
Division of Philately: Mrs. C. L. Manning, assistant curator.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Trustees:
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman.
Dean C. AcHESON, Secretary of State.
Joun W. Snyper, Secretary of the Treasury.
ALEXANDER WETMORE, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
SAMUEL H. Kress.
FERDINAND LAMMoT BELIN.
DuNCAN PHILLIPS.
CHESTER DALE.
Paut MELLON.
President. SAMUEL H. Kress.
Vice President.—FERDINAND LAMMoT BELIN.
Secretary-Treasurer.— HUNTINGTON CAIRNS.
Director—Davw E. FInury.
Administrator.—Harry A. McBripe.
General Counsel— HUNTINGTON CAIRNS.
Chief Curator.—JoHN WALKER.
Assistant Director.—Macaitu JAMES.

NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS

Director—Tuomas M. Brags.
Curator of ceramics.—P. V. GARDNER.
Exhibits preparator.—G. J. MARTIN.
Assistant librarian.— ANNA M. Linx.

FREER GALLERY OF ART

Director.—A. G. WENLEY.

Assistant Director—Joun A. Porr.

Associate in Near Eastern art.—RicHarD ETTINGHAUSEN.
Research associate—GRACE DUNHAM GUEST.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Director.—Matruew W. STIRLING.

Associate Director—FRrank H. H. Rosesrts, Jr.

Senior ethnologists.—H. B. Coiuns, Jr., Joan P. HarrinctTon, W. N. FENTON.
Senior anthropologist.—G. R. W1Iu.Ey.

Collaborators—FRANCES DENSMORE, JOHN R. Swanton, A. J. WARING, Jr.
Editor.—M. HELEN PALMER.

Assistant librarian.— Mir1am B. Ketcuum.

Scientific illustrator.—E. G. ScHUMACHER.

Archives assistant— Mar W. Tucker.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Ix

INsTITUTE oF SoctaL ANTHROPOLOGY.—G. M. Foster, Jr., Director!; GorDON
R. WiLuEy, Acting Director.
River Basin SuRVEYs.—F RANK H. H. Roperts, Jr., Director.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
Chief —D. G. WiLuiaMs.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

Director.—WiLLIAM M. Mann.
Assistant Director.—ERNEST P. WALKER.
Head Keeper.—F rank O. Lowe.

ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY

Director.—Loyau B. ALDRICH.
Assistant librarian.— MaArsorib R. KUNZE.
Division oF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH:
Chief —Wixii1aAM H. Hoover.
Instrument makers —ANDREW KRAMER, D. G. TALBERT, J. H. Harrison.
Research associate-—CHARLES G. ABBOT.
DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS:
Chief.—R. B. WirHrRow.
Plant physiologist LEONARD PRICE.
Biological aide (botany).—V. B. Exstrap.

NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM

Advisory Board:

ALEXANDER WETMORE, Chairman.

Lr. Gen. K. B. Wours, U. S. Air Force.

Rear Apo. A. M. Prinz, U. S. Navy.

GROVER LOENING.

WiuuraM B. Strout.
Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum.—Caru W. MITMAN.
Curator.—P. E. GARBER.
Associate curators.—S. L. Brerrs, R. C. StroBeti, W. M. Mate.
Exhibits preparator.—S. L. Porrer.

CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA
Resident Manager.— JAMES ZETEK.

1Yn absentia as of June 30, 1950.

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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

ALEXANDER WETMORE
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1950

To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith my report
showing the activities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution
and its branches during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950.

GENERAL STATEMENT

The activities of the Smithsonian Institution, now as when it was
established more than a century ago, are geared to the broad purposes
stated by the founder, James Smithson. He wanted, he said in his
famous will, “‘to found at Washington an institution for the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men.” These words have had a
far-reaching effect on American science, for they not only enabled the
Institution to operate without excessive restrictions and with freedom
of initiative and outlook, but also they became the pattern for other
foundations established during the course of the nineteenth century.

In this day of increasing pressures on all sides and definite trends
in certain countries toward the regimentation of science, the necessity
for this freedom of inquiry under which the Smithsonian has existed
cannot be too strongly emphasized.

The Institution has never sought to expand its programs inordi-
nately, or to add functions unjustified by normal demands or neces-
sities. It has been conservative, yet pioneering, and it would not be
difficult to cite instances where small and perhaps unpopular projects,
modestly aided by Smithsonian encouragement or financial grants,
developed into enterprises of considerable scope and importance.
When the Institution began its operations in 1846, it carried on its
research programs largely by subsidizing the work of scientists not
on its own staff and by publishing the results of their work. As these
pioneer researches expanded and became somewhat stabilized,
bureaus gradually grew up around the Institution, each with its own
staff specializing in the work of that particular field. The value of
the various activities gradually became known to the Nation, and
eventually one by one they were recognized as public necessities by

uf

23 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

the Congress. Most of them are now supported largely by Govern-
ment funds although remaining under Smithsonian direction. At
present, nearly all the research and exploration of the Institution is
done through these bureaus, notably the United States National
Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the Astrophysical
Observatory.

Unfortunately, the governmental support of the branches of the
Institution, now ten in number, has not kept pace with even the
normal exigencies of modern times. The greatest deficiency at the
present time is in the physical plant and facilities. As I have pointed
out in previous reports, the problem of housing the constantly increas-
ing collections of the National Museum is so critical that important
material must be refused because there is no space to store it, to say
nothing of exhibiting it. The Natural History Building at Constitu-
tion Avenue and Tenth Street and the 80-year-old Arts and Industries
Building to the south are so crowded that the task of accommodating
new accessions becomes a juggling game. Alleviation of these condi-
tions awaits the time when Congress appropriates funds for the new
buildings we have under consideration.

Throughout the period of the two world wars and the intervening
“depression,” many of our museum exhibits, though adequate enough
in their day, became badly out of date and in need of drastic renova-
tion. During the past 2 or 3 years it has been possible to begin the
job of modernizing these exhibits, and the work will go forward as
rapidly as funds for the purpose become available. This is a large
and time-consuming undertaking, but one that is vital to the Institu-
tion’s educational program. During the past year more than 2,600,000
persons visited the Smithsonian group of buildings. It is our obliga-
tion, so far as our funds and facilities permit, to extend to this large
cross section of the public (many of whom are students) all possible
courtesies and assistance and to make their visits stimulating and
rewarding.

For the most part the year saw few major changes in the Institu-
tion’s staff. In many departments shortages of personnel continue
to exist, a situation that can be remedied only as rapidly as new posi-
tions are provided for by budgetary and congressional authorization.
On May 31, 1950, Webster Prentiss True retired as chief of the edi-
torial division after nearly 36 years with the Institution and was
succeeded in that position on June 1 by Paul H. Oehser, assistant
chief of the division and editor of the National Museum. Dr. Leland
O. Howard, veteran entomologist and honorary curator of insects of
the National Museum, died on May 1, 1950; Dr. Henri Pittier, associ-
ate in botany, on January 27, 1950,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 3

THE ESTABLISHMENT

The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of Congress in
1846, according to the terms of the will of James Smithson, of England,
who in 1826 bequeathed his property to the United States of America
“to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, 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.”

THE BOARD OF REGENTS

No changes occurred in the personnel of the Board of Regents
during the year. There still exists one vacancy in the class of citizen
regents.

The roll of regents at the close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1950, was
as follows: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor; Vice President
Alben W. Barkley; members from the Senate: Walter F. George,
Clinton P. Anderson, Leverett Saltonstall; members from the House
of Representatives: Clarence Cannon, John M. Vorys, E. E. Cox;
citizen members: Harvey N. Davis, Arthur H. Compton, Vannevar
Bush, Robert V. Fleming, and Jerome C. Hunsaker.

Proceedings —The annual meeting of the Board of Regents was
held on January 13, 1950. Present: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson,
Chancellor; Representative Clarence Cannon, Representative John
M. Vorys; Senator Clinton P. Anderson; Dr. Robert V. Fleming,
Dr. Vannevar Bush, Dr. Jerome C. Hunsaker, Secretary Alexander
Wetmore, and Assistant Secretary John E. Graf.

The Secretary presented his annual report covering the activities
of the Institution and its bureaus, including the financial report of
the Executive Committee, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1949,
which was accepted by the Board. The usual resolution authorized
the expenditure by the Secretary of the income of the Institution for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1951.

The Secretary reported that in connection with surveys for con-
struction of Government dams throughout the country there has
been much interest in the salvage of scientific materials that would
be covered by impounded waters. In connection with this, Congress-
man Curtis of Nebraska introduced in the House a bill, H. R. 2290,
to provide for cooperatjon by the Smithsonian Institution with State,
educational, and scientific organizations for fossil studies in areas to
be flooded by the construction of Government dams. This bill,

4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

including an authorization for an appropriation of $65,000, passed
the House and the Senate and was approved by the President on
August 15, 1949.

The Board was advised that Congress had recently requested the
Bureau of the Budget to contact all Federal agencies that were carry-
ing on activities with the aid of Federal appropriations without having
clear-cut basic authority therefor to advise them to submit drafts of
bills proposing the requisite authorizations. In accordance with this,
a draft of legislation was prepared to cover the activities of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, the Astrophysical Observatory, and certain
miscellaneous housekeeping functions that had been carried on for
many years but had not been clearly authorized by basic legislation.
The Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879 ‘for
the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the North
American Indians under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution,”
with annual appropriation for this purpose, but without formal
authorization other than that of the appropriation acts. The Astro-
physical Observatory was founded, in similar manner, in 1890, for
the measurement and analysis of solar radiation, and since 1891 has
received annual appropriations. Further, Congress has appropriated
funds since 1886 for the maintenance of Smithsonian buildings and
grounds, and since 1896 for the preparation of manuscripts, drawings,
and illustrations for publication. The Honorable Clarence Cannon,
regent, introduced H. R. 3417 on March 10, 1949, containing the
authorizations needed. This duly passed the House of Representa-
tives, and in the Senate the matter received the attention of Senator
Clinton P. Anderson, regent, and the friendly consideration of
Senator Carl Hayden, chairman of the Committee on Rules and
Administration, to the end that the act passed the Senate and on
August 22, 1949, was signed by the President. This places these
activities, some of which have been in operation for over 70 years,
on firm legal basis.

Developments concerning the Gellatly art collection since the
previous meeting of the Board were reported as follows by the Secre-
tary: At the annual meeting last year, it was reported that the action
of Mrs. Charlayne Whiteley Gellatly against the Secretary, in an
attempt to recover the Gellatly collection from the Secretary in his
status as a private individual though acting as custodian under the
Smithsonian Institution, had been carried to the United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, following decision in
favor of the Secretary in the District Court of the United States for
the District of Columbia, Under date of September 28, 1949, the
United States Court of Appeals issued an order stating that the court,
having duly considered a petition for a rehearing, had denied the

SECRETARY’S REPORT 5

rehearing. The Institution was represented in this action by the
Department of Justice through Marvin C. Taylor, special attorney.

On the evening of January 12, 1950, an informal dinner meeting of
the Board was held in the Main Hall of the Smithsonian Institution,
with the Chancellor, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, presiding. This
occasion gave opportunity for members of the Smithsonian staff to
make a fuller presentation of the scientific work of the Institution
than was practicable at the regular meeting the next day.

FINANCES

A statement on finances, dealing particularly with Smithsonian
private funds, will be found in the report of the Executive Committee
of the Board of Regents, page 156.

APPROPRIATIONS

Funds appropriated to the Institution for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1950, totaled $2,346,000, allotted as follows:

Maria ee mem tet Se ewe p NIB Sd Be Rh ae a $52, 574
United States National Museum_____.-..-_-__---___- 715, 484
Bureawof American Ethnology 222 22322 2 ae 61, 897
ASULOPUYSICAl, ODSELVALOLY oo eee ee eee 109, 666
National Collection of Fine Arts___.........-...-_..- 38, 857
NationalvAirgMiuseumess se~ seu yee Oe Ie ls ye 200, 864
Canal Zone, BiologicakvArea soe. se oe a 5, 000
International Exchange Service_____-_______-_-_____- 69, 180
Maintenance and operation of buildings______________ 786, 714
Generalsservices = seme ot. ee eR, Renee ney RR Naty ld 304, 655
Hstimated'savingsosi 5 aoe eee rave ne i ety 1, 109

Abels eens ee ages, ah i oe en ih SL ly 2, 346, 000

In addition $1,114,700 was appropriated to the National Gallery
of Art, a bureau of the Institution but administered by a separate
board of trustees; and $544,700 was provided in the District of
Columbia appropriation act for the operation of the National Zoo-
logical Park. !

Besides these direct appropriations, the Institution received funds
by transfer from other Federal agencies, as follows:

From the State Department, from the appropriation Cooperation
with the American Republics, 1950, a total of $82,510 for the opera-
tion of the Institute of Social Anthropology, including the issuance
of publications resulting from its work.

From the National Park Service, Department of the Interior,
$215,886 for archeological projects in connection with River Basin
Surveys.

6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

VISITORS

Visitors to the Smithsonian buildings during the year totaled
2,600,758, only slightly less than last year’s all-time record of attend-
ance. March 1950 was the month of largest attendance, with 371,811
visitors; August 1949 was the next largest, with 349,318. A summary
of attendance records for the five buildings is given in table 1:

TABLE 1.— Visitors to the Smithsonian buildings during the year ended June 30, 1950

Smith- Arts and Natural Aircraft Freer
Year and month sonian Industries } History Buildin Gallery Total
Building | Building | Building 8 | of Art

1949
Vulye ees sso See Se ee 65, 007 149, 084 75, 627 22, 763 7, 954 320, 435
AUPUSt 5. -ss525hss-4-5.=2252-5 72, 446 158, 653 86, 490 23,179 8, 550 349, 318
September:227 eee 43, 497 97, 510 56, 072 13, 540 7, 932 218, 551
October:222 2222262 2 ee 31, 946 73, 702 55, 248 11, 979 4, 835 177, 710
INOvemberks vaiess eso seas 24, 818 51, 729 38, 732 9, 933 3, 261 128, 473
IDecOM bers=e- sss. eee ne 16, 512 32, 125 27, 628 6, 559 1, 951 84, 775

1950
JANUAKY = 5 2222-22222 S ns 28 19, 929 40, 461 35, 166 8, 125 2, 772 106, 453
Mebrbaryesssases=== eee 19, 800 39, 770 34, 968 8, 214 2, 687 105, 439
March: 222222 2552222. 22, 660 48. 608 41,311 8, 698 2, 976 124, 253
J NG OS ee 66, 915 172, 514 105, 430 19, 308 7, 644 371, 811
Ma yes2o22 e528 se ec Se ee 54, 660 143, 966 91, 717 17, 603 5, 653 313, 599
JUNC sos eee ee eee 57, 729 141, 897 76, 559 17, 170 6, 586 299, 941
Totalive. eso ees 495,919 | 1,150,019 724, 948 167, 071 62, 801 2, 600, 758

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL JAMES ARTHUR LECTURE ON THE SUN

In 1931 the Institution received a bequest from James Arthur, of
New York, a part of the income from which was to be used for an
annual lecture on some aspect of the study of the sun.

The seventeenth Arthur lecture was delivered in the auditorium of
the Natural History Building on April 6, 1950, by Dr. Bertil Lindblad,
Director of the Stockholm Observatory, Stockholm, Sweden. The
subject of Dr. Lindblad’s address was ‘‘The Luminous Surface and
Atmosphere of the Sun.” His lecture is published in full in the Gen-
eral Appendix of the present Report of the Board of Regents (p. 178.)

SUMMARY OF THE YEAR’S ACTIVITIES OF THE BRANCHES OF THE
INSTITUTION

National Museum.—The national collections were increased during
the year by approximately 793,300 specimens, a large increase over
the previous year, bringing the total number of catalog entries in all
six departments to 32,375,597. Noteworthy accessions for the year
included: In anthropology, nearly a thousand pottery, stone, and
other objects from the Neolithic period of northern Honshu, Japan,
and a further lot of ethnological specimens obtained in northern
Australia by the 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land sponsored by the

SECRETARY'S REPORT 7

Commonwealth of Australia, the National Geographic Society, and
the Smithsonian Institution; in zoology, about 10,000 skins and over
400 skeletons of North American birds from one donor, 4,500 fishes
from the Gulf of Mexico, a collection of 15,000 British Microlepidop-
tera, a bequest of 10,500 beetles, and sizable lots of marine inverte-
brates from Arctic America; in botany, large collections of plants
from Peri, New Zealand, Colombia, and Africa; in geology, 24 kinds
of minerals hitherto unrepresented in the national collections, several
new meteorites, many thousand invertebrate fossils (including the
large and important Cushman and Vaughan collections of Forami-
nifera and the Renfro fossil-invertebrate collection of 250,000 speci-
mens), and skeletal remains of the giant ground sloth Megatherium
from western Panam4; in engineering and industries, exhibition mate-
rial illustrating the operation of a textile-finishing mill and 51 ex-
amples of the work of the pioneering photographer Victor Prevost;
and in history, a silver-filigree basket reputed to have belonged to
Napoleon, two outstanding models of historic ships, and several
interesting philatelic and numismatic acquisitions,

Field work by members of the Museum staff or by collaborators was
conducted in Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Alaska and the Arctic,
Africa, the West Indies, and many sections of the United States.
The Museum issued 29 publications.

National Gallery of Art.—Visitors to the Gallery during the year
reached a total of 2,187,293, a daily average attendance of 6,025
persons. This represented a daily increase of 1,800 over the previous
year’s record. Accessions as gifts, loans, or deposits numbered 2,354.
Ten special exhibitions were held at the Gallery, including a 2-month
showing of the celebrated ‘Art Treasures from the Vienna Collections,”
lent by the Austrian Government, and ‘‘Makers of History in Wash-
ington, 1800-1950,” an exhibit that opened on June 29, 1950, cele-
brating the sesquicentennial of the establishment of the Federal
Government in Washington. Special exhibitions of prints from the
Rosenwald collection were circulated to seven galleries and museums
in this country and Canada, and exhibitions from the ‘Index of
American Design” were shown at 34 institutions in 17 States, the
District of Columbia, and London, England. Over 20,000 photo-
graphs were acquired from European museums and are being cataloged
and filed. The staff continued to answer hundreds of inquiries and
to give opinion on works of art brought to the Gallery and advice on
research problems in art. The volume ‘‘Masterpieces of Sculpture
from the National Gallery of Art,’’? by Charles Seymour, Jr., was
placed on sale during the year, and a second volume of ‘‘Masterpieces
of Painting,” by Huntington Cairns and John Walker, was in process.
More than 28,000 persons attended the special tours of the Gallery,

922758—51——2

8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

26,000 the “Picture of the Week” talks, and 17,000 the 13 Sunday-
afternoon lectures in the auditorium. Forty-five Sunday-evening
concerts were given in the East Garden Court. The work of con-
struction of new galleries and offices for expanding activities con-
tinued, and 12 new galleries were opened, 8 just prior to and 4 just
after the end of the fiscal year.

National Collection of Fine Arts —The Smithsonian Art Commission
met on December 6, 1949, and accepted two paintings for the National
Collection. One miniature was acquired through the Catherine
Walden Myer fund. Thirteen special art exhibitions were held
during the year, especially noteworthy being a 4-month showing of
paintings by Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921) im commemo-
ration of the centennial of this artist’s birth and featuring his studies
on camouflage and on protective coloration in the Animal Kingdom;
and an exhibit of paintings of ancient Egyptian monuments by Joseph
Lindon Smith. Members of the staff lectured on art topics to several
organizations and as usual furnished information to several hundred
visitors and identified many art works submitted.

Freer Gallery of Art.—Accessions to the Freer collections included
Egyptian brasswork and crystal; Chinese bronzes, jade, lacquer, and
pottery; Persian painting, pottery, and wood carving; Indian painting
and sculpture; Japanese sculpture; and Armenian manuscript. The
work of the professional staff was devoted to the study of new acces-
sions and objects submitted for purchase and to general research on
Oriental and Near East materials. Reports were made on 2,236
objects. The renovation of Whistler’s Peacock Room, mentioned in
last year’s report, was well along toward completion by the end of
the year. Visitors to the Gallery totaled 62,801, and 1,626 came to
the Gallery offices for special purposes. During the year the Gallery
entered into an agreement with the University of Michigan in further-
ance of the principles concerning Oriental art contemplated by the
will of the late Charles L. Freer.

Bureau of American Ethnology.—The Director of the Bureau, Dr.
M. W. Stirling, continued his studies of archeological collections he
had made in Panamé. As for the past 4 years, the Associate Director,
Dr. F. H. H. Roberts, Jr., directed the operations of the River Basin
Surveys, in cooperation with the National Park Service, the Bureau
of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers, and made several
field inspection trips. Since the beginning of the program in July
1946, 2,260 archeological sites have been located and recorded, and
484 of these have been recommended for testing or excavation. This
year’s survey work covered 26 reservoirs located in 8 States and in
5 river basins. At the end of the year excavations were completed
or under way in 13 reservoir areas in 9 States. Dr. John P. Harring-

SECRETARY’S REPORT 9

ton continued his study of the grammar of the Abnaki language at
Old Town, Maine, and also spent 2 months in Yucatén studying the
Maya language. In cooperation with the Canadian Government,
Dr. Henry B. Collins, Jr., conducted archeological investigations on
Cornwallis Island in the Canadian Arctic, which yielded a large
collection of artifacts that throw considerable light on the prehistoric
inhabitants of the region. Dr. W. N. Fenton made further studies
of the Iroquois, especially at the Tonawanda and Allegany Seneca
reservations in western New York, and surveyed considerable perti-
nent archival material in various libraries.

The Institute of Social Anthropology, an autonomous unit of the
Bureau financed by State Department funds, conducted its anthro-
pological teaching and research programs in the following Latin
American countries: Brazil, Colombia, México, and Pert. Dr.
George M. Foster, Director of the Institute, conducted private inves-
tigations in Spain during most of the year. Dr. Gordon R. Willey,
senior anthrolopologist of the Bureau, served as acting director during
his absence.

The Bureau issued its annual report, volume 5 of the ‘Handbook
of South American Indians,”’ and one publication of the Institute of
Social Anthropology. Ten publications were in press at the close of
the year.

International Exchange Service-—The Smithsonian International
Exchange Service is the official United States agency for the inter-
change of governmental, literary, and scientific publications between
this country and the other nations of the world. During the past
year the Exchange Service handled 1,009,675 packages of such publi-
cations, weighing 832,087 pounds, a considerable increase over the
previous year. Consignments are now made to all countries except
Rumania and China. The number of sets of United States official
publications sent abroad in exchange for similar publications of other
countries is now 99 (59 full and 40 partial sets). Eighty-three copies
of the Federal Register and 87 copies of the Congressional Record are
also sent abroad through the Exchange Service.

National Zoological Park.—The zoo collection was enhanced during
the year by the addition of a number of animals never before exhibited
here. At the end of the fiscal year there were 2,821 specimens in the
collection, a decrease of 126 from the previous year. Among the more
spectacular accessions were a pair of baby elephants presented by the
Government of India, through Prime Minister Nehru and the Indian
Embassy in Washington; 3 grizzly bears removed from the Yellow-
stone National Park and presented by the National Park Service;
2 rare pencil-tailed tree mice from Malaya; and an American black-
bear cub, ‘‘Smoky,” rescued by the Forest Service from a forest fire

10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

in New Mexico. In all, 123 creatures were born or hatched at the
Zoo—60 mammals, 17 birds, and 46 reptiles. Both pairs of the Zoo’s
hybrid bears (female Alaska brown XX male polar) produced cubs.
The number of visitors to the Zoo reached the all-time record of
3,437,669, which was 91,619 more than last year. Groups from
schools numbered 1,973, aggregating 102,553 individuals, and came
from 31 States, some as far away as Maine, Florida, Washington,
California, and New Mexico.

Astrophysical Observatory.—Late in the year the Director, L. B.
Aldrich, made an inspection trip to the two solar-radiation field sta-
tions now operated by the Astrophysical Observatory, one at Table
Mountain, Calif., and the other at Montezuma, Chile, and was able
to make valuable intercomparisons of methods and results of the
research. A significant increase of one-fourth of 1 percent in the
radiation emitted by the sun in the two decades from 1925 to 1944
has been calculated from the solar-constant determinations at the
Chilean station. The Observatory’s work at the temporary observing
station at Miami, Fla., for the office of the Quartermaster General, in
connection with studies of fabric resistance to solar radiation, were
terminated there, and the special equipment was moved to the Table
Mountain, Calif., station. Three silver-disk pyrheliometers were con-
structed under the supervision of W. H. Hoover and furnished at cost
to institutions in New Zealand, Venezuela, and Rumania, and two
modified Angstrom pyrheliometers and one special water-vapor
spectroscope were furnished to a meteorological institute in Belgium.
The Division of Radiation and Organisms concluded its reorganization
and reconstruction of the facilities of its laboratories, which are now
equipped with four constant-temperature rooms and with new types
of modern instruments and are in first-class condition for photo-
chemical research on plants. Several new lines of research are being
inaugurated. The sixth edition of the Smithsonian Meteorological
Tables, compiled by Robert J. List, of the United States Weather
Bureau, was in press at the close of the year; and the manuscript of
the ninth edition of the Physical Tables was nearly completed under
the direction of Dr. William E. Forsythe, physicist, of Cleveland,
Ohio.

National Air Museum.—The report to Congress on the National
Air Museum, required by law, was submitted on March 17, 1950,
making recommendations for the acquisition of suitable lands and
buildings for the museum. ‘The Advisory Board met on May 24 and
gave considerable attention to this report and to the problems involved
in advancing the Air Museum’s site-procurement and building pro-
grams. Several outstanding accessions to the collections were re-
ceived, including the B—29 superfort Enola Gay, the first aircraft to

SECRETARY’S REPORT ve]

drop an atomic bomb in warfare; the Stinson SR-10F airplane used
by All American Aviation in airmail pick-up service; the City of
Washington, the Piper Super Cruiser flown around the world in 1947
by Clifford Evans, Jr.; a collection of memorabilia relating to Amelia
Earhart; the original Whittle W-1-X turbojet engine; a bust of
Wilbur Wright by Oskar J. W. Hansen; and a large collection of
aeronautical memorabilia assembled by Mrs. (‘‘Mother’’) C. A.
Tusch, of Berkeley, Calif. The 34 new accessions totaled 465 objects
from 31 different sources. Much of the material is being kept at the
Museum’s storage facility maintained at Park Ridge, Ill., until such
time as the projected National Air Museum building is provided.

Canal Zone Biological Area.—Twenty-one scientists, representing a
variety of organizations and localities, visited Barro Colorado Island
during the year and worked at the laboratory on an equal variety of
research projects, and the contributions have added materially to our
knowledge of tropical life. High cost of transportation deters many
from visiting the island. Since the laboratory was started in 1923,
about 660 separate papers have appeared in print dealing with re-
searches made on the area. A recent checklist shows 173 species of
vertebrate animals (exclusive of birds) now inhabiting the island.
Improvements in facilities completed during the year included the
construction of an 11,720-gallon concrete water tank, which has im-
proved the water-supply situation at the station as well as fire pro-
tection. Some new building construction is under way. One of the
most urgent needs is a dependable electric-power supply. The
resident manager continued his long-term termite-resistance tests and
studies of host relationships of the fruit-fly population.

PUBLICATIONS

In carrying out the second of the two main functions of the Smith-
sonian Institution, the diffusion of knowledge, as prescribed by its
founder, James Smithson, the Institution issues eight regular series
of publications and six others that appear less frequently. All these
series, embodying the results of researches of the Smithsonian staff
and collaborators, are distributed free to more than a thousand
libraries, both here and abroad, as well as to a large list of educational
and scientific organizations. The findings of Smithsonian scientists,
chiefly in the fields of anthroplogy, biology, geology, and astrophysics,
are therefore made readily available to all through this wide free
distribution.

In all, 72 publications appeared under the Smithsonian imprint
during the year. Outstanding among these were T. E. Snyder’s
“Catalog of the Termites of the World,’ Gordon R. Willey’s ‘‘ Arche-
ology of the Florida Gulf Coast,” the eighteenth part of A. C. Bent’s

{2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

‘Life Histories of North American Birds,” volume 5 of the ‘‘ Handbook
of South American Indians,’ Allan R. Holmberg’s ‘Nomads of the
Long Bow: The Siriono of Eastern Bolivia,” S. H. Oliver’s ‘‘Catalog
of the Automobile and Motorcycle Collection of the Division of
Engineering, United States National Museum,” and Grace Dunham
Guest’s ‘‘Shiraz Painting in the Sixteenth Century.”

The total number of copies of publications in all series distributed
during the year was 150,612. A complete list of the year’s publica-
tions will be found in the report of the chief of the editorial division,

appendix 12.
LIBRARY

The Smithsonian library received 53,035 publications during the
year, 7,392 of these being gifts from many different donors. Out-
standing among the gifts was the fine collection of about 4,000 books
and pamphlets on Foraminifera assembled by the late Joseph A.
Cushman and bequeathed by him to the Institution. Neil M. Judd
donated his personal collection of about 500 books and papers on
archeological subjects.

Currently entered were 16,961 periodicals, most of them received
in exchange for Smithsonian publications from research institutions
and educational organizations throughout the world. The library
arranged 344 new exchanges during the year, cataloged 6,822 volumes
and pamphlets, added 30,006 cards to catalogs and shelflists, sent
18,719 publications to the Library of Congress, prepared 1,511 volumes
for binding, and repaired 1,023 volumes in the Museum.

At the close of the year, the library’s holdings totaled 927,037
volumes, more than half of which are housed in the Library of Congress
as the Smithsonian Deposit.

Respectfully submitted.

ALEXANDER Wermorg, Secretary.

APPENDIX 1
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the condition
and operations of the United States National Museum for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1950:

COLLECTIONS

Slightly more than 793,300 specimens (approximately 400,000 more
than last year) were incorporated into the national collections during
the year and were distributed among the six departments as follows:
Anthropology, 4,982; zoology, 186,855; botany, 61,983; geology,
530,758; engineering and industries, 2,047; and history, 6,701. Most
of the accessions were acquired as gifts from individuals or as transfers
from Government departments and agencies. The complete report on
the Museum, published as a separate document, includes a detailed
list of the year’s acquisitions, of which the more important are sum-
marized below. Catalog entries in all departments now total
32,375,097.

Anthropology.—President Harry S. Truman deposited on loan the
sacred Scrolls of the Law, hand-lettered in Hebrew on parchment, and
a copper Ark finely decorated with biblical inscriptions in silver by
skilled craftsmen of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts of Jerusalem.
These were presented by Chaim Weizmann, first President of Israel, to
the President of the United States. Two camel saddles, bridles, and
elaborately woven and decorated saddlebags presented by His
Majesty, King Ibn Sa’ud of Saudi Arabia, as tokens of friendship to
Maj. Gen. C. V. Haynes and Rear Adm. John P. Whitney, were
donated to the Museum by the recipients.

Woven fabrics and costumes acquired by the late Gen. John J.
Pershing from the Moro, Mandaya, and Bagobo during his tours of
duty in the Philippine Islands between 1899 and 1913, and from
Peruvian and Bolivian Indians during his visit to South America in
1924-25, were presented by his son, Francis Warren Pershing. Other
noteworthy additions were 464 ethnological specimens obtained in
northern Australia by Frank M. Setzler, deputy leader of the Common-
wealth of Australia-National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institu-
tion Expedition to Arnhem Land; an outfit utilized by the Piaroa
Indians of the Rio Paria area for snufling yopo (Piptadenia peregrina),

13

14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

presented by Sefior José M. Cruxent, Director of the Museo de Ciencias
Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela; materials representing the work of
Cree Indians living near Hudson Bay and on the plains of Saskatche-
wan, donated by Copley Amory; 4 carved and painted wooden
ancestral figurines from Ngulu Atoll and the island of Woleai in the
western Carolines, the gift of N. J. Cummings; and the bequest of
Miss Mary W. Maxwell of 235 examples of Oriental and European
furniture, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork.

Additions to the archeological collections comprised, among others, a
collection of 991 pottery, stone, and other objects from the Neolithic
period of northern Honshu, Japan, presented by Maj. Howard A.
MacCord, United States Army; 16 gold fishhooks fashioned by the
Indians of Columbia, from F. M. Estes; a series of sherds from shell
heaps of Panama, believed to represent the earliest ceramic horizon
recognized at present in that region, and excavated by Drs. M. W.
Stirling and Gordon R. Willey during the Smithsonian Institution-
National Geographic Society Expedition of 1948; and a Basketmaker
III pitcher from La Plata County, Colo., donated by E. H. Morris.

Forty-eight more or less complete skeletons from a protohistoric
Indian site near Lewes, Del., were presented to the division of physical
anthropology by the Sussex Archeological Association.

Zoology.—Zoological specimens from North America, South America,
Europe, and Asia, as well as from oceanic areas, were incorporated into
the national collections. About 300 monkeys and other arboreal
mammals collected by Dr. H. C. Clark and associates in Panama in
the course of yellow-fever investigations carried on by the Gorgas
Memorial Laboratory were donated to the division of mammals.
Other accessions of importance were 98 mammals from Kuala Lumpur,
Selangor, obtained during scrub-typhus investigations by the United
States Army Medical Research Unit; 197 mammals from the Brooks
Range, northern Alaska, collected by Dr. Robert Rausch, United
States Public Health Service; 32 Bolivian mammals received from the
Pan American Sanitary Bureau; 295 Costa Rican mammals collected
in 1949 by Dr. Henry W. Setzer; 100 mammals from Prince Patrick
Island, collected by Charles O. Handley, Jr.; and 36 Japanese mam-
mals, including a series of porpoise skulls from Ford Wilke.

The generous gift of approximately 10,000 skins and 424 skeletons of
North American birds by J. A. Weber, of Miami, Fla., represents the
largest single accession received by the division of birds in recent years.
Income from the W. L. Abbott bequest financed field work in Panama
and Colombia. In Panama Dr. A. Wetmore and W. M. Perrygo
obtained 956 bird skins, 11 skeletons, 3 sets of eggs, and 1 nest; and in
Colombia, M. A. Carriker, Jr., collected 2,546 bird skins and 3 sets of
eggs. The E. J. Brown bequest provided funds for the purchase of

SECRETARY'S REPORT 15

74 skins of Hungarian birds, and with other private funds 344 bird
skins from British Columbia were purchased. From Herbert L.
Stoddard, the division of birds received 158 skins of birds taken in
Georgia.

By exchange, the division of reptiles and amphibians received from
the Museum of Comparative Zoology 94 amphibians from the state
of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As a gift from Cornell University, the division
acquired 141 specimens from Venezuela. Other accessions worthy
of note were the gift of 148 reptiles, including a series of water snakes
from Ohio, by John T. Wood, and 24 blind cave salamanders (T'yphlo-
triton spelaeus) from Smellin’s Cave near Ozark, Mo., presented by
Dr. C. G. Goodchild.

The Fish and Wildlife Service transferred approximately 4,500
fishes taken in the course of shrimp investigations in the Gulf of
Mexico by the crew of the Pelican. Other gifts received during the
year included a specimen of a rare ribbonfish (Lophotus lacepedet)
taken at Clearwater, Fla., donated by Dr. Coleman J. Goin; 517
Mexican fishes given by Gen. T. D. White, United States Air Forces,
accompanied by color sketches made by Mrs. White; and 80 fishes
from Spencer Tinker, of the Waikiki Aquarium, Hawaii. Types and
paratypes of a number of fishes were acquired by exchange or donation
from several institutions.

Several outstanding gifts came to the division of insects. Among
these were a collection of 5,000 British tortricid moths presented by
the British Museum (Natural History); about 15,000 British Micro-
lepidoptera, a gift from Norman D. Riley, head keeper of insects,
British Museum (Natural History); and an extensive collection of
2-winged flies donated by John R. Malloch. About 10,500 beetles,
mostly representing the families Carabidae and Pselaphidae, were
received as a bequest from Alan S. Nicolay.

As a transfer from the Office of Naval Research the Museum ac-
quired a collection of 2,571 marine invertebrates made by Prof. and
Mrs. G. E. MacGinitie at the Arctic Research Laboratory, Point
Barrow, Alaska. Nearly 4,000 miscellaneous invertebrates, obtained
off the coast of Labrador by David C. Nutt during the cruise of the
schooner Blue Dolphin under the auspices of the Arctic Institute of
North America, were presented to the division of marine invertebrates.
Among other noteworthy gifts of collections, including types, were:
541 shrimps and other marine invertebrates obtained during the
“Crossroads” Expedition to the Marshall Islands, from Dr. Martin
W. Johnson, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; more than 100
isopods from Pacific Marine Station, College of the Pacific and the
University of California, through Robert J. Menzies; about 700 marine
arthropods, taken off the coasts of North and South Carolina, from

16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Prof. A. S. Pearse, Duke University; 137 echiuroid and sipunculoid
worms and 10 flatworms from Dr. W. K. Fisher; and more than 100
Indian amphipods from Dr. K. Nagappan Nayar, of Madras, India.

As gifts, the division of mollusks received a collection approximating
4,000 specimens, largely North American Sphaeriidae, from Leslie
Hubricht; 300 marine mollusks from Biak Island, Netherlands East
Indies; and holotypes, paratypes, and topotypes from a number of
specialists. By transfer, about 500 mollusks collected by Dr. Preston
E. Cloud, Jr., on Saipan came to the Museum from the Geological
Survey; approximately 5,000 marine shells from Panamé were re-
ceived from the Fish and Wildlife Service through Dr. Paul S. Galt-
soff; and from the Smithsonian Institution 621 land and fresh-water
mollusks from Perti purchased through the income of the Frances Lea
Chamberlain fund.

The most noteworthy accession acquired by the division of echino-
derms comprised 400 specimens dredged from the deep waters of the
North Atlantic Ocean by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s
vessel Atlantis.

Botany.—H. A. Allard collected 5,577 plants for the National
Herbarium in northeastern Pert, and Associate Curator E. H. Walker
obtained 2,282 plants in New Zealand. As exchanges, the National
Herbarium received 19,276 specimens, of which 4,175 were trans-
mitted by the University of California, 1,027 from Eritrea were shipped
by the University of Florence, and 762 from islands in the Pacific
Ocean were forwarded by the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Dr. John
Gossweiler, of Angola, presented through the Department of State
645 plant specimens from Portuguese West Africa, and Dr. C. M.
Rogers, of Wayne University, Detroit, donated 980 specimens from
the Mesa de Maya region of the southwestern United States. The
Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, forwarded
965 plants, partly on an exchange basis and the remainder as a gift.
By purchase, 1,596 plant specimens from Colombia were acquired
from Kjell von Sneidern, and by transfer from the Division of Rubber
Plant Investigations, Department of Agriculture, 2,098 plants,
collected for the most part by Dr. Richard E. Schultes in the eastern
lowlands of Colombia, were added to the collections.

Geology —Twenty-four minerals hitherto unrepresented were added
to the mineralogical collections, of which seven were received as gifts,
eight were acquired as exchanges, and nine came as transfers from
the Geological Survey. The Kegel collection of fine crystallized sec-
ondary copper and lead minerals from Tsumeb, Southwest Africa,
comprising approximately 900 specimens and including many of the
best-known examples of azurite, malachite, cerussite, anglesite, va-
nadinite, and mimetite, is considered to be the most important acces-

SECRETARY'S REPORT dvd

sion ever purchased under the Roebling fund. Included among the
additions to the Canfield collection were a very fine columbite crystal
from North Carolina, a large specimen of native lead with pyrochroite
from Sweden, a striking example of rutilated quartz from Brazil, and
a group of large wulfenite crystals from Arizona. An outstanding
addition to the gem collection consists of 41 pieces made up largely
of strands of beads of a variety of gem materials, as well as some very
fine cut amethysts, a bequest of Mrs. Edna Ward Capps. In addi-
tion to a number of gems received as gifts, an unusual tourmaline
cat’s-eye weighing 53.20 carats was purchased under the Chamberlain
fund for the gem collection. Dr. Stuart H. Perry continued his inter-
est in the meteorite collection by donating two stony meteorites
weighing 8.4 kilograms and 502 grams, recently found at Kearney,
Nebr. Sections of other meteorites were received from the Georgia
Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology and from the Institute
for Nuclear Studies of the University of Chicago through Dr. Harri-
son Brown. By exchange, portions of five Spanish meteorites were
acquired from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales of Madrid,
Spain.

Gifts, exchanges, transfers, and purchases added many genera and
species not previously represented in the collections of fossil inverte-
brates. As gifts, the Museum received 500 fresh-water invertebrate
fossils of the Pliocene Truckee formation from Daniel I. Axelrod; ap-
proximately 2,600 Ordovician fossils from O. C. Cole; 45 Turkish
Jurassic fossils from G. H. Cornelius; 150 invertebrate fossils from
Wales, collected by Dr. John P. Marble; 150 Italian Triassic inverte-
brates from Dr. Franco Rasetti; and 500 Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic invertebrates from Tunisia, Algeria, and the Sahara Desert
from Maurice H. Wallace. Types of corals, Foraminifera, and Car-
boniferous fossils were included in the accessions.

Several hundred Ordovician, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian crin-
oids were purchased under the Springer fund from Harrell L. Strimple.

By the bequest of the late Dr. Joseph A. Cushman, the Museum
acquired his library and collection of Foraminifera comprising at least
150,000 slides and including about 13,000 type and figured specimens.
The Vaughan collection of larger Foraminifera, aggregating about
25,000 specimens, as well as the smaller Foraminifera formerly housed
in the Cushman laboratory at Sharon, Mass., 1,275 type and figured
Jurassic Foraminifera from Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota,
147 type specimens of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Foraminifera from
Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 in northern Alaska, and 653 Silurian
brachiopods from southeastern Alaska were received as transfers
from the Geological Survey. Through funds provided by the Walcott
bequest, the Museum purchased the Renfro fossil invertebrate collec-

18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

tion comprising about 250,000 specimens from the Pennsylvanian of
Jack County, Tex., and the Cretaceous in the vicinity of Fort Worth,
Tex. Field work financed by the same fund resulted in the collection
of about 15,000 Paleozoic invertebrates by Dr. G. A. Cooper and
W. T. Allen in the Midwest, 500 Ordovician fossils by Dr. Cooper in
New York and Pennsylvania, and approximately 3,000 Lower Cre-
taceous fossils by Dr. A. R. Loeblich, Jr., and W. T. Allen in southern
Oklahoma and northern Texas.

An excellent series of fossil mammals from the Paleocene of the
San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and the lower Eocene of western Wyo-
ming, including the condylarth Meniscotherium and the earliest titano-
there, Lambdotherium, were obtained by Dr. C. Lewis Gazin. Skeletal
remains of the giant ground sloth Megatherium and associated ele-
ments of the Pleistocene fauna were excavated by Dr. Gazin in
Herrera Province, western Panamé. Dr. David H. Dunkle assembled
an unusual collection of Jurassic fossil fishes in the Pinar del Rio region
of western Cuba. Skulls of two distinct types of mosasaurs, collected
by Dr. T. E. White in the Cretaceous of Texas, were transferred by
the Smithsonian River Basin Surveys.

Engineering and industries —The Dan River Mills, Inc., presented
exhibition units illustrating the operation of a textile-finishing mill,
the development of a fabric design, and the production of a wrinkle-
shed finish. A hydraulic duplex pump, the first pumping engine of
the Washington (D. C.) aqueduct system, was transferred by the
District of Columbia through the Board of Commissioners.

Two prints by Stanley William Hayter, one titled “Cronos,” an
engraving and soft-ground etching, and the other titled ‘‘Palimpsest,”’
a soft-ground etching printed in three colors, as well as a lift-ground
aquatint named ‘‘La Faute,’’ by Jacques Villan, were purchased for
graphic arts under the Dahlgreen fund. Fifty-one examples of the
work of the photographer Victor Prevost, who pioneered in the use
of waxed-paper negatives in the United States, were presented by
Melville Rosch. A Renfax synchronizer, early sound equipment used
prior to the invention of sound on film, was received from Ralph S.
Koser. A graphic portrayal of the development and use of sutures
in early times is shown in the exhibit ‘Sutures in Ancient Surgery”
donated by Davis & Geck, Inc.

History.—A_ silver-filigree basket reputed to have belonged to
Napoleon and received as a bequest from Miss Bessie J. Kibbey is
worthy of notice.

Two outstanding ship models, one of them a small-scale reproduction
of the U.S. S. Yorktown (CV-—5) with a squadron of planes on the
flight deck, and the other a remarkably fine scale model of the U.S. 8.
Washington (later Seattle), were transferred by the Department of the

SECRETARY’S REPORT 19

Navy. A series of military uniforms of the period of World War II
were received as a transfer from the Department of the Army. The
Bureau of Engraving and Printing deposited two specimen sets of
current United States paper money and Federal Reserve notes in
denominations from $1 to $10,000.

A portfolio of 107 de-luxe proofs and stamps of the Principality of
Monaco, presented by Prince Rainier IIT to the Economic Cooperation
Administration, were received as a transfer, and the same agency also
forwarded a collection of Italian stamps issued in commemoration of
the European Recovery Program, a gift of the Government of Italy.
Recently issued foreign stamps totaling 2,964 in number were trans-
ferred by the Universal Postal Union.

EXPLORATION AND FIELD WORK

During the first half of the fiscal year, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, at that
time associate curator of archeology, was detailed to the River Basin
Surveys, Bureau of American Ethnology, to supervise field and
laboratory operations in the Missouri Valley.

_ Under the W. L. Abbott fund, M. A. Carriker, Jr., during the
present season continued investigations of the bird life of northern
Colombia, making collections in the lower Atrato Basin. He entered
the area from Medellin, proceeding by air to Turbo, then moving by
boat to stations on each side of the Gulf of Uraba. His investigations
continued along the lower Atrato, in part near the Panamanian
frontier, extending finally into more elevated regions above Frontino.
Examples of more than 500 species of birds were obtained in this
interesting region where there is union between the forms of life found
in eastern Panam4 and those of northwestern South America.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore, with Watson M. Perrygo as assistant,
was again in the field in eastern Panama from the middle of February
to the beginning of April, their work being concerned with the collec-
tion and distribution of birds. Through the friendly assistance of
Brig. Gen. R. Beam, commanding officer, Albrook Air Base, and of
Lt. Col. M. E. Potter, director of personnel services, in providing
transportation by water and other facilities, a base was established
in Chim4n on the Pacific coast about 90 miles east of Panama City.
The party worked first on the lower portion of the Rio Chiman and
then moved in cayucos to the head of tidewater on the Rio Majé.
From here the naturalists proceeded on foot with porters to the lower
elevations of Cerro Chucanti in the Serrania de Majé. The region
covered was in an extensive area of virgin forest without human
inhabitants, beyond the limit of navigation by canoe. An excellent
collection of birds was obtained in a region that so far as known has
not been visited previously by naturalists.

20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Under a cooperative arrangement with the United States Weather
Bureau, Charles O. Handley, Jr., was detailed to make natural-history
collections on Prince Patrick Island in the Canadian Arctic Archi-
pelago. As the year closed, the curator of birds, Dr. Herbert Fried-
mann, was en route to South Africa and southern Rhodesia to study
the habits of the parasitic honey-guides and weaverbirds, having
received grants for the purpose from the American Philosophical
Society and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Associate Curator Paul L. Illg assembled data on the life histories
and ecology of commensal copepods at the University of Washington
oceanographic laboratories at Friday Harbor. Dr. J. P. E. Morrison,
associate curator of mollusks, made a short field study of mollusks
inhabiting the salt marshes on the eastern shore of Maryland. Assist-
ant Curator R. Tucker Abbott was detailed, at the request of the
Pacific Science Board, National Research Council, to conduct field
studies in Kenya and Tanganyika, East Africa, for the purpose of
obtaining carnivorous snails and transporting them to the Trust
Territories of the Pacific, a part of the program planned for the control
of the destructive giant snail in that area.

W. L. Brown, chief exhibits preparator, visited South Carolina and
Wyoming to procure background materials required for the completion
and installation of the Virginia-deer and pronghorn-antelope exhibi-
tion groups in the North American mammal hall.

Head Curator E. P. Killip and Curator Jason R. Swallen were en-
gaged for 3 weeks in botanical field studies on Big Pine Key, Fla.,
collecting specimens and making observations on the distribution of
plant life. At the request of the Department of Agriculture, Mr.
Swallen was detailed to the Great Plains Field Station at Mandan,
N. Dak., to review experimental work now being conducted there on
the crested wheatgrass, and to the Texas Research Foundation at
Kingsville, Tex., to complete a survey of the grasses of that region.
Dr. George A. Llano, associate curator of cryptogams, made extensive
collections of lichens under the auspices of the Arctic Institute of
North America after proceeding to the Arctic Research Laboratory
at Point Barrow, Alaska, where he was provided with transportation
to Wainwright, Umiat on the Colville River, Anaktuvuk Pass in the
Brooks Range, and Anchorage. On the return trip Dr. Llano made
collections on several islands in the Aleutian Chain. Associate
Curator Paul S. Conger, division of cryptogams, was engaged in
studying marine diatoms for 2 months at the Chesapeake Biological
Laboratory, Solomons Island, Md. Dr. F. A. McClure, research
associate in grasses, continued with his studies of the bamboos in the
West Indies, Central America, and South America.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Dit

At the request of the Instituto de Antropologia e Historia, Dr.
W. F. Foshag, head curator of geology, on detail from the National
Museum, traveled to Guatemala and devoted 3 months to a study of
the mineralogical composition of Meso-American archeological jade
objects in the Museo de Antropologia at Guatemala City, the well-
known Rossbach collection in the Municipal Museum at Chichecasten-
ango, the Robles collection at Quetzaltenango, and the Nottlebahn
collections. As part of a project relating to the mineralogy and geo-
chemistry of saline mineral deposits, Dr. George S. Switzer spent 3
months investigating the origin and occurrence of rare sulfate minerals
at The Geysers and Island Mountain, Calif.

Paleontological field work financed from the income of the Walcott
bequest brought new materials from Panamé, Cuba, and the United
States to the collections. The four field parties studying problems
in invertebrate paleontology in the United States comprised the fol-
lowing: Dr. G. A. Cooper, W. T. Allen, and Alwyn Williams, visiting
Commonwealth Fellow from Wales, collected lower Middle Ordovician
brachiopods at various localities in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Tennessee, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico;
Dr. A. R. Loeblich and W. T. Allen carried on field investigtaions in
the Lower Cretaceous of Oklahoma and Texas; lower Middle Ordo-
vician strata in Pennsylvania and New York were examined by Dr.
Cooper and Mr. Williams; and David Nicol visited Upper Cretaceous
and Tertiary beds in North Carolina and Virginia. Dr. C. L. Gazin,
curator of vertebrate paleontology, assisted by F. L. Pearce, searched
for Paleocene mammals in the Puerco and Torrejon horizons in the
San Juan Basin of New Mexico, and later in the season transferred
the field work to the Lower Eocene Knight formation in the vicinity
of Big Piney and LaBarge in western Wyoming. At the invitation
of the Museo Nacional de Panamé and with the cooperation of the
Panamanian Government, Dr. Gazin, with Dr. T. E. White as assist-
ant, proceeded to Herrera Province where they achieved considerable
success in the excavation of remains of the giant ground sloth Mega-
therium. A part of this collection will eventually be returned to Panama
for display. Associate Curator David H. Dunkle was highly success-
ful in obtaining an excellent series of fossil fish and ammonites from
the Jurassic Jagua formation in the Pifiar del Rio region of western
Cuba.

PUBLICATIONS

During the fiscal year 1949-50, 29 publications were issued: 1 Annual
Report, 2 in the Bulletin series, 22 in the Proceedings, and 4 numbers of
the Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. A list
of these is given in the complete report on Smithsonian publications,

22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

appendix 12. Special mention is made of the eighteenth volume of
A. C. Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds entitled ‘Life
Histories of North American Wagtails, Shrikes, Vireos, and Their
Allies,’ and a ‘Catalog of the Automobile and Motorcycle Collection
of the Division of Engineering, United States National Museum,” by
S. H. Oliver.

The distribution of volumes and separates to libraries and other in-
stitutions and to individuals aggregated 57,938 copies.

CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION

After almost 38 years of continuous service, Neil M. Judd retired

from active duty as curator of the division of archeology on December
31, 1949, and to this vacancy, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, who had served
as associate curator in the same division, was promoted on January 1,
1950.
Dr. Preston E. Cloud, Jr., chief of paleontology and stratigraphy
branch, United States Geological Survey, and Dr. Roland W. Brown,
geologist in the same service, were given honorary appointments on
November 9, 1949, as custodians of Paleozoic fossils and of Mesozoic
anc Cenozoic plants, respectively.

T.espectfully submitted.

RemiInGton Ketioce, Director.

Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 2
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Sir: I have the honor to submit, on behalf of the Board of Trustees,
the thirteenth annual report of the National Gallery of Art, for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1950. This report is made pursuant to the
provisions of section 5 (d) of Public Resolution No. 14, Seventy-fifth
Congress, first session, approved March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51).

ORGANIZATION

The statutory members of the Board of Trustees of the National
Gallery of Art are the Chief Justice of the United States, the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, ex officio. The five general trustees con-
tinuing in office during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, were
Samuel H. Kress, Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Duncan Phillips, Che: er
Dale, and Paul Mellon. The Board of Trustees held its annual
meeting on May 4, 1950. Samuel H. Kress was reelected President
and Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Vice President, to serve for the ensuing
year. Donald D. Shepard continued to serve during the year as
Adviser to the Board. All the executive officers of the Gallery
continued in office during the year.

The three standing committees of the Board, as constituted at the
annual meeting May 4, 1950, were as follows:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chief Justice of the United States, ex officio, Fred M. Vinson, Chairman.
Samuel H. Kress, Vice Chairman.
Ferdinand Lammot Belin.
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Alexander Wetmore.
Paul Mellon.
FINANCE COMMITTEE

Secretary of the Treasury, ex officio, John W. Snyder, Chairman,
Samuel H. Kress, Vice Chairman.

Ferdinand Lammot Belin.

Chester Dale.

Paul Mellon,

23

922758—.51——3

24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ACQUISITIONS COMMITTEE

Samuel H. Kress, Chairman.

Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Vice Chairman.
Duncan Phillips.

Chester Dale.

David E. Finley, ex officio.

Perry B. Cott was appointed Assistant Chief Curator on September 1,
1949, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Charles Seymour,
Jr., which was effective as of August 15, 1949. Mr. Seymour resigned
to become associated with Yale University.

APPROPRIATIONS

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, the Congress of the United
States appropriated for the National Gallery of Art the sum of
$1,114,700 to be used for salaries and expenses in the operation and
upkeep of the Gallery, the protection and care of works of art acquired
by the Board of Trustees, and all administrative expenses incident
thereto as authorized by section 4 (a) of Public Resolution No. 14,
Seventy-fifth Congress, first session, approved March 24, 1937 (50
Stat. 51). This sum includes the regular appropriation of $1,087,700
and a supplemental appropriation of $27,000. The supplemental
appropriation was necessitated by the Classification Act of 1949,
Public Law 429, Eighty-first Congress, effective October 30, 1949,
which gave salary advancement to Government employees.

From these appropriations the following expenditures and en-
cumbrances were incurred:

(Personal tserviCes = je ee eps eh ee $989, 600. 00
Printing and reproduction 2;.82 2-22 2.5. Jose. ee 5, 585. 98
Supplies; -equipment-,etess-4— 2 as 2 ee ee 119, 498. 07
Unobligatedybalance lita s ambos ee ee a 65. 95

Motel Ais Sk 8c ah Dea a eee a ae 1, 114, 700. 00

In addition to these appropriations the Gallery received from the
National Capital Sesquicentennial Commission the sum of $25,000
for expenses in connection with the exhibition called ‘‘Makers of
History in Washington, 1800-1950.’ The period of the exhibition was
from June 29, 1950, to November 19, 1950. As of June 30, 1950, the
sum of $13,237.19 had been spent or obligated, leaving a balance of
$11,762.81 for operations during the fiscal year 1951.

ATTENDANCE

During the fiscal year 1950 there were 2,187,293 visitors to the
Gallery, an increase of 657,725 over the attendance for 1949. The

SECRETARY’S REPORT 25

average daily number of visitors was 6,025. From March 17, 1941,
the day the National Gallery of Art was opened to the public, to
June 30, 1950, the number of visitors totaled 17,258,269.

ACCESSIONS

There were 2,354 accessions by the National Gallery of Art, as gifts,
loans, or deposits, during the fiscal year. Most of the paintings and a
number of the prints were placed on exhibition.

PAINTINGS

On December 6, 1949, the Board of Trustees approved the purchase
of the painting ‘‘The Skater,”’ by Gilbert Stuart, with funds of the
Gallery.

The Board of Trustees on October 18, 1949, accepted four paintings:
Self-portrait of Judith Leyster from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods
Bliss; “‘Colonel Pocklington and his Sisters,’? by Stubbs, from Mrs.
Charles S. Carstairs; “‘Enthroned Madonna and Child,” Byzantine
thirteenth century, from Mrs. Otto Kahn; and “‘ Young Woman in
White,” by Robert Henri, from Miss Violet Organ.

DECORATIVE ARTS

The Board of Trustees accepted from Lewis Einstein on December
6, 1949, a seventeenth-century Brussels tapestry entitled ‘‘ America.’’

PRINTS AND DRAWINGS

On October 18, 1949, the Board of Trustees accepted from Miss
Margaret McCormick a drawing, “Head of an Old Man,” attributed
to Legros. The Board on December 6, 1949, accepted a woodcut,
“Men with Boat on Shore of Ocean,” by A. Lepére, from George
Matthew Adams. At the same time the Board approved the addition
of four Legros drawings and four Legros etchings to the gift by George
Matthew Adams of prints and drawings by Legros, and other works of
art. On May 4, 1950, the Board accepted 3 prints, ‘‘Wet” and
“‘Seaward Skerries,’’ by Zorn, and ‘“‘Limeburner,”’ by Whistler, from
Walter L. Bogert; 142 prints and drawings from Lessing J. Rosenwald,
to be added to his gift to the Gallery; and 51 seventeenth-century
Dutch prints from John Thacher in memory of Charles Hoyt. On
the same date the Board also approved the addition of three Legros
drawings and five Legros etchings to the gift by George Matthew
Adams of prints and drawings by Legros, and other works of art.

26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

EXCHANGE OF WORKS OF ART

The Board of Trustees on October 18, 1949, accepted the offer of
Lessing J. Rosenwald to exchange the engraving “‘The Madonna on
the Half-Moon,” by Hans Sebald Beham, for a superior impression of
the same work; and on December 6, 1949, the Board also accepted Mr.
Rosenwald’s offer to exchange nine prints from the Rosenwald Collec-
tion for superior impressions of like prints.

WORKS OF ART ON LOAN

During the fiscal year 1950 the following works of art were received
on loan by the National Gallery of Art:

From Artist
Copley Amory, Washington, D, C.:
Elizabeth Copley (Mrs. Gardiner Greene) _-_-_____- Copley.
Self=portraits 222-2 She aes Cees Se oe eS Copley.
Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge, Beverly Farms, Mass.:
Madame Dietz=Mionin= 2. 352) ee ee as Degas.
C. 8. Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal:
@upidland the) Gracesssee. oes a ase sees Boucher.
the Annunciation sse54 ee ea ae eee ee Dierick Bouts.
The Virgin and Two Donors Adoring the Child__-___- Carpaccio.
A Sacra Conversazione (The Rest on the Flight) -_____ Cima,
AVR oad ata ille—lsAva fy ee ee eee es mm Corot.
he Bridge, at. Mantesi 22 eon ee ae eee ee Corot.
Venicelirom’ the Doganass- = 22 enc eee eee Corot.
LHommevetleoPentina: ie wen ee ue nee eee es Degas.
Selfsportrait sj foe eee aan Mahle Die eee ae Degas.
A Fete. at Rambouillet.c3 2.52 0h. bel Toles Se Fragonard.
Baptismof Christe. 2-28. es ih ee a ee Francia.
Mrs: Lowndes-Stonesee2/sotst sls 22a n tae eae ee) Gainsborough.
Portrait Of a OUlg VOI =e sea ae eee ee Ghirlandaio.
View of Mira’on’ the Brental.-2s224 52 220. Soe eee Guardi.
S: Pietro diiCastello; Venicesa2e8 528s sane eat Se Guardi.
A Regatta on the Grand Canal__._-._-_------------ Guardi.
A Mete on the Piazzadi SandMarco==-222522552=" == Guardi.
Portrait of Sara Andriesdr. Hessix----------------- Hals.
InraAnces*berestord= son es ee ee ee ee ea Hoppner.
Ay Rete Galante: <2 2. ae et ois 2 ee ee See Lancret.
Mademoiselle Sall6s size sgn on sas ees eee oe La Tour.
Portrait of Baron Duval d’Espinoy (Man with a
Snuti Box) en ae ee ee ae rege mye La Tour.
Lady:Conynghams...2. 225 424 ae ee ee eee Lawrence.
MONG A StEGMOMICT = a oss a) oye ae th ca ta ne eee L’Epicie.
Portraitofa, Mant: 5 ae ae UE ee ee eee L’Epicie.
The Presentation in the Temple (Reverse: Stigma-
CIZATIONTOM Oty AT CIS) ese eee ree Stefan Lochner.
he Boys withithe Cherries. 2 322 2 se pee eee ee Manet
ihe Boy Blowing Bubbless 220-22 ae eee eee eee Manet.

The (Break-Up ofthe Lcev2: << 2222 82 eee Monet.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Dis

From Artist
C. S. Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal—Continued

WS GHD fe 8s es ae ae Sy co aa ey Monet.
PZ OTUT AERO LO CO UIE ai ites hae UTS ION eg et alia Mun la cee Nattier.
Portraitiofuviadame' dela Portes. 2204. 222 slo Nattier.
IPailasvAt bene be seth seers Eo. bee He Lee oye ey ee Rembrandt.
Amu@iGnVianiSeated: 22200 ioe ana ea A aaa Rembrandt.
Madame Claude Monet Lying on a Sofa___--__--_---- Renoir.
Felling the Trees at Versailles, 1774/5_..____------- Hubert Robert.
Felling the Trees at Versailles, 1774/5_______-_-----_ Hubert Robert.
Portrait of wussiConstables 224 502 too oe a Romney.
Portraitiol.ajvoung Womans. i029... ee Rubens.
JW EGA oY mesh ol avd Oe\ig 0) sl weer AaEe eae cy Se UML RO eR ae Rubens,
IROTGrsitio fea lain seme es ic een ue a Van Dyck.

Two Ming vases, black.

One lapis-lazuli ewer.
William H. Jeffreys, Bethesda, Md.:

Ae Jetirors pean yeni se Nah at Soh) PR era Neel ah Hogarth.
Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York, N. Y.:

1,289 bronzes from the Dreyfus Collection.
Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C.:

22 objects of Pre-Columbian art.

LOANED WORKS OF ART RETURNED

The following works of art on loan were returned during the fiscal
year 1950:

To Artist
The Italian Government:
Avmarbletstatue ot Davids 2002.2 Be eee es Michelangelo.
Stanley Mortimer, Jr., New York, N. Y.:
Madonna ‘and/Childe ise aaa er ee School of Ghiberti.
Paul Mellon, Upperville, Va.:
Nix books of drawings and: prints.o622000 be Blake.

James Hazen Hyde, New York, N. Y.:
Louis XVI tapestry-covered sofa.

Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C.:
One object of Pre-Columbian art.

WORKS OF ART LENT

During the fiscal year 1950 the Gallery lent the following works of
art for exhibition purposes:

To Artist
Amherst College, Department of Fine Arts, Amherst,
Mass.:
SLES FES OCG) ot ey eee ee em Ye) Yop IN ee Ne pee ee Benjamin West.
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, S. C.:
George Washington (Vaughan-Sinclair)____________- Gilbert Stuart.
SSClE-POTC EA EL ay oy ees an mien iii ney eater cn ats Jaa g 8 Benjamin West.

AnnebidalerHopkinsone2 = 55. oan an ene Thomas Sully.

28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

To Artist
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, 8. C.—Continued
Rrancis Hop kinsons 25352 hen saree ee Thomas Sully.
Alexander ?Hamiil toms ser ste ees ere John Trumbull.
William“Rickart? 3 sasos0 3 oie o ss Sica veh fone se Gilbert Stuart.
Henry Laurens] & < ss sede ds wee 7s ry sete ee i J. S. Copley.
Pocahontas se ee fe iar Aerials tees Re ia et Seen arene British School.
ANGTCW JACKSON Ss oo oe een eis er eee eee SSeS Ralph E. W. Earl.
John’ Philip "de" Haas) Sa see Nake ek yen eee ee Charles Willson
Peale.
Henry: Clayso ees. 3s 5 SRS anh RN See rtaiin an ere John James Audubon.
General Witham Moultrie: #22252 eas So eee Charles Willson
Peale.
Willtaminae MiGOre oso) ti8 aie eels le Se i) 5 ee Robert Feke.
Mary (Walton; Morris*c22222 2-22. 2 = ee eee John Wollaston.
Jane i DrOWNe. == = = hei See ee ee ee es ae J. S. Copley.
Walliam'SsMouUn Geta ee = ene eee Charles Loring
Elliott.
Josias Allston’. 5-5 S225 Fact Sens SE ae ee OTe ere Jeremiah Theus.
Matilda: Caroline Crugers = = see eee ee Gilbert Stuart.
George Pollockss = 22 32 22h i a2 eee Gilbert Stuart.
Mas: George, Pollock 3. 22.8522. es > a nea Gilbert Stuart.
Robert “Phew coe oye oe a Ne sire ee ne Gilbert Stuart.
Tuke Whites. = Sta we WE ES, Oot) te See Pee Gilbert Stuart.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.:
Pocahontas#ia. eat Ley AO Pe ee ee British School.
Abraham linea nes 2 se cen 2 ae See aie Ne ees Sena Healy.
The. Lackawanna Valleys s22o22 = So eee ea Inness.
Four Arts Gallery, Palm Beach, Fla.:
George Washington (Vaughan-Sinclair)_.___________ Gilbert Stuart.
Self-portraitc socio 522 sae ee ae eee ee Benjamin West.
Alexander Hamiltone 220 ew yee 2 eee John Trumbull.
Ann Biddlesdopkinsons= sue mae as ewes Le ee Thomas Sully.
Prancis) Hopkinson= = #2 ese et Se ee Thomas Sully.

Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.:
Indian hunting rug.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada:
Two drawings:

La: Petite ogen 275 2) me sie eee Se Moreau le Jeune.
WEte=A-CEten [2 See Se eee Ree eee ae Boucher.
Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Canada:
Mrs. Richard FVatess52/o-8) sal er ie as Bees ai Gilbert Stuart.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va.:
PIES S 0a =¥SP BYU VC) OWN aV Vane eS om Sy at ee ee ee a Healy.
Abraham dhincoln is 5. S225 252. Ses ees See ae Healy

The White House, Washington, D. C.:
Andrew: Jackson: 26 22st SAO ae pope ele eee arte ae Sully.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 29

EXHIBITIONS

During the fiscal year 1950 the following exhibitions were held at
the National Gallery of Art:

Indigenous Art of the Americas. Lent by Robert Woods Bliss for an indefinite
period to the National Gallery of Art for exhibition. Reopened with changes
May 23, 1948.

Gulbenkian Collection of Egyptian Sculpture. Lent by C. S. Gulbenkian for
an indefinite period to the National Gallery of Art for exhibition. Opened
January 30, 1949.

Gulbenkian Collection of Eighteenth Century French Objects. Lent by C. S.
Gulbenkian for an indefinite period to the National Gallery of Art for exhibition.
Opened February 20, 1949.

R. Horace Gallatin Collection. Exhibition of prints bequeathed to the National
Gallery of Art by Mr. Gallatin. Continued from previous fiscal year through
July 25, 1949.

South African Art. Exhibition of contemporary South African paintings,
drawings, and sculptures sponsored by the Government of the Union of South
Africa. July 31 to September 5, 1949.

R. Horace Gallatin Collection. Exhibition of the same prints mentioned above.
September 10 to October 17, 1949.

Art Treasures from the Vienna Collections. Exhibition, lent by the Austrian
Government, of paintings, sculptures, miniatures, Greek and Roman antiquities,
ivories, works of goldsmiths and silversmiths, rock crystal and precious stones,
jewels, arms and armor, a clock, and tapestries. November 20, 1949, to January
22, 1950.

American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art. Feb-
ruary 5 to April 2, 1950.

Rosenwald Collection. Exhibition of recent accessions of prints and drawings.
Opened April 9, 1950.

Makers of History in Washington, 1800-1950. Exhibition celebrating the
sesquicentennial of the establishment of the Federal Government in the City of
Washington. Opened June 29, 1950.

The following exhibitions were displayed in the cafeteria corridor of
the Gallery during the fiscal year 1950:

Prints by Adriaen van Ostade. Rosenwald and Addie Burr Clark Collections.
Continued from previous fiscal year through August 21, 1949.

Nineteenth-century French Prints. Rosenwald and George Matthew Adams
Collections. August 23 to November 27, 1949.

Exhibition of Rowlandson Prints. Rosenwald Collection. November 28,
1949, to February 27, 1950.

Prints by Muirhead Bone, David Y. Cameron, and James McBey. Rosen-
wald Collection and gift of Miss Elisabeth Achelis. February 28 to May 14,
1950.

Index of American Design. Water-color renderings. Opened May 15, 1950.

30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

Rosenwald Collectton.—Special exhibitions of prints from the Rosen-
wald Collection were circulated to the following places during the
fiscal year:

Kenneth Taylor Galleries, Nantucket, Mass.:
35 Rowlandson prints.
July-September 1949.
Milwaukee Art Institute, Milwaukee, Wis.:
42 prints.
November—December 1949.
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass.:
10 prints.
December 1949.
Minneapolis Institute of Fine Arts, Minneapolis, Minn.:
8 Gauguin prints.
April 1950.
The Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Canada:
4 miniatures.
April-May 1950.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada:
1 Fragonard drawing.
April-May 1950.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.:
23 prints.
September—December 1949.

Index of American Design.—During the fiscal year 1950 exhibitions
from this collection were shown at the following places:

Arnot Art Gallery, Elmira, N. Y.

Society of Fine Arts, Wilmington, Del.

Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, Wis.

Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga.

Kenneth Taylor Galleries, Nantucket, Mass.

St. Paul Public Library, St. Paul, Minn.

Public Schools of Springfield, Springfield, Mass.

Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.

Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.

Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass.

Montgomery Blair High School and Leland Junior High School, Maryland
(adult classes).

New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N. Y.

Manchester Historic Association, Manchester, N. H.

University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.

Cooper Union Museum, New York, N. Y.

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Wm. Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, Mo.

Congressional Women’s Club, Washington, D. C.

Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Il.

Manchester Historic Association, Manchester, N. H.

University of Maine, Orono, Maine.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 31

Wiscasset Library, Wiscasset, Maine.

Sweat Memorial Art Museum, Portland, Maine.
Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, Maine.

John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Ind.
Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.
Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio.
Edinburg Regional College, Edinburg, Tex.
Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
Tate Gallery, London, England.

Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Mass.

The Downtown Gallery, New York, N. Y.
State Exposition Building, Los Angeles, Calif.
State Capitol, Sacramento, Calif.

CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES

The Curatorial Department accessioned 218 new gifts to the Gallery
during the fiscal year. Advice was given in the case of 265 works of
art brought to the Gallery for opinion, and 34 visits to other collections
were made by members of the staff in connection with proffered works
of art. About 300 paintings were studied and considered for possible
acquisition. About 1,000 inquiries requiring research were answered.
During the year, 11 individual lectures were given by members of the
curatorial staff, both at the Gallery and elsewhere. In addition, Miss
Elizabeth Mongan conducted special weekly classes at Alverthorpe,
Jenkintown, Pa., for students from Beaver College; Perry B. Cott
participated in the oral examination of a candidate for a master’s
degree in art from Indiana University and prepared an examination for
two students at American University for their master’s degrees in art;
and Charles M. Richards gave two courses in art history under the
auspices of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Cott also represented
the National Gallery at a conference at the Peabody Museum, Salem,
Mass., and at a conference at the National Academy of Design in New
York; and Mr. Richards presented a paper and a report to the Ameri-
can Association of Museums meeting at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Special installations were prepared for the Art Treasures from the
Vienna Collections, lent by the Austrian Government, and for the
Sesquicentennial exhibition, “Makers of History in Washington,
1800-1950.”

Over 20,000 photographs were acquired this year from European
museums and other sources, and these are being cataloged and filed in
the George Martin Richter Archives.

RESTORATION AND REPAIR OF WORKS OF ART

Necessary restoration and repair of works of art in the Gallery’s
collections were made by Francis Sullivan, who was appointed assist-

32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ant restorer to the Gallery on December 1, 1949. All work was com-
pleted in the restorer’s studio in the Gallery with the exception of the
restoration of two paintings begun before the death of Mr. Pichetto in
January 1949 and completed in the New York studio by Mr. Pichetto’s
residual staff. Both paintings have been returned to the Gallery in
good condition.

PUBLICATIONS

During the year Huntington Cairns contributed articles and reviews
to the Yale Law Journal, the Harvard Law Review, the Virginia
Quarterly Review, and the Baltimore Evening Sun. He also delivered
four lectures at the Johns Hopkins University on the theory of
criticism.

The series of 12 articles on ‘Masterpieces in the Gallery” by John
Walker, published in the Ladies’ Home Journal, was completed in
December 1949, making a total of 36 articles by Mr. Walker, prin-
cipally on the Gallery’s collection, published in that periodical since
1946. An article by Mr. Walker on “The Vienna Treasures and Their
Collectors’? appeared in the National Geographic Magazine for June
1950. Erwin O. Christensen contributed two articles to Antiques
Magazine: “Justice,” published in January 1950, and ‘‘What Is
American Folk Art?”’ published in May 1950. James W. Lane con-
tributed four book reviews to the Catholic World, on “John Singleton
Copley,” by James T. Flexner, “Cream Hill,” by Lewis Gannett,
“The Twelve Seasons,”’ by Joseph Wood Krutch, and ‘“The Virgin and
Child,” with introduction by Thomas Bodkin; he also wrote a review
of ‘‘Martin Johnson Heade,” by Robert G. McIntyre, for the summer,
1949, issue of the College Art Journal. An article by Charles M.
Richards, ‘‘Standard Procedure for Intermuseum Loans,” was pub-
lished in Museum News.

An illustrated catalog of recent acquisitions to the Rosenwald
Collection was compiled by Miss Elizabeth Mongan and was issued for
the opening of the Rosenwald exhibition on April 9, 1950. An illus-
trated catalog of the “(Makers of History in Washington, 1800-1950,”
was prepared by Perry B. Cott and James W. Lane for the opening of
the ‘Makers of History in Washington, 1800-1950” exhibition.

A second volume of “Masterpieces of Painting from the National
Gallery of Art,” by Huntington Cairns and John Walker, is in process,
and Perry B. Cott has begun the preparation of a catalog on Renais-
sance bronzes.

During the past fiscal year the publications fund supplemented
the group of color reproductions offered to the public with four new
color postcard subjects and a new 11-by-14-inch reproduction;
12 more of the latter are on order, to be utilized in a forthcoming

SECRETARY’S REPORT 33

portfolio of religious subjects. Four large collotype reproductions
were added to the long list of this type of print available.

A companion volume to ‘Masterpieces of Painting,’”’ namely,
“Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art,’ an
illustrated catalog of the Mellon Collection, and ‘“‘Popular Art in the
United States,’’ by Erwin O. Christensen, were placed on sale during
the fiscal year 1951. The third large printing of the illustrated Kress
catalog was completed during the year.

The publication date of ‘“The Index of American Design” (formerly
entitled ‘“Made in America’’), by Erwin O. Christensen, has been set
at October 15, 1950, and “Pictures from America,” by John Walker,
is also to be published soon.

While the exhibition of Art Treasures from the Vienna Collections
was on view, the Publications Fund distributed over 53,000 catalogs
and more than 36,000 color postcards; and made available other
publications dealing with the Austrian exhibition.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

More than 28,000 persons attended the General, Congressional, and
Special Tours during the fiscal year, with the attendance for the
“Picture of the Week”’ talks reaching a total of over 26,000. Lectures
on special subjects, with lantern slides, were given in the auditorium
on Sunday afternoons; 13 of these were by visiting lecturers, and the
total attendance was 17,000. A black-and-white strip-film of 300
representative paintings from the Gallery’s collections has been very
much in demand. The slide collection and the film “The National
Gallery of Art’ have been widely distributed during the year.

The Educational Office has continued the publication of a monthly
Calendar of Events announcing all the Gallery activities, including
notices of exhibitions, new publications, lectures, gallery talks, tours,
and concerts. Approximately 4,600 copies of the calendar are mailed
each month.

LIBRARY

A very important contribution to the Library this year was the
purchase of 997 books, 3,395 pamphlets, 15,518 photographs, 418
periodicals, and 9 subscriptions from funds presented to the Gallery
by Paul Mellon. Other gifts included 153 books, 103 of them pre-
sented by Lessing J. Rosenwald, 42 pamphlets, and 1 periodical.
Fifteen books and subscriptions to 30 periodicals were purchased
from otherfunds. Five hundred and ninety books, pamphlets, period-
icals, and bulletins were received on exchange from other institutions.
During the year 535 persons other than the Gallery staff used the
Library for purposes of art research either in person or by phone.

34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

INDEX OF AMERICAN DESIGN

During the fiscal year, 108 examples from the Index were reproduced
in publications, and 719 examples were borrowed for use in forthcoming
publications. More than 1,100 photographs of the Index were sent
out for use by designers, for research and study, and for publicity.
The Index material was studied by 468 persons, 399 of whom were
new users. Three hundred and thirty-nine slides were circulated for
use in lectures. A total of 2,057 Index plates were sent out for ex~
hibition and publication purposes during the fiscal year 1950.

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW GALLERIES AND OFFICES

In keeping with the recommendation of the Committee on the
Building and the Board of Trustees, a contract was entered into
on June 19, 1949, for the completion of 12 galleries in the east end of
the building. Eight of these galleries were completed in time to be
used for the Sesquicentennial exhibition, “Makers of History in
Washington, 1800-1950.”” The remaining four were completed by
July 15, 1950. A similar contract was entered into on March 10,
1950, for the completion of five offices and a slide storage room in
the west wing on the ground floor. Work is progressing satisfactorily,
and it is contemplated that this project will be completed by early fall.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING

The Gallery building and grounds, and the mechanical equipment,
were maintained throughout the year at the high standard established
in the past. Among the nonrecurring and unusual items were the
construction of a 48-foot cold frame to increase facilities for growing
plants for the garden courts; the construction of bases and pedestals
for exhibition material of the Austrian exhibition; construction of
additional exhibition facilities for the Bliss exhibit; complete over-
hauling and realigning of air-conditioning refrigeration machine
No. 3; and the construction of storage facilities on the 81-foot level.

COMMITTEE OF EXPERT EXAMINERS

The United States Civil Service Commission’s Committee of Expert .
Examiners, composed of staff members of the Gallery, graded the
Museum Art Specialist examination papers. Registers of eligibles
were established, and appointments made therefrom.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Forty-five Sunday evening concerts were given in the East Garden
Court during the fiscal year. Two Saturday afternoon concerts were
given in the lecture hall, thus making a total of 47 musical perform-
ances at the Gallery this year. The Seventh Annual Music Festival

SECRETARY’S REPORT 35

was held in May, with 41 works by American composers included in
the programs.

The Photographic Laboratory of the Gallery produced 11,000
prints, 1,029 black-and-white slides, 903 color slides, and 2,418
negatives in the fiscal year 1950, in addition to infrared and ultra-
violet photographs, X-rays, and color separations.

A total of 2,890 press releases, 171 permits to copy paintings in the
Gallery, and 182 special permits to photograph in the Gallery were
issued during the fiscal year 1950.

OTHER GIFTS

Gifts of books on works of art and related material were made to
the Gallery by Paul Mellon and others. Gifts of money during the
fiscal year 1950 were made by The A. W. Mellon Educational and
Charitable Trust, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Mrs. C. B. Myhre. An
additional cash bequest was received from the Estate of the late
William Nelson Cromwell.

AUDIT OF PRIVATE FUNDS OF THE GALLERY

An audit of the private funds of the Gallery has been made for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, by Price, Waterhouse & Co., public
accountants, and the certificate of that company on its examination
of the accounting records maintained for such funds will be forwarded
to the Gallery.

Respectfully submitted.

HuntiIneton Cairns, Secretary.

THE SECRETARY,

Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 3
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1950:

THE SMITHSONIAN ART COMMISSION

The twenty-seventh annual meeting of the Smithsonian Art Com-
mission was held in the Regents’ Room of the Smithsonian Building
on Tuesday, December 6, 1949. ‘The members present were: Paul
Manship, chairman; Alexander Wetmore, secretary (member, ex
officio); John Nicholas Brown, Eugene Speicher, George Hewitt
Myers, George H. Edgell, Robert Woods Bliss, Archibald G. Wenley,
and David E. Finley. Thomas M. Beggs, Director of the National
Collection of Fine Arts, was also present.

The Commission recommended the reelection of John Nicholas
Brown, George Hewitt Myers, Robert Woods Bliss, and Mahonri M.
Young for the usual 4-year period. The following officers were re-
elected for the ensuing year: Paul Manship, chairman; Robert Woods
Bliss, vice chairman, and Dr. Alexander Wetmore, secretary. The
following were elected members of the executive committee for the
ensuing year: David E. Finley, chairman, Robert Woods Bliss, Gil-
more D. Clarke, and George Hewitt Myers. Paul Manship, as chair-
man of the Commission, and Dr. Alexander Wetmore, as secretary
of the Commission, are ex-officio members of the executive committee.

The secretary reviewed briefly the legal status of the John Gellatly
collection, suit for the possession of which had been decided in favor
of the Smithsonian Institution in the District of Columbia Court of
Appeals. The Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts
reported upon progress in the reorganization of sections of the per-
manent exhibition and outlined further plans for its improvement in
appearance and usefulness. A research project on the spectrochemi-
cal analysis of ancient glass, inspired by the Archeological Institute
of America and to be sponsored by the National Collection of Fine
Arts with technical aid from the National Bureau of Standards, was
briefly described.

The following works of art were accepted for the National Collec-
tion of Fine Arts:

Oil painting, Gold Mining, Cripple Creek, by Ernest Lawson, N. A. Henry
Ward Ranger bequest.

Portrait in oil of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, by James Reid Lambdin.
Offered anonymously.

36

SECRETARY’S REPORT 37

DEPOSITS

The following deposits for the Collection were made during the year:

Bronze bust of Orville Wright, by Oskar J. W. Hansen, presented by Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Frackelton, in memory of Lt. Rollin N. Conwell, Jr., U.S.M.C.R.,
was accepted by the Smithsonian Institution for the National Air Museum, and
deposited January 10, 1950. (Withdrawn by the National Air Museum February
3, 1950.)

Oil, on wood panel, Reclining Tiger, by Charles R. Knight, bequest of Vernon
Bailey, was accepted by the Smithsonian Institution for the U. 8. National
Museum (division of mammals), and deposited January 10, 1950.

Ninety-six drawings and paintings, by Abbott H. Thayer, N. A. (1849-1921),
made during his study of protective coloration in the Animal Kingdom, were
accepted by the Smithsonian Institution for the United States National Museum
(division of birds), as a loan from the heirs of the artist, through David Reasoner,
and deposited February 17, 1950.

TRANSFERS

Two oils, Beach of Bass Rocks, Gloucester, Mass., by Frank Knox
Morton Rehn, N. A. (1848-1914), and Fog, by James Craig Nicoll,
N. A. (1847-1918), bequest of Martha L. Loomis to the United States
National Museum in 1935, were transferred from the division of
graphic arts on August 26, 1949.

THE CATHERINE WALDEN MYER FUND

One miniature, water color on ivory, was acquired from the fund
established through the bequest of the late Catherine Walden Myer,
as follows:

70. Robert A. B.S. Sparrow, attributed to Benjamin Trott; from Edmund Bury,
Philadelphia, Pa.

LOANS ACCEPTED

Orrefors crystal vase, signed Edvard Hald, was lent by Mr. and
Mrs. Hugh Smith on December 1, 1949.

Fifty miniatures from the Pepita Milmore collection were lent by
Mrs. Henry L. Milmore on April 24 and 26, 1950.

WITHDRAWALS BY OWNERS

Two miniatures, Roswell Shurtleff and Anna Pope Shurtleff, by
Frank Barbour, lent in 1941, were withdrawn on October 13, 1949,
by order of the owner, Mrs. O. A. Mechlin.

Three oils, Portraits of Joseph Turner and Elizabeth Oswald Chew,
by John Wollaston, lent in 1932, and Portrait of John Eager Howard,
attributed to Charles Willson Peale or Robert Edge Pine, lent in 1934,
were withdrawn on November 7, 1949, by order of the owner, Mrs.
H. H. Norton.

38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

A miniature, Mrs. Robert Means, by Edward G. Malbone, lent in
1939, was withdrawn on December 9, 1949, by the owner, John J.
Pringle, Jr.

An oil painting, Landscape, attributed to Richard Wilson, lent in
1931, was withdrawn on June 28, 1950, by the owner, Mrs. Mabel
Perkins Ruggles.

LOANS TO OTHER MUSEUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Oil, portrait of Andrew Jackson, by Ralph E. W. Earl, was lent to the
Department of State September 20, 1949, to be hung in the office
of the Under Secretary of State for a period not to exceed 4 years.

Oil, Thomas A. Edison Listening to His First Perfected Phonograph,
by Col. Abraham Archibald Anderson, was lent to the Morse Exhi-
bition of Arts and Science, sponsored by the National Academy of
Design, for the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of its found-
ing, held at the American Museum of Natural History, January 18
to February 28, 1950. (Returned March 7, 1950.)

Seven portraits by G. P. A. Healy, Gen. W. T. Sherman, Mrs.
W. T. Sherman, William G. Preston, F. P. G. Guizot, President John
Tyler, Col. A. G. Brackett, and Gen. A. J. Myer, were lent to the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for an exhibition entitled ‘“Healy’s
Sitters or a Portrait Panorama of the Victorian Age,” from January
24 through March 5, 1950. (Returned March 16, 1950.)

Fifty-two items from the exhibition of Abbott H.Thayer’s studies
on the protective coloration in the Animal Kingdom were lent, with
the consent of the owners, for exhibition in the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences from January 12 through February 8, 1950.
(Returned February 15, 1950.)

Oil, portrait of John Muir, by Orlando Rouland. was lent to the
Bureau of the Budget on February 13, 1950, for a period not to
exceed 4 years.

Oil, portrait of Capt. John Ericsson, by Arvid Nyholm, was lent
to the House Judiciary Committee on March 8, 1950, for a period
not to exceed 4 years.

Oil, portrait of Commodore Stephen Decatur, by Gilbert Stuart,
was lent to the Truxtun-Decatur Naval Museum on April 27, 1950,
for a period not to exceed 1 year.

Oil, portrait of Samuel P. Langley, by Robert Gordon Hardie,
was lent to the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory of the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, Va., May 1,
1950, for an indefinite period.

Three oil paintings, Gen. John J. Pershing, by Douglas Volk;
Admiral William S. Sims, by Irving R. Wiles; and Gen. William T.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 39

Sherman, by George P. A. Healy; and one marble bust of Alexander
Graham Bell, by Moses W. Dykaar, were lent to the National Gallery
of Art, to be included in the Sesquicentennial celebration, ‘‘Makers
of History in Washington, 1800-1950,” from June 28 through Novem-
ber 19, 1950.

Oil, December Uplands, by Bruce Crane, was lent to the executive
office, Council of Economic Advisers, on June 27, 1950, to be hung in
room 372A, Old State Building, for a period not to exceed 4 years.

LOANS RETURNED

Four oil paintings lent to the Public Library of the District of Colum-
bia in April 1940 were returned on November 22, 1949: Portrait of
Thomas McKean, by Charles Willson Peale, and Portrait of Mary
Abigail Willing Coale, by Thomas Sully, from the Georgetown Branch;
Madonna with Halo of Stars, by an unknown artist, from the South-
eastern Branch; and Musa Regina, by Henry Oliver Walker, from the
Northeastern Branch.

THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND

Since it is a provision of the Ranger bequest that the paintings pur-
chased by the Council of the National Academy of Design from the
fund provided by the Henry Ward Ranger bequest, and assigned to
American art institutions, may be claimed by the National Collection
of Fine Arts during the 5-year period beginning 10 years after the death
of the artist represented, two paintings were recalled for action of the
Smithsonian Art Commission at its meeting December 6, 1950:

Oil painting, Gold Mining, Cripple Creek, by Ernest Lawson, listed earlier in
this report, was accepted by the Commission to become a permanent accession.

Frances, by Frederick Carl Frieseke, N. A., was returned to the Washington

County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Md., where it was originally assigned
in 1932.

THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS REFERENCE LIBRARY

Three hundred and eighty-four publications (260 volumes and 124
pamphlets) were accessioned during the year, bringing the total in
the National Collection of Fine Arts Library to 11,746.

INFORMATION SERVICE

The requests of 1,255 visitors for information received special atten-
tion, as did many similar requests by mail and phone; 706 art works
were submitted for identification.

922758—51—_4

40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The Director and Paul V. Gardner, curator of ceramics, gave lec-
tures on art topics during the year to a number of groups, including
the art section of the University Women’s Club; the Arts Club and
officers of art societies in the Metropolitan area; the Kiln Club; the
District of Columbia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo-
lution; the Alexandria Association at Gadsby’s Tavern; and the Amer-
ican Federation of Jewish Women. They also served as judges or as
members of juries of selection and award for a number of exhibitions
held in Washington.

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS

Thirteen special exhibitions were held during the year, as follows:

July 1 through 31, 1949.—An exhibition of 60 water colors and sketches of
Greenland, painted between 1899 and 1911 by Christine Deichmann (1869-1945),
was shown on screens in the lobby. A list was mimeographed.

August 12 through December 31, 1949.—Centennial Exhibition of Paintings by
Abbott Handerson Thayer, N. A. (1849-1921), in the Gellatly Collection and the
Freer Gallery of Art, with the cooperation of the latter. Supplementary exhibits
in the lobby consisted of (1) Thayer’s studies on the protective coloration in the
Animal Kingdom, (2) camouflage, and (3) works by his former students, consisting
of 155 oils, water colors, pastels, models, and photographs. A catalog was printed.

September 8 through 28, 1949.—Exhibition of 262 oils, water colors, and prints,
by Madame Henriette Reuchlin, held under the patronage of His Excellency, E. N.
Van Kleffens, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States. A list was
mimeographed.

November 6 through 29, 1949.—The Twelfth Metropolitan State Art Contest,
held under the auspices of the District of Columbia Chapter, American Artists
Professional League assisted by the Entre Nous Club, consisting of 324 paintings,
sculpture, prints, ceramics, and metalcraft. A catalog was privately printed.

December 10 through 30, 1949——The Fifty-eighth Annual Exhibition of the
Society of Washington Artists, consisting of 71 paintings and 11 pieces of sculpture.
A catalog was privately printed.

January 16 through 29, 1950.—Eighty-two drawings in pencil, pen, charcoal,
chalk, crayon, and water color, by contemporary French artists, from the per-
manent collection.

February 4 through 27, 1950.—Exhibition of 335 drawings and paintings of
Indo-China, by Jean Despujols. A catalog was provided.

March 4 through 26, 1950.—A selection of 34 oil paintings and 1 bronze bust,
from the William T. Evans collection.

March 30 through April 2, 1950.—A gros point carpet (10’ 2’’ by 6’ 934’’),
made by Queen Mary, and the specially constructed oak casket in which it came.
A catalog was provided by the British Information Service.

April 2 through 27, 1960.—Biennial Exhibition of the National League of
American Pen Women, consisting of 356 paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics,
and metalcraft. A catalog was privately printed.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 41

April 6 through May 8, 1950.—Exhibition of 50 miniature paintings commemo-
rating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the American Society of Miniature Painters.

June 4 through 30, 1950.—The Seventeenth Annual Exhibition of the Miniature
Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers Society of Washington, D. C., consisting of 203
examples.

June 8 through 80, 1950.—Exhibition of 56 paintings of Ancient Egyptian
Monuments, by Joseph Lindon Smith, held under the patronage of His Excel-
lency Mohamed Kamil Abdul Rahim Bey, Ambassador of Egypt. A catalog was
provided.

Respectfully submitted.

Tuomas M. Braas, Director.
Dr. A. WerTmorgE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 4
REPORT ON THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

Str: I have the honor to submit the thirtieth annual report on the
Freer Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 1950.

THE COLLECTIONS
Additions to the collections by purchase were as follows:

BRASS

49.11. Egyptian (middle of 13th century). Brass bowl with gold and silver
inlay. In center band six cartouches with thulth writing alternating
with roundels with horsemen. Bottom and inside engraved. 0.072 x
0.166.
BRONZE

49.10. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., early). A covered ceremonial
vessel of the type kuang. Design cast in low and high relief representing
mainly feline and bird forms. Smooth gray-green patina. LEight-
character inscription inside cover and bottom. (Illustrated.) 0.229 x
0.246 x 0.107.

49.15. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., early). A monster mask.
Casting in hollow relief with linear intaglio decoration. Blue-gray
patina with incrustations of malachite and azurite. 0.174 x 0.234.

49.17. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906). Square mirror with lacquered
reverse surface decorated with birds, phoenixes, butterflies, plants, ete.,
in gold and silver, inlaid into the lacquer. Incrustations of earth and
malachite. 0.141 x 0.145.

49.24. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). Garment hook (kou).
Gilded with all-over incised pattern. Areas of green patination. Length:
0.103.

49.25. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). Garment hook (kou).
Mounted with gold designs placed like cloisons and inlaid with turquoise.
Areas of green patination. Length: 0.197.

CRYSTAL

49.14. Egyptian, Ikhshidid orearly Fatimid period (middle of 10thcentury). Flat,
oval-shaped + vessel with two low excrescences on the narrow sides.
Arabesque decorations forming a stylized tree on the front and back are
executed in low, sharp-edged relief. Austrian enameled gold mount of
about 1600. 0.152 x 0.068 x 0.035.

JADE

49.16. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). Flat carving of dragon,
carved on both sides. 0.046 x 0.075.

LACQUER

49.22. Chinese, Chou dynasty (1122-256 B. C., late). Ewer of brownish lacquer
over wood, representing a crouching animal. Decorations carved in
relief. Handle detached; occasional cracks through wood and lacquer.
0.156 x 0.307 x 0.158.

42

Secretary’s Report, 1950.—Appendix 4 PLATE 1

50a

RECENT ADDITION TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

Secretary's Report, 1950.—Appendix 4 PLATE 2

49.10

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

SECRETARY’S REPORT 43

MANUSCRIPT

50.3. Armenian, 12th-13th century. A volume in a tooled-leather binding with
a fourchée-like cross tooled on the front cover: The Gospel according to
the four Evangelists. Two hundred and seventy parchment leaves
written in angular erkat‘agir (uncial). Initials, paragraphs, titles, ar-
cades, and six miniatures in color and gold. 0.332 x 0.246.

PAINTING

49.18. Indian, Mughal, school of Akbar (third quarter of the 16th century).
“The Taking of Prisoners at the Prince’s Court,” from the Hamza-nama,
executed for the Emperors Humayitin and Akbar. Painted in gold and
color on cotton cloth. 0.671 x 0.512.

50.1. Persian (first half of the 16th century). Solomon (?) and his Flying
Throne, Borne by Angels. Drawing on paper, tinted with gold and
color. (Illustrated.) 0.308 x 0.198.

50.2. Persian (first half of the 16th century). The Garden of the Fairies.
Drawing on paper, slightly tinted with color and gold. 0.279 x 0.172.

POTTERY

49.12. Chinese, Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1280).
Chiin ware. Vase with pear-shaped body and tall, slender, slightly
flaring neck, flaring foot; reddish-buff stoneware, fired hard; thick opaque
glaze, shades of bluish gray with dark flecks; scattered greenish-gray
patches with red flecks. Glaze ends unevenly at foot. 0.344 x 0.143.

49.13. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906).
Three-color ware. Dish with low, sloping sides and everted rim, three
spreading feet; fine-grained soft white clay; soft lead glaze in green,
white, and yellowish brown; considerable iridescence and flaking;
bottom unglazed; decorated with floral patterns deeply impressed in
clay. 0.060 x 0.290.

49.23. Chinese, Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1280).
Ting yao. Dish with six-lobed rim bound in brass; thin, sharply cut
foot. Wooden stand. Fine-grained porcelain fired hard; high-fired
glossy, transparent, ivory-colored glaze; “tear drops’ on outside;
covers footrim; decoration of ducks, waves, and water plants painted in
slip under glaze inside. 0.040 x 0.188.

49.26. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906).
Mortuary figurine of water buffalo and rider. Made of soft white clay
covered with transparent glaze in blue, white, brown, and green; finely
crazed. Horns and ears slightly chipped. 0.158 x 0.163 x 0.102.

49.27. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906).
Mortuary figurine of a female dancer. Made of hard, close-grained clay
in buff white with minute black specks; transparent glaze in green and
brown, finely crazed; head unglazed with traces of pigment on lips
and eyes. (lllustrated.) 0.282 x 0.103.

50.4. Chinese, Chin dynasty (A. D. 265-420).
Tripodal vessel of the type lien, with cover; hard gray pottery with
decorations incised and in relief; the three feet in the form of crouching
bears; inscription of seven characters written in cinnabar around body
of vessel. 0.280 x 0.332,

44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

49.19. Persian, Kashan (circa A. D. 1200). Double-shell ewer with rooster-head
neck and tail-shaped handle. Ajouré work with black design and cobalt
spots under turquoise glaze. Slight iridescence in spots. 0.291 x 0.181.

SCULPTURE

49.9. Indian, Gandhara (circa A. D. 2d century). Frieze showing four scenes
from the life of the Buddha: Birth, Enlightenment, First Preaching,
Nirvana. Carved in high relief on seven pieces of dark gray-blue slate,
0.670 x 2.898 x 0.098.

49.20. Japanese, Kamakura period (A. D. 1185-1333). Guardian figure in an
attitude of violent tension: skirt swinging to proper left, remains of
jeweled pendant on bare torso; cleaned and repaired; inscription on
tennon below left foot. Wood. Pair with 49.21. Height: 2.264.

49.21. Japanese, Kamakura period (A. D. 1185-1333). Guardian figure in an
attitude of violent tension: skirt swinging to proper right, remains of
jeweled pendant on bare torso; cleaned and repaired. Wood. Pair
with 49.20. Height: 2.335.

WOOD CARVING

49.7 Persian, Seljuq (A. D. 1148 [548 H.]). A pair of doors. Arabesques and

A-B. inscription in kafic and decorative naskhi in various compartments; on
back, frames with incised geometric designs and undecorated boards.
A: 2.278 x 0.625; B: 2.280 x 0.610.

49.8 Persian, Mongol period (A. D. 1285 [684 H.]). A pair of doors. Ara-

A-B. besque designs on one side, geometrical strapwork with decorated polyg-
onal inserts and} framing naskht inscriptions on the other. Many of
the polygonal inserts lost and substituted by plain modern ones. A:
2.147 x 0.555; B: 2.172 x 0.550.

The work of the staff members has been devoted to the study of new
accessions and objects submitted for purchase and to general research
within the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Arabic, and
Indian materials. Reports, oral or written, were made upon 2,236
objects, as follows: From individuals, 1,075; from dealers, 837; at
other museums, 324. There were 505 photographs of objects sub-
mitted for examination, and 295 Oriental-language inscriptions were
translated. Docent service and other lectures given by staff members
are listed below.

REPAIRS TO THE COLLECTIONS

A total of 20 objects were cleaned, resurfaced, remounted, or
repaired as follows:

American paintings cleaned and resurfaced_-.--------------- 6
Chinese paintings remounted 42 sae er (ex ae Fes Se 2
Chinese paintings ‘repaireds.285-- >. ---- 4-3 eee = 1
Japanese paintings remounted e265 - 2b hoe Ee eee eee 5
Japanese. paintings repaired... =—-.uhe pasa e ee eee ee eee eee 1
Arabie manuscript pages repaired.._.- - 588.4 - 82822 2-225 - 1
Persian manuscript pages repaired-c_ esos eee eee 2

Japanese Ssculptmmes tepaired..c2 22. 222. ees eee eee 2

SECRETARY'S REPORT 45

The repair and restoration of the ceiling of the Whistler Peacock
Room, mentioned in last year’s report, has been completed. The
final work of cleaning and restoring the wainscoting, shutters, and
doors, now in progress, is being carried on as before by Jobn and
Richard Finlayson, of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

CHANGES IN EXHIBITIONS

Changes in exhibitions totaled 149, as follows:

Americans paintings sae. 28 eet eee eee ee 82
Chinese: DrONZES 42).)2,5 <a yeas Heater 10
CO) arg eVeysrey Tearay Ko i US A ae MN Ne RS Ol OSI Re A 2
Chinese'’silvierveal te tet 22 Supe a ere a ee a 2
indians paintings soe 4 shee ve sae Bl ees Be 29
indianistone sculpture oo. oat oe ee a Ue 5 ee oe 4
RPATESE AC CUT accra eee re airs ee my ep mae one AEs es 12
Japanese Dain gs. = on eee chee ee ye he i hn ere a 4
Japanese: wood: sculptures. cee one n ss ee eee eee seas 2
IRGrsigniwOOdy CAL Vile. o5 heme! Siete ase eae pe i oe Ae ye 2
LIBRARY

During the year the following work was accomplished in the library:

Accessions, including books, pamphlets, periodicals, rubbings, study
material, and photographs, 826; cataloging of all kinds, including
cards typed and filed, 5,518; binding, repairing, and mounting, 762.
The Japanese publication Biutsu Kenkyu was analyzed, and work
on the analyzing of the Japanese periodical Kokka was started.

PUBLICATIONS

Two publications of the Gallery were issued during the year:

Guest, Grace Dunham: Shiraz Painting in the Sixteenth Century (Oriental
Studies No. 4). 8. I. Publ. 3978. October 1949.

Stubbs, Burns A.: James McNeill Whistler, A Biographical Outline Illustrated
from the Collections of the Freer Gallery of Art (Occasional Papers, vol. 1,
No. 4). S. I. Publ. 3994. February 1950.

One article by a staff member appeared in an outside publication:

Wenley, A. G.: The Question of the Po-Shan-Hsiang-Lu. Archives of the
Chinese Art Society of America, vol. 3, p. 5, 1948-1949,

REPRODUCTIONS

During the year the photographic laboratory made 3,631 prints,
434 glass negatives, and 19 lantern slides.

BUILDING

The cabinet shop has been constantly occupied in the usual work of
making necessary equipment, certain repairs to the collections, the

46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Peacock Room, and minor repairs to the building. Lack of a painter,
however, has badly handicapped operations, so that work of this
nature is far behind schedule. At least half of the exhibition galleries
need redecorating, while many other parts of the building are in crying
need of attention.

An important project was the construction of a counter for the
display and sale of publications and photographs in the entrance
lobby. This relieved the understaffed administration office of
considerable work.

ATTENDANCE

The Gallery was open to the public from 9 to 4:30 every day except
Christmas Day. The total number of visitors to come in the main
entrance was 62,801. The highest monthly attendance was in
August with 8,550, and the lowest was in December with 1,951.

There were 1,626 visitors to the main office during the year.

COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Under the provisions of the will of the late Charles L. Freer, there
was created at the University of Michigan a fund, the income from
which is to be used to add to the knowledge and appreciation of
Oriental art, primarily in aid of research to be conducted by experts
regarding the art objects embraced in a collection of Oriental art
transferred by the testator to the Smithsonian Institution, and for
the publication of the results of such research. Therefore, the
University of Michigan and the Freer Gallery of Art have entered into
a collaborative arrangement to carry out the broad general principles
concerning the program in Oriental art contemplated by the will of
Charles L. Freer. Briefly, to implement this arrangement the
following actions have been or will be taken:

1. Mr. Wenley has been appointed research professor of Oriental art in the
Department of Fine Arts of the University of Michigan without salary and
on an annual basis.

2. Dr. Ettinghausen has been appointed research professor of Islamic art in the
Department of Fine Arts of the University of Michigan without salary and
on an annual basis.

3.4.The university shall appoint a professor of Oriental art in the Department
of Fine Arts of the University of Michigan as soon as practicable. It is
the purpose of the university to appoint to this position a scholar to whom
the Gallery will also be prepared to offer a joint appointment, without
salary and on an annual basis, as research associate in the Gallery.

4, The university has appointed a committee of the Freer fund consisting of
the dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, the
chairman of the Department of Fine Arts, the chairman of the General
Committee of the Division of Fine Arts, and the research professor of
Oriental art in the Department of Fine Arts (Director of the Freer Gal-
lery). This committee is authorized to determine the program of research

SECRETARY’S REPORT 47

and publication to be carried on with funds derived from the income of
the Freer fund, and to prepare an annual budget for presentation to the
provost of the university for the expenditure of such funds.

5. The University of Michigan and the Freer Gallery of Art are collaborating
in the publication of a series to be known as Ars Orientalis. This will
succeed the university’s Freer fund publication Ars Islamica, which has
been edited at the Freer Gallery since 1944. In its greater breadth of
treatment Ars Orientalis will supplement other Gallery publications.

6. The Freer Fund Committee has established a Charles L. Freer fellowship
in Oriental art, which may be given to candidates for the doctoral degree
and entitles the holder to a year of advanced work at the Freer Gallery
of Art. In this connection the Director of the Freer Gallery is serving on
the standing committee on graduate work in Oriental art of the Depart-
ment of Fine Arts, University of Michigan.

Hither party to the above-mentioned arrangement may terminate
this by the giving of a year’s notice to the other party of its intention
to terminate.

DOCENT SERVICE AND OTHER STAFF ACTIVITIES

By request 19 groups met in the exhibition galleries for instruction
by staff members. Total attendance was 369.

On invitation the following lectures were given outside the Gallery
by staff members:

1950

Jan. 9. Mr. Pope lectured at the University Women’s Club on “Beginnings of
Glaze and Porcelain and Their Development through the Ming
Dynasty.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 90.

Feb. 2. Mr. Pope lectured at the Chevy Chase Women’s Club on “Chinese
Paintings.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 60.

Mar. 10. Mr. Pope lectured at the Cleveland Museum, Cleveland, Ohio, on
“Tntroduction of Chinese Porcelain to Europe.’ (Illustrated.)
Attendance, 150.

HONORARY DUTIES

During the year, members of the staff undertook honorary duties
outside the Institution as follows:

Mr. Wenley appointed a member of the Nominating Committee of the Far
Eastern Association.

Mr. Pope appointed art editor of the Far Eastern Quarterly.

Respectfully submitted.

A. G. Wentey, Director.
Dr. A. WETMORE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 5
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the field
researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of Ameri-
can Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, conducted
in accordance with the Act of Congress of April 10, 1928, as amended
August 22, 1949, which provides for continuing ‘independently or in
cooperation anthropological researches among the American Indians
and the natives of lands under the jurisdiction or protection of the
United States and the excavation and preservation of archeologic
remains.”

SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES

Dr. M. W. Stirling, Director of the Bureau, devoted most of his
time during the fiscal year to administrative affairs of the Bureau.
He also continued studies on the archeological collections made in
Panamé during the winter of 1948-49, particularly on the ceramic
collection from the site of Utivé in the Province of Panama. With
the exception of a few brief trips for the purpose of attending scientific
meetings or giving lectures, the entire year was spent in Washington.

Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Associate Director of the Bureau
and Director of the River Basin Surveys, spent most of the fiscal year
in administering and directing the River Basin Surveys. In Septem-
ber he attended the Twenty-ninth International Congress of Ameri-
canists where he gave an illustrated talk on the program and work
of the River Basin Surveys. Early in October he participated in the
annual meeting of the National Council for Historic Sites and Build-
ings at Williamsburg, Va. From Williamsburg he went to the Joshua
S. and John E. Williamson farm near Dinwiddie to examine an archeo-
logical site where considerable material attributable to the eastern
variant of the Folsom culture had been found. That particular site
is one of the most extensive of its kind thus far noted in the Kast, and,
if excavated, should provide valuable information.

Later in October Dr. Roberts visited the Missouri Basin head-
quarters at Lincoln, Nebr., and, accompanied by Paul L. Cooper,
proceeded to the Angostura Reservoir in South Dakota where a
series of excavations was under way. After spending several days
with the field party, they went to Wyoming to examine the site for

48

SECRETARY’S REPORT 49

the proposed Edgemont Reservoir on the Cheyenne River. From
there they went to Fort Collins, Colo., where the Horsetooth Reser-
voir is under construction, and examined paleontological and archeo-
logical specimens uncovered in the process of the work. Returning
to Washington early in November, Dr. Roberts went to Richmond,
Va., and gave the principal address before the annual meeting of the
Eastern States Archeological Federation. The subject of his talk
was the progress and results of the River Basin program.

Late in November and early in December Dr. Roberts was again in
Lincoln, Nebr., where he assisted in making plans for reorganizing
the laboratory and field headquarters. While there he took part in
the Seventh Conference for Plains Archeology and presided over one
of the symposia dealing with the problems of Plains archeology.

In February and March Dr. Roberts visited the Departments of
Anthropology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; the Univer-
sity of Washington, Seattle; the University of Oregon, Eugene; and
the University of California, Berkeley. He discussed the plans for
field work during the coming season and made arrangements for
student help and field assistants for the River Basin Surveys parties.
While at Eugene he also inspected the field headquarters and labora-
tory for the Columbia Basin project and assisted Joel L. Shiner, the
acting field director, in making plans for the summer season. Enroute
back to Washington, Dr. Roberts visited the Department of Anthro-
pology at the University of Denver, where he talked with Arnold M.
Withers about the cooperation of that institution in the program in
Colorado. From there he proceeded to Lincoln to plan for the sum-
mer’s work in that area. At that time he also spoke on the River
Basin program before the annual meeting of the Nebraska State
Press Association at Omaha.

In May Dr. Roberts visited the Fort Gibson Reservoir in Oklahoma
and discussed plans for additional projects with the District Engineer
at Tulsa. At Norman, Okla., he examined materials which had been
salvaged from sites at the Fort Gibson Reservoir by a field party from
the University of Oklahoma and also attended sessions of the annual
meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. From Oklahoma
Dr. Roberts went to Texas, visiting the Garza-Little Elm, Lavon,
and Belton Reservoir projects. He also spent several days at the
Whitney Reservoir where one of the River Basin Surveys parties
under Robert L. Stephenson was excavating a series of Indian sites.
From the Whitney Reservoir he went to Austin to inspect the field
headquarters and laboratory located at the University of Texas.

During the period July 1 through October 24, 1949, Dr. John P.
Harrington continued the study of the grammar of the Abnaki lan-
guage at Old Town, Maine. The Abnaki language is the only one of

50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

the Indian languages of New England that is still spoken. Abnaki
forms throw considerable light on the closely related, extinct Massa-
chusetts language in which the famous Eliot Indian Bible is written.
The earliest vocabulary, or vocabularies, of the Abnaki language re-
sulted from the work of French missionaries in the Kennebec Valley,
but the work has been lost. The maps and writings of Capt. John
Smith, Champlain, and Lescarbot carry a number of Abnaki place
names. The earliest extensive Abnaki vocabulary is that attributed
to Capt. George Weymouth and was probably taken down by him in
1605 from Abnaki Indians whom he captured near the St. George
Islands, off the eastern end of Penobscot Bay, and took to England.
This vocabulary was first printed in 1625. In 1691, 86 years after
the Weymouth Abnaki vocabulary had been made, a young French
missionary priest named Sebastian Rasles arrived in Canada and
compiled his vast French-Abnaki dictionary. This dictionary was
captured by the English at the battle of Norridgewock in 1724 and
was first printed in 1833.

On February 9, 1950, Dr. Harrington proceeded to Mérida, Yuca-
tain, for the purpose of studying the Maya language. A tape recorder
was taken along and 10 half-hour recordings of stories told in the
Maya language were obtained. Dr. Harrington returned to Wash-
ington on April 11, bringing with him a large quantity of linguistic
material.

At the invitation of the Canadian Government, Dr. Henry B.
Collins, Jr., conducted archeological investigations on Cornwallis
Island in the northern part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Excavations were made at four prehistoric Eskimo village sites at
Resolute Bay on the south side of the Island. Dr. Collins and his
assistant, Jean P. Michea, reached Resolute by plane on May 27 after
brief stops at Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island, and at Thule in north-
west Greenland. The work continued until August 23, 1949. The
numerous house ruins on Cornwallis and neighboring islands show
that this now uninhabited region once supported a sizable Eskimo
population. The Cornwallis Island structures—built of stones,
whalebones, and turf—proved to have been made by the Thule
Eskimos, a prehistoric group that originated in Alaska and later
spread eastward to Canada and Greenland. A large collection of
artifacts was obtained which, after study, will be divided between the
Smithsonian and the National Museum of Canada, joint sponsors of
the work. As the natural history of Cornwallis Island is so little
known, an attempt was made to collect representative samples of
fossils, minerals, vascular plants, mosses and lichens, insects, and
fresh-water invertebrates.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 51

Dr. Collins organized a symposium on Arctic anthropology as part
of the program for the Twenty-ninth International Congress of
Americanists held in New York in September 1949, the participants
being anthropologists, archeologists, and linguists from the United
States, Canada, and Denmark who have specialized in Eskimo
research.

Dr. Collins continued to serve as chairman of the directing commit-
tee of the Bibliography of Arctic Literature and the Roster of Arctic
Specialists, two projects that the Arctic Institute of North America
is carrying out under contract with the Office of Naval Research for
the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the Defense
Research Board of Canada. He also participated in organizing the
forthcoming Alaska Science Conference to be held under the auspices
of the National Research Council in November 1950, serving as a
member of the steering committee and chairman of the social sciences
division.

During August Dr. William N. Fenton spent 2 weeks studying the
archives of the Ontario County Historical Society at Canandaigua,
N. Y. In August and September he made tape recordings in the
field at Tonawanda and Allegany Seneca reservations. In October
he completed a survey of Iroquois materials in the Massachusetts
Archives at the State House, in Boston, and found additional Pickering
letters in Salem. In December, 34 volumes of the printed journals
of the Continental Congress (1774-89) were surveyed and extracted
for Iroquois material. During March-May Dr. Fenton was detailed
to assist the Department of Justice in the preparation of a case for
the Court of Claims concerning Indian lands. In June he was detailed
to the Office of Indian Affairs on problems of tribal organization
among the Pueblos, the Klamath Indians of California, and the
Blackfeet of Montana. Dr. Fenton was in the field on this assign-
ment at the close of the fiscal year.

In September Dr. Gordon R. Willey, anthropologist of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, assumed the temporary duties of Acting
Director of the Institute of Social Anthropology for the remainder of
the fiscal year. However, research under Bureau auspices continued,
and preparation of various manuscripts was carried forward. He
continued the preparation of the manuscript ‘‘Prehistoric Settlement
Patterns in the Viri Valley of Northern Peru.’”’ Subsequently he
began studies on collections from the Canaveral and Ormond Beach
Mounds in east Florida, completing these studies in May. The
month of June was then devoted to rewriting and revising a manu-
script, “Karly Ancon and Early Supé: Chavin Horizon Sites of the
Central Coast of Pert.’’ This report, approximating 125,000 words,

52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

was written in collaboration with Dr. John M. Corbett and will be
released by the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University.

RIVER BASIN SURVEYS
(Report prepared by Franx H. H. Roperts, Jr.)

The River Basin Surveys were organized as a unit of the Bureau
of American Ethnology in the fall of 1945. Their purpose was to
carry into effect a memorandum of understanding between the Na-
tional Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution, which provides
for the salvage of archeological and paleontological remains occurring
in areas to be flooded or otherwise disturbed by the program of the
Federal Government for flood-control, irrigation, hydroelectric, and
navigation projects. The first actual field work was started in July
1946 and has continued since that date. Throughout the period of
operations, the investigations have been conducted in cooperation
with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation of
the Department of the Interior, the Corps of Engineers, Department
of the Army, and a number of nongovernmental institutions scattered
throughout various States. During the past fiscal year the work was
financed by a transfer of $215,886 to the Smithsonian Institution by
the National Park Service, derived in part from the National Park
Service and in part from the Bureau of Reclamation. The money
from the National Park Service was for use in areas outside of the
Missouri Basin, while that from the Bureau of Reclamation was for
work in the latter area. Because of the fact that the appropriations
for fiscal 1950 were made available so late in the summer, the neces-
sary funds could not be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution
until the period for field work had passed in many areas. Conse-
quently, less was accomplished than in previous years.

Activities during the year included reconnaissance or surveys for the
purpose of locating archeological sites or paleontological deposits that
will be involved in construction work or are in locations that eventually
will be flooded, and in the excavation of sites located by previous
surveys. The survey work covered 26 reservoirs located in 8 States
and scattered over 5 river basins. Excavations were completed or
under way at the end of the fiscal year in 13 reservoir areas in 9 States.
Three of the excavation projects were in areas where digging had been
done in previous years, while the remainder were new undertakings.
At the close of the fiscal year, the total of the reservoir areas, where
surveys had been made or excavations carried on since the beginning
of the program in July 1946, was 180 located in 23 States. Archeological
sites located and recorded have reached a total of 2,260, of which 484
have been recommended for excavation or additional testing. During

SECRETARY'S REPORT 53

the year preliminary appraisal reports were completed for all the
reservoirs surveyed, and 23 reports were mimeographed for limited
distribution to the cooperating agencies. This makes a total of 120
such reports issued since the start of the program. The excavations
made during fiscal 1950 bring the total for areas where such work has
been done to 21. Technical reports on the results of some of that work
have appeared in scientific journals, while the completed manuscripts
on others are now awaiting publication. Paleontological surveys have
been made in 100 reservoirs, 56 being those where archeological work
has also been done. The remaining 44 will eventually be visited by
archeological parties. Including the reservoir areas where archeo-
logical work remains to be done, the over-all total of reservoirs visited
is 224.

The distribution by States of all the reservoirs investigated for
archeological remains as of June 30, 1950, is as follows: California, 20;
Colorado, 23; Georgia, 3; Idaho, 10; Illinois, 2; lowa, 3; Kansas, 6;
Louisiana, 1; Minnesota, 1; Montana, 5; Nebraska, 16; New Mexico,
1; North Dakota, 13; Ohio, 2; Oklahoma, 5; Oregon, 24; South Dakota,
9; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 13; Virginia, 1; Washington, 9; West Virginia,
2; Wyoming, 11. Excavations have thus far been made in: Cal-
ifornia, 1; Colorado, 1; Georgia, 1; Kansas, 1; Montana, 1; Nebraska,
1; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 2; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; South
Dakota, 2; Texas, 3; Virginia, 1; Washington, 3; and Wyoming, 1.

Throughout the fiscal year the River Basin Surveys received full
cooperation from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, and the Corps of Engineers, as well as various State agencies. At
some of the projects guides and transportation were furnished to staff
men in the field. At others, office and laboratory space was provided,
and in a number of cases labor and mechanical equipment were made
available by the construction agency. ‘The assistance provided made
possible a greater accomplishment than would otherwise have been
possible had it been necessary for the River Basin Surveys men to rely
on their own resources. The National Park Service was primarily
responsible for procuring the funds necessary for carrying on the pro-
gram and also served as the liaison between the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and the other governmental agencies, not only in Washington but
through its several regional offices as well.

General supervision and direction of the work in California, Texas,
Louisiana, Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia were from the main office in
Washington. The Missouri Basin program was carried on under the
direction of a field headquarters and laboratory at Lincoln, Nebr., and
the activities in the Columbia Basin were supervised by a field office
located at Eugene, Oreg.

54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Washington office —The main headquarters of the River Basin Sur-
veys continued under the direction of Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr.,
throughout the year. Joseph R. Caldwell, Carl F. Miller, and Ralph
S. Solecki, archeologists, were based at that office, although Mr.
Solecki did not work full time for the Surveys.

Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Miller left Washington on July 7 for Carters-
ville, Ga., where they started an excavation program within the area
to be flooded by the Allatoona Reservoir. Mr. Miller completed
part of the project early in December and returned to Washington,
while Mr. Caldwell continued digging until early in February, when
he went to Athens, Ga., to establish a field laboratory and study the
material obtained during the excavations. Facilities for the labora-
tory at Athens were provided by the University of Georgia. During
the first week in August Mr. Miller was temporarily detached from
the Allatoona investigations and sent to Louisiana to make a prelimi-
nary reconnaissance at the Bayou Bodcau Reservoir. Except for a
week in May when he visited archeological sites at Chester’s Island
and Floyd’s Island in the Okefenokee Swamp, Mr. Caldwell spent
the remainder of the fiscal year at Athens preparing his report, “A
Preliminary Report on Excavations in the Allatoona Reservoir,”
which was published in Karly Georgia, vol. 1, No. 1, and a manuscript
pertaining to the Rembert Mounds on the Savannah River, which
will be published in the first volume of the River Basin Surveys
Papers.

After his return to Washington Mr. Miller devoted most of his time
to a study of the material and information he had obtained at the
Allatoona Reservoir and in the preparation of his portion of the report
on the project. He also served as assistant to the Director, and
during such times as the latter was absent from the office took charge
of the operations. In June he went to the Buggs Island Reservoir,
on the Roanoke River in southern Virginia, to excavate a large village
and burial site that was being destroyed by construction within the
area. During the year Mr. Miller completed and published five
manuscripts on his work in the Southeast.

Mr. Solecki, who had been transferred to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion’s staff the previous May to conduct an archeological reconnais-
sance in northern Alaska, returned to duty with the River Basin
Surveys on September 11. In November he proceeded to Ohio,
where he made a brief reconnaissance of the proposed Deer Creek and
Paint Creek Reservoirs in the Scioto Reservoir basin near Chillicothe.
During the remainder of the fiscal year be prepared a detailed report
on the excavation of the Natrium Mound, 10 miles north of New
Martinsville, W. Va., which he had dug during the winter of 1948-49.

California.—In May, Albert Mohr and J. Arthur Freed, field as-

SECRETARY'S REPORT 55

sistants, made surveys of the Burns, Bear, and Owens Reservoirs of
the Merced group, in the San Joaquin Valley. Nineteen sites were
located in the three projects, but as all of them are of little significance
no additional work has been recommended for them. In June, Mohr
and Freed made a survey at the Cachuma Reservoir on the Santa
Ynez River, near Santa Barbara. They located 18 sites and at the
end of the fiscal year Mohr was making preparations to dig a series of
test trenches in two of them.

Franklin Fenenga joined the River Basin Surveys as archeologist
on June 19 and initiated a series of excavations at the Terminus
Reservoir on the Kaweah River in the Central Valley. That area is
particularly important because it was at the boundary of the terri-
tories of the Wikchamni division of the Yokuts of the San Joaquin
Valley and of the Balwisha group of the Mono Indians. The archeo-
logical materials from the sites should provide important information
on the problem of cultural contact and diffusion between the different
tribes.

Columbia Basin.—Work in the Columbia Basin was continued
under the direction of the field headquarters at Eugene, Oreg., where
the University of Oregon provided laboratory and office space.
Douglas Osborne, acting field director, was in charge of the program
in that area until he resigned on September 3 to accept a position
with the University of Washington. Joel L. Shiner was appointed
to succeed him and continued as acting field director throughout the
remainder of the year.

During August excavations were carried on in the McNary Reser-
voir area, with Washington State College cooperating in the project.
Hight sites were tested or excavated on the south side of the Columbia
River between Umatilla Rapids and Techumtas Island, and in addi-
tion further work was done at one of the sites excavated during the
previous fiscal year. Survey reports had indicated that at two of
the locations there probably were remains beneath a layer of volcanic
ash. Digging there, however, failed to produce any evidence for such
an occupation. Information from other sites investigated demon-
strated that there were at least two cultural horizons along that
portion of the river. The data seem to indicate that the older in-
habitants made most of their implements of basalt while the later
ones used chalcedony for the most part. The economy of the two
groups appears to have been basically the same, although the earlier
was less complex than the later. This is indicated by greater de-
pendency on shellfish and a tendency toward sporadic occupation
and a wandering life.

During September Charles C. Case, Jr., and Robert C. Salisbury,

field assistants, surveyed 11 proposed reservoirs in the Willamette
922758—51——5

56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Valley, viz, Dexter, Hills Creek, Cougar, Blue River, Gate Creek,
Green Peter, Cascadia, Wiley Creek, Holly, Falls Creek, and White
Bridge. The Big Cliff, which had been surveyed by Osborne the
previous spring, was revisited. Probably because of the extreme
steepness of the terrain and the dense cover of timber, nothing of
archeological interest was found. It seems likely that the small
tributary canyons in which those reservoirs will be located were
never used by Indians except for temporary hunting and fishing
grounds.

From the Willamette area, Case and Salisbury proceeded to the
Heise-Roberts project on the Snake River in southeastern Idaho.
That project consists mainly of bank-control work and when com-
pleted will not flood any of the adjacent area. Careful examination
of the terrain to be disturbed by the construction work failed to reveal
any archeological remains, and so further work at that location will
not be necessary. From there the survey team went to the Crow
Creek Reservoir near the Idaho-Wyoming border. Careful search
of the area to be flooded by that project failed to reveal any archeo-
logical sites, and no further investigations will be required. From
Crow Creek, Case and Salisbury returned to the Post Reservoir,
which will be on the Crooked River, 10 miles east of the town of Post,
Oreg. That district was occupied at one time by small bands of the
northern Paiute, and since their economy was based on hunting and
gathering, they spent little time in any one spot. Consequently,
only three small camp sites were found in the area that will be flooded.
At all three the archeological materials were found to occur only on
the surface, and no further work has been recommended for that
reservoir.

During the fall and winter months Shiner processed the materials
from the McNary excavations and prepared the preliminary appraisal
reports on the results of the surveys. In collaboration with Douglas
Osborne, a preliminary report was written, giving the results of the
excavation program in the McNary Reservoir. In February, Mr.
Shiner, with a party of students from the University of Oregon,
excavated a small cave east of The Dalles where the relocation of a
highway was destroying archeological material. This project was in
cooperation with the University of Oregon, which provided the student
labor and assumed all the expenses of the project. An interesting
series of artifacts was obtained, showing a sequence of types for the
area.

In the early part of June Mr. Shiner made an inspection trip to the
Cascade Reservoir on the Payette River, Idaho, to determine the
condition of an archeological site where excavations were planned.
On his arrival there he found that the water in the reservoir had risen

SECRETARY’S REPORT 57

much more rapidly than contemplated and that there was no possibility
for archeological work. From the Cascade Reservoir he returned to
the McNary Reservoir to inspect the sites where work was to be done
during the summer field season.

Richard Daugherty joined the River Basin Surveys staff as arche
ologist on June 12 and proceeded to the O’Sullivan Reservoir, near
Moses Lake, Wash. Excavations were carried on at the O’Sullivan
Reservoir in the summer of 1948 by Mr. Daugherty and the investi-
gations this year were a continuation of the previous program. Daugh-
erty began work in a village site and at the close of the fiscal year had
excavated the remains of several pit houses and accompanying midden
deposits.

Douglas Osborne rejoined the River Basin Surveys on June 15 as
a consulting archeologist and took charge of the general excavation
program in the Columbia Basin. He proceeded with George Cheney
and S. J. Tobin, who joined the Surveys on June 16 as archeologists,
and their parties to the Chief Joseph and Equalizing Reservoirs in
Washington. Cheney began work at the Chief Joseph Reservoir on
June 19 and from then until the close of the fiscal year was occupied
in the excavation of village sites. ‘Tobin’s party at the Equalizing
Reservoir began the excavation of a large cave on the same date. The
cave, although its floor was littered with huge blocks that had fallen
from the ceiling, gave evidence of considerable occupation, and numer-
ous specimens of netting, cordage, basketry, and other perishable
material were found there. Osborne returned to Eugene, and then
proceeded with a party to the McNary Reservoir, where he began a
series of excavations in sites lying farther upstream from those investi-
gated during previous seasons. At the close of the fiscal year his
party was busy digging house pits and midden deposits.

A survey party consisting of George Coale, Stewart Peck, and
Charles Farrell began a reconnaissance of the John Day Reservoir on
the Columbia River June 27 and at the close of the fiscal year had
located a number of important sites.

Georgia.—The bulk of the work done in Georgia was at the Allatoona
Reservoir on the Etowah River, near Cartersville. During the period
from July to February, Joseph R. Caldwell excavated 6 sites and
tested 10 others. From July to December, Carl F. Miller excavated
5 sites and tested 9 others. As a result of the investigations, it is
now possible to outline a new sequence of cultural stages in the
Etowah River area. At least 10, and probably 11, different periods
were identified, extending from the historic Cherokee of about 1755
back to a pre-pottery period when the people depended for the most
part on hunting and food gathering for their sustenance. ‘The various
periods as outlined on the basis of the investigations have been named

58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Galt, which is that of the historic Cherokee; Brewster and Lamar,
which probably represent Creek occupation; Savannah and Etowah,
which pertain to the same basic Muskogean stock but have not been
identified as to the specific tribes; and the Woodstock period, which
has not yet been correlated with any specific peoples but which is
significant because it was characterized by a fortified village having
circular palisades with towers and is the first where there is evidence
for the growing of corn. The preceding period has been designated
the Cartersville and is identified by a distinctive type of stamped
pottery decoration and indications that the people had become at
least semisedentary. The next preceding period was one represented
by a site excavated by Mr. Miller but was not found by Mr. Caldwell,
who did not include it in his sequence. Mr. Miller has tentatively
designated the period as the Acworth. It was represented by the
remains of a village containing some 60 round structures of varying
sizes. Definite indications of Hopewellian influences were found in
this horizon. The pottery was a plain, well-polished ware that
preceded the introduction of stamped wares in the area. The next
period recognized by both Caldwell and Miller is one designated
the Kellogg. It was characterized by a semisedentary hunting and
gathering culture. There was great use of storage pits, and a variety
of acorns and nuts were recovered from them. Apparently it was
during this period that the bow and arrow appeared in the Allatoona
region. Antedating the Kellogg was a period called Stallings, which
is represented only by scattered finds of potsherds from a fiber-
tempered pottery. The oldest of the sequence, which tentatively has
been designated pre-pottery, preceded the Stallings. The pre-pottery
stage may represent several periods and cover a long duration of time.
During that stage of the occupation of the area, the people had no
pottery, no pipes, no agriculture, and possibly no houses. At least
no evidence was found indicating any type of structure. The economy
was basically hunting and gathering, and the chief weapon probably
was a javelin hurled with a spear thrower.

Lowisiana.—The only work done in Louisiana during the fiscal year
consisted of the reconnaissance made by Carl F. Miller at the Bayou
Bodcau project on the Red River, northeast of Shreveport. He found
that although there are archeological remains in that district, none of
them occur in the area to be involved by the work of the Corps of
Engineers.

Missouri Basin.—As in previous years, the program in the Missouri
Basin was supervised and directed from the field headquarters at the
University of Nebraska, in Lincoln. From July 1 until the end of
December, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel was in charge of the program. His
promotion to the position of curator of the division of archeology,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 59

United States National Museum, made it necessary for him to with-
draw from the River Basin Surveys activities, and on January 23
Paul L. Cooper was designated as acting field director.

Delay in the passage of the 1950 appropriation bill greatly reduced
field work in the Missouri Basin during the summer of 1949 and
prevented completion of the program originally set up for the fiscal
year. However, it was possible to make surveys at the Onion Flat,
Soral Creek, and Raft Lake Reservoirs in the Big Horn River basin
in Wyoming during July, and to initiate an excavation program in the
Angostura Reservoir in South Dakota. Nothing of archeological
significance was noted in the three reservoirs, and no further work is
recommended for them.

The investigations at the Angostura Reservoir continued from
early in July until November and were resumed in May. Though
the final results of the excavations will not be known until it is possible
to study all the materials obtained, it may be said that the sites where
digging was done represent a number of different cultures, most of
them indicating pre-pottery-making peoples. At two of them,
however, evidence was obtained of two different pottery-making
groups. At one of the sites the occupation level was so deeply buried
that it was necessary to use a bulldozer to remove the sterile over-
burden. Material from that particular site indicates a period of
considerable antiquity. Tentative correlations suggest that it
probably is comparable in age to some of the so-called Yuma remains
in other parts of the Plains area.

Other field work accomplished during the 1949 season was an
18-day reconnaissance in the Oahe Reservoir area in South Dakota.
Preliminary surveys had been made there in previous years, but
during the reconnaissance in November more than 50 sites, many of
them previously unrecorded, were visited.

Active field work was resumed in June when a paleontological party
proceeded to the Angostura Reservoir, the Boysen and Anchor
Reservoirs in Wyoming, and the Canyon Ferry project in Montana.
Important fossils were recovered from the latter area. On June 7
excavations were started in the Garrison Reservoir in North Dakota,
in the Tiber Reservoir in Montana, and later in the month at the
Oahe project in South Dakota. All those activities were proceeding
satisfactorily at the end of the fiscal year.

During the fall and winter months considerable work was done in
the laboratory. Eight preliminary reports were written and mimeo-
graphed for distribution to the cooperating agencies. In all, 16,938
specimens collected from 146 sites in 16 reservoir areas were cleaned
and cataloged. Fifty-six maps were drawn and 1,318 negatives
processed. The negatives include field photographs, black-and-white

60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

negatives of color transparencies, and laboratory photographs. Two
hundred and six transparencies were cataloged and filed; 78 enlarge-
ments were printed and mounted; and 1,782 black-and-white contact
prints were made, cataloged, and filed. More than 4,000 photo-
graphic copies of archeological records were made to bring the basic
record file up to date. A considerable number of animal bones taken
from archeological sites were identified and there was some restora-
tion of fragmentary pottery.

G. Ellis Burcaw joined the staff as an archeologist on May 31 and
left Lincoln on June 7 for the Garrison Reservoir in North Dakota,
where he began a series of excavations at the so-called Rock Village.
That site, one of the farthest upstream of the known fortified earth-
lodge villages, was yielding considerable quantities of artifacts, in-
cluding some European trade material, as work progressed at the
close of the fiscal year.

Karly in the fiscal year Paul L. Cooper devoted his time to studying
materials pertaining to the archeological remains in the Oahe and
Fort Randall Reservoirs. During September he made two brief
trips to the Angostura and Oahe Reservoirs and late in October
accompanied Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Director of the River
Basin Surveys, on a visit to the excavation projects at the Angostura
Reservoir and to inspect sites in other areas. During November he
made a reconnaissance along the east side of the Missouri River in
the Oahe Reservoir area. In December he accompanied Dr. Gordon
Baldwin, of the National Park Service, Dr. Carlyle Smith, of the
University of Kansas, and Wesley Hurt, of the University of South
Dakota, on a trip to the Fort Randall and Oahe Reservoirs in South
Dakota for the purpose of selecting sites for excavation by the Uni-
versities of Kansas and South Dakota during the summer of 1950.
On January 23, 1950, he was designated acting field director of the
River Basin Surveys, and thereafter his activities were mainly con-
cerned with planning and supervising the headquarters and field
activities of the organization.

Robert B. Cumming, Jr., archeologist, served throughout the year
as laboratory supervisor at the Lincoln headquarters. During such
time as the acting director was absent from the office, he assumed
administrative responsibility for continuing its operations. In addi-
tion he carried on research work on the skeletal material from the
Medicine Creek and Harlan County Reservoirs and prepared an ap-
pendix on the skeletal remains from the Woodruff ossuary for the
technical report on the ossuary. He also did some work on the human
remains from ossuaries in Nebraska.

Walter D. Enger, Jr., archeologist, joined the River Basin Surveys
staff on May 31 and left Lincoln on June 9 to begin the excavation of

SECRETARY’S REPORT 61

sites to be flooded by the proposed Tiber Reservoir on the Marias
River in Montana. Previous surveys in that area had shown three
types of sites, consisting of buried occupational levels exposed along
the edges of the river terraces, surface sites on the river terraces, and
tipi-ring sites on top of the plateau surrounding the reservoir. Be-
cause of the nature of the cultures represented, the artifact yield and
the work accomplished before the end of the fiscal year was small,
but considerable information was being obtained about the sequence
of cultures and the general aboriginal characteristics of the area.

Jack T. Hughes, archeologist, left Lincoln on July 7 and proceeded
to the Angostura Reservoir in South Dakota, where he initiated a
series of excavations. Hughes continued in charge of that project
until September when he resigned from the River Basin Surveys to
return to Columbia University for further academic work. Mr.
Hughes prepared a report on the results of the Angostura work ob-
tained while he was in charge of the field party.

Donald J. Lehmer, Jr., archeologist, joined the Missouri Basin
staff on June 1. He left Lincoln on June 9 with G. Ellis Burcaw and
proceeded with him to the Tiber project where he assisted in estab-
lishing headquarters. From there he returned to Pierre, S. Dak.,
and on June 19 began the excavation of a stratified earth-lodge village
in the area of the Oahe Dam approach channel. By the end of the
fiscal year his party had identified house remains attributable to both
the Arikara and the Mandan.

George Metcalf, field and laboratory assistant, spent the period
from July 22, 1949, to November 7, 1949, with the field party at the
Angostura Reservoir. During the fall and winter months he assisted
in the analysis of the material from the Medicine Creek Reservoir and
in the preparation of the report for the excavations made there during
the previous fiscal year. He also made a study of ceramic materials
from Upper Republican sites which are in the collections of the
Nebraska State Historical Society at Lincoln. Metcalf left Lincoln
on May 19 with the Wheeler party and at the close of the fiscal year
was working at the Angostura Reservoir.

Robert L. Shalkop joined the staff as an archeologist on June 28,
and at the end of the fiscal year was preparing to leave with a recon-
naissance party to survey a number of reservoir projects in Montana
and Wyoming.

James M. Shippee, field and laboratory assistant, was a member
of the field party at the Angostura Reservoir from early in July until
early in November. During the fall and winter months he devoted
considerable time to the restoration of pottery vessels and the process-
ing of other specimens from the Angostura excavations. During the
spring months most of his time was occupied in the preparation of

62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

field equipment to be used by the various parties during the summer
months.

At the beginning of the fiscal year Richard P. Wheeler, archeologist,
was engaged in preliminary archeological surveys of the Onion Flat,
Soral Creek, and Raft Lake Reservoirs, in the Big Horn River basin,
Fremont County, Wyo. He returned to the Lincoln headquarters
on July 11 and spent the time from then until the middle of August
preparing reports on the reservoir areas examined over the period
in which his party had been in the field. In August he joined the
Angostura field party and after the departure of Mr. Hughes took
full charge of the operations. From September 4 to November 7,
Wheeler and his crew partially excavated or tested and mapped11
sites. He returned to Lincoln in November and devoted the time
from then until the middle of April in analyzing artifacts, supervising
the drawing of site maps and profiles, and preparing an outline and
notes for the final report on the Angostura investigations. On April
19 be made a 5-day trip to the Angostura Reservoir to make plans
for the excavations for the coming season. One month later he
returned to the Angostura Reservoir with a field party and from then
until the end of the fiscal year he excavated and tested two sites and
supervised the removal of overburden with a bulldozer at two areas
at a third site. The use of mechanized equipment in this particular
instance was made necessary by the fact that the occupation level
occurs beneath from 9 to 10 feet of sterile deposits, and there was not
sufficient time to remove them by the usual hand methods. The
materials found in the deeply buried level indicate an early hunting
culture.

Dr. Theodore E. White, paleontologist, spent the early months of
the fiscal year in the laboratory at Lincoln identifying osteological
material obtained from archeological sites and in preparing a report
on the physiography of the Angostura Reservoir. He worked in
Texas in November and December. In January he wastransferred
to the Smithsonian Institution staff and was sent to Panamé. He
returned to duty with the River Basin Surveys in May. He left the
Lincoln headquarters on June 15 and proceeded to the Boysen Reser-
voir area in Wyoming, where he prospected for vertebrate fossils
until June 15. He then moved on to the Anchor Reservoir area
where he prospected the Upper Permian and Lower Triassic deposits.
On June 21 he moved to the Canyon Ferry Reservoir area in Montana,
and spent the time prospecting the Oligocene and Miocene deposits.
Two of the Oligocene localities produced abundant specimens, mostly
small mammals, while three new localities were discovered in the
Miocene deposits. Material obtained from two of the new localities
definitely establishes the presence of both Lower and Middle Miocene

SECRETARY’S REPORT 63

deposits in the area. During the course of this work, Dr. White was
assisted by Prentiss Shepherd, Jr., a student at Harvard University,
and William C. Harrup, Jr., a student at Columbia University.

Ohio.—Field work in Ohio was restricted to brief visits to the
proposed Deer Creek and Paint Creek Reservoirs on two tributaries
of the Scioto River, near Chillicothe. Mr. Solecki, of the River
Basin Surveys, went to Ohio in November and, in company with
Clyde B. King, superintendent of Mound City National Monument,
and Raymond Baby, archeologist of the Ohio State Archeological
and Historical Society, Columbus, determined that no sites of archeo-
logical significance would be inundated by the proposed reservoirs.
During the course of the reconnaissance, Mr. Solecki examined three
features on Deer Creek and two nearby on Spruce Hill, which were
purported to be Norse iron furnaces, but was unable to find anything
that could be construed as conclusive proof that the remains repre-
sented ancient iron furnaces. The opinion was that the features
probably had been lime kilns dating from the early Colonial period
in the area.

Texas.—The River Basin Surveys in Texas continued to operate
from the base and headquarters furnished by the Department of
Anthropology of the University of Texas at Austin. Surveys were
begun and completed at the Belton Reservoir on the Leon River, at
the Canyon Reservoir on the Guadalupe River, and at the Texarkana
Reservoir on the Sulphur River, near the town of Texarkana. The
work at the Belton Reservoir resulted in the location of 43 archeo-
logical sites. Five of them were found to lie outside the reservoir
area. ‘Twelve of the remaining are rock-shelter sites, 12 are open
occupational areas, and 4 are a combination of the two forms. The
remainder consist either of burned rock middens or deeply buried
middens. Testing was done in five sites, and a number of interesting
artifacts were recovered. However, it was discovered that during
the course of the years most of the sites in the area had been looted
by commercial collectors and so little remains that further investi-
gations are not warranted. Such evidence as was found during the
reconnaissance and testing indicated that the Belton district probably
was occupied by people of the Round Rock focus over a period of
many centuries.

At the Canyon Reservoir, 20 archeological sites were located and
recorded. Five of them are large open sites, 3 are small rock shel-
ters, 1 is a deeply buried occupation level, 1 is a subterranean cavern,
and the remaining 10 are small open sites containing a single burned
rock midden in each. The area is one from which only meager archeo-
logical information is available and for that reason 8 of the sites have
been recommended for excavation and complete analysis.

64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The Texarkana reconnaissance resulted in the location of 50 arche-
ological sites, all of which are open occupational areas. At three of
them there are small artificial mounds of the variety which has been
called “Capped Ridge.’ ‘Ten of the sites appear to belong to a non-
pottery horizon, probably the Balcones phase. Seventeen are large
village areas characterized by potsherds and appear to range in time
from Early Gibson Aspect to Middle Fulton Aspect. At least two
sites are related to the Coles Creek culture. The remainder are small
sites of indeterminate affiliation. Of the total, 16 sites have been
recommended for extensive excavation and analysis.

Excavations were carried on at the Whitney Reservoir from March
6 to June 18. During that period five Indian sites—three rock-
shelter and two open sites—were extensively excavated and two
historic sites were studied and recorded. One shelter called Picto-
graph Cave contained material from two different periods, the first
probably dating before A. D. 1200 and the second sometime subse-
quent to that date but pre-Columbian. ‘The early occupation is com-
parable in many respects to the Round Rock focus in Texas, while
the second has not yet been correlated with other remains. The
data obtained from the shelter give interesting information pertaining
to changes in diet and population density during the two periods of
occupation. ‘The second, known as Buzzard Shelter, is not far from
the first, and also gave evidence of an early occupation in the lower
depths of the fill. The later occupation in the shelter suggests certain
similarities to that of the Toyah focus. While there is considerable
similarity between the cultural sequence found in the two shelters,
there are specific differences in artifact types and stratigraphic pro-
portions. The third shelter, known locally as Sheep Cave, is the
largest of the three, and the material from it agrees in the main with
that from the other two. Five flexed burials were found there, how-
ever, and study of the physical type represented should throw some
light on the relationships of the people.

Three weeks were spent in the excavation of a small occupational
area on the second terrace of the Brazos River at the Steele site.
The evidence of occupation on the surface covers about an acre in
extent and it is underlain by an unknown number of occupational
levels of considerably greater extent. Traces of occupation extend
to a depth of at least 15 feet, and it will be necessary to use mechanical
equipment to excavate a deep trench in order to make stratigraphic
studies. The site appears to be a significant one in that the most
recent occupation was prior to the advent of pottery and the bow and
arrow in that area.

The Stansbury site, the location of a historic Indian village, was the
fifth area excavated. Material from it includes trade items of French,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 65

English, and American origin. The occupation probably began in
the mid-eighteenth century, or perhaps somewhat earlier, and lasted
until 1869. House patterns with compact floor, post holes, central
fire hearth, and bell-shaped cache pits were found. In general, it
may be said that the site shows relationship with Taovayas site of
Spanish Fort. It is located near the site of Towash Village, one of the
historic sites studied. This village was an early white settlement dat-
ing from the 1840’s to the present time. The first dam and bridge on
the Brazos River were located there, and their remains, as well as those
of the old stone store and church, are still to be seen. Measurements
and photographs were taken in order to make scale drawings of the
buildings.

The other historic site studied was that of Fort Graham, a frontier
post dating 1849-54. The outlines of one of the buildings, as well as
several other features, were located. It also was determined that the
“Village of the Caddoes,” visited by Ferdinand Roemer in 1846, was
situated at the site of Fort Graham.

Excavations got under way at the Lavon Reservoir on June 19 in
the Hogge Bridge site, one of 11 situated along the east fork of the
Trinity River. Each of the sites contains a large circular pit, which
is a feature peculiar to the area. Digging was started in one of the
large pits in order to determine what their purpose may have been.
By the end of the fiscal year, the southwestern quarter of the pit in
the Hogge Bridge site had been cleared and the original surface un-
covered. The pit was 10 feet deep, 65 feet in diameter on the inside,
and had a rim of dirt from the original excavation piled around the
periphery measuring 90 feet from crest to crest. The floor proved to
be concave, and no post holes or evidences of a structure had been
found by the end of the year. Along the east rim of the pit was a bur-
ial area, and on the inner slope of the south side of the pit a bear burial
was uncovered. Potsherds indicate that the site probably dates be-
tween A. D. 1200 and 1500, but its cultural affiliations had not yet
been determined.

During November and December Dr. Theodore E. White prospected
the Upper Cretaceous deposits in the Lavon Reservoir for vertebrate
fossils. A number of specimens were located, but time permitted the
removal of only two. One consisted of a small mosasaur (unident)
skull and the skull of a large mosasaur (Tylosaurus?).

During the time when he was not in the field, Robert L. Stephenson,
archeologist, prepared reports on the various surveys which he had
made and processed the specimens in the laboratory at Austin. In
November he attended the Seventh Conference for Plains Archeology
and presented a paper on the work he had been doing in Texas. In
May he attended the meetings of the Society for American Archaeology

66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

at Norman, Okla., and took part in the discussions held there. At the
close of the fiscal year he was occupied with the excavations at the
Lavon Reservoir.

Edward B. Jelks was appointed temporary assistant at the labora-
tory in October and in February was made assistant field archeologist.
He helped Mr. Stephenson in the processing of specimens until March
6, when he proceeded with the party to the Whitney Reservoir and
assisted in the excavation program throughout the course of the work.
During such times as Mr. Stephenson was not with the party, Mr.
Jelks was in full charge. On June 12 he was appointed archeologist
and proceeded to the Lavon Reservoir, where he was at work at the
end of the fiscal year.

Cooperating institutions.—As in previous years, numerous State and
local institutions cooperated with the River Basin Surveys. Space for
field offices and laboratories for units of the Surveys were provided by
the Universities of Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, and Texas. The
Universities of Oregon and Washington and Washington State College
joined forces with the Surveys both in reconnaissance work and in
excavations at the McNary, O’Sullivan, Equalizing, and Chief Joseph
Reservoirs in the Columbia Basin, while the University of Georgia took
over the responsibility for the excavation of one large site in the
Allatoona Reservoir in Georgia, and for a series of surveys as well as
excavations along the Flint River in the southern part of that State.
The University of Missouri and the Missouri Archeological Society
continued their cooperation in making surveys in a number of proposed
reservoir areas and in conducting some excavations. During the
early months of the fiscal year, the Museum of Natural History of the
University of Kansas, the Laboratory of Anthropology of the Univer-
sity of Nebraska, the State Museum of the University of Nebraska,
and the Nebraska State Historical Society continued excavation
projects that had been started toward the close of the preceding year.
The University of Oklahoma continued work in the Fort Gibson
Reservoir in the summer of 1949, and in June of 1950 returned to the
area for further work.

Late in the fiscal year a program developed by the National Park
Service, whereby various scientific agencies would carry on salvage
work in proposed reservoir areas, got under way. On the basis of
agreements between the National Park Service and the agencies
concerned, certain funds were made available to the latter to help
cover the expense of the investigations. The River Basin Surveys
participated in that program in a consultative capacity only. The
final results of the work accomplished, however, will be correlated with
those of the Surveys,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 67

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

(Report prepared by Gorpon R. WILEY)

General statement.—The objectives of the Institute of Social Anthro-
pology are anthropological research on the community life of rural
peoples of Latin America and the training of Latin American nationals
in the methods and principles of modern social anthropology. The aim
is to inform both the social scientist and layman in the United States
concerning little-known peoples of other parts of the world and to
build up in various Latin American countries a corps of professionally
trained scientists and friends.

During the past year the Institute was financed by transfers of funds
from the Department of State, totaling $82,510, from the appropria-
tion ‘International Information and Education Activities, 1950.”
As in the previous year, long-term planning has been done on a very
tentative basis because of budget uncertainties for the future. Early
in the fiscal year reorganizations in Department of State technical-
aid-type programs called for a reappraisal of the Institute’s goals and
programs. With the Point IV foreign aid scheduled to take the place
of many of the projects of the former Committee for Scientific and
Cultural Cooperation, the question was raised as to whether the work
of the Institute should come within this new organizational frame-
work. The decision of the Institute, in keeping with the general
policy of the Smithsonian Institution, was that the Institute should
continue with basic research and teaching and not enter directly into
the field of applied social science. Nevertheless, the Institute,
through the office of the Director, served in an informal consultative
capacity to the Program Analysis and Reports Branch of the Inter-
departmental Committee and to the Point IV successor of this
committee. Such consultation has included recommendations for
anthropological aid and personnel for Point IV work, conferences with
the representatives of other governmental agencies considering
technical assistance programs, and informal memoranda from our
field representatives on features of local native life that provide a
background for economic development programs.

The regular assignments and program of the Institute continued as
formerly in the Washington office, and in the field stations in Brazil,
Colombia, México, and Peri.

Washington office—Dr. George M. Foster, Director, served from
July 1 until September 3, assuming leave status at the end of this
period to conduct privately sponsored research in Spain. Although
these investigations in Spain are not officially connected with the
Institute of Social Anthropology program, they bear directly upon it
scientifically in view of the close historical relationships between Spain

68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

and Latin America. Dr. Gordon R. Willey, on loan from the Bureau
of American Ethnology, was Acting Director for the remainder of the
year. Miss Lois C. Northcott, formerly secretary to the Director,
became administrative assistant in November 1949.

Upon the recommendation of the Director, Dr. José M. Cruxent,
Director of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela,
visited the United States on a Department of State grant-in-aid. He
remained during August and September, traveling within this country
to various museums and universities.

In February, Dr. Willey began an extended tour of Institute field
posts and, en route, visited other Latin-American countries to renew
professonal contacts and to discuss scientific and local academic
problems with Latim-American colleagues. Mexico City, Guatemala
City, Panamé, Bogotdé, Quito, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Caracas were included on this trip.

Brazil.—Drs. Donald Pierson, sociologist, and Kalervo Oberg,
social anthropologist, continued their research and teaching activities
in cooperation with the Escola Livre de Sociologia e Politica in Sao
Paulo. Dr. Pierson, after a 2-months’ consultation in the United
States, assumed duties in the Escola Livre de Sociologia e Politica as
dean of the graduate section. In connection with these duties he
trained graduate students in problems of academic administration.
In addition he taught courses in sociology and social anthropology,
supervised masters theses in social anthropology, and was engaged in
writing and preparing manuscripts in social anthropology and soci-
ology. In April Dr. Pierson represented the Smithsonian Institution
at Brazil’s National Indian Week celebrations in Rio de Janeiro.
at the request of the Brazilian Embassy. During May and June,
Dr. Pierson, accompanied by graduate students, undertook an in-
tensive social anthropological survey of the large and important Sao
Francisco River Valley. This field work was sponsored by the
federal government of Brazil as well as by the Institute of Social
Anthropology. A survey report is anticipated that will be of par-
ticular interest for the Brazilian Government’s economic development
plans for the Sao Francisco Valley.

Dr. Kalervo Oberg, accompanied by a student assistant, spent the
months of July and August in the northwestern Mato Grosso among
the Nambicuara, Iranxe, and other Indian groups. These tribes,
some of the most primitive in the world, lead a completely isolated
life, and there is very little scientific literature on them. He returned
to Sao Paulo late in August and resumed teaching, devoting his re-
search time to the preparation of a manuscript on the Mato Grosso
field work. Dr. Oberg delivered the address at the Escola Livre de

SECRETARY’S REPORT 69

Sociologia e Politica for the commencement exercises held in March,
He spent May and June in the United States on consultation.

Colombia.—In Colombia, Dr. Raymond E. Crist, cultural geog-
rapher on leave from the University of Maryland, represented the
Institute at the Universidad del Cauca, Popayan. For the past year
Dr. Crist was in Colombia only for the months of July through August,
returning to the United States in September. During this stay,
which was a continuation of an appointment made in 1949, Dr. Crist
and a group of Colombian scientists and graduate students made a
survey trip into the western section of the Department of Cauca for
the purpose of studying land utilization and agricultural and animal-
husbandry techniques. In August he accompanied Dr. A. C. White-
ford of Beloit University on a field trip among the Guambiano In-
dians, and shortly thereafter he visited the lower Eastern Cordillera
on a geographic survey. Dr. Crist was especially cited to the Secre-
tary of State by the assistant public affairs officer in Bogoté for the
professional and personal success of his stay in Colombia.

Meéxico.—Dr. Isabel T. Kelly, Institute representative assigned to
the Escuela Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, divided her
time between teaching and the writing of the first volume of an
ethnography of the Totonac Indians. This work was completed in
March, and since then Dr. Kelly has continued with preparation of
the second volume. She also carried on a research seminar for Mex-
ican graduate students in the writing and general preparation of
scientific monographs.

The United States-sponsored Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico
City exhibited some 80 photographs taken by Dr. Kelly during her
work among the Totonac Indians, and these photographs were later
borrowed by the Mexican Government for displays in Jalapa, Monter-
rey, Morelia, and Oaxaca. Dr. Kelly’s activities have been favorably
publicized by a feature article released in the Mexican popular weekly
magazine Nosotros.

In connection with the Washington office’s attempt to demonstrate
the utility of anthropology for the Point IV type of economic devel-
opment program, Dr. Kelly prepared an analysis of possibilities for
public housing in the tropical coastal area of the Gulf of Mexico. This
was written from the point of view of the native cultures involved,
with which Dr. Kelly is expertly familiar, and points up the conflicts
and difficulties to be overcome in implanting technological ideas on
alien societies. During September Dr. Kelly was in the United
States for consultation.

Perui.—The 1950 year opened with Dr. George A. Kubler, on leave
from Yale University, as the Institute’s representative attached to the
Peruvian Instituto de Estudios Etnoldégicos in Lima. Dr. Kubler, an

70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

authority on the Colonial Period in Pert, continued with his research
on archival material in the Department of La Libertad, Trujillo, as
well as in the Lima archives. Consultation with students in anthro-
pology and history was also maintained. Dr. Kubler returned to the
United States in September. A manuscript covering a part of Dr.
Kubler’s work in Pert, ‘““The Indian Caste of Perti, 1795-1950,” an
analysis of population and racial attitudes, was submitted for publica-
tion in April.

Ozzie G. Simmons, current representative in Pert, arrived in Lima
in November. Mr. Simmons offered a course on American ethnic
groups and acculturation in the Peruvian Instituto de Estudios
Etnolégicos and began field investigations at the town of Lunahuand.
Studies at this community, initiated in February with the aid of a
student assistant, have run throughout the year and will extend into
1951. Coincident with this research Mr. Simmons is collaborating in
a seminar on social anthropological field methods. He has also aided
in a questionnaire project conducted by the Peruvian National School
of Social Work among groups of highland Indians who have recently
moved to the vicinity of Lima in response to industrial opportunities.
Quite importantly, he has been instrumental in advising the Peruvian
Ministry of Public Health to add a Peruvian social anthropologist to
their staff for work in the Department of Ica. This has created an
excellent job opportunity for a Peruvian trained by us and has shown
the way for further employment of our trainees in governmental
departments.

EDITORIAL WORK AND PUBLICATIONS

There were issued one Annual Report and one Bulletin volume
(Handbook of South American Indians), and one Publication of the
Institute of Social Anthropology as listed below:

Sixty-sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1948-1949.
34 pp.

Bulletin 148. Handbook of South American Indians. Julian H. Steward,
editor. Volume 5, The comparative ethnology of South American Indians.
xxvi-+ 818 pp., 56 pls., 190 figs., 22 maps. 1949.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 10. Nomads of the Long Bow:
The Siriono of eastern Bolivia, by Allan R. Holmberg. 104 pp., 7 pls., 4 charts,
Imap. 1950.

The following publications were in press at the close of the fiscal year:

Bulletin 143. Handbook of South American Indians. Julian H. Steward,
editor. Volume 6, Physical anthropology, linguistics, and cultural geography of
South American Indians.

Bulletin 144. The northern and central Nootkan tribes, by Philip Drucker.

Bulletin 145. The Indian tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton.

SECRETARY’S REPORT “A

Bulletin 146. Chippewa child life and its cultural background, by Sister M.
Inez Hilger.

Bulletin 147. Journal of an expedition to the Mauvaises Terres and the Upper
Missouri in 1850, by Thaddeus B. Culbertson. Edited by John Francis
McDermott.

Bulletin 148. Arapaho child life and its cultural background, by Sister M.
Inez Hilger.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 11. Quiroga: A Mexican Munici-
pio, by Donald D. Brand,

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 12. Cruz das Almas: A Brazilian
village, by Donald Pierson.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 13. The Tajin Totonac: Part 1.
History, subsistence, and technology, by Isabel Kelly and Angel Palerm.

Institute of Social Anthropology Publ. No. 14. The Indian caste of Peru,
1795-1950: A population study based upon tax records and census reports, by
George Kubler.

Publications distributed totaled 19,116 as compared with 19,660 for

the fiscal year 1949.
LIBRARY

The total number of volumes accessioned in the library is 34,838, an
increase of 119 volumes over the fiscal year 1949.

ARCHIVES

The largest collection of Indian photographs acquired by the
Bureau in many years was obtained during the past year when the
Library of Congress gave permission to copy pictures submitted long
ago for copyright purposes. These pictures, made more than 50
years ago, show many famous Indians whose portraits are new to the
collections. Another group of 50 rare Indian photographs was re-
ceived from Eddie Herman, a Sioux Indian of Hot Springs, S. Dak.

The manuscript material in the archives of the Bureau has been
used by research workers both by personal visits for consultation and
by correspondence.

A new manuscript of 2,380 pages, in the Fox Indian language,
consisting of a vocabulary, with grammatical and linguistic notes,
was donated to the Bureau by Miss Ella A. Merritt of Washington.
This work was compiled by the late James Brannin, formerly connected
with the United States Navy during the time (1935-42) he was
stationed near the Fox Indians in Wisconsin.

COLLECTIONS
Acc, No.

175998. Surface material from aboriginal sites in Allatoona Reservoir area,
Cherokee, Bartow, and Cobb Counties, northwest Georgia, collected
by Joseph R. Caldwell from November 1946 to April 1947. River
Basin Surveys.

922758—51——_6

42, ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Ace, No.

182578. Archeological materials, consisting of stone artifacts and potsherds,
from two prehistoric shell mounds near Monagrillo, Herrera Province,
Republic of Panamd, and including in the Monagrillo pottery series
what is believed to be the earliest yet known from Papramé, collected
by Drs. M. W. Stirling and Gordon R. Willey during the 1948 Smith-
sonian Institution-National Geographic Society expedition to Panamé.

182845. A collection of archeological material together with 250 geological speci-
mens, 31 mammals, botanical specimens, 4 fish, 20 insects, and approxi-
mately 64 marine invertebrates from Cornwallis Island, the Canadian
Arctic, collected by Henry B. Collins, Jr., in the summer of 1949 on the
National Museum of Canada-Smithsonian Institution Expedition.

183940. 68 potsherds of various types from an archeological site, Crystal River,
Citrus County, Fla., collected by Dr. Gordon R. Willey.

185245. 2 beetles, 2 lizards, 1 snake, and 1 frog from Province of Chiriqui, Pa-
pnam4, collected by Dr. M. W. Stirling.

185249. About 20 specimens of Eocene invertebrate fossils from Louisiana, col-
lected by Carl F. Miller. River Basin Surveys.

185382. 11 original oil paintings of Yahgan, Ona, and Tehuelche Indians, Argen-
tine prisoners, and scenes of the Furlong Expedition of 1908 to Tierra
del Fuego, painted by Charles W. Furlong.

185538. (Through Carl F. Miller) 12 fresh-water mollusks from northwestern
Georgia, gathered in an Indian village site. River Basin Surveys.

185627. (Through Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr.) 2 mosasaur skulls collected
by Dr. T. E. White from upper Cretaceous deposits of the Lavon Re-
servoir area, 1 mile east of Culeoka, Collin County, Tex. River Basin
Surveys.

186797. 4 dictaphones and phonographs, including ones used by Alice C. Fletcher
and Frances Densmore.

MISCELLANEOUS

Dr. Frances Densmore, Dr. John R. Swanton, and Dr. Antonio
J. Waring, Jr., continued as collaborators of the Bureau of American
Ethnology.

During the year information was furnished by members of the
Bureau staff in reply to numerous inquiries concerning the American
Indians, past and present, of both continents. The increased number
of requests from teachers of primary and secondary grades and from
Scout organizations indicates a rapidly growing interest in the American
Indian throughout the country. Various specimens sent to the
Bureau were identified and data on them furnished for their owners.

Respectfully submitted.

M. W. Stiruine, Director.

Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 6
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1950:

The Smithsonian Institution is the official United States agency for
the exchange with other nations of governmental, scientific, and
literary publications. The International Exchange Service, initiated
by the Smithsonian Institution in the early years of its existence for
the interchange of scientific publications between learned societies
and individuals in the United States and those of foreign countries,
serves as a means of developing and executing in part the broad and
comprehensive object, ‘the diffusion of knowledge.” It was later
designated by the United States Government as the agency for the
transmission of official documents to selected depositories throughout
the world, and it continues to execute the exchanges pursuant to
conventions, treaties, and other international agreements.

The number of packages received for transmission during the year
was 1,009,675, an increase over the previous year of 169,550 packages,
or approximately 20 percent. The weight of the packages was
832,087 pounds, an increase of 35,387 pounds, or approximately 4.4
percent. It was only through the installation and utilization of labor-
saving devices that the International Exchange Service was able to
process the additional number of packages without increased personnel.

The average weight of the individual package decreased to approxi-
mately 13 ounces as compared with the average of 15 ounces for the
fiscal year of 1949. This indicates that the majority of the publica-
tions now being transmitted are current publications rather than accu-
mulated publications. A further reason for the reduction in the
average weight of the individual package is to be found in the fact
that more of the departments of the United States Government are
using the International Exchange Service for the transmission of their
periodical publications. The publications received from both the

73

74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

foreign and domestic sources for shipment are classified as shown in
the following table:

Classification Packages Weight

; : Number Number Pounds Pounds
United States parliamentary documents sent abroad_-- 526; 8045 see ae oer, 226 1960 iPS eee
Publications received in return for parliamentary docu-

EYL CTL GS eee ee ee ee ee | ee een 13; 596i|patoe ss Sees 21, 873
United States departmental documents sent abroad_-__- 210 |b ose 220, 487 || 22u2 22S
Publications received in return for departmental docu-

TM OM ES i. et SUI Se eS so UR Re Dee wet ot Ie — a 5, 95bn | Seen see se 14, 147
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent

Eo} nf: Yo Weems Dat A Ue Eee pet rea eee Se GONZO | Seen eee 253,928; (t= aes
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications re-

ceived from abroad for distribution in the United

PSE Pe Re aeRO nD NUR SPEAR TCD Ne le CRS, Oe Re ek A3''0S4))| ses eine e io 94, 686

Totalzotcsetet Pw hsnde 2282 oo Lae ee 947, 040 62, 635 701, 381 130, 706

Grand Cota) et eee ao ea eee eee eeee es . 1, 009, 675 832, 087

The packages of publications are forwarded by freight to the
exchange bureaus of foreign countries and to addressees in foreign
countries where shipment by such means is impractical by direct
mail. ‘The number of boxes shipped to the foreign exchange bureaus
was 2,889, a decrease of 407 boxes from the previous year. Of the
boxes shipped 841 were for depositories of full sets of United States
Government documents, these publications being furnished in ex-
change for the official publications of foreign governments for deposit
in the Library of Congress. Jhe number of packages forwarded by
mail and means other than freight was 219,471.

In spite of the fact that considerable savings in transportation
continued to be effected by exporting through Baltimore rather than
New York, and in spite of the advantage gained through special
arrangements for shipment to Germany, the allotment for transporta-
tion was insufficient to maintain full operations for the entire year.
Owing to the insufficient funds and to the fact that no shipments
were made to China or Rumania, the International Exchange Service
ended the fiscal year with a backlog of 145,224 pounds of publications.

Consignments are now forwarded to all countries except China and
Rumania. Publications for addressees in Formosa, formerly sent
through the Chinese Exchange Bureau, are now forwarded by direct
mail,

FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS

The number of sets of United States official publications received
by the Exchange Service to be sent abroad in return for the official
publications sent by foreign governments for deposit in the Library
of Congress is 99 (59 full and 40 partial sets). Changes that occurred
during the year are shown in the footnotes.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 75

DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS

ARGENTINA: Direccién de Investigaciones, Archivo, Biblioteca y Legislacién Ex-
tranjero, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriories y Culto, Buenos Aires,
AusTRALIA: Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra,

New Sours Watss: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane.

Sour Ausrraia: Public Library of South Australia, Adelaide.

TasMANIA: Parliamentary Library, Hobart.

Vicrort1a: Publie Library of Victoria, Melbourne.

WEsTERN AusTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth.
Ausrria: Administrative Library, Federal Chancellery, Vienna.
Brexieium: Bibliothéque Royale, Bruxelles.

Braziu: Biblioteca Nagional, Rio de Janiero.!
Butearia: Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute, Sofia,
Burma: Government Book Depot, Rangoon.
Canapa: Library of Parliament, Ottawa.

Manirosa: Provincial Library, Winnipeg.

Ontario: Legislative Library, Toronto.

QuerseEc: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec.
Cryton: Department of Information, Government of Ceylon, Colombo.?
CuitE: Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago.

Curna: Ministry of Education, National Library, Nanking, China.’

Perrine: National Library of Peiping.’

Coxtomstia: Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota.
Costa Rica: Oficina de Depésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San José.
Cusa: Ministerio de Estado, Canje Internacional, Habana.
CzECHOSLOVAKIA: Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale, Prague.
Denmark: Institut Danois des Echanges Internationaux, Copenhagen.‘
Eayrt: Bureau des Publications, Ministére des Finances, Cairo.
FINLAND: Parliamentary Library, Helsinki.
FRANCE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris.
GERMANY: Offentliche Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek, Berlin.
Parliamentary Library, Bonn.’
Great Brirain:
ENGLAND: British Museum, London,
Lonpon: London School of Economics and Political Science. (Depository
of the London County Council.)
Huneary: Library of Parliament, Budapest.
Inp1a: National Library, Calcutta.
InpongEs1A: Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Djakarta.®
IRELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin.
IsRAEL: Government Archives and Library, Hakirya.®
Iraty: Ministerio della Publica Istruzione, Rome.
JAPAN: National Diet Library, Tokyo.
Mexico: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Departamento de Informacién para
el Extranjero, Mexico, D. F.

1 Changed from Institutio Nacional do Livro.

2 Changed from partial set.

3 Suspended.

4 Changed from Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.
5’ Changed from Amerika Institut, Berlin.

6 Added during the year.

76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

NETHERLANDS: Royal Library, The Hague.

New ZraLanp: General Assembly Library, Wellington.

Norway: Utenriksdepartmentets Bibliothek, Oslo.

Peru: Seccién de Propaganda y Publicaciones, Ministerio de Relaciones Ex-

teriores, Lima.

PuHILIpPINes: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila.

Pouanp: Bibliothégque Nationale, Warsaw.

PortuGAL: Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.

Spain: Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid.’

SwepEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm.

SwiTzERLAND: Bibliothéque Centrale Fédérale, Berne.

TurKEY: Department of Printing and Engraving, Ministry of Education,

Istanbul.

Union or Souru Arrica: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal.

Union or Soviet Socratist Repusrics: All-Union Lenin Library, Moscow 115.
Uxraine: Ukrainian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries,

Kiev.’

Unirep Nations: Library of the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.

Uruauay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo.

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas.

Yucostavia: Ministére de |’Education, Belgrade.

DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS

AFGHANISTAN: Library of the Afghan Academy, Kabul.
Bouivra: Biblioteca del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, La Paz.
BRAZIL:

Minas Gerats: Directoria Geral de Estatistica em Minas, Bello Horizonte.
British Guiana: Government Secretary’s Office, Georgetown, Demerara.
CANADA:

ALBERTA: Provincial Library, Edmonton.

Britisa Coiumsia: Provincial Library, Victoria.

New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton.

Nova Scortra: Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, Halifax.

SASKATCHEWAN: Legislative Library, Regina.

Dominican Repusuic: Biblioteca de la Universidad de Santo Domingo, Ciudad
Trujillo.

Ecuapor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito.

GREECE: National Library, Athens.

GuaATEMALA: Biblioteca Nacional, Guatemala.

Harti: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince.

HONDURAS:

Biblioteca y Archivo Nacionales, Tegucigalpa.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Tegucigalpa.
IcELAND: National Library, Reykjavik.

INDIA:

BIHAR AND Orissa: Revenue Department, Patna.

Bompay: Undersecretary to the Government of Bombay, General Depart-

ment, Bombay.

7 Changed from Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 77

Inp1a—Continued

UnitED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH:

University of Allahabad, Allahabad.
Civil Secretariat, Council House, Lucknow.®

West Bencau: Library, West Bengal Legislature, Assembly House, Calcutta,
Iran: Imperial Ministry of Education, Tehran.
Iraq: Public Library, Baghdad.
Jamaica: Colonial Secretary, Kingston.

University College of the West Indies, St. Andrews.*®
LispeRrIA: Department of State, Monrovia.
Mataya: Federal Secretariat, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Matta: Minister for the Treasury, Valleta.
NEWFOUNDLAND: Department of Home Affairs, St. John’s.
NicaraGua: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Managua.
Pakistan: Chief Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Lahore.
Panama: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama.
Paraauar: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Seccién Biblioteca, Asuncién.
SALVADOR:

Biblioteca Nacional, San Salvador.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador.
Scortanp: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.*
Siam: National Library, Bangkok.
SincaporeE: Chief Secretary, Government Offices, Singapore.
Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy.

INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL

There are now being sent abroad 83 copies of the Federal Register
and 87 copies of the Congressional Record. This is an increase of
2 copies of the Federal Register and 12 of the Congressional Record
over the preceding year. The countries to which these journals are
being forwarded are given in the following list.

DEPOSITORIES OF CONGRESSIONAL RECORD AND FEDERAL REGISTER

ARGENTINA:
Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Buenos Aires.
Biblioteca del Poder Judicial, Mendoza.$
Cdémara de Diputados, Oficina de Informacion Parliamentaria, Buenos Aires.
Boletin Oficial de la Reptiblica Argentina, Ministerio de Justica e Instruccién
Piblica, Buenos Aires,
AUSTRALIA:
Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra.
New Sours Watss: Library of Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney.
QUEENSLAND: Chief Secretary’s Office, Brisbane.
WesTERN AusTRALIA: Library of Parliament of Western Australia.
BRAZIL:
Biblioteca da Camera dos Deputados, Rio de Janeiro.
Amazonas: Archivo, Biblioteca e Imprensa Publica, Mandos.
Banta: Governador do Estado da Bahia, Sao Salvador.
Esprriro SANTO: Presidencia do Estado do Espirito Santo, Victoria.

§ Federal Register only.

78 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Brazit—Continued
Rio GRANDE DO Sut: Imprensa Oficial do Estado, Porto Alegre.
Srerarre: Biblioteca Publica do Estado de Sergipe, Aracaju.
Sio Pauxo: Imprensa Oficial do Estado, Sao Paulo.
British HonpurAs: Colonial Secretary, Belize.
CANADA:
Library of Parliament, Ottawa.
Clerk of the Senate, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa.
CuBA:
Biblioteca del Capitolio, Habana,
Biblioteca Publica Panamericana, Habana.®
House of Representatives, Habana.
CzEcHOsLOVAKIA: Library of the Czechoslovak National Assembly, Prague.® ®
Eeyrt: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egyptian Government, Cairo.®
Ex Satvapor: Library, National Assembly, San Salvador.
FRANCE:
Bibliothéque Assemblée Nationale, Paris.
Bibliothéque, Conseil de la République.
Library, Organization for European Economic Cooperation, Paris.® ®
Publiques de l’Institute de Droit Compare, Université de Paris, Paris.®
Research Department, Council of Europe, Strasbourg.® ®
Service de la Documentation Etrangére, Assemblée Nationale, Paris.®
GeRMAnNyY: Der Bayrische Landtag, Munich.®
Deutscher Bundesrat, Bonn.® ®
Deutscher Bundestag, Bonn.® ®
GREAT BRITAIN:
House of Commons Library, London.?®
Printed Library of the Foreign Office, London.
GREECE: Bibliothéque, Chambre des Députés Hellénique, Athens."
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca de la Asamblea Legislativa, Guatemala.
Harti: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince.
Honpuras: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Tegucigalpa.
INDIA:
Civil Secretariat Library, Lucknow, United Provinces.®
Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.® ®
Legislative Assembly Library, Lucknow, United Provinces.
Legislative Department, Simla.
Parliament Library, New Delhi.® ®
InponEstA: Provisional Parliament of East-Indonesia, Macassar, Celebes.
IRELAND: Dail Eireann, Dublin.
ITALY:
Biblioteca Camera dei Deputati, Rome.
Biblioteca del Senato della Republica, Rome.
European Office, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome.$
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, Rome.®

9 Congressional Record only.
10 Three copies.
11 Changed from Library, Greek Parliament.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Japan: Library of the National Diet, Tokyo.®
MeExIco:

79

Direecién General de Informacién, Secretarfa de Gobernacién, Mexico, D. F.

Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, Mexico, D. F.

AGUASCALIENTES: Gobernador del Estado de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes.

CamprecuHe: Gobernador del Estado de Campeche, Campeche.
Cur1apas: Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez.
CuimuanHua: Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua.

Coauuita: Periddico Oficial del Estado de Coahuila, Palacio de Gobierno,

Saltillo.
Couima: Gobernador del Estado de Colima, Colima.

Duranco: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Durango, Durango.

Guanasuato: Secretarfa General de Gobierno del Estado, Guanajuato.

GuERRERO: Gobernador del Estado de Guerrero, Chilpancingo.
Jauisco: Biblioteca del Estado, Guadalajara.

Lower Catirornia: Gobernador del Distrito Norte, Mexicali.
México: Gaceta del Gobierno, Toluca.

Micwoackn: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado de Michoacan,

Morelia.
Moretos: Palacio de Gobierno, Cuernavaca.
Nayarit: Gobernador de Nayarit, Tepic.
Nuevo Lrdén: Biblioteca del Estado, Monterrey.
Oaxaca: Periddico Oficial, Palacia de Gobierno, Oaxaca.
PurEBLA: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Puebla.

QurErfTARO: Secretarfa General de Gobierno, Seccién de Archivo, Querétaro.

San Luis Porosf: Congreso del Estado, San Luis Potosi.
SinaLoa: Gobernador del Estado de Sinaloa, Culiacan.
Sonora: Gobernador del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo.

Tasasco: Secretaria de Gobierno, Sessién 3a, Ramo de Prensa, Villahermosa.

TAMAULIPAS: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Victoria.
Tuaxcaua: Secretaria de Gobierno del Estado, Tlaxcala.

Veracruz: Gobernador del Estado de Veracruz, Departamento de Gober-

nacién y Justicia, Jalapa.
YucatAn: Gobernador del Estado de Yucatan, Mérida.
NETHERLANDS: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.’
New Zeauanp: General Assembly Library, Wellington.
Norway: Library of the Norwegian Parliament, Oslo.
PakIsTAN: Punjab Legislative Assembly, Lahore.
Peru: Camara de Diputados, Lima.
Pouanp: Ministry of Justice, Warsaw.
PortuGA.L: Secretaria da Assembla National, Lisbon.® ®
SwiTzERLAND: Bibliothéque, Bureau International du Travail, Geneva.’
Library, United Nations, Geneva.
International Labor Office, Geneva.® 2
UNION or SoutH AFRICA:
Carre or Goop Hope: Library of Parliament, Cape Town.
TRANSVAAL: State Library, Pretoria.
Union or Sovier Socrauist REpPuBiics: Fundamental’niia Biblioteka,
shchestvennykh Nauk, Moscow.® ®

12 Two copies.

Ob-

80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Urvauay: Diario Oficial, Calle Florida 1178, Montevideo.
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca del Congreso, Caracas.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE AGENCIES

Exchange publications are forwarded to all countries except China
and Rumania. The countries listed are those to which shipments
are forwarded by freight. Packages of publications are forwarded to
addresses in other countries directly by mail.

LIST OF AGENCIES

Austria: Austrian National Library, Vienna.

Beuarum: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique,
Bruxelles.

Cuina: Bureau of International Exchange, National Central Library, Nanking.®

CzECHOSLOVAKIA: Bureau of International Exchanges, National and University
Library, Prague."

Denmark: Institut des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale, Copen-
hagen K.

Ecypt: Government Press, Publications Office, Bulaq, Cairo.

FINLAND: Delegation of the Scientific Societies of Finland, Kasarngatan 24,
Helsinki.

France: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale, 58 Rue
de Richelieu, Paris.

GERMANY: Offentliche Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek, Berlin. 1

German Central Committee for Distribution of Cultural Materials,
Stuttgart.! 17

Great BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Wheldon & Wesley, 83/84 Berwick Street, London,
Wels

Huneaary: Hungarian Libraries Board, Ferenciektere 5, Budapest, IV.

Inpra: Superintendent of Government Printing and Stationery, Bombay.

Iraty: Ufficio degli Secambi Internazionali, Ministero della Publica Istruzione,
Rome.

JAPAN: International Exchange Service, National Diet Library, Tokyo.'®

NETHERLANDS: International Exchange Bureau of the Netherlands, Royal
Library, The Hague.

New Soutu WatsEs: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

New Zeauanp: General Assembly Library, Wellington.

Norway: Service Norvégien des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de I’ Uni-
versité Royale, Oslo.

PaLEsTINE: Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem.

PuiuiePInes: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila.

Ponanp: Service Polonais des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale,
Warsaw.

PortuGa.t: Seccaéo de Trocas Iniernacionais, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.

13 Shipments suspended.

14 Changed from Bureau des changes Internationaux, Bibliothéque de l’Assemblée Nationale.
15 Distribution under the supervision of the United States High Commissioner for Germany.

16 For all sectors of Berlin and the Eastern Zone.

17 For the Western Zone.

18 Changed from International Exchange Service, National Library of Japan.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 81

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

Rumania: Ministére de la Propagande Nationale, Service des Echanges Inter-
nationaux, Bucharest.

Soutn AusTrauiA: South Australian Government Exchanges Bureau, Govern-
ment Printing and Stationery Office, Adelaide.

Spain: Junta de Intercambio y Adquisicié6n de Libros y Revistas para Biblote-
cas Piblicas, Ministerio de Educacién Nacional, Avenida Calvo Sotelo 20,
Madrid.

SwEpEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm.

SwiITzERLAND: Service Suisse des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Centrale
Fédérale, Palais Fédérale, Berne.

TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart.

Turkey: Ministry of Education, Department of Printing and Engraving,
Istanbul.

Union or SoutH Arrica: Government Printing and Stationery Office, Cape Town,
Cape of Good Hope.

Union or Soviet Socrauist Repusiics: Bureau of Book Exchange, State Lenin
Library, Moscow 19.1%

Victoria: Publie Library of Victoria, Melbourne.

WEsTERN AusTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth.

Yuaosuavia: Federal Bibliographical Institute of Yugoslavia, Belgrade.

Respectfully submitted.
D. G. Wiiuiams, Chief.
Dr. A. WETMORE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

19 Changed from International Book Exchange Department, Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign
Countries, Moscow 56.
20 Changed from Section des Echanges Internationaux, Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres.

APPENDIX 7
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

Str: Transmitted herewith is a report on the operations of the
National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950.

The value of the collection was enhanced by the acquisition of
specimens that have not hitherto been on exhibition or that are
rarities. As the Zoo is a combined educational, recreational, and
research institution, the addition of new kinds of animals is of marked
benefit. At the close of the year the personnel had been recruited to
almost its authorized strength, and the rate of personnel turn-over
had declined. Such good progress had been made in repair work
that the general condition is definitely better than it has been for
several years.

The National Zoological Park continues to do its utmost to further
the expressed purpose of the Smithsonian Institution, ‘‘the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men,” by constantly rendering a
wide variety of ‘services in addition to maintaining the exhibits.
Valuable opportunities for research are afforded students of biology,
particularly vertebrate zoology, as well as artists, photographers, and
writers, utilizing only methods of study that do not endanger the
welfare of the animals or of the public. Other services are answering
in person, and by phone, mail, and telegraph, questions regarding
animals and their care and transportation; furnishing information to
other zoos and private and public agencies regarding structures for
keeping and housing animals; cooperation with other agencies of the
Federal, State, and municipal governments in research work; and
preparation of articles for publication.

THE EXHIBITS

Specimens for exhibition are acquired by gift, deposit, purchase,
exchange, births, and hatchings and are removed by death, exchange,
or return of those on deposit. Although depositors are at liberty to
remove their specimens, many leave them permanently.

As in any colony of living things, there is a steady turn-over, and
so the exhibits are constantly changing. Thus, the inventory list of
specimens in the collection on June 30 of each year does not show all
the kinds of animals that were exhibited during the year; sometimes

82

SECRETARY’S REPORT 83

creatures of outstanding interest at the time they were shown are no
longer in the collection at the time the list is prepared.

ACCESSIONS
GIFTS

Many valuable additions to the collections were made by gifts
during the past year.

The Government of India, through Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru and the Embassy of India in Washington, presented a pair of
baby elephants. These were captured in Mysore and sent from
Bombay to the States with a young Indian mahout, Baba Jan, in
charge. The Isthmian Steamship Co. furnished free transportation
for the elephants and a return passage for Baba Jan. They were
officially presented by Madam Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Ambassador to
the United States from India, through Assistant Secretary of State
George C. McGhee, in the presence of some 70,000 people. Ashok,
named after an ancient Indian emperor known for his peaceful reign,
was about a year old. Shanti, an Indian word meaning peace (and
also a girl’s name), was about 2 years old. They adapted themselves
immediately to life at the Zoo and are two much-admired animals.

The U. S. National Park Service captured and sent three grizzly
bears, which were especially desirable additions inasmuch as the Zoo
has had none for many years. Grizzlies are now so scarce that they
are highly prized, and the courtesy of the National Park Service in
supplying them is much appreciated. These three were removed
from Yellowstone Park because they threatened to become a menace
to visitors; otherwise they would not have been disturbed.

A number of shipments were received from members of the Armed
Forces who had been abroad; many of them came from Malaya,
where they were collected by Maj. Robert Traub, of the Army Med-
ical Department, Research and Graduate School. Outstanding
among the rare and interesting creatures are two pencil-tailed tree
mice, a species seldom seen in captivity.

Miss Alice Birney Robert, Washington, D. C., presented a great
gray kangaroo that her father obtained while in Australia.

The American Veterans Association presented ‘“‘Amvet,’’ an unus-
ually fine lion cub, which promises to become a splendid adult.

Roy Humbert, of Eustis, Fla., sent four giant anolis lizards from
Cuba.

Capt. Hugh L. Keegan, of the United States Army Medical Corps,
sent a number of Philippine species, including two elephant trunk
snakes, a tangalunga, a Philippine palm civet, and a slender-tailed
cloud rat (Phloeomys cumingi).

84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service continued sending valuable
animals, including a Steller’s sea lion from St. Paul Island, Alaska.

J. D. Handman, of Nyasaland, Africa, in making shipments of
animals ordered from him, has in each case put in one or two extra
creatures as gifts. The specimens are from a region not well known
zoologically, and so all are of special interest.

An American black bear, “Smoky,” a cub that had been rescued
from a forest fire in New Mexico, was presented by the U. S. Forest
Service. The animal was flown to Washington in a Piper Cub air-
plane, through the courtesy of Mr. Piper, and presented in connection
with the Forest Service’s campaign to emphasize the necessity for
prevention and control of forest fires.

DEPpoSsiITORS AND DoNorRS AND THEIR GIFTS

(Deposits are marked *)

Adams, Joseph L., Washington, D. C., opossum.

Allen, Mrs. Arthur, Alexandria, Va., horned lizard.

Allen, Robert F., Washington, D. C., 2 opossums.

Allen, Ross, Ocala, Fla., 3 southern chicken snakes.

AMVETS, Washington, D. C., lion cub.

Anholt, R. W., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Aqueduct Police Force, Washington, D. C., water snake.

Army Medical Department, Research and Graduate School, through Maj. Robert
Traub, Washington, D. C., 2 pencil-tailed tree mice.

Asbury, George, Jr., Washington, D. C., alligator.

Austin, Arthur E., Washington, D. C., 2 rabbits, guinea pig.

Baird, James, Triangle, Va., copperhead snake.

Baldwin, Lt. Col. Charles, Canal Zone, 2 kinkajous.

Barbour, Mrs., Sunnybrook, Md., Muscovy duck.

Beckett, Howard, Lanham, Md., great horned owl.

Bergen, R. P., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Bittenbender, C. R., Arlington, Va., Pekin duck.

Blair, Mrs. Marge, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Blair, William, Hillwood Square, Va., horned grebe.

Blocker, E. M., Fresno, Calif., California spotted skunk, 2 coyotes.

Boatright, Miss Susie, Peacock, Tex., 4 horned lizards.

Bockman, Chas. C., Baltimore, Md., blue goose.

Boykin, Masters Robert and Richard, Washington, D. C., jumping mouse.

Brill, Delbert, Washington, D. C., opossum.

Brucker, Brad, Washington, D. C., black-widow spider.

Buell, Miner W. and James, Bethesda, Md., 5 rabbits.

Busbey, Bill, Berwyn, Md., 2 pygmy rattlesnakes, diamondback rattlesnake,
black racer, opossum.

Butler, C. P., Washington, D. C., 12 hermit crabs.

Butler, William J., Chevy Chase, Md., opossum.

Canada, Dr. R. O., Arlington, Va., 2 cottontail rabbits.

Chaffe, Melvin, Washington, D. C., horned lizard.

Charles, R. W., Washington, D. C., alligator.

Cleveland Zoological Park, Cleveland, Ohio, 2 spur-winged geese.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 85

Cliff, Arthur E., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Cline, L. A., Washington, D. C., chain king snake.

Coleman, Mrs. Howard, Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.
Collins, Mrs. J., Washington, D. C., horned lizard.

Collins, Miss Jeanne, Washington, D. C., 7 rabbits.

Comley, Clifford, Jr., Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Costello, Mrs. E., Washington, D. C., Philippine macaque.
Cottam, Dr. Clarence, Washington, D. C., white-fronted goose.
Counts, R. L., Washington, D. C., rabbit.

Darison, Mrs. G. F., Washington, D. C., albino gray squirrel.
Davidson, Miss Mary, Washington, D. C., screech owl.
Davis, Miss Elizabeth, Washington, D. C., 4 blue jays.
Davis, Mrs. Elwood, Washington, D. C., rabbit.

Davis, John, Washington, D. C., great blue heron.

Davis, Malcolm, Calcutta, India, 2 koels.

Dean, Mr., Sunnyside, Md., 70 bantam chickens.

Denletian, Gary A., Washington, D. C., eastern nighthawk.
Dickey, Donald, Suitland, Md., osprey.

Dix, Mr. and Mrs. E. S., Vienna, Va., bobwhite quail.

Doerr, William C., Washington, D. C., alligator.

Dornin, W., Phoenix, Ariz., Boyle’s king snake, 5 sidewinder rattlesnakes.
Douglas, J. E., Rockville, Md., pilot black snake.

DuFour, Mrs. E., Prince Georges County, Md., red, blue, and yellow macaw.
Kasterman, W. B., Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Eleazer, J. M., Clemson, 8S. C., red-tailed hawk.

Faul, Mrs. Henry, Lanham, Md., 4 opossums.

Faust, John H., Washington, D. C., spotted salamander.
Fickel, Miss Susan, Alexandria, Va., domestic rabbit.

Fieser, Jimmy and Johnny, Bethesda, Md., Pekin duck.

Fox, James B., Washington, D. C., goshawk.*

French, Mrs. Patterson, Washington, D. C., baby alligator.
Frey, Miss Jane, Washington, Pekin duck.

Gabriel, Master Richard, Arlington, Va., Pekin duck.
Garrett, Miss Betty I., Arlington, Va., alligator.

Gassage, F. T., Takoma Park, Md., horned lizard.

Gaver, Gordon, Thurmont, Md., king cobra,* 3 Indian cobras,* cape cobra,*
boa constrictor,* central American boa,* rainbow boa,* regal python,* Indian
rock python,* 3 Mexican tropical moccasins,* cottonmouth moccasin,* 3
copperhead snakes,* chicken snake,* corn snake,* pine snake,* 2 black tegus, *
Gila monster,* 4 rhesus monkeys,* 2 Javan macaques,* African monitor, *

2 gila monsters, * 3 beaded lizards.*
Gaynor, Donald B., Silver Spring, Md., 3 Pekin ducks.
Geuton, John, McLean, Va., 4 Pekin ducks.*
Gillespie, Mrs. Wm. V., Takoma Park, Md., ring-necked dove.
Good, C. B., Gore, Va., raccoon.
Gooden, Mrs. E. L., Takoma Park, Md., Pekin duck.
Gouleit, Misses Gloria and Joann, Washington, D. C., 2 rabbits.
Graham, Mrs. Wallace H., Washington, D. C., ocelot.
Gray, Ralph, Arlington, Va., 2 gray raccoons.
Green, Robert, Washington, D. C., barn owl.
Greeson, L. E., Arlington, Va., fox squirrel.
Griffin, Fred, Washington, D. C., black duck.
Haggard, J. W., Washington, D. C., 5 hamsters.

86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Haggerty, Miss Irene, Washington, D. C., 3 guinea pigs.

Hall, Miss Suzanne, Westgate, Md., Pekin duck.

Hamilton, A. G., Washington, D. C., mockingbird.

Handley, Charles, Washington, D. C., 3 guinea pigs, 12 hamsters.

Hanley, C., Arlington, Va., angora goat.

Hardy, Mrs. W. E., Bowie, Md., 2 wood ducks.

Harris, Mrs. E. G., Arlington, Va., 2 hamsters.

Harris, Lester E., Jr., Takoma Park, Md., pilot black snake.

Hassett, William D., The White House, mynah.*

Hayes, Buster, Tampa, Fla., Indian rock python,* coatimundi.*

Hebert, Emmett, A., Bethesda, Md., 2 Pekin ducks.

Hegener Research Supply, Sarasota, Fla., corn snake.

Heller, Miss Barbara, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Hershfield, Master Peter, Alexandria, Va., raccoon.

Hicks, Robert, Washington, D. C., puma.*

Hoffman, R. A., Washington, D. C., double yellow-headed parrot.

Holcomb, V., Washington, D. C. blue heron.

Hook, Rev. Walter C., Fairfax, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Houser, Adam, Avondale, Md., 2 Pekin ducks.

Hughes, Chas., Silver Spring, Md., 4 fence lizards, 5 garter snakes, prairie rattle-
snake, bull snake.

Hughes, Miss Gene, Washington, D. C., 2 red-shouldered hawks.

Humbert, Roy, Eustis, Fla., 4 giant anolis.

Hynes, Dr. Wm. P., Washington, D. C., 3 grass parakeets.

Indian Government, through Premier Jawaharlal Nehru, 2 Asiatic elephants.

Ingalls, Tommy, Washington, D. C., 2 white mice, 2 canaries.

Ingham, Rex, Ruffin, N. C., patas monkey,* rhesus monkey,* DeBrazza’s guenon
monkey,* sooty mangabey monkey,* great gray kangaroo,* scarlet snake.*

Jenkins, R. §8., Buena Vista, Va., Philippine macaque.*

Johnson, Miss Betty, Chevy Chase, Md., raccoon.

Jolley, Edward M., Jr., Washington, D. C., black snake, copperhead.

Jones, Miss Marie, Washington, D. C., 2 white rabbits.

Judd, Master Robert, Chevy Chase, Md., flying squirrel.

Kahlaugh, Mrs. R., Knoxville, Tenn., sparrow hawk.

Kane, Miss Kathleen, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Kaplin, Mrs. S., Takoma Park, Md., wood thrush.

Kaye, Joseph, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks, 2 rabbits.

Keegan, Capt. Hugh L., Pampanga, P. I., 2 elephant trunk snakes, tangalunga,
Philippine palm civet, slender-tailed cloud rat.

Keller, Stanley, Silver Spring, Md., 2 crows.

Kelly, John S8., Hyattsville, Md., 2 skunks.

Kemp, Mr., Washington, D. C., bobwhite quail.

Kidda, Mrs. Leonard, Washington, D. C., skunk.

Kineannon, Oliver, Chevy Chase, Md., 4 fighting fowl.

Kinsey, M. E., Washington, D. C., 2 rabbits.

Kintz, Maj. J. S., Washington, D. C., snapping turtle.

Knauss, Misses Sylvia and Miriam, McLean, Va., alligator.

Knight, Mrs. R. L., Silver Spring, Md., crow.

Kochanaki, Mr. and Mrs. J. F., Arlington, Va., 8 horned lizards.

Kreitzer, H. M., Silver Spring, Md., 2 Pekin ducks.

Kyriages, Gus, Alexandria, Va., loggerhead turtle.

Lamon, John C., Knoxville, Tenn., grass snake.

Lawburt, Max H., Washington, D. C., white rabbit.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 87

Lawner, Mr., Chevy Chase, Md., hamster.

Long, Lewis E., Washington, D. C., South American opossum and 4 young.
Loraman, Mrs., Washington, D. C., red fox.

Lund, Hugh, Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

MacBurnett, Mrs. R. D., Washington, D. C., horned lizard.
Mackintosh, Master Dick, Bethesda, Md., water snake.

Martin, Miss Diana, Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Marx, Joy, Washington, D. C., gray squirrel.

McCabe, John H., Arlington, Va., snowy owl.*

McChaney, H. M., McLean, Va., mole snake.

McCoy, Mrs. W. L., Kensington, Md., 4 Pekin ducks.

McCrary, J. A., Washington, D. C., rabbit.

McDowell, A. W. K., Annapolis, Md., great horned owl.

McGill, Paul P., Arlington, Va., mockingbird.*

McGraham, A., Washington, D. C., 2 opossums.

McKnett, Mrs. John W., Washington, D. C., 4 mallard ducks.
Meate, Mrs. May, Arlington, Va., Pekin duck.

Meible, Mrs. John C., Washington, D. C., canary.*

Miller, Miss B., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.

Miller, Roy, Washington, D. C., horned lizard.

Millon, Arthur, Washington, D. C., 2 horned lizards.

Mitchell, Master George, Arlington, Va., alligator.

Montedonico, Joe, Bethesda, Md., garter snake, grass snake.
Morgan, Joseph P., Baltimore, Md., 200 clawed frogs.*

Morris, Dr. Anthony, Washington, D. C., 2 kangaroo rats.

Morse, Thatcher, Washington, D. C., pilot black snake.

Nash, Mrs. James T., Washington, D. C., capuchin monkey.

Nelson, Helen May, Washington, D. C., baby alligator.

Norris, A. N., Chevy Chase, Md., 2 albino-gray squirrels.

O’Neill, Mrs. Wm. C., Alexandria, Va., Java finch.

Owen, Miss Susan, Arlington, Va., Pekin duck.

Paine, Mrs. D. C., and McGovern, Miss Joan, Arlington, Va., angora rabbit.
Pamply, William A., Silver Spring, Md., 2 Pekin ducks.

Pararas, J. L., Washington, D. C., alligator.

Parkinson, Mrs. W. C., Washington, D. C., 100 guppies.

Pates, W. W., Fredericksburg, Va., 2 red-shouldered hawks.
Patterson, Mrs. H. French, Washington, D. C., baby alligator.

Paul, Seymour, Balboa Heights, C. Z., coatimundi.*

Perrott, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A., North Arlington, Va., 4 Cumberland turtles.
Pettis, Louis, and Miller, Jack, Washington, D. C., 4 barn owls.
Pickett, Miss Evelyn, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.

Picot, Mrs. Hanison, Alexandria, Va., opossum.

Preston, J. H., Mount Pleasant, Pa., 2 silver foxes, 2 platinum foxes.
Pritchard, Hunter, Washington, D. C., hamster.

Rabillard, Capt. and Mrs. G. N., Washington, D. C., domestic rabbit.
Randel, Capt. Hugh W., Canal Zone, crested guan.

Reese, Miss Barbara Ann, Alexandria, Va., 4 Pekin ducks.

Ridder, Mrs. I. D., Clifton Forge, Va., 2 Philippine macaques.
Roane, Wayne, Arlington, Va., hamster.

Robert, Miss Alice Birney, Washington, D. C., great gray kangaroo.
Robertson, Alaric Alvis, Arlington, Va., Pekin duck.

Rose, Mrs. Joseph, Falmouth, Va., hamadryas baboon.

922758—51——_7

88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Ryan, Thomas W., Washington, D. C., Canada goose.
Sapp, Mary Ellen, Vincent, and Chris, Bethesda, Md., snapping turtle.
Sargent, Mrs. V. W., Garrett Park, Md., coot.
Sartain, W., Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk.
Schwartz, Mrs. H., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck,
Scott, Allwood, Washington, D. C., white rabbit.
Scott, Joseph R., Arlington, Va., ring-necked pheasant.
Seay, Mrs. Thomas, Washington, D. C., muskrat.
Seielestad, H. D., Washington, D. C., copperhead.
Sergent, Russell, Washington, D. C., small alligator.
Shaddix, W. N., Washington, D. C., barred owl.
Sharpe, Miss Barbara A., Takoma Park, Md., white rabbit.
Shaw, B., Washington, D. C., 2 ring-necked pheasants.
Shaw, Brackley, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.
Silberman, James M., Washington, D. C., 2 spice finches, black-hooded red
siskin.
Simpson, Murry S., Chevy Chase, Md., skunk.
Sinclare, L. A., Alexandria, Va., ring-necked pheasant.
Sinclare, M. E., Herndon, Va., great horned owl.
Smith, H. W., Washington, D. C., rabbit.
Smith, Miss Hilda E., Silver Spring, Md., barn owl.
Snapp, Mrs. Edwin C., Washington, D. C., Polyphemus moth.
Snyder, Mrs. E. T., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.
Spicer, Master Curt J., Greenbelt, Md., 6 hamsters.
Spicer, Jack, Arlington, Va., mink.
Stevens, R. E., Washington, D. C., pilot black snake.
Stover, Mrs. Harry B., Arlington, Va., crow.*
Stover, Miss Susan, Chevy Chase, Md., opossum.
Swift, C. B., Jr., Washington, D. C., Pekin duck.
Tanit-Ikao, Princess, Lynbrook, N. Y., 3 Indian rock pythons,* alligator.
Tapley, Mrs., Arlington, Va., chicken.
Thompson, H. O., Brandon, Va., 2 Virginia deer.
Thompson, W. E., Bethesda, Md., 12 Pekin ducks.
Thompson School, Washington, D. C., rabbit.
Thornton, Herbert, Washington, D. C., scarlet tanager.
Trefflich’s Bird & Animal Co., New York City, 2 great gray kangaroos.*
Tullock, W. J., Jr., Alexandria, Va., alligator.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
Through Edward K. Beebe, Missoula, Mont., 2 pumas.
Through Leon D. Cool, Rockville, Md., cardinal.
Through Vernon Ekedahl, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Willows,
Calif., 2 snow geese, 4 cackling geese.
Through K. F. Roahen, Billings, Mont., whistling swan.
Through J. C. Savage, Klamath Falls, Oreg., 4 cackling geese.
Through Dr. Victor Scheffer, St. Paul Island, Alaska, Steller’s sea lion.
U. S. Forest Service, New Mexico, through Homer C. Pickens, black bear cub,
U. S. National Park Service, Washington, D. C., whistling swan.
U. S. National Park Service, through Edmund B. Rogers, Yellowstone National
Park, Wyo., 3 grizzly bears.
Vaughn, Mrs. Harry H., Alexandria, Va., yellow-headed parrot.*
Veckey, Mrs. L., Washington, D. C., ovenbird.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 89

Vieth, Miss Elsie Jane, Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.
Vinogradoff, Mrs. Gene, Alexandria, Va., 3 ring-necked doves.*
Walters, H. R., Washington, D. C., 2 Pekin ducks.

Warner, Tony, Washington, D. C., guinea pig.

Washington Animal Rescue League, Washington, D. C., silver fox.

Wayne, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, Washington, D. C., cheetah.*

Weaver, W. C., Washington, D. C., saw-whet owl.

Weisbender, Eugene R., Arlington, Va., 2 raccoons.

Welch, Mr. (address unknown), coatimundi.

Westbrook School, Washington, D. C., white rabbit.

Wharton, Charles, Avondale Estates, Ga., 4 Cercomys, 1 Euryzgomatomys,
cottonmouth moccasin, diamondback rattlesnake, copperhead snake, king
snake, garter snake.

White, Mrs. Harry D., Washington, D. C., Florida gallinule.

Whitemore, Miss Catherine, Arlington, Va., rabbit.

Wildrick, Mrs. Warren, Washington, D. C., weasel.*

Williams, C. E., Washington, D. C., woolly monkey.*

Williams, Mrs. M. C., Arlington, Va., sparrow hawk.

Wills, Carl, Arlington, Va., skunk.

Wise, Mrs. E. B., Washington, D. C., 3 guinea pigs.

Wolf, Miss Mary, Washington, D. C., diamondback turtle.

Wright, Albert, Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin ducks.

Wyatt, Mrs. Walter, Washington, D. C., brown thrasher.

Xidon, Mrs. Y., Washington, D. C., rabbit, frogs, salamanders.

Zaroff, Mrs. J., Washington, D. C., cooter turtle.

Zoological Society of Philadelphia, 2 red wolves, 3 coyotes.

PURCHASES

Some of the more important of the year’s purchases include a pair
each of great-eared foxes and fennecs; two echidnas which have
been continuously on exhibition for more than a year; a pair of
Steller’s sea lions; a pair of red howler monkeys; a greater bird of
paradise; a pair of Siberian red-breasted geese; and a male aardvark.

BIRTHS AND HATCHINGS

It was a surprise when both pairs of the Zoo’s hybrid bears (female
Alaska brown bear X male polar bear) produced litters of cubs.
One of the cubs (named Gene) was raised and has grown into a husky
bear and, because of its ancestry, a famous one.

The English Park cattle, the gaur, the pygmy hippopotami, and the
Chinese water deer have been breeding regularly.

A baby black-fronted duiker was born.

One pair of Acoumba lemurs produced a young one that has done
amazingly well.

A pair of snowy egrets in the flight cage at the bird house built a
nest, hatched two eggs, and raised the young to maturity.

Roseate spoonbills nested and hatched three young.

90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

MAMMALS

Scientific name Common name Number
TAT OOURGTOS VATION ‘Aoudad 2253422208 Fe! een 9
ALISNGLTS <5 eee OR RE), eee ee UNIS} COT pare ened fn ae <x UNS ua 1
Bos tauruse Utes Bee eae ati! English Park, eattle.j04. 4622 2
BUvOS GQUuruss aos eee aa Se eas (Ca ea ee eB ay | Sr 1
Cephalophus migrijrons! 22.2 -e bees Black-fronted duiker_.________- if
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus X C. a.

DYGETILN TUS Sea rye ee es ee apa Green guenon X vervet guenon. 1
Cercopithecus diand i222 A Wee ee. Dianamonkeyeue tuk Abed 1
Cervus ni pporca se 2 is es a ee Japanese Geer. 4. -2 ecto soe 1
Ghoenonsisnlvbenvens7s == 5st ee Pygmy hippopotamus__________ 2
CUNT UUs DCO ma ee AiG athe ene se eel lb ner wi pep a 1
Fae eae mM, 1) es fallow deers. .t es 7

Mie tag emo Hn Rae cael Wihitevfallowadeeris suas 2s aaah
Felis concolor X F. c. paitagonica______-_- Pramas t S20). jeep. eh 3
Hippopotamus amphibius__....---_--_- Hippopotamus. 45.1) ae re 1
Hay dnopotes inenmiss a) a= a. 2 eee Chinese water deer___________- 4
Hylobates agilis X H. lar pileatus______~ iby bridtcibbons asses et i
IGEONTOCEOUSITOSA LUC eee ae pane eget Lion-headed marmoset_-________ 2
Mephitis mephitis nigra_._.-_._..___------ SDE ae a hol a ROP ha Pe 6
Otecyon megalotiss ae Fee ae Greab-eared fox.) 4 «fehl Boe. 3
RG MGANAUGtCEnAdael | aaa ee Tamandua anteater______._____ 1
AMOROUS ONG a sooo eee ook a ebri W:. _See Se ee ey 1
Thalarctos maritimus X Ursus midden-
dorffi (2d generation, 2 litters of 3each) Hybrid bear_.___._......__.__-- 6
BIRDS
CAG UCC} 04 Oy 22h Ss VEO ee ed Roseatespoonbilless_ ees eee 3
Chenomstatrata ate soe ee ea eee IBIS CKES wally ss ae ere eens 4
Haliaeetus leucocephalus___.____..____- Bald ea gio sevens Mt nae Dee 1
Beucopnoya th ula se eam NG Lene Te ih Snowy Heron’ Si eee 2
Streptopelia tranquebarica____-.__-.---- Blue-headed ring dove_________- uf
REPTILES
Crovalustermijicuss oe eae ae Mexican rattlesnake_____..__-- 14
Consirictoriconsinictor=saae aaa ae ee BoatconstrcChor= === eee = =a 32
RESEARCH

Scientific research is not set up as a separate activity in the National
Zoological Park but is an important part of the operation. The
proper care of hundreds of different kinds of animals, some of which
have not previously been kept alive, calls for constant observation
and study to determine for each one its natural living conditions, likes
and dislikes. Usually the most important step is to try foods that
will be acceptable substitutes for those that the animals would nor-
mally obtain in the wild. Other conditions, such as humidity, tem-
perature, type of bedding, types of perch, indeed everything affecting

SECRETARY’S REPORT OI

the animal in captivity, require constant study to make certain that
a suitable environment is maintained. Failure to provide the proper
conditions is likely to result in the loss of animals that are often
of great value and are sometimes irreplaceable. Even if the animals
do not die, they are almost certain to become unsuitable for exhibition
if not properly cared for.

In the course of carrying on in his home studies of small mammals
that were not well known or that had been considered difficult or
impossible to keep alive in captivity, the Assistant Director has
developed a food mixture that has proved highly satisfactory. The
lesser short-tailed shrew (Cryptotis parva) and the large African
elephant shrew (Macroscelides rufescens) were fed this and produced
young, the short-tailed shrews even producing the second generation
in captivity. Four species of bats thrived on this diet exclusively.
The greater short-tailed shrews (Slarina brevicauda) and star-nosed
mole (Condylura cristata) preferred this to most other food. It has
been offered to many other small and medium-sized mammals such
as marmosets, night monkeys, and several different kinds of rodents
and carnivores, practically all of which like the food. It has been so
successful with specialized mammals that have heretofore been very
difficult or impossible to keep in captivity, that it appears worth
while to publish the formula:

One yolk of hard-boiled egg; approximately an equal amount of rather dry
cottage cheese; approximately an equal amount of ripe banana; approximately
an equal amount of mealworms; 6 drops of Jeculin; 6 drops of wheat-germ-oil;
6 grains of Theragram.

Make up the mixture with a mortar and pestle. If the wheat-germ oil is in
3-minim capsules put in two; add the Theragram, which is a yellowish paste;
add a few drops of water to soften the gelatin of the wheat-germ-oil capsules and
to dissolve the Theragram. Then put in the other ingredients and grind all
together with the pestle until a paste is formed with the chitin of the mealworms
scattered through it.

The mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are the same as, or similar to,
those that get into cereals. Cultures of them can be maintained in
bran or cornmeal with the addition of banana peelings, slices of raw
potato, and occasionally light sprinklings of water to moisten the
bran or cornmeal very slightly but not enough to cause if to form
lumps or to mildew.

The Assistant Director has also developed a milk mixture that has
been tried out with many small mammals with excellent success.
It is as follows:

Three ounces cow’s milk from which about one-third of the cream has been

removed; 1 teaspoonful raw egg yolk; 4 drops Jeculin; 1 drop Navitol or
Viosterol; }4 teaspoonful calcium gluconate.

92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Stir until thoroughly mixed. Keep in refrigerator. Warm the small amount
needed for each feeding. Use same care in sterilizing utensils as would be used in
caring for a human baby.

MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS

In addition to the numerous daily small repairs, substantial prog-
ress was made during the year in maintenance work of a more perma-
nent improvement character.

The 85,000-gallon sea-lion pool that had been leaking seriously was
completely relined with concrete. Four-hundred linear feet of con-
crete coping for fence was built and 400 feet of 6-foot fencing erected
thereon; a parking area between the restaurant and the creek, 300 feet
long and 20 feet wide, was given a bituminous-stone surfacing; the
surface of the area behind the cages above the reptile house was im-
proved by 2,100 square feet of cement surfacing, 175 linear feet of
curb, 175 feet of concrete retaining wall 4 feet high, and 60 linear feet
of steps; V-gutters were installed in front of these cages. This will
improve the appearance of the area, check erosion, and improve
sanitation. Three hundred eighty-six feet of 4-inch soil pipe and
fittings were installed to provide for sewage disposal from the vicinity
of the cook house; a high-voltage cable was laid from the basement of
the reptile house to the cook house to provide current for the electric
oven. Thespace in the bird house formerly occupied by eight double-
deck bird cages that had never been satisfactory was remodeled to
accommodate three large cages that are much better. Five thousand
square feet of parking area was surfaced with bituminous-stone mixture,
At odd times, particularly when outside work could not be carried on,
the making of cement legs for benches and cement tables was continued.

VISITORS

The number of visitors was 3,437,669, an increase of 91,619 over
the previous year. This was the largest attendance in the history of
the Zoc and was probably due in part to the continued high employ-
ment in the Washington area, increase in travel accompanying the
general economic prosperity, and the frequency with which the
Zoo was able to announce the addition of interesting specimens to the
collection. The variation in attendance on the different days of the
week, which was so extreme before the war, has been much less
noticeable. Formerly early days of the week had relatively low
attendance, with an increasing number of visitors the latter portion of
the week, and very large crowds on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
There is also a considerable increase in the earlier hours of the day.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 93

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF VISITORS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1950

Julys (1949) Sessa eae ATO.000 tHebruary ao soos eee ee 133, 350
AU EUS tees eee se ee ee Arosa OO) ela Cheese ae ee 208, 450
September*s2 2-58 22 ew S¥2 200) VA pri bolt re Bae ree a EE 447, 419
Octobersh ee] See eee ZE2uQOO Way 2s eas Digan ere es 406, 000
INOvembersoseee 3 eee yg A OOM PI ura ee le a paler 288, 500
December sere ase ae 71, 350 ae
January, (1950)e- ese s. a. 178, 100 Boy He Sign RRs Ree 3, 437, 669

Groups came to the Zoo from schools in 31 States, some as far away
as Maine, Florida, Washington, California, and New Mexico. There
was an increase of 129 groups and 8,901 individuals in groups over last
year.

NUMBER OF GROUPS FROM SCHOOLS

Number Number Number Number

of groups in groups of groups | in groups
Ala bamae 22 oo - ooee nee 9 256 || New Hampshire_-__------- 1 44
Califormmias= 22s eS 1 SS) New Jerseysevssss= sooo 18 1, 060
Connecticut. ll 45 5n ll IN@w: Miexicot==-=--------- 1 18
Welaware ss. --2 Se 17 ol NC Wey OL kites wena ee 84 5, 253
District of Columbia---_-- 135 7,070 || North Carolina_---------- 199 6, 720
Mloridaleso22-so22 2 ee 3 556 1G ees TA a es 70 2, 624
Georviaee a ivi soc asec 48 278505110 klahomaseeenes. eee sae 1 16
MMinoisa= Sese SSS eae 2 39) ||| (Pennsylvanig==——222-- = 243 11, 580
Indiang=sss-sss2-= 9 2910 Rhodewslands 3-282. 2225 1 38
Keenticky sess 7 252 || South Carolina_-_-_--===- 58 1, 828
Mig in eet oe ee ee 12 696 || South Dakota-_--.-------- 1 80
Marylan dist 2 sess 582 345493) | adennessees. 22s = ees 46 1, 983
Massachusetts___--_------ 13 TORS MAYA eed i) Fae ee ee 346 19, 602
Michigans eens. 3 15 64501 | oWashineton sa) ae 1 36
WMinnesotaste sess ae 1 42 || West Virginia--.---------- 35 1, 94
Mississippi2s222 28 2 138 ad
Missouri ates Se eae 1 50 Total eS 1, 973 102, 553

About 2 p.m. each day the cars then parked in the Zoo are counted
by the Zoo police and listed according to the State, Territory, or
country from which they came. ‘This is, of course, not a census of
the cars coming to the Zoo but is valuable in showing the percentage
of attendance, by States, of people in private automobiles. The
tabulation for the fiscal year 1950 is as follows:

Percent Percent
Maryland Se oe ras ee arenrecnehire s DEKOh Onion nese a eee ae
Washington ss @ se a 288 2h5s | Westewirginige! 1 Sou eae See 15
War Cin ae ee ee oe eS ee 20:94) New? Jersey 2.2 Ae S24 ae eee oi 1.3
PONNS YVAN IA he ee ele as 2 AN Aw VWassachusetis sacs e= oe seee eee 1.0
INorthsCarolinaesss =e Dea ME Mion igs oe ee cas eee 0. 9
ING WHIYCO Tce cote eee ay cay ad 223 VIE lOridasee sae Ae ae yee ae ee 0.3

The cars that made up the remaining 11.3 percent came from
every one of the remaining States, as well as from Alaska, Bahamas,
Belgium, Canada, Canal Zone, Cuba, Dutch West Indies, France,
Guam, Guatemala, Hawaii, Japan, Mexico, Newfoundland, Okinawa,
Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, and Saipan.

94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

FINANCES

The regular appropriation provided in the District of Columbia
appropriation act was $544,700.

The stone restaurant building, which was constructed in the Park
in 1940 under an allotment of $90,000, is under a 3-year lease, obtained
by competitive bidding, at $23,052 per annum. This money is
deposited in the general fund of the United States Treasury. The
concessionaire serves meals and light refreshments and sells souvenirs.

NEEDS OF THE ZOO

The principal needs of the Zoo remain as they have for several
years, i. e., the replacement of antiquated structures that have long
since ceased to be suitable for the purpose. The more urgently
needed buildings are: (1) A new administration building to replace
the 145-year-old historic landmark now in use for an office building
for the Zoo, but which is neither suitably located nor well adapted
for the purpose. This building is in an excellent location for a public
recreational structure and could probably be rehabilitated and used
for recreational purposes, perhaps as a children’s museum, and thus
maintained as a historic building. The new office building should be
better located both from the standpoint of accessibility to the public
and convenience for the administration of the Zoo. (2) A new
building to house antelopes and other medium-sized hoofed animals
that require a heated building.

STATUS OF THE COLLECTION

Species +s Species ota.
Class or sub- Individ: Class or sub- individ
species = species
Mammalss 243 734) )|insectsi. ote ee ee Wee 2 103
Birdseye cat hott ieee ks 353 TOS Tall wIVOll us ks see eee 2 4
Op tiles= asa s ae ee eee 113 487 —_—_——_ —
PAT DRI anSeeeeee eee 29 148 Rotalaes ieee 771 2,821
Wishes ce ee To ee ee 29 258
SUMMARY
Animals’onrhandrwulynls VO49S 22% Seer See ee ee eee ee ee ee 12,947
Atccessions' during the year oo cn eee a eee ee eee ee 1, 414
Total number of animals in collection during the year___.------ 4, 361
Removals for various reasons such as death, exchanges, return of animals
OMiGepOSit, CbGseg-s 2 e eae ee 1, 540
In:collection*on June-30) 1950S et ee ee ee ee eee 2, 821

1 The total 3,724 given in last year’s report was in error.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

ANIMALS IN THE COLLECTION, JUNE 30, 1950

95

MAMMALS
MONOTREMATA
Scientific name Common name Number
Tachyglossidae:
Tachyglossus aculeatus 2505.2 Le Echidna or spiny anteater__-_-_- 2
MARSUPIALIA
Didelphiidae:
Didelphis virginiang 24 = eee Opossum.) 25 eee eae 5
Metachirus nudicaudatus_..__.----- South American naked-tailed
OPOSS UT 2s hs us Se 1
Phalangeridae:
Petaurusinorfolcensis= ae a Australian flying phalanger -- _- 2
Trichosurusivulpecuid=. no yas Ue) Vulpine opossum. -s5 22222508 2
Macropodidae:
Dendrolagus) inusius. 22 2 ose oe == New Guinea tree kangaroo- --- 1
INSECTIVORA
Tupaiidae:
Wrogalexcveretive = 2 <a t Sey 22 Philippine tree shrew_-------- 2
Macroscelididae:
Macroscelides rufescens_.....------ East African elephant shrew--- 3
PRIMATES
Lemuridae:
TG CNUUTMMNACACO saa ate aa ee eee Acoumba) Jemur_ == =2.2-=22222 3
SPUR TOKYO ee ee Mongooseilemurzss2o e522 = 2
Lorisidae:
UNaiclicebus COUCH TD =a nee Slowslonis: 220 ue Sk ee 2
Callithricidae:
IE ContoceDUsinOS alt mee ee Silky or lion-headed marmoset- 2
Miarikinqoedipiusanrieaa= een ae a Cotton-headed marmoset__._-- 1
Oedipomidas geoffroyi_.._-_--.------ Geoffroy’s marmoset.__..----- 13
Cebidae:
FAlowatiaesenticilis = seat ee Weeegeg ro Red howler monkey_..------- 2
Aotusitnivingatusescce. Banal at o Douroucouli or night monkey-- 5
Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus_._....----- Spidermonkey=a sea e ea 2
Gepusiap ella see eee ae CUAVACa OU Chinas eee eee 2
CADIS COUCH sasesceocésseeooes White-throated capuchin_--_--- 3
Cebustiatuelliuss = eae ae oe ae Weeping capuchin______-__--- 2
Pithectawpithecia ste: fa eee ars oS Sakiimonkey sated S225 oe 2
Cercopithecidae:
Gencocebusiatenninus = eee Black-crested mangabey------- 1
Cercocebusifuliginosus ==> 5-255 = Sooty mangabey. ..=1 23=-=2¢ 2
Cercopithecus aethiops pygerythrus... Vervet guenon_-.------------ 1
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus_ - -_-- Green; cuenon 42.2 eee ses 8
Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus X C. Hybrid, green guenon X vervet
a. pygerythrus. FeO TSS 0G) 01 es Sy aa seal as SS mea 3
Cercopithecusicepiistea= oneness ee Moustached guenon.-___-_---- 2
Cercopithecus diana: <2 222 sec2hi.. ‘Dianaimonkeycos=sen sos sees 3

96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Scientific name Common name Number
Cercopithecidae— Continued
Cercopithecus diana roloway-------- Roloway monkey-..---------- 1
Cercopithecus neglectus_._-.-------- DeyBraz7 asi cuecnon==se aaa 1
Cercopithecus nictitans petaurista.__._ Lesser white-nosed guenon__-_-_ 1
Cercopithecus preusstsse2 eo. soe Preussi’s guenon_._...) 2224225 1
Prythnocebusipatas a as eee ee Patas monkeys ese e eee 2
Gymnopyga maurus...---2.--=-2=-- Moorimonkey=222 2. 22 22222 1
(MQCOCOHTUS= 2 ie Soe a ee Crab-eating macaque__.._-_-- il
Mocacn wrusimo;dace a ee Javan macaque....-.._______ 5
WMacacanlastotismeee se eee Chinese macaque____________-_ 1
WAGKACHBOS. Gps Ne Rhesussnonkey.= 222 susan 1S
Macaca nemestrina_..-.....--.---- Pig-tailed monkey__._____--_- 2
Macaca philippinensis- 24s mae eee Philippine macaque___..-___-_- a
Macacarsclentisve sire ss aie ee Wanderoo monkey-____....-_-- 1
IMacacarsi nica: Sa so aes IS aye, Toque or bonnet monkey_-_-_--_- 1
WMacacasspecv0sas,.. es ee es Red-faced macaque___.___-.-_- 2
Macaca-syluanus 22. 22 oe ee = Barbary-ape. 852002 sak suiien 4
Mandrilius sphine= 2522 2222 eae Mandrill’: 222252 eee ae 2
Papio cynocephalus__ =.=... 22222 Golden baboon=.2 222.2555 -eas 1
iPaniowhamadryass2 2642" ee ae ae Hamadryas|baboonss222 25-22 3
GPO.) OTCATAUS See Oe ee oe Chacma, baboon==2 222522 2242" 4
Hylobatidae:
Hiylobatesragiligiaig | s Suis ses Sumatran’ gibbones<=2222 25222 1
Hylobates agilis X H. lar pileatus_._.. Hybrid gibbon_____-____-___-_-- i
Hylobates hoolock =... 22222. 225232 Hoolock gibbon sss22-e— se ee— 1
Haylobates ar. pileatusse= 92 92a a a Black-capped gibbon______---_- 1
Pongidae:
Pansatynise22) el SOs = Chimpanzee-<- = 42S Set eee 2
Pongo pygmaeus abelit__.---------- Oranputane: 22 oes ose ee 2
EDENTATA
Dasypodidae:
Chaetophractus villosus_------------ Hairyiarmadillo. 22 ewe ase 1
Huphractus sercenctus=) 25 eo Six-banded armadillo. ____---- 1
Myrmecophagidae:
Myrmecophaga tridactyla___-_------- Giant anteaters) =. eeee 1
Tamandua tetradactyla_____-------- Three-toed anteater_._____.__-- 2
LAGOMORPHA
Leporidae:
Oryctolagus cuntcults__-. 2-22 2___- Domesticrabbitz==24=2452—25— 10
Sylovlagus floridanus=--222--++---- Cottontailirabbit=s22224- S222 1
RODENTIA
Sciuridae:
Callosciurus nigrovittatus_..__------ Southern Asiatic squirrel _ __-_-- 1
Gallosciurusipnevosiiieeee ee eee Tricolored’squirreles Sa] Saas 1
Callospermophilus lateralis. _-_------ Albino golden-mantled ground
squirrels. 24 - a see eee oe 1
Citellus beecheyi douglastt__.------- Douglas’s ground squirrel_-__--- 2
Cynomys ludovicianus__.---------- Plains prairie dog¥-4_2 es 30

SECRETARY’S REPORT 97

Scientific name Common name Number
Sciuridae—Continued
Eutamias spectosusic = 325 295 * San Bernardino chipmunk_____ 1
Glaucomiysvolans22 222322 eee lying esquinreleas =r epee es 3
VG TOLGRIROTVALE es ee ee Woodchuck or ground hog____-_ 4
Sciurus carolinensis__.....-.-.___. Gray squirrelas = 0a ae Mikes 1
Sciurus carolinensis. 2-222 Loe Albino gray squirrel. _________ 2
SCLUurius) Niger. | = LTA nA Box squirrel. 02 Beye 1
ROMUCSESU TALS ee ei ae Hastern chipmunk! 2). 22520000 2
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus.._-_-.---- Redisquirrelye Noo Sk wee ees 1
Geomyidae:
Thomomys bottae mewa.--.-------- Pocket: gophersu 223) sae eeas yen 3
Heteromyidae:
Di podomuysimicropsce = seer eee en Small-faced kangaroo rat______ 1
Dipodomys spectabilis 222 V22282-° + Large kangaroo rat_-..______- 1
Cricetidae:
Gerbillus pyramidum-_...----------- Gerbileesd tc aeee ORS REA rN 3
Meriones unguiculatus_.______----- Mongolian’ verbils220 soe at 1
Mesocricetus auratus_. 21 )2._ 2 .__- Golden hamsters22 20) 2259932 15
Myrerotus califernicus: 22 we se California meadow mouse- - - __ 4
Microtus pennsylvanicus_—_____-_-- Meadowsmouses £22 s=e5. 200m. 1
Neotoma lepidad=== 22 eset OUi eee Pack rate eect e By eae we 2
(OMATRT, IOGE CO EE Se ee MuskraGe 22 2 te 2 ew epee 2
Peremyscus icucopus==s2 ee ee oe Eastern white-footed mouse____ 3
Peromyscus maniculatus gambeli._._. Gambel’s white-footed mouse___ 13
Peromyscus maniculatus sonoriensis.. Sonoran white-footed mouse_ __ 1
(PET ONUYSCUS Tei GUY. see eee = = Northern golden mouse____-___ 1
Reithrodontomys megalotis longicau-
US Pere RN eee eA a EY AEN California harvest mouse_____- 3
Mater@ SChimed SLITeNStsea = a eee Nyasaland gerbils.2 2. u tee 7
Rhizomyidae:
RNIZOMYS SUMALTENSIS 8 ee Bay bamboo rats-ce-- eee eee 2
Muridae:
FAICO MUST CHRUTIUUS Se eh ee eee Egyptian spiny mouse--_-_-___-__ 4
Chiropodomys gliroides._...-------- Pencil-tailed tree mouse_-_____ 1
MAU SHITUAUS CLUS emer sae a White and other domestic mice. 10
Phioeomysieumingie = ate oa Slender-tailed cloud rat_______ 3
FGUALSR DOLCE S Laer set ee Bower stree Tatoos te. 22 =e 1
OMUSICREMOTIUCTLON = eae ae ee Pencil-tailed tree rat_....._._- 1
IEGHLUS COWOALOSt eet ae Edward’s tree rato:22 15 3 - 2
UQUEUS ITLL CRY tee eee eee Muller's: tree rate-282-- 4-65.08 2
GUUS GIO ee eee yt Eas ee Wajah' tree Tavs acta eee 1
MUGELUS SOLUS = eo ee et Hooded laboratory rat_______- 5
IOUUURISQUGIVUS Ee ee eee Large spiny-backed tree rat____ 2
GUUS Whiteheads= = 222 ee ee Whitehead’s tree rat__.___-__- 1
SACCOSLOMUSISD Ss wae 5 ee nee ee African pouched mouse-._-_____-_ 1
Zapodidae:
LADUSIRUASONTLS = eee ae Jumping mousel= 225455522 1
Hystricidae:
Acanthion brachyurum__.---------- Malay porcupine) 422-42 2—6 3
PALER UrUsiayTICUIlls aes eee ee West African brush-tailed por-
CUpING sso 2 2s Se ae 1

Fy strin) (Cleat bas are take African: porcupine... a=-ceee 2

98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Scientific name Common name

Caviidae:

Cavia porcelluss. 262. en ee Guinea pigs 2 a pa8 52) 5

Dalichowsipatagonved =a Patagonian cavy_....------
Dasyproctidae:

Cuntculus paces s2 Deter ee ] fc) Nes a a pe Oe Pe ee

Dasyprocta prymnolopha_-_--------- IAG OULL nosso ae esas A nets

Dasyprocta punctata. ft. s2- 22 se = Speckled agouti__.__.__----
Chinchillidae:

Chinchiila chinchilla 2G. 2 22 ees 2 Chinchilla 2p te oe es aie

LaQidtum tiscaceia. 2 == ee Peruvian viseacha___ = _ 48
Capromyidae:

Capromiusipilonidesen a= eee aa Mutiasce = 622 25 22S ce eee
Myocastoridae:

Maj acastorCopus ssa 55sse ene? ao Coy ple soc ae sites cerente.
Abrocomidae:

Alb OCOMUMROCTUNCLL Usa eee ee AIDTOCOM A eae ae ee
Echimyidae:

Cercomys cunicularius__----------- Cercomys= = sat-e oni se

Buryzgomatomysspeo = 2252-262 - 2 = Euryzgomatomys_.....-----
Thryonomyidae:

Thryonomys swinderianus__-------- Cane Tate 212 = et eee:
Bathyergidae:

Criptomya spose ae eae see oe Mole=ratice assleGe eee

CARNIVORA

Canidae:

Alopeslagopuse) W252. Sse 8 ATCEICH OX eee eee ene

Canistantanciicusss =e eee DIN TO_2 eee. Ree eae ee

Canisilatransti 20. Bie eo COy Otero ee

Canisiupusmubiiusls eee ee iPlainskwolkes sso eee

Canisin7zgemniiseee ee eee Hexas red wollte ee

Fennecus-zerdaaa2> S222 ae Vee 2 Kennec fox. eis Aue

Nyctereutes procyonoides__-__------- Raccoonidovesse= ===

Otocyonsmegalotis. Sue ee eee = Big-eared foxes 222 Seoue eee

Urocyon cinereoargenteus_____------ Gray-fox2 22h See eee

Vallpestiulyas ete Se eee Reditoxs< a5 ess. Seeceeeeree ©

Vailpest falas ee eee oe Silver foxes Aer ee eee
Ursidae:

ERuanchosi@Menrcanusas= sae anes ones Blackibears-=s Vries ae

EBuarctos-thibetanus—_2 2 = 22 te Himalayan beareseae sae eee

Helarctos malayanus2 22 = 222 = Malayzorisunybearsa==sss a0

IVUCLUTSUSEURSTIVILS eee oe Slothtbeares244s ees ae

nAlanclosmnaniiiniise= a ene = Polarzsbears2=s222 20 o2 as

Thalarctos maritimus X Ursus mid-

dendorji=22hloeer Seen eee Ey ridule srs eee ne

Dine manrctosvonnaluseas = eee Spectacled*bear2=s2 22222232

Wrsustanctosse see eas ae ae European brown bear-_------

Ursus arctos occidentalis. ._...----- Syrian brown pears. s2s22 a2

Ursus gias= eee ae eee eee Alaskan Peninsula bear- ~~ --

Ursusihornibilisseeee ee eee Grizzly*beare sw 2 ee

Ursus middendor fi, 2 ie lets woo fe = Kodiak-bearsSsss220 ss:

Oreusisiikensis se seccs ee te 2 Sitka brown bear_._.----.--

Ursus Spt N SIO, BAS os Alaska brown bear_..-------

First generation 4; second generation 1.

Nr ee AOnNF NNR Od

FWwWNnNWwWN NF ND

SECRETARY’S REPORT 99

Scientific name Common name Number
Procyonidae:
Bassariscusvastutuse-- ss 2 2225-525 Ringtail or cacomistle_.___---- 1
INGSUGNAT COs =e eee Coatimundit- aaa Sees 8
INQSUCNE SONI aon e eee eee Nelson’s coatimundi-____------ 1
Potos flavus = 3.630 SOC Bes 3s Konk:aj OU NOL eee eet 6
POLOSISD Sas oe aes es Se aire Dwar kinkajows sss 2 Sooke 2
RIA COO O Tees ae eae eee evra 20
LERCH HOOP Boe Oe Es a Black raccoonles usa eae eee 3
Raccoons (albine) sare a ee Nees 1
Mustelidae:
Luira canadensis vaga__ - 2.) See PNOTIG ROL bere. syne ee ae ae alt
Martes flavigula henricit__.-------- Asiaticnmartenees see see oe a
Meles meles leptorynchus_---------- Chinesesbadger.s2sn i ane 1
Mephitis mephitis nigra__---------- Skunk Gi oe SAD OBA 4
Mastelaseversmannta— ==. 2524522 oe Herne (eer a eoe ces eae are aL 1
Mustela noveboracensis------------- Weasel sae ceiin Jee yt ie eee 1
MarstelagniLos ses =e Teast weasel 22222525 22a 1
Spilogale-phenat 22 ao ee California spotted skunk -_----- 1
RCE OC CUA S ee ee ee a Amernicanwbadsersaasese= eae 8
Raynavbarbana barbara=—. 2-8) sae Wihittextar aia. = ome ae ee 1
MGgONOGTDOTONSENI 1S = a ee Gray-headed tayra_--.------- 1
Viverridae:
Civetinctisicinetiq Geass see IATrICAnECIVe bass a= Se i
Crossarchus. obscurus...==222 222 _ - Kusimanse. 22s s==. ce eee eee 1
Myonax. sanguineus 2 Poteet ee Dwarficivet-.=- 2s se ue 2eae 1
Nandiniaibinolatdssece been ea ee African palm civet_-2_-=.-2=22 1
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus_-_-_----- Small-toothed palm civet__-_--- 3
Paradozurus philippinensis__--.---- Philippine palm civet_-..----- 1
Vaverratangalungasas sss) oa Ground! civetee==o oe eee 1
Hyaenidae:
Crocuta crocuta germinans__-------- East African spotted hyena-_--- 2
Felidae:
HCliSEChAUS= ea ae eee = eee eee Junsler cate. eee se seo eee 1
TRELUSUCONCOLO T= = oe ete DEAD 1 ats WE sg a A Tie ee es ee t
Felis concolor X F. c. patagonica----- Hybrid, North American puma X
South American puma------- 6
Helesileon. <a e Ne Bee 1 DA Koy ale ve eee ernie ar eee Eye A 5
J HIS The SS PS a ee eS VAM Anes soe ee See 3
Pelosiparndalzs. = <2 1eosor Da ihaoS Ocelote nai ns ss Aa ae 2
ROLES DOR US= epee teeta Sree Black Indian leopard --------- }
Melis: pardussui ata Bea Se Africantlcopardsa2222 aaa 2
Relisstemminekit= 2 BO SEO © Golden cat#. uti. sya ee ss 1
LEQUB UF ak ES See ee ese Cae Bengal tiger. ---.-..--22 388 4
Belisetiqnuseswmatracnas eae eee Sumatran tiger=s sas sees ea 2
Oncifelis: geofroyes 2 a _s Ceofiroysecate= 2 ae eee 3
Oneillapardinoides 2 = a Wesserstiger cats22s2=22 se 1

100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

PINNIPEDIA
Scientific name Common name Number
Otariidae:
umetopias guvaiae = eee eens Steller’s sea lion..--4J222-2L<2 1
Phocidae:
Phoca vitulina richardit_____------- Pacific harbor) seal-- 22.225 = 1
TUBULIDENTATA
Orycteropodidae:
Orictenopusiajene ase eee ae Aardvark or ant bear. _____-_-- 1
PROBOSCIDEA
Elephantidae:
ElepRas Maximus =ealeee ae Asiatic elephant-<4.+ 20+ =. 3
Loxodonta africana oxyotis_...-.---- African elephant.____.=--1---- 1
HYRACOIDEA
Procaviidae:
Procavia:CApensisaa aaa aa NG Aig orb eee gees gees Cane 2
PERISSODACTYLA
Equidae:
Equus burchellii antiquorum_-__----- Chapman’s zebras 2). 2 eae 1
EQUUS VAIO oe ee ee ee Asiatic wild ass or kiang______- 1
TS ORUUS OTL Cre ng Onager.2 3 sean eee ee ]
Equus przewalskite.- seen ae Mongolian wild horse__.--_-_-- 2
Equus quagga grantit.._._._..------- Grant zebra. aie koe 2
Mouus cebra ses. ee Bats en Mountain zebrases =) 232 1
Rhinocerotidae:
Diceros U1COnNis=. oe eee Black rhinocerossaos2es. 52202 1
HUREROCELOS LUNTCONNIS Se ee eee Great Indian one-horned rhi-
NOCeTOSsa= SSERRS wR Sa 1
ARTIODACTYLA
Suidae:
Babirussa babyrussdss eee Babirugsassc2 3) se ae ee Se 1
Phacochoerus aethiopicus aeliani__._._ East African wart hog. -__--_-- 2
SUSISCLOl Gs ie ee Ue ee Seng te European wild boar_-.-------- 2
Tayassuidae:
PECOTITONGUIGIIIS! ne ee eee Collared peccary------------- 1
Hippopotamidae:
Choeropsis Izbervenstsa= 22) 2 ee Pygmy hippopotamus- -------- 9
Hippopotamus amphibius__---_---- Hippopotamusesses ee ae 2
Camelidae:
Camelusibacinranusese = ae) eee Bactrian camelosese ae ee 3
Camelus dromedartus==—- 225-22. -- Single-humped camel----_-_---- 3
Lama iglamiaee 22 tee eee oa ake ee Flames do eae ec aes 1
Lamaglamaiquantco- = == ee Guanacon sor ee acon Ue eee 3
GGMA PACosue et ee ee ee ADA CA ec ame arene rene 3
Vecugna vicugna= =e ee eee Wictinge knee smth ome a) urea 1

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Scientific name Common name Number
Cervidae:
AD SHALE R eye en ee ere ee ee ee AXIS) CECT aoa ere ee ea eee 2
Cervus canadensis =a ee es oe American elke} 3.02 3uoe oo 8 4
Cernusrcla piviss mee eee a Re qideen sete ee tl aewdiun sane 1
CervusuneD Nona a ee Japanese deersa. 22 e20) See ae 4
Cervus nippon manchuricus._.------ Dy bowsky:sudeer) 22) sau ele 2
AV Sache EARN art AA CAMA IA IRR uae deers ia2 435 Loe ee ON ts 16
- White:fallow’ deers.) 2o.0be! 20
ER aropolest ner mises a soe ue ee Chinese water deer_____-____-_ 6
Odocoileus virginianus._----------- Virginia, deerie sina iia aa 5
Giraffidae:
Girafia.camelopardalis.._. 2. 2. = - +. - Nubian cinafien= (sie 0 eure x
Gry CI eLICULGLas eke aes se as Reticulated giraffes. 92 3i222 02 1
Bovidae:
MOL GGUS LET OL Oyen el ce anes INOUGAG asic che lei ils fee 29
EUOOSHO CLLTALS ane nen ear ereey ana GU ae pear oa lysines 5
SUSOTMOUS OTS ae a ee ee AmericanubisOnes 2 seenn 2 = 22e 13
BOSTUNGLCUS a= oe enn aie see Se Zi by Users ae ee ee see 3
TB OSNUCAUT.UUS ets ee see Domestic cow (Jersey) __------ 1
SOS UG UTAUG oe a saree re ee West Highland or Kyloe cattle_. 4
IBOSMLQUNUS a a ee a eee BritisheParkica thless sss se er is
Bibalis DUOG ste ane eee ees Water buitalo ci o.02 oss ee 2
Caprarsibii¢6 Cee ne Tipe sees Se sor ss Si SUR 1
Cephalophus maxwellit__....------- Maxwellis duiker: 32026 222s 1
Cenhalonhus nignifronsee eae Black-fronted duiker_________-_ 3
Hemitragus jemlahicus.....-------- MPa Hie Wap seaes et ee eee eel 3
Tannotnagusepekty-2aee ee nae 22 = Sitatunga sant: ee AN en 1
Oras leuconiyy sete 8 ee Ne Arabian oryxievadenn sean 1
Ovisariesst Sao Neier Ree == -Domesticwsheeparaee canteens 1
OUUsTCUT.O DOCO RE Mouilone sei he Say anor nenie! 1
Poephagus grunniens oe (eo aley 2 a TY Bos ipo gu let ou Ua ip eos Lael 4
Iseud ots RAyaUn eee ee ee Bharal or blue sheep.__-_- ..-- 1
SYNCEnUS COLCh a= see eee ea African. buffalo... heb eee 3
TaurovragusiOnye see a eee mea ae ee Biles os eke 3
BIRDS
STRUTHIONIFORMES
Struthionidae:
ISU ULIRC ORCI TELUS ae as te a als Ostrich ss52— oa CeN In Sow Sy iN ied, 1
RHEIFORMES
Rheidae:
RCO MeTICOn (ae i ee Common: thes... 25 54. ae eee 3
CASUARIFORMES
Casuariidae:
Casuarius casuarius aruensis___---- ATU CASSO WAT a ee ee eee 1
Casuarius unappendiculatus occipi-
LOLS Rh ae a RR ee ey a) Island’cassowanry2.oose sees. 1
Casuarius unappendiculatus unap-
ACM UCILLCUILS ae a a One-wattled cassowary.-_------ 1
Dromiceiidae:
Dromiceius novaehollandiae___------ Commonemuse 2-22 5222 se 2

102 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

TINAMIFORMES
Scientific name Common name Number
Tinamidae:
Crypturellus varvegatus____-.------- Variegated tinamou_____-_____ 1
SPHENISCIFORMES
Spheniscidae:
Aptenodytes: forstent= em = ene eae oe Emperor penguins 25. 22 22 1
Eudyptes chrysolophus__----------- Macaroni penguin_______-___- 1
Spheniscus demersusss-2 - 2-552". -_- Jackass penguine-o2_ oteescu23 3
Spheniscus humoolditses 222 ee ea Humboldt’s penguin_______-_- 1
PELECANIFORMES
Pelecanidae:
Pelecanus erythrorhynchus__-------- Wihiterpelicane 222224922 2
Pelecanus occidentalis californicus.-.. California brown pelican. _--_-_- 2
Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis__.. Brown pelican___-_---------- 2
Pelecanus TOSCUusa ae a eee Rose-colored pelican..---...-- 2
Sulidae:
SAUL NLEULCOG USL Cee tee ee ee Brow OOODY = soe. Seo aSee ee i|
Phalacrocoracidae:
Phalacrocorax auritus albociliatus._... Farallon cormorant__----.---- 1
Phalacrocorax auritus auritus_.----- Double-crested cormorant -...-- 1
CICONIIFORMES
Ardeidae:
Ardea herodias.ai2 Dati layne. os Great blue heron_--...-.-..-- 2
Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis____---- Louisiana, heronssee eniser nae 1
Beucophoysinldn eee se eee Showynestet..4 see ee eee eee 6
Notophoyx novaehollandiae___------ White-faced heron__._--_----- 1
Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli___----- Black-crowned night heron____ 29
Cochleariidae:
Cochlearius cochlearius__._...------ Boat-billed heron___---------- 1
Ciconiidae:
Ciconiavalbars222 See eae. Aaa = White:stork2..-. See eee 2
libtsi cinereus aeeeesene ee eee Malayan painted stork______-- 1
NGG TONGA Bo ee ee tooeeee AF leyi doen eps es St eS 2
Leptoptilus crumeniferus_.--------- Marabousse2 eee ewe see 1
Gentopiilusdubitsss ee Ifayehiorn ExehUIE NO ese 1
Geptopiilis 4avanicuse 9 a sae eee Lesser adjutant_ =... 222ph222 2
Minty ClertONa mer Cand ae a Wioodiibis= 22.25 2suia ei Sy 1
Threskiornithidae:
TANGYAN MOHAIR JO MNO Ra os) ey Sees ai Roseate spoonbill_...-..---..- 3
GaLOn OGD eee ences 6 ee BOS Wihite dbige cna Sets Le tee 4
Guana aloe se Ge rubraes 2 eee Hybrid, white ibis < scarlet ibis. 1
GUiGT Geren nes oe tea ci catletibise ease. eon aoe 3
Threskiornis melanocephala_-...___-- Black-headed ibis__..__._...---- 1
Phoenicopteridae:
Phoentcopterus antiquorum__..---~-- Old Woerldiamingos 222822 22= 2
Phoenicopterus chilensis__.._._-_---- Chilean flamingo. ——.-..--2.2- 7
PROCNACODLETAUS TALC nen te ee @uban flamingos. 222 J ele 1

SECRETARY’S REPORT

ANSERIFORMES
Scientific name Common name Number
Anhimidae:
Chauna-torquata 2a yee se Crested screamer. =_ =... __- 4
Anatidae:

ACES PONSA = 2k s ante es as Wioodiduekcen mk Mise Ye re 3
AMUSY UNG MENSUSa aa sae me eye Bahamespintaile sowie es 2
PAN USHOTOSIGCTUST Sa ae ae ee Brazilianiteali: 4.1). = eeenes. i
Miallardiducki 222) 20 Vein be 20
ACLS DIDI ORO cr ca oe mallard duck___....0.. 3

Anas platyrhynchos X Dafila acuta... Hybrid, mallard duck X pintail
Guichen sit Uh) UA A 1
Anas platyrhynchos domestica___--.- Pekin duekye yas 2S eo Moees 20
JED FUOPG VBS ASAE UC eee Black duc kes sae leash cine ee 3
ANGER CLD NMONS eae tee ESE ss Greenland white-fronted goose_- 1
Ansenansen domestit@n 2 2. AoulouseyZooseees ees es 4
Anseranas semipalmata______._---- Australian pied goose__-______ il
AOU OA INIS ere ne SL ENV AS oo besser :scaupi ego. el es SEs 1
Ari Te ey pte Gules ee nen ee oe Mutted-dueke N72 2 Se esas 4
Aa EW YOSOGUEST Ent eerste Lake aes Canvasback duckies ss anny 2
IEXRAN OOF CAMEOS oh oe Canadarcooseesese nee eee 26

Branta canadensis * Chen caerules- Hybrid, Canada goose < blue
COT SR em es aaa ate Le) ea a TOOSE Sa sine eS ee 2
Branta canadensis occidentalis_____- White-cheeked goose_-_______- 16
STOMLCMRULCH LTS Ueren ae iene oe oa Hutchins’s" co0se2uea eee 3
Branta hutchinsiit minima___-__- ~~~ Cackline sooses ssa es 20
Br ORO iCOUTS? ee SOARES Red-breasted goose________-_- 2
Caininaginoschatase a a See ae Muscovy duck seus teins: 7
Cereopsis novaehollandiae___.-__.--- Cape Barren: goose 222 3s e0u 1
Cheniatlanticgt ss uses eae SHOW" ZOOSe= yrs ee a aNG Bn 3
Ghentcaenulescen'ssae ea ames Blucigooset ee aa Oa See 3
CLEA OM DUA IMR | tices pil sey he Bas $0 Ta Lesser snow goose_.___.--_-_. 2
Cheno pista ata eae ee ee eee Blackiswance e's 25a Sa ieees 9
Chloephaga leucoptera__.._..----_-- Wiplandscoosese a= sae see 2
Cascorova!coscorquGe se see ao Coscorobas sa. Se se 5 fee aes 1
CugnaDSis CUGNOLCS = sea ee eee Domestic swan-goose.__----_-_- 3
Cygnus columbvianuse ee ene NYA oyesye bos spy ys 5
COO DUS CHT Ae A a Wihooper swanon oe ae 2s 2
Cygnus melancoriphus.....-------- Black-necked swan____-_--_-- 1
DDO FONG CUE pepe ee ee aR Asn GENT ene eee ee RUD ep Ul
Datla SBuniCaual =a ee ee Chileantpintail= 22222 Je see |
Dendrocygna autumnalis.___.-_-_-- Black-bellied tree duck_____-_- 3
PD ERATOCY GIG VIGIUALG = eee oes ee White-faced tree duck_______-_- 2
WMareconamertcong=s== = =n = Sone Baldr tees oes ale eee 1
Metopiana peposacd. 28 02s ee Rosy-billed pouchard___.___--- 2
iNetiton:carolinenses 2 Sos Yeo. 2. Green-winged teal_.-...._.__- 3
INCECONEONTROSUT seve ets ys Baikal teal ss fe eee e e t 2
RUG CLE NCON AG TCR aetna mh artery ok 2 a Himperor, goose. aoe eee 2
Plectropterus gambiensis___...----- Spur-winged goose____--_----- 2
Querqueaula discorse 22-2 so ose Blue-winged teal_.._..-..--_-- 2

922758—51——_8

104

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

FALCONIFORMES
Scientific name Common name Number
Cathartidae:
Cathartes Guia 2225 as eee oo Turkey vulGuress\- 3.4 ee see 1
Coragypsiairaiissee eee ne eee Black vulture: (922 32222-22222 7
Sancoramphus papa--taes eee King \vultures25225. 22 aoeeaee 2
Wacltumegnyp ities ee ee Andeanscond Ors=e=22=— eee 2
Sagittariidae:
Nagulartiussenpentanvus= sane Secretary birdeasss2 2) oes sae 2
Accipitridae:
Alccipilerscoo penta tan = Se ee Cooperis Rawko223 522262238 1
IBUteo JOMAICENS Ou ee eee Red-tailed hawk....-....--..- 5
Buteo lineatus lineatus__..--------- Red-shouldered hawk________-_- 4
isulearmelanolenucus=—22 eee South American buzzard eagle_- 2
JEVHAD (MOHNG We cooeee ecco ceesese Broad-winged hawk___...__--- iL
Biteo Poccil Ocnrougen =e oe Red-backed buzzard__--__---- 1
PSU COVS OLSON ba eee Swainson ssha wis. 22. so ee i
GUps TUCD Peles aa senate ee Riuppell’s vulture.2322 2222" 2
Haliaeetus lewcocephalus______------ Baldseagle2:.2. 252 2seet ses if
Haliaeetus leucogaster____._..------- White-breasted sea eagle_______ 2
IELAROTRP CROWD ss Sam tee ee ose Brahmin kite =e 3
GT DTG hOPpy Gs seo ee ae ee Harpyneagles..2..-5- 232 alee il
IMawagorchvmango= esas eee Chimango.:22-222e sus a eee 3
Milvus migrans parasitus_.__------ African yellow-billed kite___-_- 2
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis __---- Osprey. 222624 = sea ae ee 2
IPanabiteomiunicin Cis One-banded hawk__--..------ 1
Pithecophaga jefferyts 225-24 - 2) —— Monkey-eating eagle__._._____- 1
Spiziastur melanoleucus__.--------- Black-and-white hawk eagle - -- 1
Falconidae:
PiQlCOVMeETICANUS = so ae Prairie falcon #2220 Seas 2 se i
Falco peregrinus anatum__..-------- DuckshawkKess == 55 seee aoe ee 1
GCORSD OT) Cr.121S see ee SAO WN Ae be 5
Polyborus) DlOncus == a aaa ee South American caracara------ 3
GALLIFORMES
Megapodiidae:
VALECEIT GAM RO It ee eee ee Brushoturkey. soe eee 2
Cracidae:
CraxiGscrolat gee = ee ee Crested (curassowete 220. - eee 2
Crax fasciolata sclatert. == =. - =) Sclater scurassow-----— eos i
CraciruOnde ee eee ee ee eae Panama curassow. 22 --o2-=-2- 1
IY ARETE AAD secoeeg siee g en ae ag dasa eda pia Razor-billed curassow--------- if
Penclone voviangs222 55-2 ae a ae Crested ipuan’ seer os sane sae 3
Phasianidae:
VAT ULSUCTUUSIGT, GUS ae ere Argus pheasant.----- oo ee 1
Chrysolophus amherstiae--.-.-.---- Lady Amherst’s pheasant___--- 1
Chrysoloprus piers see = ee Golden pheasant.-__.-.------ 2
COlVUSNCTISLEILS Se ee Crestediiquail’ == 22. == eles 11
Colinuswinginianusee see Bobwhites seen soe ace oe ena ]
Grossoniilon QUnvinten ee ee eee Blue-eared pheasant. _-.-_---- 1
HrPancolinus cOquiae eae eee eee Coquitfrancolins==— 222222242 2
Gallusvgallus2 322 ee eee eee Bantamitow less eae 70
Gallistgaliiis = ee ee ee Oriental silky bantam fowl. --- 2

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Scientific name Common name Number
Phasianidae—Continued
Gallusiqaliuste eee eae eee Bighting fowls eee eee sere 10
Gallusigallussee= eee oe oes Red jungle fowlssse ssa at Soe if
Galluisigallisan temas ees tee Hybrid, red jungle fowl X bantam
ro) if Gs eae RS ee ae ie tes a 1
Gallustlajayettives san ceca sees Ceylonese jungle fowl___.----- 1
Gallusisonnenatiies sane sea Craysjungle fowlsee see see 1
Gennaeus albocristatus.-._---------- White-crested kaleege_____---- 1
Gennaeus leucomelanus_----------- INepalksleegets- 2 yu se 11
Gennaeus nycthemerus..-.--------- Silver: pheasant.-- 3-22-22 22225 2
Peerophasis swinnott. = 2 ono 5 Swinhoe’s pheasant_____------ 1
Odontophorus gujanensis marmoratus. Marbled Guiana quail___--~--- 1
Pavoreny Status nies or tek Wee oases Péatowlee onset ee 2s seek 5
PRASVANUSLOnNQUAYUS Ses Ring-necked pheasant_-__------ 4
SUGIMLALICUS TCCUCSI = Sane ae Reeves’s pheasant..__--._----- 1
Numididae:
Acryllamivuliuneniilosa- 22 seen eo Vulturine guinea fowl__._----- 1
Nami uses ase Le Fe Guineaifowls 525-52 24a 1
Guitera eduardi schoutedeni___------ Schouteden’s crested guinea fowl 1
Guitera plumifera schubotzt_-...----- Uele crested guinea fowl------ 2
Meleagrididae:
Agriockanisrocel alas se— =. see == Ocellated turkey 2452--55---— 3
Meleagris gallopavose 22 ==" = 42. == Wild turkeyzeescess see 2
GRUIFORMES
Gruidae:
PANENTONDOTLE SULT Onan tee a et Demoiselle crane__---.------- 2
BOOT ICAapQUOTLN Cae ee a West African crowned crane- -- 2
Balearica regulorum gibbericeps- - ~~~ East African crowned crane_--- 1
Grisnleuscaucnen = nem nese eee White-naped crane____------- 1
GUAcSNLENICOQETONALS sa ee ee Siberian crane= eee 2
Psophiidae:
iPsophianleucoprerGe s= ce s- 2 2a White-backed trumpeter- ----- 1
Rallidae:
Amaurornis phoenicurus__--------- White-breasted rail__._...---_-- 1
PA ITLLG EG CC (106 Ce ee Wroodirailt saate nen ae cre 2
EGC OR eT CON ane eee a AMeTICA COObs Bas S22 seasons 8
Gallinula chloropus cachinnans_-_-.- -- Florida gallinnle2*- 32252) 5-25 3
Gallinula chloropus indica__-------- Indian yallinulete sees esse ee 2
WONORNISHILATLLNLCO ea eee ee Purple gallinulen. = 22) o eee 1
OLE AUUS Vit O18 sea een eee Cayennewraile (129s 0. sce 2
Rallus limicola limicola__---------- Virginia rallstc ses cone oe 1
Cariamidae:
Caniama cristata es eae see eee Cariama or seriema_____-_---- 2
Eurypygidae:
UU DUG GIy ON: ae eee eee ee Sunebittem=_2 = 22 oe eee 2
CHARADRIIFORMES
Recurvirostridae:
Himantopus mexicanus_-.--------- Black-necked stilt........---- 2
Burhinidae:
BUN UUustOLs TOLLS ee eee ae South American thick-knee_--- 1

106 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Scientific name Common name Number
Haematopodidae:
Haematopus ostralegus__.__-.------ European oystercatcher_-______ 3
Charadriidae:
Belonopterus chilensis.........---- Chilean lapwing.2--2/2-22_2222 2
Philomachus: pugnoe=- 22220". o 22 1S A I sap rg HOR re 5
Laridae:
anus argentatuss2e 2 UG eres Herring: sulle. 22 2 hay Se ie il
Larus: delawarensise 222 22 ee Ring-billed: gulls 22oes 2s. 2
Larus domiunicanus.2222 i ee = Kelp-gullz- 20 aiegatiy ssh Sere 2
Larus novaehollandiae_---.-------- Silver gull Peso ee ae Cee ae 6
COLUMBIFORMES
Columbidae:
Columba vig at Se ee as. = Domestic pigeon_..---2-__22- 9
Columba-nigrirosir1s22 2 52 Pea 2 Short-billed pigeon___________ if
Columbigallina minuta elaeodes_-____- Croundsdovess= =o =e eee 2
Duculapaulings 2a Sos ee Celebian imperial pigeon _-_____ 1
Gallicolumba luzonica__-..-------- Bleeding-heart dove__________ 2
Gallicolumba luzonica X Streptopelia Hybrid, bleeding-heart dove X
Gecaoctowes PIU ade R OE ring-necked dovesse22. 2228s 1
Gourd Clon ae ee Oe Victoria crowned pigeon_-_-_-_-_- 1
Oreopelecarmontana- oe S22 Senos. | 2 Ruddy. quail’ dove! 53_2 2228 2
Streptopelia tranquebarica___.------ Blue-headed ring dove_______- 17
LE DLO DELLA GCCO0CLO n= sane ae Ring-necked dove___--------- 15
PATIENTS COHORT OS ee ae White-winged dove_____-__--- 12
ZEN CUG UG ONOLUGUCULLG LC ee South American mourning dove_ 4
ZENGIOUTG MROCT OU. = a an ae Mourning d0vei=2=- =~ = 2
PSITTACIFORMES
Psittacidae:
WANG ODOT TULSHULLLC7UC Caan ae at Red-faced lovebird_____-_____- 2
JAG ROATUG CPBRIV NS 3 oo So ese Blue-fronted parrot._...------ 1
AMAZOng Cnopaliatd a= aan eee Yellow-naped parrot___.------ 4
Amazona ochrocephala____-.------- Yellow-headed parrot_____--_- 4
AZ OTUCMON CLL TC =o ea Double yellow-headed parrot_- 8
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus_--_---- Hyacinthine macaw------_---- i
CAT ALONG OUMC eas St ere ee eee Yellow-and-blue macaw_-_--_--- 7
ATOR OCHO =e a i pe ee tess! Red, blue, and yellow macaw__- 6
ARONG GUIS = 5 aba esaosabe ee Cubanicontne sss ae 1
ES OLOG ERY SEIRGILL Gil S ae Tovipparakee(wees tees ae oe 12
Calyptorhynchus magnificus__------ Banksian cockatoo_.__._.-___- 1
Conunusmced dela eee Weddellisconures == 2225-52 -— = 5
Domicellang anna = ee REC lOny eee See oe or ee 1
KMakatoennlba tute rets 20h, eee an Wititercockatoonm mess = == 2
EOGOLOCRAUICT ONS =a ae Solomon Islands cockatoo- - -_-- 2
E<akatoengalenta= ae ae Large sulphur-crested cockatoo - 3
Kakotoe moluccensis=22-.— - een Great red-crested cockatoo-___-_- 1
Kakatoesanguineuss 2-525 2 aa Bare-eyed cockatoo_____------ 1
Neophema chrysostoma__.---------- Blue-winged parrot----------- 2
INIEStOTagLOLOULLUS aa ee ee Keadrert rc ee a 1
Nymphicus hollandicus__..-------- Cockatiello.). ashy oe eps 1

Scientific name
Psittacidae—Continued

Pionus menstruus__.---

Psittacula ewpatria

Psittacula kramert__---

Cuculidae:

Eudynamys scolopacea_-

Musophagidae:

Tauraco corythaix__----
Tauraco donaldsont_ _ - -
TPAULaco PersGas 22

Tytonidae:

Tyto alba pratincola_-_-_-

Strigidae:

Bubo virginianus____---
Ketupa ketupu___.-----
WNyciea nycten see
Giusiasio= as a2 ase ==

Alcedinidae:

DacelongigdSaee eee

Coraciidae:

Anthracoceros coronatus-

Momotidae:

Baryphthengus martti___
Momotus lessoni___----

Capitonidae:

Megalaima asiatica__-_-_-

Ramphastidae:

Pteroglossus inscriptus_-
Ramphastos ariel____---
hampnastoscannaise sss 2 eo
Ramphastos culminatus-
Ramphastos piscivorus_-

Cotingidae:

Rupicola rupicola_-_-__--

Dicruridae:
Dissemurus paradiseus_
Oriolidae:

Zarhynchus wagleri____-

Corvidae:

Corvus brachyrhynchos_-

Corvus corax principalis

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Common name Number
es Reve eee Blue-headed conure_____-____- 1
ee ee Red-shouldered parakeet __---- 1
Sees, PERE aeae Kramer’s parakeet....-------- i
CUCULIFORMES
Se Seae h mata Do} ) (ER ate aap rem estes PRT LY WN ea 1
es eee viene LS a South African turaco__..-_---- 2
EE ahem Monaldson/situraco 22555) == 1
a, es Soe Si Purple turacos..s-- 2 sas oor 2
STRIGIFORMES
ged ef ea BarniOwlhs 22 See ee 10
BE ET HERE Great horned owlee 222 eee 8
a aie See Malay fishing owl____.--_---- 1
Sei es ee SNOW yiOWles sere ok ee ee 1
Pe ares ee Sereechto wile ae eee 4
Bee era SPE eden Barred Owls. oe ee eee 11
CORACIIFORMES
Mies ape eee aes Kookaburrare yee ee eee 2
pea re Cee iRiedthornbilleess =e ae 2)
Se ay teach OR Great rufous motmot_____---- 1
and de eae hy esson ssmotmoteen sea oe sos i:
PICIFORMES
eee eae Blue-throated barbet___-__--__- 1
SUES Se ye Yellow-billed toucanet_______- iI
Ese ee a (ArielstouCca mein sae ere 2
Sulphur-breasted toucan____--- 3
eg ic i ails Soe White-breasted toucan_____--- 1
eA Sa ty iule sea WNOCOROOUC Ema eee ee 1
PASSERIFORMES
SR SSeS eee Cock-of=the-rock=2 5s 2 25422 e oe ?}
Seis Pate Giant racquet-tailed drongo_-___ 1
se ea 2 ces x Wagler’s oropendula___....--- 1
Blin st agitate INTMETICANECEO Wee ee eee 8
GR ee ee aed 2 INOEUDEENSTaA Veh = see eee 1

108 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Scientific name Common name Number
Corvidae—Continued
Corvustconniseee see ee eee eee eee HOOdedCKOW = 2 ee Se eee eee 1
Corvusicrypioleucusa= ee ee White-necked raven____---__-- 1
Corous insolens< on seen eee ndiantcro wae eee a see 2
Corvus*monedulqae eee eee Jackdaweaeee sans fone fo eee 3
Cyanocitiarcrasiatas se ee ‘Bluehayace sees See eee 8
CYyANOCOT Al CREYSOPSe sae ee Wrrsca say ese oes ae a ook ee 1
Garrulus glandaniuss 2 ee eee Muropean say see eee ee 1
Gymnorhina hypoleuca_.----------- White-backed piping crow_-_--_-- 1
(PICO; Ute eae ee ee Yellow-billed magpie___._-_--_-- 1
PICO Dich RUGSONICE nn ee American magpie___.._-----_-- 2
Wnocissa CQerulegs = ae ae ea Formosan red-billed pie__-_--_- 2
Paradiseidae:
(Paradisa GpodG=se en ae eee ee Great bird-of-paradise_________- 1
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus__.------- Satin bowerbirds=- 2 Sees eases: 1
Timaliidae:
GarnulaxUtcolon eee nee tee eee White-headed laughing thrush__ 2
Pycnonotidae:
Heterophasia capistratra_..-------- Black-headed sibia__.__.._.____- 2
IPYCNONOLUSTONGLI Ste ee ee ee Yellow-vented bulbul_________- 1
Pycnonotus leucogenys_------------ White-cheeked bulbul_________- 1
Mimidae:
Mimus polyglottos polyglottos.__---- Eastern mockingbird__..______- 1
Mimus polyglottos leucopterus_.----- Western mockingbird. __-_____- 2
POLOSLOMONMTUPUIMNA = 2 Seen een ee Brown thrashers sos e. ese eae 2
Turdidae:
Geokichlatcttinas eee Orange-headed ground thrush___ 1
Halocichla musteinas< 22 = 22- = =--= Wood thrush 2 sa ceseos) seen 1
Platycichla flavipes ee ee Yellow-footed thrush__.__-___-- 1
PUP dus Grayier oe ee ee ee Bonaparte s)thrushss- 22 -e2-. 1
PUTAS MUG TOLOT LUG tee en astern robin’ se eee ee eee ee 3
Sturnidae:
Acridotheres tristis_...- 22 --2).--- Commonmyngne sees eee ]
Graculatneliqiosasee eee ee ee Southern hill mynah__________- J
Gracupica melanoptera__----------- Wihiteistanlinge see ee ee ee 1
Lamprocolius splendens__---------- Splendid glossy starling_------- 3
Lamprotornis australis.....-------- Burchell’s glossy starling__----- 1
Sturnia malabarica......2.---_2.-- Gray-headed mynah_-__--_--_-- 1
Parulidae:
Dendroica PINUS cas) 2 eee oe Pine warblerseosss sees see eee 1
Seturus) QUTOCADUUS nos oe ee ae Ovenbird= Ses ses ee eee eee 2
Ploceidae:
Aegintha temporalis. 82 eee nn Sy. dneyawaxbillese se eee 8
Aidemosyne cantans__-.--=-------- Athy non? wi oll = See ee ee ee esac 3
Aidemosyne malabarica__---------- ovdianys theron 2
Aidemosyne modesta.-------------- Plum-headed' finch------ === == 2
PANU SLET AN ILS CUIUCLULS mre ee ee IVES OLIN hese ee eee 2
VATRAGING JOSCIOLG s2 eee eee ae Cut-throat weaver finch_--_---- 6
Amandava amandava_-_------------ Strawbennyatin chee ees 3
Cayleya picia= 22. 2e eee 2 ese ee iPaintedannc haa = ae il
Dratrapura procnes--- a= ee Gianthwhy.d theese es= sss =e 2
Pstlaq@asinideasncscce a ese eeee Red-eared waxbill_.....------- 10

SECRETARY'S REPORT

Scientific name
Ploceidae—Continued
Huplectessmanciscanasssa sas eo
Hypochera ultramarina_-_.---------
Lagonosticta senegalla___.----------
Lonchura leucogastroides___.-------
Vii RTI] Ose ee ae ae
Mainiaamal accesses a eee
Mania punctulatas 252 Soo.
IEG OF NGLORBS ose eee
Passer-domesticussec = store oe
Plocews bay dee ge ES oe
Ploceus intermedius: 22 ie See.
FLO CEUSHUULCULUTUULS a na
Poepiilancuticaudas22 2a eee
POCDIVLGRNETSONGLG ns aaa ee
Queleaqucleae se it SEE. _
Sporaeginthus melopodus__.--------
Steganopleura bichenovii_.---------
NLEGANUTG PATGdiseds 22. ee es
Taeniopygia castanotis__-__..------
Uraeginthus: bengalus! 25222 SS 825_
Coerebidae:
Cranennes:cyaneusonan te one
Icteridae:
A gelarnisiGSSvINilis ass et ae eee ae
Amblyrhamphus holosericeus__------
Gymnomystax mexicanus.-_.-------
ReterussDullocktae heeft eee = 2
NGAUS (iron eB R ese A
Molothrus bonariensis_--.---------
Nottopsarcundeus. a2 224 ees
iReziiesiaeueppyeeee ae eee
Qurscalusnguisculas 22 ons ones nee
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus--_-_---
Xanthornis angustifrons._._..---.----
Thraupidae:
Calospiza inornata languens_--_-----
Calospizarnuficollig. 2~ == eu se
Par angarenythnomelass. eae eae
CIN DROCELUSHCAT DOS aa en a eee
Ramphocelus dimidiatus-----------
Ramphocelus flammigerus_---------
Ramphocelus passerinii_-..--------
Thraupis bonariensis darwinii___.--
DRA DISiCANG = 9 ees ee Be
Fringillidae:
Carpodacus mexicanus__-..-.------
Carpodacus purpureus californicus__-
Coryphospingus cucullatus__.-------
Cyanocompsa argentina__._..-_----
IDE PEG IAA RO YS Ween AAs i I es

Common name

Bishop-weaversasecsce secs es
Combasou or indigobird______--
African fire: finch! 22 35) Bose
Bengalijinehie!s Sue eee
White-headed munia_______---

Spicesfineh.e- = = 3 oS De eae
JAVA Sparrows 22022 yeas
Iouselsparroweo ese eee eee
Bayasweaver-- 2222-2) eee
Black-cheeked weaver_-_.------
Vitelline masked weaver___--_--
Long-tailed! finch) 222) L222.
Maskedifinch= 2322200 sas

Orange-cheeked waxbill-_ _-__---
Bicheno’s finch.22) 02 424 24522
Paradise'whydah! 2 i. 000 425
Aebra: finch: 422. -see 2a eee

Blue honeycreeper_..---------

Cuban red-winged blackbird - - -
Scarlet-headed blackbird - -----
Giant:orioles 2) 20s Wea
Bullock’s;troupial2 2s 22-2 Y se
Giraud’sorioless245 2 eee sete
Shinyacowhbirdssse-sec.- esos
Chilean- blackbird 2622 22222582
Military. starling2o22.. 4225242
Purple prackiese (ssa see een eee
Yellow-headed blackbird----_-
Oropendulass eases eee

Plain-colored tanager- --------
Brown-headed tanager- -------
Searletitanager: 2s lof
Silver-beaked tanager-_--------
Crimsonitanagers 22222222502 —
Yellow:tanager: 2228 oeueke
Passerini’s tanager....---.----
Darwin sian arenes ses see
Blue :tanager: 22552222 Seana

Mexican house finch_.____----
California purple finch_-------
Red-crested finch--2---=5=----
Argentine blue grosbeak-_------
Diucartinchsas see esessa eae
Black-crested finch......-----

—

—
wel

KF NOFNNN NK KE

bo eK be © bo

110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Scientific name Common name Number
Fringillidae—Continued

Melopyrrha nigra. -2s22s2-2e2-2= == Cubanvbullfinch222-~ eae 2
Melospiza;melodia s+ 2. 4+--.4=2--- SON ews parrOwee aes eee ee 33
Paroaria cucullata.—..~---=--+----- Brazilianicardinales = 2. .==eee 1
Paroaria gularis nigro-genis_------- Black-eared cardinal__-------- 1
PasserellanWac@ap eee ee HOXeSPATFOW = 922 2-5 ial eee 1
Passerina amoena..------.-------- Taz bunting. 9545 ee 1
RaSSErINGICInISE een Hee ee Paintedsbuntin gases. == 1
Passerina, cyaneG@. = jose een = - Indigolbunting=.2 22. 222e5255— 2
Passerina leclancherts=--=-==-=---- Leclancher’s bunting__._-_---- 1
Passerina versicolor. ..-.-------+--- \Wenarecl lotbotinoye if
Pheucticus aureoventris_-.---------- Black-and-yellow grosbeak____- 2
Phrygilus alaudinus...=-=-2+.+---- Chilean lark finch-o 3042. s52.2 1
Phrygilusjruticetwbe.* See sae k= Mourningefin cheese 2
Phyrgilus) gayien. 2 2ee3 keer Gay’s gray-headed finch______- il
Poospize torquatasen-. ae Sas Ringed warbling finch______-_~- 2
Richmondena cardinalis___.-------- Cardinals ste 55a 0 a 3
Serinus canarius_....------------- Canary s- isc n6 tee Sees a
Serinus canarius X Carduelis mexi-

CONG™ so Se eB ee se Hybrid, canary * siskin___--- 2
Serinus icterus_.4.s2-4+-222s--+-- Green singing finch_______---- 1
Stealis fiaveolas ee ne ee ee eee Mysto finche=2 22-55. sesas55 1
Sicalisluteolan 2. saessssegs-eeht = Safiron finchat 2225 -— 22 £5 eee 3
SUCALISNINT NOTE eee eee Lesser yellow finch__--------- 4
Spinus uropygialis...-22=5-2s¢=---- Chilean sisking. «:ts=428 2-455 il
Sporophila-aumiaet fos 254 fees. = Hicks’s seedeater__..--------- 1
Sporophila guituralis. ..-==-4=--=-- Yellow-billed seedeater_-_-_----- 1
Sporophila melanocephala_-_.------- Black-headed seedeater____---- 2
PiarisvolivaceGes = ee ees eee eee Mexicaniorassqiiltaes===——=e—— 3
Volatiniajacaring. tattoos cheese. Blue-black grassquit-._.------ 1
Zonotrichia albicollis_.22---=4--+-- White-throated sparrow------- 4
Zonotrichia capensis...--=--------- Chingolos 222 22 eee 1

REPTILES

LORICATA

Crocodylidae:

Alligator mississipiensis_—--------- Ai ator e= 22 ee eee ees 33
Alligator, sinensis 225424 tt <eee = = Chinese alligators 2525-5] ]ee= 2
Caiman latiresiris2 ba eS Broad-snouted caiman_--_---- il
Gaiman scleropss aa. 2235-4 Spectacled caiman____-_------ 4
Grocodylus acutus. 224 3525-2)5254-- = American crocodile_---------- 3
Crocodylus cataphractus__.--------- Narrow-nosed crocodile_-_---_- iL
Crocodylus niloticus_-.------=----- Afriean,crocodiles = 22-42-5226 2
Crocodylus palusinis= 252-5252 -52— == ‘Toad vacrocodile. = a es 2
Grocodylus ponosussse--- "== es Salt-water crocodile_____.----- 1
Osteolaemus tetraspis_.------------ Broad-nosed crocodile__------- 3

SECRETARY’S REPORT ET

SQUAMATA
SAURIA
Scientific name Common name Number
Agamidae:
Physvgnathus lesueurt2.-222- 292.2 - Lesueur’s water dragon____---- 4
Uromastix acanthinurus_..--------- North African spiny-tailed lizard_ 1
Xenosauridae:
Xenosaurus laticaudatus.___.------- Broad-tailed lizard__..._.....- 1
Iguanidae:
PAN OLISECOROUINENSIS {eae ae ae American anolis or false cha-
meleonwoe 24 2 ce eae ae 10
ZR OUES QUOC soe He seca oderse Giantianolis esha se aoe 2
SA OLDSHSMOTGE a2 AS Pee ar elt Ve Giantranolisae yen ae eee 1
IBASULUSCUSIULELALUSE a eo eae TB SSNS ees U8 a Ge ua le AEN 4
Conolophus subcristatus= —-2—- 22-4 =~ Galipagosiguana=_2542 2255 2
IPRIYMOSOMGACOTNULUM ayaa ale ee Eonmed siz ar clase e = ee eee 6
Sceloporus- undulatus=—-----=-"---- Pineor, fence lizard2-%-2—-.--4= 6
Zonuridae:
ZONOSGUTAUS ON IUALLS ene Ornateglizarde ae ae 1
ZOTCUTUSS GLO GNLE WS ae ee African spiny, lizards22 225 =.-=8 1
Helodermatidae:
iMelodenmahonmaum= ss ss5ee5 eo Mexican beaded lizard__-----~- 2
elodenmaxsuspecul Maa aeanee eae — Gilaymonster=asss-2 =a 52 eee eee 4
Lacertidae:
EemUaSeMUCnON Cees ee eae a Egyptian sand lizard___------- 3
Teiidae:
Cnemidophorus bocourti.----------- Wihiptaill lizards. 42 sss s5222 25 i
Scincidae:
Egernia cunninghami__------------ Cunningham’s skink___------- 3
BGEENtO LUCLUOSG aaa ee ae ae Mourning skink=- = so 5s24-2o5= 2
GErniG Whitton eae ea ees a Wihite/sis Kank ts eon 10
EDUINECESHIGSCULILS meee eee Blue-tailediskink says s==eee oe 2
TG GESCURCOLE CS ae ee ee Blue-tongued lizard___-------- 4
Chameleontidae:
Chameleonidilepissas2- sess 2 eee Chameleon] 2-2 oe. See 1
SERPENTES
Typhlopidae:
PU DRLOp SISD ees se a ere SSeS African burrowing snake-_----- 1
Boidae:
IBOUICONINDS ae eae nee eee ea ee Creenttree bogaees ee] se eee se 1
IBOONOUINer ita eee eee ae Duméril’s) boss. 2. 5-2-2 ee 1
ConstiletonacONstit Clonee een Boalconstrictoneess. sees sees 2
Gonsinictoriampenaton=p eee seen oe Central American boa_-------- 36
Conshactorimextcanius=-- Sos o2 = Southern boavee so. 4se-ssee es 1
HL CHOLESUCCIICHT UG ee are tee a Reainbowiboase ee eee eeee ee 11
TERUIVECLESIITULUUILALS ae Anacondae ee sss. aseseeeeee 1
UOMO Seas ses Ane Indian*rock python 2-2-5" 55 13
(Puthony negiics be ere eee Ba 2 Ballipython=2-222322255s2-5- 1
PU RONWreleCulalises i= ayaa 2 oes Regalipythonssee sae ase 6
ED RONSS DILOLER ee oa se eae Diamond py thons---s-42e5--¢ 1
J ENO) OCTCAT LO Ce eee see Carpet/python_s 2522 22=2---=- 4

112

Scientific name
Colubridae:
Arizona elegans eburnata___--------
BOOLAONMIGULUOLIOS LS ae
PBOCCLON LER COUT =a ee
Carnphophisiamocnasa ass
Chlorophis heterolepidota___...-----
Coliibentconsinictormas = ae ea
TOI NAIS onli 8 oe
DIGdO phism VGA S = ee
Drymarchon corais coupert_.-------
LOD REnguitali eae a ee eee
LGD IVeROUSOL CLO ae
Elaphe quadriunctiatas. 2) Sain las
Elanhenulping sees see
JHE UATE eee
iHeterodonscontaninic sess. 2 eee
Lampropeltis getulus boylit__..-----
Lampropeltis getulus getulus__.-----
Lampropeltis rhombomaculata__-----
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum.
IN RGN anne enn Baek
INatrics:sp 23ers ae
Onheodnyawernals=s oo aes a2
Oxybelisvacuminause a=
Pijas-micosuss- 2 ee eee Ss
SOREHO COMM is sneookaseskoosstece
TRGMUODNUSESULAMSe = ae ee
Elapidae:
BUG OnueHasclOls ee ee

Viperidae:
iBitesvarnvetanenea= ao- see =e eee
Crotalidae:
Agkistrodon mokesonsa) sees een aa
Agkistrodon piscivorus.....--------
Otho DSLAM CCOLALILS aa ee
Crotalus terrificus basiliscus_...----

Chelydidae:
Batrachemysnasutaa. see eee

Chelodinailongicallus) = 3) 2 ae ee
Hydraspis spon soe Wee se aes ed

Hydromedusa tectifera_--...-------

Platemys platycephala_..--..------

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Common name

Glossyacsnakes 2a. Aue epee
Housesnakes.2 = Ses 22 yas seen
Brown house snake__________-
Wiormysnakes ses). 2a eee

Egg-eating snake_________-__-
Ring-necked snake_________-_-
Indicoisna ke was sae sea
Corn-snake 32a ae sees ae

Flog-nosedisnake =aee == =aaee= =
Boyle’s king snake____._______-
Chaingkineysna ke mea eee
Mioleisnake-=e sass See
Milk snake or spotted adder- --_-
Banded water snake__-._-_____
Wiatersnakess 8526s semana
Smooth-scaled green snake_-____
Pike-head snakessenss=aseeee
Indianimatisnake= ee sas
DeKay s snakes. 222-5. 22 ee
Garterisnakes2s2 228) aaees eae

Bandedtkraitesiy = oe eee
Hey p tanec Obraese = sae
Kin gacobrae sass ee
West African cobra____-____--

Putt adG@er_. 232-2 2s eres ee

Copperhead snake------------
Cottonmouth moceasin..____--
ler=ce=| aCe a ee ee
Mexican rattlesnake_-._--___--

Australian long-necked turtle-_.-
Cagado or South American

snake-necked turtle._____---
South American snake-necked

FS
3
NNRFY RP HOWE WR RP PREP BE TEP WN RFK WOR eee =

a

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Scientific name Common name Number
Kinosternidae:
Kinosternon subrubrum__---------- Miudistiuntle 2a ae se ete 5
Sternotherus odoratus..------------ Musk turtles joes Seite ess 4
Chelydridae:
Cheljdnarmernentunas - a=. eee Snapping turtle. 22222 eee 8
Macrochelys temminckii_.---------- Alligator snapping turtle_-_--_-- 1
Testudinidae:
Batagur baska_------- eae a Be a ag Indian fresh-water turtle - ----- 1
Chrysemyapicign == ee amen Painted turtlozsi2o aus oeee ee 7
Clemmius guitata ene See eS ahah Spotted! turtles22 sew 6
Clem mysiinscil pid ss ee ee ee Wood) turtles noosa orients 4
Cyclemys amboinensis.--_---------- Kura) kure, box turtles 22 sae 1
UM YOUnOAKNCULba sae ee oa ne Krefit}sturtless 0 acces ae Sepia 3
EY OULGsMaCGUaTTae sae ee eer = Murra turtles: sacs ee eee 11
Goplhtenusibenlandientae a= a= ae iBerlandiersiturtlen. eee 4
GravlemysUCroOuUnto se eee Barbour’s turtle 2c. eee ees 8
Kenicys bellianae. {2222 8 seek = Hinge-backed turtle_-..------ 1
Malaclemys centnatas.2. = 225222 Diamondback turtle. .--...---- 3
Pelomedusaigaleata 22 eae ee Common African water turtle_- 1
REVUSTOSHNLOT: CON SER ees ae Black African water turtle_---- U
IP seudemys) cOncinndscs sea se ee a- = Cooterah sie Scetee ea eee 1
Pseudemys elegans_.-------------- Mobile:turtle. <= 25- ease ees 12
Pseudemys ornata subsp_----.------ Central American turtle___---- 6
Perapeneicarolunds Seow sees es Box turtlest 254522 esas eae nee 50
Thernanenesmaj 07 uae oe eae oe Hlorida;boxiturtie: sass shee 4
Restudovenhip nium 2224 eee Aes Duncan Island turtle__._-_---- 2
thestudowhoodens7s =a see Hooduslandsturtleseessas sos —— 2
Mestidowtavwl ata an Nee Ne eee South American turtle. -.----- 3
TeStUGONUICLN Oe eee Albemarle Island turtle_._---- 5
Trionychidae:
AN EG CLOL Saas sae ae eee Soft-shelled turtle. ...-..----- 17
VAY AGIELCUNGUiSeeon aoe eee eee West African soft-shelled turtle _ 1
AMPHIBIA
CAUDATA
Salamandridae:
Triturus cristatus danubialis____-.-. European crested newt..-.---- 2
Pritunus pyrrbogaster 24a. Jaa eee Red Japanese salamander. -.-- 1
Dinttentts) LOnOStLS = se ee Giant newtisoo. cae Sees Be 14
rcs ivintdeScens ae ee Common newt (of the United
States) ase se ee es 3
rst UustulgOrtsae sm eeen enn Common European salamander_ 3
Amphiumidae:
AU DIVAL IGN CO Sa eee Congo, eel. = sielse Sues Abuse 1
Ambystomidae:
Ambystoma tigrinum.$....2.-2-22--- Tigersalamandersss.o52"225>— 6
Cryptobranchidae:
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis_...---- Helibenderse = eee eee eee 10

Megalobatrachus japonicus_..------ Giant Japanese salamander- ---

114

ANNUAL REPORT

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

SALIENTIA
Scientific name Common name Number
Dendrobatidae:
ALCLODUSVAnIUSICHALCLOCI™ sae ee Yellow atelopusseas ees ss 14
Dendrovatesrau. ays sae Arrow-poison frog____--...---_ 6
Bufonidae:
Bufo alanis: Gee ras We kollel. = Western green toad__________- 4
Bufo Omentcanuss a ae ee Common? toade 222452 12 "sa nae 1
Bufo empiuswe ie eee sigts Ba wa L es Sapo de.conchas 4.2525 sae 1
Bupa Marninusers oa ays se ey tee 2d Marine: toad Ss 36 san a ee 11
Bi jowpeacepRalus eee. as eee Cuban giant toade 2245 2 es 1
Discoglossidae:
Bombing bomotnas see he eee Red-bellied toad_.__.__._.____- 2
Leptodactylidae:
Cenatophnysiornata yom nen ered Dane Formed) iro ga oie ates Ger Beye ured 4
Pipidae:
Pipa Pipa. | see oe es = Surinam, toad sees saa i|
IXCNO DUS CULS ern Cees earl ees African clawed frogi-.-2-2-2 2+ 5
XENODPUS MuUllereye an mete ee Re ae Miiller’s clawed frog.___-_-.-- 16
Ranidae:
En Deron si Spee ae ee ee African green tree frog_______- 1
EVu per oles is peasy Saas eae a Broad-striped African tree frog. 12
Ty perros spa sss Bae ee A Be ok Narrow-striped African tree
frog ee saa Eee 2
ET UDETOLUSISD a Be ene Oe Red-legged African tree frog__- 5
GN GLGds persas os eae Awe aag es African Ul leino cpa 3
fanancatesprange = 24a e se eee Bullsiro go eee al pte ie 6
Rananclamitan' saa eee Greentfrog2= 25.28 eae 2
COMA DUPUCTIS ee nl aA SER NN 7a Leopard frogs2 5 nia ees 10
FISHES
AN ODOSILESLUGt Neuss aes aye ae ees Climbing#perch=2s-22 22 25a02— 4
Anopiuchiliys jordan =e nee Blindichara cin mss == 6
Aphyosemion sjoestedtv= == S522 a sates Red funduluszes 22222 see ees 2
LE DUIS OPA ae Se SB RS edeSesee ClowntbaT bees s === ee 2
Barbussoligolepis= soe se ae ae (higer barbeiws st ae Ue ees 25
Barbusypantipentazonassen. 2 os 2222 ee Banded barb- 2 ee eee 2
Brachydanio albolineatus_____.---.----- Rearlidanios=e aime set 2
JEROAM OE PUO ROO aia oo ee LoS eateeoe Lebraidaniowss sae tee ae eas 1
Carassvis Guraiusee. = =e ee Goldfishe 5-22 eee aE Bea ee il
Channasasiaiicathe 2 see ao wee Snakehead 22 es en as ae 1
Corydoras Bp asec a ee South American catfish____-_-~-- 2
Daniormalabaricis eee ae ae eae a Blueidanioses2. wean lin eb kare 2
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi_........------- Blackitetra. 5-222. 4 Soe eee 14
Hemichromis bimaculatus.__..-_.------ Jéewelfishu 558 e ese 1
lemmignannisvocellijernsans sane se ee Head- and tail-light fish______- 2
Hyphessorbrycon annestaes52 225 Lem oe Neonstetra 2 Se sea ee 25
iebisteswnetneulatis sae = ee eee Guppy 24 ee sues Steen 100
Bepidosinen) paradora..- 2 eae uaa South American lungfish__-_-- 2
ThOrecarta: Spas aneit te hg Near Lee Lens LLG 25, etl ci cely we et th ie yah ay HRN 2
Mesonauta ansignis S252 322) ete, Se 2 pee ee 1
Otocinclisraqinusme ae = ee Suckericathshis ss = eee eee 1

SECRETARY’S REPORT 115

Scientific name Common name Number

; iWactaillplatyss-oos sees SS 4
Platypoecilus maculatus_..------------- (ee A Ppidt oe 10
Platypoecilus punctatuss == -22-—-2-— = — = IMoGonfisher se: eine aoe an see 3
Poecilobrycon unifasctatus....----.----- Penciblishiesn oe Wess ee 1
Pristellarrrddlen- Staak) bs ee oe ae ee bree thas Shc sty a sol de ae Uf
IProloneeniuscGnitcclen seas = ae ase nas Atrican lung hish soe ee eee 2
Rasbora, heteramornphas._.- ----22-- 42202 RAS Oraplis lien we eee eae 30
ANTChURYS QLUONU0ES= = no a ae wea White cloud mountainfish_---_-~ 3

INSECTS
BIGDEROs SD se Meee RU NS oe Giant cockroach>-2-7 22.2 100
EGUGILODSIS PELET Sta s as a ea to Se African giant cricket... -2=2- = 3
MOLLUSKS

PACRGIENORGACR OLN Gee na ee ee Giant landisnaileses esse oe 3
ACHR LLCO eaten a es ee ee Zanzibar-Madagascar snail - - - - 1

Respectfully submitted.
W. M. Mann, Director.
Dr. A. WEeTMoRE,
Secretary, Snuthsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 8
REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the Astrophysical Observatory for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1950:

The Astrophysical Observatory has continued its two divisions, the
Division of Astrophysical Research, devoted to the study of solar
radiation, and the Division of Radiation and Organisms, founded in
1929 for the study of radiation effects on organisms.

Beginning September 1, 1948, the Division of Radiation and Organ-
isms was entirely reorganized under the new chief of the division, Dr.
Robert B. Withrow. During this fiscal year Dr. Withrow’s extensive
program of remodeling and reconditioning the laboratories was com-
pleted and his new research program inaugurated.

Progress on the new editions of the Smithsonian Meteorological
Tables and the Smithsonian Physical Tables can be reported. The
sixth edition of the Meteorological Tables was in press at the end of
the year, and the manuscript of the ninth edition of the Physical
Tables was nearly completed. This new and completely revised
edition of the Physical Tables has been compiled under the direction
of Dr. Wiliam E. Forsythe. Preparation of this manuscript has
proved a colossal task because of the great volume of new material
made available since the eighth revision was issued in 1932.

DIVISION OF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH

Early in June 1950, the Director left Washington on an inspection
trip that included both the Montezuma, Chile, and the Table Moun-
tain, Calif., field stations. He spent 16 days in June at the
first-named station and 9 days in July at the second. Excellent skies
prevailed especially at Montezuma during his stay. Many intercom-
parisons of instruments were made, as well as direct comparisons with
substandard silver-disk pyrheliometer S. I. No. 5, which he carried
with him from Washington. Inventories were made at both stations
of all nonexpendable equipment on hand. Various phases of the work
were discussed in detail with the personnel of the field stations.

The Montezuma field station has now been in continuous operation
for 30 years. Throughout this period an average of three determina-

116

SECRETARY'S REPORT ga /

tions of the solar constant was made on each day that skies were
sufficiently clear. And throughout this whole period every effort
was made to maintain the solar-constant values on the same scale.
It seems worth while, therefore, to examine whether in these years
of observation there is evidence of a progressive change in total radia-
tion given off by the sun. The following table gives the mean solar
constant for three decades:

Total number of solar-
constant determinations Mean value of the

Period (Montezuma, Chile) solar constant
LO QTE SONG USIVe) see ee ae eae ear 5, 820 1. 9431
LG St=-4 On Gnieclusivie) tse eee eet ate eee 5, 520 1. 9463
TEU Ze}. aV OTST NYE) se as SE ee 5, 004 1. 9478

This increase of one-fourth of 1 percent in the radiation emitted by
the sun in two decades (1925-44) is of particular significance in view
of evidence that has accumulated of climatic changes in various
localities over the earth. On the whole, these changes indicate that
average temperatures have increased somewhat during the past 100
years, with an accelerated increase during the past several decades.
A very interesting discussion of these evidences is given by Prof.
Julian Huxley (Natural history in Iceland, Discovery, vol. 11, No. 3,
March 1950; reprinted in general appendix of this Report, p. 327).

As stated in last year’s report, funds have been requested to re-
establish a third field station. Clark Mountain, in southern Cali-
fornia near the Nevada border, has been chosen as the most satisfac-
tory available location.

Work at Washington.—Statistical studies of, and final corrections
for, the observational data from our two field stations (Montezuma,
Chile, and Table Mountain, Calif.), were carried on under the super-
vision of W. H. Hoover, chief of the division. Mr. Hoover also
supervised the preparation of instruments and equipment for the
solar-constant observations, for special research problems in progress
at Table Mountain, and for requests for certain instruments received
from other institutions. Of these latter, three silver-disk pyrheliom-
eters, each calibrated against the Observatory’s standard pyrheli-
ometer, were furnished at cost during the year, as follows:

1. S. I. No. 82 to Dominion Physical Laboratory, New Zealand.

2. 8. I. A. P. O. No. 17 to Observatorio Cagigal, Caracas, Venezuela.

3. S. I. A. P. O. No. 18 to Central Meteorological Institute, Bucharest,
Rumania.

In addition, two modified Angstrom pyrheliometers and one special
water-vapor spectroscope were furnished to the Central Meteorologi-
cal Institute at Uccle, Belgium.

A summary of silver-disk pyrheliometry, in the form of a revision
of Dr. Abbot’s paper of 1922 on ‘The Silver Disk Pyrheliometer,”

118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

was published in December 1949 (Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 111,
No. 14). This paper gives the constants and the present locations
of more than 90 pyrheliometers that have been constructed and
calibrated by the Smithsonian Institution and are now in use in
widely scattered parts of the world.

Five progress reports were submitted during the year, summarizing
observations and exposures of textiles made under contract with the
Office of the Quartermaster General, as mentioned in last year’s
report. This work was carried on mainly at Montezuma, Chile.

Both Dr. C. G. Abbot, research associate of the Observatory, and
Dr. H. Arctowski continued their special studies referred to in last
year’s report.

Work in the field—At the two continuously operating field stations
(Montezuma, Chile, since 1920, and Table Mountain, Calif., since
1925) observations for the determination of the solar constant were
made on all days having sufficiently clear skies. In addition to this
work, at Montezuma considerable time and effort were spent to main-
tain the necessary radiation measurements in the work being done
for the Quartermaster, mentioned above. These measurements were
hampered by a lack of sufficient electric power. It is hoped soon to
install new batteries and an improved generator. Since March 1,
1950, the Montezuma station has also exposed certain textiles and
other materials at the request of the National Bureau of Standards.

With the cooperation of General Motors Corp. and under the
sponsorship of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Department
of the Army, as mentioned in our reports for 1947 and 1948, the
Observatory established at Miami, Fla., in November 1947, a tem-
porary observing station, where exposures to the sun and sky were
made, both direct and through filters, of certain tent materials.
Measurements of radiation received were made, as had been done
previously at Camp Lee, Va. In addition, studies were made of the
water-vapor absorption and spectral-energy distribution of sunlight
at this moist, sea-level location. The equipment of the former field
station at Tyrone, N. Mex., was used in these studies. By July 1949
the work at Miami was nearly completed. Early in August 1949,
Mr. Hoover supervised the dismantling of this temporary Miami
station, and the equipment was transported in two trucks to the
Table Mountain, Calif., field station. Here, with the aid of funds
generously given by John A. Roebling, a second observing tunnel was
prepared, similar to, but somewhat larger than, the regular tunnel
in use at this station. The new tunnel is about 100 feet to the west
of the old one.

It is now possible, for the first time since the solar-constant program
was inaugurated nearly 50 years ago, to make simultaneous, duplicate,

SECRETARY’S REPORT 119

spectrobolometric observations at the two tunnels, each tunnel operat-
ing with independent equipment but observing the sun through the
same sky. As a preliminary to various special experiments that are
contemplated with the new tunnel, there was in progress at the end
of the fiscal year a series of duplicate solar-constant observations
taken exactly simultaneously. A study of these simultaneous obser-
vations will doubtless furnish interesting information concerning the
dependability of the instrumental and observational procedures.

DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS

(Report prepared by R. B. WirnRow)

The principal activities of the Division of Radiation and Organisms
for the first two-thirds of the year were concerned with concluding the
reorganization and reconstruction of the laboratory facilities. The
division laboratories are now in first-class condition for plant photo-
chemical research and include four constant-condition rooms, as
follows:

A 2° C. cold room for chemical isolation and analyses of labile
compounds.

A plant-growing room with one large luminaire for the routine
production of plant material and eight small compartments for grow-
ing plants under controlled conditions of intensity and wavelength.

A monochromator room for action spectrum studies.

A general experimentation room.

A new type of fluorescent-incandescent luminaire has been devel-
oped which involves the use of a special type of lamp holder for the
fluorescent lamps, making it possible to put thirty-four 8-foot Slim-
line lamps in a unit 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. ‘The separation
between the tubes is only % inch. Behind the lamps is a bank of
twelve 60-watt incandescent lamps. ‘These lamps raise the long-
wavelength energy level of the unit to permit a better type of growth
than is possible with fluorescent lamps alone. The fluorescent lamps
operate in series at 450 milliamperes on an 18,000-volt transformer
and reactor. ‘This arrangement greatly simplifies wiring and makes
it possible to remove all auxiliary equipment from the growing room.
The luminaire has a glass window and an exhaust system, making it
possible to operate with a power input of 4 kilowatts without excessive
heating. With this luminaire it is possible to obtain 2,500 foot-
candles 2 feet below the unit. This is nearly double the intensity
possible with similar luminaires designed around conventional aux-
iliaries and standard lamp holders.

A self-condensing type of water-cooled incandescent lamp luminaire
has been developed which condenses the water vapor from the water-

922758—51——9

120 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

filter cell and makes it possible to operate a unit involving one or more
internal reflector lamps without contamination of the distilled-water
filter by dust in the air or replacement of it for at least 2 weeks of
continuous operation. This type of unit is proving useful for the
incandescent irradiation of small cultures of algae and germinating
seedlings. With this luminaire it is possible to obtain 3,000 foot-
candles over small areas without excessive temperature rise of the
irradiated cultures.

Two large grating monochromators have been designed and are
now being constructed for action spectrum studies. One unit will be
used for recording absorption spectra and the other as an irradiation
monochromator for action spectrum studies. The source for the
irradiation monochromator is a 12-kilowatt carbon are.

A new type of 60-cycle conductance bridge with a phase-detector
amplifier has been developed which records directly changes in con-
ductance of 1/R instead of some complex function of resistance, as
with conventional bridges. With this instrument it is possible to
follow changes in the concentration of dilute inorganic nutrient solu-
tions with a precision of better than 0.3 percent, and no replotting of
data is necessary. Continuous recordings of the uptake of single salts
by seedlings may be followed, as well as the loss of salts from roots
and other tissues. This instrument is being used for studies of the
effect of light and growth substances on ion exchange in plant tissues.

During the latter third of the year experimental work was under
way in three general areas: First, the effect of native and synthetic
auxins on the water and ion exchange relations of potato-tuber tissue
and corn and bean roots. As this work is being supported by the
United States Army Chemical Corps, the results are not available
for this report. The second area of work pertains to an investigation
of the action spectrum and pigment systems involved in photomor-
phogenesis of seedlings. Seedlings are being grown under conditions
of constant light intensity and limited spectral range as obtained by
large dyed gelatin filters prepared in these laboratories in order to
separate photomorphogenesis from the other photochemical reactions
of phototropism, chlorophyll synthesis, and photosynthesis. The
third area of investigation pertains to the effect of light on the per-
meability of plant tissues and on the capacity of seedlings to absorb
nutrients from single salt solutions. These data are being obtained
by continuous recording of solution conductance.

A paper entitled “Light as a Modifying Influence on the Mineral
Nutrition of Plants” was presented by the chief of the division at the
Symposia on Plant Growth Substances and Mineral Nutrition of
Plants at the University of Wisconsin in September 1949.

SECRETARY’S REPORT iA

The work of the division was materially aided by a generous grant
last year by the Research Corporation for basic equipment and facil-

ities. This support is gratefully acknowledged and has been invaluable
to the reorganization program.

Respectfully submitted.

L. B. Aupricu, Director.
Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 9
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the National Air Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30,

1950:
HIGHLIGHTS

The National Air Museum suffered a great loss in the death in
January of General of the Air Force H. H. Arnold, whose interest in
the establishment of an aeronautical museum for the Nation was of
long standing. Following the close of World War II General Arnold
contributed generously both time and effort in the movement before
Congress to make the museum a reality, and after its establishment
in 1946 he continued, through correspondence and personal contacts,
to help the new agency. At its meeting on May 24, 1950, the
Advisory Board of the National Air Museum unanimously adopted
the following resolution:

WuereEas, The May 24 meeting of the Advisory Board of the National Air
Museum is the first since the lamented death on January 15, 1950, of General of
the Air Force H. H. Arnold; and

Wuereas, It was General Arnold who developed the idea of a National Air
Museum to memorialize the national development of aviation, and to preserve for
posterity aeronautical material of historic interest and significance; and who,
moreover, ordered the setting aside of examples of aircraft and aviation materials
used or developed during World War II for future preservation:

Therefore be it

Resolved, That the Advisory Board of the National Air Museum records in its
minutes its profound sorrow and its deep sense of loss in the death of General
Arnold, brilliant leader and man of vision and foresight; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the family of General Arnold
and to the Secretary of the Air Force.

On March 17, 1950, the report to Congress on the National Air
Museum, required by law, was submitted to the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.
This report carries out the stipulation of section 3 of Public Law 722,
establishing the National Air Museum, that the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution shall submit “recommendations to Congress
for the acquisition of suitable lands and buildings for said national air
museum.”

122

SECRETARY’S REPORT 123

On June 1, 1950, the services of Maj. Gen. Grandison Gardner as
the United States Air Force representative on the Advisory Board
were terminated by reason of his transfer to a post of duty away from
Washington. General Gardner’s enthusiastic interest and advice on
Air Museum matters during his year’s tenure in this office were most
helpful to the Board and the Air Museum staff. In his stead, Gen.
Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, appointed
Lt. Gen. K. B. Wolfe as his representative on the Board.

The Air Museum had so busy a year that backlogs developed in
several of the bureau’s work programs. Requests for information
were of large volume, and a quarter of the curator’s time was spent
on this service in addition to considerable time of two associate
curators. There were accessioned and cataloged 465 items—a four-
fold increase over last year—and there were designed, prepared, and
installed three times as many temporary special exhibits of current
or commemorative significance as the year before.

Worth-while improvements were made, too, in the bureau’s condi-
tion and operations. At the Park Ridge storage facility, for example,
a considerable portion of the space originally rented by the bureau
was vacated, and the smaller retained area was enclosed by fencing.
These changes permitted the safe reduction of the watch force from
10 to 7 guards and the employment, at no increase in over-all cost,
of additional technical and clerical help to further the essential
preservation and accessioning programs. With the help of a second
museum aide added to the Washington staff, marked improvements
were made in the aeronautical exhibits.

MUSEUM BUILDING STUDIES

As indicated in the bureau’s recent annual reports, for the past 2
years studies have been conducted by the bureau’s staff in coopera-
tion with the Public Buildings Administration to determine a suitable
Museum building and site. After 17 months of work these studies
were completed, and a report thereon was presented to the Advisory
Board on June 29, 1949.

The report embodies the ideas of the Advisory Board members, of
architects and engineers of the Public Buildings Administration, and
of the professional staff of the bureau regarding the scope and volume
of the proposed aeronautical collection and the equipment, facilities,
and services required to maintain, exhibit, and preserve the collection
and operate the Museum. ‘The descriptive matter, perspective
drawings, preliminary floor plans, estimates of costs, and suggestions
of suitable sites contained in the report are believed to provide a

124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

basic scheme from which there can be developed a feasible and ade-
quate building for the national aeronautical collections.

With this report as a nucleus, the required report to Congress was
prepared this year and, as indicated earlier, was submitted to Con-
gress on March 17, 1950.

ADVISORY BOARD

A meeting of the Advisory Board of the National Air Museum was
held on May 24, 1950, with the following members present:

Dr. Alexander Wetmore, chairman, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution; Rear Adm. A. M. Pride, Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics,
Department of the Navy; Maj. Gen. Grandison Gardner, Deputy
Chief of Staff, Matériel, Department of the Air Force; Grover Loen-
ing, Presidential appointee; William B. Stout, Presidential appointee.

The death of Gen. H. H. Arnold, who was known personally by all
members, was the subject of a commemorative conversation among
the members and resulted in the resolution mentioned in the fore part
of this report. The Board then heard brief reports by staff members
on the year’s operations by the bureau at the Park Ridge, Ill., storage
facility and in the conduct of the Museum activities in Washington.
These operations are described under separate headings in subse-
quent parts of this report. In connection with the storage operations,
the Board approved the stafi’s list of aeronautical items in the col-
lection that are to be rejected as unnecessary to the Museum.

With the knowledge that the required report to Congress on the
National Air Museum was in the hands of that body, the Board gave
considerable attention to the problems involved in advancing the
Air Museum’s site-procurement and building programs. It was
appreciated that positive action must await, as with all federally
supported building programs, specific authorization by Congress.

SPECIAL EVENTS

During the year the Air Museum participated both as host and
guest in a number of unusual events connected with the acquisition
of new aeronautical items for the national collection. The following
are worthy of mention:

On July 3, 1949, during the Air Force Association’s annual con-
vention in Chicago, and as one of the public events held at the O’Hare
International Airport, there was received for the Museum the United
States Air Force B-29 superfort Enola Gay, famous as the first aircraft
to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. The presentation was made by
Maj. Gen. Emmett R. O’Donnell, Jr., Commanding General of the
15th Air Force. with Col. Paul W. Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay,

~~

SECRETARY'S REPORT 125

and Maj. Thomas W. Ferebee, bombardier, in attendance. C. W.
Mitman, Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum,
accepted it for the Museum. ‘The previous day at the Air Force
Association annual convention luncheon, the Air Museum was awarded
a bronze plaque and citation in recognition of its continuing interest
in and devotion to the Nation’s aeronautical history. The award
was made by Gen. James Doolittle, United States Air Force (Ret.).

On July 7, 1949, at the Washington National Airport, there was
formally presented to the Museum the Stinson SR-10F airplane that
had been used by All American Aviation in airmail pick-up service
and later was employed by the Air Force in developing the techniques
of picking up airplanes, gliders, and persons from the ground. Nor-
man Rintoul, the donor, who had piloted this plane in the above
operations, demonstrated these methods prior to the presentation.

On September 8, 1949, at the airport, the City of Washington, Piper
Super Cruiser that had been flown around the world in 1947 by
Clifford Evans, Jr., was presented by William T. Piper. It was
flown in for the presentation by George Truman, who had accom-
panied Evans on the world flight in a similar airplane.

On October 7, 1949, at a small but impressive presentation ceremony
in the Aircraft Building in Washington, memorabilia of the interna-
tionally famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart, consisting of a portrait
sculpture, flight maps, globe, books, radio, photographs, models,
trophy, and medals, were presented to the Air Museum by the Amelia
Earhart Post of the American Legion, Department of California.
Mrs. Amy Otis Earhart, mother of the aviatrix, unveiled the exhibit.

On November 8, 1949, the Museum received from Power Jets, Ltd.,
London, England, the original Whittle W-1-—X turbojet engine in a
presentation ceremony, held in the auditorium of the United States
National Museum, in which several of the Advisory Board members
participated. The presentation was made by the British Ambassador,
and addresses were made by W. E. P. Johnson, Managing Director
of Power Jets, and Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the engine, both
of whom journeyed from London, England, for the occasion. The
acceptance address was made by Dr. A. Wetmore, Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution.

On January 27, 1950, in the Regents’ Room of the Smithsonian,
in the presence of several Board members, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer F.
Wieboldt, of North Garden, Va., presented a bronze bust of Wilbur
Wright by the sculptor Oskar J. W. Hansen. With this accession,
the Museum now has bronze busts of both Orville and Wilbur Wright
by the same sculptor. They are appropriately exhibited in the Air-
craft Building.

126 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Lastly, on June 28, 1950, the Air Museum participated as host to
a small company gathered in the Aircraft Building to witness the
awarding of a citation to Mrs. (“Mother”) C. A. Tusch, Berkeley,
Calif., by the United States Air Force, in recognition of her great
interest in and fostering of airmen over the past 30 years. In the
course of her long voluntary service Mrs. Tusch had gathered in her
home a large collection of aeronautical memorabilia which she gener-
ously presented to the National Air Museum earlier in the year. A
token exhibit of the ‘Mother’? Tusch collection formed the back-
ground for the ceremony setting.

CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES

Tbe curator, Paul E. Garber, reports on the year’s work as follows:

The general condition of aeronautical exhibits continues good, but
the need for space is desperate. Until an adequate building of its
own is provided, the National Air Museum is restricted for its displays
to the Aircraft Building—a World War I hangar erected in 1919—and
a small hall and overhead suspended exhibits in the adjacent Arts
and Industries Building. These areas now house 37 man-carrying
aircraft together with numerous engines, structural parts, and cased
displays of parachutes, instruments, flight clothing, models, and other
material reflecting some of the accomplishments of designers, engi-
neers, and airmen. Were adequate space available a far more com-
plete picture of aeronautical progress could be created with the
irreplaceable material that the Museum now has in storage. This
is a source of much disappointment to the visitor, the student, and
historians.

A number of improvements were made in the bureau’s exhibits
during the year. Two bays in the Aircraft Building are now assigned
to the Wright Brothers. In one, the portrait busts of Wilbur and
Orville Wright are associated with memorials and awards; in the
other there is displayed a reproduction of their wind tunnel, while
on the walls their story is augmented by photographs, drawings, and
paintings. To satisfy further the public interest in the Kvity Hawk,
a 4-panel floor frame containing photographs of the Wright Brothers,
a picture of their first flight, and a nomenclature drawing of the
machine was installed beneath the plane. Twelve scale models of
aircraft, illustrating types developed and flown by a number of the
pioneers who followed the Wright Brothers, were attractively arranged
in realistic action positions in a scenic setting depicting a flying field
of the pioneer period. The planes are identified in the text on a
miniature “billboard” bordering the field. A splendid series of
paintings by Jerome D. Biederman, illustrating World War II air-

SECRETARY’S REPORT 197

craft in service, were utilized to augment an older display of scale
models of these planes. Among other exhibits improved were the
Thompson Trophy series and the story of the first American air foree—
the balloon corps established during the Civil War. With the help
of Col. Roderick Tower, who had once been a pilot of the Curtiss
Jenny now in the collection, the original numbering and insignia of
this airplane of World War I were restored, thereby improving the
appearance and authenticity of the plane. Numerous other exhibits
were serviced; the cleaning and repairing of all aircraft maintained;
and the continuing project to provide accurate drawings and a repre-
sentative space control scale model for each aircraft in the collection
was advanced.

Among new accessions of aircraft and engines, the Enola Gay and
Whittle W—1-X are outstanding. Of the 14 full-sized aircraft acces-
sioned, only one, the Roadable Autogiro, could be given exhibition in
Washington; all the others were placed in the storage area. Five
engines were received during the year, three being jets. In deference
to the increasing size of huge bombers, transports, and patrol planes,
a departure from the Museum standard airplane model scale of 1:16
was decided upon, and 1:48 adopted for the larger models. Two of
this new scale, a Northrop flying wing B-49 and a Fairchild cargo
plane C-82, were added to the collection. A large sectioned model,
1:8, of the Piasecki helicopter permits technical study of this type.
One guided missile, a Navy “Bat,’’ was acquired, and enables the
Museum to show the contrast between a radio-guided weapon and
the human-guided “suicide” Japanese Baka bomb previously
accessioned.

In addition to the aeronautical material actually accessioned this
year, it can be reported that the Department of the Navy has placed
in safe storage for the Museum the Lockheed P2V Truculent Turtle,
which established the present long-distance, nonstop, nonrefueled
flight record, and the Vought F—-5-U. The F—5-U is a unique develop-
ment of low aspect-ratio wing configuration which has an unusually
wide range of flight performance.

Projects under way at the close of the year included a rearrangement
of the aircraft engine collection in the Aircraft Building; improving,
through the use of an automatic slide projector, the illustrated story
of Colonel Lindbergh’s flights in the Spirit of St. Lowis; and prepar-
ing a commemorative display to record the fortieth anniversary of
the beginning of carrier operations in the Navy.

STORAGE

Compression of material to conserve space, development of preserva-
tion techniques, disassembly of aircraft, and packing of aeronautical

128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

materials have been the four principal categories of work at the
Museum’s storage facility at Park Ridge, IIl., this year.

Following an intensive period of preplanning, the curator, with the
help of the storage facility staff and two of the staff from Washington,
concentrated the entire stored collection within about one-half of the
space previously occupied. This was followed by the erection of an
8-foot-high wire-mesh fence enclosing the entire area, the fence being
so made that individual panels are removable to facilitate the move-
ment of aircraft into and out of the area.

Preservation of aircraft flown in requires running up of the
engines and giving them protective coatings while they are free and
warm, draining tanks and venting fumes, cleaning the aircraft imside
and out, placing dehydrators, and sealing all openings with tape.
Proper treatment of material, when received, requires cleaning, in-
specting, and replacing of preservatives. A large backlog exists in
the inspection and preservation of the aeronautical items originally
transferred to the bureau by the Air Force. As an example of the
work involved in preservation, the cleaning of the propellers on the
Enola Gay, which, prior to its transfer to the Air Museum, had been
stored outdoors for a long period, required 247 man-hours of time.
Another rust-removing project involving the cleaning and applying
of preservatives to the Enola Gay’s engines will consume an estimated
1,400 man-hours.

The disassembly of aircraft condenses the space they occupy, and
this task constitutes the initial step taken toward boxing them.
Some of the planes received from the Air Force had been partially
dismantled and required further disassembly. Including these and
the aircraft dismantled entirely by the facility personnel, 59 were
handled during the fiscal year involving 1,697 man-hours.

The boxing program is intended, as far as is practical, to prepare all
stored material for safe storage and future shipment to Washington.
Twenty-nine aircraft, 67 engines, and other aeronautical materials
were already packed in boxes when received from the Air Force. The
boxes had become damaged, however, through repeated handling,
and many of them were repaired during the year. In addition, 6
airplanes were packed, requiring 18 boxes and consuming 950 man-
hours. Economies were effected by extensive salvaging of lumber
from the boxes and crates in which rejected aircraft had been placed.
Most of the aircraft and material received during the fiscal year were
delivered in permanent boxes.

These several major continuing projects begun during the year
required nearly a fifth of the curator’s time in planning and super-
vision. Several conferences of Air Force, Navy, and Air Museum

SECRETARY’S REPORT 129

personnel had to be held—for example, to develop standards for
retention or rejection of material for Museum purposes. There was
involved, too, the details of the design and procurement of a large
variety of essential equipment and supplies to carry on the work.

INFORMATIONAL SERVICES

To satisfy the demand for the bureau’s informational services,
there was required during the year the expenditure of the equivalent
of over 2 man-years of the staff’s time. Some examples of this great
volume of requests received are:

The National Defense Establishment was assisted by the loan of
models of the Navy PBY and Air Force B-25 airplanes which served
as the basis for larger models to be used for electronic evaluation tests.
The Court of Claims was aided in its investigation of the origin of
radio-shielding on aircraft engines. A number of photographs pre-
served by the Archives were given correct identification. The com-
memorative stamp issued on the forty-sixth anniversary of the Wright
Brothers’ first flight and the first anniversary of the return to America
of the Kitty Hawk, was checked for design, accuracy of technical
detail, and text by the staff, working with officials of the Post Office
Department and the Bureau of Engraving.

The aeronautics classes of the District of Columbia high schools
were supplied with a list of nonmilitary uses of aircraft compiled for
their information and discussion. The Aircraft Industries Associa-
tion was given facts regarding the Wrights’ first engine for use in a
research project. The curator served on the committee of the
National Aeronautic Association which determined the annual awardee
for the Brewer Trophy. Many hobbyist modelmakers were assisted
with loans of drawings and photographs, and photographic collectors
exchanged prints with the Museum to mutual advantage. The
Handbook of the National Aircraft Collection, written by the curator,
continues to be in great demand, and the ninth edition will shortly
be undertaken. The United Service Organization ordered this year
a large number of copies for its libraries, and many schools continue
to use it as a text.

The bureau continued, asin former years, to satisfy as far as possible
the requests of District of Columbia citizens’ groups for illustrated
lectures on aviation subjects.

SURVEY

Concentration by the staff on operations at the Washington base,
and at the field storage facility limited the time available for survey

130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

trips to locate and examine new material. The following surveys
were made:

Dearborn, Mich., January 18, by the curator and Stephen Beers, associate
curator, to inspect aeronautical material at the Edison Institute.

Dayton, Obio, March 25, by Robert Strobell, associate curator, to inspect Air
Force and other material available to the museum.

ACCESSIONS

This year the bureau received 34 new accessions from 31 sources
totaling 465 specimens. Each accession was fully recorded in the
Museum’s catalog system and formally acknowledged. The list
follows:

Arr Forcr, DerparTMENT oF, Washington, D. C.: The Boeing B-29 superfortress
bomber Enola Gay used to drop the first atomic bomb in warfare, on Hiroshima,
Japan, August 6, 1945 (N. A. M. 682).

AMELIA EAruart Post 678, AMERICAN LEGION, DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA,
Los Angeles, Calif.: A collection of 6 objects associated with the aeronautical
accomplishments of the late Amelia Earhart: the globe on which she planned
her flights (contributed by Mrs. Amy Otis Earhart); a sculptured portrait
(contributed by Mrs. Grace Wells Parkinson, the sculptress); the radio used
on her Atlantic flight (contributed by Paul Mantz); two scale models of Lock-
heed Vega and Electra airplanes which she flew, and a trophy intended to be
presented at conclusion of the world flight (contributed by the Lockheed Air-
craft Corporation) (N. A. M. 689).

Brecu Arrcrart Corp., Wichita, Kans.: The Beech Bonanza airplane Wazkiki
Beech in which the late Capt. William P. Odom set a world’s nonstop, straight-
line, distance record for light planes of 4,957.24 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii,
to Teterboro, N. J., in 36.23 hours, March 7-8, 1949 (N. A. M. 667).

BIEDERMAN, JEROME D., San Francisco, Calif.: 59 full color paintings of United
States, British, German, and Japanese warplanes in use during World War II
(N. A. M. 660, loan).

Civin AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D. C.: A Pitcairn Roadable
Autogiro, significant as an early and successful attempt, under Government
sponsorship, to provide a practical, low-cost, road/air vehicle for private pilots
(N. A. M. 672).

Ezy, Mas. J. S. M., Alexandria, Va.: Eight insignia cut from sides of World War
I airplanes; a French barometric altimeter taken from a French plane, World
War I; and two name plates, one a Caproni, the other a Mercedes, from World
War I equipment (N. A. M. 658).

Farrcuitp ENGINE AND AIRPLANE Corp., Hagerstown, Md.: A 1:48-sized scale
model of a Fairchild C—82 ‘‘Packet,”’ the first military cargo and troop transport
designed as such (N. A. M. 664).

FrackELton, Mr. anp Mrs. Ropert, Fredericksburg, Va., ‘In Memory of Ist
Lt. Rollin N. Conwell, Jr., USMCR’”’: A bronze, life-size portrait bust of Orville
Wright made from life in 1931 by Oskar J. W. Hansen (N. A. M. 670).

Goopyrear ArrcraFrr Corp., Akron, Ohio: An exhibit illustrating the cross-wind
landing-wheel design developed by the donor under Civil Aeronautics Adminis-
tration sponsorship (N. A. M. 657).

Grant-SmirH, Hon. U., Washington, D. C.: A flechette (steel dart), air-ground,
antipersonnel weapon of World War I (N. A. M. 679).

SECRETARY’S REPORT 131

GUGGENHEIM FounpDATION, THE DANIEL AND FLORENCE, New York, N. Y.:
The Robert H. Goddard Rocket Exhibit totaling 29 specimens consisting of
1 large and 1 intermediate rocket and a significant selection of units with
descriptive charts (N. A. M. 668).

Kirk, Harry E., St. Louis, Mo.: A Consolidated PT-1, U. S. Army training
plane, the first of the “modern” United States military primary trainers
(N. A. M. 676, loan).

Kirk, Preston, St. Louis, Mo.: An SE-5A airplane, an example of a single-seat
British fighter used by Great Britain and United States during World War I.
This particular specimen was one of 50 assembled in the United States for
the Army, 1922-23 (N. A. M. 677, loan).

Korn, Dr. Epwarp A., East Orange, N. J.: A photograph album containing 98
prints showing scenes from the early flying activities of Edward Korn and his
late brother Milton, 1908-15, as well as pictures of other ‘“‘Harly Bird”’ airplanes
(N. A. M. 665).

Korn, Dr. Epwarp A., East Orange, N. J., and Korn, Aruineron L., Jackson
Center, Ohio: A Benoist tractor biplane of 1911, one of the earliest planes of
this type (N. A. M. 666).

Lez, Carr. E. Hamiuton, Glendale, Calif.: A United Air Lines pilot’s uniform
worn by donor prior to his retirement as senior pilot of United, July 1949
(N. A. M. 678).

LoENING, ALBERT P., Southampton, N. Y.: A 1:16-sized scale model of the
Loening Air Yacht. This model represents the high-performance 5-place
flying-boat design that won the 1921 Wright Efficiency Trophy and the Collier
Trophy for its designer, Grover Loening (N. A. M. 675).

Los ANGELES, City oF, Calif.: The Boeing B-17D Swoose; one of the very few
combat-type aircraft operational on December 7, 1941, and still in service at
the end of World War II (N. A. M. 662).

McDonne.uy ArrcraFt Corp., St. Louis, Mo.: Two 1:16-sized scale models of
McDonnell aircraft: an FH-1 “Phantom,” the U. 8. Navy’s first operational
jet fighter and also the first U. S. all-jet aircraft to land and take off from a
carrier; and an F2H “Banshee,” carrier-based, single-seat jet fighter (N. A. M.
661).

NaTIonaAL Apvisory CoMMiTTEE FoR AERONAUTICS, Langley Field, Va.: An
N. A. C. A. “Quiet”’ propeller designed by the donor to reduce noise in light
airplanes (N. A. M. 688).

Navy, DEPARTMENT oF, BuREAU OF A®RONAUTICS, Washington, D. C.: A
Westinghouse 19A “Yankee” engine, the first purely American-designed axial-
flow turbojet engine (N. A. M. 684); a cutaway Westinghouse 9.5A (J.32)
axial-flow turbojet engine designed to Navy specifications for powering guided
missiles or small pilotless target aircraft (N. A. M. 685); a ‘‘Bat”’ pilotless glide
bomb, radar controlled, the only Allied pilotless missile weapon designed by
America or Allies used operationally in World War II (N. A. M. 686); a magnetic
compass used on the NC-4 during the first transatlantic flight, 1919 (N. A. M.
687).

NortHrop Arrcrart, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.: A 1:48-sized scale model of the
Northrop B—49, the first jet-propelled flying wing bomber designed and de-
veloped by donor for the United States Air Force (N. A. M. 659).

Piasecki Heruicoprer Corp., Morton, Pa.: A 1:8-sized scale model of the
Piasecki HRP-1 Helicopter Rescuer. The first successful tandem rotor trans-
port helicopter design to go into production (N. A. M. 674).

132 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Pirer Arrorart Corp., Lock Haven, Pa.: A Piper Super Cruiser airplane, City
of Washington, flown around the world, August 9-December 10, 1947, by
Clifford Evans, Jr. (N. A. M. 683).

Power Jets, Lrp., London, England: The Whittle W-1—X turbojet engine which
was the first practical turbojet engine to successfully propel an aircraft in
flight; and a 1: 24-sized scale model of the Gloster-Whittle E 28/39 ‘Pioneer’
experimental aircraft powered by the foregoing type of engine and representing
the first successful turbojet-propelled aircraft (N. A. M. 669).

Rintrout, Norman, Pittsburgh, Pa.: A Stinson SR-10F “Reliant” 5-place cabin
monoplane. Equipment used for mail and human pick-ups is included
(N. A. M. 668).

RoosEvett Firup, Inc., Mineola, L. I., N. Y.: Three full-sized airplanes: a
Baldwin “Red Devil,” 1910-11; a Bleriot XI, 1914; a Nieuport 12, 1917-18;
and 2 aircraft engines: a Curtiss V-4 and a Salmson Z-9 of World War I period
(N. A. M. 680).

Tuscu, Mrs. C. A. (‘Mother’), Berkeley, Calif.: The collection of aeronautical
memorabilia acquired by the donor from World War I to 1950 and formerly
exhibited in her home, known as “The Hangar, Shrine of the Air.” The
collection of 325 listings consists of propellers, aeronautical and military
uniform emblems and insignia, flight clothing, parts of aircraft and engines,
personal souvenir items, wallpaper panels with original signatures, and framed
photographs, many of which are autographed (N. A. M. 690).

WatEeRMAN, Waxpo, Santa Monica, Calif.: The Waterman Whaisit airplane of
1932, an early design of a tailless monoplane (N. A. M. 681).

Watney, Grorce K., San Francisco, Calif.: An ‘Albatros’? D—5 airplane of
World War I, a type used widely by the German Air Force (N. A. M. 678).

Wiesotpt, Mr. anp Mrs. Eimer F., North Garden, Va.: A bronze, life-sized
portrait bust of Wilbur Wright sculptured by Oskar J. W. Hansen in 1949
(N. A. M. 671).

Respectfully submitted.
Car. W. Mirman,
Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum.
Dr. A. WeTMortE,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 10
REPORT ON THE CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA

Srr: It gives me pleasure to present herewith the annual report of
the Canal Zone Biological Area for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950.

IMPROVEMENTS MADE

A reinforced-concrete 11,720-gallon water tank, for ordinary uses
as well as for fire protection, was built about 400 feet from the start
of the Snyder-Molino Trail. The elevation of the tank above the
laboratory level is such as to furnish enough pressure to bring the
water over the roof of the large main building. The 4,000-gallon
concrete water tank built in 1948 is now being used only for rain water
for drinking and laboratory needs.

The land south of the Chapman house was leveled in preparation
for the reconstruction of the building used for corrosion and deteriora-
tion tests; and the material necessary for a 12-foot extension to this
building was purchased. The present house, originally built in 1926,
is infested with termites. Considerable progress was made in clearing
the land back of the present laboratory group to allow space for more
effective separation of our buildings to eliminate fire hazard.

The floating equipment is in good shape. A reduction gear was
added to the launch Luna. The narrow-gage rail line from the Frijoles
dock to the railroad station was relocated and improved.

SCIENTISTS AND THEIR STUDIES

During the year, 21 scientists made use of the island’s facilities.
Present costs of transportation are keeping many from coming, and
for the same reason a number of those who come do not stay as
long as they would like to. Since the laboratory was started in 1923,
about 660 separate papers relating to work done at Barro Colorado
Island have appeared in print, not including the many reports made
by representatives of Government agencies.

Dr. Alfred O. Gross, professor of biology, Bowdoin College, accom-
panied by Mrs. Gross, returned to the island after an absence of 25
years, to continue his studies of birds. He spent about 6 weeks study-
ing in great detail and photographing the Hicks’s seedeater and the
little flycatcher, Myiobius barbatus, and made valuable observations
of many other species. The island is exceptionally well suited for
the investigation of the birds of the lower tropical forest.

133

134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Dr. Robert Zanes Brown, of Johns Hopkins University, spent 6
weeks on the island, accompanied by Mrs. Brown as assistant. His
main objectives were to obtain additional ecological data on army
ants for Dr. T. C. Schneirla, of the American Museum of Natural
History, and to locate and check up on the 18 queens of Eciton hama-
tum and 9 of EF. burchelli that he marked and left with their colonies in
the 1948 dry season. He not only found the marked queens but was
able to follow their movements day by day. Dr. Brown is also inter-
ested in mammalian ecology, and, having the opportunity to see more
of the island and its life than he was able to during his 1948 visit, he
made valuable observations on population numbers and behavior.

Dr. A. M. Chickering, of Albion College, Albion, Mich., returned
to continue his exhaustive studies on the spiders of the island, Canal
Zone, and Panama. This is his fifth visit. He has published 15
papers on spiders of the region, the one on the salticids alone number-
ing 474 pages. His estimate of the number of species of spiders on
Barro Colorado Island is 1,200.

Dr. Per Host, of Norway, returned to the island to continue his
studies of the birds and mammals, as well as the general forest. With
his special photographic equipment he made additional motion pic-
tures and stills, in black-and-white and color. He also made many
wire sound recordings of the voices of the jungle. In addition to his
island studies, he revisited the Chocé Indians of Darién and the Cunas
of San Blas and made photographic records and sound recordings of
the songs, chants, and language. These records, being the only ones
in existence, will become increasingly valuable as the customs and
language of these Indians are lost through the encroachments of
civilization.

Dr. Eugene Eisenmann, of New York City, continued his study of
the birds of the region, with which he is unusually familiar. From
the island records he has prepared a list of all the birds known from
the island and has added many species to it himself.

Scott Seegers, of McLean, Va., and Mrs. Seegers, spent a few
weeks on the island to obtain first-hand information on the plants
and animals, and to consult published papers on studies made there,
in connection with the preparation of an article.

Dr. Lawrence Kilham, Microbiological Institute, Laboratory of
Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, spent 4 days on
the island, primarily to study the birds, and subsequently the mam-
mals. His 12-page report is replete with careful observations and
comparisons with conditions and the biota of Northeast Greenland.
The number of birds he saw on the island was far beyond his expecta-
tion. Of the mammals he records howler monkeys (infested with

SECRETARY’S REPORT 135

bot flies), white-faced capuchins, coati-mundis, peccaries, tamanduas,
tayras at close range, tapirs, fiequis, and sloths.

G. W. Cottrell, of the Harvard University Library, and Mrs.
Cottrell, spent about 2 weeks on the island to observe the whole
complex of plant and animal life in a tropical rain forest. Their
main interest was the study of the bird life, and, to a lesser degree,
Lepidoptera. They covered fully half of the island’s trails and had
opportunity to study and observe the abundant mammalian life.
Of birds, they identified 115 forms, 2 of which were new to the records
of the island. Also they made a representative collection of Lepidop-
tera and took many photographs.

Mrs. E. R. Kalmbach, of Denver, Colo., was able to spend 3 days
on the island, after a longer stay in Colombia. Her special interests
were the flora and the birds, and to a lesser extent the mammals.

Ken Stott, Jr., general curator of the Zoological Society of San
Diego, Calif., accompanied by Mrs. Stott, spent about 10 days on
the island gathering first-hand knowledge of birds and mammals in
the wild state in order to modify and improve the present exhibit
and maintenance of the animals in the San Diego Zoo. He found
opportunities for observing American tropical rain-forest wildlife
on Barro Colorado Island to be unparalleled from the viewpoint of a
zoo naturalist. During his brief stay he observed 102 species of birds
and 11 of mammals, among the latter the ocelot and tapir. Special
attention was given to feeding habits, particularly the manner of
feeding and the types of food preferred, especially by the three species
of diurnal primates, the tamandua anteater, the three-toed and
two-toed sloths, and a number of birds, most of which are difficult
to maintain in captivity for any great length of time.

Dr. Rolf Blomberg, of Norway, spent 2 weeks on the island collect-
ing material for his forthcoming book on the fauna of tropical America.
In his report he refers to the richness of the island fauna, to the great
helpfulness of the library facilities, and states that in no other part
of the world has he been able to carry out such studies with greater
ease and under pleasanter circumstances.

Dr. Frederick W. Loetscher, Jr., of Centre College, Danville, Ky.,
with Mrs. Loetscher, spent 2 weeks on the island, mainly to study
birds. A keen observer, he left with the laboratory a detailed list
of the 102 species he definitely identified, with notes on their abun-
dance. In addition, he made observations on the primates and
edentates. Such reports, accumulated over long periods, give a
valuable index to trends in populations, particularly relative abundance.

Dr. H. B. Goodrich, professor of biology of Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Conn., spent 4 days on the island observing and

922758—51——10

136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950
“experiencing” a tropical rain forest for the purpose of providing a
biological background for his teaching. He also took many color
photographs.

Dr. Cleveland Soper, director of the Tropical Research Laboratory
of Eastman Kodak Co., continued exposure tests throughout the
year, assisted by Paul Hermle, physicist, George Ade, chemist, and
Ismael Olivares, microbiologist. These tests have yielded very
valuable results, and, in Dr. Soper’s opinion, the test tables for the
island are the most practical way to determine the effectiveness of
biocides in preventing deterioration of processed photographic ma-
terials, as well as the resistance of various protective coatings to
tropical climatic conditions, etc. The correlations obtained between
samples at the test table and similar items in actual use are more
than satisfactory. Several important publications have resulted from
these studies, such as ‘‘Notes on Tropical Photography,” “Care of
Films and Cameras in Tropical Climates,” “Prevention and Removal
of Fungus Growth on Processed Photographic Film,” and ‘Notes for
the Photo-Traveler.”” The prevention of corrosion of lenses by fungi
is one of the important projects. These exposure tests emphasize
the value of rapid and long-term studies of the effects of temperature
and humidity, especially as they pertain to fungus growth. The
island is particularly well suited for studies of corrosion and deteriora-
tion and the evaluation of biocides under such severe climatic
conditions.

W. EH. Lundy, of the Panama Canal and secretary-treasurer of the
Panama Canal Natural History Society, again spent about a week on
the island studying the birds and mammals, and particularly the
“voices” of the jungle. His observations are of special interest
because they help to give a better idea of faunal abundance and
fluctuation in numbers.

Jay A. Weber, of Miami, Fla., spent considerable time in Panamé,
part of it on the island, collecting mollusks, of which there is a super-
abundance of species. He was interested mainly in gathering the
fresh-water and land forms of the island, largely for the United States
National Museum. His previous visit to the island, to study birds,
was 22 years ago.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
revisited the island and held conferences with the resident manager
on plans for the future of the area and proposed improvements. W.
M. Perrygo, of the National Museum, accompanied him.

John E. Graf, Assistant Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, spent
a few days on the island examining the laboratory facilities and the
improvements made since his official visit the year before and dis-
cussing operations, plans for further improvements, and expansion.

SECRETARY'S REPORT 137

George O. Lee, professor of biology, Junior College, Canal Zone,
again brought his students for an overnight stay on the island, as
part of their school work. Similar groups from the Normal School
of Santiago, Panama, the Abel Bravo Institute in Colén, and the
National Institute of Panama likewise came to the island.

The resident manager continued his special research problems,
particularly the long-term termite-resistance tests, and host relation-
ships of the fruit-fly population. The termite-resistance tests,
started in 1924, are of increasing importance each year. During
these 25 years 42 detailed reports have been prepared and 48 papers
published, largely by Snyder, Hunt, and Zetek. It is possible now to
build in the Tropics with untreated timbers despite the abundance of
termites, and, with a minimum of vigilance, avoid the ravages of these
pests.

Tests were also made on a number of electric-wire insulations, some
untreated, others treated with pesticides and fungicides. The many
instances in which termites have eaten through lead sheathing, as
well as glass wool, prove the importance of these tests.

The Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine continued to
explore the worth and usefulness of soil poisons as deterrents to both
termites and rot.

The large Berlese funnel was kept in operation and yielded an
abundance of rare insects and mites difficult to collect otherwise.

URGENT NEEDS

A steady flow of electric current 24 hours a day is indispensable to
a laboratory. The island’s present supply of current is manufactured
by gasoline-driven generators, some of which are not dependable.
Some are single-phase, others three-phase, and this has made it
necessary to revamp the entire distribution system. A double-throw
three-pole switch had to be installed to separate the various phases
and make mistakes impossible when the various generators are used.
The drop in voltage at times is considerable. Also the gasoline and
oil consumption of the present generators makes electricity too
expensive. The only practical solution is to tap the transmission line
of the Panama Canal at Frijoles, put in transformers there and on the
island, and lay a cable along the lake bottom. This would give a
dependable 24-hour daily service at a moderate cost.

LIST OF THE VERTEBRATES OF THE ISLAND (BIRDS EXCLUDED)

The following list, brought up to date by members of the scientific
staff of the National Museum, shows a total of 173 species and sub-
species of vertebrates (exclusive of the birds) now inhabitating Barro
Colorado Island. The card index kept on the island gives pertinent

138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

data as to who collected and identified each species, where and why
they were collected, notes on abundance, and the synonymy as it
affects previously published data.

FISHES (22)
Pimelodidae:
Rhamdia wagneri (Giinther).
Characidae:
Astyanaz ruberrimus Eigenmann.
Brycon chagrensis (Kner).
Bryconamericus emperador (Kigenmann and Ogle).
Compsura gorgonae (Evermann and Goldsborough).
Gephyrocharaz airicaudata (Meek and Hildebrand).
Hoplias microlepsis (Giinther).
Piabucina panamensis Gill.
Roeboides guatemalensis (Giinther).
Synbrachidae:
Synbranchus marmoratus Bloch.
Poecilidae:
Brachyrhaphis cascajalensis (Meek and Hildebrand).
Brachyrhaphis episcopi (Steindachner).
Gambusia nicaraguensis Giinther.
Molliensia sphenops (Cuvier and Valenciennes)

Cyprinodontidae:

Rivulus brunneus Meek and Hildebrand.
Atherinidae:

Thyrinops chagrest (Meek and Hildebrand).
Centropomidae:

Centropomus parallelus Poey.
Cichlidae:

Aequidens coeruleopunctatus (Kner and Steindachner).
Syngnathidae:

Oostethus lineatus (Kaup).
Gobiidae:

Gobiomorus dormitor Lacépéde.
Gobiomorus maculatus (Giinther).
Leptophilypnus fluviatilis Meek and Hildebrand.

REPTILES (62)

TESTUDINATA

Chelydra acutirostris Peters.
Geoemyda annulata Gray.

Geoemyda punctariola funerea (Cope).
Kinosternon postinguinale Cope.
Pseudemys ornata Gray.

CROCODILIA

Caiman fuscus (Cope).
Crocodylus acutus Cuvier.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 139

SAURIA

Gekkonidae:

Gonatodes fuscus (Hallowell).

Lepidoblepharis sanctae-martae fugax Ruthven.

Sphaerodactylus lineolatus Lichtenstein.

Thecadactylus rapicaudus (Houttuyn).
Iguanidae:

Anolis lemurinus Cope.

Anolis capito Peters.

Anolis lionotus Cope.

Anolis pentaprion Cope.

Anolis biporcatus (Wiegmann).

Anolis limifrons Cope.

Anolis frenatus Cope.

Norops auratus (Daudin).

Polychrus gutturosus (Berthold).

Corythophanes cristatus Boie.

Basiliscus basiliscus (Linnaeus).

Iguana iguana iguana (Linnaeus).
Xantusiidae:

Lepidophyma flavomaculatum Duméril.
Teiidae:

Ameiva festiva Lichtenstein.

Ameiva leptophrys Cope.

Leposoma southt Ruthven and Gaige.
Scincidae:

Mabuya mabouya mabouya (Lacépéde).
Amphisbaenidae:

Amphisbaena fuliginosa Linnaeus.

SERPENTES

Typhlopidae:
Anomalepis mexicanus Jan.

Boidae:
Constrictor constrictor imperator (Daudin).
Epicrates cenchria maurus Gray.

Colubridae:
Amastridium veliferum Cope.
Rhadinaea decorata Giinther.
Rhadinaea pachyura fulviceps Cope.
Coniophanes fissidens fissidens (Giinther).
Pliocercus euryzonus dimidiatus Cope.
Oxyrhopus petola sebae (Duméril and Bibron).
Xenodon rabdocephalus (Wiedemann).
Siphlophis cervinus geminatus (Duméril and Bibron).
Leimadophis epinephalus epinephalus (Cope).
Enulius flavitorques (Cope).
Enulius sclateri Boulenger.
Dendrophidion percarinatus Cope.
Dryadophis boddaertii alternatus (Bocourt).
Thalerophis richardi occidentalis (Giinther).
Oxybelis aeneus (Wagler).

140 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Colubridae—Continued
Spilotes pullatus pullatus (Linnaeus).
Pseustes poecilonotus shropshire (Barbour and Amaral).
Chironius carinatus (Linnaeus).
Chironius fuscus (Linnaeus).
Imantodes gemmistratus (Cope).
Imantodes cenchoa cenchoa (Linnaeus).
Leptodeira rhombifera Ginther.
Leptodeira annulata annulata (Linnaeus)
Stenorhina degenhardti (Berthold).
Tantilla ruficeps (Cope).
Tantilla albiceps Barbour.
Elapidae:
Micrurus mipartitus (Duméril and Bibron).
Micrurus nigrocinctus nigrocinctus (Girard).
Crotalidae:
Bothrops atroxz asper (Garman).
Bothrops schlegelit (Berthold).

AMPHIBIANS (33)

APODA
Caecilia ochrocephala Cope.
CaAUDATA
Oedipus complex Dunn.
Oedipus parvipes (Peters).
SALIENTIA

Bufonidae:
Bufo granulosis Spix.
Bufo marinus (Linnaeus).
Bufo typhonius alatus (Thominot).
Engystomops pustulosus (Cope).
Leptodactylus bolivianus Boulenger.
Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Laurenti).
Eleutherodactylus biporcatus (Peters).
Eleutherodactylus bufoniformis (Boulenger).
Eleutherodactylus longirostris (Boulenger).
Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri (Schmidt).
Eleutherodactylus ockendeni (Boulenger).
Eleutherodactylus cruentus (Peters).
Eleutherodactylus lutosus molinoi (Barbour }
Eleutherodactylus gaigae (Dunn).
Eleutherodactylus diastema (Cope).

Brachycephalidae:

Dendrobates minutus minutus Shreve.
Dendrobates auratus (Girard).
Phyllobates nubicola flotator Dunn.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 141

Hylidae:
Hyla albomarginata Spix.
Hyla sordida Peters.
Hyla phaeota Cope.
Hyla underwoodi Boulenger.
Hyla boulengeri (Cope).
Centrolene prosoblepon (Boettger).
Centrolene parambae (Boulenger).
Centrolene fleishmanni (Boettger).
Agalychnis spurrelli Boulenger.
Agalychnis calcarifer Boulenger,
Agalychnis callidryas (Cope).
Ranidae:
Rana warschewitschii (Schmidt).

MAMMALS (56)

MARSUPIALIA

Didelphis marsupialis etensis Allen (opossum).

Marmosa ruatanica isthmica Goldman (Isthmian marmosa).
Philander opossum fuscogriseus Allen (Allen’s opossum).
Metachirus nudicaudatus dentaneous Goldman (brown opossum).
Caluromys derbianus derbianus Waterhouse (woolly opossum).

EDENTATA

Bradypus griseus griseus (Gray) (38-toed sloth).

Choloepus hoffmanni Peters (2-toed sloth).

Cyclopes didactylus dorsalis (Gray) (2-toed anteater).
Tamandua tetradactyla chiriquensis Allen (3-toed anteater).
Dasypus novemcinctus fenestratus Peters (9-banded armadillo).

ARTIODACTYLA

Mazamea sartorii reperticia Goldman (brocket deer).
Odocoileus virginianus chiriquensis Allen (white-tailed deer).
Tayassu tajacu bangsit Goldman (collared peccary).

Tayassu pecart spiradens Goldman (white-lipped peccary).

PERISSODACTYLA
Tapirella bairdii (Gill) (Baird’s tapir).
RODENTIA

Coendou rothschildi Thomas (porcupine).

Cuniculus paca virgatus (Bangs) (conejo pintado, paca).
Dasyprocta punctata isthmica Alston (agouti, fiequi).
Heteromys desmarestianus zonalis Goldman (Canal Zone spiny pocket mouse).
Oecomys enderst Goldman (Ender’s rat).

Oryzomys caliginosus chrysomelas Allen (dusky rice rat).
Oryzomys fulvescens costaricensis Allen (pigmy rice rat).
Oryzomys talamancae talamancae Allen (Talamanca rice rat).
Oryzomys tectus frontalis Goldman (Corozal rice rat).

Rattus rattus rattus Linnaeus (black rat).

Sigmodon hispidus chiriquensis Allen (Boqueron cotton rat).

142 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Zygodontomys cherriet ventriosus Goldman (Canal Zone cane rat).
Proechimys semispinosus panamensis Thomas (spiny rat).
Microsciurus alfari venustulus Goldman (Canal Zone pygmy squirrel).
Sciurus granatensis morulus Bangs (Canal Zone squirrel).

LAGOMORPHA

Sylvilagus brasiliensis gabbi (Allen) (forest rabbit).

CARNIVORA

Jentinkia swmichrasti notinus Thomas (bassariscus).

Nasua narica panamensis Allen (coati-mundi, gato solo).

Potos flavus isthmicus Goldman (kinkajou).

Procyon cancrivorus panamensis (Goldman) (crab-eating raccoon).
Eira barbara biologiae (Thomas) (tayra, black cat).

Lutra repanda Goldman (otter, nutria),

Felis concolor costaricensis Merriam (puma, leon).

Felis onca centralis Mearns (jaguar, tiger).

Felis pardalis mearnst Allen (ocelot, tigrillo).

Felis yagouaroundi panamensis (Allen) (yagouaroundi).

CHIROPTERA

Artibeus jamaicensis palmarum (Allen) (Trinidad fruit bat).
Artibeus cinereus watsont Thomas (Watson’s bat).

Carollia perspicillata azteca Saussure (short-tailed bat).
Micronycteris megalotis microtis Miller (Nicaraguan small-eared bat).
Molossus coibensis Allen (Coiba Island mastiff bat).

Myotis nigricans nigricans (Schinz) (little black bat).

Noctilio leporinus leporinus (Linnaeus) (fish-eating bat).
Phyllostomus discolor discolor (Wagner).

Rhynchiscus naso priscus G. M. Allen (Mexican long-nosed bat).
Saccopteryx bilineata (Temminck) (greater white-lined bat).
Thyroptera albiventer (Tomes) (disc bat).

PRIMATES

Alouatta palliata aequatorialis Festa (howling monkey, mono negro).
Aotus zonalis Goldman (night monkey).

Cebus capucinus imitator Thomas (white-faced monkey, cari-blanco).
Marikina goeffroyi (Pucheran) (marmoset, mono titi).

RAINFALL

In 1949, during the dry season, rains of 0.01 inch or more fell on
27 days (50 hours), and during the wet season, on 214 days (949 hours);
a total during the year of 241 days (999 hours). Rainfall was
above the 25-year station average. November was the rainiest month
(30 days, 211 hours). The dry season was the driest on record through-
out the Isthmus. It began on December 19, 1948, and continued
until nearly the end of April. The rainy season continued till the

SECRETARY'S REPORT 143

early part of December. The first 4 months of 1949 had a deficiency
of 5.22 inches. The rainy season showed an excess of 13.32 inches,
giving an excess of 8.10 inches for the year.

TABLE 1.—Annual rainfall, Barro Colorado Island, C. Z.

Year Total inches Station average
192514480 2 LO42374, S48. Slaos
1926 24a aetS 118. 22 113. 56
NN 777 Recess 116. 36 114. 68
1G 2S reaps eee 101. 52 SH
aS PAs |e ie 87. 84 106. 56
LOS0Rseo eee 76. 57 101. 51
110 HUE So Tee Be 123. 30 104. 69
NOS 2s. Sars ViSa52 105. 76
oS as ete ge ra fe 101. 73 105;:32
NCD 2 i reer Meal 122. 42 107. 04
OSH Res see 143. 42 110. 35
NOS ORES See see 93. 88 108. 98
LOS ie Sak es 124, 13 AOS 2
UGS Series se ee’ 117. 09 110. 62
1939 2A ee 115. 47 110. 94
LOS 0a Se ee. 86. 51 109. 43
LOA ae eee 91. 82 108. 41
TOADS seein ss 10 108. 55
POABS Ye ate yee 120. 29 109. 20
WOAS @ eet = 111. 96 109. 30
1945-2 Sessa S 120. 42 109. 84
1946 ese Eo 87. 38 108. 81
194 (2S ee 77. 92 107. 49
GAS ee vee te 83. 16 106. 43
OAD serait 114. 86 106. 76
TaBLE 2.—Comparison of 1947 and 1948 rainfall, Barro Colorado Island, C. Z.
(inches)
| Total | Accumu-
Month tation Years of | Excessor | lated ex-
sae average record deficiency | cess or de-
| 1948 1949 ficiency
Wanuaryeso se kee se eee ee ee 1.84 0. 70 1.79 24 —1.09 —1.09
abrusryesto-e sce 5 eee 19 -07 1.17 24 —1.10 —2.19
MVMisrchieerses er ane caer eee 17 pall 1.31 24 —1. 20 —3. 39
ADI Geen sees sees ae 2. 92 . 90 2.73 25 —1. 83 —5. 22
Min y, tree east r yi PP ee ee LS eS 10. 80 11. 97 10. 90 25 +1. 07 —4.15
June ; 6. 32 15. 57 11. 28 25 +4. 29 +.1
Stal ye se we eS Saye Ee 11. 45 13. 38 11.68 25 +1. 70 +1. 84
IAI CUSE Se eee eee es ee ee 10. 46 9. 99 12.34 25 —2.35 —.51
September_-____ eas. SRa eee 6. 72 7.11 10. 15 25 —3. 04 —3. 55
October es eee 10. 74 14. 45 13. 12 25 +1.33 —2. 22
iNovem berees) saaee. See 20. 33 32. 76 19. 40 25 +13. 36 +11.14
IDacem bers se eee 1. 22 7. 85 10. 89 25 —3. 04 +8. 10
Vicariate se Bee 83. 16 114. 86 100764 eon oo. 2" |_ oa eae +8. 10
Dry; season's. == s—-—- oe 5.12 1.78 TROON Ree e eee 2 eee —5. 22

Wietiseason fet =o 78. 04 113. 08 907 Gn |S oan ee aa eetee +13. 32

144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

FISCAL REPORT

During the fiscal year 1950, $10,609.04 in trust funds was available.
Of this amount $10,502.83 was spent, leaving a balance of $106.21.
In addition to this, $1,184.88 is still on deposit, representing local
collections.

The following items are paid out of trust funds: Food, ice, fuel,
salaries and wages, office expenses, telephone, laboratory supplies,
freight and express, laundry, and new parts, repairs to floating equip-
ment and to generators, general upkeep, and repairs.

During the year only $742 was collected as fees from scientists.
This decline is largely due to the high cost of transportation to the
Isthmus, which keeps many from coming. Despite the higher costs
of food, wages, and other items, the laboratory has not increased
its per diem charge to scientists, and continues to give a 25-percent
discount to those who come from institutions that sustain table
subscriptions.

The following institutions continued their support to the laboratory
through the payment of table subscriptions:

BastmaninicodakiG outs ve | thi ek os ee 6 ea ae Sse $1, 000
Universitysof Chica cove snes fit eee eee oa ae oe ee 300
New Y ork Zoological(Sociétyun. seas 2 SS Seas wane es 300
American’ Museum of Naturalvblistoryo = 22222 one ea esse eae eee 300
Smithsoniantinstitutiomie se eee. east yeas ane! apy Sh AUAOE eee 300

[t is again most gratifying to record donations from Dr. Hugene
Eisenmann.

The Smithsonian Institution contributed $4,500 from its private
finds, in addition to its table fees. This is included in the $10,609.04
in trust funds.

The sum of $5,000 was made available by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion from appropriated funds, and of the amount $4,988.97 was used
for permanent improvements.

Respectfully submitted.

JAMES ZETEK, Resident Manager.

Dr. ALEXANDER WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 11
REPORT ON THE LIBRARY

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities
of the Smithsonian Library for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950:

The primary obligation of the library in “‘the increase and diffusion
of knowledge” is to make constantly available to the scientific and
curatorial staff of the Smithsonian Institution the published records
of work done or in progress throughout the world in the subject fields
of the Institution’s special activities and responsibilities. All the
detailed procedures necessary to meeting this obligation are directed
toward this end. None of them are ends in themselves, and records
of them are at best only quantitative indications of growth and accom-
plishment. Mere numbers of publications acquired and handled mean
little unless those publications have been selected with discrimination
and, in terms of contemporary library parlance, “‘processed”’ for effec-
tive use, with the special requirements of the Smithsonian Jnstitution
always in mind. ‘The final test of the quality of the library’s work is
the thoroughness with which an investigator has been able to canvass
all the literature necessary to the successful completion or continuation
of work on his particular piece of scientific research or curatorial
assignment. No new scientific project, however unique, can be
launched without dependence upon scientific literature.

The daily record of publications delivered to the library shows a
total of 53,035 for the year, 5,102 of which were shipped from abroad
through the International Exchange Service. As usual, these books,
pampblets, and serial publications came from all over the world and
were written in many different languages. They covered all the
subjects with which the work of the Institution is directly concerned,
and many related ones as well.

The outstanding gift of the year was the fine library of some 4,000
books and pamphlets on Foraminifera collected by the late Dr. Joseph
A. Cushman, which, with its own catalog, accompanied and is to be
kept with the Cushman foraminiferal collection bequeathed by Dr.
Cushman to the Smithsonian Institution. This library is probably
unexcelled for current completeness, and additions are to be made to
it in future.

145

146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Neil M. Judd’s gift of his personal collection of some 500 books
and papers on archeological subjects made it possible for the division
of archeology to continue to have the use of this literature after
Mr. Judd’s retirement.

Acknowledgments for 7,392 gifts received were sent to many differ-
ent donors to whom the library owes a lasting debt of gratitude for
their generous contributions.

The first published appearance of information about new discover-
ies, inventions, and the progress of science, technology, and the arts
in general is usually to be found in serial publications, which conse-
quently are of the utmost importance in a scientific library. <A great
many of those the Institution regularly receives are sent by organiza-
tions and institutions with which it is in continuing exchange. Ex-
cept for the issues represented by 287 paid subscriptions, most of the
16,961 parts of periodicals currently entered were exchange publica-
tions. In the course of the year 344 new exchanges were arranged,
and 7,016 volumes and parts needed to complete sets, or for other
purposes, were obtained in response to 604 special requests.

A good catalog is the key to the contents of the library, and good
cataloging is a basic requirement of efficient library service. Upon its
quality and completeness depends the ease or difficulty with which
the resources of the library can be discovered. The classification
and subject analysis of complex scientific publications, many of them
written in foreign languages, is scholarly work. ‘The cards filed in
catalogs and shelflists are the clerical records of that work. During
the past year 6,822 publications were fully cataloged, and 30,006
catalog and shelflist cards were filed. The work of correlating the
central periodical records with those of the central catalog was con-
continued, and 1,000 entries were checked and accurately unified.
Neither the central catalog nor the individual catalogs of the different
bureau libraries can be the fully effective instruments that they
ought to be until the very large number of unclassified and incom-
pletely cataloged publications throughout the Institution can be
properly cataloged. This is so large an undertaking that a special
corps of catalogers would be needed to complete it within a predict-
able period of time.

In all, 18,719 publications were sent to the Library of Congress.
Of this number 6,053 volumes and parts were marked and recorded as
permanent additions to the Smithsonian Deposit. Other publica-
tions included 1,303 doctoral dissertations, received chiefly from conti-
nental European universities. The remainder were foreign and
domestic documents and miscellaneous books, pamphlets, and period-
icals on subjects not of immediate interest to the Institution.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 147

A considerable number of publications on special subjects were
sent to other scientific libraries of the Government. Included among
them were 776 medical dissertations and 2,058 other publications on
medical subjects sent to the Army Medical Library, and 416 agri-
cultural publications sent to the Department of Agriculture.

Records of binding show that funds were sufficient to permit 1,511
volumes, chiefly periodicals, to be sent to the Government Printing
Office. Repairs to 1,023 volumes were made in the Museum library.
The deterioration of completed volumes of periodicals that must
wait for sufficient funds before they can be bound is one of the serious
problems of the library, as is the care and repair of the many old
books, some of them irreplaceable, that the Institution is so fortunate
as toown. The library is in no sense a museum of fine books. It is
an active working collection, but the very character of the Institu-
tion’s responsibilities, especially in connection with the work of the
National Museum, makes it inevitable that many old as well as new
books should be in constant use as tools. That some of them happen
to be also collectors’ items is incidental but makes their care and pro-
tection doubly important.

It was not possible to undertake further work on the organization
of the large collection of duplicates and unstudied material housed
in the west stacks, but more than 36,000 pieces, mostly parts of
periodicals previously checked and arranged, were sent to the United
States Book Exchange to be used as opportunity offers in exchange for
material drawn from the stockpile of that center.

No reliable figure showing over-all use of the library can be given.
The large decentralization of its collections, especially in the Museum,
where 30 of its sectional libraries are in the custodial charge of the
curators, makes it impractical to attempt to keep statistical records
of the intramural use of books and periodicals. Loan-desk records
show that 12,522 publications were borrowed for use outside the
library, 2,181 of which were interlibrary loans made to 104 different
Government, university, and other institutional libraries throughout
the country.

Loans are not made to individuals other than staff members and
affiliates of the Institution, but the resources of the library are open
to any individual who wishes to make reference use of them, either by
coming in person or by telephoning or writing to the library. The
library receives hundreds of requests for information in the course
of the year, and whether the inquirer is a scholarly research worker or
a casual sightseer, a foreign correspondent or a rural schoolboy, the
staff makes every effort to see that his question is answered, either by
finding and giving him the requested information or by referring him

148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

to an appropriate authority elsewhere. This is by no means an unim-
portant part of the ‘diffusion of knowledge,” and especially in terms
of good will, is a richly rewarding one.

It is regrettable that no relief for the overcrowding of the library

can be reported.
SUMMARIZED STATISTICS

Accessions

Total re-

corded

Volumes volumes

une 30,

1950.

Astrophysical Observatory (including Radiation and Organisms) ---------------- 500 13, 573
iBurestiof Amenicany iH thn0l0 eyes eee ee ee ee 119 34, 838
National Air Museum S02. ets oe ee oe eae eed 86 126
National Collection of Fine Arts__---- Da BER cp ee I ee he 384 | 12,175
National Museum ee ee nee owen eene ees Bes P Asa el 8 Rem ee 2, 735 246, 401
National Zoolozicali Park eee eee a ee eee 3 4,196
Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress-_-------.------------------------ 1, 629 582, 280
SmithsonianiO fice eee se eee ets AA ee Os ae Mee a 37 33, 448

LO FY lo Roe CRE nae oeas Soe aSeaeeceeasaoace 5, 831 927, 037

Neither incomplete volumes of periodicals nor separates and reprints
from periodicals are included in these figures.

Exchanges
New exchanges arranged’) Sty 00) (Ws Pee elo eee ee ohare. 344
107 of these were assigned to the Smithsonian Deposit in the Library of
Congress.
Specially requested publications received ____._.--------------------- 7, 016
1,026 of these were obtained to fill gaps in the Smithsonian Deposit sets.
Cataloging
Volumesiandj pamphlets cataloged= 220.2 22-25 22s Le eee 6, 822
Cards added: to catalogs andishelflistso22 22. pone eee ee 30, 006
Periodicals
Periodical parts,entered 2: 2) ass Se oe oe ee ee a eee 16, 961
Circulation
Thoans;ofbooksang periodicalsss: 2. 22 boat ee Ses oe ee 12, 522

This figure does not include the intramural circulation of books and
periodicals filed in the sectional libraries of the Museum.

Binding
Volumes sent) tothe bindery..= 4-0 ee ee es ee 1, 511
Volumes ‘repairedinj the Museum: - 22-2242 2 ee oe eae 1, 023

Respectfully submitted.
Lema F. Cruark, Librarian.
Dr. A. WETMORE,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.

APPENDIX 12
REPORT ON PUBLICATIONS

Srr: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publica-
tions of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches for the year
ended June 30, 1950:

The Institution published during the year 12 papers in the Smith-
sonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1 Annual Report of the Board of
Regents and pamphlet copies of 22 articles in the report appendix,
1 Annual Report of the Secretary, and a reprint of 1 special publication.

The United States National Museum issued 1 Annual Report, 22
Proceedings papers, 2 Bulletins, and 4 Contributions from the United
States National Herbarium.

The Bureau of American Ethnology issued 1 Annual Report, 1
Bulletin, and 1 Publication of the Institute of Social Anthropology.

The National Collection of Fine Arts issued 1 catalog.

The Freer Gallery of Art issued 1 paper in its Oriental Studies series
and 1 in its Occasional Papers series.

Of the publications there were distributed 150,612 copies, which
included 26 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Contributions tu
Knowledge, 26,489 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Miscel-
laneous Collections, 28,248 volumes and separates of Smithsonian
Annual Reports, 3,619 War Background Studies, 5,918 Smithsonian
special publications, 40 reports and 211 sets of pictures of the Harri-
man Alaska Expedition, 57,938 volumes and separates of National
Museum publications, 14,877 publications of the Bureau of Americar
Ethnology, 4,239 publications of the Institute of Social Anthropology,
38 catalogs of the National Collection of Fine Arts, 1,178 volumes and
pamphlets of the Freer Gallery of Art, 10 Annals of the Astrophysical
Observatory, 1,318 reports of the American Historical Association,
and 6,463 miscellaneous publications not printed by the Smithsonian
Institution (mostly Survival Manuals).

In addition, 11,523 picture pamphlets, 80,751 guide books, 30,230
natural history and art post cards, 135 sets of North American Wild
Flowers, and 5 volumes of Pitcher Plants were distributed.

149

150 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

In this series there were issued 10 papers in volume 111, whole
volume 112, and whole volume 113, as follows:

VOLUME 111

No. 8. Some stages in the evolution of the nervous system and the fore-gut
of the polychaet, by Frank Raw. 35 pp., 5 figs. (Publ. 3983.) Aug. 4, 1949.

No. 9. A new heron and a new owl from Venezuela, by Herbert Friedmann.
3 pp. (Publ. 3985.) July 21, 1949.

No. 10. A collection of fishes from Talara, Perd, by Samuel F. Hildebrand.
36 pp., 9 figs. (Publ. 3986.) Aug. 18, 1949.

No. 11. Larvae of the elaterid beetles of the tribe Lepturoidini (Coleoptera:
Elateridae), by Robert Glen. 246 pp., 40 figs. (Publ. 3987.) Apr. 19, 1950.

No. 12. Note on Fowle’s spectroscopic method for the determination of
aqueous vapor in the atmosphere, by L. B. Aldrich. 6 pp., 1 pl., 2 figs. (Publ.
3989.) Sept. 20, 1949.

No. 13. Short periodic solar variations and the temperatures of Washington
and New York, by C. G. Abbot. 8 pp., 2 figs. (Publ. 3990.) Oct. 4, 1949.

No. 14. The Abbot silver-disk pyrheliometer, by L. B. Aldrich. 11 pp., 1 pl.,
1 fig. (Publ. 3991.) Dec. 8, 1949.

No. 15. The roll call of the Iroquois chiefs. A study of a mnemonic cane
from the Six Nations Reserve, by William N. Fenton. 73 pp., 12 pls., 3 figs.
(Publ. 3995.) Feb. 16, 1950.

No. 16. The forms of the black hawk-eagle, by Herbert Friedmann. 4 pp.,
1 pl. (Publ. 4013.) Feb. 28, 1950.

No. 17. Periodic influences on Washington and New York weather of 1949
and 1950, by C. G. Abbot. 8 pp., 3 figs. (Publ. 4015.) Mar. 22, 1950.

VOLUME 112 (WHOLE VOLUME)

Catalog of the termites (Isoptera) of the world, by Thomas E. Snyder. 490 pp.
(Publ. 3953.) Nov. 1, 1949.

VOLUME 113 (WHOLE VOLUME)

Archeology of the Florida Gulf coast, by Gordon R. Willey. 599 pp., 60 pls.,
76 figs., 20 maps. (Publ. 3988.) Dec. 29, 1949.

SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORT

Report for 1948.—The complete volume of the Annual Report of
the Board of Regents for 1948 was received from the Public Printer
December 28, 1949:

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution showing
the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year ended
June 30, 1948. ix+466 pp., 100 pls., 52 figs., 1 chart. (Publ. 3954.)

The general appendix contained the following papers (Publs.
3955-3976):

The Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution, by C. G. Abbot.
Atomic energy in industry, by H. A. Winne.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 151

High-altitude research with V—2 rockets, by Ernest H. Krause.

Roentgen rays against cancer, by John G. Trump.

The optical glass industry, past and present, by Francis W. Glaze.

The age of the earth, by Arthur Holmes.

Petroleum resources of North America, by A. I. Levorsen.

American meteorites and the National collection, by E. P. Henderson.

Glacial varved clay concretions of New England, by Ray S. Bassler.

Algal pillars miscalled geyser cones, by Roland W. Brown.

Concepts in conservation of land, water, and wildlife, by Ira N. Gabrielson.

The evolution and function of genes, by A. H. Sturtevant.

The sense organs of birds, by R. J. Pumphrey.

Insect control investigations of the Orlando, Fla., laboratory during World War
II, by E. F. Knipling.

The golden nematode invades New York, by W. L. Popham.

The cork oak in the United States, by Victor A. Ryan and Giles B. Cooke.

Remember the chestnut! by Amanda Ulm.

The numbers and distribution of mankind, by C. B, Fawcett.

Mexican calendars and the solar year, by Herbert J. Spinden.

Surviving Indian groups of the eastern United States, by William Harlen Gilbert, Jr.

Recently published Greek papyri of the New Testament, by Bruce M. Metzger.

Japanese art—a reappraisal, by Robert T. Paine, Jr.

Report for 1949.—The Report of the Secretary, which included the
financial report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents,
and which will form part of the Annual Report of the Board of
Regents to Congress, was issued December 29, 1949:

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report of
the executive committee of the Board of Regents for the year ended June 30, 1949.
ix+149 pp. (Publ. 3992.)

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS

Smithsonian Mathematical Tables. Hyperbolic functions. Sixth reprint.
Prepared by George F. Becker and C. E. Van Orstrand. lii+321 pp. (Publ. 1871.)
1949.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

The editorial work of the National Museum has continued during
the year under the immediate direction of the editor, Paul H. Oehser.
There were issued 1 Annual Report, 22 Proceedings papers, 2 Bulletins,
and 4 separate papers in the Contributions from the United States
National Herbarium, as follows:

REPORT

Report on the progress and condition of the United States National Museum
for the year ended June 30, 1949. iii+123 pp. Jan. 13, 1950.

PROCEEDINGS: VOLUME 97

Title page, table of contents, list of illustrations, and index. Pp. i-vii, 571-601
Jan. 26, 1950.

922758—51——11

152 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

VOLUME 99

No. 3248. Additions to the echiuroid fauna of the North Pacific Ocean, by
Walter Kenrick Fisher. Pp. 479-497, pls. 28-34. Aug. 10, 1949.

No. 3249. A remarkable new species of trypetid fly of the genus Ceratitis
(sensu stricto) from East Africa in the collection of the United States National
Museum, by H. K. Munro. Pp. 499-501, fig. 39. July 5, 1949.

No. 3250. A new marine annelid from Florida, by Olga Hartman. Pp. 503-
508, fig. 40. Aug. 4, 1949.

No. 3251. A new species of apseudid crustacean of the genus Synapseudes
from northern California (Tanaidacea), by Robert J. Menzies. Pp. 509-515,
figs. 41-42. Aug. 4, 1949.

No. 3252. MRedescription of the shrimp Bathypalaemonella pandaloides (Rath-
bun), with remarks on the family Campylonotidae, by L. B. Holthuis. Pp. 517-
523, fig. 43. Aug. 25, 1949.

No. 3253. The Nearctic species of Evaniidae (Hymenoptera), by Henry
Townes. Pp. 525-539, fig. 44. Sept. 1, 1949.

VOLUME 100

No. 3254. On a collection of Mallophaga from Guam, Marianas Islands,
by M. A. Carriker, Jr. Pp. 1—24, figs. 1-5. Nov. 29, 1949.

No. 3255. Observations on flatworms and nemerteans collected at Beaufort,
N. C., by A. S. Pearse. Pp. 25-38, figs. 6-9. Oct. 14, 1949.

No. 3256. Some Alaskan syrphid flies, with descriptions of new species, by
C. L. Fluke. Pp. 39-54, figs. 10-11. Oct. 11, 1949.

No. 3257. Two new gynandromorphs, with a list of previously recorded
sexual aberrations in the scolioid wasps, by Karl V. Krombein. Pp. 55-59,
pls. 1-2. Nov. 16, 1949.

No. 3258. Fresh-water Ostracoda from Brazil, by Willis L. Tressler. Pp.
61-83, figs. 12-14. Jan. 8, 1950.

No. 3259. The Nearctic species of Gasteruptiidae (Hymenoptera), by Henry
Townes. Pp. 85-145, figs. 15-16. Apr. 18, 1950.

No. 3260. Pyecnogonida of the United States Navy Antarctic Expedition,
1947-48, by Joel W. Hedgpeth. Pp. 147-160, figs. 17-19. Jan. 23, 1950.

No. 3261. Copepods from Lake Erh Hai, China, by Sidney C. Hsiao. Pp.
161-200, figs. 20-30. Apr. 26, 1950.

No. 3262. Mosquitoes of the genus Tripteroides in the Solomon Islands, by
John N. Belkin. Pp. 201-274, figs. 31-37. Mar. 30, 1950.

No. 3263. A revision of the American clupeid fishes of the genus Harengula,
with descriptions of four new subspecies, by Luis René Rivas. Pp. 275-309, pls.
3-5, figs. 38-41. Mar. 28, 1950.

No. 3264. Moths of the genus Cincia and three new and closely related genera,
by William D. Field. Pp. 311-326, pls. 6-9. Mar. 10, 1950.

No. 3265. Mammals of northern Colombia. Preliminary report No. 6:
Rabbits (Leporidae), with notes on the classification and distribution of the
South American forms, by Philip Hershkovitz. Pp. 327-375, figs. 42-43. May
26, 1950.

No. 3266. Some bird lice of the genera Acidoproctus and Quadraceps (Neo-
tropical Mallophaga Miscellany No. 3), by M. A. Carriker, Jr. Pp. 377-3886,
figs. 44-45. Jan. 26, 1950.

No. 3267. A review of the American clupeid fishes of the genus Dorosoma, by
Robert Rush Miller. Pp. 387-410. Mar. 7, 1950.

SECRETARY’S REPORT 15S

No. 3268. A contribution to the ornithology of northeastern Venezuela, by
Herbert Friedmann and Foster D. Smith, Jr. Pp. 411-538, pls. 10-12, figs.
46-50. Mar. 10, 1950.

BULLETINS

197. Life histories of North American wagtails, shrikes, vireos, and their allies.
Order Passeriformes, by Arthur Cleveland Bent. Pp. i—vii, 1-411, 48 pls. June
21, 1950.

198. Catalog of the automobile and motorcycle collection of the Division of
Engineering, United States National Museum, by Smith Hempstone Oliver.
Pp. i-iv, 1-62, 18 pls. May 9, 1950.

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL HERBARIUM

VOLUME 29

Part 7. Studies in the Bromeliaceae, XV, by Lyman B. Smith. Pp. i-vii,
277-316, figs. 2-36. Dec. 28, 1949.

Part 8. Studies of South American plants, XII, by A. C. Smith. Pp. i-viii,
317-393. Jan. 23, 1950.

Part 9. New grasses from Mexico, Central America, and Surinam, by Jason
R. Swallen. Pp. i-v, 395-428. Mar. 7, 1950.

VOLUME 30

Part 3. Additional phanerogams in the flora of Guam, with notes on unverified
records, by Egbert H. Walker and Robert Rodin. Pp. i-vi, 449-468, pls. 8-9.
Aug. 25, 1949.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

The editorial work of the Bureau continued under the immediate
direction of the editor, M. Helen Palmer. During the year there
were issued 1 Annual Report, 1 Bulletin, and 1 Publication of the
Institute of Social Anthropology, as follows:

REPORT

Sixty-sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1948-1949.
34 pp.
BULLETIN

148. Handbook of South American Indians. Julian H. Steward, editor.
Volume 5, The comparative ethnology of South American Indians. xxvi7818
pp., 56 pls., 190 figs., 22 maps. 1949.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

No. 10. Nomads of the Long Bow: The Siriono of eastern Bolivia, by Allan
R. Holmberg. 104 pp., 7 pls, 4 charts, 1 map. 1950.

154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS
Centennial exhibition of paintings by Abbott Handerson Thayer, N. A. (1849-
1921), August 12 through December 1949. 4 pp. 1949.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART

ORIENTAL STUDIES

No. 4. Shiraz painting in the sixteenth century, by Grace Dunham Guest.
70 pp., 50 pls., 15 figs. (Publ. 3978.) 1949.

OCCASIONAL PAPERS: VOLUME 1

No. 4. James MeNeill Whistler: A biographical outline, illustrated from the
collections of the Freer Gallery of Art, by Burns A. Stubbs. 29 pp., 28 pls.
(Publ. 3994.) 1950.

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

The annual reports of the American Historical Association are trans-
mitted by the Association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and are by him communicated to Congress, as provided by the
act of incorporation of the Association. The following report volume
was issued this year:

Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1948. Vol. 1. Pro-
ceedings.

The following was in press at the close of the fiscal year:
Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1949. Vol. 1.
Proceedings.

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The manuscript of the Fifty-second Annual Report of the National
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, was transmitted to
Congress, in accordance with law, December 13, 1949.

APPROPRIATION FOR PRINTING AND BINDING

The congressional appropriation for printing and binding for the past
year was entirely obligated at the close of the year. The appropria-
tion for the coming fiscal year ending June 30, 1951, totals $103,000,
allotted as follows:

General administration (Annual Report of the Board of Regents; Annual

Report‘ot the:Secretary) ==... =. 2 hae ee ee eee ee $18, 500
Nationale Vitise urns eee ee cree oe hae ter a alae Oe 36, 200
Bureauot American, Ethnology s-- oe 22) ae ae ee ee 21, 500
National Air’) Museumtee= = 4s le eee Ree eye AE es 500
Service divisions (Annual Report of the American Historical Association;

blank forms+/binding Museum) printishop))-2e--— 2-2 —-5>-]-2-e eee 26, 300

103, 000

SECRETARY’S REPORT 155

Webster P. True, who had been associated with the Institution as
editor for nearly 36 years—19 years in charge of the consolidated
editorial offices and since 1940 as Chief of the Editorial Division—
retired on May 31, 1950.

Respectfully submitted.

Paut H. Onuser, Chief, Editorial Division.

Dr. A. Wetmore,

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution,

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF
THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSO-
NIAN INSTITUTION

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1950

To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report
in relation to the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, together with a
statement of the appropriations by Congress for the Government
bureaus in the administrative charge of the Institution.

SMITHSONIAN ENDOWMENT FUND

The original bequest of James Smithson was £104,960 8s. 6d.—
$508,318.46. Refunds of money expended in prosecution of the
claim, freights, insurance, and other incidental expenses, together with
payment into the fund of the sum, £5,015, which had been withheld
during the lifetime of Madame de la Batut, brought the fund to the
amount of $550,000.

Since the original bequest, the Institution has received gifts from
various sources, the income from which may be used for the general
work of the Institution. These, including the original bequest, plus
savings, are listed below, together with the income for the present year.

ENDOWMENT FUNDS

(Income for unrestricted use of the Institution)

Partly deposited in United States Treasury at 6 percent and partly invested in
stocks, bonds, and other holdings.

Income
Fund Investment present
year
Parent fund (original Smithson bequest, plus accumulated savings) ---__----- $728, 891.33 $48, 712. 50
Subsequent bequests, gifts, and other funds, partly deposited in the U. S.
Treasury and partly invested in the consolidated fund:
Avery, Robert S., and Lydia, bequest fund_____--_____----_-------_____- 54, 487. 74 2,591.14
TOpoVeVonraneteyayn ROUT CO be SE ROSES Se Ceo aeaee ree 346, 910. 62 14, 753. 47
ISG oy AD es (Sky ope eSleribbaVol ee ee eee ee 500. 00 30. 00
Hachenberg, George P. and Caroline, bequest fund___----~-------------- 4,122. 41 178. 29
IBF ons Rapar, Afsvoatesp [oreo UOKeey TABU EXC Le ee SRE 2, 913. 78 167. 87
Henrys aroline ibeGuestitin denen ae = eae ane ae eee 1, 239. 68 53. 58
Hodgkins) Thomas Ga (eeneraligitt) soon sas see ee 146, 733. 43 8, 289. 26
Porter, pelenty pRorke, em Oban Geese an eee ene 293, 560. 53 12, 696. 91
Hees sAWalliata Ones: DOCUIES bn UIT Geese eee ae nee eee eee eee 1, 074. 91 56. 34
Sanford George Hes memoria litt Cesena a ae a ee 2, 012. 48 105. 46
Witherspoon, Thomas A., memorial fund-_--...-------------------------- 132, 279. 68 5, 721. 29
Special fund, stock in reorganized closed banks__.---.-------------------- 2, 280. 00 160. 00
TO tale 2 a ee Se eee eee eee eee 988, 115. 26 44, 803. 61

Girard to teal ern Oe Ore A oe Se tee 1, 717, 006. 59 88, 516. 11

eee ee ee

156

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEER 157

The Institution holds also a number of endowment gifts, the income
of each being restricted to specific use. These, plus accretions to
date, are listed below, together with income for the present year.

Income pres-
Fund Investment ent year
Abbott, William L., fund, for investigations in biology__.---...-______--__-- $103, 134. 07 $4, 468. 79
Arthur, James, fund, for investigations and study of the sun and lecture on

SIN 6 Bee ee ae ES ea a ee Sa eg Te Sea ES 40, 994. 19 1, 773. 04
Bacon, Virginia Purdy, fund, for traveling scholarship to investigate fauna

of.countriesiother than) the United! States=<=-2- 2222 222 ee ee 61, 554. 63 2, 221.13
Baird, Lucy H., fund, for creating a memorial to Secretary Baird____-_--_--- 24, 679. 35 1, 067. 41
Barstow, Frederick D., fund, for purchase of animals for Zoological Park _-_- 1, 024. 77 44.31
Canfield collection fund, for increase and care of the Canfield collection of

ATIC ALS Pate ee et see A ES UE SERIO PE eee ee el ee ee 39, 204. 24 1, 695. 61
Casey, Thomas L., fund, for maintenance of the Casey collection and promo-

tionsofresearches;relating to Ooleoptera---- >) 2aens soe es eae 10, 401. 67 406. 62
Chamberlain, Francis Lea, fund, for increase and promotion of Isaac Lea col-

lectiontoficemsiand mollusks. 2e) oe ean ee 28, 865. 24 1, 248. 46
Eickemeyer, Florence Brevoort, fund, for preservation and exhibition of the

photographic collection of Rudolph Eickemeyer, Jr__._._.-.--____-___----- 10, 996. 44 230. 03
Hillyer, Virgil, fund, for increase and care of Virgil Hillyer collection of light-

DEO DJ COLE Sees rec a OD Tee eee) SN SAL LEA ae a UL se) 6, 736. 68 291.34
Hitchcock, Dr. Albert S., library fund, for care of Hitchcock Agrostological

DEA OS a ca aya ee IR RA co PR ese lee mia DLA el en 1, 617. 40 69. 93
Hodgkins fund, specific, for increase and diffusion of more exact knowledge

in regard to nature and properties of atmospheric air____.__.___-___-_______- 100, 000. 00 6, 000. 00
Hrdlitka, AleS and Marie, fund, to further researches in physical anthroplogy

and\publicationsiniconnection: therewith... se--- ean ne Se 18, 851. 21 815.31
Hughes, Bruce, fund, to found Hughes alcove____-_-__--_------_---_____-_-_- 19, 620. 33 848. 57
Long, Annette and Edith C., fund, for upkeep and preservation of Long col-

lectioniofiembroideriesslaceswanditextileses soe ee NS 556. 57 24. 04
Maxwell, Mary E., fund, for care and exhibition of Maxwell collection_______- 20, 105. 37 437. 04
Myer, Catherine Walden, fund, for purchases of first-class works of art for

the use and benefit of the National Collection of Fine Arts__.__-___-______- 19, 430. 11 840.35
Strong, Julia D., bequest fund, for benefit of the National Collection of Fine

PNG ase UP re LGU A Oe Se eR AT eee LAI 10, 248. 68 443. 24
Pell, Cornelia Livingston, fund, for maintenance of Alfred Duane Pell Col-

TOCtiO reese ay ae oan Be ate urea So ee SE NS a eae 7, 597. 97 328. 62
Poore, Lucy T. and George W., fund, for general use of the Institution when

MWLINGIMAlAMIOUMESTEGIG 250: OO Ose eee eee eee eta ape ey wk Griese NLL 126, 446.10 5, 573. 40
Rathbun, Richard, memorial fund, for use of division of U. S. National

Mnuseumycontaining! @rustaceae ssi 2 ss sank men ends nies eee ea SSE 10, 902. 13 471.52
Reid, Addison T., fund, for founding chair in biology, in memory of Asher

ETSUTNIS Bese See eee ae ele ENE ea ea ees 30, 416. 71 1, 530. 14
Roebling Collection fund, for care, improvement, and increase of Roebling

collection femineralse x2 aes ae ieee ek aes Seal oe en ne ene a 123, 708. 61 5, 350. 58
Rollins, Miriam and William, fund, for investigations in physics and chem-

IS try ae eae Oe ae a a ee ed 96, 247.31 4, 160. 11
Smithsonian employees’ retirement fund 32, 936. 77 1, 501.70
Springer, Frank, fund, for care and increase of Springer collection and library-- 18, 381. 62 795. 00
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, research fund, for development of

geological and paleontological studies and publishing results thereof_--____- 384, 948. 48 13, 403. 72
wWounrers Helen Walcott. 1und heldinitrust=- eee 46, 610. 54 1, 382. 45
Zerbee, Frances Brincklé, fund, for endowment of aquaria______-___________- 972. 27 42.03

Lo) EN ie Se SR ee CG ee ee eT 1, 386, 989. 46 57, 464. 49

FREER GALLERY OF ART FUND

Harly in 1906, by deed of gift, Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, gave to
the Institution his collection of Chinese and other Oriental objects of
art, as well as paintings, etchings, and other works of art by Whistler,
Thayer, Dewing, and other artists. Later he also gave funds for the
construction of a building to house the collection, and finally in his
will, probated November 6, 1919, he provided stock and securities to
the estimated value of $1,958,591.42, as an endowment fund for the
operation of the Gallery.

158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The above fund of Mr. Freer was almost entirely represented by
20,465 shares of stock in Parke, Davis & Co. As this stock advanced
in value, much of it was sold and the proceeds reinvested so that the
fund now amounts to $6,420,811.53 in selected securities.

SUMMARY OF ENDOWMENTS

Invested endowment for general purposes__________-_________-_ $1, 717, 006. 59
Invested endowment for specific purposes other than Freer

endowments ses wee ee See eee ys areas ee een ee re 1, 386, 989. 46

Total invested endowment other than Freer endowment__ 3, 103, 996. 05

Freer investedfendowment for specific purposes_____....._-_.-- 6, 420, 811. 53

Total invested endowment for all purposes_-__- eee ey 9, 524, 807. 58

CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS

Deposited in the U. S. Treasury at 6 percent per annum, as

authorized in the U. 8. Revised Statutes, sec. 5591___________ $1, 000, 000. 00
Investments other than Freer endowment (cost or market value

at date acquired):

Bonds# UA ite Ae i SATO Ted era ee el $747, 993. 56
tOcks sien tus ewees 2A TAY at elias it air ew te ef 1, 251, 101. 70
Real estate and first-mortgage notes________ 59, 938. 40
Wninvested: capitaliens 12 see ae 44, 962. 39
——————._ 2, 108, 996. 05
Total investments other than Freer endowment---_-_-_--_-- 3, 103, 996. 05
Investment of Freer endowment (cost or market
value at date acquired):
Bondsita 2222.2 oh RARE So USS Lite chai $3, 539, 132. 19
PS] FO 6] (set apie ay AL Se EL ED 2 LOO SPIRE OS 2, 853, 927. 77
Uninvested capitaleees = asses eee ree 27, 751. 57
——_—_—_————_ 6, 420, 811. 53
(otal investmentss{3 2 2222 eso re ee eee 9, 524, 807. 58
CASH BALANCES, RECEIPTS, AND DISBURSEMENTS DURING FISCAL
YEAR 1950!
Gash) balanceron hand ine: c0) 1949s ee ee ee $530, 330. 73
Receipts, other than Freer endowment:
Incomelfrom investments= 222 ose eee HloGy 25a
Giftsiancs contributions ase ee 77, 703. 66
walesfor pubucations=r ess eeee eee eee 34, 488. 82
Miscellaneous 222 225 8280. 3a Pe eee 31, 538. 15
Proceeds from real-estate holdings_-_-_-__---- 2, 038. 67

Total receipts other than Freer endow-
0. 0 rp RA A ae CN A SLA 8 EL sla Sea a 301, 894. 41

1 This statement does not include Government appropriations under the administrative charge of the
Institution.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Receipts from Freer endowment:
Income;fromiinvestmentsas soe eee eae ee $296, 293. 08

PROG eee tne en ee oe ha ner te ON MET A
Disbursements other than Freer endowment:

PAGANS CEG OTe es eee ee $49, 172. 30
Publications 2s ee de 40, 605. 33
ATCT TAT ype ae ee hae De SP A Sa 4, 272. 10
Custodian fees and similar incidentals_-_____ 8h BPA)
INS Cell ame OUS mss eee ee ele eee cea te yee 442, 43
FRESCAT CHES Se eas aie Seal epee ee ce 182, 364. 45
Sb Retirement oystems.-- + 222 so eee 3, 728. 28
U.S. Govt. and other contracts (net) _____- 9, 618. 65
Purchase and sale securities (net)_________- 50, 540. 69
Payroll withholdings and refunds of advances

(Met) eee ek NN oe res ae 3, 729. 13

Total disbursements other than Freer endowment __-____-_
Disbursements from Freer endowment:

Sal Aris eect ee ee Nae el rer ee re $83, 214. 19
Purchasesitor collectionst#=22 2022-22-22 -252- 155, 900. 00
Custodian fees and similar incidentals_-_____ 12, 578. 48
IVES CELT a NSO US Bees tee ae aR pe 2 Le oe 43, 540. 86
Purchase and sale of securities (net) ---_--- 5, 690. 11

Total disbursements from Freer endowment_________-__-
Investmentiof current fundsinm Unis; Bondse- 22-2 222) oa

MotalUaisburseme nts ees es ee ee
Cashibalance, June S019 50.2 Soe ee ed eine el ee La

BC FEN Se mB Ih I a eg Sg em A id te
ASSETS
Cash:
United States Treasury current
ACCOUNL = wees epee yr whee ate $266, 007. 26
In banks and on hand______--_ 1138, 642. 87
379, 650. 13
Less uninvested endowment funds_ 72, 713. 96
—_—_————_ $306, 936. 17
Travel and other advances___..____.____-_- 24, 910. 28
Cash invested (U. 8. Treasury Notes)_-__-- 602, 953. 13

Investments—at book value:
Endowment funds:
Freer Gallery of Art:
Stocks and bonds____$6, 393, 059. 96
Uninvested capital___ 2, COLO’
6, 420, 811. 53

159

$296, 293. 08

1, 128, 518. 22

347, 846. 06

300, 923. 64
100, 098. 39

748, 868. 09

379, 650. 13

1, 128, 518. 22

$934, 799. 58

160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Investments—at book value—Continued
Investments at book value
other than Freer:

Stocks and bonds__--_--- $1,999,095.26
Real estate and mortgage

NOLES S= eee eee eee se 59, 938. 40
Uninvested capital__-_-__--- 44, 962. 39

Special deposit in U. 8.
Treasury at 6% interest. 1, 000, 000. 00
SS, SAHA EID
———— $9, 524, 807. 58

10, 459, 607. 16
UNEXPENDED FUNDS AND ENDOWMENTS
Unexpended funds:

Income from Freer Gallery of Art endowment------------ $402, 032. 72

Income from other endowments:
Restricted <tews Meares rh Ne ee oe ee ee $186, 777. 56
Genera e238 CA Skee ee eee a 94, 331. 88
ae 281, 109. 44
Giftsrand orantese 25 8 tase ee Se el i we ek ee ee 251, 657. 42

934, 799. 58
Endowment funds:
Preer-GalleryoreAniee. = seo eee eee eee $6, 420, 811. 53
Other:
Restricted =) ese $1, 386, 989. 46
Generals) 22 2 0 ee) ae 1, 717, 006. 59
—_—_—_—_—_———. 3, 108, 996. 05
—_——————_ 9, 524. 807. 58

10, 459, 607. 16

The practice of maintaining savings accounts in several of the
Washington banks and trust companies has been continued during
the past year, and interest on these deposits amounted to $696.21.

In many instances, deposits are made in banks for convenience in
collection of checks, and later such funds are withdrawn and deposited
in the United States Treasury. Disbursement of funds is made by
check signed by the Secretary of the Institution and drawn on the
United States Treasury.

The foregoing report relates only to the private funds of the Insti-
tution.

The Institution gratefully acknowledges gifts from the following:
E. J. Brown, for purchase of bird specimens.

Laura Welsh Casey, addition to capital of Thomas Lincoln Casey Fund.
Florence Brevoort Eickemeyer Estate, for preservation and care of Rudolph Hicke-

meyer photographic collection.

E. R. Fenimore Johnson, for researches in underwater photography.

Mary E. Maxwell Estate, income for use in preservation of Maxwell Collection.
National Academy of Sciences, for services in connection with a special mission.
National Geographic Society, for balance of expenses of expedition to Arnhem Land.
Alberto A. Eno, for establishment of Southwest Archeological Fund.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTER 161

The following appropriations were made by Congress for the
Government bureaus under the administrative charge of the Smith-
sonian Institution for the fiscal year 1950:

alariesanorexpenseses se hee hele eee, CE ate $2, 346, 000. 00
NationaleZoologicalParics seis ui die oe MAN) eat Ie 544, 700. 00

In addition, funds were transferred from other Departments of the
Government for expenditure under direction of the Smithsonian
Institution as follows:

International Information and Educational Activities (transferred

to the Smithsonian Institution from the State Department) __ $82, 510. 00
Working Fund, transferred from the National Park Service,

Interior Department, for archeological and paleontological

investigations in River Basins throughout the United States__ 215, 886. 00

The Institution also administers a trust fund for partial support
of the Canal Zone Biological Area, located on Barro Colorado Island
in the Canal Zone.

The report of the audit of the Smithsonian private funds follows:

WasHINGTON, D. C., September 18, 1950.
To THE Boarps or REGENTS,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington 25, D. C.

We have examined the accounts of the Smithsonian Institution relative to
its private endowment funds and gifts (but excluding the National Gallery of
Art and other departments, bureaus, or operations administered by the Institution
under Federal appropriations) for the year ended June 30, 1950. Our examina-
tion was made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and
accordingly included such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.

The Institution maintains its accounts on a cash basis and does not accrue
income and expenses. Land, buildings, furniture, equipment, works of art,
living and other specimens and certain sundry property are not included in the
accounts of the Institution.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly the
position of the private funds and the cash and investments thereof of the Smith-
sonian Institution at June 30, 1950 (excluding the National Gallery of Art and
other departments, bureaus, or operations administered by the Institution under
Federal appropriations) and the cash receipts and disbursements for the year
then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied
on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year.

Prat, Marwick, Mircuepyi & Co.

Respectfully submitted.

Rosert V. Fiemine
VANNEVAR BusH
CLARENCE CANNON

Executive Committee.

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GENERAL APPENDIX

TO THE

SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1950

163

ADVERTISEMENT

The object of the Genera Appenpix 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
staff members and 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 previously 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, geology,
meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and
anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not altogether
satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888.

In the report of 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 1950.

164

BEYOND THE MILKY WAY?

By TuHornton Pace
Yerkes Observatory

{With 4 plates]

Before we can appreciate this topic it is necessary to understand pre-
cisely what is meant by the term “Milky Way” and how we can know
when we are “beyond” it. Initially it is simple to define the Milky
Way as the faint band of light which can be seen on clear nights to
extend completely around the whole sphere of the sky and which tele-
scopes have resolved into myriads of faint stars. As we shall see, the
term has come to mean more than just what we can see; to some extent
it is synonymous with the term “galaxy,” which describes our concept
of an organized system of stars, diffuse clouds of gas, and other ma-
terial, inside of which we are located, and the study of which has oc-
cupied astronomers for several decades and will probably occupy them
for several decades to come.

Why should these faint stars be distributed so peculiarly, as if in a
doughnutlike ring around us? A simple interpretation comes to
mind if we assume, for the moment, that all stars are intrinsically of
about the same brightness. Then these faint stars of the Milky Way
would be farther away than the brighter stars, their apparent bright-
ness being less the more distant they are. (The apparent brightness of
a luminous source is known from other considerations to be inversely
proportional to the square of the distance.) Although refinements
are necessary, this simple deduction from an unproved assumption is
one of the basic methods for measuring astronomical distances. We
must investigate further these distances and their measurement before
the term “beyond” can have any meaning.

Astronomical distances are well recognized to be considerably larger
than the distances we are familiar with; it is quite impossible to com-
prehend them in an absolute sense. But since we are concerned here
only with one thing being “beyond” another, an appreciation of the
relative sizes of various distances is sufficient. To avoid large num-
bers, it is convenient to use large units of distance: the “astronomical
unit,” which is about 100 million miles (accurately the distance to the

1An address given before the Cleveland Astronomical Society on November 4, 1949. Reprinted by
permission from Popular Astronomy, vol. 57, No. 10, December 1949.

165

166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

sun), and the “light-year” (some 63,000 astronomical units—or the
distance light travels in 1 year).

The most basic method of measuring distances between astronomical
bodies (where it is impossible to pace out, or scale off, a distance, as
we can do on the earth) is triangulation, a method used by surveyors,
and familiar to most of you. It depends only on the validity of the
axioms of Euclidean geometry, from which the lengths of the sides of
a triangle can be deduced if one side and two angles are given (or
measured), and the applicability of those axioms to rays of light. Ob-
servations from the two ends of a “base line” on the earth itself can
thus be used to measure the distances to the nearby members of the
solar system—to the moon, sun, planets, and comets—to anything, in
fact, within about 50 astronomical units, beyond which the angles in-
volved are too small to measure. Now since the earth goes around the
sun in an orbit of known dimensions, this “parallax method” can be
vastly extended, by using the diameter of the earth’s orbit as base line,
to determine distances to stars as far as 500 light-years away. Still,
the parallax method is too limited; almost all the faint stars of the
Milky Way seem to be considerably farther away than 500 light-years.

Returning to the “brightness method” of measuring distance, we
are disappointed to discover (after a few hundred star distances are
measured by the parallax method) that our assumption of the stars
being all of the same intrinsic luminosity was a poor one; some stars
are only one ten-thousandth the candlepower of the sun, others 10,000
times as bright, when the effect of distance is taken into account.
However, we might expect to find some subclasses of stars whose mem-
bers are all of about the same brightness; in other words, we might
hope to discover some earmark by which we can recognize the stars of
very large candlepower—a thousand times that of the sun, say—and,
after checking such a “luminosity criterion” among the closer stars
whose distances are measured by the parallax method, use it to de-
termine the distances of other stars much farther away by the bright-
ness method. This is precisely the nature of one of the important re-
search projects being undertaken at the Warner and Swasey Observa-
tory by Dr. Nassau, the director, and Dr. Morgan of the Yerkes Ob-
servatory. They are using the B stars—stars of bluish hue that can
also be recognized from their spectra—to determine distances to the far
reaches of the Milky Way system. Previously, much the same method
was applied by Dr. Shapley, first at Mount Wilson, then at the Har-
vard Observatory, to the now famous “Cepheid variables” whose
period of fluctuation was found to be the earmark of their intrinsic
luminosity. Shapley also found that certain types of clusters of stars
have a total combined candlepower in each case some 30,000 times that
ofthesun. These “globular clusters,” easily recognized by their form,

Smithsonian Report, 1950.

Messier 13 in the constellation Hercules, a nearby example of the class of globular
clusters, each of which has a total candlepower some 30,000 times that of the
sun. A more distant globular cluster appears fainter, and from this change in

apparent brightness with distance, the distances of the globular clusters can be
determined. (Photograph Yerkes Observatory.)

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Page PLATE 2

A photograph of part of the Milky Way, showing that it is formed of myriads of
faint stars. (Photograph Yerkes Observatory.)

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Page PEATE: 3

Messier 31 in the constellation Andromeda, an extragalactic nebula far beyond
the confines of the Milky Way system. Because other similar nebulae are
seen at all angles of tilt (from circular form, as on plate 4, to lenticular forms
seen edge-on), Messier 31 is interpreted as a circular disk, tilted with one edge
toward us. The two smaller bright fuzzy patches are other extragalactic
nebulae (of elliptical type) at about the same distance as Messier 31. (Photo-
graph Yerkes Observatory.)

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BEYOND THE MILKY WAY—PAGE 167

are so powerful that they can be used to measure distances up to a
million light-years. Using the distances and directions of the globu-
lar clusters, Shapley plotted the positions of about 100 of them and
found that they are distributed in a large spherical volume of space,
the center of this array being at a point in the brightest part of the
Milky Way, in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. It was
reasonable to assume, as Shapley did, that this point is the center of
the Milky Way system.

At this juncture it is necessary to examine one of those refinements
of method with which astronomers continually busy themselves. In
using the brightness method of measuring distance, Shapley assumed
that interstellar space is transparent; that the only reason one globular
cluster appears fainter than another is because of its greater distance.
For reasons too lengthy to indicate here, astronomers now know that
dust and gas between the stars also dim the light of distant stars, and
this smokiness of interstellar space, neglected by Shapley, made his dis-
tances somewhat too large. Correcting for interstellar absorption,
we find the distance to the center of the Milky Way system to be
about 30,000 light-years, a figure corroborated, incidentally, by studies
of the dynamics of the galaxy—how it is held together without col-
lapsing, and how it moves.

Our present picture of the Milky Way, then, is that of a flat pancake
of stars, gas, and dust, some hundred million light-years across, in
which the sun and planets are located about two-thirds of the way
from the center to the edge, and which is partly embedded in a spher-
ical array of globular clusters extending out some 30,000 light-years
from the center. Now we can discuss what is beyond it.

Because they are extended surfaces, in contrast to the stars which
appear as mere points of light in a telescope, the nebulae are some of
the most interesting objects in the sky. From their form, their spectra,
their positions, and, when established, their distances, two classes of
nebulae can be distinguished: the galactic nebulae and the extragalac-
tic nebulae. The former are, by and large, irregular in shape; they
show the spectra (colors of light) emitted by low-density gases, and,
as their name implies, they are found mostly near the Milky Way in
the sky, at distances which place them well within that system. The
extragalactic nebulae, on the other hand, have circular, elliptical, and
spiral shapes, their spectra are like a mixture of star spectra, they are
found predominantly in parts of the sky other than the Milky Way,
and their distances have been found to be enormously larger than any-
thing in the galaxy. This last point is the crux of the matter; how
can we prove that these spiral and elliptical nebulae are beyond the
confines of the Milky Way system ?

G22758 ot ete

168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The answer is simple if you have a large enough telescope. With the
large telescopes in existence today, it is possible to photograph the
separate stars and clusters in the largest (and closest) of the spirals,
the great Andromeda nebula. Using the brightness method, and tak-
ing account of the nearby smokiness of our own Milky Way system, but
assuming that space outside is transparent, Hubble has shown that the
Cepheid variables and clusters in the Andromeda nebula must be about
a million light-years away. Once the distances of another half dozen
extragalactic nebulae were found by these methods, Hubble determined
their average intrinsic luminosity (about 85 million times the sun’s),
and can now determine the distances to much more distant nebulae with
the aid of this information. Using longer and longer exposures on
faster and faster photographic plates with larger and larger tele-
scopes, Hubble has pushed the confines of observable space out to over
a billion light-years. In this vast volume he estimates there are some
hundreds of millions of extragalactic nebulae, basing this estimate,
of course, on a limited number of “sample” plates. Surveys now
under way with the 20-inch refractor at the Lick Observatory and
the 48-inch Schmidt camera at Palomar will cover somewhat smaller
volumes more completely.

What can we find out about these distant objects so far beyond the
Milky Way? It seems to me that the studies which have already been
undertaken, and which are now under way, can be grouped in this man-
ner, although there is some overlapping: First, we can find out more
about individual extragalactic nebulae, their distances, sizes, masses,
forms, and contents; second, as with any large class of objects, we
can try to group them into further meaningful subclasses, third, we
can study their motions, so far as they can be measured, and finally,
their numbers and distribution in space. ‘This last problem, literally
the biggest in modern science, turns out to be linked with our funda-
mental notions of space and time.

Although it may seem simple, in principle, to determine the linear
size of an object from its angular size and its distance, there are serious
practical difficulties in the case of the nebulae. They have no clearly
defined edges. Photographs of longer exposure show greater exten-
sions, and there are reasons to believe that the Andromeda nebula, for
example, is well over five times as large as what we can see in a tele-
scope. The best photographs of this spiral show an angular extent
corresponding to a diameter of about 40,000 light-years, at its distance
of over 700,000 light-years. This is roughly the same size as the Milky
Way system, which seems reasonable enough. (In fact, our picture of
the Milky Way system has been developed partly by analogy to the
form of spiral nebulae; in other words, it has long been in the back of
astronomers’ minds that the galaxy and the spirals are the same class

BEYOND THE MILKY WAY—PAGE 169

of objects.) But other spirals and the elliptical nebulae are found to
have diameters much smaller than this; from 2,000 light-years to 10,000
light-years. We are thus forced to the conclusion that our galaxy is a
giant among the spiral nebulae.

How can we “weigh” a nebula consisting of billions of stars? The
method is similar to that for determining the mass of the sun; it de-
pends upon measuring the motions of other masses in the vicinity.
Since the outer stars in a nebula are attracted by the rest of the nebula,
just as the planets are attracted by the sun, they would “fall” into the
center were they not in motion in an orbit around that center. The
notion is a measure of the gravitational pull of the nebula, which in
turn is a measure of its mass. We can scarcely hope to see—or photo-
graph—such motion as a change of position in the sky; at a distance of
a million light-years a star would have to be moving at about 9,000
miles per second across the line of sight to change its position by even 1
second of arc in a century! Luckily there is a more sensitive method
of measuring motion along the line of sight (toward or away from us)
by its effect on the spectrum. This “Doppler effect,” which may be de-
duced from basic notions of the nature of light, space, and time, con-
sists of a slight change in color, toward the red for recession and
toward the blue for approach, which can easily be detected with a spec-
trograph, if the light source has readily identified original colors in its
spectrum. Early work at the Lowell Observatory and more recent
work at the Lick Observatory have established from this effect that the
spirals are rotating—at least, the ones viewed edge-on show more ap-
proach at one end than at the other. The amount of rotation of the
outermost parts indicates a mass about 100 billion times that of
the sun for the Andromeda nebula, and smaller masses, about 1 bil-
lion to 10 billion suns, for other nebulae. Similar reasoning leads us
to expect that the Milky Way system is also rotating; this has been
measured, and leads to a mass of over 200 billion suns. Again we
find our own galaxy larger than the rest, which seems to leave us
in a “preferred” position in the universe. Moreover, there are other
reasons to feel dissatisfied with these small measured values of nebular
masses, as will become apparent later on.

The form and content of the extragalactic nebulae have contributed
largely to their classification. Although there are others, the most
meaningful classification seems to be one proposed by Hubble. He
recognized three broad classes, based on form alone: the elliptical
nebulae, the spirals, and the barred spirals. Within each of these
classes there is a continuous sequence from “early” to “late” types—
from smaller, more compact forms to larger, looser forms in the
spirals, and from circular to more elliptical forms in the elliptical
nebulae. The terms “early” and “late” seem to have been unhappily

170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

chosen, as it now appears that the “late” types, if anything, are
younger inage. ‘This conclusion is based by the German astrophysicist
von Weizicker on dynamical arguments, by Baade and others on the
content. Baade, at Mount Wilson, has superposed on Hubble’s classi-
fication a distinction between two types of stellar population: Type
I, associated with spiral arms, consists primarily of gas clouds and
large, hot, blue stars which are thought, from considerations of stellar
evolution to be young; type II population, associated with the ellip-
tical nebulae and the cores of spirals, consists primarily of cooler
stars, which may be quite as old as the earth and sun—a good 3
billion years. Hubble’s three classes can be arranged in a kind of
sequence, from the globular (circular appearing) elliptical nebulae,
through the more and more elliptical types, through a transition type
neither elliptical nor spiral, and then, in two parallel “branches,”
through the later and later types of spirals, both normal and barred.
If the more recent ideas are correct, spiral evolution is taking place
in the reverse direction; late-type spirals are collapsing to the final
stage of globular nebulae.

One aspect of the content of extragalactic nebulae has received but
scant attention until recently. Just as in our own galaxy, there is
interstellar gas and dust in the other nebulae. The dust shows up
as dark streaks on photographs; the gas emits light of the character-
istic colors of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases. In the
extragalactic nebulae we have an excellent opportunity to study the
distribution and physical conditions of these interstellar gases, and
work now in progress at the McDonald Observatory is directed to
this end.

We have already seen how one component of the motion (the radial
velocity) of nebulae can be measured by the Doppler effect, and how
their distances can be estimated by the brightness method. In 1925,
Hubble and Humason at the Mount Wilson Observatory noted a
correlation between these two, in the sense that velocity of recession
for nebulae on all sides of us increases with increasing distance. The
later work of Hubble and Humason has shown a remarkable relation
which holds as far as the spectra of nebulae can be observed: the
velocity of recession on every side is proportional to the distance, and
increases about 100 miles per second in each million light-years.

At first sight, this observation seems to leave us—or our galaxy—
in a central and highly repelling position, with all the rest of the uni-
verse “running away from us.” A moment’s reflection shows, however,
that the “velocity-distance law” implies a symmetrical view from any
other nebula; an observer there, considering himself “at rest,” would
see the others “running away” from him, and with velocities propor-
tional to their distances. As for explanation of this strange behavior,

BEYOND THE MILKY WAY—PAGE V1

there are several. The most easily visualized is based on the simple
assumption that a cosmic explosion started the nebulae moving apart
from a common starting point with speeds which have since remained
roughly constant, and that the fastest moving ones have naturally got
the farthest. From this simple concept, together with the rate of in-
crease of recessional velocity with distance, we can readily compute
that the explosion must have taken place some 2 billion years ago,
a figure in fair agreement with the age of the earth determined from
quite different data (radioactive decay in minerals). However, there
are further complications which cast doubt on this simple explanation.

There are so many nebulae that a plot of each one’s position in space
would be literally an endless task. The best means of representing
their distribution in space so far devised has been to count, or estimate,
the numbers out to various distances. For instance, a survey by Shap-
ley and Ames at Harvard showed over a thousand nebulae actually
brighter than “thirteenth magnitude” (visible in a 6- or 7-inch tele-
scope), another by Mayall at the Lick Observatory shows an estimated
9 million over the whole sky brighter than “nineteenth magnitude”
(corrected for obscuration by local interstellar dust) from sam-
ple plates taken with the 36-inch reflector, and two other sampling
surveys by Hubble with the 100-inch telescope at the Mount Wilson
Observatory indicate that there are an estimated 70 million brighter
than the “twentieth magnitude”—as faint as the 100-inch telescope
can conveniently photograph. From the average intrinsic bright-
nesses of nebulae we can convert these figures to (roughly) : 2,000
within 13 million light-years, 9,000,000 within 200 million light-years,
and 70,000,000 within 450 million light-years.

These numbers are about what we would expect if the nebulae were
evenly distributed, about 2 in each 10-billion-billion cubic light-years.
The numbers would then increase with the cube of the distance, since
the volume of a sphere is proportional to the cube of its radius. The
two deepest surveys, however, depart slightly from the cube law, indi-
cating a thinning out of nebulae the farther we go from our galaxy.
Now it has been repugnant to astronomers since the time of Copernicus
to consider ourselves “at the center,” as this thinning out would imply;
hence a number of efforts have been made to interpret this last result,
tentative though it may be, in such a way that no “center” is necessary.
A number of difficulties arise; for instance, we are seeing the distant
nebulae not where they are now, but where they were 13 to 450
million years ago, the time required for their light to reach us. Their
intrinsic brightness, too, may not be constant in time. And it is certain
that their light is so changed toward redder color by the Doppler effect
that a correction must be made for its reduced power to blacken the

172 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

photographic plate. What is more, a receding source should theoreti-
cally be fainter than the same source of light at rest.

Using the best data available in 1935, Hubble and Tolman concluded
that these deepest surveys can be understood if space itself is “curved,”
somewhat like a two-dimensional surface can be curved into the form
of asphere. Just as there is not as much area in a circle on the surface
of a sphere as there is within a circle of the same radius on a flat sur-
face, so, too, there would be less “room” in “curved space” than in “flat
space,” as we normally conceive it, for spirals at great distances from
us. This conclusion was inspired by Einstein’s General Theory of Rel-
ativity, which ascribes what we normally call gravitation to a kind
of curvature of space; in other words, space is expected to be curved
by the mass of matter contained in it. Unfortunately the curvature of
space necessary to explain Hubble’s counts of the nebulae is very
large—corresponding to a radius of only 500 million light-years or so,
which implies a very large amount of matter, not at all in agreement
with the observed space density of spirals and the (small) masses
measured from their rotations.

This is the impasse we have reached in our attempt to understand the
universe beyond the Milky Way. It may be removed by improving the
observational data; by better measurement of the masses of spirals,
including the faint outer parts, as we are trying to do at the McDonald
Observatory; by finding evidence for matter between the spirals; by
improving the correction for the Doppler effect as Stebbins and Whit-
ford of Wisconsin are doing in their color work at Mount Wilson;
or by better and more complete surveys of the nebulae which are soon
to be expected from the 48-inch Schmidt telescope and 200-inch tele-
scope at Palomar. Or it may be removed by some new line of theoreti-
cal reasoning such as the Kinematical Relativity of Milne, in Eng-
land, or by taking account of the clustering of nebulae, in a revision
of Tolman’s calculations, as now being undertaken by Omer at Chi-
cago. Probably the solution will be found through some combination
of these, but I have no doubt that, when it is reached, some even larger
problem will be found to take its place.

THE LUMINOUS SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE OF
THE SUN?

By Berti LINDBLAD

Director, Stockholm’ Observatory
Saltsjdbaden, Sweden

[With 3 plates]

There is no process in nature more important to us than the radia-
tion of light and heat from the surface of the sun. The famous
American astronomer Charles E. St. John, of the Mount Wilson
Observatory, once expressed this in a lecture? in the following words:

Not only is the motion of the earth in space controlled by the masterful sun,
but what is more directly evident, the sun is the source of practically all our
light and heat, without which life, as we know it, could not exist upon the
earth. Someone has said that if the earth were cut off from all solar radiation
for a single month, all life would be extinguished and the world become a
frozen waste. It is not so evident, but as clearly true, that the energy stored in
wood, coal, oil, and gas has come to us from the sun. Under the infiuence of
sunlight, particularly of the red and blue components, the carbon dioxide of
the atmosphere is taken in by the leaves of trees and plants and acted upon to
form the complex constituents of plant growth, mainly compounds of carbon
with hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Their chemical transformation requires
the absorption of energy which is accumulated and stored in these compounds,
to be released and again transformed when they are burned rapidly in ordinary
combustion, or slowly in our own bodies. Every heart beat, every breath we
take, every thought, and every act performed draws its working power from the
accumulated solar energy stored up in plant and animal growth. The trans-
formation of solar energy in plant growth takes place in the leaves under the
action of sunlight upon the green coloring matter, the chlorophyll. As heat
engines plants cannot be considered efficient, transforming as they do only 1
or 2 percent of the solar energy falling upon their leaves, but the energy supplied
is enormous; plants work continually during growth and store up energy in
permanent form; these are favorable conditions and result in tremendous ad-
vantages for man. The energy of coal has waited for his touch many millions
of years and what, if any, escapes his wasteful use will endure uncounted
millions yet without loss of its potential energy. The energy of the sun is
stored in the water lifted into the atmosphere by the sun’s power and carried
by wind-driven clouds to higher regions, whence it falls as rain or Snow, ever
renewing the reservoirs and so rendering them a practically exhaustless source
of power.

1Seventeenth James Arthur lecture, given under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution on April
6, 1950.
2The Adolfo Stahl Lectures in Astronomy, San Francisco, 1919.

173

174 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The exact amount of solar radiation is known mainly from the
measurements made by the observers of the Smithsonian Institution,
Dr. C. G. Abbot and his collaborators, at Washington, D. C., and at
various stations on the globe. On each square centimeter of a sphere
whose radius is the mean distance of the earth from the sun, falls 1.9
calories per minute. The distance of the sun from the earth is 93
million miles, and from this we can readily find the enormous amount
of energy released by a square centimeter of the surface of the sun,
about 1,500 calories per second. By the laws of radiation we may
then calculate the effective temperature of the solar surface to be
about 5,700°. The mass of the sun is 382,000 times the mass of the
earth, and we may conclude that on the average each gram of the
solar mass loses 1.4 calories per year. During a few thousand mil-
lion years, which we assume to be the age of the sun, the amount
becomes tremendous.

There have been different theories as to the origin of the energy
output of the sun. We have had mechanical theories which assume
that the source of energy is the kinetic energy of meteorites captured
by the sun, or the potential energy lost by the shrinking of the entire
body of the sun in a process of contraction. We know now beyond
doubt that the main source of energy is of inner-atomic origin. In
the interior of the sun the temperature and density must increase
immensely toward the center. The mass of the interior consists
mainly of hydrogen and helium in fairly equal amounts, whereas the
amount of all other elements together is only about 12 percent of the
entire mass. AI] elements will be in a high stage of ionization. The
ionized hydrogen atoms, or protons, will fairly often hit each other,
as well as the nuclei of other atoms, and if the impact carries suffi-
cient energy a nuclear reaction may take place.

There is in the sun a central core of a temperature of about 25 mil-
lion degrees, which is sufficient to produce certain nuclear reactions
that release a great amount of energy. The intermediate region be-
tween the core and the surface of the sun has a great power of absorp-
tion on the stream of light generated in the central regions. This
light is of very short wavelength, corresponding to X-rays and y-rays.
In the regions close to the surface the density decreases rapidly out-
ward, till we reach the photospheric layers, from which we receive
light directly. The sun has no fixed boundary, and the decrease of
density of the gaseous layers is quite continuous. From the photo-
spheric layers there is a continuous transition to the sun’s “atmos-
phere,” which we define as the layers where the absorption lines in the
solar spectrum are formed.

The upper part of the sun’s atmosphere is the chromosphere. It
has in general a very irregular structure, and it is from the chromo-

SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN—LINDBLAD 175

sphere that the solar prominences extend widely outward, in a great
variety of sizes and shapes. Outside the chromosphere the solar co-
rona extends in its streamlined structure resembling the lines of force
about a magnetized sphere. As we shall see later, the temperature
in the high solar atmosphere increases outward, reaching very high
values in the thin matter of the corona.

The nuclear processes responsible for the release of energy in the
central regions of the sun are mainly the combination of two protons
into a nucleus of heavy hydrogen, deuterium, and a certain cycle
of atomic permutations involving nuclei of carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen, which is maintained by impacts between protons and the
nuclear isotopes C and C® of carbon and N“ and N*® of nitrogen.
The net result of the cycle, which has been demonstrated especially
by H. A. Bethe, is the combination of four hydrogen atoms into one
atom of helium. It has been proved that the two. processes mentioned
are entirely sufficient to explain the rate of radiation of the sun. The
total lifetime of the sun, during which the main mass of hydrogen is
transformed into deuterium and helium, has been estimated to be of
the order of magnitude of 10 thousand million years. The sun is an
enormous atomic pile, and the same must be true for the stars in gen-
eral, though the atomic processes are not necessarily the same for stars
of all types.

The energy released from the core paves its way to the surface of
the sun by a very complicated process of successive absorption and
emission and is steadily transformed in this way into radiation of
2 successively lower temperature, until it reaches the photospheric
layers at the surface, which have an effective temperature of 5,718°.

The main part of the mass of the sun is in radiative equilibrium,
which means that each element of the mass absorbs and emits the
same amount of energy. An exception is probably the central core,
where the rapid increase of the rate of release of inner-atomic energy,
when we approach the center, makes conditions unstable so that there
will occur a turbulent motion with steady interchange of matter be-
tween different levels. At the surface of the sun the conditions of
radiative equilibrium still prevail. The well-known phenomenon that
the intensity of the solar disk decreases from the center to the edge,
and much more strongly in violet than in red light, is explained quan-
titatively to a high degree of accuracy by the theory of radiative
equilibrium.

It is evident, however, that the conditions of equilibrium are not
perfect in the surface layers of the sun. The solar surface, when
viewed under great magnification, shows a complicated network of
fine grains, a phenomenon that is called the granulation of the solar
surface. The grains have a diameter of the order of 500 kilometers

176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

and a duration of a few minutes. The granulation bears witness of
the existence of turbulent gaseous layers in the photosphere.

Local disturbances of the equilibrium are the sunspots and all the
phenomena associated with the formation of the spots. The fre-
quency of the spots follows the well-known 11-year period. In the
beginning of a new cycle the spots appear in high heliographic lati-
tude, and then, as the cycle proceeds, the spots appear closer and
cioser to the Equator. The electromagnetic fields associated with
sunspots are of extremely great interest. The spots often appear in
pairs of opposite magnetic polarities, or in groups in which a line
may be drawn between spots of opposite polarities. During a certain
cycle there isa fixed rule according to which the poles follow each
other in the direction of rotation. If a south pole follows a north
pole in the northern hemisphere, the opposite order will hold in the
southern hemisphere. From one cycle to the next the order changes
in both hemispheres. This shows that the true sunspot cycle em-
braces two 11-year periods, thus 22 years.

The most important instrument for investigating the surface of
the sun is the spectroheliograph. In this instrument, which was de-
signed over 50 years ago independently by G. E. Hale and H. Des-
landres, the solar surface is photographed in light of a very small
interval in wavelength. Most often the spectroheliograms are taken
in light which is contained within a certain absorption line in the
solar spectrum. The color band of the solar spectrum is not a con-
tinuous one, but is broken by an immense number of absorption lines,
the Fraunhofer lines, which correspond to the characteristic lines of
the atoms of various elements that are present in the solar atmosphere.
The interpretation of these lines as belonging to various elements
opened up the field of solar physics. About 25 years ago H. N. Russell
showed how the intensity of the lines allow us to draw conclusions as
to the amounts in which the various elements occur in the atmosphere
of the sun. Usually the spectroheliograms are taken in one of the
heavy lines of ionized calcium, the Fraunhofer lines H and K, or in
the hydrogen lines, for instance the red He. The photographs in H
or K show the wide and bright “flocculi,” or chromospheric faculae,
of ionized calcium which are often conspicuously dense about the sun-
spots. Spectroheliograms in the hydrogen lines are of very special
importance. They show often narrow, bright areas which develop
rapidly, often within a few hours, the so-called solar “flares.” These
eruptions are often connected with disturbances in the terrestrial
magnetism and in the ionospheric layers, and are often accompanied
by the appearance of bright aurorae. The disturbances in the iono-
sphere often cause interruptions in the transmission of radio waves.

The spectroheliograms in Ha show narrow, dark “filaments” of

SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN—LINDBLAD bre?

hydrogen which have often an enormous extension. When the spec-
troheliograms are extended over the limb of the sun, we find that
these filaments are continued as bright prominences outside of the
limb. The development of the prominences have been studied with
great advantage cinematographically, especially by B. Lyot, R.
McMath, and D. H. Menzel, with a great acceleration of the time scale.
The mechanism underlying the formation and decay of prominences
offers a great many questions which are as yet unsolved.

The study of the solar corona was earlier confined to the total
eclipses of the sun. The French astronomer B. Lyot, of Mendon, has
constructed an instrument, “the coronagraph,” by which the inner
parts of the corona may be photographed in full daylight. The spec-
trum of the corona is mainly continuous, owing to a reflection of sun-
light by free electrons, but shows also certain emission lines. The
identification of these lines has been singularly difficult. At last the
Swedish physicist B. Edlén solved the riddle, and showed that the
lines were due to extremely highly ionized atoms. The intense green
line is due to iron that has lost 18 electrons. The corresponding tem-
perature of the corona is extremely high, several hundred thousand
degrees. Several theories have been advanced to explain why the
corona has such a high temperature, but there are still many questions
in this connection that have not yet been answered.

Though the prominences, as well as the corona, may now be studied
in full daylight, the total eclipses of the sun still play a great part in
the study of the physics of the sun. Moreover, an exact timing of
the occurrence of an eclipse on various places along the eclipse track
may give important information about the exact shape of our own
globe.

Ancient eclipses recorded in the countries about the Mediterranean
have proved to be of importance in answering the question of the
secular increase in the time of revolution of the earth. We may re-
construct by modern theory the track of the eclipse, on the assump-
tion that our unit of time, the sidereal revolution of the earth, is
unchanged. The difference between the old observations and the
modern computations has enabled astronomers to draw the conclusion
that there is an increase in the time of revolution of the earth of the
order of one-thousandth of a second per century. The change is due
to the friction of the tidal wave in the ocean, especially in shallow
waters close to certain coast lines.

To the astrophysicist the beginning and end of a total eclipse are
of special interest. When the last glimpse of the intensity-radiating
surface of the sun vanishes, the spectrum changes character, and
instead of the absorption spectrum of the solar disk we get the emis-
sion spectrum of the chromosphere. This so-called “flash spectrum”

178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

consists of a series of bright lines, and appears as an inversion of the
ordinary solar spectrum. This spectrum is of very great importance
for the study of the extreme layers of the sun, and it has been ob-
served very completely, especially by W. W. Campbell, of the Lick
Observatory, and by 8. A. Mitchell, of the Leander McCormick Ob-
servatory. S. A. Mitchell, D. H. Menzel, and R. Wildt have drawn
elaborate conclusions as to the physical constitution of the sun’s outer
layers from studies of the flash spectrum. In these studies spectra
of fairly large dispersion have been used.

Fartial Phase laner contact

Sharp edge Shorp edge

FIGuRE 1.—Schematie picture of partial eclipse and of inner contact between the
limbs of the sun and moon. The centers of sun and moon are indicated by S
and M. The distribution of intensity along the radius of the solar disk is
indicated below.

For a photometric study of the rapid change in the spectrum at
the beginning and end of a total eclipse considerably smaller disper-
sion may be used, and in this case it is of advantage to photograph
the spectrum with a motion-picture camera. A rather successful
attempt at a cinematographic study of the flash spectrum was made
in Sweden by O. Wiberg and myself at the total eclipse in 1927. At
the same eclipse the Polish astronomer T. Banachiewicz developed
a method of determining very exactly the times of contact between
the limbs of the sun and moon by direct cinematography of the sun
at the beginning and end of the partial and total phases of the eclipse
and by a study of the details of the lunar limb which produce the

SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN—LINDBLAD 179

0.8

06

04

02

(ae) O's 10

Fieure 2.—The decrease of intensity with increasing height at the extreme limb
obtained from the moving-picture record. Abscissa is height in seconds of are,
ordinate is the light intensity in the blue spectral region expressed in an arbi-
trary unit. The dotted curve has been drawn according to theoretical results
by R. Wildt.

«--—- Lund CXS: aa

p 120 30 140 50 160 10 1830 90 200 10: .220° 30 240

Figure 3.—Lunar contour predicted from Hayn’s maps for the eclipse of July 9,
1945.

180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

so-called “Baily’s beads” at the beginning and end of the total
eclipse. The cinematography of the flash spectrum may serve the
same purpose, and has even some advantage because of the exact
spectrophotometric methods that may be applied in this case.

If the contacts may be defined and measured accurately enough,
observations of the contacts at various points along the track of the
eclipse may give very exact information as to the distances between
the points of observation on the surface of the earth. The informa-
tion obtained has thus a direct geodetic interest. ‘The first attempt
to make a geodetic application of the determination of eclipse con-
tacts was made by Banachiewicz, and after him the idea was taken
up with very great interest by the Finnish astronomer and geodesist,
Protonemc rofies

——Stchholm e.
baer a! Lund exp i

Figure 4.—The lunar contour determined photometrically from the records of
the fish-spectrum according to the results from the Stockholm expedition (full-
drawn curve) and the Lund expedition (dotted curve). Second contact.

I. Bonsdorff. Attempts to apply the cinematographic methods of
contact determination have been made by Finnish and Swedish eclipse
expeditions using direct cinematography of the solar disk, as well as
cinematography of the flash spectrum.

At the eclipse in northern Sweden in 1945 the three Swedish ob-
servatories of Lund, Stockholm, and Uppsala had the cinematography
of the flash spectrum on their programs, with elaborate instrumental
equipments. The exact timing of each exposure on the film was made
by recording the exposures together with time signals by means of a
cathode-ray oscillograph. Very appropriate instruments of this kind
were designed by K. G. Malmquist, H. Norinder, W. Stoffregen, and
L. Stigmark. The cinematographic film was photometrically stand-
ardized by means of a sensitometer.

The photometric measurements allow us to determine the rate of
decrease of the intensity of the continuous spectrum at the extreme
limb of the sun, i. e., the “sharpness” of the limb. It has been found

SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN—LINDBLAD 181

by H. Kristenson and myself to amount to about five magnitudes per
second of arc. A certain arbitrary layer may be assumed to define the
“photosphere.” When the decrease of intensity with height over the
photosphere is known, each measurement of the intensity of the con-
tinuous spectrum may be converted into height over the photosphere.
The measurements on various spectral images on the film therefore
give the profile of the lunar contour in relation to the photosphere.
In this way each spectral image links together the solar and lunar
limbs with extreme accuracy and we may define and measure the con-
tact with a mean error of only a few hundredths of a second. As
intermediary, when defining the contact, F. Hayn’s map of the lunar
contour for different degrees of libration may be used with advantage.

Third contact
4 Frofomeiric profiles
— Stockholm exp.
ene Lund exp.

Figure 5.—The lunar contour determined photometrically from the records of the
flash spectrum according to the results from the Stockholm expedition (full-
drawn curve) and the Lund expedition (dotted curve). Third contact.

The comparison of contours with respect to the photosphere for
points along the eclipse track enables us to find the difference be-
tween the times at which a given contact occurs at different places
with a very great accuracy. If E, and E, (fig. 6) are two points
at, which contacts are being observed, and if we know the motion of the
moon and the distance between the earth and the moon, the difference
in time for the two places will allow us to determine the true distance
E,’/E, between the two places.

At the total eclipse of May 20, 1947, an attempt to apply the
cinematographic methods for contact determinations was made by
expeditions sent by the Finnish Geodetic Institute and by the Geo-
graphical Survey Office in Sweden, in collaboration with the Swedish
observatories of Lund, Stockholm, and Uppsala, to Brazil and to
French Togoland and the Gold Coast. On account of bad weather
at the place of the Swedish Brazil expedition, cinematography of
the flash spectrum could only be carried through on the African side.

The next eclipse that will allow a connection in this way between
America and Europe occurs on June 30, 1954.

182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Observations of this kind evidently connect the motion of the moon,
the distance of the moon, and distances on the earth in a very inter-
esting way, which may refine our knowledge concerning our own globe,
as well as concerning its satellite, the moon.

Ficure 6.—Schematic picture showing measurement of distances on the earth by
contact determinations at an eclipse. If the contacts are observed when the
cone of the lunar shadow points at EB; and M2, the distance on the earth corrected
for the rotation of the earth in the time interval between the two observations
is HN’,E2.

It is typical for science to proceed in successive approximations
toward increased knowledge. New connections between observed
phenomena offer the possibility of penetrating the secrets of nature
in greater and greater detail. This is true also for the wonderful
mechanism of our solar system. Even if the astronomer nowadays is
often carried by his ambition to study distant galaxies, it is still true
that some of the deepest secrets of nature that can come within the
working field of the astronomer lie hidden within the limits of our
own solar system, and, above all, in the sun itself, the patient donor
of all good gifts to our planet and to mankind.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Lindblad PLATE 1

1. Photograph of the sun in ultraviolet light, May 12, 1948, showing spot groups,
solar faculae, and the general decrease of intensity from center to limb.
Stockholm Observatory.

2. Spectroheliogram in the hydrogen line H« taken with spectroheliograph con-
strueted by Y. Ohman, Stockholm Observatory, April 3, 1949. Dark fila-
ments, actually prominences, and several bright areas are shown.

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Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Lindblad

Prominence photographed on November 26, 1948, by Y. Ohman, Stockholm
Observatory.

2. Enlarged reproduction of the flash spectrum from one picture of the cinemato-
graphic film obtained on July 9, 1945, by the Stockholm Observatory expedi-
tion at Brattas, Sweden. The spectrum of the solar atmosphere appears as
a series of emission lines. The strongest lines are those of hydrogen, begin-
ning at the limit of the Balmer series in the ultraviolet (extreme left), to the
red H« line (right-hand limit), and the H and K lines of calcium, a conspic-
uous pair on the left-hand side, and the lines of helium, of which the strongest
line is the Ds line to the left of Ha. The continuous spectrum in the middle
is a part of the extreme “‘photospheric”’ layer shining through a valley on the
moon.

"2

WHAT IS AN ELEMENTARY PARTICLE?!

By BH. ScHRODINGER

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Dublin, Ireland

1. A PARTICLE IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL

Atomism in its latest form is called quantum mechanics. It has
extended its range to comprise, besides ordinary matter, all kinds of
radiation, including light—in brief, all forms of energy, ordinary
matter being one of them. In the present form of the theory the
“atoms” are electrons, protons, photons, mesons, etc. The generic
name is elementary particle, or merely particle. The term “atom”
has very wisely been retained for chemical atoms, though it has
become a misnomer.

This essay deals with the elementary particle, more particularly
with a certain feature that this concept has acquired—or rather lost—
in quantum mechanics. I mean this: That the elementary particle is
not an individual; it cannot be identified, it lacks “sameness.” The
fact is known to every physicist, but is rarely given any prominence
in surveys readable by nonspecialists. In technical language it is
covered by saying that the particles “obey” new-fangled statistics,
either Einstein-Bose or Fermi-Dirac statistics. The implication, far
from obvious, is that the unsuspected epithet “this” is not quite prop-
erly applicable to, say, an electron, except with caution, in a restricted
sense, and sometimes not at all. My objective here is to explain this
point and to give it the thought it deserves. In order to create a foil
for the discussion, let me summarize in sections 2-5 what we are usually
told about particles and waves in the new physics.

2. CURRENT VIEWS: THE AMALGAMATION OF PARTICLES AND
WAVES

Our image of the material world had been made up of two kinds
of “fittings’—waves and particles. The former were instanced
mainly, if not exclusively, by Maxwell’s waves of electromagnetic
energy, comprising such as are used in radio, light, X-rays, and
gamma-rays. Material bodies were said to consist of particles. One

1 Reprinted by permission from Endeavour, vol. 9, No. 35, July 1950.
922758—51 13 183

184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

was also familiar with jets of particles, called corpuscular rays, such
as cathode rays, beta-rays, alpha-rays, anode rays, etc. Particles
would emit and absorb waves. For instance, cathode rays (electrons),
when slowed down by colliding with atoms, emit X-rays. The dis-
tinction between particles and waves was, however, considered as
clear-cut as that between a violin and its sound. An examinee who
alleged cathode rays to be waves, or X-rays to be jets of particles,
would have got very bad marks.

In the new setting of ideas the distinction has vanished, because it
was discovered that all particles have also wave properties, and vice
versa. Neither of the two concepts must be discarded; they must be
amalgamated. Which aspect obtrudes itself depends not on the
physical object, but on the experimental device set up to examine it.
A jet of cathode rays, for example, produces in a Wilson cloud chamber
discrete tracks of water droplets—curved tracks if there is a magnetic
field to deflect the electrons, otherwise straight alignments of droplets.
We cannot but interpret them as traces of the paths of single elec-
trons. Yet the same jet, after crossing a narrow tube placed at right
angles to it and containing crystal powder, will produce on a photo-
graphic plate at some distance behind the tube a pattern of concentric
circles. This pattern can be understood in all its details when looked
upon as the interference pattern of waves, and in no other way. In-
deed, it bears a close resemblance to similarly produced X-ray
patterns.

The suspicion arises: are the conical jets that impinge on the
photographic plate and form the pattern of circles really cathode
rays; are they not perhaps secondary X-rays? ‘The suspicion has
to be dismissed, for the whole system of circles can be displaced by
a magnet, while X-rays cannot; moreover, by putting a lead screen
with a small hole in it in the place of the photographic plate, a jetlet
can be isolated from one of the conical jets and made to display any
of the typical particle characters of cathode rays; it will produce
discrete tracks in a cloud chamber; bring about discrete discharges
in a Geiger-Miiller counter; and charge up a Faraday cage in which
it is intercepted.

A vast amount of experimental evidence clinches the conviction that
wave characteristics and particle characteristics are never encountered
singly, but always in a union; they form different aspects of the same
phenomenon, and indeed of all physical phenomena. The union is not
a loose or superficial one. It would be quite unsatisfactory to consider
cathode rays to consist both of particles and of waves. In the early
days of the new theory it was suggested that the particles might be
singular spots within the waves, actually singularities in the meaning
of the mathematician. The white crests on a moderately rough sea

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—SCHRODINGER 185

would bea fairly adequate simile. The idea was very soon abandoned.
It seems that both concepts, that of waves and that of particles, have
to be modified considerably, so as to attain a true amalgamation.

3. CURRENT VIEWS: THE NATURE OF WAVES

The waves, so we are told, must not be regarded as quite real waves.
It is true that they produce interference patterns—which is the crucial
test that in the case of light had removed all doubts as to the reality of
the waves. However, we are now told that all waves, including light,
ought rather to be looked upon as “probability waves.” They are only
a mathematical device for computing the probability of finding a
particle in certain conditions, for instance (in the above example), the
probability of an electron hitting the photographic plate within a
small specified area. There it is registered by acting on a grain of
silver bromide. The interference pattern is to be regarded as a statis-
tical registration of the impinging electrons. The waves are in this
context sometimes referred to as guiding waves—guiding or directing
the particles on their paths. The guidance is not to be regarded as a
rigid one; it merely constitutes a probability. The clear-cut pattern
is a statistical result, its definiteness being due to the enormous number
of particles.

Here I cannot refrain from mentioning an objection which is too
obvious not to occur to the reader. Something that influences the
physical behavior of something else must not in any respect be called
less real than the something it influences—whatever meaning we may
give to the dangerous epithet “real.” It is certainly useful to recall
at times that all quantitative models or images conceived by the physi-
cist are, epistemologically, only mathematical devices for computing
observable events, but I cannot see that this applies more to, say,
light waves than to, say, oxygen molecules.

4, CURRENT VIEWS: THE NATURE OF PARTICLES (UNCERTAINTY
RELATION)

As regards the modification required in the concept of a particle,
the stress is on Heisenberg’s uncertainty relation. The so-called
classical mechanics hinged on Galileo’s and Newton’s discovery that
the thing which in a moving body is determined at any instant by the
other bodies in its environment is only and precisely its acceleration,
or, in mathematical terms, the second derivatives with respect to time
of the coordinates. The first derivatives, commonly called the ve-
locity, are therefore to be included in the description of the momentary
state of the body, together with the coordinates themselves which
label its momentary place in space or “whereness” (or ubiety, to use
an antiquated but convenient word). Thus, to describe the momen-

186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

tary state of a particle, two independent data were required: its co-
ordinates and their first time derivatives, or ubiety and velocity.
According to the new theory less is required, and less is obtainable.
Hither of the two data can be given with arbitrary accuracy, provided
that no store is set on the other, but both cannot be known together
with absolute precision. One may not even conceive of both as having
absolutely sharp values at the same instant. They mutually blur each
other, as it were. Broadly speaking, the product of the latitudes of
their respective inaccuracies cannot be reduced below a fixed constant.
For an electron, this constant happens to be about 1 if the units
centimeter and second are used. Thus, if the velocity of an electron
is considered sharp with a latitude of only 1 centimeter per second,
its location has to be considered as blurred within the latitude of 1
centimeter. The strangeness does not lie in the mere existence of
inaccuracies, for the particle might be a thing of vague and change-
able extension, within which slightly different velocities prevailed at
different spots. Then, however, a sharp location or ubiety would
probably entail a sharply defined velocity and vice versa. Actually
it is just the other way round.

5. CURRENT VIEWS: THE MEANING OF THE UNCERTAINTY
RELATION

Two links connect this strange and certainly very fundamental
statement to other parts of the theory. It can be arrived at by de-
claring that a particle is equivalent to its guiding wave, and has
no characteristics save those indicated by the guiding wave according
to a certain code. The code is simple enough. The ubiety is indi-
cated by the extension of the wave, the latitude in the velocity by the
range of wave numbers. “Wave number” is short for reciprocal of
the wavelength. Each wave number corresponds to a certain velocity
proportional to it. That is the code. It is a mathematical truism
that the smaller a wave group, the wider is the (minimum) spread of
its wave numbers.

Alternatively, we may scrutinize the experimental procedure for
determining either the ubiety or the velocity. Any such measuring
device implies a transfer of energy between the particle and some
measuring instrument—eventually the observer himself, who has to
take a reading. This means an actual physical interference with the
particle. The disturbance cannot be arbitrarily reduced, because
energy is not exchanged continuously but in portions. We are given
to understand that, when measuring one of the two items, ubiety or
velocity, we interfere with the other the more violently the higher
the precision we aim at. We blur its value within a latitude inversely
proportional to the latitude of error allowed in the first.

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—-SCHRODINGER 187

In both explanations the wording seems to suggest that the uncer-
tainty or lack of precision refers to the attainable knowledge about a
particle rather than to its nature. Indeed, by saying that we disturb
or change a measurable physical quantity we logically imply that it
has certain values before and after our interference, whether we know
them or not. And in the first explanation, involving the wave, if we
call it a guiding wave how should it guide the particle on its path, if the
particle has not gota path? If we say the wave indicates the probabil-
ity of finding the particle at A, or at B, or at C—this seems to imply
that the particle is at one, and one only, of these places; and similarly
for the velocity. (Actually the wave does indicate both probabilities
simultaneously, one by its extension, the other by its wave numbers.)
However, the current view does not accept either ubiety or velocity as
permanent objective realities. It stresses the word “finding.” Finding
the particle at point A does not imply that it has been there before.
We are more or less given to understand that our measuring device
has brought it there or “concentrated” it at that point, while at the
same time we have disturbed its velocity. And this does not imply
that the velocity “had” a value. We have only disturbed or changed
the probability of finding this or that value of the velocity if we
measure it. ‘The implications as to “being” or “having” are miscon-
ceptions, to be blamed on language. Positivist philosophy is invoked
to tell us that we must not distinguish between the knowledge we
can obtain of a physical object and its actual state. The two are one.

6. CRITICISM OF THE UNCERTAINTY RELATION

I will not discuss here that tenet of positivist philosophy. I fully
agree that the uncertainty relation has nothing to do with incomplete
knowledge. It does not reduce the amount of information attainable
about a particle as compared with views held previously. The conclu-
sion is that these views were wrong and we must give them up. We
must not believe that the completer description they demanded about
what is really going on in the physical world is conceivable, but in
practice unobtainable. This would mean clinging to the old view.
Still, it does not necessarily follow that we must give up speaking and
thinking in terms of what is really going on in the physical world. It
has become a convenient habit to picture it as a reality. In everyday
life we all follow this habit, even those philosophers who opposed it
theoretically, such as Bishop Berkeley. Such theoretical controversy
is on a different plane. Physics has nothing to do with it. Physics
takes its start from everyday experience, which it continues by more
subtle means. It remains akin to it, does not transcend it generically,
it cannot enter into another realm. Discoveries in physics cannot in

188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

themselves—so I believe—have the authority of forcing us to put an
end to the habit of picturing the physical world as a reality.

I believe the situation is this. We have taken over from previous
theory the idea of a particle and all the technical language concerning
it. This idea is inadequate. It constantly drives our mind to ask
information which has obviously no significance. Its imaginative
structure exhibits features which are alien to the real particle. An
adequate picture must not trouble us with this disquieting urge; it
must be incapable of picturing more than there is; it must refuse any
further addition. Most people seem to think that no such picture can
be found. One may, of course, point to the circumstantial evidence
(which I am sorry to say is not changed by this essay) that in fact
none has been found. I can, however, think of some reasons for this,
apart from the genuine intricacy of the case. The palliative, taken
from positivist philosophy and purporting to be a reasonable way out,
was administered fairly early and authoritatively. It seemed to re-
lieve us from the search for what I should call real understanding;
it even rendered the endeavor suspect, as betraying an unphilosophical
mind—the mind of a child who regretted the loss of its favorite toy
(the picture or model) and would not realize that it was gone forever.
As a second point, I submit that the difficulty may be intimately con-
nected with the principal subject of this paper, to which I shall now
turn without further delay. The uncertainty relation refers to the
particle. The particle, as we shall see, is not an identifiable individual.
It may indeed well be that no individual entity can be conceived which
would answer the requirements of the adequate picture stated above.

It is not at all easy to realize this lack of individuality and to find
words for it. A symptom is that the probability interpretation, unless
it is expressed in the most highly technical language of mathematics,
seems to be vague as to whether the wave gives information about one
particle or about an ensemble of particles. It is not always quite clear
whether it indicates the probability of finding “the” particle or of
finding “a” particle, or indicates the likely or average number of par-
ticles in, say, a given small volume. Moreover, the most popular view
on probability tends to obliterate these differences. It is true that
exact mathematical tools are available to distinguish between them.
A point of general interest is involved, which I will explain. A
method of dealing with the problem of many particles was indicated
in 1926 by the present writer. The method uses waves in many-dimen-
sional space, in a manifold of 3V dimensions, WV being the number of
particles. Deeper insight led to its improvement. The step leading
to this improvement is of momentous significance. The many-dimen-
sional treatment has been superseded by so-called second quantization,
which is mathematically equivalent to uniting into one three-dimen-

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—SCHRODINGER 189

sional formulation the cases V=0, 1, 2,3... (to infinity) of the
many-dimensional treatment. This highly ingenious device includes
the so-called new statistics, with which we shall have to deal below in
much simpler terms. It is the only precise formulation of the views
now held, and the one that is always used. What is so very significant
in our present context is that one cannot avoid leaving indeterminate
the number of the particles dealt with. It is thus obvious that they
are not individuals.

7. THE NOTION OF A PIECE OF MATTER

I wish to set forth a view on matter and the material universe, to
which Ernst Mach [1],? Bertrand Russell [2], and others were led by
a careful analysis of concepts. It differs from the popular view. We
are, however, not concerned with the psychological origin of the con-
cept of matter but with its epistemological analysis. The attitude is
so simple that it can hardly claim complete novelty; some pre-
Socratics, including the materialist Democritus [3], were nearer to
it than were the great men who resuscitated science and molded it
during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

According to this view, a piece of matter is the name we give to a
continuous string of events that succeed each other in time, immedi-
ately successive ones being as a rule closely similar. The single event
is an inextricable complex of sensates, of associated memory images,
and of expectations associated with the former two. ‘The sensates
prevail in the case of an unknown object, say a distant white patch on
the road, which might be a stone, snow, salt, a cat or a dog, a white
shirt or blouse, a handkerchief. Even so, within the ensuing string
of events we usually know from general experience how to discount
the changes caused by motions of our own body, in particular of our
direction of sight. As soon as the nature of the object is recognized,
images and expectations begin to prevail. The latter concern sensa-
tions as hard, soft, heavy, flexible, rough, smooth, cold, salty, etc.,
associated with the image of touching and handling; they also concern
spontaneous movements or noises such as barking, mewing, shouting,
etc. It should be noted that I am not speaking of our thoughts or con-
siderations about the object, but of what forms part and parcel of
our perception of it—of what it is to us. However, the limit is not
sharp. As our familiarity with a piece of matter grows, and in par-
ticular as we approach its scientific aspect, the range of expectations
in regard to it widens, eventually to include all the information science
has ascertained, e. g., melting point, solubility, electric conductivity,
density, chemical and crystalline structure, and so on. At the same
time, the momentary sensational core recedes in relevance the more

2 Numbers in brackets refer to authorities cited at the end of this article;

190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

the object becomes familiar to us, whether by scientific knowledge or
by everyday use.

8. INDIVIDUALITY OR “SAMENESS”

After a certain wealth of association has come to outshine the core
of sensates, the latter is no longer needed to keep the complex together.
It persists even when the contact of our senses with the object tem-
porarily ceases. And more than that: the complex is latently con-
served even when the whole string is interrupted by our turning away
from the object to others and forgetting all about it. Indeed, this is
not exceptional, but a rule which—since we sometimes sleep—has no
exception. But we have adopted the useful device of filling these gaps.
We supplement the missing parts of the strings relating to pieces of
matter in our nearer and farther surroundings, to cover the periods
when we neither watch them nor think of them. When a familiar
object re-enters our ken, it is usually recognized as a continuation of
previous appearances, as being the same thing. The relative perma-
nence of individual pieces of matter is the most momentous feature of
both everyday life and scientific experience. Ifa familiar article, say
an earthenware jug, disappears from your room, you are quite sure
somebody must have taken it away. If after a time it reappears, you
may doubt whether it really is the same one—breakable objects in such
circumstances are often not. You may not be able to decide the issue,
but you will have no doubt that the doubtful sameness has an indis-
putable meaning—that there is an unambiguous answer to your query.
So firm is our belief in the continuity of the unobserved parts of the
strings!

No doubt the notion of individuality of pieces of matter dates from
time immemorial. I suppose animals must have it in some way, and
a dog, when seeking for his ball that has been hidden, displays it very
plainly. Science has taken it over as a matter of course. It has re-
fined it so as safely to embrace all cases of apparent disappearance of
matter. The idea that a log which burns away first turns into fire,
then into ashes and smoke, is not alien to the primitive mind. Science
has substantiated it; though the appearance in bulk may change, the
ultimate constituents of the matter do not. This was (in spite of his
occasional skepticism mentioned above) the teaching of Democritus.
Neither he nor Dalton doubted that an atom which was originally pres-
ent in the block of wood is afterward either in the ashes or in the
smoke.

9. THE BEARING ON ATOMISM

In the new turn of atomism that began with the papers of Heisen-
berg and of de Broglie in 1925 such an attitude has to be abandoned.
This is the most startling revelation emerging from the ensuing de-

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—SCHRODINGER 191

velopment, and the feature which in the long run is bound to have the
most important consequences. If we wish to retain atomism we are
forced by observed facts to deny the ultimate constituents of matter
the character of identifiable individuals. Until recently, atomists of
all ages, for all I know, had transferred that characteristic from visi-
ble and palpable pieces of matter to the atoms, which they could not see
or touch or observe singly. Now we do observe single particles; we
see their tracks in the cloud chamber and in photographic emulsions;
we register the practically simultaneous discharges caused by a single
swift particle in two or three Geiger counters placed at several yards’
distance from each other. Yet we must deny the particle the dignity
of being an absolutely identifiable individual. Formerly, if a physi-
cist were asked what stuff the atoms themselves were made of, he might
smile and shirk the answer. If the inquirer insisted on the question
whether he might imagine them as small unchangeable bits of ordinary
matter, he would get the smiling reply that there was no point in doing
so but that it would dono harm. The formerly meaningless question
has now gained significance. The answer is definitely in the nega-
tive. An atom lacks the most primitive property we associate with a
piece of matter in ordinary life. Some philosophers of the past, if
the case could be put to them, would say that the modern atom con-
sists of no stuff at all but is pure shape.

10. THE MEANING OF THE NEW STATISTICS

We must at last proceed to give the reasons for this change of atti-
tude in a more comprehensible form than at the end of section 6. It
rests on the so-called new statistics. There are two of them. One is
the Bose-Einstein statistics, whose novelty and relevance were first
stressed by Einstein. The other is the Fermi-Dirac statistics, of
which the most pregnant expression is Pauli’s exclusion principle. I
shall try to explain the new statistics, and its relation to the old classi-
cal or Boltzmann statistics, to those who have never heard about such
things and perhaps may be puzzled by what “statistics” means in this
context. I shall use an instance from everyday life. It may seem
childishly simple, particularly because we have to choose small num-
bers—actually 2 and 3—in order to make the arithmetic surveyable.
Apart from this, the illustration is completely adequate and covers
the actual situation.

Three schoolboys, Tom, Dick, and Harry, deserve a reward. The
teacher has two rewards to distribute among them. Before doing so,
he wishes to realize for himself how many different distributions are
at all possible. This is the only question we investigate (we are not
interested in his eventual decision). It is a statistical question: to
count the number of different distributions. The point is that the

192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

answer depends on the nature of the rewards. Three different kinds
of reward will illustrate the three kinds of statistics.

(a) The two rewards are two memorial coins with portraits of New-
ton and Shakespeare respectively. The teacher may give Newton
either to Tom or to Dick or to Harry, and Shakespeare either to Tom
or to Dick or to Harry. Thus there are 3 times 3, that is 9, different
distributions (classical statistics) .

(6) The two rewards are two shilling-pieces (which, for our pur-
pose, we must regard as indivisible quantities). They can be given to
two different boys, the third going without. In addition to these three
possibilities there are three more: either Tom or Dick or Harry re-
ceives 2 shillings. Thus there are six different distributions (Bose-
Einstein statistics).

(c) The two rewards are two vacancies in the football team that is
to play for the school. In this case two boys can join the team, and
one of the three is left out. Thus there are three different distribu-
tions (Fermi-Dirac statistics).

Let me mention right away: the rewards represent the particles,
two of the same kind in every case; the boys represent states the par-
ticle can assume. Thus, “Newton is given to Dick” means: the par-
ticle Newton takes on the state Dick.

Notice that the counting is natural, logical, and indisputable in
every case. It is uniquely determined by the nature of the object—
memorial coins, shillings, memberships. They are of different cate-
gories. Memorial coins are individuals distinguished from one an-
other. Shillings, for all intents and purposes, are not, but they are
still capable of being owned in the plural. It makes a difference
whether you have 1 shilling, or 2 or 8. There is no point in two boys
exchanging their shillings. It does change the situation, however,
if one boy gives up his shilling to another. With memberships, neither
has a meaning. You can either belong to a team or not. You cannot
belong to it twice over.

Experimental evidence proves that statistical counts referring to
elementary particles must never follow the pattern (a), but must fol-
low either (6) or (¢). Some hold that for all genuinely elementary
particles (¢) is competent. Such particles, electrons for instance, cor-
respond to membership in a club; I mean to the abstract notion of
membership, not to the members. Any person eligible to membership
in that club represents a well-defined state an electron can take on.
If the person is a member, that means there is an electron in that par-
ticular state. According to Pauli’s exclusion principle, there can
never be more than one electron in a particular state. Our simile
renders this by declaring double membership meaningless—as in most
clubs it would be. In the course of time the list of members changes,

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—SCHRODINGER 193

and membership is now attached to other persons: the electrons have
gone over into other states. Whether you can, in a loose way, speak
of a certain membership going over from Dick to Tom, thence from
Tom to Harry, etc., depends on the circumstances. They may suggest
this view, or they may not, but never in an absolute fashion. In this
our simile is perfect, for it is the same with an electron. Moreover,
it is quite appropriate to consider the number of members as fluctuat-
ing. Indeed, electrons too are created and annihilated.

The example may seem odd and inverted. One might think, “Why
cannot the people be the electrons and various clubs their states?
That would be so much more natural.” The physicist regrets, but he
cannot oblige. And this is just the salient point: the actual statistical
behavior of electrons cannot be illustrated by any simile that rep-
resents them by identifiable things. That is why it follows from their
actual statistical behavior that they are not identifiable things.

The (6), illustrating Einstein-Bose statistics, is competent for light
quanta (photons), inter alia. It hardly needs discussion. It does not
strike us as so strange for the very reason that it includes light, i. e.,
electromagnetic energy; and energy, in prequantum times, had always
been thought of in very much the way our simile represents it, viz, as
having quantity, but no individuality.

11. RESTRICTED NOTION OF IDENTITY

The most delicate question is that of the states of, say, an electron.
They are, of course, to be defined not classically, but in the light of
the uncertainty relation. The rigorous treatment referred to at the
end of section 6 is not really based on the notion of “state of one elec-
tron” but on that of “state of the assembly of electrons.” The whole
list of members of the club, as it were, has to be envisaged together—
or rather several membership lists, corresponding to the several kinds
of particles that go to compose the physical system under considera-
tion. I mention this, not to go into details about it, but because, taken
rigorously, the club simile has two flaws. First, the possible states
of an electron (which we had assimiliated to the persons eligible for
membership) are not absolutely defined; they depend on the arrange-
ment of the—actual or imagined—experiment. Given this arrange-
ment, the states are well-defined individuals, which the electrons are
not. They also form—and this is the second flaw of the simile—a
well-ordered manifold. That is, there is a meaning in speaking of
neighboring states as against such as are more remote from each other.
Moreover, I believe it is true to say that this order can be conceived in
such a fashion that, as a rule, whenever one occupied state ceases to be
occupied, a neighboring state becomes occupied.

194 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

This explains that, in favorable circumstances, long strings of suc-
cessively occupied states may be produced, similar to those contem-
plated in sections 7 and 8. Such a string gives the impression of an
identifiable individual, just as in the case of any object in our daily
surrounding. It is in this way that we must look upon the tracks in
the cloud chamber or in a photographic emulsion, and on the (prac-
tically) simultaneous discharges of Geiger counters set in a line,
which discharges we say are caused by the same particle passing one
counter after another. In such cases it would be extremely incon-
venient to discard this terminology. There is, indeed, no reason to
ban it, provided we are aware that, on sober experimental grounds,
the sameness of a particle is not an absolute concept. It has only a
restricted significance and breaks down completely in some cases.

In what circumstances this restricted sameness will manifest itself
is fairly obvious: namely, when only few states are occupied in the
region of the state-manifold with which we are concerned, or, in other
words, when the occupied states are not too crowded in that region,
or when occupation is a rare event—the terms “few,” “crowded,” and
“rare” all referring to the state-manifold. Otherwise, the strings
intermingle inextricably and reveal the true situation. In the last
section we shall formulate the quantitative condition for the prevailing
of restricted individuality. Now we ask what happens when it is
obliterated.

12. CROWDEDNESS AND WAVE ASPECT

One gains the impression that according as the individuality of the
particles is wiped out by crowding, the particle aspect becomes alto-
gether less and less expedient and has to be replaced by the wave
aspect. For instance, in the electronic shell of an atom or molecule the
crowding is extreme, almost all the states within a certain region being
occupied by electrons. The same holds for the so-called free electrons
inside a metal. Indeed, in both cases the particle aspect becomes en-
tirely incompetent. On the other hand, in an ordinary gas the mole-
cules are extremely rare in the wide region of states over which they
spread. No more than one state in 10,000 or so is occupied. And in-
deed, the theory of gases, based on the particle aspect, was able to
attain great perfection long before the wave nature of ordinary mat-
ter was discovered. (In the last remark I have been speaking of the
molecules as if they were ultimate particles; this is legitimate as far
as their translatory motion is concerned.)

It is tempting to assign to the two rivals, the particle aspect and the
wave aspect, full competences in the limiting cases of extreme “rare-
faction” and extreme “crowding” respectively. This would separate
them, as it were, with only some sort of transition required for the

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE—SCHRODINGER 195

intermediate region. ‘This idea is not entirely wrong, but it is also
far from correct. One may remember the interference patterns re-
ferred to in section 2 in evidence of the wave nature of the electron.
They can be obtained with an arbitrarily faint bundle of cathode rays,
provided the exposure is prolonged. Thus a typical wave phenomenon
is produced here, irrespective of crowding. Another instance is this.
A competent theoretical investigation of the collision of two particles,
whether of the same or of different kind, has to take account of their
wave nature. ‘The results are duly applied to the collisions of cosmic-
ray particles with atomic nuclei in the atmosphere, both being ex-
tremely rarefied in every sense of the word. But perhaps this is triv-
ial; it only means that even an isolated particle, which gives us the
illusion of transitory individuality, must yet not be likened to a classi-
cal particle. It remains subject to the uncertainty relation, of which
the only tolerable image is the guiding wave group.

13. THE CONDITION FOR THE PARTICLE ASPECT

The following is the quantitative condition for strings to develop
which counterfeit individuals and suggest the particle aspect: the
product of the momentum p and the average distance 7 between neigh-
boring particles must be fairly large compared with Planck’s constant
h; thus

pl >> h.
(The momentum p—and not the velocity—is the thing we should
really have referred to when, in sections 4 and 5, we dealt with the
uncertainty relation; p is simply the product of the mass and the ve-
locity, unless the latter is comparable with that of light.)

A large 7 means a low density in ordinary space. What matters,
however, is the density in the manifold of states—or phase space, to
use the technical term. That is why the momentum p comes in. It is
gratifying to remember that those very obvious strings—visible tracks
in the cloud chamber or in the photographic emulsion, and simul-
taneous discharges of alined counters—are all produced by particles
with comparatively very large momentum.

The above relation is familiar from the theory of gases, where it
expresses the condition which must be fulfilled in very good approxi-
mation in order that the old classical particle theory of gases should
apply in very good approximation. This theory has to be modified
according to quantum theory when the temperature is very low and at
the same time the density very high, so that the product p/ is no longer
very large compared with h. This modification is called the theory
of degenerate gases, of which the most famous application is that by
A. Sommerfeld to the electrons inside a metal; we have mentioned

them before as an instance of extreme crowding.

196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

There is the following connection between our relation and the un-
certainty relation. The latter allows one at any moment to distinguish
a particle from its neighbors by locating it with an error considerably
smaller than the average distance 7. But this entails an uncertainty in
p. On account of it, as the particle moves on, the uncertainty in the
location grows. If one demands that it still remain well below / after
the particle has covered the distance 7, one arrives precisely at the
above relation.

But again I must warn of a misconception which the preceding
sentences might suggest, viz, that crowding only prevents us from
registering the identity of a particle, and that we mistake one particle
for the other. The point is that they are not individuals which could
be confused or mistaken one for another. Such statements are mean-
ingless.

REFERENCES

1. MacH, ERnst.
1905. Erkenntnis und Irrtum. Leipzig.
2. RUSSELL, BERTRAND.
1948. Human knowledge, its scope and limits. London.
3. DIELS, HERMANN.
1903. Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker. Berlin. (The reference is
mainly to the fragment 125 of Democritus.)

THE COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE!

By. Harrison Brown

Institute for Nuclear Studies
The University of Chicago

[With 1 plate]

One of the more difficult fundamental problems which confront
science today is that of determining the chemical composition of the
matter of which our universe is made. Man, bound to the surface
of his planet, can see the billions of stars existing within the galaxy
of which his sun is a member, and the billions of galaxies extending
in all directions as far as his telescopes can penetrate; but he has
only the light that the stars emit with which to work. He knows
that a very large amount of matter is scattered throughout interstellar
space; but he cannot sample it. He can see the other planets within
his solar system; but he can study only the light that they reflect from
the sun. He is even prevented by the thick solid crust under his feet
from sampling the interior of his own planet.

Nevertheless he has learned a great deal about the composition of
his universe from studies of what is available: Light from the stars
and planets, and the matter in the meteorites he finds and in the earth
at his feet. We can find significant regularities in the abundances of
elements on the surface of our earth. In 1917, W. D. Harkins made
the important discovery that elements of even atomic number are in
general more abundant than neighboring elements of odd atomic
number. But there were a number of exceptions to the rule and these
were attributed to the possibility that the surface of the earth is a
poor sample of cosmic matter. It was believed that if, in some manner,
a sample of the earth as a whole could be obtained, the exceptions
would be fewer in number. Soon thereafter many of the elements
were broken down into their component isotopes and it was found
that the rule could be more generally formulated: Nuclear species of
odd mass number are less abundant than neighboring nuclear species
of even mass number.

Other generalizations could be made on the basis of the earth’s
crust alone. It appeared that nuclear species of even atomic number

1 Reprinted by permission from Physics Today, vol. 3, No, 4, April 1950.
197

198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

whose mass numbers are integer multiples of four are more abundant
than other species. It appeared further that the abundances of ele-
ments fall off rapidly with increasing atomic number.

The “odd-even” and the “integer multiple of 4” abundance regulari-
ties are in themselves sufficient to permit an important conclusion.
Whatever the process might have been that led to the formation of
elements, it seems clear that the elements were formed in relative
amounts which depended, at least in part, upon the nuclear properties
of their constituent isotopes. But if one is to theorize further on
the question of the origin of the elements and the relationships between
abundance and nuclear composition, it is important that we obtain
more quantitative data than is obtainable through a study of the
earth’s crust alone, which could not be expected to be a representative
sample of matter in our cosmos.

THE COMPOSITION OF STARS

There are numerous dark lines or “absorption lines” in the sun’s
spectrum which are found to be located at the same characteristic
frequencies which are observed in the emission spectra of elements
studied in the laboratories of our earth. In this manner many ele-
ments which exist in the earth’s crust have been identified in the sun’s
atmosphere. No elements have been found in the sun’s atmosphere
which do not exist on earth, though helium was discovered in the sun
before it was isolated and identified terrestrially. The spectra of
other stars are similar in nature to the sun’s. Characteristic dark
absorption lines are observed, leading to the conclusion that the stars
are similar to our sun in general structure and composition.

The fact that absorption lines are observed demonstrates that the
continuous radiation emitted from a star’s surface passes through a
layer of relatively cool gas surrounding the star, the reversing layer,
and so the elements in stellar atmospheres can be positively identified.
But the task of converting the intensities of the lines observed in
stellar spectra into relative numbers of atoms of the various species
which exist in stellar atmospheres is most difficult.

Thanks to the herculean efforts of early workers in the field, such as
Henry Norris Russell, C. H. Payne, and C. E. Moore, and recent
developments by astrophysicists such as A. Unséld, B. Strémeren,
D. Menzel, L. Aller, and J. Greenstein, quantitative conversion of
spectral intensities into relative numbers of atoms is now possible.
The theory which permits the conversion of spectral line intensities
into relative numbers of atoms is straightforward, but exceedingly
complex, and need not be discussed here in any detail. It involves
a detailed knowledge of the quantum-mechanical behavior of atomic
species as functions of temperature and density, and in the presence

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Brown PLATE. 1

SECTION OF THE WILLAMETTE, OREG., METEORITE

Largest (14,175 kg.) individual iron meteorite found in the United States. It is
composed almost entirely of metallic iron and nickel, two of the most abundant
of the easily condensable elements (Class I).

JUPITER, THE LARGEST PLANET

It is composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, the most abundant ele
ments in the universe. (Courtesy Yerkes Observatory and Hayden Plane-
tarium.)

—-

COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE—BROWN 199

of many constituents. The complexity of the treatment is such that
even in the most favorable cases the relative numbers of atoms of two
elements cannot be determined with a precision which is better than
a factor of two. Nevertheless, although the precision is not so great
as might be desired, the results possess considerable significance.

Unséld recently determined the relative abundance of elements in
the sun’s atmosphere as 560 atoms of hydrogen for each atom of
oxygen, and 0.37 atom of carbon, 0.037 atom of silicon, 0.76 atom of
nitrogen, 0.0035 atom of sodium, and 0.062 atom of magnesium for
each atom of oxygen, and so on down to 0.000021 atom of vanadium
for each atom of oxygen. The significance of these abundances will
be apparent later on.

Whether the composition of a star’s atmosphere is representative
of the composition of the interior can only be answered directly.
Numerous arguments have been presented to favor the conclusion
that they are the same—and that they are different. In general, the
arguments which favor fairly complete mixing of the elements within
the sun appear to be somewhat stronger than the others, particularly
with respect to elements heavier than oxygen. ‘This is so in spite
of the fact that small traces of lithium and boron, which have been
detected in the sun’s atmosphere, could not possibly exist for an ap-
preciable length of time at the temperatures of the sun’s interior.
The sun probably sweeps up small traces of these observed elements.
Secondly, the amounts of lithium and boron observed are so minute,
and the region in which they could be consumed is so relatively small,
that the amounts observed need not be incompatible with a relaxation
time for mixing adequate to result in fair homogeneity. Additional
evidence favoring good mixing will be presented when we compare
and find similarities in the composition of the sun with that of other
material in our solar system.

A method independent of observed spectral intensities exists for
the determination of the abundances of hydrogen and helium relative
to other elements in stars. The method depends first upon the gen-
eral theory of stellar structure, a fundamental result of which is that
for a given mass the radius and luminosity of a star will depend
strongly upon the mean molecular weight of the matter of which the
star is composed. At the temperatures which exist in stellar interiors
atoms are completely ionized, so the mean molecular weight of a given
element will be its ordinary molecular weight divided by the total
number of particles produced by the ionization (electrons plus nu-
cleus). The molecular weights of most completely ionized elements
lie very close to 2 because of the fact that in general the mass num-
bers of nuclear species are nearly double their atomic numbers. Thus,
the mean molecular weight of completely ionized iron will be

922758—51——14

200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

56/(26+1) or 2.1. The mean molecular weight of completely ionized
oxygen will be 16/(8+1) or 1.8. However, the molecular weights
of completely ionized hydrogen and helium will be only 0.5 and 1.3
respectively. Consequently, while the equilibrium within a star will
not be very sensitive to the relative proportions of the heavier
elements present, it will be very sensitive to the amounts of hydrogen
and helium.

Thus, if we know the mass, the radius, and the luminosity of a
star, we can determine its mean molecular weight and, as a result,
the approximate hydrogen content of the star. In order to determine
the hydrogen and helium contents more precisely, particularly rela-
tive to the next most abundant elements (carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen), use can be made of our knowledge concerning the mechanism
of energy production in the main-sequence stars. In 1939, Bethe
demonstrated that the mechanism of energy production in the sun,
and probably in all main-sequence stars, is a cycle of nuclear reactions
involving carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen as intermediates, and resulting
in the net conversion of hydrogen into helium. The mathematical
relationships involved in the carbon cycle can be coupled with the
general relationships which describe the equilibria within stellar in-
teriors, and a unique solution for the relative proportions of hydrogen
and helium present in a given star may be obtained.

Recently Greenstein recomputed the abundances of hydrogen and
helium relative to other elements (primarily carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen). His results indicate that for every atom of heavier elements
present in the sun, there are approximately 100 atoms of helium and
1,000 atoms of hydrogen. Thus it appears that in our region of
space, hydrogen and helium together account for more than 99.8
percent of the matter present! Relative to these elements, the ele-
ments that we encounter in such high abundance on the surface of
the earth exist in stars in amounts that are quite insignificant.

How does this reasoning concerning the hydrogen and helium con-
tent of stars, and their abundances relative to other elements, apply
to individual stars? Do stars differ appreciably one from the other
in composition? We know that stars differ considerably one from
the other in their energy release per unit weight of the star, so they
must be consuming hydrogen and producing helium at rates which
differ widely. As a result one would expect that the hydrogen and
helium contents of stars would vary considerably. Indeed, we find
collapsed stars known as white dwarfs where the hydrogen contents
appear to have been virtually exhausted. Similarly, one would expect
to find variations within main-sequence stars of the abundances of
carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The ratios of these elements will be

COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE—-BROWN 201

fixed by their relative cross sections for proton capture, which will
depend in turn upon the temperature condition within the stars.

Thus one would expect to find major differences in the composi-
tion of stars with respect to all elements which can undergo thermo-
nuclear reactions at the temperatures which exist in stellar interiors.
But there are limitations to the temperatures which exist in stars,
and as a result one would not expect elements heavier than oxygen
to undergo thermonuclear reaction to any appreciable extent. Does
this mean that stars may also differ appreciably from one another
with respect to the abundances of their heavier nonreactive constitu-
ents? Jt is very difficult to compare the abundances of elements in
stars of widely differing spectral characteristics with any great pre-
cision. However, stars of similar spectral type can be compared.
Recently, Greenstein compared the abundances of several elements
in a number of F-type stars which possess widely different luminos-
ities. He found that for the ordinary stars of this type no well-
established abundance difference within a factor of two exists. In
other words, it appears that stars possess nearly identical compositions
with respect to elements heavier than oxygen.

If this result is correct for our own galaxy, is it true of the billions
of galaxies which are visible to us?) Unfortunately the data are too
meager to permit us to draw such a sweeping conclusion. Neverthe-
less, the probability of such an assumption being correct appears to
be considerable.

INTERSTELLAR MATTER

It is well recognized that in certain regions of our own and other
galaxies as much as 50 percent of the mass exists in the form of finely
divided matter distributed throughout interstellar space. Although
this matter is extremely dilute, the tremendous distances between our
sun and other stars result in there being sufficient gas between some
stars and the earth to produce definite absorption lines, the intensities
of which can be measured. If one studies the spectrum of a distant
star which has a large motion either toward or away from the sun, the
absorption lines produced by the reversing layer will be shifted owing
to the Doppler effect. Superimposed upon the spectrum of the star
one will see undisplaced lines corresponding to the absorption lines
of various elements. The locations of these stationary lines are found
to be independent of the velocity of the star relative to the earth, and
can only be attributed to the existence of matter between the star
and the earth.

The first estimates of the relative abundances of elements in inter-
stellar material were made by T. Dunham, Jr. (1939) and by O. Struve
(1941). Recently B. Strémgren has succeeded in establishing with

202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

fair accuracy the ratios of several elements in the interstellar gas.
He finds the atomic ratio of hydrogen to sodium to be 5 to 25 X 10°.
This value is considerably higher than the corresponding value for
the ratio of the abundances of these elements believed to exist in the
sun (about 0.7 X 10°) and may indicate that the interstellar gas
is deficient in higher atomic weight elements relative to stars. It is
noteworthy, however, that StrO6mgren’s value for the titanium-sodium
ratio is about 8 X 10°, which, within experimental error, agrees with
the best value for the abundance ratio of the same elements in the
solar system (6 X 10°).

In general, it appears probable that, with the exceptions of hydro-
gen, helium, and lighter elements whose abundances are shifted in
stars owing to thermonuclear reactions, the abundances of the ele-
ments in interstellar material lhe very close to their abundances
in stars.

THE EARTH AND METEORITES

It has been mentioned that the study of stellar spectra gives rise
to abundance values which are in the very best cases precise only to
within a factor of 2. In addition, only a few elements can be
determined in stars with anything approaching this degree of ac-
curacy. If we are to extend our knowledge concerning abundances
to a wider range of elements, and with a greater degree of precision,
we must examine condensed material within our solar system: planets
and meteorites.

Realizing that the crust of the earth constitutes 2 poor specimen of
gross material within our solar system, the late V. M. Goldschmidt,
who perhaps more than any one man can be considered to be the father
of modern geochemistry, studied the composition of meteorites. In
doing so, he followed the general concept which had originated many
decades previously : the average composition of these bodies which fall
to the earth from space is probably equivalent to the composition of the
earth asa whole. In view of the fact that meteorites, as distinct from
stellar spectra, can be analyzed quite precisely, it is important to
investigate the validity of Goldschmidt’s hypothesis.

What are the chemical relationships between meteorites and the
earth? How is the earth related chemically to the sun and planets of
the solarsystem? If we can ascertain these relationships, we will then
be in a position to utilize meteorites in an evaluation of elemental
abundances.

A century ago, the scientist Boisse first suggested the possibility
assumed by Goldschmidt. Since that time considerable effort has been
expended by astronomers, geologists, geophysicists, and geochemists in
attempts to develop or to disprove Boisse’s speculation. On the whole,

COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE—BROWN 203

information accumulated during the last 50 years has served to substan-
tiate the thesis that meteorites belong to a single family possessing a
common genesis, quite possibly a planet similar to the earth in physico-
chemical characteristics.

Meteorites range in size from dust particles (which are most difficult
to collect) to many tons. In general, meteorites fail into two distinct
categories—irons and stones. Iron meteorites are fragments of pure
metal, consisting primarily of an alloy of iron containing about 8 per-
cent nickel and 2 percent minor constituents. Stony meteorites consist
primarily of magnesium and iron silicates through which finely divided
particles of metallic iron-nickel are dispersed. The average metal-
phase content of stony meteorites is approximately 11 percent, but the
quantity of metal may vary from nearly zero to well over 50 percent.
A third and less abundant meteoritic phase, known as troilite, and
composed primarily of ferrous sulfide, exists in both stony and iron
meteorites, usually distributed throughout the mass, but frequently
collected into pockets of substantial size.

A comparison of the abundances of elements in meteorites, the
earth’s crust, and the sun demonstrates that both meteorites and the
earth are very deficient in those elements which are most abundant in
the sun (hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen). Meteor-
ites, in turn, possess considerably larger proportions of iron and mag-
nesium and smaller proportions of sodium and potassium than are
observed in the earth’s crust.

Meteorites are much more dense than the surface rocks of the earth.
In view of the fact that the earth as a whole has a mean density nearly
double that of its surface, the assumption that the earth possesses a
composition equivalent to the composition of meteorites would appear
to be plausible. In this event, it would be necessary to assume that
considerable quantities of metallic iron, together with iron and magne-
sium silicates, exist below the earth’s surface.

The hypothesis that the earth possesses a composition equivalent to
that of meteoritic matter was fortified by the discovery of the seismic
discontinuity of first order located at approximately one-half the
earth’s radius. It appeared reasonable to assume that this disconti-
nuity marked the boundary of a core composed of metallic iron-nickel
(similar in composition to iron meteorites). The silicate mantle
surrounding the core would then possess a composition equivalent to
stony meteorites.

A study of the trace constituents in meteorites demonstrates that
elements are distributed between the metallic and silicate phases
according to well-recognized chemical laws. Those elements which
possess low affinities for oxygen (i. e., gold, palladium, platinum) exist
almost entirely in the metallic phase; those elements which possess

204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

high affinities for oxygen (i. e., sodium, potassium, strontium, barium)
exist almost entirely in the silicate phase. A survey of the earth’s
crust demonstrates that elements of low oxygen affinity, such as the
platinum metals, exist in exceedingly low concentrations when com-
pared with neighboring elements of high oxygen affinity. If we
assume that a metallic phase exists within the earth, the low abun-
dances of these elements in the crust can be explained on the basis that
they exist in considerably higher abundance in the deep-seated regions
of the earth in association with metallic iron.

With these general ideas in mind Goldschmidt, together with several
chemists who had become interested in the problem, determined the
concentrations of many elements in iron and stony meteorites. Gold-
schmidt then utilized the data in 1937 to compile the first fairly
complete table of relative abundances.

One difficulty associated with the compilation of such an abundance
table was that of coupling meteoritic abundances to solar abundances.
Goldschmidt utilized the then existent solar data and adjusted meteor-
itic silicon so that it would be equal to solar silicon. A second difficulty
was that of combining iron meteorites with stone meteorites in proper
proportions. Unfortunately iron and stone meteorites fall through
the atmosphere in different ways, with the result that there is a higher
probability of observing a stone fall than an iron fall. Stony mete-
orites tend to break into fragments while passing through the atmos-
phere, thus producing more spectacular displays than do iron mete-
orites. On the other hand, many meteorites reach the ground without
actually having been seen to fall. As stony meteorites appear to the
untrained eye to be rocks, many of them are never collected. Iron
meteorites, being more unusual, are picked up more frequently.

Goldschmidt, in the absence of adequate information, chose a ratio
of metal to silicate of 1:5; but observations of both the earth and the
sun lead us to believe that perhaps it should be closer to 3: 5.

An approximate figure for the ratio of metal to silicate can be ob-
tained by calculating the weight of the earth’s core relative to the
earthasa whole. The core of the earth is, of course, compressed owing
to the tremendous pressures in the interior; at the center, the pressure
is approximately 3 million atmospheres. We do not know experimen-
tally the compressibility of iron at such high pressures, but in recent
years a number of theoretical studies have been made. Utilizing the
Fermi-Thomas statistical atomic model, calculations of potential fields
and charge densities in metals as a function of lattice spacing can be
made. Such calculations make possible the determination of pressure-
volume relationships at extremely high pressures. It has been found
that the results of such a calculation made on iron are compatible
with estimates of the densities within the earth’s core derived from

COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE—BROWN 205

seismic-wave studies. Knowing the location of the core boundary
and the density of iron as a function of pressure, the mass of the core
can be readily determined. It is found on such a basis that the ratio
of the weight of the core to the weight of the mantle is approximately
0.5. If one assumes that the mantle contains an amount of metal
phase equivalent to that found in stony meteorites, the weight ratio
of metal to silicate for the earth as a whole would be approximately
0.6 or 0.7.

FicurE 1.—Distribution of elements in the earth.

Utilizing the above figures for the ratio of metal to silicate, and
replacing many of Goldschmidt’s abundances with more recently de-
termined values, a revised set of abundances of elements in gross mete-
oritic matter has been computed and has been published in the Review
of Modern Physics, October 1949.

In spite of the errors involved (primarily in the solar data), the
abundances of the elements in gross meteoritic matter correspond quite
well with the abundances of these elements as found in the sun, in-
dicating strongly that insofar as certain elements are concerned, me-
teorites possess essentially the same composition as the sun. All
the elements in question possess relatively high boiling points, or their
oxides possess high boiling points. In other words, it appears reason-
able to assume that, with respect to easily condensable substances,
meteorites and the sun possess nearly identical compositions. Fortu-
nately, although these elements constitute less than one-half of 1
percent of the mass of the sun, they include no less than 71 of the stable
or long-lived elements existing in nature. Thus, it appears that a
study of the relative abundances of elements in meteorites can give us
important abundance information which covers a wide range of ele-
ments, and which has considerable cosmic significance.

206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

THE PLANETS

Can there be relationships between the other planets similar to the
assumed composition relationship between meteorites and the earth?
The planets can be readily divided into two main groups—small
planets of high density (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and large
planets of low density (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). It
seems clear that the smaller planets are composed almost entirely of
the easily condensable substances which constitute such a small fraction
of stellar material. Although the variations in density among the
smaller planets are considerable, it appears that at least among three
of them (Mars, Venus, and the Earth) a substantial amount of the
density variation is due to increasing compression with increasing
mass. The new determination of the mass of Mercury indicates that
some variation in the metal to silicate ratio may exist, but this is
uncertain.

WraureE 2.—Distribution of elements in Jupiter.

Recent developments in the theory of the origin of the solar system
make it appear probable that the planets were formed by a process of
condensation at low temperature from a medium possessing a compo-
sition close to that of the present sun. The terrestrial planets were
formed from those substances which were least volatile. In the re-
gions of the outer (or Jovian) planets, conditions were such that some
of the lighter and more abundant materials could condense as well,
thus giving rise to much larger planets of considerably lower density.

If we assume the present abundance values for the sun to be the
most probable values for the abundances of the elements in the pre-
planetary medium, we can assess the most likely chemical forms in
which the elements would exist at reasonable temperatures. For each
part by weight of easily condensable material (earth-forming ele-
ments) we would have approximately 4 parts by weight of a mixture

COMPOSITION OF OUR UNIVERSE—BROWN 207

VicurrE 3.—Location of chemical species in planets.

208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

of methane, ammonia, water, and rare gases, 56 parts by weight of
helium, and 180 parts by weight of hydrogen.

If we assume the above composition, then it appears likely that
Uranus and Neptune, the two planets of size intermediate between the
terrestrial planets on the one hand, and Jupiter and Saturn on the
other, captured substances of intermediate condensability and molec-
ular weight. This capture process enormously increased the masses
of the planets, owing to the rather high abundances of water, methane,
and ammonia.

Saturn and Jupiter condensed sufficiently rapidly and grew to a
size sufficiently large to permit their capturing the very abundant
gases hydrogen and helium. The preponderant abundances of these
elements permitted the two planets to develop into the giants of the
solar system.

A careful study of the Jovian planets utilizing theoretical studies on
the behavior of matter under very high pressures demonstrates that
the above picture of the compositions of the planets in relation to the
composition of the sun is essentially correct. In order of increasing
size we have first the terrestrial planets composed of metal and rock.
We next have Uranus and Neptune with earthlike cores composed of
metal and rock, surrounded by very thick layers of ice, liquid ammo-
nia, and methane, and thin atmospheres of hydrogen and helium.
Following this, we have Saturn and Jupiter composed of Uranuslike
cores surrounded with thick layers of hydrogen and helium. Indeed,
approximately 90 percent of the mass of Jupiter appears to be com-
posed of these gases!

Studies of planetary atmospheres by Kuiper and others substantiate
the general picture. Methane, which is a very volatile substance, is
detected in considerable concentration in the atmospheres of Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Ammonia has been observed in the
atmosphere of Jupiter (the warmest of the four). Presumably the
vapor pressure of ammonia is too low in the other three to permit its
detection. Water has such a low vapor pressure at the temperatures
of the Jovian planets that it cannot exist as an atmospheric constituent.

There is still much to be done if we are to have a clear picture of the
composition of our cosmos. There must be increased precision in the
determination of the composition of stars and interstellar matter.
There must be increased precision in the determination of the composi-
tion of meteorites and the earth’s crust. Theoretical studies must be
continued on the relationship between stars, interstellar matter, plan-
ets, and meteorites. But already, in spite of the meager data, a pattern
is unfolding that suggests strongly that our cosmos is remarkably
uniform in chemical composition. It is to be hoped that by the time
another decade has passed, we will know the composition reasonably
accurately.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AS AERONAUTICAL
ENGINEERS?

By M. P. Baker

Assistant Technical Adviser to the Wright Estate; Project Engineer, Inland Manu-
facturing Division, General Motors Corp.

[With 9 plates]

Almost by accident, a little over a year ago, I was asked to explain
the working principle of some of the Wright wind-tunnel instruments
and, upon encountering some difficulty, was given complete access to
the library material of the late Orville Wright. Since this material
included such a wealth of technical detail pertaining to the develop-
ment of the first airplane and to the engineering ability of the Wright
brothers, permission was sought, and granted, to reveal it in a paper
for this society. For the most part, these technical details have never
been published heretofore.

Wilbur Wright has said that his active interest in aeronautics dated
back to the account of Lilienthal’s fatal glider accident in 1896. After
studying all the literature that was handily available on the subject
of aeronautics, he aroused an equal interest in his brother Orville, and
the two of them drew some rather positive conclusions from what they
had read:

1. A fixed-wing structure was far more practical than any scheme
of flapping the wings.

2. The customary method of obtaining longitudinal and lateral con-
trol merely by shifting the operator’s weight on the craft was highly
inadequate. They felt that such a system necessitated a degree of
skill and dexterity that was impossible to attain.

3. By proportioning a wing on the basis of known lift and drag
characteristics of a chosen curved surface, and by providing a manual
system for longitudinal and lateral control, one should be able to build
an efficient glider in which considerable flight experience could be
safely accumulated.

The solution to the longitudinal control had been given previously
by the horizontal “rudder” patent issued jointly to Chanute and Mouil-

1 Paper presented at the National Aeronautic Meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers, April
17-20, 1950. Reprinted by permission of the SAE,

209

210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

lard in 1897. However, it was not until Wilbur idly twisted an
open-ended cardboard container that he conceived the idea of a biplane
wing structure, cross braced as a Pratt truss in the vertical plane of
the two spars, and yet an assembly that could be warped easily for
lateral control. The thought was promptly tested in the form of a
5-foot kite controlled by extra strings to the ground.

1900—THE FIRST YEAR’S WORK

With characteristic enthusiasm, the Wrights designed, built, and
tested their first full-scale glider (pl. 1, fig. 1) in the summer of 1900.
Our design information on this machine is very meager, it being based
solely on the two remaining photographs and flight records. Ap-
parently, the Wrights sought to attain pitching control by ground
adjustment of a fixed front horizontal “rudder,” shifting the operator’s
weight or using ballast or both, and making the “rudder” controllable.
There is no information on the latter method other than mention of it
in their writings.

Lateral control was attained by warping the wing tips, presumably
by an interconnecting wire across-ship, and somehow actuated by the
feet. There were no means whatever provided for directional control.

The wing panels had a 5-foot chord and 1614-foot span, giving a
total area of 165 square feet. The weight of the craft was 52 pounds.
The wing section had a camber ratio of 1/22, with the peak well for-
ward.

The craft was tested in three different ways: (1) As a man-carry-
ing kite in winds over 25 miles per hour; (2) as a simple kite controlled
from the ground in light winds; (3) as a glider off the hilltop. With
the craft used as a simple kite, the Z/D ratio could be computed as
6.2 from the measured pull of the tow line. Asa glider, the L/D meas-
ured 6.3.

Although their actual glider flight time totaled scarcely over 2 min-
utes for some 12 flights, the summer’s experiments did permit them to
draw some very valuable conclusions:

1. Their method of wing warp was quite satisfactory, and proper
pitching control could be obtained by means of a movable horizontal
“rudder.”

2. Their lift was less than anticipated, which they reasoned might
be due to using too flat a camber, air leak in the unfinished cloth
wing covering, or possible error in Lilienthal’s tables of lift char-
acteristics.

3. Their drag measurements were much less than they had estimated.
There seemed no explanation for this unless the Lilienthal tables were
in error.

211

WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER

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212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

FURTHER EXPERIMENTS THROUGH 1901

Encouraged by their first year’s experiments, the Wrights designed
and built a larger glider (pl. 1, fig. 2) late in the spring of 1901, with
the express purpose of improving the performance as a man-carrying
kite so that many hours of control experience could be built up at
minimum risk. To this end, the new craft had a wing spread of 22
feet, a total area of 290 square feet, and a rib section that had a camber
ratio of 1/12, to conform more closely to Lilienthal’s tables. The
new elevator was proportionately larger and was controlled by deflect-
ing its trailing edge. Apparently, the wing warp was controlled in
the same manner as in the earlier glider.

The equivalent monoplane aspect ratio of the new machine was 2.9
as compared with 2.87 for the first year. The structure weight was

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108 pounds; thus, the new wing loading was 0.37 pound per square
foot, against 0.32 pound per square foot for the earlier machine.

From the first trials of the machine, as a glider, it was soon apparent
that the new wing curve induced pitching moments that were beyond
the capacity of the front elevator to balance. They were able to avoid
disastrous stalls and dives only by shifting their body weight. By
removing the upper wing and restraining it in a high wind, they
were able to lay the trouble to center-of-pressure travel and to re-
capture the more stable performance of the first year’s craft by trus-
sing down the ribs to a lesser camber.

WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER Biles

They made many successful glides with the machine as altered,
but upon trying it as a kite, as originally intended, they found that
the lift was less than one-third of their predictions. To test whether
this was caused by porosity of the wing covering, two small test sur-
faces were measured in natural wind with negligible difference.

Aside from the valuable flight experience gained with this machine,
the summer’s observation taught them the following:

1. Published lift characteristics for curved surfaces were definitely
in error.

2. Over-all efficiency depended upon Z/D rather than lift alone.

3. The relative position of the upper and lower wings decreased
the theoretical total lift of the individual surfaces, that is, they noticed
biplane effect.

4. The customary method of expressing the air force acting on a
wing in terms of a pressure normal to the chord line had Jed them
into a misconception of the net lift and drag components. Although
they did not express their understanding of this in these words, there
seems little doubt that this was the primary motive in designing the
test instruments that will be described later.

In a paper read September 18, 1901, before the Western Society of
Engineers, primarily a society of civil engineers, Wilbur Wright men-
tioned a series of experiments that they had begun for measuring
the magnitude and direction of the forces acting on various types of
curved surfaces. We know now that these experiments began upon
their return from North Carolina and followed a rather interesting
development pattern.

The first attempt at measuring the characteristics of a surface in
model size is shown in plate 2, figure 1. Here we see a bicycle wheel
mounted horizontally on tubes extending forward from the handle-
bars of an ordinary bicycle (of their own manufacture). At one
point on the wheel was mounted a flat plate. Some 120° removed
from this point was mounted the model surface. The test surface
was adjusted in angle of attack until its lift would just balance the
flat-plate resistance riding normal to the wind when the bicycle was
pedaled forward.

In a letter to Octave Chanute, October 6, 1901, Wilbur told about
using this device and how they were able to check the ratio of the
lift of a surface at any angle of attack versus its flat-plate resistance.
Also, he noted that the Smeaton formula for flat-plate resistance,
P=0.005AV2, as used by the United States Weather Bureau, was
evidently in error, and suggested that a constant of 0.0033 would be
nearer the truth.

In this same letter, Wilbur stated that the bicycle test was very poor
for measuring surfaces at small angles and went on to describe their

214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

next device, shown in plate 2, figure 2. Note that two surfaces are
attached to a trailing arm in wind-vane fashion and each can be
adjusted until their opposing lifts balance. Later correspondence
brings out the fact that this was their first attempt at using a wind
tunnel and that it was actually made by knocking the ends out of a
box used in those days for shipping laundry starch. An air blast was
supplied from the opposite end by a screw fan turning 4,000 revolu-
tions per minute. No doubt this was driven from their machine-shop
lineshafting, which, incidentally, was driven in turn by a 2-horsepower
gasoline engine of their own design.

With this device they experimented with various aspect ratios and
curvatures. One particular observation that was recorded was the
balancing of a 1- by 3-inch curved surface at 434° against a flat plane
of the same area at 914°, whereas their reference tables indicated
they should have balanced at angles of 434° and 24° respectively.
The correspondence files include a letter to Chanute, wherein Wilbur
pointed out a number of these discrepancies. Chanute very promptly
answered back that they were comparing results taken from moving
wind measurements against measurements that had been made in still
air. It was rather amusing to note Wilbur’s reply that this should
make no difference, although he did temper his brusqueness by explain-
ing how easy it would have been for the particular investigator to
have made mistakes by the method he was using,

Compared with the first device, this method was far more accurate
and served to make many more comparisons in a short time; however,
it still did not provide the means of making direct measurements and
was soon abandoned.

The third and final type of measuring instrument was evidently
built and put into operation sometime between October 16 and No-
vember 14,1901. During that time they built a tunnel like that shown
in plate 3, figure 1. This is as near to an exact replica as it is possible
to build from the available information. The lift instrument (see pl.
3, fig. 2), which was placed at the downwind end, is an exact copy of
the original, which is now on display at the Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia.

Perhaps the most unique feature of this instrument is the way in
which the lift of a model surface is made to balance the flat-plate
resistance of four small fingers on the lower bar. The shackle arms
which support the upper crossbeam are snug on the vertical pins and
are adjusted so that they trail straight with the wind stream. Since
the resistance or lower beam must ride at some angle to the side in
order to balance the lift of the test surface, it is obvious that the sine
of the angle observed on the scale is the true lift coefficient. Angle
of attack was recorded by separate protractor. A two-bladed 24-

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker PLATE 1

1. THE 1900 GLIDER

2. THE 1901 GLIDER

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker

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Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker

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2. LIFT-MEASURING INSTRUMENT

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker PLATE 4

1. INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING DRAG

2. TEST SPECIMENS USED IN WIND TUNNEL

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker PLATE 5

1. RECHECK VANE

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2. 1902 GLIDER

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker PLATE 6

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Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Baker PLATE

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WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER 215

inch-diameter propeller fan mounted on the shaft of their shop bench
grinder driven at 3,000 revolutions per minute provided a wind veloc-
ity of about 27 miles per hour. The precautions taken to insure a
straight flow included the quadrant shield, a grid frame, and small
areas of wire mesh at strategic points on the grid.

The files indicate that the Wrights had a method of altering this
instrument to measure drag, but as it was not too satisfactory they
soon developed a separate instrument for that purpose. Plate 4,
figure 1, shows that the drag instrument was just as ingenious as the
other, but with the difference that here they measured D/Z rather
than drag alone. Note that the lift acts in the direction of the shackle
arms, and, therefore, the tangent of the angle indicated by the dial
pointer is really the prevailing Y/Z ratio. The angle of attack
could be adjusted readily by turning the whole assembly about its
mounting screw. The product of the lift coefficient and the D/Z
ratio for any model and setting gave the drag coefficient.

Each of these instruments is surprisingly sensitive when acted upon
by even a very light breeze. By closing all doors and windows of
their shop and allowing no one to move about in the room, they ob-
tained data which requires very little fairing to plot as smooth curves.

Plate 4, figure 2, is a photograph of their remaining test models,
and text figures 1 and 2 are reproductions of two pages from their
“little black notebook” giving some of their typical data.

At the beginning of this test work, the Wrights believed that lift
was proportional to the angle of attack, and we can well imagine
their surprise at suddenly observing one day that the lift for one
particular surface was the same at 30° as it was at 50°. Here again,
we note their ingenuity in mounting two of this type surface on vane
arms at 80° spread, checking to see if the surfaces balanced in the
tunnel at 30° and 50°. This device is shown in plate 5, figure 1.

At the completion of their test program, the Wright brothers not
only had an imposing collection of measured data but were also able
to draw the following conclusions:

1. Increasing aspect ratio does not increase maximum lift but does
lower the attack angle at which maximum lift occurs.

2. Curvature gives greater lift to a surface and a steadier rate of
increase.

3. The camber ratio of a curved surface has a more marked effect
on drag.

4, By having the maximum-camber point forward, lift is increased
at the smaller angles.

They observed the inefficiency of biplane effect. Also they observed
the effects of the taper and cut-outs in the wing plan form. They noted
the stall point, although they didn’t define it as such.

922758—_51——15

216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The accuracy of these conclusions is truly amazing when we con-
sider the size of their models and the short time they had to accumu-
late the information. We must not overlook the fact that this was
quite contradictory to and beyond the work of all other investigators
who were “better” equipped. The importance of this phase of their
work is best expressed in Wilbur’s own words of 1908, “As soon as
our condition is such that constant attention to our business is not
required, we expect to prepare for publication the results of our
laboratory experiments, which alone made an early solution of the
flying problem possible.” Unfortunately, this ambition was never
fulfilled. This phase of their work was completed in February of
1902.

ADVANCED GLIDER WORK IN 1902

Fortified with considerable flight experience and much design data
in which they had complete confidence, the Wrights returned to North
Carolina in the late summer of 1902 and constructed their third glider.
(See pl. 5, fig. 2, and pl. 6, fig. 1.)

From the photograph it is apparent that this machine incorporated
all the refinements found necessary in the earlier models and, in addi-
tion, was fitted with a pair of fixed vertical fins for directional stability.

The new wing section had a camber ratio of 1/25, with the high
point well forward. The total wing area was 305 square feet, the
front elevator had an area of 15 square feet, and the total area of the
vertical tail fins was 1124 square feet. The wing span was 32 feet
1 inch with a chord of 60 inches or an equivalent monoplane aspect
ratio of 3.91. The gross weight without operator was 116.5 pounds.
The elevator was controlled by a window-sash cord over pulleys
(by the hand), and wing warp was operated by wires running from
a cradle in which the operator’s hips rested.

The lft-drag ratio of the new machine was soon established in a
measured glide as 8.77. Ratio of their best previous machine had
been slightly less than 6. The new elevator was very efficient, re-
quiring only 3° either side to maintain complete pitch control. By
flying the upper wing alone as a kite and by measuring all their glides
carefully, they substantiated the results of their wind-tunnel
experiments.

In addition to the valuable flight experience they accumulated on
this machine in almost 1,000 glides during two months, they learned
how to overcome a rather vicious tendency to stall in the turns by re-
placing the fixed vertical fins with a single movable rudder controlled
by interconnection with wing warping. They later revealed this idea
in their patent No. 821393 granted May 22, 1906.

The season’s work gave them utmost confidence in their ability to
add an engine and continue their work in powered flight.

WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER DIZ
POWERED FLIGHT IN 1903

The year 1903 must have been an exceedingly busy one for the
Wright brothers. In March they applied for their first patent; on
June 18 Wilbur wrote a letter stating that their engine developed
15.6 horsepower at the “brake,” thus indicating its early completion;
and we know that by fall they were in North Carolina making final
assembly of the airplane. In addition to all this, they still found
considerable time that fall to practice flying in the previous year’s
glider.

The year’s work reached its culmination when four successful flights
were made on December 17—the first, of 12 seconds duration, was
made by Orville and the last and longest, 59 seconds, was made by
Wilbur. Wilbur had first tried the machine 3 days earlier but, by
overcontrolling, damaged the structure on landing and thus yielded
the distinction of being the first man to fly a powered craft to his
brother. This is all the flying that was ever done on the 1903 airplane.

From study of the design details of this machine (now on public
display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington) it is easy to
note the general characteristics that are similar to the 1902 glider.
The front elevators were doubled and actuated by a unique arrange-
ment of controls such that the surfaces not only deflected in the desired
direction but also changed in camber, that is, positive camber for
“nose-up” and negative camber for “nose-down.” The wing-warp
system was retained but was refined by better routing of the control
wires and the use of bellcranks. The vertical rudders were made
multiple surfaces and interconnected with the wing warp as before.
Note that, as always, the warp wires served not only as controls but
also as structure rigging wires.

For the first time, we see cloth covering used on both the top and
bottom surfaces of each wing. The wings were intentionally rigged
to a 10-inch droop measured at the tips. This was the equivalent of
a negative 214° dihedral.

The wing proportions yield on computation an equivalent mono-
plane aspect ratio of 3.82; and at 12 horsepower and their speed of
30 miles per hour, it appears that their Z/D ratio for level flight was
approximately 5.

The ship was taken off (without assist) from a 60-foot monorail.
Most of the craft’s weight rested on a jettisonable cradle attached to
a ball-bearing hub from a shop wheel. A smaller wheel made from
a bicycle-wheel hub was permanently attached to the front skid. The
ship was restrained by a cable until released by the operator. A small
string from the release cable pulled the fuel valve to wide-open posi-
tion and then broke readily as the ship moved forward.

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

218

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WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER 219

Throughout all their writings, the Wrights seemed to depreciate
the design of their early engines, and yet, as we look over their work
now, we see innumerable instances of outstanding ingenuity.

The Kitty Hawk had a horizontal four-cylinder engine of 4-inch
bore (chosen for high displacement) and 4-inch stroke (chosen
in the interest of light weight). The cylinders were individual cast-
iron units fitted into a single-piece cast-aluminum crankcase that
extended far enough to form a water jacket around the cylinder bar-
rels. A camshaft driven from the crankshaft by a chain operated
the exhaust valves and the individual breaker arms for cylinder fir-
ing. The intake valves were spring closed and opened by natural
aspiration.

The crankshaft was machined from a solid 1%,-inch-thick sheet of
armor plate and had five babbitted main bearings. The rear end of the
crankshaft was fitted with a 15-inch-diameter flywheel weighing 26
pounds and a double sprocket for driving the propeller chains. The
crankshaft was lubricated by splash and strategically placed troughs.
The connecting rods were tubular with bronze fittings—pinned and
soft soldered—and the crank ends were babbitted. The pistons were
lubricated by small engine oil cups near the end of the stroke.

The ignition for running was supplied by a low-tension horseshoe
generator with induced electromotive field, driven by a contact wheel
against the flywheel. A starter box, not carried in the airplane, con-
taining four dry-cell batteries and a homemade inductance coil made
by wrapping bell wire around a core of cut lengths of broom wire,
furnished a hot spark for starting only. The spark timing was re-
tarded for starting by a cam movement to advance the normal position
of the camshaft sprocket, thus changing the exhaust-valve timing
at the same time. Most of the “old-timers” recall that the Wrights’
early engines started easily. Cooling water for the engine was sup-
plied by thermosiphon flow from a long narrow radiator mounted on
one of the center-section struts.

The fuel system involved simply gravity flow from the gasoline tank
mounted near the top of one center-section strut, through a copper line
leading to a shallow enclosed and baffled pan covering the four cylin-
ders above their water jacket. There were two valves in the fuel line,
the first for metering adjustment and the second for full throw between
open and closed positions. The only way to stop this engine was to
close this second valve. The dimensions of the fuel tank indicate an
actual capacity of three-eighths gallon.

It has often been stated that the power dropped from 16 to 12 horse-
power after warm-up and we can only surmise that this was due to the
type of carburetion used, the inherently late intake timing, and the
15-cent kerosene-byproduct fuel that was available.

220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The instrumentation provided was solely for the purpose of obtain-
ing flight records. A Veeder counter on the engine recorded total
revolutions from its start until starvation took place after closing the
fuel valve. A Richards anemometer, with interconnected stop watch
actuated by a cord from the fuel valve, measured the air traversed in
meters.

It may be interesting to note that by the old ALAM formula,

IPN
2.5

horsepower =

where D is the diameter of the cylinders in inches, and ¥ the number
of cylinders, the engine’s power is 25.6 horsepower.

The Wrights always said that their most difficult design problem
on the first airplane was that of the propeller. Since the empirical
formulas of marine propellers seemed not readily adaptable to air per-
formance, they worked out a practical solution of their own, which
was quite adequate and commendable. By taking scattered bits of
formulae and notes throughout their diaries, one can reconstruct their
theory and can best explain it by working out a sample computation
of power required.

DEVELOPMENT WORK IN 1904 AND 1905

A second airplane was built in 1904 and tested at Dayton through-
out the summers of 1904 and 1905. This airplane is of particular in-
terest in that it was really the development step between the 1903
prototype and the “practical flyer,” as Wilbur put it.

There were very few basic changes in the new wing cellule. The
front elevators were made larger and moved forward 1 foot. The
elevator support and skid structure was improved upon, and the
rudder was raised for more ground clearance. Also, fixed vertical fins
were added at the front elevators. AJl changes made on this machine
resulted in a 105-pound weight increase over the prototype.

The engine for this airplane was basically the same except for certain
improvements :

1. Bore was increased to 414 from 4 inches.

2. A gear-type oil pump, driven from the camshaft, was added.

3. The fuel tank was made to hold a full gallon.

4, A compression release was added to stop the engine without wait-
ing for the fuel to exhaust. This release was in the form of a rod which
pulled four small spring clips into place to hold all exhaust valves
open.

Several notebook notations indicated that the engine was now de-
veloping 14.1 horsepower at 1,070 revolutions per minute and 19.8
horsepower at 1,300 revolutions per minute.

WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER yas

SIGNAL CORPS SPECIFICATION, NO. 486.

ADVERTISEMENT AND SPECIFICATION FOR A HEAVIEK-THAN-AIR FLYING MACIIINE.

To THE PUBLIC:

Sealed proposals, in duplicate, will be recoived at this office until 12 o'clock noon on February 1,
1908, on behalf of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification for furnishing the Signal Corps with «
heavier-than-sir fying machine. All proposals received will be tarned over to the Board of Ordiance
and Fortification at its first meeting after Februnry 1 for its officini action.

Persons wishing to submit proposals uniler this specification can obtain the necessary forms anit
envelopes by application to the Chief Signal Officer, United States Army, War Department, Washington,
D. C. The United States reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

Unless the bidders are also the manufacturers of the flying machine they must stato the name and
place of the maker.

Preliminary.—This specification covors the construction of » flying machine supported entirely by
the dynamic reaction of the atmosphere and having no gas bag.

Acceplance.—The flying machine will be accepted only xfier » successful trial Mizht, during which
it will comply with all requirements of this specification. No payments on account will be made until
after the trint! flight und acceptance.

Inspeclion.—The Government reserves the right to inspoct any and all processes of manufacture.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS,

Tho general dimensions of the flying. machino will be determined by the manufacturer, subject to
the following conditions:

1, Bidders must submit with their proposals the following:

(a) Drawings to scale showing the general dimensions and shapo of the Myinug machine which
they propose to build undor this specification.

(b) Statement of the speod for which it is designed.

(c) Statement of tho. total surface aren of the supporting planes.

(d) Statement of the total weight.

(¢) Description of the engine which will be used for motive power.

(J) The material of which the frame, planes, and propellers will be constracted. Plans recelved
will not be shown to other bidders. A

2. It is desirable that the flying machino should bo designed so that it may be quickly and eastty
assembled and taken apart and packed for transportation in army wagons, It should be capable of
being assembled and put in operating condition in about one hour.

3. The flying machine must be designed to carry two persons having a combined weight of nbout
350 pounds, alse sufficient fuel for a flight of 125 miles.

4. The flying machine should be designed to have n speed of at least forty miles per hour in still
air, but bidders must submit quotations in their proposals for cost depending upon the speed attained
during the trial flight, according to the following senle:

40 miles pex hour, 100 per cent,

39 miles per hour, 90 per cont,

38 miles por hour, 80 por cent.

37 miles per hour, 70 per cont.

36 miles por hour, 60 per cent.

Lexs than 36 miles per hour rejected.
41 miles por hour, 110 per cent.

42 miles per hour, 120 per cont.

43 miles per hour, 130 per cent.

44 miles per hour, 140 per cent.

5. The apeed accomplished during tho trial flight will be determined by taking an average of the
time over a measured course of more than five miles, against and with the wind. The time will be taken
by 8 flying start, prssing the starting point nt full spoed at both ends of the course. This test subject
to such additional details as the Chief Signal Officer of the Army mny prescribo at the time.

6. Before acceptonce a trial endurance flight will be required of at least one hour during which time
tho flying machino must remain continuously in the air without landing. It shall return to the starting
point and land without any damage that would prevant it immediately starting upon another flight.
During this trinl flight of one hour it must be stcered in all directions without difficulty and at all times
under porfect control and equilibriam. :

7. Three trials will be allowed for speed as provided for in paragraphs 4and 5. Three trials for
endurance as provided forin paragraph 6, and both tests must be completed within a period of thirty
days from the date of delivery. The expense of the tests to be borne by thé manufacturer, The place
of delivery to the Government and trial flights will be at Fort Myer, Virginia.

8. It should be so designed as to nscend in any country which may be encountered in ficld service.
The starting device must bo simplo and transportable. It should also land in a# field without requiring
8 specially prepared spot and without damaging ils structire.

9. It should be provided with some dovics to permit of a safe descent in case of an accident to the
propelling mychinery

10. It should be sufficiently simplo in its construction and operation to permit an intelligent man to
become proficient in its uso within a reasonnble length of time.

11. Bidders must furnish evidenco that the Government of the United Stites has the lawful right to
use all patented devices or appurtenances which may be a part of the flying machine, and that tho
manufacturers of tho flying machine are authorized to convey the same to the Government. ‘This refers
to the unrestricted right to use the flying machine sold to the Government, but does not contemplate the
exclusive purchase of patent rights for duplicating the flying machine.

12. Bidders will bo required to furnish with their proposal a certified check amounting to ten
percent of the price stated for the 40-;nile speed. Upon making the award for this fying machine
theso certified checks will be returned to the bidders, and the successful bidder will be required to furnish
a bond, according to Army Regulations, of the amount equal to the price stated for the 40-mile speed.

13. The price quoted in proposals must be understood to include the instruction of two men in the
handling and operation of this flying machine. No extra charge for this service will be allowed.

14. Bidders must state the time which will be required for delivery after receipt of order.

JAMES ALLEN,
Briyadier General, Chief Signai Officer of the army.
SIGNAL OFFICE,
Wasutxuton, D. C., December 23, 1907.

Figure 4.—Reproduction of the specification sheet for the first U. S. Army
airplane.

222, ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The most notable features of this machine are quite well known.
Briefly, they are:

1. Flight range increased to 24 miles.

2. Endurance increased to over 38 minutes.

3. Catapult used for launching.

4, Rudder operated independently. It was concurrent with, al-
though not attributable to, this change that the Wrights learned to
avoid stalls in the turn by careful use of the elevator instead of trying
to correct entirely with the rudder.

PREPARING FOR THE FIRST SALE IN 1908

The years 1906 and 1907 were devoted to intense developing and
testing of an airplane that would be of practical value to the United
States Army. In 1908 the final form of this machine was successfully
demonstrated by Orville to carry two occupants over a closed 125-mile
course at a speed of 42 miles per hour.

In this machine, a new vertical engine was used to provide space for
the extra passenger. The hip yoke for the wing warp was replaced
by a hand lever, both occupants now sitting upright. The rudder con-
trol was not interconnected.

The engine was now equipped with four 43¢- by 414-inch cylinders,
developing a maximum total of 39 hoursepower at 1,600 revolutions
per minute. The water jacket was no longer cast integral with the
crankcase, there being individual thin-walled castings around each
of the cylinders. There was still no water cooling of the heads. Igni-
tion for starting and running was furnished by a “Mea” magneto
through high-tension cable to single spark plugs. Both the magneto
and the camshaft were gear-driven.

There were two gear pumps driven by the camshaft, the first an oil
pump furnishing lubricant to the main bearings and the second a fuel
pump. Each connecting rod had a small, drilled finger scoop for its
lubrication. The engine was stopped by the compression release de-
vice used in the 1904-05 engine. An intake manifold with internal
baffling conducted the fuel mixture to each cylinder. Fuel was intro-
duced through a small jet orifice into an open air-intake tube leading
into the center of the intake manifold.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In a paper of this length it is impossible to cover all the many
incidents of historical interest, the lack, it is hoped, being compen-
sated for by a more complete recording of the steps taken to develop
one of our greatest inventions from first conception to a “reduction
to practice” salable machine.

WRIGHT BROTHERS—BAKER 220

The Wright brothers made mistakes in their 9 years of work to be
sure and can easily be accused of doing some things the “hard way,”
but a serious student of their work cannot avoid developing respect
for the engineering ability of these two men.

If there is a keynote to be noticed, it would best be expressed as bal-
ance. In their thinking they balanced the advantages against the dis-
advantages, in their measuring they balanced the unknown against the
known, and in their flight instruction to others they stressed the devel-
opment of a sense of balance. Perhaps it was their skill as expert
bicycle riders in boyhood that influenced their way of thinking in
maturity.

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CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT AND HOPE FOR THE
FUTURE?

By Linus C. PavLine

California Institute of Technology

The past hundred years have witnessed the transition of chemistry
from an essentially empirical and descriptive science to a largely
exact and theoretical one. One hundred years ago the properties of
many chemical substances had been investigated, the difference between
elements and compounds had been recognized, analytical chemistry
had been developed to such an extent as to be a reliable tool, many
methods of synthesis of inorganic and organic substances had been
discovered, and the foundations had been laid for an extensive chem-
ical industry. However, the correct atomic weights of the elements
had not yet been generally accepted, so that the formula of water was
still written as HO by many chemists. The idea of valence had not
yet been formulated: it was not until 5 years later that the statement
was first made (by E. Frankland in England) that atoms have a
definite combining power, which determines the formulas of com-
pounds. The first structural formulas for molecules were not drawn
until 1858, when Archibald S. Couper introduced the idea of the
valence bond; in the same year August Kekulé, in Germany, showed
that carbon is quadrivalent. During the next half century chemistry
developed very rapidly, to become the great science—and powerful
art—that it is today.

HISTORY OF CHEMICAL THERMODYNAMICS

In 1847 J. Willard Gibbs, whom Wilhelm Ostwald has called the
founder of chemical thermodynamics, was a child 8 years old. The
first law of thermodynamics—the law of conservation of energy—had
not yet been accepted by physicists, although Joule had recently made
his determination of the mechanical equivalent of heat. It was not
until a year later, in 1848, that Hermann Helmholtz recognized the
importance of Joule’s work and followed its implications through
various problems in chemistry, physics, and biology. The second law
of thermodynamics had been formulated by S. Carnot in 1824, but

1 Reprinted by permission from The Centennial of the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale
University Press, 1950.

225

226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

it was not until 1851 that Lord Kelvin and Clausius combined it with
the first law to produce the present science of thermodynamics, in its
application to physical phenomena. Then, in the period between
1873 and 1878, Willard Gibbs published his great papers dealing
with the application of thermodynamics to chemical phenomena.
Gibbs’ work put the science of chemical thermodynamics in nearly
its final form; only one more great discovery remained to be made—
that of the third law of thermodynamics, by W. Nernst at the begin-
ning of the twentieth century.

Let us contrast the knowledge about a chemical reaction available
in 1847 with that in 1947. In 1847 a reaction involving the conversion
of certain reactant substances into certain products, such as nitrogen
and hydrogen into ammonia, could be discussed only to the extent that
direct experimental information, obtained by observing the reaction
itself, was at hand. Only if the reactants had actually been observed
to combine to form the products could the process be said to be a pos-
sible chemical reaction. The amount of heat evolved or absorbed
during the reaction would have been known only if the reaction had
actually taken place, and the heat evolution or absorption had been
measured. ‘The question of increasing the yield of the product could
not have been discussed at all, for there was no knowledge as to whether
increasing the temperature, increasing the pressure, or making other
changes in the system would increase or decrease the amount of product
obtained. In 1947 it was possible, from knowledge of the thermody-
namic properties of the reactant substances and the products, to pre-
dict, for a reaction that has never been observed to occur, most of its
important characteristics—the amount of heat that would be evolved
or absorbed when the reaction takes place, and the extent to which it
would take place, in its dependence on temperature, pressure, con-
centrations of the reactants, and other factors. There still remains,
however, one most important question to which a definite answer can-
not in general be given. This is the question as to the rate at which the
reaction will take place under given circumstances. We are not yet
able to make predictions about this rate of reaction, except for certain
simple systems. The field of chemical thermodynamics is in nearly its
final state of development; the field of chemical kinetics is just begin-
ning to be developed.

Chemical thermodynamics, like nearly every other field of chem-
istry, has been influenced by the great progress that has taken place
in the extension of our knowledge of atomic and molecular structure
during the past few decades. The electron itself was discovered in
1897, and the atomic nucleus in 1911; since then a penetrating and
detailed understanding of the electronic and atomic structure of
matter has been obtained, and chemists are now able to talk about the

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 227.

electronic and atomic architecture of molecules and crystals almost
as confidently as architects can talk about the structural elements of
skyscrapers and bridges. By the methods of spectroscopy, X-ray
diffraction, and electron diffraction accurate interatomic distances
have been determined for thousands of substances. The magnitudes
of the forces operating between the atoms have also been determined
experimentally for very many molecules and crystals. Further in-
formation about the nature of substances has been obtained by the
application of many different techniques of modern physics—the
study of the diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic prop-
erties of the substances, their electrical properties, and the spectros-
copy not only of the visible, infrared, X-ray, and ultraviolet regions,
but even, in recent years, of the microwave and long-wave radio
regions of the spectrum. The structural knowledge obtained in this
way about molecules permits the calculation of thermodynamic prop-
erties for many substances.

A significant start has already been made on the task of formu-
lating a complete system of chemical thermodynamics of pure sub-
stances. This task involves the determination for each substance at
one temperature of its enthalpy, relative to the elements that compose
it. It is further necessary to determine the entropy of the substance
at one temperature, which can be done by any one of three methods:
the measurement of a chemical equilibrium involving the substance
and other substances of known thermodynamic properties, the meas-
urement of the heat capacity down to very low temperatures and the
application of the third law of thermodynamics, or the calculation of
the entropy from structural data obtained by spectroscopic and
diffraction methods. Knowledge of the heat capacity of the sub-
stance over a wide range of temperatures, obtained either by direct
experiment or by calculation from known structural properties, then
permits the extension of the tables of thermodynamic properties over
this temperature range. It may well be expected that at some time
in the distant future there will be available extensive tables of the
enthalpy, entropy, and free energy of thousands of substances over
wide ranges of conditions. There would then still remain, however,
the problem of the thermodynamic properties of solutions, for which
no such simple and inclusive set of data could be formulated.

It is interesting to note that, in a practical sense, the third law of
thermodynamics differs from the first and second laws, in that it
cannot be applied completely independently of structural considera-
tions. In general, thermodynamic deductions are expected to be in-
dependent of any structural considerations, and to be reliable, pro-
vided only that true thermodynamic equilibrium has been approxi-
mated or achieved in the experiment. Investigations carried out

228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

during the past 25 years, especially by Prof. William F. Giauque, have
shown, however, that the applications of the third law of thermody-
namics to the calculation of entropy values for crystalline substances
by measurements of heat capacity made at low temperatures are often
not reliable in practice, unless there is available some structural in-
formation about the residual entropy of the crystals at the lowest
temperatures at which measurements are made. Thus some simple
substances, such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and
nitrogen dioxide, have residual entropies of significant amount, caused
by such structural features as a randomness of orientation of molecules
in the crystal lattice. It may be said, with justice, that the experiments
have not yet been carried out to sufficiently low temperatures, or that
sufficient time has not been allowed for the crystals to achieve a state
of true thermodynamic equilibrium ; nevertheless, the practical prob-
lem still exists—the reliable application of the third law of ther-
modynamics requires a penetrating understanding of the structure
of the crystalline substance under investigation.

The recent decades have seen an extraordinary development of the
art of eryogenics, the production of low temperature. The pioneer
work of Dewar was extended by Kamerlingh Onnes, whose feat of
reaching a temperature as low as 0.71° K. seemed for many years to be
incapable of significant betterment. Then, in 1924, Giauque suggested
and later put into practice the astounding new method of cooling
by demagnetization, with which he and other investigators have been
able to reach temperatures as low as about 0.001° K.

Although the production of low temperatures might well be con-
sidered to be a part of the science of physics, the fact that this final
great achievement of reaching the temperature of 0.001° K. was
made by a professor of chemistry, using a method invented by himself,
justifies mention of it in this discussion. The work done by Professor
Giauque illustrates the fact that the border line between chemistry
and physics is a difficult one to define, as is also the border line between
chemistry and biology. The logarithmic dependence of certain ther-
modynamic quantities on temperature is, of course, responsible for the
great difficulty found in decreasing the temperature by successive
factors of 10, and leads to the theorem of the impossibility of reaching
the absolute zero itself. It has recently been pointed out to me by
Prof. Franz Simon at Oxford, however, that it is not true that there
is an interesting portion of nature to which access is denied to man,
namely, the portion of nature that deals with the properties of matter
at temperatures lower than those that can ever be achieved in the
laboratory. Professor Simon points out that the only low-temperature
range that is inaccessible to man is that in which no interesting phe-
nomena occur, because if any phenomena were to occur, they them-

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 229

selves could be used as the method of achieving the low temperature.

Let us now return to the basis of chemistry—the atoms of the chemi-
cal elements. The last hundred years have seen the systematization
of the elements through the periodic system of Mendeleev, the assign-
ment of precise atomic weights to most of the known elements, the
discovery of the elements predicted by the unfilled sequences in
Mendeleev’s table, as well as the unanticipated series of noble gases,
and, finally, in recent years, the development of modern alchemy, the
conversion of one element into another, and the artificial production
of new elements. Now that four transuranium elements have been
reported—neptunium, plutonium, americium, and curium—we may
look forward with confidence to the announcement that still more new
elements have been made,? and that practical methods of manufacture
in large quantities of the most rare of the lighter elements have also
been developed. We may well expect that in the future world nuclear
chemistry will be found of the greatest value in many ways, not only
in the production of new elements and in the use of radioactive ele-
ments as tracers, but also in causing new chemical reactions through
bombardment with high-energy particles.

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Inorganic chemistry has been making steady progress. The in-
organic chemist of today has a great advantage over his fellow of
preceding generations, in that he has a thorough understanding of the
molecular structure of most of the substances with which he is work-
ing, and of the relation between the physical and chemical properties
of the substances and their structures. An illustration of the useful-
ness of structural knowledge is provided by the recent development of
substances that are similar to organic compounds, but with silicon
atoms, which form the same tetrahedral bonds as carbon, in place of
some or all of the carbon atoms.

The first substance of this nature was made half a century ago. It
had not been found possible to make in large quantities the substance
diamond, which is a very useful material because it is the hardest of
all known substances. However, it was found possible to make a new
substance with the same tetrahedral structure as diamond, but with
half of the carbon atoms replaced by silicon atoms—the substance
silicon carbide, which has now for many years found extensive use as
anabrasive. Then it was found that other compounds of silicon could
be made, the silicones, which have, in place of long chains of carbon
atoms, chains of silicon atoms (usually with oxygen atoms inter-
spersed, in a sort of ether linkage), with methyl groups or other side

?The manufacture of two more transuranium elements, berkelium and californium, was
announced eariy in 1950.

230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

chains attached. The silicones have many very useful properties.
They can be used as insulating lacquers, permitting electrical motors
to be built for operation at much higher temperatures than with or-
ganic insulators. Silicone rubber can be made, especially for use at
higher temperatures than those withstood by ordinary natural rubber
or synthetic rubber. Some of the silicone oils have a very valuable
property, that of changing their viscosity only a small amount with
change in temperature—a property that seems to be due to the tend-
ency of the molecules to coil into a roughly spherical shape at low
temperatures, and hence to roll over one another relatively easily,
whereas at higher temperatures, at which the molecules uncoil, they
become entangled with one another, and thus overcome in large part
the normal tendency of a liquid to show a pronounced decrease in
viscosity with increase in temperature.

The chemistry of fluorine has made great progress in recent years.
The valuable properties of new compounds of fluorine depend on the
volatility of fluorine compounds and the low chemical reactivity of the
carbon-fluorine bond. Useful fluorine compounds include the freons,
such as CF,Cl,, which are used as the fluid in refrigerating machines
and as nontoxic solvents for insecticides and other solutes, and the
fluorine-carbon high polymers, such as the extremely unreactive plastic
that is formed by the polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene.

An interesting recent development in inorganic chemistry is that
of new techniques for growing large crystals for special purposes.
During the war it was found possible to grow large crystals, weighing
many pounds, of such substances as ethylenediammonium tartrate,
valuable because of their piezoelectric properties, which find use in
radar and other fields of modern physics. In Germany, an interest-
ing technique of growing large crystals of synthetic mica was de-
veloped, a technique which depends for its success on the orientation
of the growing crystal in a strong magnetic field.

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

The art of organic chemistry and the science of organic chemistry
have moved along steadily hand in hand. Organic chemists develop
a feeling for the chemical properties of the many substances with
which they work which goes far beyond the systematized theoretical
knowledge that they can express; but the theory of organic chemistry
has nevertheless now developed to such a state that the science is no
longer a mysterious one, purely an art whose practice depends on the
application of empirical rules. It is now possible for the organic
chemist to use his knowledge of molecular structure to predict, with
some confidence, that certain reactions could be carried out to produce
products with certain desired properties. One most interesting appli-

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 234

cation of this new method in organic chemistry has been to the manu-
facture of high polymers, such as the new fibrous and _ plastic
substances, which were synthesized in consequence of predictions of
their properties made upon the basis of considerations of molecular
structure.

The methods used by the organic chemist become more powerful
from decade to decade. He now has at hand techniques of very high-
pressure hydrogenation, the use of catalysts specific to certain reac-
tions, powerful techniques of separation such as chromatographic
analysis and molecular distillation, and new physical methods for
structural studies such as X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy. A
very interesting example of the interrelation between organic chem-
istry and other fields was provided during the war by the concerted
attack on the problem of the structure of penicillin. The organic
chemists who were working on the problem found it impossible to
determine the correct structure by the conventional methods, because
the molecule has some structural characteristics that had not appeared
before in any known substances, and it remained for physical chemists
and physicists, using the techniques of X-ray diffraction and infrared
spectroscopy, to determine the structure for them.

CHEMISTRY IN RELATION TO BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE

It is the field of chemistry in relation to biology and medicine in
which most striking progress has been made in recent decades, and
which offers the most promise for the future. Biologists now are
becoming chemists; they isolate vitamins, hormones, enzymes, acety]-
choline in nervous processes, histamine in anaphylaxis and allergic
responses, plant-growth factors, wound-healing substances, flowering
substances, substances to hold the fruit on the trees and to ripen the
fruit after it has left the trees. No longer is it possible for a chemist
to achieve a feeling of superiority to the biologist simply by quoting
some complex chemical formulas—nor, indeed, for the physicist to
overcome the chemist by quoting some complex mathematics.

And in medicine, as in biology, a new future is drawing near—a
future of great progress through ever closer cooperation with the
basic sciences. There has been great progress in medicine during the
past century. In 40 years the mean expectancy of life has increased
from 49 to 65 years. Mortality from childhood diseases—diphtheria,
scarlet fever, whooping cough—has decreased in 25 years to 10 percent
of its previous value. Other infectious diseases are in the main well
under control by vaccines, serums, the sulfa drugs, and now penicillin.
Shakespeare mentioned “the rotten diseases of the south, the guts-
griping, ruptures, catarrhs, loads o’gravel i’ the back, lethargies, cold

9227585116

232 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing lungs, bladders full of
imposthume, sciaticas, lime-kilns 7 the palm, incurable bone-ache, and
the riveled fee-simple of the tetter.” Most of these diseases are no
longer important: there are now no serious cases, so far as I know,
of riveled fee-simple of the tetter, but “incurable bone-ache,” under
which we might include arthritis, is a very serious disease, of which
little control has been obtained. There are still virus diseases that
are very troublesome—poliomyelitis, influenza, the common cold.
Then there remains the problem of the degenerative diseases—cancer,
heart disease, cerebral disease, nephritis—which, as control of other
diseases is obtained, are becoming increasingly important. To attack
these great medical problems new basic knowledge is needed about
the nature of cells and of physiological processes, and about the
chemotherapeutic action, as well as the normal physiological action,
of chemical substances.

STRUCTURAL BASIS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

The greatest problem that remains to be solved is that of the struc-
tural basis of the physiological activity of chemical substances. When
once this problem has been solved, and when it has become possible to
determine in detail the molecular structure of the vectors of disease
and of the constituents of the cells of the human body, we shall be
able to draw up the specifications of the specific therapeutic agent to
protect the body against a specific danger, and then to proceed to
synthesize the agent according to the specifications. So far, we bave
only the hint that chemotherapeutic agents may act through competi-
tion with essential metabolites, as in the competition, pointed out by
Woods and Fildes, of the sulfa drugs with p-aminobenzoic acid.

I believe that this problem—that of the nature of the competition
of two substances presumably for specific combination with some part
of a living cell—is very closely related to the general problem of the
nature of the forces that lead to the striking specificity of properties
shown by many biological substances, especially the native proteins
and polysaccharides. I believe that these forces are also operative in
the phenomenon of self-duplication shown by viruses, genes, and other
biological entities. I myself have been especially interested in the
specific forces operating between an antibody molecule and the mole-
cules of antigens or haptens with which it has the power of specific
combination. My interest in this problem was developed over 10
years ago in conversations with Dr. Kar] Landsteiner, and the work
that my collaborators and I have done has consisted largely in the
extension and refinement of investigations initiated by Dr. Landsteiner.

Let us review briefly the basic phenomena of immunochemistry.
When a foreign material of large molecular weight—a protein or

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 233

polysaccharide, either pure or part of the structure of an animal
or plant cell—is injected into an animal, such as a rabbit, the animal
in the course of a few days may develop in its blood and within its
cells substances called antibodies which have the power of specific
combination with the injected material, the antigen. Thus, when a
particular animal or plant protein is injected into a rabbit, the rabbit
develops in its blood antibodies which are capable of combining with
that protein, but not, or at any rate only very exceptionally, capable
of combining with any of the tens of thousands of other proteins
which exist in nature. For example, an antiserum made by injecting
hemoglobin obtained from one animal into a rabbit is able to combine
with that form of hemoglobin, but not with hemoglobin obtained
from the red cells of other animals, except those of very closely re-
lated species. The act of combination of antibody and its homologous
antigen may be shown by several different phenomena, such as the
agglutination of cells, in the case of a cellular antigen, the formation
of a precipitate on mixing a solution of antigen and its homologous
antibody, the allergic response of a sensitized animal on receiving
a subsequent injection of the antigen, and the lysis or other changed
behavior of cells to which antibody has attached itself.

The phenomena of immunochemistry raise two great questions.
The first concerns the nature of the forces between antibody and
antigen, which lead to the power of selective combination of anti-
body and the homologous antigen and the rejection of other molecules,
except those very closely related to the homologous antigen. The
second problem is that of the mechanism of the manufacture of the
antibody, and of its endowment with this power of specific
combination.

The great versatility of living organisms in their production of
specific antibodies was shown by the early work of Landsteiner with
artificial conjugated proteins as antigens. Landsteiner found that
it was possible to cause an animal to make antibodies with the power
of specific combination with various chemical substances of known
structure. He achieved this by attaching these chemical substances
to a protein molecule, which was then injected into a rabbit. The
rabbit, under the influence of the injected protein, produced an anti-
serum containing antibodies capable in general of combining with
the particular protein that was used in making the artificial conju-
gated protein, and also capable of combining with the attached
chemical substances. For example, an antiserum prepared by cou-
pling diazotized p-aminobenzenearsonic acid with ovalbumin was
found to form a precipitate with this particular azoprotein, and in
addition to precipitate, in smaller amounts, ovalbumin itself and also
any azoprotein made by coupling diazotized p-aminobenzenearsonic

234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

acid with another protein, such as sheep serum albumin. The pre-
cipitation by the antiserum of such an azoprotein, in which the pro-
tein part is completely different from that of the immunizing
azoprotein, is evidence that some of the antibodies in the antiserum
have a specific combining power with the benzenearsonic acid group.
Landsteiner and his collaborators were able in this way to prepare
antisera containing antibodies with the power of specific combination
with scores of different chemical substances, many of which could
hardly be considered to have any natural relation to the injected
animal. These results showed that the versatility of the living or-
ganism in antibody production is very great, and made it probable
that the antibody precursor is to be considered as a plastic material,
able to be influenced by the injected antigen in such a way as to obtain
directly from the antigen itself the property that leads to the power
of specific combination with it.

Landsteiner and his collaborators also discovered and utilized an
important phenomenon, that of hapten inhibition. They found that,
for example, when benzenearsonic acid itself is added to an antiserum
made by injecting an azoprotein containing the p-azobenzenearsonic
acid group no precipitate is formed. Nevertheless, it can be deduced
that combination has occurred between the benzenearsonic acid and
the antibody, because on addition of an azoprotein containing the
-azobenzenearsonic acid group no precipitate occurs, although a
precipitate would be formed in the absence of the benzenearsonic acid.
The benzenearsonic acid is thus shown to have the power of combining
with antibody homologous to this haptenic grouping, to form a
soluble complex. Information about the strength of the combina-
tion of the hapten and of the antibody can be obtained by seeing what
concentration of hapten is necessary to prevent the precipitation of
the antiserum with a hapten-homologous azoprotein. Landsteiner
and his collaborators in this way obtained a great amount of qualita-
tive information about the combining powers of various chemical
substances with antibodies homologous to haptenic groups of known
structure. They found, for example, that not only benzenearsonic
acid but also various substituted benzenearsonic acids have the power
of combining with anti-p-azobenzenearsonic acid serum, and that the
strength of the combination depends upon the nature of the group
substituted in the benzene ring and on the position in which it is sub-
stituted. Thus, in general, a group substituted in the para position
in benzenearsonic acid increases the combining power with anti-
p-azobenzenearsonic acid serum, whereas the substitution of a group
in the ortho or meta position decreases the combining power with
these antibodies.

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 235

My collaborators* and I have outlined and extended this work,
primarily by developing and using quantitative methods, permitting
the determination of approximate values for the equilibrium constant
of the reaction of combination of hapten and antibody. We have
also made use of a simplification in the experiments, involving the
elimination of one protein from the precipitation test. Inasmuch
as the structure of no protein is as yet known, a precipitation reaction
involving two proteins, the antibody and the azoprotein, is an espe-
cially complicated reaction to study, and the possibility of obtaining
information about the antibody might well become greater if the other
protein could be eliminated. Landsteiner and van der Scheer ob-
served that certain simple substances that they had prepared for use
as hapten inhibitors themselves gave a precipitate with the hapten-
homologous antiserums. These substances were dyes obtained by
coupling two or more haptenic groups together; an example is re-
sorcinol with two or three azobenzenearsonic acid groups attached
to it. Many of our hapten-inhibition experiments have been per-
formed with use of precipitating polyhaptenic antigens of this type,
the system under study then containing only one substance of un-
known structure, the antibody itself.

COMPLEMENTARINESS IN STRUCTURE

Landsteiner’s results could be interpreted in terms of our modern
knowledge of atomic and molecular structure to permit a definite
conclusion to be reached regarding the nature of the specific forces
between antibody and antigen and the structure of antibody molecules,
and this conclusion has been strengthened by the additional informa-
tion given by the experiments that my collaborators and I have per-
formed in Pasadena. The conclusion is that the specificity of inter-
action of antibody and homologous antigen results from a detailed
complementariness in structure, as was first suggested by Haurowitz
and Breinl and by Jerome Alexander, and later emphasized by Stuart ,
Mudd.

The complementariness in structure must be such as to permit a
large portion of the surface of the antigen to be brought into juxta-
position with a corresponding portion of the surface of the antibody
molecule. The weak forces that operate between any atom or small
atomic group and adjacent atoms would then come into operation be-
tween each surface atom of the antigen and the immediately adjacent
atoms of the antibody; these weak forces, integrated over the juxta-
posed surfaces, would produce a resultant force strong enough to lead
to the formation of an effective bond. Inasmuch as most of the weak

3 Prof. Dan H. Campbell, David Pressman, Carol Ikeda, Miyoshi Ikawa, David H. Brown, John TT.
Maynard, Allan L. Grossberg, Stanley M. Swingle, John H. Bryden, Leland H. Pence, and Frank Lanni,

236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

forces operating between atoms and small molecules fall off very
sharply with increasing distance, an effective bond would be formed
only if the two molecules were in contact with one another, that is, if
the surfaces of the atoms of antigen and antibody were no more than
a very few angstroms apart. The specificity of the bond formed in
this way would result from the detailed complementariness not only
in general surface configuration but also in the position of the groups
capable of forming hydrogen bonds and in the positions of the posi-
tive and negative electrical charges. It can readily be seen that this
mechanism does provide the possibility of very great specificity. ‘Thus
a combining region with area of perhaps 200 square angstroms, rep-
resenting a surface of about 50 atoms, could be prevented from ap-
proaching to contact with the complementary region on the antibody
simply by replacing a methyl group, say, on the antigen surface by
a phenyl group, which would extend about 3 A. above the former
surface, and would hence hold the antibody 3 A. farther away from
the antigen, thus reducing the forces of attraction to such an extent
as no longer to permit them to result in a significant bond.

The approximation of the antibody to the haptenic group of the
immunizing antigen must be very close. A striking bit of evidence,
from among the great amount that exists, is that of the cross reactivity
of two closely related haptenic groups, the m-aminobenzoic acid group
and the 4-chloro-38-aminobenzoic acid group, which differs from the
first only in having a chlorine atom in place of the hydrogen atom.
Landsteiner and his collaborators found that anti-4-chloro-3-amino-
benzoic acid serum precipitates readily both with the hapten-homol-
ogous azoprotein and with an azoprotein containing the m-azobenzoic
acid group. On the other hand, the anti-m-azobenzoic acid serum
precipitates readily an azoprotein containing the m-azobenzoic acid
group, but does not form a precipitate with an azoprotein containing
the 4-chloro-3-azobenzoic acid group. The explanation that we pro-
pose of this cross reactivity between one antiserum and the substituted
azoprotein, but not between the other antiserum and the different
azoprotein, is that the phenomenon depends upon the fact that the
chlorine atom is much larger than the hydrogen atom that it replaces,
the van der Waals radius of chlorine being about 1.8 A. and that of
hydrogen only about 1.2 A. Ifit isassumed that the combining region
of an antibody fits tightly about the haptenic group of the immuniz-
ing antigen, the anti-4-chloro-3-azobenzoic acid antibodies would con-
tain in the appropriate place a cavity into which a chlorine atom could
fit, along with the rest of the haptenic group. This cavity, with radius
1.8 A., would be large enough to accept easily a hydrogen atom in the
unsubstituted azoprotein, and the replacement of chlorine by hydro-
gen would have no effect other than to decrease slightly the force of

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT——PAULING Dal

attraction between the haptenic group and the antibody, as a result
of the smaller van der Waals attraction of a hydrogen atom and of
a chlorine atom for surrounding atoms. On the other hand the cavity
in the anti-m-azobenzoic acid antibody is required only to be large
enough to receive a hydrogen atom, with van der Waals radius 1.2 A.
There might well then be a considerable amount of steric strain if the
4-chloro-3-azobenzoic acid haptenic group were to be forced into this
cavity in the antibody, and the steric strain might be great enough to
decrease the combining power to such an extent that no precipitate
would be observed by the investigators.

This experimental result indicates that the fit of antibody to anti-
gen is, in some cases at least, a very close one, so that a difference in
atomic radius of 0.6 A. is significant. Our quantitative investiga-
tions in Pasadena provided a iarge amount of evidence substantiating
this conclusion. One extensive series of investigations was made of the
combination of antisera homologous to the o-benzenearsonic acid
haptenic group, the m-azobenzenearsonic acid group, and the p-azo-
benzenearsonic acid group. It was found that in each case the sub-
stituted benzenearsonic acids with the substituent in the same position
as the azo group of the immunizing azoprotein combine more strongly
with the antibody than those with the substituent group in a different
position, and the conclusion was reached from the values of the hapten
inhibition constant that the surface configuration of the combining
regions of the antibody molecules approximates that of the haptenic
group to within closer than 1 A. A similar conclusion has also been
reached by a study of the effect of electrical charge. The ratio of
inhibiting powers of two similar haptens, one containing a positively
charged group, the trimethylammonium ion group, and the other an
uncharged group with the same size and shape, the tertiary buty]
group, with antiserum made by injecting rabbits with sheep serum
with attached p-azobenzene-trimethylammonium ion groups could
be interpreted to show that the positive charge of the charged hap-
tenic group interacts with a negative charge in the antibody 7 A.
away. Inasmuch as the positive charge in the phenyltrimethylam-
monium ion may be considered to be at the center of the nitrogen
atom, and the radius of this ion (the distance from the center of the
nitrogen atom to the surface of the methyl groups) is 3.5 A., and inas-
much as the minimum distance of approach of a negative charge to
the surface of the antibody may be taken as the radius of an oxygen
atom, 1.4 A., the minimum distance of approach of a positive charge
in the hapten and a negative charge in the antibody is calculated to be
4.9 A. The fact that the value calculated from the hapten-inhibition
data is only 2.1 A. greater than this again indicates that in general
there is a very great complementariness in structure and closeness of
fit of antibody and antigen.

238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

It is my opinion that the general problem of the nature of specific
biological forces has thus been solved, and that with the extension
of our knowledge of the detailed atomic structure of proteins and other
biological substances we may hope that this understanding will permit
a more effective attack to be made on many of the problems of biology
and medicine.

NATURE OF ENZYMES

I should like now to discuss a closely related question: the nature
of enzymes and of catalysts in general. In order to function, the liv-
ing cell carries out many specific chemical reactions that do not take
place when the reactants are simply mixed with one another. These
reactions occur in nature because there are present molecules of a
specific catalyst, the enzyme appropriate to the reaction. I believe
that an enzyme has a structure closely similar to that found for anti-
bodies, but with one important difference, namely, that the surface
configuration of the enzyme is not so closely complementary to its
specific substrate as is that of an antibody to its homologous antigen,
but is instead complementary to an unstable molecule with only
transient existence, the “activated complex,” for the reaction that is
catalyzed by the enzyme.

The mode of action of an enzyme would then be the following: the
enzyme would show a small power of attraction for the substrate
molecule or molecules, which would become attached to it in its active
surface region. This substrate molecule, or these molecules, would
then be strained by the forces of attraction for the enzyme, which
would tend to deform it into the configuration of the activated com-
plex, for which the power of attraction by the enzyme is the greatest.
The activated complex would then, under the influence of ordinary
thermal agitation, either reassume the configuration corresponding
to the reactants, or assume the configuration corresponding to the
products. The assumption made above that the enzyme has a con-
figuration complementary to the activated complex, and accordingly
has the strongest power of attraction for the activated complex, means
that the activation energy for the reaction is less in the presence of
the enzyme than in its absence, and accordingly that the reaction
would be speeded up by the enzyme. My colleague Prof. Carl Nie-
mann and I are carrying out experiments on inhibition of enzyme
activity designed to test this postulate, by the search for inhibitors
that have a greater power of combination with the enzyme than have
the substrate molecules themselves. This method of attack should,
indeed, provide us with information about the nature of the active
region of the enzyme, if we accept the postulate that it is complemen-
tary to the configuration of the strong inhibitors.

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 239

This picture of the nature of enzymes may well make us optimistic
about the future of chemotherapeutics, for it predicts that for every
enzyme, and in particular for the enzymes that are essential for bac-
terial growth, it would be possible to find an inhibiting molecule which
is more closely complementary in structure to the enzyme than is the
substrate itself, and which would accordingly be an effective inhibitor.
The picture even presents us with an idea as to the nature of substances
which would be effective inhibitors, namely, that these substances
should closely resemble the activated complex, intermediate in con-
figuration between the reactants and the products of the catalyzed
reaction. A possible practical application of this concept is in rela-
tion to penicillin and its destruction by the enzyme penicillinase.
Some of the organisms that resist the bacteriostatic action of penicillin
may achieve their resistance through the manufacture of penicillinase,
which destroys the penicillin as it approaches the organism. If it
were possible to synthesize or to obtain by the degradation of penicillin
itself a substance with molecular configuration such that it would com-
bine with penicillinase more strongly than does penicillin, and thus
would inhibit the action of the penicillinase, this specific inhibitor
might be injected (or even taken by mouth) along with the penicillin,
which might in this way increase its bacteriostatic action.

FORMATION OF SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES

We have far less evidence bearing in a detailed way on the problem
of the process of formation of complex biological molecules than on
the problem of the nature of specific biological forces. Nevertheless,
a reasonable proposal can be made as to the process of formation of
these molecules, on the basis of the information available on the nature
of the forces themeslves, and the assumption that the known laws of
molecular physics are applicable to biological systems. I shall illus-
trate this proposal by discussing a possible mechanism of formation
of specific antibodies.*

The problem that we pose is the following: How is it possible for
a cell to manufacture an antibody molecule with the power of specific
combination with an arbitrarily chosen antigen? It might be that
the difference in structure of the antibody molecule and a normal
molecule of y-globulin or an antibody molecule homologous to an-
other antigen would result from a difference in the ordering of the
amino acid residues in the polypeptide chains, as was suggested by
Breinl and Haurowitz, and by Mudd.2 However, a simpler assump-
tion is that all antibody molecules produced by the same protective

4 Pauling, L., Journ. Amer. Chem. Soc., vol. 62, p. 2643, 1940.
‘ Breinl, F., and Haurowitz, F., Zeitschr. Physiol. Chem., vol. 192, p. 45, 1930; Mudd, D., Journ. Im
munol., vol. 23, p. 423, 1932

240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

mechanism in the cell contain the same polypeptide chains as the
normal globulin and differ from normal globulin and each other only
in the configuration of the chain, that is, in the way the chain is coiled
in the molecule. It is much easier to devise a mechanism for causing
the polypeptide chain to assume the desired one of the alternative
configurations than to devise a mechanism for producing great varia-
tions in the ordering of the amino acid residues. Moreover, the num-
ber of configurations accessible to a polypeptide chain containing a
thousand or more amino acid residues is so great as to provide an ex-
planation of the ability of the animal to form antibodies capable of
specific combination with a very great number of different antigens.

Let us assume that a portion of a polypeptide chain (one end, say)
which would be involved in the formation of a combining region of
the antibody is of such a nature that it is able to coil into any one of
a large number of alternative configurations, all of which have very
nearly the same energetic stability, so that the choice among them
may be determined by relatively small changes in the environment,
tending to stabilize one or another of the configurations. In the
absence of an antigen the polypeptide chain would fold into the con-
figuration that happens to be the most stable in the environment in
the cell, and would produce a molecule of normal y-globulin. In the
presence of the antigen, however, the folding of the polypeptide chain
would take place in a way determined to some extent by the interaction
of the chain with the atoms in the surface of the antigen molecule.
This interaction would find expression in the formation of that con-
figuration or those configurations of the polypeptide chain that permit
the system as a whole to have the greatest stability. The greatest
stability results, of course, from the formation of the strongest bond
between the folded polypeptide chain and the antigen molecule.
Accordingly, we have in this simple mechanism, involving the folding
of a polypeptide chain into a structure whose nature is determined
in considerable part by the presence of an antigen in the immediate
neighborhood, a straightforward way of producing an antibody
molecule with the power of specific combination with the particular
antigen present, resulting from a complementariness in structure
that is automatically assumed by the polypeptide chain that constitutes
the combining region of the antibody molecule.

It is clear that the same mechanism, whereby one molecule present
in the cell may influence the structure of another molecule that is
being formed, may be invoked as an explanation of both hetero-
catalytic and autocatalytic activities of biological molecules in gen-
eral. A gene may have the power of causing the synthesis of a certain
protein molecule capable of acting as an enzyme catalyzing a particu-
lar chemical reaction through its possession of a structure essentially
complementary to that of the active region of the enzyme molecule,

CHEMICAL ACHIEVEMENT—PAULING 241

and which can act as a template in the production of that enzyme
molecule. The power of self-duplication of the gene might well have
a similar explanation. In case the gene happens to be complementary
to itself, then it could serve directly as the pattern for itself; or it
might produce the same result, the manufacture of replicas of itself,
by working through an intermediate complementary to itself, which
then serves as the pattern for the new gene, complementary to the
intermediate and identical with the original gene. However, reliable
information about the detailed nature of these fundamental molecular
processes in biological systems must await further experimental study.

THE FUTURE

This discussion has been confined to the least interesting aspects
of the developments of chemistry in the future. These least interest-
ing aspects are those that can be predicted, that can be foreseen on
the basis of our present knowledge. They consist primarily of the
results of application and development of the discoveries that have
already been made. The great discoveries of the future—those that
will make the world different from the present world—are the dis-
coveries that no one has yet thought about, the discoveries that will
in fact be made as soon as the ideas underlying them take shape in
the mind of some imaginative scientist. Who is there among us who
10 years ago would have predicted that the field of nuclear structure
and atomic energy would develop in the way that it has? Who can
now say what the great discoveries of the next 10 years will be?

I have spoken of hope for the future—but the discoveries that we

cannot foresee may not all be obviously beneficial. Let me say, with
Walt Whitman,

I know I am restless and make others so,
I know my words are weapons full of danger, full of death,
For I confront peace, security, and all the settled laws, to unsettle them... .

And the threat of what is call’d hell is little or nothing to me,

And the lure of what is call’d heaven is little or nothing to me;

Dear camerado! I confess I have urged you onward with me, and still urge you,
without the least idea what is our destination,

Or whether we shall be victorious, or utterly quell’d and defeated.

Science cannot be stopped. Man will gather knowledge no matter
what the consequences—and we cannot predict what they will be.
Science will go on—whether we are pessimistic, or are optimistic, as
Iam. I know that great, interesting, and valuable discoveries can
be made and will be made, of the sort that have been here described.
But I know also that still more interesting discoveries will be made
that I have not the imagination to describe—and I am awaiting them,
full of curiosity and enthusiasm.

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ELECTROENCEPHALOGRA PHY?

By W. Grey WALTER

Director, Physiological Department
Burden Neurological Institute
Bristol, England

[With 1 plate]

The classical philosophers took so little interest in the brain that
they referred to it merely as “the thing in the head.” Until the last
century it was considered as providing a sort of radiator for over-
heated animal spirits; only in the last generation has the study of
brain function developed into a serious science. Microscopical ex-
amination of the brain tissue revealed that it contains about 10°° nerve
cells arranged in complex and systematic three-dimensional patterns.
Electrical stimulation of the exposed brain and observation of the
resulting movements and subjective sensations demonstrated the
anatomical connection betwen some parts of the brain and various
regions of the body, and it was found that, even when inactive, the
brain consumes an enormous quantity of energy in relation to its size.
Only in the last 20 years, however, has it been possible to study any
aspect of brain function directly in the intact human subject. It had
been known for a long time that communication between individual
nerve cells is maintained by brief electrochemical discharges along
nerve fibers, but it was not believed that electrical activity of the brain
could be detected without placing electrodes directly on the exposed
nerve tissue until Berger demonstrated this possibility in 1928. A
record of the electrical brain activity obtained in this way with elec-
trodes on the scalp is called the electroencephalogram or E. E. G.

Such records show continuous electrical activity of an extremely
complex nature, consonant with the huge number of nerve cells and the
intricacy of behavior patterns. As recorded through the scalp and
skull, the potential differences of the electrical discharges are only a
few millionths of a volt and have to be amplified with specially de-
signed electronic devices that convert them into a continuous graph
drawn on paper. The possibility of studying the normal brain in this
way encouraged both clinical developments and the theoretical con-

1 Reprinted by permission from Endeavour, vol. 8, No. 32, October 1949

243

244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

sideration of brain function as a whole. Present concepts can be sum-
marized most concisely by stating that the general function of the
brain is to construct and contain a working model of the outside world,
and to test upon this model the effect of the operations that circum-
stances suggest are necessary for comfort or survival. The more
accurate and detailed the model, the more trustworthy will be the
forecast of the results of action, and the better the chances of survival
of the organism. In the human brain, the working parts of the model
are the circuits that link the nerve cells; since their permutations are
of the order of 10'%°° there seems ample scope for detail—and for
fantasy.

The notion of the brain as a signal analyzer and statistical predictor
has developed parallel with the design and construction of the various
large computing engines sometimes known as electronic brains, but
it must be admitted that as yet very little is known of the precise man-
ner in which the animal brain composes its models so that they are
compact enough to be portable, plastic enough to be changed from
second to second, yet durable enough for a lifetime. It may be men-
tioned, however, that in man the purely nervous model is totally in-
adequate for social life, and is supplemented by external patterns in
the form of written records, laws, and so forth. The neurophysiolo-
gist, then, would use the term “mind” as meaning the individual’s model
of his environment and “thought” as a miniature rehearsal for action.
Such generalizations are bound to reawaken many ancient philosophi-
cal controversies, but have the virtue of promising linkage between
brain physiology and other human interests, some of which will be
considered later.

Returning to the discoveries in the field of electroencephalography,
it was found at an early stage that recognizable perturbations of the
electrical patterns occur in diseases of the brain. This observation
had the unfortunate effect of distracting attention from fundamental
problems, so that most laboratories engaged in this sort of work were
soon full of records from epileptics and patients with brain tumors,
and, during the war, with head injuries and abscesses. The literature
of the subject contains thousands of papers and reports describing
empirical correlations between various E. E. G. features and brain
diseases, but of these publications only a few dozen are of funda-
mental importance, and there is no doubt that the great discoveries are
still to be made.

Records from normal people show a great variety of more or less
irregular electrical discharges from all parts of the brain, but in most
subjects, when the eyes are shut, the discharges become more rhythmic
in the occipital region, where visual impressions are projected. These
regular oscillations are known as alpha rhythms and have a frequency

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY—W ALTER 245

of between 8 and 13 cycles per second. Even with the eyes shut, some
alpha rhythms are usually diminished when the subject thinks hard,
and some are blocked when a vivid visual image is called up. There
is wide variation between individuals, but the general picture in a
given subject is very constant and is almost like a signature (figs. 1 and
2). It is important to note the paradoxical inverse relation between
the prominence of the alpha rhythms and the level of functional
activity and attention. In babies, there is little alpha activity; there
are only much slower swings of electric potential in all areas (fig. 3).
In older children, rhythms at about 6 cycles per second are prominent
up to the age of 7 or 8 (fig. 4), but the alpha rhythms are beginning to
appear, and the adult pattern is usually established by the age of 12.
The 6-cycles-per-second activity is sometimes called theta rhythm; it

NORMAL == REST

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Ficvre 1.—Hlectroencephalogram from a normal person showing the effect of
closing the eyes. Note the increase in alpha activity at 10 cycles per second
in both occipital regions and the associated peak at 10 in the frequency
analysis (shown in bottom line of graph).

is often larger when the child is unhappy or angry. It comes from the
temporal lobes of the brain and deeper regions, and is found in many
adults whose behavior is childish in the sense that they are short-
tempered, aggressive, and hard to get on with.

In sleep, the alpha rhythms disappear first, and the E. E. G. becomes
less individual. In deep sleep it resembles a baby’s record, but in
lighter sleep there is usually intermittent activity at 14 cycles per
second, and this is sometimes prominent just before a subject wakes up
from a dream. Hypnosis produces little change unless the subject is
of the type who goes into a very deep trance, when the alpha rhythms
are said by some to respond to the suggested, rather than the real,
conditions.

When the brain is injured, or invaded by a tumor, the affected area
tends to develop slow discharges called delta activity (fig. 5). Al-

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

246

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STIMULUS LAMP PATIENT

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Demonstration by the author of the effect of rhythmic light stimuli during a

cc une in the ether dome of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, in
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248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

though they are usually localized round the lesion, these slow, abnor-
mal delta waves are quite similar to those found in infants and deep
sleep, suggesting that they may have some function in assisting the
disturbed nervous tissue to rest from its labors, in the same way as
pain compels disuse of a broken limb—for the brain can feel no pain,
and has little power of healing itself.

The most dramatic variations from the normal are seen in epileptics,
particularly during seizures. In petit mal, for example, when the
patient suddenly becomes unconscious for a short time, the whole
brain generates enormous regular slow waves a hundred times bigger
than any normal rhythm, each one with a short spike indenting its
crest (fig. 6). One may consider a patient generating these “wave
and spike” rhythms, as they are called, as being electrocuted by his own
brain.

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Ficure 4,—Electroencephalogram from a 3-year-old child showing prominent
theta activity combined with alpha. A similar record might be found in an
adult with marked aggressive tendencies.

Though always interesting and sometimes useful in the study of
organic brain disease and epilepsy, the technique of electroencephal-
ography has been too crude to give much help in problems of mental
disorder, or in the investigation of the physiology of behavior. In
the last few years, however, Tae technical resources available to electro-
physiologists have been cede extended by the adoption and adapta-
tion of devices developed during the war for radar or “servo” ma-
chinery. Some new instruments, on the other hand, have been
specially designed by those working in the field for their own peculiar
problems.

The advance has been made on two fronts: first, the development of
elaborate and flexible methods of transformation and display of the
electrical data; second, the introduction of controlled stimulation of
the subject. It will be realized that the ordinary record is really a
graph of voltage against time, but since there are inevitably large
numbers of cell groups active at the same moment, this graph is nearly
always extremely complex and bewildering to the eye, which can pick

249

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY—WALTER

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250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

out only one or two of its many components. An instrument has been
designed, and is now in use in many laboratories, which automatically
breaks down the complex oscillations into their various constituents,
rather as a spectroscope resolves white light into its component colors.
This wave analyzer writes out on the ordinary record every 10 seconds
a frequency histogram corresponding to the Fourier transformation
of the primary changes. A mathematician would take several days
to perform the same task. Another device, still under development,
displays the electrical activity on a battery of 24 cathode-ray tubes,
each one corresponding to a small area of the brain. In this “topo-
scope,” voltage is transformed into the brilliance of the cathode-ray
screen, and an indication of frequency is given by the way in which
the patch of light seems to rotate on each tube.

Ficure 6.—EHlectroencephalogram taken during a minor epileptic seizure show-
ing the prominent s‘wave and spike” activity diagnostic of this condition.
Note that the time scale is longer than in the other records and that the
amplification has been greatly reduced.

Ten years ago these devices would have seemed absurdly elaborate:
in another 10 years’ time they will probably seem childishly simple
compared with the intricacy of brain function as represented by the
EK. E.G. Even now, we can probably understand less than 1 percent
of the total information contained in a record such as those in the
figures. We are rather in the position of a visitor from Mars who is
deaf and dumb and has no conception of the nature of sound, but is
trying to build up a knowledge of languages by looking at the grooves
on a phonograph record.

In dealing with a complex signal, there is always the problem of de-
ciding how the significant parts of the message can be made most clear
and memorable and the insignificant ones least obtrusive. Success in
this discrimination depends upon choosing the right criteria for sig-
nificance, and this can often be done only empirically until the cipher
has been broken, so to speak.

The second sign of progress is that a more active approach is being
made to the brain by providing controlled stimuli instead of merely

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY—WALTER 251

watching its spontaneous activity. An analogy for this is the de-
velopment of radar, in which instead of trying to pick up the sound
or radiation from an aeroplane, a radio pulse is transmitted toward
it and the echoes produced are observed in relation to the original
signal. In the study of the brain the transmitted signals are called
stimuli and the echoes responses, but the resemblance in both method
and results is very close. The sound from an aeroplane travels too
slowly to indicate the position of the source, and any radio signals it
emits may be deliberately or inadvertently confusing to the observer,
but an aircraft cannot avoid reflecting the radar pulse. In the brain,
the spontaneous actions or thoughts which it initiates may be delayed,
by a variable time, after the first electrical sign of their occurrence,
and the spontaneous activity is usually too varied and uncontrollable
to correlate with other physiological variables, but the central nervous
system cannot escape the influence of external stimuli, since to re-
spond to them is one of its prime functions. Moreover the stimuli
can be given at moments controllable by the observer and at known
frequencies.

By using techniques precisely similar to those developed for radar,
the response to a regular stimulus can be displayed on a cathode-ray
oscilloscope, so that scores of successive responses are precisely super-
imposed—whereas the random or spontaneous activity is blurred and
unobtrusive. This method has been turned to great account by Daw-
son [1] ? in the study of the electrical responses to stimulation of sen-
sory herves in the limbs. Results of considerable general interest have
been obtained by using rhythmic flashes of light for investigating the
response characteristics of the visual cortex [2], [8], [4]. When
rhythmic stimulation of this sort is used, the frequency analyzer al-
ready mentioned is of great value, since the regular responses at the
stimulus frequency can be traced through the brain, even when they
are smaller than the irregular background oscillations, because their
steady recurrence is seen by the analyzer as a prominent peak of ac-
tivity at a single frequency.

This method has proved powerful in clinical applications, particu-
larly when the resting records present no diagnostic features. In
some epileptics, for example, it is possible to find a flash frequency
which sets up in the brain electrical activity which combines with the
oscillations already present to produce a diagnostically abnormal
pattern, and a clinical seizure. This observation, in combination with
the known features of the spectrum of epileptic records, has sug-
gested the hypothesis that the condition known as idiopathic epilepsy
is due to the occasional synchronization by sensory or motor impulses
of otherwise unrelated electrical rhythms. In cases with organic
disease of the brain the response to rhythmic flashes of light is often

2? Numbers in brackets refer to authorities cited at end of article.

252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

disturbed near the site of a lesion, even when the resting activity
appears normal.

In normal subjects, bright rhythmic flashes of light have been
found to evoke peculiar sensations at certain frequencies. All subjects
describe checkered, whirling patterns of light and shade when the
stimulus frequency is between 7 and 30 flashes per second, and most
see brilliant and ever-changing colors with white light. Some people,
again, describe vivid hallucinations and dreamlike experiences of
flying or of distortion of the time sense. Most interestingly, when-
ever a peculiar sensation is experienced, some part of the brain dis-
plays at the same time an unusual and exaggerated degree of electrical
activity at the frequency of the stimulus or a multiple of it. Further-
more, when, during an episode of this sort, the subject is encouraged
to submit to the sensation and to reinforce it with memories of a
similar type, both the sensation and its associated electrical discharge
are augmented. Conversely, when the subject is distracted by another
stimulus or, by an effort of will, refuses to accept the vision or state of
mind induced by the stimulus, both the subjective and electrical
phenomena subside.

In some of the most striking examples of this effect, vivid and
emotionally powerful feelings have been correlated with electrical
responses in the temporal and frontal lobes, not at the stimulus fre-
quency itself, but at harmonics of it. In general terms, complex
individual mental disturbances can be set up by an apparently neutral
physiological stimulus when this is rhythmic and powerful enough,
and these mental states are strictly correlated with electrical events
in parts of the brain which have nothing to do with the reception of
visual stimuli.

It will be recalled that unhappy children and bad-tempered adults
often show discharges at about 6 cycles per second in the temporal
lobes. It is at least very suggestive that when similar electrical dis-
charges are evoked in normal people by rhythmic stimulation, a feel-
ing of emotional discomfort and irritability appears. It would seem
logical to adopt, as a working hypothesis, the notion that certain
temperaments and states of mind are associated with electrical activity
at a particular frequency in certain nervous circuits within the brain,
and one can foresee a new meaning of the word “temper” as a strictly
scientific term to describe the tuning and resonance of these circuits.
In the testing of working hypotheses “the road of excess leads to the
palace of wisdom,” and it may be necessary to develop a complete
theory of the relation between brain and mind in these electrical
terms before the appearance of absurd conclusions or predictions sig-
nals the inadequacy of our ideas. Even at the present time the in-
troduction of electrical terms and analogies has accelerated advance,
for it is now possible to use the methods of electrical engineers in the

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY—WALTER 253

study of brain physiology. For example, when an engineer observes a
sustained electrical oscillation he looks for what he calls “positive
feedback” and it seems likely that, in the brain, feedback circuits
actually exist, and that their properties can be studied exactly as if
the living organ were a complex transmission system. Going a step
further, it has been found possible to construct models using devices
similar to those postulated in the brain, and these models behave in
a very lifelike fashion, particularly when positive and negative feed-
back circuits are combined. The positive feedbacks provide mechan-
isms for hunting, scanning, and testing the model’s environment for
stimuli and information, and the negative feedbacks or reflexes ensure
that any action the model may decide to take will be as near as possible
to that necessary for stability and survival. It is surprising how
complex and apparently unpredictable the behavior of one of these
models can be when it is placed in the irregular environment of an
ordinary room, even when it contains only half a dozen units as com-
pared with the millions in the human brain.

The great fertility of the marriage between brain physiology and
engineering has suggested to many people that the family of subjects
thus united is worthy of a special name, and Wiener [5] has proposed
“cybernetics,” from the Greek word meaning “steersmanship,” since
the fundamental common problem seems to be the way in which
complex dynamic systems direct themselves toward various goals. It
has been predicted that when properly established this new branch of
science may have as great an effect upon our life and surroundings
as the achievements of nuclear physicists.

A comparison has already been made with the great calculating
machines, but these are of course enormously more specialized than
any viable living organism, since their sole function is to perform
certain types of calculation at immense speed. In contrast to this,
the brain performs innumerable functions, though none with very
great accuracy or velocity—but it can design the machines. A good-
quality human brain has more possibilities than any other known
structure in the universe, and we should not be far wrong in calling
it “the universal] machine.”

REFERENCES
1. Dawson, G.D. Journ. Neurol., Neurosurg., and Psychiat., vol. 10, pp. 187-140,
74, Peal W. Grey, Dovey, V. J., and Surpron, H. Nature, vol. 158, pp. 540-541,
3) ee W. Grey. Proc. Assoc. Res. Nerv. and Ment. Dis., vol. 46, pp. 287-251,
1946.

4, Watter, V. J., and Water, W. Grey. Journ. Electro-enceph. and Clin.
Neurophysiol., vol. 1, pp. 57-86, 1949.
5. Wiener, N. Cybernetics. London, 1948.

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ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS?

By M. Kina HuBBERT

Associate Director
Exploration and Production Research Division
Shell Oil Co., Inc.

INTRODUCTION

It is difficult for those of us living today, especially in the more
industrialized areas of the world, to appreciate fully the uniqueness
of the events that we are witnessing. During our lifetime, and in the
immediately preceding century whose history is most familiar to us,
we have witnessed continuous change—usually continuous increase.
We have seen a few European immigrants to North America expand
during a few centuries into a population of over 170 millions. We
have seen villages grow into large cities. We have seen an area of
primeval forests and prairies transformed into widespread agricul-
tural developments. We have seen a transition from a handicrait and
agrarian culture to one of complex industrialization. In only a few
generations we have witnessed the transition from human and animal
power to electrical power supernetworks; from the horse and buggy
to the airplane.

At the same time our senses have been dulled by the platitude that
history repeats itself. As a consequence, we have become so inured
to change, especially to growth and to increase, that it is difficult for
us not to regard the rates of change which we are now witnessing as the
normal order of things.

In order to appraise more accurately our present position and the
limitations which may be imposed upon our future, it is well that we
consider in historical perspective certain fundamental relationships
that underlie all our activities. Of these the most general are the
properties of matter and those of energy.

From such a point of view the earth may be regarded as a material
system whose gain or loss of matter over the period of our interest is
negligible. Into and out of this system, however, there is a con-
tinuous flux of energy, in consequence of which the material constit-
uents of the surface of the earth undergo continuous or intermittent

1 Reprinted by permission from Science, vol. 109, February 4, 1949, with additions and revisions by the
author.

255

956 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

circulation. These material constituents comprise the familiar chem-
ical elements, only a few of which, occurring in quantities of but a few
parts per million, are significantly radioactive.

For the present discussion we shall restrict our attention to the non-
radioactive materials and shall summarily state that the events of our
interest are the result of a flux and degradation of a supply of energy,
and the corresponding circulation of matter regarded as consisting of
nontransmutable and indestructible chemical elements.

All but a minute part of the energy involved in this process is that
derived from solar radiation, and a small fraction of the matter at
or near the surface of the earth occurs in the peculiar aggregates known
as living organisms. A part of the solar radiation incident upon the
earth serves to propel a circulation of matter into and out of this
organic assemblage. In this process an amount of energy roughly
proportional to the mass of the matter incorporated in organisms is
held in storage as chemical potential energy.

From geological evidence, organisms have existed upon the earth
for probably as long as a billion years, during the last 500 million of
which a fraction of these organisms has become buried in the accumu-
lations of sediments under conditions which have prevented complete
disintegration and complete loss of their energy content. Conse-
quently, there exist in the sedimentary rocks of the earth today ac-
cumulations of the remains of fossil organisms in the form of coal,
oil shale, and petroleum and natural gas, which are rich in fossil
energy stored up from the sunshine of the past 500 million years.
This process of accumulation is doubtless still occurring, but the rate
is probably not very different from that of the past, so that, for an
order of magnitude, the accumulation during the next million years
will probably not exceed one five-hundredth of the accumulation which
has occurred already.

RISE OF HUMAN SPECIES

With this background let us now consider the development of the
human species. From archeological and geological evidence it ap-
pears that a species recognizable as man must have existed roughly a
million years ago. The population of this species at that stage is un-
known but evidently was not large. It existed in some sort of eco-
logical adjustment with the rest of the organic complex, and competed
with the other members of the complex for a share of solar energy es-
sential to its existence. At that hypothetical stage its sole capacity
for the utilization of energy consisted in the food it was able to eat—
about 2,000 kilogram-calories per capita per day.

Between that stage and the dawn of recorded history, this species
is distinguished from all others in its inventiveness of means for the

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—HUBBERT 257

conquest of a larger and larger fraction of the available energy. The
invention of clothing, the use of weapons, the control of fire, the do-
mestication of animals and plants, and many other similar develop-
ments all had this in common: They increased the fraction of solar
energy available to the use of the human species, and they continuously
upset the ecologic balance in favor of an increase in numbers of the
human species, with corresponding adjustments in all the other popu-
lations of the complex of which the human species was a member.

From that early beginning until the present day this progression
has continued at an accelerated rate. It has involved the development
of wind power and water power, the smelting of metals with wood as
fuel, the extensive employment of beasts of burden. However,
throughout this period until within the last few centuries the rate of
‘these changes has been small enough for population growth to keep
pace. The energy consumed per capita, therefore, has increased but
slightly.

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Emancipation from this dependence upon contemporary solar en-
ergy was not possible until some other and hitherto unknown source
of energy should become available. This had its beginning about the
thirteenth century when some of the inhabitants of Britain made the
discovery that certain black rocks found along the shore of the east
coast, and thereafter known as “sea coles,” would burn. From this
discovery there followed in almost inevitable succession the mining of
coal and its use for the smelting of metals, the development of the
steam engine, the locomotive, the steamship, and steam-electric power.

This development was further augmented when, about a century
ago, the second large source of fossil energy—petroleum and natural
gas—was tapped, leading to the internal-combustion engine, the auto-
mobile, the airplane, and Diesel-electric power.

A third source of fossil energy, oil shale, although exploited on a
small scale for almost a century, is only now approaching its phase
of rapid development.

RATES OF PRODUCTION

It is to the rate of increase and the magnitude of the consumption
of the energy from fossil fuels that I now wish to direct your attention.

Consider coal. Although production statistics for the earlier peri-
ods are not available, it is known that from the initial discovery and
use of “sea coles” to the present there has been a continuous increase in
the rate of consumption of this commodity. During the eighteenth
century the need for power for the coal mines led to the development
of the steam engine, and the demand for better means of transporta-
tion led first to the railroad and then to the steam locomotive. We

258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

know also that before the end of the eighteenth century the employ-
ment of this new source of energy had reached such magnitude as to
produce the major social and economic disturbances in Britain referred
to as the “Industrial Revolution.”

By 1864 (1, 2),? from which date annual world-production statis-
tics are available, the production of coal in the world (fig. 1) had

WORLD PRODUCTION OF COAL

WORLD PRODUCTION OF COAL (millions of metric tons per year)

Time (Years)

FIcuRe 1.

reached about 180 million metric tons a year, and from that date until
1914, when it had reached a rate of 1,300 million tons a year, it con-
tinued to increase geometrically at a rate of 4 percent a year, or at a
rate such that the annual production was doubling every 17 years.
The length of time during which coal has been mined is likely to
be misleading. To appreciate the magnitude of what is happening
and the brevity of time during which most of it has occurred, consider
these facts: By the end of 1947 the cumulative production of coal dur-
ing all past human history amounted to approximately 81 billion
metric tons. Of this, 40 billions, or approximately one-half, have been
mined and consumed since 1920. Sixty-two billions, or more than
three-quarters, have been produced since 1900—during our lifetime.

2 Numbers in parentheses refer to bibliography at the end of the paper

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—HUBBERT 259

The world production of petroleum is shown graphically in figure
2 (3). The first commercial production of petroleum was begun in
1857 in Rumania. Two years later the first oil well in the United
States was completed. From these beginnings, with only an oc-
casional setback, the world production of petroleum has increased
spectacularly, reaching, by the end of 1947, an annual rate of 477

WORLD PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM

500

400

Petroleum

of
of cubic meters per year )

300

Production

200

World
(millions

100

1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980
Time (years)

FIGURE 2.

million cubic meters (3 billion United States barrels). From 1860
to 1929 the rate of production doubled, on the average, every 714 years,
or at an average annual rate of increase of slightly more than 9 per-
cent. Since 1929 the rate of increase has declined somewhat and
the doubling period increased to about 15 years.

Again, to appreciate the brevity of time during which most of this
has occurred, the cumulative production by the end of 1947 was 9.17
billion cubic meters (57.7 billion United States barrels). Of this,
one-half has been produced and consumed since 1937, and 97 percent
since 1900.

260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The energy content of the coal and petroleum that have been con-
sumed, expressed in kilogram-calories, is shown in figure 8. From
these two sources the energy amounted to 15X10 or 15 thousand
trillion kilogram-calories per year in 1939. Approximately four-
fifths of this amount was contributed by coal, and one-fifth by
petroleum.

WORLD PRODUCTION OF ENERGY FROM COAL AND PETROLEUM

(10° Kg-Cal./ Yr.)

Production

Time (Years)

Fiaeure 3.

Because of the lack of world-production statistics the energy from
natural gas has not been included. In the United States about 400
cubic meters of natural gas are produced for each cubic meter of oil,
with an energy content of about 0.4 of that of oil. Since oil and gas
are genetically related it may be presumed that this approximate
ratio is valid for the rest of the world also. Hence, the energy from
the natural gas that has been produced may be assumed to be at least
40 percent of that of petroleum.

GROWTH OF POPULATION

In the introductory remarks it was intimated that one of the most
disturbing ecological influences of recent millennia had been the
human species’ proclivity for the capture of energy, resulting in a
progressive increase of the human population (4,5). This is borne
out by the growth curve of human population since 1650, shown in
figure 4, based on the studies of Carr-Saunders (6), and the recent

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—-HUBBERT 261

estimate of Davis (7). According to these estimates the world popu-
lation has increased from about 545 millions in 1650 to 2,171 millions
by 1940. The greatest rate of increase during this period has been
that of the last half century during which the world population has
been increasing at such a rate as to double itself once a century, or
at an annual rate of increase of 0.7 percent.

GROWTH OF WORLD POPULATION

Es 15|)-a88 PEs H eile L

POPULATION (Billions)
e
|

—°— ESTIMATED
(Carr -Saunders’ 1650-1900)
(Dovis: 1940)"

— — — HYPOTHETICAL

“1000 1250 1500 i780 2000 2eso 2500

TIME (Years)

FIGURE 4.

That such a rate is not “normal” can be seen by backward extra-
polation. If it had prevailed throughout human history, beginning
with the Biblical Adam and Eve, only 3,300 years would have been
required to reach the present population. If, on the contrary, we
assume that the human race has been in existence for a million
years, and has increased at a uniform exponential or geometrical
rate, starting with a single pair, the present population would be
reached in that time by a rate of increase of 2.1*10~ percent per
year, or a rate of growth that would require 33,000 years for the
population to double. At such a rate it is doubtful whether any
census could detect a change in the population during one man’s
lifetime.

That the present rate of growth cannot long continue is also evident
when it is considered that at this rate only 200 more years would be
required to reach a population of nearly 9 billion—about the maxi-
mum number of people the earth can support. In fact, at such a
rate, only 1,600 years would be required to reach a population density
of one person for each square meter of the land surface of the earth.

262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ENERGY PER CAPITA

Prior to 1800 most of the energy available to man was that derivable
from his food, the labor of his animals, and the wood he used for
fuel. On a world-wide basis it is doubtful if the sum of these ex-
ceeded 10,000 kilogram-calories per man per day, and this was a
several-fold increase over the energy from food alone.

After 1800 there was superposed on these sources the energy from
fossil fuels. From a world average of 300 kilogram-calories per
capita per day in 1800 the energy from coal and petroleum increased
to 9,880 by 1900, and to 22,100 by 1940. In the areas of high indus-
trialization this quantity is much larger. In the United States, for
example, the energy from coal and petroleum consumed per day per
capita amounted in 1940 to 114,000 kilogram-calories (2), and from
coal, petroleum, and natural gas 129,000.

PHYSICAL LIMITS TO EXPANSION

From the foregoing data it should be clear that while we are con-
cerned with a progression of ancient origin, the developments within
the last century, and especially within the last few decades, are de-
cidedly exceptional. One cannot refrain from asking, “How long
can we keep itup? Where is it taking us?”

This leads us to consider what physical limitations there may be
upon the quantity of various types whose expansion we have noted.
In the case of the fossil fuels the answer is simple. As remarked
before, these fuels represent an accumulation over 500 million years
of geologic time, and any additional accumulation that may be ex-
pected within the next 10,000 years is negligible. When these fuels
are burned, their material content remains upon the earth in a rela-
tively useless form, but the precious energy, after undergoing a se-
quence of degradations, finally leaves the earth as spent, long-wave-
length, low-temperature radiation. Hence, we deal with an
essentially fixed storehouse of energy, which we are drawing upon at
a phenomenal rate. The amount that remains at any given time
equals the amount initially present less that which has been consumed
already.

The amount consumed up to any given time is proportional to the
area under the curve of annual production plotted against time. This
area may approach but can never quite equal the amount initially
present. Thus we may announce with certainty that the production
curve of any given species of fossil fuel will rise, pass through one or
several maxima, and then decline asymptotically to zero. Hence,
while there is an infinity of different shapes that such a curve may
have, they all have this in common: that the area under each must
be equal to or less than the amount initially present.

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—HUBBERT 263

AMOUNTS OF FOSSIL FUELS

Although the quantities of fuels upon the earth are not known pre-
cisely, their order of magnitude is pretty definitely circumscribed.
The most accurately known is coal. At the Twelfth International
Geological Congress at Ottawa in 1913 a world review of coal was
made and the amount capable of being mined was estimated to be
about 8X10 metric tons. Since that time some adjustments in the
estimates have been made, giving us a present figure of about 6.3 x 10”
metric tons of coal initially present.

Within the past few years this figure has been criticized by mining
engineers (8, 9) on the grounds that while the estimated amount of
coal may in fact be present, the amount recoverable by practical min-
ing operations is but a fraction—possibly as small as one-tenth—of
the foregoing estimate. The degree of validity of this criticism still
remains to be determined.

For petroleum the accuracy of estimation is considerably less than
for coal but still is probably reliable as to the order of magnitude.
The method of estimation in this case is that of sampling. In the
better-known areas the amount of petroleum produced per unit vol-
ume of certain classes of rocks has been determined. The areas and
volumes (within drillable depths) of similar rocks over the earth are
fairly well known. By application of the same factor for the un-
drilled areas as for those now well known, an order of magnitude of
the petroleum that may exist may be obtained.

The most comprehensive of such studies that have so far been made
public appear to be those of Weeks, which are cited by Wallace E.
Pratt (10, 11, 12). According to these studies, in a volume of
10-12.5 X 10° kilometers® (2.5-3.0X10® miles?) of sediments in the
United States there have already been discovered 8.4 X 10° cubic meters
(53X10° barrels) of oil. This represents about 10 percent of the
total volume of such sediments of the land areas throughout the
world. Hence, it is estimated that for the world there should have
been present initially the order of 10 times as much oil as for the
United States. A similar volume of sediments occurs on the conti-
nental shelves which may contain a volume of oil about equal to that
of the land sediments.

Assuming that the land areas of the United States will produce
16 X 10° cubic meters (100 billion barrels), then a reasonable estimate
for the world would be:

LOH ayg ee eM OOS ee ae ies Raed eer ery st eee ae 160 X 10°m.*
Corntinentalee shelves see eet ek a eee 160 <10°m.’
ol AOS peed LA et i aula po RR Ett ae San ee PE Pa le oor 320 X10°m.*

922758—51——_18

264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

These figures are regarded as being somewhat liberal and the quan-
tity of oil may actually be considerably less.*
- In addition to the above, the Athabaska Tar Sands (10) are esti-
mated to contain about 30 X 10° cubic meters of oil.

The amount of natural gas may be estimated at 400 cubic meters
of gas per 1 of oil, or at an energy content of 40 percent that of oil.

The oil shales of the world are less well known. Those of the United
States, especially the Green River shales, are estimated to contain at
least 55X10° cubic meters of oil. Assuming that the rest of the
world has about three times as much oil shale as the United States,
we would obtain, for an order of magnitude, 160 10° cubic meters
(1,000 billion barrels) of oil from this source.

TOTAL ENERGY OF FOSSIL FUELS

COAL
(38 x10'* Kg-Cal

Yj

ENERGY (10'°Kg-Cal.)

FIGuRE 5.

The results of these estimates are given in table 1 and shown graph-
ically in figure 5. It will be noted in particular that 92 percent of

3 Since the foregoing was first published the author has obtained directly from Dr. L. G.
Weeks his own estimate of the total world supply of petroleum, which is more conservative
than the figures cited above. For the land areas Dr. Weeks estimates an amount of about
600 billion barrels (96 10° m.’), and for the continental shelves about 400 billion barrels
(64 108 m.3), giving a total of 1,000 billion barrels, or 160 10° m.3, which is just half
the figure employed above.

These figures were also given in a written discussion, by Dr. Weeks, of a paper by Prof.
A. I. Levorsen on “Estimates of Undiscovered Petroleum Reserves” read before the United
Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources at Lake
Success, August 22, 1949. (See Weeks, L. G., Highlights on 1947 developments in foreign
petroleum fields, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 32, No. 6, p. 1094, June 1948;
Levorsen, A. I., Estimates of undiscovered petroleum reserves, Proc. U. N. Scientific Con-
ference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources, vol. 1, Plenary Meetings, pp.
94-99, and discussions, pp. 103-104, by M. King Hubbert, and pp. 107-110, by L. G.
Weeks, 1950.)

265

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—-HUBBERT

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the estimated total is represented by coal—a figure that will not be
greatly altered by any reasonable adjustments of the estimates of the
remaining fuels, but may be considerably altered if the minable
amount of coal is less than usually assumed.

The amount of the initial coal already consumed is 1.35 percent;
that of oil and natural gas, inclusive of the Athabaska Tar Sands,
about 5 percent. The fraction of shale oil already produced is neg-
higible. From these data the estimated initial supply of energy stored
in fossil fuels is of the order of 50X10 kilogram-calories, of which
0.7 X 10,8, or 1.5 percent, has already been consumed.

RATE OF CONSUMPTION CURVES FOR FOSSIL FUELS

140 =

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Time (Years)
FIcuRE 6.

FUTURE OF FOSSIL ENERGY CONSUMPTION

With this information we are prepared to consider what the future
of the consumption of fossil energy may be. In figure 6 is shown
the production of fossil energy up to the present, and two possible
projections into the future. One production curve rises to a high
peak and descends steeply; the second rises more slowly to a lower
maximum and descends gently. The area under each curve, however,
is approximately the same, namely 10 unit squares, each of which
represents 5 X 10'8 kilogram-calories.

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—-HUBBERT 267

If, as the coal-mining engineers intimate, the amount of coal is
much less than herein assumed, so much smaller will be the area under
the curve and so much sooner the approach to exhaustion. How soon
the decline may set in, it is not possible to say. Nevertheless, the
higher the peak to which the production curve rises, the sooner and
the sharper will be the decline.

WATER POWER

The exploitation of water power, like that of coal, is of fairly
ancient origin, but also, like coal, until the last half century its utiliza-
tion has been small. Unlike fossil fuels, however, water power repre-
sents a fraction of current solar energy, which changes but slowly
with time and is being continuously degraded into waste heat irre-
spective of whether it is utilized or not.

A growth curve of the utilization of water power, therefore, should
rise in a manner similar to those of the fossil fuels, but instead of then
declining to zero it should level off asymptotically to a maximum as
all available water power is brought into utilization. At least this
is physically possible.

In view of the eventual exhaustion of fossil fuels, it is of interest
to know to what extent water power can be depended upon to replace
them. In table 2 are listed the installed water-power capacities of
the various continents for the year 1947 and estimates of their total
potential capacities (13). In addition, the number of kilowatt-hours
of energy that such capacity should produce per year, and, finally,
the energy, expressed in heat units, of the amount of fuel that would
be required to produce an equivalent amount of power, is given.

In these calculations the potential installed capacity is taken to be
equal approximately to the power at mean rate of flow and 100 per-
cent efficiency. The estimated output is based on a load factor of 0.5,
and the fuel eqivalent of the power produced is based upon a thermo-
dynamic efficiency of steam plants of 20 percent—figures which char-
acterize installations in the United States at the present time.

The present and potential water-power situation for the world is
summarized graphically in figure 7. The potential capacity is about
1,500 million kilowatts of which present installations amount only
to 65 millions, or 4.3 percent.

The energy content of the equivalent fuel that would be required
to produce the potential water-power output is about 2810" kilo-
gram-calories per year, or one and a half times the present rate of
consumption of energy from fossil fuels.

Hence, with maximum utilization, it would be possible with water
power to supply to the earth an amount of energy comparable with
that currently obtained from the use of fossil fuels.

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ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—-HUBBERT 269

TIME PERSPECTIVE

The present state of human affairs can best be appreciated in the
light of a time perspective, minus and plus, of some tens of thousands
of years from the present, as depicted in figure 8. On such a time scale
the phenomena we have discussed are represented by abrupt, nearly
vertical rises from zero or near zero to maximum values. The con-
sumption of energy from fossil fuels is thus seen to be but a “pip,”
rising sharply from zero to a maximum, and almost as sharply declin-
ing, and thus representing but a moment in the total of human history.

WORLD POTENTIAL WATER POWER

MAXIMUM CAPACITY
(1500 Million Kilowatts)
(65x10" Kw-Hrs./¥r)
(28.0 x10" Kg-Col./ Yr.)

Present Rote of Energy
Consumption Fossil Fuels
ond Water Power.

INSTALLED CAPACITY
(Millions of Kilowatts)
10" Kw.-Hrs. / Yr.
OUTPUT (at toad factor 05)

°
' 2100 2150
TIME (Years)

FIGURE 7.

The energy from water power and solar radiation also rises almost
vertically. It is physically capable of leveling off asymptotically to
a maximum value as shown in curve I and being held there more or
less indefinitely. However, it is also possible that it may decline to
some lower intermediate value as shown by curve II, or to zero, as in
curve III, depending upon the state of human culture during the next
few thousand years.

Likewise the consumption of energy per capita, after having risen
very gradually from 2,000 to possibly 10,000 kilogram-calories per
day, is seen to increase suddenly to a maximum value of several times
the highest previous value. Again it is physically possible to maintain
a high value, as indicated by curve J, on a stable basis for an indefinite
period of time from current energy sources, particularly direct and
indirect solar radiation. It also is possible, however, that through

270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

cultural degeneration this curve may decline, as in curve II, to the
subsistence level of our agrarian ancestors.

Viewed on such a time scale, the curve of human population would
be flat and only slightly above zero for all preceding human history,
and then it, too, would be seen to rise abruptly and almost vertically
to a maximum value of several billion. Thereafter, depending largely
upon what energy supphes are available, it might stabilize at a maxi-
mum value, as in curve I, or more probably to a lower and more nearly
optimum value, as in curve II. However, should cultural degeneration
occur so that the available energy resources should not be utilized, the
human population would undoubtedly be reduced to a number appro-
riate to an agrarian existence, as in curve ITI.

HUMAN AFFAIRS IN TIME PERSPECTIVE

Energy from Fossil Fuels

Energy from Woter Power and Solar Radiation

Energy per Capito per Unit Time

TIME (Thousonds of Years)

FIGURE 8.

These sharp breaks in all the foregoing curves can be ascribed quite
definitely, directly or indirectly, to the tapping of the large supplies
of energy stored up in the fossil fuels. The release of this energy is
a unidirectional and irreversible process. It can only happen once,
and the historical events associated with this release are necessarily
- without precedent, and are intrinsically incapable of repetition.

ENERGY FROM FOSSIL FUELS—-HUBBERT 271

It is clear, therefore, that our present position on the nearly vertical
front slopes of these curves is a precarious one and that the events we
are witnessing and experiencing, far from being “normal,” are among
the most abnormal and anomalous in the history of the world. Yet
we cannot turn back; neither can we consolidate our gains and remain
where we are. In fact, we have no choice but to proceed into a future
that we may be assured will differ markedly from anything we have
experienced thus far.

Among the inevitable characteristics of this future will be the pro-
eressive exhaustion of the mineral fuels and the accompanying trans-
fer of the material elements of the earth from naturally occurring
deposits of high concentration to states of low-concentration dissem-
ination. Yet despite this, it will still be a physical possibility to sta-
bilize the human population at some reasonable figure and by means
of the energy from sunshine alone to utilize low-grade concentrations
of materials and still maintain a high-energy industrial civilization
indefinitely.

Whether this possibility will be realized or whether we shall con-
tinue as at present until a succession of crises—overpopulation, ex-
haustion of resources, and eventual decline—develops depends largely
upon whether a serious cultural lag can be overcome. In view of the
rapidity with which the transition to our present state has occurred
it is not surprising that such a cultural lag should exist and that we
should continue to react to the fundamentally simple physical, chem-
ical, and biological needs of our social complex with the sacred-cow
behavior patterns of our agrarian and prescientific past. However,
it is upon our ability to eliminate this lag and to evolve a culture more
nearly in conformity with the limitations imposed upon us by the basic
properties of matter and energy that the future of our civilization
largely depends.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The mineral industry, vol. 50. New York, 1942.

Minerals yearbook, U. S. Bureau of Mines, 1937, 1942, 1945.

1948 World oil atlas, World Oil, July 1948, sec. 2, pp. 25, 27, 29.

Lotka, Alfred J., Elements of physical biology, chs. 6 and 7. Baltimore, 1925.

Pearl, Raymond, The biology of population growth. New York, 1925.

Carr-Saunders, A. M., World population, p. 42. Oxford, 1936.

Davis, Kingsley, The world demographic transition. Ann. Amer. Acad.
Polit. and Soc. Sci., vol. 237, pp. 1-11, January 1945.

Carlow, C. Augustus, World coal resources. In Seventy-Five Years of Prog-
ress in the Mineral Industry, Amer. Inst. Min. and Met. Eng. Anniv. Vol., pp.
634-684, 1947.

Parsons, A. B., Bituminous coal inventory. Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 29,
No. 494, pp. 68-64, February 1948.

10. Pratt, Wallace E., Oilin the earth. Lawrence, Kans., 1942.

sal Sos Us Ee COIN

ge

wo)

212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

11. Pratt, Wallace E., Distribution of petroleum in the earth’s crust. Bull. Amer.
Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 28, pp. 1506-1509, 1944.

12. Pratt, Wallace E., Petroleum on continental shelves. Bull. Amer. Assoc.
Petrol. Geol., vol. 31, p. 657-672, 1947.

13. Jones, B. E., Developed and potential water power of the world. U. S. Geol.
Surv. mimeographed Information Circ., 1948.

PERMAFROST?

By Rosert F. BLack
Geologist, United States Geological Survey

{With 12 plates]

Permafrost (perennially frozen ground) is a widespread geologic
phenomenon whose importance and ramifications are rapidly becom-
ing better known and more clearly understood. For many decades
European scientists have been describing surficial features produced by
frost action and permafrost, but for the most part they have given only
passing reference to the perennially frozen ground. The current
problem is to understand permafrost in order to evaluate it in the light
of any particular endeavor, whether practical or academic. To under-
stand ‘permafrost we need a precise, standardized terminology, a
comprehensive classification of forms, a systemization of available
data, and coordination of effort by geologists, engineers, physicists,
botanists, climatologists, and other scientists in broad research pro-
grams. These objectives are only gradually being realized.

This paper is largely a compilation of or reference to recent avail-
able literature. Its purpose is to make information more generally
available concerning some of the many ramifications and practical
applications of permafrost. New data from unpublished manu-
scripts in the files of the United States Geological Survey also are
included where appropriate for clarity or completeness. Inna V.
Poiré, of the United States Geological Survey, has prepared numerous
condensations of Russian papers on permafrost and made them avail-
able to the author. Others were made available through the Na-
tional Military Establishment. The library of the Engineers School,
the Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., has many abstracts, condensa-
tions, and translations of Russian works that are available to civilian
readers. References in this paper generally are only to the later
American or German works, as most contain accounts of the earlier
literature. The bulk of the literature, unfortunately, is in Russian
and unavailable to the average reader, but some of it has been sum-
marized by Muller (1945). A list of 190 titles of Russian articles deal-
ing with permafrost is given by Weinberg (1940). The Arctic Insti-

1 Published by permission of the Director, U. 8. Geological Survey. Reprinted by permission from
Trask’s Applied Sedimentation, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1950. Minor modifications have
been made, and some new references have been added by the author, but no attempt has been made to
revise the paper completely or to list all new permafrost papers.

273

274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

tute of North America (Tremayne, 1948) is currently preparing an
annotated bibliography of all Arctic literature, including permafrost.

The multitude of problems associated with frost action, as we refer
to it in the United States, appropriately should accompany any dis-
cussion of permafrost. However, lack of space permits only a passing
reference to the relationship of permafrost to frost action. An an-
notated bibliography on frost action has been prepared by the High-
way Research Board (1948).

Thanks are due Louis L. Ray, P.S. Smith, Inna V. Poiré, Troy L.
Péwé, David M. Hopkins, William $8. Benninghoff, Joel H. Swartz,
and D. J. Cederstrom, of the United States Geological Survey, and
to Stephen Taber and Kirk Bryan for critical reading of this manu-
script. ‘These and others in the Geological Survey have provided
many valuable suggestions for which individual acknowledgment is
difficult. The use of unpublished manuscripts and notes of P. S.
Smith and C. V. Theis is greatly appreciated.

PERMAFROST

e

The term “permafrost” was proposed and defined by Muller (1945).
A longer but more correct phrase is “perennially frozen ground”
(Taber, 1943a). The difficulties of the current terminology are pre-
sented by Bryan (1946a, 1946b), who proposed a new set of terms.
These are discussed by representative geologists and engineers (Bryan,
1948). Such terms as cryopedology, congeliturbation, congelifraction,
and cryoplanation have been accepted by some geologists (Denny and
Sticht, unpublished manuscript; Judson, 1949; Cailleux, 1948; Troll,
1948) in order to attempt standardization of the terms regarding
perennially frozen ground and frost action. The term permafrost
has been widely adopted by agencies of the United States Govern-
ment, by private organizations, and by scientists and laymen alike.
Its use is continued here because it is simple, euphonious, and easily
understood by all.

Hetent—Much of northern Asia and northern North America con-
tains permafrost (fig. 1) (Jenness, 1949; Sumgin, 1947; Muller, 1945;
Obruchey, 1945; Troll, 1944; Taber, 1943a; Cressey, 1939; and others).

The areal subdivision of permafrost into continuous, discontinu-
ous, and sporadic bodies is already possible on a small scale for much
of Asia, but as yet for only part of North America. Refinements in
delineations of these zones are being made each year. The south-
ern margin of permafrost is known only approximately, and addi-
tional isolated bodies are being discovered as more detailed work is
undertaken. The southern margin of permafrost has receded north-
ward within the last century (Obruchev, 1946).

PERMAFROST—BLACK 275

dh rahi
ra gal
Ly |
al

TAs
swans
cts]
—F

Ly
=

Figure 1.—Areal distribution of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere.

Double hatching: Approximate extent of continuous permafrost. Ground tem-

perature at a depth of 30 to 50 feet generally below —5° C. Diagonal hatching:
Approximate extent of discontinuous permafrost. Ground temperature in
permafrost at a depth of 30 to 50 feet generally between —5° and —1° C. Dotted
diagonal hatching: Approximate extent of sporadic permafrost. Ground tem-
perature in permafrost at a depth of 30 to 50 feet generally above —1° C. Re-
liability : Eurasia, good; Alaska, fair; all other, poor. (Hurasia after Sumgin
and Petrovsky, 1940, courtesy of I. V. Poiré.)

276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Permafrost is absent or thin under some of the existing glaciers,
and it may be absent in areas recently exhumed from ice cover.

A greater extent of permafrost in the recent geologic past is known
by inference from phenomena now found to be associated with perma-
frost (H. T. U. Smith, 1949b; Horberg, 1949; Richmond, 1949;
Schafer, 1949; Cailleux, 1948; Poser, 1948, 1947a, 1947b; Troll, 1947,
1944; Zeuner, 1945; Weinberger, 1944, and others). Some of the
more important phenomena are fossil ground-ice wedges, solifluction
deposits, block fields and related features, involutions in the uncon-
solidated sediments, stone rings, stone stripes and related features,
and asymmetric valleys (H. T. U. Smith, 1949b). The presence of
permafrost in earlier geologic periods can be inferred from the known
facts of former periods of glaciation and from fossil periglacial forms.

In the Southern Hemisphere permafrost is extensive in Antarctica.
It probably occurs locally in some of the higher mountains elsewhere,
but its actual extent is unknown.

Thickness—Permafrost attains its greatest known thickness of
about 2,000 feet (620 meters) at Nordvik in northern Siberia (I. V.
Poiré, oral communication). Werenskiold (1923) reports a thickness
of 320 meters (1,050 feet) in the Sveagruvan coal mine in Lowe
Sound, Spitsbergen. In Alaska its greatest known thickness is about
1,000 feet, south of Barrow.

Generally the permafrost thins abruptly to the north under the
Arctic Ocean. It breaks into discontinuous and sporadic bodies as
it gradually thins to the south (fig. 2) (Muller, 1945; Taber, 1943a;
Cressey, 1939; and others).

In areas of comparable climatic conditions today, permafrost is
much thinner in glaciated areas than in nonglaciated areas (Taber,
1943a).

Unfrozen zones within perennially frozen ground are common near
the surface (Muller, 1945) and are reported to occur at depth (Taber,
1948a; Cressey, 1939). They have been interpreted as indicators of
climatic fluctuations (Muller, 1945; Cressey, 1939), or as permeable
water-bearing horizons (Taber, 1948a).

Temperature.—The temperature of perennially frozen ground be-
low the depth of seasonal change (level of zero annual amplitude)
(Muller, 1945) ranges from slightly less than 0° C. to about —12° C.
(I. V. Poiré, oral communication). In Alaska the minimum tempera-
ture recorded to date is —9.6° C. at a depth of 100 to 200 feet in a
well about 40 miles southwest of Barrow (J. H. Swartz, 1948, written
communication). Representative temperature profiles in areas of (1)
continuous permafrost are shown in figure 8, a; of (2) discontinuous
permafrost, figure 3, 6; and of (3) sporadic bodies of permafrost,
figure 3, ¢.

PERMAFROST—BLACK 277

Temperature gradients from the base of permafrost up to the depth
of minimum temperature vary from place to place and from time to
time. In 1947-48 four wells in northern Alaska had gradients be-
tween 120 and 215 feet per degree centigrade (data of J. H. Swartz,
G. R. MacCarthy, and R. F. Black).

~
-~
o o ne oO
= oO oo Mm 9 Oo
o > c = pan ie o
2 as & S Sr =e
o
oO Or wn o Sc J
° = x LS sB¢ °
s EN oO Ww On bs
Can. 2 SSeS aS
ai Ne | ra <x to) oo
| | | : i | | |
— Ly ior SJ

Diagrammatic cross section through Alaska, along long. 150°, showing approximate
distribution of permafrost and thickness of active layer

wo
=
~
~ —
ad x ue = DO
oa oo v 5) > c we
ts) —+ = > fz = Ry os:
12) ® 45 ce road ae Se
° aie © = = * sO
p=) N = N
12) 70 eve) @ o
S o ! =] oOo LS = wl
<x Ten = Sn) <x Oo wo
| | | |

Diagrammatic cross section through Asia, along long. 120°, showing approximate distribution of
permafrost and thickness of active layer. (Modified from unpublished cross section by 1.V. Poire’.)

BABA Active layer Discontinuous permafrost
FREY Continuous permafrost SSS9 Sporadic permafrost

FIGURE 2.—Representative cross sections of permafrost areas in Alaska and Asia.

The shape of a temperature curve indicates pergelation or depergela-
tion (aggradation or degradation of permafrost) (Muller, 1945;
Taber, 1943a). Some deep temperature profiles have been considered
by Russian workers to reflect climatic fluctuations in the recent geo-
logic past. No known comprehensive mathematical approach has
been attempted to interpret past climates from these profiles, although
it seems feasible. Some of the effects of Pleistocene climatic varia-
tions on geothermal gradients are discussed by Birch (1948) and
Ingersoll et al. (1948).

Character.—Permafrost is defined as a temperature phenomenon,
and it may encompass any type of natural or artificial material,
whether organic or inorganic. Generally permafrost consists of va-
riable thicknesses of perennially frozen surficial unconsolidated ma-
terials, bedrock, and ice. Physical, chemical, or organic composition,
degree of induration, texture, structure, water content, and the like
range widely and are limited only by the extremes of nature or the

278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

caprice of mankind. For example perennially frozen mammals,
rodents, bacteria, artifacts, beds of sand and silt, lenses of ice, beds
of peat, and varied junk piles, such as kitchen-middens, mine dumps,
and ships’ refuse heaps are individual items that collectively can be
lumped under the term permafrost.

Ground perennially below freezing but containing no ice has been
called “dry permafrost” (Muller, 1945).

Degrees Centigrade
-10 —-5 0 5 —5 0 ds) 0 5

Northern Alaska.
From well 25 miles
100 southwest of Barrow.
After J.H. Swartz
and G.R. McCarthy
(written communication)

200

Barrow, Alaska
(R.F Black)

Feet

300

400
Yakutsk, U.S.S.R.
After
\ M.F. Sumgin, 1940;
Courtesy 1.V. Poire’

Bukachacha, U.S.S.R.

After
D.V. Redozubov, 1946;
Courtesy I.V. Poire’

500

(0) (c)

FIGURE 3.—(a) Representative temperature profiles in areas of continuous perma-
frost. (0) Representative temperature profiles in areas of discontinuous
permafrost. (c) Hypothetical temperature profiles in areas of sporadie
permafrost.

Permafrost composed largely of ice is abundant particularly in
poorly drained fine-grained materials (pls. 1, 2, and 3). The ice oc-
curs as thin films, grains, fillings, veinlets, large horizontal sheets,
large vertical wedge-shaped masses, and irregular masses of all sizes.
Many masses of clear ice are arranged in geometric patterns near the
surface, that is, polygonal ground (pl. 4) and honeycomb structure.
The ice may be clear, colorless, yellow, or brown. In many places
it contains numerous oriented or unoriented air bubbles (pl. 5, fig. 1),
and silt, clay, or organic materials. Size, shape, and orientation of
the ice crystals differ widely (pl. 5, fig. 2). Discordant structures
in sediments around large masses of ice are evidences of growth
(Taber, 1948a; Leffingwell, 1919).

Relation to terrain features.—In the continuous zone of permafrost
the upper limit (permafrost table, Muller, 1945) is generally within
a few inches to 2 feet of the surface. Large lakes and a few large
rivers lie in thawed areas slightly larger than the basins they occupy

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 1

1. Ground ice in the form of an ice wedge and in undifferentiated types exposed
in a sea-cut silt bank 23 feet high, about 75 miles southeast of Barrow,
Alaska. Photographed August 7, 1950.

(All photographs by the author unless otherwise stated.)

eT = a
a

2. Irregular masses of ice and ice wedges exposed by placer operations in ‘‘muck”’
deposits at Fairbanks Creek, Fairbanks, Alaska. Photographed July 12,
1948.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 2

1. Horizontal layer of blue ice and vertical ice wedge exposed by placer operations
in “muck” deposits in Fairbanks Creek, Fairbanks, Alaska. Photographed
July 12, 1948.

2. Three horizons of buried young trees in ‘‘muck”’ with considerable ice exposed
by placer operations on Fairbanks Creek, Fairbanks, Alaska. Photographed
July 12, 1948.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black

1. Thin veinlets, granules, and large mass of clear ice in organic-rich silt deposit
near Barrow, Alaska. Photographed July 31, 1947.

2. Large individual crystals of ice in permafrost at a depth of about 20 feet in
“muek’’? exposed by placer operations at Fairbanks Creek, Fairbanks,
Alaska. Photographed July 2, 1950.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 4
K :

AS a ee See

1. Ice-wedge polygons and ground ice in 15-foot sand bank exposed by wave
action on the south side of Admiralty Bay, about 45 miles southeast of
Barrow, Alaska. Photographed August 28, 1947.

ue " RO a ie

2. Ice-wedge polygons of three distinct stages in surficial expression on coastal
plain near Barrow, Alaska. Zone 1, containing high-centered polygons, is
oldest; zone 2 is intermediate to zone 8, the youngest, with low-centered
polygons. Photographed July 20, 1947, by the U. 8. Coast and Geodetic
Survey.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 5

- Sica ———-
‘ “s ss Re a a ae
ee ae :
Ri ae
4 *
eon .

ES Eg &
ght ey a
¥ Ce *
i. See . ee |
¥ «: : ie
a 3 fi
b €
gl? é
ay
} 4 t
| ;
$<
"

1. Thin section of ground ice from an ice wedge near Barrow, Alaska, showing
numerous air bubbles. Photographed January 23, 1950.

? ee

ee

CMS. |

2. Thin section of ground ice from an ice wedge near Barrow, Alaska, showing
silt and individual ice crystals by using transmitted light and crossed polar-
oids. Photographed April 21, 1950.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 6

1. Soil creep in solifluction lobes on rounded hill at ‘‘12-mile Summit’’ on Steese
Highway, about 87 miles by road northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo-
graphed July 5, 1948.

2. Landslide on top of thawing permafrost on Slana-Tok Cut-off, 27.9 miles from
Gakona in east-central Alaska. Photographed July 9, 1946.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 7

1. Ice laccoliths (small ground-ice mcund, small pingo, or frost blister) produced
by the heaving of the active layer by the hydrostatic pressure of water
trapped between downward-progressing seasonal frost and permafrost in a
swampy lake bed, near Barrow, Alaska. Four inches of moss and other
vegetation covers a plano-convex disk about 15 inches thick and 5 feet in
diameter. Photographed October 4, 1949.

2. Peat mound (frost mound), partially dissected by slumping along a lake about
25 miles southeast of Barrow, contains several bodies of clear ice underlying
peat. The ice was introduced in part by filling by sublimation in horizontal
contraction cracks and in part by forceful injection of water along a zone
between the active layer and permafrost. Photographed August 21, 1946.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 8

1. Thermokarst or cave-in lake about 10 miles east of Mentasta Lake on the
Stana-Tok Cut-off in east-central Alaska. Photographed July 9, 1946.

ER Pore

2. Pingo, estimated 60 feet high, on the coastal plain of northern Alaska, about
30 miles north of Umiat, Alaska. Photographed September 17, 1945.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 9

1. Caving polygons near Barrow, with relief of 4 to 8 feet, resulting from the
thawing of ice wedges after the protecting mat of tundra vegetation has been
removed. Photographed August 25, 1947.

Pap, (C

round ice in foundation excavation near Barrow. Concrete in forms is
being heated to permit setting on top of permafrost. Photographed July
15, 1947.

a

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SoSpoM 901 SUIMBY} IOAO [[J [OABAD UT SUT[}IOS LV[NFoLI] PUB SUIAB “4YSIY ‘SPT ‘OL ysnsny poydeasojoyd
‘Rysely ‘oUION JO YAOU Sol J JNOGB BupUNy UaZOIJ UO PBOITIBY YorBsNoy Jo surtyyyos repnsodt ‘yoy :1odd yy

PRIA —066] ‘Woday ueruosyaitg

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PEATE 11

1. Bridge piling on the Alaska Railroad broken by downhill creep in mud on
top of permafrost in the Nenana River Gorge, central Alaska. Photo-
graphed September 24, 1948.

2. Slump in gravel on street in Barrow, where steam line produced thawing of
permafrost. Photographed May 12, 1950.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Black PLATE 12

roe

1. Mud flow on top of permafrost along the Alaska Railroad resulting in track
settling, near Moody, Alaska. Photographed June 22, 1948.

: oa rat

2. Settling cracks in foundation wall of the U. 8. Post Office, Nome, Alaska,
after thawing of permafrost under the building. Photographed August 10,
1948,

PERMAFROST—BLACK 279

(Black and Barksdale, 1949; Muller, 1945). Well-drained coarse-
grained materials may thaw annually to a depth of 6 feet. Poorly
drained fine-grained materials protected from solar radiation and
insulated with moss and other vegetation may thaw annually to a
depth of only 4 inches.

In the discontinuous zone permafrost is absent under most major
rivers and lakes. It may be absent in the tops of some well-drained
low hills. Seasonal thaw (active layer, Muller, 1945) penetrates 1
foot to 10 feet, depending on insulation, insolation, drainage, and type
of material.

Sporadic bodies of permafrost may be relics below the active layer
or may be forming in favorable situations in poorly drained fine-
grained materials on north-facing slopes. In the zone of sporadic
permafrost the active layer may or may not reach the permafrost
table, and it ranges between 2 and 14 feet in thickness.

Generally the depth of thaw is at a minimum in northern latitudes
and increases to the south. It is at a minimum in peat or highly or-
ganic sediments and increases successively in clay, silt, and sand to a
maximum in gravelly ground or exposed bedrock. It is less at high
altitudes than at low altitudes; less in poorly drained ground than in
dry well-drained ground; at a minimum under certain types of tundra
and increases successively in thickness under areas of bog shrubs, black
spruce, larch, white spruce, birch, aspen, and poplar to a maximum
under tall pines. It is less in areas of heavy snowfall; less in areas
with cloudy summers; and less on north-facing slopes (Muller, 1945;
Troll, 1944; Taber, 1943a; and others).

Works of man commonly upset the natural thermal equilibrium
and may tend to destroy permafrost or to aid in its formation. Most
roads, runways, and other structures on the surface of or in the ground
generally have lower permafrost tables than undisturbed natural areas
adjacent to them. Structures above the ground and insulated from
the ground protect the surface from solar radiation and commonly
produce higher permafrost tables.

Origin.—The origin of perennially frozen ground is discussed by
Jenness (1949), Muller (1945), Zeuner (1945), Taber (1948a), Cressey
(1989), Nikiforoff (1982), Leffingwell (1919), and others. Generally
it can be stated that most sporadic bodies of permafrost are relics of
colder climates. Discontinuous bodies of permafrost are largely
relics, but under favorable conditions may grow in size, and new de-
posits are being perennially frozen. In areas of continuous perma-
frost, heat is being dissipated actively from the surface of the earth
to the atmosphere, and new deltas, bars, landslides, mine tailings, and
other deposits are being pergelated (incorporated in the permafrost)
(Bryan, 1946a).

922758—51——19

280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Local surface evidences indicate that heat, in some places at least,
is being absorbed at the base of permafrost faster than it is being
dissipated at the surface (Hopkins, 1949; Young, 1918). Hence the
cold reserve is being lessened, and the thickness of permafrost is de-
creasing from the base upward.

The mean annual air temperature required to produce permafrost
undoubtedly varies many degrees because of local conditions. Gener-
ally it is given as 30° to 24° F.; theoretically permafrost can form
above 82° F. (Theis, unpublished manuscript), and apparently it is
doing so locally in parts of southwest Alaska where poor drainage,
abundant vegetation, cloudy summers, and low insolation are found
(S. Abrahamson, oral communication, and Ernest H. Muller, written
communication).

The relative effects of past climates have been inferred qualitatively
through a study of present temperature profiles and indirectly through
a study of past deposits, pollen analysis, vegetal changes, structural
soils, and blockfields.

The origin of large, clear ice masses in the permafrost is a special
problem in itself. Numerous theories are extant, and one or more may
apply to a particular mass of ice (Taber, 1943a; Leffingwell, 1919;
and others).

GEOLOGIC RAMIFICATIONS

Throughout the Arctic and sub-Arctic the role of permafrost is ex-
tremely important. As an impervious layer in continuous perma-
frost zones, it exerts a drastic influence on surface waters, completely
prevents precipitation from entering the natural ground-water reser-
voirs, and commonly causes a concentration of organic acids and of
mineral salts in suprapermafrost water. In discontinuous permafrost
zones, and less so in areas of sporadic permafrost, ground-water
movements are interrupted or channelized. Quality of water, too, can
be materially affected by the storage for centuries and subsequent re-
lease by thawing of organic and inorganic materials (Kaliaev, 1947).
In fact, our present conceptions of ground-water reservoirs, ground-
and surface-water movements, infiltration, quality of water, and so on
must be reevaluated in considering permafrost as a new geologic
formation, generally not uniform in composition or distribution, that
transcends all rock and soil formations. Furthermore, it must be
considered as much in the light of past as of present conditions.

It is well known that in cold climates physical disintegration (frost-
splitting, congelifraction) plays a more important role than chemical
weathering. The repeated freezing of water-saturated materials and
the growth of ice crystals in numerous small pores, cracks, joints,
cleavage planes, or partings is by far the most effective destructive
process. Taber (1943a) has shown that, without water, disintegration

PERMAFROST—BLACK 281

is generally much slower. Permafrost is one of the most important
agents in keeping the soils supersaturated (containing more water than
pore space—a suspension) and in keeping many rock fragments wet.

It is less widely known that mass-wasting processes in the Arctic
and sub-Arctic are instrumental in the transport of tremendous vol-
umes of material. With the exception of unbroken bedrock, the ma-
terials on the surface of slopes greater than 1° to 3° are on the move
everywhere in summer. The amount of material involved and the
rapidity of such movements impress all who have studied them (Wash-
burn, 1947, and others).

Permafrost, on thawing slightly in summer, supplies a lubricated
surface and additional water to materials probably already saturated.
Hence solifluction (pl. 6, fig. 1), mud flows (pl. 6, fig. 2), and other
gravity movements take place with ease and, in favorable locations,
even supply material to streams faster than the streams can remove it
(Wahrhaftig, 1949, and others). Bryan (1949) has coined the term
“cryoplanation” to cover such processes, including also frost-heaving
normal to slopes and settling vertically, which in the Arctic are instru-
mental in reducing the landscape to long, smooth slopes and gently
rounded forms. Such physiographic processes are only partly under-
stood and their effects only qualitatively known (Bryan, 1949).

Permafrost, by aiding in maintaining saturated or supersaturated
conditions in surficial materials, indirectly aids in frost-stirring (con-
geliturbation), frost-splitting, and mass-wasting processes so that, in
places, bedrock is disintegrated, reduced in size, thoroughly mixed,
and rapidly transported. The result is a silt-sized sediment that is
widespread in the Arctic. Various authors (Bryan, 1949; Hopkins,
1949; P. S. Smith, unpublished manuscript; Zeuner, 1945; Taber,
1948a; Tuck, 1940) disagree as to whether some of the material is
derived from eolian, lacustrine, or local frost-splitting and mass-
wasting processes. Size-grade-distribution curves, mineral compari-
sons, chemical analyses, comparisons with glacial materials and with
organic materials, etc., have been used by various investigators to prove
their point, but the differences of opinion have by no means been re-
solved.

Frost action (frost-heaving, frost-stirring, and frost-splitting) and
gravity movements result in many surface forms that are found most
abundantly in areas of permafrost, i. e., strukturboden, involutions,
frost boils, hummocks, altiplanation terraces, terrecettes, and soil
stripes (Judson, 1949; Richmond, 1949; Schafer, 1949; H. T. U.
Smith, 1949; Cailleux, 1948; Troll, 1948, 1947, 1944; Washburn, 1947,
Conrad, 1946; Zeuner, 1945; Taber, 1943a; Sharp, 1942b; Gatty et al.,
1942; Steche, 1933; Hégbom, 1914; and others). Annual freezing in
permafrost areas also forces changes in surface- and ground-water

282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

migration and commonly results in pingos, frost blisters, ice mounds,
icings, aufeis, and other related forms (Muller, 1945; Troll, 1944;
Sharp, 1942a; Mullis, 1930). (PI. 7 and pl. 8, fig. 2). Many of the
forms produced by frost action and seasonal freezing are closely
related in character and origin; however, the lack of a standardized
terminology for these features produces a perplexing picture.

Little can be said quantitatively regarding the importance of frost
action (and indirectly permafrost) in ancient sediments and soils
(Zeuner, 1945). Throughout the world, deposits of former glaciers
have been found in the stratigraphic column. They indicate many
periods of glaciation and, hence, cold climates. Undoubtedly perma-
frost was present during those times. Fossil forms derived from frost
and permafrost are known (Horberg, 1949; Judson, 1949; Richmond,
1949; Schafer, 1949; H. T. U. Smith, 1949b; Wahrhaftig, 1949; Zeu-
ner, 1946, 1945 ; Troll, 1944; and others). These forms provide data on
the processes producing the surficial materials and on the environment
of deposition. These features are only now being recognized and
studied in the detail that is warranted (Bryan, 1949).

Permafrost throughout the world has provided an outstanding
wealth of material for paleontologists and archeologists (Hibben,
1941). In perennially frozen Alaskan placers alone, investigators
have found more than 27 different plants (Chaney and Mason, 1936),
including whole forests of buried stumps (Giddings, 1938) ; numer-
ous iron and other bacteria; algae; 87 species of diatoms (Taber,
1948a) ; bones of at least 20 species of large mammals, represented
by tens of thousands of specimens (Taber, 1943a; Wilkerson, 1932) ;
numerous species of rodents; and a few species of mollusks, sponges,
and insects (Taber, 1948a). Permafrost in Siberia has been a store-
house for Pleistocene mammals (Tolmachoff, 1929).

Permafrost upsets many readings taken by geophysicists in deter-
mining the internal constitution of the earth. Velocities of seismic
waves, for instance, are materially increased by frozen ground con-
taining much ice and may result in considerable errors in determina-
tions of depths. Although the actual increases are not definitely
known, they probably fall within the range of 1,000 to 8,000 feet per
second (J. H. Swartz, oral communication). Unfortunately, the
lower contact of permafrost causes, with present equipment, no satis-
factory reflections or refractions. Seismic methods cannot be used to
determine the thickness or variability of the zone distorting the seis-
mic waves. Difficulties in drilling, preparing the explosive charges,
checking the ground waves, and getting interpretable effects are aug-
mented in permafrost areas.

Electrical methods, particularly the resistivity methods, have given
promise of solving some of the difficulties in determining the extent

PERMAFROST—BLACK 283

and thickness of permafrost (Enenstein, 1947; Swartz and Shepard,
1946; Muller, 1945; and Joestings, 1941). Generally resistivities of
frozen silt and gravel are several thousand ohms higher than com-
parable unfrozen materials and may be 20 to 120 times as high (Swartz
and Shepard, 1946; Joestings, 1941). However, it is well known that
the type of material is less important than the amount of unfrozen
ground water and dissolved salts within the material. Even in frozen
ground these factors are so variable that resistivity data can be in-
terpreted with reliability only by experienced men and generally only
in areas where some positive checks can be made through drilling.

Sumgin and Petrovsky (1947) discuss a new radio-wave technique
used where permafrost is below —5° C.

ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCES

In Alaska during World War II the difficulties encountered by our
armed forces in obtaining permanent water supplies and in construct-
ing runways, roads, and buildings in permafrost areas focused atten-
tion on permafrost as nothing else could (Wilson, 1948; Jaillite, 1947;
Barnes, 1946; Taber, 1943b). Only then did most people realize that
in Russia similar difficulties with railroads, roads, bridges, houses, and
factories had impeded colonization and development of the north for
decades. Now with the recent progress in aviation, and because of
the strategic importance of the north, active construction and settle-
ment for military and civilian personnel must increase, and the prob-
lems of permafrost must be solved.

Fortunately we can draw on the vast experience of the Soviet
Union. Their engineers have shown that it is—

. a losing battle to fight the forces of frozen ground simply by using
stronger materials or by resorting to more rigid designs. On the other hand,
the same experience has demonstrated that satisfactory results can be achieved
and are allowed for in the design in such a manner that they appreciably mini-
mize or completely neutralize and eliminate the destructive effect of frost
action... Once the frozen ground problems are understood and correctly
evaluated, their successful solution is for the most part a matter of common
sense whereby the frost forces are utilized to play the hand of the engineer
and not against it. ... it is worth noting that in Soviet Russia since about
19388 all governmental organizations, municipalities, and cooperative societies
are required to make a thorough survey of the permafrost conditions accord-
ing to a prescribed plan before any structure may be erected in the permafrost
region. [Muller, 1945, pp. 1-2, 85-86.]

Specifically we must think of permafrost in construction of build-
ings, roads, bridges, runways, railroads, dams, and reservoirs, in prob-
lems of water supply, sewage disposal, telephone lines, drainage, exca-
vation, ground storage, and in many other ways. Permafrost can be
used as a construction material or as a base for construction, but steps

284. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

must be taken to insure its stability. Otherwise it must be destroyed
and appropriate steps taken to prevent it from returning.

BIOLOGIC SIGNIFICANCES

Permafrost, by means of its low temperature and ability to prevent
runoff, is a potent factor that aids in controlling vegetal growth in
the Arctic and sub-Arctic (Mosley, 1937). Many places have semi-
arid climate yet have luxuriant growths of vegetation because the
permatrost prevents the loss of precipitation through underground
drainage (low evaporation is possibly as important). Such condi-
tions are natural breeding environments for mosquitoes and other
insects.

Conversely, luxuriant growths of vegetation, by insulating the per-
mafrost in summer, prevent deep thawing and augment cold soil
temperatures. Hence those species with deep root systems, such as
certain trees, are dwarfed or absent, and nourishment available to
smaller plants is limited.

Raup (1941, 1947) and Griggs (1936) point out that much of Arctic
soil is unstable because of frost action (commonly associated with
permafrost) and that standard biological methods describing plant
communities do not apply. The normal associations have been greatly
disturbed, special communities for different frost forms can be identi-
fied, and above all the plant communities must be described on the
basis of their physical habitat.

Permafrost probably controls the distribution of some animal
species, such as the frogs or toads, that require thawed ground into
which they can burrow for the winter. Foxes can have dens only in
dry elevated places where the depth of thaw is 2 feet or more. Simi-
larly, permafrost affects worms, burrowing insects, and other animals
that live in the ground.

Indirectly, permafrost, by exercising some control on types of vege-
tation, that is, tundra vs. forest, also determines the distribution of
grazing animals such as the reindeer and Barren Ground caribou.

FACTORS AFFECTING PERMAFROST

Most major factors affecting permafrost are recognized quali-
tatively, but non is well known quantitatively. These factors are
easily visualized by turning to the original definition of the term
“permafrost.” As permafrost is fundamentally a temperature phe-
nomenon, we may think of it as a negative temperature produced by
climate in material generally of heterogeneous composition. Perma-
frost is produced because, through a combination of many variables
more heat is removed from a portion of the earth during a period of

PERMAFROST—-BLACK 285

two or more years than is replaced. Hence a cold reserve is estab-
lished.

Basically the process can be reduced to one of heat exchange be-
tween the sun, the atmosphere, and the earth. The sun, through solar
radiation (insolation), and the interior of the earth, primarily through
conduction, supply practically all primary heat to the surface of the
earth (biological processes, natural or artificial fires, chemical re-
actions, cosmic or other radiations excepted). ‘This primary heat is
dissipated to the atmosphere and to outer space by conduction, radia-
tion, convection, and evaporation. The atmosphere, by warm winds
and precipitation, also distributes secondary heat to the surface of
smaller areas.

We know that earth temperatures at the depth of seasonal change
are in most places within a few degrees of the mean annual air tem-
perature, and that a geothermal gradient is established from the sur-
face to the interior of the earth. The geothermal gradient at any one
place is relatively fixed from year to year, though it varies from place
to place and has changed markedly during geologic time. It is gen-
erally considered as 1° F. for each 60 to 110 feet of depth in sedi-
mentary rock in the United States (Orstrand, 1939) ; possibly 0.1 to
0.2 calorie per square centimeter per day is transmitted to the surface
from the interior. In contrast the sun supplies possibly as much as
several hundred calories per square centimeter per day to the surface,
depending primarily on the season and secondarily on cloudiness,
humidity, altitude, latitude, and other factors. This period of rapid
heating, however, is very short in the Arctic, and for many months
heat is dissipated to the atmosphere and outer space. When dissipa-
tion of heat outweights input, a cold reserve is produced. If the cold
reserve remains below freezing for more than 2 years, it is called
permafrost.

Although the fundamental thesis of the problem is simple, its quanti-
tative solution is exceedingly complex. In only a few isolated areas
in the Arctic do we know anything of the geothermal gradients in and
below permafrost. The climate (including insolation) is so incom-
pletely known that at present it is not possible to evaluate climatic
factors except in a general way as they effect primary or secondary
heat or dissipation of heat (Lane, 1946, and others). Thus it is well
known that the following conditions tend to produce permafrost:

1. Long, cold winters and short, cool summers.

. Low precipitation the year around and especially low snowfall.
. Clear winters and cloudy summers.
. Rapid evaporation the year around.

. Strong, cold winds in Summer and winter.
. Low insolation.

D> OP & bO

286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The materials involved have different specific heats and different
heat conductivities (Shannon and Wells, 1947; Muller, 1945; W. O.
Smith, 1942, 1939). Chemical and physical properties vary widely,
yet are of primary importance (W. O. Smith, 1942; Taber, 1930a,
1930b). Water transmits heat about 25 times as fast as air, and ice
4. times as fast as water. Thus, poorly drained silt and muck are much
more easily frozen than dry, coarse-grained gravel. W. O. Smith
(1942) points out the marked effect of soil structures and of architec-
ture of pore space on thermal resistance in natural soils.

The dissipating surface of the earth is even more complex and more
changeable. Water-saturated frozen vegetation and soil (bare of
snow) in winter is an active conductor, whereas lush dry vegetation
and dry porous soil in summer is an excellent insulator. Black-top
pavements are good conductors and heat absorbers in summer and
can destroy permafrost. An elevated and insulated building with
circulating air beneath may unbalance the thermal regime of the
ground toward pergelation. Heat conductivities of some earth mate-
rials under fixed laboratory conditions are known, but the quantitative
effect in nature of variable moisture conditions and of changing vege-
tation is not. Changes in the volume, composition, or temperature of
ground water or surface runoff have effects as yet little known quali-
tatively or quantitatively.

All these factors must be considered to be in a delicate balance be-
tween freezing and thawing. It is to be emphasized that the thermal
regime is not uniform, but changes from hour to hour, day to day,
week to week, year to year, and cycle to cycle. Specifically we must
think in terms of geographic position, topography, lithology, structure,
and texture of soils and bedrock, hydrology, geothermal gradients,
thermal conductivities, vegetation, climate (temperature, precipita-
tion, cloudiness, wind, insolation, evaporation), and cultural features.

What effect cosmic dust clouds, changes in carbon-dioxide con-
tent of the atmosphere, inclination of the earth’s axis, eccentricity of
the earth’s orbit, sunspots, etc., have on permafrost can be surmised
only as they affect insolation and dissipation of the earth’s heat.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEMS

In a permafrost area, it is imperative that the engineer have a com-
plete understanding of the extent, thickness, temperature, and char-
acter of the permafrost and its relation to its environment before con-
struction of any buildings, towers, roads, bridges, runways, railroads,
dams, reservoirs, telephone lines, utilidors, drainage ditches and pipes,
facilities for sewage disposal, establishments for ground-water supply,
excavations, foundation piles, or other structures. The practical im-
portance of the temperatures of permafrost cannot be overemphasized.

PERMAFROST—BLACK 287

A knowledge of whether permafrost is actively expanding, or the
cold reserve is increasing, is stabilized, or is being destroyed is essen-
tial in any engineering problem. Past experience has amply demon-
strated that low cost or high cost, success or failure, is commonly based
cn a complete understanding of the problems to be encountered. Once
the conditions are evaluated, proper precautions can be taken with
some assurance of success.

Muller (1945) and Liverovsky and Morosov (1941) give compre-
hensive outlines of general and detailed permafrost surveys as adapted
to various engineering projects. These outlines include instructions
for the planning of the surveys, method of operation, and data to be
collected. Rarely does the geologist or engineer on a job encounter
“cut and dried” situations, and it is obvious that discretion must be
exercised in modifying the outlines to meet the situation at hand.

In reconnaissance or preliminary survey to select the best site for
construction in an unknown area, it is recommended that the approach
be one of unraveling the natural history of the area. Basically the
procedure is to identify each land form or terrain unit and deter-
mine its geologic history in detail. Topography, character and dis-
tribution of materials, permafrost, vegetation, hydrology, and climate
are studied and compared with known areas. Then inferences, deduc-
tions, extrapolations, or interpretations can be made with reliability
commensurate with the type, quality, and quantity of original data.

Thus the solution of the problems depends primarily on a complete
understanding of the thermal regime of the permafrost and active
layer. No factor can be eliminated, but all must be considered in a
quantitative way. It is understandable that disagreement exists on
the mean annual air temperature needed to produce permafrost. Few,
if any, areas actually have identical conditions of climate, geology,
and vegetation; hence, how can they be compared directly on the
basis of climate alone? Without doubt the mean annual temperature
required to produce permafrost depends on many factors and varies at
least several degrees with variations in these factors. For practical
purposes, however, units (terrain units) in the same climate or in
similar climates may be separated on the basis of geology and vegeta-
tion. Thus there is a basis for extrapolating known conditions into
unknown areas.

The advantages of aerial reconnaissance and study of aerial photo-
graphs for preliminary site selection are manifold. Aerial photo-
graphs in the hands of experienced geologists, soils engineers, and
botanists can supply sufficient data to determine the best routes for
roads and railroads, the best airfield sites, and data on water supply,
construction materials, permafrost, traflicability conditions, camou-
flage, and other problems. Such an approach has been used with

288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

success by the Geological Survey and other organizations and individ-
uals (Black and Barksdale, 1949; Wallace, 1948; Woods et al., 1948;
Pryor, 1947).

Emphasis is placed on the great need for expansion of long-term
applied and basic research projects as outlined by Jaillite (1947) and
referred to by Muller (1945) for a clearer understanding and evalua-
tion of the problems.

Recognition and prediction.—Recognition and prediction of perma-
frost go hand in hand in a permafrost survey. If natural exposures
of permafrost are not available along cut banks of rivers, lakes, or
oceans, it is necessary to dig test pits or drill holes in places to obtain
undisturbed samples for laboratory tests and to determine the char-
acter of the permafrost.

Surface features can be used with considerable degree of accuracy
to predict permafrost conditions if the origin of the surface forms are
clearly understood. Vegetation alone is not the solution, but it can be
used with other factors to provide data on surfic.al materials, surface
water, character and distribution of the permafrost, and particularly
on the depth of the active layer (Denny and Raup, unpublished manu-
script; Stone, 1948; Muller, 1945; Taber, 1943a). Cave-in or thermo-
karst lakes (pl. 8, fig. 1), thaw sinks (Hopkins, 1949; Black and Barks-
dale, 1949; Wallace, 1948; Muller, 1945), and ground-ice mounds
(Sharp, 1942a) are particularly good indicators of fine-grained mate-
rials containing much ground ice. Polygonal ground can be used with
remarkable accuracy also if the type of polygonal ground and its origin
are clearly known. Numerous types of strukturboden, polygonal
ground, and related forms have been described and their origins dis-
cussed (Wittmann, 1950; Richmond, 1949; Cailleux, 1948; Washburn,
1947; Troll, 1944; Sharp, 1942b; Hogbom, 1914). The type of ice-
wedge polygon described by Leffingwell (1919) (pl. 4) can be de-
limited from others on the basis of.surface expression. The author’s
work in northern Alaska (1945 to present) reveals that the polygons go
through a cycle that can be described as youth, maturity, and old age—
from flat surface with cracks to low-centered polygons and, finally, to
high-centered polygons. Size and shape of polygons, widths and
depths of troughs or cracks, presence or absence of ridges adjacent to
the troughs, type of vegetation, and other factors all provide clues to
the size-grade of surficial materials and the amount of ice in the
ground. Frost mounds, frost blisters, icings, gullies, and many other
surficial features can be used with reliability if all factors are con-
sidered and are carefully weighed by the experienced observer.

Geophysical methods of locating permafrost have given some prom-
ise (Sumgin and Petrovsky, 1947; Enenstein, 1947; Swartz and Shep-
ard, 1946; Muller, 1945; Joestings, 1941). (See p. 282.) Various

PERMAFROST—BLACK 289

temperature-measuring and recording devices are employed. Augers
and other mechanical means of getting at the permafrost are used
(Muller, 1945, and others).

Construction—Two types of construction methods are used in
permafrost areas (Muller, 1945). In one, the passive method, the
frozen-ground conditions are undisturbed or provided with additional
insulation, so that the heat from the structure will not cause thawing
of the underlying ground and weaken its stability. In the other
method, the active method, the frozen ground is thawed prior to
construction, and steps are taken to keep it thawed or to remove it and
to use materials not subject to heaving and settling as a result of frost
action. A preliminary examination, of course, is necessary to deter-
mine which procedure is more practicable or feasible.

Permafrost can be used as a construction material (if stress or load
does not exceed plastic or elastic limit), removed before construction,
or controlled outside the actual construction area. Muller (1945) has
shown that it is best to distinguish (@) continuous areas of permafrost
from (0) discontinuous areas and from (¢) sporadic bodies. Russian
engineers recommend that in (a) only the passive method of construc-
tion be used; in (0) or (c) either the passive or active method can be
used, depending on thickness and temperature of the permafrost. De-
tailed information and references on the construction of buildings,
roads, bridges, runways, reservoirs, airfields, and other engineering
projects (pls. 9, 10, 11, and 12) are presented by Huttl (1948) ;
Hardy and D’Appolonia (1946); Corps of Engineers (1946, 1945) ;
Zhukov (1946) ; Muller (1945) ; Richardson (1944) ; and others. Re-
finements of the techniques and data on Alaskan research projects
(Wilson, 1948; Jaillite, 1947; Barnes, 1946) are contained largely in
unpublished reports of various federal agencies.

Eager and Pryor (1945) have shown that road icings (pl. 10, fig. 3)
are more common in areas of permafrost than elsewhere. They,
Tchekotillo (1946), and Taber (1948b) discuss the phenomena of
icings, classify them, and describe various methods used to prevent
or alleviate icing.

One of the major factors to consider in permafrost is its water
content. Methods of predicting by moisture diagrams (epures) the
amount of settling of buildings on thawing permafrost are presented
by Fedosov (1942). Anderson (1942) describes soil moisture condi-
tions and methods of measuring the temperature at which soil mois-
ture freezes.

Emphasis should be placed again on the fact that permafrost is
a temperature phenomenon that occurs naturally in the earth. If man
disturbs the thermal regime knowingly or unknowingly, he must suffer
the consequences. Every effort should be made to control the thermal

290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

regime, to promote pergelation or depergelation as desired. Generally
the former is difficult near the southern margin of permafrost. If the
existing climate is not cold enough to insure that the permafrost re-
main frozen, serious consideration should be given to artificial freezing
in those places where permafrost must be utilized as a construction
material. Techniques that were used at Grand Coulee Dam (Legget,
1939) or on Hess Creek (Huttl, 1948) can be modified to fit the situa-
tion. It should be borne in mind that the refrigerating equipment
need be run only for a matter of hours during the summer after the
ground has been refrozen and vegetation or other means of natural
insulation have been employed. Bad slides on roads and railroads,
settling under expensive buildings, loosening of the foundations of
dams, bridges, towers, and the like probably can be treated by re-
freezing artificially at less cost than by any other method. In fact
the day is probably not far off when airfields of Pycrete (Perutz,
1948) or similar material will be built in the Arctic where no con-
struction materials are available.

Where seasonal frost (active layer) is involved in construction, the
engineer is referred to the annotated bibliography of the Highway Re-
search Board (1948) and to such reports as that of the Corps of
Engineers (1945, 1946, 1947).

Water supply—Throughout permafrost areas one of the major
problems is a satisfactory source of large amounts of water. Prob-
lems encountered in keeping the water liquid during storage and dis-
tribution or in its purification are beyond the scope of this report.
Small amounts of water can be obtained generally from melted ice
or snow. However, a large, satisfactory, annual water supply in
areas of continuous permafrost is to be found only in deep lakes
or large rivers that do not freeze to the bottom. Even then the
water tends to have considerable mineral hardness and organic con-
tent. It is generally not economical to drill through 1,000 to 2,000
feet of permafrost to tap ground-water reservoirs beneath, although
artesian supplies have been obtained under 700 feet of permafrost
(Dementiev and Tumel, 1946) and under 1,500 feet of permafrost
(Obruchey, 1946).

In areas of discontinuous permafrost, large annual ground-water
supplies are more common either in perched zones on top of permafrost
or in nonfrozen zones within or below the permafrost (Cederstrom,
1948; Péwé, 1948b).

Annual water supply in areas of sporadic permafrost normally is
a problem only to individual householders and presents only a little
more difficulty than finding water in comparable areas in temperate
zones.

Surface water as an alternate to ground water can be retained by
earthen dams in areas of permafrost (Huttl, 1948).

PERMAFROST—BLACK 291

Throughout the Arctic, however, the quality of water is commonly
poorer than in temperate regions. Hardness, principally in the form
of calcium and magnesium carbonate and iron or manganese, is com-
mon. Organic impurities and sulfur are abundant. In many places
ground water and surface water have been polluted by man or or-
ganisms.

Muller (1945) presents a detailed discussion of sources of water and
the engineering problems in permafrost areas of distributing the
water. Joestings (1941) describes a partially successful method of
locating water-bearing formations in permafrost with resistivity
methods.

Sewage disposal.—Sewage disposal for large camps in areas of con-
tinuous permafrost is a most difficult problem. Wastes should be
dumped into the sea, as no safe place exists on the land for their dis-
posal ina raw state. As chemical reaction is retarded by cold temper-
atures, natural decomposition and purification through aeration do
not take place readily. Large streams that have some water in them
the year around are few and should not be contaminated. Promiscu-
ous dumping of sewage will lead within a few years to serious pollu-
tion of the few deep lakes and other areas of annual surface-water
supply. Burning is costly. As yet no really satisfactory solution is
known to the writer. In discontinuous and sporadic permafrost zones,
streams are larger and can handle sewage more easily, yet even there
sewage disposal still remains in places one of the most important
problems.

Agriculture —Permafrost as a cold reserve has a deleterious effect
on the growth of plants. However, as an impervious horizon it tends
to keep precipitation in the upper soil horizons, and in thawing pro-
vides water from melting ground ice. Both deleterious and beneficial
effects are negligible after 1 or 2 years of cultivation, as the perma-
frost table thaws, in that length of time, beyond the reach of roots of
most annual plants (Gasser, 1948).

Farming in permafrost areas that have much ground ice, however,
can lead to a considerable loss in time and money. Sub-Arctic farming
can be done only where a sufficient growing season is available for
plants to mature in the short summers. Such areas are in the discon-
tinuous or sporadic zones of permafrost. If the land is cleared of its
natural insulating cover of vegetation, the permafrost thaws. Over
a period of 2 to 3 years, large cave-in lakes have developed in Siberia
(I. V. Poiré, oral communication), and pits and mounds have formed
in Alaska (pl. 10, fig. 4) (Péwé, 1948a, 1949; Rockie, 1942). The
best solution is to select farm lands in those areas free of permafrost
or free of large ground-ice masses (Tziplenkin, 1944).

Mining —In Alaska, placer miners particularly, and lode miners
to a lesser extent, have utilized permafrost or destroyed it as neces-

292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

sary since it was first encountered. Particularly in placer mining,
frozen ground has been the factor that has made many operations
uneconomical (Wimmler, 1927).

In the early part of the century, when gold was being mined so
profitably at Dawson, Fairbanks, Nome, and other places in northern
North America, it was common for miners to sink shafts more than
100 feet through frozen muck to the gold-bearing gravels (P. S. Smith,
unpublished manuscript). These shafts were sunk by steam jetting or
by thawing with fires or hot rocks. If the muck around the shafts or
over the gravels thawed, the mines had to be abandoned.

Now, with the advent of dredges, such ground is thawed, generally
with cold water, one or more years in advance of operations. In
the technique used holes are drilled in or through the permafrost at
regular intervals of possibly 10 to 30 feet, depending on the depth
and types of material, and cold water is forced through the perma-
frost into underlying permeable foundations or out to the surface
through other holes. Hot water and steam, formerly used, are un-
economical and inefficient. Where thick deposits of overburden cover
placers, they are removed commonly by hydraulicking. Summer thaw
facilitates the process (Patty, 1945).

Permafrost is commonly welcomed by the miners in lode mining, as
it means dry working conditions. Its effect on mining operations other
than maintaining cold temperatures in the mine is negligible unless it
contains aquifers. Because of cold temperatures, sealing such aquifers
with cement is difficult, and other techniques must be used as the
situation demands.

Some well drilling in permafrost requires modifications of existing
techniques and more careful planning for possible exigencies (Fagin,
1947). Difficulty may be encountered in getting proper foundations
for the rig. In rotary drilling, difficulty may be experienced in keep-
ing drilling muds at the proper temperature, in finding adequate water
supplies, or in finding proper local material for drilling muds. In
shallow holes particularly, the tools will “freeze in” after a few hours
of idleness. In many places refreezing of permafrost around cased
holes produces pressures great enough to collapse most casing.
Cementing of casings is costly and very difficult, as ordinary con-
crete will not set in subfreezing temperatures. Deep wells below the
permafrost may encounter high temperatures (100° to 150° F.), and
the hot drilling muds on returning to the surface thaw the permafrost
around the casing and create a settling hazard in the foundation of
the rig and also a disposal problem. In some foundations refrigerat-
ing equipment must be used to prevent settling.

Permafrost also may act as a trap for oil or even have oil reser-
voirs within it. The cold temperature adversely affects asphalt-base

PERMAFROST—BLACK 293

types particularly and cuts down yields. Production difficulties and
costs go up (Fagin, 1947).

Refrigeration and storage.—Natural cold-storage excavations are
used widely in areas of permafrost. They are most satisfactory in
continuous or discontinuous zones. Permafrost should not be above
30° F.; if it is, extreme care in ventilation and insulation must be
used. Properly constructed and ventilated storerooms will keep meat
and other products frozen for years. Detailed plans and charac-
teristics required for different cold-storage rooms are described by
Chekotillo (1946).

Trafficability—In the Arctic and sub-Arctic most travel overland
is done in winter, as muskegs, swamps, and hummocky tundra make
summer travel exceedingly difficult (Navy Department, 1948-49;
Fagin, 1947). Tracked vehicles or sleds are the only practical types.
Wheeled vehicles are unsatisfactory, as most of the area is without
roads.

Permafrost aids travel when it is within a few inches of the sur-
face. It permits travel of D8 caterpillar tractors and heavier equip-
ment directly on the permafrost. Sleds weighing many tons can
be pulled over the permafrost with ease after the vegetal mat has
been removed by an angle-bulldozer. Polygonal ground, frost blisters,
pingos, and small, deeply incised thaw streams (commonly called
“beaded” streams), rivers, and lakes create natural hazards to travel.

In areas of discontinuous and sporadic permafrost, seasonal thaw is
commonly 6 to 10 feet deep, and overland travel in summer can be
accomplished in many places only with amphibious vehicles such as
the weasel or LVT. Foot travel and horse travel are very slow and
laborious in many places because of swampy land surfaces and neces-
sity for making numerous detours around sloughs, rivers, and lakes.

Military operations—Permafrost alters military operations
through its effects on construction of airbases, roads, railroads, revet-
ments, buildings, and other engineering projects; through its effects
on trafficability, water supply, sewage disposal, excavations, under-
ground storage, camouflage, explosives, planting of mines, and other
more indirect ways (Edwards, 1949; Navy Department, 1948-49).
Military operations commonly require extreme speed in construction,
procuring of water supply, or movement of men and material. Un-
fortunately it is not always humanly possible to exercise such speed
(Fagin, 1947). Large excavations require natural thawing, aided
possibly by sprinkling (Huttl, 1948), to proceed ahead of the earth
movers. Conversely, seasonal thaw may be so deep as to prevent the
movement of heavy equipment over swampy ground until freeze-up.
Or, similarly, it may be necessary in a heavy building to steam-jet
piles into permafrost and allow them to freeze in place before loading

294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

them. These tasks take time, and proper planning is a prerequisite
for efficient operation.

Camouflage is a problem on the tundra. Little relief or change in
vegetation is available. Tracks of heavy vehicles or paths stand out
in marked contrast for years. It is easy to see in aerial photographs
footpaths and dog-sled trails abandoned 10 years or more ago.

Mortar and shell fire, Jand mines, shaped charges, and other ex-
plosives undoubtedly respond to changes in the character of
permafrost, but no data are available to the author.

FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDED

Throughout the foregoing pages brief reference is made to aspects
of permafrost or effects of permafrost on engineering, geologic, bio-
logic, and other scientific problems for which few factual data are
available. However, in the event that the reader has received the
impression that a great deal is known of permafrost, it is pointed out
that the science of frozen ground is relatively young and immature.
It has lacked a coordinated and comprehensive investigation by geo-
logists, engineers, physicists, botanists, climatologists, and other
scientists. It is barely in the beginning of the descriptive stages, and
only now is it receiving the world-wide attention it deserves.

As our civilization presses northward, the practical needs of con-
struction, water supply, sewage disposal, trafficability, and other en-
gineering problems must be solved speedily and economically. Our
present knowledge is relatively meager, and trial-and-error methods
are being used much too frequently. Practical laboratory experi-
ments (Taber, 1930a, 1930b) and controlled field experimental
stations, such as that at Fairbanks, Alaska (Jaillite, 1947), are needed
in various situations in the permafrost areas. From these stations
methods and techniques of construction can be standardized and ap-
propriate steps taken to meet a particular situation. Such labora-
tories must be supplemented with Arctic research stations such as are
found in the Soviet Union where more than 30 natural-science labora-
tories with permanent facilities and year-around basic studies in all
phases of Arctic science are going on. The Arctic Research Labora-
tory at Point Barrow (Shelesnyak, 1948) is a start in the right direc-
tion. The academic approach must accompany the practical approach
if satisfactory solution of the problem is to be found.

To name all the specific topics for future research would make this
paper unduly long, as no phase of permafrost is well known. How-
ever, the author reiterates that the problems cannot be solved ade-
quately until the phenomena of heat flow in all natural and artificial
materials in the earth are understood and correlated with insolation,
atmospheric conditions, geothermal gradients, and the complex sur-

PERMAFROST—BLACK 295

face of the earth. Then, possibly, criteria can be set up to evaluate
within practical limits the effect of various structures and materials
on the dissipating surface of the earth. The complexities of geology
(lithology, structure, and texture of soils and rock), hydrology, vege-
tation, and climate of the Arctic make the solution a formidable task
but the research an intriguing problem for all earth scientists.

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WERENSKIOLD, W.
1923. Frozen soil in Spitzbergen. Abstract, Month. Weather Rev., vol. 51,
p. 210.
WILKERSON, A. S.
1932. Some frozen deposits in the gold fields of interior Alaska. Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist. Nov. No. 525, 22 pp.
WILSON, WALTER K., JR.
1948. The problem of permafrost. Military Eng., vol. 40, No. 270,
pp. 162-164.
WIMMLER, N. L.
1927. Placer-mining methods and costs in Alaska. U.S. Bur. Mines Bull.
259, pp. 37-40.
WITTMANN, OTTO.
*1950. Diluvialprofile mit periglazialen Erscheinungen von Chateau de Jeurre
zwischen Etampes und Etrechy (Seine und Oise). Neues Jahrb.
Geol. und Paliiontol., Monatshefte, No. 3, pp. 65-79.
Woops, K. B., ET AL.
1948. Use of aerial photographs in the correlation between permafrost and
soils. Military Eng., vol. 40, pp. 497-499.
YouNnG, JAcoB W.
1918. Ground frost in Alaska. Eng. and Min. Journ., vol. 105, No. 7,
pp. 8388-3839.
ZEUNER, F. E.
*1945, The Pleistocene period—its climate, chronology, and faunal successions.
322 pp. Ray Society, London.
*1946. Dating the past. 444 pp. London.
ZHUKOY, V. F.
*1946. The earthworks during the laying of foundations in the permafrost
region. Obruchev Inst. Permafrostology, pp. 3-130. Moscow-Lenin-
grad. (Translated by Stefansson Library.)

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EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA?

By B. GuTENBERG

California Institute of Technology

[With 1 plate]

During the past 10 years considerable progress has been made in
determining the seismicity in a given area—the frequency of occur-
rence, and distribution of earthquakes. Earlier investigations were
based almost completely on field observations, but now extensive use
of instrumental records is possible. This assures much more uniform
results for the whole earth. The use of seismograms in investigations
of seismicity was made possible by the development of methods which
permit a rapid calculation of a function of the earthquake energy
from instrumental observations. The first seismogram of a distant
earthquake that was recognized as such was made on April 17, 1889,
when an instrument at Potsdam wrote a record identified as that of
a shock in Japan. (Rebeur-Paschwitz, 1894, p. 436.) During the
following years instruments were designed which gave fairly good
records of distant earthquakes. In 1897, a committee of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science called attention to the
desirability of observing earthquake waves that had traveled great
distances. By 1899, 13 stations provided such observations and the
results were analyzed. In 1904 the number of stations reporting had
increased beyond 100, but less than half of them reported wave
arrival times reliable within about a quarter-minute. From that time
on, however, it has been possible to locate within a few hundred miles
all great earthquakes and most major shocks. In 1907 the Interna-
tional Central Station at Strasbourg issued the first catalog giving
all readings for the larger shocks reported for 1904. Thus, starting
with 1904, research on seismicity could be based on instrumental
observations. The systematic publication of such data was discon-
tinued during the First World War (when the catalog for 1908 was
in press) and later was resumed, starting with the data for 1918.
For the years 1912 to 1917 summaries for selected shocks were pub-
lished by the British Association for the Advancement of Science
under the supervision of H. H. Turner, University Observatory,
Oxford.

1 Reprinted by permission from Science, vol. 111, No. 2883, 1950, with added text and illustrations.
303

304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Detailed data concerning arrival times of waves at the reporting
seismological observatories are printed in the International Seis-
mological Summaries. In addition, these volumes contain calculated
values of the coordinates and depths of the earthquake foci and the
origin times of the shocks. They were formerly compiled at Oxford,
England, and now at Kew (Turner et al., 1923-50). The summaries
are based on the bulletins that are issued by most seismological sta-
tions. Some of these station bulletins contain, in addition to observed
times of various phases, the calculated amplitudes of the ground
motion. With this information it is possible to determine the size of
the earthquakes. The great importance for research of all such sta-
tion bulletins and international catalogs is obvious.

There are now roughly 300 seismological stations with accurate time
service (at least to the nearest second) practically all over the world,
including South Africa, South America, New Zealand, Samoa, Aus-
tralia, and Madagascar in the Southern Hemisphere, and a much
denser network in the Northern Hemisphere.

Until about 10 years ago the size of an earthquake could be esti-
mated only from the observed size of the area of perceptibility or of
damage or from changes found at the surface of the earth. Arbitrary
scales were applied to such data to find the intensity of a shock. For
example, in the scale used in the United States (Wood and Neu-
mann, 1931), intensity II indicates that the shock was felt only by
a few persons; intensity V, that it was felt by everyone, many were
awakened, some dishes were broken, etc.; intensity VIII indicates
slight damage in specially designed structures, considerable damage
in ordinary buildings, great damage in poorly built structures; and
intensity XII, the maximum, indicates destruction of all structures.
A scale of wholly different nature, based on instrumental data, was
devised by C. F. Richter (1935). He defined magnitude of an earth-
quake at average (shallow) depth in southern California as the
common logarithm of the maximum trace amplitude expressed in
thousandths of a millimeter, with which the standard short period
torsion seismometer (period 0.8 second, magnification 2,800, damp-
ing nearly critical) would register that earthquake at an epicentral
distance of 100 kilometers. Magnitude 1/=2 corresponds in shallow
earthquakes to a shock barely felt; a shock of magnitude 5 causes
minor damage; magnitude 7 is the lower limit of major earthquakes;
81% is the highest magnitude that has been determined from amplitude
data given in individual bulletins of seismological stations since 1904.
This magnitude scale was later extended by Gutenberg and Richter
(1936, 1942) to apply to shallow earthquakes occurring in other locali-
ties and recorded by other types of instruments. Gutenberg (1945a)
devised means for determining magnitudes of shallow earthquakes

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA—GUTENBERG 305

using amplitudes and periods of waves that had traveled through
the interior of the earth. He also extended the scale to include deep-
focus earthquakes (Gutenberg, 1945b). It is now possible to deter-
mine the magnitude of larger earthquakes within a few tenths of the
scale from seismograms at any well-equipped station. The relation-
ship between magnitude J/ of an earthquake and its energy # in ergs
is given roughly by the approximate equation log #=12+1.8d/
(Gutenberg and Richter, 1949). This holds for any focal depth.
The data concerning the magnitude and the instrumentally determined
epicenters and depths of foci of earthquakes provide the basis for
seismicity studies.

Lists of earthquakes and other results of such an investigation of
earthquakes recorded over the period from 1904 to 1947 have been
published by Gutenberg and Richter (1949). Much of the following
information is taken from this book.

The use of magnitudes for the first time provides reliable informa-
tion concerning the relative seismicity of all regions of the earth. It
eliminates the effects of density of population and of communication
facilities on the determination of intensities of reported earthquakes,
as well as effects of uneven distribution of seismological observatories
on seismicity patterns. If the magnitude of the earthquakes is not
considered, distorted appearance of seismicity maps may result from
an accumulation of many small shocks, which are plotted only in
regions well covered by stations with sensitive instruments. Thus,
Europe—which, except for the Mediterranean area, has a low actual
seismicity—has appeared on maps in the past as a region of relatively
high seismic activity. There are now five stations reporting magni-
tudes of earthquakes in their routine bulletins, but many more reg-
ularly furnish amplitude data required for the magnitude determina-
tion. Magnitude can be determined from a seismogram at any sta-
tion where instrumental constants are known and where a clear record
of an earthquake has been written, regardless of the distance or depth
of the shock. Magnitudes determined at different stations rarely
differ by more than 0.8 units from the average for a given earth-
quake.

The outer part of the earth consists of relatively inactive blocks,
separated by active zones falling into four groups: (1) the circum-
Pacific zone, which includes about 80 percent of all shocks with origins
at a depth not exceeding 60 kilometers (about 40 miles), 90 percent
of the so-called intermediate shocks, which have their sources at
depths between 60 and 300 kilometers (about 40 and 190 miles), and
all deeper shocks (maximum observed depth approximately 400
miles). (2) The Mediterranean and trans-Asiatic zone, which in-
cludes nearly all remaining intermediate and large shallow shocks.

306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

(3) Narrow belts of shallow shocks, which follow the principal ridges
in the Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian Oceans. (4) Moderate activity
associated with rift structures such as those of East Africa and the
Hawaiian Islands.

The most extensive inactive block is the Pacific basin (excluding
the Hawaiian Islands). On the continents, most of the ancient shields
are quite inactive. Between the stable shields and the active belts are
regions of minor to moderate activity having occasional large shocks.
Small shocks (magnitude 5 and less) apparently occur everywhere.

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Fieurr 1.—The structural are from northern Japan to Kamchatka. (After
Gutenberg and Richter, 1949.) (See also fig. 2.)

A structural are of the Pacific region—for example the Tonga
arc, the Marianas arc, or the northern Japan are (figs. 1 and 2)—ex-
hibits the following typical features in order, beginning at the con-
vex side: (A) a foredeep; (B) shallow earthquakes and negative
gravity anomalies along anticlines; (C) positive gravity anomalies
and slightly deeper shocks; (D) the principal mountain are (Ter-
tiary or older), with active volcanoes and shocks about 100 kilometers
deep; (E) an older structural arc with volcanism in a late stage or

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA—GUTENBERG 307

extinct, and shocks about 200 to 300 kilometers deep; (F) a belt of
deep shocks (below 300 kilometers). In some arcs only a few of these
features can be identified; this is true of the similar structural arcs
along the southern Alpid front of the trans-Asiatic zone. In parts of
the Pacific belt (for example, along the coast of the continental United
States (fig. 3) and British Columbia) structural arcs and the accom-
panying features are absent. In many such sectors (as in California)
there is strong evidence of block faulting in place of the folding
characteristic of the arcs.

ISOSTATIG ANOMALY

PROFILE, VERTICAL SCALE 10 TIMES HORIZONTAL SCALE

VOLCAMIC BELT

SHOCKS SHOWN IM PROFILE
SWALLOW X oer se
INTERMEDIATE 9

1S Merdeutet

IFIGuRE 2.—The structural arcin northern Japan. (After Gutenberg and Richter,
1949.) (See also fig. 1.)

The seismicity of North America is mainly associated with the Paci-
fic belt. Relatively high activity occurs in the area of the Aleutian
Islands. The Aleutian arc is a typical Pacific arc; it extends from
the Commander Islands into central Alaska. Seismic and volcanic
activity is relatively high. Jn general, shallow seismic activity fol-
lows the northern concave side of the Aleutian trench. Intermediate
shocks at depths down to about 100 miles occur along the north side of
the island arc. No shocks originating deeper than 20 miles are known
in the area of the North American Continent. The shocks having
depths of approximately 60 miles occur near the line of volcanoes, as

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SHALLOW EARTHQUAKES

CLASS... 9 c

Mx x

“VOLCANOES

REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

MAJOR ACTIVE FAULTS ==

TREND OF

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MOUNTAIN RANGES “90 ooo

OCEAN DEPTH, xu,

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Figure 3.—Epicenters of larger earthquakes in British Columbia, the western

United States,

and northwestern Mexico between 1905 and 1947.
Gutenberg and Richter, 1949.)

(After

GUTENBERG 309

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA

usual. Shallow shocks in the interior of Alaska represent an interior
structure.

Another sector of the Pacific belt extends from southeastern Alaska
to Puget Sound and includes the rather active area of the Queen
Charlotte Islands (fig. 8, upper left), where a great earthquake
occurred in August 1949. ‘There are neither well-developed ocean
deeps nor shocks at intermediate or greater depth in this area. The
seismic activity decreases considerably in the vicinity of the State of
Washington. There is a clear gap between this and the next seismic
zone, which begins about 200 miles off the coast of Oregon. Thence,
an uninterrupted belt of earthquake foci extends in a southeasterly
direction (fig. 3). It reaches the coast of northern California, then
follows the coastal area to the region of San Francisco and continues
inland following the well-known San Andreas fault zone. This zone
has been traced at the surface as far south as the Salton Sea, but the
earthquake belt continues along the Gulf of California at least as
far as the southern tip of Lower California. Volcanic activity is low
along this zone; the few volcanoes, such as Mount Lassen, and Tres
Virgenes in Lower California, appear to be in a late state of activity.

The next sector to the southeast is one of noticeably higher activity.
It follows the Pacific coast from Colima in Mexico to Panama. There
are two lines of active volcanoes, one extending west-east across cen-
tral Mexico from Colima to Veracruz, the other beginning in Guate-
mala and extending southeastward through Central America. <Ac-
companying the line of active volcanoes, once more earthquakes are
found at depths of somewhat less than 100 miles. Mexico City is in
the west-east belt of intermediate shocks and consequently experiences
rather frequent earthquakes; however, they usually cause relatively
little damage as a result of their considerable depth below the surface.
Ocean deeps off the Mexican coast are well developed and include the
Acapulco deep and the Guatemala trench. Unfortunately, gravity
measurements are very scarce off the whole Pacific coast of North
America but the few data available indicate appreciable negative grav-
ity anomalies, at least off the coast of Mexico in the neighborhood of
the ocean deeps.

The earthquake belts mentioned thus far are responsible for most of
the seismic acivity in North America. In the United States, for ex-
ample, the California-Nevada region contains about 90 percent of the
whole seismic activity. This result is based mainly on instrumental
data covering the past 40 years, but is in good agreement with historical
information (Gutenberg and Richter, 1944). The remaining shocks
are partly situated in areas marginal to stable masses, partly in regions
which have undergone higher tectonic activity in the not too distant
geological past. The Rocky Mountains and related structures, which

310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

are of the same age as others belonging to the circum-Pacific belt, show
relatively low seismicity.

Other regions with occasional earthquakes include the area between
Siberia and Alaska. This is transgressed by the Bering Sea, whose
coasts are probably of structural significance, since practically all the
known shocks of the regions are close to them. Activity marginal to
the Canadian shield includes a major earthquake off Newfoundland in
1929; to the northeast, marginal shocks have occurred in Davis Strait
and Baflin Bay. There is notable activity along the St. Lawrence
River.

The Appalachian belt is a region of fairly frequent minor activity.
The northern part of it is shaken occasionally by marginal shocks
of the Canadian shield, and some moderate earthquakes originate
within the Appalachian area. Near the Atlantic coast is the epicenter
of the Charleston (S. C.) earthquake of 1886. Historically the
greatest shocks in the United States outside the Pacific area are the
earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 in the Mississippi Valley, which origi-
nated near New Madrid (Mo.); their magnitudes possibly surpassed
magnitude 8. It is of interest to note that shocks east of the Rocky
Mountains seem to originate occasionally at depths of about 30 or
40 miles below the surface, which is near the lower limit of “shallow”
earthquakes. As a consequence, these shocks are sometimes felt over a
wide area without doing any serious damage anywhere. An earth-
quake near Charleston (Mo.) in 1895 occasioned only minor damage
near its epicenter and yet was felt from the District of Columbia to
New Mexico, from Canada to Louisiana. Contrasting with these
shocks, California earthquakes usually originate at a depth of ap-
proximately 10 miles; even when they cause considerable damage, they
have much smaller areas of perceptibility.

The instrumental data furnish information as to the contemporary
seismicity of any given region. However, the historic records where
available indicate that in most areas the seismicity changes only rela-
tively little with time; on the other hand, a few regions are known to
have shown a much higher seismic activity in earlier periods, and in
some instances major earthquakes have occurred in regions which have
been considered inactive. Of the roughly one million earthquakes per
year which are potentially strong enough to be felt somewhere on
earth (magnitude 2 and more) about 2 percent occur in the earthquake
belt of California and Nevada (including the shocks off the coast of
northern California and Oregon). For details see Gutenberg and
Richter (1949).

It is possible to make certain statistical statements about the fre-
quency and the probability of the occurrence of earthquakes within
relatively large areas over long periods of time. For example, of the
present average of about 220 great shocks (Jf =734) and about 1,200

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Gutenberg PLATE 1

OFFSETS OF STREAMS ALONG THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT AT THE CARRIZO PLAIN,
CALIF. (ABOUT 119%° W., 35° N.)

Directions of the streams from left to right. (Taken by the Fairchild Aerial
Survey, Los Angeles, for the Barnsdall Oil Co., in February 1936.)

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA—GUTENBERG 311

additional major earthquakes (4/=7.0-7.7) per century over the whole
earth, about 5 and 18 respectively can be expected to occur in the Pacific
United States, about 14 great shocks and 65 major shocks in Alaska
and the Aleutian Islands, and about 11 major shocks in the remainder
of central, eastern, and northern North America. It is not possible,
however, to predict the approximate location or time of larger earth-
quakes, since too little information is available on the sources of energy
and the processes involved in the building up of strain leading to an
earthquake.

Some information on tectonic processes is being furnished by geo-
detic measurements. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
has installed a special system of triangulation stations and bench
marks in California, which are checked from time to time. In this
way, changes in elevation as well as horizontal movements over larger
areas are found. Such measurements have indicated, for example,
that during the past 60 years the region on the west side of the San
Andreas fault between San Francisco and San Jose has moved
roughly 10 feet north relative to the east side (Whitten, 1948). This
is not a new type of movement; geological evidence indicates that this
type of movement has persisted during many centuries, at least.
Wherever rivers flow across the fault system the river bed has been
displaced in the same direction—the western side northward relative
to the eastern side. The total amount of these displacements is not
known. In the neighborhood of the San Andreas fault (pl. 1) some
offsets exceed 1 mile; however, no information concerning displace-
ments in excess of the distances between successive valleys can be
found in this way. Thus far no definite correlation has been found
between rocks corresponding to each other on the two sides of the San
Andreas fault.

Records of earthquakes have been used to find the direction of the
movement at the source and to draw conclusions as to the fault move-
ment during a shock. It is possible to determine whether the first
motion of the longitudinal waves is from the source toward the sta-
tion or in the opposite direction. Thus, for example, earthquakes
along the San Andreas fault to the north of Pasadena begin on the
Pasadena records with a dilatation toward the source, whereas earth-
quakes from the San Andreas fault to the east of Pasadena start with
a compression toward Pasadena (Gutenberg, 1941). The motion in
the shear waves can be investigated in a similar way. Studies of this
type, which have been undertaken in California during recent years,
have fully confirmed the persistence of the movements just described
(Dehlinger, 1950). They throw some light on the details of the
processes in earthquakes.

It is of interest that similar investigations seem to indicate that

922758—51——_21

312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

in Japan, in the Philippines, and in New Zealand the prevailing
movement is such that the continental side is also moving southward
relative to the Pacific side. However, the data are insufficient for a
more general conclusion as to movements of the continents relative
to the Pacific block.

Additional information on processes leading to earthquakes can
be expected from investigations on the relation of earthquakes and
aftershock sequences (fig. 4) to rock creep, which Hugo Benioff is

PETE
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aaa ERE

nn A
Hate AM LUT

LOIN VUIDAYS 7701 1.0 10 100

Ficurs 4.—Strain release characteristic, Long Beach aftershock sequence, 1933.
(After H. Benioff, 1951a.)

undertaking (Benioff, 1949, 1951a). On the basis of the elastic re-
bound theory, the fault rock strain relief which produces an earth-
quake is proportional to the square root of the energy. Consequently,
in a sequence derived from a single fault system the square root of the
energy of each shock represents a strain release (or increase) incre-
ment, and a plot of the accumulated sum of such increments against
time represents the motion of a fault as a function of time (fig. 5).
The method thus appears to provide a means for observing tectonic
movements in progress. The energy is derived from magnitudes
of earthquakes as determined by Gutenberg and Richter (1949). In
the case of aftershock sequences, Dr. Benioff has found that creep
curves exhibit either simple compressional elastic creep of the fault
rock or compressional elastic creep release followed by shearing elastic
creep release.

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA—GUTENBERG 313

Study of a number of earthquake sequences occurring in all the
active regions of the world has revealed that most of them form creep
series. Many types of creep are represented, such as constant velocity
creep, exponential velocity creep, elastic creep, and elastic flow creep.
Individual sequences may have linear extents of 20° to 30° of latitude,
as in the case of the South American and Tonga sequence, and the
evidence strongly suggests that they are derived from movements
of single mechanical units. The deep-focus Tonga sequence exhibits

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JULIAN DAY

Figure 5.—Strain release characteristic, San Andreas fault system (as indicated
in the inserted map). Symbols for magnitude refer to the main figure only.
(After H. Benioff, unpublished. )

elastic creep which continued some 25 years, thus demonstrating that
at depths of 650 kilometers rock masses can support elastic creep
stresses without appreciable flow for many years. Unfortunately,
data available for this type of research cover too short a period to
permit conclusions to be drawn as to the exact processes involved.
In some of the series investigated by Dr. Benioff, discontinuities in
the rate of movement were observed within the short interval of time
during which instrumental records are available. Other sequences
appear to exhibit no evidence of a discontinuous change in rate since
1904,

314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Dr. Benioff (1951b) has found, in addition, that the accumulated
strain-rebound characteristic of all world earthquakes of magnitudes
8.0 to 8.6 that have occurred since 1904 exhibits a saw-tooth shape
with very nearly linear segments. The serrations decrease regularly
with time in amplitude as well as in period. If a proposed interpre-
tation is correct, the curve indicates the following conclusions: (1)
World earthquakes in this magnitude range are not independent
events. They are related in some form of world-wide stress system.
(2) From 1908 to 1950 the total secular strain accumulated at a re-
markably constant rate. (3) This strain was released in five active
veriods of decreasing lengths separated by quiescent intervals of very
small or no activity. (4) During the active periods the strain release
proceeded at approximately twice the rate of the secular strain
accumulation.

Still another type of approach could start with stresses to be ex-
pected from theoretically derived forces—such as those connected
with contraction or expansion of the earth, or subcrustal currents—
and their effect on geological structures. All ideas dealing with
forces and structures are by far too controversial to permit the draw-
ing of conclusions concerning expected seismicity, but data obtained
_ from earthquakes and artificial explosions are at present the most
reliable basis for hypotheses connected with tectonic and structural
problems. The distribution of earthquakes and the other observed
phenomena in the Pacific arc structures leave little doubt that there
is a great difference between the structure of the Pacific crustal layers
and the structure of crustal layers in the continents and in the Atlantic.

A change in surface structure occurs at some point off all Pacific
coasts. In the western and southwestern Pacific the boundary is
given by the so-called Marshall line or andesite line, which separates
the more andesitic material on the continental side from the less
andesitic on the Pacific side. This line is known to run to the east
of the Japanese, Marianas, and Philippine Islands and crosses the
Caroline Islands leaving Yap and Palau on the continental side. It
turns sharply to the east near the northwestern end of New Guinea
and later passes between Samoa (which is on the Pacific side) and
the Tonga Islands (on the continental side). Near Samoa it turns
southward and remains to the east of the Kermadec Islands and of
New Zealand. Its location in the eastern Pacific is not known, since
no islands can be used there for locating the line, but it appears to
follow along the coast of North America at a distance which varies
from place to place. The andesite line is the intersection of a deep-
going surface of discontinuity with the surface of the earth. The
difference in structure on its two sides provides one of the reasons
for the accumulation of earthquakes along the line. The fact that in
many areas a belt of large negative gravity anomalies parallels the

EARTHQUAKES IN NORTH AMERICA—GUTENBERG 315

andesite line indicates tectonic processes extending to rather large
depth. The deep-focus earthquakes are connected with these proc-
esses, and the fact that the very deep shocks occur nowhere on earth
except near and inland of the andesite line is another indication of the
unique structure of the Pacific basin.

All information available for the Atlantic side of North America
indicates that the transition from the continent to the bottom of the
Atlantic is rather gradual. Although granitic material is probably
missing in the deeper parts of the Atlantic basin, as shown by recent
seismic explorations by W. Maurice Ewing and his collaborators,
deeper continental material may be present throughout the bottom
of the Atlantic Ocean (Ewing et al., 1937, 1950). In contrast with
the Pacific coasts, there are no earthquake belts surrounding the
Atlantic or the Indian Ocean. However, earthquakes and volcanoes
occur along the mid-Atlantic ridge. In contrast with this ridge and
similar ridges with seismic activity in the Indian Ocean, no ridges
of the Pacific show any earthquake activity, with the exception of the
area near the Hawaiian Islands.

There is no agreement on any hypothesis as to the ultimate source
that furnishes the energy for earthquakes. Perhaps they are con-
nected with differences in heat production in the various units of the
earth’s crust. Laboratory experiments indicate that much more
radioactive heat is generated in granitic material than in the more basic
material (simatic rocks) of the deeper layers and much less in the
ultrabasic material which probably extends relatively close to the
surface in the Pacific area. There is, in addition, the effect of the
temperature difference between ocean bottom (which is kept at a
temperature near 0° C. by the deep water in the oceans) and the
temperature of roughly 200° C. at the corresponding depth under the
continents. Subcrustal currents may be a consequence of this hori-
zontal temperature gradient. This may be combined with the fact
that the structural ares along the Pacific boundary are usually in-
terpreted as due to forces either pushing or drawing subcrustal mate-
rial downward toward the foredeeps, with compensating movements
elsewhere. However, we know too little about the details of these
processes.

During recent years it has been a very common experience in geo-
physics that hypotheses concerning the structure and the processes
in the earth’s crust have become less and less certain as data accumu-
late ; frequently the fact is revealed that the approximations used were
not as good as was believed. There is little doubt that the number of
recognized unsolved problems is increasing rather than decreasing in
practically all fields of geophysics. The hope of explaining and
predicting earthquakes seems to be more remote now than at any
previous time.

316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BENIOFF, HvuGo.
1949. Seismic evidence for the fault origin of oceanic deeps. Bull. Geol.
Soe. Amer., vol. 60, pp. 1837-1856.
1951a. Earthquakes and rock creep. Part I, Creep characteristics of rocks
and the origin of aftershocks. Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., vol. 41,
pp. 31-62.
1951b. Global strain accumulation and release as revealed by great earth-
quakes. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., in press.
DEHLINGER, PETER.
1950. Shear wave vibration directions and related fault movements in
southern California earthquakes. Ph. D. dissertation, California
Institute of Technology.
Ewinc, MAvRICE, CRARY, A. P., RUTHERFORD, H. M., and MILLER, B. L.
1987. Geophysical investigations in the emerged and submerged Atlantic
Coastal Plain. Bull. Geol. Soe. Amer., vol. 48, pp. 753-812.
EWING, MAURICE, WORZEL, J. L., STEENLAND, N. C., and PREss, FRANK.
1950. Geophysical investigations in the emerged and submerged Atlantic
Coastal Plain. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., vol. 61, pp. 877-892.
GUTENBERG, B.
1941. Mechanism of faulting in southern California indicated by seismo-
grams. Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., vol. 31, pp. 263-302.
1945. Amplitudes of surface waves and magnitudes of shallow earthquakes.
Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 3-12.
1945a. Amplitudes of P, PP, and S and magnitude of shallow earthquakes.
Bull. Seism. Soe. Amer., vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 57-69.
1945b. Magnitude determination for deep-focus earthquakes. Bull. Seism.
Soc. Amer., vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 117-130.
GUTENBERG, B., and RicHTER, C. F.
1936. Magnitude and energy of earthquakes. Science, vol. 83, pp. 183-185.
1942. Harthquake magnitude, intensity, energy, and acceleration. Bull.
Seism. Soc. Amer., vol. 32, pp. 163-191.
1944. Frequency of earthquakes in California. Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer.,
vol. 34, pp. 185-188.
1949. Seismicity of the earth and associated phenomena. 273 pp.
REBEUR-PASCHWITzZ, EH. VON.
1894. Horizontalpendelbeobachtungen auf der Kaiserlichen Universitits-
Sternwarte zu Strassburg 1892-1894. Gerl. Beitr. Geophysik, vol.
2, pp. 211-535.
RIcHTER, C. F.
1935. An instrumental earthquake magnitude scale. Bull. Seism. Soc.
Amer., vol. 25, pp. 1-82.
TURNER, H. H., ET AL.
1923-1950. International seismological summary for 1918—June, 1938. Univ.
Observatory, Oxford (yearly volumes).
WHITTEN, C. A.
1948. Horizontal earth movement, vicinity of San Francisco, California.
Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union, vol. 29, pp. 318-323.
Woon, Harry O., and NEUMANN, FRANK.
1931. Modified Mercalli intensity scale of 1931. Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer.,
vol. 21, pp. 277-283.

WOLF CREEK METEORITE CRATER, WESTERN
AUSTRALIA?

By D. J. Guppy and R. S. Marurson

Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology, and Geophysics, Canberra City, Australia

[With 2 plates]
INTRODUCTION

The Wolf Creek meteorite crater, situated in the Kimberley District
of Western Australia, is the second largest crater of meteoritic origin
to be discovered on the earth’s surface.2, The crater has been named
by Dr. Reeves (Reeves and Chalmers, 1948) after the adjacent water-
course, Wolf Creek.

The nature of the crater was first recognized on June 21, 1947, by
Dr. Frank Reeves and N. B. Sauve, of the Vacuum Oil Co., during an
aerial reconnaissance of the Desert Basin in a Zinc Corp. aircraft
piloted by Dudley Hart. It was reached on the ground on August 24,
1947, by Reeves, Harry Evans, and Dudley Hart.

The crater was independently located and its meteoritic origin sus-
pected by the writers early in 1948 when preparing a photogeological
map from photographs covering the area.

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

The crater is situated on the northern edge of the Desert Basin at
approximately longitude 127°46’ E., latitude 19°18’ S., 65 miles south
of Halls Creek, the nearest township and aerodrome.

The crater may be reached without difficulty during the dry season
by taking the track from Halls Creek to Ruby Plains homestead and
thence to Beaudesert Well. Near Beaudesert Well a branch track is
followed along the west bank of Wolf Creek as far as the crater
(fig. 1).

The crater is situated in an area covered with loose sand with oc-
casional low dunes and sparse vegetation, a few miles south of the last

1 Published by permission of the Director, Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology, and
Geophysics, Commonwealth of Australia. Reprinted by permission from Journal of
Geology, vol. 58, No. 1, January 1950.

?The recent discovery of the gigantic Chubb crater in northwestern Quebec, Canada,
makes the Wolf Creek crater the third largest meteorite crater known. An account of a

recent expedition to the Chubb crater has been published by V. M. Keen, Journ. Roy. Astre-
nomical Soc. Canada, vol. 44, No. 5, pp. 169-180, 1950.—EpiTor.

317

320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The Nullagine sediments examined to the north of the crater are gently
folded and faulted on a small scale. It seems reasonable to postulate
that the general outward dip of the beds forming the wall of the crater
is due almost entirely to movement resulting from the explosion of
the meteor.

Similar structure has been established in the cases of the Meteor
crater of Coconino County, Ariz. (Barringer, 1909), and Texas crater
in Ector County, Tex. (Barringer, 1909). It is likely that the bending
described from the north wall of the crater is at least partly a structure
of premeteor age, as it would appear impossible for surface beds of
hard quartzite to bend in such a way without considerably more
fracturing.

An examination of the crater both on the ground and from aerial
photographs (pl. 2) gives the impression that a greater volume of
fractured rock has been piled around the southwest portion of the
crater than around other portions, suggesting that the meteor was
moving in an arc from the northeast toward the southwest when it
struck the ground.

From a study of craters on the earth’s surface and on the moon,
Dietz (1946) and others have suggested that the radial symmetry and
circularity of craters such as the Meteor crater and those on the moon’s
surface are due to exploding meteors. Explosion craters, in contrast
to percussion craters, have circular shape and well-developed radial
symmetry regardless of the angle of incidence (fig. 3).

No silica glass or sintered rock has been discovered in the area, but
there is every probability that further work will disclose the presence
of material of this character.

TasLe 1.—Analysis

Percent

Nickel: Niain-metallie:portion 922: =2- 2222 2. eee eee ae
Nickel, Ni total
Specific gravity

Fragments of various size of heavy metallic material were found
around the rim of the crater, particularly along the southern sector.
R. O. Chalmers, curator of minerals of the Australian Museum, has
advised that “the specimen contains 1.9 percent of NiO, which is far
in excess of what would be expected in terrestrial rock.”

Samples of meteoritic iron were submitted to the Western Australian
Government Chemical Laboratories. The following information is
taken from their report. The samples consisted of two fragments,

CRATER—GUPPY AND MATHESON 321

WOLF CREEK

*19}BID 9]1I0dJOM Y2oID JOM JO SUOTJOeS SSOIQ—Z aANNOL

BILIS CI!44DA Poe eae
Ta ia ees S
‘4 (OOF osI cL o‘# Z. r ; ocRaON
7° | bur72yuz . * we ayzyreng eubeyjan [esa]

iad ee eae se vg - guonbosqng
. e . fe)
DIEXOS = peyUOZ GOH P: cee ; ae >» yoy pounyoesy [6 9}

Mba so ee ee IO oe \

ire: i C Seen

ve bunjp1juy . .

. quanbosqng + \

e 2 . e bd oS

a : . . oh pee LS3M

eee ree ewww twee

Sleleelolere ee eelcerene

eeeeeveerrre ce oe
eceeeeeeoer errr ee

Pere ee a rd
wilele 6 elele 00/0 0 6010 0.0 0.0 (0166-050, 0 6 010 DO TOMO TE OOO eee rere ee eee

niledciaialalcielelevolelerclolere:sveleiei ere) els eisiee
.

322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

AandB. A weighed approximately 300 grams and B approximately
500 grams. The material is sufficiently magnetic that fragments of
pea size may be lifted by a bar magnet, and it consists mainly of
iron oxides, hydrated in part, with some silicate minerals too highly
impregnated with iron oxides to be identifiable, and a little chalced-
ony. After fine grinding, specimen A yielded a very small amount
(0.06 percent) of metallic iron which was retained on a 90-mesh
screen.

Figure 3.—Diagrammatic sections of a typical meteorite crater. A, fracturing
and tilting of strata by outward explosion; B, ring anticline by percussion.
(After L. J. Spencer.)

GENERAL DISCUSSION

An interesting paper by Nininger (1948) covers the geological sig-
nificance of meteorites. It took scientists many years to accept the
fact that matter from outside the earth and its atmosphere was falling
and had fallen on the earth’s surface. Today there are still some who
will not accept the meteoritic origin of some craters.

It is apparent that studies of craters such as the Meteor crater,
Arizona (Barringer, 1909, 1915, 1925), Boxhole crater, Central Aus-
tralia (Madigan, 1937), Texas crater (Sellards, 1927; Barringer,
1929), Henbury craters (Alderman, 1932), Wabar craters (Philby,
1933), Campo del Cielo craters (Nagera, 1926), Siberian craters

WOLF CREEK CRATER—GUPPY AND MATHESON 323

(Whipple, 1930), and now the Wolf Creek crater in Australia have
produced an overwhelming amount of evidence in favor of this
meteoritic origin. The Wolf Creek crater gives further support to the
theory of Dietz (1946) and others who postulate a meteoritic origin
for craters on the moon’s surface.

From the available literature it appears that seven craters or groups
of craters of meteoritic origin have been described (Spencer, 1933).
Ashanti crater, occupied by Lake Bosumtwi, Ashanti (Maclaren,
1931), and a group of craters in Estonia * (Reinwaldt and Luha, 1928 ;
Kraus, Meyer, and Wegener, 1928) remain doubtful. Nininger (1948)
also mentions that, in addition to the fall of meteors in Siberia in
1908, “now comes word that a similar, though smaller collision has
occurred at a point some 200 miles north of Vladivostock.”

Table 2, which gives the dimensions of craters of proved meteoritic
origin, is of some interest. The variations in the ratios of width to
depth may be explained by either erosion and sedimentation or by an
initial accumulation of shattered rock or both. The figure given for
the depth of the Wolf Creek crater will be increased when the actual
depth to bed rock is investigated.

TABLE 2.—Dimensions of craters of known meteoritic origin

Width h Ratio of
ORES (feet) “Ceet) Peesnne
|

Meteor crater sO: orrAstee Sait) at ls Thy Se 3, 900 | 570 6.8
Wolf Creek, crater, Australia--2: 22-220 fsa 2, 800 170 1695
exon doValy Gave, ANNE ee SCM 52 Hakeal
PREXSSE Cre Lele pA ye oe atthe ney pn ee 530 18 29. 4
lSINOWIAY Gener, AIRE yA UO ee 360 60 6. 0
SID) ee ee enschede 2 Sa SEM 240 25 9. 6
Dei erapre Tn Reg Mg Ga folse pies eR 261 at 30 3 10. 0
Wiabarcraters pArablawel. wi. op toe ee Ste cute Saal 328 40 8. 0
Campo del Cielo crater, Argentina______...._____- 183 16 11. 4
Shlossaiehay mere, (Uk ISh ish Ihe Seo eS kee 164 13 1255

AGE OF THE CRATER

Unfortunately, the youngest sediments in the area occupied by the
crater are pre-Cambrian in age.

During the examination of the crater a few loose pieces of pisolitic
ironstone or laterite were noticed among the fractured blocks forming
the rim of the crater on the eastern side. As one descends the wall
of the crater, the layer of laterite, from which the loose pieces were
derived, may be seen in situ in the wall.

This is evidence that the meteor struck the ground and exploded
after the laterite layer had been formed. Information that has been

It is understood that definite evidence of the meteoric origin of the craters in Hstonia
has since been found.

324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

accumulating over the past few years favors late Miocene as the age
of the laterite in northern Australia. It is, therefore, fairly certain
that the Wolf Creek crater was formed later than Miocene times.

The erosion of the crater is slight, and signs of erosion on the steep
walls of the crater are not well marked. As far as could be ascer-
tained, aboriginals in the area have no record of the meteor in their
legends but are aware of the crater.

The evidence suggests, therefore, a Pleistocene or Recent age for

the crater.
LITERATURE CITED
ALDERMAN, A. R.
1932. The Henbury (central Australia) meteorite iron. Rec. South Austral-
ian Mus., vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 555-563.
BARRINGER, D. M.
1909. Meteor crater (formerly called Coon Mountain or Coon Butte) in
northern central Arizona. Paper read before Nat. Acad. Sci.. No-
vember 1909. 24 pp. Privately printed, Philadelphia, 1910.
1915. Further notes on meteor crater in northern central Arizona. Proc.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 66, pp. 556—565.
1925. Further notes on meteor crater in northern central Arizona. Proc.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 76, pp. 275-278.
BARRINGER, D. M., JR.
1929. A new meteor crater. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 80,
pp. 307-811.
CHAMBERLIN, R. T.
1945. The moon’s lack of folded ranges. Journ. Geol., vol. 53, pp. 361-373.
Dietz, R. S.
1946. The meteoritic impact origin of the moon’s surface features. Journ.
Geol., vol. 54, pp. 359-375.
Hopcr, SMiTH T.
1939. Australian meteorites. Mem. Australian Mus. No. 7.
KRaAvs, H., MEYer, R., and WEGENER, A.
1928. Untersuchungen iiber den Krater von Sall auf Osel. Gerlands Beitr.
Geophysik, vol. 20, pp. 312-378. Nachtrag, pp. 428-429.
MACLAREN, M.
1931. Lake Bosumtwi. Geogr. Journ., vol. 78, pp. 270-286.
Mapia@an, C. T.
1937. The Boxhole crater and the Huckitta meteorite. Trans. Roy. Soc.
South Australia, vol. 61, pp. 187-190.
NAGERA, J. J.
1926. Los Hoyos del Campo del Cielo y el meteorito. Direccién General de
Minas, Geologia e Hidrologia, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Publ. 19.
NININGER, H. H.
1948. Geological significance of meteorites. Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. 246, pp.
101-108.
PHILBY, H. St. J.
1933. Rub’Al Khali: An account of exploration. Geogr. Journ., vol. 81,
pp. 1-26.
Rayner, J. M.
1938. The Henbury meteorite crater and geophysical prospecting. Austral-
ian Journ. Sci., vol. 1, pp. 93-94.

WOLF CREEK CRATER—GUPPY AND MATHESON 325

REEVES, F., and CHALMERS, R. O.
1948. Wolf Creek crater. Australian Journ. Sci., vol. 11, p. 154.
REINWALDT, I., and Luwa, A.
1928. Bericht tiber geologische Untersuchungen am Kaali Jiirv (Krater von
Sall) aus Osel. Tartu Ulikooli juures oleva Loodusuurijate Seltsi
Aruanded (Univ. Tartu naturf. Gesell. Sitzungsber.), vol. 35, pp.
30-70.
SELLARDS, E. H.
1927. Unusual structural features in the plains region of Texas. Bull. Geol.
Soe. Amer., vol. 38, p. 149.

SPENCER, L. J.
1938. Meteorite craters as topographical features of the earth’s surface.

Geogr. Journ., vol. 81, pp. 227-248.

WHIPPLE, F’. J. W.
1930. The great Siberian meteor and the waves, seismic and aerial, which
it produced. Quart. Journ. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. London, vol. 56,

pp. 287-304.

HLNOS ONIMOO7T ‘YSLVYED ALIMOALAW MASYD ATOM SAO YOIMALNI

| 3ALW1d uosayzeyA] pue Addny—"0¢6| “‘qaodayy uRTuOsYyyIWICG

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Guppy and Matheson PLATE 2

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF WOLF CREEK METEORITE CRATER
R. A. A. F. official photograph.

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND?

By JULIAN HuUXLeY, F. R. 8.

In Iceland, in the summer of 1949, a number of new facts and ex-
periences, interesting and exciting to a naturalist, came my way—
some of them through my own eyes, others through the mouths of
the able Icelandic zoologists who put so much of their time and
knowledge at the disposition of James Fisher and myself.

Thus we saw various species that were new to us, and sometimes
spectacular to look at, like the harlequin duck. That was exciting
enough; but the interest was multiplied when we remembered that
it is an essentially North American bird, one of the rarest stragglers
to Europe, and yet here breeding close to familiar British ducks like
mallard, tufted duck, widgeon, and pintail. We found a meadow
pipit breeding in a wood, like a tree pipit, instead of on the custom-
ary open heath; and what is more, singing a song halfway to a tree
pipit’s.

We saw some local birds recognizably different from their British
congeners, like the Iceland redshank, which is several shades darker
than ours. We saw a painted lady butterfly in the northern half of
the island—a truly astonishing sight, since its nearest permanent
breeding place is the south of France. We got evidence, from our
own counts, of the increase of the gannet; and from our Icelandic
colleagues of the fact that not only it but 9 or 10 other birds have
been rapidly extending their range northward during recent decades.

But the modern naturalist is not content unless he can relate his
facts, however valuable, and his isolated experiences, however ex-
citing, to general principles; and the very vividness and novelty of
the impressions made by an unfamiliar country will set his scientific
imagination to work. Here is the result of my own case—some of the
ways in which Iceland’s natural history illustrates or illuminates
evolutionary biology in general.

Undoubtedly the most exciting of these has to do with the world-
wide change of climate now in progress: but this I shall keep to the
last.

The most obvious point is the paucity of bird species in general, and
of passerines (song birds, etc.) in particular. Thus the number of
regular breeding species in Iceland is only a little over a third of that

1 Reprinted by permission from Discovery, vol. 21, No. 3, March 1950.
922758—b1——_22 327

328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

in Britain; but the number of breeding passerines is less than one-
eighth of the British. In part this is due to the unfriendly climate
and the barrenness of much of the island. Although Iceland barely
touches the Arctic Circle, real trees cannot grow except in two small
sheltered localities, and both vegetation and insect life have much less
luxuriance and variety than with us in Britain, while the winter, of
course, is such that very few species of bird could possibly live
through it.

In Spitsbergen, farther poleward, we find a marked further drop,
both in the total and the passerine percentage. The best way to
bring this home is by means of a table:

TABLE 1.-—Breeding species of birds in Britain, Iceland, and Spitsbergen

| Passerines

Regular |__ artis
Country Latitude breeding é eee
i r
species EEATC aeent 0

Britains ae 49°57'-58°40’ (mainland) 186 27 41. 4

49°51’-60°51’ (with is-

lands).

iceland ==422 == 63220/—6623 2 eee eee eee 69 9 13. 0
Spitsbergen - - ----- (6226/—8025 0 eee ee oe eee oe 25 1 4.0

There is, however, also the fact that Iceland is an island, and a
fairly remote one, lying over 500 miles from the Hebrides (a little
more from Cape Wrath, the nearest point of the British mainland),
and close on 300 miles from Faeroe. Admittedly the distance north-
westward to the Greenland coast is under 200 miles; but Greenland,
especially in these latitudes, is so forbidding that very few species
can have used it as a stepping-stone to Iceland.

Now remote islands invariably show a fauna and fiora which is
impoverished compared to that of the nearest mainland. This is
usually set down to the difficulties presented to birds by a long sea
passage, especially to small terrestrial species or those with feeble
flight. In addition, an island is likely to have fewer kinds of habi-
tats than a mainland area, and this may cut down the number of
species which can find a permanent niche in its biological economy,
even if they manage to reach it.

It is of course difficult to say just what birds are lacking merely
because they have failed to overcome the sea barrier. Some ap-
parent candidates turn out, on reflection, to be ruled out for other
reasons. Thus the fact that among the thrushes the redwing breeds
in Iceland and the fieldfare does not is not so surprising when we
remember how the fieldfare seems much more definitely wedded to

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND—HUXLEY 329

tall trees to nest in, and (we may presume at least partly for that
reason) does not exist so far north in Scandinavia as the redwing.

Then, with such a favorite as the meadow pipit to parasitize, it is
at first sight puzzling that there are no cuckoos. It seems probable
that the reason is the low density of pipit population. A cuckoo
has to keep about a dozen fosterers’ nests under observation if it is
to succeed in its parasitism, and this would be impossible in Iceland.

The absence of the rock dove seems also surprising—until one
remembers that the species seems to be dependent on weed seeds and
other byproducts of human cultivation.

FicurE 1.—Main zoogeographical regions characterizing the distribution of the
land animals of the world. The Holarctic is normally divided into two sub-
regions, the Palearctic (Old World) and the Nearctic (New World). In
addition, there are separate ocean regions characterizing the distribution of
marine forms, including sea birds; of thes eonly the Atlantic region con-
cerns us.

But I do find it puzzling that the ring ouzel, which likes rocky
slopes and in Norway breeds as far north as the North Cape, has
not established itself; and still more so that the dipper is absent, when
its smaller relative, the wren, has been breeding in Iceland so long
that it has evolved into a distinctive subspecies. Of course the
streams by which the dipper lives would be frozen over in winter;
but some of the dipper population of northern continental Europe
migrates southward in winter, and the same might readily have oc-
curred in Iceland, while the rest might have done what all the Iceland

330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

wrens do, namely, take to the seashore. And I am pretty sure that
if the house sparrow ever reached Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland,
it would flourish and multiply.

The greatest puzzle, perhaps, is that posed by the Lapland bunting,
which breeds in Greenland and north of the Arctic Circle in Norway,
but not in Iceland, although it seems to traverse the island regularly
on passage!

That for strong fliers the climate is the only obstacle is shown
by the fact that since the beginning of this century the list of breed-
ing species has been increased by nearly 10 percent, undoubtedly
owing to the amelioration of the climate—a fact to which I shall return.

Again, swallows come to Iceland every summer (we saw some in
the Westmann Islands) as do willow warblers, but neither species has
yet been found breeding.

It seems that many species are all the time sending out scouts,
so to speak, into areas where breeding is impossible but on the chance
that one day they can establish themselves permanently. This seems
a wasteful method, but natural selection always involves wastage.
The most striking example is the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa
cardui), which cannot reproduce itself regularly through the winter
north of southern France, but in most years sends out vast numbers
to Britain and other countries. The one we ourselves saw, by Lake
Myvatn, was nearly 1,500 miles outside its permanent range!

Another interesting feature of broad geographical distribution is
this—that Iceland is at the same time the westernmost outpost of a
number of Old World bird species and the easternmost of some (but
fewer) New World ones. Actually Lake Myvatn is the area of maxi-
mum overlap between the bird faunas of what zoologists call the Pale-
arctic and the Nearctic regions, northern Eurasia and North America
respectively.

Thus Iceland is the western limit of breeding range for such Old
World species as whooper swan, greylag goose, snipe, golden plover,
whimbrel, redwing, white wagtail (and indeed the entire wagtail
genus) ; but it is the eastern limit for the otherwise New World species,
great northern diver, Barrow’s goldeneye, and harlequin duck. The
ducks, by the way, well illustrate the complexities of geographical
distribution—Iceland shows us not only several Old World species at
their western limit, like wigeon, teal, common scoter, and tufted
duck, but also a number of circumpolar or Holarctic species such as
mallard, pintail, gadwall, and shoveler.

It is noticeable that all the New World species which breed in
Iceland are hardy enough to inhabit parts of Greenland also. If the
Labrador Current did not cool the east coast of Greenland and northern
Canada so much below the temperature they ought to enjoy by virtue
of their latitude, and the Gulf Stream did not warm Iceland and

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND—HUXLEY 331

Ficure 2.—Types of geographical distribution of Iceland birds. Upper, breeding
and distribution of Holarctic species, the red-breasted merganser. Lower,
breeding distribution of a Palearctic species, the wigeon, which extends from
Bering Straits westward, to overlap with the great northern diver (fig. 3,
upper) in Iceland. (Based on maps compiled by James Fisher.)

332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Spitsbergen and the northwest coasts of Europe so much above it,
the contribution from the New World would presumably at least equal
that of the Old.

There is, by the way, at least one plant in Iceland which is of New
World origin. ‘The sea-rockets, Cakile, are shore-dwelling crucifers
with lilac flowers. Two Icelandic botanists, Dr. and Mrs. Love, have
recently shown that the sea-rocket of Iceland does not, as had been
generally assumed, belong to the species found in Scandinavia and
with us in Britain, Cakile maritima, but reveals itself, both by its
slightly different form and its doubled chromosome number—s6 in-
stead of 18—as the North American species, C. edentula. This holds
also for the sea-rockets of the Azores: the Léves’ conclusion is that
the Gulf Stream has been responsible for the appearance of the Ameri-
can sea-rocket in these otherwise Old World islands, by transporting
the seeds in its slow, warm drift.

At various times in the geological past, there was a land connection
between the Old and the New Worlds across what is now the Bering
Straits, and probably also, though not so often or so long, across the
North Atlantic, along the line still indicated by the submarine ridges
between Greenland, Iceland, Faeroe, and Shetland. The climate in
the regions connected by these land bridges was then less rigorous, and
there was more uniformity of animals and plants in the Holarctic
region than now. But isolation and time saw to it that the inevitable
differences were accentuated, and meanwhile the New World fauna
received large additions from the Central and South American region,
which were very different from the immigrants that the northern
Old World received from Africa and southwestern Asia. ‘Thus even-
tually two quite distinct faunas and floras, the Palearctic and the
Nearctic, were differentiated—distinct, but with a number of elements
obviously of common origin, and still with a considerable number of
species shared by both and therefore classed as if Holarctic.

The greater isolation of the two regions today may possibly be
due not only to the breaking of the land bridges between North
America and the Old World, but to an actual increase of the distance
across the Atlantic, caused by the slow drifting away of America
from Europe.

This was postulated by Wegener in his theory of Continental
Drift. Iceland is well situated to test the theory. The position of
certain points should be determined with great accuracy, so that
after a lapse of years even a few yards’ shift could be detected. Ger-
man scientists had begun on this project before World War II, and
had set up a number of triangulation points in Iceland. However,
the Icelanders were so suspicious that these might be camouflage for
some military project, that they destroyed them all—another of the
innumerable minor tragedies of modern war!

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND—HUXLEY 333

Ficure 3.—Types of geographical distribution of Iceland birds. Upper, breed-
ing distribution of a Nearctic species which extends to Iceland, the great
northern diver or loon. Lower, breeding distribution of two Atlantic species,
the Arctic little auk and the North Temperate gannet. The two just overlap
in northeast Iceland. (Based on maps compiled by James Fisher. )

334 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

But there are other faunas represented in Iceland. An important
one is the North Atlantic fauna, mainly of course of marine creatures,
but emerging into the air in the form of a number of sea birds which
exist on both east and west coasts of the North Atlantic, and on
suitable islands in between. Gannets, guillemots, razorbills, and
puffins are examples. This North Atlantic bird fauna seems to have
differentiated comparatively recently—perhaps as a result of the
drifting apart of northern America and northern Europe—and con-
sists of immigrant types from other regions—from the Arctic, from
the Pacific round Cape Horn, and from the Indian Ocean.

Finally—believe it or not!—the Antarctic fauna is represented in
Iceland. The bonxie or great skua is merely a subspecies of a domi-
nant species widespread in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions.
Many high-latitude birds migrate to the other hemisphere after
breeding, thus perpetually avoiding winter. Our bonxies must be
descended from some Southern Hemisphere migrants which stayed
to breed in their off-season area—one cannot say “in their winter
quarters.”

Thus we have in this one island representatives of five faunas—
North Hemisphere Old World, North Hemisphere New World,
North Atlantic, cireumpolar South Hemisphere, and circumpolar
North Hemisphere.

This last includes two subdivisions—the true Arctic fauna, with
such Iceland birds as little auk and glaucous gull, and the sub-Arctic
and north-temperate forms shared by New and Old Worlds, such
as wheatear, raven, mallard, and Slavonian grebe.

One of the interesting things that came to our attention was the
frequent distinctiveness of the local Iceland race or subspecies of
various species of birds. For instance the Iceland wren is both larger
and darker than ours in Britain, and the Iceland redpoll is also larger
than our British subspecies, the so-called lesser redpoll, as well as
having a recognizably different call note. The redpoll, by the way,
is an example of an Iceland bird which is small in size but yet is found
in Greenland and North America, as well as in the Old World, so
that it, like the wheatear, is Holarctic. But, unlike the widely spread-
ing ducks, both these small birds break up into numerous well-marked
subspecies.

The wren is curious in this respect. Although it has produced
separate and distinctive subspecies in Iceland, Faeroe, St. Kilda, and
Shetland, it is uniform over the whole of western and central con-
tinental Europe. The separation of Britain from the Continent has
not resulted in the evolution of a British subspecies, though this has
happened with many other birds, of which our pied wagtail, so easily
distinguishable from the continental white wagtail, is an example.
Why this is so, is a real puzzle.

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND—HUXLEY 335

I mentioned that the Leeland redpoll and wren were larger in size
than ours. This is an example of an interesting general rule—that,
in general, warm-blooded animals are found to be slightly larger the
nearer they live to the pole; further, in mammals, the relative size of
ears, tail, and limbs tend to diminish—a phenomenon strikingly illus-
trated by the tiny ears of the Arctic fox as compared with the huge
flaps of the fennec fox from the scorching deserts. These changes
are undoubtedly adaptations, working to reduce heat loss in cold
climates and to promote it in over-hot ones.

Thus some of the special characters of Iceland birds are adaptations
to climate while others, like the color of the Iceland wren, seem to be
more or less accidental results of isolation. But there is a third class
of difference, and perhaps the most interesting—the differences in be-
havior and song. Some of these differences, like the harsher song of
the Iceland wren, are again aspects of the distinctiveness of the local
subspecies. Others seem to be due to the birds being on the margin
of their range, in surroundings quite different from the normal.
Thus, as already mentioned, the Iceland wren out of the breeding
season has to become almost exclusively a shore bird.

Frequently, however, the reason is more subtle—the absence of com-
petition from close relatives which have not reached this part of the
species’ range. ‘Thus, in Britain, snipe are inhabitants of open coun-
try, so that it was surprising to find them quite common in the one of
Iceland’s two woods that we visited. James Fisher hit on what I am
sure is the solution—namely that there are no woodcock in Iceland.
With us, woodcock occupy the habitat provided by boggy woods. But
where they are absent, the snipe avail themselves of this as well as of
their normal open habitat.

But the absence of close relatives may have another effect. When
two closely allied species come into contact in the same area, it is in
general a biological advantage for them to proclaim their distinctive-
ness by some characteristic difference of plumage or voice. This will
help to prevent actual or attempted cross-breeding, trespassing, and
other wastes of time and energy. In Britain, the closely related
meadow and tree pipits are not only restricted to different habitats,
but sing quite distinctive songs. With us, the meadow pipit is ex-
clusively a bird of moors and heaths and other open country, and its
song is a rather feeble descending scale gradually accelerated into a
little trill, given as the bird parachutes down after having flown up
from the ground. The tree pipit, on the other hand, demands scat-
tered trees, and has a much more striking song; this is also given in
the air while floating down, but the flight starts from (and often ends
on) a tree perch.

Here the need for distinctiveness cannot well be met by coloration,
since both species are adapted to concealment by cryptic coloration;

336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

but the songs, given high in the air, are obvious trade-marks for the
two species.

In the Iceland birchwood where we found snipe, there were also
meadow pipits. We would never have dreamt of finding meadow
pipits in such a place in England, and their presence was clearly due
to the absence of their close relative and competitor, the tree pipit.
What is more, the song of one of them had a distinct tree pipit flavor,
and it was begun from a tree perch.

Finnur Gudmunsson told us that in western Iceland he had once
spent a couple of hours stalking the singer of a song which was wholly
unknown to him: he eventually shot it for identification purposes—
only to discover that it was an ordinary meadow pipit! This, too,
was in a birch area, though the birches here were only scrub. Thus
the relaxation of the need for distinctiveness seems to have permitted
the song to change.

The meadow pipits of open country in Iceland have so far not been
heard to give any intermediate or markedly abnormal song (though
one we heard in the Westmann Islands was exceptional for its bril-
liance). Possibly the woodland and scrubland birds are evolving into
a distinct ecological race.

There remains to mention one amusing incident. In this same wood,
we found a redwing’s nest quite high in a birch tree. Now in Iceland
the redwing, that attractive little thrush, is normally a confirmed
ground nester, though in Norway it frequently builds in trees, and
Dr. Gudmunsson was quite impressed by this unusual event. Then
on Myvatn we saw another tree nest, some 8 feet up in a willow;
and Dr. Gudmunsson grew really excited—until Sigfinnson, the
farmer-naturalist, reminded him that this had been the latest season
in living memory, and that the ground had been deep in snow when
the breeding urge took the redwings. Seeing that they thus so readily
revert to ancestral habit under the stress of necessity, it is rather curi-
ous that they do not normally do so as a matter of convenience where-
ever trees or bushes abound.

Finally, I come to what to me is the most interesting point of all—
the bearing of field natural history in Iceland upon the fascinating
and basic question of a world-wide change in climate.

Professor Ahlmann, the well-known Swedish geographer, in a
recent issue of the Geographical Journal, has summarized all the evi-
dence on this subject. He concludes that in the Northern Hemi-
sphere a widespread amelioration of climate is in progress, most
marked in higher latitudes. It began about a hundred years ago, but
has been especially marked in the last two decades. The most likely
explanation (which would be assured if we get evidence of a similar
amelioration in the Antarctic, as it is hoped to do from the joint
Norwegian-British-Swedish expedition now operating there) is that

NATURAL HISTORY IN ICELAND—HUXLEY 337

it is world-wide, and due to increased heat from the sun, which in its
turn operates by altering the world’s great system of atmospheric
circulation.

The evidence is of every sort—increased temperatures, spectacular
regression of glaciers, changes in the position of main low-pressure and
high-pressure areas, alterations in rainfall and snowfall, desiccation
in lower latitudes (including the drying up of East African lakes),
enormous shrinkage of the polar pack ice, enlarged growth rings of
trees, and finally changes in the distribution of many animals and
plants.

Ficurse 4.—Breeding distribution of the great skua, a circumpolar species from the
Southern Hemisphere, which has given rise to one Northern Hemisphere sub-
species. The shaded parts represent the actual breeding areas of the various
Southern Hemisphere subspecies. (Based on map compiled by James Fisher.)

On this last point Iceland provides a great deal of evidence, since
it lies on the sensitive limit between sub-Arctic and Arctic conditions.
We know from historical records that for over 400 years the early
colonists successfully grew barley, but that soon after 1300 this became
impossible. But now, to quote Ahlmann, “the present shrinkage of
the glaciers is exposing districts which were cultivated by the early
medieval farmers but were subsequently overridden by ice.”

The ensuing cold spell of about 600 years has been called the Little
Ice Age; it seems to have been the coldest period since the retreat of
the ice after the last major glacial period. At any rate, about 1880
the Iceland glaciers reached their maximum extension for some 10,000
years, while the warmest period since the end of the Ice Age seems
to have been the few centuries just before our present era.

As showing how sensitive animals may be as climatic indicators,
Finnur Gudmunsson told me that in the warm spell just before the
Christian Era, the dog-whelk (Purpura) was found all along the
north and east coasts of Iceland, while today it stops dead at the

338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

northwest and southeast corners. (The slightly hardier whelk,
Buccinum, still occurs all round the island.)

To come down to the present, the last few decades have seen drastic
changes in the fish which are Iceland’s prime economic support.
Herring, haddock, halibut, and especially cod have extended their
range northward in Greenland (the cod at the rate of about 24 miles
a year for close on 30 years) ; and cod and herring are moving north
from Iceland, so that anxiety is beginning to be felt about the future
of the fisheries.

Meanwhile, there have been extraordinary changes in the bird
population of the island. No less than six species—nearly 10 percent
of the previous list of breeders—have only started to breed in Iceland
during the present century. There is the tufted duck, which arrived
in 1908, and has spread so fast that now it is the second commonest
species on Myvatn; three gulls—the blackheaded, herring, and lesser
blackback; the coot and the starling, both only after 1940, the latter
still confined to cliffs near its presumed landfall in the southeast.

Further, the oystercatcher, previously confined to the southwest,
has shown a spectacular spread northward. The blacktailed godwit
and the gannet have also pushed up the northern limit of their range,
the latter having established three new colonies on the north and east
coasts.

Meanwhile, the little auk, the only true high Arctic species in Ice-
land, has entirely deserted one of its two breeding colonies in the
northeast, and the other has dwindled to almost nothing; apparently
Iceland is no longer cold enough for it. Finally, some plants are
moving north—notably the bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) which
has colonized areas previously reserved to dwarf willows; and there
have been similar shifts in some of Iceland’s insects.

All these changes have become much more pronounced within the
last 10 to 15 years.

We in Britain have had numerous examples of bird species spread-
ing northward in the present century, including some birds which
have been doing the same thing in Iceland, like the tufted duck, and
others like the black redstart which are quite recent invaders of
these islands.

- All such observations take on new interest when it is realized that
they can contribute to our understanding of a world-wide and secular
change of immense significance for our human future; and one which
is unique, since, in Ahlmann’s words, “It is the first fluctuation in the
endless series of past and future climatic variations in the history
of the earth which we can measure, investigate, and possibly explain.”
I have certainly returned from my Iceland trip with a new aware-

ness of the mapeetnee Ge POS to ae eres) BE well natural
historyis0b, 4054 df YU Wires

PRAYING MANTIDS OF THE UNITED STATES, NATIVE
AND INTRODUCED?

By AsHiey B. GURNEY

Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine
Agricultural Research Administration, United States Department of Agriculture

(With 9 plates]

A person encountering a praying mantid for the first time usually
does so in one of two ways. He may unexpectedly discover a large
striking insect, late in summer or in fall, climbing over garden
shrubbery or perching near a blossom waiting for a meal to appear
in the form of some unlucky insect. Or perhaps he will see a mantid
on the side of a house, or find one near a window that was brightly
lighted the previous evening. ‘The second type of encounter usually
follows the discovery of a light-brownish fibrous object attached to
vegetation, a fence post, or other support, during fall or winter.
Thinking it to be the cocoon of a moth, the budding naturalist may
take it indoors to witness the emergence. A few weeks later he will
be astounded to find that a hundred or more small crawling insects,
each with perfectly developed “praying” front legs, but without wings,
have emerged. If the mantid egg cases are not confined in a jar or
other container, the young mantids may not be noticed until a dis-
concerted housewife finds them crawling up curtains and on the
ceiling.

At any one locality in the United States only a very few kinds or
species of mantids occur, and often there is only one, while some of
the more northern parts have none at all. Altogether, 19 kinds of
mantids are known to occur in the United States, most of them in-
habiting the Southern States. Careful collecting and close study of
museum specimens may eventually show that we have somewhat more
than 19 kinds. In tropical countries new species are continually
being found and given scientific names for the first time. Through-
out the world, there are more than 1,500 species, most of which are
tropical or subtropical in distribution, and so within the United
States we have merely a northern fringe of a great subtropical group.

1 Photographs by Edwin Way Teale are from Grassroot Jungles (Dodd, Mead & Co., 1937) and are here
published by the kind permission of Mr. Teale. Photographs by John G. Pitkin are published with his
permission. The specimen of Mantoida illustrated was lent by the Museum of Zoology, University of
Michigan, through the courtesy of Dr. T. H. Hubbell. This and other preserved specimens Were photo-
graphed at the Smithsonian Institution by Floyd B. Kestner.

339

340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Mantids often stand motionless for long periods, holding their
front legs in a folded position ready to catch prey, and peering in-
tently at nearby objects. This habit of holding up the folded front
legs has given rise to the term “praying” in the common name, and
the distinctive attitude of these insects when in such a waiting posi-
tion has stimulated the imagination and semireligious beliefs of
country people of many lands for several centuries. “Preying” would
be more realistic, because the only thing mantids would seem to pray
for is a square meal. The name mantis is derived from a Greek
word originally meaning a prophet or seer. Either mantis or mantid
is an acceptable common name, with mantids being preferred to
mantises or mantes in the plural. In some parts of the United States
mantids are called “rear-horses,” “devil-horses,” and “mule-killers,”
and in the Southwest they are often called “campomoche.”

It is most interesting that two Oriental and one European species
of mantids have been unintentionally introduced and are now wide-
spread in the Northeastern States. Asa farm boy in western Massa-
chusetts none of these remarkable insects came to my attention, for
no native mantids live there, and the European mantid was then
known in this country only in western New York State. Later, near
Washington, D. C., I first made the acquaintance of the introduced
Chinese mantis and its “cousin” the narrow-winged mantis, as well
as the most northeastern of our native species, the Carolina mantis.
In 1949 the European mantis was found to have spread to Vermont
and Massachusetts, and during 1950, in the same fields I tramped
as a youth, dozens of specimens were to be seen in a single day. Hun-
dreds of Americans who had never encountered our native mantids
have met with these visitors from abroad, have first been amazed at
their strange appearance, then have been intrigued by their unusual
habits. During fall, most museums and science institutes near areas
where mantids occur receive a continual stream of inquiries about
mantids from people who have been surprised to find one of these
insects or who wish to instruct their children about their habits,
worth, or cage-rearing possibilities.

RELATIVES OF MANTIDS

In the technical classification of insects the many species of mantids
constitute a family called the Mantidae.2 Mantids belong to the broad
group or order of insects called Orthoptera, which includes also cock-
roaches, katydids, grasshoppers, crickets, and walkingsticks. Cock-
roaches show closest relationship to mantids, the head shape and the
structure of parts of the thorax and abdomen indicating definite affini-
ties. The front legs, highly specialized in mantids for seizing prey,

21 Sometimes given as Manteidae.

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 341

are So conspicuous, and the bodies of most species are so long and rela-
tively slender, that superficially there is little resemblance between
mantids and the broad and flattened roaches. It might be supposed
that, like roaches, mantids would have a long and ancient lineage
preserved in fossil beds dating far back in geological time. Such,
however, is not the case. Although ancestors of modern roaches
occur widely as far back as the Carboniferous, when coal was being
formed, fossil mantids have seldom been found, and then only in
the Miocene and Oligocene (according to Chopard, 1949), when the
evolution of the horse was moderately advanced and the age of dino-
saurs had long since passed.

APPEARANCE AND ANATOMY

Compared to most insects, mantids are relatively large, the more
conspicuous northeastern species usually being 2 to 4 inches long when
mature. The mantids living in the South and Southwest seldom ex-
ceed 314 inches in length, and there are several an inch long, or even
less. Mantids are elongate, relatively slender, and usually some shade
of green or brown. One individual may be green and another of the
same species brownish buff, while a third is partly green and partly
brown, this much variation occurring in the color of many species.
The most noticeable features are the front legs. Although the middle
and hind legs are slender and simply used for walking, running, and,
rarely, jumping, the front legs bear sharp spines and fold in a re-
markable hinged manner that enables the mantid to reach forward,
seize a fly or some other insect, and bring it to the mouth. In addi-
tion to seizing prey, the front legs are used to some extent for walking.

Predatory front legs of this general type are not limited to mantids.
Front legs specialized for grasping prey have evolved in the Mantis-
pidae, a curious family of neuropteroid insects whose larvae usually
develop in the egg sacs of spiders, and certain raptorial families of
true bugs, such as the ambush bugs (Phymatidae) , show a comparable
development of the front legs. In each group the specialized fore-
legs differ in certain fundamental details, and it is evident that their
evolution has been along independent though parallel lines.

The head of a mantid is triangular in shape when seen from the
front; the compound eyes are at the upper outer corners, and the
mouth opening is at the lower corner. Each compound eye is com-
posed of several hundred tiny facets, each facet receiving the light
from a fraction of the entire field of vision at one time. In addition
to the compound eyes, which are the most important organs of sight,
there usually are three ocelli. The latter are simple eyes, each of one
facet, which are arranged in a triad on the top of the head. They
supplement the compound eyes, enabling the insects to respond to
changes in light intensity better than when the compound eyes alone

342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

areused. The antennae, or “feelers,” are long slender sensory organs
which presumably function as organs of smell and hearing. No
conspicuous tympanum, or “ear,” such as occurs on the side of the
first abdominal segment of grasshoppers, or near the front “knees”
of most katydids and crickets, is found on the body of a mantid. Near
the base of each antenna, however, in the second segment, is located
a group of sensory cells comprising Johnston’s organ, and this organ
is sensitive to vibrations and other stimuli related to sound waves.

The head is attached to the section of the body immediately behind
it (pronotum) in a way that enables it to be turned very readily to
face different directions; scarcely any other insects are able to turn
the head as freely. Experimental biologists have found that some
mantids have a remarkable tenacity of life with the head removed.
Such specimens are known to have lived several days, to have mated,
and to have deposited normal egg masses.

FOOD

Mantids feed entirely on other animals, in nature consisting almost
entirely of insects and closely related creatures caught alive. In-
stances of small birds, lizards, or mice being eaten by mantids have
been reported, but they are rare and in some cases the result of in-
correct observations. A mantid that has been surprised or that
comes face to face with an enemy often rears backward, partially
spreads the wings in an attempt to frighten the assailant, and adopts
a sparring attitude with the forelegs held up in front of the face.
More than once a mantid sparring with a sparrow or other small
animal has attracted a crowd of people hurrying along a city street.

Young mantids necessarily capture small insects, such as fruit
flies. In the more advanced nymphal stages and when mature, large
flies, grasshoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, moths, cockroaches, and
other large insects are caught and eaten. The less appetizing portions,
such as the wings and legs of grasshoppers, are usually discarded.
In the course of feeding, quite edible portions of the prey often be-
come detached and fall. Since the mantid is usually on vegetation
or other object some distance from the ground, the fallen portions
are not retrieved; in fact it is not natural for mantids to pick up
fragments of dead food. As an example of the appetite, an adult
female of the Carolina mantis has been known to eat 10 adults of
the German cockroach, plus a roach egg case, in a period of 21% hours,
though this is probably far above average food requirements.

A Chinese mantis that I kept indoors ate stink bugs with no appar-
ent concern for the strong-smelling scent gland, and one of my friends
told me of another specimen in captivity eating wasps and honey bees.
One day it seized a hornet and was apparently stung near the mouth

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 343

when it began to feed on the latter’s abdomen. The mantid, obviously
hurt, held the hornet, still in a firm grasp, at some distance from the
head for a few minutes. Then, with the immediate effects of the
sting worn off, it ate the hornet.

Under favorable circumstances, such as in a field of goldenrod
near an apiary, mantids may feed on honey bees a great deal, and a
study made near Philadelphia (Thierolf, 1928) showed that honey
bees, when available, are one of the favorite insects eaten by the
Chinese mantis. In Hawaii a survey was made (Hadden, 1927) of
the food of the narrow-winged mantis. The resulting list of the
different insects eaten includes 2 species of grasshoppers, 1 katydid,
1 aphid, 2 butterflies, 1 moth, 15 flies, and 6 wasps and bees, in addition
to members of its own species. Hadden found that the mantids were
careful when catching wasps that are equipped with a painful sting
and would drop them when stung, then lick the wound caused by the
sting.

Adults of the Carolina mantis were offered scorpions by a Texan
entomologist (Breland, 1941a). One mantid seized a scorpion so
that the tail was pinioned, and consumed it. However, another
mantid made the mistake of grasping a scorpion in such a way that
the tail was free, and the scorpion immediately swung the tail over
and stung the mantid on the head. The scorpion was released im-
mediately, and the mantid carefully avoided it from that time on.
Blood oozed from the wound for about 3 hours, and 2 days later the
mantid appeared, superficially, to be normal. That the venom had
taken permanent effect was suggested by the great difficulty the mantid
had in eating. Although prey was caught, chewing and swallowing
seemed nearly impossible. About a week after being stung, an
abnormal egg case was deposited, and 10 days following the injury
the mantid died.

As a general rule ants are not attractive as food to most species
of mantids, although some North African desert mantids are reported
to be fond of them.

Mantids usually wait motionless until their prey comes within reach,
or stand and sway from side to side, but sometimes, apparently when
very hungry, they may stalk a nearby insect that represents a poten-
tial meal. Sometimes the prey is touched lightly with the antennae
before the front legs flash forward and make the seizure. It is usually
the insect that moves occasionally that gets captured; motionless in-
sects often pass unnoticed. The extremely stealthy habits of most
mantids are in contrast to the great speed with which some desert
mantids are able to run. These are usually ground-dwelling crea-
tures, and under arid conditions in an environment often composed of

922758—51——_23

344 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

a strictly limited number of plants and animals the struggle to survive
is intensified and a premium is placed on actively aggressive habits.

Although mantids are thought to detect their prey mainly by sight,
the Carolina mantis can capture insects in the dark, and most of the
eastern species often mate and lay eggs in the dark. Some insects
are thought to have periods of rest comparable to the sleep of higher
animals. For example, certain wasps go to sleep with their mandibles
tightly clasped on weed stems, the body being held out vertical to the
stem. Some butterflies sleep on flowers and are plainly drowsy when
picked up at night. I have kept numbers of Chinese and narrow-
winged mantids in cages and have made a point of quietly going to
their cages after they have been in the dark for several hours and
inspecting them with a weak flashlight. Always they have been alert,
with a look of searching interest and with occasionally moving an-
tennae.

Except for a few desert species, which dwell mainly on the ground,
mantids spend the bulk of their time climbing over weeds, grass, and
shrubbery, or just waiting. The kinds of insects available as food
will thus vary under different conditions. Mantids occasionally visit
lights at night or frequent sweet materials to which other insects have
been attracted, and there they find good hunting.

My observations on the Chinese and narrow-winged mantids show
that the majority of insects captured are consumed first at the head
or near the head, though occasionally the abdomen is eaten first.
When another mantid is caught, the head is often eaten first, but I
have seen the thorax eaten through near the base of the wings, with
the head, prothorax, and front legs dropping unnoticed while the
successful aggressor continued feeding steadily on the remainder of
the thorax and the abdomen.

Some tropical mantids are specialized so as to resemble flowers,
or so that their colors blend with those of plant foliage. This is
thought to aid them in capturing prey, the hapless victims not sensing
the danger until it is too late. In southeast Asia a species (Hymeno-
pus coronatus (Olivier) ) that varies in color from white to pale pink
in the late nymphal stages has the habit of crouching amid certain
blossoms, the petals of which its legs and other body parts closely
resemble. Two other species, Gongylus gongylodes (Linnaeus) of
southeastern Asia and /dolum diabolicum Saussure of east Africa,
have brilliant blue colors on certain expanded parts of the body. The
mantids display themselves on plants so that these colors are exposed
to the sun, and the widely adopted belief is that bees, flies, and other
flower-loving insects are thus lured to their doom.

Hardly less remarkable is the superficial resemblance of a few
tropical mantids to other insects of the same environment that evi-
dently are distasteful to birds, monkeys, and other predators. The

PRAYING MANTIDS—-GURNEY 345

first-stage nymph of Hymenopus coronatus resembles a bug of the
family Reduviidae, which probably can inflict a severe bite in addition
to tasting bad. In India certain mantids resemble ants, while in
Indo-China a common type of arboreal tiger beetle (Cicindelidae) is
the model for a mantid (7vricondylomimus coomant Chopard). The
subject of protective mimicry is a highly controversial one, and for
the present purpose it is suflicient to invite attention to these striking
resemblances on the part of a few tropical species and to suggest the
stimulating interest that might come from investigations by people
situated where such species occur.

GROWTH AND MOLTING

The eggs of mantids hatch in spring and early in summer, unless
they are induced to hatch sooner by a warm climate or by being brought
indoors. In the northeastern United States mantids usually hatch
late in May and in June, and they customarily mature in 2 to 3 months,
the adults occurring from late in August or in September until frost
kills them or they die of other natural causes. In captivity some
mantids have lived as long as 4 to 5 months after reaching maturity,
but the average is much less.

Newly hatched young, called nymphs, resemble the adults except
that they are small and delicate and have no wings. Like other Or-
thoptera and the more primitive insects in general, mantids have no
grub or caterpillar stage. These stages, technically referred to as
larvae, occur only among higher insects, beginning with Neuroptera
(hellgrammites, ant lions, aphis lions) and including Diptera (mag-
gots of various kinds), Lepidoptera (caterpillars), Coleoptera (beetle
grubs), and Hymenoptera (larvae of bees, wasps, and ants).

The egg cases, technically known as odthecae, of most mantids have
a hatching area on the surface of the case that is opposite the side that
is attached to a support. Chambers or passageways lead from this
hatching area directly to the eggs. The emerging nymphs wriggle,
head foremost, up these passageways to the surface and there hang
head down while they prepare to get the use of their legs. At 7:15
one morning early in June I noticed that about 20 nymphs were be-
ginning to emerge from one of my egg cases of the Chinese mantis.
They were a rich yellow color, with dark eye spots and with the legs
and antennae limp and folded back beside the body. Within half an
hour 100 or more nymphs were out, and the whole wriggling mass was
hanging from the egg case. Some had their legs free and were al-
ready crawling, though still yellow in color. By 9 o’clock all were
free, nearly all had turned to a neutral gray color, and they were ready
to be released on shrubs in my garden. A cluster of membranous
shreds, of indefinite shape, remained hanging from the hatching area
of the egg case.

346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

When the embryo has developed into a well-formed nymph within
the eggshell, it is ready to push through the head end of the shell and
wriggle toward the open air. Egg masses of Chinese and narrow-
winged mantids that I have collected for hatching have shown that
the great majority of nymphs from any one egg case appear the same
day, usually within an hour. A few early nymphs, perhaps as many
as 10, may appear a day or a few days previously, and a week later
occasional stragglers may still hatch, but hatching is very much a
dramatically sudden event. Some exceptions, mainly among tropical
species, have been reported.

When the newly hatched nymph, with limp legs and antennae,
wriggles into the open air and, from its own weight, hangs downward,
it sheds its transparent skin almost at once. Following this act,
the legs stretch out, the body takes on an erect shape, and the little
nymph is soon ready to walk. This is the true first-stage nymph, and
the molt that has just occurred is the intermediate molt, so named by
Uvarov who carefully described a corresponding and fully compara-
ble event during the hatching of grasshoppers. The cast skins of the
intermediate molt, almost embryonic skins as it were, constitute the
membranous shreds hanging down from the hatching surface after
hatching has occurred. The newly emerged nymph often remains at-
tached to the shed skin for a short time while the body and legs are
hardening, and the nymph may appear to be dangling from silken
threads. Within a few days after hatching the effects of weathering
have removed these cast skins from the old egg case.

Following the intermediate molt, the skin is shed six to nine times
before maturity is reached. The number of molts differs somewhat
in different species and is variable within the same species. At each
molt the size increases, and after the later molts the buds or pads
of developing wings become more noticeable. Most of our mantids
have long, fully developed wings when mature, but some are entirely
wingless, or have very short wings, or the wings of one sex only are
short or entirely lacking. Females are usually larger and more robust
than males.

Although first-stage nymphs are all similarly colored, later stages
may show that either green or brown is dominant. Attempts have
been made to show that these colors are correlated with similar en-
vironmental backgrounds, or with weather conditions, but reliable in-
formation on these matters is still insufficient.

MATING AND THE EATING OF MALES

There is a widespread belief that, following mating, the male
mantid is always eaten by the female. This actually happens in
many instances, but with some of our more common species the males
usually escape. In some species males may notice the females and

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 347

be so strongly attracted, prior to the sexual union, that nearby dis-
turbances are largely disregarded.

One October afternoon I went searching for insects to feed a
captive Chinese mantid female. Grasshoppers were scarce and only a
few small insects were found, in addition to a male of the narrow-
winged mantis and one of the Chinese species, which I placed in the
cage. When I reached home 20 minutes later, the female had seized
the narrow-winged male and was eating his head. He was consumed
in about half an hour, the legs, wings, and end of the abdomen being
discarded. She then cleaned her front legs with her mouth and
began leisurely to move about the cage. I saw her move toward the
male of her own species and began to think he was destined to be
eaten at once, but she turned away from him when she was about
2 inches distant and slightly below him on an adjacent vertical wall
of the cage. He had been eyeing the female intently, and just as she
turned away he leaped with partly open wings upon her. Soon
he had hooked his front feet securely beneath the bases of her closed
wings, and the ends of the two abdomens had effected a union. After
the first flurry of activity both mantids were quiet, though the fe-
male, carrying the male, moved about the cage. They separated
31% hours later, which was after dark, without the male being attacked.
Soon after dawn the next morning, however, the female had seized
her mate around the thorax with the left front leg, and while his
head was held to one side with the right leg she began her meal by
eating through the base of the pronotum.

In the unnatural confinement of a small cage the eating of males
following mating may be more frequent than under normal field
conditions. Mantids often mate several times, though one mating
appears sufficient to insure fertile eggs. Females that are kept iso-
lated will often deposit egg masses that appear perfectly normal,
though there has been no mating, but invariably (with the exception
of a few species that have no males) they do not hatch. A small
percentage of the ezg masses of the Chinese and narrow-winged man-
tids that I have collected and confined for rearing have not hatched.
Whether some of this failure to hatch is due to lack of fertilization
is not known.

Unlike many crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers, “voices” play
no part in the “courtship” of mantids. The several forms of stridula-
tion exhibited by those Orthoptera, ranging from the delicately ex-
quisite tinkling of our small bush crickets (Anavipha and Cyrtowipha)
to the raucous rasping of the true katydids (Pterophylla), which may
be heard for half a mile on a favorable evening late in summer, are
among the best known of all the sounds of insects. Like nearly
all the roaches, mantids haye on their. wings, legs, or other..organs
no stridulatory equipment for expressing their disposition in “song.”

348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Judd (1950) states that the European mantis is capable of stridu-
lating. He refers to the defensive attitude of caged individuals that
faced intruders with wings outspread and held vertically above the
body, at the same time curling the abdomen upward and swinging it
backward and forward, its sides making a rasping sound by rubbing
on the veins of the hind wings.

EGG-LAYING HABITS

The eggs of mantids are laid in groups of a dozen to 400, or there-
abouts. Each odtheca of the Chinese and narrow-winged mantids
contains an average of 200 to 300 eggs, according to the studies of
Fox (1939b, 1943). The eggs are deposited in layers in the midst of
a thick, frothy liquid, which soon hardens and becomes fibrous. Each
layer of eggs may consist of two or more rows, one above the other,
all leading up to the hatching area and the outside by the same
passageway. The protective covering is usually straw-colored or
some shade of gray or brown. For the most part, each species of
mantis deposits egg masses of a distinctive shape, some being elongate,
some globose, others ridged or bearing a peculiar apical spine. Very
unusual! tropical oéthecae, some not yet associated with any named
species, have been described. There is one type, for instance, that
consists of a chain of eggs laid on a leaf; another is a little cluster
of eggs suspended within the empty hollow of a thin parchmentlike
bladder attached like a nut to vegetation. (See Chopard, 1938.)

A female usually deposits 2 to 5 egg masses, as many as 20 in some
tropical species, during a period of weeks, and the size varies. Egg
masses are usually attached to vegetation, such as grass or weed
stems, twigs of shrubs or trees, less often to stones, fence posts, or
the walls of buildings. In my experience the majority are within
3 feet of the ground, but I have found them in pine trees 8 feet from
the ground.

The Carolina, Chinese, and narrow-winged mantids apparently al-
ways oviposit while standing with the head directed downward.
When the oviposition site has been selected, the mantid stands firmly
in position, and a whitish material much like toothpaste begins to
appear at the end of the abdomen. The three down-curved, paired,
fingerlike valves of the ovipositor manipulate the material rapidly,
apparently beating it up and introducing air bubbles, while the end
of the abdomen steadily moves from side to side and up and down.
Eggs, which originate in the paired ovaries within the abdomen, are
deposited in this soft matrix, though they are not readily seen during
the process. The whitish matrix is the product of accessory glands.
Exactly how the parallel chambers through which the hatching
nymphs emerge are made so regularly is still difficult to understand.

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 349

An equal amount of the matrix is placed each side of the central sec-
tion where the eggs are located. ‘The top of each layer is finished in
such a way that the final product is characteristic of the species, and
the lower end is smoothed off when egg deposition is completed.
Within an hour the matrix is reasonably dry and has a spongy texture.
Though nearly white at first, darkening soon begins, and within a
week or so the gray or brown color typical for the particular species
is the rule.

Egg-laying by our best-known species most often occurs late in the
day and frequently after dark. Females do not look around during
the oviposition process but are guided by instinct and the sensory
organs located at the end of the abdomen. To me the ability of each
species consistently to produce its own characteristic type of odtheca,
although superficially equipped with the same type of ovipositing
organs, 1s one of the most remarkable characteristics of mantids.
Doubtless for thousands of years each species has passed this ability,
mainly expressed in blind but unerring instinct, down to succeeding
generations. Such is the nature of species, each differing from others
in definite, though not always grossly conspicuous, ways.

FLIGHT AND OTHER METHODS OF DISPERSAL

Most fully winged mantids occasionally fly, the flights varying in
extent from a few yards to several hundred yards or more. Females
approaching the time of egg-laying are usually quite heavy-bodied,
since the abdomen is filled with eggs, and in that condition they are
not so inclined to fly as during the first 2 weeks or so after maturity
is reached, nor so apt to fly as the males. Mantids are sometimes at-
tracted to lights at night, with the result that they are found near
windows the following day. Specimens have been found at the top
of the Empire State Building in New York City.

The natural spread of a species of mantid into territory not previ-
ously occupied is by flight, in the case of winged species, and by
crawling. Many years may thus elapse before a species travels more
than a relatively few miles. Occasionally winds may add greatly to
the distance covered by a mantid in flight. Artificial transportation
by human agencies has in modern times become rather important in
the dispersal of mantid species to areas where they did not originally
live. Such introductions are largely by means of the egg masses,
which are often unintentionally carried attached to shrubs, hay, lum-
ber, or other materials. Notable examples of artificial introductions
are the three mantids established in the Hawaiian Islands, two of these
from the region of the Philippines and China, the other from Aus-
tralia or thereabouts. One of them, the narrow-winged mantis, has
also successfully entered the United States and, like the European and
Chinese mantids, has become acclimated here.

350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Biologists or other interested people have sometimes imported eggs
of exotic species, in order to observe the growth of these unusual
insects in cages, and the species have been intentionally or accidentally
released. Of course, each species is suited to certain weather condi-
tions, and it usually will not survive if released in an area that is
radically different from its native home in temperature, rainfall,
humidity, or other basic climatic factor. In the case of the two
Oriental and one European species introduced into the northeastern
United States, the climate of certain areas has enabled them to mul-
tiply and become thoroughly established. Their spread in the United
States is limited to what is possible by natural methods, aided by the
movement of eggs or individual specimens on the part of people, and
doubtless will not extend into States where winters are too severe,
where desert conditions prevail, or where for other reasons the situa-
tion is not suitable.

Many insects introduced into the United States have not been so
interesting or so harmless as the mantids here discussed. The Jap-
anese beetle, European corn borer, gypsy moth, San Jose scale, and
Oriental fruit moth are only a few of the outstanding pests that have
reached us from abroad and that have cost the Nation almost untold
expense for control work, to say nothing of personal hardship brought
about by accompanying adjustments in agricultural practices or
market conditions.

OVERWINTERING

In temperate regions mantids pass the winter in the egg stage, the
adults all dying in fall and the new generation hatching the follow-
ing spring or early insummer. Egg masses are much more noticeable
during winter, because at other times they are likely to be concealed
by leaves or other green vegetation. In some northeastern or Atlantic
Coastal Plain States as many as 50 egg masses may be found in less
than an hour in particularly favorable localities.

In warm countries with no winter season there may be a resting
period or diapause in the life cycles of mantids. This is frequently
correlated with dry and rainy seasons. Some desert mantids pass the
diapause as nymphs. For instance, /ris deserti Uvarov, of Algeria
and Tunisia, usually spends the diapause, which lasts 4 to 5 months,
in the fifth nymphal stage.

ENEMIES

There is a high mortality among young mantids during the first few
days following hatching, when they are delicate and only small insects
can be captured. Hard, cold rains at this time may inflict a heavy
toll, and birds may eat large numbers.

To determine which birds and mammals feed on mantids or their
egg masses, I consulted the Food Habits Division of the United States

PRAYING MANTIDS—-GURNEY 351

Fish and Wildlife Service, which for many years has assembled data,
largely as a result of analyses of stomach contents. In their labora-
tory at Patuxent, Md., special analysists have learned to recognize
most types of vegetable and animal food from the hard parts that
digest. very slowly or not at all. In the case of mantids, the head
capsule, fragments of the pronotum, and pieces of the front legs do
not readily digest and may be detected in stomach contents or in fecal
pellets. These structures of newly hatched nymphs are poorly
sclerotized or hardened, and egg masses do not leave characteristic
hard parts. Consequently, in order to recognize these remains in
stomachs the contents must have undergone only a small amount of
digestion prior to examination.

Records are available of 34 species of North American birds that
fed on mantids, of which 6 ate egg masses as well as the mantids them-
selves. Birds with numerous records of mantid feeding are the Ameri-
can crow, sparrow hawk, English sparrow, and wild turkey. The red-
winged blackbird, American magpie, woodpeckers, cowbird, and
several sparrows, quails, and prairie chickens are represented in the
list of bird predators of mantids.

Available mammal records show that the following have eaten
mantids: White-footed mouse, wood rat, prairie dog, skunk, raccoon,
opossum, gray fox, red fox, and dog. All the mammals listed except
the wood rat and prairie dog had eaten egg masses too. The most
numerous records of feeding on mantids refer to the skunk and
opossum.

In parts of the West lizards are important enemies of mantids, but
in the Eastern States lizards are not nearly as prevalent, or as numer-
cus in species. While studying range grasshoppers in the great sage-
brush-covered valleys of Nevada and eastern Oregon I found a large
variety of lizards, most of them very fast and agile. The minor
mantid was also seen running about on the ground in both States. It
is quite natural that ground-inhabiting mantids in particular, of
which the minor mantid is the most widely distributed western species,
should often be captured by lizards. Stomachs of certain species of
Utah lizards examined by Dr. G. F. Knowlton have often contained
mantid fragments.

Among insect parasites and predators of mantids, the best known
are small flies and wasps that feed on mantid eggs. These insects
insert their eggs into the mantid egg masses. The larvae, or grubs, of
the developing parasites feed on the mantid eggs and then the result-
ing adult flies or wasps emerge. Mantid odthecae collected after the
season of parasite emergence sometimes show one to many tiny round
holes a little smaller than the diameter of a pencil lead. These are
the holes made by the emerging parasites and predators. Some para-
sites always emerge from the side of the egg mass, others from the

302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

hatching area, and so on. People who place egg masses in containers
in order to watch the hatching of young mantids are occasionally sur-
prised to find that tiny parasites emerge. In some cases most or all
of the mantid eggs in a single egg mass are destroyed, but in others
only a very few parasites are present and a good many mantids
hatch normally. In some localities very little parasitism occurs, while
in others a majority of odthecae will be found parasitized.

The best-known parasitic wasps (Podagrion) sometimes appear
in large numbers, while others appear as occasional individuals. One
of the interesting parasites (Mantibaria manticida Kieffer) of the
European mantis in France is a tiny wasp that in the adult stage often
attaches itself to adult mantids. They cling to the body of the mantid
near the base of the wings, or to the lower surface of the abdomen.
If the mantid is a female, and the parasite remains until she deposits
eggs, the little wasp leaves the mantid and inserts its eggs into the
mantid egg mass. Since the European mantis has been in the United
States for many years, it is interesting to speculate that some day we
may find that we also have this remarkable parasite which catches a
ride with the mother of its intended victims. Its presence will be
disclosed by examining mantids caught in the field for attached para-
sites, or by rearing parasites from egg masses and having them iden-
tified by specialists who are trained to recognize the different species.

In the spring of 1950 I confined 124 odthecae of the Chinese mantis
and 18 of the narrow-winged mantis in separate jars to see what para-
sites or egg predators would emerge. Four tiny flies (Pseudogaurax
anchora (loew)) about the size of fruit flies (Drosophila) were ob-
tained, two coming from each of two Chinese-mantis odthecae. This
species is well known as a predator of mantid eggs, each larval fly
feeding on one or more mantid eggs, but an interesting thing is that
it preys upon the eggs of certain other insects and those of spiders,
and sometimes is a scavenger in the cocoons of moths.’ Other species
of Pseudogauraw attack both mantid and spider eggs, including those
of the black-widow spider.

My rearing chambers also yielded two tiny wasps and several kinds
of small flies. One of the wasps is a species known only as a parasite of
scale insects, while the other has previously been found to attack other
parasites. The first may have emerged from a tiny scale insect on the
piece of twig to which the mantid eggs were attached. An exit hole of
the second clearly showed in the egg mass, but the growing larva may
have fed on some other egg parasite rather than a mantid egg. That
could be determined only by careful dissections of the egg mass or by
conducting better-controlled observations. The small flies included

3 The distinetions between parasite, predator, and scavenger are partly matters of technical definition,
and the habits of some insects are so broad that they overlap two or more categories.

PRAYING MANTIDS—-GURNEY 353

species of a family (Phoridae) that often are scavengers. During
rains my cultures had become wet, and contamination by these flies
probably occurred at that time. Other little flies (Itonididae) may
have been in microscopic galls on the plant stems; at least they do not
appear to be normal parasites of mantid eggs.

These experiences demonstrate the problems that arise in determin-
ing which insects associated with mantid eggs are true primary para-
sites, and the ease with which snap judgments could lead to quite in-
correct conclusions regarding host-parasite relationships.

Relatively little information is available on insect predators that
attack nymphs and adults of mantids. In some countries large wasps,
perhaps related to those which provision their nests with cockroaches,
evidently prey on mantids, but I have no data on such habits among
American wasps. A very few instances have come to my attention of
large parasitic flesh flies (Sarcophaga and Mantidophaga) emerging
from the bodies of dying mantids. These may have been true para-
sites, developing from eggs or larvae attached to the mantid by the
mother fly, after the manner of certain flies that parasitize grass-
hoppers. One case is reported (Rosewall, 1924) in which 10 fully
grown maggots of Sercophaga crawled from the body of an adult fe-
male of the Carolina mantis. The mantis was dying, but the observer
noticed that when near death the mantid’s head moved, and he dis-
covered that a maggot had crawled through the tubular prothorax
and into the head! Most of the maggots were in the abdomen. They
broke out of the body, crawled into soil that was provided, pupated,
and later emerged as adult flies. Other cases (Gahan, 1915) include
three Mantidophaga maggots emerging from a Carolina mantis that
previously had a hole in the side of the abdomen, suggesting that an
injury may have become maggot-infested.

REARING

Many people inquire about the possibility of hatching mantids
from eggs in order to watch them grow to maturity. Large mantids
found outdoors late in summer may be easily kept, usually for several
weeks, by confining them in a glass jar closed with screening or netting,
or in a box with light entering one or more sides. Several small sticks
leaning against the sides of the jar or box, to serve as supports, are
important. A small potted house plant placed in a cage provides a
very good environment for a mantid. House flies, blue-bottle flies,
grasshoppers, and many other kinds of insects may be introduced alive
into the cage to serve as food. Mealworm larvae or tiny pieces of un-
cooked liver, hamburger, or frankfurter may be fed by hand, if held
to the insect’s mouth until the food is noticed. A captive Chinese man-
tid I kept was fond of Japanese-beetle grubs. When a grub was held
to its mouth, the mantid would begin feeding at once and usually reach

354 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

up a leg and take hold of it. Since they live in the soil, these grubs
would never be eaten naturally. Freshly killed insects will be eaten,
if offered on a stick or in tweezers, but mantids do not ordinarily pick
up immobile bodies of insects from the floor of a cage. Water should be
sprinkled on the cage each day or given the mantid with a medicine
dropper.

It is more difficult to rear mantids directly from eggs, because the
young are delicate and much more limited in their choice of food.
Furthermore, people often have eggs that have been taken indoors
during winter when the average person has no supply of suitable in-
sects available as mantid food, so that, while the little mantids hatch
by the dozens readily enough at living-room temperature, after 2 or
3 days they begin to starve rapidly. The atmosphere of many houses
is too dry in winter for the mantids to do well. If a serious attempt
to rear mantids to maturity from eggs is to be made, a little planning
is necessary. A supply of small insects can be assured by establish-
ing a culture of fruit flies (Drosophila) in jars containing fermenting
bananas or other suitable fruit. Each day a few living flies are trans-
ferred to the mantid cages. Plant lice from greenhouse or other
plants may also be fed to the newly hatched mantids, being transferred
directly on twigs or other host plant materials. A great variety of
leafhoppers and other smal] insects may be swept with an insect net
from grass. Larger insects may be supplied as the nymphs grow. In
a rearing experiment with Stagmomantis limbata (Hahn) it was
found (Roberts, 1937b) that the consumption by one mantid during
its entire life averaged over 700 insects.

Nymphs usually refuse food for the first 12 to 24 hours after hatch-
ing, and for a day immediately before and after molting. Mantids
rear well at a temperature of 75° to 88° F. and with a relative humid-
ity of 50 to 70 percent. Dryness may be partly offset by spraying
water lightly from a small atomizer over the nymphs and their cage
once a day. Too much water will drown them in the first nymphal
stage. Unless they are overcrowded or underfed cannibalism is not
common until the nymphs are half grown. After the fifth molt, only
one or two nymphs should be kept in the same container, and adults
should be separated if cannibalism is to be avoided. Care should be
taken to avoid infestation of cages with ants; the latter are very
dangerous to newly hatched mantids. A tiny mite, Pyemotes ventri-
cosus (Newport), has attacked mantids in some rearing experiments
(Rau and Rau, 1918).

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

The majority of insects normally eaten by mantids are probably
injurious to gardens or other agriculture, so that mantids as a whole
are beneficial insects. It is true, however, that a portion of their

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY S00

prey may consist of insects that parasitize insect pests. Also, prey
sometimes includes bees useful in pollinating fruit, alfalfa, or clover.
Under certain circumstances, therefore, mantids may be harmful, but
the good they usually do probably more than offsets the harm. The
possibility of propagating them for the control of harmful insects is
sometimes very appealing to people who are impressed by their tremen-
dous appetite and conspicuous predatory habits. Because they do
not eat just one kind of insect, but are rather general feeders, they
cannot be directed against a specific pest, such as the Japanese beetle.
Many pests, such as various kinds of borers, live inside of plant tissue,
and so mantids could never attack them under natural conditions.
If mantids became unusually abundant, birds might be inclined to
feed on them more, or the crowding might lead to more cannibalism.
For these reasons, mantids are not likely to be important in practical
biological control projects.

People impressed by the value of praying mantids occasionally
inquire whether there are laws protecting them. I have made an
effort to determine whether any State or local ordinances have been
passed to protect mantids from being molested by people, and thus
far no such laws have come to my attention.

There are several beliefs or superstitions concerning the ability of
mantids to kill livestock. For instance, it is often thought in the
Southwestern States that a horse or cow will die if it eats a mantid
or if it drinks water from a trough into which one has fallen and
drowned. These beliefs are naturally unfounded, and furthermore
a mantid cannot hurt a person except by the inconsequential scratching
of the claws and spines when handled.

SPECIES FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES
1. Chinese mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis Saussure:

The Chinese mantis is widespread in eastern Asia and nearby
islands. It was accidentally introduced into the United States, where
it was first noticed near Philadelphia in 1896. It has spread until
it occurs-from New Haven, Conn., to Virginia along the Atlantic
coast, and at scattered localities elsewhere. In February 1949 about
200 egg masses were distributed in Warren County, IIl., and, accord-
ing to Dr. R. I. Sailer, the 1950 population appeared to be increasing.
I have recently learned (letter from Edwin Way Teale) that a colony
has been started in California and that an Ohio dealer in biological
supplies has been selling egg masses; so it is easy to see the wide oppor-
tunities that the Chinese mantis has for enlarging its distribution.
It is our largest species, usually being 3 to 4 inches in over-all length
when the wings are folded over the back. The egg mass is sometimes
as much as 11 inches long and usually an inch or nearly an inch in
diameter.

396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

9. Narrow-winged mantis, Tenodera angustipennis Saussure:

This is a close relative of the foregoing species, from which it
differs in being smaller and less robust and in having less dark color
on the hind wings. The egg mass is elongate, usually an inch to an
inch and a half long, and seldom over one-half inch in diameter.
This mantid is also Asiatic in origin. It was noticed near Aberdeen,
Md., as early as 1926 but was not noted by a published record until
1933. Prior to that time adults had been supposed by a number of
people who found them to be small individuals of the Chinese mantis,
though the eggs were puzzling and not satisfactorily explained. It
was first reported (Jones, 1933) from the region of New Castle, Del.,
and adjacent Maryland. It is now well established from New York
City to Virginia. Attempts to establish the narrow-winged mantis
at Stamford, Conn., have been unsuccessful (letter from Dr. Stanley
W. Bromley).

In some localities this species is apparently fully as common as
the Chinese mantis, but at Falls Church, Va., I have found more of
the latter, both of egg masses and the mantids themselves. However,
egg masses of the narrow-winged species are seldom found on weeds
such as goldenrod but occur attached lengthwise to the surface of
woody stems or twigs that usually are at least as large in diameter
as the width of an egg mass. In contrast, the chunky odthecae of the
Chinese mantis occur both on small weeds, the stems of which they
often enclose, and on the twigs of shrubs and trees. A weed field
having few shrubs or trees will therefore offer the Chinese mantis
much better opportunities for oviposition.

At Falls Church, Va., eggs of the Chinese mantis hatched from
May 27 to June 26, the majority during the first 10 days of June.
As oothecae of the narrow-winged species yielded their young between
June 17 and 27, the average hatching date is probably 1 to 2 weeks
later than for the larger species.

3. European mantis, Mantis religiosa Linnaeus:

This is a widespread species of northern Africa, southern Europe,
and temperate Asia. It appeared at Rochester, N. Y., in 1899, prob-
ably the result of eggs being introduced on nursery stock. Soon
after the discovery at Rochester, a fine account (Slingerland, 1900)
of the species was prepared. Adults are about 2 to 214 inches long,
and the wings cover the abdomen when folded. Egg masses are
rather more bulky than those of the Carolina mantis, but less so than
those of the Chinese mantis and differently shaped.

For some years the European mantis has been well established in
western New York and southern Ontario, where the climate is less
severe than in northern New England. It was noticed in 1949 at

PRAYING MANTIDS-—-GURNEY 357

several localities in Vermont and Massachusetts, and in 1950 it again
occurred abundantly at several New England localities, and was found
near Albany, N. Y. In 1950 I was surprised to find it at the summit
and on the slopes of Mount Greylock, the highest peak in southern
New England, which is so boreal that the wingless White Mountain
grasshopper (Zubovskya glacialis glacialig (Scudder) ) lives there.
Can it be that 50 years have been required for the mantid to spread
by natural means from the Rochester, N. Y., area; or has climate,
which apparently limited the eastern spread, moderated and permitted
this mantid to move quickly into New England areas formerly closed
to it? An inquiry to the Weather Bureau disclosed that at Pittsfield,
near Mount Greylock, one of the important weather stations of west-
ern Massachusetts, the average temperature during the winter of
1948-49 was higher than any in the station’s history. In the winter of
1949-50 it was also high, well above average. This certainly suggests
that mild climate has been partly responsible for the spread of the
European mantis; also that a very severe winter may yet eliminate it
as a naturalized New England insect.

I further learned that a biology professor near Boston had re-
leased the mantid during recent years, probably accounting for some
current records from eastern Massachusetts, and that truckers had
brought loads of dried hay from New York State into western Massa-
chusetts and perhaps to other sections of New England. In hayfields
at Cummington, Mass., I found the species abundant. The logical
conclusion is that if the imported hay came from New York areas
where the mantid was established, then egg masses could easily have
been brought to Massachusetts. In other words, climatic changes alone
probably were not entirely responsible for the expanded distribution,
but, instead, a combination of climate and artificial introductions.

4, Carolina mantis, Stagmomantis carolina (Johansson), and related
species:

This is the best-known native mantid of the Eastern States. It
occurs from Pennsylvania across the Middle West to Colorado and
south into Mexico. There has been doubt as to whether the insect
occurred in New Jersey, but inasmuch as Teale (1950) has reported
its occurrence around Baldwin, Long Island, perhaps a northeastern
extension has recently been favored by mild winters, and the species
may prove to occur in New Jersey. Males of the Carolina mantis are
much more slender than the females. Wings of the latter usually are
noticeably shorter than the abdomen, and there is little if any flight
except by the males. Over-all body length is usually 114 to 2 inches.
Egg masses usually are scarcely more than an inch long and half
an inch or somewhat more in diameter.

308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

A second species of Stagmomantis, S. floridensis Davis, occurs in
Florida. Inthe Southwestern States three others occur: S. californica
Rehn and Hebard; S. gracilipes Rehn; S. limbata (Hahn). All are
closely related to the Carolina mantis, differing in size, color, and
technical structural details. Studies of the egg masses deposited in
Texas by species of Stagmomantis (Breland and Dobson, 1947) showed
that apparently a species additional to any now recorded for the United
States occurs there. ‘Three species, limbata, carolina, and californica,
already occur in Texas, the egg masses being well known, while
gractlipes occurs west of the zone where the strange eggs have been
found. Perhaps the adults reared from such eggs will eventually be
found to represent one of the Mexican or Central American species,
since the genus Stagmomantis is richly represented south of the United
States.

5. Minor mantis, Litaneutria minor (Scudder) :

This is the most widespread species of the West, occurring from
North Dakota and central Texas to British Columbia and south into
Mexico. Adults normally do not exceed 114 inches in length, and
the color is light buff to dark brown. Males are usually fully winged,
but wings of the female seldom cover more than one-third of the
abdomen. This mantid is most often found on the ground, but some-
times it occurs on vegetation. Egg masses are small, averaging about
one-fourth inch long, more or less rectangular with rounded corners.
In Texas a partial second generation of the minor mantid occurs
(Roberts, 1937a). Part of the eggs laid by the summer generation
hatch that fall, but the nymphs do not usually reach maturity.

6. Unicorn mantids:

There are two species of these striking mantids in the United States.
Both have a conspicuous split horn extending forward from between
the eyes, and there are usually two dark bars across each green front
wing. Body length (including folded wings) is about 214 to 3 inches.
One of the two, Phyllovates chlorophaea (Blanchard), is widespread
in Central America but occurs within our borders only in southeastern
Texas. The other, Pseudovates arizonae Hebard, is quite rare and
known only in Arizona. It differs from the former species by having
swollen lobes projecting from the middle and hind legs.

7. Grizzled mantis, Gonatista grisea (Fabricius) :

The grizzled mantis is endowed with excellent camouflage, the body
and front wings usually being mottled with green and brown, thus
enabling the insect to escape being seen except when it moves. The
species is proportionally broader than our other mantids of the same

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Gurney PLATE 1

*

1. Two egg masses of Chinese mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, sectioned to
show structure. Left: Lengthwise section cut from front, showing side
view of eggs in center and parallel emergence passageways leading upward
and to the left. Right: Lengthwise section cut from side, showing front
view of eggs surrounded by fibrous protective material. < 144.

2. Egg masses of three common mantids. Left: European mantis, Mantis
religiosa, removed from a board. Center: Carolina mantis, Stagmomantis
carolina, with parasite emergence holes on side. Right: Narrow-winged
mantis, Tenodera angustipennis, showing the characteristic elongate streaks
of darker color. 1%.

(Photographs by Floyd B. Kestner.)

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(Specimen from Florida.) X 15.

2. Head of Yersiniops solitarium. Male, showing characteristic conical eyes.
Parts of the front legs are included. (Specimen from New Mexico.) % 15.

(Photographs by Floyd B. Kestner.)

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EGG LAYING BY A NARROW-WINGED MANTIS

Three views of a female, showing (upper) the beginning of oviposition, (center)
oviposition nearly completed, and (lower) the finished egg mass with the female
eating a fly before moving elsewhere. Approximately natural size. (Photo-
graphs by John G. Pitkin.)

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PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 359

length. It occurs in the Southeast, where it extends from Florida to
South Carolina. The genus Gonatista is primarily West Indian, and
grisea occurs in Cuba as well as in the United States. Several related
species live in the West Indies.

8. Other mantids:

One of the distinctive southern species is Brunneria borealis Scud-
der. Only females have been found, though there are several related
South American species of which males have been described. Many
groups of insects include certain species that lay fertile eggs in the
complete absence of males (parthenogenesis), and this is a notable
example in the Mantidae. Our species is green, about 214 to 314
inches long, very slender, and with only vestiges of wings. It occurs
from North Carolina to Texas. Its egg mass, about one-half to three-
fourths inch long, is characterized by a distinct point at the lower end.
At hatching time, all nymphs emerge from this point, rather than
from a broad hatching area (Breland and Dobson, 1947).

A species of the genus A/antotda occurs in Florida, and for many
years it has been supposed by entomologists to be Mantoida maya
Saussure and Zehntner. The original habitat of maya, from which
the type specimen was obtained, is Yucatan. Now it is somewhat
uncertain whether the Floridian form may not be a distinct species,
peculiar to the United States, though, of course, closely related to
the one in Yucatan. This is another of the problems involving native
mantids that deserve careful attention. Our Mantoida is a rare
species, evidently most active at night and hunting to a large extent
on the ground, these habits probably explaining in some measure why
few people have seen it.

Five other species of mantids are known from the Southern and
Central States, including the Southwest. All are small and of incon-
spicuous brown coloration, which blends with the grasses and shrubs
among which they live. Two of them, Yersiniops solitarium (Scud-
der) and Y. sophronicum (Rehn and Hebard), are distinguished
from our other mantids by the shape of the compound eyes, which
are produced upward into sharp, conical points. These closely related
species live in the Southwest. They usually occur on the ground and
run rapidly, and in the case of solttartwm, exceptional abilities in
leaping are also characteristic.

A very delicate, extremely slender mantid found fairly commonly
among grasses in Florida, even in winter, is Z’hesprotia graminis
(Scudder). It also occurs in Georgia and along the Gulf coast as
far west as Mississippi. The remaining species are Oligonicella
scudderi (Saussure) and O. mewicanus (Saussure and Zehntner).

9227585124

360 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

They are intermediate in relative slenderness between 7'hesprotia and
the minor mantid. Oligonicella scuddevi is widespread in the South-
east, extends north on the Great Plains to Nebraska, and inhabits all
Texas except the extreme western and southern portions. In the
southern extremity of its range, it is believed to have two generations
a year (Hebard, 1943). Its congener, meaicanus, occupies a wide area
in Mexico and northern Central America but in the United States
occurs primarily in southeastern Arizona (Hebard, 1943).

REFERENCES

Most of the books in the following list are written in a popular or semipopular
style, and a majority of public libraries and bookstores are likely to contain
some of them. Although not listed here, most textbooks of entomology contain
short treatments on mantids. The more technical papers were published mainly
in strictly entomological journals and will be found in few libraries except those
containing a good deal on natural history or the agricultural sciences. They
are included for the benefit of students who have such serials available and
who wish to do supplemental reference reading.

BalL, E. D., TINKHAM, E. R., FLock, RoBerT, and VoruHies, C. T.
1942. The grasshoppers and other Orthoptera of Arizona. Arizona Agr.
Exp. Stat. Techn. Bull. 98, pp. 255-378, illus.
BLATCHLEY, W. S.
1920. Orthoptera of northeastern America, 784 pp., illus. (especially pp.
115-129). Indianapolis.
BRELAND, OSMOND P.
1941a. Notes on the biology of Stagmomantis carolina (Joh.). Bull. Brook-
lyn Ent. Soc., vol. 36, pp. 170-177.
1941b. Podagrion mantis AShmead and other parasites of praying mantid
egg cases. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer., vol. 34, pp. 99-118.
BRELAND, OSMOND P., and Dosson, Jack W.
1947. Specificity of mantid odthecae. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer., vol. 40, pp.
557-575, illus.
BROMLEY, STANLEY W.
1932. Observations on the Chinese mantid Paratenodera sinensis Sauss.
Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., vol 27, pp. 196-201.
CAUDELL, A. N.
1905. Two interesting mantids from the United States. Journ. New York
Ent. Soe., vol. 13, pp. 82-83, illus.
CHOPARD, LUCIEN.
1988. La biologie des orthoptéres. Encyclopédie Entomologique, vol. 20,
pp. 1-541, illus. Paris.
1949. Traité de zoologie, edited by Pierre Grassé, vol. 9, 1,117 pp., illus.
(Mantids, pp. 8306-407.) Paris.
Davis, W. T.
1918. Introduction of Palaearctic preying mantids into the North Atlantic
States. Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., vol. 18, pp. 73-76.
DIDLAKE, Mary.
1926. Observations on the life-histories of two species of praying mantis.
Ent. News, vol. 37, pp. 169-174, illus.

PRAYING MANTIDS—GURNEY 361

Fox, HENRY.

1935. Tenodera angustipennis Saussure established in southern New Jersey.
Ent. News, vol. 46, pp. 91-93.

1939a. Infestation of odthecae of introduced Asiatic mantids by Podagrion
mantis Ashmead. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer., vol. 32, pp. 561-563.

1939b. The egg content and nymphal production and emergence in odthecae
of two introduced species of Asiatic mantids. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer.,
vol. 32, pp. 549-560.

1943. Further studies on oéthecae of introduced Asiatic mantids. Ann. Ent.
Soc. Amer., vol. 36, pp. 25-88.

GAHAN, A. B.

1915. Notes on two parasitic Diptera. Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 17,

pp. 24-25.
GiGcLio-Tos, HE.

1927. Mantidae. Das Tierreicn, Lief. 50, pp. 1-707, illus. (Monograph of

Mantidae of the World.)
GURNEY, A. B.

1950. [Distribution of northeastern species of mantids.] Proc. Ent. Soc.

Washington, vol. 52, p. 51.
HADDEN, F. C.

1927. A list of insects eaten by the mantis Paratenodera sinensis (Sauss.).

[Misidentified.] Proc. Hawaiin Ent. Soc., vol. 6, pp. 885-386.
HEBARD, MORGAN.

1937. Where and when to find the Orthoptera of Pennsylvania, with notes
on the species which in distribution reach nearest this State. Ent.
News, vol. 48, pp. 219-225.

1943. The Dermaptera and orthopterous families Blattidae, Mantidae and
Phasmidae of Texas. Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., vol. 68, pp. 239-811,
illus.

How pgp, L. O.
1903. The insect book, 429 pp., illus. (especially pp. 326-328). New York.
JAQUES, H. E.

1947. How to know the insects, pp. 1-205, illus. (especially p. 76). Dubuque,

lowa.
JONES, FRANK M.

1933. Another Oriental mantis well established in the United States (Teno-

dera angustipennis Saussure). Ent. News, vol. 44, pp. 1-8, illus.
Jupp, W. W.

1950. Further records of the occurrence of the European praying mantis
(Mantis religiosa L.) in southern Ontario (Orthoptera). Ent. News,
vol. 61, pp. 205-207.

Lutz, FRANK E.

1941. A lot of insects: Entomology in a suburban garden, 304 pp., illus.
(especially pp. 84-89). New York.

1948. Field book of insects, 510 pp., illus. (especially p. 67). New York.

Morse, ALBERT P.

1920. Manual of the Orthoptera of New England. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat.

Hist., vol. 35, pp. 197-556, illus. (especially pp. 327-331).
Nuttrine, W. L.

1950. The European mantis (Mantis religiosa L.) in New England. Psyche,

vol. 57, p. 28.
PirKin, J. G.
1950. Praying mantis. Nat. Geogr. Mag., vol. 97, pp. 685-692, illus.

362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Rav, PHIL, and Rav, NELLIE.

1918. The biology of Stagmomantis carolina. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis,

vol. 22, pp. 1-58, illus.
REN, J. A. G.

1933. Chief morphological and color features separating Tenodera angusti-
pennis and T.. sinensis. Ent. News, vol. 44, pp. 4-5.

1947. The removal of the mantid genus Callimantis from the North Ameri-
ean fauna. Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 49, pp. 1638-164.

Roperts, RArForD A.
1937a. Biology of the minor mantid, Litaneutria minor Scudder. Ann. Ent.
Soe. Amer., vol. 30, pp. 111-121, illus.

1937b. Biology of the bordered mantid, Stagmomantis limbata Habn. Ann.

Ent. Soe. Amer., vol. 30, pp. 96-108.
RoepkEr, K. D.

1935. An experimental analysis of the sexual behavior of the praying mantis
(Mantis religiosa L.). Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, vol. 69, pp. 203-220,
illus.

19386. Raising the praying mantis for experimental purposes. Science, vol.
83, pp. 582-583.

ROSEWELL, O. W.

1924. An interesting parasite of a praying mantid (Dip., Orth.). Bull.

Brooklyn Ent. Soc., vol. 35, pp. 870-371.
SLINGERLAND, M. V.
1900. The common European praying mantis, a new beneficial insect in
America. Cornell Univ. Agr. Exp. Stat. Bull. 185, pp. 85-47, illus.
SwAIN, RALPH B.
1948. The insect guide, 261 pp., illus. (especially pp. 9-10). New York.
TEALE, EDWIN WAY.

1937. Grassroot jungles, 233 pp., illus. (especially pp. 46-58, 219, 222). New
York.

1939. The boys’ book of insects, 237 pp., illus. New York.

1950. [Occurrence of Stagmomantis carolina.] Journ. New York Ent. Soc.,
vol. 58, p. 199.

THIEROLY, W. R.

1928. The economic importance of Paratenodera sinensis. Ent. News, vol.

39, pp. 112-116, 140-145.
TINKHAM, ERNEST R.

1948. Faunistic and ecological studies on the Orthoptera of the Big Bend
region of Trans-Pecos Texas, with especial reference to the orthop-
teran zones and faunae of midwestern North America. Amer. Mid-
land Nat., vol. 40, pp. 521-663, illus.

UrquHanrt, Ff’. A.

1949. Introducing the insect, 287 pp., illus. (especially pp. 65-67). New

York.
WILLIAMS, CHARLES H.

1904. Notes on the life history of Gongylus gongyloides, a mantis of the tribe
Empusides and a floral simulator. Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1904,
pp. 125-187.

MAN’S DISORDER OF NATURE’S DESIGN IN THE
GREAT PLAINS?

By F. W. ALBERTSON
Fort Hays Kansas State College

(With 4 plates}

When man came to the shores of our continent he was confronted
with an empire of great expanse and diversity. Animal life, in-
cluding the American Indian, secured its subsistence mostly from
native plants and animals. Our earliest settlers on the Atlantic coast
immediately began to clear the ground for cultivation, and as popu-
lation moved westward, the practice of cultivating the soil moved
likewise. It took many years, however, to reach the high plains of
western Kansas. Wheat production seemed not to reach its maximum
relative importance as a farm crop in the United States until it was
grown on soils formerly occupied by prairie vegetation. ‘This crop
provided an ever-increasing supply of wheat flour for making bread,
but “man does not live by bread alone’—he needs a beefsteak oc-
casionally. If man today were like Nebuchadnezzar of old, it would
not be necessary for him to obtain by proxy his share of the vast
amount of energy produced in the vegetation of our grasslands
(Sampson, 1923). We have advanced beyond the stage of our ancient
forefathers, however, and consequently we are confronted with the
necessity of growing livestock in order to provide a portion of our
daily diet. But livestock does not live by corn alone. It has long
been recognized that the grasslands of America and elsewhere are
indispensable to economic livestock production.

If grasslands are as indispensable as we have been told, perhaps
it would be of interest to look into the origin of the prairies. Ac-
cording to authorities on the subject, many millions of years ago the
area now occupied by the Great Plains of North America was a vast
body of water (Harvey, 1908). The marine fossils embedded in
strata of limestone, under what is now the Great Plains, attest this
fact. From the close of Carboniferous time to lower Cretaceous
time, the area was mostly land and occupied by certain types of ferns
and conifers (Gleason, 1922). This type of vegetation evidently
prevailed for many millions of years. During middle and late Cre-
taceous time the region was again invaded by a shallow sea, and

1 Reprinted by permission from Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, vol. 52, No. 2, June 1949;

363

364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

following its withdrawal there occurred the uplift of the Rocky
Mountains on the west. These mountains, according to authorities,
intercepted the moisture-laden winds from the Pacific Ocean and re-
stricted the rainfall on the lands immediately east of them to moisture
derived from the Gulf of Mexico. Gradual decrease in precipitation
resulted ultimately in a grassy type of vegetation in this area. It is
believed that this grassland type of vegetation has occupied parts of
the Great Plains continuously for millions of years, and that vast
armlike projections of grassland have pushed out many times in
several directions and withdrawn again when changes in climate
occurred.

Millions of years after the formation of the mountains on the west,
there occurred a series of events that exerted a significant influence
upon the vegetation of the Great Plains. During the later Tertiary,
gradual cooling of the climate in higher latitudes caused significant
changes in the environment, which resulted in the disappearance of
subtropical species of plants from north and west America. Appar-
ently a distinct separation developed between the northern flora,
predominantly gymnosperms, and the southern flora which was con-
trolled by angiosperms. These two primarily aborescent types (in
addition to the grasslands) have maintained their identity in North
America since preglacial times.

As cooling of the higher latitudes continued, the Tertiary period
came to a close and it was followed by the period of glaciers. It is
not the purpose of this paper to describe in any detail the cause or
the extent of glacial periods, but rather to consider briefly their
effect upon the vegetation in the wake of their advance. As the ice
moved down from the north there was started a migration southward
of all living forms. Belts of vegetative types such as tundra, bog
scrub, coniferous forest, and deciduous forest were usually main-
tained through the east and middle west as they moved southward.
The width of each belt of vegetation, however, varied with topog-
raphy. Farther west the treeless plains region was covered by prairie
vegetation. This vast area of level land probably was bordered on
the north by a broad belt of tundra.

With retreat of the ice, the new bare glacial soil was naturally first
invaded by the mosses and lichens of the tundra. After further
retreat of the ice the climate became more suitable for plant growth,
and as a consequence the belts of vegetation proceeded northward
from the position they occupied at the southernmost advance of the
glaciers. In the east the succession northward was in the order of
tundra, bog scrub, and conifers. The prairie grasses from the plains
region, however, not only invaded the immediate adjoining tundra to
the north but also succeeded in penetrating the glaciated regions of

MAN’S DISORDER OF NATURE’S DESIGN—-ALBERTSON 365

the middle west. These grasses advanced slowly toward the east and
northeast, proceeding as a wedge-shaped extension between the conif-
erous vegetation on the north and the deciduous forests on the south.
The grasses apparently displaced the deciduous forests in the drier
locations as far east as Ohio (Woodard, 1924). One explanation of
this unusual phenomenon of prairie succeeding the forest is that a
xerothermic period began during the Wisconsin glaciation and per-
sisted through the post-Wisconsin glacial retreat. Because of the
dry period, the advance of the deciduous forest from the south was
delayed, but the more humid grasses and their associates moved north-
ward and came in contact with the prairie vegetation that moved in
from the west. Thus the bluestems, the Indian grass, and the panic
grasses came to be associated with buffalo grass, the grama grasses,
and other xeric forms from the west. This association evidently
represents the farthest eastward general advance of the prairie vege-
tation of which we have any record.

At a later period amelioration of the climate occurred which
gradually ended the xerothermic period. As a consequence, the
oaks, hickories, elms, ashes, cottonwoods, maples, etc., of the deciduous
forests followed the retreating grasses in a westward direction. As
the short grasses retreated westward, they took with them their
“cousins” from the south, and upon their return to the high plains
the more xeric grasses came to occupy the drier positions, whereas
the grasses of the more humid south became established on the eastern
border of the grassland formation and along streams and more favored
positions westward.

There is no attempt here made to discuss in any detail the source
of the material that went into the formation of the soils of the
Great Plains except to mention in passing that some of the material
was brought in by glaciers, some by winds, some by water, and some
of the soils were formed in situ from existing rocks. Soil is not just a
mass of inert mineral and organic material. It must have both of
these materials, but in addition, if it is a good soil, it is necessary to
have soil solution, soil atmosphere, and an abundance of soil organ-
isms. The interaction of all these constituents working through cen-
turies of time has resulted in a soil that is one of the most fertile known
to mankind. It was the interaction of climate, plants, and soils that
brought plants and soils to their present native state of development.

The prairie vegetation is particularly well adapted to the production
and protection of a deep fertile soil. The roots of many of our
grasses penetrate the soil to a depth of 5 to 8 feet depending in part
upon species of grass and in part upon the type of soil in which they
grow. Many of the broad-leaved herbaceous plants, such as wild
alfalfa, extend their roots somewhat deeper than do the grasses,

366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Under these circumstances soil moisture and nutrients are secured
from different levels, reducing the amount of competition among the
various species. There is considerable replacement of roots each
year—the dead roots increasing the supply of organic matter in the
soil. Under good range management even the litter and debris on
the surface gradually becomes incorporated into the soil.

In addition to being a first-rate soil builder, a good cover of grass
also ranks near the top as a soil protector. As the raindrops strike
the prairie vegetation the force is broken, and the shattered raindrops
run down the blades and stems of the vegetation where the accumu-
lated water is held long enough for most of it to enter the soil. During
downpours the clear excess water slowly runs away leaving the soil
held firmly in place by the vegetation.

There is a close relationship between the type of climate, vegetation,
and soil found in any region, and it appears safe to assume that to
understand our climate we must understand our vegetation and the
soils this plant growth produces. There is just one major reason
why the grasses invaded as far east as Ohio in past geologic ages—it
was climate. There is just one major reason why the forest did not
replace the grasses in the high plains—it was climate. Thus we may
study our native vegetation and predict with a considerable degree
of accuracy the type of climate that produced the vegetation and the
type of soil in which the vegetation is growing.

The herbaceous type of vegetation in the Great Plains is best adapted
to the extremes in climate that occur. Cycles of drought, hot desic-
cating winds of high velocity, prairie fires, tornadoes, hail storms, and
severe winters are all common to the plains region, but through all
these, the prairies have prevailed. ‘There are times each season, how-
ever, when prairie vegetation does not receive sufficient moisture for
growth, and, therefore, much of it 1s forced into dormancy. The
process of going into dormancy and out again may occur several times
in one season; this is a common experience for the short grasses of the
high plains (Albertson and Weaver, 1942). During extreme adversity
in the past, our native prairie doubtless suffered greatly, but upon the
the advent of more favorable conditions replacement of the former
cover was rapid (Albertson and Weaver, 1944b). Dust storms have
been known to occur earlier than those that visited us during the
thirties. The wind-formed soils extending from the Mississippi
Valley westward and covering much of northwestern Kansas illustrate
this fact (Lyon and Buckman, 1948). Even during the last half of
the nineteenth century our early settlers reported numerous “dusters”
(Malin, 1946).

When the early explorers came through the plains region they found
many of the plants that abound today in our native prairies; for

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Albertson PLATE 1

BASAL COVER AND PRECIPITATION

%
COVER|'32 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 945 1946 1947 ‘4s PPTN.

Ser Se

=e YY
\- 32

20q

1. AVERAGE AND ANNUAL PRECIPITATION, TOTAL PERCENT BASAL COVER OF BLUE
GRAMA AND EUFFALO GRASS ON A WELL-MANAGED RANGE AT HAYS, KANS.

2. MOUNDS OF DRIFTED SOIL ON AN OVERGRAZED RANGE IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS
IN 1939

Nearly all native vegetation was killed.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Albertson PLATE 2

1. SAME AREA AS SHOWN IN PLATE 1, FIGURE 2
Nothing but annual weeds were growing here when photographed in 1944.

pea ee

2. RANGE NEAR WINONA, KANS., IN SPRING OF 1941

Blue grama and buffalo grass (light areas) comprised 5 percent of cover of native
vegetation. Remaining part of area was bare or occupied by annual weeds.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Albertson

1. A WELL-MANAGED PASTURE AT DIGHTON, KANS., IN 1939
The cover of blue grama and buffalo grass was 20 percent.

2. SAME AREA AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 1, ABOVE

Replacement of cover was nearly complete in 1942.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Albertson PLATE 4

1. A WELL-MANAGED RANGE AT NESS CITY, KANS., IN 1946
Yield of grass was 1,800 pounds per acre.

ee eae

staat a

2. A HEAVILY GRAZED RANGE IN 1946

Located within 1 mile of the pasture shown in figure 1, above. Yield of grass was
900 pounds per acre.

MAN’S DISORDER OF NATURE’S DESIGN—ALBERTSON 367

example, Frémont, in 1842, reports the presence of the following plants
in or near Kansas:

OEP D GONG aN eS SO ath ak line os te Ne La Amorpha canescens.
NYG OO eA NS Ae lA 0 Salix longifolia.
Prairieisageseo aay ea eee I ee ee Artemisia spp.

IG OD Da Gren Ve ae NS ee ee ee . Asclepias tuberosa.
PPC ET 3 Gi] Seek TS tas Ae ee ee Carduus spp.

SS arn 1 0 yy ea re a ss es ee Helianthus spp.

ES ULES OTS ec ae ene ee eee eet ee ees Buchloe dactyloides.
WV hee call fsa feat EE Eee ES ee Le Psoralea floribunda.
SOnsitiviesbrie ree ee Be Chen oy ee Ne ae re Morongia uncinata.
CERWIN atu Wye Rae es Sa A Bee en ey ee ee eee Gaillardia spp.

Wy eninesprimTose sae le eee ee eee Gauwra coccinea.

The plants referred to by Frémont were doubtless important as a part
of our prairie vegetation many centuries past.

The author of this paper remembers fairly distinctly the conditions
that existed nearly 50 years ago. The vast majority of the land was
native prairie. It was neither broken for cultivation nor overgrazed
by livestock. The hilltops were occupied by short grasses and low-
growing broad-leaved herbaceous plants. Many of the hills were
dotted with bunches of little bluestem, and in the favored areas, such
as buffalo wallows, side oats grama and big bluestem were common.
The hillsides were occupied primarily by big and little bluestem, side
oats grama, Indian grass, and panic grass. A1I but the little bluestem
and side oats grama were dominant on the lowlands. At this time,
most of the land was open range and the livestock owned by the
pioneers roamed as they wished along the streams and over the high-
lands. Occasionally small areas had been broken for cultivation. It
is the change from the condition as it existed a half century ago to
the present state that has become our principal difficulty. As the
population increased, more land for cultivation was necessary. In-
crease in the cultivated area reduced the amount of native rangeland
at a time when there occurred an increase in the number of livestock;
hence a gradually increasing number of livestock was forced to graze
on a gradually decreasing area of native rangeland. ‘These effects
have been the cause of at least two problems. The first is proper
management of our cultivated land so that dusting of grasslands is
reduced to a minimum. Research and leadership from our experi-
ment stations and Federal agencies have assisted greatly in bringing
to our attention better methods for utilizing and conserving our culti-
vated soils. The second problem with which we are confronted is the
proper management of our rangeland in order to secure maximum
use with a minimum of deterioration.

We have said that the native vegetation of the high plains is better
adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions than is any other
type of vegetation; that is why it is dominant, This statement does

368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

not mean, however, that growth is luxuriant regardless of the season.
During cycles of drought, it is only natural to assume that vegetation
would adjust itself to drought conditions. Increment of growth dur-
ing dry seasons would naturally be less. Seed production would be
gradually decreased as would also basal cover. Even root develop-
ment would doubtless be modified greatly. Recovery, however, would
occur over a relatively short period of time. The greatest destruc-
tion of our rangeland has occurred when the impact of overutilization
of rangeland and poor tillage practices of our cultivated soil have been
added to the impact of unfavorable climatic conditions. The early
pioneers were not confronted with overutilization because as grass be-
came scarce in one area the livestock naturally moved to another area
on the free range where utilization had been less intense. Under these
conditions it was only natural to draw the conclusion that grasslands
were not expendable—that they came into existence through a long
period of adversity and nothing that man could do would destroy
them.

Research on rangeland in the Great Plains has been limited mostly
to the present generation; in fact, most of it has been done during the
past 20 years. Several members of the botany staff of Fort Hays
Kansas State College claim western Kansas as their “native habitat.”
They have watched the prairies gradually deteriorate under the in-
fluence of overutilization, or have seen their complete destruction as
they were put under cultivation. It therefore became obvious that
more information was needed in order to know more fully how we
might maintain our prairies under high production at the same time
they were being utilized by livestock and, more recently, how to re-
grass much of our worn-out cultivated land. In the late twenties
and early thirties a program of study was initiated at Fort Hays
Kansas State College and has continued unbroken since that time.
Fortunately, from 1927 to 1932 inclusive, precipitation at Hays and
at other locations in the high plains was considerably above normal.
This condition made it possible to lay out research and to obtain initiat
data at a time when our prairies were at a maximum of development.
Areas were set aside in 1932 in order to determine what and how much
vegetation occupied different topographic locations (Albertson, 1937)
More recently, other studies have been inaugurated throughout west-
ern Kansas, particularly in the southwest (Albertson, 1941, 1942).
Many of these areas have since been plowed up and planted to wheat—
a practice that has been going forward at an alarming rate in western
Kansas and eastern Colorado during the past few years.

Research on the prairies during past years has revealed some strik-
ing facts. The first significant reaction of prairie vegetation to
drought is decreased growth. As drought continues and becomes

MAN’S DISORDER OF NATURE’S DESIGN—-ALBERTSON 369

more intense, that portion of vegetation least adapted to adversity
dies, thus leaving an open cover. Further drought adds to the open-
ness of the cover until finally run-off of rain water is materially in-
creased, causing soil erosion and further depletion of soil moisture.
This cycle of events continues to make the situation more and more
critical, especially if deficient precipitation extends over a long period
of time and over a large area. When the effect of overutilization is
added to that of drought, the result, indeed, is very significant.

A few figures on cover and yield in relation to degree of utilization
and amount of precipitation might be used to illustrate this princi-
ple. In 1932, which was the close of a 6-year period of above-normal
precipitation at Hays, Kans., the basal cover on a well-managed short-
grass pasture averaged nearly 90 percent of the total area (pl. 1, fig. 1).
The decrease in precipitation following 1952 was extremely abrupt but
it took 2 years of drought to produce a significant decrease in the
cover, and by 1937 the blanket of vegetation had been reduced to 25
percent, and in 1940, when the drought closed, the cover was only 20
percent. With the return of sufficient soil moisture the cover was
quickly restored because of the phenomenally rapid growth of buffalo
grass.

On an adjacent heavily grazed range, the lowest cover of 2.6 percent
was reached in 1936. In various locations in southwest Kansas where
dusting and utilization were severe, the last vestige of vegetation was
often removed and even today some of the rangeland has the appear-
ance of weedy cultivated fields (pl. 1, fig. 2, and pl. 2). Other ranges
in southwest Kansas that were more fortunate in regard to degree of
utilization and dusting have long since regained their predrought
cover (pl. 3).

The question often asked is “How much do short-grass pastures
produce each year?” Obviously there is no one answer. Production
of grass usually varies directly with amount of soil moisture and in-
versely with production of weeds. It should be stated, however, that
a cover of weeds is preferable to no cover, for weeds protect the soil
from erosion in addition to furnishing considerable food for livestock.
In 1940 a No. 1 pasture at Hays yielded nearly 1,400 pounds per acre
of grass but only 400 pounds per acre of weeds (Albertson and Weaver,
1944a). A poorly managed pasture produced only 133 pounds of
grass per acre but the weed crop was over 1 ton per acre. Farther
west than Hays there were fewer good pastures, and in 1940 even the
best of these yielded less than 200 pounds of grass but nearly 1,500
pounds of weeds.

In 1941 the best pastures at Hays increased in yield considerably but
the better ones westward often increased tenfold or more. The poor
pastures, however, failed to make significant gains except in the

370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

production of weeds. It seemed evident that when a remnant of vege-
tation remained at the close of drought, restoration of cover was
extremely rapid and the yield for some time after restoration even
exceeded that on the better pastures where the cover suffered less dur-
ing drought. Possibly this result was due in part at least to a more
vigorous new cover on a soil that had rested for a few years.

In 1946 a well-managed pasture at Ness City, Kans., yielded 1,800
pounds per acre but a nearby heavily grazed area produced only half
this amount (pl. 4). Five areas near Collyer, Kans., were studied
during the summer of 1946 (Tomanek, 1948). These ranges differed
mainly in the intensity of utilization during 15 years preceding the
period of study. The ungrazed pasture produced approximately
2,500 pounds per acre as compared to 4,000 pounds on a well-managed
range and only 1,800 pounds on a heavily grazed area. These data
indicate that heavy utilization reduces the yield by 50 percent and
that grazing too lightly also decreases production.

A 5-year study on a short-grass pasture near Hays was initiated in
1942 to simulate different intensities of grazing by clipping at dif-
ferent heights and at different intervals. It was discovered in this
study that approximately 50 percent of the grass could be left on
the area and in 5 years the amount removed from these locations nearly
equaled total production on the areas where all growth was harvested.
Root development under these treatments also was significantly dif-
ferent. Roots under nonuse and moderate use were nearly the same,
but under heavy clipping the roots were not only finer and less in
number per unit area but also their depth of penetration into the soil
was significantly less.

Life histories of important grasses of the Great Plains have been
studied in order to know the best sources of grass seed for reseeding
cultivated land (Riegel, 1941; Webb, 1941; Hopkins, 1941). It seemed
wise to revegetate some 500 acres of cultivated land on the college
farm, and while doing this, basic studies have been made on methods
of seedbed preparation, methods of seeding, rate of growth, and yield
(Riegel, 1940).

In order to manage our rangeland properly, it seemed desirable to
have more information on the time of the season when growth oc-
curred. Jt was surprising to some to find that as much as 70 percent
of the total growth in one season occurred before July.

Numerous studies indicate that cattle, for example, enjoy variety in
their range diet just as human beings prefer variety in theirs. A
closely cropped pasture of nearly pure buffalo grass is entirely too
monotonous in appearance and in palatability to be of greatest value
in beef production. Overutilization has been found to decrease the
number of desirable species in a native range.

MAN’S DISORDER OF NATURE’S DESIGN—ALBERTSON Rw

Dormant prairie forage is low in succulence and usually low in
protein content; hence good rangeland should have at least some
green herbage throughout the growing season. The chemical com-
position of prairie grasses has been found to vary significantly
especially in early spring as compared to late fall.

It is well, perhaps, to bring this paper to a close by pointing out
the fact that what has been done on the prairies at Hays and else-
where may serve only as a foundation for greater and more detailed
work. These investigations on the vegetation of the mixed prairie
and high plains are most refreshing both to the college instructor and
to the college students. An opportunity is provided to take the
student to the prairie or, when this is impossible, the prairie is taken
to the student. through exhibits of one type or another. It is hoped
by this means to bring together the great out-of-doors on the one
hand and the student of nature on the other.

The vegetation of the Great Plains, a vast area of reserve sunshine,
of potential beefsteak, of exquisite beauty, has slowly come to us
through past ages, and from what we know at the present time these
prairies are best preserved through moderate use. The cover of vege-
tation that is used to build and protect the soil approaches a maximum
under moderate use. Also a maximum yield of first-class herbage
is thus provided and, finally, there is preserved the beauty in the ever-
changing panorama of flowers and color of foliage from one aspect
to another as each season progresses.

Nature, indeed, has designed in our prairies a most wonderful soil
builder and soil protector. It is necessary, of course, to cultivate
the most level portion for the production of wheat and other cereals.
When cultivation is practiced, however, it should be done in such a
manner that high productivity of the soil may be maintained. There
are vast stretches of native prairie that have been put under culti-
vation during recent years. Some cultivation has been practiced
on areas of broken topography where erosion is likely to become
serious in a few years.

One of the major problems that is now confronting the farmer
of the high plains is how best to reseed to native grass a portion of
his land under cultivation. If an adequate supply of grass seed and
seed of other plants can be maintained and if techniques of seedbed
preparation and reseeding can be improved, it might be possible
eventually to grow native grass in a long-time rotation.

It should be the policy of all who live and work in the plains region
to learn more of its proper use and, at the same time, how to preserve
its beauty. We must have bread made from its wheat but also we
should enjoy its beauty—for “man does not live by bread alone.”

372 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ALBERTSON, FE. W.
1937. Ecology of mixed prairie in west central Kansas. Ecological Mono-
graphs, vol. 7, pp. 381-547.
1941. Prairie studies in west central Kansas: 1940. Trans. Kansas Acad.
Sci., vol. 44, pp. 48-57.
1942. Prairie studies in west central Kansas: 1941. Trans. Kansas Acad.
Sci., vol. 45, pp. 47-54.
ALBERTSON, F. W., and WEAVER, J. E.
1942. History of the native vegetation of western Kansas during seven years
of continuous drought. Ecological Monographs, vol. 12, pp. 28-51.
1944a. Effects of drought, dust, and intensity of grazing on cover and yield
of short-grass pastures. Ecological Monographs, vol. 14, pp. 1-29.
1944b. Nature and degree of recovery of grassland from the great drought
of 1933 to 1940. Ecological Monographs, vol. 14, pp. 893-479.
GLEASON, H. H.
1922. Vegetational history of the Middle West. Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geogr.,
vol. 12, pp. 39-85.
HARVEY, L. H.
1908. Floral succession in the prairie grass formation of S. E. Dakota. Bot.
Gaz., vol. 46, pp. 277-298.
HOPKINS, HAROLD.
1941. Variations in the growth of side-oats grama grass at Hays, Kansas,
from seed produced in various parts of the Great Plains region.
Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., vol. 44, pp. 86-95.
LYON, LYTTLETON T., and BUCKMAN, HARRY O.
1948. The nature and properties of soils. New York.
MALIN, JAMES.
1946. Dust storms, 1850-1900. Kansas Hist. Quart., vol. 14, No. 2.
RIEGEL, ANDREW.
1940. A study of the variations in the growth of blue grama grass from
seed produced in various sections of the Great Plains region. Trans.
Kansas Acad. Sci., vol. 44, pp. 155-171.
1941. Life history and habits of the blue grama. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci.,
vol. 44, pp. 76-83.

SAMPSON, ARTHUR.
1923. Range and pasture management. New York.

TOMANEK, GERALD.
1948. Pasture types of western Kansas in relation to the intensity of utiliza-
tion in past years. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., vol. 51, pp. 171-191.
WEBB, JOHN, JR.
1941. The life history of buffalo grass. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., vol. 44,
pp. 58-75.
WoopWARD, JOHN.
1924. Origin of prairies in Illinois. Bot. Gaz., vol. 77, pp. 241-261.

FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA’?

By DanreL MERRIMAN

Director, The Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory
Yale University

[With 2 plates]

Since World War II our attention has been drawn in forcible man-
ner to the problems created by a rapidly increasing population in a
world of food shortages and diminishing natural resources. Such
books as Osborn’s “Our Plundered Planet” and Vogt’s “Road to Sur-
vival” paint dramatic and frightening pictures. The press follows
with alarmist statements about future depletion or speaks with undue
optimism about anything that offers the slightest hope of alleviating
critical conditions. Here the oceans come in for a large share of at-
tention, especially with reference to supplying the ever-increasing
need for protein. This is wholly natural; the oceans cover nearly
three-quarters of the earth’s surface, and recent technological ad-
vances have led to a number of eminently newsworthy “miracles” of
modern fishing, such as electronic aids, “atomic” trawls, electrophysio-
logical fishing, the deep scattering layer, and detection of fishes by
the noise they make.

More fundamental than new techniques in fishing, however, is the
problem of what food is to be taken from the sea—or, to put it another
way, at what point can man most advantageously break into the sea’s
cycle of life?

This cycle can be said to begin with the vast assemblage of minute
floating plants (phptoplanton) and animals (zooplankton) which
populate the upper levels of the sea. The microscopic phytoplankton
comprising more than 99 percent of all marine plants, creates organic
matter from inorganic materials in the present of sunlight, by the
process known as photosynthesis. No animals have this capacity;
they must fee either on plants or on other animals that have first fed
on plants.

It has often been suggested that the sea’s cycle of life might be in-
terrupted right here; and if a way could be found for harvesting
phytoplankton and zooplantkton for human consumption it might be
comparable with the best agricultural practices. But without human

1 Reprinted by permission from The Yale Review, vol. 39, No. 3, spring 1950. Copyright Yale University
Press.

373

374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

interference, these minute forms of life are eaten in fantastic quanti-
ties by other ocean dwellers. The zooplankton, for the most part, live
by eating the phytoplankton. They may then sink to the bottom,
where they provide food for shrimps, crabs, worms, mollusks, and
smaller invertebrate animals (which in turn may be eaten by larger
invertebrates or by bottom-living fishes like flounder and cod), or they
may stay in the surface layers—only to be eaten by such fishes as
herring, menhaden, sardines, or mackerel, or, paradoxically enough,
by the largest of all marine animals, the whalebone or baleen whales.
The phytoplankton and zooplankton, the bottom invertebrates, the
fishes, the whales—all eventually meet their fate. If they escape pre-
dation, they die a natural death and release their inorganic matter
for use once again in the continuous cycle of life in the ocean.

Or these plankton, these bottom invertebrates (shrimps, oysters,
clams), these fishes (herring or flounder), these whales, may be re-
moved from the sea by man for his use.

The question, then, is this: at what stage in the cycle is it best to
take “the harvest of the sea”? G. A. Riley, writing in the October 1949
Scientific American, directed attention to this problem in exemplary
fashion:

the fishes and other large animals in the sea represent the end product
of a long and complicated food chain. Through a series of predations, the tiny
bits of plant life are transformed into successively bigger bundles of living ma-
terial. But all along the way from plants to fishes there is a continual loss of
organic matter. During its growth to adulthood an animal eats many times
its own weight in food. Most of the organic material it consumes is broken
down to supply energy for its activity and life processes in general. It follows
that the total plant matter in the sea outweighs the animals that feed upon it,
and the herbivores in turn outweigh the carnivores. Fish production is believed
to be of the order of only one-tenth of 1 percent of plant production.

To put it another way, we can say that the average annual
phytoplankton crop in well-known fishing areas is roughly 500 to
1,000 times as great as the commercial catch of fishes; in short, if an
acre of sea bottom yields 50 pounds of fish a year, the phytoplankton
production in the overlying waters in that period might be 25-50,000
pounds. At a given time the phytoplankton crop might be only
about four times the weight of the fishes, but the microscopic plants
grow and multiply so fast that the production in the course of a year
is hundreds of times as much as the fish production. And if the
annual phytoplankton crop is of this order of magnitude, the zoo-
plankton crop—the next step in the chain—is perhaps 100 times the
poundage of the commercial fish catch in the course of a year. Clearly
then, by harvesting the fishes, which are at the end of the chain, we
-are working at the most inefficient level.

Unfortunately, however, nothing can be done about it. There
have been devices for the collection of plankton on a limited scale

PLATE 1

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Merriman

ee *

1. Sorting the catch by species on a small southern New England dragger. The
wire baskets hold 1 bushel; the catch is then iced and barreled below decks,
3 bushels to a 200-pound barrel. The day’s catch may be from as little as
1 barrel up to 50 barrels, depending on the season and species.

2. The bag or cod end of a small trawl being hauled over the side of a dragger
after towing for an hour and a half. Note the variety of species. The
strands of rope are to prevent chafing as the cone-shaped net is dragged
over the bottom.

(All photographs were taken on Capt. Ellery Thompson’s dragger Eleanor, out

of Stonington, Conn.) (Pictures courtesy H. Gordon Sweet.)

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FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA—-MERRIMAN BL)

through the utilization of tidal energy, and by special processing this
nutritious material might be made quite acceptable as human food.
But the harvesting of a plankton crop would require the continuous
filtering of stupendous quantities of water and would demand such an
enormous output of energy that any large-scale process of this sort
is completely impractical—at least until atomic energy is turned to
constructive rather than destructive ends, and even then the problems
would be complex. Such harvesting still belongs in the realm of
fantasy; to collect the plankton in water of average depth overlying
only an acre of fishing bottom would require the filtration of perhaps
50 million gallons of water through the finest sort of bolting cloth
many times over in the course of a year. As Riley puts it, “By and
large we must leave the plankton to the fishes.”

But though we must leave the plankton, are the fishes necessarily
the consumers to whom we must leave it? Are there perhaps, other
organisms that might be harvested at a more efficient level in the food
chain? Oysters, clams, mussels, and other molluscan species feed
directly on microscopic plankton; hence there is less loss of organic
material than in the end product of a food chain which has involved
a number of steps. On this account production is relatively efficient.
But as a rule such animals are extremely slow-growing, and since
they live in the shallow part of the ocean and are sedentary, they are
readily accessible to man; therefore natural populations are likely to
be fished out.

For example, Connecticut oyster grounds showed a decline as early
as the eighteenth century, and by 1830 the supply had decreased to
such an extent that oysters from Chesapeake Bay were imported in
large quantities. In the second half of the nineteenth century the
highly specialized business of oyster culture developed in Long Island
Sound. Then the Chesapeake oyster began to show signs of serious
depletion, and by 1900 importation from the South had ceased. As
Gordon Sweet points out in the Geographical Review (October 1941),
oysters were now removed from the low-priced staple food class and
the price rose to such an extent that they became a luxury.

Present-day oyster farming in Long Island Sound is a difficult and
skilled type of agriculture. Land under water is leased by an act
of the Connecticut legislature. The beds must be protected from
starfish, which open and feed on oysters by means still not fully un-
derstood, and from small snails which riddle the shells with holes,
and the oysters must be transplanted to different areas for optimal
growth at different stages of their life history. After preparing
clean beds of shells on which the baby free-swimming oyster larvae
settle and become “spat” during the summer, the oyster farmer trans-
plants his growing crop at least three times in the next 4 years.

9227585125

376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Sometime between the fifth and ninth year of life the oyster is ready
for human consumption and the edible product is dredged once again
and prepared for shipment. Small wonder, under conditions of such
a highly developed system of cultivation, that the oyster is a luxury
item. Among recent developments in this industry are dredges based
on a vacuum-cleaner principle, which can suck up as much as 3,000
bushels in a morning; this mechanism has enormously speeded the
transplantation of oysters to different grounds, and obviously it pro-
vides for far more efficient control of destructive pests. It is probable
that there are still some molluscan sources which are untapped, and
there is little doubt that the cultivation of oysters, clams, and other
bivalves can be developed on a wider scale. But it is totally unreal-
istic to look to these sources for any substantial alleviation of world-
wide food shortages; the best that might be expected would be limited
developments in certain areas which might serve directly or indirectly
to relieve critical conditions in minimal fashion.

So we are left with the fact that the great bulk of our harvest of
the sea must come from the animals at the end of the food chain—
the fishes, which represent the most inefficient level of harvesting.
That is to say, they are “inefficient” in terms of total organic produc-
tion, although admittedly “efficient” in terms of man’s ability to
catch fish as compared with his ability to catch plankton.

What, then, can man do to increase the landings of fisheries on a
world-wide scale? Are these resources inexhaustible? For example,
is the stock of herringlike fishes, which constitutes a major item in the
world’s fish production, being depleted to the danger point by the
ever more intensive and efficient efforts of man? The world’s annual
landings at present amount to perhaps 20 million tons. Can we
double those landings in a decade by exploiting the present stocks
much more fully? Can we also find new and untapped resources so
that the world’s production might be increased many times over—say,
ten-, fifty- or a hundred-fold?, How much will the expanding science
of oceanography and the rapid strides in technology help us to increase
the production of our fisheries ?

These questions are difficult to answer with any degree of accuracy.
Sober thought and judgment are needed lest the misconception that
the ocean offers a panacea for food problems become widespread.

Reference has been made earlier to the miraculous aids to modern
fishing, some of which can be called electronic. About 20 years ago
the conventional sounding lead and line gave way to the fathometer,
a machine that measured the time required for sound waves sent out
from the ship to reach bottom and return an echo to the ship. Given
the speed of sound in water, it was possible to construct the instrument
so that the depth of water was recorded on a dial, and measurements
could be made continuously under full steam. In the early days of

FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA—-MERRIMAN 377

fathometers on trawlers on the Banks, we would simply turn a switch
and a light would flash at short intervals opposite the appropriate
depth on a dial reading from zero to a hundred fathoms. With such
a mechanism the skipper could drag his net in a gully or depression
where he had reason to think there were heavy concentrations of fishes.

The fathometer underwent rapid improvement, and the utilization
of supersonic frequencies made it a precision instrument so delicate
that it could detect much more than absolute depth. Double “echoes”
began to show up on occasion, one clearly from the bottom and the
other from intervening layers at mid-depths or less. It became clear
that the second reflection, or false bottom, could only arise from con-
centrations of fishes or other organisms. In the herring fishery of
the Pacific coast, schools of varying size occur at mid-depths.

In the old days the fisherman had to depend on a combination of
intuition, knowledge, and experience. When a herring seiner arrived
in an area where there might be fish, it was common practice to let
down a great length of piano wire with a weight attached; a skilled
man could tell whether the concentration was light, medium, or heavy
by the frequency of pings as the schooling fish hit the wire, and on
his say-so was based the decision to set or not to set the net. Nowadays
the echo-sounder performs the same function; it, too, can judge the
size and concentration of the school by the intensity and depth of
the recorded echo, Amazing hauls are made on occasion, as this story
from The Pacific Fisherman for January 1950 shows:

Something close to an all-time record for a single set of herring off the British
Columbia coast was achieved by Nelson Bros. Fisheries’ Seiner Western Ranger,
Nov. 2, with a haul of 1,180 tons of fish. ... (This) was made possible through
the practical application of electronics to fishing. The great school of herring
was detected by Capt. Hans Stoilen on his vessel’s echo-sounder in weather so
foggy that no sign of fish could be seen. Acting on information provided by
his sounder, he set his net blind and made this enormous catch. ... Western
Girl, the flagship of the Nelson Bros. fleet, was close by. ... The two boats

were in constant radio telephone communication with each other while the opera-
tion was being completed.

But the echo-sounder alone has not served to bring about a vast
increase in the catch of Pacific herring. To be sure, it has replaced
a more time-consuming method, it has made fishing more mechanical,
and at times it has made possible the detection of herring that might
otherwise have escaped the fishermen. But it has not, singlehanded,
brought about an increase in the catch of the order of magnitude that
here concerns us. The fisherman’s accumulated knowledge, his gam-
bling instinct, and other personal factors will not quickly be subordi-
nated to mechanical aids of this sort.

Another discovery resulting from the perfection of echo-sounding
devices is the “deep scattering layer,” a new term in oceanography.

378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

During and following the war, fathograms in deep water in both the
open Pacific and Atlantic have shown the presence of layers, of
dubious constitution, that scattered the outgoing signal to varying
degrees so that a false bottom appeared at levels down to several hun-
dred fathoms. The nature of this scattering layer has been the subject
of inquiry and controversy ever since it was first detected. (See the
discussion by R. S. Dietz in the Journal of Marine Research, November
1948.) At first it was believed that some physical discontinuity in
the water, such as a temperature change, might produce the effect,
but the intensity of the scattered sound was often so great as to rule
out a temperature change or other physical boundary.

As the records became more abundant, and particularly after they
were made continuously over a 24-hour cycle, it became apparent that
the depth of the scattering layer differed during day and night. It
sank during the daytime and came nearer the surface at night. Such
a diurnal cycle immediately suggested that the cause of the scattering
layer might be migrating marine organisms. Biologists have long
known from laboriously collected net hauls that certain zooplanktonic
forms, notably the shrimp and prawnlike types, react negatively to
light (“exhibit negative phototropism”). Accordingly, these organ-
isms migrate toward the surface at night, presumably to feed on
phytoplankton in upper layers, and then descend to deeper and darker
water during the daytime. ‘The extent of these daily vertical migra-
tions is of the order of many hundreds of feet, thus corresponding
well with the observed change in depth of the deep scattering layer.
Some of these zooplankton are almost microscopic in size, although
some, like the euphausid shrimps, are an inch or more in length. At
first it was suggested that the majority of zooplankton were too small
to scatter sound effectively ; hence, the actual scatterers might be large
schools of squid or fishes which follow and feed on the zooplankton,
and which the biologist with his clumsy and inefficient nets had not
been able to catch. If this were so, the use of sonar gear to detect such
schools in the open sea could open vast possibilities for the commer-
cial fisherman.

Unfortunately, the bulk of evidence now favors the view that the
scatterers are mainly zooplankton. Recent experiments have shown
that minute particles do scatter high-frequency sound, and therefore
typical concentrations of even the small-sized zooplankton can account
for the deep scattering layer. Certainly more than one kind of ani-
mal is involved, and in some areas euphausid shrimps appear to be
the dominant element, but as yet there is no clear indication that
squid or fishes are the principal scatterers. At this stage it does not
seem that the deep scattering layer is destined to be a tool of great
direct significance to the commercial fisheries. Recent calculations
have shown that the living populations at depths where the scattering

FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA—-MERRIMAN 379

layer occurs are only about one-tenth as great as those in the surface
layers. Furthermore, ordinary echo-sounders are not sufficiently sen-
sitive to distinguish between plankton and fishes, and the oscilloscope,
which might reveal the constitution of the layer, could hardly be
adapted for use on commercial vessels. All in all, the deeper waters
are not likely to contribute greatly to the world’s fish landings; fisher-
men will always get the bulk of their catch from the upper hundred
fathoms, the layer in which at least 90 percent of the ocean’s living
populations exist.

During the war the underwater noises made by marine animals
became a matter of great importance to those operating listening
devices for the detection of surface vessels, submarines, or other enemy
activity. The instruments were developed to a high degree of per-
fection, but animal noises interfered with accurate interpretation to
such an extent that investigations were carried on in the British Isles,
America, and also Japan to identify particular sounds with the species
that made them. A considerable body of literature on the subject is
now available; indeed, certain investigators, instead of sending out
the customary scientific reprints, produce actual recordings of their
findings; only the other day there came to my desk a record (78
revolutions per minute) of the underwater calls of Delphinapterus
leucas, the white porpoise—a form of crepitation unrivaled in the
annals of phonography.

The underwater soundmakers are of many kinds, such as shrimps,
all sorts of fishes, whales, and porpoises. The character of the sound
is highly variable, and a recent United States Navy publication on
sonic fishes of the Pacific lists the types as follows: Breathing, click,
croak, crunch, drum-tap, growl, grunt-groan, hum, rasp-grate-spit,
squeak, toot-whistle, and whine-pipe. This same publication states
that “subsurface listeners described unidentifiable contacts running
the gamut of sound from mild beeping, clicking, creaking, harsh
croaking, crackling, whistling, grunting, hammering, moaning and
mewing, to the staccato tapping as of a stick rapidly and steadily
drawn along a picket fence, of coal rolling down a metal chute, the
dragging of heavy chains, fat frying in a pan, simulated propeller
noises and the pings of echo ranging.” It has been suggested that the
identification and association of particular sounds with definite species
might be of practical significance to the industry in detecting schools
or concentrations of commercial fishes. There appears to be little
justification for this optimistic view; it is not likely that the sounds
made by fishes will be used by commercial fishermen to any greater
advantage in the future than in the past. There is, however, some
possibility that certain shrimps, which make a characteristic crack-
ling noise, may be of utility in the commercial sponge industry. These
shrimps live in the pores and channels of important sponges, some-

380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

times in great abundance, and there is reason to believe that the shrimp
crackle might be a useful tool in establishing the whereabouts and
extent of sponge colonies.

New methods of catching fishes, new gear, always excite the imagi-
nation and catch the public fancy. Since the war two inventions
have attracted particular attention. One, anew Danish floating trawl,
has been dubbed the “atomic trawl” because of the reports of its effec-
tiveness. Trawl nets are normally dragged along the sea floor to
catch bottom-dwelling species; the problem is to catch those forms
that exist in large numbers near the bottom but above the vertical
limit of the relatively flat cone-shaped net. The Danes are said to
have developed a method of making a trawl work some distance above
the bottom and to have made enormous catches thereby. Two boats
work some 300 feet apart and the gear is manipulated by a system
of floats and balances and by slackening and tightening the towing
ropes and wires. Published descriptions are complex and not encour-
aging to those who might like to experiment. It is probable that the
gear is effective in limited areas and under special conditions; the
Danes have always excelled in net construction and gear handling.
But the “atomic trawl” will not revolutionize the industry, nor will
it be a gear which will bring about a great increase in the world’s
catch of fish.

The other invention, developed in Germany by Dr. Konrad Kreut-
zer since the war, has been given the spectacular name “electrophysi-
ological fishing.” Previous experiments had shown that fishes are
responsive to the polarity of electric fields, and when two electrodes
are placed in the water, with a varying positive voltage on one, the
fishes are forced in that direction. Kreutzer has carried on experi-
ments in Lake Constance and, on a small scale, in salt water; he
reports great success and hopes to obtain a patent on the electrode
arrangement and on the pulse shape and rate, the pulse form being
critical to the success of the whole endeavor. Last summer (1949) he
was seeking funds to equip an experimental boat in order to attempt to
apply his method to the trawling industry. The anode would be in-
corporated in the net and the cathode kept near the boat. He has
not published quantitative results of his experiments to date and is
not willing to reveal all details until he has obtained patents.

However, his accounts are highly enthusiastic and an American
Consulate report from Bremerhaven states, “Kreutzer’s invention, if
successful, will revolutionize commercial fishing.” The principle
would be applicable not only to the trawl fishery, but to other types
of gear, and the inventor believes it would be especially adaptable
to the capture of large forms such as sharks, tuna, and whales. Kreut-
zer himself grants that practical experimentation with electric fishing
at sea will unquestionably pose many technical difficulties. For ex-

FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA—MERRIMAN 381

ample, the fishes will react differently according to their size, and
the problem of varying the voltage effectively may prove an obstacle,
although Kreutzer discusses this feature only in terms of the conser-
vation of small fishes which are destroyed in normal trawling oper-
ations. Also, in his account, the gear, as applied to a special trawl,
sounds unwieldy and highly impractical for operation at sea. More
fishing gear has been designed on land and failed in practice than
any skipper cares to think about. Electrophysiological fishing remains
to be demonstrated as a means of increasing the commercial catch, and
it must still be regarded with more than a little skepticism.

In short, it is not probable that inventions, new techniques, or
modifications of existing gear will immediately bring about such a
huge increase in the world’s annual landings of fishes as to make
notable contribution to the need for protein. The increase in human
population appears to be outstripping the ability of science to pro-
duce by new inventions the requisite food—at least food from the sea.

The expansion of present fisheries and the development of new ones
hold more promise in this regard. For example, the Japanese tuna
fisheries in the prewar period were of vast extent; in all probability
their precise magnitude will never be known. At present the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service has embarked on an extensive study
of the biology of the Pacific tunas and a survey of the potentialities
of this resource. The area involved is so huge and the problems so
complex that results are bound to be slow. However, it is certain that
expansion of our tuna fisheries, not alone in the Pacific but elsewhere,
will follow in time. Here again the degree of optimism in terms of
increasing the world’s supply of protein should be restrained. Tuna
is costly to produce, and therefore it is not the sort of food that can
play a large role in raising the standard of human diet in, let us say,
southeast Asia. Other fisheries—notably those devoted to the her-
ring and cod families, will unquestionably expand and develop in new
areas.

The biological productivity of the ocean is incredibly high in cer-
tain localities, such as the west coasts of Africa and South America;
the pattern of current in both places causes upwelling from the bot-
tom resulting in a rich supply of fertilizing nutrients for use by the
phytoplankton. Thus the quantities of fish off Peru, where the Hum-
boldt Current exerts its influence, are phenomenal; the cormorants
on the three small Chincha Islands (once famous for their guano
deposits) have been estimated to consume each year a weight of
anchovylike fish equivalent to one-quarter of the entire United States
catch of all species. These areas are notably underexploited by man;
surely our fisheries will in time exploit them to a much greater degree.
How can it be otherwise with Diesel and gasoline engines replacing
steam and sail, with a vastly increased cruising radius, radiotele-

382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

phone communication, quick-freezing, radar, and other technological
advances? But the extent of exploitation will depend on economic,
marketing, and other factors, and it is not likely that these expansions
will raise the world’s fisheries’ production by two or three times within
the next decade.

Curiously enough, the development of an ancient practice, fish farm-
ing, holds greatest promise for supplying protein in areas where it is
most needed and where nutrition is notably below minimal standards.
This sort of fish culture, involving the construction of special ponds
(either fresh-water or salt) in which all the operations of animal
husbandry are practiced, has existed for centuries in China and India,
as Hickling relates in Nature, for May 15, 1948. The ponds are shal-
low, roughly 3 to 5 feet in depth, and range in size from less than
an acre to 15 acres or more. Frequently they are used for agricultural
as well as fish crops—rice, water chestnut, watercress, and arrowhead
for human consumption; water lilies and water hyacinth for pig food.
These plant and animal crops may alternate—paddy from February
to June and fish from July to January—or they may be simultaneous.
The ponds are often operated concurrently with vegetable gardens
and the raising of pigs and ducks; they are fertilized both naturally
and by the application of farmyard manure and compost, resulting
in rich growths of plankton and hence tremendous production at the
lower levels of the food chain. As Hickling points out, these fish
ponds fit in well with a system of peasant small-holding. In some
localities the production of fish runs as high as 4,000 pounds per acre
annually; contrast that figure with the annual production of 50
pounds per acre from the sea bottom referred to earlier.

The significance of fish farming is by no means as widely under-
stood as it should be. Although the farming of milkfish, carp, mullet,
gourami, tilapia, and other species calls for special knowledge, some-
times involving immensely skillful techniques, there 1s no reason why
it should not be practiced more widely and introduced into other areas
where it could be developed on a high scale. Production is cheap and
yields are high; many areas where human nutrition levels are low are
suitable for fish farming (pretein shortage is the bane of many tropi-
cal populations), and with modern means of transportation the intro-
duction of foreign species is now possible as never before.

Fish farming can be expected to boost the world’s production of fish
in considerable amounts and to relieve dietary deficiencies in critical
areas to no small degree. Expansion of this time-honored practice
may yield more than all the atomic nets, electric fishing, electronic
aids, and other technological advances put together. This is not to
imply that fertilization of large tracts of the ocean by human agencies
holds any promise. During the war experiments in Scottish lochs
produced greatly increased growth rates in flatfish. Widespread and

FOOD SHORTAGES AND THE SEA—-MERRIMAN 383

unfortunate publicity resulted in the popular misconception that im-
portant sea-fishing areas could be similarly treated with comparable
results. This is not so; the magnitude of such an undertaking renders
it utterly implausible.

Another source of encouragement is to be found in the much fuller
utilization of marine products in the last two decades. In some
fisheries close to half the fishes caught, many of them killed in the
process, were discarded as inedible or nonmarketable during World
War II. But we are making rapid advances in this field. New
species, heretofore unknown to the housewife, are attractively pack-
aged. Others, until recently unsought, are taken for the vitamin A
in their livers. Still others, not readily marketed, are turned to fish
meal for domestic animals. Thus there has developed in the past
year a “trash” fishery of no small proportions on the North Atlantic
coast; nonmarketable species, previously discarded as useless, have
been landed in quantity for the purpose. That is why the Bingham
Oceanographic Laboratory has paid particular attention to such
species as the small skate in southern New England waters. Not
marketable directly for human consumption because of its small size
and sharp spines (although its larger counterparts are widely eaten,
particularly in Europe), the small skate is now being caught in great
numbers for use in the fish-meal industry. We need to know how
the supply will stand up under intensive fishing, and how its large-
scale removal will affect marketable fishes which compete for the
same food in the same area. There is reason to believe that catching
such skates will benefit other bottom species, such as flounder, which
eat the same small animals.

At least 60 percent of the fisheries’ products throughout the world
are inedible, nonabsorbable, or otherwise unfit for human consumption,
but we are learning how to utilize what heretofore has been almost
pure waste. These scrap products are useful. Herring scales have
recently been worth more to the commercial fisherman than the her-
ring itself—for use in certain “gun-metal” and other paints so com-
mon on automobiles. Other byproducts in filleting are used for
fish meal or for oil. Some whole fishes are ground up for cat and
dog food. No longer do we discard with abandon, and the far more
efficient utilization of these resources augurs well for the future.

In the final analysis, however, we must maintain the most cautious
optimism about the resources of the sea as a means of alleviating
world food shortages. Particular areas and populations can increase
their fish production and relieve local protein deficiencies. Our total
landings can and will go far above the present catch by using new
gear and by exploiting oceanic resources to the full, and we shall learn
how to make the most complete use of what we take. But it is un-
realistic to think that the ocean is likely to supply a large proportion

384 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

of the food required for the world. Let me put it bluntly. Using
figures from the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Con-
servation and Utilization of Resources this past summer (1949), and
taking into account the present rate of increase of the human popu-
lation, if we should double the world’s landings of fisheries’ products
in the present decade—almost beyond the realm of possibility—the
ocean would still contribute less than 3 percent to the supply of protein
required for the world in 1960.

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS?

By Grorce A. Liuano

Associate Curator, Division of Cryptogams
Department of Botany, United States National Museum

{With 8 plates]

INTRODUCTION

This article is a general discussion of most of the economic uses of
lichens. A more detailed account, including the biology of lichens,
was published by the present author (13)? in 1944, of which this
treatment is a revision of the economic uses only. Neither of these
papers is complete but merely an attempt to bring together some of
the information regarding utilization of lichens, and a working bib-
liography for those who have little familiarity with lichenology. None
of this material is available in text form; most general texts mention
lichens in the most perfunctory manner, citing references only from
older texts which give little credit to modern studies.

Though other branches of the botanical sciences have received con-
siderable impetus from the activities of research in recent years, little
of this force has carried over into the science of lichenology, which
is not a popular study. It is reserved to a few specialists throughout
the world whose studies are largely in the realm of lichen taxonomy,
geography, and ecology. To the few who have investigated the chem-
ical and physical as well as physiological structure of lichens, all li-
chenologists owe much for the stimulation they have given to the
science. Among these recent contributions attention should be di-
rected especially to that of Quispel (14).

BIOLOGY OF LICHENS

Lichens can be distinguished by their habit of growth as crustose,
fruticose, or foliose. The first form is the simplest, growing on bark,
wood, rocks, or soil; the other two forms are more intricate, either
erect and branched or flat and leaflike, generally with a dorsal and
ventral surface, although some forms are pendent and cylindrical.

1 Reprinted by permission from Economie Botany, vol. 2, No. 1, January-March 1948, with revisions by
the author. Dr. Llano is now research and editorial specialist, Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center,
Library Division, Headquarters Air University, United States Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base

Alabama.
2 Numbers in parentheses refer to literature cited, at end of article.

385

386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

These plants are widely distributed from the Arctic to the Tropics,
consisting of thousands of species and innumerable varieties and
forms. They have one feature in common that distinguishes them
from all other plants. Each of them consists of two different and
separate entities living together in such a balanced relationship that
they not only form a successful organism but are able to reproduce
the unit. One component is a fungus, usually an ascomycete but in
a few cases a basidiomycete, whose intertwining, compact hyphae give
form to the thallus. The other component consists of a species of
green or blue-green algae enmeshed between the hyphal strands of
the fungus. In this combination, each component is able to extend
its activities into habitats that would be inimical to it as an independ-
ent organism. Together they form a particular species of lichen
with specific morphologic, taxonomic, ecologic, and sometimes physio-
logic characteristics, the fungal part growing by extension of its
hyphae, the algal cells by division.

This intimate relation of fungus and algae is a physiological union
usually regarded as one of symbiosis, 1. e., of mutual benefit to each
component, the fungal element deriving food from the green alga, and
the alga benefiting by having its moisture and mineral nutrition
maintained through the water absorption and water retention charac-
teristics of the fungus. The presence of fungal haustoria, however,
and the penetration of hyphae into the algae have been cited as evi-
dence that this relationship is merely another case of parasitism.
Furthermore, the algae are commonly found freely growing in nature;
lichenized fungi are not known to survive independently.

As a taxonomic group lichens are open to fair and persistent criti-
cism. The International Rules of Botanical Nomenclature (art. 64)
definitely rejects any taxonomic group derived “from two or more
discordant elements.” ‘This should legally dissolve the biological
union traditionally accepted as the class Lichenes. The dominant
element of the union is the fungus, and through it the union is able to
perpetuate the unit; the sexual reproductive elements are fungal, re-
sulting in the development of typical apothecia or perithecia in which
are developed spores. In the process of thinking about and describ-
ing the unit, the fungal characteristics are usually uppermost. The
inevitable result has been that many mycologists have segregated the
various groups among those fungi that appear to have a close relation-
ship.

However, the thallus is a specialized type of structure, and the
fungus-alga relationship makes possible specialized functional rela-
tionships peculiar only to lichens. They may be conveniently treated
as a homogeneous group, for they have their own literature and spe-
cialists who concentrate their studies on them.

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS——-LLANO 387

The fungal components of lichens reproduce sexually by means of
ascospores, or basidiospores, depending on the type of fungus-sym-
biont present. When these spores germinate, however, growth cannot
continue unless the resulting hyphae come in contact with the algal
associate in the lichen species. A commoner method of propagation,
and perhaps the more successful, is asexual. This may be merely by
broken pieces of the thallus body being blown or carried elsewhere, or
by detachment of a minute mass of hyphae enclosing algal cells from
specialized structures known as soredia; this secondary method of
reproduction is not found in all species of lichens. Lichens have been
synthesized in a few cases by bringing together the two component
parts.

Lichens are often mistaken for mosses, but the term “mosses” is
popularly used to include many unrelated plants. Certain species
of the lichen genus Cladonia are known as reindeer moss notwith-
standing the fact that they lack stem and leaves so characteristic of
true mosses. Irish moss is an alga (Chondrus cripus) of shallow
coastal waters. The Spanish moss of the interior wooded valleys of
California is a lichen, Ramalina reticulata. The same name is more
commonly associated in the southern States with an epiphytic plant
growing on trees, wires, and roofs of houses. It possesses leaves,
stem, true roots, and flowers. This flowering plant (7¢lendsia
usneoides) is a member of the pineapple family. Characters of a very
general nature might be used to differentiate the various groups:

A. Plants reproducing by flowers and seeds____--__________ PHANEROGAMS
(Seed-bearing plants)

AA. Plants lacking flowers and seeds, reproducing by spores____ CRYPTOGAMS
(Non-seed-bearing plants)

By) Plants withystemtand leaves= eee es Le ee TRUE MOSSES

BB. Plants without stem and leaves.
C. Plants normally found immersed in water, commonly bright
green, brown, red, or yellow-green, either attached or free
SU pe thin oe Ne a ee AQUATIC ALGAE
CC. Plants normally not immersed in water, gray or bright
colored but rarely bright green unless moistened, found
on, soils) rocks; wood, orbarke ee ee LICHENES

LICHENS AS FOOD FOR INVERTEBRATES

Certain studies (19) concerning invertebrates known to feed partly
or wholly on lichens include the feeding habits of mites, caterpillars,
earwigs, black termites, snails, and slugs. Invertebrates apparently
feed on all but the most gelatinous lichens which have almost complete
immunity because of their slimy covering. Dry, hard lichens are
rarely attacked, although it has been noted that two species of snail
graze on the endolithic lichens Verrucaria and Protoblastenia, mainly
on the thalli and the apothecia. Excrement from these snails con-

388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

tained fragments of calcium carbonate and green algal cells, while
the hyphae and dead algal cells were apparently digested. Experi-
ments have shown that snails will feed on potatoes covered with
cetraric, rhizocarpic, and pinastrinic acids, poisonous to other ani-
mals, but will not feed on vulpinic acid, which is recognized as poison-
ous to vertebrates. Buitter-tasting lichens, treated by a soda method
to extract the acids, were acceptable in preference to fresh untreated
but moistened lichens. This is of interest, since there is a widely cur-
rent assumption that lichens are remarkably well protected against
attacks from animals by reason of these acids.

Free-living algae are the preferred foods of invertebrates, in most
cases, but when not obtainable, the gonidia, 1. e., the algal layers in the
lichen thallus, are taken. Some lichens are normally scarred from
snail feeding; Umbilicaria mammulata, common to the eastern United
States, is frequently seen with the dorsal surface marred. Hué (13)
presented the opinion that the abundance of lichens in Arctic regions
results from the comparative absence there of snails and insects.
Not a few “new” species of lichens have been the result of insect and
snail ravages, further modified by plant regeneration.

LICHENS USED AS FODDER

Nongrassy ranges.—This subtitle refers specifically to range lands
which are composed primarily of lichens or which are used at definite
times of the year for grazing because of the lichen vegetation. Such
areas are rarely entirely free of sedges, grasses, herbaceous plants, low
bushes, and sphagnum bogs. When this type of vegetation is at its
best in spring and summer, it has little value as nongrassy range land.
These areas lie north of the tree line and above timber line but may
extend well down into the timber along mountainsides. They are
best developed in sub-Arctic regions but may extend into the temper-
ate zones. They cover those parts of Greenland which are ice-free
and still have sufficient moisture for plant growth, Iceland, northern
Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, the Northwest Territories of Canada,
Labrador, and the archipelago of the Arctic Sea. As a whole, the
thousands of square miles composing this area furnish nongrassy
range feed in the winter for wood buffalo, musk ox, caribou, and other
wild herbivores, and for domesticated reindeer, as well as a grassy
range feed at all other times. It is not to be assumed from this state-
ment that all these wild species of animals are entirely dependent on
lichen forage for winter grazing. Actually, too little is known of
their food preferences to permit a definite statement.

In the Antarctic regions, though lichens are the predominant plants,
they are not so richly developed as in the Arctic. Owing to absence

* Citations not recorded in the bibliography of this article may be found in the author’s 1944 paper (13)

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 389

of herbivores in this area, further discussion of it will be omitted.
The extreme southern part of South America, Tierra del Fuego, and
lower Patagonia might also be included in this classification. San-
tesson of Uppsala, Sweden, has related to the author that when he was
botanizing in the Argentine during the late war, he was approached
by governinent officials requesting advice on the practicability of 1m-
porting reindeer into those regions for the use of the natives. San-
tesson’s opinion, based on his thorough knowledge of lichen species
and of reindeer culture, indicated that the South American lichen
species of the area under consideration, although probably acceptable
to reindeer, were not abundant enough to sustain them. <A news re-
port of October 20, 1947, however, stated that 20 reindeer had been
imported into Argentina for stocking the Tierra del Fuego area.
These were to provide food, clothing, and transportation to the 3,513
inhabitants of the archipelago, and were part of the Plan Quiquenal
“which will make Tierro del Fuego a magnificent exponent of social
and economic progress . . .”

Jn the development of the reindeer industry in Alaska, Eskimos were
used as herdsmen, and proved skillful in handling the herds. But stiff
competition from other branches of commercial animal husbandry and
the inimical attitude of allied companies restricted the normal outlets
for reindeer products. Finally the United States Government, and
later the Canadian Government, were called upon to assist the Eski-
mos in developing their own herds, as a means of establishing a more
stable source of food and clothing. This venture proved less success-
ful than anticipated, owing largely to the unwillingness of the settled
villagers to take up the nomadic life demanded by reindeer herding.
With the communal herds restricted to the proximity of the villages,
overgrazing, especially of winter lichen pastures, resulted. The seri-
ousness of this problem was brought out in a report of the United
States Department of Agriculture as early as 1929, when the reindeer
herds were on the decrease.

The American caribou and the Old World reindeer have similar
habits, feeding on lichens in snow-free areas or pawing away the
snow cover to obtain better grazing. In summer they migrate to the
highlands or close to the coast, partly to avoid insect pests and partly
to feed in fresh pastures. The constant, natural rotation of caribou
during the winter period throughout their range, and migration dur-
ing the spring and summer from the lowlands to the highlands,
prevent overgrazing in any one part of the available range. In Lap-
land, where reindeer culture has developed through centuries, follow-
ing the migration of herds from lowlands to highlands, with continual
movement throughout the critical winter period, is a natural part of
the existence of the herd owners. The increase of northern European
reindeer populations has resulted in the development of local restric-

390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

tions and international laws for the control of herds crossing the Nor-
wegian, Swedish, and Finnish boundaries. It has also encouraged the
study of the utilization of northern pastures, the vegetational cover,
and the study of lichens which are primarily winter feed but are taken
at all times of the year by reindeer.

Lapp culture is primarily a reindeer culture, so specialized in its
application that the Lapps have derived their own Lapponian terms
for varying types of reindeer grazing lands and lichen species which
they differentiate sharply, no mean feat in itself. The living prob-
lems of present-day Lapps arise mainly from the fact that some of
them have given up their nomadic habits and hence their main source
of revenue, reindeer herds. The Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish
Governments are conscious of their responsibilities toward these peo-
ple and of the importance of helping them maintain their culture,
and so they encourage lichenologists to make studies and surveys of
the lichen flora in those countries.

Reindeer have a market value of from 200 to 300 Swedish kroner
(3.60 Sw. kr.=$1, August 1947), and it is not unusual for a Lapp to
possess several thousand animals; such a person can hardly be con-
sidered indigent. Reindeer meat is unrationed and is served through-
out Fennoscandia. The hide is used for leather goods and, with the
hair, is manufactured into footwear and a high-quality sleeping bag.
During the war German troops stationed in Finmarken slaughtered
reindeer indiscriminately for meat and hides.

Reindeer culture is not peculiar to the Lapps but prevails also among
other nomadic tribes inhabiting lands bordering the Arctic Sea from
Murmansk across and down into Siberia. This is partly indicated in
a study (8) on the chemistry of under-snow fodder for winter pastures
of reindeer in the U.S. S.R. The United States Government and the
Canadian Government have embarked upon a program of wholesale
importation of reindeer into northern areas without consulting or
encouraging lichenological studies or surveys as a basis for selecting
nongrassy range lands for the highest relative pasture capacity.

With an increase of both native and white populations in the Arctic
and sub-Arctic areas, the demands upon food, particularly meat, are
increased beyond the normal available supply of wild game. This
necessitates a more realistic evaluation of the proper and normal
utilization of uncultivated plants of the northern submarginal pas-
tures. Agriculture, for many reasons, is limited, even for the raising
of fodder; the expense of maintaining and caring for domestic herds
of animals under rigorous summer and winter conditions is apparent.
The availability of large, self-sustaining herds, inured to Arctic
weather, requiring a minimum of care, but providing not only the
essentials of food and clothing but transportation if needed, would

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 391

contribute stability to an economy sustained by an expensive, tenuous,
supply line that is easily upset by the contingencies of military
priorities.

The most useful species for grazing are the so-called reindeer lichens,
Cladonia rangiferina Web., Cl. alpestris Rabenh., and Cl. sylvatica
Hoffm., though the last is sometimes said to be refused by reindeer.
Probably others, e. g., species of Cetraria, Stereocaulon, and Alectoria,
are accidentally or preferably taken, since they are found growing
with the former. The Cladoniaceae are the most important, for they
grow in carpetlike masses to a height of 6 inches. Their dependence
on the substratum is not clearly recognized, since they grow almost
equally well on all available areas, especially after fire, competing with
and preventing the development of certain seedlings. They may be
covered for long periods by snow, but the animals that are accustomed
to feed on them are capable of finding them under snow cover. The
use of lichens as accessory fodder has always received attention in
northern Europe in times of forage (wild or cultivated hay, grain,
etc.) scarcity, and in some regions the plants are regularly used for
this purpose.

Lynge (13) presents his own and other investigations concerning
the food value, harvesting methods, and growing habits of lichens in
relation to the feeding habits of reindeer and cattle. He states that
in 1916 the large lichen fields of Finmarken maintained 100,000 head
of reindeer, resulting in a serious overgrazing problem. Smaller fields
in other Norwegian provinces supported 50,000 of these animals. To
remedy these conditions, regulations prohibiting reindeer pasturing
were put into effect where necessary until good growth was reestab-
lished. Under conditions of unrestricted grazing, lichen vegetation
may be seriously altered, while mere trampling by large herds in small
areas will destroy these plants. Under such a situation fields of C7.
alpestris may be invaded by less desirable Stereocaulon paschale Fr.,
which produces full-grown thalli in 5 to 6 years after which Cl.
alpestris again becomes dominant.

In Lynge’s account there is a list of Lapponian lichen terms indic-
ative of some of the peculiarities connected with reindeer husbandry.
The Lapps differentiate between lichens and mosses, since reindeer
never feed on the latter. “Jaegel” refers to field lichens on which
reindeer fatten; “Gadna” occurs on stones and trees and are eaten if
no other food is available; “Lappo” are the beard forms growing on
trees for which the animals have great fondness. The Swedish Gov-
ernment permits the Lapps to cut down birches in winter emergencies
to enable the reindeer to get at this type of feed. The herders also
recognize the pasture cycle after fire with its successive lichen forma-
tions. Reindeer feed on the younger parts or tips of the plants.

922758—51——26

392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The relative abundance of these economic lichens would be best
stated as “generally common,” for solid areas of any one species is
the exception rather than the rule. Cetraria islandica Ach. in average
areas yields about 700 kilo of air-dried “moss” per square kilometer.
Cl. alpestris gives higher yields, and selected areas in northern Nor-
way have produced 1,400 to 1,500 kilo per 1,000 square meters.

Harvesting is performed by hand or hand implements; this is for
the use of domestic animals only, for even the Lapps keep goats or
a cow in addition to their reindeer. Among the Lapps the work is
performed by the women and by hand, a method considered conserv-
ing and cheap, since only a quarter of the quantity growing is thus
garnered, leaving enough for regeneration. The Norwegian method,
using rakes with 15-centimeter teeth, takes up to two-thirds of the
amount available. Sticks are shaken out, and the adhering soil may
be separated by water. Dry “moss” is brittle and to avoid large losses
is most economically harvested when having a water content of 40 to 70
percent by weight. As the plant is gathered it is piled into small heaps
(40 to 50 centimeters high) with a branch of birch in the center for a
handle. These small heaps are brought together to form large bundles.
They are moved around in the field on sunny days when the water
content may go down from 60 to 30 percent, and are then placed in
straw-covered shelters. In winter they are taken to a drying house
in sledge loads of from 800 to 600 kilos. The crop may be further
dried in a warm ventilated room and stored when the water content has
gone down to 14 percent of the dried weight. Hand presses are un-
popular because of their cost and weight. Transportation costs for
this type of forage is considered expensive, and the forage is never
transported far.

One cause for occasional friction between the Lapps and the Scandi-
navians in these northern areas is the more thorough harvesting
methods of the latter which have caused the Lapps to complain of
loss of grazing areas. Reindeer crop the lichen close but leave enough
of the thallus for future growth and the possibility that the area can
be pastured again within 4 years. Hand harvesting or implement har-
vesting uproots the lichen thallus, and it may take ten or more years
for regeneration and growth. This situation has been alleviated by
regulations imposed by the local governments. Lichens on trees may
be scraped away and gathered in sacks by non-Lapps.

A farmer having 10 cows and some sheep and goats uses yearly 60
sledge loads of lichens for his stock. This implies a need of 4,800
to 18,000 square meters of well-covered lichen fields per year. Since
these plants may require up to 30 years to regenerate a marketable
stand, a farmer must have access to 150,000 to 560,000 square meters
of land. This land must be preferably mountain or heath land, since
forest areas contain objectionable pine needles and sticks. However,

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 393

few farmers give so much lichen fodder to their cattle, actual amounts
depending on the quantity of grass available. In “moss” districts
three to five sledge loads are collected per cow. It is possible for one
man to gather from 50 to 100 kilos by hand per day or with imple-
ments to increase this up to 300 to 400 kilos per day. Even in older
times it was difficult to get laborers for gathering lichen fodder, owing
to the small pay, and it was necessary for the State to intervene.
School classes were encouraged to collect, receiving 3 ore per kilo per
student and 1 ore per kilo for the teacher (4).

As an additional food for domestic animals, especially swine,
lichens are of value, and Lynge recommends greater use of svinamése
(swine-moss) for these animals. Jacobj (18) found that young pigs
thrived better on a combination of reindeer moss and ordinary feed
than with the latter alone. He also satisfactorily fed rabbits and
hares with Evernia prunastri Ach. after extracting the acids. Ice-
landers feed Cetraria islandica to their cattle, pigs, and ponies. It
has also been reported good for oxen, while the richness of the milk
of the small cows of northern Scandinavia is attributed to this food.
An early traveler relates that during a period of famine in Finmarken,
the farmers preferred to feed Cetraria islandica to their cattle than to
use the lichen themselves for food and risk the loss of their cattle.
Cows were given 10 kilos, horses 6 to 8 kilos, swine 2 to 3 kilos, and
sheep and goats 1 to 2 kilos daily (4).

Nutritional studies —The nutritive value of these nongrassy range
feeds apparently lies in their high lichenin (lichen starch) content.
Hesse (13) worked out a comparison of the sugar content of lichens
with that of potatoes and found that for Cetraria islandica the pro-
portion was 1 of potatoes to 3.35 of lichen; for Cl. rangiferina, 1: 2.5.
The former has been found to yield 61 percent carbohydrates and
other products of its hemicelluloses. The bitter principle, due to the
presence of lichen acids in even the mildest of these plants, can be
removed in order to make the fodder more palatable to domestic
animals. This is done by soaking them in water for 24 hours or by
addition of potassium carbonate to the water for quicker action.
Boiling with lye, after which the lichens are thoroughly rinsed with
water, is the usual method of preparing the plant for human or animal
consumption. Sometimes the lichens are mixed with hot water and
straw or meal, and salted before being fed to cattle; the proportion
of meal and salt is gradually reduced until the cattle become accus-
tomed to the lichen alone. One kilo of Cl. rangiferina (15 to 18
percent water content) is considered to be equal to one-third poor
fodder or early grass. By analysis this lichen is found to contain
1 to 5 percent proteins, the rest carbohydrates and little or no
albumen (4).

394 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Russian investigations of the under-snow fodder from winter pas-
tures at the Saranpaul State Reindeer Farm indicate that winter herb-
age is rich in crude fats and in nitrogen-free extracts, and that the
content of fiber and hemicellulose is higher in winter than in summer
herbage. Chemical study of winter and summer lichen herbage
showed a higher protein than fat content, particularly in Alectoria
jubatta Ach. (7.77 percent) and Umbilicaria pensylvanica (6.27 per-
cent) which varied with the season (4).

Use of lichen fodder in Europe goes back into antiquity, as indicated
by preluistoric remains found near Lake Constance in Switzerland (19).

LICHENS USED AS FOOD BY MAN

History.—From the earliest times the food of man has included
lichens, sometimes as a delicacy, but more often as a last resort in the
face of starvation. Their commercial importance as food for man,
however, has decreased, though Hanstien, chief lecturer in the Agri-
cultural School at Aas, Norway, long ago prophesied that lichens are
destined to become the great popular food for the masses because of
their cheapness and nutritive value. The use of lichens for human
food has been revived at times, and they were recommended in Sweden
as substitute food in 1826, 1841, and 1868 after bad frosts and droughts
had affected regular crops. In general, the bitter principle in these
plants gives them an unpleasant flavor and unless removed exerts
an irritating effect upon the digestive tract of man, causing in-
flammation.

Cetraria islandica probably rates first as lichen food for humans.
It is gathered commercially in the Scandinavian countries and in
Iceland and sold on the market as “Iceland moss.” Schneider says
of this “moss”: “Inhabitants of Iceland, Norway and Sweden mix this
with various cereals and mashed potatoes from which an uncommonly
healthful bread was prepared.” Lynge (13) quotes a tradition “that
there was no starvation at Modun in 1812 as long as there was brod-
mose (bread-moss) left in the forest.” Icelanders made the most of
lichens as food for humans, collecting great masses of this plant yearly.
Two barrels of clean lichens pressed down gave the equivalent of one
barrel of the usual grain meal. From this flour they made bread,
gruel, porridge, salads, and jelly in various ways. Milk was added and
in this form the lichen was the basis of various light and easily
digested soups and other delicacies said to be of value for dyspeptics.
It was also mixed with flour in making a nonfriable ship’s bread which
was less subject to weevil attack than ordinary bread. In northern
Finland, in times of famine, reindeer moss and rye grain were made
into a bread having a taste like that of wheat bran but leaving a sense
of heat on the tongue.

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 395

Before use the lichen was boiled with lye, rinsed in clear water, dried
and placed in closed containers which were stored in a dry place. In
this fashion it would keep for many years. For breadmaking it was
first oven-dried, then ground fine; one-fourth grain meal was next
added, and the mixture was baked as usual, producing a strong bread
with a fair taste which kept well in storage. Cetraria islandica was
also mixed with elm cortex as weil as with grain and boiled with a
surplus of water to produce a broth. Cetraria nivalis was occasionally
used inthesame manner. For porridge, a cooking container was filled
with one-third C. islandica and water, and this mixture boiled three or
four times and stirred frequently until it became thick. The top broth
and scum were skimmed off and the rest salted according to taste. This
was permitted to cool until hard, then eaten with or without milk. It
could be redried in an oven and used for bread. As gruel, about 1
pound of the finely cut lichen was added to 11% to 2 quarts of water and
cooked slowly until about one-half of the water had been evaporated.
This was straihed while hot and flavored with raisins or cinnamon.
After boiling, and separating the broth, the residue was eaten with oil,
yellow of egg, sugar, etc., as a salad, “and the most pretentious person
will like it.” The hardened jelly of this lichen was often mixed with
lemon juice, sugar, chocolate, almonds, etc. (4).

The Biblical manna of the Israelites appears to have been Lecanora
esculenta Evers. (19), which is still eaten by desert tribes, being mixed
with meal to one-third of its weight. This lichen grows in the moun-
tainous regions and is blown loose into the lowlands where the thalli
pile up in small hummocks in the valley. As late as 1891 there was an
abundant fall of this “manna” in Turkey. The Turks are recorded as
using Hvernia prunastri for jelly (4) ; the ancient Egyptians also used
this lichen and Z. furfuracea in making bread (13). There is still
some importation of these lichens from Europe as fermentative agents,
and Forstal in the nineteenth century reported seeing several consign-
ments from the islands of the Greek archipelago bound for Alexandria.
In India (17) Parmelia abessinica, “Rathipuvvu,” is used as food, gen-
erally in a curry powder, and medicinally; while in Japan Umbilicaria
esculenta is considered a delicacy and sold as “iwa-take” or “rock mush-
room.” Because of the scarcity of collecting places and the difficulty
of access, the market price is relatively high. In France lichens are
used in the manufacture of chocolates and some pastries; the lichenin
is, in this case, merely used as a filler and a substitute for commercial
starch.

Less is known of the uses of lichens by northern Asiatic peoples.
Their dependence upon reindeer husbandry reaches far back into an-
tiquity; lack of open coastal Arctic waters rich in sea mammals, the
vastness of the interior Asiatic land mass, and the cumulative, migra-
tory populations have forced a situation upon a normal nomadic hunt-

396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ing society that has resulted in the symbiotic relationship of man to
reindeer more or less throughout an area south to latitude 50° N. The
relatively smaller aboriginal populations of Arctic America have
found the rich coastal waters capable of supporting their hunting,
nomadic existence so satisfactory that even during recent times rein-
deer husbandry has had little appeal for them. The American Eskimo
lacks any tradition, according to present information, in the use of
lichens even as a starvation food. Present-day natives have been
observed collecting Cetraria richardsont as tinder to fire wood in five
gallon cans. Wicks of the primitive stone seal-oil lamps were either
Sphagnum or Eriophorum tufts. In the hunting of the hoary marmot,
a commercially desirable fur mammal, the Eskimo hunter locates en-
trances to burrows along scree and talus slopes by seeking patches of
bright-yellow Xanthoria species. This lichen responds readily to the
presence of nitrogenous substances, and displays a more vigorous
growth in those spots where the marmot habitually evacuates close
to its burrow.

The American Indian’s knowledge of wild food plants included the
use of Alectoria jubata, though there are indications that some of the
more primitive Pacific coast tribes made greater use of these plants.
“Tripe de roche” or “rock tripe” was so named by the French “coureur
de bois” of boreal America who used it in periods of emergency.
Franklin recorded it in his diary as the main course of many a meal.
This “rock tripe” is one of the Umbilicariae and must be treated with
boiling water or at least soaked before being eaten. Franklin’s use of
this lichen has been quoted many times, though the complete report
states that the species used caused severe illness. This was probably
the basis for the recommendation to personnel of the United States
Army Air Forces during the war for its use under emergency condi-
tions in Arctic areas. It may be noted that members of the Franklin
Expedition were also boiling and eating the leather of their equipment.
Under such starvation conditions any type of food or plant may be
used in an attempt to allay hunger. But under a preplanned program
designed to educate personnel with a minimum of out-of-door experi-
ence and no knowledge of plants suitable in such eventualities, a
greater emphasis on the more common vascular plants and of the
animals in these regions would have been more applicable toward the
preservation of life. Lichens are not easily recognized, and their
preparation with fire presumes the accessibility of fuel which may not
always be available. Future recommendations must be based on more
thorough research studies.

Nutritional studies—Scientific investigations regarding the diges-
tibility of lichens and the behavior of lichen substances in the body
have been too few, but the evidence at hand does not agree entirely with
the fact that these plants have been used extensively as foodstuffs.

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 397

Analyses have shown that they contain a variety of carbohydrates of
which polysaccharides are the most common, giving rise on hydration
to several sugars, some cellulose, chitosan, glucosamine, and inulin.
Of these the only compounds directly available in intermediate meta-
bolism are the simple monosaccharides, i. e., six-carbon sugars. Poly-
saccharides apparently need to be split into “physiological” sugars
before they become available to the body. Uhlanders and Tollens
(13) noted a difference in the occurrence of characteristic carbo-
hydrates in various lichens examined, though they all contained some
lichenin. Thinking that the substances in Ceiraria islandica and C.
nivalis were similar, Poulsson (13) made a bread from these two
species to determine their use in diabetes mellitus. Though 46 to 49
percent of the carbohydrates of the former species was digested, the
latter species caused such intestinal disturbances that the experiment
had to be discontinued.

From a correspondent the author has received interesting informa-
tion on the personal use of Cladonia rangiferina to combat anemia
and a general run-down condition. The individual attempted self-
medication with this lichen on the advice of a Norwegian professor
who recommended the treatment as an old-time remedy. He reported
a gain of 7 pounds in 1 week and return of normal skin color and
physical strength, and states that he has become extremely active. It
is not known how the lichen was prepared, but the original supply was
obtained from Norway notwithstanding the fact that it is a common
plant of North America.

Brown (13) failed to induce glycogen formation in rabbits by feed-
ing them lichenin obtained from @. islandica. Ordinarily neither
hydrochloric acid (0.3 to 0.5 percent) nor amylytic enzymes have any
noticeable effect on lichenin, while iso-lichenin is, at most, converted
into a dextrinlike form without producing sugar; the action of bac-
teria yields acetic, propionic, butyric, and lactic acids.

More recently Wallerstein (13) fed mice white bread, later replac-
ing it with lichenin, and showed the latter to be 53 to 64 percent
utilized. Similarly Shimizer (13), in determining the influence of
some polysaccharides on the protein balance of a dog, found that they
were digestible and available foodstuffs in the alimentary canal.
Later he digested polysaccharides in vitro, using extracts of macerated
intestine and pancreas in an 0.8-percent NaCl solution, but found no
monosaccharides. He took this as evidence that there are no enzymes
in the digestive system of mammals capable of splitting inulin,
lichenin, or hemicelluloses. On determining the action of fecal mate-
rial and fermentative bacteria on these substances, Shimizer and Toni-
hide (13) concluded that they are split into sugars by the bacteria
in the digestive tract of mammals and can then be absorbed.

398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

It has been assumed in the past that the presence of the enzyme
lichenase in the stomach contents of the ox and pig probably enables
these animals to convert lichenin into the more digestible sugars. The
action of snail lichenase on lichenin in vitro has been found to pro-
duce cellubiose and lichosan, an anhydride of glucose similar to cello-
san, a product of cellulose. Messerle (13) states that the livers of
snails contain much lichenase, which converts cellulose to sugar.
Jewell and Lewis (13) had found this to be true of many invertebrates,
suggesting that the ability to hydrolyze lichenin may be characteristic
of invertebrates only.

Swartz (13) questions the value of algae and lichens as sources of
energy in nutrition. Oshima suggests that they may be valuable for
their inorganic salts, while Prausnitz (13) calls them “faeces-forming
foods” in that they stimulate intestinal activities. Most of Swartz’s
studies were on the algal components, yet she was able to draw certain
conclusions concerning those chemical substances which are common
to both components. They were:

a. Nutritive studies of lichens would indicate that as energy-
producers their value is not appreciable. Yet the fact remains that
certain animals do feed upon them and thus sustain themselves in
regions where energy and high body heat are prerequisites of life.
The assumption follows that our understanding of the value of lichens
as fodder is still incomplete, though ruminants are apparently more
effective users of hemicellulose than other animals.

b. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, not enzymes, are responsible
for conversion of hemicelluloses into sugars. The amount available to
the animal system is extremely diverse, depending on the animal and
the lichen species.

Vitamin studies—Blix and Rydin (13) found that Cladonia rangi-
ferina contains some ergosterol, more than most lichens, but the con-
tent is low in comparison to that in yeasts and molds. This same
species collected in Uppsala in August and September showed only
traces of vitamin D. Bustinza and Lopez report (8a) that they
“obtained a fraction very rich in ergosterol” from Hvernia furfuracea
collected in Spain.

Experiments with rats in Alaska, using lichens arbitrarily divided
into short- and tall-growth forms, indicated that the animals would
not tolerate the latter group (Cetrariae, Cladoniae) at levels greater
than 10 percent in pure diets. Short-growth types (Alectoriae, Stereo:
caula, etc.) appeared more palatable. Vitamin-A and -D response was
obtained from tall-growth types; vitamin-B complex was absent in
both groups. Bourne and Allen (13), using acetic acid-silver nitrate
reagent for vitamin-C, obtained a positive test.

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 399

MEDICINES AND POISONS DERIVED FROM LICHENS

The name “lichen” (=leprous), originally applied to hepatics, is
of Greek origin and was used by Theophrastus in his “History of
Plants” to describe a superficial growth on the bark of olive trees.
Dioscorides applied it to true lichens because of their resemblance to
the cutaneous disease for which they were supposed to be specific.
This is substantiated by Andres de Laguna (9a). Dr. Bustinza
brought this to the attention of the author, remarking further that
the illustration of Lobaria pulmonaria (9a, 1566, p. 407) may be the
first drawing of a true lichen.

History.—The use of lichens in medicine can be traced back to an-
tiquity. Hvernia furfuracea has been found in an Egyptian vase
fro mthe eighteenth dynasty (1700-1600 B. C.), and is still imported
into Egypt from Europe and sold with Cetraria tslandica as a foreign
drug. The Egyptians also used this species of Hvernia to preserve
the odor of spices employed in embalming mummies (13a). Edward
Tuckerman (20a) reports a similar or perhaps the same incident,
noting that the specimen examined by him resembled local material.
The lichen was sold on the Cairo drug market under the name of
“Ikheba.”

In the fifteenth century A.D. there was throughout Europe a con-
stant attempt to follow the guidance of nature in the study and treat-
ment of disease. It was believed that Providence had scattered here
and there on plants “signatures” of more or less vague resemblances
to parts of the human body, or to diseases to which man is subject, thus
indicating the appropriate specific. This era climaxed the commercial
importance of these plants, for never before or since have they played
such a unique role in the world of economic plants. The long filaments
of Usnea barbata Web. were used to strengthen the hair, though
Hippocrates also prescribed this lichen for uterine ailments. The na-
tives of the Malay Peninsula still use a closely related species for treat-
ing colds and strengthening after confinement (13). Lobaria pul-
monaria Hoff. was the suitable remedy for lung troubles. Boerhaave
(19) regarded it as an excitant, tonic, and astringent, and recommended
it for hemorrhages and asthma. Xanthoria parietina Th. Fr., being
a yellow lichen, was supposed to cure jaundice, while Peltigera aph-
thosa Willd., the thallus of which is dotted with small warthke tuber-
cles, was recommended for children who suffered from thrush. Other
species of Hvernia, Peltigera, Parmelia, Cladonia, Roccella, and Pertu-
saria were used as purgatives or to control fevers, diarrhea, infec-
tions, skin diseases, epilepsy, and convulsions. Pertusaria communis
DC. was used to cure intermittent fever, having less action on women
thanonmen. Piltigera canina Willd., as a cure for hydrophobia, was
sold by a Dr. Mead as the celebrated “Pulvus antilyssus” (Dillenius,

400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

1741). The so-called drug “Lichen quercinus virdes” consisted mostly
of Hvernia prunastri, BE. furfuracea, and Parmelia physodes Ach.,
(19). The doctrine reached the height of absurdity in the extrava-
gant value set on a lichen found growing on human skulls, “Mucus
cranii humani.” This skull lichen (Parmelia or Physcia?) fetched
its weight in gold as a cure for epilepsy.

Luyken, in his “Historia Lichenum in Genere,” Gottingen, 1809,
gives a long list of medicinal “Lichenes, quorum usus obsoletus est.”
Plitt (13) recommended more emphasis on the study of lichenology to
pharmacognosists, venturing the opinion that the medical virtues of
bark drugs may be affected by the lichens growing on them. Feé dealt
earlier on this subject in a beautifully illustrated treatise (7).

Iceland Moss was recognized by Linnaeus as a medicinally valuable
plant. It was used in chronic affections as an emollient and tonic, and
it would indeed have been a “Divine gift to man” had it lived up to all
its prescriptions. With the exception of this lichen, all have been
replaced by more effective modern drugs so far as medicinial use is
concerned. Tavares (in correspondence) reports that the soredia of
Usnea species is applied as a medicine today in country districts of
Portugal.

The use of lichen “leaves” as an insecticide, narcotic, and in magic
concoctions under the name of “natema” by the Jivaro Indians has
been reported by various travelers. It has now been verified that the
“leaves” in question are those of several well-known phanerogams long
used for these properties. There are no authentic reports in the liter-
ature of lichens being utilized by natives of South America. Among
the collections of the late Dr. O. F. Cook were found two packets of
lichens purchased by him in the Indian market of Sicnani, Peru. One
was annotated: “Intisuncja, mealy beard of the sun, grows on the
ground in high summits near the glaciers; taken as tea for coughs, etc.”
The other was “from the same places” but named “Pachacuti, a medi-
cine for fever.” Both were Roccellaceae.

Physiology.—The physiological action of the cetraric acid of Ice-
land moss has been studied by Kobert (13). It has no poisonous effect
either when injected into the blood or when taken into the stomach of
small animals. Small doses induce peristaltic movements in the in-
testines. Large doses may injure an animal, but if given as free cetra-
ric acid it passes through the stomach unchanged to become slowly
and completely dissolved in the intestine. The mucous membrane of
the intestine of animals that had been treated with an overdose was
found to be richer in blood, so that Kobert assumed that cetraric acid
would be useful in assisting digestion. There is also the possibility
that the lichen acid inflamed the sensitive mucous membrane. By
mtans of acetone, d-usnic, evernic, and obtusatic acids have been

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 401

extracted from Ramalina calicaris (13). The last-named acid was the
same as “Makao” obtained from the Manchurian drug “Shi-hoa.”

Lichens, with two exceptions, are nonpoisonous, though some acid
substances in others may be irritating when taken internally. The
poisonous exceptions are Hvernia vulpina and Cetraria pinastri, both
a characteristic bright yellow. The former contains vulpinic acid in
the cortical cells, the crystals of which are yellow in the mass. The
latter species and Cetraria juniperina Ach. produce pinastrinic acid in
the hyphae of the medulla, the crystals being orange or golden yel-
low. These lichens have been used in northern European countries to
poison wolves by mixing the lichens and powdered glass with the bait
(18). Santesson isolated the crystalline acid and tested it on animals;
it produced respiratory difficulties, reducing the rate of breathing until
death ensued. Seshadri and coworkers extracted usnic and sekikaic
acids from Ramalina tayloriana Zahlbr., which when tested on fish
(Haplochilus panchax) proved lethal. D-usnic acid in running water
(50 milligrams in hot absolute alcohol) proved toxic in 13 minutes;
sekikaic acid in 100 miligrams per liter was effective in 27 minutes or
in 6 minutes when the concentration was increased to 200 milli-
grams. It is further suggested by the authors that these lichen com-
ponents may be equally toxic to living plant tissue when physical
penetration is obtained by the lichen.

More recently a report of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment
Station, in a study of the presence of selenium in soil and various
plants, states that Parmelia molliuscula Ach. contains this poison-
ous salt in sufficient quantities to affect sheep and cattle. It pro-
duces a lack of coordination of the hind limbs; in severe cases the
animals are unable to move either hind or fore legs. Other examples
of lichens containing such elements include beryllium in Parmelia
sawatilis Ach. and Xanthoria parietina Th. Fr., chlorine in Evernia
furfuracea (13).

Modern developments in lichenology—Employment of lichens as
raw materials in pastries, confectionery, foods, and in the production
of alcohol depends largely on the properties of “lichen starch.” The
presence of a certain number of phenols, acid-phenols and acid-phenol-
ethers, together with other substances in the extracts of some lichens,
forms the basis of their use in perfumery and cosmetics. The tincto-
rial properties of lichens are for the most part derivatives of orcinols,
as in species of Roccella. Besides possessing lichenin and isolichenin
and the sugar alcohols such as erythritol and manitol, lichens have
as their most characteristic components the lichen acids which seem
to be built on an altogether original pattern. In the past 50 years
more than 200 of these lichen-acid compounds have been isolated.
These compounds are, for the most part, known only from the class
Lichenes and were originally thought to be peculiar to them alone.

402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Raistrick (15) introduces new findings, however, remarking that the
isolation of two lichen acids, parietin and physcion, from the lower
fungi isan“. . . observation . . . of some biological interest since
... (it) gives strong evidence for the view that the so-called lichen
acids owe their origin to the fungal half of the fungus-alga symbiont.

The presence of chlorine containing metabolic products (of
the Lower Fungi) emphasizes the close metabolic relationship be-
tween moulds and lichens, since two of the very few organic chlorine-
containing substances occurring in nature have been isolated from
lichens, i. e., gangaleoidin and diploicin.” Research on lichen acids
began with the Germans—Zopf, Hesse, Fischer, and others—but
received most attention from the work and simplified methods of
extraction of Asahina and his Japanese colleagues. These studies are
being conducted today by Rao, Sastry, Seshadri, and Subrumanian,
of Andhra and Delhi Universities, India; by Robert L. Frank and
his students at the University of Illinois; by F. Bustinza and C.
Lopez, Madrid, Spain; by the workers at University College, Dublin,
under the late Prof. T. Nolan—Breaden, Davidson, Hardiman, Jones,
Keane and Murphy—and V. C. Barry, all of whom are contributing
detailed information on the chemical constituents of the lichens
in their respective areas. The research of these workers is basic to
the recent experimental aspects of lichenology. In view of present-
day research, this information has passed from the sphere of academic
interest and begins to assume real value in practical application as
well as presenting a more complete understanding of the biology of
this group of plants.

Since the discovery of the chemotherapeutic effects of penicillin,
the phenomenon of antibiosis has attracted widespread attention and
stimulated the investigation of other plant groups. Some investiga-
tors (2), studying the antibiotic activity of lichens, proceeded with
their studies because : “In view of the reported antibacterial activity of
the green alga Chlorella and the many antagonistic substances now
known to be produced by numerous kinds of fungi, the lichens seemed
to offer favorable material for antibiotic investigations inasmuch as the
bodies of these plats are comprised of mixtures of algae and fungi.”
Using the cylinder plate procedure, they analyzed the antibacterial
activity of extracts from 42 species of lichens, later extending the work
to 100, of which 27 species were found to be active against Staphyloco-
cus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, while 2 species inhibited the growth of
Proteus vulgaris and 2 species showed slight inhibition against Alealz-
genes fecalis ; none of the lichen extracts used in the test showed antag-
onism against Escherichia coli. That more than one antibiotic com-
pound may exist in lichens is suggested by the fact that both S. awreus
and B. subtilis are inhibited by extracts from Cladonia grayi, Parmelia
physodes and other lichens, while substances obtained from some spe-

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 403

cies of Cladonia inhibited B. subtilis but not 8. aureus. Extracts from
Cladonia furcata Schrad., Cl. papillaria Hoft., and Umbilicaria papu-
losa inhibited S. awreus but were inactive against B. subtilis. Further-
more, the inhibition of some Gram-negative bacteria by selected species
of lichens lends further support to the theory of multiple substances.
The authors pose the question: Do the characteristic lichen acids pos-
sess antibacterial activity or are the antibiotic properties of lichens
related to traces of other unidentified substances synthesized by these
plants? Burkholder and his associates noted that some of the lichen
compounds possess certain structural features in common with antibac-
terial substances isolated from molds, but they could not be sure that
these were responsible for the antibiotic phenomena observed. They
point out the fact that “almost nothing is known about the anabolism
of the components or the roles of the various substances formed in the
lichen body.”” In asubsequent report, Burkholder and Evans (3) reach
the conclusion that “the phenomenon of antibiosis . . . 1s well exem-
plified in the lichens.” These antibiotic substances are apparently dif-
ferent from penicillin, for the activity of several species of lichens was
not lost after boiling in Na,CO; solution. Samples of lichens collected
from different regions showed, on the whole, characteristic activity in
antibiotic tests with suitable bacteria. No explanation is offered for
the variability, though there may be some relationship between this
phenomenon and the fact that some of the diagnostic lichen acids vary
in different samples of some lichen species. Though diagnostic com-
pounds known to occur in the antibiotic species of Cladonia are listed,
the authors suggest that other unidentified substances might be re-
sponsible for the observed antibacterial properties. The presence of
antibacterial substances in numerous species of Cladonia and in rep-
resentatives of other genera of lichens appears to be definite, but
whether these are bacteriocidal or merely bacteriostatic is not proved.
Although Gram-positive bacteria, including several pathogenic types,
are inhibited, Gram-negative bacteria, with a few exceptions, are
generally not susceptible to the antibiotic substances of lichens.

Other research (1a) on antitubercular compounds indicates another
promising possibility for a lichen compound. Numerous acids were
the subject of synthetical studies by various workers in the field of
antitubercular compounds. Barry began with roccellic acid isolated
from Lecanora sordida Th. Fr. The author states: “We have already
reported that this substance in the form of its half-esters or half-
amides inhibits completely the growth of the tubercle bacillus in vitro
at a dilution of about one five-hundred-thousandths.” Barry adds
that “the most active of these compounds are at the moment being
tested in animal-protection experiments, and although they are
strongly antagonized by serum én vitro, they seem to have some activ-
ity in the animal.”

404 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The original work of Burkholder and Evans in 1945 has stimulated
other investigations into the antibiotic phenomena of lichens. Thus
Stoll, Brack, and Renz (19b, 19c), working with 58 species from
different genera, report that 38 have been found to have antibacterial
action in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus. 'The active principles
have been proved to be lichen acids of which /-usnic acid is reported
to be active not only against Staphylococcus but also Mycobacteria,
Streptococcus, Escherichia, and Eberthella. F. Bustinza and A. Cab-
allero Lopez (8a) verify some of the earlier studies. Usnic acid again
appears as the more active substance against Staphylococcus and
Mycobacterium, the lichens used were Usnea barbata, Evernia fur-
furacea, and FE. prunastri. Dr. Bustinza reports (in correspondence)
a paper to appear in Endeavour on “Antibacterial Substances from
Lichens.”

INDUSTRIAL USES OF LICHENS

Brewing and distilling—vUse of lichens instead of hops for the
brewing of beer has been mentioned as having occurred in one or more
monasteries of Russia and Siberia which had a reputation of serving
bitter and highly intoxicating beer to the traveler. Tuckerman fur-
ther describes a byproduct of Lobaria pulmonaria Hoff. which was
used as “a yellow, nearly insipid mucilage which may be eaten with
salt.”

Alcohol production from lichens is an old art, now replaced by
increased cultivation of potatoes, importation of sugar, and distilla-
tion of wood. Preparation of spirits from lichens was recommended
in 1870 as a means of saving grain otherwise diverted into alcohol
production. It was claimed that 20 pounds of lichen would yield
5 liters of 50-percent alcohol. Stenberg (20) published a report in
Stockholm in 1868 on the production of lichen brandy, and included
detailed plans for setting up a distillery with figures of possible pro-
duction levels. By 1893 the manufacture of brandy from alcohol
derived from lichens had become a large industry in Sweden, but by
1894, as a result of the local exhaustion of the plants, the industry
languished. Arendt (18) in 1872 reported that this originally Swed-
ish discovery was being applied in the Russian provinces of Arch-
angel, Pskow Novogorod, etc., and that various distillers exhibited
samples of lichen spirits at the Russian Industrial Exhibition in
Moscow, which were highly approved by the French and English
visitors. ‘The industry was a lucrative one in the northern provinces
of Russia, yielding a net revenue of from 40 to 100 percent. Others
(6) have reported on the carbohydrate composition of lichens on the
Kola Peninsula, considered in connection with the problem of glucose
production in northern localities. This includes a tabulation of carbo-
hydrates present in eight lichen species, which shows them to be rich
in polyhexoses, but poor in cellulose and in pentosan. Two small

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS-—LLANO 405

factories in Kirovsk have demonstrated the possibility of subjecting
lichens to preliminary treatment with weak alkali solution in order
to convert. the bitter-tasting lichen acids into soluble form. This is
then hydrolyzed with dilute H.SO,, neutralized with chalk, and puri-
fied with activated charcoal to produce a molasses containing 65 to
70 percent glucose. From this, crystallized (lump) glucose was ob-
tained. The yield of molasses was 100 percent, based on dry lichen
weight. However, molasses produced by this process from lichens
of the Cladonia group, especially alpestris, has a bitter taste, “the
cause of which the authors are investigating.”

Lichens vary in the amount of carbohydrates (lichenin) present.
Cetraria islandica and Cladonia rangiferina have been found to yield
up to 66 percent of polysaccharides which are readily hydrolized to
glucose and then almost completely fermented to alcohol. Besides
sugars capable of fermentation, lichen acids up to 11 percent of air-
dried substance may be present. These acids as well as sodium chlo-
ride have been found to retard the process. Experiments with
Cladonia rangiferina have shown a total yield of 54.5 percent sugar
which on fermentation produced 176 to 282 cubic centimeters of alcohol
per kilo. Maximum returns of alcohol were obtained by steaming the
lichens 1 hour under the three atmospheres pressure, adding 25 percent
HCl, resteaming for the same period of time and pressure, and finally
neutralizing the product. Subsequent growth of yeast was normal,
though fermentation could be accelerated by addition of H,;PO,. An
interesting modification of this procedure through addition of three
parts by weight of H.SO, and one part by weight of NCI at room
temperature gave a pentanitrate similar to cellulose nitrate which,
on gelatinizing with a solvent, produced a substance resembling
horn (138).

Tanning.—The tanning quality of lichens is due to an astringent
property (depsides) peculiar to some species. Cetraria islandica and
Lobaria pulmonaria are most frequently used, and, though not occur-
ing in quantities sufficiently large to warrant industrial application,
have been locally employed on a small scale.

Dyeing.—Synthetic dyes have largely replaced many formerly
common vegetable dyes in the textile industry, primarily because of
their low production cost and the fact that they generally surpass the
natural products in fastness, particularly light fastness. Of the
vegetable dyes, those obtained from lichens were renowned among
the peasant dyers of old for their high quality and color, but today are
the least known. Some of them are still popular in rural districts of
Great Britain and the Western Islands, Iceland, Scandinavia, France,
and Germany. Interest in lichen dyes is being revived today some-
what in Scandinavia because of their use by the Hemsléjd (Home
Industries Association), while there is some indication that the Irish

406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Government is trying to reestablish this art in the poorer farming
and fishing districts where these skills have been lost. That there is
a good economic reason for such revival may be noted by the fact that
the production of Harris tweed, originally dependent upon lichen
dyes, is a carefully organized industry in Great Britain producing a
luxury cloth of standard quality and great demand. The most attrac-
tive feature of home-dyed and woven cloth is not only the dye utilized
in its manufacture but also the individuality of the patterns evolved
by a particular household or community. When these are standard-
ized, as they may be through government and association intervention,
they lose much of their appeal to the retail trade. Under such con-
trols, prices tend to rise in excess of the true value, even for handicraft.
It has been observed that wool dyed with lichen dyes is not attacked
by cloth moths, which accounts in part for the durability of this cloth.

In response to a query, the Harris Tweed Association, Ltd., reported
in 1948 that “just prior to the war a certain amount of the dye used
in making the crotal shade (brown) of Harris tweed was produced
from lichens but during and since the war economic conditions have
altered so quickly that the dyeing of crotal by lichens has decreased.
It takes a person nearly a whole day to collect sufficient lichens to dye
50 to 60 Ibs. of wool.” The Imperial Institute reports that the use
of lichens for this purpose has practically ceased. From 1925 to
1939 a considerable expansion took place in the Harris tweed indus-
try, primarily in the export trade; the decreasing availability of lichen
dyes made it imperative to use other dyes. “In recent years the
crofters have realised the ease with which synthetic colors can be
employed and they buy in small quantities direct from the dye-stuff
makers. There are now four fairly substantial dye-works in Stor-
noway and these only use commercial synthetic colors; logwood and
fustic are the only natural colorings still employed.” Kemp, Blair &
Co., Ltd., of Galashiels, Scotland, contributed a note of further inter-
est: “Considerable knowledge existed in the Hebrides with regard to
the use of other vegetable growths such as heather tips and roots, but
the quantities of these in use . . . could be considered practically
negligible. It is likely that the quantities of Crotal used will grad-
ually increase again but it is doubtful if it will ever again regain its
prewar quantity.” ‘

Mairet (13) states that none of the great French dyers used lichen
dyes, nor are they mentioned in any of the old books on dyeing. Yet
Amoreux, Hoffman, and Willemet (13) published simultaneously in
1787, giving directions and samples with color names of lichen dyes
as used by the French “tinctures” of their day, reflecting in part the
universal application of these plants. Westring’s (22) treatises on
this subject, published from 1791 to 1806 in Sweden, are collectors’
items, containing hand-colored plates of the lichens and small water-

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 407

color panels illustrating the colors obtainable. These works estab-
lished their author as an authority, and he is the source of information
in later numerous and often unacknowledged studies. Westring’s
system of the classification of lichen dyes distinguishes between lichen
dyes which impart color to pure water (essential pigments) and those
requiring certain treatment to yield color (preparable pigments).
Lebail (13) in 1853 and Lindsay (11) in 1854, as well as others, classi-
fied lichen dyes according to the color produced, recognizing, how-
ever, that color varied with treatment.

History—Of all the lichen dyes used by man, none has attained
greater historical and commercial importance than those of the
Roccellaceae, variously known to the English as orchella moss, or-
chella weed, orchil paste or orchil liquor, to the French as orseille, and
to the Germans as persis. Orchil and cudbear are preparations of
lichens and not the actual plants. Lindsay (12) states that:

We may practically regard Orchil as the English, Cudbear as the Scottish,
and Litmus as the Dutch name for one and the same (?) substance. The first
being manufactured in the form of liquid of a beautiful reddish or purple
colour; the second in the form of a powder of a lake or red colour; and the
third in that of small parallelopipeds or cakes of a blue color. The commercial
or trade designations of the dye-lichens depends upon the thallus being erect or
pendulous, cylindrical or shrubby or flat, crustaceous, foliaceous, and closely
adhering to the substrate. The former are “‘weeds” (Roccella) ; the latter are
“mosses” (Lecanora and Parmelia).

The attempt to combine trade names and utilitarian characteristics
with imperfectly known taxonomic features produced these peculiar
groupings of widely different species.

Theophrastus and Pliny appeared to have been familiar with the dye
of the Roccellaceae, while a Biblical reference has their origin in the
“Isles of Elisha.” During the Middle Ages the art of making this
dye fell into disuse, and it disappeared from the markets of the world
until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when it again took on
the aspects of an industry, and the “weed” became an article of inter-
national exchange comparable to spices. Lindsay was particularly
interested in the commercial aspects of lichens. His recommenda-
tions for a fuller investigation of the subject throws some light on
the economic aspects of lichens in trade. He indicates that the field
is comparatively new, and open to many possibilities, especially if
the lichen resources of Scotland were exploited. “The speculation
(investment?) of substituting home for foreign dye lichens promises
to be remunerative as the roccellas have frequently reached the high
price of £1,000 per ton in the London market.” In 1855 he reempha-
sized that “if commanders of ships were aware of the value of these
plants, which cover many a rocky coast and barren island, they might
with a slight expenditure of time and labor bring home with them such

922758—5 127

408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

a quantity of these insignificant plants as would realize considerable
sums, to the direct advantage of themselves and the shipowners; and
consequently to the advantage of the State.” He even compromised
the reforms of social revolution with the possibility of financial re-
turns, saying that “indirectly, a multiplied trade in dye-lichens might
scatter the seeds of civilization, and place the means of a comfortable
subsistence at the command of the miserable inhabitants of many a
barren island or coast, at present far removed from the great centers
of social advancement .. .”

Blue and red dyes.—An interesting etymological and historical note
upon the derivation of the word “Roccella” has been contributed by
Woodward (23). In this is cited early references to archil and orchil
in Shakespeare’s “Richard II and III,” and it is implied that the
Spanish terms orcigilia or orchillia and the Portuguese urzela were
probably derived earlier from the Italian. From a privately printed
history of the Florentine family Rucellai, Woodward noted a state-
ment that the family name was derived from “the art of the lichen
dye”; this was also spelled Oricellai. The Oricellai or Rucellai were
dyers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. About that time one
of the family traveling in the Levant succeeded in obtaining technical
information on the preparation of the lichen dyes, which made possible
the establishment of the industry in Florence and the beginning of a
monopoly that persisted until the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands.
The botanical term was first used by Linnaeus for Lichen roccella,
which de Candolle adopted for the genus Roccella as it is known today ;
the Roccellaceae include lichens furnishing blue and red dyes. The
first source of supply in the Levant and Mediterranean countries was
controlled by the Rucellai and other merchants of Florence. Discov-
ery of new lands broke this monopoly and revealed the abundance of
the plants on rocks along warm seacoasts. The trading centers became,
successively, Portugal, France, and Holland. De Avellar Brotero (5)
of Lisboa wrote in 1824, referring to the dye, that “its uses have been
much extended for it serves as pigment to dye wool, silk, cotton, and
various other fibers, it serves in paints, to color marble, wines, liqueurs,
papers, pills, oil, grease, wax, etc.” New sources for the “weed” were
found in the Cape Verde Islands, Cape of Good Hope, Angola, East
Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Ceylon, the East Indies,
Australia, Valparaiso (Chile), Lima (Peru), and the west coast of
North America. Shiploads of it were gathered from Lower Cali-
fornia and adjacent islands.

The species which constitute the commercially valuable orseille
lichens have been grouped as follows into orseilles of the earth (A)

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 409

and orseilles of the sea (B), with the most important marked by an
asterisk (16):

Dye lichens and their sources

Locality Type Species

Pyrénées, Alps, Cévennes (A) Pertusaria dealbata Cromb.

(France).

Auvergne (Pranee)= = oo. 2222-22 (A) Lecanora parella Ach.

SWeGCene sees Se ey Rye fl Ae ee (A) Lecanora tartarea (L.) Ach.

INGOT WS os RS ne aes 2 eS ee CAD) Umbilicaria pustulata (L.) Hoffm.
and other Umbilicaria sp.

Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean) _ (B) Roccella tinctoria Lam. & DC.

Madeira (Atlantic Ocean)________ (B) Roccella tinctoria Lam. & DC.

Mogador (North Africa?) _-_-_-___ (B) Roccella tinctoria Lam. & DC.,

Ramalina scopulorum Ach., and
others.
Manila (Gorée) (Philippine Is- (B) Roccella portentosa Mont.
lands).

Sardinia (Mediterranean) ____-___ (B) Roccella phycopsis Ach., Roccella
tinctoria Lam. & DC.

Ame olaxCAtrica) fac) rites kal Si (B) Roccella Montagnei Bél.

Valparaiso (South America) ______ (B) Roccella portentosa Mont.

Ténérife (Canary Islands) _______ {tees (G3) Roccella tinctoria Lam. & DC.

Mozambique (East Africa)_______| *(B) Roccella Montagnei Bél.

Madagascar (Indian Ocean) ___-__-_ =(B) Roccella Montagnet Bél.

California (North America) -__-_-__ *(B) Pee aoe leucophaea (Tuck.)

arb.

Cape Verde Islands (Atlantic | *(B) Roccella tinctoria Lam. & DC.
Ocean).

Importers of old were always reluctant to disclose the origin of
their best supplies, but FP. tinctoria of the Cape and South America
was “6-8 inches long and as thick as goosequills” and so regarded
highly by the dye merchants (13). In 1750 the Cape Verde and
Canary Islands exported 100 tons annually to England. By 1818 the
cost had jumped from £40 to £200 per ton, depending on the quality,
but in 1886, with a stable supply from Ceylon where F. tinctoria grows
abundantly on palms, the price settled at £50 per ton. Specimens of
R. fuciformis DC. were exhibited at the London Crystal Palace in
1851, at which time the price quoted was £380 per ton. The latest
figures available list the importation of tanning and dyestuffs into
England for 1935 (18) as annatto, 837,919 pounds; brazilwood,
854,581 pounds; lichen dyestuffs, 411,265 pounds.

The chemical components of lichen dyes were not understood in the
early development of the lichen dye industry. The method of pre-
paring the dye and its application was traditionally maintained by
small groups as close trade secrets. The accessibility of new sources
of the raw material did not necessarily affect these secrets, for the
lichen dye had first to be prepared. The article of commerce was in

410 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

paste form, and it was in this manner that other nations obtained
their dye from Florence until they succeeded in obtaining the formula
for making it, and developed the skill for preparing it. In the old
English method the lichen was cut small or reduced to a powder by
passing it through a sieve, and placed in iron drums provided with
paddles. The mass was moistened slightly with stale urine, the mix-
ture being stirred once a day with additions of soda for 5 or 6 days at
a temperature of 85° to 45° C. Fermentation proceeded and was
checked frequently until the coloring matter, a dove gray, ceased to
increase. The product, orchil paste, was then placed in wooden casks
and covered with lime water or gypsum solution until needed by the
dyer. To make orchil liquor the lichen was treated with water and
urine and permitted to ferment as for orchil paste, after which the
fibrous matter was removed and the liquor collected and stored. Sal
ammoniac and saltpeter were sometimes used in the process. Dil-
lenius, 1741, “reckoned [the color] more beautiful when first dyed, than
the Tyrian Blue,” while Bancroft (13), in 1832, described the infusion
of orchil as of a red crimson inclining to violet.

Modern methods are based on more accurate knowledge of the chem-
istry of the lichen dye. According to Hill (18), the lichen is sprayed
with ammonia until the mass turns color, when the blue orchil lquor
is extracted with water; if heated until the ammonia is driven off, red
orchil results; afterward the plants are dried and ground to a fine
powder.

The French employed a crustaceous species commonly called
“nerelle” to obtain a purple-blue dye. M. Cocq, in the eighty-first
volume of the Annales de Chimie, describes its preparation as observed
at Clermont, France. The lichen was macerated in wooden troughs,
6 by 3 by 2 feet, and fitted with tight covers. Two hundred pounds of
perelle and 240 pounds of urine were mixed in the trough and stirred
every 8 hours for two successive days and nights, care being taken to
keep the covers closed to avoid loss of the volatile alkali (ammonia).
On the third day, 10 pounds of sifted, slaked lime were added and
well mixed with a quarter-pound of arsenic and an equal weight of
alum. The mass was then stirred several times, once every quarter-
hour, later every half-hour, until fermentation was established, to
prevent the formation of a crust on the surface of the mass. Fer-
mentation was renewed by adding 2 pounds of sifted lime, and stirring
once every hour for 5 days. On the eighth day it was stirred every 6
hours, and the processing might extend a fortnight to 3 weeks. The
coloring matter was kept moist in closed casks until used. It was said
to improve the first year, to suffer little change during the second year,
and to begin to deteriorate in quality during the third year of storage.

Bancroft recommended the use of ammonia instead of urine, and of
hogsheads to facilitate agitation; the addition of arsenic and alum he

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS——LLANO 411

considered useless and dangerous. Use of human urine was common-
place, since it was the only early source of ammonia, and Lindsay (12)
states that manufacturers recognized different qualities of it in pro-
ducing the coloring matter: “Hence, I have been informed that some
English manufacturers who continue to use this form of ammiacal
solution, have learned by experience to avoid urine from beer-drinkers,
which is excessive in quantity but frequently deficient in urea and
solids, while it is abundant in water.”

Brown and yellow dyes—Employment of brown and yellow dyes
is an old custom in the northern countries of Europe. Fries remarked
on the use of the class Lichenes in the arts “that almost all that is
known has been owing to the Northern—the Anglo-Saxon, Scan-
dinavian and German—Naticns whom necessity constrained to value
all of Nature’s gifts.” In certain districts of Scotland, as Aberdeen-
shire, almost every farm or cotter had its tank or barrel (“litpig’’)
of putrid urine (“graith”) wherein the mistress of the household
macerated some lichens (“crotals” or “crottles”) to prepare dyes for
homespun stockings, nightcaps, or other garments. The usual prac-
tice was to boil the lichen and woolen cloth together in water or in
the urine-treated lichen mass until the desired color, usually brown,
was obtained. This took several hours, or less on the addition of acetic
acid, producing fast dyes without the benefit of a mordant or fixing
agent. The color was intensified by adding salt or saltpeter. This
method was prevalent in Iceland as well as in Scotland for those home-
spuns best known to the trade as Harris tweed.

Campbell, in the National Geographic Magazine, February 1947,
states that in the Hebrides “lichens from the rocks supply a dye of
misty brown, but the fishermen do not use this color while in their
boats believing that what is taken from the rocks will return to the
rocks.” Horwood (18) reported that in the Shetlands the lichens
were harvested in May or June, or after rain in the autumn or winter,
a metal scraper being used for rock species. They were washed, dried
in the sun, and sometimes powdered, and were processed and shipped
in casks to the London market as cudbear. This term is derived from
a corrupt pronunciation of the name of Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, chemist
of Glasgow, who obtained a patent for his process of preparing the
dye from Ochrolechia tartarea on a large scale. One person could
collect 20 to 80 pounds daily, any one locality being visited every 5
years. After washing and drying, the collected weight was reduced
to half.

Hooker (én Lindsay (12)) records that in 1807 at Fort Augustus a
person could gain 14 shillings per week by collecting cudbear, estimat-
ing a market price at 3 shillings 4 pence per stone weight (22 pounds).
Other observers have recorded it as an article of commerce about Tay-
mouth, in Perthshire, in North Wales, Derbyshire, Westmoreland, and

412 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Cumberland at 1 shilling 1 penny per pound in 1854, while the manu-
facturers of woolens and silks paid 10 shillings a hundredweight for
it with a profit of 8 pence to the middleman. The manufacture of
cudbear flourished about Leith and Glasgow because Ochrolechia
(Lecanora) tartarea, from which it was prepared, first came from the
western Highlands and islands around Scotland and was a chief source
of revenue to the “poor Highlanders” whose other source of income,
gathering seaweed for potash salts, ceased. The value of this lichen
to Scotland was said to have averaged £10 per ton, though other
species, as Parmelia perlata Ach., sold at from £190 to £225 per ton in
1851. The manufacture of cudbear moved into the hands of English
orchil makers who imported their materials from Norway and Sweden
for the London market. From 1785 to 1788, 24,000 kilos were shipped
from Flekherjored, Norway (9).

For home use (see p. 419) the cotters would mix the crotals treated
with graith into a coarse paste rolled into small balls or cakes with
lime or burnt shells. These were wrapped in dock leaves and hung
up to dry over peat fires, which accounts for the peat-smoke odor
peculiar to homespun Harris tweed. In this fashion the dye
would keep for a year or more; when needed, it was redissolved in
warm water.

The colors of cudbear and of orchil are so similar as to be com-
mercially indistinguishable. They dye best in a neutral bath produc-
ing a bluish-red or dull magenta shade but are frequently applied with
sulfuric acid in conjunction with other vegetable dyes and coal-tar
dyes, especially magenta. Addition of indigo and the dye of lung-
wort gives a permanent black dye occella tinctoria was used as the
first dye for blue British broadcloth, having a purple tint against
light. A variety of colors and shades can be obtained by the use of
different species of lichens, varying the treatment with oil of vitriol,
logwood, or chemicals. Thus acids produce yellows, alkalies produce
blues, lead acetate gives a crimson precipitate, calcium chloride a red
precipitate, stannous chloride a red then yellow, while alum is more
generally used by country folk for reds. The color of cudbear is said
to possess great beauty and luster at first, but quickly fades and
should never be employed unless for the purpose of giving body and
luster to blue dyes, as indigo (“bottoming”), or as a ground for madder
reds (12). In deep shades the color has an intensity and body that
cannot be equaled by coal-tar substances, and though they are not fast
to light, milling, or scouring, they do resist soaping but become bluer.
Silks, and occasionally linens, have the dye applied in a soap solution
with or without acetic acid.

Cudbear and orchil have both been used in Holland for the manu-
facture of litmus, known to the French as tournesol. After the dye

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 413

is prepared, gypsum or powdered chalk is added and then cast into
small, purplish-blue cubes, once sold as lacunus. This, dissolved in
water and soaked up in unsized paper, was retailed as litmus paper.
This early product was rather unstable and tended to become colorless.
The action is thought to be due to micro-organisms, so that alcohol or
chloroform was often added when the litmus was stored in liquid form.
Tincture of cudbear was still used in the drug trade up to 1942 when
the Dutch source of supply was no longer available and the U. S.
Pharmacopeia recommended a coal-tar derivative, amaranth.

Carlos Tavares (Portugal) has informed the author that “in some
regions of our country lichens are yet employed for dyeing clothing;
I think Zobaria pulmonaria one.” A specimen of Usnea dasypoga
from Ecuador collected by Inez Mexia (7913) bears the annotation
“a brown dye is made by boiling with lemon.” A report (3b) of
Australian aboriginal names and uses of plants indicates that lichens
were not used in the native economy.

The chemical properties of dye lichens are better understood today
because of the studies of the workers, previously listed. A compre-
hensive survey of lichen compounds may be found in Thorpe’s
Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, 4th ed., vol. 7, p. 284.

COSMETICS AND PERFUMES

History.—Since the sixteenth century, or earlier, members of the
families Cladoniaceae, Stictaceae, Parmeliaceae, and Usneaceae have
been utilized as raw materials in the perfume and cosmetic industries.
At first this use consisted of drying and grinding the plants to a powder
and combining them crudely with other substances, but as the manu-
facturers became more expert in their trade, these materials were skill-
fully combined into toilet powders, scented sachets, and perfumes of
real value. Three lichens commonly used were Evernia prunastri,
FE. furfuracea, and Lobaria pulmonaria, which have similar aromatic
substances. The trades recognized these lichens under a variety of
names, as Lichen quercinus viridis, Muscus arboreus, acaciae et
odorante, Eichenmoos, and, more commonly, as Mousse de Chéne or
oak-moss and scented-moss. amalina calicaris Fr. was used in place
of starch to whiten hair of wigs and perukes. Cyprus powder, a
combination of £. prunastri, Anaptychia ciliaris, and Usnea species,
was scented with ambergris, or musk, and oil of roses, jasmine, or
orange blossoms for use as a toilet powder in the seventeenth century
that would whiten, scent, and cleanse the hair (19). After a somewhat
lengthy eclipse, these plants reappeared as raw stuffs for perfumery,
owing to the creation of scents with a deep tone and to the demands
for the very stable perfumes of modern extraction, to which purposes
they are almost universally applied to this day.

414 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The principal species used in modern perfumes and cosmetics include
Evernia prunastri, BE. furfuracea, E. mesomorpha, Ramalina fraxinea
Ach., 2. farinacea, R. pollinaria Ach., and perhaps other species of the
Ramalinae, though the last-named genus is not rated as so valuable
as the former. Lobaria pulmonaria (Mousse de la base du Chéne) is
used to some extent and is considered a more costly substance, perhaps
because of its relative scarcity. Oak-moss (2. prunastri) of Europe
is collected in shaded, damp habitats occurring in the central mountain
ranges of Europe, the Piedmont of Italy, and the forests of Czechoslo-
vakia and Herzegovina. Not only the locality but the substratum is
given a great deal of attention by the perfumer who differentiates
between those plants that grow on oak (greenish) and those found on
conifers (grayish) ; in the latter case rightly so, since resins may be
included with the lichen, rendering it less desirable for the trade. In
all instances the crop is gathered by peasants or shepherds, as in
Yugoslavia, and pressed into large bales for export. The American
supply before the war was derived from Yugoslavia, amounting to a
few tons yearly at a cost of from 5 to 714 cents per pound f. 0. b. New
York City. During the war a few companies, formerly established in
France and Holland, became interested in developing the American
market, but the lack of apt collectors willing to work for wages per
pound equivalent to or slightly higher than those of the European
gleaner rendered the commercial possibilities for the use of American
plants somewhat doubtful. Experiments, including a number of
North American species, have been carried out with little success,
except with those traditionally used in the Old World. Of these there
are sufficient quantities available in the northern forests of the United
States and Canada to supply the domestic trade.

Chemical properties of essential oil of lichens——The use of dried,
pulverized oak-moss in the perfume industry is restricted, the prin-
cipal sale being of extracts, essences, and resinoids. Gildermeister
and Hoffmann (18) state that the method of treatment involves ex-
hausting the lichen by means of volatile substances and then remov-
ing the resins, waxes, and chlorophyll with acetone. Addition of al-
cohol gives an “extract of oak-moss” which may be used in this form
or may be further concentrated in order to obtain a semifluid sub-
stance. French and German industrial research during the last 30
years has revealed much of the chemical nature of the extracts, gums,
and mucilages produced when processing lichens. Gattefossé (13)
made a study of the essential oils and alcoholic extracts of all those
lichens that were utilized as oak-moss, obtaining data that caused him
to conclude that oil of oak-moss was almost exclusively a compound
of phenol called lichenol, an isomeric compound of carvacrol. These
results were verified by St. Pfau (13) who further expressed the
opinion that sparrassol, a metabolic product of the fungus Sparassis

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 415

ramosa, is identical with methyl everninate resulting from the al-
coholysis of everninic acid, present in proportions of about 2.8 per-
cent, with a characteristic anise-seed odor. Walbaum and Rosenthal
(13) repeated the experiments of Gattefossé and arrived at different
results. They distilled the oil of Hvernia prunastri and found that
at ordinary temperature it formed an oily crystalline mass of dark
color with a very powerful and agreeable odor. Further analysis
revealed Gattefossé’s error, and orcinol monomethylether, not
lichenol (C,o>H,,O), is the principal constituent of oak-moss. This
phenol, though not the main odoriferous part of the lichen oil, has a
pleasant, creosol-like smell, and an ester 8-orcinol methyl carboxylate
(C,oH:204) which does not enter into the odor of the oak-moss oil.
In the resinous precipitate Walbaum and Rosenthal found ethyl
everninate generated only during the extraction through esterification
of the everninic acid (C,;H,,.O,;) which was found to occur in a free
state in the lichen; when boiled with baryta water it split into orcinol
and everninic acid with the liberation of carbon dioxide. This acid
is closely related to B-orcinol monomethylether and would be con-
verted into it by the liberation of carbon dioxide. For these reasons
Walbaum and Rosenthal felt that the genesis of the principal con-
stituent of the odoriferous substances of oak-moss had a close con-
nection with the origin of everninic and evernic acids. Stoll and
Schener (13) found in the volatile fraction some compounds which
may also have a function in producing this odor, mainly thujone,
naphthalene, borneol, camphor, civeole, citronellol, guaniol, vanillin,
methylnonylketone, and stearic aldehyde.

The multiplicity of types of essences and extracts may be due in
part to the diversity of substrata on which these lichens grow, as well
as to the varying mixtures of species offered to the manufacturer in
any lot, and the mode of extraction. This is also verified by the theory
of multiple substances in lichens, as proposed by Burkholder and
Evans (3). Hess (13) was able to extract atranorine and everninic
acid from a specimen of Hvernia prunastri growing on oak, but not
from samples collected on beech or birch, while a sample from a
lime tree yielded some usnic acid. The whole problem is further
complicated by the fact that most constituents of oak-moss react upon
the solvent. Treatment of lichen extracts with alcohol is seldom
employed for preparation of essences, since it alters the evernic acid.
Thus the lichenol obtained by Gattefossé, using this method, was
everninate of ethyl. The synthesis of everninic, divarine, and other
acids has been performed in the laboratory but has not been applied
on a commercial scale. In the trade the oil is extracted by means of
low-boiling solvents, after which it is purified and decolorized, the
process yielding 0.2 to 0.3 kilo of the raw extract or 20 to 30 grams

416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

of the pure essential oil, depending on the technique of extraction in
which 100 grams of the dried lichen yield 8.5 grams of crude everninic
acid.

Uses of essential oils.—The essential oil of oak-moss or “concrete”
is used in its natural condition in soap as an impalpable powder or in
the form of a resinarome. The powder permits production of soap
balls agreeably scented at a reasonable price if the manufacturer can
obtain a perfectly impalpable powder; otherwise they give the im-
pression of containing sand. ‘The soap manufacturer maintains the
quality of his product by procuring his raw material from a reliable
purveyor. To be sufficiently scented, soap balls should have 1 or 114
percent by weight of lichen powder. When used for this purpose
oak-moss “concrete” improves, strengthens, and cheapens lavender-
scented products. It is essential in the higher grades of cosmetics in
combination with other aromatic oils, e. g., jasmine, tuberose, and
orange blossom. Iceland moss, Cetraria islandica, has already been
mentioned in connection with foods and medicine; in the field of cos-
metics it serves as a source of glycerol in the soap industry and in
the manufacture of cold creams because of its lack of odor. Some
lichens, e. g., Sticta fuliginosa Ach. and S. sylvatica Ach., have an
objectionable fishy or methylamine smell.

The parfumeur recognizes abstract qualities in lichens which en-
hance his product. The peculiar reciprocity of the components form-
ing the lichen unit and known to the unromantic biologist as symbi-
onts, are but an example of harmonious blending appreciated by the
parfumeur. Therefore the extract of oak-moss or scented-moss
“agrees” and “harmonizes” in the “happiest manner” with a large
number of other essences. Its fragrance has been likened to musk-
lavender, and as such it may be used as a fixative of the poppy type,
blending well with bergamot, citron, acetate of lynalyl, and linalol,
thus supplying freshness; with neroli, jasmine, rose, and cassia it
improves the flavor of these flowers; it gives flexibility to tarragon,
coriander, portugal, ylang-ylang, and vanillin; contributes stability
and depth to patchouli, vetyver, coumarin, and musk, and “elevation”
to alpha ionene. It also blends well with synthetic oils, e. g., amyl
and isobutyl salicylate and acetophenone. It is considered as an in-
dispensable basis of numerous perfumes known to the trade as Chypre,
Fern, and Heath, and in many bouquets called “Fancy,” as well as for
the Oriental type of perfume. The absence of aromatic oils, glycerol,
or any other desired substance is no disadvantage for the use of lichens
in cosmetics; Cladonia rangiferina and Cl. sylvatica have been recom-
mended by parfumeurs, since they are whitish, easily dried, and abun-
dant “in open healthy places.”

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 417

MISCELLANEA

Gums.—The dyeing and paper industries have need for quantities
of sizing with which to dress and stiffen silks, to print and stain calico,
and tosize paper. During the Napoleonic Wars, because of the French
monopoly of Senegal gum, Lord Dundonald attempted to introduce
the use of lichen mucilage in place of the French product, but there
is no evidence that the English market was interested. At Lyons the
French appear to have successfully used lichen mucilage as a substi-
tute for gum arabic in the fabrication of dyed materials (13). The
problem has been investigated by Minford (13) who reports that Ice-
land moss and some other lichens may be prepared as light-colored,
transparent, and high-grade gelatin, isinglass, and similar gelatinous
products, corresponding to those obtained from vegetable products
for this purpose.

Lichens for decorations.—The use of lichens for home decorations,
funeral wreaths, and grave wreaths is commonly exploited in the
northern countries of Europe, partly as a result of tradition and the ex-
pense of out-of-season flowers. The Cladoniaceae or reindeer lichens
lend themselves best to this purpose and are always used in centerpiece
table decorations in winter and in connection with Christmas orna-
ments. In older types of Swedish houses, where the outer or storm
window can be separated from the permanent window, the space be-
tween at the base is filled with this lichen which may act partly as
insulation. Dry lichens are brittle and are usually gathered and
worked in the fall of the year when the air is moist; they are woven
into wreaths by the poorer farming class who offer them for sale on
market days at low prices. Addition of water, as for cut-flowers,
does not preserve them but tends to make them moldy. Lichens can
maintain themselves on hygroscopic water. The harvesting of
lichens, especially C7. alpestris, can be a source of considerable revenue.
In 1935, 2,900 boxes (orange-crate size) were exported from Norway.
In 1936, 7,700 boxes were shipped, and in 1937, 12,500 boxes which
yielded a revenue of 90,000 Norwegian kroner ($1.00=4.90 Norw. kr.,
August 1947). Later shipments went only to Germany, and the
Goteborgs Handels-Och Sjéfarts-Tidning (newspaper) published a
story on October 12, 1946, entitled “Fyjallresa Med Linné,” which said
that this lichen export was being used by the Germans as a source for
“explosives.” ‘The Germans had an essential need for this plant also
as grave decorations. The gathering of these lichens for decorations
is cause for further dispute between Lapp herders and commercial
harvesters. Cladonia species are occasionally used in table models and
dioramas to represent trees.

In northern or mountainous areas where forest cover exists, it is
possible to estimate the normal depth of the snow cover by noting the

418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

height of certain brown parmelias growing on trees, particularly
birches, as these lichens are sensitive to prolonged snow cover and
quickly disappear from those parts of the tree covered by accumula-
tive or drifting snow falls. Thus it would be possible to judge not
only general but specific localized snow depths for estimating water-
shed and irrigation potentials, and probable snow falls in mountain
passes, and to assist in railroad engineering problems relative to the
location of snow sheds, and in highway maintenance and the tem-
porary location of snow fences.

Injury by lichens.—Lichen injury to valued stained-glass windows
of old cathedrals and to marble, alabaster, and Florentine mosaics has
been reported by various observers (13). The deleterious effect of
Parmelia tinctorum Despr. upon a Buddhist monument in central
Java is given by Seshadri and Subramanian (18a). Chemical analysis
of this specimen revealed a high percentage of atranorin (20.3) ; the
authors suggest that this water-soluble acid is capable of causing
damage to calcareous substrates. E. Bachmann (13) had earlier
published a series of observations (1904-15) upon the action of lichens
on mica, garnet, quartz, and calcareous rocks indicating that the first
two substances were rapidly decomposed while calcareous rocks were
dissolved through the action of the lichens. The more resistant quartz
was minutely etched. Bachmann concluded that lichens exert a me-
chanical and chemical action on their substrate, and that they must
give out solvent acids in the process. Orchardists and silviculturists
have long been interested in the relationship of lichens to trees, and
many sprays, including Bordeaux mixture, caustic soda, and light-
boiling tar oils, have been recommended for the removal of these “un-
sightly if not injurious plants.” Indirectly they may be the cause of
economic loss by serving as shelter for harmful insects seeking cover
and depositing eggs. Kaufert has noted that the bark of Populus
tremuloides remains permanently smooth through the presence of a
persistent periderm, but that if injured by fungi, lichens, or mechani-
cal injury the bark may be stimulated to develop rough fissures. In
studying the influence of Usnea species upon trees in South Africa,
Phillips (18) concluded that in this case the lichen is definitely detri-
mental in that its fungal component is parasitic upon tissue external
or internal tothe cork cambium. Vigorous crowns as well as defective
ones may be infected. Since the lichen cannot develop luxuriantly
under the conditions obtaining in undisturbed high forests, he recom-
mended that the forest canopy be preserved as a means of inhibiting
the rampant growth of this lichen. Seshadri and Subramanian (18b)
present more definite evidence of lichen damage to trees. In this
instance it was noted that the more tender portions of sandalwood
trees bore heavy growths of lichens which appeared to affect the nor-
mal development of the tree. The principal lichen, Ramalina tay-

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 419

loriana, had penetrated deeply into the viable tissues of its subtrate
causing apparent physical injury. On analysis, this lichen gave
d-usnic and sekikaic acids which had a proved toxic effect on fish
used in experimentation. The suggestion is advanced that the deep
penetration of the lichen base into the viable sandalwood tissue may
have resulted not only in physical injury but in a phytocidal effect.
Wellborn (13) suggested that some leaf spots of the coffee plant may
be caused by a lichen, and the classical research of Ward (21) on
Strigula complanta Mont. illustrates the undeniable harmful effect of
a lichen ephiphyte ona crop plant. Leaf lichens are common on ever-
greens, deciduous trees, and bushes in the sub-Tropics and Tropics, but
unless the leaves of such phanerogams have a commercial application,
as tea leaves, there is no economic loss involved. Foresters in some
parts of Europe recommend scraping lichens from trees, but there is
little experimental proof that lichens ephiphytically attached to the
bark, branches, and twigs of trees are the cause of damage. Howbeit,
the whole problem of whether lichens injure the trees on which they
are fastened cannot be solved, as Elias Fries once remarked, “by mere
denial.”
DYEING INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOME USE (10)

Parmelia saxatilis—The Swedish country people call this the dye-
lichen or stone-moss. It occurs abundantly on rocks and stones as
rugose gray-brown patches, and should be collected after rain while
the air is still moist, for it is firmly attached to the stones and will
crumble if removed in dry air. It is most easily separated from the
stones by an ordinary table knife, and if it is to be preserved it must
be carefully dried before being packed in bags or boxes. Before use
it should be finely crushed. The following colors may be obtained by
varying the dyeing treatment:

1. Light yellow-brown.—Place 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of finely
crumbled dye-lichen in a copper kettle containing a large quantity
of water. Place 250 grams’ of unmordanted (raw) yarn in this
solution, boiling and stirring the yarn for ¥% to 2 hours, depending on
the desired shade of color. The best method of stirring the yarn is to
wind it around sticks so as to avoid cloudy or uneven dyeing. When
the process is completed, the yarn should be washed thoroughly in
several changes of clean water, after which it may be hung up to dry,
making sure that the skein hangs freely.

2. Dark brown.—The lichen is crumbled and placed in layers with
wool or yarn in an iron kettle. The yarn should be wet when put
down, and after addition of cool water in sufficient quantities to cover
the mass, several hours should lapse before boiling. Boiling must be
slow and regular with constant stirring for 2 to 6 hours. If a very

71 ounce= 28.35 grams; 1 pound=0.45 kilogram.

420 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

dark color is desired, the yarn may be boiled again in a fresh quantity
of the dye-lichen. If the desired color is black-brown, some braziline
(brazilwood chips) should be added. If dark brown color tones are
desired, best work with gray yarn. Wash as above.

3. Rusty brown.—Ingredients: 250 grams of yarn, 40 grams of

alum, 15 grams of tartar, 2 kilograms of lichen.
The yarn is mordanted in alum and a solution of tartar 14 to 1 hour.
The lichen is boiled in a large quantity of water for 1 hour, after which
the mordanted yarn is added and then boiled for 2 hours. The best
method is to have the hanks strung on sticks. If the yarn is not
turned over maculation will result. If a red tone is desired, the yarn
should be removed from the kettle and boiled half an hour in a solu-
tion of 30 grams of soaked madder. Wash as above.

4. Dull brown.—Use four times as much crumbled lichen as yarn
by weight and soak in water 1 day before boiling. Then boil for 1
hour. Add a solution of soap to the unmordanted yarn and boil
another 2 hours, then permit it to cool. Remove the yarn and wash
as above.

Cetraria islandica.—This lichen, commonly known as Iceland moss,
grows abundantly in woods and in the mountains. It is loosely at-
tached to the ground, and is best collected in dry weather so as to save
the trouble of artificial drying before storage for winter use. Before
using place it in fresh water for softening, after which it is easy to
chop up. Like the dye-lichen, it gives beautiful brown colors but in
different shades, and has been found to be of value in dyeing suede,
since it produces the faint pastel tints desired by the trade (19a).

1. Brown.—The lichen is cleansed, washed, and finely crumbled
before being placed in a kettle; layers of wool or yarn should be
alternated with lichen. Water is added and all is boiled half an
hour. Iron vitriol should be dissolved in warm water and carefully
added to the mass. This is boiled slowly and stirred constantly until
it is sufficiently dark. Wash as above.

Usnea barbata—This is the beard-lichen and occurs abundantly
in woods, growing on both coniferous and foliaceous trees and wooden
fences, hanging down as a light gray beard. The lichen is branched,
soft, and elastic, and when it is pulled out the outer crust bursts and
a white horsehair-shaped inner tread is left. When collected, this
lichen should be separated from needles and twigs. It gives a fine
red-yellow color.

1. Red-yellow.—Ingredients: 250 grams of yarn, 32 grams of alum,
250 grams of beard-lichen.

The yarn is, as usual, mordanted with alum. Boil the beard-lichen
1 hour and strain off, adding the yarn to the solution and boiling for

ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS—LLANO 421

Y to 1 hour, depending upon the desired shade of color. Lighter
shades are obtained by using weaker solutions.

Alectoria jubata.—The color of the horsehair-lichen is gray-brown
or black. It grows commonly on old coniferous trees, hanging down
from the twigs in long tufts. Its branches, when pulled, do not be-
have as do those of the beard-lichen, but, like that lichen, it gives a
yellow-brown dye, though of a different tone.

1. Yellow.—Follow the instructions as for the beard-lichen. The
darkest shade will be mellow green-yellow. By diluting the solution
lighter tones of a fine cream-yellow may be obtained. Wash as above.

Notice! For obtaining lighter shades of colors the yarn must be
boiled six times in weaker solutions. It is not advisable to use
stronger solutions for shorter times. This rule can be generally
applied in all cases.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is greatly indebted to Dr. G. Einar Du Rietz, Director
of the Plant Science Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, for the many courte-
sies received as a student at that Institute; to Dr. Gunnar Degelius for
advice and the generous loan of his valuable collection of books and
duplicates; to Dr. Rolf Santesson of the Institute for Systematic
Botany for his assistance; to Dr. Magnus Fries for the use of the Th.
M. Fries Lichenological Collection; to Dr. A. H. Magnusson for the
use of his library; and to the librarian of the Carolina Rediviva,
Uppsala University, for many favors. The author expresses his ap-
preciation also to the American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York
City, for the Fellowship which made it possible for him to study at
the Royal University of Uppsala, Sweden, from 1946-47; and to Dr.
C. W. Dodge, Missouri Botanical Garden, for his kindness in checking
the final manuscript of this article.

The author is greatly indebted also to Miss Carlsson of the Uppsala
Hemsl6jd for her kindness in demonstrating the dyeing technique
followed in her classes and in exhibiting materials dyed with lichen
dyes. Her advice and suggestions have been incorporated in this
paper. Dr. Sten Ahlner, Vixtbiologista Institutionen, Uppsala,
translated “Dye Instructions” for the author, who acknowledges his
assistance in this and many other instances.

LITERATURE CITED

1, Bagry,V.C. Nature, vol. 158, pp. 863-865, 1946.

la. Barry, V. C.,and McNatty, P.A. Nature, vol. 156, p. 48, 1945.

2. BURKHOLDrER, P. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., vol. 30, pp. 250-255, 1944.

3. BURKHOLDER, P., and Evans, A. W. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, vol. 72, pp.
157-164, 1945.

422

3a.

3b.

2 oR

18a.

18a.

18b.

19.
19a.

19b.
19¢.
20.
20a.
Die

29

ae,

23.

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Bustinza, F., and Lopez, A. CABALLERO. Contribucién al estudio de los
antibiéticos procedentes de liquenes. Ann. Jard. Bot. Madrid, vol. 7, pp.
511-548, 1948.

CLELAND, J. B., and JoHNsToN, T. H. Trans. Roy. Soe. South Australia,
vol. 68, No. 2, p. 178, 1939.

DANNFELT, H. J. Kungl. Lantbrukssakad. Tidskr., vol. 6, pp. 483-498, 1917.

DE AVELLAR BROTERO, FELIx. Historia natural da orzella. 16pp. 1824.

D’yacHKkov, D., and Kursanov, A. Doklady Akad. Nauk, S. S. S. R., vol.
46, pp. 71-73, 1945.

Fet, A. L. A. Essai sur les cryptogames des écores exotiques officinales.
167 pp. 1824.

FLoRovsKAYA, EH. F. Bot Zeit., vol. 24, pp. 302-313, 1939.

Hgre, O. A. Lav og Mose som Nyttevekster. Suppl., pp. 125-147, 1938.

. LaguNA, ANDRES DE. Pedacio Dioscorides Anazarbeo. Acerca de la Materia

Medicinal y de los venemos mortiferos. 1st ed., Anvers, 1555, 2d ed.,
Salamanca, 1566.

Larson, Bupa. Hemfiirgning med vixtimmen rad och anvisningar. 1946.

Linpsay, W.L. Edinburgh New Philos. Journ., 1854, p. 40.

Linpsay, W. L. Edinburgh New Philos. Journ., 1855, p. 26.

LuLANo,G. A. Bot. Rev., vol. 10, pp. 1-65, 1944.

MULLER, J. Flora 526, 1881.

QuisPEL, A. Rec. Trav. Bot. Néerl., vol. 40, pp. 413-541, 1948-1945.

RalIstTRicK, H. Ann. Rey. Biochem., vol. 9, pp. 571-592, 1940.

RonceRay, Pavut-Lovuis. Thése. Ecole Supérieure de Pharmacie, Univ.
Paris, No. 10. 94 pp. 1904.

Sastry, V. V. K. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Ser. A, vol. 16, pp. 137-140, 1942.

SantTEsSON, C.G. Arkiv Bot., vol. 29a, No. 14, pp. 1-6, 1939.

SesHApRI, T. R., and SuBRAMANIAN, S. S. Journ. Sci. and Ind. Res., Ser. B,
vol. 8, No. 9, pp. 170-171, 1949.

SesHaADRI, T. R., and SuspRAMANIAN, S. S. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., vol. 30,
No. 1, pp. 15-22, 1949.

SmirH, A. L. Lichens. 404 pp. 1921.

SmirH, A. L, Recent lichen literature. Trans. British Myc. Soc., vol. 15,
pp. 193-235, 1931.

Stoxt, A., RENz, J.. and BRAoK, A. Antibiotika aus Flechten. Experentia,
vol. 3, No. 3, p. 111, 1947.

Stott, A., Brack, A., and Renz, J. Die antibakterielle Wirkung der
Usninsiiure auf Mykotakterien und andere Mikroorganismen. Experentia,
vol. 3, No. 3, p. 115, 1947.

SrenserG, 8. On tillverkning of lafbriinvin. 52 pp. 1868.

TUCKERMAN, EDWARD. Torrey Bot. Club Bull., vol. 9, p. 142, 1882.

Warp, H. M. Trans Linn. Soc. London, Bot., vol. 26, pp. 87-119, pls. 18-21,
1884.

WEsSTRING, J. P. Svenska lafvarnas farghistoria . . . 1805.

WoopwakbD, Carnot H. Vernacular names for Roccella. An etymological
note. Torreya, vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 302-807, 1949.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PLATE 1

1. REINDEER Moss, CLADONIA ALPESTRIS AND CL. RANGIFERINA

These species constitute the principal food of reindeer and caribou herds. (Cour-
tesy New York Botanical Garden.)

2. DOG LICHEN, PELTIGERA CANINA

Preparations of this lichen were regarded in the Middle Ages as efficacious in
treating rabies. (Courtesy New York Botanical Garden.)

PEATE e2:

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano

ROCK TRIPE, UMBILICARIA PAPULOSA, WITH PUSTULES ON ITS UPPER SURFACE

ile

AND TWO OTHER SPECIES OF UMBILICARIA ON THE ROCK

e been used by polar

hav

sp.,
food.

y

explorers as emergence

This and other kinds of rock tripe, Gyrophora

2. EVERNIA FURFURACEA, SHOWING UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES OF THE

THALLUS

Mount De

and, Maine.

sl

sert I

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PEATE 3

2 Es. stiieniobe a tea ew

1. REINDEER PAWING AWAY SNOW COVER TO OBAIN LICHEN FODDER, LAPPLAND,
SWEDEN

(Photograph by G. Haglund.)

2. REINDEER SUMMER FEEDING IN LAPPLAND, SWEDEN

(Courtesy Swedish Railways.)

(uepriey [eolUB Og YIOK MON AsoqINo|D) “OUIBIY “PUBIST Jl9soq, JUNOT
MNOYL ASH L ¥ NO INLSVNNYd VINYSAZ “Zz HOYIG NO SNIMOYSD “dS VSNSNM ‘NSHOIT Gyv3ad *|

py 3LV1d ourl]—0G6| ‘woday uetuosyyIUC

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PLATE 5

1. PARMELIA SAXATALIS ON THE LOWER SIDE AND P. CENTRIFUGA ON THE UPPER
SIDE OF A ROCK

(Photograph by Auer, Finland.)

2. PARMELIA PHYSODES, SHOWING ITS DENSE GROWTH ON THE BRANCH OF A
PINE) TiREE

Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PLATE 6

1. CLADONIA ALPESTRIS (IN CLUMPS) AND CL. RANGIFERINA (NOT IN CLUMPS)
ON MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, MAINE

2. LOBARIA PULMONARIA GROWING WITH LIGHTER-COLORED FORMS OF PARME-=
LIACEAE ON A TREE TRUNK

Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PLATE 7

F ILVSTRADO POR EL poc ae
Ene HE N: CT. LAG

VNA. : “i ee
PVLMONA«RIA, ~~

rele ae™

Be
a>
Ft ei) Oe

rae, of ak 4
Del Lichen. Cap. LIV.

FE L Lichen que nace en tas picdras, llamado Difecerts
: de algunos Bryon, ballafe apegado alas pie. des
dras humedas como el mufgo de los arboles, :
Eite pues aplicado en forma de emplattro,relta-
fialas ctufionesde fangre, reptime las infayna-
Clones,y es remedio de los empeynes, Sifc apli-
ca con micl, tiene fuersa de famac Ia i@ericia , y
tefrena los humores que corrgn aziala leoguayy i
la boca, : 3
Cri Xs la UihE AT, Aazer Alfacher B He- Nombres,
Patica.ds, Epatica F Heparques.T .Steiuleberkrant, :
& Lempeyne fe Nama Lichen en Griego; y afsi enetecid
vino a llamarfe Lichen cia planea,porg cura deLegane H
Jos empeynes aplicade enforma de attro.d
porg fe citiende a manera dellosfebre piedras,
Produze las hojas grueflas,graflas, lenas de cu
nio,y como ahojaldradasvnas fobre orras , de
Jas quales falen ciertos talluelos,como pecones i
4 produzen encima de fi vnas cabe¢uclas,a ma- a
nera de eltreilas , principalmente cn cl mes de
Junio, Nace ca por la mayor parte fobre fas
piedras.Otra efpecie de Lichen temefante a cita
pero masancha y mas feca,fe hatla fobre jas en-
cinasy robles;la qual por parecerfea yn pulmo
fe vino a amar Pulmonaria,Algunos confiados Paleo
enfolo ¢l nombre,jadan contra las lagas de los Fi,
pulmones, Tiene cada ynadellas facultaddemm
difcar,y de resfriarmoderadamente coneftipe

ticidad manifielta,de do fe puede conjerurateg |
potice virtud de foldar las heridas fretcassyea*
corar las lage *antignas. ; ae

Dela Paronychia. Cap,LV, aes od tired:
A Paconychiaes yna matilla peqacitasg nace fubre las piedras,femejante al Pe Riis
L ons bavayy de hojas mayoress aplicada en forma de emplattrosfana los paaaringse YI2S des,
“3s auc fe parecen alos hanos de mich, ; weeds =i =
Aronychion en Griego es lo mifmo que panarizo,e! qual norcbes lots noses ——- ;
*4,porg aplicada le fang, Alguyos fimplicillas fe perfnaden 4 3 ies pied See nae ee

ae ae _ as
Illustration of page 407, second edition of Andres de Laguna’s “Pedacio Dios-
corides Anazarbeo,” published by Juan Latio, Anno MDCV, Salamanca,
Spain. Now the property of the Bibliotheca Nacional, Madrid. (Courtesy
Dr. F. Bustinza.)

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Llano PLATE 8

Upper: Helmsl6jd group near Uppsala, Sweden, with paraphernalia for dyeing
with lichens collected in the immediate vicinity. The equipment consists of
iron and copper pots heated over wood fires, chemicals, and accessory dyes,
and a small seale.

Center: Rinsing procedure, utilizing clean stream water. The white yarn is
undyed and has been washed; the dark yarn has been dyed.

Lower: Drying the yarn after dyeing and washing (foreground). Undyed yarn
hung up for convenience in handling (background).

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO

By Henry B. COoLiLins

Anthropologist, Bureau of American Ethnology

[With 4 plates}

Though numbering less than 40,000, the Eskimos occupy almost
half of the world’s Arctic coast lands. Beginning at the northeastern
tip of Siberia, their scattered settlements extend eastward for more
than 6,000 miles along the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts of Alaska, Can-
ada, and Greenland. No other primitive people occupy so wide a
territory and at the same time exhibit such remarkable uniformity
of language, culture, and physical type. Where Eskimo and Indian
meet, as on the rivers of Alaska and in the interior of northern Canada,
the culture and physical type of both groups have been affected. But
nowhere have the Indians penetrated to the Arctic coast. Here, where
the Eskimos hold undisputed possession, there is one language and,
with certain exceptions to be noted later, one basic culture and physical
type.

The origin of the Eskimo and his peculiar culture has been debated
for many years. Probably the majority of American anthropologists
in the past have accepted the theory that the Eskimos are an American
people and their culture an American product. Boas, who studied
the Baffin Island and Hudson Bay tribes, considered that the original
Eskimo homeland was the lake region west of Hudson Bay. Here,
said Boas, the Eskimo race and culture were found in purest form,
unmodified by Indian influence; moreover, the traditions of the Eski-
mos to the east, north, and west all pointed to an original center just
west of Hudson Bay. Murdoch, Wissler, Stefansson, Jochelson, Sha-
piro, and others followed this view, which, principally because of the
great influence and authority of Boas, became in America at least the
orthodox and “scientific” theory of the origin of the Eskimos.

Among European scholars who adhered to the American origin
theory were Rink and Steensby. According to Rink, the early Eski-
mos lived in the interior of Alaska. From this center they had fol-
lowed the Alaskan rivers to the coasts, their culture meanwhile under-
going gradual change until it developed finally into the typical mari-
time form we know today.

A more elaborate theory was advanced by Steensby, who postulated
a stratification of Eskimo culture. The oldest stratum was that found

922758—51——28 423

424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

in the central archipelago of Canada, the high Arctic culture typified
by the snow house, the dog sled, and various ingenious methods of
hunting on the sea ice. This complex was “an outgrowth of an orig-
inal North Indian form of culture, the winter side of which had be-
come specially and strongly developed by adaptation to the winter
ice of the Arctic Ocean” (Steensby, 1916, p. 186). Steensby thought
that Coronation Gulf was the region where this adaptation had taken
place. Belonging to a later stage were such features as kayak hunt-
ing on the open sea, the umiak, whaling, and the bird dart. ‘These
elements, lacking among the Eskimos of the Central regions, were
characteristic especially of sub-Arctic Alaska and Greenland.

The latest and most comprehensive expression of this viewpoint is
that of Birket-Smith (1929, 1930, 1936). His theory, though cor-
responding essentially with Steensby’s, is considerably more elaborate
and detailed. Birket-Smith believes that the Eskimo culture orig-
inated in the Barren Grounds west of Hudson Bay and that the Cari-
bou Eskimos now living there are the direct descendants of the “Proto-
Eskimos.” Isolated in the interior, the Proto-Eskimos, like the mod-
ern Caribou Eskimos, lived by hunting the caribou and by fishing in
lakes and rivers, in winter through holes in the ice. Later some of
them—the “Palae-Eskimos”—moved to the seashore and learned to
hunt seals by what is know as the “maupok” method, harpooning the
seals at their breathing holes in the ice. The conversion of ice fishing
into seal hunting on the sea ice was thus the first and most important
step in the formation of Eskimo culture. Birket-Smith’s theory has
been summarized as follows:

Originally the Proto-Eskimo lived inland from Hudson Bay and farther west.
Whereas some of them, of whom the Caribou Eskimo are the last survivors,
remained on the Barren Grounds, others resorted to the coast between Corona-
tion Gulf and the Boothia peninsula, where they adapted their living to the
sea and were thus enabled to spread along the coast; this is the so-called Palae-
Eskimo stage. At a later period the far richer Neo-Eskimo culture came into
existence in Alaska; it spread as far to the east as Greenland, but at present
it is not known from the central regions except from the so-called Thule culture
which was brought to light by the archeological investigations of the Fifth Thule
Expedition, being otherwise obliterated by a modern Eschato-Eskimo advance

of inland tribes that penetrated to the sea and constituted the recent Central
Eskimo. [Birket-Smith, 1930, p. 608.]

The opposite, or Asiatic, theory of the origin of the Eskimo has
also had numerous supporters. First to express this opinion were
the early explorers, who observed that the Eskimos had a distinctly
Mongoloid appearance. Most of the nineteenth-century anatomists
and anthropologists classified the Eskimos with the Asiatics, and later
anthropologists such as Furst and Hansen, Hrdli¢ka, and Hooton have
concurred in this viewpoint. Ethnologists and archeologists such as
Thalbitzer, Hatt, Bogoras, Kroeber, Mathiassen, Jenness, and Zolo-

————eeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEEOEOOeOeee

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 425

tarev believe that Eskimo culture is essentially a product of the Old
World. Students of Eskimo linguistics—Thalbitzer, Sapir, Bogoras,
Jenness—all seek the origin of the language in Alaska or Siberia
rather than in Canada or Greenland; and Sauvageot and Uhlenbeck
have gone further and claimed a relationship between Eskimo and
Ural-Altaic or Indo-European, the two major language stocks of the
Old World. As will be shown later, the more recent archeological
and somatological evidence confirms this point of view and seems to
point conclusively to Eurasia as the place of origin of the Eskimo
culture and race type.

The theory that has aroused more discussion perhaps than any
other is that which derives the Eskimos from the Upper Paleolithic
cave dwellers of western Europe. Boyd Dawkins and Sollas, the
principal champions of this view, pointed to numerous resemblances
between Eskimo and Paleolithic implements and art which they
interpreted as evidence that the Eskimos were the actual descendants
of Paleolithic man who had followed the reindeer northward at the
close of the Glacial period, and at a later time spread eastward to
Bering Strait. Physical evidence in support of the hypothesis was
brought forward in 1889 by Testut, who claimed that a Magdalenian
skull found in a rock shelter near Perigueux in the commune of Chan-
celade, France, could scarcely be distinguished from that of an Eskimo.

The theory of a racial or cultural connection between Eskimo and
Paleolithic man has been opposed by a number of authorities though
in later years it has received the support of Sullivan, Morant, and
von Eickstedt. In general, the reaction of anthropologists has been
one of skepticism or indifference, the prevailing attitude being that
the idea was too spectacular and speculative to be scientifically valid.
The postulated cultural connection seemed doubtful because some of
the traits compared were of uncertain function; others were too
simple and generalized or too widespread in their distribution to
be indicative of a specific or exclusive relationship; and still others,
as we now know, were traits characteristic of modern but not of
ancient Eskimo culture. When Dawkins and Sollas wrote, there were
no archeological finds from Siberia to bridge the enormous gap in
time and space between Paleolithic man of western Europe and the
modern Eskimo, nor was there any knowledge of prehistoric Eskimo
culture. Now that excavations have been made in the American
Arctic and Siberia, the postulated cultural affinities between Eskimo
and Paleolithic appear in a different light. The recent excavations
have produced new and unexpected evidence of relationship between
the oldest Eskimo cultures, the early Siberian Neolithic, and the
European Mesolithic (Collins, 1943). As the Mesolithic was a direct
outgrowth of the Paleolithic, the Dawkins-Sollas theory may not have
been so fanciful as it once seemed.

426 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The archeological studies that have provided new insight into
Eskimo culture began with those of Jenness (1925, 1928) and
Mathiassen (1927) and have continued during the intervening years,
the latest comprehensive works being those of Holtved (1944) in
northwest Greenland and of De Laguna (1947) and Larsen and Rainey
(1948) in Alaska. Important ethnological studies have also been
made, and the same period has brought new information on the physi-
cal types of various modern and prehistoric Eskimo groups in Alaska
and Canada. Though the recent investigations have provided the first
factual data essential to an understanding of the problem of the
Eskimo, it is not to be supposed that the final answers are at hand.
For many parts of the American Arctic we still lack adequate infor-
mation, and the recent discoveries have sometimes complicated rather
than simplified the picture. In the following pages, after a brief
summary of recent archeological discoveries and their implications,
we shall attempt an over-all interpretation of the available evidence
relating to the origin and affinities of the Eskimo race type and
culture.

PREHISTORIC ESKIMO CULTURES

Thule.—Systematic Eskimo archeology began with the investiga-
tions of the Fifth Thule Expedition around Hudson Bay in 1922
and 1923 (Mathiassen, 1927). Excavating at old Eskimo sites north
and west of Hudson Bay, Mathiassen uncovered evidence of a pre-
historic culture that he called the Thule, which differed in many
respects from that of the Eskimos now living in the region. The
old Thule people lived along the seacoasts, in semisubterranean houses
of whalebones, stones, and turf during the winter and in conical tents
in summer. Unlike the modern Central Eskimos, the Thule people
were whale hunters; they also hunted the walrus, seal, polar bear,
and caribou. In material culture they differed markedly from the
Central tribes, being much closer to the Greenland and Alaskan Eski-
mos. So close, in fact, were the resemblances to northern Alaska that
Mathiassen was able to show that the Thule culture must have origi-
nated in the west, somewhere along the coasts of Alaska or Siberia
north of Bering Strait. Having flourished for some centuries, the
Thule culture disappeared from the Central regions, displaced and
partly absorbed by the ancestors of the present Central tribes who
moved from the interior out to the seacoasts. Meanwhile, the Thule
Eskimos had moved eastward to Smith Sound in northwest Green-
land. Excavations by Mathiassen, Larsen, and Holtved have traced
in considerable detail the stages of development of Greenland
Eskimo culture.

In West Greenland, the Inugsuk, a late stage of Thule culture dating
from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, was in direct contact

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 427

with the medieval Norse settlements of Southwest Greenland. With
this initial date established for the Inugsuk stage Mathiassen esti-
mates that the Canadian Thule culture, which was ancestral to it,
existed in the Central regions around A. D. 1000. There are also
strong indications of a return movement of Thule culture to northern
Alaska within the past few centuries.

Though it has played an important part in the formation of modern
Eskimo culture from Alaska to Greenland, the Thule tells us nothing
as to the origin of Eskimo culture. Jor this we must turn to the older
stages—the Cape Dorset culture of the Hudson Bay region, the pre-
historic Aleutian-Kodiak-Cook Inlet cultures of South Alaska, and
the Old Bering Sea and Ipiutak cultures around Bering Strait.

Cape Dorset-——The Dorset culture was first described by Jenness
(1925) on the basis of material excavated by Eskimos at Cape Dorset
on the southwest coast of Baffin Island and on Coats Island in Hudson
Bay. Dorset sites have now been found widely distributed in the
eastern Arctic from Newfoundland north to Ellesmere Island and
northwest Greenland (Jenness, 1933; Wintemberg, 1939; Rowley, 1940;
Leechman, 1943; Holtved, 1944; Collins, 1950). Though the Dorset
and Thule occupied the same general region, the two cultures
differed from each other in almost every respect. At the Dorset
sites there is no trace of such typical Eskimo elements as whale-
bone mattocks and sled shoes, harness toggles, bone arrowheads, the
throwing board, and harpoon sockets and finger rests. Completely
ignorant of the bow drill, the Dorset Eskimos cut or gouged out the
holes in their implements. Rubbed-slate artifacts, so common among
other Eskimos, were very scarce as compared with implements of
chipped stone. Distinctive types of harpoon heads, small ivory carv-
ings and a simple geometric art style (pl. 1, a-f) are other features
that characterize the Dorset culture. The Dorset people hunted wal-
rus, seal, polar bar, caribou, hares, and foxes, but not the narwhal,
beluga, or right whale. They had no knowledge of dog traction,
though small hand sleds were used. As yet there is no definite in-
formation regarding their houses.

We know that the Dorset is older than the Thule culture because
Thule implements are never found at pure Dorset sites, whereas
Dorset objects frequently turn up in Thule sites. Moreover, at Ingle-
field Land in northwest Greenland, and at Frobisher Bay on Baffin
Island, Dorset material has been found underlying Thule (Holtved,
1944; Collins, 1950). Inglefield Land is the only place in Greenland
where the Dorset has been recognized as a distinct culture stage.
There are indications, however, that the Dorset culture will prove
to have been more widely distributed in Greenland than has been
suspected. Solberg’s “Stone Age” at Disko Bay (Solberg, 1907)
is composed in large part of typical Dorset-type stone implements,

428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

which probably indicate a Dorset stage of culture preceding the
Thule on the west coast (Collins, 1937; 1940); and similar Dorset
types from Ammassalik and the Clavering Island region, illustrated
by Solberg (1932), Mathiassen (1983), and Larsen (1934), suggest
that future excavations may also reveal a Dorset stage on the
Greenland east coast.

In contrast to the Thule, the Dorset culture appears to be deep-
rooted in the eastern Arctic. Its origin, however, is uncertain. On
the one hand it shows affinities with Indian culture, particularly the
Beothuk of Newfoundland and prehistoric cultures of the Northeast.
More difficult to explain but undoubtedly significant are the close
resemblances of some of the Dorset art motifs and stone-implement
types to those of the Ipiutak, Old Bering Sea, and prehistoric Aleutian
and Cook Inlet cultures of Alaska (pl. 1). The Dorset can hardly
have been derived from any of the prehistoric Alaskan Eskimo cul-
tures as we now know them, although a remote connection of some kind
is indicated. The most likely explanation, as suggested by Jenness
(1941), is that the Dorset has stemmed from the same parent trunk
as the ancient Alaskan cultures. The many and fundamental dif-
ferences between them, however, would indicate that the Dorset moved
eastward to Hudson Bay before the Ipiutak and Old Bering Sea
cultures had reached their full development.

It is probably significant that recent work in Alaska to be described
below has revealed indications both in the interior and at Cape Den-
bigh on the Bering Sea coast of an ancient, apparently pre-Eskimo
culture or cultures with definite Asiatic affinities, characterized espe-
cially by burins, by small lamellar flakes, probably used as knives or
scrapers, and the polyhedral cores from which they were struck off
(Rainey, 1939; Skarland and Giddings, 1948; Giddings, 1949;
Solecki and Hackman, 1951). Lamellar flakes of the same kind are
found at many Dorset sites, and Solberg’s Disko Bay collection, which
probably is Dorset, also includes a polyhedral core comparable to those
from Alaska (Solberg, 1907, p. 39). There is also a strong probabil-
ity that the stone burins from Giddings’ Cape Denbigh site and two of
the early inland sites in Alaska are related to a characteristic Dorset
implement of somewhat similar form which De Laguna (1947, pp.
193-194) suggests were used as burins.

Birnirk.—The first excavations in the western Arctic were made by
Stefansson in 1912 (1914). Digging in a large mound at an aban-
doned site called Birnirk near Point Barrow, Alaska, Stefansson
noted the presence of clay pottery and unusual types of harpoon heads
and the absence of such characteristic modern features as iron, soap-
stone pots, pipes, net sinkers, and net gages. Wissler (1916), who
described parts of Stefansson’s collection, recognized the site as pre-
historic but did not consider it to be especially old or to represent a

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 429

distinct stage of culture. Excavations at Birnirk and other nearby
sites by Van Valin in 1918 and Ford in 1932, interpreted in the hght
of later information, have revealed the Birnirk as a key stage or link
between the prehistoric cultures of Alaska and Hudson Bay (Mason,
1930; Collins, 1934, 1940).

The fact that the Birnirk resembled both the Canadian Thule culture
and the Old Bering Sea, which was known to be older than Thule,
suggested that it was the Alaskan stage ancestral to the latter. The
indirect indications of this relationship were confirmed by excavations
at Kurigitavik, a Thule-Punuk site at Cape Prince of Wales, Bering
Strait, where a Birnirk to Thule sequence in harpoon heads was found
(Collins, 1940).

Old Bering Sea and Punuk.—Evidence from St. Lawrence Island
and Bering Strait indicates that the Birnirk in turn was somewhat
later than Old Bering Sea. The Old Bering Sea Eskimos, like the
Birnirk and Thule, were a maritime people who lived in permanent
villages on the seacoasts and who depended for their livelihood on
seals, walrus, fish, and birds. Whaling was practiced but only to a
limited extent. Like the Dorset people, the Old Bering Sea Eskimos
did not use the dog sled, though they had small hand sleds for hauling
skin boats and loads of meat over the sea ice.

Living in a region abounding in game, and thus having an assured
food supply, the Old Bering Sea Eskimos developed a rich and com-
plex culture (Collins, 1987). One of its most striking characteristics
was an elaborate and sophisticated art style. Ivory harpoon heads,
knife handles, needle cases, and many other objects were not only skill-
fully carved but decorated with pleasing designs formed of graceful
flowing lines, circles, and ellipses. On St. Lawrence Island strati-
graphic excavations revealed three successive stages of Old Bering
Sea art—style 1 (Okvik) (pl. 1, j-0), style 2 (pl. 2), and style 3 (pl.
3). Following these, there appeared a simpler style, the Punuk, which
foreshadowed modern Eskimo art (fig. 1, lower half).

The Punuk culture as a whole was partly an outgrowth of the Old
Bering Sea and partly the result of new influences from Siberia.
Developmental changes in harpoon heads and other implements which
began in the Old Bering Sea period continued throughout the Punuk.
A number of completely new types also made their appearance in the
foreshadowed modern Eskimo art (fig. 1, lower half).

Though the Punuk was in all essential respects a stone-age culture,
its art was the product of metal tools. This is evident from
the appearance of the deeply and evenly incised lines and compass-
made circles, and from the presence of small, slender engraving tools,
several of which had bits of the iron points remaining in place.
Stratigraphic and other evidence shows clearly that this metal long
antedated the Russian period. Its source was probably eastern Asia

430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

north of Korea where, from references in Chinese literature, we know
that iron was in use as early as A. D. 262 (Collins, 1937, pp. 304-805).

We know that the Punuk was approximately contemporaneous with
the Canadian Thule culture and somewhat later than the Birnirk.
As yet there is no means of estimating the age of the Old Bering Sea

PUNUAC

Ficure 1.—Ivory winged objects and related forms of unknown use from St.
Lawrence Island and Arctic coast of Alaska. Upper row shows the Old Bering
Sea winged forms (both sides), the earliest, at extreme left, belonging to the
Okvik stage. In the succeeding Punuk stage the wings became smaller and
inclined sharply upward, resulting in trident and “turreted’ forms on which
only a vestige of the outer wings remained, and finally a bottle-shaped form,
with no wings. All have a basal socket and a small pit at end of central
projection. Approx.1:7. (For description see Collins, 1937, pp. 197-201.)

culture, but a considerable antiquity is indicated by the magnitude
of the deposits on St. Lawrence Island and by the long succession
of cultural changes leading up to the Punuk. In the absence of any
definite evidence, we may guess that the earliest Old Bering Sea re-
mains may date from around the beginning of the Christian Era?
The Old Bering Sea and Punuk cultures are also found at Bering

1This paper was written before the results of radiocarbon dating had been announced.
The provisional dates here mentioned for Old Bering Sea and other prehistoric Eskimo
cultures and the relative chronological positions of these cultures are, with the exception
of Ipiutak, those which I have given in earlier publications. The carbon-14 dates for
several prehistoric Eskimo cultures have now been released though not formally published
(Radiocarbon dates—September 1, 1950, by J. R. Arnold and W. F. Libby, Institute for
Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago, 15 pp., offset). The age of Okvik, the earliest
stage of Old Bering Sea culture, is given as 2,258 years+230. Giddings’ middle layer at
Cape Denbigh, comprising types resembling Ipiutak, South Alaska, and Dorset, is 2,016
years+250. Ipiutak itself is much younger than had been supposed, 912 years+170 at
Point Hope and 973+170 at Deering. Laughlin’s “Palae-Mskimo” stage at Umnak Island
in the Aleutians, equivalent to Hrdlitka’s ‘‘Pre-Aleut,’’ is dated at 3,018 years+ 2380.

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 431

Strait, and sporadic traces occur in Arctic Alaska. Until recently
adequate information was not available for northeastern Siberia,
though scattered finds of Old Bering Sea and Punuk art and imple-
ments suggested that the two cultures may have occurred there in
greater concentration than in Alaska. Proof of this seems to have
been provided by two recent Russian publications. Matchinski (1941)
has described two archeological collections from the Chukchee Penin-
sula containing a number of Old Bering Sea and Punuk objects, and
Rudenko (1947) describes a large body of similar material from 12
village sites on the east and south coasts of the Peninsula. According
to all indications, it is in northeastern Siberia, somewhere between the
mouths of the Anadyr and Kolyma Rivers that we must look for the
immediate origin of the Old Bering Sea culture.

Tpiutak.—The most remarkable and most puzzling of all prehistoric
Eskimo cultures is the Ipiutak, discovered at Point Hope on the Arctic
coast of Alaska in 1989 by Rainey, Larsen, and Giddings (Larsen
and Rainey, 1948). The Ipiutak culture proper lacked such typical
Eskimo features as pottery, lamps, sleds, and rubbed-slate imple-
ments, and possessed a wealth of curious ivory carvings and numerous
other features unknown to other Eskimos. A single iron-pointed
engraving tool showed that the Ipiutak people had knowledge of
metal. <A closely related phase, the Near Ipiutak, differed in that
it possessed whaling harpoon heads, stone lamps, and possibly pottery
and rubbed-slate implements. Typical of both phases were small,
finely chipped stone blades as well as antler and ivory arrowheads
and lances with rows of stone side blades which were similar to types
from early Neolithic sites in Siberia. The significance of this will
be discussed later.

Thus far the Ipiutak culture proper is known only from the type
locality, a huge site of almost 600 houses on the gravel spit at
Point Hope. Larsen and Rainey believe, nevertheless, that the
Ipiutak Eskimos were essentially an inland rather than coastal people.
The Point Hope site, they believe, was occupied only in summer, when
the people came down to the coast to hunt sea mammals. They spent
the winter in the interior hunting caribou, like the modern Nuna-
tagmiut, their supposed descendants. It is indeed difficult to see
how so large a settlement could have been occupied throughout the
year because of the enormous quantities of driftwood that would have
been required for fuel, as the Ipiutak people did not use blubber lamps.
Thus far, however, no trace of Ipiutak has been found in the interior,
despite the fact that Solecki (1950) and others have found over
300 inland sites, many of them along the headwaters of the Colville
and on the Utukok, Kokolik, Kugurok, and Kukpowruk, streams not
far inland from Point Hope and along which theoretically the Ipiutak
people should have lived for many years. A few of these sites are

432 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

very old, being related to Giddings’ early Denbigh Flint Complex,
many are of undetermined age, and others are recent camp sites of the
Arctic coast Eskimos who had gone inland to hunt caribou. This
considerable body of negative evidence tends to weaken, though of
course it does not disprove, the postulated inland affinities of Ipiutak.
On the other hand, there is increasing evidence of Ipiutak at other
coastal locations, for recent excavations by Larsen (1950) and Gid-
dings (1949) have revealed sites with Ipiutak-like culture at Kotzebue
Sound, Seward Peninsula, Norton Sound, and Kuskokwim Bay.

Despite its extreme specialization and divergence from other Eskimo
cultures including Old Bering Sea, the Ipiutak has many features in
common with the latter, and on the basis of actual correspondences in
art and implement types is more closely related to it than to any other
phase of Eskimo culture. Ipiutak art employed the same elements as
Old Bering Sea, though in most instances the composition was some-
what simpler (e. g., pl. 1,q). A number of Ipiutak objects bear an
ornamentation that is typical of Old Bering Sea style 1 (Okvik) and
style 2 (pl. 2, a, b). And there are two artifacts—parts of ivory
“winged objects” like the third figure in figure 1—which must be re-
garded as intrusive, as such objects are among the most striking and
diagnostic features of the Old Bering Sea culture, but are not otherwise
represented at Ipiutak. These two objects provide a relative terminus
a quo for the Ipiutak culture, showing that the houses in which they
were found could be coeval or later but not older than Old Bering Sea.

In addition to art, a number of Ipiutak implements, including
complicated types of harpoon heads, adzes, arrowheads, bird-dart
prongs, and snow goggles, are identical with or very similar to Old
Bering Sea types. Ipiutak also shows significant resemblances to
Dorset, to the prehistoric Aleutian and Cook Inlet cultures, and to
that of the modern Eskimos of the Yukon-Bristol Bay area.

The Ipiutak flint industry is undoubtedly a survival from the Si-
berian Neolithic. However, Larsen and Rainey (1948) have shown
that Ipiutak also had connections with Siberian bronze- and iron-age
cultures of around the beginning of the Christian Era, from which
they conclude “that the Ipiutak people at that time lived on the Arctic
periphery of these culture centers” (p. 160). The original homeland
of the Ipiutak people, they believe, was along the lower Ob and
Yenesei Rivers, and their culture has such close parallels in this and
adjacent regions that “it has not flourished very long on American
soil.” Postulating a short interval between the time the Ipiutak
people left their Siberian home and their arrival in Alaska, Larsen
and Rainey suggest that the Point Hope settlement dates back to the
first or second centuries A. D. In view of its iron-age connections
this would be the earliest possible date for Ipiutak. It is difficult to
see how such a culture, stemming directly from the Siberian iron age,

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 433

could have played the highly important role ascribed to it in the for-
mation of Eskimo culture, as described below. ‘The question arises,
however, whether it is necessary to postulate an actual migration of
the Ipiutak people or their immediate ancestors from the Ob and
Yenesei region in order to account for certain Siberian elements in
their art, religion, and ceremonialism. ‘The more normal process of
culture diffusion would seem a better explanation.

On the basis of their description and analysis of the Ipiutak culture
Larsen and Rainey (1948) have proposed a new theory of the origin
and relationships of the various Eskimo groups. According to their
view, Ipiutak represents the type culture of a Palae- Eskimo complex—
the original foundation on which all other Eskimo cuitures rest.
The Ipiutak complex includes the closely related Near Ipiutak, inland
groups such as the Nunatagmiut of northern Alaska and the Caribou
Eskimos west of Hudson Bay, the prehistoric Dorset culture of the
Eastern Arctic, the Kachemak Bay and Aleutian cultures of south
Alaska, and the modern Eskimos on the Bering Sea coast south of
Norton Sound. With the exception of the modern Bering Sea Eski-
mos, all these groups had in common an economy based primarily on
caribou hunting, sealing, and fishing; they used implements of
chipped stone more than rubbed slate, and they lacked knowledge of
pottery, whale hunting with floats, and dog traction. These seven
widely scattered Eskimo groups are placed in the “Ipiutak complex,”
which is equated with Birket-Smith’s Palae-Eskimo stage.

Though Old Bering Sea is supposed to have been an outgrowth
of Ipiutak, it is placed in a separate category, the “Arctic Whale
Hunting culture,” which also includes the prehistoric Punuk, Birnirk,
and Thule cultures and the modern Eskimos of northern Alaska and
Greenland. It corresponds to Birket-Smith’s Neo-Eskimo stage. The
Arctic Whale Hunting culture, according to this theory, is a later
stage which, having sprung from Ipiutak, had an independent de-
velopment on the islands around Bering Strait where caribou hunting
was replaced by an economy centered on the hunting of sea mammals—
seals, walrus, and whales. Correspondences between Ipiutak and
the Whale Hunting cultures—which are many and close—are regarded
as the result of contact ; those between Ipiutak proper and other mem-
bers of the Ipiutak complex, which are fewer in number and of a
more general character, are considered evidence of genetic relation-
ship.

In a theoretical structure as elaborate and inclusive as this there
naturally are many debatable points, which need not be discussed
here. It is possible to accept the Asiatic affiliations of the Ipiutak
culture, its relationship with modern Bering Sea and prehistoric
south Alaskan and Dorset cultures, and its possible, but not yet
proved, association with inland Eskimo culture as represented by

434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

the Nunatagmiut. At the same time one may question the reality
of the proposed dichotomy in Eskimo culture, the dissociation of
Ipiutak and Old Bering Sea, the view that Ipiutak is a transplanted
Asiatic culture, and the assumption that Ipiutak, strongly influenced
as it was by late bronze- and iron-age cultures of Eurasia, was older
than and ancestral to all other known forms of Eskimo culture.

South Alaska.—When discovered by the Russians in the eighteenth
century, south Alaska was one of the most densely populated sections
of aboriginal North America. The Aleuts on the Aleutian Islands
are estimated to have numbered between 15,000 and 25,000 and the
Kodiak and Prince William Sound Eskimos about 10,000. The large
number of old village sites in this area, especially in the Aleutians
and on Kodiak, shows that the prehistoric population was equally
great.

As the territory of these southernmost Eskimos and their linguistic
relatives, the Aleuts, lay close to that of the Northwest Coast and
interior Indians, they have, as might be expected, absorbed some ele-
ments of Indian culture. Their physical type, too, has been modified
by Indian contact. However, the archeological evidence indicates
that it is the modern culture of these regions that has been most
strongly affected by such contact. The oldest stage of Kachemak
Bay culture in Cook Inlet is definitely more Eskimolike than the
later stages (de Laguna, 1934), and this seems to have been true also
of Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands. We know from the hundreds
of skeletons excavated by Hrdlitka and Laughlin that the earliest
inhabitants of Kodiak and the Aleutians were much closer in physical
type to the Bering Sea Eskimo than are the modern Aleut and
Koniagmiut (Hrdlitka, 1944, 1945; Collins, 1945; Laughlin, 1950).

The relationship between the prehistoric cultures of south Alaska
and Bering Strait is not yet clear. The south Alaskan culture as a
whole can be described as generalized Eskimo, possessing many basic
Eskimo features as well as others unknown in the north. Punuk
art motifs occur in the late prehistoric deposits both at Cook Inlet
and the Aleutians; and objects found in the lower levels of the Aleu-
tian middens (pl. 1, g-i) are decorated in a style that suggests both
Dorset and the earliest phase of Old Bering Sea art (Quimby, 1945;
Collins, 1940). Also, certain types of harpoon heads, arrowheads,
stone blades, and other objects indicate a relationship between the
prehistoric Aleutian and Ipiutak cultures. The evidence at our dis-
posal, both cultural and physical, indicates that south Alaska was
a. center of vigorous culture development around 2,000 years ago, that
the basis of the culture established there was Eskimoan and that its
carriers left the Bering Strait region before the Old Bering Sea and
Ipiutak cultures were fully formed.

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKiMO—cOLLINS 435
OLD WORLD RELATIONSHIPS OF ESKIMO CULTURE

The archeological discoveries sketched in the preceding pages
have provided a wealth of new information on prehistoric Eskimo
cultures in Alaska, the Central regions, and Greenland. If they have
not brought complete disproof of the American-origin theory they
at least have invested it with such serious difficulties that the theory
must fall of its own weight. Since, according to this theory, the
Proto-Eskimos are supposed to have lived as nomads in the Barren
Grounds west of Hudson Bay, they could hardly have left archeo-
logical remains. However, as the culture of the Proto-Eskimos is
supposed to have been essentially the same as that of the Caribou
Eskimos, their modern descendents in the Barren Grounds, this type
of culture or something like it should appear in the oldest archeologi-
cal horizons. This expectation, however, is not realized. The oldest
known Eskimo cultures, particularly those in Alaska, show no re-
semblance whatever to the supposed Central prototype.

It now appears extremely unlikely that there will be found any-
where in the American Arctic a simple proto-Eskimo or parent cul-
ture from which the various modern Eskimo cultures originally
sprang. The oldest known Alaskan Eskimo cultures, instead of
being simple, are already specialized and highly developed. As
Bering Strait itself was an important culture center in prehistoric
times the stages immediately antecedent to Ipiutak and Old Bering
Sea will probably be found in the same region. Beyond this, however,
we must look to the Old World. For if we postulate an origin for
Eskimo culture anywhere in America we are faced immediately with
the difficulty that the basic features of the oldest known Eskimo cul-
tures are much more Asiatic, or Eurasiatic, than American.

Years ago, before archeological work had been undertaken in the
Arctic, Thalbitzer, Hatt, and Kroeber, among others, presented
weighty reasons for assuming that the basic substratum of Eskimo
culture was Asiatic. The first systematic excavations—those made by
Mathiassen at Thule culture sites west and north of Hudson Bay—
brought tangible evidence sustaining and strengthening this point of
view. The discovery of the Birnirk culture in Alaska, which was
ancestral to the Thule, and of the related but still earlier Old Bering
Sea culture, yielded a mass of new data which pointed conclusively
in the same direction. Not one element of the Birnirk and Old
Bering Sea cultures was exclusively or predominantly American in
character. On the contrary, all of them were basically Asiatic. It is
only in the Old World that we find either existing today or having
existed in earlier times all the following elements: The square, wooden
semisubterranean house with entrance passage, skin boats, sleds and
toboggans, the toggle harpoon head, inserted side blades on imple-

436 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ments, the throwing board and bird dart, lamps, pottery vessels,
needle cases, and chipped-stone and rubbed-slate implements. These
elements constitute the core of the Old Bering Sea and Birnirk cul-
tures. Some of them—the square underground house, the throwing
board, pottery, and chipped-stone implements—are also widely dis-
tributed in America but are equally widespread and of greater an-
tiquity in Eurasia. The others are all deep-rooted elements of Old
World culture that in America are found only among the Eskimos or
in contiguous areas where Eskimo influence has probably extended.
On the basis of the original Alaskan excavations, therefore, it seemed
only reasonable to conclude that the roots of Eskimo culture were to
be sought in Eurasia and not America.?

The discovery of the spectacular Ipiutak culture at Point Hope,
Alaska, enables us to proceed beyond the demonstration of a general
Eskimo—Old World relationship and to point to more specific
connections.

One of the most striking features of the Ipiutak culture is the great
number of chipped-stone implements, especially small, thin, lanceolate
arrowpoints; rubbed-slate blades are, entirely absent. The Ipiutak
flint complex resembles those of the other early Eskimo cultures—Old
Bering Sea, Kachemak Bay, Aleutian, and Dorset—in having an
abundance of chipped-stone implements, whereas the later cultures
all show a preponderance of rubbed-slate; likewise a number of specific
Tpiutak types are shared with the cultures mentioned. Small, finely
chipped arrowpoints like those from Ipiutak are also found in Eu-
rasia. They have been described from old sites in Kamchatka and the
Kurile Islands and are among the most characteristic features of a
widespread Neolithic complex extending from Mongolia and the
Baikal region to the Ural Mountains. The arrowpoints illustrated
by Prokoshev (1940, pl. 3, figs. 9-14), from the Astrakhan site on Lake
Griaznoe, near the confluence of the Chusov and Kama Rivers on the
west slope of the Urals, are particularly close to the [piutak forms.

The excavations of the Russian archeologist A. P. Okladnikov
have supplied what has long been needed, an analysis and descrip-
tion of the various stages of the Siberian Neolithic (Okladni-
kov, 1938, summarized by Collins, 1948). On the basis of excavation
of graves and habitation sites on the Angara River and elsewhere
around Lake Baikal, Okladnikov recognizes six culture stages pre-
ceding the iron age. The early inhabitants of the Baikal region are
described as hunters, fishers, and food gatherers who lived in settle-
ments along the Jakes and rivers. Their mode of life represented a
continuation from the upper Paleolithic of the same region, but the

2 Gjessing (1944), approaching the problem from the opposite direction—the stone-age cultures of northern

Eurasia—arrived at the same conclusion, quite independently and without knowledge of the Alaskan
excavations or the conclusions that had been drawn therefrom.

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 437

environment in which they Jived was essentially that of the present
and the animals they hunted were all of species still living today.
Okladnikov regards the Baikal Neolithic as the Siberian equivalent
of the European Mesolithic and dates it from the sixth millennium to
the tenth century B. C., an estimate which, however, may be some-
what excessive. It would probably be better, following Clark (1940), to
regard the Lake Baikal remains as “modified” Mesolithic, for, unlike
the European Mesolithic, they include Neolithic elements. The small,
delicately chipped, symmetrical arrowpoints, closely resembling
Eskimo and American Indian types, are unlike those from pre-Neo-
lithic horizons in Eurasia. Likewise, at the Baikal sites there are
neither microliths nor burins, implements that are characteristic of
the European Mesolithic and that, like Mesolithic art motifs, rep-
resent a direct continuation from the Upper Paleolithic.

The three latest stages of the Baikal sequence included several
distinctive types of artifacts and art motifs that were also charac-
teristic of the Punuk, the intermediate stage of Alaskan Eskimo
culture.

It is the earlier periods of Baikal culture—the Isakovski and
Serovski—that are of particular interest and importance in connection
with the problem of Eskimo culture. As might be expected, this early
Neolithic was not a rich or elaborate culture. It is significant never-
theless that the entire range of implement types of the two oldest stages
described by Okladnikov are, with the exception of shell beads and a
few other ornaments, types which also occur in prehistoric Eskimo
culture. These are the bow and arrow, polished-stone adzes, crescent-
shaped jade and schist knives, scrapers, knives and lances with side
blades, needles, needle cases, awls, and pottery vessels with conical
and rounded bases.

Among the most striking features of the early Lake Baikal Neolithic
are lances and knives with rows of small stone blades inserted in the
edges (fig. 2,d). Side-bladed implements of corresponding form are
also known from Neolithic Yang Shao sites in western China and
Tibet (knives) and from Neolithic cave sites just east of the Urals
(arrowheads and lances or knives, fig. 2,c). Side-bladed knives and
projectile points are even more typical of the Mesolithic of northern
Europe, being found at sites in southern Sweden, Denmark (fig. 2, a,b),
northern Germany, Esthonia, and Belgium. In Alaska the prehistoric
Eskimos of the Ipiutak, Old Bering Sea, and Birnirk periods used
side-bladed knives and also equipped some of their harpoon heads
with small stone side blades. The Ipiutak now furnishes a closer
parallel in having bone and ivory arrowheads and lances with rows
of small side blades directly comparable with the Siberian and
Mesolithic forms (fig. 2, e, f). These side-bladed arrowheads and
lances are complex in form and their distribution is significant, being

438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

restricted to the European Mesolithic, the related Neolithic of central
Asia, and the Ipiutak Eskimo culture in Alaska. They are, therefore,
one of the features most strongly indicative of a basic relationship
between the Eskimo and Mesolithic-Neolithic cultures of Eurasia.
Other European Mesolithic features resembling those of prehistoric
Eskimo culture are pottery lamps (Mathiassen, 1935), steep-sided,
conical-based cooking pots, and barbed bone fish and bird spears

Ny
y 50
dW

G

Ficure 2.—Side-bladed implements—Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Hskimo. a, b,
Denmark (after Madsen). ec, Pychma River, District of Kamychlov, Perm
(after Tolmachev). d, Ponomarevsk, Angara River, Siberia (after Okladni-
kov). e, f, Ipiutak, Point Hope, Alaska (after Rainey). g, Southampton Is-
land, Hudson Bay (after Boas). (Not to scale; numbers indicate approximate
length in centimeters. )

(Clark, 1936, fig. 41, pls. 6,7). Finally, it should be noted that there
seem to be significant resemblances between the geometric art of the
European Paleolithic and Mesolithic and some of the simpler linear
designs of Dorset and early Old Bering Sea art; some of the older
Eskimo designs and motifs are actually closer to Paleolithic and
Mesolithic art than to later styles in either America or Eurasia
(de Laguna, 1932-33; Collins, 1940, 1943).

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Collins PEATE: 1

A

Early linear styles of Eskimo art from Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. a,
Dorset quiver handle, antler, Northwest Greenland, 1:2, and b-f, wooden
objects, Dorset, from Bylot Island, 1:3 (after Mathiassen). g-t, Bone dart
points with Dorset-like designs, Aleutian Islands, 1:4 (after Quimby), j-m,
Ivory objects decorated in Old Bering Sea style 1, Gambell, St. Lawrence
Island, Alaska, 1:2. n, p, Ivory socket piece and harpoon head, Little Diomede
Island, 2:3. 0, Carved animal head from Okvik site, Punuk Island, same period
as j-n, 1:2 (after Rainey). gq, Antler harpoon head, [piutak, Point Hope, Alaska
(after Larsen and Rainey). r, Ivory harpoon head of unusual type from base
of midden, Punuk Island, 2:3.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Collins PLATE 2

Z ee Ri :

as

Ivory objects decorated in Old Bering Sea style 2, Alaska. a, 6b, Masklike carvings
and ornamental band, Ipiutak (after Larsen and Rainey). c, Gorget, and d,
plaque, Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, 2:3. e and g, Pail handle and harpoon
head, northern Alaska, 1:2. jf, Harpoon head, Little Diomede Island, 1:2.
h, i, Center of ivory winged object like plate 3, a, northern Alaska, 1:2.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Collins PLATE 3

<I

Ivory objects decorated in Old Bering Sea style 3, Alaska. a, Winged object,
use unknown, Point Hope, 1:2. 6b, Object of unknown use, northern Alaska,
2:3. c, Box or pail handle, and f, g, harpoon heads, Gambell, St. Lawrence
Island, approx. 1:2. d, e, Harpoon head, northern Alaska, approx. 1:2. h,
harpoon socket piece, Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, 2:3.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Collins PLATE 4

O P

=|

Stone implements from early pre-Eskimo sites in Alaska. a-d, Flint burins,
Cape Denbigh, Norton Sound, 3:5 (after Giddings). e-f, Flint burins, and n,
flaked blade, Anaktuvuk Pass, Brooks Range, 2:3 (after Solecki). g, Flint
core, and j-l, lamellar flakes, Anaktuvuk Pass, 2:3 (after Solecki) h, 7, Lamellar
flakes, and m, 0, p, flaked blades, Cape Denbigh, 3:5 (after Giddings). 4q,
Fluted blade, Folsom type, Utukok River, Northwest Alaska, 3:5 (after Thomp-
son). 7, Fluted blade, Kugururok River, tributary of Noatak, Northwest
Alaska, 3:5 (after Solecki).

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 439

Further information will be needed, particularly on the archeology
of the vast region between Lake Baikal and the Pacific and Arctic
Oceans, before the postulated Siberian-Eskimo relationships can be
fully understood. Okladnikov’s investigations alone, however, sus-
tain to a remarkable degree Hatt’s view of the origin of Eskimo
culture and of the development of culture generally in northern
Eurasia and America. Hatt’s theory, which was based originally on
an exhaustive study of clothing types, postulated the existence of two
great culture waves or strata in northern Eurasia and America. The
older stratum, which Hatt called the “coast culture,” originally occu-
pied the inland waterways and later the coasts of northern Kurasia.
Spreading eastward it established itself on the Bering Sea and Arctic
coasts of America where it developed into the Eskimo culture as known
today. The younger wave or stratum, called the “inland culture,”
was most typically represented by such peoples as the nomadic
Tungusians of central Asia, whose possession of the snowshoe enabled
them to expand over the vast inland plains and woodlands.

Okladnikov’s excavations in the Baikal region afford tangible evi-
dence of a cultural development very much as envisaged by Hatt—an
early population of hunters and fishers who lived a settled life along
the lakes and rivers before these territories were taken over by the
reindeer-breeding nomads. And, as we have seen, the material equip-
ment of these early Neolithic peoples was basically similar to that of
the oldest Eskimos in Alaska.

The role of the Lake Baikal Neolithic in the formation of Eskimo
culture has been emphasized because this is the particular Neolithic
setting for which sequential stages have been most fully revealed and
in which Eskimo affinities are most apparent. There were, of course,
other Neolithic centers in the inland zones of Eurasia that may have
contributed to the development of the coast cultures from which Eski-
mo culture sprang. Neolithic sites are known from one end of Si-
beria to the other, and some of them, for example, cave sites on the
east slope of the Ural Mountains (Tolmachev, 1913), have yielded
culture remains closely resembling those of the Baikal region.

The exact nature of the relationship between the European Meso-
lithic and the early Siberian Neolithic is yet to be determined. It
will depend in part upon another uncertain factor—the role of the
Siberian Paleolithic in the formation of later stages of culture in
Eurasia. The Upper Paleolithic cultures of central Asia differed in
many respects from those of western Europe, and their influences
appear to have extended even to the oldest cultures of Scandinavia
(Gjessing, 1944). However, we need not be concerned here with the
nature of the relationship or the direction of culture flow between
the European and Siberian Paleolithic, the Mesolithic of northern

922758—51——29

440 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Europe, and the Lake Baikal Neolithic. Important as these ques-
tions are, they are not within the scope of the present paper which
is concerned only with cultural analogies of immediate and demon-
strable significance in connection with Eskimo origins.

If our interpretation of the evidence is correct, the Eskimos be-
come the first American people whose cultural origins, on the basis of
actual archeological comparisons, can be traced to a specific time and
place in the Old World. The postulated place of origin is thousands
of miles to the west of the present Eskimo territory, and the time
thousands of years in the past. How is this to be reconciled with
the generally accepted view that the Eskimos were among the last
of the Asiatic peoples to enter the American Continent, and par-
ticularly with the fact that the Eskimo culture exhibiting the
closest Mesolithic-Neolithic aftinities—the Ipiutak—had already been
strongly influenced by late iron-age cultures of Siberia? Whether
the theory that the Eskimos were late comers is still tenable in the
light of recent archeological discoveries is something we will discuss
later. However, assuming that it is, we would have a reasonable
explanation of the seeming paradox in the phenomena of culture
lag and culture stability in a marginal area. The taiga and tundra
zones of central and northern Siberia formed a refuge area where
basic culture patterns changed very slowly and at any given time
in the past stood at an earlier stage of development than in adja-
‘cent regions to the south. In the relative isolation of the Arctic small
groups of hunters and fishers who had moved north in Mesolithic-
Neolithic times, and who later came to feel the impact of iron-
age culture, perpetuated a basic pattern of life that had long since dis-
appeared in the south. Thus there would be no real anachronism
involved in the assumption that the oldest known Eskimos in Alaska
and their immediate ancestors in northern Eurasia had continued a
Mesolithic-Neolithic way of life, particularly in their subsistence
activities and techniques, even though they lived in iron-age times
and had absorbed features of iron-age culture.

PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropologists and anatomists by the score have speculated on
the problem of Eskimo origins and have expressed widely differing
opinions, none of which has provided a satisfactory answer as to when
and where the Eskimo race type arose. Even today, with the wealth
of new information we have on the development of Eskimo culture,
we are still unable to speak with assurance on the origin and affinities
of the Eskimo race. The physical type associated with one of the
oldest Eskimo cultures, the Dorset, is unknown, and the skeletons
found at Ipiutak are still undescribed. We are likewise handicapped,

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 44]

by lack of full information on the physical type of the prehistoric
Siberian peoples around Lake Baikal who, on the basis of culture, ap-
pear to have been in part, at least, ancestral to the Eskimo.

On the other hand, we do have skeletal material from prehistoric
Birnirk, Thule, Punuk, and Old Bering Sea sites, and there are clues
of possible significance in Eurasia, to which we will refer later.
Though the present evidence affords no conclusive answer to the prob-
lem of the Eskimo race type, we have at any rate advanced beyond
the point where theories have to be erected on the basis of small series
of measurements on the living or on collections of undated skeletal
material.

In its most characteristic form the Eskimo skull exhibits a combi-
nation of features that makes it one of the most distinctive and easily
recognized of all human types. The vault is extremely long, narrow,
and high, with a ridgelike elevation—the sagittal crest—extending
along the top from front to back. The forehead is somewhat narrow
and sloping, and there is a marked protuberance of the occipital re-
gion. The face is high and broad, and, what is most unusual, broader
than the skull itself. The cheek bones are very prominent and the
orbits are high. In contrast to the massiveness of the face as a whole,
the nose is extremely narrow and the brow ridges only slightly de-
veloped. The nasal depression is shallow and the nasal bones are
very narrow, usually having a “pinched-up” appearance. The Eskimo
jaw is large and heavy, the upper part, or ascending ramus, being
very wide and having an outward flare at the back which gives the
face its characteristic squarish shape. Another distinguishing fea-
ture of the Eskimo skull is the unusual thickness of the tympanic
plate, the bony ledge bordering the ear opening. Bony swellings or
overgrowths on the lower and upper jaws and palate, known respec-
tively as mandibular, maxillary, and palatine tori, also occur more
frequently among the Eskimo than any other people. It is suggested
here that these features, which are especially characteristic of the
Eskimo—the “pinched-up” nasal bones, thickened tympanic plate,
and mandibular and palatine tori—may be of equal if not greater
significance genetically than purely metrical features such as head
length, head breadth, etc.

The specialized type of skull just described—long, narrow, high—
is not universal among the Eskimos, though it predominates in parts
of West and East Greenland, the Mackenzie Delta, and in parts of
northern Alaska. We know that the type is one of considerable
antiquity because the skulls from the old Birnirk sites around Point
Barrow already exhibit it. Of the three Old Bering Sea skulls that
have been found, two conform to this type, while the third is meso-
cranic, or of medium length.

442 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Skeletal remains of the modern Hudson Bay tribes are lacking but
Birket-Smith’s (1940) measurements show that the present-day Cari-
bou, Netsilik, and Iglulik Eskimos are closer to the Cree and Chip-
ewyan Indians than to other Eskimos. This resemblance is borne
out visually, for the photographs of most of these Central Eskimos
definitely suggest Indian, or in some cases European, mixture.

The Alaskan Eskimos in general are taller and more broad-headed
than most of their eastern kinsmen. This has usually been attributed
to Indian mixture. Unquestionably there has been ample opportunity
in Alaska for this to have occurred, especially along the rivers where
the Eskimos come into direct contact with the interior Athapaskans.
Seltzer’s analysis of Stefansson’s measurements showed that the
Nunatagmiut, an inland Eskimo group living along the Colville River
in north Alaska, differ sharply from other Eskimos and conform
more to the Indian type (Seltzer, 1933). In the same way, the Eski-
mos on the Kobuk and other northern rivers, and occasionally even
some of those in the coastal settlements of northern Alaska, are much
more Indian in appearance than Eskimo; this is also true of some of
the Kuskokwim and Yukon Eskimos.

Elsewhere in Alaska, Eskimo-Indian admixture is much less appar-
ent, and it is questionable whether the physical type of the other
Alaskan Eskimo groups has been seriously affected by Indian contact,
at least in recent centuries. The modern Eskimos along the coast
from Barrow to Bering Strait are of the generalized northern Eskimo
type. Though they do not exhibit the hyper-Eskimo features of the
old Birnirk population they are still Eskimo in every respect, being
practically identical with the old Thule type of the central Arctic
(Fischer-Mgller, 1937). At Bering Strait and a few other places on
Seward Peninsula the long-headed Birnirk type has survived to the
present time. The Alaskan Eskimos south of Seward Peninsula dif-
fer from those to the north in having shorter, broader, and lower
heads, broader faces and noses. They resemble rather closely
Hrdlitka’s “pre-Koniag,” the early oblong-headed type from Kodiak
Island, which, on the basis of archeological data, may have an anti-
quity of around 2,000 years.

The problem is to account for the origin of the two oldest Eskimo
types of which we have knowledge, the highly specialized, extremely
long-headed northern type, represented by the Birnirk crania, and
the more generalized, but equally ancient oblong-headed type of south
Alaska.

Before proceeding further we may digress to mention here one
explanation that has been advanced repeatedly and that would solve
the problem very simply by asserting that the most pronounced fea-
tures of the Eskimo skull are the result of functional adaptation.
The muscles of mastication, powerfully developed through chewing

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 443

of tough food, are supposed to have compressed the skull laterally,
thereby producing the long, narrow, keel-shaped vault so character-
istic of the race. The same explanation is often advanced to account
for the presence of mandibular and palatine tori—the bony swellings
frequently found on the lower jaw and palate—as well as the strongly
developed jaws, excellent teeth, and massiveness of the face in general.
There are, however, serious objections to the “hard-chewing” hy-
pothesis that its advocates do not take into account. In the first place,
one may question the necessity of calling in a specific and functional
explanation of the Eskimos’ dolichocephaly when there are many other
long-headed races, such as the prehistoric Texas cave dwellers, the
Perique of Lower California, the Veddas of Ceylon, and various
European and African peoples whose skull form is obviously not to
be explained on this basis, since their faces and jaws, which would
be the parts most directly affected by vigorous chewing, are for the
most part rather small and weakly developed. Also, if skull form
and facial development both resulted from hard chewing, why should
some Eskimos have large faces and long heads and others large faces
and broad heads?

Stefansson, who has lived for long periods among the Eskimos and
who can speak with authority on their dietary habits, contends that
there is no factual basis for the belief that they chew more vigorously
than other people. He points out that boiled meat, which is the
Eskimo’s first preference, requires very little chewing, that raw meat
is usually not chewed but gulped down like an oyster, and that frozen
fish, when sufficiently thawed to be edible, is about the consistency of
hard ice cream (Stefansson, 1946). The only really tough food eaten
by the Eskimos is dried fish and meat, but the use of such food is by
no means universal, for there are many districts where it is seldom
eaten.

There are two specific facts that alone are enough to invalidate the
theory that the typical long and narrow skull of the Eskimo is an
adaptation resulting from vigorous use of the masticatory muscles:
(1) The Eskimos who consume the greatest quantities of really tough
food—dried fish and meat—are those living in Alaska, especially to
the south of Bering Strait. Yet the skulls of these Alaskan Eskimos
are not long and narrow but relatively short and very wide, in fact
wider by a considerable margin than those of any other Eskimo
group. (2) Ifthe assumed lengthening of the head were a functional
and progressive condition we should expect the most ancient crania
to be at least somewhat shorter and wider than the modern. However,
exactly the reverse is true, for as already pointed out the oldest skulls
from northern Alaska are of the extremely long, high, narrow type.
Similarly, the modern broad-headed Aleuts and Kodiak Islanders
were preceded by earlier oval-headed populations. In view of this

444 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

actual succession of cranial types, the functional theory falls com-
pletely to the ground, for if applied here it would mean that 2,000
years of hard chewing had produced not a long and narrow but a
broader and more rounded form of skull.

Similar difficulties are encountered in attempting to explain the
broad and massive face of the Eskimo as a progressive response to the
energetic use of the jaws, for the old Birnirk Eskimos and the early
population in the Aleutian Islands already exhibit facial diameters
comparable in general to those of other Eskimo groups. The Mongols
from Urga have facial measurements almost identical with Birnirk
and show an accentuated development of the malar and upper maxil-
lary regions comparable in every way to that of the Eskimo. Since
the Mongols’ diet of milk and cheese is not one requiring excessive use
of the jaws, the functional theory cannot be adduced to explain their
large and heavy faces. The total evidence, therefore, sustains the
views of Hooton, Jenness, and Birket-Smith that the Eskimos have
inherited and not acquired their peculiar skull form.

We may inquire, then, whether it is possible to identify the ancestral
type, either in America or Asia. A number of attempts have been
made to establish relationships between various Indian and Eskimo
groups on the basis of either skeletal material or measurements on
the living. Though we need not subject these claims to detailed scru-
tiny, it will be pertinent to review them briefly to see if they meet
certain minimum requirements. For example, when physical resem-
blances between living Indians and Eskimos are interpreted as evidence
of a basic relationship we need to know first whether the resemblances
in question could be due to recent intermixture between the two groups;
and second, whether the groups compared are representative of the
original populations.

The latter consideration brings up the highly important question
of white mixture, something too frequently ignored by anthropolo-
gists who have concerned themselves with the problem of the racial
origin of the Eskimo. In parts of Labrador and West Greenland the
infiltration of European blood has been going on for some 200 years,
not to mention the probability of still earlier Norse mixture. In
southern Alaska, particularly in the Aleutian Islands, the process of
miscegenation began with the arrival of the Russian fur hunters in
the middle of the eighteenth century. In northern Alaska the process
was delayed for another hundred years, when the whaling fleets
appeared in Bering Sea and the Arctic. Today, white mixture is
apparent in many of the Eskimos of the Bristol Bay-Kuskokwim
region, mainly the result of Russian contacts, and individuals of
mixed Eskimo and white ancestry comprise an appreciable minority
among the more northerly Eskimos. On the Diomede Islands, for
example, most of the children and a considerable number of adults

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 445

show clear evidence of white admixture, and to a lesser extent this is
also true of nearby Wales. Here, and elsewhere on Seward Peninsula,
the greatest dilution of Eskimo blood has occurred since 1900, begin-
ning with the influx of miners and other whites during the Gold
Rush. In view of these conditions it is obvious that extreme caution
must be observed if anthropometric data on the living are to serve as
a basis for discussion of racial affinities and origins. Skeletal material
that antedates the period of white contact is far more reliable for
such a purpose. In this case the principal requirement is that the
total evidence, metrical and morphological, be presented, and not
merely a few selected measurements.

The most extensive body of anthropometric data on the Eskimos
of North Alaska and Coronation Gulf is that obtained by Vilhjalmur
Stefansson who between the years of 1906 and 1912 measured 526
adult Eskimos from Kotzebue Sound eastward to Coronation Gulf.
Particularly valuable are Stefansson’s measurements of 127 Nunatag-
miut, the inland Eskimos of the Colville River region, who are now
virtually extinct. Seltzer, who made a careful study of Stefansson’s
data, showed that the Nunatagmiut and Mackenzie Eskimos differed
sharply from all other Eskimos. The Nunatagmiut, with their broad
short heads, short trunks, and long legs, were more Indian than
Eskimo in physical type. According to Seltzer these Eskimos must
have absorbed considerable Indian blood in comparatively recent
times, which would not be surprising in view of their interior location
in proximity to the Alaskan Athapaskans. The Mackenzie Eskimos,
on the other hand, represented the opposite extreme, with very long
and narrow heads, long trunks and short legs—features which marked
them as the most Eskimoid of all the groups. From this Seltzer
concludes that the Mackenzie Eskimos are the direct descendants
of the old Point Barrow (Birnirk) population, a deduction which
seems soundly based.

After demonstrating the interrelationships of the various Eskimo
groups measured by Stefansson, Seltzer attempts to show that one
segment of the Eskimo population, including the Caribou Eskimo
on Hudson Bay, the Labrador and East Greenland Eskimo, were
descended from the Cree Indians; another major grouping, including
the Copper Eskimos of Coronation Gulf and the Kotzebue Sound,
Seward Peninsula, and St. Lawrence Island Eskimos were the descend-
ants of the Chipewyan Indians of the Lake Athabaska region.

Seltzer’s first grouping is of particular interest because there un-
doubtedly does exist a prominent Indian strain among the Canadian
Eskimos. Numerous observers have recognized this, and without
recourse to measurements; the facial features of many of the Canadian
Eskimos are distinctly “Indian” rather than Eskimo. Steensby, for
example, was aware of this when he pointed out that among the Polar

446 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Eskimos of northwest Greenland the descendants of an immigrant
Canadian group from Pond’s Inlet differed from the other Polar
Eskimos in having distinctly Indian features. In 1948 the present
writer had an opportunity to take measurements and observations on
80 adult Nugumiut Eskimas at Frobisher Bay on Baflin Island. Two
basic, contrasting types were discernible among these Eskimos, even
though a number of the individuals were blends between the two and
others exhibited white mixture. The majority type exhibited the
somewhat bland “Oriental” features usually associated with Eskimo—
light skin color, very broad, round to squarish face, high cheek bones,
small flat nose, low, narrow forehead, slightly oblique eyes and epican-
thic fold. In the minority, or “Indian” type, the head is slightly
longer, the face is more bony and rugged and somewhat longer and
narrower, with the cheekbones standing out prominently because of
relative lack of fat in the cheeks; the eyes are horizontal and usually
lack the epicanthie fold; skin color is darker, the nose longer and
more convex, and the mouth larger.

It is tempting to speculate on the possibility that these two physical
types may be representative of the two prehistoric Eskimo groups of
southern Baflin Island—the Dorset and Thule. As no skeletal remains
have been found at Dorset sites the physical type associated with this
early culture of the eastern Arctic is unknown. In the absence of
direct evidence, it is possible that Dorset art might throw some light
on the problem. In their bone carvings the Dorset artists portrayed
two distinctly different types of human faces, placed side by side on
the same piece of bone or antler (see Rowley, 1940, fig. 1, a; another
carving much like this from Boothia Peninsula collected by Lear-
mouth, now in the Royal Ontario Museum, and two somewhat similar
specimens, also possibly Dorset, from the Egedesminde and Ammas-
salik districts in Greenland). The first type of face is broad and
round in shape with oblique eyes and short, wide nose—what might
be described as a caricature of the typical “Eskimo” face. The other
type shows a long, narrow face with long nose. It is less stereotyped
in appearance and might conceivably represent either Indian or
European (Norse?). Assuming them to represent two distinct aborig-
inal types, one would guess that the first would be Thule and the
second Dorset. It would be better, however, to defer speculation on
such questions and await more definite evidence. It will be sufficient
for our present purpose to confirm the existence of these two physical
types, the Indian like and the Eskimo, among the central Eskimo
population.

With regard to Seltzer’s theory of the Indian (Cree) origin of the
Caribou, Labrador, and Ammassalik Eskimos, we may pose two
questions: Are these three Eskimo groups so similar in physical type

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 447

that they may be assumed to have had a common ancestry? And, are
the hypothetical ancestors pure-blood Indians?

As to the first question, the answer seems to be affirmative, as far as
the measurements themselves are concerned. The three groups are
very much alike in stature, length and breadth of head, and length
and breadth of face. It is quite evident, however, that two of these
groups—the Caribou and Labrador Eskimos—are by no means pure
Eskimo. Stewart (1939) has demonstrated this for the Labrador
group, and Birket-Smith’s photographs leave no doubt of the consid-
erable amount of white blood present among the Caribou Eskimos.
The Ammassalik people, on the other hand, show no such evidence
of white mixture. If we may judge from fhe photographs published
by Thalbitzer, Holm, and others, the Ammassalik are one of the
purest of all Eskimo groups, showing not the slightest resemblance
to the Cree or any other Indians. This is one of those instances, not
uncommon in anthropology, where metrical comparisons alone are
misleading.

As to the second question, it appears that the Cree Indians at Fort
Chipewyan on Lake Athabaska who were measured by Grant (1930)
and who, according to Seltzer, represent the type ancestral to the
Caribou, Labrador, and Ammassalik Eskimos, are by no means full-
bloods. Grant showed that this group of Crees were practically iden-
tical, except in stature, with a group he had measured earlier at
Oxford House. The latter were clearly mixed-bloods, as they them-
selves recognized. They were very close metrically to mixed-blood
Sioux, from which Grant (1929, p. 27) concludes: “We surmise that
the Oxford House Indians have likely as great an admixture of white
blood as have the half-blood Sioux.” Considering that the Indians
in this part of Canada have lived in contact with whites for many
years (Fort Chipewyan was established in 1789 and Oxford House
in 1792), it is inevitable that extensive race mixture should have
occurred. As the modern mixed-blood Cree do not represent the
original physical type of the group it is obvious that their measure-
ments cannot be used to trace original relationships. Stewart, in
commenting on this same suggested relationship between Eskimo and
Cree, has expressed a similar opinion: “I object chiefly to drawing
such far-reaching conclusions from such unequal material . in
other words, to concluding from the similarity of a few Aeneas
taken on small samples of widely separated modern groups, speaking
different languages (Eskimo, Algonkian Cree) and undergoing dif-
ferent stages of acculturation (Whites), that they must have had a
common ancestry a little over 1,000 years ago” (Stewart, 1939, p. 120).

Birket-Smith remarks on the great physiognomic likeness between
the Caribou Eskimos and Chipewyans he had seen on Churchill River,

448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

and believes that the similarity in measurements between Hudson
Bay Eskimo and Chipewyan-Cree sustains his view of the Indian
origin of the Eskimo:

It is undeniable that the similarities between the [Hudson Bay] Eskimos and
both the Cree and Chipewyan are remarkably great ... all that can be said
at present regarding the relationship between the Eskimos and the Northern
Woodlands Indians is that in the regions about Lake Athabaska lives an Indian
group whose likeness to the Eskimos seems unmistakable. This, however, is a
fact of far-reaching importance. It agrees exactly with the opinion I advanced
years ago, that the ancestors of the Hskimos once lived in the northern wood-
lands west of Hudson Bay. [Birket-Smith, 1940, p. 109.]

As indicated earlier, the archeological evidence lends no support to
this theory. And the physical resemblances between Caribou Eskimo
and neighboring Indians can support it only if one disregards the far
more likely explanation that the resemblances in question are due to
fairly recent contacts. Birket-Smith (1929, vol. 2, p. 41) has shown
that while the Caribou Eskimos have been in contact with the Chipe-
wyan for little more than 200 years, there had been an earlier period of
contact with the Cree, as a result of which a number of Indian elements
had been adopted by the Caribou. If there was cultural borrowing
from these relatively recent contacts it would seem reasonable to
suppose that there would also have been opportunity for race mixture.

Seltzer’s other thesis—that the Copper Eskimos of Coronation Gulf
and the Alaskan Eskimos of Kotzebue Sound, Seward Peninsula, St.
Lawrence Island, and Southwest Alaska were descended from the
Chipewyan Indians—was a reaffirmation of a similar theory originally
proposed by Shapiro. From metrical resemblances between the
Chipewyans and the Seward Peninsula, Coronation Gulf, and Smith
Sound Eskimos, Shapiro concluded that the origin of these three
Eskimo groups was to be found in interior Canada west of Hudson
Bay:

Most probably these present Eskimo groups are derived from an Indian stock
which migrated northward to the coast and then moved northeastward to Smith
Sound and westward to Seward Peninsula. Finally, this migration seems to
be recent and superimposed upon an earlier distribution of Hskimo. [Shapiro,
1931, p. 381.]

Here, as in the case of the Cree, we may first inquire as to the
purity of the 44 Chipewyan Indians who, according to Seltzer and
Shapiro, represent the ancestral stock from which these several Eskimo
groups were derived. Grant, who measured the Chipewyans, was
under no illusion as to their purity. He states specifically that the
individuals in this group, who had been selected on the word of his
Indian interpreters, were, on the basis of his own observations and
measurements, no purer than the population as a whole:

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 449

. concerning the 44, assumed to be pure Chipewyan, it seems probable, now
that the report is worked up, that the judgments of the interpreters have proved
fallible, for it seems doubtful if the 44 men they selected as pure, are any more
pure than the 33 men of the Fond-du-lac band who were induced to be measured,
and who were taken at random... .

It becomes evident from a consideration of their general characteristics, teeth,
blood, and physical proportions, that those “assumed to be pure” are actually
slightly more mixed than the Fond-du-lac band as a whole. [Grant, 1930,
pps) 298]

The correctness of Grant’s judgment is borne out by his photo-
graphs, which show that half of the adults, from both Fond-du-lac
and Chipewyan, are clearly mixed-bloods. As such they can hardly
have played the ancestral role ascribed to them.

Leaving in abeyance the question of when and how the Indian strain
entered the Central Eskimos, we may consider whether there is any
validity in the idea that some of the Alaskan groups are of Indian
origin. As mentioned before, it is not uncommon to find Eskimos
with Indian-like features around Kotzebue Sound and elsewhere on
the Arctic coast of Alaska. Such individuals, however, from this
very fact stand out from the others. The simplest and most logical
explanation is that a certain amount of Indian blood has been
absorbed by the north Alaskan Eskimos in fairly recent times, an
inevitable consequence of the fact that some Eskimo groups live far
up the rivers in close proximity to the interior Athapaskans, and,
further, that it was a general practice for the coast people themselves
to roam far into the interior in pursuit of caribou. This, however,
is very different from saying that these Eskimos as a whole are derived
from an Indian stock. And we must certainly reject the idea that the
Kotzebue Eskimos, most of whom are typically Eskimo in appearance,
are of Indian descent because they show certain metrical resemblances
to a mixed Indian-White group of Chipewyans living on Lake Atha-
baska far in the interior of Canada.

We come to the same conclusion when we examine the suggested
relationship between Chipewyan and the St. Lawrence Island and
Seward Peninsula Eskimos. We know from the archeological record
_ that the relationships of the St. Lawrence Eskimos have always been

with Siberia, only 40 miles away, and never with the Alaskan main-
land. The archeological picture is one of the steady growth and
development of an Eskimo culture, enriched from time to time by
elements received from Siberia. Archeologically there is not the
slightest trace of Indian intrusion. The physical evidence is equally
decisive. The Old Bering Sea Eskimo on St. Lawrence Island, to
judge from the few skulls that have been found, belonged to the highly
specialized long-headed Birnirk type. The Punuk and modern St.
Lawrence Eskimos are broader- and lower-headed, being practically
identical with the Chuckchee, as Hrdli¢ka has shown.

450 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

There are likewise no indications of an Indian irruption at Bering
Strait. Skeletal material from a number of late prehistoric and
recent sites on the south and west coasts of Seward Peninsula shows
that the old long-headed Eskimo type has persisted there into modern
times. This is true even at Wales where measurements on the living,
taken by Weyer in 1928, revealed the supposed affinity with the Chipe-
wyans. Many of the Wales people, however, are mixed-bloods, as
the present writer knows from personal observation and as Weyer’s
photographs, published by Shapiro, also clearly show.

The principal reasons for the physical differences between the
modern Eskimos of northern Alaska and their early Birnirk-type
ancestors may safely be stated as (1) white mixture, (2) population
movements within the Eskimo territory, such as the late return
movement of Thule Eskimos from Canada to northern Alaska, and the
migration of broad-headed Siberian Eskimos of Chukchee type to
St. Lawrence Island beginning in Punuk times, and (3) at some places
a certain amount of Indian blood that has been absorbed as a result
of direct or indirect contacts between the Eskimos and the Alaskan
Athapaskans. On the other hand, there is no evidence whatever of
a mass movement or even infiltration of Indians from the interior
to the Arctic or Bering Sea coasts at any time in the past.

Comparisons of Eskimo and Indian skeletal material have led to
still other theories. Shapiro (1934) demonstrated a close metrical
resemblance between the Huron Indians of southern Ontario and
the Point Barrow, Seward Peninsula, and Nunivak Eskimos, which
he felt indicated a common origin for these groups. Hrdli¢ka con-
cluded from his study of the ““Pre-Koniags” that these earliest inhabi-
tants of Kodiak Island were “physically related slightly to the
Eskimo, but much more so to the Algonkian” (1944, p. 484). The
lower-headed “Pre-Aleuts” from the Aleutian Islands, on the other
hand, bore a close resemblance to the Sioux: “The characteristics of
the pre-Aleut and Sioux skulls are seen to be so close that the anthro-
pologist would seem justified in assuming that the two groups had a
common and not very far back ancestry” (Hrdlitka, 1945, p. 583).
However, the striking differences between Pre-Aleut and Sioux long |
bones, both in size and proportions, created a doubt as to their common
ancestry (1945, p. 584).

What is the significance of the very close metrical resemblance
between these widely separated peoples? First, we may question the
view that the Pre-Koniag are more closely related to Algonkian than
to Eskimo. Hrdli¢ka showed that the Pre-Koniag were very different
from Eskimos when compared with a pooled series of the Eskimo
in general, including those from Greenland and Labrador. However,
if the Pre-Koniag are compared with the Eskimo groups nearest to
them geographically—those along the Bering Sea coast north to

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 45]

Norton Sound—a much closer resemblance appears; they are much
closer both in measurements and indices to these other Alaskan
Eskimos than to the Algonkians (Collins, 1945). Similarly, though
in cranial and facial measurements the Pre-Aleut are very close to
the Sioux Indians, there are sufficient resemblances to the Bering Sea
Eskimos to cast doubt on Hrdlicka’s statement (1945, p. 579) that the
Pre-Aleut “were definitely not Eskimo, nor even their very close
relations.” It must be remembered that the modern Aleuts spoke
a divergent Eskimo dialect and possessed a culture that was basically
Eskimo, while the Koniag were actually Eskimos, both linguistically
and culturally; the fact that these two modern groups differed phys-
ically from the highly specialized long-headed Eskimo type of north
Alaska and Greenland is merely indicative of the great physical
diversity that exists within the Eskimo stock. The Pre-Koniag and
Pre-Aleut, with their longer, narrower, and higher heads and faces,
were more Eskimoid than their successors, thereby indicating that in
earlier times there was a greater degree of physical unity among the
Eskimo than at present.

Despite the fact that the Pre-Aleut were more Eskimoid than the
later Aleuts, their remarkably close metrical resemblance to the Sioux
must be recognized, even if it cannot be explained, and the same is
true for the close similarity between the Seward-Barrow Eskimos
and Huron Indians pointed out by Shapiro. In the measurements
used for comparison the Hurons are actually closer to the far-away
Point Barrow Eskimos (average difference only 0.99 mm.) than they
are to their Iroquoian kinsmen in New York or to the neighboring
Algonkian Indians of New York, Massachusetts, and Maine (average
difference of 1.89 mm.). No one would think of suggesting that the
Huron Indians for this reason were more closely related genetically
to Point Barrow Eskimos than to other Iroquois. That the measure-
ments themselves point to such an anomalous result is sufficient reason
for questioning the validity of this method of comparison. The
explanation, I suggest, is that the comparisons are not complete. If,
instead of comparing tables of measurements, an anthropologist had
before him the actual skulls, he would have no difficulty in distinguish-
ing between Eskimos and Hurons, Pre-Koniag and Algonkians, and
Pre-Aleuts and Sioux. Each paired series would differ markedly
in such morphological features as contour of the skull, size and shape
of the nasal bones, slope of the malars, shape and, usually, size of the
orbits, size and shape of the mandible, and thickness of the tympanic
plate. In Eskimo skulls, whether long or short, these features,
though difficult to express in metrical terms, have a characteristic and
easily recognized appearance. It has often been asserted that mor-
phological characters of this kind are adaptive modifications that
have resulted from vigorous use of the jaws and teeth. This, how-

452 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ever, has never been proved, any more than the corollary explanation
that the peculiar Eskimo skull form is itself the product of these
same functional forces. The cranial and facial features mentioned are
known to be hereditary, for they occur in children and infants as well
as adults, and as they are already present in the earliest Eskimo crania,
it is difficult to see how they can be explained as functional adaptations.

It is not too much to require that theories on as important a subject
as the racial origin of the Eskimo should utilize all the available
evidence. However, it cannot be said that any of the theories thus far
advanced have fulfilled this requirement. The attempts that have
been made to prove an Indian origin for the Eskimo are subject to
criticism on several counts: (1) Measurements of living Indians
and Eskimos have been compared without inquiry as to the possibility
of white mixture, even though photographs of the particular Indians
and Eskimos and the history of long-continued white contact leave
no doubt that in some cases extensive mixture of this kind has oc-
curred; (2) relationships have been postulated on the basis of head
and face measurements alone, without taking into account differences
in bodily proportions, nonmetrical facial features, and general phys-
iognomy; (3) widely separated Eskimo groups, or even the Eskimo as
a whole, are assumed to have originated from an Indian stock such
as Cree or Chipewyan, 1,000 or more years ago, because the Hudson
Bay Eskimos, whose territory adjoins that of the Indians, resemble
the latter in certain head and face measurements, without considering
the alternative explanation that the resemblances in question may be
due to recent intermixture; (4) to explain certain metrical resem-
blances between distant Eskimo and Indian groups, large-scale migra-
tions of Indians from the interior of Canada to the Arctic coast have
been postulated, sufficient to absorb or replace the original Eskimo
populations, though the evidence of linguistics, archeology, and
physical anthropology shows that no such Indian irruptions could
possibly have occurred; (5) comparisons of Eskimo and Indian
crania, leading to theories of common ancestry of the two groups, like
the similar comparisons on the living, have considered measurements
alone, to the exclusion of morphological, nonmetrical features that are
characteristic of Eskimo crania but not of Indian; (6) and finally,
none of the theories advanced—except the dubious functional theory—
explain the origin of the long, narrow, and high-headed type charac-
teristic of Greenland and the earlier periods in northern Alaska.

We will search in vain in America for any cranial form from which
the highly specialized Eskimo type may likely have been derived.
There are numerous long-headed Indian groups such as the Lagoa
Santa type of Brazil, the early California and Texas Indians, and
some of the northeastern tribes who in skull dimensions alone re-
semble the Eskimo. The resemblance, however, does not extend to

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 453

the face, which in all cases is entirely different, nor do any of the
Indian crania possess those minor but distinctive Eskimo features
such as the thickened tympanic plate, the high frequency of man-
dibular and palatine tori, or the very narrow and “pinched-up” nasal
bones.

In the Old World the situation is almost reversed. We know of no
living Asiatic people who have skulls of the very long, high, and
narrow Eskimo type. The Eskimo face, on the contrary, is so dis-
tinctly Mongoloid that we can only conclude that it has an Asiatic
ancestry. The living Eskimos exhibit a number of other obvious
Mongoloid features such as skin color and hair, nose form, high fre-
quency of the epicanthic or Mongolian fold of the eye, and shortness
of arms and legs in relation to the trunk. These features bring the
Eskimos into close relationship to the Asiatics, making them in fact
the most Mongoloid of all American aborigines. Most anthropol-
ogists would probably agree with Hooton that if it were not for the
Eskimos’ non-Mongoloid skull form they should be classified as an
Asiatic rather than an American race.

It is not unlikely that eventually the Eskimo skull form also will
prove to have Asiatic affinities. In recent years Debets and other Rus-
sian anthropologists have described a long-headed population from
the Neolithic sites around Lake Baikal, sites which, as we have seen,
contain cultural material closely resembling that of the earliest known
Eskimos. In 1939 Hrdlicka studied these Siberian skulls and
described them as closely related to the American Indian (1942). He
does not bring the Eskimo into the comparison, but it is to be noted
that while the majority of the 33 Siberian male skulls are quite low-
vaulted, 8 of them are almost as high as the very high-vaulted Birnirk
cranla. These eight skulls are likewise above the average in length,
and some of them are described as having keel-shaped vaults and nar-
row noses, features suggestive of the Eskimo. Until photographs and
a fuller description of the Siberian crania are available the significance
of these resemblances must remain in doubt. The present evidence
suggests, however, that these early Siberians, whose culture was un-
doubtedly related to that of the earliest Eskimos, included as a minor-
ity element a physical type corresponding rather closely to that of the
Eskimo.

The thickened tympanic plate and the mandibular and palatine tori
also occur more frequently in Eurasia than in America. The tori are
found most often among the Chinese and Japanese (mostly prehis-
toric), the Ainu, Ostiak, Lapp, and Scandinavians of the Viking pe-
riod. The thickened tympanic plate occurs with less regularity among
the Mongoloid groups but shows a high incidence again in iron-age and
Medieval Norse crania from Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. Two

454 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

of the oldest skulls from northern Europe, from a Mesolithic site on
Lake Ladoga near Leningrad, have quite thick tympanic plates
(Inostrantzev, 1882). Moreover, one of these skulls shows a strik-
ing resemblance to the generalized Alaskan Eskimo type in the shape
of the face and the contour of the vault. It may be a point of some
significance that the thickened tympanic plate and the mandibular
and palatine tori, which are more characteristic of the Eskimo than
of any other race, are found to a comparable degree elsewhere only
among prehistoric and early historic peoples in regions where Eskimo
cultural resemblances also occur.

LANGUAGE

The Eskimo language is divided into two branches, Eskimo proper
and Aleutian. The main branch includes the various Eskimo dialects
spoken from south Alaska eastward to east Greenland. The Aleutian
language differs so sharply from the other Eskimo dialects that for
a long time its Eskimo affinity was questioned. However, it is now
recognized as being remotely related to Eskimo, just as is the Aleut
physical type and culture.

Within the Eskimo group itself the greatest linguistic differentia-
tion is found in Siberia and south and west Alaska, from Prince Wil-
liam Sound north to Norton Sound. Here there are several quite dis-
tinctive dialects that differ considerably from those spoken by the
other Eskimos. Beginning at Bering Strait we find a different situa-
tion, for from this point eastward to Greenland and Labrador the dia-
lects are mutually intelligible. The Alaskan Eskimo dialects north of
Norton Sound are actually closer to the dialects of Greenland and
Labrador than to those of the adjacent Yukon region. It is difficult
to believe that such remarkable linguistic uniformity over so wide an
area could have persisted for any great length of time. Rather, it is
a strong indication of fairly recent contacts and intercommunication
among the northern Eskimos. Perhaps the best explanation is to
be found in the movements of the Thule culture. The uniformity
was probably first established when the Thule Eskimos moved east
from Alaska to Canada and Greenland, and then still further strength-
ened by a return movement to northern Alaska within the past few
centuries, a supposition for which there is also considerable archeologi-
cal evidence.

In addition to the greater linguistic diversity in south and west
Alaska, the dialects there and in Siberia are of a more archaic char-
acter than those in the Central regions and Greenland. Thalbitzer,
Jenness, Bogoras, and Sapir are all in agreement in viewing this as
indicating that the probable center of Eskimo dispersion was in Alaska
or Siberia.

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 455

It has not been possible to prove a relationship between the Eskimo
and any American Indian language. On the other hand, a number
of linguists, such as Rasmus Rask, Henry Rink, and C. C. Uhlenbeck,
have pointed out resemblances between Eskimo and the Uralian lan-
guages of northern Eurasia. The most elaborate attempt to demon-
strate a relationship between Eskimo and Uralian was that of Sau-
vageot in 1924. Most students of Eskimo linguistics were unconvinced
by the particular points of similarity adduced by Sauvageot—even
Uhlenbeck, who believed that such a relationship existed.

In 1907 Uhlenbeck pointed out a number of striking word similari-
ties between Eskimo and proto-Indoeuropean. Recently he has
returned to a consideration of the problem and brought together a
much larger body of evidence in support of his theory (Uhlenbeck,
1935, 1942-45). Though Uhlenbeck does not claim a genetic relation-
ship between the two stocks (as he does in the case of Eskimo and
Uralian), he believes that the lexical and grammatical resemblances
noted are evidence of a very old Indoeuropean influence on Eskimo.
Thalbitzer, the foremost authority on Eskimo linguistics, who had
been skeptical of Uhlenbeck’s earlier attempt, has now subjected this
later and more complete study to searching criticism (Thalbitzer,
1945). After rejecting a number of the suggested parallels, Thalbitzer
decides that there remains a great deal of evidence in support of Uhlen-
beck’s argument. If Uhlenbeck and Thalbitzer are correct, the evi-
dence of linguistics is now to be aligned with that of archeology, and
to a certain extent physical anthropology, in showing that the original
home of the Eskimos was in the Old World. For if the Eskimo lan-
guage, aside from its possible Uralian aflinity had also been subjected
to Indoeuropean influence in ancient times, the Eskimos must then
have been living in fairly close contact with people speaking these
languages, and this must have been somewhere in northern Eurasia,
far to the west of the territory they now occupy.

SUMMARY

Our review of the available archeological evidence has led to the
conclusion that the deepest roots of Eskimo culture extend back to
the early Neolithic of Siberia and the Mesolithic of northern Europe,
a conclusion supported by the data of physical anthropology and
linguistics. As the Mesolithic rests on an Upper Paleolithic founda-
tion, Eskimo culture might properly be traced to that remote period.
The relationship with the Mesolithic, however, is more direct, and
we are on firmer ground in seeking the origin of an important segment
of Eskimo culture in this later stage and in the related Siberian
Neolithic.

922758—51——_30

456 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

There is still a wide gap both in time and space between the oldest
known Eskimo cultures and the early Siberian Neolithic. If our
reconstruction is correct, we would expect to find somewhere in the
vast stretches between Lake Baikal and Bering Strait traces of the
later Neolithic peoples who followed the great Siberian rivers from
their headwaters down to the Arctic coast. There, under stimulus of
Arctic conditions encountered between the Kara and East Siberian
Seas, they developed the rudiments of the maritime culture that later
found its fullest expression among the Eskimos. Living in permanent
settlements of underground houses at the relatively few places suit-
able for the hunting of sea mammals, these early ancestors of the
Eskimos probably remained at first in more or less isolated groups
and continued the Neolithic mode of life, which in the Baikal region,
meanwhile, was giving way to bronze- and iron-age cultures. In
this connection we note the evidence presented by Cernecov and
Zolotarev that in late Neolithic times, but still before the intrusion
of the nomadic reindeer-breeders, the coasts and rivers of northern
Siberia continued to be occupied by isolated and sedentary groups
whose underground houses, pottery, and hunting and fishing tech-
niques were essentially Eskimo in character (Cernecov, 19385; Zolo-
tarev, 1938; Collins, 1937, 1940; Jenness, 1941).

The final development and elaboration of Eskimo culture took place
at Bering Strait, a region abounding in game—walrus, seals, caribou,
birds, fish—and in every way more suitable for human occupation
than the north coast of Siberia. For a people equipped to utilize the
resources of the sea, Bering Strait was one of the richest hunting
territories of the world. Considering this and the fact that it was
also accessible to culture influences from the south, it is not surpris-
ing that Bering Strait became a center of high cultural development.

The two factors, local culture growth and stimulus from outside,
combined to produce the elaborate and specialized Old Bering Sea
and Ipiutak cultures. Many of their individual features we know
were of local origin, because they are either unique or are shared
only with later Eskimo cultures. Nor is there reason for assuming
that any large segments of the culture, such as the highly developed
art complexes (in contradistinction to their individual elements)
were brought in toto from some unknown outside source.

But, granting the potency of local culture development at Bering
Strait, there remains much that is difficult to explain on this basis.
For instance, the raised “eye” designs that are so prominent in fully
developed Old Bering Sea art are so much like those of early Shang
and Chou art in China that a connection of some kind seems probable
(Collins, 1937, p. 298). Ipiutak art has even closer Asiatic affinities.
As Larsen and Rainey have shown, some of the Ipiutak designs and
carvings, especially of animals, are strongly reminiscent of Scytho-

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 457

Siberian and Permian art. Other Ipiutak features suggest Chinese
influence: masklike ivory carvings, long ivory rods resembling back
scratchers with one end carved to represent a human hand, and ivory
eyes, nose plugs, and mouth covers found with burials (Larsen and
Rainey, 1948, pls. 49, 54, 55, 73, 98).

Features such as these suggest that probably in the first millennium
B. C., or later, long after the rise of civilization in China, the Eskimos
at Bering Strait received strong cultural impulses from interior and
eastern Asia. If we visualize the early Baikal Neolithic as the tap-
root we can imagine these later Asiatic influences as forming a lateral
branch which, rooted in the richer and more diversified cultural en-
vironment of a later time, contributed its important part to the
synthesis of Eskimo culture.

CONCLUSION

On theoretical grounds we are forced to assume that the Indians
as well as the Eskimos reached America by way of Bering Strait.
Until recently there had been no direct evidence for this assumption
as no remains other than Eskimo had been found there. Probably,
in the centuries before Eskimo culture had crystallized and estab-
lished itself in northeast Siberia, some Neolithic groups crossed the
Strait by boat or on the ice and penetrated south and east into North
America. The presence of Indianlike skulls in the Siberian Neolithic
and of Old World culture traits such as stone gouges and comb-
stamped pottery in the inland and eastern areas of North America,
makes this a distinct possibility. Gjessing (1914) is probably cor-
rect in viewing gouges, comb-stamped pottery, and possibly certain
kinds of petroglyphs as part of a culture wave which, avoiding the
Arctic coast, spread from the inland regions of Eurasia to the interior
of North America. Such traits could have passed over at Bering
Strait without having become firmly established there, and hence
would have left no trace, or they may have left signs of their passage
that have not yet been discovered.

Cultural connections of this kind, which are indicated by discon-
tinuous distribution of traits in the Old World and America, and
which have no demonstrable connection with the Eskimo problem, are
not within the scope of the present paper. Nor is there any point in
speculating on still earlier migrations that brought the first human
inhabitants to this continent, presumably not across ice or water but
over the great land bridge which in Pleistocene and early postglacial
times stretched for 1,000 miles from southern Bering Sea north into
the Arctic Ocean.

The oldest cultural remains thus far found in the Bering Sea region
are those of the Denbigh Flint Complex, a microlithic culture dis-
covered in 1948 by J. L. Giddings, Jr., at Cape Denbigh, Norton

458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Sound. In 1950 two more sites of the same complex were found in
the Brooks Range in the interior of northern Alaska. The Denbigh
Flint Complex is apparently post-Pleistocene in age, and though con-
siderably older than any known Eskimo culture, has an important
bearing on the problems we have been discussing. We may therefore
consider the implications of these new finds.

When a relationship between the Mesolithic and early Neolithic
cultures of Eurasia and the earliest Eskimo cultures in Alaska was
first postulated (Collins, 1943), it seemed necessary to emphasize that
the resemblances did not extend beyond the Eskimo sphere, in time
or in space. Previous theories of the Siberian Neolithic as the pri-
mary source of American culture in general, even of its earliest mani-
festations, seemed invalid for the following reasons:

(1) The Siberian Neolithic, even if it rested on an Upper Paleo-
lithic base as Okladnikov contended, was ecologically recent. The
animal bones from the Neolithic sites were all of existing species—
deer, elk, bears, reindeer, birds, and fish. The same was true of the
bones from the oldest Eskimo sites—mainly seal, walrus, caribou, dogs,
foxes, birds, and fish, all of species still living. The frozen muck in
the vicinity of some of the Eskimo sites contains abundant remains
of a Pleistocene fauna, but the Eskimos knew these animals just as
we do—as fossils; for the occasional mammoth teeth and pieces of
tusks that are found in the old Eskimo middens are always fossilized,
unlike the other bones. In contrast, the Paleo-Indians on the High
Plains hunted these now extinct mammals.

(2) The relative recency of the Siberian Neolithic, even its earli-
est stages, was indicated by the absence of burins, which characterized
the European Mesolithic, and by the presence of small, symmetrical,
finely chipped arrow points, which resembled Eskimo and later Amer-
ican Indian types. These and other Siberian Neolithic traits such as
pottery, polished-stone adzes, and the reinforced bow, could hardly
have been the possessions of a people ancestral to the earliest
Americans.

(3) Physiographie changes of considerable magnitude have oc-
curred since Sandia Cave, the Lindenmeier site, and other Paleo-
Indian sites were occupied. This apparently was not true of the
early Neolithic sites around Lake Baikal, and in the Eskimo area
such changes have definitely been of a minor and local character.
Even the oldest Eskimo sites are located along existing shore lines,
showing that they were established when the relation of land to sea
was essentially the same as today. Any older coastal sites, established
when sea level was lower, as it was during glacial and early postglacial
times, would now be under water. )

The evidence then existing seemed clearly to indicate that the re-
lationship between the early Siberian Neolithic and early Eskimo cul-

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 459

ture was an exclusive one, and that there was no demonstrable
connection between either of these and the far more ancient Paleo-
Indian cultures of the western plains. These conclusions still stand
insofar as they pertain to the stages of Eskimo and Siberian Neolithic
culture thus far known. However, the problem has assumed larger
dimensions, and possibly a different orientation, as a result of the
recent discoveries in Alaska to which we have referred. In 1948
at Cape Denbigh, on Norton Sound, Giddings discovered an early
microlithic culture with definite Mesolithic affinities, older than and
possibly ancestral to both Eskimo and Siberian Neolithic, and also
connected in some way with Folsom and Yuma. In the summer of
1950 two other sites yielding the same types of stone artifacts were
found in the vicinity of Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brooks Range in the
interior of northern Alaska by William Irving and Robert J. Hack-
man (Solecki and Hackman, 1951).

Giddings’ early material was found at the base of an old site on
Cape Denbigh known to the Eskimos as Lyatayet. ‘The uppermost
materials were relatively recent and overlaid deposits representing
the Early Punuk period. Beneath this was a clay layer containing
flint implements of Ipiutak type together with others resembling
prehistoric South Alaskan and Dorset types, and also small stone
lamps, round to triangular in shape, and thin, hard pottery frag-
ments decorated with a dentate or simple check stamp. Next came
a sterile layer of laminated sandy clay from 2 to 18 inches thick, and
underlying this was the basal deposit—a thin stratum of pebbles and
flints representing a microlithic industry unlike anything previously
known from the New World. This basal “Denbigh Flint Complex”
comprised (1) delicately rechipped lamellar flakes, tiny blades made
from such flakes, and the polyhedral cores from which they had been
struck off; (2) blades of generalized Folsom and Yuma types; and,
most surprising of all (8) a large assortment of burins, a specialized
form of stone implement never before found in America, the distin-
guishing feature of which is a restricted, stout edge designed for cut-
ting deep grooves in bone and similar material. The Denbigh burins
comprise a number of types, most of them closely resembling those
from Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic horizons in the Old World
(Giddings 1949, 1951).

The Cape Denbigh discovery is of great significance in connection
with the problem of Early Man in America. It links Folsom and
Yuma with the lamellar flake-polyhedral core industry found at the
University of Alaska campus site and elsewhere in central Alaska
(Rainey, 1939), in the Brooks Range (Solecki, 1950), and at Meso-
lithic sites in Mongolia (Nelson, 1937) and in Sinkiang, Manchuria,
southern Siberia, Kamchatka, and Hokkaido (Watanabe, 1948). It
tends to place all these cultural manifestations in a Mesolithic setting,

460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

and provides the first clear evidence (mainly burins) of early Old
World stone techniques associated with early American cultures. It
is too early to speak of the age of the Denbigh Flint Complex vis-a-vis
Folsom and Yuma. On the one hand, the presence of burins suggests
priority for the Alaskan site. However, we cannot ignore the possi-
bility that Folsom and Yuma may have preceded the Denbigh Com-
plex and that the few blades of those types found at Denbigh sites
were vestiges from an earlier period. The reported occurrence of
Yuma-type blades in frozen muck of Pleistocene age near Fairbanks
(Rainey, 1939) lends support to this supposition. Whatever the
relationship may be, the fact that Folsom and Yuma are associated
with an Arctic culture characterized by Paleolithic-Mesolithic types
of implements suggests that part at least of the story of Karly Man
in America may eventually be unfolded in Arctic Alaska, the original
point of entry. The more recent finds near Anaktuvuk Pass extend
the range of the Denbigh Flint Complex and are of particular impor-
tance as showing the probable route these early people followed into
the heart of the American Continent.

Though the Denbigh Flint Complex is older than anything known
from Alaska, with the possible exception of sporadic finds from the
frozen muck that have turned up in the course of mining operations
(Rainey, 1939), present indications do not point to any very great
antiquity, at least for the Anaktuvuk and University campus sites.
At both of these places the flint implements are found in or immedi-
ately below the surface sod. As the Anaktuvuk region was glaciated,
the sites there could have been established only after the last ice reces-
sion, but whether soon after or much later there is no indication at
present. The Cape Denbigh site may of course be older than these
inland sites, and perhaps considerably older than the one on the Uni-
versity campus. However, unless there is geological evidence to the
contrary, there is no reason to suppose that it was particularly ancient.
The presence of Paleolithic-Mesolithic burins and other implements
is hardly decisive in this regard. The Denbigh people may only have
been perpetuating a Paleolithic tradition in the use of these imple-
ments long after it had faded away in the Old World, just as much
later the Ipiutak Eskimos continued to use side-bladed projectiles of
Mesolithic-Neolithic form several thousand years after they had
passed out of use in Eurasia.

The Old World affinities of the Denbigh Flint Complex cannot yet
be localized. Its numerous types of Paleolithic-Mesolithic burins
suggest a relationship with the European Mesolithic, while lamellar
flaking connects it with central and northern Asia. The crucial area
is northeastern Siberia. Our knowledge of the pre-Eskimo archeology
of this region is very meager, but it seems safe to predict that sites
comparable in age and lithic content to Cape Denbigh will eventually

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 461

be found there, sites with both lamellar flaking and burins. Such, in-
deed, may be the Neolithic sites on the Lower Kolyma and Chukchee
Peninsula recently reported but not described by Okladnikov (Shim-
kin, 1949). However, as burins are not mentioned, these sites may
represent only a further, extreme northeastern extension of the north
Asiatic lamellar flake-polyhedral core complex described by Watanabe
(1948).

The significance of the Cape Denbigh and Anaktuvuk finds in con-
nection with the Eskimo problem is not yet clear. They may, how-
ever, have important implications for Eskimo archeology. The Den-
bigh Flint Complex is, of course, very different from, and much older
than, what we usually think of as Eskimo. The simplest explanation
would be that this complex—an assemblage containing Yuma and
Folsom-like blades and Paleolithic-Mesolithic burins, and separated
from overlying Eskimo deposits by a sterile layer of clay—had no
connection with these later deposits. However, there are reasons for
suspecting that there was a connection: (1) It is somewhat difficult
to believe that its location directly beneath an Eskimo site was a mere
coincidence; (2) lamellar flaking, though absent at Ipiutak, is one of
the most characteristic features of the Dorset, a culture which on other
grounds appears to represent an older stage than Ipiutak or Old Bering
Sea. Polyhedral cores have not been reported at Dorset sites but this
may be accidental, for Solberg (1907, p. 39, fig. 14) describes one from
Disko Bay, Greenland, in a collection which contains many Dorset
types; (3) the Cape Denbigh and Anaktuvuk burins appear to be the
prototypes of similar implements found at Dorset sites which were
no doubt used as burins; (4) the presence of small, finely chipped side
blades indicates that the Cape Denbigh people used slotted bone points,
probably arrowheads, with inset blades along the sides, a form char-
acteristic of Ipiutak and the European Mesolithic; (5) one of the
Denbigh implements, an obovate blade “carefully retouched on both
convex faces and then ground to a strong bevel at the broad end” (Gid-
dings, 1949, p. 89, fig. 2, e), seems to be essentially the same as the
characteristic Old Bering Sea implement with strongly bevelled ends
which the present writer described as “adz-like scrapers” (Collins,
1987, p. 152, fig. 16, pl. 42, figs. 12-14), and which Larsen and Rainey
(1948, p. 85, pl. 10, fig. 1) later found actually hafted as adz blades
at Ipiutak; (6) the Denbigh Flint Complex includes short, wide, thin
blades closely resembling those found hafted to sealing harpoon heads
at Ipiutak. Though the Ipiutak flint technique on the whole is differ-
ent, Giddings (1951) concludes that “it looks as though Ipiutak has
inherited these particular resemblances [the probable harpoon blades,
a form of flake knife or scraper, and occasional diagonal flaking | from
an earlier horizon represented by the Cape Denbigh finds”; (7) an-
other linkage may also be provided by Larsen’s recent discovery in a

462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Seward Peninsula cave of lamellar flakes associated with slender ar-
rowheads of antler with two long, deep grooves for side blades, a type
which is essentially Ipiutak, but undecorated. This cave, discovered
in 1948 by David Hopkins, appears to be intermediate in age between
Ipiutak and Cape Denbigh.

On the basis of the present evidence it appears that despite the
definite Paleolithic-Mesolithic affinities of the Denbigh Flint Com-
plex, a cultural relationship of some kind existed between the early
Cape Denbigh people and the Eskimos who later occupied the same
region. A similar relationship also existed between the Denbigh
Complex and Folsom and Yuma. If our interpretation is correct
this means that the hitherto distinct problems of Eskimo origins and
of Early Man in America must now be considered in a single frame
of reference, one that extends the range and scope of both problems
and adds new facets and perplexities to each.

Thus Folsom and Yuma are brought into relationship with an
Arctic culture of unknown age, which in turn is related to Mesolithic
cultures of Eurasia. As for the other side of the problem, the
Denbigh finds attest the antiquity of a number of Eskimo culture
traits and strengthen the view that Eskimo culture is basically of
Mesolithic origin. At present we can only guess at the extent of the
time gap between the Denbigh Flint Complex and the oldest known
Eskimo cultures, but it is probably a difference to be measured in
millenniums rather than centuries. Until that point is determined
and until more information is available for Siberia, the role of the
Denbigh Complex in the formation of Eskimo and Siberian culture
will remain obscure. We can only say that it is much older than, and
yet in some way related to, Eskimo, just as it also clearly antedates
and in all probability represents a stage of culture ancestral to the
early Neolithic cultures around Lake Baikal and the Ural Mountains
which show such close resemblances to early Eskimo.

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1948. Notes on the archeology of the Utukok River, northwestern Alaska.
Amer. Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 62-65.
TOLMACHEV, VLADIMIR.
1913. Antiquites du versant et des monts ourals. (In Russian.) Bull. Soc.
Ouralienne Amis Sci. Nat., vol. 32, pt. 2, pp. 195-225.

THE ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE ESKIMO—COLLINS 467

UHLENBECK, C. C.
1935. Eskimo en Oer-indogermaanisch. Med. Konink. Nederl. Akad.

Wetensch., Afd. Letterkunde, Deel 77, Serie A, No. 4.
1942-1945. Ur- und altindogermaanische Anklange in Wortschatz des Eskimo,
Anthropos, vol. 37-40, pp. 183-148.
WATANABE, HITOSHI.
1948. The so-called lames in Japan. (In Japanese.) Journ. Anthrop. Soc.
Nippon, vol. 60, No. 688, pp. 81-86.
WINTEMBERG, W. J.
1989-40. Eskimo sites of the Dorset culture in Newfoundland. Amer.
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WISSLER, CLARK.
1916. Harpoons and darts in the Stefansson collection. Anthrop. Pap.,
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 14, pt. 2.
1918. Archaeology of the Polar Eskimo. Anthrop. Pap., Amer. Mus. Nat.
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ZOLOTAREY, A.
1938. The ancient culture of North Asia. Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol. 40,
No. 1, pp. 13-23.

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ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THE ARCTIC SLOPE
OF ALASKA

By Rawr 8. SoLecki

Archeologist, River Basin Surveys, Bureau of American Ethnology

[With 6 plates]

Of great interest to students of prehistory in America is the prob-
lem of man’s migrations from the Old World to the New. It is
virtually undenied that as far as we know, prehistoric man entered
America from Eurasia. Until lately one of the most baltling situations
was the fact that we had little acceptable evidence to substantiate any
claims for his antiquity in Alaska, the threshold of entry.

We can now state definitely that reliable evidence has been found
in various parts of Alaska and the Yukon Territory that validates
assumptions that pre-Eskimo and pre-Athapascan Indian peoples lived
there. However, since the scope of the subject is broad, and in view
of the recency of the finds, total reports have not been made available
to date. Therefore we shall deal with one facet of the problem in
the Arctic with which the writer is most familiar. This is the inland
archeology of northern Alaska, or that part of the territory aptly
called the “north slope,” which hes between the Brooks Range and
the Arctic Ocean (fig. 1). We have already sketched the anthropology
of the north slope in a brief report and have written a preliminary
report on the archeology of two rivers in the western part of the same
region (Solecki, 1950a, 1950b). ‘These reports were based on data
obtained during a field trip made during the summer of 1949.

Significant archeological finds were made during the summer of
1950 in northern Alaska, but they cannot be presented in this paper
because all the data are not yet available. These data include the dis-
covery of artifacts typologically similar to Giddings’ (1949) Cape
Denbigh Flint Complex near Anaktuvuk Pass, and the finding of
polyhedral cores and Folsomlike projectile points in the headwaters
of the Noatak River. Although the additional archeological data
have broadened our perspective of the cultural prehistory north of
the Arctic Circle, the ecological background has not been changed.

The interrelationships between man and the plant and animal king-
doms, existing in a similar geographic and climatic environment,
are of interest to students of Eurasiatic-American cross ties, and an
appraisal of ecological factors is a necessary adjunct to the study.

469

470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Complications naturally arise when an estimate of prehistoric cul-
tures is desired, since we not only have a problem of synchronic levels
of culture plus environmental relationships, but also a question of
depth in time. In order to present a coherent picture of the past life
of man in northern Alaska, the archeology must be equated in terms
of other related disciplines. These include geology, climatology,
paleontology, and botany. Possible hypotheses arising from various
considerations of the problems are many, because at present, in many
cases, we can only make guesses. We shall appraise briefly some of
the few recognized hypotheses with special bearing on the physical
environment of man on the north slope, considering them from both
the biological and geographical standpoints.

We know that in this region, as elsewhere, the environmental factors
were continually changing. These changes certainly affected man’s
ecological background. Thus, hand in hand with the changing arche-
ological data must be considered the changing ecological basis of the
study. Such a basis is an extremely important one in inland Arctic
archeology. In order to understand and evaluate it appreciatively,
we must establish the motivating economy. In the region under
scrutiny there seems to have been but one practicable economy to
follow—that of hunting and foraging. In the face of superimposing
conditions of the environment, no other alternative was possible for
the natives of the region except migration. Hence, a dynamic ecology
played a distinctive role in the prehistory of inland northern Alaska.

As defined here, ecology is essentially an observational science—
the science of communities or the science of relationship of organisms
to environment. According to Charles Elton, one of the leading
English ecologists, there seems to have been much emphasis upon hu-
man ecology, in a restrictive sense, in anthropological work. “Hu-
man ecology has been mainly concerned almost entirely with biotic
factors, with the effects of man upon man, disregarding often enough
the other animals amongst which we live” (Elton, 1939, p. 190). This
may be so, especially in the light of studies of preliterate peoples,
the investigation of whose customs, folkways, and other ethnologic
features was presumed to shed understanding on the problems of
our more complex contemporary societies. For instance, it has been
said that primitive cultures are “the only laboratory of social forms
that we have or shall have” (Benedict, 1934, p. 17). The latter theme
has been recognized and espoused by anthropologists the world over.
Although the environment of the people concerned is usually men-
tioned, it seems that the physical background and its biological influ-
ences are not accorded the important role that they should be given.
This is especially true in reference to long-time changes in plant and
animal life and their effects upon man. In this regard, since prehis-

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI Agi

tory antedates history, it remains for the archeologist to reconstruct
the ecological ties of past cultures.

Wissler (1924, p. 312) viewed the human ecological problem as the
correlation of “the facts of nature with the facts concerning man’s
behavior.” As one of his classic examples, he pointed out (ibid.,
p. 314) that primitive hunting cultures are found to be based upon
some natural resource, such as that of the Plains-dwelling Indians
upon the bison of North America. Bison provided the chief food
and was the source of skin clothing and of shelter. The correlation

[ ALASKA

so ° fo 100 150

SCALE IN MILES 3

Ficure 1.—Map of Alaska.

of natural and cultural areas has its limitations, which can be strained
too far when trying to explain man’s behavior. However, we cannot
dismiss entirely the part environment plays in man’s life (Hawley,
1950, pp. 84, 90).

If we treat human ecology as part and parcel of the broader and
more inclusive study of animal ecology, several interesting considera-
tions are brought to light. Elton (1949, p. 920) posits that it is
necessary to study the whole animal community in a locale in order
to get a total picture. “It would therefore seem likely that intensive
work, carried out completely on very simple communities such as

922758—51——31

472 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

those of Arctic regions or deserts, would afford the strongest chance
of discovering the fundamental laws governing the interrelations of
animals and therefore the regulation of their numbers” (ibid., p.
921). Huxley (Elton, 1939, Introduction) says that Elton has been
fortunate in having field experience in the Arctic, where the ecological
web of life is reduced to its simplest and where complexity of detail
does not hide the broad outlines. It seems valid to assume that con-
ditions affecting animal life in simpler communities would also in-
fluence the animal’s host, man.

The first of the environmental factors controlling the occurrence
and numbers of animals in the Arctic to be considered are the climatic
conditions. ‘These, of course, do directly act upon animals, but a
great deal of this influence is felt indirectly through plants leading
back to the ultimate source of energy, the sun. As far as the animals
are concerned, however, the whole character of the climate is deter-
mined by the plants. Different areas of plant communities may set
apart animal zones or “life zones,” such as the habitat of the Barren
Ground caribou on the north slope of Alaska, which is set apart from
the moose zone farther to the south and closer to the timber line.
This distinction of one life zone as compared to another may be
the difference of one kind of human ecology from another. This
should be qualified somewhat. Humans are but indirectly tied to
the plant life of their habitats. Therefore, they may change habitat
at will. The latter course rests upon the proposition that other means
of supplanting previous economy are to be found and that no hostile
peoples or geographical barriers exist to thwart migration.

We are quite certain that man began to enter the New World some
time or times in the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch and the begin-
ning of the Recent epoch in geologic time. Several successive glacia-
tions—at least four—alternating with thaws, capped the northern end
of the earth principally in the more elevated regions. In North
America, man’s entry was subsequent to the last glaciation, which oc-
curred about 25,000 or more years ago. It is presumed that there
remained a great deal of ice on portions of the earth’s surface when
Early Man came to America. This ice undoubtedly had a bearing on
the routes used by the migrating incomers (Roberts, 1940, p. 102).
The fossil records show clearly that there had been an interchange
of fauna between Asia and America. Man evidently journeyed in
one direction only, eastward to this hemisphere, and probably over
a land bridge during the earlier stages.

As Ivar Skarland (n. d., p. 126) succinctly pointed out, a land bridge
was present only during glacial stages. This land bridge was more
literally than figuratively a truth, to judge by the strength of the argu-
ments in its favor. The now-familiar hypothesis is that the Ice Age,
in locking the water in glaciers, lowered the sea level enough to permit

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 473

the emergence of a land bridge between Asia and America. That
this was not improbable is shown by several facts. Only some 56
miles of water separate both continents today, with a couple of is-
lands between the narrowest point. The minimum recession of
sea depth necessary for reemergence of the bridge is only about 120
feet. Furthermore, a true land bridge would have been required
to allow the intercontinental exchange of so many fauna. It may
be assumed as a possibility that as the animals migrated into the
New World, the first Americans and their successors followed. The
first or earliest Americans are collectively distinguished by the title
of “Early Man” or “Paleo-Indian.” It is certain that all animals
did not have equal opportunities for reaching the intercontinental
highway, nor were all equally equipped with or adapted to the neces-
sary survival qualities, as George Gaylord Simpson (1940) has pointed
out. This type of screening may be termed a “filter bridge” (fig.
2). Early Man undoubtedly crossed into the new continent unknow-
ingly, with no preconceived notions of exploration and followed
the unglaciated portions of America. His route was presumably
controlled by the topography and the extent of the dispersion of
game.

We assume that the first American, principally a hunter of herbi-
vores—like the carnivores of the region—was more interested in the
larger grass-eating mammals. The latter, in turn, depended on the
existence of suitable fodder. We feel that man did not consciously
direct his traffic in one direction or another but expanded his terri-
tory with the dispersion of his game. Thus, the usual definition of
migration with a view to residence does not strictly apply here.
Douglas Leechman (1946, p. 386) aptly states:

Diffusion would be a better term than migration. In all probability, the first
people to cross the Bering Strait, and to make America their permanent home,
camped not very far from their landing place.* Gradually the surrounding
district became known to them and, as a result of hunting expeditions in the
neighborhood, attractive camp sites and fishing stations would be discovered.
As their children grew up, and had families of their own, they would settle a
few miles farther upstream or inland, thus diffusing gradually throughout the
whole district. The movement of an amoeba by means of pSseudopodia gives us
an excellent illustration of the type of migration involved.

It may be objected that this is altogether too slow a process, but an average
of as little as two miles a year would carry people from the Yukon down to
the bottom of South America in approximately 5,000 years.

Leechman’s estimate may be a little too conservative when we con-
sider some of the archeologically known shifts of populations in
America. It is also apparent that the process was not quite so simple.

1 Evidently Leechman believes that Early Man established a beachhead, crossing over water and not a
land bridge. This may have been true for man, but not for other mammalian life. Present-day travels
of Eskimos between the two continents by boat are well known.

ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

474

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ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 475

Suffice it to say, however, we do know that the primitive populations
did make a vast swing through the continents well before the time
of Columbus’ discovery. We are assured that the Pleistocene climate
in the unglaciated portions of northern America was not greatly
different from that of today; nor is there any conclusive evidence
that the present flora was entirely absent during any phase of the
late Pleistocene epoch (Skarland, n. d., pp. 72 and 74). The presence
or absence of flora suitable as forage for particular groups of herbiv-
orous mammals very likely indirectly controlled man’s movements.

THE COUNTRY

Physiographically, the north slope, occupying an area of about
70,000 square miles between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean,
is divided into three provinces. Al] extend north of the 68th parallel
and are beyond the Arctic Circle. These provinces are the Brooks
Range Province, the Arctic Foothills Province, and the Arctic Coastal
Plain Province (fig. 3).

et ta a
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Figure 3.—Map showing the physiographic provinces of the north slope of
Alaska. Reproduced by permission of the U. S. Geological Survey.

The Brooks Range, the northernmost mountain range in Alaska,
is composed of rugged, glaciated mountains. Its snow-capped peaks
in the eastern section rise to about 9,000 feet. Representing the
Alaskan counterpart of the Rocky Mountains, this range is com-
posed of highly indurated and strongly resistant Paleozoic rocks.
There are about 30 or 40 small glaciers of about 2 or 3 miles in length
still lingering in the mountains. Fronting the Brooks Range are
several large mountain-fed lakes that empty into the north-flowing
rivers. The whole of this province bears evidences of glaciation from
one end to the other of its 600 miles’ length. Three good passes—
Howard Pass, Survey Pass, and Anaktuvuk Pass—breach the middle
of the range and connect the drainages on both north and south
sides of the divide. The divide may be crossed at other points but
with considerably more difficulty.

476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The Foothills Province (pl. 2), characterized by low hills and
ridges, is divided into two sections. The more elevated southern
foothills border the mountains with elevations up to 3,000 or 3,500
feet, while the more subdued northern foothills section averages
from about 400 to 600 feet in height. These foothills, made up mainly
of Mesozoic rocks, are less deformed and less resistant than the
mountains. There are many crustal warpings—called anticlines and
synclines—in this province, which have their axes parallel, east and
west. These warpings produce ridges that give the country a linear
aspect when viewed from the air, much like the Alleghenies in
Pennsylvania. The folding is intense near the mountains, and the
beds of rock stand nearly vertical in places. Farther away from
the mountains to the north, where the folding is more gentle and
the beds lie nearly horizontal, the hard layers form steps on the hill-
sides or cap the hills. The prominent ridges of the western foothills
extend almost continuously for about 225 miles across the western
front of the Brooks Range. Except where glacial tongues may have
found their way into some of the valleys adjacent to the mountains,
this province has not been glaciated.

The third and northernmost province, the Arctic Coastal Plain
Province—also never glaciated—is a low-lying prairie-type area that
was once submerged under the sea during late geologic times of the
Quaternary period and later uplifted. No thick deposits of marine
material were laid down (Smith and Mertie, 1930, p. 238). The
monotonous flatness of this province, extending to about 70 miles in-
land from the coast, is relieved by a few isolated knobs and hills.
These hills are generally about 50 to 100 feet in height, and a few
reach 300 feet. The deposits of the coastal plain are composed of un-
consolidated sands, gravels, and clays. They are dominantly alluvial
stream deposits and probably include some glacial and interglacial
deposition. There are deposits of Pleistocene sands near the coast,
called Gubik sands, which are rich in fossil life. They are of wind-
blown origin, or loess. It is conceivable that there may be found some
evidence of Ancient Man in the upper layers of these sands. This
coastal region, owing to its flatness, naturally has the poorest drain-
age of the three provinces. It is characterized by its wetness, many
pools of standing water, lakes, and sluggish and meandering streams.
The general wetness is due to both poor surface drainage and the
permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, which extends from a few
feet below the surface to a depth of almost 1,000 feet in some places.
A phenomenon called frost-wedge (pl. 1), a wedge-shaped mass of
subsurface ice, is common in the Arctic.

The climate of the north slope is arid, with a precipitation of only
5 to 7 inches. Although there is little rain or snow, the air is
frequently filled with a misty haze in summer. The only explanation

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI A477

for the failure of the Brooks Range glaciers to cover the Arctic coast
was this deficiency of precipitation. The area between the Brooks
Range and the Alaska Range, which extends inland from the Bering
Sea, was similarly deficient in precipitation (Flint, 1948, p. 222).

As we know, the Arctic winters are long and the summers short,
with a correspondingly short period of thaw; hence, only the upper
ground surfaces soften in summer. The frigid temperature plus the
aridity permit the preservation of organic matter for deceptively long
time spans. Physiographic changes and over-all climate changes are
also very slow in the Arctic.

Of the three provinces, the foothills area affords the best routes for
overland travel parallel to the mountains in all seasons. Stream
drainages, tributaries of the main north-flowing rivers with partial
exception of the Colville, are oriented on the east-west alinement of
the ridges. The coastal plain is difficult to negotiate overland during
summer because of the tundra lakes and bogs. The mountains are
also natural barriers, traversable only at several of the passes. Viewed
today, the north slope of Alaska presents a barren, dun-colored aspect,
for it is north of the timber line. There are small stands of stunted
willow near the water courses. The dreary landscape is relieved in
summer by an almost spontaneous growth of colorful flowers that
carpet the surface. Lichens and mosses clinging to rocks in the hills
present splotches of bright hue.

The major drainage systems of this region, again with partial
exception of the Colville, flow northward, controlled by the slope from
the mountains to the coast. They are called consequent streams. The
Colville, the largest river in the north, flows eastward at its upper part
where it is controlled by a weak bed of rocks. It changes course and
flows northward to the sea at its lower reaches. These rivers flow in
broad valleys in the foothills section, cutting across ridges to the lower
coastal plain where the gradient drops and they become braided and
sluggish. It is these same rivers that furnished the highway for the
inland Eskimos. They boated down the rivers in spring after the ice
break-up, returning in fall to their winter homes in the hills and moun-
tains before the rivers froze over. The Colville River was especially
important as a connecting trade and travel route between Kotzebue
on Kotzebue Sound and the mouth of the Colville. One of the several
good passes habitually used was Howard Pass, joining the headwaters
of the Etiviluk River, an upper branch of the Colville, and Noatak
River. The latter, flowing west and southward on the other side of the
Brooks Range, empties near Kotzebue.

Although the short cuts through the mountains were excellent for
the use of Eskimos and their immediate prehistoric predecessors, it is
unlikely that they were used by Early Man. The mountain valleys
were probably still covered by glacial ice at the time of his entry. On

478 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

the other hand, we cannot gainsay that the nomadic hunters of that
time used the mountain passes during periods of glacial regression.
These same passes over the divide were used recently—in fact, are
still being used at the present time—by herbivorous mammals,
principally caribou in their annual migratory wanderings.

There is a sharp ecological border between the tundra-covered north
slope and the timbered country on the southern side of the divide. The
north slope, however, was not always treeless and desertlike, because
spruce logs have been found in deposits of Pleistocene age on the
coastal plain and along inland rivers (Smith and Mertie, 1930, p. 254).
In contradiction to prevailing beliefs, Skarland feels that the spruce
timber could have grown during a glacial stage of the Pleistocene
rather than in an interglacial stage or stages (Skarland, n. d., p. 82).
He also believes (ibid., pp. 79-81) that the Bering Sea and Arctic
regions were warmer during glacial stages than they are today.

A minor period of warmth in the Arctic in more recent history is
called by the geologists and climatologists a Climatic Optimum. It
dates back about 7,000 years. This period was marked by a general
amelioration of the temperature when it was apparently warmer in
the Arctic than it is now (Brooks, 1949, pp. 364, 370). However, we
do not have any geological or paleobotanical evidence that it was warm
enough to induce the growth of timber on the Arctic slope. Since
the time of the period of transitory warmth, the climate had appar-
ently become somewhat colder, a fluctuation that recently seems to
have swung in the other direction. Investigations have shown that
the timber line is again moving northward in Alaska. Griggs
(1937, pp. 252-253) has given positive evidence of this.

There are fossil remains showing that Arctic Alaska had been
inhabited during Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene times by many large
and small mammals of which many are now extinct. These include
the mammoth, horse, bison, bear, moose, musk ox, caribou, and deer
among others (Smith and Mertie, 1930, pp. 251-254). According to
Skarland (n. d., p. 114) the musk ox became extinct on the Arctic slope
of Alaska only about 80 or 90 years ago.

THE ARCHEOLOGY

From our consideration of the ecological setting of the problem,
we are in a better position to interpret the archeology of northern
Alaska against the broader perspective of North American prehistory.
Geological interpretations of the archeological work indicate that man
dwelt in the High Plains area of the United States over 10 millennia
ago. An early cultural horizon, the Folsom, so named from the orig-
inal finds at Folsom, N. Mex., falls principally within this category.
The Folsom culture is typified mainly by its projectile points. How-

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 479

ever, until recently no one had found similar evidence of man’s antiq-
uity in Alaska, which is the area through which man would have passed
into the interior of the continent.

The first important writing on the subject of pre-Neolithic or rela-
tively old horizons in Alaska was briefly sketched by N. C. Nelson
(1937). In a paper describing some curious flints found on the Uni-
versity of Alaska campus near Fairbanks, Alaska, he compared the
flints with similarly unique specimens recovered by him in the Gobi
Desert of Mongolia. These artifacts consist of highly specialized
examples of the flint-working art, including “fluted” flint cores, poly-
hedral and semipolyhedral in shape, and their derived flakes. These
flakes, comparatively long and narrow with parallel sides, are called
lamellar flakes because of their shape. Significantly enough, identi-
cally shaped cores and flakes have been found and noted subsequently
at other places in Alaska and include the writer’s finds on the north
slope (pl. 3).

Although Nelson did not suggest any direct connection, these flints
and associated artifacts reminded him strongly of the corresponding
artifacts typical of the pre-Neolithic (or Mesolithic) times in Mon-
golia (Rainey, 1940, p. 802). Equating Mesolithic with an age of
about 8,000 years, we assume that these artifacts represent a culture
in Alaska that must have been in existence between the time of the
older Folsom-point bearers and the more recent prehistoric Eskimo.
There seems to be evidence that this lithic material is also of pre-
Athapascan Indian age in Alaska (Skarland and Giddings, 1948, p.
116). Collins (1948, p. 233) says that “the earliest known stages of
Eskimo culture are hardly more than 2,000 years old.” An interest-
ing problem of cultural connection is posed between the immediate
ancestors of the Eskimos, who may have lived near Lake Baikal
(Collins, 1943, p. 232), and the polyhedral-core and lamellar-flake
people, who had evidently also lived in the vicinity of that same part
of Siberia (Rainey, 1940, pp. 302-304). These two cultures seem to
have been contemporaneous there.

It was early suggested that one of the migration routes of Early
Man was probably over the unglaciated northern slope of Alaska,
fronting on the Arctic Ocean. This presented, then, one of the more
intriguing problem areas. Archeological investigations had been
limited heretofore to only the coastal fringe, which was reasonably
accessible (Larsen and Rainey, 1948, pp. 30-31). Some hints of
the archeological potentialities were recorded on the north slope by
Smith and Mertie (1930, pp. 110-112). These scattered finds, made
by geologists of the United States Geological Survey in the early
1920’s, did not seem to bespeak any antiquity, however. It was not
until World War II and immediately following that there were any
further archeological discoveries reported from the interior. A find

480 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

of a Folsom-type projectile point (pl. 4, a, insert) and some other un-
related archeological specimens were recovered by one of the United
States Geological Survey parties on the Utukok River, stimulating
further speculation regarding Early Man (Thompson, 1948). The
Folsom-type projectile point was identified as a genuine product of
Paleo-Indian workmanship by Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., the fore-
most authority on Early Man in America. Here, then, was concrete
evidence that our first Americans could have trekked across the north-
ern route from Asia via an unglaciated stretch to the broad belt freed
of glacial ice in the Mackenzie drainage.

The finding of the Folsom projectile point in the foothills of north-
western Alaska sheds an interesting sidelight on the probable migra-
tion path of Early Man. First, however, it should be brought to
attention that, incident to the finding of the point, a total of 17
archeological sites were recorded for that same exploration party
(Thompson, 1948). This was a good score for scientists pressed with
geological duties. ‘The writer, from his own research and experience,
concurs with Thompson (ibid., p. 62) in the latter’s belief that “most
of these sites are of Eskimo origin and are probably recent.”

The Mackenzie River route, the first through route opened, is
thought to have been freed of ice about 25,000 to 30,000 years ago.
The alternate route over the divide from the Yukon drainage to the
Mackenzie may not have been open until considerably later, perhaps
10,000 or more years ago (Johnston, 1933, pp. 44-45). In any event,
we are assured on the basis of geological estimates that Paleo-Indians
lived and hunted the now extinct mammals, principally herbivores,
in the High Plains of the American Continent at least 10,000 years ago
(Roberts, 1945, p. 428).

Skarland (n. d., pp. 189-140) is convinced that a big-game hunter
would have a better chance of survival in the unglaciated parts of
Alaska during the last glacial stage than in postglacial times. In
presenting his viewpoint, Skarland notes that, in addition to all the
present mammalian species, the late Pleistocene fauna consisted of
mammoth, bison, horse, musk ox, and, perhaps, mastodon. ‘The cari-
bou, still surviving to the present day, the horse, and particularly the
bison would have provided most of the food. To the writer’s knowl-
edge, there is no evidence, so far, of human cultural remains found in
association with the extinct mammalian remains on the Arctic slope.
There were plenty of caribou bones found among the debris heaps of
the prehistoric Eskimos.

In the apparent absence of Folsom-type projectile points from
Siberia, it might be claimed that these objects are the products of an
indigenous American technique derived from some as yet unknown
prototype. However, the Utukok River point, plus the finds of J.

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI A81

Louis Giddings, Jr., at Cape Denbigh on Norton Sound, which is so
close to the Asiatic Continent, indicate that these particular artifacts
are not very likely to have been American monopolies. Giddings
(1949), in excavating a stratified site on the north Bering Sea coast,
uncovered a highly significant assemblage of flint artifacts at the
bottom of a stratified deposit. These artifacts were found in a layer
separated from overlying later cultural remains by a layer of sterile,
sandy clay. Subsequently, more recent finds of Giddings? revealed
the presence of burins—the first ever reported from anywhere in the
New World—associated with fragmentary Folson and Yumalike pro-
tectile points. The chipping on the flints is finely executed. These
finds represent a totally new complex of artifact associations in the
prehistory of America and furnish a stepping stone in Ancient Man’s
trail from Asia to America.

Knowing that the United States Geological Survey intended making
further explorations and surveys on the drainages bordering the area
where the Folsom point was found, it seemed probable that if an
archeologist were sent along on such an expedition, more evidence
of Early Man might be recovered. Accordingly, after cooperation
was effected between representatives of interested Government agen-
cies, including Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., of the Bureau of Ameri-
can Ethnology, Dr. John C. Reed, of the United States Geological
Survey, and Dr. M. C. Shelesnyak, formerly of the Office of Naval
Research, I was attached to a party of field geologists who were to
examine that region during the summer of 1949.

The work of this group, party No. 6, led by Robert M. Chapman,
was coordinated in a comprehensive program of systematic explor-
ation and fact-finding research of the Geological Survey (Reed, 1949,
p. 178). The area assigned to this party was in the Kukpowruk and
Kokolik River drainages, adjacent to the Utukok River, near which
the Folsom artifact was recovered (fig. 1). These drainages are on
the western border of the area set aside by the United States Govern-
ment as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4.

The members of party No. 6,3 with whom the writer traveled, helped
immeasurably with the reconnaissance, showing a keen interest in
the archeology.

The archeological reconnaissance was paced at the same rate at
which the geological survey of the area was conducted, which, for the
shortness of the field season of about 314 months, was necessarily a
rapid one. Operating from base camps set up along the river, the
writer tried to reach a maximum number of points within a range of
a day’s walking distance.

2 Reported at the forty-eighth annual mecting of the American Anthropological Association, New York
November 17, 1949.

§ Robert M. Chapman, Edward G, Sable, Dale Hauck, Gordon Herreid, and Paul Shannon.

482 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Recorded for the summer’s work are 225 archeological and ethno-
logical sites, plus 8 isolated features :

Archeological sites:

2 designated as “Mesolithic” on which the writer found polyhedral

cores and lamellar flakes.

8 hunting camp sites.

1 possible village site on the coast near Point Lay.

2 historic-contact village sites.

184 lookout stations where flint chips occurred.
Ethnological sites:
83 recent Eskimo hunting camps.

Isolated features:

4 hunting blinds or windbreaks erected of stone.

4 stone deadfall animal traps.

Most of the lookout stations or chipping stations were situated
strategically on bluffs or prominent knobs having a good view of the
surrounding country (pl. 2). These stations, including the “Meso-
lithic” or Mongolian core sites, were at all times situated within
striking distance of caribou trails, and well located at the junctions
of watercourses, near passes, on ridges and hills affording unrestricted
visibility for fairly long distances. Presumably these were the places
where the hunters lay in wait for the caribou. Like their predeces-
sors in this region, the prehistoric and historic Eskimos appear to
have frequented the same sites and followed the same practices. The
all-important man was the lookout. When he sighted the prey and
gave the game signal, whole encampments of hunters dropped their
tasks and hurried to the chase (Stoney, 1899, pp. 818, 817).

Indicating that the region is not quite a mammal-less desert today,
our party observed several thousand barren-ground caribou moving
in large herds on their migratory journeys, over a dozen bears, about
20 wolves and foxes, and a few moose. Naturally there were numerous
smaller animals seen, such as marmots, ground squirrels, and
lemmings.

At Umiat, I took advantage of an opportunity to brief members of
five other Survey parties on the collecting and noting of archeological
remains which the parties might encounter during their reconnais-
sances. At the close of the season, these geologists presented data on
a total of 41 archeological and recent Eskimo sites. Included is ma-
terial noted on previous surveys of the north slope. To this figure
should be added one additional archeological site discovered by me
near Umiat (Solecki, 1950a). This supplemental information gives
us quite significant data, limited as it is, concerning historic and
recent Eskimo camp sites on 15 of the inland rivers and 4 of the larger
inland lakes.

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 483

I found no stratified sites in the course of my survey. Many of the
artifacts, even some of the “Mongolian” type polyhedral cores and
lamellar flakes were found practically on the bare rocks of the hills.
What little soil accumulation was present on the hill summits could
be called mere rock detritus. The artifacts found on the uplands
were on denuded areas of what amounted to bare outcrops of sandstone
and siltstone geologically dated as upper Cretaceous. These areas
had scant vegetation, forsaken even by the tundra grasses in which
the valleys and flats abounded. The slight precipitation provided very
little erosion or soil formation; consequently the majority of the
cultural remains lay practically where they had been dropped. ‘The
frigidity of the climate over a greater part of the year also accounted
for the very slight soil disturbance. Therefore, beyond an occasional
few inches of soil cover, there was no great accumulation of silt or
soil deposits, such as are usually pointed out as an indication of strati-
graphic age. Pedologists or soil scientists would call this Arctic
upland very young. ‘Telltale surface debris, commonly consisting of
glistening flint flakes and other similar workshop remains, littered the
small areas where the hunter probably whiled away his time patiently
waiting for a sight of game.

Native stone materials for the manufacture of chipped-flint imple-
ments occurred in the form of local river cobbles and in outcrops of
cherty rock. The characteristic colors of the flint were various shades
of gray and green, with some reddish and black, in that order. The
Lisburne limestone deposits in the mountains yielded a good supply
of native chert.

The foothills area of the north slope was found to be best suited for
archeological research. Indeed, by far the majority of the sites were
located within the confines of this strip. It was apparently no accident
that this area was favored by hunters, since even in historic times the
inland Eskimos kept close to the mountains over the great part of the
year (Stoney, 1899). Upon a little observation it was seen that herds
of caribou could have been more easily spotted, ambushed, and dis-
patched with short-range weapons from the shelter of the hills than
on the coastal plain. Archeologically, also, there were more exposed
areas which could be readily examined in the foothills. This con-
trasted with the flatter coastal plain, where there were fewer denuded
and barren points and consequently fewer sites to be found. A few
river-cut banks and some low elevations, where a particularly resistant
rock formation bulged the ground surface up in a low hillock, pr>-
sented the more usual opportunities for archeological examination.

In the lower parts of the valleys, were it not for the “soil boils” or
minor soil upheavals through weak points in the permanently frozen
ground or permafrost, no actual soil could be seen because of the tundra

484 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

cover. The excavations attempted amounted to no more than a mere
scratching of the surface through about 6 inches of moist, thawed earth
to the solid permafrost. A résumé of the literature reveals that this
permafrost is more than just an impediment to archeological work
in the Arctic (Muller, 1947). Along the hill slopes, in lieu of normal
soil erosion, the majority of the soil movements are confined to phe-
nomena which include creeping of the soil and solifluction (ibid., p.
72). Solifluction is a molasseslike, slow, downslope movement of
water and saturated masses of surface ground. 'To this may be added
also a mud flow which usually has a higher content of water and moves
more rapidly. Organic deposition of matter is extremely deficient,
especially on the lookout stations, as has been intimated. There are
no known volcanic deposits in this region; hence there is no deposition
of soil by volcanic means.

The mountains are quite rugged, and the only places suitable for
archeological research are near the streams and passes of the val-
leys. Although limestone deposits are known in the mountains, sur-
prisingly enough no solution caverns and only a few small “joint”
caves, affording shelter, were observed in the Brooks Range by Ar-
thur Bowsher, geologist of the United States National Museum. These
mountains were thought to have been impassable during the Pleisto-
cene, since the valleys, at least, are presumed to have been covered with
ice at that time. Therefore, although evidence of later archeological
material may be found in the passes, it is presumed that any finds of
man’s morphological remains or artifacts older than the last glacial
stage will not be made in the mountain province.

Since I had to keep on the schedule of the Survey’s movements, I
could not undertake a side trip to the site where the Folsom point had
been found by the 1947 field party, on Folsom Point Syncline, near the
Utukok River. The closest approach was some 25 miles distant. A
long synclinal ridge led to the site. The Folsom Point ridge, traceable
on recent Geological Survey maps, is nearly 22 miles long and is situ-
ated at an elevation about 2,000 feet above mean sea level. Edward G.
Sable, a member of the party and the actual finder of the Folsom point,
said that he had discovered the artifact high on the ridge top, lying on
the bare soil and rocks unaccompanied by any other artifacts. He
noted no chipping stations or other archeological sites in the immedi-
ate neighborhood. Therefore, it was comforting to know that this was
an isolated find, and presumably little would be gained by revisiting
the site. It has been suggested that the long east-west trending ridges
may even have been avenues of migration (Thompson, 1948, p. 64). It
is possible that they could have attracted the attention of peoples mov-
ing inland from the flatter coastal plain. The tops of the ridges are
considerably easier to walk upon, since they are bare of tundra, and
are rather easy landmarks to follow. Tundra, composed of lichens,

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 485

mosses, and low shrubs interspersed with pools of standing water, pre-
sents a very uneven, hummocky land surface for walking, reducing the
normal rate of travel speed considerably. On occasions, when travers-
ing a particularly long stretch of tundra, it was found that the actual
walking rate was only a little better than 2 miles per hour. The pace
is exceedingly variable depending upon the particular stretch of ter-
rain covered.

My archeological discoveries on the survey of the two river drain-
ages may be roughly segregated into three temporal horizons. Divided
into phases of occupation, we may distinguish as the earliest the poly-
hedral flint-core and lamellar-flake phase. The second is the pre-
historic Eskimo phase, and the third, the historic Western Eskimo
phase. The earliest of these phases, referred to previously as “Meso-
lithic” and represented by the two sites on the Kukpowruk River,
may be equated with the University of Alaska campus site and in-
directly with the finds made by Nelson in the Gobi Desert.* Dr. Nel-
son examined the cores and flakes from the Kukpowruk River sites
when the writer visited him at the American Museum of Natural
History, and noted that the cores (pl. 3, c) recovered from one site
(No. 65) are larger than the average polyhedral fluted cores.

In order to evaluate properly the polyhedral core-flake culture,
we may weigh the data by using an approach such as the triad of Gra-
hame Clark (1939, p. 183): (1) Typological considerations, (2)
find complex, (3) geographical distributions. The total gives us a
synchronic cultural picture of the archeology in a relative temporal
frame of reference. In view of the fact that the fluted cores and lamel-
lar flakes seem to be diagnostic of a separate cultural horizon, in
Alaska at least, the presentation here is confined to these artifacts.
Therefore for the sake of brevity and to eliminate detailed analysis of
artifacts, the other accompanying lithic material from the various
sites discussed is not enlarged upon. It may be noted that rubbed
and polished stone implements, such as stone axes, are equally absent
from this find complex, as they are from the well-established Paleo-
Indian complexes. The fluted cores undoubtedly were the byproduct
of the manufacture of the lamellar flakes. Uses for the latter may
have been as small knives or possibly as inserts set in at the point
end of aspear. They could also have been inserted in large projectile
shafts.

It is not necessary to dwell on the description of the type speci-
mens, since Nelson (1937, pp. 270-272) has already described them
well. The technique of manufacture was presumably so specialized
that it certainly did not have its origin in a short time span. The
distribution is rather widespread over northern Eurasia and North

4 This is on the basis of the diagnostic lamellar flint flakes and the ‘‘fluted”’ or polyhedral flint cores (pl. 3)

486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

America (de Laguna, 1947, pp. 171-172). There is even some re-
semblance to the cores and flakes of Mexico and the Hopewellian
mound-building cultures. However, we are not sure of what such
relationship implies. As a matter of interest, it seems that some
students of prehistory suggest that the mound-building cultures of
the eastern United States may have stemmed from Middle America.
If this be true, they may have brought the core-flake technique with
them. At present, to attempt to trace the lamellar flakes and cores
outside of the immediate sphere of demonstrable geographic affinity
would be rather difficult.

Significantly, the cores and flakes found by Johnson (1946) and
Leechman (1946) in the Kluane Lake area near the Alaska Highway
are roughly datable by the geology. These artifacts were found in
deposits that were tentatively dated by one estimate to be about
7,000 to 9,000 years old (Leechman, 1946, pp. 387-888). This was
presumably within the range of the postglacial Climatic Optimum.
On the other hand, Skarland (n. d., p. 175) cites Johnson and Raup,
who tentatively date their oldest Kluane Lake artifacts from about
4,000 to 5,000 years ago, or during a late phase of the postglacial
Climatic Optimum. Presumably, all were speaking about the same
oldest level of stratified archeological material. It is probable that
Johnson’s and Raup’s date may be closer to the actual, at least on
typological grounds. The area around Kluane Lake must have been
grasslands during and after the Climatic Optimum because no trees
occurred there until about A. D. 500 (de Laguna, 1949, p. 75). How
recently the “Mongolian” type cores and lamellar flakes occur in
northern Alaska cannot be stated definitely at present. These finds
represent the work of an apparently inland population of hunters
whose cultural affiliations are still not certain.

A large proportion of the sites recorded represents the next phase
in our chronology which appears to be that of prehistoric inland
Eskimo cultures. With the exception of several aberrant flaked
artifact types, all the flint specimens appear to belong to a related
culture horizon. Most of the sites were hilltop chipping or lookout
stations (pl. 5,a). Fortunately, one of the larger hunting camps, un-
doubtedly a temporary base camp, was found nestled near a sheltering
bluff. The cultural remains from this camp include antlers and bones
of caribou cut with stone implements, antler root picks, large flint
blades and scrapers, typical long, narrow Eskimo projectile points,
coarse gravel-tempered pottery, some rubbed slate, a perforated bear
(canine) tooth, hammerstones, and a jade adz set in an antler socket.
The cultural material, with the possible exception of some of the
stone blades, etc., seemed to have a lot in common with the artifactual
remains of the coastal Eskimos. Caribou has been an extremely im-

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LINKS BETWEEN EURASIA AND AMERICA

a and b, Three views each of semipolyhedral “‘mesolithie” flint cores; c, two views
of a large polyhedral core; d, lamellar flakes. All were found on two sites on
the Kukpowruk River, Alaska.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Solecki PLATE 4

a, Edward G. Sable, of the U. S. Geological Survey, the finder of the Folsom
point shown in insert, holding a mammoth tusk he recovered on the Kokolik
River in Alaska; b, part of an encampment of the remaining inland Eskimos,
the Killik tribe, at the northern end of Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brooks Range
Province. (Lower photograph by George A. Llano.)

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Solecki PLATE 5

Two of several kinds of primitive housing encountered in northern Alaska.
a, A small rock-crevice shelter associated with prehistoric Eskimo artifacts on
a hilltop; b, a recent winter sod hut erected by coastal Eskimos on the Kuk-
powruk River near Point Lay.

Smithsonian Report, 1950.—Solecki PLATE 6

A dome-shaped willow hut at northwestern entrance to Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska.
a, Hut being erected. The poles in foreground were imported from south of
mountain divide. A radio aerial is seen to the right. 6, The same hut finished
and covered with caribou hides. In the background are store-bought tents of
other Killik Eskimos.

(Photographs by George A. Llano.)

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 487

portant source of food to the inland Eskimos, to judge from the
amount of caribou-bone debris.

Although Point Hope with its rich coastal Eskimo culture, called
by Larson and Rainey (1948) the Ipiutak culture, lay only about 80
miles to the west of the Kukpowruk River, no trace of recognizable
Ipiutak material was discovered in the entire survey.

The third archeological phase represented on the north slope is that
of the historic inland Nunatagmiut Eskimo, or the Western Inland
Eskimo (Solecki, 1950a). This was also a culture dependent largely
upon caribou as the main economy. The Western Inland Eskimo
phase seems to have been carried on directly from the prehistoric
inland Eskimo. A hunting camp found in the foothills province
yielded good samples of aboriginal stone work and some historic-con-
tact data, which ties in the prehistoric with the historic level. The
people made good use of hunting blinds or windbreaks constructed of
stone on the hills. There was also evidence of deadfall traps—
propped-up affairs of stones that fell upon small animals when a
key stick was disturbed. One small village of eight houses was found
on a riverside terrace about 35 miles inland from the coast, containing
much evidence of historic contact material. The houses, represented
by small rectangular enclosures of turf, measuring on the average
about 9 by 14 feet, had a short side entrance to the south and a central
fireplace lined with stone slabs. None of the houses were of the
deep subterranean type. Signs of ax and saw cuts were found on the
timbers and caribou bones. From the bone remains it seems that
every part of the caribou was brought to camp. The antlers were
neatly cut off with metal saws, and more than one caribou skull had
been carefully sawed at the top, giving access to the brain case.
Since it seems that the natives were in the habit of consuming the
whole animal, it is likely that the brains were also utilized. Sled
runners of whalebone were found—items thus far lacking in the pre-
historic culture of the same region.

One historic village of the coastal Eskimo type was discovered near
the mouth of the Kukpowruk River. This village, containing 29
structural features, was of late date, possibly as recent as 50 years ago,
judged from the kind of historic-contact goods present. There were
19 houses ranged along the river bank with sunken entrance tunnels.
The central fireplace was absent. All the bones and antlers of caribou
were metal-saw cut, and the skulls were neatly uncapped. Whale
vertebrae were found on the surface of the site. One item that seemed
to be out of place was an old sewing-machine head. Evidence point-
ing to the fact that these departed people had not forgotten their stone-
working industry was attested by the finding of flint chips on the

922758—51 32

488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

floor of one of the houses. There was also a small pile of common
flint chips in the sod of the village area.

The coastal Eskimos living today at Point Lay venture inland
to hunt caribou and to mine coal from the seams on the Kukpowruk
River. The coal is put up in sacks for their own use, and trans-
ported by boats down the river. One of their sod huts (pl. 5, 6) was
found near a large riverside coal seam inland.

Unfortunately ethnological and physical anthropological data on
the living Eskimos from the interior of the north slope are very
meager and available to us only in accounts of late nineteenth- and
early twentieth-century explorers. As far as we know, there is only
one band of truly inland north-slope natives left (pl. 4, 6). This
band, called the Killik Eskimo, numbered about 60 persons at last
report. They live around Chandler Lake and Anaktuvuk Pass in the
mountains, with a trading station at Bettles to the south through
Anaktuvuk Pass. Presumably it is to the Killiks that we owe the
indications of comparatively recent camp sites in the neighborhood of
the upper Colville River and its tributaries (Solecki, 1950a). A1-
though these Eskimos still forage, living a nomadic existence, they
are not without communication with the outside world. They take
advantage of light plane carrier service, possess portable radios, and,
according to all reports, are well versed in things mechanical, even
the mysteries of repairing an obstinate outboard motor or an airplane
pontoon float.

The immediate antecedents of the Killiks, probably the same people
who left the historic archeological material along the rivers, were
collectively known as the Nunatagmiut Eskimos. This population,
which Larsen and Rainey call the Nunatarmiuts, numbered “not less
than 3,000” at the turn of the century (Larsen and Rainey, 1948, p. 31).
The Nunatagmiut people, according to the first-hand observations of
Stoney (1899) were slow in moving over the country, since they de-
pended entirely on the land for food. They stopped wherever they
encountered herds of caribou. Even when going down river to the
coast from the mountains in the springtime, only a few boats jour-
neyed together, since enough food could not be provided for all the
people at the same time. In at least one case, the Eskimos at the
upper part of a river waited for the caribou to precede them down-
stream, so that they would have game as they descended the river
(ibid., pp. 818-814). Illustrative of the importance of the caribou
in. the inland Eskimos’ economy is an inventory of the items made
from, and the uses of, the various parts of these animals. The skin
furnished material for huts, tents, boats, clothing, bedding, and rope;

5 Personal communication from Robert Rausch, U. 8S. Public Health Service, November 20, 1950. Mr.
Rausch asserts that these Eskimo call themselves Nunamiut, a contractual name for Nunatagmiut (see
below).

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 489

the sinew, thread; the antlers, such items as sinkers and tool handles;
the hoofs, small boxes. The hair, mixed with tobacco, was smoked
as a powerful stimulant. The bones, crushed and boiled, yielded oil.
The marrow provided grease and hair oil. From the contents of the
stomach a soup was made, and the flesh was eaten raw, roasted, or
boiled (ibid., pp. 842-843). Skarland (n. d., p. 152) estimates that
an inland Arctic slope family of six persons “need a minimum of 70
caribou a year to supply the necessities.” Supplementing the main
diet were the less numerous and smaller game. These included bears,
mountain sheep, ducks, geese, ptarmigans, and other Arctic birds and
fish. In some parts, moose, marmots, and ground squirrels were avail-
able. Naturally nothing was cultivated for food owing to the harsh
climatic conditions and because the natives were almost constantly
moving. However, they found some products of the soil edible, thus
supplementing a diet of meat. These products were principally roots,
buds, and berries, eaten raw or prepared in different ways. Most of
the roots were strung and boiled before eating, although they were also
sometimes eaten raw. Berries were eaten before a meal and consti-
tuted a course. Stoney (1899, p. 844) said that the natives once lived
on them exclusively for 5 days, but only through necessity. One
dietary habit, which may seem strange to us, was the eating of white
clay. It was taken only when these inland Eskimos were short of food.
Stoney stated that the clay when mixed with oil, berries, and leaves,
was tasteless and easy to swallow.

The houses of these historic people were built warmly and snugly
enough to withstand the rigors of winter, yet they were easy to erect.
They were made of plaited willows in a dome shape, held upright by
a few posts (pl. 6, a, 6,). A layer of snow was packed over a covering
of turf and moss. Another basically similar type of temporary lodg-
ing was covered with skins and then insulated with a packing of snow.
When moving, the framework and skins were taken down from the
inside, leaving a hollow shell of solidified snow. No mention was made
of the snow-block type of house or igloo.

Physically, these inland people differed from the coastal Eskimos
in several distinguishable respects, most notably in their greater height
(Solecki, 1950a, pp. 140-141). There are material traits in their
culture, such as the dome-shaped skin hut, which may indicate bor-
rowing and also probably admixture with the Athapascan Indians on
the other side of the Brooks Range.

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

All three cultures discussed, plus the Folsom-point people, had one
economic trait in common. They were all hunters of herbivores—
grass-eating and foraging mammals. Land-mammal hunting was

490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

certainly an inland continental trait, requiring the mutual cooperation
of the hunters. Lacking equipment other than their short-range
weapons, they undoubtedly had to rely upon stealth and various means
of trapping, in order to despatch their prey at close range. Whole
families generally accompanied the hunt. This was not merely a trek
into the game country, since these nomads lived off the land and de-
pended for their subsistence upon the presence of the herds. Accord-
ing to Smith and Mertie, the Pleistocene fauna of Arctic Alaska
included the mammoth, bison, horse, and musk ox.

Taking the cultures in order from the oldest thus far known on the
north slope of Alaska, we have:

1. The hunters—Folsom men or Paleo-Indians, represented by the
Folsom-point find in the Utukok River area. This area is situated
on the unglaciated, low-lying north slope which leads eastward into
the Mackenzie Valley, the first through route opened over 25,000 to
30,000 years ago. That these same Folsom people or Paleo-Indians
hunted the now extinct mammals in the High Plains of the American
Continent is borne out by the paleontological evidence.

In order to account for the presence of geologically dated Early
Man in the High Plains of America 10,000 or more years ago, we
must give priority to the north slope-Mackenzie route of migration
over the Yukon drainage route. The Yukon route was opened at an
estimated minimum of perhaps 20,000 to 15,000 years later.

From the premise of animal ecology, we may presume that the north
slope was covered with a plant growth favorable to certain grazing
mammals. Such a plant covering would extend around the low
border of the Arctic Ocean and up the Mackenzie Valley along the
low level region, much like the extension of the grassland today.
Mammals migrating from Asia and finding suitable fodder in quan-
tity to supply their needs, probably widened their range to cor-
respond with the extension of plant life. Following the mammals,
came man. Suitable climatic conditions were undoubtedly the fore-
runner of this chainlike reaction. If Early Man had made any settle-
ments along the shores of the Arctic Ocean during the time when
the glaciers locked up much of the sea water, it is unlikely that we
should ever find these sites. The waters, freed by the glacial reces-
sion, would have covered the ancient shore line. Notwithstanding
this, there is a strong possibility that Early Man could have hunted
sea mammals in the Arctic. Giddings’ recent finds at the exceptional
Cape Denbigh site has revealed probable stone harpoon blades in the
deepest and oldest horizon.

2. The polyhedral-core and lamellar-flake people of Alaska, come
next in order and, judging by their site locales and equipment, were
also hunters of the grass-eating herbivores. The culture of these

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 491

people seems to have been pre-Eskimo and pre-Athapascan Indian.
The north-slope finds may be as much as 5,000 years old. Since the
cores and flakes were found on strategic hills, it indicated that these
stations were used by hunters who kept a long-range lookout for
herds of game. We are not certain whether bison, musk ox, moose,
or caribou was the most abundant game hunted. It could have been
any one of these. Today the first two of this group are extinct in
Alaska, and the caribou are more numerous than moose on the north
slope. Probably the climate had a disturbing effect on the ecologi-
cal habitat of the bison and moose, at least. They seem to prefer
different herbaceous plants than the tundra grasses upon which the
cold-loving caribou thrive. This would explain why the moose and
bison, by and large, migrated to warmer fields which would be more
suited to the growth of plants upon which they fed. Indeed, we are
told that a botanist, Hugh M. Raup, of Harvard University, finds
that muskeg land or the tundra, prior to the presence of the grass-
lands, extended into the Peace River area of Alberta up to 2 or 3
thousand years ago. The present-day bison and moose in this region
were preceded by herds of caribou (Jenness, 1940, p.3). Raup (1941,
pp. 225-227) has pointed out that attempts to correlate changing
climates and vegetations on the one hand, and the migrations of
aboriginal populations on the other, present some fascinating problems.

With the possible exception of some evidence found at Disco Bay,
Greenland, this core-flake cultural horizon seems to have consisted
primarily of inland-dwelling aborigines. -

3. The prehistoric Eskimo of the third phase considered were also
inland dwellers, at least for a greater part of the year. They seem
to have been almost entirely dependent upon caribou as their main
source of meat. Whether they descended the rivers regularly late in
spring, as did the historic Eskimo described by Stoney (1899), we
do not know. However, in all likelihood they did, as evidenced by
the presence of aboriginal trade goods found at the sites. All the
lithic material recovered seems to have been locally derived.

A United States naval officer and explorer, Lt. George M. Stoney
(1899), has offered us the best graphic eyewitness account of the inland
Arctic people, the Nunatagmiut. Larsen and Rainey (1948, pp. 30-
36) summarize our knowledge of the inland Eskimos from various
sources. One of the most pertinent remarks about the Nunatagmiut
made by the latter authors (ibid., p. 31) is that “above all, it is their
ecology which makes these inland Eskimos a unit and serves to dis-
tinguish them from the coast Eskimo.” Outright starvation and
disease, particularly diseases introduced by the white man, accounted
for the decimation of the Nunatagmiut at the turn of the nineteenth
century.

492 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The reason why the inland Eskimos occupied this environmental
niche in the Arctic seems to be one of choice, reaching far back into
antiquity. The writer concurs with Larsen and Rainey’s (1948, p. 36)
opinion that the cultural difference between the coastal and inland
Eskimos “is apparently deeply rooted.” A summation of the archeo-
logical differences and resemblances between these two economically
divergent cultures awaits analysis. The matter of geographic condi-
tions and their impress upon the cultural scheme of a people does not
seem resolvable in terms other than those involving the interaction
of organism and environment. Pursuant to our theme, Sauer (1944,
p. 529) remarked, “A given environment offers a determinable range
of options to a given cultural group, but this range, for the same area,
may be quite different for another culture.” In other words, as Fred-
rik Barth (1950, p. 338) has said, “It is . . . possible for a group of
people to exploit only a small part of the total available food source,
as clam diggers or deer hunters, who may be as limited and specialized
in their food habits as are most mammalian species.” But the given
environment here, the inland Arctic, is one of the last places in the
world to find anything resembling a wide range of options for habi-
tation. This is one of the areas of marginal cultural survival, whose
occupants were perforce dependent almost wholly upon herbivorous
mammals in their hunting-foraging existence. In fact, the natives
in late prehistoric and historic times at least, were dependent to a
large extent upon a single species of mammals, the caribou.

How the factors of ecological succession, an orderly set of changes
from one kind of habitat to another, affected primitive man in the
Arctic, we do not know at present. These changes, presumably rather
slow, are continually taking place in the environment. Even slight
differences in climate may have broadly reaching effects in the vege-
tation of a habitat. This in turn may influence the animal life. Man
might survive the situation, or depart. Elton (1939, p. 156) makes a
highly suggestive statement : “It seems highly probable, although dif-
ficult in the present state of our knowledge to prove conclusively, that
many animals migrate on a large scale in order to get away from a
particular place rather than to go towards anywhere in particular.”

It is difficult to appraise the societal basis of the bands of inland
Eskimos in the manner described for other cultures by Julian Steward
(1936), because the people are gone, and with them, the needed infor-
mation. Certainly inferences can be made, but these cannot be sub-
stituted for facts. We may still be able to extract some ethnological
data from the present-day Killiks, who are supposedly the descend-
ants of the original Nunatagmiuts. Some information may be ob-
tained relevant to the social problems of these people from the bands
of inland Eskimos still living on the south side of the Brooks Range.

ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 493

CONCLUSIONS

We have briefly explored the relationship of archeology to ecology
on the northern slope of Arctic Alaska. The total of the archeolo-
gical sites recorded amounted to 217, all of which, with the exception
of 17 noted by Thompson (1948), were recorded by the writer (Solecki,
1950a, 1950b). This shows that the Arctic interior region is not a
barren area for archeological research. The foothills area of the
Brooks Range was especially prolific. There were 75 other occupa-
tional features—recent Eskimo hunting sites and other isolated man-
made works, such as windbreaks and stone traps. Evidence seems
to point to the fact that this region was on the migratory route of
Early Man or Paleo-Indian and of mammalian life from Asia into
North America in glacial and postglacial times. Counting from the
earliest horizons, we have at least four cultures chronologically repre-
sented on the north slope: (1) The Folsom or Paleo-Indian cultures,
comparatively the oldest known; (2) the polyhedral flint-core and
lamellar-flake people (‘Mesolithic culture”), represented by finds on
two sites; (8) a prehistoric inland culture, presumably Eskimo, which
blends into the last of our series; (4) the historic inland Nunatagmiut
Eskimos. There is only one small band of inland north-slope Eskimos
left. These are the Killiks, who are faced with possible extinction.

In following the archeology through a time depth in the inland
Arctic, we thread through the ecological environment of the region,
embracing related aspects of biological and earth sciences. Con-
sidered from an archeological angle, any ecological study must be a
dynamic one. In terms of the simplicity of habitat, the Arctic 1s
one of the few places where it is possible to approximate a complete
ecological synthesis. In order that the natives might subsist in this
region, they had to be hunter-foragers, with a dependence upon her-
bivorous prey. The latter were dependent upon the availability of
fodder suitable to them, which, in turn, depended upon climatic
fluctuations.

It is hoped that the programs of future archeological research in
this region will include in their scope an awareness of the various leads
of ecology that we have attempted to utilize. As a problem area,
its prehistory is long and challenging, and the understanding of it
requires not only a knowledge of man and his works, but his relation-
ship to animals, plants, and climate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BARgrH, FREDRIK.
1950. Ecological adaptation and cultural change in archaeology. Amer.
Antiquity, vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 338-339.
BENEDIcT, RuTH.
1934. Patterns of culture. New York.

494 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Brooks, C. EH. P.
1949. Climate through the ages. New York.
CLARK, GRAHAME,
1939. Archaeology and society. London.
Couns, Henry B.
1943. Eskimo archeology and its bearing on the problem of man’s antiquity
in America. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. 86, No. 2, pp. 220-235.
Dr LAGUNA, FREDERICA.
1947. The prehistory of northern North America as seen from the Yukon.
Mem. Soc. Amer. Archaeol., vol. 12, No. 3, pt. 2.
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ELTON, CHARLES.
1939. Animal ecology. New York.
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London, Toronto.
FLINT, RICHARD FOSTER.
1948. Glacial geology and the Pleistocene epoch. New York.
GippinGs, J. L., JR.
1949. Harly flint horizons on the north Bering Sea eoast. Journ. Washington
Acad. Sci., vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 85-90.
Griacs, Ropert I’.
1937. Timberlines as indications of climatic trends. Science, vol. 85, pp.
251-255.
Hawtey, AMOS H.
1950. Human ecology. New York.
JENNESS, DIAMOND.
1940. Prehistorie culture waves from Asia to America. Journ. Washington
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vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 183-186.
JOHNSTON, W. A.
1933. Quaternary geology of North America in relation to the migration of
man. The American Aborigines (Diamond Jenness, ed.), pp. 11—45.
Toronto.
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vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 3838-390.
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1947. Permafrost or permanently frozen ground and related engineering
problems. Ann Arbor, Mich.
NELSON, N. C.
1937. Notes on cultural relations between Asia and America. Amer. An-
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RAINEY, FROELICH.
1940. Archaeological investigations in central Alaska. Amer. Antiquity,
vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 299-808.
Ravp, HucH M.
1941. Botanical problems in Boreal America. Bot. Rev., vol. 7, Nos. 8 and 4,
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ARCHEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ALASKA—SOLECKI 495

REED, JOHN C.

1949. The Geological Survey in Alaska: field season of 1949. Arctic, vol. 2,

No. 3, pp. 174-182.
RoBeErTS, FRANK H. H., Jr.

1940. Developments in the problem of the North American Paleo-Indian.
In Essays in Historical Anthropology of North America, Smith-
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1945. The New World Paleo-Indian. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst., 1944,
pp. 403-434.

SAvER, Cart O.

1944. A geographic sketch of Early Man in America. Geogr. Rey., vol. 34,

No. 4, pp. 529-573.
SIMPSON, GEORGE GAYLORD.

1940. Mammals and land bridges. Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 30,

No. 4, pp. 137-168.
SKARLAND, IVAR.

n. d. The geography of Alaska in Pleistocene and early postglacial time: a
study of the environment from an anthropological viewpoint. Ph. D.
thesis, Harvard Univ.

SKARLAND, Ivar, and GippINGs, J. L., JR.

1948. Flint stations in central Alaska. Amer. Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 2,
pp. 116-120.

SmItH, PHtip S., and MErrIig, J. B., Jr.

1930. Geology and mineral resources of northwestern Alaska. Geol. Surv.
Bull. No. 815.

SoOLECKI, RALpH S.
1950a. New data on the inland Eskimo of northern Alaska. Journ. Wash-
ington Acad. Sci., vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 187-157.
1950b. A preliminary report of an archeological reconnaissance of the Kuk-
powruk and Kokolik Rivers in northwest Alaska. Amer. Antiquity,
vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 66-69.
STEWARD, JULIAN H.

1936. The economie and social basis of primitive bands. Jn Essays in

Anthropology, pp. 331-350. Berkeley, Calif.
STONEY, GEORGE M.

1899. Explorations in Alaska. Proc. U. 8. Naval Inst., vol. 35, No. 3, pt. 1,

pp. 533-584; vol. 85, No. 4, pt. 2, pp. 799-849.
THOMPSON, RAYMOND M.

1948. Notes on the archeology of the Utukok River, northwestern Alaska.

Amer. Antiquity, vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 62-65.
WISSLER, CLARK.

1924. The relation of nature to man as illustrated by the North American

Indian. Ecology, vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 311-318.

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SAMUEL SEYMOUR: PIONEER ARTIST OF THE PLAINS
AND THE ROCKIES

By Joun Francis McDeErmotr

[With 16 plates]

Of all the artists who penetrated our frontiers in the early decades
of the nineteenth century Samuel Seymour has remained the most elu-
sive. Heshould have found an important place in the pictorial record
of the western plains and the Upper Mississippi, for so far as we
know he was the first man with any artistic skill to travel through
those regions sketchbook in hand, and the first views of many famous
spots were no doubt those taken by him. Other men after him, more
energetic in pushing their fortunes or more fortunate in the preserva-
tion of their pictures, achieved considerable repute and left behind
them masses of identifiable work, whereas Seymour has been neglected
and almost forgotten. James Otto Lewis, who painted Indians in
Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1824-26, became well known through his
“Aboriginal Port Folio,” published in 1835-86. George Catlin, who
did not ascend the Missouri until more than a decade after Seymour,
in later years won much publicity by his skillful showmanship;
through his traveling gallery and his books he preserved for the future
a vast number of his subjects. Bodmer’s record of the Missouri and
its Indians, done in 1833, saw extensive publication in the Atlas to
Prince Maximilian’s “Travels in North America,” first printed in
German in 1839-41, but very soon issued also in Paris and London
editions. Alfred J. Miller may not have made any great impression
on his time by his water colors of Sir William Drummond Stewart’s
sporting expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1837, but the sketches
were preserved so that Miller is now represented by the most complete
series of pictures of one expedition known to exist today. The Kern
brothers in the 1840’s and 1850’s saw much of their work lithographed
in official publications of the records of the exploring parties they
accompanied. Even Father Nicholas Point, companion of De Smet and
strictly an amateur, though still largely unpublished, can yet offer us
several hundred sketches of western scenes in the 1840’s. Only Sey-
mour, the first of them all, is sparsely represented in our files today.
The importance of Seymour is that he was the first artist to fill his
portfolio with sketches of scenery on the Missouri, the Platte, the

497

498 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Arkansas, on the Great Plains, and at the foothills of the Rockies, as
well as on the Upper Mississippi, the Red River of the North, Lake
Winnipeg, and Lake Superior. His misfortune lies in his elusive-
ness, in the disappearance of the great part of that large body of work
he accomplished on those two early journeys beyond the frontier.

Little is known of Seymour’s early years. Dunlap, in his “History
of the Arts of Design,” said he was a native of England and a friend
of Thomas Birch, John Wesley Jarvis, and Thomas Sully in Philadel-
phia (Dunlap, 1918, vol. 3, pp. 26, 257). At least three pictures by
Birch were engraved by Seymour: Philadelphia (with the Treaty
Elm) published May 1, 1801; New York (the “View with the White
Horse”) issued January 1, 1803; and Mount Vernon, March 15, 1804
(Stokes and Haskell, 1933, pp. 46, 48). About 1815 there was pub-
lished an engraving by Steel of a Seymour drawing of the Battle of
New Orleans (Stauffer, 1907, vol. 2, p. 500). A primitive oil on can-
vas of “Indians, Salmon Falls [ New Hampshire],” owned by the Whit-
ney Museum of American Art, is supposed to be the work of Seymour
(pl. 1). Only for the years 1819-23, however, is there any appreci-
able information about his work.

Seymour’s opportunity came when Maj. Stephen H. Long was or-
ganizing the Yellowstone Expedition. The desirability of a staff
artist was clearly felt, and he was chosen for the position. The in-
structions given him in Major Long’s orders of March 31, 1819, make
clear how valuable his portfolio must have been by the time the party
reached home. He was to “furnish sketches of landscapes, whenever
we meet with any distinguished for their beauty and grandeur. He
will also paint miniature likenesses, or portraits if required, of dis-
tinguished Indians, and exhibit groups of savages engaged in celebrat-
ing their festivals, or sitting in council, and in general illustrate any
subject, that may be deemed appropriate in his art” (James, 1823,
VolJl\p. 3)

Unhappily, in Edwin James’ official report of Long’s western ex-
pedition, there are few references to, and little detail concerning, the
day-by-day work of the artist. In a note at the close of that publica-
tion James stated that Seymour had done 150 “landscape views” of
which 60 had been finished (ibid., vol. 2, p. 330). Buta check of the
James volumes does not identify many scenes that the artist sketched.
Long himself in his report to Secretary of War Calhoun said that “Mr.
Seymour has taken numerous landscape views, exhibiting the charac-
teristic features of the country, besides many others of detached
scenery” (James in Thwaites, 1905, vol. 17, p. 181). Of all this work,
however, only 16 pictures can be identified today; this lot includes not

1 For permission to reproduce pictures by Seymour I wish to thank the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia, the Whitney Museum of Art, and the Yale University Library.

SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 499

merely the illustrations of the English and American editions (which
were not all the same) but also a number of unpublished water colors.

The extant Seymour illustrations for the 1819-1830 expedition are
to be found in four lots:

1, Atlas to the American edition of James’ ‘‘Acount of an Expedition” :
War Dance in the Interior of a Konza Lodge.
Oto Council.
Oto Encampment [pl. 5 in this paper].
View of the Rocky Mountains, on the Platte, 50 Miles from their Base.
View of the Insulated Table Lands at the Foot of the Rocky Mountains
[pl. 11].
View of Castle Rock, on a Branch of the Arkansa, at the Base of the Rocky
Mountains.
2. The English edition:
Distant View of the Rocky Mountains (in color), vol. 1, frontispiece.
War Dance in the Interior of a Konza Lodge, vol. 1, p. 126.

Oto Council, vol. 1, p. 140.
View of the Chasm through which the Platte Issues from the Rocky
Mountains (in color), vol. 2, frontispiece.
Pawnee Council, vol. 2, p. 76.
Kiawa Encampment, vol. 3, frontispiece.
Kaskaia, Shienne Chief, Arrappaho, vol. 3, p. 48.
3. The Coe Collection, Yale University Library (original drawings) :
War Dance in the Interior of a Konza Lodge [pl. 2].

Pawnee Council [pl. 4].
View near the Base of the Rocky Mountains [pl. 6].
View Parallel to the Base of the Mountains at the Head of the Platte

[pl. 7].
Cliffs of Red Sandstone near the Rocky Mountains [pl. 8].

Hills of the Trap Formation [pl. 9].
View on the Arkansa near the Rocky Mountains [pl. 10].
Kiowa Encampment [pl. 12].
Kaskaia, Shienne Chief, Arrappaho [pl. 13].
4. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (original drawing) :

Oto Council [pl]. 3].

Two other illustrations used in the James publications were not
Seymour’s original work: “Skin Lodges of the Kaskaias” was by
T. R. Peale; the “Facsimile of a Delineation upon a Buffalo Robe,”
of course, was merely a copy by Seymour of an Indian original
(Seymour’s drawing of the latter is in the Coe Collection).

Seymour joined Long’s party at Pittsburgh some time in the spring
of 1819. As an artist he is first mentioned by William Baldwin,
physician and surgeon as well as botanist to the expedition, in a letter
to his friend William Darlington. Writing from on board the steam-
boat Western E’ngineer, Pittsburgh, May 1, 1819, Dr. Baldwin re-
marked that “Mr. Seymour [had] sketched a number of romantic

views” in that neighborhood (Darlington, 1843, p. 313). The official
report, however, said nothing of these drawings.

500 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

The first glimpse James gives us of Seymour at work occurred at
Cave-in-Rock (80 miles below the Wabash) on May 29, 1819, where
the party had spent the night. “Early the next morning,” the account
reads, “we went to visit the cave, of the entrance to which two views
were sketched by Mr. Seymour” (James, 1823, vol. 1, p. 32). On
June 6, when they were below Herculaneum on the Mississippi,
T. R. Peale noted in his journal that they passed under “the most
sublime bluffs of limestone rocks that I ever beheld. Nearly all of the
hills on the left shore were walled with these tremendous precipices
of from 1 to 800 feet perpendicular, resembling walls and towers,
some with bare tops and others capped with grass and shrub-
bery. ... We being obliged to go directly at the foot of these hills,
were not able to take many views of them. Mr. Seymour, however,
succeeded in getting one or two” (Weese, 1947, p. 158). None of these
sketches can be located.

The party now proceeded to St. Louis, where they stayed 12 days.
From St. Charles, Mo., Seymour set out overland with Say, Jessup,
and Peale while the others continued up the Missouri by boat.
During this walk across the State of Missouri, there is no mention of
any sketches by Seymour. Above Fort Osage the artist found in a
Kansa village a subject to be used as his first contribution to the
published account. The journalist of the party made an interesting
report of this episode:

Mr. Say’s party were kindly received at the village they had left on the preced-

ing day. In the evening they had retired to rest in the lodge set apart for their
accommodation, when they were alarmed by a party of savages, rushing in
armed with bows, arrows and lances, shouting and yelling in a most frightful
manner. The gentlemen of the party had immediate recourse to their arms, but
observing that some squaws, who were in the lodge, appeared unmoved, they
began to suspect that no molestation to them was intended. The Indians collected
around the fire in the centre of the lodge, yelling incessantly; at length their
howlings assumed something of a measured tone, and they began to accompany
their voices with a sort of drum and rattles. After singing for some time, one
who appeared to be their leader, struck the post over the fire with his lance,
and they all began to dance, keeping very exact time with the music. Each
warrior had, besides his arms, and rattles made of strings of deer’s hoofs, some
part of the intestines of an animal inflated, and inclosing a few small stones,
which produced a sound like pebbles in a gourd shell. After dancing round the
fire for some time, without appearing to notice the strangers, they departed,
raising the same wolfish howl, with which they had entered; but their music
and their yelling continued to be heard about the village during the night.
[James, 1828, vol. 1, p. 135.]
This “dog dance,” we are told, had been performed for the entertain-
ment of the guests. “Mr. Seymour took an opportunity to sketch the
attitude and dresses of the principal figures (ibid.) (pl. 2). On
publication the plate was incorrectly entitled “War Dance in the
Interior of a Konza Lodge.”

SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 501

At Engineer Cantonment near Council Bluffs, where Long’s party
encamped for the winter, a council was held on October 4 at which
about 100 Otos, 70 Missouris, and 50 or 60 Iowas were present.
According to the record,

They arranged themselves, agreeably to their tribes, on puncheon benches,

which had been prepared for them, and which described a semicircle, on the
chord of which sat the whites, with Major O’Fallon and his interpreters in the
centre. Sentinels walked to and fro behind the benches; and a handsome stand-
ard waved before the assembly. The council was opened by a few rounds from
the howitzers. A profound silence reigned for a few minutes, when Major
O’Fallon arose, and ina very animated and energetic manner addressed his Indian
auditors. Suitable replies were given by Shonga-tonga, the Crenier and others,
with all the extravagant gesticulation which is one of the prominent features of
Indian oratory. [Ibid., vol. 1, p. 158.]
At some time during this meeting Seymour sketched his “Oto
Council” (pl. 3), which was used to illustrate both editions of the
narrative. Less than a week later the Pawnees came in fora talk. In
the water color now made (“Pawnee Council”) the artist gave a dif-
ferent view (pl. 4) of the council grounds and a detail more in
keeping with the text quoted above than was that of the “Oto
Council” (ibid., vol. 1, p. 159).

There are no further references to Seymour’s delineations until
the next spring or summer. The “Oto Encampment” (pl. 5.), which
was published only in the American edition, may have been done in
March or April during the winter encampment, or in June on the
march up the Platte Valley. In it was represented “an encampment
of Oto Indians, which Mr. Seymour sketched near the Platte river

. . . the group of Indians on the left is intended to represent a party
of Konza Indians approaching to perform the calumet dance in the
Oto village .. . this party when still distant from the Otoes, had
sent forward a messenger, with the offer of a prize to the first Oto
that should meet them. This circumstance was productive of much
bustle and activity among the warriors and young men, who eagerly
mounted their horses, and exerted their utmost speed” (ibid., vol.
1, pp. 188-189).

Presently the explorers—whose new orders had diverted them from
the Yellowstone objective to a round over the Great Plains to the
mountains—on June 30, 1820, “were cheered by a distant view of
the Rocky Mountains” (ibid., vol. 1, p. 489). Although James did not
mention it, the artist must now have done the “Distant View of the
Rocky Mountains” which forms one of the illustrations of the English
edition. Literally, these were not the Rockies, but they were prac-
tically the beginning of the mountains. Probably a day or two
later Seymour sketched the “View of the Rocky Mountains, on the
Platte, 50 Miles from their Base,” published in the American edition.

502 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Next Seymour drew his “View of the Chasm through which the Platte
Issues from the Rocky Mountains” (English edition only). Their
camp on July 5 was “immediately in front of the chasm,” the view
being taken from a “commanding eminence” a little to the south of
camp. (The paragraph in which this sketch is mentioned appears
only in the English edition; James in Thwaites, 1905, vol. 15, pp.
285-286.)

Most of this month was spent in crossing the present State of
Colorado from the headwaters of the Platte to the headwaters of
the Arkansas. At least seven views for this portion of the trip
exist. Of 10 Seymour water colors in the Coe Collection of Yale
University Library (all of which must have been among the 60 pic-
tures finished by the artist), 5 were never published. From their sub-
jects they belong to July 1820: “View near the Base of the Rocky
Mountains” (pl. 6), “View Parallel to Base of the Mountains at
the Head of the Platte” (pl. 7), “Cliffs of Red Sandstone near the
Rocky Mountains” (pl. 8—possibly July 6), “Hills of the Trap For-
mation” (pl. 9—probably July 28), and “View on the Arkansa near
the Rocky Mountains” (pl. 10). These pictures are all signed either
“S.S.” or “S. Seymour,” and the captions are in his hand.

Two other pictures for this area were published in the American
edition: a “View of the Insulated Table Lands at the Foot of the
Rocky Mountains” (pl. 11), and a “View of Castle Rock, on a Branch
of the Arkansa, at the Base of the Rocky Mountains” (James, 1823,
vol. 2, p. 16). James mentioned another subject that was not re-
produced. As the party moved south it came to a hill from the
top of which “the High Peak mentioned by Capt. Pike” was dis-
covered. In this neighborhood they came on “several rock forma-
tions beautifully exposed,” and Seymour made sketches of “these
singular rocks” (James in Thwaites, 1905, vol. 15, p. 302).

On July 24 a party consisting of Captain Bell, Say, Seymour, and
others was detached to proceed eastward along the Arkansas. Two
or three days later they came upon a Kiowa encampment, and the
artist did another of his interesting views (pl. 12). The foreground
pictures the tents and flagstaff of the whites, with Indians crossing the
river in the middle distance, and the Indian encampment far beyond
the river on the horizon. It was probably on this occasion that
Seymour also made the sketches of the three Indians represented on
the plate of “Kaskaia, Shienne Chief, Arrappaho” (pl. 13). (James,
1823, vol. 2, p. 175 ff.) Both of these pictures were used in the
English edition.

At the close of the expedition the journals and papers of the various
members were placed in James’ hands for the preparation of a book
for the general public about the exploratory expedition, and for this
Seymour was to furnish illustrations. Work progressed slowly. On

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WAR [DOG] DANCE IN THE INTERIOR OF A KONZA LODGE

Coe Collection, Yale University Library.

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SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 503

June 10, 1822, Long wrote to Colonel Roberdeau, in charge of the
Topographical Bureau of the Army, that the artist had then com-
pleted about 60 of his drawings and that 20 had been selected for the
English edition. Nineteen days later in another letter to Roberdeau,
Long expressed considerable exasperation with his artist: “Since
writing my last, Seymour has done nothing. I cannot get him to
complete the Drawings for our Book. <A strange infatuation seems
to have seized him—and I know not when to expect his recovery.”
The outcome of this affair is cloudy. Long evidently had hopes of
using many pictures, but both the American and the English editions
came out very sparingly illustrated. The Coe Collection views
already mentioned comprise 5 of the unpublished finished pictures,
but what became of more than 40 others is still a mystery.

In 1823 Long set out on the exploration of the country above Fort
Snelling. Whatever had been the difficulties over the finished sketches
for the James account of the western expedition, Seymour again went
out as “Landskip Painter.” Our knowledge of his work done on
this journey is derived from William H. Keating’s official “Narrative
of an Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter’s River, Lake Winne-
veek, Lake of the Woods &c. &. performed in the year 1823 . . . under
the Command of Stephen H. Long, Major U.S. T. E.” There we
find 11 plates and a few references to other drawings by Seymour.

The party moved west from Philadelphia through Wheeling and
Zanesville. In Piqua on the Miami they stopped for a day to examine
the mounds and then proceeded to Fort Wayne. There they were
interested in the Pottawatamies, and there “Mr. Seymour took a
likeness of him [Metea] which was considered a very striking one”
by all who knew him. One cannot, however, offer much praise for
that head as it is reproduced in plate 3 of the first volume. Keating
described this chief as about 40 or 45 years old: “He has a forbidding
aspect, by no means deficient in dignity; his features are strongly
marked, and expressive of a haughty and tyrannical disposition .. .
he is characterized by a low, aquiline, and well-shaped nose .. . his
forehead is low and receeding . . . His hair . . . indicates a slight
tendency tocurl .. .” (Keating, 1824, vol. 1, pp. 89-90). One would
almost doubt that Keating and Seymour had been looking at the same
Indian.

From Fort Wayne the expedition moved on to Fort Dearborn and
then to Prairie du Chien. Wennebea, a Sauk whom they now met,
Keating described as “a young and good looking Indian... . of a
lively, cheerful disposition . . . to us he was always uniformly polite
and obliging” (ibid., vol. 1 p. 190). Perhaps so. But Seymour’s por-
trait sketch of him is no better either as a likeness of its subject or as
a detailed delineation of an Indian warrior in costume than was that of

922758—51——_83

504 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Metea, or that of Blackman who appeared on the same plate. For
Blackman, let it suffice to say that he was a Chippewa whose coun-
tenance the artist sketched in the middle of August at Fort Garry
in Canada. The journalist then wrote that “this man had a peculiar
expression on his face, which induced Mr. Seymour to take a likeness
of him” (ibid., vol. 2, p. 76). Of the three heads Blackman may be
the best, but this group is enough to convince us (unless J. Hill as
engraver has betrayed the painter) that Seymour ought never to set
up as a portrait artist. Certainly, too, as far as this publication is
concerned, Seymour missed the opportunity that J. O. Lewis made
much of in the next few years: the recording of Indian costume and
paint.

At Prairie du Chien the party was split; Seymour was in the section
that moved by boat up the Mississippi to Fort Snelling. On June 26
they passed “Garlic cape. . . . In shape it represents a cone cut by a
vertical plane . . . its height is about 400 feet. The peculiarity of
its appearance has made it a celebrated landmark on the Mississippi.
Mr. Seymour, whose pencil was frequently engaged in sketching the
beautiful features of the Mississippi, took a hasty view of this as the
boat passed near it” (ibid., vol. 1, p. 267). The sketch, however, was
not reproduced.

On approaching Lake Pepin, Keating allowed the guide to tell the
story of Winona. “While the circumstances of this tale were related
to us, Mr. Seymour was engaged in sketching this interesting spot”
(pl. 14). Keating used the picture as his fourth plate because “it
gives a correct idea of the scenery of the upper part of the Mississippl,
which has never, we think, been accurately represented” (ibid., vol.
1, pp. 284-285). Another picture that Seymour did on this occasion
Keating regretted he could not reduce satisfactorily to the proper size ;
it was “a fanciful delineation of the tragic event” just related :

Mr. Seymour painted one of this kind, in which the landscape was repre-
sented with the most faithful accuracy, but which he animated and enlivened
by the introduction of a numerous party of Indians, in whom the characteristics
of the Dacotas were strikingly delineated. The unfortunate Winona was repre-
sented at the time when she was singing her dirge, and the various groups of

Indians below indicated the corresponding effect upon the minds of the spec-
tators. [Ibid., vol. 1, p. 285.]

The remaining illustration in the first volume of the Narrative is
a portrait of “Wanotan and His Son,” full length, with tepees and
landscape in background (pl. 15). Although the faces are miserably
done, it is a more satisfactory picture than the earlier plate with the
three heads, for here considerable attention has been given to details
of costume. Wanotan, the Charger, Keating informs us, was “the
most distinguished chief of the Yanktoanan tribe” and “one of the

SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 505

greatest men of the Dacota nation.” He was then only 28 and his son
about 8. The real interest of Seymour’s poorly engraved picture is
made clear by Keating’s written description of this Sioux chief:

The next day Wanotan came to pay us a formal visit; he was dressed in the
full habit of an Indian chief; we have never seen a more dignified looking
person, or a more becoming dress. The most prominent part of his apparel was
a splendid cloak or mantle of buffalo skins, dressed so as to be of a fine white
colour; it was decorated with small tufts of owl’s feathers, and others of various
hues. ... A splendid necklace, formed of about sixty claws of the grizzly
bear, imparted a manly character to his whole appearance. His leggings, jacket,
and mocecassins were in the real Dacota fashion, being made of white skins,
profusely decorated with human hair; his moccassins were variegated with
the plumage of several birds. In his hair, he wore nine sticks neatly cut and
smoothed, and painted with vermilion; these designated the number of gun-shot
wounds which he had received, they were secured by a strip of red cloth; two
plaited tresses of his hair were allowed to hang forward; his face was taste-
fully painted with vermilion; in his hand he wore a large fan of feathers of
the turkey ; this he frequently used.

... the most singular dress was that of Wanotan’s son, who, for the first time
in his life, wore the distinguished national garb, in which he is represented in
the Frontispiece plate to this volume. The dresses were evidently made for
his father, and too large for him, so that they gave to his figure a stiff and
clumsy appearance, which strongly reminded us of the awkward gait of those
children who, among civilized nations, are allowed, at too early an age, to assume
the dress of riper years, by which they lose their infantine grace and ease. .
This lad wore a very large head-dress, consisting of feathers made of the war-
eagle. ... His dress was made of many ermine skins, variously disposed upon
a white leather cloak. [Ibid., vol. 1, pp. 486—-488.]

Wanotan had been sketched while the explorers were staying at
Lake Travers. Before leaving that neighborhood, Seymour took
a view of the lake showing the Columbia Fur Co.’s “fort, the Indian
lodges near it, and also a scaffold, upon which the remains of a Sioux
212d been deposited. The horizon is bounded by a distant view of the
Coteau des Prairies” (ibid., vol 2, p. 5). This picture Keating used
as frontispiece for his second volume. At this point the expedition
had passed from the headwaters of the St. Peter’s (Minnesota) River
to those of the Red River of the North.

The next scene we have from the pencil of the artist, made 2 days
later (July 28), reports possibly the most curious buffalo hunt in the
history of the frontier. Keating wrote that a bull buffalo “seemed
to challenge a combat with our party; he traveled for about 2 miles
abreast of us, and almost within gunshot; his eyes were intently bent
upon us.” Driven off by the dog, he would immediately return to
watch the travelers. “This fearless character, so unlike that of buffa-
loes in general, excited our surprize and admiration; and accordingly
we determined to spare him, and see how long he would continue to

922758—51——_34

506 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

travel with us.” The temptation, however, was too strong for the
Indians:

Seeing him stop at the same place where we had halted, a few of them, espe-
cially the youngest of the party, ran up to him, and in a few moments several
balls, and perhaps a dozen of arrows, had reduced the animal to the last gasp.
They then approached on all sides, and while he was engaged in keeping off
those on his left, the youths on his right would come so near to him as to draw
his attention to them; the animal appeared galled, his rage was extreme, but
his weakness was equally so. At length some of them came very near to him,
and caught hold of his tail; at that moment he was observed to be tottering;
they all drew off, the animal fell, and after two or three convulsive throes he
expired; a shout from the Indians announced the death of their victim. This
seemed to be a schooling for the youngest of their party, a few of whom were
mere boys. Mr. Seymour took a sketch of this singular diversion, which is rep-
resented in Plate 7; it is taken at the moment when the animal is tottering,
but it does not express all the fire and rage he manifested to the last. [Ibid.,
vol. 2, pp. 21—22.]

On August 5 Long established Camp Monroe at Pembina on the in-
ternational line where they stayed 4 days. ‘There Seymour sketched a
bois brulé, Keating recorded, but perhaps we have lost nothing in the
omission of this “portrait” from the Narrative (ibid., vol. 2, p. 45).
It is more interesting to have the picture of the “Indian Lodges at
Camp Monroe,” which was published as plate 8 and which shows
both a skin lodge and a bark-covered one. “The plate gives a good
idea of the dress, appearance, and attitudes of the Indians and half-
breeds that surrounded us. It likewise exhibits two dogs, carrying
burdens in the manner of pack-horses” (ibid., vol. 2, p. 48).

The explorers followed the Red River to Lake Winnipeg and then
started their return Journey up the Winnipeg River, headed for the
north shore of Lake Superior. Early on this stage of the journey they
were to pass three impressive waterfalls. The 20th of August found
them encamped beside the Lower Falls of the Winnipeg. The pic-
turesque quality of this river and its cataracts much impressed
Keating:

The place of our encampment was characterized by one of those peculiar effects
of water, which, once seen, leave an indelible impression upon the mind. After
having passed over numerous rocks, which form diversified cascades (the whole
height of which is about thirty feet), the water is suddenly received into a
basin enclosed by high rocks, where it is forced to sojourn awhile, by the small
size of the aperture through which it issues; here the waters present the char-
acters of a troubled ocean, whose waves rise high and beat against the adjoin-
ing shores, and against the few rocky islands which are seen in the midst of this
basin; it is to this character that the spot owes the name which it receives from
the natives, “the fall of the moving waters.” ... We reached them in time
to watch the beautiful effect of the setting sun, whose beams reflected by the

stream imparted to it the appearance of a sea on fire. This was soon replaced
by the moon, which cast a more placid light upon the waves, and heightened

SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 507

the charm of the scenery by the melancholy mantle it spread over it...a
spare growth of aspen, birch, spruce, and other evergreens ... adds to the
wild and barren appearance of the rocks ... our tents were pitched so that
we had a view of the splendid effect arising from the play of the moonbeams
upon the surface of this oceanlike basin, and our eyes were constantly bent
upon it until the noise of the cataract lulled us to sleep. [Ibid., vol. 2, pp.
91-92. ]

Probably Keating was right: “The artist could not behold, without
rapture, a scene so worthy of being painted.” Seymour spent the
remaining daylight sketching the falls from a rock projecting far
into the water. The author, however, eventually had to drop his plan
of reproducing this picture because “it was found impossible to retain
their effect when reduced to the required size” (ibid., vol. 2, pp. 92-93).

On the 23d they passed the Slave Falls and the Upper Falls of the
Winnepeg, both of which Seymour drew and Keating published as
plates 9 and 10. At the upper part of the Slave Falls “there is a
fine cascade, below which the rapids continue for a short distance,
presenting a beautiful landscape” (ibid., vol. 2, p. 99). To his view
Seymour gave added interest by showing the men in the act of portag-
ing. A few miles farther upstream they came on the Upper Falls—
for beauty, said Keating, “second only to the lower falls.” Seymour’s
view of this double cascade, however, “was not taken at a favourable
spot, as the rocky nature of the bank prevented him from landing at a
place from which an advantageous view of both the falls could be
obtained” (ibid., vol. 2, p. 100).

The explorers on the 25th entered the Lake of the Woods and
stopped for breakfast at Cosse’s Island. There Seymour sketched
a view of the lake that was published as plate 11 (ibid., vol. 2, p. 109).
No other drawing is mentioned until the Kakabikka Falls near Fort
William were passed on September 11. Difficult access kept the
artist from sketching more than a small portion of these falls (pl. 16),
but his drawing was used for plate 12 (ibid., vol. 2, p. 189). The
final contribution by Seymour to the dressing up of Keating’s Narra-
tive (pl. 13) is a view of the north shore of Lake Superior done on
September 22—“a very correct delineation” of an area “somewhat
west of the ‘Otter’s Head’ ” (ibid., vol. 2, p. 185).

By October 26, Seymour was once again in Philadelphia, after an
absence of 6 months, and could settle down with his portfolio of
sketches to prepare illustrations for the new report. Information
is meager. Letters from Long to Macomb in the War Office Records
of the National Archives show that the artist was paid $1.50 a day
for his services on the expedition and received $280.50 for the 187
days between April 27 and October 30, 1823. In addition he was
allowed $127.99 for travel expense. A third notation is a statement

508 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

sent to Macomb in which Long declared Seymour’s services were
necessary for the preparation of the report of this 1823 exploring
party and asking for him $2 a day for 3 months. The final result
in pictures has already been shown.

One further reference to Seymour’s work on these expeditions shows
that he was not content merely to do pencil sketches and water colors.
Maximilian of Neu-Wied on July 23, 1832, visited the Peale Museum
in Philadelphia. There he met Titian Ramsay Peale, who showed
the specimens which he himself had collected on the western expedi-
tion. What particularly interested Prince Max in the museum were
“some oil paintings of Indian villages and scenery by Seymour” (Maxi-
milian 7m Thwaites, 1905, vol. 22, pp. 69-70). Unfortunately, this mu- :
seum was dispersed many years ago.

Where are they now, these oils and the hundreds of unpublished
landscape sketches that once filled the portfolio of this man who
was the first to serve as staff artist on the United States Government
exploring expeditions, who was the first to picture the western plains,
the outlying ranges of the Rockies, the upper reaches of the Missis-
sippi, and the wilds of Minnesota?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For information about the Long-Roberdeau letters I am indebted
to Richard G. Wood, of the War Records Office, National Archives.
The letters of Long to Macomb (Buffalo, October 18, 1823; Phila-
delphia, November 6, 1823; Philadelphia, January 10, 1824) are to
be found in the War Records Office, National Archives, Corps of
Engineers, Letters Received, 1819-25, Nos. 1486, 1458, 1535.

LITERATURE CITED

DARLINGTON, WILLIAM.
1848. Reliquiae Baldwinianae. Selections from the correspondence of the
late William Baldwin, M.D. Philadelphia.
DUNLAP, WILLIAM.
1918. A history of the rise and progress of the arts of design in the United
States (edited by Frank W. Bayley and Charles E. Goodspeed).
3 vols. Boston.
JAMES, EDWIN.
1823. An account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains
performed in the years 1819 and ’20... under the command of
Major Stephen H. Long. 2 vols. and atlas. Philadelphia.
JAMES, EDWIN, IN THWAITES, R. G.
1823. An account of an expedition ...3 vols. London. Reprinted in
Thwaites, R. G., Early western travels, vols., 14-17, 1905, Cleveland.
(The opening and closing sections of Long’s report to the Secretary
of War, dated Philadelphia, January 20, 1821, were omitted from
the American edition of the Account, but were published in full
in the English edition.)

SAMUEL SEYMOUR——McDERMOTT 509

KEATING, WILLIAM H.
1824. Narrative of an expedition to the source of the St. Peter’s River, Lake

Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods, &c. &¢e. performed in the year
1823 . . . under the command of Stephen H. Long, Major . . . 2 vols.
Philadelphia.
MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF WIED.
1889-41. Travels in the interior of North America. Reprinted in Thwaites,
R. G., Early western travels, vols. 22-25, 1905. Cleveland.
STAUFFER, DAvID MCNEELY.
1907. American engravers upon copper and steel. 2 vols. New York.
Stokes, I. N. PHELPS, and HASKELL, DANtTEL C.
19388. American historical prints: Early views of American cities, ete.
New York.
WEESE, A. O.
1947. The journal of Titian Ramsay Peale, pioneer naturalist. Missouri
Hist. Rev., vol. 41, pp. 147-168, 266-284.

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A Page
Abbot ChariesaG 2. .ser ahem a «hem ab ale eye n nie wn ee LE OR ix, 118
IIDDOEE hve CL UCKOTe = me ee SRS a re ah ee im oe ee eee tee eR, vi, 20
Accessions:
Bureau ob American’ Ethnology 2) = Bes sire a ee il
Breer Gallery: Of Ante 2 = ea ie Meh: Ok 4 Le NL De ea 42
[bi brany se cee 2 Bs Simian ain hei ee Se hos ae ate sp 148
National vAireMiussumie= a =< == meas eae ee aan eS 130
Nationals Collectionof-Hine- Artss=— === += 2220 iw Le eee 36, 37
Natio male Gallery eo Le Ar beter reer eee ae as By See ee 25
NationaleMuseumes sos nse oa anne oe ate oe ay ne aa 13
Nationale Zoolocicale Parkins a= nes a eee ees eae See 83
Acheson, Dean C., Secretary of State, member of the Institution---_-__-__-_ V, viii
INGER GEOre ea een nme sii wh ain Sim Dimes ee SS alk eee ole ia as a 136
Administrative Accountant of the Institution (Thomas F. Clark)_______~ Vv
Administrative Assistant to the Secretary (Mrs. Louise M. Pearson) _-_--- Vv

Air Museum. (See National Air Museum.)
Alaska, Archeology and ecology of the Arctic slope of (Ralph S. Solecki)__ 469
Albertson, F. W. (Man’s disorder of nature’s design in the Great Plains) ___ 363

Aldrich, Loyal B., Director, Astrophysical Observatory ------------- ix, 10, 121
Tera Wap aire eae Sete Monae eel Hadi oe ee ER =o NVA UES UR Dee ae vii, 21
American Ethnology. (See Bureau of.)
Americanselistorical Associations shtepOlta-——— 2-252 = ee ee ee eee ee 154
Anderson, Clinton P., regent of the Institution........_-..-.---1----+- v, 3, 4
HASTA UTC WS AN epee ee estate mee cit Narre oe a le pn rare RUE, BD vi
PX PP LOPLI MS ere see re area te pcan Fea eed ole ni SILER eel. SE 5, 161
AStrophysicalaObsenvatonye =o ea eae ee ee ee eee 5
BuresuLotrAmerican th) Gh O10 tye a ee ee eee eee 5
CanaltZonerBiologicale Arca -a—= aes cae ae ee ee ae ee Ce 5, 144
InstituterotSocialvAnthropolopyae sae = eo a ee 5, 67
International fixchange | Services ss s= sess a a eee Ce 5
National Airs Museumea 2st 2 ede ee ae eee eee ee 5
National’ @ollectionxof Hime 2A mts ea rp eee ee 5
NationaliGallery of Artss sa awk os ak ee ee ee ee 5, 24
National Museum_-___---_-- Cet ewe Clee oe ey Sa Lay 5
INationaleZoolocicalParki= = = mre ene eee ee eee ee ee eee 5, 94, 161
Rrintinprand binding +22 = 6s ~~ 4s). 2-.~ ok toe LUA ROSA OO T Lee 154
RAVE BASINS URVCY Sars sa = sas man to Rte s Mtbu Sid PE eae 5, 52, 161
IAT CLOW Sietien nee es le ee eS ee Be ee ee 118
FATHOM G Clipe Ele veneeene se Seek cs te eRe ef eee BO aa ea 122, 124
Arthur lecture on the sun, Seventeenth annual______________---------- 6
Assistant Secretary of the Institution (John E. Graf)_--..-__--------- v, 3, 136
Assistant Secretary of the Institution (J. L. Keddy)------------------- Vv

Assistant Superintendent of Buildings and Labor of the Institution

(CharlessCe Sinclair) i= 2. feeet tee eee eee le ee ee v
ASETO DIV SICAL, ODSCEVAtOLY = 222 e roo ee S ix ON LO MLIG
JN OY OV ROY OVATE HTL) 4 yea ya oe oe ey eae Se nee ere tanner eres megane Dee et See 5
DivisioniofrAstrophysical Research==- 222 3 oe 116
DivisionotsRadiation andsOrganismss == esse e = ee ee eee 119
Rey Of) 5 ype he A Mie RON eee Paes shee oe i ee ele ee or Ree aE Sereeee Pap PEs 116
SEN i a le Slept a Ret Sa SU tr vr Oe Oe ee ea POSE ix
Astrophysical: Researchs Division ofs.2 222222 Se Ue a Bue Beer ix 116
Attorney General of the United States (J. Howard McGrath, member of
thevinstitution)) vs. 222 22s S ee eee UE a ee ee Sea Vv
PAVE Tar eA eo eh ee nie at re ar SS arr Ree vii
ACW eRUVES ATRIA OS IVE 2 oe eal a oa a ern tere ee eo Se vi

512 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

B Page
Baby, Raymond: spo 220 aw Re are te er 63
Baker, M. P. (The Wright brothers as aeronautical engineers)_________-_- 209
Baldwins Gordom= 22 21S SS ay a Spa en ere ep 60
Barkley, Alben W., Vice President of the United States, member of the
Bris GHG Uta Bees en eel see ae Sa rece ea a ae ee v,3
Bartsch, Paul) ce2 22 ee Ds cn su 2 ee a es ee ee vi
Bassler, MARES ges lar ok Oey Mini Ug age ae re ee I tne AL vii
Bayer, Broderick Ms seco 1 Sian 2 CN Ul io RnR Rm ante eames eee vi
Beach, 5 (Ssih to © ames een a ate ome ner WEE ere ny ete S ty ny pelt petrol tis Sieh SN: vii
Beam Brig sy Gers: Ree 22 ops ee cr es yh eee a a ey 2

Beers, Peel De lame aS ESI ARR i ge Sa Py along AS Uo
Beggs, Thomas M., Director, National Collection of Fine Arts___ viii, 36, 40, re
Belin, Ferdinand Lammot, Vice President, National Gallery of Art__ viii, 23, 24

Benn, SRS a ee Ae Rn SI DT OE a PIN Tevet aie dA Ni LAs obese ks tee vii
Bent, Art ar Ce eo sa eT ee es ae Oe ee ag vi
Black, Robertils (Permiatrost) 5 ae se es ee ee ay yee er 273
Blackwelder, TERS iy ee Pe og Od) CS a od ae eRe eae ate ae vi
Baier IN Dh eC et ae ha De Hg omg cere mE vi
Bliss Robert Woods wire eythane epee 36
Blomberg: Rolie: exch pei ba lB se ae tS oe caret en NS A ot ee an ta eo 135
Nba heat cay Ca ma ea Ren apne a SSS eed NC ye am RONG pM AL eal ea peasy en vi
Branches of the Institution, Summary of the year’s activities of the_____- 6
Brannon, Charles F. , Secretary of Agriculture, member of the Institution __-_ Vv
British Ambassadors: 2 cove se eee ep cen eee ee ee 125
Brown, Harrison (The composition of our universe)_--._---_--_--------- 197
Brown sJohn Nicholas: = 29s {ene ety eee ee bade Som een es eres 36
Brown, Margaret: W222 32 se fas ee ln ote anche Be ee eee nina Seam viii
1ByKoK yao, LEOloIaG Aves, bao IMbesh IBivoypne Sos 134
NY ROW ated REO) Fm 0.6 beh) a et ee ese a re ea PLU Ten Me ey cies DN ROUT OG, WoL eis ME NPE ay 22
FS YO wan WV ergs Le SO Ue ee teh ep ee Me app aL me vi, 20
HERE LED ave av: ates py fy mpeaman ual me yea I ATES 9 9 Ss I LUAU RNP EY A vi
TBS UE C8 Wes | Ges HDi ese a EI = en EU ey OR yea ln 60, 61
SUE AUNO HAIN CTC ALA Es GENT OL. Day eee viii, 5, 8, 48
a} 0} 05 0) OV TZ LON Oe aney Meera aig Ape eeee Cas ee Oe eo see een ace 5
PA TCT V CSIs alee ese sete eae ah RV Dap a ge Rie a eR “at
Collection se sees es Heres Nae ss Soe yee ta Pe cee ee 71
Hditorialiworkjand (publications so et ss he ee 70, 153
Instituteof Social Anthropologys: 2-425 ss40se —- Saas eeee 67
ICI DTAaNYs eas ok eo LS reopens ol SS 8 cs ioe eat open ce 71
Miscellancouse 3. 222 32s cra ays 2 a eee eee 72
REPO G Fars a ee See ey 5 re eg Re a 48
IRAVCTE BASIN SULVE VS 2 a ee eae ee es eee a ee a a 52
S58 1 ae ae ee a RR UR ACES AUT HID As Vente ati te = Girls a viii
Systematic mesearches== 2220-2325 4225 25 oe ee ee ee 48
Bush wVannevar, regent of the Institutions. --- =~ 2-2-5 ssasaaee eee v, 3, 161
BS VAS Wess ss cc Se ee ae ae ne ae he Shs ee vi
C

Cairns, Huntington, Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel, National
Galley OL ARG EE ea 2S Sag ea CG ERA SR Aaa ee viii, 32, 35
Caldwell; Josephus ses 35- sees i en WO eee ees 54, 57, 58
Canal Zone; Biological Areae 22522 2o een eee ee ibe, iy) UL. SB:
ADPrOpriatiGne 2s sn) SS Ae ee 2 es ee See eee 5, 144
Fiscal reports22 20 222 ob eee oe ee ee ee es 144
Improvements madeys. 2202425 e Bees Se eee 133
EUW 00 5° 4 | Beep ean on geen om Na rcre eta aa bay ee eine ey PLR (ET es ee 142
TRS TOT Ge Me Ae Ne ae Sa py aC Pp a 133
Scientistsiand their, studiesu. 2... 230 Balm, eee ee 133
Vertebrates;of the Istand sen Fh bat ee Be ee ee ee ee 137
Cannon, Clarence, regent of the Institution_.___------------------- v, 3, 4, 161
@arey;, Charles's = 032 Ss he i oo a ks en 2 es ee viii
@arriler; /M. AG Jie 2 an oe RS ghee a ag ce ee a 19
Cartwright 0. De 2262 he oii eek ee ee vi

Carwithen, Mrs. B. T., Personnel Officer of the Institution_-_-.-_------ v

INDEX 513

Page
@ase Charles: @iyJirtanees ela ke. AEE) es SO ee ie to is a 55, 56
(GUE CS Pe) Pee NS) feat Rs Nae DE ne One OIE Pn An gD vi
Chancellor of the Institution (Fred M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United
ES ECS) ee ee peter se a LaLa AIL cae 2 ce POD EEL OH. oid y each ae Vato nO
COE a) Hoy iD BS byte 0 Ue gs ea a a A a Om Re re Dee mak Bs Pe, vi
Chapman, Oscar, Secretary of the Interior, member of the Institution____ Vv
@hasereMirsipAom esas ss 5 seems A tm RY Ie ape G1 eee erst A i vii
Chemical achievement and hope for the future (Linus C. Pauling) -_------ 225
(CHIYSS TEN Ay (CEOS LES eee RV PS AS SPS RG eet Ee 57
@ nie Te erin oeAWe IV Mise Ae Si ST Sey oe ee ch art ee 134
Chief Justice of the United States (Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor of the
1 GaVSK EAST KORO Jee 0 ROE BE SP Ey ce rc ee Vv, Viii, 3, 5,28
@iTIsGeMsen se rw alle Opens a oe el Pi i i ye Pe yee ts a et a 3285
Clark PALIS GIN Ei ae wie oe a rarer RE EO Ca EN ek 2 Speed aril vi
Clark) Mrs; Leila BE. Librarian of the Institution! 2222 — 22 22h eunseek v, 148
COTATI Si ities le oy py ae ay os pn Dek SEN te opciones vi
Clark, Thomas F., Administrative Accountant of the Institution_-_-_---_-- Vv
Clarkes Gilmore yD) secre oo Si a tt ee eet LA eS Seat Se Pat ea) Sage 36
GClOuG re Pres ton els, rel Boys sess lira csr ea Ser PP Ie ee Sas cae here ey: u 22
@oalet Georg eis ote d assesses hs Se ae See I Dy ee ln Bush ba Der aR lea 57
(Oa ye) argo DOD SI AN Gas oS oy El a ee ie Ry ees ee eC vi
Collinsetlennyeb sitar ee ee ee ye eed viii, 9, 50, 51
(The origin and antiquity of the Eskimo)__....._.-----.--.------+ 423
Commerford, L. E., Chief, Division of Publications_____.....---------- Vv
Compton Artnurid. resent of the Institutions 222--2. 2242222 l se oe v,3
COXON AY ay ge od EP UDI PS US AE Pg a eng ng aCe re ly MENS en eS A oe vii, 20
WOOP ET CLUS LVR Apes iar ae ates SANs CE ee OM eR ne ee es artes vii, 21
COLaY BY GTaY ps MIST DL WA SRY 2 yp nd OM ON ee A Aa ok OR 48, 59, 60
Corbetcmonny Mie wae ne Wee Se ae Se Ie On ee Se 52
Ova it: LER ry 2 Bet a a rege Tn mnie meheets Spl ORES BAN Maa Les 31, 32
Cottrell WGwwerand? Mrs Cottrell vie ses Be es ee ee ee 135
Coxsha beerezentiofethe: Institution 2022 os eee en ae ot Sa Lee v,3
Grint Rayong ee see aoe tw ee ee Tse Sta ee Ye See ae eee 69
roc ke tt wav fe lee tetas eS eal LW es Ree es a vii
Cruxenten Oso Meee) set a re eS ese h De Oh ee os eich aes 2 ee 68
Cunamiini co ehOHEEENE SOP ae ses eee eer eS LO Ne hve wee Lee See 60
Grrpisee Oneressman ys ase Aa aoe tes e ar GIES seen sabe eo aes 3
Wuskman wHoOberErAea see oe a ont ane ash “i aet CRBS Layne 2 vi
D
ID ENG, (OLN GIST Ws) 0 32S et REE CNTR Cah Op OE ee, viii, 23, 24
DaughertyaiCh ard: 288 Se ele ye he Pe AA ye a eee eee NC/
Daughters of the American Revolution, Report___._...---------------- 154
Davia) Harvey, N., regent, of the Institution.._2.-2.2..2-- 2225) ei so ee v,3
UD Gi pra ria lek Gy eee eee ees sha en Sask Ae ee eS he cs ed eek Sat ee ee vi
WensimlOrerran Ces re Gaps = SUA) 2 ae ae Rr ae hee Ib eer eee viii, 72
Donaldson, Jesse M., Postmaster General, member of the Institution _ - -- Vv
Daye Pi eid Veil Yes ovscel Fina ve =e eae ean Ce a ele aaa Dl Ik aie yO ee eg lO Demers 125
BIBS coral eae) etc eee DTS eM a A oh UNG Oe ce NR pe et vii, 21
E
AEETSR TSN LTS Op VAstres See yd CO) G1 ee tic ges al are Re A i 125
Earthquakes in North America (B. Gutenberg)_-...._..---------------- 303
Vea been US CC evan ereresen 6 Bice fess ee a ad ce nee 36
Paitornalivision, Chief, (Paul Ho Oehser)s: oo seo 222 one) See eas Vv
HISeMIMAN NEN enet eee he nen ee S20 Je ee De ak So ee 134
PERU LST ap EG cme totes nega ey celle em eter 2 uel) Ee sea eee at iA ine vi
Electroencephalography (W. Grey Walter) __.---.-------------------- 243
Elementary particle, What is an? (E. Schrédinger) --._-_---------------- 183
TODS TAY Wheto CES EST SS SUIS oa WP at a Sa ee ee vi
TEA ISy ihe ¥0 MAD 3 AE, Eee pe te ey a SE One ee OEE OE Sew hee reek ate ix
Endowment funds:
Hircer irae vAGheA tiene es tee eit cee are ted Ean pe ete ER ee 157
CSTR G E1S 0 10 A ee ee el a nae Geel ee ae Lee REL ee 156
iBnergy.from) fossil fuels (IM. Kang Hubbert)o2s-=--s]----2 ee 255

VEO SN IEW ESS ia) BLS) aie ARI ee te page ymN RS RE) epee Pagal sy 60

514 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Page
Eskimo, The origin and antiquity of the (Henry B. Collins)_____________ 423
stalls lislarme mt iy be ree ve ps re Oe fg ce Oey aE 3
Ethnology. (See Bureau of American Ethnology.)
Bitinghausen hich ard 2 255 eae eee Bae ena Mie pl ee ee ee viii, 46
Twang CHimore res oe MO wae 2 eet nee re ee Sri ee en oe 125
Biwers Ss tes sh tie (48 eh Dele tate pinata) eco Vaan URE at Saeco ed ee he vi
Exchanges. (See International Exchange Service.)
Executive Committee of the Board of Regents:
IVES TIN CTS eo oe SS EE ea ES Da Ne a ee v, 161
524 90) a Fee Me PEM et Mp yet ie Ren tne Ey sey ep AS es all 9 el ye a 156
HAND PT OPLLAGLOMS ee pe eee ao ae a ane a (oes ee a nee 161
IGS Git ee eS A ES I ee 159
AMIGA 2 Oe I EN ENE 2 Sg ete a 161
Cash balances, receipts, and disbursements------------------ 158
Classification ofinvestments*na= 2 sees zee oe ee 158
reereGallery ofA tun. 2k oe See, See ee ee Lom
GRES ep Ee WLR EARS ot tp RO ae eee a da ee as ee 160
Smithsonian endowment fund. 925) = Seale a ae eee 156
Summary ofiendowments: 222". 22S es See ee ee ee 158
Unexpended funds and endowments: _=°== === 2222-52. eee 160
Exhibitions:
National Collectionsof HinezArts= 2. 22 oe So ee eee one 40
National; Gallery ofArt.22-0 taste eat See ee eee ee 29, 30
F
Fit eaitivece kal lls P08) Sa sp ate ba a ta le es NE vii
Bheprre THs @ eared i a ar ps ps ppl cay ee lac ga 57
Ar rv saa are eat ye 10 ea sp 0 a ee 55
Benoni’ Willig mayNre ti aig ss re ae ee i ee a viii, 9, 51
Ferebee, VE jee TTS) AWW ee Sc a ya a 21 A eee a 125
Field, Wik cD) mint an celal cps ys ly ee cs IN Se Re i ape ne em vi
WinaniGeswele Vode ul aes hON MLD O USUI E SUE YEE ch ae ew ge id 5, 156
AD PrOPrIAtlONS 4544 <a) 4 veel ool ye ee ee eee eae 5, 161
Hinlayson: obmeand hii chars py ys to ys ey es ay tt 45
Finley, David E., Director, National Gallery of Art-._.-_-.-_--=_-- villi, 24, 36
ISTO I: AWW i Wire wee as oo es el alae ad i ES SRE DE ag ee Se vi
Fite, Hil te Wecdiicla nee eel ether an aE Slee rie ees eo kt vii
Flemming, Robert V., regent of the Institution___--.--------------- v, 3, 161
Food shortages and the sea @Danielelerrini en) a ee 373
orsiysi ew Wwe earn) cepe co te eh 8 cel oy eee cokes UO, TNE
Blogiiy ares NW) Te iin 2m 2 Drea Sha a ot ee vii, 21
Rossii fuels, Energy, from (Me ns Hubbert)= = 22-52-2252 see ee 255
Foster, G. M., Jr., Director, Institute of Social Anthropology - ----_--- 1x, 0 00
Freed, Te APE WUTls eo cess ee oka COE ne Ol eriabane Sie Dien ee DAOD
reer: Gallerveot :Art ae 2 at eae apr ten ere See ae viii, 8, 42, 157
MASE GIN CUENTA COs ie Pe cr epee sea res ee
Buildings nek ke er Teeth Se ee PR Pee: Aa ee ee 48
Chansestinynexhilrti@mses oa ee ee re ee ee 45
Collaboration with the University of Michigan__------------------ 46
Collections2=--. 2e 2 aa saben ae Eee a eee Se eee eee 42
Docent. service and other stall activities, = 22---- 22222-5322 eee 47
Endowment fund ==-=2 88 =2--25-25ene>eesecs eee en eee 157
Honorary duties-.<c-2.- bso eee a ee ee ee eee 47
TMi Rar ys3 eee oem oo fee we See ae ev ae 45
Publications:¢ 5-45.26 5252550028 eee a eS ee ee 45
Repairs tothe collections-=.+--+4+=----s2222.2-4_0 2. See ee 44
Reporte: a4 20+: 4eudadcese cee es eee ee ee eee 42
Reproductions =2 2.022242 e5— ae ee Set 2 2s ee eee 45
GEER ws fe 2 ae re wal die ae we eae A ns NOR EAE AS WL LGD eM Ns aay ER eer viii
Friedmann; Herbertuss-20si 5.0. cecm ens anaes ee ee oe eae, Shee vi, 20
G .
Garber Pauls eo. ae ee ee ee eee See ix, 126

Gardnery ay, Gen. GrandisOn 22 = oe ao ee ee ee ee ee eee 123, 124

INDEX Sly

Page
Cosa reeh rn eee es UN fe ean a Neer Ear rete ees ne ae ve viii, 40
Gazin, Cop ets wae ak ade taney tea Oe Ree al ia eeepc aL vii, 21
Gazin, Mrs. Elisabeth H., Associate Librarian, National Museum_- ~~ --- vi
Gellatly, Mrs. Charlayne Whiteley Bear Ten Br eon nh ae MORTAL mn EEN, oe te 4
George, Walter F., regent of the iastitution Bill JL Ie cael hurd csr eid ee ee AL v, 3
(Cleaner (CHEN chp) By aa Ns a ear Ries pepe ie gs aimed bik ceehh ak A ea vi
CEs yeye ariel us TE Cs 9 Bye te au a i ea le ee I a php al oe 135
Graf, John E., Assistant Secretary of the Institution_—--------------- v, 3, 186
Graham, TDG Ber Oem ames AR CMA Wighoe Mit Maib: <onv ion Mem acral oe oe vi
Great Plains, Man’s disorder of nature’s design in the (F. W. Albertson) - - 363
Greene, Hae esene oih Ht BEE Sia oy) aa RUN Lala vi
Gross, ‘Alfred OPrande irs Grose: se peters ey ee eae 133
Guest, rn COpID Ta Ne neh Ae le aS RMA ADS A ee AL viii
Guppy, D. J., and Matheson, R. 8. (Wolf Creek meteorite crater, Western
PAVUL SET en) ) Mme enamel Ne aca nt eR RN nt ee OP TE AN oe ten ee ree ake
Gurney, Ashley B. (Praying mantids of the United States, native and
TMERO CLC CG) en ee seme ne ee ac eee Agee ene Sete Se eee See 339
Gutenberg, B. (Earthquakes in North America) ...-.-.-..-----_.------ 303
H
iManidleyan@ nar esn@e nie ase Mae Si Aen eer Sees Ye aes len ie aad eae ee 20
Harring toumoOlnek sso amen ae toa See She ees eee Sa viii, 8-9, 49, 50
EATS rTM ye ee leet ere em Som eS Cet S Gye ert i Ni ee We are lek, ache EL ix
Harrap ma Williaa Crist si 5 ee Oe nas oes Bh ale od en ante eee oe 63
HEL Sa yi eta nk © Ape yaa pn aA Ny et Sh AS a a ig i tar a a ete ae 4
ERSTVCS TSO PE piste ea te ree Aer Eee RS he Te A TI ey ee vii
IEermleqte a vilees ss eg te os ee Bt aly Vy es ale A ecard SES eS pen aes 136
HER MOST UTM cp ye Ot Se Dy NU ys tS 2 Soe a eye ae rat 3 Pe Le vii
Holden, 1 15 Es tala he hr pet Re eles eT ee pS PR ES aN e vii
Hoover, William H., Chief, Division of Astrophysical Research_-_ ix, 10, 117, 118
Host, Pe aN Main damian bone a Lowen es NOL Lule | aL eee 134
Howard) J.D» @reasurercot the Institutions222 9: 050 Series St eae Vv
Howard, TOA DNC OVC Le CEE eon aan EE ae NO UC iG Jie 7 2,
Howell, LN, TERE pAT ond Cae Ce en Ee DE ineE aR ais ew em DNS vi
Hubbert, Meine’ (Bnergy trom fossil fuels) 2=-2222 = 12-2 See ee 255
Hughes, 4) FEI DHEAS AO 1 a a a G79, YURI te ey el ep oro 61
Hunsaker Jerome: ©).recent of the Institution... 4-2 2 v,3
EMG ea Wesleyan eee ee esate na SE ree eet nel 60
Huxley, J alien G@Natural-shistory-am-Iceland)25. Sits 22. 2 Save ee) ee 327
I
Keclandy Natural historyiim (Julian Huxley) 2-2) 22 "=~ = 2 eee 327
LSU Pease 1 SWE Dp Lae ER AS UE ne lege ee eee a OR ee ae vi, 20
IndexsomamercanwDesion. .. = sesh: Skate niles 5s bee ee ees Nee 30, 34
instisuterorsocialeAnthropologys 2 2).2-0 22 toe ca eee lee ib. ga MLOZE
ORO DEIALIOM pe a) pastures hielo eels Uys ee he a eh 5, 67
Imtornationalwnxchanve service. 20 = 2242.52 222 joe oe Se LX, COMO nae
AP PLODMALIO NM Mens fal Wirep n ses De eee De SE Reet yee 5, 67
Foreign depositories of governmental documents____-_------------- 74
Horciempexcnangporapencies: e222 ase ae sane ae ee ee 80
Interparliamentary exchange of the official journal__-_-------------
Packaresmecel ved and sents a2 92 eee ee a eo ee 73, 74
RC DORt Sa enim eon SAE eae Cee ae ee A ok ee 73
J
James, Macgill, Assistant Director, National Gallery of Art_____-------- Vili
econ yen ete me ee eee 2 eee ee es ee ee eee 66
IGOR E53 Ge Ee A ee eee ee ee eco net eee vi
Johnson, 1B Dies Reve Pa BP ian 2 bev ee ne poi ee eee ee eee vi
Johnson, Louis, Secretary of Defense, member of the Institution___-~_--- Vv
Johnson, TAPER Dbrarel Tec Wu nl tps pany bo mean Ni Ie oS eye ee ety ae 125

ayiercl ew Noi lus leeepeee hears te eek Se Uy ea ee A a ee vi, 22

516 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

K Page
Kainen, Jacob yl cor x re seh ricay eC i ne ee stk e Seee Se oe te O e vii
Raimbachss Murs iis Roe Ces Jee nny ee a eo bard eee re Re nee 135
Keddy, J. L., Assistant Secretary of the Institution.___________________ Vv
Kellogg, A. Remington, Director, National Museum___________________ vi, 22
Feelliye Wsaibeliten ae tee Acree Soa ncpeaer 0 at ual sea ee RS te ee nt ASE da Ae eC 69
Kestner, i: B.. /Photographer of the Institution 2 2 een ean ee Vv
SSE Caria VA ra SS ea aU eT Oy pre viii
Kila mi Woawren ce: ee ee ese any eee eee ne) Rap e oe a A e e 134
1 GAUL oA] Dts oaks GER Op ees Re RARE er Mencia sad tt meV i ody St Sot 6 vii, 20
Kang lye nsec Sete Mey a ee ce eS eo Ne Sk eee ach I i TS 63
Knight) Joi BnOOkes sent soe ae Lene: irae aie ae eng ee as ee vii
Kora mers 2AM re Wises 2 ea mere ata het eee a gy em ix
Kress, Samuel H., President, National Gallery of Art____-___________ viii, 23, 24
DEG ateyegey Oh Glee A WY lege ann woe Nay WUE SE ORME erat 4 Toba gaye rs Dept Se Pool eur eg Mee Hag ic vi
Kubler: \GeorseuA seis soe a keeles oh eset ie 2 ees aie aperee aeefs ee Be 69, 70
Koange, (Miran orice Siege hay a pt aay ag ah ae Lap a ix
L
1 PENG) OY.) il SSW, Wh SA ett 1 ot Pepe alles tO Ret tes SRN a) A els dp vi
aris CURTIN GS AWW eee ee te esas Meee ere ran Ny CREE | PD Ns tb ka rea 32
BSS R of CERI Nee gece ete ee ee he Pele Me nireu a eM Oe ce eek A ACN vi
Bee WG conn a OME A AST ees oe ened Ni ess set te eels he Neaats ee teak re eens weer ae 137
kehmers Donalds, dr. 5 ses tat ees ee Sk Rae a Pe a ee eet eee 61
Be omard 5B © ee earl ee eyed eae ee Ce Dy er Oya get thane vii
1 LYSR (@ 770) saga Coen (lev ce ee a nto Oc ea aes rie ena E AN ER Ne We nin) Sea dh gc Plas ceh vii
iibrarian of the Institution (Mirs)Veila Bs Clark) 2-2 22222 ae ee Vv
TUBA Sry) ey ee et NN a a car aC La yn ec 12, 145
KA CGESSI OTS iss a aie ee Oa ENN ie An eae sy yen eda aa nu Ran 148
FRG TOT Gwe DR Nisa 2 i ea eek RAE ieee ue NC gl RE 145
Lichens! Economie uses of) (George, A. Llano) Ao e sees 2 ee 385
R Drove oy Eso [BN Bos uy eon ee a eee PLO NCTE BO eM See MS I Sn eta i 6
(The luminous surface and atmosphere of the sun)________________- 173
Dray evra eae itt ek Do Baa hc A i a Et era viii
HL DTYEL HAI B40] oo ce nga Oe Ne PA Dips i Re SPR RL Phe ar Pea Rel OR Ci coe 10
Taney George (Ais 22 iy as eS ein SNe A eect SU PE Neh ae vii, 20
Geiconomighusessofili eke ms) meas cee eee cee eae ede ee 385
Boeb liek Acid. < Ayre oi eh ghee BE eet ne Urea pa Sa SL eel Ae vii, 21
Boenin gs Groviers a2) ee salma ate Oe See eet a er nm eee en ae ge ee ix, 124
Loetscher, Frederick W., Jr., and Mrs. Loetscher_______________--_-_-_- 135
Lowes Pra nkr@ eet 08 oatile a cat arab ach eas ok PE se Sete Anne ene mee ix
UT yet WRU eos Pe lates Se Ae ee AL 2g ba ia ee ns Sed te 136
M
1 O20 (aR a Cg Pa NS UR LLP UE wy Ar VRE Nand hie R aon 0 b> ix
Mann, W. M., Director, National Zoological Park__________-____-- vi, ix, 115
IVE: ghra rad ge a Ce es easy ek ees viii
Man’s disorder of nature’s design in the Great Plains (F. W. Albertson)__ 363
Manshtps Paullss oS octal ea hie te oe 3c eek aa ta ae eh 36
Mantids, Praying, of the United States, native and introduced (Ashley B.
GUENO Ye Se es = 2 ne al spe ny AE aeons Ot ELIS 2 CPT PEN Sera SPR” RCN NRare eens OX eae 339
Marbles i: s< oats o2 so lee hm ame ey ols Saku 2 eS sR ga fae ate vii
IME asta ib Wi Stee ae ane RY EC EE Es hn ey vi
IVA sre nn CST oe ea I ae en el eh 2 ay a en Vili
McBride, Harry A., Administrator, National Gallery of Art___.__.__.__---- Vili
DMG Ciara oR Noo 2 2 i Fae ye te AN ne ee aa a vii, 20
McDermott, John Francis (Samuel Seymour: Pioneer artist of the Plains
GIG HW!) 5 VO CITES) = re as es eg eet al aN cae 497
McGrath, J. Howard, Attorney General, member of the Institution______~ Vv
IFe Mora Dak pte sea mo ch es PE et I ee ce I ee vili, 23
Members ‘of the Institution == 3222 226425202 98. 2 Se oe ee ean ee Vv
Merriman, Daniel (Food shortages and the sea)_-__._..___._-_----------- 373
Metcalf, Georgoct 2/0 40.815) 2908 by SATA TS ea Fel ealtpias ceeet om he 61
Meteorite crater, Wolf Creek, Western Australia (D. J. Guppy and R. S.
IVDsst Ives orn) Bes Se a Re a Te Ye ee 317

INDEX oY

Page
IVE CHESIND CAI Geese teat Neer cee er ee OE Ee eee SUC a 50
MikynWayeoey ond the (lnorntonhage)a Sao he ie een ah 2 eee 165
Winer CArleipe se neo ere ae a See ern a ae eee te 54, 57, 58
Ts GD Keyes GReees rte KS fk ie 8 eet es WE Pun PRU teal guia hey ds eae pn eh kN hate AT vi
BES es DST IGN DS NDS 0 a aS ea ag gd ng hele gaa es as vi
IN oriisas CAPIGV py gere ny Ser oat neo 8k MES ee in enn eee AR Re IxstQh 132
TOMER ID ORU area ae cae aes ou he ia te Dek See oe mee Lee 54, 55
Monganemlizabetneeer sss ol ee Oe Sees Shane he anes nine ee Wie 31, 32
INTOON Ga GOLC Ve se eee er ee a eae PU Rae Oe ee Ee vi
INTIS OVI SMe OSE Bay ee sa arcs te IS I CS ea Ph re Worn Reng 2s Me Seen Vi;20
INTORGO TIE SV ete ede Ml ee ns ote hs ee aise LIF Vii
Ini RoYe| VETO ib JOY I age ae LSet RA le al aE te AP a Sale ee LA viii
IND TRESS LENS Oa a as A ay RR A i a hd Nee Se ia es Bw IE Vii
Museum. (See National Museum.)

MyeruCatherme Walden: fundies 55.0 2h ee Sa a ee tS eh BY
Miversi George Hewittss ss. 5se 505 25 oe ne eet Se SNE NS ate Mer ee 36
N
iINationalaAgEeVilseuml- == se 222 6 eee oe oe ee ey ee ix O50; oe
PNG COSSIG IIS ee ese Mere etre ee a BU eo Se ai eee a tee 130
INT SOR Ve ORT Greta ek es Na SOS Sau me tle et ae ix, 124
BNEN DE OPSEL GLO IN easement reg er cia ne eee ere eee ee 5
CnraAvonAlActivibicsee r= ete ee ee eee eee ener eee 126
dB Tes) UA AN a a ee a Nl ee Ao Ui 122
Iaforimas MONA SEL VACeR Stee sc SW aN RE GS eee Ee ed Semen 129
NENSeumubullding studiess =. tek ei ee oe ee oe ee eae 123
PRC DOLU Samah a ee Dee se Se ela ene ate ae Sener ae), “A22
Speciale ven tain eee ss ae noe se er he oe ay ae eee 124
SHEEN Ts sey gS Se aye I aa a a SSeS eae eae ix
EOE eee ee ete ee ea es mee MN DR LP Rea ae oe Sa ee 127
NERUDA CE panes LEP 7 Beh she Am i ec pee Cg ae ee NEN Chas 129

Nation alaCollectionvote Mine sAt ts = . — ep eee eee ee ee viii, 5, 8, 36
Jas) OF ONY OSC ry CO ON is a te en oe ae eae A VE ie ee me 5
@athenimer yal dems Viky ery fur Cle ese eer eee eee ee eee Biff
DD LES OL ORS SS et a Pa ae ne he On Se Se eee 37
Renn yO VAN Per UD ey une fui Winer aoe te ee os ie 39
MNLOnMAON SCE VCOa ee eee eee ee ee ee er ee eee 39
1 it OY HE Phy aoe a Ft ag nga Rh pl a AN SR YI rio 39
MOAN SHACCE SLCC ee es ee ee Re yee eed Lee Mpc ye es en ca ee 37
LEZS TONS TREVH OM eT CGY bate a eas aE eel it i Re he pt ee ae eee ed 39
oans;to, other, museums and’ organizations 22. 2240 se a eae ae 38
biGa lions setts ta es ash ea so Sie ee a eee eS ae 154
J SAE) OKO elec Ste Sea a a OO i aan gt get a SP nt 36
SHiphseniancart, Commissionia. = 222s. 0. Se eee. ae oe 36
FS] OLS ep SNL Ess aN) 0 Ua VS a a SSS eR a ee ah ie ee! 40
PSHE YR ata ole Up oa lly RE th eal gay ye eee mS | eee bee csi viii
GIS ES OVEN Wey aS Ss cs eo Ne acy a we Eg a ra eg ene yey 37
Waters wal Shilo yaOWinels cesta ats ark 2 liom coe caste cnet nee eee eu A ONES 37
Na tionaliGallenyioteArtesa tance noes kee ie ee ee hc eo Vili, 5, 7, 23
PATCEOSSL OTS etter ae ye te Sete y er ne ieee Nt ay ee ree ek eae a 25
NCCUIsILLONns! COmInit beens ase san asm ee niente meee Se earn ee 24
PAD DEO EIA GO Teepe eae ee ea ene Se A eee ee 5, 24
JNTREES IG E29 OV eee sh A A Rene ain te eee teen et) De a he ete 24
Aviditrofeprivate nun dstofuthen Galler yarns ees eae ee 35
Carelandpnaintenanceron theybulldings 5.225225 5) 22 eelae ee 34
Committee Oexpert examiners. .—) ses so ee See 34
Construction of new galleries and offices__..____------------------- 34
Curatonaltactiviticss =. 22222 6 aee ee Cee ae eee 31
DECORA LIVE PAT baa metes alee eee ye eye er a re pr eet pL aire ae ee ie 25
Gd Nes OMARDTOTANY ese ase es ee on ee eee se 33
BixchangerOlwOrks Oman sea = ce eens ee eee ne Ree ee 25
EB XECUtIVC ROO DIMI LLCe Mee eee a ty Oy ie eine ne yee es eee eae ae 23
Ixhi bisionseaweae mele case US cy AL Se ee ee 29

518 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

National Gallery of Art—Continued Page
Indexsof American’ Design. he site el aN ene my aye ee ee a 34
DVT oY ee NA NS eH Tay re ep eM Oy el en yet faye Ml eye AS I I 33
Loaned, works:of art: returned 220 SNe co Pes AEN eae ECs lp eee Be o 27
Omicials sues Oe ss SE ENE Rae SA SB cane oe ae mg Ee 4 viii
Organization 2. 22a S ONS See Sak Te See Se ee ae See ata ate eee ee 23
Other activities ssa 0S Se aint SEP eave Be Sh 9 ye onl OS 34
Other giftsse Soo 2 SSE 2s ee Se AS re ep On 35
Paintings ss oo Ee es ee ee Ral APN ERs sehen on eR 25
Prints and drawings: 22.220 04 Ss a ee Ne RAS rte ee a eee 25
Publications = 26 = 250% ee Se A ahr Beane ee oa ae 32
Reporbece sta. Ses wens eA een Se 2 to es ek Oe ee glee, MOEN 23
Restoration and repair of works of art222-- eee 31
Travelingiexhibitions= = 3 40 SSS p ss ses ee se Sh ee ae eee 30
Wrusteess on 252 2520 52 Se Ree Reo Tee ee SNe a So ye ti walk a UE Rep eee viii
Wiorksrofrartilembiis = cists fs eee to 2 i coy Wi ASA ia RAUR ene a Peale Gey ea 27
Works ofvartion loan sa OU 2 Net Ae eT ORL en Se haR aie. a eae eee 26

National’ Museum 222 jeu Ue Ee Se ee ee moh Vi, OP Ga
INCEESSTO MS ot oa eye eS cs ye A rk Ps ae ye ee pe fo
IA DPLOPLIAtIO Mies ee ep eyes ea yA Va 00 ar aad SE ee pe 5
Changeshmrorg ari 7 2 to ree ee ee ee pn eee nee 22
Collections? 22% 22 sa eos spb ek Oy bien SNS 2 Se Soee =) ee ee 13
Exploration and field: work we) 2 625 55 pee ee 19
BUCA GIONS se ie a oS Re el arte al han pay yee a eg Pl Wa
Reporte 222 8 Deer Skene ses seas ele UL hk 2 ee ee Sea 13
Sethe 2 see a a ss is tg nh hal ay a ty Sete ee ee vi

IN stromal’ ZOO) gi cai y i sir Kearse op pee ey aN ix, 5, 9, 82, 161
ACCESSIONS Ya Fob eee Bae Bee nN ly oo aa an Shay pt Mh ed ge og eee 83

Birthsiand*hatchings2=S= = 2a5 052 slg ee oe ee 89

GaftG 2S Be SE Se eet By Gy acs es et I acer te is BI ed 83

PP UTCI ASC So Reece ea fie nl SN ele Vaal eee oe ea ee i yay pA See lh ee 89
Animalsyini the collections Ime ks Os 9 5 0 eee ee ee 95
APPIOPTIGWON Ss oo oe ee Oat eet so a Ree thay gay oa, my ea 5, 94, 161
Depositors and donors and their giftss—— == 2 =— ee See ee eae 84
EXE Se See = em SS ee ag Oe ae a ay ee ee es coe ee 2 ene pig Ae 82
IN ANCeS a2 Ses oy ts RS ee ely eel OR EVE a hag See fap hes 94
Miaintenamnceyarad simproiyexiy emits mye a age eee 92
ING SS Sie Sh Se Se Sesleri nok te othe pe es) etc ke EL ANE SV ed 94
Reporb..22 2582 sp eS a ee re wha ee So Soe Sen ee emia ee 82
TRESS ATG Ia eee ee aaa yah 5 es Da ep ep a 90
Status sof the-collection=-4ss-ss=s2- 2.2522 5L oa Cs eee see 94
VISIC OTS a aT TR ae onc papal vad ed ee 92

Natural history in Iceland (Julian Huxley) 22+ 2222 22 22S o6 Seas 2 ae 327

AN((eh ig oot avlAY tees Meee Re Aen Aes RA te A ce en ON ey perma MUN ee epee fut Th 24S vl

BN GT c(o) bo DY: igo (Ae RAD Poplist betta att Oe Le eee tal ent, Ure ee tS TT vii, 21

North eutt; sso iss Cee tease Sree sh ae a LEN A IS gee ae a 68

O

Oberg. Kalervo. .. 52.2208 See et ee ee eee ea ee eee 68

© Donnell, Maj. ‘Gen: Hmmett@e., Jri_ 2228 eee eee eee 124

@echser; Paul He, Chiet.. Kditorial Divisions 22 "= 92242552 oe-—— v, vi, 2, 151, 155

Officials: of: the Institution. 8 Cte Se eee eee Vv

Olivares; Ismael so 220 te Cee et he en ns meee Dna eevee Ene 136

Oliver, L. L., Superintendent of Buildings and Labor of the Institution -__-- Vv

ODT Sregea sag [EPR ERE ma an ee aero em papal Yim rps lek Aloe aah ater So SOAS vil

Osborne, Douglas 202s i 22 ee ae see ee eee ie eee ee eee eee 55, 56, 57

P

Page, Thornton (Beyond the Milky Way) 2222-2 > 4.225 ee See NGS

Palmer, M. Helens. 52 oe ae ne See ee ae viii, 153

Palmer, Ti: Gos acts 28 Se oe in Sa i a a aOR aes See ge vi

Pauling, Linus C. (Chemical achievement and hope for the future) - - - - --- 225

Pearce, Bohl ae Ss eee nt ee Ee eee en vii, 21

Pearson, Mrs. Louise M., Administrative Assistant to the Secretary - ----- v

Peat; Marwick, Mitchal & Co-2 2 22 92 2 ais Pee to

Peck. Stewartoc 0s osc 002 Geen sae ee eee Soe eee

INDEX 519

Page
Rermatrosts(hobertrh Black) Gs 255 45. ee ee UA lta es 273
NR OTTY CoV Ue tre ee ea ta A ee te ee ee ee esrs ae Gea Vii
RETRY Os) es eek ee ee ee ee eh eee Ce RL vii
MFCR V2 pth VV EUGSO Tp Vos Sas CEE he Eo eae ei a lh be wed allay 19, 136
Personnel Officer of the Institution (Mrs. B. T. Carwithen)______________ Vv
IRS LSTSO II prey Wyle seers eek eters rer x CRATE AMR ARE ental Be bE LES ab allt oe vi
IRC ey STON OY JIN LA Ui Sp sere 2A Bap Ree poo ak a aig eee Bt Vili
Phillips yDuncane ene et eee teretete tebe ace ee bel villi, 23, 24
Photographer of the Institution (F. B.. Kestner)__-_.__. 12-02-22... Vv
PICrSON ee OMe Ahh ah Sr eh I IM Sr es Re aL 68
Pipers albany sts 2 eas oh st ois ete ei Sa a ok et 125
Tepe tebe, dS 12) 0 Os kaha ce de ne a Ca A te LO ely are eee 8 RAS 2
Pope, John A., Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art--_-__-_-______- viii, 47
VEOH NEL LL, Oxo) (a) dal Ol Die een ec one ater pe eg an 19
(ROULCT Salama nctree ee ea ee it te eC a le ee we AU igh ix
Postmaster General of the United States (Jesse M. Donaldson, member of
VOY Sy eT G ONSAS UREN CO) a) Lie es il eg Rn AS hay A A EE aR Od De Ree a UG Pf | Vv
Praying mantids of the United States, native and introduced (Ashley B.
Gurney) ae ee ee ee eee a oe ee Oe oe 339
President of the United States (Harry 8. Truman, Presiding Officer ex
OMiClO OlgunevinstitbUbION))< <2 ee i ee Le OP eee oe v,3
Presiding Officer ex officio of the Institution (Harry 8. Truman, President
OCH aU Mitede States) Se wee aah le eh a ey el tag a ars ee AD Vv
IEE CO Ns Oe TNA Cate en Pane Set es) Nets er oe oe La ER ese ee eee ix
IBTICO VALET ROUSE Nac OO nn Mt AY TRNOT RTA os WIE Pb GU wi BT Bay) eee 35
IBTIGe INCATSAGIITSU A NV ek Sere eer earch ee OL, BAP EEE CRN bs ORSAY ih. Bebe e ix, 124
Property, Supply, and Purchasing Officer of the Institution (Anthony W.
YAMS Wi a) ee le Sey a a he a TR ee aL hs ieaeht Se SRC amar Vv
Publica tlonsaeeeet see ne oes eee Set ee Se ee ae 11, 149
American cistorical Associations Reports. 92 tus She Se ae 154
Appropriaviousior printing and binding sis s2s Soler sw as ee ae 154
Buresujor; American. PE thnologye sas. 0 Sees fae Se ees eae 70, 153
Bulle Gin Sas See crane Sires ee a ees Re Ree AS Se 153
instijute.oi social: Anthropology o2o2. soca ee Oe es. 153
VO POL US rece eo et er A eels Sh a 1D et ed Oa, 153
Daughters of the American Revolution, Report__-_-_________-___--- 154
MOPESE TU UU A Oo eM eee ea as en Qe EO TR 149
reer Gallery On Arts: 222 22s esos 5 MeN Ree erat WE TEE 42, 154
OCcasionalyPaperse iy yee eee see ae Fath a & oh on ee 154
Orientalistuaieg ss. esas are see NS ee Me et pas Se EN ens 154
iNetionalsCollection of Mine vAriss ve) =) ll ee ee EI 154
IN GLO Mae Gall rey ate fi Air Gis eee Ieee aa eR lea epee pe ay pps RRO | aa OR 32
IN SUGLOM a VETS eM shh ce eee nr 2 eae cy Se RE 21, 151
Ble binges ae see get aun cheated uae S Nae A Re ene Ren gO eee a 153
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium___-~_-_ 153
ISTO CCE CIM OSs Meneses at eee TER CN tes Pant 2 ae ahah Cpr S 151
JESSY OY ODA Rs Ziv a was yg ge aly gl eg i ele et, 151
1 RYE) BON Se Pk, A a el Cn a i en te OO 149
ROTHEC SO Rei eid epee te eee ee prin OS eee eee 11, 150
PaNF AMONG EWE I RACSY OO) OP es i at i Ba as Spy Ba Be ee ey Seana a SE 150
Miscellaneous Collections 2.222256 eae eae ey ee ee 150
SpPecialepubleationss ee] sea Selene ina eae Celah Dee ee ee eee 151
Publications, Division of, Chief (L. E. Commerford)______________--__- Vv
R
Radiation angwOreanisma pO ivislOniOl. =. — eee ix, 119
Ranger eHonrysv ALG hUnGet. 2.8 aes eee eee 2 ee eee ee 39
VERRECO Ld OS (Op Be er a 9 a la 1B ae en eB aT Sated Ld vii
VRSTETSH VG KEP [hd ey J Ns TR SUA 2 Be a nn aad re vii
FOSenUS MD Oar GeO am Ne aha CSU Me eee sie oe cue me eae A v,3
EIXECUCIVOLC OMUMICtCe Me ee a Faye ae Rtas ne ce ae ue een ect Worl
CEVA Sa eS Nag ek Ih ee ee ea Dee Rie Vv
DHE) {0} ss Me PSN YD MC? we Re ll eo rad pea 156
Me ran eines eee en ie eee te deta Crepe list te uN esp Bae Nie een Ad LN Vv

520 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

Page
Rehdert) HaraldtAc. 2 ool Pals arial hs AN as eae sae et ae 2 a eee See vi
Richards o}C iver leg Vis) o a2) wep Aa ates yd ea Ig ee ae ope 31, 32
FGI GO UL NOT Uay BT e/a Sl eI 2a a an Dele ee ee ere 125
Riv ery Basin SULVEY So Soe ae Se eee ant a a eee Se eee Xn Oe,
Appropriation >. 2 2 sate oe EES Ry See BP a bya ee ee 5, 52, 161
Roberts, Frank H. H., Jr., Associate Director, Bureau of American Eth-
nology, Director, River Basin Surveys_-_--------- viii, ix, 8, 48, 49, 52, 54, 60
Rosersa Grace glia sees sane eee vii
Rohwer 0) Ae Soke 2 oe a oe Shae ens Noe a eee aE pte Bee ae ae vi
Rosenwald Collections iie<2 4. .52-2 e202 e ee se ho ee eae woe 30
MERU We area cee ary a a a eat Soe me ly vii
Russelleeoes OWNS Gs ek ee ee Ae aE ee eS ee ee eee vi
)
Salisbuny,Roberti@2 a5 se ta 2 a sate eee Se ee 55, 56
Saltonstall, Leverett, regent of the’ Institution__. 2-2 =-2-5.2-22--5-_5- Vato
Sawyer, Charles, Secretary of Commerce, member of the Institution ____- Vv
Scola exiles TW ee Mis yh a a a Sr a ee ae Vii
Yo] ot ae FRAN | 2) (6.0 DY ea aa en ee EADS Es ene al ee eye ee cree ae vi
Schrodinger, E. (What is an elementary particle?) ---__-.-------------- 183
Schultaeonard) Ps. 340k oe es eet ee ee vi
Schumacher he Gis wee 2 a ee eS Be ee tee eee viii
Schwartz) vBenj amin 2 a ee se re aed ee ne vi
SearlewMirss clarriep vricharcdsom ane ree ee eee vi
Secretary of Agriculture (Charles F. Brannon, member of the Institution) - Vv
Secretary of Commerce (Charles Sawyer, member of the Institution) ____-- Vv
Secretary of Defense (Louis Johnson, member of the Institution) ---_-_-- 4
Secretary of the Institution (Alexander Wetmore) ---------..-.-------- Vv

viii, 3, 12, 23, 36, 124, 125, 136
Secretary of the Interior (Oscar Chapman, member of the Institution) _-- Vv
Secretary of Labor (Maurice Tobin, member of the Institution) ----.-_-- Vv
Secretary of State (Dean C. Acheson, member of the Institution)_--_- v, vili, 23
Secretary of the Treasury (John W. Snyder, member of the Institution) -- V,
vili, 23

1

SecretanyisiepOrgn osc = ee Oe a eee ce arene ey ote ene
AG hire Gee ee ee ae A ea 2 ee clea ss eet 6
Boandyof. te ceritae 2 0 Lae ge a et a eae 3
IStablishmenge sess = ae ye ee aes ee ee ee eet 3
MOHD COS ee er hk rm a a aa eg 5
@eteralsstatemnen ts ee ee ee a a a ae tr 1
WT rate a6 a See a ne Sipe ee eee 12
Pub lea tioms ese a ee Be ee ya a ee es ee eee eats 11
DWTS Tid ee ees a a a ee a er Ce a 6
Year’s activities of the branches of the Institution_-_____.___---_-_- 6

Beegers VSCOlL AMG MV IESS SCOR CIS sae eee eee ee ee 134

SUE 20 il & AORN, a aE oe Spe on Mey Bae pe eas Ree re Ae dea oe vi

SUE ATLSS Sal 2 0 BN Mags aes ae ene oe eel ey ie ee oeee ede ape vi

Seymour, Samuel: Pioneer artist of the Plains and the Rockies (John

Francis, MeDermott) eon 25 cee ee ee ee te er ee oe 497

Siralicop ev Dent eee oe eee ae a ee 61

rolove) of 1x0 bal DYoveN ClO D Boye oe opera ee eee ee Beet Sees ese eS 23

Shep heres sEereMiGles tod Nee sm ere ee 63

Shiner Oe Dace n mss ce ea a ee ee 49, 55, 56

SU uh ay os ene Peano Vets) ay [a ey eigen ieee eee ee eee Be eas al 61

Shoemaker) Os UR eee ee eee ee eee vi

Girma tas! OZ ze) Cre ose ee ae ee ae 70

Sinclair, Charles C., Assistant Superintendent of Buildings and Labor of

hve AL TYS GU GULL MN eee ae er a ea ee Vv

SST UBT ted es Ra en Se A ee tp ee ee viii

(Sa a) OU aN Cyc te Ah i A i ee Aa, AE alts ye lt ees Spe pes Reh en vii

Smiths Carlylecms = oe oe een eee 60

reat hs) sgl Uprgiea 1a Wid eae peer eae rene teae Sie Aye Daye So bee eS vii

Shranidoeroneneyn “unr (Clore enol nee ee ee eee 36

Snyder, John W., Secretary of the Treasury, member of the Institution_- v, vili, 23

Sle (eX el 2a ig R30) 0) 0 ats eee eas age Are AMET Be A ee ee ee 54, 63

Soper: Cle velar G as y— em ee een rgee eree ee e 136

INDEX sydd |

Page
SperchersriUgenees eens wae se sees See OE eee eel eee 36
SS GerTbO a oie Lica Veer eee ne ce te FE A ec a Sd Se ge ee A vii
Stephenson shObentpies =. ven. Seto ese ee eee eee ee a ee ee, 49, 65
STE MEHSOMMOOHIMC-Ami as er Bekoe a eae UM Seen SR och hoe ee ne ai
Stewart, Tua eae een nen CORE Ea Meter emer LN ae NSE i
Stirling, Matthew W., Director, Bureau of American Ethnology--- viii, 8, 48, 72
Stott, Ken, Jr., and MSS ton TE. Le i EERE een Coe eames CLO INEe 135
Stout, \WVALUCREya ya) pein lpn Al il aI Us Colne! Ube Seley AR AS eared ix, 124
Strobell, 1 Ries LO ka Schelde ed aa hg le 6 et a i eT yn HO aa Cae ix
Sullivan, IFT AVIN CLS penetra we See heyy le eee Mala eA Lea Suir ei een ey A Sil
Sun, The luminous surface and atmosphere of the (Bertil Lindblad) - ----_- 173
Superintendent of Buildings and Labor of the Institution (L. L. Oliver) -_- Vv
Swell ene RS ta eb ees as ae cree Snel be ca yp ae Oy Se ore er vii, 20
Swanton, ANOS Ov ay Rare a atl al ely sh a aoe eh aces Ad ali, Bes iecdened ea Oph tee fahes My ek ie viii, 72
SMITE Vamenta ae een eer See ke ee ESE mui Se lee an vii
SWiGZCIWE GCORD CS i seas nee mee arene a ae ee em nee oa IA eee ee vii, 21
of
PADS Tall oy ciety JID), CG at et ee aga pt gp Me ha pe Ae Lat gl an AO ix
BREE O Tem ESC aa kce Nee omc or ee eee es Nee er es ee ye ee et vii
ais ona ryt Ore 2) rc eee BOL Luna ey eee eee 5
“tbaaliore, | ios iia aerate steer ce eae ees EA res cee geri en ee vi
SEHOMmAS OG OSs Seen == eee Sea M es Sedna en eee Soe ee eS vii
Hine tse OO lapel Wis Sos aye ose oh ete ees ony ce gee ey eae ae ee 124
Tobin, Maurice, Secretary of Labor, member of the Institution_______--- Vv
BUN ELTA IS St) eres oe ee agi A ec RS a ee SD OS 6 SO SY in oe a Ape es at 57
PreEASULErAOL LNe INStiGUbIONN (Jee kLOwelTl)) yyy ai eee ee Vv
AD TERE. MAYEN NSA een bel hee aa ETS ss A ag ee ee ae 2; 1155
Pre UIT SA TOV (Gr OT Ce ee a ie a eae Ny ta cress en ee 125
Truman, Harry S., President of the United States, Presiding Officer ex
ONT CLOLOLS CMS MLS TI WGI O Me eee ae a ee vm ee wl ee Vv
TPE) SS RIN EEK YE SISO a pe ace CS oD a eS ye viii
shuschew Mars. (CoMlOghen | CC tA sulin hs re ON leer Ni Lee ee a a 126
U
Universe, The composition of our (Harrison Brown) --_.--------------- 197
Vv
VMandenberemGeneHovtrore oe! Meal gu era eee ey 2s ee 2 123
Wiecuig ir ericyel Witenes Pier ein eT kr ee ie on ee eee vii
Vice President of the United States (Alben W. Barkley, member of the
MSEC ULL OT aap a eee ees celia ht cael ON Me AN ek ye ee a en) Sas v,3
Vinson, Fred M., Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor of the
ANGE GIG Vat 1a meee apt es uy cy I Sua ty Sipe I 2 acs eae | Vv, viii, 3, 5, 28
NHTESH OD Ye ae eter Ss SOU aT eo ce NaN OE te ee 6, 24, 46, 92
NreeraGallenyrotpAnst 9 eae ee wa i Se Ae eee ee Ree a 46
Nationale GralleryAo te Aunts 2 arse ete ee ce ae oe a 24
INE Omell Vooloai@nll lenidkes ok ee ee oe 92
Vorys, Johnie sregent ofthe Institution=. 222) 5-5-5 25-- 22-2 5. Sees v, 3
W
NICSE oP DB [Pat ea a rd RG =P Ve coli Pee Oe en vil
Walker, Ernest P., Assistant Director, National Zoological Park _------- ix
Walker, John, Chief Curator, National Gallery of Art._____..------ viii, 32, 33
Walter, W. Grey (Electroencephalography) -__._.._-.--.---------------- 243
Wichino AT TOMO Ns, rome 2 ns im Cen art, MUR ie Pe ee ee viii, 72
Suse is er Sm CO eper Vitere creas ta ee eth ee DE ERENCE Ste a oe hs eae eee vi
WWisvtcrmic en Wrllllnenrrae Niet seca se se taper n et oe Nyt Nees rl oe aiticlign vii
NAYES BG GBR ew TR er OO eg tee 136
Wy @rcloledoypians, a a ipsa al es CS Re eC ee a eee eee vii
Wedel, IVES Foye d segs =n a ape nae re vi, 10, 22, 58

IVES eC Urea etek Ome amen tem ols ape) eh ns Be AL es 2 ee

522 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950

ee

Wetmore, Alexander, Secretary of the Institution______________________
vi, viii, ix, 3, 12, 19, 23, 36, 124, 125, 136

Wheelers Richard! Pic sa 2am 2 eee Sea ee tee ee eee nt ata eee a
Wihite:Eheodore His Sone ce hate ee a Ne ee Sl rene era 21, 62, ee
Whiteford; Awt@2s22-7 Sek ce see sie Ae eee mee epee ewe pe ee 69
Wibittle (Sirs rank 224) 924 7197 ve Se Ee ee Se ee a Ue eerie ee eee lee 125
Waeboldt,:'Mirand?) Mrs!) Elmer Paes se ere Sens sae en ee ae aes 125

Wilding, Anthony W., Property, Supply, and Purchasing Officer of the
Tras GHG CTO rae ae eg a ee oF Oe oye fey ee u

Wallettt J Tes Oo) SSE CR ee oe ee See eR eee ee ee es eee ee eee
Walley «Gordon 5 soos ae ee Ae a See 2 ee eek yan, 1b<¢ O. ils Gz 68

AWiilli armas; jAth yaya eee atan = ap nets kee et ss a ee en gle Oe rete RO pear e 21

Williams, D. G., Chief, International Exchange Service_______________~_ ix, 81
Wilson, Mrs. MG Gir ie Bt nani sin iy APM a te ae A neh ese eee EE vi
ATVGU eH Xes gota eh 00) Kolb NY Laeests tee at ane (Serge Meal sak ec tas he Dl ae eA Dh ee 49

Withrow, Robert B., Chief, Division of Radiation and Organisms__ ix, 116, 119
Wolf Creek meteorite crater, Western Australia (D. J. Guppy and R. S

ITTV Aste (tn) (ae LO a ee Se A PUN Ua AIC! bs! 317
NACo teva Dy rea Gey leg] SCARS Yee ts ake aa Ue ce i ee ie ix, 123
Wright brothers as aeronautical engineers, The (M. P. Baker)__________ 209
Xe

Young, Mahonriy Miso aces one 2 Ot aoe ee ie SS oe ee eee 36
Z

Zetek, James, Resident Manager, Canal Zone Biological Area_________-_ ix, 144

Zoological Park. (See National Zoological Park.)

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